Ever since I drank the fake medicine, my clan had been watching me carefully. Shisui warned me to not tell anyone what he, Itachi, and Michio had done, because they could get into huge trouble. Even the people who might be okay to tell, I should not tell, because I'd never know who might be listening.

Until my chakra pathways finished sealing for real, it was important everyone thought I was a lost cause for ninjutsu. I was a late bloomer, so I should wait until my thirteenth birthday to be safe. Twelve was supposedly the last age that the medicine might still work.

It was a lot of pressure. I did not like keeping secrets, and it felt awful knowing my friends hadn't given up on me when I had already given up on myself. Tamaki encouraged and cheered me on. Hana offered teach me how her clan activated chakra.

Hana was very perceptive. She could tell I had given up on the ninja path, but I couldn't even tell her the real reason. Saying the real reason would get me in trouble. Hana would need to report me, and if she didn't, she would be in trouble too. I'd never want to put her, or any of my friends, in that spot.

I needed time to myself. After groceries with my dad, I decided to go to the dance studio. There were no lessons that day, so I had the whole space to myself.

In the changing room, I put away my rain jacket and umbrella. It had been drizzling all morning, so my shoes were soaked. It felt good to change into a pair of dry ballet flats.

I wasn't trying to practice or work on technique. I danced because I wanted to do something that made me happy. I wanted to clear my mind.

For a while it did. I did feel better.

Music went through my head. I thought of castles and princesses, moons and oceans, flowers and birds. I thought of wings and flying.

Weight. Ballet was supposed to be weightless. Unworried. Joyous. Free.

I fell.

I let myself lie on the floor. Turning my head, I saw myself in the mirror. I stared at the scar on my arm.

Last spring break, I had confessed to Gin how my ballet wasn't going too well. It had become clear to me that I was at the bottom of my dance class. Gin only brushed my troubles off.

His reaction had hurt. I explained to him that dance meant a lot to me.

Gin didn't look like he understood. He said it was just some hobby. It wasn't like I was going to go take it with me once we became genin.

His had words struck me hard. I had never thought of it that way.

Now, only Gin would be genin.

And I would be… me.

But I didn't know who I was.

Slowly, I got up. In front of the mirror, I lifted myself up to my toes, ready to start again.

Slowly, I went back down to my heels.

The studio felt too lonely. I wasn't sure I wanted to dance anymore.

The door opened. I expected Ms. Hyuuga, even though I had no idea why she would be here.

To my surprise, it was Gin. Uncertain, he peeked around before spotting me.

"There you are!" he said, walking in. He lowered the hood of his raincoat, shaking free drops of rainwater. "Inuzuka's got vet duties. Come on, it's our turn."

"Huh?" My mind was still elsewhere.

"Community service!"

I jumped. "Shoot, that's now? Let me get changed."

When I came back from the changing room, Gin was slouched on a bench.

"Gin?"

"This place is huge," he commented, getting up.

Beaming, I ran over to the light switch. The studio looked even more amazing when lit up. He tilted his cap a little to shield his eyes, taken aback by all the mirrors. I realized he had never visited the studio before. He never got to see any of our dances. I made a note to bring him to one of our performances one day.

Holding tightly onto our umbrellas, we ran into the rain. The job this time was to save the library from flooding during the storm. Our patrol officers had already brought in a real genin team to unclog the drain pipes, but there was other work to be done.

Hana sighed in relief when she saw us. She looked awful, her body soaked. "About time."

"We've got this, Hana! You can go," I said.

With a nod, she grabbed her stuff and ran.

Toolbox in hand, I squinted at the roof and the water pouring off it. Getting up there was going to be a challenge without a ladder.

"Where's that usual kid that's with us?" Gin asked.

"His name is Naruto," I said for the billionth time. "And he's too young to be out like this. It's dangerous." Gin and I had to be careful too, or else we could risk an accident.

"Yeah, he'd get in the way."

Thankfully for us, there were grappling hooks in the toolbox. Once we were safely up, we cleaned up the rain gutters and downspouts.

I was still digging my hand in the gutter, trying to rid of the mud there, when footsteps dropped down beside me on the rooftop.

Through the rain, I saw his forehead bandana. He was one of the genin. "Hey kids, just heard storm's going to get worse. Better head off before your parents get worried."

"But..." I showed him our unfinished work.

"Don't worry, we got this handled," he said, pointing a thumb to himself and his teammates.

"Thank you, mister!"

The genin was right. The drizzle quickly became a downpour, with scary thunder and all. Since my district was in the corner of the village, I could not make it back in time. Gin's home was close, so he invited me over to hide from the rain.

I asked if that was okay. I knew Gin lived in a tiny apartment. There was only one kitchen and one bathroom. At night, his family would fold their dinner table and unroll futons to sleep on the floor. After his older brother moved to the city, they had more room, but I still worried I'd be intruding.

