"And though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me." - Psalm 23:4

Standing in the wide empty hallway of the Hokage Residence, Izumi could still hear Sasuke's rushed footsteps, echoing farther and farther. Hiruzen had also immediately left to attend to the crushing aftermath of the previous night: organizing the funeral, gathering his advisors to come up with a public statement on the events, setting up more patrols to make sure the rogue Uchiha did not return and many more equally urgent concerns, so the girl was now left to fend for herself.

Unsure of what to do next, Izumi just stared down the corridor, listening to the overbearing silence of her new home. At least, that seemed to be what she was supposed to call that place.

Izumi's eyes lingered on the walls, painted with a generic beige color so that it would not distract the inhabitants, the strict whitewashed ceiling, the dimmed lights illuminating the windowless corridor and five absolutely identical doors aligning the either side of the hallway.

The building seemed almost as old as the Third Hokage himself. It felt so empty, almost gaping, as if the creeping murk of the hallway was about to swallow her whole the very second she turned her back on it.

One moment, she could swear she caught a subtle crimson glimmer of the Sharingan, cutting through the dusk behind. Startled, Izumi quickly cast a glance over her shoulder, but there was nothing, besides the seemingly endless corridor, drowned in the sickly yellowish light, monotonously shimmering away against the dark.

She thought, maybe, in the overwhelming silence she could still hear the echoing footsteps. But that could not have been Sasuke. The sound felt far too heavy for a child, far too foreboding, as if to purposefully let her know that she was being hunted.

To distract herself, Izumi took a few unsteady steps down the corridor, looking for any signs that actual people lived in the huge Residence. If the Hokage himself chose to spend his days here, there was bound to be at least something to show for it.

Lord Third seemed to be a very practical and reserved man and his personal space shared many of the same qualities.

Back at Izumi's old house, every inch of the space had always been adorned by numerous growing plants and blooming flowers, bathing in the sunshine, flowing in from the large windows. Now, their little family had never amounted to much in terms of wealth, but even so, Izumi's mother always made sure that every corner of their place had various little trinkets and souvenirs, like the quirky dreamcatcher and three tiny bells, hanging from the front door or some occasional little paintings, scattered around on the walls, so the family would always have something nice to look at.

Izumi's new house, however, was different. No matter how far down the hallway she went and how many empty rooms she visited, there was nary even a trace of anything, but the simplest furniture like the crude wooden beds, compact bedside tables and some shelves housing various dusty books and scrolls. To Izumi's relief, most of the rooms actually had decently sized windows in them. Seeing some sunlight seemed to lift the girl's spirits, even if just by a little. She definitely preferred it to the oppressive shimmering glow of the hallway.

The only decorative items Izumi saw in the long corridor were the rare hieroglyphs, which seemed to have been painstakingly brushed with ink and probably required much skill and patience to create. A fitting pastime for a Hokage.

She shrugged involuntarily, as chill air from the home had licked her exposed shoulders. It had barely registered in her mind that she was dressed only in her sleeveless purple shirt she wore for training the day before, back when everything was as it should have been. Back when Mom had still been waiting for her to come back from a full day of grueling exercises with a tight hug, a warm cup of fresh ready-made tea. For the briefest of moments, Izumi could almost taste the bittersweet drink, with warm earthy notes of fresh ginseng.

When she closed her eyes and focused, she could even hear her mom's voice once again. Soft and caring, like a lullaby after long days or weeks of missions, it was telling Izumi about the various herbs Hazuki Uchiha grew in her little garden. She would tell her daughter all kinds of things, like what each plant was best used for, how to nurture it or even different stories of her customers, which often included their mundane day to day lives, vivid recounts of their various missions or just the hottest rumors and gossips, circulating around the village. It was the best melody for the girl to fall asleep to.

The heavy smell forced its way into her nostrils and violently tore the daydream apart. It was a thick musty mixture of wet plaster, mold and multiple coats of old paint, meticulously applied over it in an effort to turn the tide in the slow futile struggle.

Izumi could also smell a faint undertone of burning. It felt so foreign in this old dusty building, so out of place, that her mind just could not let it go. An unbidden visceral thought had hit Izumi like a sudden thunderbolt, making her instinctively recoil, as if she'd been once again burned by a flame.

She had finally realized why the strange smell stood out so much. It had never belonged to the Hokage's house in the first place. Instead, it had been the smell of her old home; one of ashes, mixed with grime and her own sweat.

