Life after the attack was nothing close to normal.
The Academy had sustained considerable damage, and declared for one year it couldn't take in new students. Even the current year's of students had additional reconstructions responsibilities to help get the Academy functioning at its full capacity.
Itsuki's year of academy graduates was perhaps the biggest single addition to the Genin forces in the history of the Academy itself. The losses to the village had been numerous in both civilian and shinobi casualties. I don't think a single assigned Genin team was failed by their chosen Sensei. For them, there was no second test, no 66% hanging over their heads.
Having the Academy closed off to new students for a year was a harsh blow, only mildly tempered by the large addition Itsuki's year provided. I would bet that the Spring Rotation class graduates this upcoming year would all be passed as well. The Hokage seemed to be trying to bolster our shinobi numbers as much as he could, so we wouldn't look weak to our former enemies in the last war. Well, as weak.
Itsuki left the Orphanage, promising to write me with his new address soon once his Sensei got things settled. But, in the hole he and his yearmates left, more children flowed in, stuffing the Orphanage far tighter than it had been. Many orphans had been made by the Kyuubi, both from civilian and clan-less shinobi families who had been lost in the attack.
We weren't the only orphanage in the village, but we were certainly the biggest. Oba-san seemed to run ragged trying to keep everything together, but a single week after the attack and things calmed down.
But that was because more than half of the children who had come in the wake of the attack were taken away mere days after coming to live with us.
Oba-san look gaunt, after that. Tired and a little broken, and often she could be seen looking at a little picture she had gotten.
When I caught a glimpse of her looking at that photo, I knew that those orphans had been taken by Danzo. I actually got a little sick, thinking about it. I couldn't look at Oba-san in the face for a while after the kids were taken. I sometimes wondered if she could even look at herself in the mirror at night.
I stopped learning medic skills from her. The only formal acknowledgement of it was one day, when I stopped just inside the door, Nono looking up to me wondering why I wasn't coming in.
I couldn't hide how I felt. Disgusted, but sorrowful. A little piece of shattered trust, when there was so little to begin with.
I think she new, or atleast suspected, that I knew where the children had gone. Her eyes were resigned behind her glasses, and when I turned away there was no voice calling out to stop me.
I understand that we needed more space, more funding more help. But no matter what we risked facing, nothing was worth the fate dolled out to the children taken away.
There was simply to much ROOT still in Nono for me to trust her. A root system that was compromised by rot would kill the tree. Nono wasn't Sai. She hadn't cut the rot away when she honestly and truly eft. A part was still in her, still affecting her decisions.
Rot spreads. For all the good fruit, the tree was still dying.
The saddest thing of all, was the fact that I would bet honest money on the fact that Nono knew this.
Knew this and yet could do nothing. Would do nothing.
How much more did she love Kabuto then the rest of the children?
As for the village, reconstruction couldn't quite begin until the rubble was cleared away.
People, who had lost their jobs or houses by virtue of having the buildings be destroyed in the attack, found new jobs in construction crews. I think I heard some sort of rumor that there was a contract for the workers about living spaces after construction was finished, but I couldn't be sure.
I was preoccupied by training. I didn't have anyone who was willing to spare time to work with me on taijutsu anymore, so I kept working on my bow-work. Except now, I spent more time in the village itself.
I would inform the matrons of my leaving, and head to the village in the mornings after training. I must have made a good impression when I was running messages in the morning after the attack, because it became a more permanent thing in the following weeks. I would run from site to site, passing messages along from workers or their bosses, or run orders to where they needed to go. Communication was vital in everything going smoothly after all.
Sometimes workers would ask me to pick them up a little something from a still functioning food shop. Each run I did, got me a few ryo to call my own. It was cheaper I guess, then sending workers to pass the messages along during their paid working hours, or paying an adult to do it. Child were cheap labor, and I wasn't the only child who profited and was profited off of. There were other kids doing the same thing all over the village, and the people who paid us to do this for them called us, almost affectionately, 'Turtles'. It was mostly a joke, seeing as we were making fairly decent time all things considered. I got, about two ryo each delivery, and I could make ten or more deliveries each day during the crew's work hours. It was a good workout, especially when I was making deliveries of material things and not just messages. I also got paid double for that. Really, it was pocket change for the workers, even now. Money became a bit tight for everyone, but people really seemed to come together after a tragedy.
Keeping money flowing, circulating, was vital after all. Konoha couldn't afford to suffer an economic depression right now.
