Chapter 5- Existence

16 October 07:30, Hokage's Office

"Edward, how are you?"

The Sandaime looked as pleasant as always, kindly in his large pointed hat and long robes. Sitting in front of the old man, Edward could almost imagine that he wasn't here because he'd done something he shouldn't, could almost image that he was called here because the Sandaime simply wanted to speak to him.

But he knew it wasn't the case. After all, it would be too much of a coincidence. Inoichi had told, and the Hokage had decided to listen.

That meant of course, that this was something serious.

He had gathered that much from his venture into the Yamanaka's residence last night. Inoichi had known something, and had chosen not to share it. If Inoichi hadn't known anything at all, Edward would have been satisfied with that and left to pursue other paths, but as it was... "You're hiding something from me."

Straight and to the point.

The Sandaime sighed, seeming to also come to that conclusion. The look he gave Edward was semi-amused, semi-exasperated. "I should have known. You never did like dancing around subjects. Very well, I called you here today because of your visit last night to Inochi."

"What about it? As far as I know, none of what I did was illegal."

The Sandaime's lips quirked, "Other than your abuse of power you mean?"

Edward blushed faintly, but didn't back down. "I was sure you knew about that." You are the Hokage after all. "Just like you apparently knew other things." Things that you didn't tell me.

The Hokage seemed to be able to read between the lines. The light in his eyes dimmed. He sighed, steeping his fingers together and bowing his head, looking very old indeed in that one moment. "Edward... you must understand. The Hokage of Konoha has many things to consider, sadly more things than the feelings of one Special Jounin."

"So you're blaming this on some political backlash?"

The Hokage smiled weakly, "You make it sound as if I'm just using a scapegoat. Surely Edward, you of all people understand the situation I'm in?"

Edward looked down, his fists tightening on his lap. He did understand. He wasn't incapable of seeing another's point of view. Still... "Then you also know that I would have been discrete, I would have kept whatever you knew a complete secret."

"Even so... can you deny that you would have fully investigated the matter if you felt all the details I gave you weren't sufficient? Can you deny that you would have possibly put yourself and in conjunction me in danger? You would have gone ahead without heeding the consequences Edward, if you felt you had a just cause."

"So is this something that would warrant a just cause?"

The Hokage sighed, "You are not getting my point."

"I am getting your point, and I think you know mine too. So, I can't help but be suspicious of why exactly you're hiding information about Itachi from me."

The Sandaime smiled sadly, "Ah... one of the few people I completely trust now does not trust me."

Completely... trust? It was true, the Sandaime had always put a lot of trust in him. When Edward had first arrived in the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi had offered Edward his complete sanction and protection, despite the circumstances at the time. It hadn't been until Edward had become a ninja that he'd realized how great a leap of faith the Hokage was taking.

Perhaps, perhaps Edward should leave it here. Leave the topic before they both got hurt.

That was, until he remembered the dark eyed, sorrowful gaze of the one whom he had sworn not to abandon. Edward set his mouth, looking steadily into the Hokage's wise old eyes, "If you really trust me, then why won't you tell me about Itachi?"

Something flashed in the Sandaime's eyes, something so subtle that Edward was sure he would have missed it if he weren't starting directly in them. Reminiscence, guilt, wariness, shame?

And then, one of Edward's odd insights hit him.

It was like a dam had been opened, and his brain was flooded with the information. Picture, words, memories flashed through his mind, too quickly for Edward to truly scrutinize them. It was as if everything were falling in place, the pieces of the puzzle finally knitting themselves together in one, horrifying picture.

"It was Konoha wasn't it?" Edward whispered in horror, "Konoha was the reason that Itachi betrayed his clan. That's why Itachi acted withdrawn for weeks before the massacre happened, because he was trying to distance himself from it. That's why Itachi wouldn't tell me anything, because I couldn't know. That's why he was being so disrespectful to his family, because he wanted to make them see. That's why I had that mission... so I wouldn't interfere."

The Sandaime could only look away guiltily, and Edward knew he had his answer. Perhaps, perhaps if the Hokage had refuted his wild speculation, Edward could have laughed it off as 'one of those moments', but the Sandaime's silence condemned him.

Maybe it was because he was guilty, maybe it was because he was tired of the charade, but it didn't matter anymore. Edward had had enough of this.

The blond stood up in one fluid motion, turning towards the door.

He stepped forwards, only to feel a whoosh of air behind him and a hand grasp his arm. Edward turned around, his eyes burning with barely compressed anger, "Let me go."

At this moment, he didn't care if he was talking to the Hokage or a friend, he was much too irate. Tumults of emotions were jumbled within his stomach, only waiting for an excuse to get out. If it were just four years ago, Edward would have punched the man holding his arm, Hokage or no.

As it was, Edward managed to just keep his temper. After all, he was refusing to let his emotions rush into his head until after he left the Hokage's office. One of the training fields was due to be levelled.

"Edward," The Hokage's voice would have been commanding, but all it sounded like was old, "Please, let me explain. Before you think the worst of me or this village, let me explain everything."

He debated about it for an instant. He wasn't sure how much longer he could last like this. Betrayal, loneliness, sadness, anger all churned restlessly in his gut, and it was only through sheer force of will that Edward was keeping it all at bay. He wasn't letting it flood his mind, wasn't letting it gain control of him, but who knew how long that would last?

He only hesitated for the slightest moment, but it appeared to be enough for the Sandaime. The Sandaime let go of his arm, and with a huff Edward sat back down, glaring across the table, "This had better be good."

He could keep a tight rein on his emotions until the end. He was capable of that at least. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to hear the whole story if he didn't listen now, so no matter how Edward personally felt he had to listen to the Hokage. For Itachi.

