The next morning found Kasumi and Itachi at the ANBU commission desk. Kakashi had sent them there the moment they had stepped into the locker room to change. As composed as Kasumi was on the outside, she was a tiny bit giddy on the inside. Not that she would ever acknowledge it. She was an Uchiha. But it made her a bit happy to know, that their trial phase was already over and they would get their place on the regular mission roaster of Team Ro.
Maybe it was a craving for approval. Maybe it was just the knowledge, that she definitely wouldn't end up as a demure housewife now.
There had been a point in her life — about five years ago — when she had stormed into her father's study, eyes blazing with a roaring fire and tiny hands clenched into fists. Itachi had told her, that he had been enrolled into the Academy just moments before. So she had stood in front of her father and had demanded to know, why she wasn't also enrolled, when even her mother was a jōnin, though retired. He had looked at her sternly, if a bit surprised — as if he was seeing her for the first time truly — and had started to explain, that there never had been a woman born into the main family to become a kunoichi; that it was considered too dangerous for the clan line.
Young Kasumi had fumed and had told him in no uncertain terms, that she would request a medic to make her barren, if he wouldn't allow her to take the path of a ninja. In hindsight, she had been a bit dramatic about it all, but her father had just looked at her for a long time and then he had nodded.
The next day, Kasumi had been enrolled and started the Academy a month later together with her twin. It was a week in, when Fugaku knew he had made the right choice as he had to listen to a teacher complaining, that Kasumi had positively flattened a boy of her class after mocking her for being a girl. Needless to say, the teacher wasn't as pleased as Fugaku.
The Elders had thrown a fit about it all, but Young Kasumi had sworn to herself to be the best ninja she could possibly be. Just so she could rub it into their faces every waking minute of her life.
To this day, her gender was at times a tricky topic. One, that even Itachi tried to stay clear off.
Just as Tenzō had already warned Kasumi, the regular ANBU missions weren't that spectacular. The irregular missions were, no question, but for a night shift guarding Uzumaki Naruto or patrolling around the village's walls…well, they wouldn't startle her out of her sleep.
Without so much as looking at her brother, Kasumi held her rotation sheet out. Without missing a beat, Itachi had done the same, so they could cross-reference their schedule. As expected for rookies like them, they would be mainly on guard duty for apparently the next months or so. Kasumi wanted to scoff. As if they wouldn't pull them off those within the next few weeks. Sharingan users were precious and scarce within the ANBU, after all.
And Itachi and her were exceptional at using their kekkei genkai.
"You'll miss tea with the Hyūga", Itachi said, as Kasumi handed him his sheet back.
"Ah", Kasumi nodded in affirmation, not quite unhappy with the predicament.
Itachi shot her a look. Don't be so happy about this!
Kasumi smiled a tiny, genuine smile and let her chakra playfully jab at Itachi's, just as they entered the training ground usually reserved for members of Team Ro.
Don't forget to wear your formal yukata. Her smile seemed to say. Itachi looked a tiny bit sourly.
There was a surprisingly mundane routine to being ANBU. Kasumi hadn't expected that, but after two months of waking up early, changing in the locker room, training with Team Ro and shifts on either guarding Uzumaki Naruto or patrolling the village perimeter, Kasumi found, that it was strangely repetitive. It fit so perfectly into her day to day routine, that it almost baffled her.
Clan meetings, training with Shisui, training with Itachi, spending time with Sasuke, dealing with clan politics…it all fell nicely into the schedule the ANBU dictated. Until they were cleared for more pressing, more dangerous missions, that was, of course. Up until then, everything felt…almost easy.
Nonetheless, Kasumi was restless. There were now whole districts within the village, where the Uchiha weren't welcome anymore. Some vendors even put up signs with their clan symbol crossed out. ANBU started lurking around the Military Police Station like guarding details in a prison. And the clan meetings became more acidic and filled with hatred each passing week. Even Shisui became more distant during their training and maybe that was, what hurt Kasumi the most. Though it wasn't what worried her the most.
