Perfect Vision
Disclaimer: My personal nindo is to borrow, not to steal.
-ooo-
chapter 02: childhood, revived
Morning dawned bright and early upon Konoha Ninja Academy, shedding sunlight on the students lined up for class.
"Hey, hey, Shikamaru! Who's that kid?"
Shikamaru grunted as he tried to wave away the blond buzzing around him like a bumblebee. "Naruto, it's too early to answer questions."
Beside him, Chouji swallowed a potato chip before turning to Naruto. "Which kid?"
"Over there! By the tree!" Naruto gestured wildly. "Is he new?"
The other two looked his way, and Chouji's eyes widened in recognition.
"He's—"
"—in our class, dimwit," Kiba growled as he joined the trio. "Didja forgot? He was absent for two weeks."
"Don't call me dimwit, dog-breath," Naruto shot back, before he caught a glimpse of bright pink hair. "Hey! Good morning, Sakura-chan~!"
The girl blinked as she heard her name, and turned towards Naruto uncertainly. But the next moment a blond girl had already grabbed her arm and was pulling her away with giggling whispers.
Naruto beamed. Sakura had actually looked at him today! That was something to be proud of, and it pleased the blond so much he promptly forgot about anything else.
Until the bell rang, and he realized he was going to be late.
-ooo-
High in a corner of the classroom, away from the muffled whispers of his classmates, Sasuke brooded.
He'd spent most of last night digging through the clan scrolls, searching for answers to his condition. Information was infuriatingly sparse, and nothing even remotely mentioned time-travel. Of course, he hadn't expected to find much, but it was still discouraging. So he'd redirected efforts into the next best thing: researching the Uchiha history to find out more about Madara.
The oldest Uchiha had claimed to be caught in a coincidence with the events of the Nine-tails attack. Itachi had claimed otherwise, and obviously disliked the man. Sasuke knew both well enough to suspect that neither had ever lied to him directly. But purposely leaving out information and twisting the meaning of words...those were standard shinobi tactics, and Uchihas were masters of the basics.
He wasn't stupid—he knew that Madara had purposely egged him on to destroy Konoha. It was unfortunate that Sasuke's anger coincided with the man's revenge, or he would have taken more time to digest his words. A quick scan of the scrolls confirmed Madara as a shining example of power-hungry Uchiha arrogance and manipulation. "My-younger-brother-did-SO-donate-his-eyeballs-to-me" was a classic touch.
In a nutshell, Sasuke concluded that he'd replaced blindly chasing his well-meaning, half-insane, manipulative older brother to blindly following an ill-meaning, completely insane, manipulative old man.
Funny how dying gave you insight into these things.
The following morning he'd dragged himself to school while trying to figure out how to relive the next nine years of his life. Making a future hit-list was easy, but adjusting to the present was proving difficult.
A Uchiha with a mastered Sharingan could keep it on all the time with minimal chakra loss, something Sasuke used to do all the time. But the Sharingan was capable of memorizing the smallest details, and the last thing he'd seen with it was Konoha in its death throes. Now it was reminding him just how perfect those memories were.
The Hokage Tower, a smoldering chunk engulfed in choking black smoke. Streets torn beyond recognition, reduced to rubble with the buildings that used to line them, twisted sculptures of metal, wood, and stone. Skies dyed a permanent, brilliant crimson, flecked with specks of fire and soot. And littered everywhere like the fallen leaves of a storm-tossed tree, lifeless bodies waiting to burn. Fire Country had never fit its name so well.
Scenes of death and carnage had ceased to affect him long ago. It was the sheer normalcy of the current Konoha that was keeping him on edge. There was too much lack of tension. He needed to—to do something—or go somewhere, or at least wreck something so it could match what it was supposed to look like—
Sasuke's thoughts came to a screeching halt as he quickly snuffed that idea. He'd tried that once. It hadn't done him any favors.
BANG!
There was a hush as the classroom door slammed open, revealing a panting Naruto. Blue eyes looked wildly about the room before finally settling on Sasuke with a glint of triumph.
"Ha! Found ya!" the blond yelled, before bounding up the steps to where Sasuke was sitting. Taking a deep breath, Naruto placed his hands on his hips and flashed a grin. "Wha'dya think? I made it on time!"
Sasuke looked at him blankly before another loud cry broke the silence.
"Naruto! What do you think you're doing?" A spunky eight-year-old Yamanaka Ino stomped up the steps and grabbed the boy by the ear, causing him to yelp in surprise. "Leave Sasuke-kun alone!"
"Ow! His name's-ow!—Sasuke?" Naruto asked between yelps of pain.
"Yea, dummy!" Ino sighed, before giving Sasuke an apologetic look. "Sorry, Sasuke-kun." Then she calmly took a struggling Naruto by the arm and plopped him next to Shikamaru and Chouji, warning him to stay put for his own good.
The Yamanaka heiress had a reputation for tough love—at least before she'd decided to crush on Sasuke. A part of him was thankful she hadn't morphed into a gushing fangirl. Yet.
As for Naruto, he looked ready to rebel until Shikamaru clamped a hand on his shoulder and whispered something into his ear. The blond gave his friend an incredulous look before turning to Sasuke.
