➤ Sasuke Week; Day One: A Hawk but No Longer A Hatchling
A snake that crawled on the Earth dreamt of soaring through the sky... knowing full well it was impossible. Still, hoping beyond hope, it kept it’s eyes on a baby bird that it nurtured in it’s own nest.. little realizing that actually... the snake is prey because that bird is a Hawk. Ready to take to the sky!
Itachi had been one. He had grown up in his shadow, longing to compete with him and forever unable to catch up. Even when Sasuke had thought that he had bested him, killed him, he was still nowhere close to his brothers natural power.
Even Sasuke himself was called a prodigy. Though to have his talents dismissed on the notion that he was just somehow born with talent and didn’t train until literal exhaustion every night of his life was off-putting.
Now, his son, wielder of not one, but two dojutsus, whose power was reminiscent of a deity, the same word rang again by onlookers.
Prodigy.
“I don’t think I want to be a ninja.”
The Uchiha household was fairly modest compared to what most people thought of when thinking of great clans. The home that held the infamous Sasuke Uchiha, and his Byakugan Princess, was an average sized house for their neighborhood. With a slightly larger than average sized family. It was full of laughter and warm home cooked meals.
But now, deathly still silence.
Sasuke appraised his oldest son with a passive, blank face. Sanada, a twelve year old boy who held his resemblance, but lacked his mannerisms. Sanada was quite, kind to almost everyone and a little on the shy side. He was incredibly intelligent, and hardworking.
He had learned Gentle Fist from his mother and had adapted it to suit 180° vision. He also had a fairly good grasp on his Sharingan and had been mastering long range attacks to compliment his taijutsu based fighting. He had a very strategic mind and used all his immense genetic superiority to feats beyond what they had thought a Genin could accomplish.
Hinata had been staring at Sasuke since Sanada had announced it. Waiting to see how her husband would react. But Sasuke kept his silence.
As did his daughter, Minato, which was the most surprising. Minato looked similar to Sasuke as well, but feminine, pretty and her black hair curled wildly. Sasuke has vague memories of Shisui’s hair and only a mediocre knowledge of genetics but yet their his daughter sat, long black curly hair and all. Silently. Which was new ever since she could learn how to talk. Minato, apart from entering the Academy that year, had spent a lot of time with her aunt and had picked up on her much more chatty disposition. Even she could see that this was a serious conversation.
Sasuke’s youngest child on the other hand, barley over one years old and silent as the grave. As long as Hinata was holding him. Fukuryu loved Hinata, and only Hinata, and if he didn’t have his mother, he let his displeasure be known for the world to hear. He was Sasuke only child that looked nothing like him, but with his perpetual pout, he had a sneaky suspicion that the little brat held his disposition.
“Do you have anything else in mind? Some interests? Or hobbies?” Hinata asked.
She had clearly decided to move on in the conversation without Sasuke.
Sanada still hadn’t looked up. His voice quiet and muffled and Sasuke didn’t need Byakugan to see through the table to know that his son would be pressing his fingers together, restlessly. A nervous tick.
“I’d still like to help people, and, and I know, I know I have a lot of talent. I think I’d like to be something a little different. Something like a P-p-police Officer.”
As Sanada struggled through the sentence, his blush only worsened. His son only stuttered under great stress, and Sasuke’s heart clenched.
Why did his son feel so embarrassed or ashamed to share with them? Sasuke could remember his father, and the cold indifference, the disapproval, the attention he gained only after he could somehow prove himself.
Sasuke never wanted it to be like that with his children.
Yet, there Sanada was, unable to meet either of his parents eyes, blushing, stuttering, fidgeting. He had probably been keeping those feelings in for weeks, months, afraid of their reactions to his thoughts.
Another part of Sasuke’s clenched painfully, imagining his son as a Police Officer. Too see Sanada in that uniform, to see that crest with the Uchiha again. It filled Sasuke’s chest with sadness and pride.
“It sounds like you’ve put a lot of thought into this.” Hinata spoke softly and sweetly.
Sanada nodded.
“Have you felt this way for awhile?”
He nodded again.
Failure. Sasuke felt like a failure as a father. His son’s discomfort was a direct reflection of how he had parented Sanada thus far. All he could feel was shame. With himself.
“I didn’t want to disappoint you.” Sanada whispered, so quiet Sasuke almost didn’t catch it.
Hinata’s eyes grew big as they met with Sasuke’s again.
“That would never disappoint me. Everyone grows up and chooses their own paths.” Hinata smiled comfortingly. “Whatever path you choose is the one meant for you. If you want to become a Police Officer, than I think that’s amazing Sanada.”
Sasuke watched his son finally look up from his hiding spot under his shaggy black hair. His black eyes looked up to his mother with hopefulness. His cheeks and ears still dusted pink with shame and uncertainty.
“Yeah, and I’m gonna be the Hokage!” Minato shrieked. “Uncle Naruto said that I was named after his dad, who was the fourth Hokage, and he’s the seventh Hokage, and Papa Kakashi was the sixth and that I’ll be one for sure!”
Hinata blanched.
“We did not name you after that usuratonkachi’s dad.” Sasuke huffed.
Hinata frowned at Sasuke’s nickname.
“And someday, Ryu will let go of mom!” Minato joked.
Sasuke huffed. It wasn’t likely
His small son’s fist tightened in Hinata’s shirt, white eyes narrowed into slits as he lay his head in the the crook of his mother neck. The only person in the world with the audacity to glare at Sasuke Uchiha. His infant son.
“I told my Sensei, and he got upset. He said my team wouldn’t be able to take the Chunin exams without me, so I promised to stay until then. He said I was wasting my talent.” Sanada admitted.
Getting such a negative reaction from his teacher is what had probably kept Sanada from confiding in his family for so long. Which Sasuke considered worth giving his sensei a visit. He had a glare that could rival Ryu’s and some choice words to go along with it.
Wasting his talents?
Itachi had talent. He was a genius. A prodigy. Yet his mind had been distorted and manipulated and spent the rest of his life exiled and shamed until he died.
Sasuke himself was described as all those things, and yet he had similarly been taken advantage of, only saved by the love of his friends.
Even his wife’s cousin, whom she loved dearly, who had been showed with the praise of “prodigy” died from just protecting her.
Was it really the worst thing in the world for his son to not want to be a ninja?
“I think, that becoming a Police Officer, is a… fine plan.” Sasuke finally muttered.
Sanada turned to Sasuke, looking up at him with the same hopeful glimmer in his eyes. “Thank you, father.”
“Yeah big brother! You can protect the people inside Konoha while I lead the ninja and protect everyone from outside Konoha!” Minato yelled again, almost knocking over her soup to give her older brother a high five. “Because I’m definitely going to become Hokage! Datte-”
“If you finish that sentence, no dessert.”
Minato looked over at her father, aghast. Slowly she lowered herself back down in her chair, pouting. “I hope when big brother becomes a Police Officer that he works hard to end these injustices.
Sasuke rolled his eyes and focused back on his dinner.