Something big was brewing and Kasumi didn't like it. The looks Itachi shared with her, told her enough to know, that he didn't like it either.
The day, that marked their third month within ANBU found them both sitting next to each other on a branch of a tree, looking down at their training team mates. They sat close together, their shoulders touching and their chakra mingling like one. Kasumi let her gaze roam beyond the training ground to where she could see the village's core in the distance.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?", she said lowly, so only her twin could understand her. It's worth protecting.
"A fragile beauty", Itachi nodded. There's something brewing. Something big.
Kasumi turned her head to look at her brother. Her eyes depths of love and fear. Our clan is brewing up a war.
Itachi nodded. His chakra gently caressing his sister's anxiously swirling one in an attempt to comfort her.
"A beauty we need to protect", Kasumi murmured after a while. We need to do something about our clan.
Itachi looked at her for a moment, then he turned his head to direct his gaze towards the blue sky above them.
"Hai."
During the next weeks Kasumi tried to subtly influence her father into negotiations with the Sandaime. She tried to argue, that bloodshed only led to more bloodshed and an uprising of the Uchiha would inevitably lead to a civil war within Hi no Kuni.
It was a futile endeavour.
Itachi and her spent more time training only the two of them, isolating themselves from their clan unintentionally. They couldn't bear the Curse of Hatred burning away, what had finally become a clan filled with love and unity. Fear grabbed their hearts, whenever they had Sasuke with them. Sweet, little Sasuke. He and the other children of the clan would be those, who'd suffer the most.
Because as powerful as the Uchiha clan was…they couldn't hope to stand a chance against the combined forces of all of Konoha. Especially not, when neither Itachi nor Kasumi had any inclination to fight alongside their kin.
They struggled. Together and each of them individually.
Kasumi loved her family. She loved her clan. She even loved their pride. Kasumi loved her father and loved her mother and she would go to hell and back for her brothers. But as weeks flew by without her making any progress in changing her clan's thirst for vengeance against their treatment, Kasumi began to realise, that she wouldn't be able to save them all. She had to choose.
When Itachi came into her room one evening, his expression grave and he just slipped under her blanket in need of her body next to his, Kasumi knew, that he had come to the same conclusion.
"Where's your head, Kasumi?"
Kasumi blinked and looked to her left, just to find the inquisitive stare of her taichō boring into her eyes. They sat both on a tree branch, observing the guard shifts of the temple beneath them. For three days now, they had observed the temple to find a pattern in the shifts and analyse a weakness.
Six months into her ANBU career, this marked the first mission she tag-teamed with only her taichō. Usually it was Kō or Tenzō, who were her mission partners. Sometimes Yōji, because as brilliant as Kasumi was, her sensory range wasn't that impressive to be honest. And her kenjutsu skills were too similar to Yūgao's to pair them together more often.
She couldn't see much of Kakashi due to the masks they wore, but she could hear the chiding in his voice and see the slight amusement in his bi-coloured eyes.
"I was wondering, whether we'd be out of their range by dinner", she lied easily, although she knew, that Kakashi would be able to see the lie. She also knew, that he wouldn't push her to reveal her thoughts.
"Just keep alert", he huffed, as Kasumi had expected. She simply nodded and turned her head back to the temple.
The plan was to sneak in during the next guard change. Kasumi was to incapacitate the guard with genjutsu, while Kakashi would switch the scroll they were after with a fake one.
When Kakashi gave the signal with a simple sign of one hand, Kasumi shunshined to the closest guard. Her Sharingan spun and the first guard slumped against the wall in a deep slumber.
Kasumi wasn't cruel and since they didn't have an order to kill, she went to the next guard to send him into a peaceful genjutsu as well. A pleasant dream would make sure, that the guards thought they had fallen asleep during duty. They would be too embarrassed to say anything about it, possibly even fearing for their position, and thus the exact time the scroll was stolen would remain a mystery.
Between Kakashi and Kasumi, the mission was ridiculously easy and didn't take longer than five minutes until they were save on their way back to Hi no Kuni.
