The moon was high in the sky, the stars a bright blanket above the village. Naruto was stretched out on Kakashi's couch, one leg hanging off the edge, snoring. He'd asked Kakashi questions about his parents until his eyes refused to stay open. Kakashi answered them all, giving the boy as much information on his family as possible. Somewhere, and Kakashi would find it if it killed him, were pictures of Minato and Kushina. They started from when they were genin and through to their last days. He thought it was in a safe in the Hokage tower, with most of their other belongings. It would be something to talk to Sandaime about. As if he wouldn't be in enough trouble once the Hokage found out Kakashi told Naruto the truth. Honestly, Kakashi couldn't bring himself to care.

Looking at the little boy, thinner than he should be at his age, cheeks still plump with baby fat, hated and ostracized by the village, Kakashi knew he had done the right thing. Grabbing a spare blanket, Kakashi tucked it around the blond, gently picking his leg up and putting it back on the couch. Naruto let out a mumble but otherwise settled down.

It had been a long night. Naruto had asked questions that dug up a lot of memories, things Kakashi thought he'd long buried away. The talk filled him with a lot of restless energy, a need to breathe fresh air and walk around. Naruto would be fine. The kid was out to the world, snoring loudly and drooling into his arm.

Quietly, Kakashi slipped out his door and stole down the stairs. The night air hit him, spreading coolness across his face and down his arms where he'd pushed his sleeves up. Putting his head back, Kakashi looked at the stars. He hadn't taken the time to stop and look at them in a while. Everything was fast-paced, always on the go, running from memories and responsibility. It was nice to just

enjoy

something for once. He'd lost track of how long he stood there, just watching the stars and the moon, when the sound of someone running reached him, the footsteps sounding loud in the still of the night.

The chakra felt heavy angry and restless. It assaulted his senses as it moved closer to him. The yellow of the street lights hit pale skin, illuminating it in the dark.

Sasuke

. The boy slid to a stop, hands on his knees and he breathed, hard and haggard. His clothes were dirty, stained with ash, and smelling like smoke. The boy looked up at him, his eyes rimmed red and bloodshot.

'How ' How long? ' Sasuke said between breaths. 'Tell me ' I need '

Please

. ' He sounded so broken, so vulnerable. 'Tell me about my brother. '

Kakashi gripped Sasuke by the biceps, pulling him toward the stairs to his apartment. Forcing him to sit down on the chilling steps, Kakashi took the seat beside him. As Sasuke caught his breath, the heaving of his chest getting slower and slower, Kakashi put a hand on his back and rubbed over him soothingly. It was the most contact he'd ever shown Sasuke, a thought that sent a pain through his chest. Kakashi took in Sasuke's charred clothes, the soot and ash coating his sandals and exposed toes. There were burns around his mouth and on one hand. Both of them were red and raw, cracked and bleeding. The kid looked like he'd been in a fight with a flamethrower.

'Sasuke, talk to me. Where were you? '

Pale hands hung loosely from where his wrists rested on his knees. Kakashi stilled his hand but kept it on the boy's back. 'I couldn't do it. The trick Ita '

he

could do. I need to know about him, I need to be stronger than him. ' Sasuke let out a shuddering breath, his voice cracking as he talked. 'I'm...I can't be in his shadow anymore. ' He looked up at Kakashi, his face open and vulnerable. 'You promised. '

'You're right. ' Kakashi gave him a solemn nod. 'I did promise you. And the reason for not telling you is completely selfish. I didn't want to be the one to hurt you. ' Sasuke looked at him, eyes shimmering with unspent emotion. 'I knew your brother. He was on my Anbu team. He was so young, so small. So much on his shoulders. The Uchiha weren't happy. They were planning a coup. ' At that, Sasuke startled. He was so young then; he probably had no idea it was happening. 'Itachi loved the village, and he loved his family. He was torn. I can remember when your cousin, Shisui, died. Itachi looked so broken, so alone. ' Kakashi ran a shaking hand through his hair. 'I didn't know about the coup, then. And I had

no idea

what Itachi was planning, that I promise you. '

There was a pause before Sasuke spoke again, shifting in his seat. 'Would you have stopped it? '

'In a heartbeat. ' Their eyes met, Sasuke reading him, studying the sincerity behind his words.

'If he loved the village so much, why...do what he did? ' It had been five years, and still, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to say the words. Kakashi understood all too well.

This was the tricky part. How does Kakashi explain things he shouldn't know? What he knows came from secondhand knowledge, from visions in Obito's head, from what Naruto had briefly told him, from what he pieced together from Sasuke's own mouth. How does he explain all of that to this young boy who is so broken? His only answer was plausible deniability. They could work together to get the information from Danzo and Sandaime. Really, it was the only way.

