Chapter 10
For the first time in three days since she last cuddled baby Sasuke (though she would never admit to it), Tsunade Senju walked into her office with dragging steps. While Naruto and Sasuke ate and slept peacefully in the hospital, she had been running around nonstop, meeting with clan heads, researching jutsu, she even had correspondence with the Daimyo.
But the worst of it, undoubtedly, was the paperwork. How one little kitten could generate enough paperwork to rival three months' worth of her usual stock was still beyond her. She guessed 'Sasuke's return to Konoha' coupled with 'irreversible genetic mutation and age reversal' would rock any administrative system to its foundations.
When she glanced up at her desk, expecting the three days old piles of 'normal' paperwork that she had been neglecting, she found its surface clear for the first time in years.
Shizune.
Not for the first time, Tsunade felt truly blessed to have her as an apprentice. Even though the painful experience of enduring her nagging was on par with a twenty day losing streak at the casino.
And even then, she'd take the losing streak.
Two pairs of feet, one pair dragging just as wearily as hers, came in behind her.
For the moment, Tsunade paid them no attention. She needed to get to that chair first. Hang the person who decided to put it so far away!
But she was hailed as the Slug Princess and world's greatest Iryō-nin. She had survived Hanzō, fought through the Second Shinobi World War and lived through the Third.
So, no matter how utterly drained she was, she soon found herself sitting in Konoha's most comfortable chair and flexing the bandaged fingers of her right hand in mild fascination.
It had been a long, long time since she had sustained an injury for three days. It made her feel a bit…civilian…which from time to time was not a bad thing.
"That's your own fault you know," said a voice that Tsunade still found herself so grateful to hear at times. It did not escape her how close she had come to losing its owner.
Jiraiya leaned against the wall, standing where Shizune usually stood ramrod straight, holding Tonton while she 'assertively reminded' Tsunade about all of her wonderful paperwork.
He even had the same reprimanding frown. "You should have known better than to go punching a wall saturated with that much sealing jutsu."
Tsunade's frown was the perfect twin to the looks Shizune would receive. The wall in question, quite frankly, still made her want to hit something whenever she thought of it. If not for the injury she suffered (which would have been the loss of her entire arm were she not a Senju) she would have torn that entire room apart with her bare hands.
"I'm surprised you held yourself back," she smoothly returned to the Sannin. "The last time I've seen you look so enraged…" she thought a moment, "Actually, I've never seen you look like that."
"You haven't spent enough time with me, then," Jiraiya said with an easy smile and just a spark of suppressed-not-dead fury in his eyes. "Though that's all going to change."
Tsunade felt just the slightest heat enter her face before she shut it down. "I suppose it has to," she answered with feigned belligerence, "I can't see you leaving the village on any more missions with just one arm."
Jiraiya chuckled; they both knew exactly what he had meant, and surprisingly, neither of them had any (strong) objections.
The third occupant in the room looked between the two with growing understanding but, other than stifling a yawn, remained silent.
"How's Naruto doing?"
A white smile. "Excellent. His technique's really growing – he's almost able to achieve a physical change now."
"Oh." Perfectly shaped eyebrows raised. That was something. "And Sage Mode?"
"We'll get to it. I really want to focus on the Kyūbi's chakra for now."
Tsunade nodded. "I'll leave it to you then."
She pulled out a file from her desk's top drawer. Danzō's file. Shizune had not touched it – there were some things only the Hokage could do.
She signed a few papers inside it, stamped 'Deceased' on its cover in big, black letters, and performed a small seal. She watched without emotion as the squiggled black lines stretched across the cover, binding its contents to all but a few privileged eyes.
The funeral had been short. And lonely. Only herself, the remaining two Elders, Sai, Tori and a handful of other shinobi were there. Except for the two Ex-Root members and the remnants of Danzō's old team, everyone else was only present out a sense of duty.
Tsunade had a lot to say about Danzō actually, but none of it was… proper… for the man's final send-off. So she refrained, saying only the bare minimum, her tone so emotionless that an onlooker would be fooled into thinking that she was also a past member of Root.
After the service, Danzō's body was cremated. Tsunade had felt their eyes on her then; the eyes of all of Danzō's subordinates. They had attended the service in shadows, and in shadows they left before she could call them out.
Sai then met her eyes and given her a small smile. Tori glanced at him with an even smaller smile. The muscles in her face trembled a bit with the effort, but it was a start.
She knew then, that she could trust Sai with the lost children of Root.
Tsunade exhaled, sinking back into her chair and flexing her fingers. That funeral ended less than an hour ago, and already she was exhausted.
"How much longer until the meeting?" she asked no one. The room's other two occupants glanced at each other, until the wearier of the two spoke.
"Half an hour."
"I see." She glanced at the one who answered. "Didn't sleep you got back, huh Kakashi?"
"Not a wink, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, his closed eye upturned in a smiling crescent.
"You're the one who insisted on seeing him early. I still think it's too early for Sakura, even though she's going to be coming here."
Her face shamelessly held the words 'I told you so' as Kakashi swayed a little and stifled another yawn.
"He's cute," Kakashi finally deadpanned. Tsunade blinked. Jiraiya chuckled.
"After two full nights of thinking, that's the only conclusion you've come to?"
Kakashi shrugged, giving up and yawning fully this time. "I have no clue as to what could have done that to him, especially with such permanency. And why a cat?"
"I've been thinking on that too," said Tsunade. "And I think I might have a lead, but I want to wait until all of Team Seven are here."
Kakashi choked a little on that, and quickly diverted to another subject.
"You seem to have given custody of him to Naruto."
"Not officially but…" she shrugged. "Is that a problem?"
"No," Kakashi drew out the word a little. Tsunade's eyes narrowed, waiting for Kakashi to gather his thoughts.
A small part of her was relieved that she was not the only one completely thrown when first faced with what Sasuke had become. If even the Copy-Ninja was flustered, it truly was as shocking as she thought.
And for what it meant…
"I can see that they're close," Kakashi finally explained. "It amazes me if I'm being honest. Naruto will need some help, but I'm sure that situation will be fine at least. But the fact that there's no way to change him back… I don't know what to say. How did Naruto take it when you told him?"
Tsunade did not know how to describe it. How did she describe that impassive face, that nod of unresisting acceptance and that perfectly calm 'okay'?
"Well."
"Well?"
Tsunade nodded, interlacing her fingers despite the trace of pain. "No anger. No sadness. No shock. No fight. He just accepted it."
Kakashi stared at her, his eye growing wide. "Why would he just accept it? He can't want –"
"What?" Jiraiya pushed off the wall, resting his arm in the fold of the grey robes he now wore. Until he learned to function better with one arm, his clothing options had become limited.
"He can't want a true best friend who actually loves him? He can't want a Sasuke who actually acknowledges him, actually values the life of the one person in this world who would give up his own flesh, blood and soul just to save him from the darkness –?"
"Jiraiya." At Tsunade's voice he stopped, embarrassed that he got so worked up. About to apologize to Kakashi, he found that during his energetic monologue, a few early birds had shown up for the meeting.
Or perhaps, considering who was here, 'energetic' was not so much the right word as –
"So youthful!"
Oh joy.
"Hokage-sama, please do not be angry at Lord Jiraiya for his youthful display of burning passion for his beloved student, as I have also forgotten form at times when I burn with youthful –!"
Jiraiya snapped.
"Why are you here too, Gai?! This meeting was only for the students. No jōnin senseis were supposed to be –"
"Excuse me." Rock Lee raised his hand in perfect disciplined form, waiting patiently for Jiraiya to acknowledge him.
Jiraiya blinked. His eyebrow twitched. Oh, that was a rather terrible migraine coming…
"What?"
"I would like to point out that Neji is also here, and is a jōnin. Also, Kakashi-sensei is here, and he is a jōnin as well as a sensei."
"That was a very astute observation Lee!" Gai youthfully proclaimed, giving his student a powerful thumbs-up and a smile that could blind the Byakugan. To that point, Neji subtly turned his face.
