First off, people: I am SO so very sorry. I wanted to update, I really did. But College is – as I'm sure you lot know- a bit of a drama queen. I just started my freshmen year at Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore. Yes, that IS a bit of a mouthful, which is why we at Kinnaird prefer to think of ourselves as KCites. And ofcourse it took some time to get used to college life, even without the hassle of hostel life. What with getting used to the semester system, choosing electives, signing up for clubs and societies and dealing with the mind frying duties that come with being CR…yeah, not the best few months of my life. That, coupled with writer's block and the assignments…lol, you get the idea.

But I'm BAAACK. So heres to hoping you guys will forgive me. Because I come bearing gifts: namely, this month's update to my baby: These Bonds We Keep. I'm hoping to give you guys more back stories as we progress, but I've also tried to balance the flashbacks with current events. Also, my friend read the fic and recommended I throw in a little action ASAP. So, yeah. Heres my first attempt at that.

Thank You so very much for your patience and love. This Chapter is dedicated to all the people who faved and reviewed. You have no idea how much it means.

Disclaimer: PakiNoor owns her OCs and her Fics. Naruto and The Last Guardian challenge however, belong to Kishimoto Sama and The General Electric Sama respectively.

These Bonds We Keep: The Kings and Queens of Promise

When Katana was little, and still not immune to the villager's hatred, she had asked her older brother what kept him going. He had grinned and told her how, as a child, he had been mocked by the older shinobi when he announced his ambitions, of his dreams of becoming Hokage, but how one man had stood up to defend him and simultaneously set him back on his feet. "Don't worry squirt. There are some good people in this world. You'll find a friend like that too."

Now as she watched Sasuke thread his chakra strings through the intricate web set over the Hokage's safe, she remembered, clearer than ever, what gave her the strength to keep going the way she did. Naruto had had Iruka. She, however…had had Fugaku.

Block. Block. Block

Incoming right kick.

Swerve, dodge it. Leap- but not to the back as her opponent had expected, but onto his back- performing a midair summersault, she kicked out at his neck, knocking him to the ground, before she rolled to her feet on solid ground. He was down, but not out for the count, so she went back into a fighting stance. She could not afford to celebrate, not yet.

There was a tense second before her opponent flickered out of sight.

A sharp intake alerted her and, shifting her weight to her left foot, she swung back, raising her left foot to hit her opponent in the diaphragm. Even before he landed on the ground, she had leapt away, out of his reach. But not safe. Shinobi were never safe.

Some part of her mind recognized the sound of the buzzer going off, but somehow it just didn't register. Sunk in a low crouch, she focused on the winded boy in front of her.

Sasuke got back to his feet but rather than head into an attack, he bowed to her. It was with a start that she realized the match was over.

There was a tense second before someone started clapping in the background.

"Well done children, you've improved."

Katana controlled herself enough to return her opponent's bow before whirling to meet her was clapping shyly with a s,ile on her face while Sakura was all out wooping.

"Do you really think we've improved, Fugaku sama?" She wondered, belatedly, if he could hear the hope in her voice as clearly as she could.

The approaching Uchiha deliberated for a moment before answering.

'Your taijutsu could still use some work and you need to improve your could use some work on his counter attacks. Your speed however has increased greatly. I can see that Gai san's idea is yielding some results."

Katana grinned and ran a hand over the weights bandaged on to her arm.

"Aniki said that too. But he says I'm not nearly as fast as I should be. He said I need to be at least as fast as Otousan when Kaachan wants to make teacakes, or as fast as Shizune nee when Tsunade baa sama cant find her sak'e or-" Here she paused. Perhaps not all her Aniki's pearls of wisdom were meant to be shared with others. And Fugaku sama was turning that weird color the way most adults did when she talked too long. Oh well. Shrugging it off like she'd seen her (awesome super cool) Kakashi nee do every time he got in trouble, Katana concluded "Well. Any way. I guess he's right, about needing to practice I mean.

Fugaku choked backed a laugh. "Yes, I agree. How often are you practicing Hime?"

"Well I have training with you, then Aniki when he's free…and Kakashi ni trains all of us with Itachi Ni some times and"

"No, hime, how many times do you practice on your own. In your family's dojo for example."

The girl was suddenly very quiet. Fugaku's gaze grew a bit harder. Adorable as she was, he would not compromise on training."Surely you've been practicing on your own? The Namikaze dojo should be adequate for training." Still, she was silent. "Katana? Surely you've been training?"

The girl looked up then looked back to the ground. Fugaku barely caught her whispered reply.

"Tousan doesn't like it."

Fugaku blinked. "What was that?"

"Whenever he sees me in my training gear, he- he gets all quiet. He doesn't like hearing about my training and Kaachan says not to upset him because hes always so tired, so I can't talk to him about it. And he has the Dojo keys so I can't go in without him. And…" Katana gulped "I don't think he wants me to be a shinobi. He doesn't…like me when…"

Fugaku blinked. This was interesting. And at the same time-very disturbing.