With a plan in his head and the knowledge he'd have to tread lightly, Kakashi moved his hand to Sasuke's shoulder. 'Let me give you the best piece of advice I'd ever been told. Look underneath the underneath. There is a reason for everything, it just takes some digging to figure it out. I don't have all the answers, Sasuke. I wish I did. What I do know is that your brother loved you, more than anything.

You

are all he talked about when he was on my team. ' He took a deep breath, trying to word this next part carefully. 'I...I never understood what happened. It never matched up with the Itachi I knew. '

'I lived in the same house as him, but I don't think I ever knew him. ' Sasuke's voice was small, barely a whisper. 'Why leave me alive? '

'It's just hard to believe the Itachi I knew is the same Itachi who...did that. Shisui had picked on him one time for giving you piggyback rides. Hard to connect the two, you know? ' He knew it wasn't answering the poor boy's question. He wished he could tell him everything. There was just no way to explain how he knew. 'Maybe...maybe he

couldn't

kill you. He loved you, Sasuke. That I do know. The answer could be as easy as that. ' Again, he took in the boy's appearance. He was shivering, whether from emotion or the chill of the night air, Kakashi wasn't sure. 'C'mon, Sasuke. Let's go inside. Be quiet, though. Naruto is already in there, sleeping. '

'Why is he here? ' Sasuke let Kakashi pull him up and gently lead him toward the jounin's apartment.

Kakashi huffed out a humorless laugh. 'He also got some...rough news tonight. '

The apartment was still dark when they entered. Naruto hadn't moved from his position on the couch, the sounds of snoring echoing off the walls. Sasuke stood in the room, unsure of what to do. He was tracking dirt and ash onto the carpet, flecks dripping from the hem of his shorts onto the floor. Kakashi opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of old jounin pants and a shirt from his Anbu days. He handed them to Sasuke and pointed toward the bathroom, giving him a soft smile. Quietly, Sasuke slid off his sandals and walked to the bathroom. He heard the shower starting and went to his closet to get his spare futon. Sasuke would have to share the room with Naruto, but it was the best he could do. A pillow and a blanket joined the futon before Kakashi began heating the water for tea.

The bathroom door opened and Sasuke's dark hair peeked around the corner. Kakashi pretended not to notice as he slowly walked toward the living room. The pants looked as if the drawstring was tied as tight as it could get. The shirt was, at least, two sizes too big. The kid looked comic, and it took everything Kakashi had not to laugh.

'How do you take your tea, Sasuke? ' Kakashi set out the milk, sugar, and some honey. He doesn't remember ever having tea with Sasuke. Did they ever do that before he left? He turned around to see the boy giving him an odd look. 'Tea always goes with...

rough

news. '

No milk or sugar, just a dash of honey. Kakashi committed that to memory, filed away next to Naruto and Sakura, and their ideal ways to make tea. Something so inconsequential, yet so important to him. They sat in silence, the only sound the clicking of teacup against the granite countertop. Sasuke yawned, trying to hide it behind his hand. Kakashi laughed and pointed at the futon on the floor.

'I can go home, ' Sasuke said as he was walking toward his bed for the night. 'You don't have to. '

'Sasuke. ' Kakashi put his hands on Sasuke's shoulders, leaning down to his eye level much as he does to Naruto. 'The last thing you need is to be alone tonight. Remember, you're on a team, now. You're not alone anymore. ' He squeezed his shoulders. 'Get some sleep. And, please, do not leave before we get awake in the morning. Don't do that to yourself. Stay here. '

There was a long pause, but Sasuke slowly nodded. 'Thank you. ' If Kakashi hadn't been so close, he may not have heard him.

One final squeeze and Kakashi removed his hands, standing up straight. 'You're not alone, Sasuke. ' As he turned around, flicking off the kitchen light as he went, he gave one final look at the two boys in his living room. 'Good night. '

'

There were bags of clothes on Ino's bed. They were supposed to be buying for Sakura, but Ino found some adorable items she had to have. It was late at night, and she shouldn't still be awake, but Ino had spent an hour hiding on the stairs and listening to her father and Shikaku discussing something classified. She'd heard the name Danzo leave their mouths a few times. Something about unsanctioned missions. It was all so hush-hush, and Ino absolutely

loved

knowing things she shouldn't know. Tomorrow she would find Shikamaru. He could help her piece it all together. With her father being the head of the analysis team and Shikamaru's father being the jounin commander, they were always a source of confidential knowledge.

