Fate

by PancakeFlying

The Kanbayashi were supposed to die, wiped out and never mourned because in the eyes of the world, they never existed. That is not what happens, nor what should have happened. A black alien creature came for them and burned everything they loved to the ground; Sachi, against all odds, survives when she wouldn't have. This will change everything. [Fem!OC] [Fix-it fic]

10. A deal and a bond

X

A DEAL AND A BOND

Aeka Kasui.

Ten years old, fourth grade, Class Five, orphan; that's what his Academy report said about him. He doesn't remember his parents, probably killed during the Second War like many others or just left behind. With sandy blond hair, brown eyes, and circular glasses, he's the perfect image of a wallflower.

Average-average, his grades are good enough to give him a desk in Class Five but not so to rise to the top. Nice to everyone, he doesn't have any close friends. He prefers it that way, having his own plans for the future that he can't compromise with another human being stuck to his side.

If there's something that Kasui fears, it's attention. Nothing good ever comes from being acknowledged, and he has no intentions of catching anyone's eye for the remainder of his stay in the Academy. He has a plan, and he will see it through.

Or so he believed before Inuzuka Sachi was put in his class.

She was the exact opposite of him, all but hoarding the attention and demanding even more with her snarky remarks and awful personality. Kasui had yet to see someone go against the teachers, much less a student, but Sachi didn't hesitate to argue with them on an hourly basis.

"Sachi-kun, get out."

The novelty of seeing Gentaru-sensei getting pissed off wore off by the tenth time it happened. Sachi had a talent for finding people's buttons and slamming them with a hammer.

However, this time, she winked at him. Kasui brushed it off as a coincidence.

(Sachi had fixated on him.)

Kasui had enjoyed his Academy days in peace and quiet, focusing on his studies so he wouldn't get demoted to a lower grade and staying out of trouble. Sachi had no qualms about creating as much chaos as possible, and when the teachers couldn't get her to another class, since her grades were simply that good, they decided to pair her up with a good influence.

Meaning, him.

"My name is Aeka Kasui, pleased to meet you," Kasui introduces himself, not sure how to face her when Gentaru-sensei announces the mandatory seating arrangements.

"I know who you are," comes the ominous answer.

There was freedom in underestimation, but how could Kasui keep benefitting from it when Sachi kept making a fool of herself while being near him?

"Sensei! That's not true! The ram seal is very useful!" Sachi exclaims loudly. "It leaves a small window for chakra to be released, creating a sudden burst of energy that can be dangerous but also very cool! Did you know it is used for summoning jutsus? Can you teach us?"

"That is not in the curriculum," Gentaru-sensei grumbles, the vein in his neck pulsating.

"But Kasui-kun wants to know!" Sachi protests, offended. "Isn't that right, Kasui-kun?"

Gentaru-sensei's glare zeroes on him and Kasui can feel years of life drain out of him. "A-ah, that's—"

"True!" Sachi finishes before him. "See? You're so unfair, sensei. Do you think we're stupid? That's why you don't teach us?"

"Sachi-kun," the teacher warns.

"Sensei! We just want to know!" Sachi continues being obnoxious, yelling, "Sensei! Sensei! Sensei!"

Gentaru-sensei reaches his limit, ordering, "Sachi-kun, get out." And then, "Kasui-kun, you too."

Kasui is baffled. "What?! I didn't—"

"So mean, see?" Sachi whines, turning to him. "Let's get out of here, Kasui-kun."

Kasui wants to trip Sachi down the stairs, the fucking bitch.

"You did that on purpose," he hisses once they're outside. Kasui had had enough of her games, and he was going to put an end to them now. He couldn't afford the attention of the teachers, and he was not going to risk his future for the amusement of one crazy girl.

She grins at him, almost as if she knew what he was thinking. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Sachi turns around and goes down the hallway, leaving Kasui behind. A spark of fear of being out in the open makes him go after her, demanding to know where she was going. "We can't leave!"

"Says who? Gentaru-sensei?" she scoffs. "That man doesn't care, he gets paid either way. The worst he can do is make us clean the classrooms."

"Clean?"

"Yeah. I'm not going to sit on my ass and do nothing for two hours, I got things to do. You coming?"

Kasui looks behind at the empty corridor, entirely silent except for them. If Sachi left, he would be alone—

He follows her.

Every nerve in his body tells him to not be near that Inuzuka girl. He knew she was trouble the moment she set a foot in his classroom, and he was right. Spending time with her would only ruin his life.

"Where are we going?" Kasui asks, slightly unsettled.

"You'll see."

The library. Sachi takes him to the library. For a moment he believed that this was how he met his end, fooled by an Inuzuka and stabbed in the kidneys where no one would ever find him.

The Academy library was always open, even in the afternoons, but people rarely went there. There was no need, as clan children had more information in their homes and civilians were more used to taking notes from lectures than finding their answers in books.

Sachi shows Kasui a spot that is blocked by the wall and two shelves, creating some sort of hidden room that has two plump cushions under the little window near the ceiling.

"Why are we here?"

Sachi quirks a brow. "You know why."

Did he?

It was a secluded spot, away from any classrooms and not supervised in the mornings. They were alone and won't be bothered for as long as they want to stay. Even more, the bookshelves would block off any wandering people, and only a Hyūga or a sensor type would know they're there.

"Why did you show me this?"

"I wanted to," she shrugs. "It's better than hearing Gentaru-sensei sucking up to the top students, hmm?"

Kasui didn't care as long as he could do what he wanted during those hours. He had gotten away with napping, drawing, and even skipping the class altogether without being noticed. Until he met Sachi, that is.

"What are you doing?"

Sachi pulls out a book from a tower that she must have made, opening it without a care in the world. "Studying. Gentaru-sensei gives harder tests to the students he doesn't like. I'm just preparing for them." The Inuzuka gives him a lazy glance. "You should do the same."

Aeka Kasui does not like Inuzuka Sachi.

.

It gets worse.

"Kasui-kun, you should know this by now," Gentaru-sensei remarks, giving him back his homework. "Keep up with the class or you will get behind."

Kasui feels his blood freeze. Not once did Gentaru-sensei glance in his direction, much less comment on his average homework. The teacher's eyes are merciless, and so he bows his head in defeat. At his side, Sachi takes the report back from the teacher without glancing at him.

"Full marks," the teacher grits, forced to give a comment to every student. Sachi gives him an innocent smile that turns into a middle finger once he turns his back on her.

Kasui stares at his benchmate, in awe. "You… Did you make me fail?"

"Fail? I told you to study more, didn't I?" Sachi sighs dramatically. "But as much as it pains me, Gentaru-sensei was right. You know this," she taps the homework sheets. "But you didn't write it."

"You—"

"I know what you're doing. It won't work," she tells him before promptly ignoring him for the rest of the class.

.

Kasui reaches his limit before the week ends, ambushing Sachi when she was using the dummies of the training grounds. He would need to get this done with, since the orphanage had a curfew, but he was so fucking done with her.

All that teasing, all those jokes, all those damned schemes to attract attention to them has made his life hell. Kasui retained information well enough, and he got the concepts down quickly, but now he had to actually study and do his homework because his asshole teacher had blacklisted him.

That Inuzuka damned Sachi.

"You," Kasui says, and his carefully crafted control snaps at the sight of that smirk. "Stop this."

Sachi innocently looks back at him. "Stop what?"

"I know what you're doing." Kasui scowls. Sachi was messing with him, treating him like a joke. "Stop. It."

Sachi's cheer dies down in an instant, and Kasui feels trapped. She takes a few steps forward, and she's fucking tall. She hovers over him, her hair hanging down and shadowing her golden eyes. She emanates heat like the pits of hell, and Kasui can't run away.

(That's the moment Kasui realizes that her eyes are too bright, too unnatural to belong to a normal person.

He knows, and yet, he is drawn to them. A month to a flame, a bee to honey, a fly to a venus trap.)

"Let's make a deal," Sachi offers.

"What?"

"A deal, between you and me," she repeats, drawing back but staying near. "Mutually beneficial, of course."

Of course. Nothing sounded so suspicious coming from her mouth.

"... yeah sure."

Apparently, Sachi was even crazier than Kasui previously thought. He knew that she had a few screws loose, but he was not going to get involved with a madwoman.

"I'm serious. We want the same thing," Sachi continues to bargain.

"You know what?" Kasui sighs, exhausted all of a sudden. "I don't want to hear it."

Kasui turns around, willing to run away and scream, if need be, but she stops him with only one sentence.

"You want to live."

Kasui looks back, shocked. "... did you hit your head…?"

Sachi isn't insulted. "Aeka Kasui." The way she says his name it's nothing short of foreboding. "You are intelligent, with a good memory and good chakra control. But you don't stand out, you don't do more than the bare minimum. Do you hope that remaining unnoticed will assure you a quiet life?"

"What do you know about living, Inuzuka?" Kasui challenges, scathing. "You don't have the slightest idea how it is to live without support, don't try to play—"

Sachi's smile grows wider. "You think that being average will keep you alive. If you graduate from the Academy, you will have a job for life. And after a few years of service, you can retire to do work in-village, avoiding threats and getting out of the orphanage."

"You—"

How did she know? Was he that transparent?

"But being average means becoming cannon fodder, you know? You might want to live quietly, but you will become a shinobi, and you will be called to fight," she says, almost cheerful. "What will you do, then? When you've spent all your life striving to have your head just above the water? Won't you drown, when the moment comes?"

Doom settles over Kasui, but he can't back away. Sachi's words are his worst nightmare. Orphaned children had only two ways of having a life outside of misery; going into the Academy or into the Guilds. The Academy was the best option, because at least it paid well enough to live off by yourself and serving only the Hokage instead of the Guild Master.

How, how did she know? How did this girl in front of him know what he was trying to do? Was he that obvious?

"What an interesting face you made, Kasui-kun," she chuckles. "Thing is, you aren't average, and you know it. You have potential, but you're wasting it, so you don't risk being seen."

"So… so what? So what?!" Kasui snaps. "It won't matter, I just need to get out of there. I don't need anything else, and certainly not you."

"Oh? But you haven't heard my terms, yet," Sachi hums, not bothered. "I need you, Kasui-kun, as you need me."

"... is that a confession? U-um… I don't see you in that way. Like, ever."

Her face falls for a moment. "Disgusting. As I was saying, let's make a deal. Let's graduate together."

Kasui's brain goes blank.

Inuzuka's had the reputation of being a clan full of crazies, but Sachi beat them all. "...oh Sage…"

"Listen. You won't graduate at this rate, and neither will I."

That interests him. "How do you know that? I've passed all my tests."

"Yes, but they're also reviewing our bonds without teammates," she says, revolted. "You're as alone as I am, but you're being passive, so they won't hesitate to drop you off."

"Big talk for the Inuzuka bastard," he throws back. "You can't even use chakra, why would I trust you?"

He hit a nerve, but the girl played it off anyway. "Because I'm your only chance. It's true that I cannot use chakra efficiently, but I have my ways. You, however, are playing a role that will get you killed faster than put on a team with idiots."

"And what? You're suggesting that I go with you, another idiot, so I might have a chance at... graduating? I will graduate, with or without your help."

