Restraint?

His "mother" had gifted him a journal. A gratitude journal she had called it. Apparently, she had decided that young Kabuto was high on his own hype. She had ordered him to write down 5 great things he felt grateful for every day. Kabuto bristled as he took in his surroundings.

Broken, rusted furniture was adorned by moth-ridden carpets. Hellions, masquerading as children raced through tearing up what little peace remained in the foster home. Kabuto's face involuntarily curled up in disgust at the site. Is this what he was supposed to be grateful for? An out-of-touch retired kunoichi who turns a new leaf after a life of killing. She had greatness in the palm of her hand. Had she wanted, she could've reached ANBU. Sadly, all that potential was squandered when she chose to be a foster parent. Some bullshit about giving back to life after all the lives she had prematurely ended.

Of all the bloodthirsty bastards in this world, I had to land under this one softy. Kabuto lamented. He would've much preferred it if he was an Uzumaki, Senju, Uchiha, or even an Aburame. But NO! He had to be stifled under the matriarchal yoke of that bitch.

As such, Kabuto decided that his misery under the stagnating tyranny of Nono Yakushi needed to end as well. Kabuto knew shinobi were in the village looking for recruits to replace the war losses they accumulated in the 3rd great shinobi war. They weren't the usual shinobi. Kabuto had been spying on them. Especially the pale one with slits for human eyes. They wanted killers and so far, had rejected almost every boy. Kabuto glanced around and saw Nono lying asleep on a grandfather's chair. A wicked smirk crossed his face as he slipped a kitchen knife from the drawers and advanced on the unsuspecting hag.

He would present Orochimaru of the Denetsu Sannin with such a tribute that he would have no choice but to accept him in his ranks. The Yakushi name might not mean much right now, but when all was said and done, the Yakushi would rival Uchiha, Senju, Terumi, and the Raikages. From blood and ninjutsu, a new clan would be created that would deserve his talents.

Cabal

Neji contemplatively paced around the bunker. "If we tell Satsuki the truth about the massacre, we can't be sure of how she'll react."

He spun around, "These Uchihas….. with their volatile minds….. you can never be sure of how they will react to things."

"We need the Sharingan on our side." Kabuto simply said from beside him.

"True, but we also don't need Satsuki running off to the Hokage tower in a suicidal assault. Such an act would also bring our own activities under scrutiny. If she is caught alive, our mission will have failed." Neji said.

"You are a jounin now, Neji. At merely 19 years of age. The fastest to have reached that rank in amongst your batch." Kabuto remarked. "Did you get here by playing safe and slow all the time?"

"I most certainly didn't get here by playing fast and loose either." Neji sternly said and Kabuto sighed.

"All we need to do is ensure that Orochimaru is neutralized. Right now, he is a far bigger threat to us than Konoha. The village isn't aware of a mutiny within your clan. Orochimaru knows about it. It will be far easier and much quicker for him to put the strings together than for the Sandaime." Kabuto said. "Also, why are you so suspicious of them?"

"We know nothing about the Team. Hanabi hasn't had enough time yet to fully integrate herself into their dynamics." Neji remarked. "Satsuki has taken a savage delight in preventing my cousin from integrating within the team. Also, Naruto is a wild card. The so called Jinchuiriki."

"That doesn't answer my question," Kabuto said and Neji turned around with fury as he glared at him.

"We have no leverage on them. There is no skin in the game. With Hanabi and I, it is our entire future. Heck, even with Satsuki there are some anchors we can tweak." Neji said. "There is nothing we have on Naruto. Not that you have cared to share enough about him."

Kabuto shrugged, "You don't know enough about me either. Yet here you are."

"Or maybe you too are an accomplice to the village!" Neji yelled in frustration and Kabuto's self-satisfied smirk fell.

With a neutral face and tone, Kabuto spoke, "Hyuga-san."

Neji felt goosebumps rise on his neck as Kabuto channeled killer instinct in the room's atmosphere. "While nothing makes me happier than contributing to Hyuga's freedom, don't make a second mistake I am your subject. I am a shinobi who outranks you in seniority. Everything I have done; I have done for the cause of freedom and at tremendous personal risk to myself. There is nothing I abhor more than slavery."

Kabuto leaned forward, "Never for a second think I am your servant towards whom you can use such a derogatory tone."

Neji took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "I apologize. I am not blind to your efforts, Kabuto-san. I merely misspoke. The pressure of it all has me acting unwise."

Kabuto relented and the killer instinct died down, "Apology accepted, Neji-kun."

A brief moment of awkward silence passed between the duo before Neji braved the chasm.

"Kabuto-san. If I may." He began and Kabuto nodded at him to continue, "Why do you support us? I never asked since I have been taught not to look a gift horse in the mouth. But why? If Konoha finds out what we are doing, they will skin you alive. Worse if Orochimaru finds out…."

Before anyone could answer, there was a knock on the door. Kabuto looked at Neji and nodded. It was time to take a leap of faith.

Konoha Rooftops

Satsuki sat alone in the night sky. Her knuckles were bloody with the barest hints of blood clotting over them. Several wooden punching posts lay shattered around her. She had screamed, thrown things around, and threatened to murder the Hyugas duo with their nerdy benefactor.

Of course, that bitch Hanabi was in cahoots with the most random cabal.

Of course, her only "friend" in life was a massive liar who hid a demon inside his gut.

Of course, her sensei was a massive fraud who was working for an unimaginably powerful shinobi to gauge her eyes out.