"Thank you," The Sandaime smiled, very weakly, and at Edward's glare even that smile dropped off, "Ah, but then I suppose you are hardly doing this for me. Very well, I shall start at the beginning.

"Eleven years ago, on October Tenth, a horrible demon attacked. You had not been there, so you couldn't have possibly known how devastating it was. Hundreds of people died, many good ninjas and many many civilians. The Yondaime himself- the most beloved and admired man of all- gave his live that night. Everyone mourned and cried; if they had not lost a relative or friend, they had lost possibly their very best leader.

"One only has to look at how young Naruto is treated really, to gauge the hatred towards the Nine Tailed Fox. It's been eleven years already, yet no one is willing to give Naruto a chance. They still hate him, so imagine what it had been like in the aftermath of the Kyuubi.

"Our ninja wanted a scapegoat, a reason for why so many died. Natural disaster, they said, impossible. After all, why would one of the nine great demons randomly attack a ninja village? It made no sense.

"Added to that was the Uchiha's innate ability the Sharingan, which is said to be able to control even the Tailed Beasts. Naturally, suspicion fell onto the Uchiha, and the Uchiha clan resented it.

"You did not notice perhaps, because your relationship with the Uchiha were never advertised. Added to that, Itachi was a special case. The Uchiha clan withdrew even more from the rest of the world, disgusted at the fact that they were being blamed. The other clans of course took this as a sign of arrogance, cementing their hate all the more. Eventually, the Uchiha clan had enough of it, the suspicion and the hatred, and planned to end it once and for all.

"That was where Itachi arrived on the scene, joining ANBU and secretly becoming my double-agent. He was originally supposed to be the Uchiha clan's spy, you know. Anyhow, he revealed to me that the Uchiha clan were planning something big, something that we would have been completely blind to if not for his informing us. The Uchiha had had enough of following a government they didn't believe in, had enough of the disrespect. They planned a coup..."

Edward sucked in a breath, "No..."

"Yes." The Sandaime said sadly. "I tried everything in my power to negotiate with the Uchiha clan, but they would not hear my pleas. Eventually, I only had one option left. I could not allow for a civil war to happen, because that would weaken Konoha and allow other villages to invade, leading to a Forth Ninja War. I could not ask my ANBU to quietly finish the Uchiha clan because I did not know of a team with the ability, and if somehow the information leaked out, Konoha would be ruined. The only thing I could do...

"The only thing I could do was to ask Itachi to take care of the matter himself. If he did the assassinations, then he might succeed. Itachi is a talented individual, possibly one of the strongest ninja in Konoha. Added to that, his specialty was silent killing, which that assignment required. Also, the Uchiha clan themselves would not be expecting Itachi to murder them, so he would have the element of surprise. Finally, whatever Itachi did could be seen as Internal Affairs, which the Hokage is not supposed to interfere with. Yes, Itachi was the best man for the job..."

"You let- you forced-" Edward's voice wasn't working right. It was a burble of choked, haggard, and demanding all at once.

The Sandaime looked down, seemingly not able to meet Edward's gaze. "I... I had no other choice. Itachi himself agreed with the method. He loved Konoha above all else... he was truly one of the greatest ninja of this age."

"So you justify as- he had to slaughter his whole family!"

The Hokage's head, if possible, lowered even further. "It was for the good of the village."

Good of the village? Edward could see that, but- "Surely there were alternatives, other ways, there can't have been-"

The Hokage slammed his hand against the table, causing the stacks of paper resting on his desk to jump slightly. Edward stopped talking, suddenly wary. The Hokage finally looked up, his eyes burning with something Edward couldn't place. "Do you not think I've tried? I've looked up every alternative, every angle, and the path that I chose was the only possible one with the time constraint. Do not disregard Itachi's sacrifice by so easily thinking there was an alternative that both he and I didn't see. We had six months to think of it Edward, six months."

"Is six months enough to decide the fate of a clan?" Edward asked bitterly. This was starting to sound too similar to the life which he had left behind, sound too similar to Amestris and the Ishbal Massacre. And that had happened in able to satisfy some insane being's desire for absolute power.

The Sandaime was grim-faced. "Six months was all they gave us. We had to act, lest we be forced to react."

"I never thought- it still doesn't- sure, maybe the perpetrators had to be taken out, but how does that justify the murder of the innocents? Of the children?"

The Sandaime looked pained, "The children would have grown up eventually, became ninja eventually. If they had discovered that the village was the true reason behind the clan's massacre, they would have turned against the village..."

"Bull," Edward growled, "If you've hid it so well, how could anyone possibly find the truth?"

There was a moment's of silence, then- "You found out, didn't you?"

A low shot. But one worthy of the Hokage, as Edward was inclined to think. His opinion of the old man was spiralling downwards at a dangerous rate, and he knew he had to get out of here before he did something he would regret. After all, he had Sasuke and now Naruto to think about as well.

Edward got up. This time, the Hokage didn't stop him. Maybe there was something on Edward's face that suggested doing so would be a bad idea.

The Sandaime almost seemed resigned- it was like he knew he had lost Edward's trust and knew there was nothing he could do about it.

"One last question," Edward said in a forced calm voice, "Did you also abandon the one whom you 'trusted'?"

The Hokage looked very, very tired. "As you know, he hasn't been caught yet. He is currently spying on a group of missing nins for Konoha, something that only he can do. He's still alive, but his situation is precarious."

Of course it was. Itachi was never given any easy task, was he? Not with the Hokage forcing impossible missions down his throat. Barely holding back a snarl, Edward turned on his heel, flinging the door to the office open. He took a step out...

