Chapter 26

Koguma gave off a content hum. The sun felt warm on his face and made his clothes comfortably toasty where it shone down on it. The air smelled fresh and heavy with the falling leaves. Finally, the second summer they had spent up here gave way to autumn. Luckily it never was as scorching in the Land of Lightning as it could be down in the Land of Fire. But Koguma had always preferred the crisper airs of autumn and winter.

He wasn't only being warmed from the front, but from the back as well, leaning between Kama's legs as he did. The Hatake was sitting on a tree stump, legs spread wide to give him room to snuggle between and lay the back of his head against his abdomen. His long fingers were brushing through Koguma's hair after haven given it a much needed cut the day before.

His eyes were closed, but the light still filtered through in an orange hue, sometimes darkening whenever leaves moved in the soft breeze. Koguma had come back from a patrol and really only wanted to have a nap. He couldn't have found a better position if he may say so himself.

Sometimes he heard other shinobi walk past, no matter how silent they tried to keep their steps and those that did manage, were betrayed by their smell wavering up to his nose. Although he and Kama were being covered by the other tents of his squad and surrounding trees, and couldn't actually be seen from the path, he was sure some of them still tried to snatch a look at them. Koguma showing out in the open just what kind of relationship he and Kama shared had been the talk of the camp for weeks. But he was so beyond caring anymore. They would surely make haste to go past if they knew just who they were trying to gawk at. What he had done the last few months. But his squad was indeed loyal to a fault and anyone that had tried to join them had hastily reconsidered. Now the Nara didn't even bother pestering him about it anymore.

He almost wanted to purr with how deeply relaxing it was having Kama stroke through his hair like that. The man had soon enough found out which spots made a shiver run down his spine and which turned him all malleable. Not that Koguma would mind. He would love to just freeze that moment of feeling comfortable, warm and safe in time. Or bottle it up to keep forever.

Whenever he threatened to truly drift off, another set of feet would walk past the path just twenty metres from their tent, turning him alert again. Kama's disappointment over his continuing tensing, no matter how miniscule it was, radiated off of him and he was sure he had sneered at some of the men slowing down to ogle between the few gaps, making them quicken in their step. He gave off another content hum to show Kama that he wasn't bothered by it and happy to enjoy the moment just as it was. When he took in another deep breath-

Steel, leather, coal.

If Kama's tensing hadn't been an indication, that scent surely would have been. What a pity that both continued to dislike each other. Then again, Kama wasn't the easiest to get along with.

"Kagami," he mumbled, still too lazy to crack open his eyes.

"Koguma," the Uchiha greeted in return. When the pause lengthened, Koguma was sure that Kama and he were having a silent conversation right above his head. Surely not a friendly one at that. Maybe Kama had had similar thoughts of wanting to stop time.

He spoke up to ease the tension. "Back from leave?"

"Yeah. I got some letters for Susumu from his wife. You know where he's at?" The rustling of paper was distinctive.

"Inside, sleeping. We had patrol last night." He gave a shallow nod to the feet surely still sticking out of the tent's entrance. His brother hadn't even managed stumbling back to his own tent and had instead made himself comfortable on their furs. He may not have a Kuma-nose, but Koguma was sure that on a subconscious level, he too found comfort in the way they smelled like him. Although he surely couldn't recognise Kama in them and didn't give too much thought about why they smelled the way they did. His neck and ears would burn bright red-

Maybe he should enlighten him after all.

"I'm sorry for interrupting then."

He scoffed at that. "Ah. Don't be." With a deep sigh, he opened his eyes and stared up into the canopies shining orange, red and yellow. Then he moved to sit upright, missing Kama's caressing the minute he did. "You look rested."

Kagami gave him a warm smile and sat down opposite him. He had never commented on him and Kama, which made him leagues better than Hiruzen, who just couldn't stop bringing it up and flush deep red at times. Danzo, on the other hand, now constantly sneered whenever he saw the Hatake and had made a rather obvious point of showing he didn't appreciate him at all. "I am. It was nice seeing Nami and the kids again. She sends her regards and tells you to slow down at times and share responsibility with others. Ryujin misses you. And Maho told me to give you a smooch. Well-" He shot a look over Koguma's shoulder and for a moment his eyes flickered red. He was sure Kama had sent him some kind of threatening gesture. "I'm not going to do that. But you get the gist of it."

Koguma chuckled. "Yeah, I do."

The Uchiha's head tilted as he narrowed his eyes in thought. "You could use taking some leave as well, Koguma. You look-" He hesitated.

"Like shit?"

Now it was Kagami's turn to laugh. "No, not the word I'd use. But you look like you could use some normality for once. You know, doing mundane things like cooking, shopping at the market, swapping diapers-"

His eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Diapers?" Upon Kagami's blissful smile, his expression softened too. "Congratulations. How far along?"

"Five months. She never wrote to me, to not make me worry. And the letters barely arrive anyway."

Kama was apparently done with indulging Kagami in sharing his alone-time with Koguma. "Another one? Shit, Uchiha, I thought you'd rather be in need of more heirs and not bastards. Only one, no? Kids die so easily of diseases. You'd be better served taking care of some back-up, really. Otherwise you'll have to get back into your wife's bed when she's all old and saggy."

Now Kagami's eyes were indeed blazing red as he stared at Kama. "Oh. Do tell me, Hatake, how's that wife of yours doing? Haven't taken any leaves to see her, have you? Already preparing her for how it's going to be once you come back? And sure, kids die indeed easily. By the way, ever heard any news of your's?"

Koguma didn't have any sympathy for Kama as he started to growl upon the implication. He had shovelled that grave for himself, really.

To not let them jump at each other's throats, Koguma spoke up to draw Kagami's attention onto him once more. "How are they?" He knew Kagami would never provoke Kama with such implications if they were even remotely true.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest while leaning back. When he looked at him, his eyes were dark again. "They're fine. But as far as I've heard and seen, they're a bit wild and hard to handle. Nami told me they had packed bags one evening and tried to make their way up here, their brother trailing right behind. They even got out of the village walls until Hatake-sama caught them."

Koguma rubbed his jaw in contemplation. Two little girls with pigtails sneaking out of the village and making their way through the forests, a little mini-me of Kama on their heels- yeah, he could imagine them doing it. Especially because they must have grown terribly since he had last seen them. They weren't three years old anymore, but five already. Next year, they would be joining the academy.

