Why are you down here, kid?

Naruto jolted. His eyes opened to a haze of fog and dull yellow lights bouncing off the walls in small slivers. There were gray walls surrounding him, the musty smell of stagnant water and stale air all that met his nose. Shifting his feet and hearing a swishing sound, he looked down to see himself standing in ankle-deep water.

Come to laugh at me? Come to poke at the animal behind the bars?

Large yellow eyes peered at him through the darkness. Naruto felt fear ripple through him. Where was he? Who was talking to him? There were steel bars in front of him that reached into the ceiling. The hinges were as thick as Naruto was tall, the bars could hold four of him easily. In the center was a large piece of parchment with

seal

written on it in careful red brush strokes. On the other side of the bars, it was dark. All that could be seen were the large yellow eyes.

Talk to me, boy.

A black nose pushed against the bars, blowing out air that sent his hair flying back and stinging his eyes. One large claw slowly slid through the bars, the sharp edge glinting in the faint light. It didn't stop until Naruto felt it push against his stomach. Naruto jumped out of his stupor; the touch of the claw sent a cold shiver through his spine that contrasted with the burn of something on his skin. Blue eyes widened and looked down at the claw.

Why do you look at me as if you are afraid? I'm stuck here. Stuck inside you. Didn't anyone tell you?

Naruto's eyes snapped to his. Something cold washed over him. 'You're the Kyuubi. You're the reason everyone is afraid of me and treats me so bad. '

A rumble went through the dungeon, ripples forming on the water. It was laughing.

Yes. I'm the evil in your heart. Those people need to be punished, don't you agree? Let me out, kid. We can show them, together, what true power is.

Naruto shivered. Goosebumps cascaded up his arms and legs. Nothing made sense. Was this a dream? It felt too real to be a dream. The claw poked him in the stomach again before retreating into the darkness. Of course, he was angry at the village. Nobody loved him, cared about him, and he had no idea why. Until Mizuki told him. Then it all made sense. They hated him because of what was inside of him. 'How did you get inside me? ' The question had been on his mind since the night with Mizuki and Iruka-sensei in the forest.

Again, a rumbling laughter left the darkness.

Your parents put me here.

The knowledge hit him like a freight train. It hit him so hard he sat up straight in bed, his hand over his heart and breathing heavily. His own

parents

made him the pariah? Why would they do that and then just leave him behind? If Iruka-sensei knew about the Kyuubi, does he know about Naruto's parents, too? The alarm startled him when it went off, signaling it was four in the morning.

He stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom, turning on the hot water to give his shower time to warm up. There was no way Naruto could go to Iruka-sensei before training with Kakashi-sensei. It was too early in the morning, that would be rude to wake him up. Naruto walked into the kitchen and poured a bowl of cereal. He had time to wait before the hot water even attempted to reach his apartment, so he prepared his breakfast first. There was time to make up his mind on what to do and how to process his new information.

While thinking, the hot water finally began spraying at low pressure and his cereal turned to mush. Forgetting to eat and take a shower, he still didn't know what to do when it was time to leave his apartment. At least he remembered to turn the water off before he left.

'

A yellow bird was perched on the windowsill in Sakura's bedroom. The birdsong woke her up, the melody getting stuck in her brain. She hummed it while getting ready for training and tying on her headband. Today was a big day. Today she got tested, officially, as a genin. If she passed, she would be accepted on a team with Uchiha Sasuke. The thrill of that knowledge, of getting one over on Ino, ran down her spine.

Another positive was her jounin sensei. Sakura was smart, she did her research. She knew that Hatake Kakashi was one of the best ninjas Konoha had ever created. He excelled his entire way through his career, being one of the youngest to ever become a jounin, and then went on to become a commander in the Anbu. They were lucky to have him as their sensei, to have him willing to teach three kids who had never been in an actual fight before.

She hopped down the stairs, smelling something wonderful in the kitchen. Too bad she couldn't eat today. Her father called to her before she could sprint past the living room.

'Sakura, honey, come here. '

With a heavy sigh, Sakura peeked into the room. 'Yes, Daddy? '

He was reading a paper, his legs crossed as he sat on the couch. There was a fresh cup of coffee sitting on the end table beside him, steam still twisting above the cup. 'I know you have already heard this, but it's not too late to back out. Just because you can mold chakra doesn't mean you have to become a ninja, dear. '

'Daddy, we talked about this. ' They had talked about it. At length. Multiple times. She was well aware her parents only entertained her idea of becoming a ninja. They allowed her to join the academy, to train, in hopes she realize it was not something she wanted to do. They weren't too happy when she lasted until graduation, or that she

passed

graduation. Instead, this conversation had been nearly a daily thing in hopes of convincing their headstrong daughter to quit. It wasn't working. If anything, Sakura just dug her heels in deeper and did it out of spite.

He took a sip of his coffee and sat the paper down, folding it back up neatly. 'Yes, we have. But I don't think you are actually listening to us. We just want you to stop and think. This will be your life now. How will you ever meet someone, settle down, give us grandkids? We just want you to be happy. '

It was the same argument every time. As if all women were good for was staying in the kitchen and having babies. Women could be ninja.

Powerful

ninja. Kakashi said it himself. She had incredible chakra control. She could do something amazing. She could be a medic. 'I am happy. I'm going to be a powerful ninja who can protect people. That's what I want to do. Just...just please be happy for me, Daddy. '

It was time for her to leave. She took a step toward the door and her father just sighed. Sakura prepared herself for the guilt trip he always gave her. Instead, it came from her mother poking her head through the kitchen doorway to insert herself into the conversation.