"Hey Sasuke, is it true that your—"
Whatever he was going to say was drowned out by the combined efforts of Chouji, Shikamaru, and Ino burying him alive. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the dogpile. It looked like the Ino-Shika-Cho trio already knew the basics of good teamwork.
"You'll have to excuse Naruto," Shikamaru deadpanned. "People don't tell him things much."
Trust the lazy genius to be perceptive, even at eight. Still, Sasuke acknowledged his consideration, and inclined his head in reply.
A few moments later, they heard familiar footsteps. The trio dispersed, and Ino skipped to her seat, while a dishelved looking Naruto shot her a dirty look before settling down as the classroom door opened.
-ooo-
Umino Iruka was a firm believer in second chances. And third ones. And more. He'd forgiven Naruto for his pranks 18 times already, and that was just counting from the start of this school year(1). The chunnin was strict with his charges, but only because he gave them reasonable opportunities to behave.
Such as intentionally stomping when he walked through the hallways to make sure the brats knew he was coming.
He noisily turned the knob to let himself in, smiling briefly as he scanned the class. All seemed well. Hmm, Naruto's hair looked messier than usual. Did he oversleep this morning? He'd have to make sure the blond didn't drift off in class. He cleared his throat to catch the attention of a few daydreamers.
"Good morning, class."
"Good morning, Iruka-sensei!" the eight-year-olds chorused automatically. Kind of cute, actually.
"I'll be taking attendance now," Iruka announced, opening a binder on the teacher's desk. He called out each name alphabetically, making a mark only when the student was absent. Pretty soon he'd reached the bottom of the sheet, and his pen paused before a name trailing a row of red x's.
"Uchiha, Sasuke." Iruka sounded the familiar syllables in his mouth. For the first time in two weeks, someone answered.
"Present." The voice was low, but steady.
Iruka's eyes looked up and found the black-haired boy sitting in the uppermost corner of the classroom. The boy noticed and gave him a level gaze.
Iruka met it briefly before returning to his attendance book. 'So he's finally out of the hospital.'
"Glad to have you back, Sasuke."
The Hokage had informed him yesterday, but Iruka didn't expect the boy to actually show up. He could forgive Sasuke for skipping instead. Iruka sighed mentally. A kid went through crap like that...and the best thing the Sandaime could do was to send him back to school? No wonder so many shinobi had issues.
And to make matters worse, a random ANBU had dropped by this morning requesting his personal file on the Uchiha boy, on the grounds of village security. When Iruka asked for clearance, the ANBU had shown him signed orders from Morino Ibiki.
Morino Mindscrew Ibiki. The guy most genins didn't know existed until they took the Chunnin Exams. The same one that left his jounin victims with nightmares for weeks on end. Kami, what were they thinking? That an eight-year-old would start a second massacre?
He made a note to find time and talk to Sasuke personally. Kid deserved to have someone relatively normal pay attention to him.
Closing the attendance binder with a loud thwack (those daydreamers were at it again), Iruka made a pretense of shuffling through some papers as he organized his thoughts. They were supposed to learn about the various Konoha clans today, but in light of recent events, he felt it wiser to save that topic for later. Some nice, solid, factual theory should be harmless enough.
"All right, class. Today we're going to review our lessons on ninjutsu."
Naruto immediately stood up. "Are you going to teach us any cool ones, Iruka-sensei?"
"I won't be teaching anything until you sit back down, Naruto."
The blond plopped into his seat as fast as he'd gotten up. Iruka nodded in approval before beginning his lecture.
-ooo-
From his seat in the corner, Sasuke found it easy to let his attention wander. It was more interesting to observe his former (or was it future? keeping tenses straight was tricky) Konoha ninja. Lacking experience and training, his classmates were still children, and easy to read.
Sitting alone in the same row was Aburame Shino, with hands in his pockets. A closer look revealed minute black lines on his desk—trails of kikai bugs, probably. The bug-user seemed to be doing a chakra control exercise, assembling the insects to form various kanji on his desk. Sasuke caught a fleeting instance of a few words: 'Fire', 'Water', 'Earth'—ah, he was taking notes on Iruka's lecture on elemental ninjutsu—'Wind', 'Wood', 'Sunglasses', 'Sushi'. Or he could have been just bored.
A few rows below sat Inuzuka Kiba, lying with his head on his arms. He was strategically blocked by a group of students immediately in front of him. While the boy appeared to be dozing off, sharp eyes noticed his right hand fidgeting beneath the desk. Sharp ears picked up the soft crunching noises made by a certain nindog as he accepted covert treats from his partner.
There was also the fact that a furiously wagging tail was peeking out from beneath the Inuzuka boy's jacket.
Five seats to Kiba's left sat the Hyuuga(2) heiress Hinata, trying her best to pay attenion. But with Kiba teasing Akamaru on one side and the crush of her life on the other (even Sasuke had found enough future proof that she liked Naruto), she was having an interesting time. The girl's face kept alternating between various shades of pink, making her white eyes appear even paler in comparison.
