My Name Is Uchiha Sakuya

Summary: What if a girl somehow ended up being reborn in another world as Uchiha Sasuke's twin sister? Will she find a way to survive the impending massacre and change her future or will she die leaving history to unfold by itself?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but my OC is mine. This is not a self-insert.

A/N: This chapter was lightly edited on November 17, 2017.

Chapter 24 - As We Drown

The night is cold and dead. The village is more or less asleep but not me. Not even close. I've spent many nights waiting for the right moment. Now is that moment.

As I look down at his sleeping form, I don't feel remorse. In fact, I feel even more determined. I have to do this. He's just a little kid. He shouldn't be out there bloodying his hands and risking his neck for me. This is a mess I intend to clean up as soon as possible. I can't fail.

I wrapped Shikamaru in many wires, cocooning him, to make sure he doesn't escape. Then, I hid him in a room I prepped for this eventuality alone. My dark and solitary sealing room works to my favor. It's littered with privacy tags and lined with an extra layer of fortification along the walls in case something explodes. Of course, I had to be careful not to let anyone notice anything on the way there. That was the delicate part.

I stripped him of his uniform and his weapons to use. Luckily, we were around the same build. He always was on the svelte side. I let my hair down and lost the wires to complete the illusion. It made me feel vulnerable, losing the armor tekko like that, but they were still there. Just more spread out so as not to be noticeable and more focused around my torso.

I brought out the checkers board I planted with the Recorder seal along with the scroll containing his orders - his mission. It was in code but, honestly, it wasn't all that hard to decipher. He was to be part of a three-man cell mission with a field medic, a specialist, and himself outside Konoha proper. The mission involved recon and possible assassination against a large group of dangerous hostiles.

Figures.

I was told, made to assume, that his missions were for farcical plays that involve showcasing him as an Uchiha. Those were along the lines of planned sieges or patrols. That was originally the plan anyways. But, I should've known Danzo wasn't going to waste someone of Shikamaru's potential, someone of his perfectly impressionable age, on soft stuff.

I didn't really plan on doing things this way. It just happened and made this issue all the more urgent. I didn't expect that he'd get a mission so soon since his last one - that disastrous mission. Never mind this mission he has now being just as bad as before. It made me feel like cursing up a storm.

But, ANBU aren't noisy. So, I just kept it to myself. Didn't stop me from fantasizing about having Danzo's head on a stick though.

I arrived at the meeting place all geared up. I kept my chakra suppressed the best I could, just like I learned from watching Naruto and taking tips from Shisui-nii. I couldn't let them figure me out due to such a basic slip up. I forgone any ideas of using henge as it was a very bad idea in terms of stealth. It seemed like Shikamaru never used it anyways despite masquerading to be Sasuke. Or rather, I guess he was supposed to be masquerading as me.

Henge is, more or less, a chakra construct you substitute for your real body. It's like a picture frame where a different picture is slipped over the actual picture but it's still there, unchanged. You become what you change into, sort of, which is anything, but there's a catch. I used to always wonder why the high-ranking ninjas never seem to use the Academy basics in the show. But now that I live here, I see why the things are rarely ever used.

Theoretically speaking, no ninja on a spy mission should've ever gotten caught. They could just henge into a bug or leaf, kawarimi out of trouble with a log, etc. Bunshin's probably the only thing not worth it what with the Kage Bunshin being out there. It's only real purpose for the Academy is to present a challenge to the kids as it's the best test of chakra control and output for the genin standard.

Henge was hardly any trouble. It was an Academy jutsu that was a piece of cake compared to the grueling effort I had to put in other more defined clan techniques. For the jutsu to work the best it could, I needed a transformation that was more or less around my own body type and mass to have the technique the least noticeable and the least chakra consuming.

The more divergent the chakra construct formed was from one's self, the more obvious it becomes. It'd be a blaring siren to anyone with a decent enough sense for chakra, which is most ninja. It's a large reason for why real espionage experts don't even bother with it.

Going by that logic, Naruto's eventual transgender jutsu was actually ingenious because they're closest to the real person. All he really does with that is lose the clothes and change his gender. Not that his way of using it actually utilizes the stealth and realism factor.

Kawarimi requires concentration and familiarity with the technique to be performed without hand signs. Even then, it has one obvious enemy - pain. Pain disrupts chakra. Thus, pain disrupts jutsus. In battle, you get hit, cut, kicked, and all sorts of stuff. You're better off just running away than praying that somehow your escape jutsu would work before the blade cuts your head off.

The rope escape technique is arguably useful but there's an obvious drawback to that. Shinobi know that tying up other ninja requires art. You need to be sure that they can't use that damn technique at all and, obviously, use wire they can't just cut through easily, like the standard ninja wire for example. Use the technique while on that and one would only end up mincing up themselves. Not pretty. So, obviously, the technique is obsolete against enemy ninja.

I felt naked, vulnerable. I was hardly strong enough to pass up as a real ninja, much less an ANBU. I don't know what I'm doing trying trying to pass up as Shikamaru. When the team captain stared at me for a second when I arrived, I thought I blew it. But, I can't let him go on another mission. This was supposed to be my burden. Not his. My only consolation is how they don't seem to expect anything out of me save for the occasional brainstorming on what to do. I was just to stay quiet and keep up. I was just the decoration.

These people, I suspected, never went with Shikamaru on a mission before. Otherwise, they would've been more respectful of his worth as a team member.

