"Rasengan!"
Nawaki's arm shook as he slammed the glowing orb into the tree. The chakra cut into the palm of his hand, but they were only minor scratches. The dust from the tree covered him like a small cloud. When the dust cleared, there was a deep dent in the tree. The spiral pattern was nowhere near perfect, but at least the tree hadn't blown up. Nawaki's previous attempts at the Rasengan had caused quite a bit of damage to the local forest.
Behind him, he heard clapping. Hisa, Oki and Obito were sitting on various logs that formed a small campsite/picnic area. Obito and Oki were clapping, and Hisa looked impressed.
"Not bad." was all she said.
Obito was a bit more enthusiastic.
"You've almost got it Nawaki, you just need to work on holding it better so that it doesn't cut you. The spiral pattern is a bit choppy but it'll still work on an enemy." He grinned and shook his head in disbelief. "I remember the good old days when I was the only kid who could do the Rasengan. Now you, Oki and I can all do it." He turned and grinned at Hisa. "Don't worry Hisa, it's probably best if you don't try and learn it. Remember what happened to Mom's kitchen last time you tried it?"
Hisa had grown in the three years that had passed. Her dark blue hair fell to her waist, and she wore her chunin jacket over her fake ANBU gear. She was still the smallest person on the team, much to her annoyance and Nawaki's amusement. She had also grown mentally. Three years ago, she would have scowled and pushed Obito off his log for the comment. Now, she smiled.
And then she pushed him off the log.
Nawaki smiled slightly as Obito and Hisa chased each other around the campsite, while Oki looked on in amusement. Oki had grown too, although the changes were not as obvious. Her hair was long like it had always been and her skin was still paler than normal. She wore the fake ANBU gear like Hisa, except she wasn't wearing a chunin jacket.
Nawaki had changed too. He was dressed like Oki: Fake ANBU gear and no chunin jacket. His hair had grown so long he had started tying it back. Apparently, this made him look even more like Itachi. When Sasuke had told him this one time, he had barely contained his laughter. Sasuke had been visiting Naruto, and the three of them had been hanging out. Sasuke had stared at Nawaki for a few unnerving minutes. Nawaki had been slightly scared that Sasuke had put two and two together, but he had just commented on Nawaki's resemblance to Itachi.
Other than that incident, Nawaki had spent three peaceful years in Konoha. He had bumped into Sasuke a few times, and he still felt uncomfortable being in his father's presence. He had gotten used to his double identity, and they had begun to merge into one. His old identity, of being the son of Sasuke Uchiha, seemed more like a distant past to him. His new identity as Nawaki Hachino was slowly becoming his true identity. His mother was overjoyed, it was what she had wanted when he first came to Konoha. She had wanted him to have a life where he was free of labels. Here, he was able to create his own identity.
He still saw his mother every time they had an overnight mission outside the village, which was about once every three weeks. At first, it hadn't been enough to satisfy him but he had slowly gotten used to the separation. Although his mother was still the most important person in his life, Hisa, Oki and Konahamaru had become like family to him.
Another thing that had helped the loneliness was the Third Hokage's crystal ball, which Nawaki had finally gotten to work. To activate it, you needed to know the chakra pattern of the person you wanted to see. He had been curious when he had first learnt this from Konahamaru, remembering the time when he had accidently spied on Sasuke. Did that mean that he had the same chakra pattern as Sasuke?
Nawaki still had a lot of questions, and sometimes Naruto or Hisa would say something that confused him. Usually it would be about the war, and the end. Nawaki had never heard the full details about the end of the war; his mother had always been silent on that topic. 'Another time Nawaki.' was what she had always said. It was becoming harder not to demand answers.
He was drawn out of his thoughts by someone snapping their fingers in front of his face.
"Earth to Nawaki?" Oki asked.
Hisa and Obito had stopped fighting and were staring at him. He realised that he had been staring of into space for at least five minutes.
"Sorry," he mumbled "I just got caught in a daydream."
"Are you sure it wasn't a genjutsu?" Hisa asked sharply, looking around the campsite.
They were some way away from Konoha, and it was very possible that rogue shinobi were hiding in the woods. The sky was staring to get dark, and soon they would have to be back in the village, or Naruto would start to worry.
"I'm sure." he said firmly "It was just a daydream. Let's start heading back."
Hisa looked like she was about to protest but Obito spoke up.
"He's right, Dad will freak if we're not back soon. Them Mom will get worried and when we come back she'll get angry and then…"
There was no need for him to finish. The prospect of an angry Hinata was terrifying enough to get Hisa moving.
As the four of them headed back towards the village gates, Nawaki ran his fingers through his hair. He had dyed it two weeks ago, and the colour was beginning to fade. He would need to dye it again soon. There had been one incident last year where Oki had seen pink streaks in his hair but he had pretended it was paint.