Ino was trained for intelligence young. Her father would bring home encoded messages, and expect Ino to have them decoded by the next day. By the time she was five, she could break most of them in a few hours. The first time Iruka-sensei caught her with a folder that had 'Confidential' stamped on the front, Inoichi had given her a disapproving look and told her to not get caught next time. From then on, she didn't. She could sneak in and out of the restricted archives, taking and replacing documents, without breaking a sweat. Inoichi trained a ninja for stealth and intelligence gathering. He didn't realize he'd also trained one of the best analysts Konoha had ever known. He basically trained his replacement. He couldn't be prouder.

It was late at night. Shikaku had just left, the case file he'd given Inoichi a heavy presence on his desk. As he was getting ready for bed, checking locks and traps, there was a knock at the door. A glance around showed that Shikaku hadn't forgotten anything, so who was at his door at a quarter till midnight?

Opening the door showed a pink-haired girl, one he remembered from when Ino was younger. The girl was crying, her face mottled red as tears streamed down her face. She had a red outfit on that was torn in a jagged line, a backpack slung over her shoulder, and a mesh bag in her hand. The girl looked so small and broken. He wracked his brain for a name. He'd heard Ino say it before, about her being a rival or something.

'Sakura, is it? ' The girl looked up, wiping her eyes with her arm. 'Are you in trouble? ' Other than her cut-up outfit and the gauze wrapped around her leg; she didn't look physically harmed. The girl shook her head. Her mouth opened to say something, but only sobs came out. 'Come in. I'll get Ino. '

With a yell up the stairs, he turned back to Sakura. Having a daughter of his own, and being a single dad, Inoichi had some experience with crying pre-teen girls. He leaned down in front of her, hunkered down on his heels, and wiped at the tears on her cheeks. She looked so vulnerable, it struck him just how young the kids are when they become genin. He heard footsteps on the stairs. Ino was asking him what he wanted but stopped mid-sentence when she saw Sakura.

'Sakura? ' Ino briskly came to her side. 'What happened? '

Seeing Ino caused the tears to come faster, and the sobs to get harder. Sakura dropped her bags on the floor and flung herself at Ino. 'They kicked me out. ' Ino's eyes widened. 'I...I can't come home...until I quit. '

'Quit what? ' Ino pulled back far enough to see Sakura's face.

'Being a ninja. '

The answer hung in the air around them. Inoichi was as shocked as Ino was, their eyes meeting over Sakura's shoulder. Something dark passed over the young blonde's face, something vindictive. He'd seen that face before. He, himself, makes it when he's furious. There was a time that look had made Inoichi hold back laughter, his small daughter looking so comic with that amount of anger on her face. Now, at twelve, and a genin, that look was terrifying. Ino had Sakura held in her arms, protected in the embrace as the pink-haired girl cried.

The man felt his daughter's anger. He could understand parents not being happy their child chose to be a ninja, to put their lives on the line in dangerous missions where the odds are stacked against them. The graveyard was full of ninja who met their end too soon. It was a sad reality when living in a ninja village.

Ino pulled back, looking into Sakura's face. 'Do you remember where my room is? Go put your stuff in there, I'll be up in a minute. ' The girl nodded, dragging herself up the stairs. Once out of earshot, Ino turned on her dad. 'Dad. What the hell? '

Inoichi sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. 'I'm honestly speechless. See if you can find out what exactly happened. If her parents are honestly that terrible, then she can stay here. We have a spare room, just have to clean it out. '

'We're on the same wavelength, Dad. It's getting scary. ' Ino turned around, her hair whipping around her, and climbed the stairs. Inoichi was starting to wonder what kind of monster he created.

As soon as Ino entered her bedroom, Sakura was standing and fidgeting. 'I'm sorry. You didn't have to deal with that. I didn't know where else to go... '

'Stop, Sakura. Sit down. ' Ino grabbed Sakura's shoulders and forced her to sit on the edge of the bed. 'Tell me what happened. '

Digging the heel of her hand into her eyes, Sakura growled in frustration. The problem was, no matter how much she explained, she would always look like the bad guy. Her parents fought with passive-aggressive comments and well-placed guilt trips. They talked and talked until Sakura's ears rang and her head hurt. Anything Sakura did could be warped, twisted into everything being her fault, her bad decisions, her anger problem. Tonight was a prime example. Sakura had come home, uniform still cut and asymmetrical. The first comment she got was about how much that outfit had cost at the tailor. Her father registered the bandaged leg, which sent him into a one-sided conversation about young girls not being meant to have scars.