The blond in question was sitting at the end of the row, next to Chouji and Shikamaru. The Nara boy was staring blankly into space, but that was his normal state in class (when not sleeping). Chouji was trying to ignore the antics of a restless Naruto, who was attempting to make a slingshot from the sticks and rubber band he'd dug out from his pockets.
Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura, still young and still friends, sat together in seats near the front. Sakura was actually taking active notes, and looked alert and attentive. That didn't stop her from the occasional giggle when Ino took chances to whisper into her ear. The blond girl had her notebook open as well, but her notes were decorated with random doodles of hearts and flowers and shuriken.
Their actions were unguarded. Their defenses were nonexistent. He could form a rough profile of their personalities and weaknesses just from his observations. Any ninja worth his forehead protector would tear them apart in under a minute.
How much longer until they changed into the killers they were meant to be?
How long ago had he been the same way?
-ooo-
"Kiba!" Iruka barked, interrupting Sasuke's thoughts. The Inuzuka boy gave a jolt as he sat up. Guilty crumbs still clung to his fingers.
If the chunnin noticed, he didn't comment. "Which handseal was I talking about?"
"Er, uh...Rooster?" Kiba guessed.
"Wrong!" Iruka narrowed his eyes. "Anyone else who was paying attention?"
Several hands went up, including Sakura, Shino, and a hesitant Hinata. Iruka gave the black-haired girl a nod.
"Go ahead and tell your classmate, Hinata."
"Y-yes, Iruka-sensei..." the girl stuttered. "Um...we were on the...Dog seal."
Kiba shrank in his seat as a telltale whine issued from the depths of his jacket.
"Good job." Iruka nodded. Then he turned to Kiba with a smile that was all teeth. "Next time I catch your partner distracting you, he waits outside. Understood?"
Kiba mumbled something under his breath.
"And I'll call your mother over to keep him company."
"U-understood!" Kiba blurted out, eyes wide.
"Good." Iruka checked the time; morning classes were nearly done. "All right class, that's enough lecturing. You'll be going outside for taijutsu lessons until lunch."
'Just in time, too,' Sasuke mused as he spotted Naruto with a finished slingshot. Any longer and Iruka would have risked the blond pulling off another prank in class.
He trailed the crowd of students as they trooped dutifully through the classroom door. Iruka was still organizing papers on his desk, since the class had a different taijutsu instructor. He looked up as the boy passed by.
"Oh, Sasuke, could you wait a minute?" It was a casual question. "There's some makeup work I'd like to give you for class."
Sasuke cast a sidelong glance at the rest of the students. "And the taijutsu lesson?"
"Don't worry about it. The hospital told the school to excuse you for a few days. Mizuki-sensei already knows."
Mizuki-sensei. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't match a face to it. Probably someone unimportant.
Iruka pulled out two chairs. "Have a seat, Sasuke."
The Uchiha expelled a breath as he resigned himself to Iruka's pyschiatric examination.
Because despite the chunnin's good intentions, that was the gist of this setup. Iruka wanted to make sure he was still sane and functional. Not broken or suicidal or traumatized. He didn't blame him for checking. Konoha was the one that wanted its tools sharp.
'But,' Sasuke reminded himself, 'Broken tools can still draw blood.'
-ooo-
They went through all the make-up assignments before Iruka changed the topic. Start somewhere bland, he reminded himself. He wanted to gain the boy's trust, but without upsetting him.
"So, how'd you like the hospital food?"
Sasuke raised his eyebrows a millimeter.
"That bad, huh? Guess some things haven't changed." Iruka smiled sheepishly. "I stayed in one when I was around your age. Hated it."
Now the Uchiha blinked.
"There was a nurse who brought me all my meals," Iruka continued in the silence. "A medic-nin, to be specific. She had brown hair. And she would never let me leave any leftovers."
"Back then, I didn't feel like eating much of anything. We argued. She yelled at me. I threw rice at her face. She threatened to tie me up and hang me outside the window. I dared her to." Iruka grimaced. "I shouldn't have."
"Anyways, to make a long story short, we came to an agreement. I would eat if she stopped making death threats." A pause for a smile. "One day, she brought me a bowl of fresh-cooked noodles."
"It was a gift, she said. Her husband was a cook and wanted to open his own restaurant. She figured that she'd try his recipe on the pickiest eater she knew."
A sneaking suspicion began forming in Sasuke's mind.
"Well, I devoured the whole bowl and asked for seconds. She told me I'd have to get out of the hospital first—and finish all my food." Iruka paused again, but there was no smile this time. "The next day, she left the village for a mission and never came back."
"I left the hospital and became Ichiraku Ramen's(3) first customer."
-ooo-
The rest of Iruka's class were at the practice grounds, listening to Mizuki-sensei rattle on about the basics of attack and defense. To Naruto, it was pointless. Real ninja didn't stand around talking their enemies to death. They beat them up! He shifted on his feet before turning to Chouji.
"Hey, what's taking Sasuke so long?"
Chouji shrugged. "Maybe Iruka-sensei had to give him lots of work."
"Man, that sucks! I want to fight him!"
"You do?" The Akimichi's eyes were wide. "How come?" He'd prefer not fighting if he could help it. It took away snacking time.
