The Hyūga heir hadn't been this talkative in months. Fugaku wanted to ask Hiashi what changed, but he already knew the answer.

Hiashi had a new best friend: someone with whom he didn't have to compete against Hizashi. That alone made all the difference. He held his head higher and more confidently, though his words toward Fugaku were still cautious and carefully chosen. Good mood or not, some things wouldn't change–like the fact Hiashi's tell-all to the Konoha Council sealed Fugaku's fate and Fugaku still carried a grudge.

'This is our last mission together as Team Buyo.' The time crept up on him like a kudzu vine. Single days didn't seem like much as they puttered along, but far more time had dwindled away than Fugaku liked. 'And when we come back, I'll be sworn into the Konohagakure Military Police Force.'

Most nights, Hizashi slipped out of the Hyūga compound so the two of them could spend time together. The last few times, he'd stared at Fugaku with shock and a hint of betrayal on his face when he noticed the Uchiha had additional friends over. The ghosts of friendships past returned to haunt his life and Fugaku seemed perfectly happy with them, albeit a tad guilty.

Shinohara Mitsumi and Utatane Tohru had been his friends for so much longer, but he'd grown more distant with them after Nawaki died. It took a mission together to rekindle the old sparks. Fugaku was glad he did.

…but they'd argued recently. Tohru voiced a concern in private two weeks ago. He was worried that Hizashi was the sort of person who preferred having one friend he could keep to himself over having a group of companions. Fugaku had chewed him out over it, saying Tohru needed to mind his own business.

How could someone as sheltered and spoiled as Tohru understand what Hizashi was going through? Hizashi didn't even have any freedom in his clan. His entire life revolved around his older brother and he had no choice in the matter. All Tohru had was a paranoid mother, and Koharu was nothing compared to the Hyūga Clan.

"…and when we have to fill Fugaku's space with someone else in mid-August…"

He heard Hiashi's words and chose to ignore them, just as he tried to ignore the dark circles under Hizashi's eyes and the way the younger twin winced every time Fugaku's name came up in conversation. They'd been on this train for four long, rainy days. Who in their right mind would be able to sleep soundly on such a noisy thing?

"…Mikuro mentioned his team may be splitting up soon," Hiashi suggested. "Neyuki's going on a long-term retrieval mission sometime soon, and Kaede's thinking about taking a leave of absence to help her sick grandfather. I don't think it would take much convincing on my part to encourage Mikuro to fill Fugaku's spot."

'Right. Because you two are such good friends now, aren't you?' Shimura Mikuro was still someone Fugaku didn't much care for, but he had to admit Hiashi had been a good influence on him.

Ever since those two started hanging out, Mikuro hadn't been his old cocky, sardonic self. He was quieter, more serious, and didn't seem to carry anywhere near as much hate in his heart as he once did. There was almost a gentle considerateness in his behavior, especially toward Hiashi.

It was weirdly cute, watching those two hang out together. Hiashi smiled more when Mikuro was around. When he whispered secrets in his new friend's ear, he even made the same dorky smile Hizashi did.

"Buyo-sensei, if Mikuro's amenable, could we–"

"No," Buyo responded firmly. Their sensei had always been a man of few (but very blunt) words. "The Council will select Fugaku's replacement, not you. It's best if you don't dwell on it."

"Yeah," Fugaku growled, turning to make direct eye contact with the Hyūga heir. "Don't be so excited to lose me." Hiashi's mouth opened to protest, but Fugaku cut him off. "Until this mission is over, I'm still your teammate."

'Please,' he thought. 'For Hizashi's sake, don't let that asshole replace me.' Whoever replaced him on this team needed to be there for the younger brother. And with his best friend on his mind, Fugaku chose to sit beside him. "You didn't sleep much last night, did you?"

Hizashi said nothing in reply, nor did he acknowledge Fugaku's presence in any way. The younger twin continued to listlessly stare outside the window. Each power line and near-identical house whizzed by in a repetitive, hypnotic pattern. Every few seconds, Hizashi's eyes fluttered closed for a few seconds of microsleep, only for him to jerk his head back up as though he'd caught himself falling.

