Chapter 4
Apologies for the late chapter; I had a case of writer's block and a lot of stuff going on. Unfortunately, updates from now on will continue to be rather sporadic, but I'll do my best to update faster.
I do not own Naruto.
Naruto wandered the streets aimlessly, lost in thought. Icy glares and dark mutters followed him, but he continued walking, completely oblivious.
"So, I heard you're looking for a new place?" a lazy voice drawled behind him. Naruto jumped in surprise and spun around to see Kakashi standing behind him.
"Don't scare me like that!" he scowled crossly, folding his arms. "And how'd you know? I haven't even told Itachi yet!" Kakashi smirked.
"Oh, y'know, a little bird told me…." he said, waving a hand airily. "Anyways, why are you moving out? I thought you were happy at the Uchiha's." Naruto tensed imperceptibly.
"Well, there are a lot of reasons," he said slowly. Kakashi's lone eye narrowed shrewdly.
"It's the rumours, isn't it?" he guessed. Naruto's expression darkened and he kicked at a pebble on the street.
"Yeah," he said at last. "I can handle insults to me, but I don't want the clan to get in trouble too. Besides, I know how to take care of the two of us and I'm starting the Academy in a few weeks, so there's no need to burden the clan."
"Hmm… But you're still not an official adult until you graduate," Kakashi noted. "In other words, you're not actually legally allowed to live on your own and take care of Kunami at the same time."
"What?!" Naruto shouted, spinning around and clenching his fists. Kakashi hastily raised his hands to placate the furious five-year-old.
"That's why I came to find you," he quickly explained. "I've got the answer to your problem." Naruto cocked his head questioningly as Kakashi continued walking, his hands in his pockets.
"And…?" he prodded impatiently as Kakashi showed no signs of stopping. Kakashi slowed to a stop and, turning around to face Naruto, gestured at the building behind him.
"And I say come live with me," he grinned. Naruto's jaw dropped open.
"But…you...I…" he stammered as he tried to wrap his mind around what Kakashi was proposing. "There's no way you have enough space!"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "I have two bedrooms, one storage room, a bathroom, a kitchen/dining room, and a living room. We can easily convert the storage room into another bedroom and voila! Enough space. Besides, I'm a jounin. Week-long or even month-long missions are pretty common on the A to S rank level. You'll have all the space you need."
"I…. What about the rent?"
"I can cover your portion with part of your yearly allotment. Even if it runs short, I have plenty to spare," Kakashi shrugged. Naruto scowled and bit his lip, searching for more excuses.
"Kids are pretty loud, are you sure you can handle it?"
"You'll have to leave her with Mikoto during the day anyways, seeing as you'll be in the Academy soon, and I'm hardly in the house as it is," Kakashi reeled off. "Why are you so against living with me anyways? It's not like I'm a complete stranger," he huffed.
"It's just… I don't think Itachi would appreciate it if I moved out of his place and into yours. He might get jealous," Naruto admitted. "Besides, part of the reason I wanted to move out was so I could be independent earlier and support the two of us on my own."
"Naruto, I think you're underestimating Itachi. He would never be so petty as to be jealous of your moving in with me. In fact, I'm sure that he's already caught wind of your plan and understands completely. And as for independence, there's plenty of time for that once you've gotten older and stronger." Naruto stared stubbornly at the floor and Kakashi sighed in exasperation.
"Alright, how about this, promise you'll stay with me until you've been a genin for at least three months and then I won't stand in your way. Sound okay?"
After a few moments of hesitation, Naruto nodded. "Okay. But I'm not moving until after tomorrow; I don't want to disrupt Sasuke's party with my leaving."
"Fair enough. Since we're already here, why don't you go up and look around?" Kakashi smiled.
"Actually, I've got to talk to Itachi and his parents about this, so I'll check it out later," Naruto said sheepishly, scratching his head. Kakashi nodded understandingly.
"Ah yes, that could be troublesome. Well, in that case, take my spare key anyways; you can come up and take a look whenever you're free. In the meantime, I've got a couple of reports to make, so I'll see you around. Good luck with breaking the news!" Kakashi laughed as he waved and vanished in a shunshin. Naruto scowled.
"Thanks, Kakashi. Thanks a lot."