"Just 'cause I haven't before. I bet I'd be awesome." Naruto grinned.
"Mm." Chouji's was noncommital.
Something suddenly occurred to Naruto. "Oh yeah, why'dya guys squish me this morning?" he scowled. "That hurt, y'know!"
"Well, what were you going to ask Sasuke?"
The blond put his hands behind his head. "The stuff that Shika told me. About his family and junk."
Chouji looked aghast. "That's...you shouldn't ask him that."
"Why not?" Naruto was honestly clueless.
"Because...because they're...you know. Gone."
To the boy who grew up without a family, this wasn't anything new. "Yeah, I know that. I wanna know how come nobody beat up the bad guy? Sasuke's family were ninjas, right?"
"Most of the...the Uchihas were, yeah," Chouji nodded, swallowing. He wasn't sure he liked where this conversation was going. You didn't just go around talking about your classmate's family's murder like that, even in a ninja village. Not when it happened less than a month ago.
"Uchiha, huh..." Naruto tested the word on his tongue. "They're...those guys with the fan thingies on their shirts, right? Kinda like some cool uniform or something?"
Chouji nodded, feeling uneasier than ever.
"Didn't a bunch of them used to hang around the village all the time?" And they all lived in one part of town, behind those long white walls and that huuuge gate...
"The Uchihas made up Konoha's Police Corps," Shikamaru drawled as he joined the pair. "They watched over the village to make sure no one got hurt."
"That's dumb." Naruto snorted. "How could they protect us when they all got killed by ONE bad guy?"
"Shi...Shikamaru!" Chouji looked desperately at his friend. How could they make Naruto understand? They were ninjas, sure, but they were classmates first! And classmates had something called tact!
"Hn. Naruto has a point," Shikamaru conceded, while Chouji could only gape.
"So you think the Uchihas were sucky ninja too?" Naruto said cheerfully.
"Well..." Shikamaru seemed to be seriously considering the question.
"Akimichi! You're up!" Mizuki-sensei's voice pierced through the air.
"C—coming!"
Chouji had never been so eager to spar in his life.
-ooo-
Back in the classroom, Sasuke connected the dots. So Naruto's favorite ramen cook had married a Konoha kunoichi. Fine. But what was the point of the story?
Iruka made a wry expression. "I'm not sure why I told you all that. Though I think..." he quirked a smile. "You know...in life, when people get hurt, they go to hospitals. But it's not the hospitals that make you better."
"It's the bonds you form with the people you know."
Oh. It was a 'Power of Friendship' speech. Sasuke tuned out as Iruka waxed poetic about shinobi ties and the Will of Fire and other related sap.
He...didn't trust himself with friends.
No, not after what he did. Teammates were fine, allies equally acceptable. But to step beyond those borders...people like him were better off keeping connections professional. You never knew what little things could make them snap. Make him snap.
"It's about lunchtime," Iruka said, glancing out the window. "So how about this, Sasuke? Feel free to find me anytime you want to talk, all right? It doesn't matter what about—any little thing that's bothering you, or questions that need answers—I'll be happy to help out, or listen."
Sasuke nodded. Whatever satisfied the man to leave him alone was good enough.
Iruka brightened, and walked Sasuke to the door. "Great. Then I'll see you later in class."
"Hn."
-ooo-
Lunchtime rolled around quickly. Usually, Naruto would be chowing down with his friends, but Shikamaru had given him plenty of food for thought. Rubbing his chin, the blond tried to recall what he had learned.
The Uchihas had been a strong clan—as in really, really strong—and pretty powerful in the village. In fact, it had taken someone crazy-scary-powerful to kill them off—at least according to what Shikamaru heard from his dad. And none of the village ninja had caught him!
But how did Sasuke live?
The genius had shrugged and muttered something Naruto hadn't understood and quickly forgot.
Well, as far as he could figure out, Sasuke had escaped being killed by a super-crazy-kick-a** ninja. Which could only mean...
The guy was secretly a super-awesome ninja himself! And he helped Naruto with his target practice, which would help him be Hokage, so they could become a team of ultimate ninja coolness! (Maybe they'd be so cool, Sakura-chan would want to join them!) Then they could protect Konoha, open Ichikraku Ramen shops in all the other villages, and kick that bad guy's butt to make him pay! Yeah!
Grrrrrooooooowl~
Naruto tightened his hold on his bento and patted his belly. It would have to hold on a while longer, 'cause he had to find someone first!
-ooo-
Sasuke furrowed his brow as he chewed his fish, before using his chopsticks to pick up a mouthful of rice. It was too salty. He wished he'd saved the salad in his bento for this.
He was eating his lunch alone under a tree in the most secluded part of the Academy. It was a home-made bento, filled with typical fare like rice, fish, and vegetables. But it was a far cry from palatable cooking.
Honestly, his temporary nanny had no tastebuds. He'd have to make her read a cookbook. Or skip the salt. Or something.
Nine years ago, it had been traumatizing, going home as an eight-year-old. He'd found the lights on and sounds coming from the kitchen. A younger Sasuke had dropped everything and ran to the source, heart pounding, breathing fast, hardly daring to hope...
