"The struggle you're in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow. Don't give up."

― Robert Tew

Chapter 7

Shisui wanted to take me out for breakfast. I obviously refused, it was his birthday and he shouldn't be spending money on me. He obviously did not understand the concept of rejection because he grabbed my collar and we ended up in the middle of Konoha's shopping district.

Shopkeepers moved around us opening for business. Nakamura-jisan, Mum's favorite grocer, carried buckets of sweet potatoes perfect for the winter weather. Sato-san was setting out onigiri and bento boxes for the morning rush. The passing store owners greeted us without even blinking an eye at the fact that we appeared from thin air.

"Hey! That's cheating!" I grumbled as I dragged my heels. Shisui didn't care, he was already surveying all the open stalls. I continued my futile protest until a ball of sweet glutinous rice cake was shoved in my mouth.

"Good girl. Now eat up."

It was well known that I liked sweets, I couldn't just not eat the lovely dango in my mouth― Too much of a waste. Disrespectful of the food.

I swallowed my pride with a mouth full of red beans.

Shisui with meatier preference chose pork buns. Pork buns are good. At this point, I might as well sneak a bite too.

We sat on the rickety wooden bench in front of the dango shop enjoying the chilled morning air. Life was peaceful. Time drifted comfortably as life moved without us.

"No names?"

"Herh?" I choked, face covered with sweet jam.

"The pills, you keep calling them by colors. Usually, products would be given a proper name."

I gulped down my mouthful. "Gamabunta, Manda, Katsuyu."

Shisui sweatdropped, incredulous. "...Seriously?

"No." I licked my syrup coated fingers. "But isn't it fitting? Red. Black. White― Toad. Snake. Slug― Vitality. Death. Health."

I took another bite of my dango.

The Sanin were folklore to children in my generation. Upheld like mythical figures by retired veterans recounting their own war stories. Most went were about shinobi cornered by enemy and death when bathed by a ray of hope.

They say giant toads flew through the sky sending enemy-nin to flee on sight. A giant serpent with jaws of blood devoured enemy camps. But the most popular was the tale of the Slug Princess. Understandably, every survivor encountered the Slug Princess or else they wouldn't be around to share the tale.

"So, no name."

"Nope."

I was on my third stick of dango, feeling pretty content with my life when a familiar face appeared.

"Itachi, you're back!" Shisui beamed, tossing him his remaining pork bun.

Itachi smiled and caught it with one hand, his other was holding a brown paper bag. "Morning Shisui, Tsuno-san. I've been looking for you two."

He handed Shisui the paper bag, "Happy Birthday."

"Aww you remembered! Is this what I think it is?" With one motion, Shisui slid a box out of the paper bag. The store name glided on top red paint; just like the box given to me by Sasuke in the hospital. The lid was flipped open and my eyes fell on the sleek black short blade.

Shisui examined the blade carefully and I couldn't help but notice the Uchiha crest engraved on the hilt. As he flipped the blade on to it's other side, revealing 'Uchiha Shisui' gleaming brilliantly at the center of the fuller.

"It's perfect." Shisui grinned, gripping the weapon eagerly, "I can't wait to test this out. Please pass my compliments to Mikoto-san."

"Mikoto-san?"

"Ah. Tachi's mother. She's fantastic at welding. Wish she took apprentices."

Itachi nodded in confirmation, his mouth full and properly waited to swallow before talking. "She is wonderful. However, she gave up that path when she married my father."

My brain took a moment to process this information. The Uchiha were one of the main producers of metalwork in Konoha; the most prestigious in the Land of Fire. But not all Uchihas were familiar with the craft, it's said only a small number of members were qualified to be known as artisans. I wasn't sure how strict Uchiha was on caste, but they were definitely traditionalist. If Mikoto was able to marry into the main family, that must mean she was a hell of an Artisan or the daughter of the one.

If my gift came from Sasuke…

I paused. It was a bewildering feeling to know that Uchiha Mikoto herself may have made the kunai I carried.

"Shisui, we should move to another area if you want to test the blade out." Itachi chided as Shisui flicked the metallic edge with a mischievously. "So, where to?"

The corner's of Shisui's lips widened like a Cheshire cat.

I know that look. It's that look every time Shisui was ready to go on an adventure.

"Ground Zero."

"W-Wait Shisui, I still have one stick of ―"

"Nope."

I never saw my last stick of dango again.

"Anddd... here we are!" Shisui landed with a skip. "Oh come on. Don't be such a big baby!"

I was hanging. Not quite upside down but tucked under Shisui's arm. Eyes glassy and mouth agape like a fish. My face was covered in my own saliva; hair hopelessly scattered like a dirty ragged doll. If time travel was possible, I would age ten years every time Shisui took me 'shunshining.'

Shunshin is his favorite activity and as his student, I have to like it sooner or later. Avoiding it wasn't an option.

"Doesn't it feel like flying?."

"Huh?" I mumbled. We flashed across the mountainside and suddenly above treetops. According to Shisui, the cliffs were the best place for endurance training. Needless to say, I had no endurance left. Shisui had me thrown across his shoulder like a sack of potatoes on our journey back.

"It makes me feel like a bird…Like I can go wherever I want,"

I wiped the drool spilled across my cheek and gaze upon the horizon before us. The sky was lit up in a pinkish-orange hue, the sun half set behind the mountains but so bright I had to shield my eyes.

We were on top of the world.

"Feels like freedom." I hushed.

"Freedom" He agreed.

Shisui dropped me without warning. I hit the ground with an 'oof' and lazily rolled on to my back.

"Where are we?" I groaned, taking in the lush greenery.

"You don't know? This is Training Ground Zero. I actually took my Chunin Exams here."

I peered closer at the glistening pond across from us. I heard of Ground Zero from fumbling through Dad's archives but knew nothing else. The sky was bright blue, rays of light practically danced over the clear water. It looks pretty nice for an exam center.

"Doesn't look dangerous like what I imagined."

"Oh, it's dangerous alright," Shisui grinned, "Look behind us."

I tilted my head up to see what Shisui was pointing to. A forest.

It was definitely deeper than the Nara Forest, that much I can tell. Forest dense. Trees tall. Leaves so thickly layered, it blocked off most of the sunlight. I couldn't even make out a path, just darkness.

But darkness is my friend. I wasn't intimidated.

"This place is an environmental sanctuary now. Konoha doesn't allow people to plow through the forest for resources but old-timers still come here to train."

He's right, the grass was so tall I can hardly see over it.

