Hey, as an apology for being gone so long, here's another chapter. Hmm, being more honest, though, the truth is that I got stuck about half way through this chapter and was finally able to finish it thanks to my new fic. Yay! Enjoy.
Disclaimer. Do I still need to say it?
When the ANBU response team arrived in the Uchiha compound and sought out their comrades that had fallen out of radio contact a couple minutes before, they found the Hokage trying to rouse the unconscious ANBU outside of the Uchiha main house. The majority went to keep watch over the med team and look for survivors while a few took up positions around the Hokage and the downed ANBU. After issuing orders and radioing for an Oinin team, the ANBU commander used shunshin to appear at the Hokage's side. The Hokage had relinquished the care of the two ANBU to the medics and was watching while they were being looked over. The silver-haired commander scanned the area while waiting for orders from his superior, keeping a sharp eye out for signs of where the perpetrators might have gone.
The Hokage looked on as the medics finished looking over the two and determined them fit enough to be woken for questioning. A moment later and the two ANBU were jerking awake from the smelling salts held up to their masks. After a moment to recover they quickly stood and reported to their Hokage.
Minato listened patiently while the two men explained that, according to Neko, Naruto had smelled the blood and alerted her. He kept his face carefully blank as they told of how they had found Itachi with a bloody sword and how a second assailant all in black had knocked them out too quickly for them to react. Once they were finished, he turned to his commander.
"Inu, as of now I am classifying Uchiha Itachi as an s-ranked nuke-nin. Have our best available Oinin team track him and find out what they can about his destination and any other allies he may have. There should be articles with his scent on them in the main house, they have my permission to take whatever will help. Have another team try to ascertain the identity and location of Itachi's assistance, we don't know whether they went with Itachi or not. I don't, however, want any team to engage them. We don't know how much support he's managed to arrange. Information first. I want you to lead an ANBU team at a distance in case of ambush and summon me if things get ugly. I don't want to take any chances in this situation. Dismissed and good luck." The Hokage looked at his student for a moment with an unreadable expression on his face before nodding once and walking towards the entrance to the house that the two ANBU had reported seeing Itachi coming out of last.
"Hai, Hokage-sama." Inu disappeared in a silver streak of shunshin to select teams and carry out his orders.
As Minato approached the door it opened and a few med-nin and ANBU slowly started filing out, carrying two bodies. One was a woman; he recognized her as Kushina's old friend Mikoto, the Uchiha clan heads' wife. Or widow, rather. The other was a painfully tiny boy Naruto's size. To his relief they were both breathing peacefully, dead to the carnage around them. They didn't appear to have a scratch on them, and he wondered briefly what Itachi had shown them in the genjutsu he had no doubt subjected them to.
He followed after the med-nin, not interrupting their work until the two had been placed on the ground at the end of one of the neat rows of survivors being gathered in the Uchiha square. Anyone that was too seriously injured to move wouldn't be here, of course, but everyone else was brought together for triage, treatment and protection. He let the sounds and smells of the hastily made camp wash over him for a moment; the smell of blood, the groans of the wounded and waking, the nearly silent swish of ninja moving quickly nearly overwhelmed by the harsh orders being barked by the medics. The red sun had long since set, leaving visible only the impression of shadows moving through the thickening gloom.
Before the nin that had been treating Mikoto and Sasuke could move away, Minato stepped into his path. "What's their status?" he asked immediately.
The man snapped to attention quickly before rattling off, "They're going to be fine, Hokage-sama, there seems to be some minor brain trauma brought on by the genjutsu used on them, but it's fairly mild. We'll be able to wake them later and release them afterwards."
Minato nodded, "Good. When you get a chance, inform the medic-in-charge that after they are cleared they are to be released to the ANBU guards I'll assign them. They'll stay in the Hokage manor, I don't want to risk whoever did this changing their minds and coming back to finish the job."
The medic bowed and got back to work after a tired, "Hai, Hokage-sama."
After assigning two guards specifically to the remnant of the Uchiha main family, the Hokage stepped back to watch the proceedings from behind and a bit to the side of one of the torches that had just been lit. He'd chosen the position to allow everyone in the square a relatively unobstructed view of him. Similarly, he made no effort to mask his chakra, consciously keeping it mild and even. The Hokage stood impassive sentinal over the suffering of the patients, harried hustle of the medics and tense watchfulness of the guards and in so doing, provided reassurance to those shaken by this tragedy.
