A/N: I hoped nothing sounded too rushed or too slow. It was hard deciding what to leave out for now because I didn't want to stuff information down your throats. Again, I'll be proofreading tomorrow night. I thought it'd be better to update at 12:30 midnight than tomorrow 5pm. The semester is starting to kick off and I'm a little behind already so updates will be slower.

Guest 1: No, Tsunade hasn't been born yet. On the Naruto wikia page, she's born years after Tobirama takes over as Hokage.

Guest 2: So you have noticed. He'll be here, not yet though.

The wind rapped against the window, sending leaves and tree branches to scratch the glass. Naruto stared at the beige coloured walls and sluggishly rolled over on his side to look out the window. The bedsheets wrinkled at the movement, the blanket on him falling a bit to the side. He watched the gray clouds lazily float along with little interest.

It's autumn, he thought. Was it also autumn when the Fourth Shinobi World War started? Naruto couldn't remember. He closed his eyes. There were only memories of the preparation of war, ninjas bustling around reporting various situations to the Kages, orders being thrown left to right and a heavy atmosphere of uncertainty.

With a twitch of his hand, a cool sensation on his fingertips made Naruto open his eyes. His gaze landed on the object he was holding. He brushed a thumb against the metal, tracing over the Konoha emblem engraved onto the plate. Naruto paused as he hit a long horizontal scratch and swept his thumb across it slowly. He clutched the forehead protector and sat up—resolved to confirm Sasuke's intentions.

It was yesterday that Naruto and Sasuke parted to their respective new homes. He had been nervous when Sasuke started to walk away at the hospital, but was relieved that his friend implied he wouldn't be running off on his own. For now that was.

When Hashirama, Mito and Naruto left the hospital together it was around noon. The three of them went out for lunch—sadly, Mito dismissed Naruto's suggestion for ramen and Hashirama's for barbeque—and a stroll. The couple wanted to give him a tour of the village as they shopped for Naruto's necessities he would need moving in with them. He didn't appreciate Mito's remarks though.

"You will need new clothes as well," she had said. Mito pointed at Naruto's black and orange two piece jumpsuit and his gaze followed her finger. "You cannot be wearing that everyday and I am sure you don't have anything else to wear."

"Excuse me but, you can't make me take this off," Naruto retorted, patting his jacket.

"If it's Mito, anything is possible," Hashirama said, snickering as he walked past them. Apparently someone was amused with the situation.

Mito turned her head and smiled at her husband, saying, "Sometimes I wish that were true."

Her eyes returned to Naruto and the way she looked at him made his palms sweat. He didn't want to back off so he kept his gazed fixed on her. Naruto couldn't read Mito's expression because it was blank and free of any indication of what she was thinking. The staring continued for a long thirty seconds more and then he heard her breathe out.

"As long as you keep the jacket and pants clean, that's fine," Mito said, her white sleeve of her robe swaying as she stuck her arm out. "You will need undershirts, shirts and underwear however."

She took a couple steps before stopping. Her hand peeked from the sleeve, waving. Naruto didn't understand what the gesture meant and frowned.

"Come," Mito said and waved her hand again.

"Uh, what?" Naruto strode over to her and stopped next to her. "What?" he repeated.

Her right hand grasped his left and Naruto was pulled along the streets.

Oh. That's what she meant.

Naruto glanced up at the woman holding his hand before looking ahead, seeing Hashirama waiting for them in front of a shop waving at them. He could feel heat radiate from the body beside him. Mito's hold was loose, yet somehow Naruto doubted she would lose him if he got knocked by a crowd. He let the weight of his hand be carried and his fingers gradually closed around Mito's.

"Do you mind if we stop by my house first?" Madara asked the boy. "I want to drop off the adoption papers."

Sasuke nodded, understanding the man didn't want to carry those documents around with him. Though really, he didn't care.

The two didn't speak the rest of the way to Madara's home. Sasuke stared at the man's back, trailing a couple meters behind. He could see—if only barely—Madara's stiff posture as they neared the Uchiha compound.