"Don't go looking for him. That's an order."

Edward slammed the door shut.

16 October 07:55, The Academy

"Uzumaki!"

Naruto looked up from his book on seals, head turning in the direction of the screechy voice. Strolling purposefully towards him with hands on her hips was Ino, her lips thin with determination. Darn, he had been hoping to use the time before class started to look up some more seals work. He really needed to learn the elemental storage seal for his next prank! But it was not to be, as this was his first period class of social studies in which there was no Sasuke sitting next to him who would keep away all visitors with his impressive glare.

"What?" Naruto asked rudely, wondering what in the world the bossy blond wanted with him. Seriously, Ino never talked to him! She had even laughed at his dream of being Hokage, which thank you very much, was not so much of a dream as a prophecy. He would become Hokage, he would!

Oh hold on a minute, he could think of one reason why she would talk to him... Ever since the fangirls had figured out that Naruto was the only person Sasuke would hold a conversation with, they had been bugging Naruto to no end. At first, Naruto had a lot of fun making fun of Sasuke, but now... how could he have ever been that cruel? Fangirls were no joke!

In every period that Naruto didn't share with Sasuke –which was fortunately few- fangirls would crowd around him and demand that he suggest some of them to Sasuke. They also asked him a lot of inane questions like what his favourite colour was, his favourite food, where he went in his spare time, etc.

...well, Naruto did know the answer to those questions, but that was besides the point!

Ino stepped up right next to the whisker marked boy, her green eyes narrowed in a glare, "I want your so called 'nii-san' to stay away from my dad!"

"Huh?" Well, that was unexpected.

"Yesterday he came to our house," Ino fumed, "And he made dad really upset! Dad wouldn't even eat or anything! Mom was all upset too, I could tell. So tell your precious 'nii-san' to stay away!"

Wh-what? Naruto felt anger well up inside him at the way Ino was talking about his nii-san. Sure, people could insult him, he was used to it and didn't really expect anything else, but his nii-san! How dare somebody talk badly about Edward nii-san and demand that he stayed away? How dare they? Edward nii-san was the kindest, coolest Naruto knew, and the only one outside of Gramps and Sasuke to acknowledge him. He provided Naruto with a home and- and- Naruto wouldn't let anyone talk badly about him!

"If Nii-san did something like that," Naruto shot back with no small amount of anger in his voice, "He had to have a great reason! Maybe your dada is a spy or something, and Nii-san is rooting him out!"

Ino's face turned red, her hands balling into fists. She slammed the desk in front of Naruto, making his book jump from the impact. "What did you just call my daddy?"

"A spy, or a murderer, or something!" Naruto exclaimed, not one to back down despite Ino's impressive display of rage, "Like I said, Edward nii-san never does anything without reason! Your dad must have done something wrong!"

Slap.

Naruto blinked, feeling the blossoming tingle of a hand shaped bruise on the right side of his cheek, then the tender throbbing that accompanied it. Ino stood over him, her hands on her hips again, and an accusing expression on her face. Then, his eyes narrowed.

Naruto turned his body to fully face Ino, instead of just his head. Her face registered confusion, but he didn't let that stop him. Faster than she could blink, Naruto lashed out with his leg, kicking the girl's leg with the equal amount of force she had slapped him with. Ino stumbled back, her leg bending from underneath her. She fell to the ground with a slight thud, staring up at Naruto with wide eyes, "You- you kicked me!"

Naruto snorted, his cheek still stinging from where she had slapped him, "You hit me first."

'But- but- but I'm a girl!"

"Yeah, so?" He never quite understood this argument. Naruto leaned in closer, truly curious, "What's the difference between girls and guys?"

Ino's face twisted, "That- that-"

"Besides," Naruto muttered, disappointed when it was clear she wasn't going to sate his curiosity. Huh, looked like she didn't know the answer either. Maybe he should ask Edward nii-san when he got back. "You hit harder than Kiba anyway."

Ino's face flushed, an odd expression her face, before she finally jumped back up as if she had not been injured at all, "You idiot! Is that a compliment or an insult? Are you saying I'm like a guy?"

16 October 08:15, Training Ground 47

Edward thrust out an arm, the trees nearby rippling slightly at his intensity. He kicked, blocked, punched, sliced, all with a frightening force and power. Training Ground 47 was very nearly demolished; trees bent askew and huge craters of displaced rock scattered everywhere.

Edward wasn't thinking, he was letting his body control it all. Shame, betrayal, frustration, anger all coursed through him, which is what led to the complete destruction of the first place Edward had went to after exiting the Hokage's office. It took every bit of self-restraint he had not to go wild in front of the Sandaime, but now he had no inhibitions.

His hits increased in tempo, his pace escalating. Each movement was fast and precise, because even through his anger, his body had not forgotten the long lessons. Edward went faster and faster, going through the motions as if he were running for a race-

Soon, his body was covered with sweat, his frustration forgotten as it slowly replaced itself with the sense of calm that always came with practicing Izumi-sensei's bastardized taijutsu. Slowly, Edward's punches and kicks died down, until he could finally think again.

Letting out a breath, Edward allowed his body to relax completely. He stretched out on the grassy plains, looking up at the clouds. Now that his mind had cleared, he could finally think, but he didn't exactly like what he was finding there.

First and foremost, there was shame, with just the right amount of helplessness. Yep, lovely feeling. He was ashamed that he hadn't seen the plot sooner- it had been right there, just like the plot with Amestris and the Homunculus. Itachi... if Edward had discovered this thing sooner, would Itachi have been here now?

