A/N: And so it begins, the end of an arc that I can hopefully actually finish. As I say often, it has been a very long road and I'd like to thank everyone who has stuck with the series as its gone on. I plan to also drop Neighborhood chapters as I deem fit, although I don't want to make it seem like homework. Just extra credit for those who are genuinely interested. With all that said, I hope you're ready. Because welcome to Adulthood.
CHAPTER I
KICHIRO
The beating rays of the sun touched the earth and cool breeze rustled the blossoming petals of the sakura tree, disturbing a marbled fritillary outside of Kichiro's window. The young Uchiha rolled on his back and rubbed his forehead. He exhaled softly then heard his stomach growl. Pushing himself out of the bed to his feet, Kichiro stretched until he heard his back pop and crack then looked at himself in the mirror.
The image that reflected back looked eerily similar to his father, albeit softer and more sad than outright angry. He had let his hair grow and now his bangs framed his face and stopped above his eyes. The body that had once been spotted by baby fat was now hardened from five years of rigorous training.
Kichiro flexed and put on a t-shirt before stepping out into the hallway, his feet guiding him to the kitchen. He squatted down and let the blast of cold hit his face before he rustled through the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of eggs. When he set it down on the counter, he felt a presence behind and turned his head.
"So, you're finally out of your room." A woman with messy black hair stood in the threshold of the kitchen with her arms folded.
"I was hungry," Kichiro replied, cracking an egg into the pan.
"Fairly obvious." Kichiro smirked.
"Don't you have a mission to go on, Mirai?" His former sensei walked forward and stood next to him, leaning against the fridge.
"How dare you try to kick me out of my own house," she laughed, rubbing Kichiro's head roughly. "My mission is to make sure you don't eat all of my food."
"I won't."
Mirai scoffed. "I've learned better than to trust a teenage boy not to eat." She left his side and Kichiro flicked his wrist to scramble the eggs. He heard Mirai re-enter the kitchen with a sigh, which was normally an indication that something was coming that he didn't want to hear. "Do you want to...talk about last night?"
Kichiro blinked. His heart fluttered in his chest and he felt a small panic constrict him. He quickly shook his head. "No. Not today."
Mirai placed her hand on his back and when Kichiro looked at her, she nodded her head. "Okay. You can stay for as long as you need to and remember I'm here for you all right?"
Her kind words funneled into his ear and Kichiro kept himself from crying. With a relieved nod that served as silent thanks to Mirai, he continued fixing his food. When he was finished, he placed the scrambled eggs on a plate and sprinkled salt on them. He skillfully picked it the eggs apart with chopsticks and raised them to his lips. As he chewed, Kichiro smiled a bit. It had been over seven years ago when he had learned how to cook eggs.
Takuma had taught him when they both had been much younger. Their parents had gone away for a few days on a mission and with his belly aching from hunger, Kichiro had begged Takuma to cook for him. I his wisdom and annoyance, his brother had done something better and taught Kichiro how to prepare food for himself with their mother's patience and their father's keen attention to detail. Takuma's face never shifted from a calm smile when he talked to him and that smiling face remained etched into Kichiro's brain, his soft and encouraging words replaying like a sweet orchestra. Kichiro's heart still ached day in and day out over the loss of his brother and not because of the fact that he had died but why he died. Kichiro understood now better than he had before the level of expectation his father placed on his children and how it could eat away at whatever fragile relationship they had.
Sosei was gone too, so Kichiro had absolutely no one within his family to fall on beside Hikari. Sosei's absence felt like a death as well since he had essentially vanished like a ghost after Takuma's funeral. Kichiro had no idea where his older brother had gone but the level of betrayal he felt when he had packed his things and left after Takuma's funeral still pierced Kichiro like his father's sword.
Kichiro grabbed his plate, washed it and put it away before heading back to Mirai's guest room. It was a guest room in name only, Kichiro having left his touch and much of his clothes and belongings in the room after so many visits to his former sensei. He started coming over with his team after missions for celebratory meals for successful trips. Recently, though, he started coming out of necessity.
A vibrating sound caused Kichiro's ears to perk up and he walked over to the nightstand by his bed. His phone was buzzing violently, indicating a call was incoming. The young Uchiha flipped it open and blinked when he saw the name on the screen.
Kataki.
Gulping, Kichiro answered with, "Hey."
"Yo, Kichiro. How are you?"
Kichiro smiled. "I'm good. What are you up to?"
"I was just about to ask you the same. I was just out and bored, figured we could get something to eat with Setsuka or something." At the mention of Setsuka's name, Kichiro's happy mood faltered a bit but he tried to maintain his happy tone.
