WhIP

by footfungus

nederlands verhalen over mijn otp

79. Walking Up Hill - Tobirama x OC

Walking Uphill on a Plain

MagritteE

Summary:

The new village of Konohagakure attracts many with its promise of peace, prosperity and above all, opportunity for anybody who would wish to be part of it.
What is not told, is that it is still a village of shinobi, and shinobi do not leave any leaf unturned.
For Tobirama, the stakes are much too high to leave anything to chance. Konoha is young and there are many who wish it ill.
But sometimes, people get caught in the cogs and one particular civilian might just upset the whole machine.
Nene comes to Konoha hoping to start a new business, but it seems everything conspires against her, most of all the person who invented the never-ending paperwork she has to fill to ridiculous standards.
In hindsight, it might have not been the best idea to loudly proclaim the wish to strangle the bastard who made the rules.
Konoha is, after all, a village of shinobi.

Chapter 1

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Nene watched the imposing gates of Konoha approach more and more. The line of carts and people getting in was quite big on this autumn market day, making her hope it would be for the best.

She fingered her papers, palms sweaty from anxiety. It probably smudged the ink even more, but she did not care much at that point. She plastered a smile she hoped did not look too awkward and shuffled forward.

When she did arrive in front of the sekisho officer, her courage failed her. The middle aged man behind the desk smiled at her warmly. His fingers were stained with ink, but that could not hide the thin scars on his hands.

"Greetings, miss," he said, bowing his head politely. "Documents of travel please."

Nene hesitantly gave him the folded ouraitegata, wincing as the man delicately pried it open and scanned the contents.

"It was not on purpose," she said desperately, wincing at the sight. "I-it looks bad but it was an accident."

The man raised an eyebrow. "It seems like quite the story," he commented, waving the paper slightly. A third of it was missing, ripped in a jagged line; it also had curry stains and was partially burned. The whole paper was ridged in stiff waves.

She had upended a curry pot and a teapot when she had saved the youngest child of a travelling family from burning himself. But that would seem like an excuse.

Nene smiled weakly. "Knocked over some pots during travel," she murmured.

"How long ago?" the man asked amusedly.

"Three days ago," Nene replied, face burning. It sounded so much like an excuse, but it wasn't!

The man nodded without commenting. "Your name seems to be among the missing information," he observed.

That part had disintegrated in curry sauce. Nene sighed. "I wish to relocate to Konoha. I am not a fugitive or a criminal, and I can ask for further proof of documentation back home, but…"

"I see," the man commented mildly.

Nene's heart plummeted as she watched him write something in his ledger.

"Go to the Administrative Building next to the Hokage Tower. It's the tallest building in Konoha, you cannot miss it. There, you need to file your personal information. We'll make sure of the accuracy of your statements," he assured her. "But for the first year, your taxes will be three percent higher because of the extra manpower we had to use for you."

Nene nodded and stood, waiting.

"You may go," the man told her. "Welcome to Konoha."

Nene walked in a daze. The day was warm, and the long road, the long wait had made her tired, but she still had things to do. The roads were straight and clean, she saw. The houses were new, everything was new and shiny. There were so many people walking on the streets, talking, bartering, and an inordinate amount of small children running around, accompanying their older sisters or their mothers in their errands, selling small tsujiura senbei at practically every corner, shouting their wares in high pitched, clear voices in a a cacophony of noise. Of course, Konoha proper had about two years but the Senju and Uchiha clans had buried their weapons six years ago, explaining in a way, the population boom. A legendary feud that had created a new order in the Fire Country was indeed history in the making, and she wanted to see it from up close.

Nene saw with amusement as there was a certain competition even, between a group of children on one side of the street and the one on the other; both were shouting as hard as they could, trying to outdo the other, and when someone managed to snag a customer, the others glared murder at their competition while doubling down their efforts on the passers-by on their side. Thus, even Nene was summarily assaulted and convinced to buy five miso and sesame senbei, the five year-old guaranteeing her good fortune for the rest of the day with all the pomp and seriousness of a mountain ascetic.

Nene praised the way the senbei had been expertly wrapped in colourful paper (the children immediately informing her it was them who had done it) and ate two of them. The first fortune informed her she would meet her destined person soon, and the second one had a proverb written in kana and then kanji, encouraging her to get up no matter how many times she falls. Cheered up by the words, she looked around, taking the high tower as a point of reference, and did her best to get closer to it.

When she found a well, she gratefully stopped and drank her fill, also filling her flask. It was so hot here, unlike back home where soon the first snow would have already piled up on the lower slopes.

Then, she finally got to her mark. The Hokage Tower was in front of her, and next to it, a smaller building that had the characters for Administration on it.

She went in and hovered in the front room until someone asked her business. Finding that Nene wanted both a citizenship registry and to fill personal information documents, she was told to go to the first floor.

There, she found out she had to first take a ticket to mark the hour and the offices she was in, so she had to go back in the front room.

After that, she was sent to the third floor because she did not have any papers.

When the bells sounded the Hour of the Sheep, she was finally back in the room on the first floor, flask empty and ready to start filling in the documents.

She was made to start with the personal information application. It started with her name in phonetic writing, and then in characters.

Nene stopped for a long time, stumped. She had been, in a way, a bit glad her papers had been destroyed. Maybe this was an opportunity.

She wrote the first family name she could think of. Hifumi Nene, she wrote in hiragana, then she wrote underneath the kanji for one, two and three. Her personal name was not written in kanji, so she left it at that.

Another surprise was finding out that Konoha used a different calendar than the region of Yashiro, making for a small headache as she tried to calculate her date of birth in the new one. It was off by three weeks.

Then, a bewildering array of increasingly personal questions had her bewildered. Questions on past diseases or family members seemed logical, but why did she have to write what was her dominant hand or if she knew the difference between two symbols? She had no idea about either one, so she passed it over.

Finally, it was over and she attacked the other sheaf of paper for Konohan citizenship.

It too, asked for her name, birthday, marital status, address (this one she left incomplete because she did not know yet), as well as any abilities or jobs she might have. And then the annexes started.

It started with provisions for unmarried citizens of Konoha. Nene read, eyebrows climbing higher and higher on her forehead. "If a civilian citizen of Konoha happens to marry within a clan with a kekkei genkai, divorce is possible (within reasonable expectations) but any children resulting from such an union automatically become clan members," it read. A smaller paragraph in red ink gave a list of family names for which, apparently, divorce was not possible.

Then, there was the annex for curfew, law and regulations whose jargon was too confusing to understand, but the phrase, "Konoha not being responsible for low level genjutsu induced trauma, if said trauma is less than level 5," sounded ominous.

The actual levels, one to twenty were detailed separately. Level one contained passing nightmares, nausea and loss of consciousness.

Reading through the Outlawed Actions and Demeanors Liable for Immediate Termination of Citizenship Document Nene was informed that "treasonous demeanour, anti-konohan propaganda, slander against governmental offices was apparently grounds for immediate expulsion.

"You did not put the kanji for your personal name," the woman behind the desk told her.

"I don't have one," Nene replied. "It's only in hiragana."

The woman pursed her lips. "The rules state that you must put the characters for your personal name as well as your family name."

"As I said before, ma'am, I do not have any," Nene repeated, trying to keep her voice even.

The woman looked at her, eyes cold. "Then fill in this document to choose kanji for your name," she said.

"May I have another ink stick?" Nene asked, forcing a smile. "There is no more ink."

The woman wordlessly slapped a small black rectangle next to the new document, then started writing something in a scroll, dismissing her.

Nene sighed and went back to her table. The motions of preparing the ink did little to calm her down but it did give her a bit of time to think of what kanji she could use. She settled for an older character for "tranquil" because she appreciated the irony. Maybe she was more similar to her grandfather than she thought.

"You did not put in any address," the woman told her when Nene went back to give her the last document.

"Because I don't yet have any," Nene replied, voice strained.

The woman threw her an annoyed look and gave her a new sheaf of papers. "Fill in these forms and you will be allocated a place that will be appropriate for your station and your budget."

Nene bit back the retort she dearly wanted to hurl at the woman, together with the ink stick and all the documents she had to fill until that very moment and once more wrote her name, date of birth, marital status, height, weight, and this time also her rooming preferences, estimated budget (she wrote a sum she hoped would prove correct, she did not yet have her business so she had no source of stable income except for her savings). The question on whether the applicant enjoyed casual sex or if they usually engaged in such acts (if the answer was yes, there was a whole page dedicated to names of past partners) was one she was not sure whether it was there as a joke or not. She checked the box for "none" and signed at the end with her name once more.

"Good for now," the woman said. "Now, there are these questionnaires you must fill. I'll have your lodgings address ready by the time you finish."

Nene looked at the thick papers in despair. The Eligibility Assessment Test started with simple mathematical questions, went on to logic, asked her to explain the meaning of certain descriptive passages, then it moved onto problem solving. She read the question two times. "If there is a group of ten people in a carriage and there are two people who have fallen on the road, what do you choose to do? Run over the two people or use a doton to stop the carriage, thereby killing at least five?"

"Why can't you just take the people from the street?" Nene muttered. Unfortunately, she only had two choices. Her brush hovered over the two equally dissatisfying options before she checked both. The next question was whether she prefers egg over rice or rice over egg.

The next questionnaire assessed her medical knowledge. She was forced to give up after the first page, as she had no idea what the questions even meant at that point.

Then finally, the last one was on chakra. She managed the first three questions and then decided she had had enough.

The woman browsed them. "You'll need basic training," she muttered in disgust. Nene bristled. The woman threw her an annoyed look. "Here is your address. Come back in five days for a follow-up."

Nene nodded and left, feeling drained. It was already evening.

She stopped by a small udon stall and ate a hearty supper before asking for directions for her new home.

She only had a small baggage with her, and enough money to live for one year somewhere new. She squared her shoulders. She could do this. She had to.

The night had deepened but there were lamps flickering to light, glowing golden on streets at fixed intervals. She wondered who lit them. It must have been a chore.

Despite the light, it was not enough for her to orient properly, so she walked aimlessly, trying to arrive to the south-west quarter where the Yaozoru-an was. There were quite a lot of people on the streets, but the night seemed to have made them ghosts, or bakeneko for all the noise they made.

Dark streaks flitted at the periphery of her vision, soft air currents trembling to show someone's passing, some gleaming eyes…no, Nene was not about to ask for directions.

She was so lost in thought she forgot to react to her name.

"Hifumi-san! Hifumi-san!" she heard. Oh yes, that was her. But who knew her name? It did not sound like that woman…

She turned around and had to look up. A young man smiled down at her. His cheeks dimpled. The scar on his cheek pulled. His teeth flashed bright and sharp.

He was built like an ox. "Hifumi-san," he said politely, "you are going to Yaozoru-an?" It did not sound like a question.

"Yes," Nene replied guardedly.

The young man smiled again. He was not bad looking, Nene allowed, and he had very pretty brown eyes, but she would have preferred to meet him from a distance. With ten people between them. Shit, was this her fated meeting? If so, it was one she could do without.

"I am Senju Hiroto, your neighbour," he explained with a smile. "Let me accompany you. Do you need help with the backpack?"

"Thank you," Nene replied in a measured voice, trying not to wobble. "I am fine. With carrying the backpack," she added.

Hiroto nodded and started walking. Nene could do nothing but follow while her mind conjured scenarios where she would be found next morning with her throat slashed, probably raped, and her money stolen.

In case of death, her old ouraitegata said that her body should be sent back to her family to be interred, but it was ripped and it had remained at the checkpoint. It was probably already thrown away with the garbage.

