It all comes out when Sakura is sat on the Uchiha's sofa. Mikoto is sat next to her, holding her hand. Sasuke sits on her other side, prickling with anxiety. Fugaku and Itachi are both standing on the other side of the room, unintentionally mirroring each other's stiff posture.

Sakura tells them how one of her friends isn't talking to her anymore and she doesn't know why, and how her other friend is upset that she's going to the Academy without her and that she wants to be on a team with Naruto and Sasuke instead of her.

Sasuke perks up when she says this, as does Fugaku, for some reason.

"And how did this happen, sweetheart?" Mikoto says gently, gesturing at her bloodied mouth. Kitagawa shifts ever so slightly from where he's leaning against the wall.

"I think I bit my lip when I fell down." Sakura says. It isn't a lie. It's just not the full truth. She fell down because her dream made her faint. But she thinks Mikoto would be looking at her with a great deal more confusion if she admitted that.

"When did you fall?"

"After Ino-chan got really upset with me. She hates me." Sakura says quietly, a painful lump forming in her throat. She fiddles with the hem of her dress, blinking rapidly to stop the tears.

"I'm sure she doesn't – " Mikoto begins.

"Ino's a big, stupid idiot." Sasuke says firmly, crossing his arms.

"Sasuke!" Mikoto chides.

"What? She is! It's her own fault she couldn't get into the Academy. It's not Sakura's fault that she's so smart."

Kitagawa snickers.

"And you are?" Fugaku says, speaking up for the first time.

It takes Sakura a moment to realise who he's talking to.

Kitagawa tosses his head, his silver earrings chiming with the movement. "I'm no one, Uchiha-sama, he says cheerily, "just a little piece in a big part."

"If you are to be in my house, with my children present, I expect you to be forthcoming and specific about your identity and intentions. Specifics, please." Fugaku says, having none of it.

"Pardon me, Uchiha-sama, but I believe I am already in your house. And those are your children, yes? There's a very strong resemblance. They have your eyes. Adorable. So, why is it necessary for me to be forthcoming and specific now, after I have already been in your house and your children's presence for several minutes?"

There is a resounding silence.

"I believe there has been a misunderstanding," Fugaku says icily, "when I ask you a question in my own home, I expect an answer. If I do not receive a satisfying one, I will not hesitate to remove you."

"From your house or your children's presence?" Kitagawa asks, his eyes wide and guileless, "Specifics, please?"

There is a spark of chakra flaring behind Fugaku's eyes, matching the swell of rage in his aura.

Sakura sighs, lowering the glass she had been clutching in front of her mouth, "Kitagawa-san is my new bodyguard. He's very new, and he is often late, which Oba-san said does not speak well for his character."

Kitagawa makes an exaggerated look of dismay, "Sakura-hime, please don't call me Kitagawa-san. I am but a mere worm to a princess, after all."

"Worms are quieter." Sakura tells him.

"Be that as it may," Fugaku says, still seething, "How did you even get in here? Mikoto, did you let him inside with Sakura?"

"I answered the door, Otou-san," Itachi says warily, "and Kitagawa-san was carrying Sakura. He let her go, she ran in to see Sasuke, and when I looked up… he was gone."

"I got lost." Kitagawa says, beaming.

"Inside my house." Fugaku says flatly.

Kitagawa spreads his hands wide, "Fortunately, I found my way to this room. I get lost very often, but I have an excellent sense of direction to make up for it."

"Who hired you?"

"Tsunade-sama."

"I cannot imagine why."

"I've yet to lose a client."

"How many have you had?"

Kitagawa, still smiling, motions towards Sakura.

Fugaku's stony silence speaks volumes.

"I'm still alive." Sakura says, feeling compelled to speak up in her new bodyguard's defence.

"See! And she's hardly bleeding at all."

Fugaku glowers at the bodyguard, whose grin remains unrepentant and unashamed.

"Back to Sakura," Mikoto says pointedly, "Darling, I'm sure your friends don't hate you. They just need a little time. That's all you can do. Give them some space. If you wait a little, they may come to you in their own time, but if they don't, when you do see them again, they are sure to be calmer and more likely to listen to you. Now, let's see what we can do about your poor mouth – "

Sakura, almost as an afterthought, lifts her hand to her mouth and heals it. The skin itches and her mouth still tastes metallic and gross, but the pain is gone. She's grown so used to being hurt that she barely noticed the wound was still there.

Kagami has been silent since the last dream.

Did she really even return? When she went quiet like that, was she missing or just mute?

Mikoto takes Sakura's glass of water from her and sprinkles its contents onto a handkerchief, then carefully wipes the dried blood from Sakura's chin.

She still feels a little numb, like everything happening around her is something she's witnessing, not experiencing. Her limbs feel heavy, almost unresponsive.

