I'm so sorry, I keep forgetting to update this alongside the one on AO3. Have a double update to make up for it!
Toru stretches out and places his hands behind his head as he rests in the shade underneath one of Konoha's large trees. Dark eyes staring up into the peaceful blue sky, which seems at odds to his inner turmoil. "I don't know what to do," the chūnin admits.
"Have you thought that there might not be anything you can do?" Shou responds quietly, eyes watching the clouds passing above. "She might just need time."
Toru sighs, and turns so he can raise himself up on an elbow to look at Shou, who simply rolls onto their side. "I have thought about that," Toru responds, "but she's been avoiding me." He falls quiet.
Shou sighs. "She's blaming herself, as I'm sure you've already guessed," Shou explains, and Toru dips his head in a small nod. "She'll probably work through it in time."
"But hasn't it been long enough?" Toru whines. He knows he sounds young and ungrateful, but he can't help but want to keep his friends close, and to see them drifting away pains him (maybe he's selfish, and that's a flaw, a weakness that can be manipulated; but it's a weakness that Toru accepts and is willing to have. He is human and can fail, probably will fail – this is not failure).
Shou stares at him, brown eyes fixed on him. "Has it?" They ask, "What do you really think?"
Toru doesn't respond straight away, instead quietly thinking of what's been said so far. "I don't think there would be a time that she'll be ready. I think that if I were in her position, I wouldn't get over it unless I work through it… Continue in spite of it."
"Maybe," Shou responds, "but you aren't Kiku, are you? Who's to say that you respond the same way?"
Toru sighs, "Do you have any ideas on what I should do?"
"You guys need to figure this out on your own," they reply, maddeningly. "I can't patch this up for you two. You need to do that yourself. You know this Toru; you're just trying to avoid it."
A sigh wrangles itself from Toru. "So, what do you really want help with then?" Shou asks with a knowing smile on their face.
"I need to improve," Toru eventually answers. "We're chūnin, but our skill level is really just in between high genin and low chūnin."
"What do you want to improve on then?"
Toru hesitates (here it starts, this is where his Uzushio life will start to bleed through), "I've started work on fūinjutsu," he says softly.
Shou frowns. "The sealing arts?" They repeat, "They're hard. I remember in the academy, we had a brief unit on them. Even then, it was mainly on storage and explosion seals – why we use them and how to draw them, that's why I know it's hard. What made you want to work on them?"
Toru doesn't know how to explain his reasoning for wanting to start working on fūinjutsu (how does one explain a past life anyway?). He doesn't want to lie but he can't very well tell the truth either. He settles on something that could be taken as an answer, but isn't the actual reason. "A cousin gave me a book on it as a present before my graduation."
"Ahh," Shou says. "I can't very well help you with sealing, so what do you want my help for?"
"I can work on speed alone. I can probably just use weights to slowly increase my muscle mass and my speed. I don't think I'll ever be overly good at genjutsu, because I don't have the chakra control necessary, despite being an Uchiha. However, I was thinking improving on my taijutsu paired with water walking would push my chakra control up, which will help with learning some genjutsu. I have a large chakra pool, even for an Uchiha, and that gives me a boost in the ninjutsu area. I was thinking I could learn some more to help me out there," Toru says.
"I'm going to assume you want to work on taijutsu with me, and Kiku, as she's better than both of us. What else do you want me, specifically, to help you with?" Shou asks.
"I was thinking trapping, tracking, and stealth?" Toru asks in a questioning tone. "You're the best tracker on our team. I'm thinking of seeing if Natsumi-sensei knows anyone who would be willing to teach me kenjutsu as well."
"Alright, if we aren't on a mission, we can meet here around half past nine, to commence warming up and start training at ten, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. You can see if you can rope Kiku in for a training session in the afternoon on Saturday. Perhaps we could organise a whole team training for Friday? Pull in Natsumi-sensei as well?" Shou says, "I can check with her."
"I might as well do it," Toru replies. "After all, I need to ask her about kenjutsu. I can do both things in one go."
Shou nods and stands up; Toru follows her lead. They back away from each other and settle into different taijutsu stances. Toru tilts his head, the edge of a smile appearing on his face. Shou settles their weight and waits a beat before charging.
Toru frowns as he looks at the forms laid out in front of him. He probably shouldn't have left it this late, probably shouldn't have refused to look at it for over half a year. Now he has to do it and he has a lot of work ahead of him.
"Toru?" A voice calls out.
"I'm in the dining room," Toru shouts back, glad that he has reason to drag his eyes away from the paperwork. He smiles at Sasuke when he walks in. "How has your day been?"
Sasuke shrugs, "Alright," he responds. "What are you doing?"
Toru grimaces, "I've been putting off going through the Uchiha funds, income, and the compound paperwork. I've finally decided to buckle down and go through it."
Toru sees the small flinch, and how Sasuke's expression falters for a moment. "Why are you looking at it?"
"Well, the Uchiha were doing quite well economically, up until about eight or so years ago, when everything started going down. I don't know what happened exactly, but the income was a lot lower than it had been in previous years. Anyway, that's not the point; the Uchiha clan holds the ownership of multiple shops and services, which have all still been running and some of that income has gone into the main bank for the Uchiha. We have some ownership of farms as well that people are leasing. However, the majority of the Uchiha's income came from the police program. As we no longer run that, the clan's income had diminished dramatically.