Gin waved it off and told me it was fine. His parents would not be coming back from work until late at night, so we had the place to ourselves.

"Here," Gin said, handing me a towel. He had already changed into dry clothes, a towel around his neck. His cap hung on a hook to dry.

While I dried my hair, he shuffled through their clothes bins for something I could wear.

"How's this?" He held up an old t-shirt and a pair of cargo pants. I nodded. I had borrowed them ages ago, back during my closet burndown. They were big on me then, but they fit fine now. In the bathroom, I hung my wet clothes next to his to dry.

Gin buried his nose in the fridge. He took out two cans of soda.

"Grape or apple?"

"Apple please!"

"Grape was mine anyway," Gin said with a grin.

I caught the can in the air. After a sip, I sighed. The drink was fizzy and refreshing.

"If you're hungry, we've also got three days of leftover fish."

I laughed. "That's alright."

The storm lasted longer than we thought. I dialed my dad to let him know I was safe.

Gin's mom came back early, since everyone at the convenience store was told to go home before the streets flooded too badly. Gin's dad would not be home until late though. The cargo company needed men to save the shipments.

Gin's mom took out her hair net. "What's going on, Ginjiro?"

I lowered the phone.

"Sorry, mom," Gin said. "The storm hit us before our community service ended. Ayae couldn't get home."

Hearing this, Gin's mom spoke with my dad on the phone. They decided that I should stay over for the night. The water was too high and the winds were dangerous.

Gin heard this and got excited. He punched the air when his mom took out a packet of frozen mushrooms and leeks from the fridge. A guest in the house meant no more leftover fish.

Without a word, Gin prepared the rice cooker and did the chopping. The counter was too tiny for a third person to help out, so I watched them work.

"Ginjiro, put that back," his mom said when he took out a packet of shrimp.

"But Ayae has to try our garlic shrimp. It's the best! You love shrimp, right?" Gin turned to me. I nodded.

His mom gave him a tired look and shook her head. "Fine."

Soon, the room smelled delicious from cooking. When the smoke and grease got too much, Gin's mom asked me to open the door.

I did. Rainwater blew in and hit their floors. Gin laughed at my huge panic.

"Dude, just use the towel." He pointed his spatula to a towel hanging by the door.

I grabbed it and rushed to wipe their floors. As I did, I noticed how battered the floorboards were. The wood near the door were especially chipped and grey.

Quiet, I wondered how many times these floorboards had gotten soaked before. Gin's family probably propped open the door every time they cooked.

"That's good," Gin told me, peeking over his shoulder. I nodded and left the towel on the floor to catch the rain.

For dinner, we had garlic shrimp and beef teriyaki. It was so good, both Gin and I wolfed through our first bowl of rice and fought over seconds. We scraped the rice cooker clean.

"You should stay over more often!" Gin said, scrubbing the dishes. "Mom never makes the good stuff anymore."

I peeked at the bathroom, where Gin's mom was working on laundry.

"Are you sure it's okay?" I asked.

Gin's mom was not like Aunt Mikoto. Aunt Mikoto smiled lots and lots. Her voice was always soft and musical. Gin's mom never smiled. She spoke dryly. It was hard to tell whether or not she liked me.

Gin's voice drew me back to him.

"Hell yeah!"

I smiled and went back to drying a bowl. "Okay. You should come to my house more too!"

"I don't think so."

"Oh come on, my dumb uncles can't still scare you."

"They don't scare me." Gin scowled. "I just don't like how stuck up they are. Like I'm always watched and judged when I'm there. Honestly, the entire place gives me a bad vibe. I hate it."

I huffed. It was sad to hear that even after so many years, Gin was still not okay with my clan.

"So I have a few grumpy relatives," I said. "But not everybody is like that. Not Aunt Mikoto, not my dad!"

"Ha no, especially your dad."

"What!"

"I know your dad doesn't like me."

"Does too."

"Does not."

"Does too!"

We splashed each other, getting water and soap suds everywhere. We laughed until a stern look from Gin's mom made us behave.

Before bed, we talked about the final bar exam. Gin lay in the middle. I was at the edge, along a wall of old boxes and books. Gin told me he was done being rank eight. He had done his research and made a list of all the students he was prepared to spar.

In seventh place was a guy named Tanzou. I never had him as a classmate, but Gin did his third year. Tanzou did not look it, but he was brainy. He was hard-working too. After school, I would always catch him studying. He was president of the cram club.

After Tanzou was someone that both Gin and I knew. Idate. Gin hated his guts because he always got good grades without trying. He would brag too, since his ninjutsu was top-notch and he could even match us in speed. Girls thought he was super cute.

Fifth place was Maruten. He had a reputation for being humble and mild-mannered. Because of his gentle nature, other students tended to underestimate him. They tended to forget that he could push boulders and smash concrete.

In fourth was Ijouna. Because she was quiet and a little creepy, no one approached her. But as her tablemate, I knew for a fact that she was crazy talented. While she could see and feel everything, you couldn't touch her; you couldn't even find her if she didn't want to be found.

