Author's Note: It's in this chapter and the ones directly following it that things begin to pick up. Just one more year and the twins will be in the Academy. Just seven more years until graduation. Alright, now that I think about it, seven years really is a lot. Also, this chapter (at the very end, at least) introduces one of my favorite characters; he's someone that doesn't get nearly enough love or attention, and I'm really hoping to change that. Anyway, don't forget to read and review!

DISCLAIMER: If I owned/created/lorded power over the world of Naruto, I think I would be able to draw more than just stick figures.

I give you the fourth installment of Samsaric.

Chapter Three - Foudroyant

[Foudroyant—adj. 1: striking as with lightning; sudden and overwhelming in effect 2: As of disease, beginning in a sudden and severe form]

It was official; we were homeless.

Packing up our things had barely taken ten minutes, not to mention that I had hurried due to the evil glared focused on me the entire time. Then the Matron had escorted us through the back entrance, reminded us of her leg-breaking threat, and had slammed the door in our faces. Naruto clung to my hand as we left the property. I tried to ignore the way I was steadily losing feeling in my fingertips and instead focused on the consequences of what had just happened. Then, even though I hated the idea, I settled on our only current option.

"We need to talk to Oyaji."

So after several wrong turns, five new swear words I learned from some ever-so-kind civilians, and a total of twenty-three complaints from my brother about his feet hurting, we made it to the Tower. Only to have one of the desk chunin turn us away at the front door.

"The Hokage is busy."

"But we really need to talk to him," I said, keeping half of my attention on Naruto's chakra signature. He'd chosen to wait on a bench outside with our things. "It's important!"

"He's in a very important meeting," the chunin said, the annoyance in his gaze increasing. "You can't speak to him right now."

"Later?"

"He's preparing for a journey to Suna tomorrow, so you won't be able to speak to him until he comes back."

I blinked slowly. A trip to Suna? "But I—"

"Leave."

I snapped my mouth shut and frowned at him. "Fine." I marched outside and snatched up our bags, crossing the straps across my chest to balance the weight. "C'mon, Nato. We gotta find somewhere to stay tonight."

He moaned but followed obediently, saying nothing as I dug through our wallets and totaled up the money we had from our birthday a year ago. 30 ryo. A scowl etched its way across my face. That wouldn't be enough to rent a hotel room even for a few minutes, let alone a week, which was the bare minimum of time until the Hokage's return. I racked my head for ideas before resigning myself to what had to happen with a sigh.

"Let's go find a cardboard box or something," I muttered.

Naruto glanced sideways at me, his baby blue eyes glinting with curiosity. "What was that, Rai?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Let's, um . . . ." I turned in what I remembered to be the market district, which held both restaurants and stores. When we got there, we weaved through the crowd. Naruto stared around in wonder as I glanced down every alley we passed, looking for something that might serve as acceptable shelter. "Here." I tugged on his hand and pulled him down an alley between a clothing store and a takeout shop.

Naruto glanced around, wrinkling his nose at the smell from the dumpster. "Rai, why are we here?"

I started stacking the old, damp boxes to form some semblance of a roof so that we'd be relatively protected. "We can't talk to Oyaji, we can't go back to the orphanage, and we can't rent a hotel room. So we're going to have to stay here."

He snapped his gaze to me. "Here?"

I nodded, gagging at the smell from the garbage. "Just until we can talk to Oyaji." I sat down and began digging through our bags. "Here, you color, okay? I'm going to get us some food." I snatched up my wallet. I didn't walk too far away, making sure that I could still sense my brother's shining chakra. I entered the grocery store across the street, walking right past the front counter and towards the bread. Something snatched at the back of my shirt and I found myself tossed backwards. I stumbled and fell onto my rear. "Hey, what—" I looked up and snapped my mouth shut, meeting the angry gaze of the store clerk who was leaning over me.

He jabbed a finger harshly at one of my whisker marked cheeks. "I won't have none of you little monsters running through my store, understand? Get!" He threw the door open and his foot snapped out against my side. I whimpered and scrambled out onto the street.

Huddling outside the door, I tried to calm the involuntary trembling in my limbs. I thumbed a finger across my marked cheeks. Well, desperate times called for desperate measures, after all.

Stealing was an art. It was difficult, too easy to get caught. I had more than enough encounters with my angry victims. It was, however, plenty of motivation to do the job quickly, cleanly, and without leaving any evidence behind.

I considered myself a pro within a week.

Even though our so-called 'house' was dirty, wet, and didn't particularly smell good, it became our home base. We settled in a routine that was similar to the one we'd had at the orphanage, but also different in glaringly obvious ways. I still started my day off earlier than Naruto, meditating and training before waking him up. We'd work through our stretches and kata together and then I'd spend a good half hour teaching him how to read and write. By the time we were done with that, our stomachs would growl loudly, and that was where the similarities stopped.

Naruto would, by my direction, continue practicing his reading. I, however, would find a mark, swipe that day's money, and return to our base. After correcting him where he was wrong, I would uncover what I had dubbed as my 'disguise kit.' In reality, it was just makeup brushes, concealer, and a cheap mirror all shoved together in a cosmetic bag I'd stolen a few days before. The first day I had covered my whisker marks, it had taken me an hour to do it properly. But due to my experiences with makeup in my previous life, I quickly had that time down to less than three minutes.

With my distinguishing Kyuubi marks hidden, I would tuck my crimson hair up into my beanie and march right into the grocery store and buy whatever we needed to eat for that day. After that, our routine was looser. Sometimes I would spend more time teaching him, others I would concentrate on meditation and chakra training. Today, however, was different than that.

I wiped off the makeup on my cheeks with the same dirty rag I'd been using all week. "Hey, Nato, it's been a week. So we should go to the Tower and see if Oyaji is back."

He looked up from the picture of the Valley of the End that he was coloring. "Jiji?"

"Yep." I gathered our things into our bags and slung them over my shoulders. Then I held my hand out to him. "We'll come back later, okay?

He nodded and took my hand, skipping alongside me as we made our way to the Tower. Just like last time, he waited outside with our things while I went inside. I glanced around the room of chunin before I spotted a familiar head of long, spiky hair. "Kamano-san!" I cheered, bounding up to him. "Is Hokage-sama back, yet?"

