A/N: And here's the next chapter. I hope you like it!

In the shadow of a ginkgo tree

Chapter 2: First years

She was slow to rouse. Natural really. At first, she was just a baby to figure out all the stimuli coming from the outside world. Then she was a toddler figuring out how to move and talk. She had a mother and a grandfather. Her whole world was just them.

Andthenchakrawaschokingherandshecouldn'tbreaththerewassomuchmaliceintheairshecouldn'tmakeasound

She could barely remember mother scooping her into her arms and grandfather steering them towards the evacuation tunnels. The rest was drowned by the onslaught of information and memories that hadn't been there. Of a whole lifetime.

Kinoshita Shinju had been someone else once. Somewhere and somewhen else. She'd been utterly civilian and had interests to match. When Shinju woke up in Konoha General, three days after the attack, she was reasonably confused about her situation even when her thoughts were crystal clear once she finished piecing together everything she'd observed during her toddlerhood and compared it to what she remembered from Before.

"That was the Kyuubi. I'm in Naruto. Oh god, I almost died. And I now have to either remain a civilian and hope not to die accidentally or then become a shinobi and be strong enough to be tossed into potentially dangerous situations but survive them."

The decision was ultimately easy. While being a civilian would be initially safer, it would be more prone for accidental deaths, be they in the form of everyday incidents or then the scale of Konoha Crush or Pain Invasion. Being a shinobi brought both direction and self-governance to life even when those lives were sworn to Hokage.

Their house had miraculously survived but mother felt it better to move elsewhere. She packed up everything they owned into storage scrolls and walked to the edge of the village within a single afternoon. Shinju only later figured out the exact why in the situation.

Grandfather Hatori was an Uchiha. And since his daughter becoming an adult, he'd lived in the Uchiha compound. Previously it hadn't been much of a problem but in the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack, the Uchiha had been shunted to the edges of the village, Hatori with them. And so Shinju's mother Mitsuru moved too. Not into the compound but close enough for babysitting and visiting.

Hatori was old for a shinobi. He was born scant years after the founding of the village, he'd been part of the first graduating class of the Academy, he'd seen all past three wars, witnessed four Kages in power.

(Shinju just barely remembered sitting on her mother's arms during Yondaime's inauguration.)

Hatori was an Uchiha and as an Uchiha he loved fiercely. He defied his clan and married a Kinoshita. He'd managed to fake injury bad enough to justify transferring to in-village work so he could take care of his daughter. He kept said daughter a secret because he could feel something was brewing within the village.

And he was absolutely doting of Shinju. He might accidentally call her Katsuki when she did or said or expressed something similar to her grandmother but frankly? Shinju liked that. Neither she nor her mother ever had a chance to meet Kinoshita Katsuki so they both soaked in stories that Shinju's resemblance brought to Hatori's mind.

Until the Kyuubi incident, Shinju had not paid attention to what her mirror image told her. But ever since getting back her adult memories of Before, she'd started actively pay attention to various things.

There were barely any photos in the house once they moved in but many paintings made by Hatori. Sharingan-assisted photographic memory probably helped in that hobby. But from those paintings Shinju could see what her father had looked like. A classic Nara but not identical enough to be outright confused with the only three canon Nara characters introduced in the manga.

"Ikoma." Mother said. "Or Shikarou, if you count the few months he was a clan heir."

Shinju could put two and two together and get four out of them as two squared was four as well. Shikamaru had been then heir. The entire Rookie 9 had been clan heirs with the exception of Sakura (civilian/career chuunin parents), Naruto (the Uzumaki wasn't a clan anymore) and Hinata (she was shunted aside in favor of Hanabi, how else could she marry Naruto). Shikaku had been the head at the time of the manga. That meant Ikoma had been Shikaku's younger brother. The name change had confused Shinju, she'd assumed all of the Nara had equally ironic names. The manga had been full of them. Shikaku – Shikamaru, Inochi – Ino, Chouza – Chouji, Shibi – Shino, the Hyuuga line Hiashi – Hizashi – Hinata – Hanabi – Himawari… Shinju was Shinju. There was no 'deer' in her name but the first syllable was still the same.