"You can apply for leave, you know, Koguma."

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, not really listening. "I can't though, can I? It would always have to be either me or Susumu here. I'd rather have him take leave. He hasn't seen Kikyo in so long."

"She'd like you to take a break as well at some point. Kikyo's really worried about the two of you. I guess she even put some lines down for you in these letters." Kagami held up the papers he had been clasping at the whole time and handed them over to Koguma. With a groan he got up from his cross-legged position and wiped the dirt from his trousers. "I'll let you be then. We can chat during dinner." He ignored Kama completely as he turned around and walked out of sight once more.

Koguma tugged the letters into his weapon pouch and leaned back into his previous position. "You could apply for leave as well, Kama."

Fingers started caressing his hair once more. He shot a look upward- Kama's lips were pinched and eyebrows furrowed. "And leave you here alone? I don't think so."

"I'd still have Susumu."

"Not when you're already planning on sending him away as well." They locked eyes and Koguma had to give a lopsided grin at the stubborn accusation.

"Caught me." He loved the way Kama's eyes flickered right to his mouth and the dimples in his cheeks whenever he smiled. "You both could need it. And I think your cubs do too, if they're already contemplating hiking up here."

"I'm sure they did as much for me as they did for your sake." He leaned down from his position until their noses almost bumped together. "Come with me Kogu." Kama's hooded eyes flickered between his beady ones during his imploring whisper.

The grin on his face widened. "Is this a proposal to elope?"

"Oh, Kogu, if it's a proposal you need, I would love to give you one."

"Nothing but empty promises," he joked and moved to snuggle back into his previous position.

"It's not."

"Kama-"

"It's not." He got up from his sitting position and instead knelt down beside Koguma, who's brows had begun to furrow. "I love you."

"And I love you," he replied in a low voice. "But don't you dare separating from your wife because of me. You owe your cubs that much."

Kama's hand against the side of his head had him stop from leaning back and creating some distance. "Frankly, they would be happy for it. Imagine them getting a bedroom in your house? Koguma-ojichan turning into Koguma-touchan. They'd be the fiercest and most loved for pups in the whole of Konoha." His whispered promise made him take a deep breath to calm down his swelling heart. "I have no intention on keeping up the illusion Nari and I had shared once this war's over. She would be much happier as well. Maybe she managed finding a man she actually cares about while I've been gone. But I'm going to set us both free either way."

"Why didn't you before?"

"Because I didn't know if you even wanted me like this. Without you- I would have kept it up, if only for the pups' sake. But now that I have you- I have absolutely no intention of letting you slip away." Something in the way Kama paused had Koguma strain against his hold and look at him warily. Kama licked his lips in a nervous gesture and was obviously bracing himself for something.

"Kama?"

He nearly spewed out the next words with how quickly he said them. "Did I ever get to tell you about the whole Hatake mates system?"

Koguma tensed, his entire form stilling. "Kama." He was trying to move away and get up. "Don't you fucking dare taking this from me by telling me this is some predestined shit. Or some biological instincts telling us to-"

"It's not. It's not," Kama hastily intercepted his angered hissing. "It's a choice. Always a choice."

"I don't wanna hear it." The Hatake's grip turned firmer as he tried to lean out of it. "Don't you dare mocking this-"

"Listen, Kogu, listen. It's not- there's marriage, something you do because you have to. Allegiances, securing offspring, political reasons. And there's mates. That's who you choose to be with. One person for the rest of your life, because you choose to. Because they're yours and you're theirs. Someone you would entrust your pack to-"

"If this is a damn proposal, you're doing a terrible job," Koguma spat, finally managing to get out of Kama's grip. He shot up on his feet, Kama hastily following suit. They paused to stare at each other wide-eyed.

"Would you accept it?"

"I- "

Kama took a step forward and grabbed his hand, before rubbing it against his cheek. "Be my mate, Kogu."

"If that's what you want to call it-"

"It's not what I want to call it. It's what I want it to be."

Again Koguma stared at him. "What you described- hell, Kama, I thought we were already clear on that. I never wanted it to be any less. Of course I would entrust my pack to you."

"Wha-"

"So yeah. I'm your mate and your mine. It does mean you'll have to endure Susumu for the rest of your life. Are you sure you want that?"

Kama's eyes flickered between his. "Kogu, this is a big deal."

"I can tell."

"Please don't take this lightly."

"Since when do you care about any of this? You always were the one to mock rules and traditions-"

"Because I want it to be official." He paused. "Kogu, when we get out of this damn war I want it to be official in Konoha. Among the clan. I'm not going back to Nari. I want to raise my pups, our pups with you. My pack in your hands."

"Kama-"

"So please, consider your answer carefully."

"Kama." He stepped forward and cupped his face, getting rather nervous upon the man's trembling and equally scared and hopeful look. "Kama, I hated that you married her in the very first place, for all sorts of reasons at the time. And I'm sure I would go mad if I would have to actually watch you be with her when we come back now. Even if I would have accepted it had it been your choice." Leaning forward, he pressed their foreheads together, taking a deep whiff of his scent as he did so- wet fur, ozone, straw and wool. Him. "Tell me, do I smell like wet dog as well now?"

His voice was hushed when he replied, "You do. We wouldn't have been able to keep it secret among the clan anyway once we had returned."

Koguma's fingers tensed against the man's cheek, before his hands fell down to his side as he leaned back. "Is that what you think? That I want to keep it secret?"

"I- it's just that you-" Koguma's lips pinched upon Kama's stumbled reply. "Sometimes I'm really not sure, Kogu."

It was all the answer he needed. "I am doing a terrible job, aren't I?" He took a deep breath and resisted the urge to cross his arms. "A choice, huh? Well, then it appears I have made that choice quite a while back already. I just didn't have a name for it. Yes. I'll be your mate and you'll be mine. Even though mate sounds ridiculous, can't we rather call it partner or-"

Kama's wild kiss nearly tore him off his feet with how suddenly it crashed onto his lips- while he didn't mind being close to Kama when they were somewhat out of sight, kissing was something they usually did when they truly were by themselves. No need having everyone and all see what was really only theirs. Thinking about it, that was surely where Kama's doubts stemmed from.

That wouldn't do.

