In truth, there were two processions that Fumiyo would be part of. The second came after her weeklong stay with the Aoyagi clan in their mansion on the other side of the city. It was intended to be a quiet affair, not really a procession as much as a relatively formal escort back to Hayashi castle. Neither bride nor groom was of an age where marriage was acceptable, after all, and the whole affair was intentionally ceremonial. While normally the delivery of the bride to the groom's home was permanent, in this case it was more a declaration of intent. If any canoodling happened to occur, it would be considered a bonus.

The first procession would happen Sunday afternoon, after appropriate festivities in the morning. Several ceremonial events were scheduled for the rest of the week afterwards, but those were not the pressing concerns just before eight in the morning on the day of the first procession.

"Guests are scheduled to arrive this early?" Naruto asked incredulously. Team Seven was hustling their way to the mansion in order to escort their client. The trip was a short one, just to the main parade square in the center of the castle, where the celebration's morning festivities were supposed to be. It did not need armed guards, but appearances needed to be kept.

"Did you not read the schedule?" Sayaka asked irritably. The tailor had indeed been quite upset at the makeup on her clothes, but they were also a magician and Sayaka's formal wear was once again pristine.

"I mean, no."

"Why?"

"Because it's not complicated, right?" said Naruto. "It's just friggen, you know, standing around all day. The lunch doesn't even have ramen!"

"Yeah but you need to know when to be there," said Sayaka. She resisted the urge to slap Naruto upside the head—they'd finally found a way to turn his hair into less of a mess and he looked respectable for the first time in his life. She wasn't about to ruin it.

They made it just in time and checked in with Tokuyama Norihide, the samurai who had met them at the gate and who Minami had said was in charge of security. As matched his role, Tokuyama was not dressed in the kind of resplendent armor that the rest of the honor guard had arrived in, but was instead in simple combat gear. Ready for a fight, but not part of the show being put on for all the others. His role would be to keep watch from a distance.

"Shinobi," said Tokuyama, nodding sharply at them as Team Seven gathered around. "It is time."

"It is," said Kakashi. "Has anything changed?"

Tokuyama shook his head. "No updates, the plan stays the same."

Kakashi nodded. "Very good. Sayaka, Hinata, are you two ready?"

"Yes."

"Y-yes sensei."

"Head inside then, you'll need to be with the princess from here on out. Naruto, you're bringing up the rear while I'll be near the head of the column. Tokuyama-san wants us there so that the team can bracket the entire entourage."

"Understood, sensei!"

"Anything I've forgotten, Tokuyama-san?" Kakashi asked, turning back to the samurai.

Tokuyama shook his head. "Your team is well drilled, shinobi. Go, to your stations, and we will meet again before noon."

They bowed to each other, and Hinata and Sayaka left. The servants opened the doors to the entrance hall for them, then Hana ushered the two kunoichi through several back hallways to the bottom of the staircase that led to the family's chambers.

"Wait here please," Hana said, bowing briefly before leaving, hurrying for Fumiyo's rooms.

Sayaka breathed deep and pooled her chakra into her core, letting it swirl briefly before dispersing it back into her limbs. She was suddenly, unaccountably nervous. It was an unreasonable thing—it wasn't her betrothal and she was as good at being a polite noble girl as Hinata was—but it made her want to palm a kunai anyway.

Hinata was a pool of serenity next to her. Sayaka envied the girl her calm, though perhaps it was just a case of practice. Hinata likely needed to apply her skills on a regular basis, but Sayaka hadn't needed to be this careful about protocol for years. In fact, Sayaka lived in an apartment that was tiny by the standards of any other clan and did her own cleaning. By some measures, she was barely a noble at all.

Sayaka hummed thoughtfully. She wondered if she should be thinking about getting more impressive lodging. Maybe it would help her standing among the clans? But it would be a distraction from training…

Something for later, she decided. She looked up and spotted Naga in a corner, appearing to be watering plants but secretly keeping watch over the proceedings. Nobuo was off the side, carrying a tray full of fabric of some kind. Ota was actually on a roof, hiding well enough that Sayaka kept losing track of him.

It was a shame they weren't Konoha ninja. They did a remarkable job compared to some of the genin Sayaka had graduated with.

Then a door opened and Sayaka looked up to see Fumiyo descending, dressed in a powder blue kimono, adorned with swallows in gold thread, and tied with a dark blue obi of fine silk. Her hair had been done up and pinned with gold as well, but lacked the traditional headdress of a bride. Of course, she wasn't one—this was a celebration of her betrothal and not of her marriage.

"My lady," said Sayaka and Hinata together, bowing from the waist deeply as Fumiyo arrived at the bottom of the stairs.

"Ladies Hyuuga, Uchiha," said Fumiyo with a small smile, inclining her head. "It is strange, referring to you by your titles, when today you will be serving as my guards. Would it be too familiar for me to refer to you by your names?"

"Of course not, miss," said Hinata, coming out of her bow with a smile. "Though, for propriety's sake, we will continue to refer to your ladyship by your title."

"Of course," said Fumiyo. Her smile broadened. "It is good to have friends by my side today."

"We are honored," said Hinata, and she and Sayaka bowed again, but less steeply, because such formality amongst friends was unnecessary.

"Fumiyo, you're early," said Lord Hayashi, striding up. He was in full regalia, dressed in brilliantly decorated and polished battle armor with lacquered family crests dazzling across it and a helmet topped with horsehair and great horns of gold-plated steel. Atop the armor he wore a set of powder blue jinbaori, run through with gold, and his swords hung by his hip on silk cords.

"Yes father," said Fumiyo, bowing.

"Your brother is—?"

"Here father," said Fumiyo's older brother, and Sayaka eyed him as she bowed. He was only fourteen or so, not as tall as his father yet but growing. His armor was not well fitted, slightly too large, but it was fully functional even with the slightly ostentatious decorations which, in Sayaka's opinion, were not in the best of taste. The jinbaori he wore was identical to his father's, of course, and his swords were tied the same as well.

"Ah, good, I was worried you would be late," said Lord Hayashi. He clapped his son on the shoulder. "Your armor is terrible."

"Shove off, father," grumbled Fumiyo's brother, punching his father in the kidneys. The blow wasn't very strong, and Lord Hayashi's armor deadened it.

"Hah! Your fashion sense is worse than mine," laughed Lord Hayashi. "Still, it's not bad, Kyousuke. I'm sure your mother will disagree, but…"

"It's terrible, but I'm used to it," said Lady Hayashi, descending the steps regally, carrying her newborn child close and being assisted by a maid. "Thank you, Eriko."

"My lady," said the maid, bowing and stepping back as they reached the end of the steps.

It was apparent immediately to Sayaka that Lady Hayashi was very different from her husband and son. She carried herself with an air of disdain that reminded Sayaka of Hinata's father, but softened by femininity in a way that almost made her approachable.

Not that she was approachable. Lady Hayashi seemed to instinctively make the servants lower their gazes, and even Sayaka found herself uncomfortable. Lord Hayashi was oblivious to this, of course, and stepped forward to grasp his wife by the arms and kiss her on the cheek. Prince Kyousuke too, seemed inured to his mother's disapproval, as if it was something that happened frequently but was never a real problem.

Sayaka glanced over at Fumiyo. The princess's expression had closed off.

"Let me take a look at you, Kyousuke," said Lady Hayashi. Kyousuke gave a put-upon sigh. "Don't sigh at your mother that way, child."

"Yes mother," said Kyousuke, nodding before stepping forward for Lady Hayashi to inspect him.

"Hmm, not to my taste," said Lady Hayashi, looking her son over. "At least it is coordinated. Did you have help?"

"No, mother, except for suggestions from my armorer."

