"I'm scared, Jiji."

Hiruzen looks down; to where little seven years old Naruto sits on his lap and hugs his waist tightly with his little hands. His chubby face was buried within his white robes; trembling shoulders which pressed to his diaphragm made the Sandaime frowns. What could possibly cause his boisterous, brave little sunshine trembled in fear? What could possibly cause his surrogate grandson refused to go back to his apartment? True, he was stubborn and naughty; all little boys his age are, but he normally understand his job as The Hokage and obeyed when Hiruzen told him to go back.

But tonight...

The Hokage sets a grandfather smile and pats the blond's golden locks reassuringly; blue eyes peered up from behind white robes.

"There is nothing to be scared of, Naruto." Jiji calmly says; blue orbs hesitantly peeks up and Naruto buried his face again in the Sandaime's white robes and lets Jiji's wrinkled hand ruffles his spiky blond hair, "Inu-san will accompany you back, Naruto-kun. He will protect you, like he always do."

Hiruzen looks down in time to meet Naruto's sky blue again, and hesitantly, the blonde leaned away and his hug loosened. The sandaime watches as Naruto hesitates, squirming on his Jiji's lap.

"But—"

(But the sky is so dark, Naruto wants to say, but the outside world is noisy with distant wails of those tainted with red, wails and cries which taints the sky black in agony. The black and red blood ink covered the sky; it made Naruto sick, it made him wants to cry, it made him loathe those colors, it made him wants to be always to feel the hum of his Jiji's golden robe, which could calm him and dampen the wails down. The Golden Monkey is not there, but his Jiji and the warm feeling of his office is enough to calm Naruto down.)

A frown marred the older's face. Naruto almost never squirm; except when he's found guilty of pranks and was forced to admit it. But even then, he doesn't hesitate for too long. Hiruzen's hand moved on top of Naruto's little hand which fisted his white robe. More gentle than before, he assures the younger one, again, "It would be okay, Naruto-kun."

The blond cutely scrunched up his nose, then glared at the floor, before he slowly, hesitantly, drags his feet down from his surrogate grandfather's lap. A pleased smile curved on Hiruzen's face, one hand circling Naruto's shoulder beside him. The ANBU Inu—Hatake Kakashi flickers to existence in front of him; kneels down, head bowed down, awaiting orders and perhaps, helping him assuring the young Naruto.

He opens his mouth for a little good-night for little Naruto before he left—but the blond suddenly flinched violently in his hand; alarms rang inside the Professor's mind as he observes how the little blond widens his blue bright orbs fearfully to the window outside.

Little Naruto sobbed. He closes his eyes, and quickly jumps to the Sandaime, clinging, hugging him even more tightly than before.

(They are screaming now. No longer wailing in distant but screaming in a fierce, sad sad agonizing cries. Something—many things broke that night; Naruto could hear the crack and almost able to see the red and violet splatter when he closes his eyes. So he chooses to blink. And blink. And blink. Blinking his tears down, blinking the red moon hanging on ink black sky away, blinking the images of how the fae has gone completely still; their white shadowy images perched around the buildings and trees like an eerie flickering statues. Naruto almost wished for the fae to start giggling or laugh, if only to dampen the screams and cries of help. If only to stop the red from spreading on the sky.

'—hate—right!'

'—die! Konoha—scum—'

Naruto buried his face under the golden armor, hides his ears behind Jiji's white robes but still, it's not enough to dampen their screams.

'—help—son—'

'Don't—please—!'

'—fault! War—nger!'

He sobbed harder, wishing for his own cries to dampens their cries, wishing for the screams to stop.

'Kill—'

'Warmonger!'

'It's the warmonger's doing!'

'Warmonger! Warmonger! Warmonger!')

An ANBU flickered in existence right beside the kneeling figure of Kakashi; his white porcelain mask and some of his gear covered in splatters of blood.

"Urgent message, Hokage-sama. The Uchiha Clan has been massacred." The ANBU operative with Dolphin mask said with a monotonous, neutral tone, but even then, the slight tremble in his voice betrays his firm cover. His voice is barely above whispers as his eyes flickers to the trembling, sobbing figure of little Naruto Uzumaki hugging the Sandaime's waist. "Itachi Uchiha has gone rogue and massacred everyone in Uchiha Clan but his own little brother."