Shikamaru never goes on a mission with the same people? I mentally shook my head. That wasn't right. Shikamaru mentioned a proper team. But, he also mentioned losing them. They died with the exception of one. But, it didn't seem like that one person wanted to work with him again either.

The targets were the ever elusive Watari clan. They were a nomadic shinobi clan with no village that has spawned many jonin-class ninja over the years. It seems that classifies them as a threat to Konoha if Danzo's being on their backs has anything to say about it. Those poor people can never get to settle anywhere. But, they're Shikamaru's mission. They're people who could hurt him. Pity is overrated anyways.

"They'll be holed up around here. It's just their kind of burrow. Their main combatants will be working on a perimeter with sensory-nin. There will be traps here and here and presumably more in the other openings. But, we don't need to go in. I just need to get my hands on one of them. The only important detail required is that no one sees me." said one guy.

His name was Saguri. It means probe or investigating. It probably wasn't his real name but he was Root. It might be the only name he knows. He wasn't blonde, per se, but his finely suppressed chakra still reminded me strongly of Ino from up close. A Yamanaka then. Makes sense, going by his codename.

As for his partner, it wasn't quite as obvious but I'm pretty sure he's an Aburame. I can't feel the chakra from his kikaichuu, which is odd, but I can faintly hear them moving around inside him. He's much older than us two and is most certainly the leader of this squad. We just call him Taicho but his codename was Tatsuma.

"I'm planting the bugs. We'll get an isolated target then you do your work. Sakkaku, you and me are distraction."

Wait, what?

Sakkaku is, apparently, Shikamaru's code name. It means Illusion. It was a good fit considering his role here. But, I never expected his role to be so...hands on. What the hell happened to being decoration?

"Make sure you get them angry. Target familiar faces. Especially the ones that'll get emotional. We need to be effective about diverting the good ones' attention."

I gulped. Okay, so Shikamaru's supposed to be familiar with these Watari people. I get the feeling that that only means bad news for me. But, I can't disobey that order.

Our team captain basically told me to throw myself into the den of technical missing-nin. The Watari-nin didn't have any village of their own or anyone they swore allegiance to so that classification was debatable. But, there was no arguing that they were the enemy when one of them detected me and rained shuriken down on me.

I instinctively dodged with shunshin. Then, I realized I was being an idiot when I noticed it was just a genjutsu. These people wouldn't have that many weapons in stock, let alone that many shuriken. But, the sword used by the guy coming at me was real enough.

Given that I spend a considerable amount of time working on my kenjutsu, more so than my taijutsu seeing as the style is linked, I could read his movements pretty well even without the sharingan. He was certainly good and his blade was fast. But, he wasn't as fast as Shisui-nii's sword, that's for sure. He was adept at best. So, he was more or less chuunin level. Made sense since his chakra signature implied that.

Still, this guy wasn't fodder. If I let him drag me into his pace, I'm dead. I knew I was going to be fodder if I didn't up my game so I activated my sharingan as soon as I got close to his face and stunned him into unconsciousness. Those lessons with Uyaki are paying off.

Of course, my opponent's partner wasn't going to allow herself to get caught in a genjutsu from me and quickly averted her eyes. The rest weren't so smart though. I immediately caught them in a genjutsu and they were putty in my hands.

I unsheathed my borrowed tanto and held the sheath in my other hand and took up a familiar stance. I will not live if I take it easy. These people aren't small fry. They aren't even vicious killers out to kill me. They're more dangerous. They're cornered animals. I know what it feels like to be a cornered animal.

The woman growled and came at me with her eyes closed. I was surprised that she was fighting so well despite that. She was certainly a lot better than the first one. Her blade was lightning fast. If it weren't for my sharingan, I wouldn't see them coming. I was barely keeping up. The only consolation I had was how I could predict her movements to a point and that I had shunshin to save my ass. She was handicapped and that worked well to my advantage. I was facing with an actual kenjutsu specialist here.

"You're the brat that killed my sister! I'm gonna kill you!" she growled at me.

I sensed a feverish rage come from her. A boiling heat of righteousness, pain, and sorrow. It made me falter for a second because I knew that feeling very intimately. It was a subdued feeling that all my clansmen feel deep in their hearts, especially Sasuke. This woman wanted vengeance. Shikamaru's dealt with their clan before, or maybe Itachi. Now, she wants blood for it.

That mistake led to me being cut through my chest. If I hadn't moved most of my wires under there, it probably would've been a very deep wound.

Maybe it isn't a bad idea to wear mesh armor after all. It's not like it's actual chainmail. They're actually quite comfortable if what Shikamaru and Yakumo said were true. It's thin strands of flexible lightweight metal wrapped in light ninja silk and weaved together to be worn. Not that it would be able to block powerful attacks with certainty. But, it would certainly be a bit of a buffer.

I recoiled from the impact but kept my sharingan active. I was in a battle. I couldn't afford to be distracted. These people are the enemy. Not quite like Taiko or the other traitors. But, still the enemy. They won't hesitate to kill me. I should kill them before they get me.

I imagined that the one holding the sword was Obito or Zetsu. My blood boiled in rage in response. I came at the woman stronger than before. More vicious and more lethal with my strikes. More determined to kill. But even so, she was still much better. She had everything on the line here.

She was easily tokubetsu jonin level if not more. She certainly knew her swordsmanship. The blade itself was old and rusting. It didn't even wreak of her chakra but it wreaked of blood and decay. Only her skill compensated for its shortcomings.

