Nanami has short hair.

It's the first thing he notices about her, beyond the fact that she is alive and younger than him. She had had long hair for as long as he had known her, a remnant of the Warring Clans Era that had only begun to change years after her death. She had always hated it and complained more than once that at least the Elders never got on Kagami's case for his appearance of all things. Kagami would always laugh and offer to cut it for her, tradition be damned, but she never took him up on it.

"One of us has to pander to their fragile egos, or else I'm afraid they'll really kick us out," she would explain, ruffling his hair, even though she was shorter than him after his growth spurt, and Kagami would drop it.

Now, here, her hair only just reaches her jaw and is just as wild and unruly as his, no longer slicked down with scentless oils. It looks good on her. Something about the style is better able to capture the bright spark of her personality, the fierceness of her cutting edge. It's not so severe as the clinically styled updo she had always worn in battle, aging her unnaturally. The bob is cute and youthful, and honestly a welcome change from his faded memories of her counterpart.

Kagami allows his sister to lead him out of the Uchiha Compound as she chatters away, her arm firmly in his, and marvels internally about this unexpected boon. He had not even dared hope that he had any immediate family alive in this world, unconsciously shying away from the thought with each Uchiha face categorized and filed neatly away in his mind, to be examined later. He has been without them - alone - for so long.

Kagami is not one for pessimism or wallowing in his own pity. He has witnessed firsthand how drowning in one's own negativity pollutes the mind and warps one's worldview. The Uchiha Clan is a prime example of this. The great power of their dojutsu comes at the cost of imprinting tragedy into the planes of their souls - the next evolution only possible by trapping a moment of grief under a glass and never letting it go.

But it is not just the Uchiha who are afflicted with this. It is all Clans. All generations. The Elders, who hold onto their prejudices even when they are proven wrong and who refuse to change their ways. Those who lose loved ones and ruin themselves in their pursuit of revenge or their inability to move on. Those who are wronged who do wrong unto others out of some misguided sense of justice or sick satisfaction. Those who lash out at any and everyone out of fear or jealousy or bitterness or hatred.

It is easy to be cruel, both to oneself and to others. Simple to give in to the impulse, to not fight dark thoughts. It is much harder to be kind. To push back against that tantalizing descent into darkness. To believe in the inherent goodness of humanity when given so many examples of the worst it has to offer.

Kagami was born into a world at war. Has lived through two great wars with scant few years of peace in between. Violence and death are never far from him, clinging to his heels with every step. He was, only just this morning, murdered by his closest friend for a reason he will never understand.

And still, he chooses to look on the brighter side, to be grateful for the things that he has. He will never let his bad experiences tarnish his good ones. He will never allow his grief or anger to mar his faith that things will get better. The moment he does, that's it for him. He will be too far gone. He will have crossed a line he can never uncross.

Allowing himself to believe, for one moment, that his sister might be alive again only to find out it wasn't true would have pushed him over the edge. It would have catapulted him over that hard line immediately. Kagami has always held his family close to his heart, loved them fiercely and intensely in the way that any Uchiha loves anything. He has already had them ripped away from him once. He could not bear it again. His unbearable optimistism, as Koharu has coined it, would not survive another blow of this scale.

Fortunately, it is all a moot point. Nanami is alive and well, a familiar warmth gripping his elbow, a cheerful smile directed at him as they wander. She is so obviously happy, the air around her light and unburdened like he's never seen. Always, in his memories, there was a shadow in her expression that she could not hide. A heavy weariness in her every move brought on by the constant fighting, the endless grief - and likely having had to raise her brat of a younger brother when she was only barely out of childhood herself.

This version of his sister has evidently lived a relatively good life, one free of inexplicable suffering and sadness, and Kagami is glad of it. So incredibly thankful. In the face of this, Danzō's betrayal is nothing, the hurt in his heart soothed by the balm of Nanami's bright laughter.

"I see that whatever you were worried about has been taken care of," Nanami says, with visible relief. "I know the missions were important and time-sensitive, but you've been working too hard, Nii-san. You've been on the cusp of burning out ever since you came back from Oto."

Oh? Sound? The way she says it, is she referring to another Hidden Village? His counterpart had, apparently, been in a slew of missions since returning from this village. That's more information about himself personally than he has gotten from the idle chatter of his distant relatives all morning.

He doesn't feel any post-mission exhaustion, the lingering tension and low ache of heightened awareness absent from his person, so he must have been on leave for at least a day or two. Neither Hiruzen nor Nanami were surprised to see him in the village, after all.

Kagami is no stranger to back-to-back missions, but he can't help but wonder if this recent increase in activity might have any relation to his sudden displacement. He has next to no information, so nothing can be discounted. The idea that his counterpart might have summoned him here himself cannot be ruled out, even if Kagami cannot think of a reason as to why.