He wrapped his arms around Kama's back to keep them both from stumbling backwards and deepened the kiss, trying to show what he had failed to express. They both chuckled when Kama hissed as he clanked their teeth together and once again cut his lip on his sharp canines.

Koguma felt as if he would burst with bliss and pure love coursing through him as he looked down at Kama touching the cut and flinching at the pain radiating from the bruised skin. "One would assume you've gotten the hang of it by now."

"Who's saying I'm not enjoying this?"

Before Koguma could follow up on the dark promise in Kama's eyes, a hoarse voice called out, "For fucks sake, can't you just tone it down a bit? Otherwise you'll get half the camp stumbling over their feet trying to listen in." Susumu walked past them with a serious case of bed hair and looking terribly grumpy. Apparently someone had forgotten to activate the silencing seals. It surely would have helped, had he closed the tent properly. "Could've just chugged me out of your tent if you needed it that badly. Fucking idiots. No consideration at all-" His voice drifted off as he made his way towards his own tent.

Koguma stepped away from Kama who was chuckling with glee and had a hard time surpassing his own mirth. "He does realize he was still trailing a blanket behind him and forgot half of his clothes?"

Really. Koguma needed to get a hand on a camera. Or maybe find Hiruzen as quickly as possible- nah. The Sarutobi had most likely been watching them anyway like the weirdo he was (that man had some fucking issues, really. Closet pervert and he was sure that the curiosity towards their relationship was based on some deeper rooted, unresolved questions on his side.) and had probably already snapped a photograph of Susumu just now. He'd get a copy of it surely in exchange for having to explain what mates were. Well, Kama would have to, because Koguma still had no true idea what it enticed. Had only ever heard of it in passing, but he couldn't really remember any Kuma being mates with each other. But he'd do anything for Kama and giving what they had a name seemed a ridiculously small request to grant.

"Well, if he offers it so freely-" Kama ventured.

Koguma looked down at him and noticed how an orange leaf had gotten caught onto his wild mop of hair, which was barely being tamed in its ponytail. The silly sight contrasted well with the heated look in his hooded eyes.

He truly loved autumn.

"-the damn kunai and I'll give you the cleanest shave you'll ever have."

Ren bristled and inched away from Asa, who was wiggling his fingers at him.

"Ah, leave the kid be. It's his first stubbles, surely something to be proud of." Jiro gave the young Uchiha a teasing wink.

"Even if it looks like chick's plum?"

"Especially because it looks like chick's plum." Jiro hastily ducked underneath the chopstick that had come racing at his head and Asa evaded Ren's kick trying to send him off the log with ease.

"Just because you are some old geezers that can barely pass a night without having to get up and take a piss," Ren spat.

"Old geezer?" Asa clutched at his chest in mock hurt. "I'm not even twenty-eight, you little spring lamb!"

Jiro chuckled as he stirred in the stew they had cooking on the campfire. "Twenty-eight surely puts you among the seniority of shinobi. What's the average age of death? Thirty?"

"Pah. You'll get there soon enough, Jiro. I still feel as agile and vigorous as I did the day my father pressed a kunai into my hand and showed me how to shave-" Now Ren actually managed plonking his second chopstick against the other Uchiha's temple, which made him sneer with glee. "Well, at least we Uchiha don't turn bald or grey easily." He gave a knowing look towards Susumu and Koguma, who had watched the discussion with some amusement.

When his squad looked up at him and fell silent, Susumu spoke up, "Don't look at me, I was born like this." He gave a nod at Koguma, who raised his eyebrows at his betrayal. "He's the one you should be worried about. He's twenty-three." Shaking his head in playful pity, he added, "Must be bad genes."

Kama scowled at the implication. "Pah. Bad genes my ass. I've only ever seen three Kuma with greying hair. Greying, not white. I bet being around you for so long has rubbed off. Pity. Brown suited him better." His fingers shortly ghosted along the back of Koguma's head, but then he yelped when Susumu slapped them away from the other side.

Completely ignoring Kama and Susumu's glaring at each other, or Koguma's exhausted eyeroll, Asa mumbled, "Says probably more about the actual age any of our clansmen reached than anything about genetics."

After a heartbeat Jiro's face scrunched in confusion. "Wait- what? How- that doesn't even make any sense. Susumu's white-haired. How could you've only known three with greying hair-"

The man startled terribly as three other figures stepped into the circle their tents created and into the light of the campfire. "That's because Susumu's adopted." Danzo sat down with a plonk opposite Koguma and immediately sniffed at the stew cooking on the fire.

"Adopted?"

"You didn't really think they'd be related? I mean, look at them," another voice spoke up and Hiruzen immediately sat down next to Danzo, grinning widely at the dumbfound faces of Koguma's squad.

"Actually says a lot about how you interact with each other, to have them assume that you are." Kagami shot him a warm smile as he sat down next to Susumu.

Koguma shook his head as he chuckled. "Once again only arriving when dinner's nearly finished? How typical."

"Fucking late as always." He ignored Kama's drawl and started picking up bowls and help Jiro portion the stew. The man managed rather well with only one hand and absolutely hated it when someone tried taking off tasks out of pity. But he also knew that Koguma didn't look at it like that. He helped because it was practical and he was starving.

"Thanks for the letters," Susumu spoke up, already shuffling a mouthful between his teeth, having to pant to cool down the blazing hot meal. "How's it looking? War ending anytime soon?"

Kagami shook his head. "Tobirama-sensei's not happy with how's it going. He's really working himself ragged trying to come up with strategies, new jutsu or establishing diplomatic channels. But Kumo's rather stubborn in not accepting any scrolls, Kiri's being absolutely maniacal in their tactics and Suna's sill salty about the border incident a year ago. Only sensible one is Iwa. They're keeping out of it, well not considering their previous, mushy attempts at making deals."

"Boohoo," Susumu muttered into his bowl low enough that Team Tobirama could ignore the words. Ren spat to the side hearing it and Asa's eyes narrowed as he blew onto his meal.

"The citizens are getting tired of war as well." Hiruzen lowered his bowl and stared into the fire with furrowed eyebrows while Danzo wiped at his mouth. "It's simply costing a lot- money, resources, people- There are so many squads missing in action, so many shinobi and kunoichi that'll never come back home." Kagami shook his head. "Every person killed or missing weighs down on him. He cares deeply, he really does."

