AN: Here's two more chapters, mostly because they're short and I didn't feel right combining them into one because of the time frame they're set in.

Chapter Title: Pestilence
Down time part 2

Naruto was leaving the village today, I wasn't sure how I felt about it because it did mean that I wouldn't see him for three years, but at the same time I didn't talk to the kid often and the last time we were in extended contact was the land of snow mission. On top of that it meant time was a thing and that the world was in fact still moving, I was glad for that. It meant Akatsuki was going to be starting school or the academy, though if I had to guess she would be going to normal school seeing as Mum and Dad didn't like what had become of me so far.

I understood that perspective completely though, I was scarred all over my body not to mention constant life threatening injuries and situations. I definitely won't be letting my kids be shinobi that's for sure, this lifestyle is hell and I don't think I'd want them doing it.

Samurai/Kenjutsu or Kyudo sure.

Both Kenjutsu and Kyudo are good fun and they let you meet a ton of different people as well as just build your character, they provided exercise and philosophies and all that.

Anyway, my non existent metaphorical children aside I was going to try get Akatsuki to come along with me to Kyudo seeing as that's going to start taking over more of my time along side possibly becoming an instructor to help Ume out, she did have another woman who helped her with that but she had taken time off to raise kids and so Ume herself was the only person around to teach. Obviously that was a lot of work for her when she had her own child to look after and it wasn't like Uncle Matsuda had enough know how to take up a position.

Hm, I suppose really I ought to think about whether I try to become a chunin or not before I officially stop being a shinobi and start living a relatively safer life. I honestly didn't know if I wanted that, I mean it would be nice to say that I reached that point and all, but at the same time I have to do another Chuunin exam unless the Hokage sees fit to bestow a field promotion to me after a recommendation from Sensei or any other Jonin I end up alongside on a mission. Speaking of the exams though, there was going to be one in Sunagakure soon between us, them, Kusa and I think Ame might have a few chips in it, not that I think Ame is going to do all that well in the desert. That made me think though I think the land of waves finally got their new Mizukage, some lady named Mei? I wasn't too sure about the details, just what Sensei said to me.

Talking about this all though… brings me back around to Sasuke.

That knucklehead always managed to wriggle his way back into my head, my sister asks about him every now and again. It wasn't helping me forget about him at the moment, not to mention a few days ago Naruto came to me when Hinata, Sensei and I had got together for training and he promised to bring Sasuke back once he came back from his trip with Jiraiya. I had blown the kid off a little because I had been trying to just leave it where it was, the guy left despite everything. I still hope he comes out fine though, next time I see him, if he can't put a hole through a mountain then I'll be really annoyed he wasted his time with the snake only to still be weaker than his brother.

I think it's important too, if he actually can't do something similar I'm going to be dissapointed.

[Cleaning Out The Closet]

I have far too many weapons in my room, I have four different swords, a Kusarigama, two Kyudo bows along with their arrows in a quiver.

Well it was no armoury but it definitely cluttered my room up, I haven't used the Kusarigama yet, I never got the chance to sit down and learn how to use it. When I do finally have it down though you'll just have to call me Baiken Shishido, though I suppose I have been replicating Baiken's look this entire time haven't I? maybe I'm no Musashi but rather Baiken?

Anyway that aside, I was planning on cleaning my room up, that was the point of me listing off the arsenal laying around in it. The swords were on my floor and leaning in the corner of the room, the sickle was on my desk and the bows were already on racks on the wall, so I didn't need to put anything towards them. The blades though… where should I…?

Glancing around my room a bit more I mentally placed the weapons around until I figured out where I wanted them, eventually I settled on making a rack for the swords to lean on and to put the Kusarigama up on my bookshelf out of the way. I went out to the shed that sat in the back of our yard and spent a few hours trying my hardest to put together something at least vaguely usable as a rack.

When that was done I left the house and went to the training field that I knew our team was meeting at today.

I headed to the training grounds we used often enough. When I got there Sensei was smoking a cigarette talking to his girlfriend who decided to leave once she caught sight of me. There was something on my mind I wanted to ask about so that's how I started our conversation.