Slowly, Sandaime circled his hands around the sobbing figure of his surrogate grandson and, again, he thought, he is far too old to handle all of this.

.

.

The only lesson he'll take notice to, after all this time studying in the academy, is probably ninjutsu. Throwing kunais and taijutsu too, maybe. But the fae always distracts him when he threw his kunais or shurikens; the projectile went too far and then the class laughed at him. Also he always got his ass whipped in every taijutsu spars by that smug face of duck-butt Sasuke, so they are less pleasant.

They are ten years old and it's the third year of Academy for Naruto. They began learning how to unlock his chakra the first time around. They learned on one of open field around the Academy—not the training grounds—and Iruka-sensei began explaining about chakra and how to unlock them. It's a pretty boring explanation; you can't exactly blame Naruto for staring distractedly at the grey stains on Iruka-sensei's jounin vest and the fae giggling behind his sensei, or the sleeping Shikamaru, or the Mini-giant who is too focused with his chips than with the explanation.

And then for the practice, the sensei didn't actually do anything, too! Beside than sits down cross-legged in front of them, put a green leaf on his forehead, closed his eyes, and then the leaf suddenly glued to his forehead. There are excited gasps or some even cheers as Iruka-sensei flipped and the leaf still glued to his forehead. Enough noise to make Shikamaru woke up to attention and for the Mini-giant to abandon his chips for some seconds.

Okay, Naruto thinks—as he scrunched up his nose and tried his best to ignore the wind's distant aria—okay, so Iruka-sensei said chakra is important for ninja life and it's something to do ninjutsu, one of shinobi's weapon. But what is ninjutsu again?

"What is ninjutsu, Shika?"

Shikamaru yawned, and sighed heavily because it's already the umpteenth time the blond asked that today, and slowly drawled, "it's a manipulation of elements around, or of some cases, energy around us, to create powerful attacks using chakra, Naruto."

Alright, that's the definition of ninjutsu but, that doesn't explain why they should glue leave on their forehead. Shouldn't they be, like, just try to bend the elements? Like right now? What is the correlation between stucking leaf and ninjutsu anyways? Naruto opens his mouth to hollers at his sensei; maybe even mocks that annoying fae which makes Iruka-sensei always give Naruto this disdainful stare, but stopped short when he sees Shikamaru picks a stray leave, slap it on his forehead, and it glued on his yawning face.

Naruto watched, fascinated, as blue strings circled around the leaf, locking Shikamaru's leaf tightly on his forehead. That blue strings, dozens of them; thin yet firm, covers almost all surface of the leaf, shimmers under the afternoon's sun, almost translucent, and if he is not close to Shikamaru from the beginning, he wouldn't notice it.

Shikamaru resigned to his fate as his blond oddball of a friend crawled close to him and began poking the leaf on his forehead with his face a mere inch away from his own face. Intense, curious blue eyes looking at something which Shikamaru can't see. Chouji however, almost choked by his own spit seeing Naruto closed the distance between him and Shikamaru, trapped the shadow-bender with his hands, and leaned his face on the other's face. If Shikamaru wants to care, which he obviously isn't, he might have similar reactions, but he's always the 'whatever' type so.

Then the blond leaned back a moment after, and a grin so wide broke on his face it should hurt, "So that's what Jiji means by chakra! Those blue strings! They caused the leaf to stuck!"

Shikamaru yawned again, and counts his effort to stop Naruto from hollering 'THIS EXCERCISE IS USELESS, SENSEI! I WANT REAL NINJUTSU TRAINING'TTEBAYO!' or something along those lines to their sensei is a complete success. As the pineapple-haired leaned back to a tree behind him, watched the other kids in their class struggles to keep a leaf stuck on their forehead, watched Naruto's determined eyes as he collects a mountain of leaves, he found himself becoming sleepy easily, and soon, he fell down to sleep. Again.

(He doesn't expect to see leaves monster in front of him when he wakes up though.

