Author's Note: Hey, I was in the ER again this week, so 80% of this was written and edited in a morphine-induced haze. So I'm sorry if it's not completely up to my usual standard!

If anyone actually is interested at all, here's the link to my Spotify playlist for Samsaric (it's constantly being updated and applies to the entire story, both what's been published and what's just been outlined): playlist/1r4BaV700FrujjMvpnkJLI?si=jIxqZG5DQK-zNZFYuNKXjA

Fun Fact: Tobio isn't an OC. He's actually a canon character, just a . . . very small canon character that I've decided will be relatively important to this fic. Bonus points to anyone who can figure out the one scene he's from. Extra bonus points to anyone that figures out the meaning of the bouquet he gives her.

Chapter Twenty - Barmecide

[barmecide—adjective : illusory or imaginary and therefore disappointing]

Sophie poured me a drink of boiling cocoa and then sat back in her snakeskin armchair, cradling her own drink. I stared at the black and red mug, comparing Itachi's real mangekyo to this ceramic rendition. I swung my feet in an attempt to reach the floor, but there wasn't one. So I stared up at my host, watching as she poured her cocoa out instead of drinking it. "How are things?" I asked curiously.

Sophie smiled in a way that made her close her eyes and scrunch up her nose. "Very dead. Thank you for asking." She wiped her cup clean with a red and yellow stained sleeve and then brought the empty mug to her lips. She unstuck the pen from her hair and poised it above the cup. "What's the square root of a mistake? It's the only problem I can't seem to get done in my homework."

"You don't have homework anymore."

"Yes, well, I need something to do. You'd be surprised how tedious things can be in Hell."

I looked around at our surroundings. We were alone, save for our mugs and chairs and the table between us. The kettle seemed to be long gone. I reached a hand out into the white and felt . . . nothing. "Is that what this place is?"

"I don't know; you tell me."

When I looked back at her, Sophie's skin was coming apart at the seams and there was nothing under it. "What?"

"Where do you think I am?"

The pieces of her skin flitted about like paper in the wind, wrinkled and torn. One caught on my arm and wrapped itself around my wrist. I stared down at it. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?" I asked.

More paper slapped against me and sealed itself over my skin. I reached up to tear away the one gluing my mouth closed, but instead my hands lifted straight up over my head. I looked up at the cables growing from my wrists. I followed the lines up until they disappeared in the black with everything else.

"Hello?" The paper over my mouth tore.

"Sorry, sweetheart," a voice said. Male and unfamiliar; well, unfamiliar except for the way it pushed at something in the back of my head. "Let me take care of this. Why don't you go ahead and wake up?"

"I'm asleep?"

The papers across my skin singed and crumbled away. The voice said, "Of course you are. What else would you be?"

I gasped, choking on acid and bile. Questions burned on my tongue. I opened my mouth—to ask them or to throw up, I wasn't sure—and . . . .

What had woken me up?

"Mirai-chan?" a voice whispered. "Up already?"

I stared at the darkness, letting my eyes adjust. Then I focused in on the figure hunched over the dim fire, stoking the embers. "What?"

"Did I wake you?" Raidou asked, stepping away from the fire. He crouched down in front of me.

"Um . . . . No. Dream did, I think."

"Oh." His brow furrowed. "A good dream? Or a bad one?"

"I, uh, I don't know. I don't remember." I shook my head to get rid of the questions still lodged there. "Well, I'm up now." I climbed out of my sleeping bag.

"We won't be breaking camp for a couple hours," he warned me.

"That's okay." I rolled up my sleeping bag and mat and sealed them away with my pillow. I unsealed a new set of clothes. "I'm gonna get dressed."

Raidou nodded to the side and returned his attention to the fire.

I followed the direction he'd pointed out and ducked behind the tree to change. When I finished, I secured my belt around my hips and felt for the omamori dangling there. Raidou spared me a brief smile when I shuffled back out. I knelt in the spot where I'd just been sleeping and took a breath. I reached in my kunai pouch and felt for my rabbit foot, twisting the chain between my fingers. I closed my eyes. Another breath. Just listening to the chakra around me from my companions, the ground, the trees. Yet another breath.

"Mirai?"

I breathed carefully and focused in on the cool chakra in front of me. Then I opened my eyes and grinned. "Good morning, Genma-nii." I pulled my hand from my kunai pouch.

He grinned. "Morning, Pumpkin. Raidou said you've been up for a bit."

"Hmm, yeah." I reached out and took the bowl of oatmeal he was offering me. "I got enough sleep, though, if that's what you're worried about."

"I wasn't worried," he said, though he said it a bit too quickly. Genma set down a plate of fruit and fish. He shook his head and tapped my nose. "Eat up. We'll head out when you and Naruto are done."

I glanced towards my brother. An empty bowl was sitting at his knee and he was already started on his plate; he wasn't eating terribly quickly, judging by the way he kept stopping and waving his chopsticks around as he kept up his conversation with Kakashi. Smiling, I focused in on my own food.

Genma shifted so he was sitting down beside me. "How did you sleep for your first night out of the Village?"

"I slept well, I think. How much farther is it?"

"We'll get there either late tomorrow or early the next morning." He nudged me with his shoulder. "Why? Are you impatient? We moving too slowly for you?"

"No, the pace is fine." I glanced up to find him grinning. My expression flattened out. "Oh, haha. No, but really. Naruto's enjoying it. Though, uh, I think he's traumatized Tenzo, now."

Genma followed my gaze to where Tenzo was unhappily trying to cleanse his mouth with multiple bottles of water in an attempt to clean out the taste of the salt Naruto had mixed into his toothpaste. Genma snickered. "Oh, no, trust me. He's dealt with much worse. He'll survive."

"Poor guy."

"He's fine," Genma promised. "Now finish up. You'll need all that energy for all the walking we're going to do."

I waved a dismissive hand. "If I got too tired, you'd carry me."

He scoffed, but he was still smiling. "Yeah. Yeah, I would."

