Chapter 9 – How Sensei Looks

Five minutes later, Naruto was standing there in the apartment, fully equipped in his orange jumpsuit. He beamed from ear to ear, happy to have a day off from class and some people to spend it with. "This is fun!" He squealed. "And I'm gonna see fighting. Cool!"

Sasuke shook his head quickly, "no, stay here," he said.

His smile melted away, "what do you mean? If there's fighting then we have to tell Sandaime-jiji, right? Cause jiji can do anything, and he'll take care of it."

"We're going," Sasuke stressed. "You're staying here."

"No way!"

"You're not coming with us," He told him firmly. "You'll get lost and probably hurt, too. We don't have energy to waste protecting you, Naruto."

The yellow-haired menace was giving him an infuriated look, and his small hands were in angry fists. "I can see jiji whenever I want! I'm coming too!"

Itachi stood by the door of the apartment, watching the two of them. He was still dressed in his normal Uchiha clothes instead of the anbu uniform Sasuke always saw him in. He seemed reluctant to interrupt, and instead waited for them to finish.

Sasuke rubbed at his temples, and realized that the action was probably ridiculous when done by a seven-year-old boy. "No. It's too dangerous. Stay here and keep inside." He turned around before Naruto could reply and followed his brother out the door, shutting it soundly behind him.

Naruto's dejected face was a sad sight, but taking him along would be too much trouble. Itachi was still slightly drowsy from the overdose and couldn't perform at his best. Sasuke could feel the weakness of his childish limbs; he wouldn't be able to fight against anyone beyond chunin level, even with his Sharingan. All he could hope to do was defend himself and – if it came to it – force chakra-use into his younger body.

They leapt off the apartment building into the back alleys instead of the street, following through the narrow pathway surrounded by brick wall on one side and wooden fence on the other. Konoha was strangely quiet in the morning, but they could guess that it was due to all the action being focused elsewhere. The sun had already risen high.

"You knew him, in the future?" Itachi asked quietly as they ran.

Sasuke nodded. "He was my team mate. And a dobe. Him, and a civilian-born girl called Haruno Sakura."

"You seem strangely angry at him. Was he someone you hated?"

Sasuke smiled wryly. How was he supposed to explain that he'd simply become an angry person? Everyone made him angry, in some way. He was aware of that, and there didn't seem to be a point in doing anything to change it. Instead of answering, he shook his head. "No. I didn't hate him. I just don't like children."

The streets remained empty even when they left the west civilian districts where Naruto lived. In the market, only a few shops remained open, and the few civilians who ran them stood shaking behind their counters. Word had spread quietly but quickly. They shot the two of them frightened glances as they passed wearing their Uchiha fans.

So this was a coup, this strange, unidentifiable dread that lingered in the air. It hadn't done anything yet, but it had made everyone scared of its presence. Sasuke noticed that Itachi was going out of his way to avoid the shinobi regions, where they might be recognized.

Maybe it was an unconscious decision, born through weeks of carefully noting the prejudice everyone held against their clan. Or maybe it was just the pure awareness of other people that his brother seemed to have in abundance.

The Hokage's building was placed in the off-centre of the village, slightly towards the carved faces on the mountain. To the east were the civilian regions, and they greatly outnumbered the shinobi. Slightly south was the markets and the industrial areas that they were currently running in, and closer behind the back of the Hokage's building were the apartment compounds lived in by shinobi who only needed a bed to sleep in at night.

Sasuke frowned when he noted that Itachi was changing course to the north, towards these buildings. "Nii-san," he called. "Where are we headed?"

Itachi turned to give him a reassuring look. "I wouldn't risk appearing directly in the Hokage's office right now," he stated. "Not while both of us are wearing the Uchiha fans. But some of the higher-ups in anbu know how loyal I am. We'll go to them first."

Sasuke nodded. That was fine. He didn't know anything about anbu, but he was vaguely aware that their headquarters were behind the Hokage's building.

They continued down the narrow alley behind the store buildings until the Hokage's office was in clear view above, through its wide, overlooking windows. The building behind it was smaller, and led partly into it. Sasuke made to turn and find the main entrance, but Itachi didn't hesitate to run up the wall of the back.

Suddenly, he stopped and turned. "Ah, sorry Sasuke. I forgot you can't-"

"I can," Sasuke told him, stepping easily onto the wall. "Seventeen, nii-san. Don't forget. In fact, you're my otouto now." It sounded like an even more childish thing to say, but it made his brother smile in amusement. Smiles like those were few and far in between on Itachi's face. Most of his smiles were for the benefit of other people.

"Come up, then. There's a latch at the top that we were taught to go through," that smile, again. "This was after I started getting lost and opening doors."

Sasuke's look in watery in reply. He still couldn't leave the image of his brother walking in and seeing the girl he was supposed to marry with another. Thirteen.

Pushing the thoughts from his head, he followed Itachi up to the top window. Itachi was crouched against the side of the wall, easing open a latch that came loose under the touch of his chakra. When it was free, he pulled it open and slipped inside, reaching to pull Sasuke's hand.

