Let's start this from the beginning

The Calm Before the Storm

"Izumi, are you ready? We need to leave now."

Did she forget the time again? She could have sworn she still had time left. "I'm almost finished, give me just one more minute!"

Alright, she could clean up later. No big deal, it's not like she made too much of a mess anyway. She was still new to pottery, so some accidents were prone to happen, but for the most part, her working space was clean enough. Also, she dared to say that her clay vase had turned out great! Especially if you considered that she practiced pottery for not even two months now.

Well, Izumi thought as she deactivated her Sharingan, these eyes help a lot, to be fair. It was still a struggle for her to keep them active for longer than half an hour, but that was more than enough for this purpose. It wasn't as if she needed to keep them activated all the time either; Izumi used them only when she wanted to create more complicated patterns or when she noticed that something seemed wrong. Them helping her to avoid accidents that would spray the entire area with clay were the main reason the space was as clean as it was.

That wasn't the best thing about her newfound control over her Kekkei Genkai, though.

"What do you say, Kokuban?" she asked the crow that was perched on the armrest of her chair. "Do you like it?"

Kokuban couldn't talk, only a few summons could, but the replying cawing sounded vaguely like an agreement.

"Come on, Izumi," her mother called again. "We don't have all day!"

"I know, I know," she muttered under her breath before carefully putting her vase to her other works and rushing out of her room. "I'm ready, let's go!"

The best thing about having improved her mastery over her eyes, she mused, was that Itachi kept his promise and taught her a technique that was singular to him. Sure, the summoning technique itself was nothing too special, though it was still rare, but her friend was the only one who had a contract with the crows.

Or at least he had been until he convinced his partners to allow her to form a contract with them as well.

She could honestly not say how she had lived before Kokuban had come into her life even though he was there for only a month now. A crow might be somewhat of a weird pet, but he was so much more than that; he was also a partner, and a friend. Civilians might not understand that, lacking the understanding of how smart a summons could be whether or not they were able to speak, but she didn't care. All the people that mattered understood and that was the only important thing.

He was also rather useful on missions, which was something regular pets couldn't hope to keep up with.

"Did you have a productive week, sweetheart?" her mother asked while they were walking.

She grimaced. "I didn't get as much done as I wanted because we got so much homework to do. But I have a vase and a few bowls!"

"You know you don't need to do that, do you? If you're so busy, you should use your free time to relax, not to do even more work."

"It's okay," she beamed at her. "It's not like I don't have fun doing it."

Although she looked at her scoldingly, her mother couldn't hide the gratefulness in her gaze. "Even so, your schooling is much more important. If I notice that your grades get worse or that you look too tired, you will take a break from this whether you want or not, you hear me?"

"Of course, Kaa-san."

She knew that her mother felt bad for accepting her help, but she wouldn't let herself be stopped by that. They were short of money ever since her father died a few years ago even with the money their clan made available to them. Her mother was already working as much as she could by doing two jobs at the same time to earn enough money to give her a good life, so the least she could do was to support her wherever she could. If people actually liked her pottery, why shouldn't she sell them on the market? It wasn't much, but at least it was something. And like she said, it wasn't as if she didn't enjoy pottery.

As the Uchiha district was next to the shopping district, they need to walk for only a few minutes before they arrived.

Setting up their stand didn't take long and shortly after, they started to bring their goods under the man. It wasn't much, just her pottery and some trinkets and woven clothes from her mother, but it went alright. Their quality didn't stand up to professionals but was less expensive, so people with less income would go to them rather than one of the fancy shops that lined the street. There were also those people who simply preferred the more 'personal' experience of a marketplace to the atmosphere of a shop.

There was something weird, though. She couldn't put the finger on what gave her the impression, but she believed the people were a bit more tense than usual. Now that she thought about it, weren't there also fewer people today? It was hard to say because some weeks were busier than others and this could simply be one of the weaker ones, but still…

"Sweetheart, isn't that Mikoto and Itachi over there?"

Pushing her thoughts away, she turned in the direction her mother was pointing. "I think so," she agreed. "Do you want to go and say hello?"

Her mother laughed. "No, but why don't you do that? I'm sure Itachi would be more than happy to see you."

"Kaa-san!" She felt her cheeks warming up. "I can't just leave you all-"

"Nonsense," she interrupted her. "I'm more than capable of running the stand on my own, Izumi. Besides, we haven't thanked Mikoto for taking us out shopping last week, so why don't you bring her this?" She put a necklace into her hands. "And once you're already there, you can just as well accompany them."

"But what if I intrude?"

"If they have no time, you come back," she said as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "There is no harm in asking, though. Hush now, run along before they're gone!"

She did as she was told, murmuring about meddlesome parents all the while, but couldn't suppress the small smile that sneaked upon her face. I hope they're not busy, she thought. Spending a day with Itachi and his mother sounded like fun.

How bothersome.

It was unbecoming –and unprofessional too, in his opinion- to think like this about an ongoing case, but Fugaku couldn't help it. He was the captain of Konoha's police force, meaning he was usually too busy with other things than simple investigations. These days, the only time he got out of his office and away from meetings with the various high-ups of the village was when he managed to go on patrol. That wasn't something he was required to do, of course, but he needed the break from his other duties to clear his mind from time to time.

