She squinted as she stepped into the sunlight, lifting a hand to block it from her eyes. Her movement was uneven, aided by a staff that she clung to as she carefully navigated a great granite step at the doorway of the Healers Den. At her side, Shinrin fluttered, a worried purr building in her throat as Miho stepped down. One step. Two steps. Miho ignored the fretting and the way her legs shook as she moved. She ignored how her arms ached after only this much movement.
The warmth of the sun was like…Love.
It felt a lot like love. Like kisses pressed to her cheeks and forehead. Like an embrace.
She closed her eyes and just let the sun rain down on her. Free.
She was free.
Her knee twinged with a half step forward. Healer Ha— Grandfather Ha— was adamant that it would never be the same. It could be fortified and strengthened. It could be maneuvered around and she could learn to live with it. But it would always be different. Miho looked down at the bandages and the way bruises painted their way down her calf. She knew they trailed up her thigh.
Her clothes were new, light-weave fabric. They felt strange, different from the heavy material that the Akimichi wore. Her clothes from imprisonment were...unrecognizable. She was unrecognizable. Shinrin had growled as she'd thrown them into the fire. Only the red scarf remained, washed and pressed, wrapped loosely around her shoulders.
Shinrin lowered herself to her forepaws. "Hold to my fur, Lady Miho. I will guide you there."
Grasping Shinrin's soft shoulder fur, Miho ambled next to the bear across the central commons. Around the square, there were large wooden buildings with very similar designs to the healing space. Bears lingered about, talking and making and laughing. Carvings and paintings of bears and storms were on each and every surface, clouds and lightning and rain. It was careful, intricate work. It must've taken a millennia. There were mountains in the distance, dark purple-tinged clouds beyond them.
"Shinrin, is this our new cub-sister?"
A large bear with light brown fur approached. It was nearly as tall as Elder Torifu, falling back onto its haunches as it stopped. Its jowls loosely fell around its teeth as it grinned. Shinrin stayed on her quads, shooting the new bear a dirty look the likes of which Miho'd never seen from her friend before. Shinrin was the most polite being she knew. "Do not cause trouble, Tsuyoi."
Tsuyoi looked perfectly offended, huge jaw dropping. "Excuse me? Did I do anything?" He looked to Miho for verification and she minutely shook her head. The world swam and she gripped the staff a bit tighter. "You look like a balloon when all the air's out of it." Shinrin snarled. Tsuyoi raised his forepaws. "What? She does." His eyes tracked to the flaps of skin on her arms.
It was uncomfortable.
Her skin felt too loose. Her arms and legs felt too light. Her weights were gone. All of them. It threw everything off balance. The skin folded over her stomach felt itchy. Her body was in such disarray that she wondered how she could possibly gain all that weight back in a healthy way. She felt off-kilter, unsteady. Uneasy.
Elder Ayumu would help her to gain it back. Wouldn't she?
Miho's stomach turned. Was she… still part of the Akimichi Clan?
Would the Elders help her?
Her hand gripped tighter to Shinrin's fur and she felt a cold, wet sensation on her left hand.
"Stay alert, cub-sister." Tsuyoi was on his quads, backing up to jerk his large grizzly head toward a large building at the far end of the square. It was his nose that had touched her hand. "Lord Ki is waiting. I will walk over here. Just in case you pass out this direction." Miho forced a smile, carefully pushing herself forward between the two bears. "So…you're Lord Keisuke's daughter, huh?"
"Tsuyoi."
"Shinrin." The grizzly shot back. "Lord Keisuke was kind of a big deal around here. The Okuda had been lost for nearly a century when— boom!— there he was. He found the Hall of the Okuda, found the summoning scroll, and took up a long dead legacy. Turns out nearly all of the Okuda had been massacred during the Second Great Human Scuffle." Miho tried to focus on her feet, making sure her knee supported her weight before stepping again.
"The Hall of the Okuda? Massacred?"
"Tsuyoi, that's enough." Shinrin turned and growled through her teeth. Miho stopped. "She is just barely on her feet. It will take much time for her to recover. My Lady is not seeking out stories."
"What stories?" Miho tugged at Shinrin's fur while her companion ignored her, settling a firm stare at the grizzly before the other bear lowered his head and relented. "Shinrin—"
"You shall learn of them one day, my Lady Miho. Just…not today."
Everything in her voice asked Miho to let it go, to trust her. After a moment, Miho nodded and set back into the rhythm of walking toward the Head House.
The House of the Okuda…A massacre… Miho felt her stomach turn.
Lord Ki was waiting at the far end of the central commons, near a building that looked more like a long house with carvings of Bears along the walls and wooden columns of Bears touching the sky. The ceiling was unlike anything Miho had ever seen before. Light blues and whites faded into blacks and greys as pieces of crystal flecked the wood like miniature skylights, raining down freckles of light over the planked floors. Miho remembered this place, like it was a dream.
A dream after a nightmare.
"You are looking much better, Okuda Miho."
Miho bowed her head, looking over to where Grandfather Ha irately scratched at his neck with his long gnarled claws. The old healer reminded her of someone from a past life. One of the rippling echoes. She wasn't sure which life it was, but the man wore blue and was an abrupt sort of doctor. "Sending her back to the humans in this state…"
"Healer Ha, you said she was well enough to go." Lord Ki sighed, looking very put-upon. "She will return in three moons. That should be sufficient. Shinrin will monitor her healing every so often. She must be allowed to return to her village."
"I can monitor her myself." Grandfather Ha sniffed, raising his hackles. "I am not so old to be put in the den and told to stay."
Studiously ignoring the old bear, Lord Ki moved forward. His robes were a beautiful sort of teal that Miho wondered if he meant to coordinate with the red on the walls. When Lord Ki settled down onto his haunches in front of her, Miho lifted her head and met his eyes. She could tell he had so much more he wanted to know and say. Miho knew that there was so much she needed to learn and understand. It was going to be a long path, a life journey that she'd always be treading.
"To be of Center Mountain is to be a Bear. Your chakra is fused with the Center Mountain now. You must learn to control it, or it will destroy you." Miho had listened as Lord Ki explained. He had gestured toward a carving on the wall of the Healers Den. Storm clouds gathered around the mountain in the image. "It was the only way to save you."