"Sure. Well, I already ate some eggs, but I can hang out with you two," he said. He heard Kataki laugh.
"Awesome. Meet us in front of the Academy in thirty minutes."
"Yeah," Kichiro said softly. The call disconnected and the Uchiha closed his phone. He was excited to see Kataki and to a lesser extent, Setsuka. It had been a while since they were together for something recreational. It'd be just the kind of pick-up he needed.
The bathroom was his next stop and Kichiro took care to thoroughly wash himself as the steam enveloped his body, seeping into his pores. After he was sure of his cleanliness, Kichiro stepped out and dried himself with a towel, then wrapped his lower body. He jogged down the hallway back to his room. The boy pulled a dark blue, mid-collared shirt over his head and a black joggers up to his waist before strapping his sandals on. Kichiro stopped in the bathroom again, brushed his teeth and then stared into the mirror.
Looking at himself, he tried smiling but it didn't feel natural. He attempted to frown, only for the creases in his face to disturb him. He settled on his normal, pensive face and left the bathroom.
"Mirai, I'm leaving," Kichiro called before he closed the apartment door behind him and headed down the stairs out into the city. When he looked down the road, he could see the Hokage Monument, skyscrapers looming over the faces of six of the greatest shinobi that Konoha had ever produced. People passed by and Kichiro could feel their gaze and the weight of the Uchiha symbol on his back made him feel uncomfortable.
He ignored it and walked forward to the Academy. Children played at being shinobi in the yard outside of the building, calling out random ninjutsu names. He heard one child shout out, "Rasengan!" as he put his palm in his friend's stomach and the other boy threw himself back. Kichiro smirked and looked up for Kataki or Setsuka. When his initial scan of the area provided no clue to his friends' whereabouts, Kichiro leaned against a wall and sighed.
A hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him around the corner. Kichiro balled his fist, preparing himself to fight until his eyes locked on Kataki's smiling face. His heart fluttered and he felt his cheeks grow hot.
"Scared you, huh?" Kataki asked. Kichiro frowned and pushed him away.
"No, you didn't scare me, asshole." The Uchiha boy tried to gather himself, although he felt Kataki staring through him. When Kichiro looked up, Kataki smoothed back the top of his spiky undercut and folded his arms.
"You finished?" he asked before flashing a smile. Kichiro slowly nodded and Kataki chuckled. "Good, because Setsuka's coming." Kichiro peered around the corner and saw the girl walking forward, brown hair rising and falling to touch under her jaw. Hee purple eyes fell on Kichiro and she waved.
Kichiro waved back then he and Kataki rounded the corner and walked up the street to meet her. A quarter head shorter than them both, Setsuka looked up and smiled at the boys.
"Ready to eat?" she asked. Kichiro rubbed the back of his head.
"I already ate." Setsuka's face fell and Kataki shrugged.
"I called him too late. Fat ass had an entire plate of eggs before I got to him."
Kichiro rolled his eyes and Setsuka giggled. "So are we going to a restaurant or what?" he asked. Setsuka nodded.
"I reserved a spot at Ichiraku. It always get crowded this time of day," she sighed.
With the expansion of Konoha from a village to a busy city, Ichiraku shifted from a ramen bar to a full-on chain all throughout the Land of Fire with the main hub being the most popular place to eat. Kichiro had only been to a few of the Ichiraku chains outside of Konoha and found them good, but not nearly as good as the original.
His stomach growled in anticipation, causing Kataki and Setsuka to give him an amused look.
"Guess we shouldn't wait then?" Kataki said.
The three friends made their way to Ichiraku, with Setsuka and Kataki talking along the way. Kichiro listened halfheartedly, instead looking around the city streets taking in the construction of a new medical center and a new school building close by, not for shinobi but to accommodate the civilians of Konoha as the population boosted. Kichiro wondered if his mother would be running this new hospital, named in honor of her old sensei, Tsunade.
"Shit, this line is long," Kataki murmured. He was right. They hadn't managed to make it before the lunchtime rush hour and now, the line wrapped around the church, constricting it like a python would its prey.
"Do you want to go somewhere else?" Setsuka asked.
Kataki shrugged. "Not like we have anything else to do today. I don't mind waiting." Kichiro looked up just as Kataki turned to him. "How about you, Kichiro?"
"I'm fine if you are." The Uchiha tucked his hands in his pockets and looked around. His eyes caught the bright red hair flowing out of the restaurant. Elegant, beautiful, yet shrouded by a mysterious air of earthliness, Honami Uzumaki seemed to glide out of Ichiraku's with Takuma's old teammate Shogo Kazuma and another boy that Kichiro didn't know. The daughter of the Hokage looked like a rich painting but when her eyes and Kichiro's met, the Uchiha could recognize the same sadness that he saw in himself every time he looked in the mirror.
