AN: I want to thank everyone for reviewing before I begin, and I apologize it's been as long as it has. In any case, here is the next chapter. I will be going back over it to fix any mistakes so please forgive any typos or other errors. Otherwise enjoy!
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Meddling In Fate.
Chapter 6: Uzumaki.
The Sandaime led her to the front of the Academy where parents were arriving to pick up their children. There were a few who seemed surprised to see the Hokage and a strange yet pretty foreign girl there.
"Is this what you wanted to show me?" Sachi inquired, looking at the children making their way out of the building. The Sandaime chuckled, though it sounded half-hearted and Sachi had to recall that the man had just sentenced an old friend to death not long ago.
Being Hokage sounded rather glamorous on the outside, but if the choices she'd witnessed being made by said man said anything Sachi wondered if it was at all a worthwhile job. That was the difference, Sachi realized. The Hokage didn't just protect the people of the village, the Hokage also had to make the tough choices. Sometimes the council didn't make it any easier.
When she had been head of the Auror department she wasn't necessarily sending her fellow Aurors out into kill or be killed situations all the time. They also knew what to expect when it came to magic when used in battle.
She didn't have as much pressure on her. Especially not when she'd been Headmistress of Hogwarts. Though overlooking a school full of children between the ages of eleven and nineteen wasn't as easy as her predecessors had made it look.
"Not so much this..." he trailed off, before pointing out one of the children. "... but that. The young one with blond hair, blue eyes, and whisker marks."
It took her only a second to zero in on the boy he pointed out. She was struck by how sad he looked as he left, while usually children were exited to leave school each day. He was smaller than most his age, but did not look underfed or sickly.
He had spiky scruffy blond hair, brighter than any shade of blond she'd seen in recent memory, and eyes bluer than the sky even though they seemed duller in his depressed state. His most unique trait were the whisker-like marks, three on each cheek.
She figured they were either clan markings or birth marks. There was something familiar about him. It wasn't just the loneliness in his eyes. The Hokage and Sachi walked closer to the boy, now sitting on a lone swing. They kept a distance from others picking up their kids as they did, as to not be overheard or stopped by particularly chatty or nosy parents.
"His name is Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto, he would be your second cousin I believe."
They came to a stop, and Sachi's head jerked to the side to stare at the older man with wide eyes. Then she turned her gaze back to the boy, Naruto. At first glance he didn't look all that much like an Uzumaki.
His skin was a shade or two darker than was common amongst the clan, a light tan or sun-kissed tone. His hair brighter than even her pale yellow coat. She could see the slightly rounded features though that were common for an Uzumaki. The eye shape which matched that of her father's cousin and were similar to that of Uzumaki Jin as well. She assumed he took a little more after his father, but there were plenty of signs that marked him for an Uzumaki if one observed him closely.
"Kushina had a son?" she muttered, the words coming out more like a statement than a question. "But what of the father?"
"Ah, well that's rather hard to explain in such an open area. His father though was a noble man, he died for his family and village the same day as Kushina. This unfortunately left Naruto an orphan. Naruto may look more like his father as far as coloring goes, but he is his mother's son," Hiruzen explained, though his words were laced with a promise to explain at a later date.
She wanted to ask for more information, and narrowed her eyes slightly in suspicion but decided she knew enough for now. She could understand why he hadn't said more in such an open area, who knew who could be listening.
Constant Vigilance! Moody would probably be rolling in his grave at how much trust she had given the Hokage in such a short time.
She knew just because he reminded her a little of Dumbledore she shouldn't be willing to take his words for face value. She didn't to be honest, but she also didn't like to judge someone on her own bad experiences before giving them a chance. If it was taken as her being naively trusting, well deception was a ninja's best weapon.
"Why is he alone? Where is his guardian?" she demanded, watching as he slowly swung back an forth on the swing.
He had not noticed them standing just a few feet away, but given he was only an Academy student she hadn't expected him to. Still, the Hokage's red and white robes weren't very inconspicuous.
