CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Prequel

"Well, that was horrible."

Sayuri looked up sharply, smiling a little. "So you noticed?" she asked as she stood up to shuffle the paper into a neat pile onto the corner of the long, curving desk. It was there that Tobirama and Sayuri had sat for the past two days as they interviewed all the potential teachers, with the occasional shinobi dropping by to check in– once, Ginzou who kept a straight face and did not comment, and later Sasuke, who was still recovering but managed to crucify nearly every single shinobi that was being tested.

But it was not without reason.

Before when there were applications, age was not a question as they were willing to accept whoever were qualified…but she didn't expect eight year olds to arrive and claim that they could teach others. The first child that strode into the room she thought belonged to the group of students that she had been interviewing earlier in order to separate into classes based on how much they knew – or how much they didn't – but in fact, the boy had claimed he was well adept in ninjutsu.

He was wrong.

So many were wrong. Not just the younger interviewees, but some of the older ones as well. Although it was Sayuri that had been in charge of testing each shinobi over the week, it didn't stop Tobirama from conducting his work there also.

It had been a week since the Uchiha ceremony and things were finally feeling…normal again. Or perhaps it was because Sayuri refused to think about Enoki, and the fact that Emiko was always present at the cemetery kept Sayuri away from his grave. She could already imagine the little silver haired girl asking in her unknowingly sharp and inquisitive tone why are you still alive, but not my brother?

Sayuri couldn't handle that, so instead, she distracted herself. For six days, she had looked at the younger students – and some interested adults – and wrote their names down in appropriate lists. She concluded that she needed around four, to five classroom teachers; teachers that could not only help build shinobi, but also teach the basic reading and writing skills. But then she needed a sensei per group of three children that exceeded the expectations of the Academy, along with more individuals for the groups that had been formed prior to an official start of the Academy. Hiruzen, Koharu and Homura had been lucky to only have the three per squad, but there were others who were at four and five but now needed to regroup into smaller squads.

She needed eleven – eleven strong, mentally sound, capable shinobi and kunoichi to lead a squad, but instead, she could only find three.

"Is that it?" Tobirama asked, not looking up from his work. His eyes were moving as he read his letter, one hand propped up so that his face was against his knuckles, while the other hand was on another piece of parchment, ready to write a response. It was the way he had been over the week, constantly busy reading and writing and corresponding with shinobi outside the village, with potential clients, with the daimyo.

"He was the last one," Sayuri said, referring to the rogue shinobi that had claimed he was an expert in wind jutsu when all he did was waved a fan around, not integrating his chakra into it at all and only relying on physical strength. She had gotten her hopes up when an appropriately aged man – twenty fwo – arrived with weapons but was horribly disappointed when all he did was blew around Tobirama's paper.

Tobirama didn't even have to look up from his work before the man scuttled off.

But he was too busy for anger and thus, the Hokage simply grabbed the scrolls back, realigned it, and continued his work.

"Good, I don't think I could handle another disappointment," he muttered as he finally finished the last of his letters. A smile played on her mouth. He rubbed his entire face with his hands before leaning back and looking at her through slightly winced, nearly bloodshot eyes as if she was too bright. But of course, she knew that he was simply tired.

"Are you done?" she asked, looking at his side of the long table. All of it was now in two piles – messages sent to him, and messages he was sending out so she could only assume that it meant he, after days of doing nothing but working, was finished with the correspondence.

"Finally, yes." She thought that he would sound proud of himself, but Tobirama only sounded tired. He got up slowly, pushing the hair out of his eyes and looked past her, past the door behind her, and out the window. It was nearly dawn outside, and everything had that warm, hazy glow that she loved that time of day. "Well I suppose I should go find Hiruzen and return training after the week break," he sighed.

Sayuri blinked and stood straighter immediately. "I think not," she said with raise brows as she left the papers there to come in front of him across the table. She pointed at him and said, "You go rest, Tobirama. You've been working yourself tirelessly."

She wasn't sure when it happened, but suddenly, she had a protective instinct over Tobirama. She knew that it had always been the other way around but ever since that incident at the ceremony – of course I care about you, she remembered he said – she suddenly wanted to care for him. She was sick of being the one that everyone looked down upon, the fragile one, the one that was connected to all these deaths. She didn't want to be the center of things. She wanted to forget that every single person that took care of her in some way or another ended dying. She wanted to be the one to care for others now.

And until she had her students, she had Tobirama. And the fact that his eyes were, although naturally red, looked even more stressed now with the dark shadows beneath them, and overgrown hair was now long enough that although he could brush it back roughly with his hands, it would only fall back down. Instead of answering, he frowned and stared at her side where she left the papers.

Then he blinked – and smiled ever slightly.

"Are you telling me what to do, Sayuri?" he asked, amused.

