Author's Note: HI. So, quick explanation of a new dialogue formatting thing. ANBU sign is going to be written in quotation marks in all caps as a direct written form. AKA each sign marked down as opposed to me translating the entire sentence into a proper one. For example, instead of "Are you okay?" it would be "YOU OKAY?" I do ASL all caps in other fics but translate it to complete English as opposed to keeping it GLOSSed. I decided not to do that here, since ANBU sign is not a complete language in the way ASL is.

Fun Fact: When I looked up the JSL sign for "brother," I discovered that it's literally waving you middle fingers at someone. Incredible.

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Salient

[salient—adjective 1: prominent or conspicuous 2: projecting or pointing outward 3: leaping or jumping 4: (of a beast) represented as leaping. noun 5: a salient angle or part, as the central outward-projecting angle of a bastion or an outward projection in a battle line 6: a landform that extends out beyond its surroundings, as a spur projecting from the side of a mountain]

"Wait, do that one again."

Kakashi nodded, dragging two hooked fingers down his opposite forearm. "This one?"

"Yeah." I copied the movement. "What does that one mean?"

"Chakra," he said, reaching out to adjust my sign a bit. "It also means energy. And power. You're picking this up well."

"Thanks. Why are the signs so broad?"

"It's not a full language; it's a code. And it's meant for missions, not necessarily for full conversations. Of course," —he shrugged— "it's been added to by the people who use it. The official ANBU sign has a very limited number of signs. What we actually use has at least three times as many that we created outselves."

"Like what?"

"Like this one." He put out his hands with one over the other, palms together, and twisted them in opposite directions as he lifted his hands towards his face. "Depending on the context, it can mean beautiful, pretty, handsome. Or, for you, cute."

I wrinkled my nose at him. Then I returned the sign and pointed at him. "I've seen you without your mask," I said pointedly, looking at where said mask was currently loose around his neck. "So I know it's true."

He laughed and then did another sign, this one flicking his right hand over his left elbow.

I frowned, reaching out and guiding his hand through the motion again. "What's this one?"

"It means brat," he said fondly. "Though actually, this is the one Genma and I use for you." He brought his right hand up in a fist with only his pinky extended and drew a half-crescent just below his chin.

"For me?"

"We combine and change signs to make names. This," —he twisted his index finger over his chin— "means red. And this," —hand held out in front of him with pinky up, he gestured downward— "means sister. And so we made this one," —he made the pinky-chin sign again— "to mean Mirai." Then he made another sign, this one with all the fingers on his right hand touching as he turned his hand three times in front of his chest. "This one is for Naruto."

I copied it. "What's your sign?"

Kakashi tapped two fingers twice against the corner of his mouth, palm turned inward.

I did it. He corrected my hand, and I did it again. I nodded. "And Genma's?"

"Like this." He held his left fist up in front of his chest and moved his right index finger around it from outer wrist to his thumb. He gave me a sort of tired smile. "He'll like you using that one."

At that, I straightened and focused on copying it exactly.

Kakashi grinned. "Perfect. How about we take a little break? Let all of that sink in." He ruffled my hair and then got up, picking his way past his ninken to get to the kitchen. "Hungry? It's about lunch time."

I eased my way down from the couch to cuddle up with Bull. "Yeah. I'll eat whatever."

"Trust me, I know. You've somehow put up with my cooking for years, after all."

Leaning into Bull, I opened one eye to look at Kakashi. "It's not that bad. It's mostly edible."

"Mostly," he echoed. "You flatter me. Lucky for you, Gai went on a cooking spree the other day and shoved way too many bento into my fridge."

"Gai-sensei cooks?" I asked, unable to keep the incredulity out of my voice.

"Yeah. He's not half-bad, either."

I hummed in response, watching as he retrieved a few bento and went about warming them up. When there was a noise at his front door, I glanced towards it. "Expecting company?"

Before Kakashi could answer, the door pushed open. "Oi, Kakashi, about—"

Kakashi whipped around. "Genma!" he snapped out in a warning.

The figure in the doorway froze. I stilled, gaze locked on his shoes. "Mirai," he breathed. "Sorry, I—"

I flinched, unable to stop the instinctive reaction.

"Shit." He stepped backwards, door already starting to close.

"No, wait!" I said, lurching to my feet. I still couldn't quite look at his face, but I did manage to lock my stare on his hands. "I need to ask you something. That's— I need to ask you something."

Genma paused. After a moment, Kakashi said, "Come inside." And then, once Genma had stepped in and closed the door, he said, "I'm teaching her ANBU sign."

Genma made a kind of indiscernable sound. Then he moved his hands, making a sign I already knew. He wanted to know what I needed to talk to him about.

I cleared my throat, squaring my shoulders. "Have you ever thought about being a jonin sensei?"

Genma shot through a flurry of signs. I made a noise of surprise, only recognizing a few like a lower Kakashi and no. But overall, I was completely lost. Kakashi cleared his throat. "Slow down, Genma. She can't follow that yet."

Genma paused. I recognized his next sign as sorry. And then he slowly did a couple more signs that I knew as you and speak.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "He says he's thought about it. But that if you're asking for yourself, you're out of luck. I already got Hokage-sama to promise that you'd be one of my genin."

I jerked my head up to look at Kakashi. "What? Really?"

His mask was back on, but I could read his nervous expression. "I mean— Yes."

I grinned and watched as that reaction relaxed something in him. Then I cleared my throat. "I'm not asking me for me." Nervously, I dropped my gaze to Genma's hands again, shoving my own hands in my pockets. "I'm asking for Sai. He'll be graduating early, assuming he passes his exam on Sunday. Which he will." I took a deep breath. "I just got him away from Danzo. Hokage-sama said I could suggest someone, and I want his jonin sensei to be someone I trust."

Genma didn't move for a moment, and Kakashi didn't say anything either. Then Genma signed something else. I recognized you and me but not the sign between them. Confused, I glanced at Kakashi.

Kakashi repeated the sign, putting his hand open over the left side of his chest and then closing it. "This means trust."

"Oh." I frowned. "Of course I trust you," I murmured. I shifted, looking down and to the side. "I know it's— I know I can't look at you yet. And it's not your fault. But Danzo only used your face to trick me because I trust you. And I was able to figure out that he wasn't you because I know you." I hunched my shoulders. "So I'm sorry that I can't look at you yet. But I trust you."