He stared blankly at me for a moment. "No . . . ."

My heart dropped and I sighed. "Ah, okay." Then I cocked my head to the side. "You were here at lunchtime last time too. Do you always work during lunchtime?"

He grunted. I took it as a yes.

"That's sad. Don't you get hungry?"

He shrugged.

I mused on that for a moment. "Do you like ramen?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I guess."

"Cool! I like ramen too." With that, I skipped out of the Tower. "C'mon, Nato, Oyaji isn't back yet."

The next day was similar, right up to the point where we started off to the Tower. "Do you want to get ramen?"

He looked up from the bag he was packing. Then his eyes lit up. "Ramen? I wanna get ramen, dattebayo!"

I giggled and patted him on the head, noting awkwardly that I was actually taller than him, if barely. "Alright, then, let's go!"

We made our way to Ichiraku's and climbed up onto the stools. "One salt and one miso, please, Teuchi-san."

The man beamed at us. "Ah, two of my favorite little customers. Coming right up."

While we waited, I turned Naruto's attention to me as I traced kanji out for him on the counter. He frowned in concentration, trying to do the same. I giggled when he messed up for the sixth time and crossed his arms, pouting. "It's alright, Nato, you'll get it."

"One salt and one miso!"

I breathed in the smell of the delicious food before slurping it down almost as quickly as Naruto. He hopped down, but I turned to Teuchi. "Can I have a salt ramen to go, please?" I asked, counting out the money and setting it on the bar.

"Of course."

It took only a moment for him to whip it together, then he packed it up in a box and handed it to me. "There you go, Mirai-chan."

"Arigato!" I jumped down and took Naruto's hand. With that done, we started off for the Tower. I slung off our bags and set them on the bench. "I'll be out in a little while, okay? Wait here and color."

He nodded and I moved inside. "Kamano-san!" I chirped, skipping over to him. I set the box of ramen on his desk and pushed it towards him. "Is Hokage-sama back yet?"

"No." He sniffed at the aroma coming from the box curiously. "What's that?"

I beamed up at him. "I brought you ramen, Kamano-san."

"Why?" he asked, pulling it towards himself and opening it up.

"I thought you'd be hungry."

He didn't say anything, pulling apart the chopsticks and digging into his meal. I stood still, waiting for him to finish. When he was done, he set the styrofoam cup back in the box and wrinkled his nose at me. "Kami, you smell. When was the last time you took a bath?"

I realized that he was right—Naruto and I hadn't washed up since we were at the orphanage. But I didn't let him see that it bothered me. Instead I beamed at him and snatched up the box. "I'll see you later, Kamano-san!"

I tossed the box in the trash as I left and stepped outside, instantly snatching up the bags. "Alright, let's go, Nato!"

That afternoon, I swiped more money and bought soap, two towels, two new sets of clothes, and a pair of scissors. I packed those things into our bags with everything else and pulled Naruto to his feet. "C'mon."

He blinked at me curiously. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to go get clean," I told him. The bewildered look those words earned me made me laugh and I pulled him down the street. Before long, we found the more forested area of the village. I followed my nose to the part of Naka River that flowed through Konoha. "Here!"

Naruto cocked his head to the side. "What is it?"

"This is a river," I told him, kneeling down and unpacking our things. "Get undressed. We're gonna take a bath." I stripped down and wrinkled my nose at the smelly clothes before tossing them aside. I waded into the cool water and shivered. Naruto waded in next to me. "Scrub down," I ordered him, cupping water in my hands and rubbing the dirt from my skin with my knuckles. When I was done with that, I grabbed the soap. "'kay. Wash up!" I ordered, squeezing it across Naruto's shoulders and then into my hands.

He squealed as it oozed across his skin, but obediently began cleaning. I sudsed it through my hair and and dropped down into the clear water to wash it all off, sighing as I felt clean for the first time in what could've been weeks. On my knees with the water up to my chin, I stared at Naruto for a moment. A grin wormed its way across my face. "Water fight!" I screamed, suddenly splashing him.

He squeaked in surprise and tumbled backwards. It took a moment for what I'd done to register, then he grinned. "Splash!" he yelled, slapping his hands against the water and sending a wave my way. From there, we dissolved into a giant water war. When we were done, Naruto stepped out of the water, shivering. I wrapped a towel around my shoulders and tossed one to him with a quick order of, "Dry off." Once we'd both done so, we changed into the new clothes I'd gotten. Then I held up the scissors and pointed at him. "Alright, time for a haircut."

He stared at me for a moment before kneeling down at my direction. I combed through his still-damp hair with my fingers and began clipping away with skill earned through experience in my past life. When I was done, I rinsed my hands off in the river and then ruffled his shorter locks. "There you go."

He beamed up at me then scrambled back to his coloring book as I sat down and cut my own hair. I didn't cut it quite as short as his, choosing instead to cut it to just below my ears and then pull it back into two short pigtails. With all that done, I began sorting though our things and packing them away.

"Rai?"

The warble in Naruto's voice caught my attention and I set down the blanket I was folding and turned to him. The pensive look on his face made me frown. "Hai, Nato?"

"When we gonna have a home again?"

I had to look away from his sad expression or I knew I would run the risk of crying. So I turned back to our things, picking up my wallet. "I don't know. Probably when Oyaji gets back."

"Are we . . . are we monsters?"

I dropped my wallet and it tumbled to the ground spilling its contents. I whipped around to face him. "No," I said firmly. His eyes widened and I realized how angry I had sounded. I softened my voice. "No, Nato. We're not monsters. Some people are just . . . confused."

"Then . . . why don't we have a home?"

I smiled sadly. "We've just had some really, really bad luck. It'll get better. I promise."

He nodded and hunched over his coloring book, though he didn't move to pick up his crayon again. I turned back to my wallet and began collecting the things it had dropped. I paused over our library cards. And then I got an idea.

"Bye, Kamano-san! I'll see you tomorrow!" I tossed the ramen box in the trash and skipped outside. "C'mon, Nato! We're going to the library!" I swept up the one bag I'd managed to fit all our things in.

He eyed me curiously. "The library?"

"Yep! It's nicer than sittin' under all those crates, right?"

"I guess." He stumbled after me for a moment before matching my fast pace. "We gonna sleep in the library?"