"Thank you Gai-sensei! I have been practicing my observational skills as of late in order to come up with a new ultimate technique!"
"Oh, is that so?"
"Yes! It is one to rival your Morning Peacock. I shall call it…" Lee paused for dramatic effect, just as his sensei taught him. Gai leaned in, thoroughly enthralled by his own dramatic technique.
"Morning Chicken!"
Tsunade blinked. Jiraiya's jaw dropped. Kakashi rolled his eye. Neji sighed. Tenten subtly pulled out a fan, contemplated using it, then decided against it. She did not want to appear childish in front of Lady Tsunade after all.
Gai stared at his student. A lone tear swelled in his eye.
"Lee. That name…"
Lee stared at his sensei, his perfectly round eyes sparkling in anticipation of the man's opinion.
The tear broke its banks, and likewise transformed into a river that raged down both sides of the man's face. How that happened in a split second – Jiraiya blamed it on chakra.
"That name shines with the full power of youth!"
Lee, an ever-youthful doppelganger of his master, also had two rivers of tears washing his cheeks.
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"GAI-SENSEI!"
"LEE! COME MY CHILD, LEAP INTO MY HEAVING BOSOM!"
They embraced. They cried. A sunset and crashing waves appeared behind them, though Jiraiya was sure that he had simply been driven mad to the point of hallucination when he saw it.
It was this scene that Team 10 walked into. Shikamaru took one look and attempted to walk right back out but was stopped by a ruthless hand on the back of his jacket.
"It's your fault they got here before us in the first place!" Ino hissed, stepping around the weeping spandexed duo while dragging him in tow. "I even got Chōji to stop eating freakin' barbecue just to get here early but you and your lazy –!"
"Now, now, we're here and that's what matters, right?" said Chōji, gulping down large portions of aforementioned barbecue from a Take-Out box.
Ino screeched. Shikamaru yelled and blocked his ears, the rest of the room winced, and Gai and Lee stopped crying.
Tenten looked at them. Then at Ino. She needs to teach me her method.
"You're in front of the Hokage, Chōji! You can't be eating!"
"But Shikamaru said this wasn't a formal kind of meeting. And besides, we're still fifteen minutes early."
And I wish you weren't. As Ino went into a full tirade, Tsunade refrained from rubbing her temples, even though she desperately wanted to.
But even Kakashi was early for this, so what'd I expect? And in the midst of Ino's chaos, she smiled. They're all still concerned for Sasuke this much huh?
"Oi, Ino! Pipe down already will ya!" Team 8, led by a very large dog with a healthy sheen in its white coat entered: two of its members did so quietly, the third made enough noise to cover both of them.
"Akamaru and I can hear you all the way from the village gates!"
"The same can be said of you, Kiba," Shino quietly complained. Hinata imperceptibly nodded and gave a small smile to her cousin, who nodded in response.
"Well," the dog-boy looked around, "Looks like everyone's here so…"
"I'm afraid that's incorrect Kiba," said Shino. Kiba's shoulders flinched and he slowly turned to his teammate, "Why? The members of Team 7 are absent."
Kiba opened his mouth to respond, when another voice contradicted Shino.
"Forgive us, I thought we were early."
Sai walked in, supporting a bandaged and bloodlessly pale Sakura. Though she had somehow managed to get dressed in some normal clothes, she still wielded a crutch in her left hand.
When she looked up and met everyone's gazes of shock, she smiled weakly.
"I'm okay. I was just a little stupid in our last mission and –"
"What the hell did you do?!" Ino screamed, rushing over to Sakura's other side and attempting to support her.
Under the sharp gaze of her master, Sakura winced and explained sheepishly.
Ino gawked.
"You abused soldier pills?! You of all people?! You could have killed yourself!"
"Like I said, I wasn't thinking straight. I heard that Sasuke-kun was back and that Naruto had gotten in a fight with the leader of Akatsuki and I –"
"What?" Shikamaru, who had joined Jiraiya in leaning against the wall, came off it and stared at her. "I heard that Sasuke was back, but nothing about Naruto battling Akatsuki's leader."
"That's why I called you all here," Tsunade said, straightening in her chair. "Now that everyone's here, this meeting can get underway. Kakashi…"
The man who was addressed had fallen into a doze standing up. He jerked when he heard his name and stood at attention.
"Since you already know everything, go on to Naruto and bring him and Sasuke back here in half an hour."
Kakashi nodded and with a leap he was gone. Tenten stared at the ceiling; was there a trapdoor or something up there?
While Chōji quickly inhaled the last of his barbecue, Tsunade turned to Sai. "How's Tori doing?"
Sai nodded. "She's sleeping at home; I think she's tired from feeling too many things at once."
"Who's Tori?" asked Ino, helping Sakura to the chair Tsunade had prepared for her.
"Ah!" Kiba adopted a sly smile that showed off his impressive canines. "Tori's that girl I've seen you holding hands with all around the village, right?"
Sai responded with a blank smile. "Yes, that's her."
The smile faltered into a light cough as Kiba thumped him solidly on the back. "Nice going Sai. She's a little plain but the best ones usually are. Good going, man!"
Sai tilted his head, unsure of how to respond. Ino, looking especially irritated, targeted Kiba.
"If it was like that, Tsunade-sama wouldn't have asked about her."
"How do you know?"
"The Hokage doesn't ask after people's love lives!"
"How do you know?"
"She hasn't asked me any of those kinds of questions."
"That's because the entire Fire Country knows you don't have a love life."
For that comment, Kiba was gifted with several rather cancerous looking lumps sprouting out of his wild mat of hair. Akamaru whined sympathetically.
"She has to do with Root, right?" As usual, Shikamaru's genius drilled through to any secret Tsunade tried to keep.
With a small crease in her brow, she assented. "However," she stopped Shikamaru from going further, "all of that is a discussion for another time. You wanted to know about Naruto and Pain's encounter, correct?"
Shikamaru saw through her ploy, but was helpless to fight it. He was too curious.
"It's true, Naruto did face Pain. His intervention allowed Jiraiya to retrieve invaluable information about his techniques as well as his identity. However, Naruto suffered extreme chakra exhaustion while acting as a diversion. He's still recovering his chakra reserves even now."
Shikamaru's eyes were full of questions, but once again, Tsunade stopped him from speaking. "Shizune has completed a full report detailing Pain's abilities, which was distributed to every shinobi rank Chūnin and above this morning. You all can study it after this meeting is over."
"Why wasn't Pain defeated?" Shikamaru insisted. "If Lord Jiraiya and Naruto were there, and they knew all of Pain's secrets…"
"Reinforcements arrived," Jiraiya answered. "Neither of us was in any shape to fight them."
Shikamaru glanced at Jiraiya's loosely hanging sleeve with no arm to fill it. His lips tensed and he fell silent.
"While Pain was not defeated, he was dealt a devastating blow. We estimate at least a month before he becomes a viable threat again."
She paused, re-lacing her fingers and resting her chin upon them. "I would like to move on now to the meat of the matter. Uchiha Sasuke. As all of you already know, he has returned to Konoha and is under the unofficial custody of Uzumaki Naruto."
An audible inhale of breath filled the room. Sakura's hands clenched slightly.
"Custody?" Neji wondered.
"Yes." Here, Tsunade paused. Neji and Shikamaru were on full alert immediately. The others in the room tensed.
Good reactions.
Tsunade inhaled. "The things I am about to tell you are shocking. I'm going to go straight to the end, so just listen and absorb as much as you can before asking any questions."
And with that, she told them everything.
Sasuke's amnesia, his transformation, her uselessness, and Naruto's new position.
'Guardian' was the absolutely wrong word to ever ascribe to Naruto. But it was also absolutely right. Naruto would protect Sasuke, care for Sasuke and watch over Sasuke until a way was found to fix him. What else could he be called, even if he was a hundred years too young for the title?