"I'm suggesting," she corrected.

He stared at her for a moment, thinking about something, before getting up. He pushed back his hair for the third time and turned, looking out the window, before he turned back to her. For a long moment, he didn't say anything and she thought that he would rest after all, but then, "Would you like to accompany me to the cemetery?" he asked. "It's been a while."

Her smile dropped. "I," she began, looking down, "I don't think…" She couldn't face it, not yet.

"I see," he said, understandingly. She still didn't look at him, but she knew what he was saying in his mind – that he knew that she was too afraid to come to terms with Enoki's death. But he wasn't going to comment, he was going to wait until she spoke about it first. But not now. "You will have to come to terms eventually, Sayu," he said softly.

"Eventually," she agreed. He waited, expecting her to continue but it was clear as she turned around that she was going to comment no further. When the uncomfortableness started creeping up the two, Sayuri turned back around and tried to smile as brightly as she could – but she imagined it would come out even more awkward. Smile too fake, too wide, one black eye, one blind, and just…her. "So, are you still going? I'll walk with you there."

He exhaled deeply and nodded –

And then his eyes snapped up.

Sayuri sensed it a moment after, and by the time she swivelled around, she had her hand on the blade tucked at her waist and her eyes shifting into the Sharingan –

Tobirama stopped.

"Misa?"

Sayuri let out a breath, releasing her hold on the sword. She slowly straightened up. Touching her face, her hand slid up pushed back her hair and by the time she looked at the other woman, her eyes returned to the usual obsidian and blind eye.

"I did not think you were one to be armed, Sayuri," the hazel eyed woman said, not completely displeased. Sayuri's eyes glanced over the Misama's shoulder at the stranger that had triggered her sensory.

"She is a kunoichi, after all," the strange woman said coolly, "and an Uchiha at that. Now, is she your betrothed?"

The reaction between the three was obvious: Tobirama merely glanced up, curious; Misama stiffened; and Sayuri simply blinked before she was completely floored. She turned to Tobirama first, wide-eyed as if to say I have nothing to do with this but then back at the stranger quickly. "No, no!" Her hands flew up defensively. "I – no." Seeing the mildly amused expression on the stranger's face, Sayuri faced Tobirama again. "Tobirama, you know that –"

"I know," he said, ever calmly but with a hint of exasperation, "so, who are you?"

Hearing Tobirama's suspicion made her wary once again; she was far from adept at being able to pick up clan signatures purely by chakra but it was obvious to her that this woman lacked a certain sharpness to chakra that of an Uchiha's, and boldness of a Senju's – but neither of them had even been an option.

"I would like to talk to the Hokage," was all the stranger solemnly said. Now that things were slowing down, Sayuri began really looking at her: the woman was at least in her mid to late twenties, and she was not a kunoichi, or at least not a fighting one. She lacked that hardness to her face – not that Sayuri was one to speak – and a certain way of moving that a woman of her age, if shinobi, was expected to have. And yet she had an expression akin to that of a dog – or perhaps it was because her pupils, instead of circles, were more like shards.

Tobirama's eyes moved to Misama. She nodded. "I vouch for her."

"But," the woman continued, "not in her presence."

Sayuri stammered. "I – what?"

"An Uchiha –"

"A girl you assumed was my wife," he added dryly. She didn't continue but Sayuri was not going to stand in their way.

"It's fine, I'll go," she complied. She looked at Tobirama, waiting for a confirmation.

Tobirama wasn't looking at her, instead, he was staring at the woman who was yet to be named. "I'll find you soon," he said distractedly, crossing his arms as a frown touched his face. Her eyes moved across his face one last time, wondering what it was he was thinking, before she nodded and left – pretending she did not see the way the strange woman had stared at her all the while, as if she knew something that Sayuri did not

xxx

"You need to learn how to discipline your son."

"My son? You are the one foolish enough to send him out when –"

"He is not a child, Hideharu," Lady Kyoko snapped then just as quick, she whirled around to face the expressionless twenty three year old who had been standing outside the door, patiently waiting for the elder and the head of the clan – his grandmother and his father, respectively – to finish. "Not that one could tell with the lack of sense you displayed," she shot at him, her eyebrows raised and her black eyes scorning. "Taunting the girl? What, are you suddenly slow in the head? Did you really think you could get away with hurting her –"

"I wasn't hurting her –"

He stopped immediately when the old woman's face darkened. No one could cut off an elder whilst they were speaking, it was an unspoken but enforced upon law. Even Hideharu tensed. And then,

"You do not interrupt me, do you understand?" she asked, threateningly slow. The fact that they were blood aside, there was every intent in her voice to carry through with a violent punishment. One did not simply live well over sixty years during this era to have someone a third of her age span interrupt them.

