[AOKI POV:]

'Pretty...'

I stood in front of a large home, it was bigger than the others on the street by almost two times and was surrounded by a garden plentiful in flora.

I had done my best to not be surprised when the clone told me he was taking me to his home, but as a guest who accompanied the Hokage, being stationed at the clan leader's home was to be expected.

The clone beckoned me inside, sliding the doors open and revealing the inside of the home.

The Uchiha were a clan with a deep and rich history, their culture had been developed through many years of warfare and growth; the contents of the house did justice to its past.

'I feel like I'm too poor to be here...' I thought, removing my slippers and walking in. I didn't know the words to describe it well enough, but the house was made in a Japanese-Tatami style; the minimal, almost spartan decorations on the walls served to accentuate its charm. The best way to describe it would be "measured opulence".

Itachi's clone led me through the house's winding hallways and led me to a wall.

Which he promptly slid open.

'The house's so fancy they don't even have doors!'

While I was fascinated by the strange architecture of the building, a small disturbance came from within the room.

"Big brother! You're ba- oh."

Sasuke's bright smile stopped halfway as he noticed my presence. The boy's face took a beat before transforming into a polite smile, bowing a little to greet me.

We had entered a room with a small table at the centre, there were no chairs to speak of but Sasuke was kneeling on the ground, drinking some water when we interrupted him.

"This is a guest who's accompanied Lord Hokage, he's visiting his friends and will be staying here for a while," Itachi explained to the little boy, who stood up from his bow.

The ninja turned to me, "This is my little brother Sasuke, he and my mother will accompany you. Once the meeting is finished, I'll pick you up." Explained the clone, dispelling himself after taking a second to smile at Sasuke.

Since Itachi answered my question about where he was taking me some time ago, I had prepared myself for the inevitable meeting with the show's second most important character. I met Naruto through pure luck, but getting to Sasuke had been quite a bit harder.

"Nice to meet you Sasuke, my name is Aoki." I introduced myself with a light bow, I wasn't sure about the bowing etiquette, so I just copied Sasuke's earlier motion.

The boy nodded, not saying much and just looking at me. I could hear someone else cluttering away somewhere else in the house, but it seemed that Sasuke's mother was too busy to visit for now.

Left alone with the child, I couldn't help but compare him to the animated version in my mind.

I disliked canon Sasuke quite a bit. Was his character complex? Yes. Was the pain he went through immense? Also yes. However, even if his actions were understandable given what he went through, by no means were they justifiable. And even if they somehow were justified, my dislike didn't come about from logic or by weighing his morality, rather, it came about simply by being annoyed by him.

Whenever Sasuke popped up on screen, I was half tempted to groan and skip through the scenes. That's how much I was put off by his character.

"Um... do you want some water?" Asked Sasuke, grabbing a pitcher of water and pouring it into a glass.

The child awkwardly standing in front of me shows none of the characteristics that I came to dislike in the show, a stark contrast to the damaged man he becomes in the future.

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I took the water and thanked him, glad that Sasuke had taken the initiative to talk first.

"So Sasuke, your brother's pretty strong huh?" I said, taking a sip.

I decided to start the conversation with something sure to boost Sasuke's mood, at this age, his world almost fully revolved around his older brother; my complimenting him would do wonders for our first impression.

Sasuke's eyes seemed to gain a little twinkle as his smile grew genuine, "Yeah! Itachi's super strong!" He almost shouted. After his small outburst, Sasuke seemed embarrassed and sunk back to the floor, grabbing the cup with both hands.

It was difficult to believe that this small thing would cause so much havoc in the future.

"Haha, I only ask because I just became a ninja! I'm always looking for ways to get stronger!" I said, trying to endear myself to the boy a little more. My proclamation seemed to gain Sasuke's attention properly, he shrugged off his embarrassment and asked me about when I graduated.

He too, like Itachi, was surprised to hear of my age. I was around the same height as Ichiban and Kuroda so I hadn't noticed how different I looked from most children, considering that my teammates were 3 years older than me, my stature was nothing to scoff at. I secretly hoped to reach at least 6'4 in this body.