I frowned. "I don't think we can, Nato. It probably closes at night. Tell you what. Do you want to sleep by the river again? It wasn't too bad last night, was it?"

He shook his head. "It's nicer than the boxes, dattebayo." He glanced around at the people we passed by and then huddled in on himself.

I frowned at him and followed his gaze to the villagers that were glaring at us. A scowl pulled at my face and I paused a step behind him. I snarled at the offenders, curling my lips back to give them a clear view of my unusually sharp canines. They glanced away uncomfortably and, satisfied, I caught up with Naruto again. "This way." I grabbed his hand and steered him in the right direction. "You can work on your reading and writing while we're there. Or you could color. And there's a lot of stories!"

He lit up. "Really?"

"Yep! And they have pictures to help you read." I skipped up the steps of the building and sighed happily when we got inside. Then I walked right up to the front desk. "Konichiwa, Kobayashi-san," I said, careful to keep my voice quiet. "Where are the children's books?"

She lowered her glasses from her nose and they hung loosely around her neck, held there by an ornate chain. "Aisles 17 and 18."

I glanced over my shoulder at the large signs numbering the aisles. "Arigato." Still holding on to Naruto's hand, I led him to aisle 17. A grin touched my face when I saw that, cleverly placed between aisles 16 and 17, there sat a reading area complete with several comfy chairs and a table. "Alright, Nato, you can get some books and sit down to read them. I'm going to go get my own and I'll be right back, okay?"

He glanced around nervously and his grip tightened on my hand. I hummed in the back of my throat and ruffled his hair. "I promise I won't be long, okay? And I'll still be able to hear you."

He cocked his head to the side. "Hear my cha-ka-ra?"

I giggled. "Exactly. I'll be able to hear your chakra." Then I pointed at the closest bookcase of picture books and gently pushed him towards it. "I won't be long." Before he could protest again, I wandered away. It was difficult to find the aisles I needed—Konoha didn't exactly run on the Dewey Decimal System—but eventually I found row after row of bookcases that held textbooks for civilian schools. Selecting a few First Year textbooks, I made my way back over to where Naruto was. I found him curled up in one of the reading chairs, a stack of books on the table and a large picture book in his lap. He looked up and grinned at me before returning to his story.

I laid my textbook—one studying language—out on the ground. During my last life, I'd studied and trained for my martial arts tournaments at the same time almost as a habit, so there was no reason that I couldn't do the same here. After all, I wanted to protect Naruto, but all the foreknowledge in the world wouldn't help me if I lacked strength. So I dropped down to the floor in pushup position and began reading as I exercised.

"Uh, Rai?"

I was halfway through the second page when he interrupted and I kept my pushups going as I glanced up at him. "Hai . . . Nato?" I asked, trying to regulate my breathing.

He squinted at me. "Whatcha doing?"

"Training."

He stared at me in silence for a moment before shrugging and returning to his own book. I giggled and looked down at the page again. When I reached the end, I breathed deeply and lifted myself on one hand. But as I reached to turn the page, my working arm trembled and gave way. I caught myself on my elbows and groaned. "Screw that," I muttered. I turned the page and lifted myself again. Up, down, up, down, up, down.

I was two thirds of the way through the text book when my muscles refused to work anymore. I'd done more pushups at once that I'd ever been able to do in my last life, but I was also in a much smaller body augmented by chakra and that had already been conditioned by the morning exercise I'd been doing for years. With a sigh, I lifted the book onto the coffee table and began jogging in place as I read.

"Still training?" Naruto asked curiously, looking up from his coloring book.

"Yep," I said, still reading the text.

"Why?"

I looked up at that and grinned at the look on his face. "Because I want to be a strong shinobi."'

He nodded slowly. And then he turned his coloring book towards me and pointed at the Hokage Mountain picture he was coloring. For some reason, the Shodaime was pink. "I wanna be Hokage."

I slowed my steps before I finally came to a stop. "Oh? Why's that?"

"'Cause everyone likes him, right? I want everyone to like me. And he's strong and really, really smart and he takes care of everyone." He looked contemplative, chewing on the red crayon he was holding. "I wanna take care of you."

That made me stare at him. Then, ever so slowly, I reached out and pulled the crayon away from his mouth. "You'll get sick if you eat that," I murmured.

He blinked and looked at me. Then he grinned and returned to his coloring, as if he hadn't just said something that had cracked my current worldview.

He wanted to take care of me? But I was the responsible one, the one always caring for him. Even thinking of it being the other way around was . . . wrong. But still, I felt something oddly warm in my chest at the thought and I smiled at him. "Thank you, Nato."

He gave me an odd, confused look, and he clearly didn't understand. But that was okay. Because I did.

I pulled myself up and sat on the edge of Saisu's desk, swinging my legs lazily as I glanced around the room. The chunin slurped loudly on his ramen next to me and I sighed. "Ne, Kamano-san?"

He paused and looked up at me, a string of noodles still hanging out of his mouth and broth splash across his face. He made a grunting sound at the back of his throat that I translated as, "Huh?"

I giggled and shoved a handful of napkins at him. As the teen swallowed the mouthful of food he had and wiped his face, I asked, "Are you always a desk chunin at the Tower? Doesn't it get boring?"

He shrugged. "There aren't any permanent desk chunin. We're just all on desk leave."

I squinted at him, never having heard the term before. "Desk leave?"

"Mandatory leave of absence from the field. At least once every two years, for about three months. For chunin, at least. It's like a break, but you still work."

"Ah."

With that, I let him return to his ramen. I passed the next few minutes by listening to the steady hum of Naruto's bright chakra just outside the building. Every few moments, it would shrink back and I knew he was paying attention to the villager's glares again. I grit my teeth and hopped off the desk, gathering up the leftovers from Saisu's meal. "I'll see you tomorrow!" Without waiting for an answer, I tossed the trash away and dashed outside. Sure enough, Naruto was huddled on the bench with his coloring book and box of crayons neatly put away next to him. His arms were wrapped tightly around his knees and his head was bowed.

"Nato," I murmured, sinking onto the seat next to him. Almost as if he'd been waiting for me, he instantly curled into my side and wrapped his arms firmly around me. "Just ignore them," I whispered. "It'll get better. I promise. We just have to work for it."