Ko was third.

Hana stood above them at second.

Michio.

Looking at this list a year ago, I would have felt so discouraged. I would have wondered how we were going to be better than all these students. How we were going to beat them.

Now, I only felt proud. As Gin listed everyone, all I could think of was how amazing our class turned out, how far we had come. No wonder younger kids looked up to us as seniors.

I could tell Gin felt differently though. He was nervous. He didn't like talking about clan kids, but whenever he did, he never felt good about them or himself.

I rolled on my side and told him not to be.

Gin caught me smiling goofily at him.

"What?"

"I know another secret," I said.

He was all ears. "A never-before-seen badass ninjutsu?" he asked hopefully.

"Itachi thinks you're talented."

Gin stopped.

"He thinks your brother's very talented too," I continued. "He told me your brother had more potential than any of the clans kids, that your brother was ahead of everyone by leagues."

Gin came around. It did not look like he believed me. Frowning, he stared at the ceiling.

"Did he tell you that because we're friends?" he grumbled.

"He told me that because he was being honest. He told me what he believed."

"Then why-!"

Gin made himself quiet. He didn't want to wake his mom on the other side.

"Then why," he hissed, "did he tell my bro the opposite?"

I swallowed. I knew this was a bad topic for Gin. If I was too careless, I could upset and hurt him. I had to think carefully about what I wanted to say before I said it.

"Because… Itachi was taught to ignore feelings. I don't think he was ever allowed to say nice things, only useful things. I think he wanted to help with words, but it wasn't the right thing to say and it wasn't what your brother needed to hear. Itachi was seven. He made a mistake." I breathed. "But he thought that your brother was a good person and that what happened to him was unfair. He's always thought that."

Gin said nothing. Then he scoffed.

"Thanks Ayae, but I don't need your cousin to know I'm awesome."

I smiled, hugging my pillow. "I know."

It was only meant to be a reminder.

The outside continued to grumble and thunder. Lightning flashed. Despite this, Gin and I fell asleep easily. I didn't know how long I slept, only that I was woken up by a loud banging. There were shuffles. Gin and I both ignored the noise, fighting for the blankets.

Time went by. Finally I opened my eyes. The door was open, making it too cold to sleep. Wind was blowing in, and the rain was as loud as ever. Dim light came from the light post outside.

Rubbing my eyes, I got up. Gin groaned, slamming a pillow over his head.

"Door," he complained.

I figured I would go close it. I stopped when I saw Gin's mom outside with other adults. The adults were in raincoats, but she was in pajamas and indoor slippers. Immediately, I knew something was wrong.

"Gin?" I said softly.

Gin must have sensed something was wrong too. He jolted up and joined me at the door. He saw the stretcher at the same time I did.

"Mom? Dad?!"

I remained indoors, quietly watching as Gin joined his parents out in the rain. My stomach fell.

A bad accident had happened. Gin's dad had gotten injured while working.

.

The rest of our night was spent in the civilian lobby of the hospital. It was a small room just beyond the side entrance.

Because there were many patients in line, we spent a long time waiting. We spent hours there. When we finally got to the counter, Gin's mom was given paperwork to fill out. There was also a fee that you had to pay to get the doctor to see you.

I could tell from her expression that the fee hurt. Still, she dug into her bag. She took out a battered old envelope that she had taken from under the apartment sink.

She counted through the bills. She handed over all of them except one, which she put back in the envelope. The amount of money made Gin sick.

We were told to wait until we were called in.

By the time we moved beyond the lobby, the night was over. To our dismay, we were only led to a hallway with an even longer line.

Before the nurse could leave, Gin's mom asked how much longer until the doctor could see us. The nurse said it was hard to tell, since all the rooms were full. She said maybe tomorrow morning.

"Tomorrow morning?" Gin and I repeated.

"We can't wait that long," Gin's mom said.

The nurse saw our stress. She said if it was an emergency, we could fill out an expedited form. But that needed an expedited fee. Gin's mom paled at the cost.

"Mom, Dad's in pain! He can't wait another day!"

"Gin," she said harshly, grabbing his shoulder.

He pushed her hand away. "We'll do it," he told the nurse. From his cap, he pulled out a wet thousand ryou bill. It wasn't enough. From my pockets, I pulled out my own wallet and took out all the money I had.

"Ayae…"

"Your dad can't wait," I agreed.

Gin's mom gave in. She took out their last bill.

The nurse took our money and said she would go bump us up in line. Relieved, we went back to the stretcher and knelt before Gin's dad. A heavy jacket covered him. His face didn't look good. I went to get him hot water.

There was a line for the water dispenser. In front of me was a lady who had waited with us in the lobby. She recognized me too. I smiled, and she gave a tired smile back.

