A new chapter!

Thanks for the warm welcome back for my last chapter, guys! I am so happy to have the best and kindest readers ever.

This chapter was betaed by NightsBlackRose13, as always. Also, marvelous job, as always.

Chapter 16: Out of the Bubble, Into the Crowd

I step out of the examination room into the hallways of Konoha's shinobi academy, the door falling shut behind me with a gentle clicking sound. In my hand, I'm holding a piece of dark blue cloth with a metal plate stitched on it. The stylized leaf lies heavy on my palm, making me acutely aware that, even though it is made to be as light as possible, it's still steel. A subtle but constant reminder of my new status.

I'm not sure how I feel about it, yet.

For the past year, I always believed that it would fill me with a sense of accomplishment when I finally graduated, but presently, having just done that, my mind feels kind of blank.

I'm a genin of Konoha now.

I mean, genin, as in 'shinobi with the rank of genin'. I am still a bit overwhelmed by this tidbit of information and the longer I think about it, the more daunting the thought becomes.

I've come a long way from being a simple business postgrad with a musical background and almost no interest in physical exercise whatsoever. And I have no idea where my journey is going to lead me next.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a shadow materializing out of perceived nowhere and approaching me. I know it's Shikaku even before I properly see his face or hear his voice, simply recognizing him by his gait and the way he purposefully drags his feet along. I wait for him to catch up to me.

"Yo, Etsuko" he greets me with a drawl. His shoulders are slouched and his hands in the pockets of his pants, projecting to all the world a picture of casual carelessness that only lasts so long when you know that he is a Nara. "I suppose congratulations are in order?"

"Did you doubt me?" I ask back.

"Nah, would've been a waste of energy" he replies. "Though it is troublesome to think about the fact that you ended up in the same graduating class as I."

I smirk at that. "You could have graduated when I hadn't even started attending if you hadn't been so lazy."

He smirks right back. "Heh. Probably."

We proceed in amicable silence and I slowly start to feel comfortable again. He has that stabilizing effect on me.

Actually, this is a good summary of our whole relationship.

Since entering the academy, he has been sort of a constant companion to me: at first, as the only acquaintance I had here in school and then, when I was transferred into another class at the beginning of the second half of the year, as a classmate. His presence was unobtrusive and he never stepped out unless he felt that there was any kind of need for that and most importantly, he didn't treat me any different because of my age/gender/clan.

Which was actually something that happened. Because, in case you didn't know, kids can be frickin' mean.

You'd think that the mind of a mid-twenties woman trapped in a child's body could handle a bit of pre-pubescent bullying no problem. But either I underestimated the might of kids raised with shinobi morals or I am more on a wavelength with my physical age than I thought I was since I don't feel like a twenty-something at all at the moment.

That … might actually be a point worth investigating, now that I think of it.

Anyway, back to what I was saying: mean kids. Obviously, the first point of attack was my age. There was that one obligatory jerk that seemed to feel the need to validate himself by picking on the perceived weakest and I swear, it was so cliché it wasn't even funny. It didn't get any better after I beat him in a spar, either. His defeat only served to shift his douchbaggery towards a more general hatred for the Uchiha. Still, I made a point by proceeding to beat him in every single spar after that. It had become a matter of pride on my behalf by then. Eventually, I even learnt to remember his name through that. It's Akio.

Besides, it was kind of fun.

The other kids were subtler about their apprehension with my age and lineage, but subtle eight-to-nine-year-olds are still not particularly graceful. They resorted to means of marginalization and isolation, and even though I loathe admitting it, that hurt.

See, I had come to the academy with the intention to build a network of social contacts – or friends, if you want to call it like that – because I know for a fact that my clan could work a bit on their public relations.

Because I meant it when I promised Takao-sama to do my best for the clan, I really did. And for me, that also included thinking further into the future, thinking about what I want the Uchiha to be seen as. What good does it for me, after all, if I become a passable shinobi only to be mistrusted, avoided and ultimately massacred? What good does it for Obito when I manage to keep him from Madara only to have him and us all potentially annihilated because someone within the village decided that we were a menace?