Privately, however, Minato's thoughts focused on the uselessness and hypocrisy of his current position. He couldn't help the situation without upsetting the balance of the operation by his mere presence. Besides that, he knew the face of every one of the survivors, having struck them down himself. All of the most seriously injured (read: maimed, never to see active duty again) were stable enough to be moved and were being tended to in the square at that very moment. All he could really do to help the situation was to stay put and wait to see if Kakashi needed him.
After all, the Hokage, he thought with a touch of bitterness, wasn't supposed to leave the village unless on a diplomatic mission or unless the village was threatened. And this situation, gruesome as it was, wouldn't count. So that's how Minato found himself standing around in Uchiha Square like a mannequin, doing absolutely nothing to aid the crisis that he himself had sanctioned. He was still worried about Madara and what would happen to Itachi-kun, but the best he could do for his people right now, pitiful though it was, was to stand there and hope that his presence was a comfort to them.
He missed Naruto. He should have known that the boy would smell the blood, but he ought to have been back home by the time they'd started the operation. Minato tried to keep his lips from twitching, not wanting to seem disrespectful of the suffering around him. He was sure that the reason his boy had been there so late was because he had gotten into so much trouble that he'd been put in detention after only the first day.
Minato hoped Naruto wouldn't be too off-put by the blood to be his normal cheerful self. He desperately needed a distraction from the guilt he was currently feeling. He could only imagine Itachi's current mental state. Minato silently cursed as the minutes ticked by. If Madara killed Itachi-kun after all this, he swore by all the gods that he would find a way to emasculate the man with a rusty knife. As it was, he would find a way to thwart the man's plans, even if the best he could do was to protect Naruto and Konoha until Naruto became strong enough to deal with the bastard himself.
Contrary to what most seemed to think, the only time the Hokage got to play hero was during a direct attack on Konoha... and he was sure that Madara wouldn't make that mistake again until he was sure he'd win. Minato knew after what happened to Kushina that Madara would come for Kyuubi again. He wouldn't be able to protect his son forever; he'd have to let him go out on missions once he had a team. He wouldn't be able to ensure his safety.
The only thing he could do for his son was to raise him as well and as happily as he could considering his status as a Jinchuuriki. He could prepare Naruto to defend himself and hope that with time Konoha would want to defend his son too. He would help his son as much as he could, while also doing his duty as Hokage and working behind the scenes to throw a wrench in Madara's plans. And when he had done everything he could, he would wait and watch. And so, once again, he steeled himself to do just that. That's what a sentinel is for, after all.
Kakashi finally let out the breath he'd been holding. They were gone. The man that had met Itachi had made his skin crawl, especially considering the uncomfortable feeling he'd had that the man was perfectly aware of their presence.
The tracker team had followed Itachi to the border of Ame where he'd met with an odd orange-masked man dressed all in black. The man's strangeness was only added to by the fact that the mask was missing the left eyehole, although Kakashi wasn't one to talk on that particular matter. However, despite the stranger's comical appearance and the light-hearted mocking banter he'd directed towards the stone-faced Uchiha killer, Kakashi's instincts from being around his sensei so much told him clearly that he had just met one of the most dangerous ninja alive and was lucky to have survived. This impression was only reinforced by the way the man had sucked Itachi into his spiral mask only to follow a moment later. He'd never seen anyone other than his sensei use a technique like that.
He raised a slightly shaking hand to absently readjust his dog-mask and then straightened his back, calm again. Kakashi signalled his ANBU and a moment later they were whistling through the trees back to Konoha at their best speed. He had to warn Minato-sensei about this threat as soon as possible.
Naruto whistled to himself as he stood on a stool, cutting vegetables for dinner. Not that he enjoyed anything that had to do with vegetables, of course, but he and his dad had a deal. As long as he made a vegetable side dish to go with it, his dad would let him make ramen every time it was his turn to cook. Well, he also made him eat the vegetables before he could take even a bite of his ramen, but it was a necessary evil if it allowed him to have ramen several times a week.
He paused in his cutting for a moment to tilt his head to the side curiously, "Neko-san, is dad going to be late to dinner?" Naruto had heard the crackle of Neko's headset and someone mentioning his father-as well as an estimate of the number of surviving Uchiha. Naruto frowned grimly, that sounded very, very bad. He'd smelled a lot of blood, but it seemed like it came from a lot of different people after all. He hoped his dad was going to be ok.
Neko spoke quietly from her guard position outside the window, knowing he would hear her, "Hai, Naruto-kun. There's also going to be two guests that will be staying here for the time being."