"Your father is Hokage, it is to be expected that his duties would tire him out. But I do not think he would wish for you to not join the ranks of Konoha's shinobi. It is in your blood."

Silence as the other children fidgeted.

"Perhaps you misunderstood Hime'."

At this she looked up. "He told Kaa chan he was going to have me removed from the Academy."

"What?" Fugaku was incredulous as he glanced at his son for confirmation. But even the boy was staring at his best friend, non pulsed, jaw slightly slack. Clearly, she had not taken any of her friends into her confidence.

"I wasn't snooping! I was meditating so he didn't hear me and I was outside the kitchen and he was in the kitchen talking to Kaa Chan and he said that. He said- He said he couldn't save me out there and that he couldn't assign anyone to babysit me in the field. He- he So he said" At this point Fugaku realized that the girl was near hysterics-" he said he was going to talk to Iruka sensei tomorrow and get me removed from the Academy."

The Uchiha's face clouded and he sighed. Of all the idiotic ways to go about things. Minato. What was wrong with him? What had happened?

Shaking his head he focused on the problem at hand. He would need to talk to Minato later, that much was clear. But Minato and his stubbornness needed more than eloquent speech and logical proofs. It sometimes needed a bit more…force. To achieve that he would need a team. And to gather such a team would take time. But for now, this little one needed his help. And so did the other children, who were clearly agitated by their friends discomfort.

Fugaku focused his attention on the fidgeting red head. He frowned, where was Mikoto? She was so much better at this than he was. It was why he left his own brood in her capable hands. But for now…

Fugaku knelt to the girls level.

"Katana" His tone was, he hoped, appropriately softer. "Your father does not wish to render you incapable of defending yourself, he merely wishes you did not have to."

The girl blinked. "He does not…?"

The Uchiha patriarch frowned as he attempted to come up with a suitable explanation. How did one explain a stubborn father's justification to a seven year olds? A snide voice , much like his own mother's, croaked in his head : The same way Mikoto does ofcourse. Inwardly, Fugaku grimaced at his conscience. Not helping.

Suddenly, he hit upon a plausible explanation.

"Why does Mikoto abstain from most missions?"

The children blinked.

"Because she is a clan head's wife?" Katana ventured.

"But she is also a Shinobi." Sasuke countered.

The girl frowned at the new angle. And here Hinata asked

"Did the Uchiha council stop her?"

Close… mused Fugaku. "No, I did."

Amazement lit up the eyes of the little girls. Their Jiji? Stopped his wife?

"Why?"

"Because the thought of my wife having to ward off a bunch of ruffians is too much. I worry about her."

Sasuke was indignant at his father's womanizing. "But she's so strong, and fast!"

"So is Itachi," Fugaku pointed out "So is Naruto. But do they return from their missions without any wounds, any injuries?"

"No," Katana allowed slowly, the cogs in her head whizzing as she processed the new data. Suddenly she looked up. "Tousaan only gives Kaachan escort missions. But it's not because shes weak." She scoffed and it took all of his inherent Uchiha pride to refrain from joining her. "It's because he doesn't want her to get hurt!"

Excellent.Fugaku nodded.

"But what if there's a problem? Like an attack, or war or…"

Sakura's question made him hesitate. It would be so easy to laugh off her worries. To say as he was sure their mothers would, that they had nothing to fear. That Konoha was the best of the villages, the greatest, and that they were safe. But Fugaku would not stoop to mollycoddling children so. These were the future of Konoha's armed forces. They deserved the truth. Which is why he had taught them at the very start: Shinobi were never safe.

"As long as the village's security and well being, and our personal lives can be run without compromising on the other, we will live as we do now. But when Konoha needs us, we as shinobi, have no choice but to sacrifice everything for her."

The children stared up and as he continued, he saw a glimmer of understanding in their eyes.

"Your fathers know this. Just as the other clan heads know this. Just as I know this. As citizens of Konoha, we swear to be loyal to her, to honour her traditions, to be her strength, to continue the traditions of our forefathers, to keep alight the Will of the Fire. In times of crisis, the villagers can be excused for choosing their own families over the defense of the village. But as Shinobi, we have no choice. Because for us, honour, loyalty, tradition are more than words. They are the very mantra we live by.

But in the end, we are human. So even though we realize the need for you to learn to defend yourselves, the thought of our offspring hurt and alone is too much to bear. So we choose to ignore that need." And here he turned to Katana, who blinked and nodded as he said "pretend it does not exist."

The children were silent. Sakura and Hinata were fingering the clan symbols on their vests. Sasuke's attention how ever, was on his friend. The redhead in question was staring intently at the ground. As her frown deepened, Sasuke scowled and glanced at his father. Fugaku winced and hoped he had not confused the child. He straightened up.

"I will speak with your father regarding-"

"No."

Fugaku looked at the girl in surprise. A determined look had crept on to her face as she turned to her friends and smiled . She looked up at the clan leader.