"Moreover, I don't think all the numbers are adding up, but I'll have to go through that in greater detail to make sure I'm not just seeing things. We need to figure out what we want to do with the compound as well. It'll need to have the wards and barriers all upgraded, along with the security. We also need to go through the belongings of each house and what we have in our clan library. There's a lot we need to look into."
"We can't sell our clan's belongings!" Sasuke shouts furiously.
"Much of it we won't sell," Toru responds soothingly, "but I have no doubt that there'll be items that we don't need. For example, at least one family probably owned a sowing machine and I really don't think we have use for a sowing machine, do you?"
Sasuke purses his lips but shakes his head. "It's all we have left of them," he says softly. "I just- what if we forget about them? What if we don't remember what they look like? I can't even remember what my kaa-san's voice sounds like!"
"Memories fail, Sasuke," Toru says softly, voice quiet, voice strong. "We forget like everyone else, especially those who we no longer see, with the sharingan, it's harder to forget, and that helps your memory. However, you can still forget – especially if you didn't have the sharingan on at the time. Nonetheless, you never forget the important aspects of those people. Pictures help, yes, but you can still remember them. You will forever remember your parents' love, their kindness, their strength, their beauty."
Sasuke sniffs and Toru stands up and pulls the young boy into a hug. "I don't want to forget them," Sasuke whispers, hands tightly gripping onto Toru's shirt.
"My father died years ago," Toru says lowly, gently because he can't afford to mess this up, "and although I remember little of him, I know the important things. I know he had red hair and he loved me very much. I know he had dark skin and brown eyes. I know his name. I know he didn't return home one day. However, what I really remember is a lullaby he would sing softly for me when I was younger."
"But what if I do forget them?" Sasuke asks, "What if I do?"
"You won't," Toru responds in certainty. "As long as you fear to forget them, you won't. You lived eight years of your life with them. You don't forget eight years easily."
Sasuke steps back and Toru straightens. "Now, about the clan belongings, I can go through the wills left and see what family heirlooms should be kept. Either way, I should first go through all this paperwork. What do we want to do with the clan compound?"
"What's the problem with leaving it as it is?" Sasuke asks.
"We have to pay for upkeep along with bills – water and electricity, even if we don't use it. Plus, we have to pay land tax as well. Moreover, with the Uchiha clan income as it is, we'll be losing money. However, we can afford it. The Uchiha clan has been around for a while, and we have a lot of money stored and in the bank," Toru says.
Sasuke frowns. "What did you want to do with it?"
"I was thinking we could rent some of the properties out. That way we would be getting a higher income. We could also fix up the compound and open it up again. It would make it a friendlier place. Whenever I think of the compound now, I think of blood and fear. I'd like to remember it as a place that's more than the events that took place there. And… maybe we could help people who are out on the streets."
"I… I think that that's a good idea… It's- The compound is being wasted as it is. It shouldn't be forgotten. The Uchiha clan shouldn't be forgotten," Sasuke says. "I don't want anyone in my- the main house, though."
"Of course not," Toru replies. "The house for the clan head will remain empty, along with some others."
"The houses will need to be checked as well," Sasuke says, sounding stronger than he had sounded earlier. "I mean, we need to check for personal belongings, and some of the Uchiha ninjas may have left traps and personal information… behind."
"Alright," Toru says, "We'll need to upgrade the security and change the wards to work with what we need to do. There are private training grounds there as well. We'll need to figure out what should be off-limits and what's open to the public.
"However, I'll get through our economic paperwork first. I take it we want to leave our shops and farms as they are? I'll check over the prices and the current income and adjust what's necessary."
Sasuke shrugs, "You're the clan head."
"Yes, but I'm not the only one in our clan. I'm not about to make a decision that has us in odds over it. That only serves to divide the clan. We're small enough as it is," Toru replies.
Sasuke hums and takes a seat opposite Toru. "I have homework," the academy student says in response to Toru's questioning look. "I might as well get it done."
"How are you going in all your classes?" Toru asks as he continues checking over the bank notices and statistics.
"I'm in the top of almost all my classes," Sasuke says smugly. "I've been at the top of my class for taijutsu from the beginning of the year."
"Congratulations," Toru responds, before wondering privately whether he needs to worry about Sasuke's arrogance and increasing ego, and then deciding that he'll deal with it when the problem comes up. "Do you need help with any work?"
Sasuke's expression shifts for a moment, enough that any ninja would be able to tell, and it catches Toru's attention. The chūnin flicks his gaze up and watches Sasuke carefully. "No," Sasuke says coolly, but Toru catches the waver beneath the Academy student's response.
"It's not a weakness to ask for help," Toru says, as he creates a paper pile regarding the income generated this year.
"I'm the top of almost all my classes," Sasuke repeats; as if that is a response and Toru humours him, for now, and lets the conversation take a different path.
"You do have a better education than all civilian-born students, and many clans don't actually start any major chakra work with their students until they're in your year in the Academy. There are a few clans who start earlier, but they mainly focus on chakra control, as it's needed for their clan jutsus. Of course, some clans actually teach their members certain jutsu as a milestone or to test their worth, those clan members will be the ones you need to watch out for in your class. I can't recall exactly which clans are the worrying ones though, not right now at least."
"Hn, they won't beat me," Sasuke responds.
"They might in the future," Toru says with a sharp glance at the younger Uchiha. "They're young now, you're young now. You will all improve and grow – strength changes. I'm sure you will one day ask them for help with something you find difficult."
"Unlikely," Sasuke scoffs. "Only alone can I truly be strong."
