Hellooo! Here is the next update! This was a little hard for me, because I've been busy with competitions this past week or two. Updates will probably not come out at a set schedule, because I am a horrible time-manager for deadlines, and besides, this is just a little fun project I've been thinking of. Should pick up more momentum as the story goes on and becomes easier and more fun to write. Enjoy!
I don't own Naruto. Guess who does? But I own little Saku. He's MINE.
When Sakusen opened his eyes, he found himself in the clearing again.
Damn. How did he keep ending up here? Not that he was complaining, but he was just curious, in that way that young children usually are.
It was large, barren area surrounded by tall, looming trees. Moonlight from the full moon gleamed off of the snow covering the ground and dusting the trees.
Sakusen could barely remember the last time snow had come in the Land of Fire. This was certainly not his home, that was for sure.
And like last time, and the time before that, and that as well, he heard the howls pierce through the silence of the night. From the dark shadows of the trees, a pack of wolves burst through the clearing. They were on the hunt, and ran so quickly and gracefully that it looked as if they were flying across the snow, feet barely touching the ground.
And when he turned to chase after the pack, he was flying along with them, the cool breeze flowing across his face as he joined them in their midnight hunt.
Sakusen had never felt so elated and free.
Of course, that was where he had to wake up.
Opening his eyes blearily, Sakusen rubbed the sleep out of them. "It was the good dream too," he groaned, as the last vestiges of that wonderful soaring feeling slipped away. Every time after waking up, he felt like that time Jiji had taken him to the dentist, and the man had put a lead blanket over him. It was hard to get up with it on, especially since it was larger than he was.
That was what getting up felt like after dreaming.
In front of his bathroom mirror (on top of a stool – he was too short to reach the top alone and Asuma teased him relentlessly about it), the 3-year-old Namikaze Sakusen looked at his reflection. Sharp eyes with bright violet irises stared back, on a small, round face framed by messy yellow hair. On each of his cheeks were 3 lines that resembled adorable little whiskers, as Rin called them; in a way, they reminded him of the wolves in his dreams.
He ran a hand through his hair, combing his long spikes back, while trying to remember everything from his run with the pack. He'd had that dream regularly around this time of the month, when there was a full moon when he looked out of his window. It was like that time a stray cat had kept following him after sharing his food with it, always coming back eventually for more. His hand got caught in his tangled locks, and he tried his best to set his hair straight.
Sakusen frowned, face twisting into a cute pout. The spikes went everywhere, and there was no use trying to tame them.
Biwako-baa-chan even claimed that it had to be a new kekkei genkai, since it was just impossible that hair was like that naturally. According to her, Minato, his Tou-san, had the same-ish hairstyle as well. Of the few pictures he'd seen of his father, she was right, but the man's spikes were less… floppy. He giggled thinking of Kakashi's hairstyle; every time he had a chance to run his fingers through the tufts, he could feel the static electricity crackling off his hands. Maybe because he had a natural Lightning Release affinity? Kakashi was weird. And moody.
Hopefully Sakusen wasn't a Lightning user either, he made sure to check for sparks in his hair every morning. He'd hate to have hair that crazy. His own was bad enough.
Only Tou-san's team made it home sometimes after missions. His favorite was Rin, since she always took him out to buy taiyaki when she was free. Tou-san never came home with them, since the Yellow Flash was an important asset on the battlefield. So was Kaa-san, for other reasons. He got the fact that teleporting made you hard to kill and made it easy to kill others, but Kaa-san seemed to be high up for no reason. Not saying that he thought she was bad, of course, but there was literally nothing he knew about her abilities.
Then again, the Record Offices wouldn't let him see any information on her skills for some odd reason, so he didn't really have a good idea of what she could do.
He understood the reasons for them not being able to come home. It was hard, but he did get it. It was like the first lesson he'd been taught when he first learned to play shogi with Jiji – taking away important pieces would leave you vulnerable, and you would lose. Losing was bad, so it made sense that they would be out on the front.