Seeing the defiant tilt to Ren's head and the anger burning behind his eyes, Koguma decided to change the subject. There was no use picking a fight with his friends over something they would never get to agree on anyway. "So, did Biwako finally blow up and march along with you to kick Hiruzen's butt for staying away for so long?"

The Sarutobi in question immediately started chocking on his food.

It was a chaotic evening, with everyone talking, teasing, mocking and chatting, trying to alleviate some of the tension that always pressed down at head camp. And when Hiruzen actually pulled out sake and shared it even among Ren, it turned all the more brawly and loose.

Koguma kept out for the most of it and instead enjoyed the sight of his men all relaxed and calm. Ren looked hilarious all flushed and slurring like that. Uchiha grace gone down the drain right there. Not that Asa looked any better. It was Jiro that seemed to be able to hold his liquor best- he had turned all serious and austere, talking about the correct mixture in ink, or how the parchment from the Land of Waves contained more fibres than that of the Land of Grass, but that it didn't necessarily translate to better quality- Danzo had jumped right onto that train of thought.

At one point, Susumu, Asa and Hiruzen had flocked up against Ren and tried to persuade him to let them shave his face. Koguma kept a close eye on their attempt, to make sure they didn't actually start cutting the boys jugular by mistake. That Ren even let Asa get so close with a kunai spoke of deep trust. Or stupidity, since the blade swayed in his loose grip.

"Hey, Koguma."

He hummed distractedly upon Kagami's words, watching Asa trying to keep the blade still by grabbing onto it with both hands, while Hiruzen and Susumu held the boy's jaw in a tight grip.

"I want you to be the godfather to my new kid."

His head snapped over to him immediately. "What?" Kama had stilled as well, lowering his cup again as he glared at the man through half-lidded eyes.

"Danzo and Hiruzen already are to Ryujin and Maho. I consider you my friend, Koguma. A close one at that." He rolled his own sake cup in his hands as he watched Asa scrape across the plum on Ren's cheek in a slow, but neat stroke. "In the beginning I thought you were nothing but a stunted kid that knew how to kill quickly and frankly couldn't fit inside a village. And when you kept meeting my gaze over and over again, although I had my sharingan activated, I thought you slightly foolish as well."

After a while Koguma's eyebrow lifted, seeing that he didn't continue in his little speech. "But?"

Kagami gave him an amused smirk as he continued looking at the men hissing and distracting Ren when they had managed cutting him. The teenager hadn't even noticed in his intoxicated state. "No but. You still are. Well, maybe not the foolish thing. Tell me, why don't you flinch?"

"Because I trust you to not use it on me."

"Because you trust me-" Now Kagami turned to face him after all. "That's rare, you know. People not flinching when looking at the sharingan. Hell, Danzo and Hiruzen sometimes still avert their gaze."

Now it was Koguma's turn to play with his cup and look into the fire. "Madara didn't get it either. In the beginning, I had been cautious anyway, but later on- He tried to train it out of me. Every time I met his gaze, he would trap me in a gen-jutsu and mock me afterwards for falling for it. Called me daft even." He paused. "Only when he saw that I actually did refuse to look at other Uchiha's sharingan, did the penny drop for him. He stopped trapping and mocking me after that." He locked eyes with Kagami once again. "I trusted him as well. To not use it on me. As do I with Asa and Ren. Naoaki and Genkai."

The Uchiha stared at him with an intensity that made him queasy. "Maybe there's hope for my clan after all to be one day seen as friends and not only as convenient allies."

"I don't give a shit about the clan." His angered hiss made Kagami lean back. "I care not that you or they are Uchiha. Nor do I care that Jiro or Susumu have a civilian background. And Tobirama may be a damn Hyuuga for all I care. What I do care about is who you are. As a person. I trust you for who you are, not despite or because of your background."

They regarded each other for a long time. "Will you be the godfather to my kid?"

That seemed to draw Susumu's attention at last. "Hey! He's supposed to be for my kids already!" He was still clutching onto Ren's jaw, making the teenager try to leer out of the corner of his eye to what could possibly be more important than him having a kunai scrape along his throat right now.

"Too damn late," Kama drawled. "He's already to all three of my pups." He looked distinctly smug about it too. As if he had just revealed something secret- the whole damn village had known the moment the twins had clung to his side or he had walked around with the boy strapped to his chest. Having Kama brag about it to any and every one certainly hadn't helped.

"Of course I'll be." He shot both his brother and Kama a reproachful look to stop their upstarting argument. "Even if I end up being godfather to nearly all of your cubs. Actually sounds like a great idea, now that I think about it." Maybe he could start his own academy then. One without distinction between clan and civilian, no entre fees in the form of life-long commitment as soldier of Konoha and no sickly competition for first place. Only the cubs and making them the best they could be within their own abilities.

He clapped on his upper thighs and got up from his spot to walk over to the three men still hunching over Ren. Kagami watched him with a somewhat thoughtful look, making him miss Kama's death glare completely. With a quick movement, Koguma picked up the kunai from Asa's hand, gently lifted the teenagers chin and finished the shave himself.

No need to butcher him anymore than they had already done.

"Koguma."

Clearly it was raining cats and dogs outside of the tent for Kagami to look that wet. He looked up from the table and the scroll he had been trying to read. Either Jiro had taught him worse than he had thought, or the lighting was just that bad. He had to narrow his eyes to make out even one kanji. Considering that, he was rather glad being interrupted.

"Where's your obnoxious shadow at?" Kagami brushed through his soaked curls and across his face to get the rain out of it.

He rolled up the scroll and put it aside. "You should know, since you so conveniently picked the only time when he isn't here to come and see me." They shared an amused grin upon the Uchiha's caught pause. "What can I help you with? You surely didn't come all the way through the rain just to chat."

That wiped the smirk right off his face. "Actually I did."

Koguma pushed out a chair from underneath the table and into the direction of Kagami. The Uchiha sat down silently. For a moment they just looked at each other, the sound of the rain splattering onto the tarp almost deafening in its volume.

"If you plan on getting Susumu and Kama to take leave, now would be the best time to do it." Upon his solemn tone, Koguma's eyebrows furrowed and lips thinned into a tight line. He leaned forward on his chair and rested his lower arms onto his thighs. "You haven't heard it from me, simply because there is nothing to even hear yet. Tobirama-sensei hasn't said a word, but one evening, I saw the plans lying on his desk."