Her mother stood at the kitchen sink, washing dishes and not looking at Sakura at all. Her father sat at the kitchen table, newspaper in his hand and a steaming cup of coffee in front of him. He peered over his paper at Sakura, taking in her frazzled appearance, her bandage, and her uniform. Her father looked at her with disappointment. His daughter, the top kunoichi at the academy, with nearly perfect chakra control, with a jounin sensei that believes in her, wants her to succeed, and he is

disappointed

.

She stomped her feet, raised her voice, and hit the table so hard the coffee cup upset. She begged and pleaded, trying to get them to listen, to

understand

what being a ninja meant to her. Other than cleaning up the coffee, there was no reaction. They still weren't

listening.

Sakura didn't know what else to do. Angry tears were clinging to her lashes, making her vision watery.

'I'm a genin. ' Sakura stood up straight, puffing her chest out, willing herself not to cry. 'In Konoha, that makes me an adult. I can be a ninja if I want to be. '

That

got a reaction. Her father's cold eyes landed on her; one eyebrow raised. 'Did you hear that? Sakura is an adult. Our little girl, to whom we gave life, everything she would ever want or need, is an adult. ' His voice was calm, monotone. Sakura shivered. 'Well, since you're an adult, you don't need our hospitality. We have dealt with your undesirable behavior long enough. As long as you are a ninja, do not come back here. '

Sakura didn't take long to grab everything she needed. It wasn't until she hit the cold streets that she realized she had nowhere to go. She didn't know her team well enough to just bunk at their homes. What she needed was somewhere she could break down and not be judged.

As she sat in Ino's bedroom, recounting everything she'd gone through that evening, Sakura knew she had chosen the right place. Ino's soothing hand on her back, her other hand a warm presence on Sakura's arm, it felt right.

A while later, Sakura had a shower. She slipped on Ino's pajamas and curled up in her bed. All the frustration and pain of the fight seeped out of her, leaving Sakura numb. Ino's fingers combed through her hair, twisting the damp strands around her slender digits. That's how Sakura fell asleep, comfortable and cared for.

'

The morning sun filtered in through the living room blinds. It hit Naruto's face, heating the skin where the sliver touched. Blue eyes blinked open, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. Instead of peeling yellow walls, he saw bright white with dark oak trim. The chair he was sitting in the previous night now held his jacket, tools, and headband. Someone had folded it, stacking the items neatly on the chair seat.

When Naruto heard a soft groan come from the floor, he looked down to see Sasuke on a spare futon. His dark hair surrounded him like a halo, one arm bent above his head, the other across his stomach. His face was scrunched up, his fingers twitching as if trying to grasp something. Naruto leaned over, looking at the usually stoic boy. Sasuke had always had a presence, even as a young boy. Even in the academy, when they were children in single digits, Sasuke could command a room just by walking into it.

In the beginning, Naruto

hated

him. He hated the way Sasuke got all the attention, all the acknowledgment Naruto wanted, and ignored it. He hated how skilled Sasuke was, the way he could dominate test scores and taijutsu matches so easily. Then, one day, he heard the grown-ups talking. A lot of people had died, an entire district eradicated. They talked about one survivor, a small boy with dark eyes and dark hair, about how he refuses to cry, refuses to talk. Sasuke wasn't in class with him for a week. Naruto won the taijutsu matches against Kiba and Choji, but they were boring. There was no challenge, no working up a sweat, no

fun

. Then Sasuke came back and he was different. He didn't talk, didn't look at anyone, didn't even want to spar. It took almost a month, but Sasuke finally joined in a sparring session, and he was

vicious

. The harder Sasuke punched, the harder Naruto retaliated. In the end, Iruka-sensei pulled them off each other. On opposite sides of the room, they stayed after class, forced to keep a leaf on their heads while Iruka-sensei graded papers. After detention, Naruto was told about the massacre, and that Sasuke was the only survivor. He was told to be nice to Sasuke.

After that, Naruto wasn't the only one whispered about behind hands, heads tilted together, eyes cold as they looked at him. Now he watched Sasuke standing in a crowd, people staring at him and whispering. Naruto didn't feel so alone, anymore.

This morning, however, Sasuke was showing more emotion in his sleep than he ever did when awake. He was still groaning, fingers and legs twitching. Then, without warning, Sasuke's eyes popped open and he sat straight up, a scream caught in his throat. Naruto jumped back, watching as Sasuke breathed, hard and heavy.

