Kakashi could smell Naruto eavesdropping.

Still, he did not change what he wanted to say. Perhaps if the kid heard why Inuzuka acted the way he did, he would be less bothered by him.

Did he search for him or for Inuzuka? Or did he –

"Naruto!"

A loud noise reached his ears—that of a fall.

He rushed, skipping the last stairs in a hurry – only to see Naruto scrambling back to his feet and running away. Not from him, however.

Kakashi gazed at Iruka. The man panted, leaning his hands on his knees. "Damn, he's quick."

"Well, he bikes to school every day," Kakashi said casually, masking his anger. "You should apologize to him."

Iruka still tried to slow down his breaths. "I tried. He didn't stop to listen." He glanced at him, then looked down. "I fucked up, didn't I?"

"Yeah." Kakashi wondered how much he should say. "He really looks up to you."

Iruka chuckled. The sound was bitter. "Not anymore. Ever since I was made principal…." He straightened and met his eye. "What did you guys talk about?"

Kakashi tilted his head and frowned.

"He searched for you," Iruka explained, flustered. "And ran away from me."

Kakashi kept his eye on him. He knew Iruka had a tendency to break under his gaze. That was why he chose him as his target; he was easy to read and easy to influence. Befriend him, convince him you can be trusted, convince him he can count on you. Make sure he calls you and asks you to fill the vacancy created by his promotion.

Get to Konoha. Find Sasuke.

"He was such a troublemaker when he was young. Always getting into trouble and ditching, running around and making a mess…." Iruka sighed. "I don't know what changed."

Kakashi kept his face neutral. "He was acting out because he wanted someone to see him," he said quietly. "Help him."

"Help him? With what?" Iruka frowned. "You mean schoolwork?" He chuckled fondly. "Damn, I guess I should have known. He was never very clever – "

"He is brilliant," Kakashi interrupted. "He's got one of the sharpest minds I have ever seen." He met Iruka's wide eyes with his black one. "I am surprised you did not notice." He hid his hands in his pockets and looked away. "I think he would appreciate it if you listened to him, treated him with kindness." He wanted to say more but stopped himself. Naruto guarded his secret so warily; sharing it could destroy his relationship with the teen irrevocably. "Well, that's what I think," he said instead. "See you tomorrow, Iruka."

He had to control his temper.

And he had to focus on Sasuke instead. The way the kid glared at him when he returned to the classroom worried him. It seemed that someone saw Naruto and recognized his pain; his loneliness. Soon, his senses will awaken, and he will see more, hear more, smell more. Kakashi had to predict how he would react.

He drove to the library and entered through the backdoor, then stopped and blinked in surprise.

Naruto and Sasuke studied together, and based on how Naruto pulled his hair and Sasuke rolled his eyes in response, they must have been working on a subject that wasn't math.

He smiled. Good. Their connection will help both of them.

Also, something about Naruto's presence calmed Sasuke's instincts. He smelled less feral, less pained, when Naruto was around.

Kakashi hid. He kept his eye focused on his paperwork and his nose on the two kids. He waited.

Sasuke got worse the moment they parted.

Naruto biked home, grinning and energetic. Sasuke gritted his teeth and walked.

He was close.

Kakashi ran to his car. He hoped the same trick that worked on Naruto would work on Sasuke as well. He drove toward Sasuke's home, searching for the moody teen, and found him.

Sasuke leaned against a tree, his breath labored and aching. He fell.

Kakashi parked his car with a screech. "Uchiha!" he yelled and ran to him. "Oi, Uchiha. What's wrong?"

The kid clutched his shoulder, eyes wide and glazed from the pain. He was terrified.

His fingers morphed into feathers.

Fuck. Kakashi dropped the act. "Don't fight it." He stooped and placed his hand on the teen's shoulder. "Don't fight the transformation. Trust me. The pain will go away if you don't resist."

"What. The fuck," Sasuke rasped. His eyes welled with tears. They flickered red. "Are you talking. About."

Sasuke panted. His breaths were slow and weak from the agonizing pain he must be feeling. He was still, somehow, lucid. His eyes stared at him, shocked and distrustful and so very afraid.

"Your Sharingan – your red eyes – are acting up," Kakashi said quietly. "I can help you control your transformations, but for now, you must let go."

"Can't." Sasuke choked. "Won't." His wide eyes looked around frantically. He looked like a hunted animal caught in a trap.

Kakashi kept his hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm taking you home." He picked the kid up in his arms. "I know it's a lot to ask, but trust me."

Sasuke groaned, biting his lip to stop himself from screaming.

