Twilight River

Chapter 7

Returned

My priority after basking in the sunlight for a few minutes after my release was food. I had eaten only tasteless rations for the past nine months and I wanted something with flavor! The issue was I didn't have money on me so I had to go crawling back to the orphanage instead. When I walked in a few of the kids looked like they'd seen a ghost and when Kotoko-san laid eyes upon me, she sneered.

"You're back?" she asked, "I thought you were gone for good."

"I've finished my training." I replied through my teeth, rather angry to see her face again even after months of being apart.

Kotoko-san eyed the hitai-ate on my arm, "That marks you as an adult. You're no longer welcome in my orphanage. Gather your belongings and leave. You're wasting space."

My mouth dropped, "I don't have any money! Or anywhere to live!"

"That's not my problem, now, is it?" Kotoko-san retorted. She turned and left and I went to the room I used to live in. My notebooks and clothes were in a drawer and I sealed them into the scroll with my ANBU gear. I didn't have much and I wasn't sure if I would fit in my old clothes anymore. I didn't know if I had grown or if I had changed in any way.

I took to the roads as I wondered what I could do. I didn't have money so I couldn't stop in at a restaurant and eat. I dropped in at the Hokage's office and the receptionist took down my name and told me I could come back in six hours to see the Hokage. I would talk to him about my sudden lack of residence, although I supposed I could sleep in the ANBU barracks if I really wanted to. I just really didn't want to step foot in there again until I was required to.

I wandered the village and wondered where my friends were. I didn't want to be creepy and just stop by their houses, especially after not seeing them for more than nine months in some cases. As I aimlessly walked I paused when I passed a vaguely familiar spot. Dangling as a decoration was a mirror that I recognized as the mirror that had first shown me what Uzumaki Miyako looked like. I knelt down to appraise myself in it again. My face was relatively unchanged except for the baby teeth that had been knocked out during training. My hair had gone on a wild growth spurt and I could only manage to hold half of it in a bun with the pin Shisui-senpai had given me. I looked very unkempt but that didn't really bother me.

I was startled when I heard someone touch down behind me and I jumped up, ready for one of Dog's sneak attacks. I was thoroughly shocked though when I realized that it was Shisui-senpai, in the flesh, standing in front of me.

We were both silent for a few heavy seconds. We stared at each other and I wondered when Shisui-senpai had suddenly gone through a growth spurt and gained another inch or two. His hair was the same mess it usually was and he looked a bit tanner than I last remembered. But what really made me happy was the warmth in his eyes as he looked at me.

Then suddenly Shisui-senpai had me in his arms and he was spinning me around, yelling, "Miyako-chan!"

I laughed, it feeling a bit weird after being so serious for so long, as he put me down and grinned at me wildly, demanding, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm wandering around." I explained vaguely and Shisui-senpai shook his head with a snort, asking, "Why?"

I shrugged with a forced lackadaisical smile and Shisui-senpai looked over at the mirror with an amused expression, "Isn't this where we first met?"

I nodded, "I was thinking that too!"

"You know what that means we should do?" Shisui-senpai asked, offering me a hand. I knew what he meant.

"Buy me a popsicle!" I demanded immediately, putting my hand in his. He looked down at my hands for a second, looking a bit sad, before he turned a bit to the side and offered me his back.

I grinned at him and very proudly informed him, "I can roof hop now, too, you know!"

Shisui-senpai tilted his head to the side and pulled me closer, "So? It's more fun this way, isn't it?"

"True!" I agreed, jumping on his back and letting out a gleeful yell as he jumped to the roof. He stood there for a moment and I gazed around us. The village felt so alive and beautiful now that I had been holed up for so long. I suddenly could appreciate Konoha for all its worth.

Then Shisui-senpai was moving and I felt like I did the first time Shisui-senpai had carried me across the rooftops. The wind rushed through my hair until Shisui-senpai touched down at the nearest vendor. He bought a popsicle, green tea of course, and we sat on one of the nearby benches as he opened it and broke it into two pieces.

I savored the flavor as I bit into mine. Shisui-senpai watched with an amused expression.

"It's been awhile." I hummed.

Shisui-senpai smirked, "It does look like you haven't had a popsicle in awhile."

I rolled my eyes at him, "Don't tease me. It's been a long time since I've seen you."

"I know." was all he said. He turned away and looked forward for a bit.

I kicked my feet and almost inhaled my popsicle. There was no use in taking your time with a popsicle, if you ask me. And you can try and avoid an awkward silence if you really go at whatever you're eating.

I was crunching on the stick when I announced, "I've learned a lot of cool stuff you know."

"Ho? What have you learned?" Shisui-senpai questioned, turning back to look at me. He was forcing some of his excitement for the topic it seemed, but I couldn't really tell how much was forced and how much was genuine.