"Was that everything, Sakura-chan?" Mikoto asks, "Or was there something else that's been bothering you?"

Konoha will be crushed into a giant crater. Mikoto's oldest son will try to kill Kakashi, and her youngest will kill Sakura. Shisui is missing from her dreams and she doesn't know if that's because he's supposed to die or if they simply were not meant to meet. Shisui hurt Kabuto and he didn't feel guilty until Sakura got upset. Shisui stopped talking to her and she doesn't know why.

Shisui.

"I know I should be happy because really good things have been happening lately," Sakura begins slowly, "but I've been so scared… so scared that it's all going to go away. That I'll lose everything. Kakashi-sensei got hurt protecting me. So did Takumi-kun. All the Masks… They're going to keep coming for me and it's because I can heal. So, I shouldn't heal, so everyone will be safe. But I want to heal, to make people better. I don't know if that's wrong or not. I don't know anything anymore."

Mikoto tilts her head, her long hair falling like a curtain over one eye. Her smile is halved by shadow, "Sakura-chan, you're a very grown-up girl. That means you're smart enough to care about issues that you're not supposed to deal with yet. All of the things you're worried about are beyond your reach to solve. That's not a bad thing. It's like when you can't reach something high up – I bet your mother puts sharp things too high for you to reach, right?"

Sakura nods.

"That's because they're not for you. If you manage to get to them, you might hurt yourself. So, with all these issues that you shouldn't be able to reach, trying to solve them will only cause you worry and pain. That's why you're stressed, Sakura-chan. Because you are worrying about things you can't change. I know it must seem very difficult and very frightening, having bad people come after you. It must feel worse because it's other people who get hurt, stopping them. But that's what we do, Sakura-chan. Shinobi put themselves in danger every day to protect people who can't protect themselves. Civilians, the elderly, children… We do this willingly and with pride. And one day, I know you will grow up and do the same. But you mustn't try do so until you are ready. You can't safely hold a knife if your hands are too small, right? You have to let bigger hands do the work. Sit back, Sakura-chan."

Sakura blinks, surprised, and realises she's sitting forward, tense and ready to go. She forces herself to slump back against the chair.

"Take a deep breath."

Sakura does.

"And let all your fears go."

Sakura breathes out, and bursts into tears.

Mikoto rubs her back, murmuring words of comfort.

"I killed one of the Masks," Sakura sobs, the jolts of shock in the auras around her only making her cry harder, "they hurt my – my… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to!"

Mikoto pulls her into her arms, rocking her back and forth, "It's alright, darling. Sometimes the sharp things get to us before we are ready. That doesn't mean you were wrong. It's sad and unfortunate, but it happened, and it's done. You're here, you're safe, and sometimes that is the best you can ask for."

Sakura knows why she wanted to see Shisui when she got hurt. He makes her feel safe. But now, in Mikoto's warm, firm grip, she feels as far away from harm as possible. She's got her parents, and now the Senju, the borrowed family she made by mistake. But maybe she's also got this family, the Uchiha. And they're a little broken, but they're very kind. Maybe getting hurt makes you better at helping people.

"It was my fault, Okaa-san," Itachi says sombrely, "I failed to protect Sakura in time, and she had to do it herself."

Fugaku tuts.

Just as Sakura is about to push away from Mikoto and shout, Fugaku puts a hand on Itachi's shoulder.

"Is it your fault when the wind blows and a tree falls down?" He asks.

Itachi looks confused.

"Only take responsibility for the things that are truly caused by your hand. Do not shoulder the blame of everything that happens when you are around. I know you, and I know you would have done your utmost to protect Sakura, because that is the kind of shinobi you are." Fugaku says.

Itachi's chakra is alight with surprise and a small amount of happiness, but it dims slightly when he says, "But Sakura is my responsibility."

Sasuke makes a face.

Kitagawa lets out a loud guffaw, ignoring the two adults glaring at him.

"Your only responsibility is to your own integrity." Fugaku says.

"But… but I thought…"

"You don't always have to be strong." Mikoto adds, stroking Sakura's hair.

"And Sakura insisted on helping us, didn't she? So in a way, aren't you her responsibility?" Fugaku asks, a rare flash of mirth in his aura.

Itachi looks blank.

"Don't worry," Sakura says, a weak smile beginning to grow, "I'll take care of you."

"What about me?" Sasuke demands.

"I'll take care of you too, Sasuke!" Sakura grins.

"But what about Fugaku?" Kitagawa asks with mock-concern.

Fugaku glares, "What happened to 'Uchiha-sama?'"

"That's what I'm asking."

"Get out of my house."

xxxxxxxx

Kitagawa is smirking, despite their unceremonious exit.