By the silence that met her words, no one else could argue either.
Shikamaru slowly rose from the floor. He had descended there sometime during her speech, his fingertips pressed together in a signature circle.
"Baby cat-human…" the words were soft, as though they knew they should not exist. "True age regression that's irreversible…" He shook his head. "That's not possible. There's nothing in this world capable of that."
"Apparently there is," Tsunade replied evenly. "What happened to Sasuke is like the answer to what Orochimaru spent all of his life and intelligence trying to find. The key to true immort –"
"I'm saying that's not possible!" Chōji and Ino flinched. It was always something to see Shikamaru worked up, especially when he put his own life in danger.
Tsunade's eyebrow twitched, and Shikamaru swallowed, but did not back down.
"It has to be some kind of trick. A secret jutsu, some kind of Kekkei Genkai. I can't accept –"
"So you think your Hokage is happy-go-lucky enough to accept such a thing so easily?"
"Of course not. But… ok. It's really Sasuke – blood and DNA tests prove it."
"And I took him to Hiashi to confirm his chakra system," came the flat addition. "His eyes have the most experience with Uchiha chakra, so he's the best to verify it."
Oh. The two Hyūga in the room had the same thought. That explains it then.
Hinata remembered her father's eye twitch (the first she had ever seen since the days her mother was alive) when she told him about the meeting, and the weird glances he kept giving poor Tomo, the family cat.
Neji remembered the Hyūga patriarch crouched in front of said animal, staring at him as though he held all the secrets of the universe.
When Hiashi activated the Byakugan, Neji had walked away.
"Right." Shikamaru continued, unaware of the Hyūgas' small epiphany. "It's really him then. Then the answer must be something else, something obvious that we're missing. If we just think it out… wait – Orochimaru! He –"
"Wouldn't try something like this on Sasuke," Tsunade smoothly interrupted. "Sasuke was his precious vessel – if this really was his key to immortality, it could only be in the experimental stages. He has many disposable test subjects for that. Also," she shared a look with Jiraiya, "this just isn't his style.
"But to be safe, I sent out a few teams to sniff around his old hideouts. Now that he's dead, they're a bit easier to find."
"And?"
"Nothing so far on the nearest one. The other teams are still travelling. But, the one we did manage to search seems to have been picked clean of anything useful."
"Who – Kabuto. There was no report on his death."
Tsunade nodded – "Tsunade-shishou" – and started, a bit shocked that Sakura, who had gotten paler throughout the meeting, opted to speak. "Isn't Sasuke-kun's form the same as your Youthful Appearance?"
Tsunade sighed. "If it was that easy, I would have fixed it by now. I told you, Sasuke's change is permanent. Truly permanent. It is beyond me or any clan in Konoha to fix him."
"Any clan, huh?" Ino looked straight on at her, while the mild grip she kept on Sakura's shoulders tightened. "Tsunade-sama, let me perform the Mind Probe."
"Ino, your father said –"
"Dad always underestimates me. His body may be a lost cause, but I can retrieve his mind. Dad may think I'm too weak, but if you and I work together I can carry you to the place that's damaged in Sasuke's mind and you can heal…"
She stopped at Tsunade's raised hand. "Your father isn't underestimating you. He thinks you're too strong. He said it himself, 'even my daughter using the bare minimum of her chakra would not be able to avoid hurting him'. Sasuke is too young for the Mind Probe. Inoichi would only consider letting anyone from your clan do it when he's five years older."
"F-five years?!" Ino rocked back slightly in shock. "Just how young is… oh… baby cat-human."
"Yes. And Sasuke's amnesia is not from 'damage', but suppression. He's suppressing a traumatic memory, and with the same force is suppressing all his other memories as well."
Shino spoke up. "There are memories worse than what he's been through?"
"Apparently so. Whatever Sasuke encountered, it was… bad."
The same looks of consternation adorned all of their faces, though of course, Sakura was the most pronounced.
Her voice, unable to rise above a whisper, was trembling when she asked, "There's nothing we can do then? Someone just comes along and does this to Sasuke-kun, and there's nothing we can do about it?"
Tsunade pursed her lips. "I do have one lead, but I want to wait until Naruto gets here to discuss it."
Sakura flinched. She understood now, clearly. Naruto already knew everything that Tsunade just told them. She didn't. She came here knowing nothing, just like everyone else. Why? She could understand Kakashi, but she and Naruto had both been bedridden in the hospital. Why did he know and she didn't? Why did she have to wait until he was here before knowing more?
Sakura stopped. She unclenched her hands and gently pulled them apart. She was shaking. For a moment, towards Naruto she had…
"…should let you all know," Tsunade was speaking again. "It's about Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's brother. He's dying."
Shikamaru's head, bowed in deep thought, snapped back up. "Danzō?"
"No. He has a terminal illness. Sakura healed him on site and –"
"You healed him?" Ino interjected.
Sakura blinked slowly and answered in an eerily serene tone, "A dead hostage is useless."
Ino shuddered. That was cold. Even for Sakura.
"By Sakura's account Itachi has only one or two more weeks left to live, even with the medicine he was using." Tsunade leaned forward, fixing a steely gaze on every one of them. "I do not want Naruto or Sasuke knowing of Itachi's condition before he dies."
"Why?" Hinata asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Jiraiya stepped forward and all turned to him. "Naruto told Sasuke about his clan, and Itachi's involvement."
Sakura stood up. Her crutch clattered to the floor, the resulting strain of her weight making her legs tremble violently.
She was shaking with so much anger that she did not notice.
"Why?!" He didn't even ask me. "If Sasuke-kun has amnesia then this was his chance for a normal life! Why would Naruto ruin that?! He'll just turn into an avenger again!"
Jiraiya paused, weighing his words before answering. "I've been watching him closely. He hasn't shown any signs of the darkness he had before."
"What would you know about it?!" her voice broke and tears rolled down her cheeks. "Sasuke-kun's condition… I didn't know what to think… But when I thought that Sasuke-kun would walk a different path now… I was happy! I was so happy! But Naruto… Naruto's supposed to be his guardian right?! He's supposed to protect him from hatred, so why! Why would he feed him an avenger's hatred again?!"
Her legs gave out; Ino caught her and put her back in the chair, where she sobbed.
A tentative hand rested on her shoulder. She looked up into Sai's face.
"I think Naruto did the right thing." Sakura blinked, freeing more tears. "These things are still new to me, but I don't think a true life of happiness can be based on a lie."
To everyone's surprise, Chōji spoke up. "If Sasuke thought his clan was still alive, then Naruto had to tell him. It woulda been worse if he found out by surprise."
"The Uchiha are obviously gone," Neji further supplied. "Sasuke would have found out sooner or later. I think being upfront about it was the best move, rather than hiding in the darkness."
Sakura slowly brought up her wrist to wipe her eyes clear. She nodded numbly, staring unseeing at a spot on the floor.
"Even though you all agree, Naruto thought the same way as Sakura at first," Jiraiya explained. Sakura looked up minutely, her eyes slightly relieved. "He hesitated to tell Sasuke about his clan, and waited even longer to tell him of Itachi's guilt.
"It seems that, before the massacre, Sasuke and Itachi were very close brothers. When Naruto saw how much Sasuke had loved Itachi, and heard about Itachi's love in return, he became unsure of what to think or do about Itachi.
"I spoke to him and it seems that his mind has cleared up. However, I would just feel more… comfortable… if we hear of Itachi's death before letting Naruto and Sasuke know. The reason I'm telling you all is because Team 8, Sakura and Sai already know, and it would be naïve to think that word will not get out, or somehow get back to those two. Okay?"
A collective "Hai" answered him, and he smiled. Talking like this in front young ones made him think of Naruto in a way.
"Jiraiya-sama." Gai had remained uncharacteristically quiet throughout the entire meeting, so much so that Jiraiya forgot about him. "It seems that your standing has changed."
The Sage blinked. That kind of perception was… unexpected. Though, there had to be a reason the man was a jōnin despite… everything he was.
