The Road of Life

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and all of its characters.

I was kicked out of the house for a while. Mom closed the shop for the day and locked down the house. She told me to go play or something while she thought things over. Really, I wouldn't have guessed that the suggestion that I become a shinobi to help support the bakery would be taken this hard. The average pay of an average shinobi was more than enough to at least hire a full-time helper for mom, and after hearing about it, I couldn't not consider it. Higher ranked shinobis are even paid more handsomely, but I doubt they'd have the time to spend all of them considering their job. Giving the majority to mom would be the sensible choice, if I were to reach that high.

It wasn't that surprising, really. In a militaristic village such as this, the shinobis are a huge money-maker. These glorified mercenaries support the village as their main income as well as security. Still, with the war going on, I doubt I'd be able to take on a leisure position as a shinobi.

Rumors had it that the war was going to be over soon, though. I wasn't sure how to take it, but I could always hope. Teaching at the academy wasn't that bad of an idea. It was a much more stable role compared to that of an active ninja, but still quite important. With The Fourth's inauguration just around the corner, as well as the rumors of two candidates, there would be bound to be some changes in the system.

Not really having anywhere to go, I wandered aimlessly before finding my way right in front of the Uchiha Compound's gate. There were two guards, each wearing the uniforms of the Military Police of the village. Both of them Uchihas and neither of them seemed particularly friendly.

I decided to be an idiot and take my chances. Strolling towards them, both guards looked at me confusedly, before grabbing the back of my collar just as I was about to pass them.

"Where do you think you're going?" one of them asked, voice gruff and raw. Taking a closer look at their faces, both of them had faces adorned with hard lines and scars here and there. Perfect for guards, or bouncers.

"If you want to report anything, the Military Police office is near the village center," the other said. The guy holding my collar slowly pulled me back in front of them before pushing me away gently. I racked up my mind for a reason, and so, I blurted out whatever came to it.

"I want to see Itachi," I said. They looked at each other, before letting out scoffs of disbelief.

"Sure, and I'm The Third Hokage," one of them said. "Buzz off, kid. Go play around somewhere else," he dismissed. Annoyed, I turned back to where I came from and walked off, hands in my pockets.

My annoyance was getting the better of me, and so, I made it my mission of the day to get into the Compound. I was hungry, too. The renowned Uchiha Senbei would suffice for a quick lunch. Just another reason for me to sneak in. I had been in the Compound once, and it was with mom. She had effortlessly led me to the Uchiha Senbei, signaling her familiarity with parts of the Compound.

The walls were tall and no doubt guarded pretty well. An amateur like me would have no chance of infiltrating it head on. And so I headed to the nearest training ground. I remembered seeing a few people with Uchiha symbols training on said ground. They must've had some way of accessing it without going outside the gate.

I didn't bother looking at the number. The nearest training ground was just a short five minute walk from my house and I entered through the small gate signifying its purpose. It was a plain grass field. A few training dummies were scattered across the grounds. A glint of metal caught my eye and I looked towards its direction. What I found was a single kunai. I touched the tip. A bit dull, but not dull enough that it wouldn't pierce when thrown. It was obviously for training purposes. The user was sloppy, leaving his equipment unattended like this.

I put my finger in the ring of the kunai and twirled it. It felt oddly comfortable in my hands. I would expect a sense of uneasiness when holding a weapon intended to stab someone. Instead, I felt somewhat safe, and comforted. Maybe it was the effect of the war. I didn't know.

I threw the kunai at a dummy, using a form I only vaguely remembered by watching some older kids at the academy. The kunai lodged itself in the dummy's torso, way off my intended target, being its head. I clicked my tongue. Obviously, if I were to become a shinobi, I would have to invest on some training equipment. And if I want to be a good one, I'd have to go out of my way to procure more than a set of equipment to train with.

Taking my attention off the dummy, I looked around the grounds, trying to find some sort of entrance. I made sure to look in the direction of the Compound. And sure enough, hidden behind a set of bamboo trees was a metal fence gate. I walked towards it and clicked my tongue in annoyance when I realized it was locked.

What to do, I mused. I walked back and forth, even tried to kick down the gate. As my mind almost ran out of ideas, my eyes wandered to the kunai still lodged in the dummy's torso. I walked to it and dislodged it. Tracing my fingers on its tip, it seemed that the tip would fit in the keyhole, just enough to break the lock.

It took quite a while, but I would have never thought that the feeling of breaking and entering would be so satisfying. I pushed the gate, seeing it creaking open in defeat. It was my win. I pocketed the kunai, not really wanting to leave it there. One does not just leave an evidence of one's crime behind, after all.

As I edged around the corners of the Compound, I saw a surprising amount of stray cats. I took to the bush, hoping to disguise my presence as another cat. I scurried around, trying not to get myself too dirty, or come across some particularly feral cats. A few Uchihas passed me. If the bushes rustle, they would probably pass it off as cats, but I wasn't taking my chances. Getting out of the bushes, I silently ran behind a building.

So far so good, I thought. No one had seen me yet, and I plan to keep it that way until I find Itac-

"What are you doing?"