"Do you like roasted duck, Hifumi-san?" Hiroto asked, oblivious of his role as villain in her story. "I know a very good restaurant that serves roasted duck as they make it in Yashiro."

Nene tensed.

Hiroto smiled broadly back in her direction. "I noticed your accent," he said.

Nene gave a grimace. "I see."

"Do you cook, Hifumi-san?" He asked, apparently undeterred by her unease.

"Yes," she replied in a dry and hopefully unencouraging tone.

"What do you like to cook?" Hiroto continued as he started walking backwards.

"Rice," Nene said flatly. She was tired and not even the prospect of a painful, violent death could make her be nice to her would-be killer.

There was a moment of blessed silence.

"If you want good knives, I know a very good maker," Hiroto told her.

Nene grunted. "Thank you," she added belatedly.

Hiroto suddenly stopped. "You seem tired, Hifune-san," he said, the understatement of the century.

Nene snorted.

"Would you like to arrive faster?" He asked.

Nene nodded and was swept off her feet the next moment. Her sharp question suddenly died in her throat as Hiroto jumped on the roof of the adjacent building. The lights shone under their feet like golden fireflies.

He grinned at her, his face uncomfortably close as he adjusted his grip on her. "We'll get there very soon," he assured her and jumped.

Heart climbing in her throat, Nene clutched to him, and when she felt they were plunging down she buried her face in his neck, muffling her scream. It went on and on, her full belly making unpleasant flips at each jump.

Finally, it was over.

Hiroto put her down, catching her elbow when she wobbled, still nauseous and fought to keep her bowl of udon in her stomach.

"Welcome to Yaozoru-an," Hiroto said with a smile.

The building in front of her was a typical traditional home, made of wood, quite large, she guessed. Light spilled outside from the open doors and windows, accompanied by murmurs and indistinct laughter.

Nene took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and entered. As soon as she put her sandals away and climbed the three stairs to the porch, the murmurs ceased and when she entered, the whole of Yaozoru-an turned to look at her.

Notes:

Ouraitegata are old style passports from the Edo period.

The Hour of the Sheep is between 1 and 3 pm. Nene gets out after 5 hours of filling documents.

Nene can be written in hiragana only, but can also have different kanji. Nene uses the kanji for peaceful, tranquil. 寧々
Hifumi is a weird japanese family name that is written as 123 in kanji 一二三
Probably arrived to exist because in the 19th century, all commoners were told to get a family name. Some put dates. Some made fun of the idea. So there are some unique family names like cow dung. ushikuso or boar-crotch Inomata…so yeah. Nene's actual family name is Inomata XD

tsujiura senbei= the actual origin of fortune cookies; they were savory and bigger than modern fortune cookies
unmei no deai= fated meeting (first senbei)
nana korobi ya oki = fall seven times get up eight = not give up

Chapter 2

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Nene's gaze swept the big room in front of her and its occupants. The floor was covered in golden tatami mats; a low, long table cut it in two halfway, its lacquered surface shining in the bright light of the lamps.

There was one family with four young children and what must have been a grandmother. An older man played a game of mahjong with a young boy and two other young men. The last two stuck out like a sore thumb by the reaction they had when she entered, so she filed that information up with "shinobi".

She bowed.

"This is Hifumi-san," Hiroto's voice said at her back. "She will stay here from today."

There were welcoming greetings from all occupants except the children who seemed more interested in their game of paper sumo.

Nene declined the offer to sit at the table despite the guilt. It was not good manners but she was too tired.

"I'll take Hifumi-san to her room," Hiroto announced the room and strode to the other end, followed by Nene. A wooden staircase started in the left inner corner of the room, and when she got up, she saw an L shaped narrow corridor and five sliding doors, all painted with a different scenery.

Hiroto gestured to the third door, one with a bush warbler singing on a flowering tree and opened it for her. "Your room, Hifumi-san," he said.

Nene entered, heart beating a bit faster, wondering what she would find.

A bright lamp was already lit, showing her a fifteen tatami room, with a small tokonoma to the side, a scroll with a spring landscape already decorating it. The room smelled sweet from the flower arrangement underneath it.

On the opposite side she saw the doors of an oshiire . The doors on the opposite side were slightly open. A low table and a zabuton were slightly to the side of the doors.

It looked quite nice.

"Gomen," Hiroto said loudly behind her, startling Nene as he also entered the room.

"You have a futon in the closet, as well as a sleeping yukata and two others if you want to change at home."

So it was like an inn, Nene thought as she slowly turned around, wondering how much the rent was.

"The kitchen is to the left of the main room," Hiroto continued. "The kawaya is outside. Climb down the stairs, go left, out of the house, and follow the pebbled path."

Nene nodded, feeling very tired.

Hiroto shifted. "If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you," Nene replied politely. Why was Hiroto so helpful? "Oh," she said out loud, feeling stupid for not realising it sooner, "you're the ōya-san, aren't you?"

Hiroto laughed. "Just call me Hiroto," he said with a smile. "Too many Senju and too many ōya around here."

"But there is one Yaozoru-an no Ōya, isn't it?" Nene replied with a small grin. She was not about to call her landlord by his given name, with no honorifics.

Hiroto made a vague gesture and shrugged. "Hifumi-san," he started after Nene put her pack down.

"Yes, Ōya-san?" She asked politely.

"There is a sentō on the next street," he said. "It's still open. You must have had a long day…" the voice trailed meaningfully.

So, her landlord implied she better wash up thoroughly before going to sleep.

"Of course," Nene replied, trying to not sound overly morose. "How much does it cost?"

Her landlord grinned. "Just tell them you're Hiroto's new ward. You don't need to pay for the bathing facilities."

"The first time?" Nene asked, surprised despite herself.

Hiroto shook his head. "Bathing is free for all Konoha citizens," he answered calmly. "You just need to take your towels."

Well, that was certainly good news, Nene thought.

She hesitated, thinking about the money. Could she just leave them there while she left?

"Your belongings are safe, Hifumi-san," Hiroto said as if reading her mind. "You could leave your money in the middle of the street and you will find them even after a day- but," he added with a grin, "not in the middle of the street, for that would impede traffic."

Nene smiled as well. "Thank you," she said as she wrapped her towels in a furoshiki cloth. "I will be back then," she added.

Her landlord nodded and stepped back, allowing her to leave the room. Nene closed the sliding door with a click and started back on the stairs, already fantasising about sleeping the whole day tomorrow.

The sentō was bigger and busier than she had anticipated. The front desk was manned by a kid. "I stay at Yaozoru-an," Nene said, and the boy simply nodded and gestured for her to enter. Nene took off her sandals, put them in the getabako and entered through the blue noren into the changing room.

She was the only one there, although she spied quite a few belongings on the racks. She put her clothes in an empty basket, then opened the low door leading to the bath.

She was immediately enveloped by humid warmth. The light was low, allowing her only an approximate view of the chamber. It seemed quite big, but unlike the sentō from Yashiro-shi, it was not tiled. The floor was made of wood.

She spied five soaking pools and more than twenty washing stations. Currently, five of them were occupied.

Also unlike Yashiro, the bath was mixed, not even a paravan to segregate the sexes. To the left side, a beautifully painted room stood out, looking like an entrance to a pagoda. The wood was carved with a level of detail that seemed unreal, dragons and phoenixes, leaves and flowers seemingly ready to animate at any moment. The small door at its front opened, followed by a thick, white steam and finally a man with reddened skin who dumped a bucket on his head then plunged into what must have been the cold bath with a sigh.

So that was the mushiburo . A sauna sounded amazing to Nene at that moment.

A sansuke, identified by the cloth tied around his waist, immediately came to her, soap and washing glove in hand.

Nene sat on a washing stool, gratefully let him fetch water to dump on her back as she washed. She also replied in affirmative when he asked her whether she wanted him to scrub her back.

"Miss," she heard the sansuke call to her.

"Yes," Nene murmured with a yawn. "Please one more bucket for my hair."

"Of course, miss," the boy said and left once more.

She tried the mushiburo next, leaving her towel on a rack outside.

Someone cleared his throat to her left after she closed the door, and plunged in full darkness.

"Walk on the ridges," a deep voice said. "It's easier to navigate."

Nene toed the raised knobs under her feet. "Thank you," she called back to the room and started walking slowly.

"There's an empty spot five steps ahead," a young voice sounded from her left.

Nene counted and when she stopped, indeed, nobody cleared their throat. There was a movement to her right. Cold water splashed on her legs.

Nene gratefully sat down cross legged to sweat her journey out.

"Neesan," a young voice whispered next to her, "where are you from?"

"Yashiro," Nene whispered back.

"Awesome," the child whispered back, making her smile.

Someone shushed the child and Nene finally managed to relax.

When she deemed she had stayed enough, she got up and left.

There was nobody else at the washing stations, but there were three older women in the tepid pool, so she went there as well after dumping water on herself to clean her body of the sweat.

The women stopped talking as she entered, then smiled. "Good evening," one said with a smile. "Haven't seen you around here."

"Good evening," Nene replied friendly. "I just arrived in Konoha today."

"Where do you stay?" The blonde woman to her right asked curiously.

"Yaozoru-an," Nene replied.

There were knowing hums at that. "Hiroto-kun is quite the looker, isn't he?" The oldest woman grinned. "I live three houses down."

"Yaozoru-an no Ōya is certainly a dedicated landlord," Nene answered politely, ignoring the way her cheeks burned from embarrassment. "He knew I was a lodger before I had any idea."

The blond woman snorted. "Dedicated would be a good word to describe him."

"And what did you come here for?" The first woman asked again. "I'm Kaoru," she added. "I live on this street."

"Nene," Nene replied, bowing slightly. "I wish to stay in Konoha."

"Konoha is a very good place," Kaoru-san said with a smile.

Nene nodded. "This is why I chose it."

When she left the baths, she discovered the changing room was occupied. Two older men were undressing and folding their clothing on the same aisle as her.

Low moans and harsh pants sounded from the adjacent aisle as the racks swayed rhythmically. The slap of skin on skin and the squelching sounds were more mortifying than the cries and gasps. The men seemed unbothered by the sounds, acting as if they didn't hear anything.

Nene dressed as fast as possible and left without a backwards glance, followed by the shrill sound of increasingly loud moans.

As she got back home, the front room was empty, A futon was already spread out in her room, a sleeping yukata folded neatly on top of the covers. Three onigiri and a pot of tea waited on a tray on the table.

Nene smiled. Maybe Konoha was not that bad.

Tobirama perused the forms that were signalled to him, a ripped ouraitegata placed in front of him.

"What did you find, Hiroto?" He asked his cousin.

"Mifuji washed her back and told me she does not have the physical constitution of someone who is versed in fighting," he said. "Her reflexes seem in the normal range of a healthy civilian of her age. There was nothing incriminating in her baggage either."

"Except for the travelling documents mysteriously getting destroyed before the entry," Tobirama murmured. "Ask the contacts in Yashiro to confirm they have issued a passport to Hifumi Nene, and confirm her address and family."

"Anything else?" Hiroto asked. "I assume if she came to me…"

"I don't like how she answered some questions," Tobirama replied.

"The controversial carriage one?" Hiroto grinned.

"Seventy percent still choose to kill the two on the road," Tobirama said. "Meaning they understand that sometimes some must be sacrificed. But no, it's not that. Who puts rice over egg ?"

"Hifumi-san, apparently?" Hiroto asked with a grin.

"Definitely not taking this seriously," Tobirama murmured, displeased. "She also needs medical and basic chakra training."

