7 a.m., 28 November 54; The Hokage's Office
The sun blanketed Konoha in a flush of pink as it rose over the horizon. Light graced the top roofs of the buildings, casting shadows beneath the tallest structures. Cobblestones mixed the colors in the light turning the earthy browns red. Almost appropriate, Minato mused as he slid the tip of his kunai beneath his fingernails, clearing the remnants of the Kiri-nins' dried blood. As effective as Inoichi could be, time was of the essence.
Fugaku loudly turned another page of the atlas laid across the Hokage desk. "Your best chance would be to enter the port, then use your jutsu from there. If you choose to go through with this, that is. My offer still stands. Tsume was my genin teammate; we work well together."
Minato turned his back on the open window and glanced over Fugaku's shoulder. "Tsume isn't going. No matter what she thinks. That's my daughter and my team out there. I can't risk losing a pregnant clan head too."
Shikaku sighed from the couch against the wall. "You'd rather us risk a Hokage? You realize how ludicrous that sounds?"
"I'll be more agile alone. Two shinobi would attract attention, much less a whole team—"
"Now you're coming up with excuses," Fugaku interrupted. "Take Tsume, at the very least. Or Hiashi, if you won't have me."
Minato pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't have you on this mission because you will be leading the village in my stead. I've left written instruction that if I were to die in combat, you will replace me as the Godaime Hokage."
Fugaku's eyebrows arched to his hairline, his mouth gave a convincing impression of a goldfish, opening and closing.
"I told you he would be shocked," Shikaku said. "You need to at least take a guard with you. Someone. Anyone. Your…informant…said that they were hosting a battalion if not more."
"I thought of taking my wife."
Shikaku slapped a hand over his face. "You can't take the nine-tail's jinchuuriki out of the village. It's against the law."
Fugaku shook his head. "This is why you shouldn't leave in the first place. You're too close to make good decisions. Take Tsume."
7 p.m., 29 November 54; Nagi Island
Leaves shuddered against the needles of the coastal pine trees outside of the cave entrance while Obito sat against the edge of the rock. This was the first night since they arrived where it had been quiet. Shisui's crows had reported that Kiri-nin were still on the opposite side of the island from the port town. He was proud of his first cousin. All the years he had poured into training him and teasing him into growth had paid off in spades. Ironic for a boy who couldn't win a card game to save his life.
Kakashi soundlessly approached behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Still quiet?"
"Yeah. No patrols yet."
"Kuromaru is more worried about the lack of patrol than the presence of it. He thinks they could be amassing to take over the port. Our window is closing."
"What's the plan?"
Small pebbles scattered further into the cave as Kakashi swiped his foot against the floor. "You tell me. Kuromaru wants to make a run for it. I don't want to risk casualties."
"I should be flattered you ask," Obito tried to joke, even as it fell flat to his own ears. "If I lost you or Rin…I don't think I would be okay afterward. Shisui's holding up too well."
"Is that why you wanted to sit up here by yourself? You're worried he's going to crash?"
"Aren't you? Your sister did."
Kakashi looked out of the cave ruefully and threw a pebble at Obito's shoe. "My sister has been coddled her entire life by Sensei and Kushina. I'll admit, I'm part of the problem too. Shisui hasn't had that luxury. He's prepared for this life. Guess that makes you the better brother, huh?"
"At least I have you beat in something," Obito drolled. "I think we should make a run for it. We're sitting ducks here. If Shisui does crash, this genjutsu will dissipate. I could try to replicate it, but the disruption alone…"
"Could draw attention to us."
"Exactly."
"Rin wants to shelter in place and continue to gather intelligence." Kakashi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"They're looking for both of the girls. And they have a vendetta against Shisui now. I don't like our chances staying put." Obito absentmindedly twirled a kunai around his finger. It whooshed through the air with each pass it made.
"We'll leave in ten minutes. Go out in pairs. Shisui and Kuromaru, Rin and you, and then Katya and myself."
Obito nodded in agreement.
They were talking again, their voices muffled under layers of genjutsu at the cave entrance. Katya pressed her hand against the cold stone floor. They were still in the cave. The water dripped down in small droplets against the sides. Roots of the plant life above shriveled when it hit the frozen air. She was shriveling too.
She blinked. Time was lost. It was dark now. Was it? Or was it the clouds of late November blocking the sunlight from reaching them? Plants died in November. They withered away, their stalks falling to the ground. Like the trees the Kiri-nin cut on the other side of the island. So many trees. They screamed in pain with every blow of the ax against their trunks. The Kiri-nin would cheer when the eldest and thickest of the trees would fall. Their leaves scattered along the sand bars and forest floors. They would scream. They would always scream.
