Author's Note: Confession time, and I'm sorry if I disappoint some of you, but I've gotten questions about this. And no, Kaguya won't be involved here at all. TBH, I hated that the story just suddenly jumped from Madara being the villain to suddenly "oh, no he was just manipulated and the REAL villain is this person you've never heard about before that's super OP but isn't actually gonna be around that long to prove herself as a good quality antagonist." So yeah, we're pretending none of the Kaguya stuff happened and that Black Zetsu is the manifestation of Madara's will.

And yes, ages around the Massacre are a little weird and isn't stated super clearly in canon. And then it's not consistent in the fandom either; they're six in some fics during the massacre and seven or eight in others. So I went with the twins being seven and Sasuke being eight (since he is older than them) as a kinda middle ground.

Fun Fact: In the original draft, Mirai tells Shikamaru about her reincarnation when they're genin. I realized that it would be far more true to Shikamaru's character to have him figure it out on his own.

Chapter Eighteen - Hegemony

[hegemony—noun 1: leadership or predominant influence exercised by one nation over others, as in a confederation 2: leadership, predominance 3: (especially among smaller nations) aggression or expansionism by large nations in an effort to achieve world domination]

"Mirai-chan! Maru did mention that you'd be coming by today." Yoshino beamed at me. "I'm sorry that you missed dinner. But I can reheat—"

"No, that's okay," I rasped out, fists in my pockets to try to hide the trembling. "I'm . . . not hungry. Where's Shikamaru?"

"He's in the shogi room." She gestured to the small building, separate from the house. "Go ahead and go on in. Are you sure you don't want me to bring you anything?"

"I'm sure." I wasn't sure if she could hear the raw fear in my voice. I really hoped she couldn't. "Thank you, though."

"Well, go ahead. He's been out there forever. I couldn't even drag him in for dinner."

"Right. Okay." I managed to give her a tight smile and then I moved away to the shogi room. I hesitated in front of the door for a bit too long before finally sliding it open.

Shikamaru looked up from his game of solitaire and yawned. "Took you long enough. What were you even doing?"

"Training," I mumbled, stepping inside and closing the door. I paused, biting my lip.

"Sit down. Don't worry, my dad uses this place for strategic discussions and even meetings with the Hokage. It's some of the best security in the Village."

"See, the fact that you knew that's what I was worried about is concerning." I sat across the shogi board from him. "What, are we gonna play a game?"

"Not shogi," he said, turning to face me. "Here's what I know: Your parents are Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato. You're a jinchuuriki. Which by the way, it's really hard to find information about bijuu containers in the library; I had to go searching through the Nara Archives. But you hold the Kyuubi. Am I right so far?"

I ground my teeth and refused to say anything.

He shrugged. "Alright. You're reincarnated. And you're not originally from Konoha."

Kurama stirred angrily in the back of my head and I managed a tight-lipped smile. "You really don't know what you're messing with, Maru."

"I'm right, though. Aren't I?"

"What do you want?"

And for the first time since I'd gotten there, he looked surprised. "Want? You . . . really don't have any idea how Nara work, do you? What we 'want' is to figure things out."

"And . . . now that you know this?" I asked tensely. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Well . . . knowledge is power, right? It's always nice to have a little bit of power in the back pocket. Don't you think?

"I think . . . that we should take a walk," I murmured, carefully slipping my coin out and running my fingers across the seals. I pressed my chakra into the second seal and rose to my feet. "Are you up for a walk?"

His gaze narrowed on the coin. "A walk?"

The coin burned: Are you okay?

I just pulsed the second seal again. No, I wasn't okay. I was anything but okay. I glared at the Nara. "Yeah, a walk. I haven't been able to pay my respects at the Uchiha Shrine yet today. You should join me."

He wrinkled his nose. "Sounds like a long walk."

Shisui's chakra burned in the second seal as a confirmation. I hid the coin away. I hardened my gaze. "Let me rephrase: you're joining me."

He stared at me and must have seen . . . something there, because he pulled himself to his feet with a sigh. "Alright, fine."

I slid open the door and stepped out. On the porch of the main house, Yoshino glanced away from her conversation with Shikaku and smiled. "What are you two up to?"

"Walk," Shikamaru muttered. "Mirai for some reason thinks it would be a good idea for me to get exercise."

"She's right, you know. You sit around too much."

"Yeah, well, she moves too much. I feel like it averages out between us."

"That's definitely not how it works." I glanced towards Yoshino and Shikaku. "I won't keep him out too late." I hooked my arm through his and pulled him towards the gate. "C'mon. I can even shunshin us so you don't have to walk too much."

He groaned. "Fine, fine."

I shunshined us away. A series of several landed us at the Uchiha Gates. Shikamaru stumbled and my hold on him was all that kept him from falling to his knees. "Ugh," he grumbled. "My stomach didn't like that."

I waited for a few seconds. "You good?" When he nodded, I hauled him up and guided him down the streets.

After a few turns, he tried to pull his arm away. "Hey, isn't the graveyard the other way?"

"I know where I'm going." I pulled him with me up the steps to Naka Shrine. Once inside, I let go of him and turned, closing the doors tightly. I crouched down in front of the doors and peeled back a tatami mat, exposing the seal on the floor. I touched my fingers against it and activated it. Then I let the mat fall back into place.

"Um . . . are we . . . supposed to be in here?"

I ignored him, moving to the back wall and counting the mats. I pulled the seventh up, yanking up the trap door along with it. "You first."

He started at the ladder that descended downward and the faint hazy glow of light that was rising from below. His gaze flicked to me. "Look, I just wanted to know if I was right or not. What is—"

"You first."

He swallowed. "Um. Right." He shook himself and stepped carefully down the ladder. I followed after him, pulling the trap door closed above us. Then I jumped down from the ladder and landed in a crouch.

"Mind explaining, Taichou?"

I looked up to find that Shisui was holding a rigid, terrified Shikamaru firmly by the shoulder. I waved a hand. "Please, he's not going to hurt you. Look at him."