They ran at high speed through the forest. Their steps secure, as they pushed their bodies from one branch to the other.
"Kakashi-taichō", Kasumi suddenly caught Kakashi's attention. He looked at her running next to him. Hair flying in a wild ponytail and arms held behind her to stabilise her fast run.
"Hai?", he acknowledged her.
"You said team work is the most important thing for a ninja", Kasumi began hesitantly, what caused Kakashi's brows to furrow slightly beneath the porcelain mask. "That our comrades are more important, than the mission."
She tilted her head for a second to see, if he was listening. His crackling chakra a not yet entirely familiar feeling next to her, so that she hadn't yet been able to decipher emotions from it. But he seemed curious enough to humour her.
"Where do you draw the line, though?", Kasumi asked, her eyes stubbornly fixed ahead. Kakashi shot her another look. Where was this coming from?
"What do you mean?", he enquired, not quite certain where the conversation was heading. Kasumi's chakra seemed to swirl a bit faster underneath her skin. It felt a bit anxious.
"Say, one of your most trusted comrades — Tenzō, for example", she began and the scowl on Kakashi's face deepened. Tenzō and him made a conscious effort not to seem too close to each other. That she had picked up on their relationship regardless…
"Say, he betrayed the mission. For example opening the scroll we just stole, although we shouldn't. What would you do?"
Kakashi didn't have to ponder long about it. "Well, I guess I'd tell the Sandaime and see, that he would be punished according to the crime", he answered.
"And if he killed one of his own team mates? Or if he sabotaged a mission? What then?", she pushed further.
"Ah", Kakashi said, when he figured what she was aiming for. "You mean to ask, where to draw the line with betrayal?"
"Hai", her answer was short and hard.
"Why?"
Kasumi's next step almost missed the branch. But she had caught herself quickly. Kakashi had noticed it, though. There wasn't much he didn't notice, really.
"Because I want to understand, what it means to be a ninja of Konohagakure, I guess", she answered and this time, Kakashi didn't know whether it was a lie or not.
"I guess it depends on the crime committed", he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "If the safety of the village was to be severely threatened, for example, then that is something I can't forgive."
Kasumi tilted her head to him again, scrutinising him from beneath her mask for a moment, before she turned her gaze back ahead.
"Would you kill him for that?"
Kakashi would never admit it, but he was relieved when he felt hostile chakra signatures enter his range before he had to answer that question.
"Six hostile incoming. Three o'clock", he bit out instead. His body instinctively dropped into a fighting stance and he opened his left eye to let his sharingan see.
Kasumi shot past him, katana at the ready and her shunshin faster, than he had seen it before. Hadn't Itachi said, that they trained with Shinshin no Shisui? Kakashi blocked a senbon flying his way, easily. A stinging smell lingering in the air for the fraction of a second.
"Poison", he called out to Kasumi. In an instant, she blew a wave of harsh wind at the multiple senbon flying their way. Huh, that was new.
Kakashi pulled shuriken from his pouch and retaliated in equal to their opponents. Of course, they didn't do much damage. Their opponents were skilled.
Hitai-ate from Kusa, specialised weaponry, flak jackets. Most likely jōnin-levelled.
He made a clone to substitute for him, just as Kasumi shunshined next to one of the attacking Kusa-nin. Steel gleamed in the dying light of the sun.
Then blood splattered. A gurgling sound. A thud.
But Kakashi was already focusing on his own opponents. He ducked underneath a powerful swing with a long sword, just to take a shunshin forward and ram his kunai into the soft tissue of his opponent's throat. Warmth splattered over his mask and what little of his skin was exposed. Kakashi looked around for a second, observing how his clone distracted another Kusa-nin so Kasumi could go in for the kill. He noticed, that she didn't use her katon in the fight, neither shuriken or kunai. Only her just recently acquired fūton and her katana. Clever kid. The corpses would point towards Suna and not Konoha.
