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When an Uchiha with silver hair was born, everybody looked disdainfully at the mother.When a Haruno with auburn hair was born, the father looked disdainfully at the mother and filled the papers for divorce.When an Uzumaki with brown hair was born, nobody looked disdainfully at the mother, because she was a bit busy saving the village and later dying.----Sora stared at Sasuke Uchiha, and Sasuke stared back, equally bewildered."Riku?" he whispers, and it's a little thing, full of vulnerability.Sasuke— ...Riku (can you believe it? And Sora thought he was alone) blinked, and nodded slowly. In a second, they melted into a fierce hug.Minutes later, when they were watching quietly the sunset, Riku said, as if realizing something:"Wait, does that mean Kairi is also here?"----She was.Merrily picking flowers at the park and pretending to be younger, Kairi was exactly how they remembered. When she saw them, Kairi dropped the flowers and ran towards them, long hair fluttering in the wind.She planted a big fat kiss in each of their foreheads, laughing and crying at the same time.----"Sakura," her mother whispered frantically, "you can't be friends with that kid. He's..."Kairi tilted her head, ignoring the use of her no-name."He is?"Her mother looked at her strangely."...Nothing. Let's go."----"Sasuke.""Father.""You will not be seen with Naruto Uzumaki again.""Yes, I will.""Leave him be, dear..." He heard her mother say. Riku closed the door and heard no more.----Sora walked. The crowd was opening him a path, and he took it gladly, ignoring the frightened whispers."Have you seen...""...two poor children...""...clan head's son...""...must've brainwashed them."He arrived home, lay on the sofa and sighed deeply.----The academy sucked, but at least Sora had Riku and Kairi with him. Even though, he thought, covering his ears, it would be better without fangirls."Listen to me, Sora!" Kairi said, crossing her arms. "I've discovered how to be in the same gennin team!" She flashed a grin, and Sora and Riku smiled back.Kairi had lots of friends that told her... things."How?" Sora asked."Well, it's easy. Someone has to be the top of the class, and someone..." Her gaze slid to Sora, "has to be the dead last."Sora whined (he wanted to compete with Riku, dammit), but agreed when Kairi promised to treat him to lunch.----The trio missed the sea, the sand, the water of their homeland. The first two were a lost cause. The latter, however, could be fixed."There's a river in the clan compound," Riku said. "It's not the same, but." He shrugged.So there they went. It was kept secret from Riku's father, obviously.----Of course, their bad luck was worthy of a prize, and, while they were bathing in the river, a body fell from the top of the cliff."What the hell." Kairi said, eloquently.It was Riku's nicest cousin, Shisui. He was breathing shallowly and, ouch, one eye was missing.Now, Sora had been studying medical jutsu, so he could say with reasonable certainty that he was going to die if they didn't get him to a hospital.He told so to Riku and Kairi —they carried Shisui and ran.----Shisui woke up five hours later.He looked around the white room, and then noticed them. He covered his eyes (eye) with his arm, and laughed wetly."Shit," he whispered. Sora didn't think he was supposed to hear it.----The next day, Sora and Kairi hurried to the hospital. They ignored the nurses telling them things like "you can't be here", "you'll disturb the patients" and, Sora's personal favourite, "fuck off, you brats".They paused before the room that said 'Sasuke Uchiha' and entered.Riku laid on the bed, paler than usual, with a grimace on his face, unconscious. Shisui was staring at him, and didn't even look up to greet them."Shouldn't you be in your room?" Sora asked. He didn't get an answer and didn't press for one.----Three days, five hours, nineteen minutes and one second later, Riku woke up.His eyes were empty, as was his expression. It broke Sora's heart. Kairi's too, it seemed, because she started sobbing. And, if Kairi started sobbing, Sora also did.Riku's gaze seemed to focus, and it slid to them. Seconds after, he closed his eyes tightly. Wow, thought Sora abstentmindedly, they must have been really cringey, if Riku couldn't stand to look at them.After that embarrassing act had passed, Sora asked, very softly, "what happened?"Riku explained."Oh."