That was just too much. His body spinned in mid-air and hit the ground hard. He was out of breath: he had been forcing himself to fight better than his worn body let him. He didn't want to give up, he wanted to show the those two he wasn't one to take lightly in a battle.

But he wasn't in a good condition. He had been released from his prison the day before and he was still very weak and slow. The cruel combination of torture, starving, along with lack of sleep and training was aching in his muscles, though he hadn't been locked in for more than twelve days. Still, it felt like an eternity. He needed a few more days to get back to his normal state of body; but he wasn't given the chance to rest.

They were testing him already. Theoretical knowledge about ninjutsu had been first, then expertise in basic techniques, and now combat skills with strength and stamina. They were straining his mental abilities and psychological state as well, but latter was questionable thanks to the nasty things he had been put through. Damn that perverted Kirishichi.

Speaking of the devil, he was the one fighting with him. The sadist stood not far from, holding a kunai in his left. He didn't hide the contempt he felt towards the blond, who was struggling to get up. He eased on his pose and turned to Choujuurou, who was examining the blond meanwhile. They shook their head in unison.

The jounin collected his papers and the other shinobi put his weapon away. Before he could have announced the end of their session, Kirishichi felt a something strange. He felt like he couldn't access to his chakra. The seal formula appearing around him on the ground confirmed his suspicions. As he glanced up, he was greeted by the point of a well sharpened kunai. The next moment the blade wasn't in front of him anymore; his attacker was thrown away by a giant water bullet.

Choujuurou rushed to his colleague and he tried to release the grip he was in, with no success. 'This is above my knowledge', he frowned at the blond. – Release it! – he hissed while the other man stood still wary of any other effects the seal had.

Kese staggered up, rubbed water off his face and made a few hand-seals. Then he smirked under his hood and charged at the mist shinobi. Choujuurou glanced down: the seal keeping Kirishichi's chakra locked hadn't disappeared. However, the blond's chakra level had noticeably gone up and he had to grab a weapon to defend the torture expert. Kese was faster and stronger than before, but also tired and careless. He moved his left arm in a familiar way. Nothing happened. He glanced there to see what was wrong, and his bare forearm reminded him of the loss of his blade.

His hesitation cost him his advantage. He found himself pressed to the ground, and felt a kunai against his throat. - Missing your little weapon, are you? – Kirishichi snickered from a distance. – Release him! – Choujuurou ordered, Kese just gazed at him with defiance. – Do I have to remind you of our deal? - the blacksmith turned his face away. The jounin pulled him up and threw him in front of the sadist. With a blade pressed to his neck, Kese performed the necessary hand-seals, but stopped halfway. He could do another technique with the hand-seals he had made up until that moment, with which he could easily kill both of them, but then he remembered the Mizukage's words. 'God damn you all!', he growled and released Kirishichi from his seal.

His heart forgot how to beat properly as his blush deepened under his hood. There she was, her brilliant eyes, framed by her soft freckles, scanning the room, until they settled on him. Her smile glowed with happiness as she shyly waved at him. It was Kirishichi's voice that pulled him back to earth and stole every little bit of happiness he gained under those few moments.

- Aaah, darling! – the shinobi stepped to his wife and kissed her, long and passionately. He stepped slightly to the side so his company wouldn't miss his greetings. Kese turned away, gritting his teeth and crossing his arms in front of his chest. He wanted to cover his ears when they started chatting about how much they love each other and their child and everything. Kirishichi was deliberately torturing him with this, he knew. After Hatsumi left, he turned to the blond, amused by his dark gaze. – I am not sorry. – he declared. – Guess what, I told her about the things I did with you.

- I bet it made her sick.

- Bet lost. It turned her on. – he leaned closer to the blacksmith. - It always turns her on.