Shisui eyed Shikamaru doubtfully and then shrugged, releasing him. Shikamaru stumbled away. "Um . . . so you're alive."

"And you don't seem surprised." Shisui crossed his arms, frowning at him. "Mirai, what the hell is going on?"

"Ask Sherlock Holmes over here. He's the one that had to go and figure everything out."

"Sherlock who?" Shisui squinted at me. Then his gaze flicked to Shikamaru. "He figured everything out?"

"Well . . . not everything. Go ahead, Maru. Why don't you list it out for him too."

"I . . . ." He glanced between us, visibly shaking, and I was viscerally reminded that he was really only eight. Clever, sharp, intelligent, but only eight.

"I didn't mean to scare you," I murmured. I reached in my kunai pouch and took out a storage scroll. I unsealed a water bottle and held it out to him. "Here."

Shikamaru took it and fumbled with the lid for a few seconds before twisting it off. He gulped at it and then wiped his mouth, eying us. He let out a trembling breath. "Um . . . which part?"

"The list you gave me. All of it."

"Right. Um . . . I know about your parents. And . . . the Kyuubi." He cleared her throat. "And you died somewhere else and were reincarnated in Konoha."

"And just how do you know that?" Shisui asked. I could practically see his hackles rising and alarm bells went off in my head as red started to bleed into my eyes.

I put a hand on his arm to stop him. "He's a Nara, Shisui. Clearly I should have been more careful about who I spent my time around."

He glanced at me and the shaky red flickered before vanishing. He huffed. "Okay. Well, we can't risk him going and telling everyone. Him just knowing is dangerous."

"I, I won't. I won't say a thing."

"It's more complicated than that, Maru," I sighed. "I told you that you really don't know what you're messing with. This is bigger than just me and Shisui." At that, I looked up at the Uchiha with my hand still gripping his arm, just as much an anchor for me as it was for him. "We need a way to . . . to make sure that he can't share anything. While I explain things."

"You're gonna tell him?" Shisui asked me incredulously.

"He's a Nara, Shisui. He's already come this far. But . . . ." All I could think about was the original Shikamaru, the one I'd read about years ago who would do anything and everything humanly possible to fight for his teammates. "I think we can trust him. If . . . if he agrees to work with us."

"You're crazy."

"You've called me that before."

Shisui huffed in frustration and look back towards Shikamaru, who was watching us talk with wide eyes. The Nara sipped desperately at his water and then cleared his throat. "Um . . . do I get a say in anything?"

"It depends. I don't . . . have a way to make sure you don't share anything while I—"

"I do," Shisui interrupted. When I looked up at him, his eyes were swirling red again and the black stretched into his mangekyo.

I straightened. "We're not using your kotoamatsukami for this."

"I don't need to. I can use a lower level version. It's temporary and limited, but it would work for our purposes. It would give you about a week to convince him. And . . . if that doesn't work out in the end, then . . . I'll take care of him."

"Take care of me," Shikamaru echoed hoarsely. "I don't really like the way that sounds."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," I assured him, shooting a glare at Shisui. "Did you really have to phrase it like that?" When he shrugged and offered up an innocent grin, I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Alright, do it so he can't say anything. Maru?"

"Um." He blinked at me, gaze flicking between the two of us. "Yes?"

"You're gonna spend a damn good amount of time with over the next week so I can make things clear to you. Got it?" Then I didn't wait for a response. Instead, I turned to Shisui and finally released him. "Do it."

Shisui stepped forward. When Shikamaru took a scrambling step back, Shisui stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Hold still."

Shikamaru froze, eyes wide and glassy. His skin was somehow paler than normal and his hands were trembling. I glanced away, something akin to guilt stirring deep in my stomach.

"Done. He's fine, Mirai."

I looked back. Shikamaru was staring down at his water, brow furrowed in confusion. "What did you do?" he rasped.

"Just a genjutsu that will trick you out of sharing anything even if you try." He glanced at me. "I'll stay in the area this week. Not in Konoha, but nearby in case you need me."

I felt some weight lift off my shoulders. "Thank you." Then I sat down and waved to Shikamaru. "I might as well get started, then. Sit."

Shikamaru hesitated for a long moment before doing so. A glance behind me told me that Shisui was still standing, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed as he watched the Nara carefully. I took a deep breath and refocused. "Before I was . . . me, I was someone called Sophie Cooper."

Shikamaru opened his mouth as if to say something, but he paused and confusion flicked across his face. "That'll be the genjutsu," Shisui said. "Don't worry. You'll be able to ask all the questions you want to ask in a week's time."

I tilted my head to the side. "Are you curious about the name?"

Shikamaru nodded.

"Yeah, it's unusual for here. But . . . not unusual for where I came from. Sophie wasn't from here. And I don't mean here as in Konoha. I mean here as in this dimension."

Shikamaru was waiting at the front gate when we got to the Academy early the next morning. Sasuke and Naruto each briefly paused for a hug before racing off to find Lee. The Nara watched me quietly, arms crossed. I cleared my throat and shoved my hands in my pockets. "I have nature chakra lessons with Yosu-sensei after the Academy. You'll be coming with me?"

He shrugged. "I guess. That's what has to happen, right? I don't have a choice."

"Just making sure we're on the same page. Think we can get Choji to switch seats with me? It's just you two on that row, right?"

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to."

"Right, right." I hooked my hand into the crook of his arm and steered him into the building. The classroom was empty when we got there and we moved to our seats. I sat where Choji normally did. "Did everything last night make sense?"

He shrugged. "I guess. I have questions, but . . . ."

"Right." I took out my storage scroll and unsealed my school things. "Our first sensei, Bekko, hated me for the Kyuubi. He dragged me up to the Hokage. I think he was expecting to get me expelled or held back. I got him moved instead."

"I did wonder why he picked on you so much."

I was about to continue, but the door slid open. Iruka looked surprised. "Shikamaru-kun. Mirai-chan. You're in here early." He fell into a smile. "Switching seats, are we?"