"Hey you Sensei? ever wonder what happened to Zabuza and Haku? The two that we fought in Wave? Cause I kind of want to talk to Zabuza about his sword and stuff, might be able to score some lessons or something." I asked standing up and stretching in preparation for my own training.

"That was the guy with the bandages and the big sword wasn't it? And the other guy was the one Naruto thought was attractive?" Asuma asked back, I nodded. "From what I hear Zabuza got killed and I haven't heard anything about the Ice kid."

"Wait, really?" he nodded. "Shit that sucks, eh well I guess I'll just have to wait for another member of the Mist swordsman to teach me shit… I wonder if I can make Kisame my pen pal?" I watched Asuma try to stifle his laughter somewhat at hearing the fishmans name.

While we waited for Hinata to get here- I was early after all- I was walking around looking at all the damage we had caused the place over the year we were a team, yet again I was reminded of one of Sasuke and my fights we had. He wanted to go off at full tilt.

…

The ground burst into a hellscape in a flash of orange and red engulfing the spot I had just been in before using the substitution jutsu leaving a log that had a piece of paper on it that read 'Better luck next time', you might ask why it was that my sub logs might have that on it and that's because I thought it would be funny if they all had different quotes to distract and confuse people. This normally wasn't the case when I sparred with my team because Sasuke always made them explode with his fire jutsu, let alone those few times he tried to use Chidori on me and made some bullshit up about how he knew that I could get away from it.

I charged my body with chakra and launched forward at blinding speeds bringing my Nodachi down in a slash narrowly missing tearing right through Sasuke's chest, instead the blade left a laceration on his stomach and a tear in his shirt all the while he had leapt backwards out of the range of the already far too long blade. The closest we came to conversing let alone saying words were a variety of grunts, neither of us even named off jutsu when we performed them, only letting the other figure it out based on hand-signs. I chased after him sheathing my blade and whipping out several kunai in a matter of milliseconds trying my hardest to keep him on his toes as he bounced back around blood red eyes keeping up with my movements better than his body could at times, I had removed my weights and so had he so our fight was that of immeasurable speeds to the untrained eye and even someone in our graduating class would have problems keeping up with it.

I had seen him fight more than he had seen me fight, though that just meant he fought me just as often, so he was well versed in my tactics and skills as we bounded around the opening meeting in short confrontations of heavy blows often creating kick up while we locked eyes, though his Genjutsu were some of the highest tier we were likely to encounter I had started to build up a resistance. Yet despite this they were great for temporarily distracting me to get a good hit in.

Running though hand seals as though our thoughts coincided, though I knew he was reading my movements with his Sharingan, with the last seal I blew out an enormous whirlwind that engulfed and shut down his inferno of a giant fireball. The flames were spat out everywhere in the wake of the cyclone splashing the both of us in them resulting in another substitution, this log read 'look up' to where I had actually been launched up to and was now hurtling towards my avenger teammate as he ran through far too familiar hand seals and I heard the sound of chirping birds as he began to run building up speed for the jump to meet me halfway, using my wind chakra training to its fullest I churned and morphed the air around me until it changed my course to that of a nearby tree that I landed in grabbing a branch with one arm and throwing myself back into the opening, gazing up the black silhouette fell my way with the screeching still in his wake.

getting out of the way Sasuke crashed straight into another substitution log that read 'I'm glad you missed me so much.' There was a short laugh off to the side of the opening where Sensei was.

As the Uchiha started to move again I noticed something off and immediately stopped where I was and Sasuke seemed to get what I was looking at and slowed down to a halt before we walked up to one another and I shook his hand, he made to swipe at my head as I laughed it off.

"Damn this bloody thing gets in the way all the time- I was about to win!" Sasuke said eyes back to their normal onyx as they glared at the three tomoe design that was etched into his shoulder/neck as it slowly receded from being wrapped around his apparent skin.

…

Wait… no. that was wrong wasn't it? That fight happened I know it did, but maybe…?

It was wrong…

My memories were all jumbled and confused- Ugh! My hands clutched my head getting handfuls of my hair.

