Chapter 1

A New Contract

For Hiruzen Sarutobi, the last week has served to age him well beyond his years and cause him to despise his job even further. Just when he thought he had gotten through to Fugaku, he had only discovered that his own advisors had gone behind his back to kill every single member of the Uchiha Clan. It was made worse by the fact that this had Danzo's fingerprints all over it.

It was only Itachi's love for his brother that at least young Sasuke had been spared, but the mercy may have been misplaced considering the boy was still in a coma a week later from severe mental trauma. And even then, there was now the secret that had to be maintained as to why the Uchiha Clan had been wiped out. It may not have a large bearing right now, but it could be positively cataclysmic later on.

Exhaling smoke from his pipe, he couldn't help but hate his job, a job that should have rightfully gone to a man who hadn't been so tainted by the darkness of the Shinobi world. But he was dead, and his only progeny was the village pariah because of the stupidity and ignorance of people. It made him hate all of this.

"Lord Hokage," came the voice of a boar-masked ANBU that appeared before him, "Uchiha Sasuke has awoken."

That was a small bit of good news then, at least the boy was alive. But his appreciation for the news disappeared when the ANBU had not disappeared.

"What is it?"

"He's requested both your presence and Yamanaka Inoichi's."

He could understand the request for his presence, but why would he ask for the head of the Yamanaka clan?

GotD

There were quite a many things that Lelouch did not like, but one of the worst was the idea of winging an entire strategy. It wasn't that he couldn't, Shinjuku was proof positive that he could, it was that it was so damnably inelegant and led to more risks than were acceptable in his mind.

And right now he was winging it like a man with nothing to lose, which he honestly didn't. He was stuck in a world he had limited understanding of outside of the memories of the body he was currently inhabiting that he was still trying to sort through. There was no way he could be able to act like this Sasuke Uchiha, it just couldn't work.

So he was left with the information that he did have. He was in a pseudo-military village that trained child soldiers, led by a man who was supposedly one of the strongest. Odds were if he tried to pull off acting as someone he wasn't he would be treated as a spy or something else if half of the bullshit about this chakra was to be believed.

So he had to gamble on the conclusions that A. He no longer had any of this Uchiha clan based upon the fact there was no one in the room. B. He was a strategic investment if said clan was indeed wiped out. C. If A and B were true, while Sasuke Uchiha may be gone, Lelouch vi Britannia certainly wasn't and he was a strategic asset that could be cultivated once he was up to snuff on the world.

Of course, he could just accept death, but to be honest he had a feeling that death here would be a lot more painful than simply being impaled upon a sword, so he would like to avoid that. Dying seriously sucked.

And he was curious. Why, of all the things he did, did he end up here? What was C's world joke now? He had to at least have an answer on that before he could accept meeting his maker again.

He was interrupted in his thoughts as the door to the room opened and an older robes that he instantly identified as the Homage followed by another man with blond hair tied in a ponytail looking a bit at a loss. But his focus returned back to the Hokage, taking in the man that was the leader of this village. He could tell immediately that even though the man had a kind, grandfather vibe to him, there was also power and a keen intelligence to him, the man seemingly measuring him up as well.

"It's good to see you awake, Sasuke," the Hokage said, keeping his grandfatherly persona.

Now came the difficult part of all of this. The fact of the matter was that he did not know how to act as Sasuke. It was infeasible that he could maintain the charade of being someone that he was not, let alone knew. So that lent to a very dangerous minefield he had to traverse safely. Of course, he could always just go straight for the jugular, it was, after all, the most efficient.

"Lord Hokage," he began, searching for the right words, "is there any way we can make this conversation private?"

Probably not the brightest of moves to say the least, but he had to at least limit the dissemination of information. Knowledge was more powerful that a battalion of Knightmares, and he who held such information could have a priceless advantage if he was going in this situation.

So it was with barely concealer curiosity that he watched the Hokage run through a series of handsigns before he felt some type of energy wash over him. He assumed that that meant whatever it was he did that they were now able to talk discreetly, which only opened more questions now that he thought of it, one if which was why the leader of a village would do something like this for someone who was eight

There's something bigger going on, he thought to himself, logging that away for further reflection.

"May I ask why you wanted this to be private, Sasuke," the Hokage asked.

Well, here goes.

"I apologize for misleading you Lord Hokage, but I am not Sasuke Uchiha," he finally said, deciding to go with the straightforward option.

He watched as the entire atmosphere changed in an instant, the warmness gone replaced by a cold foreboding that in any other case would have chilled him to be the bones. Instead, he met the older man's gaze steadily.

"Then who are you," came the question from the Hokage, obviously sensing that he could probably get an answer without resorting to other means of information gathering.

"That is why I requested for Yamanaka-san to be here, Lord Hokage," he said, "I am not a spy, but I do not think you would believe me if I told you who I am or where I am from. It's the only sure bet I have that you will believe my story and maybe understand that I am no threat to you. As for a name, it is Lelouch vi Britannia."

