7 Rebirth of the Uchiha Chapter 7

Sasuke blinked twice, his Sharingan taking a snapsot of the darkened room. The plan hinged on the element of surprise, and it was his duty to ensure the target reached the ambush point. His gaze flicked around the room, lingering wherever he knew one of his co-conspirators was concealed. Bored with the wait, he let his mind wander. He frowned when he realised his thoughts were all relating to his clan retainer. The boy was constantly surprising Sasuke, which was... uncomfortable at times, reminding him that he'd essentially adopted a complete unknown into his clan.

(flashback)

"Seriously, Sasuke, you can't tell me it's important to know all the layers of rock below the Hokage monument." grunted Naruto as he attempted to escape the academy via a window. The Uchiha rolled his eyes, arms crossed. "I didn't say it was. I said you shouldn't skip class. It's only a month until the end of the year, dobe. You of all people can't afford to miss out on any more lessons." "Hey! I beat Kiba and Shikamaru on the test yesterday!" "Yes. You must be so proud to beat the guy who slept through most of the test and the guy who got into a fight with his dog." Naruto sucked in his gut as he squeezed through the open window. Landing softly on the ground outside, he turned back to his sarcastic companion.

"Hey! Don't talk about my friends like that!" Sasuke raised a brow in question. "Don't gimme that look, teme! They are so my friends!" The silence continued, mocking him. "I'll prove it! Come on! 'Snot like anyone's gonna punish ya for missing one class." Sasuke glanced at the clock across from him. The hell with it, he might as well see what the big deal was...

SCENE BREAK (but still in a flashback)

"...guys?" piped up Naruto as the five boys lay back on the grass. Apparently, Chouji, Shikamaru and Kiba had also decided to break free of the 'tyranny' of the dreaded geology lecture. Sasuke grunted in response, while the Inuzuka was more vocal. "What is it this time, Uzu-baka?" he smirked. A pebble found its way to the brunette's forehead, much to Sasuke's amusement. "Shut it, Kiba! Now, as I was saying... I'm bored, guys."

"Seriously? You convince me to come all the way out here and now you're bored? Log-damnit, dobe." groaned Sasuke. "Well, what do you wanna do then, teme?" At this, the boy smirked and he stood up, moving into the basic stance of the Uchiha's Bojuken(intercepting fist), Sharingan active. "Bring it on. Taijutsu only. All of you against me." Naruto gritted his teeth. "Don't underestimate us, ya bastard!"

We draw a veil over the bloodless carnage. Long story short, the Sharingan wielder won.

"W-what the fuck?" gasped Kiba as Naruto attempted to extract himself from underneath an unconscious Chouji. "You weren't anywhere near this good a week ago." Sasuke grinned even as the sweat dripped from his face. "That's the power of the Sharingan. Nothing you losers did could surprise me." Kiba and Akamaru growled ferally as Shikamaru and Naruto managed to push their... big-boned ally off of the blond's legs. "Alright, let's go again, asshole! Akamaru, flank him!" "Wow. Your mastery of subtlety is astounding. How will I ever figure out your plan, you Machiavellian genius, you." came the deadpan response as the Uchiha threw the slightly taller boy off balanced with a well-aimed backhand, before jumping back to catch the white puppy by the scruff of the neck.

A flash of white to one side caught his attention. "What? A bunshin?" he thought absently as a second Akamaru leapt out at him from the side. "No... that's a henge. But Kiba's right there..." He glared at the snarling puppy for a second before smirking. "Give it up Uzumaki, I know it's you," he said confidently. "Nara wouldn't bother and the Akimichi's still unconscious." The puppy in front of him visibly sagged before disappearing in a puff of smoke. A lot of smoke, actually... oh, shit.

A fist erupted from the cloud, followed by the now-grinning blond. Sasuke ducked out of the way, only for the other hand to grab him by the collar. As he parried and blocked the other limbs belonging to the blond, he found himself growing frustrated at the iron grip on his shirt. "Get... off!" he grunted, grabbing the smaller boy by the wrists, before a burst of pain knocked him to the ground, clutching his bloody nose. Above him stood the blond, smiling widely even as he wiped the blood from his forehead. "I think that's my point, teme," he laughed. "Told you not to underestimate us."

Sasuke gave him a questioning look. "Us? You're the only one to do anything-" he cut himself off as he barrel rolled away from Kiba's lunge. "Okay, maybe I should have dealt with you a little more thoroughly." he grunted, kicking the Inuzuka in the gut and falling back slightly. He noted how the three other boys had taken wide stances, ready to block off any escape path. "But then who's... FUCK!" He realised their plan too late, as Chouji's arms locked him into place, trapping him. He slumped in defeat, cursing himself for getting so cocky.

"See? We are awesome! I knew we'd pull it off!" Naruto grinned, high-fiving the feral brunette as the Nara smirked. "Nice plan, Shikamaru! What works? Teamwork!"

(Non-flashback)

With no sign of the target, Sasuke moved towards the lookout's position. The young Hyuuga turned her gaze towards him and nodded gravely. Edging outside, he climbed up onto the roof for a better view. Carefully glancing around the streets, he made sure to keep out of sight of the mindless drones milling about in preparation for the night ahead. Hinata fell into step beside him. "Head straight on past the markets. The complex you're looking for is about two blocks north of main street." The boy nodded and dashed off, leaping from roof to roof with practiced ease. He glanced back at his co-conspirator, remembering how the Uzumaki had reacted to her being recruited for tutoring.

