Author's Notes: We're going to be bouncing a little quicker to the start of the series proper. Expect to find a bunch of mini-timeskips scattered throughout, while we stop at interesting events. I will make sure to give some inclination of how much time has passed, though, so you won't be left in the dark. :D

Chapter Ten:

Empathy

[…the feeling that you understand and share another person's experiences and emotions…]

It was a warm day that was just barely giving over to the faint chill of evening when I came to the Academy's playground, looking around for my son.

While I didn't have the freedom most other parents in Konoha did, to allow their children to run rampant through the streets – my son was still the hated jinchūriki, after all – I was able to let Naruto wander with Naoko and her brothers in the area around the Oono compound, and at the Academy.

Naoko, Junichi, and Osamu were viciously protective of Naruto, and able to deal with a lot of threats that may have arisen. And even though Osamu was a newly made genin, he still spent as much time with Naruto as was possible. It was often him who went and brought Naruto home, or back to the Oono compound when I was busy with work. And few people were stupid enough to try something near the Academy, right in the shadows of the Hokage's office.

I looked around the yard for that distinctive mop of neon yellow hair, ignoring the sneers from other parents who'd come to collect their children at the end of the school day.

Ah, there he was. I could see him on the see-saw, his hands flapping wildly, his head thrown back with a smile that spoke of furious, breathless, utterly joyful giggling.

I took a moment to bask in his happiness before walking over to him. Instead of Naoko or Junichi, who were normally his cohorts, I saw someone I had very much not expected to see.

Dark hair spiked in the back, pale skin, black eyes. A blue shirt with a cone-like collar, white shorts.

Uchiha Sasuke was giggling just as hard as my son was, and that was…

Well, I didn't quite know what to make of that knowledge, to be perfectly honest. I froze for a step, before I shook it off – he was a child, and children normally smiled, there was nothing wrong with that, stop being weird Minori – and walked up.

"Having fun, Naru-chan?" I asked, and was proud of myself when my voice did not stutter at all.

Naruto's head snapped around, and he grinned.

"Hiya Kaa-chan!" he bugled.

"Who's your friend, bratling?"

Naruto's face scrunched up into a hilarious scowl. "Sasuke's not my friend, he's a bastard!" He announced, almost proudly.

Mini!Sasuke scoffed. "And you're a dobe," he shot back, but with the affection of one friend to another.

I muffled a burst of (only slightly hysterical) laughter behind my hand, before putting my hands on my hips. Perhaps I should have scolded Naruto for his language, but it was goddamn funny. And my language was even worse than his.

It starts this early on? I wondered with no little amusement, eyeing both boys with something that felt like fond exasperation. Christ Jesus.

"Well, be that as it may, we need to head home-" I began, but then a voice cut me off.

"Sasuke!"

The voice brought to mind silk covered steel, like intricately worked iron twisted by a master's hand into delicate shapes, no less strong for all the beauty.

I turned, and got my first look at Uchiha Mikoto.

She was a tall, reed-slim woman with the traditional Uchiha good looks, dressed in a subtle blue kimono with the Uchiha fan emblazoned at the pocket. I immediately understood it was from her that Sasuke would inherit his future beauty, and tried my hardest not to sweat as her gaze landed on my face.

Then the sweat went cold as her eyes twisted in a way I'd become used to ever since I'd taken Naruto under my wing.

God damn it.

"Sasuke, come here," her voice snapped out as she approached, and I bristled.

"Okaa-san!" Sasuke protested, and I stood by Naruto's side, putting a hand on his back as he went still.

(How sad was it, that he'd become used to this as well?)

Mikoto no longer looked quite so attractive as she pulled Sasuke off the see-saw, obviously uncaring about whether or not Naruto went flying off the other side from the force. I braced my hip against the wood, preventing that from happening.

"Uchiha-sama," I said coldly.

Mikoto's eyes snapped to mine, and I glared at her with every ounce of hate and rage I could muster, every inch of fucking spite I had for this godforsaken, ass-backwards village and all their prejudices.

"Kaname," she said back, even as she faltered, just a bit. Just enough to know I had gotten to her.

This woman had been Uzumaki Kushina's friend. Her best friend, from what little I remembered. And any person with eyes would have understood that Naruto was of Minato's and Kushina's blood.