The morbid stench had permeated her clothing and tore deep into her body like a cancer she carried around everywhere. It made her feel filthy to her bones. Izumi's fingers clenched against the high collar of her shirt, as if she wanted to tear it down and shred it to pieces right there in the corridor of the Hokage Residence, not caring if the hidden ANBU or even Hiruzen himself would see her. She just wanted to scrub her battered body until every last trace of it was gone.

For a split second, she felt it all once again. The evening that had burned her home and her old life to ashes.

A silhouette, made out of pure darkness with one glowing crimson eye, hidden behind the swirls of that man's mask, staring them down like a hungry predator.

Her mother's twisted body, sprawled on the floor in a pool of her own blood, the sickening cracking sound the sword made while breaking her bones.

Then came the sudden bang, the overwhelming wave of air that had hit her body with no warning and sent it flying back like a ragdoll shortly before the house erupted into a raging storm of immense heat and shattered rubble, as everything she held dear was engulfed in raging fire.

Even now, Izumi could still feel the hot angry touch of the flames on her exposed skin, the pain of the sharp dust from the collapsing house, tearing into her nose, throat and lungs. She could still see her mother's dead body slowly going up in flames, could smell the horrifying sickening stench of burnt meat, even as Itachi desperately dragged her away, having detonated his own shadow clone in desperation to escape that man.

Izumi felt her heart start racing in her chest. The unbidden sharp pain in her side and stomach turned her back to reality and she suddenly retched and coughed as her whole body was fighting to stay out of the morbid memory.

She felt sticky cold sweat, covering her face and body, as she remembered Itachi's body shaking in uncontrollable terror in her arms, as soon as they both heard that cold emotionless voice, suddenly coming into existence behind her back.

'Oh? Protecting her no matter what? That is admirable. But, I thought we had an agreement.' Madara's words echoed again and again in her now broken mind.

'Itachi, did I even know you?' Izumi asked herself, as she felt more and more burning moisture build up in her eyes.

The silent darkness of the Residence held no answer. It was the same scary uncertain darkness, as that night seven years ago when her home had been ruined for the first time and the very same night she first saw Itachi as more than just a handsome classmate. Before she even knew it, her mind had already dove into what used to be her darkest, most horrible day. Before last night, that is.

A vile primal roar that had enveloped the entirety of the village; a harbinger of a disaster that was soon to come. Trembling like a helpless leaf caught into a violent maelstrom, Izumi made a couple of steps to the window and froze, caught up in a twisted, grim kind of awe, as she looked at a giant orange Fox. Towering over the village, the demon made the Hokage Mountain look like a child's sand castle, its tails flashing in the darkness like hellish whips, leveling entire blocks of buildings with one sweep. Izumi couldn't look away.

"Izumi!" She heard dad's voice too late. The only thing she saw was an angry flash of burning orange, raining down on them from above before her little body suddenly flew through the air, as Izumi's world turned to crimson and everything slowed down, almost as if they were underwater. The little girl watched her father close his eyes, preparing himself. Then, their family home collapsed like a house of cards with a terrible thump.

Next thing she remembered was pain and blood on her hands, as she tried with feeble strength she had to push the cold stones, screaming at them to budge until she lost her voice.

Desperate to save her dad, Izumi hadn't noticed the remains of the roof collapsing on her head till the last second, closing her eyes in terror.

When she opened them again, she saw him. Itachi was holding her by the waist with one hand, supporting his infant brother, whom he carried in a carrier around his neck, with the other. His expression was surprisingly focused for a seven year old kid, as his sharp black eyes darted around Izumi's body, making sure the girl was not hurt.

"Are you alright?" he asked quickly, while keeping an eye on little Sasuke, who had started crying, scared by the noise and the cold.

"Shh, shh, Sasuke, it's alright, your big brother will protect you." Itachi whispered softly, lulling his little brother with one hand.

Crying and shaking, Izumi could only nod, burying her head in Itachi's chest.

The boy seemed so collected despite the bloody chaos unfolding around them. His deep caring voice and his deep black eyes, brimming with concern, were calming down not only little Sasuke, but her as well.

"Dad told me there was a shelter not far from here. We need to get there." Itachi said softly, but firmly, as he took Izumi's hand and dragged them down the street, where shinobi were gathering civilians.

"But my mom… she's still at her shop." Izumi whispered through the haze of tears, "and my dad…"

"It's going to be alright, I promise." Itachi replied with serious confidence, that suddenly made Izumi feel at least a little safer, " but for now we need to stay safe."

The boy subtly squeezed her hand, as if asking if she was ready to go before both kids took off through the chaotic streets towards a civilian shelter.

'I wanted to be like you, Itachi. Back then, I thought, If I were, even a little, maybe Dad would have lived.'