I nearly jumped up, just barely covering my mouth before a scream erupted from me. I turned around and saw a boy around my age. His hair was a mop of black, cut short and slightly parted in the middle. He was wearing a dark-colored high collared shirt and a pair of grey pants.

We stared at each other; an uneasy and awkward silence crawled between us, before the boy broke the silence and repeated his question.

"What are you doing?" he asked again. I removed my hand from my mouth and fully stood before him, our eyes locked onto one another. What should I say? Many possibilities swam through my head, each one more inviting than the other, but one answer prevailed.

"I don't know. What are you doing?" I asked back. The boy didn't look surprised. Instead he looked contemplative, as if mulling the question I shot out seriously.

"I was going to go meet my cousin for training. He had only just begun a few weeks ago, and I think I could help a bit," he shrugged.

"That's nice of you," I said, before turning the other way and taking a step. "Well, I should get going."

Unfortunately, the boy grabbed onto my shoulder before I could make my escape. "Seriously, though. What were you doing?" he asked again. "I don't think the broken lock from the training ground is going to help a lot in your case."

I narrowed my eyes. Perceptive bastard, I thought. It seemed that I had no idea but to be honest with the boy.

"Do you know where Itachi lives?" I asked, not really expecting a coherent answer from him. The Compound isn't exactly a small place, after a-

"Hoh, you know my cousin?" the boy asked. I blinked. Probably one of the most idiotic responses I could muster. I blinked a few more times before the statement drilled itself into my head.

"Cousin?" I asked.

The boy shrugged. "Distant cousin. But hey, it's just semantics."

The boy's previous statement rang to my mind, prompting me to bring it up. "You said you were going to meet Itachi for training, right?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "We were going to meet in the training ground," he pointed back towards where I came from.

"Can I join?" I blurted. I expected a condescending answer from a member of such a prestigious clan, but I only saw a tinge of mirth in the boy's eyes, as well as approval.

"Sure, I don't mind. I'm sure Itachi won't mind either," the boy answered. "Still, someone has to answer for the lock."

I put my hands on the boy's shoulders and looked at him in the eye. "I know, right? Who could it be?" I asked seriously.

"It was you, idiot."

"Come on!" I whined. "Let's keep this a secret between us!" It felt weird. I couldn't help but be more open to the boy. Granted, we were the same age, but there was always this gap separating me with the other kids. But I didn't feel that with him.

"I don't even know your name," the boy answered reluctantly.

"It's Tora!" I exclaimed.

"And I'm Shisui," he replied. "Now, what were you doing, skulking around looking for Itachi?"

"Ah, so that's how it is," Shisui mused. "Itachi borrowed a book from you and you want to get it back?"

"Well, the due date from the library is coming soon, anyway," I replied. "I need to finish that book, too."

Shisui rubbed the back of his messy head. "Itachi should be coming here for training anytime now. You can talk to him about it," he said.

"That's nice," I replied, walking back to the training grounds.

"By the way," Shisui stopped me.

"What?"

"I'm kind of surprised that Itachi was the one who initiated that conversation with you," he said.

I raised an eyebrow, not really seeing the meaning. "Well, his mother did edge him on," I said.

"Still," Shisui said. "He doesn't really talk much to other people, not even within the clan. Even with the other children here, he's a stranger."

The thought didn't surprise me, to be honest. There was just something astute I saw within Itachi's eyes; a certain maturity that could only be attained by someone older. Itachi saw something, or experienced something. And it shook him.

"And what? That makes me special, or something?" I asked, crossing my arms in amusement.

Shisui smirked. "Oh, you would like that, wouldn't you?" he said.

"Oh yes, I would," I jokingly replied.

We made our way to the training grounds, ignoring the broken lock and simply chatted away, asking each other about our lives. I found out that Shisui lived with his father, and he was currently away fighting in the war. A lot of the Uchihas were. That explained the lesser presence of the Military Police whenever mom and I went to the market, and probably why they posted guards by the Compound's gate.

It was about ten more minutes before Itachi arrived at the training ground, a small bag on his rear, strapped tightly around his waist. He looked surprised when he caught sight of me. I gave a wave. Itachi, a little unsure, gave me small timid wave of his own, before making his way towards Shisui and I.

"Tora-san," he breathed out. "Why are you here?"

"I was looking for you, actually," I replied. A look of realization crossed Itachi's eyes, his black orbs widening just a hint of a fraction.

"Ah," he realized. "You're here for the book?"

"That, and I want to see you train," I shrugged.

"See me train?" Itachi asked.

"Yeah," I admitted. "In fact, I'm thinking of starting to train myself. I've decided to become a ninja."

"Why?" Itachi asked, almost too quickly, I noticed. As if he was testing me.

I stood there, trying to understand his intentions, to no avail. "Why? Well, it's more to support my mother, actually. Why" I asked back.

Itachi stared at me. For a moment he looked like a judge, and like it or not, I felt like I had to bow down to his decision. "It's nothing" he said, breaking the atmosphere that had unknowingly blanketed us. "Do we start now, Shisui?" Itachi asked his cousin.

