Sean and Miri were on the staredown of their life. Everything they did up to this point was in the hands of one person. One person will make the decision of what happens to them. All the news they heard after their return made them anxious. They could easily be locked up or stored to be used as weapons for the war to come.
Since Tsunade woke backup to return as Hokage, all previous deals and knowledge with Danzo has been erased. Miri and Sean were free to talk about everything they spoke about says prior. But both agreed to keep as much hidden as possible, their retrieval of the Rinnegan and Miri's new Sharingan that Danzo had possessed.
"I've read the reports." Tsunade broke the silence.
"So, tell me what you know." Sean demanded.
"I know that isn't your original body, you have the Rinnegan in hand. And that Miri was sent to the Rain Village for a funeral. What else aren't you telling me?"
Sean and Miri caught eyes. Sean looked back directly to Tsunade. "I control this body with the help of the Rinnegan, it allows me to be here without the need of Miri's Sage Mode. But to activate my full power I still need her in that state or else I just carry the power of the Rinnegan and nothing else." Sean looked at Miri and nodded at her.
"But if we want Sean back to his fullest without the need of my fullest power." Miri reached in her dress and pulled out a small scroll. She unraveled it across Tsunade's desk. "We need to perform this."
"How did you receive this?" Tsunade snatched the scroll up and read through it with a worried look in her eyes. "This jutsu, it's forbidden."
"We thought so." Miri sighed. "It was given to me by Danzo. He somehow knew of Sean's predicament and gave us that."
"You shouldn't have shown this to me, you know I won't condone this in the slightest. Especially since all five nations will have to join together. "
"We don't want to use someone from another nation. Or this nation. While we waited for the Hokage to return we pressed matters into our own hands. A little help from the Intel division showed us a small group of kekkei genkai users. Send us there, we find someone willing to do it and obtain a new tool for the war.
Tsunade rolled up the scroll and handed it to Shizune. "You won't be using this jutsu. Sean what ever happened to you happened. We won't stoop this low to get it back. I was offered the same thing years back." Tsunade leaned back in her chair. "You do have my permission to go out and retrieve the kekkei genkai. But you will be going out as Jounin of the Leaf. If war does break out I can't have my strongest ninja on the sidelines here. And I can't sacrifice more men to your cause."
"Understood." Sean stood from his chair. "I do have one more thing to ask of you though."
"What is it?"
"I want a Byakugan user to assist Miri in the gaining and training of the Byakugan user."
"You'll have to speak with the Hyuga clan with a request like that."
"Understood."
"Shizune, if you would." Shizune gently placed down the pig from her arms and pulled a pair of green vests from underneath the desk.
Both of the siblings accepted the gift and left the makeshift office. Yet neither of them could throw on the symbol of their village. They didn't need to speak to each other to understand what each other thought. They sprang to hug each other with the vests still in their grasps.
"We made it. No longer just a tool." Sean whimpered.
"A home to belong in."
They broke apart the hug and wiped away the tears that built up in their eyes. Sean was the first to throw his vest on over his blue hoodie. To him it felt strange, the combination didn't feel right. He quickly removed the vest and stared directly at it.
"What you're wearing now doesn't fit right, right?" Miri asked.
"Yeah, I'm not sure why. I had these clothes for years but now it just feels different."
"I know what's wrong." The voice that spoke got louder with every word.
The siblings faced down the path to the office. "Anko!" They both shouted.
"I'm surprised your here." Sean made a half smile. "Really shocked.
The purple hair ninja didn't say a word as she got face to face with Sean. Sean opened his mouth to speak but Anko blocked his attempt with her lips. She grabbed his cheeks and pulled him in for a kiss. Their breathing was hard as they broke apart. And Miri was jaw dropped as she was forced to watch the scene. Sean couldn't help but look at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Thought you wanted this to be a secret thing. For the public sake of the Shinobi." Sean said with a slightly higher voice than normal.
"I did. Until I lost you." Anko's smile was large, something Sean came accustomed to in their hidden relationship.
"Uhh, so about the other thing."
"Sean. There's no ignoring your past. You've been back in the village for days but you still didn't visit Amari's grave. The village may have been destroyed, but the memory of the Shinobi from here have not left."
Miri's head dropped. "All this time." Miri mumbled. "I thought I could just. Ignore this."
Anko shifted her head behind her. "Your past never leaves. Come on." Anko reached out her hand for Miri. It took a second for Miri to accept and grasp the Jonin's hand.
Anko led the Ezenki's to a off path of the village. Lines of gravestone heads was freshly laid down on the newly exposed dirt. They walked through the rows of stone hedges and down across the third row. Anko stopped near the middle of the section. They looked down at the stone's inscription. 'Amari Attana-Enzenki'. Miri dropped down to both knees. Everything she held back in the past opened through her eyes. She sniffled.
"Miri." Sean whispered.
"This is what I meant." Anko broke the almost dead silence. She grabbed Sean's hand. "You're family is broken. And you can't continue on without sealing those cracks."
