Author's Note: It's official; I'm changing the title of this fic to "Mirai just can't catch a break."

TW for brief description of attempted sexual assault near the end of this chapter.

Fun Fact: There's nothing fun about this chapter. Everything is sad. I'm sorry.

Chapter Sixteen - Nadir

[nadir—noun 1: the lowest point in the fortunes of a person or organization 2: the point on the celestial sphere directly below an observer]

"They didn't even bury them right," Sasuke muttered, glaring at the graveyard. "They did it all wrong. They didn't say the words or, or do the cradle shroud or . . . ." Sasuke hunched his shoulders and shoved his hands in his pockets. "And they didn't even have eyes anymore. You can't do a Uchiha funeral right without the eyes."

I knelt down and unrolled the storage scroll. "Well, at least we can do this, right?" I opened the seal and stacks and stacks of planks tumbled out. "You can light them?"

He nodded.

"Good. I'll lay them out and you follow after me." I picked up the first plank and moved it to the nearest grave. The stone read Uchiha Yakumi. I laid the plank across the dirt and turned back for the next one. I heard Sasuke say something and his chakra flared hot and then there was a fire atop the grave. I laid out the next plank.

We worked in silence for almost two hours. By the time we finished, the very first plank had just finished burning out and the rest were still in a blaze. I sank down to the ground and folded my hands in my lap, letting the heat sting against my skin. Sasuke fell against my side and curled into my arms. I held him as the graves burned.

That was how Genma found us.

"Mirai!"

I jerked at the surge of chakra and then he was in front of us. Sasuke squeaked in surprise and tumbled backwards as Genma dropped to his knees. The jonin reached out with shaking hands, eyes wide. "Kagutsuchi help me," he mumbled, moving to cup my chin. His eyes were watery as he studied my face.

I stared at the blood staining his clothes, the stitches curling down his neck, and the panic in his eyes. "Genma? Kami, what the hell happened to you?"

"What happened to me? What happened to you? I heard, while I was gone, I— Kami, Pumpkin. I can back as soon as I could." He framed my face. "Talk to me. What happened? What—"

"Whoa, okay." I reached up and gently extracted myself from his hands. He left blood behind on my face as he pulled back. "I want to talk," I murmured. "But maybe not here." I nodded toward the burning graves.

"Right. Right, right, right." He stumbled to his feet, dragging off his bandana and running his bloody hands nervously through his hair. "Right, okay. I'll just go. I, I'll find you later and—"

"Wait." I shoved myself to his feet. "Give me a second." I turned and crouched down in front of Sasuke. "Hey, Ke-kun. You can stay here as long as you want, okay? I'll meet you at the study group later, okay?"

He nodded, staring out at the graveyard. "Okay."

With that done, I turned back to Genma and took his hand, tugging him away. "Should probably give him space in case he heads back to the apartment. We can talk somewhere else."

"Right, okay." He crouched down. "C'mere."

I stepped easily into his arms and he straightened again. "Where are we going?"

"My place." The world bent again and again as he shunshined us away. He stopped and carefully set me down.

I took his hand and let him pull be into the house. "You don't live at HQ anymore?"

He shook his head. "I left ANBU last year. I was there for six years; that's longer than most. Um, I'll . . . ." He looked down at his bloody clothes. "I'll go wash up. There's plenty of tea and food in the kitchen. Help yourself." He disappeared down the hallway.

I made it to the kitchen and hopped up onto the counter. Running the water, I started washing Genma's blood off of my face. I sat back and leaned against the cabinets, drying off with a hand towel. I glanced around the area, folding my legs beneath myself.

For such a decently-sized house, it was incredibly under-furnished. Almost lonely.

"Hey, Pumpkin."

I jerked around to find Genma at the end of the hallway, raking his fingers through his wet hair. He gave me a worried look. "Not hungry?"

"Oh." I shrugged. "I guess not."

He frowned and moved to the counter to stand in front of me. Genma carefully felt my forehead. "When's the last time you ate?"

"Breakfast. Before Naruto headed out to the Academy this morning."

His expression tightened. "You need to eat." Genma leaned to the side and picked up a peach. "Here. At least start with this."

I took it. "Thanks."

Genma nodded and then carefully threaded his fingers through my hair. "I'm sorry I wasn't here," he whispered. "I should have been here. For everything."

"Not your fault. You had a mission."

"Mission wasn't more important than you. If I had heard sooner, I would have been back almost the moment I left." When I blinked up at him in confusion, he softly said, "For Shisui's funeral."

"Right." I looked down and took another bite of peach. "But you didn't know. Not your fault."

Genma sighed heavily. He hopped up onto the counter next to me and eased an arm around my shoulders. "I brought you something. A souvenir, just like I promised." He dug in his pocket and came up with a small storage scroll, passing it to me. "I'll teach you how to use it. And I'll help you with everything else. Because what happened to you? That can't happen again. You need to be able to protect yourself."

I opened the seal and a heavy weight settled in my hands. I lifted it up, studying it. "A fan?"

"A tessen. If you know how to use it properly, you can do some real damage with it. Once you learn how to use it, I want you to promise me to keep it with you all the time. I can't always be there to protect you but at least I can help you protect yourself." He took the scroll back and tucked it away. "Promise?"

I nodded. "I promise." I slipped out my own storage scroll and sealed the fan away. "Thank you."

He nodded and the arm around me tightened. "I know you've probably heard it a lot, but . . . ." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. For what happened to you."

I thought of all the graves and glared down at my hands. "It shouldn't have happened at all. Besides, Sasuke's the one everyone should really feel sorry for. But they aren't. Did you know they just stuck him back in the Compound to live on his own?" I jerked my head up to look at him. "They sent him to live, alone, at the place where his own parents' blood is still staining the floor, Genma! How could they do that?"

He didn't have an answer for that. Instead, he tucked my hair behind my ear and asked, "Where is he living now?"

"With me. And Naruto."

"Is he gonna be okay?"

I turned the peach pit over in my hands. "I think so. He agreed to go back to the Academy with me on Monday and we're both going to the study group today?"