The argument took a sharp, cold tone. It was his father that finally broke the silence. "But mother," he said and immediately with the familiar tone, there was a drop in the intensity, "you could have at least warned us that the young Hokage was coming."

"It would do you good to stop antagonizing him as well," Lady Kyoko said stiffly, lowering her eyelids. "Provoking the Hokage will only hinder our plans. Now, I have had enough of this meaningless babble. Return to your duties."

His father straightened up, his fist tightening at the tone in Kyoko's voice – talking to him as if he was still a child when his son was standing right before them. But before he could even protest, she rose up with a lioness' grace and proceeded out the door where Kaname immediately ducked his head politely. She stopped before him. "And speaking of meaningless babble, I suppose you should go apologize to the girl."

"Sayuri?" Kaname asked, speaking through clenched teeth. His grandmother's eyes flickered up towards her grandson who was a little more than a head taller than her, but height did not equal to intimidation and that had always been clear to him since he was born. Physical presence was important, yes, but even Madara had faltered under Kyoko's gaze.

"Who else?" she asked rhetorically, her voice heavily laced with a growing impatience for the men of her family. "When will it hit your little head that the girl is important, hm, Kaname?"

He was silent.

"When will you put aside your childish ego and realize that unless you can have the relationship that she somehow made with the Hokage, that the girl you so clearly look down upon is much more than important than you in our plan?"

He remained silent. He didn't meet Lady Kyoko's eyes although he could hear her smirk in the breezy way in which she spoke that made it obvious to him – if the years he had been alive had not – that she quite enjoyed to diminish the egos of everyone, and family was not an exception. Embarrassing him and putting him in his place was one thing she did often throughout his life regardless of his age.

And he was embarrassed now. His ears were on fire, his nails dug into his palm.

Seeing his reaction did not soften her edge, although Lady Kyoko did feel something akin to pity at the adult male who still could not hide his emotions. Instead, he was like so many Uchihas that she rather disliked who masked their emotions with anger and bitterness. It was weak. And she was not shy to admit that she much preferred the Senju – Tobirama. He understood what it meant to put aside affection, and he knew that putting it aside did not equal to disguising it as Kaname thought.

Men.

With that in mind, her attention shifted. "Don't you forget," Lady Kyoko said, the scold fading in her tone into something Kaname could not pinpoint, "there is power in blood and the girl had certainly unlocked quite a few."

Power in blood, power in blood, power in blood: that line had been repeated to him ever since he could care to hear and albeit Kaname understood it, he was growing to hate it. Hideharu turned around. "Mother," he said in a warning tone.

"What?" She pretended ignorance as she faced her son. "Not to mention Sayuri isn't too young for your son who, really, should have took a wife and gave you a grandson - and I a great grandson - by now."

Hideharu sighed, but Kaname still did not react. His only movement was the tip of his chin and finally he allowed himself to meet his grandmother's eyes but in his, she saw disgust.

xxx

Sayuri was panting by the time she wiped her arm over her forehead. She looked down, hands on her hips, and appraised the bounty before her: half a dozen fish that she had caught from the stream, three rabbits, and a freshly killed wild boar. Not for her, of course, but for Kin. Pleased, she bit down on her thumb until the skin broke and blood swelled to the surface. Five seals later, smoke filled the air and instead of the usual shivering, blood-curling roar that Kin used to announce his presence – Kin was lying on the ground, his gigantic head resting upon his equally large paws. He was the size of a bear, and yet he was curled up like a puppy.

One eye opened, revealing the gold in which he was name after. "What do you –" He stopped and lifted his head when he saw the food. "Is that for me?"

"It's a thank you," she simply said. He slowly got up and sniffed the fish and knocked it aside. He did the same with the rabbit until finally he looked at the boar. Without saying another word, he bit into the flesh with fangs the length of her hand. The sound of raw flesh being torn was exactly a s she imagined it to be. She winced.

When he was done, he licked his mouth clean of any leftover blood and Sayuri ignored the remains of the pig. "So," the wolf began again, sounding slightly in a better mood but just as apprehensive, "what do you need this time?"

"Nothing." Sayuri sat down to get back on eye level with the silver wolf that was now also resting after a meal. "I just thought that since we were partners –"

"Partners?" he repeated, barking a laugh. "Since when?"

"Well you agreed to appear…"

"I appeared because I wanted to see what you wanted," he objected.

"You appear for Kagami –"

"Because he is an Uchiha and I wanted to see what he wanted."

"I'm an Uchiha as well," she reminded him.

"Or so you say," he said lowly, gruffly.

"But why are you curious as to what an Uchiha wants?" Sayuri asked, shifting it around so they were no longer going in circles. Kin had his eyes closed, and she thought he was going to fall asleep again but then he responded.

