A/N: I plan on speaking with a more refined register than what a child would use. Don't be confused that he wouldn't be a normal child because of that. That is the point. He is canonically socially inept, and I plan to mirror that to a lesser extent.

Also I'll be writing names surname first cause I watched the English Sub Anime so that is what sounds more familiar to me (also you have to admit it sounds cooler too. Just say in a menacing voice "Madara Uchiha", and then "Uchiha Madara").

Life went on without any issues. I no longer lived in the Root Headquarters, which was located behind the Hokage Monument's cliff, symbolically hidden in the shadows whilst watching over the ever-sunny village. Now I was a part of that village.

Regarding my current lifestyle, I lived alone, which was to be expected. I was an orphan after all which made it easy for Danzo-sama to acquire funds and housing for an academy student-orphan, which was an incentive program to lure as many orphans as possible into becoming ninja. The orphanage, after all, was not a pretty sight, and was still getting D rank repairs almost a decade after the Kyuubi struck it. Children also being able to buy what they wanted with a small, yet relatively generous monthly allowance, was another plus to my current life. Obviously, children as young as 6 would not have the common sense to buy groceries for themselves, so food stamps were also distributed monthly, enabling kids to get the bare necessities: bread, rice, cereal, milk, cheese, sliced ham, fruit and vegetables. While the food was innately bland, it was much better than the dehydrated nutrient packets we would get in Root, another form of removing emotions whilst being cheap and similar to the rations of war.

During the first month's stipend, I had allowed myself to purchase some soy sauce, mayonnaise and salami (all in bulk obviously). That would add some flavour and variety to the otherwise bland meals, even if it ate up most of my stipend. The soy would last me for a few years probably, and the other two for at least a few months to half a year if stored perfectly. The rest of my money was spent on two sets of 5 kunai and one set of 10 shuriken, cast iron and standard quality.

I already knew how to use both items to the extent of a decent chunin (most of my skills currently hovered between high genin to low chunin level), but I couldn't take anything from Root without being suspicious according to Danzo-sama. He was paranoid, but it was perfectly valid. If the likes of the Sandaime Hokage were to believe the story that I was an orphan from a nearby Hi no Kuni village who wanted to be a shinobi, it made no sense for me to already have weapons, or anything really except for the clothes on my back, I had to hide my present for Shin in a small hole I had made behind a loose brick in our living quarters. It was well above two metres high and not by the bunks, so it was logistically impossible for somebody to come across it, especially with the Root member's lack of emotions, and thus activities and personality. All we were meant to do was eat, train, learn and sleep. Simply put, it was safe.

Talking about clothes, mine were intentionally made to be creased, muddied and fraying at the seams. While I washed the one pair everyday and had managed to get rid of the mud, there was no way in which the rather mean academy students in my class wouldn't pick on me for looking poor, whether that be the wealthy clan heirs that made up half the class, or the orphans that had months of stipends in the past spent on a wardrobe. I had yet to build one up myself, but I would survive for the time being.

Regarding the apartment I had been assigned, it was rather minimalistic, but had more than enough for a child to survive. There were three rooms, a kitchen with a conjoined living room, split by an inbuilt table that had one high swivel chair, a bathroom with a shower, sink and toilet (there was pre-supplied soap, a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss and shampoo) and finally a bedroom, housing only a single bed. The apartment was on the 2nd floor of the 8 story complex, so I couldn't really see the village from my apartment beyond the few other apartment buildings that surrounded the area and the street below. It was a relatively new building, then again, a third of the village was said to have been reconstructed following the Kyuubi attack (thankfully most people had been led to safety before the bijuudama and claws could wreak havoc. Also thank the Yondaime Hokage for sending that bijuudama away, may he rest in peace).

Now putting my focus on the Academy itself as opposed to my current living situation, I had joined right at the beginning of the third year, obviously into the class of Uchiha Sasuke (my focus) and as a result many other clan heirs and even the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, something Danzo-sama had informed me about, as well as not to worry about said boy as he was already under the surveillance of many ANBU, including Root members, and thus if I were to observe him as well to the same extent expected of me for the Uchiha, the Sandaime would surely become suspicious.

Another case where Danzo-sama was rather paranoid, but rightfully so. It did take a lot of intellect to live to such an age whilst still being a shinobi of his calibre.

The class was under the instruction of the chunin-sensei Umino Iruka, a man about 16 years of age who had, like myself, become an orphan as a result of the Kyuubi attack. He seemed more than smart enough for the academy curriculum, and taught rather well, not as well as Danzo-sama, but then again Konoha was trying to raise humans as opposed to animated tools.

Practical skills in class were obvious for me, with there being no issue when dealing with problems such as how to set up a camp, forage, hunt, prepare food and other basic skills taught to me by Shin, however Konoha's history, especially not recent history, was rather foreign to me. All I knew was what I needed to, mainly the general time periods we were at war in the past, and thus what villages were known to be potential allies or sworn enemies if another world war was to break out. Simply put, Iwa, Kiri and Kumo were usually sworn enemies unless they were prioritising another village, although Iwa would prioritise us regardless; Suna was a potential backstabber, but usually a decent ally; and Kusa, Taki and Ame were rather defensive villages that didn't instigate wars, but rather would attack any troops that invade their territories.