A young girl ran past them, giggling and chasing after her friends. She tripped, scraping her knee and tears began to well when her eyes caught Sasuke's. Sasuke faltered in his steps. The girl looked at him expectantly and as he was about to turn away, he saw Madara watching him.

Fine, he'd play his part as a seven year old…or that was what Sasuke wanted to say. He huffed and offered the girl his hand which she happily took.

"T-thank you," she stuttered and smiled shyly.

"Yeah," Sasuke said.

The girl glanced behind him and hurriedly looked back. She bowed and ran off.

The two began walking again in silence, this time side by side. Sasuke noted that the Uchiha compound seemed closer to the Hokage tower than it had been in his time. He remembered the First Hokage's incredibly long answer to his question that ended with him listening to the Hokage's life story. The Uchihas would be pushed further from the central area and it was likely to happen soon.

Once they had reached the foot of Madara's home, the man stood unmoving. He quickly went inside the house and came back just as quick.

"Come in. I'll show you where your room is," Madara said and Sasuke followed the man into the house.

He tried to memorize the place as they moved down the halls and turned corners. The task was easier than he'd thought. It was similar to…his house. There was a dojo, a pond, grassy backyard and several rooms like a normal house. Sasuke marvelled at the similarities of his traditional home and Madara's, smoothing his hand over the wooden pillars. He snapped out of his daze when he heard the sound of a door sliding.

"This is your room," the man said. Madara paused, looking at Sasuke. The boy stared back, his childish eyes blinking.

"What?"

Madara turned away. "No, nothing."

Sasuke noticed the man's toes dig into the floor.

"Do you want something to eat?" Madara asked. He still wasn't looking at Sasuke.

"Sure."

They moved into another room where a low table and cushions rested on the tatami mats. Sasuke was told to wait in the room and Madara left. He waited for a some minutes and got up, wandering around the house. There was no reason to listen to Madara.

Door after door, closet after closet later, Sasuke finished exploring most of the household. There wasn't anything particular about Madara's home. There was nothing and it was as if no one lived here. Scrolls were shelved neatly in a small room, futons were stored away in the closet and decorative Uchiha symbols pinned onto the walls. Madara's house was unnecessarily large when he was the only one living in it.

As Sasuke passed along the corridors, a door caught his attention and he stepped backwards. He hadn't looked into this room yet. He hooked his fingers in the handle and slid the door. A strip of light shined through the slit and Sasuke could make out scrolls sprawled across the floor and the edge of a table.

A booming noise startled Sasuke and the door slammed shut. He almost jumped but held it in.

"What…are you doing here?" came a voice behind him.

"I was exploring," Sasuke said, staring at the paper door.

"…I told you to stay in the room."

Sasuke turned around to face the man and apologized, "Sorry, I was kind of curious."

The man shifted on his feet. "This is my room. Don't go in without permission," Madara said and spun on his heels, making his way onto the veranda outside the room. He paced to the end of the hallway and stopped, peering back at Sasuke. His fringes covered the side of his face.

"Let's go to the kitchen. I made lunch for us," Madara said and disappeared around the corner.

When Madara was out of sight, Sasuke sighed, glancing at the door behind him one more time before jogging to the kitchen. He guessed acting like a child had its perks.

What he stepped into wasn't the kitchen. It was the same room Madara had told him to stay put in. He was greeted with a Japanese styled lunch served in a box with separated compartments. It was the typical combination of rice, fish and miso soup. Sasuke sat down on the cushion with legs folded in half. His legs were going to cramp later. His eyes flickered to the man in front of him.

"What's wrong?" Madara asked, pulling the bowl of soup away from his lips.

"Nothing," Sasuke replied and picked up his chopsticks. He poked at his grilled fish and began to eat. The meat was fluffy on his tongue and it tasted familiar. He stuffed some rice in his mouth, chewed and swallowed. Sasuke had his hand frozen in the air, stunned. It really did taste familiar. His eyes softened as he gazed down at his meal and Madara noticed.