'But now, I don't know. Why didn't you warn anyone about Madara? When did you decide that killing your own clan, your own family was the right way?' Izumi thought somberly.

Her mind wandered to yet another memory from her past. She felt the familiar warmth of Itachi's hand squeezing her own, as they walked down the old wooden pier on the wide, beautiful lake on the edge of the Uchiha Compound.

Izumi felt the summer sun, lightly tickling her skin, as she zoned out, listening to the hectic cries of seagulls, wrestling over some fish and the calming quacking of dozens of ducks, swimming about.

She watched, as the sun rays played in the clear blue water and enjoyed the calming touch of the mild breeze. When Itachi was with her, Izumi didn't need much to be happy. She was content with just listening to his quiet footsteps beside her.

"So, Itachi. What do you want to do when we grow up?" she asked playfully, noticing that her friend had become even quieter than usual. And when it came to Itachi, it meant a lot.

"I don't really know." Itachi finally hummed in thought, "and what about you?"

"Hey! That's unfair! I asked first!" Izumi pouted, lightly slapping him on the shoulder, "I just want to become strong, so I could protect my mom and the others." she answered honestly, "did you know that Lord Fourth once defeated an entire Hidden Stone invasion force by himself with just one technique? He must have worked very hard. You know, to be the youngest Hokage and all that." she gestured excitedly to the book in her free hand. "Way of Shinobi: Lives of Legends''. A recent present from Mom for her last birthday and a very cherished one, as well.

"So, you want to become Hokage too, huh?" Itachi taunted light-heartedly, with a half smile.

Izumi shrugged her shoulders hesitantly, as she visibly shrinked under the weight of her thoughts.

"Not everyone can become Hokage, you know. Lord Fourth was a prodigy and he had Master Jiraiya as his sen– Wait, did you say 'too'? Do you wanna be Hokage?"

"You finally figured it out, huh" Itachi hummed sarcastically, earning himself another playful slap.

"If I were Hokage, I would find a way to make peace and negotiate with the others. I think, violence and war are the wrong answers." Itachi looked up to the sky dreamily, as if imagining his ideal world, "People should be able to listen to each other more."

"You can do it, Itachi," the girl nodded happily, as the two kids continued circling around the calm lake. The carefree memory then abruptly faded away.

'So what happened to you? Did you even care about your dream? Or me?' Izumi in the present thought, as she felt the undercurrent of unfocused anger, radiating around her, as the carefree memory faded away.

Drained, she finally made it to her room, immediately tearing down all her clothing, which still reeked of fire and gore of the Massacre.

Izumi tossed it to the far side of the room, so she couldn't even see it, changed into spare clothing, thoughtfully prepared beforehand, and stared mindlessly into the ceiling above. She could hear Sasuke's muffled sobs, coming through the walls from another room. One part of her wanted to go help him, but Izumi did not move.

VvV

(with Hiruzen Sarutobi; Hokage Office)

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the reigning Hokage, once known all across the Five Great Nations as the fearsome God of Shinobi, the man who nurtured the Legendary Sannin and survived all three World Wars... was at a loss.

His fingers tapped incessantly on the cold hardened oak of his table. His sharp gaze went right through the walls of his office staring straight into the abyss of the uncertain future.

All his thoughts swirled around the mysterious perpetrator with the Sharingan.

That man was skilled enough to penetrate all Konoha's defenses, massacre it's Police Force and the entire Uchiha Clan, have a brief stand-off with their ANBU and live to tell the tale. That rogue Uchiha, whoever he was, held the potential to become the greatest threat to the village since the times of Madara Uchiha.

With a deep sigh, Hiruzen contemplated for the hundredth time that day how truly old he had become over the last seven years. Was he still in the condition to protect the Will Of Fire, passed down from his predecessors? Perhaps, but not alone.

It was with that thought, that Hiruzen reached into the drawer of his table and procured a small ornate scroll, unfurling it on the table. He then bit his finger just enough to draw a bit of blood and ran through the seals for Summoning Jutsu.

From the smoke, an old green toad emerged, immediately taking in the new surroundings. Not sensing any sign of Jiraiya's presence, the elder toad turned its pensive gaze to the Hokage.

"It's not often that ya summon me, Lord Hokage. Need me to find Jiraiya-boy for ya?"

"Yes, Lord Fukasaku, I am afraid there has been an emergency in the village."

"I see" the elder toad contemplated for a moment, before unfurling a large scroll it was holding on the floor. The elder ran through the hand signs and slammed it's hand squarely in the center of a large intricate seal with a kanji for 'Human' as its centerpiece.