He imagined Takuma standing with them, in place of the unknown pretender, tall with his long hair tied into a ponytail and his bangs framing a face full of happiness and laughter looking the spitting image of their uncle if he had lived in a happier time and without the burdens of the world.
Kichiro stepped out of line and walked over towards the group of older shinobi. Honami gave her trademark friendly smile as he approached. The Uchiha nodded to the other boys before he looked at Honami.
"Hey, Kichiro," she said. "How are you?" Kichiro shrugged.
"I'm fine. You?"
"Relieved. We just got back from an escort mission earlier this morning, taking some builders and contractors to the border."
Kichiro nodded. It sounded a bit dull a mission for jonin but he didn't bother to ask any further questions about it.
"How's your family?" Kichiro felt his heart sink and Honami blinked at him.
"They're...all right," he replied. His hesitation seemed to make Honami tilt her head in curiosity. Again, there was an awkward silence between the two until Shogo broke it.
"Jeez, you're getting tall," he said. The orange haired boy was a head taller than Honami's five foot, three inch frame and Kichiro was nearly staring him in the eye.
Kichiro felt himself shift nervously under the gaze of strangers, then relief when he heard Kataki's voice.
"Yo, Kichiro! We have a table!" the boy called. Kichiro looked at Honami and she dipped her head.
"I'll see you around."
"Yeah," Kichiro said, before departing for his friends. When he got back to his team, Kataki raised his chin in the direction he had came.
"Look at you, trying to get close to the Hokage's daughter." Kataki smirked and Kichiro blushed at him, not his words.
"It wasn't like that," Kichiro replied. A waitress led them to a booth in the corner of the restaurant and after they had ordered drinks, Kataki bumped Kichiro with an elbow.
"You ok?"
Kichiro nodded. "Yeah. Just, every time I see her, I-" he paused and sighed. "I imagine Takuma with her." Setsuka's hand touched Kichiro's and the Uchiha looked up at her.
"She misses him a lot. She hasn't even brought another boy home since…"
"Maybe that guy you didn't know is a potential?" Kataki said. Kichiro shrugged. He was tired of the conversation. The more he talked about Honami, the more he missed Takuma and thinking about Takuma inexplicably made him think of Sosei.
The waiter returned and took their orders. Kichiro ordered a tsukemen dish, with spicy broth for his dipping, Kataki ordered cold hiyashi chuka and Setsuka, the kenchin stew. The team ate silently after the food came, with Kichiro glancing every now and then out of the window as he chewed his food. Kataki seemed to get bored of the silence and struck up a conversation with Setsuka which Kichiro ignored. The boy's mind wandered different places, mostly to happy memories from years prior.
At least, what he thought were happy.
He dipped his noodles into the broth again, curled his lips back when he realized that it was cold after putting it in his mouth and sighed softly. The sad thoughts that plagued his mind had to find somewhere else to go. Kichiro had to find something else to do to occupy himself. His onyx eyes traced around the restaurant, taking in the sights and observing the different patrons enjoying their food. The smiles on their faces seemed foreign to him and his own internal struggles made it difficult to understand what it was anyone could possibly be happy about. It was a selfish way to view things, nevertheless, Kichiro continued to feel so displaced and distant.
He was alone in the company of friends.
"Yo, Kichiro," Kataki said, breaking the Uchiha's trance. When he looked at him, Kataki raised an eyebrow. "Ready to go?"
Kichiro nodded. "Yeah." He turned his head and saw their waitress walking towards them and lifted his hand, signalling her to their table. Kataki paid for all of their meals, smiling when the waitress thanked him for his substantial tip. Once again, Kichiro was entranced. The three friends exited the restaurant, passing the slowly dwindling lunch rush line on their way out.
The warmth of the sun was a refreshing reminder of life for Kichiro and he bathed in its glow briefly before following Kataki and Setsuka to the park benches a little ways down the path. They sat, shaded by a tree that hung over the bench and Kichiro leaned back and felt himself relax. There was a cool silence, broken by the whistling of the wind and the rustling of the leaves. Finally, Kataki sighed.
"I'm fucking bored."
Setsuka looked at him and Kichiro saw her purple eyes blink. "Why?"
"I don't know. Just not what I expected when we became chunin, you know?" Kichiro shook his head.
"You were expecting us to be in the middle of a war?" he asked. Kataki rubbed his head.