Up close, Hizashi's eyes seemed slightly red. Whether that came from exhaustion or depression, Fugaku wasn't fully sure. "Is the view that interesting?" In response, Hizashi bit his lip; and yet he said nothing. "Maybe we–"

"Maybe you should leave me alone," Hizashi murmured bitterly. "You'll be doing that soon enough. You may as well practice now."

"Where the hell did that come from?" But Fugaku received no answer other than Hizashi scooting a few inches farther from him and nearer the window. His breath left clouds on the glass with every huff. "Hizashi–"

Buyo's firm hand landed heavily on Fugaku's shoulder. The tall Aburame leaned onto him, a few of his dark dreadlocks touching Fugaku as well. "We need to have a little talk. Just you and me."

The dining car was even noisier than their boarding car. Other passengers sat at the table, notifying the dining staff what they would like to order for their dinner. Fugaku wasn't hungry, especially not after seeing Hizashi so depressed.

Buyo, however, ordered tonkatsu for himself and kept placing pieces of flash-fried pork to his lips. "Try not to take either brother's words or behavior to heart. They're both coping in their own way."

"I noticed." And both of them were driving him crazy. "But this isn't just about them, is it? They're not the ones leaving the team." He was, and it was going to hurt. Instead of going on missions with his best friend and having a legitimate excuse to see Hizashi every day, he'd be stuck with people like man-child Sanjo, by-the-book Yashiro, ex-girlfriend Yuka, and happy-go-lucky Akagi all day. "And it's all because of Hiashi."

Buyo pinched the top of his nose with two fingers, causing his sunglasses to slightly move upward. For a brief moment, Fugaku caught sight of the Aburame's eyes…and wished he hadn't. "How long have you blamed Hiashi for your transfer?"

"Since we had to explain our actions in Koyamagakure to the Hokage. Why?"

"Your resentment is unfounded. Hiashi wanted to keep working with you and even made excuses for you. He only said what he did because his father pressured him to do so. You may have had your problems in the past, but you did come back to save him. Hiashi knows you don't like him, but he still wanted to keep the team together."

So the person he needed to hate in all this was Taiyō, not Hiashi? But he already hated Taiyō. That arrogant asshole never addressed Kazusa (a fellow clan head) with the honor her station was owed. He was cold-hearted enough to brand Hizashi for a lifetime of servitude and cruel enough to pit him in practice spars against Hiashi he knew he couldn't fairly win. Every last neurotic tic in Hiashi, even, could be traced back to that man. Fugaku despised him. He wanted him to drop dead.

"So I should hate Taiyō-sama, then?"

"And maybe me," Buyo added. "I'm the one who proposed your transfer to the KMPF."

Fugaku had never felt so betrayed in his life. Buyo-sensei was a lifelong friend of his father: Sarani's loyal and unwavering teammate! He'd always seen Buyo as the voice of reason on this team! He balanced out the bickering between the twins and himself. Any semblance of drama between the boys quickly got snuffed out and attention was once more placed on the mission. Sure, Buyo could be a bit of a flake sometimes, but…

Maybe it was for the best that Fugaku ordered something light. He was too angry to eat another bite. "Why would you do such a thing? I'm your student!"

By this point, other passengers had begun craning their neck to listen in on the angry teenager's conversation with this scary-looking beanpole of a man. They whispered hurriedly, staring and nudging each other.

Buyo recognized that for what it was and pulled Fugaku's head nearer his mouth so he could whisper in his ear. "That may be true, but you're also the one who ruined negotiations with the Hidden Knolls. You killed not only the next in line to lead the Akane Clan, but you also killed their village champion. Several Akane died because of your actions. Hiashi and Mikuro could have, too.