"Monday?" he asked tightly. "That soon."

I glanced up at him. "I'm okay with that, you know. It's fine."

"Okay. When do you want me to help you? You train with Anko on Tuesdays and Thursdays, right? I could work with you after that."

"You're really gonna train me?" I asked doubtfully. "For more than hitting a target with senbon?"

"I don't want to, but you need it. I need you to be safe more than I need you to be a child." His hand hesitated before supporting my chin and tilting my head so he could meet my eyes sternly. "Does that make sense?"

"Yeah. Yes, it does. Um . . . Tuesdays and Thursdays work. Anko-sensei and I work at the dango shop and we finish at about five thirty."

He nodded. "I'll pick you up from there, then. We've got lots to work on."

"Speaking of work, I should head out. Maru said we're meeting at the Nara Compound for study group. I need to pick up some snacks since I haven't had time to bake anything." I hopped down from the counter.

"I'll come with you," he said immediately. "I wouldn't mind getting a look at your little study group. Just to see who you'll be fighting beside in the future."

I squinted suspiciously at him as he led me back outside. "You . . . want to meet . . . my friends?"

"Of course. Where do you want to get snacks from?"

"The dango café will work. You really don't have to come with me, you know."

"Mirai."

"Right, right. Okay."

"Mirai-chan, are you sure y-you're okay to be here?" Hinata asked, fluttering around me anxiously.

"I promise you I'm fine," I said again and again, trying to escape her hold. "C'mon, if you don't let me go then the boys are gonna eat all the dango before I get any!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Ino declared loudly, snatching up the boxes. "Hey! Ladies first! You boys have to wait! Except for you, Sasuke-kun. We're happy that you're back and we love you. Here you go." She pushed a box into his arms. Sasuke beamed at her in return.

"No fair!" Naruto whined. "I want some!"

"And you'll get some later," Ino said stiffly, holding the boxes out of his reach.

"Patience, bud," Genma said, dragging Naruto close and messing with his hair. "Let the ladies eat first. Trust me, you'll thank me for this lesson when you're older. It's dangerous to get between a kunoichi and her food."

"Hey!" Ino cried in surprise when a box was snatched from her. "Give that back and wait your turn!"

Neji ignored her and turned to me, holding the box with white-knuckled hands. "I need to talk to you."

I blinked. "Oh, okay." I extricated myself from the tight hold Lee had around my waist. "We'll be right back, guys. Go ahead and get started without us." I reached out and gripped Neji's elbow. "This way." I tugged him towards the trees. He followed me easily, silently, until we were out of sight of the others and I stopped. "Dango?"

He opened the box and held it out to me. "Everything that happened. If that wasn't Fate, then what was it? Your choice?"

"My choice, other people's choices. Just a natural result of the chain of cause and effect." I bit into my dango and held out a skewer to him. When he didn't take it, I shrugged and kept it for myself. "I never said that my way, my view, avoids the bad things in the world, Neji. If I thought that, I would just be denying reality."

After all, the very fact that I'd been able to interfere at all and take Sasuke's place was enough evidence to disprove Fate, but he didn't know that. I studied the way Neji was frowning and sighed.

"I . . . don't want to hurt you feelings, but believing in Fate is a coward's way out. A way to avoid accepting responsibility and holding others accountable. Fate would say that nothing that happened was necessarily wrong because it was just supposed to happen. It's a complete absence of morality. Just an excuse."

Neji took a step back, eyes widening. His hands shook around the box. With a sigh, I reached out and pried it from him. "Careful," I murmured. "You're gonna crush it."

"Oh." He snatched his hands away. "I'm . . . sorry."

I tilted my head to the side and considered him. "Sorry for what?"

"I . . . don't know."

"Okay." I sat down and set the box beside me. "Sit down. We can wait here for a while."

"Thank you."

When I arrived at the Hokage's Office for tea and shogi, he wasn't alone. I narrowed in on the man next to him. "What's going on?"

"Mirai-chan, this is Yamanaka Inoichi. I thought it would be prudent to arrange some sessions with him. For a shinobi, such sessions would be expected after such a traumatic experience in an attempt to minimize lasting damage." He motioned to my normal chair. "Take a seat."

I hesitated and then slowly stepped forward. "What do you want from me?" I asked, turning in my seat to watch Inoichi as he moved. "What are you going to do?"

"Inoichi is just going to help you sort through the events of what happened. To try to keep yourself from getting caught up and muddled."

I looked back at him. "That's . . . not necessary. Really."

"It is necessary," Hiruzen said firmly. "Not only will it help you not stagnate in your trauma, it will also help us understand what happened."

Panic rammed up my throat. "But—" I could feel an unfamiliar chakra building up behind me. I shot to my feet and whipped around, sending my chair tumbling to the floor. "Wait—"

Inoichi's hand pressed into my forehead and hot, burning, acidic chakra drilled into my skull. I screamed and tried to fight back.

And then I was back in the screaming, silent Void and the anger searing through my veins felt like Kurama. I felt him hot behind my eyes, his rage and my own digging into my skin.

Inoichi stood—was it standing if there wasn't a floor?—in front of me, hand still outstretched. His gaze flickered around the nothingness. "Mirai-chan," he said, and his voice was soft, too soft. "Just where are we?"

"Get out of my head," I growled, feeling Kurama's anger building up with mine. "Get out."

He smiled gently. "I can't do that. I'm here to help. There's no need to be afraid of me."

"Get out. Now!"

"I've heard so much about you from my daughter. She says you're smart, intelligent. So I'm sure that you and I can find some common ground to work on."

And now there wasn't really much separating my anger from Kurama's at all. I felt my eyes burn and red licked around the edges of my vision. I snarled at him, baring my teeth. "Get out of our head!" I screamed, throwing my hands out. Red chakra laced down my arms and slammed against him. "Get out!"

Inoichi yelled something that I couldn't quite hear over the red ringing in my ears. Pressure built up in my forehead and I groaned, pushing against it.