So, I was actually ready to communicate. I was ready to bring up the patience needed to deal with children, was willing to talk to them and answer whatever they wanted to know, heck, I was even motivated enough to help whoever needed help with training etc. All that to adjust the Uchiha image in the public eye.

Apparently, I had severely misjudged just how bad their situation – our situation – was. Is.

Because.

Nobody likes us.

Literally.

Of course, nobody said it directly to my face, but it was obvious in the way they avoided any kind of interaction with me - or Toshiro for that matter. It also didn't help that he himself was unwilling to open up, instead preferring to join the Uchiha clique already present in academy. Which, needless to say, was and still is very much exclusive, too.

It's a disaster.

At least it's one step better than everybody hates us, but it's also just that - one step away. Not exactly edifying.

And before I had decided what to do about it, the second half of the year had come – and with that, my advancement to the class scheduled to graduate next since I was doing so well.

I would like to say that from then on, everything got better, that I managed to polish the Uchiha image and that I became widely respected. And of course, that's not what happened, though the few added years on the average age of my new classmates did contribute to higher levels of maturity. Mostly.

But the thing that did make a rather big difference, at least for me, was the presence of the Ino-Shika-Chou-formation. And with that I mainly point my finger on one Nara Shikaku.

I confess right here that I couldn't help but take a practically immediate liking to the seemingly languid boy.

The reasons are rather simple: besides the qualities I already mentioned, he's obviously smart, has a dry, ironic sense of humor that I miss so frickin' much in my clan and the ability to listen. He does the latter so well, actually, that it's probably dangerous – but I can't help but appreciate it with my whole heart. He doesn't put me under any kind of pressure, either, which is incredibly refreshing. I didn't know that I'd needed that so badly.

"Shika, what took you so lo- oh, Etsuko! Hiya!"

My train of thought is interrupted by Chouza's exclamation. I see him standing right in front of the main door of the academy with a mandatory bag of crisps in his hands. At his side is Inoichi, his long blonde hair up in a ponytail and a brandnew hitai-ate on his forehead. His face is set in a calm expression as he gives me an acknowledging nod.

"Hi Chouza, Inoichi" I say as Shikaku and I close the distance.

"So you passed the exam?" Chouza asks excitedly. "That's awesome! I think you're the youngest genin that Konoha's ever had. Your family must be really proud!"

"Uh, yeah" I say with a slight grimace.

I don't doubt that they are. And that's probably the start of the problem. But I chose this, so I'm not gonna start complaining now.

Inoichi frowns a bit but before he or Chouza can comment on my less than enthusiastic response, Shikaku intervenes.

"Let's get out. If I keep my parents waiting for any longer, kaa-san is going to think that I failed. That would be troublesome."

The others nod in agreement and together, we step out of the academy's halls into the sunny afternoon of Konoha.

)()()(

The space before the building is crowded with parents and newly minted genin. Chouza runs as soon as he spots his father and Inoichi excuses himself shortly after. I can see Yashiro, too, standing a few feet apart from the main crowd. I look up at Shikaku.

"Ok, so – see you tomorrow, right?"

He eyes me for a few seconds before he replies. "Yeah. See you tomorrow."

I give him a lopsided grin and turn away.

As I get closer to Yashiro, I am pleasantly surprised that he does actually have the Uchiha-equivalent look of content on his face – which is to say, a minute upward curve at the corners of his mouth and a slightly warmer shine to the eyes than usual.

I come to a halt before him and bow down in greeting. "Yashiro-san."

"Etsuko" he greets back. His gaze falls on the cloth in my hand. "I see, you have fulfilled our expectations. Of course you did."

Well. That's something, I guess.

"Well done. Takao-sama will be pleased, too. The rankings will be published tomorrow, I trust?"

I nod.

"Good."

With that, he turns around and signals me to follow.

We haven't made more than ten steps when I hear someone calling my name.

I look over my shoulder to find Ume waving at me, her other hand holding little Kakashi's. Something warm and fuzzy spreads in my chest as I see them and I jog over without thinking.

