Chapter Text
Gai is on his seventieth lap around Konoha when he notices a small blue lump in the clearing of Training Ground 9.
It’s a little boy, he discovers upon investigation. A sleeping little boy, arms nicked and bleeding, surrounded by a small arsenal of live shuriken and kunai. The targets at the far end of the clearing are studded with weapons. Most of them, Gai notices with delight, are clustered around the centers of each target.
Another youthful soul, straining themselves to test their limits! The scene is intimately familiar to Gai; he’d been in the same position countless times when he was a little boy himself. The evidence and results of this boy’s hard work warms Gai’s tender heart, and the urge to wake the boy to congratulate him on his success is strong.
Gai ignores the urge to disturb him, and continues to run laps around Konoha. The boy’s father will undoubtedly come to bring his wayward son home, just as Gai’s father always had.
~
The boy is still there. Gai is beginning to worry. The sky has truly darkened now, and he has yet to see or hear any worried parents searching for a lost child. An orphan, then?
Parents or not, no child should be sleeping out in the open on a chilly night like this. Gai approaches, intending to shake the boy awake, when the boy opens his eyes himself.
“Hello, young man,” Gai greets. “You may have –”
A shuriken interrupts Gai, which he sidesteps with ease. The boy is on his feet in seconds, in an almost perfect, albeit basic, defensive stance, kunai in both hands. “Who are you?” the boy demands.
“I am Maito Gai, jounin of Konoha!” Gai says, thrusting out his chest in his best Nice Guy pose. He grins as widely and as brightly as he can, although, alas, there is no sun to give his teeth a nice gleam anymore. “I was running laps around the village, and noticed that you had unfortunately fallen asleep after your youthful training session. Won’t your parents be worried that you haven’t gone home at this hour?”
The boy relaxes his grip on his kunai, but doesn’t drop out of his stance. “No,” he says shortly.
What sort of parents did he have, for them not to worry about their beloved son being missing?! Ah, but Gai shouldn’t judge; perhaps his parents trusted in his skills enough to know that he could make his way home even after dark. Still, Gai’s conscience would not allow him to let this child go home unescorted. “Well, it is quite late now! Perhaps I can accompany you home,” he suggests.
“Tch. I don’t need you to take me home,” the boy says. He wobbles on his feet while saying it, though, so Gai very much doubts it. But he has experience in dealing with hard-headed children filled with bravado – his rival was just like this as a child!
“Well, maybe you can indulge me instead!” Gai begins craftily. “Laps around Konoha are too easy for me now, ha! I need additional weight to make it a challenge; I can carry you on my next lap until we arrive at your house!”
Unfortunately, Gai only succeeds in offending the boy. “No! I’m not letting a stranger carry me anywhere!” he says hotly, and begins gathering his weapons. “I can make my way home myself!”
Gai immediately begins gathering the shuriken nearest him, and hands them to the boy. He snatches them out of Gai’s hands grudgingly, and shoves them all into the pouches strapped to his legs. When the last stray kunai has been put away, the boy gets up and turns to go.
What, not even a thank you? How rude. Gai’s estimation of this boy’s parents sinks even lower; not only do they ignore their child’s whereabouts, they didn’t even bother raising this child with proper manners! Gai’s father, though, raised him correctly, so even though the boy declined his assistance, Gai decides to shadow him back to his home anyway. Just to make sure that the boy makes it home safely.
He manages to follow the boy undetected – Gai is a jounin, after all! – until the boy takes a left turn, into the Uchiha district.
Gai freezes.
There are no parents to worry about this boy, he realizes, because this boy is Uchiha Sasuke.
~
The revelations are upsetting. Gai has been observing Sasuke-kun for a week now, and each day he discovers something worse. After that first day, Gai didn’t think anything could upset him more – the child was living in the house that his parents were murdered in, alone – but each day he is unpleasantly surprised.
The second day, he discovers that Sasuke subsists solely on convenience store meals, supplemented by the occasional tomato.
The third day, he delivers a bento full of protein and vegetables to Sasuke’s home. However, he also discovers that Sasuke trains to exhaustion often, and that passing out in random training grounds is a regular occurrence.
