Sasuke fidgeted nervously from behind a door, straining to hear the voices of Itachi and his father, who were currently in the midst of another argument.
"What do you mean you can't participate in the assembly? I don't think you understand the importance of your position," he heard his father say, his voice rising in anger.
"I have a mission tomorrow. As an ANBU black ops agent I must go."
"What are you talking about? What mission?"
"I can't tell you. The mission is covert." Sasuke frowned. Of course Itachi couldn't tell him. The ANBU weren't allowed to speak of their missions. His father should know better than that. But why was he asking in the first place?
There was a long pause before his father spoke again."You remember your duty is to infiltrate the ANBU and pass back information to our clan right?"
"Yes."
"Then it would be best if you didn't forget that. You will do as I say and you will be at the meeting tomorrow."
"I can't promise anything."
His father replied with an indignant grunt but said nothing. Sasuke figured he must be so angry he didn't even know what to say. Imagining his father's trademark scowl was enough to make him squirm. Sasuke absolutely hated to disappoint him. It's all he ever seemed to do. He could never live up to Itachi's standards like his father wanted him to. No amount of hard work and skill could sway the head Uchiha's mind.
However, his father hasn't praised Itachi like he used to lately. A few weeks ago Itachi started acting...different. Meal times were the only time Sasuke ever saw him, and even then Itachi hardly said anything except to ask Sasuke how he was or if he's been training.
Coming back to reality, Sasuke heard the sounds of someone's clothes scratching against the ground and realized Itachi must have been dismissed. That meant he was certain to find him out in the hallway eavesdropping on their conference.
Cautiously tiptoeing towards his bedroom door, Sasuke froze where he stood when he felt an alarmingly powerful presence radiating from behind him. There had been no noise to warn him of this sudden shift in events, but he knew who it was.
"Sasuke, what are you doing? It's not your place to listen into these conversations."
Eyes widening at the fact he had been caught, Sasuke slowly turned around to face his older brother with his eyebrows low and his head hung in shame. "How did you know I was here?"
Ignoring the question, Itachi stared past his little brother, deep in thought, and replied, "You should go to bed."
Curiosity got the better of him when he blurted out, "Wait, what was father talking about? What's infiltrate mean?"
"It's nothing that concerns you, Sasuke. But you should be in bed at this hour. It's late," Itachi said more gently this time, putting his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.
Sasuke frowned, hating when Itachi beat around the bush.
"Yeah, whatever," he grumbled, knocking Itachi's hand aside in frustration. Sasuke brushed past him to walk back to his bedroom where he would undoubtedly stay up the next couple of hours thinking about what he just overheard.
At breakfast the next morning Sasuke sat slumped over in his seat, trying not to fall asleep, and kept yawning repeatedly. Sleep deprivation never did him any favors.
"Sit properly when you eat," his father snapped at him, causing Sasuke to jolt upright.
"Yes sir," he quietly replied, jabbing a tomato rather violently with his fork to vent out his feelings.
Itachi shot Sasuke a look of pity which Sasuke completely disregarded, still upset that Itachi refused to tell him anything. Sometimes he felt like he didn't even know his older brother anymore.
Mikoto, his mother, quickly noticed Sasuke's unusual behavior, set her cup of tea down and asked, "Sweetie, is there something bothering you?"
His face contorting with disgust, Sasuke moaned, "Please don't call me that mom. And no, I'm fine."
Just as Mikoto was about to reply, Itachi stood up from the table, having barely touched his plate of food, and started walking towards the front door.
Sighing, Mikoto turned around to face the retreating Itachi and said, "I know you're busy with work but can't you eat with your family at least once in awhile? You just sat down."
"As I told you before, I have a mission I must attend to. Don't expect me home for the next few nights," Itachi replied while pulling on his boots, not bothering to look back.
Sasuke muttered unintelligible words under his breath as Itachi walked out the door without saying goodbye. He had hoped to ask him when the next time they would train together would be, but as of right now, the chances of that happening in the near future seemed rather slim. The next best hope was his father.
