Chapter Eleven - Prognosticate

[prognosticate—verb 1: to forecast or predict (something future) from present indications or signs; prophesy 2: to foretoken; presage 3: to make a forecast; prophesy]

"You here for another game?" Izumo asked, grinning as he shuffled his cards. "I bet I can win back my money. Take a seat and—"

"No." I shook my head as I approached them. I dropped the open puzzle box in front of Ibiki and then held up the piece of paper that had been inside. "I finished a puzzle box to get to a riddle?"

He calmly took the box and tucked it away in his pocket. Then he met my stared evenly. "I'm assuming you'd like another one?"

I frowned at him. Then I shrugged and shoved the paper in my pocket. "Yes, please." I held out my hands for the next box. He placed a smooth wooden circle in my palm and I pulled it closer to study. "Huh. That's different."

"You can't do it?"

I glared at him. "I didn't say that. I'll figure it out."

"Alright, I think you're ready."

"Really?"

"Really. Go for it."

I frowned and took a deep breath. "Okay." I brought up my hands into the sign and pulled up my chakra. "Kage bunshin."

It was an odd feeling, like the chakra in my chest was trying to separate my rib cage. It wasn't painful or unpleasant, just . . . strange. It lasted for a half second and then stopped, accompanied by a quiet puff. I glanced to the side and blinked.

My copy blinked back.

"It . . . worked," I breathed, reaching out to poke my clone's shoulder.

The clone wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, I'm here. You don't have to be so shocked."

I pulled back. "Okay, that's weird."

"You'll get used to it. You have the chakra pool to use this jutsu regularly and in greater quantities than most, so you'll probably use it a lot." Pride colored his voice and a hand came to rest on my head. "Now dispel it. You'll get memories and an influx of chakra."

"Got it." I reached my chakra out and pulled. Smoke exploded my clone outward and I flinched at the unfamiliar feeling of chakra filling my veins. My brain squeezed and the world tilted for a moment amid the way my skin burned. "Whoa, that— That's new."

"How do you feel? Okay? You're not going to pass out?" Kakashi crouched in front of me, face marred with a frown. He squeezed my shoulder comfortingly.

I offered him an encouraging smile. "A little lightheaded, but I'm fine."

He studied my face, sharingan eye open. Kakashi gnawed on his lip for a moment before nodding in satisfaction. "Okay. Good." He closed his scarred eye and pulled up his mask. "You ready?"

"You still haven't told me where we're going," I said, crouching down and scratching Bull behind the ears. He grunted and rolled onto his back, exposing his belly to me. I laughed and scratched his stomach. "What are we doing?"

"Well, I'm on a break from missions and have some time to relax. And since the Hokage let you out of going to the Academy today to work on your jutsu, you're free until your meeting with Tonbo, right?" He waited for me to nod before continuing. "So I thought we could go have lunch together. We haven't ever done that before, have we?"

I looked up at him and couldn't help the way I started beaming. "No, we haven't." I stood back up and took his hand, letting him lead me to the door. "Where are we going? Ichiraku?"

"For ramen? No. You know, there's food out there other than ramen." He closed the door behind us and turned to activate the security seals. "We're going to have barbecue."

"Ooh." I followed him down the stairs. "Hey, Niisan?"

"Hmm?"

"Do your summons just stay locked up in the apartment all day?" I asked with a frown. "Seems awfully cramped."

"No. They're keyed in to the security seals and can come and go as they like. Bull doesn't know how to yet, but the others have been helping him."

"How long does it take to train a summon?"

"Well . . . ." His brow creased and he glanced down at me. "It depends, really. Every contract is different. Some contracts connect you with summons that are already fully grown. Mine is always with ninken that I raise, and so they aren't summoned from another dimension. And even with my ninken it can take forever or not very long at all." He tilted his head to the side and squeezed my hand. "Why? Are you considering having summons, Pup?"

I shrugged. "I don't even know where I would get a contract, so I don't know."

"Well, contracts aren't just lying around. But who knows." He released me so he could hold open the door. "Here we are. Yakiniku Q. Head on in."

I stepped in and looked around. As he guided me farther in to a booth, I asked, "Do you come here a lot?"

"Not really. I don't tend to eat out." He looked up and nodded as a server approached. Taking a menu, Kakashi murmured, "Thank you."

I took a menu as well and flipped it open. "You've been here before, though?"

"Yeah. Not since the last time my—" He hesitated, as if just realizing what he was saying for the first time. "Not since the last time my sensei brought me."

"Your sensei?" I hesitated and took a leap, setting my menu down. "And I more like him? Or am I more like my mom?"

Kakashi's gaze jerked to me and his fingers flexed around the menu. His voice was curiously brittle when he spoke. "I'm sorry?"

I gnawed on my lip, looking down at the menu. "I just . . . . I don't know. Wanted to know who I took after more."

"Ah," he said carefully. The waitress returned and he looked up, "Squid, please. With the steamed vegetables. And I'll, uh, I'll have some sake."

"Of course," the waitress said, marking that down. "Are for you?"

"Same, please," I said, beaming as I handed back my menu.

"And to drink?"

"Sake?" I asked hopefully.

"Hilarious," Kakashi said, letting her take his menu. "She'll have some bancha tea."

"I'll have that right out." With the menu's tucked under her arm, she whisked away.

Kakashi glanced to the side, tapping his fingers on the table. Then he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You're like him. You got his brain. And you look like him, though you got your mom's colors. And—" He shook his head. "You're a lot like him."

