Author's notes: I blame 2020 for the delay in was just one of those years.

o-o-o

o-o-o-o

o-o-o-o-o

When Kagami was satisfied with her assurances that she and Oyubi would have a clandestine meeting with him to discuss Uchiha clan secrets before the circus left town, Tsume and her ninken headed back to the circus camp. She ran past some Uchiha on patrol, and Fugaku looked like he had swallowed his tongue as she waved, so maybe there was some merit in Aunt Natsumi's remark about Uchiha sensibilities. (At least Fugaku seemed too flabbergasted to chase after her, waving a ticket for indecent exposure in the air or something to that effect. Gosh, you lose a bet to Kokoro and go streaking nude one time, and the police never forget! Grandmother wasn't kidding years ago when she said that the Uchiha had long memories and held on to their grudges "because it's the only thing that keeps them warmer than their own Grand Fireballs.")

(It might also be the thought of becoming related to Tsume through marriage, if he was recently made aware of Hiroaki's intentions. It stood to reason that as the future Head of the Uchiha Clan, he would be in the know of major incidences involving the clan.)

Tsume paused a moment beside the meal tent to catch her breath and ask the opinion of her new friends. "What do you think?" She held up her arms, but managed to suppress the urge to twirl.

Arata eyed her skeptically. "Not a whole lot there to display, is there? I originally thought those genin outfits provided effective coverage, but I guess you didn't have much to be covering in the first place."

Kohaku snorted. "I can see why they chose the other girls to be the acrobatic stars."

Tsume decided that she really needed to reconsider her taste in friends.

"Leave her alone, guys," Jurou said in a stern voice. "Tsume-chan is putting far more work into being as authentic for her act as possible than any of others combined. Those Uchiha boys? With the way they glide and swagger – they haven't made any effort to hide the fact that they're fighters. That's going to be a dead giveaway to other shinobi, and I wouldn't want to be standing next to them when they find out the hard way." Jurou waved Tsume away. "Go on. The others are getting together now, and I don't want you to be later than you already are."

Tsume had no difficulty finding where everyone was gathering. She wiggled through the crowd, trying not to get dust on anyone, until she reached Sakumo's side. He was wearing bright yellow silk that had been sewn in the shape of a gigantic square with small openings for his hands and feet, and attached on the front of his costume was a vertical line of hand-sized purple pom-poms. It looked like someone repurposed a gigantic pillow for his costume.

Kakashi took one look at his father and loudly declared that he was going to stay right beside Tsume. "I'd rather be dirty than yellow."

Sakumo gave them a crooked smile. "Hey, if I could get away with rolling around in the dirt, I'd join Tsume in a heartbeat. Good conversation with Kagami?"

"We worked some important things out. And found out some more important things that I have to follow up on before the circus leaves town."

"That's good. Um." Sakumo's smile turned into an uncertain expression as he studied Tsume's wardrobe. "I know that there was no way Aunt Natsumi helped you with that, seeing as how she was here the entire time you were gone."

Tsume started to touch the crisscrossed leather straps, but realized that doing so in public would probably look obscene. "This is actually a collection of traditional, pre-Konoha clothes that Grandmother kept. I figured that if I was raised in the wild by wolves, I'd probably dress myself in the hides of what my kindred killed. The chest straps," she hastily added, pointing, "aren't traditional, but I figured that current society wouldn't be as welcoming to traditional even if I was raised by wolves."

He nodded his head with thoughtful approval. "Good thinking. It looks roughly-done, which can easily be explained away by our attempts to civilize you. Just, uh, don't wiggle too much. Especially around teenaged boys."

Aunt Natsumi, wearing a few extra necklaces, several more wrist bangles, and a lime-green scarf wrapped around her hair, came up behind Sakumo without even clinking from her additional tacky jewelry. "You managed to housebreak us, but we're far from civilized." She smiled at Tsume and patted the wild hair. "Add some war paints and red hair dye, and you could pass as your great-grandmother's twin sister."

Tsume was sure that was meant to be a genuine compliment, no matter how much she didn't want to be like Shinzou, so she smiled and thanked Aunt Natsumi.

Other circus entertainers filtered into the tent, mixing and mingling as the Konoha shinobi joined them.

"Wow." Jiraiya loomed over Tsume with a crooked grin. "That's a lot of leather that I could appreciate… Er, on someone much closer to my age," he hastened to add when Sakumo's head swiveled towards his direction. Then he flashed Tsume a thumb's up. "Good choice in the dirt. Gives you an extra edge in being the wild child."

