Because, I Love You All

1. Uzumaki Sei, The Unknown Uzumaki [Revised]

Year 51, Uzumaki Sei Age 13.

The red-haired boy appeared out of nowhere on a very sunny day. He walked up to the gates with too much grace, Akimichi Maruta thought he was one of Konoha's genin until he had a clearer picture of the very bright red hair. He only launched from his seat when he saw the red eyes, his partner sending a suspicious glance up at him, then the young boy, until he similarly got to his feet with a gape.

He jumped out and blocked the boy's path.

"Who are you?" he said with a little more vitriol than he imagined.

The red-haired boy seemed to swear. The Uzumaki headband on his forehead glinted under the sun, and his black outfit was torn. The shade of dark red haori tied around his waist didn't exist in the Land of Fire.

"Can I," the boy grated out. He paused.

"Can I see the Third?"

Akimichi Maruta held back the urge to scoff in the boy's face. They stared at each other silently. The very Uzumaki-look of the boy made him think twice.

This boy wasn't his case to handle.

"Follow me."

He signalled his partner to stay, walking into the village with a quick glance to the chuunin who stared at them for a moment too long before jumping away to report to the office in advance. Akimichi Maruta didn't know what the Hokage would do to the boy, or why the boy wanted to see the Third, but the hardened expressionless face on such a young child was enough for pity to war over suspicion.

He took to the rooftops. The boy followed surprisingly well, even when he raised his speed. He purposefully took sharp turns, which the boy sometimes ignored in favour of the nearest surface, or took with him seeming for the sake of it. For someone fresh out of the ruins of Uzushio, the boy was in pristine condition.

By the time they reached the Hokage tower's entrance, Akimichi Maruta could honestly say he tried.

"Someone will take you from here," he began to say.

"Maruta-san," the woman at the reception desk stood, "Hokage-sama asked that once you arrive you're to lead him in yourself."

Akimichi Maruta's lips thinned. If the Hokage was already testing this boy and requesting his opinion too, it was likely he'd see the boy around more in Konoha. He said his thanks, slammed a heavy hand on the boy's shoulder, and began walking.

"When you greet the Third," he advised, "don't move until he's finished observing you."

Uzumaki Sei looked up at him with slightly rounder eyes.

"Thank you."

The boy was sharp. He grunted and led him up a flight of stairs before knocking on the red door. He wondered if the boy noticed the genjutsu.

"Hokage-sama. I've brought the Uzumaki."

"Come in."

The door swung open, but the boy stopped. He seemed frozen, and Akimichi Sei similarly tensed wondering if he was going to attempt an assassination. But aside from his eyes fixed on the Third, the boy didn't move.

Akimichi Maruta pushed his back.

The boy stumbled lightly, but soon recovered. He then faced the Third as though he'd seen a ghost. Or, as though he was looking at one. Slowly, with the silence the Third spent observing him, the boy recovered his expression into the mute resting face he'd maintained, but both Akimichi Maruta and the Third had seen him break down. It had been an instant, but it had spoken volumes.