They reached the village just as the sun went down. Obito spotted Kawa and Toruko and went off to join them. The other three made their way slowly through the village. Nawaki was slightly hungry but the ramen shop had just closed for the night. He had some onigiri at home, but he was in the mood for some ramen. Maybe he could go over to Hisa's house. Hinata made some of the best ramen in Konoha.
He was once again jolted out of his thoughts. This time, it was because of the giant puff of smoke that had appeared. When the smoke cleared, Konahamaru was standing in front of them. He had an unusually serious expression on his face.
"Why can you never just walk up to us?" Oki asked, coughing on the smoke "Or even better, use the Body Flicker. Seriously, the smoke isn't cool or mysterious anymore."
Konahamaru ignored her. Nawaki wondered why his sensei looked so worried,
"You've got a mission." he announced "The Hokage wants all of us in his office immediately."
"Does he now?" Hisa grumbled "Well you can tell him I said no thanks. He can tell me at home."
She was about to leave when Konahamaru spoke again.
"He says if you don't come he's giving your room to Obito and making you sleep in the basement."
She sighed, but followed them to the office.
Naruto was waiting inside. Nawaki noticed that he too looked more serious than normal. He also looked tired, like he had had one to many late nights.
"Team 7." Naruto said wearily "I have a mission for you. A dangerous missing-nin has been sighted near Konoha. I've already got one shinobi going after the rogue, so I'm sending you guys as backup. You'll meet at the gates tomorrow morning. I'll give Konahamaru the mission details. Any questions?"
Oki raised her hand.
"Why did you pick us for this mission? Two of us are still genin."
Naruto opened his mouth to explain but Hisa cut across him.
"It's because I have the Rinnegan, right?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"Actually, it's because you're the only team available."
Nawaki and Oki sniggered as Hisa flushed. Naruto dismissed them to save her further embarrassment.
Konahamaru poofed away, as per usual. Hisa waved goodbye before heading off to the living area of the Hokage building. Oki and Nawaki strolled home. Nawaki's apartment was en route to Oki's house, so the two of them often walked home together.
"So, who do you think is going on this mission with us?" Nawaki asked.
Oki shrugged.
"It could be anyone, probably some random shinobi that we don't know. I don't mind as long as it's not Sai or Ino."
Nawaki winced, remembering the time they had gone on a mission with Ino. When everyone had fallen asleep, she had grilled him for three hours on what Sakura had been up to all these years. Then she proceeded to tell him all the embarrassing stories she could think of about his parents. The last part had been fun, but Ino had kept him up all night long. The next day, he had fallen asleep while fighting and almost got stabbed in the neck with a kunai. Luckily, Hisa had saved him and knocked the enemy out. But she had given him such a hard time afterwards he almost wished he had taken the kunai instead.
"Yeah," he agreed "No Sai or Ino. Or Choji, because that was just awkward."
Oki nodded in agreement. They had reached his apartment building. She gave him a quick hug before taking off towards her own house. Nawaki watched her until she was out of sight. He unlocked the front door of his apartment and walked inside.
He still didn't consider this place his home. He slept here, and he ate here when he couldn't afford to buy food from a stand, but it was still bare and empty. There was no feeling of home, nothing personal to show who's apartment it was. Nawaki was too busy with missions to think about decorating. He didn't have the money to anyways. It didn't really matter to him, as he spent most of his time with his team. He considered Oki's house and-more recently- Hisa's house to be home.
He threw himself down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Today was the day he had done the Rasengan. True, it wasn't perfect by a long shot, but it still made him feel proud. Now he was ready to get a summoning contract, and then he could learn how to do shadow-clones. Then maybe if he was ready, he and Oki would enter the chunin exams.
Nawaki dozed off, planning his various training steps. He had been training almost as hard as Hisa since the Chunin Exams. There had been a few months where he had done nothing but train. His friends had watched, worried for his health. Eventually, they had an intervention and Nawaki agreed not to devote himself too much towards training.
The next morning, Nawaki woke with the sunrise, a habit he had always had. Breakfast was rushed, as he was in a hurry to get to the gates. Naruto had told them to meet in the morning, but he hadn't given a specific time. Seeing as they would be working with another shinobi, Nawaki wanted to make a good impression.
It took him roughly about twenty minutes to get to the gates. He spent the time thinking about the mission. Naruto had mentioned a missing-nin, but he hadn't given any details. Konahamaru usually provided the details at the start of the mission, but his sensei had seemed a bit preoccupied yesterday.
He noticed Konahamaru as he neared the gates. He was conversing with a shinobi who Nawaki assumed would be going on the mission with them. He was too far away to get a close look at the man. He looked around, there was no sign of Hisa or Oki. Nawaki sighed, hoping they wouldn't be too long.
He reached the two men, lost in his thoughts. He barely noticed as Konahamaru introduced them.
"Sasuke, you remember Nawaki right? He's one of the best genin in Konoha."
Nawaki murmured a greeting, before his head shot up. Did Konahamaru say Sasuke?
Standing in front of him, looking as cold as always, was Sasuke Uchiha.
Nawaki gulped. This mission just got ten times more complicated.