Broken Fan

Chapter Three: Orange Swirls and Red Circles

"Are you sure this is what you want to do, Kakashi?"

Kakashi stared calmly at the Third Hokage who was behind the desk inside his office. The kage was currently smoking his pipe, a thoughtful frown on his face – not worried, just pensive. A long scroll was laid out before him, a stamp held in his other wrinkled hand.

Kakashi shifted in his seat, arching a silver brow at his Hokage.

"After all," the Hokage continued, "this is a serious matter, being the Uchiha's guardian and all. Now while I know of your connections to the Uchiha, I just want to know if you have your best interest in this as well as the boy's. You are one who tends to put others before himself."

"Believe me, that's not the case." Kakashi answered blandly, slouching into his chair a bit more. "I want to make Sasuke my ward for more than just that reason. He's been through a lot with Orochimaru," the Hokage's face darkened at that name, "more than we know, probably. I can see a lot of myself in him, honestly, and besides personal connections to the Uchiha, I really think I could take Sasuke on and train him to be my prodigy when he's ready."

Kakashi straightened and leaned forward in his seat, "We're the only sharingan users in Konoha, obviously, and I think I can at least get him to open up a bit more."

"That would be crucial," the Third nodded, puffing on his pipe, "has he said anything about Orochimaru or Oto?"

Kakashi shook his head. The Hokage sighed.

"At any rate, Sasuke officially becoming your ward will send a lot of ripples into the other Konoha clans, no doubt the council as well. He is the last Uchiha, after all." The Hokage stated, staring at Kakashi seriously.

"I'm prepared to handle that. It's not like I haven't dealt with either of those before," the Copy-nin remarked dryly.

"True," the Third concluded, "the Hatakes were sadly not strangers to the word 'scandal'." The old man sighed again before straightening in his high chair, leaning over and stamping the scroll with his seal. "There, it's formally official. Hatake Kakashi, I hereby give you permission to take on Uchiha Sasuke as your ward. May you be a good guardian."

Kakashi immediately stood and gave the Hokage a curt bow, staring down at the scroll that after all the fine print held two messy signatures of 'Hatake Kakashi' and underneath that, 'Uchiha Sasuke'. The Hokage rolled up the scroll and handed it to Kakashi, who took it and tucked it into his back pocket.

Kakashi inclined his head, "Hokage-sama."

All the kage did was nod as Kakashi disappeared into a wisp of silver smoke.

Sasuke was really getting tired of Kakashi's cooking.

It wasn't like it tasted particularly bad or anything, it was just very plain. Bland. Now, usually Sasuke didn't have a problem with this. Not at all. He disliked spicy foods and hated sweets, so plain food was really the only thing he could tolerate on a regular basis. However, since Kakashi didn't know how to cook many things, he repeated dishes an awful lot. Rice was, of course, very popular. The rice cooker seemed to always be in use, especially for dinner and always served with steamed vegetables or chicken.

Needless to say, they ordered take-out a lot. Sasuke himself was beginning to think he should learn how to cook…maybe then he would at least get some variety…

Regardless, Sasuke walked into the kitchen silently to see Kakashi in his usual chair reading the newspaper. Kakashi looked up at him as soon as he entered the room.

"Sasuke," Kakashi greeted, waving a hand towards the empty seat in front of him, "your up early again I see."

"Hn," the nine year old sounded, sitting down in his seat at the table. "You went out this morning?" he asked curiously. He had heard the door open and close around six in the morning and Kakashi hadn't informed him about any missions.

"Ah, just settling some business with the Hokage." Kakashi flipped a page in the newspaper. "Why don't you pour yourself some cereal?"

"Not hungry," Sasuke mumbled, looking away from the jounin.

"Sasuke."

The Uchiha paused and looked back at Kakashi to catch his pointed look. Sasuke scowled as he reluctantly stood and stalked over to the cabinet, fishing out a cereal box and a bowl. After he got the milk from the fridge and poured some into his filled bowl, he put everything back in its rightful place and moodily slunk back into his seat. Picking up his spoon, he slowly began eating.

Kakashi put down the newspaper, "Actually, Sasuke, I have something I need to talk to you about."

"What?" asked Sasuke, making sure he swallowed his food before speaking.

"Since you've been officially made my ward and all, I was also thinking of making you something else as soon as you're up for it."