"He doesn't have one. The council made it nearly impossible for anyone to adopt him, and for reasons out of his control I doubt anyone old enough would want to," the Hokage said sadly. "I will have to explain that to you at a later time though. I try to give him some of my time, but I am a busy man. When he was six the orphanage matron kicked him out, so I got him an apartment of his own. He's nearly eight now."
Sachi frowned deeply, a maelstrom of emotions running through her. Anger, a desire to make the orphanage matron pay for doing such a thing to her little cousin, disgust, and sympathy.
Once upon a time she'd been an orphan (technically she supposed she was an orphan once again with her parents deaths two years ago).
At least she'd not been completely alone even if the company she'd had was terrible. The Dursley's had been neglectful and even emotionally abusive, but they didn't get physical often. They liked to pretend she didn't exist, sometimes that was worse than them yelling at her, taking food away from her, or forcing her to do all the chores. Dudley had also gotten better as he got older.
As Violet she'd lost her parents after a year and a few months, as Sachi she'd at least had her parents for fourteen years before they were brutally taken.
"Why exactly did you show me this?" she asked, looking at the Hokage with clear suspicion.
"I assumed you'd want to meet your cousin. As the Uzumaki clan head, he falls under your protection. I assume he would be clan heir, but I do not know how the Uzumaki did such things..." he trailed off, and Sachi nodded.
Clans usually all had their own way of going about clan heir or heiresses. Especially those clan head families that had more than one child. Usually the eldest inherited the title, but it was a simple matter of passing the title on to a close cousin if one did not want the pressure of being in charge of a clan.
If Kushina had never left the clan she would have stayed clan heiress, even though her father was older than Kushina and male. Through Kushina being clan head was as much Naruto's birthright as it was her or her sisters.
She'd have to speak with Karin, but she was pretty sure her sister would pass on the opportunity of being clan head, Karin hated the idea of politics. She wasn't fond of it but she at least had some experience.
"His guardianship would go to you now, if you wanted it of course," Hiruzen said, bringing her out of her thoughts.
She quietly snorted. He already knew she would. She'd never leave family to be alone, being alone was some of the worst hell. If she didn't have Karin with her after loosing their parents she probably would have fallen apart.
Looking at Naruto she could see a little resemblance between him and her father. It was in the shape of his jawline leading to his slightly rounded chin, even if it was obscured by the baby-fat of childhood. It was only a slight resemblance, but then Kushina and Jin had always looks strikingly alike just opposite genders.
Slowly Sachi began to smile.
"I guess I should get to know him first, I think he would be a little wary if a complete stranger claiming to be a cousin just adopted him out of the blue. I know I would," she said, and Hiruzen chuckled.
"I'll introduce you," he said, and the two closed the rest of the distance between themselves and the boy lost in his own world.
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Naruto's head snapped up at the movement he caught from his peripheral vision. He grinned upon seeing the old man Hokage.
Very few people liked him in the village, and many children were warned away from him by their parents with a few exceptions (mostly clan children). The Sandaime Hokage had always been one who saw him and not whatever it was that made the village scorn him.
His eyes became more guarded and wary upon spotting the girl with the Hokage. She was unlike most in the village, mostly because of her bright hair color similar in shade to a red fruit; he only knew of a few though he'd never eaten them – strawberries, tomatoes, apples, and peppers.
She probably wasn't very old, but still much older than he was. The brightness of her green eyes were also startling. No one in Konoha had that shade of green, not even that Sakura girl in his class.
"Jiji, who is that?" Naruto asked, looking back to the Hokage with confusion.
"Naruto, this is Uzumaki Sachi. She's here to see you," he said, and seeing Naruto's eyes nearly popping out of his head in surprise, Hiruzen continued. "I believe I shall leave you two to get to know one another. Is that alright, Naruto?"
He nodded almost numbly, unable to form words to express how he felt at the revelations. Sachi smiled softly at the boy, and the Hokage gave one last smile to the two Uzumaki before dismissing himself to allow the cousins time to bond. He did have to call together the Shinobi Council and Elders to discuss recent events.
Sachi watched the Hokage leave for a few seconds before she turned her attention back to the now standing boy. He looked up at her with wide blue eyes, which shown with uncertainty and hope. For whatever reason he seemed like he was starved for attention. She had her suspicions as she took in his maturing chakra signature.
