Chapter 6: Uchiha

Life at the Daimyo's residence was decent. At the best of times it was almost peaceful. Being the only ANBU guard who stayed longer than four months, the Daimyo had taken a liking to Yugao, requesting her guardianship at official meetings and bestowing her with his utmost trust. Over the last two years, he allowed her full access and use of the facilities on his estate, her favorite being his large private library. It mostly held books on history and diplomacy, but she had managed to find some on medicine and even ninjutsu. The Daimyo was a simple man, used to being pampered and easily swayed by his advisors, but kind at heart. He occasionally asked her advice or opinion on both state and personal matters, and appointed her the unofficial captain of the other ANBU guards.

Despite these privileges, there was no doubt that she was essentially still in exile. Whenever the Daimyo had meetings with the Hokage, the envoy from Konoha would never acknowledge her, save for the rare nod from one of her ex-Team Go members if they happened to be accompanying their village head. Her actions were likely still being reported to the old man. She noted that Kaya, Tenzou, or Kakashi would never come to those meetings.

The only news of the Leaf village she did receive would come from the newly arriving ANBU every four months. Their most common topic of gossip had been the youngest ever ANBU recruit at eleven years old, a textbook prodigy with skills said to rival even those of Kakashi: Uchiha Itachi. What interested Yugao more was not his age but rather his clan. The Uchiha had been under ANBU surveillance since she had joined, and probably even longer before that, and she couldn't help but think that his recruitment was all part of some plan by the village government.

But she would have no way of finding out. She was still an outcast.

The first day of spring had Yugao on duty outside guarding the Daimyo's children. Seeing as the weather had finally turned warm, they were allowed a break from their lessons with their private tutor to get some fresh air. Yugao watched them from a distance, camouflaged into her surroundings, as she always did. She watched the Daimyo's son chase his dog around the lawn, scraping his knees and staining his expensive clothes without a care in the world. The Daimyo's daughter preferred to sit in the shade reading a book, despite her classes being done for the day.

The boy was eleven, his sister a year older. At age eleven, Uchiha Itachi had joined ANBU. At age twelve, Yugao had made her first kill. And yet, here were these children, cheerful and carefree, acting the way a child was supposed to act. They would never know the pain of losing a family member to war, or watch a friend die in the midst of a battle, forfeiting their own chance to grieve lest they risk losing their own lives as well. Thanks to Yugao and the other ANBU, they would never even know the dangers that lurked just beyond their own walls, how close the boy had come to being kidnapped had Yugao not apprehended the attacker right outside his window while the child slept soundly. When they grew up they would be powerful leaders of their country – well, the boy would at least. The girl would likely be married off to some wealthy landowner.

It wasn't fair, Yugao decided, as most things weren't. The girl had always been more studious and level-headed, with a good ear and a clever mind. She excelled in every subject, often having to help her indifferent brother, and followed every rule of social etiquette. She would make an excellent head of state, Yugao was sure, even better than her father, and yet, despite being older, she would always play second fiddle to her brother. Such was her fate.

By all means, they were normal children (as opposed to ninja children). Normal children ran around just for fun, not because they were being chased. Normal children fell and cried when they scraped their knee, and weren't told to get up right away. Normal children were afraid of monsters under the bed, not assassins lurking in the dark. Yugao wondered if there would ever come a day when Konoha's children would live this way. Is this the life she would have wanted, if she had the choice? A life without pain, a life where she could have stayed a child for as long as she wanted?

But as she watched the Daimyo's children – the daughter who gained skills and knowledge she would never use, the son who would be forced into a position he wasn't ready for – she knew that there were other types of pain, ones that didn't leave scars as plain as the ones on her back. But maybe, some day, she could live in a world in which everyone was able to choose the burdens they carried. Maybe that would be a world worth fighting for.

The sense of an approaching chakra signature snapped her out of her thoughts. Her body tensed only for a moment before she recognized the familiar chakra – one she hadn't sensed in years. Yugao never imagined that just the sense of another person's chakra could fill her with such relief and – was that joy?

"Kaya-senpai!"

The familiar rabbit mask came into view, and the first thing Yugao noticed was how much shorter her fellow medical-nin seemed compared to how she remembered. Had so much changed since they last saw each other?

"Reporting for duty, captain," came the familiar kunoichi's voice.

"You don't have to call me that," Yugao replied, slightly embarrassed. Although it was what the other ANBU guards called her, it felt strange coming from her former teacher.

