Author's Note: Bonus points to anyone that can figure out why Mirai gives Shisui the code name that she chose.

Fun Fact: One version of the outline for this story had Danzo kidnapping Mirai early on. Yeah, that didn't happen here.

Chapter Thirteen - Appoggiatura

[appoggiatura—noun : Music. a note of embellishment preceding another note and taking a portion of its time]

"So," I said, drawing out the word. I elbowed him roughly.

Shisui glanced down at me before quickly returning to keeping an eye on the two boys that were racing ahead of us. "So . . . what?"

"What, you really expect me to believe that you didn't get me anything?"

"I got you a party. Is that not enough for you?" he asked, grinning. "I didn't get anything for Naruto."

"You surprised him with the fact that Sasuke's sleeping over," I pointed out. "That's kinda a gift."

"Hmm. I guess you're right." With that said, he jogged up the stairs ahead of me.

"Wha— Hey!" Laughing, I raced after him. He grinning back at me and slipped into the apartment after Naruto and Sasuke. "Shisui—"

"Do you have any ice cream?" he asked, opening the freezer.

I rolled my eyes and closed the door. "No. Naruto ate it all for dinner last night."

Naruto smiled widely and leaned over to Sasuke, loudly whispering, "It was really good, though I got a stomach ache."

"I ate a bunch of ice cream once," Sasuke shared, nodding wisely. "Bad choice."

"Right, then," Shisui said, straightening and closing the fridge. "Ooh, melonpan."

I shook my head at him and turned to the boys. "Why don't you two go ahead and get set up in Nato's room, okay? We should all head to bed soon so that we're not late in the morning."

The two instantly began falling over each other in their rush to be the first to the room. I laughed, watching them as they disappeared inside and the door slammed loudly.

"Hey." Something bumped against my elbow. "Here."

I blinked and glanced to the side to find Shisui holding out a relatively large, wrapped, cylindrical gift. "Oh. You actually did get me something."

"Of course." He kept tapping it against my arm. "Just thought it would be best if you didn't open it around a bunch of people. Go ahead."

I took it from him. "What, did you get me something dangerous?"

"Not exactly. Um . . . ." He scratched the back of his neck. "I had a mission tracking a missing-nin from Iwa and followed him to Uzushiogakure. I, uh, found something while I was there. The Hokage and I agreed that it's rightfully yours, considering, well . . . ."

"A little ominous," I mused, tearing the wrapping away to expose a large scroll. I frowned. "I don't get it."

"It's a summoning contract. If you don't want to sign this one, that's fine. There might be a chance to sign others in the future."

I stepped up to the table and climbed onto the chair. Then I rolled the scroll open. It had a few names on it—all Uzumaki—and at the top sat a kanji. I raised an eyebrow. "Lizard? Just . . . lizards in general?"

"Best as I can tell. This one," —he reached out and tapped the last name on the contract— "Uzumaki Kiyoyasu. Pretty famous shinobi, but he died about fifty years ago. So looks like these summons have been left alone for quite a while."

"And you think they'll want a new summoner?"

He shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

I nodded and looked down at the contract. Then I rolled it back up. "Probably best if the boys don't walk in on this," I said, picking it up and hopping down from the chair. I moved to my room and Shisui followed. "What was it like? Uzushiogakure?" I asked, closing the door.

He hesitated, crouching down next to met as I unrolled the scroll again. "A lot of it was in ruins, but there was more left standing than you would think. I only managed to make it in because my sharingan caught a lot of the traps your ancestors left behind. My opponent wasn't so lucky." He cleared his throat. "So Uzushiogakure is mostly untouched. No one can really get past all the defenses set up still, especially since they seem to . . . regenerate."

"Regenerate?" I looked up, straightening. "Because of seal work? I've read that the Uzumaki were known for being able to set physical traps that would reset via seal, but no one's been able to recreate it."

He shrugged. "You'll have to go there yourself sometime."

"Yeah . . . . I guess so." I withdrew a kunai and refocused on the scroll. I sliced open the meat of my thumb on my left hand and dipped my right index finger in the blood that started seeping out. I could feel the heat of chakra building up in my wrist as Kurama kept his own energy away. Then I wrote my name on the contract, just beside Kiyoyasu's. With that done, I tapped all the fingertips of my right hand in the blood and pressed them down on the contract underneath my name. "Alright, Kurama," I mumbled. I immediately felt the heat in my wrist release and the cut on my hand start to close. "Thanks." I started scrubbing off the blood on my hands with my shirt. I looked up at Shisui. "Do I try, now?"

"Do you know the seals?"

I nodded.

"Alright. Go ahead." He rolled the scroll back up and set it aside before taking a step back. "But be careful."

I took a deep breath and brought my hands into the first seal. I moved slowly, focusing on drawing up the right amount of chakra according to everything I'd read. After all, it wouldn't do to summon a giant lizard in the apartment. I finished the last seal, bit my thumb, and then pressed my hand against the floor. "Kuchiyose no jutsu."

Ink spread briefly across the floor, followed by a puff of smoke shadowing a figure. When the smoke cleared, it left behind a large lizard. He swung his head from side to side, studying Shisui and then me in turn. His split tongue flicked momentarily out of his mouth and it took me a moment to remember where I'd seen a lizard like that before: at a museum back Before. It was a komodo dragon, no doubt about it.

He took a step towards me. "You are the summoner?" he asked, voice rumbling deep.

It took Shisui clearing his throat for me to reorient. I folded my hands and bowed my head. "I am, if that is acceptable. My name is Uzumaki Mirai."