He didn't mind being less of a priority in his parent's minds as much as one thought he would be, but he still missed them a lot. The last memory he could recall of them was Kaa-san's long, beautiful red hair and Tou-san's laugh and vibrant smile. He didn't remember how they acted, so he only had his grandparent's words to go by.
Biwako-baa-chan was dead set on him not taking up his father's "unruly teenage habits," saying that he was "irresponsible" and a "blockhead." Whatever those meant.
Baa-chan said that about his father a lot, for some reason. He got the impression that Tou-san was not on the list of Things that Obaa-san Liked. Did he offend her in some way? he wondered.
Far away, on the border of the Land of Fire, Namikaze Minato sneezed. The chill that was running down his back right now was familiar, in the way that dredged up unpleasant memories.
"What was that?"
The Iwa squadron he'd been attempting to hide from had heard, and he sighed. Oh well.
Downstairs, the Sandaime Hokage was sipping his coffee. Biwako was already over at the hospital managing the morning shift. He should probably do the same soon at his own office, or else the Chuunin on duty there would be like lost little lambs. He snorted. Wartime meant quicker promotions, which often translated to fresh young recruits that were absolutely not ready to be kicked into an office with an actual filing system. That none of them ever learned how to use at all. That was neither good for him nor them, or the war effort.
He turned to take his pipe, but found it already gone. That was quick. His grandson had learned how to muffle his footsteps with chakra, so he'd missed the actual moment of the theft. Not that it meant anything to the Sandaime, of course. The boy was always radiating chakra that could easily be picked up from anywhere within his range when he entered sensing state. Up close like this, it was like he was shining a torch at his Jiji's face.
Chuckling, Hiruzen spoke in a congratulatory tone. "You've gotten much faster than last time. I almost didn't catch you. Almost." A muffled noise of disappointment came from behind the kitchen counter top, and Sakusen crawled out from underneath clutching the pipe in his hand.
They had made it a game of sorts for Sakusen to sneak around and take stuff without his noticing. Already, he was living up to his namesake. The boy had waited until the Sandaime's head was tipping back with the motion of drinking from his cup to scramble under the table and snatch the pipe. He'd give him that one, it was a good try. That chakra presence was just going to be a damning factor in his stealth training, though.
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed, cup halfway to his lips. Now that he thought about it, for a moment, he'd felt Sakusen's chakra dull very slightly, barely enough to be noticeable. Suppressing was a skill that normally had to be taught. If Sakusen had felt a need to dampen his signature, it was probably because he'd compared his own signature to other ninja in the village and felt the difference in size.
It wasn't a perfect suppression, not by a long shot. He quirked his lips slightly. If the boy could ever manage even an 80% suppression within his lifetime, that would be quite the accomplishment in itself. But there was no mistaking the fact that the signature was dampened down.
The boy was probably a sensor, he concluded with an air of finality. You didn't spend decades surviving this long as a ninja and not learn anything. There was a reason he was called the Professor. He would probably assign someone to check for certain later.
"I can never win at this," Sakusen pouted, returning the pipe to the table and brushing off the dust from his pants. The boy was so much like his parents. There was Minato in that sharp eye shape, hair, and calm analytical ability, but his violet irises and occasional loud outburst were all Kushina.
"Nonsense. You're only 3, after all. You've done very well for your age." Understatement of the year, Hiruzen thought dryly, the fact that an Uzumaki managed even a partial suppression with no formal training is a complete miracle.
Sakusen puffed up a little hearing that. He would have to beat that growing attitude out of him. Arrogance was a big problem in the field, unless you could back it up. And Hiruzen was not taking any chances of losing his boy because he overestimated his own abilities. Enma could probably do it within one training session. It had certainly worked with Jiraiya, anyway. Mostly.
"Can you take me to the weapons shop today? Or teach me a cool new jutsu? I've been good, right? You promised!"