He didn't react, so I just let him sit quietly for a while as I carded my fingers through his hair. Finally, he rasped, "When's Jiji gonna be back? It's been forever."

I giggled. "It hasn't been forever, Nato. It's only been a few weeks. I'm sure he'll be back soon." Then I stood and packed away his coloring book and crayons into the bag. After slinging it over my shoulder, I pulled him to his feet. "You want to go to the library?"

He thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. "River."

I nodded and gripped his hand tightly, turning in that direction. "Alright, let's go, then."

Naruto's chakra got lighter the closer to Naka River that we got, and when we finally reached it he laughed happily and dashed forward. I grinned at his enthusiasm and sat down a few feet from the water as he stripped down to his shorts and waded into it. I diverted most of my attention away from him, though I kept a careful watch on his chakra, and began to unwrap my left hand. I winced at the chakra burns across my palm and the way they stretched painfully when I flexed my fingers. Why haven't they healed yet?

Chakra burns aren't like normal injuries. They have to heal normally—any more chakra involved in the process agitates the already chakra-sensitive wound.

Huh, I didn't know you were knowledgeable of medical stuff.

He grunted in response and I giggled. Then I straightened and concentrated again, drawing up the chakra and then carefully expelling it while simultaneously controlling it. A red glow slowly engulfed my hand.

1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4 . . . .

"Whoa! That's cool, Rai!"

I smiled distractedly, but didn't look up at him. It was easy to control the chakra light now, but I wasn't going to risk anything.

14 . . . 15 . . . 16 . . . .

I was actually going to be able to do it. The light was steady, I wasn't straining to keep it going, and I'd almost reached my goal. I could see Naruto approach me out of the corner of my eye.

28 . . . 29 . . . 30!

Grinning, I dispelled the light and turned to Naruto. "Awesome, right?"

He stared at me with wide eyes. "Yeah." Then he tackled me, knocking me backwards. "You're amazing, Rai!"

"Ack! You're getting me all wet, Nato!"

Lightning lit up the sky, sending jagged shadows arching across the forest floor, and thunder cracked, leaving my ears ringing. Naruto huddled next to me, shivering and clutching our bag to his chest. "Rai," he whispered. "I'm scared."

My answer was cut off by another flash of lightning. Heat burned above us as it struck the tree we had sought shelter from. The limbs above us creaked and one cracked, its leaves alight with flame. I scrambled backwards, dragging Naruto with me, and it crashed down into the spot we'd just vacated. "We need to get somewhere safe," I muttered.

And then I realized I was an idiot for not having thought of this sooner.

"C'mon. I know where we can go." I grabbed the bag from him and slung it across my shoulder. Then I took his hand and started leading him. Another flash of lightning and boom of thunder made him shriek before he managed to collect himself enough to ask where we were going.

"Home," I told him. Because really, out of everywhere we'd ever lived, it was home. At least to me.

He followed me, clearly confused but trusting. When we reached the streets again, they were flooding with water and deserted. I fought against the water that lapped around my shins, trying to push me backwards. I knew exactly where I was going, but we had to get there before the storm got worse.

I heard a splash behind me and suddenly Naruto's hand slipped from mine, his chakra flaring. I whipped around. "Nato!" I yelled, lunging after him. I grabbed his hand and tried to pull him to his feet. "C'mon, we have to—"

"It hurts!" He looked up at me, sitting in the high water and clutching his leg. Suddenly, I wasn't sure if the drops on his face were rain or tears. Then my gaze dropped to his leg and I hissed at the bloody gash along his shin. "Damn it," I muttered, knowing the roaring winds covered my voice so he couldn't hear me swearing. I hurriedly unraveled the bandage around my hand and wrapped it tightly around his calf. I knew it wouldn't help with infection, but at least it would hopefully help stop him from losing too much blood.

"Can you walk?" I yelled, hoping he could hear me. Whimpering, he pushed himself to his feet. But when he tried to put weight on his leg, his knee buckled and he started to fall. I caught him around his middle and carefully lowered him down, swearing colorfully in my mind with ever curse word I knew. When I ran out of expletives, I switched to English. Kurama seemed to be enjoying my tirade, snickering in the back of my head. I adjusted our bag so that it was slung across my front and tightened it so it would be sure to not fall off. "Stand up," I ordered.

Trembling, he pushed himself up and stood uncertainly on one foot. The waters tried to push him over, but I held tightly onto his hand to keep him from falling. Then I turned and offered him my back. "I'll carry you."

I heard him make a sound of disbelief, but then water splashed and weight settled on my back. For a five-year-old, Naruto was incredibly light. That, combined with my training, made this easy. I trudged through the water, my hands hooked around his knees and his arms locked around my shoulders. I could feel the mass of chakra signatures shrinking behind me as we got closer and closer to our destination. As we left the stone streets behind, I ended up wading through thick mud.

And then the building came into view.

I sped up my pace. "There it is, Nato."

His breath tickled my ear as he sniffled. "What is it?"

"Do you remember ANBU?"

He paused. "Maybe."

I giggled, and then immediately regretted it when I gurgled a mouthful of rain. I spit the water out and climbed the stairs to the front door. I hunched over to keep Naruto on my back as I reached for the doorknob and pushed my way inside.

Instantly, a figure dropped in front of the two of us and the recognizable sour smell filled my nostrils. My shoulders slumped in relief. "Uma!"

The figure paused and a flash of lightning illuminated the familiar markings on his mask. After a moment, he said, "Mirai-chan? Naruto-chan? What are you doing here?"

"Nato's hurt," was all I said, shifting my brother on my back.

That snapped him into action. He slammed the door shut and the lights hummed as they flickered on. "This way," he said, waving to me. I followed him towards what I remembered to be the kitchen. The sound of a door opening and closing echoed down the hallway, but I ignored that. Uma waved towards the kitchen table and then dug through the cabinets, getting medical supplies. "Put him there."

I stumbled over to the chair, my tiredness catching up with me, and set Naruto down. I dragged another chair across the floor and lifted his leg onto it. He whimpered and I glanced up at him. "Hey, we'll get you fixed up." I slung the bag off of me and it fell to the ground with a squelch, drenched with water. I winced. "Uh, sorry."