The blond's fists clenched. No, no doubt that even if Edward had been able to discover the plot, there was nothing he could have actually done. Like the Sandaime had pointed out, Edward was an outsider and not even a terribly well-known one. In reality, what could he have done? Somehow convinced the Sandaime not to force Itachi to murder his clan, and cause a civil war instead? Helped Itachi murder his clan and been banished as well, but do a shoddy job at spying and get them both caught? No... there was not a thing Edward could have done if he'd known.

But that didn't make him feel any better about it. Edward still felt that if he'd known at the time, maybe some brilliant idea would have flashed across his mind, some spark of inspiration that could have changed the whole situation. He was far from conceited, but he was sure something could have-

And even if there was nothing realistically Edward could have done, at least he could have offered understanding if he'd guessed the whole thing sooner. Itachi didn't deserve to live those months in constant doubt and worry, not with what happened with Shisui too...

And here was another thing. Was Shisui's death truly an accident, or was this somehow the Hokage's planning as well? Edward wished he had thought to ask. But at the time he had been too frustrated, too angry to think clearly...

Anger. That was another one of his emotions. He was angry at the Sandaime, desperately angry. Angry because the Sandaime had kept this from him, even though logically the Sandaime had a reason to. Besides, it wasn't as if Edward was entitled to this information, as Sasuke was.

Sasuke... that brought up the question. Whether to tell Sasuke or not. On one hand, it would confirm beyond a doubt that Itachi was innocent and Sasuke wouldn't have such conflicted feelings about his true older brother, but on the other hand it would make Sasuke distrust the Hokage. Edward could perhaps, put this travesty behind him when it came to missions, but Sasuke would not be able to.

And then, Edward caught himself. What was he doing, thinking like a manipulative tool? It was Sasuke's right to know about Itachi, and so Edward would tell him. He'd just have to be there to guide Sasuke's reactions as well, that's all. But on the whole, Sasuke had to know about Itachi.

And then he caught himself once again.

Actually, he probably wouldn't be able to tell Sasuke. This was nothing if not a S-class secret, perhaps even a SS-class. Edward's knuckles whitened. Wonderful.

Opening his eyes, he took a few deep breaths, letting the tension that had somehow gathered uncoil from his body. When he finally felt calm enough, Edward continued.

Alright, last emotion.

The Sandaime's actions- much of which he could understand. The killing of children Edward still didn't agree with, and thought the reasoning behind it was rather weak, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He could even see how a Kage who loved his village more than anything else would conduct such an execution. Itachi had given his consent, and Edward knew that it was true that Itachi would do anything for Konoha. The Sandaime didn't even have to ask, probably. Edward hated it all, wanted to change it, but knew what the world was like currently.

Having the ever cynical Tsunade as a sensei and having a job which required him to look into the bottom of mysteries had long broken any illusion Edward had about the ninja world. But to have the Sandaime –the man whom Edward had trusted and worked with to bring about true peace... to have the Sandaime do something like this.

It was hard to swallow.

To know that Konoha was no different from the other Hidden Villages Edward had visited, to know that the man who said he wished for peace actually conducted mass murders in the shadows...

For just the briefest, briefest second, Edward thought he might have hated Konoha.

28 October 11:28, Academy Courtyard

Aniki didn't like that Hokage.

That much was obvious. Whenever Aniki talked about the Hokage, there was always a sort of resentment in his eyes, the same sort of resentment Sasuke had felt towards the village not so long ago.

That was why, when Naruto invited Sasuke to lunch with his 'Gramps' Sasuke had refused.

So now here he was, sitting in the Academy courtyard, eating lunch by himself. And he had to admit, it was kinda... nice.

He liked the peace and quiet, the silent solitude. He'd always been looking for places to think quietly, but with Naruto around it was hard to find a place like that. Just sitting here and enjoying the sunshine... Sasuke liked it.

Just then, he noticed someone coming towards him.

Girls.

Sasuke quickly turned his gaze back to his food, pretending as if he hadn't spotted them. He watched them warily through his eyelashes, wondering what they were planning. Girls had to be the bane of his existence. Aniki and Naruto didn't really treat girls like girls, but Sasuke had been drilled at a young age to never mistreat a lady. If they'd asked him something, he couldn't refuse. At most, all he could do was offer a mumbled reply that was neither a yes or a no, and hope that they'd leave him alone.

With Naruto around, it was easy to ignore them. They never came up to him, whether they simply didn't want to be around the yellow haired prankster or thought Sasuke was unapproachable. But now, with Naruto nowhere in sight, the members of the Sasuke fan club had gotten an almost pitying gleam in their eyes. Of course, there was self-justification too.

Suddenly, Sasuke had a horrible idea of what was going to happen next. He could see it as clearly as the sandwich in front of him. The girls thought he was lonely, so they'd approach under the pretence of 'helping him', and then...

Sasuke shuddered, and quickly scanned the area for somewhere –anywhere- that he could escape to. Perhaps the bathroom? Loathe was he to eat the remainders of his lunch in the bathroom, it would be infinitely better than being caught by girls.

And then, he spotted it.

There, not too far away from where Sasuke was sitting, was a boy with sunglasses eating by himself underneath a tree. He had on a large white coat which partially covered the lower part of his face, which was odd for the weather. Best of all, there was not a single person around him.

It only took a moment for Sasuke to decide. For some reason, everyone was giving the guy a wide berth, but Sasuke was not just everyone. He got up, pretending he had not seen the girls coming towards him, and made his way towards the boy in the large white coat.

The other boy looked up in surprise, his large sunglasses looking like foggy discs. It was, Sasuke admitted, just a little bit creepy. But he had dealt with creepy before, and after touring the world, Sasuke thought that nothing in Konoha could scare him anymore. He gave a brief nod to the other boy, and sat down near him.

