The sky grew closer and closer, eating away anything else that may be in Sasaui’s line of sight. A moment later a sense of weightlessness overtook her. The distant blue blanket drew away as she began falling back, gravity taking its hold on her. The surroundings began to fill in once more, but the park was no longer her focus. It was the blond boy attempting to go even higher than she had. The swing carrying him buckled a bit, sending a spike of fear through her.
“Naruto, be careful!” she called. “At this rate, you’re going to fall of the swing.”
He just laughed at her concern. “You just don’t want me to go higher than you,” Naruto shot back, but as he fell back toward the ground, he made sure to stop himself. “I’m sure I went higher than you there.”
Sasaui stuck her tongue out, debating whether she should risk going higher than Naruto. On one hand, she could fall from the swing and get hurt the day before the Academy started. However, if she didn’t try, that would mean Naruto won. Which outcome was worse? Finally pursing her lips in determination, deciding she’d make sure she didn’t fall, she once more began to swing her momentum upward.
Although her instincts, and Naruto, warned her she was being risky, she continued to climb higher. Once she reached her previous height, she made sure to fling her legs forward even more. As she flew through the air again, a spike of fear shot through her, the metal chains beginning to give. No, she had to go higher than Naruto. There was no way she would lose this.
Her determination proved idiotic as she ascended once more, and it wasn’t simply the chain that reacted. Her backwards weight proved to be too much. The swing flipped, and before she had time to process what was happening, her hands slipped, sending her face first toward the ground.
“Sasaui!” Naruto cried, mixing with her own scream of terror. Except, it wasn’t only his voice she heard, she realized. Before she even had time to register who the second one belonged to, arms wrapped around her falling figure only moments after it had left the safety of the swing.
Sasuke had been the second voice, she discovered, seeing her other brother’s face gazing down at her. “I-Itachi,” Sasaui stammered, both shocked and embarrassed upon seeing him. How could she have been so foolish as to nearly injure herself like that? “When did you get here?”
“Just in time to see you swing that high like an idiot!” Sasuke cut in, stepping around Itachi as he set her down. “What in the world were you thinking? You could have gotten hurt.”
Smiling sheepishly, Sasaui averted her eyes. They knew she was competitive, but looking back, Sasaui even knew how ridiculous taking the risk had been. After all, what did she gain from beating Naruto? Sure, it meant she won, but how in the world could she consider it a win when it would hurt her badly enough to delay her training as a ninja. A face-to-earth collision didn’t sound like something to just laugh at.
“Well, Sasaui?” her twin demanded.
Before she could answer, she paused. Something was off. With a start, Sasaui realized that despite her fall, the other person who had yelled for her still wasn’t around. Glancing around both Itachi and Sasuke, she saw that Naruto was still by his swing, the ground holding all of his attention. “I was trying to beat Naruto,” Sasaui murmured. Something flashed in Itachi’s eyes, but Sasaui didn’t pay it any time. Instead she shouldered past both her brothers to approach Naruto.
Once she was close, Naruto glanced up. His blue eyes held the same fear as when she’d seen before he had run from her on the path about an hour before. “You okay?” he hesitantly asked.
Why was he so worried? “Yeah, I’m fine.” Sasaui grinned, pointing behind her at Itachi. “That’s my older brother. His name is Itachi. He’s an amazing ninja, so he caught me without me getting hurt.”
“Who are you?” Before she could introduce him, Sasuke had walked up, standing protectively beside Sasaui. His eyes were narrowed and his arms crossed in a defensive stance.
Realization dawned on Sasaui. Of course he would be fearful of Sasuke and Itachi appearing. Everyone besides her had been avoiding him before. She elbowed Sasuke in the ribs, hoping to get him to loosen up. “This is my new friend Naruto,” she replied. “And this idiot here is my twin brother, Sasuke. Please forgive him for being a bit over protective.”
Naruto eyed him warily. “He’s your twin?” he repeated. Naruto scrutinized the two of them, then his gaze slowly slid to above her, where she guessed Itachi had moved to stand. “And then this is your older brother?”
She nodded in confirmation.
There was still a hint of fear in Naruto’s eyes, though it had dimmed upon finding out the two near arrivals were related to Sasaui. “I told her not to go that high,” he blurted, most likely trying to end Sasuke’s glare.