----Sora and Riku had taken to sleeping together, now that Riku couldn't bear to set foot in his clan's compound.One night, the door of his apartment opened. There could have been two reasons: Kairi, who had the key, had opened it, or a ninja had come to kill him.Sora prayed.Kairi entered his room seconds later, and he sighed, relieved. Then, he fixed his eyes on Kairi's tear struck face and wasn't relieved anymore."My parents have disowned me," she said, voice shaking.Sora gulped. He had an idea of why was that, and he didn't like it."It's not your fault."Sora didn't answer. He just kicked Riku, who mumbled something sleepily and shifted. Sora moved too, and left Kairi as much room as possible. He heard the bed springs creaking, the bed sinking, and hugged her fiercely as she wept.----Sora walked. The crowd opened, clearing him a path. He ignored the angry whispers."Did you know...""...serves her right.""...ruins what he touches...""Demon."He arrived home, and sank his face on the pillow."I will be hokage," Kairi said suddenly, when she saw him wallowing in his misery.He rose his face from the pillow. "Huh?""You heard me." She went away, gracefully.Sometimes, Kairi got weird like that.----Sora had failed the graduation exam.Sora had failed the graduation exam.Sora had failed—Kairi waved a hand in front of his face. Sora blinked, and gave her and Riku a fake grin. They flinched. Sora sighed and dropped the act."I failed.""Oh, come on! You rocked the clones." Kairi said, crossing her arms. "This was rigged.""Well, obviously," he said."Do you want us to break some faces?" Riku suggested, helpfully."...no."----This is what happens when he doesn't trust his instincts, Sora thinks dryly."You have the fox inside, you monster, " Mizuki spat. "That's why people hate—no, loathe you."He had always hated this teacher."Wow," Sora said, blinking. "Actually, that makes sense. ...Wow."Mizuki snarled, "why the fuck aren't you crying?"Harsh.Sora shrugged. "Dunno."He proceeded to throw a kunai.----"Hey," he said, quietly, "now I know why people hate me."Kairi's eyes shone, and she leaned forward.----Sora wasn't an expert at mind diving for nothing. That night, he met the nine-tailed fox for the first time.It was a huge red fox, and it (he, she, they?) was caged. ...That was a bit cruel.They locked eyes. It said, "I'll kill you and all your friends."He got to the point. Sora liked him."You're not the first person, er, living being, that has said that."----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kakashi Hatake opened the classroom door four and a half hours late. It was a new record.He scanned his new temporary students absentmindedly. He feared what disasters he would find.There was a girl (short auburn hair, cute nose, no muscles) who was doodling on the desk, distractedly. According to the file, her name was Sakura. Her knees were subtly pointing towards him, so she had noticed his entrance. Hm.Passable.Then, one boy, Sasuke Uchiha (long silver hair, blue eyes, the result of an extra-matrimonial relationship, probably). He was staring at Kakashi, and his eyebrow was twitching, so he was annoyed by his lateness.How cute.Last came his sensei's son (although he didn't look like it: brown hair, feminine face). He was drooling on his desk, deeply asleep.Horrendous."Hello, cute little students," he said cheerfully, closing his eye. Naruto chose that moment to wake up. "Meet me on the roof." He shunshin'd away.----Nar—Sora lunged at him, Riku not far behind. He threw a punch and Kakashi dodged. Sora, while he was distracted, tried to kick him between his legs. Sneaky, but too slow. Kakashi grabbed his ankle and made him lose his balance.By the corner of his eye, he saw auburn hair moving. He smiled and pretended he hadn't seen her.----They passed. And with flying colours at that.Kakashi assimilated the information, staring at his room's ceiling.They passed. Their teamwork was flawless.Now, he had to take care of three kids, one of them his sensei's, during the foreseen future....They were doomed.