Disclaimer: All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.
Warnings: Mild to moderate violence, character death, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), some moderate Dumbledore bashing (he's more manipulative than evil but mostly just stubborn), and who knows what else.
AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.
Chapter 14: Perpetual Motion
The four weeks following his meeting with the Hokage were far busier than Satoshi originally expected, given the fact that he was supposed to have been assigned to light duty. He trained each morning with Sai, Torune, and Team Kakashi, ate breakfast with the five of them in addition to Shino and Naruto, and spent the rest of the morning doing extensive training alongside his alter egos in preparation for the Jounin Exams (at least he did once he was cleared by Tokage).
Lunch and the first half of the afternoon were usually spent helping his wizarding friends finish their applications the first week while the following weeks were spent getting them settled into their new homes once their applications were approved and helping those that wished to open their own businesses get all of their ducks in a row. The second half of his afternoon was spent training a larger than expected group of individuals with the help of Ko. That group included his trio of termites, Sai, Torune, another eleven year old by the name of Yamanaka Fu, the other seven Root orphans taken in by the Aburame Clan, and three of the other orphans that knew Sai, Shin, Torune, and Fu.
His ready acceptance of the children and his willingness to teach and train them (without any hesitation and no questions asked) drew the troubled children to him like flies to honey. The fact that he actually listened to them when they needed to rant and shared bits of his past experiences with them to help them deal with their time in Root also helped. He also treated all of the children equally and didn't put up with any shit from any of the children; regardless of who they were or where they stood skill-wise.
The evening meal was eaten at the various estates and houses of the children he was working with; each night seeing them dining with a different family so that no one family bore the sole burden of feeding so many tired and hungry shinobi and shinobi in training. Immediately after supper, Satoshi would escort all of the children home before he made the rounds to the various clans hosting the Root Orphans in order to remove their seals.
Once all of the children had been dealt with, bar an unconscious Shin, Satoshi would head to over to AnBu Headquarters after walking the children home in order to remove the full-fledged seals from the former Root Operatives (usually adults and older teens) and the alterations made to the tattoos of those AnBu Members that had also been part of Root. While the seals that had been used on the children were fairly easy to remove, the ones placed on the fully trained operatives were not. That means that there were a limited number of seals he could remove or alter each night while leaving himself enough chakra, magic, and energy to perform the next step in Shin's treatment should the boy wake during that time.
After he was finished dealing with as many seals as he could safely handle in a given evening, Satoshi would head home where he would spend a couple of hours just hanging out with the children, playing games, telling stories, or listening to them talk about their days. As soon as the children were sent to bed, Satoshi would then spend an hour with his father learning what he would one day need to know in order to follow in his father's footsteps as the Head of the Clan. Satoshi looked forward to those hours spent with his father as they reminded him of his early years when his entire world had revolved around the lessons that his father, grandfather, and Kushina had given him.
There were only three times Satoshi deviated from his busy schedule.
The first was at the end of the first week he'd been home when his father took the day off (at Satoshi's request) and the two of them spent the entire day in the Forest of Death gathering Kikaichu (both for Satoshi's swarm and for the clan's greenhouses). During that time Satoshi haltingly spoke of his fifth and final year at Hogwarts. He also allowed his father to see his newest scars which included multiple crisscrossed bars on his back, a few long, thin lines on his legs and arms, and several dozen smaller lines on the soles of his feet (Sirius had done his best to reduce the visible scaring left from the torture but had ultimately been unable to prevent all of the scarring).
Those were in addition to the scars that he'd picked up through the years since he gained his hitai-ate and his first four years at Hogwarts. That day was one of those defining moments in Shibi and Satoshi's relationship as it brought them closer together and reaffirmed Shibi's love for his adopted son as he listened, supported, and comforted Satoshi without hesitation and Satoshi's love for his father as he demonstrated just how much he still trusted and needed Shibi while holding nothing back.
The second break in the newly established routine during those first four weeks came in the middle of his third week back when Dobby turned up carrying the final grades for Satoshi and eight of his friends. All nine magicals scored high on the tests and all of them passed with flying colors thanks to the training that Remus and Sirius put them through during the last half of the year. Alongside their scores, those that were under the age of seventeen also received their certificates of emancipation; their tickets to complete and total freedom from the magical world.
That same evening saw Satoshi standing in the middle of the Hokage's office with a small crowd of people watching as he sealed away the knowledge that he was born as Harry Potter, that Harry Potter had been adopted by Aburame Shibi, that the former Harry Potter lived in the Hidden Countries, and that one Aburame Satoshi was a wizard and could perform magic. He remained conscious long enough afterwards to read the secrets sealed inside of his soul and pass the secrets onto all of those that had witnessed the sealing.
He also had Dobby take a single parchment carrying his secrets written upon it to his friends back in England and to Jiraiya (who was out maintaining his spy network) with the elf never letting the scrap of paper out of his sight and bringing it right back to Satoshi's father so it could be burned the moment everyone had seen it.