Genma's hands lowered, and his body turned a bit. I didn't look up, but I could imagine that he was exchanging a look with Kakashi. They tended to be very good at silent discussions. Then he used two familiar signs—me and teach—before pausing hesitantly. I heard a huff, the kind I knew meant Genma was smiling, and he brought his hands together infront of him, fingers pointed down with the back of his right hand in the palm of his left, and pushed his hands downward.

I blinked. "What?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Pretty sure that Genma just made a sign for Sai. Look." And then, when I looked up at him, he brought his hands together in front of him like Genma initially had. "This means tiny. And this," —he put one hand at each shoulder and then dragged them downward, index fingers bent and his other fingers forming a fist— "means student."

"Oh. Oh!" I whipped back around to stare at Genma's hands again. "So you'll do it? I mean, Hiruzen has to approve, and I said I'd send you his way if you wanted to do it, but—"

Genma interrupted me, signing yes.

My shoulders slumped in relief, feeling lighter now. "Thank you."

"Are you nervous?"

"No."

Yoshino tilted her head at me, arms crossed. "You look like you're about to keel over from anxiety, and I don't appreciate being lied too."

I flushed, drawing myself up. "I'm not—" I ducked my head, refocusing on moving the fresh melonpan to the serving dish. "I just haven't seen them in a long time."

She hummed at that. "True. And Naruto-kun dragged someone new in about a month ago, too."

"Someone new?" I turned a frown to her. "Nato didn't mention anyone."

Yoshino just smiled and then pressed the dish into my hands. "They should be here soon."

I glanced over my shoulder, listening. "They are. Thank you." Taking the melonpan, I moved outside to find the group approaching.

"Mirai-chan!" Ino squealed.

She was the first to reach me, at a full tilt run, and I has to lift the dish up to protect the food. "Careful!"

"Whoops!" Despite that, Ino threw her arms around me. "Just wait until you see! I perfected hakka-gu, so I'm basically super strong now."

"Tch," Kiba said, pouting. "I can do gokakyu, and that's way harder than hakka-gu."

"Yeah, and I had to learn mizurappa just to put out the fires you two kept starting," Sakura interrupted. "Besides, we all learned new jutsu to show Mirai. It wasn't just you."

Kiba snickered. "Everyone but Ami."

"Hey!" Naruto said, arm out in front of the girl he was standing next to. "That's not fair! Ami-chan hasn't been around long enough to learn one!"

I blinked at the girl. She must be the new person that Yoshino had mentioned. I set the melonpan dish down on the porch and then moved forward, extending my hand. "Hi. Ami, is it?"

She eyed me for a second, and when I thought about it I did remember her from our class. But my most distinct memory of those sharp eyes and choppy purple hair was from when I'd given her a bloody nose. I faltered.

"Himura," she said, lifting her nose and snatching up my hand to shake it sharply once. "Himura Ami. Naruto-kun said you weren't coming back."

"Oh." I blinked, chest twisting. "Well, I am back. You weren't part of this group when I left."

"Tch. Well, Naruto-kun decided to drag me in. So I figured why not."

Given the way Hinata seemed almost afraid to look at her and the way Sakura and Ino were glaring at her, I could guess at a couple possible reasons for why not. But nevertheless, I gave her a smile. "I'm sure you'll catch up in no time."

"Ano, Mirai-chan?" Hinata asked, stepping up. "I'm, I'm glad that you're back."

"So am I," I said, pulling her into a hug. I looked past her to find Neji watching. When I met his gaze, he straightened up and squared his shoulders.

"Yosh! Mirai-chan! You have returned!"

Pulling back from Hinata, I turned towards Lee. "I'll be back at the Academy on—" I froze. "Oh, no."

"That's what I said," Tenten said, stepping up and pouting. "But he wouldn't listen to me, and he was just so happy and loud when he got them."

"Gai-sensei gave me it!" Lee said, striking a pose to properly show off his green uniform.

"You even cut your hair," I said weakly, staring at his bowl-cut. "That's, that's— You look like Gai-sensei."

He beamed. "Thank you!"

"Right."

"Oh, Mirai-chan!" Sakura said, bringing her hands together. "Look!"

And then she disappeared in a shunshin.

I turned, tracking her chakra signature to where she stopped past the shogi house. "That's great! Where'd you learn that?"

"Izumo-sensei taught it to me," she said proudly. "And we talked to Iruka-sensei, too, since we started doing tree-walking with Ami. And he looked at Lee's stuff and said that he might be able to do it too."

"Oh?" I glanced towards Lee. "Tree-walking?"

"Yes! I talked to Gai-sensei," Lee announced. "They said I won't ever be able to do ninjutsu at all due to my broken coils. But! With enough hard work, I should be able to tree-walk! Maybe even water-walk!" Then he gave everyone a wave and then took off running for the trees. "C'mon! I want to practice!"

My storage scroll heavy, I looked around the now-empty apartment. Part of me hurt, knowing that I wouldn't ever be back here. It'd been my home for a long time, and I'd been excited to come back after leaving Danzo, but I wouldn't actually be returning there after all, it seemed. So I stepped out, closing the door behind me.

A familiar chakra buzzed against my senses, and I lit up, turning towards it. "Izumo!"

He paused at the top of the stairs. Then he grinned, shoulders slumped with exhaustion. "Mirai-chan! I'd heard you were back!"

I considered him for a moment. "You look beat. What have you been doing?"

"Oh, this?" He looked down at his dirt and sweat stained clothes, pulling at his shirt. "Training. Just trying to get my levels up good enough for the exam."

"Exam?" I echoed. I stepped forward, eyes wide. "Izumo, are you taking the Jonin Exam? I didn't know you wanted to do that!"

"Ah, not the full exam," he said, reaching up to rub his neck only to wince. "Just tokubetsu. My information gathering levels are already good enough to justify it, but Hokage-sama said I need to improve a bit more overall in order to take the Tokubetsu Exam."

"Still. I didn't know you wanted to be a tokubetsu either."

"It's semi-recent. I've liked working with Sakura-chan. Figured if I wanted to get genin for real, I'd have to be the right rank for it."

"You're gonna do amazing."

"I know."

I grinned. "I was giving you a compliment and encouraging you. Typically, the right response for that is to say thank you, but that works too." I opened the door, waving him inside ahead of me.

Sai stepped in and stopped, looking at me with a frown. "Thank you," he corrected.

I beamed and reached out. Sai froze, but he didn't move or complain as I ruffled his hair. "C'mon. Iruka-sensei should be ready for you." I turned and led him down the hallway. When we reached the classroom, I pushed the door open. "Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka looked up. "Mirai-chan! Sai-kun!" He straightened from the papers he'd been working on, getting to his feet. He beckoned us forward, arm extended.