"It's like the Forest of Death, but less swamp." His eyes shift to my sluggish figure, "As long as you don't blow up the forest we shouldn't be in trouble."

"Please." I laughed. "I wish I can make an explosion that large."

"I don't trust you." He retorted cheekily, "I know a serial bomber when I see one. You already set an explosion off in the Hokage Tower."

"Not you too! It was just once! An accident I swear!" I rolled over in shame. I was never going to stop hearing about this.

"Uh-huh. Sure. I believe you."

I stuck my tongue out at him. Beside me, a flicker flashed. It's been at least ten minutes since Shisui dropped me on the ground.

"Ita-chan! I thought you weren't going to come! Did you happen to get lost on the path of life?"

Itachi gave Shisui a painfully exasperated glare. "Not everyone can body-flicker twenty kilometers at once." He retorted dryly.

"What's the normal shunshin range?" I asked, genuinely curious. I've always been on the receiving end of them.

Itachi took my question. "Genin, if they have enough chakra, are about half a kilometer. Chunin ranges are one-to-two. Jonin usually averages around five."

I nodded. That makes sense. Shushin was known to eat away chakra. Dad once said that his younger brother fainted learning how to shunshin for the first time. This was exactly why most shinobi preferred to run to their destination.

I calculated. "Hmm...So about twenty kilometers is your maximum range, Shisui?" I read his file before our first meeting. Shisui used to be a Special Jonin for intelligence gathering, well known for his travels in different villages. Promoted to Jonin status after proving himself on the battlefield. Four times faster than the average Jonin, sounded about right.

Apparently, my deduction didn't satisfy his ego, the pretentious idiot acted as if he was choking back tears.

"Tsuno! You hurt me!" he cried, "How can you underestimate me like this! Next time I'll take you to the Land of the Wind!"

My hand was against my cheek; propping myself up. But that didn't stop Shisui's comment make me almost drop my head.

"Huh?!"

I wasn't sure if I heard him right, the borders of the Land of the Wind are at least two days away.

"Tsuno-san, Shisui is the only person in the Konoha that can travel to Suna in half a day." Itachi clarified.

I stared blankly. Impossible. If this was true, his records were way out of date.

"What do you mean only one in Konoha" Shisui puffed, "In the Five Great Villages! I have this moniker for a reason!"

"Sure," Itachi said noncommittally. Shisui's pupils twitched red.

I sense Uchiha egos coming.

"Ita-chan, it looks like you forgot who's the older one here. We haven't sparred recently, have we?" Shisui glowered, stretching his limbs.

Itachi was unfazed. "We haven't, Shisui-niisan" He slipped his hand into his pouch; his own sharingan activated.

I stared at them, eyes wide, I was a little unwanted in this situation. "Um. I hope you guys haven't forgotten but I'm still here."

Their red orbs turned on me. For a moment, two beasts stared at the herbivore between them. I felt my body shrink.

Shisui's eyes lingered puzzled. Itachi looked so mundane with my presence as if it didn't matter what I did. But something seemed to click in Shisui's mind and his glowing red eyes made him look even more maniacal.

"Ahh. Tsuno-chan."

"Y-yes?!"

"Today we will be going over trapmaking!" His grin was almost sinister. "Your goal is to trap Itachi or I by laying as many traps as you can over this area."

I nodded quickly, pulse racing. Their killing intent radiating off of both of them made my instincts scream to run.

Itachi looked dubious, "You think I would be tricked by an academy student's traps?"

"She's not any academy student, she is my student."

My heart sped with his praise and now pressure to perform, "I guess I should head off…"

I stepped backwards into the forest. It took every muscle in my body to force myself to not bolt. I was almost away from their sight before Shisui started talking.

"Ah, by the way, Tsuno." I immediately caught his long stare. His eyes were still visible even from so far away. "You can use your seals."

A strill ran down my spine. Ohh he definitely knew I was still playing with explosives.

"Y-Yes!" I meeped, diving deeper into the forest. I kept on running until the pond was no longer visible; my chest was still buzzing with adrenaline. It was like playing cops and robbers with Shisui all over again. The hair on my arm stood as goosebumps ran through my body. That was the thing with killing intent. It left you shivering in anxiety as your own instincts worked against you.

I calmed myself with deep breaths and observed my surroundings. I was surrounded by tall oak trees, the ground covered by a carpet of colored leaves. I was supposed to set up traps right? So what exactly do I have to work with?

I was gathering a pile of dead leaves when the fire lit the sky. The sky burst in bright orange and I was hit by the shock of rolling heat. The loose leaves scattered around me riding the dancing wind. Immediately after, a twin water dragon crashed into the ball of fire, enclosing the entire forest with a sheet of rain and mist. The forest turned from chilly to hot to humid in a few seconds. I couldn't see who exactly was throwing techniques but the caliber of this spar was way beyond anything I've seen before.

I was hypnotized. The power. The intensity... I want to do that too.

I heard sounds of metal clasping against another and knew they were close. Instincts high, I yelped and hid behind a trunk as a wave of shuriken beated downwards. One specifically cut a certain rope, I affixed to a branch.

I faintly hear the conversation from above.

"Hey! Watch it! My kid is down there!"

"She's not doing too bad."

They detached themselves in separate directions as my trinket unraveled. A puff of smoke thickened the overcast of mist, my vision completely blinded. I heard a snap and my own barrage of weapons shooting upwards. Most hit tree trunks with a 'thud' but one or two was blocked by the sound of small 'tinks.' Whoever flawlessly evaded my trap took advantage. Once again, unable to see the action itself, I heard the impact of a connected hit. Itachi bursted out of the smokescreen, arms defensively guarding his torso. Shisui already shunshin behind him delivering a successful roundhouse kick. There was a 'poof' and Itachi was gone. The Shisui above me grunted in annoyance and also disappeared in succession.

They were gone.

I stared slack-jawed. Stunned to even begin putting together the pieces. This entire time I was witnessing a fight between shadow clones. Shadow clones throwing out elemental jutsu like candy. The sudden sound of explosions rocked northeast of my direction. The action was unraveling almost too fast for me to understand.

Someone set off my explosive. My new explosive tags.

"Atta girl!" Shisui's voice echoed, "Right in the face!" And you said you can avoid an academy student's trap― Hmpt!" Shisui grunted an earth style jutsu shook the earth. I knew that it was Itachi, and he was not pleased.

I steady my steps and swiftly moved south. There weren't many traps left in this area. Traps take time and the two didn't even bother ignoring them, they were eating up my handy work fast. The whole forest was their obstacle field.