At the same time as Satoshi was sealing away his past, a number of political figures within Wizarding Britain suddenly stopped what they were doing and wondered why they had been planning an invasion of the Hidden Countries. They were also wondering why they were looking for several criminals in the Hidden Countries when it was common knowledge that wizards were not welcome in the Hidden Countries and that there was no magic found on the other side of the Hidden Border.
Albus Dumbledore knew something big had happened and felt that some part of his plan for the Greater Good had just slipped away but couldn't for the life of him remember what it was. He also had a feeling that the misplaced Harry Potter (whom he really had no memory of, though he felt as if he should) was at the root of his sudden forgetfulness but he couldn't concentrate long enough to think of why that might be.
The final disruption would occur early in the fourth week when Shin regained consciousness while Satoshi was in the middle of his afternoon training with the children and he immediately dropped what he was doing while giving Ko a heads up as to what was happening before he Shunshined directly into the guest bedroom. Kanpou arrived just seconds after him and Satoshi quickly set about canceling the spells that had been keeping Shin alive as they had now become a hindrance and were actively working against Shin's normal body functions.
It took fifteen minutes to remove the spells, calm Shin down after waking up to find his body fighting against the spells, run two complete diagnostic scans (one magical and one chakra based), and give the teen the second potion (this one a rather putrid brown color). Once he was stable, Satoshi sent out a dozen bug clones to let those that would need to know that he would be unavailable for the next twenty-four hours due to the need to monitor the next stage of the treatment.
Kanpou followed suit (with fewer clones) as the medic would be sharing the watch in order for there to be less of a chance of a potential problem being missed. Satoshi then posted a do not disturb sign on the door before sealing the guest room against all intrusions with a combination ward and barrier. He knew Sai was going to be upset with him but Shibi would make certain the kid didn't mope or grow too worried. Knowing this day had been fast approaching; Satoshi had stocked plenty of food and water in the room as well as moved the now feather covered baby phoenix into the room.
"How are you feeling, Shin-kun?"
"Like someone spent an hour pummeling me to within an inch of my life," Shin honestly replied in a voice rough from disuse as he took a shaky breath.
"Not completely unexpected given the jutsu that were used to maintain your body while you were unconscious became counterproductive the moment you woke. I would have warned you about what would happen when you first woke up before I administered the first dose but I didn't want you to dwell on the negative side of the treatment just before you lost consciousness. I can't give you anything to dull the aches and pains but if you tell me what hurts the most, I can at least numb those areas to reduce the amount of pain you are in without interfering with the next stage of the treatment."
"Mostly my chest and all along my spine, though I have a slight headache as well."
"Your chest? Are you having any trouble breathing?"
"No… I don't think so, aside from the fact that it aches."
"Alright, that is most likely a result of your body trying to breath for itself while fighting against the jutsu that was breathing for you while you were unconscious. Please let me know immediately if you have any shortness of breath, if you feel any fluid building up in your lungs, or if at any point you feel like you can't breathe at all."
"Okay."
"Here, drink this; it's just a bit of watered down juice which should help with your headache and some of your general achiness since your body is slightly dehydrated. In a couple of hours, I'll give you something stronger once I'm certain the sugar won't cause you any grief."
"Thanks. Do you think maybe I could have something to eat? I feel like I haven't eaten in weeks."
"Well, technically it's been almost four weeks since you've eaten but I'm afraid that you're going to have to wait another twenty-four hours before I can allow you to have any solids. I've got several broths that I can warm up for you later but in the mean time sipping the juice should take the edge off the hunger you are feeling."
"Um… what's going to happen when I need to use the bathroom if I'm drinking nothing but liquids?"
"You won't need to worry about it. The liquids you are ingesting will be absorbed completely by your body during the next twenty-four hours due to the length of time you were out in combination with the second stage of treatment. That's also part of the reason you won't be able to have anything solid to eat just yet."
"Oh…"
"Chin up, kid, things could have been far worse," Satoshi gently chided.
"Can you tell me how Sai-kun has been handling things since I passed out?"
"Absolutely," Satoshi agreed as he settled into the chair that Sai usually occupied. "I guess I should start by saying that he is less than pleased that I have allowed him to spend only about twenty percent of his time by your side and he'll probably give you an earful about how mean I am for doing so. In my defense, I refused to allow him to waste away while worrying about you and so made certain his mind and body were otherwise occupied and that he started taking better care of himself."
"I'm surprised he listened to you when I could barely get him to leave me alone for a few minutes," Shin declared with a bit of surprise.
"Let's just say that I tend to use unusual methods of persuasion without resorting to threats or violence."
"No, you just go straight for the kill by promising abject embarrassment or extreme discomfort," Kanpou snorted from where he was currently reading through yet another one of Satoshi's books on magical healing.
"All tried and true methods that I am intimately familiar with," Satoshi dryly pointed out as he recalled some of Kushina's more creative methods of motivating him and his teammates during their first few years as Genin and Kasai's rather harsh methods during the past five summers as a member of the AnBu Corps. "In the end, it didn't matter because I haven't actually had to follow through on any of my promises since Sai didn't attempt to call my non-existent bluffs."