Seconds later, a very confused Jiraiya stepped out of the smoke cloud.

"Lord Fukasaku, Sensei." his expression quickly turned professional and serious, not a trace of the usual laid-back oddball visible in him, "It's the first time you used our emergency summoning scroll. So whatever it is, it must be something big." he concluded grimly.

"Yes, Jiraiya, unfortunately, you are right. Our village has been attacked."

"How many? From which villages? Directions of attack? What have you already done?" Jiraiya went into full combat-ready mode, starting from the most important questions.

"We have managed to repel the attack, but not before almost the entire Uchiha clan had been wiped out."

"Was it targeted at them specifically?" Jiraiya asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion, "To just reach the Uchiha, the enemy must've needed a whole invasion force to breach into the village. Or at least a full platoon of highly-skilled ANBU to stealthily infiltrate. And even then... The Police Force, the entire clan and our patrolling ANBU forces couldn't have been an easy target. So, how did it happen, Sensei?"

Hiruzen reached for his pipe, ignited it and took a long drag, exhaling a cloud of white smoke, all in a complete heavy silence.

"As far as we know, It was done by one man. According to Kakashi Hatake, he uses unknown Space-Time ninjutsu and wields a Sharingan."

Jiraiya connected the dots right away. Hiruzen could see a shadow of grim realization blanketed all over his student's face.

"So there was a rogue Uchiha, after all."

"The real stickler is... Why wait seven years before making a move? If his goal was simply to destroy Konoha or the Uchiha clan, he could have done so at any point. In fact, If our defenses meant so little to him, he could have done anything like, for example, kidnapping Naruto and unleashing the Fox again... So why didn't he? Does he have some other goals?"

Hiruzen looked straight into Jiraiya's eyes. In that gaze Jiraiya still recognised his Sensei, the great Hiruzen Sarutobi, a fearsome shinobi and a stoic leader. But there was something else. It was nearly invisible to those, who didn't know Sensei as well, but to Jiraiya it was clear as day. It was like a web of miniscule cracks that slowly erodes the mountain over the years.

The Third Hokage was no longer himself. He acted and looked similar, but Jiraiya's keen eye picked out uncanny details in his expression, posture, mannerisms. A subtle note of doubt now seemingly permeated his every action

'Is Sensei... trembling?' Jiraiya asked himself, unsure. He had only ever seen him like that once and it was after Orochimaru went rogue.

Hiruzen took another long drag from his pipe, as his eyes lingered on Jiraiya.

"Kakashi's squad was able to rescue one girl, Uchiha Izumi and a child, Uchiha Sasuke. According to his account, Izumi fought our rogue Uchiha alongside Itachi Uchiha. Itachi's body was not found."

"Taken hostage? Body stolen for his eyes, perhaps? Anyhow, we're not going to get far without talking to the girl first. Is she guarded well?" Jiraiya inquired.

"Kakashi's Squad Ro is guarding both Uchiha children and Naruto. I decided it would be safer to keep them all here under ANBU's watch for the time being."

"Good call" Jiraiya hummed approvingly, "I will keep an eye out for them as well then. With a rogue Uchiha, who can appear in the village at will, there's no being safe anymore."

"Listen, Jiraiya-boy" Fukasaku finally chose to interject after listening quietly to an unfolding conversation, "Yer Sage Mode's range should be enough to sense the entire village at once. If ya summon Ma we will help ya together"

The Toad Sage stroked his chin, still seemingly considering something.

"Guess I'd stick around here this time, eh? Good to be home for the first time in seven or so years" he said pensively, "I hope the hot springs are still every bit as good as in the old days..."

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, as he let out a perfect ring of white smoke and watched it for a moment, as it slowly rose up to the ceiling, before focusing entirely on his pupil.

"Don't beat yourself up, Jiraiya. You didn't abandon him. We both know what would happen to this village, if you haven't been there all those years. Besides, now is your chance to make it up to the boy."

"Since I am already here, you think I should start training him seriously? There will be no sunshine and rainbows in his life, that's a given, now even more so."

Hiruzen slowly nodded, lost in his thoughts.

"Just be careful. We don't know how the seal would respond. He's still a child, after all, so we must err on the side of caution."

"Perhaps, young Naruto-boy will best be trained with us at mt. Myoboku? If we hid the kids there, that man would never find them." Fukasaku once again found an opening in the dialogue.

Jiraiya entertained the suggestion for a moment. One could see gears turning in his mind, as he was restlessly analyzing.

