Chapter Nine: Fulfilling


Konoha deliberately advertised the building location of its Intelligence Division. Well, it advertised the location of one of its buildings. The village did that for the same reason it had gray, military-style uniforms for all its intel operatives—to demonstrate to its citizens that it was a martial dictatorship, first and foremost. (Of course, the higher taxes that the civilians paid was another, more immediate reminder.)

The weight around her neck told Kimi that she was no longer in that category. Instead of being a second-class citizen, she was now a ninja. One of them. Kimi didn't feel too different. Hitai-ate aside, even her clothing was remained the same. Perhaps that would change soon, though Kimi wasn't sure if Konoha made child-sized intelligence uniforms.

The front room of the Intelligence Division looked like the entrance to an ordinary office building. A few people milled about, with emotions ranging from boredom to barely contained panic. Only the twitchy civilian man in the wooden chair seemed to react to her arrival. The Yamanaka manning the desk blinked at Kimi, pale-green eyes blank and unconcerned. The downward twitch of her lips told a different story, however.

"State your name and rank, please," drawled the secretary.

"Mita Kimiko," she hesitated slightly, "genin."

The Yamanaka seemed dubious of that (or perhaps life in general), raising a blonde eyebrow as she scribbled something down. "Do you have an appointment?"

That threw Kimi off. Was this the Intelligence Division or the DMV? Well, I guess bureaucracy is the same everywhere, she mused.

"Uh, no, but—"

"If you would like to make an appointment, proceed to the leftmost desk and fill out a request form." The woman began shuffling documents in a dismissive manner. "An operative will review your…" She paused. "Mita Kimiko, was it?" The Yamanaka peered down at a rather crumpled paper. "May I see your ID?"

Kimi pulled out her ninja registration form and card. The secretary skimmed the papers and handed them back.

"Hitai-ate, please," she said.

Kimi untied it from her neck. The woman held it for less than a moment before handing it back.

"Proceed down the hallway to my right." Her tone was one of uninterested dismissal.

Kimi lingered for just a moment before opening the door and proceeding down the long hallway. She scratched her arm and frowned at how uncomfortable the corridor made her. There was nothing on either wall, but there was a black door at the very end. She continued walking, but the door didn't seem to get any closer, though the itch in her coils grew stronger.

She stopped and flared her chakra. The illusion faded away, revealing a much shorter hallway with a significantly more doors.

"Clumsy. And that took much longer than I expected." Inoichi, dressed sharply in his intelligence uniform, frowned in disappointment. Unlike most times, he was also wearing a long black trench coat.

"Sorry, sensei, for not expecting genjutsu on my first day at work." She crossed her arms and fixed him with an unimpressed look.

"A ninja should—"

"—always be prepared?" she finished.

"You know it." Inoichi tapped her head. "Now you need to live it."

She nodded, sighing. "Yeah, yeah."

Shinobi, most wearing the standard gray uniform, acknowledged Inoichi as they passed him in the hallway. Most used some sort of hand signal, though a few murmured greetings. Every so often, a ninja in a navy version of the outfit would stride down the hallway.

"What's with the blue?" Kimi asked, noting the scratches on that ninja's face.

"Different branch." Inoichi's expression didn't change from his default, pleasant smile. "Torture and Interrogation has different uniforms."

She mused it over. The Academy had gone over the structure of Konoha's forces, but they'd been a vague about the organization of the Intelligence department, for obvious reasons. Inoichi had told her more, though not by much.

"Three branches, right? Internal, External, and T&I?" She paused. "I'm guessing that T&I is separate because they work more extensively with the other divisions of Konoha."

"Yes." His smile took a pleased tinge. Inoichi turned left and opened the first door. Kimi followed, blinking as she entered a room that was bigger and brighter than she'd expected. Standing straight and at attention was a scarred ninja in his late teens. His uniform was blue and slightly torn. Beside him, a younger teen—purpled-haired and provocatively attired—lounged against a table, her head lolled back.

"Hey, boss," drawled the girl. "Who's this?"

The other teen grinned, stretching the deep gouges that ran across his face.

Inoichi shifted, giving the two a better look at her. "This is Mita Kimiko, my apprentice. Kimi, these two are Morino Ibiki, deputy head of T&I, and Mitarashi Anko."

Kimi vaguely remembered Ibiki from the show, but she had much clearer memories of Anko. Both were much younger than she'd expected.

Kimi stepped forward and bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Her teacher continued, "From time to time, Kimi will be working with T&I and the departments of Internal Intelligence. She'll be starting with you, Ibiki. Do keep her out of trouble."

Ibiki's grin grew wider, though he still stood at straight attention. "Of course."

With that, Inoichi flicked an unfamiliar hand-sign at Ibiki before leaving. Kimi blinked at the abrupt departure before glancing at the two teens. Both seemed entirely unconcerned.

Anko drew a kunai and twirled it around her fingers. "Let's see, here…" She looked Kimi up and down. "Civilian-born, likely, from those clothes and chakra signature. Her build suggests minimal to average taijutsu skills, and the lack of substantial callouses implies a similar skill-range with weapons. Chakra signature, average." She turned to Ibiki. "Did I miss anything?"

"Nothing important," he said, staring straight at Kimi. His smile hadn't diminished in the slightest.

Anko traced small circles on her cheek with her kunai. "Now, Kimi-chan," her voice dripped with artificial sweetness, "who did you fuck to get this job? Your Academy teacher? " She pursed her lips. "Inoichi? He doesn't strike me as a man who'd be interested in a little girl, but you never know."