"You haven't," Sachi points put. "You have the skills, but you haven't graduated early. I'll tell you what, you're afraid. You're so afraid of failure that you will rather cut your chances short than risk it. But what if… what if I can promise you that you will have a successful career?"

"... how?"

"I have my ways," she smiles. "Think about it."

.

"Kasui-kun, you're falling behind. I didn't think you struggled so much, perhaps you should do better in Class Four."

Kasui nods to Gentaru-sensei, thinking about ways to shove his pencil so far up his hairy nostrils that he will reach the brain and kill him.

"I'll do better, sensei," he bows his head and makes his way to the middle row, where Sachi is seated.

She's smiling.

"I hate you," Kasui greets in a low tone, avoiding others eavesdropping. "You're dead if you're lying."

"I always keep my promises, Kasui."

.

And that's how Aeka Kasui found himself in the company of Inuzuka Sachi. After agreeing to make a deal, Sachi told him the details.

"The teachers have started to target you—"

"Thanks to you."

"— so you can't half-ass your tests and homework anymore, same goes for conditioning. You'll need to study more."

"I already know the curriculum, you know?"

Kasui was far from a genius, but he had a knack for figuring out the answers that the proctor wanted answered. Memorizing information wasn't as useful as understanding it, and the library was open every day.

"Yes, but it won't be enough. The teachers are going to try to make you fail, probably make you do the tests twice."

"Eh? That's unfair."

"Tell me about it," Sachi rolls her eyes. "I have some notes I can give you, so don't worry. Next is conditioning, this… I think you can agree we can do better."

"I'm not the one that gets beaten every class," he points out.

Kasui did alright in combat, since the teachers didn't care as long as his stances were good. Sachi, however, had become a regular to the nurse's office.

"Wait until you get paired with a Hyūga," she mutters. "You've fallen from grace, now you get to be the punching bag of the chosen ones."

"You mean, you dragged me with you."

She smiles, unashamed. "If you wanted to be favored you should have done it before I came. Conditioning can be resolved with training, so that's covered. I know someone who might help us, so that's covered too."

"But…"

"Ninja arts," Sachi finishes, frowning.

"The great Inuzuka Sachi's weakness."

"Shut up."

Kasui didn't like her, not even remotely, but it was… refreshing to talk freely with someone. Being a background character meant that you had to always play that role, lest someone notices you and decides to kill you, but…

Not with her.

(Was that how it felt to have a friend?)

"It's not my fault my body is fucked up, but I'll find a way. I know how to graduate from this year, but I'll need you in fifth and sixth grade."

"... that sounds weird. You need me to tutor you in ninja arts? And why me? Arisu-kun is much better than I am."

The mention of the Uchiha puts a sour expression on her face. Sachi and Arisu got along like cats and dogs, which was strange considering the Uchiha was actually well mannered. Kasui could notice the forced politeness that all Uchiha were taught, and Arisu was the same, bastard or not. Yet, when those two were together, they were the worst.

Not that it ever fell on Arisu.

"You're good at ninjutsu, I've seen you. Above average chakra control," Sachi tells him.

"You saw me?" Kasui asks, slightly suspicious.

"If you didn't want to be found out you shouldn't use chakra to keep your glasses stuck to your face."

He becomes flustered before he can't stop himself. "H-how did you know?!"

"Your glasses are too big for you," she states plainly. "It's only logical to use chakra, isn't it? It's better than using tape, more discreet, too."

"Do you always know everything? Why do you notice these things?"

They had been kicked out of class again, and profiting from the free time, they started laying out their plans. Kasui didn't trust Sachi, because who would, in normal circumstances? A girl he hasn't ever met before, who is known for being a troublemaker, suddenly goes up to him to strike a deal that would raise his rank to jōnin. It was as shady as it could get, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Sachi was going to really go through with it.

She was truly smart, when not making life impossible for others, and that's what scared him.

Because who would choose him? Out of all people?

"Hmm, dunno. I just do, the devil's in the details or so the saying goes. For now, we need to graduate from fourth grade, and start preparing for the advanced exams for fifth grade."

"You're planning that far ahead?" Kasui questions. "Shouldn't we first graduate from this grade?"

"Nu-uh. We'll have only four months to surpass the exams, since fifth and sixth grade have a mandatory period before you can take the advanced exams. We'll have to wrap both years in eight months, we need all the time we can get."

"...you're serious about this," he observes.

"Of course I am," Sachi huffs, then reaches under the sleeves of her haori and pulls out a scroll. Kasui recognizes it as a retaining scroll, his eyes bulging at the sight. Unconcerned about his surprise, Sachi unseals a thick notebook and gives it to him. "Here."

Kasui takes it in his confusion, not really sure what to do with it. "What…?"

"My notes. It's all you need to know about history, and this one…" She unseals another notebook, thinner but still big. "Chakra theory and ninja arts. This one is physics, biology, geography…"

As Sachi unseals more and more notebooks, Kasui starts to become uneasy. "What are these for?"

"You're asking so many questions. Studying, of course. These are notes that will be useful for taking the exams, it covers every possible question, ah, it's the yellow star, see? You'll need to know this if you want to take the exams with me."

"All this?" There were hundreds of pages, with different colors, annotations, and even spreadable maps. "For just the exams?"

"Yep," she smiles. "They're easy to understand, I made them for you."

"Thank you," Kasui says, on reflex. "Wait, what? All of this?" he asks again.

"Yes, for fuck's sake, pay attention. It'll take longer for you to read the books, so I synthesized them." Did she insult him? Sachi wasn't mocking him, regarding him with a little exasperation. But it sure sounded like she was implying he was slow.

"Let's start."

Kasui didn't have the slightest clue about what that meant.

(He was saved, and he didn't know it. The effects of their deal will go beyond just partnership. It will change the course of Fate.)

.

A month passes, and Kasui feels alive.

Working with Sachi is… kind of fun.

She was insufferable most days, but surprisingly serious when it came to studying. He had heard the rumors about the genius from the Inuzuka clan, but he hadn't believed them. For the sake of survival, Kasui had tried to stay away as much as possible from those kinds of characters, the type to attract attention.

But Sachi was much more than that. She was smart, true, but there was something wrong with her. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, her presence strange.

Unnatural.

(A ghost pretending to be alive.)

Inuzuka Sachi was a bad-mouthed girl that was too smart for her own good. Adopted by a Clan Head, from a place that no one knew, and with a past even more closed off. Kasui didn't care, he knew just how much people liked to gossip, but he would be very stupid if he didn't know something was off about her.

By all means, he should have broken off their deal as soon as Sachi presented him with a mountain of books. Instead, he stayed.

"Here."

Kasui doesn't try to argue with Sachi, and so he takes the cookies she gives him. They've been staying in the library after hours and during classes, since they could use the training grounds afterwards. At first, Kasui had been uneasy to skip classes, but he soon stopped caring once Gentaru-sensei told him he was stupid.

"You are not stupid," Sachi told him, with such a tone that made Kasui feel scolded.

He chose to believe in Sachi, if only to prove that he shouldn't.

Also, the cookies were damn good.

"It's not pity," she commented when he tried to refuse her snacks. "You're useless to me if you don't take care of your body. Get any scrawnier and you might disappear."

Which was very rich coming for a girl skinny as a twig and tall as the trees.

Kasui peers down at the notes. "Uzumaki Mito sealed the Nine Tails?"

"With some help, yes," she answered. "Using fūinjutsu to restrain a chakra being, creating the jinchūriki… And starting the power race that ended in the Second War."

"Why don't they teach us this stuff?"

"Because they don't want you to know," Sachi says simply. "If they did, they would admit that Leaf was responsible for the Second War, and the repercussions would have compromised Fire Country."

"It's business," Kasui decides.

Sachi smiles at him when he gets something right, and Kasui can't help but mirror it. "Exactly. Though, they will only subtract points if you put that in the exam."

"Even though it's true?"

"Especially if it's true."

Kasui takes another cookie, careful not to leave any crumbs behind or they would be discovered. "You have this all figured out."

"Pretty much, yeah."

Modesty was not one of Sachi's strongest suits.

Sachi was busy writing whatever in another notebook that Kasui knew it was for him. He had been… touched, that someone would do something like that for him. That gentle feeling had gone away once he discovered that Sachi had taken for granted that he would accept and prepared early.

That was another gift that the chosen ones had. Confidence. Sachi wasn't afraid of failure or consequences. She didn't care that anytime she fought with Arisu she was avoided even more, or that when she crossed the teachers, they would give her harder homework. She took it all and smiled through it.

Kasui envied her.

"The bell will ring soon," Sachi notes, looking at the shadow of the sun.

Sachi proceeds to unseal the books into her scroll. They had agreed that it would be better that way, since carrying nondescript academic material in the Academy will catch the eye of the teachers. Confiscation was not something Sachi and Kasui were looking for, and there was the safety issue as well.

Apparently, Sachi had read all the genin sections in the Academy and summarized it, which could get them in trouble if word got out. People were not allowed to take out books from the library, and all studying was reserved to the rooms dedicated for it or acquiring the books yourself. Only Sachi would memorize them and then write very detailed notes about them.

Technically, it wasn't plagiarism; or so Sachi argued.

They get to their classroom in time for the bell to ring, officially allowed to step in. Gentaru-sensei isn't happy to see them, or on any other occasion. He went past them, but Sachi couldn't help herself.

"Working hard, sensei?" Sachi cheekily greets him

He doesn't answer, but the glare he gives is enough.

"Why do you do that?" Kasui whispers, annoyed.

"I enjoy their pain," she snarks back.

"You're the only one that gets hurt," Kasui says after her, but she's already going ahead.

Damn her long legs. She was a full head taller than him, and every day that passed she seemed to grow an extra inch.

"Ugh, smells like mutt in here," Uchiha Arisu says the moment she sees Sachi.

"Take a bath someday, Arisu-kun, it might help you."

The Uchiha goes beet red, and she opens her mouth to start a long rant of very nasty words directed at Sachi that she graciously delivers back.

Kasui, used to this kind of behavior by now, goes to his seat and waits for those two to stop bickering. Had they been in the yard they would have started throwing punches, but at least they were sensible enough to only insult each other.

One thing that came with working with Sachi was loneliness.

People started avoiding him once he began spending time with her. Kasui and Sachi weren't particularly friendly towards each other since he was busy going through her notes and she was scheming. People saw what they wanted, and because they didn't like Sachi, they didn't like Kasui either.

Kasui wasn't hurt by that, he had done the same before striking the deal, but it made him study harder. He would prove them wrong, because he had a chance at surviving when they would wilt and wither in his shadow.

Life was unfair, but Kasui could be as well.

"One day you're going to regret it," Kasui tells her once Sachi finishes her verbal battle for the day, grinning victoriously.

(That day was approaching fast.)

Sachi dismisses him as always. "Whatever."

Leaving the Academy has become harder. Kasui was an orphan and so he was bound to the rules of the orphanage. They didn't allow for children any kind of freedom, and there were harsh punishments for those that skipped curfew.

Kasui, being a good student, was allowed a few extra hours in the afternoon to study, which he spent with Sachi doing physical conditioning. She was from a clan, and so she had more techniques and stances that weren't available to clanless people, much less orphans.

Once they finished, they would recover by eating whatever she brought that day. "Nutrition is important."