Toru stands up, carefully and controlled. "Being alone is not strength," he responds quietly, watching Sasuke and wondering what the boy will do (and he is just a boy).
"You didn't need help to escape!" Sasuke shouts, as he stands, sudden and distressing. Toru wonders when the conversation escalated to such an emotion-fuelled thing. The chair hits the ground with a loud thud. The sound is damning to Toru's ears.
There's a harsh comment on the tip of Toru's tongue, and he bites it back (just like he bites back memories of pain and red-everywhere and skin-piercing and thathurtshurtshurtsHURTSHurTs!). He thinks of something else (and brings forward the memories of a home and his people).
"Sasuke," he says softly (and he needs to be gentle, be kind, because they're on the edge here and he doesn't know which direction the next step will go in), "there are a few reasons why I managed to escape without help, but there is only one reason why I didn't break. I wouldn't have lived through one day, wouldn't have lived through another day after my return, if I didn't have people to rely on, if I didn't have connections. There are experiences you go through, Sasuke, and they will never truly leave you; they scar you, sometimes physically and sometimes in other manners. Nevertheless, you can't keep going without being able to rely on someone, without getting help.
"That isn't weakness. It's strength, because you can't keep going alone. If you do, then you end up standing alone with no one to help you up if you fall."
Sasuke licks his lips and Toru walks around the table so they can stand opposite one another without an object in the way. "That's not what he said," Sasuke murmurs, the words so quiet that Toru barely hears him. "He said the only way to be truly strong was to be alone, to do what he did- I need the same eyes."
"And so you follow Itachi now?" Toru says, the words heavy with anger and cruel in a way Toru needs. This is needed, necessary. This will make it or break it, this is what will latch out to attack, but it could be used as a shield too.
"I need to be powerful! I need to beat him! I need to kill him! I need- I need- I- I need…" Sasuke's face crumbles and tears start falling down his face. He wipes them away and wraps his arms around himself. "It's important," he whispers, dark eyes looking at something only he could see.
Toru drops to his knees so he's eye-to-eye with Sasuke (and he doesn't know how to say what he means, what needs to be said, he doesn't know- he's never been good with voicing his own thoughts and emotions, and for all his intelligence and ability to manipulate others, he refuses to turn it on those he cares for, and that makes it all the harder).
"It's important that I avenge our clan," Sasuke says, his voice sounding broken, "I have to."
This, Toru knows, is not a time to be cruel, to strike out with hard words that dig into the mind and tear, tear, tear. Numerous responses rise to the forefront of his mind, and, with the knowledge of how hard it is to be human, he picks one.
"Maybe," Toru responds in a detached manner, tilting his head and allowing his hair to fall in front of his eyes, "but there is something better than revenge. Justice is what's necessary, is it not? Death can be a lighter statement, and there are many, many things worse than death out there – especially in this world. However, nothing forces you to follow my advice nor Itachi's words."
Toru lifts his head and looks into Sasuke's identical eyes with a snarling grin on his face (and maybe there are hints of sorrow and grief and anger and hatred all tied up on his face, but they aren't important, not here). "Would it not be better to turn your back on his words and make your own choices? Be your own person? Don't let him control your actions, if you cross paths, do what you need to, but otherwise live your life. That's what's important."
Sasuke rubs his eyes and hiccups silently, and Toru pulls the boy into a hug, letting the younger Uchiha press his face into his chest. "It's not what will be that's important nor what's happened to us," Toru says calmly, as he rubs circles on Sasuke's back. "It's about what we have now, what we are now. That's important. Yeah, we might not be perfect or the best, but that doesn't matter if we're happy. What we have now – our friends, our lives, our will to live. That's important. Don't let anyone take that away from you."
Sasuke's arms close around Toru and tighten, and Toru hums softly – a lullaby that his father had sung once, that he himself had once sung (in a village by the sea). It didn't matter how unpredictable the future is, not with what they have. It's enough – it has to be.
(And if it isn't, then Toru will make it enough.)
The Kurama clan compound isn't that big and sits near Training Ground 24, and Toru hesitates as he draws closer. He could, he knows, just turn around and retreat back the way he came and continue ignoring the ever-growing rift between Kiku and himself. Except for the small part of him that refuses to let go (they're teammates and that means something).
So here Toru is, shoulders back and spine straight, head thrown up and clenched jaw. He's nervous, fearful in a way that a fight doesn't make him (because fights are over quickly, but this is something long and life changing – it's not a do-or-die situation, it's a win-or-fail situation). He's been to the Kurama clan compound before, with Kiku and Shou at his side – and once with Natsumi-sensei as well. However, here alone (and all too aware of the gaps at his sides) every step is a battle and every thought is a potential enemy; he won't stop here, though, not when he's so close to changing everything.
Toru unclenches his jaw as he reaches the gates of the compound. He knows his appearance is important, he is – after all – the Uchiha clan head, and he has to act like it. With this in mind, Toru strides up to the gates and pauses on the edge of the property.
The guard – a chūnin, if Toru isn't mistaken – takes a glance at him before nodding. "Welcome, Uchiha-san," the Kurama greets, "It is a pleasure to see you again."
"Well met, Arata-san," Toru responds, keeping in mind his barely-remembered lessons on manners and behaviours when in another clan. It had never been overly important to him, not when he had been considered an outsider within his own clan. Nonetheless, his mother had held onto her pride and it was one of the only things Toru could remember being taught.
"Is Kiku-chan at home?" Toru asks a beat later, barely remembering to add on the suffix.