The other boy, Sasuke could tell, was staring at him in blank surprise.

Sasuke started eating his lunch again.

"You are Sasuke Uchiha, are you not?" The boy asked in a flat voice.

Sasuke bit into his sandwich, and sighed. He had been hoping that this boy wouldn't bother him over something like a name, but it seemed that he had hoped too much. Maybe the bathroom was a good idea after all.

Sasuke put down his sandwich, and nodded towards the white clothed boy. "I am."

The white clothed boy nodded, and didn't say anything more. They ate their lunches in companionable silence. Sasuke was glad for it; if it wasn't Naruto's blabbering or Aniki's mutterings, it was always loud questions from strangers. He never really had a chance for some quiet if he wasn't completely alone.

When he was done eating his sandwich, Sasuke turned to the white clothed boy, "Thanks."

For a moment, the boy with the sunglasses was silent, then- "You are thanking me for letting you sit with me. Why? Because you think that I usually do not allow others to sit with me. In fact you are wrong in that aspect. It is not that I usually drive others away, it is because they do not want to sit with me."

Sasuke listened, and he accepted. If it were Naruto, Sasuke was sure the blond would have simply scrunched up his nose with a look that screamed 'huh?' and demanded the white clothed boy to explain what he meant. As it was, Sasuke wasn't a genius for anything.

Sasuke leaned back against the tree, tilting his head ever so slightly so that he could catch a good glimpse of the clouds past the hanging branches overhead. "They're scared of your bugs, right?"

He had noticed them as he was eating. Had noticed the white clothed boy talking to and feeding the small critters with bits of his own lunch. At that point Sasuke hadn't cared; he had finally gotten his blessed silence.

"You said 'they'," The white clothed boy said thoughtfully. Seemed like he wasn't an idiot either. "Meaning that you do not agree with them. You are not scared of my bugs, or the way I treat them?"

Sasuke shrugged, throwing a small smirk at the boy beside him, "It would take more than that to scare me. I do have to put up with Naruto after all."

A small smile tugged at the corner of the bug boy's lips. Then, it disappeared, as if it had never been there at all. The white clothed boy also turned his head up to look at the clouds. "Sasuke Uchiha, they say you are an enigma. Why? Because you are a child prodigy, tragic hero, the last of the great Uchiha clan... yet you befriended Uzumaki, ignored the council, refused extra training."

"You seem to have me at a loss," Sasuke said calmly. He didn't much like how the boy had brought up the Uchiha clan. "I don't that much about you."

"Nor I you, it seems." The boy who played with bugs turned his full attention to Sasuke, so that Sasuke could almost see the boy's eyes narrow despite the dark sunglasses. "Why? It seems that I have been wrong in all my earlier conclusions about you. The only thing we know about each other right now is our names. I am Shino Aburame."

14 December 14:20, The Konoha Academy

"Hey! Brat!"

Naruto stopped walking and turned around, a wide grin spreading across his face when he recognized the cropped black hair and aquiline eyes. The man who had stopped him was running –or, speed walking, as he always called it- towards him, a book about as thick as a box of ramen in his hands.

"Kato-sensei!" Naruto chirped, skipping over to the disgruntled man and looking with wide eyes at the huge book, "Is that for me?"

"Why do you always assume I have something for you?" Kato grumbled, but nonetheless held out the book towards the blond. Naruto didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed the book, already flipping through it.

"Hey, new sealing techs, cool!" Naruto didn't like reading, but when it was sealing, he could make a bit of an exception. He still preferred the practical aspects of it, but as the Sandaime had taught him, sometimes one needed a bit of theory.

Yep, that's how Naruto justified reading so many books the year he had tried to learn sealing. In the end, he was finally able to understand it all, but it'd taken him a good nine months. And that was just the basics. Man, sealing was tough. But... it gave Naruto's creative side a challenge that nothing else gave him, more of a challenge than even pranking. Something about sealing just made part of Naruto feel really... excited. Sure, he was excited about all types of training (except for maybe history) but sealing just was...

"Return that within two weeks," Kato-sensei said sternly, breaking Naruto out of his thoughts.

"Sure." Then, the words registered. "Wait, what? You want me to read this thick book in two weeks?"

"Yes, two weeks," The black haired man said, his tone switching to annoyed, "It's a limited edition; only fifty copies in the world. I don't want it in your hands for more than two weeks. Who knows what'll happen to it?"

"Aw come on, I never-"

"The Art of Sealing, Level Three, by Himiori Anoki. Equations of Sealing, by Akihiro Nobu. The Secrets of Time/Space Seal-"

"Hey! That one wasn't my fault! It had a picture of a warp-seal, and was I not supposed to just try it out?"

"Not right on the page of the book, no!"

"There wasn't any scarp paper around!"

"You-!" Kato-sensei drew in a deep breath, then let it out. "Argh, never mind, it's useless arguing with you. I don't understand geniuses sometimes. Uchiha-san isn't as absentminded as you; I'll just ask him to keep an eye on that book. I've got a lesson to plan for. Later, brat."

"Bye!"

Kato-sensei shook his head one last time, and walked away.

Naruto grinned; yep, he really didn't regret cancelling the bet after he had learned sealing. Kato-sensei had called him master for a day, and Naruto had quickly grown tired of it. It was cool for a while, but then it just got seriously creepy, and Naruto was perfectly willing to let all bets settle after making the temperamental genjutsu teacher do one prank.

