I can't believe there are two or three more chapters left to this story. And then an epilogue, so stay tuned for that. And it's going to be a proper one, too. For spoilery hints and such about it you may go visit the onionna tumblr blog. Yes. This is a lighter funfacty chapter, but that's because most of what's here has already been well set up and explained, but here are a few funfacts to tide you over:

Funfact: Shunga authors often remained anonymous in the mid to late 17th because of government crackdowns on their pervy literature. So yeah. It remained widely read though, so there's that…

Funfact: Caste systems suck because those who are of a higher caste than you get to tell you what to do. So that's where Tenzou is here, and I think I covered that well enough in the chapter.

Funfact: While there was a samurai class, this again had hierarchies and despite having land and such, Kakashi isn't really more than an armed farmer compared to Sarutobi-sama, or Iruka, or Jiraiya. And mouthing off in this time period in this society didn't get you anywhere but dead. … well, a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea? Yes.

Well, that's all. Oh! Also: I love all of you. I love all of you so much, for the reviews and the various adds to various favorites and alerts lists. Thanks for sticking with me this long, it won't be much longer! Just a few more chapters!

Without further ado,

Enjoy!

The white haired old man insisted that he call him "Father," but Tenzou preferred to call him "Jiraiya," for now. It was too strange, far too strange, to begin acting as though this man had always been of such a close relation to him. If anyone was his father figure, it had been Sakumo during his teen years. The patient man with large sad eyes had given him as much love as he'd given Kakashi. This old man was claiming a title which Tenzou didn't consider he deserved.

He'd tried to say as much—more than once—when Jiraiya had taken him out for a walk, to get to know him better. They ended up sitting on one of the raised pathways in the middle of the west rice paddy. Tenzou heard various rustlings out in the rice and glared at the sounds—those ninja had best not tamper with Kakashi's rice, or Tenzou would have words with them. Words involving gardening implements and heads.

"I hope you don't hate me in a few weeks, my boy," Jiraiya said, picking at a tiny pebble lodged in the packed earth of the walkway. Tenzou glanced at him, his elbows resting on his bent knees. He wasn't exactly sure that Jiraiya could do anything to him worse than his father already had.

"Why is that?"

"Because you are going to have to learn the sword, and the horse, and of course you must read and write—"

"I can do all of those things, Jiraiya-sama, I can do most of them quite well." He saw the craggy face next to him go slack in amazement of some sort. On one hand, Tenzou was insulted that Jiraiya thought him that ignorant, but on the other he was pleased to have been able to surprise his would-be father. Continuing, he said, "It is not for nothing that I was given to the Hatake family after my father placed me with the Sarutobi. And it is not only duty which brings about my respect and obedience to Kakashi."

"Hatake Kakashi taught you the sword? Why, he is barely old enough to have even finished learning the art of it himself when he would have needed to tea—"

"It was his father, Hatake Sakumo, who took me on as his apprentice. He always believed, one way or another, I would come into the rank I was born to have. When he passed on a few years ago, he gifted me his swords in the hope that someday I would carry them as he had."

Jiraiya made an assenting and approving noise, still picking at the little stone—he just about had it free, too. Tenzou pursed his lips and looked away, running his tongue on the backs of his teeth. It bothered him more than he would ever admit aloud. The work as a servant was unrelenting, but he always tried to find some part of it rewarding at least—and since Kakashi had married and the gods had begun to shower favor on him, Tenzou had even started to entertain the idea of marrying, building a house separate from the main family house and living there in relative freedom. It was painful that his hopes and dreams, as simple as they might seem to this lord from Edo, were being taken away from him on a whim once again—as a child he had dreamed of finally being claimed as his father's son only to be sent away. Only now he dreamed of making a life of his own choosing, something which appeared would never happen to him.

"You really are going to take me to Edo, then? There is no way I can convince you to let me stay here?"

His companion had managed to work the little rock out of the dirt and was now rubbing his thumb over it to clean the dirt off it. Tenzou stared at the rock, slowly being polished clean in Jiraiya's hands.

"Your father will come soon enough and take you by force. You are going to be presented as someone's son at court within the year, of that I am quite sure. Tenzou, you have the choice of either going with me and being welcomed and celebrated in my house—a house which you will be head of, with a dutiful wife, tactful servants, and the ear of the shogun should you want it. Or," Jiraiya paused for breath as well as to spit a little on the rock he held, using the moisture to lift more of the dirt off of the surface, "you may wait for Orochimaru to arrive here and terrorize the Hatake family for a second time—he will make you his heir, but he will treat you with disdain and make you feel guilty that he had to adopt you. He might find you a wife, but he certainly won't curtail the gossips in his households or his clan, and he himself is in disgrace after the events of last autumn." Jiraiya reached between them, his prized little stone in the palm of his hand. The little rock was clean and shone a little in the sunlight, a far cry from its appearance only minutes ago.

