"How old are you?"
"Ten."
That's pretty much all that was said between them the first few days. Over half that time he had to be carried, as his legs had become so weak from being an invalid for so long. Echiko didn't feel like talking, and it seemed his companion didn't mind silence either. But he could sense the tension between them, like some sort of wall that the man had put up as if he didn't want to get close to him. Yet he could also tell he was itching for some sort of distraction, like his thoughts were eating him up inside and he couldn't contain it so it expressed itself in his knotted brow and tight lips. If his thoughts were anything like his own, then he understood the difficulty.
They came to a hut by the wayside and procured two bowls of curry from the owner, eating on one of the benches outside. Echiko hadn't given much thought to where they were headed, and didn't ask. He'd deal with it when they get there. But his mind mulled over what he had heard the stranger, Hijame, and the old man talk about, that his sister and her husband would be there. His sister... did he mean Kimi? Of course. There was no one else.
So she hadn't forgotten about him.
The slightest form of a smile touched his lips, and he ate more vigorously and even finished the bowl, something he hadn't accomplished in months. All the while Hijame watched him, like a spectator, wondering what was going through his head.
And the scenery changed and it was like they traveled to a different world entirely. The harsh and cold rocky mountains and marshy valleys gave way to rolling hills and a brilliantly clear, warm sky. They came into Akimoto, a large town north-east of their destination, where a festival celebration was occurring and people and vendors selling strange things were everywhere. Lanterns were strung over the streets and illuminated the crowds with an array of colours, but the lively din penetrated Echiko's ears in an altogether unpleasant way. There were too many people. Uncomfortable, he drew his hat farther over his eyes and stayed as close to his guide as possible without touching him until they were just passing the outskirts of the town. Hijame stopped short, and Echiko looked up.
"Well if it isn't Minato-sensei's troop of genin," the man said aloud. A moment later a slender form flashed before their eyes, standing squarely in front of the dusty travelers with his arms crossed. He looked to be only a few years older than Echiko, but set on his forehead was a metal protector etched with the symbol of Konoha Village, a leaf, showing he was a full-fledged shinobi, or ninja.
That's right... ninja. It's been a long time since he's met anyone with that title, but he could always tell. Hijame was definitely one of them, too. And me... I am one of them.
"Hijame-senpai," the boy said respectfully. His silvery-white hair stuck out from under his headband and all of it generally tilted to the left side of his head and bobbed as he nodded. He wore a short-sleeved suit that ended at his knees, a mask ever present over the lower half of his face, with a cross-piece belt wrapped around his torso. He held himself with reserve as if ready to spring into battle at a moment's notice.
His two friends were not quite as naturally attuned.
"Hey! Hey Kakashi, wait up!" Another boy huffed into view, clearly irritated with his companion enough not to notice the strangers on the road before he almost tripped into them. Following closely behind looked to be a sweet-tempered, brown haired girl who quickly recognized the tall young man beside him.
"Hijame-san! What are you doing here?" She clapped her hands, two purple squares on her cheeks glowing as brightly as her eyes.
"Kakashi, Rin, Obito," Hijame acknowledged. Echiko looked on in wonder.
The second boy was dumbstruck for a second, taking a bit longer to catch on. Then his hands grasped the enormous pair of goggles strapped to his head as he exclaimed, "Oh!" And then trying to appear smarter than the others he added, "Weren't you on a really secret mission, Hijame-san?"
"If you were any less dense you would have noticed that he's on the road back to Konoha, Obito," was Kakashi's terse interjection. Obito growled at him.
"You idiots. I see it's just the three of you today," Hijame said quickly, his demeanor quite completely reversed from what it had been before the group showed up. His tone was oddly pleasant and happy. Was he just a good actor or was it real?
"Sensei was called away," the girl Rin explained. Obito's words almost rolled over her.
"Who is this?"
He was staring rather obtrusively in Echiko's face, who had silently been watching their whole episode play out, not sure what to think.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Echiko – these are some students I happen to know." Hijame pulled Obito back by his hair and smiled, which Echiko noticed was the first time he smiled since he met him, and it didn't seem fake either. "I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of each other in the future."
