Chapter 2 - Preying Bird

The boy glanced to the side and shifted his weight from one leg to another as his mother ladled rice porridge into Sunao's bowl.

Just like Itachi had always done, when he was trying to avoid saying something.

Sasuke couldn't take his eyes off of him. And his arrival had been so quiet, so understated.

Even though he had seen, beforehand, in the village, in the shadows…

He was just another village boy, accompanying another village woman with a meal for the Konoha-nin.

But those eyes, that face, his eyes.

Sasuke wondered if, perhaps, his own eyes were playing tricks on him.

A thousand images of his brother flashed through his mind, superimposing themselves on the boy's face. With the years melted away, the expression shifted from anger to anxiousness, the match was undeniable.

It was impossible. But Sasuke's eyes never lied.

But Itachi had been dead for 27 years. And this boy, he couldn't have been much older than ten, eleven…

"Something the matter?" The boy's mother, a woman with brown hair in a rope-like braid over her shoulder, was staring at Sasuke worriedly. And the boy's eyes met his for just the briefest of moments, before shifting to the floor in something like awkwardness or fear.

Sasuke closed his eyes, folding up the memories.

"Nothing. Thank you," he said. He cleared his throat, and dipped his spoon into his own bowl of porridge. There was a moment of quiet as the woman finished serving them, and put the lid back on the cast-iron pot. Kyou was already eating, too polite (or preoccupied) to pollute the air with his mouth full.

He heard the fire crackling in the elder's hearth, built just a few days before. He heard Go'on's spoon rattling against his bowl as he ate.

He heard the boy saying nothing. And he wondered if, maybe, his voice matched his eyes. If maybe he was only seeing things.

(But his eyes didn't lie. Why would he think his ears were any better?)

And then Sasuke found himself hurling words into the air. "If… you don't pardon my asking. May I have your names?"

"Excuse me?" The village woman's round eyes widened, her words halfway through an astonished chuckle.

"Your names. Please. So I might tell the elder how much I enjoyed your… rice." Sasuke could hardly believe what he was saying. The rice wasn't even that special. But, anything to…

Why did he feel so desperate? The woman replied before he could answer his own question.

"Well… gosh, I don't think there's much special about our rice. I mean, it's all from the same fields as everyone else." She laughed, blushing slightly as she pushed her braid behind her shoulders.

The boy just shifted his weight again, from one foot to the next. Eyes to the floor.

Kyou spoke next, between swallows. "Well maybe you're just a really good cook, ma'am! I really like it, myself!"

The woman blushed even harder, and she laughed. "Well, thank you very much, then! It's nothing but rice porridge, mind, but…"

"Then, so I might recommend this rice porridge to the elder," Sasuke continued, Kyou eagerly going back to his meal, "your names?"

"Oh, well, I'm Satoko. Honbo Satoko. And this is my son, Yakata." She nodded slightly, efficiently, pot still in hand.

"Hello," the boy, Yakata, said, with Itachi's voice.

The voice was lighter, younger, and yet it seemed like it had been only yesterday since Sasuke had last heard it.

"Thank you, Satoko. I shall give my compliments to the elder, when I next see him." He nodded slightly, barely smiling, just enough to dismiss her.

She left, the boy Yakata with her.

Sasuke, of course, didn't give her name to the elder when he came by to check on them and to bid them a good night, later that evening. Nor did he say anything to his wife, when she poured him a small cup of warm wine and thanked him, again, for his and his team's services.

But that face, that voice, that name invaded Sasuke's own thoughts for hours.

Surely it was just a coincidence.

An utter coincidence that he had just met a boy with the same face, the same eyes, the same everything as Itachi.

And Sasuke's eyes never lied.

What did it mean? He turned over in bed, scowling.

"Hello." That was all Yakata - that was his name, Yakata - had said. Enough to convince him.

…convince him of what, exactly? That, somehow, this boy was Itachi?

He turned over in bed again, onto his back, and he stared at the new ceiling.

It was impossible, for a number of reasons.

For one, Itachi was dead. That was undeniable, there was no arguing that.