"Typically, you'll have to maintain a certain trust and-or proximity to your target in order to cause chronic poisoning, and that adds an additional layer of difficulty in making sure you aren't detected. Typically, it involves establishing cover and trust for a decent amount of time before the poisoning begins in order to keep appearance and the onset of the illness staggered."

"What if the poisoning begins prior to you showing up and establishing a cover?" I asked. "Say . . . if you spent a week or two sneaking poison somehow?"

"It's . . . theoretically possible," Raidou conceded. "But easily one of the most difficult approaches to take when poisoning someone. It's harder to gain a trustworthy position when a situation like that is active."

"Huh. Okay. So cover missions like that require chronic poisonings?"

"Not necessarily. But a properly paced chronic poisoning means less chance of being caught and more chance of success since there's more time to fix any mistakes as opposed to a one-time attempt at poisoning failing. Acute poisoning is my preferred method. There's more risk in how it can go wrong, but it's much quicker and has fewer moving parts. Besides, acute poisoning gives you more flexibility. You can deliver several doses in succession—a couple days at most—apply poison direction to a weapon, or even go for the classic poison-the-food cliché."

He flipped a few pages to the right and tapped the book, holding it out so I could see the table of poisons. "Of course, not all poisons are fatal. Some of my favorites just incapacitate. Paralyze. Confuse. It depends on what your goal is."

"Okay. And . . . immunity?"

"Well, mithridatism is harder than you'd think. Though with your condition, it might be easier."

"My condition?" I tilted my head to the side. "The Kyuubi?"

Raidou blinked. "I— Yes, that'll probably help. But I was referring to your Uzumaki blood. Uzumaki healing allowed for the entire clan to build up some pretty good immunities in a much shorter amount of time than it would have taken others. Though even with that and . . . er, the fox, you'll want to make plenty of additional preparations to keep things safe if you're going to build up an immunity."

I fumbled for my notebook and opened it on my knee. "Like?"

"You'll want a companion. Someone with you to monitor the situation while your body processes the poison. You'll want the anti-dote, of course. And having activated charcoal on hand is also a good idea, though you won't want to risk working with it unless you and your companion know how to use it properly. It's best, of course, for a poisoner to be able to make their own poisons. They don't have to make them, but the better you understand them then the more effectively you'll be able to use them. The kit you have will get you started on things pretty well, but it's just that; it's for beginners getting started, nothing more."

I scribbled down my notes, occasionally throwing another question at him. After I finished filling my third page, the door opened. "Rai! We got you mochi!"

Naruto bounced up onto the bed and thrust a box at me. I grinned and set my notebook aside before taking the offered dessert. "Arigato, Nato. Did you have fun exploring?"

"Well, we stayed out three times as long as we originally meant to because he kept insisting he wanted to see more," Kakashi said flatly. "So yeah, I'd say he did. How was studying with Raidou?" he asked, ducking down to kiss the top of my head.

"Good. I'm learning lots of information."

He hummed in response and moved to put a takeout box in front of where Tenzo was sitting, sharpening his kunai. "Delivery!"

"Oh, thanks," Tenzo murmured, blinking and reaching for the box.

I offered some of my mochi to Raidou and he shook his head. I shrugged. "Your loss."

Kakashi sat down on the bed and picked up my notebook curiously, flicking his gaze across my notes. "You're going to start with paralytics?"

"Less dangerous for me to start with when I'm still figuring out how to build up an immunity."

He nodded and flicked back several pages. He paused and brought the notebook up closer to his face, squinting. When he made a confused sound, Raidou leaned over to get a look. "What, did I explain something wrong?" But when he started studying the pages, his expression twisted into a puzzled one.

I polished off my mochi and then closed the box, setting it aside. "What?"

Kakashi looked up and blinked. It took a long moment for him to respond. "Oh, I'm just . . . trying to understand this?" He turned the notebook so I could see, showing that he was studying one of my pages working on creating the splicer seal.

"Oh, that." I reached out and took my notebook back. "It's a neurological seal I'm working on. It's why I've had Inoichi-san teaching me some of the theory behind his clan's jutsu."

"It's, uh . . . complicated," Kakashi said lamely, still eying the notebook. "That's for sure." He gave a nervous, shaky sigh and then reached out to put a hand on my head. "You really do remind me of him, you know."

I felt my face burn and my chest tighten. "I know," I mumbled. "Thanks."

"How much farther?" Naruto whined, letting the dozen leaves he'd been floating suddenly drop. "We've been walking forever."

Genma chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair. "It's not that much farther, kiddo. Don't worry about that."

"But my feet hurt."

"That's because you got chakra burns from trying to learn to water-walk on a river," I said flatly, looking back at him. "I did warn you. Besides, you're doing a good job with tree-walking, but you should perfect it before trying to move on."

He huffed. "Shikamaru started water-walking fast!"

"Maru," I said, tapping his arm and pointedly making sure he looked at me, "has a much smaller chakra pool than you and I do, so of course control is easier for him. You know that."

"Yeah, well." He looked down and scuffed at the dirt. "But everyone else knows how to do it. Even Teme! And, and I just don't wanna be the dumb one."

I stumbled to a stop, staring at him. I tried to find the words to tell him that he wasn't the dumb one. That—

"Don't be like that, Naruto," Kakashi murmured. "Some people are quicker or better at things than others. I mean, look at this." He stooped down and caught up a leaf. When he tossed it towards Naruto, my brother easily caught it with some nature chakra and started twirling it about. "I know chunin who couldn't do that if they tried. But that doesn't mean they're dumb. Just means that you're better at it than they are; that's it."

Genma shrugged. "Kakashi's always going to be able to react quicker than me. But I'm always gonna have better aim. See what we're saying?"

"I . . . ." Naruto's gaze flicked to me. "But, but Rai's so good at everything," he rasped. "And I'm not."

"Nato," I whispered, voice cracking. "That's not true."

"Yes it is! Even Iruka-sensei thinks you're the smartest and, and, and you study stuff in class 'cause you're bored and you already know everything and you even better at shogi than Shikamaru and—"

"Stop it." I caught myself and did my best to ease the bite from my words. "Naruto, it took me a month to slice a leaf in half." I tilted my head to the side. "You did it in a day. Do you not realize how incredible that is?"