"I suppose it had to come out eventually," Tsunade sighed. "I've appointed Jiraiya as my new advisor to replace Danzō."
The room collectively blinked, no one knowing what to do with that information. It was Lee who broke the silence with unexpectedly tame applause, to which the others quickly followed suit.
Tsunade retained a distinctly irritated expression as Jiraiya scratched the back of his head, muttering embarrassed 'Thank Yous.'
"Congratulations," said a voice from the window.
"Ah, thank you – Kakashi?"
"Yo," the Copy-Ninja crouched in the window raised a single hand. "So that's what you meant when you said you'd be spending more time together."
"What did you think?" the danger in Tsunade's tone told Kakashi's sense of self-preservation to quickly change the subject.
"Naruto's downstairs. I thought I should come up here and see how far you'd gotten before bringing him in."
"It's not half an hour yet."
"It's already been forty minutes, Hokage-sama."
Tsunade blinked and checked the clock hanging over the door.
"I have a perfect sense of time," Kakashi nonchalantly stated, "so I'd always know when to be late." Tsunade couldn't argue that. "So now's a good time?"
"Sure, send him up."
"Okay. Sasuke's sleeping by the way – mid-morning nap," Kakashi's eye turned up in a smile. "He really is cute." And then he was gone.
"Huh. Seems he's adjusted," Jiraiya noted.
"Or he's drunk from lack of sleep," said Tsunade wryly.
Fifteen minutes. That seemed to be average time it took for people to stare, absorb and accept Sasuke-kitten's appearance.
Naruto still had five more minutes to go. He waited patiently.
Kakashi waited with him, every so often looking at the sleeping Sasuke and smiling softly.
Huh. So he's adjusted.
Though he was content to wait, Naruto's back had different ideas. He couldn't help that. Sakura was sitting, the others were crowded around him, so he was caught in an awkward bending position with his head leaning back for everyone to get a good view.
He was a ninja, but even ninja had their limits. If only Sakura didn't seem dead terrified of holding him.
"Uchiha…" Neji whispered, sounding sorry for him and disbelieving at the same time.
"Sasuke…chan…" Hinata had said that a few times now, as though trying to force herself to get used to the new honorific.
"Troublesome…" That really made no sense no matter how much Naruto thought about it. He guessed that the Nara had nothing to say, so naturally his favourite catchphrase came out to fill the gap.
"He really is cute…" Naruto agreed with Tenten, though he would never say it out loud. Though, Kakashi seemed to have no problem doing just that.
"He's like a little pork cutlet…" Chōji… just…
"He sleeps with the light of pure youth…" Okay. Naruto had to say something to that one.
But as he opened his mouth, something rolled in his back. Something that felt like vertebra.
That was not good.
"Uh, guys? I can't stand like this anymore – my spine's gonna break."
Naruto straightened, and at the sudden shift in equilibrium, he stumbled. His knee banged against the corner of Tsunade's desk, and he loudly released a few choice words towards both desk and desk-maker.
Right on cue, Sasuke's claws flashed and stabbed into his stomach, the serene expression of sleep moving aside for an irritated pout.
"Quiet, Nawuto."
As one, all of the Konoha 11 except for Sakura stepped back.
"He can talk?!" Kiba exclaimed.
"Uh, yeah. He talks like a baby sometimes but when he tries he's pretty good." He glared as Sasuke settled back into his arms, his face becoming still.
"So Kiba can yell but I can't?" There was no answer. Naruto's eyebrow twitched.
"If he can talk, why d'you call him a baby?" asked Tenten.
Naruto scratched his head. "Well, calling him anything else just seems wrong somehow."
"Oh. And why's he wearing baby clothes?"
"They're the only things that fit him."
"All right, let me rephrase. Why is he wearing orange baby clothes?"
Naruto had no justifiable answer for this. Like most who found themselves caught in this position, he quickly searched for a way to change the subject.
"So, Baa-chan, you said that you had a way to find out what happened to Sasu – ow!"
"Too loud, Nawuto."
"Why is it only my voice?!" Naruto shout-whispered. "That angry couple was shouting right outside our room for ten minutes and you said nothing!"
Sasuke squirmed and, with agility that defied Naruto's attempts to hold him still, sleep-climbed up the blonde's torso to his shoulder where he rested his head, pulling idly at Naruto's shirt with his claws until he fell into a deep sleep.
Naruto glanced at him, shifted his shoulder a little, and ventured to raise his voice.
"So, Baa-chan. That way to find out what happened to Sasuke. You'll tell me now?"
Tsunade, whose lip suspiciously twitched with something very close to laughter, quickly regained full composure.
"Yes. Sakura's to thank for this one (her apprentice blushed). In her words, the masked Akatsuki 'dropped a big hint' about seeing an old cat. We believe this 'old cat' has the answer to Sasuke's change, or at least a clue."
Naruto tilted his head, lost as a child in a forest. "Old cat?"
"After going through the missions files, only one of Konoha's former clients fits the bill."
Sakura smirked for some reason. "Right Naruto? The old cat, remember?"
She winked at him. He squinted at her before slow understanding dawned on his face.
"Aah! Nekobaa – ow!"
"Quiet, Nawuto."
"Are you really asleep back there?!" Naruto shout-whispered. He was getting good at it, much to his dismay.
"Now, now, it is natural for babies to be sensitive to their mother's voice," Kakashi said cheerfully.
Naruto turned, very slowly, to face the smiling jōnin, who he knew had just been waiting for a chance to say that.
"Kakashi-sensei. Never… ever… call me Sasuke's mother again. If you do, I will use that, and Ero-sennin will never write another book as long as he lives."
Kakashi's brow immediately flattened. "You're bluffing."
"Try me."
They stared at each other for a full minute, Naruto's expression dead set the entire time.
Dear God he's serious.
"I apologize."
"You're forgiven."
Tsunade and Jiraiya both wanted to know what 'that' was (though for entirely different reasons), but were not given the chance to ask.
"Nekobaa is – was – a supplier for the Uchiha right?" Shikamaru stepped forward again, his fingertips playing at each other.
"Right. She was a source of medicine, poisons, weapons, even clothing for the clan."
"But the masked man is going to her? Then, that means…"
"The masked man is an Uchiha." Kakashi spoke in bitter truth. He had seen that eye and experienced that technique. Such mastery of the Mangekyō, forever beyond him, could only be achieved by a blood-born Uchiha.
Sakura agreed. That red glint she had seen when he had looked down on her with such contempt, the way everything she threw at him (literally) was all rendered so utterly useless.
She was rendered utterly useless. A bitter smirk jerked her lip, and she glanced at the sleeping Sasuke.
It could only be an Uchiha.
"Are you saying then that someone other than Sasuke survived the massacre?" Shikamaru asked, his voice low, his fingertips brushing each other in greater agitation.
"No," Kakashi's voice was steady. "All Uchiha were accounted for that night," even the ones Danzō had taken for their eyes, "and none of them had an ability like what the masked man displayed. Whoever this person is, he's been existing outside of the clan for a long time."
"Must be if he's in Akatsuki," Kiba muttered. Akamaru whined in agreement.
"Wait, so, Akatsuki has two Uchiha?" Naruto almost-exclaimed. Those puncture wounds were healed, but still managed to tingle a bit. "Then Itachi's gonna get to Nekobaa before we…"
"Itachi will not go to Nekobaa. Wh –"
"Why?" Naruto beat Shino to his signature conjunction. "Wouldn't Itachi know where she is?" Shino froze, caught off guard by the surprisingly astute question.
Jiraiya quickly smothered the mistake.
"I told you that Danzō fought Itachi, right?" Something in Naruto's eyes dulled as he nodded. "Well the Uchiha came out in pretty bad shape."
Naruto blinked. His eyes got a little duller. "Oh. So Itachi's out of the picture."
"For a while, yes."