His hair stood on end, as he felt a powerful chakra shoot past him. Wind blades compressed to thin little needles swished past him to embed themselves into his next opponent. Kakashi swiftly went in with another precise stab of his kunai.
Metal clang against metal as the Kusa-nin blocked the attack. Kakashi let the kunai fall into his other hand, surprising his opponent. A second later, warm blood pooled over his non-dominant hand, as he had rammed the kunai in the fifth intercostal space and forced the kunai in an upwards motion, effectively piercing his opponent's heart.
Next thing he saw was Kasumi swinging at the last opponent. She missed. Or rather, the Kusa-nin barely dodged, her blade only cutting the skin on his shoulder.
A gleam of steel.
Kakashi's muscles coiled and snapped within the fraction of a moment.
He grunted, when the kunai embedded itself in his lower back. But his eyes were fixed on the small figure shielded by his taller body.
A set of dark eyes beneath a porcelain mask widened slightly. Then Kasumi was gone.
Kakashi heard a blade sing and then another thud.
His muscles tensed, when he felt a presence appear behind him. A second later, he recognised the chakra signature and relaxed again.
"I'll remove the kunai now, Kakashi-taichō", Kasumi said utterly calm from behind him. "Please prepare yourself." Kakashi held his breath and the next moment an uncomfortable sting shot up to his left shoulder and down his left leg.
"It's thankfully not that bad and there's no poison, but I'm not particularly good at iryō-jutsu, so please bear with me, taichō", the soft voice of his team mate wafted to Kakashi's ears. Only a moment later, he felt the warm, prickling sensation of medical jutsu.
"I think this will do."
Kakashi turned as soon as he didn't feel the prickling sensation anymore. Kasumi stood next to him, her uniform and mask splattered with crimson blood slowly turning darker, until it would be a brown crust on the clothes. It was a bit of an eerie sight, but one Kakashi has grown familiar with. Itachi wasn't that much taller than her after all.
"You good?", Kakashi asked nonetheless, as he straightened his back and tested out how much pain moving caused him.
"I should ask you this, taichō", she countered and he could just feel her disapproving stare on him. "There's no need to take a kunai for me. I'm perfectly capable of—"
"I know", Kakashi cut her off, his eyes darting to Kasumi for a second, before he assessed the damage around them. "But you're my team mate and I protect my team mates." That seemed to shut her up pretty effectively.
"I found this on one of them", she said instead of arguing further and handed him a scroll with a distinctive seal on it. "They were a jōnin squad on their way back from a mission in Suna."
"Ah", Kakashi nodded, his eyes skimming over the Suna insignia on the scroll. "That's why you used only fūton and your katana. It would be logical for Suna-nin to follow them. Quick thinking."
"Hai", Kasumi simply said, completely ignoring the praise. It probably wasn't much of a praise anyway. Her and Itachi were brilliant minds. Kakashi knew from experience, that it came naturally and thus was nothing one as them wanted to be praised for.
"Come", he then ordered, after he put the Suna-scroll in one of his pouches. "If we hurry, we're back on home soil for dinner."
Kakashi smiled a bit, as he heard a tiny sigh come from her, clearly recognising his little jab at her previous lie.
The rest of their mission went smoothly and they arrived back in Konoha two days later.
As soon as they had entered the locker room of Team Ro, they both stripped out of their ruined flak jackets. Kasumi sighed inwardly, as she looked at the dried blood on it. This would be a nightmare to get out of the material. She only heard soft rustling of fabric, as Kakashi removed his ruined uniform behind her.
It was a standing rule within the locker room, that everyone minded their own business and kept their eyes on their locker. It had taken a while and Itachi was still not very happy about it, but by now Kasumi felt comfortable to strip out of her trousers and into a pair of tight combat pants. Her under armour had blood on it's collar, so she stripped out of that too and slid into a shirt and her yukata.
Judging by the lack of noise, Kakashi had finished changing earlier than her. Kasumi turned to see him casually leaning against the lockers, his back towards her.