"Ah, I see," said Lady Hayashi. She smoothed a wrinkle in Kyousuke's jinbaori. "You should keep him, they do good work and have saved you from disaster."

Kyousuke smiled. "I will, mother. Thank you."

Lady Hayashi smiled at him and couldn't resist patting him on the cheek. "Ah, my son is growing up. You were the size of your little brother not long ago, but now here you are. I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you mother!"

"And how is little Kensuke today?" asked Lord Hayashi, peering down at the swaddled newborn in Lady Hayashi's hands. "Aww, he's asleep."

"Thankfully," said Lady Hayashi wryly. "It has been a long week."

"Hah! He is eating well?"

"Yes, far too well," said Lady Hayashi with a pained sigh. "The greedy boy is just like his father."

"Well better that than a bad appetite," said Lord Hayashi.

"Yes, true. Now who are these?"

Sayaka and Hinata dipped into bows as Lady Hayashi turned to them.

"Ah, yes, these are Lady Uchiha and Lady Hyuuga," said Lord Hayashi. "They are ninja from Konoha's most prestigious clans, here to provide some additional strength for Fumiyo."

Lady Hayashi raised an eyebrow at the two genin. "I see. And how old are they?"

"Twelve, the same as Fumiyo," said Lord Hayashi. "Two of the greatest talents Konoha has to offer."

Lady Hayashi smiled and nodded. "Of course. Is Fumiyo ready then?"

"I am here, mother," said Fumiyo, stepping forward and bowing.

"Ah, yes," said Lady Hayashi, flicking her gaze across Fumiyo and frowning slightly. "Adequate. Your maids are to be commended."

"Thank you, mother."

"You have your dagger?"

"Yes, Mother," said Fumiyo. She pulled the blade out of her obi, in its sheath, to show it to Lady Hayashi.

"Hm. Also adequate."

"Thank you, mother."

Sayaka and Hinata glanced at each other but didn't say anything.

"Well, we should get going," said Lord Hayashi jovially. "Fumiyo, please lead the way."

Fumiyo nodded, and took a deep breath. "Yes, Father."

She took a moment to gather herself, looking down at the ground, before looking up at Sayaka and Hinata. Wordlessly, the two genin moved to flank Fumiyo as she turned and slid the dagger back into her obi. She flicked the sleeves of her kimono, then began to walk.

The three of them formed a triangle, with Fumiyo leading the way while Sayaka and Hinata took position two paces behind her. Lord and Lady Hayashi followed behind, and Kyousuke was last. The walk to the entry hall was lined with servants, appearing to pay their respects to their mistress and to wish her well. They bowed as Fumiyo passed by, kneeling in silence until they reached the main doors of the mansion.

The footmen, ashigaru with long spears and wearing armor, flung open the doors with a shout:

"Her ladyship, Princess Hayashi Fumiyo!"

The gathered samurai roared as Fumiyo descended, stepping out into the morning sun. Sayaka saw Kakashi to their right, Naruto to their left, both watchful but cheering politely with the samurai. To their front was the honor guard, led by Lord Hayashi's highest-ranked retainers, raising their spears and banging them against the ground.

"Princess Fumiyo!" called out the white haired old samurai from Sayaka's spar last week. "We have heard that another has asked for your hand in marriage! Is this true?"

"It is!" Fumiyo called back, coming to a halt in front of him. "What of it, samurai?"

The old samurai played his role well, and feigned horror. "What man dares to take our master's fair daughter away? Name him, and we will strike him down!"

"Nay, do not," said Fumiyo, raising her hand. "He is a good man, honorable and kind! He does not deserve your blade!"

"Then we will see for ourselves, if you will allow us!" the old samurai replied. He knelt to one knee, and the honor guard followed. "Princess Fumiyo! You are precious to us, and we love you as we love our own daughters! Please allow us to fulfill our duty and escort you to meet this young man who has asked for your hand!"

"Rise, honored samurai," said Fumiyo, stepping forward and extending her hands to the old samurai. He took her hand and stood again. "Thank you for your service, samurai. You may escort me as your duty demands."

"Thank you, my lady," said the old samurai, pressing his fist to his chestplate and bowing. Then he turned and raised his spear. "Honor guard! Attention!"

The gathered samurai stood to, standing rigidly with a shout.

"Right about face!"

The samurai turned on the spot, facing down the path to the parade ground at the gates of the castle.

"Forward!"

The samurai shouted and began to march, their steps ringing out against the ground like thunder. The old samurai marched at the rear of the column, just ahead of Fumiyo with a smile on his face.

"Ah, I'm glad that I was able to do this, my lady," he said quietly.

"What do you mean, Sir Segawa?" asked Fumiyo.

"I am growing old, miss," said Segawa, smile turning sad. "I have served your father for many years, but I will die sooner rather than later. To have the chance to provide this service before I passed is a great privilege."

Fumiyo tried to smile back. "I'm sorry, Sir Segawa. It is only a betrothal celebration, and not a wedding. If only…"

"Ah, it is good enough," said Segawa. "For this humble country samurai to have a chance to serve a lord like Lord Hayashi, to escort his daughter for her betrothal, these are privileges I dared not wish for when I was young."

Fumiyo looked down at the ground, falling silent. Her expression was hidden from Segawa, but Sayaka saw Fumiyo's brow furrow and lips press together.

Then they arrived at the parade ground. The honor guard reached it just before eight, and Sayaka's limited chakra sense could tell there were several people already gathered outside of the gates to the castle. Several ashigaru lined a rope barrier, hung with auspicious ofuda, that channeled visitors from the gates to the end of the parade ground, where several seats had been set atop a tiered platform. The highest placed seat was a cushioned bench, lavishly decorated and just wide enough for two people to sit together. To its left and right were smaller but no less grand wooden chairs, skillfully lacquered and cushioned with pillows of goose down and crimson silk.

The honor guard arrayed itself in front of the platform in a defensive formation, and Sir Segawa stepped to the side to allow Lord Hayashi to give his daughter a supporting hand. Fumiyo looked up at Lord Hayashi and mustered a smile. It was a smile that did not really make it to her eyes, one that knew she was already long past turning back, and was resolved to make the best of it. Lord Hayashi looked back and smiled broadly at her, encouraging.

Fumiyo took her father's hand and used it to take the first step to the top of the platform. She walked up carefully, then turned and arranged herself neatly on the bench. Sayaka and Hinata took their place at the left of the steps, hands tucked inside their sleeves as was proper. Lord Hayashi sat in the chair to the right of Fumiyo, and Lady Hayashi sat to the left. Then finally, Kyousuke came to the right of the steps leading to his sister, becoming the last prop for the setting of this piece of theater.

"Konoha genin, huh," Kyousuke said quietly, eyeing the two girls to his left. "I hope you're strong."

"We will protect the princess," Hinata replied.

Kyousuke made a skeptical noise. "It will not be necessary."

Sayaka bristled but held her tongue. She was certain she could defeat him, but let him have his ego. It was of no consequence to her.

"Who is this young man who has asked for my daughter's hand in marriage?" asked Lord Hayashi loudly.

"He stands before our gates, my lord!" called an ashigaru from the gatehouse. "Shall I let him in to meet you?"

"Yes!" Lord Hayashi called back. "Let us see this young man who claims to be worthy of my daughter!"

Sayaka did not miss the quiet sniff Lady Hayashi made at that pronouncement.

"Open the gates!" the ashigaru shouted, and his call was echoed through the gatehouse. The gates of the castle creaked as they swung open, revealing a boy the same age as Fumiyo, backed by his own honor guard and servants bearing a palanquin stacked with gifts. The boy was dressed in a kimono, as was proper, with swords at his waist, as was also proper. The top half of the kimono was deep blue, embroidered with silver thread that shimmered underneath a haori colored like a cloudless noon sky, while the hakama trousers were white like the caps of waves breaking against the shore.