"You made this?" Sasuke lifted his head to look at Madara.

"Yes, I did," he responded. When his parents died, it was only him and his younger brother with no adult to take of them—not that they needed one at that age as Madara was forced to replace his father as head. Usually it was his younger brother that did the cooking while he was busy leading the Uchiha clan but eventually that also came to an end. Madara often cooked now.

His stomach unclenched and his shoulders dropped at the faint gentleness the boy's expression held. He heard Sasuke hum in approval. Madara let out a shaky breath and continued on with his meal.

The dishes were done and there was nothing to do. Sasuke didn't want to risk getting caught a second time trying to sneak into Madara's room for clues or anything useful. Besides, he couldn't go in even if he wanted to with the man in there himself.

Sasuke decided to go to his room and test out his chakra control. He sat down, legs crisscrossed. He closed his eyes and started to move his chakra upwards. Sasuke felt the chakra flow in his body and pool in his eyes. He slowly opened them and was successful so far, his eyes gleaming red.

A sudden pressure had him struggle to keep them open. It was like his chakra flow jumped. Sasuke blinked, prying his eyes wider with effort and then he saw it. His chakra pathway that should be flowing smoothly was jerking in some places, gaps in the flow.

Sasuke flexed his fingers and squeezed his hand into a fist, watching the pathway with his sharingan. He seemed okay for the moment. The time he attempted to conceal his presence and tail Madara to the roof of the hospital, his control slipped—this intermittent flow of chakra must've caused that to happen. Though…Sasuke examined at the rest of his body, the pathways looked like it was flowing better than when he first activated his sharingan.

The finding perturbed him, but he didn't know which part of it was making him feel that way. Something caused this strange…

Sasuke's hand flew to his hip and he spun around, in a crouched position. His hand grabbed at nothing and he grumbled, remembering his sword wasn't on him. He relaxed his guard a bit at the intruder.

"Izu…" Madara uttered and went rigid. He grasped at the doorframe and ducked his head, hair falling over his face.

"Finished your work?" Sasuke asked, getting to his feet. Man, was it Madara's hobby to take him by surprise every time?

There was a pause.

Madara raised his head, noticing the boy's eyes weren't red anymore. "Yeah…Want to go out for tea? I usually meet up with Hashirama around this time."

Sasuke nodded. "Okay."

They slipped their sandals on by the entrance way and stalked down the streets. Eyes bore into them as they passed by people, murmuring noises amongst the crowd. If he stared back at them, they would hush and turn their backs.

This again, Sasuke thought. Didn't the Uchihas have better things to do than stare at him and Madara? They exited the Uchiha compound and wandered into the central shopping districts of Konoha.

"Does it bother you?"

"No," Sasuke answered.

"I see…"

Naruto threw open his window and leapt out. He wasn't doubting Sasuke, he just wanted to make sure they were on the same page, same…

He jumped from roof to street lights to roof, speeding through the village trying to find Sasuke. When he thought back to the Second Hokage's words, he would seethe.

It happened an hour or two after their lunch. Hashirama had returned to the Hokage Tower to read through and sign papers that required his special attention. Tobirama, having rejected his brother's invitation to join the three of them for lunch—opting to remain behind to file late reports—heaved a stack of documents onto Hashirama's desk.

Mito dragged Naruto out of the way, letting the two brothers work. She ushered him into a storage room within the tower. She rummaged through the shelf and held something in the air. Naruto turned his palms face up and Mito pushed an object in his hands. His eyes widened.

"This belongs to you, yes?"

The corner of his lips tingled and a smile spread on him. Naruto nodded. "Yeah, it's mine. Thanks." He clutched the two forehead protectors in his hands.

"Is it a memento of your parents?" she asked. "It seems like it is very important to you."

"It is…It's important to me," Naruto said. His eyes drifted over to a hilt and he pointed at it. "That's Sasuke's."

Mito reached for the sword and withdrew it from the shelf. She handed Naruto the short sword.