It was likely a weapon stolen off of an old battlefield out of desperation to replace a lost weapon. And this blind fighting, developed specifically to counter the sharingan's famed genjutsu abilities, but not polished enough to have been developed for a long period of time. I realized they were prepared for us. At least, as prepared as they could be.

With a growl, I reinforced my leg and shoe to kick her away. Her sword probably left a straight line bruise on my feet but other than that, I wasn't harmed. I wasn't going to be able to deal with her in close combat. She was above me there. I need to change tactics.

"Calamity Flames!

I slashed down and launched an arc of sweltering flames. Then, I threw a simple household cooling tag strapped to a kunai, the type found in freezers of refrigerators I had altered for air-conditioning around the complex, towards it. The result was a localized steam explosion. It came with a haze effect, scalding everything it passed along as if washed over with boiling hot acid vapor. There was a breath sort of sound that chilled me. It sounded like life that was snuffed out.

I heard cries from the men I initially caught in a genjutsu, or at least the ones who didn't manage to get away yet, as their skin were burnt. I realized something. While I was busy dealing with the woman, the rest broke off the genjutsu and went off to warn the others. They were currently trying to escape. There's just too many of them for me to handle alone. I can feel that some already made it back to their camp, having pushed their speed to the limit.

"Taicho, they're moving northward!" I announced. I kept my voice subdued. Not too hard when I'm busy grunting from exertion while fighting this crazy lady. But, it was clear enough to be heard.

She raged at me like a feral beast as soon as I announced her people's location. As angry as she was with me, or with Shikamaru, the safety of her clansmen still ranked first. For a second, I saw myself in her. It left a bad taste in my mouth.

The woman's eyes were wild and her movements wilder. I don't get how she can move like that while suffering those kind of burns. But then, anger gave way to numbness of physical pain. As did adrenaline. What is it with Shikamaru and his tendency to get faced with crazy women?

I heard the telltale sign of Tatsuma-taicho releasing a swarm towards my noted direction and the woman before me became increasingly frantic. I could tell she wanted to flee now, to ensure that her clan would be able to get away. But, I wasn't going to let her.

I brought out a tag with an experimental seal on it. It wasn't my seal. It's another alteration. I wasn't too confident about making offense-oriented combat seals of my own just yet. But this, I knew would work just fine to deal with this one.

I let her get close to me, to pin me down and bring her anger down upon myself. She was so predictable, emotionally speaking. She hated me so badly that she didn't make the finishing blow come quickly. No, she wanted me to know she killed me. She wanted me to suffer. I knew I'd want that if I was in her position. She seemed the type. It's a pity that her efficiency isn't as top notch as her fighting skill.

"Get a load of this, bitch."

I activated the seal and slapped it on her face. She was stunned as horror colored her features. I doubt she knew what it really was but one didn't really need to guess it was bad news from those circumstances. The seal activated and the unearthly banshee scream had her head literally pulverized. Actually, My ears strained even when I blocked my hearing with chakra shielding. That was a very powerful auditory attack even if that wasn't the intention. I clearly outdid myself.

But then, it wasn't her head that exploded. It was wood that was pulverized from the sound waves. There was a flash of silver coming straight down at my head and I shunshined out of there, reappeared across the field in a crouch.

I saw the woman looking at me from my location. She looked more composed now, More wary. She eyed her replacement log and was probably a lot glad that she managed to pull that off in the last minute before her head got turned into sawdust.

"What the hell was that?" she growled at me.

"Canary cry?" Beneath my mask, I was making a wry smirk. I'm losing and probably going to die to this jonin-level missing-nin and I'm smirking. What is wrong with me?

The woman sneered at me. "Pretty." she said sardonically.

She grasped at her sword and came at me. But then, there was suddenly three of them. I recognized it as a Konoha style kenjutsu technique. But, it wasn't. It was a pale imitation. The original used shadow clones to make the perfect three point attack as well as sensory confusion. This one only used illusory bunshin. I can easily differentiate between a bunshin and a kage bunshin.

"Here!"

I turned around to block her strike, letting the illusions behind me fade into chakra residue. My eyes flashed red, straining to read her attacks as I struggled to parry her attacks. They were more precise, less raw brute strength, and more fluid. It annoyed me that she regained her head. I need to unbalance her somehow, get into her head again. But, how?

"All you Watari-nin can do is copy other people's moves huh. You can't even do it right." I drawled mockingly.

"He talks. How grand." she said sarcastically.

She stepped forward and was suddenly swiping at my head. What she swiped was an afterimage of me as I shunshined out of the way to swipe her horizontally at the back. She blocked it easily with a literal hidden trick up her sleeve. She had a knife there, a kitchen knife, and arced it vertically as she brought it out to try and cut my face. I free fell backwards to knee-level and caught myself on my side with the sheath. I brought up a reinforced kick at her shins and heard a slight crack but apparently, it wasn't enough to completely immobilize her.

She swung her sword downward only to cut into displaced leaves. She glared at me and took up another stance. A different style this time. How is she fighting with a fractured shin?

She came at me like a tornado, letting the blade dance and focusing on thrusts, like a fencing style attack. The concentration of chakra being focused at the tip of the sword would certainly give it's thrusting power an extra kick. She could probably stab through solid rock.

