A/N: See the end of chapter for notes
================================
MITSUKI'S P.O.V.
I woke up, drenched in sweat and tears, with the damn sun shining on my face. Why can't it freaking turn off, dammit! Anyway, I just had a nightmare that Onii-san had left me. It's just a nightmare.
But when I looked around the room, I couldn't find him. 'Maybe he's in the living room.' I thought as I got out of bed. I opened the door and readied myself to go and hug my brother. But he wasn't there. Dread crept up to me as I searched for nii-san, even going outside to see if he'd started training or was doing a ritual. He wasn't there. I couldn't find him. I felt tears pricking up from my eyes as I went back to the bedroom. He was gone. Onii-san really did leave. As I sat down on the bed, I noticed two packages and an envelope lying on the desk beside me. I can't believe I missed that. Blinking back my tears, I opened the envelope first to see my brother's writing on it. Slowly, I began reading the letter.
Dear Mitsuki,
If you're reading this, know that I'm already gone. Please don't cry. It hurts me if you do.
Anyway, if you're wondering where I went, I'm with an S-ranked criminal organisation called the Akatsuki. Don't come looking for me. If you do, you might as well turn yourself into a criminal. Don't. I don't want you being a criminal. It pains me to think if you did.
Mitsuki, know that I want you to go out there and live your life to the fullest. Also know that I will always be with you, every step of the way, no matter what you choose to do.
Make new friends and spend time with them, instead of looking for me. Cherish them, for they may very well be your family.
I love you otouto. Even if you decide to hate me, curse me, I wouldn't care. I'd still love you. And I won't stop thinking how much more you will grow.
Your Brother,
Hidan
I was crying my heart out after reading it. Especially when nii-san wrote about how he thinks I'll hate him. I never will. Wiping my nose, I then turned to the packages my brother left.
I opened the smaller one. Looking at the contents, I began sobbing again. There, carefully placed, were photos of me and my brother. Most of them were during my birthdays. There was one photo I took of nii-san when he was sleeping. I gave a broken laugh when I saw that. I could still remember how he chased me around the house when I showed him that. A smile made its way on my face. I miss Onii-san. Even if it had only been a day since I last saw him.
The second package was larger. I tore it open, revealing a pair of sai, the points unusually sharpened and a scroll. Attached to the scroll was a note saying:
' Open on your twelfth birthday.'
I just gave a tiny smile. He still has a birthday present for me.
I quickly put my presents inside a storage scroll nii-san had given me on my fifth birthday. Wiping my tears, I quickly wore my cloak and sandals before going outside. The whistling wind rustled my hair as I looked on at the sight in front of me. I could see faint footprints on the ground before the door, a clear indication that some people had stood there. I suddenly remembered the tall man who disrespected Jashin-sama. That thought brought a frown on my face. It was soon turned into a mischievous smirk, however, when I remembered the punishment I gave him. Serves him right.
After a few minutes of just standing there, recounting what happened recently, I finally gave a lengthy sigh. As I looked on at the forest in front of me, I couldn't help but think of nii-san and what he might be doing right now. With a shrug, I reluctantly stepped foot inside the woods surrounding the cottage without a set-destination in mind.
================================
My stomach grumbled as I trudged on in the unfamiliar forest. I don't even know how long I've been traveling. Hell, I don't even know where I'm going. All I know is that I'm hungry and I might be walking towards a group of rouge-nin. Just great. I should have asked that woman I met a while back where in the world I am before sacrificing her to Jashin-sama.
After minutes of walking, I ended up in a small clearing. Deciding to rest for a while, I sat down beside a large tree before bringing out the letter nii-san had written for me. I kinda read it,like, 10 times ever since I started walking. Don't know why, but seeing my brother's writing always brings a smile on my face.
Suddenly, I looked up and scanned the trees surrounding the clearing. I thought I heard a branch snapping. I strained my ears to hear that sound again. I was ready to give up and believe it as a figment of my imagination when I heard again, but this time louder. It was through the trees southeast from here.
I stood up, my hand instantly taking out a kunai from my kunai pouch. I then activated my unknown (to others) dōjutsu, my eyes shining golden with red irises.
Onii-san and I didn't know what kind of dōjutsu I have nor where I got it from. Nii-san said this might be the first time it appeared in the Shinobi World. We just call it 'Shinegan' or 'Death Eye'. It's pretty cool, actually. I first activated it when a hunter-nin who was after nii-san was able to nick me with a kunai on the shoulder. He died right after, although not really due to my dojutsu. More like, due to nii-san stabbing him repeatedly through his curse jutsu with a lot more ferocity than he would usually use.