"And what?" I asked, frowning.

"You got his temper." His expression was mostly hidden by his mask, but I had known him long enough to see that he regretted his words. "A lot of people thought she was the one with a temper, and they weren't wrong. But her temper didn't compare to his. Ever. It just took something extra to get him to that point."

"Shisui does say I have a fuse," I murmured. "And Nato? He's like Kaachan?"

"Yes." The answer came quickly. "Eerily so. How did you find out?"

"About my parents?" I waited for him to nod. Then I shrugged. "I'm not dumb."

He stared at me and then sighed, expression dropping a bit. "No. No, you're not."

"New sensei? Are you not training me anymore?"

"No, I'm not. All you need to do now is continue the exercises I've given you. You need no more help from me."

I glanced side to side just to make sure I wasn't somehow missing anyone. Then I refocused on Tonbo. "Who is supposed to be my new instructor, then? What am I learning?"

"You'll be training with genjutsu. Not how to cast them, but rather how to recognize and dispel them. Your new instructor should be here shortly. I, however, must be going. I wish you luck."

"But who—" I blinked. The place where he'd been standing was now empty.

Who will it be?

How the hell am I supposed to know? I asked, sitting down and pulling out my fuuinjutsu supplies to start practicing.

He said genjutsu. How many genjutsu experts are there in Konoha?

You're joking, right? Konoha is chock full of shinobi skilled in genjutsu.

"Uzumaki."

Ink splattered across the page as I jerked in surprise. I looked up and then my eyes widened. "Uchiha-sama!" I scrambled to put my things away and barely sealed my jar of ink before shoving it all into my back. I faced him and bowed solidly at the waist. "Are you . . . the new instructor Tobitake-sensei mentioned?"

He didn't respond. When I straightened, I found him watching me, his sharingan alight. I sucked in a breath and met his gaze evenly. I couldn't understand how just one man could make me so afraid of making the wrong move.

His sharingan deactivated, leaving black behind, and he nodded once. "I am. I was asked to train you in detecting genjutsu. Let's begin."

I folded my hands behind my back and waited. "Yes, sir."

"How was your training with Tobitake-san?"

I blinked. "It was . . . good. My chakra sensing has improved. And I've gotten better at avoiding flying rocks," I said wryly. "So if an enemy shinobi ever wants to kill me by flinging pebbles, I'll be safe."

"You'd be surprised by how many shinobi use that strategy," he mused. "Especially those from Iwa. Avoidance is a viable tactic in many circumstances. Integral to taijutsu. Which I've heard is something my eldest is assisting you with."

"Itachi's been very helpful," I told him, nodding.

"And you haven't been accidentally breaking the bones of anymore of your classmates, have you?"

I winced and looked down. "No, sir. Does . . . everyone know about that?"

"Of course. I thought you knew, Uzumaki. Every shinobi with any semblance of a brain has been keeping an eye on the Village's most promising jinchuuriki."

I snapped my gaze back up, straightening. "You—"

"To teach you that information would, of course, be a violation of Konoha law and treason of a high order. But considering that this isn't news to you, I've hardly broken the law. Have I?" Fugaku turned and began pacing away, though he waved to me. "Join me."

Obediently, I hurried to do so and fell into step beside him.

"Why don't we begin with discovering what it is you already know about genjutsu."

"I know the theory behind it. But I know that due to my chakra pool, it's something I'd never be good at. And my chakra pool also makes me especially susceptible to it."

"Yes. Uzumaki, due to their amounts of chakra, are historically sensitive and easily subdued by genjutsu. Over the years, they found many ways to protect themselves." He stopped and turned to me, reaching out a hand to rest it on the trunk of the tree we had paused next to. "Tell me. What do you see when you look at this tree, Uzumaki?"

I frowned, focusing on the tree. "The bark and branches and leaves. It's large, so it's definitely an old tree."

"Yes, yes. That's what is there visually. But what do you see?"

I looked up at him to find that he's activated his sharingan again and was watching the tree. I hesitated and then took a deep breath. I reached out a hand and put it on the bark, closing my eyes.

The bark hummed beneath my fingers.

I gasped a little. "It's alive," I murmured.

"You see it now?"

"I do."

"Good. Now you'll have to do it for real. Seeing that chakra is something that not all can do. It's common among my clan, and among the Hyuuga. But your sensitivity makes you unique."

I looked up at him and the humming disappeared. "For . . . real?"

Fugaku nodded, sharingan spinning. "No one truly sees on their first time, Uzumaki."

I gasped and jerked back into my own skin. My knees hurt from sitting so still for so long and I was staring up at the empty space in front of me. With a groan, I forced my fingers to uncurl from their stiff position. My brush tumbled against the notebook in my lap, dry ink crusted against the bristles. I shook out a shaky breath.

Congratulations. You just experienced your first real genjutsu. Courtesy of a goddamn Uchiha.

I . . . I didn't even realize.

"Rai?"

I looked up, blinking to try to clear my mind. And then I registered the full force of the hot chakra against my senses. "Nato? What—" I frowned and then got to my feet, stretching to work out the kinks in my joints. "What are you doing here?" I leaned down and started packing my things away.

"Sasuke had a family dinner." He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Could we get ramen?"

"I was going to—" I paused, studying the pout on his face. "Yeah. We can get ramen. How was school?"