Kimi bowed again. "I look forward to working with you," she said blankly. Anko's obviously trying to rile me up, but her malice seems genuine. Is she that good of an actor, or is she actually annoyed by me?

"Stand down, Anko." Ibiki relaxed his shoulders and adjusted his footing, shifting his body-language to a more neutral one. "Go get Mita-san a uniform. After that, we'll show her around."

The emphasis on the last word was strange, but compared to the way Anko was now licking her kunai, it was easy to overlook.

"Come on, sweet cheeks." Anko sauntered out the door. "I'm not going to wait, so you better come quickly if you don't want to get lost."

Kimi hurried after her, listening as Anko pointed out various rooms and people (interspersed with increasingly vulgar insults). They entered a guarded and sealed room, and several sets of gray uniforms were summarily thrown at Kimi. Apparently, they did have child-sized intelligence uniforms.

Though mildly disturbed at how Anko knew her clothing sizes down to the shoes, Kimi changed without protest. The button-down tunic and slacks were starched, and the black boots were stiff and uncomfortable. Finally, she slipped on the armband that marked her as a member of the Intelligence Division. The armband version of the hitai-ate would later be assigned to her, and it would go on the right arm.

"Wow, you look cute in that." Anko sighed, tilting her head from side to side. "Now that you're all dressed up, it's time to learn about this lovely, wonderful place!"

Kimi nodded. "Of course, Mitarashi-san." It seemed that Anko had eased up on the insults. Hopefully, the other girl had learned what she'd wanted from Kimi's reactions (or lack thereof.)


Kimi's optimism was short lived. Anko's vitriol had increased, and though Ibiki had rejoined them, the older teen didn't do anything to stop her. Kimi wasn't too bothered by the barbs, however. If anything, she was impressed. Anko had a creative vocabulary, and the way she pivoted from subject to subject to find Kimi's weaknesses was rather impressive. In between disparagement of Kimi's appearance and parentage, Anko had told her a fair amount about the different departments. Ibiki didn't do much besides grin and insert the occasional comment.

"... and watch out for Mibu Moguru. He's the head of Cryptography, and I swear, he's like a fucking ghost. He's not as bad as Yasei, though. She leads COMINT, and she's a sociopath." Anko's smile became fond. "Well, more so than the average ninja. Did you feel bad when your mother died, Kimiko?"

That threw her slightly, though Kimi was rather bemused by Anko's wording. It would be stranger if I didn't feel bad about my mother's death, she thought wryly.

"How about the heads of Psych and Analysis?" asked Kimi.

"Psych's headed by Yamanaka Sashi, who's boring as hell, and Analysis has Koujaku, who's easy to piss off. I'm guessing you're still guilty about the whole thing, since you weren't strong enough save your mom." Anko pouted and twitched her fingers in a way that didn't seem random.

Kimi exhaled a little too quickly. She'd mostly shoved that out of her mind, acknowledging that it was futile to beat herself up over something that had already happened… but Anko's words had touched a sore spot. Afterall, Kimi had known about the Nine-Tail's attack ahead of time. Her guilt was more than survivor's guilt.

"Aw, did I make you sad? Why? Why're you sad?" said Anko, tone innocent. Ibiki shifted to the left, slowing down so that he was behind Kimi. "It's not like you matter. You're still really fucking weak, which means that you've learned nothing after your mommy croaked."

A surge of self-loathing was followed by incandescent anger. Her eyes darted to the right, but Kimi managed to avoid displaying any other tells. Anko apparently has no qualms with using personal information to insult others. For a moment, Kimi was tempted to snap back—to prod at Anko's abandonment issues, her constantly questioned loyalty, or even her cursed seal—and then her rage flickered and died.

What was I thinking? Picking on a kid for telling me the truth?

Kimi smiled. "You're pretty accurate," she said, acknowledging Anko's harsh comments for the first time. "You must be really good at your job."

Anko blinked, and her lips twitched. She obviously recognized Kimi's answer for what it was. "I can't say the same about you, darling."

Kimi shrugged. "We'll see how long that lasts."

Ibiki returned to his previous position by Anko's side. "Knowing the boss, it won't be very long." He jut out his jaw, intensifying his grin. Kimi smiled hesitantly back. Was that a compliment? Ibiki continued, "In a week, you'll either be competent or thrown into the Genin Corps."

Well, if that happened, Kimi would be able to join the Med Corps. Dr. Nohara had hinted that her offer was still on the table. However, Kimi doubted that Inoichi would just dump her to the curb after all that training. She wasn't as disposable as she used to be, or so she hoped. At the very least, Inoichi would lose a free babysitter if he did that.

Anko turned to him. "Any bets?"

Ibiki snorted. "You still owe me money. I'm not betting with you on anything."

"A hundred ryou that I don't last a week," interrupted Kimi.

"Betting against yourself?" Anko laughed, but it sounded more authentic than the sardonic ones that had accompanied her verbal abuse.

Kimi smiled, a bit brighter than the polite one that had been plastered on her face. "It's a win-win situation. If I make it through the week, I continue to be a ninja in the Intelligence Division. If I fail, then at least I get a hundred ryou."

"I'll take it!" Anko said. She winked before stretching, causing her mesh shirt to rise up. It was clearly meant to be alluring, though the girl couldn't be more than fifteen. "I could use the money to pay back Ibiki. Or dango. Either works."