"Out, out, out, out!"

"Mirai."

I gasped, eyes opening to stare up at the familiar grey ceiling. My chest was burning. My eyes stung. "K-kurama. What—"

"Take a moment," he ordered roughly.

"But—"

"No one's here. The damn Yamanaka hasn't tried to come back since you blasted him out of here. But I'm not sure exactly what happened after that. You've been lying there for hours."

I forced in a long breath and then forced out another one. It took a moment before I managed to pushed myself up so I was sitting, pressing a hand against my chest. "How long?"

"I don't exactly have a clock in here, do I?"

"Sorry. Touchy," I mumbled. I lifted my hand and snapped and a clock appeared on the wall. "Set to real time. Maybe next time something like this happens you can keep an eye on it for me."

He scoffed. "We'll see."

I dug my fingers into my chest until it hurt. "I guess I have to get out of here, right? Face the music?"

I just got a grunt in response.

"Right." I sighed. Then I pulled myself out of my mindscape.

I opened my mind to a grey room. Blinking, I pushed myself up from the floor and my aching muscles protested. I frowned at the table and two chairs sitting in the middle of the room and then let my gaze drift to the large mirror embedded in the wall to the left of the door. All the heat drained from my face.

No, no, no, this wasn't good.

"Hey!" I yelled, climbing to my feet. I moved to the door and tested it. As I expected, it was locked. "Hey, what's going on?" I yelled. I focused until my senses strained and I could feel five distant chakra sources just outside the door. They were small, hidden, and vaguely familiar.

The door clicked and I scrambled backwards as it opened. I scowled at the person that stepped inside. "What am I doing here?" I growled.

Inoichi sighed. "I'm sorry, Mirai-chan. We just have some . . . questions. After what happened."

"After what happened?" I asked incredulously. "After you tried to force yourself into my head? The last person to do that was Itachi. Is it any wonder that I reacted badly?"

He flinched and pulled out a chair to sit down. "That is . . . only part of what I feel we need to talk about. Why don't you take a seat?"

I scowled for a long moment. But then Kurama rumbled something about cooperation and I conceded reluctantly, climbing into the chair across the table from the man. He dashed through hand seals too quickly for me to see and mumbled something. I stiffened and alarm bells went off in my head as I felt that acidic chakra drape over my own. "What was that?" I demanded.

"Just something to help with the questions," he assured me gently. It did nothing to calm my fears. "Now, Mirai-chan, how long have you been in contact with the Kyuubi?"

I blinked. What the hell kind of question was that? Did they actually expect me to just straight up give away all my secrets like that? I opened my mouth to tell him to go to hell and— "Four years."

That . . . was not what I had meant to say. My heart rammed against my ribcage and I stiffened, eyes wide as I stared at him. How had that happened? Kurama, what the hell just happened?

Before I could hear his answer, Inoichi asked, "And who have you spoken with about this connection to the Kyuubi?"

"Shisui." The answer ripped itself out of me before I could stop it and his name wrenched a hole in my chest. My heart was pounding now. Why couldn't I stop answering? "How, how are you doing that?" I demanded. "What's going on? How—"

"Shisui knew of your communication with the Kyuubi?"

"Yes." Kurama was yelling at me to shut up and I wanted to, I wanted to, but I couldn't. "They didn't get along that well. But— Shit! How are you doing that?" I closed my eyes and focused on trying to pull off the chakra he'd laid over mine. "Stop that!"

His voice now held a note of surprise. "Shisui and the Kyuubi interacted? How?"

No, no, no. I couldn't answer that. These questions were getting dangerous. But despite what I wanted, I opened my mouth to answer. I couldn't, I couldn't, I couldn't. Scowling at him, I bit back the words and then down on my tongue. Blood erupted in my mouth and choked up my throat and Inoichi's eyes bugged.

"Mirai!" he shouted, lunging across the table for me. "What are you doing? What—"

I shoved back, stumbling up from the chair and holding a hand out to stop him. I coughed and my tongue ached and blood trickled down my chin. I tried to tell him to stop the jutsu but I couldn't say anything with my mangled tongue.

Thankfully, he seemed to understand what I wanted. The chakra suffocating my own retreated. He threw a wild gaze towards the door. "I'll get a doctor. Just stay here."

I shook my head and clamped a hand over my mouth. Okay, Kurama.

He grunted and then his chakra burned in my tongue. I saw Inoichi flinch back and I knew he could feel the demon energy. I moved my tongue. It was a little sore, but back in one piece. Leaning over, I spat out blood and then dragged my sleeve across my mouth.

"Mirai?" Inoichi asked cautiously.

I looked up and glared heavily. "What gives you the fucking right to mess around with my head like that?" I snarled. "I'm not a criminal. I didn't do anything that gives you the right to lock me up. And I definitely didn't do anything that gives you the right to control me like that."

"Mirai—"

I cut my gaze to the mirror and focused on the chakra sources there. The Hokage was one of them; he had to be. "You want to see for yourself what happened that night, Hiruzen? You know exactly what happened, just like I do. Why do we have to go spreading it around, huh? Is that what you really want?"

I wasn't completely sure, but I could have sworn I felt one of the chakra sources flinch in surprise. The door clicked and opened. "That's enough, Inoichi-san. Thank you."

Inoichi glanced at me, brow marred with confusion. Then he bowed to the Hokage and slowly stepped from the room. Hiruzen shut the door. I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall. "Are you going to interrogate me too? Mess around with my already fucked up brain some more?"

He sighed and sat down. "I suppose I must apologize for how I went about this. I'm sure you can understand my concerns."

I huffed. "I guess, though you took it a little far. I get it, though. You think I'm so weak willed that I'll just let the Kyuubi manipulate me to . . . what? Kill everyone?"

"I did say I had concerns." He shook his head. "But I suppose we should move on now."

"Are you going to stick shinobi on my tail to monitor me twenty-four seven now?" I asked, only half-joking.