Ah. Hiruzen nearly winced, choking on his freshly smoking pipe. He had promised to take Sakusen to the weapons shop later, hadn't he? He was a terrible person for forgetting his promises so easily, especially to his grandson.
Not that it was completely his fault, of course. The Hokage was on the top of the list of Busiest People During Wartime, and he knew that battle strategies and meetings awaited him at the Hokage Tower. He barely had time to even care for the boy. A bored Uzumaki proved to be a menace in an office stacked with papers, which meant that Sakusen was usually left to care for himself at home.
He felt guilty for leaving the boy alone when even his parents were gone. There was no mistaking that sparkle in Sakusen's eyes whenever he looked at Hiruzen. To Sakusen, his Jiji was something greater than man, the best of the best of ninja, able to do anything and everything. Hiruzen hated to have to destroy that image of himself by not being able to just be there for him, like he had done with Asuma and Akane. His current relationship with his sons was rocky, at best.
But, not being able to stick around was something that couldn't be helped; he had priorities as the Hokage, and the village needed him more than his sons and his adoptive grandson did, as much as it pained him to admit it. Hopefully, Sakusen would understand. Shadow clones weren't an option either, they wouldn't last long enough for the whole day to watch over the boy.
Plus, he'd get a splitting migraine if he tried. And Biwako would be on his case, and who would complete Konoha's paperwork then? Shikaku?
Most certainly not. Other people had secret stashes of alcohol or munchies in their drawers. Shikaku had a secret stash of pillows.
Sakusen saw the apologetic look forming on his Jiji's face, and quickly interrupted. "Actually, it's fine, Jiji. I think I can get it myself. Can I go down to the training grounds?"
He took back his previous thought. He did not deserve this wonderful child's understanding. He was terrible. Terrible. Hiruzen resolved later to clear some time to take Sakusen to that weapons shop and teach him some basic jutsu.
"That is fine. Just remember to be careful," he sighed, the wrinkles on his face becoming more pronounced. Hiruzen could trust Sakusen to look after himself. He was more mature than any he'd seen at that age, and besides, he'd assign someone to tail him.
That didn't mean he wasn't allowed to worry. Although no one else other than those present at the delivery was supposed to know about the birth of another Uzumaki, you could never be too cautious. They were prime targets for sticking Bijuu inside. Not to mention that their skill in sealing was unparalleled. Kumo would be halfway down their mountain already if this information had been leaked.
Sticky fingered bastards.
Now, who would be good with kids and teaching from his active roster?
The Third Training Ground was Sakusen's favorite place to be at. Not only did it have trees to climb up on and water to swim in, the clearing with the 3 stumps resembled the clearing from his dream. He sat down on top of a stump, opening a pilfered scroll from Jiji's library (hopefully he wouldn't mind too much) and began reading.
Sakusen enjoyed reading the most, especially from his grandfather's library. There were layers and layers of scrolls detailing the theory of chakra, hand seals, and jutsu that would make the Research and Development Department drool. Not that he understood everything in there, but it was still interesting to read, and he'd learned a lot by poring over all the scrolls.
Hand seals, for instance. They required a lot of dexterity, especially for performing jutsu quickly. Little kid muscles did not like the workout he gave his fingers at all. But they weren't hard to form, as he discovered, because the flow of chakra naturally attracted the tenketsu on his hands and fingers together. Sort of like sticking magnets together, you just had to guide the magnets correctly to each other. The different positions altered the flow of chakra, making it easier to perform jutsu of different natures. Some people mastered altering their flow to such an extent that jutsu required less hand seals or none at all to perform.
That wasn't all, though.
The first time he'd tried a Fire Release Sarutobi hidden technique, the results had been spectacularly explosive, making him black out in the process. He'd woken up to a burning training ground, and had run home in a panic with soot all over him. Apparently, Fire Release was not his forte. And Hiden techniques had to be taught from one to another, so that may have been another reason why he'd failed.