"What did you threaten him with and what have you been having him do?"
"Mostly I just threatened to throw him in the river if he didn't get up and moving first thing in the morning or promised to make him train in his pajamas if he wasn't dressed on time. Occasionally, I'd threaten him with extra laps or chores as well if I thought he was slacking off. As for what he's been doing…? He's been training and eating breakfast with me every morning, spending the rest of the morning working through a small list of menial chores such as washing the dishes, taking out the trash, washing the windows, dusting the furniture, cleaning the floors, or cleaning up portions of the Compound. All of which he shared with Shino, Naruto, and Torune; since who did which chore varied each day."
"He was then allowed to spend a couple hours by your side studying the scrolls and text books I'd checked out from the library to help him prepare for the day when he joins academy at the end of August. After lunch, he'd spend two hours outside either studying, training, or if he wished, playing; and I know he usually spent a good deal of that time drawing or painting; which was fine so long as he is out in the fresh air. The rest of the afternoon he spent with me and the other children working on chakra control and physical conditioning. Lastly, he was required to spend two hours socializing with the others before he was allowed to retire for the evening and spend the rest of his night in here with you."
"How do you know that he was following your rules?" Shin asked curiously as he took in how full Satoshi had kept Sai's days without being overly demanding.
"Two words; Kage Bunshin. I left two clones about the house to watch over the two of you when I was not home. I also told him in no uncertain terms that if he was going to neglect his own health, I would ban him from your room entirely and admit him into the hospital until he was ready to listen to reason. I am pleased to say that he never once gave me reason to repeat or carry out that threat."
"I didn't think you'd be willing to put that much effort into taking care of us, I mean, we're just orphans that nobody wanted. Why would you go to such lengths for us like that?"
Satoshi sighed, pulled off his sunglasses as he leaned back in his chair, rubbed at his eyes for a moment, and spent another moment critically studying the teen lying in the bed before he glanced up and met the younger boy's eyes. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and filled with a wealth of emotion, as he asked, "Have you ever heard the saying; there but for the grace of god, go I?"
"I don't think so."
"Would you like a moment to think about what it means or would you like me to explain it for you?"
"Could you please…?"
"Hai," Satoshi agreed with a small nod as he let his eyes continue to hold the other boy's gaze. "In order for you to understand, there are a few things you need to know about me. First of all, I'm adopted. My birth parents were killed when I was just a baby and the people to whom I was given to raise did not want me. I spent an unpleasant year with them before I ended up in the middle of the forest all alone for close to forty-eight hours until otousan found me, brought me back to Konoha, and adopted me. I was lucky. The Hokage initially wanted me sent to the orphanage but I had somehow managed to catch hold of otousan's attention; he took me in and raised me as his son – never once treating me as anything but his son."
"It was sheer happenstance that I did not stay with the family that hated me, that someone else hadn't found me first, and that otousan had been willing to bring me in as part of his family. It was a miracle that Orochimaru or Danzou hadn't ended up with their hands on me after I began drawing attention to myself due to my growing skills at a very young age and later when it was discovered I had a Kekkei Genkai. So, when I look at you and the other young teens and children that were found below the city, I can't help but thank god because it was surely god's grace that saved me from a fate much like yours."
"I look at you and the other orphans and see myself and because of that, I am willing to do for you what otousan did for me; help all of you in any way that you will let me. Just because you are an orphan does not negate the fact that you are someone who deserves everything any other child deserves; someone to look out for your needs, to listen to your hopes and dreams, to help you get back up on your feet, to care about and for you, and a place to call home – a place where you can feel welcomed and where you are safe."
Point made, Satoshi slipped his glasses back on and gave Shin a couple of second to collect himself before he gently ordered, "Finish your juice and try and get some rest; you have a long night ahead of you. If any of your pain comes back, please don't hesitate to let me know."
Silence filled the room at that point; Kanpou becoming engrossed in the book he was reading, Satoshi allowing himself to get lost in his memories while still keeping a small portion of his attention on the Kikaichu that were watching over Shin for him, and Shin considering what he'd learned about Satoshi. Satoshi pulled himself from his memories an hour later when Kanpou got up to check on the now sleeping Shin to make certain everything was as it should be.
"I must say, I think I see now why Kasai-sama constantly complains about you and secrets," Kanpou ventured with a soft chuckle once he was finished scanning the thirteen year old. "An ability to heal that which can not be healed, your ability to anticipate things in advance, your willingness to share that which most people would hide, and the fact that you have managed to keep so many secrets while living in the midst of a village full of nosy, prying shinobi for years."
"I take perverse enjoyment out of rationing out those secrets as slowly and as carefully as I can; it allows me to savor the moments when I can shock those who have far more knowledge and experience than me because they never expect it from me… or at least they used to not expect it of me while now I think they have come to expect it from me," Satoshi explained with a laugh.