"Ha! I can't remember the last time someone had to ask me to slack off," Kagami jokes, nudging Nanami with his elbow. "Careful, Imōto, you don't want to encourage my bad habits. Next thing you know, I'll be moving in with you and living off of your mission wages like some wasting prince."

She snorts, flipping her short hair with an extravagant motion. "If it means you'll slow down, I'll gladly take you in. I'm not short of money, and I know how to cook. I could support a whole palace."

"Don't tempt me, Nanami," he warns, nodding to the stall owner who calls out a warm greeting. "You know not of the horrors you are about to unleash."

It's as easy as breathing to fall into familiar banter with her. He doesn't even stumble over the switch from "Nee-san" to "Imōto" or the change in their dynamic. No matter their age, they're still siblings, and their family at least has never put too much stock in the strict hierarchy the rest of their Clan bases their entire personalities and every interaction around.

"...I ran into Kushina-sama yesterday," Nanami says, with a troubled frown. "She's holding up pretty well, considering. I just wish I could do more for her, you know? Besides her husband, the only other Uzumaki left is a cousin I'm pretty sure she only just met recently. She must feel so angry and alone."

Ah, yes. The Uzumaki Massacre, the Uzushio Incident, the current event that has everyone and their mothers whispering in hushed tones and glancing worriedly over their shoulders. Apparently, almost one month ago, an Uzumaki "snapped" and murdered every single member of their Clan in one night, from the elderly to the newborn babes. Kagami has never heard of a Nagato Uzumaki, but he is evidently very dangerous. Uzushio has since labeled him a missing-nin and sent out hunter-nin, but he has eluded all pursuit.

Aside from him, the only survivors appear to be Kushina Uzumaki, the Third Hokage, and Mito Uzumaki, a twelve-year-old who has only just been assigned to a genin team. They were in Konoha at the time of the massacre and were thus spared. Although from what he has gathered, everyone agrees that if Sandaime had been there, it would likely have been Nagato who suffered. The Flaming Hot Habanero is a name to be feared.

"Just let her know you're there for her," Kagami says, letting none of his own distress and helplessness show. The Uzumaki were good to him - too good. They might as well have been his second family. He was never spurned or turned away when he sought solace in them after every internal spat with his own Clan. He spent many a night in Mito's spare room in the Uzumaki Clan Compound in Konoha and usurped every mission to Uzushio he could in order to bask in the unselfish and freely given warmth of her Clan when his own village became stifling. It hurts him deeply to know that they no longer exist in this world and that he can never again partake in their rambunctious kindness. This world is undoubtedly poorer for it. "Make sure she knows she's not really alone."

"I will," Nanami promises, with the steely determination that had seen her keep a small child alive in a time when child-hunting had been every Clan's prerogative. "She's my Shishou's Sensei, after all. I'm basically her student by proxy." She punches him on the shoulder, smiling impudently. "The same goes for you too! I'm sure Orochimaru-sama would want you to comfort his teacher!"

He winces, batting her hand away. "Okay, okay, I get it! We'll both look out for her! I was gonna do that anyway!" Assured of his compliance, Nanami nods in satisfaction and ceases the assault. "Geeze, you really don't skip arm day, do you?" He complains, rubbing his shoulder with his free hand. That's definitely going to bruise, especially since Uchiha bruise easily anyway. Damn Uchiha fair skin!

"Cry about it, why don't you?" She sniffs, but she can't hide her smug, cat-like grin. "Tsunade-shishou has finally agreed to teach me her strength techniques," she brags, dropping the offended act.

"Like you needed to be even more terrifying," Kagami says, but the pride on his face is obvious. He doesn't have the context, but the name itself is pretty clear. More to the point, Nanami wouldn't be acting like it was a big deal if it wasn't. "I don't think she decided to teach you, so you could go around beating up your older brother though."

"Are you kidding? She only agreed when I told her I wanted to kick your ass," Nanami reveals, with a scary giggle. "Orochimaru-sama has been parading you around in front of her so long that she finally gave in and started teaching me, so she could rub it in his face when I beat you."

Kagami laughs. That sounds like little Tsunade alright. That kid had always been a vindictive thing, fueled more by spite than anything. It's good to know that that hasn't changed. "Well, I can't let my Sensei lose face. Besides, Hiruzen would never let me live it down if I was taken out by my Imōto."

Nanami tries to punch him again, but he dodges it this time, dropping her arm and twirling out of the way. She clicks her tongue, annoyed she didn't get another hit in, and Kagami sticks his tongue out at her in retaliation.

"You'll have to do better than that," he taunts playfully, but he tenses up and turns around when he senses someone approaching quickly. An ANBU agent clad in a leopard mask lands silently in front of him, but Kagami can hardly devote any speculation as to why.

