A/N: Another short chapter, but I'm still setting the scene. Anyway, thanks go out to: iNsAnE nO bAkA, InARealPickle, DarkRavie, The Laughing Phoenix, Auphora66, Tara La'Quinn, x-smith, Rangerfan58 and QuietInsomniac.
Naruto's world is owned by some rich Japanese guy. I am, unfortunately, poor – not to mention American and female. Therefore, I obviously don't own Naruto.
Note: This ---- shows a scene change. This - shows a POV change within the scene. This : sdf : is a flashback.
August, 4 years ago
Obsidian eyes opened slowly. A nose scrunched up momentarily as the eyes squeezed closed, fighting to stay asleep for just a little longer. No such luck. Footsteps rang outside the door, a woman's voice calling out. "Sasuke-chan, wake up. You don't want to be late for your first day, do you?"
The eyes opened again. The covers pushed back revealing a child of seven years. The boy shook unruly black hair out of his face and looked at the closed door, quickly blinking back the tears his traitorous eyes wanted to shed. 'Yes' he thought desperately. 'Yes I want to be late. I don't want to go at all…It isn't safe.'
----
The man stared out the window, and reflected brown eyes stared back. Black strands of hair, escaping from his short ponytail, brushed against the glass as he leaned his forehead against it. He sighed, one hand reaching up to rub at the scar across the bridge of his nose.
Umino Iruka watched the would-be ninjas play, but the sight did not bring a smile to his face as it usually did. The new class, the ones who just had their first day, they were alright. But the others… Something about the way they gathered…
Children always formed groups; cliques and clubs. There were always children who sat alone, always kids who didn't belong, but this time… Something about the way the insiders – and it seemed there were a lot more of them this year – watched the others disturbed him.
He had tried earlier to relax, close his eyes and clear his mind. Once that was done, the teacher had asked himself what was wrong. The first thing that had crossed his mind was strange, disturbing, ridiculous. And it wouldn't go away. He just could not shake the thought… there was something wrong with the children.
----
Uzumaki Naruto glanced around in confusion. He couldn't understand. Why were so many of the older kids ignoring… well, not him – everybody ignored him – but all his group? The seven year old crossed his arms and pursed his lips. Spotting one of his classmates hiding at the edge of the playground, he marched over and planted himself in from of a taller boy. The other's black eyes widened in surprise as Naruto stuck out his hand. "Hi, I'm Naruto. Who're you?"
The other boy blinked in shock, almost stumbling over his words. "I'm, uh, I'm… I'm Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke."
"Hi, Sasuke-kun. What's going on? How come nobody's talking to us? Our group's okay, but everybody else… It's like… like if they don't already know you, they won't talk to you. And how come you're not trying to talk to anybody?"
The other boy's face paled. His eyes quickly darted around, making sure that no one was paying attention to them. "Don't!" he hissed, fear lacing through his voice. "Just… just don't. I… If… If you don't…ah…Don't ask, okay? Leave it alone - leave them alone."
Naruto stared, the other boy's obvious fear sending chills down his spine. "Um, okay."
-
Lazy brown eyes peeked from beneath half-closed lids; roamed aimlessly over the playground. Or at least, it seemed aimless. But then, Nara Shikamaru had worked hard to look lazy, had made a point of watching the so-called 'laziest ninja in Konoha' – one silver haired Jounin – for months in order to get that half asleep expression just right. In reality, the boy's sharp mind was quickly and efficiently noting every small detail he could.
His father had forced him into the Academy a year early, stating that 'a sharp mind shouldn't be left idle' but it hadn't taken him long to realize that there was something… off about some of his classmates. They seemed… sharper, somehow, than felt right. He couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was, but something in the Academy disturbed him on an almost instinctual level – and that had sparked a level of paranoia typically only seen in senior Jounin. Or ANBU. There was nothing that Shikamaru could say, but he kept his mouth shut and his eyes open – and perfected the art of deceptive relaxation.
Another visual sweep of the playground, and his gaze lingered for an instant on the two freshmen off to the side. He noticed the tension in the Uchiha boy's posture, the wide eyes. 'Scared. He knows. Or at least, he suspects. Hn, wonder how?' He glanced over to the blond haired one beside him. 'Tense, a little. Head tilted a touch to the side, eyes narrowed. Confused. He knows the other's scared, but he doesn't know why. I'll have to keep an eye on those two. At the least, I'll talk to her about it.'
Shikamaru heard his name called and made a show of reluctance before finally rolling off of the picnic table he had been laying on and giving his teacher an obligatory wave. He shoved his hands in his pockets, hanging his head as he slouched off to rejoin his class – but he firmly fixed the two boy's faces in his mind. He was definitely going to have to have a word with the taller of the pair, at least.
----
Naruto bounced up to the blackboard and threw the class an arrogant grin as he picked up the chalk. The rule he'd been asked to state was easy. Writing it down, he gave the teacher a bright smile. He knew he had answered right.
Class had been in for nearly three months now, and Naruto took every chance he got to shine. The boy basked in the praise of their teachers, even if his black eyes and S-shaped scar on the right side of his third period teacher's face did make him look scary. So what if his smile was more of a smirk, or if his black hair hid his eyes half the time? He was teaching them to be shinobi, and this ninja stuff was fun!
He constantly fussed at Sasuke; he knew that the taller boy wasn't doing his best. For some reason, Sasuke-kun seemed to be afraid of attracting attention. He was nearly terrified of the teacher and the older students, which was silly. Shinobi didn't fear their enemies, much less each other!
-
Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat as Naruto smiled. His friend was bright, bold and athletic. He was just like him, and he didn't seem to understand just how bad that was. The teacher's aide, a warm young man with a shy smile, gave Naruto a thumb's up sign when he read his answer. The teacher gave the boy a nod and a 'smile', but his eyes followed him, lingering with a strange gleam when he sat back down. Ohh, Sasuke did not like this. Not at all.
: 'Don't trust them, little brother' Itachi had warned, his usually calm features tense. 'Something isn't right, and I'm going to find out what. But until then… don't trust anyone, alright? Especially not at school – whatever is going on seems to center around the young. Just lay low and keep to yourself, don't draw their eyes. Stay safe, until I can figure out what's happening.' :
Sasuke shivered, pain and fear clashing inside of him. That night, Itachi had been so serious, so… so scared. It had been the only time he had ever seen his beloved brother anything less than calm and confident. It had also been the last time he had seen him at all.