We all knew each other after waiting in the same room for hours and hours. I remembered she had walked in with her elderly mom. She did knitting and got out a handkerchief whenever her mom coughed. They sat in the same row as two teenage friends, and an old grandpa who huddled by himself.

I got to the water dispenser. Sadly, it wasn't working very well. The button was a bit broken, and the hot water was lukewarm at best. But at least it had water.

Carefully, I balanced my cup and brought it back to Gin's dad.

I made a few more rounds for Gin and his mom too.

There was more miserable waiting. The storm continued on into the day. Gin stared blankly at the inside of his cap. He was quiet. We were all quiet.

Around noon, I got up again. Because none of us had eaten, I thought it'd be good to get us food. I recalled seeing a vending machine.

There was! Luckily, there was no line either.

In front of the machine, I got out my wallet. Only until I popped it open did I remember. I had no more money.

Defeated, I pressed my forehead against the machine.

My stomach grumbled.

I wanted to cry.

Someone walked up behind me. I realized I was blocking the vending machine. I was about to apologize and move along when I saw it was the lady again, the one from the water dispenser.

She held out a five ryou bill.

"Here, little girl."

I blinked.

My heart soared.

"Thank you, ma'am!"

She gave another tired smile. Her elderly mom, who sat further back, put away her purse and smiled too. She had been watching us. I ran over to bow and personally thank her as well.

I came back with an armful of snacks, giddy that we had food. My excitement died when I saw Gin's mom. She looked so broken down, even worse than Gin. I felt awful.

Kindly, I tried to offer her the snacks. We ate wafer cookies and dried ramen.

More hours passed.

Finally, FINALLY, we got moved into a room. There were eight floor bunks separated by curtains. We got one of the middle curtains.

A doctor came. He came just in time too, because I did not know if Gin's dad could last much longer. He was in awful pain and needed treatment immediately.

The doctor asked Gin's mom to remove the jacket. She did, and he took a look. I did too. According to the adults who brought Gin's dad home, the weather had made it too hard to see. A big machine had gone off course and struck Gin's dad. He suffered a bad hit and fall.

There were many wounds. The worst wound was the puncture on his side, and I worried that we had waited too long. The infection had started.

"Well?" Gin's mom asked when the doctor began writing on his clipboard. To the nurse, he handed a slip.

"He'll need an amputation. Schedule for evening," he told the nurse.

The nurse nodded and left with the doctor's slip.

"Amputation?" Gin's mom asked, eyes wide. "That can't… no…"

The doctor didn't look up from his clipboard. "If we don't, your husband will die. I know this is difficult to hear, but it's your only option."

He left us. There were still many other patients who needed to be seen.

Gin's mom fell back onto a chair. She sat, silent.

I kept staring at the wounds, unable to understand what the doctor had just said. I looked harder.

The doctor had to be referring to the right leg, which was twisted and the wrong color.

Finally, I looked at Gin, who looked shaken.

He saw me looking at him.

"He's wrong," I whispered.

Gin didn't understand.

I stood up. I took the jacket from Gin's mom and put it back on his dad.

The worst wound was the puncture on his side. It had cut into his bowels, and an infection had started. If left untreated, it could be fatal.

His leg was cut, but mostly it just looked ugly. My arm had looked worse. My arm was worse.

"We did medical training in kunoichi seminar, Gin," I said. "I'm not a doctor, but I know a little about wounds. And I know the doctor is wrong."

My voice trembled at the end. I realized I was angry.

"Don't let them touch your dad. I'll be back."

Gin got up. "Where are you going?"

"To get help."

The storm was still ongoing outside. I didn't mind; I was already wet anyway. The streets were flooded worse than I thought though. Sometimes, the water got all the way up to my knees. A few times, the water went even higher and I had to cut onto a different intersection.

I only made it halfway across the village when a cloaked figure dropped down. He was standing on top of the water. He extended a hand.

I recognized his mask.

"Itachi?" I yelled, accepting his hand. "I- eep!"

The water around us changed. I didn't sink down anymore, but could stand on the surface as if it were jelly. I realized I was no longer pelted by rain from above either, as if we had an invisible umbrella over us.

"You shouldn't be out in this storm."

He handed me something. My wallet. I realized it must have fallen out of my pocket when I was waddling through the streets.

"I was looking for you," I gasped.

He waited.

I clutched my wallet harder. Suddenly I felt very ashamed of what I wanted to ask. It didn't feel fair. It felt even worse knowing that Itachi wouldn't say no.

"I need help," I said, hanging my head. "Gin's dad is in the hospital… I'm scared that something bad will happen if he doesn't get treated soon."

In the hospital, Gin jumped when Itachi and I teleported in.

On one knee, Itachi carefully studied Gin's dad. He spoke into his earpiece. "Get me one of Nonou's."

Gin's mom had yet to get up when someone appeared.

"What-?" Gin's mom looked baffled.

The new person wore the same uniform as the people who had once treated me. Unlike the other doctor, she was a medical-nin.