He recognizes that shock of white hair, the pale skin, the vibrant red eyes scrutinizing him in return with cool curiosity through the gaps of the mask. Nothing could possibly compare to his sheer joy at reuniting with his sister, but if anyone were to come close, it would be Tobirama. The relief is almost dizzying, his elation vibrating through him like an electric shock. It takes considerable effort not to reach out, not to let loose the barrage of words he had wanted to say but could not bring himself to when Tobirama had sent him away that fateful day, the last time Kagami had seen him alive.

"Kagami Uchiha, Orochimaru-sama has summoned you," Tobirama says, sounding exactly the same despite being at least a decade younger. "Follow me, and I will lead you to him."

"I would follow you anywhere," slips out of Kagami's mouth without his consent, undeniably flirtatious and overly familiar, and oh God, he wants to die.

He had gotten used to meeting Tobirama's seriousness with flirty quips because Hiruzen and Homura's scandalized expressions were hilarious and because everyone (save for Tōka Senju, maybe) was under the mistaken impression that Tobirama didn't have a sense of humor and so never teased him, and Kagami couldn't let that stand. He did not intend to do so now, however, not without first gauging his relationship with this Tobirama and finding out whether that sort of thing would even be welcome.

The mild surprise he reads from those striking eyes tells him that Tobirama was definitely not expecting that, haha! He wants to sink into the ground and disappear!

In his peripheral vision, he spots Nanami facepalming with palpable disappointment. "This is why I can't take you anywhere," she whines, mortified for him.

"Shut up!" He whisper-yells before turning the full force of his most charming smile on an unsuspecting Tobirama. "Sorry about that! You're just so hot I couldn't help myself."

He hears another smack of skin on skin and knows that Nanami has just added another hand to her abused face. Kagami is holding back his flush by the grace of the gods. Which becomes especially difficult when Nanami says, "He's wearing a mask, you idiot."

"Orochimaru-sama is waiting," Tobirama interjects, before Kagami can tackle his sister and punish her with a noogie like he had been planning. He's gotten over his surprise and is now, Kagami is delighted to find, amused. No one else would be able to tell, not with the mask (both physical and metaphorical), but Kagami knows Tobirama. He can tell when Tobirama thinks something is funny. He had worked damn hard to be able to read this otherwise inscrutable man.

"I'm right behind you." He winks, ignoring Nanami's gagging and follows behind him as promised when Tobirama shunshins away. Nanami waves him off with a disgusted look when he looks back, and he smiles stupidly, giddy with the knowledge that he can see her again later.


Tobirama leads him to what is clearly a laboratory, hidden beneath the village in a network of tunnels and rooms that must span for miles in all directions.

"I have brought Kagami Uchiha as you requested," Tobirama kneels and announces respectfully once they arrive, addressing a ridiculously pretty man with long black hair and snake-like eyes.

Orochimaru dismisses Tobirama with, "That will be all." Tobirama nods and takes his leave, but not without shooting another curious look at Kagami.

Kagami sends him off with a grin and a wave. He can track Tobirama down again later, as well. How's that for a bright side?

"Fascinating," Orochimaru remarks, studying him openly, like some specimen in a jar. "I had expected that the difference would be negligible, but when experimenting with time and space, even my best efforts have the tendency to go awry. They are truly fickle things."

Instantly, like flipping a switch, all levity is gone from Kagami's expression, leaving him braced and battle-ready. "You're responsible for this, then," he says, and it's not a question.

"Obviously," he says. "Come," he commands, walking into a room further in, clearly expecting Kagami to follow. Kagami does, after a moment of hesitation.

Inside, there are corpses of bone white men(?) in varying states of decay and dissection laid out on tables lining both walls. Strangely, rather than the scent of rotting flesh, an overwhelming aroma of plants is drenching the room.

"Six months ago, three of these suddenly appeared in the village in the middle of a crowded market. Witnesses describe it as if they appeared out of thin air. They attacked indiscriminately and attempted to flee when cornered," Orochimaru explains apropos, gesturing to the three corpses closest to them. They don't seem to be over six months dead, but he attributes that to the stasis seals inked onto the sides of the slabs. "Five months ago, seven of them were discovered near Ame by shinobi returning from a mission in Wind. Only two were captured. The rest retreated toward Ame."

Kagami listens intently as Orochimaru explains the origins of each corpse. There doesn't seem to be any correlation between where they were sighted each time, but as Orochimaru goes on, he realizes that the majority of sightings had happened somewhere in the vicinity of Waterfall and Sound (whose location he had been able to place from Orochimaru's descriptions.)

Kagami's counterpart had just come back from a mission in Sound. "What's in between Taki and Oto?" He asks.

