The wind carries a lullaby in a strange language gently proclaiming the words, a touch of melancholy and longing in the music. A soft sigh escapes the lips of a child asleep at the foot of a tree, his previously racing heart calming down with the lullaby.
Like onyx stone, those young eyes that have seen a lot, linger over the three lives entrusted to her, especially the six-year-old boy who was having more and more nightmares.
"It's getting worse." The worry shows on her face before habit forces her to hide her emotions, leaving a neutral countenance.
Riki stirs, the nightmares returning. Singing eased the boy's distressed condition, so she hummed constantly until he seemed to be in a dreamless sleep.
"At least today there were no screams." She tries to comfort herself, but it has done little for her peace of mind. After all, in the village, the boys had fewer nightmares and since they went to the forest, that had changed. Especially Riki, which could explain why he seemed increasingly irritable and despondent. As if it wasn't enough for Eiko to constantly ask about her father and mother (she had to reiterate each time that no, Minastir and Elaine are not her parents. No, Eiko, me, and Katsuo are not either). And then there was Katsuo, who was exhausting himself more and more in training as if every day they were there was solely his fault and it was his responsibility to get them out of there as quickly as possible. She wasn't even going to start thinking about herself or her mask of calm and firmness might crumble and that was a luxury she wouldn't allow herself. If she thought too deeply about her feelings, she would cry like a child – and she should be the adult, the pillar that supported the younger ones.
"Heavens. We Uchihas are an emotional mess."
Kana hugs her knees, and puts her head between her legs, curling up and making herself smaller, feeling incapable. Remembering other children, somewhere else, that she could not protect. Which she had completely failed to keep safe. And then her memory wanders between screams and horrified eyes, mothers begging for mercy and the children she had to kill. That she was ordained and even when everything in her heart said it was wrong, she did it anyway because she was a ninja.
"Rule Five of the Shinobi Handbook: A shinobi must be inflexible in their duty, carrying out their superior's orders for the success of the mission and the good of the village."
She doesn't think about how she never understood how bleeding children would be for the good of her village. She doesn't think about how those mothers and fathers begging for their children looked at her as a monster. She doesn't think about how sometimes, many times, she would rather not have been a loyal Konoha ninja. And she definitely doesn't think about the times when she wished she'd been a child whose life had vanished at the hands of another child, and not to be the only one carrying the burden of never forgiving herself.
Kana laughs, bitter, nervous, and slightly hysterical.
She shouldn't be taking care of children.
She really shouldn't.
Kana hovers above Riki, who was carving in stone one of the seals he had recently learned in fuinjutsu. The boy pays her no attention, totally focused on his task, and Kana sits beside him, watching his labors. How he could perfectly carve a seal in a stone and at that size, she had no idea, but Riki could. Katsuo was a few meters away, meditating and trying to master the basic fixation of a leaf on the forehead. Eiko played with Raijin, in her own magical world.
Adjusting her posture and resolving to challenge herself to find a creative way to use some basic jutsu as well, the four Uchihas strove towards their respective goals.
At some point, Eiko fell asleep under the wolf, after running a lot.
Hours later, Riki's excited exclamation broke the hyper-focus they were in.
"Neechan!"
Opening one eye in curiosity, Kana watched the boy show off his carved stones with variations of the fuinjutsu seal for attracting metals (she never regretted learning that useful piece of fuinjutsu, kunais weren't cheap and It was always more efficient to use that seal when she was with little time to collect weapons). She recognized the basic shape, but the alterations seemed to act as a set with the other stones.
"Hmm?" Kana looked intrigued now, approaching. Katsuo seemed to have passed out from exhaustion and was not even close to waking up.
"Kana-neechan, can you infuse chakra, please? It can't be much! Just a light wire of power, or it won't work."
She arched an eyebrow skeptically, but did it anyway, infusing a little of her chakra into each of the six stones. She didn't feel anything in particular, but Riki's maniac glow in the eyes seemed a good indication that everything was as it should be.
With a mischievous smile, Riki joined two small stones, placing them on top of Katsuo. Then another two stones were in the bark of a tree, and Kana studied with growing interest how they appeared to be glued to the tree. Finally, in Riki's own hands, the last two stones, one in each of his hands, and now he was slowly bringing them closer.
Kana blinked as she saw the two stones act like a magnet and not only that but as if they manipulated the other four stones.