She asked her mother once what she meant but Mitsu had only smiled and said to tell her later, which, fair, Shinju was only a few years old. No normal toddler would understand clan politics or the implications and intricacies of those embroiled in them.

So Shinju had the blood of two clans in her. That would cause a lesser person to shout 'mary-sue' especially with the Uchiha being involved but Shinju just…

"I gotta make the best of this while remaining under radar."

It was… surprisingly easy actually. Shinju just… played on her own, took in the knowledge the environment parted her indirectly and what her family taught her directly. Besides, this was… while not a new world, it had a lot of background stuff that wasn't stated in the manga. And Shinju needed to adjust to her toddler body. The muscle memory was completely blank. She knew how things theoretically worked but her body wasn't used to such movements.

She watched as the village built itself again from the devastation, attended funerals by her mother's side and adjusted to the new normal. She listened as mother and grandfather exchanged village and clan gossip in dinner table every other night. From there Shinju heard of the clan heir Itachi's graduation at young age. Hatori was of two minds about it.

"Of course, I'm proud of Itachi-kun's capabilities but at the same time I worry he will be pushed too far too fast. Yes, Konoha has shortage of shinobi after the war and Kyuubi but Itachi is only seven."

"You graduated at six, didn't you? And okaasan at seven." Mitsuru asked.

"Yes, but the standards were different back then. I wasn't labelled a prodigy and even after graduation it was in-village missions and errands. Not to mention that my teammates were of the same age. The rest of Itachi's class is four years older. Children are petty. They either raise Itachi on a pedestal or resent him for his skills."

"And at this rate Itachi will get promoted sooner rather than later. Just like the Hatake boy."

"The Yamanaka are almost up in arms to get him to therapy. He vanished to Anbu during Yondaime's time but was still visible in-village occasionally. After Kyuubi barely anyone has seen hide or hair of him."

"Who is Hatake?" Shinju decided to ask from behind her glass of milk. Itachi she knew about from the conversations before. Not to mention Mikoto had babysat her a couple of times when Mitsuru had been busy. While Shinju knew stuff thanks to Before, it was better to ask to ascertain situation and have verified sources of information for the future reference.

"Hatake Kakashi. He is last of his clan." Mitsuru began. "He was Yondaime Hokage's apprentice and then part of his genin team though the boy was a chuunin at the time."

"Genius of his generation, graduated at five years old without actually going through the Academy. His father was the legendary White Fang – hero of the Second War…" Hatori hesitated. "Sakumo-san ran many successful missions while raising and teaching his son on the side. It was peacetime until it wasn't. One of Sakumo-kun's missions went south due insufficient information. He made the decision to regroup and retreat with his team. Unfortunately, at that point their team had been detected to be from Konoha so it worsened the tense relations between the villages even more. Within a year the Third War began. There were numerous reasons for the new war, making it inevitable, but many people thought that Sakumo-san was the reason for it starting when it did."

Shinju tilted her head and considered the information and how it had been presented to her.

"You disagree."

"Completing a mission should be a priority, yes." Hatori stated. "But if information is lacking and you find yourself completely outclassed and ill-prepared to complete the mission. Sakumo-san's team of built for tracking and scouting, not for counter-ambushes or sabotage. Hatake-Inuzuka-Yamanaka combination with a civilian born genjutsu specialist. Out of them Sakumo-san was the only heavy hitter as the Inuzuka was not taught in the clan's regular techniques and the ninken was one of their smaller breeds. I investigated the information given to them before mission and information they brought back and I'm of the professional opinion that Sakumo-san made the right call in retreating especially when the mission wasn't originally time-sensitive. A new team could've been brought in or back-up sent for assist."

"Hatori-ojiisan investigated? But you are a paper-nin!" Shinju wondered.