The room inside was unmistakably a briefing room. It had a table in the centre, a large circular fixture that made seniority ambiguous. To one side was a map of the western forests outside Konoha, tracing the Naka River. The door out of the room was on the far side, and was closed. From the thin layer of dust covering the table, it wasn't a place used very often.

There was nothing else inside apart from an old closet, but as soon as Sasuke took a step he felt a presence behind him. Only Itachi's grip on his arm stopped him from jumping. He turned slowly.

"Crow-taicho," the anbu member behind them acknowledged. "What are you doing here?"

He was tall, taller by far than Itachi. His voice was stiff, but it still had tinges of the calmness it would soon grow into. Sasuke's eyes widened as he stumbled backward, bracing himself against the back of a chair. Itachi stood silently in front of him.

The anbu member wore his clay mask, and it was shaped with a clear snout. Sasuke had no idea how to read the strange swirls of red paint on the clay and identify the person as an animal. He could, however, identify the shock of grey hair worn asymmetrically to one side, and the tanto worn across his back was new but fit his image.

It was a wonder how this man ever thought a mask could hide his identity. It was his identity, along with the outline of a book straining against the pocket of his standard-issue anbu pants.

"I need to see Sandaime-sama," Itachi replied stiffly. "I thought I could gain safe passage from you or one of the other captains. The situation is too delicate for me to see him myself, openly."

There was something in Itachi's voice that made him pause. Something he would have never expected from the older version of his brother, but it made sense for the sole reason that he was young. Aniki couldn't speak with that tinge of hurt in his tone.

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair, and his posture went back into his signature slouch. "Maa … it's a good thing you came here first. And it's a good thing you saw me before the others could see you. The Hokage himself has assured me of your loyalty, but I can't say many of the others know that. Luckily most of them are either meeting with the council for orders or off east scouting the other Uchiha."

Sasuke looked from him to Itachi, confused. His brother frowned. "What do you mean, W-Hound-taicho?"

"I mean just what I said. The anbu are being deployed, and I'm sure you could have guessed that. However, they don't have the same knowledge as I do, and if they see you, you'll be in trouble."

Trouble? Aniki didn't even do anything this time! Sasuke made to ask, but Itachi spoke before he could.

"Why would I be in trouble? I haven't disobeyed any regulations that they know of."

"Oh, of course you haven't. It would be a miracle if you ever disobeyed anything," Kakashi's voice behind the mask – behind both of them, probably – sounded amused. But he sobered quickly, "it's just that they've given us clear orders on what we must do if we see an Uchiha. Attack on sight and detain. Should I be saying this in front of the boy?" The masked face turned towards Sasuke.

"Sasuke, this is … well, he has a few names but you can refer to him as Hound," Itachi's voice seemed almost guarded as he turned back. "Taicho, my brother is trustworthy. I can assure you of that."

What? Only that? Sasuke expected the man to scoff and instruct him to go away, but Kakashi – Hound – simply nodded. Well, it wasn't too surprising. Age didn't matter in anbu, and the word of a captain did. He walked over to pull out a chair and settled leisurely down within it.

There was silence in the empty briefing room. Downstairs was just as quiet, indicating that barely a single operative had stayed behind apart from this one. Itachi stood there, waiting for an answer.

"Crow, take your brother and get out of the village," Kakashi replied. "Now". His voice was different, now. It had lost all the laziness and had become sharp, effective. He tapped one gloved finger against the wood of the table, as if expecting Itachi to promptly obey his suggestion. He did expect that.

Sasuke felt a stirring of unease. Beside him, Itachi seemed to feel the same.

"Hound-taicho, I will make that decision myself. I came here to see Hokage-sama. You have ties with him, don't you? His …"

"Student's student's student." Kakashi said dryly. "Oh yes, we're practically related." His finger continued to tap, and he leaned forward in his chair. "Go while you still can."

"You know I didn't mean that," Itachi stressed. "You have meetings with Hokage-sama, apart from the work related ones. There are rumors that he wishes for you to leave anbu. You can get me to see him right now. I will deliver information on the Uchiha's plans for the coup. I don't have much, but it will still be useful …"

Sasuke watched with knitted brows, confused. There was a certain tension in the room, and all of them knew except for him. He watched his former sensei's mask and the one eyehole that revealed his grey eye, and he watched his brother stand there as if telling himself that it couldn't be right. Itachi-nii was clever, he already knew.

The Hound tilted his head to one side. "You could give that information to me. But I won't lie to you; I wouldn't know what to do with it. There's no one that I can take it to." He stood, and his hands reached up for his clay mask. With one swift movement, he pulled it off.

Kakashi was still young, barely twenty. His face was leaner and his eyes were slightly wider and his blue mask stretched over his face like always. He hadn't yet started wearing his hitai-ite over his eye since his clay mask already covered it, and Sasuke found himself scanning the left side of his face.