"Father," Sasuke started to say timidly, "could you teach me how to do the fire ball jutsu again?"
Staring down at his untouched bowl of food, Fugaku's eyes narrowed and he muttered, "I have a lot on my mind right now Sasuke."
Without thinking, Sasuke asked, "Is it Itachi?" Suddenly realizing what he just said, he glanced nervously back at his father, ready to be yelled at.
Gripping a spoon tightly in his hand, his brows furrowed, Fugaku slowly looked up at his youngest son and said, "I will say one thing. Walk your own path from now on, not in the footsteps of your brother."
Noticing the way his father 's voice faltered on the word 'brother', Sasuke couldn't stop the grin from forming on his face. He couldn't believe it. Maybe Itachi wasn't number one after all. At least not in his fathers eyes.
Sasuke waited until his father left the table and disappeared through a door to ask his mother about Sakura's invitation. He didn't want to risk his chances by asking his father because he still appeared to be moody and sour after last night's disagreement. Besides, his mother was more lenient anyways.
"Is it okay if I go to my friend's house today after school?" he asked while she dried the dishes, using the word 'friend' loosely as he was unsure if he could really consider these people friends yet. Turning around to look at him, eyebrows raised, a towel and plate still in hand, she replied, "Oh, who's house? It's not Masato is it?"
Masato Uchiha lived just down the street and consistently badgered Sasuke to play with him. His idea of fun was to try to sneak into clan meetings and cause trouble anyway he can. His mother felt bad for the kid as his parents were always wrapped up in clan business and his only sister died when the nine tails attacked. She used to encourage Sasuke to hang with him and be his friend in hopes that he'll mature a little and stop playing pranks on everyone. But she knew how Sasuke loathed the boy. Curiosity overcame her though when Sasuke mentioned going to a friend's house. She rarely saw him interact with other children of the clan. Except for Itachi of course.
Sasuke shook his head in disgust when she brought up Masato. He thought Masato, born as an Uchiha, should have more respect than that. Plus, the boy irritated him to no end what with his constant whining and complaining.
"No, that kid is trouble. Even father agrees. It's Shikamaru's house. Shikamaru Nara. My other friends from class will be there too. I think we're all going to train together or something."
Mikoto sighed, positioning her body so she faced the window. Gazing out into the streets of the Uchiha compound, she watched as a few children and a man carrying scrolls walked by, her thoughts on what Fugako's reaction would be to Sasuke's question.
The Uchiha clan was not on the best terms with the village at the moment. Sasuke becoming friends with the parents of those who scorned their clan probably wasn't the best idea, but she saw the way his eyes lit up when he asked her. She couldn't deny him that. Every child needed a friend.
She smiled down at her son. "Alright Sasuke. Just make sure you get home for dinner okay?"
Beaming up at his mother Sasuke exclaimed, "Wow thanks mom! Don't worry I will." Finishing his breakfast, he left the dirty plate lying where it was and grabbed his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder.
"Bye mom!" he waved from the doorway, a huge grin on his face.
"Don't forget your lunch!" Laughing, Mikoto grabbed a brown bag from the counter and tossed it to Sasuke who caught it in his hands, looking down at it with confusion. "And Sasuke, there's more to life than training. Make sure you guys have some fun too. I know that's not all they teach you at the Academy."
"Oh right. Thanks mom! Bye!" With those words he walked out the door excited for school.
After school and at Shikamaru's Front Door
Shoving Kiba with her elbow so she could enter the house first, Sakura stopped walking abruptly when a picture hanging on the wall next to the front door caught her interest.
"Check this out!" she exclaimed, waving the others over as she leaned in closer to get a better look at the people in the photo.
"I know right? Man, I am so good looking, aren't I?" she heard Kiba say from behind her. Pretending to gag in disgust, she turned around and took a gander at Kiba smiling at himself in a mirror, situated directly across from the front door.