Sakura looks up at him suspiciously.

He catches her looking and winks, opening his cloak. He's holding several things, most notably a scroll.

"Where did you get that?" Sakura asks curiously.

Kitagawa chuckles, "They fell into my hands."

Kagami murmurs something, her voice muffled as if behind a wall.

"You stole them?!" Sakura whisper-shouts, aghast.

Kitagawa stops walking, balancing the scroll on the tip of his finger. His indigo hair is tied back into a tiny braid with silver thread. His thin lips are permanently-curled up, so he is perpetually smirking. He's wrestled his face into something approaching hurt at her words.

"I thought you'd be cool with this." He says, looking at her dubiously.

"Why?"

He shrugs, his cloak rustling with the movement. She sees more shiny things tucked within its confines and huffs in annoyance.

"Stealing is wrong."

"Only if you get caught."

"Put it back." Sakura demands.

Kitagawa puts on a tragic face, "But if I take it all back, they'll kill me. I'll be dead, Sakura-hime. What will my poor mother do?"

"You have a mother?"

"Most people do."

"Is she really poor?"

"Not anymore." Kitagawa twirls a beaded necklace around his finger.

Sakura puts her hands on her hips, "If I told Oba-san – "

"Then I'd have to tell her about your weird little…" Kitagawa makes a face, waving his hand in front of his eyes, "Vision thing. Y'know, when your eyes went all glassy and you face-planted into the ground. That was either some kind of technique or you've got, like. A problem. With your brain."

Sakura freezes, wide-eyed in alarm.

Kitagawa raises a narrow eyebrow, "Can't hide from me, kid. Something's up with you. My best guess is it's some kind of weird Senju thing. Your ma said you were gifted, which I took to mean you were smart but had zero social skills, but maybe she meant something else, huh."

Sakura glares at him.

He beams back.

Stalemate.

He crouches in front of her, flicking his hand in front of her face. A beautiful paper fan appears from his sleeve, delicately painted with watercolour lilies.

"It's a shame you don't like stealing, 'cause I got this for you. So if you ever feel like you're gonna faint again, you can just use this to cool you down. And make sure you sit down, too, and put your head between your legs. You'll look hilarious, and it'll keep you from passing out. Win, win."

Sakura frowns. The fan is very pretty, but she wouldn't feel right using it, knowing it belonged to someone else. It was probably Mikoto's.

"No, thank you." She says, scrunching up her face in distaste.

Kitagawa pretends to gasp, fanning himself, "I can't believe I went to all the trouble of sneaking into the Uchiha Manor and looking through all the rooms just to find you a lovely gift and you turn it down, I mean, really. I am… flabbergasted."

"Good! Your gast deserves to be flabbered!"

Kitagawa howls with laughter, which just annoys Sakura even more.

"Fugaku-san would be so mad at you!"

Kitagawa gives her a smile, his eyes curved shut, "I may not look it, Sakura-hime, but I'm actually quite weak. If it comes to a real fight, you might find yourself protecting me. So, please don't tell on me to the scary Clan Head. I'm just a lowly bodyguard, after all."

"Kitagawa-san – "

Kitagawa visibly shudders, making a yuck face, "Don't call me that. It makes me sound so respectable."

Sakura puffs out her cheeks. Talking to Kitagawa is so hard. It's like trying to discipline one of her puppies.

"Well, if you don't like Kitagawa-san… Kit-kun?" She suggests.

She's not prepared for him to look scandalised, "Sakura-hime! I didn't mean – you shouldn't – "

Sakura's lips curl up in a wicked smile, mirroring Kitagawa's usual expression, "Kit-kun it is, then."

xxxxxxxx

Despite his casual threat, Kitagawa doesn't say a word to Tsunade about Sakura's accident when they get home.

Sakura sits with Tenzo in the garden, marvelling at the rapid change.

It used to be a wild jungle of thorns and weeds, trees choking on vines and rot. Now, Tenzo has restored the garden to its former beauty. Revived trees straighten out their branches, shaking apple blossom into the breeze. He carved a bench himself, long enough for most of the Senju clan to pile onto, and paced it on the newly-cleared patio.

The garden is bordered by enormous rose bushes, each one unnaturally tall to shield the garden from outside view. The gentle perfume of the roses in always in the air. It's not just normal roses, either. Tenzo has branched out, creating grey, jade and black flowers, randomly dotting the hedges like unexpected little treasures.

For Naruto, Tenzo grew a row of orange flowers, including marigolds and a honeysuckle bush. Sakura likes to look at through squinted eyes, turning the brightly-coloured bunch into a blaze of golden fire.

Tenzo has purposefully left a space for the pond and Sakura's cherry tree, which he says they'll grow together on her birthday. She hopes he doesn't forget.