Today was no different, except that Sachi had brought an arm length sandwich and muffins. "Hmm… you can take the notes with you, if you want."

"No," he says immediately. "It's best if you keep them."

"You don't want to study at night?"

"No."

Sachi doesn't press, and she stretches beside him. "We should train harder."

"We're doing fine," Kasui replies.

"We need to be better. The test for sixth grade is going to be hellish, Hyūga and Akimichi are going to be there." she shivers.

"Then… what do we do?" he asks her. It was her plan after all.

"Tomorrow we don't have class," she says, getting up and making her way out of the Academy's grounds. "I'll pick you up!"

Before he knows it, she's gone.

.

The orphanage is located on the upper level but hidden from view. Where it once had been Uzumaki Mito's personal grounds, an orphanage was built to harbor the children of the soldiers that died in war. Due to this, they were on the outskirts of the village, outside of the gates and protected by a shield of thick Hashirama trees that had some sort of seals in them.

Not that it mattered.

Kasui walked the path to the orphanage with forced acceptance. He didn't have connections nor any means to live by himself, so he was discarded as a leech until he proved himself in the field. He came to terms with this very young, the nuns far from saintly, but it wasn't something he liked to think about.

That was his cross, and he would bear it.

The orphanage was an old building, made by Hashirama in his last days. You could see the heartbreak in how the bark of the tree was dark and dull, dry, and hollow. Wider than it was tall, it had three levels and a courtyard. There was nothing special about it, and despite having spent all his life there, Kasui couldn't see it as home.

There was not an ounce of warmth in it.

"Write your name."

Kasui follows the nun's order, putting his name and the hour he came back in the giant attendance book. Orphans weren't allowed to roam the village freely, their existence shameful and a reminder to the rich nobles and clans that the village had suffered losses and weren't as good as they thought in war.

In the orphanage, Kasui continued to blend in the background. He never gave the nuns troubles and went with their orders and rules no matter how stupid and abusing they were. In exchange, the nuns let him have a little more leeway than others and were willing to overlook him. Here, where all their movements were monitored, that was a blessing.

"Oi, why are you so late?" One of his roommates asked him. He was older than him and attending the Guilds. "Aren't ya hungry?"

Thanks to Sachi he has been able to avoid the lunch rush. Eating at midday was an everyday battle that he didn't always win, but now he had a full belly and didn't need to worry about going hungry.

He needed to avoid as many people as he could.

"More for us!" Another one said from the top bunk.

The orphanage was ever so crowded. People didn't see the need to adopt children from a ninja village, they would enlist either way, and so they let them rot in that damned building, away from their pretty gardens. They were separated by gender, and with four or six children per room. The nuns didn't consider how they got along, or if children beat their roommates for the meal ticket every day.

"Yeah!" The third one exclaimed, slapping Kasui's back hard. "Let's go, we need to go back."

His roommates soon left, the Guilds were unpaid apprenticeships, and so they worked in the evenings too. Kasui dropped onto his bed, exhausted.

He only had a cupboard worth of belongings, mainly clothes that only fit him because of his small size, toiletries, and stationery. His roommates didn't need them, Guilds' focusing on manual labor, and it wasn't as if they knew how to write either way.

Didn't mean that they didn't search for valuables anyway.

No, he couldn't bring the notes with him. If they saw him with books, his roommates won't hesitate to steal them and sell them; or snitch to the nuns so they can get an extra meal ticket.

Kasui had a plan, and it was to get out of the orphanage as soon as possible. If that meant he had to accept the crazy deal of a strange Inuzuka, he would take it.

Sachi had promised him to graduate early and stay with him until they made jōnin.

That was the only thing he wanted.

"I hope it works."

.

Knock.

Kasui gets up briskly, the nun in charge entering a second later before he grabs his glasses and stands to attention with his roommates. It wasn't time for them to get up, breakfast at least two hours away.

Maybe one of them was getting adopted?

"Kasui-kun." The nun spoke monotal, and he was surprised to hear his name from her. He was convinced that half the staff didn't know him. "You have a visitor."

His roommates glared at him as if he was the devil.

"Thank you, sister Mei."

The nun nodded and left, Kasui not wasting any time to change his clothes and bolt from his room before the other boys took their frustrations on him.

The orphanage was silent, not a soul allowed after they were put to bed, but he took advantage of it to wash himself as quickly as possible and make his way downstairs.

Sachi was waiting for him.

"You look disappointed," she greets him, smiling. "Ready?"

The nuns were watching him.

"Yes. Thank you for coming."

"Not a problem, we're friends, right?" Sachi puts an arm around his shoulders when he gets near enough. "Is everything alright, Mei-san?"

"It is, Inuzuka-san."

"We'll be leaving now, then! Oh, Kasui is going to be spending all day with me, I hope it's alright?"

"As long as you vouch for him."

"Great! Kasui is my friend, so of course I'll vouch for him. We Inuzuka are very loyal," she smiles politely, urging him forward. "Let's go."

Sachi doesn't let him go until they reach the entrance of the orphanage's property, and even then, she leans down to whisper. "That was fucking creepy."

"What were you thinking!"

"I told you I was picking you up today," she reminds him, glancing back just in case. "Damn, how can you live like that?"

"Have I offended you with my humble ways, Inuzuka-san?"

She ruffles his hair and pushes him away. "I'm saying you deserve better. Are they always like that, the nuns?"

"Like that, how?"

"Blank? Like puppets?"

"What were you expecting, that they were going to be loving and kind?"

Maybe he didn't need to be so snappy, but it wasn't even the crack of dawn and Sachi was awfully awake at that time of day.

"My, Kasui, I thought of you as an early bird."

Kasui was going to kill her one day.

"Before you try to kill me." Damn her. "Let's get going."

"Where?"

"You'll see."

"Being mysterious doesn't suit you," he snarks, gaining another friendly shove. "How did you get permission to let me out so early?"

"I put my name forward, who would've thought that I'm so well known."

Sachi wasn't important, but Inuzuka Ashi was. The orphanage ought to be in the good graces of all clans, especially the big ones. To let Sachi, the adopted daughter of the Clan Head of the Inuzuka, befriend a poor orphan would only do them good. By Sachi's mischievous grin, she knew that.

Kasui smiled back. "I feel honored to be in your presence, Inuzuka-sama."

"Ugh, you're creepier than the nuns. Off you go!"

They make their way to the lower level. Few people were up that early in the morning, only the ninjas using the branch ways and some poor genin milling around. Not even the merchants had opened their business yet.

"Why so early?" he asks when they reach one of the main streets of the lower level.

"We need to start training in earnest, I needed to take you out as soon as possible."

"... you didn't answer me."

Kasui wasn't familiar with that part of the village, but Sachi travelled between the streets and alleys confidently. Soon enough, they went deeper still, and he noticed tall fences and spread-out houses.

Clan districts.

"Um—"

Kasui wasn't allowed to go there. Only classmen or people that had business with the clans were to travel that part of the village. It was a way to keep the civilian population and the shinobi one separated, avoiding conflicts and clashes between their lifestyles. Kasui, for all intents and purposes, was a civilian. He might be attending the Academy, but an orphan was as hopeless as one could be.

To be in the clan district was a reality check he didn't want to experience.

"Sachi…?"

"Here we are," she cuts him off, stopping at a pair of gates painted in crimson and grey. "Kasui, look at me."

He does, his mind devoid of any thought for the moment. Sachi grabs him unexpectedly, and gently rubs her hands on his cheeks as if she was petting a dog. He didn't have time to be flustered, as Sachi took him by the hand and dragged him along.

"Don't worry. I won't let the wolves get to you."

(Kasui didn't know what that promise meant.)

The Inuzuka clan grounds were… quite plain. Kasui had envisioned great displays of wealth, maybe a hidden temple or two, but there were mainly houses and open spaces. They were walking down a stony path, accompanied by a few quiet howls. Sachi was still holding onto him, but he didn't feel the need to snatch his hand back. If anything, he wanted to stay as close as possible.

They were out in the open. Who was watching them? Was he allowed to be there? Were they going to be in trouble? It was too early, wasn't it? What was he even doing there—?

"I want you to introduce you to someone," Sachi tells him before they get to the biggest house in the compound. She slides the door and takes a deep breath. "I'M BACK!"

"TOO EARLY!" comes the shrieking response that chills Kasui to the bones.

Oh Sage. He had made a great mistake.

The house was new and well cared for. Nothing to compare to the cold and gloomy shades of the orphanage; and the warmth was enough to put him at ease, if only momentarily before Sachi told him to get his shoes off and follow her once more.

They take a set of hallways, Kasui too busy looking around to notice he was being led right to the wolf's den. The Inuzuka had small carpets on the floors, silencing their footsteps, and the walls had suspicious marks, like scratches and ridges.

Is that how ninja lived? Where were the torture rooms? And the weapons hanging on the walls?

"Ah, Sachi."

Kasui trips, startled by the voice. Deep and smooth, it belonged to a woman that he had only heard of.

Inuzuka Ashi.

Sachi had taken them to her room or office, and she was looking at them from the center of it, her hound by her side and glaring intensely at him.

Kasui was going to die today.

"Ashi," the fearless girl greets. "I brought him here."

Oh no.

Sachi was going to have him killed, and that dog was going to eat him. Kasui had lived ten years, none of which were particularly good or pleasant, but dying by having his bones chewed out was just so fitting for him.

"He's smaller than I thought," the dog said.

The dog talked.

Kasui started praying for the Sage, Asura and Indra and whatever might be listening to make it a quick death. The dog had complained about his body, because of course the one that had to eat him would be disappointed that he had barely any meat on his bones, let alone to fill its stomach.

"We're working on that."

Kasui turned sharply to Sachi. Did she plan to fatten him up and then feed him to the dog?

The woman, who hadn't said anything more, smiled at him when their eyes met. She was broad and had dark short hair, but he wasn't going to be fooled; her aura was enough to put him in place. As expected, clan ninja were another breed altogether.

"What's your name, darlin'?"

"A-aeka Kasui, ma'am."

Ashi blinks, surprised, before she lets out a bark of laughter. "Ma'am! You heard that? My, so polite," she says, ruffling his hair like it's nothing. "You should learn from him, Sachi."

She praised him! A Clan Head praised him!

"Nice to meet ya, Kasui-kun. I'm Ashi, and my partner is Haiiro."

Partner? Was she married to the dog? Did the Inuzuka have that kind of relationship with their dogs? That's why they were called Inuzuka—?

"It's an honor to meet you, Ashi-sama, Haiiro-sama."

"An honor! An honor, he says!" Ashi laughs, and it's like an earthquake going through his body. "Sage, it's refreshing to see youngsters be so polite."

Sachi is giving him a look that says, 'I'm seeing right through your bullshit', smiling down at him like the bastard she was. "It's because he's starstruck, you should hear how he talks to me. No respect at all."

Bitch.

Ashi, the saint that she was, didn't take offense that he insulted her daughter on a daily basis, nodding understandingly. "Yes, yes. Let's eat first and then we can begin."

"... begin…?"

Ashi and Haiiro exited the office, Sachi and Kasui at their heels as they went down the hallway once more. The house was spacious, but somehow quiet. As if there were supposed to be more people than there currently were.

