"Shinobi, stop, please!" He dropped from the tree branch he had only landed on less than a second ago the moment he heard the weak plea. Already in the land of fire, he didn't hesitate for a second to even worry about the feminine voice being any sort of trap, especially due to the fact he had already made a name for himself. No one would be idiotic enough to try anything stupid, he thought to himself. It didn't take him long to find the source of the voice, hidden inside a tree hollow that would be easy for anyone who wasn't looking to miss. He quickly pulled out a small flare, and when he brought the light inside of the tree, his eyes widened.

A pale woman, with long chocolate locks was curled up against the inside of the tree trunk, her shallow uneven breaths and her jaded honey eyes a telltale sign that the woman wouldn't make it through the night no matter what he did. Her chapped lips cracked into a small smile, and he could tell she saw the realization of her inevitable faith on his face.

It hadn't been the first time he had witnessed someone die, and it certainly wouldn't be the last, after all, the life of shinobi was one filled with war and death, but it was still something he hated to see. He had been born a soft-hearted person, something his fellow team members always chastised him for, and something the old man admired in him, but in his opinion, it was just a reminder to himself of how human he was.

"I know I'm beyond help… but my daughter…" She slowly moved her arm, exposing the small child that had been draped over with the ivory mulberry silk sleeve of her rumpled yukata. His mind was spinning, trying to figure out what someone with such refined characteristics was doing dying on the forest ground like that, but his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her voice. "The Kaguya clan…our clan… they fear those born with white hair, for that signifies the inheritance of the Shikotsumyaku."

He had heard of the clan before. Bloodthirsty and war loving, two things that spelled nothing but chaos. They had made a name for themselves during the Warring States Period, a clan favored by the founders of Kirigakure, hired to do their bidding against other rival countries. Once Kirigakure was founded, the clan was ostracized, in turn, making the Kaguya go into exile. No one had heard of them since.

"Kekkei genkai?" The woman nodded. His eyes fell back to the small sleeping child, bundled in the same fabric of the woman's clothes. Her small headful of white hair was a shocking contrast to the dark brown of her mother's hair, but her small forehead bore the same ruby red twin dots, and her bottom eyelids were also underlined in the red color. She was almost as still as a corpse, but the small rise and fall of her chest let him know otherwise.

"I ran away the moment she was born… it took me two months to get here in my condition… I've heard of the Leaf. I just… wanted to get her there… Kasumi…" The light of the flare illuminated her tears, and with a shaky hand, she caressed the white curls on top of the child's small head. "Please shinobi, do a dying woman one favor… take Kasumi to the leaf…far from the Kaguya."

He nodded his head, and not a second later, the woman's arm dropped to her side. She had been so close to the village, less than four hours away. With steady fingers he closed her eyes, and had he not known any better he would've assumed her to be sleeping. He had brough her final peace when he agreed to take the small child to Konohagakure, and he let the thought comfort him before he picked up the small bundle cradled between the woman's arm and her lifeless body.

The small child stirred a bit, and before he knew it, two large jade eyes were peering at him. He expected a wail, some sort of reaction to the fact that a stranger was holding her, but none came. Instead, the infant, who judging by what the woman had told him, couldn't be more than two or so months old, turned her head and fell back into a slumber.

…

Having reached Konohagakure, Jiraiya skipped the gate guards and quickly made his way towards the only person he could think of to be of any help. The old man was home, he could tell from the orange glow emanating from the windows of the Hokage's residence. He quickly leaped onto the window of the study and was met by the sight of the old man sitting down, almost as if he was waiting for him to join him. He was mid-drag, and when he exhaled the smoke in his lungs, he greeted him.

"Jiraiya." Jiraiya quickly took a seat before him, and their eyes met briefly before Sarutobi let his gaze drop to the bundle in his arms. His eyes widened dramatically, and had it been any other situation, Jiraya might have poked fun at the old man, but the matter was different. "Is that your-"

"Geez old man, have some faith in me! I was on my way back here when I stumbled upon her and her mother." The somber look on his face was made apparent by the acknowledgement in his former teachers face. He didn't have to mention that the young woman hadn't made it. "I was able to speak to her for a bit. She was running away from the Kaguya clan, hoping to have her daughter be raised in Konoha."

The old man had a glazed look in his eyes, and for a second Jiraiya didn't know how to continue. He knew him enough to know he wouldn't turn away from the small child, he too had a soft heart, but he wasn't sure what he would recommend. Before he could ask him for some sort of verbal acknowledgement, the old man extended his arms towards him, and Jiraiya instantly knew what he was reaching for. He settled the small child in his arms, and her bright eyes opened immediately, taking in the sight of the new person who was now holding her.

Her small mouth curved into a toothless smile, and his eyes softened when he noticed the way the old man reciprocated the facial expression. Jiraiya hadn't been around many small children in his thirty years of life, but the few that he had been around hadn't been as calm as the small one in the old man's arms. "Does she have a name, Jiraiya?"