"Lord Hayashi!" the boy shouted. "I am Prince Eiichi, of the Aoyagi Clan! I come asking for your permission to marry your daughter!"


Kiba woke with a start just as he fell out of his chair. He landed heavily on the ground.

"…are you okay, Kiba?" asked Sakura, peering at him over the edge of her hospital bed.

Kiba groaned. He must be more tired than he thought to fall asleep in the morning. He looked up at the clock from where he lay prone. It was… just past ten o'clock. Ugh.

"Alright, that's good," said Sakura, going back to her book.

"Thanks Sakura, really feeling the love," said Kiba as Akamaru padded over to lick his nose. "At least Akamaru cares."

"I care," said Sakura, looking up at him over the top of her book, "I just don't care when you're being melodramatic."

Kiba sniffed and shifted upright, picking Akamaru up to give the puppy a scratch behind his ears. "I'm not melodramatic."

"You are when you're lying on the ground pretending a fall out of a chair hurt you," said Sakura, rolling her eyes and going back to her book. "Seriously, I've watched you get kicked way harder."

Kiba frowned at her. That kick had been aimed at Sakura's head, and Kiba had intercepted it while she had been weaving a genjutsu. It had been enough to knock the air out of Kiba but had given Sakura enough time to disorient their enemy and let them escape. Kurenai-sensei had kept their pursuers busy while they'd retreated.

Sakura looked up again at the silence. "…Sorry."

"It's fine," said Kiba, scratching behind Akamaru's ears again. He pulled the puppy against his chest and ran a finger along the scar that sliced across Akamaru's front where a kunai had cut a deep furrow in the dog's skin. It had just been shallow enough not to need stitches.

"…this mission went really badly," said Sakura. "Even though Hokage-sama praised us…"

"We were pretty lucky," said Kiba. "Two genjutsu specialists, an Inuzuka, and an Aburame are a pretty good match-up against an assassination team."

"We shouldn't have made it out," said Sakura, looking down at her book without seeing the words. "If it weren't for sensei—"

"You helped too," said Kiba.

Sakura looked up and smiled grimly. "A little."

Kiba snorted. "Sensei relied on you to keep us going the right way when she had to lead the enemy off. If it was just me'n Shino, we'd have gotten caught. You're better at tactics and stuff than us."

"Shino's pretty good."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Better than me then. I'm just a cannon—point and shoot. I need someone to point me, you know?"

Sakura shook her head. "You're pretty good too. If I had more— if I could fight better—"

"Oi, you're plenty good," said Kiba sharply. "Just, like, not compared to fucking A-class jounin wanted across all five nations."

Sakura paused, then chuckled. "When you put it that way…"

"C'mon, Sakura, you gotta focus on the future, you know?" said Kiba. "We got out, so now we can train and do better next time, right?"

"Yeah," said Sakura. She sighed. "It just… even though we made it, it still feels like a failure."

"It was," said Shino. He pushed himself upright. "But that is not the point."

"Did we wake you?" asked Sakura. "Sorry, we should—"

"Waking me is immaterial," said Shino. He coughed and poured himself a cup of tea from the thermos on the bedside table. "Why? Because I wish to be part of our post-mortem analysis of the mission."

Sakura and Kiba were quiet for a moment. That was sort of what they were doing, wasn't it?

"What were you saying earlier?" asked Kiba, heaving himself to his feet and letting Akamaru onto the ground. He walked around the end of Sakura's bed and sat on the other side, facing Shino, and leaned back to brace himself against his hands.

"Ah, I was saying we should consider this mission a failure," said Shino. He took a sip of tea. "Why? Because the original objectives were not met. However, I would argue that we should change the way we think about failure."

"How do you mean?" asked Sakura. She put her book away and crossed her legs under the covers.

"Failure will occur," said Shino simply. "It is impossible to always succeed. Especially in situations where our client turns out to be targeted by A-class missing ninja. Succeeding in those contexts would be absurd. We should instead say that failure is an acceptable outcome, so long as we did everything in our power to prevent it."

Kiba and Sakura looked at each other to think about that.

"Makes sense to me," said Kiba. He stretched and cracked a joint in his back with a grunt. "It's like back at the Academy—can't ace all them tests."

"Says you," said Sakura, whacking him gently with her book. "You didn't graduate top kunoichi."

"Well, you probably oughta get used to it," said Kiba blandly. "Tests are fair odds, you know? Combat's all about screwing over your opponent as hard as possible, and if we're the ones getting screwed then that's how it goes."

"I guess," said Sakura. She sighed and picked up her book again, opening it and letting the pages flick past under her thumb before it slapped itself shut. "This sucks."

"Hey, we're getting paid like it's an A-class, so there's that," said Kiba. He reached out and patted her on the knee. "Cheer up, we'll go shopping later. You can get a new dress or something."

Sakura snorted. "Who says I want to go shopping?"

"You're a girl. Girls like shopping, right?"

Sakura couldn't help but smile. It was true, a nice shopping trip would make her feel better. "Thanks, Kiba. You get to carry my clothes then."

"Wait no, I've made a mistake, I take it back!"

Sakura laughed and threw a pillow at him. Kiba blocked it, laughing as well, and the pillow bounced off to be caught by Kurenai-sensei.

"You're all feeling better then?" she asked after her genin had greeted her with cheer.

"Yes sensei," said Sakura. "It was just some chakra exhaustion—they say I'm clear to leave tomorrow."

"That's good," said Kurenai. "Shino?"

"The same, sensei," said Shino. He took another sip of tea. "Though this cough will trouble me for a while longer."

"Well, we're on standby for the foreseeable future, so no big deal," said Kurenai. "The Hokage wants us to take some time before we take another C-rank."

"Understood, sensei," said Shino with a nod. "I will endeavor to get better soon."

"Kiba, can I get you to help me with something?" asked Kurenai. "Intelligence wants to speak with us a little, and I said I'd get you to come down."

"Sure sensei," said Kiba. He hopped down from Sakura's bed. "See you guys later."


Sayaka tapped Naruto, or one of his clones, on the shoulder as she came back from her quick lunch behind the curtain surrounding the perimeter of the parade ground in Hayashi Castle. It turned out that there were noodles for the guards. It was cold soba with a side of pickles and not ramen, but it was noodles and for that Naruto had been grateful. He'd taken Sayaka's place standing watch while she had ducked out to eat lunch, but now she was back.

"Anything on my face?" she asked.

Naruto looked her over and shook his head. "You're good, Sayaka. Wait wait, your teeth."

Sayaka grimaced at him.

"Nah you're good—wait is that lipstick?"

"Dammit Naruto."

"Sorry sorry, you're fine," said Naruto after peering at her for a second longer. "Yeah, see you out there Sayaka."

Sayaka rolled her eyes and stepped back out into the sunlight to stand next to the Hayashi family table. They were eating lunch now, under a bright late-morning sun on tables that had been brought out by the Hayashi clan's servants. Once the meal was finished, and after a few more ceremonial things, the procession would begin.

The morning had been what Sayaka had expected. After some ritualistic performances from Prince Eiichi and Lord Hayashi, the prince had been allowed into the castle with his entourage and granted permission to ascend the steps to Fumiyo. The gathered witnesses of the betrothal, which was to say those who had been invited to the party, had applauded as he took her hand, and that had been that. Prince Eiichi and Princess Fumiyo were officially betrothed.

Several musical performances and a small play had followed. A stage had been set up at the end of the parade ground and tables arranged around it to serve refreshments and drinks to the gathered samurai and nobility of the city. Sayaka didn't recognize anyone, of course, but their titles and the quality of their clothing stated their rank better than any ID card could. The higher ranked members sat closer to Lord Hayashi's table, while the lower ranked were farther away. Only the very honored, like the Aoyagi clan head, were seated with Lord Hayashi himself in the grandest table in the center of it all at the place of honor.

