Four

Suspicion

Later that day, we (Father and I) walked through the streets of Konoha. I was anxious to see everything but I was disappointed. Instead of bright colours and lots of stalls I only saw places boarded up and some coloured posters painted black. Father picked me up and noticed the confused glanced I sent to everything.

"My child," he started and I froze that's the first time he has called me that. "War is harsh on the people. They give up hope." I knew he was telling the truth as I slowly got over the warm feeling when he called me his child. It was a way of declaring that I was his. The people on the streets were jumpy and the sight of my father and the shinobi couple who was standing at the small stall for Udon seemed to relax them.

"It's sad." That was all I could say for now.

"Well, Wars aren't anything to be sad about. It gives us Shinobi a purpose really. What would we do without war, its the only way our empires stand. If you have unimaginable strength but someone has an equally high tower you would want to knock down there's." I frowned at the ideology of Shinobi. It wasn't something I could get used to. War wasn't necessary, was it? I groaned inwardly. This was one thing I had gotten over or at least I thought I had.

War was necessary because fighting is in human nature. So is wanting to be the best and if not wanting to get whatever the best had. I started the repeated mantra of I am a realist in my head. Pacifism led to no good.

We roamed around a bit before we stopped at a stall. It was the only one open for miles and it had a sizable amount of people standing around it. Twelve. I stared at the board hung above it.

"'I''chi''ra' ...uh...," I stopped. I knew what the shop was even as Father said the name. It seemed to be the only one open. Father quickly sat down on one of the bar stools. They seem mismatched as more then the typical four or five were gathered around the stall and two extended tables. I turned to my left staring at the mass of red hair.

"So pretty," I muttered. Kushina turned towards me. She smiled and I saw Minato's head peek out from over her shoulder. Kushina hugged me and then Father who winced at the Rib Crusher, my Dad used to give the same kind of hugs Kushina gave. It's nice but fuck it hurts. It seriously does.

"So Arashi-chan do you remember me?" I nodded.

"Yes, Kushina-san," I replied. I knew Father was proud of my manners even though he wasn't sure where exactly I got them from. Kushina blushed a little before laughing and waving her hand dismissively.

"Just Kushina is fine, adding 'san' makes me feels old," she said. "And I assume you remember Minato here too." I nodded.

"Nice to meet you, Minato-san," I said. Father quickly ordered some Pork Miso Ramen for himself while ordering plain Miso for me. Minato reacted in the same way Kushina did. Kushina started telling me about how she was supposed to see if I have potential for Fuuinjutsu in a few months. She was quick excited.

"I've never really had a student, 'ttebane. I hope I can do this right." I nodded politely before starting at the wooden table. The three adults started conversing while I slipped off the stool. They gave me a side glance before deciding that I could be left alone for a while. I walked along the stall to the crossroads and looked left and right for any signs of ...anything. I was confused. This was the same Konoha, was it not? It had always been bright and cheerful. So this the way a war effects Konoha. The brightest reds were painted the dullest of greys. I didn't like it. Father called me back then and I sat down looking at my Ramen.

He snapped his chopsticks in half and dug in the steamy goodness. I did the same at a slower pace as I still had a little trouble with the chopsticks. I could use them before dying but I had to retrain these muscles. Sakuraya had already seen my attempting my Gymnastics routine. He was confused at first saying it seemed like I was trying show all the acrobatic parkour manoeuvres I had. They didn't seem practical to him. I just smiled and told him to wait. Once I have these engraved in my muscle memory I will use them against the mini-spars I have with Sakuraya. I can use everything I know while he can just dodge, run and hide. My sedated pace seemed to be annoying Kushina, I grinned inwardly, outwardly I was wrapping the noodles around my chopsticks and then blowing before letting them into my mouth.

"Don't you like it, 'ttebane?" I pondered before shrugging.

"It could use more spices," I replied. I had really liked spices in my previous life but in this one I wasn't craving for them. Kushina scoffed. Eventually I finished most of the noodles and picked up the medium-sized ball delicately in one handle and tipping it so I could quickly drink the contents.

Father was right, Mother had gotten Kimonos for me. A lot of them. Teru helped me wear each one. They taught me how to wear a kimono the proper way. The neat but simple knot was now my speciality. Then something astonishing happened. The led me to a mirror. And I just stared.

It wasn't that I was exceptionally cute, it was more less my features. I had expected blond hair like Father's or maybe Brown hair like Mother's but not this. The shaggy white hair that stood in messy spikes and a small bunch tied with a red hair tie on the left side of my hair. There were two red clips on the right side. My eyes were also supposed to be brown like Mother's maybe Hazel like Father's not red. I groaned as it hit me.