"Kasumi. Kasumi Kaguya." Hiruzen nodded his head, the action causing the fabric of his hat to fall within the reach of the girls grasp, and when she took a handful of it and tugged, the old man laughed.

"Did you have anything in mind for young Kasumi here? I could always enroll her into the orphanage, but most children with an ounce of greatness within them almost always end up within the ranks of Danzo's Root." The mention of the ANBU branch brought a bitter taste to his mouth, and without a second of hesitation he shook his head.

"If you grant her permission to stay, I'll stay for as long as it takes me to train her enough for her to be able to look after herself."

"Very well," he outstretched his arms, and the old man placed the smiling girl back into his arms. "I have a few old scrolls that Konoha acquired from the Warring Ages Period about the smaller clans, and I'm sure there were some with the Kaguya name in them. I'll have them ready for you tomorrow morning, they might come in handy." He nodded his head, and with the small girl comfortably in his arms, he stood up, ready to take his leave. Before he jumped back out the same window he had entered through, the old mans voice made him stop in his steps. "You might want to find a better place than that small broom closet you call an apartment, hell, even the Forest of Death is a better place to raise a child in."

…

It was midnight by the time Jiraiya made it to his apartment. He had stopped at a convenience store in order to find some suitable food for the small girl who was visibly becoming slightly agitated, and it dawned on him that he didn't know how long it had been since she had last had anything to eat. Once he had reached the convenience store, it had quickly dawned on him that he had no clue what to feed the girl, and when he had brought a gallon of milk and some straws to the woman at the counter of the store, she had loudly admonished him before taking pity on him and instructing him on the basics of child rearing.

So, the Sannin had left the store with a small can of some sort of powdered milk, a 3-pack set of bottles (because apparently babies don't know how to use straws) and diapers and wipes. On top of that, on the way home, he had felt a warm sensation on his chest and arm, and when he caught a whiff of pee, he almost cried. Almost. Instead, he beelined it to his place as fast as he could.

Once there, Jiraiya had carefully gave Kasumi a bird bath in his sink, and once she smelled like nothing more than the wildflower soap that Tsunade had gifted him on his 27th birthday, he had dried her up with a clean towel and maneuvered a diaper onto her bottom. He had then emptied out his woven laundry basket and placed the now clean baby in it while he read the instructions on the back of the formula container.

After feeding her, he patted her back softly like the woman at the store had instructed until she burped. By then, he was drained, and when he laid her down in the laundry basket, she had cried for the first time. He attempted to rock her into a drowsy state, but every time he tried to set her down into the basket, she instantly wailed, until he finally gave up and laid her down next to him on the small futon of his bedroom, cradled between his arm and his chest. Only then did she drift off into a slumber, and it was then that Jiraiya realized just how attached he would become to the small snow haired girl.

…

The next morning, Jiraiya was awoken by the sound of a soft childish laughter, and for a millisecond he panicked, until the memories of the events from the night before came back to him. Kasumi was wide awake, the makeshift swaddle he had fashioned out of an old shirt had come undone, and he quickly remembered that aside from picking up the scrolls the old man had mentioned, he'd also have to buy her clothes.

After taking the quickest shower he had ever taken in his life, (so quick that he hadn't had time to let the warm water come out so he had been forced to use cold water) he fed Kasumi and packed her essentials before making his way to the old man.

"Jiraiya!" He recognized that playful tone, and when he turned, he was met with lively onyx eyes, the trademark sign of the Uchiha clan. Amaya Uchiha was waving him over from a distance, a bag of groceries in one hand, and something secured to her chest with some sort of navy colored wrap.

Amaya had grown close to Tsunade during their childhood, which led to Jiraya growing an amicable relationship with the Uchiha woman too, but when Tsunade left the village and Amaya married, he had seen less and less of her. He made his way over to the woman, offering a smile, and when he reached her, he noticed the pouty faced child poking out of the wrap.

"It seems we both passed down our good looks to our kids!" The excitement in her voice was contagious, and before he knew it, he was grinning, too flattered to even want to correct her. "This is Shisui, and he's a bit upset I took him away from his cousin so early in the morning."

"This is Kasumi, we just met yesterday." Her eyes widened and before she could chastise him, he elaborated. "I found her on my way back to Konoha, I couldn't leave her on her own."

"Oh, Jiraiya! Do you know how old she is? Do you need any help? I have some girl clothes I was gifted before Shisui was born, if you'd like, you can come over later and pick them up!" The concern in her voice was genuine, and he could hear the unspoken apology for jumping to conclusions like the old man had the night before, but he couldn't blame them, he didn't have the neatest record when it came to women.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer, there's still a lot I need to learn, an old woman at a convenience store gave me a quick run through last night." He replied, as he motioned to the pack strapped to his back filled with Kasumi's things.