Afterwards, Sasuke asked me a few questions about the Academy, he'd be joining in a few weeks and was obviously excited to start.

'Kuma and Numa also start then too, would they be in the same class?' I wondered, answering Sasuke's questions to the best of my ability.

Eventually, we breached the topic of early graduation. I felt as if Sasuke were building up to ask me something, but the door behind me slid open as our talk was interrupted.

"Hope I'm not interrupting you boys!" A voice said from behind me.

A middle-aged woman holding a plate of snacks walked in, she gave us both a kind smile as she reached down and placed the plate between us. There were some biscuits, as well as a pot of what looked like tea, alongside two small cups.

"Thank you," I said, looking at the woman from the floor.

'Should I stand up and bow? That's a sign of respect, right, for the people older than you? Or do I sit... uh... maybe I sit down and bow? Crap... '

I knew the woman who walked in was Sasuke's mother, but for the life of me I had no idea what her name was. She was a character who appeared in the show a few times, but she got murked by her son almost a minute later.

Before I could think of standing up and greeting her, the woman plopped down beside Sasuke and smiled at the two of us.

"I'm Sasuke and Itachi's mother, it's a pleasure to meet you. " She said, grabbing the pot and pouring it into the cups. Without the need to stand up or bow, I greeted her back and introduced myself.

"I overheard that you graduated recently, have you been on any missions yet?" She asked, I noticed that her tone was very pleasant to the ears, she had a practised elegance expected of the clan patriarch's spouse.

Once I informed her that we've had no time to go on any missions yet, she nodded understandingly, putting two and two together that the Shisui debacle had put a wrench in the works of the village.

We shared some pleasantries while sipping the tea, Sasuke abstained from his cup and gave it to his mom, focusing on the cup of water while watching the two of us talk.

"How long will the meeting run for?" I asked the woman, whose name I learned was Mikoto Uchiha. She answered that it could range from anywhere between an hour, to half a day.

'Half a day?!'

"Sasuke, how about you show Aoki around the house?" Mikoto said, noticing my visible surprise. I had guessed it might go on for a while, but half a day felt like too much. Shisui must have even more importance than I imagined, the clan members must be scrambling to figure out the truth behind his murder.

Sasuke nodded at his mother's recommendation and stood up, I followed him outside with a smile to Mikoto who stayed sitting, taking a sip from Sasuke's cup with a gentle smile.

'She's a good woman...'

Talking with Yakumi and Byakko had desensitised me to talking with people who may soon be corpses, but it was always an uncomfortable realisation to come to.

Sasuke led me through the house, although it was interesting to explore, Sasuke's questions were all that I focused on. When we left the earshot of his mother, he gathered some courage and asked a question.

"How did you graduate early? My big brother won't tell me his tricks..." Sasuke said, looking up at me expectantly.

'Ah, I see.'

Sasuke wants to follow in his brother's footsteps, both in part due to his admiration of him, and also the pressure by his clan and family to live up to such a legend.

"There are no tricks Sasuke, as long as you give it your all, you'll achieve whatever it is you set your mind to! If you want to get a head start, start practising before the Academy begins to get a leg up on your peers," I explained to the boy, doing my best to be a helpful and guiding voice. Sasuke would be very important to my plans. I alone couldn't sway anything related to the Uchiha currently, this child could be an asset to further some plans.

Over the span of our conversation, we had arrived near the backyard of the house, walking on a long wooden porch with a gorgeous lawn and flowers beside it.

Sasuke nodded, looking unsatisfied with my answer.

'The kid doesn't want to push me for questions but also doesn't want to give up. His greed for power began at an early age huh?'

To some, it might seem like a child's competitiveness, but anyone who'd seen where Sasuke ends up will know that this desire for strength will soon unravel out of control.

This time around, I cannot let that happen. Sasuke is way too important to suffer the same fate as he did in the anime. With that in mind, I gave him an offer he couldn't refuse.

"Well, I do have half a day to burn, what do you say I help you train?"