"….and that's why I've decided to move out," Naruto finished, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the floor. The silence that followed was unbearably stifling, not to mention the stiffness of his back from keeping his posture completely rigid.
"There's no need for you to leave simply because of a few unpleasant rumours," Fugaku said at last. "However, if this is really your desire, I see no reason to stop you. Indeed, I commend you for your thoughtfulness. Do you know when you'll be moving out?"
"Well, Kakashi's offered to let us stay over, since I'm not legally allowed to look after both myself and Kunami until I graduate, so I won't have much to move. But I'm going to wait until after Sasuke's birthday; I don't want to ruin the happy occasion, so I'll definitely be staying at least until after that. Kakashi also said I'll need to fill out some paperwork before I can officially move in, so that will take a day or so too," Naruto said.
"Knowing Kakashi, I think he would enjoy the company," Mikoto smiled. "That boy has been alone for far too long. Once you start the Academy, why don't you bring Kunami over during school? I'm sure Kakashi will be busy and Sasuke would definitely enjoy the company."
"Sure, that sounds great! Thanks!" Naruto beamed before rising on stiff legs and leaving the room. He slid the door shut behind him and turned to head to his room.
"Ah! Itachi!" he yelped as he nearly crashed into his self-proclaimed brother. Itachi frowned.
"I know everything," he said sternly. "When were you going to tell me?" Naruto dropped his gaze and stared sheepishly at the floor. Itachi's gaze softened.
"Please don't leave, Naruto. Without you, Mother and Father…no, the clan is different."
"Different's not always bad," Naruto offered. Itachi shook his head emphatically.
"It is with us," he said darkly.
"I don't like the village hating you guys too," Naruto said at last, half-muttering the words. "It's bad enough that they glare at you too when we walk together, but I can't stand them talking bad about you."
"Even so, you should have told me first," Itachi said sharply. Naruto looked up, startled by the amount of emotion in Itachi's voice.
"Itachi…"
"Naruto, don't you remember the pact we made that day? We promised to tell each other everything, to support each other and care for each other no matter what. That was a pact sealed through blood." Naruto looked away, downcast.
"I…I know I broke our promise, but…everything just got in the way, you know? I didn't want to say anything when I was just thinking about it because I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but when I finally decided what to do, I ran into Kakashi and things suddenly fell into place. Then I came back, but you weren't here and your parents dragged me in for questioning and I…"
Itachi interrupted Naruto's babbling with a firm look. "Naruto, you should have come to me the moment you started thinking about this." Naruto closed his half-open mouth and nodded shamefacedly. Itachi's face relaxed and he gave his friend the smallest of smiles.
"I forgive you this time, but next time, come straight to me, okay?"
Naruto nodded and firmly grasped his hand. "Yeah! I promise, dattebayo! I won't go back on my word ever again. That's my motto!"
"Your motto?" Itachi asked, raising an eyebrow. Naruto stuck his hands behind his head and beamed.
"Yep! I've decided to make a motto for the way I live as a ninja; I'm going to always keep my promises and protect my friends and this village with everything I have!" Itachi smiled faintly.
"In that case, I'll make one too," he said quietly, surprising his friend. He paused, thinking hard for a moment. "My motto is…"
"Itachi, there you are! Your father is waiting for you," Mikoto said, sliding the door open.
"Sorry, Mother," Itachi apologized. He glanced back. "Sorry Naruto, I've got lessons to attend. I'll talk to you later." Naruto nodded sadly.
"Okay. Have fun," he said weakly, offering a smile. Itachi's lips twitched into a faint smile as he nodded and entered the room. He was followed by his mother who shut the door behind her. Naruto sighed as he left the compound.
"What do I do now?" he grumbled under his breath as he moodily stalked through the streets, ignoring the pointed glares thrown in his direction. He paused. "Oh yeah, Kakashi said I could come over anytime… might as well check it out." With a shrug and a slight lift of the shoulders, he set off once more, a smile of contentment settling on his face.
Naruto reached the apartment with no problem, but now he was struggling with rusty keys in a lock that absolutely refused to budge. He shot a glare at it and jiggled it again before giving up with a sigh. He was just lifting his foot to kick it open when the lock clicked and the door opened before him.