Sakusen tried very hard to ignore the glaring fact that it would take years just to gain enough control to use that kickass fire dragon jutsu, especially for him. Control didn't seem to be his strong suit, but he never really tried before.
Hand seals were only one part of jutsu. The other half was chakra control. Which he was trying to improve right now, with something called the tree-walking exercise.
"Hum... it's not hard to understand, at least." At least not as hard as the jutsu on that big scroll that he'd found in Jiji's office. The stuff on there was pure insanity. At least some of it. He'd memorized the stuff he could understand, he was good with stuff like that.
Tree-walking was basically using chakra to stick to the tree. Or some other surface. But Konoha had a bunch of trees, so he'd start there. It couldn't be that hard, he reasoned, because nearly everyone learned how to do this. He could do it too.
Making the Ram seal, he channeled his chakra and placed his foot on the tree.
Unbeknownst to him, a pair of spinning red eyes watched his progress. Uchiha Shisui looked on with interest at the small boy now attempting to start tree-walking. He let out a small chuckle. The kid was cute, trying to learn a skill like that already before entering the academy.
He shifted his legs to keep the blood flowing through them, nearly falling from the branch he was camping out on. Sandaime-sama had assigned him to guard the kid, which he didn't know how to feel about. On one hand, the Hokage himself had requested him to take care of the boy. On the other, it was basically a babysitting mission. Should he be honored or insulted? Shisui shrugged. He was getting paid, at least, and that new tanto that Neko-baa had on display was looking fine as hell.
The only warning he had as to what happened next was a blinding flare of bright purple chakra coming from the kid's leg.
A large crackling sound ripped through the clearing, and Shisui blanched as the tree that the kid was trying to climb literally toppled over.
He started panicking. What was the kid doing? How was he destroying trees like that? Was he dead? Oh dear god, did the tree fall on him? Why were there no screams? He definitely would have screamed if his foot had crumpled a tree like that.
Sakusen was not dead nor screaming. He was busy trying to blink out the stars from his vision. Dazedly, he remembered some kind of law that he'd found in the library - every action has an equal reaction? Or something. He really couldn't remember at the moment. Although he really did wish that he'd used less chakra, because the first step had sent him rocketing back to the other side. His foot was burning from shoving all that chakra out at once. That was a bad idea.
Well. At least he knew he had to use less of it now.
Shisui was still gawking at the tree. The kid had blown himself clear across to the other side of the field with his feet, which must have hurt like hell. Hopefully he was okay, but Shisui was starting to have serious doubts about letting the boy train by himself.
Dang. That kid had a crap ton of chakra, if what he'd seen before the explosion had indicated. Where did it all come from? The kid was a pint-sized brat, who should not be able to hold that much. There was no way he was letting the kid train by himself after seeing that. The Hokage would probably not be happy with him if he dragged a comatose child into the hospital. Didn't the Hokage's wife work there too? Well, then he would be double-fucked. He was interfering.
Of course, he had orders from Hokage-sama to watch Sakusen, which implied just observing from a distance, but he hadn't said anything about not participating in his training – maybe the Hokage wanted him to read between the lines? That was probably it, he decided with a nod, and flickered down in a Shunshin.
Sakusen was busy checking his foot and his head for damage after hobbling over to the stump. Grumbling, he was wrapping his foot up when he felt the familiar tingle of chakra whoosh behind him. Normally he needed to spin his chakra a certain way to feel other presences (he'd discovered that on accident while at home trying to activate his chakra coils), so it was probably a jutsu that someone was using behind him. So he did what anyone else would have done, and springboarded off his stump to face his attacker.
Well, that was the plan. But he forgot about his sore foot, and instead face-planted the ground.
Shisui watched, surprised, as the boy did an amusing swan-dive straight into the grass. So he was a sensor. No way would a pre-academy student know that he'd landed otherwise. Hokage-sama would be happy to hear his suspicions confirmed.