Uma shrugged. "It's fine." He knelt down and began unwrapping the bandage tied clumsily around Naruto's leg. I grit my teeth at the open wound and Naruto looked a little green.

"Oi, Uma, what the hell's going on?"

I stiffened and whipped around at the familiar voice and smell. I lit up and the words left my mouth before I could even think about it. "'Nu-nii!"

He blinked, staring down at me blankly for a moment. Then he slowly looked back up at Uma, reaching out almost habitually to ruffle my hair and then pulling his hand back when he only came into contact with my soaked beanie. "What's going on?"

Uma shook his head. "I don't know." He began cleaning out the cut in Naruto's leg and the boy whimpered, curling his hands into fists. I turned and walked towards him before I even really knew what I was doing. Then thunder boomed outside.

The lights went out.

Naruto shrieked and his chakra jumped. I could hear Uma cursing. So I lifted my hand and focused my chakra in the same way I'd been practicing for months. A soft glow illuminated the room and I relaxed as I heard Naruto's wild breathing even out.

"When did you learn to do that, Mirai-chan?"

I jumped in surprise, not having realized that Kakashi had moved so that he now knelt next to me. "Uh, I mastered it just a week ago."

The lights flickered as they came back on and I let my chakra dissipate. I let my hand drop, but not before Kakashi's eyes had narrowed. He lifted my hand, cradling it in his larger one, and examined the chakra burns across my palm. "These won't heal if you keep using chakra there," he murmured. Then he dropped my hand and stood, moving over to the first aid kit Uma had left out on the counter.

The older ANBU finished bandaging Naruto's leg and was lecturing him about going easy on it. Kakashi motioned to me and I skipped over to him. I squeaked in surprise when his hands hooked under my arms and lifted me onto the counter. I blinked at him. "What?"

"Hand," he said tonelessly. When I lifted it, he grabbed it and began smearing a cold paste across my burns. I flinched in surprise and, when he released me, lifted my hand closer to my face so I could examine it. "What is it?"

"Chakra burn balm."

"Oh." Then I moved and unwrapped the bandages around my other hand before holding it out to him.

He blinked at the burns across my other palm before sighing and treating it as well. Then he pulled out a roll of bandages and carefully covered my hands. I flexed my fingers, studying his handiwork. It was much neater than anything I'd done and I smiled up at him. "Arigato."

He nodded and began packing the first aid kit up. "So why are you here?"

"We needed somewhere to hide from the storm," I said simply, swinging my legs.

He cocked an eyebrow. "The orphanage wasn't good enough?"

Naruto frowned. "The Matron kicked us out."

Kakashi stiffened, his gaze snapping to Naruto. Uma had gone still as well. I opened my mouth to explain, but then the older ANBU cut me off. "Where have you been staying?"

Naruto answered before I could. "Weeeeeell," he said, seeming to think about it. "We were under those boxes for a couple weeks, I think, and then we stayed at the river, dattebayo."

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "I was gonna talk to the Hokage about it, but he's been in Suna."

Kakashi's eyebrows drew together. "Why didn't you come here sooner?"

I felt my face burn. "I, uh, actually didn't think about it."

Then our conversation was interrupted by a loud rumble from my gut, which was echoed by Naruto's stomach. Uma chuckled, already moving for the pantry. "Hungry?"

"Hai, dattebayo!"

"A little," I conceded, jumping down to the floor. Then I knelt next to our backpack, removing my beanie and dropping it onto the floor. I blessed internally whoever had made our bag for having used such thick material, because I unzipped it to find that out things were untouched by water. I could hear the microwave running as I dug through out things. I pulled out Naruto's coloring book and crayons and then moved over to the table, placing them in front of him. He squealed out his thanks and then flipped to the picture he'd been working on most recently.

"And your midnight meal is served!" Uma announced, placing a steaming cup of ramen in front of each of us. Naruto lit up and pushed his book aside, snatching up his chopsticks and aiming to dig in. I rapped him sharply across the knuckles with my own chopsticks. "Manners."

He flushed and bowed his head. "Itadakimasu!" Then he began slurping up his meal.

I said it as well, though quieter, and dug in. The chair next to me scraped against the floor as Kakashi sat down, and Uma sat down across from me, to Naruto's left. "We'll let you sleep here until Hokage-sama comes back," Kakashi murmured. "But then you'll have to leave."

I nodded, knowing that he wasn't the one making that decision, but that the Hokage had probably instituted a rule along those lines when we'd been sent to the orphanage two years ago. "When will he be back? I've gone to the Tower every day to check, but it's taking forever."

"He was in Suna for all three phases of the Chunin Exams. He should be back in just a week."

I slurped up the rest of the ramen broth and then gathered up the cups and chopsticks, pacing over to the trashcan to throw them away. "Where are we sleeping?"

"The rooms are all taken, including your old one." Uma pushed himself to his feet and I could practically hear the grin in his voice. "But I'm sure Inu won't mind letting you stay in his room."

Kakashi shot the older man a sharp look but sighed, nodding. I grinned, grabbing Naruto's hand. "Great!" Then I dragged him off down the hall, bursting into Kakashi's room. The nineteen-year-old appeared in the doorway a moment later.

"I would ask how you remember which room is mine, but I'm not sure I want to know." He shuffled over to the bed and then motioned to the two of us. "I'm sure we all can fit."

Naruto grinned and climbed up. I jumped up after him, immediately curling around my brother in the way I was used to. Kakashi reached across us and clicked off the lamp. Then I paused.

"Er, 'Nu-nii? We need a change of dry clothes."

I was having a nice dream, for once—a dream about going out on a picnic with Naruto and eating all the ramen we could ever want. It was interrupted when the sun suddenly disappeared and I was thrown into wakefulness, all too aware of the fact that my brother's chakra had just vanished. I tumbled wildly out of the empty bed, wearing a modified version of one of Kakashi's shirts as a nightdress. I scrambled out the door, my heart thundering against my ribcage. I saw Mokin step out of his room and he turned towards me. "Ah, Mirai-chan! I heard you were back and—"

"Just a moment!" I yelled, running past him. Some of my panic eased off when I could finally feel the heat of Naruto's chakra again, and I raced after it until finally I burst out into the open air. The heavy scent of petrichor assaulted my nose, but I whipped around and tackled the boy sitting on the steps. "Don't scare me like that!"