There was food on the table, and Kasui gaped at the sight. It smelled divine, which reminded him that he hadn't had the chance to eat breakfast before Sachi picked him up. Sachi took him by the hand again, making him sit beside her.

"Don't manhandle him, Sachi."

Inuzuka Ashi was an angel.

"He's just going to stand there if I don't."

Inuzuka Sachi was a demon.

Ashi gives him an apologetic look, taking a seat at the head of the table. "Don't mind her, Kasui-kun."

"Ah… it's okay…"

No, it was not.

Ashi took a bite from a sandwich that was on a platter, and Sachi took another and put it on his own plate. "First rule, Ashi is alpha and so she eats first, then goes Tsume— I'll introduce you later, then Kegawa and then we. Okay?"

"...eh?"

"Sachi," Ashi sighs. "Kasui-kun is a guest, he doesn't have to follow the eating order."

Eating order? Was that to decide when he was going to be eaten?

"Kasui is my friend, he's going to be coming here a lot. He needs to know."

Since when did Sachi decide his life for him?

The Inuzuka Clan Head wasn't fooled but didn't say anything about the matter. Instead, she asked him, "She's quite difficult, isn't she?" Kasui wanted to cry. Ashi was the only one that understood him.

"Oi, I'm right here. Kasui, you should eat now."

Kasui didn't want to appear rude in front of a Clan Head. He wasn't familiar with what kind of etiquette the Inuzuka clan used, and he didn't want to offend the Clan Head the first time he met her. Currently, he was in her clan grounds, and Ashi had the power to do all sorts of things to him without being held accountable.

If she wanted, she could kill him right then and there. Kasui takes a bite from the sandwich.

"Thank you."

.

Kasui didn't eat too much at breakfast, not wanting to appear as a starved orphan, but he soon regretted it when he realized what Sachi had planned for them.

"Darlin', your stance's too wide. You ain't going to stand a punch like that…"

Physical conditioning.

AKA legal beatings.

Ashi had agreed to train them for the day, and after running through the woods — the Inuzuka private forest— they were to go against Ashi. Sachi had warned him to not hold back or Ashi would be mad. Kasui, apprehensive to be hostile, had tried showing off his technical skills.

It was useless. Ashi had swiped his feet once and made his world spin, from there, it was a world of pain.

The Inuzuka Clan Head had been welcoming until that point, but when it came to training, she was ruthless. She didn't like them fooling around and didn't allow for stupid mistakes. If they did, she would make them run laps.

The only thing that soothed his bruised pride was that Sachi was doing much worse than him. She was folded in half on the ring and had no intention of moving for the next five minutes.

"Sachi, we've talked 'bout this."

She doesn't answer, and Kasui feels a spiteful satisfaction to see her being dominated for once. Kasui fixes his glasses, the sun glaring down at them from the clearing in the canopies. It was nice to feel sunshine on your skin, so rare in the orphanage that was under a dome of thick, dead branches.

The pain was worth it, even if he only got to do this once.

"Let's end it for today."

Kasui didn't have the strength to answer Ashi, letting Haiiro pick at his corpse if he wanted. Sachi was feeling the same, as she only let out a groan when Ashi untangled her and said, "I'll finish my work, you can go and play some more."

Ashi and Haiiro left soon after, leaving the children behind to gather their wits.

"Sachi…" Kasui calls to her. "You were right."

He should have eaten more and drank more water. Probably accepted those amazing cookies that Sachi had put on his plate.

"Heh… at least she didn't take the kunais this time."

"Ashi-sama is a very scary kunoichi," he states, ignoring her previous remark.

"I know," she hisses, getting up carefully and extending a hand to him. He takes it. "We'll need to get to her level someday."

Oh, Sage's beard, Sachi was serious about their deal. "Is it okay?"

"Okay, what?"

"For me, to be here? Ashi-sama isn't mad at you because you brought me here, right?"

"If I said that she was mad, what would you do?" Sachi questions, and her eyes are expressionless. "Not come here because you aren't an Inuzuka, despite me giving you permission? Train by yourself? Break off our deal?"

"W-what?"

Just like that, her intense gaze broke off with a kind smile. "Kasui, you're too easy to tease. I'll tell you because I like you, stop worrying about others. You aren't less because you don't have parents, your strength is your own."

The words are strangely profound, and it touches something deep inside his heart that he hasn't dared to ponder about. Sachi, unfazed by his emotional turmoil, smudges the dirt from his cheeks. "I'm an orphan too, Kasui. The world won't give you nothing, you have to take it."

They were the same, didn't they? Alone but resourceful, they were fated to fight for survival when others had safety nets. Kasui nods, and Sachi smiles honestly at him. Kasui lets Sachi take his hand, but this time, he grabs it too.

He would take everything from the world, starting with Sachi.

.

"Here," Kasui takes the clothes Sachi puts on his arms by instinct. "Go take a bath."

"Do I stink that bad?"

"Yes," she says, blunt. "And so do I. Inuzuka have sensitive noses, and Tsume is really sensitive to sweat. Trust me, you don't want to see her mad."

Kasui really didn't.

"I think you're treating me like a doll, Sachi."

"You don't have a change of clothes here, yet, so we have to make do. It's regular issue clothes, so you don't have to worry about lace and stuff."

He wasn't sure if Sachi was joking or if she was serious. Sachi was smart, but Kasui had the impression that she didn't know how human beings usually behaved. Deciding that it would take much more energy to argue with her, he took the clothes and thanked her.

She beamed at him, proud of herself. "The bathroom is at the end of the right hallway, pick any of the towels in the third rack."

Kasui took his sweet time in the bathroom, making sure to scrub himself clean. Bathing was a five-minute affair in the orphanage, sometimes even less when it was crowded. They were separated by age, but you were still vulnerable.

Here, Kasui didn't have to worry about washing himself with his back to the wall or worrying about fog on his glasses because he needed to see who was around him. It was… nice, the safety.

The clothes Sachi lent him were a little big for him, but they were shinobi wear, and so Kasui wasn't bothered by it. Clothes that the orphanage distributed didn't fit either, or it was much worse quality than this. He did feel a little flustered when Sachi had put a brand-new set of unisex underwear, but he wasn't about to look at the horse in the mouth.

He wasn't sure what to do with his dirty clothes, and so he picked them up and exited the bathroom, immediately running face first into someone.

"I'm sorry, Ashi-sama—"

But it wasn't Ashi. Another woman, similar to Ashi but with wilder hair and a very, very big belly stood in front of him. She was puzzled for a minute before she bared his teeth in the most ferocious grin he had ever seen.

"Oh? You got lost, pup?"

Kasui didn't catch the pet name, but it felt very much like a threat. The hound at her side wasn't looking friendly either, like Haiiro but fully black instead of grey.

Where was Sachi when you needed her?

"I-I'm Aeka Kasui, ma'am!" he said hastily, bowing low to the grow and fumbling with his glasses before they fell off. "It's an honor to meet you!"

The woman let the silence stretch before she burst out into laughter. Kasui felt a hand sneak under his chin and pick his head up, lowering her head to look at him directly in the eyes. "You've got that brat's scent on you," she says, taking a not-so-subtle sniff too close to his throat. "You're polite, so I'm gonna let ya go. Laundry room's at the other side of the house."

"Hmph." the dog says, scenting him like his partner. "Ashi's at it again."

"This one's Sachi's, isn't that right?"

Kasui nodded, not sure about her question. He bowed again and the scary pregnant woman left with her dog. The house was a very strange one, not that Kasui had previous experience with what a true household was supposed to be like.

"Did you see a ghost or something?" Sachi asked, now deciding to appear when the danger was gone. "Ah, right. The laundry room is on the other side of the house."

"Right. Who lives here, apart from Ashi-sama and you?"

"Tsume, that's Ashi's sister, with Kuromaru, and Kegawa."

"Is Tsume-sama… pregnant?"

"Yes!" Sachi confirms, excited. "How did you know?"

Kasui had bumped into the Clan Head's sister. Maybe the Sage truly hated him.

"Don't stand around like that." Sachi slapped him on the back lightly, saying "Come on, go leave your clothes, we need to study."

The boy, not wanting to bump into another Inuzuka member, decided to quietly go to the laundry room. Afterward, with his heart at ease, he took the same corridor to Sachi's room. She had pointed it out to him when they first entered, so he was confident that he could reach it in one piece.

"Oi."

Except, he didn't.

A strange sensation of deja vú swept over him as he looked over at the figure standing an inch behind him. Weren't Inuzuka supposed to be the human equivalent of tambourines? Remembering Sachi's words, he decided that the man was Tsume's human partner.

"Kuromaru-sama, it's—"

The man glared at him with such force that Kasui's glasses slipped from his nose, and he barely caught them before they shattered to the floor. His voice was gritted and ragged, and not at all happy. "Do I look like a dog to you?"

Kasui bit his tongue, because he wanted to say yes. Sachi was a very bad influence on him. His hesitation was enough, as a visible vein popped out on his neck and his lips went down in a terrifying scowl.

There wasn't a moment in Kasui's life that made him want to go back to the orphanage, but the stand-off with the male Inuzuka came pretty fucking close.

"Ugh, you reek like her," he grumbles, walking past him. "Goddamn brat—"

"Sage almighty…" Kasui sighs, sliding the door open to Sachi's room before another Inuzuka hunts him down.

Kasui's first impression of Sachi's room was that it had to be the most frigid room someone had the misfortune to step in. They were at the end of winter, and Fire Country isn't a cold country by any means, but Sachi's room was just a breeze away from having frost on the windows.

The room itself was pretty normal, the only thing that truly made it Sachi's was the clutter of books, notebooks and scrolls on every inch of the room. Not even a library had that much paper gathered, making him worried that Sachi was ruining the Inuzuka clan by buying stationery in bulk.

There was a small table at the center of the room, with a familiar tower of books. Kasui took one of the cushions, deeming it too rude to snoop around Sachi's room. He hated when his roommates went through his things, he won't do the same to anyone.

"— dick!" Sachi came into the room, a towel over her head and cussing at whoever was in the hallway. "Gods, Kegawa's a dick," she huffs. "Did you get started?"

"I was waiting for you," he says. "Are you cursing Tsume-sama's dog?"

"What? Nah, Kegawa is Tsume's lover or something like that. He's a bag of flacid dicks that can talk," she says, flopping down in front of him with a huff. "Kuromaru is Tsume's partner, the dog. Like Haiiro but in black, and hungrier."

Oh damn.

Kasui had called Tsume's lover by her dog's name.

"You look pale, you good?"

"It's cold here," Kasui comments, avoiding her question.

"Ah!" Sachi exclaims, reaching into the pockets of her pants and taking out her scroll, the one that was grey with golden edges. "I keep my room cold because I tend to run hot, but I can regulate it…" Unsealing a brush and an inkling, Sachi paints a seal on the floor; much to Kasui's shock.

The room lights up, lines that he hadn't seen flashing and moving, snuffing out a second later. Then, warmth trickled down until Kasui didn't have any more goosebumps.

"Sachi… what the fuck?"

That was fūinjutsu, he was sure of it. There had been an orphan from Uzushio, before he was adopted, and he had known how to draw seals like that. But there was an unmistakable sensation that Kasui saw something he shouldn't have.