Deciding to try to act as before, Sasaui grinned. “That’s just because you didn’t want me to beat you,” she countered.
“Then again, not even Sasuke could beat you, Sasaui.”
Sasaui frowned in confusion. It was very rare Itachi said anything to compel competition between her and Sasuke. Why would he do that now? Did he want to instigate an argument between them as the question of who was better at something usually did?
As she had expected, Sasuke immediately jumped on the challenge. “That is not true, Itachi. I’m sure I could go higher than both Sasaui and the Naruto kid combined!”
“Hah!” Because of his previous silence, Sasaui jumped when Naruto laughed. Rather than being frightened as he had been before, now Naruto appeared to be trying to act tough, as well as a bit defensive. “I bet you couldn’t even go higher than me.”
The challenge hung in the air as the two boys glared at each other. It appeared they had not gotten off on a good foot. Though, Sasaui had to admit, it was nice that Naruto wasn’t hiding and being afraid anymore. After a few minutes passed and Naruto and Sasuke were still glaring at each other, Sasaui sighed and whacked Sasuke.
“Ow!” Sasuke exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head.
Naruto laughed just be to whacked next.
Sasaui snickered while the two boys turned their narrowed eyes on her. The glare finally ended as Itachi ruffled Sasuke’s hair. “Maybe you two could try something else. That way nobody will go flying through the air again.” He glanced at Sasaui, a slight glint in his eyes.
A moment passed before she understood. “First one to the slide is the winner!” She took off before either boy truly registered what she had said. Shouts and speeding footsteps indicated the two boys had taken off to catch and beat her. The race was on.
Itachi watched the children with a small smile playing on his lips. He had pulled at each child’s competitive spirit to try and break the ice, and thankfully it had worked. Admittedly he had always hated seeing the way the young Uzumaki was treated. However, he thought, his smile slowly turning into a frown, I never expected these two to bond. This could end very badly.
*~*~*~*~
“You’re going to join the Academy too?” Sasaui asked, kicking her feet from her place on the slide steps. Most of the other kids had left already, and those who hadn’t avoided them because of Naruto, so it wasn’t like it mattered if she sat on the steps. If they were going to be jerks, they didn’t deserve to play on the slide anyways.
Naruto sat in front of her cross-legged, looking up at her and the twin brother who rested at the top of the slide. “Yup. I’m going to become a super awesome ninja,” he beamed. “Then I’ll be better than both you and the baka.”
Sasuke scoffed. “That will only happen in your dreams.”
“Right. You’ll never be better than me,” Sasaui chimed in, grinning teasingly. “Sasuke, however…”
“Hey!”
Even after all the “insults,” the children found themselves laughing at each other. In the hour that had passed, the trio had grown close. The tension had broken between Sasuke and Naruto, though both still acted ready to start a fight with the other. At one point they actually had begun to wrestle, only stopping after Itachi pulled them apart. The two acted the same even after that, though.
“Sasaui, Sasuke, we should probably head home.”
Itachi’s sudden appearance caused Sasuke to jump, losing his place on the top of the slide. He tumbled down, yelping as he rolled off the end. Naruto and Sasaui laughed while the eldest Uchiha went around to check on Sasuke. “First you twist your ankle, and now you risk busting your head open. It seems you want to be injured before you begin the Academy,” Itachi mused.
“You shouldn’t just suddenly appear, Brother,” Sasuke grumbled, rubbing the new sore spot on his head.
Sasaui climbed to the top of the slide before going down it, Naruto choosing to follow right behind rather than go around. “Do we have to go?” Sasaui asked, hopping off at the bottom with Naruto close behind.
“Dinner should be ready soon, and all three of you need your rest for tomorrow,” Itachi reasoned, ruffling Sasaui’s hair.
She pouted, both she knew that there wasn’t anything she could say. Whether she was happy about it or not, Itachi was right. Anyway, they would be able to see Naruto again tomorrow. The children said their goodbyes – if one would count Sasuke and Naruto glaring at each other before turning away with a huff goodbyes. Sasaui chided her twin while Itachi just chuckled.
“See you tomorrow, Naruto!” she called to the boy as they each went their separate ways.
