Much thanks to the lovely Tavina, differential equated Anita Magia, and grumpfilled Desdendelle for beta reading.
Now slightly updated due to noticing some weirdness happened copying it into the document manager.
My head was killing me, and the sounds of shouting weren't helping. The smell of smoke was in the air like something was on fire.
Shouting?
I cracked my eyes open, reluctant to do so.
The view swam, dizzy. Concrete floors and walls just blended together. Ceiling? I was standing. When did that happen?
I reached out an arm to try and brace myself.
It didn't work so well and I stumbled. Staggered. I felt drunk. When did that happen? Did that happen?
"Hey!" Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me up, steadying me. That was too much movement, too fast.
I thanked them by retching onto their feet.
I was pulled up again back into standing, much more gently and slowly this time.
I looked up at what was visible of Kakashi's face. His hitai-ate was up, both eyes looking at me. The red and black of his Sharingan bore down on me.
"Sasuke. Listen very carefully to me," he said, voice slow and even.
I stared. "Uhuh." I tried to spit the remnants of bile out of my mouth.
"You have a head injury," he said.
"Oh." Something about all of this seemed off. I turned to try and look around.
People were still shouting in the distance.
We were outside, not inside at all.
That was probably it.
"Orochimaru's invading," I said out loud. It was slurred, but that sounded about right. That was what was supposed to be happening, right?
"Yes, which is why you should have stayed in the arena infirmary." He grabbed my hand, and yanked a kunai from it. I didn't know I had that. Why did I have that on me? Kakashi gave me a look, and without asking— which was rude— he hoisted me onto his back, so my chin rested on one of his shoulders. "Hold on," he instructed, voice curt.
He didn't seem very happy about this for some reason.
I hung on.
Kakashi went fast.
It hadn't ever occurred to me how fast Kakashi could go.
The hospital came into sight, and Kakashi slowed down. It didn't last. A window on one of the higher floors shattered from the inside. Bodies careened out, dropping to the ground. I could hear faint shouting from the broken window. There were still figures going up the side of the building.
Kakashi's muscles tensed, and before I could ask, he spoke. "I am taking you in there with me. Whatever is going on, you will stand by unless I give you an order. The only thing you are to do is defend yourself if it's necessary. Do you understand?"
Defend myself? My stomach churned. "Yes."
Outside seemed safer than the hospital, but I wasn't sure I wanted to argue with him.
He ran up the wall, forcing me to hang on tightly more than I already was, and jumped in through the broken window with a smooth motion that cleared the leftover glass.
My stomach didn't like that. My head didn't like that. Everything was spinning and whirling more than it was earlier. I dropped to my feet and slid into a sitting position as I tried to keep what remained of lunch down.
Lunch?
There were two thuds— three, four— by the time I looked up. There were bodies on the ground. A musical note was on each of their hitai-ate. Why did that strike me as weird, again?
Kakashi pressed a kunai into my hand and pulled me back into standing. He had just taken it away earlier, why did he give me one now?
I strained until everything stopped spinning as much. This was one of few parts of the corridor on the floor Ino and Chōji were on where there were windows. Why were there Sound-nin here?
One of the nurses was leaning against the opposite wall, chest heaving. A gurney was overturned next to her, bits of glass embedded in its padded mattress and the metal frame scratched up and slightly bent and dented in places.
"You broke the window open with that?" Kakashi asked.
She nodded. "The stairs are all barricaded and elevators are locked down but they're trying to come in from the outside. I got the first bunch but not all of them. I don't know where the chūnin who are supposed to be on guard duty are..."
He flipped a kunai to her. She yanked it out of the air with a firm grip around its hilt. "Keep the window clear." He moved down the corridor, kunai in both hands.
I trailed after him. He didn't say to stay behind.
As I followed, I realized the hairs on the back of my neck and arms were prickled and that it wasn't just dizziness making my stomach lurch. Kakashi was leaking killing intent. Thankfully not at me.
There was a sudden movement, faster than I could process before there were another couple of thuds at the doors of one of the rooms just ahead of us. Ino's room.
"They must have infiltrated the hospital at some point..." Kakashi murmured, just loud enough for me to hear. He sped ahead faster, forcing each door open as he went until he found one that wouldn't give. He left it, investigating the other doors down the corridor before returning to it.
"I'm a jōnin of Konoha," he announced. "Hatake Kakashi."
"Say something only he would know," a woman's voice said, muffled through the door.