Her chakra felt like her body— strange, off. Like it was reflecting how she felt. Fractured. Not quite whole. A rattling kaleidoscope. Her body was a husk of what it once was. Her strength, her weight, everything she'd worked so hard to achieve was drawn away. Her chakra, too, felt like uneasiness given energy, anxiety, stuck to the inside of her gut. Like she was teetering, uneven. It felt different.
Lord Ki nodded and she looked over to see Tsuyoi handing over what looked to be a vest. The neck was— Miho felt her eyes widen even as her mind denied that it was bear skin. Because that wouldn't make sense.
The Great Bear snorted a laugh. "Calm, cub. Calm. This is not somebear's skin."
Tsuyoi chuckled. "It's fur. Lord Ki's, to be exact. The fabric is cloud weave— a signature of Center Mountain." Miho looked at the fabric each bear wore. "It is much like your Akimichi clothing, infused with chakra to expand and contract. This fabric is more durable." When she looked at the grizzly, his big shoulders shrugged. "I am the clan designer."
"Tailor."
"Whatever."
She held it up to look at the back, glancing to Tsuyoi for further explanation. Instead, it was Shinrin who answered her unspoken question. "It is the Okuda symbol. And the Akimichi symbol. Keisuke and Chisato." Over the etched bear, the Akimichi symbol cut through its center. Behind the bear, a lightning bolt. A perfect mix of the two.
Miho pulled the brown vest over her right arm and then folded in her left, feeling the fur brush against her neck. It felt heavy, like leather. Her scarf pulled from her shoulders and settled around her neck. Way too heavy. Her shoulders caved forward. She fought to stay upright.
"You will return in three moons for training."
"Yes, Lord Ki."
The Great Bear held out a scroll. "For your Hokage." He nodded and stepped back. "No matter what you face there, remember that you are valued here. You are part of the Bear Clan now. You are a Bear. All things you face are faced with power and strength and clan. Do not forget that."
"And tell your human healers to mind your knee."
"My Lady Miho, call if you need me." Shinrin called out as Miho felt a pull in her stomach and the mist-like rush at her feet.
The world tilted and then—
She was nearly bowled over, but the attacker disappeared as she blinked. Her knees weakened underneath her, and she went down. It was only the forgiveness of the sand that kept her from crying out from the strike of her knee on the ground. The staff was gone. Miho's eyes adjusted to the dimness over the training field, clouds roiling overhead as she looked up toward the sky. She pulled in a deep breath, smelling the familiar aromas that lingered around the Akimichi compound.
Why did she feel so weak? Weaker than before?
"Miho?"
Lowering her stare from the sky overhead, Miho met Elder Torifu's wide eyes. His still-full cheeks seemed gaunt and his eyes far more aged than she remembered. He was pale.
He took a couple cautious steps forward, a questioning tilt to his brows. "Miho?"
Miho felt tears in her eyes, a break seeming to thrum somewhere in her chest. She wondered how he could recognize her. She looked so different now, like a scarecrow when she was once—
Elder Torifu threw aside his bō and sakazuki, hurrying forward. His footsteps shook the ground as he moved. As old as he was, he could still move so easily, so quickly. If wondered if she would ever make it to his age. She doubted it. Two large, meaty hands came to either side of her face.
"Little Miho…We thought— We thought you were lost."
His great head fell onto her shoulder and Miho wondered if he saw her falter under his weight. The old man immediately withdrew, hands pulling away as he looked her over. Something in his face seemed to collapse as he seemed to understand. His hands moved from her face to her too-narrow shoulders. She could feel the brush of fur on her cheeks.
"What did he do to you?"
She wasn't sure who he meant. Danzō? Fu? Miho didn't answer. Elder Torifu looked away and she followed his eyes, turning to see another person approaching from the weapons house.
Her Uncle Zosui stopped, dropping the chest plates he'd been carrying. "Miho!"
She was in Elder Torifu's arms in the next moment. The world was spinning, and she fought the disorientation. It made her breath come in harsh spurts. He turned to Uncle Zosui. "I want two guards at the hospital in ten minutes. Then, bring them to the hospital as well. Close your eyes, Little Miho."
Miho did as she was told, squeezing her eyes shut. She felt the world moving, faster and faster and faster until she felt the shift-click of Elder Torifu's sandals on gravel. Her eyes opened just as he strode through the hospital doors. She noticed a distinct limp in his movement. Worried, she looked up at his stern face. "Master Torifu, were you—"
"Alert the Hokage. Now."
"What—" Miho turned to see a woman rounding the corner. Her stomach turned a bit, recognizing the short haircut and kind eyes. Shizune. Comprehension dawned on the woman's face and she silently waved them toward the third room on the hallway. "Aiko, Rei, come with me."
Elder Torifu gingerly set her on the bed, stepping back as much as he could with his mass at the bedside. Shizune filled the gap. There were monitors and a counter off to the side, sterile bandages and instruments in storage. The air felt too cold, too still.
"Akimichi Miho, I presume?"
Miho gave a stunted nod, automatically holding out her arm for the blood pressure cuff. Another medic entered the room a moment later, eyes going wide at the markings on Miho's cheeks and the towering Akimichi Elder in the corner. The brown-haired girl moved forward with a clipboard.
"Her blood pressure is 70 over 50. Miho, do you mind if I call you that?"
Miho nodded.
"Have you been experiencing any symptoms? Dizziness? Shortness of breath? Blurred vision?"
"I was really confused for a while. Now, I'm just dizzy and…a little nauseous." She'd been nauseous since she woke up on Center Mountain. Miho gestured toward her bandaged-wrapped knee. Shizune glanced at it and then curiously prodded at the bruising as she leaned down to get a better look. She carefully began to unwrap the bandages. "Healer Ha said to mind my knee."
"Healer Ha?"
"Elder of the Bear Clan. That's…where I've been." Shizune raised her eyes to Miho's before nodding. Miho suspected it was a placating sort of acceptance rather than anything else. "I was there…for… I…I don't know how long I was there. They sent a scroll to the Hokage."
Shizune hummed, turning to the young nurse who was taking notes on the clipboard. "What was her weight prior to the abduction?" Miho jolted. The feeling of her skin folded underneath the hem of her pants made her squirm. The nurse grimaced and showed Shizune rather that stating it aloud.
Miho knew. She knew her weight before she'd be taken. Because she'd kept meticulous track of her weight since she was just a little girl. 65.2 kg. It took so long to get there and to remain steady at that weight. It took so long to build up her muscle mass. Years. It took everything she had to build up her weight. Now... she shuddered.
"C-Can you get Genma-sensei?" She turned to Elder Torifu, whose face had become hard. Something about his expression made Miho recoil. Or perhaps that was the skin of her knee feeling cool air.
Miho watched as he rolled his shoulders, eyes finally settling on her face once more.
"How long has it been, Elder Torifu?"
"It's been a month and a half."
"A month and…" Miho trailed off, flinching when Shizune prodded at the purple and yellow skin over her kneecap. The woman quietly apologized, raising a green hand to the injury. When her brows furrowed, Miho knew Healer Ha was right. Her knee was the kind of injury she would always have. And that was fine. It was fine by her. She would overcome it. She would still accomplish her goals even with a bum knee.
Genma-sensei, Aoba-sensei and Gai-sensei would help her. Right?
Her weight too. She could eat more. She could gain it back. Elder Ayumu would help her. Her team would help her. She'd get there eventually. It would all be okay.
It would all be- Miho felt sick.
"Can— Can you go get Genma-sensei?"
Elder Torifu didn't acknowledge her question, instead looking to Shizune as she continued her check of Miho's vitals. Medics started to flurry into the room, bringing in a bag of fluids and a cart for some kind of monitor. Miho tried not to jump when one of the medics began to help her out of the vest.
"N-No. I— I don't—"
Shizune put a hand on that medic's shoulder. Her hand lost its green tint. The unnamed medic stepped back, allowing the older woman to get closer. "I'm sorry, Miho. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Shizune. I am the student of Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage. I am going to be doing a series of small tests, so that we can help you, but I need you to follow my directions, okay? And I need you to answer my questions. This will help us figure out how best to treat you." Miho nodded. "Do you know where you are?"
"Konoha."
Miho watched as the woman nodded. Her hand rose and she held up one finger. "Follow my finger. Do you know your age?"
"Thirteen."
"Birthday?"
"October 10th." Miho felt a thrill of fear. Naruto. She looked away from the movement of the woman's hand and toward the Elder who was watching the exchange like a hawk. "Where's Naruto? Is he okay? Is he safe?"
Had she asked about her brother yet? Miho's stomach turned. She hadn't asked about Chōji yet. How could she— "And Chōji? Is Chōji—"
Shizune hesitated and Miho felt her shoulders tense. Elder Torifu held her stare, looking far older than she remembered him. His steely eyes cut toward the door and Miho followed his attention. The breath felt as if it were knocked out of her when Senju Tsunade stormed into the room.
The woman was everything Miho thought she would be. She had an undeniably strong presence. Like a force of nature. It actually reminded Miho of Gai-sensei, that strange sense of power he radiated when he was being serious. Or her mother in her last life. A shorter woman with fierce eyes and even fiercer convictions. The Hokage seemed angry as she stepped up to stand before Miho with her hands propped on her hips.
"You know who I am?" Miho nodded. "Yeah, figured you did."
"Lady Hokage."
"So, you're the troublemaker that everyone's been talking about who sends bears as messengers." Miho's mouth opened and she snapped it shut again when the woman held up a finger. On instinct, Miho followed the movements. After a moment, Tsunade reached forward and pressed her fingers to Miho's throat, feeling for her glands. "I want a report. Immediately."
Shizune stepped back, letting her master take the lead.
"Elder Torifu, the room. Now."
After Tsunade finished pressing Miho's too-thin neck, she turned to the Akimichi Elder, who hadn't moved at the order. Heaving a breath, his head shook. "I have two guards en route."
Miho's mouth opened, but she was cut off. "You think I won't have guards on her?"
"Then she'll be doubly protected."
The Fifth Hokage growled under her breath, but waved away the statement. "Fine, fine. But I need the room. You wanna hulk around out in the waiting room and put sentries on her room—whenever she gets it—you do that." Elder Torifu nodded and Miho jolted when he started to leave.
"Elder—"
He moved toward her, settling his gigantic hand on her head. He was obviously mindful of the weight this time. He was treating her like she was made of glass. She looked up at him from under the fringe of her hair. "I knew you were a strong one, Little Miho. Don't worry, sweet bun. It will all work out fine. We will meet again when they put you in a room of your own." He bowed politely to the Hokage and ducked out.
As soon as he was gone, the door was shut by Shizune. Miho hesitated, looking to the Hokage for something. Some kind of orientation. Some kind of information. Her mind whirled through the possibilities. Was Sasuke already gone? Was Naruto already hurt? Chōji? Shikamaru? Neji and the others? How long had it been before— then and there? Did any of that matter when her father likely hated her? Miho shuddered.
Her chest felt numb. Her arms felt numb. Everything was—
A hand gripping her shoulder made her realize how badly she was shivering. "Breathe with me, Akimichi." Miho watched the Hokage lift her hand with an inhale and lower her hand with an exhale. Once, twice, three times. "Okay. Steady?" Miho nodded, looking up at the Hokage's face. Tsunade was grimacing, face pinched.
"Your teacher is deployed on a mission. He's not due to return for another couple days."
Miho nodded, unconsciously gripping the vest.
"No one is aware of the smartass Bear messenger that destroyed a perfectly good bottle of sake." Miho didn't know what to say. Lord Ki only told her that the Hokage was aware, nothing more. Despite your plan and all efforts to the contrary, the Third Hokage was killed in the invasion."
Miho felt a pain like indigestion sear her throat and chest. It felt as if she'd be punched in the stomach. She'd seen him be carried away by ANBU. She'd seen him rescued. After all of that…How…?
"He is not sealed, as you saw. He died a shinobi's death, defending his village. Defending the next generation. Protecting the Academy with his last breath. Orochimaru did enough damage to do the Third Hokage in during their battle. He didn't have enough in him for a second go."
Miho struggled to steady herself, forcing back the tears. It made her head hurt.
"A person often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it."
After all that, Sarutobi Hiruzen died anyway.
Miho wondered if she should feel something. Anything. Mourning? Loss? Hurt?
"I want a report. Now. Then, I will update you on the current situation. Can you describe what happened?"
Miho shakily nodded, fingers aching as she held to her vest. Her nail-beds were still sore. "I…I was with my teammate."
"Yes, I know about your abduction. You can start after that."
"I was held in a cell by Lord Danzō. He had one of his operatives, Yamanaka Fū, Mind Walk. To find my knowledge. He…He never got what he was after. Ino— Yamanaka Ino— put a bunch of traps in my head. She's the…She's the reason Root didn't get any information. He kept trying. I almost died…a few times. He kept bringing me back."
Tsunade's eyes flashed and she raised a hand to place on her head. Miho instinctively flinched back, trying to get both legs under her so she could scramble back quicker. She'd never been able to bend her knees at that angle before. That dull realization was hampered when her legs weren't strong enough to push her back.
The Hokage froze. Miho saw a different hand and hair that was more reddish in tone.
And eyes that were more like molten gold.
Gold eyes. Not brown.
Gold eyes.
Miho stopped after a moment as the hand fell away. Cautiously, Lady Tsunade held up both hands in a placation. Maybe she should've had better control. Maybe. She was a kunoichi after all. But Miho's instincts were burning. "S-Sorry, Lady Hokage. I…"
"Post-traumatic stress is normal, Akimichi." The blonde held out a hand, palm up. "I'm gonna do a chakra-based technique that will allow me to access your chakra system."
"He damaged it. Fū did. Healer Ha said he burned my coils with his... reckless healing attempts." She could see Lady Tsunade's jaw clench. "Healer Ha did a chakra infusion. With chakra from Center Mountain. It's…complicated." Slowly, with a shaking hand, she reached into the vest pocket and withdrew a small scroll. "This was sent from the Bear Boss of Center Mountain, Lady Hokage."
The woman's lip curled a bit, but she still took the scroll, popping the seal before unfurling it to read the contents. As her brown eyes scanned, her expression became more and more incredulous until she finally rolled the scroll back up. With a put-upon sigh, she handed the scroll to her student. "Seems Healer Ha wants a follow-up appointment in three months. Fine." Her hand went back to where it was, slightly outstretched and palm up. "If you take my hand, I can do a chakra system assessment."
Miho released the vest and reached out to hold the Hokage's hand. The woman's eyes closed.
After a moment, the woman stepped away and took the proffered clipboard from Shizune. "Yeah, that bastard definitely screwed you up." Miho shivered at the scritch-scratch of the pen on paper. "I'm gonna treat you like a soldier, Akimichi Miho. No bullshit."
Miho nodded.
"Danzō is no longer a problem. Killed him myself. A lot of credit for his removal as a threat was thanks to the Ino-Shika-Cho team." Miho didn't flinch, even as a thrill of anxious energy thrummed in her chest. "There are currently twenty-seven former Root members in rehabilitation."
Swallowing, Miho nodded. Twenty-seven from over a hundred.
The Hokage stopped and swallowed, suddenly looking very tired and worn. Miho couldn't imagine the pressure the woman was under. Going from life lived at her own leisure to running a battle-scarred village. It must've been exhausting.
"Uchiha Sasuke was taken yesterday."
A thrill of absolute and utter terror flushed through Miho.
"The boy did not leave of his own volition, a major change from the Knowledge in your head. He just committed to an alternate plan. One that would benefit him in the long run." The Hokage took a deep breath. "Still, despite a more elite team sent to retrieve him, Naruto followed behind. Without permission. With him, so went Team Ten— mostly to keep the little idiot alive—on my orders." Miho, again, couldn't feel her hands. "Reports indicate that, while there are injuries, the retrieval mission was a success."
A success.
The retrieval mission was a success.
The Third Hokage was dead.
"Did— Did he—"
Blood. A waterfall.
A hole in Naruto's chest.
Miho pressed her hands into her too narrow thighs.
"Did—"
The Hokage's head shook. "Sasuke did not harm Naruto."
Miho let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "And…Team— Team Ten?"
"Aside from your brother popping two of his pills, the Nara breaking a finger, and Yamanaka getting a concussion, they're alive and well. That's not to mention that we apparently have captured a very annoying four-eyed little prick."
They captured Kabuto.
They captured Kabuto.
Miho let out a breathy laugh. It was a bit frantic. Like all the worry was cascading out through her weak little giggles. A small difference, but it could have such huge ripple effects. No Kabuto meant no zombies in the war. She could think about the ramifications later, but— When she looked to the Hokage again, her laughter fell away. Her mind caught up with the Hokage's words. Sasuke was taken. Abducted. By—
"Wait. Who-Who wanted Sasuke?"
"Seems my former teammate has many pathways back to life."
The Cursed Seal? How did it even work?
A sick feeling of apprehension fell like a brick onto Miho's gut. Her hands shook as she threaded her fingers together. They felt cold and clammy against the stale hospital air. The Fifth watched her, waiting. Orochimaru was still alive. The Third was dead and Orochimaru was still alive. Danzō was dead but Sasuke was loyal to Konoha. Or was he? Miho shivered. Something didn't feel right.
"There's something else…isn't there?"
Shizune stopped preparing whatever she was preparing on the counter. Her shoulders tensed. The Hokage gathered herself up, pulling in a deep breath.
"Your teammate, Koji, is dead."
"Wh—What?"
"He succumbed to his injuries shortly after reporting your abduction to your teacher."
"What?"
The world wasn't spinning. Nothing moved. Nothing really even existed.
Miho couldn't breathe.
"Koji— What?"
Koji, his mouth opened, trying to talk, trying to warn her, but no sound came out. Blood on his lips and a blade in his stomach.
Tsunade's face remained placid. Miho could see the mask beginning to fracture. Everything was fracturing. The world was starting to spin again. Too fast. "Breathe, Miho. Breathe."
Flinching back at the woman's hands, Miho looked to the door and threw herself off the bed. Her weakened legs struck the linoleum and she tried to catch her weight. It felt like she was floating for some reason as her knee buckled under the weight. Too little weight, but still she fell.
There was a crash somewhere, but Miho couldn't quite—
"I have to— Where's— Where's Tetsuya? Genma-sensei? Where's my—Where's my team? I…I can't be here."
"Lady Tsunade!"
Miho pushed against whatever was holding her, trying to get to the door. Beyond it, she could get to Tetsuya. She could find out what happened. She could track down Genma-sensei. She could do something. She'd been inside for too long. And the walls were crumbling. The walls were crumbling, and she was being buried alive. Her nails were just beginning to grow back.
Koji was— She turned and looked up at the force keeping her from the door. "P-Please…"
The Hokage frowned, pressing a hand to the side of Miho's head. "Listen to me. Listen!" Miho stilled at the command, just barely able to see the woman through the blur of tears. "I'm going to knock you out. Your body can't sustain this."
"No— No! I can't just—I have to—"
Miho felt buzzing in her muscles. She fought it. She kept fighting as it ebbed and flowed, bigger and stronger waves crashing on her. She needed to get to them. Tsunade grimaced. "Stop fighting it, Akimichi."
"No, I…"
Her arms wouldn't move. Her chest felt heavy, tight. Why couldn't she…
"Just sleep, kid."
Genma was exhausted. That exhaustion felt good.
It was a grueling mission. The target was a slimy son of a bitch, running a human trafficking ring on the shores of Wave Country. Even if the bastard was a deplorable human being, he was also cautious. He had six different missing-nin as guards. Genma slaughtered them all. Made them pin-cushions. And that human-selling bastard? Well, Genma let the guy suffer, gurgling around a poisonous needle in his throat.
A justified exhaustion after a successful mission. His mission debrief wouldn't be until the following morning. Once upon a time, Genma may've gone to one of the seedier establishments in Konoha, found a nameless person, and let off some steam. As it was, Genma pulled on civvie clothes after a quick shower and headed to the hospital.
Naruto had been a relatively steady presence despite the end of his "mission." Genma half-expected to find the blond kid curled up on the end of the bed again. Just like when he returned from the failed Miho retrieval mission.
The room was empty, save for Tetsuya and some flowers at his bedside.
Daises.
The flowers were wilting a bit. Not fresh.
Something like fear lurched in Genma's stomach. Worry.
The Yamanaka was a creature of habit. Angry, rage-filled habit, but habit nonetheless. She trained, performed her duties with care, and held others responsible. She was vicious and a manipulator. She was absolutely sincere. And she came to deliver flowers to her best friend's coma-imprisoned teammate each Sunday. Like clockwork.
It was Monday.
Something was wrong.
Genma set his overnight bag on the floor by the window, pulled it open, and jumped out.
It shouldn't have sent him into a panic. He was war-hardened, right? He was steady from decades of killing. He'd lost comrades in the heat of battle, blood on his face and hands. He arrived to the Hokage's office a few moments later, not quite sure why he was there. This wasn't appropriate. It definitely wasn't following chain-of-command. He stopped, choking down his urge to—
"Get in here, Shiranui, unless you're here to see Shikaku for some stupid reason."
Genma jolted, just barely recognizing the Jōnin Commander, who was staring him down from the other end of the hallway. The door to the Hokage's office swung open and Tsunade stepped out.
"A low priority assassination doesn't merit an immediate debrief. So…why the hell are you here?" Genma pulled himself up, glancing to Shikaku's still-observing form at the end of the hall. The Hokage rolled her eyes and jerked her head toward the office. "You get in here, too, Shikaku. This is part of your mess anyway."
Confused, Genma stepped into the office. "Lady Hokage, I didn't come because of the mission— which was a success by the way and the bastard is dead." Tsunade raised her brows as she walked back to her desk. Commander Nara came to stand by his side, hands tucked into his pockets. "I— Was Team Ten deployed?"
The woman seemed to deflate a bit, rolling her shoulders in a manner that was eerily reminiscent of Miho. Genma barely withheld a shudder, hardening his resolve. Team Ten was always in danger. That's why he called them "Team Annoying," after all. They'd been kept to the village since Miho was abducted, to protect their knowledge. After recent events, they were no longer guarded by ANBU. As chūnin, and with the village still recovering, it was only a matter of time before they were sent on missions— their knowledge of the future notwithstanding.
"Uchiha Sasuke was abducted the night after you were deployed on your assassination mission to Wave."
Genma— for a moment— forgot to breathe.
"Orochimaru is dead."
"Wrong tense." Shikaku sighed. Genma turned to see the man palming his forehead. "Orochimaru was dead. Apparently, he had some kind of failsafe in place. No one is quite sure how he did it. The man is a cockroach. The Uchiha— surprisingly— chose not to take his offer."
He shifted his weight from his right leg to his left, reaching up to take the senbon from his lips.
"Naruto chased them, didn't he?"
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Some things remain consistent. Team Ten was sent to retrieve him. They've been on Naruto-guard-duty whenever Jiraiya is unavailable." Genma had to bit down on the senbon to stop himself from pointing out the difference in fire power there. "We sent a team to retrieve Sasuke. Team Ten encountered half of the Sound hooligans in Akimichi's visions— the flute wielder and the one with the bones. The other two were eliminated by the Retrieval Team, including Aoba, Kakashi, and Hayate. They are returning now and should arrive within the next five hours."
"Did— Did the Suna team make an appearance this time?"
The woman's eyes became shrewd and she leaned back in her seat. "We certainly would not want to rob the future Kazekage a moment to bond with our shinobi."
Whoever thought Tsunade wasn't a good politician was out of their damn mind.
Feeling a tad more settled, Genma nodded and then bowed. "I apologize if I was out of line, Lady Hokage."
"You have the Will of Fire, Genma."
His head jerked up and he stared at the woman with a feeling of incredulousness. The last time he'd heard that, it was from the Fourth. Just a few weeks before he died. He'd been mourning the loss of a teammate then, too. His Captain.
Something crossed the woman's face and she looked up. "Secure the room."
Genma felt the room become secured. His ANBU colleagues set the perimeter and waited. Anxiety tore through his stomach and settled up at his heart. This was never a good sign. He felt Shikaku shift.
"Akimichi Miho has returned."
His ears began to ring.
"She—"
"Your student returned two days ago. She was and is severely malnourished. Her knee is damaged. It is functional, but it will require conditioning to get her back into working order. Her chakra is…a situation I've never encountered. At this time, she is in a medically-induced coma."
Genma wanted to ask the Hokage to slow down. His hands shook so much that he dropped the senbon he'd been rolling between his thumb and forefinger. When he heard the needle drop, Genma pulled the shroud of his ANBU training around him.
He wasn't Shiranui Genma. He was Sparrow.
"Where is she, Lady Hokage?"
"Hospital. Room 305."
That room was next to Tetsuya's. He hadn't sensed her. Genma nodded, acceptance of the new situation sliding into place. The Hokage eyed him.
"She is under Akimichi guard as well as ANBU." His mouth opened. "Tiger and Boar. She's in good hands."
Good hands had hurt her before.
Shikaku stepped forward. "Chōza and Aoki have not left her side since she returned. They are there now."
Chakra suppression seals and privacy seals on the room. Genma nodded, pushing down the irritation that Chōza was at her bedside. It was his fault. As a good ANBU, Genma tamped out the emotion and straightened. He gritted his teeth.
"Permission to visit my student, Lady Hokage?"
"Permission granted." Her eyes took on a kind, if conflicted, light. "I have already informed her of Koji's death."
The shroud fell away and Genma struggled to keep a firm handle on his emotions. Anger and something very, very close to hatred swept through him. With the ease of a practiced shinobi, Genma leant forward and grabbed the senbon from the floor, replacing it into his holster. It wasn't anyone's responsibility but his to tell Miho and Tetsuya about Koji.
Hokage or not…
She had no right.
"Thank you, Lady Hokage. If that will be all?"
"When we awaken her, I will take her full report. We know a baseline of what happened, but nothing more than that." The Hokage nodded to Shikaku, who turned on his heel to leave the room. Genma waited to be dismissed, fisting his hands in his pockets as he waited. The room was still secured. Slowly, Tsunade rose up from her seat and moved to a set of filing cabinets positioned under the portraits of the former Hokages.
Namikaze Minato stared down at him. Genma felt that— more than ever— if Minato had survived, none of these nightmares would have ever happened. He would have never let this happen to Keisuke's daughter. He would have protected his son. He would've done so many things different.. He would've been trustworthy. He would've been so much better.
"I'm taking you back off ANBU rotation."
"Kakashi's—"
Tsunade scoffed, shaking her head. "Hatake is staying in because someone will be joining him soon. And…I think it's about time we woke your boy up, don't you think?"
"Woke— Hold up. You kept him under on purpose?"
It took everything Genma had within him, every ounce of self-control, to keep his hand from throwing needles at her smug expression. The old woman actually shrugged, as if it weren't a big deal.
"Utatane Tetsuya's brain needed the time to heal. If he was ever to move again, he needed to remain still. It was medically-induced, yes, but it was purposeful. I do no harm to my patients, Shiranui, despite the villain you want me to be." She held his gaze for a long moment. "His brain was swelled in such a way that anything less than this coma would've been a death sentence. I didn't want you to lose all of your students, Shiranui."
She withdrew a folder from the top drawer and held it out to him.
"Take it. I think you'll find it…Enlightening."
Genma opened the folder and gaped. "This is—"
"Namikaze Minato was a clever bastard. So smart that you have to be a genius to figure out his plans. Everything seemed to be so intuitive to him. You know that." Genma nodded, watching as she walked back to the windows, turning her back to him. It was both a power move and a show of trust. Genma felt his anger, rage, and hatred abating a bit. Enough that he could breathe through the shock of what he held. "Okuda Keisuke trusted Namikaze Minato. Looks like this generation carries on that legacy."
In his hands was a contract of allegiance, a document that clans would sign when joining the village. Each of the clans had one, noble or otherwise. It was a binding legal agreement that ensured that a ninja clan remained contractually loyal to the village. On it was the Okuda seal.
If Okuda Keisuke had established a contract of allegiance, then that meant…he was going to reestablish the Okuda in Konoha.
"She asked for you first." The Hokage turned to him. "Go on to your students, Shiranui. For the moment, everything else can wait."
"Genma."
Slipping the senbon from his lips, he stared at his former teacher, who stood on the other side of his student's bed. His hulking form seemed too big for the room, suffocating. His attention tracked down from Chōza's grimace to Aiko, who approached with cautious care. Her arms swung wide and Genma was never one to turn her down, no matter her husband's mistakes.
"Genma, dear, I am so glad you've returned. Miho would be so happy to see you." She released him, obviously very familiar with the stiff set of his shoulders under his relaxed slouch. She'd known him since he was a kid. "Chōza, honey, let's go get something to eat and let Genma be with her for a while."
Aiko started toward the door, leaving Genma facing down his sensei.
After a long moment— it's your fault— Genma looked down.
She was alive.
Thin, with extra skin and a gaunt face, but alive. A quarter the size she'd once been.
But she was alive.
Over the gown, a brown vest lay across her shoulders, brown-golden fur lining the neck.
"No one is certain how she got it."
Genma's eye flicked up to Chōza's face. For the first time, he saw the exhaustion there. Not just physical tiredness, but the kind of soul-deep exhaustion that only came with guilt. Guilt had eaten away at his teacher, buried down deep. Genma wasn't sure that his teacher would ever be free from that guilt.
He plopped down into the chair at her bedside, throwing both arms behind his head. "I'm sure she'll have quite the story when she wakes up."
Swallowing down everything he wanted to say to the man, Genma instead focused on the relief of being in the same room as his student. She was safe. She was safe and he thought she'd been dead. She was there— thinner, sure, but alive. Tetsuya was in the next room. He was to be awakened soon.
"Genma, I—I know that I can't…"
"Not now, Chōza. I really don't want to hear it right now."
She was safe. Tetsuya was safe.
For the moment, that was enough.
The speckled ceiling overhead was a dull gray-white, with some bright yellow pouring in through the doorway and the window. Such brilliant light through the window. Everything seemed distant, foreign. The feel of the sheets on her palms, on her fingertips. Her palms felt wet.
A steady dripping sound was to her right and there was a tightness to her hand. Her throat felt tight when she swallowed. She was sure she'd been drowning. She was sure that she'd been starved for air. She was sure she'd been hanging upside down, bound and gagged and bleeding and— She was sure she'd been buried alive.
A man stood over her bed on one side. He was familiar. She didn't pay much attention. A woman on the other.
How long had she been asleep?
Minutes? Hours? Days?
Her muscles were stiff.
What happened?
She'd been here before, hadn't she? Everything felt so familiar.
"You're well-trained and well-fortified. I will give my cousin her due praise."
She lurched up, blindly fighting at a hand that forced her back down. Fū again. How many times was he going to make her live this nightmare? How many times would— "Akimichi! Akimichi! MIHO!" She locked her attention on the person holding her down and focused on their eyes. Tsunade. The Hokage.
It was another trick.
Miho relaxed into the bed again, gasping in a breath.
"Ino's-Ino's brilliant…You won't get past her. Keep trying. Keep tryin' and you'll keep losing. Like always."
The Hokage's eyes narrowed. She'd never seen that expression on Fū's face before. "You're not in captivity, Miho."
Her attention tracked over to Genma-sensei, whose eyes were sad and hurt. She wondered where Tetsuya was. He always factored into these dreams somehow. Dead. Alive. Tortured.
So did Naruto. And Chōji, Shikamaru, and Ino. And Lee. Everyone. Even family from other lives, once he learned of them. Her mother, father, sisters, brothers. Friends. Eventually, Fū would use their avatars to try again.
And again. And again.
"A puppet. That's what you are." She closed her eyes and sighed. That tiredness seemed to tug her heart into the mattress. "Another adventure, hey? Maybe Ino will have us in some sort of period piece this time?"
She wasn't sure how much more she could take.
But she could take it.
She could take it.
A gentle hand fell onto her head. "I always knew your endurance would save you in the end, Miho."
She opened her eyes, looking up at Genma-sensei. She'd seen him so many times in her mind, as the red-headed nightmare tore it apart and put it back together again. She'd seen him die. She'd seen him live out to old age. She'd watched as he was mutilated. She'd fought to stop it.
Then, slowly, memories began to seep in, like water into a mine.
The Bears. Center Mountain. Elder Torifu. Shizune. Tsunade.
Koji.
Koji!
"Gen-Genma-sensei?" Her voice wavered. He gave a short, assured nod. It was him. It was him and—"Genma-sensei, p-please…Please, not Koji. Please... not Koji. Please not Koji. Not Koji, sensei."
Her teacher took the senbon from his mouth, lips pressing together. Miho knew it was true without him saying a word. The tears that gathered in his eyes were enough to confirm it. Genma-sensei wouldn't cry. Not unless… Everything swelled up to a breaking point and Miho lifted her hands up to cover her face.
"Miho…Koji's— Koji's gone."
She didn't mean to make the sound that fell out of her. She really didn't. It just hurt so much. Pressing the side of her hand into her mouth, she bit down and sobbed into it. Throughout her sobbing, Genma-sensei kept a hand on her head. It was a steadying presence, even if she knew he was hurting just as much as she was.
"Tet-Tetsuya?"
"Alive." The Hokage answered. "He was gravely injured sacrificing himself to spring a trap meant for a comrade."
Miho pulled herself together, understanding the Hokage's tone. Koji would want her to be strong. He'd want her to focus on Tetsuya and Genma-sensei. Tetsuya needed her. Tetsuya needed her. Genma-sensei needed her. Her mourning could wait for the moment. Until all was done that needed to be done. Then, she could honor him and hurt, with her teammates.
Sniffling loudly, she dragged both hands across her cheeks and looked to the Hokage. The woman looked back at her, eyes critical.
"We'll be bringing him out of his medically-induced coma this afternoon. In the meantime, you will be undergoing a series of evaluations." Genma-sensei's hand fell away and she glanced to him, noticing that the senbon was back between his teeth as he listened to the Hokage. His brows were knitted together. She could see the bags under his eyes and the way his skin pulled at his cheekbones. He'd been alone all this time. "You will also provide a debrief on your time in captivity."
"Yes, Lady Hokage."
Nodding, the woman turned to the door, watching as it opened. Miho bit back a lurch of anxiety that pealed up her throat when her father stepped through the too-small door. Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi followed along with Shizune. Her father approached, head hung low and his once warm eyes cautious. Like he didn't know what to do as he neared her. His hands opened and closed at his sides.
Miho bit her lip, chewing on it when he didn't approach to hug her or embrace her or…apologize.
He'd always been a pillar of strength.
She didn't feel anything from him at the moment.
No strength. No reassurance.
Just a big gaping hole where he should be.
It seemed the Hokage, her teacher, and the others in the room thought the same. Miho felt awkward tension rise. Swallowing, Miho cursed in her head. Why couldn't they give her time with her mother? Why wasn't Chōji— Wait.
Chōji.
"Miho, I—"
"Has Chōji returned from the Retrieval Arc? Did they— Are they okay?"
Her father's mouth hung open and he looked a bit frantic as he turned toward Inoichi. There was a new scar on his face. Miho felt her stomach lurch at the sight of it. She didn't know where he got it. The invasion? She pealed her eyes away from it and focused instead on the Hokage.
"No, not yet. As tends to happen when Naruto's involved…Things went a bit sideways. Oh, don't look like that. They're due to return this afternoon. I'd like to hurry up and get all of this over with before it's impossible to enforce the 'two visitor' limit rule. Kami knows Naruto and those other brats won't listen to it." The Hokage sat her hands on her hips. "So, kid, I want to hear it all. Then, you're gonna have a physical and an evaluation with Inoichi. After that, you will be under guard until I deem otherwise."
Miho nodded, taking some strength from the fact that Genma-sensei seemed just as stand-offish as she felt. And maybe that was wrong. Maybe it was wrong to blame her father like she did. Maybe she should've had better control. Maybe she should've been the bigger person.
The bigger person… when he was the biggest person in the room.