"You summoned me, sir."

Itachi glanced in the direction of Gin's dad. Understanding, the medical-nin opened her palms.

What happened next was magic. All the wounds got cleaned on their own. They started getting better. She began with the puncture on his side, then moved on to his abdomen, then stomach.

"Patient out of critical. Do you want me to continue, sir."

"Stop at mobility two."

The medical-nin nodded. She worked for another ten minutes. By then, Gin's dad looked healthier. His leg got fixed. His breathing grew lighter. Gin's mom held onto Gin tightly the whole time, her eyes never looking away.

"It is done, sir. Patient on course for natural full recovery in ten to twelve weeks."

Itachi looked at Gin's mom to check if that was okay. She slowly nodded.

The medical-nin examined Itachi. It looked like she was seeing something I didn't.

"Do you want that treated as well, sir?"

I stiffened.

Itachi caught my reaction. He wasn't meeting my eyes.

"That will not be necessary."

The medical-nin bowed and disappeared.

"I must return to my duties. Is there anything else you need, Ayae?"

My mind was still on what the medical-nin had said. Was Itachi hurt again? Where? How? He had looked fine on Thursday, and I was certain he hadn't left on any new missions.

My shoulders lowered.

"No… thank you," I said.

Itachi seemed grateful I dropped it. He pulled a card from the air.

"You may borrow this. It should resolve any other complications," he said. As I accepted the card, I felt a warm breeze flow through me. My hair was no longer wet, nor my clothes and shoes.

He stepped back. He paused.

"Power lines are down. It's not safe to be out in the storm."

Then he was gone.

Gin and his mom were still in shock. It was only when his dad tried to get up that they moved again. Gin's mom told him to lie back down and relax.

When the nurse came back, she had no idea that anything had happened. She carried a new clipboard with her. She handed it to Gin's mom, saying it was a waiver she needed to sign for the amputation. There was also a surgery fee, but their family did not need to pay it now. Someone would come collect in a month or so.

Frowning, Gin's mom shoved the clipboard back to the nurse.

"We will do no such thing. We're leaving."

The nurse looked taken aback, but she came around. She said if that was the case, then we had to pay a discharge fee. Then we were free to go.

That was the last straw. Gin snapped.

"A what fee?" His chest puffed, and it looked like he had a lot of nasty words saved up.

Before he could say any of them, I pulled him back.

I remembered the card and showed it to the nurse. I had no idea how it would help, but I figured it would do something.

"I'm sorry, miss, we don't-" The nurse saw what the card was and froze. She dashed out.

Within seconds, another nurse came in, alongside someone who looked like he was in charge.

The boss man politely asked if he could see my card. I did, and he exchanged a look with the other nurse.

To me, he gave a strained smile. "May I ask where you got that, miss?"

I looked at Itachi's identification card. "He gave it to me," I said.

I understood now.

Before the boss man could say anything, I lifted my head.

"My name is Uchiha Ayae," I said, pointing to myself. "And I want a room with a bed. And I want clean clothes. And I want four meals. And I want those now… please."

Chaos erupted.

I knew my words would send everyone scrambling. There were people rushing. There were people getting yelled at. There were people getting blamed.

I was too angry to care. Gin's dad could have lost his leg for no reason. He could have died.

Gin could have lost his dad the way I had lost my mom: stupidly.

Very soon, we were escorted out of the civilian wing into the main building. The floors started looking like the hospital I remembered, with wide hallways and big rooms.

Our room looked like the one I stayed in. There was a bed by the window. A nurse waited for us there with clean slippers and gowns. He helped Gin's dad out of the hospital wheelchair and got him comfortably settled. Then he did a full check of vitals. He asked lots of questions and gave him medicine to help with any pain.

Later, another nurse came in wheeling a cart with food.

Then we were left alone.

The rain battered against the windows.

Gin joined me in the corner, offering one of the sweet rolls. He was chewing on the other one.

I shook my head. I stared more at Itachi's identification card.

"You never told me he was in ANBU."

I looked at Gin.

"The uniform," he explained, lowering the roll from his mouth. "That was an ANBU uniform, wasn't it? I didn't know they allowed kids our age."

I asked Gin what else he knew. About ANBU.

He shrugged. Not much. Like Sasuke, he told me their missions were top secret. Because they reported directly to the Hokage, they had a lot of power and respect.

He wrote out the characters for me. An as in dark. Bu as in side. The dark side.

The An character was also in another word. Assassination.

"They kill people," I whispered.

"Mostly top threats from other countries," Gin said, "although they keep watch over the village too."

I raised my head at that. "You mean, they can stay home?"

"Sure. They make sure there's no spies or infiltrators. And of course, they kill the traitors." Gin looked at me. "You okay, Ayae?"

"Y-yeah." I swallowed. "So, um, what makes someone… a traitor?"