"We have not had a summoner for many years. But . . . the others will be pleased that we have stayed within the remainders of the Uzumaki Clan. We feared we would not see another of our red friends again. My name is Tokage. I am honored to have contract with you."

"Damn," Shisui muttered. "Are all of you that polite?"

Tokage turned his head to face Shisui. "No. Some, not all."

I cleared my throat. "Tokage, this is Uchiha Shisui. Um, I suppose that if this contract is accepted, then there's some things that need to be known. Do I, do I need to meet with everyone individually or could you pass the message along?"

"I'm afraid meeting with everyone would be incredibly time consuming. It would be my pleasure to pass along the message."

"Right. Okay." I lowered myself to the floor. "Let's start at the beginning, then."

There were two boxes waiting for us on the kitchen table when we awoke, Naruto's name on one of them and mine on the other. Naruto hopped up and picked up the card sitting on the table top. "Oh, it's from Ojisan! For our birthday!" With that said, he immediately tore into his gift.

The pygmy chameleon on my shoulder curiously asked, "This is Naruto-kun?"

Naruto snapped up in surprise at the voice and narrowed in on the lizard. "Uh . . . . Rai?"

"Shisui got me a lizard summoning contract," I explained succinctly. "And my new summons and I decided it would be best for us to learn how to get along and understand each other as soon as possible, so for today Chisai is hanging out with me. Chisai, this is Naruto. Naruto, Chisai."

Chisai nodded her head. "Well, you're just adorable."

Naruto beamed. "Thanks! You're tiny!" And just like that, he returned to his box. "Whoa, Rai, look! Special ramen and ingredients! And some training gear, too."

"He likes ramen?" Chisai asked.

I chuckled as I moved to open my own gift. "You have no idea." I opened the flaps. "Next level fuuinjutsu textbooks," I murmured. "Anko is certainly keeping him updated." Under the book, I found a beginner poison kit, with a note telling me to seek out Raidou for help. Grinning, I shut the box and lifted it from the table. "Alright. We should eat and head out, then."

As I put the box in my room, I heard Naruto call, "Can I make ramen?"

"Sure! Is Sasuke-kun in the shower?" I asked, listening to the running water.

"Yeah. Said he had to put stuff in his hair or whatever." Naruto shrugged, already heating up water.

I knocked on the bathroom door. "Hurry up, Sasuke! We've gotta eat and then go to the Academy!"

"Okay!" he called.

I returned to the kitchen. "Chisai, would you like anything?" I asked, opening the fridge.

"Ooh, that spinach looks juicy," she said excitedly. "I wouldn't say no to that."

Ugh. Rabbit food, Kurama growled.

I just smiled and got out the spinach. As I set a small handful on the table, Chisai climbed down my arm to sit in front of the greens. By the time Sasuke joined us, Naruto was putting the bowls of ramen on the table.

"Uh, who's that?" Sasuke asked, pointing at the chameleon.

"Chisai," she said simply before returning to munching on her food.

"Shisui got me a summoning contact. Ramen?" I pushed a bowl towards him and gave him a pair of chopsticks. Then I settled in with my own bowl.

"Hey, Mirai, are you training with my Tousan again today?"

"Hmm? Yes, I should be. Why?"

"Um . . . . Is he okay? You think? He's been acting weird. Kaasan too."

I frowned and briefly exchanged a look with Chisai. Then I shook my head. "I can ask him. If that would make you feel better."

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Of course."

After that, the three of us made quick work of breakfast and Chisai climbed back onto my shoulder before we headed off to school. I won the race easily, but both boys insisted it didn't count before devolving into an argument about which on of them had been faster.

"You . . . have a reptile," Shikamaru said flatly when I took my seat.

"Yep. Maru, meet Chisai. Chisai, this is Nara Shikamaru."

"Pleasure," she said sweetly. "Mirai is our new summoner."

"Of . . . course she is," he said, narrowing his gaze. "Where'd you get the contract?"

"Shisui brought it from Uzushiogakure."

"The Yondaime summoned toads."

I considered that. "Yes. Yes, he did. But I think it would be only right to let Naruto take that. I'm more than happy with taking after my mother's side of the family."

He huffed at that before settled down for a nap. "Right," he mumbled. "Okay, then."

"Sasuke is worried about you," I said, abruptly interrupting his poetic waxing about the art of kenjutsu.

"Oh? How so?"

"He says you've been acting strange."

"Are you in a genjutsu?" he asked, not-so-subtly redirecting the conversation.

"No," I said confidently. I saw the approval—and was that pride?—flicker across his face. I frowned and crossed my arms. "Does he have reason to be worried, Fugaku-sensei?"

"Hmm." He tilted his head back to study the sky. "Don't we all, Mirai?"

"Sasuke-kun shouldn't."

"Perhaps. I . . . have been teaching him a jutsu. That would be out of character, I presume. Maybe that is the cause for his concern."

I smiled sadly. "Maybe. I— Maybe. I didn't realize you had such a passion for kenjutsu."

"Mmm, yes. My father was an expert and took great pride in passing on his skills." He abruptly turned, changing the course we were walking and redirecting me with a hand on my shoulder. "You should come for tea."

"Now?"

"Mikoto typically prepares some around this time. Will you join us?"

"Of course."

"A bit of tea would be delightful," Chisai murmured from where she was riding atop my head. "Could we go faster, Mirai?"

The hand Fugaku had on my shoulder tightened and then the wind roared around me. A few shunshin later, we were in front of the gate. He nodded to the guards and they straightened. "Fugaku-sama."