…and even if he were still alive, Yakata was so young. No older than his own genin. Itachi would have been… forty-seven, forty-eight years old, if he were still alive.

…too young to be Itachi's child, if he had been born before then, horrifying and strange as that thought was.

Unless he was still alive.

…which he wasn't.

…and reincarnation was just stupid.

Sasuke turned onto his other side and scowled in the darkness, eyes spinning.

There had to have been an explanation for this. Everything could be explained.

…though what could possibly explain that?

The sun rose, and Sasuke was still not satisfied, the same handful of questions needlessly repeating in his mind. He didn't remember falling asleep.

His team rose later in the morning and stretched and ate the elder's wife's breakfast, and went down into the village to do what was asked of them.

Except for Sasuke.

He was following Yakata.

He'd been following the boy all morning.

Yakata was just there, in the town, when the genin were helping assemble more houses, making sure everything was accounted for. His team could take care of themselves, they were competent enough.

Sasuke watched him get tugged around by some boys - friends? Little scuffle-kneed children with messy hair like him. They played with slingshots, pestering some village girls, laughing. The girls shot glances at them, and the boys shot pebbles back.

Yakata, however, did not shoot girls, though the girls shot him looks well enough. He didn't even have a slingshot on his person, mainly hanging back, hesitantly, his eyes always elsewhere. But when a slingshot was forced into his hands, an ultimatum barked at him, he shot the trees, instead. And even then, it was reluctantly, as if he didn't wish to harm even unfeeling branches.

He had the best shot, Yakata. They used little stones and they aimed at the high branches, and even when they dared each other to shoot higher, at smaller targets, he always seemed to hit them, without fail.

But his eyes were downcast, he'd always resist when they pressured him to participate further, shoving him around.

"No, guys, come, come on, st-stop it…" he'd say, with Itachi's voice. But they'd keep making him show off - "C'mon, witch-boy!" - until they got bored, or ran out of trees, Sasuke couldn't tell.

They got onigiri from their mothers - that had been Itachi's favorite food, hadn't it? - and ate them and got rice all over their faces.

All but him, that boy, Yakata, who ate politely, cleanly, and licked the rice off his fingers when all was said and done. He sat apart from them and made no attempts at conversation.

Sasuke did not ever follow him home.

The observation continued for two more days.

Two more days of Kyou's blathering at night, two more days of Go'on's shivering, two more days of Sunao's sighs and reassuring words.

Two more nights of dreams where Itachi seemed to draw nearer and nearer to him, his voice louder and louder.

The village seemed to grow and come more and more alive, though very little of it was due to any of Sasuke's actions. There was the occasional chore here, the occasional favor there, but the houses rose and rose and rose and he did not remember touching a one.

And with every passing day, with every second more that he saw of the boy, the more he believed, the more he knew who he was.

And then, one day, Yakata walked into the forest in the afternoon, removing himself from the tangle of children that seemed so much dirtier than he was.

And Sasuke followed. He took to the trees, keeping to the shadows, almost afraid that the slightest sound would make him disappear.

Catching glimpses of those eyes. His eyes.

Itachi's eyes.

And then, there were words.

"I, I know you're there."

The boy had spoken.

Sasuke held his breath. Eyes fixed.

The boy Yakata looked up and around, searching. "You're, you're that ninja, aren't you? You're, you're that man. With the, with the red eyes."

That man with the red eyes.

How was it possible that a voice could sound so different, and yet entirely familiar?

"I… I've seen you around the village. You, you know, um. Helping rebuild, and…" His face was tilted away from Sasuke's; he was talking to an empty tree. "You, you and your students, I, I, I know you have three, right? You've… you've all done a very good job." He stared at his sandals, and shifted his weight, once, twice. "So, thank you! From, from me. And, uh, my, my family, I guess…"

Sasuke said nothing, did nothing but marvel, breathe, observe.

"My, my name's Yakata, by the way! Um."

Sasuke's chest rose and fell.

"But I, I think I, I told you that already, or, uh, at least, I, I think my mama did…"

She had. Sasuke remembered.