Gin furrowed his brows, as if that should be obvious. "You know… terrorizing people, stealing and selling secrets, causing riots or dissent, plotting against the government, fighting for other villages, not fighting when you're told to fight…"

My hand shook. I clutched the card harder.

"... they're a lot like your clan's police," Gin continued. "They do investigations and stuff too. I'm not sure what the difference is, except maybe the police are less secretive."

I breathed. "...Gin?"

"What's up."

"When you become a ninja, will you kill too?"

"If it came down to it. But honestly, I think ANBU is overrated."

"Really?"

Smirking, Gin leaned back. "Dude, who cares about ANBU when you can be Hokage. One day your cousin will be reporting to me."

After coming around, I whacked his head.

"You dummy."

Gin stuck out his tongue.

Gin's family was allowed to stay in the hospital room for as long as they needed. When Gin's mom told them they would not be able to afford the fees, the nurse shook his head and said there were no fees. The hospital would always be free for Konoha ninja and important persons. He apologized for any trouble we experienced before. He said if we had paid, then our money would be returned to us.

"Why not everyone?"

The nurse turned to me. "I'm sorry, miss?"

"Why isn't it free to everyone?" I asked.

The nurse did not know how to answer my question. That was just the way it was.

When I did not accept that answer, he tried again. "Apologies if I misspoke when I said free. Nothing is free. I meant you do not need to pay again because it is already paid for."

"Who paid?"

"Your clan, miss, along with eleven others," he answered. "The Uchiha clan is the third largest patron of our hospital, having donated two billion ryou. It was agreed this money would be used to treat all ninja who have once served or will serve Konoha, plus any special affiliates. The latter includes all associates of your clan."

He asked if I had any other questions.

I shook my head.

Around late evening, the rain got lighter. Then it stopped. Since Gin's family was okay again, I waved goodbye. I needed to go home to my dad.

As I walked out, I passed by a mom with two kids. They were going to the side entrance of the hospital. I was about to keep walking when I stopped.

After some thought, I decided to follow the mom back into the hospital.

There were as many people as I remembered. The floors were dirty and wet from all the people who came in during the rain. Some of the patients from last night were still there. The grandpa huddled by himself. The tired parents trying to hush their baby.

Because I was small, I had no trouble pushing through the crowd to the front counter.

I stood on tiptoe.

"Excuse me."

I waited.

"Excuse me!" I repeated, waving my hand this time.

One of the nurses recognized me and rushed over.

"Miss, you don't have to come through here. You have priority."

"Do my friends get pri-ority too?"

The nurse looked around. "Are they here?"

I nodded and pointed everyone behind me. "Can they get rooms too? They've been here since yesterday. They look very cold and hungry. And everyone in that hallway too."

"A-ah miss, we don't have that many rooms…"

"There are lots of empty rooms upstairs. I don't think anyone would mind sharing if they need to." I turned around. "Is anyone in an emergency?"

No one answered. But then, a few people raised their hands.

"Can they get rooms and treatment first?" I asked the nurse.

The boss man from before came in. More hospital people came in too, this time from the ninja side. They explained to me they couldn't do that. The ninja part of the hospital was for, well, ninja and other important people.

I refused to budge.

"How is anyone not important?" I asked, frustrated.

I knew I was making a scene, but I did not care. I did not care that people were staring.

"You said, if they were my friend, then they can be treated like me. Well, they are all my friends." I was very serious about this. I was ready to memorize every name if I had too.

It was my first time arguing with so many people, and with adults too. Kids weren't supposed to go against adults. It was considered causing trouble.

But I felt frustrated and angry, so I did anyway. Gin and I had waited so long in those hallways, but everyone else had waited just as long, if not longer. They needed good treatment too.

To my surprise, the hospital people gave in.

"She's on file, ma'am. Last year, June 4th, brought in by Shiranui Genma, confirmed by Uchiha Itachi, discharged by Uchiha Mikoto."

"Uchiha Mikoto. She personally signed this child out?"

"Yes. We also have nine documented visits June 4th to June 18th."

"From Uchiha Mikoto," the boss lady repeated. She had nothing more to say, turning to the other adults. She waited for anyone to still disagree.

No one did.

"I suggest you all start moving, then," the boss lady told them calmly.

I punched the air in victory.

As I ran home, I smiled giddily at Itachi's card. I gave it a big kiss before putting it inside my wallet. I made a note to give it back to him and thank him for everything.

"Hi uncles!" I told my uncles at the gate, before spinning around and continuing. "Bye uncles!"

"Wait, Ayae! I mean, miss, I mean-"

"Hm?"

"Lady Tomoe requires your presence."

I skidded to a full stop.

.

The temple was quiet. It was so quiet, I could hear every drip of water. If not for the open door and the candlelight inside, I would have thought it was empty.

I skipped past the puddles and up the last steps. The inside was surprisingly dry and warm.

I had not seen Tomoe in a long time, not since the end of my last semester. She was reading at the table. She wore a traditional robe, and her long hair was pulled into a loose bun.