And of course, just when she had thought that everything was falling into place again, fate had taken it as a personal challenge to fuck her over. She should've strangled that Hyuga whore the moment they put her on the same team. It's what her grandfather would have wanted. A grandfather that was taken from her by her elder brother. Of course, that too was a lie. Deep down, she knew he was telling the truth. As mighty as Itachi was, he was still one man against an entire clan with veterans dating back to the second shinobi war. All shinobis slip up, even the mighty ones. All it would've taken was for Itachi to slip up once, and somebody would have stabbed him in the back. There was also the fact that none of the shinobi had decided that discretion was the better part of valor and decided to flee.

Satsuki knew in her heart of hearts that there was more to the story than it met the eyes. Itachi would have to have accomplices in the plot that not only allowed him to massacre the clan, escape the village without detection, and then escape the massive fire country without hunter-mins sweeping in for the kill. None of it had made sense but back then she had been too blinded by anger.

The sound of bottles clinking reached her, and Satsuki quickly wiped the ugly tears away from her face. A similar scent told her who it was without her needing to turn back and look.

"You better have a damned good reason for being here, blondie." Satsuki spat and a sigh was her response. Glass scrapped against the concrete and a soda bottle was pushed near her.

"Satsuki…. I…." Naruto began but stopped. He didn't have the words to truly describe how he felt right now. He never was one for words. He left most of the talking to Hanabi. The Hyuga princess had wisely decided to stay out of Satsuki's crosshair for the time being. Naruto had wholeheartedly endorsed that decision.

"Tell me, do you know what's like to know that your whole fucking life was a lie?" Satsuki whispered aloud. Naruto stared blankly at the starry heavens above.

"To know that your own flesh and blood betrayed you. And the very person who put a blanket around your shoulder and vowed to pursue the criminal to the word's end – was the same fucking person who orchestrated the entire thing?" Satsuki harshly spat. "And now I learn about you! I saved your life, Naruto!"

She desperately tried and failed to control an angry sob that escaped her. At that, the waterworks broke out and Satsuki pulled her knees to her face and wept. The area around them was dead silent save for the girl's angry sobs. Naruto angrily clenched the edges of the concrete tank that he sat on. This was not how he had planned the disclosure to go about Kyuubi. He punched the concrete at the feeling of helplessness. Naruto had put his mechanical mind to work on evaluating every possible scenario and had come up blank. As talented as Satsuki was, they were still only 2 inexperienced genin against an entire state.

There were no conceivable paths to victory here. Only death and despair.

He glanced from the stars and back to Satsuki. A person who had saved his life. A person who had coxed him out of his shell and brought him back into the real world. A person who most likely prevented him from committing suicide. If it wasn't for her, the world wouldn't have even realized he was dead. His body would've been rotting in the compound for weeks on end before anybody checked.

A massive debt was owed to Satsuki Uchiha, and he had internally vowed to help her kill Itachi. Despite her coarse mannerisms, Satsuki was one of his precious people. He would not let any harm come to her alone.

Naruto clenched his fist in resolution. If their chosen path led to war and death – so, be it. Only cowards wanted to live forever. He would follow Satsuki to hell and deeper if it was needed. Drawing forth courage, he marched straight up to Satsuki and hugged from behind. In a move that shocked even Naruto, instead of punching his lights out, Satsuki turned and hugged him back with far more intensity than he had.

"I will kill them." Naruto sputtered, not really knowing what he was saying but just letting the emotions guide him. "I will never let them hurt you again. I will kill them all before they do it."

She put her face on her shoulder and cried again, and Naruto let her.

She needed time to clear her head. Vengeance could come when they had clearer minds.

1 Hour Later

A pale Satsuki who had regained her composure sat across Naruto at their dinner table. A pair of hot soups prepared by Naruto lay before them.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Satsuki asked as he twirled her spoon in the broth.

"I was afraid," Naruto said.

"Of what?" Satsuki asked.

"Satsuki – it's not really the time. I just-" Naruto said and immediately shut up as Satsuki's bloody sharingan eyes met his.

"It would behoove us to not lie to each other anymore, Naruto." Satsuki quietly said. Naruto sighed in frustration before spitting out,

"I was afraid, ok?! I was afraid of being treated like a freak and abomination by you like how the others do to me, ok? Hanging around you felt normal! You treated me like a human being and a teammate. That's all I ever wanted in life. Even more than I have ever wanted to become Hokage in a past life."

Satsuki took a few spoonsful of the soup before speaking, "You really think I would have treated you like the others? Have I ever given you a reason to think so poorly of me? Or do you think of me as a sheep that mindlessly follows others?"

"Well, you saw how I was living. I didn't exactly have a good reference point." Naruto snarled. A silence fell over the dinner table as they grudgingly stared deep into their soups as if they contained the answer to their problems.

"Naruto." Satsuki and he looked up to see Satsuki holding a spoon with a pea on it towards his face. She yanked it back and it struck him on his nose. "You are an idiot."

Naruto snorted before repeating the deed and striking Satsuki in the eye. "Nah uh, you are the idiot."

It struck her in the eye and she angrily muttered, "Why you insolent little dope."

"Duckhead!"

"Midget!"

"Dimwit!"

"Banshee!"

The two wickedly grinned at each other as they went looking for more peas in their soup to lob at each other in the impromptu artillery duel. As the minutes passed by, the two giggled and screamed as they chased each other through the deserted hallway.

All talks of revenge, betrayal, and bloodshed are forgotten. For now. For tonight only, they were just two normal children chasing each other and making merry.

Fin.

Author Notes: Read and Review.