"Taichō", she addressed him to let him know he could look again. Kakashi tilted his head to look over his shoulder, single sharingan gleaming in the dimly lit room.
"I will report to Danzō-sama and bring him this", he said and held up the scroll they had stolen, as well as the Suna-scroll. "You're dismissed."
"Hai, Kakashi-taichō", Kasumi nodded and walked past him to exit the locker room. She felt his eyes on her the whole way.
"Kasumi."
The girl stopped right in front of the door and turned. Kakashi had a pensive expression on his face, heavy-lidded eyes boring into her in a way, that made her want to squirm. But she was an Uchiha and Uchiha did not squirm.
"That question you asked…", he began in a low tone. "The answer is 'yes'. I would kill him."
Kasumi's eyes widened a fraction, barely visible, if one didn't pay as close attention as Kakashi did.
Then she bowed her head slightly. "Thank you for being honest with me, taichō", she said, still not fully broken out of her overly-polite mannerisms. Especially not around him. "I will leave first."
With that she left a pondering Kakashi.
Kasumi entered the Uchiha compound through the main gate. She looked up at the Uchiha guards stationed on the roofs, their chakra signatures well-hidden. On the roof opposite to the main gate, Kasumi felt the faint chakra signatures of ANBU. A few years ago, there hadn't been guards. There hadn't been the need for them. On either side. A crow flew past, diverting her attention, as her dark eyes followed it's flight.
Maybe she should see, if Shisui was around. Sasuke was still at the Academy and at the ANBU building they had told her, that Itachi had been dispatched on a mission a day ago. His first solo mission as an ANBU. Although she knew, that there was no reason to worry…she did worry nonetheless. Just like Itachi had worried when she had been on her first ANBU solo mission two weeks ago.
Eventually Kasumi found her way onto the porch, that overlooked the koi pond her father loved so much. The beautiful fish lazily drifting beneath the rippling surface. Kasumi sat down, held her face into the sun and closed her eyes. She felt almost content.
She was a proud kunoichi of Konohagakure. And even more pride resided in the fact, that she was an Uchiha. Old blood. Powerful blood.
The answer is 'yes'.
How much was her pride worth, when lives were at stake, though?
I would kill him.
She opened her eyes and lazily blinked against the blue sky. It would be there no matter what. Whether her clan would try to overthrow the Hokage or not. Whether she would stop it or not. Blood would be spilt either way, Kasumi knew that. And who was she to choose whose blood would be spilt?
Wasn't it the circle of life to be born and die? Men and women alike, civilians and ninja, childre—
Kasumi's head fell down, a small frown burrowing a line in between her brows.
The children would suffer the most, if there was to be a civil war. It were always the children, that suffered.
She remembered the suffering. The crippling fear. The nauseating screams from injured ninja. The stench in the hospital. War wasn't pretty.
And Kasumi had sworn, that she would do anything in her power to stop a war from ever happening again. Wasn't that her ninja way, her Nindō? Hers and Itachi's? Had she lost her way already…?
"Nee~ Kasu-chan? Why are you so glum?"
Kasumi was proud, that she did not jump in fright. The line between her brows smoothed out as she looked up and into the smiling face of Shisui. In this moment, he seemed to Kasumi as if he was a second sun, chasing away those dark clouds around her head.
"Just pondering the meaning of life", Kasumi answered casually, a tiny smile curling around her lips despite herself. For a second Shisui looked concerned and Kasumi knew, that he wouldn't forget about it, even if he may not press the topic now. He widened his smile some more, his eyes wrinkling and closing half-way with it.
"Why don't you ponder your shunshin speed with me, instead?", he asked warmly and extended his hand down towards Kasumi to help her stand up.
"I guess, I'd like that", the girl said and took his offered hand. It was warm and comforting, just like his chakra. With a strong pull, Shisui had her standing.
"You know, I might be up for promotion to Jōnin", Shisui started to rattle on to distract her from whatever bothered her, as they walked over the porch, their steps silent and careful.