I didn't know what had happened to her and hers during Kurama's rampage. I didn't know, and I probably never would. Had she lost friends or even family? What had it been like for her on that day?

I didn't know.

But what I did know was that Uchiha Mikoto was one more in the ever-increasing line of people who had completely and utterly failed my son in every way possible, one more person who let their blind hate close their eyes to the blatant truth.

And that I would not stand for.

Naruto went easily into my arms, resigned in a way a five year old child should never have been, and I looked Mikoto dead in the eyes.

"Interesting, isn't it, how easily the people in this village forget how to be polite, Uchiha-sama?" I said, my voice as mild as milk.

Her eyebrows wrinkled, her mouth pursing. I had expected the wife of the Clan Head of the Uchiha to be much less…emotional, but it appeared Naruto and I had caught her very much off guard.

I smiled unpleasantly.

"Even more interesting, isn't it, how easily the people in this village forgets the…debts they owe to the people they supposedly loved?" I said, every bit as languid and dangerous as I could make the words.

And each one hit the mark. Mikoto paled, her eyes going huge and faintly agonized. What was she remembering? Kushina's last words to her?

"I hope they'll be friends."

Had I reached her? Had I shown her that her hate was blind and stupid and wrong?

Not of Kurama, certainly, I could not begrudge her that. But her hate of Naruto, a five year old child-

Her face clouded before my eyes, like a veil had dropped down between us. She sniffed and pulled Sasuke away, berating him for spending time around a 'ruffian' like my son.

And I felt suddenly exhausted, like I'd just run a marathon.

I looked around, and noticed it was growing dark. We were the only ones left in the yard, the rest of the parents having long since taken their children and gone.

"Let's go home, Naru-chan," I said wearily after a long moment, and walked out of the silent playground, my son quiet and still in my arms.

The thought of dogs drew me inexorably to the Inuzuka kennels.

(Also the thought of clean air and few people wandering around.)

Naruto was in school, I had been let out early along with most of the Buntai (as we'd just finished getting one of the squads sent out yesterday to one of the other hidden villages), and I had nothing to do.

It was only a matter of time, I thought with a sigh as I leaned over the fence, trying to remind myself that it would be considered very rude if I just snuck into the kennels so I could pet some dogs.

Also, it would probably wind up with me getting my throat ripped out, so, no.

I sighed again.

I was missing my dogs like nothing else right now. I had four of them back home, two German Shepard mixes, and two Golden Retrievers who I adored beyond all thought.

(The fact I could not even remember their names was a thought I discarded as soon as it entered my head. It was something I had gotten very good at.)

"Kaname-san?" I nearly leapt out of my skin as a curious voice sounded from behind me.

Whirling, I saw a face I knew well.

Inuzuka Hajime was a familiar sight around the Buntai, being one of the shinobi who often worked protection detail for the teams who went to other villages. I had spoken to him a fair bit when I saw him, and he treated me a fair bit better than most people did. The man was tall, with wild brown hair and the traditional Inuzuka markings on his tanned cheeks. His brown eyes were curious and kind of amused at my flailing.

"Ah! Inuzuka-san!" I spluttered a bit, grateful that even with my pale skin I did not blush easily. "Um, well, I was just-okay, yes I will give you pats and a treat," I told Kari, Hajime's partner, as she barked at me.

The big brown wolfdog bounded over to me, tail wagging. The minx knew full well I kept dog treats for her whenever they came to the Buntai, and that I was always willing to give her as many belly rubs as she wanted.

I gave her the biscuit I had in my pocket, and indulged us both by rubbing her belly vigorously after she flopped onto her back. From her delighted wiggles, she enjoyed it very much.

Hajime sighed, and I looked back up at him, smiling sheepishly.

"I just got her washed," he complained, but the smile he wore took the bite out of the words.

I giggled. "Sorry, Inuzuka-san."

Kari whined at him, and then at me. I went back to petting her, still giggling.

"…Huh," Hajime said after a bit, and when I looked up at him there was a sense of knowing in his eyes.

"Sorry, I'll just, uh, be on my way," I said, and stood up.

I didn't have a lesson for today, as Gai and Chōrui (who had long since taken over my various other ninja-lessons after my fall out with Haruki) were both on missions, but I was sure Rie could come up with something. And I wanted to continue the discussion we'd started about the 'anomalies' in my blood and the possibility that my chakra systems may hinder childbirth.