"I won't take the bet. You must be confident in your skills if you're wagering such a small amount of money." Ibiki scoffed. "If Inoichi picked you as his apprentice, then he clearly sees something in you." He paused as they passed a blue-uniformed kunoichi, signalling to her in a lazy manner. "What it is, though, I don't know." He spoke in a matter-of-fact manner, his words lacking any bite or mockery.

"When you find out, do tell me," said Kimi dryly. Her words tinged with more honesty than she'd intended. Kimi still wasn't sure what Inoichi had planned for, exactly—did he have a plan at all? As she'd learned in the past few years, the Yamanaka clan was more adaptive than the Nara; they tended to focus more on developing assets that could be later used, as opposed to elaborate master plans.

Anko laughed again, and Kimi noted that her kunai was sheathed. "Don't worry, dear. You'll be the first person to hear it."


After that, both teens altered their behavior. Anko's insults became more like playful banter, though every so often she'd throw a barb sharp enough to make Kimi wince. Anko always smiled with satisfaction after each reaction. Ibiki dropped the intimidating, silent presence of before and started explaining the different rules, expectations, and jobs that Kimi would be doing in T&I. (Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. Ibiki was still intimidating. He just wasn't silent.)

For the most part, Kimi's assigned tasks were trivial. It reminded her of the boring office internship she'd had in college; almost all she did was fill out menial paperwork and work as a gofer. Anko in particular seemed to relish making Kimi fetch random, useless objects. Kimi noticed that the teen seemed to have an odd role in the Division. Instead of the casual, friendly banter the employees shared between each other, the others' treatment of Anko was chilly, to say the least. Ibiki seemed to be the only one who treated Anko with any civility, and Anko reciprocated by restraining her sharp tongue around him. The source of their hostility was obvious; Orochimaru's defection hadn't been forgotten.

The majority of T&I personnel weren't that interested in Kimi, at first. A few treated Kimi with mild disdain, while others ignored her, but their attitudes rapidly changed once they learned she was Inoichi's apprentice. They became friendlier after that, including her in their jokes and conversations.

It was… strange. Though it felt like decades ago—had ten years really passed by?—she'd been respected for her position as a doctor in her last life. But she'd earned that respect through years of study and hard work. During her new life, Kimi had been overlooked in the Academy for her middling grades and civilian status. The Yamanaka had noticed her and helped her, but that wasn't exactly respect. Being treated better, simply because of her association with someone else, was jarring, but she smiled and dealt with it the best she could.

Finally, her shift ended. Inoichi was waiting for her as she left the room, his hands tucked into the pockets of his trenchcoat. His body language was the epitome of relaxed: shoulders loose, legs crossed, head tilted. Kimi didn't know if it was genuine or not. She could never tell with Inoichi.

"Sensei," she greeted.

He smiled. "Kimi-chan. Walk with me."

Kimi fell into step with him as he navigated the maze of hallways. They layout of the Intelligence Division was made to be as obfuscating as possible, with multiple underground levels, dead ends, loops, and hidden entrances. Kimi wasn't sure how truthful it was, but Anko had told her stories of ninja getting lost in the hallways and dying of thirst.

"How did you like working with Ibiki and Anko?" asked Inoichi as they doubled-back through a different entrance.

"I learned a lot about the Intelligence Division." Kimi blinked at the flashing seals on the wall. Inoichi seemed unconcerned, however, so she continued. "Anko is interesting, and Ibiki told me about what I was supposed to do." If my role here is to be a glorified intern, I'm going to be bored out of my mind.

Inoichi must have guessed her train of thought. "Most days, you'll work under me. Unfortunately, a delicate situation demanded my attention today. During those times, you'll be assisting different departments, doing whatever tasks they ask of you. It'll help you understand the various sections in the Intelligence Division and their roles." He paused. "I'd suggest getting to know Ibiki and Anko. Ibiki is likely to be the head of T&I in a few years, and Anko's incredibly skilled."

"I'll do that." Kimi frowned. Though she knew the cause for the prejudice against Anko, Kimi wasn't supposed to have that knowledge. Besides, she was curious to see what Inoichi would say. "Sensei, I noticed that people treated Anko-san rather poorly. Sure, she's a bit abrasive, but that didn't seem to be cause for their behavior."

Inoichi hesitated, so slightly that Kmi wasn't sure if she'd really seen it. "You caught that, did you?" His tone was an odd mix of pride and regret. "Give me your best guess."

Kimi looked at her feet. "I have no idea. I don't think it's because of something she did, though."

Inoichi pressed his hand against a wall. Light flashed, and the outline of a door appeared. "You're correct." He pushed it open. "Anko was Orochimaru's apprentice and the only survivor of his experiments. After he defected, suspicion naturally fell on her. T&I cleared her completely, but not many people trust her, and others blame her for her teacher's actions."

"Then why does she work in the Intelligence Division?" Kimi followed him down a long hallway with no doors besides the one at the end—not unlike the one she'd seen in the genjutsu. "If she's suspicious, then letting her work in an area with so much sensitive information seems counterproductive."

"We cleared her, remember? Though Anko's skillset isn't meant for this division, others were loathe to let her out of Konoha." said Inoichi. His gaze was steely. "Some people may hold unwarranted suspicions, but that is no reason to deprive the village of capable ninja."

Kimi smiled. "That's very true, sensei." Of course, it was also a powerplay—one that benefited Anko. By taking her in, the Intelligence Division had expressed confidence in its abilities while swooping up a powerful (though potentially compromised) piece. That show of trust was necessary, especially after such a massive failure of their operations. She wasn't too surprised. Inoichi could be underhanded and scheming, but he was neither narrow-minded nor needlessly cruel.