"Gai and his team used me to distract your husband to try and cut his hair because of a challenge from Chōza-san when we were children," Kakashi said, a tinge of longsuffering entering his voice.
The door opened.
Ino's mom had a sword on her. That was new.
Inside the room, the window was barricaded, bed upturned and pushed against it, and besides Ino and Chōji, there was a nurse, along with other patients that must have been on the floor. Unlike last time, Ino was in her own clothes now, a t-shirt and skirt.
Kakashi turned, twisting out of the way just in time to avoid the kunai that sailed through the air where he had been just moments ago, shoving me into the room with the same motion. "Stay there!"
The nurse inside had the same face as the one Kakashi had spoken to moments ago.
Oh. That probably wasn't good.
Kakashi was forced back slightly, and it was just enough to get a glance of his opponent in the hallway. Dark lenses concealed his eyes, and an Otokagure hitai-ate was tied around his forehead. His clothes were the same as Kabuto's.
Chōji's eyes widened. "Watch out! That's the guy who can absorb chakra!" he shouted.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed from where we could see him in the corridor. That also probably wasn't good. I wasn't sure for who. He disappeared from view of where I was standing.
I got pushed back away from the door with the long hilt of Ino's mom's sword. "You heard him, stay in the room."
I wobbled from the movement. It was enough to make my stomach threaten to come up again.
"Sasuke, are you okay?" Chōji shifted his attention from the door to me, brow furrowed with worry.
"Kakashi says I've got a head injury," I muttered, trying to not throw up. "Probably from getting punched in the head by Lee." I swallowed. "Don't think I like this. It's like a bad dream." Bad dream?
"Kā-san, can't you do something to help Kakashi-sensei?" Ino spoke up.
"Not without giving up my position," her mother said, voice steady. "You shouldn't be doing anything unless it's absolutely necessary, and neither should Chōji-kun or Sasuke-kun. If I move, everyone else in here would be defenseless. It'd be a bad idea for both of us to fight in the same space because of my nagamaki. He's a jōnin, we have to trust that he'll succeed."
Ino frowned.
The clash of fighting grew closer, and Kakashi and his opponent pushed into sight just enough for me to see the younger man's fingers come together for hand seals— only for Kakashi to forcibly ram into him with his shoulder to cut off whatever technique he was trying to use before he was able to mold the chakra.
His opponent did his best to grapple onto Kakashi only to get swiftly kicked away. Kakashi heaved a breath, taking the opportunity to pull out kunai from his holster.
Kakashi wasn't a close-distance fighter, was he? Most of the ninjutsu he had shown were big and flashy, or at least not the sort that would go well with being used in a corridor, even one as large as the kind they had in hospitals. Especially not if he was trying to avoid causing any damage to anyone or anything else.
Even with the danger posed, Ino's mother didn't move to try and close the door, staying in place with her sword.
"Ino!" Chōji spoke up, and I turned to look. It made everything spin for a bit. She had her hands together for her mind swapping technique but was already beginning to slump over, eyes closed. "Suzuka-ba, I think she used the Mind Body Switch Technique!"
I grabbed her to pull her up, but she was already starting to blink awake as I did.
"Did you miss?" Chōji asked.
She straightened up, eyes focusing. "Huh? Oh, right. Yeah."
"Ino!" Her mother's voice was sharp. "You haven't been cleared for duty! You're still recovering!"
"Kā-san, let me try!"
She stepped away, hands prepared again for the seal.
Kakashi's opponent forced himself forward, clashing against him, trying to get a grip.
Ino tilted forward again, and I grabbed her again, letting her chin rest on my shoulder.
Just outside the door, Kakashi's opponent suddenly stopped moving, holding his hands up. "I've got control of his body!" Oh. Ino.
Kakashi stopped himself just barely in time, stepping back. He looked in at the nurse who was still against the furthest wall. "Where's the closest supply closet?"
The nurse pointed.
He quickly disappeared, just as quickly returning with bandage rolls that were probably supposed to be used for… I had no idea what he was doing. "Ino-chan, sit down with his ankles close together and push his wrists together so his palms are facing out. We're going to restrain him before we do anything else." He tossed a roll to Ino's mom, who grabbed it with one hand and sheathed the sword she had held with the other.
Ino nodded, and sat down. The position Kakashi told her to get into was awkward looking; the man's hands ended up right under his chin in order to have the backs of his wrists against each other, fingers splayed.