"We're trying it out." I shrugged. "Seeing how it feels."

He moved up the steps. "Well, here's your folder for today. Are you . . . switching seats so Shikamaru-kun can get involved?"

I blinked at him. That thought hadn't even crossed my mind.

He nodded. "If so, that's alright with me as long as you don't bother the others. His grades have been consistently high enough this entire year that I'm not concerned. Though I will be if those grades drop."

Shikamaru grumbled and I grinned. "Oh, believe me; they won't. Will they, Maru?"

He sighed and folded his arms on the desk, slumping over. "No," he muttered. "They won't."

I took the folder and opened it. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei." I slid it a bit to the side so Shikamaru could see it all too. "I mostly have a fuuinjutsu problem I'm studying for at the moment, but the stuff in here is pretty good."

"Fuuinjutsu problem?"

"Nothing you have to worry about yet."

"And—" Shikamaru broke off, the genjutsu not letting him finish his question in response to my spiel. He scowled at me.

"Right. Sorry. Um, you're asking about . . . him?"

He nodded.

"Right. I didn't have to do this with him. You know, the Yamanaka aren't the only ones with the ability to look in someone's head. And it's a lot easier when that person is willing to let you in."

Understanding sparked in his eyes. "Ah."

"Exactly. Believe me, he wouldn't have done a damn thing that he did for me if he didn't trust me more than literally anyone else out there."

"Huh."

I squinted at him. "What?"

He shrugged. "I guess you don't realize how much weight something like that carries for an outsider. Makes it a bit easier to believe in what you're doing. Shinobi don't trust easily."

I eyed him for a moment, turning that over in my head. "I know," I murmured, though it did start a question in me. I cleared my throat and turned toward the training ground we were approaching. "Konichiwa, Yosu-sensei! Konohamaru-kun!"

"Ohayo, Mirai-chan," Yosu said, grinning and holding his son upside down. Konohamaru twisted a bit so he could see us.

"Hi!" he cheered. "Let me down, Touchan! I wanna see Mirai!"

Yosu laughed. "Okay, okay." He set Konohamaru down and the boy ran for us.

He slid into me and I let myself fall. "Hey, Kono-kun. This is my— This is Shikamaru. Maru, this is Konohamaru."

Konohamaru peered up at him suspiciously. "Hi."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, showing his hands in his pockets. "Hello. We've met before; it was just a while ago."

"It's good to see you again, Shikamaru-kun," Yosu said. He hesitated. "Uh . . . you aren't wind-natured, are you?"

"No. At least, probably not. Guessing by my clan, I'm probably earth-natured. Besides, I'm not here for training. I'm just hanging out with her," —he jerked his thumb towards me— "and I'm just gonna chill while you guys work." With that said, he strolled over to a tree and sat down, leaning against it.

"You have that stuff I gave you to study," I reminded him.

He groaned and pulled out the storage scroll I'd given him. He unsealed the notebook I'd spent the night before writing out. Shikamaru bit his thumb and tapped it against the seal on the front of the notebook. It recognized his chakra as what I had keyed into it earlier and he opened it, settling down to read.

I turned to face Yosu and found him holding out a handful of leaves to me. He gave me a grin. "Ready?"

I reached out and took the leaves, sitting down. I put the first one on my palm and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

Two hours later, Yosu interrupted me by plucking the leaf from my hand. He tossed it up and kept it there with a steady swirl of air. "You'll get it. But I think it's about dinner time right now, don't you? What do you want?"

I frowned at the leaf and then switched my gaze to Konohamaru. "What do you want for dinner, Kono-kun?"

"Sushi!"

"Do I get a say?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, not really." I glanced at Yosu. "Sushi, please."

He chuckled. "Got it." Then he vanished.

I reached out and snatched up the leaf before it hit the ground. I placed it on my palm and tried again, gently drawing up wind chakra. The leaf trembled. The leaf tore. I kept in a swear, Konohamaru's presence at the front of my mind, and let the ripped leaf fall.

"Having trouble?"

I shot a glare towards Shikamaru. "No, I'm just messing up on purpose." Groaning, I fell back onto the ground.

"Hey."

His voice was suddenly much closer than it had been before and I looked up to find him leaning over me. I wrinkled my nose. "You're supposed to be reading."

"And you're supposed to be mastering this." He gripped my wrist and pulled my hand up. And then he slapped another leaf into my hand. "You want me on your side? I believe you, but you've still gotta convince me to believe in you."

Eying him, I sat up. "It's not exactly easy, you know."

"And that's why you're not a prodigy. Naruto is."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." He shrugged. "I've seen him in class and our study group. He picks stuff up easily with just a little direction. Only reason you can do a damn thing is because, unlike the rest of us, you don't play around. You're not a natural."

"Flattering, thank you," I said dryly.

"I'm a Nara. We don't do flattery; we do facts. Now." He pointed at the leave. "Float it."

I straightened and held my hand out, staring at the leaf. "I have no idea what I'm doing wrong, you know. But when I push the air up, I always end up with two pieces of a leaf instead of a floating one."

He paused, hand finally falling away from my wrist. "You're just . . . pushing up with the air?"

"Yeah."

"Just . . . straight up?"

I squinted at him. "What's your point, Maru?"

"Well," he said slowly, as if he was explaining something very simple to someone very dumb. "Which is easier to walk on: a wide platform or a knife's edge? And which one are you making if you're just pushing the air up instead of spreading it?"

"I'm . . . ." I stared down at the leaf, going over his words slowly, carefully. Then I drew the wind chakra up and drew it out wide, past the edges of the leaf, before letting it up. Shakily, the leaf rose and trembled a few inches over my palm. I cut the chakra and let the leaf flutter to the ground. "Has anyone told you before that you're a damn genius?"

He scoffed. "I'm a Nara, Soph."

I flinched, yanking my gaze up at him. He was watching me impassively, hands in his pockets again.

"Who's Soph?"

I jerked in surprise and looked down at where Konohamaru had shuffled over to us. "Um . . . ."