"Naruto?" Kakashi asked, amused. Naruto blinked and dropped the kick he'd been about to deliver.
"Uh… your key is rusty," he said by way of explanation, holding up said annoyance. Kakashi gave them a cursory glance before nodding and snagging them.
"Probably forgot to dry them after training with my suiton jutsu. No worries, I'll get them fixed the next time I go out. Why don't you come in? I just got back from delivering my mission reports, so I can give you a quick tour."
"Sounds good," Naruto smiled, entering. The apartment was rather nondescript in appearance, simple and furnished with only the bare necessities. Then again, what else could he expect from the home of an active shinobi? Furniture didn't matter much when you were used to sleeping out in the bush and spent only a couple of hours in your house per day.
"This is the living room," Kakashi said, waving vaguely around the place. "As you can see, it's not much, but I've never really had much use for it." Naruto glanced at the worn sofa and dusty coffee table.
"No problem, I'm sure Kunami will brighten it up," he said cheerfully. "What's next?" Kakashi chuckled and led him further into the apartment.
"The storage room's pretty empty; I never did get around to using it, so it won't take too much work to tailor it to your needs. This one's my bedroom, here's the washroom… kitchen… oh, and here's your room!" he said brightly as he swung open the last door and entered. Naruto followed, curiously glancing around.
It was painted a neutral blue-grey with windows that opened out to a darkening sky. A simple bed was placed to the side, accompanied by a non-descript dresser. A single desk was shoved into the opposite corner with several worn bookshelves standing a few feet away. It was rather plain, but surprisingly, Naruto liked it.
"It's… nice," he said surprised. "I usually don't like the whole concept of plain and simple, but this is actually really nice."
"Oh yeah, you're usually into flashy colours like orange, right?" Kakashi asked in amusement. Naruto scowled.
"Hey, don't insult the orange!" Naruto objected heatedly. Kakashi chuckled and raised his hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay, orange is amazing. Moving on… you've seen the entire place now. Still got any concerns?" Kakashi inquired as they returned to the kitchen. Naruto shook his head slowly.
"No, not that I can think of. When would be a good time for me to officially move in?"
"Hmm… well, I just got a week-long furlough, so that gives you a seven day window. Sasuke's birthday party is tomorrow, right? And you'll be starting at the Academy about a week after that…" Kakashi trailed off thoughtfully.
"How about in five days?" Naruto suggested. "That should give me enough time to help clean up after the party and finish my packing." Kakashi nodded.
"Alright, five days it is. Oh, and before I forget, I picked up the confirmation package for you from the Academy. I've already added myself into your emergency contact information, so you can just check over it to see if the rest of it is correct and return the papers tomorrow. I've also talked to Hokage-sama about your moving in and filled out the papers. You just need to look it over and get Fugaku to sign as well."
"Okay, thanks," Naruto said as he took the papers and began flipping through them. "By the way, what are you getting Sasuke? I've run through a couple of ideas, but I still haven't decided what to get him." Silence filled the room. Naruto looked up to see Kakashi staring uncomfortably at the tabletop.
"You're not going, are you?" he asked softly. Kakashi shook his head.
"No… frankly, I don't know Itachi all too well, and the Uchiha clan…" His hand rose to touch his eye. "…after I got the sharingan, things have been… tense. It would be better for everyone if I just stayed away."
"But that's why you should go!" Naruto protested. "That way you can get to know everyone better. Besides, if you're going to be my guardian, you're gonna have to get to know the other side of the family." Kakashi sighed and massaged his temples.
"I'll think about it," he said at last. Naruto pouted but after a few moments relented and returned to his paperwork.
"Okay, I'm finished," he announced, rising. He glanced at the clock and frowned. "It's getting late, and I still need to grab Sasuke a present before I go home. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then?"
"Maybe," Kakashi replied as he saw the boy to the door. "Will you be okay going home by yourself?" Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Please, Kakashi, I'm five. I'm not a kid anymore; I can take care of myself."
"You're only an adult once you turn sixteen, so yes, you are in fact, still a kid," Kakashi corrected.
"Wait, you're thirteen!" Naruto protested. "That means you're still a kid!"