Anyway, back to reality. Another snap of a branch. I rolled my eyes. What kind of shinobi travels so noisily? Are they idiots? Anyone could hear them. Maybe it's a trap. Or maybe they're at their village's territory and are confident nobody's gonna ambush them. I'm betting on the latter. It was only moments later that I remembered I have a bit of an enhanced hearing, courtesy of my dōjutsu. So basically, a normal person wouldn't have heard it.
My stomach suddenly growled louder, reminding me that I was still hungry. I cursed my freaking damned luck. How can a hungry person fight? He won't be able to. Just then, a barrage of kunai came shooting from the trees above me. Luckily, I was able to dodge them, save for one that imbedded itself on my right shoulder. Damn, that hurts, but at the same time feels so good. What the hell is wrong with people always targeting me on the shoulder?! Do they have a goddamn problem with my damn shoulder? As I went to a defensive stance, relishing the pain on my shoulder, four shinobi with animal masks came down in the clearings that I was in. They were wearing black sleeveless shirts with a grey flask jacket over it. I remember nii-san talking about Anbu and how they dress differently per village. The ones I'm dealing right now are from Konoha. That means I'm in Fire Country. Silently, I congratulated myself for having travelled that far. I secretly even thanked my once-cursed luck. It's well-known that, while Konoha is the strongest village in all, it is also the softest. Even their Anbu are more soft-hearted than others of equal standing. Perhaps things are looking good for me after all. Nevertheless, I narrowed my eyes before holding out my kunai in front of me. Better safe than sorry.
The one wearing a dog mask stood up from his crouched position and came forward. He must be their captain. He loomed over me and looked me in the eye..........................I think. I can't see his eyes because of that damn dog mask. Although, there was no mistaking the concern I was feeling coming from him. Probably because of my injured shoulder. Not that he should be that much concerned. After all, I heal a lot faster than the average person does. His voice broke me out of my musings.
"Who are you and what are you doing in Leaf Territory?" He asked with a hint of authority in his tone, his right hand on the hilt of the sword on his back. I nearly rolled my eyes. I mean, come on! Did he really think that I, a hungry, defenseless, injured seven-year-old boy, can hurt, much less kill him? Okay, maybe not that defenseless, but you get the point. But I'm thinking it has something to do with the blood on my cloak. The woman's blood that I sacrificed about 2 hours ago that I forgot to clean up. Damn my forgetfulness.
I sighed. Oh well. Might as well answer his question honestly and be done with it. Wait a second. I could very well get food from them. Though, that's quite a stretch, now that I think about it. Konoha or not, they were still Anbu, thought to kill without remorse. Besides, I think I'm about to pass out from hunger. I'm desperate for food. Nevertheless, I smirked. My change of personality may have freaked the Anbu since he took a step back, his hand tightly gripping his sword's hilt.
"I don't feel like telling you anything about me until you feed me. Pushing that aside, I think I'm about to pass out from hunger." The last thing I saw was the Anbu taking his hand away from his sword before I was consumed by darkness.
KAKASHI'S P.O.V.
O-kay. The boy practically just fainted at my feet. As I carried him, I couldn't help but be impressed. He has guts to say something like that to an Anbu. He also has cool hair, not that I'll ever admit that. But, what really is bugging me is the fact that his cloak has blood on it. I double-checked it and determined that it's not his due to the fact that he doesn't have any injuries save for the one on his shoulder. I could feel a pang of guilt forming inside me as I realized it was caused by me and my squad's attacks. Although, on further inspection, I realised with a start that his shoulder was as good as new, the only indication a kunai had stabbed him there was the slight rip on his shirt. But anyway, the blood could either be from a past injury or it could be from someone. The former doesn't seem that likely since the blood isn't that dried up. So it could only mean one thing: it is someone else's. That thought alone broke me. The boy doesn't look much older than seven yet has already seen and experienced death up close.
"Sir, what are we supposed to do with him?" Hare asked, bringing me out of my musings, pointing to the unconscious boy at my arms. Ignoring the blood stains on him, I studied his overall appearance. Under the bloodied green cloak, the boy was wearing a darker shade of green long sleeved shirt with black cuffs and collar (with a new addition of a rip on the right shoulder) under a brown vest. His dark purple pants seem to have blood stains on it as well. His blue shinobi shoes and kunai and scroll pouches completed his look. The ruffled state of his clothes may signal that he'd been wandering for a while. How he managed to survive, I don't know the answer to nor do I want to know why he was alone in the first place.
"We'll take him with us back to the village to see the Hokage. But before that, we'll need to find something for him to eat. I feel that he won't talk until we give him food." I replied with a sigh. Hare nodded.