"You're right, actually. I don't have to call you that."

"Are you not staying?" Yugao asked. The new ANBU guards were arriving this day, and working alongside Kaya would have been more than Yugao could hope for.

"Actually, you're the one who's not staying. I'm here to relieve you of your duty. You're being called back to Konoha."

Yugao blinked a few times behind her mask. Relieved of duty? Called back to Konoha? It wasn't making sense. Did this mean her probation was over? Did the Hokage trust her again? Her heart could burst.

"After you train the new guards," Kaya continued, "you're free to go."

All Yugao could manage was, "Wow."

She looked around the estate, the green grass, the children playing – she really felt as though she had watched them grow over the past two years and four months. She would miss it, she supposed, the sense of peace, the laughter and the sunlight. But there had always been that part of her that longed to be back in the shadows, that wanted action, that wanted justice. She wanted to be back in the village, her village, the one her parents had loved so much. And finally – finally – !

"I heard about that mission," Kaya spoke again, her voice low, and Yugao knew she was speaking about the solo mission that had gotten her this assignment in the first place. It wasn't something she often liked to think about. "I never got a chance to speak to you before you left, but I – the other kunoichi and I – are proud of you…and grateful."

"Grateful?"

She nodded. "It seems you made the Hokage rethink assigning those kinds of missions. He'll only assign them on a volunteer basis now, and will allow you to bring a partner, if you choose. Our retention has really gone up, so, thank you."

Yugao still thought about that mission from time to time, still had nightmares that she was trapped in that awful room with that awful man. Each time she woke she would have to remind herself that she had gotten free. But at the same time she knew that she was not unique. Countless people were still living that nightmare. But could it be that her instinctive action had made one lasting positive change? "I…don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. I just wanted to tell you, that's all."

Yugao nodded slowly. Hearing the message from Kaya somehow made it all the more impactful. Kaya was someone she trusted, respected, felt comfortable around. Having Kaya's respect, making Kaya feel proud was something she had come to aspire towards, almost like – Yugao thought sadly – almost like an older sister.

Yugao changed the subject before unsolicited emotions took hold of her.

"How are things in Konoha? How's Uchiha Itachi?"

Kaya responded easily to the change in topic and tone. "So you've heard of him? I don't know much except that he's usually quiet, extremely talented, he worked a lot with Kakashi, and he's a team captain now."

A team captain? "Isn't he – what – thirteen?"

"Yes, but now he has a team. And now Team Ro needs a new member."

…

Yugao's same locker in the closet-sized space they called the female ANBU locker room stood waiting for her when she returned to Konoha. It was strange; she was able to keep her locker but not her apartment, but she supposed some small bit of familiarity to welcome her home was better than none. Kaya's cabinet they called a locker still stood next to Yugao's, but its owner would be away for the next four months.

The violet-haired medic-nin set to work refurbishing her locker to how it was before: with spare gear, weapons, civilian clothes, a small mirror, her makeup, and a new black-haired wig to replace her old one. She still wore the black hair up in a bun, but now left a few strands down to frame her face. It was different enough from her normal heavy bangs that it still took her a moment to recognize herself in the mirror after not having worn that disguise for over two years. She wondered for a moment if it was strange that, both in her regular appearance and her civilian disguise, she hadn't changed her hairstyle since she was a child. It was just something she had never thought about changing.

She was securing her cat mask onto her face when she heard an unfamiliar voice call, "Hey new girl!"

Assuming the voice was referring to her seeing as she had been gone for over two years, Yugao turned to her left to find a young woman occupying the locker next to Kaya's, standing with a hand on her hip and frog mask cocked haughtily to the side.

"A word of warning, try not to get too comfortable, you know?" Her words bit with an unearned superiority. She looked to only be about Yugao's age.

Yugao chose to ignore the woman who undoubtedly was a recent recruit. Explaining the false assumption in her statement would take more effort than it was worth, but before she could close her locker and leave quietly, a new voice spoke from the row of lockers behind her.

"Hey Frog, that's Yugao. She's been here longer than you and she'll likely be here long after you, so show some respect."

The unexpected defense had come from an antelope-masked kunoichi, one of the few who had been around since Yugao had joined five years ago. She had never shared more than a few words with the Antelope but had always been respectful towards her veteran status. But now, it seemed, by kunoichi standards at least, Yugao was somewhat of a veteran herself. The Antelope gave her a nod of acknowledgement, and all Yugao could think to do was nod back.