Katsuo woke up quite scared to find himself flying towards a tree. The collision shook the tree and caused the Uchiha to cry out in pain, waking up Eiko and Raijin.
(He totally should have expected this. Kana listened when he said that fuinjutsu was just for pretty handwriting – which was an absolute outrage and Riki was smart enough to give retribution).
"Eh? Kaka hwgwin tee? Why?" Eiko asked, confused and still lethargic.
"Who knows? Kaka is weird, isn't he, Eiko-chan?"
"Uhum... Kaka weido..."
"Ouch, that must have hurt." Kana thinks with a hint of a smile, knowing full well that Katsuo seemed to care deeply about what Eiko thought of him.
"RIKI! GET ME OUT OF THIS TREE, YOU LITTLE PEST! EIKO-CHAN, I'M NOT WEIRD, IT WAS RIKI! KANA-NECHAN, TELL HIM TO GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
"And waste such a good opportunity to train your skill to escape a hostile situation?"
Her innocent gaze does nothing to stop Katsuo from seeing the sadistic little devil of a teacher she was.
"KANA!"
Riki and Katsuo exchange an accomplice look.
"He, what a fun thing it is to irritate others. And speaking of irritating others..."
"Say, Riki, how many of these can you make?"
"I think I can get two sets a day."
"When you're done, how about we test your new invention on the elves? Just the two of us..." – Raijin growled and Kana rolled her eyes. – "Fine, the three of us."
Riki smiled, eager to mass-test his new weapons.
"If you give me three days, we'll have elves clinging to trees, clothes being ripped off, and elves covered from head to toe in leaves, twigs, and rocks."
"Aaah?" Kana had her eyes shining in anticipated amusement and a bit of admiration as she looked at the youngest. Riki mentally recorded that intoned "Aaah" as to how Kana expressed her joyful expectation about something, or, as he thought:
"Translation: man, this is going to be soooo fun I can't wait!"
His blood pulsed quickly in his veins, the feel of his feet like a feather on the irregular ground with the knowledge that came from one who had been familiar with the place for a lifetime. An elven lifetime, to be more precise. And yet, his companions weren't so lucky to escape the stones imbued with strange magic, which was causing certain chaos as it clung to his soldiers.
The attack had been sudden, like the other squads that had reported the first ambushes that week. If it had been any other group than his, it would have been easy enough to subjugate them all in seconds. But that particular elf had an advantage.
He sensed the intruders, though this time it became more difficult to detect the energy.
Legolas moved his body with agility, seeing one of the stones passes and stick to the elf who was beside him and he shot one of his own arrows in retaliation. The shapeless, shadowy figure that was at his heels like a dogged hunter didn't even hesitate before picking up the arrow and hurling it at him with overwhelming speed and accuracy. His hand was outstretched, the sleeve of his garment stabbed by his own arrow.
"Prince! The heir has been hit! Someone must protect the prince!" A voice intoned, alarmed and the atmosphere was tense with the realization that there was no one in the position to defend the heir because, apparently, Legolas had been the last elf not fully immobilized.
The blonde narrows his eyes as the shadow approaches, the other two smaller ones hovering behind what he assumed is the leader. The shapeshifter says something, which his ears capture with a fascination for the utterly unknown language and intriguing sound.
"Are we going to leave them like that or stick them all together?"
"Leave them. This squad performed well." The voice answered and then the figure approached him with an air of fascination surrounding It. It was unnerving, having that silhouette of a living being, faceless, with no clues to identity, no expression to betray what kind of intentions were in their hearts. One snorted and placed a hand on the hip, with a smug attitude and tone that needs no translation to conclude it's a sneer.
"Good performance? They are not at all the challenge you made us think of. Pathetic."
He frowned, a twist of worry filling him because it was pretty evident that they were all at the mercy of those creatures they hadn't even seen the faces. That thought infuriated him.
"What kind of coward hides behind shadows and other faces, invading our land and mocking our people!?"
The one before him bowed its head, looking rather like a confused cat, and the one who had uttered the insult stiffened, proving that at least one of them seemed to understand the elvish language.
"Riki? You're okay?" The shadow that had been quiet until then spoke.
"Yeah, it's nothing. I thought I understood the elf. Nonsense."
Legolas felt the energy of the being before him rise a little, a ripple in the tranquil aura that betrayed unease.
"Let's go. You have an ambush to plan on your own, with no one helping to give the illusion that you are up to these so-called 'pathetic creatures'."