The Sharingan eye glared a painful red in the morning light of the briefing room, and it hadn't settled completely into his face yet. It looked … misplaced. The visible tips of his scar were still raised, even after seven years. It was strange, to see 'Kakashi-sensei' like this. He was undeniably powerful and his slight arms rippled with lean muscle every time he moved, but – at the same time – he hadn't reached his own level yet.

Anbu didn't take off their masks. It was a sign of trust. But from Kakashi, the boy who'd made anbu captain at fifteen and covered his face since he'd begun at the academy, it could have simply been a casual gesture.

"Leave the village, and hint to me where you are going," he said. He voice was twice as clear now that it was liberated from one of his barriers. "A small hint, not anything they can extract from me. Then after I complete my mission, I will come to see you. I'll bring food, if you want. What does your brother like to eat?"

"Take me to see Sandaime-sama."

"I can't. Don't you think I've been looking for him? I haven't seen a trace of him since last night."

She didn't come out from the closet until after they were gone. But when she did, her arms were crossed. "So Crow's going to leave his position, is he?"

The other operative quickly replaced his anbu mask and turned back to her. His eyes swept over her form, marveling in how quickly she could replace her clothes with all their hidden kunai. Her hair was let down, where it was unusually long for an anbu operative. But it was straight and during battle it swept easily away from her face. He could almost hear the frown behind her mask. "Sandaime-sama always told me that he was loyal. I didn't expect this, but now that I've seen it I'm not surprised."

She walked across to where he stood by the desk. Her clay mask glinted in the morning light, and her fingers were tentative when she placed them over his shoulders and stepped closer, "were you serious about that, taichou?" She murmured. "It's a crime, you know. You've already broken it once."

Kakashi squeezed her arm in what might have resembled comfort. "If I've broken it once, then I can break it again, can't I? I only obey Hokage-sama. If he is as I suspect … then I will wait until Jiraiya-sama or Tsunade-sama returns. They are the only ones he has named as successors."

"You're a good candidate, and the strongest shinobi in anbu. What if they name you?"

"They won't. They never chose from anbu; we're too used to being dispensable."

She didn't hesitate to let her fingers roam over his chest, setting over where his heartbeat was still steady. Hound-taichou never panicked. The anbu Wolf – as many of his subordinates called him – had gone through too much already. He became calmer as the situations worsened, a trait that anbu had long drilled into him. It interested her.

"You're an Uchiha too, aren't you?" Kakashi asked her. "I've seen your eyes before. Do you know those two, outside of anbu?"

She hesitated slightly, before nodding.

"Will you help?"

"No," Fukurou shook her head. "I don't care. All of them can do whatever they want, and I'll kill who they tell me to, whoever 'they' might be. All I want is for them to leave my mind alone and let me think what I want to while I do it. And I want some more free time in the evenings. And you. You're a plus."

He smiled slightly under his mask.

This girl hated everything. She'd look at her own family like a murderer looked at her prey and she hated that she had been pushed into anbu's outer circles. Her cold eyes observed and judged all she saw. She hated her position, she hated the things she was supposed to do, and she hated seeing Badger's name on the small stone set up in the grass by the Naka River.

But she didn't hate that she'd been assigned to him for a mission, once. She didn't hate the night she'd come to his tent looking like the jaded yet curious sixteen-year-old she was. She didn't hate that he'd taken to her, because she reminded him of his former, mindless self and he knew how to deal with her better than anyone else.

"You say that now, but I think I can convince you otherwise," he told her. "You're involved whether or not you want to be, and you'll have to choose a side one day."

"What side?" She hissed. "My despicable clan? A group of idiotic old people who think they know what's best?"

"There's another side," Kakashi went on patiently. She always tested his patience, but he was fine with that. "You just saw it leave. Personally, that's my recommendation for you."

She leaned back and glowered, "you want me to run away with them? How unlike you."

"I didn't tell Crow to run away. I told him to leave the village."

"What difference does that make?" She huffed. "None. I know him, taichou. Better than you think. He's an idealist, no matter what he says. Maybe he'll grow out of it one day, but right now he's thirteen and all he thinks of are his clan and his brother. He'll do anything to protect them."

The room fell into silence again. He tilted his head, "you can't stay here. You have no choice, not even anbu will protect you. But Crow, he will. He's strong, maybe more so than me."

But Uchiha Fukurou wasn't one to care. She reached forward and pulled off his clay mask, letting it clatter to the desk. He wore his second one underneath and he always kept it on unless they were in the dark, but that was fine. "I won't go. I'd rather stay here and fight for my stupid clan."

"You're only saying that. Soon, you'll join them. I know it."

"I won't."

"Something's happening in Konoha, Owl," he muttered. "I must find a side where I can follow the Will of Fire like I promised to."

Fukurou smiled a strange smile. "You still hold onto all of that beautifully hopeless stuff, taichou," she said, pulling her mask down. "Don't ever stop. I like that you do."