He stared at me for a long, long moment. Then he shoved his hands in his pockets. "How far are we?"

I watched as the four jonin shared visible looks of worry. Then Kakashi cleared his throat and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, starting him forward again. "We're not too far. See how the trees are starting to break up? That means we're close."

I watched as Kakashi steered him away, clenching my hands into fists and then forcing myself to relax over and over again. A hand gripped my shoulder. "Pumpkin?"

I jerked and looked up. "I— Sorry." I started to move to follow the others.

"Nuh-uh, you're not doing that to me." He crouched down in front of me. "You know, you didn't do anything wrong. I know he's upset, but that's not your fault."

"I didn't know I was making him feel like that," I murmured. "I didn't—"

"Stop that." Genma's voice was firm and left no room for argument. "Don't do that. Do you understand? You are just you and you can't control how others feel. Don't make yourself responsible for that."

"But—"

He's right. You're being an idiot.

"I am not being an idiot."

Genma frowned. "What?"

"I—" I blinked. And then I felt my skin chill as I realized I'd spoken aloud. "I— Sorry. I, I wasn't talking to you," I mumbled.

"Wasn't talking to me?" His frown deepened. And then realization dawn in his expression and he swallowed nervously. "Oh. I—" He took a long breath. "Oh."

"I'm sorry," I said softly, looking down. "Um . . . he agrees with you, for what it's worth."

"That's . . . good?" he asked, voice shaky. He reached out and brushed my hair from my forehead. "You okay?"

I took a couple minutes to close my eyes and focus on smoothing out my chakra. Genma didn't say anything, patiently waiting with a hand still on my shoulder. Finally, I opened my eyes and nodded. "I'm okay."

"Alright." He grunted and heaved me up onto his shoulders. "Let's catch up with the others, then. Hold on."

Once I'd done so, he activated a shunshin. We shot ahead and came to a sudden stop by the others. I caught my breath. "Wow," I breathed.

Kakashi glanced at me and I could tell he was smiling behind his mask. "Pretty cool, right?"

Genma set me down and I moved forward to where Naruto was standing at the edge of the cliff, staring out at the ocean stretching out below us. The sun's slow descent behind us was sending red skittering out across the surface of the dark water. Letting out a breath, I carefully sat down and swung my legs over the edge.

It's gorgeous.

Kurama just gave a rumble in response and I grinned. When I took in a long, deep breath, I could smell the salt off the water. "What do you think, Nato?" I murmured.

"It's pretty," he mumbled, sinking down to sit next to me. "I like it." He shuffled closer and leaned up against me. "Hey, Rai?"

"Hai, Nato?" I asked, easing an arm around him.

"You like to swim, right?"

I paused and then pulled back to find him giving me a beaming, far-too-innocent grin. "I . . . . Yes. Nato, what are you—"

I squeaked when he shoved me and the ground beneath me disappeared. I shrieked, but then it turned into laughter as the air rushed around me. I twisted to look at the approaching water and smiled. I took a deep breath and straightened out just in time to hit the water the right way. The water was colder than I expected. Water bubbled in front of me as some air escaped, and I felt Kurama's chakra start to circulate to warm me up. Though the blue stinging my eyes, I saw another splash, this one of yellow and orange.

I broke through the surface of the water again, laughing. I treaded awkwardly with one hand and used the other to slick my hair out of my face. When I blinked the water out of my eyes, I could see Naruto treading water a few feet away and grinning.

"My bad?" he offered, but then he started giggling before he even finished talking.

"You two good?"

I looked up to find that three figures were still up on the cliff but Kakashi was standing on the water and studying us. I grinned and glanced at Naruto. His laughter just got worse. We both lunged for Kakashi and I latched onto his left leg, dragging down with all my might and bubbling my chakra to agitate his.

"Whoa, wai—"

We dragged him under with a splash. I was barely able to catch my breath when a strong arm wrapped around my waist and lifted me up. "That was uncalled for," Kakashi said, though he was clearly grinning beneath his soaked mask. In his other arm, Naruto was laughing hysterically.

"I dunno. I think it was pretty funny," I mused.

"Funny, huh? Alright, your turn." And then he tossed me and I barely got out another laugh before I disappeared under the water again.

It was the feeling of Shisui's hot chakra stabbing into my ribs that dragged me gasping back to wakefulness. I slapped a hand to my chest and felt the coin searing against my skin.

Are you okay? Are you okay? ARE YOU OKAY?

I pushed my hand under my shirt, feeling for the coin. Desperately aching to assure him I was fine. Desperately wondering if he was okay.

"Mirai? Pup? What's wrong?"

A hand touched my shoulder and I launched back in surprise. I slapped the hand away with a snarl.

"Whoa, what the— Mirai?"

ARE YOU OKAY? ARE YOU OKAY?

"Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop," I begged. "I'm okay. I'm fine. I'm okay."

"Okay," the person whispered. "Okay. What do you need, Pup?"

"Just— Stop," I mumbled, not sure if I was talking to him or to Shisui. I desperately felt out the etched symbols on the coin and responded.

I'm okay.

"I'm okay," I gasped, pulling my hand back and running it through my hair. "I'm okay."

"Mirai?" a new voice groaned. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Just—"

ARE YOU OKAY?

I scrambled up from my sleeping bag and staggered back. "I, I—"

"Mirai!" A hand grabbed my arm and pulled me back just as I felt my feet touching nothing but air. "Kami, what the hell is going on?"

"I'm fine!" I growled, hand clutching my shirt where the coin was hidden. It was still burning, still asking. "I'm fine, dammit!" I yanked out of Kakashi's hold.

ARE YOU OKAY?

I dropped to my knees, scrambling to push my hand under my shirt again. I curled in on myself, breathing heavily, and answered.

I'm okay.

"Pup, what's wrong?" A hand pressed down on my shoulder.

I jerked away. "I'm fine. Please don't."