"Hana," Fugaku said politely. I frowned, studying the Inuzuka, and he clearly saw my expression. "Mirai, this is Inuzuka Hana. She was a genin teammate of Itachi's. Hana, this is Uzumaki Mirai."

Hana eyed me for a long moment, absently petting one of the dogs at her side. Then she grinned. "Pleasure. My brother's in your class, so I've heard about," —she gestured to me— "you."

"Ah. Kiba, right?" At her curious look, I shrugged. "He's the only Inuzuka in my class. I don't know him very well, though."

"That's probably best," she said, shrugging. "He can be a little much."

I nodded and glanced to the side at Fugaku only to discover that he was already walking on ahead. With a nervous smile to Hana, I hurried to catch up with him. He was silent during the rest of the walk to the house and led the way inside. "Mikoto, I've brought a guest."

I slipped off my shoes and followed him farther into the house, to a room where Mikoto was setting out the tea set. She looked up and smiled. "Mirai-chan. I'm glad you could join us." Then she glanced at Fugaku. "Itachi took the boys with him when he went to train. I'm not sure when they'll be back." She sat seiza and waved for us to join her.

I knelt in front of the low table and murmured my thanks as she poured my tea. I lifted Chisai down from my head and let her step onto the table. Mikoto smiled and, without question, moved a saucer and poured some tea into it. "How has your training been, Mirai-chan?"

"Good. I feel like I've had a lot of improvement."

"You have," Fugaku murmured, lifting his own cup. "I have been impressed. I believe you would also benefit from studying some medical knowledge under Mikoto."

I blinked, straightening. "Oh, she doesn't have to do that."

"I'd be happy to," Mikoto said, smiling. "I have only a mild knowledge of medical ninjutsu, but since your chakra pool is so large, I doubt that's something you would learn anyway. Most of my training is in the much more physical realm." She set down her tea and got to her feet. "I have some books that would be good for you."

She left the room and returned shortly with a handful of books. She opened the first one on the table and, without preamble, launched directly into a lecture of basic anatomy. We'd long since finished our tea and Fugaku had retreated to a different part of the house when I felt Naruto's familiar chakra approaching. I straightened and Mikoto paused. When she heard the door open, she smiled and closed the book. "Well, I suppose we can pick up another time. It would be best for you to take these with you."

I gave her my thanks as I sealed the books away. Just as I finished, the door was flung aside. "Rai! Rai! Itachi helped me with my shuriken!"

I climbed to my feet and guided Naruto out into the hallway, where the others were. "Is that so?"

Itachi nodded. "He's quite talented. Skill seems to run in the family. From what I've seen, his aim is advanced for his age."

"It's getting late," Mikoto murmured, brushing past me. "I need to start dinner."

"Already taken care of," Fugaku said, standing at the entryway to the kitchen. "Wash up, boys."

"We shouldn't impose any longer," I murmured. "Thank you for your hospitality," I said, bowing my head. I took ahold of Naruto's elbow and steered him towards the door. After I got my shoes back on, we left the house. "How was your day, Nato?"

"Awesome. Though . . . Itachi is tired and it's making Teme grumpy. And he's not fun when he's grumpy."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." He shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Can we get ramen?"

I smiled. "Of course we can."

"Were you followed?" were the first words out of his mouth, in English of all things.

"No." I finished laying out my supplies and looked up. "You?" I asked, continuing the conversation in my old language. He responded in kind.

"No. Did you have trouble getting here unseen?"

"Me? As if. Sit down and shirt off. You're going to have to hold the henge you want while I put this on. Then the seal will only be good for that one appearance. The chakra drain will be minimal, small, but constant. My chakra will be all that can remove the seal, but your own chakra can activate and deactivate it."

He nodded and sat in front of me, back to me, and stripped off his shirt. "Got it. You mentioned you had names?"

"Code names," I said, nodding even though he couldn't see me. "I'll be Kira. Never refer to me as he or she or anything more. I need to be more of . . . an anonymous entity than anything else. Play up that fear. And you? You'll be Kaito."

He snorted dryly. "Clever." Then his chakra faintly flushed hot against my system as his henge took hold. A gold tan dusted over his pale skin, his hair faded to a dirty blonde, and—when he looked back at me so I could see—his nose thinned and hooked and his eyes shifted brown. "Good?"

"It works. Alright, this might take a little bit. I don't want to make any mistakes." With that said, I bent over him and dipped my brush into ink. When I first touched it to his skin, he shivered until I muttered for him to stay still. Then he stayed silent and let me work. The seal curled across his shoulder blades, down his spine, and up his neck. When I finished, I blew on the last kanji to dry it and he shivered again.

"Is it done?"

"Hold on." I pressed my palm against the center vector. "Fuuin."

At a flash of my chakra, the ink began to writhe and then began to shrink to the spot under my hand. He hissed and I tensed. "Shisui?"

"Just feels weird," he assured me, voice thin. "I'm alive."

I nodded and felt the seal settle. I pulled my hand back and studied the kanji for Kaito now written against his skin. "All done. Deactivate it and see if you can bring the henge back with the seal."

His henge dropped away and then, a moment later, came back. "Works like a charm." He slipped his shirt back on and turned to me with a grin. "You actually managed it."

"Don't sound so surprised," I said with a smirk, cleaning off my brushes and storing them away.

"Do you have a seal, then? And a name for when you run with me as . . . Not-Kira?"

I nodded. "Got it put on this morning. It took extra long to shape it as an Uzu spiral, just in case someone saw it. But it's my right hip, and that isn't typically seen by people." I reached for the seal with my chakra and felt the odd feeling of a henge without signs. "I chose the name Hitomi." I tugged on my black hair. "Took a bit of my inspiration from your normal look."