"But, anyways, I, I, don't, um. I, I don't think I know your name…"

I'm Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke. You know me, he wanted to say. You're supposed to know me.

The boy looked up again, looked around, eyes filled with worry. "Look, I, I, I know you're… I know you're listening! I know you're there. I, I saw you. I've, I've seen you. In, in the village."

And Sasuke had been trying so hard to stay out of sight. Was it really that-

"W-why are you following me?"

Sasuke's breath caught in his throat. The only sound was the rustle of the leaves, the wind.

Say nothing, do nothing, or he'll leave, and it will be all over.

"I, I mean, I, I knew you were always, um. Always just, just a few steps away…" A shift in weight from one foot to the next. "I didn't… I didn't want to say anything, because, um…" He looked at the sky, clasping his hands behind his back, and he groaned very, very softly. "I, I, I just don't know! Did I… d-did I do something wrong? I, I, I, mean, Papa told me to st-stay away from you, or…" he continued, then trailed off, looking at his feet again. "I, I'm sorry, I was trying to stay out of the way, but, if, if there was something I did..."

That's not it, Sasuke wanted to say. That's not it at all. Don't apologize. Your father's wrong, you don't need to stay away.

"Or, maybe…" The boy walked in a half a circle, and then back, almost talking to himself now. "Well, if, if, if it's not my fault, then… Then, there must be a reason why you keep, um. F-following me…"

It's because of who you are.

"I, I, I just didn't know if, if I was just, um. Imagining things or not… So, so that's why, why I went into the woods, you see? To, to, to see if you'd really f-follow me here. And, and you did. So, um…" Fingers ran through his black hair. "Ugh, what do I do? I, I don't, I don't even know if you're listening…"

But I am listening.

"M-maybe I thought you'd… you'd talk to me, or something? And, and tell me what was going on? Um. Who are you? I don't… I don't even know your name."

Say nothing.

And the boy said nothing.

And then, this.

"Wait… maybe you're my…?"

And he stopped talking, stopped pacing, ten year old eyes blinking in frustration as the question ended itself before it could be fully asked.

And in Sasuke's mind a million possibilities began to blossom.

Wait what? Maybe what? Maybe he was his what? What did he mean?

What did any of it mean?

But Sasuke said nothing. Waiting. Listening. Barely breathing.

"I, I, I just want to know why you're following me. C-can you, um, can you come down from there and just… just talk to me?"

And it was in that instant that the boy looked him right into the eyes.

With his brother's eyes.

"Please?"

Itachi's eyes.

And then Kyou was yelling for him and the moment was just.

Gone.

"Sasuke-sensei! Sasuke-sensei! Come quick, come quick!" Sasuke could hear him gasping from so far off. He must have been running for a while. Like always. Hadn't Sasuke told him that he didn't need to run everywhere…?

The boy, Yakata, his brother - he knew this, somehow, he just knew this - turned his head in that graceful way, searching for the sound.

Damn it, damn it, damn it.

Sasuke leaped away, leaving nothing behind but his anger in the trees.

Gone.

"Sasuke-sensei, I need you, this is serious-"

Kyou bumped into Sasuke's chest, and after regaining his balance, looked at his teacher expectantly, shoulders rising and falling with heavy breaths.

"I'm here. What do you want?" And how dare you, Sasuke wanted to add. But he said nothing.

"It's Go'on-kun! He… he's, I don't know, I just need your help and…!" Kyou gasped and reached for his forehead protector, which had fallen over his eyes. "There's something wrong with him!"

Great. If it was a problem, and it wasn't Kyou, it was Go'on. Sasuke sighed. How dare they. "Where is he."

Kyou took a few more deep breaths, before tying off his forehead protector. "Just… follow me, okay, Sensei? I'll take you there." He held out a hand, as if he could lead Sasuke that way.

"Just hurry."

The sooner they got this resolved, the better.

(Why did that have to happen just then? Why?)

And they ran.

He hoped his brother would stay put.

He doubted it.

A small crowd had gathered at the edge of the forest, nearer to the village. Sunao was making an admirable effort at calming people and keeping them away from… whatever it was that was happening.

