Sasuke will enter the academy in a week. When the three years old know of this, he practically demanded for the younger of his older brothers to spend time with him. In the span of a week, little Tomomi become Sasuke's shadow, he followed him everywhere even to the bath much to Itachi's amusement.
Sasuke doesn't mind. He's more than happy to play with his little brother. He kinda neglected his little brother in favour of Itachi challenge to collect the fastest cat's paw. So in a week, he done nothing but played with his Otouto with occasionally spending time with Itachi. Once a week is up, Tomomi sees Sasuke and his father off with a hug. The latter returned it awkwardly even though he done it ever since his youngest son could walk. He patted Tomomi head and left the house with Sasuke.
After that, the blue eyed boy was bored. So when Itachi offered him for a walk outside the compound, he jumped at the chance. And now he happily walk with his brother while holding to his hand. Tomomi looked around him. The shops, the buildings, the civilians walking and occasional ninja. He wonder why he never looked around during the few time he went out of the compound. He felt that there is nothing to look at.
He was proved wrong when he noticed a few shops is different. The one he thought is a weapon shop was actually a bookstore. One building that supposed to just two-floored became five-floored and even the colouring is different. A few building stay the same though. He shook his head when he remembered that it is a dream. A dream is just a fake. Maybe he dreamt of it because he unconsciously memorized the village layout during the few times outside.
"Otouto, are you hungry?"
As if answering, Tomomi stomach growled. The younger Uchiha smiled sheepishly while rubbing his head.
Chuckling, Itachi brought his little brother to a shop. A dango shop. Tomomi suddenly saw three persons in front of the shop. A masked silver haired man, a bandaged wearing woman and a man smoking a cigarette. All of it in a small screen. He blinked and the image disappear. He addressed to it later, after he ate.
…
…
…
Tomomi is satisfied. He got to spend time with his brother, walked in the village and have a full stomach. They were on their way home when he heard it. The sound of bells. The sound of it overlapping each other sounds nice to his ears.
"Aniki, that music is beautiful."
He released his brother's hand and went to the bells direction, wanting to know who created such a melody all without caring his oldest brother shouted after him.
XXXX
The young Successor continue to run. He didn't noticed that his surrounding change from buildings to field of green. He didn't noticed the sound of bells turns to laughing of a woman. He stopped and stared at the grasses at his feet.
How did he get here?
Suddenly, somebody touch both of his hands. He look to right and saw a little girl. She wore a white puffy sleeved knee length dress and her brown hair is styled to a pigtails. Her green eyes is so bright.
To his left is a woman. She wore the same dress as the girl, only it is a long sleeved. Her long brown hair caressed gently by the wind. Her own sky blue eyes smile down at him.
"What's wrong Riku?"
Riku? Is that me?
"Yes, you are Riku. My son."
No no no. That's wrong I'm not Riku. You're not my mother. I am-
"Onii-chan let's play!"
Ah…. I'm Riku. That's right. My name is Riku.
"Tag! You're it!"
"Ah! That's not fair, Risa!"
Tomomi….
The brown haired boy looked back.
"Riku?"
"Nothing wrong mom. I just thought someone calling for me."
"Onii-chan, what are you doing!" shouted the brunette girl from a distance.
"Go along now. Your sister's waiting."
Riku nodded. "Coming Risa!"
…
…
…
Itachi cursed softly as he hide behind a tree. He knew something was wrong when his little brother doesn't respond to him when he shouted for him. Tomomi is fast for his age, but not fast enough to outrun an Anbu. When he twirled his little brother by his shoulder, his blood ran cold. Lifeless but beautiful deep blue eyes with a tint of electric purple stared back at him. Those eyes are wrong. It doesn't suit his little brother's face.
Genjutsu.
'Kai!'
It doesn't work. Tomomi managed to released himself from his grasp and continue his running.
"Tomomi!"
Activating his Sharingan, he followed his little brother. After a while, a few other kids joined the younger Uchiha. They are a few years older than Tomomi, but they all have the same lifeless eyes. He noticed that none of them are clan kids. Of course, he thought. They're at Academy and the younger one are not allowed outside of the compound without the company of an adult.