I picked excess shuriken and kunai strewn across the ground. Some I had to retrieve from trees, which I climb to scout the area. The smoke was clearing but it was still hard to see too far ahead.

I was finishing up my trap lined with invisible chakra strings when I heard the latest advancement. I already knew what trap was set off. I was surprised, it was a very simple one.

I walked towards the site someone fell into my pit.

Or something. I thought as I peeked into the hole, it didn't sound human.

It was about the same size as a deer, but no hooves or antlers. However, it did have a fur coat and a nasty set of claws.

A bear … cub…?

It was definitely a bear, but somewhere between adolescent and adult. As if it was born in the wrong season and wasn't able to fully mature before the cold winter.

I watch the bear twitch in agony in the pit. I felt sorry for it. The kunai and wooden stakes already skewered the body. One went through his neck and there was no saving him. The bear lay there twitching as howls of agony trailed. The hole was now a pool of red.

I did the most humane thing and carefully hopped into the pit. Chakra slowly seeped into my kunai.

I ended the poor bear's misery. One motion like Dad taught me. I winced, watching the blood gush and sent a prayer. I didn't like killing.

I heaved up one leg to pull myself out of the pit. I was aware of the shuffle from the surrounding bushes and stopped. Two brown masses crawled out of the shrubs.

Two more cubs.

I can only imagine what crossed their mind when they saw a human crawling out from a pit covered in their brethren's blood. My eyes could only stare at the open jaws and claws. Those have to at least be four-inches long.

My heart thundered. I finally got both legs up, wary to make any other movements.

The two cubs circled my surroundings, beaded eyes never leaving me. I took a tiny step towards an opening but the cubs thrusted their fangs forward with a growl. I halted, cautiously hand lowering to my pocket. Both stood on either side and had me cornered. I cursed how densely packed the trees were. I was trapped.

The cub who stood closer to the pit, lowered its snout. Its pink tongue dragged across their brother's severed head, nudging the corpse to wake up. After a few moments of understanding, a loud painful wail erupted from the beast's throat and I knew I was absolutely screwed.

The other cub seemed to sense its brother's pain, charged. Jaws open and standing on hind legs. Practically engulfed by its shadow, I realized how much height it had over me. With the blood of family thick in the humidity, the smell only further enraged it.

I barely rolled out of the way when first blood was drawn. Its claws brushed my left shoulder, as a nearby tree stopped me from escaping. I was trapped under the enormous animal as the set of teeth entered my shoulder. It was surreal, seeing the fangs sink into my flesh. I seized under the force of his muzzle. My body couldn't comprehend the foriegn object when the shock of pain shattered my confusion. An audible crunch rocked my body as crimson liquid soak my sweater. Tantalizing pain ran down my chest, with each snap resounding another round of pain. There was so much blood. So so much blood.

I could count each individual tooth lodged into my flesh. I could feel the warm air from the bear's nostrils and the anger radiating from its eyes.

My hands tightened the kunai already palmed in my right hand, I fixed my gaze into its dead black pupils. I-I …. can't die like this.

With a forceful swing, I shoved my kunai up right into the eye socket. I knew this would at least confuse the bear. The bear froze, jaws loosening before a disturbed brawl erupted from its throat.

I ripped the kunai out. This was my chance. A string of connecting blood spilled onto my face, and without hesitation, I plunged the knife down again. This time, in its thick coarse neck.

I could only think, I was lucky its jaws missed mine.

The bear jerked upright, teetering backward and forwards on hindlegs. Then the convulsions started. Slightly but then violently spasming. This seemed to confuse the other bear. It roared loudly towards its brother in distress. Finally, the cub fell, crashing onto the ground.

I didn't have a moment to savor my survival as the last cub immediately lurched in my direction. The cub pinned me and plummeted its teeth towards my throat. This time I knew it wasn't going to miss.

I stuck my left arm out to be masticated. The jaws forcefully snapped closed as the familiar crunch reverberated in the air. A jolt of searing pain ripped through me. I couldn't hold back my screech.

The snout was inches from my nose. My arm, now unresponsive, was pressed against my throat. I sucked in a deep breath as I knew what was happening.

Thank goodness it was only my left arm.

My right hand finally felt the familiar cool solid handle it was looking for. My lips lifted crookedly.

The bear never saw it coming. Right from underneath its neck, I impaled the kunai into the brain.

The beast jolted at the intrusion, jaws popped open as if it ran out of air. Like the previous cub, threw itself on its hind legs. It was a terrible sound as it wheezed and choked for oxygen that will never enter its lungs. I landed a heavy kick on the abdomen and the body bashed backward onto the dirt.

I took in the bodies of the two cubs, both twitching and barely alive.

I fell on my knees, my right hand gripping to stabilize my left arm. I can hear my heartbeat. My adrenaline was fading and I let out a hesitant chuckle. I'm alive.

Hot air blasted against my neck.

Breathing.

My blood ran still. I looked back and my eyes just trailed up.

And up.

Standing right behind me was Mama bear.

She was huge. Absolutely ginormous. Her cubs were around five feet on hind legs. Mama bear had all fifteen feet hulking behind me. She was like a standing carpet of black fur. My eyes bulged. Her claws were the same length as my forearms.

Her teeth were bared, fangs exposed and enraged. She let out a loud sneer and my stomach dropped. She can smell the blood of her children on me.

Everything happened in slow motion.

My body just froze as she swung her massive claws towards my face. I mentally kicked myself to go, and my body just wouldn't follow. I twisted forward, landing roughly, feeling every single rock scrapping my wounds.

Her claws sliced through the air and I saw it enter my shin. It was all a messed up dream. The claws seamlessly entered and exited on the other side. It cut through my flesh like paper.

My eyes fell on to the pool of blood. My blood. And time sped up.

I frantically dug my hands into my pocket for another weapon. Alarm bells went off instantly, as panic rose from the pit of my stomach.

It was empty. I was weaponless. I left my last kunai buried in her son's neck.

I pushed myself to run. I had to.

But legs wouldn't budge.

My stomach twisted in heavy knots. I was staring death in the eye.

My trusted right hand reached backward. Anything. Anything!

Instead, I only felt the flaky exterior of tree bark. I ... was cornered.

Death descended in fangs.

My arms jutted out, once again, and braced for its impact. Both of them.

There was no crunch. But one terrifying snap.

I let out a piercing scream as a sharp concentrated pain shocked my body. It was nothing I had felt before. All the nerves in my torso were set ablaze. In the pain, there was a realization that …I-I couldn't feel my forearms. Nothing.