"Oh, fuck. She's in 'I'll make you suffer' mode, Riki! It's your fault!"
The three of them disappeared before his eyes, that surge of energy chilling him.
"Such a casual display of power." He thought.
His soldiers were no better, mumbling apologies for not being competent to protect him, who uncomfortably dismissed the requests—however many centuries passed, it was still uncomfortable to think about how his subjects would always think his and his father's lives took precedence over others. Loyalty was a heavy burden to bear.
"We must hasten our return to the palace. We have a report with more information to fill out our short list of what we know about these beings."
Carrying Eiko gave her a strange sense of calm. Whether it was that inherently baby scent or the little hands that insisted on playing with Kana's hair, maybe even the little girl's soft breathing, Kana couldn't tell, but it certainly had the effect of making her less paranoid.
Less, not completely.
"Riki, you think you understand what the elves said."
"Yeah, something about 'coward', 'shadow' and 'invade', I think."
"Was this the first time that happened?"
"Yes. No... I don't know, okay? I mean, is this really important? I'm probably wrong."
"This is weird." She thinks, her senses warning her that they might be missing something.
"Hm." Kana grumbled, a little dissatisfied with his inconclusive answer. "Keep an eye out, if it happens again, let me know."
"Hai, hai, Kana-neechan. Now, about the important matters... What do you mean by 'no help'?"
"Oh." Kana smiles slyly. "It's just that you'll plan and execute the ambushes alone, without any help. The only thing I'll keep doing is the genjutsu that makes us unrecognizable."
"This is going to be a piece of cake, you'll see." Katsuo declared, huffing and Riki nodded.
Kana just shook her head.
They're about to learn to never underestimate an opponent. Arrogance was a strong trait in an Uchiha and the sooner they learned that someone could always knock them off their pedestal, the better. She learned at age seven, in war, what happens to those who underestimate their opponents. She didn't want the same fate for her relatives.
She had to admit, three months later, when they decided it was the perfect time for their next "marathon of pranking elves" as they called it, that Riki and Katsuo were creative. They avoided open confrontations like when she helped out, preferring more stealthy methods – it was items that disappeared and appeared somewhere else, small scares with the very realistic imitations of groups of howling wargs, elves that sat on top of some specially sculpted place by Riki that make them trapped for hours, and finally the event she called Midnight Blue. The boys somehow managed to lure some unfortunate elves to the lake, which had been temporarily modified with some chemical she'd never seen at home and which somehow Riki and Katsuo discovered could do something as curious as turn their skin blue for several days.
That has only been surpassed by the Shameless Pink. In a nutshell – elves and pink hair.
It seemed that was the last straw for the elves, because from then on, their efforts to capture the Uchihas were quite fervent. The horrified and outraged screams must have been quite satisfying to Riki and Katsuo because they didn't even wipe the smiles off their faces when they were captured by the elves, still under her illusion that kept them anonymous. Yeah, she was pretty paranoid about their identities. Being the only ones of her family was enough of an impulse to hide them from potential threats, especially if the village had spread rumors about them.
She let them have a taste of what it was like to be captured by the enemy, though she would not allow them to enter an elven settlement, freeing them before the beings gifted with beauty could even consider putting their cousins in a cell.
"Kaka and Rini wee catch? Kana go fwee them?
"That's right, Eiko. I need you to stay here with my clone and Raijin, they will protect you, see?"
"Hai, Kaachan!"
"Eiko, I'm not… Nevermind. Just stay here."
Kana sighed, covering herself in genjutsu and avoiding the fate that those two would inevitably one day go through.
They still had to go through torture and interrogation, and Kana wasn't ready to teach that lesson yet.
"Pathetic elves, uh?" Kana teased the boys. Katsuo shrugged, but scratched the back of his head awkwardly, complaining:
"You took too long to free us."
"Uhm. Now, what did you learn?"
"That they become motivated when there's damage to the hair... Ouch! Dammit, woman, you wanna rip my head off?"
"Katsuo." Kana looks at him pointedly and the boy snorts, rolling his eyes.
"Fine, fine. We should have been less arrogant."
Finding Riki's distracted silence weird, she directs the question to him.
"We should have backup plans."
"Or reinforcements." – Katsuo added thoughtfully. "It was much better with you and Raijin in the plans, and not just for your experience or the numerical issue. There are more options for tactics with different abilities on the table."