"It's a nickname," Shikamaru said smoothly. "From so hie. 'Cause Mirai's the leader of our study group at school." His gaze cut to me. "And all we do is follow."

"Sushi!" Yosu announced loudly, suddenly appearing back in the training ground with several boxes.

"I did it!" I announced. I lunged for another leaf and placed it on my palm. I drew up on the wind chakra and stretched it out. The leaf lifted.

Yosu blinked. "In . . . the time that I was gone?"

"Maru helped."

Yosu whistled and then clapped Shikamaru hard enough on the back that the boy stumbled forward. The Sarutobi grinned. "You should come around more often. Though I guess I should have expected that from a Nara." He held out one of the boxes. "Hungry?"

"Why are we here?" he whined. "I'm exhausted from that training session. I just wanna take a nap."

I glanced sharply at him. "First off, you always want to take a nap. But secondly, you didn't even do anything. You just watched Gai-sensei run me on drills for three hours."

"And watching you do all that work was so tiring."

I shook my head. "Shh. Let me do the talking." I stopped as we reached the edge of the compound. There were no gates or walls, but there was a shinobi and his ninken. "I'm here to see Hana-san. She's not expecting me. I brought cookies." I hefted the box I was carrying.

The ninken stepped forward and sniffed. When she sat back down, the guard waved us past. "Go ahead."

I motioned to Shikamaru and headed straight to the main house. Unlike the other clan houses I'd visited, it was surprisingly . . . usual. Normal. Nothing special about it, except for the hallway jutting off of it to the right that connected to the large animal clinic. I knocked loudly and it took only a few seconds before I heard a loud crash and the door was flung open The person who had answered it stared at us in confusion. "Uh . . . Shikamaru? Mirai?"

"Hi, Kiba. Is Hana here? I have something for her."

He squinted at the box and sniffed loudly. "Ooh, cookies. Uh, yeah. Come in." He shuffled aside. "Kaachan! Hana! Visitors!" He waved us down the hall. "You can put the cookies on the table. Uh, to the left."

"Arigato." I glanced back to make sure Shikamaru was following me and then I moved down the hall. I stopped at the kitchen table and set the box down.

"Huh. Do I know you?"

I turned and immediately saw recognition dawn in Tsume's eyes. "Konichiwa, Inuzuka-dono." I bowed. "Uzumaki Mirai. I brought cookies for Hana."

"Mirai-chan?" Hana stood at the end of the hallway, peeling off a pair of gloves. "What are you doing here?" She blinked and then sniffed, glancing towards the box. "Cookies?"

"For you."

"Oh." She swallowed loudly and then moved forward, lifting off the lid. Hana stared at the envelope labeled clearly with her name and then tucked it away in her pocket, glancing briefly at me. "Thank you, Mirai-chan."

"What's the Nara here for?" Tsume asked, crossing her arms. "He shadowing you?" She proceeded to snicker at her own joke.

"Hilarious," Shikamaru said dryly. "Really. But no, we're just spending a bit of time together. Normally we just see each other at the Academy and at Study Group."

Tsume straightened a touch. "Study group."

Kiba's eyes widened and he shook his head at us, making a stop motion at his throat. I grinned. "Yeah. A bunch of us from class meet on Saturday to study and train together. Maru and I are just a small part of the group. Choji and Sasuke are there too. So are Ino and Shino. We even have a few older kids from the class ahead of us. Our grades are all higher than the other students in class."

"Is that so?" Tsume's gaze slid to Kiba. "Sounds like something you could get some good out of, Kiba."

"I'm doing fine in class!"

"You failed your last test."

"Kaachan," he whined. "I don't wanna study extra."

"It's fun," I promised.

"We brings snacks," Shikamaru assured him with a shrug. "Cookies sometimes. Or dango. Everyone's favorite is when Choji brings dessert his dad made for us."

Kiba faltered at that and licked his lips. "Like . . . Akimichi dessert?"

I nodded. "Last time, he brought homemade mochi."

"It sounds nice, Kiba," Hana said, slinging and arm around him and rubbing her knuckles in his hair. "I think it would be good for you."

He wriggled away from her. "I don't wanna!"

"You will," Tsume said sternly. Her gaze snapped to me. "When?"

"Saturdays. We leave as a group after class ends. Our location switches each week, so tomorrow we got special permission to train in the Hyuuga Dojo."

"Good. Kiba will go with you."

"Kaachan—"

"Great!" I grinned. "Don't worry, Inuzuka-dono. I'll catch him tomorrow before he leaves the Academy."

"Good." She nodded. "And please, don't be so formal."

"Tsume-dono," I corrected myself, watching as she wrinkled her nose at the honorific. "Enjoy the cookies. Maru and I have a match to get to." I hooked my arm through Shikamaru's and started pulling him toward the door.

"We do?"

"Yep. Don't worry, you'll love it."

When we made it outside, he easily followed but pulled on my arm to get my attention. "When you say match . . . ."

"Poker match. Every Friday night at the Jonin Station. I've been going for over a year now. It gives me the income I need so that Naruto and I can actually eat."

Shikamaru frowned. "What do you mean?"

I glanced sideways at him. "Oh, you don't actually think the orphan stipend people are going to give us all the money they're supposed to, do you? Besides, winning it in a poker match is far more legal than the five-finger discount I was getting on things before."

"Ah. So . . . you're good at poker?"

"You could say that. Have you been the Jonin Station before?"

"Um, I think once. My dad took me one a while back."

"It's one of my favorite places. Here we are." I opened the door and waved him ahead of me. He stepped inside and hesitated, so I led the way down the stairs.

"You brought a guest?"

"Ohayo, Ibiki-san. I'm planning to teach Shikamaru poker, so he's just going to watch for today." I dragged an extra chair up to mine at the table. "Izumo isn't here today?"

"Nah," Kotetsu said, watching as Saisu shuffled the deck. "Mission. Anko too."

"Just the three of us, then?"

"For now."

"I'll join."