Then, she kicked my side. I didn't block with my sheath like she probably expected but just braced for it with a concentrated reinforcement dedicated to the area of impact, my legs, and most certainly, my bones. I was thrown off a bit but it was worth it. I figured out how she was protecting herself.

"Ceramic armor plates. Going by the density, it's likely boron carbide. What an odd place to wear it on." I commented wryly. A simple check of her undisturbed chakra revealed to me that she wasn't injured after all. The only explanation was that my kick broke the protection, not the bone. It had to be strong enough to hold if the bone remained intact.

"Oh, so you figured that out? You faced any samurai before?" she asked with a forced smile. Oh, so samurai use bulletproof vests? As shin guards?

"No. I'm just familiar with the tech."

My first thoughts were Kevlar or polyethelyn plastics. But, those don't exist here...yet. But, ceramic plating does and the super hard boron-carbon ceramic is the standard for quality body armor. Not only that, carbon has relative conductivity with chakra allowing it to be stronger. Though, I doubt this lady here was aware of that tricky application given how easily I broke it.

Tatsuma wasn't here. Saguri wasn't here. No one was here to see me fighting so I've been fighting in my preferred style all night. Save for one thing. I shot my hand forward, all of a sudden, wires became taut and started tearing through wood and leaves. I've been spreading my wires around, dropping them more like, and now I'm using them.

I would've minced her. But, she managed to escape at the last minute by replacing herself with a nearby log. Seriously? Where does she get all these logs?

"You're smart just like they said. But, I'm disappointed. I thought you'd be better." She held me at sword point from behind and coated my hand with her chakra. I couldn't believe it but it made me lose control of my wires. Chakra could be used like that?

"Maybe, you're just better than you thought." I said sourly. I mean, really. She keeps using kawarimi like nobody's business. It's a useful technique but it's annoying when it's used against me.

Actually, I don't get it. I can smell, feel, that she's hurt from my last attack. I can see some red on my wires that suggested she didn't get away as fast as I initially thought. She must be cut up. That meant she should've felt the pain, even just a little bit. How does she keep using the jutsu despite that? That's already beyond mastery. That's almost like a jutsu improvement!

"You're not really him, are you?" she said with a note of disappointment. She sounded bitter and defeated. There was a sense of loss there, of resignation.

"No." I admitted without hesitation. I mean, someone like her probably saw the obvious. I'm just a fake. A counterfeit. Shikamaru's at least gotten specialized training on him to be able to deal with crazy shit like this. I've trained too. I've dealt with crazy shit too. But, I've never been the hunter before. I was always the hunted. The hunted is strong in many ways the hunter isn't.

"You people are sick sending out children so young to fight." she noted. I felt like agreeing with her, but...

"Don't you people do it to?" I asked. She looked no older than 15 and she was already at this level.

"We have no choice." she defended with a hiss. Power bred through necessity, I suppose. They lead tough lives. The weak die.

"We don't either."

Suddenly, she slumped down and fell to the ground, dead. It didn't come off as a surprise though. I noticed him approaching while the woman held me. Though, it was more of a hunch than my sensory abilities that picked up nothing.

Shikamaru's here and he's mad.

"That was a strong dose, you know." I told him while keeping an effort at keeping my voice from wavering. I'm still shaken by what just occurred. I was this close to dying again. It was...surreal.

What I told him...It was a bit of a blurted out reaction. I was surprised. I drugged him to make sure that he doesn't wake up too early. He should've been out till morning. It's only been a couple of hours.

"I was taught how to burn stuff like that out of my system." he said blankly. "Do you have any idea how crazy you are you troublesome fool?"

I could tell that he wasn't impressed. He was really, absolutely, furious with me. Somehow, he managed to wake up from his sedation, escape our clan compound without being noticed(or was he?), and managed to grab an extra uniform and a regular festival mask to replace his stolen one. Then, he went straight here.

"Your teammates?" I asked. I noticed he was bugged by Tatsuma.

"Taicho already knew and tested you. I never would've been as careless as to let so many get away from me so easily."

I felt like I should've been insulted, but I wasn't. He was right. This was a Root sanctioned mission that required excellent performance. I couldn't provide that level of excellence. Furthermore, Shikamaru was a Nara. Delaying opponents and keeping them occupied was sort of a specialty with them. Even if he couldn't use his clan jutsus masquerading as an Uchiha, he still has that mindset. He wouldn't have approached in the way I did it.

"Come on. I want my stuff back."

"But the mission..." I trailed. I knew I was just trying to procrastinate but he already had that covered.

"Already accomplished."

I was in trouble. I knew I'd get in trouble. But, I kept Shikamaru away from all that. At least, just this once. I'll be certain to make sure it's permanent.

Shikaku-sama was briefing Shisui-nii when we got back. Shisui-nii was already at his house asking for an explanation. I don't doubt that he would've noticed Shikamaru trying to break out of my study.

When he looked at me, his expression was uncharacteristically taut. It was as if he went and became Itachi all of a sudden. He was that blank. I knew he was angry at me. Maybe even a bit disappointed? I could also tell that he was very sad for me. I'm guessing he didn't know or he knew enough details but didn't think I'd be crazy enough to do something like this. Or that he wasn't aware that the rumored Itachi replacement was actually a close friend of mine either.

It's probably a lot to process.

We didn't head for the hokage's office. What's the point if it's a Root operation, not a proper ANBU one? The hokage will probably just be only half-aware, much like Shikaku-sama. Root is independent of them. Apparently, it's to avoid valuable information leaks at all costs.