"Not many shinobi in Yashiro," Hiroto agreed.

"And Yashiro is quite prosperous. She has no real reason to come here," Tobirama said. "Keep her under surveillance. She can start the mandatory medical training tomorrow. Leave the chakra training for after we find out what exactly is her identity."

"Understood," Hiroto said and left.

Notes:

Ōya l- landlord
Titles used to be used as names a lot, so Nene calls Hiroto by his relationship to her: Ōya-san; outside, so it's clearer, she also uses the building's name.

Mushiburo- steam bath, one of the first types in Japan, initially for monks.
Sansuke were male helpers who indeed washed and massaged people of both sexes and unlike yuna (the women working at the baths) were not associated with prostitution.
Bathing was mixed, although towards the end of the Tokygawa period there were mainly unsuccessful attempts to make it segregated. It only happened in Meiji.

Chapter 3

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Nene woke up disoriented for a few moments, until she remembered she was in Konoha.

She had been so tired, her brain had reset and she had expected to wake up at home.

She stretched luxuriously then sighed and got up. The sun was already shining and she had to start moving. Opening the doors to the balcony she stood a bit to admire the fiery hills in the distance and the countless rooftops that gleamed wetly in the morning light.

Looking down, she saw one of the young men from yesterday walk on the path towards the well. The courtyard was square around the house; she could see a third of it. It was the part that looked more like an overgrown garden.

"Good morning," she shouted down, receiving a wave and a return greeting.

Nene took out her futon to air and went down.

The mother of the children was there. "Good morning, Hifumi-san," she greeted with a smile.

"Good morning," Nene hesitated.

"Call me Mone," the woman replied with a short bow. "Are you hungry, Hifumi-san? I took over the task of cooking but if you wish to make something yourself.."

Nene shook her head. "No, no, thank you, I would be happy to eat whatever you have prepared if it is not an imposition."

"It is not," Mone-san smiled as she put rice and miso soup in front of her, followed by three dishes of different pickles and grilled fish.

"Itadakimasu," Nene murmured, then started eating. "Mone-san," she began hesitantly, "what-I just arrived yesterday and I did not get too much information…"

Mone-san turned to her, head tilted quizzically. "About?"

Nene made a helpless gesture. "Anything."

Mone-san's expression cleared. "Ah, about the rent."

Nene blushed. "Yes. And the food."

Mone-san hummed. "The rent is not big, actually, it's a negligible sum. Twenty silver sun a year."

"Twenty sun a year?" Nene repeated, dumbfounded.

Mone-san nodded. "Food included."

"But that's-" Nene made a frustrated sound.

Mone-san chuckled. "Quite unbelievable, right? This is not yelled from the rooftops, but it does get around. There are many poor people who come here, hoping for a better life. My family included."

"When did you arrive here?" Nene asked, curiously.

"Some eight months ago," Mone answered. She poured tea for both of them then seated herself on the low stool in front of Nene. "My youngest son, Sanjirō, was very ill. We came here as a last resort. And we never left."

Nene bowed her head in acknowledgement. "I haven't seen them today," she ventured.

"Ah," Mone said with a smile, "that's because Konoha does ask for something in return for the low prices. My husband is off to work."

Nene frowned. "Wouldn't he have worked anyway?" She asked.

"Of course," Mone answered lightly. "He is a good carpenter so they ask for him a lot. He is quite good at roof-making too, so he is very busy."

"Is he paid though?" Nene asked.

"A bit less than usual but yes," Mone replied.

"And do your sons help him?"

"Only for about half a day," Mone said. "The other half they learn." The proud and wistful tone with which she said that made Nene's stomach churn.

"That sounds good," Nene replied after a moment.

Mone nodded. "And I take care of Yaozoru-an. I cook, I clean, wash the clothes, whatever needs to be done around here."

"I'll help," Nene said immediately.

Mone shook her head. "You need to go to the hospital now, for your health check-up."

"Hospital?" Nene repeated.

"Like a healing ward, only much bigger," Mone said. "Go down the street, turn right and walk until the end. You'll see the hospital there."

Nene got up. "Thank you, Mone-san," she bowed slightly and hesitated. She should at least wash her dishes-

"Go," Mone told her with a smile. "I'll take care of it."

Nene bowed lower. "Thank you for the trouble, Mone-san," she said and left.

After quickly washing her face and teeth next to the well, she changed and left for the hospital.

Konoha's streets were clean, she observed as she walked; there was no garbage dumped on the street, even if it was a side-street. The surface of the road was smooth, as if it had been sanded and polished by an unseen hand. Was it because it was new, she wondered.

There were not many people around her, no doubt because it was mostly family homes and not businesses.

The sun had climbed higher in the sky when she finally got to the other side of Konoha to the hospital. The building though, did not seem right. It was old and decrepit in comparison to the rest of Konoha, overgrown weeds tangled on its porch.

"Are you looking for something?" A voice sounded next to her.

Nene turned to the side, startled. A young man, barely out of boyhood, looked at her suspiciously, the expression strange on a face still not fully out of childhood. He was dressed in dark, loose clothes. A jutte hung at his waist. The back of his hands was covered in armour.

"I am looking for the hospital, omawari-san " Nene replied, confused at the age.

The boy sniffed. "I'm dōshin," he said brusquely. "The hospital is on the other side," he told her, gesturing to the place she had come from.

Of all the stupid things, she thought irritably. "Thank you, dōshin-san," she said and started walking back quickly, cursing herself. She should have asked other people as well, not gone by Mone's instructions alone.

She heard the dōshin shout something but ignored it. She ignored it till the moment her wrist was seized and her advance was violently arrested, almost jolting her shoulder out of its socket.

"You dropped this," the boy sayd, showing her a small hairpin.

"That's not mine," Nene replied flatly.

The grip on her wrist tightened. "There wasn't anybody else there," the boy said.

"And I said it isn't mine," Nene said, trying to break his grip.

"I can interrogate you," the boy threatened. "And if you're lying.."

"Yukio!" A woman shouted.

The boy looked up. "Taichō!"

Nene looked up as well. A woman dressed similarly to the boy stood on the rooftop, expression stern. "Go back to your post," she ordered.

The boy straightened. "Yes, taichō," he said, letting go of her wrist. He disappeared.

The woman nodded sharply in her direction and jumped off on the other side.

Nene looked at her left wrist. The imprint of the boy's hand was painted in vivid reds and purple marks. She tsked and resolutely started walking once more. She had a reason to go to a medic now.

The hospital was big and noisy, with a constant stream of people walking in all directions. Despite the apparent chaos, she was quickly ushered into a small room that only had a pallet, a low table and a pot of tea of all things. A young man dressed in undyed clothes, his hair gathered in a bun turned to look at her.

"Sit," he said, gesturing to the pallet. Nene did so, putting her right arm on her leg, straight, wrist visible. The young man did not take her pulse though, neither did he ask her about her birthday, her humours or her medical history.

"Undress," the young man said as he kneeled right in front of her.

Nene squeaked. "What?"

"Undress," the young man said once more, slowly, hands raising slightly. If she looked out of the corner of her eyes, something like green light seemed to shimmer over his fingers.

Nene shifted back. "Aren't you going to ask about-"

"It's faster to see for myself," the young man interrupted. "I have more than fifty patients to see, miss , so I would be obliged if you hurried up."

"I apologise," Nene said as she slowly took her arms out of their sleeves. Still, she hesitated.

"Miss," the young man said, sounding exasperated, "I see naked bodies all day, I don't give a rat's ass what you look like underneath your dress. I just need to touch your skin so my diagnosis is correct."

Nene blushed, as she finally opened her yukata fully and let it fall to her waist feeling both annoyed and embarrassed.

The young man put his hands on either side of her head, looking intensely. Nene tried to keep her breathing even, trying to ignore how close they were. Yes, it was a medical checkup but it was very different from what she was used to, and moreover, she would have wanted a bit more delicacy and more explanations. But if the medic was that busy…

The man's hands trailed lower to her neck and then shoulders, making her skin and insides tingle from the buzz coating his hands. It was the first time someone had used medical chakra on her. She knew it existed, but it was strange seeing it used.

Mercifully, the exam was quick. The touch was detached but she still felt the warmth. She was hyper aware of callused fingers sliding on the sensitive skin stretched over her ribs, then lower on her abdomen.

"Who did that?" He asked offhandedly, nodding to the bruise blooming on her wrist.
Nene shrugged. "An overenthusiastic dōshin."
The medic stopped briefly. "Uchiha," he muttered in an irritated tone, then put one hand over her wrist. She felt an unbearable itch for a few seconds before the bruise and pain disappeared.
"Thank-"

"Please keep quiet," the medic said as he went back to her abdomen. Nene closed her mouth, teeth clicking.

When his hands encountered the clothes gathered at her waist he frowned. "I said undress."

"Can I not?" Nene asked, feeling even more mortified than before.

The medic sighed and went to her legs instead, working his way up under her clothes up to her hips.

"You're ovulating," the medic said offhandedly.

Nene threw him a confused look.

"You're in your fertile period," the medic clarified. "If you want to get pregnant, now's a good time."

"Oh," Nene said awkwardly. "Thank you?" It sounded like a question.

The medic took his hands away. "You can dress," he said and went to the table. "Report to Tanaka-san, she'll tell you what to do."

"Report?" Nene asked, confused. "I have to wait for the medical report?"

"You're healthy," the medic informed her. "But no, did you not get the orientation?"

Nene's blank look made him sigh. "You'll have a training period here for the first six months. Every day."

"What?" Nene asked nonplussed. "Is that part of the rent?" She continued, remembering what Mone told her. If it was true. Mone did lie about the location of the hospital.

"Yes," the medic told her. "Ask for Tanaka san. She'll tell you what you have to do."

Nene got ushered out while she was still arranging the collar of her yukata.

But I had plans! She said. The wall in front of her did not reply.

Notes:

Nene is used to more traditional chinese medicine, while Konoha is using something much closer to modern medicine. Except for chakra. And seals…

I remember it being a point in canon that shinobi died very young so most shinobi are quite young here as well. (I don't believe there were no older people in shinobi ranks, ofc, but since Kishimoto was so hell bent on making most shinobi have a live expectancy of 30, I am doing malicious compliance and using this. XD)

Omawari-san is a neighbourhood police officer in modern Japan
Dōshin was a patrolling officer in Edo period

Chapter 4

Notes:

Made the hospital use more modern stuff, although the tech is not there yet. The detergents are all natural.

Chapter Text

She turned towards the corridor and accosted the first person dressed in undyed clothes, asking where she could find the hospital staff member "Tanaka-san".

The girl switched course, offering to guide her. She threw Nene a kind look as she gestured for Nene to follow her. "Tanaka-san's just three corridors down at the end," the girl informed Nene with a kind smile and then hurried off in the opposite direction.

Nene carefully repeated the directions and counted thrice. Yes, she was in the right corridor. Just before she could arrive at the last door, it opened and she screamed in surprise.

She looked in horror. Up, and up. She had thought her landlord was big, but this person was even bigger, both in height and in girth. And the face that looked down on her- she was sure it was used by artists to depict the ultimate degenerate killer. It was a face she could easily imagine laughing while ripping kittens in two and stealing candy from kids. Before eating them. The kids, not the candy.

"T-tanaka-san?" She stammered, her voice a squeak.

The man? woman? looked down at her sinisterly. "New meat?"

Nene's brain short circuited.

"Grab a bucket and some rags from the storeroom, fill it with water and follow me."

"Storeroom?"