I looked up and paused. "Inoichi," I said. "You play?"

"Do you?" he asked calmly, sitting down and pulling out his wallet. "I don't make a habit of gambling, but a game every few weeks is fun."

"I've been doing this for over a year. You've never played."

He nodded in acceptance of my statement and didn't counter it. Shikamaru leaned forward, folding his arms on the table and resting his chin. "Alright, explain it, Soph."

"Right. So Kamano-san is gonna deal, and that's when we'll be able to see our hand."

I paused at the door to my apartment, stopping my discussion with Shikamaru about our study group plans in the middle of a sentence. The Nara stopped too. "What?"

I focused on the flickering chakra in the apartment. "Someone's in there."

He glanced over his shoulder as if checking for something, adjusting his backpack. "I thought Naruto and Sasuke were already here."

"They are. There's someone else." I undid the security seals and unlocked the door, pushing my way inside. I stopped in the doorway. "Niisan? Are you hurt?"

Kakashi looked up from where he was sprawled across the couch. "Hey, Pup," he rasped. "Friend staying over?"

"Just for tonight. We're going over some school stuff." In actuality, I'd been planning to speak with Shikamaru about the Uchiha Massacre, but it looked like plans had to change. "Maru, there's a first aid box under the sink. Can you get it for me?" I took his backpack and moved to put it against the wall. "Can you move to the table, Niisan? Where are you hurt?"

"Blunt force trauma to my chest," he said succinctly, stumbling forward and sinking into a chair at the table. "And I did something to my ankle." He paused, glancing at Shikamaru.

I opened the first aid kit and got out a surgical mask, passing it to him. "Chest and ankle, then?"

"Yeah," he said, hooking the mask on his ears and then pulling down his cloth mask. He made a small noise of pain as he eased off his shirt, exposing the mass of mottled bruising.

"The boys?"

"They were asleep when I got here."

I nodded to him. "I'll start with your chest." I dug out the stethoscope. "Breathe normally for a second. Good . . . . Deep breath."

When he did that, he visibly winced.

I frowned. "Breathe normal again," I ordered, putting the stethoscope in my ears and against his chest. "Niisan . . . you should really go to the hospital for this one. I'm not a medic-nin; I can tell you've broken ribs, but I can't tell if you did damage to your organs."

"I don't like hospitals."

"I know. But if you don't get official medical record of your broken ribs, you won't be put on medical leave. And you need at least six weeks before you should go out with these again. Maru, hand me the pain medicine and then get a couple ice packs from the freezer. Wrap them in towels."

"I don't like hospitals," Kakashi said again, voice raw.

I pulled back and leveled a stare at him, lowering the stethoscope. "How would you feel if I tried to avoid the hospital every time I got hurt."

The way he wrinkled his nose was visible through his mask. "I hate it when you do it and you know that."

"And yet you don't even have a demon in your gut healing you. Or Uzumaki genes."

His eye widened and he glanced briefly towards Shikamaru. But he must have realized the Nara didn't seem that surprised by the information because he relaxed. I picked up a water bottle from the first aid kit and handed it to Kakashi, also passing him the medicine Shikamaru was offering. While he took that, I took the ice packs as well. "Grab me a couple bandages. Thanks, Maru."

I gently pressed the ice packs to the worst bruised spots Kakashi's chest and directed Shikamaru to hold them there while I carefully wound the ace bandages around him, not tight enough to hurt or do any damage. Just barely tight enough to keep the ice packs in place.

"I'll look at your ankle, but I do want you to go to someone who can confirm that you haven't hurt any internal organs. And that your ribs aren't about to puncture a lung. A medic-nin, at least. Doesn't even have to be at the hospital."

I dragged up a chair and he lifted his right leg up. As I took off his shoe and started to study his swollen ankle—probably sprained?—he said, "I'll think about it."

"Nope. Medic-nin or hospital. Those are two of your choices."

"Is there a third choice?"

"I talk to Hiruzen over tea on Sunday." I looked up at him and smiled. "Do you really want to know what I'll do to get you treated properly? Or are you willing to just go to a medic-nin?"

"Fine. I'll go to Tenzo."

I barely stopped myself for asking for clarification, surprised that Tenzo qualified as a medic-nin. Instead, I remembered that . . . well, technically, I had never actually been introduced to Tenzo. So I reached for the ankle brace and cleared my throat. "Tenzo?"

"Oh . . . . Friend of mine. You'd . . . like him."

I wrapped his ankle tightly. "Rest and elevation. Ice it when you can. Keep it compressed. And have . . . Tenzo look at your chest."

He groaned a bit as he pulled his shirt back on and awkwardly rearrange his regular mask so he could take the surgical one off. Then he leaned over and did his best to fit his shoe over the brace. "Thanks, Pup." He pressed a quick kiss to my forehead and then escaped out the door.

"He knew he should go to the hospital." Shikamaru cocked his head to the side. "You're good, but he doesn't come here just because you're good."

"No, probably not," I mused, packing the first aid kit up and putting it away.

"There's no probably. It's a win-win for him. He gets treatment and he gets to check up on you." With a shrug, he shambled over to the couch. "Blanket?"

"Uh, yeah. Um. I wanted to talk about—"

"Soph, c'mon," he mumbled, throwing himself on the couch. "You've dragged me around all day and I had to hear about every one of Konoha's dirty little secrets."

"Definitely not every—"

"You get my point. I'm tired. Let me sleep. We can talk tomorrow. Seriously." He held out his hand. "Now, blanket."

I sighed. "Yeah. Okay. Let me go grab one for you."

The third time I cut Fugaku's throat, I finally woke up in a cold sweat with a scream itching on my tongue. I reached for the phantom of Shisui beside my bed only to realize I wasn't in my bed at all. I sat up, staring down at the sleeping mat I was on and it took me a long moment to realize why I was there at all.

"Bad dream?"

I jerked to the side and stared at where Shikamaru was sitting on the couch, dragging a hand through his hair as he yawned. He paused and squinted at me. "Kami, Soph. You see a ghost or something?"