Still, in this case, he had no other choice than to handle the case himself because the victim had been not only a distant cousin of the daimyo but also the Head of the Merchant Guild of Konoha. Such high-profile cases required the attention of someone with a suitable rank, even if it wasn't within his usual responsibilities.

Konoha's police was divided into two departments:

First, there was the KMPF that consisted of only shinobi, almost three-quarters of which were Uchiha, who were responsible for handling the other shinobi in the village. That didn't mean they would ignore civilian problems if they encountered such during their patrols, of course, just that it wasn't their actual task. They also cooperated with the ANBU in case there was a murder committed by a shinobi. The second, less-known part was the Civilian Law Enforcement Department (CLED). It had its own Head who, while still subordinate to him, led the department mostly separated from the KMPF and did basically the same things the KMPF did, just in relation with civilians rather than shinobi.

So, as the preliminary investigations have shown that the victim of his current case hadn't been killed by a shinobi and neither had he been one himself, the case should go to the CLED.

How annoying.

He wouldn't complain out loud, he knew his duty and didn't hesitate to fulfil it, but that didn't make it any less bothersome. It didn't help that other high-ranking civilians were making a fuss and breathing down his neck as well because they were suddenly not feeling safe anymore now that one of theirs had been killed. That the currently most likely suspect was a prostitute the man had invited into his bed the night prior to his murder rather than an assassin didn't calm them down at all.

And honestly, even if it was an assassination, he had not the time to deal with civilian politics. He dealt with enough politics while interacting with other clans and shinobi, dammit. This was just a waste of his time.

The Administrative Collective had basically no power in the village. Some influence, yes, but all of its members were easily replaced if they ever tried anything funny. All they did was taking care of all the small tasks that needed to be done to keep a village running like collecting taxes, handling the zone regulations for homes and businesses, or organizing the trade with other nations.

The collective had five members, which were the Heads of the Departments for Civilian Law Enforcement, of Economic Affairs, of Agriculture, as well the Head Doctor of the Konoha Hospital and the Head of the Merchant Guild.

While these titles might appear powerful at the first glance to the average citizen, they're really not.

A good example would be the Head of the CLED: for all that he led a big organization that fulfilled an important task for the village, he was still subordinate to him, a shinobi. The same thing was true for the Head Doctor, who, for all that he led the civilian part of the hospital, was still subordinate to the Head Medic-nin there.

Similarly, none of them could make any decisions without the consent of the Hokage. Even as much as a tax raise on certain products needed to be proposed to him first, which was one of the reasons the man had so much paperwork all the time.

With that, as well as the knowledge that every one of them could easily be replaced, it didn't make sense for other villages to sent assassins after them. It could make sense if all of them and their next few replacements were killed at the same time, paralyzing the bureaucracy until a solution was found to weaken them in preparation for an attack. Killing just one of them, on the other hand, was pretty much useless.

Which meant he was wasting his time right now.

He sighed. The longer I waste time thinking about it, the longer I need to complete this case. Let's just get this over with.

"What shall we do, Captain?"

Shisui was glad that his current teammates weren't bothered by his young age. No matter how much they tried to hide it, he could always tell when they disliked him for outranking them while being not even half their age. Understandable as that was, not having to deal with that on this mission was a relief, even if he still made sure to not let his exhaustion be shown on his face. You couldn't show weakness in front of people that were possibly just looking for an excuse to doubt you.

"We're going to retreat," he finally said. "We have no idea how many others have infiltrated our borders and going around and trying to kill all of them is too risky. If we miss just a few of them, they will know that we know they're here." He turned to one of his teammates, the milky eyes of the Byakugan looking back at him. "Hirate, can you manage to keep an eye on them on your own without being found by anyone?"

He got a curt nod in reply.

"Good." He turned to his other teammate, an Aburame. "What about you, Akira?"

"Positive."

"In that case, I will return to Konoha as fast as I can and get some ANBU teams here to let them take over. We will let them believe that we're unaware of them while simultaneously continue watching them as well. If necessary, split and follow another group if they do the same, and make sure you write down exactly what they do. Hand your notices to the ANBU when they arrive, understood?"

"Hai!"

"Hai!"

With nothing left to say, he vanished in a shunshin. He was by far the fastest member of their team, making him the logical choice for this task, but even he would need almost two days for that distance. The ANBU would probably need a bit longer for the journey, which meant his teammates would need to handle themselves for at least four days.

He trusted them, but he could still worry.

What also worried him was how these intruders had managed to get this far behind the borders in the first place. Having to deal with spies was nothing new, it was a part of how their world worked, but this was the third group they encountered in just as many days. With how tightly guarded the borders were at the moment, not to forget the insane number of ANBU that patrolled the lands since the purge of Root, they shouldn't have been able to hide that many of their men.

They don't act like spies, though. It wasn't just that they were traveling in surprisingly great numbers, each group numbering between three and nine, but also the way they held themselves. It was hard to explain, but his instincts have never led him astray so far.