"Who?" Naruto asked, getting out more ingredients and hoping their guests liked ramen. Bah! They'd have to be heathens not to like ramen.
"Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Sasuke, the last of the Uchiha main house left in Konoha." Neko answered carefully, and Naruto heard the words she didn't say, knowing better than to ask.
So something happened to Fugaku and Itachi and one or both of them had left Konoha, either by force or willingly. He wondered what would become of the Uchiha now. Well, he'd undoubtedly hear about it eventually. His father never explicitly told him about Konoha's affairs, but he made no real effort to keep him from hearing and Naruto's ears were very sensitive.
Actually, he knew more about Konoha's affairs and politics than anyone but his father suspected. He knew that there was a great deal of political intrigue and he knew about most of the people who had power in the village. That's also how he knew about Danzo and Root. He suspected that the reason his father let him learn so much was because his status in the village was more precarious than anybodies given that he was a Jinchuuriki. His father was preparing him to look after himself no matter what happened, no matter whether his enemies were inside or outside the village.
And that's how he knew that his father loved him more than anything. Minato would do everything in his power to help him grow strong and happy, strong enough to stand against the Kyuubi and anyone that might wish to hurt him. He was already giving his son the tools necessary to win over the villagers and keep the council from controlling him. His father would fight to protect Konoha to ensure that his son had a chance at having a home and a happy future. That's why Naruto was never selfish and always tried to make his father happy. His father was giving everything for him like his mother did and Naruto would walk through hell itself to see that it didn't go to waste. Konoha would become his home; he would earn the acceptance of even those who hated him and nobody was going to get in his way, not even the Kyuubi.
As he stir-fried the vegetables and kept a wary eye on the soup for the ramen to make sure it wouldn't boil, he reflected that it was probably weird for any child his age to be so single-minded. Hell, he still needed a stool to cook, a lot of kids his age didn't even know how to turn on a stove. He hadn't been around children since the incident with Neji, but none of the kids at the academy had such determination, even though they were training to be ninja. Well, they would eventually realize how cruel life could be, and no doubt it would be up to him to help see them through it. He wondered how Sasuke was taking whatever it is that happened to his clan. The boy had seemed aloof and proud, always measuring other people's worth and finding then wanting. He was probably just as harsh with himself, though. A kid like that wouldn't take it well when he was powerless to protect his family. Naruto winced in sympathy for a moment, knowing that he wouldn't have taken it well either.
Even with all his training, Naruto knew that losing his father would make holding back the Kyuubi impossible. As a final test of his training his father had taken him a distance from Konoha and cast a genjutsu on him showing Minato being assassinated. Naruto was immediately engulfed in dark red chakra and lost track of what happened around him as he burned from the inside out. When he woke up, it was to find himself surrounded by bodies of leaf ninja, ANBU that had protected him and befriended him. Kakashi-niisan and several others he recognized were among them. Well, part of that might be due to the fact that their bodies were mangled and burned to the point of being nearly unrecognizable. He bent over and vomited until his stomach was empty and then he cried, weeping tears of despair and remorse. He barely noticed when strong arms wrapped around him and held him, but when his father's scent filled his nose he jerked back in disbelief.
His father was crying too and Naruto sobered abruptly as he tried to figure out what had happened. He looked around, realizing that the bodies were gone and it didn't take long to realize he'd had a genjutsu cast on him. He looked at his father in dawning realization and horror, but when he saw the way his father guiltily flinched away from his gaze he couldn't bring himself to get angry at him. His dad never cried or looked guilty, even when talking about his mother, although he knew the man felt guilty about letting her sacrifice herself. He never blamed Naruto, though.
So instead of yelling Naruto neutrally asked, "Why?"
Minato took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes, "I debated over the last month whether or not this was a good idea. But in the end I decided that it would be better for it to be a genjutsu than reality. After I cast the first genjutsu, you broke it and pulled two tails worth of chakra from the fox. I used the Hiraishin seal on you to get close enough to use a strong chakra suppression seal and then cast a second genjutsu for when you woke up. I'm going to try to always be there for you Naruto, but I'm mortal like anyone else and one day I'm going to die. As a Hokage, the chances are good that I'll die in combat. If that happens, I don't want you to break the seal and kill yourself and everyone around you. You already know that anger can pull on the fox's chakra, but grief can too. I wanted to wait until later to do this, but the Leaf has many powerful enemies and I thought it better not to wait. There's also the possibility that someone might use genjutsu on you to bring the fox out purposely and I think you know who I mean." Minato looked at him piercingly for a moment before deflating. "I'm sorry, Naruto."