He did not have much time. Kakashi sat the kid in his car and drove to his home as fast as he could.

"How," the kid choked.

"Ask me later." Kakashi lifted the kid in his arms, jumped up from one branch to the next, and entered through the window. He laid the kid on the bed. "Transform, Sasuke. The pain will go away."

The kid panted, his body writhing from the pain. He clawed at his shirt and screamed.

"I'm taking your shirt off," Kakashi muttered. "You're a bird, I think."

Sasuke swatted his hand. He looked frightened.

"I'm not trying to hurt you, kid. I'm trying to help you," Kakashi growled.

"Fuck! Off!" The kid screamed again.

He did not believe Itachi, either. "Fine. Look at me, Sasuke. Don't look away," he commanded.

He hated transforming in front of others. The process of undressing was humiliating; being watched while doing so was worse. Still, he had no time to consider his personal feelings, not when Sasuke was trying to stay himself by gripping the remains of his human form. The desperate attempt will kill him.

He took off his clothes in a hurry, ignoring Sasuke's sharp breathing, and met his still frightened, shocked eyes with his calm one, as if he did not care that the boy was staring at his naked body.

He removed his eye patch and opened his red, burning eye.

Sasuke gasped.

Kakashi, now a giant wolf, growled softly. 'Transform,' he thought. 'Now.'

Sasuke nodded. He used his fingers to tear off his shirt. He breathed, aching and weak, and gave up. Where a kid once lay, now lay a giant eagle, panting and defeated. He hid his face underneath his large, black wings.

'It's all right. You're all right, Sasuke. Breathe. Get used to it. This is a part of you.' He leaned closer and sniffed.

Unlike Naruto, he assumed this kid would not appreciate it if he started licking his face.

Slowly, the pain must have subsided because Sasuke's breaths returned to normal. He closed his wings and, somehow, stumbled to a sitting position. He was clumsy and awkward, and his eyes were burning red.

'Think as if you are speaking, and I will be able to hear you,' Kakashi instructed. 'You must have questions.'

The bird clicked his beak in what must have been an expression of annoyance. 'Yeah. What the fuck, Hatake.'

Kakashi sat down and folded his paws. 'Please be more specific, Sasuke.'

The eagle cawed and flapped his wings, then fell back on the bed. 'Why am I a fucking bird.' The eagle screeched. 'How do I undo this.'

He sounded annoyed, but Kakashi could smell his fear. "Don't be hasty. You must still feel the pain from your earlier attempt to stop the change." He could almost hear Sasuke's unasked questions. "The first transformations are painful because of the fear of the change and the change itself. Let your body get used to this form. It's not permanent,' he added. He kept his voice calm and soothing. 'You will learn how to control it and transform willingly, with time.'

'I need to know now. I can't turn into a-a fucking monster' Sasuke flapped his wings uncontrollably. He started to fly, panicked, and fell again on the bed.

'Don't worry. If you start transforming in public, I will find you and get you somewhere private. You are not a monster, Sasuke.' He rumbled. 'If you start to transform, you must complete the transformation. What you tried to do just now could have killed you. Remember this, Sasuke."

The eagle flapped his wings. Agitated. He looked frightened.

The wolf within him rumbled. 'It should not have been me, helping you and guiding you. This should not have been kept as a secret from you, but I assure you, this was done for your own protection.'

Sasuke managed, somehow, to sit up. He glared, but his defiance was no longer violent.

Kakashi continued. 'You are an Uchiha. You inherited the Sharingan – your red eyes – with the bloodline. Some call it a curse, and some a blessing. You are not a monster,' he repeated. 'This is simply a manifestation of the power of your eyes.'

Sasuke panted. He flapped his wings again, unnerved. 'So… so my family….'

'Yes,' Kakashi admitted quietly. 'They could all transform.' He paused and weighed the following words. 'Your brother, Itachi, could transform into any number of crows he chose.'

Sasuke jumped, claws bared, and tried to rip open his face.

Kakashi moved out of the way and watched as the bird flailed helplessly on his back. 'That monster murdered my family! Don't speak about him like you knew him!' he managed to get up and tried to tear into him with his beak.

Kakashi growled. He placed his large paw on the eagle's chest and pinned him down, teeth bared, until Sasuke stopped struggling. His growl turned into a soft rumble. 'I did know him,' he said quietly. 'Itachi was a good man. He was,' he added when Sasuke tried, quite clumsily, to peck him. 'He helped me master my transformations. He was a gentle, kind man. I do not know why he did what he did, but he must have had a reason.'

'No reason is good enough! He killed my parents!' Sasuke's voice came out as a furious sob. 'He killed everyone!'