I'm curious to know what he thinks of Naruto, though. He knew Minato well, and as he demonstrated, Inoichi isn't one to fall prey to prejudice.

Inoichi smiled back at her, recognizing her questions for what it was. He opened the door, and Kimi squinted at the sunlight. "Now it's time for me to fill another part of the bargain." Apparently, they'd taken a passageway that led to a district just outside the Yamanaka Compound. He briefly placed his hand on her shoulder. "I ended your shift early so that we could work on genjutsu. Are you ready?"

"Of course, sensei." Kimi joined him as they walked into the bustling street, blinking back tears from the unnaturally harsh light. Her skin prickled, and she rubbed her arms as a brisk breeze washed over her. "I've been ready for quite sometime."


She scuffed her foot against the dirt of the familiar training field, excitement causing her fingers to itch. Genjutsu—using chakra to affect the mind. Kimi had languished for years, searching the limited materials she'd had for anything that could expand her meager knowledge. She didn't bother to hide her eagerness; Inoichi knew. He'd known for years, and he'd held the information just out of her reach.

Her teacher stood at the other end, serene. His chakra signature pulsed minutely as he signalled to someone unknown.

"Genjutsu used to be the hallmark of the ninja," Inoichi began. "Before the time of clans and hidden villages, ninja hid in the shadows. The first ninja were people desperate enough to spy and murder others for payment. Genjutsu, which misdirects and deceives, was their weapon of choice. What is the use of showy jutsu if you don't wish to be seen?" He stepped forward, and the air grew cold.

"Nowadays, most of the emphasis is on overt strength, on winning battles as quickly as possible. Of all the clans, the Yamanaka are the ones who hold most closely to the original creed. An enemy that does not notice you is an enemy that you do not need to fight." Raindrops started to fall as Inoichi continued his approach. Thunder rumbled in the darkening clouds.

"The Yamanaka clan is known for its mastery of the mind. We do not need our hidden techniques to break a person's psyche." He smiled, and the trees began to shake. "The best Yamanaka do not even need chakra. But out of all the ninja arts, we prefer genjutsu."

Kimi blinked, and Inoichi vanished. Wind slammed against her face, twisting her hair into a tangled, sopping mess. Rain fell sideways, icy and unrelenting. Kimi had to get out of the storm before she froze to death. She wiped her face of moisture, rubbing at her eyes, and lightning flashed incessantly.

Her head felt… strange, throbbing and heavy, as if she was forgetting something… wasn't she was supposed to be doing something? Yes, yes, getting out of the storm, whispered the voice in her head. Kimi almost listened to it. The rain had numbed her arms, but they still itched, much like they did when—

"Kai!" she shouted, flaring her chakra intensely. Kimi was back in the sunny training field, and Inoichi was standing where he was before. She touched her hair. It was as frizzy and dry as usual.

Inoichi's smile had taken on a distinctly smug tint. "The longer a genjutsu lasts, the harder it is to break out of it. The best genjutsu users are subtle enough to draw their victims into their illusions piece-by-piece until they no longer think to question it."

Kimi rubbed at her arms. "The genjutsu wasn't as intrusive as it usually is. I didn't feel anything off until towards the end." She held up her hand. "Wait, don't tell me." Some people had chakra hypersensitivity that was magnitudes worse than her own: for those patients, chakra healing had to be done incrementally, so that their body could adjust. "Let me guess: you started with a small amount of chakra in the the genjutsu and gradually increased it."

His smile grew. "Yes, that's how I did it."

She scowled in response. "When did you start the genjutsu? When we came out onto the training field?" Kimi paused, trying to remember when things had first felt different. "Oh, you're an ass, sensei. Don't tell me that you did it when we left the Intelligence Division!"

"I did ask if you were ready!" He threw back his head and laughed. "Don't worry. You'll have plenty of chances to get even. After all, you'll be practicing on me."

They started with theory, as they usually did when broaching a new area. Genjutsu casting was divided into two kinds: area affect and localized. Area-affect genjutsu worked on a large amount of people, but it was harder to control and easier to break. Localized genjutsu was the opposite. As Inoichi said, it was the difference between a net and a knife. Kimi knew one of each: her silencing one, which prevented people from overhearing her conversations, and the dramatically named "heart of terror," which simply caused a sudden feeling of fear in its victims.

Genjutsu effect also had two divisions: evocative and invocative. The former drew upon the victim's own memories, and the latter was controlled by the caster. Until Kimi had a better grasp on genjutsu, she would only be learning the invocative kind. Evocative genjutsu was generally more powerful, more believable—but it was easier to turn against the caster.

Kimi nodded. Inoichi's past lessons and the Academy had gone over most of it.

He continued, "The more parts of the brain that the genjutsu affects, the harder the genjutsu is to use. The genjutsu that you know are the simplest kind; one is auditory, and the other causes a single, strong emotion. Today, I will be teaching you one that is a little more complicated: it has an auditory and visual component. Once you master those components, you can even add an emotional response." Inoichi paused. "The hardest part of genjutsu is avoiding the backlash. The brain automatically wants to mimic the parallel flow of its chakra in another brain. Be careful that you don't fall prey to your own illusions or worse."

"I understand." Kimi grimaced. She'd seen the nasty consequences of improper genjutsu, from ruptured coils to diffuse axonal injuries. Medical jutsu was powerful, but it could rarely heal brain injuries of that magnitude. Genjutsu could be just as devastating to the caster as the victim.