The group of children went to the forest. Itachi jumps to the tree and followed them. More and more children join Tomomi, making a group of 15 children. Suddenly, they stopped. They running halted and they slowed down until they're at a clearing. They formed three lines beside each other. Tomomi at the most front in the line.
Itachi hide his chakra and took refuge behind branches of leaves. He summoned one of his crows and told it to call for reinforcements. Then four man show themselves. He recognized the leader as his clothes were different from the rest, not to mention the leader is in bingo book. An A-rank missing-nin from Kumogakure who specializes in genjutsu. No wonder merely disrupts the flow of chakra didn't worked, to cancel his genjutsu he need to destroy the music that the children heard. Though that itself will be difficult, because each children is different.
"Oi oi. That brat hiding there. Come out."
Which brought the young Anbu to this current predicament. He was supposed to spend time with his brother as he rarely does it now, not chasing after missing-nin.
He dodged a kunai heading for him, caught it and tossed it back to its owner. The ninja merely dodged it. It is easy. Itachi throws it directly but what the foreign ninja didn't noticed is an explosive tag was tied to the kunai. When the tag exploded, the ninja's out.
'Where's the reinforcement?' Itachi thought as he leapt through the trees. A little pissed off at the thought of his little brother at the hand of a dangerous ninja and the distance between them is increasing. He could destroyed the ninjas just fine, but he need to know who's behind this and he's not willing to endangered the children, more so as his beloved brother is one of them.
'Finally they here.'
"Yo Itachi!"
Itachi nod. "Shisui."
"So, how do you know about this?"
"Tomomi's one of them."
"….Oh fuck. If little princess is one of them, then I gotta be serious huh?"
"What the situation?"
Itachi glanced to the right, his Anbu squad leader, Hound-taichou with two of his teammates leaped through the branches beside him. Itachi explained to his leader. How Tomomi heard music, how he can't release him from genjutsu, and the missing-nin from Kumogakure.
Hound nodded. He formulate the best case scenario to the worst. Once he decided,
"This is what we're going to do."
…
…
…
"Tomomi, wake up." Lifeless deep blue eyes blinked.
"Aniki?" hoarse voice answered him. The condition of his youngest brother wrenched his heart. Black hair clung to his forehead because of sweat, bloodied nose because of the after effect of forced cancelled genjutsu, pale skin.
"Aniki." Tomomi closed his eyes, wrapped his arm around his brother and his hot forehead pressed to Itachi's neck.
"My head's hurt."
"Yeah."
"I feel like I got hit by thousand bricks."
Choked laughter was heard somewhere behind Itachi. But he didn't pay any attention to it.
"Who am I Aniki? Am I Tomomi?"
Itachi mentally frowned, so does Shisui and the others.
"Yes. You are Uchiha Tomomi. My little brother."
"I see. I'm Tomomi." Tomomi then relaxed in his brother's embrace. He safe with him. There is no bulky blonde man – he's not going to admit that man is his father – that was going to abused him, his mother and sister. There is no repetition of the woman and the girl died in front of him over and over again. There is tightened feeling in his heart because he failed to protected them. There is…there is no-
"Rest Otouto."
At his older brother's words, the younger Uchiha let it go. His tears was silent with occasional escaped sob.
The rest of the shinobi shared a silent order. Bring the children to the hospital, less they suffered any injuries. On their way, the trip is silent, except:
"Am I Tomomi Aniki? Or am I Riku?"
XXXX
The Yamanaka head was brought to see the children after they informed the Hokage. When he peeked inside the mind of the children, he saw nothing wrong except from mild exhaustion. But with the young Successor, he was baffled. There should be no child with the amount of damaged in his mind, much less a three years old!
"What do you mean by that, Inoichi?" asked Fugaku. The orientation ceremony for Sasuke has just finished and were on their way home when suddenly an Anbu appeared in front him.
"His mind…is…I don't know how to say this but it is filled with boiling black swamp and poisonous miasma. I'm lucky the mind doesn't consider me a threat. If not, it is no extravagation that the poison will kill me.
There is also something peculiar about Tomomi's mind too." Inoichi look at the Hokage.
Hokage nodded, a signal to continue.