'I did not say it was. He spared you,' Kakashi pointed out as gently as he could. 'He loved you dearly, Sasuke.'

'If he really did, he should have killed me too,' the boy screeched. 'Don't talk about him like he did me a fucking favor by leaving me alone in this world. You fucking piece of shit.' The eagle's chest shuddered underneath his paw. 'Get off me.'

Kakashi obeyed. He removed his paw.

The bird rolled up and buried his head underneath his giant wings. His tears were angry and defiant and terrified.

Kakashi got up. 'I'll make you something to eat.'

'Don't you dare fucking feed me. I'm not Naruto.' Sasuke glowered at him. 'Stay where I can see you.'

The wolf sat and folded his paws as he waited for the kid to calm down. As expected, he was far more suspicious than Naruto. He did not trust any acts of goodwill. Not surprising, however, since he was betrayed by the man he loved the most.

Finally, Sasuke managed to calm down. 'You stalked me,' he accused.

'Yes,' Kakashi said. Sasuke appeared to be startled by the stark honesty. 'I needed to know when you were going to transform. I knew you were close.'

'How.'

'I could smell it.'

The eagle blinked at him. 'What?' he seethed.

Kakashi held on to his patience. 'Your body will start to change following your transformations. Your senses will become sharper. Your eyesight, I assume, will change the most. The more you transform, the more prominent the change will be.'

'So you can smell and hear better,' Sasuke dared.

'Yes.' Kakashi stuck to the facts. They seemed to have helped the boy calm down the most. 'You will get stronger, too. You will need to learn how to control your strength. You will also need to learn how to fly.'

The bird blinked. His interest piqued and then immediately faded into suspicion. 'What's the catch.'

Clever and untrusting. Of course, he would search for the side effects. 'Well, you have to keep your identity a secret, for one thing. There are still people who know of the Uchiha power. They will either try to use you, trap you, or rip out your eyes.'

The bird screeched at him. 'Like you? Your eye – it's not yours, is it? You stole – '

Kakashi growled. He flattened his ears and bared his fangs, forcing the kid into submission. The feral sound caused the window to shake. 'No. Not like me. I did not know about the Uchiha power. I did not seek it. I did not ask for it." He snapped his teeth.

Sasuke leaned against the wall. He looked almost ashamed.

It took him a long moment to remember how to talk. 'Then, why.…'

'I do not owe you my life story,' the wolf snarled still. 'Your brother, before he died, asked me to find you when your time came. He said that was his mission, but now it is mine.' He forced himself to soften his growl into a quiet rumble. 'I am trying to help you.'

The kid said nothing. He looked down. 'And… you knew when to find me – '

'I sensed it. I sensed you were getting close, so I managed to find out where you lived.'

'And then killed our principal?'

Kakashi snarled, more as a warning than out of actual anger. The kid's tone was sardonic, but his eyes were scared. 'I took advantage of that opportunity,' he said quietly. 'I hoped you'd trust me better if you already knew who I was.'

'Tough luck,' the kid snapped.

Kakashi rumbled. He sat down. 'I am sorry I lost my temper,' he said slowly. The kid was already frightened; he should not blame him for lashing out, no matter how painful the memories he invoked or how unjust his accusation was. 'It is scary, but it gets better,' he added quietly.

Sasuke flapped his wings and scoffed at the notion. His body did not do what he wanted it to do, apparently. 'So, I have to keep it secret,' he muttered, annoyed. 'What else? Do you have to get naked every single time?'

'Yes. The clothes do not transform with you.' Kakashi cocked his head. 'Though, being a bird, you might have an easier time. I'm quite certain you don't have to take off anything other than your shirt.'

'You need to take off everything.'

'I have a tail.'

Sasuke nodded, then laughed. 'This is fucked up. This is so fucked up.' The bird shook his head. 'You said my body will change the more I transform,' he hesitated. 'Are there, eh….'

'Yes. There is always a risk that you will forget how to transform back. Forget that you are human.' Kakashi growled softly, in reassurance more than anything else. 'It only happens to those who choose to spend their lives as the animal they transform into. It does not happen if you lead a human life.'

Sasuke nodded. 'I want to transform back,' he ordered. The words were harsh, but they failed to mask his fear.

Kakashi got up. He sniffed, but the boy no longer smelled pained. 'All right. First of all, clear your mind. You must not fear the transformation. You must have a clear image of yourself as a human – and reach for it. Reach for the humanity deep inside of you. Do not stop reaching or freeze midway because there the pain lies. You must focus on your goal – reach for it – and hold on to it. Do not fear, Sasuke,' he murmured and leaned closer. 'You will be fine. I'm here. I will help you.'