Children usually had the most glowing, innocent of signatures, but his was full of rejection and loneliness. It was sad, and made her angry. Under his own signature she caught a sliver of another chakra, a more hateful, but not quite evil chakra.
Karin had a even more advanced sensory, and in a few years would be able to tell more about a person by their signature than Sachi could, but from what she knew of Konoha's recent history she could put together the pieces. The picture she got was a lonely boy prosecuted for being chosen as the new jinchūriki of the Kyūbi. She wasn't positive of her theory, so she'd have to ask the Hokage later.
"Hello Naruto," she said. "You're an Academy student, right?"
He slowly began to smile.
"Yeah, I am. I'm gonna be the next Hokage, 'ttebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, his frown transforming into a large fox-like grin in seconds.
She blinked in some surprise at the boys sudden cheerfulness before laughing good naturedly.
"I think you'll make a great Hokage one day, Naruto," she said.
Naruto's cheeks flushed red at the compliment and he chuckled happily. Very few people had ever said that to him. Most seemed to dismiss his dream. Looking back at the older girl, Naruto began to wonder how she was related to him.
A part of him could only come up with one option, an option born of hope he knew was unlikely. He couldn't help but ask though, if there was even a little chance she was... he had to know!
"Your name... it's Uzumaki right?" Naruto asked carefully. "Are... are you my mother?"
It was a long shot, he knew that, but maybe she was older than she looked? Many kunoichi aged very gracefully. Sachi's eyes widened, and then she sighed sadly. She didn't know how the kid had come to that conclusion, and it made her sad that the first person who shared his surname he wanted to believe was his mother.
Slowly she shook her head, grimacing mentally at the hope that left his eyes.
"I'm sorry Naruto, but no. I'm not old enough to be. I'm your second cousin, on your mother's side. She was my father's cousin, which means one of their parents were siblings. In this case my grandfather was your grandmother's brother."
She said, explaining their relation as simply as she could. It was clear by his confusion he wasn't positive what a second cousin was, and wasn't all that clear on cousins either. Without a family of his own to explain this, and having no real reason to ask the Hokage to explain it to him, it was no surprise to her.
"Did you know my mother..." he asked so softly she almost missed it.
Sachi reached into her pouch and pulled out one of the few pictures she owned. It was more worn then them, older. It had been one of her father's most precious possessions. Sachi kept it on her along with one other picture of her parents, Karin and herself. Growing up there weren't many pictures taken, and Sachi was used to keeping everything of importance on her person somewhere. Karin was the same.
"I didn't know her personally, but my father told me about her. This is the picture my father showed me, it was the only one he had after... well the village fell. It was taken when they were children in Whirlpool, just before your mother came to Konoha."
She handed the picture to Naruto who held it as if it were made of glass, but took it in eagerly. The picture though old and a little wrinkled was well looked after. Standing in front of a river or stream (it was hard to tell from the picture itself) were two figures.
One was male and much older, a teenager at least seventeen. The other was female, probably no older than six or seven. Both had similar features though. Similar ivory-peach tones of skin, facial structures though the males was more angular and masculine.
They shared the same shade of dark red hair, like Sachi's own, and both had the same shade of dark amethyst eyes, though the males were pupil-less unlike the younger redhead.
Naruto figured the boy must be Sachi's father. They shared similar features. Skin tone, hair color, similar enough facial structure, even if Sachi's was a little more heart-shaped – though it still had the rounded look most Uzumaki had. The girl must be his mother, he thought with a grin. He kind of looked like her, and even a little like the older boy he realized.
"Do you know her name? Why did she come to Konoha? How did she die, did she die or did she just not want to see me anymore?" he ranted, unsure what to believe anymore.
He wondered if Hokage-jiji had known? Naruto had asked him before who his parents were, but he'd never told him anything. Simply said they'd been ninja and he'd know more when the time was right.
As a child he didn't understand, and part of him resented the fact he couldn't tell him anything.
Sachi frowned. She personally didn't see the harm in him knowing, but she also couldn't understand why he didn't already know. Kushina did have her enemies, all ninja did, but she didn't see that stopping other shinobi parents from having children.