"Understood, Sir." The other members of my squad copied his salute. We then shunshined back to the village, which, mind you, wasn't that far away.
We arrived in the Hokage's office, where Lord Third was battling the Kage's worst enemy: paperwork. He raised his head in a somewhat relieved manner. His relief turned to confusion when he registered the boy knocked out in my arms. He turned to me, his eyes signalling for me to explain. I bowed respectfully before looking him in the eye.
"Hokage-sama. We found this boy wandering in the forest near the southern gates just as we were coming back after finishing our mission. I think he wouldn't speak until we feed him. He stated that himself before fainting." I reported, fighting the urge to sweatdrop. The Hokage just puffed at his pipe.
"I see. All of you dismissed except for Inu." He ordered. A chorus of "Hai's" followed before my team left. He then ordered another Anbu with a cat mask to call for Ibiki Morino, Torture and Interrogation Head and Inoichi Yamanaka, Master Interrogator, and to bring food for the boy. A sweatdrop formed on my head. He's really gonna take it seriously, isn't he?
================================
It took a while, but finally, the boy on my arms stirred. Ibiki had arrived minutes ago, and so had Inoichi, who were looking at the boy intently, Inoichi with a fatherly gaze. Who could blame him? He's an overprotective father with a seven-year-old daughter.
The boy yawned, opened his eyes, then stretched. He then looked at everyone in the office, then at me.
MITSUKI'S P.O.V
"I'm still hungry, you know." I deadpanned as I stood up from the Anbu's grasp. Everyone in the room sweatdropped. Where on earth am I, anyway? The old man with a Kage hat smoking a pipe cleared his throat to gain our attention. It seemed to have the desired effect. I turned my attention to him and so did everybody else.
"Bring him some food." He ordered to noone (I think?). Immediately, an Anbu wearing a cat mask appeared in front of me, carrying a plate of dango. My eyes glinted as I hungrily took the plate and proceeded to eat the sweets. I've got a major sweet tooth not even nii-san can't handle. Ha, the good old days.
As I munched on the goodies, I carefully and discreetly studied the occupants. There's the old man whom I think is the Hokage, the Anbu I met in the forest, a blonde dude wearing purple and a guy wearing a bandana with the leaf symbol on the top of his head. Not to mention the hidden Anbu I sensed in the room. Aren't they elite shinobi? Can't they mask their chakra properly? Ninjas these days. After my silent but thorough study, I came to the conclusion that I'm in Konoha in the Hokage's office about to be interrogated. Not that I mind that as long as I have dango.
After taking the last bite of dango, the Hokage cleared his throat yet again. I focused my attention on him, still munching on the dango.
"Now that you're well fed, why don't you tell us more about yourself? Starting with your name." He asked kindly. Man, you've got a soft spot for kids. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. I finally swallowed the tasty sweet.
"Well, the name's Mitsuki, old man. And before you ask about my last name, I don't have one." I answered while twirling the dango stick. I swear, the blonde's looking like he wants to hug me. I backed away from him a bit. The Hokage smoked his pipe while sadly looking at me. Something really is wrong with Konoha. I can't believe they're very much feared.
THIRD PERSON P.O.V.
'So he's an orphan.' Hiruzen thought as he watched the boy.
"Do you have anyone you consider family?" He asked the boy identified as Mitsuki. Mitsuki blinked.
"I don't consider him family since he is my family. It's my older brother." Mitsuki answered sadly, a tinge of pain at the end. Everyone took note of that.
"Where is he, then?" This time, it was Inoichi who asked, rather protectively. He was thinking of torturing killing this older brother for leaving his family behind. Mitsuki looked at him, holding in his anger at the tone he used. No one would ever hurt his nii-san, much less threaten to. No one.
"I don't know. He left when I was sleeping." He said, biting his lower lip after. Inoichi hummed softly.
"I see. Then I want you to answer this, truthfully might I add. Which village are you from?" Hiruzen questioned, staring directly at Mitsuki.
"Yugakure. But my brother defected after the village council turned it into a tourist village, taking me with him." He replied coolly, favoring their reactions. Almost everyone's eyes widened. Ibiki grunted. Inoichi let out a muffled gasp. Kakashi coughed. The Hokage choked on his pipe. This boy is a missing-nin's brother! After everyone had calmed down a bit, the Third Hokage asked the dreaded question.
"Okay. Now tell me, Mitsuki, who is your older brother?"
================================
A/N From Google, sai is a traditional melee weapon used in Okinawa. The basic form of the weapon is that of a sharp metal prong with two curved sideprongs projecting from the handle.