"Great! We did the leaf exercise! Choji and I only got one to stick to our hands. Hinata-chan got six!" He looped his arm through mine and began pulling me along. "I want cookies. Can we have cookies?"

"Yeah, of course. I'll make some when we get home."

"I wanna help, dattebayo!"

"Okay." I grinned. "We'll make some when we get home."

"Show me!"

"Huh? Oh, okay. You'll learn it instead of bunshin, anyway." I went through the hand signs slowly. "It takes about half of your chakra, but Niisan said that with practice I can work that down. You shape it and then . . . . Kage bunshin!"

In a puff of smoke, a clone appeared. "Whoa." Naruto's eyes were wide and he poked at my clone. The clone looked at him, as if offended. Naruto poked her in the face. "It's real!"

"That's how a kage bunshin works," I said.

Naruto squealed. "That's so cool!"

I dismissed the clone. "Isn't it?" The rush of chakra that came back to me reminded me of how tired I was. I hid a yawn.

"Bedtime?" Naruto cocked his head at me. "It's early."

"I know." I smiled. "I can stay up. You wanted me to teach you shogi, right?" I reached for the box.

"No. I'mma do my homework." He hopped over to me and kissed my cheek. "Nighty night!"

I laughed. "Okay, then. Goodnight, Nato. I love you."

"Love ya too!" He snatched up his backpack and scrambled towards the table.

I yawned again and started towards my room. Rubbing my eyes, I pushed the door open. Turning, I shut the door with my foot. Kyuubi, don't you think that— I sucked in a breath and my eyes widened, my heart jumping. "Wh—"

"Shh. Sorry, I would have dropped my chakra shields for you but I didn't want anyone else to know I was here."

I took a long breath to steady my nerves. "That's okay. Is something wrong?"

"Yes. I mean, no. Not exactly." Shisui scratched the back of his neck. "The clan's angry."

"Oh." I hesitated and glanced towards the curtains covering the windows. "Um, are—"

"I have a genjutsu up. And I . . . may have put security seals over your window. I would suggest not opening it until I show you how to use the seals right."

"Okay." I jumped up on my bed and folded my legs beneath myself. I reached out and patted the spot on the quilt in front of me. "Sit and tell me what's going on."

He didn't sit. Instead, he started pacing. "Fugaku's getting angrier and angrier. The Elders and the others are following. I . . . understand why they're angry. Fugaku wants a better future for his people. This just isn't the right way to do it."

"No, it's not," I agreed. "You're making me nervous with your pacing."

"It helps me," he mumbled in frustration, stopping to stare at me.

"Oh." I leaned back against my pillows and tucked my hands under my knees. "Carry on, then."

"Right." He wrung his hands and resumed his pacing. "Itachi's on edge. He's talking to me less. We've both spoken to the Hokage, but he's told us to keep it quiet."

"Do you think we're running out of time?"

"That's exactly what I think. We need to plan. I know we talked about faking my death and my eyes and—" He groaned and dragged a hand down his face. "How?"

I gnawed on my lip. "Okay . . . . I've got a few ideas, but you're not gonna like any of them."

"I think I stopped liking the things you said a while ago."

"Do you want to hear them or not?"

He sighed. "Fine. Lay it on me."

Not for the first time, I found myself wishing I could turn invisible.

"M-mirai-chan?"

I sighed internally. I couldn't tell her no. I didn't want to tell her no. Hinata was my friend, and I was delighted that she had the confidence to approach me and ask if I wanted to help tend the Hyuuga gardens after we were done at the Academy. I wasn't so delighted the moment I realized that meant actually having to go to the Hyuuga Compound. Which meant that I would probably end up seeing the one person I'd been trying to avoid for a month and a half now since our first encounter.

I realized that Hinata was still waiting for an answer. I grinned at her bashfully. "Sorry. Um, it's very nice of you to invite me."

She hid her hands behind her back and ducked her head. "You don't have to come," she mumbled. "Sorry. I'll see you tomorrow at—"

"Wait, wait, wait. I'll go!" I reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from turning away. "You don't have to apologize. I'm happy to go with you!" I glanced back and hesitated. "Um, Nato—"

"I'mma hang with Teme today!" he said, grinning as he tossed his toy shuriken from hand to hand. "We're gonna see if Shikamaru, Shino, and Choji wanna play Ninja!"

"Awesome! That's perfect. Just let me grab my things and we can go!" I stepped back through the door and toed on my shoes. Then I grabbed the storage scroll hanging from a tassel on the coat hanger. Shoving it in my pocket, I turned to her. "Let's go! Don't forget to lock the door when you leave, Nato!" I stepped out the door and hooked my arm through Hinata's. "Thank you for inviting me." I closed the door.

"Th-thank you for coming," she said, flushing. "We're always allowed to bring visitors to help in th-the garden, but no one has wanted to go with me before."

"That's a shame." I skipped down the stairs alongside her. "So what all will I be helping with?"

"Well, the gardens need weeding and trimming. And we just got some fresh plants from the Yamanaka Nursery that we need to put in the ground. Also, we recently finished some chakra-infused, nutrient-rich soil to freshen up the ground with."

"It's chakra-infused?" I asked curiously.

"Hai. Every Hyuuga learns how to infuse things with chakra. It's one of the ways we make our salve."

"Your salve?"

Hinata nodded. "We're well known for our salve. It would probably good for you." She gestured towards my hands. "Your knuckles are scarred. You must hurt them a lot when training. I can make you a jar."

"You don't have to do that."