I never knew what to expect with Tomoe. Even when she was on our side, she was always a little scary. And when she wasn't on our side…

Well, Tomoe could be worse than my worst nightmares.

She did not say anything when I walked in, very calm and focused on her book. Maybe this time wouldn't be too bad, I thought hopefully.

I did not want to interrupt her. I noticed there was another book on the table. Curious, I stepped closer. The cover was old. There were no words, but the design was very hypnotizing.

Tomoe's voice brought me back.

"Answer me, Ayae," she said. "Do you recall the first book you have ever read?"

She did not look up.

After coming around, I straightened up. "Um…" I thought and realized I couldn't really remember, only that there were probably big, colorful pictures. It might have been about a bug. "Something about… a caterpillar?"

Tomoe motioned to the book on the table.

"That was mine."

She told me to try reading the first story inside. Even though it was in traditional writing, it shouldn't be too hard for me to understand.

Nodding, I opened the cover. The paper was yellow and thin. After flipping through a few blank pages, I found the first page with writing.

As Tomoe said, the writing was traditional. I had to think hard about each character. But she was right. The story was not hard to understand.

"Eons ago, two children were born of mirror face," I read.

The first turned to the second and said, My sister, this world is cruel. It is not necessary for both of us to suffer together.

The second turned to the first and said, My brother, this world is cruel. It is not possible for one of us to bear alone.

Let me endure pain

And let me relieve it

Let me provide wealth

And let me give beauty

Let me seek power

And let me award love

Let me accept death

And let me create life

If you will let me lead

Then I shall follow

Let us join hands and through this worldly journey…

"... move as one… love as one… live as one."

That was it.

Tomoe told me the story was an old one. In fact, it was the first ever story written by the Uchiha. From the story, you could learn things about our clan, like what we found important and where our beliefs came from. They showed us the forming of tradition.

"Tradition is the set of solutions to which the problem is forgotten. It is wisdom for the unwise," Tomoe said. "The Uchiha keeps some of the longest lines of tradition. We uphold religion in eras without faith. We maintain rituals outsiders deem barbaric. And we survived while they perished."

The story I read, she explained, was a story of survival. Our ancestors had found a way to survive and passed those teachings to us. The solution they had crafted now surrounded us like a house. We could continue living blissfully in the house. Or if we didn't like it, we could fix the house, add rooms to the house, destroy rooms in the house, or leave the house altogether.

In times of unhappiness, people are often tempted by the last two choices. Anyone can see a wall but few will understand the architecture. It's easy to notice how things get in our way, but difficult to notice what those same things support in our lives. Finally, it takes little effort to break things that we don't understand; it takes a lot of effort to build things that we do.

To prevent this, the role of the clan lady was created. She was to be the keeper of tradition. She protected the house. Her power was special, in that no one can forbid any act of the clan head except her.

Because of her opposition, she was often seen as reactionary or backwards, when the opposite was true. It was not about stopping progress, but stopping them from destroying the progress we have already made.

Unfortunately, she too became tradition and people forgot why she was needed.

"Four generations ago, our clan underwent a revolution. Matrimony was supplanted by brotherhood, and in its process, the village of Konoha was founded. Ever since, the clan lady became increasingly marginalized in the realm of politics. Discussions moved from our inner sanctums to the Hokage's tower. Whenever the clan lady disagreed, the clan head needed only the Hokage to overrule her decision.

"The ideology was founded on noble intentions. In unifying all clans under one banner, we can finally put an end to centuries of unnecessary bloodshed. A declaration of war on one clan was a declaration on all. It was meant to be the ultimate deterrent.

"In practice, it meant battle after battle, sacrifice after sacrifice, death after death, over strifes and conflicts that had no bearings on our clan or our interests. To fulfill the demand for soldiers, we turned more and more of our sisters into brothers. And the imbalance of power between the clan head and clan lady only exacerbated in a vicious self-feeding cycle.

"Then came the Third War. The strongest dissenting voice of the Uchiha's involvement had been the clan lady. If we were to fight in this one as we had all the others, the wound we'd suffer would be a fatal one. She had begged her husband to not send away any more of our children. She had told him to defy the Hokage's orders."

Tomoe paused.

"And what happened next?" I asked.

She looked at me.

"To restore honor to her husband and to her clan, she sliced her own throat."

She ignored my reaction and went on.

"We had invested far too much into this village to undermine it now. But that did not make her warnings any less true. By the time Lady Mikoto rose to the position, she had been handed overwhelming responsibility alongside underwhelming authority, all in the face of an unfathomable crisis.

"Our clan, once the greatest in the world, had reduced a fragment of its former size. We had lost our children. We had lost our power. And the most ironic thing of all, we do not even know what we have gained from all this sacrifice.

"Our ancestors had tried to teach us. While one carries darkness, another must carry light. To survive, we need the promise of a future. We need hope. Because in despair… people can be driven to the unimaginable."