He made a swing, carving the wood with delicate little flowers and slugs, and hung it from the sturdiest tree in the garden. It's quickly become one of Naruto's favourite places to sit. More often than not, Sakura will find Naruto in the garden, whooping as Tenzo pushes him on the swing.

"So, if you close your eyes and concentrate, you should be able to feel a connection to the nature around you." Tenzo instructs, settling himself down on the bench.

Sakura closes her eyes, unbearably aware of Kitagawa, who is perched on a nearby branch staring directly at them.

She tries to reach out with her senses, as she can feel Tenzo doing, but there's nothing. She can smell the flowers and hear the warning chirps of the birds in Kitagawa's tree, but she can't feel anything beyond the breeze against her cheek.

"I can't do it." She says, sitting on her hands.

"Give it some time."

She tries.

Do you ever – nk – hat – we're doing here –

Kagami's voice fades in and out, hastily-bitten off syllables breaking Sakura's concentration.

When she tries to summon the place her flowers come from, she feels nothing at all. She knows if she opened her hand and thought about it, she could make some pretty blossoms. But she doesn't know how or why.

("No! Ino! Don't you dare, you stupid Ino-pig! Ino, please!" A spill of platinum blonde hair, a streak of scarlet, and Sakura hopes with every breath that something will change, that those eyes will open once more –

And it's your fault)

Sakura inhales sharply, clenching her fists. Crushed petals spill between her fingers. Is this all she can do?

A hand touches her arm. She starts, eyes flashing open. Tenzo gives her a patient smile, squeezing her shoulder.

"Good things take time. This garden didn't grow overnight. It had to start small. Let's do the same, okay?"

Sakura sighs, leaning over to rest her head against Tenzo's arm. They touched palms, and roses formed together, linked by a circle of stems. Tenzo laughed at the result, and gently placed the rose garland on Sakura's head.

"Keep working hard. That's all you can do."

Sakura looks up. Kitagawa is still sat in his tree, a flock of birds settled on his back. He salutes her with a lopsided grin.

Kagami breathes out – id he see he – did he –

Sakura closes her eyes, searching for the connection to nature she was supposed to have. There is nothing but a dark well of sorrow.

xxxxxxxx

Tsunade gets home from the hospital late in the day, smelling of sour sickness and radiating exhaustion. She still scoops up Naruto when he runs to her, planting him on her shoulders with a big grin.

Sakura is still a little shy, clutching Tenzo's sleeve. She needs to talk to Tsunade, but it's hard to break the domestic atmosphere with her concerns.

Kitagawa is casually leaning against the wall. Sakura hasn't been able to shake him once in the weeks he's been around. He's wearing tiny silver bells in his hair and he still doesn't make a sound when he moves.

"Oba-san?" Sakura says.

Tsunade lets Naruto slip down her arm to the floor, patting him on the head as he runs off, giggling madly. Momo and Misa tear after him. They've gotten very fond of Naruto.

Tsunade opens her arms, raising a brow in question.

Sakura flushes, "I'm too big to be carried, Oba-san."

Tsunade makes an offended noise, "First of all, you're puny. Second of all, you could be the size of a house and I could still carry you. C'mon. Let's have a chat."

Sakura compromises, taking Tsunade's hand in hers. She's still wearing the white rose garland Tenzo placed on her head. It looks pretty against her pink locks. Tsunade tweaks the petals with an amused look, then walks into the living room.

Kitagawa follows them in.

Tsunade pins him with a look, "Out."

"Nope." He says cheerfully.

"I pay you. Get. Out."

"You pay me to keep the kid safe. Letting her out of my sight isn't the way to do that."

"I pay you to keep her safe while I'm not around. There's not a single soul that could get to my kids through me. You go where I tell you to, or I'll find another degenerate to – "

"I like Kit-kun! Please don't replace him!" Sakura blurts out.

Tsunade blinks slowly.

Kitagawa's chakra slips, showing itself for the first time. Sakura catches a faint taste of embarrassment, then he tucks it away behind an innocent smile.

"Kit-kun." Tsunade repeats flatly.

"In my defence – "

"Out."

"That's fair." Kitagawa slinks out of the room.

Tsunade pinches the bridge of her nose, "I'll deal with that later… somehow. So, you looked like you had something to talk about. What's up?"

Sakura holds up the letter she'd been given that morning, creased and smudged by her nervous grip.

"I got into the Academy." She says.

Tsunade grins, pride sparking in her aura.

Sakura winces, "Ino-chan didn't."

Tsunade frowns, snapping her fingers, "Ino… one of your little friends, right? I take it she wasn't very happy."

"No. Can I not go in the Academy, Oba-san?"