"Also, more and better resources. There is much you can do with stones and weapons of dubious quality. Also, if we had someone, an infiltrated one… it would have been a lot better – the short periods that Katsuo was able to gather information before they realized it was just a henge were key to many of our plans."
"Oh, my. Blessed Uchiha genes begetting talented children left and right."
Kana watches them with a smile, a pleasant feeling with how much self-analysis they were doing about the situation.
"Don't be too proud Kana, it wasn't you who contributed to their natural perception."
Really, she had no right to feel proud – the sharp intellect was all theirs after all – but she was proud of them. Kana clears her throat. She may not have contributed much, but she could give some helpful advice that only experience would allow.
"Everything you said is true. But there is one thing you must never forget, no matter how many backup plans, reinforcements, weapons, and resources you have."
She pauses, to see if they're both paying attention. (They were).
"Victory is never final. And even victory is not without loss."
Katsuo grimaces but concludes that those words are true. It is statically impossible to always win a battle.
And Riki... Riki looks like someone just said the grass is blue. Or that someone ate the last piece of cake. And also, as if he was constipated.
"Riki?" Kana calls the boy is stunned and distracted.
"Dude. Did you drink the elves' wine? You look like someone who ate a lemon and didn't like it."
"It's nothing, Katsuo-nii. Let's get out of here. I don't want to be around elves reeking of orc blood when they come back."
Kana stops her steps, studying Riki, who seemed very oblivious to what he had just said.
"How did you get this information?" The teenager asked, serious and cautious. Riki shifted uncomfortably.
"From them. They were talking about a big orc attack, I think."
"Do you really understand what they say? But how?" Katsuo asked, confused and Riki found himself surrounded by two pairs of curious eyes. Fidgeting uncomfortably, he muttered:
"I've been having weird dreams. In these dreams, many people speak several different languages. One of the languages is Elvish. That's how I know orcs are attacking the south, they were in an uproar..."
"The village of Minastir is in the south!" Katsuo exclaims, worried, and looks at Kana.
She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"No, Katsuo. No."
"But we have to go! They could be in danger!"
"Or the attacks are elsewhere to the south. Also, you may have forgotten, but they hurt you. They thought we were civilians and were sending us to our deaths. Even Minastir knew that our chances of survival were slim to none by normal standards."
"Yeah. They kicked us out. They threw us like trash." Riki declared, a hint of resentment and hurt in his voice. "Why should we risk ourselves for people who wanted us dead?"
Katsuo's determination didn't even waver.
"Because I don't want Minastir, Elaine, and Huriel to die. And neither do you."
Riki makes a very animalistic and growl-like sound and, through clenched teeth.
"I don't mind. Let them all die."
Katsuo punches him. Riki bites his arm, pulling Katsuo's hair.
And Kana pinches the bridge of her nose, wondering what the hell she's going to do.
"Enough." She speaks. When the two don't listen to her, she quickly separates them.
"Katsuo, you need to work on your emotions. You can't go around punching others just because they said something you don't want to hear."
"But Kana-neechan! I had to put some sense…"
"And Riki, you're still a long way from lying to yourself. You haven't stopped shaking since Katsuo pointed out that the attack could be on the village. Here's what's going to happen: I'll go to the village and, if I need to, I'll help them kill their enemies. You, Riki, and Eiko stay in one of our hideouts until I get back. I will leave Raijin with you."
"No. I can help. I will go." Katsuo replies, obstinate. Kana contemplates him and weighs his abilities before deciding he might be useful in the fight.
"Well. Riki, take care of Eiko. We'll be back soon. And when I come back, you'll tell me exactly what those dreams are like."
Riki flinches and looks away.
"Hai, Kana-neechan."
A familiar apathy covers her as they get closer to the village, the sound of screaming, the smell of smoke, and burning flesh flooding her senses. At his side Katsuo gasps, when they arrive at a scene of war, the village is destroyed, houses burned, and people running in despair. It was a vision of ashes and blood – the first one of that kind that the younger one has seen. There were at least fifty orcs and even with a few elves assisting, the downside was clear.
"Kana-neechan…" He mutters in disbelief when he realizes that there are orcs not just killing, but dismembering and eating humans. Blood permeates the land and air, and it's a scene of destruction that even Kana has to force herself not to react to. She had seen death, violence and rape, but not all that plus cannibalism.
"Katsuo, try to use the ninja techniques you already know, instead of using the sword." Kana asks and Katsuo nods.