The chūnin dips his head into a nod. "She is. Are you aware of where her house is?"
"I do recall where she lives," Toru responds, "May I be allowed entry?"
"Of course, Uchiha-san," Arata says.
"Thank you, Arata-san," Toru replies as he takes a step over the property line and starts walking towards Kiku's house (he's come too far to turn back now).
He raps his fist gently against the door, and it takes a moment, but then it's sliding open and Toru finds himself face to face with Kiku. "Oh," Kiku says quietly, her facial expression becoming flat. "It's you."
"Yes," Toru replies, uncertain and not sure what to say. "Listen, I think– I mean, can we– I mean, let's–" Toru shuts his mouth and takes a deep breath, "Talk? Can we, please? I think we need to."
Kiku watches him, her expression still telling nothing, but she exits the house and shuts the door behind her. "We'll go around the back," she tells him without looking at him, keeping her gaze elsewhere, and taking the lead. Toru follows her to the backyard.
Kiku kneels in front of a small koi bond, and Toru sits down next to her, hands in his lap. He looks at the pale blue water lapping the shores of the lake and wonders, once again, what to say.
"You wanted to talk," Kiku prompts, and Toru lifts his head to look at her, but her gaze is focussed solely on one of the koi.
"Yes," Toru responds. "I wanted to talk," he echoes (the words taste like smoke in his mouth). "It's been a while since we have… had a proper conversation."
"I've been busy." The words come quick and harsh; Toru almost recoils.
"Too busy to see your teammates?" He replies, just as harsh and already regretting his words (does he now taste blood in his mouth?). "I mean– right, sorry, that was rude. Let me start again?" Kiku jerks her head in a nod and Toru tries again.
"After our last B-ranked mission that Team Five was on all together, the one that went wrong, you've been avoiding me. I figured that if you weren't going to talk to me, I needed to talk to you. Shou didn't say much about what was happening," Toru sneaks a side glance at Kiku, who appears to have withdrawn into herself, eyes glazed as she stares down at the pond. "I don't want our team to fall apart," Toru finally says before falling silent.
It's silent for some time, but Toru doesn't find himself minding, and instead dips his fingers in the cool water of the pond, watching as droplets trail from his fingers. With a small spark of chakra, he manages to keep the water attached to his fingers for a few seconds longer – he makes a mental note of that.
The silence threatened to continue and Toru finds himself speaking once again. "Do you recall, Kiku, when we completed our genin test? The only reason we passed was because we worked together. I remember saying we were a team; has that changed now?"
"We aren't a team anymore," Kiku says straight away. "Team Five no longer exists – it was a genin team. We aren't genin; we're chūnin. We don't have teams; we get put on teams for missions."
"Then how come the majority of our missions have been with the others from Team Five? Are you going to sit there and tell me that Shou and Natsumi-sensei and I don't matter? I remember a kunoichi saying that we're a team. What happened to her?"
"Natsumi isn't our sensei anymore," Kiku spits out in response, anger powering her defence.
"What happened to sensei being sensei, even when we're jōnin? What happened to my teammate?"
"She grew up," Kiku says callously. "She learnt that the world wasn't a nice place. She learnt that teammates die. She learnt that you sometimes have to leave behind your own teammate for the mission! I learnt that some teammates don't think about their teammates when they give an order."
Toru flinches, hands forming fists in his lap. "Yeah, well, sometimes a teammate might just want to be responsible for their team's life, instead of their dead. I'm all seeing and I didn't see a way to get us out of that situation. There was no way we would have survived without someone staying behind. I was the best person to do so, and I couldn't ask any of you to stay back. You have families! You have lives! I couldn't ask you to forfeit all that. There wasn't enough time anyway."
"Oh, like you don't have a family? What's Sasuke, then? You can't say you don't have a life, not when you came back to it," Kiku replies.
"I don't regret it," Toru says fiercely, voice low and sure. "I don't regret my actions on that mission. I don't regret that you survive and didn't have to go through what I did. I'm glad. I regret that this is the way you see it, though. I regret that our friendship has come to pieces here. I will never regret my actions, though, no matter what."
Toru rises to his feet, "I will see myself out, Kiku-san." He bows shallowly, "Thank you for agreeing to talk with me."
Toru turns and starts leaving the compound, focussing on keeping his expression even and his feet moving (there's ash in his mouth and a heart trying to deal with the weight of failure). He wonders if Kiku will come after him (and he wonders why he still cares).
Kiku knows she should probably do something about Toru as he walks away from her (or maybe she walked away from her team first). She's been avoiding the younger chūnin, not wanting to be reminded of her failure, of how she couldn't help her teammate, of how she left him behind.
However, it now seems as if she's leaving him behind again, even if she never meant to. It's not like she means to or wants to, but she sees his face and she's recalls her failures. Toru seems adamant that it isn't her fault; that it's because of his orders; that she shouldn't blame herself.
It had hurt, when Toru had called her 'Kiku-san'. The formality left a bitter taste in her mouth, and she had been incapable of doing anything as he had walked away from her, from their team (or was it the other way around?). Kiku doesn't know what to do, doesn't know if she wants to try and reclaim their friendship. She doesn't know if she wants her team, because what if the same thing happens again?
All too alone and feeling unsure about what to do, there is only one person who Kiku feels she can go to with her internal struggle – Shou. Now, Kiku has some idea of where to find Shou, and – at this time of day – she'll probably find the chūnin at home.