"You are in so much trouble once you're released from the hospital," her mother told her. She was helping Kakashi by tying the possessed man's ankles together to prevent him from moving easily. Her expression was severe. "You know your father told you you shouldn't use any clan techniques until he's sure your mind's reconstituted itself and won't continue to peel apart."
"Kā-san, I couldn't just stand there and not do anything!" The whiny intonation of a preteen girl coming out in a grown man's voice was strange.
"You're still getting grounded if we're lucky." She gave a strong yank and tied it off. "I'm done here. Ready?"
"Ino, release the jutsu," Kakashi ordered. His eyes were narrowed on the traitor.
"Look away, kids," Ino's mother said. She moved a bit to block the doorway, without moving too far from her position in front of the man's knees.
Chōji cringed and looked away, blocking his ears with his hands.
I didn't.
I regretted it when I heard the undeniable sound of multiple bones breaking from being crushed, paired with anguished screaming.
Ino stood up under her own power, looking as out of it as I felt.
Chōji looked at me with a sympathetic expression when he looked back over. "You looked," he said.
"I looked."
"Suzuka-ba used to specialize in retrieval in the field before she went into Interrogation," he explained, making a face.
Outside, the two adults quietly spoke to each other for a moment, ignoring the sounds coming from the man on the ground. It ended with Ino's mother grabbing him by the leg of his trousers and pulling him out of sight. That probably wasn't going to go well for him.
Kakashi entered the hospital room. The beginning edge of exhaustion was beginning to show in his shoulders and how he held himself, but he still looked more alert than he usually bothered with. "He's going to have a hard time escaping with broken hands and feet, but he's not the only danger here." He looked between Chōji and Ino. "The hospital is likely a target because of Ino-chan," he said, flatly.
Ino's eyes widened as she looked up at Kakashi. "Because of me? But— I'm—"
"You made yourself a person of interest with your actions during the second exam," Kakashi told her. " You might not remember, but they do. That was Akadō Yoroi, one of Yakushi Kabuto's teammates. All three of them are traitors who were working with Orochimaru, and he was on this floor when we arrived. They're focusing on this floor. There were no other signs of forced entry. They know where you are and they're trying to get to you for whatever reason."
Ino opened her mouth and then closed it, swallowing.
"What are we supposed to do?" Chōji asked.
"Their attack is spread too thin for them to focus too much attention on the hospital without gathering a larger defense force here," Kakashi explained. "There should have been teams on site already." His attention focused on the nurse. "He was disguised as you, and you're the only medical staff I've seen on this floor. Where are the others?"
"I wasn't supposed to be working today but I got called in to help with Tomoharu-san since he came in for an unscheduled checkup," she said, paling. "I was in the middle of changing his bandages when everyone got called to one of the other floors for a code. Then the attack happened and they sealed the building."
"Even the hospital, then…" Kakashi muttered. He looked at me, and then Ino. "Neither of you can stay here."
"But you beat that guy, didn't you?" Chōji looked worried.
"If they knew what her schedule was supposed to be and were able to get as many medical personnel off this floor as possible, the hospital is at least partially compromised. In times of high alert, there are supposed to be teams guarding the hospital because it's important in emergencies. The fact that there's been no response to this incursion so far is a bad sign."
I guessed that made sense.
Ino's mouth twisted before she turned to look at the upturned hospital room. "But—"
Ino's mother came back to the doorway. Were her hands wrapped before this? I couldn't remember. "No. You're leaving with him."
"Kā-san, you aren't—"
"I'm staying here," she said, expression firm. "I might be a bit rusty these days, but there needs to be someone here just in case."
"Why can't Kakashi-sensei do it?!" Ino's voice had an edge of worry and desperation to it.
"This isn't up for debate," Kakashi told her. He turned his attention towards Ino's mother. "Is there anything I need to keep in mind about her current limitations?"
"She's still having the occasional episode, but usually only when she's waking up, which is why she's still here in the hospital. She can use chakra but she shouldn't be using any of the clan's techniques."
Kakashi nodded. "Sasuke, give her your holster. Once that's done, we're leaving."
I stared at my hands and then at the holster. Did I know how to take it off? I had to, didn't I? I've known how to for— for— For some reason, I couldn't remember.
Kakashi stared at me, inhaled, and walked over, to get down on one knee and unstrap it himself, leaving the wrappings under it alone, uncinching and loosening the fastenings. He then tossed it over to Ino, who sulkily strapped it on.