...only to find a stranger in HIS mother's apron cooking him dinner. It was a woman, one of the many civilian caretakers the Hokage had forced on him during his first months out of the hospital. Predictably, he'd been crushed. When she smiled at him, shock morphed into fury. He'd drawn his kunai and chased the intruder out of HIS house and HER kitchen. After getting the apron back, of course.
When he left Naruto last night, Sasuke had walked home and found the same lights on, with the same sounds from the kitchen. He'd calmly entered the room and paused when he saw someone completely different. Whoever the Hokage had found for him this time, it wasn't anyone he remembered from his memories.
How...unexpected.
But at least she was wearing her own apron. A good start.
"Oh, you're just in time for dinner," the woman said. "I was getting worried because it was getting dark."
Sasuke took his seat at the table without comment.
"The Hokage sent me to look after you. I'll be cooking your meals and helping you with anything you need, so feel free to ask, all right?" Her smile was pleasant and bland. "You can call me Nemoto-san."
Sasuke took an experimental whiff. The Nemoto woman was making okonomiyaki(4). Wasn't that more popular with street vendors? And her use of condiments...
"Don't add too much vinegar," he warned.
"Vinegar? This recipe only uses soy sauce!" Nemoto-san replied, holding up a bottle.
"That's the vinegar."
"My, my!" she looked sheepish. "I guess it's too late now, huh?"
They had a civil dinner of (slightly sour) okonomiyaki, with Nemoto-san trying to make conversation and Sasuke providing one-syllable answers. And then they parted ways—her to the Uchiha guest quarters, him to his bedroom—at least until Nemoto-san fell asleep. He'd snuck off afterwards to pore over clan scrolls.
The next morning he'd entered an empty kitchen to find breakfast on the table and a note pinned to his chair. Nemoto-san had gone out to buy groceries. His bento was on the counter. Sasuke drank a bowl of (spicy) miso soup and ate two (lumpy) onigiri before heading off for school.
This Nemoto woman had questionable cooking skills.
"Oi, Sasuke! Man, was it hard trying to find you!"
Sasuke stirred from his thoughts at a very familiar voice. He frowned.
"What do you want, Uzumaki?" He'd picked a hidden spot on purpose to avoid company. Not that Naruto would have picked up on that...
Naruto's grin was blinding. "It's Naruto, y'know! Call me Naruto!"
Sasuke tried a glare, but it was a half-hearted attempt and failed. Naruto had nastier looks from fox-hating old ladies in the street. The blond sat himself next to Sasuke and began unpacking his lunchbox.
"I'm starving! What'dya bring for lunch?" He peeked at Sasuke's food. "Ooohh, looks cool. Why aren'tcha eating the fish, though? There's still lots left!"
Sasuke stabbed his fish, imagining it as Danzou's face. "It's too salty."
"Well, that's all right," Naruto said. "At least it's salty! Mine never tastes like anything."
Stab. Now it was Orochimaru.
"Don't you have friends to eat with?"
"They're all busy. Chouji had to go home 'cause he knocked down a tree in taijutsu class," said Naruto, stuffing his face.
Stab. And Kabuto. Stab. And those ignorant Council heads.
"Shikamaru went to look at clouds again, but that's booooring."
Stab. Stab. Rrrriiiiiip! Slash and tear to ribbons. Madara merited a more creative death.
"Kiba's too busy bein' all mushy with his dog, and Ino-chan never lets me eat with Sakura-chan."
"You could sit with Aburame or Hyuuga," Sasuke said as he pounded the fish into mincemeat.
"You mean Shino and...and that girl with the white eyes?" Naruto shrugged. "Shino always shoos me away. Says I scare the bugs or something. And I've never talked to the other girl before. Besides," he swallowed with a loud gulp, "I wanna eat with you."
"Why?" Sasuke gave him a glare.
"'Cause we're friends, 'course!" Naruto replied with a look that screamed 'duh!'. "...aren't we?" he added, when Sasuke's glare didn't waver.
Stupid, stupid, stubborn Naruto. You could decimate his village, threaten his precious people, and put a Chidori through his chest. In the end, he'd still try to drag you home (after beating you up something fierce) because you were his friend. But...
'I'm not your friend.' Sasuke thought. Not someone like him.
Naruto squirmed beneath Sasuke's scrutiny. "...do you always stare at people like that?" He edged back a couple of inches. "It's creepy, y'know!"
"Che." But Sasuke dropped his gaze. "You're making a mess of your bento."
Naruto glanced at his sprawling mix of rice and chicken (he gave Shino his vegetables to feed to the bugs) and shrugged. "I'm hungry. 'Sides, aren't ya doin' the same thing?" He pointed an accusatory chopstick at Sasuke's mutilated fish.
"I told you, it's too salty." Sasuke said, turning away to glare at the trees. 'Someone is there. And now there's two of them. Watching me. No,'—a quick glance a Naruto—'Watching us.'
"So you mash it to little pieces? How does THAT fix anything?"
'They're high level chakra signatures. Very faint, well-hidden...but not perfect. ANBU, most likely. Che.' Sasuke inserted a mouthful of fish with rice and started chewing. 'Guards for Konoha's security risks.'