"Ah, I suppose I should apologize," Prince Eiichi was saying to Fumiyo where they were sitting at the center of the table. Lord Hayashi had become embroiled in some discussion with Lord Aoyagi, and Lady Hayashi had begged off to tend to baby Kensuke. Prince Kyousuke was distracted talking with someone about swords, leaving the two betrothed to meet for the first time and get to know each other. "I was told that I should write poetry, but of course I'm not very good at it. It was probably a painful experience for you."

"It is fine," said Fumiyo, smiling slightly as she picked up her teacup. "What would you have sent instead?"

"Ah, I'm not sure," said Eiichi. He seemed to restrain a put-upon sigh. "We Aoyagi— well, what I mean is, I am not well trained in the arts. I can sing a little, but you cannot send a song…"

Fumiyo raised an intrigued eyebrow. "You can sing?"

"Yes, though much of my repertoire is, er, intended for the sea," said Eiichi. He looked away, flushing slightly. "It is customary for Aoyagi boys to spend time on a ship, and you pick up certain kinds of songs. If you understand my meaning."

Fumiyo blinked at him, put two and two together, and turned away to sip her tea to hide her scandalized expression.

"That's quite shocking," she said eventually.

Prince Eiichi made a helpless gesture. "It is what it is, I suppose."

"It is no matter," said Fumiyo, flicking a sleeve and sighing. She paused to drink another sip of tea. "Maybe you can teach me some of your… oceangoing songs."

Prince Eiichi blinked at her. "Why?"

Fumiyo sighed again and looked down at her teacup. "…it would be better, if we are to be married, that we shared some common interests."

"Sea shanties don't sound like your interest, Fumiyo-san."

"Fumiyo-chan," corrected Fumiyo, giving him a raised eyebrow. "And who are you to say what my interests are?"

"You're a highborn princess, I'm the son of a— well," said Prince Eiichi, coughing politely. "It's quite unlikely that we have the same interests."

"Is that so."

Prince Eiichi smiled wryly at her. "Well, I'll certainly be shocked if you like fishing. Or drinking vast amounts of sake."

"I've certainly never done any such thing," said Fumiyo, turning away to drink her tea. "It would never be permitted for a lady to participate in those activities."

"Well then," said Eiichi, sipping his own tea. "That's that isn't it?"

Sayaka glanced at Fumiyo, silently egging her on. The princess had two options: either embrace the situation or withdraw entirely. Only the first gave her any hope. If she didn't seize it—

"If you would be willing," said Fumiyo, before setting her tea down and looking down at its rippling surface. She visibly gathered herself. "If you would be willing, I would be interested in going fishing with you."

Eiichi paused, cup halfway to his lips. "Really?"

"Yes," said Fumiyo. She took a breath, held it, then blew it out again. "I will be honest with you, Eiichi-kun, I do not wish to be married. But I think you do not wish it either."

Eiichi looked away and drank his tea. "Well, I think I wish it a little more than you. You're very pretty, you know. I'd be lucky to have a wife as pretty as you."

Fumiyo went scarlet. She had never been called 'very pretty' by anyone other than her father, which was obviously to be expected and meant very little. For someone her age to say such things was a novel experience. But this was not the time to be flustered.

"Well. Thank you."

"But sure, you're not wrong," said Eiichi. He set his teacup down. "I am rather unenthused. I had hoped to spend more time at sea before I settled down."

"Do you like being at sea?"

"Of course," said Eiichi. His expression turned wistful. "Even if it's just in a little sailing dinghy. There's nothing like it—the wind and the spray. It's wonderful."

Fumiyo looked down at Eiichi's hand where it rested on the table. Tentatively, she put her hand on top of his. It was heavily calloused and weathered from the cold and the wet.

"Maybe we could go sailing instead of fishing," Fumiyo said quietly. "I would like to see more of the things that you enjoy."

"Ah, well, I wouldn't want to subject you to it," said Eiichi dismissively. But he didn't pull his hand away. "You'd hate it, I'd expect."

"Don't be so sure," said Fumiyo. "I've been scolded much for being too boyish in my interests. Maybe this will be another one of those things that my tutors will be scandalized by."

Eiichi chuckled and put his tea down. "Boyish huh. You don't seem too boyish to me."

Fumiyo felt her cheeks go red again, but smiled. "They say you wouldn't know it by my hands."

Eiichi turned Fumiyo's hand over to run his thumb across her callouses. "Well, these are pitiful by Aoyagi standards. If I had callouses like this, my father would say that he'd made a mistake and should have put together a dowry for me."

Fumiyo stifled a laugh. "That's terrible."

"Eh, well, you get used to it."

The couple—well, not quite, but they were a little more of a couple now—were quiet for a long moment in the bustle of the party around them. Eiichi kept running his thumb across Fumiyo's palm. It had the most peculiar effect on her.

Fumiyo cleared her throat, then pulled her hand away. She was flushed redder than Hinata did around Naruto, and that was saying something. "Right. So then, shall we try to make this work?" Fumiyo asked. She looked up at Eiichi and raised her teacup to him.

Eiichi looked at her for a moment, expression inscrutable, then picked up his own teacup. "Yes. To friendship, then, and getting closer."

"To friendship," said Fumiyo. She clinked her teacup against his with a small smile. "Let's get closer, ne Eiichi-kun?"


"What?!"

"I've told you because I know how you feel about Uchiha Sayaka," said Kurenai, holding tightly onto Kiba's shoulder, "but this does not mean you go running after her."

"Wha— but— today—!" Kiba choked out, eyes wild. "Zabuza!"

"The Hokage already sent out ANBU, they're faster than you and they won't get there until this evening," said Kurenai firmly. "There's nothing you can do, Kiba."

Kiba made a noise like a snarling wolf and lunged for the trees. Kurenai yanked him back firmly.

"Dammit, sensei, what the fuck am I supposed to do?!" Kiba shouted, gesturing wildly. "I can't— you can't expect me to just sit here and wait."

"That is precisely what I expect of you," said Kurenai seriously. "You will wait for the all clear from the ANBU team and you will file a leave request properly, if you really wish to see Sayaka and make sure she is safe."

Kiba snarled and spat and finally, with a shout of fury, hurled a kunai into a nearby tree where it sunk to its hilt. He sat down with a thump and ran his fingers through his hair, then popped back up to pace.

"We were scheduling our second date, you know," he said, looking down at the ground as he walked back and forth. "While we were running, I kept thinking, Sayaka had to be pissed because I was so late. I was going to check for a letter from her, but Sakura n' Shino were in the hospital, and I wanted to make sure they were okay, but now you tell me this shit and—"

Kiba howled something incomprehensible again and reached out fruitlessly, trying to strangle something intangible.

"Fuck, we're not even really dating," Kiba said furiously and he tangled his fingers into his hair. "I just— everyone had a crush on her, you know? Me too. But nobody has a chance with Uchiha-hime, so I didn't bother, but then we were watching the fireworks and she was like 'hey, so, maybe we can have a second date?', and I thought wow, I cannot believe Uchiha Sayaka gives a shit about me. I really— I'm going to try to make this work, you know? And now she's got a fucking A-rank missing nin after her."

"Okay, so first, Sayaka is a lucky girl if you two work out," said Kurenai, reaching out to grab Kiba by the shoulders again with a wry smile. Her smile turned into a frown. "But second, get it together Kiba. If you really are going to try and make this work, Sayaka needs you to be in it with your head on straight."

Kiba took a breath, held it, then let it out.

"Right, sensei."

"You're a genin, which means you're beholden to the Hokage and his orders," Kurenai said. "You cannot do anything stupid. You could get others hurt."