His father's eyes were filled with so much regret and sadness that Naruto wanted to start crying again. Instead he hugged him and said simply, "It's okay."
Minato hugged him tightly and only then did Naruto let himself think about what he had seen and what his father had told him. And what he had done. Because if that genjutsu had been real (and it could have been) he would have become a murderer of everyone he cared for, all the people that protected him. It was a terrifying thought and he vowed then and there to never let it happen. For the sake his parents and everything he held dear, he'd find a way to keep that promise or die trying. He was just about to tell his father so when exhaustion overwhelmed him and he fell into unconsciousness.
Later his father told him that after Naruto had passed out, he'd teleported them to the hospital and had him examined by the head medic. He didn't need to ask to know that his father hadn't slept since he'd been admitted. Apparently there was no permanent damage, but the head medic cautioned that too many incidents like that would shorten his lifespan. His father reassured him that no damage had been done to the seal, although the more he used the Kyuubi's chakra, the faster the seal would weaken. And that's how he came to the conclusion that even if he managed to fully control the Kyuubi's chakra, he should never use it carelessly.
Oh well, he would just keep working on his control and hope for the best for now. There wasn't really much else he could do until he mastered sealing. Yup. His father trusted him now to keep up his meditation and chakra control exercises on his own. Now that he'd entered the academy, their training time would be dedicated to sparring, fuinjutsu and ninjutsu. He couldn't wait to get started, but first his father wanted him to get used to going to the academy. Hmph, as if. But maybe now that that Sasuke kid was staying here they could spar. He never had a chance against his father, of course, and it would be nice to have a challenge. The kid would probably need some time to recover first, but maybe they could help each other out by becoming friends.
With that thought in mind Naruto cheerfully set the table for four and then placed a glass of water and a plate on the windowsill with cheese and crackers and a sliced apple on it before calling quitely, "Here you go, Neko."
No one really approved of his tendency to feed the ANBU guarding him, but he persisted anyway, even ignoring his father on the matter. Eventually the ANBU caved, most of them anyway and would take a break to enjoy a snack during their shift. Besides, it gave them a chance to practice eating with a mask on while still staying alert. A useful skill for an ANBU. One ANBU, eagle, always refused saying it was his duty to protect the Yondaime's heir and he wouldn't accept distractions, but Naruto had eventually worn him down by asking how he could protect Naruto well when he was hungry and thirsty. Even eagle couldn't argue with that. Of course, Kakashi-niisan always refused saying that if he had time to eat then he would rather read his Icha Icha. And even Naruto didn't know what to say to that.
Hmm, Sasuke would probably want a shower and something to change into before dinner and the same with Mikoto-san. Naruto went into the room with his mom's stuff and ignored the slight tightness in his stomach when he grabbed one of her sweaters and a pair of pajama pants. Dad had told him once that Mikoto-san had been a friend of his mother's, so he didn't think she'd mind. He then grabbed his navy blue pajama set and the black silk boxers that Kakashi-niisan had bought as a gag gift for his seventh birthday, saying that every man needed a pair of sexy silk boxers. Dad had punched him when he found out. He shook his head ruefully, he'd never worn them and never would now, but he had a feeling that Sasuke wouldn't accept anything with bright colors. Emo brat.
Naruto took them to the two guest rooms and set them down while he aired out the futons. He'd make them up while they took their showers, he decided. After that he took the clothing and two towels and set them outside the bathing area. He also unwrapped two toothbrushes and set them out. The less those two would have to worry about tonight, the better. He decided to meditate in the living room while he waited, but before he could sit down the doorbell rang. He waited a moment, but when Neko didn't attack the visitors he opened the door wide with a bright smile.
"Hello, Mikoto-san, Sasuke. Come in and make yourselves at home." Naruto greeted cheerfully and stepped back to give them room to enter.
Mikoto bowed politely and in a quiet voice said, "Excuse our intrusion, Naruto-kun."
After they'd gotten inside, Naruto nodded to their two ANBU guards and closed the door.
"I'll show you the guest quarters so you can take a bath and get changed before dinner." He started towards the guest rooms, already trying to forget Sasuke's vacant stare and Mikoto's pinched expression.
"We didn't bring any clothes with us, Naruto-kun." Mikoto said tiredly.
"Don't worry about it, I've set out some clothes that ought to fit you both. And the boxers I left for you haven't been worn, Sasuke." Naruto said over his shoulder. He didn't get a response, but then he hadn't been expecting one.