I stepped up, wrapping my arms around him and smiling when I felt him wrap his arm around me in return. "Konichiwa, Iruka-sensei." I pulled back, looking up at him. "I'll be back in class tomorrow."

He smiled. "I look forward to it. Sai-kun, are you ready for your exam?"

Sai snapped to attention. "Hai, Iruka-sensei."

I grinned, backing away to the door. "Good luck, Sai! I'll be here when you're done!"

Sai nodded to me. Iruka gave me a wave. I closed the door, shutting the room off again. I could have shunshined, could have gotten to my destination faster, but I chose instead to enjoy the walk to the Hyuuga. Natsu was waiting for me at the gate.

"Uzumaki-sama," she greeted, bowing. "She's meditating while she waits. This way." She turned and led the way into the compound.

Hanabi was sitting on a wooden board, floating atop the water as she meditated just like I'd taught her. I stopped at the edge of the water. "Konichiwa, Hanabi-chan."

She opened her eyes and blinked at me. Then she smiled widely. "Mirai-sensei!" She caught herself, clearing her throat, and tried again. "Mirai-sensei," she said again, calmer this time. "I've been studying."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"I disagree."

Hiashi paused. He inclined his head in acknowledgement. "That's acceptable, of course. There is no one answer to what standard of political theory and action is the best, whether practically or ethically."

"Well that's good, because I disagree with your view on acceptable sacrifices."

"Sometimes, hard choices have to be made."

"I know," I said, glancing down at my hands that felt stained with Mikoto and Fugaku's blood. "But there's a difference between someone dying in a fight for a purpose and someone being sacrificed. I know exactly what it does to the sacrifice and those left behind."

Hiashi watched me for a moment, his tea abandoned for the time being. "Are you speaking of yourself?" he asked carefully, deliberately. "Or of Neji?"

I paused. I was talking about Sasuke. And Mikoto and Fugaku and Itachi. And all of my mistakes from when I had agreed with him. But I couldn't tell him that. "I've spoken with Neji," I said, matching the caution in my tone to his.

"I see. And you believe you understand the situation?"

"Not at all. Neji was five, and so I doubt he grasps what happened in a way that allows him to accurately communicate it to me. But I do have my thoughts on the matter, yes."

"And those would be?"

I took a sip of my tea to buy myself a moment to think. Then I set it down and folded my hands in my lap. "I would never sacrifice my brother. Any of them. Not for the clan, because clan is family and they're family. Family are those I choose for it, even if I drag them into it kicking and screaming. And if what you fight and self-sacrifice for isn't family, then is it worth it?"

"And where does the Village factor into this equation?"

"My family lives here, and so it's home. Of course I'd fight and self-sacrifice for my home. But I wouldn't sacrifice family. I'd die first."

Hiashi was silent for a time. He filled the quiet by refilling my tea for me. And then his own. He busied himself in studying me before finally nodding. "Hizashi felt the same way."

"Does Neji know that?"

Another sip of tea. "I would like to extend an invitation to yourself and your family," he said instead of answering my question. "We're tending the gardens this afternoon, and it has been a while since you've joined us."

I smiled and polished off the rest of my tea. "Thank you. We'll be there."

I'd been sitting on the swing for roughly ten minutes, splitting my attention between my seal work and Sai's chakra. When I felt him leaving the Academy, I straightened and sealed my notes away in my forearm. Just as I hopped up from the swing, Sai stepped outside. He stared around blankly, and I grinned at the hitai-ate clutched in his hand. "Sai!" I called.

He snapped his gaze to me. And then he walked forward, arm outstretched. "I passed."

"That you did! I'm proud of you." I reached for his hitai-ate but didn't take it. "Are you wanting me to do something with this?" I asked, confused.

"I asked Iruka-sensei about it," he said. "He told me that it's tradition to have your most precious person tie it on you for the first time. So I decided to ask you, since I don't have anyone else."

"Oh." My heart twisted, and I gently took the hitai-ate. "Of course I'll tie it for you, Sai. But I'm not the only one you have. You're an Uzumaki now, you know."

"That is the name Iruka-sensei used."

"Well, yeah, because it's your name. And it's Naruto's name. And Sasuke is my brother, which makes him your brother too. Plus, the entire Study Group. And the Nara wouldn't have kept you for a year if they didn't care about you."

"They did that for you," he countered.

"They did it for us. 'Cause we're family. Like it or not."

He blinked at me. Then his voice was soft, almost small, when he said, "I don't know what that means."

"That's okay." I reached out and combed his hair with my fingers. "Hold still." I pressed the back of the plate to his forehead and did a shuffle around to stand behind him so I could tie it properly. "There we go. How does that feel?" I moved back around to face him.

"Fine. Heavier than I thought. Like a paperweight."

I grinned. "It's a paperweight that you earned." I offered him my hand. "The boys are at Kiba's. We need to have lunch, but afterward we've been invited to garden with the Hyuuga."

"Garden?" He stared at my hand.

"Garden. It's worth a try. Who knows, you might like it. It's a nice hobby to have." I waved my hand at him. "Do you want to hold my hand while we walk?"

"Why would I do that?"

I shrugged. "Physical contact is nice for some people. I like it. Do you?"

"I don't know." At that, he put his hand in mine. "Hobby?"

I lowered our hands and started leading him towards the Inuzuka Compound. "A hobby. Something you like to do to relax."

"Do you have one?"

I considered that. "I like being with my friends. And family. I also like to meditate. I'm not great at gardening, but I do like doing it with the Hyuuga when I'm invited."

"Is ramen a hobby?"

That pulled a laugh out of me. "I'm guessing you're thinking about Naruto? I don't know. Maybe ramen can be a hobby."

"Ah." His hand shifted in mine, as if he wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do. "I draw."

"Oh? I haven't seen you do that before. Do you do it a lot?"

"I don't have anything for it. I ran out of supplies."

I threw a frown at him. "Well, that won't do. I'll pick some up for you."

He nodded. "I can practice my jutsu that way too."

"Your jutsu?" I thought back to the ink creatures he used to fight in the original story. Did he already know that? At nine?

"Yes. I had started to learn it, but without practice, I haven't progressed."

"Ah." I smiled and reached over with my free hand to ruffle his hair above his hitai-ate. "Well, in that case, I'll get you plenty of supplies."

"Mirai!" Kiba yelled, crashing into me when we reached the Inuzuka. I caught him with my free arm, keeping myself up with chakra.