Kiba closed his eyes and took another deep breath. Kurenai-sensei was right. He had to— he had to calm down. He couldn't do something crazy, especially if it ended up pulling away resources that might help Sayaka.

"Yes sensei," he said, opening his eyes again. "I— are you in the loop? I don't know who I'd ask for updates…"

"I'm not, but I do know who to ask," said Kurenai. "Try to go about your day normally. Don't forget information security. You cannot spread this."

Kiba nodded. "Right, yeah, it'd be a shitshow. I got it. I'll make sure to keep a lid on it, sensei. You can count on me."

Kurenai smiled at him. "I always know I can."

"What do we do now?"

Kurenai sighed. Momochi Zabuza, an unnamed hunter nin, the Demon Brothers, and who knew what other ninja were converging on Senfuku, for reasons unknown, but surely nefarious. Kurenai had a few guesses, based on the rumors she'd heard around the tower, and they all suggested terrible things. There was some hope, but…

"Do you like yakidango?" Kurenai asked. Kiba gave her a nonplussed expression. "Times like these, I like sweets, and I got a new electric griddle the other day. What do you say about getting some riceballs and grilling up some yakidango? "

Kiba felt like he could cry at the absurdity of it all. What the hell were they doing? "Those'll go straight to our hips, sensei."

Kurenai grinned wryly. "We'll do more laps tomorrow to make up for it."

Kiba looked down. There really was nothing they could do, was there?

Fucking hell.

Kiba swallowed thickly, then put on a wobbly smile before looking back up at his sensei.

"Alright. Let's make some dango."


The parade route that Naruto had picked out was riddled with canals.

It was unavoidable in Senfuku. The city had been built in a marsh, after all, and while its position gave it a commanding presence over the eastern coast of Fire Country, the efforts taken to reclaim the land from the sea were incapable of ever truly succeeding. True, there were some buildings which stood upon solid ground, but these belonged to the wealthy or the government, which was to say that they belonged only to the wealthy.

Sayaka kept a weather eye out as the palanquin made its way through Senfuku's winding streets. Some of the paths had been made when the city had been clusters of houses amongst stands of stagnant marsh water, back when it had been first founded. Others had been the result of newer, only moderately successful initiatives to improve the flow of traffic through the city. The resulting tangled bird's nest made the back of Sayaka's next prickle in anxiety as it turned sharply this way and that, with tall buildings built up high around the streets to stay atop what little dry land could be found or made.

The canals were the worst though. They seemed to have a constant presence, even though Sayaka knew that the route had as few of them as Naruto could manage. Sayaka wouldn't normally give them a second thought, but all these rumors about Mist ninja had taken hold in her mind, and she kept seeing shadows in the water. Twice, it had turned out to be particularly large carp. Once, a cart that someone had lost over the edge in a freak accident. And every other time, nothing. Just her imagination and nerves.

"All clear so far," Hinata murmured quietly, transmitting across the team's radios as the procession reached the first crowds. Sayaka, Hinata, Eiichi, and Fumiyo were all riding in the same palanquin, carried by bearers who seemed quite eager to serve. Or perhaps they were just being paid a lot of money. "N-nothing unusual within my divination."

"There's a lot of people," Naruto commented. Sayaka spotted a flash of blonde hair across the rooftops. "Like a lot of people. Screw the rooftops, what if someone has a crossbow in the crowd?"

"You better be fast then," Kakashi quipped. Sayaka had no idea where he was.

"I'll be there," Sayaka said before Naruto could.

"I'll beat you to it this time!"

"Uh huh, you wish, slowpoke."

Naruto made an outraged noise and the rest of the team chuckled, then fell silent. There really were a lot of people out to see the parade.

"Chakra levels, Hinata?" Kakashi asked, breaking the silence.

"Of no concern."

"Good. Keep us posted—we don't want you dropping too low in case we're attacked."

"Yes, sensei."

They fell silent again. Hinata and Sayaka knelt at the sides of the palanquin, partly blocking the sightlines required to get a clean shot on either Fumiyo or Eiichi. The two of them were waving to the crowds, who seemed very supportive of the match. There was much cheering and the crowds were huge. Heavily armed samurai flanked the procession and the ashigaru kept the crowds back, but even so it was a tremendously challenging environment to maintain security.

At least, it would have been without the byakugan. Hinata kept it on as the procession progressed through the city, scanning actively for any threats. Nothing showed up, at least within Hinata's range, and while it was quite a wide range, it wasn't infinite. Naruto and Kakashi patrolled at its limits, keeping watch.

"We're at the halfway point," Kakashi said. The procession was crossing a bridge now, the buildings to the left and right of the street high but too steep for a good shot without being terribly exposed. Too obvious for a sniper. Sayaka's eyes scanned the water as the palanquin turned, the steps of the bearers and the guards thunking against wood. The water was clear, here, and she could see the weeds at the bottom of the canal. Her nerves sang with tension. The sun glinted on the water, and as they crossed water turned opaque, turning reflective and showing Sayaka her face in the water.

The water boiled.

"Enemies right!"

Hinata's eyes flew open as she shouted, standing hands outstretched in front of Eiichi and Fumiyo. Sayaka was already moving, kunai flashing from her sleeves as two ninja in the characteristic respirator masks of the Hidden Mist blasted out of the water underneath the bridge, clawed gauntlets outstretched. They vanished as Naruto and his clones plunged through them, then—

—Sayaka whirled, deflecting a fistful of senbon aimed for her neck and thrusting a kunai at the neck of a masked ninja, the insignia of Hidden Mist etched on the front of the porcelain that covered their face. Sayaka grasped the ninja's wrist and—

—saw with terrible clarity, from the corner of her eye, a giant blade, easily longer and wider than she was, arcing through the air, wielded by a man with bandages wrapped around the bottom of his face, the edge aligned to cut through her and Fumiyo and Eiichi and Hinata and the masked ninja had deflected her kunai andgrabbed her to keep Sayaka from reacting and—

Steel clanged against steel and Kakashi was there. He held a single kunai against the massive steel sword that had threatened to kill everyone on the palanquin. There was a moment of stunned, horrified silence.

Then the bridge detonated, and Kakashi had vanished, grabbing Eiichi and Fumiyo and spiriting them away while the ninja all disappeared and palanquin bearers and samurai fell screaming, bloodied stumps remaining where their limbs had been.

"Regroup!"

Sayaka pulled herself up, ears ringing, and jumped for the roof. Naruto had created a raft of clones and was busy creating a dragnet. Hinata was already next to him, peering intently with her byakugan.

"Anything?" Sayaka asked as she landed.

"No," said Hinata. "I don't see the enemy, or sensei."

"Sensei grabbed Fumiyo and Eiichi," said Naruto. "He's probably headed back to the castle."

"Sensible," growled a voice in their midst.

Sayaka whirled as the swordsman's blade neatly bisected Naruto and nearly clipped Hinata, whistling through the pink edges of her sleeves. There was just enough time for Sayaka to leap up and over the weapon as it cut through where she had been standing.

"Not bad," the swordsman muttered, "but not good enough!"

The sword came back again and any worry that Sayaka had for Naruto vanished as she struggled to survive. It was a massive piece of metal, easily two meters long and wielded more like a naginata than a katana. The wide sweeping cuts left Sayaka with little to do but retreat, unable to close where she could use her kunai but never gaining enough range for her shuriken and wire to do anything useful.

Then a Naruto clone appeared like a clown popping out of a prank box and bodily threw itself into the swordsman. The clone was cut down, but another was right behind it and latched itself onto the swordsman's face.

"Sayaka!" the clone shouted.

Sayaka reacted, whipping out shuriken and wire and wrapping the swordsman in a cocoon. She breathed in, then out, and the wire ignited, fire racing down its length to incinerate—

—a log.