"You're a talented ninja, Fugaku; but your heart will be the death of you. When you see injustice, you chase after it and do all you can to abolish it. But some fights are not yours to take. Some of them are beyond your control to change. There's nothing you can do–"

"But I can still try, right? If no one steps forward, if everyone does nothing, then–"

"Then you'll be fighting unnecessary battles your whole life. You'll populate your life with even more victims of circumstance that not even a Hokage could save. And, caring person that you are, it will tear you apart from the inside out. Is that really the kind of life you want to live?"

No. He wanted Hizashi to have his own life independent of his stifling clan. He wanted Tohru to have a chance to be a shinobi rather than wasting all his potential as an Archives clerk. He wanted Hiashi to be able to stand on his own two feet without having to rely on others—especially his piece of shit father—for validation.

Most importantly, Fugaku wanted to stay. If he stayed, then he could work to push for those things to happen: for others. Each one suffered in their own way and he saw it. And the more he focused on the suffering of others, the less he had to think about his own aches and regrets.

"I don't know what I want, sensei," he confessed, "but I know I'll hate this transfer because it's pulling me that much farther from the people I care about the most."

"That's another problem with you." Buyo pointed his chopsticks at his student. "It's times like these when I can't see any semblance of your father in you. Sarani is a good man and cares deeply about the village, but he cares about his clan first and foremost. You're too focused on Hizashi and he's too focused on you. Putting some distance between the two of you is for your own good as well as his."

Any time an adult threw the for your own good line in Fugaku's face, it was all he could do to control his temper. He'd never wanted to Buyo as much as he did in this exact moment. Buyo betrayed his trust. He'd let them all down. "I'll never forgive you for this."

"I think I'll live," Buyo responded, putting money down on the table to pay for their meal. "Just don't take your frustration out on your clan when you face them in uniform. They're not the ones who put you there."

'No, sensei. You did.' And in that moment, Fugaku swore he'd never respond to any emergency dispatch to assist Taiyō or Buyo. Once he became the chief of the Military Police, he would guarantee neither of those men would be protected by the law.

'Hey…there's something I've been meaning to say to you. I never could work up the nerve to spit it out in words, but I think you already know. Your eyes may not see as much as mine do, but you'd have to be blind not to notice how I feel about you.

'You're at least half aware, right? I keep looking at you as though I've already lost you. Every time you try to smile and act like nothing's wrong, I call you out on your lies. I can't even stomach the thought of you replacing me with new friends who understand you better than I do, especially because I know it's inevitable.

'You swear nothing's going to change, but it will. I don't hate your other friends, Fugaku. I like them well enough as people, but I hate what they represent. Mitsumi and Tohru are living proof that you'll forget about me. You'll leave me to fight my battles all by myself.

'And when you do that, the wonderful friend I admire so much may turn into the source of all my hate. I don't want that for you. I want you to stay.'

Mentally, Hizashi had confessed his frustration to Fugaku at least seven or eight times. He'd made up in his mind that sometime during this mission, when they had a moment alone without his brother or Buyo, the words would leave his lips and they'd finally be real.

He wanted to believe that Kemurigouken, the City of Indecision, would be as good a place as any to make this confession. People deserted and made new lives for themselves in this city all the time. Due to its neutral stance, and the fact amnesty could come from anywhere, this truly could be their last chance to change their fates.

'If we miss that opportunity and return to Konoha, then we'll be stuck: forever bound to our–'

"Hizashi?" Hizashi glared darkly at his older brother. He wanted to slap that anxious, worried little smile off Hiashi's face. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"It doesn't matter. It's not like I can stop you," Hizashi growled. "Do what you want." So, naturally, his brother sat beside him and scooted closer. Hizashi tensed up, going rigid. "What's the matter? Are you bored?"

"No…nothing like that." Hiashi put his hand on his brother's knee and lightly patted it. "I feel like I'm watching you suffer over here. I want to know if there's anything I can do."

"Aside from leaving me alone?" Oh, good. He looked hurt by that. "Go back to pretending your new Shimura friend can take Fugaku's place. I need to organize my thoughts before we make it to our destination."