*~*~*~
The dinner table was noticeable tense, mostly because Father had was slightly grumpy. When they had arrived home, Father had requested to talk to Itachi, and the twins had eagerly decided to sit in on the conversation. After praising Itachi, Father had gone on about how he would join Itachi in an upcoming mission the following day, much to the children’s dismay because that was when the opening ceremony was. Noticing this, Itachi had easily swayed Father’s choice by claiming he wouldn’t do the mission so a family member would be able to attend the ceremony. Father, seeing what he was doing, conceded to going to the ceremony. Not exactly a bad loss, but in his eyes, a loss most likely nevertheless.
Mother glanced between Itachi and Father, but before long they settled on Sasaui and Sasuke. “So, kids, are you excited for tomorrow?”
“You bet!” Sasuke exclaimed. “I’m going to become the best ninja in the entire Academy.” Although he tried to hide it, Sasuke sneaked a glance at Father, but he was too distant to pay much attention. Sasuke’s wide grin pulled down into a frown.
Sasaui playfully bumped her brother. “You can’t be the best ninja. That’s gonna be me.”
The small grin slowly flickered back to life. “There’s no way,” Sasuke disagreed. “A shrimp like you could never defeat me.”
A small argument ensued, only ending after Mother said so. Apparently flinging a noodle at Sasuke was going a little too far. “Okay, remind me not to ask that again,” Mother laughed. “How was both of your days?”
“We made a new friend,” Sasaui piped up before Sasuke could answer. “It’s really strange. Everyone seems to avoid him, but Naruto is-“
She stopped. Maybe it was because he had been distant the entire time, but the moment Father’s gaze snapped toward her, she could feel it. When she faced him, a small shiver travelled up her spine. There was just something about her father’s eyes that made her feel like something was terribly wrong.
“Father.” Itachi had been watching the discussion between Mother and the other two with amusement. With the change of events, however, he had slipped into a nearly scary calm state. His voice was low, carrying a cautioning tone with his single word.
If Father heard Itachi, he didn’t acknowledge it. However, he did visibly force himself to begin to relax. “Naruto as in Naruto Uzumaki?”
Sasaui shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Speaking suddenly seemed like one of the most difficult tasks in the world. Sasuke, however, either was very brave or didn’t notice the strange aura their father was suddenly giving off, because he replied, “Yeah. Though I wouldn’t really say that dobe is my friend.”
“You are not to be friends with that… boy,” Father said, a thin layer of ice coating every word. Even when reprimanding, his voice had never taken such a cold tone. It almost sounded like he was angry and, as ridiculous as the thought was to Sasaui, a little bit fearful.
Once again Sasuke ended up the one speaking. “What do you mean, Father? Why can’t we be friends with him?” Apparently with the threat of losing their friend, Sasuke’s previous uncaring façade had vanished.
For once Father’s eyes unlatched from Sasaui to focus on Sasuke. It was then he seemed to at least notice the aura because his face paled slightly. Considering how pale the Uchihas were, that was saying something. “Because there’s something not right with that boy. You two are not to be friends with him.”
“Not right with him?” Sasaui questioned, thinking back to Reinami’s reaction to Naruto. Why did everyone act as if he had a disease? The only reason she was able to regain her voice was she felt a flicker of her previous anger toward Naruto’s treatment.
Father nodded, choosing his next words carefully. “That boy is just a little brat. He has no respect for those around him and is constantly causing trouble. He is simply a pest that isn’t good for this village, both for who and what he is.”
“What he is? What do you mean by that?” Sasuke asked, refusing to meet Father’s eyes.
“You will understand when you are older.” One of the most annoying responses a parent could ever give, but neither Sasaui nor Sasuke dared question any more than they already had with the growing chill emitting from their father.
“Fugaku.”
Upon hearing Mother’s voice, Sasaui’s range of focus finally expanded beyond the three that had been speaking. Mother was staring in shock at her husband. Itachi was regarding their father somewhat angrily, but there was something in his eyes that reminded her of the caution he’d advised earlier with simply saying “Father.” It felt like there was something Sasaui was completely blind to, but she had no idea what it was.
Father had done the same as she had, taking in both his wife and older son. He finally fully met Itachi’s eyes with his own. Even Sasaui could tell a silent conversation was passing between them. He sighed. “I am simply trying to protect the reputation of the Uchiha clan. That boy will only bring trouble to the both of you, and from you, the Uchiha clan.”