And turns out, this leaves monster is actually Naruto who somehow managed to covers his face, his hands, and even his neck with dozens of leaves. Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched when he hears Naruto's laugh rang through the clearing.)

.

Soon, using those blue strings which called chakra become the only thing Naruto learned from the academy. He could somehow drown all the colors around, all the giggles around him as he tried to attach the leaf to his forehead that time. Naruto almost feels... peaceful when he closed his eyes that time. He could hear and feel nothing but the steady, warm, yet distant hum of something inside him. Naruto reached to that feeling, and to his happy grin, the leaf actually stucked—before it cracked and tore down to pieces in front of his very eyes, seconds after. That was, Naruto admits, kinda his shitty first tries, and he just have to fell down on mountain of leaves first (on a fit of frustration) before he could figure out how to do it properly, but hey, it all worked in the end!

(Naruto blissfully ignores how Shikamaru said that sticking dozens of leaves on your body is very different from stucking a mere leaf on his forehead. He could rub this accomplishment on that butt face of Sasuke-teme. Seeing his glare that time was so worth it.)

So when their teacher showed how to do bunshin, too, Naruto practically whooped and bounced in joy. Because, even though he doesn't understand the explanation like at all, at least the practice is something to behold. Naruto watched, with intense eyes, as Iruka-sensei in front of their class formed a seal (is it Ram? Tiger? He have to ask Shikamaru later on that) with his hands; the blue strings of chakra, small and translucent they might be, covers the entirety of Iruka-sensei's hands in a smooth layer. Naruto realized a little too late as the colors beside Iruka-sensei's abruptly compressed and knitted; smoke covers that space, and then, another Iruka-sensei stood on that place.

Naruto gaped, along as the shocked yet awed gasps of his classmates and claps from some of them.

The Iruka-sensei No.2 looks eerily real, and Naruto might buy it if only Iruka-sensei No.2 doesn't shimmer with odd colors and blue light. His blue eyes squinted, and yes, he could see rainbows, literally, right under Iruka-sensei No.2's figure. It's like his skin, his body, his clothes, and just—his entire being was made form flickering rainbows, and when he leaned front to get a better look, those colors also accompanied by thin blue strings. But hey, that was Iruka-sensei's chakra, isn't it?

Naruto scratched the back of his head, obviously confused. And when the bunshin disappeared in a puff of smoke, Naruto could only frown more.

"Naruto,"

He looks up—to see wisps of colors around him, and the fae occasionally floats around it, and frowns more.

"Naruto,"

He always wonder what those colors actually are, but his curiosity never went far from 'what is that?' which accompanied by a 'meh,' soon after because it's not really important. Like how the fae, the white rabbit, the giggling flowers exist, the colors exist too. Just as it is. But now, how Iruka-sensei's bunshin was made of those colors which knitted by blue strings, Naruto can't just ignore it.

"Naruto!"

A blink—and Shikamaru's annoyed frown appeared in front of him. Another blink, with Naruto looks around the class and gaped again.

"Hey! Where'd everyone go?!"

Shikamaru sighs heavily (he does that often these days) and Naruto can't help but to compare him with Miss Yashiro's heavy sighs when she has to deal with those naughty children back in orphanage.

"They're already out, Naruto. We have to go home too."

"Oh, hehehe," he said, and a sheepish smile was given to Shikamaru who trotted down from his desk and walked out of the class. Naruto followed, easily trotted beside the shadow-bender.

Maybe, if he looked at the bunshin more closely, he could find a clue. Maybe if Shikamaru could do the bunshin like that time with the leaf, Naruto would understand more of it.

.

Turns out he understand a bit of it, thanks to Shikamaru's demonstration.

So the hand seals, it helped him and basically everyone to bring out the chakra strings, see, and it's easier to make those chakra strings knits the colors and wove them to form a clone. Naruto can't see it at first, but slowly he could see those chakra strings literally flew from his hand seal to the air and pulls the colors together. Okay, but that still doesn't explain the smoke very well—yet Naruto is not about to complain, not when the smoke adds some nice dramatics effects.