"Ume-san! This is such a pleasant surprise!"

Ume smiles. "We did promise to come, didn't we? It's a very important day for you, after all."

I'm smiling myself as I hold up the hitai-ate to show her. "Yeah. I made it."

"Of course you did" she says and suddenly, this same phrase sounds a hundred times warmer than when Yashiro said it. "I didn't doubt you for a second."

"Thank you!" Positively beaming now, I turn to Kakashi. "Hi Kakashi! I'm really happy you came."

The boy smiles back. "Hi, Etsuko-nee" he says, his little voice clear and without hesitation. And just like every time, I'm touched by him calling me that.

He's started doing that not too long ago. It happened on one of the playdates, one after a rather long break of not having them since I wasn't as flexible with my timetable as before anymore after starting the academy. Kakashi had seemed somewhat down on that day and Obi had caught on to that. So he had decided to cheer his friend up by convincing me to sing for them – Michael Jackson's 'Heal the World', his favorite lullaby.

It had worked.

On that same day, just before Obi and I left, he came up to me with a very serious look in his eyes. I remember being worried, asking him if he was alright and him going really quiet for a few seconds before bursting out with the question if he could call me Etsuko-nee.

The tips of his ears had been adorably pink then.

"Is Obito-chan here, too?" Ume asks, successfully bringing me back to the present.

I shake my head. "No. Yashiro left him at home with Naoko."

"Oh well. Tell him we said 'hi'!"

I nod. "Will do!"

After a couple more exchanges, I bid them goodbye and get back to Yashiro.

"The Hatake boy?" he asks with an impassive face. He knows about the playdates Obi and I have with Kakashi and though he'd not been very amused by the idea of us consorting with anyone outside the clan at first, he came around eventually. It helped that I could convince him that Obito's development benefitted from spending time with 'The Hatake Boy'.

I nod.

"Hn" he grunts and we continue our way home.

)()()(

"Etsuko, come into my study."

I look up from where I'm sitting on the ground with Obito, sheets of paper surrounding us since I'm showing him how to write his name in Hiragana. Yashiro is standing in the doorway, scowl in place, and moves his head in a manner that reveals the unspoken now.

I get up. "I'll be right back, Obi!"

He nods and gives me a cheery grin. "I'll be able to write my name when you're back, nee-chan! Watch me!"

I ruffle his hair fondly. "I can't wait to see it."

My smile stays in place until Yashiro and I settle down in his study. The air of seriousness that is practically inherent to it makes my face adopt the standard Uchiha face that I've learnt to mimic so well by now.

Yashiro launches straight into the conversation.

"Takao-sama is very pleased with your development. You have performed well above our expectations. Although we don't know about your ranking, yet, your graduation as the youngest shinobi within the shortest time of attendance in Konoha's history already contributes greatly to the honor of the clan. You have proven that you're more than able to carry out your duty."

Oh.

I feel my cheeks heat up under the praise. It feels good to be commended like that, I don't deny it. Even though one might say that I had it easy due to not having to start from scratch in the non-shinobi subjects – and with that I mean the likes of reading, writing, math, history, which, by the way, was more an indoctrination of Konoha shinobi values leaning heavily to the side of historical whitewashing, etc. – like the other kids, I did put quite some effort into the physical training, especially the use of chakra.

And if one says that that must've been easier, too, because of my Sharingan, they're totally right. I'd also add that I was often forbidden from using it and that the bodies of the other children were in average several years older than mine so that my kekkei genkai's advantage, if allowed, mainly served to compensate this imbalance.

Besides, it's not as I haven't paid the price for it.

"But this is only the first in a long line of duties that you'll have to fulfill from now on. By becoming a shinobi, you've become a full adult and are thus expected to act according to your status."

He stops and looks at me expectantly.

The resulting silence is deafening.

Because here. Right here, it comes. Everything that's wrong with this universe.

I've known it before and gotten duly horrified, but getting it thrown into my face like this really drives the point home.