Mom's anniversary came and went, and soon it was November. Konoha was the land of fire, and as such was notably warm most of the time. Still, it could get a bit chilly during the winter time, even snowing sometimes, but it never stayed for very long.
November meant people typically started busting out slightly warmer shirts, but it meant I stayed with my usual clothes, which amounted to some dark pants and sandals and a light blue t-shirt. I had a brown belt that was made for someone much bigger than me, but I easily made it work. Some string secured a water bottle to my belt as well, since dehydration wouldn't be coming after me anytime soon. My hair was in need of a trim, the back of it tickling my neck unless I kept it in a tiny ponytail.
I once lived somewhere with snow as an arch enemy, and even though this body had never been there, my mind still knew it. I'd be damned before the land of fire got the best of me!
Us Turtles, or runners as we referred to ourselves, had a few little nooks around the village, little shady spots near common roads where we sometimes passed each other by. So often enough when we took breaks, those were the places we went. Today was one such day, and it was late afternoon when I clambered onto a bench under a tree, one of the many little nooks taken over by the Turtles. I was a bit late, compared to when I usually showed up, but my spot was saved for me by the others.
There were four of us that usually chilled at this spot during this time frame of the day. Goro, a slightly bigger boy with close cut black hair and squinty eyes, was the oldest of the group here at 10. Well he wasn't the fastest, he was very strong, and did a lot of deliveries. Then there was Ami, a tall girl with pale green hair and matching eyes. Despite being skinnier and more frail looking, she was deceptively strong. At 9, and also a civilian, she was Goro's longtime friend. They often had contests to see who could deliver more packages on that particular day, no matter the size. Haru was 7, brown-eyed with long nimble fingers that he fidgeted with a lot. His hair was the longest of us, hanging down to his shoulders in a smooth ponytail, it's violet color bordering on black at times, depending on the lighting. Goro liked the ground, resting his back to the bench. Ami would climb the tree to its lowest branch, and Haru typically shared the bench with me, each on our own dedicated side.
We were the kind of friends you make when there is nothing else really for you to do. Casual and friendly, but nothing substantial.
"Yasu!" Goro greeted me first as I came into view, and Ami echoed him only a moment after. Haru just waved.
"Hi," I greeted as I came closer to the group, "Old Man Yori gave me some steamed pork buns today for us." I lifted the box in my hands as proof of my statement, handing it to Haru to hold as I could clamber up onto the bench. Haru handed it back, polite as always, and I opened it up. Predictably Goro and Ami swarmed like vultures.
"Did'ja pass on a message from his kid today?" Goro asked, his big hand snatching up two from the box as soon as it was opened. Ami had hopped down from her tree perch to sit on the back of the bench, and her arm snapped out to take one next. Haru was much more polite than the older kids, and waited til I offered him some.
"Yeah, I did." I set the container down between Haru and I, and took one of the buns for myself. "Business was good today for me, how 'bout you guys?" I asked, nibbling on my free food. Pork wasn't my favorite, but it WAS free, and the texture was always nice, so I ate it without complaint.
Haru shook his head. "Pretty slow for me, the usual bunch didn't have much to say to each other today."
"I got a bunch of lunch deliveries a while ago!" Ami piped up, whipping her mouth clean as she did so, collecting bits of food on her sleeve. "Made a good bit from the guys working around the north end of the market district, seem'd like it was somebody's birthday or something, given how much they all ordered. I was going back and forth for aaaaaages!" Ami drawled, but Goro scoffed at that, grinning up at where she was, food still on his chin.
"Bet I got more than you! The guys on the east made a big group order too! I made a killing today!" He did what I suppose he thought of as a cool and challenging fist pump.
"Well," I started, chewing slowly. "Aside from business, anything interesting happening today?" Goro and Ami were big talkers, and always had something or other to gossip about. Sure enough, Ami had something.
"Did'ja know some of the kids are starting a collection for the Uchiha?" I almost choked, and Haru reached out to slap me on the back, trying to be helpful. I waved him off, getting ahold of myself.
"What?" What in the world did they need a collection for?
"Yeah!" Goro picked up, twisting around to look at us better, caught up in the story now, and barely taking note of my fish-outta-water expression. "I heard that too! Some of the others 'runners I passed were talking about it! They said somebody who worked the streets in residential started it to show support!" He was practically bouncing in his seat. "I was planning on heading that way after lunch to see if I could get in on it to!"