Rin held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Echiko-kun! I'm Rin."
He took her offered hand somewhat hesitantly.
"And I'm Uchiha Obito!" proudly stated the second boy as soon as he freed his hair from Hijame's grasp. "And that moron over there is Kakashi."
"I'm not a moron," Kakashi bristled.
"Yeah, anyways, we're on a C-Rank mission in Akimoto. We get to stay and see all the festival lights!" he gleamed. "I heard they sell cool masks and scarves and stuff too. Oh and dango! I wonder if they have any dishes with tomatoes? And-"
"-And we're on mission so we better get going," Kakashi said, shoving the other boy out of his rambling. "It was good to see you, Hijame-senpai."
"Have fun."
"Just 'cause you're chuunin doesn't mean you can push us around," pouted Obito as he was being dragged off, however he turned back with a grin and waved. "See you around, Echiko! Hijame-san!"
The three of them disappeared around the corner.

He surprised even himself by speaking first. "...They are...?"
"Shinobi, or ninja, just like you are, though they've been trained since a young age." His companion looked at him. "They are one of our most promising young teams."
"...'Genin' and 'chuunin'?"
"They're rankings we use to determine the level of skill a shinobi has. Genin are the lowest rank and are mostly students fresh out of our Academy. Chuunin are second-level rank, and jonin are elite. There is also specialized task forces which consist of ninja even more skilled than jonin." He paused. "That boy Kakashi and I are both chuunin rank. Can you tell which of us has the most talent?"
It was a rhetorical question, and Echiko wasn't thinking about his personal jealousy. Rather the word 'Academy' caught his interest and he recalled hearing about it before. They have an Academy to teach the children to become shinobi? His father had been his only teacher, and he figured the various shinobi clans taught their own children as well. But maybe he was wrong.
"You will most likely be enrolled in the Academy following your arrival, if that's what the Hokage and the council decide for you. Honestly I have no idea why they even bothered..." His voice went strangely quiet, and Echiko was left to determine what he meant by that as they continued down the well-traveled road toward that famed city called Konohagakure.

At first from the stories about the place he thought it would have been well hidden, as it was called a 'Hidden Village' after all. But it was exactly the opposite. The place was enormous, and out in the open, surrounded by these huge trees that were as tall as the outer walls themselves, which were ridiculously tall. The road to the village's Main Gate was wide and flat, enough room for a whole caravan of dignitaries and travelers to come all at once if need be, and at this time of day it was relatively busy as those who lived and farmed outside the walls came in and out.
The Gate itself was a masterpiece, with its solid wooden doors tinted green, and up above on the archway the painted symbol of a leaf stood out like a ruby to all who entered, like a watchful guardian on the walls. And as beautiful as the entrance was, it felt also just as formidable, the cold stone frightfully bare, reminding him of the sheer cliffs of the mountains back home. He began to shiver uncontrollably as they walked under its great shadow and approached a decent sized cabin that looked to be a guardhouse, though Hijame passed by it without much of a glance, and Echiko was quick on his heels.
This village, though a lot more modern in design, felt as alive as Akimoto, even livlier. Little shops, colored flags and enticing signs hanging in their entryways, were lined all along the roads, three-story homes and apartments scattered throughout, stacked together, with women pinning clothes to dry from the windows while below citizens and ninja alike loitered around in conversation under the canvas-shaded doorways. The air wafted with the smells of hot soup and baked breads, and as the evening light faded, lamps of all sizes brightened up, settling the village in a comfortable glow.
Strangely, it was comfortable. Was it just because he knew that shinobi clans like his own lived here in harmony with the regular commonfolk? Was that the reason? His sense of wanting to belong was greater than ever, but... could he belong here? What if they were just like the others? Nothing was ever as perfect as it seems.