"To your right," Tanaka gestured impatiently.

She really did not want to make them wait, but also wanted him to wait forever. She took the first wooden bucket, she found, banging her fingers on its rim from haste and also took five washing rags and got out in the corridor once more.

"Water pump is in the next room," Tanaka said, pointing. "You need to press on the handle until the bucket is filled. Go," they barked when Nene stood frozen for a moment.

This was surreal, Nene decided as she watched the water fall gurgling into the bucket while she pressed on the handle.

She grunted as she took the bucket in her hands. The water sloshed as she hurried back to the corridor.

Tanaka started walking like a hulking predator and Nene followed in their wake. Down two corridors, a young man in what must have been the medics' uniform, the same undyed clothes, only his were splattered with blood and he looked ready to keel over from fatigue, stumbled out of a room.

"Operating Room 5 needs to be cleaned," he told Tanaka, looking relieved he saw them. "We have another surgery in two hours."

"New meat," Tanaka shouted. "Clean the room. If you need other stuff just go to the storeroom. I'll send Haru there to help you get your wits."

They left with the medic while Nene put the bucket down, opening the sliding doors in trepidation.

The smell hit her before the image. It smelled of blood and viscera, a sickeningly sweet smell of rotting meat. There were shuttered windows on the other side of the room, that she hurried to open fully and the room showed itself in all its glory. Blood streaked on the floor, on the operating table and there were bandages and rags soaked with drying blood. There was a severed finger there as well, blackened from gangrene, nail torn in two.

Nene held her breath until she left the room then ran back to the storeroom, for a bucket of water was definitely not enough.

She spied bags made of coarse linen and grabbed one of them, thinking it would be good to dump the clothes and bandages there. She wondered if they were used again and took another one.

Next, there was a bottle labelled concentrated vinegar. A lower rack had packets of sodium carbonate and borax. She assumed it was a packet for a bucket and took three of each.

What else did she need? A brush for sure, and probably more cleaning cloths…

The door opened and a slip of a boy, no more than ten years of age scurried in, a mop of curly hair adorning his head like a nest.

"Hello," he said, his blue eyes shining from under his thick curls. "I'm Haru."

"Hello," Nene replied, with a smile, "I'm Nene. Nice to meet you, Haru-senpai," she teased.

The boy grinned. "I'll tell you whatever you need to know." He checked the contents in her arms. "Seems in order," he said cheerfully. "We're cleaning room 5, aren't we?" He asked as he took a broom and slung more wiping cloths over his shoulder in a practised movement. Outside of the storeroom, he bent briefly to take his own bucket and started walking with fast, confident steps towards the nightmarish room.

"Are you alright with…blood?" Nene asked him as he flung the doors open without care.

Haru looked back at her. "I have been helping in the hospital since I was seven. I'm eleven now."

Nene hummed, trying not to show how the smell affected her. It felt even worse now.

"The smell doesn't bother me anymore," Haru said. "I'll take care of the bandages and the things on the floor. You clean up the operating table.

Here, let me show you how to prepare the solution."

Nene watched him as the boy mixed the packets of borax and washing soda, poured a cap of pungent vinegar and finally threw a handful of small yellow flakes of soap in the bucket.

They dissolved quickly as he stirred with a thin wood stick he had taken out of his clothes.

"There you go, Nene-san," Haru told her.

"Thank you, senpai," Nene smiled, trying to not make it sound like a grimace. She took the bucket, the brush and attacked the operating table with it while Haru put the bandages in one bag, the clothes and finger in another. Nene briefly felt guilty for letting him do the worst part, but Haru was apparently used to it and she wasn't. She would not have done a very good job if they'd switch anyway.

The water ran down in red suds that slowly lightened to pink and finally ran clear.

Nene wiped it one more time from top to bottom with a clean rag, thinking it was as good as it was going to get.

Meanwhile, Haru had managed to sweep the room as well and had changed the water in the buckets.

"The floor now?" Nene asked. Her skin itched like crazy and her knuckles felt scraped raw.

"Now the floor," Haru said with more enthusiasm than the situation warranted.

It helped that he maintained a constant chatter, telling her all about the hospital, its layout, the latest gossip about its staff and patients peppered with stomach churning stories she could have done without.

He was telling those on purpose too, she realised as she caught his wide smile as he described a particularly nasty gut wound he saw the day before.

She groaned. Kids his age would gleefully poke at any weakness they found in an adult. She'd never get away from gory stories if she did not think fast.

"You are very good at description," she told him, concentrating on the swishing of the brush. This blood spot was particularly troublesome. It seemed to go on forever, as if the very floor was bleeding out.

"Why don't we play a game?" She asked.

Haru perked up. "A game?" He asked, voice curious.

"Yes. We choose a theme, a word, but we do not say it. Instead, we start describing it through other concepts and we see how fast the other guesses."

"So like a riddle?" Haru asked excitedly.

"Something like that, yes," Nene smiled. "Thank you for changing the buckets," she added as she went there to soak the first cleaning rag in.

"No problem!" Haru chirped. "Will you start?"

Nene nodded as she took off her geta. The floor was cold. She put the rag down and started walking on her hands and feet, the wet cloth cutting a clean line on the floor.

"The cranes come back, the flowers bloom, mothers cut the heart mochi-"

"Spring!" Haru shouted.

"Close," Nene grinned. "It's you actually."

Haru ran lightly to her, his feet slapping the wet floor as he cleaned. "Let's race!" He proposed.

"You have more experience, senpai," she grinned, "so you will surely win. And I shall tell you a secret. After twenty years of living, your body starts shutting down. I used up all my energy before I was fifteen, so now I have to take it easy, lest I break down before I finish all the hours I'm supposed to do here."

Haru threw her a shrewd look. "Of course, Nene-chan," he chirped and took off, laughing obnoxiously.

"Nene-chan?" She repeated, amused and irked in equal measure.

"I'm your senpai, aren't I?" Haru shouted back. He went to clean his rag then started in the opposite direction.

"If you catch me, I will call you Nene-san."

Nene rolled her eyes and continued at the same pace. She did feint a sprint when Haru was crossing her path from the opposite direction, which made him accelerate even more as he shrieked and laughed, not knowing how far Nene would actually chase him.

The cleaning was more fun and ended faster than she had expected.

"I'll show you where we dump the used water," Haru said. "Come on."

They went to yet another room, with a narrower entrance. This room was fully tiled and on a downward slope towards the walls. There were racks full with flasks in the centre. Curved metal tubes went out from the walls. Haru made a beeline for the first one and dumped the dirty water into the deep gutter that was running along the inner wall. The water swirled out of sight almost immediately. Then, he turned a knob and water spurted out of the metal cylinder with pressure, spraying everywhere as Haru took the brush and started cleaning it.

Nene did the same, feeling the lower part of her yukata get soaked.

"Then we wash it with this," Haru announced and showed her one of the flasks. "You pour it on the brush and wash the bucket. Then we wash out the tiles and pour more of this disinfectant there. We wash our feet and geta as well," he cautioned.

"Do we fill them back with water?" Nene asked.

Haru shook his head. "Maybe later. We can leave them here for now. No, go to the storeroom and take two more bags then check all the rooms on this and the next corridor. Take all the bandages from the floor and put them in the bags. I'll show you where we take them afterwards."

She missed Haru as she went to take the bandages from various rooms. There were more patients than she would have thought. More bandages too, and more smells than she would have liked. She stuffed bloody bandages,m and tried not to retch from the occasional stench.

Despite the heavy load, she was happy to get out of the building with Haru and go towards the laundry site.

She had rejoiced too soon, Nene realised as Haru announced they'd take care of the bedpans next.

Putting new ones under their beds was one thing. Taking the used ones and not losing her own breakfast was something else. She was happy she had not eaten lunch yet.

She managed to follow Haru to a small interior courtyard where there was another washing station next to a dumping site.

"We dump this in the sewer," Haru explained, "then we wash them with these brushes here. We disinfect them afterwards then we wash our hands."

Nene nodded. She threw the disgusting mess into the sewer and went to wash the chamber pot.

She retched and vomited first, then dry heaved for the first two, eyes and throat burning. She felt nauseous any time she looked at it.

Haru looked at her worriedly, but scrubbed diligently at his own bedpan.

There were others coming too, but except for a polite nod, all were concentrating on cleaning their own stuff.

Afterwards, she cleaned her hands with a brush until her skin bled. She drank deeply from the well next to it, feeling tired and sick. There were still more than ten bedpans to clean.

"I'll clean the rest, Nene-chan, go in the outer garden and take a break," Haru told her worriedly.

"Thank you, Haru-kun," she said honestly. "I' try not to stay long. I want to help you finish washing these. It won't be fair."

She hurried to the garden while her stomach still flipped unpleasantly with every step and collapsed on the first bench. There were fragrant herbs sweetening the air, trees swaying in the gentle breeze, making the hospital seem a distant dream. It was the first tranquil moment in the day after she left the house.

"First day?" Someone asked in sympathy. It was an older man who walked stiffly towards her, chest bandaged. A patient.

She nodded

The man smiled encouragingly. "I had to saw off a man's legs for my first day," he chuckled. "And I was ordered not to hurl up or I'll get my own legs cut off."

Nene grimaced, unsure if the man was pulling her leg or not.

The man cackled. "I won't mind if you were the one to cut some body part," he said encouragingly, "I'd even walk you through the proper way to do it."

"That's kind of you," Nene said, disturbed, and left to help Haru. But the boy was already being helped by two other young teenagers, so she was asked instead to clean the halls in the east wing, which she did, thankful that there were just some mud streaks to clean.

It was evening, but she was still receiving chores, which she could not refuse. She restocked the storeroom, made a deep clean of the interior dumping site on the first floor, and washed countless buckets. It was clear they needed all the help, and she had no idea how long she was supposed to stay.

Night came, and with it, the rush of people petered out, but there was still work to do. Fortunately, it did not involve any more bedpans.

"Hifumi-san," she heard her landlord's voice. She turned, the five cleaned buckets in her hands clanking loudly.

"Ōya-san," she greeted tiredly.

Hiroto looked her up and down. "Why did you stay here the whole day?" He asked.

"How long was I supposed to stay?" Nene replied, confused. "Tanaka-san did not say anything."

"Hiroto!" Another voice called. She saw the medic from before come towards them, smiling at the other man.

"Asao," Hiroto replied, smiling broadly. He gestured towards her. "This is Hifumi-san, one of my tenants."

"Is that so?" Asao exclaimed, surprised. "Would not have thought."

"Why?" Nene asked.

"I thought his rooms were all occupied," Asao said, raising an eyebrow to Hiroto who shrugged.

"Had a vacancy."

"You don't look well," Asao observed, changing the subject.

"Apparently she worked since the Hour of the Horse and had no break," Hiroto interfered.

"Then you're done for the day," Asao said. "Wash thoroughly in the staff's showers and don't forget to use the disinfectant soaps," he said. "I'm continuing my rounds, Hiroto, but I'll wait for you at Tokoroden," he said in parting.

"I'll show you where the showers are," Hiroto said amiably. "And from now on, you should go check the water watch from the nurse's room. Your shift ends at the hour of the sheep if nothing else truly urgent crops up."

"Showers?" Nene repeated.

"A sort of standing bath that uses water pressure," Hiroto explained. "Almost half of the buildings in Konoha have water pipes; in ten years we'll finish the sewer system and have running water for everybody."

"Oh," she murmured. "We had water pipes in Yashiro."

"Then you'll like the showers," Hiroto said.