"Ohayo, Kiba-kun." I moved my hand to his head and messed his hair up roughly.

"Hey, ow!" He ducked away, grinning. And then he saw Sai. "Hey, no way! Why are you wearing that?" he demanded, pointing at Sai's forehead.

"Sai!" Naruto squealed, running over. "You made it!" He threw himself at Sai, hugging him.

Sai stiffened, eyes widening. He threw me a desperate look. I tilted my head at him. "It's just a hug," I murmured. Then I cleared my throat. "Nato, let's give Sai some breathing room. Is dinner ready?"

"Ready and waiting!" Tsume yelled from inside. "Get in here!"

"Sai-kun," Hinata gasped. "You, you have a headband?"

Sai reached up and touched his hitai-ate. "Yes."

Neji frowned. "When did that happen?"

"This morning!" I said, grinning. "He'll get his sensei tomorrow."

"Oh." Hinata blinked. "Are, are we celebrating?"

Sai cocked his head to the side. "Celebrating?"

"We should do it Saturday," Sasuke cut in. "Instead of Study Group."

I shot him a look. "Are you wanting to skip out on Study Group, Ke-kun?"

"Well, no." He frowned. "But we're already all there, right?"

"True." I smiled. "It's decided, then. I'll work on setting it up as a party."

"Can I help?" Hinata asked quietly. "I can talk to Choji-kun. About dessert. And Ino-chan can help me choose flowers from the garden."

"That would be great, Hinata-chan. What do you think, Sai?"

Sai blinked. "I've never been to a party."

"Then we'll make it a great one. For now, though, we're here to garden. I can show you—"

"Mirai-sama?"

I blinked. "What?" I jerked my gaze to Neji. "Since when do you call me that, Gargoyle?"

"You are a clan head."

"I suppose. But you don't need to call me that."

"I respect you," he said, as if that was proper explanation. "I would like to garden with you today, if I may."

"Ah." I glanced at Sai.

Hinata spoke up, voice only a little shaky. "I can show Sai-kun what we're doing."

"That would be great, Hinata-chan." I gave Sai a bump with my shoulder and then turned to Neji, reaching out to curl my hand around his elbow. "Lead the way, Neji-kun."

He nodded and started walking, but he didn't say anything. We stopped at row of bushes, and he handed off a set of pruning shears to me. I got to work, glancing at him occasionally. Finally, I murmured, "Neji, did you need something from me? Or did you just want to work with me?"

His gaze flicked to me for just a second. Then he nodded. "Hinata-sama bested Hanabi-sama in a spar for the first time last month."

I straightened. "Really? Neither of them mentioned anything to me. I didn't realize that Study Group was helping Hinata so much."

He hesitated and then slowly said, "I have been . . . training with Hinata-sama. Outside of scheduled group times."

I looked him over, considering how much effort he'd clearly put into admitting that, let alone actually doing it. I gave him a smile. "I'm glad to hear it. It's been going well?"

Neji nodded, frowning. And then he turned to me, bowing low at the waist. "Mirai-sama, I want to apologize for my behavior at our first meeting."

"Your—" I blinked. "What? Neji, it's okay. I wasn't exactly the nicest there either." I frowned and dropped the shears. Then I reached out an put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to do this. Straighten up." When he did so, I smiled and made sure he saw it, despite the furrow in his brow. "I'm just glad that we're friends now."

"Neji. Mirai-dono."

We both looked up in surprise to find Hiashi standing there. Neji immediately bowed his head. I tilted mine. "Hiashi-dono."

"I would like a word. With both of you." After a pause, he added, "In regards to our discussion earlier."

I snapped up straight. "Really?" I gasped out. Then I squared my shoulders. "Of course. Neji-kun?"

"Hai, Hiashi-sama."

"Come." Hiashi turned, already walking. I brushed off my knees and followed, Neji close at my side. We moved inside to the tea room.

Ko was waiting there, but Hiashi waved a hand to dismiss him. "You may go. Give us privacy."

Ko bowed and stepped from the room, closing the door behind himself. Hiashi motioned us forward. I knelt at the low tea table, waving for Neji to take the spot beside me. Hiashi knelt across from us and picked up the kettle. As he poured us tea, he said, "Five years ago, Kumogakure attempted to capture my daughter and return her with them to their Village."

Neji stilled beside me, stare trapped on his knees. I glanced at him just to check that he was breathing. Even then, I wasn't sure. His chakra had curled in on itself painfully tight.

"I killed the Kumogakure shinobi in defense of my daughter. This, you know." Hiashi withdrew a scroll from his robes and held it out. "Ultimately, Hizashi died for my actions. But he left this behind for you."

Neji didn't move. His hands curled into fists on his knees. I looked to Hiashi and reached for the scroll, taking it from him. I offered it to Neji and, when he didn't take it, murmured, "Do you want me to open it?"

Neji's stiff gaze lifted to the scroll. He nodded. "Please."

"Okay." I slid my finges under the wax seal, loosening it from the scroll. Then I unrolled it.

Neji's breath caught. He reached out, taking the scroll from me and looking it over desperately. I looked away to give him privacy and reached for my tea. I already knew the real story, after all. I knew that Hizashi had chosen to take his brother's place.

I also knew that Konoha should have never let Kumo demand a body in the first place.

Neji's chakra shuddered just a second before I heard him make a sort of smothered sound. Lowering my tea, I glanced at him. He was gripping the scroll tightly enough that the paper was crinkling and threatening to tear beneath his fingers, and tears were gathering in his eyes. He tried to blink them away, raising his gaze to Hiashi in confusion.

And then Hiashi, still sitting seiza, placed his hands in front of himself and bowed low, forehead touching the ground. "Hizashi wanted you to have this and to know the truth. I kept it from you, and for that I apologize."

Neji stared at him with wide eyes. I reached over and carefully detached the scroll from him before he could rip it. He didn't even look at me as I did so. As I started rolling the scroll back up, Hiashi straightened and sat back. He remained quiet as he refilled my tea. And then he got to his feet. "Mirai-dono," he murmured. He paused. "Neji." With that as his farewell, he left the room and slid the door shut quietly behind himself.

I shifted from my seiza, turning towards Neji and sitting applesauce instead. "Here," I said, careful to keep my tone soft. I took his hand up in mine.

Neji flinched, and I stilled. Then I moved deliberately, obviously, as I pressed the scroll into his hand and folded his fingers around it. "You should hold on to this."