Kanpou laughed with him for a moment before he continued speaking, "You know, I had no idea that you were adopted and even if I had, I never would have expected you to willingly use what sounded like painful memories to explain your reasoning for why you are willing to go to such lengths to help the orphans. That you can relate to them in that way gives you a unique opportunity as they will find it easier to approach you knowing that you will understand them in a way that those of us who grew up with one or both parents can't. Although, some of them may at first resent you for finding what they themselves did not; a home and a loving family."
"Experience and truth are two of the greatest teachers there are. They can also be the harshest and least forgiving of teachers. If sharing a few truths about my past and speaking of my less than pleasant experiences will help another, then it is only right that I do so. If only to prevent another from learning some of life's lessons the hard way."
They both fell silent after that with Kanpou returning to his reading while Satoshi focused his attention on Shin's rising and falling chest while his Kikaichu listened intently to Shin's breathing to make certain that he wasn't having any trouble. Around suppertime, Satoshi gently woke Shin and helped him to sit up just enough so he could drink half a cup of vegetable broth and a quarter cup of vitamin enriched orange juice before reapplying the numbing charms on his chest and spine and helping the weakened teen to lay back down.
Satoshi then distracted Shin in an effort to get to know the boy by asking him questions about his likes and dislikes, asking him to talk about his training as best he could, and what he liked to do when he was bored. In turn, Satoshi answered some of Shin's questions about his own life (providing they didn't touch on any classified topics).
When Shin finally drifted off back to sleep, Satoshi got up and made a light meal for himself and Kanpou (purposefully waiting for the teen to fall back asleep so as not to torment him by eating in front of him) before switching places with the medic so he could spend a little time stretching out stiff muscles. Every couple of hours the two shinobi would trade places to allow the other to rest or stretch out except for the times when Shin was awake as they both checked on the boy to make certain the repair of his damaged neurons was going as smoothly as possible and that no other complications had cropped up. In that way, the three of them passed the twenty-four hours needed for the second stage of the treatment to run its course.
"It's almost time to start the final stage of your treatment," Satoshi declared as he glanced at the clock before he turned to Kanpou and handed the medic a bottle holding a yellow potion while he asked, "Kanpou, if you will carry Shin into the bathroom and have him drink this in exactly fourteen minutes? I recommend that you have him sitting on the toilet before he drinks it and have a trashcan at the ready because the first step of the third stage is to clear out the toxins from his body. I will clean up things in here and make certain that I have everything else I'll need to wrap up his treatment while you're doing that. I also suspect that I'll need to run a bit of interference the moment we open the door, since I'm one hundred percent certain that Sai is going to be seated right outside the door."
Kanpou nodded as he tucked the vial of potion into his pocket and gathered Shin into his arms while Satoshi crossed the room and dropped both the ward and the barrier that had locked everyone else out. He'd barely opened the door when the weight of another body flew through the door and a loud squawk was heard as Satoshi caught Sai by the back of the shirt and hauled him out of the room. Kanpou chuckled and Shin gave a weak grin as the medic carried the teen through the open door in the direction of the bathroom while Satoshi sighed and dropped Sai.
"I know you are anxious to see your brother but I'm going to ask you to be patient and hold off for about another hour," Satoshi stated the moment Sai scowled up at him. "If you would like to help, please go ask my otousan to help you make some kayu for Shin-kun's breakfast. It'll need to be only lightly sweetened as too much sugar will not be good for Shin at the moment. Also, fresh fruit in the form of berries or bananas or even honey (no more than a single teaspoon) would be better than processed sugar to add flavor. By the time that is ready, Kanpou should be finished helping Shin get cleaned up and I will be ready to administer the last of his medication, most of which will require him to have some food in his stomach. Do you think you can do that?"
"Hai!"
"Hop to it then and you can sit with your brother while he eats and takes his medication."
Satoshi watched Sai take off in the direction of the living room and kitchen before he headed to the hall closet and grabbed a change of sheets for the bed. He then returned to the guest room and quickly stripped the bed and put on the clean sheets and pillow cases before he gathered up the trash and dirty dishes that had accumulated over the course of the twenty-four hours they'd been locked in the room. Next he opened the window and cast several air freshening charms to banish the last of the smell of sickness that clung to the room before closing the window but leaving the curtains open so that there was plenty of light coming into the room but no chance of germs or bacteria entering through the window. And finally, a couple of sanitation spells banished any dust and germs inside of the room.
The fifteen year old then spent several minutes checking each of the final six potions that Shin would need to take to ensure that the disease would not make a come back and to heal as much as of the damage that the rest of his body had suffered due to the gradual (and constant) decline of his health over the past year. Gathering up the dirty sheets, the dirty dishes, and trash; Satoshi made his way through the house and deposited his burdens in the appropriate places (dirty sheets to the laundry room, trash to the trashcan, and dishes to the sink). He was waylaid on his way back to the guest room by three anxious nine year olds.
"Oniisan!" Shino, Naruto, and Hinata chorused together as they practically Shunshined across the distance separating them and latched tightly into his waist.