Sayaka dived to the side as the sword crashed into where she'd been standing and shattered the roof. It was another desperate retreat, dodging blows and tumbling from roof to roof as she ran as fast as she could to outpace the older, stronger, and faster shinobi. In fact, Sayaka was pretty sure she was being herded. If she wasn't careful she'd be—

—caught. A bubble of water snapped around Sayaka, snaring a leg as she leaped.

The world slowed in the way it always did in the fractions of a second before it ended. Replacement was the only thing Sayaka had to escape, and she had to do it before the water caught her fully. She moved her hands through the symbols faster than she'd ever done them in her life, pooling and coiling her chakra for the jump even as the water rushed up her leg, soaking up her chakra like a sponge. She almost had it, pull and—

—fizzle, the water wrapping around her pulling at the technique and tearing it apart.

No!

The bubble turned into a whip with Sayaka at the head. It slammed her into a wall, then the boardwalk.

The world went dark.

The world was light again.

Through the water over her eyes, Sayaka saw a blurry figure raise a sword. Was this it then? Was this how she was going to die?

The sword glinted in the sunlight as it reached its apex. In the moment, Sayaka could only think how pretty it was. It was a well made sword. Maybe she should get a sword? It would be a very Uchiha thing to do.

Wait, she was about to die.

Well, that was too bad. She would have liked to have had a sword.

The sword came down.

Steel flashed again and the swordsman made a noise of frustration as he was pelted with kunai and Narutos. The water loosed its grip on Sayaka with a splash. She rolled away and breathed, gasping, before hands grabbed her and lifted her to the rooftops. Kunai sprang into her grip and Sayaka twisted, bringing the point of her weapon to bear on—

—Hinata, who was flinching backwards.

"It's me," she said as a set of clones landed around them, kunai raised. The team had fallen back slightly, out of immediate range of the swordsman. Two of the clones took up sentry positions at the eaves of the rooftop, while the others grouped protectively around their teammates. "Stay still, Sayaka-chan. You have a concussion."

"I do?"

Hinata nodded. "I c-can see the brain swelling."

Sayaka lay back, blinking. Something trickled down her face from her nose and into the collar of her furisode top. It was probably blood, and she hoped it wouldn't stain too badly. "I feel fine."

"That's typical," said Hinata as she scanned the rest of Sayaka's body. Nothing was broken or sprained, but there would be significant bruising where the skin hadn't split from impact. Sayaka was a mess, to be sure, but the concussion was the only major injury.

"Can she fight?" asked one of the clones.

"She shouldn't," said Hinata, "but…"

The clone nodded. "I think the Claw Brothers and Mr. Mask are on their way to the castle. The big man was supposed to kill us first then join back up. We've screwed up their plan, but we have to keep Swordy here distracted until sensei shows up."

"Let's get moving," said Sayaka. She blinked quickly as the pain of her injuries began to penetrate through the endorphin rush. "Mission first."

The clone and Hinata looked at each other, then nodded. They both reached out and pulled Sayaka to her feet, where she took a breath and tested her balance. It seemed fine.

"Here," said Hinata, and she handed Sayaka a tablet. "Chew this before we go."

Sayaka nodded and popped the dark tablet into her mouth. It was intensely bitter, cut only slightly by sugar, mint, and lemon peel. But it was powerful, making the pain of the cuts and bruises fade, and would hopefully stave off the headache that could come with the concussion.

"Plan?" Sayaka asked around the dregs of the tablet.

"More clones?" said the Naruto clone, shrugging. "Look man, we're more useful than you'd think, but even I'm going to run out of chakra."

"We have to disable him somehow," said Hinata. "If I can damage his legs…"

"Then I'll be the distraction. Naruto you dogpile him, and try to use replacement with Hinata to take him out at the knees," said Sayaka. She wiped at her nose and hoped it wouldn't be too much of a hindrance to her breathing.

"Roger that, any—" began the clone, before a massive gush of water swept out from the canals, carrying clones with it and slamming them into the road below.

"Right, that's not good," said the clone. He pulled a kunai from its holster. "Let's go."

The team moved, running out across the rooftop in a loose arc. More clones appeared, pelting the swordsman with kunai from every direction, prompting him to vanish and reappear, slinging water from his sword in a broad arc that cut down clones like a scythe in the harvest. He growled something as he looked up and saw Sayaka, before he vanished again.

Sayaka dived to the side, her hair clipped by the blade of the sword, and coiled into a handspring as she landed. She powered out, launching herself high over the swordsman as he brought his sword down again to shatter the rooftop, before turning to sweep at—

—her shuriken, which mostly pinged off into the distance. But two tangled their wires around the blade, and the swordsman braced, pulling the wires taught as Sayaka arced overhead. It was just like with Daisuke, but this time Sayaka breathed fire.

The swordsman shouted as fire raced down the lines and enveloped his blade, then traveled down the handle to scorch his palms. A sword was just steel, after all, and it was as conductive to chakra as Sayaka's wire was.

The sword clanged to the ground as the swordsman instinctively let go.

"Bitch!" he snarled, before flicking through handsigns faster than Sayaka could perceive. She was already in the midst of replacement, and vanished as a column of water crashed through the arc that she was following. But it also doused the hot blade with a hiss, cooling it so that it could be picked up.

Sayaka reappeared to the swordsman's left, across a rooftop and a street, and fired off three more kunai as she charged in. The swordsman stomped on the roof tiles, his chakra tossing his sword up so that he caught it to block the thrown knives. The weapons dinged off the flat of the blade.

Naruto's clones reappeared, leaping at the swordsman with their own weapons drawn, and were cut down, but the constant pressure gave Sayaka an opening to send a shuriken whizzing past the swordsman's face. The wire trailing behind it made it obvious what Sayaka was intending, and the replacement that came was anticipated. Sayaka twisted around as the sword came down on her again, dodging the blows as Hinata circled in from the streets below.

It happened very quickly. Sayaka felt her foot skid on a loose tile, and the swordsman snarled in triumph as she overbalanced. The blade came down in a vicious arc and cut through Sayaka neatly, but she was replaced with a Naruto clone. The clone dispersed as a compatriot dived in, aiming a kick at the swordsman's head, while another went for his knees. The first was snatched from the air and sent crashing to the ground. The second replaced itself with Hinata as the swordsman kicked it in the chest. She cried out in pain, but her hands moved swiftly and severed the chakra flow past the swordsman's knee.

Hinata was tossed away, landing heavily on the roof and wheezing while the swordsman's leg collapsed underneath him.

"A fucking Hyuuga," he muttered as he struggled to his feet, only to collapse again. "If only it was the war. I'd take your fucking head back for the bounty."

Hinata pushed herself upright and took a steadying breath. "You will do no such thing. Surrender."

The swordsman chuckled as Naruto and Sayaka landed around him, bracketing their target to lend Hinata their support. "Surrender? I'll pass, little girl."

Sayaka unspooled more shuriken from her sleeves. "You're surrounded, and you can't move. This isn't a fight you can win anymore."

The swordsman snorted. "Piss off, you're just some brats from Leaf. I'm Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Hidden Mist. I've killed more kids like you than I can remember and I've done it longer than you've been alive."

Naruto scowled at him. "Yeah? Well I guess this is when we break that streak!"

He charged in, yelling, at their target, who raised his sword with a grimace. The first blow was parried, but the lack of mobility hampered Zabuza. Hinata circled to cut off the escape routes as Sayaka followed Naruto, slipping to the right to bracket Zabuza in. It wasn't necessary though, as Naruto made a clone and skipped left, allowing Zabuza's blade to crash into the tiles and be trapped by the clone's tackle. The original jumped forward and stabbed, tilting his blade up underneath Zabuza's sternum.

Sayaka felt something yank at her.