(Nother flashback)

"What made you decide to pick a Hyuuga as a teacher?" hissed the blond to his confused employer. "They hate me worse than the rest of Konoha!" Sasuke blinked. That was something he hadn't known. "Seriously? Why would you think she hates you?" The response was a deadpan glare. "Hell if I know. Same reason everyone else does, I guess. 'Prolly doesn't matter. I know for a fact she doesn't like me."

Sasuke stared openly. "...really. No, no, I want to hear how you came to this conclusion." Naruto rolled his eyes. "Here's what I know. Everybody agrees she's nice. Too nice to deliberately hurt anyone, right?" "Not seeing where you're going with this, dobe."

"Shut up, teme, I'm getting to that. Anyway, I know the rest of her clan hates me, and I'm not nive enough to think she's some kind of exception to that right off the bat..." "Wait, do you mean naive?" "Swear to Kami, teme, if you interrupt again... anyway, any time I try to talk to most of the civilians, they ignore me or... worse. Most of the clan kids are pretty much the same, 'cept you, Kiba, Shikamaru an' Chouji. But anytime I've tried to talk to her or whatever, she fakes being knocked out. Half the time, I get detention or some shit for it." he growled. Evidently, he wasn't quite as okay with his lot in life as the whole prankster schtick would suggest.

Sasuke fell quiet. It seemed he had more to correct Naruto on than just etiquette and ninjutsu. For all that the boy was extremely sociable, even the Uchihas knew more about people than he did. "Listen, she... just needs to get to know you?" he offered, wincing as the supposed comfort came out in the form of a question. "I mean, we weren't too fond of each other a couple weeks ago, and now I find your company extremely tolerable. Besides, any retainer of the clan needs to be able to interact with other noble clans." he concluded, the awkwardness of the situation getting to him. Naruto grinned before pouting as cutely as he could, arms outstretched for a hug.

"Oh Log no. Get away from me, Uzumaki!" he snapped, trying and failing to pull away from the embrace. "Come on, man, you know you love me!" The struggle continued for a few near-silent moments before Naruto let go. Jeez, the kid had one hell of a grip. "...I'll give Hinata-chan a chance. Only 'cause you trust her though. I know you're just tryna help, anyway, and I 'preciate it." he offered, leaving behind a surprised Sasuke. So, Naruto... actually trusted him. A fair bit, too, considering his reaction. Shaking his head, the young clan head followed after his... friend, just to check his choice of recruit was the correct one.

(Back to present-ish time)

Sasuke smirked as he considered how well Hinata had fit in to their routine. Having someone who needed her did wonders for the girl's confidence, even if she still passed out whenever she made physical contact with the object of her affections. In fact, one of the highlights of the last few weeks had been when Naruto was late to a tutoring session and Rei had burst in, demanding that the Hyuuga fight her for 'Naruto-kun's' love. The memory of both the Hyuuga heiress fainting and one of the ANBU choking on his own tongue was one of the few things guaranteed to set him smiling.

Landing on the balcony of his intended target, he knocked on the door roughly. A sleepy blond appeared at the door, gazing blankly at him. "You do know that's not exactly the visitor's entrance, don't you, teme? I think all the ANBU are screwing with your idea of normal." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Listen up, dobe. The kids're going crazy over having to stay in the compound. I told them I'd go find their favourite entertainment, and here I am." Another vaguely annoyed look was his only reward.

"Fuck you, teme. Gimme a minute to get dressed an' I'll head up to the roof." sighed the blond. Sasuke nodded, climbing up the fire escape to reach the proposed meeting point. The two of them leapt from building to building, Naruto's eyes narrowing suspiciously as he noticed the conspicuously darkened home of the clan head. "What's going on, teme? It's not even sundown, why're all the blinds shut?" "No idea, but for what it's worth, I'm blaming Rei." Naruto blinked, heading hesitantly towards the door. He gripped the handle tightly, bursting forwards into the hall.

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NARUTO!" cheered a chorus of voices. The Uchiha kids were swarming him, chattering excitedly, while his academy peers stood a little further back, all having smiles of different sizes on their faces. Behind them stood the Ichirakus, along with Iruka and several of the ANBU. Naruto could only stare dumbly, before a hand clapped itself on his shoulder. He turned to see the smiling face of the Sandaime. All of his precious people together in one place, all of them there for him, proved to be too much for the boy. He looked down at the floor, wet tracks running down his face and dripping onto the floor. And not one person present thought any worse of him for it.

Sasuke patted him on the back. "Come on, let's go before the chibis tear your cake apart completely. Or Chouji for that matter." he chuckled. The new ten-year-old smiled gratefully at his best friend before grinning widely at the assembled guests. "YEAH! Let's do this!" he whooped, charging ahead.

SCENE BREAK

Itachi had a small, wistful smile on his face as he looked down at the small party in his former home, all of whom were completely ignoring the noise and light of the Kyuubi festival. "That's what I'm fighting for. Those children are the future of the Uchiha clan. Madara or no, I won't let you hurt them." He stared down at the... liberated Bingo Book in his hand. "As good a place to start as any... now who should I find first? Hmm, promising, but no. Looks like I'll have to use his networks if I want to find someone..." Had anyone been looking, they would have seen a shadowed figure seemingly transform into a rapidly dis[ersing flock of crows. No-one knew, however, that he had been there. Itachi much preferred it that way - far less violence in the long run.