Sachi hated keeping secrets, probably because even in her first life she'd hated secrets being kept from her.
"Naruto, if I tell you about your mother you can't tell anyone else. She was a powerful kunoichi, and if it's known you're her son her remaining enemies may try and come after you in retaliation."
Naruto nodded quickly, swearing not to tell a soul. Sachi smiled. She could tell by the determined look in his eyes that he meant it.
"Her name was Uzumaki Kushina, she died the day you were born. Whoever led you to believe you weren't wanted is a liar, a mother will always love their child."
Naruto slowly began to smile again, and attached himself around her waist in a tight hug. She chuckled and patted the boys back gently to show the somewhat tense boy that she didn't mind being hugged.
"Thank you, Sachi-chan!" he exclaimed. "I always thought they just didn't want me. It's what one of the ladies at the orphanage told me anyway. Do you know anything about my father?"
"I'm sorry, no. I only know about your mother because she was a close cousin," she said, though she thought she might have an idea.
His father must have been important if it was such a big secret the Hokage wouldn't dare mention it in public. Then there was the fact Naruto resembled the fourth face on the mountain portraying the Hokage's.
She couldn't say for sure, it could be a coincidence and what could one really glen from a rock face? She'd have to see a picture of the man to know for sure, or just wait for the Hokage to tell her. She doubted she'd be allowed to tell him when she did know for sure.
She was sure the Hokage would have stopped her if he didn't want her revealing Naruto's mother to him. Sachi did have to stop the anger that built at whoever the woman was that would tell a child that he wasn't wanted.
Smiling as she returned the hug Naruto didn't seem to want to pull away from, and it hit her that it was probably because no one had hugged him often.
"How about we get ramen?" she asked. "I think I saw a ramen stand upon my arrival here in Konoha. Do you like ramen?"
Naruto pulled away almost instantly, grinning the widest grin she'd ever seen and grabbed onto her hand with a happy laugh.
"Do I like ramen? Do I ever! Miso is the best!" he exclaimed laughing.
"Hm... I'll have to argue that my sweet misguided little one, shōyu (soy sauce) ramen is the absolute best," Sachi said, a wide smirk and victorious look in her eyes as they walked – or more like Naruto half dragged her – towards the ramen stand.
Hiruzen chuckled. He watched the two walk off towards Ichiraku's through his crystal ball. He could already hear the spirit of Kushina correcting both on how shio (salt) ramen was the best.
The old Hokage was happy to see a true smile on Naruto's face for once, instead of the fake ones he commonly wore.
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Ibiki and Mitarashi Anko were among the only ones disappointed at how affective the Kotoamatsukami was. Danzō spilled any secret and answered all questions the two interrogators had. It was irksome for them, and at least Anko made sure to complain.
The elders and council of clan heads, which would soon include Uzumaki Sachi once the Uzumaki were reestablished as a clan inside Konoha, had a field day at the evidence he brought against Danzō. There were enough to fill two or three cabinets.
The old war-hawk had been busy over the decades. Some things weren't really all that illegal, but there was enough to put Danzō to death quickly.
Hiruzen had already had groups of his most trusted ANBU infiltrate and overtake the foundation, though it was going to be by no means easy. Danzō did train his soldiers well. Thankfully none of Konoha were aware thanks to how effectively Danzō had hidden the foundation.
Once completely secured his ANBU would bring the Root ANBU to the cells inside the T&I until Ibiki and Anko could get to them. Seals were placed to avoid them using their chakra, it couldn't take it away completely since chakra was needed for life, but it surpressed it so much it was cut off from the tenketsu.
Homura and Koharu had always been rather supportive of Danzō in the past, but now they seemed startled and even disgusted at everything found against the third elder.
The clan heads were even more disgusted by some of his more heinous crimes. Some were outraged by the records of how many Root Danzō had from the the clans, mainly the Yamanaka and Aburame.
The verdict was as Hiruzen predicted. Shimura Danzō was guilty of treason. He would be dead by the next afternoon. The civilians and those not on the elder or shinobi council would believe that it was heart failure brought on by stress.