The showers were outside. Metal pipes ran along a wall with pocked round metal heads high up, like a sort of wilted sunflowers. There were knobs at her waist level underneath each of them.

There was a wide platform of wooden planks with gaps between them, probably to drain the water.

"Turn it to the right," Hiroto said as he gave her a soft brush and a solid soap. "The water will come out."

"What about the clothes?" Nene asked,They were absolutely filthy. She did not mention how she had used a faucet that day countless times. She knew how to use them now.

"I'll bring you your clothes from home," Hiroto promised.

"I can't wait that long!" Nene protested.

"I'll get them before you finish washing," Hiroto assured her with a grin.

Nene nodded and turned towards the showers in trepidation. She was glad to fling her clothes away, not even caring how exposed this was.

She slowly went to the third shower in a row and carefully turned the knob. Tepid water rushed from the metal sunflower with enough pressure to make her think she was under a waterfall, drenching her. She quickly turned it off, sputtering. Her skin hurt from the impact, but, indeed she already felt much more clean.

Her landlord was there after she washed, seated on the long bench facing the showers. Hand cupping his head as he watched her. Her clothes were on the table, neatly folded.

It was decidedly weird, Nene thought, to stand naked in front of her landlord who made no pretence at averting his eyes.

"I brought you a towel as well, Hifumi-san," Hiroto called, throwing it to her.

Nene caught it and wordlessly wound it around herself.

She approached the table cautiously. It was quite dark and the last thing she wanted was to stumble and get dirty again from a pratfall.

"Your left leg is slightly crooked," Hiroto remarked.

"The bones were not set well when I broke my leg," Nene replied as she took her yukata and turned around to slide it on her arms, over the towel. Then, secure in the fact that he was at least not seeing her, she hurriedly wiped herself off before belting up her obi.

"Are you hungry, Hifumi-san?" He asked after she turned to face him once more. His face did not betray anything. Not embarrassment at her pointedly showing him she had been uncomfortable, not a leer at the fact that he had seen her.

Nene remembered the bits and pieces and the smell . "No," she said, feeling sick.

Hiroto nodded in understanding. "Then I'll walk you home," he said easily.

"Ōya-san," Nene started as they walked together on the dimly lit streets, "is Konoha safe?"

"What do you mean?" Hiroto asked.

"If I walked alone, would I be safe?" She clarified.

"Of course!" Hiroto exclaimed. "There are a ton of patrolling officers, and moreover, if anybody sees something suspicious, they will interfere. This is mostly because you seem to have a bit of a problem with directions," he informed her.

"I must have understood Mone-san's information wrongly," Nene replied stiffly.

"Mone-san told you how you'd go if you faced the house. You calculated as facing the street." He smiled. "Do forgive her, it was not intentional."

Nene was too tired to start an argument with Mone either way, so she nodded and so passed the rest of the way in silence.

"Hifumi-san," Hiroto said, stopping her at the entrance door. "The others wanted to welcome you properly."

Nene paled.

"We have roasted duck," Hiroto said with an embarrassed smile.

She wanted to go to her bed. She wanted to sleep. She did not want to eat.

"Thank you for warning me, Ōya-san," she said, plastering a fake smile on her face as she faced the doors once more.

In the end, it was not the worst. She met Sanji, the middle aged man who was an umbrella maker, and the younger orphan boy, Kisuke, who walked with a pronounced limp from a heavy blow he had received to his right hip. He worked as a udon cook apprentice in Konoha after the dancing troupe he was with was killed by bandits. He had no other place to go, and Konoha had saved his life and his leg.

Mone's children were already asleep. She ate roasted duck that she had never liked, despite it being a famous dish from Yashiro, had to compliment the food and especially the duck and say it was indeed quite similar to that at home.

The others were so proud, so happy at managing to bring a piece of home for her to enjoy, she did not have the heart to tell them the truth.

Roasted duck was what you gave to outsiders in Yashiro. But few knew about this from those not born and raised there.

She did manage to excuse herself quickly enough, citing fatigue.

In the futon, the previous day flashed before her eyes. Nene buried her face in the pillow and gave a muffled scream, remembering the absolutely mortifying health examination and then the shower.

She had gone along with it at the moment, but now all the embarrassment flooded her at once. It was one thing to see someone naked when they all were washing. It was completely different to have someone trail their hands on her body.

For a moment, she wondered if she had made a weird face and groaned once more. Well, she thought, the medic had been clear that he was entirely too used to naked bodies and he was only seeing her in a professional capacity. And yet.

She wondered if she had been over the top when she had refused to undress completely. If she had made it weird.

No, it was no use thinking about it. The bedpands had been worse.

And then her landlord watched her while she washed. Shit. Was nudity normal in Konoha? Was she the weird one? She had not reacted at first, because the atmosphere had not been- weird. But now that she thought about it.

Her landlord watched her wash herself. Which sounded creepy now that she thought about it. Was she being overdramatic? Was this a cultural difference? Nene groaned, feeling a headache start pulsing in her head. No use worrying for now. She had to sleep.

She did not sleep.

For five days she went to the hospital from morning until afternoon; Haru was, mercifully, always there to help her, bright and full of energy all day.

In between washing floors from blood and vomit and piss and mud she asked him about his life. She told him stories from Yashiro. She taught him one or two children's songs.

Haru distracted her when they had to clean the bedpans and always offered to finish her part as well when she inevitably vomited until she felt her own stomach had ripped.

Nene tried. She really did, knowing that the person using the bedpan might well be her in another circumstance so she gritted her teeth, tried to not breathe or think too much, tried to keep the somersaults of her stomach under control and ploughed on.

Every day, the strongest sensations were the pain in her fingers, the acid in her stomach, the burn in her throat and the foul taste of bile in her mouth;

they lingered until she went to wash at the sentō, but always disappeared almost completely after soaking in the pools.

From the third day onwards, Tanaka-san gave her tea to settle her stomach, and it worked better than she had expected.

She still had difficulties not flinching any time he moved towards her.

The sixth day she went back to Administration to check on the progress for her papers and was ushered to a different room and asked to sit on a chair.

The sekisho officer she encountered at her arrival entered the room after her, closing the door with a finality that unnerved her.

"Inomata Nene?" He said, tone flat.

Nene groaned. She hated that family name, had moved to Konoha specifically to change it. And yet, it seemed the farce was over.

"Yes, that is me," she said, back straight. "I wish to change my family name to Hifumi" she said firmly.

The sekisho officer threw her an indifferent look. "You destroyed your ouraitegata and falsified your documents."

"My ouraitegata was an accident," Nene replied hotly. "And most people would try to change their name if they got one like mine! Yashiro ordered for common people to take a family name quite recently. My grandfather was thinking this was a farce! I don't want to be called Miss Boar Crotch!" She yelled, cheeks burning from anger.

The sekisho officer calmly waited for her outburst to finish.

In the ringing silence that followed, both Nene's courage and indignation deflated quickly. "So yeah," she muttered, "I want a more normal sounding name."

The man's lips twitched. "I can understand that," he said, sounding amused. "Your grandfather had a sense of humour. I imagine you told him all about it before leaving for Konoha."

Nene shrugged. "He died when I was five," she said, frowning. "My mother's grandfather lives with us now."

The sekisho officer drummed his fingers thoughtfully on the table. "Well," he said, "Nene-san, I guess you can have your name changed to Hifumi here. Usually you'd need a male relative to take on the name first, but we don't necessarily ask for it. But," he added, "that means you will become a citizen of Konoha from now on. You will no longer be from Yashiro. Inomata Nene is from Yashiro. Hifumi Nene is from Konoha. You won't be able to change it a second time." His eyes bore into hers. "Do you understand?"

Nene nodded.

The sekisho officer smiled, once more the friendly man she first met . "Very well then, this is all. You will receive your documents in two weeks at most."

"Is that all?" Nene asked curiously as she got up from the chair. Her heart beat faster in her chest, as she started to realise what happened. She had taken a big gamble on coming here, but it seemed it had paid off, at least in one respect.

"Of course, Hifumi-san," the sekisho officer replied, sounding amused. "That is all."

She was so happy, she immediately went to try and apply for approval of a business practice.

It all went well, until she saw the second page. "if you cannot provide prior clan lineage or business contacts" it said, then it asked once more for the personal information documents to be filled, followed by the inkan .

Nene reread it, incredulous. She did not have an inkan, because to get an inkan you needed the business first.

When she brought it to the clerk's attention, they simply shrugged. When she raised her voice, they pointed her to the complaint form which Nene wrote with a vengeance.

The next day, she was informed it could not be processed because "it was not filled appropriately."

She wrote it again.

It was once more rejected because she did not use the Konohan Standard Script form.

Nene had no idea it even existed. She hunted for the Standard Script, and five days later, she wrote another complaint in their stupid script.

It was rejected because it was not the right ink.

She wanted to strangle someone. The person who made the rules was the best; she wanted to stuff all her complaints down their throat, but in their absence, the clerk would do. She glared murder at the clerk and asked for the right ink.

She received an ink stick and went to work.

Then, she was immediately informed she had not managed the right colour so it was automatically rejected.

" Someone does not want to receive complaints," she growled as she ripped the rejected form herself. She wanted to cry. She wanted to kill something. Someone.

"Complaints are not received after the Hour of The Rooster," the clerk told her blandly as she marched up to his desk to ask for another form.

She left, livid, with the small satisfaction of having slammed the door on her way out and entered the first izakaya she saw, seating herself at the long counter. The place was almost full.

After five cups of sake, she started crying. "I hate this place," she told the cup morosely. "I hate the bastard who invented the paperwork," she sniffed. She poured herself another cup with a trembling hand. The shallow dish almost spilled over.

Nene lowered her head and sipped the sake without bothering to raise the cup.

"I want to stuff all the forms down their throat," she muttered, starting on increasingly detailed fantasies on what she could do to them. Stuffing them with the content of the refuse from the bedpans that gave her grief was number one.

She forgot what exactly happened next, but somehow, she found herself standing in an unknown room, head buzzing from the alcohol.

There was a white haired man seated at the desk in front of her who looked as if- Nene squinted and the thought poofed up in smoke. He looked constipated, she decided, watching as those red eyes narrowed, mouth pressed in a hard line.

Her skin prickled in goosebumps and she realised she'll probably die but the alcohol sloshed in her head too much to keep the sense of fear.

"I heard you have some complaints," the man said in a glacial tone.

Nene nodded, then immediately regretted it. "Yes, yes," she said instead. "I don't have an inkan and I want a business."

It was clear enough, she hoped.

"Not about that," the man said flatly, voice so low it seemed rather like a growl. "You had complaints on how I organise things." His eyes pinned her to the spot. The pressure in her head mounted to crushing vice. "Do you?" He asked.

Nene had a speech prepared. She had, after all, written about ten complaints to explain her plight. She had worded them politely.

But now, nothing of the earlier written eloquence remained.

None of her normal inhibitions remained either.

"You bastard," she gasped, pointing at him while she lurched towards his desk.

In hindsight, it might have not been a good idea to attack the Hokage's brother. She did not know who he was at the time though.

Chapter 5

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

She lurched towards the desk, intent on her target. The desk was quite wide, making the distance between them unacceptable so she crawled on top of it to better see her arch nemesis, disturbing some papers in the process.

She squinted. They were her complaint forms. "So you read them and then reject them for not being right?" She said. "Piece of shit."

She had never called someone a piece of shit to their face before, and now she started thinking about what that meant. "It means that you are made of waste," she said out loud, "and even if you might have some value as a potential fertiliser, most people just throw you away like garbage. In the sewers. At least here. Hmm you are like a used bedpan. That thing is so vile you just want to get rid of it." She nodded sagely, once more feeling dizzy. "So you are a used bedpan." Bonus point was that by this she implied he ate shit.