"That's amazing, Shisui-kun", Kasumi smiled at him, her eyes meeting his with honest praise.
"Ah…hehe", he grinned and scratched the back of his neck, a slight dust of pink on his cheeks. "It's nothing, really."
"It's not nothing", Kasumi rejected his dismissal instantly. "I know, you've worked hard for this. You deserve it more than most."
"I'm just trying to make the clan proud", Shisui said a bit embarrassed. Kasumi huffed at that, eliciting a strange look from Shisui at her improper mannerism.
"This is not about the clan, Shisui-kun", she said sternly, her gaze firmly set ahead. For a scarily long moment, Shisui felt reminded of Fugaku.
"This is about you", Kasumi elaborated with a small gesture towards him. "About your accomplishment. About how hard you worked for this. It is expected of us to be nothing less than exceptional." She huffed again. "We are Uchiha. So of course, making jōnin or ANBU is not really such a big feat, is it now?" She shot him a surprisingly wry smile. A bit of her bitterness from before still clinging to her words. Maybe ANBU had changed her already.
"For what it's worth", she said lowly and averted her gaze again. "I am proud of you, Shisui-kun." Kasumi was a bit embarrassed about her words. But Shisui was her friend and as humble as he was, becoming jōnin at his age and especially during the current times, was impressive. She needed him to know that.
A warm, heavy hand gently landed on her head. Shisui leaned down to be closer to her, a small, utterly genuine smile on his lips and his eyes looking at nothing but her.
"Thanks, Kasu-chan", he said softly. "It's worth a lot." Kasumi felt her cheeks heat up.
"Eh", she dismissed as gracefully as possible. "What did you say about shunshin, again?"
"Ne~, ne~, Kasu-chan", Shisui let go of her and grinned his beaming smile. "Are you embarrassed?"
"Of course not", Kasumi said curtly, but she could feel the heat burning in her cheeks. They were probably as brightly glowing as a sharingan by now. Shisui's bright laughter followed her, as she shunshined away from him and to the training ground. He still had an amused smile on his lips, when he appeared right next to her and they started training.
Baka. Kasumi couldn't help but to smile.
Training with Shisui definitely had made Kasumi faster. She appeared in the Hokage's office almost a full two seconds before her twin. Both were clad in their ANBU gear but with their masks pushed to the side and immediately crouched down in a deferential position. One knee on the ground, their heads lowered.
"Sandaime-sama", they said in unison.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood at the window of his office, his back turned towards the two young Uchiha, as his eyes travelled across the village. Dusk was settling over the roofs and the brightly orange glow of the setting sun dipped everything into a faint golden light. He took a pull from his pipe and puffed the smoke out.
"You requested a meeting", he said, his voice rough and weathered.
Neither Itachi nor Kasumi dared to look at each other. Their chakras mingled to assure themselves, that they were doing the right thing. But for a second Kasumi hesitated.
They could stop their treason now. Before the words were spoken. Before they would damn at least parts of their clan to death. Including their father.
"The Uchiha are planning a coup d'état", Itachi said, his voice firm and unwavering.
Kasumi exhaled a shaky breath. It was done. There was no way back now.
The Hokage did not turn towards them, but they could see him lowering his head almost as if in defeat.
"I feared as much", he said. Kasumi wet her lips. "The animosities from the villagers have grown, haven't they?"
"It is…unpleasant", Kasumi answered. "But what actually causes the hatred to simmer is—" She stopped mid-sentence. "May I speak openly, Sandaime-sama?", she asked instead of finishing the thought.
"You may", came the answer and with that, the Hokage turned around to look at them.
"The problem is the distrust from the Council and at times, yourself, Sandaime-sama", Kasumi explained in a flat tone. Despite her crouched position, she seemed as tall as the room, her voice filling every corner, her eyes fixed on the Hokage. "We know the ANBU have shifts to watch us. We notice the cases pulled from the Military Police Force, because they could be related to the Kyūbi Attack or are considered too delicate to the village. We see how others are promoted before an Uchiha. Most of the Clan Elders can't accept, that it will take time to regain the trust our whole clan has apparently lost."