Within the next split second, Sakura watched confused as Kiba suddenly went flying into the ground, landing with a sickening thud. In his place stood a beaming Naruto, wearing a dopey grin upon his face proudly as he pointed to himself arrogantly. "No way Kiba! All the girls will want guys like me. I'm going to be the Hokage one day. Strong and powerful. Believe it!"
'And he calls me conceited?' Sasuke thought through clenched teeth, gazing at Naruto with a hard expression on his face.
"Uhh...what was that for...?" Kiba moaned from his new spot on the hard wood floor.
"Sorry," Naruto replied, flashing Kiba his signature smile and sticking one arm behind his head sheepishly. "Guess I got carried away there."
"I can't believe you invited these troublesome people over to my house," Shikamaru muttered to Sakura while Choji shook his head laughing and Hinata held a finger up to her mouth smiling. Lagging behind everyone lingered Sasuke, tugging at the hem of his shirt and looking uncomfortable.
Sasuke always remained cool and collected when it came to taking tests or performing his skills in front of a class, but now, standing in someone's house who wasn't an Uchiha, he felt...awkward. He debated with himself on what to say to keep the conversation going, but he couldn't think of anything that fit the moment, so he kept his mouth shut.
Rolling her eyes at the situation, Sakura directed everyone's attention back to the photograph by saying, "Aw, Shikamaru, you were so cute as a little kid. How old are you here?"
Using Naruto's leg to pull himself up, Kiba brushed himself off, glanced at the picture and snickered.
A two year old Shikamaru sitting in a swing gazed irritably at them from the photo. Behind him stood a man with two ragged scars on the left side of his face, pierced ears, and black hair tied up in a spiky ponytail. His outward appearance gave off a rather intimidating and fierce look but his facial features told otherwise. A special light gleamed within his dark eyes and the smile on his face was so wide that laugh lines materialized on his cheeks and in the corners of his eyes. He gripped Shikamaru's seat with one hand, ready to push him higher even though the boy clearly had no interest in the activity.
"Oh yeah, real handsome. Nice face," Kiba smirked, squinting his eyes and pouting his mouth, trying to mimic Shikamaru's irritated expression.
Everyone started laughing, except Shikamaru, and headed towards the kitchen where Choji happened to be rummaging through Shikamaru's fridge.
Shikamaru clapped his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. "Choji! Get out of my fridge! You know my mom will find out and kill me!"
Choji's face fell and he shut the door to the fridge, knowing when his best friend was serious. That didn't stop him from complaining though. "But Shikamaru! I'm so hungry. If this was my house my mom would have made us a feast!"
"That's because your mom is nice," Shikamaru pointed out.
"I'm hungry too," Naruto whined, clutching his stomach, faking a sad face.
Sasuke reached into his bag and pulled out the dango he hadn't eaten at lunch. Holding it out to Naruto he offered, "You can have this if you want. My mom always packs me these even when she knows I don't like them. I don't like unhealthy food. It tastes gross."
Naruto's face instantly lit up and he took the dango out of Sasuke's hand, popped it in his mouth, and grinned at the wonderful flavor.
"You're an okay guy after all!" Naruto exclaimed, patting Sasuke on the back a little too hard.
Sasuke opened his mouth in shock and pretended to wince in pain. Then he smirked and punched Naruto in the shoulder playfully.
Gaining confidence he said, "Well what do you expect?. I'm an Uchiha! And one day I'm going to be the leader of the Konoha Police Force!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Naruto muttered waving his hand carelessly. "Well I'm going to be the Hokage one day! That's way cooler than being whatever it is you said!"
Sakura rolled her eyes at their behavior but started laughing anyway. If only the Naruto and Sasuke from her time could see them now.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Why would you want to be the Hokage? All he does is sit in his office doing boring stuff. I'm going to train hard everyday and become the strongest shinobi ever." He also couldn't help but think how one day he would hopefully surpass Itachi in abilities.