Naruto blinked up at me. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head, holding him tight and burying my face in his shoulder. I breathed in his scent of tree leaves for a moment before finally releasing him, having fully reassured myself that he was fine. I sat up and pulled him up as well. He looked embarrassed. "Sorry. I thought you could still hear me."

"Hear you?"

I jumped, not having registered the fact that Kakashi was there as well, decked out in full ANBU gear. "Uh, yeah. Like I couldn't feel his chakra."

"We always stay close enough so she can still hear my cha-ka-ra," Naruto shared, proud to be adding something to the conversation.

Kakashi arched an eyebrow. "I know my room is far into HQ, but that's still only three hundred feet. You're telling me you two have never been further than three hundred feet apart?"

I met his gaze and nodded once. "Hai. Nato's my responsibility."

My brother made an odd sound in the back of his throat. "And when I become Hokage, I'll be able to take care of her!"

I beamed at him and ruffled his hair. Naruto ducked his head and flushed before eying me curiously. "You gonna train, Rai?"

I though about it for a moment, sitting down on the step by Kakashi's knee. "Probably." I looked up. "Can I, 'Nu-nii."

He hummed for a moment. "I don't see why not." Then he motioned to my bandaged hands. "As long as you don't use chakra."

I screwed up my nose. "How long until they're healed?"

He shrugged. "Not sure. It's different for everyone." He rose to his feet and waved to the two of us. "Head inside. I have a mission."

I frowned. "Will it take long?"

He shook his head. "I should be back tonight." With that, he patted me on the head and then disappeared.

I took Naruto's hand and tugged him up the stairs. The moment we stepped inside, I was met with the familiar aroma of pumpkin. I beamed. "Mokin!"

"How are my two favorite minions?" he asked, kneeling down to our level.

I grinned in answer, and then moved on to another subject. "Ne, Mokin, are there any targets I could use for practice?"

He blinked at me from behind his mask. "We have the training hall."

"Right! I forgot about that. Arigato!" Ignoring Naruto's protests, I dragged him back down the hall to Kakashi's room. I could almost hear him pouting.

"But, Rai, I don't wanna train!"

"Do you want to color? We can bring your book, and Slug Princess for you to read," I suggested, digging through our bag.

His whining stopped instantly. "Yeah!"

"Good." I got his things and then my collection of training supplies, which I'd never touched until now. "Down the hall to the left, it should be the . . . fifth door on the right."

Naruto nodded and skipped away. I readjusted our things in my arms and paced after him. We entered the training hall and Naruto settled in one corner with his coloring books and crayons. I set up starting ten feet away from the targets. I'd used throwing knives in my past life, and I'd been great at it, if I did say so myself. I knew how to throw everything. But actually getting my childish body to cooperate would be another story.

I lifted the first kunai and ran my finger down the blade. It was dull, of course, and wouldn't stick in the target until both my accuracy and my strength improved. I would just have to focus on where it did hit and then go from there. I slid my hand around the handle and tested the weight. Then I lifted my arm, sliding my feet into a staggered position to give myself more balance. And then I threw.

The kunai clattered unhappily off the very edge of the target and then to the floor below. I frowned, adjusted accordingly, and threw the next kunai. And then another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another. My arm ached as I went and collected my weapons, moving back to start over again. Each kunai felt heavier than the last, weighing down on my shoulder and making it harder to throw. When I moved forward and collected them all again, I frowned down at my right hand. And then I switched.

Throwing with my left hand was difficult. In other words, I sucked at it. It took me seven tries to even manage to hit the target once, and another five to be able to hit the target consistently, even if it was no where near the center. I threw and threw until my left arm couldn't anymore. And then I returned to my right.

My concentration was almost fully dedicated to my training, a small part of it focused on Naruto's chakra. So when I felt his energy stirring in agitation, I cleaned my weapons up and stored them away. "Do you want to hear a new story, Nato?"

He looked up from the page he'd been blankly staring at and grinned. "Yeah!"

"Alright, I'll tell you it while I'm doing my stretches." I mused for a moment over what fairytale to tell him. "This story is called The Kage's New Robes." As I settled into my first stretch, Naruto scrambled to sit in front of me so he could listen. "Once upon a time, there was a Kage that loved clothes so much that he spent all of his money on it. He loved his clothes so much that people never said 'The Kage is in a meeting.' Instead, they said 'Kage-sama is getting dressed.'"

Naruto made a face. "He sounds stupid, dattebayo. A kage takes care of people, not clothes!"

I smiled indulgently. "One day, two very tricky shinobi came to the Village and lied, saying they made clothes for a living. They said their clothes were so good that people who were stupid couldn't see them."

My brother wrinkled his nose. "But there aren't invisible clothes."

"Exactly. Thinking he was smart, the Kage hired the two. They set up sewing machines and pretended to work. After a while, the Kage sent his advisors to check on how the clothing was going along. But when the advisors got there, they couldn't see the clothes. Afraid of the Kage thinking they were stupid, they lied and said the clothes were beautiful." That made Naruto giggle and comment on their stupidity. I shrugged. "Maybe. But eventually, the two liars said the clothes were done. When they brought it to him, the Kage was afraid."

"'Cause he couldn't see it?"

"Exactly. He was afraid people would take away his title of Kage if they thought he was stupid because he couldn't see the clothes. So he pretended and put them on. Of course, the clothes weren't real. So when he put them on, he was naked!"

At that Naruto started cackling and rolled onto his back, clutching his stomach as he guffawed. I sank into my splits.

"The Kage, of course, wanted to show off his new clothes. So he paraded around town. Everyone was afraid of being seen as stupid, so they all lied about how pretty his robes were. But then a child, who was too young and innocent to be stupid, said, 'But he doesn't have anything on.' Everyone whispered that to each other until they realized it was true. And then the Kage heard and knew they were right."

He blinked at me. "Your stories are weird." I shrugged and leaned over to touch my toes, not disagreeing. "And then what?" he asked.

"And then nothing. The people felt stupid, the Kage was ashamed, and the liars got away."

He pulled a face. "That's not a very happy ending."