"Gomen, little termites; I was not ignoring you on purpose. Kanpou and I spent the last twenty-four hours taking care of Shin while the medicine I gave him repaired the damage done to his spinal cord by the disease that was slowly killing him. I'm going to need the three of you to be patient for a while longer though as I have the last of Shin's medication to administer and then I'm going to need a bath, a hot meal, and a long nap before I can spend some time with you."
"Okay," Hinata replied solemnly as she stepped back and pulled the two boys with her.
Satoshi smiled and took a moment to ruffle their hair before he slipped back down the hallway just as Kanpou was carrying a freshly bathed Shin into the bedroom. Taking out his wand once more, Satoshi dried Shin's hair, skin, and clothes to make certain he wouldn't catch a chill from the dampness before casting a warming charm on the bed to further help him regulate his body temperature. Once the thirteen year old was as comfortable as he could make him, Satoshi picked up two of the six potions and held the one that looked like bright red syrup out to Shin.
"This one is going to feel overly warm, taste a bit like strong pepper as it goes down, and it will cause steam to pour out of your ears. It will also warm you up on the inside, remove any germs or bacteria you've picked up in the last twenty-four hours, and give you enough energy to eat breakfast."
Shin accepted the vial with mild trepidation and drank it down quickly only to grumble over the heat and taste before he let out a squawk as the promised steam poured forth from his ears, mouth, and nose a minute later. Satoshi chuckled a bit at the dazed look on the teen's face as he recalled his own first experience in drinking Pepper-Up Potion that first year at Hogwarts when the dampness of the castle had him picking up a chest congestion. He waited for Shin to snap out of his daze before he held out the next vial, which contained a potion that appeared to be made up of every color in the rainbow plus a few that weren't.
"You'll eventually get used to the feeling that particular medication induces since I suspect you'll be taking it regularly for the next several months or until your immune system has recovered enough to fight a common cold or flu. This next potion is the most important," Satoshi explained.
"This is a general healing elixir and it is going to go through and repair part of the damage that was done to your insides as your disease progressed. It is not a miracle cure; it won't fix everything. It can't give you back the muscle mass you lost while you were sick, it can't give you back the strength or flexibility you lost over time, and it won't wash away the weakness or achiness you are feeling that is a result of being sick for so long. What it will do, is repair any minor tears or bruising in your organs and muscle tissue and strengthen the healthy cells."
"Wakatta, Aburame-san."
"Ungh… call me Satoshi, please, you call me Aburame-san and I'm going to start looking over my shoulder for my otousan. That or looking for one of my old instructors or my boss thinking I'm in trouble again."
Shin grinned over the offer and the small confession (which is what Satoshi had been aiming for) before he drank down the elixir while making a face at the rather nasty taste. Sai entered the room a moment later with Shibi following not far behind carrying a tray of food. It was a good thing that Sai hadn't been the one carrying the food as the younger boy tripped over his feet as he caught sight of Shin sitting up in bed looking far healthier than he had for a long time; though the thirteen year old was still extremely gaunt and showing signs of suffering from an extended illness. However, the dark circles beneath his eyes were gone, his skin had developed a soft, healthy pink glow, and his eyes shone with new life thanks to the two potions he'd just taken along with the fact that he'd spent most of the past twenty-four hours sleeping far easier than he had prior to Satoshi administering that first potion nearly a month earlier.
"Niisan," Sai whispered as his breath hitched slightly.
"How are you feeling, Shin-kun?" Shibi asked as he crossed the room and settled the tray he carried on Shin's lap in order to give Sai a moment to collect himself.
"Far better than I'd ever dreamed I would given what I was told before, sir," Shin replied with a smile; though both words and smiled were directed at Sai.
"I'm glad to hear that. We have all been praying for you."
"I hate to interrupt but there are just a few more instructions that I have to give to Shin-kun before I take myself off to rest for a bit," Satoshi interjected as Shin grew embarrassed over hearing that people had been concerned for him (above and beyond his adopted brother) and that they had cared what happened to him. "I don't expect you to eat everything on the tray, just eat until you are full. When you can't eat another bite, wait five minutes and take the green medicine; it will help your body adjust to having solid food for the first time in almost a month. If you find yourself feeling hungry again after taking it; go ahead and eat a bit more but don't overstuff yourself."
"Next you'll take the clear medicine; that one is going to reinforce and strengthen your bones. After that you will need to take the bluish-purple medicine; it will help ease any aches and pains you might be feeling. The pearly-pink medicine that looks, smells, and tastes like fresh paint needs to be taken last; that one is a combination antibiotic and anti-inflammatory all rolled into one so it is important that you make certain that you take it immediately after you take the other three. Sai, I'm expecting you to make certain Shin takes all four as they are all very important."
"Hai!"
"Good… I'll leave the two of you to catch up then. Kanpou, you're welcome to take first shower and borrow my bed if you wish to rest here a while instead of going all the way back home only to turn around and come back later to check on Shin-kun."