Tsume and Kakashi and the ninken sat on the ground beside Sakumo. Occasionally, Kakashi would reach out to finger one of the pompoms on Sakumo's costume, and then yank back his hand as if expecting the pompoms to burn. Kushina, slightly out of breath and the white-pearled hairband crooked on her forehead, was one of the last to gather. She whistled at Tsume's costume, and then carefully knelt on the ground beside them so she wouldn't dirty her midnight-black leotard. Tsume couldn't tell if Kushina was wearing a padded bra or was just an early bloomer, and then she wondered why she hadn't noticed anything earlier.

Probably because Kushina did a better job at covering up than Tsume did. Maybe there was some truth in how the genin outfits did a fairly good job covering up things (if you had something to cover up). Tsume nibbled on the skin around her thumb as she wondered what else she hadn't noticed before. She wasn't that self-absorbed, was she?

Once everyone had gathered, Enkan slipped through the waiting throngs like an iridescent green and blue beta fish. Wrapped from head to toe in billowing silk, he looked more like a Wind harem master than a circus manager. The very nature and being of Enkan captured almost everyone's eyes – brightly colored creatures in nature were the most poisonous, Tsume proudly reminded herself – but when she saw that Sakumo was looking elsewhere from Enkan, Tsume also had to remind herself that they were ninja, and old-school ninja (usually) preferred darkness and silence.

Danzo, on the other side of the tent per her nose, had yet to make his own entrance. And knowing Danzo the way she did, Tsume figured that he'd eventually slink in when everyone's attention was solely focused upon Enkan, sneak up on his intended target, and then, well… he wouldn't actually assassinate Enkan right now, would he? Granted, as angry as he smelled, there would probably be a dead body by the end of the night, but there were too many witnesses currently in the tent. Of course, they all couldn't just stay in the tent all night, so people were bound to leave and split up, and then a dead body would make its debut.

Tsume entertained herself for several moments, imagining up different ambushes and death strikes, and even a few mystery dinner theater storylines. It was something that chuunin were supposed to do, in case they got sent on assassination missions or undercover work. Never mind that assassination missions were normally given to jounin. Chuunin did more of the undercover work, like mystery dinner theater, according to cousin Megumi.

After Enkan had mingled with everyone, he stood on top of a sturdy stool to make several loud announcements. "As of tonight, you have all learned your parts and expectations of duties for the circus. What you haven't learned is where your performance fits into the grand scheme of everything. Tonight we will do a brief run-through of the different acts so you can get the timing down. We will continue to run such exercises for the next two days, allowing you to integrate your new skills with the professionals. On the third day, we shall put on a grand display for all of Konoha to enjoy before we take our show on the road.

"First, allow me to introduce you to the Ringmaster – Shimura Danzo!" Enkan turned to the front entrance of the tent, flourishing his arms in a wide circle. Floodlights highlighted the ten's entrance. The entrance flapped slightly from an evening breeze, but remained stubbornly empty. There was a slight pause before Enkan sighed and folded his hands impatiently before himself. "Danzo-kun. You agreed to this."

There was dead silence. Tsume quickly pushed more chakra into her ears. "…kage fucking blackmailed me…"

"Danzo-kun. The circus must have its Ringmaster." Enkan waited a moment, tapping his fingertips impatiently together. Then his voice dropped into a dark whisper that promised violence. "The show must go on."

"So it must." Danzo sounded very sour as he appeared behind Enkan. The tent flaps remained still.

Enkan didn't reveal any indication if he was disappointed that Danzo hadn't stepped into the floodlights, but his odor was as sour as Danzo's resentful expression. Enkan turned back to his audience and dropped a heavy hand on Danzo's shoulder. Danzo eyed the hand as if calculating how much force he would have to apply to successfully crush every bone in it.

Sakumo whistled softly and rubbed the point of his chin. "Well, someone is in a poor mood."

Tsume couldn't blame Danzo. He looked slightly rumpled, as if he had been forcibly stuffed into the well-tailored black suit and thigh-high black leather boots. The outfit looked stuff and noisy, whgich would offend any old-school ninja. Setting on top of his head was a tall black hat, tilted slightly back so it wouldn't obstruct his vision. He was even wearing a leather eye patch instead of his usual bandages. She thought he looked taller than he normally did, forced to stand in the spotlight instead of his preferred lurking in the shadows. She felt oddly reminded of how he had looked the first time she had met him, when Kakashi was a nameless bundle in her arms and Kuromaru was an adorable puppy instead of a hulking beast.