"I'd be happy to!" She beamed up at me. "I've never gotten to give a jar to someone before. Hanabi has given three."

"In that case, I'd love to have a jar. I help my Niisan with medical treatment after he returns from missions, so it would probably be great then, too."

"Sounds like you need several jars," she said, voice squeaking with excitement. She nodded to the guards as we approached the compound and they moved to open the gates for use. "Here we are."

"Just as gorgeous as last time," I murmured, watching the Hyuuga that were al throughout the garden, tending to the plants. "Where do you want me to start?"

"This way." She tugged on my arm and led me off to the right. "We're planting some of the new shrubs we got right here. All the supplies are here." She released me and knelt down in the dirt. As she tied her hair back, she said, "The bushes get planted six feet away from each other, alternating between the forsythia and the lilacs. In a couple months, once they have a solid root, we'll plant smaller shrubs between them. Why don't you plant the lilacs? Dig a foot down and a foot across. Line the bottom of the hole with about two inches of the aerated compost and gravel. Follow that with two inches of the chakra soil. Unwrap the burlap around the bush and plant it, packing around it with the chakra soil."

"Got it." I moved to the spot she pointed out and took the trowel she gave me. We began working in silence and I was surprised by how relaxing it was to lose myself in the digging and planting.

"Mirai-chan?"

I jumped, looking up. "Yes?"

Hinata smiled at me. "I'm going to go help finish lunch. Do you want to stay for that?"

I smiled. "That sounds nice. Sure."

"Okay! I'll come get you when it's ready!" She scrambled away.

I refocused on my work, unwrapping the bush and gently spreading out its roots. With a smile and a hum, I lowered it into the hole.

"Uzumaki-san."

I paused, staring down at the bush but focusing on that voice. For just a moment, I wondered about the repercussions of stuffing dirt in his face as a distraction so I could escape, but that idea was quickly discarded. Just as I desperately tried to think up another plan, I was interrupted.

Brat, just face the white-eyed bastard and get it over with. I'm tired of your complaining.

I sighed. "Neji-san," I finally offered by way of reply, packing in fresh dirt around the plant. "I apologize for my rudeness during our last meeting."

He grunted in response and I finally glanced up, taking in the dirt dusted on his knees and caked beneath his nails. Without a word from me, he knelt down and began helping me fill in the hole. "You're slow."

"Thank you."

He blinked. "Sorry? That was not meant to be a compliment."

"Of course not. I know that." I offered him a disarming smile. "Rather, I was thanking you for your unspoken acceptance of my apology. Now that that's done an over with, let's be friends." I held out my hand, ignoring the dirt smudged across my skin.

Neji stared at me incredulously. It took him a moment to form words, but when he did all he said was, "You're insane."

"Thank you."

"What are you thankful for this time?"

"Most powerful shinobi are mentally unstable. It's nice to know I have something in common with most, if not all, S-ranked ninja."

"That's not a good thing. Just because you're crazy too doesn't mean you're as strong as them."

"I know." I paused, enjoying the confusion on his face. This Neji was different than the one I first saw in the anime. He wasn't as . . . set in his ways yet, it seemed. Still a child, still innocent, even if just barely, and yet somehow still annoying.

"Why are you speaking with me?"

My hand was growing tired from being held out for so long, but I didn't let it drop. "You came to me. Besides, that's what friends do, isn't it?"

"We're not friends."

"Aren't we?"

He was staring again.

"All the mean things I said before were because I was mad about you insulting Hinata-chan. Not saying I didn't mean it—you shouldn't talk about nice people like that, especially family like her—but it's some of that stuff that should have been kept bottled up inside me. Though I already apologized for that, so I won't say I'm sorry again."

Still staring.

"Kami, blink already. What are you, a gargoyle?"

That snapped him out of it. He shot me a dirty look and continued to work with a grunt.

"Now, now, you can't just ignore me like that. I'm still waiting for you to shake my hand."

For a moment I thought he wouldn't. But then his hand, only slightly bigger than mine and just as calloused, gripped mine and he gave it one stubborn shake. I grinned at him. "That wasn't so hard, was it, Gargoyle?"

"Don't call me that."

"Aw, you're so cute when you're annoyed!"

"I am not cute."

"Ah, denial. Classic."

Any potential response he could have given was interrupted by the ringing of a bell. Neji was up and gone before I had even made it to my feet. I brushed the dirt off my pants and began scratching the dirt out from under my nails as I followed the others in the garden towards a long building off to the south. Hinata was waiting to the left of the door. She fell into step beside me. "We don't usually eat as a clan," she told me. "It's for special events, mostly. And for clan-wide gardening days."

I smiled, stepping up to the row of sinks just inside the door. I looked it over for a second before testing the pedal on the floor and watching as the faucet began running water. "Whoa, okay." I washed my hands. "Naruto and I decided that when the Uzumaki Clan is bigger again, we want to have big clan dinners together all the time."

"You really think you can bring back a whole clan?" she asked me, voice soft in amazement.

"Maybe. I hope so." I glanced at her with a smile. "I can't let the red hair die, can I?"

Itachi slid open the door and stared down at me, mild surprise fluttering across his tired face. I beamed up at him and then leaned to the side to look around him. "I'm here for Naruto. I don't hear his chakra. Are they out some—" I stopped, frowning when I felt the familiar crackle of Sasuke's chakra. "Um . . . ." I glanced up at the Uchiha in confusion.