For once things seemed to be looking up. The next order of business, other than getting the Uzumaki clan settled in, was to fix the damage done to the Shinobi Academies curriculum.
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She had decided to take the offer of building a small compound. Shisui was especially helpful with finding a plot of land both big enough and not overly secluded or close to the main shopping center of the village.
She wanted it be small but not too small. There were only three Uzumaki at the moment, but maybe in the future there might be more. In the end an area was found, it was closest to the Uchiha District compared to the Aburame, Inuzuka, Nara, Hyūga or Yamanaka clan compounds.
It would also be the smallest, but still big enough for a few houses to be built and the walls that would surround it. It would take time before it could be moved into, before it could be completely built. Until then Sachi and Karin continued to stay with Shisui.
So far a small wall had been built, along with the main house and a few smaller ones thanks to the help of Tenzō and his Mokuton. He was someone she'd recently been introduced to outside his roll as ANBU. He didn't like talking about his past or about himself and seemed a bit socially awkward. He apparently wasn't related to the Shodai Hokage, but because of his past he was able to use the Mokuton – though it wasn't as strong as Senju Hashirama apparently.
Orochimaru was mentioned, and from what she learned in the weeks she'd been in Konoha he'd been a traitor and was forced out of Konoha when his experiments were discovered. He reminded her far too much of Voldemort. Which led her to her next concern; why did it always have to be snakes?
She liked Tenzō's company and he knew a bit about plants and one of Sachi's past times was gardening. Even in her first life as Violet she'd loved gardening and flowers. Until she was eligible for missions Sachi had actually gotten a job at Yamanaka Flowers. The money put back for any Uzumaki in Konoha by Mito was a relief, she still didn't want to rely on it.
A week after getting settled in Konoha she'd been tested by the Hokage for her rank, while Karin had been attending the Academy already. The test was pretty basic, she was simply to fight Konoha's ninja, those of Hiruzen's choosing. One of which was Tenzō, another being Kakashi and a few others.
It hadn't been easy.
Other than her chains and her very high fire affinity, her best skills were her fūinjutsu, ability to heal, and knowledge of herbs. Her taijutsu was good, but not great as she was still perfecting the Uzumaki clan taijutsu her parents taught her and learning the Panther clans own taijutsu. Her ninjutsu was alright, very good if one counted her chains, healing ability and ability to use fire chakra in her taijutsu. Otherwise she knew a total of six ninjutsu, not counting what were considered Academy basics.
One lightning ninjutsu which took her months to perfect since she had no lightning affinity (her father had a lightning affinity though), three fire ninjutsu, one earth ninjutsu, and one wind ninjutsu.
She knew more about wielding her fire chakra than she did her secondary affinity of wind. Learning earth ninjutsu was by far easier for her than lightning, which was why she never bothered working with lightning chakra more than to use the Raiton Kage Bunshin.
Her genjutsu was nearly nonexistent other than dispelling it, but that was mainly because she had never been taught beyond that. Neither of her parents had been good at genjutsu, her mother had been a medic-nin, her father a ninjutsu and taijutsu specialist.
Her Kenjutsu was limited to using her tantō, and she was mediocre at that since she didn't like Kenjutsu much. She lasted a few minutes against Kakashi, Tenzō and Shisui, but in the end she lost to all three. Seeing as they were ANBU, and had bloodlimits of their own to use, it wasn't that much of a surprise.
She did win against a girl named Yūhi Kurenai, but the woman who was just a few years older than her was very gifted in genjutsu and nearly had her more than once during the minutes they fought. By this point the Hokage had seen what he needed, and she was given the rank of Tokubetsu Jōnin.
Though Tokubetsu Jōnin (Special Jōnin) were those who specialized in a specific area at a jōnin-level, rather than all-around jōnin training, they could later become regular jōnin if they wanted. The Hokage's reasoning was that she was not quite skilled or experienced enough to be a jōnin, but was too skilled in certain areas to be considered a chūnin.
She didn't care about rank to be honest. One of the only reasons she'd become a ninja, other than the fact her parents were ninja, was so she had the power to protect her family. She'd failed once with her parents, but she wouldn't do the same with Karin or Naruto.
