The full moon was bright in the sky, illuminating the entire forest. If you were travelling through the forest tonight, you would be able to jump from branch to branch without stumbling in the darkness. Of course, even in pitch black darkness, Nawaki could see perfectly well. This would be the last time in a while he would be able to use his sharingan, so he had it activated.
A few miles away, the village of Konoha was sleeping. Few travellers passed through the gates at this time of night so only Kotetsu was guarding. Izumo lay in the back of the guard house, dreaming of the day he would actually complete a proper mission. They had both become Jounin five years ago, and the Hokage still kept them running errands for him. However, unknown to them, things would get a bit exciting tonight.
The two figures traveling through the woods came to a halt at a seemingly random point. After looking around, the taller one pulled down her hood to reveal a young woman with pink hair. The other one-Nawaki- stopped as well. He scouted the area with his sharingan and seeing nothing unusual, deactivated it.
"Is this it?" he asked
The pink haired woman nodded.
"The minute you take another step towards the village the barrier team will know about it."
She turned and smiled at the young boy.
"I guess this is it." she said, placing a hand on his head. Even without his sharingan, Nawaki could see the tears dripping down her face.
He rolled his eyes at that. His mother could beat enemies five times her size, and yet she cried at the slightest hint of grief. He gave her a hug anyway. He wouldn't see her for a long time.
"I'll miss you Mom." he said quietly. He was only seven years old, and he was being thrust into an unfamiliar location with no one to help him. He would have cried if his pride would let him. His mother had always joked about 'The Uchiha Pride.' and how he was just like his father. He wasn't sure how to feel about that. He'd never met his father, but he knew who his father was. His mother seemed to have mixed feelings about his father, so he never knew how to react when he was mentioned.
"I'll miss you too." she said, kissing the top of his head. "Remember, your surname is Hachino and you're from a small town that was destroyed by bandits. Naruto's the nicest person I know so he should let you stay in the village. Don't let Uncle Sai see you in case he recognizes you, and keep dyeing your hair black. If you let it stay pink people might guess you're my son. Oh and-"
"I know Mom." he interrupted, cutting her off before she could continue her list. "Join the Academy, graduate as fast as possible, and stay away from the Uchiha district. Oh yeah, no sharingan and beware the Curse of Hatred."
She smiled and hugged him tighter.
"I doubt you'll have to worry about the last one." she said "You'll only be a genin so it's highly unlikely you're friends and teammates will die. But I still worry about this. Is it really the right thing to do?"
He looked up and saw the doubt in her eyes. He clasped her hand tightly in his.
"This has always been the plan." he said gently "I'm good enough to graduate as soon as possible and I'll see you once we get a mission outside the village."
She still looked uncertain about the whole plan. He could understand why, but he really wanted to do it.
"You named me after the Fifth Hokage's brother right?" he said "Wasn't it his dream to protect the village? I want that to be my dream too. I'm strong enough to do this."
His mother smiled affectionately down at him.
"I know you are darling. It's not you I doubt, it's me. I'm ashamed that I'm not strong enough to face the village again. I should be able to go and announce who we are. Instead, you have to create a fake identity for yourself. It's not right."
He hugged her tighter.
"I'm not blaming you mom." he said "It's not your fault things went wrong in the village. I wouldn't want to go back either. Besides we don't know how my father would react and this way creates less fuss."
She stepped away from him slowly.
"Are you completely sure about this?" she asked for the thirteenth time.
He nodded.
"I love living on Crescent Moon Island, but I want to try living in Konoha. If things go wrong I can escape."
Her tears had stopped now but she still looked upset.
"Ok then. Look out for Tsunade, I was her apprentice and trust me, she has a nasty temper plus an alcohol addiction. If there's a rehab centre in Konoha it was probably made for her..."
She was rambling now, not wanting to let him go. But she knew she couldn't talk forever. She gave him one last hug before turning back the way she came.
"Remember the golden rule." she called back "No taking revenge to the extreme!"
"I know!" he yelled.
He activated his sharingan again, just so that he could track her pink hair through the trees as it got further and further away. He stood there for a few minutes, letting the tears drip down his face. He didn't mind this time, it would make his story more believable when he met the guards.
He took a deep breath, and began his walk towards Konoha.