Naruto tried, too, but to his utter disappointment, his bunshin turned to an ugly, white alien thing. Sure, his chakra strings (so many of them, why are there more of them than in Shikamaru's or Iruka-sensei's bunshin?) formed a humanoid, but then it has no features other than his spiky hair. It's so limpy, white, and ugly, Naruto was horrified. The colors underneath the white limp thing is even more ugly; they mismatched and they don't form rainbows or aurora like Shikamaru's or Iruka-sensei's bunshin. His chakra strings, Naruto decided, is very very suck on picking the right colors to knit. That must be what caused his bunshin to be so ugly.

(In another way, he is the one who sucks, but Naruto is not going to admit that out loud. As always, he remains oblivious to Shikamaru's blank stare when he began groaning and complaining for his 'ugly blue stings')

But he is Naruto Uzumaki, and he is not going to give up that easily. Maybe if he practices more, his chakra string would eventually get used to the surrounding and they will be able to pick the right colors. Maybe if he does it again and again his chakra would become smart!

And yet, he already practiced for—well, he didn't count how many times, but he isn't tired yet even though the sun's already going to set again, so it must be a lot. But still, all of his bunshins today are ugly, white, limpy, and looks like alien, and the colors makes him sick, and ugly and limpy, and it's just. So. Frustrating!

"I don't understand!" He yelled, frustrated, throwing his hands up as Shikamaru yawned. Naruto's ugly white bunshin disappeared in a puff of smoke. His fingers ruffled his blond locks messy and he pounced on the dirt, groaning. "Why can't they pick the right colors?! What is wrong with them?!"

Naruto hears a small 'troublesome,' before Shikamaru speaks up, "you put too much chakra on your bunshin, Naruto."

The blond sets a blank look on his pineapple-hair friend. He doesn't remember when did Shikamaru came to the clearing, watched the sky, and then watch him train. And he doesn't understand what Shikamaru just said, either.

"Try making more than just one bunshin."

He doesn't understand why he should do that, but the stars in Shikamaru's eyes are gleaming confidently and Naruto nods anyway, forming the seal and concentrates on making ten bunshins. To his amazement, half of his bunshin actually began to have colors; like his orange jacket shows, and his blond hair shows too. The tenth bunshin even have some features on his face! Like the curve for his eyes! Naruto ignored the other half of his bunshins, which looks very much like alien he have been making today.

Soon, the bunshins disappeared in a puff of smoke and Naruto tries again, he formed the seal and concentrates to make twenty bunshins. A grin so wide formed on his face because for once, all his bunsins has pretty colors inside them; kitted by blue and violet strings which he failed to notice before. Curiosity of what those violet strings mean forgotten as he whooped in joy and jumped to Shikamaru who, seems as lazy as always and sways when the blond hugs him. But his sigh is all Naruto needs to know that Shikamaru is relieved too to see his achievement.

(Again, Naruto blissfully, with a stupid, side grin on his face, ignored Shikamaru's remarks of how forming one bunshin and twenty bunshins at the same time is different. How is it different? They are all successful in the end, anyways.)

.

.

"Can i hug you?"

One Shisui Uchiha startled by the statement from one young blond kid beside him. Even more so when Shisui hasn't realized when did the kid appear and sits beside him, on this silent park, alone. A strained smile curved on his mien as Shisui chuckled softly, ignoring the kid's intent blue eyes (as if he's looking to something more, as if he's tearing Shisui's very soul down with his gaze—ah, he must be too exhausted to think that) and ruffles his spiky blond hair.

"Why?" Shisusi playfully chided, "doesn't your parents told you not to talk or even hug a stranger?"

The blond kid frowned, and tilt his head in confusion. Again, those sapphire eyes trailed around for a moment—Shisui observes this with a raised eyebrow—before the blond kid nodded, as if convinced of something.

"Jiji says that about bad strangers. You are not a bad stranger,'ttebayo!"

Now, Shisui is amused. "How so?"

The kid shrugged, and nodded confidently again, now accompanied by a wide grin. "I just know'ttebayo! Believe it!" A pause before, "so can i?"

Obsidian eyes blinked, before Shisui shrugged, "sure, kid. Come here."