I was right with my assumptions that Shikamaru was working for Danzo, not the other old man. His sort of missions certainly were enough proof to me even without all this. All the hints pointed to that right from the start. I still don't know what Saguri was supposed to do but that was probably the real objective then. Danzo was careful like that with mission details. Everything is strictly need-to-know basis.

We headed to the Nara compound where Yoshino-san prepared tea for us. I certainly needed it if only to calm my mind. Shikaku-sama gave me awkward reassurances and contrasting harsh admonishments in clipped tones.

But, even so, it wasn't as bad as Shisui-nii's silent cold stare. He wasn't even bothering to say anything to talk me down. Upset didn't quite cover it. He was...disappointed. It oozed off of him in waves. It made me feel really awful all of a sudden.

"You will have to report to Danzo later about your part in the mission. " warned Shikaku-sama."You're the one he's wanted to recruit since day 1. He'll be a pain. He'll try to corner you. Be careful."

His tense expression held a note of frustration in it. I get the feeling that this wasn't the first time he had this conversation.

"He won't." I said with a sure tone. "I'm prepared for him."

"This isn't a game." Shikamaru growled at me. Shikaku-sama placed a hand on his shoulder, wordlessly telling him to calm down. He was shaking in fury, not even bothering to hide it. It angered me deep inside that he was reacting like this. I'm doing this for him!

"I know it isn't." I said with a level tone. "It's not going to end. He'll want more. He'll want me. He'll want Sasuke. The others. If he could, he probably would've pilfered Shisui-nii from the jonin forces by now too. He wants assets he can brainwash into his puppets. I'm not a puppet."

We can't be his puppets.

"You're being an suicidal idiot." hissed Shikamaru.

I could sense their frustrations. I could sense their pain and their panic. They see me as this delusional little girl with no idea what she's up against. But, I do know. I've always known. That's why it took me this long to plan out everything. I had to be sure.

Granted, I didn't plan on nearly dying on Shikamaru's mission but it wasn't like I expected that part. That one was a bit of a spur of the moment thing, admittedly. An impulsive decision. For that, I accept admonishment. But, not Danzo. I've always been ready for him.

"I know what I'm doing. I'm not being overconfident or brave. I'm just doing things according to his flawed prediction and I will use that. I've been meaning to get close to him and this is my chance."

I tried to convince them. I could tell that it wasn't working. They all oozed of worry and it was getting progressively thicker, threatening to smother me.

"You're not planning on doing any more dangerous stuff, are you? Because if you are, forget it. You're not going out there again." Shikamaru's tone was resolute. Like he was going to do whatever it took to see to that. I guess him saving my ass justifies that in his mind. But no. This has to end. Now.

"He'll stay away for good. He'll be gone from our lives forever."

Shisui-nii shot me a hard glare and spoke with even tones.

"You're not assassinating, Danzo. Not only is it impossible for you, it's a capital crime."

I could feel his anger, his power, pressing down on me. It was mind-numbing. It was terrifying. I could hardly breath. It was not the Shisui-nii I knew whose chakra was so gentle and comforting. This pressure was overbearing. This was a jonin's murderous intent who expected that his words, his orders, were going to be followed to a tee. He was that angry with me. They all were.

Shisui-nii was not going to let me do anything. He was not going to let me become a criminal just to fix this. He doesn't want me to be another sacrifice, another Itachi. I could feel it, that fear underlying all that anger. As angry as he was, he was more afraid of what was happening. Of what it meant.

"I'm not..."I sucked in a breath. "I'm not...gonna murder anyone." I pressed, feeling the difficulty to breath in this thick atmosphere. "I have a plan. If you would just listen."

"I don't see any scenario in which what you want will happen." Shikaku-sama said evenly in a warning.

"You're only going to get yourself killed." Shikamaru snarled at me. He was losing it, his composure. I've never seen him like this before. His father had to hold him down to keep him from coming at me.

"It will happen. Trust me." Please.

I heard a sharp snap crunch as Shikamaru's fist tore through a wall.

"Why don't you trust me!?"

"So, what do you say? Do you agree or not?"

I was on nerves but I numbed those with my determination and my fueling rage, no, bitterness, towards this old man. It's not that I don't hate him for everything he represented. It's not that I actually even hated him as a character in the anime. I just hated him for waging war with me thru my loved ones. I hated him for starting this and ruining my everything.

I know that I've already lost, in a way, but I couldn't let those losses be left in vain. I was here now and I had to do this. Even if it cements something I'd rather not have happening.

"You drive a hard bargain."

I raised an eyebrow at him. How is it supposed to be hard when his every attempt to recruit an Uchiha ended with a definite no? He knows from experience that he can't bully us into it either. He certainly can't bully me into it, that's for sure.

"It's not like I'm banning all Uchihas from ANBU. I'm just banning you from us...and my friends. You don't touch my friends ever." I said steely.

"You mean to say that should Hiruzen be the one to recruit them, you wouldn't get in the way?" he asked.

"Him and whatever successor to the hat either of you cooks up. It will be all up to them. But, no Root and certainly no you."

"You hate me that much?" he asked with an amused tone.

"Yes." I said with a solid surety.