"That way I could experiment with Naruto's training and the seal without putting the village at risk..." Jiraiya mused aloud, "And there's also less risk of our rogue Uchiha trying anything. Not a bad idea."

"But Jiraiya, we can't keep three children with the toads forever. It is not a sustainable solution." Hiruzen countered, while refilling his pipe with yet another new payload of tobacco.

The office was thoroughly permeated by the aroma of pine and berries, as a cloud of thin white smoke slowly suffocated the room, but neither two man nor the toad seemed to care.

"And the alternative? Keep them locked up by your side under constant watch? You can't let them go on missions, because either our rogue or his hypothetical accomplices might be watching and planning an ambush. Hell, even letting them walk around Konoha without constant supervision is dangerous. That's not the life Minato and Kushina wanted for Naruto!"

Unable to stand still, Jiraiya started frantically pacing around the room. It took several moments for the Sannin to steel himself.

"Calm down." Hiruzen chided, even though he was far from calm himself; the pipe was the only thing giving the old Hokage some semblance of inner peace, "Are you saying that we should assume that all of Konoha has been fully compromised?"

Jiraiya considered his answer.

"Yes. Assuming that guy can teleport in and out of Konoha basically on a whim, there's no safe space anywhere in the village. If he is the same man, who took out your best ANBU and fought off Minato while extracting and controlling the Nine-Tails, the only safe space for Naruto and the others would be either with you or with me. And even that is a bit of a stretch. But I am sure you knew that much already, didn't you, Sensei?"

The silent ruffle of tobacco leaves and a small spark of flame were the only answer Jiraiya got.

"So what is your proposition exactly?" Hiruzen finally asked, puffing on his pipe, as his sharp gaze tore into the towering form of his pupil.

"Can you get me Tenzo?" Jiraiya replied after a moment of silent contemplation.

VvV

(with Naruto; Hokage Residence)

For Naruto, the first day in that place had begun a little differently. He couldn't sleep at all. His little mind was racing a mile a minute, desperately trying to figure out what so important and scary could have happened, that the old man Hokage himself decided to protect him.

Also, he couldn't get the words of that Kakashi-guy out of his head. Specifically about living with some new people.

Every single time he closed his eyes, his mind drew him a new set of vivid pictures of his new companions. Maybe, they would be old man Teuchi and big sis Ayame?

'I would have endless ramen then!' Naruto snickered to himself, but then he practically froze.

'What if it's Sakura-chan even?!' Imagining that, Naruto's brain almost tripped over itself. Living under the same roof with Sakura would be so cool! Talking to her every day, eating ramen together and all that!

'Maybe she will finally forget that idiot Sasuke and see how awesome I am!'

Naruto nearly jumped up in bed, practically overflowing with enthusiasm.

'Alrighty, let's check the room first!' the kid thought eagerly, as he didn't get to look through everything in his new home last night, because it had already been too late when they moved in. Now, though, there was a full exciting day ahead of him!

Naruto gave his room a cursory glance. He found it a bit boring, for sure, since all it really had was a perfectly ordinary bed, a big window and a small bathroom, tucked away in the little side room. Nothing much, but it wasn't really that different from the apartment Naruto used to have.

If anything, his new room seemed way neater and tidier than his apartment had ever been since Naruto grew old enough to remember it.

For a moment he stared out of the wide window at the Hidden Leaf, sprawled lazily below. The Residence was overlooking the village from the Hokage Mountain and taking in the view, Naruto felt so big and important. He laughed gleefully, as he noticed tiny people, minding their little business way below him.

"Hey, there goes my old home!" Naruto couldn't contain his excitement, as he eyed the decrepit building from the bird's eye view of his new place.

His little blue eyes then darted to the Academy building, sparkling with mischief as he saw hordes of little genin flock to their lessons in the morning. He, the great Naruto Uzumaki, was above it all, as he stuck out his tongue, imagining his sensei's scowl.

"Take that, Iruka-sensei! I will find some awesome gramps' jutsu here and then beat your ass! You will all see how great I am!"

With that out of the way, he spotted some bookshelves in the room, holding a lot of old dusty scrolls. And if Naruto knew one thing about cool jutsu at the ripe age of seven, it was that cool jutsu and old man's dusty old scrolls usually came in one package.

The shelves were hung too high for him to reach on his own, but the kid just wouldn't let himself be deterred. Grunting with audible effort, he pushed the bedside table up to a wall and quickly climbed it, reaching for his well-earned loot.

Touching the old parchment, Naruto felt the grossly thick film of dust, covering most of them. As he continued searching with his outstretched hand, Naruto suddenly chanced upon a smaller scroll that didn't seem quite as dusted.