The point of interest, as it turned out, was a tree. The tree was tall, an old pine, forty, maybe fifty feet tall. And at the very top, there was Go'on, shivering, clinging for dear life, head tucked into his chest.

"Oh, I would love to hear the story behind this," Sasuke said, crossing his arms. "Sunao, what happened here?"

"I don't know, he was getting really nervous about something and he looked like he was gonna throw up and - ow, please! - the next thing I knew, he was up there and Kyou-kun went to get you." A villager shoved her aside, trying to get a look at the spectacle. "Sir, please, I don't think that's helping…"

Sasuke sighed, kneading the skin between his eyes. This was what was so important? More important than him?

"Let me take care of this. Both of you, pay attention."

Kyou's eyes snapped open in an instant, from where he was gasping nearby, hands on his knees. Sunao craned her neck, and even the villagers seemed to have quieted down a little, now that Sasuke was involved. They seemed to find him strangely fascinating, compelling, and would gather at the smallest thing he did, be it transporting several tons of earth up the mountain to making fire without any sort of match. Civilians. It was to be expected.

Chakra concentrated in his feet, Sasuke dashed up the tree. Might as well make this a learning opportunity, he figured. Lemons out of lemonade.

And hadn't Kakashi-sensei taught them how to do this during that mission out it the Land of Waves…?

Ah. Memories.

He ran. And when Sasuke was where Go'on was, he scowled. "What are you doing," he said.

Go'on lifted his head for a brief moment, and his eyes met Sasuke's. He dissolved into a string of incoherent, stuttered vowels, clinging to the tree even harder, eyes shut tight.

Oh, this was going to be lovely to deal with. And he had such better things to do.

"Look, just calm down. Are you scared?" Go'on shook his head. A pause. And then a great deal of terrified nodding. Wonderful. "Okay, okay. I'm going to get you down from here." Sasuke held out an arm for Go'on to take. Quickly, now.

"No! No, just… just let me stay up here for a little while longer. Okay?" He clung more tightly to the tree, cheek pressed against the bark. "Okay..?"

"You know that I'm just going to stay up here with you until you decide to come down," Sasuke said.

"…that's fine…" Go'on's voice was very, very soft.

Sasuke sighed again, and yelled down to his other students, "I'm gonna stay up here with him!"

"You sure you don't need our help, Sensei?" Kyou yelled back.

"Just go already!" Sasuke replied, and settled down on a more comfortable branch, eyes on Go'on. Within minutes, the two remaining genin had scattered all but the most curious of onlookers, Sunao staying behind to shoo away any incoming rubberneckers, Kyou heading back to the village proper. Well, he couldn't fault those two.

And Go'on was still up in the tree, not saying a word.

Well, he did say one thing: "…I'd really appreciate it if… if you didn't stare at me like that, S-Sensei…" That was about five minutes in, and Sasuke had obeyed.

It gave him a lot of time to think.

He was very quickly angry at Kyou again. And then back at Go'on (another glare from Sasuke, there - the boy had his eyes closed very tightly, so he didn't notice). Since, if he hadn't gone and freaked out and climbed up the tree or whatever, they wouldn't be here.

And he'd still be in the forest. Observing, again. Maybe talking to him.

Though he had no idea what he would say.

Never mind the fact that if Sasuke hadn't been out chasing shadows, then maybe Go'on might not have panicked, or whatever had happened. Or maybe he still would have! It didn't matter now.

What mattered now was Itachi.

…no, no, what had he said his name was?

Yakata. Where was Yakata? Was he still in the forest, waiting for him? No, probably in the village, somewhere.

…who was he, really?

It's Itachi, obviously, of course, why are you thinking otherwise? A tiny voice at the back of his head was insisting, tinny and persistent. It's him.

And then, another voice. Flatter, more rational: How in the world is that even possible? Stop thinking strange things. It's just a coincidence. You're smarter than this.

(He'd been having this argument with himself for days.)

That was just a coincidence?

Okay, so maybe it was. Somehow.

…right.

His eyes and his mind kept insisting otherwise. And that face, it was his face. And his eyes, nobody else had those eyes. How could it not be Itachi?