"Well?" Naruto demanded in the silence. "Aren't ya gonna say something?"
"Eat if you're hungry," Sasuke shot back, still facing the trees. 'Come to think of it, someone's probably been shadowing me since I left the hospital. Hokage's orders? Or...'
Naruto scowled, but did as he was told. At least for two minutes.
"Hey—"
"If you've got nothing else to do," Sasuke said, cutting him off, "Then meet me after school."
"What for?" Naruto asked.
"You'll see." And for the rest of his lunch, Sasuke stayed mute.
-ooo-
Somewhere else in Konoha, Morino Ibiki took a sip of coffee as he read over Uchiha Sasuke's school reports. It was a fragmented file, starting with notes and observations in April and ending abruptly in the first week of September, before the massacre.
'A bright, independent child. Consistently top of his class, and a credit to his clan,' wrote one teacher.
'Quick-thinking, intelligent. Grasps theories easily. Has an excellent mastery of shinobi basics. Rather proud.' noted another.
'Sasuke is polite and well-mannered, but appears aloof and withdrawn from his peers. I hope that he will open up to his classmates in the future.' That was Iruka's handwriting, without a doubt. His personality leaked through the words. 'Shows strong knowledge of ninja skills and history. Can recite shinobi code by heart. Is fiercely competitive, with a desire to prove himself...'
Ibiki made a mental comparison with Uzumaki Naruto. Loud. Brash. Rude. Notorious for his pranking, even at eight. Bottom of his class for every exam.
He narrowed his eyes. An overachieving loner and the class delinquent. Their personalities clashed. One was arrogant and condescending, the other blunt and impudent. Even after the massacre, Sasuke had retained much of the trademark Uchiha pride. Ibiki couldn't imagine how the pair could get along. Unless...
He might be overly paranoid. They were both children, after all. It was common knowledge that Naruto was an orphan. Sasuke might have emphatized with that fact.
But in a ninja village, age meant nothing. Their latest missing-nin had been a 13-year-old ANBU captain. Then there were his instincts. Ibiki never doubted them, and they were blaring warning sirens in his head every time Uchiha Sasuke's name popped up.
Something about the boy just felt...off.
It was the little details. The way he talked, the words he used. And his reactions—or rather, lack of them. The brat was acting way too normal after losing his entire clan. Post-trauma shock, perhaps. Or denial. Maybe Itachi's Sharingan glossed over the gorier bits of the massacre for his precious little brother. Ibiki didn't know, and he couldn't begin to guess. Either way, the kid had some thick skin.
Still, as a professional, he valued hard evidence over everything else. Ibiki took a bite of his sandwich as he put the file away.
A week's worth of observations. If nothing special happened in seven days, he was going to leave things to the Sandaime. The Hokage had promised to take care of things, and Ibiki couldn't afford to waste ANBU resources on a brat. In the meantime, there were still those Police Corps files to review.
It looked like the Uchihas had a penchant for plaguing his life.
-ooo-
At the academy, the rest of the day passed uneventfully, though Naruto earned a lecture after trying out his slingshot on Iruka-sensei during class. After school, eager students streamed out the doors like a hive of bees, buzzing with chatter as they honed in on family and friends.
Sasuke decided to wait out the crowd, organizing his books in the emptied classroom. Like everyone else, Naruto was long gone. In fact, the blond had been one of the first ones out the door when the bell rang.
"Sasuke."
Iruka-sensei was calling. The teacher waved as he caught Sasuke's eye.
"A woman named Nemoto-san left a message saying she'd pick you up. Can you show me who she is?"
Identifying students' parents and guardians was standard academy protocol. No village wanted enemy nin sneaking into schools and kidnapping future shinobi, even if the chances were microscopic to none.
Sasuke lowered his chin to mean 'yes'.
"Great. We'll find her when you're ready."
For a man who screamed his head off at Naruto multiple times a week, Iruka was surprisingly patient as Sasuke collected his things. Then again, maybe it wasn't so shocking. From what Sasuke could remember, the instructor had a close bond with Naruto, and Kami knew one needed patience to deal with a hyperactive prankster.
-ooo-
"So..." Iruka said as their footsteps echoed through the hallways. "What does Nemoto-san look like?"
Sasuke shifted the bag of books on his shoulders. 'Height: approximately 1.7m. Hair: black, waist-length, straight. Eyes: brown, medium. No distinguishing features. Of normal build, with developed muscle in her upper arms. Favors right hand. Appears to be in her mid-thirties.'
"Hn." he finally spoke. "She has long hair."
Iruka showed a wry grin. "All right. What color is it?"
"Black. Like my mother."
"...I see." If the chuunin's steps faltered for half a second, he was quick to recover. "Any other details?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes ever-so-slightly. 'Moves with exceptional balance. Excellent hand-eye coordination. Shows extensive network of calluses on both palms. May have had prior experience with weapons or combat. Weak culinary skills.'
"No."
"All right," Iruka frowned slightly at the final tone in Sasuke's reply, but didn't have a chance to push the issue.
They had reached the academy doors, and Sasuke was already walking out.