"Here's the script." Enkan pulled a neatly-folded square of papers from the inside of his vest and offered them to Danzo. "I'd tell you to spice up the words and add a little pizzazz, but I'm afraid that requires a spot of imagination and a dash of theatrical flair."

Danzo rifled through the papers, and then gave Enkan a shifty, side-eyed look. "Hand gestures?"

"Like so." Enkan fluttered his fingers and swept his arm wide. "Theatrical flair, my friend. People are paying for a good show, and you should know the importance of giving your paying customers the value of their money."

Danzo's sour expression became something even darker, more foreboding. It was easy enough for Tsume to translate: You are not worthy of being friends with me. "If you want something done right, then you may just have to do it yourself, Enkan."

Enkan stared at Danzo, and then minced back a few steps. "Try not to intimidate the masses, Danzo-kun. We're a circus – not a haunted house."

Danzo barely glanced at his papers. "First up, the Fire Eaters." He eyed the Uchiha twins. "Try not to immolate the audience, boys. And then after them, the…"

"No! No, no no. Danzo-kun, you don't do a rote-call for the different performances. You have to announce them with excitement. Your second priority is to direct our performers, but your first priority is to whip the crowd into an excited frenzy. It is your responsibility to set the pace and the tone of the show!"

Kushina turned to Sakumo, and kept her voice low enough not to be overheard. "You'd make a much better Ringmaster than Danzo-sensei."

Sakumo managed to look humble. "Alas – my clumsy inability to keep my face covered during the War means that too many enemies will recognize me for something far more dangerous than just a colorblind clown, so I'm afraid that our Ringmaster must be the good captain."

Kushina rubbed her nose and frowned in contemplation as Danzo and Enkan started arguing again. "You know, for someone who lectures long about how we should do our best to blend in with the crowd and look like we belong, Danzo-sensei is sure doing a lousy job at practicing what he preaches."

"Ah, well, the captain had to earn his chuunin and jounin ranks the hard way – through and during the First Shinobi War, and that includes surviving the tutelage of our esteemed Second Hokage. You have to understand, the man is used to working in the shadows. He's old-school, through and through. Being in the spotlight is such an antithesis to every fiber of his being. Everyone has their own set of skills and talents which predisposes a person to certain types of missions. Danzo is suited as the Ringmaster only because he has been so skillful at keeping himself well-hidden from the public eye. He got chosen on default because our enemies have no idea what he actually looks like... otherwise, Orochimaru would've been made the Ringmaster."

Tsume figured that Sakumo was correct; Danzo looked much more natural creeping along the ceiling of brothels to steal away twelve-year-old prostitutes than posing as a dark and dashing Ringmaster. It was easier to think of Danzo than it was to think of herself, of how she seemed suited to play the wild child covered in dirt than an elegant and graceful aerial silk dancer. She squashed the feeling of jealousy the moment it started to rise in her gorge, because she was still getting to leave Konoha and go on a grand adventure with Sakumo and Kushina and Aunt Natsumi, while poor Kokoro was stuck in Konoha with her brothers.)

Orochimaru... she didn't know if he would be a better Ringmaster or not, although his natural inclination towards sadistic amusement probably did translate well into theatrical flair.

Orochimaru would probably also look way better in the hat than Danzo.

"I bet," began Kakashi, "that Danzo-sensei will be much better at his job when we're outside of Konoha."

Sakumo ruffled Kakashi's hair. "What's this 'we' you keep talking about? You're staying with Tsume's sire while we're gone, and you're actually going to be able to play go with someone who will be an actual challenge."

Kakashi looked at Tsume – he was probably just as tired of beating Tsume at go as she was of losing to a four year old. Tsume and Sakumo had figured that staying with the Nara clan would be a nice break from being raised by the Inuzuka clan's childcare workers, especially since Kakashi was getting better at hiding from them and their noses. "I suppose," he finally said, although his scent was still laced with deceit.

Danzo shoved the papers into Enkan's chest with unrestrained force. "You do things your way, I'll do things my way."

Enkan caught the breath that Danzo had punched out of him, and then pressed one hand against his cheek as he gave Danzo an exasperated look. "Can you do things your way without making it completely obvious that I really need to rethink my choice and payment plan to Konoha?"