I gulp. My throat feels like it's been roughened up with sandpaper and my voice is hollow when I answer him.

"I understand."

What else can I say, really?

Yashiro nods in approval. "Good."

I get up and ready to return to Obito, thinking that this is over.

"I haven't dismissed you, yet."

Well, apparently I thought wrong.

I quickly sit down again. "I'm sorry, Yashiro-san."

He stares at me intensely for a few heartbeats and I'm starting to feel slightly creeped out when he finally opens his mouth.

"I understand that you're on good terms with the Nara heir?"

What. Does this feel as abrupt to anybody else as it does to me?!

"Uh, Shikaku and I are … friends, I guess" I stammer, completely bewildered. "So yeah?"

"Good. This will raise the chance of a successful commitment."

Wait, what?!

"Commitment?!" I squeak.

"The clan's legacy must be carried on no matter what. Usually, the elders would not consider a marriage outside of the clan to keep the blood strong. However, they have recognized that there is currently no eligible candidate within the clan to match your skill and thus to ensure the best possible outcome for your offspring. There were long discussions to find a solution and it has been decided eventually that securing a connection to the Nara clan would be beneficial in every regard."

What. What. What.

My brain, having had a short circuit at the word 'marriage', prevents me from hearing the rest of what he is saying.

This must be some really bad joke. Or a nightmare. Either way, it can't be real.

"Tomorrow, the Nara will give us their answer and if it turns out favorably, you and their heir will be betrothed until you are of age, at which point you will be married to each other. I expect you to fulfill your duty in this just as you did with the academy."

I feel as if every organ of mine has been replaced by one single block of ice. I cannot move, cannot think.

This is not happening.

"You're dismissed."

Yashiro doesn't wait for me and leaves the room. As soon as the shoji screen slides shut behind him, all hell breaks loose.

Marriage? Marriage?! I am five years old! Why is this even a thing?!

And to Shikaku?

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against Shikaku, but this is not the point. Besides the question if I want to spend the rest of my live as his wife, this situation has other, far deeper implications.

Shikaku is supposed to have Shikamaru with Yoshino. I am not Yoshino. Therefore, no child of ours - I wince - could be Shikamaru.

Which would screw so heavily with canon that I can't even begin to think about it without having a seizure.

How could this happen? How could I fuck so much up by simply existing? What else have I changed without knowing?

)()()(

I don't know how I got out of Yashiro's study and into Obito and mine's room. I only know that I somehow ended up in my bed, my whole body shaking and my arms tightly wound around Obito. His head is still resting against my collarbone even now and his even breathing gives me some semblance of calm.

It's the morning after the Yashiro's revelation of the clan's marriage plans for me.

And I've decided that I'm not going to sit on my butt and wait for whatever outcome there might be.

"Nee-chan?" Obito's sleepy voice comes from under my chin. "Are you alright now?"

My chests constricts almost painfully under the onslaught of affection that floods me right then. "Yeah, thanks, otouto." My fingers run through his hair and I give him a peck on his cheek. "Now go back to sleep. It's way too early for you to be awake."

"'S ok. I just don't want nee-chan to be sad anymore."

Oh, Obito.

I hug him even tighter. "Thank you, Obito."

)()()(

As soon as Shikaku enters the classroom, I step into his way and grip his forearm.

"We need to talk" I hiss through clenched teeth.

He sighs but doesn't resist when I steer him back through the door, down the hallway and into a currently empty classroom. I release him after the door has fallen shut and cross my arms in front of my chest.

"Ok listen" I say, my voice hoarse with suppressed anger. "This might sound crazy to you right now, but I found out yesterday that our families are trying to marry us off. To each other."

Shikaku doesn't react the way I expect him to.

He sighs again. "So they finally told you?"

My jaw drops.

"You knew?!"

A profound sense of betrayal envelopes and quite possibly succeeds in suffocating me because the edge of my vision is starting to turn black and fuzzy and my ears suddenly feel as if they're stuffed with cotton. Also, my inner me might or might not be busy running in circles and screaming bloody murder.