Sasaui’s heart sunk. Being friends with Naruto could trouble the clan? But Naruto was just a boy. How could a simple friendship with him cause so much trouble? Turning to Sasuke, she knew the same thing was going through his head. This couldn’t be true, could it?
“You can be friends with Naruto if you two want to be,” Mother assured, sending Father a warning glance. “I’m sure he’s really a nice boy.”
Father said nothing. Sasaui snuck a peek at him. Was he right? Would being friends with Naruto just damage the Uchiha clan? She didn’t want to not be friends with him, but she didn’t want to bring any form of shame to her clan either. Or anger her father. What could she do?
The question plagued her for the rest of the night, as well as when she lay in her bed that night. She was anxious for the next day. Not only was she joining the Academy, but she was going to see Naruto once more. How would she act when she saw him?
“You both need to sleep.”
Sasaui jumped upon hearing Itachi’s voice. “Darn it, Itachi. You did it again,” Sasuke grumbled from the other bed. It was the second day he’d entered the room and automatically knew the twins were awake.
However, this time Sasaui didn’t even bother wondering how their older brother did it. “Was Father telling the truth?” she murmured, voicing the fear that refused to go away. “Would being friends with Naruto really be bad for the Uchiha pride?”
Itachi took a seat on Sasuke’s bed. The younger boy quickly sat up, but realizing he appeared too eager for the answer, he froze. He attempted to appear nonchalant by fake yawning and snuggling back into a comfortable position. Nevertheless, his eyes sparked as they glanced toward Itachi.
Sasaui, however, rolled onto her side to face them, her stomach twisting painfully. Whereas Sasuke was eager, she was nervous. Sasuke would be upset, though wouldn’t be unbelievably bothered losing him, but Sasaui truly didn’t want to. She didn’t want her pleading expression to slip through. She wanted nothing but the truth from Itachi without influence from her. The desperation easily seeped from her, though.
“Well, I guess that all depends on what you consider Uchiha pride, doesn’t it?” Itachi bent down, placing a kiss on Sasuke’s forehead. He responded by making a face and wiping it off. Despite this, when Itachi moved over to Sasaui’s bed, Sasuke grinned. “Whatever you decide is Uchiha pride, that is what you go for.” Itachi kissed Sasaui’s forehead as well. “Now both of you need sleep,” Itachi said.
Sasaui pulled her blanket closer. Maybe it would find a way to shield her from her confusion. “Yeah yeah. We know,” she grumbled.
Before he exited, Itachi paused. “Don’t worry. You’ll both do fine tomorrow in the Academy,” Itachi assured, for the first time addressing the other anxiety-driving event. “As for Naruto, I have faith in both of you to make the right choice.” With his final words, Itachi closed the door behind him. The two children were left alone with their thoughts, mauling over them until, eventually, sleep overcame them both.
*~*~*~
“This is boring,” Sasaui groaned under her breath. Her complaint did nothing to stop the old Hokage from continuing his speech. It was simply to welcome them into the Academy. Why couldn’t it be just short and sweet? As nervous as she was for her first day, she still wanted to get started.
Sasuke elbowed her, glancing over his shoulder where Father stood. “Quiet, Shrimp. Father may hear you,” he whispered. He scowled when she stuck her tongue out at him, and then he returned the action. A moment later Sasuke and Sasaui grinned at each other before turning forward again. They stood in a different lines full of kids that were having to suffer through the Hokage’s speech as it droned on. Sure, it meant something, but not when everyone buzzed with nervous energy.
As the Hokage continued speaking, Sasaui unconsciously allowed her mind to examine the crowd of kids. It wasn’t until she saw a flash of blond she realized she had been searching for a certain blond haired, blue eyed boy. A pang of queasiness and pain reminded her of why she shouldn’t be. Sasaui still didn’t know if they were going to continue to be friends.
“Well, I guess that all depends on what you consider Uchiha pride, doesn’t it?”
Sasaui sighed as those words repeated in her head. Wouldn’t everyone consider the Uchiha pride the same thing? It was just doing what was best for the clan, wasn’t it?
The Hokage’s voice pierced through her thoughts before she could delve too deeply into them. “The entire village is like a large family, so protect them as you would your family. This is the basis for what is known as the Will of Fire. This shall one day be passed to you as shinobi, and it will be your duty to follow it.”