She smiles at him, sheepish. "So… I know how to use seals."

"No shit. Sachi—"

"Okay, before you start yelling, which you can by the way, no one's gonna hear you here— I have a gift for you."

Sachi then rummages through the disaster of her room and pulls out a small scroll, dark blue with white edges. She throws it at him, Kasui catching it and staring down at it before it clicks.

"No!" Kasui protests. "Sachi, are you insane?!"

"I made it!"

"I can't have this!" Kausi yells. "It's too expensive!"

"It's a gift!"

"Sachi—!"

"I don't have a license!" Sachi blurts out.

Kasui stops cold. Even him, a forgotten orphan, knew that in order for you to use fūinjutsu you needed a license. Sachi didn't just know seals but had made at least two retaining scrolls and whatever she carved on the walls of her room. That was much more than enough to sentence her, and even execute her for the very serious crime of endangering people with shinobi tools.

Was she fucking mad?

"You're my accomplice," she says, all smug. "We're partners. You aren't going to report me, and as long as it's for private use and I don't sell my seals, it's okay."

"Sachi…" Kasui trails off, completely lost. "Why are you giving me this?"

"I'm bribing you," she replies, nonchalant. "A retaining scroll is useful, and you'll be able to keep your stuff safe. You can take the notes with you and bring a change of clothes here without those creepy nuns asking you why."

"I… are you doing this because of pity?"

He has to ask, because no matter how useful, expensive or lifesaving it was, Kasui won't accept anything out of pity. Sachi's eyes were hard as steel, answering in a cold tone:

"I don't pity you, Kasui, because you don't pity me either. The scroll is yours, and you can burn it if you feel like it. I can make a thousand more and it won't mean anything, and it's not a debt. I'm giving it to you because that's the advantage of having me as a partner," she explains, and then quirks her eyebrow. "We've agreed to use each other, why would you stall? I've dragged you out of bed, fed you forcibly, dressed you in my clothes and paraded you in front of my family. I think this is enough compensation, don't you?"

Sachi was baiting him. Angling for anger to make him accept out of spite, but Kasui had seen right through it. Sachi wasn't as sneaky as she thought she was, and he knew the real reason.

"I won't thank you," he decides. "And I'm keeping this for blackmail, so you know."

She grins. "That's what I wanted to hear. C'mon, open it, see if you like it."

Sachi inched closer, too warm not to notice, yet comforting. Kasui didn't know how to deal with her, because Sachi was fucking weird on a good day but… Using someone for your own benefit, to do anything to reach a goal, Kasui understood that.

She hadn't given the scroll out of pity or friendship or partnership, but because she wanted to help him. Kasui didn't know when she noticed, not that he cared, yet the implications were clear.

'Use me as I use you.'

"Put your hand here." Sachi takes his hand before she finishes the sentence, pressing it flat against the rough paper. "Put your chakra there, like that. Hmm…"

Kasui's chakra is absorbed by the paper, and despite being an awkward feeling, he trusts Sachi. She made a few seals that were lost to him, and before he knew it, the scroll was done.

"There! Now no one will be able to use this besides you. You know how to use it? Wait a second... Here, seal this brush." Kasui takes the brush with a skeptical look. "Okay, to seal something you have to um, wrap the item with chakra so the seal activates. This scroll has individual slots, so there's one item per matrix— that's the circle. Try it."

Following her instructions, Kasui pours chakra into his hands with ease. He had always been able to flow his chakra through his hands, like a river that he could change the course of. The energy went to his fingertips, and he did his best to envelop the brush and then push it against the sheet.

It disappeared.

"I knew you had good chakra control!" Sachi cheers, happy. "That's the easy part. To take things off from a retaining scroll you have to drag the item back with your chakra. You've wrapped it and then moved it, but you need to take it back. Let's see how you do."

Kasui puts his hand on the circle that had the kanji for brush on it. The seal was warm to his skin, and he concentrated on gathering his chakra. Nothing happened. "Reach with your chakra like you would with your hands," Sachi advises him. "You exchange chakra for the item, like paying for it. The price is whatever it costs to wrap the item with your chakra, and—"

The brush appears again.

"... damn," Sachi remarks.

Kasui's fingertips tingle, and excitement bubbles around him. "That was… easy."

"Show off," she grits without malice. "That's above average chakra control for you, so unfair."

Kasui didn't listen to Sachi's teasing, letting the flicker of pride warm him more than any seals of hers would. He did it, and in his first try no less.

Maybe… maybe he could be someone. Maybe there was a chance for him, for them, to succeed.

"I take you like the scroll?" Sachi asks, fishing for praise.

Musing, Kasui says just to annoy her, "The colors are nice."

Sachi punches his arm lightly. "Come on, we have to study. The exams won't pass by themselves."

Kasui looked at Sachi and smiled.

He made the right choice.

(He did.)

.

In the evening, Sachi accompanies Kasui to the orphanage. The boy tries not to be too discouraged when they reach the familiar path, but it's not something he can avoid. They're late as it is.

"Ashi is great, isn't it?" Sachi remarks off handedly.

Kasui agrees. "Yeah. Pretty scary too."

Kasui had assumed all Clan Heads were monsters, who looked down upon those that weren't from their clan. Ashi had welcomed him, and even taught him valuable lessons that no other clan member would even think of telling someone else about, much less an orphan. She was powerful, but not arrogant.

"She cares a lot about you."

Sachi nods. "I know."

Ashi had adopted Sachi, and Kasui couldn't help but be envious of how they got along, as if they were truly a family.

(Why couldn't he have something like that too?)

"She worries a lot, though," Sachi complains half-heartedly. "And gets mad if I don't tell her things… but she loves me, and that's enough."

"Woah… so open," Kasui remarks.

"I don't shy away from what or who I like," she defends herself. "I like you too, you know? That's why I made you a deal."

The warmth that he associates with Sachi tickles him, and Kasui can just look down and let his embarrassment go away. It was true that Sachi didn't hide her love for others. Ashi and Sachi bumped heads, and Inuzuka custom might be, but the message was clear. For her to admit so easily that she liked him made his stomach flutter uncomfortably. Yet, it wasn't a bad feeling.

"Shouldn't ninjas kill all their emotions?" At least it's what they tried to teach them in the Academy.

"Love must be cherished," Sachi states as they climb the little hill where the orphanage was. "I don't want people to die without them knowing that I loved them."

There was a story there; Kasui didn't pry. "Everyone has their quirks, I guess."

Her smile is tainted by nostalgia. "I guess. Ashi likes you too, you know?"

Kasui wouldn't dare to assume. "Isn't it too early to say that?"

"I can tell. She's happy that I found you."

Ashi was in a good mood through dinner and included him in the conversation despite not belonging there. Kasui wasn't sure if she was treating him like any guest or if that was her personality. He didn't let his hopes rise, however.

"She wasn't happy when you told her about our plan," Kasui reminds her.

The Inuzuka alpha had been shocked when Sachi told her that they had a deal to become jōnin together. She had scolded Sachi for conning Kasui into accepting, but she resigned herself when she told her she had already promised. Jōnin was a difficult road to travel, and effort wasn't always enough.

"We can do it," Sachi had answered, not an inkling of doubt in her voice. Kasui couldn't help but agree.

"She worries, that's all," Sachi repeats. "Ah, here we are."

The orphanage was a sore sight for him, quiet because of the late hour. A nun was already waiting for him at the door, and she didn't look glad to see him.

Sachi grabs Kasui's hand and leads the way, a shield between the nun and himself.

"I am very sorry, Mei-san," Sachi begins first with the fakest sweet tone Kasui had ever heard from her. "We were playing, and we lost track of time… I hope Kasui won't get in trouble because of me, I would be very sad!"

"I see, Inuzuka-san," the nun politely acknowledges. "Please be more considerate in the future."

"Considerate? We were just playing!" Sachi questions, aghast. "Kasui is my best friend, and Ashi said it was okay for us to hang out together. Are you implying she's wrong?"

The nun, normally so devoid of emotion, flinched slightly. "Inuzuka-san… it's the rules."

"It can't be helped, if they're the rules…" As if Sachi ever cared about that. "Because I'm the reason my friend came late, you can punish me in his place, right? It wouldn't be fair for Kasui to take the blame when I told him to stay more at my house."

Sachi was throwing bits of information for the keen nun to pick up. Kasui had spent only a day with the Inuzuka, but something was clear, they marked their territory. If the nun proceeded to punish Sachi like she usually did with the other children, a potential scandal would rise. Mai didn't know how highly Ashi regarded Sachi or not, but the orphanage wouldn't dare to raise a hand towards her and risk the Inuzuka's wrath. Sachi could've been the lowliest of Inuzuka, but Ashi's name held a weight difficult to dismiss.

The nun bowed. "We can't do that, Inuzuka-san."

"Then Kasui won't get punished, right?" Sachi presses ruthlessly, waiting until the nun nods. "Great! Ashi would be sad that my only friend got hurt."

Kasui gave Sachi a look that said he knew what she was doing, and Sachi winked at him. She leans and kisses his cheek loudly, attracting the nun's attention. "There! Good night, Kasui. I'll come pick you up tomorrow, 'kay?"

"O...kay."

Sachi waves at him as she leaves, still flustered by the kiss. It was a ruse, to mark him as hers and take the nuns off his back, but Kasui touched his cheek gingerly. That was his life now, it seemed.

"Kasui-kun," the nuns calls, and her tone is dangerous. "Write your name."

For the first time, Kasui writes his name with a smile.

.

Sachi and Kasui get closer in the upcoming weeks. The nuns don't even blink an eye when he comes late in the evening and all but leaves before the sun rises, with or without Sachi. The message was loud and clear, Kasui was Inuzuka Sachi's friend, and whoever had a problem, they would need to discuss it with Sachi first.

One of the many great things about having Sachi as a friend is that she was undefeated in verbal wars. It was easy to let her take care of those that tried to bully them, namely teachers, but he wouldn't let her get too heated.

"Stop arguing with Arisu-kun," Kasui tells her one day in the nurse's office. "We'll graduate soon, she won't be around for that."

Sachi hums, shifting the ice pack from the cheek Arisu punched. "You're right."

Kasui wasn't convinced, saying for good measure, "She's not useful to us."

"Yes, yes. I get it," Sachi huffs, wincing at the pain. "No more petty fights."

"I'll believe it when I see it. How are you feeling?"

"It was just a punch, I've gotten worse."

Kasui didn't like seeing her hurt. They had been improving their ninja arts with Ashi's help, and he had gotten a glimpse of Sachi's condition.

"Sachi! Fuckin' dammit! I told you not to use chakra—" Ashi had exclaimed, distraught.

Kasui was learning a water jutsu from Ashi, and Sachi had tried to try it out. The results were an explosion and an unconscious Sachi that had started seizing. Kasui had gone to her, obviously worried, but she was burning up.

He got scared. There was a reason why Sachi was not a ninja yet, and that was her condition.

"Chakra flows through my blood, sometimes," Sachi explained to him when she came back from her ice bath. Her head kept lolling to one side, her eyes unfocused. "I get hot spells, and my chakra gets all over the place… It's okay. Don't worry."

Yeah sure.