After that, Naruto found out that Kato-sensei wasn't such a bad guy after all. Kato-sensei started to actually teach Naruto stuff- really cool stuff- stuff that his other academy teachers wouldn't explain to him. Also, the genjutsu teacher started giving Naruto all these books from his collection to read- not to keep of course, just for borrowing, but it was more than anyone (outside of Edward nii-san and Sasuke) had ever done for Naruto before. Kato-sensei had muttered something about 'a waste of a talent'. 'Cause, you know, Naruto was just that awesome. He was a talent.

Whistling to himself, Naruto walked down the halls of the Academy, towards his original destination- the attendance office. With the attendance sheet for the last day of the class in one hand, and the new book on sealing in the other, Naruto sauntered into the office and set down the piece of paper in front of the secretary. Then, he walked back out.

He got back to the classroom when the teacher was already lecturing, and made his presence known of course. Their teacher gave Naruto one annoyed glance, then gestured for the blond to take his seat. The blond did so with the uptime of pleasure, loving the way everyone's eyes were on him.

"What's that?" Ino asked as he sat down beside her.

"A book," Naruto grinned foxily, carefully keeping the title hidden from her. He knew it would drive her crazy.

Sure enough, Ino's eye started to twitch. "Well yeah idiot, anyone can see that. What's it about?"

"Hm, well..." Naruto tapped his chin, "It's about things."

"Naruto!"

The blond laughed, "Alright, alright, it's actually this super awesome book on sealing! I'm super awesome at it!"

Ino's face for some reason just got redder, "Naruto! Don't lie to me!"

"Eh? Whaddaya mean? I'm not lying!"

"But- but-" Ino spluttered, and then paused. She looked a little suspicious, "Is it really about sealing?"

"Yeah!"

Ino sighed, "Alright, you're too stupid to lie about things like this. But, I heard that sealing is really hard. You're always asking me these simple questions in class. So, how did you manage to learn something like sealing?"

Naruto was affronted. Moreover, he was hurt. He thought that Ino understood his abilities, and didn't underestimate him like the rest of the Academy did. Sure, at first she'd been surprised he'd been actually doing well in his classes, despite his constant pranks, but she had accredited that to Sasuke being a miracle worker. Eventually though, Ino had even admitted that Naruto wasn't as dumb as he sometimes appeared. Was that... "Hey! Just 'cause I don't do the best in class doesn't mean that-"

"HA! Got you! That's what you get for playing with the great Ino-sama!"

"You- you-" Naruto spluttered. Ino had been tricking him! She'd known he'd get insulted by what she'd said. "Argh!"

"You two!" The teacher up front barked, "Quiet down up there!"

The two blonds instantly shushed. They made sure their conversation wasn't loud enough to be heard by the teacher.

Soon, class was over, and all the students filed out of the room- including Naruto. He skipped over to Sasuke's classroom, wondering if the raven haired boy was done with his class yet. Sure enough, Naruto saw Sasuke talking to the boy with sunglasses and a high white collared coat- Shono or something.

When Sasuke saw Naruto, the black haired boy waved goodbye to his friend and walked up to the blond.

"Took you long enough," Sasuke muttered as they walked out of the Academy, ignoring the tongue that Naruto stuck out at him. Then, his eyes slid down to Naruto's hands- or more importantly, what was in them, "Kato-san gave you another book, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but he says I gotta return it in two weeks," Naruto grumbled, deciding to forgo making faces at Sasuke in favour of complaining about Kato-sensei, "What the heck! Who can finish something this thick in two weeks?"

There was a pause, and then a slightly wistful "Aniki can."

Oh yeah. Edward nii-san probably could. The jounin was just crazy like that. Heck, Edward nii-san could probably finish the book in two hours. Problem was, Naruto wasn't crazy like that.

And as if Edward nii-san was called by Naruto's thoughts, he suddenly appeared in front of them.

Naruto instantly fell into a fighting stance, and saw Sasuke do the same. When they discerned it was only Edward nii-san, they relaxed. Though only slightly.

"Oh, you two are getting good," Edward nii-san commented, his lips twitching. Ever since Edward nii-san had gotten back, he'd started randomly popping up wherever they were, to test their responses to surprise situations. He didn't do it enough so that Naruto and Sasuke were paranoid, but it was a pretty close thing.

"Bastard," Naruto grumbled.

Edward nii-san looked at him with raised brows, "What did you say?"

Naruto froze. Uh-oh. He smiled weakly, "Ba-ba-basil?"

"Oh," Edward nii-san looked thoughtful for a moment, "You're right, we do need to buy some basil."

Naruto was about to sigh in relief, when-

Uh.

Realization hit him like a forty ton truck. Oh no, it was shopping day.

That was why Edward nii-san was here, greeting them at the entrance of the Academy gate. Normally, Edward nii-san just waited until they got home before doing anything with them, but no on shopping days. Their new home (Edward had bought them a house, saying that their neighbours were complaining about Naruto's and Sasuke's constant arguments. Well, it wasn't Naruto's fault anyhow) was on the opposite end of the Central Market, which the Academy was actually somewhat close to. So, once a week Edward nii-san would take Naruto and Sasuke to buy their groceries.

Naruto sighed, and followed his two family members to Central Square.

They were shopping, and shopping was something Naruto didn't like too much. None of the shopowners wanted to sell to him, though he didn't know why, especially since he wasn't an orphan anymore. It wouldn't have been that bad though, if it were only that. Edward nii-san however, couldn't take an insult lying down, even if it were an insult to Nartuo. Whenever a shopowner so much as glared at Naruto, Edward's attitude would become worse than a pregnant woman's.

Naruto had once suggested that only Edward and Sasuke should go shopping together, but it was surprisingly Sasuke who refused him, and gave him the will to continue. Well, calling anyone a coward was a very good incentive. Anyway, so now Naruto was always dragged along whenever they went shopping, and forced to carry bags because Edward didn't want to! Sometimes, Naruto thought Edward just wanted him to come along to be a mobile cart. At least though, Sasuke got the same treatment.