The hand pulled away. Shisui didn't ask again. I retaught myself how to breathe.

"Mirai—"

I flinched.

"I'm not going to touch you," he promised quietly. "I just want to know what's going on."

I shook my head. "No. No, no, no. I can't— No." I buried my face in my hands.

"R-rai? What's goin' on?"

"Just stop," I yelled. "Please!"

Kit. Get ahold of yourself. Listen to me. Breathe. In. Out. Good. Now focus and calm them down.

My eyes burned as I looked up to find everyone watching me. I managed a weak smile. "I'm okay," I whispered. "I promise."

Kakashi exchanged a look with Genma.

I felt for the coin under my shirt. "I'm fine."

I was not fine.

I didn't sleep for the rest of the night, and by morning that exhaustion combined with my anxiety about Shisui weighed heavily on my bones. Though the others couldn't get me to tell them what was wrong, they were clearly concerned. Kakashi insisted on carrying me so I wouldn't wear myself out.

So I settled against his back, head resting on his shoulder, and tried to focus on anything but the unease in my gut. Kakashi had given up on trying to get me to talk and instead reduced our communication to pressing circles where he was holding my knees. Genma and Raidou were walking up ahead with Naruto, occasionally having to guide him back onto the path after he spotted something he wanted a closer look at—a bird, a cool tree, a leaf. Tenzo was staying strictly at Kakashi's side and, therefore, my side.

Kurama wasn't able to truly settle with the feeling of Hashirama's chakra pushing up against our skin, so I resigned myself to not being able to even think about sleeping. Instead, I settled down in my mindscape against Kurama's chest and let his heavy paw weigh down my legs. He laid his head down on his other paw and I busied myself in scratching my fingers through the fur behind his ear.

"Do you think he's okay?" I whispered.

"I'm sure he's alive."

I made a wounded sound that caused him to shift. He amended his words. "I'm sure he's fine."

"But what if—"

"Stop that."

I swallowed thickly. "Danzo's been loud," I mumbled. "What if, what if he knows? What if he got Shisui? What if he's coming after me next? What if—"

Kurama's loud geckering interrupted me and his paw crushed me too snugly against him. "Then we'll kill him. Now, I told you to stop that, didn't I?"

I gave a whine and sat heavily back into him. "I'm sorry."

"That part is true, at least."

That dragged a laugh out of me. "Nice try, Kurama. I know you don't hate me as much as you pretend to." He didn't answer, but it wouldn't have mattered if he had anyway. With his chakra wrapped around me and his weight keeping me grounded, I finally drifted off to sleep.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is. How was your little vacation?" Saisu asked, offering us a grin as he signed us back into the Village.

"I liked it."

"It was awesome," Naruto said, slapping his hands on the desk and rising on his toes so he could properly stare the chunin in the eyes. "Have you seen the ocean? It's huge!"

Saisu chuckled. "I've been there a couple times. Pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Cool? You know what's cool, dattebayo? I pushed Rai in!" Naruto sang the last sentence, grinning. "I won!"

"It wasn't a competition," I told him sternly. "Besides, I totally won."

"Did not!"

"Okay, okay." Genma put a hand on my head and one on Naruto's. "How about we get you two to your place so you can get some rest? You've had a long week."

I reached up and grasped his hand. "We've gotta get Sasuke-kun first. He's with the Nara. We can go get him and you can let Hiruzen know we're back. I'm sure he's waiting to be updated."

Genma hesitated. But then he nodded and took out his senbon so he could kiss my forehead then Naruto's. "Alright. But make sure you rest up some, okay?"

"We will," I assured him.

"Promise!" Naruto said, bouncing on his feet. "Rai?"

I glanced at him, giving him a grin. "Race you?"

He grinned back and then took off at a full run. I glanced back at the jonin and gave them a wave. "Thank you! I should probably catch up." Then I took off. Naruto was already decently far ahead, but a couple shunshin landed me in front of the Nara Compound. I stumbled in surprise when I still felt Naruto's chakra burning at the edge of my senses. But when I looked back I couldn't seem him yet.

"Neechan!"

I turned back just in time to catch Sasuke as he threw himself at me, though I wasn't able to do anything to keep us both from tumbling to the ground. "Ke-kun!" I wrapped my arms around him.

He held on to me tightly, making it a bit difficult for me to sit up. But I managed and ran a hand through his hair. "Did you have fun?"

"I missed you," he mumbled.

I glanced past him and into the Compound. Shikamaru was sitting in front of the board in the shogi house, pouting down at the scattered pieces. I grinned. "Did Maru teach you shogi?"

Shikamaru glanced at us. "I tried. He's no good," he whined. "Do you wanna play a game?"

"Naruto's almost here and we just came to take Sasuke-kun home. I wouldn't want to impose."

"Nonsense!"

I jumped in surprise, looking towards the house where Yoshino stood. She was smiling widely. "Sasuke's been a delight this week, and if you three don't stay for dinner then there'll be far too many leftovers."

"Well, then, I'm sure we could stay for a bit," I mused.

Shikamaru nodded and started collecting the pieces, setting them back up on the board. Naruto stumbled into the Compound. "Teme!"

Sasuke jerked out of my arms. "You're back too!"

I laughed and watched him tackle Naruto. "What, you thought I came back without him?" I got to my feet and dusted my pants off before strolling over to the shogi house. When I knelt at the board, he motioned for me to move first. It took a beat for me to make my decision and then I moved a pawn.

"How was the ocean?" Shikamaru asked.

Involuntarily, my hand shot to the coin under my shirt. "Good." I jerked my hand down and looked up only to find that it was already too late.

Shikamaru's gaze flicked from my shirt to my face. "Good, huh?"

I glanced away. "The ocean was. Yeah."

"Huh." His piece tapped against the board as he moved it. "Well, my mom's cooking will cheer you up."

I smiled faintly. "It usually does."

Yoshino caught the two of us sneaking out in the middle of Naruto reenacting our "battle" for Sasuke, Shikaku, and herself. We were halfway down the hallway when she snatched us both back by the collars of our shirts. "And just where are you two going?" she asked quietly.