Ino bit her lip, looking between her mom and Chōji. "Stay safe?"
"I'll take care of everything here, Ino, don't worry," her mother assured her.
I didn't think Ino was very consoled. She didn't look like it.
"Has Asuma taught your team tree climbing yet?" Kakashi asked.
Ino nodded.
"Good. Follow me. Sasuke, stay in the middle."
We left the hospital room, Kakashi leading us back down the corridor in the direction we came from, back to the window that had been broken in.
Again without asking, he picked me up to carry on his back and swung out of the window to land feet first against the wall before he started heading upwards for the hospital roof. The air outside was acrid, smokey.
That was where— that was where— my head started to hurt even more than it already was and I gritted my teeth, but I couldn't keep from letting a sound out. That was where what?
"We're almost to the top," Kakashi said. "I'll try to make sure we avoid more of this where we can later."
"If Sasuke's hurt, why isn't he staying behind? Why are we going to the top of the hospital?"
"He's as much a target as you are. We're heading to the roof because I need a better idea of what our current situation is like before we head anywhere else."
When Kakashi finally reached the top and swung over the side, he froze, which allowed me to slide down to stand.
I wobbled on my feet.
Ino moved to steady me before her breath caught.
I looked in the direction they were staring in.
The sky was filled with rising plumes of smoke and dust from fires and the fighting going on.
There were also two giant creatures within the village walls.
Giant snake. Giant… tanuki?
The snake was in the direction of the Hokage monument. Too close to the academy and administration building.
The tanuki, though...
Ino let out a hysteric giggle that she cut off with her hands. "Isn't that near where Naruto lives?" she finally managed to say. Her voice was filled with horror and disbelief.
"It is," Kakashi answered.
"I hope Naruto's plants will be okay," I said.
Both Ino and Kakashi looked at me before Ino looked at Kakashi with a worried look.
"He'll be fine," Kakashi said.
"Okay. That's good." I said.
Ino didn't look like she believed him. She must have heard from Sakura that Kakashi was unreliable.
"Gate was attacked," Kakashi murmured. "But they aren't going after as many high-importance buildings as they would be if they had the manpower. This should be beaten off soon enough."
A third massive creature appeared, a toad, near the snake. That was— It was— Why was that wrong? But that wasn't. "What?" The snake launched itself at Gamabunta almost immediately, only being struck away at the very last moment with the toad's sword.
Dust rose up into the air as a building was crushed beneath them.
"Gamabunta," Kakashi said, voice relieved.
"Kakashi-sensei, is this- is that actually a good thing?" Ino asked. "If they're both fighting within the village walls, that's going to destroy even more buildings..."
"Manda eats people," Kakashi told us. "Those are more important than buildings."
"Oh. Right," she said, voice weak.
Kakashi twisted just barely, kunai in his hands again.
A man in Konoha's uniform— hitai-ate, flak jacket, and all— jumped onto the roof, coming from the wall below, followed by another three people.
"We saw the broken glass, where's the team that was supposed to be here?" the man asked. He looked tired until I realized it was because he was wearing what looked like heavy eyeliner. Black and green.
"Compromised," Kakashi answered. "They weren't here. We found at least one Sound-nin inside. There might be more."
The other man frowned. "Because of Ino-chan, you're thinking?"
Kakashi nodded.
"You have somewhere in mind to stow her and the Uchiha kid?" he asked. How many people knew?
"Still trying to decide," Kakashi told him. His eyes flicked over at the giant-sized creatures that were currently destroying parts of the village.
"I won't ask, but if you need somewhere that's away from the fighting, I think the Nara compound's been left alone." The man turned to the other ninja with him for a moment. "Go in through the broken window, we'll start a sweep. Good luck," he said to Kakashi, before moving to follow the others.
"Wait!" Ino said. Worry had crept into her face again.
"What is it?"
"Ensui-san, can you make sure my mom stays safe?" she asked. "If anything happens— I—"
"I'll do my best," he said. "Don't let yourself get distracted by worrying about her."
Ino nodded lightly.
Ensui went off the side of the roof.
I was staring at the water tanks, trying to figure out why, when Kakashi set a hand on my shoulder.
"Sasuke, did you hear me?" he said. "We're leaving."
I had not heard him.
I looked at him warily. "Are you going to carry me around again?"
"Yes. You've been wobbling in place for the last several minutes."