He stared sightlessly ahead for a moment, his expression undefined. Jiraiya and Kakashi watched him carefully, not sure what to make of it.
"Well then, good. That's good." And just like that, the light returned to Naruto's eyes. "But that other one…"
"Yes. He probably got to Nekobaa the same day of Danzō's death," Tsunade laced her fingers in front of her lips. "He knows exactly where to go, while we…" she glanced doubtfully at the sleeping kitten.
"Sasuke only has memories that match his age. I doubt a baby like him would have been sent for weapons supplies by himself. Therefore," her gaze met Naruto's, "We only have Sakura's memory of your past mission with Sasuke to go on."
"What about my memory?"
"Do you remember how you got there then?"
"Well… no."
"Right. Sakura remembered everything."
Naruto fell into a sheepish silence while Sakura blushed slightly. The only reason she remembered that mission so clearly was because Sasuke looked so cute with those cat ears.
He still does.
"So, that said, I'm sending Kakashi out to Sora-ku, the last known place Nekobaa inhabited. Hyūga Neji ('Hai'), Nara Shikamaru ('Hai…') and Yamanaka Ino ('H-hai!') I want you three to accompany Kakashi to that city. If Nekobaa is still there, his Sharingan should lend you credibility. It's also possible that Akatsuki might be lurking around the area so be careful. If you sense danger, retreat – you're only there for recon. Normally I would let you rest longer after the type of mission you just had Kakashi, but …"
"It's fine. I'm more than ready to head out, Hokage-sama."
Tsunade smiled. "Good. Now Ino, your skill will be especially crucial on this mission. If you find Nekobaa, then depending on her condition it might be necessary for you to..."
As she went on, Neji Hyūga blinked. He did so several hundred times a day, so it was not a noteworthy event. However, after years of being on a team with two of Konoha's most… youthful characters, the number of times he blinked because something startled him was admirably low.
It was only natural. As a jōnin, he possessed foresight and deductive skill that made surprises relatively rare. As a Hyūga, and a prodigy besides that, he was not one to be thrown off balance by the strange and unexpected. Instead, he adapted around these little quirks of fate, navigating them smoothly if not avoiding them completely.
But there was no possibility of navigation here. He was standing right behind the source of his surprise, after all.
And it was waking up.
Slowly, subtly, as though to taunt him, the ear drooped over the side of its face now twitched, rising ever so gently.
At first it was a ghost of a movement out of the corner of his eye, and Neji could almost deceive himself into believing that he was just seeing things.
But for one who has mastered the Byakugan, that excuse was never true. Neji never 'just saw things'.
And sure enough, when he looked properly, Sasuke's ear was standing straight up.
Before he could think of a way to evade, Sasuke's eyes were open.
And staring right at him.
Neji blinked. The kitten did the same and looked a little less drowsy for it. Neji saw it all reflected perfectly in those big, dark eyes.
Blankness as his eyes adjusted from the realm of sleep to reality. Recognition as Neji's blurry image sharpened into that of another person. Confusion as Sasuke tried and failed to place the face staring at him.
And finally fascination: the same that filled every pair of eyes that met the Byakugan for the first time.
Neji had expected a little fear, but the Uchiha was never one to be easily frightened.
He tried averting his gaze. Sasuke's gaze never moved. He tried staring at a point past Sasuke, making his eyes look distant. The kitten leaned in a little closer.
Neji met his eyes (they really were exceptionally dark, and so deep…). His face settled into its usual stoic expression as his eyebrow twitched.
There was the fear Neji had anticipated earlier; the kitten recoiled a little, his eyes quivering.
Neji felt a stab of guilt that was poignant enough without the assistance of Tenten's elbow in his ribs. Lee released a small sound of disappointment – disappointment – that sounded an awful lot like 'unyouthful'.
Partially the fault of Hiashi, with Neji taking any blame left over, it was now common belief that the majority of Hyūgas' everyday facial expressions were enough to frighten small children. The lore never bothered him, because he never thought it to actually be true.
Well, fate was going to change her tune today.
Neji slowly brought his hand up and clapped it over his eyes.
Sasuke blinked in surprise. He leaned forward again, staring hard as he tried to see through Neji's fingers.
Neji's hand abruptly slipped off his eyes, and in an instant, Sasuke was staring straight into a fully activated Byakugan.
Tenten winced. Idiot, that'll just scare him more!
Lee's eyes widened in a silent promise that someday, they too would be used to entertain little Sasuke.
The corners of Sasuke-kitten's mouth turned up. He released a soft 'fu' and started laughing.
Neji smirked. Tenten gawked. Neji leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Children of dōjutsu clans adore that trick."
"Ah," Naruto turned around, "Sasuke, you're up?"
Sasuke giggled and stood in Naruto's arms, smiling at Neji. "My name's Uchiha Sasuke. What's yours?"
"Hyūga Neji. Nice to meet you."
"You too. You're funny, Neji-niisan."
Neji blinked, looking a bit distant. A moment later, he regarded the Uchiha with warm eyes and a small smirk. "So I've been told," he said, his smirk growing at all the incredulous looks he received.
However, seeing that even the stoic Hyūga could interact naturally with the kitten seemed to break down any walls of hesitation. Especially for a certain fish-net clad blonde.
"I'm Ino Yamanaka," Ino pushed forward, flipping her hair in what she thought was a flattering way, and flashing a smile she thought was charming. The way those actions really made her look drew a snort from Sakura.
"I'm the most beautiful woman in the entire Leaf Village, but I don't like formal titles. You can just call me Ino-neechan."
"Okay. But I don't think you're that pretty." Ino's smile turned to stone. Sakura disguised her mirth under a series of synthetic coughs.
Sasuke looked around and pointed to Hinata. "I think she's the prettiest nee-chan here."
Hinata's cheeks turned pink, though her blush somewhat diminished when she sensed the killing intent in Ino's gaze.
"No, Sasuke-chan… um… that's not really…"
"Hm, you're right Sasuke," Naruto stroked his chin. "Hinata's way cuter than Ino."
Hinata's entire face glowed crimson; she stuttered unintelligibly, twiddling her fingers and fidgeting hopelessly.
"Though of course, the most beautiful woman in the village is Sakura-chan."
And immediately all colour drained from Hinata's face, leaving a dark air of depression hanging over her bowed head.
"Idiot," Jiraiya, Tsunade and Sakura muttered. Kakashi, with a roll of his eye, silently agreed.
Sasuke tilted his head at Hinata before turning to Ino, who looked almost as depressed.
"You do smell the nicest though."
Ino perked up, a small blush on her cheeks as she gave a questioning gaze to Naruto.
"Ah, his sense of smell's really good. Kinda like Kiba's."
"Oh?" the dog-boy stepped forward. "Tell me what's going on fifty meters from this building and to the left."
"Kiba, you cannot expect him to smell that far. Why? Because he is just a baby who –"
"Teriyaki special at the Barbecue place, right?"
Kiba whistled. "Not bad kid." Neji smiled, impressed.
"Nii-chan and I used to play games like that all the time," Sasuke answered, a bit embarrassed with the compliments, "My best distance is 70 meters."
"Oh?" Naruto's eyes narrowed. "You didn't tell me that."
Sasuke blushed and quickly made excuses. When the blond laughed, and he realised Naruto's accusation was fake, he started arguing, even more embarrassed.
Kakashi glanced at the lively pair, and frowned.
Something was wrong. There was no hatred in Sasuke and he was overjoyed to see that. But the two laughed and quarrelled as though talking about the sole executor of the Uchiha genocide was no big deal.
It was not that they weren't treating Itachi as a criminal. Quite the opposite.
Their will was unshakable. They had already passed judgement, and as brothers-in-arms their resolution to see Itachi's sentence through made it possible to talk about him, to be playful right after mentioning him, even as the solemn vow they agreed upon burned strongly in their eyes.