"Thank you for the offer, Satoshi-kun, but I think I'll head home anyway to get any messages that were left for me and grab a change of clothes. I'll be back first thing in the morning to check on our patient unless something crops up sooner; in which case I expect you to send for me."
"I'll see you first thing in the morning then," Satoshi replied as he turned and stumbled out of the room, the past thirty-some hours had taken quite a bit out of the teen.
Shin was transferred to the Konoha Hospital the next morning as a precaution and so he could have some tests run to see how thorough the treatment had been in eradicating the disease, determine the full extent of the damage that had been done to his body over the course of the disease, find out how much of that damage had not been healed by the magical treatments, and to start him on his physical therapy. Sai had initially been upset over the need to transfer the teen but Satoshi had reminded the younger boy that it was only for a couple of days (up to a week at most) and that he could still visit his brother in the hospital each day. Satoshi also made it a point to visit the recovering teen at least twice a day and even took the other children by to see him.
During that week, Satoshi and Kanpou found themselves questioned extensively by Sato Furofuki, the director of the hospital and Konoha's lead medic (the last a title that formerly belonged to Senju Tsunade but was relinquished when the Shodai's granddaughter left the village). The formidable woman tried bullying Satoshi into spending unaccountable hours researching and attempting to heal several other hopeless cases but Satoshi had to tell her no.
It wasn't that he didn't want to help the patients; it was more that he didn't have the proper training and magic couldn't fix everything. He did, however, help in those cases he knew he had enough skill and knowledge to not make things worse and researched various diseases and other maladies that were thought to be incurable to find out if there were magical cures for them; which for some of them there were. The only reason he'd done what he had for Shin was because the teen had had so little time left and Satoshi hadn't been able stand the thought of watching the boy die a little each day while Sai figuratively died one piece at a time right alongside of him.
No longer needing to worry quite so much about whether or not he'd made a mistake in attempting to cure Shin, Satoshi jumped right back into his previous routine. Sai applied himself with far more enthusiasm than he had previously as well; the knowledge that his brother was no longer dying (a fact that was confirmed less than seventy-two hours after the thirteen year old had regained consciousness) filling him new life. The soon to be ten year old had also taken to calling Satoshi aniki out of gratitude since Satoshi had kept his promise to heal Shin and how he had in some ways set himself up as a big brother for both Shin and Sai; though he was in no way attempting to replace Shin's place in Sai's life (hence the reason why he called him aniki and not niisan).
Not having to worry about saving his magic for the moment Shin woke up also meant that Satoshi could double the number of Root seals that he removed and AnBu seals that he restored each night. By the end of his fifth week home, it was looking like he'd be finished with all of the seals he could do without Jiraiya's latest research and still have time to recoup before he'd need to attempt the Jounin Exams or remove the higher level curse seals.
Of course, with Satoshi picking up the pace it meant that the interrogators had to pick up the slack as well in order to sort through those who'd been kidnapped many years earlier and brainwashed (like most of the orphans), those that had been tricked and thought they were doing what was best for the village, those who had thought that there wasn't anywhere else to go, those that hated the village and had hoped to help Danzou take it over, and those that fell some where in between the rest. Shibi complained most nights that Satoshi was making him work too hard in his old age but they both laughed at the joke since Shibi was only sixteen years older than Satoshi making him currently thirty-two which really wasn't all that old.
Satoshi also stepped up his training at that point, pushing himself as he trained against two of his clones that had taken on the likenesses of his alter egos. As he trained, Satoshi decided that he didn't like his alter egos very much because they were exceedingly annoying when both of them flirted with him because that was ingrained into their persona. It didn't help that Kakashi, Tenzou, Yuugao, Izumo, and Kotetsu would watch the training while laughing their asses off. The three AnBu found it funny because they knew Satoshi was fighting himself twice over and the other two just thought it was hilarious that Satoshi had teamed up with two of the most annoying shinobi on the force (the two Chuunin unaware that Satoshi and the Kawarimi Twins were one and the same).
On the plus side, Satoshi was learning to cope with the idea of someone flirting with him as a distraction and further honed his own flirting skills even if it was just against himself in both cases. It was also interesting trying to form a cohesive team with your own alter egos when you had a tendency to want to slip into your alter ego because it felt natural to do so when around clones of yourself henged as your alter ego. Knowing this, Satoshi purposefully traded off which role he personally played which helped keep them straight in his mind as he re-familiarized himself with each role personally instead of just trying to play one.
About a week into his new schedule, Satoshi was eating lunch with Kakashi at one of the more upscale restaurants in town when the older shinobi asked him, "Satoshi, have you ever stopped to consider the risks you take when you throw yourself into your alter ego as thoroughly as you do when you are training? I mean, aren't you the least bit worried that you might develop a multiple personality disorder or something along those lines?"