The man looked up at her. "Thank you for the fascinating insight in your thought process," he said flatly.

Nene nodded. "Yeah, you should understand the insult. Otherwise it wouldn't make any sense."

"What about bastard?" The man asked, eyebrow raised.

Nene thought hard. It was much harder to organise her thoughts than usual. "Bastard in the sense of asshole, the met-metaphorical sense, of a person you'd love to kick in the groin. Over and over," she replied in a dreamy voice as she imagined it happening.

"Is that so?" The man asked, sounding like nails on a board. "Attacking an official makes you liable for jail," he said calmly, pointedly looking at her. Nene shifted to a more comfortable position on the desk and blinked.

She remembered where she was. The person in front of her was the one making the rules so she better take advantage of the meeting. "I protest the unjust demands for starting a new business," she declared, feeling she had read it somewhere before. "I will stay right here to protest," she informed the man. "Until you let me do it. Otherwise you won't be able to work."

The man leaned back on his chair. "That would give you even more jail time."

Nene did not blink.

The man sighed then got up, effectively annulling her height advantage. "Come here," he said.

Nene jumped down the desk, almost breaking her legs.

"That was quick," the man commented from the door. "Weren't you planning on camping on the desk for the foreseeable future?"

"But you told me to come here," Nene replied, confused.

The man threw her a long look then turned around. Nene wordlessly followed him to an interior courtyard, lit by a circle of lanterns. A practice dummy stood in the centre, almost as tall as her.

The man took out a kunai and gave it to her, handle first.

Nene looked down and the handle, then up.

"Take it and stab," the man said, sounding impatient.

Nene wrapped her fingers around the handle dubiously. "You?" She asked.

"The practice dummy," the man replied sardonically.

Nene nodded and immediately went dizzy again. Why was she nodding all the time even if she got dizzy? She somehow always forgot.

She turned towards the dummy, walked towards it with small steps then stopped in front of it. Its straw head was slightly taller than her chin.

Right, she was supposed to stab it. She raised her hand and pushed. It barely got in. Hmmm maybe she was too close, Nene thought as she took two steps back. The tip barely grazed the dummy.

She took one step forward and started poking the dummy, feeling more and more enthusiastic. It was actually fun.

"Stop," she heard the man say, sounding pained. She turned towards him, head tilted quizzically.

"When you stab someone you put your whole weight into it, not just the hand," he said. "Try again."

Nene did.

"What are you doing?" The man asked, sounding annoyed.

"Putting my weight on it," Nene replied.

"You're leaning on the dummy while the hand that has your weapon still has no force behind it," the man replied, sounding as if he was gnashing his teeth.

"Is that bad?" Nene asked.

"I'll show you," the man replied exasperatedly. "Come here."

Nene shuffled closer. "Do you want the kunai?" She asked, holding it out to him, point first.

The man sidestepped and went behind her. "I see you're left handed," he remarked in her ear as his own hand enveloped hers.

Nene jolted. "Ouch," she complained. "You're gripping too hard."

"That's how hard you're supposed to grip it," the man snapped behind her. "You're not holding fried yuba skins."

"Now what?" Nene asked. They were ten paces away from the dummy.

"Now we run," the man said grimly.

"Wait " Nene shouted but it was too late. The man moved, a wall collided with her back and sent her forward. Her legs scrambled to keep up but she was still punted forward and crashed into the dummy.

"I think that's a tackle," Nene informed him with a groan.

The pressure on her left hand disappeared. Nene looked at her hand, resting against the dummy. The kunai was stabbed deeply approximately where the heart would be.

Working the kunai out proved harder than expected, but she managed, and this time, when she offered it back, the man took it.

He watched her for a long moment, his features blurred in the low light coming from the lanterns.

"Yukine!" He barked and the next second a young man silently materialised next to him.

He had dark clothing that made it difficult to observe him in the gloom. Nene spied a brief glint of armour at his hands. Another dōshin then, she thought.

"Take her to jail," the white haired man ordered. "For attacking a government official and impeding them from work."

"Threat of bodily harm with weapons as well, taichō?" The young man drawled in an amused tone.

"No," the other snorted.

"Interrogation?" The dōshin asked amiably as he took her arm.

"No need," the man replied.

The dōshin nodded and dragged her out of the courtyard and started walking at a brisk pace while Nene tried to process what happened.

"I'm going to jail?" She exclaimed two streets over, "but that's not right! I'm not a criminal!"

The dōshin smirked. "Yes you are," he said gleefully, "a heinous criminal that tried to sabotage the city administrator."

"But I don't-"

"You could have gotten three years," the dōshin informed her.

"But my family," she groaned, thinking in horror at the way this would sound back home.

"They won't be able to take you out earlier," the dōshin answered cheerfully. "There we are," he said as he ushered her inside a building.

Nene followed numbly, not really seeing much. She was going to jail. She wanted to cry.

"Head down," the dōshin advised as he pressed on her head. Nene stumbled into the cell through the low door and heard it click shut behind her.

"Wait," Nene asked beseechingly, desperately reaching out through the wooden grid of the bars.

The dōshin stopped.

"I need to go to the toilet," she said.

The dōshin pointed inside her cell. "You have a bedpan," he said with a grin.

Nene blanched.

Notes:

Nene fails at stabbing class and unbeknownst to her, shows a common trait with Tobirama. Both like teaching/explaining stuff.

Chapter 6

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Jail was boring.

Nene sat sprawled on the thin blanket, looking up at the ceiling in a light doze. Jail was utterly boring.

After the panic of the first night, the horror of being in jail like a criminal, the different horror of using a bedpan and the hangover she had the next day, nothing of note happened.

She had settled in the mind numbing rhythm of the prison. She woke up when the guard came to give her the water and food for the day and took the used bedpan and got a clean one.

She winced in sympathy at first. "Better you than me," she muttered, making the guard snort. She was glad she did not have to clean it herself.

Then, she was free to stay and look at the dust dancing in the cell until noon when she received a bucket and a rag and was told to wash her cell.

Then, another rag to wash her body.

They had not taken anything from her, but she didn't really have much. Had she known, she would have taken a bag of books to while away the time.

She felt mortified the first four days, looking gloomily in towards the locked door.

It was quite a bit cooler than her room in Konoha, so she must have been somewhere at least partly underground. She did get light from a small grilled window up in the corner of her cell.

The sixth day, her landlord came to visit. "Inomata-san," he greeted her punctiliously.

"Ōya-san," Nene replied dully. After six days of barely talking, it suddenly seemed too hard to talk.

"How is the food?" Hiroto asked.

Nene flopped on her belly. "Meh," she replied.

"I came to tell you I won't be your landlord anymore," Hiroto informed her. "You'll move into a shared house with another three people."

"Is this because I'm in jail?" Nene asked, head propped on her hand.

Hiroto shook his head. "I was a temporary assignment for you, Inomata-san," he said. "But we'll still see each other," he said encouragingly. "Is there anything you need?" He asked when Nene did not reply."

Nene snorted. "My freedom. Is there any way I can get out faster?"

"I'm afraid not," Hiroto answered apologetically. "You still have eight more days."

Nene buried her head in her arms and groaned.

"You have a visitor," the guard informed her on the eighth day.

"Mone-san!" Nene exclaimed, sitting up in surprise.

Mone smiled at her, looking worried. "How are you feeling, Nene-san?"

"Bored," she answered truthfully. "I'm glad you came."

Mone smiled slightly. "Hiroto-san told me you did not find the food very good," she whispered, "so I brought you something."

Both automatically turned to the guard who had retreated to the end of the corridor.

"Here," Mone said, carefully passing her a small furoshiki wrapped package. "Some onigiri. And here," she added, passing her a peach. It was so perfumed, it seemed to fill the whole room with its aroma.

"Thank you, Mone-san," she said sincerely. Mone smiled and left after an encouraging pat on the back of her hand.

Nene savoured the peach first, eating it bit by bit. It was the best fruit she'd ever eaten.

Then, she curiously unwrapped the small furoshiki cloth, admiring the colourful patchwork of silk. It was an assault to the senses, exactly what she needed in that moment.

It was one onigiri as big as her fist.

She started nibbling at it, then, as she got to the centre she stopped and started laughing. It was stuffed with roasted duck.

Mone-san, you are amazing, she thought. I'm sorry I ever thought you intentionally sent me on a goose-chase.

She admired the complex patterns on the furoshiki until it got too dark to see anything properly. She fell asleep with it clutched in her hand. It smelled of rice and fish.

The tenth day crawled even slower than the previous one. She felt as if the time was distending, so that she'd never get to its end.

"Visitor," the guard she never bothered to remember told her in a bored voice.

A hulking shape blocked the light. Nene gulped. "Tanaka-san?" She asked incredulously.

"Haru is waiting for you," Tanaka told her shortly before slipping in a small roll of paper then left without any further words.

She unfolded it. "Come back soon, Nene-chan," she read the sloppy hiragana characters, "your senpai misses you a lot."

Her eyes pricked.

The twelfth day was almost over. Nene daydreamed cake recipes, when the guard knocked his jutte on the bars of her cell to get her attention.

She raised her head, seating herself in a more upright position.

This guard was new, she observed, and white haired. She briefly wondered if he was related to the city administrator when the man frowned at her. "Did you hurt yourself?" He asked.

Nene looked up at him in incomprehension. "Not unless you count my feelings," she replied blandly.

The guard did not seem to taste her joke. "You're bleeding," he said flatly.

"I'm not," she replied confusedly.

"Do I have to come in and check?" The guard threatened.

"I'm not bleeding," Nene assured him louder. "I'm-" her voice trailed off. Moving had made her aware of a wet stickiness between her legs. "Wait," she stopped him, "I'm bleeding, yes."

The guard nodded. "Do you need medical attention?"

Nene thought about it. "Would that get me out?"

The guard shook his head. "We'd bring a doctor here."

"Just get me some clean cloth," Nene muttered. Just her luck, her period came during her jail time.

The guard hovered next to the cell after giving her a roll of bandages until Nene told him of her plight in descriptive terms. He left quickly afterwards.

The last day finally came and Nene was let out of her cell. She stretched luxuriously, thinking what she should do first. Wash? Go and take her stuff from Yaozoru-an? Go back home? She wondered if her name was changed already, making her a Konoha citizen. That would be a funny joke. On her.

A young woman with brilliant blue eyes and long black hair came to greet her immediately after she stepped out of the building.

Nene blinked, the rush of people, the sounds and smells overwhelming for a few seconds.

"I am Kaede," the woman said, her voice warm and sweet. She could listen to that voice the whole day without getting bored, Nene thought. "Nene-san?"

"Yes, I am Nene," she replied, bowing slightly. The outside seemed slightly scary now, making her halfway wish she was back in her silent cell. Which was ridiculous.

Kaede smiled. "I brought you a change of clothes, but we better go to a sentō first. I can't wait to wash," she added with a small self conscious laugh.

"Me too," Nene said with feeling as she fell in step at Kaede's side.

"We'll live together," Kaede told her, "I already got your stuff from Yaozoru-an. I teach chakra basics at the Academy. There's also Chiyo-chan, who makes pottery, and Fusa who is a gardener. I'm glad we got another girl," she said conspiratorially and Nene agreed.

She had five sisters growing up. Her father always joked that he lived in a women's land and Nene herself felt much better like that.