"Shinobi are the exception. Once you become an official shinobi, you're considered an adult, although certain age-restrictions still apply," Kakashi explained. "But alright, you can go home alone." Naruto flashed him a smile.
"Thanks. See ya tomorrow!" he called as he dashed out of the flat. Kakashi rolled his eyes as he shut the door.
"Kids these days…"
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, dear Sasuke… happy birthday to you!"
Itachi smiled as Naruto mimed blowing out the candle to Sasuke. The boy was solemnly watching his adopted brother huff and puff as best he could without actually blowing out the candle.
"Come on Sasuke, you can do it!" Naruto encouraged. "Just blow as hard as you can! Like this!" Naruto puffed once more and Sasuke finally followed suit, blowing one big puff of air. The candle flickered before winking out, filling the air with the scent of melted wax.
"You did it!" Naruto cheered. "Haha! Did you see that Itachi? Sasuke's got the lungs of a real Uchiha! He's going to be a natural with the katon!"
"Indeed," Itachi agreed, poking his baby brother just as the boy reached for the cake knife.
"Ow! 'tachi-nii!" Sasuke whined, rubbing his forehead.
"Don't touch the knife, you might hurt yourself," Itachi said sternly as he passed the knife to his mother.
"Thank you, Itachi," she said distractedly. "Could you go in and get Kagami-ojisan? He said to call him when it was time to cut the cake." Itachi nodded and headed back to the house.
"Ojisan?" he asked politely, seeing the old man sitting in the living room. Kagami blinked and looked up, a slow smile spreading across his face.
"Ah, Itachi!" he said. "What brings you here?"
"We're about to cut the cake and Mother said you wanted us to call you when it was ready."
"Ah, yes, help me up, will you?" He sighed wearily. "I swear, these legs of mine hurt even more than they did when they broke in the first place," he grumbled as he leaned heavily on his crutch.
"Do you need more medicine?" Itachi asked in concern. "We have some just inside…"
"No need, no need," Kagami chuckled, waving a hand airily. "I was just exaggerating, my legs aren't really that bad..."
"Hello? Is anybody home?" a voice called from the front door. Itachi blinked in surprise; he was pretty sure all the guests had already arrived, so the stranger couldn't possibly be a latecomer…
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Kagami asked, giving Itachi a small shove in the back. "Go on and see who it is! Don't worry about me; I'll just come along behind you." Reluctantly Itachi left his lagging elder and headed to the door.
A young teen wearing the standard jounin outfit stood at the door, fidgeting nervously. Itachi narrowed his eyes at the shock of silvery hair and slanted headband that greeted him.
"Hatake Kakashi," he said neutrally, his face blank. It wasn't that he had anything against the older boy per se, but they weren't exactly on the best of terms. If he had to describe their relationship, it would be akin to one of two distant relatives that barely met on a yearly basis. While they were both considered adopted brothers by Naruto, Kakashi came from his father's side while Itachi came from his mother's.
Itachi paused and re-evaluated his analogy. Okay, so maybe it wasn't the best analogy… and maybe they weren't that distant, but details aside, the point was Kakashi was an unknown to him. And considering the fact that Naruto would soon be moving in with him, his lack of knowledge wasn't very comforting. Itachi sighed inwardly and mentally shook himself, focusing on the present.
"Are you looking for Naruto?"
"No… actually, I'm here for the party," Kakashi said, rubbing his head almost sheepishly. "Naruto invited me yesterday, but a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way around…" Itachi raised an eyebrow.
"I see you've picked up Obito-san's poor excuses," he noted dryly. "Just wait a moment, I need to fetch Kagami-ojisan and then we can head out back."
"No need to say it like that, you're making me sound old!" a voice grumbled from behind Itachi. Kagami narrowed his eyes at the sight of Kakashi. "Well, well, well, if it isn't young Kakashi."
"Uchiha-san," Kakashi said stiffly. Kagami paused and stared critically at the teen.
"You know, Kakashi," he began conversationally, "if I didn't know better I'd think you were a fifty year old, the way you talk. Relax! We're having a party, no?"
Kakashi blinked. "…Aren't you mad at me?"
"Whatever for?" Kagami asked in genuine confusion.