For some reason, as the Hokage drew to a close, his words rang through Sasaui. Something about them persistently whispered to her, but she couldn’t pinpoint what. It was so close, taunting her with whatever secret knowledge it held.
“Finally over,” Sasuke yawned, stretching as the crowd of children dispersed to meet up with their parents one final time before their first day at the Academy began. “Come on. We should probably go to Father.” Without checking if she was following, Sasuke began walking in their father’s direction.
Sasaui followed.
Once they reached Father, they realized they didn’t have very much time to speak. A chunin that had known Itachi spoke to them with a cheery smile. “Well... I still remember the day when Itachi entered. As expected of siblings,” the man said upon their arrival.
Sasaui opened her mouth to speak, but all words stuck to her throat as a yellow speck caught her attention. Her onyx eyes flickered toward the source, freezing when they met deep blue eyes. Naruto grinned upon meeting her eyes. He sat alone on a swing. Before they had noticed each other, Sasaui could have sworn he looked depressed. It was hard to believe with the large smiled he now donned on his face. Because of this it made Sasaui’s chest squeeze when she simply dragged her focus back to those around her. Father said that it could possibly hurt the Uchiha clan for her to be friends with Naruto, so why did it hurt so much turning away from him?
“You two should become fine shinobi like your brother.”
Her father’s direction statement to them caused Sasaui to jump. It wasn’t surprising to hear from Father, though. Hearing it sparked a small bit of annoyance to once again be given expectations because of Itachi. Still, both she and Sasuke nodded in response.
A bell shrieked, piercing through all the conversations. “Looks like that’s your signal to get to class,” the chunin remarked. “Well, it was nice to see you again, Fugaku. Now, kids, let’s get going.”
The Uchihas trailed behind him, waving goodbye to Father before they entered the Academy for their first time. Even if she knew how foolish she must appear, Sasaui found herself grinning grandly at every detail. They had finally taken their first step toward becoming ninja! She was going to be so amazing. One day, she’d not only take down Sasuke, but Itachi, too. Somehow she would become the best kunoichi there was. The thoughts were quite farfetched, but that didn’t stop Sasaui from dreaming.
“I believe we were told that we’d be in class 4?” The previous statement ended in a question as Sasuke double guessed himself. Glancing back at Sasaui, he quickly realized she probably had even less of an idea than he did. With a sigh, he grabbed her wrist, drawing a shocked yelp from Sasaui. “Come on, Shrimp. Time to get out of Lala Land.”
Sasaui stuck her tongue out. “You’re just jealous that I can think of such a cool Lala Land.”
Rather than argue, Sasuke simply jerked her forward a little too hard, sending her bumping uncomfortably hard against a wall. He simply snickered before dragging her into the classroom he believed was there’s.
The new environment quipping her interest, Sasaui stopped to take in everything. There were three columns of four desks, each desk big enough to fit about three people. Each row was on their own little level except the first so there were steps leading down to the front of the classroom. The front was a big open area with a podium and a board attached to the wall. A handful of seats were already occupied. These were the other students who were going to attempt being a shinobi, just like her. Somehow, it felt like having about thirty different rivals.
“And you are?”
Her attention was so centered on the classroom before her she hadn’t noticed the dark haired chuunin standing beside the door, a clipboard in his hand.
When Sasaui began to idiotically gawk, Sasuke sighed. “I’m Sasuke Uchiha, and this is my dipstick of a sister, Sasaui.”
The man glanced down at his clipboard before nodding. “I see you both on my list,” he said, giving them each a small smile. “I’m Iruka and I shall be your sensei. Just find yourself a seat. The class will start after everyone is given time to get to class.”
“What in the world was that about?” Sasuke murmured when the two found a seat. “Iruka-sensei asked you a question and you just stared at him.”
Sasaui eyes darted behind her toward the chuunin again before returning to her brother. “I can’t help it. I’m so excited that we’re actually going to be in the Academy, and he’s our teacher, so that automatically makes him so cool. But, I mean come on.” Sasaui made a small gesture toward him. “Did you not see how cool of a scar he has?”
A small thud sounded as Sasuke dropped his head onto their desk. “Sasaui, at times I seriously question you being my sister.”