(Which I was praying for, to be perfectly honest)

I wouldn't be able to keep much up with it, but Rie was good at explaining things to me in a way that I could eventually come to understand it. And the Oono compound was a good place to unwind and relax.

"You want to come see the pups, Kaname-san?" he offered, and I stared at him.

He grinned like a boy. "I just figured, that since you look like you want to leap over the fence, you keep sighing in the direction of the kennels, and you adore Kari…" He shrugged.

Okay, now I was blushing. "It's…all right?"

"Kari likes you, and that'll be enough for most of the clan," Hajime said. "She's a good judge of character."

Unspoken in those words was that Kari's word would stand very well against the reputation I had been given when I had publicly brought Naruto into my home.

"Well, if no one minds…" I trailed off, trying not to fidget excitedly. He snorted, and went over the fence, Kari right behind him.

"Come on, then," he said, and I leapt over the barrier after him.

The Inuzuka compound was a spacious thing, with more focus on open space than housing. With so many big dogs among their number, such a thing was smart. We took a left, away from the house in the distance, and made tracks towards the building to the west of it.

The kennels were a big, spacious, one-story building made of light-colored yet sturdy wood. They served both as a living space for the various dogs, but also a nursery and clinic for both animals and for certain humans who disliked visiting human medics and/or the hospital.

It was shaped like a square, with rooms connecting each of the 'joints' and the halls, and an open space in the middle, and we walked around the building to a small door on the west side. Hajime opened the door for me, and I stepped inside.

The room was cool and quiet, and looked something like the front of a doctor's office. There was a very pretty Inuzuka woman sitting at the desk, reading through some papers. She looked up when the bell over the door jangled.

Her eyes lit when she saw Hajime. "Hajime-kun! What brings you to the nur-oh."

I tried not to groan as she frowned at the sight of me. Well, this was going to go just great, I could already tell.

Hajime's hand landed on my shoulder, and it was a close battle to keep myself from sighing very loudly as the girl's narrowed eyes tracked the movement.

Great. Jealous admirers. Just what I needed.

I held up a hand, thoroughly annoyed by this and wishing I hadn't even come near the compound.

"Despite what you are very obviously thinking, Inuzuka-san and I are not in a relationship, nor will we be in one at any time in the future," I said flatly. "I buy Kari treats occasionally, and he has decided to repay me by letting me visit the pups. Or is that not permitted for the fox brat's mother?"

Dead silence. I shifted a bit, refusing to feel uneasy.

This girl wasn't someone important that I had to be fearful of offending, and more over I was sick and fucking tired of dealing with Konoha's stupid prejudice towards my son.

We were going to get this out into the air right now.

Then the girl flushed bright red and stammered something unintelligible. Taking pity on her, Hajime steered me past the desk and to the door on the left, Kari bounding along at his side.

"You've got a way with people, Kaname-san," he said with a long-suffering sigh.

I shrugged, knowing I had overreacted and unable to care. We continued on in silence, until-

"Does…does Kiku really-I mean, ah, well…" Hajime sounded unsure, and when I turned to look at him, he was blushing a bit around his nose.

At the sight of it, I suddenly felt a lot better. I elbowed him gently.

"I'd be very surprised if she doesn't. Girl was almost spitting fire when you touched me - though that could be just because of who I am," I mused. "But when I confronted her about it, she turned bright red so…yeah, I'm right. She's half gone on you."

Hajime stuttered more than the girl had, which was amusing and did a lot for my mood.

He opened the door to my right, and I gasped as the sound of tiny yips met my ears.

Puppies. Puppies EVERYWHERE.

I squealed, completely unable to help it.

There were brown, white, black, ones with different spots, incredibly curly ones that looked like giant piles of walking floof-

Hajime guided me in and shut the door behind us as the puppies came yipping up to the fence that kept them back. These were super tiny puppies, probably before they were matched to an Inuzuka, or the ones who wouldn't be matched at all.

Two immense hounds came up, nudging the pups away as I desperately tried to speak and failed. They were gorgeous dogs, sleek and covered all over in black-blue fur that made me think they might have had some relation to Inuzuka Tsume's Kuromaru. One had wolf-like yellow eyes, the other blue.

"Kari, Hajime," the yellow-eyed dog said, their voice deep and sonorous.

"You've brought someone new for us," the other said, their voice a shade lighter.