"I suppose not. After what happened with the Uchiha, Konoha is already suffering from a shortage of shinobi. I have to trust you on this." His gaze hardened. "However, that trust will come with conditions, you understand. If I'm putting trust in you, than I want you to give me a more promising shinobi in return. I want you to up your training."

I could do that. It was an excuse to quicken my advancement. "Deal." I shoved off the wall. "Can I go now?"

He nodded and dragged a hand down his tired face. "Kakashi and Genma are here. They were . . . concerned after sensing the Kyuubi's chakra erupting at the Tower."

I looked towards the mirror again. Kakashi and Genma must be two of the remaining three chakra sources, then, but I still didn't know the third. I moved to the door and opened it, stepping out.

"I have to admit, I always thought you might end up here, kid, but I thought it might be to work, not to get questioned."

I stared up at him. Of course. That made sense. "Hi, Ibiki-san. Sorry for missing poker night . . . four times in a row."

"Eh, I guess it can be forgiven." He grabbed my shoulder and roughly shoved me towards the others. "Now get out of my building."

I stumbled and felt someone catch me. I looked up and found that Genma was the one holding me by the shoulder with Kakashi standing next to him, both their faces drawn with worry. I smiled. "Hi."

Genma flinched. "Bathroom. You need to wash the blood out of your mouth, pumpkin."

"Oh, right." I hid my mouth with my hand and glanced up around. "Um—"

"This way." Genma turned me and pushed me ahead of them. After a few turned, he stopped. "Go ahead."

I nodded and scrambled into the restroom. I turned on the faucet and got a mouthful of water. I swished it around, spat, and repeat. It took a few more times before my mouth was clean of blood. Then I stepped back out into the hall.

Genma and Kakashi abruptly cut their conversation short, leaving me frowning at them. "What?" I asked carefully.

Kakashi eye-smiled. "Nothing, Pup. Are you up for some ramen? Let's get some ramen."

I crossed my arms. "Are . . . you two upset with me? For talking with the Kyuubi? And for not telling you?"

"What? No, of course not," Kakashi said.

"A little," Genma said at the same time. He glanced at Kakashi and sighed. "I guess I just want you to trust us."

"I do trust you," I said. "I just . . . I don't like sharing a lot of things."

"I know. I've noticed." He crouched down in front of me and touched my chin so that he could look me in the eye. "I'm sorry. It's not that I'm . . . upset with you. You know that, right?"

"I . . . right." I shoved my hands in my pockets. "Can we . . . can we get ramen now?"

Genma glanced briefly up at Kakashi and then gave me a smile. "Yeah. Yeah, we can get ramen. We don't have to talk about this anymore." He kissed my forehead and then rose back up to his feet.

I hunched my shoulders and couldn't bring myself to look at them. "Thanks."

When I investigated the crying, I found that it wasn't Naruto. My brother was still sound asleep, although half on the floor with just his feet on his bed. I turned to the other bed to find that Sasuke was whimpering softly into his pillow. I stepped over to him and gently touched my hand to his back. "Sasuke-kun," I whispered. "Hey, hey, it's okay."

He flinched in his sleep and his whimpers stilled. I rubbed his back and sat down beside him, murmuring comfort. He shifted. "Mirai?" he asked tiredly.

I smiled. "Hey. You doing okay?"

"I miss my mom."

My heart twisted. For a moment, all I could see was Mikoto's pale face and all I could feel were her hands guiding mine. I forcibly shook myself back to reality. "I'm sorry," I rasped. And I really meant it. "I'm so sorry."

Sasuke pushed himself up and rubbed his eyes, streaking his tears across his face. "Can . . . can you stay?" he whispered.

"Of course." I shuffled farther onto the bed and under the blanket. Sasuke pressed into my side and I wrapped my arms around him. "I've got you."

"Thanks."

Are we finally returning to training tomorrow?

I opened my eyes to my mindscape. "Absolutely. Hiruzen said he has a new instructor for me to meet. Plus, I'll be going back to getting training folders from Iruka."

"Hmm, that's . . . acceptable, I suppose."

"Though, you know, I need some decent sleep if I'm going to train."

He huffed and settled down on the floor. With a grin, I slipped between the bars and then draped myself against his side. "Night, Kurama."

"Goodnight."

Letting the familiarity of his hot chakra pulsing through his body lull me to sleep, I fell into my dreams.

"Cut deep, Mirai-chan. Please don't let me suffer."

I swallowed a scream and shot up, flailing. I tumbled from bed and clamped a hand over my mouth. Don't cry, I told myself. Don't cry. I forced a long, deep breath and rose shakily to my feet. I turned to get back in bed.

I'd never noticed before just how much Sasuke looked like his mother.

I stumbled back, staring at him. No, no, no, no.

Kit, breathe. For kami's sake, breathe.

I tried, I really tried, but my lungs were far too tight. I kept my hand over my mouth to muffle my wet sobs and rushed from the room. I hesitated for a second at the door to my own room. Then I scratched my tears away and turned for the front door. After summoning Tokage and choking out my orders for him between my tears, I left him and the boys and escaped out into the dark streets. I made my way easily, arms wrapped tightly around myself and head bowed. Then I stopped in front of a door and second guessed myself for a long moment.

I gave in and knocked.

There was no answer for a long time and I choked back another sob, clawing uselessly at my chest. The door opened an inch. And then it slammed open the rest of the way. "Mirai! What's wrong?" I was gathered up in his arms, crushed against his chest as he lifted me off my feet.

"N-niisan," I choked out. "Sorry, sorry, I, I would normally go to Shisui, but—" That name just broke every last bit of the dam I'd been frantically trying to hold together. I fell completely into him and sobs tore at my throat. I couldn't stop them anymore.

"It's okay," Kakashi said, shifting me. I heard the door close and lock. "It's okay. I've got you."

I flinched in surprise when he shifted me so I was sitting in his lap. Shuddering, I tried to get out another apology.

"No, don't do that," he whispered. "It's okay."

I wasn't sure how long I sat there, his fingers carding through my hair as he murmured comfort while I cried. But eventually my wails tapered off into whimpers. Kakashi pressed a kiss against the top of my head.