"It's Sasuke's memento of his parents," he explained, hoping to steer away suspicion. He hated lying, though, there wasn't any helping it in this situation. It was still probable that they were spies. This is the past, he repeated to himself. He personally knew no one from the era except for Sasuke who landed here with him and that didn't count. One misstep could cause total destruction or maybe he was exaggerating.

"Well then, be sure to give that to him when you see him," Mito said.

"Yeah, I will."

The red-headed woman locked the storage room and on their way out, they heard a yell coming from the Hokage's office. They exchanged a look and hurried to the office. Mito pushed the door open revealing an exasperated Tobirama who had his hand covering his eyes and a pouting Hashirama.

"Mito! Glad you're here." Hashirama beamed.

"You know what, no."

"What is going on here?" Mito questioned, her brows knitting.

"You see, I was telling Tobirama here to let Madara know I won't be able to make it today," Hashirama said. "And he's saying no."

Tobirama motioned a hand. "I've seen him too many times this past week for my liking. There's no need for me to go see him if I don't have to."

"Oh but you have to," Hashirama pressed. "I want to go…" He plopped his head down onto his desk, sheets of paper scattering to the ground.

"You can't," Tobirama said, crossing his arms and gestured to the fresh stack of papers on his brother's desk. "The reports are urgent and need to be finalized before 4:30p.m. And knowing you, if you go out for your tea time with Madara, you guys will end up chatting through the evening."

"I can go tell him for you," Mito said.

Hashirama sprung upright. "You will?"

"Yes, I will. What time will he be there?"

"In…" Hashirama looked lost.

"It's two right now, Brother," Tobirama informed.

"He'll be there in an hour."

"Work hard," Mito said and Hashirama chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Are you sure you don't want to go with Mito?" Hashirama said.

His brother sighed. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Sasuke will likely be there too. Don't you want to get to know him better?" It was Mito now.

Tobirama's eyes narrowed. What was she trying to hint at? Either it was meant to egg him on to be more involved with the Uchiha child or.…she wanted him to get close to the boy.

"Just because I'm okay with Kagami, doesn't mean I'm okay with all Uchiha children," he started. "Although, I admit it's a shame that the kid is going to be living with Madara."

"What do you mean?" Naruto said and Tobirama glanced at him, acknowledging he was present.

"He's going to grow up to be the same as Madara," he said.

"Sasuke isn't like Madara," Naruto bit out.

"They're two different people, Tobirama," Hashirama chipped in. "The way you say it, it's like Madara's a bad person. Madara's a good person at heart…"

Bullshit.

Naruto nearly spat the word aloud.

Tobirama looked away, unsure of what to say. If he opened his mouth, he'd say the same things to his brother and his brother would too—they'd be having the same argument and it was getting ridiculous even for Tobirama.

"I know what're you going to say, Brother. All I mentioned was that Madara's going to be an influence to the Uchiha kid, that's it," Tobirama said, firmly.

So the Second Hokage and Madara were on bad terms, Naruto noted absently.

He didn't like this. Sasuke was different from Madara, they were completely different people…One would indiscriminately kill his comrades once they outlived their usefulness and the other wouldn't. That was a clear distinction right there and Tobirama was suggesting Sasuke was similar to Madara?

A hand pat his shoulder and Naruto's inner rambling ceased. He looked to the side to see Mito facing the two bickering brothers.

"Stop hurting yourself," she said.

Naruto registered her words and winced, bringing his hand to his face. There were deep nail marks on his palm and he wasn't aware of when he dug into his own skin. He wiped his mouth with a hand, a red trail streaking it. His bottom lip stung.

"Have you heard of the saying? Shinobi are those who endure to achieve their goals…"

Naruto grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut. "I know it…very well," he whispered, barely audible.

Mito went on, "But I think it can also apply to everyone, not just ninjas." She pulled Naruto closer so his shoulder bumped into her hip. "I know Sasuke is your friend, but please try not to hurt yourself."