"I've done infiltration before, and I'm still here, so I must've been successful in some way. I want to see the performances laid out back to back so I know how to make a transition. Placing words into my mouth defeats the purpose of me behaving in a manner that comes natural from thirty years of experience." Danzo waved Enkan off with an irritated flap of his hand. "You assigned different performances based upon people's strengths and weaknesses; I'm quite aware of my own, thank you very much. Our newest performers are equally unaware of their transition, so it's best to run through the timing so everyone understands their entrance cues."

One of Danzo's skills was his ability to guide fractured forces into a single cohesive unit. Watching him guide newcomers and skilled professionals with her eyes and ears instead of her nose, just observing without trying to absorb and remember, gave Tsume a new appreciation for what he could do without giving herself a headache at the same time.

The first run-through consisted of everyone figuring out where they had to be stationed for entry, their order and length of performances, and where to safely exit without causing an unsightly collision. (That last was the fault of Yuu's team, who were confused in their excitement and wound up nearly walking into the snarling end of the tigers.)

Sideshows like Tsume, Hotaru, Orochimaru, and Aunt Natsumi were expected to mingle with the crowds before the main performance, to "whet their appetite for greater magic," as Enkan had put it. Tsume figured it was just as well – Hotaru could probably handle being elusive and seen by a few people, perpetuating herself as a mystery, and that would be loads better than being in the center ring with the floodlights shining on her.

And Tsume didn't have to mingle during the main performances, because it would be considered a distraction. Tsume could just hide out behind different curtains, watching Kushina and Mikoto spin in the air, Minato's high-wire balancing act…and, yeah, watching the Uchiha twins juggle intricate patterns with their flaming props was kinda cool. Ringo and Daimaru had apparently mastered their act without immolating themselves or the audience in time to show off to Danzo.

Everyone seemed so talented.

Tsume-san is talented too, Ichi told her when Kakashi was distracted by Sakumo's act, which consisted of taking the lovely Kushina as a volunteer and strapping her to a gigantic spinning wheel, so he could throw knives and miss her by a hair. It's just an invisible talent, so strong that it has its very own security clearance.

Tsume still wished she was pretty, like Hidarime had been pretty, so she could be tied to a wheel. She was the perfect candidate for the act, because she wouldn't even be scared!

oOoOoOo

That night, as Tsume and Kakashi soaked in the closest public bath, Tsume wondered what she could do to make herself stand out. After all, this mission was about proving her worthiness of being a chuunin, and, uh… it occurred to Tsume that she really didn't know what being a chuunin was about, except that they were proactive and led missions. She was proactive and led a clan, so was it anything like making her own personal decisions?

Or would being too independent be wrong, like an unreliable wild card that your own side couldn't predict? Sakumo always said that teamwork was important.

Tsume watched as Kakashi blew bubbles in the water and paddled in circles. She needed to talk to someone who wasn't involved in this chuunin exam, but would be able to give her guidance that she could understand. It wasn't cheating if she talked to another adult, right? Because a chuunin was expected to continue educating themselves, and also to research their missions.

Tsume stared at her hands. There were peachy-colored scars crisscrossing her knuckles from the taijutsu that Aunt Natsumi and Oyubi made her learn, and old white scars on her right arm from Ichi's teeth and Grandmother's claws. Her skin was also wrinkled and pale, so it was probably time to finish bathing.

Kakashi paddled past her. "Can we stop by and see Juubi?"

Well, that would put her close to one of the few adults who was capable of giving her guidance. "Sure. We can even pop by Shikake's and steal some apples for Juubi, too."

Kakashi's face lit up in delight. "Do you think Juubi will let me ride on his back if I give him two apples?"

oOoOoOo

"Honestly, Tsume, I think you're overthinking this."

Tsume stared at the go board and wondered how her sire managed to talk her into playing a quick game.

(Shikake had made a very persuasive argument about how he and the rest of his family were incapable of going anywhere as long as Kakashi was joyriding Juubi around the Naras' backyard, so Tsume should practice her multitasking thought skills. I.e., play go and discuss deep, philosophical thoughts or life lessons at the same time.)

"That's a first. You never say that I overthink anything, and Danzo-sensei always accuses me of not thinking." Tsume glared at her white go stones and the single black stone that was foiling her latest attempt at capturing territory. She couldn't continue to block him because it would repeat the last move made, and that was illegal. But if she made a move to the lower left corner of the grid, then it would allow Shikake continue laying claim to a large section in the lower right part of the grid, and she had already lost all of her stones in the upper left corner.