Hiruzen noted, that while Itachi spoke in a detached way about his clan, Kasumi still held onto the singular plural form.
"Blunt and to the point as always, Kasumi-san", the Sandaime said. "And correct, as usual."
"We are not asking for you to take officially the Uchiha side, Sandaime-sama", Itachi spoke up. "The clan is too far gone for that to change anything. Kasumi and I want to ensure the least bloodshed possible."
The Sandaime looked down at the crouching twins. So young still and such a burden on their shoulders. To betray their own clan like that… Their Will of Fire was admirable and yet…in this instance, it saddened him to see it burn so brightly. It would cause them a heartbreak unimaginable, if they couldn't spark that same fire within the rest of their clan.
"Maybe bloodshed can be avoided", he said and turned away from them. "Uchiha Shisui has already informed me about the treason of your clan."
Kasumi's eyes widened and her mouth formed the name. Even Itachi's chakra seemed to spike in surprise.
"For now", the Hokage continued, "work with him, observe and report back to me."
"Hai, Sandaime-sama", came the two-voiced answer. He felt a flicker of warm chakra and both vanished. A sudden cold crept into the office.
A deep sigh broke from his lips. Maybe he should find a successor. He was getting tired of the politics, that came with his position. Especially politics involving the Uchiha. That was always messy and too emotional.
He took another deep pull from his pipe. He had to speak with Danzō about the situation. Something had to be done.
TRIVIA:
Uchiha Mikoto and Uzumaki Kushina met at a B-rank mission, when Kushina was a chūnin and Mikoto led the mission as a jōnin.
They were close friends ever since then, despite Mikoto being nine years older. Fugaku and Minato never quite saw eye to eye, though, but they never dared to tell their wives.
Kushina adored Itachi and Kasumi, which ultimately led her to wish for a child of her own.
Kushina and Mikoto secretly wished, that their children would marry, so they'd be officially family.
Heya guys,
here's another chapter!
Thank you so much for all the support you're showing Chasing Red Camellias!
This is a bit of a time crunch chapter...as will be the next one. But I hope you can still feel, how things progress?
Also a bit of Kakashi and Kasumi action in this one. Their first mission as a two-men cell!
I really hope Kakashi is somewhat in character?
And can I just say, that I simply adore Shisui?!
As always, I'd love to hear feedback from you. It helps so much and really makes me proud!
Read ya soon,
Murphy
PS.: Kasumi's still too young for romance, but nonetheless Happy Valentine's Day!
Guest: Ah, thank you. I guess, it does make sense to have her quite powerful. Otherwise I shouldn't have made her Itachi's twin, ne? Thanks for your review and I hope I can continue to entertain you.
CapNHound: Oh. Wow. Uh...that actually made me blush. And grin like a madman. Thank you for the compliment! I'm...yeah, just thank you.
HaphazardChemical: Thank you! I try to make it as unique as possible, while using an Uchiha-OC. It's a guilty pleasure, really. And honestly, Itachi deserved to have someone have his back. Hehe, I'm excited myself.
SierraHotel: It felt like the right time to start. I wanted to show the Uchiha before the massacre and how Kasumi fits in. So I can later show, how much the massacre influenced everything. Thanks four your review!
Diver-Sara: Aw~, thank you. I already have rough ideas and specific plot points on how Kasumi will fit into the arcs. But I guess it'll take a while until we get there...the massacre happens in chapter seven...so we still got a bit to go.
Ambrose: Thank you for your interest and the review! I'm not yet certain on how much the plot will differ from canon. I don't want to have Kasumi steal anyone's thunder...but, of course, there will be differences. Maybe not entirely in the way how canon develops, but certainly in the way why canon develops.
Rsaenz18: It is my absolute pleasure to update this story. Thank you for your review!
Sjlovesstories: Thank you for reviewing! I'm already writing chapter 10, so...there's a bit of a buffer. Thank you for following!