The sentō they stopped at was much smaller, with only seven washing stations and one medium sized pool of warm water. Helped by Kaede, Nene washed the past two weeks thoroughly, foregoing the water basin since she was in her bleeding period.

"I feel much better," Kaede declared as they got out and Nene agreed wholeheartedly.

The house she would live in from that day forward was much smaller than Yaozoru-an. The small garden in front of it was chock full of colourful flowers. Three jasmine bushes, a peach tree, a weeping sakura and a wisteria fought for space between them while the roof and walls had disappeared under a carpet of green.

"Fusa likes gardening," Kaede said with a grin. "I hope you're fine with insects because we do have a lot. Not many mosquitoes, don't worry. The birds and lizards take care of them."

Nene nodded and belatedly saw her old landlord waiting at the gate. "Kaede-san, Hifumi-san," he greeted with a smile.

Nene observed the lingering looks the two gave each other and felt a smile tug at her lips. So indeed she'd see her landlord often, apparently.

"I won't keep you," Hiroto said quickly, "just wanted to make sure everything was in order. Good-bye, Kaede-san, Hifumi-san." He nodded to both of them and strode away.

"Hiroto-san is quite the looker, isn't he?" Nene asked innocently, echoing the women's words from her first night in Konoha.

Kaede laughed. "Quite," she admitted with a grin. "Hiroto's taken, but I can give you other options if you want."

"I shall keep your words close to my heart and caress them before going to sleep," Nene grinned back.

"We're home!" Kaede shouted as soon as they got in. The room was hardwood, shining a rich reddish brown.

"Welcome back," a girl's voice sounded dimly from the other side of the house before the sliding doors opened and two more young women strode in.

One of them was easily as tall as Hiroto, her hair gathered in a tall bun on top of her head, making her even taller. Her hands were smudged with dirt. "I'm Fusa," she said with a smile.

The other girl was slightly shorter, but her features were so angular, her body so thin, she looked rather like a stake which someone had decorated with a head. "I'm Chiyo," she said, "we'll be sharing the room."

Nene froze, remembering she had forgotten to bring anything to her new house, but the girls waved away her apologies.

"Hiroto told us you were in jail," Chiyo assured her with a sharp grin, "so we did not expect anything. Rather, we got some tofu for you."

Nene reddened. "Let's hope I don't get back there again," she said fervently.

"What did they put you in jail for?" Chiyo asked after they all went to the kitchen and all presented Nene with a block of tofu on a plate, which she ate with her hands while the girls egged her on.

"Yukine-kun told me something about attacking Tobirama-sama but I think he was full of hot air."

Nene swallowed the last bit of tofu. "I got drunk, expressed my wish to murder the asshole who made it impossible for me to open a business, then as I met said person, called them a bastard and a piece of shit. In their face. Got two weeks of jail."

There was a moment of stunned silence before the girls started guffawing.

"I can't," Kaede panted, "you did what?"

"To his face?" Fusa chortled.

"One of Konoha's founders?" Chiyo giggled.

"Over the top, right?" Nene asked with a wry smile.

"Oh no, you got off easy," Chiyo assured her. "You could have been executed."

"What?" Nene yelped. "You're jesting," she said, eyes narrowed.

"I guess it depends on who says it," Kaede allowed. "But if you had the means to put your words into action, you would have not gotten off so easily."

Nene grimaced. "In Yashiro we made fun of our daimyo at least once a day," she grouched. "Not to his face, true, but there have been theatre plays that mocked him played in his court and if they are good, the actors are rewarded."

"Yashiro sounds like a fun place," Fusa said with a smile.

"Yeah, why did you leave?" Chiyo asked.

Nene shrugged. "I wanted a change of pace. And a change of name."

"Nene is a nice name," Fusa remarked.

"The family name," Nene said, wincing. "My grandfather thought it was a joke and called us Inomata."

The howls of laughter were just as loud as she had expected.

Fuss slapped her back. "That's one name that's going to make waves," she managed through peals of laughter. "Speaking of, I have a small welcoming present for you."

She left the kitchen and returned with an oblong object wrapped in a dark furoshiki.

Nene opened it warily then looked inside, feeling herself go red. Her belly tensed forcefully and she let out a loud laugh that shook her whole body.

"May your lover be half as big as this," Fusa told her with a saucy grin. "You'd be a happy woman."

Nene looked at the vegetable consideringly. "I'll make sure to measure it up," she snorted through giggles.

"And now let's eat," Chiyo proposed, rolling her eyes.

There was a chorus of agreement as they all got out and Nene took the opportunity to learn the layout of the room.

"Do you like cooking, Nene?" Kaede asked after Nene plied her with questions regarding their diet.

Nene nodded. "If you want, leave the cooking to me."

"That would be great," Chiyo shouted, "because Kaede only knows how to make miso and rice."

"At least I don't burn the rice!" Kaede shouted back.

"It was one time," Chiyo retorted.

"And I only know how to make pickles," Fusa said with a wink. "They're so good you don't need anything else though."

"Let's eat," Nene suggested quickly, sensing the birth of a lengthy debate when Chiyo opened her mouth. "I'm famished after jail."

The girls acquiesced easily at that, and all kneeled on the flat pillows next to the low table.

They had miso, rice and tofu, a lopsided omelette next to it. And fifteen types of pickles.

The chawan she was given was beautiful glazed Karatsu pottery, with sparrows in flight dotting its sides.

"It's yours," Chiyo said, then her lips curved. "Although, now that I know your name, I should make one that is more appropriate."

"Please don't," Nene muttered. "I really don't want to get reminded of my name."

"Have you tried the pickles?" Fusa asked as she practically covered her gohan in the pickles assortments. "Tell me which one you like best. I'll give you an extra jar to your room for when you feel like eating something."

"No food in the room please," Chiyo said, glaring at Fusa.

"But we are good with this," Kaede said with a smile as she proudly presented a sake bottle.

"May I remind you my problems started when I got drunk?" Nene asked drily.

"We're in this together," Fusa told her soothingly. "We'll go to jail hand in hand and keep each other company."

"I don't want to go back there," Nene shuddered. "It's mind numbing."

"We'll be together," Fusa corrected her. "It'll be like a party."

Nene laughed and raised her cup. "I'll make sure to keep you close then," she grinned.

"Kampai!" They cheered. The sake cups clinked against each other, the sake sloshing out from the force.

"Oi, Fusa!" Chiyo shouted.

Nene drank her cup and watched the ensuing argument with a smile. This place finally felt almost like home.

"One more," Chiyo shouted.

"I'll pour," Nene offered, and then enthusiastically raised the cup once more with them.

As evening fell, the smell of flowers entered the house from the open doors, together with the loud song of the cicada.

Notes:

Double update because tomorrow there will be none.

This was supposed to be shorter but new stuff appeared as I wrote…I'm not thinking a lot when writing this, which is refreshing. I only have the barebones, ofc, but apparently there's more meat on them than I initially suspected. Oh well.
So Nene is in a way out of the woods because she's no longer in the "keep close tabs" place; but was moved somewhere where she would feel very welcomed. Knowing so much personal information about someone can be scary~

Tobirama will appear next chapter, together with the paperwork XD. They are always together.

Chapter 7

Notes:

Ok, I lied. Had a bit of free time and managed to finish the draft.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The reunion with Haru was slightly embarrassing. Nene wilted under Tanaka's heavily disapproving stare as Haru hugged her tightly, telling her how much he had missed her. The boy's earnest words made her feel even more guilt.

The day passed easily, as she was temporarily moved to inventory, where she was taught what the general medicine was for and had to memorise the layout and the names of the countless boxes on the racks spanning from floor to ceiling.

After she was finished with her shift, she bought the most expensive fruits she could find then let her steps take her to Yaozoru-an.

Mone-san was there, mending her husband's old jinbei, but she received Nene gladly, waving away her thanks.

"Mone-san, because of you, I regret leaving Yaozoru-an," she said honestly.

"Oh?" Mone asked with a small laugh. "Not Hiroto-san?"

"Hiroto-san threw me out," Nene pointed out. "But it might have been better," she added with a small smile. "I do like it in the new place." She bowed formally, forehead almost touching the floor. "Thank you for taking care of me until now."

"Nene-san," Mone said, flustered, "please, it was no trouble at all. Please come visit when you have time," she added, "I would like to see you again."

"I will," Nene promised and left with her heart feeling much less weighty.

In the evening, Kaede called her to the main room with an official air.

"We are going to start your basic chakra training," Kaede said with a smile. "Do you know what chakra is?"

"Life force?" Nene asked. "Our family medic kept talking about gates and meridians and how they influence the body and help it get better; or if they are blocked, you get sick."

Kaede nodded. "That is quite good, although it is a passive observation of chakra inside the body. The energy can be harnessed actively, and it will improve your health long term and boost your body's healing ability; so we will try to teach you how to do that."

"Does anybody get taught this in Konoha?" Nene asked curiously.

"Yes," Kaede replied. "Long term, it makes for a healthier, stronger population so it is a good investment of time and resources."

"You sound like someone I know," Nene murmured suspiciously.

Kaede laughed. "Tobirama-sama? Your arch-nemesis, as you called him?"

Nene grimaced. "Sounds exactly like something he would say."

"He is right though," Kaede replied, amused.

"And that's even more annoying," Nene pointed out. "Let's start before I think too much about who thought of this and start subconsciously sabotaging myself."

"Very well," Kaede acquiesced. "The first exercice is simply meditation. Try to," here she snickered, "calm down, and find the ball of energy in your stomach. Try to feel as it moves through your body. It might not be obvious at first, but keep trying. What do you do to relax?"

"I usually read," Nene said. "Or daydream."

"Good," Kaede said with an encouraging smile. "For the next week, try to do this for one hour, before bed, or when you relax in the warm water pools. It would help."

"And after I learn that?" Nene asked curiously.

Kaede smiled. "You want to know the curriculum? After that, we try to actively push chakra into the coils, make it flow faster, and make it go in larger quantities towards a certain body part. It's a bit like training a muscle. After you can do that, we will do some simple exercises."

She made a few signs and suddenly Tobirama, as she found out he was called, her arch nemesis, stood in front of her. Nene jerked back in surprise. Tobirama gave a very uncharacteristic smile then changed to Kaede once more.

"What was that?" Nene asked, shocked.

"That is a henge," Kaede said. "An illusion made with chakra. If you have enough control over your own, you can disrupt your channels and make the henge go away."

"Wait, so I never know who I'm talking with in Konoha?" Nene asked in horror.

Kaede shook her head. "We don't use henge in Konoha as a rule of thumb. Use of henge when interacting with civilians, unless it is a police inquiry or during a lesson, is prohibited."

Nene relaxed marginally. "So it is not a big chance," she said thoughtfully. "But it's not zero. How do I know?"

"This is why you need to be able to dispel a henge," Kaede replied. "There are always some who break the rules."

Nene nodded.

"Now," Kaede said as she put three narrow strips of paper with swirling calligraphy written on it, "do you know what these are?"

"Some sort of Konoha Standard Script for a certain form?" Nene asked drily.

Kaede shook her head. "These are exploding tags. Be very careful if you see one. They can be activated in various ways. The first one is injecting chakra into it then throwing it towards the target. They usually take between two and five seconds to activate, depending either in chakra input or in how the tag's sealing is written. More curved, looping lines means more time. Less lines, less overlap, means very little time, although there are some who can bypass it if they have very good chakra control. And then the tag explodes in your face."

"Right," Nene said. "I won't touch them."