He grinned for a moment, but then that immediately faded. "And that second seal?"

I swallowed thickly and nodded, reaching into my bag. I held out the henge tag. "It'll hold whatever form you take without you having to concentrate, and it should be easy to be unnoticed if someone is . . . distracted. But in testing, it only lasted an hour at most, forty minutes at minimum, before the chakra store in it ran out. You have a small time window."

"Got it." He plucked the tag from me. "I'll manage. And when that . . . time comes, I'll do six bursts on the coin to let you know."

"And you've got the eyes?"

Another nod, this one reluctant. "Yeah," he mumbled. "Still felt weird to rob my father's grave." He stored the tag away and then dragged a hand down his face. "He'd probably understand, though." Shisui cleared his throat. "Details?"

I held out three scrolls—one banded red, one blue, and one brown. "Our cloudy friends, Mizu, and Suna respectively. Take your time with them. I'll be making more of those henge tags and I'll try to lengthen the retainer time. Hopefully they'll be in the first supplies drop." I nodded to the scrolls when he took them. "The information there is dangerous. It's a language mix, and we don't want someone code cracking on us. Protect them."

"With my life," he assured me, storing them away. He grinned. "What would you do without me?"

I shrugged. "Annoy someone else, I guess." Then I jerked my thumb towards the entrance. "You first. We have to return to the Village separately. Besides, I have a training appointment with Genma to get to."

He gave me a mock salute and disappeared. I waited a few minutes before shunshining out of the area and then twice more in succession. After a moment to breathe, five more shunshin brought me to the edge of the agreed upon training ground. I steadied myself and then waved. "Konichiwa, Genma-nii!"

He looked back and raised an eyebrow. "Your shields have improved, Pumpkin. I didn't even realize you'd made it."

I moved to stand next to him. "Fugaku-sensei won't do a lesson with me if I let my levels slip above civilian. I messed up last week and he left in the middle of teaching me."

"Sounds like him," Genma said, plucking the senbon out of his mouth and spinning it between his fingers. "There's a reason he's never become a genin sensei. Anyway, you ready? Today we're focusing on grip and wrist."

"We're not meeting this week, right?" Hinata asked, pushing her fingers together nervously.

Shikamaru groaned. "We better not be. Otherwise, kami kill me. The week between school years is supposed to be for rest. You hear that, Mirai? Rest."

I laughed and reached out to shove him playfully. "Don't worry, Maru. We won't be meeting. You can relax."

He sighed in relief and relaxed so much that he ended up lying on the ground. Choji looked down and nudged him with his foot, garnering a grunt. The Akimichi chuckled. "Come on, Shikamaru. We should go. You're eating at my place, remember?"

Shikamaru groaned loudly and grabbed Choji's hand, using it to haul himself to his feet. As the two walked away, Shikamaru was leaning heavily on his friend and complaining about the long walk.

"I should go, too," Hinata murmured. Then she leaned towards my shoulder and, beaming, said, "It was nice meeting you, Chisai-san."

"A pleasure to meet you too, Hinata-chan! You're adorable!"

Hinata flushed at that and pulled back while I giggled. She threw me a smile and offered the others a wave before heading off. Naruto paused his conversation with Sasuke and Shino to look at me. "Do you have training today, Rai?"

"Hmm? Not officially, since Fugaku-sensei is on mission. What are you wanting to do?"

"I wanna see if Itachi will teach me more shuriken!"

"He is supposed to be home today," Sasuke mused. "Shino? You want to come?"

The Aburame considered it for a long moment before simply conceding with a nod. I grinned. "I'll race you to the compound!" With that said, I shunshined ahead. One more shunshin brought me to the rough edge of my ability to hear Naruto's chakra, so I slowed to a walk.

"Why haven't you graduated?" Chisai asked, tail grazing against my neck.

I yawned and stretched, considering the question. Then I shrugged and felt her shift at the action. "Makes sense for me not to. That would be too much attention."

"I see. You should visit the Canyon at one point. We would love to help our summoner improve her skills."

"I'd love to, though we need to make sure that the Village wouldn't freak out over one of their jinchuuriki disappearing." I felt Naruto's chakra close enough now and shunshined again. I slid to a stop in front of the Uchiha Compound. Or rather, slid into someone that was leaving the Compound.

A hand curled around my upper arm to keep me in place and I stumbled in an attempt to find my footing. But there was something vaguely familiar about that quiet, cool chakra. I looked up and grinned. "Itachi! Just the person we were coming to see!"

He raised one eyebrow. "We?"

"Mmm. Me, Nato, Shino, and Sasuke. What are you doing right now?"

Itachi released me. "I was on my way to train. Are the boys wanting me to help them with their shuriken again?"

"If you have time. If you don't want us to interrupt your training—"

"No." He shook his head and when he looked at me there was something distinctly broken in his eyes. "I would enjoy your company, Mirai-chan."

I frowned and took that moment to study him. And then I smiled and took his hand. "Got it. Afterwards, we can go to Yukimura's tea house. That will help you destress."

"Thank you," he murmured. "We can ask Uruchi-san to let the boys know where we've gone," he said, gesturing to the food stand at the entrance. "So we don't have to wait."

I hesitated. "I—"

"They'll be fine," he said firmly. "Even if you can't hear them, they'll be fine."

"Okay," I conceded, though there was a nervous itch in my chakra now. It seemed Chisai could feel it, because she curled her tail into my collarbone comfortingly. I followed Itachi over and listened as he briefly spoke with Uruchi. As we turned, I said, "Are we going to shunshin?"