I swallowed thickly and tried—and failed—to steady my shaking hands. "Something like that," I rasped. "I, uh . . . ." I debated trying to delve into the mess that was the Uchiha Massacre. He needed to learn about it, but at that moment my nerves were just a bit too raw. But before I could actually make that decision, I felt Sasuke's chakra flare painfully and a scream came from the boys' room.

I scrambled up and stumbled a couple steps—my knees were still weak from my nightmare—before finding my footing. I opened the door. "Sasuke?"

He didn't move, back to the rest of the room as his shoulders shook and he curled around a pillow. I glanced towards Naruto, who was sitting upright on his own bed with his eyes wide. I motioned to him. "Hey, go sit with Maru for a second, okay?"

Naruto nodded and frantically scrambled up and out the door past me. I stepped inside and let the door click closed. "Hey, Sasuke," I said softly. "Do you want me to come over?"

He whimpered and I was barely able to make out the nod he gave in response. He didn't move other than that. I stepped forward and sat on the edge of his bed. "Do you want to talk?"

"I hate him."

"Hate— Oh." I swallowed thickly and put my hand on his arm. "Don't . . . don't let him get to you, Sasuke."

He sniffled and turned over, rubbing his eyes. "Why?"

"If . . . if he gets to you, he wins. You know that, right?"

"Well . . . what am I 'posed to do?"

"I . . . don't know. Why don't you and I try to figure that out? Together?"

"Did you think you could actually sneak off?"

Kiba flinched and turned slowly, a fake grin on his face. "Oh, hi, Mirai. Shikamaru. Oh, everyone. Uhhhh . . . . What's up?"

I crossed my arms and tilted my head to the side. "C'mon, we're going to study group. Sakura brought chocolate cake."

Sakura proudly lifted the box she was carrying, flushing slightly as the attention all turned to her. "You like chocolate, don't you, Kiba-kun?"

"I . . . yeah," he admitted, sighing. "You guys aren't gonna make me do a lot of work, are you?"

Shikamaru scoffed. "You clearly don't know Mirai. Are we going or not?"

"Yeah, fine." Kiba's shoulders slumped and he moved to trudge alongside us. "What are we even doing today?"

"Chakra paper," I announced, nodding once. "We're going to figure out everyone's primary chakra nature. Shikamaru and I got it from the Jonin Station last night. We'll start with that and then get everyone started on the initial training exercise. Then we'll do a bit of light sparring and go over anything people are having trouble with as far as homework goes. It's not a lot."

"It sounds like a lot," Kiba groused. "Where are we going?"

"Hiashi-dono is letting us train in the Hyuuga Dojo," I reminded him. "So everyone remember to be polite and on your best behavior. We don't want to give Hiashi-dono a reason to regret allowing us to train there."

Kiba just sighed and made dramatic groaning sounds for the rest of the walk. When we reached the gates, he seemed to have finally given up and gave a half-hearted bow alongside the rest of us to the guards. They waved us in and Hinata led the way to the dojo.

"Uzumaki-san."

I paused. "Hiashi-dono." I bowed. "What can I do for you?"

"I'd like to speak with you."

I nodded and glanced to the others, motioning them to go on ahead. "Why don't you guys start with homework for today."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Yeah, okay."

I bowed my head to Hiashi. "What would you like to discuss?"

He stepped to the side and lifted a hand out towards the main house. "Inside, if you would." He turned and led the way.

"Of course." I moved up the steps and toed off my shoes as he did the same. Hiashi slid open the door. Hiashi stepped in first and led the way down the hallway. He slid open the door to a tea room and waved me in. He closed the door and moved to the short table, kneeling before it. I moved to my own spot and knelt seiza, glancing at the Hyuuga that was waiting patiently, hands folded behind his back.

"Uzumaki-san, this is Hyuuga Ko. He has acted as Hinata's bodyguard all her life, though you understand that job has become more relaxed since her entry into the Academy." Hiashi nodded to the Hyuuga, who didn't look like he could be older than eighteen. "Tea."

Ko nodded and knelt down, pouring out tea for each of us before returning to his standing position.

"I was aware that my daughter was part of your study group. It was Ko, however, that brought my attention to just how much time you've been spending with her. I'm sure you can understand why your particular interest in her attention and training could be worrying."

Kurama grumbled in the back of my head and I did my best not to frown. "Worrying? You mean due to the Kyuubi?"

Hiashi straightened a little. His expression didn't betray much of anything at all. "I didn't realize you were aware."

"I can assure you that I have no ill intentions in regard to Hinata-chan. She's a friend and a future comrade. It's logical that, for both of those reasons, I'd like her to be a strong, respectable kunoichi." I glanced at Ko. "After all, you can't deny that Hinata-chan's participation in my life, both within and without the Study Group, has benefited her. Her grades have now kept her consistently in the top five in our class." I sipped at my tea.

"Ah. I was aware that her grades were more than expected. I had not been informed of her class rankings."

"Were these concerns all you wished to discuss?"

"Hardly. I understand you have taken a particular interest in my nephew as well."

"My answer for that is very much the same. Is there a specific reason you decided to address this? Have I done something specific to make you concerned?"

"You have. After all, an Academy student killing three chunin isn't something that stays quiet. Violence of that form from a child's close friend would be enough to make any parent worry."

"It was all in self-defense, I can promise you that. The three chunin attacked me first."

He looked unconvinced.

With a sigh, I rose to my feet. Ko visibly tensed and I shook my head. "I'm merely sharing proof, that's all." Then I twisted up the hem of my shirt to show my scar. "They blamed me not only for the Kyuubi Attack almost eight years ago but also for the Uchiha Massacre. I didn't want to kill them, but when the attack moved from physical harm to attempted rape I felt I had no choice but to fight back." I smoothed out my shirt again and knelt back down. As Hiashi considered me, I sipped at my tea and then set down the empty cup. Ko immediately knelt again and refilled it.