"Kiiromaru, Aomaru," Hajime said, pushing me forward. "This is Kaname Minori. She-"

"May I pet them, Kiiromaru-sama, Aomaru-sama?" I blurted, unable to hold it back any more.

Aomaru – the blue eyed one, I believed – blinked at me. "Pet them?"

"Yes," I said decisively. "Your pups. Please? They're so…small."

As if she was giving me a recommendation, Kari bumped under my hand and barked at the two. I wondered in a vague part of my head if it was only Kuromaru's line that could speak – but then again Akamaru couldn't, now could he?

(Was Akamaru even of Kuromaru's line? I wasn't sure.)

I held out my hands for the dogs to smell as they approached me. They did so carefully, before sitting back and looking at each other.

Kiiromaru turned back to me.

"Come in, human. We'll see how you do."

Even the unspoken threat of fuck with us or the pups and we'll kill you barely dented my enthusiasm. I carefully picked my way over the thigh-high fence, and was greeted with excited yips and barks.

I couldn't hold out any longer. I lowered myself to my butt and let myself be swarmed by puppies.

Hajime was heroically stifling his laughter as I looked up at him, in the midst of being lavished with love by a corkscrewed tailed pup that was just so small.

"Having fun?" he asked, barely holding in the giggles. I couldn't even be mad at him, I probably looked ridiculous.

I made a vague wheezing noise, before gathering the dog to my chest.

"I've died and gone to heaven," I told him when I'd found the words, and laid down in the middle of the river of fur.

This did not help his giggling in the slightest.

The figure was tall and slender as a reed, draped in shadows. It moved with a careful, predatory grace as it prowled through the forest, searching. Hunting.

It was a cool night, with the air carrying a hint of the salt-smell from the not-so distant ocean. It was a good night, one of the few the figure was permitted to wander so far.

Had they the time, they would have stopped, perhaps at one of the human inns they'd passed earlier. Perhaps they would have had some human food. They missed strawberries more than anything, though it was unlikely any shops in these lands would sell them.

But, no. Tonight they had other business.

The tree branches barely moved as the figure alighted on them, watching. The shadows peeled back just enough to catch the curved edge of the white mask they wore.

In the hollow of the tree below them, a child – his skin so white it glowed like a beacon in the dark – slept, his eyelids fluttering restlessly. A curious child he was, with that white hair and skin and white kimono flecked in old blood.

The figure leapt down, and the boy came awake in a rush. Shinobi trained, the figure thought, feeling a rush of fond nostalgia and ugly hate curling inside them.

They hold out their hands. Yes, this was who they have come to find.

A whisper rang in their ears and they nodded to the spirits who had guided them to this place.

The spirits had told them many days ago of a small child who had cared for them, a small human-child imprisoned who had given his last bit of food to a spirit-child who had wandered far and was weak. They had told the figure of this, and begged the figure's help.

They had told the figure also of the snake that hunted, the snake that would try and take the human that had helped their child. And the figure had agreed then, because they knew of the snake they had spoken of.

A dark hand came up, and pulled the gleaming mask free, and the hood down. The figure spoke slowly, softly.

"You must be Kimimaro," they said, and the boy jerked.

"How do you know my name?" he whispered, staring at them.

"Someone asked me to find you, little one," they said, and held out a hand. "They wanted me to find you, and keep you safe."

"Are you from…Kirigakure?" he asked, hesitant.

The thought made the figure laugh, and they did so.

When they looked back at the boy, he has come closer, hoping the hand outstretched to him came without pain. In that, he was like a beaten dog, and that made the figure so very angry.

They were so much like their Father, they mused regretfully. But at least they never let that anger flow free.

"I am not," the figure said, and the small, very pale hand rested in theirs. The figure gathered him up, and rocked him as he cried for the loss of the family that never loved him, but they did not mind. They understood.

The figure knew well they could not make the child theirs, not entirely, no matter their thoughts on the matter. Their Father would never permit it, for one, and the place they lived was no home for a human.

But they knew someone who could.

(Much later, a snake-faced man with blood and gore will come by the ruins of the Kaguya compound, on word that a single child survived the massacre. He will not find any such child. He will rage and shriek that such a bloodline has escaped him, and he will kill the fool who told him of this.

But the figure, and the small child in their arms, will be long gone by then.)