"I'm an administrative trouble-shooter." Hatori corrected.

Huh… Interesting. Basically internal investigator. Like those people on the cop shows that the audience were taught to hate because they investigated the misconduct the main cast did while on field.

"But if the information was wrong, why did people blame Sakumo-san?" Shinju asked, deliberately picking the way of addressing Hatori had used.

"They were of the opinion that he should've completed the mission anyways. Moreover the results of my investigation came to light only after…" Hatori closed his eyes, pained. Mitsuru pursed her lips but didn't stop him from continuing. So shinobi. "Only after Sakumo-san had already taken his own life."

Shinju let out a gasp. She might be only four years old but the concept of death had become familiar in the aftermath of the Kyuubi as well as from her memories from Before.

"It was a dreadful affair." Mitsuru sighed. "The blame and recrimination had become so bad that the only way to escape it and protect Kakashi-kun's reputation was suicide. Kakashi then became ward of Namikaze-sama – Yondaime and the rest of issue was swept under rug."

"Until my investigation concluded people began publicly refute things they'd said. It wasn't good time. Opinions split when unity would've been needed." Hatori added.

The topic was closed then and dinner concluded. Shinju had much to mull over. She hadn't expected an informational bomb like this quite yet. Interesting.

Next year the Hyuuga Affair happened. Even if Shinju had been capable of doing something about that, she was firmly confined at home. She was a vulnerable target outside the clan compounds. For the entire duration of the Kumo Ambassadors' visit, Hatori was with Shinju while Mitsuru filled her duties at the Intelligence department. Be it at home or visiting the Uchiha compound, Hatori didn't let Shinju leave his sight at all.

It wasn't that bad though. Hatori had decided to start teaching basic stretches and exercises to Shinju. It mildly irked her that her becoming a shinobi was given but… it was also sweet that Hatori and Mitsuru both wanted to give her a good grounding in basics before starting at the Academy next year. Shinju's birthday was at the beginning of the year so if she had calculated correctly… Then she'd be three years above the rookie 9 rather than two that the age difference would imply.

"Hatori-ojiisan?" Shinju asked him day before the Kumo-nin were slated to leave.

"Yes?"

"If I'm not meant to be recognized as an Uchiha, why are you teaching me the Uchiha way?" Because what else could these taijutsu stances for beginners be?

"At Academy you'll learn the Konoha standard that I expect you to use in spars but once you graduate, more variety is better. You can mix and match from various styles something that fits you best and makes you unpredictable. The pit-fall of many civilian-born shinobi – who only have Academy basic – is that unless they specialize in taijutsu, that is all they'll ever have and it makes them predictable and easy to defeat."

"Okay." That made sense. Speaking of subterfuge and secrecy though… "Hatori-ojiisan, when will my Sharingan be sealed like okaasan's was?"

"After your tenth birthday. It's better then as your chakra storages reach needed equilibrium then. You can start learning ninjutsu even before that but on even pace of training, it's approximately at ten years of age that it's most optimal to actually do those techniques. Besides… we are in times of peace, there is no worry that you'd awaken the Sharingan before graduation. We have time unlike when you mother was born." What he didn't say that it was a miracle that Shinju hadn't awakened it during Kyuubi's attack. The terror and fight-or-flight instincts warring in her could've easily done that.

If Shinju's math was correct, they would not have time. The Uchiha Massacre would take place on the same year that she turned ten. She said nothing though and turned to the targets Hatori had set up behind his house, and picked a kunai from the box next to her.