Kiku races out of the clan compound, with barely a word to Arata who had been stuck with a guard shift. Kiku quickly takes to the roofs, using her chakra to power her towards Shou's house.
It seems as if Shou is ready for her, for his window was open and Kiku easily tumbles through it. "Shou, I need your help!" She cries out desperately, and the brown-haired chūnin looks at Kiku lying on his bedroom floor.
"Nice to see you too, Kiku," he responds. "What are we talking about?"
"Toru," Kiku whines, "He came to the compound today, and we had a conversation – I guess – and…" Kiku explains what's happened to Shou, trying her best to keep her bias from changing the events.
"What should I do, Shou?"
Shou, looking less disgruntled, shrugs, "I don't know, Kiku. It's up to you, but I can see two paths you can follow. You can be friends or you can ignore him. This is your decision to make, not mine."
Kiku takes a deep breath and thinks. She's been a kunoichi for some time, and almost every step of the way has been made with Shou and Toru standing alongside her, supporting her and helping her. She doesn't know if she would've made it this far without them – she doesn't want to think of a world where she never had them by her sides.
Kiku grits her teeth, "You are quite unhelpful," she informs Shou, even as she nudges the chūnin over so she can lay next to him on top of his bed.
Shou grumbles but does as suggested, "You don't want me to tell you what to do," he replies.
"Yes I do," Kiku murmurs as she closes her eyes. "It saves me the trouble of deciding."
"You're avoiding it," Shou responds but does little to kick Kiku of his bed. "And you know that." Kiku doesn't reply, but Shou hadn't been expecting one anyway.
Toru, with nothing to do and wanting comfort but now knowing where to seek it, waits for the Academy to be let out. He's been there for a second when a speeding blonde-haired menace comes careering out of the Academy with a loud shout, straight towards Toru who's leaning on a building next to a small, largely ignored, side street.
It's a half-second thought to reach out with one hand and grab the collar of Naruto's shirt and lift him off the ground. Toru shakes the boy with a huff before setting him down on the ground. "Is there a reason you're running away, Naruto?"
Naruto beams at Toru, "You're here!" He cheers before realising what Toru asked him. "Ummm, no?"
"You sound unsure," Toru responds, a smile curling on his face as other students start exiting the Academy.
"Naruto Uzumaki!" Yells a frazzled-looking chūnin and Naruto shrinks in Toru's grasp.
"This is your own fault," Toru says in amusement as he approaches Iruka with Naruto in hand. "Are you looking for this one, Iruka-san?"
"I am," Iruka growls as he basically prowls towards the chūnin and Academy student. Toru drops Naruto who looks like a cornered rabbit. "Detention, Naruto-kun. You can't escape it this time."
Naruto scuffs his foot along the ground, "I wasn't gonna," he says mulishly.
"Yes, you were," Toru says, nudging the boy slightly. "What's the detention for, Iruka-san?"
"Not handing in his homework," Iruka replies, and there's a concerned look in his eyes that's all-too-familiar. "I normally wouldn't give out a detention for such a thing, but this isn't the first time or the fifth time, actually."
"Why don't you do the homework, Naruto?" Toru asks, looking down at the blonde-eyed boy, who looks at Iruka briefly before shifting his gaze to Toru.
"It's boring! I've done it all before," Naruto finally explains. "There's nothing interesting about it and it's not gonna help me to become Hokage anyway!"
"It might," Toru says at the same time as Iruka speaks.
"Yet, you're still at the bottom of the rankings!" Iruka sighs and continues, dropping down to Naruto's height. "Naruto, you need this stuff in order to pass, and it is helpful for being a ninja. You can't very well do missions if you don't know anything about the world outside Konoha. After all, the Hokage has to make deals with surrounding towns and countries, if you don't know about them, how would you do it?"
Naruto scowls but doesn't respond. "How about this," Iruka suggests, "if you finish today's homework in your detention, I'll help you with your throwing skills and we can go out for ramen afterwards – I'll even pay."
Naruto brightens, "Sure, Iruka-sensei!" Toru exchanges an amused look with Iruka as the older chūnin herds his student back to the Academy.
Toru doesn't watch them go; instead, his eyes sweep over the crowd of Academy students and parents, searching for his only remaining family. He quickly spots Sasuke as the boy turns away from the large crowd and heads towards a small side street.
Toru quickly catches up to the boy, and Sasuke whirls around in surprise. Toru gives him a grin that doesn't even last for a second, and Sasuke tilts his head in question.
"I was getting bored waiting at home," Toru says, not really saying the actual reason. Sasuke's eyes narrow but he doesn't call Toru out on anything, which Toru is thankful for.
"How was school?" Toru asks as they start travelling through the streets. Sasuke shrugs in response and Toru thinks that it'll take ages to get home at the rate they're going. He pauses, and Sasuke stops a step in front of him. "What about we go home a faster way?" Toru asks. Sasuke gives a hesitant nod.
Toru crouches down, "Hop onto my back, we'll take the rooftops." With a little hesitation, Sasuke does as asked, arms wrapped around his neck, and Toru shifts his arms so he holds Sasuke in a secure position. "Ready?"
"Yes," Sasuke says softly into Toru's ear. The twelve-year-old grins and leaps up, chakra powering his jump, before softening his landing on the rooftops with a burst of chakra. He shoots off across the rooftops, enjoying the feeling of the wind on his face and the ability to run as quickly as he can.
(It's not like the roofs in Uzushio, where few ninja outside of Uzushio's own can use them, where the twisting and curving slopes throw people off, and the tiles, completely empty of chakra, confuse ninja and leave them uncertain where to place their feet. Konoha is different, it always has been.)