"I think this is something… that I need to do."

Shell shocked, the clan leader could only nod. Bowing, the girl murmured a "Sayanora" and sprinted off. Grumbling, Sasuke took off after his friend, the other two in tow. He shot his father a grateful look as he passed by and said "We may be late for supper." before picking up speed.

The field was quiet for a few moments after their departure. Then, from the branches above, came the sound of applause. As it was picked up by the other ANBU in the trees, Fugaku heard a distinct voice murmur: "Thank You, Tousan. They - " here the boy stopped, but quick as a wink, Shisui picked up where his cousin broke off. "WE needed that."

The center of the attention merely shook his head as he looked at the streaks of dust racing towards the gate. Pride coursed through his veins and a strange feeling filled his heart. A feeling similar to the one he had experienced the day his father had tied his hiat'e around his head In those four children he had suddenly seen himself, all the hopes and dreams he had had. All the expectations people had had of him. Things he had written off as unachievable. But something in those clear eyes had brought back a piece of him. And he realized that there was still hope.

Come what may, he thought. As long as they are here, the will of the fire will live on.

Present Day

"Got it."

Sasuke's grunt brought Katana out of her reveries. Wiping her eyes, she turned to where her friends were crouching over the stolen scroll.

It was huge, she noted again as she drew closer. Releasing the seals on her father's safe had been a walk in the park compared to the monumental task of actually transporting it to a far off, secluded part of the forest. And there had been the task of understanding the text provided. But it would be worth it, she reminded herself. If they could just learn one of these jutsus. Just one. That would show them. And now that Sasuke had decoded the last seal, they were just one more step closer.

She followed her friend's lead as he stood up and took them through the seals. One by one they memorized the precious seals. It was an hour before they were satisfied with their efforts. Then as one, they went through the seals one last time.

Katana grinned at her friends as the children brought together the index and middle fingers from both hands, crossed them and yelled

"Juro! Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!"

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"Where is she?" Minato's tone may have been soft, but no one nissed the steely glint in his eyes. Hyuga Hiashi and Uchiha Itachi tensed from either end of the Kage's table even though they knew that the Kage's anger was not directed at them. Minato had that affect on people. An always awe inspiring, sometimes blood curdling feeling that made strong men want to run for the hills. Right now, as Kakashi's team stood their ground in front of their Kage, Hiashi thought they might be experiencing the latter of the two.

"Sources confirm Katana hime left the main building of the Namikaze house with her friends. She led them to the family dojo, went inside, and as is their custom, sealed the dojo so as to avoid detection of any chakra spikes that may occur during sparring. It was only when Hinata hime was reported missing that we checked on the dojo and discovered that the children were missing."

Here Kakashi paused. They had had to drag their beloved leader from his dinner for that. His reaction to the development had not been very pleasing. That coupled with a chunnin team's report that that the Hokage Tower's wards had recently been tampered with had caused an uproar. Kushina hime had had to be physically restrained from hunting down "the monsters who captured my children!". And the Hokage had very nearly blown a hole through the roof when they discovered the theft of the sacred scroll. Teams had been dispatched but so far there was no trace of the scroll or the missing children. Though he was getting tired of putting up with this drama, he had stuck with it, refusing to betray the children. They had guts, pulling off an operation like this and Kakashi would not ruin it for them. However, his Kage did need answers.

"We have as yet been unable to find Katana hime, Sakura hime, Hinata hime or Sasuke kun. But we are sure that they are still within the village boundaries."

Minato raised a brow. "And the scroll."

Kakashi sighed. "That too, my lord."

"And you have no way of confirming this other than your …feeling."

At Kakashi's silence, Minato growled out an "Excuse me" and teleported out the room. The papers were still flying around as everyone tured to the Uchiha patriarch. Itachi raised a brow and sighed. "He's at the top of the Hokage monument. I can sense his chakra near my tags there."

As one the elite team sighed and took off their masks. Hiashi turned towards the ANBU team as Itachi sealed the room. "Alright. What happened?" He was startled by the silent laughter in the ANBU members' eyes.

Kakashi barked out a laugh. "Isnt it obvious?"

Itachi blinked at him, a silent message passing back and forth before he allowed a small grin. "They didn't."

"They did." Confirmed Rin as she turned to the Hyuga leader. "Their reserves are too vast to channel the tiny amounts needed for a simple Bunshin."

Hiashi blinked before a tiny smirk appeared. "The first of the thousand jutsus…"

Genma grinned. "Yup, the munchkins stole the sacred ninja scroll."

Only his dominant Hyuga genes stopped Hiashi from laughing out loud as he looked towards the Hokage monument. In the dim light, he could just make out the white figure standing on top. "I wonder if he knows."

"Sensei? Oh don't worry, he's probably wondering how to reward them without coming off as too soft."
Rin's laughter was infectious, and Hiashi allowed himself to join in the chuckles before glancing up at the monument again.

"Oh Minato. You poor fool."

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