'Sa ' Sasuke? ' The boy in question jumped. 'Hey...you okay? ' Naruto crawled off the couch, hitting his knees in front of Sasuke. His eyes were wild, looking all over the apartment, not settling on one thing too long. Naruto reached up, tentatively touching Sasuke's shoulder. The boy jumped again. 'Sasuke, hey...it's okay. It was a nightmare. '

Finally, Sasuke's eyes found Naruto's. 'Nightmare? '

'Yeah. You were groaning and twitching in your sleep. ' Sasuke was sweating, his eyes wide and still a little wild. He was wearing clothes way too big for him, making Sasuke look more childlike as he sat there. He pulled his knees up to his chest and looked at Naruto, embarrassed. 'It's okay, Sasuke. Everyone has nightmares. '

'It...it was more a memory. ' Sasuke hugged his knees, looking down at his hands. With everything he and Kakashi talked about the night before, it brought back a lot of memories he'd tried to keep buried. Walking into the house and seeing Itachi standing over their parents, sword in hand and eyes glowing, replayed in his head. It wasn't some terrible thing his subconscious made up; this was a nightmare he

lived

through.

Naruto tilted his head, looking at Sasuke as if putting together a puzzle. 'Oh...oh you mean the - '

'Yeah. ' Sasuke cut him off. He couldn't say the words himself, not even in his head. He didn't know if he could handle hearing Naruto calling it what it was: a massacre. Sasuke was so used to people looking at him with that

look

, eyes full of pity as they whispered about the poor lone survivor. When he looked at Naruto, he didn't see that. Instead, he saw understanding. If anyone would understand what it was like to be alone, it would be Naruto. 'I don't want to talk about it. '

Naruto put his hands up in surrender. 'Okay. But, why are you here? '

'Getting answers. ' Naruto raised an eyebrow, urging the boy to continue. 'Kakashi knows things about my ' that man. '

'Sensei is smart. ' Naruto agreed. 'It's why I'm here, too. Getting answers. ' He got a faraway look in his eyes. Sasuke watched as his line of sight moved to the team picture on Kakashi's windowsill. He felt like he had all the puzzle pieces to a secret without knowing it. What would Kakashi's genin team have to do with Naruto? Sasuke turned his head to look at the picture, too. 'Did you see sensei as a genin? He wore that stupid mask then, too. ' Sasuke hummed in response. 'Oh! Oh! Sasuke! The boy in the goggles, he's an Uchiha, too. And the blonde guy, that's the Yondaime. '

'An Uchiha? ' Sasuke asked, pushing himself off the futon. He grabbed the frame in his hands, tilting it toward the sunlight. Uchiha always looked similar. Dark hair, dark eyes and soft facial features. They all had hardness in their eyes, a steel resolve only Uchiha seemed to be born with. This guy... almost didn't look like an Uchiha. Maybe it was his youth, or maybe the goggles on his head, but he just didn't look like the rest of them.

Naruto stood beside him. 'I can't remember his name. Sensei did tell me. ' He pointed at the blonde in the picture. 'Can you believe sensei was trained by the Fourth Hokage? That's crazy! We are all gonna be insanely powerful, right? '

Snorting at Naruto's enthusiasm, Sasuke shook his head. 'Yeah, sure. We'll all be Anbu level by next week. ' The blond nudged their shoulders together, nearly knocking the picture from Sasuke's hand. Sasuke retaliated, hip-bumping him back.

It didn't take long for it to progress into a wrestling session, the two boys knocking the couch askew and flipping the chair over, Naruto's headband sliding under the couch. Kakashi heard the noise and jumped out of bed, confused as to what the two boys were doing. When he reached the living room and saw the state of it, he laughed. Sasuke had Naruto in a headlock, the blond scratching at pale arms and cursing. They both paused when they heard Kakashi, both looking at him oddly.

When he finally settled down, and the boys had let go of each other, Kakashi pointed at the furniture. 'Clean up and I'll make breakfast. '

The smell of an actual breakfast being homemade filled Sasuke with nostalgia. If he closed his eyes, he could see his mother standing at the kitchen counter, see his father drinking tea at the head of the table, see Itachi walking into the room and taking his seat across from him, only smiling at Sasuke and their mother. Sasuke stopped, his whole body freezing. Father and Itachi weren't talking. In his memory, he could still see them not even looking at each other. Why weren't they talking? He turned around, looking at Kakashi's back as he chopped vegetables. Their talk from the night before floated through his mind. He said the clan wasn't happy, that Itachi had a lot on his shoulders. What else did Kakashi know? Did Itachi actually love him enough to leave him alive? Did the brother who gave him piggyback rides really just snap and murder his entire clan? Or was there more to it?

As he returned to the task at hand, helping Naruto arrange the living room, Kakashi's words from the night before kept repeating in his head.

See underneath the underneath.