"Thank you." Mikoto said instead.
Naruto just smiled at the woman and all but shooed them into the bathroom. After he made their beds, he settled down in the living room and meditated until they came out. He opened his eyes and had to suppress a giggle, Sasuke's vacant stare had been replaced by a scowl and he looked incredibly uncomfortable, although whether it was because of the black silk boxers or the navy blue pajamas with green toads all over it was hard to tell. Sasuke saw his lips twitch and started outright glaring and Mikoto looked a cross between relieved and concerned that her son was no longer staring off.
Naruto just ignored the boy and went to the dining room where he started dishing up three bowls. The two Uchiha followed him and sat down, but before Mikoto could say anything, Naruto spoke, "We shouldn't wait for my dad, he's probably gonna be home late."
Mikoto nodded and sat quietly, while Sasuke stared blankly out the window. Naruto nearly shook his head before he caught himself, thinking that distracting the boy would be harder than he expected. Deciding to leave it for now, he chirped out an "Itadakimasu!" and proceeded to inhale his food.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Mikoto's shocked expression while she watched him consume his meal and also caught the slight revulsion of Sasuke's face as he picked at his meal. Still, he didn't press them into conversation like he might have otherwise, just kept eating.
His father came in after his second bowl, looking tired and slightly sick to his stomach. This worried Naruto since there was very little that could make his father look like that. He wanted to run and give his father a hug like usual, but with Sasuke here decided it might be better not to.
Instead he grinned, saying, "Okaeri, Tou-san!" (Welcome home, dad)
Minato smiled tiredly, replying, "Tadaima." (I'm back)
Sasuke looked a little shocked at this, apparently not realizing the rather obvious fact that he was Minato's son. Again, he ignored the other boy in favor of handing the bowl of ramen he'd been dishing up to his father and then making another for himself.
"Ramen again?" Minato observed as he took off his cloak and sat down.
"Of course, you can never have too much ramen!" Naruto sputtered indignantly.
"If you say so." Minato rolled his eyes and grinned.
"I do say so, dattebayo!" Naruto glared before digging into his meal with fervor.
Sasuke was starting to look a little green and Mikoto asked eyes a little wide, "Is this a common occurrence?"
It wasn't clear whether she was referring to the food or the byplay, but either way Minato nodded with a soft smile, "At least three times a week."
Both Sasuke and Mikoto blinked, staring at him opening for a moment before recalling their manners.
"I see. Thank you for allowing us to stay here." Mikoto thanked Minato humbly.
"It's not a problem, you can stay as long as you like until everything gets sorted out." Minato replied.
"The ones that aren't in the hospital are staying in the rooms usually reserved for foreign dignitaries, correct?" Mikoto failed to mention that they were under guard, something he's heard over Neko's radio, but Naruto could hear a bit of suppressed tension in her voice.
"Don't worry, Mikoto-san, I will personally vouch for their safety." Minato replied. Again the 'unless they do something stupid' was unspoken. His father though, kept any tension he might be feeling out of his voice. Naruto had become accustomed to conversations like this when he used to hang out in the Hokage's office, playing in the corner. After all, he had spent enough time with the man to be able to read his father better than even most ninja. Naruto shot a subtle glance at Sasuke that he was sure his father at least noticed and saw the boy staring off again. A distraction was in order.
He picked up his empty water glass and gestured with it towards his father, "Tou-san, could you get me some orange juice, please?" He asked in a slightly whiny voice.
He was pretty sure very few would recognize the amused gleam in his dad's eyes before he nonchalantly said, "Sure." Naruto was seated to his right and as he leaned forward to take the glass he abruptly toppled over, chair and all. Naruto burst out laughing while Mikoto looked alarmed. Sasuke's eyes widened in startlement and disbelief. Minato tried to get up, but unfortunately found his chair to be firmly glued to his ass.
"Naruto!" The Hokage yelled, but it didn't take a genius to tell that he was more embarrassed than angry.
The poor man tried to stand, but only managed to reverse crab walk into a sitting position. He knew better than to try to pull the chair off, that would only serve to tear his pants. Whatever glue Naruto used was slow drying and strong.
"Dammit Naruto, I just bought these pants! And that was after you ruined my last pair!" Minato complained loudly. Naruto heard Neko and the other ANBU snorting softly and stuck his tongue out.
"Serves you right!" Naruto laughed.