"Ah, yes," Shisui answered. "Tora, since you have no real training yet, you can watch from the sidelines first. Take in everything I practiced with Itachi in your head."

"Sure," I replied, seeing sense in his judgement. "Though, I should start from somewhere, right?"

"Of course," Shisui nodded. "But we'll get to that later." I only nodded in response. Of course, I hadn't forgotten the original reason Shisui was here. I was basically the third wheel. I just hoped I could acclimate to them with no problem.

Seeing Itachi train was like seeing a well-oiled machine function. It was obvious that he had done his own personal training recently. Itachi threw all his kunais and shurikens with the same finesse of a seasoned academy student, and he only started a few weeks ago. A twinge of jealousy passed through me, but considering his heritage, an early training wasn't uncommon for Itachi, or even Shisui.

And still, this was with a family of a prestigious clan, who probably never had to worry about budgetary problems for most of the time. Compared to mine, who couldn't even hire a part-timer for too long before we were spreading thin on money. If I do focus my time on becoming a ninja, mom would be alone in the bakery, slaving away for me. Sometimes I wondered just how she held out all these years. It was obvious she was still grieving for dad, and later down the line, she might just grieve for her son, too.

"Hey," Shisui called. I looked up from my sitting position, seeing that the sun had already passed midway. It had gotten kind of hot. Too hot for comfort.

"What is it?" I asked.

"If you're done being bored out of your mind, Itachi and I are heading out for some dangos. Wanna come?" he offered. I stood up and dusted my pants, my stomach aching at the thought of something to fill it with.

"Sure," I answered.

"Great!" Shisui beamed. "I also want to talk to you about how you should start your training."

Itachi was patiently waiting for us by the broken fence gate. He seemed to have gotten more comfortable around me. While he was never tense, he no longer seemed… apprehensive. I couldn't really fathom what made him so distant, but it was nice to know that we were getting somewhere with each other.

Some clan members were staring at me, the stranger, as we walked through the Compound. But as they saw me walking with Itachi and Shisui, they let their stares aside. A paranoid bunch, aren't they?

"So, where should I start?" I asked Shisui.

"Well, the first step would obviously be to build up your endurance and stamina. Your body would need to get used to a certain amount of strain before getting to the harder parts," Shisui said. I noted his words. It made sense, really. The basic would have to be the physical aspects, especially with such a straining job as a ninja.

"After that, the techniques?" I asked.

Shisui nodded. "Techniques, the executions, and then chakra training with all the gizmos that follows it," Shisui said. "I get the feeling that you'll tackle the techniques quite easily. You're observant. Usually, it's the chakra training that takes the longest. It's especially harder when we're this young, as we're not quite as developed."

"Wow. You seem to know your stuffs pretty well," I admired. Shisui chuckled, a huge grin plastered on his face.

"My father is a good teacher. I have him to thank for!" he said.

For a moment, I wondered what my father would do if he were here. Well, no use in thinking about that. Dad was dead. Mother said that he promised her that the only reason he wouldn't return was if he died. I guessed he kind of jinxed himself right there.

We've had our lunch, a fulfilling dish of dangos. I never thought I'd see a quiet boy such as Itachi scarf down five sticks of dango as if it was the best dish in the world. For all I knew, he might think of it that way.

Itachi mentioned that he left the book in his room, afraid that he would ruin the book if he were to bring it to training. I was glad for that, and I was also curious as to where he lives. My imagination, however, did not prepare me for seeing Itachi's large house.

It even has a pond, I thought.

"Surprised?" Shisui chuckled as he put a hand on my shoulder. "That's the head of the Uchihas to you."

"Head? So Itachi is going to be the next clan head?" I asked. I looked at Itachi, who looked away, almost in embarrassment. "It must be hard. Your family must expect a lot from you."

Itachi rubbed his arm, letting out a sigh. "They do," he said. "It's fine, though. It's nothing I can't manage."

"Oh, after seeing your performance today, I have no doubt," I said with a smile. The small smile on Itachi's face certainly only made my smile wider. "Now, let's go inside! It's hot out here."

"You have no tact," Shisui chuckled.

"Oh, come on! Let's just enjoy being tactless while we're still kids!" I said to Shisui.

In response, Shisui's eyes twinkled with amusement and a hint of mischievousness. "Now that's a sentiment I can get behind."

Itachi could only sigh at their antics.

A pretty quick update, if I do say so myself. I kind of want to take things slow, but I know that taking things too slow would just make me lose audience. Let's just say, the phase before the Kyuubi attacks is the Prologue-Phase. It's not that long, probably no more than ten chapters tops.

Anyway, lotuscub19 asked a question in a review on whether I have a designated pairing for Tora. The answer is yes. Whether it's a ToraxMale character, you'll just have to wait and see. I'm not spoiling anything. It'll still be quite a while until that happens, though.

Follow and Favorite to keep yourselves up to date! If you have any questions, you can ask them in a review or simply send me a PM. Either is fine.

See ya!