"Up for what?" Sasuke questioned, narrowing his black eyes on the Copy-nin. "Why wouldn't I be ready?"

"Calm down, Sasuke." Kakashi chided, giving him a crinkled smile. "It's about your ninja training."

Sasuke shifted in his seat, nodding a bit. Why would Kakashi bring up this? Did he have something planned? What could it be? He stared at the older jounin cautiously as he started swirling his spoon in his cereal, stopping instantly when he realized what he was doing. Uchiha never play with their food – that's childish.

"I've decided to make you my prodigy." Kakashi announced, staring at Sasuke seriously. "That is, of course, if you want to be my student."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he stared up at Kakashi in shock. His mind was racing with the concept – he couldn't completely fathom it. First Kakashi makes him his ward and now his own apprentice? Why was he being so…nice? It wasn't normal, wasn't expected. He had already done so much…and why Sasuke? He was a strong jounin, wasn't he? Kakashi was the famous Copy-nin, master of over a thousand jutsu's.

Why pick him?

Sasuke looked down, fisting his hands as Kakashi's words rang in his head, twisting and turning over in his mind. It wasn't lost on Sasuke that this was no doubt the fastest way to get stronger and complete his revenge. To kill Itachi and Orochimaru, to be strong enough to look at himself and not be ashamed. To finally start the process and take the first few steps to complete his revenge.

Sasuke's last sensei and Kakashi were completely different, and Sasuke knew there was no way he could do all his training by himself. Having Kakashi as his master would be a huge help. Aside from that, being the sole prodigy of the ninja who saved him…

He gazed back up at Kakashi mutely, biting his bottom lip and not quite believing it.

"Sasuke?" Kakashi inquired due to his lack of answer. "You okay?"

"Fine," Sasuke immediately said, giving Kakashi a firm nod. "I'd…I'd like to be your apprentice. It'd…" Sasuke shook his head, embarrassed that he was actually stumbling over his words. "It'd be more than I could ask for."

Kakashi gave him what he could guess was a crooked grin since his face was masked and stood from his seat. He walked over to Sasuke who stiffened as Kakashi clamped a hand down on his spiky head.

"Excellent." Kakashi acknowledged, taking his hand away from Sasuke who stood up as well, foregoing his breakfast. "Listen Sasuke, I need to leave for a quick jounin meeting but when I get back, we'll further discuss your training. Alright?"

Sasuke nodded again, staring up at Kakashi who grabbed his shoulders and forced him to sit back down in his chair. "Till then," Kakashi continued, "finish your breakfast. I'll be back within the next hour."

Sasuke scowled once more, picking up his spoon and watching Kakashi as he gave his raven head another fond pat (Sasuke grunted at this) and started to walk away. When he reached the doorway, Sasuke spoke out.

"Kakashi…" Sasuke called out, his black eyes focused on the Copy-nin who stopped and looked over his shoulder at Sasuke from the doorway. "Thank you."

"No need," Kakashi replied, "I knew from the minute you chose to stay with me that I wanted you to be my apprentice."

"How?" Sasuke asked, tensing a bit as he tightened his grip on his spoon.

"Just a good guess and like I said before, you remind me a lot of myself." Kakashi answered, chuckling a bit. "Either way, carry on eating and we'll discuss it further when I come back."

Sasuke bowed his head as Kakashi departed, sinking the spoon back into his bowl of cereal when he heard the door open and close, signaling that Kakashi had left. A few minutes passed as Sasuke was now half done his breakfast.

He was already full. Standing up and emptying the remains of his cereal into the garbage, Sasuke sighed as he leaned against the counter and stared down at the wooden floor. Kakashi had said that he reminded Kakashi of himself.

He sure couldn't see the resemblance. Not in the least.

But maybe, being Kakashi's prodigy would help Sasuke eventually be more like him, more like the ninja that Kakashi was. If he could even be a bit like Kakashi…then some of his goals would already be halfway completed.

Sasuke tried to comfort himself with that thought, pushing himself to be excited about the news that he was now Kakashi's apprentice. After all, it was an honor. Imagine all the new jutsu he was going to learn, just the thought of everything Kakashi could teach him made the nine-year-old boy's head spin. Kakashi chose him to be his prodigy – no one else. Only Sasuke.