"Who are you?" the blond-haired boy asked, rolling over to spit dirt out of his mouth with a suspicious glare. Straight and to the point. He liked this kid. Shisui smiled. "I'm Uchiha Shisui. You look like you're having trouble with that control exercise. You need to put way less chakra into it."
Sakusen blinked. That was not what he had expected, of all things. This curly-haired boy that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere (how did he do that? There was definitely nothing behind him when he'd sat down) was suddenly proffering help. He wasn't dumb enough to refuse heavily-needed guidance, but this boy didn't seem that much older than him. Obviously, the natural thing to do was to voice his doubts.
"Can you do it? You don't look much older than me. How old are you?"
The Uchiha deflated a little. He got enough crap from the older shinobi for being a 6-year-old genin, now someone younger than him was questioning his rank too. Didn't these guys see the headband? He wanted a neon strap for it now, and maybe flashing lights to go around the plate.
"Actually, I'm a genin. I'm taking the Chunin exams next year too. And I'm 6."
Sakusen wow-ed. That was actually pretty impressive, from what he knew. "Genin. At 6? I thought you stayed in the Academy for 4 years. Did you enter when you were 2? Or maybe you skipped years?"
Ooh, the boy was sharp too. Sort of like Itachi, but with more spunk. "That's right. I entered at 5 years old, and graduated at 6 some time ago. I only spent a year there because I mastered all the chakra exercises and knowledge tests early on." He put extra emphasis on the early on. "What's your name?"
Oh yeah, Biwako-baa-chan had told him it was polite to introduce himself to people he didn't know. "I'm Sakusen. Can you please help me with this chakra control exercise?" He made sure to turn on his pleading puppy eye face. From experience, it had usually gotten him what he wanted.
Taking a glance at the scroll, Shisui frowned. It was an older scroll, but still had all the basics and essentials. There was absolutely no reason for Sakusen to exude that much chakra for his first attempt. Sakusen might not have been as bright as he thought. He cleared his throat.
"Watch me. I don't blast out chakra like you first did, I control the amount that comes out and I keep it there. That's why it's called control."
Shisui demonstrated on the nearest tree by making a half-Ram and walking straight up it. Looking back down at the blond mop of hair, Sakusen's eyes were wide. "That's pretty cool! I'm gonna try too. Watch!"
How cute. He was sort of like Itachi, with that strange mature aura they both carried around and that sharp mind. Shisui was going to arrange for them to meet sometime. He had a feeling they would get along well. Time to switch shifts with the next babysitter, he'd come back at lunch to give some pointers. There was no way this kid would be able to have it down by then.
Tree walking was hard. By lunchtime, there were bits of tree bark debris scattered everywhere on the ground. Sakusen was panting, but he'd gotten most of the concept down. The idea was to pad the feet with a certain amount of chakra to stick like a magnet, as his scroll explained it. Too little, and the magnet wouldn't be strong enough to hold. Too much chakra, and you got pushed away.
Or in Sakusen's case, blown away. The problem was, he understood the concept perfectly. Shisui thought he was stupid, he could tell, but he actually got everything. But every time he stepped up and channeled chakra like that, it built up like a blocked pipe, and he could barely control what came out.
There was something he was doing wrong. He had lots of chakra, but this was crazy. There should be a way to slow it down. There was always a way.
Going back over everything again with a frown, Sakusen thought about it again and again. Well... chakra flow was controlled with hand seals too, right? What if he changed the hand seal? Did it have to be the Ram seal? Why not others? Shisui had done half-ram, so it would make sense that different ninja used different seals, right?
Shisui was back up in the tree now, watching on his stomach, arms and legs hanging down. There was literally no hope for the kid. He had little to no experience with working with chakra, so he would probably have to wait until he became genin, or at the very least, was taught better by his instructors.
Then the kid did something that made his jaw drop even more than when he'd blown up the tree.