Sasuke didn't want to have to list the reasons. Again. But he did, anyways.

He was too young, only ten years old (definitely ten, he looked ten). If, somehow, he had been born before Itachi's passing, then he would be older than Sasuke's oldest son, Hajime; at least twenty-seven. And if Itachi had, somehow, had a child of his own, who'd had a child… Yakata was too old, in that case.

But if Itachi were still alive…

Itachi would be…

…no, that possibility was worse than that flimsy idea of reincarnation.

Itachi had died before Sasuke's own eyes. That was why Sasuke had these eyes, now. His brother's eyes were now his own, and they had been for years.

…but what if, somehow…?

Yakata had said something about his father telling him to stay away from Sasuke. "Or…" Else. No other words could come after such a statement.

Stay away from Sasuke, or else.

Yakata had said, "Wait… maybe, you're my…?"

Surely there was some reason for this? Surely he meant to ask something?

He meant something. This meant something.

Most villagers were polite, offering things, being too helpful. Or avoiding gazes and words, but not outright everything.

And hadn't Sasuke not seen the boy's father yet, when he had met or at least seen practically everyone else…? He would have noticed anyone even remotely resembling the boy.

The mother did not resemble him, with her brown hair, with her round eyes. But the father, the hidden man…

Maybe it had been for the boy's own good. The boy's father had told him to stay away from Sasuke. Or else. Why wouldn't he?

And maybe, just maybe…

"Maybe you're my papa's brother?" He could hear the boy's hesitant little voice in his mind completing the sentence.

Sasuke didn't know how or why, but… Itachi was still alive, somehow. Somehow! And Yakata was living proof.

After all, what else could it have been?

Sasuke had to do something. But what? He didn't even know what he would say to Itachi. Not now, not after everything that had happened.

What would he say?

It was only Go'on's slight movement from above that wrested him from his thoughts. "I think… I'm okay now, Sensei."

"Oh. That's good, Go'on. Wonderful." A million thoughts bloomed into a billion, clinging to the only rational explanation he had. Nothing else fit. He'd been too eager, projecting the wrong face onto someone who was only half-related. The resemblance was just so strong, though.

The words Itachi and Son and Nephew didn't fit together. They couldn't.

But here, maybe, somehow, maybe…

His heart felt so light, beating so fast, felt so hot, felt so…

"Sensei, are you… okay?" Go'on was hanging, almost upside-down, from an adjacent branch. The sun was setting, and it cast a golden glow on his skin, making it look darker than it already was. "I'm sorry, I… didn't mean for this to happen, I just…"

Sasuke shook his head, back to reality, back to this matter. First things first. Couldn't let excitement get in the way of things. "You can apologize when we get down. Here." He offered his arm. "I'll help you. Grab on."

"Nah, that's okay, Sensei. I can get down just fine."

Go'on's smile was like one of those creatures you saw only in nature magazines, but never in the wild. It was quick and it was timid, and it disappeared very quickly.

And, in seconds, Go'on was on the ground, having swung and dropped and jumped effortlessly between branches, like he had been born to do it. A far cry from the shivery little child from the days before, dropping tools and teacups and making a general fool of himself. The one who couldn't possibly have scored best in weapons use and taijutsu.

(Yes, Sasuke had read the reports given to him. He just found them hard to believe.)

Well, huh.

And a pressing little question that had been patiently waiting its turn in Sasuke's mind finally got his attention, braving the ideas that were crowding his thoughts of families and reunions and impossible circumstances and what would he ask.

How had Go'on even gotten up there in the first place? It was a tall tree, and the branches, especially near the top, were few and far between.

His mind was grounded as suddenly as Go'on was, neatly tucking away the excitement and the everything else, for later. How had he done it, anyways?

Sasuke made his way back to earth to find Sunao asking Go'on if he was okay, and what had been the matter, and did he need anything?

"You can explain yourself on our way back to the elder's house, Go'on," Sasuke said, crossing his arms.