"No, but our chunin missions aren't really anything cool or exciting. Hell, last mission, we helped an old woman move." Kichiro twisted his mouth. That was an oversimplification. The three of them had helped one of the Konoha Elders, Shizune, move sensitive items from a base outside of Konoha back into the city. Items that included neurotoxins, healing technique scrolls and ointment blueprints that could prove disastrous if they fell into enemy hands. There was furniture involved, of course, but to simply see it as helping a woman move…
Kichiro held back his words, knowing internally that his emotional state made him more sensitive than normal and the last thing he wanted to do was to alienate his only friends. He checked himself and said, "I've learned to value peace. Especially considering…"
"What we've been through," Setsuka said, locking eyes with Kichiro. The Uchiha boy blinked and looked away. He tried to push those memories to the back of his mind and instead nodded his head.
"Yeah."
Kataki seemed to consider what they said and shrugged. "I guess so. I just want to put these skills to the test. Don't want to get rusty." Kichiro scoffed.
"We can spar if you want to make sure you don't become a worse fighter than you already are," he teased. Kataki frowned and then smirked.
Before either of them could say anything, Kichiro looked up and saw Mirai approaching them. She was strangely garbed in her jonin gear and was walking with a hurried pace. Kichiro wrinkled his brow and looked at his team before shifting his eyes to Mirai. She looked a bit flustered.
"Sensei," Kichiro said when she finally reached them. Mirai waved.
"Hey, guys. The Hokage's asking for us to see him in his office. He's got an assignment." Kataki rolled his eyes.
"We helping another old lady move again?" he asked. Mirai chuckled softly and shook her head.
"No, but I'll let him explain. Come on." The three teens rose from the bench and Kataki took point, following behind Mirai while Kichiro walked beside Setsuka a few paces back. The Hokage's office wasn't too far from where they were and at their pace, the walk would be quick.
"Kichiro," Setsuka whispered. The Uchiha boy glanced in her direction and blinked. When he didn't respond, Setsuka continued. "Are you okay? You're quieter than normal."
Kichiro nodded. He hated being asked if he was okay, lying and saying he was when he wasn't, and entertaining follow-up questions. He hated it more when his friends, who knew him better than his parents did, asked him. "I'm just…"
"Don't lie to me." Setsuka's voice was barely above a whisper, quiet as it had been when they had first met in the Academy. Her purple eyes were simultaneously concerned and intense and Kichiro swallowed. He wanted to talk to someone, someone who cared about him and could understand his pain. But there was no one left like that, no one who could empathize the way he desperately needed. Telling Setsuka wouldn't help him.
"We can talk later," Kichiro said, finally settling on a lie he felt comfortable with. It was more negotiable and if he felt like talking to her, he could. If he didn't, then he wouldn't. Setsuka seemed to be fine with it as she turned away from him and they kept walking.
The team met Shikamaru, the Hokage's advisor, outside of his office and the Nara clan head nodded. "Right on time," he said, smiling. Mirai smiled back.
"Had to grab the band," she said. "Is he ready, oji-san?" Shikamaru knocked on the door and it immediately opened. The Hokage's blonde head poked out and his blue eyes blinked.
"Oh, great, you're here." He smiled and beckoned Mirai and her team forward. When they entered the office, Kichiro saw a map spread on the Hokage's desk with multiple markers on top. His eyes shifted around, observing each of the markers until he heard the Hokage's voice. "I don't want to hold you up. I need you to get out in the field as quickly as possible. Just received word of an attack on the outskirts of the country and while it may be something small, I just need a team to go provide some relief."
Shikamaru added, "We have contractors and business traveling along these roads to Kirigakure so making sure that they're secure is a top priority."
"I know it's a bit of a rush," Naruto said, "but I just need a team that can go quickly."
Mirai looked at her team and then back at the Hokage. "We're ready," she said. The Hokage nodded and smiled.
"Good, head on out." Mirai, Kataki and Setsuka turned to leave the room. Kichiro attempted to follow them but the Hokage's and waved for him to stay. Kichiro turned and saw that Kataki and Setsuka had glanced back to see where he was, but Shikamaru stepped in between and closed the door. The blonde man waited until the latch clicked before he spoke. "Kichiro...there's another reason that your team is being chosen for this mission. I just need you to promise not to say anything to them. I can trust you with that, right?"
Kichiro dipped his head. He was a shinobi after all. "What is it, Lord Hokage?"
The Hokage leaned back in his seat and looked directly into Kichiro's eyes. He sighed softly and said, "We may have found Sosei."
Kichiro stared forward and his jaw felt tight. After a brief moment of silence, he managed to ask a simple question.
"W-where?"
Next, Owl