"I'm sorry, Pup," he murmured. "I'm so sorry. I'm so— Dammit." He ducked his head down against mine and his hold on me tightened. "You're gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay."

It sounded like he was trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to convince me.

I sat quietly with Kakashi's newest ninken while he made me breakfast. Akino was quiet for a puppy, nothing like Bull's ball of energy. When I'd sat down, he'd joined me, set his head in my lap, and promptly gone to sleep. I tried to distract myself from my sore eyes by petting him.

"Hey."

I jumped and looked up to find Kakashi crouching in front of me. "Oh, sorry," I croaked. "Is breakfast ready?"

He smiled sadly. "Has been for a while now. Did you not hear me calling you?"

"No . . . . Sorry."

"Don't apologize." He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "C'mon." Kakashi took my hand and gingerly helped me to my feet. "Sorry, Akino. Why don't you go eat your breakfast before Shiba get to it?" Then he pulled me to the table. "Up you go. I made you oatmeal. And I managed not to burn it this time."

I smiled weakly. "Thanks, Niisan." I lapsed into silence again as I ate.

"Do you think the boys are doing okay?"

I nodded. "There's cereal. And Tokage's there."

"Ah." He frowned. "Hey, Pup . . . you know you don't have to go to the Academy today. I'm sure your sensei would understand and I can talk to the Hokage to—"

"No." I rubbed my dry eyes. "It's better if I go."

"But . . . is it really?" he murmured. "You should give yourself more time."

"I want to go."

He studied me. Then he sighed. "Alright. If that's what you really want. Finish up and I'll take you to your apartment to get your things."

I barely managed to make myself finish breakfast, glad that he'd made oatmeal because I wasn't sure that my stomach would have handled anything else. Kakashi insisted on carrying me since I didn't have any shoes. When we pushed into the apartment, the boys looked up from their spot at the table.

"Mirai!" Sasuke tumbled up. "Wh-when you were gone I thought— Your lizard said— But you were gone and I—"

"Whoa, okay." I wobbled for a second when Kakashi put me down and then stepped forward to hug Sasuke. "I'm sorry for running off. I know I said I would stay with you. I'm sorry."

He buried his face in my shoulder. "'s okay."

I gently pushed him back. "C'mon, finish your breakfast. I'm gonna get my things." I escaped into my room and changed and grabbed my bag. When I stepped back out, I crouched down. "Thank you, Tokage."

He bowed his head. "Of course, Summoner. I'm honored to serve."

I smiled and reached out, touching his head. "You can go home now."

He vanished in a puff of smoke. I moved to get my shoes on and then stood to find that the boys were ready. Kakashi put a hand on my shoulder. "Ready?"

I nodded. "You don't have to come with us, you know."

He just hummed in response and guided us out the door. Naruto was the only one speaking the entire way to the Academy. Halfway there, Sasuke grabbed my hand and refused to let go even as we entered the Academy yard. Kakashi dropped his hand to my head. "I'll see you later, okay?"

When he left, though, he disappeared into the building. I watched him go curiously, tightening my hold on Sasuke's hand. I glanced to the side. "Do you want to go inside? I know we're here early, but . . . ."

"Yes, please."

"Okay. Nato, Sasuke-kun and I are going to go ahead and go in," I said, interrupting the conversation he'd started up with Tenten and Lee. The latter two watched me worriedly. Naruto just frowned and nodded. I pulled Sasuke with me as I went inside. When I approached our classroom, the door slid open and I stared at the person that stepped out. "Niisan? What's going on?"

"Just having a word with your teacher. That's all."

I frowned. "I . . . said I'm going to be fine."

"I know you did." He stepped aside. "Go on."

I eyed him and then we moved inside. Iruka looked up and smiled, pausing his conversation with Mizuki. "Ah, just the two people I wanted to see before class. Perfect. Hatake-san, if you could close the door on your way out, thank you." He motioned us closer. "I'm glad to see both of you back in the classroom. But you should know that if you are feeling overwhelmed or need a moment to myself, you can leave for my office. I won't ask any questions."

Sasuke stared at him with big eyes and I tightened my hold on him. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei."

He smiled. Mizuki didn't.

I stared at the person waiting for me in the training ground. I wasn't . . . quite sure how to approach him, or if he even knew I was there at all. His back was to me and he was upside down, doing pushups with one hand. I hesitantly cleared my throat. "Um . . . are you the one Hokage-sama assigned as my new instructor?"

He flipped to his feet and turned, flashing a bright grin. "Yosh! You must be the darling Uzumaki Mirai! I have heard much about you from my dear friend Kakashi!"

I blinked and took a moment to absorb that. "Oh, right, that's me. Are you here to help me with my taijutsu?"

"Yes! I am! What amazing deductive powers, my dear."

I shrugged. "You're listed in the bingo book as a taijutsu specialist, Maito-sensei."

"Ah, please, Gai-sensei will suffice. Let us begin with fifteen laps around the training ground!" He took off at a rapid pace.

After a split second of hesitation, I followed.

Two and a half hours later, I'd never regretted physical exertion more in my life. I was sprawled across the ground, desperately trying to remember how to breathe. Gai grinned down at me. "You performed admirably, Mirai-chan. Truly impressive for your age! You do remind me of Kakashi."

I grinned at that. "That's nice to hear."

The coin burned against my collar.

Are you okay?

I threw myself up to my feet and slapped my hand to my chest, feeling the coin under my shirt. "If that's all, I should get going. I have some other training I have planned out." When he nodded in confusion, I executed a hasty bow and then shunshined away, towards Training Ground 44. I drew out the coin and answered.

I'm okay.

And then I asked:

Are you okay?

It took longer than I liked for him to respond. But then he finally came back with:

I'm okay.

I breathed a sigh of relief and tucked the coin away. As I reached the fenced in training ground and started to climb, I let my mind wander to wonder where Shisui was. Had he made it to Suna? Or Mizu? Or had he gone back to Iwa to follow up on the Akatsuki trail he'd found?