"You will, of course, be free to travel throughout the country once your training is completed. Since you claim to already know so much—writing and the sword, that is an accomplishment, my boy—you will likely pick up everything else quickly. You could even come here to visit the Hatake, although their household I dare say will be much changed in the time you're gone." He dropped the stone into Tenzou's hand and pawed at his chest, looking for something.

A small notebook emerged, followed shortly by a stub of charcoal. The little book was filled with sketches, Tenzou noticed as he turned the rock over in his fingers. Jiraiya was about to put the charcoal to the paper when he looked up suddenly.

"You know Orochimaru's feelings on bastards and rural samurai, Tenzou, as well as his ideas of sentimentality. He is not inclined towards the whims of such an emotion, and as his son you should understand that better than anyone. If you turn this offer down you will not likely receive another one from me—because if you turn me down, I'll know that Orochimaru has managed to pass his idiocy down to you."

Sakura rescued her tea things from the woman—Shizune—and went inside, dragging Sai with her. Kakashi and Shizune followed hesitantly, probably because of how she was nearly stomping her feet. Her husband was cautious because he was smart, Shizune probably because she was just cautious in general. Sai, however, went along with her, boneless and willing as he always was. The inside of her house was exactly as she'd left it before going to doze in the sun with Kakashi—but there was something off about it now. Her green eyes flicked around the cooking area, noting where the kettle had been moved to and from the fire, the box where she kept the tea was sitting next to where Shizune had prepared it. Someone else had been in here, and picked up every item and set it back down—Sakura was sure of it. Angry, she rounded on Sai.

"Sai, why did you come here?"

His smile curved easily on his face, fake as usual. Kakashi and Shizune filed in and sat down around the fire pit where Sakura had forced Sai to sit down.

"Because my lord father ordered me to find and watch over his son. It was a happy accident that I ended up in the very household I needed to find, but I would have befriended your family soon enough if I had been placed elsewhere. I was sent here, Sakura-san, because I am one of the very best men available to Lord Gama."

"And you lied to your hosts because…?"

"I didn't lie, Sakura-san, I just didn't tell you the entire truth." Sakura felt her blood boil at how nonchalant he was about this. She didn't know much about shinobi, but Sai was acting like she should have always been probing him for more answers. He was acting like it was her fault that he had lied to them.

"And just what is the entire truth, Sai?"

Sai smiled, his eyes crunched together as though he was pleased she'd asked—his smile was warmer, a little less fake and a bit more fond as he replied. The entire truth, she found out, was a great deal closer to what he'd told them than she'd thought. She had dreamed up a glamorous lifestyle of late-nights and seduced princesses, almost a story out of Kakashi's orange book. The truth was different. Sai's fellow shinobi under Lord Gama went by routinely changed code-names, and rarely had a personal name of their own. He was also training to be an artist, to take on the series of shunga books which Lord Gama wrote in secret. And aside from spying and killing, he genuinely was useless at anything else—he knew how to read and write because of the career Lord Gama had planned for him.

His time spent here had been a holiday from a life far darker than a merchant's daughter could really imagine. A holiday for Sai had been sleeping in the same room as the man he was charged to look after, being clothed in garments more beautiful than any he'd ever worn and being fed good meals on a routine basis. They'd even bought him paints and paper, allowing him to continue practicing and to communicate with his master easily.

Sakura ignored Kakashi twitching occasionally as Sai spoke. She would ask her husband later what had shaken him so badly, but not now in front of so many people.

"My only worry," Sai said, finality coloring his tones, "is that once I am gone the people of Fujimi will once again mistreat you and your family, Sakura-san."

"There is nothing to worry about, Sai," Shizune said, speaking up for the first time in what felt like ages. She smiled, a sweet and real smile, as she continued. "Father is going to leave Kotetsu and Izumo here for the Hatake family—they went with Umino Iruka and his wife to the Sarutobi estate, but have instructions to come back here."

Sai's face brightened with real happiness that Sakura was unsure she'd ever seen properly.

"Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo are sons of the stewards of the Gama clan compound, but Kotetsu has an older brother who will inherit the position—they will take good care of your family, Sakura-san!"

"Sai, I am not sure we—" Kakashi's voice was heavy, and Sakura knew what he was trying to say. Their crop last fall had brought them enough money and food to support six people and their dog, and Sarutobi-sama's gift of land would probably carry them well enough. But by this fall, it would be six people, a baby, and a dog—and there was the house to look to, as it was beginning to look as if they needed another few rooms or even another building.

Shizune reached into a hidden pocket and retrieved a small, tightly wrapped cloth bundle. She handed it over to Kakashi with a small smile. He ran his fingers over it briefly before handing it to Sakura to unwrap. She gingerly undid the ties and unfolded the fabric, sorting through the papers and other items within it with increasing disbelief. Shizune's soft, confident voice was an afterthought in Sakura's mind.