Go'on began shivering again, hands shoved in his pockets, shoulders high. "Y-yes, Sensei…"

Go'on's explanation did not meet Sasuke's approval, but the boy certainly tried. He couldn't articulate what, exactly, had frightened him so, despite Sunao's gentle pressings. Half-words came out that resembled "too many people" and "staring at me" and "mean looks" and "kept talking" and "said I was sorry" and, over and over, "felt sick, felt really sick."

However, he made one thing incredibly clear.

"I just felt more comfortable up there than down here," he explained, shrugging. "It really did calm me down, honest…"

Sasuke sighed. "Either way. How did you get up there, however?"

There was Go'on's rare smile again. "I like climbing trees."

"That doesn't answer my question." Sasuke's eyes were on him again. The smile fluttered away.

"…well, I… I dunno, Sensei. I just reached for branches an' I pulled myself up, I, I guess." He shrugged again. "M'sorry, I must have caused a lot of trouble."

"You didn't cause much trouble," Sasuke said, nothing in his tone to indicate sincerity, though he was technically telling the truth. "I'm actually a little impressed, Go'on. That was a difficult tree to climb. When we get back to Konoha, you'll have to show me how you did it." Since, really, he was curious.

It wouldn't hurt, Sasuke figured. He could keep the team a little while longer. They were… surprisingly more competent than he had originally thought, and it made him just ever so vaguely pleased.

And besides, he always made time for his family.

All he had to do was take care of the genin, first. Get their training out of the way. Work with them during the day, and tend to his clan at night. It'd be difficult, but somehow he found himself not minding this idea, terribly.

And maybe that night, he'd be able to…

"I… don't know so much about that, Sensei," Go'on said, after a short while. They reached the elder's house, and Sasuke opened the door to let his students inside. "I, I mean, I could certainly try…"

"You can do it," Sasuke said. It was a command, and not encouragement. "Besides, if you can't do it - which I'm sure won't be the case - I'll still teach you how I climbed the tree."

"With the chakra in the base of your feet, right? I think I remember hearing something about that."

Sunao, with the best test scores overall and the best general chakra manipulation. That, he had been able to believe.

"That's right. It's an invaluable ninja skill and the sooner you learn it, the better," Sasuke said. "It won't be too hard for you, right?"

"No! 'course not…" Go'on said, suddenly and loudly. He bit his lip, afterward.

Sasuke found himself half-sighing, half-laughing. "What are you, Kyou? Get inside already."

Go'on, managing a smile, entered the house with Sunao, who smiled too, relieved.

"You two rest up. I'll be in the village if you need me," Sasuke said, from the doorway, not bothering to take his shoes off.

"Oh, well, they're celebrating down there, so it'll be really busy!" Sunao said. "We finally got all the work done."

Had they really? Sasuke only vaguely remembered this. Then again…

"Go have some fun or something, then," Sasuke said, managing a faintly discernable smile. "I won't stop you."

"No, thanks…" Go'on was taking off his sandals.

"Why not, Go'on-kun?" Sunao asked.

Go'on gulped. "Too many…" He was shivering again.

And her eyes snapped widely open, pieces falling into place. "Oh… Oh! Oh, I'm sorry… I'll stay in with you, if you want," she said.

"No, that's fine… Go have fun," Go'on said. "I'll be fine on my own."

"You sure? I worry about you."

Sasuke smirked as he let them continue talking in the foyer, listening to their voices fade out of earshot.

So maybe he was getting a little fond of them. So what?

The good mood only deepened when he thought of what he had to do. The thoughts unwrapped themselves, finally, filling him with that white, hot excitement.

It had to be true.

He'd find someone, ask about Yakata and his family - Honbo, right? That was the name he was using - and where they lived now.

He hadn't followed the boy home, not once.

And then, maybe, just maybe…

He'd see Itachi again, and not just the little half-shadow that was his son, Yakata.

Sasuke had been too eager, but this, this had to be true. It was the only thing that made a remote ounce of sense.

It couldn't hurt.

He'd really see his brother again.

But, as he walked, he found himself in the woods again, in the trees, watching Yakata look at him with his father's eyes.

He didn't know what he would say. He didn't know what he could say.

Not to him.