"I found you." Kana thinks with relief at the sight of the familiar man who has hosted her for months. He was injured and fighting so many opponents that in seconds he could be killed.
Performing the technique that allowed her to move along the ground, Kana moved until she was under the concentration of the battle, emerging from the ground grabbing one of the orcs, taking advantage of the momentum and kicking another orc who fly several meters away. The stunned state of the orcs and men lasted long enough for her to connect her fist to another's armor, concentrating her chakra the same way she would a tree walk—and feeling satisfied when the creature's armor and guts exploded... until she realized that this method was very messy and had spattered blood on her.
"Tsk. Better to stick to the usual methods for now."
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" She hears Katsuo scream and takes a quick look to see him burn the enemies with small fireballs.
"Oh. Good offense, but not much consideration for the existing situation. Well, damage control then."
"Daikodan no Jutsu." A great water dragon appeared, attacking the orcs on the way and then putting out the flames that spread through the forest and the houses.
"Uh. They look like they're going to have a heart attack if I do one more ninjutsu. Back to the katana then."
Unsheathing her sword, her quick movements were barely seen, efficiency and precision in every swipe. Kana sided with Minastir, defending him when he couldn't.
"What kind of shadow creature helps defeat orcs and save human lives?" He asked both puzzled and with a hint of gratitude in his voice.
"The kind you let stay in your house for months, Minastir." – She replies and the man widens his eyes, recognizing her voice, giving her a very brief half-hug, despite the fight occurring.
"Kana!? Thanks to Eru, you're fine! I was afraid that…" He doesn't finish, but his eyes are teary and she feels uncomfortable and self-conscious.
"Don't get sentimental, man. We know how to take care of ourselves, as you can see."
The man laughs, staring at the growing pile of orcs, the magic the other performed by multiplying clones and seeming to replace his body with some object when the orcs got too close.
(He made an odd sight, men and elves though, laughing as if he were friends alongside a faceless shadow spirit that was both lethal and powerful.)
"These orcs were looking for something or… someone. A powerful weapon that the Enemy wants to have in his hand. Be careful, Kana."
She frowns, feeling unease at his words.
"It couldn't be… No. This Sauron has no way of knowing about the Sharingan. We haven't used it in public since we left the village... Unless..."
In a few minutes, between Kana, Katsuo, and the men and elves of the forest, the orcs were annihilated.
And Kana wasted no time in saying goodbye to Minastir and picking up Katsuo, running to the hideout where her children were.
"...unless Riki's dreams have something to do with it."
Riki almost wanted to go into battle.
"Eiko-chan! Stop! We have to stay hidden! Raijin, you traitor! Come back here with Eiko!"
The wolf figure disappears among the foliage, taking his little sister and her childish laughter with it. Riki runs, trying to catch up, screaming for her name and Raijin's.
"Eiko-chan?"
Silence is the only answer.
"T-That's not funny! Eiko-chan! Raijin!" A feeling of panic settles in your stomach.
"Oh, no. No, no, no, no! Eiko! E-Eiko! Eiko!" He screams, tears accumulating in his eyes when he realized that he had lost Eiko.
And he was absolutely alone.
The palace was in an uproar, guards coming and going with strange news of water dragons, fire-breathing wizards, and that daring attack by orcs so close to their limits.
And he wasn't allowed to verify.
"It is out of our territory, Legolas, and we have sent enough aid for the men. Besides, the battle is over, there's not much else to do but bury the dead and rebuild the houses."
Legolas ran a hand through his hair, exasperated, restless. Leaning back against one of the trees, he took a deep breath, trying to dispel his frustration and the thought that he had missed the chance to see one of the Mischief Shadows, as he began to call them in his mind.
Until his ears picked up a sound he hadn't heard in decades.
A laugh.
A childish laugh.
Legolas listened attentively, hearing a few giggles followed by a sound or two that reminded him of a dog.
"It's coming from that direction." He thinks, moving with curiosity, the mere suggestion of having a child nearby dissolving his frustration and stoking his worry.
He saw her then, a tiny creature playing with a wolf, a wolf that seemed to have something of a warg about him, and that Legolas would now recognize anywhere. After all, it was the Shadow's wolf.
Legolas sighs, absolutely horrified, seeing the human baby hugging the beast as if it were the most normal thing. The child was playing with a docile wolf, for Valar.
There were a lot of questions running through the prince's mind at that moment, but for now, he needed to get her away from the wolf.