"Well, I can roof hop now, like I said. I haven't actually run on an actual roof yet, but the theory is there." I explained.

Shisui-senpai snorted, "If I let you on a roof right now I bet you would blow the shingles off."

"Would not!" I retorted, but I was smiling and so was he, "I can also do way more push ups and other exercises now. My academy three are all fixed up. I can henge, create more than three bunshin, and kawarimi with things smaller than the academy logs."

"Impressive, have you learned the shunshin yet?" Shisui-senpai inquired. His popsicle was almost done now.

I shook my head, "Not yet. My... mentor didn't teach me yet."

"Good!" Shisui-senpai announced loudly, holding up his now empty stick, "Because I want to teach you that!"

I went to ask him why before I remembered, and I chuckled, "Oh? I get to learn the shunshin from Shunshin no Shisui himself?"

Rubbing the back of his head, Shisui-senpai murmured, "So you remember that nickname."

"Of course I do." I told him proudly, "Don't others call you that too?"

Shisui-senpai looked a little more sheepish now, "Well, now they do. When I first told you that though I was just a kid, boasting."

"And what are you now?" I laughed.

"Excuse me, I'm technically a teenager now." Shisui-senpai informed me with a joking grin on his face.

I shrugged, "Well, according to Kotoko-san, I'm an adult now."

"Oh?" Shisui-senpai lost his humor a bit, "How did that come up? I know you don't like speaking to Kotoko-san."

I bit my lip. I didn't really want to tell him I was a homeless bum now, but I also didn't want to lie. In my excitement I totally brought up a stupid subject. Sometimes I ran my mouth before I actually thought. I sighed and figured Shisui-senpai, my friend, deserved whatever truths I could give him, "She kicked me out of the orphanage."

Shisui-senpai immediately looked concerned, "She what?!"

I nodded and looked down at my lap. The hem of my shirt was a bit high, I had grown while in training. I would have to buy new clothes as well as somewhere to live.

With a growl in his throat, Shisui-senpai hissed, "How could she do that!"

"It's no secret Kotoko-san and I don't get along. She saw this," I gestured to my hitai-ate, "And kicked me out."

"Is she legally able to do that?" Shisui-senpai wondered, very seriously. At that moment I didn't really think about how he hadn't really asked me about my new status as a shinobi.

I wasn't sure about how legal Kotoko-san was being, but I didn't really care. I voiced this, "I don't really want to go back there anyway. I'll make some money eventually and get an apartment."

"And what are you going to do before that?" Shisui-senpai questioned, eyes boring into my own, "You need somewhere to sleep, and you need to eat too."

"I don't know, okay? I wasn't expecting to get kicked out!" I huffed, sliding down in the bench. Shisui-senpai rubbed his face and we sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Well, I guess you're staying with me then." Shisui-senpai said, and I shot up in surprise.

"I'm what?" I demanded.

Shisui-senpai smiled at me, "You can stay with me. My grandfather won't mind. And Mikoto-oba likes you, so she'll give permission for you to stay in the compound!"

"Not that I don't want to-" I began but Shisui-senpai cut me off, very excited, "We have a spare room that can be yours, even!"

A room all to myself sounded wonderful, to be honest. I considered it. I didn't want to be a burden to Shisui-senpai but at the same time...

Shisui-senpai whooped when I agreed.

.

Shisui-senpai's house was one floor yet very spacious. It was rather empty of pictures or any kind of homely decor but there was a shrine for Shisui-senpai's parents and grandmother. It felt like a small compound with long halls that connected the rooms and opened to the outside. It also had a spacious yard with wild plants and bushes along the edge. There was a well kept koi pond that took up almost a third of the yard and the fountain that fed into it made a bubbling noise.

I was very nervous as he led me around on the grand tour. He pointed out the doors to the multiple unused rooms, showed me his which he admitted was messy and he didn't want me to see it when it was disorganized, and he gestured to the master bedroom that his grandfather slept in.

"Are you sure your grandfather won't mind?" I asked, probably for the seventh time since we had started the tour.

Shisui-senpai grinned, "Grandfather is understanding. If we explain your situation, he can't say no."

One of the doors slid open and both Shisui-senpai and I jumped back as a man's voice stated, "Uchiha Shisui, what mischief are you up to now?"

An older Uchiha stood there, looking distinctly unimpressed. His hair was more of the pepper in salt and pepper hair but his face showed his age. The wrinkles he had were minimal and tight but his eyes were what gave him away as an elder.

"Grandfather!" Shisui-senpai said with respect, bowing his head, "This is my friend, Miyako-chan!"

"It's very nice to meet you, Uchiha-sama." I bowed at my waist and Shisui-senpai rose his head before I even thought about coming back up.

Shisui-senpai looked at his grandfather very seriously while his grandfather's expression hadn't changed at all. Shisui-senpai, in a firm tone, told his grandfather, "Miyako-chan needs somewhere to stay and I offered our spare room."