Tsunade grimaces, flopping down on the sofa, "Technically, yes, but it would look pretty bad on your record. And the Council would make a big stink about it. They'd leap on a chance to discipline me and you kids are a pretty good way of doing that. You don't take the test for the Academy lightly. That's the whole point. It's supposed to be a sign of commitment, saying you're prepared to work hard and stay on the path of a shinobi for as long as life takes you. I wouldn't have given you my permission to go for it if I didn't think you were ready."

"I just wanted… I wanted to make Ino-chan happy." Sakura's fingers curl around the letter, crumpling it. There's a dull lead weight in her stomach.

"You do that just by being her friend. You can't please everyone, kiddo. There's gonna be times that you do something that upsets someone. That's a fact of life. The important thing is making sure you own your mistakes and learn from them."

"Was this a mistake?" Sakura bites her lip. She can almost feel the white-hot agony from when she tore her lip in two, the ghost of pain still lingering.

"Sure." Tsunade says easily. Sakura flinches. Tsunade huffs, then reaches forward, the sofa creaking beneath her weight, and takes the letter off her. "My mistake and yours. And now you can choose what to do next. Might be another mistake. Might not. That's the beauty of life. It never takes more than you can handle. There's always another choice to make."

"But, Nawa – " Sakura starts to say thoughtlessly.

Tsunade's smile tightens, "I could have chosen differently. I could have given up after I lost him. I didn't, and I lost Dan. But if I could go back, do you think Dan would live if I stopped fighting?"

Sakura shakes her head, not trusting herself to speak.

"There's no way to tell. The past is beyond us. The future is ours. You taught me that, you know. So, are you going to quit? Give up now and hope it sorts things out for you and Ino? Because if I know that little kid, she wouldn't want you to lose an opportunity like this. Good friends help friends up, they don't drag them down." Tsunade says, holding the letter aloft. "What does Kagami think?"

Onee-chan? Sakura asks, all too aware of the thousands of choices that lay before her. To become Kagami, she will have to do everything the same. It might already be impossible based on the choices she has already made. What does that mean for Kagami?

Ino, Kagami gasps, the sound wrenched from her, Ino would – sh – say – o it – upid Forehead.

Onee-chan, Sakura repeats, nearly in tears, please come back. I can't do this without you.

Dummy, Kagami says, ther – nothi – you can't do.

"I think she's dying." Sakura sobs out loud, sinking to the floor. She presses her fists into her eyes, knuckling away the tears.

Tsunade crosses the room before Sakura can blink, hauling her up off the floor and onto her hip, a classic move she must have learned from Shizune.

"Tell me what's been happening." Tsunade says, holding Sakura close. Sakura breathes in her chemical scent, the hospital clinging to every inch of her.

She tells her everything. Her troubles with Mokuton, Kagami's broken state, her meltdown at the Uchiha's, fainting in front of Kitagawa…

Tsunade listens without a word for a long time, absently rocking Sakura back and forth to comfort her while she spills her story with shaky words.

"Okay," She says finally when Sakura is finished, her voice hoarse from speaking for so long, "We can fix this together, kid. You and me, yeah?"

Sakura blinks up at her in awe. Somehow, to have someone listen to all her troubles and then dismiss them as fixable just fills her with warmth. Things have been piling up on her without pause lately, and it feels good to have room to breathe.

"Can I come in yet?" Kitagawa calls through the door.

xxxxxxxx

Tsunade personally goes to the Haruno household with Sakura and explains what happened to her parents. They are furious, just as Sakura expected, but not with her.

"How could you go behind our backs like that?" Sakura's mother demands, glaring at Tsunade.

"I didn't know that you didn't know." Tsunade replies, almost bored.

"You decided a massive choice like this was yours to make?"

"It was Sakura's choice, I just signed the paperwork."

"She is four years old. She's not ready!"

"She's more than ready!" Tsunade snaps, finally losing her cool.

"And that's the problem," Sakura's father says, trembling in anger, "she's already been through so much. Her childhood has been eaten up by stress and trauma and she deserved one more year. Just one more year, at the very least, to be a normal child."

"I'm not normal." Sakura says quietly.

All eyes turn on her.

She strokes Sayaka, her sand fox, gaining courage from the feeling of her rough texture.

"I know what I want to do with my life. I'm going to help people. I don't need a year to think about it, or to play with my friends. I know I'm not normal like they are. They don't get scared of shadows. I want to be brave. Even if I can't see my friends as much as before, and I have to learn scary things, it's still going to be okay, I think. Because I'm going to be a good shinobi, even if I can't be a good friend."

"Sakura…" Her mother says, aghast.

"I can't pretend to be normal anymore. I'm sorry, I tried. Please don't be mad."

Sakura's father crouches next to her, pulling her head against his chest, "Mad at you? How could that ever happen? You're our favourite child."