He sighed. He mulled over my offer for a long while. I was tense. The thing here is, my plan hinged on him willingly leaving us alone in terms of personal agendas forever. The moment I figured out I could finally make my own seals, I started working on this one until I had it down perfectly. It took a while, a lot longer than the recorder seals, but I eventually figured out how to get it done. In the end, it depends on the terms of contract. There's nothing more deplorable than people going back on their word. This assured that doesn't happen for either parties. Deals are meant to be followed.

"You will agree to have your services requested?" he asked for clarification.

"If the hokage is the one who asks of it, and it is not stupid, yes." I stated clearly across. "Isn't that the law?"

Technically, the hokage has the ability to order all citizens, ninja or no, to pick up weapons and march into a war but, clearly, people would protest over something so absurd. We're not mindless robots. But, it's the idea.

"By that, do you mean the one in position or whomever it is you perceive as one?" he asked. I smirked. I guess our last talk wasn't forgotten.

"I refer to Sarutobi Hiruzen-sama, the sandaime. Only him and whomever he personally approves as a successor and so forth."

"You're making this harder to agree upon." he said while glaring at me. Taking a page from Uyaki, I leaned back comfortably and crossed my arms. I shot him a smug grin.

"Take it or leave it."

I felt the slightest bit of annoyance from him but he pushed it down quickly enough. He wouldn't want me to read him, no. He's too careful for that. This is war. It's a war he waged upon me on the mental and emotional fields of battle. I'm winning this one.

"I will admit, I didn't expect you to create something so sinister. You are a shrewd little girl." he told me.

"It's not sinister. Both sides have to agree to the terms. There will be no lies in this contract."

He scoffed. It was plain obvious that I was blackmailing him. I'm probably the only kid in this entire world with so much incriminating evidence against him that I'm sure every single clan head, significantly important commanders or council members, and the hokage would just love to get their hands on.

The best part is how a lot of them are already strategically planted throughout the village with only cursory instructions left to my relatives, the only people who could possibly get through that genetic lock I borrowed from our security systems, in the event of my death. Or, given that Danzo can't really touch me without pissing off Itachi, yet another brat with heavy blackmail material based on sensitive information, I can just spread my knowledge manually and bring him to ruin in the case that he says no.

What I have is likely not as weighty as what Itachi has on the village. It likely won't make much of a dent other than have Danzo put in permanent house arrest like in the canon naru-verse at best or simply delay his overall plans for protecting the village by a bit through a stain on his reputation. But, it was significant. Especially the part where I have an admittedly short but clear recording of him admitting to coercing Itachi into acting as a scapegoat for the clan massacre.

It was more like a suggestion than a coercion but I can twist that enough to my preference.

If I had my recording seals back then, I would've had more extensive proof but the limited capacity of a tweaked sound-mimicking seal was enough to have this man wary of my threats. And I highly doubt the claims of him having sharingan eyes implanted onto his bandaged up arm, a fact that would enrage many, would be overlooked.

I have my ways of getting what I want. Seals are very useful, ne?

"Very well, I, Shimura Danzo agree to your terms of not recruiting, soliciting assistance, or intending malice towards your current friends and family in any way." I smirked. "But, Itachi is an exception. He is currently under my command and I cannot exactly terminate his mission as of this moment. And I reserve a single favor from you in the future not pertinent to this matter."

My smirk fell.

"What kind of favor?" I narrowed my eyes at him. I get the feeling that he won't fold for a long while without this. It feels...significant.

"It depends." he said.

That was a big demand. He could ask of me anything and I would be obligated to follow through. But, he said it wouldn't be pertinent to this deal so it wouldn't be about the well-being of my friends and family.

It was a big decision but, I caved. Nothing's more important than this deal. Nothing. Not even myself. And, I'm impatient enough to get it done already.

"Fine, but only if this favor has no damaging effects on me whether it be politically, physically, psychologically, or financially."

Itachi can take care of himself. I'm more worried about the kids.

He nodded, pleased with my agreement. It chilled me to the bone how he was...content. I expected him to be oozing of bloodlust right about now. I feel like I won the battle but lost a bigger one. What is this feeling?

"Effective tomorrow, Nara Shikamaru will no longer be required to perform under my orders and transferred out of my division. You will be keeping your end of the bargain." he said.

I smiled to him, horrifyingly sweet and fake.

"You will find that we both will have to keep our end of the bargain."

The seal took effect, engraving upon his skin like an iron brand. The word GEAS stared back at me on his unblemished forehand as it faded into the skin. I still can't believe I actually created this. But, it was perfect. The geas is basically, as it is, an inviolable contract. Rather than a written document, it functions upon word of mouth.

The idea behind it was from the magical body that gave birth to it, the Celtic-Irish myths. It's more or less a rune just being given a different name, seal. This version takes effect on one who is alive. On someone who is still in this realm and marked by it. On chakra. Of course, even if Danzo comes back to life through either Izanagi or Edo Tensei, it will still be in effect for it is marked upon said chakra signature specifically. Nothing short of becoming a full-fledged ghost can nullify this geas on him. Not even my death can get rid of it. The terms stated that it's an eternal promise and so it shall be.

The seal itself was written in blood. My blood. It's a way of identifying me as the dominant party in this deal. It also assures that the seal has more power and binds easier to the spiritual side. But, he had to stamp it on his skin himself to symbolize his agreement as well as verbally state it.

"Do you feel it taking effect?" I asked with unbidden glee as I noticed his chakra constrict all of a sudden, a sign that the seal was doing it's magic. I felt a slight pleasure in sensing his discomfort.