"No. I find it's helpful to keep energy saved for training. How much shuriken and kunai training have you had?"

"I got a training set when I was five. I've been practicing ever since. I've been helped occasionally, but Iruka-sensei is the first one to officially train me. He says I'm good."

"Do you have sets with you now?"

"Of course. Always." I fell into step beside him and swung our hands as we walked. "Tachi-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"If I asked you what was wrong, would you tell me?"

I watched the way his jaw tightened before he forced himself to relax. "Some things," he said slowly, "are not meant to be shared."

"Some things," I agreed. "But some things are better when you know the right people to share them with."

"Perhaps." He nodded to the guards as we passed through the gate. "But some things are safer if not shared, even if I want to."

"I'm sorry." I leaned into him. "I could probably find out from Shisui, if I wanted."

"Shisui wouldn't tell you."

I glanced up at him. "Shisui tells me everything." Then I shrugged and redirected the conversation. "Your mom is teaching me medical things."

"I heard. My parents are very proud of you."

"They're proud of you too, you know. Your father talks about you sometimes during our training sessions. He really does love you."

"Are you trying to tell me something, Mirai?"

I smiled at him. "Always. You know me, Tachi-chan. I have an agenda behind everything I say. Is this it?" I finally released him and skipped towards the training ground we were approaching. I flipped out a scroll and unsealed my kunai and shuriken. "Alright. Teach me."

I tumbled out of bed, biting back a scream until I tasted blood. "No, no, no, no."

Get ahold of yourself!

I tried to catch my breath, but it somehow managed to evade me. Even the steady feeling of Naruto's chakra across the hall didn't help. With a cry, I rubbed my eyes. "No, please, just—"

Uzumaki!

I scrambled for the window and threw it open, crawling out. I locked it behind me and then activated a shunshin. When I stumbled to a stop, my feet cut against the rocks on the ground. I activated another shunshin and found myself tripping through the compound gates. The guards glanced at me but didn't stop me.

I hugged my arms around myself, painfully aware that I hadn't changed and was only wearing my sweat pants and a too-large shirt. I kept my head down as I shuffled down the streets. When I found myself in front of his door, I stopped.

"What am I doing?" I muttered, shivering in the cool air and straining to focus on the hot chakra hidden away in front of me.

Being an idiot. Nothing new, really.

"I'm gonna go home." I turned. "This was stupid."

The door opened. "Mirai?" came the sleepy voice.

I whipped around. "How—" I frowned. "How did I even wake you up? I didn't knock or anything."

He shrugged. "I'm a light sleeper. Plus, I recognized your charka. It's really loud right now. And, uh, flaring. Probably only alerted me 'cause I know it so well." He dragged a hand down his tired face and glanced up at the sky. "Why the hell are you here at this time? You left Naruto?"

"I, I, uh. Just go back to bed." I shoved my hands in my pockets to try to stop the way they were shaking. "Sorry to wake you."

He frowned at me. "You look like death. Come inside."

I hesitated, eying the exhaustion in his expression. "Shisui—"

He was in front of me in a blink and his hand closed around my arm. "C'mon. You have to tell me what's going on." With that said, he dragged me inside. He closed the door. "What is it?"

I let him release my hand, but then I just turned my wrist so I could curl my fingers in his shirt sleeve. "Just had to make sure you were still alive," I whispered. "Bad dream."

His expression immediately softened and he pulled me tightly into his arms. "Hey, I'm alive."

"Thought you drowned."

He flinched around me. "Nah. Can't get rid of me that easy. You're stuck with me, remember?"

"Good," I mumbled. "Can I stay here tonight? I just . . . need to make sure I remember you're still here."

"'Course. Here." He drew back and pulled me down the hallway. Then he kicked open a a door. "You can stay in here, okay?"

I peered into the room, frowning at the layer of dust coating everything. And then it clicked. "Obito's room?" I asked hesitantly. I looked up at him to see him nodding. "Thank you."

He pointed at the wall. "I'm on the other side there. I'll keep my chakra shields down for you, alright?"

"Right. Thanks." I squinted up at his exhausted face. "Get some sleep. I'm sorry."

He just rolled his eyes at me and saluted playfully before backing out of the room and closing the door behind him. I closed my eyes, listening to his loud chakra as he stopped holding it back. I didn't even bother moving for the bed, instead sinking to the floor with my back braced against the door.

I reached my hand around my coin and carefully pulsed each seal in succession. Are you okay? I waited with bated breath.

There was a pause. Then all five seals burned against my hand at once. I'm okay. I smiled in relief.

And then I closed my eyes to the sound of Shisui's chakra assuring me that he was alive.

Shisui and Itachi were waiting for us when the Academy let out. I grinned and bounded over to them. "I thought you were on a mission!"

"I was," Shisui said. "Tachi-chan said he'll take the boys and entertain them while I work on some jutsu with you."

I glanced at the boys as they called out their goodbyes before following Itachi away. Then I tucked my hands in my pockets and smiled upward at Shisui. "What jutsu?"

"Uzumaki-san."

The voice pulled my attention around and I turned. "Gargoyle," I said, grinning. "What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if I could speak with you."

I hesitated and glanced up at Shisui. He shrugged and motioned me on. "I'll catch up with you later."

"Promise?"

"Course." He turned on his heel. "Itachi, wait up!"

I turned back to Neji. "Where would you like to go?"

"I'd like our talk to be private."

"My place, then. Tea?" I held up my hand.

He stared down at said hand in confusion for a long moment. Neji cautiously reached for me and I hooked my hand around his elbow. I steered him from the Academy yard. "How was your class today?"