Quicker than I would have expected from the old man, Shisui-senpai was suddenly hissing as a hand came down on the top of his head. Shisui-senpai yelped and brought his hands up to protect himself.

Shisui-senpai's grandfather rolled his eyes and only looked at me briefly, "Of course your friend can stay. What I'm talking about is you scaring the civilians! You're too old to be acting like a rascal, Shisui."

My jaw dropped and I stood pin straight as Shisui-senpai complained, "All I did was jump onto the rooftops!"

"Don't give me that. Mikoto-san herself watched you scare them while she was in the market today! You know the etiquette for roof hopping perfectly well but chose to ignore it. Accept the consequences." grouched Shisui-senpai's grandfather.

Then the old man turned to me and, suddenly becoming much less imposing, warmly told me, "It's nice to finally meet you, Miyako-chan. My name is Kagami, and I'm Shisui's poor old grandfather."

"Poor? Old? You can outrun me any day." grumbled Shisui-senpai but he was beaming at his grandfather.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Uchiha-" I was immediately cut off.

"Call me Kagami." the man told me, then he asked, "Did Shisui show you to the guest room?"

I nodded and Kagami glanced at Shisui-senpai with an approving gaze, "Feel free to stay as long as you need."

I bowed again and Shisui-senpai told me to settle into my new room while he cleaned his up a bit so that he didn't have to hide it from me. I laughed, and Kagami muttered something about how Shisui-senpai was finally tidying his room up a bit. I retreated into what would be my new room and I stood in the middle of it for awhile, just observing.

I wiggled my toes into the tatami floor. I missed having real beds as opposed to the futons of the orphanage. The ANBU barracks were probably the closest thing to a bed I was going to have until I could afford my own place. Now, in Shisui-senpai's home, I would be sleeping on a shikifuton. I imagined it would be like a sleeping bag but more comfortable. The guest room was bare of anything decorative but had a cushion and a built in desk. There was an alcove for my things that had multiple drawers and a sliding screen to reveal a newer style closet.

While I marveled at how traditional Shisui-senpai's home was, it made me feel a little improper. Having come from an orphanage I was barely suited for such a nice room.

There was a knock on my door and Shisui-senpai called, "When you're done settling in, want to go look for Izumi? Itachi is out of the village on a mission."

"I'm ready when you are!" I replied, really having nothing to settle.

.

Visiting Izumi consisted of a lot of hugs. As soon as I knocked on the door Izumi had swung it open and basically tackled me. Shisui-senpai had flickered away, likely to give the two of us privacy.

"Miyako-chan!" Izumi sniffled into my shoulder, "Where have you been?"

"Ah, something happened." I said awkwardly, "I'm sorry I couldn't come see you earlier."

"Well, whatever. You're here and I'm so happy to see you again!" Izumi squeezed me even harder.

She dragged me inside and we caught up for awhile. She told me about how she had graduated early and how she was on a team with two alright boys. They passed their genin test so she was happy to be a full genin since she saw a lot of the girls in her class had been shipped to the genin corps.

"Not that I had high hopes for some of them." she sniffed, "So many of them were more interested in boys than training."

I giggled, "I could see that in my class too."

"Speaking of that, when did this happen?" questioned Izumi, pointing to my hitai-ate.

I wasn't sure what to say, so I mumbled, "It's a pretty long story, and I'm not really too sure of it yet."

"Too sure of what happened? Or too sure of being a genin already?" Izumi, very smartly, questioned.

"I didn't really expect to skip the academy like I did." I admitted, "I'm seven years old and already a ninja."

Izumi put a hand on my shoulder. She smiled and rubbed my shoulder for a calming moment. Then she said, "Don't feel like everything is over. I've never seen you with such a gloomy look before. We're genin now. Things are just getting started for us."

Little did Izumi know, I was in the fast lane. But I appreciated the effort.

I didn't stay too long despite not having seen Izumi for a long time. I had dropped in unexpectedly and didn't want to be a bother, I also had an appointment with the Hokage. Izumi did make me promise to visit the cherry blossoms with her before the season got too hot and they started to wither. We also made plans for the following week to eat at a cafe together for lunch.

.

When I saw the third Hokage again, I felt very intimidated. His presence was a constant with his muted chakra in the tattoo on my bicep but everything felt different than it did nine months prior. He looked older, as if it had been years instead of months.

"How are you, Miyako-chan?" the Hokage inquired with a grandfatherly smile. His eyes even crinkled a bit, as if he was trying to convey he was asking in a friendly manner.

I bit my lip, "I've made progress. Dog-taichou taught me a lot-"

The Hokage calmly cut me off, "No, I'm not asking for a report on your progress. I want to know how you feel, Miyako-chan."