"How long?" I manage to squeeze out through the mayhem that's currently raging inside me. "And why didn't you tell me?!"

"Since our first meeting. You know, when you ran into me with your little brother?"

"That … that's more than a year ago!"

Oh my god. Suddenly, his behavior from that day makes so much sense. The way he reacted to my name. Or how he had been so sure that we would meet again.

"I had just eavesdropped on my parents a few days ago. They'd been discussing an offer from the Uchiha elders involving a possible marriage between our clans and your name came up. I …"

He pauses to rub the back of his neck and turns his gaze to the windows with a deep frown. It's the closest to a state of distress that I've ever seen him be in.

"Coincidentally, my parents told me about the marriage plans the same evening. I wanted to refuse outright, but they persuaded me to think about it since the match could be good for clan relations. They renegotiated a timeframe to consider the proposal and the Uchiha agreed to give me time until your graduation. I had to tell my parents yesterday how I'd decided."

Yesterday.

Am I too late already?

"What" My throat closes up and I need to clear it before I try again. "What did you say?"

"I told them that it was obvious that you didn't know anything about this arrangement and that I didn't think it was fair to decide something that would shape both our lives considerably on my own."

I exhale slowly.

"Thank you. That … was considerate."

At that, he gives me a lopsided grin. "Anytime. I can't help but wonder, though, would it be that bad to be married to me?"

I roll my eyes and manage a tired smirk. "Worse. More in the direction of 'troublesome', I guess."

Before he can reply to that, the door swings open, revealing Inoichi. He stops in his tracks – probably startled by the air between Shikaku and I, which, though distinctly less strained than just seconds before, still remains positively awkward – but regains his bearings quickly enough.

"Shikaku, Etsuko, not to interrupt something, but I thought you might want to know that Jurou-sensei is about to explode. You know, since you're not there while he is announcing the genin teams."

Look who is feeling sassy today.

Shikaku grunts in annoyance. "I'm going to be on a team with Chouza and you anyway, so I don't see why I have to show up at all. Troublesome."

He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jacket and tilts his head. He seems as unruffled as ever, but when he looks at me I can see a spark of uncertainty in his eyes. "Shall we go then?"

I take a deep breath to pull myself together. One step at a time. Nothing's been decided, yet. "Seems like we don't have a choice anyway. Let's move."

)()()(

"I congratulate you all to your successful passing of the exams. You've taken your first step on your way as a shinobi of Konoha. Whenever you put on your headband, remember that it is the village that you serve above all. From now on, you're fully qualified fighters as well as protectors of the Leaf."

Jurou-sensei pauses to draw a breath. It seems a bit hesitant, the way he says the next sentence. As if he had wanted to say something else entirely. But the notion is too fleeting to give me certainty.

"I will now announce your genin teams."

The children before him fall into silence, anticipation shining in their eyes and even I get infected with it. I'm sitting on the edge of my chair, leaning slightly forward and as soon as Jurou-sensei starts reading out, I begin to count.

I quickly come to the result that all in all, we're 25 graduates.

...

25 is not exactly divisible by 3. At least, not without leaving the realm of natural numbers and therefore giving up on the concept of putting whole people into a team.

One by one, the kids around me are being called out, until everyone else is sorted and supplied with the names of their jounin sensei.

Notice that I said 'everyone else'.

Why am I not surprised at all to be the odd woman out?

"Uchiha Etsuko, you come with me."

24 pairs of eyes follow me with various expressions as I make my way to the front of the class. Chouza gives me a thumbs-up when I pass him and I manage a half-hearted grin in return. Shikaku's face is set in a frown and I can feel his gaze on my back when I follow Jurou-sensei out of the room. Apparently, our conversation from before weighs heavy on his mind, too.

We both know that it's not over, yet.

Our walk is silent as Jurou-sensei leads me to the roof of the academy. Once we're there, he turns to me. "Your jounin-sensei will take it from here. Good luck."

And then he leaves. Just like that.

Well.

He did wish me luck at least.