Kagami wiped across his face again, to get rid of the droplets falling down from his locks. "There's a massive offensive coming. But not from our side. Kumo is gathering forces like you and I've never seen before. He wants to intercept them and take away their advantage of choosing the battlefield." He looked at him with a hint of despair. "I have no idea what he wants to accomplish with that. They've got more men than we do. It'll be- He has to have some kind of plan. Has to." A shaky exhale made his shoulders slump. "I didn't tell Nami, because she wouldn't have been able to understand why I even came back here, although I know what is coming. So, Koguma, if you plan on sending Kama and Susumu away, now is the time. Head office wouldn't be able to deny the request, because nothing is official yet. Wait a week and things might look different."

Koguma leaned back in his seat once more. After a pause Kagami almost whispered, "Hell, I'd ask you to leave as well, if I weren't so sure you'd punch me for even suggesting it."

The rain continued to fall onto the stiff cotton. Koguma's eyes followed some of the water rivulets running down the roof of the tent. "Have you told Danzo or Hiruzen about this?"

"First thing I did when I came back." He brushed his cheekbone. "Danzo actually did punch me."

Koguma had started rubbing across his jaw himself and stared right through the ceiling. "They'd hate me for it."

"But at least they would be alive."

His chair groaned as he shifted his weight. The skin on his jaw was reddening from how hard he was stroking across it. "I can't send both away. They'd notice something's up."

Silence stretched between them. "Who'd you send away then?"

At first he only replied with a bitter scoff. But then he paused and his eyes locked with Kagami's. "The one that would hate me least." Koguma got up from his spot and walked over to Kagami, who was looking at him with rather too much pity for his liking. He laid a large, warm hand down onto his soaked curls. "Madara once told me you had pestered him about adopting us into that stiff and stuck-up clan of yours?"

His dark eyes were blown wide with the unusual display of affection and the change in topic. "That I had."

"Why?"

The Uchiha seemed to actually grow nervous at that question. "I considered you my friends-" He chuckled and rubbed his hands on his trousers. "Well, Uchiha aren't particularly subtle or smooth in showing that they care."

"Then let me do it the right way then." His hand wandered to the back of Kagami's head, soft but firm. Then he leaned forward, slow and deliberate until his head was right beside Kagami's. The Uchiha had even stopped breathing and was tense as a bowstring, when finally he rubbed their cheeks together. "Thank you."

When he leaned back and took some steps away to give Kagami some space to actually breath again, the Uchiha chuckled nervously, "Did you do that to Madara as well?"

"Punched me straight through the forest for it. Was about eight days before he left." His eyebrows were furrowed, but there was a nostalgic curve to his lips. "Absolutely adorable how flushed he was when he raced after me, screeching like some damn demon from hell."

Kagami chortled with furrowed eyebrows, surely trying to imagine it. "Do I, like, need to do something now?"

Koguma grinned at him widely, remembering Susumu's own dumbfounded stuttering from so many years ago. "Ah, just hand over your firstborn and sacrifice some chicken-"

"You're joking."

"Am I? Luckily Ryujin loves me already, so there won't be any problem snatching her. And we do have some chickens somewhere around camp. I thought one of the Fuma had snatched it from a Kumo-camp as a dare. Bunch of lunatics." Kagami barked in laughter at that and began rubbing at his cheek with the back of his hand. Then he lifted in front of his face as if to see if he had smeared anything on it. When he actually gave it a hesitant sniff, it was Koguma's turn to laugh. "You're way overthinking it, Kagami."

"Am I? Seems like a big deal to me."

"It's not-" He paused. "You're my friend Kagami. I only wanted to make that clear." He moved back to his chair and picked up the scroll once more, smiling at himself over Kagami's disbelieving stare. It was time to fight his way through the report. "You better go before Kama gets back. He'll throw a damn temper tantrum soon enough when he finds out we rubbed cheeks. No need for you to be here when it happens."

"I-" Kagami got up from his spot, hesitated and then walked over to Koguma. "Thank you," he said, stretching out his hand towards him.

His eyebrows shot up to his hairline, but he took his hand in a steady grip. "Whatever for?"

"Trusting me."

And then the tent flaps opened with a swing. Kama's smirk immediately froze as he saw Kagami and Koguma holding hands. The Uchiha didn't even face him, gave Koguma's hand another squeeze and only then took a step backwards, his mouth pulled down into a frown. Like the envious little puppy that he was, Kama walked right over to Koguma, leaned over his shoulder, wrapped his arms around his neck and nuzzled his jaw while keeping eye-contact with the Uchiha. His own wet hair and clothes immediately dripped onto Koguma's shirt. Although Kagami hadn't quite been able to know what 'finding out' would entice, he saw it the moment the Hatake stilled and stared at him with intense hostility. His grip on Koguma turned even more possessive as he pressed his mouth against the side of his head and drawled into his ear, "Why do you smell like a smithery?"

"I just feel like it," Koguma replied with a shrug.

Kama looked equally disgusted and angered as his eyes continued drilling into Kagami's. It was rather disconcerting, with that slightly feral glint. "I think I'll better leave-"

"You better do," the Hatake spat.

"See you for dinner," Koguma spoke up as if they had just been discussing the weather.

Kagami was already with one foot out of the tent when he heard, "See you for- what on earth is wrong with you, Kogu? Why would you- Is he now pack? Is he, Kogu? Kogu? Please -"

"I can't believe you actually managed getting him to leave your side."

Koguma had his arms crossed in front of his chest as he watched the figure disappear between the trees. "Can't either." He really couldn't. They had been going in circles with their arguing, which had left him exhausted and irritated and guilty and ready to just chug both Susumu and Kama under his arms and drag them as far away as possible.

"How did you do it? He was rather vocal in not wanting to go."

He didn't reply.

"Well, his wife will be glad to see him."

That made him snort and ease the crease between his brows. "Doubt it."

"Yeah." Susumu gave him a shove into his side. "Doubt it too." He stared at where Kama had disappeared for another moment. "I would have never gone."

Koguma turned his head to face him. His brother looked resolute- arms crossed, legs shoulder-width apart, lips pursued. Like a miniature Madara. Only hair white and up in a bun. But the same stocky build and hint of arrogance. "I know."

