Author's Notes: Coronavirus has given me more time to do my own thing. Normally, I wouldn't even have time to breathe with the type of job I have. These days I wonder if I should change career so I at least have time to do the things I like…but then again, I think that's life. Have to sacrifice something for the other~
Reviews appreciated.
"Hello there! Have you heard about The Touchstone initiative?"
It had been a long day for Saki. Recruiting Touchstones seemed like an easy job, but a month into it and he realized that it was no different to handing out fliers in the street. People would take your flier, but the next moment, you'd see it in a bin.
Saki held back a sigh as the woman looked him up and down. Civilian female. 30 years old. Had a civilian family. Civilian all round. Saki was the complete opposite. He was a young'un at 16. Brown spiky hair, with spectacles hiding his auburn eyes. He donned the medic-nin uniform, it gave people some ease of mind.
Saki looked at the red thread protruding out of the woman's chest, he briefly looked behind him to try and see where it led. His line of sight could only see that the red thread reached up until the main road of Konoha, where crowds of people were, it was hard to see to whom the red threat connected to.
"You're qualified to be one, ma'am!" Saki said, turning around once again with a confident smile. The lady tilted her head in question. "I'm sorry, I don't really have time for things like that, besides… I have a family."
Said lady opened her door, her hand waving at the scene inside. Two little girls were playing in the living room, the place looked clean. The lady was just about to close the door when Saki jumped up to stop her, "Ma'am! It's a safe job! They pay you really well and… and—" Saki fumbled with the documents in his hand, opening the first folder. "It says here that the shinobi you're connected to is a female, so nothing to worry about with the husband, if that's what you were thinking about!" Saki finished with a nervous laugh, looking up hopefully at the woman.
The woman actually looked as if she was contemplating it, but shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't want to risk it," and before Saki could even think, the door was slammed shut on him. He took a very deep breath and let out an equally long one.
He turned around and started towards his next target, trudging along the streets of Konoha.
"Oh, hey, Saki!" Saki picked his head up at the familiar voice, a lady with a short bob-cut skipped towards him. Her raven hair bounced as she skipped, her Konoha headband familiar to Saki. She donned the Chūnin flak jacket, something that was also familiar to Saki.
"Oh, Nana-san." Saki's shoulders slumped at the sight of the older shinobi. Nanako laughed and patted the young'un's shoulder. "Tough day huh? I can tell." Saki nodded but straightened back up. His eyes landed yet again on the red string protruding out from Nanako's chest.
"You know, if you keep staring at ladies' chests like that, one of 'em is bound to sock you in the face." Saki's face reddened and he sputtered, "Y-You know that's not what I'm looking at!" The young man protested.
Nanako let out a hearty laugh but nodded, "I'm only teasing," her eyes shifted towards the folders in Saki's arms, but didn't ask about it. It was Saki who continued the conversation, "Nana-san, you haven't met your shinobi yet, have you?"
Nanako shook her head from side to side, but shrugged. "I ended Touchstone training a while back, but it's okay. They told me that, perhaps my shinobi needs a bit more time. I heard that some Touchstones don't even get to meet their shinobis at all. Well, I'm not losing anything, so I don't mind."
Saki nodded. Saki didn't know who Nanako's shinobi was. He might have known or might have seen the information a long time ago, but it's not like he could remember, with all the files that he handles every day. "…Less and less people are willing to become Touchstones and more and more shinobis are retained in the Konoha Hospital these days for mental or psychological issues. Things that could have been solved by a Touchstone…" Saki sighed again.
Nanako ruffled the boy's hair, "You're such a grown-up… Touchstones have a reputation, so do shinobis. It's just the way it is, cheer up." She turned and waved a hand at the Saki, "I've got to go to work now, keep at it, I'm sure you'll get at least one today." She turned her head around and gave Saki an encouraging wink, then jumped up to the rooftops of Konoha setting off on her way.
Saki watched as the woman jumped from roof to roof, eventually disappearing from his sight. He looked back down at the folders in his hands, hyped himself up, stood proud and continued on his way for new Touchstone recruits.
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"Otoutou," Sasuke didn't twitch at the voice of his brother. He sat still in the middle of his room, continuing his meditation. There were light footsteps approaching him, but he still didn't budge until Itachi rolled the piece of paper in his hand and smacked Sasuke on the top of his head.
Sasuke's brows furrowed, but he peeked an eye open, "What?" Itachi waved the envelope in front of him, "Letter for you," and placed it on the ground.
Sasuke scoffed, "Throw it," and closed his eyes once again.
Itachi looked down at his brother who was sat cross-legged on the floor. He crouched down in front of Sasuke with a slight smirk and stared his brother down.
Sasuke could definitely feel the impending presence in front of him. His eye twitched. He tried to ignore it for a few more seconds before letting out an annoyed sigh, his eyes popping open to meet his brother's " . ?" he grumbled under his breath to which Itachi smirked even more.
Itachi picked up the envelope on the ground and waved it at Sasuke again, "Letter," Sasuke snatched it away from his brother and tore it open. He unfolded the piece of paper and read out the letter in nice cursive ink.
"Dear Uchiha Sasuke,
This is a letter from the Touchstone Training Initiative—"
He didn't finish and handed it back to his brother, "Throw it," he knew from the start where the letter was from. There was one every month, this being the fifth one already.
Itachi scratched his head and slightly sighed, taking the piece of paper away from his brother and continued reading it for him.
"This is a letter from the Touchstone Training Initiative. Your Touchstone has finished training 5 months ago and is awaiting further instructions. Should you want to meet your Touchstone, please sign on the space below and a representative medic-nin will be in contact, bearing the details of the arrangement."
Itachi then folded the piece of paper and tucked it into the envelope. He stood and walked over to the far end of the room, placing the letter on Sasuke's table. "Well if you change your mind, it's here." Sasuke closed his eyes in an attempt not to get annoyed by his brother's efforts.
"What's the big deal? You didn't have one, why should I?" Sasuke asked, as if throwing a tantrum. Itachi chuckled, pulling out the chair and sitting leisurely on it. "I didn't have one because they couldn't find one for me, I had no choice."
"So why are you pushing me to have one?" Sasuke asked, clearly irked. He stood and walked over to the table where his brother was, grabbing the envelope again and finally throwing it in the bin next to his table. When he turned back to his brother, two fingers tapped his forehead, "Forgive me Sasuke, maybe it's just to annoy you."
Itachi smirked and Sasuke glared. Sasuke held high respect for his brother, but sometimes… That's just what he was, an annoying brother. "Also, I didn't have one, but guess who did?"
Sasuke nearly rolled his eyes but he stopped himself. That was unbecoming of a shinobi. "Otou-san," Sasuke answered but immediately added, "but that was purely by luck! He didn't sign up for it." Itachi chuckled once again, "That's what he says. Sometimes I think he's just as embarrassed as you to admit that he needed one."
"I'm not embarrassed," Sasuke mumbled. "I just don't need one." Sasuke cut the conversation short and changed the topic.
"Train with me," he didn't wait for an answer, trudging towards his shōji door and slid it open, leaving it open for Itachi to follow as he disappeared round the corner. Itachi sighed, glanced at the envelope in the bin and followed his brother out of the room without a second glance to it.