"I'm not going to fight with her again, okay?" Sachi's voice brings Kasui back from his thoughts. "Stop making that face."

Kasui was worried about her. She was reckless with her mind but underestimated her body's endurance. She would only continue to get into petty fights if someone didn't stop her, and as her only friend, it was Kasui's responsibility.

Not that it was an easy task.

"We can leave early, if you want," Kasui offers. "Have Ashi heal you."

One of the many strange things that came with their friendship was the weird rules Ashi and Sachi had. Sachi could only be healed by her or Tsunade-sama, and anytime it happened, Kasui wasn't allowed to be in the room.

Seals were also a touchy subject, but Ashi had only made him promise that he would look after the scroll Sachi gave him. Kasui never asked why, he wasn't in a position to do such a thing, but it troubled him.

"Ashi won't heal a bruise, says it builds character." Sachi gets up slowly. "Today is a great day! I'll show you something really nice today, you'll see."

Her smile is blinding, and Kasui's worries fade away. "Did Kegawa break his neck?"

"As if. That would be the best day of my life, but today is good too."

They exit the nurse's office that had no nurse in it. Sachi was the only one that went there regularly, so the nurse didn't bother with them. Kasui would bring her supplies, mostly ice, so she could treat herself or send a messenger for Ashi, much to Sachi's annoyance.

"We have chakra theory now," Kasui remarks. "Do you think Gentaru-sensei will kick us out today?"

"Hmm, today we get our mock exams back. He'll be interrogating you today, so I think I'm going ahead first."

Ever since they sealed the deal, the teachers had become wary of them. They would keep them apart during exams to make sure they didn't cheat. However, it didn't matter how much prodding they did, or how many proctors or Hyūga assistants they brought, the results were unmistakable.

Kasui was a genius too; or so it looked like.

The notes were a gold mine. Kasui had greedily taken all of them for himself and after thoroughly studying them, his grades rose astronomically. Because of his previous façade, it looked as if a miracle had happened, and he had magically developed a second brain. A highly suspicious strategy, but since Kasui had taken that knowledge for himself, there was no way the teacher could prove he was cheating, no matter how hard they tried pressuring him.

Life was good.

"Sachi-kun, long time no see."

Both children froze; the voice belonged to none other than to the Academy's director. Kasui felt Sachi's chakra become agitated, like the threatening buzz of a wasp.

Shun looked the same as he did, not overly tall, and his glasses hanging low on his nose. He wore a simple tunic in light green, and his greying hair in a ponytail. He had a lazy smile on his lips, meant to calm children, but Sachi was all but baring her teeth at him.

Sachi didn't trust him, Kasui didn't either.

"Shun-san," Sachi politely acknowledges him.

"It has been some time since you have been in my office," he says, his dark eyes finding Kasui. The director smiled, but it wasn't honest. "Ah, you have been busy."

"I take my studies very seriously, Shun-san. My time is precious."

Meaning, fuck off.

"As everyone else's," Shun amends easily. "Seems you have made a friend."

Sachi takes a step forward, her tall figure covering Kasui. "Ashi said that creating bonds with my peers is very important."

"I had not thought you heeded suggestions," he muses.

"Only if they are good," she counters. Sachi was nervous. "Is there something you need, Shun-san?"

The director was a figure Kasui had met only at the welcoming ceremony. He had given his blessing, but he wasn't someone you saw often, at least not in their wing of the Academy. Sachi being so guarded about him meant that Kasui should be too.

"No need to be so hasty, Sachi-kun. I only wanted to make sure you were in good health."

Sachi tensed. "Thank you for your concern, Shun-san. If you'll excuse us, we have to attend class."

Before Sachi could give them a way to escape, Shun san spoke again. "You should greet too, Kasui-kun."

"I'm sorry, Shun-san," Kasui stops, bowing his head a little. "But we don't want to be late for our class."

The director's face doesn't change, yet Kasui has the sensation that his impression of him has changed. He was surprised that the director knew his name, since he had carefully kept himself away from the spotlight, but Shun's tone wasn't one he liked.

"Ah," the director sighs. "Youngsters these days take their studies very seriously. Go ahead then, I do not want to take up too much of your time."

His parting words had some sort of jab that Kasui didn't understand, Sachi taking him by the hand and quickly urging him to leave. When they reach the hallway of their class, Sachi corners him.

"Nara Shun is dangerous," Sachi hisses.

"I know," Kasui admits, watching Sachi's upset expression. "What was that about?"

Sachi clicks her tongue. "He thinks I'm a sociopath."

"That's not true," Kasui frowns.

Sociopaths were unable to experience profound emotions and had to take them in order to get what they wanted. In that regard, Sachi expressed her emotions freely, but only to those she trusted. Kasui had witnessed how Sachi openly admitted loving Ashi, and it was undeniable how she looked at the Clan Head. For that matter, Sachi liked him too, and Kasui would've been able to tell if she was lying to him.

"Why would Shun-san say something like that?"

"Shun-san tried to manipulate Ashi," Sachi whispers in his ear, and Kasui can hear anger. "I don't know what he wants, but he wants me to make a friend."

That was a strange thing to want. What would the director gain from having Sachi make a friend? "Do… Do you think he means you harm?"

"No. I think he wants something from me, but I don't know why," Sachi answers, clearly frustrated. "He's hard to read."

"Yeah…" Shun was a Nara, after all. "What do we do?"

"Don't go to his office," she advises him. "Don't be alone with him."

"It sounds like he's a pedophile…"

"Kasui," Sachi warns him. "The teachers have singled you out, and I know you can face them, but Nara Shun is… He… He tricked me."

If he managed to outsmart Sachi, it meant that Shun would do much worse to Kasui.

Kasui held Sachi's gaze. "I get it."

"Good," she pats him, breaking the nervous atmosphere.

When the bell rings they go into their classroom. Sachi is walking forward like she always does, completely confident and dignified, as if she hadn't been shaking moments before. Kasui is at her side and takes in all the odd glances from their classmates. Kasui didn't shy away from them and met each and every one of them with a bored expression.

They weren't important.

"Tsk, you didn't have enough, mutt?"

Arisu.

She was the one that always started it with her comments, but Sachi followed every time. Yet, Sachi managed to get punished due to her reputation, and Arisu was left alone because of her surname.

However, Arisu had another advantage.

"Ugh, shameless."

"They should get demoted already…"

"Why would someone be with her?"

Friends.

Uchiha Arisu was quite the charming girl. She was favored by the teachers because she would make a fine kunoichi someday. With a natural talent for ninjutsu, especially Uchiha techniques, she was on her way to becoming someone important.

Kasui hadn't had any bad interactions with her until that point, and anytime they were paired together she had been even nice to him, not bringing up his orphan status or bland personality.

Choosing Sachi was to go against Arisu and the rest of the class.

"Heh," Sachi shakes her head and goes ahead, passing Arisu like she was dirt on the side of the road. Sachi would have taken revenge for hurting her, but this time she walks away.

Arisu, flabbergasted, yells, "W-what are you doing?! Didn't you hear me?!"

Sachi takes a seat. "I did."

"Then? Why aren't you saying something like you always do, huh? I hit—"

"Not interested," Sachi mutters, and pointedly looks at Kasui. "Gentaru-sensei sure takes his time today."

"Yeah, so strange," Kasui says in the same neutral tone. Arisu, not comprehending what was happening, was left floundering in the middle of the class. "Maybe he's still marking our tests?" Kasui goes to Sachi, moving past Arisu without even glancing at her.

Sachi always kept her promises.

"Our tests are easy to mark though, just put a 100 and be done with it." He sits by her side, familiar with their newfound closeness.

"Inuzuka!" Arisu growls. "You're a stupid mutt! You won't ever graduate! How dare you ignore me?!"

"So noisy," Sachi complains, turning her back to her and staring at the front of the class. "As I was saying earlier, we'll be busy today. We can start with—"

Arisu, not one to be ignored, crosses the class and goes straight for Sachi. Slamming her hands on the desk in front of her, she leans over with clear intent to harm. Sachi doesn't even flinch, gazing lazily over her as if she were a bug.

"Stop ignoring me!"

"— ninjutsu," Sachi finishes her sentence. Her eyes are glacial, but her stance is as relaxed. Arisu's anger only grows, her face reddening. "Arisu-kun?"

Smirking and closing her hands into fists, Arisu is ready to strike. Attention was something Arisu craved, although Kasui didn't understand why she sought it from Sachi, who didn't want anything to do with her. The girl is fuming yet enjoying it.

Was Arisu doing it on purpose?

"What do you want, Inuzuka?"

Here is where Sachi snapped and grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head on the desk. Kasui prepared himself for the aftermath, wondering which messenger he would have to fetch to notify Ashi.

"Move," Sachi says, and there's not an ounce of emotion in her voice.

Arisu isn't the only one surprised. "W-what? What… Did you say?"

"Move," she repeats. "I can't see the board."

Sachi could be truly cold when she wanted to. Such a dismissal would only sting Arisu's pride, and then she would act upon it. The Uchiha seethes an angry hiss, raising her arm to deliver another punch like that she did that morning. Sachi doesn't move.

"Arisu-kun," Kasui calls her, and she snaps her head towards him as if she hadn't realized he was there, her punch stopping midway through. "Can you please move? I can't see the board either…"

"W-what are you saying…?" Arisu stammers, clearly not expecting him to take Sachi's side.

"Good morning, class," Gentaru-sensei's voice breaks the heavy silence, all children snapping their attention forward. "Sachi-kun, are you starting trouble again?"

"Not at all, sensei," Sachi answers, looking over Arisu's shoulder. "I'm done playing games."

"I see. Let's begin, everyone settle down." Arisu, who was still looking for any trace of Sachi's annoyance, is still standing awkwardly in front of them. "Arisu-kun, take a seat."

The Uchiha leaves.

Kasui and Sachi smile at each other, victorious.

(They don't notice the danger lurking behind their backs.)

.

Sachi's surprise was a baby. Specifically, Tsume's baby.

"A girl, little, tiny girl," Sachi whispers, standing still and awed above her crib. "Her name is Hana."

Hana was the cutest child Sachi had ever laid eyes upon, and her amazement and joy could be felt all the way to Iron Country. Kasui wasn't that good with children, but he had to admit that Hana was quite the round baby.

"I'm a big sister," Sachi said, her voice quiet. "That's what Tsume told me."

She was so happy. Her smiles were blinding, and Kasui was glad she shared it with him. To think that a major clan would let him get so close to them to see their newborn made him believe that he was wholeheartedly welcomed.

"Out you go," Kegawa tells them, bags under his eyes. "Don't wake her up."

"Okay," Sachi agrees, waving at the baby that is fast asleep with starstruck eyes. "Sleep well, Hana-chan."

Kegawa might not like a lot of people, but he loved his daughter. Tsume had an easy pregnancy, but it still took a toll on the kunoichi's body that she was still recovering from. Inuzuka children were also highly sensitive, their senses all but raw in their early years.

Sachi had taken it upon herself to help the couple in all they needed. She had installed seals on every inch of the house, which Kasui had to sit through; from protection seals to mood stabilizers to something she called 'good luck seals'. And cooking for a hundred people every day. Not that Kasui was complaining.