I thought it was the sheer amount of pain that blurred my vision. A drop of water rolled down my cheek and I finally understood that I was crying.

The mother bear was avenging her children. She will never let me go.

I understood.

I wanted to stare into her ebony eyes one last time before I died. I wanted to tell her I was sorry. Really sorry. It was never my initial intention to kill her sons.

Her eyes were vengeful. I prepared myself for the final blow.

She slumped.

A short obsidian sword stuck out of her back.

Behind it was a horrified Shisui.

"We need to get the jaws off her."

Itachi jumped beside me, hands grabbing the snout. Relief flooded in my stomach, as I took in their voices. It untangled the deep heavy knots nested within my chest. All I could do was cry.

"Shuisi!" Itachi demanded, "Help!"

Snap out of his daze, Shisui gripped his hands on the mother bear's lower jaws, "Brace yourself, Tsuno."

They counted down from three and pried the jaws wide open.

Removing the teeth was more painful than being bitten. As soon as the jaws left my flesh, I felt my wounds exposed to the pyretic world. It felt calescent to the open air.

I muffled a scream as my forearms dropped. I had no control, it bent and twisted grotesquely. My flesh felt loose and raw. Burning.

I audibly hear Shisui breathing in a heavy gulp. Everything was red.

Itachi, who I never took as a trained medic, already held his glowing palm above my mutilated arms. I waited for the feeling of warmth to fill my wounds, but the tingling burning feeling grew even hotter.

I looked at Itachi confused, my face still stained with salty droplets. His hand stopped halfway, too far to help me.

He stared back completely bewildered. "T-Tsuno-san what are you doing?"

"W-What do you mean?" I managed to choke. I was holding back my tongue. All I wanted to do was to scream.

"Tsuno look."

I really didn't want to. It was a bloody managed knot of shattered bone. I wanted to ignore it, hoping it would just all go away.

I push back the anticipating bile rising behind my throat.

My arms were caked in dry blood. The image is still hideous as I remembered it. I flinched, my eyes shut. I couldn't look. Everything was surreal.

"Tsuno." Itachi insisted. "Your arms are… correcting itself."

I blinked, forcing another stream of tears to roll down my cheek. I took a gulp of air to calm myself and looked again.

He wasn't wrong. My arms contorted bizarrely. It buckled, snapped, and twisted. Every second that passed, my arms were getting more and more sensation.

But that didn't mean there was no pain. I silently cried as my floppy left forearm snapped forward with a jolt. As for my right arm, the bone finished aligning itself and I hesitantly wiggle my fingers. No pain.

Next, my ghastly open wounds began to close. Itachi's eyes widened and flashed his hands over me.

"Don't move." He ordered. "I need to sterilize them."

I watched as my arm, shoulder, and shin illuminated with green. I felt like a science experiment. I was Frankenstein. My flesh sewed together seamlessly, leaving no scars. The only indication of the mutilation was the pink irritated skin replacing the open gashes.

All pain slowly subsided as sensation returned.

"Tsuno-san… " Itachi slowly grasped my wrist, examining my arms. "Are you okay….?"

"She's healed." Shisui hushed, as he too stepped in to examine my bright pink arms. "So are the injuries on her calf and back." Inspecting my body a couple more times for the seams that just may burst open.

Shisui stepped closer and slowly reached out his arms. He was hesitant to touch me but pulled me into a hug. He gave me a gentle squeeze. I finally saw how tired he looked, his hair wild and clothes smelling like ash and dirt. "You're okay." He breathed as if I was going to break under his fingertips. His hand nestled in my matted hair, sticky with dry blood.

I pressed myself closer.

"I-I am," I whispered shakily.

"Thank goodness." Itachi sighed, still observing me carefully, "I really didn't want to tell the Jonin commander I had to amputate his daughter."

Amputate?!

"Not a good time, Itachi." Shisui rebuked, still holding me close. "Not a good time."

The boys rushed me to a nearby clinic. Shisui picked me up and shunshin into the doctor's office, scaring the poor physician. Shisui's sudden appearance made him spill his tea all over his desk.

"Jiji can you do a check-up?"

The doctor was clearly familiar with Shisui, sighed exasperatedly. "Brat, at least give me so time to clean this up."

"I can do it, Ji-san."

The doctor jumped, startled. Itachi stood behind him. He finally caught up, looking even more exhausted than Shisui. Clothes muddy and caked with dirt. He was definitely low on chakra.

Shisui gave him an affirming nod.

The doctor stood leading us to a connecting room. "Put her on the table."

Shisui set me up on the wooden examination table. There was a fresh sheet of paper covering it. "Jiji, pay attention to her arms." He pointed, "...and her shoulder, legs, back― Just do a full examination."

"Now, don't rush me." The doctor huffed, "I need to do some paperwork for the girl or I'll lose my license. You know how strict the hospitals are." He pulled a chair beside me, "What's your name, girl."

"Nara Tsuno."

"Uh-huh," He scribbled. "Nar―" He stopped writing, "As in the Nara Clan?"

I nodded.

He peered at me closely, "It's been a while since I got a visit from Nara. Are you from the village or―"

"She's Shikaku-san's daughter," Itachi answered, entering the room.

"And you brats were trying to let me treat the Jonin Commander's brat without paperwork?!"

Shisui shrugged indignantly, "Life matters more."

"You know my father?"

"Jiji here was the on-site combat medic-nin when your Dad proctor the Chunin Exams." Shisui scrunched his nose, "You probably weren't even born yet. Man, I'm getting old."

"Age?''

"Five. Almost six. You didn't answer my question."

"There's nothing much to say. We were colleagues. I was much closer to his younger brother. Any allergies?"

"Shellfish and if you count dust bunnies, that too. His brother?"

"Yea he was also a medic-nin, I was in charge of his rotations in the hospital." He finished writing, and faced me, "So what brings you here missy."

I finally got a good look at the old man as he lifted his round wire-framed glasses. The immediate thought was that he looked like a samurai from my history textbooks. He had a sharp hollow face, marred by a long scar from his eyebrows to his chin. Long grey hair streaked with white, tied up in a messy updo. He sat comfortably in a discolored green yukata, too thin for chilly weather. He had a wispy goatee that he casually stroked as his eyes examined my injuries. All he was missing was a sword to go with his ensemble.

"Animal attack." I was still engrossed in taking in the man's appearance, he smelled a little like Dad; tobacco and herbal medicine.

"An animal attack huh? You came out rather unscratched." He gently bent my arm over, "All I see is mildly irritated skin."

"That's a relief," I sighed.