"Fine."

"Hmm. Informative. How have things been outside of the Academy?" I watched the way he twitched a bit at my question.

Neji cleared his throat. "I, uh, I had tea with Hinata-sama."

"Oh? How was that?"

"Fine."

"You know, Gargoyle, someday I'll get more words out of you. Just watch me."

"You can try."

I smirked a little and glanced at him. "Why, is that a challenge? I accept." I dug my keys out of my pocket and tugged him up the stairs. "Tea preference?" I asked, unlocking the door.

"Sencha."

"Ah. Well, I'll make sure to have some of that in the future. Is matcha okay for now?" When he nodded, I pushed into the apartment. "Go ahead and take a seat."

Around the table, my clones looked up. "Oh, hey, chief," San said, straightening with a grin. "Didn't know we were expecting a visitor."

"Surprise," I said flatly. "I'll deal with you guys later." I snapped my fingers and the three of them vanished. I moved forward and started gathering up their notes and scrolls and books.

"Um . . . . Were those clones?" Neji asked curiously. "Solid clones?"

"They were." I sealed everything away into a storage scroll and then tucked it away into my pocket. "Take a seat," I said again. "I'll start the tea. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I, uh." He pulled out a chair, sat down, and cleared his throat. "I have questions of a vaguely existential nature and you're the only one I can trust to give me honest answers."

"I win."

I huffed and started resetting the board. "That's nine to eleven. You're catching up."

"You're slowing down," he noted, leaning back on the grass and folding his arms behind his head.

"Hey." I flicked a piece at him and it bounced off his forehead. "Help me, lazy bones."

"No," he whined. "You can't make me."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Maru-chan." I reached out and smacked his feet. "Sit up. Either you help me set the next game up or we go to your place and ask your mom to help us study poisons."

Grumbling, Shikamaru sat up and started setting his pieces back on the board. "I don't know why we're friends," he muttered. "You're always so mean to me. Besides, I'm pretty sure you're still cheating. I just don't know how."

"I cheat in a lot of cases, but I don't need to with shogi."

"Hey, guys," Choji said, interrupting us. "I brought daifuku for everyone today." He held out the bento box. "Would you like some?"

I lit up and quickly wept the pieces off the board and scrambled to put them away. "Do I ever!"

"Hey!" Shikamaru pouted. "I was gonna end your lead!"

"Well, I'll give you another day or two to practice," I said, giving him a grin as I sealed the board away. Then I took some of the dessert Choji was offering. "Arigato, Choji-kun. These look amazing." I bit into one and moaned. "They taste amazing too."

"Red!"

I glanced up, pausing. I blinked. "Anko-sensei?" I asked curiously. "Uh, what are you doing here?" I frowned. "It's not even a fuuinjutsu day today."

She shrugged and leaned down, plucking a daifuku from my hand. "Yummy," she mumbled. "I'm heading out on a mission this evening, so I won't be here for your lessons this week. Hokage-sama said I could steal you from your class and drag you out to study a bit before you meet up with old grumpy pants."

"And by that . . . you mean Fugaku-sensei?"

She grinned. "Exactly! Ready?"

I glanced at my lunch companions and nodded. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. Let Nato know where I've gone?"

"I can't believe you're running away from losing like that," Shikamaru muttered.

Shino shook his head. "I'll let him know."

I beamed at him and climbed to my feet, snatching up my backpack. "Thanks, Shino-kun! Ready to go, then." I latched on to Anko's arm.

"Hold on!" Then she activated a shunshin that landed us a good ways down the street. Then she slowed to a walk, munching on her stolen dessert. "So today, I'm gonna give you a seal you've never seen before and I want you to do three things. One, identify its purpose. Two, break it down into its base parts. And three, improve it. We'll work on it today and I want it finished by the time I'm back next week, got it?"

I frowned. "Got it." I held out a hand.

Anko handed me the scroll and guided me into the dango café, where she immediately flagged down a server and gave our usual order for one of everything. I sat down and unrolled the scroll. As I glanced across it, I reached into my backpack and retrieved a pen and a notebook. I started by dissecting it, breaking up the quadrants and sketching their parts in my notebook. Anko watched, grinning around her dango.

After a little while, I scratched out the final quadrant and frowned, glancing across the page. "This is . . . a perimeter alert seal. At least, part of the system. You'd need at least two more to form the perimeter itself." I tapped my pen on the table and then pointed at the third quadrant, at the base support seal there. "This is the link between it and the other seals. The code here is what keeps them connected. Right?"

"Right. See, I knew you'd get it quick." She held out some dango and waited for me to take it. "Alright, how is the alert system itself set up?"

"That's primarily through the first and fourth quadrants, isn't it?"

"Uzumaki!"

I snapped back to attention. "Sorry, I— I'm sorry."

Fugaku raised an eyebrow. "You're distracted today."

"I'm not in a genjutsu," I offered up, hoping that would pacify him.

"No, you're not," he said easily, though he still looked unimpressed. "But you're also not paying attention."

I sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to work through a project Anko-sensei gave me earlier."

He frowned. "A good shinobi puts time and thought into things, but a good shinobi also knows how to prioritize. Would you like to end our session today?"

"No! No, I'm sorry." I straightened, adjusting my seiza. "I'll focus."

"Good. We're going to work on escaping more complex genjutsu. A simple flair of chakra won't break all illusions, not even chakra like yours. Are you ready?"

"Hai." I met his gaze evenly, even as his sharingan bled into existence.

"Remember to breathe," he murmured.

