"-so what the seal does, really, is create a secondary chakra system that runs outside my body rather than inside. This makes it much more difficult to either overload or overdraw," I explained.

"Whoa! That's neat, believe it! So you can do jutsu just like a regular ninja, now?" Naruko asked.

Satsuki's hand twitched in a show of obvious restraint as she rolled her eyes. "He already could, idiot."

Naruko sputtered, "You know what I mean, bitch!"

Yakumo nodded slowly. "So that's why you had to put it on your head? Because of your chakra gates being misaligned?"

Tenten sighed and moved to intercede.

I shrugged. "It's more complicated than that, but it's generally easier to affect the gates you want to affect if you place the seal physically on that region. Metaphysically, at least."

Her eyes flicked towards Naruko. "Oh, is that why...?"

"Again, more complicated than that, but... more or less. When you're binding something like that, you want the sturdiest part of the chakra system," I explained.

Yakumo nodded slowly, her hand going to her bald head with a touch of anxiety. "A-alright. I suppose we should get started, then?"

I reached for my ink and-

I sighed and woke up a split-second before a brown-haired missile impacted me.

"Daddy!"

Beside me, my wife stirred more lazily. Then again, as thorough as I had been in teaching her, she hadn't had the training ingrained in her very soul. No, there was something else-

"We're going to the park today!" My daughter cried, interrupting my musings as she tore my gaze back to her. "Daddy promised!"

I sighed again.

I suppose it can't hurt to humor her.

"As my little princess wishes," I stated, raising my hand to ruffle her brown hair, the features below that a perfect fusion of mine and Yakumo's. Right down to the hazel eyes sliding shut in bliss at my touch.

"You're sure you have time today, Dear?" Yakumo asked as she stretched. "You're supposed to be briefing the Hokage on the status of the developments in space."

Our daughter pouted, but I spoke before she could object.

"Itachi wants to see me first thing, that means I can take Kokoro out after lunch when she comes home after her half-day at the academy." My reply got me a soft smile from Yakumo and an energetic hug from our daughter. Sadly, I had to disentangle myself from both my warm bed and my gleeful child as I went about my preparations for the day.

I indulged in a full shower instead of using my set of jutsu, luxuriating in the peaceful serenity of my life. Hazy memories swam up when I closed my eyes, battles I'd narrowly survived and wars I'd fought bitterly against unbelievable odds. I couldn't quite focus on-

"Daddy! Mommy says you'll be late if you fall asleep in the shower again!"

My mouth opened in a knee jerk response. "I was meditating, sweetheart! Not sleeping!"

...that doesn't-

"Mommy says meditate after eating!" Kokoro called, and I rolled my eyes before cutting the water.

A pleasant meal with my family later and I was on my way to 'the office.' Despite the temptation, I hadn't abused my privileges to install a gate between my house and my research laboratory underneath the New Tower. Technically speaking, I had more than enough material in my own personal 'man cave' to rig something up, but... I liked the commute. It was nice to get out and stretch my limbs in the early morning. The experience was such a harsh contrast to my ever-hazier memories of my previous life. Once upon a time, I had been a real night owl. These days I woke up whenever I needed to, no trace of lingering sleepiness.

As I left the Kurama estate, Konoha proper rose up before me. Where my childhood had been characterized by mostly two-story buildings with the occasional three-story rise, the one and a half decades since then had brought what I thought of as much-needed modernization. Now the city was more like an average of six or seven stories, with far more stone and metal than brick and wood. The city had grown, as well, and was perhaps twice as large as it had been. Even if large portions of the settled area were still set aside for training grounds, clan compounds, and recreational areas.

I curved my course along the 'shinobi highway' towards the gleaming edifice of metal catching the light of the morning sun. A faint mirage covered the building, all that was truly visible of the energy shield that I'd designed, my careful eyes picking out the otherwise-invisible tracery of seals on the exterior. The Old Tower, easily visible a kilometer to the east, had been converted into a combination museum and heritage center, although a few administrative offices remained operating out of it last I'd heard.

Two ANBU, already standing at attention, suddenly became more attentive as I dropped into the wide plaza surrounding the New Tower. I'd never taken the time to meet the landscaper, though I thought he was a branch member of the Nara clan, but I had to hand it to the man.

I'd never seen a more beautiful kill zone.

Extending a hand towards the door, I felt the sensors sweep me before disengaging and opening the door. The guards nodded, a miniscule motion of their heads as I stepped into the entry corridor before the thick barrier of steel slid shut behind me. Standing still for a moment, another set of sensors swept the small corridor I was in, something Itachi had installed after a brainwashed 'rogue' Iwa-nin had piggybacked using a stealth technique.

Confirming that no one was (literally) hiding in my shadow, the second set of doors allowed me to truly enter the building, which...

I wish I could say it was a marvel of technology with an otherworldly layout that surpassed expectations and astounded even the most jaded visitors, but...

Even here in the heart of the most powerful Hidden Village in the world, an office building was still an office building.

That said, it was a clean and neat space at least. Polished floors, wood paneling, pristine white backgrounds, and the best art that could either be purchased or stolen. Small potted trees and bushes kept the area warm and alive instead of painfully sterile, and the people were mostly polite.

"Master Kotaro," one of the general secretaries at the front reception greeted me. She smiled as I tried to recall her name, which was...

...which was...

"Will you be heading to your laboratory, sir?" She asked, jarring me out of my thoughts.

I huffed a laugh, but shook my head. "I'd love to see how my projects are progressing, but I'm told I have to give the Lord Hokage a briefing on our affairs in space. After that, I'll be taking a half-day for family purposes."

The secretary nodded, smiling brightly as she swept a hand through her brown hair, the color reminding me distinctly of my wife and daughter. "Very good sir, it's always nice to make time for family. You can head on up now."