Hokage-sama will want to hear about that, he thought. Something fishy is going on and we need to know what it is.

"Are you sure about this?"

The young girl- no, the young woman that knelt before his desk nodded. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

He sighed. It wasn't as if he didn't understand the logic behind such a request, because he did, but the risks involved in such a thing…

Still, it was better to hear her reasoning first before coming to any conclusions. "And why do you want to do that?"

Anko obviously tried to hide it, but he had been a shinobi for longer than she was alive, so he easily noticed the way her shoulders tensed for a second.

When she started to speak a moment later, however, her voice was calm and controlled. "Ever since Itachi joined our team, he constantly outshines everyone else. And that's okay! He's a prodigy, I get that and it's not that I'm jealous-" She stopped and shook her head. "No, I am jealous, but it's not his fault and I don't blame him. But… I don't want him to leave me behind, rising through the ranks too fast for me to do more than look at his back from afar. I think that this way, I will have a chance to keep up with him while also doing my part to protect the village."

He hid his smile by taking another puff of his pipe. That was pretty much what he thought she would say, although he was a little surprised –and impressed- that she acknowledged her own jealousy as easily as this.

"You're aware that you might encounter your old sensei if you go through with this, aren't you?"

Her face grew cold. "I am."

"And you're also aware that as you are now, he will kill you?"

"I am."

"Hmm."

What to do, what to do...

Anko was right when she said that it would not only allow her to grow stronger but also help to protect the village if she succeeded. The problem was her odds of actually doing so. On the other hand, while he knew from Itachi that his wayward student did indeed succeed when he tried to find the place she was talking about in the other timeline, he never mastered the techniques that were taught there. If Anko actually manages to find it, it would be a great boon not only for the village but for her personally as well.

"What do you think are the chances that you will reach your goal?"

"Almost zero," came the instant reply. "Even if I look for it for years, I will probably fail."

"And yet you're willing to try it?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

For a moment, he allowed himself to remember what he had been told about the 'other' Anko, little as that had been. A person that was eaten alive by her guilt for something that wasn't her fault, blamed for a foolish decision of her youth by many of her comrades, and held back by a cursed seal on her neck as much as by her own mind. The young girl in front of him couldn't be further away from being that person even if she tried.

He made his decision.

"I approve of your request."

"No, Sasuke," he said, no matter how much he hated to deny his brother anything. "It's almost time for dinner, you don't need-"

"Ah, it's alright," Teyaki said with a wave of his hand. "Let him have a cracker, it's hardly enough to spoil his appetite."

Itachi opened his mouth to reply, but a weak pull at his right sleeve made him look down instead. He instantly knew he made a mistake when he saw Sasuke looking at him with puppy eyes. "C'mon, Nii-san. Only one, please!"

The sound of a gentle chuckle made him look at Uruchi who was Teyaki's wife and co-owner of their senbai shop. "I see you know how to get what you want, Sasuke-chan. You will make a great ninja one day!"

He sighed, which was enough for Sasuke to know that he would get his wish. "Yeah! You're the best, Nii-san!"

How was he supposed to say 'no' to that?

"He has you firmly in his grip, hasn't he, Itachi-kun," said Teyaki, who had come to stand at his side while his wife took care of Sasuke.

"It's not easy to deny him something if he looks at you pleadingly like that," he agreed.

"Hah, don't I know? Little rascal does the exact same thing every time he passes by with your mother. Just last week, he even managed to convince Fugaku-sama to get him some!"

That image made him smile. For all that his father loved them, he usually kept up a more neutral, controlled façade while in public. It was nice to see him cave in every time he got the chance to observe it.

"Even Otou-san isn't immune to Sasuke's charm."

He had always liked Teyaki and Uruchi. The two of them had been some of the few people who never told Sasuke to be more like him, never tried to push him into being someone he was not. They were also much more gentle than most of the other members of their clan, but that might just come from them being no shinobi. Unfortunately, he had never had much contact with these parts of his clan. They weren't treated worse than other clan members nor were they excluded from anything, but his career path never left much time for anything that wasn't related to his duties.

It didn't make it any easier when he killed them.

"Here we go," Uruchi said with a smile when she and Sasuke came back, his brother almost jumping into his arms."

He reached for his money. "How much is it?"

"Ah, it's on the house today. Sasuke-chan comes here almost every day, such loyalty must be repaid."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Because I have more than-"

"Let it be," Teyaki interrupted him. "Once my wife has got something into the thick head of hers, you won't be able to change her mind. It's easier to just do as she says."

"In that case, thank you very much." He gave a small bow in gratitude before gently pushing Sasuke a step forward. "What do we do when someone gives us something, Sasuke?"

The boy's eyes went wide before he bowed as well, lowering his upper body lower than necessary and with so much energy that he almost toppled to the ground. "Thank you very much, Oba-san, Oji-san!"

Teyaki ruffled his hair with another laugh. "It's no trouble at all. You deserve a little treat from time to time, you know. Now, run along. I'm sure your parents are already waiting for you."

He took Sasuke at the hand to make sure he didn't run off, which was a bad habit he had at this age, and said his goodbye to the two adults before starting to walk home.

Today was a good day.