Except for a few stragglers, all of the students were gone by now, and the schoolyard was eeriely quiet. Iruka looked left and right, eyes peeled for a long black-haired woman who wasn't Uchiha Mikoto.
"Any sign of her, Sasuke?" he asked after a few moments.
Sasuke shook his head—once, twice. A breeze rose up and ruffled his bangs, but otherwise the boy stood absolutely still.
Iruka resisted the urge to fidget, instead choosing to clear his throat. "Don't worry about it. It must be her first time picking you up. She must have took a wrong turn."
Sasuke said nothing, his gaze focused on the trees. And he still wasn't moving. ''ANBU's still keeping watch. Looks like Konoha's got eyes everywhere.'
More waiting in silence. Iruka was getting impatient. What kind of caretaker was this Nemoto-san, anyways? If she was hand-picked by the Hokage (as Iruka had no doubt she must be, considering Sasuke's situation), then why wasn't she more responsible? He looked at Sasuke standing by his side. The boy hadn't stirred once since they came outside—which was, what, five minutes ago? Instead, he kept on staring at the trees. His posture was perfect, even with a bag crammed with books on his shoulders—one could even say it possessed a certain amount of poise.
Immediately, Iruka recalled a conversation he'd had with Daikoku, another academy instructor, when he got his class assignments in April.
"Lucky dog, you got the Uchiha in your class," the man grinned when he saw Iruka's name list.
"That's the norm, isn't it?" Iruka replied. "They're one of Konoha's largest clans. The Academy gets Uchihas every other year."
"Yeah. But this one," Daikoku jabbed a finger at Sasuke's name. "Is special. I've taught his brother."
"You taught?" Iruka raised an eyebrow. "Never seen him in your class."
Daikoku's grin widened. "Of course not. He graduated years ago, before you took this job. One of the most gifted students I ever had."
"Then he's one of the older Uchihas?"
Daikoku snorted. "Kid was only 10 when he made chuunin. One of those d**n geniuses." he laughed darkly. "Heck, Itachi-kun's probably in ANBU by now, unless he screwed up and got himself killed."
"I didn't know ANBU recruited children outside wartime," Iruka muttered.
"Don't be naive, Umino," Daikoku drawled. "Even genin-rank ninjas are adults as far as the law's concerned."
Iruka knew that, but it didn't mean he liked it.
A few weeks later, he gotten a first-hand peek at the famed Uchiha Itachi sending Sasuke off to school. The older boy was quiet and polite—short and slim, he looked completely harmless. But Iruka hadn't missed the effortless way he moved—in fluid silence, gliding like a panther—or the carefully schooled, blank expression in his eyes.
In the present, Sasuke turned to Iruka, and the chuunin was unnerved to see identical blank, black eyes staring at him. Was it possible for two brothers to be so similar? Those eyes revealed nothing to anyone. Had Itachi worn the same expression when he murdered his clan? Had Sasuke known that it was his brother—
"...walk home myself," Sasuke was saying as he turned away, leaving Iruka to blink furiously and collect his thoughts. He felt fascinated and, at the same time, a little sick.
"What was that, Sasuke?" Iruka managed to ask.
"The Uchiha Compound isn't far," Sasuke continued. "It won't take me long on foot."
"I'll come with you," Iruka decided, checking his watch. Two minutes since he drifted off. Fifteen since school ended.
Sasuke opened his mouth, but thought better of it and shut it again. Iruka felt strangely reassured by the action.
"In any case, I need to speak with Nemoto-san," Iruka said, gathering his confidence. "So lead the way, Sasuke."
The boy gave him a flat expression that literally screamed he didn't need a babysitter, which coaxed a chuckle from his teacher.
-ooo-
"Geez, Sasuke! I didn't know you were such a slowpoke!"
Sasuke's lips thinned even as Iruka's eye twitched. Standing before the gates of the Uchiha Compound was Konoha's legendary prankster, a triumphant glint in his eyes. Next to him was a rather confused woman with long black hair. But that wasn't the most important part.
Somehow, in the time between Naruto's exit from class and Sasuke's arrival home, the blond had painted the Uchiha Complex gates bright orange. Granted, it was a rush job, and parts of the paint were dripping, but his speed was still remarkable.
"Sasuke-kun? You're back?" the woman—Nemoto-san, of course—turned, revealing that half of her hair was orange as well.
It was Iruka who spoke next.
"What did you do, Naruto?"
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto belatedly tossed the paint bucket he was holding into the bushes. "I—he...I mean—Sasuke told me to see him after school!"
"Did he tell you to paint his doors orange?" Iruka demanded. 'Sasuke wanted to see Naruto?' For what reason?
"No." Naruto admitted, but blurted out defiantly. "But he needed orange doors!"
"What makes you think that?"
"Orange makes everything better!" the blond insisted, as if that explained everything.
"Then you won't mind if I do this." Sasuke said, walking up to Naruto with a fresh can of paint. Nemoto-san gasped and held out a hand to stop him, but it was too late—-
SPLOOSH!
"C-cough...Sasuke...cough, cough...you..." Naruto sputtered as he wiped orange from his eyes. "YOU POURED PAINT ON ME!"