"Care to explain all the blood, missy?"

"...Blood? Oh."

I was still wearing my training gear, or what used to be my training gear. My sleeves and neckline were completely torn off, leaving me pretty exposed and cold. Shisui threw me his long black pullover and I've been wearing it like a dress this entire time. But I guess the blood splatter on my pants was still pretty alarming.

"Um. My blood and animal blood?"

"I don't see any open wounds. What animal?"

"Bear attack." Shisui supplied unceremoniously. "Mutilated both of her arms, shin, and upper back. Exactly where the irritated skin is now."

The doctor pushed his glasses up. "Yet she's healed. I don't suppose lil' missy here is a medic. It can't be Shisui, you're too impatient to get this done so perfectly. Itachi-kun? Fantastic job. "

Shisui's nose twitched but didn't argue.

"No. It wasn't me." Itachi supplied, "She healed herself, I just aided her."

"She's what? Six years old?" The old doctor frowned, "If she healed herself we have young Tsunade-sama here."

"I'm-not-a-medic."

"What? Speak louder Missy"

"I'm not a medic," I repeated more forcefully this time. I really didn't want to explain myself. I knew less about my own body than I want to disclose. "It just...healed itself."

The doctor furrowed his white caterpillar brows but Shisui jumped in before he asked another question. "Kekkei genkai." He explained, "We just want you to scan her for injuries just in case."

The doctor's mouth opened as if he wanted to pry but began scanning me with his mystical palm. I noted that it was deeper in color than Itachi's, maybe it was affected by skill level? Chakra type?

He carefully drifted his hand over my redden skin, and once again to double-check. Then he asked me to stretch, do some basic exercise, which I had no problems with.

"She's all good." The doctor finally answered scratching notes to his clipboard, "Give her a few hours the irritated skin will be gone too. The only problem I see is how low on chakra she is." He directed his gaze to Shisui and Itachi. "How low on chakra all of you are― Especially you Itachi-kun."

Itachi shrugged and Shisui let out a sigh of relief ruffling his distressed black hair. "I'll leave the notes on the table, Jiji"

"Come back with Konoha's best spirits and we'll call it even." The doctor barked. "You brats have the nerve to intrude my office without an appointment."

Shisui rolled his eyes, "It's not like you have any patients."

"Insufferable brat―"

"Thank you Kusushi-Jiisan." Itachi smiled. I have a feeling he plays mediator a lot. "I'll make sure to bring you the best spirits in our next visit."

The doctor, who I finally know as Kusushi-san, threw himself back into his bamboo chair and took out a cigar. "That's if I'll live that long."

"If you stop smoking all the time maybe you will." Shisui poked cheekily. "Don't worry I'll make sure to tip so this tiny hut keeps running."

Kusushi-san cursed under his breath and flicked his lighter a couple of times only to realize it was out of fluid.

"Ah I can help." Itachi stepped in.

"No need. I don't want another fire-user near my cigars since this one." Jerking his thumb at Shisui.

"I told you, they're bad for you."

"That's for me to decide." Kusushi-san pulled open his desk drawer and fumbled for a possible lighter. He slammed the dusty drawer shut after realizing he had such no luck and pushed himself up to walk towards the back of the room.

"Ah that reminds me." Kusushi-san scratched his head, "You're father is Shikaku isn't it? Give this to him." He opened a dreary yellow box from under the closet and handed me a scroll.

"What is it?" I asked curiously, fingers tracing the flimsy twig rope holding it all together. There, a couple of scratches by the knob caught my attention, "Nara Shika...den."

"My first snot-nosed brat" Kusushi-san smiled, "Shame I didn didn't get to share another bowl of sake with him again."

I nodded, I knew Dad had a younger brother but he wasn't spoken about. Dad always looked so sad and melancholic so Shika and I never pushed. Apparently, he passed before I was adopted. Dad always visits his grave every Fall with a handful of daffodils. For new beginnings, Mum always says, for rebirth.

"Shikaden was studying dendrology last time he was here." Kusushi-san puffed his lit cigar, "Forgot to take it when he left; I've been holding it for him ever since."

"I see, I'll make sure to give it to Dad." I smiled, "Thanks Kusushi-san."

"Your kid is surprisingly respectful Shisui."

"Of course!" He flashed a wide grin, "Isn't she just like me"

"Not a chance."

"It's my win today."

"What do you mean? I kicked your ass around for most of the time!"

"Yet, you're the one who called off the spar." Itachi took a bite from his tempura.

"Still doesn't count." Shisui argued, pointing his chopsticks "You knew I had to call it off. Don't be greedy Tachi-chan."

"Hn."

We sat around in an open training field with the bento boxes in our hands. Shisui took the liberty to shunshin to a nearby market for bentos. Both Itachi and Shisui chose shrimp tempura while I had mackerel. I had the sleeves of Shisui's jumper rolled up five or six times on my arms sitting cross-legged between the two testosterone-filled teens.

I was halfway through my bento and way too full. I tugged Shisui's wrist.

"Do you want my bento? I'm pretty stuffed."

"Hmmed." He mumbled, mouth filled with food.

"I'll take your tomatoes, Tsuno. " Itachi said, raising his chopsticks.

I almost whipped my head towards him, my lilac orbs met his.

"...Yes?" He froze

"You called me Tsuno!" I cheered. "I've been trying to get you to call me Tsuno for the past year!"

"Ah. I guess I did." He returned my smile, and my pulse quickened.

"W-Well, here's my tomatoes." I breathed. I knew Itachi was handsome, I guess I know why so many girls are interested.

My chopsticks awkwardly fiddle with the tomatoes until I decided sliding it on to his bento was the best option. I flicked a couple of tomatoes over before I accidentally stabbed one letting the juice gush out.

"Oh no, sorry Itachi you don't have to eat―"

Itachi grabbed my wrist and lifted the skewered tomato to his lips. "It's not good to waste food." He hummed biting the leaking fruit.

"Uhh." Boy I was flustered. I felt my cheeks warm, I don't do well around pretty boys.

"Ohhh no." Shisui grabbed my bento with one hand and the other covering my eyes. "You are not doing these playboy schemes around my student!"

Itachi choked, "Playboy? Look who's talking."

I couldn't see. The conversation was going in a whole unexpected direction. I fiddled with Shisui's fingers until I was able to peek through. I tiled my head back, eyes big and wide.

"You're a playboy, Shisui?"

This time, Shisui was flustered. "What no." He protested. I managed to push his hands off my face.