"I'm your only child." Sakura grumbles.

"Really? I heard you have two brothers," Sakura's mother says, smiling down at her, "and maybe you don't have a normal family, or a normal life. Maybe you're not normal yourself. Who cares? There is nothing you could do that ever stop us from loving you, Sakura. And we should have embraced what makes you different sooner. I don't want you to feel like you have to hide who you are, even if you're scared or sad. Especially if you're hurt or lonely. We're family, and like it or not, you'll never be rid of us."

Sakura remembers the dream of her mother lying crumpled in the ruins of their house, her father's corpse lying before her as if napping into eternity.

"There's nowhere you could go that we wouldn't be with you." Sakura's father says, wrapping his arms around her.

"So, maybe the Senju side of the family could come around for dinner some time." Her mother says, sending Tsunade a tentative smile. A white flag.

Tsunade shrugs, playing coy, "Well, that's probably for the best. My cooking is still in the experimental stage. Naruto loves it, but there's no accounting for taste."

"There's still a month until the new term at the Academy starts," Sakura's mother says, "at what point does Sakura have to say whether or not she'll be attending?"

"She could pull out on the first day of term if she really wanted to. But I wouldn't recommend that. It's a last resort at best."

"That's plenty of time to decide, right?" Her father asks, tickling under her chin.

Sakura giggles, squirming away.

"It's going to be okay." Her mother says firmly.

Even with the shreds of Kagami in her mind, Sakura still believes her mother whenever she says those magic words.

xxxxxxxx

Yamaguchi Takumi opens the door, and Shisui has to fight back the urge to smirk in triumph.

I knew it, he thinks, examining the man's white hair and round face.

"Hello?" Takumi says, confused, "can I help you?"

"Sure. I'm gonna need to come in, though." Shisui says.

Takumi still looks perplexed, but not suspicious. Not yet, anyway. The older man opens the door a little wider and steps back to accommodate him.

Shisui slips past and leans against a wall, waiting for Takumi to close the door.

"Are we alone?" Shisui asks.

Takumi's pale red eyes narrow. He places a hand on his front door and waits a few seconds, then nods. He must be very confident that he could stop Shisui, if this was an ambush. Or he truly is as naïve as he seems.

"I need your help with something. More to the point, I need Usagi's help with something." Shisui says.

Takumi stops moving, planting his palm against the door. His pale face doesn't even twitch.

"Usagi who?" He asks, raising a silvery eyebrow.

"Spare me." Shisui says, fixing a toothy grin on his face. He'd asked one of his old friends to check some files for him at the hospital. He told him he needed to find someone who had white hair. After discarding all of the elderly, the deceased, and the Hatake, he found Yamaguchi Takumi. Young, average. Nothing remarkable about him. A little too bland, all things considered.

The Usagi he met at the hospital seemed fairly similar in appearance to the man at Sakura's Rinne Festival party, who Shisui glimpsed briefly while dropping off her dogs. The same man who, for some reason, was also with Sakura as she left for Suna. It stood to reason that this man was a shinobi who was currently employed with protecting Sakura. The last person Shisui knew who did that was Usagi, the ANBU who was knocked out by the ROOT agent. Both men had white hair and, based on the little he had seen of the man's jaw around his mask, a soft, round face.

Takumi bites his lip, glancing back into his house as if looking for help. But he'd already confirmed that they were alone.

"I know you're the ANBU who warned me about ROOT. I need your help again." Shisui asks, almost beseeching. He doesn't think he can do it all alone.

Takumi sighs, then gestures for him to follow.

Shisui does, walking down a hallway filled with framed pictures of Takumi and the other guy who went to Suna with Sakura, the tall man.

Shisui walks into the living room, and a knife.

He freezes, his stomach muscles clenching against the cold steel. It's only lightly pressing against his flesh, a warning, not an attack.

Takumi looks at him with real pity, "The easiest way to trap someone is while they think they're trapping you. I knew you were looking for me. You told Kakashi. Did you think he'd keep that a secret? For some reason, he worries about me."

"I can't think why." Shisui manages to quip, trying to breathe around the knife that's gently pressing into his abdomen.

Takumi laughs, then jerks his head. Shisui's eyes follow the movement. His breath catches in his throat.

Yamaguchi Takumi is lying on the floor in the middle of a large seal. His eyes are closed. He looks peaceful.

"Don't worry. He's alive," Not-Takumi says, "I wouldn't hurt him. His identity is useful, but I have no intentions of replacing him completely. I only pretend to be him when I need to."

"Izanagi." Shisui spits.

Izanagi smiles. It looks wrong on Takumi's harmless face, "It's one name, I guess. I'd be more impressed if you knew the other. I take it you haven't figured it out yet."