"It's very thorough. Even just the thought of disobeying the terms has it acting out." I could sense he was impressed. But, he was just as bitter about it. He was under my mercy. I doubt he likes being under anyone's mercy. Especially not under someone like me.

"It's a warning system. I wouldn't want you getting any ideas. Not unless you want to be a slave to me forever~"

He gave me a blank look.

"I told you before. I won't be an enemy to you so long as you don't give me a reason to. You're the one who started this." I reminded him with steel tones and a hard gaze. I was very embittered with this man.

"You understand you won't always be able to protect them all." he told me. He didn't cringe in pain. He wasn't referring to himself. It was a general thing. There will always be more Danzos. There will always be threats. He was just one of many.

"I know. But, at least I've protected them from you."

"You're worse than your brother." he sighed.

I clenched my jaw and hardened by gaze. "I know."

I'm just as selfish as Itachi ever was.

Shisui-nii saw us off as we went to school. He has a longer downtime now. They're finally lightening up his schedule, he said. With Shikaku-sama in on it, the Jonin Commander whose word over jonins is law, it was a sure case. Not even a maybe we'll consider. It was a definitely.

We all knew it was bogus though. It was clear that people just wanted to make sure Sasuke and I, probably just me, were in check. I'm not as mentally sound as I appear, apparently. While it unnerves me that Shisui-nii's giving me those looks of worry from time to time again, I'm infinitely more glad that he's home more, where he's safe. I'm glad that he's here.

I'm currently forced to have weekly meetings with Inoichi-san, again, and I am not looking forward to bullshitting through our sessions again without Shikamaru as my anchor this time. We're not on the best of terms right now.

School morning saw me as the unwilling referee between an argument with Sakura and Sasuke. I have no idea where it came from or when it even started but, apparently, they've been butting heads for top of the class for a while now. I guess sleeping through my classes can backfire on me too. Not that I need to pull as many all-nighters now. Not when it's finally done and over with.

"Since when did this happen?" I asked Ino just for clarification. It was certainly surprising.

"I don't really know, either. This is the first time they outright came at each other openly. I think it's the tension." she told me.

I guess it was one of those things that gradually come to happen. Not that I expected something like this to ever happen. I was under the impression that the person Sasuke would end up having a rivalry with was Naruto. They certainly acted like it. But no. They acted more like brothers. Sakura though...Sakura was the opinionated rival that keeps threatening Sasuke's top position in class.

This is going to be interesting in the future. No doubt.

"They're going to be a handful from now on, aren't they?" I asked with a sigh.

"No kidding." she snorted. We were both the unofficial referees here.

"Well, you're in a good mood today." Ino broached. There was a hidden question there, a prodding that she kept sending towards me with her expectant looks.

"I took care of it. It all depends on him now though." I said forlorn.

My argument with Shikamaru had been an eye-opener for me. His parents tried to mollify the damage, per se, but it wasn't like he was at fault. I guess I should've seen it. He was trying to help me. All this time, he was trying to keep all the tragedies I've faced from happening again and being directly under Danzo was his way of doing it. Interfering with that was the same as spitting at his efforts. He was my best friend and I was So. Very. Blind.

He was never the type to talk about things. To understand him, one must know him intimately and just read in between the lines. I've been shutting him out just as much as he'd been shutting other people out so I had no idea. I was so focused on the outside that I didn't bother to look inside the box. Now, I don't know what to do to fix things. I'm not sure I can try doing it either, seeing as I'm plenty angry at him too for treating me like fucking glass in need of extreme measures of protection. It was a stupid cycle we ended up trapped in. We probably looked like idiots in Danzo's eyes.

Shikamaru isn't talking to me because I succeeded. But, it wasn't about pride. He...didn't want to leave Root. He didn't want to go back to not being able to do anything. He didn't want to be that ignorant Academy student that will only find out that his best friend was dying after having gone through the hell of her family trying to butcher one another after the fact with only a simple censored version of the story. But, it wasn't like he had any choice.

If he stayed, Danzo's chakra would've been permanently sealed away by the geas. That will not only be painful as hell but it would also be crippling for him as a shinobi. I will be the only person capable of overturning that sealing but only for a definite amount of time that I will have to specify or else it wouldn't take. Meaning, complete betrayal of the terms turns the him into my unwilling slave.

If conditions in the contract allow it, the geas seal could be broken, removed naturally, by accomplishing the terms set. But, the conditions don't allow it. I specifically stated that it would be in effect for all eternity so long as he lived. Or, at least, until his soul reincarnates to who knows what world. The only other option of freedom for him is if I broke my word. He hasn't cashed in that favor yet.

"It doesn't look fixed." muttered Ino. Her eyes trailed towards the front where someone like me would never sit. Shikamaru deliberately chose against sitting at our corner at the back to both avoid and spite me. He actually oozed of that, spite. He was still pissed at me and this was how he was expressing it. It's the price to pay for getting him out of that stink hole, I guess. Everything always has a price. Sometimes, it seems too big a price to be paid.

He'll come around. I know, hope, he will. I just hope he does it soon because the anger will only remain for so long. This is killing me.

"He's being a complete sourpuss. I guess he finally snapped at you. What did you do, fail a mission?" she asked miserably.

"You knew?" I asked in surprise. Here I thought we were doing well hiding that.

"Please, the signs were everywhere. But, I wasn't sure until Kiba got really pissed at you. You should probably talk to him."