I dropped to the ground and then flipped out a kunai. I stabbed the plant that was trying to eat my foot. My mind kept wandering. It really would be so much easier if Shisui and I had a more reliable, complex way of communicating. I grinned as an idea came to mind.

That was why the next morning I was pouring over a brain anatomy textbook as Iruka spoke. I was painfully aware of Shikamaru constantly turning to squint at me, but I ignored him in favor of my studies. I ran my gaze over the diagram of the parts of the brain and their respective functions. Decision making, writing, fact recall, memory, language comprehension, speech control—

I froze, fingers pressed against the speech control area of the diagram. I skipped back a couple topics and narrowed in on the hippocampus. Memory.

An idea slowly started to form, and it was suddenly more important and useful than better communication with Shisui.

"—smaller cross sections allows for the specific location of the breach to be diagnosed more easily," I said, pointing excitedly as Anko studied my pages and pages of diagrams. "It's more efficient all around."

She whistled. "Impressive out-of-the-box thinking, Red. I like it. It'll take a little fine tuning, but I actually think this could work to help improve security on the large scale."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah! Why not?"

I grinned. But any continuation of the conversation was ended when a server put my towering to-go order in front of me.

"Whoa, that's a lot of dango, kiddo," Anko said, grinning. "You're gonna eat all of that?"

I frowned. "What do you mean? I always take extra dango for Ita . . . chi." I faltered. "Oh," I mumbled. "Um . . . never mind. Here, you can take it."

Anko went pale. "Kami, Red. I'm sorry. I wasn't even thinking. I— No, take it home to you kid brother, okay? I'm sure he'll eat it."

"He doesn't need this much dango." I shoved the boxes into her arms. "Sorry, I just . . . . Sorry."

She frowned. "Well . . . alright, then. I'll see you Thursday. I'll have some new seal exercises for you then." Anko rose, boxes in her arms, and escaped. I groaned and folded my arms on the table, resting my head there with an angry sigh.

"Whoa, what's with the hurry?"

I stilled at the sound of Genma's voice and strained to hear Anko's hurriedly, quiet explanation. Then Genma sighed. "Right, okay. Thanks."

Anko's chakra disappeared.

A heavy hand rested on my head. "Hey, Pumpkin, talk to me."

"No," I mumbled. "I'm fine."

Genma groaned lightly in frustration and pulled on my shoulder until I sat up. He looked me squarely in the eye. "Don't lie to yourself like that."

"I— Sorry."

Genma smiled sadly. "I won't make you talk," he promised. "I won't."

"Thank you." I reached out and curled my fingers in his shirt. "Can we . . . can we go train now?"

"Right. Yes, we can." He pulled me up and took my hand. "C'mon. I've got some throwing exercises planned out. You've gotta be able to throw more than just senbon, you know."

I followed him silently, listening as he started talking about trajectories and sniping and free throws. When we reached the training ground, we fell into a familiar pattern of him correcting my stances and throws and myself slowly getting closer and closer to consistently hitting at or near the bullseye. At one point, I was in the midst of scowling at a shuriken that hit too far from the center and it took me a moment to realize that Genma wasn't directing me to try again. I looked up to find him pulling out a scroll.

"Is something wrong?" I asked carefully.

"Not at all," he assured me immediately. He unsealed a bento box and held it out to me. "I think that's enough for today. You should eat."

"I want to train some more."

He frowned. "Well, you definitely need to eat first. Also, I'm definitely done for today. And you should be too."

I hesitated and then took the box. "Okay. Itadakimasu." I opened the box and dug in. "This is good. Did you really make it?"

"Hey, I'm decent at cooking, you know," he said firmly. "My great-aunt married an Akimichi."

"You . . . do realize that doesn't actually mean you have any Akimichi blood, right?"

He grinned. "Just eat up, Pumpkin."

"Okay, okay. Thanks." I managed a smile and then returned to my food. When I finished, Genma took the box from me and pressed a kiss to my head.

"Drink some water," he ordered, sealing the box away and then moving to collect the scattered weapons.

I unsealed my water bottle and slowly drained it as he cleaned up the training ground. Then he moved back to me and pulled me to my feet. "Alright, let's go back. How you feeling?"

I shrugged and sealed away my water. "Fine . . . I guess. I thought you weren't going to make me talk."

He blinked. "I . . . meant muscle-wise. You just worked out your arms for a couple hours straight. They're bound to be sore."

"I— Oh." I flushed. "Sorry."

"Eh, it's alright." He dropped his hand to my head and messed with my hair. "You're lucky you're so cute, you know. Otherwise how judgy you are could get annoying."

"Hey!" I pouted and pulled out my ponytail, running my fingers through my hair to fix it. As we stepped through the gates, I paused. "Hey, Genma?"

"Hmm?" He glanced down at me. "What is it, Pumpkin?"

"I'm gonna stop by the Uchiha Shrine. I'll . . . I'll see you later."

He frowned and crouched down in front of me. "You sure? Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, I'll be okay."

"Well . . . okay." He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "How about I go stay with Naruto and Sasuke until you get back to your apartment? That way I know you made it home safe."

I rolled my eyes but my chest felt warm. "You're so paranoid. But . . . yeah, that'd be nice."

"Great." He straightened and gave me a wave before shunshining away.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and kept my head down as I walked to the Uchiha Compound. Then I kept my gaze up, away from the stained streets, as I headed for the graveyard. I stared out at the numerous headstones and ashy graves and then shook my head, turning for the shrine.

I knelt down and picked up one of the incense sticks. I laid it out and struck a match to light it. Then I bowed my head. "I . . . ." My words got caught up in my throat and it took me a moment to untangle them in my head. "I'm sorry," I gasped out. "I should have done something to— If I could just try again, it would be different. I promise it would. Please, please— I'm sorry. I'm—"

A sob strangled my words and I covered my face with my hands, trying to get out my apologies through my tears. The hard rock ground dug into my knees and I dropped down on my hands, staring down at the incense. "I'm so sorry."

This won't change anything.