And then he was gone. I blinked, listening to the feathering of chakra around my senses. After a moment of hesitation, I rose to my feet.

"Every genjutsu can be broken with enough chakra expended harshly or sharply enough."

I tensed at his voice, but even as I spun around I couldn't find its source. I forced a deep breath and listened.

"But the limit needed is not always known or easy to achieve, if able to be achieved at all by the trapped individual. In order to achieve that level of strength in the illusion, the genjutsu master has to layer complexity within the technique. The more precisely created a genjutsu is, the harder it is to break. In order to break such a genjutsu, a weakness must either be exploited or made."

"Made?"

He didn't answer. Instead, the ground in front of me exploded and fire roared up towards the sky. Heat burned against my skin and I stumbled back before catching myself, reminding myself that it was just an illusion.

"An illusion fools your brain. Your brain treats a genjutsu like reality and, when faced with too much pain, with enter shock and, with that, potentially unconsciousness."

"Right." I took a deep breath and glanced behind me. The flames were closing in a circle, but there was still room. I activated a shunshin and dashed through the opening. I landed with a stumble. "Weakness, weakness, weakness," I murmured.

Every genjutsu has a goal. That was something Fugaku had said over and over again. This one? It had to keep me trapped. That was the goal, keeping me locked up as a test. Keeping me inside my head.

Distantly, I heard Ibiki teaching me poker and telling me about how it's never about the challenge, it's about the challenger.

It was never about the genjutsu; it was about the person casting it. If I wanted to force a weakness, I had to keep in mind who I was messing with. With that in mind, I stepped forward and focused on the chakra all around me. And then I thrust my hand into the fire. Pain screamed up my hand, flesh sizzling, and I bit down to keep my voice inside.

The chakra directly in front of me flinched in surprise and I capitalized on that opportunity, closing my hand in a fist and punching my chakra at the small give.

Harsh air shot into my lungs and I fell backward against the ground. The sky above me spun for a moment. Though the pain was gone, the phantom was still there. I took a shuddering breath and focused on the calm chakra in front of me.

"How do you feel?"

"Fine," I croaked out. "I'll live."

A hand closed firmly around my shoulder and hauled me up to my feet. I clutched at the arm for support, knees wobbling. "Um . . . how'd I do?" I peered up at him.

Fugaku gave me a thin smile. "Adequately. Though I wouldn't suggest using that method on a true enemy. I doubt they would care much for your mental welfare."

"Noted." Holding on to him with one hand so I didn't fall, I wrapped an arm around my middle. "I— Your genjutsu have never left me feeling like this before," I rasped.

"Previously, the idea was for you to identify the illusion. I made it easier for you to leave. What you're feeling now is similar, though smaller, to what a person would feel after escaping an enemy genjutsu." He helped me down onto my knees and then produced a bottle of water from nowhere. "The nausea will wear off," he assured me.

"Thank you." My hands shook, but I managed to sip at the water. "Now I can see why genjutsu masters are feared so much."

"Of course. When you can stand, we'll head back to the Village. Mikoto is out on a mission, but I think I could manage a cup of tea that will do you some good."

I steadied my hands on my knees and took a series of long, deep breaths. After taking another sip of water, I rose unsteadily to my feet. "Thank you. Though . . . I'd prefer walking to a shunshin at the moment."

"Of course." He put a hand on my shoulder to steady me and steer me from the training ground. "Make sure to take deep breaths. That will help."

I focused on that, closing my eyes to stave off the light-induced nausea and trusting him not to let me run into anything. I felt the chakra around me grow closer and noises got louder. When I opened my eyes, we were approaching the gates. "Fugaku-sensei," I murmured.

"Hmm?" He drew his hand back and looked down at me. "Yes?"

"Sasuke-kun has been having a touch of difficulty with taijutsu. His attacks are fine, but he struggles with the blocking. I thought maybe you could help him with that." I smiled. "I'm sure he'd appreciate the time with you."

He thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "I will consider it. I do believe I'll have time later this week. Here we are." He slid open the door to the main house and stepped out of his shoes.

I followed suit and then paced after him to the kitchen. I stopped in the doorway. "Ohayo, Tachi-chan."

He glanced back and smiled mildly. "Tousan, Mirai-chan. I'm just finishing up some tea. Would you like some?"

"That would be best," Fugaku said, sitting at the table. "Uzumaki-san is still feeling nauseous from breaking out of the genjutsu."

Itachi's gaze flicked to me and there was something sharp and curious there. "Of course."

"Okay, stop, stop, stop." Shisui caught my arm, halting me in my tracks. "You swing like that and you're just as likely to break your wrist as you are your opponent. Don't lock it like that." He moved his fingers against my wrist until I adjusted my grip accordingly. "That's better."

I frowned and returned to my original stance, eying the dummy in front of me. "Again?"

"Go for it."

I moved and brought my bo staff down on the dummy's shoulder with a crack. I stilled like that, letting Shisui study my stance. He shook his head. "You need better follow through. And this," —he poked at my tense shoulders— "is going to keep you from doing that, as well as make you feel the worst of the backlash from the strike. Relax and try again."

I took a deep breath and did as he said, resetting. I lunged forward and struck again. Shisui nudged at my shoulder again. "Better." He glanced up at the sky. "A couple more tries and then we'll call it for the day. It's going to rain soon."

I squinted up at the clouds. "You sure?"

"Trust me." He waved a hand at me. "Well, come on!"

Rolling my eyes, I reset and tried again. He adjusted my hold. I tried again. And again. And again. He stopped me and pried the bo staff from my grip. "Alright, I think that's all for today. You improved."

"Enough to use it in sparring?"