Toru easily lands on the balcony of their apartment, letting Sasuke slip off. Sasuke stares at him for a moment, a frown on his face and Toru shifts his weight, nervous and slightly fearful.
"What happened?" Sasuke demands, eyes not-quite-blank (but scared) and face stern. Toru doesn't crumble (he won't, he doesn't, not when there's secrets he holds that no one else can know – at least, not yet), but he does speak, explains. It soothes him, calms him, and he finds peace.
"Kiku… Kiku-san seems unwilling to hold onto our bond as teammates," Toru finally says as they enter the apartment.
"She isn't worth your time," is the only thing Sasuke says in response, before settling in the longue room to complete his homework, and engaging Toru with questions (and Toru knows the kid knows the answers, but he's thankful that Sasuke is involving him, keeping his mind occupied).
Shou is really getting fed up with his teammates and their inability to do something about the tension between them. He knows Toru took steps to try and regain his friendship with Kiku, who brushed the attempt off, but he also knows the pair are complete idiots when it comes to human interactions (well, Toru is when it comes to people he knows and Kiku sometimes doesn't see what's right in front of him).
It's the start of an issue when Toru comes to him for help. It's a problem when Kiku drops by unannounced and asking him for help.
It's a disaster when little Sasuke Uchiha marches up to him and demands that he 'help him murder Toru's teammate or get her to get her act together'. Then, the little twerp just turns around and left, like it isn't some major problem he's leaving Shou to deal with! Shou just knows that when he looks back at this, it'll be one of the funniest events in his life, but, right now, it isn't, and he doesn't want to deal with any of this.
If, the next day, Sasuke subtly adds a sleeping agent to Toru's morning drink, well, he simply wants Toru to be less susceptible to such a poison. And, if Shou invites Kiku over for the entire day and night, well, that's because they're friends. If, during the day, Shou keeps grinning and seems prone to random bursts of laughter, well, that's just because she's happy.
When Kiku wakes up – and when did she go to sleep? – she swears, mainly because of the pounding headache, and then she swears some more upon realising there's a silver handcuff around her wrist.
Her gaze follows the handcuff to the familiar hand in the other cuff, and her swearing cuts off abruptly. Her fellow cuffed chūnin seems to almost twitch as dark eyes slowly open; only widening fully when they see her. He blinks once before opening his mouth.
"Sasuke did something," he says with a frown. "Wait, how did he get you roped into this?"
"I was at Shou's," Kiku replies, keeping her green eyes looking in another direction so she can avoid looking at Toru's face.
"Do you think…?"
"Yeah," Kiku agrees, so used to working with her genin teammate that she didn't need to hear him say his whole thought. "Revenge?"
"Definitely," Toru says with a smirk, "I had a whole day planned, you know. Being handcuffed to you in… Training Ground something-or-the-other, wasn't in my plans."
"We don't have many trees this height in Konoha, even in the training grounds," Kiku comments. "Shall we see if we can get a good lookout point?"
Toru nods and pushes himself up, and Kiku notes his shakiness and waits a second longer than necessary, before walking up the tree next to him. The pair reach the top of the tree and try to get their bearings among the tall trees.
"I see a tower some five klicks away," Toru reports.
"Training Ground Forty-Four, you think?" Kiku asks as they sit down next to one another on a branch thick enough to support them. Toru nods. "Well, what's the plan?"
"Obviously, we need to figure out what to do about Shou, and we need to get out of here without being noticed," Toru decides. "Unfortunately, we'll probably have a mission sometime soon, so we can't do anything too drastic."
"A prank of some proportion then," Kiku says. "Hmm… He's probably expecting some kind of retribution from us, isn't he?"
A grin grew on Toru's first, the first proper one that Kiku's seen for a while, "Certainly. Shall we act as if nothing has happened, then?"
"No," Kiku says straight away, surprising both Toru and herself. She turns to face Toru and ducks her head in semblance of a bow. "I apologise for my actions about… everything. Please forgive me!"
Toru surveys her for a moment before nodding and she relaxes. "Well, we still need to pay Shou back somehow," Toru eventually murmurs. "We can't let them off lightly."
"I don't know, maybe this once…" Kiku suggests, and Toru gives her a soft smile and doesn't continue the conversation.
The pair spends their morning together, barely talking and simply enjoying the comfort that the other offered. Eventually, they leave the training ground, attempting to go unnoticed and unseen, heading to the one place where Shou won't be expecting them.
When Shou walks into their bedroom at 3pm, they're astounded to see their teammates lying on their bed looking through a picture album.
"Your mother is a very nice person, Shou," Kiku says cheerfully, "Since we were waiting for you, she gave us some picture albums of baby you!"
"I'm never going to see you the same way again," Toru adds on, "not after seeing you dressed up as a cat."
"No," Shou says, mortified as their cheeks take on a pinkish hue, "no, she didn't. She couldn't have!"
"She did, she offered us tea as well! She's a very kind person," Kiku says and Shou whines pitifully.
"Wait, why are you here?" They ask, suddenly remembering where they had left their teammates that morning. The pair lifts their cuffed hands up together without a word. "I didn't do that," Shou says, but the pair didn't bother to respond.
Shou huffs but the pleased smile on their face show that they didn't mind. "It's good to see you back to your normal selves," Shou says.
"Key," Toru says.
"Is that you in a jumpsuit?" Kiku says seconds later and Shou moans.