He knew. Getting Kama to agree had already been a pain in the ass and trying to do the same with Susumu who could turn any of his words on their head with ease- in the end his brother would have managed getting him to take leave. Not even considering that Susumu would have never forgiven him for sending him away. Especially if he would have died, which seemed rather likely given Kagami's haunted frown from the last few days. It was a miracle Kama hadn't caught up on it. But then again, Kama had never really been the most perceptive man, being always caught in his own bubble like that.

No, he and his brother did these things together after all. Had for seventeen years. This was no time to send him, the only true constant in his life, away.

Sending Kama away- he hoped that he would see that Koguma had done it to keep him safe. Keep him for his cubs. Not because Koguma didn't want him at his side. (Although he had lain awake for several nights, Kama snuggled up in his arms and wondered. Wondered if he didn't do it on a subconscious level, because he still couldn't forget being left behind.) Those thoughts made him feel terrible. God awful. For the first time he truly got that people could lose their appetite. Not that he did (he would keel over after two days with his metabolism), but he got it. His chest was constantly clenching and his heart had shifted upwards to a permanent position at the base of his throat. It was constraining and left him feeling claustrophobic.

"Please don't be a weepy little bitch now that Kama's gone," Susumu tried to joke, but sounded rather worried. Koguma should really try to keep the misery out of his expression.

So, he tried to distract Susumu by ruffling his hair and replying in a gruff voice, "Rather planning on getting black out drunk tonight. You in?"

"Hell yeah." He gave him a bright smirk, his limbs brimming with excitement. At least someone loved that Kama had left. "I even know where the Nara's got his stash hidden."

Koguma tried to reply his smirk with equal enthusiasm. "You've already nicked it."

"I've already nicked it."

He clasped down on his shoulder and steered him into the direction of their tents. Time to get rid of the knob in his throat. And how to better ease it than with booze? Had worked quite fantastically in the past after all.

And if Danzo and Hiruzen looked rather knowingly at him that night and joined only too willingly in their booze-fest- Well, his squad didn't remark on it. And Susumu was too out of it to notice. Or maybe, seeing him chuck down an entire flask by himself, he knew only all too well what was going on. His brother was perceptive like that. Made his words spit in anger always hit the mark perfectly.

His thoughts were soon enough confirmed, when Susumu pulled him into a side hug, making them both sway in their unsteady seating. "Whatever the hell's comin'- promise we take leave after. We're gonna sleep in our own beds just f'once. I wanna see Kiyko. And you're comin' with."

Koguma replied his hug and pulled him close enough to press his face into his feathery hair. "Too clever for ya own good." He gave him a loud smooch. "Yeah, promise. Jus' stick with me."

Susumu didn't even fight his affections and instead snuggled up closer- he had to be close to passing out then. "Always. Gonna keep ya t' ya promises tho'."

He stilled for a moment, while the earth swayed violently, before losing his balance and plonking off the log they had been sitting on, pulling his brother right behind him- Hiruzen roared in laughter upon the sight. "Fine." They both stayed lying there in their weird sprawl, Koguma's legs still raised up on the log, arm twisted underneath Susumu's head and his brother pressing down uncomfortably onto his stomach. The stars were twinkling above and the campfire sent burning sparks into the sky every now and then. The leaves littering the ground muffled the sounds of the others still roaring and laughing.

It felt as if it was only them and the night sky. He wished Risu was there, but then again, he probably was. Right up there, twinkling down on them and undoubtedly laughing his ass off seeing them drunk like that. Or hissing that they should turn onto their sides, lest they want to choke on their own vomit.

He'd turn them over himself.

"Had a good night, love?" he would slur, just like he had all those years ago on his fourteenth birthday, when Susumu had gone outside to chat with Jin.

And he'd reply with, "The best." Even if it wasn't true, but it would make Risu smile like the stars and the moon. He had done it so rarely, only ever bitter or lazy smirks and grins.

Risu had probably known that. Koguma asking him instead and Risu replying the same on Susumu's nineteenth birthday- it had made him smile like that too, after all.

And as it was with grief, sometimes it raced at you from out of nowhere and struck you like a hammer to the guts, leaving you aching, breathless and empty. Even after years, only because of some memories wavering up due to a scent that caught your nose, a tone you heard them hum, the taste of their favourite dish, the feeling of the fabric of one shirt you had kept-

Or the stars shining above you and booze coursing through your veins, leaving you dizzy and light-headed.

Gods, he missed him.

He nodded off with that thought echoing through his mind a few heartbeats later.

"Oh, this is promising to be a blast," Susumu sing-sang, his sword humming as he pulled it out of its scabbard.

Gengaku's brows furrowed at that, his lips by now a quilt of bloody patches from where he had chewed on it. "Are you and I seeing the same thing?"

Asa shared a wide grin with Ren, Jiro chuckling softly behind them. "Oh, Koguma, you are treating us."

"Ah, cubs, you know me-" He looked to his left and right, meeting their anticipating smirks. "Anything for you. Just make it messy. I want them to regret ever choosing to join Kumo in the first place."

"Fucking hell. Koguma-"

"Shut up, Rinkusu," he barked back.

If his men needed some pitch black humour to not piss themselves like some of the other Konoha-nin had done upon seeing the sheer masses of opponents standing opposite them, then he was going to give it to them. Maybe it was just about time Konoha saw what squad five was capable of. They'd tear them limb by limb.

"Same rules as always. Stick together. Hold your backs. Three moves for one opponent. If I catch any of you being sloppy, I will chase you through the Kuma forest in your underwear."

"How cruel," Susumu drawled, knocking his sword up on his shoulder in much the same way Jin always had. "You said make it messy."

"One thing doesn't exclude the other."

"Any speeches, Koguma?" Jiro called.

"Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech-" his men chimed with teasing smirks. By now the other squads were already eyeing them as if they were absolutely mental- maybe they were. Team Tobirama looked aghast. And Gengaku positively hateful. Koguma rather thought they were all mad for standing all still and meek like that.

"You want a speech?" Upon the men's delighted whooping, he stepped forward, turned his back on the enemies collected and stretched his arms open wide. He roared across the valley for all of their comrades and enemies to hear, a mocking grin on his lips and filled to the brim with playful acting, "The Hatake mountains have picked off the prey and left the beasts! And now it gives us bones to gnaw on and marrow to suck! Can you smell their fear? Let's tear out their throats and hearts and taste their blood!"