Vast root systems covered the island in interlocking patterns. One would never be able to determine where one tree's roots started and another's ended. Their pleas for help echoed one another. The sticky sap coated the stumps left behind in a trap for unwary bystanders, the only revenge they were able to take against the invaders.
Isamu liked traps. He liked creating them.
Katya blinked again.
Isamu had liked traps. He had liked creating them.
Shisui's hand was warm in hers. Rough calluses dotted the inside of his index finger and the end of his thumb. His leather vambrace was soft against her forearm when he gripped her inner elbow. His lips moved, interrupting the black dots that swam in her vision. He was saying something, she thought.
A short brown bob caught the sparse light from the left of her. A gentle hand pressed against her inner wrist.
His lips were still moving. He was smiling now, a half-crooked thing that didn't meet his eyes. She liked his eyes. They were expressive. It's why he always lost at cards.
"Kat?" he asked, his voice underneath an ocean that weighed her down. It beckoned her to the depths.
Kakashi was in front of her now. His silver hair caught the light.
She blinked.
They were outside now. Panic seized her when the fresh air hit her face. She could smell the trees out here. They were screaming loudly as a Kiri-nin cut another one down, miles away. The breath froze in her lungs. She pulled against Kakashi's iron grip. Blood rushed to her ears, drowning out every attempt to comfort her. Willow reeds pushed up from the ground and seized his arm.
She sprinted back to the cave, deeper and deeper into the dark. She stumbled over rocks and stones as the light receded in the distance. There was someone behind her. They were chasing her further into the cave.
Where was Isamu? He could be in trouble. She couldn't feel his chakra anywhere. The soft clove of his chakra was nowhere to be found. Not for miles. She tripped over a rock, her limbs splaying everywhere as she skinned her knees and elbows.
Arms encircled her, holding her down to the ground. She kicked out feebly against her attacker. He hushed her. Warm dog fur and ozone surrounded her like a warm blanket. He smoothed her tangled hair, the strands caught in the metal guards on the back of his gloves.
"Shh, imouto, shh."
They were underwater. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't hear him. She could barely feel him around her. Gods, they were drowning Kakashi too. The trees were screaming. They were so loud. They were begging for help. The Kiri-nin laughed. Their chakra was unbothered as another tree was cut. As Isamu fell from the cliff again.
Katya blinked. Her body refused to move. Shisui was moving ten miles to the south beside Kuromaru. Rin and Obito were at the coast now. They weren't moving. Kakashi wasn't moving.
Dark grey eyes stared back at her while he cupped her chin. His mask was down now. His lips moved soundlessly. Were they at home? His mask was down. They must be. Tou-chan must have left the windows open again, it was so cold. Chocolate cake was in the tin by the stove. It always was.
"I'm taking you home."
"We are home?" she croaked. Her throat scratched against every word.
Kakashi crushed her against his chest. She tugged him closer, clutching the back of his jounin vest before he vanished.
She blinked. Time was lost. Blackness consumed her. It pervaded her mind and soul.
Soft blankets surrounded her, a pillow under her head. Her hands covered her ears in a vain attempt to drown out the screams. Blond hair came into view. A large warm hand stroked the side of her face. Calluses. They were different than everyone else's. The hilts of his blades were round and not flat.
"Kit-Kat," he said gently, plucking her hands from her ears. His voice was drowned out by the rush of blood in her ears.
He smelled like ink. And oranges. So many oranges. She imagined he smelled like an orange juice factory. Crates of them sitting on a warehouse floor waiting to be turned into juice. They came from trees too. Crying out in want of the sun under the building's roof.
His hands smelled like ink, metallic and bitter. Like the sweet bamboo wood of his sealing brush. Kunai polish with a hint of cloves to complement the oranges. So many oranges. They drowned out the screams of the trees. An entire grove of oranges to cover the dead.
"...since…She…more than five…No, sir…" a teenager said from the corner. Ozone. It was stormy in the orange grove.
"No, there's…hospital…" a girl said. Something floral, with a hard iron edge. The grove was an odd place. Iron poles battered in a storm while oranges rained from the trees.
Hickory smoke surrounded the iron. It was a strong scent. Woodsy. Protective. It was on edge. Like the grove was burning—no. Like it was protecting the metal. And the storm.
Spearmint hovered nearby, a pervasive weed that burned any other plant that dared grow near it. "What do we do, Hokage-sama?" the boy asked.