Inoichi ran through the handsigns twice. "This is one of my favorite genjutsu, and it's relatively easy. It makes the victim feel like the shadows are growing and whispering. Of course, Shikaku would follow it up by actually making the shadows move. You're not on a team with a Nara, but this genjutsu is great for intimidation." He cast it on her, and after a few moments of uncomfortable, painful observation, Kimi easily broke out of it. "Now, it's your turn."

Kimi made the hand seals slowly, feeling her chakra shift with each sign. Genjutsu consisted of mostly Yin chakra. Unlike medical jutsu, it didn't need the chakra to be purified. Some genjutsu, mainly the ones that had physical components, also required Yang chakra. This one was mostly Yin, but it used a little Yang chakra to make the auditory components more realistic. Just before she cast the genjutsu, she hesitated. With new medical jutsu, Kimi never tested it out on a human subject. Miscast genjutsu could be even more damaging than medical mishaps.

"Sensei, are you sure?"

"Don't worry about me," said Inoichi. He winked at her in a way that was supposed to be reassuring. "I'm more than capable of handling anything you throw at me."

She nodded, still doubtful. Kimi closed her eyes, focusing on each strand, and sent a thin net of chakra over her teacher. Once the genjutsu was settled in, Kimi could see a faint afterimage overlayed on her vision. Genjutsu specialists called it "the ghost." It allowed the caster to kept control of the illusion, though paying the afterimage too much attention could lead to the brain accepting it as the new reality. Hence the name.

The shadows of the trees rustled and lengthened, growing eyes and pale mouths. Their teeth gnashed, and Kimi struggled as the image grew warped and darker, and—

"Kai." Inoichi's sharp word cut through her illusion.

Chakra snapped back into her own mind, and she winced. Kimi was going to have a killer headache. Her hand glowed with green light as she pressed it to her temples.

"Genjutsu backlash is nasty, isn't it?" He seemed more amused than concerned. "In time, you'll learn how to adjust to the flood of chakra or release the illusion before they end it."

Her mind felt less like it was about to fall out of her head, but it still throbbed. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good," said Inoichi. "Now, do it again."


It was her day off, and Kimi was babysitting. Of course she was.

"Tell me more stories, Kibi-nee!" shouted Ino as she climbed over her. "More, more!"

"Ask nicely, Ino," Kimi reprimanded.

The girl huffed. "Kibi-nee, please?" She put her hands on her hips and pouted.

Kimi tried not to roll her eyes as she patted Ino on the head. "Thank you for your good manners."

Though adorable, the three-year old was quite bossy and precocious. I wonder where she got it from. Misaki had been effortlessly polite, while Inoichi always seems pleasant. Well, I wouldn't be that surprised if Inoichi was bossy as a kid…

"Please! Please, please!" She bounced up and down in Kimi's lap, causing the older girl to wince. "Shika, tell Kibi-nee! Story, story!"

Shikamaru, who was half-dozing against Kimi's shoulder, blinked. He looked at Ino, sighed, and adjusted his position so that he'd no longer be jostled by Ino's antics. Chouji gnawed on a lollipop beside him, entirely unconcerned.

"If I ask for a story, then we have to play shogi," Shikamaru mumbled. "And I get to take a nap without you being loud."

Ino frowned. "Shogi? But it's boring!" She suddenly beamed, which caused Kimi's stomach to sink. Clearly, Ino had something planned. "Okay, Shika! So now you gotta ask!"

"Fine. Could we have a story, please?" Shikamaru blinked again, blearily.

Chouji perked up at that. "It's storytime?" He scooched closer to Shikamaru.

Beset by cuteness on all three sides, Kimi couldn't help but give in. "Fine, fine. I'll tell you—"

"The ring one!" Ino shouted into Kimi's ear.

"Not so loud, Ino," said Kimi, giving her a look. Ino mumbled an apology and immediately quieted.

"Eh?" whined Chouji. "I wanna the chocolate boy!"

The two kids started to squabble, but Shikamaru cut through them with two words.

"Shogi first."

"Why?" Ino glared at him.

Shikamaru sighed again. "Because we'll fall asleep."

Ino's glare softened to a contemplative stare. She looked at him for a good minute before giving him a short nod.

"Okay!" she chirped. "Kibi-nee will play. She's big and smart." Her grin grew cheeky. "More, more fun than me!"

The Nara turned thoughtful, giving Kimi a once-over. "Sure," he agreed.

Kimi rolled her eyes at Ino's manipulations. The girl was already capable of cajoling and bribing the boys to do what she wanted. Inoichi encouraged it, of course.

"I warn you, I'm not very good. I haven't played in a long time." Now that she thought about it, she hadn't played shogi since her last match with Shikaku. Kimi helped Shikamaru lift the shogi board from the cabinet. "If you're expecting a hard fight, you'll probably be disappointed."

"That's okay." Shikamaru had said it in a deadpan, unsurprised voice, as if he hadn't expected her to ever pose a challenge.

Despite herself, Kimi's eye twitched. While Kimi fully admitted that Shikamaru was a bonafide genius, it still annoyed her that a three-year old thought so little of her. She began to set up the pieces, though to her embarrassment, Shikamaru had to correct the position of a few. He looked at her, disappointed, before grumbling that they'd better get it over with.

Kimi still remembered how most of the pieces moved, thankfully. The match proceeded quietly, interrupted only by Ino's occasional comment. However, Shikamaru seemed very unhappy. His expression, which had been a slight frown at the start of the game, had become a deep scowl. After Kimi moved a pawn, Shikamaru finally broke his silence.