----As a ninja, Kakashi had accepted he would die. That didn't mean, however, that his stupid kids had to die with him. "Go away!" he shouted, but his words fell on deaf ears."Nope," the dumb, dumb children chorused. They exchanged glances.Zabuza laughed. The bubble shook. Kakashi couldn't move.Sora ran towards Zabuza's clone, leaving himself with many openings. Zabuza's clone tried to take advantage of one of those, but fortunately, Riku stopped him. There was a clash of swords.Although Riku was surprisingly good sword wielder, he couldn't compare to the Demon of the Hidden Mist, even a clone. Zabuza's sword brushed against Riku's ear, cutting a bit off.Kakashi still couldn't move.Sora jumped, and tried a chakra-induced punch. Zabuza slashed his hand, and almost chopped it. Only dealing with Riku too saved Sora from being an amputee.The bubble burst.Kakashi's eyes widened, and so did (real) Zabuza's.Kairi stood there, and flashed an innocent grin and a victory sign. Her hands were wet.She looked back at her teammates and shouted, "retreat!" They immediately stopped fighting and went back to protect the client.Stupid, Kakashi thought, but there was no heat behind it."Now, where were we?"----Kakashi woke up suddenly.His hand went for the kunai pouch, but stopped when he realised he wasn't in immediate danger. He was in a room, illuminated by the dim light of a fire. He wasn't tied or drugged, so it must be his client's house.He heard soft breathing, and looked to the source.Sora was sleeping, his back against the wooden wall. He was resting his head on Riku's shoulder, who seemed to be asleep too. Kairi was curled on both their laps, breathing deeply. They were covered by a blanket with bear drawings.How cute, Kakashi did not coo. They must've been worried for him.Kakashi wished he wasn't chakra-exhausted, so he could use his sharingan to remember this forever.----"Let's make a deal," Sora said to the fox, one day.It growled, "what.""You lend me your power, and I'll make you feel less lonely, er—""No.""Yes.""Fuck off." Uh, harsh.Luckily, Sora was an expert in making friends. "What's your name? We can't be friends if I don't know it.""..."----As his team cheerfully waved goodbye the Great Destiny Bridge and its builders, Kakashi allowed himself to feel a little bit of pride.They were good kids. The first round of the chunnin exams was a joke, but this... This was another level.(Riku saw his death, again, as darkness swallowed him and screams twirled around and pain blinded him)"Fuck," breathed Kairi, next to him.Riku rather agreed.The snake guy stretched his neck (???) and opened his jaw, to bite him. He would have said 'kinky' if he could move. His fucking. Mouth.Then, everything happened very quickly.As the jaws were closing in on his neck, Sora, the self-sacrificial, dramatic idiot he was, pushed him and stole Riku's place as snake food. Kairi, taking advantage of her enemy's distraction, grabbed a kunai and stabbed him in the neck.Blood splattered everywhere, and the guy fell. Was he dead? Riku really hoped he was.Sora collapsed, breathing shallowly."It hurrrrrts," he slurs.Riku touched him, and immediately drew back. Shit, he was hot (in both senses, but that wasn't the right moment. It never was).He looks at Kairi, and she has already taken the snake's scroll.They pick Sora up, and hurry to the tower.----"Look," the chunnin at the tower says, for the fourth time. "I can't help you or you'll be disqualified, and that's it. Go to your supposed places and hope he doesn't die."Riku was about to unleash the fury of his sword upon him, but Kairi grabbed his hand.She looked directly at the chunnin's eyes, and said, without hesitating, "then we're disqualified, you--""Riku. Kairi," their sensei's voice calls. They turn to him, and explain what happened and what was happening.Kakashi's eyes widened and he took Sora, not without saying,"I'll speak to the hokage about this." He glanced at the chunnin with a bored look, which was as close as Kakashi could come to a glare. Delightful. "You know this is against the rules, Izuki."Izuki paled. Riku smirked."So," Kairi said, minutes later, when they were sitting near the creepy Suna team, "we aren't disqualified?"Riku shrugged, "guess not.""Oh. Cool."----Sora came back later, shaking and mumbling things about "pain" and "seals". He then proceeded to fall asleep on Riku's lap.(Riku took the chance to caress his hair.)