He caught another team cheering loudly at his words and exchanged a bright grin with Naoaki and Genkai, who were pumping their fists into the air two rows down with their own team.

Squad five too roared in agreement, cheering and hollering at his display- it should have been comically, seeing that they were only two hands full among hundreds, but their excitement sounded ominous as their voices echoed through the valley and haled back from the mountains.

He bared his teeth, until his fangs were on full display. "Show them," he growled.

The albino seemed to have some sense of dramatics after all, because he gave the command for attack no five seconds later.

His squad was the first to actually clash with the enemy. No wonder with how pumped up they were. They all worked in tandem, synchronised on each other's movements and always making sure to have the back of at least one member. After Ite had left, they had quickly learned to let honour go and get nasty in their tactics, to make sure none of them got an injury they couldn't patch up themselves.

Just like he had back in the day with Risu and Susumu.

The men and women were falling like weed before his kodachi as he slashed and tore right through them, Susumu always in his peripherals. His brother was soon drenched in sweat, keeping up the gen-jutsu to mess up their opponents' balance and hacking with his own katana the way he did. The loud and arrhythmic blasts trembling through the ground told him that Jiro was still alive and kicking and placing his bomb seals left and right. Asa and Ren's blazing red eyes, spinning viciously, shone through the bloody and dusty surroundings.

A slash across his shoulder made him hiss in pain and turn around to chop off the head of the dark haired shinobi that had snug up on him. Which gave the kunoichi he had been fighting before the chance to swing at him in return. He switched positions with another opponent and watched him get pierced instead.

Suddenly, the field trembled and looking up, he saw a massive chakra monster swing with its arms straight through the masses. Koguma was sure to recognize Naoaki's hateful scream coming from inside of it. Using the distraction, he and his squad tried to fight their way towards their friend and cut down anyone gaping at it. The monster flickered out of life before they had even made it halfway and the silence that followed no three heartbeats later, left him certain the man had died.

And if his pained and hoarse screaming had been anything to go by, so had Genkai.

Kagami flashed past him, helping him take down a rather squirrely opponent- his red eyes were blown wide as they flickered from one spot to the next. "Mangekyou," he breathed and then disappeared in another shunshin.

Koguma had no idea what that meant, but the fervour with which he had said it, had left a shudder in his bones.

He teamed up with his brother against a three man squad moving rather graciously together. One of their hands flickered with lightning and he barely managed pulling Susumu out of its path to not have him get his brain fried. He ducked low, tried cutting at all of their legs, which turned rather sloppy and only made two come down. His brother took a swing and attempted to chop off their heads, resulting in only one clean cut and the other merely clutching at his sliced artery. The third stumbled away and straight into Ren's kunai.

"Saved your ass, old man," the kid laughed. And then got electrocuted by the dying man's jutsu.

Susumu shouted and leapt for the Uchiha- sharingan eyes stared up blankly into nothing. His fingers racing through the seals, Koguma turned to the Kumo-nin still coming at them and took a deep breath. The blazing inferno he unleashed onto foes and allies caught in the crossfire alike would have made Madara fucking proud. The stones burst underneath the heat, bodies littering the ground caught fire and steel melted.

"Kogu!" his brother screamed and pulled at his shoulders. Swaying slightly, he picked up the sword his brother pressed into his hands and started cutting down their attackers coming from behind once more. No time to grief, no time to take a breath.

Numbly he continued in his assault- he towered above all the other opponents with his massive size. It seemed the Kumo-nin had agreed on keeping a healthy distance to him and his blade, which created an entire circle of free space around him. So it took him rather by surprise, when something crashed into his side and tore him straight off his feet, since he had been pressed to seek his next opponent out. The man looming above him and pressing his hands down onto his throat, was even more enormous than he was, one of his palms able to encase his whole face. Koguma pressed his own fingers into the man's eyes and when he fought against his grip, screaming in pain, he tried pulling him down closer to his face. When finally the opponent lost his balance, he latched onto his neck with his fangs and tore at it like a feral animal. His brother saved him by chopping off the man's arms that were still clutching at him.

His throat was bruised and aching, making breathing hard, but he saw Susumu struggle against another kunoichi, so he pulled himself together and moved to get up. He came onto his feet just in time to be blown straight off them again. His ears were ringing and the air had been pressed out of his lungs, making him wheeze. There was a crater a few hundred paces to the right of him, having left nothing but smocking rocks and severed limbs.

"Jiro!" Asa swayed as he came to his feet and stumbled to where the crater was.

Koguma pulled up his brother, who was shaking his head and busy rubbing at his ears from which blood flowed out. Sparing a moment to look across the battlefield-

They were losing.

They were losing badly.

They were going to die.

"Kogu?" Susumu shout-whispered. His eardrums must have blown out with how confused he looked. He wouldn't survive the battle half-deaf.

Koguma grabbed his brother and shunshined over to the still dumbfounded and shouting form of Asa. Pulling him against his side, he saved the Uchiha from the rocks coming flying at him and then kawarimied them to the other side of the field.

There he bumped right into a frantic looking Hiruzen, who had slung the arm of an unconscious Danzo across his shoulder. "Where the fuck is your sensei? What's his masterplan?" Koguma spat right into his face. "We're being slaughtered!"

"I don't know, I don't-" the Sarutobi stuttered. That man looked shell-shocked.

He threw Susumu right at him and twisted Asa out of the way to avoid the kunai swung by an opponent. Using the hilt of his sword, he shattered the man's sonar plexus and broke his jaw. "Where's Kagami? We need to go. We need to go now."

"I don't-"

And then the hair on the back of his arms raised up. Eery silence pressed down onto the battlefield. He scanned the area for where this massive surge of chakra was coming from- the earth broke open and for a moment it looked as if it was birthing training poles.

The albino's master plan? Training poles?

They were caskets.

The air reeked of decay, rot and mould as they opened and figures stepped out of them. Not only the Konoha-nin were staring, but the Kumo as well.

Chaos erupted.

Vines and roots broke out of the earth, swallowing their opponents whole, ripping them apart. Shadows raced across the ground and pierced fleeing men and women alike. Water jutsu mixed with lightning, wind with fire blasting across the valley, eradicating all life.

All the while the figures stared blankly ahead, skin cracked, pale and cold. Stinking, stinking, stinking of death. The silver hair of Okami, the blond of Rinkusu, teeth bared, canines flashing and hands clutching at the by now rusty blades they had been buried with.