Naruto's kunai strike would have been textbook if Sayaka hadn't been shorter than Zabuza by a good head. Instead of killing her outright, Naruto's blade skittered off the top of Sayaka's sternum, slipped left, then deflected off of one of her ribs before plunging into her right lung.

Blood spilled out immediately, soaking the front of Sayaka's clothes and covering Naruto's hands.

"S-Sayaka?"

Sayaka coughed, felt the blade cut her more, watched blood splatter on Naruto's face. Zabuza had pulled the same trick that Team Seven had pulled on him. It was a little odd to be on the receiving end of it. Well, the knife in her probably was more important.

Then Naruto dived for the ground, Sayaka in tow, as Zabuza's blade crashed into where they were standing. Clones erupted into existence, shouting and making a mess of things as they and Hinata covered the retreat.

"Oh fuck, Sayaka, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Naruto babbled as he landed on a different rooftop to lay Sayaka down. "I'm sorry Sayaka I didn't mean to oh fuck please be okay—"

Sayaka tried to say something, tried to keep breathing, but the knife in her hurt, like fire was screaming into her, but she was an Uchiha and supposed to be a master of fire. She struggled weakly to sit up, but Naruto tried to hold her down, and Sayaka snapped at him.

"I—" oh fuck that hurt fuck fuck fuck "—I have a punctured lung, dumbass!"

Naruto made a keening noise and recoiled, a clone popping in to help her up while Naruto waved his hands helplessly. "What do I do?!"

Sayaka grit her teeth and focused on her chakra, coiling it tightly into her, fighting for control. The pain seemed to deaden. "Help me—" it hurt "—help me stop the bleeding. Remember? First aid training?"

Naruto swallowed, then pressed his lips together and nodded. "R-r-right. Okay. Okay. Blood pills first."

Sayaka leaned her head back against the clone and tried to keep breathing as Naruto pulled his waist pouch off and dumped its contents on the roof. It was really remarkable how lifelike the clones were. Though that made sense. It wasn't a normal clone.

"Right, here," said Naruto, and he shoved a pill into her mouth. Sayaka chewed—holy shit it was bitter—then swallowed. "Okay okay okay, next, bleeding, have to stop the bleeding."

"Don't pull it out," the clone reminded. Sayaka glanced up at it, and the clone smiled gamely back at her. It looked more like a horrified grimace, but hey, it was an effort.

"Right," said Naruto, "right right right can't pull it out right. Have to— have to stabilize the weapon, right? Because no external bleeding so—"

There was a tremendous blast of water. Sayaka screamed as the entire roof was blasted away. Zabuza was snarling, hands clenched in a handsign, blasting away Naruto's clones and tossing Hinata aside like a twig in the sea. Sayaka and Naruto went tumbling, then slammed into another roof that Sayaka rolled off of to land with a thud in the street.

Fresh pain tore at her chest, and Sayaka cried out and pressed her hands against the injury as it bubbled out more blood with each breath she sucked through clenched teeth. The motion had torn the kunai out, leaving the wound to gape.

Her mouth felt dry. Was that normal? It wasn't normal was it?

"Sayaka!" Naruto shouted, scrambling down from above. "Sayaka— oh fuck—"

He rolled her over and pressed his hands against hers, trying to stop the bleeding. The pain was like a— well, it was like being stabbed. Sayaka almost laughed.

"No no no no no no—"

She was very cold. She really didn't like the cold. She remembered, when she was little, huddling in the kotatsu before New Year's and being very reluctant to help her mother in the kitchen. Her father had scolded her but for once Sayaka had refused. The floorboards were cold! Then Itachi had patted her on the head—

"Stay with me Sayaka, stay with me okay? Sensei's coming, he's going to help—"

Sayaka began to cry. Itachi. She had to kill Itachi. But she was bleeding out here. She had to— she couldn't die here. She needed to avenge her clan. She needed to rebuild it.

"Oh gods please Sayaka don't die I'm sorry I'm sorry—"

She didn't want to die. She wasn't ready to die. She had so many things she had to do first. She had to— but she couldn't—

She couldn't—

"Sayaka!"


Kakashi ran. He ran with the speed only one of the Hidden Leaf's most elite jounin could accomplish. He ran with the speed that came from a decade in ANBU, two decades a soldier. He ran with desperation. He had failed so many people, been too late so many times. Just this once, just this once—!

Naruto screamed and Kakashi knew he didn't have any time left. There was a blast of foul evil that he'd only felt once before, that he had hoped he'd never feel ever again, and something red as blood rocketed out of the streets towards Momochi Zabuza.

Fuck.

He'd done the right thing. He'd secured the principals, and he'd taken down Zabuza's team members. They were in a holding cell, waiting to be interrogated. Team Seven had done the right thing, running interference as a holding action. But it had cost them.

Two options. Stop the Ninetails—the Kyuubi—or try to help his student. Which was the right thing?

Kakashi ran and leaped and came to a stop next to the still-warm-body that was supposed to be Uchiha Sayaka. The street was deep red with her blood. Kakashi dropped to his knees and grabbed her wrist—a pulse? Weak, almost unsurvivable, but—

He could smell the blood pill she had swallowed and he felt his heart leap in his chest. If there was enough blood volume then maybe Sayaka's heart hadn't fully failed yet. Thank every god that Tsunade had demanded all genin teams deploy with medical kits back in the war. Thank every god that he'd bothered to scan Rin's hands with Obito's sharingan eye when she was healing.

A kunai flicked out and cut away Sayaka's clothes, giving him access to the wound. Step one, seal the wound. Easily done, the exterior knitting together under the Mystical Palm. Step two was harder: repair the lungs.

The lungs were complex and he needed to do it right or he'd make a cripple out of his student. But at the same time, there were medic nin back in Konoha that could fix it as long as he did well enough. Kakashi grit his teeth and coaxed the organ back together. It was a shit job through and through. He couldn't be sure—

"—Hinata, do you read?" Kakashi asked.

A pause, and for a second Kakashi feared the worst, that he had two students down, but then: "I— I'm here sensei," Hinata said. She did not sound well.

"Are you hurt?"

"I hit my head." Fuck. That was bad. But if she was awake—

"Can you use the Byakugan?"

"Y-yes."

"Turn it on, can you see me?"

There was a moment of silence.

"I- I can, sensei, is Sayaka—?"

"How is her lung?"

"T-t-the bleeding is stopped but her heart isn't—"

"I know," said Kakashi. The wound was closed enough that he wouldn't reopen it now, so Kakashi began chest compressions. He had no idea if it was doing anything.

"It's— it's working!" Hinata called. "Erratic rhythm—!"

Kakashi pulled an injector out of his combat vest and stabbed it into Sayaka's neck. It was a potent cocktail that Tsunade had said was supposed to do something to help restart hearts. It had never worked for Kakashi in the past, but damn if he wasn't going to try. He gave Sayaka another round of chest compressions, got the drugs running into her system, then flicked through three handsigns that he'd never successfully used on any teammate he had ever had.

Please, by every god and deity, let this time be different.

"Forced resuscitation technique."

The electric shock rippled from left to right, and Sayaka's heart jumped in Hinata's vision. For a moment, it beat weakly, then seized as the drugs kicked in.

"It worked!" Hinata called out on the radio. "S-s-sensei, it worked, her heart, it's b-beating correctly again!"

Kakashi wiped his eyes and pulled another blood pill out of his vest, crushed it in his hand and mixed it with a little water. He coaxed it down Sayaka's throat with chakra. That should be enough, combined with the one she'd already swallowed.

Now all he had to worry about was shock and hypothermia killing his student. But it was a step up from her already being dead.

Kakashi lifted Sayaka up and flickered to the rooftops. A city like Senfuku had a hospital. A hospital in Senfuku would have a trauma center. There had to be knife fights in the docks. So then—

—there, there it was. The hospital was where Kakashi remembered it would be.