On one hand, having a Sharingan would be a boon in a fight. On the other hand, it would make her a target in-village and outside of it. Shinju was relatively sure that she'd be safe until the massacre thanks to her anonymity. Hatori always called her Katsuki while within the compound and she didn't interact much with the other clan members. They pretended that she and her mother didn't exist. They had helped in rearing Mitsuru but once she was in Academy, the connection was cut. All that anyone knew, Hatori was simply doing a favor to a co-worker by looking after Shinju. He was known to help the clan kids with the starting techniques if they didn't have parents to teach them so it wasn't that big of a leap. And Hatori had some non-Uchiha students anyways. He was the current holder of the crow summoning contract that three of his students had already signed: Mitsuru, Yamashiro Aoba and Uchiha Shisui. Shinju had been surprised the learn that such a big canon name was so directly connected to her grandfather. But Shisui was an orphan. And he used crows. So that was that really.

Afterwards though… After the massacre, after everything… Especially after graduation when Shinju would start going to the missions. That heightened the chances of Sharingan awakening so she needed a way to hide its existence. Maybe an anchored henge… that could be possible to make with seals, right? Or then she'd have to invest in colored contacts and that'd be a liability on field. Something to consider in the future.

If Shinju survived the massacre that was. With Shisui in the periphery of Shinju's social circle – because given the impression anime gave of him, he could very well suddenly appear on Hatori's backyard to greet his old teacher – it was only a matter of time when Itachi would come know of Shinju. And in future Itachi had the crow contract as well. Or maybe if Shinju stayed out of the compound around that time, she wouldn't accidentally get into crossfire and with Itachi's pacifist nature, he wouldn't hunt her down if Danzou and Madara didn't know of her? Because the massacre was less about quelling a coup and more about harvesting/eliminating sharingans.

She could only hope and plan.

The Hyuuga Affair came and went. Mitsuru and Hatori didn't talk about it much in dinner table but Shinju could tell they disapproved the solution of it. The Kumo ambassador was found inside the Hyuuga compound after all. Even if Hyuuga Hiashi had killed him, kidnapping the heiress would've been enough of an offence for ceasing the peace talks completely or at least forcing Kumo to sign them and then leave without raising a fuss like they did now. That Sandaime had bent to their will – branch family's Caged Bird Seal or not – was a sign of weakness.

"The Uchiha would've never let that slide." Hatori muttered. "Doujutsu is precious yes, but those who can actually use them doubly so."

Which was partly why Hatake Kakashi had been allowed to keep Uchiha Obito's eye in the end. It could've been sealed to function as a normal eye or removed completely but Kakashi had proved to be capable of using it. Hatori had personally seen to it as he'd mentored Obito back in the day.

Speaking of Obito… Apparently in this world Team Minato had brought his body back home to be cremated and buried. Which meant that stuff wouldn't be like in canon. Tobi/Madara wouldn't be Obito and Zetsu maybe would be only weird-ass Kusa shinobi and not Kaguya's spawn. Hell, would that Indra-Asura thing even hold here? Or would everything be just like in canon but Madara having someone else as a pawn. But what about October 10th attacker's intangibility if it wasn't from Obito's Mangekyo? She really hoped that Curse of Hatred didn't exist here…

Perhaps Shinju shouldn't worry about it though. Too many variables. Things would happen as they would and could and Shinju would react appropriately. See what was going on and make decisions then.

She was at a bit awkward point of time… Born too late to change stuff about Kannabi bridge or warn about Kyuubi. Too young to be a peer to Itachi and thus glean pre-warning about the massacre (which was stressing her out!). Too old to interact with Naruto and his cohort yet. It may be a few years only to either direction but as a child every year counts because of the shortness of life lived thus far and different developmental stages.

Shinju had no friends yet. But maybe once she started in the Academy, she'd make some.

Because she needed to be visible and network with as many kids as possible. Preferably clan kids. So no one could disappear her.

A/N: So basically Shinju needs to be visible enough not to be disappeared but not noticeable enough to be connected to the Uchiha and thus potentially killed before hitting double-digits.

I hope you liked this and I managed to write this clearly enough. I added some stuff in the editing process so I'm not sure how smooth the flow of thought is on that part...

Hatori is named after Sohma Hatori of Fruits Basket. He is very cool. I'll later have other characters named after Sohmas.

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