The lost faces of her new friends lent Bri a familiar sense of control; she alone had the power to mold this moment. She could keep the five men completely terrified by leaving them in this state, never revealing her unknown weapon's power. This was a technique she used countless time before.

But, this wasn't the time nor the place for that. Bri had been completely alone for more than a year at this point. No former adversary could compare to the quiet terror of complete self reliance. Would revealing the gun's power forever leave Bri in a state of disadvantage? Probably, but did she even care anymore?

It was in this moment, that Bri decided to leave her past behind and put every ounce of her being into this uncertain future. No more deception, no more needless violence. Fuck the gun. Its presence led to nothing more than added grief. I'll finally be free.

Bri breaks the silence "He spent most of his time working on the thing. It's extremely dangerous, but I'm the only one on the planet that knows how to use it." As expected, the faces of the men began to ooze with distrust. Their once friendly aura completely dissipated.

The blonde begins damage control "Yeah, I know how that sounds, but I have no reason to ever touch that thing again. There's just something important I need from it".

Kakashi crosses his arms; the direct gaze from his one eye was almost painful "First, tell us how it works."

This was it; Bri was ready to take the burden off of herself and give it to the rest of the room. The weapon that should have never been created would no longer be a secret that she alone would carry.

"It's quite simple really, that is both the gun's greatest weakness and strength." This was it; these were the men that she would trust with all of her power "It's essentially a chakra compressor; and any five year old could kill you with it."


Meanwhile, Tsunade arrived at her destination. Ichiraku Ramen shop. If Iruka wasn't at the academy he was almost certain to be inside the restaurant. Upon entering, the Hokage is greeted ever so formally by Ayame, and her father the shop owner is quick to jump up and hand Tsunade a menu.

Politely, Tsunade declines "I'm sorry Teuchi, I'm actually here to speak to him."

Hearing a voice directed at him, a flustered and nervous Iruka stands up "I, uh, Hello Hokage-sama is there something I forgot to do? I was just so stressed, uh, today the kids were learning kunai and they were way too rowdy and…"

Tsunade lets out a soft laugh "Please Iruka, you're gonna wanna sit down for this." Iruka slowly takes a seat. The Fifth Hokage knew she made him uncomfortable; Iruka was never as close to her as he was with the third.

Tsunade begins "There is a woman here, claiming to be your sister." Iruka looked like he had just been told an offensive joke.

"I know this is completely unexpected, but I wouldn't have even come to you unless the proof was strong." The man was beginning to look panicked as she continued "She has her birth certificate, with your father listed as her own. I checked out her story with neighboring villages, some people knew her and her mother."

An angry aura was forming around Iruka, his voice much darker than minutes before "I don't have a sister, I don't have a family at all."

Tsunade knew this was going to happen. She began to think that she should have taken Iruka someplace more private. "I'm sorry. Please think about this, she seems to be a good hearted woman, but we have our doubts. I'm going to have to keep her in the village for a while."

Without a word Iruka stands up and throws his money on the bar, his energy deadly, he disappears behind the hanging flags at the entrance to the shop.


It has been a couple of hours since Tsunade had returned to her office from her failure of a mission. Stressed and guilt ridden for putting Iruka in such a state, she poured her fourth sake of the night. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Please come in!" as the door opened she could hear the sound of the two men speaking before they entered the room.

"Ah, Kakashi I was wondering when your meeting would end. I suspect you have come to a conclusion about the girl?" the men find their way to their seats as Tsunade continues "Yamato, there's no need for that mask anymore, I decided I don't want Anbu working this case." The man quickly removes the wooden mask placing it on his lap, as the looks down at it a small smirk appears on his face. Fucking "kitty" mask. It really is ridiculous.

Kakashi clears his throat "The girl, Bri, she doesn't seem dangerous, At least not on her own. The weapon she was carrying is a much bigger concern. She explained how the mechanism worked in full detail. I think we should try it out for ourselves to see if she has given us the right information."

Tsunade sits back in her chair and take a long sip of sake before she begins "I agree, we will test the weapon and if she has given us the correct information I'll let her meet Iruka; any objections?"

Kakashi seems a bit more tense than usual as he began "The way she described the weapon is pretty alarming, it seems to be extremely simple to use and also extremely deadly, it that's true were going to have to keep it a secret from the public and other villages."

Tsunade doesn't seem too engaged in the conversation, maybe the sake was getting to her "Of course it's dangerous, this is Kinzoku's invention we're talking about... Listen, I already went and told Iruka about Bri-san. Could you both go and speak to him; he's really all I can think about at the moment."

The two men are now sitting up stiff, hands wrapped around the arms of their chairs, their identical reactions almost comical.

Yamato's voice comes out louder than anticipated "WHAT?! Um, I mean, Hokage-sama, didn't you want us to report on Bri-san before you made any moves? We could have gotten someone closer to him to...I mean, not that you…um"

Tsunade begins pouring more sake; she is sitting awkward trying to hide her face behind her blonde hair "I know. You're right, and I feel horrible. This whole day has really thrown me off; if anyone was to talk to him it should have been you two, or maybe even Naruto." She blew the hair off her sticky face, she was definitely drunk. "You guys are closest to Iruka, and you know how it feels to grow up without a family. I let my self-interest for Bri-san control my choice, I really made a selfish mistake. Please, go find him."

The two men stand up and look at each other, this weirdly intense day was never going to end.


Kakashi and Yamato enter their third bar of the night. Iruka wasn't at home or any of his usual spots. The guys know Iruka isn't a big drinker, but emotional people do weird things, and apparently, go to weird bars. This particular place wasn't really frequented by anyone under the age of 67, but in the far corner a short brown pony tail stuck up from behind sleepy wrinkled faces.

"Yo! I know you don't know how to drink but, seriously?" The cheerfulness of Kakashi's voice was met with a collective eye roll from the bar. Iruka tried to raise his head, but it was just too much work at this point, he settled for propping it up on his fist. Kakashi and Yamato took their seats on either side of him.

Yamato's overly expressive face was his greatest downfall "Why the fuck are you looking at me like that? Seriously get this guy a drink; he looks like his dog just died" Iruka's slurring is at an all time high.

At first Kakashi was glad his ever-present cloth mask was there to hide his unavoidable smirk, drunken Iruka was so rude, so out of character, but he quickly remembered why he was here.

Kakashi reluctantly starts the conversation he is dreading "Look…well, this is probably the worst possible time to talk about this…"

Iruka sits up and almost falls backward off his barstool as he interrupts "Guys, I have sister. My dad was a fucking asshole and I have a god damn sister! And guess what…She's here!"

Yamato is holding Iruka's shoulder to steady him, a look of concern still stamped across his face, he chimes in "Iruka, let's get you home, you should…"

"NO! You guys know already! Why else would you be here? Did you meet her? Is this really happening?" As Iruka grew desperate with questions his eyes were filling with tears. His friends decided to stand him up and walk him home, the man was too weak now to object.

Eventually, the awkward and silent walk to Iruka's door is ended when Kakashi speaks "Iruka, I have no idea how I would react if I we're you, this kind of thing is so unexpected, I guess I just want you to know that we're here for you. Whatever you decide to do is the right thing."

Kakashi and Yamato sit Iruka down onto his front porch. He has sobered up a bit from the walk, although his eyes we're still only half way open as he spoke "I want to meet her. I don't want to be alone anymore."