Thinking about the Uchiha… Naruto glanced at his best friend, who was scowling as Edward argued prices with a vendor. It almost made Naruto blush. He had always wondered why Sasuke was always in such a foul mood at the marketplace, and once he had made the mistake of thinking it was because Sasuke was embarrassed to be around him. Sasuke had shouted at him then, that he was mad about the stupid attitudes the villagers had against Naruto, and frustrated that not even the Uchiha could do anything about it. No one had ever said anything like that to Naruto before. Was that… what a family was like? No, Naruto knew what a family was like. It was Sasuke, Edward, and Gramps.

"It's a stupid price!" Edward bit out heatedly, "I bet you wouldn't charge anyone else this much!"

"Mr. Jounin," The vendor said in all seriousness, the effect ruined somewhat by the glance he made to Naruto, "Do you really think I would disrespect Konoha's ninjas like that?"

"Ugh I've had enough with you!" Without another word, Edward turned, walking briskly away from the stall. With a glance at each other, Naruto and Sasuke quickly followed, hoping that their Nii-san's foul mood wouldn't carry over in training. Sometimes, the blond genius could be quite ruthless when he was stressed.

Soon, a familiar store came into sight, and a middle aged woman greeted them with a smile, "Ah! Edward, Naruto, Sasuke, hello! What do you need?"

Edward rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless as he detailed the things he needed, "…that stupid vendor. He specialized in making those, but I'm not in the mood to deal with those attitudes today. So, can you find something that could replace that?"

The woman nodded, and scurried off to find the items after she gave one last smile to Naruto. Naruto smiled back. The woman hadn't like him at first, just like most of the regular storeowners Edward visited. After some time though, she must have figured out she had to put up with him, and now she was no longer looking at him with cold stares! Naruto had been beyond happy with the thought.

Finally, she came out of her storage room, the requested items in hand. Edward thanked her, handed her the money, and out of the store they went. They hadn't gone more than a few steps however, when Edward suddenly froze, his bag of items falling with a loud thud to the ground.

"What the heck…?" His face tightening, the blond jounin quickly made a hand seal, creating a shadow clone. He nodded to it, and it disappeared in a flash. Next, Edward turned to Naruto and Sasuke, his face serious, "There's an escaping prisoner, I have to go take care of it. I'll meet you at home."

Without another word, Edward disappeared. Naruto felt a grin make its way up his face as he turned to Sasuke excitedly, "Do you feel where he went?"

The black haired Uchiha nodded slowly, "Yes…"

When Edward nii-san had come back, he had started teaching them his chakra-sensing techniques per their request. Of course, Naruto wasn't very good at it, but whatever, he had sealing. Sasuke's quick learning more than made up for Naruto's abysmal attempts.

"Great! Let's follow him then! We can impress Nii-san!"

Sasuke hesitated, "I don't know…"

"Ah, what are you, a baby?" Naruto stuck out his tongue, "We've learned a lot! We're not like the other students our age! We can totally take down a weak prisoner!"

"I'm not a baby," Sasuke said hotly, "It's just that Aniki will probably get really mad at us. Do you want to do another month of only chakra exercises?"

Naruto actually winced at that one. The last time he and Sasuke had done something Edward nii-san deemed irredeemable they'd been stuck only being taught chakra exercises. Seriously boring stuff. Sure, somewhat helpful, but seriously boring. Heck, Naruto'd rather be reading his tombs on sealing than do something like that again!

"Aw, he won't see this like that incident," Naruto only just kept the shudder out of his voice. After all, he had to get Sasuke to agree to this, right? "I bet he'll be really impressed. We'll show him what we've really learned!"

"Do you really think... he'll be impressed?"

Naruto opened his mouth, then paused. He threw a smirk at the Uchiha, "What's this? Are you... unsure?"

Sasuke blinked, then scowled, "If Aniki goes berserk over this, you're taking the blame. Now let's get going."

Naruto grinned, and they bounded off.

They found Edward nii-san in a forest, his telltale red cloak easily visible amongst the trees. He was standing with a kunai poised to the neck of who Naruto could only assume to be the prisoner. The prisoner didn't even have a forehead protector on, but if Edward's tense stance was any indication, then the prisoner was far from a civilian.

"Sasuke, Naruto," Edward nii-san's voice was tired, "I thought I told you guys not to follow me."

"Ah..." This time, it was the other ninja that spoke. His adam's apple brushed the edge of Edward nii-san's weapon, drawing a thin line of blood, but he didn't seem to care. His eyes, which had previously been diverted to the two arrivals, shifted back to Edward nii-san, "So that's the reason you stopped stalling and suddenly went all aggressive. It's those kids?"

Edward nii-san didn't answer, but Naruto did. He stomped his foot, fuming, "Hey! We're not kids! We're going to be ninja!"

Aw man this sucked, Edward nii-san was already done with cleaning up this ninja. Edward nii-san clearly didn't need help. So how was Naruto supposed to show off what he'd learned?

"Told you this was a stupid idea," Sasuke muttered.

"Bastard," Naruto growled, "You agreed to this too!"

"You two..." Edward nii-san rolled his eyes. Yes, actually rolled his eyes. Despite the fact that he potentially held a very dangerous criminal at kunai-point, Edward nii-san actually allowed himself to get sucked into their arguments. "Now look, because of you two, I have to hold this man at kunai-point until backup arrives. Do you know how tiring this is?"

Naruto shifted guiltily. He didn't mean to, really he didn't! Besides, if Edward nii-san would just trust them a little, then he wouldn't have to stand like that! Naruto and Sasuke weren't going to mess things up; they weren't like the other kids at the academy. Still...