"No, not at all," Satoshi replied around a soft snort of amusement as he watched Kakashi lift his glass. He waited until his brother was in the middle of taking a drink before he casually added, "After all, it's only a disorder if you let all of your separate personalities fight and argue about who is the dominant personality." Satoshi felt no remorse as Kakashi choked on his soda and dumped more than half the glass on his lap in response to his rather flippant remark. The teen then finished with, "And I'll have you know, that all of my personalities are very organized and there is absolutely no need for us to argue amongst ourselves."
The moment was completely ruined when clones of all three of Satoshi's personalities walked by arguing loudly about who had to pay for lunch. Kakashi's sour expression (from his soda spit-take) disappeared in a split second as the older shinobi started laughing his ass off over the antics of the clones while Satoshi palmed his face and appeared chagrined by his clones' behavior. In truth, Satoshi was snickering and trying to hide his amusement over the fact that Kakashi had just fallen for his ruse hook, line, and sinker.
He waited for the gray haired Jounin to fall off his seat in his amusement before he calmly climbed to his feet, walked out of the restaurant, and walked around the corner. His clones joined him two minutes later; all three of them smirking as they high-fived the original. The entire scene had been a prank that he'd set up to get Kakashi back for all the teasing that the older man had done since he'd first started training against his alter egos. The point of the prank? He'd just stuck Kakashi with the bill for their rather expensive lunch.
It had also been a form of training; allowing Satoshi to get a bit of practice in interacting with his two AnBu personas out in public, working on fitting in naturally and acting as if his clones weren't clones at all, and gathering information without seeming to do so. On top of that, it allowed far more people to see the Kawarimi Twins outside of their AnBu masks in order to get people used to seeing them around town since up until now their identities had been somewhat classified.
The pranking of his honorary brother and getting a free meal out of said brother (who was one of the top shinobi in the village) was just an added bonus. He'd probably pay for the prank later (once Kakashi figured it out) but it was well worth it.
Before Satoshi knew it, the day he was to sign up for the Jounin Exams arrived and he entered the Hokage's office with all of the other expectant Tokubetsu Jounin and Chuunin, several of the village's Jounin, and the various Department Heads. His alter egos slipped through a different window on either side of the office at the same moment, startling quite a few Chuunin, annoying a few of the Tokubetsu Jounin, exasperating the Hokage, and amusing the various full-fledged Jounin, AnBu members, and the Department Heads. Satoshi ducked his head down to grin behind the collar of his jacket as his twin personas lived up to their AnBu code name by shamelessly flirting with each and every person they passed; stealing kisses, pinching or slapping butts, whirling a few around, and overall just making a spectacle of themselves.
"Toshi-koi!" Uzutsui Aranami (Gaichuu's female persona) called coyly as she latched onto Satoshi's left arm and pressed up against him just a few seconds later.
"There's my littlest otouto!" Uzutsui Arashi (Gaichuu's male persona) barked loudly as he caught Satoshi in a headlock and gave him a noogie.
Long used to his clones' behavior while wearing Gaichuu's faces, Satoshi stoically ignored both of them as he resolutely stared forward and didn't so much as twitch while more than a few shinobi laughed and the rest either commiserated with Satoshi or glared at the twins. The sixteen year old just knew that all of those who were well aware that he and Gaichuu were the same individual were secretly laughing their asses off as Satoshi was given a 'dose of his own medicine' so to speak by his clones. Satoshi didn't mind… he'd get them back later; the Weasley twins had a few new products they were hoping the magical shinobi would test out for them.
"Now that everyone is present, we can get down to business," Sarutobi stated as he mock glowered at Satoshi and his clones while holding back a grin. "All of you are here because you have expressed an interest in taking the Jounin Exam that is being held this year. Before I accept your applications, you need to be certain that you are fully prepared to risk you life, limbs, and sanity to pursue the promotion you seek."
"When you'd learned everything the instructors could teach you at the academy, they tested you to see if you possessed the basic skills required of a shinobi; to see if you had the potential to become a Genin. When a Jounin sensei agreed to take the team that you were assigned to, the first thing he tested you on was if you had the ability to work with your new teammates; whether or not you knew them or even liked them," Hamaki explained in a commanding voice the moment the Hokage fell silent. "You then spent weeks, months, or years busting your asses to earn a chance to enter the Chuunin Exams where you needed to both be able to work as a team and shine on your own to prove that you had what it took to be a leader."
"Once you earned your flak jacket; you spent your time working and training to improve your skills, testing yourselves against bandits, thugs, criminals, and the worst of scum as you slaved away for clients that cared more about the end results of the mission than for the blood, sweat, and tears you poured into doing your job for several more months or in most cases years," Nara Shikaku continued as he swept his eyes over the assembled shinobi. "And now, each one of you think you are ready to earn the distinction of being called a Jounin, of being listed amongst the elite shinobi, and of becoming a part of the first and last lines of defense that must be ready at a moment's notice to sacrifice their lives for the safety of the civilians and the next generation of shinobi."