"Takezou? You alright there?" Sensei's voice broke me from my thoughts.

"I- I..." sighing heavily I tried to find the words. "No… no I don't think I am- sorry Sesnei, I'm going home- Tell Hinata that I wasn't feeling well." he gave me a knowing smile before I turned to leave.

"Alright, I will. Stay safe Takezou." I could hear the concern in his voice as I walked away.

I didn't make it home though and it was because I spent three hours walking around the village, I ended up at my grandparents workshop and storefront, walking inside the workshop where Dad was sitting on a stool watching Masamune write out the details to a new sword order.

[How Much Of It Was True]

It was late in the afternoon now, Dad had gone home and I was now headed to the main gate where Naruto was going to be leaving from with the Sannin.

My earlier breakdown was behind me, but it was a problem that wasn't just going to fade. This was something deeper than that, something more ingrained into my being that I wouldn't be able to do anything about.

Speaking of something I couldn't understand nor do anything about I still wasn't sure what was making my hair more silver than it was, and I know for sure that it is now too. My family all got together not too long after I woke up from the coma to get a photo done, and if I compared my hair in that picture to the one that I got signed by Koyuki the silver was getting thicker so to say. It was worrying for sure, but again its not like I knew entirely what was causing it. Maybe it was connected to my lapse earlier when it fumbled up that memory, who knows?

Passing shops and stalls as the sun slowly passed overhead made me think about those books I burned a week or three back- whenever that was, I've forgotten. I did it because they'd become redundant and at the same time they just didn't mean anything to me anymore. Hollow writings of a man trying his hardest to cling to all that he could to keep some semblance of his life tied together, I've come too far to look at all those writings and think I was the same person. Hell I was never the same person, I've got dark skin, bloody red and silver hair, amber eyes and whatever else that distinguishes me from the person who wrote them.

I keep talking about what I want to do, what I don't want, but I never take a moment to observe everything without the noise of all that other stuff. Maybe that's why I don't like Naruto? Because he knows what he wants and is adamant about doing it. Where I have no goals beyond living… I've had this conversation a million times and everytime I can't find anything that satisfies me, nothing to bolster my desire for more… Was I content? Who fucking knows because I still can't figure that one out.

Distracted in my melancholy I arrived at the gate, Jiraiya, Naruto and his team were there, Hinata was there but she was hiding behind a post watching him from afar- never strong enough to take up his flank. I approached my love struck teammate making her jump from the sudden interaction as I placed my hand on her shoulder.

"You'll never catch up if you can't stand beside him, Hime." I said, giving her a small smile.

"I-I i'll be there!" Hinata said back with a fire brightening in her translucent eyes, a fierceness rising in her resolve.

"Come on then, let's go send off your Hero then, how's he supposed to remember what he's fighting for if the heroine doesn't give him something to remember her bye?" I said, taking the flustered girl's hand and walking over to where Tsunade and Jiraiya were chatting, Naruto was getting an earful from Sakura about remembering his hygiene while he was gone.

Giving her a slight push on the back as we approached I spoke up again. "Hey Naruto, looking to leave without seeing us off are you?" He turned to us with an enormous smile that was brighter than the sun above us.

"I'd Never do that!" he said, sounding vaguely offended at the idea. "Anyway Hey Hinata! Take! I'm glad I did get to see you before I left! The pervy sage was gonna have us leave without seeing anyone! Can you believe that!?" his yelling never ceased to make me wince as Hinata seemed extra flustered at the attention mumbling something in return.

The conversation carried on for another ten minutes before Jiraiya cut it short to finally leave, we watched the backs of the two as they left the village. Kakashi had left when we showed up seeing his opportunity, Tsunade left just before Jiraiya called it leaving Hinata, Sakura and I stood watching. Not before long though Sakura left, I walked with Hinata back to her house to hang out for a little while, after all I missed training so I didn't get to.

With two knuckle skulled morons gone the village was- well the same really, but…. Whatever.

I was still getting used to it all after fourteen years wasn't I? How much of this did I really understand, and how much still went over my head?

I feel like I'm missing something important...

AN: