Well, hello! It's been some time, aha...

Big thanks to anyone commenting (you've fueled my want to write again!) and favoriting and liking. I see you ;)

Anyway, here is chapter four!

So, fair warning, it's a bit angsty! See you at the end!


Chapter 4: Uh Oh We Are Under Attack


"How come you don't know? Aren't you the genius here?" One faceless kid sneered, his voice standing out from the bleak environment. "I don't like know-it-all like you."

Her face fell and she cast her eyes away, completely missing the ten kids that wished to be seen by her side.


The sun was shyly peeking out from beyond the horizon, casting warm rays that barely filtered through the leaves. The forest was calm in the early morning. The mist curled around them, stroking and reddening round cheeks as they trudged forward. The grass was still fresh, dampening her toes through her sandals as she followed him.

"What are we doing here?" Nagisa grudgingly asked, finally done with the silent treatment.

It was a cold morning, one that Nagisa had never experienced before.

Her face was set into a pout, eyebrows frowned and eyes squinted in annoyance. She shook her arms, bringing the heat back before crossing them again.

"You're particularly difficult in the morning, Nagisa." Daichi chastised, eyes never leaving the trail in front of him. "Now be quiet."

It was a cold morning, one that Nagisa had never experienced before because she never had felt the need to wake up at such an ungodly hour!

She puffed her cheeks out and squashed the need to stomp her feet before it could fully form. It was cold, Nagisa was freezing and her father was focusing on the ground, peering at something she couldn't see. And to top that, her father was dodging the question!

"Look. What do you see?" He tilted his head toward her, waiting for her output.

"Uh, grass?"

He stared, lips set into a tight line. And stared and stared some more until Nagisa was fidgeting under his gaze.

"What am I supposed to see? I don't know what you're waiting for!" She snapped, scowling at the disappointment oozing off of him.

She hated it when he did that. Taking her somewhere, asking her questions, and expecting her to know. He never told her anything, he simply expected and when she undoubtedly failed to answer, he looked at her, brow cocked and disappointed.

She hated disappointing people, proving that she wasn't as smart, as good or as strong as they expected. It felt like she failed them, and it left her with frustration and that bitter taste on the tongue.

"Look for the details. How is the grass?" He asked, gesturing around her.

Nagisa squinted, "It looks like it's been stomped or…"

"Or?"

"Or like something had been dragged?" She tried, face set into a grimace, inwardly expecting to fail.

"That's more or less that." He nodded at her, "Good job."

She tried to ignore the bubbly feeling she felt. It warmed her from head to toes, and she felt elated. Alone, she would have struck a pose, but with her father, she simply mentally patted her own head.

Good job, he said. Let's see how long I can meet his expectations.

"Can you tell me in which direction the trail goes?"

Nagisa plucked her lips. How should she know that? Details he said, but in the middle of tiny strands of grass, details were the hardest to find. Alright, think smart. The grass has been stomped, how can I tell? Because they all bend in the same direct- Oh! She had her answer.

"That way." She answered, pointing toward a darker section of the forest. "Right?"

"Yes. We'll follow the trail and you'll lead."

So, they were hunting... Yet another skill she didn't have in her past life. It might come out as a surprise but Maria had never been taught how to hunt. Her grandmother gave her storage seals and told her to store foods so that each time she ran out, she would only need to stop at a village and buy enough to last her until the next one. Granted, she also knew how to create traps for small rodents in case of unexpected events but ultimately, Maria never had to hunt for herself.

She blinked. "What are we hunting?" She squinted at his face and could feel the blood leaving her cheeks when Daichi grinned in answer. It wasn't just a simple grin. It was bloodthirsty and vindictive, eyes shining with too much sadistic glee. Even his chakra flickered, turning dark and flat. The calm before the storm.

"You will see."

Oh god… She started sweating. Just what are we hunting?

They went deeper into the forest, each time, Nagisa had to make the right decision while her father was suspiciously silent behind her. Nagisa stumbled upon blood, fur and a mud imprint of a big cat. The size of the pawn was, at least, twice the size of her hand.

Oh my god, just what the hell are we hunting?

A shadow loomed over her.

"T-tou-san?"

He was looking particularly content as he hunched over her, examining the imprint, "It's a baby, perfect for you."

"A what?" Nagisa gaped at her father. Did he really say what she heard him say?

Oh god, was now a good moment to start panicking? Or should she wait to be confronted with the monster? Because they were definitely hunting done that big baby cat and by the look of it, she was going to confront it.

"Let's continue." He helped her on her feet and with a hand on her back, pushed her forward.

Nagisa swallowed loudly, tempted to drag her feet and make enough noise in the hope of scaring off whatever they were hunting. Her father would most likely kill her though.

She regretted ever whining at her father, hoping he would spare more time for her. Because he did and she wasn't enjoying it at all.

Let's just hope I'm a lousy tracker… Nagisa thought as she regretfully took the lead.

They continued for at least another half an hour, jumping and zigzagging over trees and holes, the forest always the same yet always changing until the trees became sparse and-

The view was quite lovely.

Waves crashed on the black sand beach, black rocks and boulders, spraying her face with tiny drops. It was when the sea kissed her face that Nagisa felt truly alive. The chakra moved along the water, sliding back and forth through her coils. A few trees managed to grow, casting shades and shadows under which some mini monkeys laid, showing each other their colorful butts before cowering away once they heard them.

The water on this side was calmer with multiples sea lotuses coloring the more green than blue canvas with spots of blue, yellow and white.

A bit further away, there was an island. Tiny and green and near, Nagisa could see the shore from where she was.

She turned expectantly toward her father, inwardly rejoicing about her failure. "We can't go further, it's the sea."

Daichi cocked a brow, "Follow the trail Nagisa."

She sighed, "Look, I don't know what we are hunting but they certainly couldn't swim from one island to the other. I must have failed somewhere."

His lips wobbled for a second before he set them back in a straight line. "Why are you suddenly so keen on failing?"

"I am not!"

"Then follow the trail, you will understand."

Gritting her teeth, Nagisa kept going, following wisps of chakra that mixed together and lured her on false trails. Then she tried again, focusing on the marks only to realize that she already stomped on them. So, she turned toward her father.

His face was blank, his lips falling into a tight line.

"So? What did you do wrong?"

"I don't know."

Daichi rose a brow.

"I. Don't. Know."

He sighed. "Nagisa…"

There it was… The failing, the disappointment, all created because of expectations.

"What?" A sudden spike in her blood. She pointed an accusing finger. "I failed because you never taught me."

A burning poison slipped through her veins and clouded her mind. Her breathing came out heavy and short.

"Do you hear yourself?" His voice was as cold as ice. It cooled the fire of her anger. "Are you even trying? You don't know so you immediately give up and wait, thinking that maybe someone will take pity and explain everything to you. But life doesn't work that way, you can't just wait for everything to fall at your feet, sometimes you have to initiate the exchange. Not everything will be given to you."

He scoffed, "I trusted your mother with your education only to find a spoiled child instead of my daughter... That attitude is one of the reasons why you find yourself alone."

It felt like a punch to the gut, one she never saw coming. She took a step back. It hurt, more than she thought it would and more than she cared to admit. She turned on her heels, eyes, and face burning with shame but still not ready to admit the truth behind his words.


She didn't talk to her father or even look at him after that, to the point that her mother had to intervene.

"Daichi, please-"

"I won't apologize for stating the truth."

"Even so-"

"I DON'T WANT IT!"

Yukio cried in the background.

It didn't end well.


"Nagisa, wait!"

She stormed out of the house as an answer, eyes stinging and face strangely hot.

Why couldn't they understand? She didn't want to talk, she didn't need to talk. She only needed to be left alone, in peace, where no one would judge her, blame her, expect things from her.

It wasn't the same anger that burned inside her. This fire was stained with shame and guilt.

Her feet slapped painfully against the concrete, painfully reminding her that she wasn't wearing shoes. But did it really matter? She was on Uzushio and there were poor people that were wearing less.

No, she shook her head, it's not the good attitu-

She slammed into someone so hard it cut her breath. It shook her deep. She quickly apologized and vanished before they could say anything.

Bloody idiot…

She could feel it as she ran, the stares, the judgment, the expectations.

-Hey look, it's Daichi's daughter

Shut up.

-His daughter? The genius?

Shut up!

-Genius

-GeNius

-GeNIUs

-UnaBLe TO mAke FRIend

She gritted her teeth. Her breaths were coming out painfully, like her brain only remembered how to breathe the moment before she fainted and her lung expanded violently only to promptly forget to breathe again.

Leave me alone.

Leave me alone!

Cold water splashed her feet. And the next instance, there was almost too much to comprehend. Smell, touch, and noise, and gravity doing finally its job. Sand, sea spray and the cackling of the seagulls. Feet firmly planted on the ground. She was…

Back? Back.

Where?

Back on earth.

On Uzushio? On Uzu.

How? The water.

It was the water. The water brought her back, it grounded her. Our blood is water, our blood is the sea. Yes, the water. It couldn't be something else because she was…

Alone on the beach.

Alone.

Lonely.

The surge of emotions was almost too much, it crashed on her like a tidal wave and she fell on her knees. The door of a room she thought sealed forever groaned under the assault. A simple door made of wood and painting and very far from the golden door of her memories. This one was made to be inconspicuous.

The wood split and bent, more and more, until the door held only through sheer will.

Hold.

She couldn't fail now.

Hold!

She couldn't let go because if she did-

H O L D!

If she let it open, she would have to face it and it would break her.

Furiously rubbing her eyes, she squashed the emotions back into her guts and firmly locked them away, once again.

The setting sun set ablaze the sea who timidly came to lick her legs. At least, the view was still as lovely as ever.

Regardless of everything that happened so far, Uzushio was beautiful. Her little sunny boy would surel-

A thought, as terrifying as it was sudden, froze her.

What was his name?

Her breath itched. A strange, nauseating weight fell on her stomach.

Quickly, she smoothed the sand and tried to draw his face. There was a face, and a nose, and eyes and, and-

What did he look like?

She came up with nothing.

Her boy, her sunshine, the reason she did all of that, the reason she was here…

She… forgot?

It started in her stomach, a knot that tightened ever so slowly, then it spread to her guts. There, the cold spider of terror - it had to be a spider - buried its legs deep in her, spreading ice until she felt numb. Cold sweats broke out. It reached her lungs, crunching and piercing them under the weight of its legs. Short and shallow, her breathing quickened. And then, the spider, still hungry for more, spilled its venom in her hammering heart.

Her mind was doing cartwheels, furiously searching through every nook and cranny for information. And the result was alarming.

She remembered everything related to the Uzumaki; the fuinjutsu, their history, her grandmother... But more than that? It was fuzzy at best, completely forgotten at worst.

...

She forgot.

She forgot.

...

She didn't know how long she remained rooted in her spot. She just knew that when her parents found her, her cheeks felt cold, her eyes, dry and her chest… hollow.


"Kaa-san…?" Her voice was broken and frail and in that instance, Nagisa wasn't a teen trapped into a child's body; she was once again a little girl. And all Kazashi could do was holding her close.


"Nagisa… What happened, what's wrong?"

She forgot about her most precious person and-

"… Nothing."

Kazashi's shoulders slumped and she cast her eyes downward. "I see… You will tell me when you are ready then, okay?"

"Nagisa!" Kazashi knocked on the door, her baby brother was happily babbling her mother's ears off, "Guess what is for dinner."

No response.

"It's squid stew, like your grandma does, your favorite."

Still no answer.

Her chakra shrieked and churned with worry.

Through the night, Nagisa could feel her mother's chakra spiked before a wave of chakra rolled toward her. It was like thousands of tiny hands that crawled and searched around until it found her. They cradled her in their arms, wrapping around her like a swaddled child in a blanket and patted her cheeks softly as if it was trying to dry the tears she refused to shed.

"Nagisa, Yakihiro-sensei is waiting for you outside, something about-"

"I don't want to…"

She forgot about one of the only people she could connect with. Her Uchiha.

Her precious person.

It took her mother a week before she couldn't take it anymore. She had tried everything, coaxing her, cheering her, comforting her and yet, nothing made Nagisa react. She stayed in bed all day, trying to sleep the time away and only getting out to perform some hygienic basics.

"Nagisa," her mother entered the room and knelt by her side. Nagisa barely had enough energy to turn around. "What's happening? I don't understand and seeing you like this it- it"

And with no prior warning, Kazashi burst into tears. "It tears my heart. I can't help- If you don't want to tell me, I can't help but- but you're my daughter and I want to help. I… I hate seeing you like that. I know you need your space and I tried to give you that because you are different but-"

And in answer to her mother's tears, Nagisa finally asked. "Kaa-san… Am I broken?"

"What- Why?"

"A-am I broken? Because I can't- I can't make friends."

Her voice was wobbly but her eyes remained dry.

"Who told you this?" Kazashi furiously rubbed her eyes. "You're not broken. You're different and it's okay, it's not your fault."

Not her fault?

"But I-" Her eyes were burning, her throat was hoarse and that damned door was cracking again. "I never do the first step."

"So? It doesn't matter who does the first step and it doesn't matter who does the next. As long as each step is reciprocated, who did what doesn't matter. Okay?"

Nagisa burst into tears.

"I don't know how-" she sobbed, wiping a forearm angrily over her eyes, "how to be normal!"

The door slammed open and a liquid as black as ink spilled out, staining the corridor of her mind.

Her emotions were running free and wild, wreaking havoc in her mind.

It was so stupid!

"Oh, Nagisa," Kazashi scooped her into her arms, laying down next to her.

Curling up and burying her face in her chest, Nagisa tried to defend her view only to choke on her words.

What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she make friends? Even her father found that weird!

"It's okay, angelfish," Kazashi murmured in her hair. "There is no need to be normal, it's overrated. Be yourself, be happy with yourself. That's what mattered."

"But- but," her tears wouldn't run dry no matter how her mother tried to soothe her. "I can't make friends if I'm myself!"

She wanted just one friend.

Was it too much to ask?

One friend?

Someone who understood her, had the same interests and just... was there for her.

Someone to listen to her when she was whiny and tired or when she wanted to babble about her hobbies. Someone who could bring her smile back.

Someone like her Uchiha.

She missed him so fucking much.

Why did he have to die in the first place? Why did he abandon her? She needed him! He should have known that! He should have known that she couldn't live without him, that she would do something so incredibly stupid to bring him back.

And now she was here. In Uzushio. And she was tasting what she had yearned for so long; she had a family and was surrounded by clan members and- and she was in Uzushio, where she belonged. But she knew that it would all be taken away from her. And she didn't know when and- and-

It hurt. Everything hurt so much.

Her mother's chakra bristled and her eyes burned with a fierce flame. "There will be people who will want to be your friends, who will love you because you are an incredible little girl and they will see that."

Nagisa nodded and tried to burrow deeper in her mother's chest. It was warm and smelled like home.

"I'm sorry…"

"What for?"

"For worrying you, for being such a bother." Nagisa sobbed helplessly.

She was such a mess, sad and so terribly tired of this weight that found its home in her chest. It didn't appear overnight, no, it grew over the years until every morning became a struggle to even get up.

"You're not a bother, you'll never be one. I'm your mother, I'm here for you, to listen to your problems. So never think that sharing with me is bothering me." Kazashi sighed, rubbing her back. "I feel like you've been keeping a lot of things inside, and for too long, and it created those thoughts. It's not good to keep things inside, Nagisa, it will only hurt you more. Especially when you'll become a full-fledged shinobi."

But… I don't want to become a shinobi, a tiny voice inside her whispered, growing fainter and fainter as Nagisa did her best to lock her away.

"I hate crying." She huffed angrily, rubbing her eyes against her mother's collarbones.

Kazashi bit back a laugh, shoulders trembling a bit and chakra blanketing her with a warm fondness. "Me too, I feel so helpless. But it's good for you. You need to get everything off your chest."

And she did.

They stayed in each other's embrace for a long time, even after Nagisa ceased to cry. At some point, Yukio woke up, and when he realized that they were cuddling, begged to be with them. She softly rubbed her cheeks against her brother's hair, burrowing her nose in it, and inhaled.

He smelled like that powder that her mother used to put on her and- and salt, but more particularly, like home.

She may have lost a precious person and she probably will grieve it all her life, but there were some precious people here too, and they mattered just as much.

Her eyelids were growing heavier by the seconds, and Nagisa didn't have the will to keep them from closing much longer.

"You know we are here, okay?" Kazashi asked, a soft whisper in her ears. Nagisa hummed lowly. "And we love you."

"Even Tou-san?"

"Even Tou-san."


Grief was a powerful beast, one that remained untamed would slow people down until they died. A slow burn, if you wish. It weighed down on her, like an anchor dragging across the seafloor, and started to take roots in her throat. It was like drinking wet sand, it choked and clogged, bringing tears to her eyes with each breath and the only thing she could do was fiercely clinging to the hope that one day it would get better.

It was that same hope that forced her to get up and get things down every day. Because it would, things will get better for a time before going down again and the cycle would repeat again and again. That was how life treated the ones it inhabited.

Nagisa couldn't slow down; there were expectations she needed to meet and things she needed to do. A brother to take care of and parents to make proud.

It was scary, though, to move forward. She needed to leave things behind and it terrified her. She never had to do that in the Before, she walked with the flow. But now, she was the one at the helm of the ship; everything she would and wouldn't do was going to impact the future. No matter what.

After seven long years, she finally realized that: her past was now her present. She couldn't rely on her past self because she wasn't Maria anymore. She didn't know who she was and what she strived for yet, but she knew that Maria was no more. Her past self was mostly useless now.

The only thing she could do was her best. Her best to become stronger, wiser, better with the hope of protecting Uzushio.

But, Nagisa bit her lips, she had no idea when exactly she was. She wasn't even sure if her grandmother was born yet or not – admittedly, she wasn't close with her relatives and had missed too many family dinners to be in the loop.

She knew one thing, she was older than her grandmother, and if she were to believe her faulty memories, Sango had been quite old – nearing 100 years old - when it happened. So, the only thing she could do was preventive. And that meant… sealing.

Yukio tugged on her hand, bringing her attention back on his tiny self and his big cheeks – her fingers itched.

"Look!" he pointed toward a stand. "I want to look."

With a small huff, Nagisa followed at a more leisurely pace. She couldn't really fault him, though. It has always been her favorite stand in the whole market too. The glass-makers stand.

Nagisa had always been the utmost fascinated by the workers. They would mold beads and vases with the twist of a hand, adding colors and details while twirling them. Their movements were fast and precise and as true masters of their arts, they brought a sense of decorum that caught the eyes and ensnare the watchers.

But beyond the entertainment they offered, Nagisa loved the smell of warm glass cooling in the sea. She couldn't explain what pleased her, it wasn't a particularly strong or attractive smell. It just was one of these pleasing scents that people liked without reasons but still waxed poetry and deep, soul-crunching explanations on it.

Holding Yukio's hand, they both watched the men worked diligently. One worker with eyes as clear as the sky and with the skin as tanned and wrinkled as tree trunks raised a hand at them and smiled. Her brother happily waved in answer.

"Come on, we still need to buy the fish."

Slowly tugging on his hand, Nagisa weaved in the crowd. She amusedly dodged a seller that tried to wrap a bracelet of pearls around her wrist with a 'not interested'. Her brother remained glued to her side, their chakra firmly intertwined. No way she would lose her brother now.

She exhaled contently. Today was a good day, Nagisa thought, tilting her head back. The sky was a blue-grey brindle with the softest accents of white, birds twirled and played among the clouds and the wind. The sun warmed her back. It felt good.

And as if God wanted to prove her wrong, for the first time in seven years, the storm bells rang.

Everyone froze, the sea that was their chakras remained unnaturally still.

Dong. One.

One was for a small tempest. One was nothing to fear, just a breeze stronger than usual.

Dong. Two.

Two was for larger tempests. Two was go home or out of the wind and the water reach.

Dong. She let go of her brother's hand for a second to rub the clamminess away from her hands. Three.

Three was for the big storm, the one that promised destruction if fragile structures were left outside.

Dong. Her stomach fell somewhere between her two feet. Four.

Four was for natural disasters, a hurricane or a tsunami. Four meant using barrier from the barrier units. Four meant danger.

Dong. Her inside was frozen solid. Five.

Five was for human disaster. Five was for attacks. Five meant invasion, danger. Death.

And danger meant fear and- The crowd burst into murmurs of worry then as the realization settled shouts and frenzy – fear meant panic.

It started with a man, one man that forced his way out, pushing people out of his way and then, the next thing she knew, she was being pushed around. Waves and waves of people crashed into her and each time she tripped and was pushed further away.

"Invasion!"

God, she needed to leave now.

"AAAAAAAHH-"

He is back for you. Still hunting you, behind you, don't falter- He will drag you to the auction house by the hair, take the money. Treated as a price, as an object easily disposable. Torture you. Run, Run, RUN.

Go home, screamed her brain as instinct response. Home was where she would be safe, she could hide and make sure that nothing would touch her. Her heart grew erratic as she stumbled forward, her legs rooted on spot. Her shoulders shook as her lungs failed to take in enough oxygen.

An arm hit her face. Nagisa blinked her tears away and willed her legs to just move.

She needed to live, to save herself.

Finally, she moved, turning so she would go with the flow, hopefully surviving the crowd's panic, their elbows and the pushing around. If she could reach the cave or-

A scream not unlike the other reached her ears. It was shrill and high pitched, the cry of a woman or a child.

Nagisa gasped, the heart-wrenching realization that Yukio wasn't with her and left alone and she needed to go to him because he wouldn't survive without her but-

If you turn around, the enemies will reach you. Leave the burden behind, save yourself. The spectre of Maria hang above her, her deeply ingrained instinct surging through her to leave him behind and save herself.

The arguments she presented were music to her fear-ridden brain and tempted her more than she cared to admit - am I a bad person for considering them? - and she would have abandoned them if they were anyone else but her family.

So, for the first time in her life, Nagisa chose to put herself in harm's way, spinning on her heels to fight the flow.

Damn, not this way. Their already damaged chakra bond stretched, and stretched, and thinned, despite her best efforts and Nagisa was pushing and trashing around, digging her heels in the ground because her brother- her brother was not this way. And if they kept pushing them apart then-

It stung and hurt and deeply frightened her because the bond snapped and she could still feel how nestled together their chakra had been deep in her coils. Her chakra has just been ripped away from her brothers.

An electrifying panic surged through her spine. Yukio, Yukio was away, alone and he would die without her and her parents would blame her and she would-

She needed to-

The sound her nose made when a palm hit it was sickening, the blood that invaded her mouth next was the only proof she needed to know: her nose was broken. The pain was bearable, but only because of the daily beating she took. Her eyes watered almost immediately.

Blinded and panicked, it was only a question of seconds before her instincts took over.

She gripped a hand and pulled. A kick to the groin. One man stumbled, the other fell to the ground. Blood pumping something fierce, she turned around and fell into a stance.

One hand to the shoulder, the other raised right under the breast, straight back, elbow close and knees slightly bent, feet separated and light. No weight on your heels and no locked joints.

Fight whoever comes too close, fight back, defend yourself.

It took her a second to realize what she did and it was enough for her to be snatched away from the crowd. She ended up on a rooftop, a shinobi a meter away.

"Cut it out!" He barked and Nagisa blinked, brows knitting in confusion. "The killer intent, stop it."

Oh…

She had been broadcasting her chakra and her emotions? That would explain things, notably why the crowd was this panicked. She nodded, taking a deep breath and reigning in her panic. Her chakra came naturally back to her.

"Good. Leave for the cave and don't fucking use killer intent on citizens ever again."

"Wait! Shinobi-san!" She stopped him right before he leaped off the roof, "My brother! He is four and lost in the crowd and I-"

Her voice broke.

Nagisa was losing her mind. Her brother, alone and lost in that crowd? Thousands of scenarios with horrible outcomes flood her mind. Her heart sped up, chakra slowly rolling out of her.

"Okay, I get it. Keep your chakra under control and I will find him."

"No! Let me come. I can localize him faster." She was his sister, his signature was imprinted in her mind. "Through chakra." She added when he gave her a dubious look.

The shinobi sighed, pondering on the pros and cons before he presented her his back, crouching a bit. It was the only answer she needed as she jumped on his back and once she was glued to him, they took off.

It wasn't hard to find her brother, because he, in fact, wasn't in the middle of the crowd where all of their chakras were mixing and swirling with massive anxiety. He was in the back of an alley with someone else.

She jumped off the back of the shinobi mid-air - which wasn't her smartest idea - and fell to the ground in a roll and with his name on her lips. Yukio immediately pounced on her.

"Nee-san!" He opened his big lovely blue eyes and promptly cried. "I- I thought- I thought the people ate you!"

Nagisa simply held him and if a few tears ran down her cheeks, nobody said anything.

"Are you okay?" She crooked out, slowly prying him away from her chest before checking for any injuries. "Something happens?"

He shook his head, "No, the nice girl was here."

Nagisa heaved a relieved sigh before she eyed the girl carefully. Brown eyes, brown hair, and a simple outfit, the girl was looking particularly uncomfortable under her gaze, frowning, but a stubborn spark glinted in her eyes.

"Uzumaki-"

Nagisa bowed deeply, "Thank you. If you hadn't been there, I don't know in what shape I would have found my brother." She closed her eyes, erasing any images of her brother lying on the ground, stomped and dead out of her mind.

It threw the girl off, for a second, before a frown was back on her face.

"Of course, I won't let a child die if I can help it."

Nagisa squinted her eyes; why did he feel like she was acting all mighty with her? She shook her head, it didn't matter. Yukio tugged on her wrist, once.

"Nee-san…"

Nagisa shushed him.

"Shino- Ah…" She turned around, expecting to see the shinobi only to realize that he left them. "Well, there goes my plan for a piggyback ride to safety…"

The girl scoffed, pushing her chest out to look bigger than she was.

"Nee-san…!" Yukio tugged impatiently now. She ignored it in favor of the girl.

Okay, she was starting to get on her nerves now. "What's your problem now?"

"My- my problem? My problem is when little princesses like yo-"

"Nee-san!" Yukio all but screamed.

"What?" She snapped back.

Her brother took a step back, eyes wide open, looking scared, and whatever expression she was wearing fell immediately. "Yukio, I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"- Hey, are you listening?!"

"I hear weird noises."

Nagisa frowned, tilting her head to listen carefully. "The only weird noise here is her voice."

"How dare you?" The girl looked like an offended wet cat. A hand put on her chest, she made the louder offended noise Nagisa has ever heard. "My voice is made to communicate underwater-"

She didn't hear it. She felt it, as in multiple foreign chakras. Icy. Nagisa knew it meant nothing good.

And just like that, Nagisa understood four things.

One, the girl would attract the foreign chakras if she kept growling like that.

Two, her brother was a sensor and a much better one than she.

Three, the barrier units didn't manage to raise the barrier in time and the invaders were in Uzushio.

Four, they were outside and alone. No doubt, the shinobi likely engaged them, leaving the small weaklings behind.

Fuck.

She pounced on the girl, keeping Yukio close and behind her.

"What?-"

"Be quiet! The enemies are near."

She could literally see the terror craving into every inch of her expression; pale skin, eyes wild and whitening lips.