"I hate my life. I hate everyone in it. I hate the pair of you."
"No, you don't," Toru responds.
Shou rolls their eyes and shoves the younger chūnin over and forces Kiku to squish towards the wall. "I won't give you the key," they threatens, and Kiku flicks to the next page of the photo album. Shou wants the ground to swallow them when the first picture shows them on a table wearing nothing but shorts and a necklace.
"I hate you guys so much."
Toru checks his chūnin vest once more, before finally leaving the house. He has an appointment with the Hokage in twenty minutes, and he's worried, but he can't think of anything he's done that would've gotten the Hokage's attention.
It's only when he is waiting outside of the Hokage's office, and the others from Team Five arrive, that he remembers a C-rank mission that ended up being vital for relations between Hi no Kuni and Bokusō no Kuni.
"Natsumi Hayashi, Mochiyo Inzuka, Kiku Kurama, Fusa Sagara, Shou Shimizu, and Toru Uchiha, please enter Hokage-sama's office for briefing," the receptionist calls and the six ninja and one ninken follow her order.
The Hokage barely looks at them as they bow, mainly focussing on the paperwork in front of him. "Reporting as asked, Hokage-sama," Natsumi says.
"Four of you have been requested for a B-rank guard mission, only of high rank due to its political sensitivity. Daiki Moto, advisor to the Daimyō of Bokusō no Kuni, has requested a mission guard for the duration of his stay in Minakami with his family. He is coming as a gesture of trust between our countries, and will stay to see the Neburi Nagashi festival. Your mission will be to guard Moto, his children, and his wife, for the duration of their visit. You will keep with them from the border until they get back. Due to the sensitivity of this mission, you will be part of a six-ninja squad. The two additions are Mochiyo Inzuka and Fusa Sagara. Questions?"
"Who is the mission leader?" Natsumi asks, before her eyes flicker over her chūnin, "And will we be split into two teams?"
"You can decide that amongst yourself. You are mission leader with Mochiyo Inzuka as your second," the Hokage pauses for a moment, surveying the team that has been picked. "Dismissed."
The seven of them leave the Hokage's office, and the Inzuka is quick to suggest a meeting place. They all head to the restaurant. They take up a table at the corner, and wait for someone to start talking.
"I'm Toru Uchiha," Toru eventually says, getting sick of the silence and knowing he needs to check over his weapons. "My best skill is my ninjutsu. I was requested by Daiki-san as we have met before on a previous mission, when Team Five and I saved his children from a human slavery market."
Mochiyo nods, "I am Mochiyo Inzuka, and my strength lies in my taijutsu. I have been a jōnin for numerous years and my ninkin is Haru. He is capable."
"I am Fusa Sagara," the unknown chūnin introduces himself, "My strength lies in my genjutsu."
"Natsumi Hayashi," Team Five's sensei says, "My genjutsu is my best strength, but my other skills are not far behind. I was on the mission with my genin when we found the kidnapping group."
"I haven't been chūnin for long, but my skills are up to standard. My name is Kiku Kurama and my taijutsu is my strongest skill. I was also part of Team Five."
"I'm Shou Shimizu, and my best skill is my ability to track, but I'm an all-rounder in the main three areas. I was part of Team Five."
"It's nice to meet you," Fusa says sincerely. "What can you four tell us about the Daimyō's advisor?"
Natsumi glances at Toru, who tilts his head in a nod. "He has twin four-year-olds," Toru says, "who are known as Hoshi and Hiroshi. Daiki Moto appears to be a man who needs to be impressed but will act professionally as needed. He loves his family and considered himself in debt due to the fact we had saved his children. He will expect us to do as asked, and he had seemed at ease despite our ages. Did I miss anything, Natsumi-sensei?"
"Not that I'm aware of," Natsumi answers, "We never met Daiki's wife, but it is best that we give them both the respect they deserve." There is a pause as food is served alongside drinks, before Natsumi continues, "As this is a guard mission, I think it would be wise to have a twenty-four hour long guard. Thoughts?"
"Seems like a good idea, Natsumi-san, we can rotate the shifts as necessary. Will we have one or two people per guard shift?" Mochiyo responds.
"Perhaps one while travelling and two while in Minakami," Toru suggests. "We will all be more alert while travelling and we will all be near one another. However, in Minakami it is easier to get distracted and miss enemies. In addition to that, three of us are more-or-less new chūnin, so it would be better to have someone with more experienced paired with us."
"A sound analysis, Toru-san," Fusa says, sounding slightly surprised. "I agree with him, it is a good plan. We can have six-hour shifts while travelling and four-hour shifts in Minakami. Shall we keep to the same pairs throughout the entirety of the mission?"
"Yes," Mochiyo says, and Natsumi nods in agreement. "What are the pairs, Natsumi-san?"
"I'll go with Shou," Natsumi decides, "Fusa-san should go with Kiku, and Toru should go with Mochiyo-san. Does anyone have a problem with that?"
No one says anything, and Natsumi smiles. "Well, that's that all decided then. The mission information that I was given before coming shows that Daiki will be at our borders in approximately a week and two days. We will be travelling at civilian paces for the rest of our journey. And try to not find any kidnapping rings while we're at it, alright?"
"Hai, Natsumi-sensei," Kiku says as she rubs the back of her neck before elbowing Shou in the side. "We'll steer clear."
"More like, I'll keep you out of trouble," Toru teases, safe from Kiku on the far side of the table. Kiku scowls at him, before turning her attention to her meal. "When do you want to move out, Natsumi-sensei?"