He tightened his grip on it. "What did you talk about?"

"Hmm?"

"He said . . . it had to do with your discussion from earlier. What were you talking about?"

"Ah." I picked up my tea and sipped at it. "Hiashi-dono is helping me with diplomacy lessons, since I'm a political figure, now. A council member. We were discussing political theory and the idea that sacrifices are sometimes required. I said I would never sacrifice one of my brothers, or any member of my family. He said that your father felt the same way."

Neji didn't say anything to that. He opened his hand, staring at the scroll.

"Do you want me to stay here? Or do you want me to go?"

He snapped his gaze up to me, wide-eyed. "I . . . ." His brow furrowed with confusion, and he turned the scroll over in his hands. "Yes."

I raised an eyebrow. "Yes, you want me to . . . ?"

"Stay. Please, Mirai-sama."

I smiled. "I'd be happy to."

"What did you think, Sai?"

"It was fine. I don't think I liked it as much as Sasuke."

Naruto snorted. "I don't think anyone liked it as much as Sasuke."

"Oh? Did you like gardening, Ke-kun?"

Sasuke looked up at me with stars in his eyes. "Do you think we can make some when we move?"

"Make some?"

"Gardens! At the Compound. Could we do that?"

"I don't see why not." As we reached the edge of the Nara lands, I ruffled Sasuke's hair. "Alright. I might be back for dinner, but I'm not sure. I have to go see Niisan."

Naruto eyed me. "You're coming back?"

"Of course. I'll be back tonight. I just don't know when."

He squinted at me. And then he nodded and turned, grabbing Sai and Sasuke. "C'mon! Let's get Shikamaru to play Ninja with us."

I watched them go for a moment. As I started to turn away, movement from the shogi house caught my eye. Shikaku waved me over a second time, not looking up. I shunshined up to the door and, putting a hand on the frame, leaned inside.

"Make sure you're not back too late. We'll want you in here."

I paused, waiting for more explanation. Instead of saying anything else, Shikaku moved one of his pieces. I looked to Yoshino, but she was frowning at the board. "Is there a specific time you need me back by?"

Yoshino was the one to answer that. "You're going back to the Academy in the morning, so you shouldn't be out too late anyway. Don't think I don't know that you haven't been sleeping."

I pulled back. "I— When do you need me back?" I asked again instead of addressing that.

She huffed. "Right. Let's say nine. That's a good time."

That gave me a little under five hours. That should be plenty of time. "Alright. I'll be here. Anything else?"

"You're going to see Kakashi-kun?" Shikaku asked.

"I— Why do you two call him that? I've never heard anyone else call him that."

"I used to call him Kakashi-chan, but he got fed up with that when he was around four."

"That's— Okaaay," I said slowly when it was obvious that a further explanation wasn't forthcoming. "Yeah, I'm going to see Niisan. Genma first, actually." I frowned. I'd never really had to ask for permission to go anywhere before, but something about the way they were acting made me hesitant. "That's okay, right?"

"Go for it," Shikaku said. "Tsumi."

Yoshino squinted at the board. "Huh. What does that put us at?"

"Seventy-two." He started putting the pieces back up. "To three. For this year."

She narrowed her gaze at him. "You don't have to sound so smug about it."

I watched as they reset the game and started again, seemingly having forgotten about me. So I turned and shunshined away. I got to Genma's house and danced my fingers nervously over my forearm, standing in front of his door.

You're stalling.

Shut up.

I knocked. There wasn't an answer for a while. While I was hesitating over knocking again, the door finally opened.

"Pumpkin?" And then there was an audible click, as if he'd just remembered and snapped his mouth shut.

I didn't flinch. Keeping my gaze locked on his chest—he was wearing black today, not blue—I said, "I need to talk to you. I know that we need Kakashi to translate since I don't . . . I don't know it well enough yet, but some of what I want to talk about is something I promised to keep a secret for you."

He didn't respond for a moment. Then he made a move—I recognized it as the sign for Kakashi, just shifted down away from his mouth so I could see it—and then a tap and drag of his thumb down the center of his chest—know.

I frowned. "Kakashi knows?"

He curled his index finger into what I knew was supposed to indicate a question mark. Then he did a sign I didn't know at all: index and middle finger hooked and moving in a circle over the back of his left hand three times. I copied the move, staring at it. "Anko?" I asked cautiously. When he confirmed that for me, I said, "So it'd be okay? For me to bring Kakashi in?"

He flicked another yes at me.

I nodded. "Okay. I'll, I'll be right back, then." Before I could stop and second guess myself, I turned and shunshined away.

When I got to Kakashi's apartment, I couldn't feel his chakra inside, and so I wasn't surprise when my knock was answered by Pakkun. "Hey, kid," he said. "He's training."

"Oh. Do you know where?"

Pakkun waved a paw, already moving back into the apartment. "Who knows. He switches it up all the time. Try One. Or Three. He likes Nineteen and Fifty-Six, too."

"Right. Wow. Thanks for the help, Pakkun."

He hopped up onto the couch and curled up. "You're welcome."

I reached out and closed the door. I'd just have to look, then. It didn't take me long to get to the front gate. Training Ground One wasn't far from that, but Kakashi wasn't there. I huffed, staring around. "Fine, then," I muttered. I took a deep breath to center myself and closed my eyes.

When I listened, there was so much chakra. I focused in on what I could feel off to my left instead. There was a lot of chakra that way too, but nowhere near the same level as what I could feel from Konoha. I sorted through it all until my head ached. And then I felt the cold chakra that matched the one pressed into my shoulder.

I turned towards it and shunshined. It took several more to land me close enough that I could feel his chakra up against my skin. I arrived at the edge of the training ground—Nineteen—and froze at the scene. It occurred to me that I'd never actually seen Kakashi fight. I knew I should get his attention so that we could go to Genma, but his chakra was roaring in my veins and I'd never seen a water attack that big.

"Holy shit."

Kakashi's gaze snapped to me from all the way on the other side of Naka River, and I wondered just how good his hearing was. His sharingan was out, and it narrowed on me. He halted halfway through another set of hand signs and disappeared. I tried to track his chakra, but he was just a bit too fast and appeared right in front of me before I could prepare myself. "Pup," he greeted, immediately reaching out and snagging my arm to keep me from falling over. "Did you need something?"

I curled my fingers into his sleeve. "Sorry to interrupt your training."

"No, no, it's okay." He used his free hand to wipe at his face with his sleeve. "I should probably be done, anyway. Talk to me."