Like a flipped switch Frog's attitude turned meek. "Sorry, I didn't know," she murmured with a slight bow of her head before turning back to her own locker.

"Yeah…don't worry about it."

Yugao closed and secured her locker (with the same stupid old padlock and key, which she had not missed) and made her way out of the locker room.

But something happened as she was heading towards the door, something she was not accustomed to. The atmosphere had changed in the female ANBU locker room, perhaps at some point while she was gone. It was no longer so cold, so distant. The kunoichi she passed all gave her a kind of knowing nod – out of acknowledgement or respect she wasn't really sure – and, just like with the Antelope, she returned them all. Maybe it was true what Kaya had said, that the other kunoichi were grateful, maybe even proud of her, for (unknowingly) changing an unfair system, even in just the slightest way. It wasn't like she was about to start having deep, honest conversations with all the kunoichi all at once, but it did feel like "comrade" was no longer just a title of convenience.

…

Training ground seventeen at seven o'clock was where Yugao was told by the Hokage to meet with her new team. At seven o'clock, training ground seventeen was empty.

Is this some kind of joke?

At first, she thought it might be a test. Perhaps the team had planned to ambush her when she let down her guard in order to test her sensory and combat skills. But after thirty minutes and no sense of hidden chakra, she began to realize what was causing the delay. Or rather, who was causing the delay.

Hatake Kakashi. Her new ANBU captain.

She had an idea of where he might be, and she did not fault him for spending time at the memorial stone. However, if he and the rest of his team knew that he would be late, why would they tell only her to show up at seven o'clock? It must have been some kind of cruel joke.

An hour later the copy-nin came strolling up to her, mask hung oh his hip, seemingly without a care in the world.

"Yo. Welcome back."

She ignored his cool greeting. "Where is everyone else?"

"Well, you see…"

Yugao's eyes narrowed behind her mask as realization dawned on her. "This isn't the meeting place."

He shrugged. "Well I couldn't have you showing up before me, now could I? I like to make the introductions myself."

She was glad that he could not see her roll her eyes behind her mask, although he could probably still tell.

The real meeting spot of Team Ro was in fact training ground twenty-six, where a group of extremely patient ANBU had likely been standing for the last hour and a half.

"Good morning Team," Kakashi greeted with a halfhearted wave. He was met with nods and grunts, except for one –

"Good morning Kakashi-senpai!"

His hair had been cut shorter, his build was larger, his voice had gotten deeper, but Yugao recognized that unique chakra and Ace Student attitude, and it filled her with calm. Tenzou.

"Well, I'd like to introduce our new member – "

But the captain was cut off by the wood user – "Yugao! She's been an ANBU for five years, and just returned from guarding the Daimyo. Her specialties lie in sensory and capture."

"Not to mention she's a fantastic medic," added another familiar voice Yugao recognized as Han, the Hyuga who's eyes she had healed on a mission years before. She was pleased to see that he was still doing well.

Tenzou took it upon himself to introduce the rest of the team – weapons and traps specialist Roku, and two even-heighted sandy-haired T&I alumni who simply went by Boar and Ram – before turning back to their captain. "Now that we're done senpai we should really head to the surveillance tower. The previous shift will not be happy now that we're all late."

Good old Tenzou, always sticking to the rules. But the rest of the team agreed and chose to follow their young deputy leader while Kakashi muttered, "So much for my introduction…"

This team, Yugao could tell, would be very different from her last. This team was special.

…

Uchiha surveillance duty had been one of Yugao's least favorite duties, and now that there was an Uchiha among the ANBU ranks, it seemed to her even more tedious and unnecessary than ever.

Eyes wandering from the drab gray monitors, they landed on her young comrade to her left.

"Tenzou," she whisper-called, and he hesitantly turned his head. "Are we seriously still doing this? It seems kind of unnecessary, no?"

Before the young man could answer, her name was called out behind her, and she turned to see her captain with his arms crossed over his chest, one eye glaring straight at her. Gone was the leisurely banter of the morning's introductions. This was business Kakashi. Serious Kakashi. The Kakashi she had only seen on important missions.

"I heard rumors that your time with the Daimyo made you go soft. Don't tell me those are true?" It was only partly a question, more of a warning.

She knew that the rumors were likely not real, but his disguised threat certainly was. Focus on your work or I'll report you to the Hokage for insubordination, his eye seemed to say. Was she still not being trusted, even on simple surveillance duty?