He looked confused too, though it was just a thin layer over his normal stoic expression. "Naruto-kun is not here. We haven't seen him today. Was he . . . supposed to be here? Sasuke hadn't mentioned him coming over."

My blood chilled over a little and I straightened. "He . . . said he was coming here when I left this morning. He never made it?"

A cloud of concern passed through his gaze and he turned, pulling on his sandals. "I'll help you look for him. Why don't you check your apartment? I'll retrieve Shisui to help and we'll meet you there."

I nodded, mouth dry, and turned on my heel. I took off at top speed, chakra augmenting my muscles and panic speeding up my heart. I narrowly missed hitting and Uchiha as I sped out of the front of the compound. I jumped and took to the roofs. When I reached the apartment building, I hit the ground in a roll and then started up the stairs. But I already knew that something was very wrong, because I still couldn't hear Naruto's loud chakra. I barely unlocked the door before I shoved it open and found myself standing in the empty apartment.

"He's not here, then?"

I jumped and glanced over my shoulder to find Itachi standing there with a very tired, disheveled looking Shisui. I swallowed and shook my head. "He's not here."

Shisui dragged his hand down his face and then through his unkept hair. "Great. Okay. Itachi, your sensing is better than mine. I'll take Mirai and we'll look through the training grounds. You take the Village?"

"Got it. Any idea where he might have gone?"

I shook my head. "He told me he and Sasuke had plans to get some others to play Ninja."

Itachi frowned. "Which others?"

"Shino, Shikamaru, and Choji."

"I'll start with them, then." Itachi disappeared.

"Let's go," Shisui said, grabbing my shoulder. He dragged me out of the apartment and closed the door behind us. "You ready?"

I took a long, deep breath and steeled myself. "Yeah."

His grip on me tightened and the world bent. I bit back bile and gasped for air when everything stopped again. He glanced down at me. "You good?"

"Yeah, I—Holy shit," I said, staring. "That reached all the way to the edge of the Village?"

"I've been practicing. Also, you should clean that mouth of yours. Ready?"

He didn't wait for me to respond this time before he shunshined again. This time, we landed at Training Ground 1 and I hit the ground when we stopped, my teeth closing around my tongue. He crouched down beside me and put his hand on the back. "You dying on me?"

I spit out blood and could feel my tongue already healing. "Not yet," I mumbled.

"I don't see him here. Do you feel his chakra?"

I listened for a moment and shook my head. "No, I don't."

"Okay. Let's walk to the next one."

"No, I can—"

"We're walking," he said firmly, gripping me by the back of my shirt and pulling me to my feet. "You just suffered through two long-distance shunshin in the span of thirty seconds. Even Itachi was nauseous after I did that to him the first time."

"Fine." I stumbled for a moment before finding my footing. I set a fast pace to the next training ground.

"I got them."

I stumbled again and looked up at him. "You—" It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about and then I sucked in a breath. "Really?" I rasped.

He nodded sharply once. "I didn't like it, though."

"I did say you wouldn't." I glanced around the next training ground. "He's not here either."

"Alright. He's somewhere around here. Don't worry."

"That's a stupid request," I muttered. "Telling me not to worry is like—" I stopped short, something sizzling on the edge of my senses. I turned towards the familiar heat, in the direction of Training Ground 6. "I think . . . I think that's him."

"Over there? Okay, hold on." Shisui gripped my shoulder. "Try not to vomit."

"No prom—"

He cut off my words as he activated the jutsu. We skidded to a stop at the edge of the grassy training ground. Though my vision wobbled, I focused in on the orange figure laying in the grass. "Naruto!"

He pushed himself up so he was sitting, sweaty and dirt-stained, and then grinned. "Rai!"

I marched forward and framed his face with my hands, turning him this way and that to make sure he wasn't hurt. "What are you doing here? You said you were going to be with Sasuke! I thought something happened to you!"

He flushed in embarrassment and climbed to his feet, gaze flicking to Shisui as he joined us. "Sorry. I just wanted to practice so I could surprise you."

I pulled back. "Practice? Practice what?"

"Oh, oh, oh!" He waved his hands excitedly, motioning us back. "Lemme show you!" He cleared his throat and then brought his hands together in a T. "Kage bunshin!"

In a puff of smoke, another Naruto appeared.

It took me a long moment to figure out what I was looking at. Wide eyed, I gaped at him. "Holy—"

Language!

I snapped my mouth shut and glanced to the side to find that Shisui was just as confused. He glanced at me in confusion. Swallowing, I turned back to Naruto. "How . . . how did you do that? You only saw me do it once."

"Yeah, but." He shrugged. "You did it slow. I saw. And I practiced!" He hesitated and ducked his head, kicking the grass at his feet. "Sorry for lying. I just wanted to surprise you." He glanced at his clone and it grinned, waving at him.

I reached out and poked the clone in the shoulder. His grin widened. "Hiya, Rai!"

I snatched my hand back. "Wow. Nato, this is . . . this is amazing."

Naruto beamed at me proudly. "Thanks!" He waved at his clone and it waved back before vanishing in smoke.

"You didn't teach it to him?" Shisui asked, stepping up next to us.

I looked up and shook my head. "I showed it to him a few weeks ago when I first learned it, but he only saw me do it once."

He whistled. "That's impressive, Naruto-kun. You might even end up a better shinobi than Mirai at this rate." He nudged me and winked.

I grinned proudly up at him. Reaching out, I dragged Naruto into my arms. "You're awesome," I promised him, squeezing him tightly until he giggled and wriggled out of my arms.