From where I'm currently standing I can't see anybody on the rooftop. It's oddly quiet up here, as if all the noises of Konoha have decided to keep their business to the ground level and as I walk to the middle of the platform, I idly activate my Sharingan to check for hidden chakra traces. It's become a habit of mine, encouraged by Yashiro's training and my desire to minimize the energy that I need to spend on my doujutsu.

It's also probably the only thing that saves me from being skewered by three kunai, speeding at me in different angles and rapid succession

As soon as my eyes register their movement, my body moves almost on its own. Hours and hours of bone-crushing training have started to translate themselves into instinct and by the time my mind has caught up with what's happening, I have executed a quick backflip and a jump to my right. I am currently crouching low, shuriken in hand, and eyes focused in the direction from where the attack must've come from. Every muscle in my body is tense, my blood thrumming with adrenaline and my chakra ready to be drawn upon.

For one heartbeat, there is absolute silence.

But silence is not enough to trick the Sharingan.

My attacker's greenish-blue chakra betrays their exact location – there, behind the second of the two water tanks and ready to launch something new.

There's no time to lose.

I sprint into the opposite direction, targeting the door leading back to the stair case and into the academy. I'm not trying to run away, not yet at least, but as long as they're behind cover, it's not prudent to charge at them head-on. That's something that Naruto would do, but there's a reason why not everybody is Naruto. Instead, I need some cover of my own and some seconds to think.

Only, my attacker apparently doesn't agree with my plan.

I'm still running when suddenly, I sense the pull of air being displaced. One quick check with my Sharingan affirms that the displacement comes along with a body of chakra and I have just enough time to twist my torso away from a blow that would have knocked me out cold had it connected.

Shunshin my mind helpfully supplies while I'm trying not to get my ass kicked.

Which I'm spectacularly failing at, by the way.

That blow was only the first one in a series of relentless, rapid-fire strikes from both arms and legs and less than ten seconds after the onslaught has started, a kick to my abdomen sends me flying straight across the rooftop.

I hit the ground quite a distance away from the starting point.

Hard.

Pain explodes and spreads like wildfire in my whole body and for a moment, my vision goes white. I can't say how long I'm incapacitated like this, but when I blink and finally get my eyes to send sensible signals to my brain again, I can see my attacker crouching just a few feet away from me.

It's a woman.

Her eyes are cold and mocking as she stares me down, lips twisted into something close to Natalie Dormer's famous duckface. And hey, nothing against that duckface. I loved that duckface. I'm all for that duckface.

I might not have all of my faculties together, yet.

The-woman-with-Natalie-Dormer's-duckface has her right hand held up and I can see something dangling from it, a stripe of blue cloth with metal glinting in the sun –

I slowly lift my hand to touch my forehead.

No hitai-ate. I'm pretty sure that it was still there before I had my short trip to dreamland.

Which means that the one in her hand is mine.

"Back in the land of the living, brat?"

My gaze goes back to her face. She has narrowed her eyes at me and all of a sudden, the air around me feels heavy, almost leaden, and my aching muscles freeze up in fear.

I know that sensation.

Flashes of a dark alley and a face, half-crazed and hungry for revenge appear before my eyes. A bloody katana, the sound of a kunai ripping through skin and flesh, blood –

"No" I press out through gritted teeth. I close my eyes and when I open them, the world is again as sharp and crystalline as on the day I first activated it. I bring my hands together and go through the seals that I memorized just a few weeks prior – tiger, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger – feel the pressure of chakra building up in my chest, travelling through my throat, burning hot, and into my mouth.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

A sizeable fireball roars into life and I can see a look of surprise cross the features of the woman before flames engulf her, swallowing her whole. My arms fall uselessly to my side and my body slumps over even more than before as a huge chunk of chakra leaves my body.

There was probably a reason why Yashiro only showed me the seals and not the whole technique is my last thought before everything around me goes black.

)()()(

I open my eyes, for the second time of my second life, to the sterile white of a hospital room.

I feel sluggish, as if my energy was sapped out of me and replaced by something thick and syrupy, and I have only a vague idea of how I got here.

Oh.