"Psh, you clearly have no idea what you're talking about. Just watch. I'm going to be the greatest Hokage ever! I'll be way stronger than you."
"Actually, that will be me," Kiba interrupted them, pointing at himself arrogantly.
"Oh yeah?" Naruto challenged him with a smile, crouching into a fighting position.
"Let's see if you're all talk and no show like I bet you are," Kiba grinned, flashing his canine like teeth. "What about you Uchiha?".
"Obviously," Sasuke said. "I'm from the Uchiha clan, remember? We're all born great."
"Please, give me a break," Naruto said with a flick of his hand.
"Hey Sakura? You want to come too? We could fight on teams or have it be every man for himself," Kiba shouted through cupped hands as if she was far away or something, when in reality she happened to be a few feet away.
Sakura thought it sounded like fun but decided she would much rather let the three of them have some bonding time together, especially since she was trying her hardest not to get to close to them. Not after what she planned to do.
"As much as I'd love to beat you guys up, what about Hinata?" she offered, gesturing towards the shy girl standing next to Choji.
Naruto froze for a second, then remembered this was the girl who Sakura said could use someone like him to motivate her. "Hey, yeah! Hinata, you can be on my team!" Naruto grinned and waved his hands excitedly through the air. "Hey, why are you being so quiet? You okay? Don't you want to play?"
"Want to be on my team?" Kiba asked, turning to Sasuke.
"Yeah sure," Sasuke grinned in response, eager to play against the annoying and loud-mouthed blonde.
Shikamaru predicted within the next few seconds Choji would ask him the same thing. Sure enough, it happened.
"That game is such a drag," he complained lazily, stretching his arms behind his head and yawning. "Wouldn't you guys rather sit back and do nothing?"
"No," six voices answered back.
"So troubesome," Shikamaru muttered under his breath. "Whatever. Sure. I'm in."
For the rest of the afternoon, the seven children played ninja, alternating teams every so often. By the end of the day, everyone was exhausted, dirty, and looking forward to going home to eat dinner.
Shikamaru and his dad, who had been shocked to find all these little kids running around his yard when he came home, walked them to the door to walk them out. "Bye guys. See you tomorrow!"
They all responded "Bye!" in return and left to head to their respective houses, or in Naruto's case, his apartment.
Hinata's clan was on the same path that led to Sakura's house so they decided to walk together.
Sakura noticed Hinata seemed lost in her thoughts as she was hardly replying to anything she was saying. She had a smile on her face which made Sakura very curious.
"What are you thinking about Hinata?"
"I think my dad would be proud of me. Playing with you guys is fun. It's like training almost. And I never even like it before." Hinata smiled.
"How come you didn't like it before?" Sakura asked, thoroughly intrigued. They were good friends in the future yet they hadn't conversed about sensitive topics very often. Unless it had been about Sasuke or Naruto or something in that genre.
Hinata hesistated for a moment before saying,"Well, I-I don't like to hurt people, and my dad expected so much out of me. I feel like I've let him down with how weak I am."
Wow. Hinata was really opening up. Unusual behavior for her.
"So do you actually want to get stronger? Or are you only doing this to prove to your dad you can do it? No one should be forced to take part in things they don't want to do. If you don't want to be a ninja you don't have to be," Sakura said wondering if her father really had forced this upon her.
"Well I'm not really sure. But Naruto told me he'll start training with me more often. And I have the rest of you guys to practice with."
"So, what do you think of Naruto anyway?"
Hinata smiled. "I think he's really nice. I don't get why people don't want me to go near him. He once saved me from these man boys. And I didn't even get to say thank you..."
"Yeah I agree. The adults in this town are weird. I'll admit he can be kind of annoying and act up a lot but I think it's because he didn't have any friends before. And don't worry. He'll definitely help you improve. He seems the type of guy to stick to his word!" Sakura said.
"In a few weeks, maybe I'll even work up enough courage to show my dad how I've improved. Well, if I've improved..." her voice trailed off and she her trademark worried look appeared on her face.