They were heading straight towards an enormous cliff that served as the southern boundary of the village, and his mouth gaped open. It wasn't just a cliff, it was a monument. Carved into its face were three heads and room for more, and he recalled reading about this in his history books. Those heads were the previous military leaders of this country, the founders of this village and the keepers of peace and war, and the last one... the last one was the current Hokage, the old man with the pointy goatee. That man... he remembered his father's discontent as clear as day, when he said he didn't trust that man. What did he mean? Why?
They entered a lobby at the base of a fat, round tower with little square windows along the rim, and skipped up the stairs to the third, no fourth level, down a twisted hallway, and approached a set of doors having passed as many as a dozen guards and others along the way. Before his guide even knocked on the door Echiko had a feeling he already knew who they were meeting. An old man's voice called out from within the room.
"Come in, Ohayashi-san."
The room wasn't very big, and along its curved walls were tall windows with bamboo shades to regulate the amount of sunlight streaming onto the paper-stacked desk on the far side of the office. There in a padded chair sat a relatively old man, perhaps in his late fifties, the same pointy goatee as in the rock depiction, his narrow wrinkled eyes gleaming as he welcomed them with a smile and a gesture to come forward.
"I have completed my mission, Hokage-sama. Here is my report." Hijame bowed and placed the scroll on the desk.
"Excellent, excellent," the old man nodded his partially bald head. "You have done well, Hijame-kun. Is this child the survivor you mentioned in your message?"
"Yes, sir, the boy is Nakayama Echiko, the son of Nakayama Takahiro."
"I see, indeed, there is much resemblance. I'm sorry about what happened, Echiko-kun. You have my condolences."
Echiko avoided his piercing gaze until it returned its attention to Hijame. "Were you able to find anything at the site?"
"There was no trace that someone had been there, but I did find the seals had been deactivated and any information that might have been stored there was missing. There's a more detailed account in my report."
"That is unfortunate. It is my fault for not having been aware of the situation sooner." He was thoughtful for a moment. "Alright, then. You are dismissed. Please escort the boy to Shimizu's, though, would you?"
"Of course, Hokage-sama," Hijame bowed again and pulled Echiko back out the door and down the twisted stairs, picking something up at the secretary's desk before exiting the building with a condescending sigh. "Well that's finally over. Come on, Daisuke-san's probably home, and your sister too. I know them both well, you will like it here."
They avoided the crowded areas, and detoured through the back streets until they came upon a more old-fashioned residential district where all the houses were traditional and simply designed.

[[Author's note: for some reason, I switched point of views to Hijame. Whatever]]

The house they approached differed little from the ones beside it except for the weeping plum tree rooted by its front porch, which would have been beautiful given any other season, its twisted branches bare and gloomy in the fading light as is. Gloomy the home was not, however, as Hijame hoped the boy would find and warm up to.
Lighting onto the porch, Hijame ignored formalities and let himself in the unlocked door, as he would any other day. "Hello Senpai, are you home? Kimi-chan?"
There was a commotion toward the back of the house, and a deep voice called out, "Just one second! Ow!" A series of grunts and exclamations ensued, along with the sound of something heavy falling to the floor, before an orange-haired man emerged grinning wearily, his arms completely weighed down with a mass of books and scrolls, and other odd paraphernalia.
Hijame sighed. "What are you doing, Daisuke-san?"
"Don't worry about me, Hijame-kun," he sing-songed, "Come, sit down! You can move that stuff wherever. I haven't organized that pile yet." He was referring to the living room floor, which likewise was covered with a sea of papers spilling from the low table in the center of the room. "I see things haven't changed here," Hijame mumbled to himself. He sat Echiko down beside him. He wasn't even sure if his friend had noticed the boy yet.
"I have some troubling news," he decided to start, wishing Kimi was around so he wouldn't have to say it again.
Daisuke was serving the tea, and he glanced up, his piercing green eyes suddenly very wise. "I already know."
"Wait, what? You do?" Hijame unconsciously wrapped his fingers around the mug he was given.
"After the last summon you sent me, I asked Hokage-sama if I could look into it. What I found out was quite unsettling." He passed Echiko his cup, smiling as he added, "It's good to see you again, Echiko-kun. I'm glad you're alright."