Itachi answered in a slow deliberate voice. "Tsuno-chan let me tell you how many marriage conferences my father set up for Shisui this year alone." His hands quickly flashed a two and a zero.

"Not true! Stop feeding my student blasphemy. It was definitely under ten!"

"Under ten because you skipped so many." Itachi sipped his tea. "The actual number is probably closer to twenty-five"

Shisui's face was now scarlet, his eyes quickly darted to my face as if to observe my reaction. He threw his hands over my ears.

"Hey! I want to listen!"

"Oh no. This is an adult conversation."

"You're not an adult! Itachi is like eleven! He's not even a teenager!"

"This conversation is for Jonin!"

I pushed his hands away from my ears, "What does that have to do with anything!" Shisui and I tumbled as I wrestled to get out of his grip. We scuffled in the dirt and Shisui easily overtook me with both height and body weight.

All this time, Itachi was sitting there sipping tea. The pretty bastard was enjoying the chaos.

A truce flashed simultaneously through our minds. Shisui suddenly launched himself at Itachi. Itachi's kawarimi was quick but Shisui, true to his moniker, basically teleported across the field behind him. I strung my chakra strings, binding Itachi's wrist and fingers.

"Hey," Itachi mumbled, "Isn't this a little unfair? Two against one?"

"Nope." Shisui sang popping the 'p'.

I walked towards the two as a sadistic thought crossed my mind. Oh my, maybe Shisui is influencing me?

"Oh, Itachii."

Shisui's smile widened as he saw the parcel in my hand, already knowing what was going to happen. Itachi's expression stilled.

"Tell me..." I let the words linger, slowly unwrapping the parcel. The sweet aroma of rice flour was unmistakable.

Itachi's eyes lingered on the stick of dango as I held it in front of my mouth.

"Soo Itachi, why are you considered a playboy?"

Shisui buckled down in giggles, pinning Itachi with his bodyweight. "Tell her about your girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend." He denied vehemently. His ear, however, flushed pink.

"Sure, I'll just have a shadow clone bring Izumi-chan here."

"Who's Izumi?" I tiled my head, genuinely curious. Having a teenage lover made the brilliant Itachi look almost normal.

"An Uchiha girl that's been crushing on Tachi-chan even before they entered the academy."

"Never knew you took such fascination stalking me."

"I wouldn't say 'stalking' more like keeping an eye on the clan heir." Shisui touted, "So Tachi...spill."

Itachi would budge, insisting on staying silent, so I started first.

I carefully and deliberately wafted the dango in front of his face and took a large bite "Hmm! Shisui this is delicious!."

"Oooh me too! Ahhhh." I fed him the second piece of the dango and Itachi looked at me with almost disdain. "Hmm... You're right. This red bean is great."

"But we are not even dating," Itachi mumbled, almost pouting.

"Are you interested in her?" Shisui prode.

"You know the answer to that Shisui, I don't have time for that."

"But you are interested in her."

"I'm interested in her safety and well-being."

Shisui sighed, in between gulps. "Okay okay, I'll stop tormenting you."

I let my chakra strings loosen and Shisui helped Itachi up. I knew my chakra strings couldn't actually hold Itachi down. But I was glad he was a good sport to play along. I handed Itachi his leftover dango; and to make up for it I gave him a skewer of my mitarashi one. Though the red bean morsel was good, I prefer the contrast of sweet and salty a lot better.

Shisui again, not a huge sweet tooth, opted for senbei and the three of us resumed our lunch. Itachi and Shisui began analyzing their recent spar. The jargon and caliber of their conversation went over my head. Shisui gave Itachi a lot more pointers than I expected. It's odd to see the well-known genius struggle in certain aspects of jutsu execution.

"Seriously, you can dangerously stretch your chakra if you keep on throwing out elemental jutsus you're not comfortable with." Shisui warned, "Even as an Uchiha you're not exactly known for massive chakra levels. And an earth jutsu?! That must have eaten a whole chunk of your reserves."

"It did catch you off guard." Itachi argued, "I got in a couple of good hits."

Shisui crossed his arms, "Uh-huh, just like how the explosive caught you."

"I didn't sense any large concentrations of chakra."

"Tsuno-chan got you good." Shisui smirked, "See what I tell you about underestimating my student?"

Meanwhile, my thoughts drifted away from the conversation. I intently stared at my unscarred arms. Even I was bewildered by my own abilities. Shisui told me his dojutsu forced him to channel a large stream of chakra to his eyes, but it's different when your kekkei genkai applies to your whole body. It literally ate up chakra everywhere.

"-uno! Tsuno!."

"Ah yes?" I turned my head to Shisui, I was so focused on my chakra, I missed him yelling my name.

"Can you explain to Itachi how you manage to hide your explosive?"

I scratched my chin. I did have a couple of new seal developments, but it still felt a little underwhelming. "I hid it in the tree's shadow."

Itachi cocked his head. Shisui only groaned, "Why does it seem like every time we talk about seals, it gets more and more dangerous?"

"If you don't mind, can you explain?" Itachi asked, "I assume this may be related to the Nara craft."

I rubbed the back of my head, immediately sliding my hand back down when I hit a chunk of dried blood. "Well...yes and no? I can't exactly perform my family justu so I've been just practicing injecting my chakra into shadows. I'm not too good so the amount is minuscule."

"But you still manage to create an explosive."

"If you want to put it that way? It just compressed chakra since I can't expand it. Honestly, it just looks more dangerous than it really is." This was true. In my last practice with Dad, I managed to finally connect my chakra with my shadow but controlling it was a whole nother ball game.

Itachi had a finger against his chin in deep thought. Shisui looked unimpressed.

"Tsuno you know how dangero―"

Itachi butted in, "Hey Tsuno, have you gotten your kekkei genkai figured out yet?"

"Don't interrupt me―"

"No, I haven't." I shook my head, "Shisui and I are both pretty lost."

Shisui grumbled, then eyed me with such ferocity letting me know this conversation wasn't over. "Yea." He agreed, "I've been trying for weeks but the chakra flow in her body is weird as hell. I was even thinking to have a Hyuga look at her."

"But Tsuno's chakra control seems pretty decent." Itachi pondered, "Have you tried to isolate parts of her body to activate shikotsumyaku?"

I showed him my arm, "See? Nothing happens."

Itachi activated his sharingan, "Can you increase the chakra flow?"

I did and a warm feeling began to tickle my arm. Shisui had his sharingan activated as well. Two sets of red eyes held me in their focus.

"Okay," Itachi instructed, "Now move your chakra along your arm and into your elbow. There are three bones attached to that joint. Choose the bone that allows easiest chakra flow. Pinpoint your chakra there."