"I'll tell Itachi we found him and we can head back to my place for some tea." Shisui dashed through some hand seals, bit his thumb, and touched his hand to the ground. In a puff of smoke, a crow appeared and settled on his outstretched forearm.

"Whoa." I reached for the crow but hesitated, glancing at Shisui. He nodded and I rose on my toes, petting the bird on the head. "Hello."

The crow cocked his head to the side and squawked, "Hello."

I yanked my hand back in surprise and Shisui laughed. "This is Yoru. He's the only one that knows how to talk, though he's been trying to teach the other summons." In a stage whisper, he said, "They're not very smart and haven't really figured it out."

"They're idiots," Yoru agreed in a croaking tone.

"Hmm," Shisui said vaguely. "I need you to find Itachi and tell him we found Naruto. And that we're back at my house."

"Who's we?" Yoru cawed, cocking his head at us.

I smiled up at him. "Uzumaki Mirai. This is my brother, Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you, Yoru."

"We'll see," he said loudly. Then he spread his wings and took off and away into the sky.

"Let's go," Shisui said, waving to us as he turned and started walking. Grinning, Naruto skipped ahead of us. I fell into step beside Shisui.

"So, Yoru seems—"

"Grumpy? Annoying? Like a pest? Well, you're not wrong," he said, grinning down at me.

"Aww, don't be so mean to him. After all, he has to put up with you all the time."

"You have to put up with me all the time," he pointed out.

I grinned. "And why do you think I'm always so angry?"

"For you see, chakra is not an intangible concept like so many civilians or Academy students often think. It is very much—"

"This isn't real."

Fugaku stopped, staring at me. His expression remained blank. "Oh?"

I could understand the doubt in his voice. After all, he was smart and sometimes when we met he didn't even cast a single genjutsu. That way, it was completely up to me to figure out if there was one or not. But I swallowed my nervousness and nodded. "I can't hear the Village."

"Hear it?"

"The chakra. Normally when I'm in this training ground I can feel the hum of the chakra in the Village. But . . . not now."

He nodded succinctly. "This is the first time you've correctly identified a genjutsu. However, you'll need to learn how to pick up on it faster. As well as not relying on familiar things such as the Village's chakra."

I nodded. "Um . . . . How long have I been in it?"

"An hour, now."

I felt my skin cool. "Oh."

"Now end the genjutsu."

I nodded and took a deep breath. I gathered my chakra and pulsed it. The world around me shattered and I found myself back where we'd been about ten minutes into our lesson, walking across the edge of the training ground. My legs hurt from being stuck in the same position for so long.

Fugaku shook his head. "Hmm. It seems that ending genjutsu is not something you have trouble with. Not with that level of chakra. Though . . . I would suggest learning how to finesse it. Pulsing that much chakra could potentially alert every shinobi in a three mile radius to your presence and struggle." He lowered himself into a seiza.

I stretched my legs for a moment before doing the same. "Do all genjutsu keep me from moving while I'm in them? I thought I had read differently."

He shook his head. "No. The genjutsu I have been using on you trick your mind into thinking that you're taking movements and actions that you're not. Other genjutsu allow you to move while in a genjutsu. But that can be dangerous during training." He reached into his kunai pouch and withdrew a scroll. With a snap of his wrist, he unrolled it. He withdrew a pen and began to write. "You need to work on detecting genjutsu. We should try to apply your sensor abilities to improve your detection. Also, dismissing a genjutsu without flaring every drop of chakra you have. Finesse will help, but you should also work on creating and improving your chakra shields."

He finished writing and held the scroll out to me. I took it and glanced across his clean kanji before rolling the scroll up. "Thank you, Fugaku-sensei." I bowed my head. When I looked up, it was just in time to catch the ghost of a smile slipping from his lips.

"We are done for today." He rose to his feet and I hurried to follow, though I made no move towards my things to pack them up. He raised an eyebrow. "You are staying?"

"Shisui is meeting me soon to teach me shunshin," I said.

"Ah. You have an excellent teacher for such a jutsu. I will see you at our next lesson. Or, since your brother and yourself frequent the compound so often, possibly sooner." He turned to go but paused. "I am proud of your progress, Uzumaki. And I am proud that you are my son's friend."

I stared up at him and then felt my cheeks burn. "Ah, well. Sasuke's more Naruto's friend than—"

"I was not talking about Sasuke," he said, voice softening in a way I hadn't heard it soften before. "I am proud that you are my son's friend," he said again. "It is something he needs." And with that said, Fugaku vanished in a shunshin.

Something foreign was curled up tight in my chest and I couldn't shake it loose, no matter how hard I tried. I took a deep, slow breath but the feeling remained.

"Mirai?"

I jumped and whipped around to find Shisui standing a few feet away, looking concerned. "You made it! How long have you been standing there?"

"Just a few seconds. Are you okay?" He stepped forward and then crouched down so he could get a better look at me. My ego took a blow at that—being older than him was hard when technically I was still only six. Shisui tapped my nose. "Hey. Answer me."

"Yeah, I'm okay."

It was obvious by his expression that he didn't believe me, so I amended my statement.

"I'm as okay as I could be expected to be."

He sighed. "Right." Shisui straightened and stretched and I could hear his spine pop. "Let's get started, then. You read the jutsu theory I gave you?"

"Until my eyes bled," I assured him. "Pretty sure I understand the concept through and through now."