His grin widened—Shisui just noticed the whisker-marks on the blond kid's face moved as his grin widens—and before he knows it, the little blond Jinchuuriki already circled his hands on Shisui's waist, hugging him tightly. Uzumaki Naruto, Shisui remembers, as he part the blond, spiky locks, and rest his head on the kid's head.

"Don't be sad," The Uchiha hears the kid murmurs, and feels more than see Naruto's little hands pats his back, "i think you have battled enough, with that scars and ruined armor. Poor lone warrior."

The last part was said with barely a whisper, but it's enough to make Shisui frown, confused. Naruto the Jinchuuriki kid pulled away, and he looks up; sky meets black gleaming granite and Shisui suppressed a shudder. Those eerie, intent blue eyes...

"Where are you going, Warrior-san?"

Shisui blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Where will you go'ttebayo?" Naruto asked again, "the wind said it's not wise to face the Warmonger alone, Warrior-san."

Obsidian orbs widened on pale eyes.

"It's more dangerous so with those wounds and sloppy knits, you know. You are going to fall."

(The violet warrior with blue flames which hovers behind Warrior-san looks down, and somehow Naruto knows, that even the violet warrior is sad. His blue flames dimmed and his gleaming violet armor tattered and almost broken; white sword covered with red and brown and cracked with wounds. Naruto thinks the black chains around his armor is to keep the broken armor in place, but no, from this close, Naruto knows that the chains are what dragging the violet warrior down. The armor screeched painfully under the weight of sadness and... (Naruto swallowed) and death.

Warrior-san is no better, too. Black stains and chains covered his body and tangled his skin; his flickering black-and-red eyes widens in surprise. Naruto ignored that, as a melancholy song and ringing pieces echoes and drown any other sounds away.

The Violet Warrior and Warrior-san is going to die, and Naruto probably shouldn't warn him, as every attempt leads to the fae's giddiness but... but the fae is quiet around Warrior-san. Warrior-san, who is pale, and tired, and hurting, and just... sad. And that is worrying, even though Naruto can't tell exactly why.

Did his hug able to comfort his silent cry?
Did his hug able to at least return a little of beautiful and cheerful pieces, from the charred remains behind those black chains?)

"Thank you, Warrior-san!" Naruto grinned and beamed, because that's what he does best; and Jiji said that his grin always makes him smile, his hands pats Warrior-san's hand, which somehow has become very quiet and stiff, but Naruto continues, "you've done many great battles, right? And that's great, you know!"

"Yeah," Shisui's shoulder sags, and he trembled as he tried to hold back his cry (this kid, how did he understand? How did he able to see? His thanks is sincere and his concern behind his warning earlier is more so) and pulled a grin on his face. "Yeah," Shisui repeats, more lighter as if something heavy has been lifted from his chest and it's easier to breath.

His beady black eyes looks at the kid's innocent grin, and Shisui chuckled.

Shisui Uchiha is a loyal shinobi of Konoha and he, by no means, is a selfish person. But even then, he wants to be selfish, he wants the whole village or the world to know how hard he tries to protect this village. He wants praises. Was it so hard for people to simply thank him for what he sacrifices for the village?

Shisui imagined every kid in the village smiled as bright as this blond kid, and suddenly, he doesn't feel that heavy anymore. He doesn't feel as burdened anymore on putting a Kotoamatsukami on Danzo, or thinking that he will probably die in the process. He will do everything to curve that bright smile on everyone in the village. Even if he have to sacrifices himself.

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A/N IT TAKES SO LONG FOR ME TO UPDATE IM SO SORRY

Anyways, it's already holiday here, so maybe i can update more faster. I don't know, maybe. And thanks for you guys's excitement! It gave me life to continue this piece! 90+ favs, 100+ follows (CHEERS!), and 30 reviews! I can't thank you guys enough!

I was going to conclude childhood arc on this chapter; my target is this chapter is done until graduation but then i got distracted and swept away by Uchiha massacre. Weeps. And i love Uchiha Shisui i can not resis writing about him.

Omniscient can also be translated as infinite understanding, so yeah, like smarter but actually not smarter Naruto? Idk, he's just an oddball here. See you guys on next chapter!