"Hana-chan is the best," Sachi states, absolutely serious.

"At two days old?"

"Of course. I hope she inherits as much as possible from Tsume."

Kasui lets her ramble about how perfect her little sister is, and how she's going to become the best thing since the coming of the Sage. "You like kids?" Kasui observes.

"Children are a blessing," she says, completely convinced. "They deserve to be loved."

"Not all of them."

(Kasui and Sachi knew this better than anyone.)

"Ashi's waiting for us. She's in a really good mood."

True to her word, Ashi was happy too. She greeted him with a smile when they got to the training ground. The Inuzuka clan was celebrating Hana's birth together, it seemed.

"Hey there, Kasui-kun," Ashi greets him. "Have you seen my cute little niece?"

"Yes, she's very cute."

"The cutest," Sachi nodded.

"Shall we start?"

To Kasui's surprise, Sachi exits the ring and goes to a stone bench with Haiiro. "Ninjutsu?" he guesses. Sachi usually skipped ninjutsu lessons because of her condition, much to her chagrin, and so it was only him and Ashi.

"A little bit different. Grab this, darlin', let's see what stuff you made of." The Inuzuka alpha gives him a piece of paper that resembles Sachi's sealing paper. "Put some chakra on it."

Kasui does, and the paper gradually becomes soggy until it dissolves.

"Water, hmm?" Ashi muses.

"Is that good…?"

"It's your chakra, darlin'. Water's rare in Fire Country, but that can be a good thing. No one's gonna see you comin'," Ashi smirks, flexing her shoulders. "Okay, let's start with an easy one. I'm earth, so we're a little different, but I know my tricks. Follow this."

Ashi makes a hand seal sequence that Kasui first watches, then repeats slowly without chakra. When he gets the order right, he lets the chakra trickle down. They didn't teach advanced ninjutsu until you reached sixth grade, and so Kasui had always been bored by the classes since it was easy for him to learn them.

His chakra flows through his pathways smoothly, and even though they strain some places because of the lack of exercise, Kasui can tell it fits him. He concentrates, and soon enough, his hands become wet until actual droplets drip down from them.

"Woah, look at that," Ashi praises. "Your chakra control's better than I thought."

"Well, yeah!" Sachi says from the sidelines. "He can keep his glasses stuck to his face all day long! And he keeps his back straight with chakra when he naps in class!"

"Snitch!" Kasui accuses her.

Ashi chuckles. "You do that? Damn, that's… hmm, if you can transfer chakra outwards and keep it goin' for so long, even when you sleep… Hear, Kasui-kun, you might be a prodigy."

He can't help but blush. "U-um… I'm just good at it."

"That's the definition of a prodigy!" Sachi yells out again. "Ashi, don't go easy on him!"

Kasui wanted to kick Sachi, but Ashi was already making another sequence. He does the same routine, and thanks to Sachi's notes about hand seals, he can recognize the pattern. There were many stabilizers, like hare or monkey, and his chakra slid through his paths nicely. Then, he reached the last hand seal, dog, and the jutsu took place.

A water jet appeared, the chakra exiting the windows in his fingertips and transforming into water. He must have put too much chakra, because as soon as the chakra was released, he was thrown back by the force.

"You good?" Ashi asks, helping him up.

"I… I did it?" Kasui breathes. "I did it!"

"Well, duh!"

"Sachi, stop teasing him," Ashi warns her half-heartedly, focusing on him. "Stay still for a sec, darlin', I wanna check something."

The Inuzuka alpha puts her hands on his chest, enveloped in a white aura that feels cool at the touch. He gets to be only that embarrassed before Ashi is withdrawing. Her eyebrows were knitted together, humming deep in thought. "I'm no Hyūga, but you've got a lot of Yin chakra going on."

"Is that bad?"

"Not at all. It means you've got more control than usual." Ashi turns and calls out to Sachi. "Care to explain it?"

"Whereas chakra affinities like Water or Fire are unique to the individual, every living being has Yin and Yang chakra. They represent body and spirit, respectively, and although their concentration differs, they are always present together," Sachi explains, glad to be of help. "A body cannot function without spirit, and the spirit cannot exist without a body."

"Yin chakra is control, which gives shape, while Yang chakra is power and strength. More concentration of Yin chakra means more control but less strength; this is useful to genjutsu users and medics, for they can use very little chakra to create form out of nothingness."

"Very good—"

"In shinobi, this tendency translates in a shorter hand seal sequence because of the suppression of stabilizers, but strength must be enhanced with powerful hand seals. For Water affinities, which is a nature that is difficult to control but powerful, the dog, rat, dragon and horse hand seals should be the best ones to use to optimize the ratio of strength to chakra control—"

"Yes, yes. Good job Sachi, you can stop now," Ashi interrupts her before she goes into one of her rants. "In summary, you have crazy chakra control but less strength."

"Okay," Kasui nods, taking it all in. "Does that mean that I'm weaker than others?"

"Nah. Think of your chakra like this, Kasui-kun. Yin is a needle, very fine but very deadly if used right, but also handy for other things, like patching things up. Yang is a firecracker, good to blow things up, but also hard to control. You understand?"

Kasui wasn't so sure.

"That was a shitty explanation!"

"Do you want to run laps that much, Sachi? Hmm?" Sachi shuts up, but not before she sticks out her tongue. "Thought so. Now, Kasui-kun, your pathways are pretty good since you've been training without knowing for this long, and we can use that," Ashi says, nodding along. "Sachi's right, you don't need to use this many hand seals, but your strength needs a lot of work. Don't worry, I'm Yin inclined, so this will be fun."

Fun, meaning pain and suffering.

By the time they finished their lesson, Kasui was a puddle of human goo that Ashi was senselessly trying to kick into shape. It didn't help that Sachi was laughing from the sidelines until Ashi made her run punishment laps.

"I'm… dying."

"Looks like it," Sachi comments. They had taken a bath and retired to Sachi's room to wait for Kasui's strength to come back. "Ashi doesn't hold back."

"No, she doesn't." But Kasui preferred it that way. Nothing would come for free, and the pain was worth it as long as he could grow. "Is it okay for Ashi-sama to teach me these kinds of jutsus? Isn't it, like, forbidden?"

"Frowned upon, most likely, but that's only if Ashi taught you clan techniques. You don't have a ninken, so you can't learn any of their joint moves, and I don't think you're interested in veterinary medicine," she shrugs. "The jutsus you're learning are common knowledge."

"Water manipulation is not what I call common," he sighs. Ashi had made him try out the fish spit and water mirror until she realized that he couldn't even walk on water first. Then she had advised him to study water until he 'got the hang of it' and then move up.

"But you did well," Sachi amends. "You even managed to gather the dew of the grass."

Halfway through the lesson, Kasui had felt his reserves empty. Elemental affinities had two ways of being used:

Using chakra to create his affinity element, since the chakra naturally reached for that element when forced to take form. That's why Kasui had been able to create water droplets with just chakra alone. This way was useful when you didn't have your affinity element near, but it was very draining.

The other way, and most logical, was to use the element directly with chakra. Because of the affinity, the chakra could either take that form or resonate with it. As well as Kasui's chakra reached for water when released, water reached for Kasui's chakra when it was called. When his chakra reserves were running low, Kasu had inadvertently used the dew on the grass; it did make a nice wave, one that crushed him once he broke his concentration.

He smiles, proud of himself. "Yeah, I did. Hurts a lot, too."

"Chakra is a bitch, hmm?"

"You haven't done a thing today, you've got no right to complain," he grumbles, missing Sachi's odd look.

"Still. Your pathways have been used thoroughly today, you should rest."

"Can't," he says. "The nuns will be expecting me."

Kasui had a later curfew than others, but he still needed to show up. He couldn't just not go to the orphanage, or they would either kick him out or take away all of his perks. It was difficult enough to keep his roommates off his back because of the favoritism, he didn't want to be stuck with them more than necessary.

"That's easily solved." Sachi gets up and helps him do the same. "Don't groan, we have to make dinner."

Kasui was now part of the Inuzuka household by proxy. He hung out a lot with Sachi, necessary to study and train, and so the others had gotten used to his presence. With that, Kasui was demoted from guest to Inuzuka kid.

They make their way to the kitchen and set to do their duty. There were some chores they had to do, Ashi's way of earning their keep, like cooking or cleaning dishes. Tsume was busy taking care of her daughter and Kegawa was often on missions to cover his lover's part. Kasui liked to help around because he was useful instead of just being there.

"What do we do today? I have brownies for dessert," Sachi tells him.

Kasui wonders for a moment. "Sukiyaki then? It's been a while since we've had it last."

"Good idea, take out the ingredients while I go for the hotpot."

Kasui does as he's told, fishing for the scrolls where Sachi keeps the groceries. Ashi was very strict with Sachi's seals, forbidding her from using them outside of the house. Sachi, being who she was, found the loophole and proceeded to put as many seals on the house as she could get away with. Retaining scrolls was one of her interventions that Kasui approved of, since the food lasted longer, and could even keep it hot.

He often wondered what would happen if people knew that the Inuzuka main house had retaining scrolls just lying around. Then, he remembered how Ashi could crack open a watermelon with her thighs and he forgot his worries. Anyone that would try to steal from the Inuzuka was dead meat.

"Here," Kasui sets the ingredients on the table. "I do the meat and you the vegetables?"

"'kay."

In the orphanage the food rotated from boiled potatoes, smashed potatoes, and porridge. Cashing a meal ticket was the only way for you to eat, that is, if older children didn't steal it from you or you gambled it away. At least Kasui got to choose what to eat with Sachi.

"Where did you find chocolate?" he asks once she unseals the brownies, still hot.

"Ashi got it for Tsume when she was still pregnant, cravings and all that. I think she made a deal with the Nara because they have connections in Tea Country," Sachi explains, finishing her task. "We're done here, let me call them up."

Sachi yelled for the sisters to come down. Ashi and Tsume would've noticed the scent by now, and they were soon gathering at the table. Hana was in her mother's arms, sleeping soundly, which by Tsume's tired demeanor was not a usual thing.

"How are you holding up, Kasui-kun?" Ashi asks him once they are all seated.

"Tired, but it's alright."

Ashi nods, eating first as usual. Sachi separated her meal from others to let it cool down, but she was gazing lovingly at Hana without minding it too much. Hana was going to be a very spoiled child, Kasui feared.

It was… peaceful.

By then, Kasui had eaten at the Inuzuka table countless times, but it didn't fail to make his chest flutter. He wished that he could stay there forever, to let Sachi be his big sister and drag him into trouble, while Ashi complains that she's getting grey hairs and Tsume teases them; even Kegawa, cranky as he was, fitted right into his picture-perfect family.

Kasui didn't let himself hope like that; he would be only disappointed. But in moments like those, where they were together, the lines blurred.

"Hear, Ashi," Sachi calls at the end, pushing her dessert to Tsume. "Can Kasui stay here tonight?"

Kasui gapes at his friend, did Sachi read his mind again?

Ashi shrugs, saying, "Only if he wants to. Do you, Kasui-kun?"

"Ah— it's not like that, the nuns are expecting me…" he tries to say, suddenly thrown off guard.

"Just tell them to fuck off," Tsume advises, shifting Hana. "You look as if you're going to drop dead. What did you make 'em do, nee-chan?"