I looked like Tobirama freaking Senju. Once you get past the baby fat and the wider eyes, I was a younger carbon copy of him. My hair was messier but you couldn't deny it, he was the ancestor I looked like.

My eyes then drifted to Teru's and Mother's who were waiting for my reaction. I raised my hands and twirled around to show off the black kimono with white flowers on it. The sash was red with a grey tie.

"Pretty," I said appreciating it. It wasn't too girly but it did keep the image of a girl.

Sakuraya was adding more things to our training session and instead of the usual two hours I now trained five to six hours. My chakra control was passable. I could make the leaf stick while performing a technique to keep myself from blacking out and playing cats cradle upside down. That took me a few months to manage. My second birthday was in two months, I couldn't wait to learn how to write and surprisingly I was also looking forward to my training with Orochimaru. He was one of the Sanin, if I trained with him then could get stronger. I could survive. I hated his guts but that doesn't stop me from learning how to survive.

"Focus, your speed is reducing and the leaf just fell," he said. I groaned. The distance for laps now was half a mile. It was agony. The tendons and muscles in my legs ached two days after running that much. He handed me another one. It stuck. I waited for the alarm to ring. Which was the que for a small break in which we would normally have a quick snack. After that it was time for Taijutsu practice.

I would run the laps after five days. For Taijutsu practice I usually went through some gymnastics moves. I immediately started the movements. One merged into the other. Critiques normally called this serene and graceful. Sakuraya claims that I should give up being a Shinobi if all I do was twist my limbs in ways which would be considered wrong if I was older. That was probably because I might have done a handstand without tying my mini-kimono properly and it promptly fell to my face and he must have gotten a good look at my shuriken patterned undies. That was embarrassing but he had been confused when I told him that the incident had never happened. After that I started sticking to sleeveless shirts (often maroon) and shorts (mostly grey).

I leaned back a satisfactory feeling creeping up in me as my back cracked. I didn't complete the bridge , however. My hands were crossed over my chest as I held the pose. It was a nice one because I could see the sky without my neck hurting. It was beautiful, a shade of azure that attracted the eye. I tripped out of the pose landing on my back but my eyes were glued to the sky. I had been outside many times during the day but never at night. I wondered how this sky looked when it was dotted with stars.

"Ne, Sakuraya?" He grunted from his place under the tree where he was reading a scroll with immense concentration. He liked to do that while I practiced flips and tried to improve my flexibility. "What's the sky like at night?" He paused and looked up at me.

"Haven't you seen it?" I shook my head. "Not even from your window?"

"My window only shows the indoor gardens," I told him. "They are covered so you can't see the sky. Father says I am more protected like this." Sakuraya scratched his chin.

"I can show it to you tonight, how about that? Oh and don't forget your father will be viewing your training tomorrow." I nodded a grin plastered on my face. I loved stargazing. It is peaceful and beautiful.

"Can Tsuki come along?" Sakuraya nodded.

"Just know that tomorrow you have to give your best performance. Things will be jumbled up but you have to give your best performance. Also I will be using Genjutsu tomorrow, I hope you remember how to diffuse them." He taught me how to diffuse then after the hospital trip when we had actually figured out a way to make me use chakra but in a more manageable way. If I could force it out I could delay the process by holding it. It had been harsh and I got a few chakra burns, which is totally a thing. It's like getting a nasty electric shock and then your skin is an angry red.

Sakuraya asked me if we could skip the rest of the training and that he had to go to the library. I asked to go along with him because I was still working on my reading with Daichi. He would ask me to read the book to him. Anywhere I go wrong he would correct me. I made a few deliberate mistakes, I knew I could drop the act once I was four maybe five. After that Tsuki had training with Uncle Rai. He is a Kenjutsu specialist. Tsuki was given a Tantō which he was learning to use even though he was only four. Uncle Rai occasionally handed me some blunt kunai and let me practice with a doll that was gifted to me on my first birthday. In all honesty the doll was creepy. No matter how many times I threw it away or hid it, it always came back. It was a fluffy doll that was made of some thick fabric and filled with cotton. The face had some spiky green hair and matching button eyes. It was dressed in black with a green Konoha Military flak jacket which I had gotten rid of. Other than that it had a small smile and some stuffed weapons attached to the hip pouch. The Inuzuka were the source, it was the sort of dolls their children grew up with, even their dogs grew up with these dolls. I had marked sloppy red circles on it which Uncle Rai claimed were vital spots. I had already memorized them though with the way Father tickled me near vital points while muttering their names which didn't make me laugh, I screamed.