"Figured out what?"

"It doesn't matter. What does matter, is what you want. What help did you need from a second-rate fool like Yamaguchi?"

"Sealing." Shisui says, seeing no reason to lie with a knife at his gut.

"Hmm… I can help you with that. If you can help me with something else."

"Who the hell are you?" Shisui snarls, hands curling into fists.

"Who cares? I thought you'd be more concerned with your family."

"Why – why would I – "

"You already know about Danzo, because I was kind enough to warn you."

Usagi in the hospital. Just happening to trust Shisui enough to warn him about ROOT. All the while Shisui was insulting him, rolling his eyes and thinking of how stupid he was.

"That was you?" Shisui says blankly, thinking hard.

"It's always fun, impersonating fools." Izanagi says cheerfully.

"Then it was you who let Sakura get attacked in the hospital – "

"I was curious. Danzo moved quicker than I thought he would. He must be desperate for healers. If the nurse's assistant hadn't intervened, I would've eventually. I have no intention of allowing ROOT to get to her. Not yet, anyway."

"Not yet?!"

"No. I'm allowing Sakura some freedom, for now. When the time comes, I'm going to give her a choice. She will take my offer. But until then, I'm interested to see what she will do. I warned you about Danzo, because he wants to destroy your clan. You already know that, of course. But, if you do me a small favour, I can help you protect your family."

"What's the favour?" Shisui asks, Izanagi's words rattling around his head. She will take my offer. He wants to destroy your clan.

"I need you to look into Sakura's mind. She has a strong mental block in place. I could not access her memories. I need you to do it for me. Use your eyes to convince her to open up to you."

"I would never do that!" Shisui says hotly.

"Well, we both know that's not true. You play the fool, Shisui, but you're ruthless. I've seen it. You watched as your friend died, didn't you? Did you do it to get your eyes?"

"No!" Shisui yells.

"Then you had a different reason. I doubt it was nobler. From what I've observed in Sakura's mind, she appears to have two souls. I've never encountered anyone like it. It's the key to her mental defence. All I want you to do is open the door in her mind, and let me in."

"I could never do that to her."

"Not even for your family? For Itachi and Sasuke? Wouldn't Sakura want to help them, if she had a choice? I can help them. All of them. And all you have to do is unlock her mind."

"So you can use her? I don't think so."

"What will you do instead? Go to the Hokage? And say what – you have a feeling Danzo has it out for your family? You can't honestly believe the Sandaime will do anything. He doesn't care anymore. He's an old man long past retirement. So if you can't go to him, will you go to your clan? Just try it. With the reputation you have earned for yourself lately… weak. Coward. A fool who cannot take anything seriously. I wonder, will they even listen to your warnings?"

Shisui shakes, the blade in serious danger of slicing through him with his violent tremors.

"What are you going to do? A harmless little act that Sakura will not even have to remember? Or will you risk your family on a gamble you have no hope of winning?"

"Tell me what you want with Sakura." Shisui demands.

"I thought you called her Firefly?"

"Tell me!"

"It's obvious. She's talented. I use talent where I find it, and I found it right under your nose. She's a sweet girl, if a little dim. She wants to save the world. She's seen its true horrors. It won't take much to convince her to help me fix it."

"You're an Uchiha, aren't you? Why are you doing this? If you know what Danzo is planning, tell me!"

"What I am is impatient. And I'm tired of waiting for your answer. I can give you the chance to be kind, and ease the information out of her head, or I can do it my way."

He glances over at the prone Takumi, deathly still.

"I don't want to do it my way, because I could damage her mind and render her useless. But if I see no other alternative..."

Shisui lunges at Izanagi, allowing the knife to cut into his stomach. His sacrifice gains him nothing. He ends up plastered against the wall, the knife now digging into his spine.

"Tell me, Shisui. If you had to choose between someone you cared about and your village… who would win?"

Shisui seethes, his jaw aching against the wall, "Go to hell!"

"I'll save you a seat. Tell me."

The knife bites into his flesh.

Shisui says nothing.

"Tell me."

"Figure it out yourself."

"Fine. I'll ask our little Firefly, shall I?"

"I'd save the person I cared about, okay?! If it's a choice between them and the village… there's no competition."

Izanagi says nothing for a long moment.

Then a snarl in his ear, "Disappointing."

The knife moves away. Shisui whirls around, flashing a good distance away. He crouches over the real Takumi, noting his chest moving up and down. He's breathing. Good.

"He'll sleep until I wake him. Then I will fill the gaps in his memories. He never notices." Izanagi says blithely, leaning against the wall. He tosses his bloody knife in the air and catches it by the blade.