"They are ten doors in his mind. Nine of them are of the white in colour and are in humongous size, but there is one door that is smaller but black in colour and was fully opened. The swamp and miasma came from that door."
"Can't you close the door?"
"I tried, but someone stopped me."
"Who?"
Inoichi inhale a deep breath and answered, "It is Peace."
Sarutobi frowned. "Peace? As in Riddle Child?"
"Yes. It is unmistakably Peace, with the mark of the Successor on his left cheek and red hair. When I asked why, he said that if I forcibly closed the door, the filth will have nowhere to go and will remained there.
I asked again how can I removed it. He answered it depend entirely on Tomomi-kun. Then he disappeared, leaving me alone in the swamp. I was about to leave when I heard a woman pleaded for help. The voice came from the black door. Then there are shouts of anger from a man and the sound of broken glasses. I looked at the opened door and saw a dead woman and girl, with a brown haired boy crouched behind them, holding their bodies.
A blonde man was about to struck the boy with a glass bottle. I tried to stop him but I can't move. The swamp refrained my movement as if I'm not allowed to interfere. Then I was thrown out.
I leave Tomomi-kun for him to rest and I thought I should report this."
"Hmm…" the Third Hokage laced his finger and looked at the Uchiha head. "What do you think we should do Fugaku?"
"Do what you must Inoichi." Stiff face replied and face the Yamanaka head.
"If Peace said it's depend on my son then so be it."
"If Tomomi-kun refused?"
"I believe in my son." Said Fugaku dismissively.
XXXX
Inoichi was back in the young Uchiha mind. When he looked at his surrounding, he can't help but noticed that the swamp are lesser now and the miasma seemed to be thinner. There is no doors, not even the black one. As he walk forward, the tendrils of the swamp attacked him. The movements are slow so he was able to dodge it.
As he dodged more, the more the tendrils seems to move faster. It became more faster until he have to make an effort to dodge it. He didn't know what will happen if he let swamp to touch him and he didn't want to know. It is never a good idea to mess with one mind.
Suddenly, the tendrils stopped. Inoichi has a half a mind to blow the tendrils away with a fire techniques.
"Who are you?"
The blonde man whirled around, surprised. He didn't sensed the person at all. What he saw is the Uchiha head youngest son, Tomomi. But, he looked a little different. A deep blue eyes with a hint of electric purple? Check. Black hairs with side bang on both side of his face? Check. Standard Uchiha outfit? Check. Girly face? Check. Young? Let's not 'check' that.
Or maybe old is not the best description. The Uchiha is still young, just a little bit older. Maybe the same age as Itachi.
"Well? I asked you a question."
The older man cleared his throat. He raised both of his hands. "Don't worry, I'm not dangerous. I mean no harm."
That answer does not satisfied the young Successor. Tomomi frowned.
"I'm not asking whether you are dangerous or not. I know you are harmless, I can easily kill you. This is my territory. I asked for your name, mister clover."
Bush clover is a symbol of Yamanaka clan. He know who I am, the clan head thought.
"I am Inoichi."
"Inoichi." The black haired repeat, testing the clan head name in his lips. "Yamanaka Inoichi."
"Yes."
"Well then Inoichi. What pleasure do I owe you for you to visit my mind? Ah. On second thought, don't answer that. That question is stupid." Said Tomomi – or is he? – When he saw the Yamanaka head was about to answer.
"Of course it because of….this, right?" the younger kid gestured to his surroundings.
The Yamanaka nodded. "Yes."
"Hm…" the Uchiha walked to Inoichi. He offered his left hand, "Hold my hand." when he saw the confused expression of the blond man in front of him, he elaborated. "It is a pain to hold back for you. It is easier if you share my essences, the darkness would not attack you then. Why should I attacked myself?"
At his assurance, the Yamanaka took the young Successor hand. At once, the miasma was cleared. The boiling black swamp was also cleared only to be replaced with a warzone. The aftermath that is.
"Let's find the troublesome boy."
XXXX
"Now you want the Successor now, my old student?"
….
Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto
Even though I proof-read it many times, I still feel that there are still some mistakes that I didn't noticed. Please forgive me for that if it disrupts your reading.
Enjoy :)