"Sorry," Naruto mumbled, and then brightened, "Hey! I have a seal that'll hold someone still! You know the one!"

Edward nii-san blinked, then slowly nodded, "You may be right. Alright Naruto, you have your chance to prove yourself. Just don't do this again alright? Disobeying orders when lives aren't in danger is not okay."

"Yatta!" Naruto punched his fist into the air, then bounded over to Edward and the prisoner. Quickly, he started sketching out the seal beneath the two, then... "Done!"

"Check it over." Edward nii-san told him.

Naruto pouted; aw man, did he have to? It was such a bore! Still, he knew better than to argue with Edward nii-san over this, especially when the older blond have given him so much leeway already. So, Naruto bent his head, looking like he was checking the seal over while in reality he let his mind wander off to ramen. When an appropriate amount of time passed, Naruto looked up with a grin, "Done now?"

"Good," Edward nii-san nodded, then muttered, "I wonder what's taking the ANBU so long... well, activate it then. It'll only affect him because he's in the center, right?"

Naruto bobbed his head with a grin, and Edward nii-san gave him a slight smile and a nod of recognition in return. Naruto squatted, then placed two fingers on the seal, eyes half closing in concentration. He felt for a thread of chakra, then slowly pushed it into his creation. The seal glowed blue...

Boom!

Naruto's body went flying through the air due to the force of the explosion, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Sasuke hit a tree and black out. Edward nii-san was blown backwards, and the prisoner upwards. Naruto didn't have much time to dwell on it however before his back exploded in pain, and he realized he must have hit a tree.

His vision wavered, but not so much that he didn't see the prisoner flip and change direction mid-air. Instead of flying upwards, the prisoner instead leapt sideways... towards Naruto. He had a killer expression on his face, and suddenly, without a doubt, Naruto knew what he was going to do.

As if in slow motion, Naruto watched the prisoner fly towards him, digging out a kunai somewhere from his body. Naruto wanted to move, but couldn't. His body was in too much pain, and he wasn't fast enough. He closed his eyes...

And felt blood splatter his face.

Naruto's eyes flew open. He gasped, a horrid sucking noise where his breath should have been. Directly in front of his eyes was the ghastly face of the prisoner, brown eyes wide with shock and face drained of blood. For a moment, the prisoner swayed, and then he fell, sideways, to the muddy floor. At the back of the prisoner's neck there was a kunai, embedded in the man with deadly precision, so much so that not even blood was flowing from the wound.

Suddenly, tremors started racking Naruto's body.

Slowly, he looked away from the dead man at his feet –for Naruto was sure the man was dead- and allowed his gaze instead to follow the track of the kunai to its owner. Edward nii-san stared back at him, his own face pale and breaths coming in harsh gasps.

"I... I killed him," Edward nii-san murmured, his voice shaking. Naruto had never heard Edward nii-san's voice shake like that. His next words were quiet, almost as if he were muttering to himself, but Naruto with a stab of guilt heard them all the same. "I had no time... a kunai was all I had, and I had to make sure he didn't hurt Naruto... but I... I..."

An instant later, the clearing was flooded with people. Or at least, that's what it seemed like to Naruto. Various people in different animal masks seemed to appear out of nowhere, scanning and searching the area. Naruto hardly noticed.

That is, until one of the people went too close to the site of the explosion.

"This seal," The man in a bear mask murmured, his voice barely above the winds, "Masterfully created, but... hm, why doesn't this line look like all the rest?"

Naruto blinked, then felt his blood freeze. Slowly, he crawled over to the large seal he had constructed. Edward nii-san still didn't move from his spot, was still staring blankly ahead, and the strange men with the animal masks paid no attention to the eleven year old blond.

With churning guts, Naruto made his way over to his seal, and looked. Truly, truly examined his seal. Everything was perfect, except...

He got a sinking feeling in his gut.

Except for that line, which wasn't nearly as straight as it was supposed to be. Except for the circle, which Naruto forgot to include because it was one of many circles, and Naruto had never been one for details. Except... details were the thing that made seals. He had read about the consequences of one line out of place, one dot where a dot wasn't supposed to be. He had read about the consequences and laughed, damn it!

Just because he found something he was talented in, he thought he could slack off, and... He looked again to Edward nii-san, who was still murmuring silently to himself and not paying the world any attention. He looked to the dangerous and wild prisoner, who had come to him with the intent to kill and was now lying there dead, face drained of blood. He looked to Sasuke, who was lying there so unmoving, so still.

Against that prisoner, Naruto had not made his seal properly, because he was lazy and sloppy, and the result was the huge explosion of chakra.

Everything... was his fault.

A/n: Well, well, who expected Naruto to seriously mess up? Seriously though, he's a hyperactive kid, and sealing is a discipline that requires patience. Naruto won't be able to automatically be a seal master simply because of the precision, even if he intuitively understands it.

I have to say, I LOLed at Sasuke's introduction to Shino. Why? Because it sounded so much more like a political alliance than the beginning of a friendship. But still, I think Sasuke and Shino suit each other. Ino's and Naruto's sounded much more natural... haha...

In case anyone's wondering what happened (though Ed will sorta recount it in his POV in the next chapter), it is as follows: Seal exploded, and prisoner decides to go after Naruto to use as a hostage. Ed sees it as the prisoner trying to kill Naruto. Ed doesn't have time to reach for his senbon, but guess what, a kunai is already in his hands. Ed throws the kunai at a spot aimed to kill, because he isn't sure if a kunai is precise enough to stop the prisoner if he aims it anywhere else.