When the Hokage found no lie on the face of the young man before him, he was conflicted by the myriad of emotions that come with the discovery that a young man was gone, but at the same time he was both interested and wary at what this person who claimed to not be Sasuke was. Could he take the risk and use Inoichi to scan whoever this is and find the truth, or should he just send them to Ibiki and have it ripped from them? But if he did that, then Itachi may return creating an even larger issue, regardless of the fact that what Itachi had done was technically for Konoha.

"Inoichi-san," he asked, looking to the man, "it is your decision, I won't put you at risk when a stint at T&I will likely get to the heart of this matter."

"Unlikely," 'Sasuke" replied, causing both men to look back to him, "like I said, the information that I have would likely cause your interrogators to become, how shall we say, overzealous in their pursuit of the truth, likely killing me in the process. Would you rather get the information too late to make a difference, or get it right now, do you really think an eight-year old would be a threat to you?"

There was the gauntlet thrown, it was a calculated risk from Lelouch, but if he was reading the Hokage right, he would err on the side of getting the information now instead of waiting for it, especially when i was offered so willingly.

"Inoichi-san."

"Hai," the blond head of the Yamanaka clan said, walking toward the Lelouch, even as he braced himself, eyes searching the man as he made a series of hand signs. Lelouch had almost no warning before he felt a presence in his mind and he was drawn inexorably inward.

For the Hokage, it was only a matter of waiting, and sure enough, almost a half-hour later, Inoichi came back to, but it was to his surprise when the boys eyes opened to reveal a pair of single tomoe sharingan staring straight at him. He quickly dismissed that thought before he focused upon Inoichi.

"Inoichi-san?"

"What he said," Inoichi paused, his eyes showing disbelief, "whatever, or wherever he was from, is correct. He has no idea as to how he is here, nor does he have any idea on how he can get back. Other than Sasuke's memories mixed in there, the boy in front of us is as he claims. However, the boy, man, before you is also a revolutionary who has the blood of thousands on his hands."

"Who also changed the world," Lelouch said softly, focusing his gaze upon the Hokage, "I can guarantee, Lord Hokage, I have no ill intent towards Konoha, hell, I don't even know why I am here, only that there has to be a reason I am here. My life as a revolutionary is long past, I have neither the will nor means to do something like I did. I've lost too much to care to repeat it again. I was happy being dead once."

The statement struck a chord, but he had to ask, "And what would you do if I allow you to roam freely?"

"I will place myself at your services, Lord Hokage," Lelouch said, knowing perfectly well that he was a weapon to be wielded in this case, especially considering if the information he had was one that he was the last of a clan who had a unique ability, "that is all I can truly offer as payment for my freedom."

The question was could he allow it, Hiruzen thought to himself, knowing full well that the news of the last Uchiha being 'dead' would be devastating to the Council, at the same time, if what Inoichi is saying was true, then the boy before him was just as innocent, and maybe an unwitting victim. But, there had be a way to make this a winning situation, especially with the Sharingan staring him straight in the eye. If the boy was what Inoichi said he was, then it would be prudent to keep an eye on him.

"Very well, Lelouch" he said gravely, "I believe you, however, there is a problem with your freedom. As you have already figured out, you inhabit the body of someone who is of value to this village."

"So I will have to act like this Sasuke."

"No, you will have to assume being Sasuke Uchiha."

There was a moment of silence before to his surprise, the boy answered, "My name has always been a curse, Hokage-sama. I think I can live with the change."

"You will also become a shinobi for this village."

This time Lelouch could not help but blink, then again, it was what he had expected. He was a weapon in every sense of the word, and if he was honest with himself, he doubted he could stand the civilian life anyways.

"Of course, I would think of no other role, Hokage-sama. However, even though I have Sasuke's memories, I believe I am going to at least need some help in preparing, things like this chakra and the history of the world, if that may not be too much to ask."

The older man nodded, "You will also be monitored until such a time as I deem you are not a threat to the village. You will have no private space until that time, your entire time will be privy to me and those I choose."

"Is that all?"

"For now at least, Sasuke, I can and will change it if I deem it so."

"Very well," Lelouch vi Britannia, no, Sasuke Uchiha said, after taking a deep breath, saying words that would have belonged to Lelouch vi Britannia for the last time in the next few years, "I accept the terms of our contract."

Just to make it clear, Lelouch's switch from Lord Hokage to Hokage-sama is a change in the willingness to serve. It is showing that Lelouch places a different set of deference before him as a subordinate to him, instead of using Lord Hokage which is a form of deferential respect, at least in his mind.

Updates are spotty, I'm having a lot of issues just working up the willingness to write, Ice and Fire has had zero updates to the chapter after the one that I'm waiting for the beta to clear. So I am unsure on when this is going to get updated. Hopefully sooner than this one.