"You know…the thing about Obito…" Kakashi said quietly, glancing at the ground. Kagami rolled his eyes and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Please! I got over it years ago." He paused.
"That sounds horrible. Let me rephrase that: I got over any anger or resentment I was feeling towards you for letting my nephew die. It was a war after all, and jounin or not you were a kid; I could hardly blame you for what you did. Heck, it's pretty amazing you got out of that mess at all!
"Besides," he gave Kakashi a sidelong glance, "Obito's still watching from that sharingan of yours, right? Well, I'm not about to go and spit on his sacrifice. Now come on, the cake's going to be gone by the time we get there!"
"R-right!" Kakashi stammered in shock. Itachi hid a smirk and offered his arm for the older Uchiha to lean on as they made their way to the party.
"Come on, Kakashi-san," he called over his shoulder. "Everyone's waiting." His words seemed to snap the teen from his shock.
"Ah, right, coming!" Kakashi flushed, striding forward to join Itachi and Kagami. As they approached the table, Fugaku turned towards them, a flash of recognition and something else crossing his face before it returned to its usual neutral state.
"Kakashi-san," he said somewhat stiffly.
"Fugaku-san," Kakashi replied just as tersely. Seeing his father tense imperceptibly at the informal address, Itachi quickly intervened.
"Father, Tekka-san and Inabi-san are looking for you," he said, nodding his head at the nearest members of the Police Force. Distracted, his father nodded before heading towards his fellow clansmen.
"You should be safe now," Itachi said, turning to Kakashi. The older boy blinked in surprise as Itachi continued smoothly. "I apologize for his coldness; the clan has had some unfortunate experiences with users of transplanted sharingan, so I hope you will excuse his distrust towards you."
"It's nothing I can't handle," Kakashi shrugged dismissively. "But what about you? Judging from your obvious effort to avoid any further tension, you don't have a problem with my sharingan. What's your opinion?"
"Obito died to protect his comrades and the village…" Itachi said slowly. "Disregarding those he saved would only serve to dishonour his memory. In any case, Naruto considers you as an older brother, and shunning you would only serve to hurt him." Kakashi blinked at the surprisingly in-depth answer before offering a wry smile.
"Is that your attempt to say 'let's be friends'?"
"Perhaps," Itachi said neutrally. Kakashi shook his head in amusement.
"Naruto was right; you really are socially inept," he smirked. Itachi raised an eyebrow.
"And what would that make you, Mr. I-made-genin-at-5-and-chuunin-at-6? You're as much the socially inept child genius as I am, if not more."
"Times were different back then," Kakashi sighed. "The war was just starting and they needed everyone they could get. But now, the war's dying down. The worst of it is over and now it's really just the occasional border skirmish with Kumo and negotiations with Suna. You won't be shooting up the ranks like I did."
"Don't forget, Kakashi, our forces are depleted from the war. They'll be advancing our promotions as much as possible to fill in those empty uniforms just to present a good show to the rest of the world," Itachi pointed out.
"True," Kakashi admitted, "but even so, your generation won't be as greatly affected as mine was." Itachi nodded, a distant look in his eyes.
"War..." he said slowly, glancing towards the giggling children. "I don't think until their generation grows up will the village be living in true peacetime."
"Yeah..." Kakashi sighed. "That's why we need to get stronger, so we can create that peace and protect them from the horrors of war that we had to endure." Itachi nodded in agreement.
"Hey, hey, Kakashi, you made it!" Naruto beamed as he bounced up to them. "Are you guys being depressing again? You should have some cake! It's awesome, dattebayo!"
"I'm sure it is," Kakashi said wryly, eyeing the cream dotting the boy's face and fingers. "Haven't you heard of napkins?"
"Anyways," the boy continued obliviously, "they're already opening the presents and saying goodbyes, so I came over to grab you guys. Let's go!" Reaching out, he grabbed their hands and practically dragged them across the field.
The gift opening had already started, but judging from the pile of miniature Uchiha clothes, they hadn't missed much. Itachi quickly joined his parents, Sasuke, and Kunami, who stood at the head of the line accepting gifts and escorting guests out the gate. His father shot him a stern look as he arrived, followed by a yawning Naruto.