"That doesn't make sense!" he said loudly, startling them all. "Why are you playing like that?"

Kimi stared at the normally placid boy. "Did I move the piece incorrectly?" It had been a while, but Kimi liked to think that she remembered how to move a pawn.

"No!" Shikamaru glared at the board. "You're not doing the pattern right!"

Kimi scratched her head. "Sorry?"

Shikamaru's glare intensified before he moved a piece. The game continued smoothly from there, though Shikamaru seemed ruffled by something. The loss of composure carried over to his playing; he made a few mistakes that Kimi didn't hesitate to take advantage of. It was embarrassingly difficult, but Kimi did manage bring it to checkmate.

"That was a good game, Shika-kun," she said, giving him a sincere smile, doing her best not to let her smugness show. Seriously, it's shameful that I feel this happy about beating a toddler…

Shikamaru muttered something inaudible as Kimi cleaned up.

"Now, story!" Ino practically fell on the boy, annoying him enough to get him to move. She then bounded over to Kimi, sitting beside her in a model of patience. Chouji joined her, and after a moment, Shikamaru did, too. Once all the kids were comfortable, Kimi began.

"Let's return to the story…"

Kimi started to tell a tale that included both a quest to destroy the ring and a chocolate factory. Somewhere along the road, Furodo gained super-cool mind jutsu and a magic, neverending bag of chips. As expected, the kids fell asleep halfway through. Ino was sprawled over Chouji, who was squishing Shikamaru, who was firmly curled against Kimi.

She sighed softly, carefully, as to not wake them. Despite the dogpile of elbows and knees, Kimi felt quite comfortable—like the summers of her first childhood, when all her younger brothers would huddle with her on the couch as they watched horror movies. The memory was accompanied by a faint pang of painful nostalgia.. Her writings in the journal were fresher than the memories she had left. Her recollections of her last life had faded greatly, enough so that it felt like a long, old dream.

How the times have changed, mused Kimi. I used to think that this life was a dream, and now it feels like my last one was...

Her eyes trailed over the three children, and she couldn't help but smile. Despite the reminder of her old life, she felt content.


Inoichi tossed her a file. Kimi scowled at him, hunched in a corner of his office. He was taking advantage of her apprenticeship under him to make her do more paperwork. Lovely.

"Alright, Kimi-chan," he said cheerfully. "I'm giving you a choice. You can either categorize these personnel reports in the file cabinets, or you can organize these reports from Kumo."

She perked up at the mention of the foreign village. Konoha obviously limited reports of countries outside of the Land of Fire. And with her formerly nonexistent clearance, Kimi had learned nothing accurate about the other villages.

"I'll take the file from Kumo." She skimmed through the papers, already bored by the dry tone. The more pressing matter, of course, was the next major event. After the Attack, she'd learned from her mistake. If her timeline was accurate, Kumo would be attempting a kidnapping in a year, and Kimi would be in a slightly better position to change it. With a sigh, she settled down to read the thick file. There was an art to reading intelligence reports, and the majority of the art depended on not falling asleep.

Most of the reports were general information—Inoichi wouldn't give her anything too classified, of course—but halfway through, Kimi began to notice an interesting trend.

"A clandestine source from the capital of Lightning Country observed that Kumo was accepting more missions from the Rice Country, traditionally considered to be in Konoha's sphere…"

"The Daimyo of Lightning has increased efforts to gain control of the Kaizoku sea…"

"Refugees of the Bloodline Purges in Kiri have continued to flee, settling predominantly in Tea Country. Lightning Country has begun to offer asylum…"

"Kumo outposts in the Land of Hot Springs have expanded the number of active personnel…"

Konoha and Kumo both (openly) preferred protection missions, but Kumo had begun encroaching more frequently on Konoha's sphere of influence. Not only that, they had experienced a surge of refugees from Kiri. Kumo had never been known for its bloodlines, but with their recent addition, that could change. Clearly, they were taking advantage of Konoha's still-weak position...

"Kimi-chan, you seem deep in thought." Inoichi raised an eyebrow at her.

She blinked, realizing that she'd been staring at one paper for a while.

"Sorry, sensei. I'll get back to organizing." She bit back another sigh. Still, it was worth looking into. The more she knew about Kumo, the more capable she was of stopping what they'd planned.


Kimi sat in a stall by the fifth training ground, book in hand. Inoichi had lent her Mastery of Genjutsu from the Yamanaka library, and normally, Kimi would be entirely focused on the words. Now, however, she was simply flipping through the pages. Kimi had used the Intelligence Division's records to find the grounds that Itachi's team trained at. After that, she'd determined the fastest route from the there to the Uchiha District and positioned herself at a yakisoba food place. Kimi felt a bit like a stalker, but it couldn't be helped. Finally, her patience was rewarded as the Uchiha heir strolled by.

"Itachi-kun!" she called out, waving. "Fancy seeing you here!"

His step didn't even falter as he turned and approached her. "Kimi-san," he greeted. His dark eyes went from her book to her uniform. "Were you waiting for me?"

Kimi smirked. "This stall has great yakisoba. Join me?"

Itachi stared at her for a good ten seconds before he sat beside her. "I have already eaten, but I am not opposed to keeping you company."

"I'm not too hungry, either." Kimi's smirk grew at the way his eyebrows pinched together. The change in his expression was minute, but Kimi could tell that he was exasperated.

"Your facade is paltry," Itachi said slowly, "and it is made weaker by your immediate abandonment of it."

"Who said that it was a facade?" She closed her book and set in on the counter. "I certainly don't remember saying that."