She described it all. The attack by Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fū. The way Aburame Torune stabbed Koji in the gut. The blood. The pills. The Yamanaka's attempts to take over her mind, to see what she saw. To get to her knowledge. Inoichi flinched and she looked at him, shaking her head. The world swam a bit when she did that.
"Ino put traps in my head. Since we were nine. So— so many of them. I didn't know. Every time she was in my head she laid them. Fail safes. She made my head a fortress. My head's nothing but a kaleidoscope."
"I saw them. The traps." His lips tilted a bit, a proud sort of turn that made Miho wish that her father would look at her the same way. "When the Third had me explore your mind, I saw them. They told me how much Ino trusts you. Thinks of you as family." He nodded to the Hokage, whose brows were raised for an explanation. "It is an advanced technique that is forbidden within the Yamanaka Clan. Over years, a Yamanaka can implant false memories and create incorrect connections within a mind. This is often done by older members of the clan to fortify the minds of younger members. The return of enemy shinobi with altered memories is a related technique."
"She saved me. She saved everyone."
Heart racing, Miho turned away from Inoichi to face the Hokage again. She'd start crying again if she looked at him too long. Ino looked so much like her dad. The Hokage's expression hadn't changed, but it instead held a light that Miho couldn't quite identify.
"Was it ever clear how Danzō learned of you?"
Miho's attention immediately flicked to her father. She looked away as quickly as she could, focusing on the Hokage again. It was very clear how Danzō learned of her and her knowledge. It was one of the few things she knew.
"One of the ANBU that day…when my knowledge was revealed to the Hokage…was a member of Root. He was there." Miho turned, looking at Genma-sensei. His eyes widened and then he nodded, understanding her meaning. It was the ANBU that he'd restrained.
His hair color had looked familiar…
because it was Fū.
She'd never forget his hair and his eyes. She wasn't even sure what she remembered correctly anymore. How reliable was her own mind? There were so many echoes from so many different worlds rattling around in her brain. Memories from this life and other lives and false lives. She remembered things she shouldn't.
Her father in her most recent past life was an engineer. He raced cars like a hellion. People people called him "Superman." He could bench press nearly 500 pounds and always took the side of the underdog. He took on gangs and fell for the bookworm good girl from the better side of the tracks.
He died of cancer. When he died, his arms were even thinner than her own now as she wrapped her fingers around her wrist. Superman's kryptonite was an infection.
You call me strong. You call me weak, but still your secrets I will keep.
Her father stepped forward and Miho looked to him.
"Danzō has been killed," he said. Like it was a plea. Or an offering.
Miho nodded. She already knew that. The Hokage had killed him. He and his team helped. Her father's expression broke her heart. She wanted to reach out for him, bury her face in his chest, and wait for all of this to be over. He'd make it all go away, wouldn't he? But she just couldn't do that.
She felt something in the room shift.
Her teacher eased his stance, moving to sit in the chair by her bedside. Each of the Clan Heads eased as well while the Hokage let out a breath. It only took Miho a moment to read the room.
"They're back." Miho's words were met with a nod from the Hokage. Knowing that she needed to finish her report so that the Hokage could see to the returned shinobi, Miho raised her chin. "I knew I was close to death. I used what was left of my chakra to summon a Bear. I was reverse summoned to Center Mountain, where they stabilized me."
"The end." The Hokage scoffed, shaking her head. It was with a bit of humor at her quick wrap-up and Miho smiled just a bit. "I'll need a formalized report by the end of this week. You're not gonna have much to do in here anyway." She turned, moving toward the door. "Shizune! Complete work up then transfer to hospital care. Soft foods diet starting tomorrow. Physical therapy starting in three days. Shiranui, with me. I'm starting the awakening process for your other kid before I can't get anything done for the rest of the day. Hop on it!"
Miho looked to her teacher, watching his face light up in a way she hadn't seen since she'd awakened. She smiled back, squeezing his hand when his larger one grabbed hers in a reassuring move.
"I'll be next door, okay? We'll get you two moved in together soon."
"Don't let Stringbean get-get too obnoxious over there."
He clicked his tongue and winked, putting a senbon between his teeth. "No promises."
"Shiranui!"
"Coming, coming."
Miho let out a breath, turning to see her father lingering halfway to the door. Inoichi was just leaving, tossing her a nod over his shoulder. Nara Shikaku was already gone, likely on his way to see to Shikamaru.
"I quit being a ninja."
Was Chōji in trouble? Was he okay? What about the others? The Hokage said that Chōji used one of the pills. What if he had to use the others? Did Lee go this time? He was never mentioned. If there were complications, did that mean that Sasuke had changed his mind? Tetsuya was being awakened next door… He would learn about Koji soon. Miho's stomach felt sick.
She wanted to eat.
"I'm sorry, Miho. I should have- I should have trusted you."
Miho nodded, raising her hands to hold onto the fur of the vest. It felt sticky under her sweaty, clammy palms.
"Miho—"
"Chōji. Please—Please go check on Chōji. I just— I—" Swallowing, Miho stopped looking at him and instead laid her head back against the pillow. The ceiling wasn't comforting, but it also wasn't her father. "I can't. I can't. Not today." When the tears starting coming, she turned her head toward the window and squeezed them shut. She didn't let them start falling until she heard him move to the door.
When the she heard the shh-click of the door and felt the stillness of the room, she let go of the control to which she'd so desperately clung. She pressed the red scarf to her face and fought to steady herself. The IV needle stung on her hand. Steady, Miho, steady. You're the strong one. You're the strong one.
It was her first time being alone since the cell.
You took for granted all the times I never let you down.
"Look, sweetheart, your good ol' buddy Koji's just tryin' to look out for ya. Tryin' to be a good teammate. And you're not makin' it easy."
No, Miho realized. She wouldn't be steady again for a long, long time.
A/N: It's the last week of the semester! It has been a semester full of transitions, learning moments, and tangible growth. I'm so grateful I have the time to write.
This chapter was a hard one to write. Because it's a transition, too. We're moving into the next sections of this story. Thank you SO MUCH for your thoughts, your encouragement, and reviews! Thank you for the follows and favorites!
Looking forward to the next chapter- with some long-awaited reunions!