"Good. Try it."

"Try— What? Right now?"

"Yep." He crossed his arms. "What, don't think you can do it?"

I huffed. "Fine. Let me try." I gathered chakra and went through the hand signs. Focusing on a spot in the distance, I activated the jutsu.

And I slammed straight into the ground.

Pain shuddered up my spine and I turned over with a groan to find Shisui laughing. I glared at him. "It's not funny."

"It is a little," he said, grinning. "I knew you weren't gonna be able to do it."

"Why'd you tell me to, then?" I whined, stumbling back to my feet.

"Your ego needs to get checked every now and again. C'mere and I'll teach you how to mold your chakra for it."

Hiruzen hadn't touched the shogi board in about a quarter hour, fully content instead to make small talk. My patience was wearing thin and I was about to demand to know what he wanted when he dramatically changed the direction of the conversation.

"Mirai-chan, I'm fully ready to offer you an early graduation at the end of this year if you so desire. You have more than earned it."

I glanced up from the board to stare at him. He took that as a sign to continue speaking.

"You know the academy three, although you learned a variation of bunshin as opposed to the original. Your spars have had above average success. Your knowledge of the shinobi arts, as well as a base civilian knowledge, is on par with that of a genin already. Not to mention that your—"

"No."

He paused and looked me over for a second. "No?"

"No, Hiruzen. I'm not leaving Naruto. Not while he's still in the Academy too."

"Mirai, my dear, I'm not sure you understand the opportunity that you—"

"Are you going to make your move? Or should we just assume I've won?" I asked, gesturing to the board. "I'm not graduating early and that's the end of it."

Hiruzen stared at me. Then he smiled. "Yes, I think we're done for today. I understand you have an appointment with Fugaku and his family?"

"Naruto and I are going there for dinner, yes." I got to my feet and pulled on my jacket.

"How are your studies going?"

I smiled thinly, picking up my bag. "It was nice playing with you, Hiruzen." I turned on my heel and left the room as quickly as I could without looking like I was running away. I made it to the bottom of the stairs and started digging in my bag. I came up with a scroll—tag and all—and stopped by one of the desks. "I'd like to leave a message for Yanagikage Kokage, please," I said, setting the scroll on the desk.

The chunin didn't even look up from his work. He gestured towards his inbox. "Leave it and it'll get delivered."

I tossed the scroll into the inbox. "Thanks!" I turned towards the door and paused. A familiar heat burned the edge of my senses. It too a moment for me to recognize it and then I broke into a grin. I threw open the door and swung to the right. "Shisui! I thought you were on a mission!"

"I was." He pushed up from where he was leaning against the wall. "Got back an hour ago. I was gonna drag you out for dinner, but Tachi-chan mentioned you'll be dining with him and his folks, so I figured I could snatch you up for lunch instead."

"Hmm. I'm a little tired of ramen, and I've been wanting to make some macaroni and cheese." I held my hand out to him. "Take me home and I'll make lunch."

He blinked and then nodded, taking my hand. The world bent, my skin burned, and Shisui's chakra wrapped around me. Then, just as quickly as it had started, it stopped. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. Shisui moved his hand to my shoulder. "You good?"

"Yeah." I collected myself and started up the stairs, digging out my key. "Naruto's already hanging out with Sasuke. I'll be going there later." I unlocked the door and shoved my way into the apartment.

Shisui shut the door behind us. "What's macaroni and cheese?"

I blinked, glancing back. "Oh! I can't make it exactly here like I had it before, but close enough! You'll see." I toed off my shoes and dropped my bag to the ground before pacing into the kitchen. "Was there something you needed to talk to me about?"

"Yes." He ran through some hand seals and I felt his warm chakra wash over the room.

"Security and genjutsu?" I asked curiously.

"Of course." He rested his chin in his hand, leaning on the table. "How do you plan for us to communicate once . . . well, once I'm dead?"

I started filling up a pot of water. "That's . . . ." I sighed. "Kurama and I have worked though several different options, but we just don't know. Me knowing kage bunshin now opens up some possibilities, but I still couldn't get far away from the Village to meet you. And sending Yoru for messages regularly would be too obvious. In case of an emergency, he'd be fine. But . . . ." I strained on my tip toes, sliding the pot of water onto the stove. I dragged over the step stool and turned on the burner.

"We need two things. A way to alert the other to a need to meet, since any set pattern could be suspicions. And we need a place, or places, to meet where we won't be caught."

"If you focus on location, I'll work on the contact half of the problem. Maybe I can figure out a seal that will help."

"Haven't all of your seals exploded?"

I glanced back and pouted at him. "Not for the last nine weeks."

"That's . . . not exactly comforting." He stood and moved to the cabinet, where he retrieved a glass before turning to the fridge. "We'll need several locations. After all, you won't always be in Konoha." He poured himself some milk.

"So . . . some way to indicate which location will be used?" I frowned. "Okay. We can figure that out."

"Fold," Kotetsu muttered, leaning back.

Izumo frowned, squinting suspiciously at the back of my cards. And then he groaned. "Fold. Ibiki?"

Ibiki stared at me for a long time and I tiredly dragged my gaze to his. "Yes?" I asked flatly.

He grunted and crossed his arms. "Fold."

I grinned. "Thanks, all."

"Are we teaching children poker now?"

I looked up, blinking. "Shikaku-san! They're not teaching me anymore. I learned it all a while ago. Now, I'm just winning."