Her eyes glanced over the other ANBU at their posts as she turned back to her monitor. They all seemed intent on their work, even recording suspicious movements and time stamps into the surveillance logs. Yugao looked down at the log in her station; It was fuller than she ever remembered it being years before.

Uchiha surveillance had used to be a kind of joke, an assignment that all ANBU could agree was a waste of time and resources. Now, the atmosphere in the room seemed strangely tense, the work being done seriously and diligently.

Something had definitely changed in her village. Something the Hokage was trying to keep secret – and it had to do with the Uchiha.

…

One new policy the Hokage had implemented in her absence that Yugao was extremely pleased about was that of a designated day off. With the exception of long term or last minute missions, all teams were guaranteed one scheduled day off every two weeks. For Team Ro, this day was Tuesday. While it was likely under the old schedule that ANBU would get two days off each month, it was never guaranteed, and they could come at any time. Having a day Yugao could actually plan and look forward to made a huge difference.

She never really had much to plan – no people to see or places to visit – but she could take care of chores and general housekeeping on a more regular basis. Thus she found herself on her second Tuesday off at the outdoor market shopping for groceries and household items to replace the ones she had given away.

The cheerful mood of the stall vendors was almost infectious as they advertised their goods on this clear spring day. She was sorting through some particularly delicious looking red apples when she saw him.

The boy from the wildflower fields. The same boy from the pastry shop. Or rather – man. He was taller, his brown hair only falling to his chin, but his big black almond-shaped eyes were exactly the same.

It had been over two years. Would he know her? Would he care to know her? But then he caught her eye, and flashed his same shy smile, and without thinking, the corners of her ruby-tinted mouth twitched upwards.

"How have you been?" He inquired as he joined her at the apple stall. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"I've been...," she wracked her brain for some sort of plausible excuse "...out of town." Dumb. So dumb. Still, it wasn't a complete lie, so at least she didn't have to feel bad about that.

"How is your mother?"

Her mother? Why would he ask about her – oh. She averted her eyes to try to bide some time. The lie she had thoughtlessly orchestrated years ago had turned out to be much more elaborate than she would have liked. Should she just say 'she's fine'?

Apparently her hesitation lasted long enough for the man to draw his own conclusions because he suddenly turned apologetic. "Oh, I'm sorry. That must have been why you were out of town. My condolences."

Did…he just assume her mother had recently passed? The only thing she could think to answer was, "It's fine." She was slightly relieved to be honest. At least now she wouldn't have to maintain that oft-forgotten lie.

Likely eager to ease the tension (that he created, Yugao did not fail to note), the man picked up an apple and examined it gingerly. "Do you think this would be good in a pie?"

Apple in a pie was not something she was familiar with, but she had heard of something similar being popular in the Land of Lightening. Did that mean he was well traveled?

"Do you always think about how you can turn a healthy food into a less healthy dessert?" Great, back to the trusty old weird gag about his penchant for sweets.

"I think that you don't think enough about dessert," he teased back.

Good, so he wasn't offended. Again.

"We all have our fatal flaws," she shrugged. Oh gods, was that too dark?

To her relief, he nodded in agreement. Did that mean the conversation was progressing normally, or that he was just as confused about social interaction as she was?

"Oh well, I don't have an oven anyway," he sighed, delicately placing a couple apples in his basket, "or any idea how to make a pie. I'll just have to eat them the old-fashioned way."

"That's good, because you know what they say about apples."

"What do they say about apples?"

She met his curious black eyes with suppressed panic. What do they say about apples? She had just repeated something she had heard one of the Daimyo's maids often say to the Daimyo's children. It always made the children eat their fruit without complaint, but in truth she had no idea what it meant.

"That…they're good for your health."

The man nodded thoughtfully as if she had just said the wisest thing in the world.

Gods, did that work?

"They're also on sale, three for one," he added, placing a third carefully chosen apple into his basket before taking out some money to pay the vendor. He flashed her a small smile again, and Yugao took this as a cue that their interaction was over. "Well, I hope to see you again."

Did he mean it? Could he possibly mean it?

"Me too."

With their current pattern, they probably wouldn't see each other for another year, though fate did seem to like to put them in each other's paths. Or maybe…

Maybe she could make Tuesdays her market days.

…

The members of Team Ro half-jokingly referred to themselves as Team Kakashi, and for good reason – Kakashi really was the centerpiece, the lifeline of the entire team. They followed him with fierce loyalty, and in return he treated them with utmost respect – when he was being serious at least. The team seemed to have a set rhythm, and they allowed Yugao a place in it immediately.