"Oh." That explained why everything felt unsteady.
I reluctantly allowed myself to get hefted onto his back this time, not that I had the choice.
"Try to not throw up again," Kakashi advised.
We moved, and I felt my stomach churn as we descended. The occasional bobbing in and out of view from the side of Ino's blonde hair didn't help.
Trees.
Building.
Roof.
Building.
Above-ground walkway giving way to roof giving way to open-air back to rooftop sudden turn away from rubble through a tree a log falling shouting smoke tree ninja leaves fresh air—
No more movement.
We stopped, and I was let go, dropping to my feet and stumbling off to throw up on a neglected-looking and overgrown bush that was next to an ugly-looking rusty metal shed. It might have been painted once, but now it was just rusted over.
Kakashi unlocked its door and steered me inside. It was cramped, with barely enough space for the three of us within. There were piles of rusted gardening tools, more rust than metal at this point, the bulky shape of a push reel mower covered by a tarp. The light didn't reach inside all that well, and it wasn't helped when he closed the door behind us once we were inside. The only light coming in was from the cracks.
It wasn't bigger on the inside— why would I think that?— but Kakashi shoved the mower and tarp out to one side, revealing a hatch set in the concrete floor. He lifted it. There was a ladder heading down into the darkness.
"Ino, go down first," he said. "There should be a battery-powered lantern on a shelf next to the ladder. Turn it on."
She swallowed, and headed down, disappearing from sight.
"Kakashi, you smell," I mumbled.
"You threw up on my feet earlier."
I had forgotten. "Oh. Like the bush?"
"Like the bush, yes."
A light flickered on down below.
"I got it!" Ino cried upwards.
Kakashi made eye contact with me. "Sasuke, listen to me."
"Okay?"
"When you're going down the ladder, do so carefully. If you're moving a foot down, don't let go. If you're moving your hands, keep your feet on the rungs. Do you understand?"
"I think so."
There were suddenly two of him, and he took up more space than Ino did. It also made the unpleasant smell stronger. One of them went down the ladder.
The Kakashi that was still in the shed with me gently pushed me towards the ladder. "Now you, Sasuke. Try to not look down."
I got on the ladder.
I immediately looked down.
Clinging to the ladder, everything spun and whirled around me, worse than it already was when I was standing on the ground.
I regretted it.
"Don't throw up," Kakashi called. "Close your eyes and move slowly."
I swallowed but refused to close my eyes. I managed to make it down, and the moment I was on solid floor, I dropped down to sit on it. I started to lean against the wall behind me, but something tickled at the base of my neck enough that I immediately twisted towards it, sending everything spinning even more.
Cobwebs.
Above, the hatch dropped back down with a heavy thud, hiding the ladder again.
I forced myself to look up and around.
Wherever this was, it was dusty and cobwebs covered the walls and strung out to the few pieces of furniture inside like it had been forgotten for years.
"Where are we?" Ino was holding the lantern up, looking over everything in the space.
"It's an old safe house." Kakashi went to a cupboard that was across the room, opening its doors. Old ration packets and filled glass bottles of water lined its insides. He pulled out a few bottles, opening one and pouring it over his feet, which rinsed off the remaining bits of mess before opening another one. With a flurry of one-handed seals, the water in the newly opened bottle flowed into the one he just emptied. When it was done, he walked over, pressing the refilled one into my hands, before going over and repeating the process with the one he had just emptied. "The emergency food rations and soldier pills should still be good, but don't touch the old water. It needs to be purified to be safe."
Ino stepped back, suddenly. "Whose safehouse?" She looked over at us from where she was standing. A length of fabric, coated in gray from dust, was hanging from a hook. Bits of red and white and the character for 'four' stood out from where Ino must have touched it.
Four.
"That doesn't matter right now," Kakashi said, voice short. "The two of you need to stay here until I come to get you. If it's not me, I'll send Raidō."
"What if anything happens?" Ino asked.
"They might have interest in the two of you, but they're already being pushed out. There's a futon in the corner. It's probably full of dust, but try to not disturb it too much if Sasuke needs to lie down. He's allowed to sleep."
Before Ino could say anything else, Kakashi disappeared in a poof of smoke. A clone.
Ino let out a wordless sound, before dropping down onto the ground. She cut off a sob, before rubbing at her eyes with her hands.
I looked at her cautiously. After a while, I finally spoke up. "Ino?" I asked. "Are you okay?"