"Going out of range," said Kakashi into the radio. "…don't die, Hinata."

"I won't, sensei."

Kakashi vanished.


Naruto took slow breaths as he huddled next to Zabuza's body.

He was covered in blood, the stench penetrating into him with every breath he took. He'd thrown up, a little earlier, but thankfully the contents of his stomach had splattered into the canal. He was sure he'd have thrown up again if he'd been forced to smell puke and blood at the same time.

The body he was sitting next to had been torn asunder, the blade it had wielded launched at speed into a building. It still stood in the wall, the wrappings on the hilt fluttering in the breeze where they'd been cut. Naruto didn't really remember all of the fight, especially the beginning. He'd been so angry. But near the end, he remembered the swordsman sending a dragon of water at him, how it'd taken him in the chest and—

Naruto shuddered, and rubbed his arms. It was cold, without his jacket, but it had been ripped apart by the Water Dragon, and he didn't— couldn't— make himself go look for his team.

The dragon had torn him open and thrown him aside, and the swordsman had tried to run as Naruto fell off the roof into the street, parts of his insides falling around him. The pain had shocked him out of his anger, but then the fury came back as his organs grew back in and his bones knitted together and his skin closed up. He remembered thinking that no, that wasn't allowed, that he was going to kill Zabuza, and he'd pushed himself up even as his bones grated against each other and he'd made clones that had hunted the swordsman down and grabbed him by the limbs and Naruto had—

He had—

Naruto swallowed and regretted it. His spit tasted like blood too.

"Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked up and despaired. Hinata was standing at the edge of the blood splatter, hands wrapped around her stomach, and staring.

"H-Hinata-chan. I—"

"Did you…?"

Naruto wiped his eyes. It didn't do much, just smear blood over him more. "I— I did."

"Good," Hinata said firmly.

Naruto looked up in surprise.

Hinata wiped at her eyes too, and began to walk towards him. "He almost killed Sayaka."

Naruto shook his head. "It was my fault. I jumped in— I shouldn't have— wait—"

"Sensei got there in time," said Hinata, and Naruto felt his eyes spill over from relief.

"O— oh, oh thank the gods," said Naruto, and the tears were thick enough to start cutting through the blood and gore. "Oh thank the gods, I thought— she stopped breathing and— and—"

"Sensei got there in time," said Hinata, and she dropped to her knees beside Naruto to pull him into a hug. "It's okay."

"S-stop," Naruto sniffled, pushing back at Hinata. "I'm covered— you'll get your clothes all bloody—"

"It's okay," said Hinata, and she pulled him in tighter. "I don't mind."

Naruto resisted for a moment, then gave in, allowing Hinata to hug him closely. The tears ran faster now, and Naruto tried to stop them, because he was getting snot all over Hinata's pretty clothes, but Sayaka was alive and he was so happy, and—

And—

"H-Hinata-chan, you should— you need to let go," Naruto whispered, hiccuping and pushing her away again. "I don't— I'm dangerous, okay? You have to get sensei, and—"

"Dangerous? Naruto-kun, I don't—"

"Just do it—"

Hinata reached out.

"Stay away!" Naruto shouted, voice high and panicked as he scrambled back. He was breathing heavily. "You— you have to stay away right now."

"Why?"

"I— I'm not normal!" Naruto cried. He wrapped his arms around his knees to hide. "I'm not, okay? When I— when I went to steal the scroll, when Mizuki tried to take it from me, he said— he said that— he that I was the Nine-tails."

Hinata froze, processing this in her mind. That… that didn't make sense to her. Why would— how did that—

Naruto continued. "After, we went back to the Tower, and Gramps said I was just the container, and I thought I was good. But then, when I thought Sayaka was dead, I got so angry. And I thought— I decided that Zabuza was going to die. And so— so I did it. I killed him. And— and when I was doing it, he tried to kill me too, and he did."

Hinata was silent, and Naruto was babbling now, clutching at his head with both hands.

"He did, I saw myself, I— he tore me open with a jutsu. I should be dead— there was so much blood, and I could see bits, but they fixed themselves and everything was red and then I tore him open and—"

Hinata grabbed Naruto and pulled him into a hug again.

"You're not a demon," said Hinata firmly. "Demons don't get upset about death like this. Demons… demons wouldn't kill for their friends. Demons only care about themselves, Naruto-kun. "

"B-but I—"

"You're not a demon, Naruto-kun," said Hinata. "It's going to be okay."

The dams finally broke in Naruto. He let out a wail and clutched at her, sobbing, until finally Kakashi came and found them.


"The Fourth Hokage is truly impressive," Danzo said, breathing out with relief. "To be able to modulate the Nine-tails and its influence with a natural feedback loop into the container's psyche, but without polluting it…"

"I'd prefer if you referred to Naruto-kun by name, Danzo," said Hiruzen testily, sucking on his pipe in the dim light of the secure briefing room that they had read Team Eagle's report in. "Surely, now, he deserves it."

"Right, right, I apologize," said Danzo, waving his hand at his old teammate. "But as I said, it's very impressive. And the Fourth did it all in one night too."

"It is also helpful that Naruto is very strong-willed," said Hiruzen. He blew out a mouthful of smoke. "His stubbornness helps in these cases, allowing him to control it effortlessly."

"Well, is it really control?" Danzo asked. "Though you're right, of course. As irritating as I find the boy, it's true that such bullheadedness helps. A lesser ninja would have been consumed by the rage of the demon fox."

"Yes, exactly," said Hiruzen. He shook his head and sighed. "This was not supposed to end the way it did. I didn't want this to happen to Naruto-kun."

"We would never have been able to shepherd him forever," said Danzo. He tapped his cane against the floor. "It sounds like Kakashi did the right thing. I was worried, but needlessly."

Hiruzen snorted. "You always worry needlessly."

"Yes, well, it's saved us in the past."

"Fair."

The two old men were silent for a moment, thinking.

"We should train him to control it better," Danzo said and held up a hand to forestall Hiruzen's response. "Not to produce a weapon. I know you, and you know me, and there are many reasons why it wouldn't work anyway, from a practical perspective. But you must agree with me that it would be an extraordinary asset for protecting the village."

Hiruzen snorted. "Yes, well, you will forgive me for being suspicious, Danzo. Your inclinations are well known."

Danzo inclined his head. "Perhaps. But the reality is that pretending our jinchuuriki isn't one will be detrimental for all involved. Even leaving aside the martial benefits, outbursts will happen in the future. If you want Naruto to grow up with any sense of normalcy, he cannot be afraid of what happens if he becomes too angry."

Hiruzen sighed. "You've come prepared this time."

"I practiced in front of a mirror. Did I rush it?"

"No, it was very good."

"Thank you. But do you agree?"

Hiruzen sighed again. "Yes, I do, as much as I dislike the notion," he said, pulling at his pipe again. "Such is growing old and watching your children grow up."

Danzo carefully did not say that Naruto was not Hiruzen's son, or grandson for that matter, and that it seemed pointlessly sentimental to act as if he was.

"In any case, you may train him," said Hiruzen. "Focus on his control, and try not to infect him with dark thoughts."

"That is not hard," said Danzo. "We all love this village, after all. I do not think I will need to say anything else in order to motivate him."

Hiruzen huffed, but nodded. "Very well. Make sure to give me updates on his progress."

"Of course."

"Then let us turn our attention to Gato," said Hiruzen grimly. "This incident cannot go unpunished. What are your thoughts?"

Danzo's attention sharpened and he unrolled a map. "This is the situation as I see it. Gato heavily influences the eastern seaboard from here to here, and has absolute control over the Land of Waves, according to the intelligence provided by Team Eight's client. In addition…"