And before he knew it, Kakashi stood in awe of Jiraiya. While he let his guard down, the Sage saw into Naruto's heart and acted. Never was Kakashi more grateful that the Sannin survived Pain, and was here to read Naruto better than he ever –
"Sasuke-chan." And suddenly, a voice gentle and warm as the summer breeze filled the room, and froze Kakashi's blood.
Like a beautiful note of song from the middle of a blood-soaked battlefield, the sound was so unnatural that Kakashi (and everyone else in the room) was transfixed, wanting to run away but paralysed by the abnormal beauty.
Only two were immune to this: Sasuke, who pouted, and Jiraiya, who sighed.
"Do you remember what we said about Itachi?" Her words doused the fire in Sasuke's eyes; the kitten squirmed, nodding almost guiltily. Naruto blinked; apparently he had been asleep during this conversation.
"Nii-chan's a bad seed of Konoha. So Konoha will deal with him."
"Right." She clenched a fist, her muscles audibly tightening. "His crime was not just against your blood family, but your village family as well. Leave it to us to deal with Itachi, while you…"
She waited for him to finish. Sasuke squirmed more, his cheeks pink. "Live in peace with my new family."
"And who's that?"
"Nawuto." Warm and embarrassed, Naruto averted his eyes, met Sakura's, and felt his heart try to escape her gaze before his eyes could.
"And why?"
"Because I love him lots."
Naruto faltered, moving a small step out of place. The movement startled Sasuke, and he looked up with a frown, ready to scold Naruto when he stopped.
It was 'that' smile again, the one from the hospital, the one so rare that, for all of Naruto's sixteen years, it had never found the right joy to blossom.
And now it had bloomed twice in about as many days.
"Sasuke… don't say mushy stuff like that in front of people," the blond scratched his temple, scolding the kitten and smiling with the brilliance of a universe.
Kakashi only glanced at that smile before staring at the ceiling, his entire face a mask.
Sakura was close enough to feel its radiance without looking. Her eyes to her lap, shadowed by hair that was a bit overgrown, her hands were the only visible indicator of her mood.
Her left hand was dying, being slowly strangled by her right. Save for the trembling of both hands under the pressure, the girl was a dark statue, not moving at all.
So she missed her master's gaze, sharp and searching. The Hokage silently realised that Sasuke's change had more impact than a few startled clan heads, an intrigued Daimyo and monstrous piles of paperwork.
It was something to be addressed another day. Right now, she really needed to tend to the invisible presences outside her window.
Jiraiya beat her to it.
"I'm sure your students know that eavesdropping outside of missions is a bad habit, eh Iruka?"
There was a frigid silence for all of a moment, then the man addressed stepped into view, the corners of his mouth turned upwards in a painful wince.
Naruto blinked, utterly surprised. Jiraiya almost slapped his forehead – was this really the kid he trained for three years? "Iruka-sensei?"
As all turned to him, Iruka's face got a shade paler.
"Iruka-sensei," Lee blinked guilelessly (his large, round eyes really forbade any other type of expression), "Why were you hiding there so suspiciously?"
"Good question," he muttered, and suddenly glared at something to his side. "You come out too." It was almost a hiss.
Three men took reluctant steps into view, each looking just as discomfited. Naruto vaguely recognised them; the former Team Asuma definitely recognised two of them, and likewise wondered at the presence of a tiny bird on one of their shoulders.
The man in question, Kotetsu Hagane, caught their gazes. "Oh, this is one of the trainee messengers. They get apprenticed with senior messenger birds on delivery missions. This one's mentor just dropped him off. He kinda likes me, so…"
"Fascinating," said Tsunade flatly. "By the way, if you two are here, who's guarding the gates to my village?"
"Oh, we just got off our shift," Izumo quickly stated. "And speaking of messages..." he took a scroll from his jacket and bowed, handing it to Tsunade.
"It's from the Kazekage."
Naruto smiled and scooted a little closer to Tsunade as she took the scroll. One honey-brown glare put him right back where he started.
"This is a first. I usually get message scrolls from my Anbu or the birds themselves. You're not even part of the Aviary staff."
"Oh – uh – well…"
"What?!"
"Uh! Well, you see –!"
"No, not you. The Kazekage heard about Sasuke's return and some "special phenomena" concerning him. He wants details. What I want to know is how did this get outside the village already? Everyone I corresponded with knows it's strictly confidential."
She turned sharply to Naruto.
"You've been taking him out, haven't you?"
"N-no. Only once…" Naruto froze, and the skin under his whisker marks grew red, "One time, I took him to Hokage Mountain. But it was night! No one saw us. This is the first time he's been out in daylight!"
Tsunade bore a hole into his forehead with her glaring. Naruto swallowed and opened his mouth to defend himself, when Iruka beat him to it.
"I think this might be my fault. I took Konohamaru and the kids to see you. They were really worried about you and insisted on it so I thought it'd be all right."
"I don't remember Konohamaru coming to see me."
"When we went in the receptionist told us you were sleeping. So I escorted them out. They must've gone behind my back or snuck in somehow."
Tsunade snorted. "Hardly. I had Naruto's room guarded."
"You did?" a troubled question.
"They didn't follow you to Hokage Mountain, if that's what you're wondering," Jiraiya supplied. "I asked them not to."
Naruto shot his master a grateful smile.
"Actually, come to think of it," Tsunade said slowly, "One of the guards did report to me a disturbance, but he said it was taken care of. He had a really nasty nosebleed at the time."
Naruto and Iruka froze, and slowly looked at each other, silently debating on who would talk.
Tsunade did not miss the exchange. "Explain. Now."
"Uh, ahem," Iruka tried to clear his throat diplomatically, but it came out more like a faint choking. "You're familiar with Naruto's Sexy Jutsu, right?"
"Yes," the answer was dripping with barely hidden distaste. Naruto suddenly found a spot on his shoe very interesting.
"Well, a few years ago, before he left the village to train with Jiraiya-sama, Naruto taught that jutsu to Konohamaru." Tsunade stared. "And he taught the technique to his – uh – subordinates."
Tsunade's eye twitched and a vein grew on the back of her clenched fist. "A triple Sexy Jutsu."
Iruka rightly blushed. "Yes. I believe so."
Tsunade looked at Naruto. Naruto continued staring at his shoe. Smart. If he had looked up, and saw the naked acrimony in Tsunade's eyes, he would have crumpled under the crippling weight of his own shame.
Tsunade sighed. "So they 'distracted' the guards. Went inside the room. Naruto was sleeping. Sasuke too, probably. And that was that."
"Yes."
"They either told someone, or let something slip by accident, or both. And now it's reached the Kazekage."
The calmness in her voice was terrifying.
"So am I to assume that everyone knows?"
"Well, as far as details, no. But basically everyone in Konoha has heard the rumours," Izumo unintelligently spoke up. The glare Tsunade levelled at him would have shrivelled men ten times as ignorant. It was only because he had witnessed Asuma's death first-hand that he endured.
Though his face did become a few shades paler.
"And let me guess, that's why you fools are here?"
"Uh –"
Tsunade put up a hand to end the no doubt intelligent exposition before it started. "Let me try to thread the events together. The messenger scroll came, with its apprentice. You saw the scroll from Suna, and got an idea."
Kotestu swallowed.
"The fact that the bird came right as your shift ended was luck. So was the fact that its apprentice likes you. Because of those two factors, you were able to harangue the bird's attendant into letting you deliver the message here yourself, because somehow you heard about this meeting. I imagine stationed where you are you two hear a lot of things."
Both men swallowed. The bird on Kotetsu's shoulder preened itself.
"So you were on your way here, when one of you, probably Izumo, realised that without some kind of buffer, you would still get beaten by the Hokage for eavesdropping on a private meeting. That's when you found Daikoku."
The portly man stiffened. Because of his position as an Academy teacher, he did not take normal missions, and thus rarely stood before the Hokage unless there was an issue with the students.
Now, she was less than three feet away, with only half a wall separating them. That was no protection. She could still snap him like a twig without even getting up from her chair.