I giggled and gathered up our things. "Sometimes there aren't happy endings. Let's go see if Mokin will take us to ramen."

That completely flipped his mood and he skipped away ahead of me, chanting, "Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!"

In Kakashi's room, I changed into my now-dry clothes and collected Naruto's coloring book and my wallet. When we stepped out into the hallway, I called, "Mokin!"

He appeared in front of us almost instantly, making Naruto squeal in surprise and cling to me. "What's up?" he asked cheerfully.

"Can we go to Ichiraku's?" I asked, making sure to use the doe eyes that always made the ANBU fold when I was younger. "Please?"

He seemed to think about it for a moment, crouching in front of us. "Okay," he agreed. "But I'll have to follow where you can't tell I'm there. People aren't supposed to see me."

I nodded. "'kay! Er, do you have money?"

He disappeared for just a few seconds and then landed in front of us again. "Here you go," he said, dropping a small handful of ryo into my palm. "You two go ahead. I'll follow."

I nodded and grabbed Naruto's hand, dragging him out the front of the headquarters. The ground was still muddy and wet, only becoming more so that farther into town we got. I climbed up onto one of the stools. "Teuchi-san! One salt and one miso, please."

"Naruto-chan! Mirai-chan!" The old man beamed at the two of us. "Coming right up!"

After a few moment, someone else sat down at one of the stools. I sniffed at the familiar smell and turned, finding myself staring up into an unforgettable face that I had once seen in an anime—Shiranui Genma. And then I realized I'd been so terribly stupid. "Mokin?" I asked quietly.

He glanced at me, chewing on the senbon between his teeth. His gaze flicked to Naruto, but the boy was in a conversation with Ayame about the properties of ramen and didn't seem to be paying attention. He sighed. "You always were a smart one," he said softly, just loud enough for me to hear.

"You smell the same," I said simply, because somehow that was more important than how he looked. "What's your name?"

"I'm not sure I should tell you that."

I made a face. "It's not like I can't find out on my own, even if it takes a while."

"Genma," he offered only a moment later. "One pork ramen," he called out.

"Of course," Teuchi said, setting a bowl down in front of me and another in front of Naruto.

"Itadakimasu," I murmured, breaking my chopsticks apart.

And for just a moment, ANBU felt like family again.

When Kakashi and his team returned, he found me lying on my back with my feet pressed against the newly-dented wall. He stopped about a foot away and crossed his arms. "What's going on here?"

I blinked and turned my head towards him. "I'm learning how to tree-walk." With that said, I returned to trying to regulate the proper amount of chakra in my feet.

"Uh-huh. Where's Naruto?"

"Nato's already sleeping. But I can hear his chakra, so it's okay." I discontinued the flow through the soles of my feet and pushed myself up. My gaze flicked across his two companions' masks. And I frowned. "You're not Neko."

The brunet cocked his head curiously at me, but Kakashi just chuckled, removing his dog mask. "Neko retired from ANBU. This Neko is her replacement."

"Ah." A distinct but barely familiar scent of sugar teased my nostrils and I leaned forward, sniffing deeply. My feet moved without me even thinking about it, and I found myself standing before Kakashi's second teammate. I smiled up at him. "Konichiwa, Itachi-san."

Those dark eyes blinked for a moment before he reached up and removed his mask as well. "I'm impressed, Mirai-chan. We've only met once before."

"I have a good memory," I said simply. I leaned towards the new Neko and sniffed deeply, memorizing his scent. It wasn't one I'd smelled before, but I felt like I was missing something obvious. I could feel Kurama getting oddly agitated inside my head. What's wrong, Kyuubi?

His scent reminds me of a Senju, he growled, unhappy to be questioned, but even more unhappy at Neko's smell.

I cocked my head to the side. A Senju? Why would—

Of course.

I carefully kept my realization from showing on my face, but there was no denying it. It was Tenzo. Orochimaru's experiment, Danzo's pawn, and Kakashi's friend. That was why he smelled like burnt wood. I offered him a smile. "It's nice to meet you."

"I wasn't aware that you were . . . associated with ANBU, Mirai-chan," the Uchiha murmured.

"She's not," Kakashi said, answering for me. "The twins were our . . . wards, at one point. They returned here last night, which is when we discovered they'd been kicked out of the orphanage a few weeks ago. They'll remain with us until the Hokage returns and arranges a new living situation for them."

As if that exchange hadn't even happened, I turned to Itachi with a grin. "Nato and I'd like to play with Sasuke again sometime, if we could! It was fun last time."

"You have tomorrow as a free day," Kakashi murmured.

Itachi nodded. "That sounds reasonable. I'll retrieve you and your brother after breakfast. I'm sure Sasuke will be delighted."

My grin widened. "Great! Ne, 'Nu-nii, can we use the salve again?" I asked, wiggling my bandaged fingers.

He sighed and his hands hooked under my arms. A moment later, I was settled on his shoulders with my hands tangled in his hair to keep myself in place. "Go ahead and get some rest," he mumbled to his teammates. We arrived at the kitchen and he set me down on the table before beginning to sift through the cabinets. I tucked my hands under my thighs and swung my legs lazily. "Is being ANBU hard?" I asked curiously.

He glanced at me, selecting the jar of salve. "You know the answer to that, Mirai. Don't play stupid—it doesn't fit you."

I felt my cheeks burn a little and I held out one of my hands for him to treat. I kept my gaze on my burns as he unwound my bandages. "Right. Do you like it, though?"

He smoothed the cool paste across my burns and then wrapped a new bandage around my hand. He was silent as he moved onto my other hand. Then he finally spoke. "In a way."

"Aa." I let him finish and then rubbed my hands together as I watched him dig through the cabinets again. He pulled out a strip of black cloth and detached the barely singed one from his mask. I cocked my head to the side. "Whatcha doing?"

"We have to remove any evidence of a fight after each mission," he said simply, attaching the new cloth.

I pushed myself off the table and paced over to him. I watched curiously as his hands moved with a mechanical deftness, showing that he'd done this hundreds of times before. Then I reached out and took the cloth he'd removed. It was barely touched, just as slight crispness about the edges, but apparently that was enough. Ignoring the fact that I knew he was watching me in interest now, I wrapped it around my wrist and tucked in the ends.