He shot me a sharp look and tucked the weapon away in my backpack before handing the bag off to me. "Hardly. You're not there just yet. Let's get you home."

I grumbled, slinging the bag over my shoulder and followed him to the edge of the training ground. After a moment, I squinted up at him. "I made cookies. Would you like any?"

"Hmm . . . . I suppose I could be persuaded."

Just as he said that, thunder rumbled over us and I felt the first few drops splatter against my skin. I reached out and gripped his arm. "Alright, c'mon. Before we're drenched."

He laughed and then everything bent around us. I stumbled to a stop in front of the apartment building. "Huh. Do you think I'll ever be able to shunshin that far?"

"No," he said immediately. "Shunshin's a speed jutsu, right? Without the sharingan, you wouldn't be able to see things in time and adjust. You'd just run into them."

"So . . . only another Uchiha would be able to shunshin like you?" I asked, digging out my key and disengaging the security seals.

"Theoretically."

I glanced up at him to find him smirking. "Ah, there's the ego," I snickered. "C'mon in." I pushed my way inside, only to stop short. "Genma?"

He grinned. "Hey, Pumpkin. I stopped by to see you two and Naruto let me in."

"Oh." I shrugged and dropped my bag by the door. "I have cookies. I promised Shisui some, but there should be enough for you."

"Oh, I wouldn't bet on that," Shisui said, moving past me and heading straight for the box on the counter.

I smacked his hand away and retrieved a handful of cookies. Then I moved over to Genma and held the cookies out. "We you looking for us for a specific reason?"

"What? I can't look for my favorite kiddos without an ulterior motive?" he asked innocently, taking the offered food.

I raised an eyebrow.

He grinned. "Alright, alright. I'm headed out for a mission in the morning that's gonna last about three months. I wanted to see you two before I went."

"Ah." I glanced back. "Could you put some tea on?"

"Sure thing, Taichou," Shisui said around a mouthful of cookies.

With that, I climbed onto the couch next to Genma and let him wrap an arm around me. "Where are you going?"

"Ah, I can't tell you that, Pumpkin," he said, flicking my nose. "Maybe after I get back, okay? Now, why don't you tell me what you were up to in the storm?"

"Nothing. We just barely avoided it," I told him, reaching across him to ruffle Naruto's hair. "But Shisui was helping with with my bo staff."

"Oh?" He frowned for a second. "And . . . how has that been?"

At that, I glanced at Shisui. He shrugged. "She's improving. It's gonna be a while longer before she can use it in a fight, though."

"So he says," I pouted, crossing my arms.

"And he's probably right, you know." Genma poked my nose. "I would suggest you listen to him. Okay?"

"Fiiine." I gratefully accepted the tea Shisui brought me. "Thanks. Nato, how was homework with Sasuke?"

"He asleep?" Genma asked as I slowly closed the door to Naruto's room.

I glanced at him and nodded, pressing a finger to my lips. Then I stepped across the room to where he was by the door, slipping on his shoes. I rose on my toes and hugged him around his middle. "Stay safe, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, Pumpkin. I'll bring you something back, okay? A souvenir." He leaned down and kissed my forehead. Then he looked up. "Take care, Uchiha." With that, he swept out of the door.

I glanced back at Shisui. "I have a something I need to ask you to do you before you head out."

"Aw. I knew you didn't invite me here just for cookies." With a dramatic sigh, he dropped down at the table. "Alright. Hit me with it."

"Relax, it won't take too long. I just, you know . . . need to know everything you know about Kusa."

"Kusa?" He frowned and leaned forward. "Why?"

"There's . . . an Uzumaki in Kusa. At least one, maybe two since I don't know when her mom died. And maybe, probably, more. I just need information so that I can put together a plan for, for contact." I pulled out a pen and tapped it against the page. "So, what do you—"

"Look, you need sleep." He reached out and closed the notebook. "I need sleep. I'll work on writing the information down and get it to you in a few days, okay?"

I frowned down at my notebook. Then I sighed. "Right, right, right. Okay."

"Good." He hauled himself to his feet. "I'll stop by at the end of your study group tomorrow. We can get more bo staff practice in." He dug through the box and came up with a couple more cookies. "See you later, Taichou." With a wave and playful salute, he ducked out the door.

I sighed and slumped over the table, resting my head down on the notebook.

Is the other Uzumaki truly a priority?

I froze. Blinking, I straightened to find myself standing in front of Kurama's cage. I sighed and shoved my hands in my pockets. "She's important. You do know that we can work on more than one thing at once, right?"

"If you split your attention too much," he grumbled, "then it's pointless."

"Well, it's a good thing I have you here to complain every step of the way, isn't it?" I moved forward and stepped through the bars. When I reached out my hand, Kurama scoffed but leaned forward. I buried my fingers in his soft fur. "Believe it or not, I do have some idea of what I'm doing." With that, I turned and leaned against his side, slumping down to the ground. "Tell me a story."

"Mirai, I am not a library."

"So I've heard." I closed my eyes. "I'm waiting."

"Fine," he spat. "Maybe your arrogance could be tempered with the tale of Visu the Woodsman."

I hummed. "Maybe."

I let his gravely voice wash over me and sank into his soft fur, slowly tapping my fingers on the concrete below me. He told me about Visu and his wife and his children and the priest. He'd just—proudly—introduced me to the fox when my chest exploded in pain.

I gasped, shooting up from the table and stumbling of the chair. I clutched at my chest and the burning disappeared. Then it came back. And again. And again. And again. And again.

I dug out the coin and stared at it. All five seals, six pulses.

The time has come.