Despite only being with them for five months, Team Ro felt decidedly different from her old team, Team Go. Their captain, who was only referred to as 'Bull' such as the character of his mask, was always fair and extremely well-prepared, but despite the three years she spent on that team, she never felt as welcome as she did now. It was admittedly no fault of Team Go; they were all young men in their late teens and twenties, and when she joined as a thirteen-year-old girl, there was naturally some distance between them. Learning medical ninjutsu had earned her some respect, and they were the only ones who didn't completely shun her when she was exiled to the Daimyo, but being on Team Kakashi was different, and she couldn't help but think it had something to do with their captain.

Kakashi was an extremely competent leader. He took into account each member's strengths, weaknesses, even personalities, and formulated plans and formations based on them. He exuded an infectious air of calm confidence, even when – to Tenzou's slight ire, she noticed – he would change plans at seemingly the last minute. It always worked out, though, and their mission success rate was quite high compared to the other teams. Due to Kakashi's leadership, Yugao's medical ninjutsu, and everyone's seamless teamwork, their casualty rate was also unusually low. Yugao felt as though she had a place with them. Kakashi's approval and trust in her meant that she had everyone else's approval and trust as well.

Still, she couldn't help but notice that there was something strange about Kakashi, something she couldn't quite place. If he wasn't being almost comically lazy and glib, he was exceedingly, almost frighteningly, diligent and severe. The man had no in between. And still there were other times – but never to the extent that it would compromise a mission – when he would retreat wholly into himself, shutting out his team along with the rest of the world, and would speak only to Tenzou, if at all.

He was in one of those moods on this day, as they sat once again tensely in front of the gray monitors of the Uchiha surveillance tower. Dusk had settled over the late summer evening, and in another hour their shift would be over. Yugao knew now to take the work extra-seriously, her detailed notes covering the pages of the surveillance log. The view from her monitor was peaceful now, all activity seeming to have ceased for the night. She looked down at her log. The last recoded activity had been about twenty minutes ago. She watched her screen, counting down the minutes to the end of her shift. Still no sign of movement. It was quiet.

Too quiet.

She flipped through the pages of the log to previous days. 9:07 PM – Boy walks his dog. Stops by Uchiha Senbei for unsold rice crackers while owners close shop. 9:04 PM – Boy walks his dog. Mother chastises him for not finishing dinner. 9:10 PM – Boy walks his dog. Meets with his friend to play catch in the street.

Boy walks his dog. Boy walks his dog. Boy walks his dog.

Her eyes frantically searched the silent screen.

Where was the boy walking his dog?

"Kakash – "

"Kakashi-senpai!"

The name was barely out of her mouth when an urgent Tenzou sprung up from his seat. Suddenly the entire room was up with calls for their captain. Something was wrong, and she wasn't the only one who noticed.

Before anyone could have a chance to explain, Kakashi was already on his feet. "I know." In a flash he disappeared, undoubtedly off to see the Hokage.

Within seconds he was back with orders. "Everyone to the Uchiha Compound. NOW."

It didn't take long for them to find the bodies. Young, old, male, female, even pets – they were everywhere, in every house, every store, even in the street. But how? They had been watching the monitors the entire time so how?

And it was with a sickening feeling that Yugao realized that whoever did this had to have knowledge of the cameras' blind spots. They had to have knowledge of the Uchiha's schedule and weaknesses. And they had to be ANBU.

Uchiha Itachi.

Even without the order from Kakashi, Yugao's first instinct was to check for survivors. She checked for the senbei shop owners – dead – the man who was always late for work and his doting wife who packed his breakfast – dead – the boy and his dog – dead.

It felt strange. She had never spoken to these people, rarely ever saw them in person, and yet she felt as though she knew them. Their lives to her had been like characters on television screens, every intimate detail recorded for her to see, all their actions and consequences and relationships and, if she looked hard enough, all their hopes and fears and dreams, and now –

They were all dead.

One by one, body after body, she checked for vitals and tagged bodies for removal. The morbid stream of lifeless limbs seemed endless. She had begun to give up hope, until suddenly – a pulse. A boy, perhaps seven or eight years old. He was wounded, unconscious, but breathing.

"I found a survivor!" she found herself calling out to the Hokage – when had he arrived?

"Take him to the hospital immediately. And stand guard."

"Yes sir."