Sakura felt a wave of pity engulf her, knowing full well the one thing Hinata wanted this world was approval and recognition from her father. But he wasn't the only one. Naruto and Neji were on her list too.
Speaking of Neji, Sakura needed to steer this conversation towards him as she recalled how awful he had treated everyone when they first met at the chunin exams. And those things he had said. His words stuck in her mind clearly, 'We are who we are and we must live with it.' What bullshit! Obviously that wasn't true. Just look at Naruto! Well, the Naruto from the future anyway. And he had called Hinata an outcast. His attitude had to be changed before it really became a problem.
Through clenched teeth Sakura asked,"He's not the only one you want to impress, is he?"
Hinata's eyes widened and she started to walk slower."Yes, well-no, you see, I have a cousin and he doesn't like me very much. He thinks I'm weak. He's told me before. And he's right. But I'm not going to be like that anymore. I really do want get stronger. I just need to keep training."
It filled Sakura with relief to see how much Hinata had already changed. Of course, the events that took place in her life at this time during Sakura's original timeline could have been what influenced her to become really shy and gentle by the time she was twelve. "I think that's a great attitude. Why don't you invite him to come hang with us sometime?"
Hinata shook her head."I don't think he'd say yes. You see, he's from the lower branch of the Hyuuga clan while I'm from the main branch. He doesn't really like my family very much I think. Besides, Neji would probably find it a waste of time to train with us."
Sakura gave her a reassuring smile and put her hand on Hinata's shoulder. "All the more reason to bring him along. He's going to grow up to be a real jerk if he believes that. Well, can you at least try to ask him? If he says no then you can tell him I'll walk straight to his house, drag him out and force him to come with us."
Laughing, Hinata replied, "I'll see what I can do. But I might need your help."
Sakura flashed her a huge smile and clapped her on the back. "That's what friends are for!"
After she bade goodbye to Hinata, Sakura took the long way home, reliving the good memories of that day. She laughing remembering a particularly funny moment when Akamaru had chased Naruto up a tree and Sasuke and Kiba had pretended to be shinobi saving a citizen in need (Naruto).
Out of nowhere, a loud crack ripped through the air, bringing Sakura out of her thoughts and startling her into falling flat on her feet
"Having fun?" She heard a strange yet familiar voice say.
Shaking off her momentary confusion, she looked up to find Olivier grinning down at her from atop a fence, his blonde curls gleaming in the sunlight.
"Olivier?" she asked incredulously. He was the last person she was expecting to see! "What are you doing here?"
Raising his eyebrows in amusement he said, "Well, I said I'd be watching you now didn't I?"
"Ugh," Sakura groaned, slapping her forehead. "Now you just sound like Pervy Sage."
"I presume you've met all your old friends again-"
"No. Not all of them. I had a ton of friends from other villages! Like Gaara," Sakura interrupted.
"Oh that's right," Olivier said, tapping his mouth. "But dear me, if I recall correctly you wrote on your list Gaara's name. Do you still wish to help him? I see you haven't made any effort."
"It's been two days," Sakura growled, ready to throw a large and heavy object at this guy. "Of course I'm going to help
him. I won't let him be treated like scum by his village."
Olivier pretended to stroke his chin thoughtfully an said, "But what about your friends from your own village? Surely you can't have accomplished much in only two days."
"I already told you. I have a plan. In fact, I'm leaving the village soon," Sakura replied with confidence.
"Ah yes. I understand," he said, still pretending to be in deep thought.
"So why did you come here anyways?" Sakura questioned, staring him in the eye, wanting to know an answer.
"Oh I just came with a warning."
"Warning?" Now she was confused.
"Yes," Olivier replied without emotion. "You're being watched. By a member from the Uchiha clan. That is all."
With another loud crack and a flash of bright light, Olivier disappeared, leaving Sakura standing there unsure of what to think about this new information.