Summary:

They like to believe that their eyes are diamonds; hard, precious, birthed through generations of pressure. They're wrong. Their eyes are glass; brittle, fragile, created from common sand through seconds of intense heat. Glass breaks, glass cuts, glass shows reflections that they don't want to acknowledge. Reflections of others... and reflections of themselves. [AU] [Hinted SasuHina] [Non-Chronological Linked Drabbles]

General Disclaimer For The Entire Story:

I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd have drawn out a very helpfully annotated map of where everything is in Konoha. If there are little-used canon!characters, there should be little-mentioned canon!places, so fanfiction authors can use those like they elaborate on the L-UCC. The cover picture isn't mine, either.


.

(he doesn't understand yet, but he will; kakashi will make sure of it)

.

[Age 12]

"Physically, killing is probably the easiest thing in the world to a ninja. Mentally, it's very likely one of the worst. I'm not saying that it's not essential to protecting Konoha... but each time you kill, it takes something away from you. Maybe it's a small thing: Embittering, disillusioning, deadening. Maybe it's a big thing: humanity, empathy, mercy. Those are important concepts, vital concepts, the concepts that make us human. I won't ever tell you that it gets better, because frankly, it doesn't and it shouldn't and if you really begin to think that way, then you're not the type of person I'd tell anything to anymore."

Kakashi's lone eye drilled deep into Sasuke, haunted and murky and dark.

Dark with regret.

Not for the first time, Sasuke wondered how his sensei's other eye had been replaced with a Sharingan.

"Think about that, every time you find yourself thinking about killing your brother, and about what lengths you'll go to to achieve that goal."

"He's not my brother-", he reflexively began protesting.

"He is, and deluding yourself will not help you a bit," Kakashi cut him off sharply, strongly, "It's not up to me to decide your life for you, and if you choose to continue on that path, that's your choice and you've made it. Just keep in mind that I am a Jounin of the Leaf, first and foremost, that you are a shinobi of the Leaf, first and foremost, that all of your peers are ninja of the Leaf, first. And. Foremost. Do you know what that means?"

As his voice thundered over his student, low and dangerous and growled with intensity that was reflected in what was visible of his gaze, his student stayed mute.

"I said, do you know what that means?"

It was clear by Kakashi's humorless tone that he will not repeat himself a third time, and Sasuke managed to shake his head minutely, straining against the (aShMaRrOwStONe bOnE GliStENbLoOdcArVe FLesH buRnhAiRStAB eYe uSeLeSSHoPElESscHilL CoOL cOlDfrEEzEpArALyzE SUFFOCATE) barrage of needle-thin condensed Killing Intent, carefully focused for a reason.

"It means that if you ever stop being a shinobi of the Leaf, we will be the ones sent after you."

In a startling contrast to his former pitch, the Copy-Nin's words were pleasantly stated in an almost amiable matter.

'Almost amiable,' because Sasuke could still remember the Killing Intent vividly, even if all traces of it had been wiped out in a matter of milliseconds.

This is the control of a Jounin, he was meant to learn.

Sasuke nodded unsurely.

It seems to be what his sensei was waiting for, because Kakashi smiles with that reassuringly familiar and (nauseatingly pleasant, so pleasant, smile smile smile pleasant smile smile smile kill) eye-crinkle of his, and one of his hands lands firmly on Sasuke's head, steering him out of the woods that they'd ended up in.

"Great, great, lovely to see that you understand, Sassy-chan. We'd better get going before Narky-chan gets all sulky about us missing the team lunch, and Pinky pummels him for that. They might charge me for any property damage, and I'm running out of places to eat without getting banned."

Sasuke stared at his hands the entire way to the barbeque place he never bothered to learn the name of.


#

#

He gets a warning.

Whether or not he heeds it...

#

#

-Review.-