"When you earned the title of Genin, you become an adult in the eyes of the rest of the village," Kasai picked up solemnly when Shikaku finished speaking. "When you earned the title of Chuunin, you earned the respect of your peers and were looked upon to lead your fellow shinobi to the best of your abilities while completing the various missions to which you were assigned. Some of you were then granted the title of Tokubetsu Jounin when you went above and beyond the call of duty to complete your mission despite the number of things that had gone wrong over the course of said mission; showing your team captain or the Jounin reviewing your report that you had untapped potential inside of you."
"Those who have gone on to earn the title of Jounin have shown that they have the ability to think on their feet, to plan a course of action in a moment's notice, and the fortitude to carry out their plan in the face of adversity," Homura continued next as he stepped forward to get the assembled shinobi's attention. "A Jounin is a shinobi that never stops learning and never stops striving to improve his or herself. A Jounin is also a shinobi that is willing to do his or her part in teaching the next generation of shinobi; giving those who will follow in his or her footsteps the tools and knowledge they need to survive."
"A Jounin must be able to face his or her fears head on without flinching," Jiraiya took over as Homura stepped back. "A Jounin must be able to adapt to whatever life and the mission throw at him or her. A Jounin must be able to trust in his or her own skills and in the skills of his or her teammates. A Jounin lives to serve and serves to live. When a man or woman takes up the mantle of Jounin, he or she is no longer just a shinobi; he or she becomes the backbone upon which our village lives or dies by."
"Do you still think you have what it takes to become a Jounin?" Sarutobi demanded challengingly as he rose to his feet and leaned forward over his desk as he pinned each and every potential applicant with a raptor's gaze as if he was personally testing each of them with his eyes alone.
Satoshi didn't hesitate, the moment the Hokage's eyes met his through his dark glasses, he boldly walked forward with his clones and the three of them held out their completed applications in unison. Dropping his head down just enough so that he could meet the Hokage's gaze over the top of his classes, Satoshi pitched his soft voice to carry in the nervous silence that had filled the office as he clearly declared, "I am prepared to sacrifice myself for my family, for my friends, for the children that run wild in the streets, for the village I call home, and for a future I may or may not live to see. I am ready to give back what others have given to me when they sacrificed their lives so that I might live."
"There's no point in living if I'm not willing to die for those I love," Arashi stated simply from Satoshi's left.
"Someone has to see to it that the next generation is corrupted… er trained properly," Aranami unrepentantly added with a smirk from Satoshi's right.
Sarutobi rolled his eyes in exasperation even as the corners of his mouth curled up and he accepted their applications. The red-headed clones then dragged Satoshi to the back of the room while a number of other shinobi surged forward to hand in their applications; many of them afraid of loosing face if they backed out now after Satoshi's rather dramatic declaration followed by the Kawarimi Twin's statements. Twenty-five minutes later, out of the seventy-eight shinobi that had originally wished to enter the Jounin Exams only fifty-seven remained; the rest had changed their mind at the last minute as they began to doubt themselves.
"I'd like to thank each and everyone of you who were dedicated enough to submit an application for the upcoming exam," Sarutobi began as he returned to his seat and placed his elbows on the table as he once again studied each of the shinobi in the office.
"Interviews will be conducted in front of a panel of judges during the next seven days. If the judges are in agreement and providing your application is accepted, then you will be assigned a date and time to take the written assessments for the exam. Those that score a passing grade on the assessments will be given details about the first task of the exam which will begin on the ninth of next month. Good luck, ladies and gentlemen. Aburame-kun, Uzutsui-kun, and Uzutsui-chan; please remain behind a moment, I have a couple of things I wish to discuss with the three of you."
Translations: Japanese to English
Aniki – older brother
Aranami – stormy seas/raging waves (Gaichuu's female persona)
Arashi – storm/tempest (Gaichuu's male persona)
Hai – yes
Kami/kamisama – god
Kayu – rice gruel; watery, soft cooked rice that resembles oatmeal
Kekkei Genkai – bloodline limit
Koi – a form of endearment (meaning dear or love)
Oniisan/niisan – older brother
Otousan/tousan – father
Otouto – little brother
Tokubetsu – special
Uzutsui – vortex pair (I thought it an appropriate surname for a pair of troublesome annoyances and a name that could have easily come out of Uzushiogakure… maybe…)
Wakatta – I understand/understood
Notes:
*There but for the grace of god, go I – this saying or proverb can be loosely translated to mean the person speaking it would have suffered the same terrible fate as another who has suffered but for the mercy of god or sheer luck. The exact origin of the saying is unknown but it has been around for several centuries. There are also a number of songs with that title sang by different artists and bands though the one I am most familiar with is the one performed by Keith Urban called But for the Grace of God that I am guessing is based upon the proverb due to the lyrics.
AN: A bit of a busy chapter; Shin has been saved, Shibi had overtime, Kakashi was pranked, and Satoshi demonstrated his penchant for dramatic flares after hanging out with the likes of the Weasley Twins, Kotetsu & Izumo, and Sirius and Remus. I do hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and can promise that the next couple of chapters will have quite a bit of action in them. =) ~ Jenn