"But what did you learn?" Hijame insisted, eager to know what his senpai had uncovered.
"Bah! Such a gloomy subject, why don't we discuss this later, hm?" He waved him off, picking up one of the papers on the table.
Hijame backed off reluctantly, understanding what he implied. Whatever he discovered, it was not something that they could bring up in front of the boy. That was too harsh. But he felt he had a hard time waiting for his answers.
"I've already made preparations for Echiko to stay with us," Daisuke was saying, "and enrolled him in the Academy. Is that alright with you, Echiko-kun?" The kid just nodded, unable to say no or yes to anything at this point. "You'll get to have your own room, at least until the little one is old enough to walk and talk. Oh! Hijame, you didn't tell him? Well I have news for you, Echiko! You're going to be an uncle!" He reached over the table and patted Echiko's blue hair. "I'm terribly excited, and it won't be long of a wait now! You have to see Kimi. She's HUGE."
Hijame rolled his eyes. Sometimes he wondered how this man ever became his senpai.
"But anyways, Hijame, how did you come about finding him?" Daisuke's attention returned to the matter at hand. "It was impossible for me to tell of anyone had survived, and your letter was quite vague." Hijame briefly recalled sending off his messenger bird after he had approached Yamaguchi and heard the rumors.
"The villagers talk, Senpai," he replied. "I was able to track him down due to their superstitious gossip."
"Superstitious?"
"Yes, they believed the same destruction would befall them if they took in the refugees, because of the ninja among them."
"Pfft," Daisuke snorted. "My, you don't hear that every day. But I suppose you can't blame them."
"No," Hijame paused. "I really had no idea that's how common-folk perceive us shinobi, in our own country. Our feuds with each other are detrimental to their peaceful existence."
"Hmm." They sipped their tea. "Mm, Echiko-kun, what did you think?" Daisuke probed.
The boy was silent for a moment. "...They are afraid... of what they don't understand."
Daisuke inclined his head. "The citizens in Konoha are not all shinobi either, yet they live together with us without fear. Is it because we protect them that they understand and accept us?"
"Daisuke-san," Hijame said. "The only reason we have need to protect them is because shinobi exist in the first place. And we not only exist, but we train our children and make our living by fighting and killing. I believe the results of this system were the First and Second Shinobi Wars. If that system was crushed, would not the commoners have nothing to fear?"
"Wars and bloodshed will still continue whether ninja are involved or not." Daisuke ran a hand through his hair. "We seem forever fated to fight amongst ourselves. We could be farmers or gods and it would not make a difference. Well, except for a little change in terrain." He chuckled.
Hijame realized it was getting late. "Where is Kimi-chan, by the way?"
"Hm, I recall she was helping at the hospital. She may not get back for a while." He swung himself up. "Well, why don't we go for a midnight stroll and go look for her? Sound exciting, boys? You know you're welcome to stay tonight, Hijame-kun. You won't get Kimi's wonderful cooking in that stuffy old apartment of yours."
Hijame agreed, but only because he still had so much on his mind.

They made their way back out of the old prefecture and through the cheery lantern lights around the village's market streets. There were less people about now, but every so often a passerby would say hello and speak a few words with Daisuke and listen to him brag about his new ward, who tried to stay out of the spotlight to no avail. Hijame switched positions restlessly, feeling like taking to the rooftops and returning with Kimi in two seconds. He wasn't much of a leisurely walker, something which Daisuke loved to do, and the thoughts turning over and over in his head were becoming oppressive.
He jerked when something tugged at his sleeve. It was Echiko. He was pointing off in the direction of the Hokage's Office, his voice soft with wonder. "Those faces on the cliff... they are, Senju Hashirama and Tobirama?"
Hijame gazed toward the towering monument of all the military leaders, the Hokage, carved into the cliffside, glowing reminiscently in the moonlight. He had no idea the boy knew anything about the First and Second Hokages. "Yes, you're correct." He said. "And the third carving is Sarutobi Hiruzen, our current Hokage." The rock showed the depiction of an old man with spiky hair and a goatee, set against his two, younger-looking predecessors as they all stared ominously over the village. It's not every day you get to see three giant heads glaring down on you – unless, of course, you live here.