Shikake sipped his chamomile tea. "You're overthinking this in all the wrong ways. You're thinking of what you can do to become a chuunin; a chuunin is nothing more than a title that describes your current level of skills and experience." He regarded her with a crinkled forehead. It wasn't quite a frown – it was more of a thinking expression that looked better than any of Mooncalf's thinking expressions.

"But I thought that I was. If I think I'm supposed to be a chuunin, then I can make sure my current skills match such." The stone felt smooth between her callused fingers. Words that were so often repeated to her quickly flashed through her head – Simpleton Tsume – "I don't know how I can overthink things when my ability to think in the first place is so questionable." She hunched her shoulders forward as Shikake's crinkled forehead deepened into a frown.

Kakashi tapped on the window from Juubi's back and waved. Tsume waved back. Her ninken remained in their sleepy pile, ignoring everything.

"While it's important to work on your weaknesses, you must also improve your strengths. One of your greatest strengths is your instinct, to say nothing of your olfaction. Everything that Sakumo and I strive to teach you builds upon your current strengths. You have to have a solid foundation."

Tsume glared at the go board. She would be able to capture small sections, but it wouldn't be enough to beat Shikake's current hold. It was probably best just to forfeit the game now; there was no way she could win. Not that she had ever won a game against anyone before, except with Minato the first time they played, and only because Minato didn't know the rules of the game. The second time they played, Tsume suffered an embarrassing defeat. She refused to ever play another game with him again.

Shikake sighed, sipped on his tea, and then slid the go board off to the side. Tsume decided to glare at the square of wooden floor where the go board had originally been placed. The floor was kinda boring, so she increased her olfaction to take in the different scents of Shikake's home. He always had a multitude of different plants – medicinal, toxic, luxery, rare – filling every room. Dried bundles hung from the exposed rafters, and there were so many pots with various plants that there was a long-standing obstacle course between the front door and the kitchen, the bedrooms, the bath, and the gaming parlor. In addition to the different plants and bundles for medicinal use, Shikake's wife distilled different oils for perfumes, so her distillery always smelled like a heady combination of lavender, lemon balm, rose, and honeysuckle. Tsume was used to the headache she would inevitably gain whenever she visited her sire.

Shikake's voice was filled with wry amusement. "I enjoy spending time with you, watching you grow from an inexperienced child to a competent young woman. However, I wouldn't waste my time – or yours – with go if I didn't think it was beneficial."

Tsume shifted from a kneeling position to a seated position. Her arms felt strange, like they were attached backwards to her torso, so she kept turning the go stone around in her hands. "Even Kakashi can beat me at go." A four year old bested her at strategy, and she would never look as good or be as graceful as Kushina. Simpleton Tsume, best suited as a scantily-clad distraction, and not even as a good sexy scantily-clad distraction at that. Shoot, she didn't even need an extra chromosome to be a simpleton.

Shikake's cough sounded suspiciously like a laugh. "Don't let Sakumo know that I said this, but I'm not entirely sure that Kakashi is fully human."

Tsume lifted her gaze from the wooden floor and tried to figure out what he meant. Shikake was looking at her with a fond smile, holding his head in one hand and the teacup in the other. "But he smells human."

"Then by all accounts he is – far be it from me to question anything that your nose detects. However, you can't keep comparing yourself to Kakashi, even if you're ten years older. You shouldn't be comparing yourself to anyone, really."

"What about my teammates?"

"Especially your teammates."

"Because Kokoro is a wheelchair?"

Something strange crossed Shikake's face as his scent flared with a sudden burst of adrenaline. He rubbed his chin and considered Tsume with half-lidded eyes, face as still as a smooth river that hid turbulent waters. "Yes. Because Kokoro is in a wheelchair." After a moment, he casually added, "And Kushina has Uzumaki chakra reserves that may eventually put your Aunt Natsumi to shame. You can't compete with stamina like that, any more than Kokoro can compete with your gravity-defying acrobatics."

Tsume wasn't acrobatic, though, like Kushina. She was stuck on the ground with her ninken. Also, the more special Kushina seemed, the more Tsume could smell the proverbial stink. Some day, she would find out what the big deal was, other than Kushina being related to the First Hokage's wife.