"How does 3pm sound?"

"Perfect." Their chat was interrupted by the laugh coming from their two infants, the small Shisui leaning out as much as the wrap allowed him towards the fully woken Kasumi, who was in turn enthralled by the raven-haired boy. "Shisui seems to have taken a liking to Kasumi."

"Seems like it."

…

Four years later

"Kasumi!" The small girl quickly finished her way toward the cabin hidden in the forest, a stringer packed with fresh fish in one hand and a long white spear in the other, making sure to leave no tracks behind. Once she reached her destination, she was met by the serious expression on her father's face.

"Fresh fish." She handed him the heavy stringer and he took it, before tousling her hair that had been neatly tied into a low ponytail at the nape of her neck. A few curls escaped the tie, falling softly on her face, and she quickly blew them out of the way.

"This is way too much fish for just the two of us, Kasumi." Her gaze fell on the floor, and she could feel her cheeks burning up from being called out on the large catch.

"The older boy with the silver hair was there again. I wanted to beat him." The white-haired man laughed heartily, and she couldn't help the small laugh that slipped out of her as they made their way inside.

"You should talk to him instead, not everything has to be a competition. Kakashi is kindhearted." She huffed in response but considered his words. Kakashi. Maybe next time she saw him, she'd offer him a spear so he could try fishing her way. It was definitely faster. "I'm going on a mission."

Her head snapped up to her father, who was now facing the counter of the kitchen with his back to her, scaling the fish for their dinner. He had told her he would start taking missions now that she was fully capable of defending herself, and she had understood, but hadn't expected it to happen so soon. Kasumi took a seat on the small table, and her lack of response caused him to send her a questioning look. "Does the prospect of being alone scare you?"

"No, Jiraiya-pa." He had begun to train her the moment she learned to walk, teaching her everything he knew and then helping her as much as he could with her kekkei genkai. Old man Sarutobi's scrolls had helped tremendously, to the point where it mattered none that she had no one to physically teach her what her Shikotsumyaku could do. She knew what it did and how to use it to its full potential. "How long will you be gone?"

"There's no telling. The Third Shinobi War has begun, and I've postponed leaving to the frontlines for too long." She nodded her head. "I leave tonight."

"I'll be fine Jiraiya-pa." The words came out a bit quieter than she had wanted, and she mentally berated herself for coming off so weak. She was almost five dammit! Jiraiya-pa had taught her to be strong, and she was already letting him down, and he hadn't even left yet! The stinging on the inside of her cheek and the metallic tang of blood in her mouth alerted her to the fact that she had once again bit herself, too distracted with her internal strife to stop herself from the annoying habit of gnawing on her cheek.

"I know you will." His affirmation brought her out of her thoughts, and she quickly swallowed the blood that had seeped out of the small wound in her mouth. "If you need anything, you know where to find the old man and Amaya. I'll be writing to you, okay?"

"Okay."

They ate dinner in a comfortable silence, something was troubling Jiraiya-pa, but she knew it would weaken his resolve of leaving her on her own if she asked him what it was, and the last thing she wanted to do was hold him back. She had grown to love her village, and she knew how instrumental his presence at the front lines would be. He'd probably even make the war end faster, that's how strong he was!

With her mood slightly lightened at the prospect of her strong Jiraiya-pa coming home soon, she picked up the last bear shaped onigiri, (which suspiciously resembled more of a toad, but he had tried) and bit into it with newfound vigor. Once their meal was over with, she quickly cleared the table and washed their dishes while her father gathered the things he'd need for his mission. Once she was done, she was surprised by the sight of the white haired Sannin holding out a rather large box towards her.

"I know I won't be here for your birthday Kasumi, so I figured I'd get you an early present." She hesitated for a bit, too taken by surprise to react, but when he pushed the box closer to her, she took it. As she slowly opened the box, his words were a background noise to the thoughts in her head, but she could still process what he was saying. "I know you'll get bored without me here; I think a hobby will do you well."

Inside the box was a musical instrument she had only seen a handful of times in her few outings to the village market with the older man. She had certainly been intrigued by the beautiful melodies that derived from it, but she hadn't thought he'd taken notice, too enthralled he had been with the beautiful woman that had been playing the tune. She carefully set the instrument down, before running towards him and wrapping her small arms around as much as she could of him. "Thank you, Jiraiya-pa."

…

I know I should be updating my other two stories, but I've grown to love Shisui all of a sudden and I feel like he deserved some happiness. Kasumi will be that, in this story. I imagine Kasumi as a female version of Kimimaro (appearance wise, but with curly hair). Seeing as she has been raised by Jiraiya, she is kind and softhearted like him, but there's many things that bother her internally (she knows he's not really her father, and she knows how she was found, and about the hateful nature of her clan.) As for the name of the story, you'll see why I chose Manic if you decide to stick it through and get entranced in this story.