Sasuke set the paint can on the ground with the others. "Your fault for leaving it around."
"But it was MY paint!" Naruto insisted.
"Doesn't matter. Enemies wouldn't care," Sasuke said. "A real Hokage knows better."
Nemoto-san and Iruka traded questioning glances, before looking at Naruto, who had fallen oddly silent.
"Let's go inside and get you cleaned up," Sasuke said, kicking the gates open and walking in. "We still need to talk." he added, when Naruto didn't move.
Grumbling under his breath, Naruto followed Sasuke's footsteps. Nemoto-san and Iruka were left standing outside.
"I assume...this is why you didn't pick up Sasuke today?" Iruka finally spoke.
Nemoto-san gave an embarassed nod. "Ah...yes. Please forgive me for that." She patted her orange hair awkwardly. "Perhaps...would you like to come in as well? I think I'll need assistance to look after those two, while I, er..."
Iruka caught the invitation and accepted. "Yes, I'd be delighted. They're both my students, and I need to talk to Naruto, too." he frowned at the orange splatters everywhere. "He'll have to clean up this mess."
"Then...thank you. Please follow me." Nemoto-san bowed slightly.
As the doors closed behind him, Iruka found himself with plenty to puzzle over. Since when had Naruto and Sasuke been close? They'd barely looked at each other before the massacre! And Sasuke, who hadn't spoken more than a few words to him all day, could hold complete conversations with his classmate? And order him around, when Naruto hated following directions?
This was definitely something worth looking into.
But, Iruka decided, if Naruto could be friends with Sasuke, it could only be a good thing for the Uchiha orphan.
-ooo-
In the trees outside the Uchiha Compound, two masked ANBU traded looks with each other.
Bear mask signaled with his hands. 'What are the status of the Uchiha seals?'
'Partial activation,' Raccoon mask replied. 'Enough to alert insiders of intruders. I've checked, so don't try sneaking in.'
Bear was slightly annoyed. 'I've been ordered to keep my target in sight at all times.'
'Konoha law is still in effect. No outside ninja are allowed inside the Uchiha Compound without invitation.' Raccoon signed.
'Is there no way to override the seals?'
'You'd need a seal master or Sharingan user for that.' Raccoon paused. He'd tried asking Ibiki for Hatake Kakashi's help, but apparently the jounin had signed up for a month's worth of missions immediately after overseeing cleanup of the Uchiha complex. And Ibiki was clear that he didn't want to involve Hokage-sama in the matter just yet.
'Anyways, your target isn't going anywhere. He's got his academy teacher with him.'
'And yours?' Bear asked in disbelief.
'Special orders from my commander.' Raccoon explained. 'I'm not required to monitor his activities at home.' Though if the Uchiha was spending time with Uzumaki…this could probably merit an exception. After all, Uchiha Sasuke's interest in Uzumaki Naruto was the reason Ibiki continued the surveillance in the first place.
'Then I'll ask for assistance to override the seals,' Bear declared, pulling out headphone and wires.
Raccoon watched as he made inquires directly to the Hokage's office, and waited until he was done before signing again.
'Any results?'
Bear shook his head. 'Negative. Hokage-sama says to keep watch until target reemerges.'
Raccoon sighed. 'Looks like we'll be sitting ducks for a while.'
He could really use a nice assassination assignment right now. Why did Kakashi have to go and hog all the good outside-village missions? The guy wasn't even ANBU anymore!
-ooo-
Somewhere in the forests bordering Fire Country, a silver-head jounin quickly muffled a rising sneeze.
'Maybe I should have packed that extra blanket...' Kakashi thought as he wiped his nose.
-ooo-
(1)pranks...since the start of this school year - I'm going with the typical Japanese school year here, which starts in April and has a summer break from July to August before continuing with the same grade. Assuming Sasuke passed his 8th birthday (July 23) before Itachi killed the clan, this should be sometime in late September.
(2)Hyuuga - I like writing out long vowels (rather than putting a line over the "u") because then I don't have to use 'Insert Symbol' on Word, which is annoying. And I just think it looks better, too.
(3)Ichikaru Ramen - Yes, I know. A Naruto movie says it opened 23 years ago, while the Third Databook said it opened 34 years ago. If we take Teuchi's age in Part II (47), that would mean he was either 24 or 13 years old at the time. So for fanfic purposes, let's just assume Kishimoto was just talking about the Ichiraku Ramen building, and have the actual restaurant open some time during Iruka's youth.
(4)okonomiyaki - It's like...a crispy vegetable pancake.
A/N: Oh wow, nearly 7,000 words and I didn't even finish writing a whole day. But I figured I'd take the time to establish some basic settings and characters before plunging into the actual plot. (Plus, cliffhangers are cruel when you're a slow updater.) I'm especially busy in winter and spring too, so I suggest all you readers go hibernate somewhere until summer. Reread your favorite Naruto fics, or find some other author who actually updates consistently. I picked my pen name for a reason, you know...
Also, Nemoto-san is there for a reason, because I dislike throwing in random OCs. But she won't be central to the plot. There will be NO Iruka/Nemoto pairing, either. Or Nemoto/anyone, for that matter.