"And Daikoku, hearing your plight, and being curious himself, brought you to Iruka, who was probably just minding his own business. Oh, and I do apologize Iruka. When I called them fools, I wasn't referring to you."
"N-no offence taken, Hokage-sama."
She threw him a short smile, before turning back to the other three, her eyebrow raised. "You three dragged Iruka here, knowing the man would be too nice to say no. Since he is close to Naruto, who in turn is close to Jiraiya, who in turn was my old teammate and fellow Sannin, you thought this would all somehow add up to a deterrent against my current urge to do violence upon you."
No one dared nod, but the answer was obvious. Tsunade's eyebrow arched even higher.
"All of this just to clarify the rumours about Sasuke." She sighed. "Well, it was all pointless, since I'm about to assign Naruto a mission to take Sasuke all around the village."
"Huh? Me?"
"Who else?" she snapped. Naruto flinched. "You're well enough to leave the hospital, but you still need to take it easy for a few days. I'm giving you a mission to keep you occupied: you're to take Sasuke to visit the different clans, teams and places around the village. As for you guys (her gaze encompassed all the Konoha 11), I want you and your families to accommodate them. Chōji, you have no problem supplementing for Shikamaru and Ino, right?"
"Er… uh…"
"Very good." She smirked and there was a hint of mischief there. "As it stands now, Sasuke knows next to nothing about Konoha. Teach him a thing or two about yourselves, and about his home village. I want him coming out of this knowing at least as much about Konoha as any of you."
"Troublesome…" It was not a complaint. Shikamaru simply understood Tsunade's intentions, and hid his smile under his usual lazy utterance.
Jiraiya also smirked. This was an excellent move on Tsunade's part.
The Sasuke of old had always isolated himself from his village, had never seen his comrades as such, only as measuring sticks to test his own power. Ironically, in that respect he had been the mirror image of the brother he loathed.
This time, Sasuke was going to know his village and the people in it. He was going to learn and grow surrounded by his friends, and connect with the heart of Konoha in a way that, in the past, would have been impossible.
It still would have been impossible, if not for Naruto.
Jiraiya's smile grew. His knuckleheaded student, too humble or shy to acknowledge it, would never understand just how much he had truly done for Sasuke, how vital he had been in turning Sasuke's heart away from the dark –
"Today…"
Oh no. Jiraiya's skin prickled, his thoughts stopped cold. Kakashi turned around, his mouth open beneath his mask to disarm the youthful explosion that was about to take place. He was a millisecond too late.
"Today… I HAVE WITNESSED THE HEART AND SOUL OF PURE YOUTH!"
Sasuke stiffened, having just gotten a new meaning for the word loud.
"The playful rapport you share, the heartfelt bonds of love between re-united friends, and now a pure and wonderful idea by our beautiful Hokage – I just can't take it anymore!" The rivers of their tears flowing anew, the two Green Beasts turned to a stunned Tsunade. "Hokage-sama, it will not hurt to start Sasuke's tour of the village now will it?"
"Well, no, I suppose not –"
"Then come my child!" Before Naruto knew it, Sasuke was gone, leaving his arms feeling woefully empty.
Gai held Sasuke high in the air; the kitten stared at him with large eyes. "I shall begin your 'Know-Your-Village' experience by teaching you one of Konoha's core values, the Spirit of Youth!"
"C-core values?" Sasuke sounded a bit stunned. Gai took no notice. Iruka's mouth fell open, no doubt appalled at the sacrilege of Konoha's true core values.
"Yes! Without the Spirit of Youth, Konoha shinobi would shrivel under the hardships we face. The Spirit of Youth burns within every shinobi, though of course no one has mastered it quite like I have. Though my adorable student Lee grows closer with each day."
Aforementioned student sniffled. "Gai-sensei. Is that really true?"
"Yes it is. Each day, I marvel at how far you have come, and the leaps and bounds by which you continue to grow. You, my dear Lee, symbolises just what it means to have a heart and soul dedicated to the full power of youth!"
If possible, the river of Lee's tears flowed even harder.
Sasuke blinked. "So the Spirit of Youth is some kind of power?"
"Yes. It is that power which allows all Konoha shinobi to serve and protect this dear village and the ones precious to us."
Sasuke thought on that. He was not so sure about his words, but being around powerful ninja like Nii-chan, the white-haired Jii-chan and Naruto allowed him to tell.
This man was truly strong.
"Okay."
The spandexed duo blinked.
"Teach me."
"W-wait." "Gai, don't –" "Sasuke-kun!" the combined effort of the rest of Team Seven went unheeded.
"Teach me about the Spirit of Youth."
Neji stepped forward, his face shadowed in dread. "Uchiha, you don't know what…"
It was too late.
Gai's jaw set and the flow of tears stopped. "Lee. I'm sorry. But you cannot be my priority for a while. I must focus all of my attention right now on your new Junior Student."
Something inside Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto screamed at that statement, but they were still too horror-struck to do anything about it.
"It's all right, Gai-sensei," Lee's tears stopped as well, his face deadly serious. "I too shall devote my time to teaching my student-sibling the ways of youth."
"Hold on!" Neji tried to stop them, "You two can't –!"
"Then let us charge on with full power! It's time to burn hot as the sun! Come Lee! Sasuke!"
"Hold it!"
The two beasts froze right outside the doorframe, with little Sasuke tucked under Gai's arm.
Kakashi was impressed. Iruka's single shout had stopped Gai's rampage, a feat that all his years of passive aggressive sarcasm had never accomplished.
Naruto gaped at his sensei, then at the Green Beasts and back again. Sakura released a breath of relieved air. Neji's face relaxed – to the point where he looked as though Sasuke had just dodged a falling meteor.
The room was silent.
The beasts remained comically frozen in mid-run, their arms and legs splayed accordingly, their necks straining to look back at the mildly irritated teacher.
"I'm starting off Sasuke's Know-Your-Village tour."
Gai relaxed, the arm not holding Sasuke falling limply to his side. "With all due respect Iruka-sensei, I called it first –"
"That doesn't matter." Naruto instinctively stiffened at that tone of voice – as did the rest of Iruka's ex-students. Kakashi's eye widened: the man had a gift. "He's my former – my new student. And it's lunchtime."
A smile immediately crept onto Naruto's face. "Ramen?" he asked hopefully.
"Yup. I'm paying." A full blown grin lit up the blonde's face. Tsunade nodded her approval.
"That would be more appropriate. Iruka will start off the Know-Your-Village mission then."
Iruka smiled. Gai sulked, but relinquished Sasuke, who looked grateful for it. The man had a powerful musk that almost knocked him out cold.
He rallied quickly though, staring at Iruka who stared back.
"Iruka… sensei?"
Mild wonder on his face, Iruka nodded slowly. "That's… really you then, Sasuke?"
The kitten stared back at him with the same expression. "What happened to your ears?"
"My… ears?" He reflexively touched them.
"Wait, Sasuke, you remember Iruka-sensei?" asked Naruto.
Kakashi's response would have crushed the hope in the blonde's voice, if any had been there in the first place.
"Of course. Sasuke was going to the Academy when his clan was still alive."
Sasuke, for all appearances, did not hear the man's mention of his clan. He leaned forward, insisting on his query.
"Your ears, Iruka-sensei! They're… different…"
"What's wrong with them?"
"Don't worry about it," Naruto explained. "Sasuke's head is a little messed up from whoever did this to him. He thinks everyone should look like him."
"My head's not messed up, Naruto!" Sasuke shot defiantly. "I know Iruka-sensei. He looked different. He had –!"
"Sasuke." The kitten quieted at the stern tone. "We talked about this, right? The person who did this to you made you confused."
"But Naruto…"
Naruto shook his head with a gentle smile. Sasuke frowned, but accepted it. Though he pouted and looked at Iruka with disappointment.
Iruka observed the exchange with silent amazement. He did not think Naruto was capable of speaking like that – looking like that.
He's… already grown up.