He tried to keep out thoughts that it was just because Kakashi saw how weak he was and just pitied him while he walked back to his bedroom.

"Academy?"

Sasuke frowned at Kakashi from the couch. Kakashi had just gotten back from his jounin meeting and had decided to have their talk in the living room. Academy…? He didn't need to go to Academy. Sasuke knew he was stronger than any level that school had to offer. Besides, to go back there…

"Yeah, you do still want to be a ninja, correct?" Kakashi asked, tilting his head to the side.

He glared at the Copy-nin. Wasn't it obvious that he did? Being a ninja was the only was to get strong and Kakashi had already chosen to make him his apprentice. If he was going to be Kakashi's prodigy, why would he need to go back to Academy? Especially after all this time…

Sasuke couldn't believe Kakashi was proposing this.

"Of course I do," Sasuke said in a dark tone.

"Well, graduating Academy is the only way to become a ninja. That's the way it works in Konoha."

"I still don't see why I have to," Sasuke snapped, "I'm above anything the Academy teaches. It'd be a waste of time. Can't I just take lessons from you and go from there?"

"No," Kakashi cut in, "besides, don't you want to develop at your own pace? I know Orochimaru was teaching you in Oto, but I think it would be best if you went back to your old environment. I'm not going back on what I said Sasuke – you'll still be my apprentice. I'm going to be teaching you on the side anyhow." At Sasuke's not so pleased expression, Kakashi added, "Don't you want to go back and see your old class?"

Sasuke's glare intensified, "No."

"Why? According to your old records, you were at the top of the class. I think it'd be good for you to go back. At least it'd be something to do while I'm on missions, Sasuke."

"No. I don't care," Sasuke countered, looking away and crossing his arms stubbornly. "I won't."

"Then you won't be a ninja."

Sasuke stared at his newly declared guardian, irritation building up and anger brewing into a steam in his chest as his fingers dug into the sides of his scrawny arms. Kakashi just remained sitting there in his dark armchair, calm as ever as he took out his stupid orange book and casually flipped it open.

Sasuke twitched in his seat at that, hating that Kakashi was now appearing to ignore him. It only made him more aggravated.

"Try one day and see if it's so unreasonable," Kakashi said evenly, "what's the big deal with one day, hm?"

"I won't," Sasuke insisted with a heated glare. And with that, Sasuke sat up and left the room, making his way down the hall and slamming his bedroom door shut behind him.

"It won't be so bad."

Sasuke gave the Copy-nin a death glare as he just chuckled. It was early morning of the next day and Kakashi had walked him all the way to the Academy building, though Sasuke didn't know why. It would be the first day of his return to the Academy, and Sasuke still didn't know how Kakashi had managed to have his way and get Sasuke to come back.

Or maybe he did and just didn't want to admit it. After all, he did just become Kakashi's ward. To already disappoint Kakashi was not something Sasuke could accept happening, not if he could prevent it. No matter how uncomfortable it made him, he knew from the moment Kakashi told him to go back to Academy that he'd have no choice.

That was probably what made him all the more angry. Going back to classes in Konoha Academy was not something he imagined in his future.

"Why did you walk me here?" he stiffly asked, his innate curiosity bidding him to question about it.

"In case you forgot where it was," Kakashi responded with a half smile.

Sasuke's glare all but worsened, "Shut up." He muttered lowly, frowning again when he heard Kakashi chuckle once more. He looked away from the silver haired jounin and stared at the Academy building again. It had been two years since he'd been here. Two whole years…he remembered working so hard to make sure his Tou-san would know he had the best grades and that he was at the top of the class. That he was the number one rookie. That he was just as much of a genius as his older brother…that Sasuke, despite his good grades, never seemed to catch up to…who always seemed so far ahead of him…

Sasuke's stomach twisted as he looked down, his raven bangs automatically covering his eyes as he did so. If he wanted to close the gap between himself and his older brother…he'd have to just do what Kakashi said and go through with this. Besides, it should be more than easy for him, he was way ahead of his peers here…it would only be a bump in his road of closing the gap between Itachi and him. And he needed to close it.

The Academy loomed over the Uchiha as he scowled darkly.

"Ready?" he heard Kakashi ask.

He gave a nod and, following Kakashi, he entered the building's front entrance as he felt strangely out of place. For the past two years, training had consisted of long halls, beatings, and taunting yellow eyes…twisted and –

"Sasuke?"