Hiashi didn't know, but Hizashi received a completely different invitation to break away from Team Buyo when this was all over. He'd met with the head of ANBU in private for a one-on-one conversation. This man, perhaps the closest person to Lord Third himself, wanted to recommend him for a porcelain mask, an arm tattoo, and a chance to break away from the Hyūga Clan for the sake of the village. If Hizashi succeeded, he'd be the first Hyūga to join the ANBU.

He'd dreamed about being presented with such a chance, but never thought it would actually happen. The fact it hadn't been a recruiter, but Shimura Danzō himself, who proposed the transfer made the offer that much more tempting.

Hizashi hadn't told Fugaku yet, mostly because he noticed how the Uchiha's bottom right eyelid twitched whenever Danzō's name came up. If he talked about Danzō, it would kill the mood and Hizashi wanted every moment they spent together to be great. One bad conversation, he feared, would drive his friend away forever, especially when they were this close to disassembling the team.

"When this is all over, Hiashi…I want you to do something for me." His twin seemed eager. "I'll tell you once we're back from the mission." If Hizashi came back at all. "I think I know what I want to do with my life, but I don't think Taiyō-sama will permit it. Will you back me? Will you help me change his mind?"

"I don't know what it is you want to do, though. You're asking me to make a blind promise and I don't–"

"All I'm asking you to do is help me. Why is that so hard?"

Fugaku had privately hoped for trouble on the train: a robber, a rogue shinobi trying to hijack and take a different route. Anything to delay them from making their destination would have been welcome. And yet it was one of those rare instances where the entire world seemed to behave without any issue. The most problematic thing to happen the entire time on the International Railway involved a twenty-minute unexpected delay as soon as the train made it to the outskirts of the city.

Fugaku wanted a hijacker or something to fight, just so all his pent-up rage could be channeled into something constructive. Clearly Hizashi felt it, too. In his silence, he stewed.

When an attendant made her way to their car and bowed her head in apologies, Hiashi stopped her before she could pass to the next cabin. "Excuse me. What happened?"

The woman's eyes were sad, but she faked a smile. "It's nothing of concern," but that was a lie. "We'll still make it to the station on time. We already resolved the problem."

The problem had been a mossy-haired old man with a mangled face and no further dreams for his future. Not too long ago, he voiced a tell-all in an interview. There was hope in the watery brown eyes of that paunchy documentary producer. Through the fat man's film, the world would know his story. Through the fat man's film, eyes would open about the atrocities committed in this horrible world. No more desperate and war-weary deserters would mistakenly choose to run away to Kemurigouken and call it home.

The problem had chosen to sacrifice his life to save others: giving these unfortunate passengers an extra twenty minutes to sit in place, contemplate their choices, and wonder if they truly made the right decision by coming to the Land of Smoke. Twenty minutes was enough time to get off the train and run like hell as the railway crew got to work removing what remained of the old man's splattered corpse from the wheels and axles.

Despite his best efforts, all the poor fools stayed put. His sacrifice meant nothing.

In those twenty minutes, Fugaku did what Hizashi chose to do earlier in lieu of conversation. He stared out the window and saw the familiar dread-inducing hazy presence of Kemurigouken. Had it grown even more over the last two years? It resembled a dragon before. Now all he saw was a giant industrial hell mouth eager to consume them all.

'I nearly died here,' he remembered. This was the city of sharingan-stealing actors and deceptively sweet songbirds. Had he never accepted another mission to this place, he would have counted himself as fortunate. And in his tension, he felt a hand reach over to squeeze his. "Hizashi, I'm–"

What caught him by surprise was that it wasn't Hizashi. "The attendant lied," Hiashi whispered. "Somebody committed suicide." And people were going down there, ripping what remained apart so they could move the train on schedule. They seemed too scared to deviate.