"I know," I choked out. "I know. But if I could just redo it—"

You can't bargain here. There's nothing you could do to change what happened. Move on.

"But—"

Move. On.

I sat back and clawed my tears away. Then I forced myself to my feet and bowed my head. "I'm sorry," I said one last time. And then I stepped backwards. One step, another, and another. Until finally I turned and forced myself to leave. I took the long way home, looping around near the Tower to give myself more time alone before having to face Genma and the boys. My eyes still ached and I was sure they were red. I didn't want them to see me like that.

I turned a corner and paused at the looks through my way. They had already hated me, of course, but this was . . . something new that I'd seen over the last few days. Ever since I woke up after the Massacre.

I really should have seen this coming. Of course they would look for an easy-to-hate scapegoat for what happened, and who was better and easier to blame than a person who had been there but hadn't died? After all, it would make sense in their minds to blame the Kyuubi, wouldn't it?

Sighing, I backtracked into an alley to avoid the people. Something played along the edges of my senses and I paused. Kurama? Can you . . . hear that?

You can tell better than me.

Before I could focus in better on the odd feeling, an arm snapped around my middle, trapping my arms against my sides, and a hand clamped down over my mouth. "There you are," a voice crooned. "You know, you're a surprisingly hard one to catch alone."

I tried to twist and tried to scream, but the hand over my face pinched at my nose too. I froze, not wanting to waste the little oxygen I had left.

"There we go. Perfect." That was a new voice. "Don't worry, we're just going to teach you a little lesson."

"Teach you your place," a third voice corrected. "After all, here you are just flouncing around like you own the Village. After what you did to the Uchiha? To the entire Village before?"

Someone finally stepped into my vision and I zeroed in on the Konoha hitai-ate. My heart rate tripled with fear. The man snarled down at me. "You need to learn what you are. Hold her down."

I tried to scream again but then the grip on me tightened with so much pressure that I thought my jaw would break. I thought for a moment about calling on Kurama's chakra, but the Village and the Hokage were already suspicious and wary. That would just make it worse, right?

One set of hands yanked my shirt up and my eyes widened. I tried to kick out, but a second man moved and held my feet down. The first drew out a knife. "Just a lesson," he said again. "A reminder for you, so you don't forget what you are again." And then he dipped the kunai down to my skin.

This time, I did scream; it was hoarse and raw and muffled behind the heavy hand over my mouth. My skin split and I screwed my eyes shut, hot tears burning my face. One of the men—I wasn't sure which—snarled at me to shut up. But I couldn't, not with the knife carving and twisting along my stomach. I tried to kick again and the hands on my ankles wrenched. I felt a joint give and I hiccuped out another sob.

"There we go," the shinobi with the kunai said, setting back and grinning proudly. He wiped sweat from his forehead, smearing my blood across his face. He cocked his head to the side. "I don't think she's quite learned yet, boys."

The man holding my legs grinned. "I don't think she has."

"Right." And then the knife slashed down twice and I heard fabric tear and my hips and legs stung in the cool air, clothing and skin alike sliced open.

Pure, unadulterated fear reared its head in my chest and I tried to squirm away. Kurama was stirring angrily in the back of my mind and I felt his chakra forcing its way into mine. Pain ached in my jaw as hot energy pulsed there.

"Ow! What the hell!" The man holding my jaw yanked his hand back.

I screamed.

The hand immediately snapped back over my mouth and I bit down harshly. I kicked out and my bad foot caught the man hold it in the knee. "Let me go!" I yelled, chomping down on a finger.

"Shit, hold her—"

I lunged forward for the man holding my feet and red stained my vision as I slammed him down. I clawed at his chunin vest and yanked him forward. He screamed and then stopped as my teeth closed around his throat and tore.

Cold pain stabbed through my side and Kurama's chakra burned in a way I'd never felt before. I spat out flesh and skin and wrenched around, hand closing around the kunai embedded in me.

How dare you! Kurama roared. How dare you touch her! Kill them!

And for once, I was on board with his bloodlust. His chakra burned everywhere—my hands, my jaw, my injuries—and I dove forward for the man that had cut me open. His eyes were wide and he flipped out another kunai, but by then I'd already buried his first one in his chest.

He's getting away!

I whipped around and with the help of a shunshin I tackled the last man to the ground. His fist slammed into my face and I reeled back for a second, scrambling blindly for something to hold on to. I gripped his ankle and kicked out his knee. He fell and landed another hit, this time with a kunai to my arm. I twisted and yanked the kunai out, feeling Kurama's chakra already rushing to the injury. I aimed for the man's head and he knocked my hand aside. Scowling, I kicked out his other knee. As he fell, I stabbed his head to the ground with the knife.

Now that I was done, Kurama's chakra dropped away completely and left me completely cold. The taste of iron in my mouth mixed with bile and I tumbled to the side. My stomach heaved and twisted and I couldn't breathe as I retched. I collapsed in on myself, half-naked and trying to desperately hold myself together as I sobbed.

"Kami, oh my— Mirai-chan, is that— Mirai!"

The new voice made me flinch back and I scrambled away, choking on tears. The blurry figure stopped and it took a moment for me to realize that I knew that voice. It was familiar, I just couldn't place where I knew it from.

"Hold on," he said again. "Just— Here." The figure moved again and I rubbed at my eyes to try to see but all I managed was to get blood in my eyes so they stung. Cloth pressed into my hands and I flinched back. "Put this on."

I fumbled for a second and hesitated, realizing I was holding a stranger's—was he a stranger?—shirt. But I wanted to hold on to the last scrap of dignity I had left, so I struggled to pull it on. After a moment, the stranger's hands—surprisingly gentle hands—helped me pulled it over my head and flatten it out to my knees.

"Wh-who—" I tried to ask, but my throat was raw and speaking hurt.

"Shh. It's Umino Iruka. Your sensei, remember? I heard— It's going to be okay. I heard you scream and— Kami—"

"Shit, what the hell happened here?"