He looked at Kakashi. He was leaning up against a closed doorway, staring at Sasuke with a questioning look on his face. Sasuke gave him his undivided attention, noting that he could hear an older male voice coming through the closed door, no doubt teaching a class. What had been his old teacher's name when he was in Academy? Oh right – Iruka.

"…And so Shinobi code 77 states that no ninja on a mission or otherwise – NO – STOP THAT NARUTO!" he heard the person yell out from inside the classroom.

Nothing had changed.

Sasuke felt his nerves start to prickle in his chest when Kakashi knocked on the door and within a few spare moments it was slid open to reveal Iruka himself. He looked stressed but grinned at Kakashi when he saw him and inclined his head in greeting.

"Kakashi! What can I do for…?" Iruka's gaze dropped to Sasuke as his mouth parted in shock and the same disgusting emotions Sasuke expected dashed across his scarred face. It was the same look that Sasuke had seen from everyone but Kakashi since he had come back to Konoha. Shock, curiosity, and then finally sympathy mixed with an even more disgusting dose of pity. Idiot.

I don't want to be here. I don't want to be here… But he was all the same.

"Sasuke! I…how are you feeling?" Iruka asked, blinking rapidly, "I've…we've all missed you! When I heard you were back in the village I was so relived - !"

"Iruka." The chunnin snapped his gaze to Kakashi. "I need to talk to you for a few minutes. In private."

"Huh? Oh, right. Um…" Iruka turned back to his class and tossed another friendly grin at Sasuke as he just stared blankly back in return – which was all he could manage at this point, anyway.

"In a second Kakashi – I heard your Sasuke's guardian now. Come, Sasuke…" Kakashi hung back and waited in the hallway, giving Sasuke a short wave as Sasuke turned, his feet as heavy as lead as Iruka guided him into the classroom. As soon as he walked in, it went dead silent.

Sasuke stared at the faces of over a dozen kids, recognizing only some as they all stared back at him, wide-eyed.

"It's…its Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Holy crap! It's really him!"

"I thought he died…" another muttered from a back row.

"Me too," another spoke out.

"He's back…?" said a boy in the front row.

"Quiet everyone," Iruka called out, making the room fall silent to hear what their sensei had to say. Sasuke looked back at Kakashi who was still standing there in the hallway and shoved his hands into his pockets, quickly looking back at the class emotionlessly. "For those of you who don't know, this is Uchiha Sasuke," Iruka announced, "I'm sure some of you spent your first year with him. Regardless, he has returned and I want all of you to give him a warm welcome as fellow classmates."

"Hai, Iruka-sensei!" They all called out.

"Now, Sasuke…let's see…" Iruka muttered, looking around the classroom, "Ah, there's an empty seat next to Naruto – the blond boy – in the back." Iruka pointed out the seat as Sasuke's eyes followed it all the way to the back of the classroom, "See it?"

He looked up into the right hand corner and noticed the blond boy jerk up in attention at his name being mentioned. His seat was indeed in the back and there wasn't just one seat empty next to the blond boy – the entire row was empty. Not saying a word, Sasuke walked up the long rows of desks until he reached the back, sitting next to the blond boy whom he knew he only vaguely recognized.

"Er…Hey," the blond boy said, making Sasuke turn to see his blue eyes meeting his own black ones. Sasuke narrowed his eyes on this Naruto and, after a moment, scoffed and looked away. He heard the boy huff and he distinctly heard Naruto's seat shuffle further away from his.

"Class, I'm going to speak with someone for a moment so be good or else!" Iruka warned, shaking his finger at his students and walking towards the door once more, sliding the door shut after him. Sasuke could see the shadowy forms of Kakashi and Iruka talking to each other from outside.

Just what was Kakashi saying anyway? What did Iruka have to know? He glared at the closed door silently as he inwardly fumed. Sasuke knew he already hated this place. He didn't understand why Kakashi thought this was so damn important – why couldn't Kakashi just push him up to gennin? This was all nothing more than a waste of time that could be better spent training with Kakashi.

"Hey, Sasuke!" He looked up to see many pairs of eyes locked on him. Sasuke stilled in his seat, eyeing them all in a cagy manner. He wasn't used to seeing so many people his age. It didn't seem right.