Sakusen was cycling through the different hand seals, experimenting. Tiger and Dog felt worse than Ram did, and it gravitated towards his stomach, and he'd had to take a second or two to shove the chakra back into his coils. Snake was much better, but still. He could do better than that. Tenketsu could line up in literally a million different positions, and he knew there were other seals than the basic 12. Playing around with his hand positions, he fiddled with his fingers, and then...
"Oh. There we go."
It was nothing special - just literally placing the palms of his hands together. Like a clap. But in this position, chakra ran freely through his body without interruptions, without making pent-up energy. He could literally feel the flow - it was sort of like the pre-sensing state mode. From there, it was easy to concentrate and skim some chakra off the cycle to guide to his feet.
Switching back to Ram on an impulse, he felt with absolute clarity the chakra he'd sent to his feet being sucked to the bottom of his sandals. He couldn't absorb it, but he could attract it. This was the ratio he'd discovered a while back, but could never get. Holding his breath, he put his foot to the trunk...
And he stuck.
The whoop of joy shocked Shisui out of his daze. He... he took back every negative thing he'd thought about Sakusen's intelligence. The boy was a genius. No doubt now. What Sakusen did was gain a complete understanding of hand seals and chakra flow that even Jounin didn't have, and use that to change the rules around to his advantage. Persevering with one method was one thing, but understanding the method and changing it? That was working smarter, not harder.
Words could not describe how shocked he still was at seeing a 3-year-old do that. And he was used to seeing the usual Uchiha prodigy do stuff that no one had seen before.
Guiltily, Shisui reevaluated his thought process. Had he been judging the boy based on what Uchiha genin typically accomplished? That was a little unfair of him. Sometimes, that potential needed to be brought out. And he knew exactly the kind of friend Sakusen would need to bring his out.
Well... it's still within mission parameters... and besides, this is good training for when I need to make judgement calls in the future.
"Ow, ow," Sakusen muttered as he trudged toward the food stands. While he had gotten the idea, it took a while to learn how to naturally alter the flow to be able to unstick from the tree to take the next step. He'd fallen about 10 feet up trying to perfect his technique. The fall had left him with some bruises, but luckily it wasn't anything serious. There was a strange pile of leaves that had broken most of his descent that he didn't think was there before, but who was he to argue?
Besides, if he had come home hurt more badly, Biwako-baa-chan would give him a terrible scolding, and then yell at Jiji for letting him train alone. And then he would have to go back to the office. Or worse, the hospital. Sakusen didn't like that place. It smelled of disinfectant, and the nurses wouldn't let him run around in the hallways.
A growl came from his stomach. He was starving, and he wanted food. Now.
What should he get? There was always so much to choose from in the market district. They had food stands with yakitori and takoyaki, and those delicious taiyaki that the tea house had. Sakusen nearly drooled thinking about all the food he could… buy…
Ah crap. He'd left his wallet at his house, hadn't he?
Of course I would forget my money, he thought a little crossly. Now he would have to run back to the Hokage's residence to get his wallet, and that was nearly halfway across the village. And he was hungry. He felt tempted to let out a despondent wail, but checked himself. He was a big boy now, and big boys didn't cry. But big boys didn't forget their money either, he reminded himself. Now what was he going to do?
"Forgot to bring money?"
He remembered that voice! Sakusen looked up to see Shisui perched like a bird on top of one of the stands, waving with a grin on his face. Great. Now someone had seen him mess up.
"I did… I'll have to run back to get it. Hey! Can you teach me that jutsu you used? Y'know, that cool one where you moved really fast?"
"Sorry, Saku-chan," Shisui said back (that was an adorable pout that Sakusen had, he'd be sure to keep using that nickname), "the Shunshin isn't as easily taught as the tree-walking. You'll need more than a couple of hours to get it down. How about you come over to our district? I know someone that makes really great food."
Sakusen shifted, uncomfortably. "Is that ok? It feels a little rude to do that."
He'd never really gotten invites to other friend's houses. He actually didn't have very many other friends, other than Obito, Kakashi, and Rin, because they were the ones who came over to visit the most. He did know, however, that normally you sent word to someone before meeting them. That was what Jiji did when he scheduled appointments with other people. This couldn't be that different, right?