Fugaku didn't swat Hiashi's hand away. He squeezed back lightly. "I owe you an apology," he murmured. "Buyo-sensei told me you tried to stand up for me in front of the Council."

Some color returned to the Hyūga boy's face, but he didn't look Fugaku in the eye. "Fugaku…"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Would it have mattered? I still said those awful things about you," Hiashi confessed. "Because the incidents in question that led to sensei making that decision were because I was the problem. I blamed myself." And due to that, having Fugaku hate him only validated what he already felt inside. "But I haven't seen you this anxious before. When we were in Koyamagakure, you were completely di–"

"Kemurigouken is nothing like Koyamagakure. I took a solo mission out here while you and Hizashi took the Chūnin Exams. I…" Fugaku's breath hitched.

Each time he blinked, he could remember the way Murahoshi Muraki's black market sharingan dripped slimy residue on his cheek when he had him pinned to the wall. It looked and felt like egg whites, but Fugaku was too terrified to think about what it really was.

He remembered the way Muraki's girlfriend made him little snacks and treated him like a plaything: like a cute little dog she could stuff in her handbag rather than a living, breathing human being. He remembered how she laughed at his clothes, how he didn't know what any of the local food was, and how hopelessly lost he got in the big city.

He remembered the terror that seized him when Muraki tried to take his eye…and how the hot steam scalded his skin when a valve came open. The Hidden Knolls had been the stuff of nightmares, but at least it wasn't Hell. This was Hell.

"…I almost didn't come home. I still have nightmares about this place."

Hiashi stayed where he was, closing his eyes. "If I promise to keep you safe, will you promise me something in return?" Fugaku said nothing, but he did face Hiashi. "When we get back, can we put the past behind us and start over? Even if we don't become friends, I want to be civil with you. Before you know it, we'll both lead our clans and…"

"Sure. Okay." Both words were practically whispers. "I'll try."

"I'm sorry, Fugaku." Hiashi nervously reached for Fugaku's hand, expecting to be swatted away.

Not only did Fugaku accept the hand. He gave it a small squeeze. "I'm sorry, too."

The train moved forward, bringing them closer to their final destination.

Team Buyo and the other passengers made it to the neon-lit central terminal at 4:12 AM, not that they could tell a time of day from all the light pollution. Despite Kemurigouken's beautiful sunsets, the nighttime sky was the same unflattering shade of brown as river water or well-cooked meat.

And with every slow and gory revolution the soiled wheels made, Fugaku felt his heart beat faster. This was a land of monsters, demons, and near-death experiences. Hizashi, however, finally seemed to come alive when the train stopped and they were given the all clear to grab their luggage and depart.

Remembering how bad the pollution was last time he visited; Fugaku reached for a surgical mask to cover his nose and mouth. He offered each of the twins a mask. They graciously accepted the gift. Buyo held out his hand for one, too, but fuck him. He'd have to fend for himself.

"It smells terrible," Hiashi commented, fanning the air. "Like diesel fuel and rotting seafood! Here's hoping we get used to it."

"I assure you," a stranger announced, coming out of the shadows. "You won't."

He had to weigh nearly three hundred pounds. Strands of faded orange hair stuck out in unflattering kinky curls beneath a hat. He sported a buttoned up khaki trench coat with the collar popped as high as he could get it. Fugaku was mildly reminded of some of the Aburame with how much this man tried to conceal…but he was large enough to be an Akimichi.

Buyo stepped forward, walking past all three students, and folded his arms. "You're Shiri Tadashī?" The man bowed in acknowledgment. "Team, Tadashī is our client. He paid for this mission."

"Tadashī-san," Hizashi greeted him, giving a quick bow out of formalities. "Are you trying to look inconspicuous? Because if you are, you need to try harder. That outfit makes you look like you're planning to expose yourself in a public place."

"…lovely students you have there, Aburame-san," the fat man grunted. "Look. We'll need to take a few trolleys before we make it to my apartment, but I want to get there before daybreak. So let's go, already! We're wasting moonlight!"