He just chuckled as Kese tried to suppress his disgust and follow him on the crowded road. After their spar, Choujuurou left and Kirishichi stayed to make him work out until he collapsed to test his stamina. It was near dinner-time and the blond was still doing exercises when the shinobi gave in to his hunger and stopped him. They went to a new food bar, Kirishichi bought noodles to go for himself and let the blacksmith drool. Then they headed towards the centre of the village, the sadist finished his meal, kissed his wife and entered the Mizukage Tower with a worn hooded someone at his side. Kese knew what would happen: he would be allowed to take a shower, given clean clothes, then he had to go back to his better cell where he would get something to eat. They didn't let him go back to his place. Tadao was still there and they had forbidden the blond to meet anyone besides three particular shinobi: Choujuurou, Kirishichi, as they were his overseer, and Terumii Mei.

Being ordered around and being exposed to Kirishichi's kindness: the blond was forced to accept his situation if he wanted to protect his home. He knew he wasn't strong enough to fight back. Yet. So he endured.

He was in the middle of enduring another flash of his overseer's charming personality as they entered the new Mizukage Tower. Kese couldn't help but enjoy the sight of the well-forged ornaments of the railings of the stairs and the gallery, not to mention their greatest pride, the chandelier. For a moment, he forgot his situation and turned his head from one side to the other, until he spotted Choujuurou in the hall. He looked reluctant to keep up the conversation with the person in front of him. The blond stopped walking: the shinobi was talking to none other than the Konoha blacksmith, Takayanagi Tadao.

Instinctively he took a step towards his colleague before he was stopped by a hiss. - Don't you dare! – he heard the brunet shinobi's voice and could feel a blade at his waist.

Kese did think about fighting back in that place and moment. But he knew he wouldn't get out of it alive. Instead, he took a breath, turned back and followed his overseer towards the building's less busy parts. But he was glad: at least, he was able to see his colleague doing well.

The next days plodded away. He was woken up early by a nightmare and later Kirishichi made him fight and exercise intensely. By the end of the day the brunet had exhausted himself twice, swearing inwardly at the blond not passing out already, and he had to call Choujuurou to assist him. Kese snickered in his mind: he too did not believe his body had got better under a few days of no torment, darkness and starving. But after all, he was an Uzumaki, and he thanked his blood for this gift.

He was woken up early again on a Monday morning, Kirishichi dragged him to the Mizukage Building and hid with him in a passage under the gallery. Just in time to see Tadao and a few Leaf shinobi saying goodbye to Terumii Mei in the hall.

A slight prick of a kunai at his side ordered him to not move. It was unnecessary; he stood riveted to the spot. Not only because of Tadao and what was happening, but because he didn't know how in earth that kunoichi looked exactly like the pink-haired girl in his odd dream.

The hall was noisy with so many people talking, going up and down, and the blond couldn't hear what they were talking about. But he saw Tata bowing before the Mizukage, then the pink haired kunoichi along with the other Leaf shinobi bowed to her and she returned their gesture. Well, one of them didn't do that. It was a raven haired, tall man in dark clothes who stood with his back to the blond. The pink haired girl scowled at him, nudging him with her elbow. The man winced slightly, turned his face towards her as she said something, then he visibly sighed.

He stepped in front of the Mizukage. She stiffened. He seemed like speaking to her for a while, then to her surprise, he bowed deep and long. He didn't move until she gave him a short reply with a fake smile on her face. Not long after this, the Leaf quintet left with the company of four Mist shinobi, obviously escorting them to their ship in Tesseineko.

- You could have gone with them. – the blond heard his personal sadist's voice from behind. Kese knew it. Oh, so damn well, he knew it. And he would have frozen if he hadn't been like that for a while.

He knew it, yes. But how in the hell did Kirishichi know about it?

It was something only Tata and him knew. It wasn't planned officially, only while working and in their apartments. As far as he knew, Tadao hadn't discussed it with the shinobi who were to escort him back to his home. Then how could Kirishichi learn about it?

A possible explanation popped into the blond's mind, and he shook his head. The only person hearing them talking about it was Setsuna. But he couldn't be the one who had told them, no, he couldn't. - …Or could he be?

It was an uneasy silence. Kese glanced right, Choujuurou was looking at him. Kese glanced left, Kirishichi was glaring at him. He looked forward, the Mizukage was smiling at them in amusement.

The blond wasn't in a good mood. He didn't react anything to Kirishichi's order to bow, just stood there, his arms crossed.

- You're in front of the Mizukage.

- And?

- Isn't it frigging obvious?