I nodded. "I . . . I need to talk to Genma. He's waiting."

"Okay. Up you go." He hefted me onto his shoulders. Then the world blurred into a series of shunshin.

When we arrived at Genma's door, Kakashi set me down. Instead of knocking, he twisted the knob and pushed his way inside. "Genma," he greeted, guiding me in with a hand on my shoulder.

There was tea waiting at the table. Relieved, I sat down and picked up a cup. Sipping at it, I glanced at Genma's hands when they moved. All of those signs, I recognized.

"WHAT TALK YOU NEED?"

I straightened. "I'm sorry. Really. Because I said it before I realized that he wasn't you because I thought I was talking to you and—"

"STOP. SLOW."

I took a deep breath. Then I sipped at my tea again to give myself even more time.

You're stalling.

Please stop reminding me of that.

"I'm pretty sure Danzo knows about you and Anko," I forced out. I watched Genma's hands drop. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I thought it was you, and I wanted to know why—"

"Mirai," Kakashi said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Breathe."

I caught my breath.

"Out and in," he said, grip tightening. "You need to do both."

I forced myself to do as he said, unable to look away from where Genma's hands were still at his sides. "Sorry," I murmured again.

Genma's hands finally lifted, flashing through a series of quick signs.

"He says you need to stop apologizing," Kakashi spoke up. "I think he's also having a panic attack, but he's managing."

I heard a growl and the beginnings of a bitten-off curse. Genma's fists balled up. Then he did three more signs. No, you, and then one I didn't know where he put his two fists together and then snapped them apart.

"Not your fault," Kakashi murmured. "He knows that. We both know that." He was clearly deviating from what Genma had said, adding onto it, but the other jonin didn't stop him. "You're a child, Pup. I know you're smart and advanced, but you're a child, and Danzo has years of experience in manipulating people."

That was the problem, though, wasn't it? What was I now? Was I sixteen? Was I twenty-five? Either way, I wasn't a child. I frowned. "I'm not—"

"He got to me, Mirai. He's gotten to others. Chunin, jonin. Don't put so much pressure on yourself to be better than shinobi who have years or decades more experience."

I tapped my fingers on my cup. Then I looked up at Kakashi. "I'm not a child," I said, making sure to get it all out this time.

Kakashi's expression didn't betray anything. His gaze flicked to Genma. "He wants to know what else you wanted to talk about."

I snapped my gaze back to Genma's hands. I shook my head. "It's not . . . none of it is as important. I didn't say anything else about you. I just— I can talk about it another time."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Genma's hands hesitated. Then he made a sign I didn't know, moving his flat right hand over the back of his left hand in three circles like he'd done earlier for a different sign, and then pointing at me. I frowned.

"He's saying he loves you."

"Oh. I love you too, Genma-nii," I murmured. Then I straightened, easing into a smile. "Wait." I did Anko's sign again. "That's what that part is?"

Genma huffed, and Kakashi chuckled. "Genma panicked to make a sign for her a few months ago when I found out. Don't think she even knows what he made for her yet. Now c'mon." He finally pulled out the chair next to me and sat down. "Don't put it off. Tell us about the other stuff."

I stared down at my empty cup and put it down. Genma reached across the table, and I stilled. He slowed before carefully picking it up. He refilled it and set it back down in front of me.

I cleared my throat. "He said a lot of things. I just . . . want to separate what of it was real from what wasn't. If that's okay?"

"YES."

I sipped at the tea. I flicked my gaze briefly to Kakashi and then back to Genma's hands. "He told me you were one of Minato's guards."

A pause. "YES."

"Cutting it close," was the way Shikamaru greeted me.

"Be nice," Yoshino ordered. Then she raised an eyebrow at me. "Did you eat?"

I nodded, sinking to the floor next to Shikamaru with a sigh. I hadn't even done any training, but I was exhausted from my conversation with Genma and I had long since started developing a headache. I focused in on Shikaku and Yoshino's game. "Have you been playing this entire time?"

"No." Shikaku moved a piece. "Tsumi. We finished our earlier one and just came back to a new one."

Yoshino huffed. When Shikaku moved to set the board back up, she said, "No. I'm done. Mirai-chan, why don't you and Maru play a game?"

My head still hurt, but shogi was shogi. Eagerly, I scrambled over to take Yoshino's spot.

Shikamaru hauled himself up with a groan, meandering over. Once Shikaku moved out of the way, Shikamaru slumped down. "You first," he said, moving to set the pieces back up.

I nodded, considering my options. I pushed a pawn. "What was the reason for me needing to be here?"

"Oh, right." Shikamaru dug a small, cloth-wrapped object from his pocket and threw it at me. "Put this on."

Shikaku snorted, and Yoshino snickered before calling Shikamaru's name admonishingly. I squinted at it and started untying the cloth. "What is this?" It was a plain cardboard box, but whatever was in it had a bit of weight. I opened it up.

Inside was a bed of green cloth, cushioning a necklace. I lifted the necklace out and up to study it. It was heavier than it looked like it should be. Thirteen dark stones, polished and marbled black and grey. Spaced apart on the solid chain they were strung along. There was no obvious clasp. I turned it over and one of the stones caught my eye. I smoothed my thumb across it, focusing on the kanji etched into its surface.

"Intelligent?" I asked aloud. "What's this for?"

"Intelligent?" Yoshino asked, starting to grin. "Adorable. How perfect."

"You expected something else?" Shikaku asked, sounding as lazy as ever. But he was watching me sharply.

I raised an eyebrow, sliding my stare to Shikamaru. "Any particular reason you're giving me jewelry, Maru?"

He huffed. "It's tradition. You start with one. Every time you have something you appreciate most about the person, you add it. And you can't get married until after all thirteen are full."

I blinked. Then I started down at the necklace. "Oh. So it's a betrothal necklace?" I tilted my head to the side and started grinning. "Aw, you appreciate my intelligence, Maru?"

"Tch. Don't make a big deal about it. You have to be smart to be a Nara."

I caught myself and then switched my gaze to Shikaku. "This makes me a Nara, doesn't it?"

He just nodded once. Next to him, Yoshino was smiling, but there was worry in her eyes.

I lifted my chin. "Good. How do I put this on?"

Yoshino's smile grew and she moved forward to kneel in front of me. "Clasp is always at the first kanji." She took it from me to show me, pressing her index finger into the spot where the chain met the rock. "You push your chakra in to grip the chain and pull it out. Then the same in reserve to put it back together." She demonstrated quickly, unlatching it and then putting it back. "I'll do it for you this first time." She undid it and leaned forward to fit it around my neck. "You know, it took Shikaku two weeks to fill mine out."