In theory, it all seemed stupid. War seemed pointless as the disputes were never settled, but rather the instigators were usually fined from treaties that would merely delay wars and increase hatred between villages.

Then again, ninja villages were merely large money making machines for both their own survival as well as the wellbeing of their nation. Money, Land, and indirectly resources, were the main causes of every modern war (apart from Kiri's civil war which was still ongoing and deadly as ever).

The Kages weren't the boss. The Daimyo's and his court were. Even if a village attacked their capital in a coup de taut, they would be heavily weakened by the tens of thousands of foot soldiers (that occasionally had some chakra skills like samurai), and even if the village was successful, they would lose clients from both their home nation, but also nearby countries that were less likely to trust said village. Money was everything. Missions were everything. That was life.

Of course said logic couldn't be assumed of my classmates, except probably the Nara, but that was only if he bothered thinking about the course content as opposed to knowing the bare minimum to pass whilst snoozing the days away.

Social life was interesting. The boys tended to keep to themselves mostly, probably superiority complexes and a whole lot of pride. The outliers were the Nara and Akimichi, but both of them only slept and ate food in a comfortable silence, rarely talking (if you could call that social interaction that is).

The girls however moved in posses, gathering, whispering, giggling and swooning the ever-popular Uchiha always in unison. Apparently having your family killed and being sad and lonely about it made him even more popular, at least if the Inuzuka was a reliable source that is. He wasn't really special, apart from his good grades and ability to use basic katon release, which wasn't a flex for an Uchiha, rather expected of him.

I won't lie, I didn't really have any friends. I tried speaking with the Uchiha once and was instantly shut down. Then the fanbase started yapping at me for disrupting Sasuke's thoughts, whatever they were supposed to be…

I sat at the back of the classroom, out of choice to both see all whilst being able to avoid as much fangirl presence as possible. One of the few girls who wasn't such an annoyance sat next to me, the Hyuga heiress. While she was undoubtedly skilled in taijustu, Hyuuga and all, she was a rather shy one. She would however be a good ally and potential friend in the future, especially having one of the remaining big four clans' future head acting in accordance to Danzo-sama's desires, (although it was more likely he would die of old age first if I were being realistic). We were the only two on our 3-person bench.

The first time I had spoken to her, I had asked about what I had missed in the first two years. Thankfully, it had only been theory, which I already mostly knew. In turn, Iruka-sensei made me stay behind half an hour for a few weeks to get a basic rundown of what I'd missed, which wasn't much as he had been teaching 6 and 7-year-olds for god's sake.

I kind of forced conversation out of her most of the time.

"What's your name? Mine's Sai."

"Um- Hyuga Hinata."

"What foods do you like?"

"Sweets and pastries."

"Which one more?"

"Pastries."

"Any in particular?"

"Um… any- probably the ones with cinnamon and sugar coating."

"Like cinnamon scrolls? I've never had pastries before. Only seen them in window display cabinets the few weeks I've been in Konoha."

"Were there not… bakeries where you're from?"

"Sort of but not really. It was a small village, actually a hamlet. Nobody made bread but one guy who owned a general goods store sold bread loaves alongside her staples. So what do you think of those cinnamon scrolls, should I give one a try?"

"Ah, sorry. I forgot to answer your question!" She got rather flustered, although I really didn't care. There was nothing else to do in the meantime. "Cinnamon scrolls are my favourite. And yes, I think you'll also love them, but be sure to get them when they are fresh and warm, as that makes them even better."

"Oh that sounds great."

That instantly ended the conversation. It seemed that if I wasn't instigating something out of her, she would just stare into blank space. She might be watching someone, or thinking in her mind, or she could be a potential Root candidate, no scrap that, she was a clan heir for goodness sake. It was hard to see what she was staring at with those solid white eyes. They looked cool though to be fair.

After class started back up again and concluded that afternoon, I asked Hinata a question: "Hey Hinata-san, would you like me to bring in two cinnamon scrolls tomorrow?"

"Wh- Why two? Why don't you just try one at a bakery?"

"What's the fun in that? And also, it would be mean to eat you're favourite food without letting you have one yourself, so I thought, if I eat mine, you get one, and if I don't like mine, you can have two."

"Oh. Well, you don't have to be so kind, Sai-san. I don't think I really deserve one as much as you."

"Why not?"

"Well… I haven't earnt one I guess."

"Guess what."

"What?"

"I'm still getting you one."

"Huh? No! I don't deserve one. I told you earlier, Sai-san, that I haven't done anything to earn one."

"Well then how about this… I'll get you one to reward you for being kind to me and hopefully my friend, and friends treat each other, right?"

"Wha- I guess so… Thank you then, Sai-kun."

"Anytime, Hinata-chan."

Now that interaction would have attracted a lot of attention, however we both spoke rather quietly in comparison to the wailing banshees nagging 'Sasuke-kun' to spend time with them, to train with them, to go on a date with them, to meet their family.

Yeah I don't know how I'm supposed to protect him with my life…