Third person pov

Sasuke was standing by the gates of his compound wrapped in what looked like a sheet when Naruto approached. The blonde nearly tripped at the sight of him, letting out a small wheeze of laughter. "Shut up. It's all I could get. I had to climb out the window." Sasuke grumbled. "Out the window? Damn, you must be under pretty hard watch then." Naruto smirked. "I'm lucky I got out. Not that I have much chakra to mask." Sasuke mumbled the last part, his eyes narrowing. Naruto laughed a little, a noise the now-young Uchiha hadn't heard in a long time. It made his lips quirk up. "We'll change that: believe it!" Naruto promised. Sasuke nodded mutely, his lips curving up to form a small smile. Naruto beamed. 

The two boys set off down the street towards the Nara compound, careful to stay away from the prying eyes of Konoha's civilian population. Just walking together was risky enough. They needed to get to Shikamaru to formulate a plan. They couldn't just instantly be friends. That wouldn't work. They'd have to come up with some sort of backstory that fit. That, and they'd definitely need to find time to train. They weren't in the academy quite yet, but that didn't mean they could slack off. They needed to get stronger, and fast. A lot of their skills would come back naturally with practice as they acclimated to their new bodies and environments. However, building up their old chakra reserves would definitely take a while. A long, grueling while.

"There it is." Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, alright. How do we do it?" Naruto turned to him. "Do what?" Sasuke scoffed at the boy. Naruto rolled his eyes. "Talk to Shikaku! We're walking into a compound full of geniuses. I'd be scared if one of them didn't notice something." Naruto stressed in a defined tone. Sasuke blinked. "We just knock on the door." Sasuke shrugged as though Naruto were to illogical one here. Naruto's blue eyes narrowed in response. "You're missing an arm." He hissed. "And yours came back because of your fake arm. Big deal." Sasuke said. "Yeah, until your parents see." Naruto grumbled. Sasuke snorted lightly.

The pair walked in silence for the rest of the way, Sasuke flanking Naruto. Naruto was used to it, but was afraid it may draw suspicion. Sasuke Uchiha, second son of the Uchiha clan head and head of the police force, walking behind Naruto rigidly as though he were guarding him. I mean, Sasuke was guarding Naruto, but that really wasn't the point. It was noticeable, and they needed to be invisible. For now, at least. Sooner or later, they would need people to see them. To hear them. They'd be ready when that time came. For now, they had to lay low and plan for multiple events, and inevitable deaths.

Naruto stepped up to the Nara's door with a straight face, taking in a deep breath. "Act like you're five." The Uzumaki whispered. Sasuke nodded, forcing his face to soften. Naruto did the same, turning back to the door with a big grin, something he'd mastered in his younger years. Reaching out his hand tentatively, he knocked. Sasuke peered at the door curiously. He could sense chakras inside. Shikamaru was in his room, Yoshino in the kitchen and Shikaku at the-

"How can I help...you..." Shikaku trailed off, staring at the two boys in front of him. He recognized the first one immediately as Minato Namikaze's son. Naruto grinned up at Shikaku brightly, his blue eyes shining. Although, the shine seemed almost artificial. Behind that was a thick wall that no child should have. He had the eyes of a very guarded shinobi, a seasoned one. It nearly made the clan head flinch to look at Naruto. No child should have on such a fake expression. No child should be able to hide what they're feelings like that. No child should feel the need to hide their emotions in the first place.

It took a second for Shikaku to remember the identity of the other child, as he'd only seen him a few times. Sasuke Uchiha, second son of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha. His face was even more guarded than Naruto's was, only he wasn't trying to hid his walls. He gazed up at Shikaku with what looked like a soft, relaxed face. But his eyes were hard, and his lips pressed together a little too tightly. Another odd thing was the fact that the boy was wrapped in a dark blue sheet. It's not that that wasn't okay, it just wasn't really... normal, per say. He'd never seen a kid walk around wrapped in a sheet, especially not the kinds with elastic on the corners. 

"Hi! Is Shikamaru home?" Naruto chirped in a lively tone. Shikaku blinked in surprise. Shikamaru knew these two? "Oh, yeah. I think he's still asleep though." Shikaku scratched the nape of his neck. Naruto's face fell dramatically, and he looked down, shuffling his feet. "Oh, okay. Can you tell him we came by?" Naruto glanced back up at Shikaku, and the man realized he was fearful. He thought he was going to be hated. This made the Nara-head's heart ache. This was the fourth Hokage's son. A hero, baring a burden just so the village could prosper. And he was hated for it.

"No, it's alright. Come on in. It's not often that Shikamaru has friends over." Shikaku offered a smile to the two boys, stepping aside. "Alright, let's go, Sasuke!" Naruto cheered. Like magic, the Uchiha boy lit up childishly. "Hai!" He giggled as Naruto barreled into the house. Naruto let out a howl. "You giggled!" He shrieked, pointing to the Uchiha. "Shut up. Uchiha don't giggle." Sasuke looked away pompously. "You did! I heard you!" Naruto cackled. Sasuke grunted, but still smiled.

Shikaku stared at the boys, amused. They seemed to be having fun, genuinely, although they were clearly still hiding something. "Who's that, dear?" Yoshino's head popped out of the entryway. She brightened at the sight of the two bickering boys. "Two of Shikamaru's friends? Have you boys had breakfast?" Yoshino questioned. "No, ma'am!" Both of them chorused in sync, cutting their conversation off to bow. Yoshino giggled. "I'm Yoshino Nara, Shikamaru's mom." She said. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I'm going to be Hokage one day." The blonde boasted. Sasuke grunted at him. "Sasuke Uchiha. I'm going to be Naruto's head guard." Sasuke said. Naruto turned to him brightly. Sasuke rolled his eyes, "You're still an idiot, idiot."