Kasui was feeling like shit to be honest, but it wasn't as if he could complain directly to the one that caused it and don't seem like a weakling.

"I'll see what I can do," Ashi decides, and that's that. "Unless you don't wanna stay, then you're free to go. I don't mind you staying the night here, darlin', as long as you don't get in trouble."

"The house's big for ten more stray pups like you," Haiiro chirps in. "Or more puppies from Tsume."

"Those are mine, Haiiro," Kuromaru warns.

"Hana is enough for me," Tsume sighs, so exhausted that she doesn't even try to argue. "I'll go ahead or she's going to get fussy."

Sachi perks up immediately. "I can put seals on the living room—"

"No," both sisters say, Tsume waving a lazy hand at them, "Good night y'all."

"Dammit, she's keeping Hana to herself," Sachi grumbles.

"It's her daughter, Sachi," Kasui scolds, and he too gets drowsy, yawning. "Ashi-sama, it's okay, I'll just head up…"

Thinking about climbing all the way up to the upper level and then the hill made his body cry out. Ashi, the saint that she was, noticed it with just a glance. "Don't worry, I'll tell them if you can stay for the night."

"What? Are you going to speak with them?" Kasui questions.

"'course," Ashi confirms. "I have business uptown, so we'll just let them know. You think they will say no?"

The nuns would set the orphanage on fire if a Clan Head told them so. He shakes his head and bows to show his gratitude. "Thank you so much, Ashi-sama."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't put the sama, makes me feel old," she waves her hand, getting up. "For this you'll need to do the dishes. And breakfast tomorrow."

"Okay!" Sachi beams. "You be careful out there, don't stay up too late."

"Worry 'bout yourself," Ashi chuckles. "You don't stay up too late; we'll be training again tomorrow. You too, Sachi."

"'night kids," Haiiro says. "'bout the treats…"

"Already done."

"Good."

Kasui and Sachi are left alone, tidying up in a hurry before they drop dead from exhaustion. "Sachi… why did you do that?"

"Because you wouldn't ask," she states simply, drying her hands. "Before you tell me it's too much, or ask me if you can, Ashi literally told you ten minutes ago. If Tsume can have Kegawa stay here, then you can too."

"... don't compare me with Kegawa, please."

"That's how you get it. Come on, you have ten minutes tops before you doze off, and you don't have a drop of chakra in you to keep you upright." Sachi pushes him through the hallways, saying, "We have like twenty guest rooms that nobody uses, and I cleaned them, so it's okay."

"Did you plan this?"

"This room is fine, hmm? Brush your teeth and go to sleep."

Someday Kasui was going to take revenge on Sachi for every time she did that, but today he was too tired. His room was similar to Sachi's, with a bed to the side, a desk and a wardrobe. He dropped on the bed and took off his glasses, putting them on the nightstand and drifting off to sleep.

.

He wakes up with his heart beating out of his chest. The darkness is foreign, and it's closing on him.

(The only thing he remembers is an empty hallway. No one could hear him scream. No one came to help him. He was alone.)

"Guys…?"

Kasui can't hear the snores of his roommates, and the room is too quiet, too empty. His room in the orphanage was cramped, but it drove the feeling of exposure away. Here, where he doesn't recognize a thing, Kasui panics.

He was alone.

His body moves before his mind wakes up properly, taking him away from the unnatural quiet room and into a dark hallway. The dread climbs up his throat, but his feet know the way and he crosses the corridor before he's sliding the door and going into the familiar room.

"Kasui…?" he hears, and it's enough to hurry his steps before he found someone he knew, someone that would stay with, that was alive like him. "Trembling… hnm."

Sachi.

Sachi was there. Her long arms grab his hand, and he flinches, but she drags him forward anyway. Kasui goes with her, the sound of her breathing and her sleepy groans calming him. He wasn't alone, he would never be alone with her—

"Here."

Sachi hugs him, and she's so warm that he isn't bothered by how cold the room is. He doesn't care and grabs her as if she was his lifeline. She was there, she was there, she was there—

"Sleep… leep…" she soothes, and Kasui buries his face into her neck.

She smelled like sunshine and the neutral soap the Inuzuka used, her grip was firm and secure, and his heart finally gave out.

He was safe there.

Now and always.

.

When Ashi comes back to tell Kasui that he had permission to stay the night if he were to report early in the morning to the orphanage, he found him in Sachi's room.

She would be lying if her heart didn't melt at the sight, a puppy pile alright, and enjoyed every second of teasing she got from it.

(The moment is precious, broken by what was to come.)

.

Kasui and Sachi graduate top of their class.

Kasui had unprecedented marks in ninjutsu, and Sachi had performed the hand sequence perfectly that time around. Gentaru-sensei didn't force her to take the test twice, but he was highly suspicious. He didn't notice the blood carrying her chakra away so she could perform the hand seals.

They didn't care about the sneers; they had done it.

"One year, two to go!" Sachi exclaims, twirling Kasui around like a doll while laughing. "Did you see his face! Oh, I'm going to remember this forever!"

Kasui laughs too, because it had been so satisfying to metaphorically spit on his teacher's face after he not only completed all the exams, but also corrected them with book references when they marked one of his answers as wrong.

They felt as if they were at the top of the world.

"We're going to celebrate tonight! Woo!"

(They don't notice the glares aimed at them.)

.

It happens too fast.

Sachi and Kasui spend the whole summer training together, Kasui gradually learning more advanced jutsus until he could perform up to genin level. Sachi was as hopeless as ever in terms of chakra, but she was coming up with seals to help her get away with it during the exams.

Thing is, it did.

Four months after they start fifth grade, Aeka Kasui and Inuzuka Sachi take the advanced exams and pass just before winter break, with full marks no less. Word gets out that two prodigies are in the Academy, and the teachers are finally realizing that those two were quite the potential shinobi.

However, what was supposed to be a joyous day turns into a disaster.

Sachi exits the classroom where she was sent to do the exam, going to the backyard to reunite with Kasui. She spots him near a fighting ring, but soon realizes that something was wrong.

"— fault!"

Arisu was standing over Kasui, yelling at him. He was on the ground, his glasses kicked aside, and crawling to find them, while that fucking Uchiha bastard was spewing nonsense.

Sachi had been a good girl, not getting into any more fights with Arisu, not even answering her jabs. But there was just so much Sachi could turn a blind eye to.

Arisu all but flies when Sachi kicks her with her leg. The Uchiha is on the ground, and when she looks up, is to gaze directly at Sachi's blazing eyes.

"I-Inuzuka!" Arisu greets, stumbling up. "I knew you'll get here. It's—"

"Pathetic," Sachi finishes, and her tone chills everyone that had gathered near to the bone. "You have no pride?"

She's stunned, but Sachi is an immovable tower of retribution. Her rage is quiet but devastating, and her chakra is unleashed with a thundering hum.

"Y-you! It's… it's not fair! You cheated, didn't you? That's why that thing graduated! That's… that's why!"

The Inuzuka stands with disgust painted on her lips, curled down in a scowl so ferocious that would make any foe think twice. Arisu trembles, not sure why, saying, "Why are you l-looking at me like this! Stop it! STOP—"

(Her eyes hold the same disdain as her father, it breaks Arisu.)

"Give up," Sachi says, cool.

("It's because of her! That's why we were forced to go back!" her father yelled while her mother cried. "You should have given her up!")

"W-wha…?"

"Give up," Sachi says again, but it sounds like she's telling her she's a failure, that she will never amount to anything. A half-blood Uchiha that will never get to be considered one of them, sentenced to live in shame because she was born with eyes that should not belong to her. "You failed your exams again. Give up."

Arisu shakes.

Sachi's mistake is to turn around, giving her back to an enemy. Her worry for Kasui is greater than her logic, and she goes to her friend before she thinks about why Arisu would seek a fight with him.

(It's too late anyway.)

"Kasui, you good?" Sachi asks, giving him his glasses back.

Kasui's cheek is bruised, and Sachi is touching it gingerly. Kasui blinks in her regretful look, prompted to reassure her. "I'm fine, it's not a big deal."

She helps him get up, and Kasui is in the middle of patting his clothes out of dust when he notices Arisu making a tiger hand seal.

It happens too fast.

Kasui stares at Sachi as she turns around, intending to give Arisu another disapproving look and instead finding a fireball one inch away from her. It hits her face first.

The screams are ear-shattering.

The second it takes for the katon jutsu fueled by rage and hate to strike Sachi's body and engulf her into flames stretches on impossibly. Kasui watches, helpless, as Sachi slowly falls backwards while her voice is all but a shrill that fades away to his deaf ears.

The heat of her burning body is unbearable, making his eyes water and his breath catch onto the scent of burning flesh. It's disgusting, a smoky and horrifying taste that will be stuck with him forever.

Sachi hits the ground so loud that it resembles the crackle of a log in a bonfire.

Kasui realizes then that he's seeing his best friend die right before his eyes.

(That's a turning point in their timeline.)

Water answers his call instantly, gathering so quickly and so plentiful that it sweeps the ground like a flood. The fire on Sachi dies, overwhelmed by how much chakra Kasui had bled through, and he sinks to his knees.

"Sachi!" he howls.

She's a blackened corpse that has no feature of hers; not her golden eyes, or her red fangs, or her beautiful smile. It's just bright rosy skin that peels off when Kasui touches her face to wake her up, and the melted fabric burns him too when he tries to help her.

She's not screaming anymore.

The teachers and guards arrive too late, and Kasui tries to fight them off when they pick up Sachi's body and take her away. He screams for her, to wake up, to say it was a joke, one of her damned plans that had backfired...

Kasui turns to Arisu to make her pay, the fear and shock distilling into pure killing instinct that downpours. When Kasui catches the eyes of the bastard that did that to his best friend, he doesn't find coal black—

But crimson red.

.

Sachi made a friend! She doesn't know how to make friends, so she bribes them. Poor Kasui doesn't know what he signed up for.

I drafted the orphanage, which is managed by nures that are a tad too creepy. Also, more Academy stuff. Don't take me too seriously, but I do my best at keeping this fic consistent. The hand seals are my hc; hands and arms have certain pathways that dictate how and how much chakra is cycled. I decide which one is a powerful seal or a stabilizer depending on which jutsus they're used, although do take this with a grain of salt.

Well, well, well, if they aren't the consequences of her own actions. You can piss off an Uchiha that much until they snap, and everyone knows that they're crazy anyway. Sachi gets burned because she underestimated her opponent, and of course, not knowing all the details before going into a fight. Let's see if she learns something.

(BTW, don't hate on Arisu too much, not that I'm defending a bully, but Sachi had some fault as well. I don't want to write purely evil or purely good characters, so I hope you understood the little tid bits of backstory for the bastard Uchiha.)

Aeka Kasui is an OC that actually appears in canon! Here we have him:

post/647112453419941888/here-he-is-aeka-kasui-truly-exists-in-canon-and

I hope the link works, if not, go to my tumblr (self promo btw): blog/pancake-flying

BE CAREFUL! I post my own fanart for this fic, but it includes the other two parts of the Kanbayashi AU. There is stuff for spoilers, so be warned, since I can't figure out how to post images in this fic.