The only response he received was a laugh because before she could retort, a shriek pierced the air. Every child turned toward the door where Iruka-sensei stood, two other students near him. One was a girl who had backed up into a desk, trembling in what Sasaui guessed was fear due to her scream. She furiously wiped at shoulder as if there was a disease residing there. The girl stammered out something that sounded like, “It touched me.”
The other person was Naruto, his face unnaturally pale.
“Aki, that is enough,” Iruka said. Class hadn’t even begun and he already seemed to have aged a decade just with the current events. “You’re being overly dramatic. Just find a seat.” Iruka warily regarded Naruto. “As for you, Naruto, you should do the same.”
While Aki continued being stunned in horror, Naruto nodded. Dropping his head, he dragged his feet to an unoccupied desk in the corner and slid in. All alone.
Just as he had been at the park.
“I am simply trying to protect the reputation of the Uchiha clan. That boy will only bring trouble to the both of you, and from you, the Uchiha clan.”
Sasaui buried her face in her arms, attempting to not only block out the chatter around her, but the growing pit in her stomach. Mother said that it was fine for them to be friends, so of course it was alright if they were. But she couldn’t shake the fear of doing any damage to the Uchiha clan. Maybe, she thought, we can be secret friends.
Her thoughts were disrupted when class began shortly after. The excitement from before began to slowly return, but her worries for the Naruto situation lingered around the edges. Every once in a while she’d find herself losing concentration and sending questioning glances toward Naruto. One time she caught him staring back. She quickly averted her eyes after that.
Their first lesson wasn’t anything special. Iruka-sensei reiterated some of what the Hokage had said. Afterwards he discussed what we would be learning first – how to control chakra. Although Sasaui was already fairly good at doing such for her age, the thought of furthering her ability excited the young girl.
“During the middle of each class day, we have a break period. It is during this time you can eat and talk with your friends,” Iruka informed his new students. “You will be given forty-five minutes before we resume class.”
Once their teacher stopped speaking, the chatter instantly began to pick up. Before she became aware of what she was doing, Sasaui twisted around so Naruto was in her peripheral view. He had a small bento out, poking at whatever was inside with his chopsticks.
“I’m going to go train outside,” Sasuke randomly muttered, sending a slightly glare at the kids sitting behind them. Sasaui raised an eyebrow, but nevertheless she rose to follow her twin. As they were walking out of the room, though, she paused, checking on her “friend” one last time. This time he wasn’t alone.
A group of boys stood around him, and judging from the angry, yet sad expression Naruto wore, they weren’t there for tips on bentos. After only a moment’s debate, rather than follow Sasuke out, Sasaui inched toward the boys.
There were four of them besides Naruto, though it appeared only one of them was actually speaking. He had dark green hair that spiked out, reaching as far as his shoulders. His lighter green eyes leered at Naruto, but something seemed off. “There’s no way a stupid kid who is going to just pull pranks will ever be a real shinobi,” the boy said.
Naruto glowered, raising to his feet so he was in the other boy’s face. “That stupid bald guy?” he questioned. “Not my fault your dad was too drunk to escape my prank.”
The boy faltered slightly, glancing between Naruto and his friends. When he noticed they were slightly thrown off by Naruto’s counter, rage flashed across his features. “At least I have a dad. And a family at that.”
It was an extremely low blow, one that obviously hit Naruto hard. His annoyed mask faltered, almost revealing the pain the boy’s remark caused. Even one of the other boys muttered, “Taro,” as if in warning. So the green haired boy’s name was Taro. And for once, Naruto was left speechless, trying to regain himself from what had basically been a slap to the face.
“Hey!” Impulse ceasing control, Sasaui stepped forward, shouldering past the other boys to get to Naruto and Taro.
Something sparked in Naruto, somewhat clearing his distraught feelings. Taro raised an eyebrow as he examined Sasaui. “Oh, you’re that Uchiha girl. Come over here to test yourself against this disgraceful brat?” he asked. Once again, something seemed off to Sasaui, but at the moment, she had other things on her mind.
Father was right. If she was around Naruto, people really would look at her differently. Because of her renowned clan, that would also reflect on the Uchiha. She couldn’t bring herself to do anything to disgrace her clan.