'That's the one!' Naruto quickly decided, pulling it down and unfurling it on the floor.

"Let's see what this is all about! Awesome jutsus, you won't hide from me!" he shouted, practically bouncing on his feet, as he prepared to dig into the scroll.

He could see himself, stomping down a mountain of bad guys at once, his majestic red cape billowing in the wind, that played with his outstanding golden hair.

"Oh, Naruto, you are the handsomest ninja around!" Sakura squealed, quickly turning red as a tomato, while Sasuke growled helplessly at his feet, completely paralyzed by the might of Naruto Uzumaki's overpowering new jutsu!

'Oh, Sakura, you don't have to!' Naruto thought giddily, caught up in his phantasy, 'It's good you finally saw what a stupid idiot that…'

"It's you, who should have died!" a sudden unbidden shout had completely shattered Naruto's little dreamscape and soon after that, followed the sound of someone running down the hallway, stomping angrily at the old creaky floor with each step.

To his utter horror, Naruto realized that the voice had been a very familiar one.

"Oh crap! Sasuke! What's that idiot doing here? No way, no way, no way! I am not living with him! Believe it!"

The boy felt cold bugs start crawling under his skin, as dread filled his little body at the sheer thought of seeing Sasuke every second of every day for who knows how long.

But then, something else brewed in that cute goldie head of his. The more Naruto thought about it, the more it hatched into a very neat little plan.

Having looked at his new fancy jutsu scroll one more time, as if promising he would get back to it soon, Naruto slid out of his room silently and playfully like a little kitten, who had spotted a mouse. Naruto Uzumaki, the greatest prankster in the recorded history of Konoha, was going to one up Sasuke and not get caught.

Like a silent little shadow, the kid followed the sound of footsteps down the hallway until he saw just one single door wide open.

In his haste to spring the trap, Naruto didn't pay much attention to what exactly it was Sasuke was doing. And hey, it's not like it mattered, so long as he was there.

'Prepare to meet the greatest me, Naruto Uzumaki!' the kid snickered, as he practically flew into the room with a gleefully skittish bounce to his step.

Judging from a hump on the bed, Sasuke was actually laying down, facing the wall and seemed not to notice he had an unexpected visitor.

'Just what I need!' Naruto's body was overflowing with both excitement and adrenaline, as he landed squarely on top of Sasuke in a sudden cat-like jump and went to town, tickling his rival to kingdom come!

"Yeah! Take that, Sasuke! I will never live with you! Ever! The future greatest shinobi can't live with an idiot, who only winks at girls! Believe it!"

Strangely, Sasuke didn't catch on to what was happening and Naruto's petty little prank went off without a hitch.

'Whoa! That never happened before! Believe it!' Naruto thought briefly, but he didn't have time to dwell on it, his fingers almost smoking from the incessent tickling. Naruto Uzumaki never did things half-way, for that was his ninja way. He could almost taste his sweet victory and it felt better even than the best ramen from old man Teuchi!

Suddenly, Sasuke's head jerked up from under the blanket.

"Got you now!" Naruto screamed triumphantly, even though he immediately felt that there was something slightly off about it all.

The Uchiha boy looked stunned, like a scared deer. The time seemed to freeze, as Naruto looked into his black eyes wide with shock and confusion and shimmering slightly in the light.

'Is Sasuke… afraid?!'

"Sasuke what's u–?!"

Suddenly, the young Uchiha jerked forward with his entire body, pushing Naruto violently backwards.

"Get off me, you loser!" Sasuke screamed desperately, his eyes wet with sudden moisture, "Leave me alone!"

"You could've killed me, you psycho!" Naruto shouted back indignantly, having almost somersaulted off the bed head-first.

"I said leave me alone!" Sasuke seemed to shrink into the far corner of his bed. He tried hurtling his pillow towards Naruto, but missed and it dropped harmlessly at the boy's feet.

"C'mon! It was just a joke!" Naruto protested loudly, placating with his arms in the air, "Why are you getting so worked up about it?! It's not like I punched you or anything! It was just a tickle! Believe it!"

Apparently, Sasuke had enough, because he suddenly bolted from his bed in one jerky motion, his fist cocked back in a manner that seemed less than friendly to Naruto.

"If you don't get out, I will kick you out!" Sasuke shouted, charging towards the increasingly more frightened Naruto, who saw his prank grow out of control to come back and bite him.

'Oh no, that looks very painful!' Naruto panicked, realizing that he, as usual, won't be able to avoid Sasuke's punch. But he, again as usual, did not really want to take one to his face.