Can the sharingan see my chakra flow? My chakra moved up my forearm and into the largest bone. This is the humerus? I began to collect chakra in the tip of my elbow and my arm hummed to the flow of my chakra. I felt the joint grow from warm to blistering hot.

I immediately ached for relief. I tried to halt the build-up of chakra but Itachi stopped me.

"Keep pushing, Tsuno." He ordered, "Keep pushing." His sharingan swirled, eyes pinpointed on the exact area the chakra was building up.

I bit my lip and continued. With every passing moment, the heat was excruciating. Beads of sweat formed between the crevice of my elbow. My entire body felt like a pressure cooker. My arm felt tight like something was suctioning it from the inside.

And then it was done. First, a slight timble of coolness appeared, next my entire elbow split open. Relief flooded through my body and my arm shivered with the chill.

A pearl-colored rod stuck out of my arm, the force of which almost knocked me backward.

"Man." Shisui whistled, "If I knew you could help, I would have invited you sooner Itachi."

It really didn't make sense to me how a bone speared out my arm. I was baffled. Like this entire day, this felt surreal.

Shisui dropped Itachi off back at the Uchiha compound. What I mean by dropped off was he tossed Itachi over his shoulder with one hand and grabbed me with the other. Kusushi-san was right, Itachi was low in chakra from his spar and Shisui's enthusiasm for kenjutsu this afternoon didn't help. Without being able to shunshin, he wasn't going to make it home anytime soon.

Itachi seemed to struggle with the idea being carried back so embarrassingly but forcefully craved in. Shisui didn't exactly care for anyone's opinion. I was, of course, grabbing Shisui for dear life.

We were in the Uchiha compound in a matter of minutes. I was still stuck on Shisui's back, arms hooked around his neck. My head was perched on his shoulder, completely winded from the ride.

A gasp sounded from behind us. I opened my sluggish eyes and peeked. I was pretty sure my face was covered in drool.

I saw Sasuke first. He stood there, jaws opened. Dirt or some dark charcoal smudged from head to toe.

"Anki!" He gasped.

Behind him, there was an older man, matted hair, and frown so deep it must have been implanted. Oh god, don't tell me that's Fugaku-sama.

Their eyes were glued at us. I'm sure it was quite a sight. Shisui was unsuited for the public being half-dressed in a chainmail top. He had Itachi, the damn the clan heir, outrageously thrown over one shoulder―who was possibly passed out. And finally, a bloodied child hanging from his neck. We were a freaking traveling circus.

"Yo." Shisui saluted. "Fugaku-sama. Sasu-chan."

The Uchiha clan leader didn't even faze Shisui. But I cowered under his pointed gaze. He was definitely unimpressed. But Shisui seemed to enjoy their reactions, even smiling at Sasuke's disturbed expression. "I see you've been training hard Sasuke," noting the bandages on his cheek, "Mastered the fireball jutsu yet?"

"Put my brother down!" Sasuke yelped, ignoring his questions.

Itachi groaned, apparently not passed out, and Shisui dropped him to the ground without hesitation. "Ita-chan is fine. Just low on chakra."

Sasuke ran to his brother.

"I see." The older man finally said. "How was training?"

"Ita-chan is great, probably needs to work on building his reserves. Should also get some more rest considering his workload."

Fugaku nodded, arms still crossed. "And who's the child?"

"Oh!" Shisui paused, finally remembering my existence. "She's my cute student!"

I yelped, surprised when he reached over and grabbed me by the collar. He held me out from under my arms like a new toy. He thrusted me right into Fugaku's face as my eyes grew alarmingly wide.

"H-hello?" I meeped. I was too close. Way too close. I can see every line of deepening distaste. The bumps and ridges of his scrunched eyebrows that did not seem to comprehend why I was wearing his clan's clothes. "M-my name is Nara Tsuno. Pleased to meet you Fugaku-sama."

"Hn. Shisui has mentioned you before. How is your training going?"

"Um… Some progress made?"

"Sure." He eyed the oversized pullover, the Uchiha crest bold against the sunset. I shyly smiled. Did I mention I didn't do well in social situations?

"Training accident."

Itachi rubbed his head. It occurred to me that Itachi may have mild motion sickness, who knew? "She's fine. We couldn't replace her clothes."

"Must have been a large accident." Sasuke interrupted, "There's so much blood on her pants."

"No injuries." Itachi moaned, "We checked with a medic just in case."

"Good. I don't want to tell Shikaku his daughter was heavily injured on a trip with my son and Jonin Uchiha."

"Of course, Fugaku-sama." Shisui agreed, "Tsuno is always safe under our protection."

I was freed from Shisui's grip as Fugaku-sama chatted about the logistics of his spar with Itachi. I stood quietly beside him as Sasuke walked towards me.

"You know, Tsuno. You look really odd, right now."

"Please forgive my outfit, dear Sasuke." I rolled my eyes, "I didn't exactly have a spar packed before I visited you."

"No. I mean you're dressed for the wrong clan." He pointed. "Like you need Hyuga robes." His broody obsidian eyes were brown against the sun and I finally realized he was talking about my washed-out pair.

"I think I would prefer Nara coats." I didn't really mind being compared to a Hyuga, but the last time someone got confused it almost cost me my life.

"You do look like a Hyuga in this lightning." Itachi agreed, still a little dazed. "How was your training little brother?"

Sasuke jumped at the opportunity to share his day with Itachi and I welcomed the change in conversation. Hyugas in general was a sore point for me. Sasuke raved about his mastery of the technique, adding his father even praised him for his work. I genuinely admired Sasuke's work ethic, though I did find his relentless bragging a little too much.

"I am definitely stronger than everyone in my class now! Why won't the teachers move me up a class?"

"Well Sasu, it's not always good to graduate early. We're in a time of peace." Itachi calmly explained.

"But Aniki, you were in the upper-level classes when you were six. There's no reason for me to stay if I am stronger than everyone. I am even top of my year!"

"Oh ho. Are you sure you're stronger than everyone?" Shisui was done talking to Fugaku who was nowhere to be seen. "Having good marks doesn't mean you're the strongest." Shisui butted in, " Oh Tsu-chan, I'll take you back home."

"Thanks, Shisui." I was very content not having to walk all over the village in this ridiculous outfit.

"No one is stronger than me," Sasuke affirmed.

Shisui pushed, "What about the Inuzuka or Hyuga in your class? Or the Aburame? Even the Akimichi, Yamanaka, or civilians are not to be underestimated."