"Nonsense," Shisui snorted. The kid just probably wasn't used to other people, considering the fact that Hokage-sama assigned guards to tail him around. That kind of attention tended to scare away the other children's parents, and subsequently, their kids. "She'd be happy to have you around. The person I'm taking you to knows your mom, too, I think."
That got his attention. "Really? Who? Who is it?"
The Uchiha boy smiled. "Uchiha Mikoto. She's my clan head's wife. You'll love her!"
The Uchiha District wasn't a very bad place to be in. There were mostly civilians left over, with the occasional stern-faced ninja on patrol now that the war had occupied most of the upper rank's time. Shisui guided Sakusen through the confusing mishmash of identical, traditional houses, finally stopping at one compound that was larger than the others. By now, Sakusen was a little nervous. He'd just remembered Jiji's warning to not follow strange people around. But Shisui wasn't strange, right?
Any doubts he had vanished when Shisui knocked on the door of the main compound, and a beautiful, raven-haired woman answered. Her eyes, which shone like dark obsidian, lit up at the sight of the blond haired boy, and a gentle smile formed on her face.
"Ah, hello! You must be Sakusen!" she exclaimed happily. Ushering in both Sakusen and Shisui, who looked just a tad bit miffed at being ignored, the woman led them to a living room, her glittering hair flowing behind her.
"I've heard so much about you from Sandaime-sama. You've been training hard, right? I tried to set some time aside for you and Itachi to meet up and spend some time together, since you don't seem to interact too much with others, but all village Jounin are busy, and coming home to take care of little Itachi and Fugaku takes up enough time as is. Would you like some tea?"
Sakusen accepted politely, listening as the woman rambled. "Excuse me, I heard you knew my mother?"
Mikoto stopped talking and smiled again. He didn't waste any time fooling around. How so like Kushina. She missed her. "That's right. We've been friends since our academy days. Do you remember meeting her?"
He shook his head. "Only bits and pieces. Like her hair. And I remember Tou-san's smile. But that's it."
The woman laughed. "Her hair was always one of the more memorable things about her, along with her attitude and her appetite." She grinned fondly, as she recalled her academy days. "Kushina was a boisterous girl back in the academy. On her first day there, she was being teased by other kids for her hair color and for being a foreigner. She beat everyone up so badly, they named her 'The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero.'"
Shisui chose this moment to speak up, setting down his half-empty teacup. "Pardon me for asking, Mikoto-san, but who are his parents?"
"My dad is Namikaze Minato, and my mom is Uzumaki Kushina. I didn't know she was a foreigner?" This was the first time he'd heard about the foreigner part. He missed Shisui perk up at the mention of his dad's name.
"Yes, she came from Uzushiogakure when she was a child. Her home was destroyed during the 2nd Shinobi War, though." Here Mikoto's face took on a sad expression, which made Sakusen want to go over and hug her. That was probably levels of inappropriate, though, seeing how she was a clan head's wife. Remember politics. Don't offend big clan members.
"Kushina always talked about going back to honor her family members, but could never get the courage to see what remained of her homeland. She started saying that she had a new family here in Konoha, and that past memories were best left undisturbed."
"I can't imagine what it would be like to learn that your home was destroyed," remarked Shisui with a small frown. His teacup was empty now. He really enjoyed his tea. "It must have been hard for her. Maybe you can go later when you're older for your Kaa-san, Sakusen."
Sakusen nodded. "Maybe. I think I would like that."
The door to the house opened, and a quiet "Tadaima" came from the hallway. "Okaeri, Itachi. Bring the groceries to the kitchen, please," said Mikoto, hurrying to the dining table. Sakusen was reminded of his hunger, which had lessened somewhat, but still gnawed away at his stomach.
Footsteps sounded in the hallway, accompanied by the sound of crinkling plastic bags, and a young boy about Sakusen's age emerged, carrying an armful of groceries. He had pronounced tear troughs stretching down his face, with long black hair and onyx eyes. He didn't look surprised to see Shisui and Sakusen, but his eyes still looked curiously at the blond Namikaze.
"This is Sakusen, Itachi. Sakusen, this is my son, Itachi. Would you all like to wait and talk outside until the food is done?" asked Mikoto, busy transporting the contents of the bags to the stovetop.
"Of course, Kaa-san," replied Itachi politely. Shisui led the way to a screen door that opened up to a patio and a fish pond. Once everyone was outside, the two youngest boys regarded each other with varying levels of interest. Eventually, Sakusen decided to make the first move, and stuck his hand out to Itachi. "Nice to meet ya. I'm Namikaze Sakusen."
Itachi took the proffered hand with a small smile. "Likewise. I'm Uchiha Itachi. Are you training to become a shinobi as well?"
"That's right!" Sakusen nodded proudly. "I want to become a great ninja like my parents!"
The boy was nice, decided Itachi, and not wholesomely unpleasant or obnoxious to be around. He offered more of his friendship in the only way he knew how.
"Would you like to train together until Kaa-san is finished cooking?"
Sakusen's smile threatened to split his face in half.
Shisui smiled. His plan had worked! Itachi had a friend! Thank goodness they were both around the same level of weird for this to work. Only weird kids actually enjoyed training this young.
Back at home, Sakusen talked animatedly with his grandparents over dinner.
"And then! And then! Itachi showed me how to throw kunai and shuriken! And I finished the tree-walking exercise! But Itachi already knew how to do it, so the next time we meet, Shisui's going to teach us how to walk on water! It was so cool! And –"
Biwako and Hiruzen shared a smile. The venerable Sandaime was cheering inside. His plan had worked! Sakusen had a friend! He knew he could count on Shisui to notice the similarities that the socially awkward Uchiha boy and his isolated grandson allegedly shared, according to Mikoto. Maybe he wouldn't be so lonely while everyone was gone after all.
"I heard around the hospital that Sakusen's parents will be moving away from the front lines and toward the rear, Hiruzen?" interrupted Biwako, snapping Hiruzen out of his thoughts.
"How did you hear that around the hospital, of all places?" asked Hiruzen. The stuff that went around - you'd think that the hospital was for gossiping, not healing. All news somehow arrived there.
Biwako waved her hand. "Word gets around quick among hospital staff. Does this mean that Minato and Kushina will have an easier time coming home?"
Sakusen's eyes grew wide. He could see his parents again?
Hiruzen quickly interjected before the boy could get too excited. "They will be moving closer to the village and away from the heart of fighting, along with several squadrons, but that won't be for a couple of months. It will be a progressive movement, so not too soon. But you will be able to see them again. I promise. This week, I'll be sure to take you to the shop, too, ok?"
That night, Sakusen went to sleep happier than he'd been in a while. And once again, he dreamed of the wolves bounding through the snowy clearing as the light of the moon shone down upon him.
I can't say I'm too pleased with this chapter, because I feel like there's a lack of dialogue, inner thoughts, actions etc. That may just be my inability to understand what goes on inside a 3-year-old's head, though. I will try to improve for future chapters. And this may just be me (prob not) but I feel like I'm changing the tone along the way. Have to keep everything consistent. This is hard.
Also, Itachi is here!
And if any of you were wondering, Sakusen means "military strategy" or something of the sort in Japanese. Thought it had a nice ring to it, and it fit my character's style.
I can't wait until little Sakusen grows up, so he can have actual thoughts that I can write without feeling weird. Because if a kid thinks like an adult, that would be creepy. Unless you're Itachi. I guess that's why SI's are nice to write.
Thank you to all who have viewed and followed this story. Again, reviews are welcome! Tell me what's good, what's bad, what you guys like or didn't like? Oh, and have a Happy New Year! My present to y'all.