Haru kicked his legs a little bit, swinging them thoughtfully. "Mom says some people are going to try to petition the Hokage to give the Military Police an award for the work they've been doing recently." I took one of the last two buns, and gave Haru the other one, in a bit of a daze still. "She said that Aunt Aoi told her that the bar's have been," here he changed his voice probably to represent his aunt, "particularly rowdy lately." Goro and Ami giggled a bit at that, since he had jutted his chin out and made a face like he was sucking a lemon as he spoke.
I ate my bun slowly, frowning in thought as the others around me continued to joke and laugh, wondered slightly if this was what it had been like for the Uchiha after the attack in the first place. I knew everybody would treat Sasuke Uchiha like royalty almost, in the future. But that was after the massacre, after the attempted coup that Itachi stopped before the public could find out about it. But, for the life of me, I couldn't image why they would have a coup in the first place, if the public support was on their side like this...Surely it was in the original timeline...right?
I was struck by the thought that I was only really seeing the civilian side of things. Maybe Itsuki-senpai knew more? I pushed off the bench suddenly, garnering some looks from my companions.
Haru raised his voice in question. "Yas-"
"Sorry! I just remembered I have to ask my senpai something!" I was already off, little feet pounding on the ground as I took off towards where I knew Itsuki lived. Last time we talked, he said he usually had lunch off from missions with his team, maybe I could catch him at home?
One good things about being a tiny ass kid, was that it was far easier to weave between whatever crowds I encountered on the road. And weave I did, between the crowds of people in the streets, ducking under the arms of startled adults, who shouted at me as I passed. Itsuki's genin apartment complex was a bit of a distance from my usually frequented streets in the village, but I'd spent every morning for ages running for my training, and as such I didn't have to stop once on my way.
Given Itsuki lived on the fourth floor, and elevators weren't a thing, I had to book it up a couple flights before I got to his door. Stairs didn't hurt my knees anymore, but they sure could wind a kid.
I knocked loudly on his door, and held my breath in anticipation.
Itsuki placed a warm cup of tea on the table in front of me, settling back into his own chair. I had indeed caught Itsuki on his lunch break, near the end of it as he had been doing dishes. He had been happy to see me visiting, but the look on my face let him know something was up.
"So!" Itsuki started, settling back into his chair. He was giving me an expectant look, the likes of which had me squirming in my seat. Admittedly, I had been banging on his door like a tiny lunatic. "What do you need, Yasu-kun?"
I took a hold of my cup, letting the warmth seep through into my hands well I thought about my question.
"Senpai?" I began, "Can you tell me what things are like out there? With the Uchiha?" I could see the confusion on his face.
"The...Uchiha? What makes you ask about them Yasu?" There was a furrow in his brow now, and he seemed to be chewing on his cheek. His Sensei hadn't had him near long enough to give Itsuki a poker-face.
"Well, I was having lunch with the other Turtles today," and here I pointedly ignored the twitch of Itsuki's lips at the mention of the nickname appointed to us, "and they were talking about how people were rallying behind the Uchiha to be rewarded for their actions in the attack. One of'm mentioned the bar's have been rowdy lately to. But then, if people are trying to support the Uchiha, why would they act out and cause them to have to come to settle things?" I let the question hang in the air, blowing on my tea so I could take a slow slip. The silence between us seemed to hang in the air.
"So," I began again, "given that I know how much the civilians around the village support the Uchiha, I have to assume that it's not civilians in the bars." I gave my Senpai a long look, staring him down as the last words slipped from my lips.
"Itsuki-senpai…..are the shinobi mad at the Uchiha?"
As soon as I had mentioned the Uchiha in the beginning, Itsuki's face had fallen from concerned to a dead stare, shoulders tense and fingers clasped around his cup perhaps a bit to tightly. When I had finished, Itsuki had seemed to deflate.
"Yasu-kun…." He gave me a long, tired stare. "Sometimes I think you're too perceptive for your own good." He drank his tea quickly, pushed the cup to the side and leaning back in his chair.
"You're right, things are tense right now." I had to remind myself to keep breathing steadily at that admission. "Sensei gets angry about it a lot. Me and my team, we all deeply respect the Uchiha, but Sensei was out in the field fighting the Kyuubi. He….he gets mad at us, sometimes. He's always saying the Uchiha were cowards, to scared to fight the good fight and cowering in the village well the rest of them put their lives on the line." Itsuki stopped and started biting his cheek again, looking away from me to stare at nothing.
"I've….I've even heard mutterings from other shinobi, that the Uchiha were somehow behind everything."
We were quiet for a while after that.