"Oh." I tried to force my face to relax but I must have looked more emotionally constipated than anything else because the Hokage had me sit down. He poured me some tea that I suspected he had planned to ease tensions.

I held the small cup between my hands, staring into it. The Hokage waited patiently for me to speak.

Finally I admitted, "I'm not really sure how I am."

"Would you like to elaborate a little?" the Hokage prompted.

I shrugged, "Seeing my friends again makes me feel more alive. But... the more I think about myself, the less confident I feel. I don't know what to tell my friends when they ask where I've been, nor do I really have an explanation about my sudden increase in ability and promotion to genin."

"You can tell whoever you like about your status as an ANBU trainee." the Hokage reminded me, "It is recommended that you keep it to yourself but that is your secret to tell. As long as you do not mention the incident, that is."

I nodded slowly, "I don't really want my friends to know about that. To know what I did."

I sipped my tea as my legs started to shake. I elaborated, "I want to tell them the cool new things I can do. I'm proud to have learned so much. I love learning. But something just doesn't feel right about me being me anymore."

"You did experience a great change. I would like to recommend you speak to someone. I won't force you, but you will have to pass the mental health exam as part of your biannual physicals." the Hokage told me.

Setting the now empty tea cup down I shook my head, "I would rather not." I simply had too much information that I didn't want to accidentally leak to someone. Especially since I suspected a Yamanaka would be involved.

"Of course. Do you have any other concerns?" the Hokage asked.

I sighed deeply, "I was kicked out of the orphanage."

"Pardon?" the Hokage, a little shocked, questioned. I repeated what I said and he suddenly had a dark look cross his expression. It went away as quickly as it came.

He cleared his throat, "That is an issue. I can arrange housing for you as you are a genin now. It will take some time to set up."

"I'm staying with a friend for now." I told him, adding, "Uchiha Shisui."

The Hokage's eyebrows moved upwards very slightly, "Fugaku-san allowed this?"

"I believe Shisui-senpai is expecting Mikoto-san to vouch for me. Fugaku-san didn't seem to have any issues with me the few times I've met him, though." I said.

The Hokage looked down at his desk for a moment. He seemed to think something over. He looked frail for the briefest moment.

Inhaling deeply, he finally said, "That sounds like an excellent arrangement. When housing is available I will call you in to speak again."

.

As I walked towards the Uchiha compound, musing about what the Hokage had been thinking during our meeting, Shisui-senpai dropped in next to me and started to walk beside me at my pace.

"How was Izumi?" he asked, bouncing off his heels.

"Happy to see me." I said.

Shisui-senpai laughed, "As expected. I was happy to see you too."

I smiled at that. I was glad. I had missed my friends.

"And don't worry, Itachi will be just as happy to see you when he gets back." Shisui-senpai promised, as if he had been reading my mind.

We returned to the compound and Shisui-senpai explained to the clan member who was sitting at the entrance who I was and that I was staying with him.

The man eyed me suspiciously, "Do you have permission for your friend to stay, Shisui?"

"Of course!" Shisui-senpai said, "Mikoto-san has known Miyako-chan since she was little."

The clan member, rather begrudgingly, signed me in and after we were out of earshot I rolled my eyes at Shisui-senpai.

"Did you actually ask permission?"

"No, but Mikoto-oba loves when you visit so I doubt she would say no." Shisui-senpai grinned like a mad man.

That night was a little awkward as Shisui-senpai and Kagami both tried to have me help make dinner with them. I wasn't very good at cooking, having little experience in this life, but it wasn't too bad. I could make rice, except their rice cooker was fancy but outdated. Dinner was a little less awkward with muted conversation about general topics.

When I retired to my room I situated all of my things neatly on the shelf and pulled the shikifuton to the middle of the room and I snuggled into it. It was kind of like a sleeping bag but a million times better. It was way softer and more comfortable. I snuggled into the blankets and I was asleep before I even had the chance to think about how wild my day had actually been.

AN:

Hello, I'm home for the summer now! Hopefully that means I update more. :D

Thank you so much for the support! Every time I got a review during the semester gave me the energy to keep going so I could find time to write a bit!

Anyway, as for a kind of promise; Miyako is going to learn a lot more about being an ANBU soon so for the concerns over the training chapter, hopefully I can do a better job of explaining what she actually learned and what they actually were doing there. I really want to mention something, and that is this: Miyako is an unreliable narrator. She sees things and tells them how she sees them. She doesn't know what people around her are thinking 100% and I don't want to give away information that easily by making it obvious. As she grows she learns so while she may have learned something in that chapter, in a future chapter when she is older, she may be told something else that is closer to the adult truth because she is considered more mature and intelligent.

Thanks to the following for reviewing (:

nacheell
Guest
Shinra Izu
GOOD SHIT (Thank you, this was funny!)
madnessofmymind
Guest
HayaaShigure-kun
Dark Rose Charm