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Sachi groaned as she allowed the water of the hot spring to sooth her bruised body. A hour after her test she had been invited by Kurenai to go to the Hot Springs. It sounded nice, she didn't get the luxury often before.
"Congratulations by the way, making Tokubetsu Jōnin," Kurenai said from her place in the hot spring.
She hadn't met the girl before the test, and she seemed like a nice girl. To find out she was an Uzumaki was a surprise. She actually remembered Uzumaki Kushina. Sachi reminded Kurenai a little of the woman, especially given the chakra chains she used during the test.
Kurenai hadn't realized just how powerful those chains were until they were wrapped around her, an almost crescent shaped kunai tip leveled at her throat.
"Thanks," Sachi said, smiling. "You're very good at genjutsu, I only had that much trouble with Shisui."
Kurenai's lips thinned at the mention of the new Uchiha clan head. She'd always been a bit sore that someone younger than her was better at genjutsu than her. She couldn't deny that Shisui was better at genjutsu than her, and it wasn't completely because of his Sharingan.
"So, how are you settling into Konoha?" she asked, trying to make polite conversation.
"It's great, I really like it here," she said. "It'll be a bit less stressful once the compound is finished and Karin and I can move in."
Sachi wanted the compound to be livable before she talked to Naruto about living with them and the adoption. He'd already met Karin, and they got along well enough. Karin thought he was a bit slow, but nice, and Naruto thought she was a bit stuck up but also nice. He was just happy to have family, he probably wouldn't have cared if Karin was dismissive of him.
The two continued to chat idly for a few minutes before Sachi stood up, grabbing her towel and wrapping it around herself before stepping up out of the hot spring.
"It was really nice meeting you, Kurenai-san, but I've got to go. The Academy should be letting out any minute now and I promised Naruto I'd take him for ramen and Karin for okonomiyaki."
With one last wave goodbye, Sachi left to get dressed and head to pick Naruto and Karin up.
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"Sachi-chan!" Naruto yelled happily upon seeing her waiting for him and Karin.
He still couldn't believe he wasn't alone anymore. He'd dreamed of a family before, but had given up on the idea anyone would want to be around him.
"Nee-chan," Karin said, coming up behind the blonde boy. She repositioned her dark red messenger bag over her shoulder and smiled. She had been unsure of the decision to join Konoha but she was quickly beginning to enjoy having somewhere to call home again. "Are we gonna get okonomiyaki?"
"Ramen!" Naruto said, breaking from the hug he had Sachi in. "Come on Karin-neechan, I'm sure they have something like that in ramen flavor."
Karin looked at Naruto as if he'd said the sky was purple, and Sachi raised an eyebrow before chuckling.
"Don't worry Naruto, we'll get ramen, and then I'll take Karin to get some okonomiyaki. I found a place that sells it not far from Ichiraku's so we'll only be a few minutes. Afterwards we can have dango."
"Ya know, Nee-chan," Karin started as they began walking towards the ramen stand. "If you eat so much you'll gain weight..."
"Funny Imouto," Sachi interrupted her little sister who grinned up at her impishly. "I haven't eaten in hours, and I finished my test for rank just over an hour ago. I think it'll be fine."
"I don't get it," Naruto said, confusion written in his expression. "I eat lots of ramen all the time and I never gain any weight."
Both sisters sweat-dropped, their faces falling at the words the boy spoke.
"Lucky," Karin muttered, and Sachi grunted in agreement. High metabolism or not even ninja had to watch their weight, unless they were Akimichi.
True to her words Sachi left Naruto at the ramen stand and went with Karin to get the girl her okonomiyaki, but not before ordering her own bowl of shoyu ramen with extra chāshū (sliced barbecued or braised pork) and menma (lactate-fermented bamboo shoots).
It wasn't like she didn't like okonomiyaki, she liked it fine as long as it was made without the squid or octopus. She liked fish fine, just not those two certain types.
After eating, Naruto eating up to six bowls before Sachi realized what a hit the little money she had on hand was taking, the three Uzumaki made their way to the closest place to get dango. Thankfully the owner didn't outright kick Naruto out, but also didn't have anything nice to say about him either.