Tekuno sighed. "Alright, alright. Reveal cards."

They began turning over their cards. Good hands—two pair, straight, flush. I grinned and turned over my cards. I had a pair of twos and that was it. "Thanks for the easy win. You need to figure out when I'm bluffing." I raked all the money towards me and started packing it away in my coin pouch. "Did you need something, Shikaku-san?"

"Hmm, just Shikaku." He reached out and picked up my cards, studying them. "Ibiki, I thought your role in T&I meant that you were talented at calling bluffs."

"He is," I assured him, sealing my purse back up in my scroll. "I'm just really good at bluffing."

"Hmm." After a moment, he tossed the cards back on the table. "I actually came here looking for Hayate, but you being here saves me effort." He held out a scroll. "He's your neighbor. Give him this for me. Also, Yoshino wants you to come over for dinner."

I tucked the scroll away in my pocket and considered him. "Dinner?"

"Yes. Sunday night. Shikamaru can give you the details." He yawned. "Excellent. I think I'll go home and take a nap, now."

"And I should probably head out," I said, hopping to my feet. "I'll see everyone next Friday." With a waved, I headed for the stairs. The night air was cool and I decided to stroll home instead of taking to the rooftops. So a good ten minutes later, I was unlocking the apartment and undoing the security seals Shisui had set up. When I got inside, the lights were all off and I could feel the gentle murmuring of Naruto's sleeping chakra. I smiled and locked the door behind me.

Then I stopped.

"Niisan?" I called softly.

My door opened. "Hey, Pup."

I waved to him. "Sit down. Stab wound?"

He moved to the table and sat with a groan, clutching his arm to his chest. "Sprained my wrist, that's all."

"Okay. Lay it out, let me see." I went to the freezer and retrieved the icepack there. His wrist was a little swollen and vaguely purple. I set the icepack over it. "Ice it. In twenty minutes, I'll wrap it for compression." I pulled up a chair and sat down, tapping my fingers on the tabletop. "Hey, Nu-nii?"

He pulled off his hitai-ate and tugged down his mask. "Yeah?"

"Can you tell me about your old team? I want to hear about your teammates."

"Try again."

I nodded. Hand seals, focus, mold the chakra, release, and—

"Oof!" I groaned and pushed myself up, spitting out dirt. "I don't understand what I'm doing wrong."

"It's a difficult jutsu," Shisui assured me, grabbing my arm and hauling me to a sitting position. "It's just going to take a lot of time and practice. Let's take a break." He dropped down beside me.

"Great." I dug out a scroll and unsealed a couple bottles of water. Shisui took one and I opened the other. "Hey, so . . . what if there was something I know that would be important to you but that . . . I'm not sure I can tell you yet. That I think it would be better to tell you later."

He glanced sideways at me. "Some things are better as secrets, some things aren't."

"If you wanted to know," I murmured, "and you asked me to tell you, I would tell you."

He shrugged and took a sip of his water. "I trust your judgment and I trust you. You'll tell me when you think I need to know."

This is going to backfire, Mirai.

I'll handle it when the time comes.

I laid back. "Thanks, Shisui. I trust you, too."

He grinned at me and then dug in his pockets. "Oh, got those locations." He passed a scroll to me. "Numbered, like you asked."

I sat up and nodded, tucking it away. "Did you memorize the locations and numbers?"

"Of course."

"Good." I fished an item out of my pocket and held it up. It was a flat coin with several numbers—one through five—etched into its surface. "It took me a long time to figure out how to do it, but I figured it out. Wear it under your clothes. I have the other one and it matches. When we activate a seal, the corresponding number on the other one burns. Then you activate the seal in response."

He nodded and slipped it over his head, tucking it beneath his shirt. I withdrew my matching one from where it was hidden under my own shirt. I touched the number one and pulsed my chakra.

Shisui jumped. "Wow, that does kinda burn."

"Yeah, sorry," I said, wincing. "I had to make sure we'd notice it."

"It's fine," he said, waving hand. "This is perfect, Mirai. I've never used anything like this before. Maybe you'll actually manage fuuinjutsu after all."

"Hilarious. Encouraging. Where would I be without your constant support?" I hid the coin again. Then I pulled myself to my feet. "Okay, let's do this." I ran through the hand seals and focused on carefully shaping my charka. And then—

I lurched at the end, catching myself before I fell. "Whoa," I breathed. A little unsteady, I turned and stared at where Shisui was across the training ground. "I did it!"

He grinned and in a flash he was standing in front of me. "You got it once, at least. That calls for celebration. Dango?"

"Ooh! Dango!" I agreed eagerly.

"Race you there!"

I reached out and latched onto his arm just in time. He shunshined and came to a stop at the Village gates. "Hey, no fair," he said, shaking me off. "You can't do that."

I held on tightly. "Yes, I can. Take me to the dango, Shisui. I'm hungry."

He rolled his eyes and activated another shunshin. We landed in front of the dango restaurant and he pushed me in ahead of him. We sat down and he waved a server over. After we ordered, he frowned. "Question."

"Yeah?"

"I can't hold a henge forever. I'm good at henge, but even I'm not that good."

"All jutsu can be made into fuuinjutsu format. If I could figure out how to adjust henge like that, then . . . it could just pull a steady stream of chakra to keep it up. Though that seal would have to go directly on skin."

He squinted at me. Then he shrugged. "Figure it out and test it thoroughly before using it on me."

"What? Really?"

"Like I said before. I trust you."