"What do you know about them?" questioned Hijame, mainly just to kill time. Daisuke was blabbering off to someone he vaguely recognized, so he figured they weren't going anywhere anytime soon.
"Senju Hashirama founded Konohagakure," Echiko said. "Along with Uchiha Madara and Tobirama, his brother... He was a wood-user and is considered to be the 'God of Shinobi.' ...Uchiha Madara turned on him and left the village, and their statues stand at the Valley of the End." He paused. "Senju Tobirama was a powerful water-user and the creator of Space-Time Ninjutsu."
This was probably the most he's ever heard the boy say. "Not very many kids your age can remember all that, even here at the Academy." Hijame himself focused more on physical study than reading old books back in his Academy days. "What about Sarutobi Hiruzen?"
There was some hesitation before he said, "...my father did not like him."
Confusion swept over Hijame's countenance. What's that supposed to mean? "He is a very compassionate and indulging old man, from what I know of him." Also rather strict and stingy when he's not in the best mood.
But Echiko was quiet again, and Daisuke soon herded them over a bridge and down to the medical center to find Kimi.
"Ho, is my wife around here somewhere?" He inquired of the receptionist at the desk. But before the clerk could get his name, a notepad clattered to the ground on the other side of the room and all heads turned.
"Eh?... E-Echiko-kun?" Her voice was high but everyone recognized her. Her long, flowing blue hair fell close to her hips, a slender hand holding one side of her swollen belly as she stopped there stricken with surprise. She wore a medics' coat loosely over her pale blue yukata with her name on it.
It was Kimi.
"Hm, see? Didn't I tell you she's enormous, Echiko-kun?" Daisuke laughed. No one, of course, payed much attention to him as Echiko stood stock still, an enigmatic flurry of emotions playing across his face. Hijame all of a sudden became very uneasy. What if this doesn't work out? He knew the boy had some abandonment issues with his sister, but he hadn't thought as far as how to resolve it. He only hoped Kimi instinctively knew what to do.
And she did. In two seconds she passed through the reception hall and without warning, took the stiff boy into her arms and embraced him. "Oh dear God, Echiko-kun, you're alive!" Her heart was in her words and tears and she held onto him, his small body barely encompassing her expanded torso.
Echiko's eyes were wide, and slowly, he accepted his sister's affection and buried his head in her shoulder, tears of his own forming. Hijame smiled. That boy is such a baby.

It was later that night back in the Shimizu household that Hijame finally broached what was on his mind to Daisuke as they sat alone outside on the porch, gazing into the clear night sky.
"Daisuke-senpai," he said slowly. "Why are you sending him to the Academy?"
The older man readjusted the collar of his robe lazily. "Why not?"
Kimi was with the boy now, preparing a bath for him as soon as supper was over and talking incessantly to him the entire time.
Hijame sighed, wondering about the starry-eyed couple's sanity. "Did you honestly get a good look at him or did you fail to see the boy weighs less than sixty pounds and is missing his left leg?"
"He is a Nakayama, did you forget?" The implication in Daisuke's deep tone sent a chill down his spine.
"I... I know he is a Nakayama," Hijame frowned, "but that has nothing to do with this. He can't become a shinobi, Daisuke-san."
"I thought he already was," was Daisuke's nonchalant answer.
Their bantering back and forth was getting nowhere. "Senpai, why can't you see? He's broken. He can't fight. He'll sooner be killed in the Academy before he even makes it on field missions!" Unwittingly he had raised his voice, but he continued nonetheless. "And the other children, they'll crush him! He'll be treated no better than a jinchuuriki, Senpai. Do you honestly think that's the best for him after all he's been through!?"
There was a pause and the crickets filled the silence before Daisuke spoke again.
"I haven't told you what I found out in my investigation yet, Hijame-kun. I have a very good reason for what I am doing."
Hijame blinked. "Your... investigation?"
"Echiko-kun being from the Nakayama Clan, much more so its heir, has everything to do with it."