Naruto managed only to tense up his body and close his eyes, bracing for the impact, but he wasn't prepared for what was going to happen next.

As Sasuke ran towards him, he suddenly tripped over the pillow on the floor, and tumbled over, his momentum still carrying him forward, so Sasuke plummeted face first onto the hard wood and skidded for a little before his body came to a stop.

"You…" Sasuke growled on the floor, but surprisingly, he wasn't doing anything. Whenever Sasuke decided to beat Naruto up nine times out of ten he would understandably succeed, but not that day. That day was the tenth time.

Instead of trying to get up, Sasuke suddenly started sniffling and tears stained his already wet cheeks.

Naruto was absolutely horrified, as he too started shaking, fighting back his own scared tears.

"I… didn't think it would actually, y'know… work… on you. I only did it because you…" he stuttered hesitantly, instinctively backing away.

"It's not about you and your lame prank!" Sasuke barked back, his tears melting into anger, "I want to go home! My home!"

Naruto was at a loss. The only thing he knew is he'd never seen Sasuke like that before. The Uchiha boy he always knew from class was a smug jerk, who wouldn't hesitate to put Naruto down in front of Sakura. But this side of Sasuke was uncharted territory for the boy.

The other thing he knew from watching the Academy kids on his long lonely evenings was that when kids wanted to go home, their mom or dad usually came to pick them up sooner or later.

So Naruto blurted out the first comforting thing his seven year old mind could think of.

"Don't worry, your mom is probably already coming to pick you–"

"Shut up!" Sasuke growled so loudly that Naruto's body jerked backwards, almost jumping away from the volatile Uchiha, "You don't know a thing about my family! Get out!"

Sasuke almost lost his voice with his last scream and that made Naruto turn around and practically run out of the room, frantically shutting the door between them.

VvV

(with Izumi; Later that day)

Izumi laid in her bed, staring through the window at the bustling streets of Konoha, basking in the sun below the Hokage Mountain.

Everything in the village ran like a well-oiled machine, its numerous cogs from civilians to the Hokage himself spinning in perfect harmony as every peaceful day just flowed into the next one.

Izumi noticed flocks of children, trickling into the Academy, just in time for the first lesson to begin, she saw merchants hurrying through the streets to open their various shops, people just strolling around, having dango with a cup of hot tea and living their happy little lives.

'They don't even know,' Izumi thought grimly.

Her mind suddenly raced back to the farthest corner of the Uchiha lands, to the bank of the Nakano river, inside the old shrine and finally down the stairs, hidden away exactly under the seventh tatami mat.

She remembered the lurking darkness of that place, hiding away in the shadows from the angry light of the torches, the morbid earthly cold swirling around the two kids, as if the shrine was their tomb, her grabbing Itachi's hand, as they both were praying for what they were hearing to not be real.

"We, the Uchiha Clan, helped build this village! And we will not stand and watch, as the legacy of our fathers is being stolen away by them!" The silver-haired Yashiro Uchiha, one of the oldest and most respected Police Force captains, spoke to his clansmen, his words met with cheers and vigorous shouts from the public.

"Yeah! Lord Fugaku for Hokage!"

"We will show them their place!"

Fugaku raised his hand, quelling the crowd.

"In two weeks, the Hokage will be leaving to meet with Daymyo of the Fire Country. That's when we strike. We will cripple Konoha by assassinating the elders and high command. Without their leadership, they would not be able to resist and we will install the new government in a bloodless revolution."

The clan roared with primal zeal, adrenaline coursing through their veins.

"Take back what's ours!"

"We will teach them to respect the Uchiha!"

Izumi could feel Itachi's body tight as a drum, as his anger threatened to explode.

"You are all insane" the boy whispered to himself, having long lost the will to reason with any of them, and she too just broke down, tears streaming down her face, as she sunk into his shoulder.

As the memory lost its grip on Izumi, she slowly opened her eyes to the same inconspicuous beige walls and white ceiling. A dream.

'Why didn't the Hokage intervene? Why was Itachi the only one to even try doing anything?'

Izumi felt her body shaking in frustration the longer she dwelled on those thoughts.

Izumi saw Itachi's face, felt the terrified tremble of his body, as Madara appeared behind them to finish the job. He wasn't a hardened clankiller at all.

'Why did Itachi feel so lost that he turned to Madara Uchiha for help? He shouldn't have had to deal with any of it.'

'Why did mom have to die? She didn't even know a thing about that coup! She wasn't even a shinobi! It's just unfair! All of it! All of it shouldn't have happened at all!'