Shisui feels powerless. He doesn't even know if he's met the real Takumi, but that doesn't stop him from regretting the poor guy's fate. Being hijacked by a madman every now and then and living on, oblivious…

"I was so sure you would pick the village," Izanagi muses, head tilting, "I thought you were ruthless enough for it. But I suppose you aren't blindly loyal. Admirable. It doesn't matter. Get into Sakura's head and unlock the door. You'll know it when you see it."

"If you know it, why can't you unlock it yourself?" Shisui asks, feeling cold all over. Izanagi must have already tried. He's been close to Sakura. He's been inside her head. Shisui has never wanted to gut someone more.

"I can supress one soul very easily, but the other rises as a sort of automatic defence. I wasn't prepared for it and it forced me out. I lost the element of surprise. She has never quite relaxed around me since, though," he looks down at his hand, smirking, "that did not stop her from begging to be friends with me."

Shisui sees red, but Izanagi holds up a warning hand before he can flash over to him.

"Do this one task for me, and I will save your family from themselves."

"Our family." Shisui spits. He's right. He knows he is. Izanagi is some Uchiha ROOT agent who got cold feet, or simply wants to capitalise on the information he is privy to.

Izanagi flicks a disdainful glance at him, pale red eyes cutting into his, "Think what you like, little boy. Just get me into her head."

Shisui clenches his fists, "I… I can't. I won't."

Izanagi's eyebrows raise a fraction, "You said you would choose someone you cared about over the village. What about over your clan? Because that's what you're doing. You are trying to spare the feelings of a child, rather than the lives of your family. Do you understand how foolish that is?"

It's more than her feelings. Sakura's mind contains secrets even she doesn't know. She has access to the future on tap, and he is not going to help Izanagi obtain it.

His mind is made up. He grits his teeth and glares at the older man, "Foolish would be bowing to your will just because you say so. Revive Takumi and leave. Get out of Konoha."

"Or what?" Izanagi says slowly. Shisui gets the feeling he is curious.

Shisui allows his eyes to swell with power, flashing on Izanagi's stolen form, but –

He's gone.

Shisui gapes.

He looks around wildly, but he's alone. Except for the unconscious Takumi.

Shisui stares down at him, conflicted. He wants to help, but what can he do? He can't take Takumi out of the seal without knowing what it's for – it might be keeping him alive.

Izanagi's voice emerges from behind him, "Leave him, and I won't hurt your family. Or the little petal. Interfere, and I will tear everything you hold dear from this world."

"I'll kill you one day." Shisui says flatly.

"You couldn't even kill that boy," Izanagi laughs, "you could stand back and watch your friend die, but you couldn't kill an enemy soldier. What was the difference? What must someone do to earn your mercy?"

"You'll never know," Shisui says coldly, "I don't care how or when, I'm going to be the reason you stop breathing."

"What would Firefly say?" Izanagi says mockingly.

Silence.

Shisui hangs his head.

Izanagi gives an amused little huff, "She promised to take care of me. And you promised to kill me. We'll see which of you keeps your word."

Shisui leaves Takumi's house without looking back, knowing he would see a man lying down in the middle of a seal, with his imposter standing over him, wearing his face like a mask.


Hello friends!

Poor Takumi. To clarify his situation, occasionally Izanagi wants to walk through the village without a mask. So, he knocks Takumi out in his house and pretends to be him. Then, he returns to Takumi and fills the gaps in his memory, so Takumi believes he experienced what Izanagi experienced (so Ryuu won't ever say something like, 'remember when we pissed off that roof that one time' and then Takumi's like whaaaaa?)

For example, Usagi in the hospital was Izanagi. Usagi in Suna was Takumi. Enjoy the paranoia about which is which from now on :D

The bunny boy is NOT evil ~~

Shisui has literally been looking for Usagi's civilian identity since chapter nineteen. That boy better give back his shinobi card.

Kitagawa is a shameless thief. Did you check your pockets after reading this chapter? He'd steal your heart if he could.

SO I wanted TFLA to split into the next phase of the story by the next chapter but by the look of my plan document (which is over 5000 words long)… that's not gonna happen, by jove. So we'll have to wait a little bit longer on that one.

Tenzo and Sakura made a flower crown!

Tsunade's doing it! She's parenting! I'm so proud.

Kitagawa shakes Kai's hand, then somehow steals his clothes.

Kai chases Kitagawa around the village until dawn, buck-naked.

Quick poll for fun: What's your best and worst quality?

I'm a perfectionist, but I also procrastinate like crazy. This means I can never finish anything because I'll never work on it, thinking it'll never meet my impossible standards.

(Dogwatch update: Two dogs chase a small Yellow Boy. He is fast. Much tail wagging. The dogs are tired. The boy is not. He keeps pulling on their ears. Someone help the dogs)