"What's that for?"

I glanced up at him and smiled. "A reminder of what I'm working towards, I guess."

"Oh?"

"ANBU," I clarified. "Nato wants to be Hokage, but I'll be ANBU, like my Niisan." I smiled at him.

Something flickered through his gaze—sadness, or maybe it was just surprise—and then he sighed and patted me on the head, unable to ruffle my hair through my beanie. "Let's get you to bed, alright, kiddo?"

The atmosphere once we reached the Uchiha Compound was . . . odd. It lacked the normal hostile air Naruto and I received when we went outside. Instead, it was almost like we were ignored—all the attention went to Itachi. Which I was fine with, because it gave me an opportunity to observe. The things I'd heard about the size and pride of the Uchiha Clan seemed to be true enough—it was full of people all wearing the fan emblem, and they all carried themselves with a certain about of self-respect.

"Here we are," Itachi murmured, pushing aside the door to the largest house on the street.

When we stepped inside, I followed the ANBU's example and removed my shoes. I poked Naruto, prompting him to do the same. Then Itachi led us into another room. And that was the first time I saw his parents. He moved and knelt between Sasuke and Mikoto. I had never been instructed on the formalities of these introductions, but I could guess. So I motioned subtly to Naruto and knelt so that the two of us were sitting seiza directly across from the clan head. A silence, not awkward but not comfortable either, settled over us all and I licked my lips nervously. Was I supposed to speak first?

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

Apparently not.

"My name is Uchiha Fugaku, and this is my wife Mikoto. As I understand, you are already acquainted with both my sons. It's my honor to welcome you into our home."

The slightly-too-long pause after that told me it was my turn to speak. I bowed my head in respect. "I thank you for allowing us to be here."

He made a strange approving noise. "Lunch will be fully prepared in four hours." It wasn't an invitation to dine with them—it sounded more like an order. "Please enjoy your time here."

"We will," I said, lifting my head just in time to see the slight frown thrown in my brother's direction when the clan head realized I was the only one that had spoken. Naruto looked distinctly uncomfortable, clearly not used to sitting in seiza for any period of time. Fugaku rose to his feet and the rest of us followed, the Uchiha clearly more graceful that us. The clan head and his wife exited the room and Sasuke broke out into a grin. "Ya wanna play Ninja?" he asked excitedly.

I'd heard of the game, of course, but we'd never been included in those games at the orphanage. Naruto frowned. "Ninja? How do ya play, dattebayo?"

"It's like tag!" Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm and dragged him outside. Itachi and I followed at a more sedate pace. Sasuke babbled on for a while about how there were missing nin and hunter nin and the idea was for the hunter nin to capture all the traitors by marking them with a paper tag or, if you were a nuke nin, you had to hit all the hunter nin with the toy shuriken they had. We reached one of the Uchiha training grounds and Sasuke handed out the shuriken. I tested the weight of the six I'd been given. They were lighter than my training kunai, and there was no way they'd throw as straight.

"Oi, what's going on here!"

The new voice made Naruto jump and he scrambled behind me. I blinked and looked up at the teen that was hanging upside down from a tree, his legs hooked over one of the branches. He looked vaguely familiar and I felt like I should have known who he was.

"Ah. Sasuke and his friends are going to play Ninja."

The older teen grinned at Itachi and jumped down. "Cool! I'll play." He put his hands on his hips and smiled brightly down at us. "I'm Uchiha Shisui! It's nice to meet you two!"

And just like that, hot rocks dropped into my stomach and my mouth dried out. I was now standing before one of Konoha's most loyal shinobi—and a super strong one at that—that would commit suicide in just a couple years in order to protect the Village. I stumbled over myself for a moment to bow shallowly in respect. "It's always nice to meet a super strong shinobi. So, ohayo. I'm Uzumaki Mirai. This is my brother, Naruto."

"Awesome. Tachi-chan, you're playing, right?"

I couldn't help the way I choked and sputtered at that. Sasuke's brother shot me a look and I barely managed to mouth Tachi-chan.

He sighed. "I concede. How will the parts be divided, then?"

"Nato, Sasuke-kun, and Shisui-san can be the hunter nin." A grin stretched across my face and I tightened my grip on my shuriken. "Ready, set, go!" With that, I dashed away, leaving behind a confused group that dispersed only a moment later. I scrambled up a tree, desperately wishing I was able to use the tree-walking exercise already, and hunched in wait. A flash of movement caught my eye and I grinned when I saw Sasuke running below me. I readied my weapon and threw.

It went wide.

Sasuke screeched to a stop, looking for the person who had thrown it. Scowling at how different it was compared to my training shuriken, I tried again.

It nailed Sasuke in the forehead.

I barely withheld a shriek of happiness when he started pouting and trudged over to the 'out' spot. With that done, I turned just in time to see Itachi hit Naruto with one of his own shuriken. I grinned. Just Shisui left, then.

"That was quite the throw, kiddo."

I reacted instinctively and whipped around, throwing my elbow out and bringing my other hand up to protect my bared ribs. Shisui caught my arm easily with one hand and then snatched me up by my ankle, holding me upside down by my foot as he placed the paper tag on my forehead. "You're out!"

Something clocked him in the side of the head. "So are you," Itachi said calmly.

Shisui stuck out his lower lip in an over-exaggerated pout. "Aw, c'mon, Tachi-chan! That was not fair. I totally had you guys!" He sighed. "Fine, fine, I get it."

I reached up, my abs straining with the effort, and pinched his wrist just at the pressure point. Surprised, he relaxed his grip and I twisted away, falling to the ground. I could hear Shisui yell above me, but I flipped and landed on the ground in a solid crouch. The moment I did, the Uchiha was beside me. He arched an eyebrow, the worry smoothing out of his face. "Huh. Impressive for a brat, I guess."

"Don't think so lowly of yourself, Shisui-san. You did quite well."

He blinked and then barked out a laugh. "I like this one!"

And that was when I knew that the last thing I wanted was for Uchiha Shisui to die.

Chapter End

Answer: I'm a proud Slytherin. And, coincidentally (not), so is Mirai.

Question: Which of the Academy Three is your favorite: kawarimi, henge, or bushin?

Today's suggested fanfic: Erasing Impossibility by natanije.