"Father sent a message with Izumo to Sarutobi-sama with a redistricting plan, to better situate your lands and stipend. He plans to give your family a six hundred koku reward—surely enough to expand your house properly to afford separate servants' quarters. He will also be leaving two of my mother's sons here, to keep your family safe from any ill-conceived vengeance Lord Hebi might attempt."

Sakura had finished reading the contents of the package and touched a hand to her mouth in awe. Everything their family needed in the future was provided in the packet. Money, arranged neatly with labels—for the house, for the servants, for the tax collector—as well as documents of passage and rights of a mid-rank samurai's family. And then it seemed that Lord Gama intended to give them a reward in addition to all of this.

"My father has ached for a son for many years, Sakura-san," Shizune's voice was soft, "and in the last few has bent all of his will towards finding Tenzou without tipping of Lord Hebi. Sai's messages for several months have said that when Father arrives here to collect Tenzou, it should be recognized that he owes Tenzou's health and happiness to the kindness of the Hatake, specifically to you, Sakura-san. He believes that Fujimi has made you suffer more than your due. My father can find no reason to deny his suggestions."

Next to her, Kakashi bowed shortly—Sakura copied him a heartbeat later, still in shock. She glanced at Sai whose face gave none of his thoughts or emotions away, but surely he thought something of this. He had no reason to look after her, save perhaps pity and Sakura hated it when people pitied her. It was as though they didn't trust her abilities and talents, or that they believed a rumor they'd heard about her somewhere.

"My wife's kindness is the reason I married her," Kakashi said, an edge to his voice which soothed Sakura's ruffled temper, knowing that he had picked up on the same undertones she had, "and the suffering she endures with the villagers is because of my own folly. Sakura, would you make our guests some tea and allow them to relax from their journey? I will get Tenzou and Lord Gama." He stood up and stared long and hard at Sai as though he was trying to discern something from the other man, trying to decide if he wanted to leave her with these strangers. Sakura touched his hand and smiled up at him faintly, telling him that she could handle them—and that if she couldn't, he didn't have much better odds.

Kakashi frowned as he slipped his sandals on outside. Leaving Sakura alone went against everything he was supposed to do—he was supposed to protect her from harm, and how could he do that if he left her with two trained killers? Or more?

But he needed to accept that this was happening, to all of them, and he had a feeling he knew exactly how he could begin adjusting. Outside of the fence, he stepped onto one of the raised pathways and looked out over the half-grown rice. Just barely he could make out Lord Gama's white hair flying in the breeze. Instead of shouting, Kakashi walked quietly out to them—if he shouted, Kurenai and Ume might hear him at Asuma's house and he didn't want to cause any surprises with however many shinobi Lord Gama had brought with him. Of course, shinobi were trained to be patient, to not jump or flinch or act on impulse, and they would feel no threat from him, a country samurai who was more farmer than warrior on any given day. Hopefully.

When he was a few dozen paces away, he called out a greeting to get the attention of whoever was watching as well as Lord Gama and Tenzou. Once he was just a few steps from where the other men sat, he spoke again after he bowed his head deeply.

"Lord Gama, I wonder if you would allow me to borrow Tenzou for a few minutes? Just something we need to do at the house…"

"Of course, of course, he would probably appreciate a little time away from me to think on what his answer ought to be to my offer," Gama said, waving a charcoal-stained hand absently towards the way Kakashi had come. Gama was devoting his utter focus to the rice paper in his hands as Kakashi and Tenzou headed back to the house together. Kakashi shook his head a little, remembering that his world had gotten so much smaller in an afternoon—his favorite book series was written by Tenzou's new father. He would leave the master to his work then, because Kakashi had work of his own to attend to with Tenzou.

As she sat to the side of her husband's reunion with his father and one of his cousins—Iruka often spoke of how he missed his family, and in the letters she opened, the sentiment was returned by at least the old man—Anko wondered where her brother was. She had never been to Fujimi, despite the fact that her father had known Sarutobi Hiruzen because he had sent Tenzou here more than a decade ago. Glancing around at the few servants stationed at the sides of the room, Anko wondered if the gap-toothed boy with the fluffy brown hair was still here. She wondered if she would recognize him now, if perhaps he looked like their father.

"And I see Lord Gama sent your wife along with you," her father-in-law said, finally letting go of his son and sitting down across from her. Anko smiled, gracefully lifting her hand to cover her teeth as a lady ought to. Sometimes she wished she'd been born a man and been free, but then she would have had to deal with her father full time. A distasteful prospect, to say the least—it was nice to owe her attention to Iruka and his family rather than her own.

"Well," Sarutobi said with a wide smile, "since my son has returned to me in such good health, I should visit the Hatake family to thank them—your brother is with them, Anko-san. He has grown into a fine man, responsible and smart. It will be a little improper, but I think we can all make this allowance, yes?"

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