"You have spent much time with the Aburame Clan. And, of course, your position as an honorary Uchiha makes you the second to last living legal member of the clan, does it not?"

I nodded my thanks to Ko and lifted my cup again. "Is there a point to your observations, Hiashi-dono?"

He smiled thinly. "And then there is, of course, the form of your address. That of respect, but that of an equal. It all points to a consolidation of power. Tell me, Uzumaki-san, are you attempting to cement yourself as the head of the Uzumaki Clan even though it has been destroyed?"

"The Clan hasn't been destroyed," I said firmly. "Reduced in number, yes. Scattered, yes. Homeless for the most part, yes. But not destroyed. My mother was Uzumaki royalty, and as such she left the inheritance of the position of Clan Head to myself or my brother. The Aburame Clan was the first to recognize me as such. Naruto has no qualms with me accepting that role."

"You certainly have accepted it, seeing as you're addressing me as your equal."

I smiled faintly. "Clan head to clan head. Is there a point to all this?"

"Not so much a point as it is an . . . offer. A trade that would not only benefit both of us but would also secure positive relations between the my clan and your own."

"A deal?" This time, my smile was more real. "I'm fond of deals."

"So I've heard. Hanabi, my youngest, enters the Academy in sixteen months. I would like for her to be more . . . prepared than— I would like for her to be prepared. Seeing as your leadership and instruction in this group of yours has improved the skills of your classmates, I'm confident that you could do similarly for my daughter, given about a year's time to prepare her."

"You want me to . . . teach Hanabi-chan? What do I get in return, then?"

"Recognition as the Uzumaki Clan Head. An open invitation for yourself and your companions to train in the Hyuuga Dojo. An offer of access to study our shinobi archives as well as a handful of lessons for myself."

I eyed him. "This is about more than just Hanabi, isn't it?" After all, I was a jinchuuriki, not just a clan head. And I practically had complete control of the Uchiha Clan as it remained; Sasuke would probably do anything I asked. Hiashi wanted more than just Hanabi's growth. This was a practical agreement that gained the Hyuuga Clan power, especially in the aftermath of the Uchiha Massacre. I bowed my head. "I accept. I'll do weekly sessions with Hanabi. Sunday afternoons would be best for me. I have have tea and shogi with Hiruzen just before noon."

Hiashi nodded and bowed his head as well. "You are welcome to join us for lunch on those days prior to training. I look forward to the relationship between our clans."

With that, I rose to my feet. "Is that all? I think they're waiting for me."

Hiashi rose as well. "Of course. Be my guest."

I moved out the door and made my way back to the dojo. When I opened the door, I found Shikamaru in the middle of passing out chakra paper. He glanced up. "Hey, you were taking forever so we decided to move on."

"No problem." I reached out and took a paper. "Did Maru explain how it works?" When they all shook their heads, I held the paper up. "This reacts to the base nature of your chakra and reacts accordingly. For example, my chakra nature is wind. So when I put in a little bit of my chakra like so." The paper tore in half. "Depending on your base chakra nature, it will react differently. The main chakra nature in Konoha is fire, so don't be surprised if most of you guys end up with burnt paper."

"And don't put too much chakra in it," Shikamaru warned. "Just a little. Uh, Naruto. Why don't you go first?"

"Got it, dattebayo!" Naruto focused on his paper and I felt him push chakra forward. His paper shredded itself into a hundred tiny little pieces. He blinked. "Uh . . . what does that mean, Rai?"

"That's wind. Like me. Though, uh." I raised an eyebrow. "That looks like a pretty strong nature. But that means that we can definitely train ours together. Maru? Why don't you go next?"

He sighed. "Right. Fine." He held up his paper and his chakra shifted. The paper darkened and crumbled away. "Earth. That's what I expected. Choji?"

When Choji's paper also crumbled away to dirt, I unsealed a notebook and started noting down the natures and so who would train their affinities together. Sakura and Ino eagerly used their papers at the same time, the paper soaking and burning respectively. The girls turned to Hinata. "C'mon, Hinata-chan," Ino said, beaming. "You're gonna be fire-natured like me!"

Sakura pouted. "But I wanted her to be water-natured. Water-natured seems more fun."

Hinata flushed and held up her paper, which was smoldering away into ash. Ino turned a triumphant grin to Sakura, who huffed and crossed her arms, looking away. Hinata hesitated. "Neji-niisan, what's yours?"

Neji glanced down at his chakra paper and after a flare of his chakra the paper burnt away. I nodded. "Fire is the most common in Konoha," I reminded them. "Though I guess it could shift depending on what's common within the clan. Your clan is mostly earth-natured, right, Shino-kun?"

He nodded. "Fire doesn't work well with our kikaichu." When he activated his chakra paper, it crumbled away just like Shikamaru and Choji's had done.

"My mom and sister are earth-natured but my dad was fire-natured," Kiba said, squinting harshly at his paper. After just a second, it burnt away and he blinked. "Huh. Cool."

"My turn!" Tenten announced firmly. She held up her paper and concentrated. It took a moment for her to draw up her chakra and then the paper tore down the middle.

"Cool! You're like me and Rai!" Naruto announced proudly, launching himself at her in a hug.

I turned to the last person waiting. "What about you, Sasuke?"

"I already know a fire jutsu," he protested. "Doesn't that mean I'm fire-natured?"

"Not necessarily. People can learn jutsu outside of their primary and even secondary affinity if they try hard enough. Since you're an Uchiha, you're probably fire-natured. But if not, that just means that whatever affinity you are will come easier to you than that fire jutsu did."

He frowned down at his paper. "So I'm . . . not fire-natured?"

"No, you probably are."

"Right." He charged his chakra in to the paper.

It crinkled.

Sasuke stared at it and then up at me. "What . . . what does that mean?"

"It means you're lightning-natured." I eyed the pale look on his face. "Oh . . . . I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun."

He dropped the paper and watched it float to the ground. Then he snatched up his bag and turned, stomping towards the door.

"Sasuke!" I called as he escaped. I hesitated and glanced at Shikamaru.