She looked at me and set her shoulders, tossing her hair back. There was still wetness rimming her eyes. "Are you okay?"
"My head hurts, everything keeps spinning, and it hurts to think." I blinked, trying to focus on her. "I don't think Kakashi likes me, and I threw up on him."
Ino let out a shaky laugh, and stood up, pushing off from the ground with her hands. She looked at them and made a face, before rubbing the grime off onto her skirt. "I think this used to be the Yondaime's... It must have been left alone."
"He used to be Kakashi's jōnin-sensei," I mumbled. "I guess that's why he knows where this was." I heaved myself to my feet, after pushing the water bottle to one side. My palms were coated with dust after, and the spot of floor I had been sitting on was partially cleared, revealing wood flooring under it all. I laughed to myself and traced my hand against the wall, which only let more build up on my fingers. I was as much dust as I was Sasuke.
My fingers found a light switch in the dimness, and I toggled it. Nothing. I pushed it back.
Lights in the ceiling momentarily flickered but gave up. Just as well. It hurt my eyes.
When I looked back at Ino, she was staring at something just out of sight on the other side of the cupboard. I wobbled over.
There was an array of three-pronged kunai hanging from that side, a few hooks there empty. There were characters written on the wooden handles. The ink had faded and seeped further into the wood. I peered at the writing on the handles. It was sloppy to the point of being indecipherable, and it wasn't helped by the ink having gone blurry.
The Yondaime must have had horrendous handwriting. It was as awful as Naruto's.
"A cloak, kunai…" Ino said, looking around the space. "All of this was just forgotten." Her voice had a tinge of amazement to it.
I fought back a yawn.
It caught Ino's attention. "You should lie down," she said, sounding worried again.
I couldn't come up with any reason to refuse.
I went and laid down on the futon after getting as much dust off it as I could without sending it into the air.
I woke up to my phone buzzing in my face, and I flailed at it to answer while I tried to wake up from whatever the hell that last dream was. It was already fading away.
"Coco!" Xochitl. She knew I hated that nickname, but couldn't resist using it every once in a while.
"Wmgh?" I swallowed. English wasn't working. I tried Spanish instead. "Mande?"
"Almost noon and still asleep? Look how lazy you've gotten, going back to college. Someone could break into your apartment while you're sleeping like the dead."
It took a second for me to process. I had a key. My mother had a key. Xochitl had a key.
I sprang from lying in bed to out of it, narrowly missing falling on my face when my knee protested the sudden weight and scrambled out of my bedroom for the living room.
Xochitl was sitting on my coffee table, a smug expression on her face. Her hair had changed again, an obnoxious orange bob with a blue side shave. Very new.
"You bitch!" I couldn't help but screech before it turned into a laugh. "Get off of there before you break it with your ass!"
She laughed at me, before getting up and pulling me into a hug. "Someone has to have one, considering you didn't get any!" She smacked my butt when she stepped back, hard enough that I yelped. "Also what the hell is wrong with you, aren't you hot sleeping in all that?"
"No," I said, unable to keep the sulkiness out of my voice.
She laughed again, before shoving a Starbucks cup into my hands. "Wake up and get showered, and then we'll go day drinking. My cousin's working, he can add extra shots."
I made a face. "Who, Tito? He works at an Applebee's. You seriously want to go drinking at an Applebee's?"
"Triple shots in the drinks," Xochitl pointed out, singsong. "Besides, it'll be cheaper."
"Fine, fine." The coffee was already cool enough to drink; she must have timed it. Xochitl was to blame for my descent into coffee-drinking to begin with, between keeping me up until four AM on school days and the donut shop that was on the street across from our old high school. "As long as you pay. I'll tell you about these stupid and awful dreams I've been having…"
Minor translation note, since someone asked before I posted: 'Mande' here is basically being used as 'What?'
And with this, we find ourselves looking ahead to one of the few remaining portions of this fic that will be resembling canon. :)
I hope everyone's had a good April so far! Mine's proven busy in the second half, with my mother returning from her final mobilization for the military, doing things to apply for grad school on my end, getting dental work done, and getting the first COVID-19 shot (which, ouch. My arm's only just recovered).
The next chapter to go up in here won't be a chapter at all, but a summary of the story so far, since we're at the point where I know that I at least sometimes start to lose track of what's going on with longer fics myself.
Thanks again to everyone who's been reading, it means so much!