The new voice made me flinch again and I lunged for where I'd just heard Iruka's voice. He caught me and shaking hands held me steady. "Mizuki, inform Hokage-sama that Uzumaki Mirai was attacked. I'm . . . I'm taking her to my office. We should let Hatake-san know—"

"I'm sure the entire goddamn Village felt that chakra. I'd bet my life on the fact that he's already on his way too. Get her inside. I'll let Hokage-sama know."

His chakra retreated. Iruka's hold on me loosened. "Can you walk?"

I gripped his arms tightly and tried to get to my feet, but my legs shook and I collapsed. He caught me. "Okay, hold still," he urged softly. His arms slipped under my knees and it took him a moment to adjust to keep the shirt from slipping. Then he lifted me in his arms. I couldn't help a whimper. "Hey, it's okay. We're just going inside. That's all."

I managed a nod and clung tightly to him as he moved. My vision was still blurry and it still hurt to open my eyes. Which was why I wasn't expecting him to put me down. I squeaked in surprise and clutched at him. Iruka stilled.

"I've got to set you down. Okay?"

I nodded. He lowered me gently into what I guessed was his chair. He pulled his hands away. "I'll be right back," he promised.

I gave in and sat quietly. I could hear him moving about and I could feel the unsteady, nervous thrum of his chakra. Then he came back. "Here." Something touched my lips. "Water. Try to drink a little."

I moved to hold on to the bottle, but my hands shook. "It's okay," he assured me, gently holding it and moving a hand to support my head as I drank. After a few sips, it tilted too far and I spluttered, water spilling down the shirt I was wearing. Iruka yanked the bottle away. "Sorry. Better?"

I didn't think I could trust my throat if I tried to speak, but I managed a nod.

He didn't say anything for a moment and then something touched my face. I winced and it stilled. "I'm just going to clean your eyes," he said softly. "Is that okay?"

I swallowed and nodded, pressing forward again. Wet cloth scrubbed away at my eyes and the stinging from the blood eased. I blinked and managed to focus in on where he was crouched him front of me, shirtless with a bloody cloth clutched in one hand. Iruka's brow was marred with a frown. "How's that? Can you see?"

Before I could answer, the door slammed open. My heart started thudding again and I ducked my head down, wrapping my arms around myself in a poor act of defense. "Kami," a familiar voice breathed.

"Shiranui-san," Iruka said, voice soft and suddenly much farther away. "It's best to give her some space right now."

"But—"

"I know you want to help. It would be helpful if she had clothes to change into."

A pause. Then Genma rasped out, "What happened to her clothes?"

Iruka didn't answer and a moment later the door closed. I looked up to find Iruka crouched back in front of me. "Mirai-chan," he murmured. "Are you hurt? I . . . I wasn't sure if the blood was all theirs or . . . ."

I hesitated and reached down, pressing my hand against the sore spot on my stomach, then my side, then my arm, then my thighs. "I . . . was. Not anymore."

"Not—" Something indecipherable flickered through his gaze. "Okay. So you don't need medical treatment?"

I shook my head.

"Alright." He lifted the cloth again and carefully finished cleaning up my face. "Let me know if there's something you need."

I just nodded and let him start scrubbing the blood away from my hands. Someone knocked softly on the door and he paused. "Give me a moment." He set the cloth aside and got back to his feet. He moved to the door and cracked it open. "Ah, Shiranui-san. Thank you." He took a stack of clothes.

"Can we come in?" That was Kakashi's voice, not Genma's.

"Give me a second." He eased the door closed again and turned. "Mirai-chan, do you think you can get changed on your own?"

I stared blankly at the clothes he was holding. And then I nodded numbly and reached out, taking them with shaking hands. "Thanks."

"We'll give you some time." He backed out of the room and it closed firmly.

I stared down at the clothes and I couldn't quite bring myself to move. I was still shaking. I couldn't stop shaking.

Mirai.

I gasped a little in surprise. "Ku—" Kurama.

I'm sorry.

I didn't have a response for that and he didn't elaborate. Still shaking—why couldn't I stop?—I peeled off Iruka's shirt and then my own. I picked up the wet cloth and stumbled to my feet, scrubbing off the blood still coating my body. I dropped the cloth to the ground and studied the new scar staining my skin just above my left hipbone. A . . . kanji?

I twisted a bit to try to get a good look at it and my heart dropped.

Oni.

I scowled and ignored the urge to study the rest of my new scars in favor of covering up the kanji as quickly as I could. I struggled into my clothes and then wrapped my arms around myself, pacing carefully to the door. My hand trembled over the doorknob and it took me a moment. I twisted it and slowly opened the door.

The group outside the door halted their conversation immediately. I froze, studying everyone there. They all visibly hesitated, but then Yuugao surged forward and dropped to her knees. "Mirai-chan," she gasped out. "Come here, sweetheart. Come here."

I collapsed willingly into her arms with a shudder and twisted my hands in her shirt. My eyes were too dry and I couldn't cry anymore, but that didn't stop me from shivering. She rubbed a hand across my back and murmured to me quietly. In that moment, she was all I could feel, hear, focus on.

And then Hiruzen shattered it.

"Mirai, I'd like you to tell me what happened."

Yuugao's arms snapped tighter around me. "Hokage-sama! Forgive me, but Mirai-chan is a child, not a shinobi. I'd appreciate it if you gave her some time before interrogating her."

"The scene was rather clear, Hokage-sama," Iruka murmured. "Mirai was the victim in this circumstance."

"She killed three chunin."

"She . . . she killed her attackers, Hokage-sama," Iruka said, voice strained. "I really do think you should give her some time."

Hiruzen's gaze flicked over me. He nodded. "Very well. Then I'd like to speak with you about this incident after you finish at the Academy tomorrow."

The entire group immediately began to protest, though Iruka's voice was somehow louder. "Sure you don't expect her to come in tomorrow morning after what just—"

"That's exactly what I expect from her. After all, she and I have an . . . understanding about her training, don't we, Mirai-chan?"

I clung to Yuugao and scowled, meeting his gaze. "Fine. I'll be there."