I tossed a blunt kunai lazily as Uncle Rai yelled Kata names and Tsuki immediately shifted into the correct pose.

"Offense, Back foot, faint, hit. Point. Defense, block, block, swing, block." Tsuki seemed to have gotten better seeing that Uncle Rai didn't even mention whether he had to move right, left, backward or forward. Tsuki tried to breathe evenly before the onslaught of attacks became random. He winced as the wooden bokuto hit him in the ribcage and then he screamed and collapsed. I immediately ran in to cover him because Uncle Rai didn't look like he was going to stop his attacks. I picked up Tsuki's smaller bokuto and barely blocked the barrage trying to get my own moves in. He was obviously better than me and had so much power behind those attacks. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tsuki curl up in a fetal position clutching his chest as blood dribbled from his mouth. I saw red.

I grabbed the bokuto in a tight grip and started putting chakra into my blows, I couldn't mold it right but the burst of chakra were enough for increased muscle power. That was the only chance I had against Rai. He had almost nearly killed Tsuki, a four-year old boy. My younger brother from before I died was only a year or two older than Tsuki. The boy was in immense pain I needed to get him out of here. Sakuraya was the first person that I could feel around so I flared my chakra. Before I knew it Sakuraya, Daichi and two other Senju were standing between me and Rai. Seconds later Father arrived. Daichi had ripped Tsuki's shirt off and was healing the bright red patch that would bruise, the skin had burst and he was bleeding. The bone looked odd, broken but it hadn't pierced the skin.

Sakuraya was holding my shoulders while the other two held Rai. Father looked astonished. I had a brave face on and was holding the bokuto in front of me both hands clasped on the handle just like I had seen Tsuki standing when he was alert. I couldn't help the maternal instinct that came over me when someone my physical age was hurt. I was sixteen mentally, younger than Rai who was eighteen. Sakuraya massaged my shoulder trying to get me to lose the tense knots in my shoulders but I stood resolute.

"Daichi-san, is he alright?" My eyes were still on Rai.

"Yes, he is in no immediate danger, just low chakra and he might need a day or two of rest," he replied. I glared at Rai.

"How dare you? He's a child," I growled. My grip becoming more tense. Rai laughed bitterly.

"How dare I? Ask your father who ordered me to test you in this way," he said looked of toward the left in what I would later call the 'mission persona'. My gaze immediately shifted to Father. He was looking right at me to see my reaction. That's the moment I realized that the Uchiha weren't the only clan with family problems. Other clans had them too. His gaze was cold, a weathered shinobi's gaze not a father's. I wonder if it had been an act, all of it. Maybe his 'mission persona' was the real him and the loving father was an act.

"So it was true. You are hiding your potential. When were you going to tell me that you can use a Bokuto and the katas you preformed in training today. What were those?" I realized what had happened. I turned my accusing glare towards Sakuraya who flinched.

"I thought he might be able to convince you to use your full potential, you didn't seem to be trying hard enough. I didn't specifically demand this whole fiasco, I just told him that you had untapped potential. You could do more." I still held the Bokuto my grip become harder and harder. My knuckles were white as it shivered.

"And you are willing to sacrifice a child just to see whether your daughter is hiding potential?" Father smirked.

"Yes."

"So the visit to the village, was that an act?" He seemed surprised before the smirk slid back on.

"Maybe. I am your father I was trying to see if I was compassionate and nice, would that make you trust me. And Daichi was positioned here to keep an eye on any possible injuries." That is when I turned to Daichi.

"You seemed to be advancing fast for your age," he said. That being the only explanation I got from Daichi but the frown in his face told me enough. He didn't want this only certain people here were fakes.

"She could be a prodigy," said Rai getting everyone's attention, it was a voice that most used for debriefing. He sounded like he was giving an analysis of a foe bit a small child who called him Uncle. "Her techinque wasn't flawless, her chakra control is also off for some reason. Let Daichi heal your elbows and sides, Arashi-chan." I blinked before looking down at my arms. My elbows were bleeding and my sides were also drenching my shirt. He raised his hand in a single half seal and 'Kai'. I screamed as the pain seared through my body, it was Genjutsu. Daichi grabbed me immediately sending tendrils of soothing chakra into my body. I stopped screaming and leaned heavily on him. As he healed my sides and then my elbows. Sometime during that I blacked out.

Glimpse

"I'm the clan head, if there is something beneficial to the clan I will utilize it but if it is a threat then I will exterminate it." Mother brought her hand to her mouth.