Seeing the negativity towards her cousin, Sachi glared harshly but held her tongue as she ordered the dango to go and left once the order came back to her.
"I'm sorry 'bout that," Naruto muttered, loud enough they both heard. "I don't know why they don't like me... but I understand if you don't want to be seen with me..."
"Don't say that, stupid," Karin snapped. "You're family. An Uzumaki never abandons family!"
Sachi smiled, and placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"Karin is right, Naruto. You're family, it doesn't matter what the village thinks of you or us. Uzumaki stick together, and we help those who are important to us, blood or not."
Naruto grinned, forcing tears of relief and happiness back as he grabbed Sachi's hand in his. Sachi smiled and the two sisters began walking Naruto home. He didn't live that far from where they stayed with Shisui in his apartment.
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"You know if you keep holding the kid like that, you're gonna end up dropping him," Sachi said, a little amusement in her voice as she took the nearly two year old from Shisui.
At least half of the surviving Uchiha attended the Academy, leaving Shisui with those under the age of six to watch, or pay genin teams to watch when he either had a mission or meeting. The two youngest where barely two and nearly two; Yuichi and Minoru. The one she was holding was Minoru, who wouldn't turn two until December 3rd.
"Huh, you're good at that," Shisui said, sitting down at the table across from the redhead.
"Thanks I guess. I was eight when Karin was born, so I remember when she was this age. She was always crying though, always wanting any attention she could get," Sachi said with a short chuckle.
She held the child on her lap and tried feeding him the mushed up food once he was calm and no longer fussing. It was the truth but she also remembered how Teddy was at this age, though those memories were distant with how much time had passed between then and now.
"Are you two gonna continue to flirt with each other or something?" Karin asked as she headed to the fridge to get the milk for her cereal.
Her school bag was over her shoulder, and her shoulder length hair pulled into a short ponytail. Her glasses were clipped to the strap of her bag. Others probably assumed they were reading glasses. Sasuke snorted as he headed for the table, having just entered the room as well. The other children had already eaten and either headed to the Academy early or were watching TV or playing in the living room.
"What!?" Sachi exclaimed, and Karin snickered as she returned to the table with the milk.
Shisui looked a bit like a dear caught in the headlights, unsure what to say or do and Sachi was turning as red as her hair.
"Was it a secret?" Karin asked, and Sachi glared at the other redhead.
"We weren't flirting." She sighed, shaking her head. "Finish your cereal and go, you'll be late if you don't leave soon."
Sasuke and Karin finished within a few minutes and were out the door before the other two could think to say anything to them.
"They forgot their lunches, didn't they?" Shisui asked, jerking his head in the direction of two packed bento on the counter. She sighed.
"Drop it off at the school for me, Shisui?" she asked, standing with Minoru situated at her hip. "I'll drop Minoru off in the living room with his sister, before I go. Hokage-sama said he wanted to talk to me this morning."
Shisui nodded. He remembered her mentioning it to him yesterday. Afterwards she was going to continue working on the new Uzumaki compound with Tenzō.
"Sure, I'll drop them off before I leave the village for my mission."
Sachi smiled, almost awkwardly as only a short time before Karin had been teasing them about their relationship – which was just that of good friends. Neither were anywhere near ready for anything more.
"I'll see you when you get back," she finally said. "Be careful..."
Shisui sighed as he watched Sachi's dark red hair sway behind her as she left the room. He was more than thankful for Sachi's help. He wasn't sure he could have handled everything without some help.
It wouldn't be long before he could move the clan back to the Uchiha district, and out of the apartments which were too small since most of the time the children where in his apartment for meals or just not wanting to be alone.
He'd survived about a week after the massacre, but by the time the second week creeped upon them he was nearly spent as far as patience went.
Supporting a clan was harder work than it appeared from the outside, and he now understood why his father had given the title away so easily. Why Fugaku had always looked so worn out and closed off.
He was just lucky all he had to deal with was the council meetings (the civilian council was more annoying than he'd previously thought), taking care of the surviving clan members, and not the clan elders.
It was far from easy, but with time that passed it got easier.