"And what exactly have I done to deserve this?" Minato asked, bemused.
"You put off my training!" Naruto pouted.
"And you think this is going to get me to change me mind?" Minato asked, amused.
"You wouldn't change your mind anyway, but at least you know how I feel at the academy!" Naruto shot back.
"I did go to the academy once too, you know." Minato pointed out before sighing in defeat and excusing himself, using Hirashin to teleport, leaving both the chair and his pants behind.
While they were waiting for Minato to get dressed, Naruto surveyed Mikoto and Sasuke. The woman looked a combination of shell-shocked and amused at the utter absurdity of the situation and Sasuke was glaring at him jealously, no doubt jealous at the attention his father was giving him. The boy's father probably ignored him. Well, everyone has got their own problems, and for him to get jealous without knowing anything was...stupid. Although he did have an awesome dad.
Smiling to himself a bit, Naruto went to get some orange juice only to be hit over the head all of a sudden. He only barely managed to not drop his glass.
"Ouch! Dad! I almost dropped my glass!" Naruto whined as he rubbed his head with his free hand.
"Serves you right." Minato replied with a smug smile, getting a new chair and putting the one with his pants stuck to it in the corner.
Naruto grumbled and pouted while he got his orange juice, watching his father move his famous Yondaime cloak from one chair to the other. That's how he knew his dad had been playing along with his prank. He would never allow damage to be done to his cloak. But it was extremely rare for him to actually catch his father by surprise. It was a game and training in one, and he liked it a lot more than meditation. He grimaced as he drank his orange juice. Dinner was pretty much over by now and he started cleaning up while his dad asked Sasuke whether he wanted to go to the academy tomorrow or not. Sasuke answered in the affirmative and after he and Mikoto offered polite thanks to Naruto for the meal, which he brushed off uncomfortably, they retired to sleep.
Naruto finished cleaning and went to his dad's study.
"Tou-chan? Are you alright?" Naruto asked worriedly.
"Minato looked even more exhausted at that before nodding, "It was a rough day, but it'll be alright, Naruto."
Naruto nodded himself before giving his father a hug goodnight and heading towards the door, "Yah. Well, I'm off to bed. Don't work too late and Tou-chan..." Naruto paused until he had his father's full attention.
"...don't beat yourself up too much, ok? I know you did your best." Naruto finished.
Minato looked stricken for a moment, but when Naruto just smiled reassuringly, he nodded and smiled back a bit as well. "...thanks, Naru-chan."
Naruto nodded and walked to his room, but stopped outside the door, tilting his head and turning his eyes towards the guest rooms. He could hear Sasuke's uneven, labored breathing coming from the room next to Mikoto's and nodded to himself after thinking for a moment.
He got something out of his room and crept quietly towards the guest quarters. His dad undoubtedly noticed, but didn't try to stop him. He silently opened Sasuke's door and crept to the side of the boy's bed. His breathing had evened out when Naruto opened the door, a sure sign he was pretending to sleep and not having a nightmare. Naruto looked at the boy for a moment before putting the object on the bed and quietly leaving.
Sasuke opened his eyes once he was sure the person had left his room. He'd been a bit scared, but figured it was probably just his mom checking up on him. As he looked to the side of his pillow where he'd heard something being set down, his eyes fell upon a stuffed toy, green with beady eyes and a long tongue sticking out. It was a frog. (Actually it's a toad.)
The boy scrunched his nose up at the toy and threw it on the floor. What was that dobe thinking? What did he think he knew? Although... at least the idiot didn't apologize. The medic had said those words like they had meant something and he had had to resist throwing up in the man's face from sheer disgust. At least Naruto didn't spend all of dinner staring at him in pity or shock like he was a circus attraction. He more or less acted like he didn't know anything had happened and Sasuke had thought he didn't...until the stuffed toy, that is.
Sasuke stayed slumped in the same position as when he threw the toy, staring at the animal's beady eyes. This wasn't his house, these weren't his clothes, this wasn't his life. His life as he knew it ended the moment Itachi killed his father in front of his eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hold back tears. He wouldn't give the bastard the satisfaction again of making him cry, even if he wasn't here.
He finally got himself under control and opened his eyes again, still looking at the stupid toy that had witnessed his momentary loss of control. He snorted and got out of bed, picking up the toy and carrying it back with him. He put it back where it'd been before and crawled back beneath the covers. He shut his eyes and thought, 'Damn dobe, I'll kick his ass for this tomorrow.' before drifting into a surprisingly dreamless sleep.