However, wasn’t it the clans’ job as part of the protectors of Konoha to protect whatever it was the Hokage mentioned before? The will of fire, Sasaui recalled. One was supposed to protect their family, which was their village. Wasn’t that what the Uchiha pride was? After all, the Uchiha were the Konoha police. It was their job to protect everyone anyhow, right?
Sasaui did everything she could to keep the mental battle from showing outwardly. The complications of the thought process were causing her great confusion, but it made sense. The Uchiha pride meant protecting one’s family. That meant all of one’s family.
“You’re wrong,” Sasaui began. “Naruto does have a family, because he has me. And if you morons keep messing with him, you’ll have to deal with me.” Sasaui crossed her arms stubbornly, scowling venomously toward Taro and his friends.
Taro blinked. “Wait, did you just say you’re family with it?”
“Naruto is not an it,” Sasaui snapped.
“And if you have anything to say otherwise, she’s not the only one you’ll have to deal with.”
The boys whirled around, jerking back when they saw the glare that Sasuke was giving them. Apparently realizing Sasaui wasn’t following, the Uchiha boy had returned. The previously confident boys suddenly seemed to shrink in size. “Hey, Taro, maybe we should go.”
The gears were visibly turning in Taro’s head. If he backed down, he looked weak. If he stayed and lost, there was no doubt whatsoever he was weaker. Finally, with a grunt, Taro backed away from Naruto. “Let’s get going, guys. I don’t want to stay by these freaks any longer.” With that final order, the eight year old gang-boss-wannabe walked away, his friends quickly escaping behind him.
“Hn. They’re idiots,” Sasuke remarked. He studied his sister, and then Naruto, and Sasaui was sure she noticed relief in his eyes. “Well then, are you two coming with me to train or not?”
“Wait, what?” Naruto was completely thrown off guard. First the Uchiha siblings hadn’t sat with him, so he had figured that for whatever reason their fantasy friendship had come to an end. Yet somehow now he was being invited to train?
Sasaui rolled her eyes and yanked Naruto up by the arm. “Come on. We’ll eat outside then get to work.” With a snicker, she released Naruto and darted towards the door. “After all, we all know you two needs a ton more work to catch up with me.”
With one look between the two of them, Naruto and Sasuke took off after Sasaui, calling out protests with Iruka’s fading yell at them not to run in the Academy falling on deaf ears. Why wouldn’t they be excited? The first day of Academy took the best possible turn for the trio.
*~*~*~
“I still cannot believe she’s friends with that boy.” Fugaku rested on his porch, watching over the three children in his backyard. After school his children had requested Naruto be allowed over and Mikoto had instantly agreed. It wasn’t that Fugaku disagreed, but he also wasn’t sure this was the safest option.
Itachi sighed, pushing off the wall he had been leaning against. “I know, Father. This could prove quite dangerous for Sasaui, but you need to have faith in her. And in Naruto.”
Fugaku replied with a small grunt. “Keep an eye on them though, Itachi. If things go badly, Sasaui could end up in a very bad spot.”
“She’s not the only one, Father,” Itachi muttered, continuing forward in order to go join the children.
Deciding they would be alright with Itachi around, Fugaku rose. As he made his way into the house, however, he paused to look back only for a moment at Sasaui and Naruto. It was a funny way how fate worked. Even with such minimal odds, it had paired together two people who, with just one slip, could bring the end of the other.
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Chapter notes: Okay, I actually didn't plan on getting this out for a couple of weeks because of how busy I am, but a problem with homework gave me freetime. Anyway, this chapter, like honestly probably most of this arc, will just be set up for relationships (not bf/gf before you jump to that, just friendships and such), personalities, things like that. This is more of a chapter to flesh out Sasaui, and it ended up longer than I planned. I apologize if it drags on a bit or is boring. Also, I end this with a bit of foreshadowing that even those who read the original never had. I just honestly could not figure out any other way to finish this chapter XD. Anyway, hope you enjoy.12-9-14
Chapter end notes: So, what do you think of that foreshadowing? Was it evil? Any ideas what it means? Also, that one brat Aki who shrieked? If anyone reads CS as well, that is the same name of the girl who was a butthole to Sakura. Yes, I did do that on purpose XD. Again, sorry for the, well, kinda filler-ish feel of this (at least I get that feel).