He sighed. "Fine, I'll lead. And I'll catch up with you at the Jonin Station when we're done."

"Thanks a bunch, Maru." With that said, I raced after Sasuke. "Sasuke, wait!" I had to shunshin and swing around so I was in front of him. Sasuke stumbled to a stop. "Hey, don't just run off like that."

He shoved his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders. "I was 'posed to be fire-natured. I'm an Uchiha."

"I know," I said softly. "I know how much it means to you. But don't think for a second that it makes you less of an Uchiha." I frowned at him and then sighed. "Alright, here." I took his arm and shunshined us away. It took a few before we landed on a hill, looking down at the dock. "C'mon, you're gonna show me your jutsu."

"What?"

I pulled him down the hill and then to the end of the dock. I stepped back. "Go on."

He turned out to the lake and took a long, deep breath. As I watched, he did the seals and then brought his hand up to his mouth.

I could feel the heat of the resulting fireball burning against my face. I watched it billow out across the lake and grinned. "See? That's amazing, Ke-kun. Did you know your dad told me how proud he was of you for learning that?"

He hunched his shoulders again. "He didn't know I'm lightning-natured."

"No, he didn't. He'd still be proud though. Look at the jutsu you managed when it wasn't even your affinity. Think about what you can do with lightning!"

He wrinkled his nose. "I only know katon jutsu."

"I know." I thought for a moment. Then I took his hand. "Here. Follow me."

That was how a few minutes later we were knocking on the door to Kakashi's apartment. There was a brief pause—during which I waved off another one of Sasuke's questions—and then the door opened. The man inside blinked down at us. "Um, if you're looking for Kakashi-senpai, he's resting."

"Oh." I frowned. "Oh! You must be Tenzo."

"Pup?" Kakashi called from farther in the apartment. "Let her in."

Tenzo glanced back and hesitated. Then he nodded and stepped aside. "She's brought a guest."

Kakashi was sitting on his bed, holding a cup of tea. "Sasuke-kun. What brings you by?"

"We were doing chakra paper in Study Group and Sasuke found out he's lightning-natured, not fire. He's not . . . thrilled about it. I was hoping you could tell him about some raiton jutsu or something? So that he knows not being a katon shinobi doesn't make him useless."

"Oh." Kakashi visibly hesitated and then set aside his tea. "Sure."

I ushered Sasuke forward and then closed the door. I turned to the apartment's second occupant. "You are Tenzo, right?"

"I am."

I beamed up at him. "Are you still Neko? Or did you retire from ANBU?"

His eyes widened and he glanced wildly over at Kakashi, who was focused on his own conversation with Sasuke. "How did you . . . ."

"I'm a chakra sensor. Plus, you smell the same. It's how I knew about Genma and Raidou and your predecessor, too."

"Oh." He cleared his throat. "I'm still serving in ANBU. With Kakashi-taichou. And . . . thank you for pushing him for more medical aid. It's always hard to get him to accept it."

"Of course. The damage was more than I knew how to treat this last time anyway."

"This . . . last time?" he asked, brow furrowing.

I blinked. "Um . . . . I take it Niisan hasn't been forthcoming with just how often he comes to me for first aid, is he?"

Tenzo frowned. "No. He hasn't been."

I shoved Shikamaru's feet off the couch and sat down. He jolted up, blinking furiously for a moment before spotting me. "Oh. Hey." He slumped back down and dropped his feet in my lap. "Sasuke?"

"Doing better. You been here long?"

"Uh." He twisted to look at the clock. "About thirty minutes. How long do you normally wait?"

I shrugged. "He should be here in a couple minutes. Study Group normally lasts longer, though. You cut it short on purpose?"

He shrugged and then held out a storage scroll. "Brought you cake."

"Ooh, thanks." I unsealed it and dug in. "Any trouble?"

"Well, since Sakura's the only suiton person, she's having to do her exercises on her own. Just like Sasuke will, I guess. So that's a bit harder for them. Tenten and Naruto both have you and your experience and Choji and Shino and I get to work together. Everyone else is fire-natured, so they all get to work together too."

"I'll talk to Kakashi and see if he'll be up for helping Sasuke with his leaf exercises. He's on medical leave for a few weeks anyway."

"And for Sakura?"

"I guess I'll need to try to find someone who's primarily water-natured."

"Water-natured? Do you need a jonin or is a chunin fine?"

I jumped in surprise and looked up. "Genma!"

He reached out and pulled on my braid. "Jonin or chunin?"

"Um, I guess chunin would be fine. Why?"

"Because you already know a water-natured chunin."

"I do?"

He nodded. "Izumo. I'm sure you could bother him into helping with . . . whatever it is you need?"

"Huh. I'll talk to him. Thanks." I reached out and took his hand, dragging myself to my feet. I offered him the remaining half of my cake. "Want any?"

"Ooh! Thanks!" He eagerly took it and dug in.

"Hey," Shikamaru protested half-heartedly. "I brought that for you."

"And I'm very grateful," I assured him, taking his arm and dragging him up.

Genma eyed us. "You have a plus one today?"

"Just for today," I promised. "He's not even gonna participate. Maru's just gonna watch while he does his own work. We're working on upping the training schedule for our Study Group."

Genma squinted at him. "Right, okay. You ready for more tessen work?"

I sighed heavily. "I am. Not so sure about my arms, though."

"And . . . that's what happened. Any questions?"

He glared at me heavily. Then he made his next move with more force than was necessary.

"Right, sorry." I grinned and shrugged. "I guess it's not fair of me to ask that until you can actually talk about it, huh."

"I hate you."

"That's not the first time this week you've said that. Don't worry, three more days and then either you'll be done with me for practically forever . . . or you'll be stuck with me forever. We'll figure it out Wednesday."

"I might still hate you."

"We'll burn that bridge when we get to it."

"That's not the saying."

"I know. Tsumi."

Shikamaru blinked and stared at the board. He returned to glaring. "I hate you."

"I know."