'We just don't want to plan our daughter's funeral. '

Enough was enough. Sakura slammed the door on her way out. She ignored the fact that the house shook when she stomped away.

'

In the village of Konoha, one is considered an adult as soon as they become a genin. You can, theoretically, become a genin at any age. There were ninja who had become jounin before they were in double digits.

An Uchiha is considered an adult when they can successfully form a fireball jutsu.

Sasuke became an adult when he was seven. It wasn't because he could create an impressive fireball. It wasn't because he became a genin. It's because you can't stay a child when you've watched everyone die around you. They had removed him from the Uchiha district and put him in an apartment toward the center of town. He kicked and screamed until the Sandaime came to talk to him, to explain why they moved him. The district was stained with his family's blood. It wasn't safe for him to live there anymore. In an act of defiance, Sasuke ran to the gates, ready to prove to the elders he could take care of himself, he could live in his

family's

house on his own. He ripped through the yellow caution tape. His little legs didn't stop running until he stood at the door of his house.

Blood splatter coated his front door. There were kunai and shuriken embedded in the wood of the fences and wall supports. Pushing the door open, Sasuke came face-to-face with his parent's chalkline. The blood still soaked into the floor. He could still see it. His parents lying on the ground, his father covering his mother. Itachi stood over them, eyes glowing red in the moonlight and the glint of his sword in the darkness.

The Sandaime found him an hour later, lying on the floor beside the blood of his parents, sobbing so hard he could barely breathe. He picked Sasuke up and took him back to the apartment, soothing the small boy the best he could. Sasuke never went back to the district. He'd tried, but couldn't hold the contents of his stomach when he reached the gates. Instead, he stood on the roof of the arena and looked down upon the crumbling buildings and overgrown gardens, wishing he had the nerve to step in there and fix it. In the end, Sasuke always went back to his apartment. It wasn't home. Nothing would ever be home again.

Today, Sasuke sat on the edge of his bed, wriggling his toes into the soft carpet. He couldn't sleep, tossing and turning all night. His bed was a mess, the sheet pulled off the corner. Kakashi had alluded to knowing Itachi, or knowing something about him. There wasn't a lot Sasuke knew of Itachi, even though they were brothers who lived in the same house. It seemed like his brother was always ethereal, untouchable, bigger than life itself. Maybe that's how all children felt about their older siblings, but there was something about Itachi.

His alarm sounded from beside him. Sasuke barely heard it, just smacked the button to turn it off. Of course, he'd be awake before the alarm. With a sigh, Sasuke pushed himself off the bed and stalked to his bathroom. All he wanted to do was show off his skill, cement his position as a genin, and find out what Kakashi knew about his brother. That was all. Time to get this day started.

'

Kakashi came prepared. Four bento boxes, two bells, his worn copy of Icha Icha Paradise, and a head full of ideas. The words of the kids he'd left behind rang in his ears, had rang all night. So, now was the time to act. He would

not

fail them. He would

not

let their sacrifices be in vain. Absolutely not. For now, he would plant the seed of his ideas, of what he knew they could accomplish. He already started with Sakura by planting the idea of a medic in her head.

One thing he knew Naruto needed help with was chakra control. He has such a huge pool of chakra, and that chakra is so strong and wild, that Naruto needs to learn how to manage it. The control would never rival Sakura's. Not without years of solid training. All Kakashi wanted to accomplish was for Naruto to stop wasting so much of his chakra just doing a simple jutsu. It was a side-effect of not only being an Uzumaki, with their large chakra pools, but of being a jinchuuriki. Kakashi knew Naruto could learn. The kid was smarter than anyone gave him credit for. He just learned differently. Kakashi would put that kid on the right path this time. Naruto had the potential to use any jutsu he came in contact with. Kakashi would make sure the kid learned how.

Sasuke had always been gifted in taijutsu. He excelled with his lean muscles and long limbs. It made sense that he would be equally as gifted in kenjutsu. Giving the kid a sword and letting him get a handle on it before he hit puberty would give the kid an edge. Sasuke also needed some chakra control refining. It would only help when Kakashi re-taught the Chidori. He'd seen what Sasuke had become based on hatred and anger. Now he wanted to see the Sasuke who learned with love and respect. And a Sasuke who worked with his team instead of trying to run them. Maybe Kakashi could smack some teamwork into his head, as well. That's not to mention his final promise to Sasuke, to keep him in the village and away from the thoughts that would lead him to kill his brother. He knew Sasuke would be waiting for the conversation. Kakashi had spent the entire night trying to word it in his head. He still didn't have it all planned out.

Keeping Sakura from fawning over Sasuke would be a challenge all on its own. That girl clung to her 'first love' like a dog to a bone. Kakashi wasn't sure how much of it was an actual crush and how much of it was just a rivalry with Ino, but Sakura didn't have time for it. She wasn't a weak damsel who needed a strapping Uchiha to save her. The Sakura he knew could punch through boulders like rice paper. Before Tsunade got to this village, Kakashi would put Sakura on the path to becoming the next female sannin. She needed pushing. She needed to be given a reason to stand by their sides. He wasn't waiting for Zabuza and Haku to be the push she needed. Letting the boys be the reason she pushes herself would be a better way.

He took up his seat on top of a training log and waited. Glancing at the memorial behind him, he had a longing to talk to Obito. But Obito is still alive. Kakashi would get to him as soon as he could. He would bring his best friend back. Instead, Kakashi turned his head up to the sky, letting the sunlight warm his face through the mask. He imagined Rin looking down on him, smiling at him. It was better than wallowing in grief while staring at a cold stone. Rin was more than just a monument. Rin was the sun. And, today, Kakashi let it wash over him.