Shikamaru squeaked in alarm at being caught and I just tilted my head back to look at her. "Maru's taking me up to the roof to stargaze. Is that okay?"

Yoshino glanced between us for a long moment. Long enough that it got uncomfortable. But then she nodded and released us. "Go ahead. I'll bring some cookies up for you."

Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief and I grinned. "Arigato, Yoshino-san."

"Yoshino," she corrected absently. Then she tapped us both very firmly on the back of our heads. "Go on!"

Shikamaru scrambled ahead of me and I hurried to follow him up the stairs. He opened the door to his room and then moved to the window, working it open. "It's easiest to get up through here," he grunted.

I tilted my head to the side. "It was before, at least. I mean, you can tree-walk now, right?"

He stopped short, staring out the window. Then he sighed and let his head thunk against the window frame. "Yeah. I guess."

I laughed and climbed past him out onto the eave. "C'mon, don't beat yourself up. Even you can't be the smartest person around all the time."

"Watch me," he muttered, stepping out beside me. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked up the wall, upside down on the eave above us, and finally stepped onto the main roofing.

I grinned, charging just a touch of chakra to my legs and jumping. I landed on the roof next to him.

Shikamaru shot me a dark look. "Cheater," he muttered.

"Call it whatever you want; it was easier." I settled down against the roof and leaned back, folding my arms behind my head. "How was Sasuke?"

"Eh, Sasu-chan's cool enough. And he was helpful at Study Group when you weren't there."

"How'd that go?"

"Fine. Izumo-san actually dropped by to help Sakura again."

I blinked. "Really? I didn't even have to bribe him again?"

"Apparently not. And since we were at the Akimichi Compound, Choza-san came out and helped us doton users."

"Cookies," Yoshino announced, suddenly appearing on the roof alongside us. Shikamaru let out another squeak and I giggled. She reached past us and set the plate on the flat part of the roof just above us, along with two mugs of milk. Then she dropped a blanket on each of us. "Don't catch cold."

"I don't think I could if I tried," I said, sitting up and wrapping the blanket around myself. "But thank you."

She nodded with a smile. Then she looked sharply at Shikamaru, who was already munching down on a cookie. I elbowed him and he sputtered. "Wh— Thanks, Kaachan!"

Yoshino nodded in satisfaction. "Let me know if you two need anything else. I'm going to start a new batch of cookies for the boys downstairs."

I picked up my mug of milk and cradled it, offering her a smile. "Thank you," I said again.

The moment she was gone, Shikamaru heaved a sigh of relief and finished his cookie. He selected another one and leaned back. "Is he okay?"

I caught my breath and then tried my best to disguise it by biting into my cookie. I ended up coughing instead. "I, uh . . . yeah," I rasped. "Yes."

Shikamaru looked doubtful but he didn't press any further. We lapsed into a comfortable silence and before long we'd finished our milk and cookies and both had settled back to just watch the clouds weaving in between the stars.

"Soph, what the hell is that?"

I jumped in surprise and jerked to stare at him. Then I followed his gaze to find I'd pulled out my rabbit foot and was fiddling with it. "Oh, uh. It's, it's a . . . a rabbit foot," I said awkwardly, not really sure how to explain.

He narrowed his gaze at it and then at me. "From . . . there?"

"Uh, yeah. It means good luck."

"Oh." He wrinkled his nose. "That's a weird thing to mean good luck."

"Well, I think this is a weird thing to mean good luck," I said, gesturing at my omamori.

"Point," he conceded. He held out his hand. "Can I?"

I hesitated, not fond of the idea of letting it leave my person.

"I'll be right here. Kami, it's not like I'm gonna throw it away or anything. Don't you trust me?"

I jerked my gaze to his at that. "I do." I set the rabbit foot in his outstretched hand.

Shikamaru nodded and pulled it closer to study it. He twisted the chain between his fingers. "So, has it given you good luck?"

"I don't know. But it makes me feel better." The moment I said it, my face burned. "I mean— That sounds stupid, but—"

"No, it doesn't." He tossed it back to me and I snatched it out of the air, giving him a glare. Shikamaru shrugged and laid back again. "It makes sense."

I nodded and clutched the rabbit foot to my chest, staring up at the sky. "The stars here are . . . ." I hesitated, not wanting to say anything too incriminating when we weren't exactly in a secure space. But Shikamaru seemed to get what I meant because he nodded and mumbled something about that being expected before ordering me to shut up and saying that it's called stargazing, not star-talking.

After a little while, I noticed Shikamaru was starting to nod off. So I poked him and climbed to my feet, gathering up the plate and mugs. "I'll get the boys and we'll head out," I murmured.

He yawned and stumbled to his feet and almost off the roof. I barely caught him, trying my best not to spill the dishes as I did so. He waved a hand at me and swung down from the roof. I followed, clutching onto both the plate and my blanket. I dropped down and climbed back into his room through the window. We moved down the stairs and I redirected him into the kitchen, drawing his attention to the dishes. He sighed and followed me, though he only managed to collapse at the table and watch while I washed the plate and cups and set them aside to dry.

I started folding up the blanket and kicked Shikamaru awake as I moved for the door. He jolted and stumbled after me. Then I stopped in the doorway to the main area.

Naruto and Sasuke were dead asleep in the middle of the floor, though there were pillows tucked under their heads and blankets pulled up over them. I smiled fondly and started forward, crouching down.

"You don't need to wake them."

The quiet voice made me pause and I looked back to find Shikaku standing slouched in the entryway to the house. He shrugged. "I mean, you can if you want to. But they're tired and you look it too. The three of you can stay the night and we'll make sure you're up early enough to go back to your apartment before the Academy."

I hesitated, looking back at the slumbering boys.

"Yoshino and I are playing shogi. You two can join us."

Shikamaru straightened and I narrowed my eyes at Shikaku, knowing that he was trying to bribe me into staying. But then I nodded and rose back to my feet. "Okay." I unfolded my blanket and wrapped it back around my shoulders as I followed the two Nara out to the shogi house. Once we were inside, Shikaku slid the door closed and returned to his spot across the board from Yoshino.