I snapped my gaze to hers. "Two weeks?" I glanced at Shikaku, who was suddenly finding the ceiling very interesting. "Is that normal?"

Yoshino laughed. "Hardly. Us Nara are a slow and steady bunch. Usually, it takes at least a year. Often several." She latched the necklace and let it settle against my chest. "There we go."

I reached up to feel it, moving it around so that the stone with the kanji sat in front. It was big, but I figured that was so I could grow into it. When I was older, it would probably fit perfectly around the base of my neck. "Where's yours, then?"

"Every time your betrothed has something new to add, you take it off to give it to them so they can do so. During the marriage ceremony, you take it off for the last time. It's a symbol that they appreciate everything about you." She nodded off to the side in the direction of the house. "Mine is framed in our room. I'll let you look at it sometime."

"Ah." Running my fingers over the kanji, I said, "So what I'm hearing is that the Nara Clan is secretly full of a lot of sentimental, romantic saps. Is that right?"

Shikaku and Shikamaru both made sounds of protest. But Yoshino looked delighted. "That's right. And you're one of us, now."

"So . . . do I call you Kaachan and Touchan now?" I teased. "Or will he have a conniption, like when I call him Shikaku-sama?"

"I do not," Shikaku cut in. "But I wouldn't mind."

I faltered. Shikamaru snorted out a laugh, and I shot him a look. "Shut up, Maru," I muttered, reaching out and moving another piece. "Make your move."

When we reached the Tower, Sai turned to us. "I'm supposed to go to the Hokage's office," he said, pointing upward. "To finish my paperwork. And meet my sensei."

I reached up to needlessly adjust his hitai-ate. "Alright. You'll like him."

Sai frowned a bit. "You know who my sensei is?"

"Know him?" I grinned. "I chose him. He's one of my favorite people."

"Favorite people," Sai echoed. "Do you have a lot of those?"

I considered that. "I suppose. But I'm very selective, I promise. And I wouldn't stick you with just any teacher." I gently pushed him towards the stairs. "Go ahead. And tell him I say hi."

"I will."

As Sai left, I glanced back at the others only to find that Sasuke and Naruto were already gone. Shikamaru waved towards the door. "They saw Kiba and chased him inside."

"Of course they did." As we walked in, I said, "I think I'll go to the Uchiha Compound later. See what I can do as far as starting to get it ready for us to move. Sasuke wants us to arrange some gardens there, too."

"Ino'd probably like to help with that." He nodded. "I'll tell the Study Group to come help after the Academy."

I looked at him incredulously. "You're just going to tell everyone what to do? Exactly what kind of leader were you for them while I was gone?"

"An effective one," he defended.

"Alright, I won't argue with that. Good morning, Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka looked up. "Mirai-chan!" He waved me over. "I'd like a moment, if I could."

"Of course." I stepped around Shikamaru to let him keep going up to our desk. Standing in front of Iruka, I folded my hands behind my back. "Do you need something?"

"Ah, well, I'm sorry I wasn't able to speak with you yesterday."

"You didn't have to. Thank you for being the one to do Sai's exam."

"I was happy to. But it had been a long time since I had seen you, and I would have liked to catch up." He gave me a soft, agitated smile. "I've been worried, after all. I thought we might talk after class today. Would you like tea? Ramen?"

"Tea would be nice."

He nodded. "Good. I'd like you to wait for me after class, then. Go ahead and take your seat."

"Am I keeping you from something?" Iruka asked as we walked to the tea house.

I shook my head. "Nothing urgent. I told everyone to wait for me to be done, then we can head over to the Uchiha Compound together." And then, before he could say anything that matched the immediate concern on his face, I said, "We're going to move to the house Shisui left me, since the apartment is too cramped now that Sai's with us. We're staying with Shikamaru for now, but we can't impose on them forever."

"Shisui-san . . . left you a house?" he asked carefully.

"You didn't know? Sorry, I just figured that you might have heard it from Nato or Sasuke, since they're pretty loud about it. Shisui had me as sole beneficiary in his will. And the house has enough room, so Sasuke doesn't have to go back to his."

"Ah." He held the door open for me, letting me into the tea house ahead of him. As we sat, he said, "Am I allowed to know where you were?"

I thought about that, drumming my fingers on the table. "It wouldn't do any good," I finally said. "And it doesn't matter now, because I'm back."

"And . . . this?" he asked carefully, reaching up to run a thumb across his cheek.

I reached up and touched my scar. I took a moment to glance pointlessly across the menu. I already knew what I wanted, after all. Finally, I settled on, "A misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?"

I smiled. "Yeah. I wanted someone to leave me alone, and he didn't quite get that." I looked up at the approaching waitress. "Bancha, please."

I'd sent a clone to the Nara to get the others while I got a headstart for the Uchiha Compound, but it turned out to be pointless when I got there and found that the Study Group had apparently already gotten to work. I frowned. Then I dismissed my kage bunshin, getting a rush of memories in return. "You didn't wait for me."

"I apologize, Mirai-sama. Shikamaru argued that you would try to do most of the work yourself if you got here first."

I stared at where Neji was pouring out some kind of liquid onto the stained street. Then I looked over my shoulder. I'd been here a few times since the Massacre, and I knew that there were bloodstains missing. "I question the sanity of any shopkeeper who sells blood-dissolving chemicals to children." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Where's Sasuke?"

"I believe he's with Naruto and Shikamaru. They said they were going to look at the house."

"Ah. Thank you, Neji." I picked my way around the various puddles of cleaner that were working on the different spots all along the street and made my over to Shisui's house. Well, my house. Right? Staring at it, I reached up for my coin. My fingers hit my Nara necklace instead, and I paused. It took me a moment to recover and slip my coin out. I coded out my message.

Are you okay?

The answer was almost immediate.

I'm okay. Are you okay?

As I stepped up to the door, I responded.

I'm okay.

After tucking the coin back under my shirt and then instead running my fingers over my Nara necklace to keep myself from fidgeting too much, I pushed my way inside. I could hear Sasuke and Naruto fighting, and Shikamaru was leaning against the wall in the hallway, looking annoyed.

"What's going on?"

"They're arguing who gets which half of the room."

"Ah. They already chose a room?"

He nodded and jerked his thumb to the side to indicate the door at the end of the hall on the left. I knew that to have been Kagami's. "It's the biggest," he said. "So I suggested they take it, since they're sharing."