"I'm sure I can," I sighed to myself, turning and walking aimlessly towards a secure area behind the main desk. It had only been a few years since Itachi had moved his offices for the second time, after all. The first had simply been an illusion to trick people into believing Itachi had actually moved to the New Tower. In reality, the structure was perhaps a bit more complicated than appearances indicated.

Passing through the hidden gate, I could only barely feel the transition between the world of the Elemental Nations and the airlock of a space station, the empty void hanging right outside.

In front of me, though, was the familiar chakra signature of Uchiha Itachi wearing the slightest of smiles as he opened his mouth and-

The world skipped a beat.

-I blinked, cocking my head.

"Ready to go, Daddy?" Kokoro asked, blinking innocently up at me.

I sighed indulgently. "You got tired of waiting, didn't you?"

She nodded energetically.

Yakumo, humming nearby in the kitchen, hustled over carrying two packed lunches that she pressed into my hands. "Here you go. I don't want her snacking on empty sugar, so I made you both lunches."

I turned a gentle smile my wife's way. "Thank you, dear. We'll be back in a few hours."

"Let's go, Daddy!" Kokoro cheered, running out the door.

"You heard her," Yakumo teased, turning to head back into the kitchen.

My smile was tinged with melancholy as I followed my little girl out the front door, catching up with her easily as I hefted the lunches in one hand and reached down to take her smaller one in my other. Hazel eyes stared back up in innocent joy, the type of honest emotion that can't be faked, as I felt her being course through the link between us.

Ninshu seems so simple, but the embrace of one person to another...

"You know this can't last, right?" I asked quietly.

Her hand tightened around mine and everything slipped in a way that was hard to describe, before she bit her lip and shook her head. "You promised. We'd go to the park."

A memory flickered, something I'd said to entice Yakumo to practice harder. A day out. Something that wasn't quite a date, but was nearly indistinguishable from it. That had been some time ago... a few months now.

I nodded. "I suppose I did. Alright, one day at the park for my favorite little munchkin. Okay?"

Contrary to all reason and logic, we arrived in the park before we'd even left the main gates of the Kurama Compound. All around us, families were relaxing in a cool summer breeze.

Kokoro happily skipped over to the jungle gym and began climbing as I found a seat on one of the benches to watch her. Around me, various people milled about, some small children running here and there in groups, but none coming close to my daughter, none of them offering to include her or play with her. I tried not to focus too hard on any of the individuals. In all likelihood I'd see some parody of someone I knew, aged up and with an ambiguous child.

The illusion was frail enough as it was, though. I didn't want to force it to fray further.

A fine line to walk... just barely possible...

I waved at the child and rose from my seat when she made a beckoning motion towards the swings.

"Push me, push me!" She screamed.

"What do we say when we want something?" I teased.

"Please!" Kokoro cried and I gave her a gentle thrust with my palms. Instantly, I was rewarded with a girlish squeal of delight. My little girl screamed again, "Higher, Daddy!"

I chuckled and pushed her harder.

From there we made the rounds to all the various amusements. I had to show her how to scale a small rock wall someone had set up, then teach her how to play a few simple games like foursquare and hopscotch, neither of which she had any experience with. After that, we laid down next to a small pond and ate the lunches her mother had prepared for her and myself.

"How are you doing at school?" I asked, making polite conversation. "What's your favorite subject?"

Kokoro paused and rocked nervously. "Um... art?"

"Like mother, like daughter," I nodded knowingly.

"Mommy doesn't care." Kokoro's expression soured. "Only Daddy does. Daddy's the one who talks to me when I get upset."

I didn't tell her that I hadn't known it was her. Ninshu was a two-way street, after all. The emotions Yakumo had shared with me when her dark chakra flared were ones I'd assumed to be her own. "Your Mommy didn't know how to talk to you. I've been trying to teach her, but when you get upset it's dangerous."

Kokoro sniffled and I reached up to wipe her eyes and pull her into a hug. "There, there, it's okay."

"Is'not," the young girl muttered mulishly, curling up against me nevertheless. "Daddy's going to make me go away."

"Not forever." I promised, reaching through to the other half of my mind as it worked on the seal. Even the most powerful genjutsu could only ensnare a person one time, after all. The trick was knowing how to accomplish your goals even with it running. "Not even for very long."

"Promise?" Kokoro asked mulishly, frowning up at me with wet eyes.

"Promise," I nodded with a smile. "After all, Daddy has to make you a real body. You'd like that, wouldn't you? To be able to run around in the sun and play with other kids?"

She bit her lip again, chancing a look towards where the illusionary children were running through the playground as if on a script. "Mmm..." She turned her eyes towards me again, a touch of too-old calculation behind her eyes. "You can do that?"

"It will take me a while," I stated, mentally running through the calculations and giving myself a buffer. "No more than... a year. How does that sound?"

Kokoro muttered the words back to herself, still biting her lip in anxiety. "One year. Daddy promises." She nodded, looking back up at me. "Okay. Kokoro will go to sleep for one year while Daddy works, but Kokoro will be really mad if Daddy doesn't finish by then."

There was an unearthly tone to some of those words that ensured I'd be slapping a limiter on whatever body I gave this little girl. Her emotions, her sense of self that I could see through the mingling of our chakra... it was enough for me to believe that she was nearly a person, but there was some attachment to something else as well.

I might need to take a closer look at Naruko's seal.

"But!" I held up a finger as I smiled. "You have to show me where the others are and lead us out, okay?"

Kokoro pouted, but nodded... then perked up. "Yay! More time with Daddy!"

The girl, my daughter in spirit if not in blood, jumped up and began to pull at my arm. "This way, this way!"

...and then we stepped off the edge of the world-

-into another one…