She cradled the young boy in her arms. His face was twisted in pain – how much had he seen? – and although the ANBU were not through checking all of the bodies, Yugao knew in her gut that she was looking at the last survivor of the once great Uchiha Clan.

…

The hallway lights of Konoha Hospital stayed on throughout the night for emergency purposes even while the rooms inside were darkened to let the patients rest. The Uchiha boy was given a private room, and Yugao had been standing guard outside the door the entire night, staring at the fluorescent-lit walls, sensing for his recuperating chakra in case he woke up. The boy's physical injuries were minimal, but his chakra had taken considerable damage from an incredibly strong genjutsu. He had tried to fight back, Yugao surmised, and yet he had been left alive – why?

At some point during the night, after all the bodies had been identified and moved, Tenzou came to join her on guard duty, but the information he could give her did not provide any more answers beyond what she had already suspected. Uchiha Itachi had massacred his clan and fled the village – that was all they knew.

"Is there a team after him already?" she asked her teammate.

"I don't know."

"Why are we wasting time here while we should be out there looking for him?"

"We need to protect the boy. If Itachi hears that someone has survived...we don't know if he'll come back to finish the job."

"Yes but why do we need to be here? Our team's specialty is tracking and capture. If we go now, he can't have gotten far. We should -"

"Yugao." Even though his voice was barely above a whisper, it still rang out in the silence of the hallway. Its weariness stung like a strike to the gut. "Itachi was my teammate. I thought I knew him but clearly I did not. I want to find him as much as you do, probably even more, but we have to stay and protect the boy. Hokage's orders."

Her uneasiness did not dissipate, but she decided not to pursue the issue any further. Tenzou was right – if anyone had cause for feelings of betrayal and dissatisfaction it was he, yet he was willing to stay back and follow orders. The Hokage knew what he was doing...didn't he?

They stood in tense silence until the sun began to rise, though its rays had no effect on the ever sterling-white hallway. Soon the village would start to wake, and news of the night's tragedy would begin to spread.

Yugao felt a stir in the boy's chakra; he was awake. She turned to her partner. She could tell from the tilt of his cat mask that he had sensed it too.

"One of us should talk to him," he offered, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of doing it himself.

"You think it should be me?"

He shrugged. "You're the medic."

He had a point. She was also the one who found him and brought him to the hospital. She couldn't deny that the boy was in some way her responsibility.

With a steadying breath she knocked twice on the door and slowly entered. The inside the room was only lit by the dim light of the dawn. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust.

The boy was sitting upright in his hospital bed, dark hair falling over even darker eyes. He seemed to be taking in the room without really seeing it. If he hadn't been sitting up, if she hadn't already sensed his chakra, she would've gone to check his vitals.

What was she supposed to say to this boy? She had no experience talking to children. The Daimyo's children did not count; they woke up with smiles every day. This child's life was now a waking nightmare.

She let her medic instincts kick in – start with the facts.

"You're in Konoha Hospital. You're alive, and you're safe."

The boy stared at her with eyes like black holes and she couldn't tell if he was actually looking at her or staring right through.

After a long silence he spoke. "You're ANBU," he said quietly, and his voice was much too grave to belong to a child.

"Yes." Tentatively, Yugao reached up with one hand and removed her mask. He was a child after all, and he was alone. She could at least offer him a bit of humanity. Carefully, almost as though she were approaching a bomb, Yugao took a chair and sat by his bed.

"Do you know what happened to you?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

The boy nodded, but did not look at her.

She wasn't sure what to say next, what was an appropriate thing to say to a child in this situation. She tried to think back to when she lost her parents. Two men in uniform had appeared at her doorstep and handed her an envelope. She had only just learned how to read. This wasn't exactly the same, but she tried to think of what she wished someone had told her back then.

"It's not your fault."

The boy nodded again. His breath was slow and even. "Did you find my brother?"

Oh gods. Maybe he didn't know. Maybe he didn't understand that everyone was killed. Unless…

"Who is your brother?"

"Uchiha Itachi."

No. His own brother. She felt her gut clench but had to remain calm - for this boy. And she had to be honest.

"Uchiha Itachi has fled the village. We have not been able to catch him yet, but I assure you, he will be found."

Could she make promises like that? When she wasn't even sure if the Hokage had sent tracking squads yet?

Slowly the boy turned his face to meet hers, and suddenly the emptiness from his eyes was gone, as though he were seeing her for the first time. No. Not exactly. She didn't think it was really her they were seeing, for what was in his eyes now was something much more sinister.

"Don't worry. I'll kill him myself."