Itachi's lips twitched downwards. "What is it that you need, Kimi-san?"

"It's not a question of need but want." Her smile grew softer. "I wanted to see how you were doing, Itachi-san. We're friends, aren't we?"

He stilled—well, he became stiller than before. "Your method of expressing that is rather strange."

"Yes, well…" Kimi sighed, but her expression didn't change. "I had a feeling that you wouldn't reach out on your own. And since the responsibility fell to me, I decided to have a little fun with it."

He did an admirable job of keeping his expression blank, and Kimi wondered if she'd made a mistake.

"I am not accustomed to teasing," he admitted finally, soft and polite. "Only Shisui does it with any regularity."

Kimi took the olive branch. "No," she agreed. "And I may have pushed too far." She adjusted her posture, leaning back and letting it become more natural. Her teasing mask gave way to something rueful. "The Intelligence Division must have rubbed off on me. Everyone is sardonic there. After a while, the attitude becomes second nature."

There. The tension in his shoulders eased slightly. He was still on guard, yes, but she'd clearly struck the right chord.

"'I see with eyes both mine and not,'" Itachi quoted. His eyes were half-lidded and lashed, gleaming with understanding.

"'And so, the masked becomes the mask,'" she completed the couplet with some surprise.

How tragic, that an eight year old empathizes with that sentiment…

It was from a famous play written during First Shinobi War. The majority of ninja considered it to be sentimental drivel, but Inoichi had made her memorize the more famous lines anyway. It was most civilians' first exposure to the ninja life, even if it was exaggerated beyond belief. The play was also quite quotable, as well as being the exact sort of thing the Uchiha would disapprove of. She hadn't expected Itachi to know it. Then again, he was a pacifistic genius.

"Are you enjoying your apprenticeship in the Intelligence Division?" Itachi usually spoke in a way that suggested he knew the answer to all his questions: quietly confident but no less polite.

She mulled it over. "I am," Kimi said, honest for once. She'd traded one mask for another, but this one was more to her liking. "And are you enjoying training with your team?"

He nodded. "Shorai-sensei is very capable, even if her teaching methods are unorthodox. My two teammates are also competent."

"Do you like them?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

Itachi paused and then nodded again. "Yes." He stood up. "It was a pleasure talking to you, Kimi-san, but I must go."

Kimi smiled, unsurprised. "Same to you. I'll see you later?"

"Perhaps next week. This same time would be a suitable for you?"

This time, she was taken aback. Kimi glanced at Itachi, who hadn't moved. It wasn't enough to be a ghost of a smile—perhaps "suggestion" would be a better word—but Itachi's expression had changed enough to hint at amusement.

"Kimi-san, you admonished me for never taking the initiative." His eyelashes curved downwards, enough so that Kimi wasn't sure if she'd imagined the trace of red in his eyes. "Is it so unexpected that I extended a hand?"

She stared, her eyes dropping to his slender, pale fingers. He'd had a tell there, before. They were now folded and perfectly still. Kimi met his gaze. His dark eyes were crinkled slightly, turning the hint into a firm sign. Of amusement, yes, but also acknowledgement and pride.

So he fixed that, did he?

"Of course not," she said, smiling. "I'll see you next week, then."

Kimi made a few hand-signs, this time using a variant that the Uchiha Police preferred: Meeting date confirmed? She held back a smirk at his sudden blank expression.

Confirmed, he signed back, giving her a slow look. "It will be my pleasure," he said out loud. With a short bow, Itachi stepped back and disappeared into the crowd.


Shikaku was once again disappointed by the quality of the alcohol.

"This has to be mostly water," he grumbled. "Why don't you ever give me the good stuff?"

"You're not worth it," replied Inoichi, rolling his eyes. "You should be glad I'm giving you sake at all." He glanced at the already empty glass. "That was fast, even for you. Is your team giving you that much trouble?"

Shikaku snorted, but he took the bait. "They're good kids. Work well together, too. It helps that they all were friends before the team assignments."

"Oh?" Inoichi sipped his own glass. There was a third, empty one on the table; Inoichi had set it for three, forgetting that Chouza was occupied with clan-head duties.

"Yeah, so I don't have any of the problems associated with getting them to like each other." He chuckled. "It's not like you didn't know that already. Your little apprentice is the reason why I have a team in the first place."

"That's not the only reason," said Inoichi mildly. It was a time-honored tradition to secure one's position by taking students. Every Hokage since the Niidaime had done so—the best way to prove one's ability was by passing skills and knowledge down to the next generation. Inoichi set his drink down, becoming serious. Shikaku, noticing the change, raised his eyebrows.

"What is it?"

"Our gamble may have had more consequences than initially planned for," said Inoichi, slowly. "I took a look at the original team assignments before I submitted our requests."

"And?" Shikaku prompted.

"Uchiha Itachi's team was different." Inoichi stared at his glass. "It consisted of jounin Minazuki Yuuki, genin Izumo Tenma, and Inari Shinko."

The Nara blinked, mind whirring. "Wait, really? Yuuki's a competent jounin, but he isn't nearly high-profile enough for the genius Uchiha heir. And the other two, they have to be from no-name families or civilian—" He stopped. "Oh, shit."

Inoichi winced. "It would've been quite the snub. The Uchiha are already unhappy."

Shikaku leaned forward and pressed his fingertips together. "But our request… it changed the dynamic. With both you and me taking students, I'm guessing that the Sandaime had enough leverage to force his daughter out of ANBU." Everyone knew that Sarutobi Shorai was a career black-ops agent, so it was quite a surprise that she'd put aside the mask to take on a team.