Orochimaru smiles. "The origin of these specimens. An interdimensional rift has opened in a region known as The Mountain's Graveyard. It is disrupting the fabric of our reality, allowing beings from other dimensions access to ours through the gap in our defenses."

Well, that's not good.

Kagami frowns. "What does that have to do with me? Why am I here?" He definitely hadn't fallen through any rifts. He had died. Danzō had made sure of it.

"My diligent student was wary of the danger of this instability. He proposed a measure to ensure that no one in this dimension would fall through the cracks into another while we worked on a means to close it. I assume you have discovered the seal on your neck?"

Kagami nods, hand flying up to cover it. "It didn't keep him in, though. It pulled me in."

"Ah, but it did," Orochimaru corrects him, that same intrigue from earlier coloring his words. "He is still here."

"...I don't understand," Kagami admits.

"Your souls have fused," Orochimaru explains, impatient, as if Kagami is slow for not getting it. Kagami might have gotten offended if he were the type. Instead, he is merely bemused. "Memories were lost, but you are, in essence, the same person."

Well. He doesn't have to feel guilty about stealing this other Kagami's place anymore. Not when the guy brought this on himself. Not when the guy is him, apparently. "I guess that makes sense?" Kagami agrees, kinda, since his Sensei is waiting for a response.

"Now that your existential crisis is out of the way," Orochimaru begins, clearly of the opinion that this entire conversation had been unnecessary, which rude, "we have more important matters to discuss."

Kagami might be struggling with the concept that he'd essentially merged together with his other self in a similar fashion to a dismissed Shadow Clone (except in this case, without the memory transfer), but he is not, in fact, an idiot. He picks up on what Orochimaru is referring to almost immediately. "The white beings," he says, contemplative.

Orochimaru doesn't quite look pleased by his answer, but he does seem less unimpressed. "Yes. Three days ago, you ventured into the rift and discovered that the white beings plague many other dimensions. That there is an army of them and that at one point in the near future, they will invade this dimension as well."

That is a lot to grapple with at once. Okay. Okay. So now he has to worry about interdimensional wars on top of the regular old great ones. Sure. That's fine. Why not, right? Rather than worry uselessly over it, he might as well fight it head on.

"How do we stop it?" Kagami asks, skipping panic or distress and going straight to mission mode. "By closing the rift?"

Orochimaru hums. "Theoretically. I have been working on a method to seal it, but thus far, only your seal has had any effect on it, and it was created for a different purpose."

Yeah, and it didn't work. Orochimaru may not be concerned about the erasing of his Kagami's memories, but Kagami sure is! What if the next Kagami to come along erases his memories? What even is a person if not the sum of their experiences, i.e. their memories? You can't just keep stuffing Kagamis inside of each other like some fucked up Matryoshka doll and pretend like nothing's changed!

"You possess Izanagi and Kamui, yes?" Orochimaru asks, expectant, either unknowing or uncaring of his student's woes.

Resigned to this mad scientist's weird ways, Kagami answers, warily, "Yes. Why?"

"You volunteered to enter the rift because of your ability to travel between your personal dimension and this one. You believed you would be able to exit using Kamui as a gateway. Indeed, you were able to return with little trouble. The only variable came later when you merged with another version of yourself. I'm curious. Have you attempted to use Kamui?"

No. He hadn't. Truthfully, Kagami elects to avoid activating his Mangekyō Sharingan whenever possible, instead saving it only for true emergencies. Not just because his eyesight noticeably deteriorates each time, but also because in order to activate it, he must immerse himself in the same swell of grief that had sparked the evolution in the first place. He must watch his sister die all over again every time - and then proceed normally afterwards as if he hadn't just forced himself to experience his worst memory again. Again and again and again.

(Is it any wonder so many Uchiha go mad?

Kagami has never condoned Madara's actions after Izuna's death, but he has always understood them.)

Orochimaru reads the answer on his face. "Perhaps you should," he suggests lightly.

Kagami grimaces, but he sees Orochimaru's point. There is another reason Kagami hasn't turned to Kamui even when it should have been the obvious choice. His instincts are warning him against it. He is subconsciously wary of what might happen if he attempts it. And that- Well, that's reason enough to check it out anyway, right? It's super suspicious. Something is going to happen, and he needs to know what before he finds himself screwed mid-battle.

So without further adieu, he waves cheekily at his new Sensei and says, with more cheer than he feels, "If I'm still alive, I demand a teacher-student bonding session when I get back!" as he activates Kamui and teleports inside.

The exasperated expression he gets in response tells him that teasing this Sensei might be just as fun as the last, and the thought does a lot to combat the anguish and sorrow crowding out his lungs and choking every breath.

Inside Kamui, he comes face to face with another Kagami.