The fourth day, he leaves a fresh first aid kit and a jar of burn cream on Sasuke’s kitchen table. But he also discovers that Sasuke trains to exhaustion every day, not just often, and that he talked to literally no one unless it was a teacher or another authority figure. That sort of isolation is never good for anyone, and it reminds Gai of another traumatized child, taking mission after mission to avoid talking to his friends.
The fifth day, Kakashi is brought back from another mission in ANBU, heavily injured and completely depleted of chakra. Kakashi once again refuses Gai’s pleas to quit ANBU. The Hokage once again refuses Gai’s request to join ANBU, and once again refuses his request to get Kakashi removed from ANBU.
On the sixth day, Gai returns to the Hokage with an adoption proposal for Uchiha Sasuke. If he can’t help Kakashi, surely there is someone else in Konoha that he can help.
~
“No, Gai,” the Hokage says, before Gai can even begin his arguments. “I will not accept you into ANBU, and I cannot remove Kakashi from ANBU –”
“That is not why I am here, Hokage-sama!” Gai interrupts. The Hokage appears taken aback. “I am here to talk to you about the living situation of one Uchiha Sasuke.”
The Hokage raises his eyebrows in surprise. A beat passes, and he sighs, taking a pipe and a small box of tobacco out of his drawer. “What about Sasuke-kun?” he asks, lighting the pipe.
Gai shifts from foot to foot, unsure of how to phrase his request. It’s not every day that a ninja asks for custody of a random child, after all. Especially not a child like Uchiha Sasuke. “Sir! His living conditions are not ideal for growing children – he is living in the house that his parents were murdered in. In the district his clan was murdered in. He is all alone in a haunted district; you can’t possibly allow him to stay there!”
But the Hokage was already shaking his head. “The council has already discussed this, Gai, both the civilian council and the clan heads’ council. Giving guardianship of Sasuke to anyone will have consequences for Konoha’s security and balance of power. Additionally, Sasuke-kun himself requested to stay in his family home. How could I deny him?”
“He is a child who lost his entire family in one night! He can’t possibly be dealing with the trauma well on his own. How can we expect him to make that sort of decision while he is still grieving?” Gai argues, fists clenching. “If he continues on in this isolation and despair, he cannot fulfill his potential to become a splendid ninja. He is not taking care of himself at all; he is not eating well, he is over exerting himself, and he has no one to show him the things we take for granted. Like learning to cook! And learning to clean!”
“Even if I decided to let Sasuke be adopted,” the Hokage continues, completely ignoring Gai’s outburst, “why will I give him to you to be raised? What are your credentials, Gai? Just like with ANBU, you don’t have the experience needed to complete this task.”
Sarutobi-sama takes a drag from his pipe, beady eyes studying Gai.
Well. Gai will just have to prove himself again. He squares his shoulders. “I may not have experience with handling children directly, but I grew up with Hatake Kakashi, sir! I saw how early childhood trauma affected him as we grew up, and I know the signs for self-destructive behavior very well now. If you want me to gain child care experience, I will happily volunteer as many hours as necessary at the Academy or at the shinobi day care, and take as many classes and seminars on parenting that you need! I will show you –”
“I admire your concern for Sasuke-kun,” the Hokage interrupts, “but this isn’t really something that is up for discussion, Gai. The council has already made its decision. If you have nothing else to discuss with me, you are dismissed.”
Gai shuts his mouth, and bows abruptly. “As you say, Hokage-sama,” he says bitterly, and leaves.
This won’t stop him, though. Gai never gives up, and he vows to himself that he will do his best to take care of Sasuke. There are other things Gai can do for Sasuke-kun, and the Hokage didn’t forbid him from making contact with Sasuke.
Gai can work with this. He’ll start with the Academy.
~
Hiruzen takes a drag from his pipe. Gai had unwittingly presented a perfect solution for Sasuke’s situation. Gai is a strong, loyal, and widely respected shinobi of Konoha. One of his strongest and most loyal, in fact, and every successful mission bolsters his fearsome reputation.
Gai isn’t affiliated with any clan, and more importantly, Hiruzen is certain that Gai is trustworthy, and is an incorruptibly good man to his core. This is exactly what makes him unsuited for ANBU, but maybe it makes him perfect for other things.
This could work. Hiruzen just needs a plan to side-step his own council.