Shikamaru sat down against the wall and I sat down beside him, slumping into him. He grumbled something and I shushed him. "You're a good pillow," I mumbled, studying the board. "Who's winning?" I asked pointlessly. The odds were clearly in Shikaku's favor.

Shikaku chuckled, earning him a glare from Yoshino. Then she turned a tense smile to me. "Can't know for sure until the game's over, now, can we?"

"Hmm." I yawned. "I wouldn't mind playing the winner."

Yoshino's smile softened into something real. "Okay, dear."

"Breakfast is ready! Wake up!"

I jerked, struggling to open my eyes. "Wh-what?"

"Breakfast! If you don't get up soon, I think the other two might eat it all."

I shifted and brought one stiff hand up to rub at my eyes until I could more clearly make out the figure leaving the doorway. "Oh," I mumbled. "Okay." But I made no move to actually get up. My pillow was breathing. Why was my pillow breathing?

"Get off."

I squeaked and tumbled back. "Wha— Maru?" I rubbed my eyes again.

He groaned and threw his pillow at me. "You know, you're already so heavy that I don't think you should eat breakfast at all."

"I hate you," I said, batting the pillow away. "C'mon, let's go." I stood and then reached down to help him up.

"Oh, shove off," he muttered. But despite his words, he let me haul him to his feet and he leaned heavily against me as we stumbled out of the shogi house. I dragged him up the porch and into the house.

"Good morning!" Naruto cheered from his spot at the table.

Shikamaru groaned. "What right do you have to be so happy in the morning?"

"He's excited to be up and productive," Yoshino said pointedly. She sat two more plates at the table and pushed the two of us down into our chairs. "Now eat. Shikamaru, you'll be escorting these three over to their apartment after breakfast."

Shikamaru groaned. "Do I have to?"

"Yes. It's the nice thing to do. Your bag and clothes are already waiting on your bed, so you'll change as soon as you finish. And that's not an excuse to eat slow."

I stifled a laugh at the pout that put on Shikamaru's face. "Thank you for breakfast."

Yoshino beamed at me and patted me on the head as she moved to her own spot. "Of course. You three are welcome anytime. I mean it."

"Plus, I seem to remember you saying you wanted to play last night's winner," Shikaku pointed out. "So you owe me a game."

I grinned. "I'll make sure to come back sometime soon for that, then."

Shikamaru was the first to finish his food, just a second before the rest of us, and he scrambled upstairs to change. Just as Yoshino scowled at his plate and moved to call him, I scrambled up as well. "I've got it." I gathered up Sasuke and Naruto's plates as well as Shikamaru's and my own and moved to the sink.

"Oh, no! Don't worry about it," Yoshino said, rushing to gather the dishes from me. "I have bento on the counter for you all. If you could grab Shikamaru's as well, that would be great."

I nodded. "Of course." I gathered up the bento and sealed them away.

Shikamaru came slouching back down the stairs. "Alright, let's go," he grumbled, pausing at the door to put his shoes on.

Naruto and Sasuke both dashed from the table to get their own shoes on. I slipped on my shoes and out the door. "I'll see you boys there!" I shunshined on ahead. I could still feel Naruto's chakra brushing distantly against mine as I stepped into our apartment.

It wasn't until I left the bathroom, freshly showered and dressed in a new set of clothes, that I finally felt Naruto's chakra closing in on mine. I was just finishing packing up my things for the day and tossing aside the things from our trip when the door opened.

"Shikamaru didn't want to climb the stairs so he's just waiting for us on the ground," Sasuke said, slinging his backpack from the last week on the couch.

"Of course he is," I said, amused. "I'll go wait with him. Grab your things. If you want to shower, do it quick because we have to leave in ten." I slipped out of the apartment and paced over to the edge of the railing so I could look down.

It seemed Sasuke meant he was on the ground in the most literal sense. Shikamaru was sprawled out on the pavement to the left of the stairs, an arm thrown across his face to shield his eyes from the sun. I grinned and hopped over the railing.

Shikamaru squeaked and flailed away when I landed loudly beside him. "Holy— Don't do that!"

"Aw, but you make it so tempting," I cooed, crouching down next to him. "You get all cute and ruffled when I surprise you."

"Well, I hate it. Stop it."

I sat down next to him with a laugh. "I'll think about it. Hey, you think Iruka-sensei will let me try toton today?"

Shikamaru blinked. "Oh, Iruka-sensei won't be there today. He's been sick. Said he should be back Monday. Mizuki-sensei has been in charge."

"Oh." I swallowed thickly. "That's . . . that's great."

He eyed me and sighed. "I take it that's not actually great."

"No. It's not, not really."

Shikamaru kicked me under the desk to get me to stop nervously bouncing my leg. I glanced at him and mumbled a quiet apology before trying to refocus. Mizuki hadn't provided me with a folder that morning and I had reached a crossroads with everything Iruka had provided me with previously, needing direct permission or supervision to go any further, so I was reduced to paying half attention to the real lesson while working on my splicer seal. Mizuki hadn't really done anything wrong yet, but that did nothing to ease my anxiety.

And then he had to go and ruin any chance he'd ever had of staying on my neutral side.

"Starting tomorrow, we'll be starting to talk about the darker realities of shinobi life. It's important for you all to realize what being a shinobi really entails, and that includes taking lives. It's important to talk to people who have real-world experience with this subject, so if you have shinobi parents I suggest you talk to them. I'm available as well, as will be Iruka-sensei once he's back. And I'm sure even Mirai will be willing to speak with you about it."

My brush snapped in my hand when I jerked in alarm. I looked up to find that his words had drawn everyone's attention to me. "Wh-what? I—" I swallowed thickly, glancing around. "I'd rather— Um."

Mizuki blinked at me innocently. "Surely you'd be willing to share your experience for the benefit of your classmates. After all, I'm sure that it would be very different for them to hear it from one of their peers rather than adults all the time."