"I'll give us three days to get to the border outpost, so meet at Konoha's main gates in six days. Is that acceptable?"
"That should be fine," Fusa says with a tilt of his head. "Now, you keep mentioning this kidnapping, human slavery ring. What exactly happened on your mission?"
"How long are you expecting to be gone for?" Sasuke asks, as he tucks his homework into his bag.
"Four days there, four days back, four days spent there, three days getting to the mission starting point, and another three days back, and of course that's if everything's on time. I'd say we should be back in roughly twenty days, but our check-in date is nineteen days after we leave. We might get back later or earlier, it all depends on how fast the civilian travel pace is really," Toru says.
He pauses in his weapon sharpening to glance over at Sasuke. "I reckon you'll be fine on your own, but do you mind if I ask Iruka to check in on you once a week?"
"No," Sasuke responds grudgingly, willing to allow such a thing if it eased Toru's worrying. "You'll be gone for a while," he remarks.
Toru's gaze drifts to the table in front of him, "Yeah, we will," he murmurs softly. "Hey, I'll see if I can get any tips about taijutsu or find a scroll on a new style. How does that sound?"
"Would you really?" Sasuke asks perking up.
Toru nods, "Of course, and since it's a festival, there should be numerous merchants from all over."
Toru packs the last of his kunai away and quickly checks over his pack and sealing scrolls. He thinks he has everything necessary. He swings his pack over his shoulder and dips down so he can be on Sasuke's level.
The Academy student gives Toru a small hug, and just as he draws away, Toru curls a hand around his neck. He pulls the boy closer so that their foreheads touch. "I'll be safe," Toru says fiercely, "and I'll come back." The to you is implied and left unsaid, as if saying such a thing will ruin what they have.
"Of course," Sasuke says back, a smile curling on his face. "I'll have gotten the new taijutsu stance down by then."
Toru smiles as he stands and ruffles Sasuke's hair, "I'm sure you will have," he says in response, believing it full heartedly. "Don't get into too much trouble with Naruto, you hear me?" Sasuke runs out the door with a wave, leaving Toru in their empty apartment.
Toru doesn't glance back as he leaves, keeping his gaze forward (and there's a village calling to him, but this isn't the time or the place, and it must wait – and it will, because it knows that this isn't the time).
Shou Shimizu has thoughtfully planned out to get their friends to remember that their friendship is strong and that their bond as teammates outweighs all other problems. It works. Iruka Umino attempts to get Naruto to work, and Naruto speaks up, and they both try. Meanwhile, Toru Uchiha thinks that something is up, even if he doesn't know what, and Sasuke talks of memories left unspoken. The world continues to go on.
I'd like to mention I'm having a lot of fun world building and manipulating and subtly adding influences. First person to spot any problems wins (it's pretty obvious). On another note (or maybe the same note, I know and you don't), Toru seems to be getting the Uchiha's affairs in order, and what's up with the income?
Also, can we speak about Sasuke's character development, because he's hard to write (also my laptop failed me and deleted my original writing when Sasuke breaks down, and I think it was much better - but I can't remember any of it, so I may just be biased). Of course, Toru and Sasuke just end up getting closer as a result and some of Sasuke's worst thoughts are swayed slightly, but - of course (and why does this phrase keep coming up? I need a new one) - it isn't that easy, and Itachi's influence still clings to Sasuke.
I was originally planning to have some more emotional drama, but at that point there was a lot going on with Kiku and Toru (they finally got their act together, or maybe Shou simply figured out that interference was necessary - and how cute is Sasuke's protective stance? It doesn't even come up properly in here, but it's pretty important) trying to become friends and all that stuff. Did I mention how annoying that clan stuff is? I had to think about manners and politics and also Japanese traditions that I have no clues about (and therefore I hope I have not offended anyone, and if there is something wrong, please let me know so I can attempt to fix it with - or without, I can research some more - your help).
Naruto and Iruka bumbled their way into this chapter, moving with the bullheadedness they are both known for. Hopefully, this is something that will influence canon and also change Naruto slightly, because it is obvious that Naruto could've been so much more, but also his sudden jump was completely odd and unrealistic, I will attempt to change that.
And then, a mission simply stuck its head into this chapter - and, yeah, I could've gone further with it, but I thought it could be part of the next chapter that I haven't even thought about - and decided it needed to exist, and that I should do some world building because only certain parts of the Naruto world actually have names.
Here's the newly created geography: Kusagakure is in Grass Country (Bokusō no Kuni), the capital in Fire Country (Hi no Kuni) is Minakami and where the Daimyō lives. It is here that the Neburi Nagashi Festival (search Akita Kantō for more information) takes place in the Fire Country (I haven't decided whether other countries will actually have this festival as well).
As a reminder, the C-rank mission in question is chapter four I think, the one after Teammates, and it is where Daiki Moto (advisor to the Kusa-country Daimyō) loses his children - Hoshi (female) and Hiroshi (male). You will get to meet his wife next chapter, and I have no clue what will happen going forward!
I'm appreciating the fact I managed to get a chapter out in another month, but this will slow down as I head into more and more school, and I go away in a month for two or something weeks (and my writing time goes down the drain).
On that note, I'm probably going to let this chapter wrap up here. Thank you for reading and please comment, it makes my day and really pushes me to write (actually, I got the motivation to finish this chapter because I looked at people's comments while bookmarking, that seriously made my day).