Yeah.

There was a fight.

With me in it.

And I might have overestimated my abilities a bit.

I groan quietly. I should probably be thankful that I'm still alive.

By the way, why am I still alive? Why was I even attacked in the first place?

…

Why didn't this question occur to me sooner?

It is at this precise moment that I can hear voices approaching the room.

"… just graduated? We get a complete newbie?"

"She did graduate at the top of the class, though."

"Shh, shut up, boys. She might still be asleep and you wouldn't want to wake her. Unless you really want to get roasted by a grand fireball."

Eheheh.

Oops.

The door opens and three people enter the room. One of them I immediately recognize as the woman from the rooftop. She's wearing a jounin vest and a Konoha hitai-ate now and you wouldn't believe how relieved I am to see that. The two others are boys of ca. 12 years of age, though I find it hard to guess. One of them has hair the color of black coffee while the other is lighter colored, more in the direction of honey.

Look who gets poetic when suffering from chakra exhaustion.

"Oh, so you're awake?" The woman says. "Perfect timing. We can have team introductions then."

Hi, I'm fine, thanks for asking.

"So, I'm Mitarashi Hanako and I'm going to be your jounin-sensei. This here -" she gives the dark haired boy a smack on the back of his head which is accompanied with a muffled 'ow!' "- is Sarutobi Regashi."

"Hi, nice to meet you" Regashi says.

Whoa, wait.

Did she just say Sarutobi?

"And this -" Hanako proceeds to give the other boy the same treatment she gave Regashi, "is –"

"HANAKO!"

All four of us wince collectively as a furious blonde woman with an impressively big rack stomps into the room. We wince again when she turns to Hanako and opens her mouth.

"I swear, if you are going to upset my patient just after you've pushed her to almost complete chakra exhaustion I'm going to beat your ass to Suna and back!"

Hanako puts her hands up in a placating manner. "Ah, Tsunade-chan, I'm wounded! Do you think so lowly of me?"

Whoa, wait.

Tsunade as in super-awesome-Sannin-and-future-Godaime-Tsunade?

"Hah. It's not as if you haven't done it before."

Tsunade turns away from Hanako and focuses on me. The seal on her forehead is unmistakable which means that, yes, this is the Senju Tsunade.

"You alright kiddo? You were pretty out of it when she brought you here."

"Yeah, thanks. I'm ok, I think, just a little bit woozy."

"A little woozy?" Tsunade echoes with a raised eyebrow. "You had quite a severe case of chakra exhaustion. I would recommend you to be precise in whatever you feel is out of normal."

"Really" I assure her. "I'm fine. I'll only need some rest now and I should be completely fit by tomorrow!"

"That's what I like to hear" Hanako cheerfully comments. "So, team training starts tomorrow at 7 a.m. sharp. Be on time. Oh, and congratulations for passing the genin test, by the way. You caught me by surprise out there."

Oh. Well, that makes sense. Had a feeling that the attack on the rooftop wasn't random.

"Genin test? You've just graduated from the academy?" Tsunade frowns, suddenly much more sober than before.

"Yeah" the light haired boy affirms. "She's going to fill in for Akemi-chan as long as she's out of commission."

Tsunade's frown only deepens at that. She aims her next question at Hanako. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Regashi and Nawaki are used to certain dynamics."

Wait, did she just say Nawaki? This name rings a bell somewhere at the back of my mind.

"Hokage's orders" Hanako says with a shrug.

And then, Nawaki chimes in. "Don't worry about us, Nee-san. We're going to –"

The rest of what he says is drowned out by the sudden swoosh that rolls over my mind and flattens anything else that's currently occupying space in there.

Nee-san.

As my mind pieces everything together, agonizingly slow, horror starts creeping up my spine.

Dear god.

If I understood everything right …

…

If I understood everything right, I'm on a genin team together with Senju Nawaki.

Senju.

Nawaki.

!

God help me.

Because I have the feeling that nobody else will.

Ba-duhm, and here it is. Did you like it? Tell me, as always! :)

See you in the next chap!