"Your clan mostly summons winged creatures," he explained, "eagles, hawks, ravens and crows."

She had no idea about that, but while on the topic of summons common of someone, the thought led to another. "Can I ask you something?" she asked and when he didn't say anything, she continued anyway. "How did you know Enoki? When I –" She stopped. Ripping off grass with her eyes down, she continued carefully, "When I summoned you last time, you recognized him."

"As a Hatake," Kin corrected. "The hair was a give-away but Hatakes have been summoning dogs and wolves ever since the first one signed a contract. Any ninken from where I'm from could identify a Hatake's chakra." His usually husky, rough voice became gentler as Kin examined the girl through half-opened eyes. Even for him, it wasn't a normal occasion to be called to help carry a corpse back to a village.

She didn't want to talk about Enoki anymore. She didn't welcome the nostalgia. She was quick to change the subject once again. "So where are you from?" When he laughed and closed his eyes again, she knew that she wasn't going to get an answer. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she asked, "What do I have to do to gain your trust?"

"Why do you want to gain my trust?" he countered, still with his eyes closed.

"Because I want to work with you," she said as if it was obvious.

"And do what?"

"And…" And what? She tried to think. Right now, it seemed that her life was heading down the educational route. She would be teaching young children basic principles of chakra and jutsu, how to read and write and calculate – but where would a summoning come into play with that? And yet now that she knew that she was able to summon the beast that was Kin, she couldn't imagine never having that opportunity again. And…and a deep little part of her mind whispered that Kin was the connection she had to Enoki. Not through his sister, or his father – but through a ninken that he helped her summon.

"Let me set some things straight," Kin started, "I don't care for you, for your clan, for your village or for your world. I don't care if you all beat each other bloody or descend into cannibalism. Humans are generally selfish and greedy and the fact that you want me to do your bidding even though you don't know what that bidding is only proves my point." She was sure he was rejecting her now but then –

"However, there is one thing I care about: meat."

She blinked.

"Do you not have meat where you come from?" she asked, confused.

He made a sound that served the same purpose of a sigh. "Look, it's complicated eating other animals in a dimension of summoning," was all he said. "And I quite enjoy pork – beef would be good too."

"Should I take note?"

"If you want me to like you," he grumbled.

"So you're saying that I have to feed you for you to like me?"

"It certainly won't hurt your chances," he muttered. Whether it be embarrassment or boredom on the topic, he turned his head slightly and asked, "Where's that Senju – your lover?"

"My lover?" she echoed, aghast. Why was everyone assuming Tobirama was her something? Even before this all began, there was Hikaku and her mother; and now, there was a strange woman and a wolf assuming a relationship between the two that did not exist. She was not blind, she knew that Tobirama cared for her – he explicitly stated it himself – and tolerated her to a degree where he did not mind her presence while he was doing work, but that was not the same thing as love.

"Is that not the right word?" Kin asked, sounding amused. "We call it a mate but –"

"There is absolutely nothing going on of that sort," she clarified, wide eyed.

"You weren't conscious when he was fixing your disgusting broken leg, if you had, you would understand," he objected. Her face turned red, and she ignored him, only ripping off more grass. Seeing that she was speaking no more of the topic, Kin yawned – exposing his huge canines, still stained red with blood, and roaring in the process. "If that's all, I'm leaving. You're boring me. The deal stands." And before she could say anything, he disappeared.

xxx

Sayuri wasn't sure how long she stayed out there, on the outskirts of Konoha between the training ground and the forest, but she knew that night had fallen and a cold breeze swept over the village. Everything was eerily silent, the way she preferred it. She was still sitting in the same premise, but now against a tree, and staring at nowhere in particular; she was simply thinking.

She could hear the rustling leaves, the crickets, the branches snapping and wildlife behind her. In front of her, there were distant chatter and music.

But then, although she did not hear it, she sensed the presence of shinobi.

She looked up, surprised, and said his name.

Long time, no see! Hello. How are you all doing? :)

Yes, this took about a month to get out - sorry, but school, as I have suspected, has been busy and it's harder when you're failing (those 30%s though...) But it's good to break away from functions and Newton's Laws and the Justice System and your Australopithecus and all of Darwin's other friends once in a while to write fanfics about totally awesome Naruto characters who have been smiling in the manga ~

I'm publishing hot off the press so excuse any grammar errors! After three weeks or so, I sort of figured to put something out and then fix it later. I did have trouble writing this (if it isn't obvious?) but well, that's the best I can do. Note: this chapter is called a prequel to...to what, you may ask?

I don't know yet. I haven't gotten there myself. But something. Something that should have been put up ten chapters ago.

Anyways, that's it for now! Hopefully, I'll be motivated to write a little more, a little faster. Reviews would be lovely / encouraging :)