I make my way back into the small village. The people cautiously walk out of their homes, watching me curiously. Kenji waits for me at the front of his house and he stares at me in wonder.

"You came back," he's surprised.

"I don't think that man will be coming back anytime soon," I say to him.

He hands me a canteen of fresh water and I drink it. A hawk screeches up in the sky and glides down. I hold my arm out and it lands on it, a small compartment around its left leg. I take the scroll out and read the note from Kakashi. I write a brief explanation of what happened, insert the scroll back inside the compartment, and send the hawk back to report. I notice the people staring over at us, waiting for the news.

"I chased the man away," I tell Kenji. "Your people will be safe."

I adjust the katana strap a bit and roll my shoulders. Kenji closes his eyes and bows his head at me, catching me by surprise.

"We are grateful!" He almost tears up. "How can we repay you?"

"Hm?" I raise an eyebrow.

I place a hand on his shoulder, then he glances up at me.

"Just make sure your son makes a full recovery," I give him a smile.

I hold the canteen out to him but he shakes his head.

"No, please keep it for your journey back home," he insists.

"Thank you," I nod.

With that, I turn around and make my way to leave the village.

"Should you need assistance again, don't hesitate to contact us," I raise a hand in goodbye.

Kenji nods with a smile as he watches me depart, hope restored in him.

"Safe travels!" Kenji shouts as he waves at me.


I knock on the Hokage office door and walk in. Inside, Shikamaru stands next to Kakashi's desk, helping him go through some of the paperwork.

"You're back," Shikamaru looks up at me.

"How's it going?" I smile closing the door behind me as I walk to them.

"You just came back from fighting what might be another worldly being, and you come in so casually?" Shikamaru questions.

"Speaking of which," I cross my arms. "Is the information I gathered going to be shared?"

"Quite honestly, I don't think it should be," Kakashi crosses his arms. "We still don't have a lot of information, and we don't want to cause panic."

"I agree. I think this should stay between the three of us for now," Shikamaru says.

"What if Urashiki returns?" I ask.

"Do you think he would?" Kakashi asks.

"He didn't seem to have much of a serious motive for coming here... what I'm more worried about is his posse - the Ōtsutsuki clan."

"He's related to Kaguya," Shikamaru says. "It is concerning considering we just had a war in which we sealed her away. Do you think that may be a motive?" Shikamaru turns to me.

"He didn't seem too serious on his motives nor did he mention anything of Kaguya, but we can't be too sure," I place my hand in my chin in thought. "All he said was that he was trying to explore and find a way to amuse himself."

"Still, we can't be too cautious," Kakashi looks up in thought. "As agreed, this will stay between the three of us as classified. We'll wait to see if there are any more encounters and activity with this Urashiki and the Ōtsutsuki."

Shikamaru and I give him a nod.

"Shikamaru," Kakashi says. "Please give me a moment alone with Denizu."

"Sure," Shikamaru nods.

He exits the office. Kakashi gets up from his desk and walks over to me. I can already sense what he's going to say.

"I know you wouldn't have wanted me to engage Urashiki alone," I say. "But I had it handled."

"I'm not going to say what you should have done..." Kakashi stands in front of me. "But I'd expect you to be extremely cautious when it comes to encounters like this."

He then surprises me with an embrace. I can tell he was worried.

"Welcome back home," he hugs me tightly. "I'm just glad you're safe."

I hug him back, appreciating his welcome and concern.

"So what'll happen now?" I ask as we break away from the hug.

"Because it doesn't seem serious," he walks back to his desk and sits. "We'll just have to wait for any more encounters. That's when we'll take more serious measures."

I look down in thought, still wondering if Urashiki will return or not. A feeling in me tells me there may be more to it.


The smell of fresh produce fills the air. I examine some apples and take four of them into my grocery basket. I've already got fish, rice, and bread in the basket.

"Denizu-sensei," I hear Sakura.

"Hey there Sakura," I smile.

"You're preparing for dinner too, huh?" She glances at her own basket of food.

"Yeah, Kakashi has had a long day at the office. I usually have dinner ready before he gets home. But I'm running a little behind schedule."

"We've all been there," she smiles.

We head over to the register.

"Have you heard anything from Sasuke?" I ask.

"Not since your wedding," Sakura shrugs. "He sometimes sends me notes unexpectedly."

"With him off on his travels, do you have anything in mind you wanna do?"

"Ino and I are looking into opening a clinic that will assess and treat children's mental health affected by the war."

"That's amazing. There's no doubt many children need that type of care after the war."

The cashier scans my items and I pay then wait for Sakura.

"If you don't mind me asking," I say as we make our way to the exit. "Is part of the reason you want to focus on children's mental health because of what Sasuke experienced?"

"Oh," Sakura has a slight blush on her face and looks away with a smile.

"There's no need to be shy," I assure her.

"What Sasuke experienced growing up...no child should. I want to help those with similar experiences as his to recover properly and live a long and happy life."

I stare at Sakura for a moment, observing her in thought.

"I'm sure you'll accomplish it," I encourage. "I have no doubt."

"Thank you, Denizu-sensei," she smiles with a blush.

"Anyway, I gotta head home and start dinner. Kakashi is staying a bit late at the office so I wanna make sure dinner is ready when he gets home. I'll catch you another time, Sakura!"

"Bye, Denizu-sensei!" She waves at me.

We turn and go our separate ways.


I finish setting up bowls and food on the dining table. I've prepared rice, miso soup, fresh salad, and fish simmered in a saké-based sauce, along with sweet dumplings.

"I'm home," I hear Kakashi call out from the front door.

He enters the dining room, his eyes closed while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Didn't expect for the Hokage to have such paper focused duties," he sighs while pulling his mask down.

"You're doing a great job," I walk up to him and peck him on the lips.

"As long as I get to come home to you, that's all I look forward to," he kisses me again.

We both have a seat at the table and prepare for our meal. I take a bite out of my fish and stare down in thought as I poke at my food with my chopsticks. Kakashi notices.

"Everything okay?" He says before drinking some water.

"I'm just...still thinking about my encounter with Urashiki..." I continue to poke at my food.

Kakashi sees my concern.

"Kakashi...what if he and his clan decide to come back?" I look up at him in worry.

"There's more to it isn't there?" He asks.

"My gut tells me...but we just have to wait and see..." I go back to eating my food.

"Please don't worry so much," he reaches for my hand. "I hate to see you flustered."

I think for a moment and give him a nod.

"Let's enjoy this delicious food," he comforts me.

We continue to eat our food. There's a silence between us briefly before Kakashi speaks.

"Let's have a baby," he finally says.

I nearly spit my water out.

"A baby?" I wipe my mouth. "Doesn't it seem too soon? You've just started your duty as Hokage. I don't want you overwhelmed so soon."

"The idea of finally having the chance to pass down a legacy has been fascinating me since we got married," Kakashi shyly admits. "Of course, I won't force you to have a child if you don't want to."

"It's not that I don't want to," I quickly clarify, shaking my head. "I just...want to make sure it's what you want too. The right time. And I mean...we're not even trying to avoid getting me pregnant when we..."

"That's the fun part," he seductively gazes at me, causing me to turn red.

"Don't look at me like that!" My face heats up more. "I just know you're getting ideas from those books you used to read."

"I refer to them every once and a while," Kakashi eyes me up and down.

"Kashi! You pervert!" My face is still red.