Koguma pulled his brother back as he tried to go and get a closer look and hid him behind his broad figure. Asa's sharingan was burning as he witnessed the dead being raised in horror. Hiruzen and Danzo had fallen silent in shock. No Konoha-nin moved.

All Kumo-nin ran.

The sheer combination of seeing Hashirama Senju resurrected and using his moukton to wipe the board, the Nara, Hatake, Yamanaka, Hyuuga, civilians, Fuma, Inuzuka, Shiranui-

Shiranui.

While the Kumo forces fled, Koguma and Susumu could only stare at one figure standing among the dead, slowly turning its head towards them as if feeling their gaze.

Pitch black eyes, cracked skin, dead, dead, dead.

Koguma was shaking, trembling all over and bared his teeth at the corpse making its way over to them. He walked backwards, still keeping Susumu behind him, although his brother tried to leer past. When the figure stepped closer still, he began growling and dipped his head low, beady eyes locked firmly onto its movements.

Reeking of death, death, death-

"How many years have passed for you to growl at me?"

His brother stilled and then actively fought to come past him, his hearing apparently not entirely shattered. He held him in an iron grip.

"Your hair's all white. Now you really start looking like brothers. Well, from different fathers perhaps."

"Kogu- let me go," Susumu hissed and then fucking used a gen-jutsu to make him stumble. Before he could come far, or god forbid, actually run to the figure, he clutched at his wrist and pulled him back again. "Kogu you dumbass, that's Risu. That's Risu-"

"No," he growled. Reeking of death, death, death. "No."

The dead turned to his brother instead, his face oh so blank. "How many years, Susumu?"

"A little over six years." The air smelled like salty tears and Susumu sobbed as he continued trying to tug out of his grip. "Six years, Risu." He turned to him once more, his cheeks wet and face distorted with misery. "Kogu, Kogu let me fucking go, that's Risu-"

"He's dead." He didn't dare taking his eyes of the figure standing a few meters away from them. "That's not him."

"Did you marry her, Susumu? You must have for still being in Konoha. I'm sure he tried to leave."

"I did, I did," he sobbed. His wrist was turning bloody with how harshly he was twisting and tugging to come out of his grip.

"You wouldn't have survived out here without me anyway." His pitch black eyes hushed back to Koguma's trembling form. "Kogu." The figure took another step forwards, so Koguma took a step back. The dead's black eyes followed him. "You must be getting sloppy for being all bloody like that. Or is this some form of self-punishment? You never got that injured when I was still around."

Koguma's growl turned into a chocked whimper and he took another step backwards, pulling Susumu right with him.

"I'm sorry." The words didn't match his empty expression, his pitch black eyes, the smell of death, death, death- "Oh, love. Look at you. I'm so sorry." He took another step forwards, making Koguma inch back further. "Kogu. Don't hurry with dying because I will wait for you."

"Risu," he finally choked out. And for the first time the figure's lips pulled into a smile. "Risu-" he started again, his grip on Susumu loosening as he stepped forward. His brother immediately raced off towards the figure, stumbling and scraping his hands along the ground to find his balance.

And then the dead collapsed into a heap of earth, dust and a rotting body of a Kumo-nin.

He stared at the spot, at the dead body, not even noticing Susumu's desperate shouting and clutching at the dust. The trembles still raced through his body, more violently now, making his teeth shatter and footing unsteady. His gaze lifted to watch a group of people collected a few hundred metres away from them. White hair, white fur collar, blue armour, arms crossing after just coming out of a seal-

A rough voice pulled him out of his tensing muscles and made his head snap towards a silver-haired man instead. "Koguma-san. Gengaku-taicho isn't responsive at the moment," one of the Okami from Kama's group addressed him. "Kama-taicho trusts you. So squad four awaits your commands on what to do."

His beady eyes flickered to the battered and bloody figures of Kama's squad, seeing them take care of an unconscious Gengaku with badly hidden murderous expressions. The man standing before him couldn't stop glaring daggers at the hokage himself.

"Asa," Koguma called over his shoulder, pulling he Uchiha out of his horrendous stupor. "Take those of squad four still able to move and collect our dead. I want them sealed in scrolls or burned on the spot. The albino won't lay his fingers on Jiro, Ren, Naoaki or Genkai." He gave a nod at the Hatake before him. "Or any of theirs for that matter."

"Permission to take care of any of my kin as well?" Asa croaked, his throat still hoarse from his shouting for Jiro.

Koguma gave him a sharp nod and immediately turned back to keep an eye on the hokage. He was giving orders on clearing the field or taking Kumo-nin prisoners, entirely unbothered by the rotting corpses still littering the field and shinobi sitting beside, crying and wailing and in shock.

As if feeling his gaze, the albino turned his head towards him, eyes narrowing as they locked onto his. Koguma inconspicuously inched towards his still dumbfounded and weeping brother until he was slightly hidden behind his broad back. Everything else fell silent, while he could hear his blood rush in his ears, feel his heart pump right at the base of his throat and taste the bile rising up in him.

"Your own brother-" His voice was but a hoarse hiss and far too low for the albino to actually make out.

The pure justification, certainty and righteousness oozing off the man as he was commanding the field was breath-taking. Now he had his answer- Madara should have burned it all down. Razed it to the ground, to the foundations and down to the roots. Wiped the stain before it could spread, before it could set. And Koguma would have been right at his side.

If the gods were just, they would smite Tobirama right on the spot, make him pay for disturbing the dead. For being vain and arrogant enough to imitate them. They would make him pay.

"Koguma-san, it is done," the Hatake from before interrupted his violent train of thought, his once again brimming muscles. "What now?"

He took some calming breaths and forced his fists to unclench again. "What's your name?"

"Dasuke." The man's eyes followed his gaze towards the hokage, his lips immediately pulling into a snarl.

Koguma didn't say a thing, but he was sure he and Dasuke shared similar thoughts. Sparing a glance down he saw his brother still clutching at the ashes, the tears leaving dirty streaks along his cheeks, blood soaking his hair-

"We're leaving." His voice was low, but resolute.

No one stopped the procession of nine Hatake and one Uchiha from heading back to Konoha. And as they went, they multiplied until they were joined by a whole flock of equally distressed looking shinobi and kunoichi.

The hokage watched on silently.