Kami, when had everything gotten so loud? Why couldn't I stop the way my hands were shaking? Why couldn't I say anything?

For the love of— Mirai, you're forgetting to breathe!

Something loud scraped to my right and then suddenly there were hands on my arms, pulling me up. Someone was speaking loudly, but everything was so muffled now that I couldn't make out the words. I really had no choice but to just stumble after whoever was leading me. I shook my head to try to focus but—

The slamming of a door jolted me back to reality and I jumped. I stumbled and hands grabbed my arms again. "Hey, careful, you idiot. I told you that you shouldn't have eaten breakfast. It was way too hard to drag you out of there."

"What?" Knees shaking, I stared at Shikamaru. And then I glanced around. We were in Iruka's office? "Um . . . I'm sorry. I didn't—"

"Yeah, whatever. Why don't you sit down?" He pushed me back until I sank into Iruka's chair. Shikamaru started digging around the office before he finally came up with a cup and some water. "Drink."

I gulped at it until my lungs were working properly again. Shikamaru hopped up onto the desk, swinging his feet as he considered me. Then he carefully ventured, "Fugaku? Mikoto?"

I shook my head. "Um . . . three chunin. Here, I—" I fumbled with my shirt until I managed to pull the hem up. I tapped the kanji there. "They gave me a couple scars on my legs, too. One on my arm. And this one." I twisted to show the kunai scar on my side. "They were . . . crazy, I guess. Kept saying how the Uchiha were my fault and they were going to teach me a lesson. Um, just a couple streets away. So Iruka-sensei and Mizuki heard and Iruka-sensei brought me back here to help me."

"Huh." He reached out and batted at my hand until I let my shirt drop back down. "That sucks. Sorry."

"It's . . . fine. I just didn't, didn't expect . . . ." I took a deep breath and ran a hand through my hair, wincing when my fingers caught in my braid. "I didn't think he would bring it up. Especially not like that."

He nodded and then jumped down from the desk with a sigh. "I'll go grab our stuff and we can work in here. Or, well, you'll work. I'll take a nap."

I gave him a grateful smile. "Won't you get in trouble?"

"Eh, I'll just tell my mom what happened with you and she'll love me for this. It'll put me on her good side for a week. Er." He paused. "If that's okay?"

"It's fine. Um, yeah, could you get our stuff?"

"Got it."

"What was he talking about?" Kiba asked, practically plastered against my side as we moved down the hallway into the Academy yard.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You've gotta tell us something," Sasuke whined. "Please."

"No. I don't want to talk about it."

"But Rai—"

"No! I don't want to talk about it!" I yelled, rounding on them. "Leave! Me! Alone!"

They pulled back in surprise. Kiba leaned forward. "But—"

Shikamaru put an arm in front of him. "No." He nodded to me. "Go ahead. We'll sit somewhere else."

My shoulders slumped in relief. "Here," I mumbled, fumbling for my scroll and then unsealing the bento Yoshino had prepared for Shikamaru, Naruto, and Sasuke. Once Shikamaru had taken them, I shunshined away and jumped up into a tree to eat my own lunch in peace.

I'd finished my meal and was nursing the tea Yoshino had packed in a warm thermos when someone cleared their throat loudly. "Uh, um, Mirai-chan?"

I leaned forward, peering down. There was an Academy student staring up at me. His hair was reminiscent of Shikamaru's, but beyond that he didn't look familiar at all. "Uh, me?"

His face flushed red and he nodded, hands folded behind his back. "Yeah. Um, I saw you got upset in class earlier. And, and none of your friends are over here to cheer you up."

"They're not here because I told them to leave me alone."

"Oh." His expression fell. "I— Sorry. Didn't know."

I studied the way he seemed to crumble at that. I sighed and closed the thermos. "It's alright. You said you didn't know and you didn't." I jumped down to the ground. "Did you need something?"

He shifted. And then he drew his hands out from behind his back, thrusting them at me. "I just thought this would help you feel better."

I blinked and then studied the flowers he was holding in my face. "I— Thank you?" I took them carefully and then glanced around the yard, which was most definitely clear of any flowers. "Did you . . . did you just pick these?" I asked curiously.

He looked away and scratched the back of his neck. "I, I took a walk home when we broke for lunch. My mom has a flower garden."

"Oh." I looked down at the flowers. The hasty bouquet—mostly pansies, with a few daisies and a couple tulips—was tied together with a pink ribbon. "Thank you. I guess we aren't exactly on fair footing because you know my name but I don't know yours."

"Oh!" Somehow—I wasn't sure how it was possible—his blush deepened. "Tobio! Nakano, er, Nakano Tobio."

I lowered the flowers and held out my hand so he could shake it. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Tobio-kun. The flowers are very pretty. Thank you very much."

He shook my hand and ducked his head. "You're welcome. I didn't want you to be sad anymore."

I tilted my head to the side, considering him. "If you were picking flowers, does that mean you haven't eaten yet?"

"I, uh— Yeah."

"C'mon." I sat down and unsealed my bento again. "I've still got to finish my dessert. The least I can do for these flowers is let you sit with me."

He made an odd sound, a little like the one Bull had made once when I accidentally stepped on his paw. "R-really?"

"Sure." I started in on the cookies Yoshino had made, eying him as he sat down and got out his own bento.

He got partway through his meal before looking up. His eyes widened and he leaned back a little at finding me staring. "Um . . . Mirai-chan?"

"Hmm?" I asked, flicking my gaze away and across the yard before bringing it back to him. "Yes?"

"I . . . ." He straightened and squared his shoulders. "I wanna join your Study Group."

"You—" I blinked. "Really?"

He nodded. "Please. I—" He flushed again and looked down. "My parents aren't shinobi and I'm not doing good in class. I thought you could help."

"Oh." I thought about it for just a moment. "I don't see why not. We meet Saturdays and head to our training spot right after school. Just come with us next time."

Tobio lit up, eyes widening. "Really? Awesome!"