So that's what it was. I doubt that Kiba would've said anything. He's too loyal even if he probably hates us now for making him go through something so horrible like that. He's probably worried sick and we just kept digging the wound deeper with every deflection. Ino's too perceptive, no, empathic, to miss all that.

I sigh. It's no wonder why these kids are the only ones who managed to pass their jonin-senseis' genin tests and made the cut. Really, they cannot be considered normal in any way. And they're eleven? Really?

In the other world, the most grown up thing I did at eleven was sell lemonade on our front yard for extra pocket money.

"Why didn't you say anything?" I asked weakly.

"We were waiting for you to speak up. But, it never came." Ino gave me sour look. It was as if she was wordlessly chiding me and expressing the hurt she felt for it at the same time. I didn't know what to say.

"Not that I blame you. You can't exactly talk about things like...that. I almost couldn't believe it but you confirmed it just now."

Hearing that, my cheeks went pink. I got played. Damn it.

"So, what really triggered things?" she asked. Sometimes, her prying nature annoys me to no end. But, in this case, I felt like I had to tell someone. I had to...lighten my load, I guess. I had to...rely on someone again. She was there for me.

"It wasn't mission failure. It was more like...I guess you could say I got him kicked out by force." I said.

"Oh. That's...I didn't think it would be possible. Shino said...He said it wasn't that simple." Ino was very curious but she was more afraid.

She mentioned Shino. Of course. I should've known he was part of that group. He probably got all the clues he needed during our investigation on the Hyuuga. He was investigating us too. They all were. I was just too preoccupied to see it.

"It's...complicated." I sighed deeply.

I thought everyone would be happy in the end. I got Danzo off our backs. Shikamaru got his freedom back. Wasn't that for the best? But, it just seems like everyone's angry at me save for Danzo. No, that old mummy actually got something out of this and is going his merry way brainwashing more child soldiers in the dark with the knowledge that he has something over me. Going with how everyone reacted, it was a good thing I kept that part of our deal to myself when I debriefed the others afterwards.

Yoshino-san had been...stern with me. But, she was also comforting, saying that she'll set her son straight for being so rude to a lady. She oozed of overflowing joy and relief when I succeeded. She liked me, yes, but her baby would always be priority. That's how it is with mothers. Not that she didn't ooze of sadness and regret too. Regret that things had to be dealt with so drastically, and by a child at that, for things to be okay again. That I had to take matters into my own hands...again. I guess that's what annoyed Shikamaru the most.

Shikaku-sama had been...tired. He seemed like he was just really sad and tired for us. For both of us. We were growing up too fast. It was hard to look the understanding man in the eye without being weighed down by regret.

I caused this.

I forced Shikamaru to grow up too fast the moment my neurotic mess clung to him like a needy parasite who barely remembered how to live anymore. I probably traumatized him, in hindsight. At the time, he didn't show it. He actively didn't care about my problems or looked at me with pity. But, somewhere in there at the back of his mind was a cold rage being nurtured along with a strong promise of not letting it happen again. I should've known better. Even his canon counterpart had been the extreme type when it came to methodical revenge.

I couldn't let him sink into the darkness. With every passing day he remained there, he grew more tainted, darker, less himself. He probably didn't see it but I did. It was what tempered my resolve to the hard steel that it was. But that resolve further pushed him away as it was completely against his goals.

I know that even if I'd taken Shikamaru out of there, the damage had already been done. We were both damaged and we know it. And, we're fighting over it now too.

It was one thing to suspect it from the obvious clues and another for him to throw it at my face. I just wanted him safe. I wanted to give back to him the childhood he deserved. I wanted him to be a kid again. Why couldn't he see that? But, I guess the real question was why didn't I see what he willingly gave up?

"What about Naruto? I thought he was with you guys?" I asked, hoping to keep my mind off Shikamaru and his chauvinistic turn for the stupid. He's got testosterone on the brain and it was pissing me off as much as it saddened me.

Ino snorted. "He said if you guys were...you know, then that was that and we should just let it go."

"That's...oddly open-minded of him." I frowned. The way Ino said it sounded almost like resignation. Almost like... Did they think we were faking everything? Our friendships? Our bonds? Had they been questioning it?

Damn. We narrowly avoided a landmine. No, we're probably still on it.

"He was...the calm one. He grew up with ANBU chasing him around for as long as he could remember. I think he might've been a bit upset at first...but not surprised."

Out of all of the ones suspecting us, I expected the most danger from Naruto with his familiarity with ANBU. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew where their HQ was. I wouldn't even bat an eye if he claimed to suspect that Shikamaru was in ANBU too. All it took was one close call and a simple whiff of blood to be sure.

I felt numb. That was how everyone else saw it. That was how...I was...We were just trying to protect them from the truth. They couldn't know and get involved. We didn't...We couldn't ruin them too.

Excuses.

"I'm sorry." I told her with a small voice. I wasn't quite sure what specific thing I was apologizing for. Maybe everything? But, I felt the need to say it.

"Don't tell me that. I already know you're messed up in the head."

That was a disguised jab, but, not warding. She was accepting me - my apology. But, that didn't mean I still didn't hurt her. It didn't mean that I still didn't hurt them all.

It wasn't just Shikamaru. I...I really messed up. Do I have to adapt to this too?

A/N: Gah! This chapter was hard to make. I wasn't sure how I would put it in order. But, I did it. I hope you like it. It is officially the curtain close to this long ass arc. :)