"Not like that." Shikake was almost as good at reading her expression as she was at reading his scent. "Everyone has their own individual strengths and weaknesses. Let's go back to that original subject. Teaching you techniques that are more suited for Kushina's stamina is a great disservice to you. Do you remember what I told you the first day we played go?"

Tsume actually remembered that day very well – it was the first day that she had ever really done anything one-on-one with her sire. Sakumo had made her memorize the basic rules of go (all of two of them, which had delighted her after she learned how many more rules shougi had) before Shikake invited her over for a game, and Tsume had fantasized about how she would outthink and beat Shikake, and how proud he would be of her.

"Yeah – the day I lost our first match in just under four minutes." She still hadn't figured out how that happened, because she was sure it would take much longer for her opponent to capture more territory than her, because it physically took more time to actually lay out the stones on the board. Shikake's fingers sure moved quickly when he wanted them to. "You said that you were going to teach me to do more than just react instinctively."

"Yes. And?"

Tsume rubbed her nose, and then she scratched her head as she concentrated. "And that I'd be able to consider future repercussions and consequences of my actions and behaviors." When Shikake said nothing, Tsume knew that meant she was supposed to consider such in their current discussion. "So when you say I'm overthinking about becoming a chuunin…" She concentrated for another moment. "…I have to stop thinking about what a chuunin is like, and instead act like one – I have to be a chuunin in all but the name." A dull pain throbbed in her temples.

"Exactly. The judges don't make you a chuunin – they simply declare that you are worthy of the title, and give you a fancy vest to prove it."

So she had to stop thinking about what it meant to be a chuunin and what was expected of one, and just become a chuunin, and the rest would – more or less – fall into place.

"So it's not so much the judges testing me, as it is me proving myself to the judges."

"Exactly. If you constantly have to stop and think about what it means to be a chuunin, then you're probably not ready."

Tsume rolled the go stone around in her fingers and thought about poor Mister Honey and the hostages from last week. In retrospect, maybe the hive of wasps would've been enough distraction - the honey badger was a little bit on the overkill side. "I don't know if I'm ready."

"You are – some things will only get better with experience, and you're not going to get such experience until you advance." Shikake gently pried the go stone loose from Tsume's hand. "Look, if it makes you feel better, it took you better than half an hour to lose our last match. Your thinking skills have improved by over three hundred percent."

That didn't really make Tsume feel better, because her last match with Kakashi had only lasted fourteen minutes – and that included the lunch break they had in the middle of the match – and the last match with her brother had been just under ten minutes, and that was because Shikaku kept falling asleep and had to be kicked awake to make his next move.

"By the way – since he isn't giving me the lowdown and it's far too bothersome to ask anyone else, what did my son get assigned?"

Tsume looked down at the floor again. "Okay, so, Shikaku and Chouza get to be costumed superheros wearing masks that get to fight a band of pirates – that's Yuu's team – to rescue a beautiful damsel. They get to perform all kinds of wild stunts and acrobatics." Tsume's favorite part of that act was how Chouza had to catch and juggle the different props that the Yuu's team would pitch at him – some of the props were very large and heavy, which added to the image of Chouza being the "World's Strongest Boy" act. Everyone thought that Enkan's decision to change the strongest act from Minato to Chouza was his best one yet, given how many times Enkan kept changing his mind on what he wanted people to do.

"What about Inoichi?"

Tsume hunched her shoulders. "Enkan thought that Inochi's hair was so long and so pretty that he could easily be mistaken as a beautiful damsel from the audience's point of view." Her self-esteem, when it wasn't feeling bruised and downtrodden, was holding a grudge against Inoichi for being prettier than her.

"Ah. That would explain why your brother was even more tight-lipped than normal. Well, I'll get to see everything the opening night."

Not everything. Tsume had decided that she wasn't going to mingle with the Konoha crowds before the performances started. There didn't seem to be a point to it when everyone already thought that the Inuzuka clan was already half-wild and animalistic.

"I'm excited to see what your act as well, Tsume. Oyubi-san said that seeing you was like seeing your mother when she was a young teenager, fresh and full of life and wonder."

Gosh. Tsume squirmed uncomfortably as Shikake's eyes softened and glazed over with a distant memory. (She briefly considered how Oyubi probably needed glasses.) Well, okay… she'd make a brief appearance just for Shikake, and she'd make it into an opportunity to practice her stealth skills so no one else would spot her.