The bird looked agitated. 'Show me,' he commanded again. His voice broke.

Kakashi closed his eyes and breathed – and the wolf became a naked man, kneeling before his student. "You can do this," he said softly.

Sasuke nodded. He closed his eyes. He reached – and screamed.

The bird flailed on the bed. His legs elongated excruciatingly slowly. The wings folded back on themselves and became arms. The beak became a mouth, the feathers ruffled into hair – and where a giant eagle sat, now lay the naked body of a boy, heaving and sobbing. His skin glistened with cold sweat and his limbs tremored. Flashes of pain shot through him, pulsing with his heart.

Kakashi grabbed the blanket folded on the edge of the bed and covered him. "You did well. Good job, Sasuke. You did really well."

"What. The fuck. Are you talking about," he choked, panting. "That hurt. That really hurt."

"I know." Kakashi did not touch him. He knew how sensitive the body was after a transformation. "But you did not freeze midway. You pushed all the way back. You did well."

The kid heaved, eyes closed in agony. "Tell me… it gets better," he begged.

"It does get better. The pain does not go away, but you learn to transform faster. You don't experience as much."

"I don't want to transform again. Ever." Sasuke covered his eyes with his hand.

"Once you learn to control your transformations, you won't have to," Kakashi reassured him. "You will need to master your form, Sasuke."

"Why, because that's what my murderer brother would have wanted?" he bit.

Kakashi looked away. "I told you, you are not safe. Perhaps you will never be truly safe. Your power might help to save your life."

The kid's chest moved slower. He must have gotten the pain under control. "Why… why wolf? Why am I a fucking bird, and you're a giant wolf?"

Kakashi smiled and shook his head. "I believe your family owned several books about why each person manifests as a different animal. I do not know the reason, but I do know that each animal has different abilities. If it is not written there, you will have to discover them for yourself."

Sasuke finally looked at him. "What are your powers?"

Kakashi hmmed. "I can be… really fast, at times. Almost like short-distance teleportation." He thought of Naruto falling from the window. "I can trace a single scent across more than a mile, and… well, I've become quite good at sneaking, but I'm not sure that's one of them."

Sasuke scoffed. "So… like, x-man stuff?"

Kakashi smiled. "I would not go that far."

The boy sneered. He glared at him. "At least put some pants on."

Kakashi cocked a brow and got dressed. "Can I get you something to eat?" he offered again.

Sasuke managed to sit up, groaning. "What's with Naruto?" Kakashi kept his expression blank, so Sasuke elaborated, "Is he… well, like me?"

Kakashi met his agitated gaze. "He is not of the Uchiha bloodline, if that's what you mean."

"So… why are you so protective of him?" he demanded.

The boy was both asking and challenging him. Kakashi leaned against the kid's bedroom wall. "I do not owe you his life story, either," he finally said.

Sasuke blinked, annoyed and intrigued. "He's a mission to you," he asserted. "Like me."

"Yes." Kakashi looked out the window. It was getting dark. "The first night is tough. Do you want me to stay?"

Sasuke scowled. He wrapped the blanket tightly around his body and looked away. "Do as you like," he mumbled.

Kakashi took out his phone and hoped Naruto wasn't patrolling the streets, searching for him. "Then I'm ordering us Pizza. What kind of toppings do you like?"

Sasuke stared, eyes wide, swallowed, and looked away.

Kakashi thought that, for a moment, he looked relieved.


Notes:


Hey, y'all! Hope you had a great week!

So yeah, a bit of exposition about how I incorporated the Sharingan powers into the story. Let me know if it answered your questions! I will explore more of it later (much later), but that's it for now. And… eh… yeah, there's definitely a naked Kakashi & Itachi scene that I am not going to write, but y'all can imagine, if you like ;)

Also, something I forgot to mention last time – Kakashi doesn't actually recognize his students' handwriting. He simply smelled the spray paint on Kiba when he entered the classroom and filed it for later consideration haha I just couldn't really figure out how to add it smoothly to the story, so I didn't.

Also also – finally had the conversation with Iruka! I know some of you wanted a more… fiery reproach, but my headcanon is that Kakashi is more into manipulating people than trying to reach them through reason (and that's also my interpretation of his conversation with Iruka in the anime. Like, he knew who Naruto was, but he still tried to convince Iruka to be nice to him in such a roundabout way).

Anyways, hope you liked it! Please tell me what you think!

PS - Next chapter will be longer and will introduce two new characters! See you next time!