Izumi felt a touch of burning moisture in her eyes. A wheezing sigh finally made its way out of her constricted chest, bringing a hint of momentary relief. It lasted only for a short moment. Just enough for her to suppress that pain and hide it deep inside, only for it to explode again seconds later, as she clenched her pillow with both hands and wailed into it.

That was when she heard a soft gentle knock on her door.

"I know right now is not the best time, but I need to talk to you, kid. Can I come in?" the gruff, but soft voice spoke from behind the door.

Izumi had never heard that man's voice before.

"No, go away. Please." She barely managed to say, her voice pleading hardly above a whisper.

"It's alright, I can wait. Just come out and meet me when you feel ready. If you tell me anything about this Madara Uchiha, I will do my best to make sure what happened to you never happens again. Could you do that for me, kid?"

"There's nothing you can do." Izumi argued through the haze of tears, "Itachi killed him, stabbed him right through the heart… And he just… he just… got back up and took him away… like none of that even happened!"

Through the door Jiraiya could hear her breathing growing more shallow, as the girl struggled more and more with each word before her speech devolved into meaningless wailing, as it became hard for Izumi to breathe.

Realizing that it was more serious than he thought, he rushed into the room and immediately pulled the struggling girl into his arms, resting her head against his wide chest.

"Hey, Izumi, right? It's alright, we are all here. I am here, Lord Hokage is here, the ANBU are here. We won't let him hurt you again, okay?"

Izumi said nothing, but her hands clenched against the man's back, as if she wanted to hide her whole body behind his mighty torso.

"I thought we'd won," Izumi whispered, when her breathing calmed down a little. She listened for a moment to Jiraiya's calm and steady heartbeat, gathering her strength to dive back into her memory of last night.

"He could turn into… a ghost. Passed through things and our attacks." She did her best to explain, her voice low and shaking, "we couldn't hit him, but then… he went after Itachi and I… I had this ability. It's like I could see what would happen before it happened. But not only watch, but… I don't know… change it, see what happens… so…"

Jiraiya patted her back compassionately and spoke in the most calming manner he could.

"Shh, you don't have to rush. Come on, take a breath. I know it's hard on you to talk about it so soon. I appreciate it, kid. Sorry for your loss."

Izumi lifted her head to look Jiraiya straight in the eye.

"How could Itachi do this to me?" she asked him, as the crimson of the Sharingan slowly bled into her eyes and the three black tomoe started spinning.

"What did he do?" Jiraiya asked calmly, but his shinobi instincts immediately told him there was something more to the story.

Something inside Izumi had just shattered and Jiraiya picked up the subtle visceral twitch of her body, as she tried to take a calming breath.

"It was him. He wanted to… kill everyone first. But he couldn't… and that's when Madara appeared. He said they had an agreement and then he just… my mom…" Izumi collapsed back onto Jiraiya's chest in a heap of tears, as the sickening sound of the sword cutting through bones rang in her ears once more.

"So, Itachi was working with this Madara, but couldn't go through with it and turned on him?" Jiraiya clarified, stroking his chin in thought. He wanted to ask more questions, but something had interrupted him before he could.

As Izumi looked up to face him, Jiraiya suddenly saw the three black tomoe converging to fill the center of the girl's eyes, as they slowly changed, morphing into something that looked to him like an eloquent black flower, blossoming against the deep crimson of the eye.

"The Mangekyo Sharingan." Jiraiya whispered with reverence, as he looked at Izumi's new powers unfolding before him.

Based on what Konoha knew about the famed dojutsu, it was so incredibly rare that only a handful of people had awakened it since Madara Uchiha. And here it was, blossoming right before his own eyes.

"Alright, let's leave it here for today. You need to take some rest." Jiraiya reigned himself in, as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Last thing, the village is preparing to host a funeral for the Uchiha. If you feel up to it, they will bring the ceremonial clothing a bit later." He sighed heavily, "If you need anything else or want to talk more, call for master Jiraiya and I will be there as soon as I can, kid." the Sannin turned to leave the room, but stopped when he heard Izumi suddenly call out to him.

"Master Jiraiya! Thank you."

Author's Notes:

Hey, I know it's been over a year since my last update. Have been in a hard place with the Ukraine War and some medical concerns. But now I am back in full (hopefully)

Sorry for this chapter being a bit on a shorter side compared to the first one, I just felt the ending was good enough to break the mini-arc into a two-parter. I appreciate every bit of feedback on this story, you guys!

It's my first ever story, and your kind comments have motivated me to keep at it! I hope we can make it into something great together!

I wish you and your homes to stay peaceful and happy!

That would be all.