Tomoe looked weary.

She stood up. Small talk was over. I could tell there was a reason she wanted to see me. I had a feeling I knew what it was about.

"Itachi tampered with your medicine. Did you know?"

I nodded.

Tomoe gave a wry smile. "And the consequences if anyone finds out what he has done?"

Her smile was off. Suddenly I realized something. Shisui and Michio… they never told me anything about Tomoe. They never said if she…

"W-wait… did you know?"

"You just told me, little Ayae."

I froze.

Tomoe stepped closer.

Oh no.

My breath caught, I readied to run. Oh no, this was bad. This was really bad! I needed to get out. I needed to find-

The temple door slammed in my face.

Behind Tomoe, the candles flared.

"We are in precarious times, Ayae. There is no room for error or mistake. You cannot begin to comprehend the type of madness this world will spiral into if for one second, just one second, they suspect they do not have his unquestioned loyalty and obedience."

Her eyes were bright red.

"And yet, what he has done, he has done in defiance of his clan and his village. What he has done is treason."

I flinched at the last word.

"All to give you a choice."

My back hit the door. I shut my eyes, but I could still feel Tomoe's gaze on me. I could still see her.

"A choice that has been made. One that he must accept. One that I cannot take away. One that you, little Ayae, will not remember."

My eyes snapped open.

"What!"

She couldn't do that… could she?

She could. She already was.

No, no, she can't! I can't forget! Itachi- I still have to-!

But I still need to…

I promised...

.

"Do you recall?"

I blinked. I looked up from the book cover.

"Huh?"

"The first book you've ever read."

Tomoe had put down her book. She was waiting.

I straightened. "A-ah." I struggled to answer her question. I totally zoned out! "Um…" I thought and realized I couldn't, only that there were probably big, colorful pictures. "I think it might have been about… a caterpillar?"

Tomoe motioned to the book I had been staring at.

"That was mine."

She told me to try reading the first story in it. Even though it was in traditional writing, it shouldn't be too hard for me to understand.

Nodding, I opened the cover. The paper was yellow and thin. The first few pages were blank, but soon I found the first story.

As Tomoe said, the writing was super traditional. I had to think hard about each character. But she was right. The story was not hard to understand.

"Eons ago, two children were born of mirror face," I read. "The first turned to the second and said, my sister, this world is cruel. It is not necessary for both of us to suffer together."

I continued reading, following the characters from top to bottom, right to left.

I turned the page. That was it.

"The text is on paper three hundred years old," Tomoe explained, "but the story itself is much older. Over one thousand years, in fact. That would make it the oldest story within this clan, and one of the oldest in the known world." She chuckled. "The first writing of our ancestors… a love story. Of all the things to engrave and leave behind, they chose this."

I frowned, looking at the page again.

"Really? It doesn't read like a love story."

I thought love stories were supposed to make you all giddy and blushy. Tomoe never struck me as someone who liked love stories either.

As if reading my thoughts, Tomoe told me whether or not you cared for love stories, they were important to understand. After all, the greatest shifts in history were often the result of love.

Our clan was founded on love. Konoha was founded on love. Happy or sad, loud or quiet, good or bad, love was everywhere and touched everything.

Huh.

Smiling, I picked up the book again, just to read the story one more time. Tomoe went back to her book too.

As she did, I noticed something on her finger. It was a ring.

"Hey, isn't that Itachi's?"

Tomoe spared it a glance.

"Yes. Beautiful, isn't it. This metalwork is signature of the Uchiha katon." She held up the ring to the light. "It is customary that once the next clan lady has been identified, the clan heir begift her one creation of fire. For six generations, it has been the kanzashi. For the eight generations before, the koshirae. And the sixteen before that, the magatama.

"The battlefield is no place for words. All sentiments that came before, and all that would come after, must be contained in this one gift. It would be his first and last words to her and to the world. Consequently, the amount of meaning within these objects is richer than any poetry.

"Itachi made a bold decision to break tradition. He did not forge a kanzashi as his father and grandfather had, but this ring. Do you know what the ring symbolizes in our clan, Ayae?"

I shook my head.

"Nothing."

My heart skipped. I thought I misheard.

"What?"

Tomoe closed her eyes. "The ring has no history amongst us, and therefore, no meaning. As far as we are concerned, his message is blank."

Before she could go back to her book, I spoke up again.

I didn't know why, but…

Seeing Tomoe wear Itachi's ring made me…

I didn't know what I felt. I just didn't like it.

"You said it's for the next clan lady, right? So why do you have it?"

I thought I was supposed to look after the ring. Itachi had given it to me. My frown deepened. Tomoe better not have stolen from him.

"Do you know what day was yesterday, Ayae?"

"... Saturday?"

"The day of heaviest rain in eight years history."

Tomoe had a reason for calling me here. She wanted to let me know that my lessons were over. I didn't need to come to the temple anymore.