"Wha… What? What do you mean?" She saw the moment realization struck her. Her voice broke. "I- I don't want to die, I have- I don't-"

Nagisa winced at the fingers that clutched her shoulders but the pain helped keep her own bubbling panic under control.

Calm down, she needed her emotions to stay under control, and think. Easier said than done, true but with the girl breaking down in front of her, she had to keep control.

Her tiny brother's chakra twirled and swirled anxiously and his little pond started to ripple. He wanted very much to start crying like the girl but Nagisa couldn't let it happen. She already had one meltdown on her arms, two would be too much.

Nagisa sent her chakra around him, blanketing him, and did her hardest to project an ease she wasn't feeling.

Bringing her brother even closer, she turned her attention back to the girl and slowly pried her grip off of her shoulders.

"Hey, hey. It's okay, nothing will happen, alright? None of us will die, I will make sure of that. Okay?" The girl looked into her eyes but her breathing still grew heavier. "But I need you to calm yourself for that. I can't do this alone." A nod. "Good. Take a deep breath, hold a few seconds and exhale. Do that a few times."

Honestly, she had a vague idea of what she was doing only because she had been in a similar situation before, just a few months after old Sango-obaa-chan died. Tracked down by some slaver hunter-nin, she had to run and hide. He was after her for a week before he gave up. She was going to remember the sheer terror she felt during that week all her life.

It was the same fear, only multiplied by ten because of Yukio, but still… She knew what to do. Or the basis at least.

Keep calm and think. Outsmart them. It's your home, your streets.

"Alright…" She frowned a bit, looking at the neck of the girl before raising her brows. "You're from the Daiba clan, right? You have-" And she gestured her neck.

The girl nodded again. "Gills," she rasped out, "I'm Miru, Miru Daiba."

Nagisa nodded, "I'm Uzumaki Nagisa and it's-"

"Yukio!"

"My brother Yukio." Nagisa nodded, sparring him a fond look before concentrating on the icy chakras once more.

They didn't appear to have felt them as no one went their ways, but she also knew that her sensing range was something like 5O meters and so, if she could feel them, they were already quite close and they could probably feel them too.

They simply weren't of any interest to them as of now. It might change, though, and Nagisa wasn't going to let that opportunity passed.

"We need to move," she whispered, her hand cupping the back of her brother's head. Really, she was going to suck all of her nice emotions out of her if that meant keeping him calm. "No noise and this way."

All right, let's get out of here alive.


Here, we are! So... Multiple things.

First, half of the chapter wasn't planned to be like that, like... it just happened. Another thing is that this chapter is, in fact, the part 1 of chapter 4. Part 2 is when we meet Mito.

At first, Nagisa was supposed to actually hunt the big cat but she threw me a curveball and now, she had a mental breakdown. It happens, I guess, but it was long due!

Why, you ask?

Because Nagisa is an unreliable character in the sense that, she will lie to herself. So when she said that she could roll with it in a previous chapter, what she meant is "I'm gonna ignore it until I can't". It's not healthy, bottling things is a very bad idea because it festers in your heart and you lose your cool.

I tried to show that she was slowly losing her cool in the previous chap, with her reactions to Yakihiro and others. Won't say I foreshadowed that well, but it's especially hard when the chapter covers multiple years.

The other breakdown, because, yes she had to realize that she forgot... My poor Shisui... T.T But memories are incredibly tricky, they come and go as they want and one tiny thing makes you remember something, usually fun facts in my case but we will see for Nagisa. Also, why just the Uzumaki, you may ask. Well, she had been surrounded by Uzumaki, that part of her memories has been stimulated for seven years unlike everything else.

Also, my original plan was to write her young days in the first six chapters before she's faced with the Senju BUT there is also a lot to cover in Uzushio and finally I decided I'm going to take my time and take time to build things and all, so don't expect the Senju now. But will be here next chapt', promise!

I think I've rambled long enough.

So what did you thought about the chapter? Good? Bad? Anxious for Nagisa? What do you think of Nagisa's parents, Kazashi and Daichi?

Anyway, I'm off. Take care!