----"You want to train me? As in, alone?" Riku asked, bewildered.Kakashi stared at him for a second. He probably wasn't expecting opposition. He recovered quickly, though."You are better suited to my skill set.""No, I'm not." Riku frowned. "Sora is the one with lightning affinity, and I have-- reasons to believe I can't develop the sharingan."Kakashi's mouth did a little twist. Everyone was so uncomfortable thinking about a wife cheating that they didn't think about it any deeper, namely, Riku's little problem with chakra.----"Hey," said Sora, one day, "why won't you tell me your name?""...Your ears would fall off.""Oh, and you don't want that? How cute."The nine-tailed fox growled.----"OH MY GOSH, IT'S JIRAIYA!" Kairi screeched, pointing at one weird, white-haired guy. "I'M YOUR NUMBER ONE FAN."The whole crowd turned to look at them. Not that they weren't already, with Sora being in the group.The guy, Jiraiya, laughed heartily and did a weird pose. "I'm glad youth these days knows how to appreciate art!" He crouched and whispered loudly to Kairi, "what is your favourite book?"Kairi's grin twisted into a grimace. "Your books? Eugh, no. What I like is your," Kairi's eyes shone, "spy network."Naturally, she won an apprenticeship within ten minutes.----Seeing, or, rather, feeling the chakra of the nine-tailed fox was... an experience. It reminded Riku of the first time he let himself be engulfed by darkness. Tempting, frightening and a little disgusting.And that, combined with the chakra of the creepy Suna guy, was too much for Riku's old, chakra-intolerant heart.He fainted.----"...My name is Kurama."Sora beamed.----Even though Shisui had saved his life, the hokage decided to retire anyway.Sora took the chance to go on a quest to look for his idol, Tsunade Senju. Of course, he dragged Riku, Kairi and Jiraiya with him.----Finding Itachi there was... unexpected. But with their luck, what else could he expect?At least now, Riku had the opportunity to ask his brother something that had been bothering him for a long time."You didn't do it to prove yourself, did you?" After all, Riku knew what that felt like, and Itachi doesn't play the part. "Why, then?"Itachi didn't say anything, just looked into Riku's eyes and— Riku already knew how that would end.He screamed. Riku's screams distracted Kairi, and that cost her and Sora greatly. They got hit in the stomach by Samehada, and crushed against the wall.And to think they were holding up pretty well until then. Who would have said?The Samehada started draining their chakra. Uh-oh. Kairi was starting to see black dots instead of things. At a risk of repeating herself, uh-oh.Thankfully, her irresponsible master chose that moment to appear, and save their collective asses, Riku's screams as a soundtrack of the fight.----When Gai came to take Riku back to Konoha and told them that Kakashi-sensei had fought and lost against Itachi, too, Kairi's heart leapt to her throat.Now, they did have to find Tsunade as quick as possible.----Kairi saw Sora's enthusiasm gradually diminish when they came upon the sight of the great Senju Tsunade, drunk extraordinaire.Kairi knew how that felt, she thought while looking at Jiraiya with the corner of her eye.Then, her apprentice appeared. She and Sora spoke, and he changed idols."She's so... cool," Sora justified later, starstruck.----And, following Kairi's example, Sora convinced Tsunade to both become hokage and his master. He was a bit disappointed it wasn't Shizune, though.----Riku woke up.He didn't waste any time and lunged at them. They melted into a tight hug.Kairi didn't overlook, however, that he hugged Sora a little tiny teeny bit tighter.----Kakashi-sensei woke up next.He didn't seem affected, looking at them with the same bored look as always. His hands were trembling when he scratched his nape, though.Kairi didn't comment.----She was going away from Konoha. During two. Whole. Years. Two years away from her boys. Two.Two.What would they do without her? Kairi didn't know. Die, maybe.----Kairi came back, did a lot of things, saved a lot of people, made a lot of friends, and ended up becoming hokage.Sora was at her right side the head medic, Riku at her left as the most renowned teacher of the village, and her past life behind her, forgotten.She hoped the one before her would be as exciting as this one was.
The End