His vision blurred for a moment, but a quick blink took care of it.
"Sooo," Kotestu bravely, or foolishly, broke the silence, "What happened to him?"
"We don't know," was the short reply by the still-vexed Hokage.
"Can you fix it?"
"Does it look like I can fix it?"
Izumo tilted his head, blinking owlishly at the kitten. "So if this – whatever this is (he gestured in the kitten's general direction) – happened to him, does that mean it can happen to any of us?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. A thick silence descended as the weight of the true implications of Sasuke's change lay heavily on their minds. If it happened to Sasuke, slayer of Orochimaru, avenger of the Uchiha, then the only answer Tsunade could give was,
"It's likely."
"And you can't fix it."
"No."
"That's… not good."
"No, it isn't," her eyes met Kakashi's: two sets of steel clashing. "That's why the Sora-ku mission is vital. It's my own fault for not thinking of Nekobaa sooner."
"No. I'm to blame for that, Hokage-sama," said Kakashi without pause. "It was a mission I myself explained to them. I should have thought of her immediately."
Tsunade did not confirm or deny that. "I expect your team to be out of this village within the hour."
"Understood."
"And, as agreed, Naruto will begin his Know-Your-Village mission with Iruka."
"Uh – uh, right," it was natural for him to trip over his words. A world where eating ramen was a mission: Tsunade was grateful that he wasn't floating out of the window by now.
"Well, that's it. Everything's been said, so this meeting is officially –"
Kotetsu's bird, having sat quietly on his shoulder the entire time it was there, found sudden cause to interrupt her. For a ball of fluff that could fit twice over in a child's hand, the messenger's apprentice had a loud chirp.
Sasuke stared at it, calling it over with soft purrs.
The bird leaped off Kotetsu's shoulder and flew over, landing right inside Sasuke's palms. It sat snugly there, chirping happily.
Okay. That was precious. Tsunade did not mind being interrupted for a scene like –
Sasuke's irises shrunk, becoming two pointed ellipses.
There was a sharp flash of silver, and a wet, dying choke that was only audible to the finest of ears. To that point, Kakashi cringed.
One of Sasuke's claws, grown longer than the rest, had sunk up to his fingertip into the bird's neck, cleanly severing its spine.
The creature was small, almost too small for a child's hand. But it was still a bit big for Sasuke.
It took two bites. The head and neck first. Then the rest of its body.
There was a little blood, but Sasuke was clean, just like his Nii-chan taught him to be.
Though even teeth as sharp as his had a bit of trouble with the bones; he had to crunch down on them loudly to pulp them down.
Still, some of them were too long and sharp to swallow. And the beak was a nuisance. The feathers – it was obvious. So he spat those out, tapped Naruto's wrist and deposited them into the blonde's pale palm when it came up.
Satisfied, he curled up in Naruto's other arm, nuzzling and purring softly into his shirt. It was time for another nap.
And with the room so nice and quiet, Sasuke fell asleep right away.
Anyone else who had witnessed what just happened would probably have trouble with sleep for the next few nights.
Except for Sai. He only smiled and said, "He's a cat. It's natural."
That made no one feel better.
Finally, Tsunade broke the silence, her voice crisp if not a little dazed. "Naruto."
"Yeah?" the blonde was still staring at the bones in his hand.
"What have you been feeding him?"
"Fruit. Milk. Tuna."
"Ah. Add some more meat to his diet. Beef. Chicken…"
"Yeah. Okay."
"Miso?"
"Yes. It's delicious, and the nice jii-chan (Naruto ignored the glare he received from said 'jii-chan') made an extra small bowl just for you. So eat up."
Sasuke looked at the oily broth. He grimaced.
"Kaa-san said ramen isn't good for you to eat all the time."
"Sasuke, have you ever tried it?"
"No."
"Then this is your first time. Now hurry up, before it gets cold."
Sasuke watched as Naruto noisily slurped up a shower of noodles from his bowl, his face flushed with relish.
He swallowed. It did look pretty good.
He took up his chopsticks, which Naruto sliced in half to make a workable pair for his tiny hands, and slurped up a few noodles.
Only when he looked up did he realise that Naruto had stopped eating to watch him. There was a slightly nervous smile on his face.
"Well? How is it?"
Sasuke swallowed and looked to the ceiling thoughtfully. "Pretty good!"
Naruto grinned. "I knew you'd like it."
Sasuke took up the white and pink fishcake slice and nibbled on it affectionately. Naruto's smile grew wider.
"The soup's kinda sweet," Sasuke continued. "Like that bird I ate."
Naruto choked on his ramen. The wholly unnatural sound, wrong by its very existence, made Teuchi whip round so fast he almost splashed the entire countertop with noodles.
After apologies, Naruto leaned down until he was eye level with Sasuke.
"Never mention eating the bird ever again, okay?"
"Okay," was the nonplussed response.
"And never eat another bird like that again, okay?"
Sasuke looked aghast. "But Naruto they're so good! Nii-chan used to catch them for me all the time and –"
"Sasuke, please. Just promise me you won't eat another bird like that again."
"But Naruto –!"
"Please, Sasuke. Never again. Promise me."
"But –"
"I need you to promise me."
Sasuke fidgeted, not wanting to make that promise. "Can I eat it if I'm dying?"
Naruto's head dropped in open frustration. He ignored the sympathetic 'tut' from his unhelpful teacher who sat on Sasuke's other side.
"Fine. If you're dying, and the bird is the only thing around, and you don't have any access to a fire, or anything that could make a fire, or a bolt of lightning, and there's NOTHING ELSE… then you can eat the bird."
Sasuke hesitated. "Bolt of lightning?"
"Sasuke! Just promise me, okay?!"
The kitten pouted. "Okay. Promise."
"Thank you."
The three ate their ramen in silence after that. Iruka glanced at Naruto, who was on his third bowl, and Sasuke who watched him with a mix of awe and nausea.
He glanced around the shop. They were the only ones there – Daikoku's genjutsu was great for keeping a bunch of curious onlookers away.
It was his way of apologizing for dragging Iruka into their mess. A poor apology, really, since it was not even for Iruka's sake, but the Chūnin let it go.
Getting mobbed would not be a good first experience of Konoha's public for the little kitten anyway. The privacy the genjutsu offered was comforting. Though it did seem to keep out new customers. He reminded himself to dispel it as they were leaving.
With a sigh, Iruka reached into his back pocket and pulled out a rolled up report with several pages. He slid it over to Naruto, whose eyes widened when he read the front cover.
"It's the report on Pain that Shizune-san put together. Every Chūnin and Jōnin class shinobi in the village received one. I read it."
Naruto looked at him, his face blank with confusion.
Iruka tapped the report. Hard. "Did you really fight someone like this, Naruto? And the only thing that happened to you was chakra exhaustion?"
Sasuke was staring at him. Teuchi had stilled. Naruto swallowed and nodded.
"Yeah. Pain was… is something else. He's on a whole different level from anyone I've ever met. Even Ero-sennin and Baa-chan."
Naruto looked up. Iruka's lips grew rigid. Inside Naruto's eyes was real fear.
"He calls himself a god. And he has the power to back it up. If Ero-sennin hadn't come up with a good plan, I probably wouldn't be here."
A/N: Yeah, that ending was kind of abrupt huh? That's because this and the following chapter were supposed to be one but, well, word count so… you get a double update, yay!
Hopefully the plot's moving along at a nice pace. I sometimes get the feeling that it's too slow.
Also, I had a serious love-hate thing with this chapter for a long time. One minute I'd be all, 'I hate this, it's so stupid, the setting is terrible, there has to be a better way to write this,' and in about half an hour I'd be, 'it's really complete and says everything I want to say and I can't change a thing.' And so it went for a few weeks, along with obsessive editing.
Hope the end product was worth it.
Fun Fact: The Know-Your-Village mission is based on my own country's 'Know Your Country' tours. Yeah… hope I don't get sued.
See you all soon!