Sasuke crossed my arms and sent me a challenging glare. "The Hyuga and Akimichi in my class are too soft. I can knock Kiba and his puppy around all day. I can burn Aburame's bugs with my fireball jutsu. Yamanaka's don't usually master their techniques till graduation, I'll be much stronger by then. Who else is there to worry about? The lazy Nara? The idiot Naruto?"

I cocked my eyebrows in return, returning his challenge. Sure, Sasuke was strong, but his insufferable attitude just doubled my need to kick his ass. How dare he? Especially Naruto. Did he not see how hard Naruto tries to gain his acceptance every day? I'm getting angry thinking about― I frowned, I turned to Shisui. He was facing me with a wild grin plastered across his face.

Oh man, this guy. Don't tell me he just―

"Of course, Sasuke. We'll see about that."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke roused. Itachi who stood observing just shook his head.

"Tsutsu-chan it's time to go!"

I sighed, this was totally like Shisui.

"Shisui. Tell―"

Up, up and away.

"Explain."

"Uh."

Sweat belated across his forehead, eyes twitching like a mad man. Words stuck in his throat unable to escape.

"M-Mam― I."

I can feel his palms start to sweat even though it was late October. The temperature was so low even the slightest wind made me snuggle up my sweater for warmth.

I have never seen Shisui so frightened before.

We were at the entryway of the Nara compound. Greet by none other than my mother who was ready to tear Shisui apart.

"Yoshino-san it's uh― Not as bad as it…"

"Hm…?" Mum smiled dangerously, as it helped him to be any less petrified. Shisui just forgot that he brought home the child of the woman, who ran the Jonin Commander like a dog, covered head to toe in tattered clothes and blood. What reaction was he even expecting in the first place?

"...as it looks." He managed to scrape out.

"Really?"

"Y-yea, I swear!"

"Mum I'm really okay," I mumbled. I was getting really cold standing outside. I couldn't believe Shisui wasn't frozen at this point only wearing chainmail.

"Of course Tsuno, go in and get changed. I'll finish my talk with Uchiha-san here in the living room."

Shisui eyed me pleadingly, his hand gripped mine just a little tighter. Don't go.

I gave him my best smile and patted his hand, then loosening it. This is what you get for finagling a fight for me with Sasuke.

Traitor.

I stuck out my tongue at him. "Mum, can we invite Shisui to dinner?"

His eyes bulged.

"I don't see why not after we have a small heart to heart." She answered. "Now go change, your father will be home soon."

"Yes, Mam!" I ducked under Mum's arms and kicked off my shoes, leaving Shisui to deal with her alone. The last look he shot me almost made me feel bad for him. Almost.

Shika was waiting for me by the corridor. He flinched when he saw me. "You look worse than I thought," noting all the blood, "I understand why Mum went all she-dragon on Shisui now."

"I promised I'm not hurt," I slipped out of Shisui's sweater and kicked off my pants, "Have you seen my sweats?"

"Yea," Shika pointed, "Mum put them in your closet."

I slid open my closet, grabbed my sweats which were neatly folded in a pile. My room looked tidier than it was this morning. Mum definitely cleaned up while I was gone.

"You know Mum would've really torn Shisui apart if you actually came home that injured."

"I'm sure she would have done the same thing if she found me in the hospital." I hummed. "What did you do today?''

"Choji and I practiced his expansion jutsu and my shadow possession jutsu together." Shika had a brush in his hand, tugging the elastic off my hair. "More importantly, what happened to you today?"

"Thanks," I mumbled, feeling his hands going through the knots in my hair taking out the dry blood, "There was a training accident."

He stopped, and even without looking at him directly, I can feel his gaze warm behind my head. "So… you did get hurt."

"I'm okay." I pleaded, "We made a discovery with my kekkei genkai. Shisui took me to a doctor to check if I was really hurt."

Shika brushed my hair silently, I knew he wasn't satisfied. We stayed there silently until Shika got all the blood out of my hair.

"Tsuno."

"Hm?"

"I know you're telling me a bullshit version of the story and you'll tell the same to Mum and Dad if Shisui doesn't reveal anything."

"I know."

"I want the truth later tonight."

"Later," I agreed. Later.

After stepping out of the bath, I found Shisui and Shika together in the living room playing shogi. It doesn't seem like Mum punished Shisui that badly. He's alive, breathing, and once again eating all the senbei in our house.

I also noticed Mum had him changed into one Dad's old shirts, I guess she didn't like him wearing chainmail the entire dinner. It was such an odd scene seeing a proud Uchiha with the Nara crest plaster on his back. Though, Shisui looked much more like a Nara than I did an Uchiha.

I stepped closer and read the board. It was a typical game, it was clear Shisui was no means an avid shogi player, but Shika was also going easy on him.

"Man," Shisui cursed, "I knew playing shogi with a Nara was a bad idea, but I didn't think I would be toyed with by a child a third of my age."

"You're not the worst player I've met."

"Geez, thanks kid."

"Hey Tsu." Shika greeted, snatching Shisui's rook from the board.

"Hey, you two seem to be having fun."

"Yea no kidding." Shisui groaned.

"You might be able to set up a sabaki," a voice chimed in, "but you might need to sacrifice one of your pawns."

"Dad!" Shika and I yelled, for different reasons.

"You're home!" I squealed, giving him a big hug. Dad lifted me up and rubbed his cheek against mine.

"Hey, there kiddo."

"Dad you can't just help him out just when I'm about to check his king."

"Shikaku-sama," Shisui stood.

"Please call me Shikaku, you're my daughter sensei after all."

"Shikaku honey, I would appreciate it if you brought our kids and guests to our dining room," Mum called out from the other room.

"Of course, my dear wife."

Shisui looked a little taken aback at my Dad's open affection. He stood there just watching as my Dad helped Shika clean up the shogi pieces, chatting about possible positions and tactics in the current game. I slipped my hand in his. I wasn't sure what he was expecting from dinner but this is the Nara compound, not the Uchiha.

"Shisu-nii," I tugged his hand, "Let's go eat! I think Mum made unadon tonight."

"Huh? Yea." Shisui blinked and his mouth grew into a wide grin. "Let's go eat."

I giggled cheekily, his smile was like an innocent teenager unburden by death or war. I held his hand tight, I wanted to save this moment.

Yes, let's go eat.

A/N: Oh man, I expected to upload this earlier but life hasn't been easy on me. There were times I found it hard to even get out of bed. I hope you all are doing well and hopefully, my efforts in this story brings a little smile to your day.