"Makes sense." I stepped up to one of the other doors and opened it. There was a layer of dust on everything, and a part of me was frustrated that I had never thought about cleaning it. "I'll take this one." I moved over to the desk, glancing my fingers over the shelves of empty scrolls and unused jars of ink.

"Shisui's?" Shikamaru guessed.

"Yeah. Sai will take Obito's. I should probably do something about the goggles collection I found in there, though."

"Give them to Naruto," he suggested.

I snapped around to frown at him. Put Obito's goggles on Naruto? No, I couldn't do that to Kakashi. "Absolutely not."

"Why? He already wears goggles."

"Yeah, but not those goggles. I'll just pack them away." I pushed him out of the room and stepped out into the hall with him, closing the door. "What do you have everyone doing?"

"Well, Neji, Lee, and Ami are cleaning the streets. Choji, Shino, and Tenten are on trash duty. Ino, Sakura, Tobio, and Hinata are looking into garden options. Sasuke was supposed to have joined them like ten minutes ago, but that's also about the time that Naruto suggested he take the closet and leave the rest of the room to him."

"Wonderful." I moved to the bedroom door, leaning in to find that Naruto was sitting in the middle of the floor and listening very intently to Sasuke's very passionate speech about why the north side of the room was clearly the best and he deserved it. "Ke-kun," I called. "Don't you have garden work?"

"Maa, Sasu-chan," Shikamaru said, joining me. "If you don't go work with them, they might sketch up all the plans without you and leave out all the sunflowers."

"What?" Sasuke asked, sounding and looking horrified. "But I already told them that I want sunflowers out by the gate."

"You should probably go double check, then, huh?"

Sasuke huffed at him and then turned a scowl to Naruto. "I'm getting this side," he said firmly. Then he stormed out at full speed, already yelling for the rest of the gardening group.

I turned a smile to Naruto. "Did Maru give you a job to do, Nato?"

"Yep! I'm our lookout! I'm supposed to tell Shikamaru when I see you coming."

I raised an eyebrow. Naruto then seemed to realize. "Oh. Hey, Shikamaru—"

"Yeah, I see her," Shikamaru groused. "Why don't you and Soph go get food for everyone?"

"That's a good plan." I held out my hand to Naruto. "I'm sure Teuchi-san would appreciate us ordering a bunch of ramen. And then you can tell me all about Ami."

Naruto lit up, taking my hand and already dragging me outside. "Oh, Ami's super cool! She's a little mean, sometimes, but I don't think she wants to be, and people are mean to her too. But she was crying one time and I found her and we became friends. Did you know that her Tousan works at the hospital? She says he makes the best food."

"Well? Do you like him?"

Sai took two minutes to answer. Once he'd finally made his move, he looked up at me. "I think he's going to be a good sensei."

I grinned. "Glad to hear it. How was today? What did you do?"

"Genma-sensei said it was all assessment. That I'm skilled and smart, but I have a lot to learn as far as teamwork goes." He frowned at the board. "Are you going to take your turn?"

I hummed in response, tapping my knee before finally moving a silver general. "Genma-nii spent a lot of time teaching me marksmanship and my tessen. He's a good teacher."

He looked shocked for a half-second. "Genma-sensei is our brother?"

"What? Ah, no, not exactly. He's like a brother."

"Oh." He considered that. "I think he'd prefer that I continue to call him sensei, not Genma-nii."

I laughed. "Yeah, that's probably for the best."

LINE BREA

"I don't want to keep our parents a secret. And I don't know what they left us, but I know they had to have left us something. So I want that too."

Hiruzen watched me, puffing away at his pipe. With a hum, he leaned back in his seat. "I see. I've kept this a secret at large for your own protection."

"We don't need that anymore. Now, we have the official protection of the Inuzuka, Hatake, Uchiha, and Nara clans." I reached up and tugged on my Nara necklace to make my point. "And I know people were never allowed to tell us who our parents are, but I've been telling people who they are."

"So I've noticed." He sighed and reached up, removing his Hokage hat to set it off to the side of his desk. "I need some time to prepare. Your request would include me un-redacting information from numerous files. That takes time."

"How long?" I asked.

"Time," he repeated. "But not forever. A week should be sufficient."

I sighed in relief, shoulders loosening. "A week works just fine. Thank you, Hokage-sama."

He nodded. "Anything else, Mirai-chan?"

"No. That was all. Thank you." I bowed and backed from the room. As I left the Tower, I tapped my hand nervously on my thigh. My fidgeting was getting worse, and I knew that I hadn't actually trained for days now. Not since leaving Danzo. I missed it. Not Danzo, of course. But the training.

And so that's how I was two hours into Training Ground 44 when Anko found me.

"Red!" she squealed, landing atop the giant spider I'd been facing off against and stabbing a kunai through it. "You would not believe what just happened!"

I pulled back, taking the opportunity to try to catch my breath. "You won the raffle for free dango for life?"

She soured immediately. "No, it went to an Aburame. As if an Aburame is going to appreciate it fully." But then she was practically glowing again. "No, no, no! This is way better than that could ever be."

"Better than dango?"

"Yep! Guess, guess, guess!"

"I'm not going to guess."

She pouted "Well, you just know how to take the fun out of everything, don't you?"

I snapped out a shuriken to pin down the oversized earthworm that was crawling through the brush to our left. "Anko, c'mon. What happened?"

"Genma kissed me!"

I stared at her. "He . . . kissed you. Um." I cleared my throat uncomfortably. "I mean, you'd given me the impression that you'd already done that. And more. I don't see how that's—"

"No, no, no, listen. I was at the Jonin Station, right? And Genma got called away for a meeting. When he left, he said bye and kissed me and told me he loved me!"

"Okay." I frowned at her, trying to figure out what was so— "Wait, at the Jonin Station? Like, in front of people?"

Anko's eyes widened with excitement as she realized I was catching on. "At the Jonin Station. In front of people," she confirmed.

"Genma?" I asked incredulously. "But why?"

"Hey! I'll have you know that he likes kissing me."

"Okay, first off, gross. I don't need to know that. Secondly, he doesn't like people knowing things."

"I know." She practically swooned into me, wrapping an arm around me and settling a good amount of her weight across my shoulders. "That's why it was so romantic. Even more romantic than the first time we made out. Or the first time we—"

"Oh my—" I snapped away in a shunshin, gagging. "Anko, what the fuck. I don't need to hear—"

"Oh, stop being such a baby and get some dango with me to celebrate. Genma loves me!"