Minty orange juice. His eyes were blue. Tou-chan had beautiful eyes like his. Bright cerulean beneath worried brows. There was chocolate cake in the tin by the stove. A spare kunai in the junk drawer beneath that. Seals lined the windows and walls. From home, kaa-chan had said. Uzushio will always be our home. Ancient maps of it lined the walls in glass frames. Tou-chan had always done anything to make kaa-chan happy. Including finding the antique scrolls and hanging them from the walls.
Tsunade wasn't from Uzushio. She was from Konoha. A quarter Uzumaki. An eighth Uzumaki. No more than that. Dan Kato was an eighth Uzumaki. His ancestors hailed from the port town that connected Uzushio to the mainland. But not Kiri. Never Kiri. They'll raze the forest to the ground. Flames and smoke will fill the tree line. The orange grove will burn beneath the heat.
"...her home…mental health specialist."
A boy cried against the hickory smoke. He could be burned. Shisui didn't burn. He liked fire. He liked making a party trick of his jutsu. Always so fancy. "I tried so hard…"
"I know." The warm hand moved from her face. A gentle arm scooped her close to his chest and rose from the bed. "Sometimes minds break for no apparent reason. You did well, Shisui."
Shisui?
Where was Shisui?
Isamu?
She could feel a trace of Isamu's chakra from a storage scroll draped over iron's shoulders.
"You did good, pup," a woman reiterated to the boy, slamming open the door.
Lavender. She never told her that. She never dared. Her chakra felt like lavender. Soft and sweet, with gentle notes that floated in the nose. Petals would cover the ground in purple snow. Lavender and dogs. One dog. One big dog. One big scary dog. Standing the height of a grown man.
But the orange grove overshadowed all. The oranges were a bulwark to all the other signatures on the island. It was a beacon. Even bitter, the oranges surrounded her protectively. She didn't want to move away from his chest.
"Minato…" the woman said, her voice slipping underwater.
They were moving again. It would be okay in the orange grove.
Hollow wood floors echoed as feet rapidly filed out of the small room. Katya closed her eyes and buried her face closer against him. The oranges were safe.
Shisui's heart pounded in his chest as they slipped through the alleys of the small port town of Nagi Island. Only a miracle had allowed them to leave the mountaintop refuge. Every second that had passed by Kuromaru's side he was sure would be the last. By the time they reached the port town, his heart had almost given out. He had to slow down several times to make sure Kuromaru had kept up.
They raced along the rooftops of the small houses to the docks. When he saw Obito with the Hokage, he collapsed in relief. Hours had passed as they waited for Kakashi and Katya to come off the mountain, and he hadn't let go of Obito once. Even Minato had shared a brief hug with him. For a moment, he wasn't the Hokage; he was the father of his best friend. Shisui hadn't realized how sorely he needed the affection from an adult until then. Tsume had crushed him into her chest so hard he couldn't breathe for a moment. Then she shook him hard enough to rattle his brains.
He submitted a verbal report of everything that had happened. Isamu's death was his fault, the guilt would never subside from that. The reports he had compiled on the Kiri-nins' movements on the other side of the island would aid Konoha in the battles to come. He had gathered invaluable information about how they organized patrol, about how they received supplies, and what supplies were generally available for their use.
In turn, Minato had shared what the Kiri-nin he sent back to Konoha had said. They were in the midst of a civil war. The leader of Nichibotsu island was favored to win with the help of the Hoshigaki clan. Their orders were to impersonate the opposing Terumi clan by kidnapping either the Hokage's daughter or his female student. The risk assessment determined that they would be the easiest targets compared to the two male students.
Shisui had shuddered in response. Isamu had been right; they should have evaded them and stayed far away from Katya and Kuromaru. Obito had tightened his grip around Rin, tucking her protectively under his arms as though he could shield her from the past. She absentmindedly stroked the top of his knee in turn.
Silence had fallen over the room as they waited for Katya and Kakashi. Tsume had left to scout the port and bribe a ship's captain for passage back to the mainland. Another hour had passed before Katya and Kakashi finally showed up. Her glassy eyes said more than Kakashi ever would—she hadn't willingly left that cave.
He was ashamed of himself, ashamed that he was disgusted with her weakness. What kind of god would pair them together? What sick twist of fate would bind his soul to someone so emotionally weak? She was just gone…checked out. Unresponsive to anyone. Even Minato could not reach her. Tsume tried to no avail. Kuromaru bit her. Pakkun barked at her. Nothing. He was jealous. He wished he could not be here too. Above all, he wished she had taken him with her.
AN: Ya'll I struggled so hard with this one. Thank you for reading! If you have time, please leave a comment!
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Beta'ed by: Cherryberry12