- I'm not bowing to someone I don't respect.

He expected angry silence, but got punched in the stomach. As he stooped in pain, Kirishichi grabbed his neck and pushed lower.

- Enough. – her voice was strict. – I like men respecting me without being forced to do so.

Kese was released and he straightened himself with a deadly glare shot towards a certain male shinobi. The Mizukage smiled and cleared her throat to draw his attention. – Well, well… - she murmured. – Fuuga, these two told me about some quite interesting skills of yours.

She glanced up directly at the blond. He looked around with confusion. – You mean me?

Kirishichi hissed. – I'm sorry, Mizukage-sama, I forgot to tell him. – he turned to the blacksmith. – We don't use your civilian name any more. From the day before yesterday you are Fuuga.

- A smart reference to your chakra type, close combat preference and the purpose of your employment. – she nodded towards the torture expert. Obviously, he was the one who had come up with it.

- No way, my name is-

- Fuuga. Your name is Fuuga. And that's an order.

The blond took a deep breath and clenched his fists.

- Kirishichi wrote about your remarkable proficiency in sealing techniques. I'd like to see it for myself. – Mei smiled. – Take off your clothes.

A few seconds of silence came, and filled the Mizukage's Office. The hooded one didn't want to feel the heat building up in his cheeks. – Ex-…cuse me?

- Take off your clothes.

He stood frozen in the same dumfounded expression. - What?

- From the waist up. – she ordered.

- Do it.

The blacksmith repressed his sigh and in a minute he stood there half-naked.

- Anything else, Mizukage-sama? – his words sounded more offending than courteous.

- Turn around.

He did, and he heard her getting up from her chair and stepping to him. He stiffened when he felt a hand on his back and her chakra entering his body. He glanced back, but only saw Choujuurou's puzzled look.

- A nice seal you have here. – the Mizukage drew her finger on the markings. - I thought I was wrong when I noticed it in the workshop.

The blonde remembered their first meeting. 'Did she see it that time? Wait, have I been suspicious since then?'

- This explains the lack of daily fluctuation in your chakra.

'The what in my chakra?', he frowned.

Then he remembered Emiko telling him something like people having naturally more chakra in the morning than in the evening. She had told him that when he got exhausted, he also had less chakra, even if he didn't do any jutsus. His eyes widened and he felt his heart stop for a moment.

He used his seal to keep his available chakra on a civilian level. Thus, he always had the same amount of chakra in the morning and in the evening, every day, regardless of his state. Never more, never less. 'Damn it', he let his breath out. 'The same seal that was intended to keep my abilities hidden gave me away!' He wanted to shout curses at his own carelessness and punch himself in the face. 'How could I be so stupid?'

Then something else came to his mind. They were monitoring his chakra, that was clear. But how long had he been observed? When did they notice something was odd about him?

He voiced his question. - How long have you been keeping an eye on me?

- Since Choujuurou took you here.

'God damn it.'

- It was for our safety. You could have been a spy. – Mei went on. - But you were an ordinary civilian who was working hard to make our Mizukage Building prettier, so we didn't mind you at all.

- Not until we put together your "brawl" in Tesseineko and the destruction of that ship. – Choujuurou added.

- We wanted to see what you would do next, so we sat back and counted the corpses of criminals you left behind. You proved to be very useful and thanks to you, we didn't have to get our hands dirty. It was mere coincidence you found the party of those pirates the same time we did. – she stepped in front of him so she could gaze into his eyes. From his guarded pupils bitterness, frustration and anger radiated. – You were simply too good at it for us to let you go.

The air between them tensed as they stared at each other; the kunoichi with her well-known smile, and the blacksmith with his rising fury.

- I'm giving you your first assignment now. - she glanced down at his naked chest then back at his eyes. – You may get dressed, Fuuga.

The meaning behind Fuuga:

It's a combination of the Japanese words "wind" and "fang". Wind-typed shinobi, like Kese, use mainly short to mid-ranged offensive techniques. When pronounced, it's similar to Magor "fúga" which means "fugue". Also, there's a rare psychiatric disorder called fugue state which is characterized by reversible amnesia of personal identity, including memories and personality.