"Is it true you were in Sound all this time?" One nameless boy in the third row asked.

"What were you doing there?" another brunette girl questioned.

"Did your clan really get massacred?" A kid whispered over to him from the row directly in front of him. He looked astonished.

"When did you come back?" one other called out.

"How did they find you anyway?"

Sasuke was completely silent, folding his hands in front of him and looking away from all the questioning stares. He resolved to just ignore them. It's not like he had to answer to them, anyway.

"Jeez, maybe the rumors are right. Maybe he did go mute."

Sasuke gritted his teeth as they began to murmur as the same nauseating looks passed through all of their faces. He really hated this place. Nothing ever changed. Not really.

"Oi, Sasuke, can you at least nod if you can't speak or - !"

But the question was interrupted as Iruka stepped back into the room. His gaze glanced upwards for a brief second before he faced the whole class seriously, picking up a piece of chalk and turning towards the blackboard. "Now class, who knows Shinobi law number 78?"

A girl with pink hair raised her hand.

It was now lunchtime and Sasuke thankfully found an abandoned classroom to eat his lunch – a bento box. He sighed and leaned up against a desk on the front row, opening the box and grabbing a rice ball that Kakashi had prepared for him that morning, before even Sasuke himself had gotten up. After shoving the bento in his hands, Kakashi had dragged him to the Academy. But still, he thought as he took a bite out of the riceball, it wasn't like he was hungry.

"…and if you don't eat properly, you won't grow any stronger…"

He took another bite of the riceball, all the while glaring. Why should he listen to the jounin, anyway? He put him here of all places, and even if Kakashi did say it was in his best interest, Sasuke himself couldn't see how this would help him in any way. His classmates were irritating and everything they taught was things Sasuke already knew.

But still…if this is the only way Kakashi'll teach me anything… He frowned; dropping the half eaten riceball and watching it plop back into his bento box.

Sasuke jumped when he heard the door slide open and turned around to see a pink haired girl walk in. She was wearing a red dress and when he met her hesitant green gaze she smiled warmly at him. He realized it was the same girl from his class – she was hard to miss being she was the only pink haired girl and stuck out oddly for that.

"Ano…Uchiha Sasuke-kun?" Her smile brightened as she walked over from the doorway, stopping a few feet in front of him. Sasuke watched her silently, narrowing his eyes on her as she gave a small bow. "My name's Haruno Sakura!"

Sakura? It suited her, he guessed. He wondered what she wanted.

"I was your classmate two years ago as well, I hope we can become friends!" she said cheerfully, "And…well…" A blush appeared on Sakura's pale cheeks, "I was just wondering if…"

"Saaaakuraaa-chan…!" the door suddenly burst wide open as the blond boy from before ran in and tackled the tiny, pink haired girl in a fierce hug, effectively nearing knocking her down with the force.

"…Naruto…!" Sakura scolded, breaking free only to hit him on the head. "You nearly made me fall!"

Sasuke stared at them, suddenly annoyed at this interruption as Naruto just shrugged.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan!" But he was just grinning at her madly, "I was looking for you all over! You said we could eat lunch together today!"

"Hai, hai, I know. I made enough food for both of us in my bento." Naruto's grin widened all the more at Sakura's words, looking ecstatic at the idea of eating her lunch.

"Awesome! You're the best, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura smiled as she turned and stared at Sasuke once more. "Do…do you want to join us, Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura looked at him hopefully as Naruto visibly deflated and stared at him with a slight frown on his whiskered face. Sasuke looked away from them both, more irritated than ever.

"No," he said lowly.

Sakura frowned, sadness glinting in her green eyes as Naruto scoffed, pulling on her arm and leading her towards the door – "Let's go, Sakura-chan! He wants to be alone, anyway!"

"…Well, I'll talk to you later then, Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said meekly as she was pulled away by Naruto. Sasuke eyed her blankly, not saying anything in return as they walked out the door and out of sight.

Listening to their fading footsteps, Sasuke walked over to close the door they'd left open when he heard Naruto say from down the hall…

"Hey, at least we know he's not mute!"

Sasuke shook his head and closed the door, knowing that dealing with three more years in Academy was going to be more annoying than he bargained for.

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Sorry for the long wait. Life got in the way. Thanks for all the reviews and please tell us what you think.

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Twitch and Spaz