"And I hear that the Sarutobi clan is pressuring her for a child, anyway. The Hokage probably used that to cover up her shift in career choices." Inoichi sounded almost admiring.

"Add the Inuzuka heiress to the team, and suddenly, it's looking good," finished Shikaku. "I heard that Fugaku was happy about the team assignments."

"Finally." Inoichi gave a weak smile. "That man is impossible to satisfy, especially when it concerns his children." The joke fell flat, but the Nara barely heard it.

Shikaku blinked as he considered hundreds of connections in a second. Considering the position of Uchiha, the slight was definitely intentional.

"Someone is plotting to sabotage the standing of the Uchiha," Shikaku said, grim. He'd heard rumors and grumbling about the disatisfaction of the Uchiha, but he'd paid them little attention before now, too concerned about the recovering position of Konoha in the international sphere.

Inoichi, being the head of the Intelligence Division, would normally sign off on the team assignments. The original, insulting team that Itachi had been placed on would have never been accepted by Inoichi; it had to have been changed after Inoichi had passed the files off to the Hokage. That narrowed the culprits down to the Hokage and the Elder Council. The Sandaime was somewhat wary of the Uchiha, but he would never go that far. Though his former teammates Koharu and Homura were more of hardliners than he was, they were fiercely loyal and would never defy him so openly.

That left one man: Shimura Danzo. Everyone knew of his suspicion of the Uchiha. However, Shikaku hadn't expected him to actively undermine the clan. That was borderline seditious. As things stood, however, Danzo's move to change the snub the Uchiha would probably be seen with appreciation, even if the Hokage wouldn't be nearly as happy.

"Oh, hell," murmured Inoichi with horror. "That's worse than we thought."

"Yeah." Shikaku looked down, rearranging his plans. "We'll have to tread carefully from here."

They looked at each other with bleak understanding. They couldn't let this stand—it set a dangerous precedent and weakened the strength of the village.

Shikaku sighed. "This is going to be troublesome."

And what an understatement that was.


Kimi followed Inoichi into one of the many holding cells scattered throughout the enormous compound. It was engineered to be as depressing a possible, with too-harsh lights, drab paint, and cramped jails.

"Well, Kimi-chan," said Inoichi, much too enthusiastic for the scenery, "I think you're finally ready to use genjutsu on hostiles."

"That's great." Kimi gave him a flat look. "Is that why you brought me here?"

"Smart girl." He ruffled her hair, which Kimi tolerated with exasperation.

They passed three captives as they continued onwards. One was sleeping, the other seemed terrified (Kimi duly noted that he was the same civilian man she had seen on her first day), and the third was looking straight at them. Inoichi stopped in front of him.

"Here we are!" her teacher announced brightly.

The man chuckled. His tanned skin was sallow, and his hair hung limp, but the gleam in his eyes was no less sharp.

"What an honor," he said, speaking with the distinctive twang of the Land of Water. "I love visitors."

Inoichi ignored him, facing Kimi instead. "Now, use the genjutsu that I taught you. It should be easy! His chakra's been sealed." He gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kimi saw the captive tense. The humor had fled from his expression, but it seemed like anticipation had replaced it. Her doubts only grew. I don't think that's the kind of man who'd be intimidated by the shadow genjutsu. There was also the whole, rather unethical taste that the situation left in her mouth.

"Don't worry about hurting him." Inoichi's tone was still light and friendly. "He's a captured enemy ninja with a penchant for raping and murdering civilians. If you hurt him, he'll deserve it."

The man laughed again. "He's right, kid." He tilted his head. "And I don't regret it, either." His anticipation visibly increased as he flexed each muscle in his body.

Well, that didn't make it right, but Kimi didn't feel as conflicted.

"Go on, Kimi-chan," prompted Inoichi.

Pushing down the dirty feeling that had washed over her, Kimi ran through the hand-signs before casting the web of chakra. The ghost flickered in her vision as she controlled the genjutsu, and the shadows began to twist and gnash. The whispering grew louder as she increased the flow of chakra to his ears. She relaxed slightly. It was no different from the times she'd done it with Inoichi.

Then, Kimi could see the shadows grow darker and rear back, though she hadn't intended for the shadows to move away from the captive—

And her chakra began to bleed as she lost control of the strings, as her chakra no longer responded—

The world spun and surged, like years ago, like her death and the nightmares when her very brain betrayed her—

Kimi could dimly hear Inoichi's voice and someone's laughter and she didn't care since everything was fading—

She reached out for her chakra and panicking and desperate and God she was dying again

Then she pulled—


AN: Now begins part two. The next chapter should have a major canon event, as well as the introduction of a few more canon characters. (By the way, the team that Itachi was supposed to have is actually the canon one.)

Thanks to immatx for beta-reading the story. His help has been invaluable.

I am looking for beta-readers for this story and others. Please PM me or leave a review if you're interested. Also, the companion fic Between the Spaces has also been updated. It has Itachi's POV, a brief scene involving Shikaku, and a few notes about timeline changes.

The recommendation for this chapter is not an SI/OC-Insert fic. However, it is absolutely, wonderfully glorious. It's the best Sakura-centric story I've ever read, and I've also borrowed the idea of "the ghost" from it, as well as the divisions of genjutsu effect. I'm speaking of Kill Your Heroes by Evil Is A Relative Term, of course. You should really read it.

As always, thank you for your support. I would have never finished this chapter without the encouragement of all your reviews. Have a wonderful New Year.