Smoothly slipping into his spot and reeling off a few gracious apologies, Itachi slid back into the role of the first-born son of the head of the Uchiha clan. He was to be polite and respectful at all times and to hold to the principles and traditions of the clan.
He hated every second of it.
It wasn't that he hated the clan, on the contrary, he loved it. No, it was the people's obsession with the clan and social status that he hated. Why couldn't people see that there was more to being a clan, but about being family. Furthermore, that family shouldn't just stop at the clan, it should include the whole village, from the strongest shinobi to the smallest child.
He sighed wearily.
Fortunately, few of the clan knew the true extent of his abilities due to his reclusive nature and his parents' decision to wait until he entered the Academy to push his clan education further than the basics. But even at the tender age of six his eyes were perceptive enough to notice the measuring looks and careful scrutiny from the clan elders who were evaluating and assessing the future leader of the clan.
That was one of the reasons why he loved being around Naruto. Naruto didn't care about which clan you came from or any of that political nonsense, he saw you for who you truly were and loved you for it.
Which brought him back to his bitterness towards Naruto's departure.
Sure, he understood that his friend had as much attachment to Kakashi as he had to the Uchiha, if not more, but that didn't make the parting any easier.
"Itachi? Hey, Itachi? Are you listening?" Naruto's said loudly, waving a hand in Itachi's face. Blinking, he found himself surrounded by his family, who were giving him worried looks.
"My apologies, I was thinking about something," Itachi said quickly, inwardly remonstrating himself for his moment of inattention. Naruto grinned in relief and clapped a hand to his back.
"You and your thinking! Stop worrying so much and look around! There's plenty to see, and if you're always thinking about this and that, you're going to miss a lot!" A rare smile slipped onto Itachi's face.
"I'll try to keep that in mind. In meantime, what was it you trying to tell me before?" Naruto blinked and scratched his head, his face scrunching up in his efforts to remember.
"Uh... I forgot," he grinned sheepishly.
"You were about to come and help me move these presents inside," Mikoto smoothly interjected, giving both the boys a meaningful look. "It's getting dark and if you two want to have dinner anytime soon, you'll come and lend me a hand." Itachi nodded and gathered the presents into manageable piles while Naruto began carrying them inside.
A hand tugged on his sleeve, causing him to look up.
"'tachi-nii... me help?" Kunami asked, her violet eyes looking up pleadingly at him. A small chuckle escaped his throat and smiling gently, he ruffled the girl's hair.
"Not this time, Kunami, you're still too small." She pouted, scrunching up her face in disappointment.
"Pleease?" she begged. Itachi shook his head as he scooped her up in his arms.
"Sorry, Kunami, maybe next time. Besides, I heard you wanted to personally give Sasuke your present. Why don't you do that now while I clean up here, eh?"
Kunami scowled for a moment before nodding her head and bursting into a wide smile.
"Yeah! 'urry 'tachi! Me give!" she urged, yanking on his shirt. Itachi chuckled and walked inside the house.
"Naruto? Your sister wants to give Sasuke her present now," he explained as he handed off the bouncing girl into his friend's arms. "I'll clean up outside; there are only a couple things left."
"Thanks," Naruto grinned as he bounced Kunami in his arms. "C'mon Kunami, let's go get your gift, dattebayo!"
"Yeah!" Kunami cheered as the brother and sister disappeared into the living room.
Chuckling softly, Itachi stepped back outside and bent to pick up the last few presents stacked neatly on the ground. As he straightened up, his eyes caught sight of the swiftly darkening sky. Cast against a backdrop of deep indigo blue shone thousands of stars, blinking and twinkling in a variety of colours. His breath caught as his eyes tracked a streak of bright light shooting through the sky. As the bolt of light vanished from view, a smile slid across his face.
Itachi had always enjoyed star-gazing; it reminded him that although he was tiny and insignificant in comparison to the world, he could still make a difference in the world. When his dream of worldwide peace seemed unbearably unreachable, he would stop to look at the stars and remember.
His heart lightened somewhat, Itachi turned his back on the night sky and slid the door shut behind him. Laying aside the packages, he headed towards the living room, where the sounds of warm laughter and voices greeted him. His smile widened; it was nights like this, nights when the village was at peace and his family warm and happy, that he truly enjoyed life.