I smiled faintly. "We'll have to catch you up on some things, but I'm sure everyone will be happy to have you."

"Ooh, flowers. Who are they from?" Yosu asked, crouching down to properly grin at the bouquet.

"Kid from my class. Says he wanted to cheer me up, but I think he might've been buttering me up so I'd let him into my study group." I shrugged. "Either way, they're nice flowers and I don't want them to wilt too fast. So." I lifted the flowers, drawing his attention to the cup of water I was carrying them around in. "I'd seal them away, but every time I've tried the water has spilled in the seal. So I've gotta do something to fix my seal equilibrium."

"Well, I can't help you there. Seals aren't my thing. But! Fuuton is my thing and I've got some fun exercises planned for today. You ready?" He straightened and put his hands on his hips.

"Yeah, give me a second." I shuffled away to where Konohamaru was sitting in the shade. "Hey, Kono-kun. Can you watch this for me? Make sure it doesn't spill?"

He squinted at the flowers as I set them down next to him. Then he nodded. "Okay."

"Thanks." I beamed at him and then returned to Yosu. "Alright. Ready."

"Great. So today, we're going to focus on the generation of elemental chakra. We'll start with making it in your throat and— Shit." His gaze was no longer on me but instead on the sky above us. I followed his sight upward to the hawk diving down from overhead. It landed and Yosu sighed tiredly. He knelt down and untied the message around the hawk's leg. He unrolled it and took a moment to read it. Once he had, his shoulders sagged.

"Something bad?" I asked cautiously.

"Hmm?" He looked up at me, expression suddenly schooled into something much happier and less tired than I'd seen it just a moment before. "I just have another mission. I . . . ." He glanced at Konohamaru. "I'm not supposed to leave the Village while his normal guard is also out of the Village. It's an emergency, but . . . ." He groaned and dragged his hands through his hair. "Sorry. I need to go talk to the Hokage about this."

I bit my lip. "How long?"

Yosu stopped short, blinking at me. "What?"

"How long is the mission? I, uh. My Niisan, Kakashi, er, Hatake Kakashi is still on medical leave. He, he'd love an excuse to stay with us. Kono-kun could bunk at our place for a couple days." I winced. "Though he'd probably like to stay home, huh? I, sorry, I didn't really think this through."

"No, it's okay." Yosu smiled tiredly. "That sounds nice, Mirai-chan. But won't watching him interfere with the Academy for you?"

I shoved my hands in my pockets. "I, uh . . . ." I ducked my head. "I was planning on skipping the next couple days. Our normal Academy sensei is out sick and the assistant doesn't . . . doesn't really like me much."

"Oh." He studied the paper again. "I should be back Saturday night. If you're sure . . . ?"

I nodded. "I'll take perfect care of him. Don't worry about that."

Yosu chuckled and dropped a hand to my head. "Trust me, I'm not worried about your ability to take care of him. Um, why don't you go speak with Hatake-san? I'll take Konohamaru and get some of his things. If Hatake-san is fine with it, we'll meet at your apartment in an hour?"

I nodded and scrambled to collect my flowers. "Alright. I'll go find him." With that, I shunshined away. I stopped in front of Kakashi's door and knocked loudly. It took a minute, but the door opened. I blinked and looked down. "Oh, hi, Pakkun. Where's Niisan?"

"Eh, I think he went out drinking with Shiranui at the Station."

"Thanks!" I whirled around and shunshined again. I paused at the stairs of the Jonin Station and then moved down the steps.

Kakashi and Genma were easy to spot. Kakashi was sprawled out across the entirety of the couch, sake bottle in hand, while Genma was perched on the back of the couch and waving his own bottle in the air as he said something that made Kakashi laugh loudly. But then that laughter cut off the moment Kakashi saw me and he sat up so quickly that he almost knocked Genma over. "Pup? What's wrong?"

Genma whipped around at his words, gaze instantly concerned and searching. I shook my head. "Nothing's wrong. I just needed to find you."

He nodded, eying what I was holding. "Flowers?"

"Huh?" I looked down at them. "Oh. They're from a boy in my class."

Genma's eyebrows shot up and he whistled. "Damn, Pumpkin. Do I have to go give some poor Academy Student the shovel talk?"

"What? Uh, they're just flowers. 'Sides, I think he really just wanted to get into my Study Group 'cause that's what he asked about after. Anyway." I refocused on Kakashi. "Could you stay at the apartment through Saturday?"

The concern was back. "I— Of course. Why? What's—"

"Nothing's wrong," I said quickly. "Really. I mean it. It's just Yosu-sensei got called out on an emergency mission and Konohamaru's normal guard is out of the Village. I told him I'd watch Kono-kun for the weekend. He, uh, he'll be a good excuse to not go to the Academy."

Kakashi not-so-subtly exchanged a glance with Genma and the latter carefully asked, "Why are you not going to the Academy?"

"Iruka-sensei's sick and won't be back till Monday. So Mizuki-sensei's teaching and introduced an assignment to talk to someone who had experience killing." I grit my teeth. "And he decided to tell everyone in class they could talk to me about it."

"He did what?" Genma growled, already starting up from the couch. "Motherfucker—"

Kakashi's tight grip on his arm stopped him, though a glance at the Hatake's face made me guess he wasn't exactly personally against whatever it was Genma had wanted to do. But instead of addressing that specifically, he just softly said, "Of course I'll stay at the apartment. Hold on." He shoved his unfinished sake into Genma's hands and got to his feet. "C'mon, we'll go get my stuff and I'll walk you over. The boys?"

"Hanging with Kiba. They're eating dinner at his place."

"Alright." He steadied himself for a second before putting a hand on my shoulder and leading me towards the stairs.

I squinted up at him. "Are you drunk? Is this a bad idea?"

"I'm only a little tipsy," he defended. "I'll get some water and I'll be good as new."

"If you say so," I said doubtfully, following him outside.

"I do say so. Now," —he swept me up into his arms— "tell me about this boy that thought he could give you flowers."

"Niisan."

"I just want to hear about him! Is he cute?"

"Niisan!"