"Then, they can be activated in the air as well by more experienced users," Kaede continued. "Or, they can be triggered by something. They are used as traps."

"Wonderful," Nene muttered. "How strong is a tag?"

"A non-enhanced civilian, as in somebody not using chakra to strengthen their body, can be killed by one tag from ten paces."

"And enhanced?"

"Eighty percent chances of survival from three paces."

"I'll run then," Nene promised.

Kaede nodded. Then put a rolled piece of fabric on the table. As she opened it, Nene saw different throwing knives attached to the inside part.

"These are rhomboid kunai," Kaede said, pointing to the first type. "They come in various sizes. If you see any weapon lying around, you should preferably not touch it. Some have poison on their blade and even a small nick from careless handling might kill you. Also, others have exploding tags attached, like this one."

Nene nodded. "So between a kunai and a sharp rock I'm better off with a sharp rock."

"Or your own kunai," Kaede replied. She untied one from its place and showed her the correct grip. "You relax your wrist and throw it like this," she said, mimicking the motion. She held the kunai to her. "Now it's your turn."

Nene took it carefully. "Shissei's kunai was bigger," she observed.

"Shissei?" Kaede repeated. "Ah, you mean Tobirama-sama?"

Nene nodded with a faint grimace.

"You can use his name, you know," Kaede said teasingly.

"We don't really use the names of officials in Yashiro," Nene muttered.

"Or just the names of people you don't like?" Kaede asked with a smirk. "So his kunai was bigger, I see."

Nene frowned at Kaede's insinuating tone then raised an eyebrow as she gripped it tighter. "Yes, and his was thicker as well," she deadpanned.

"I'll report that to him," Kaede snickered.

Nene's face fell. "Please don't, I don't want to go to jail again."

"Why would you get in jail?" Kaede said innocently. "You were complimenting."

"I was implying he's compensating," Nene smirked viciously.

Kaede laughed. "Well then, your secret is safe with me."

"You have my undying gratitude," Nene said formally. "Kaede-sensei."

Kaede snorted. "Now, let's continue. These are shuriken, a bit harder to throw but you should see the kids, they do some really creative acrobatics with them. If you see any throwing practice academy class you're going to be spoiled for fun."

"Will I also have a throwing class?" Nene asked as she moved her hand in the motions.

Kaede nodded. "From next week, yes. Hiroto will be there as well, to test you."

"He'll look at you," Nene laughed. "If I tell him something nice about you he'll pass me immediately."

Kaede tutted. "Don't count on me," she warned.

In her third month of Konoha, she had her second major shock. For the past month she had moved on from inventory to accompanying various medics on simple medical checks, the odd simple bone setting.

One day Tanaka-san came and casually called for her after lunch. Used now to his presence, she forgot to be on her toes and entered the room with a cheerful air.

A man smiled back. His thigh was split open to the bone, blood gushing copiously from his leg.

Her automatic attempt to flee was arrested by Tanaka-san's implacable advance forward.

She was taught the arteries and muscles and nerves inside the thigh as the medic and Tanaka worked and Nene tried to keep her lunch in her stomach.

She looked at the man's face, trying to encourage him somehow, but he was smiling and nodding along to the explanation, giving Nene pointers and anecdotes. It ended up with him calming her down.

It was her introduction to the messy part of medicine.

She had to hold someone during a surgery, busting her lip during her efforts at restraining and spraining two fingers.

She was taught how to put bandages and then change them; for the next two months, her days rolled like the unending rolls of fresh and used bandages she saw all day at the hospital.

In the evenings, she threw kunai at a small target, happy to see her aim improve from twenty percent to sixty. The target was always in the same place, but she did not care much.
Before bed, she tried sensing her chakra, unsure if the warm feeling in her belly was her pulse or what she was looking for.

She sent her first letter home, trying to make it all sound like a comic story. She profusely apologised for the shame she brought her family by being put in jail and then told them all about her new friends, and very little about her enemy.

Only when she gave it to the courier did she wonder if it would get checked before being approved. She tried not to think about it. Her family's reply would give her the clues.

One day, as she cleaned an operating theatre after a surgery, humming slightly as she brushed the blood away, a shinobi stumbled in through the window, stepping towards her on unsteady legs. She looked at him in horror.

The room was contaminated. She learned about it, why wounds must be clean and how easy it is to make one wound fester through careless contact.

She shook the broom at him. "Get out," she yelled.

The shinobi, one arm hanging awkwardly, face bloody and confused, jerked back, hitting his head on the edge of the table while trying to avoid her broom.

Nene winced at the impact but she was also contaminated so she definitely could not touch him.

"Tanaka-san!" She screamed, scrambling in the corridor, "heavily haemorrhaging patient in Room 6!"

Fortunately other nurses and medics rushed inside, the first one stumbling on the broom handle she had left on the floor, while Tanaka's rampage upturned the bucket, sending all its contents on the floor, in time for the nurse to slip on it and slide to the table faster than anticipated.

Nene watched from the door in horrified fascination, feeling hysterical laughter bubble up her throat.

The patient was summarily rushed from Room 6, Nene wordlessly stepping aside to make way for them then went back to cleaning the room that looked three times worse than before.

She had expected yells and punishments. Instead, they started making fun of her.

Her colleagues, she could understand but worse were the patients. "Get out!" They all shouted as soon as she entered the room.

It lasted for a full week. By then, she had learned her lesson.

One cold winter afternoon, she kept Fusa company who sewed a tear in her yukata while Nene wrote her third complaint of the week.

It had taken her two weeks after getting out of jail to restart.

She was a master now. She was sure she was doing it exactly how it should be so Tobirama must have been reading them. He had to. She understood him better now. He could not leave something like that unattended, so she gleefully increased his load as much as she could.

Who was she to keep him away from the paperwork he seemed to love so much.

She complained about stupid things mostly, like the running water in the hospital being too hot or not cold enough to properly make the detergents. That she had to wait too long to clean her bucket. That some of the patients refused to take their medicine and she had to shove it in. That some patients apparently thought they were being clever and tried sneaking out before their time was due.

She described the bedpans' contents in detail, complaining of the patients' diet.

She complained of the food, of the noise, all things she didn't mind at all, or not overmuch, but she had to write a long enough complaint and put enough things there that Tobirama was forced to check.

They came back all rejected, of course, but she did not care too much. She had other goals now.

She once tried to send a cake sample, but it came back untouched, once more for not being as per regulations.

She wanted to strangle him. And now, thanks to Kaede's classes, she knew how to do it much better.

She marched the next day to his office, had an embarrassing moment when she realised she had no idea where it was, then winged it and was sent to five different locations because Tobirama apparently moved that much.

She was stopped from finally hounding him because she did not have the appointment. She considered hurling the cake at his door, but could already see herself in jail again, so she simply, ostensibly, threw it in a garbage bin in front of the building. With a few choice words loudly said. To the cake, of course. The fruity bastard was the cake. Nobody else. She had learned the term plausible deniability and she was going to use it.

She had no idea what to complain about that day, so she remembered that first trip at the public bath and said she went to the sento to wash and not hear people having sex in the changing room. She layed it thick, underlining the shock to her poor sensibilities, the awkwardness, what if they would have been right next to her basket?

She vengefully wrote of germs and fluids and transmissible diseases and even researched a bit to write a comprehensive horrific description of what could happen to her if she got something like that indirectly.

She looked proudly at her neatly written complaint, nodding sagely. It seemed to be in order, she thought absently, accidentally drawing a line on her chin as she absently put the brush to her lips.

"Trying to get someone's attention?" Fusa called to her amusedly.

Nene grinned and drew two more lines on her cheeks. "Go to jail for impersonating a government official," she declared in her deepest voice. It was embarrassingly squeaky.

Fusa looked at her appraisingly. "Your hair is not quite up to the task," she said finally. "Let me do your hair."

Chiyo came in exactly when Fusa put the finishing touches on her lopsided half bun.

"You need your eyes and lips done," she informed Nene and brought a box that seemed to have unending small jars and pockets then attacked Nene's face with a vengeance

"What are you doing?" Kaede asked curiously as she entered the room with a spring in her step. She looked at Nene consideringly. "I have a layered kimono that would fit much better," she announced, and came back with a juuni hitoe set in whites, blues and greens.

Nene looked in the mirror after all was done.

"Wow," she said as she turned every which way, "clothes and make-up do make the person. I would totally try to do me," she said with a grin, covering her face demurely with the folding fan Fusa had lent her.

She walked around the room to hoots and cat-calls from the girls, and started an impromptu comedy piece from Yashiro, singing the story of the roasted duck and the hungry noble with all its exaggerated screams and flailing gestures.

She almost face planted on the floor a few times, but it seemed to have elevated the performance even more.

The evening ended with a drinking game that Nene lost spectacularly.

The next day she was tired and slightly hungover as she made her way to the hospital, dreading the smells of the day.

"Get out," Tanaka told her after calling Nene to the nurse station. "Your traineeship is finished. See you in a month."

Nene nodded dumbly while Haru hugged her and asked her to still visit because he'd still miss her.

She went back home still in shock, and found a paper on the low table in the main room. Her rejected complaint form.

She took it, ready to automatically throw it away when she saw that it did not have the rejected sign.

She opened it, nonplussed. The note informed her that the matter would be settled quickly and that there will definitely be no repeat.

She was so surprised she wrote a letter to thank him in her next complaint form.

She received it the next day. Rejected, it was written by Tobirama's hand, for not complying with regulations. She knew it was his because the red inkan shone with the shissei's characters.

She laughed, then her laugh petered out when she read that she was called in to have a meeting regarding her business in Konoha.

The next day, Nene marched in the shissei's office, papers ready.

Notes:

Shissei: a word for administrator, governor.

The final battle draws near! Who will win, I wonder.

Chapter 8

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"How much paperwork do you have to fill in order to kill a Konoha citizen?" She asked out loud, when he did not deign to read the papers she had brought.

Tobirama's lips pressed in a thin line. "Konoha Registration Number 67.821," he snapped.

Nene blinked.

"We are here to discuss your job."

"My job," Nene repeated, ready to defend herself and her business proposal to the last drop of blood. "I applied for approval of a new business," she said. As you're perfectly aware. "A cake shop."

"We need teachers," Tobirama replied, fingers drumming on her files. "And you have experience. Moreover, both your parents are teachers."

"I am here to open a cake shop," Nene insisted stubbornly. She had written over a hundred appeals, she was not budging now.

"You can have two classes, mainly on letters and literature," Tobirama continued.

"And I will be Inomata-sensei?" She asked in poison sweet tones.

"Your name change is approved," Tobirama replied gruffly. "Hifumi-san. I doubt anybody would go to a cake shop whose owner is called Inomata."

Nene narrowed her eyes. "I was not made aware."

She saw Tobirama go still.

She cocked her head. "I was initially told it would take two weeks, but then nothing else happened."

Her voice got sweeter and sweeter with each word. She could smell blood.

"Shissei-san?" She asked sweetly. "I need a complaint form. You are obligated to provide me with the necessary implements."

Tobirama wordlessly gave the form, brush and inkstone. Nene started writing as slow as she could, taking great care in how she formulated things. She dragged it for as long as possible, but regrettably it had to end. She signed her name and gave it to him with an insincere smile.

Tobirama put it away.

"Aren't you supposed to read it?"

"There is a thing called priority of tasks, and secondly, I already know what you have written. Your face is very expressive." Tobirama got up. "I'll show you the Academy. I also teach there two days per week."

"I want a cake shop," Nene repeated. Would sticking a kunai in his brain with the words "I want a cake shop" engraved on its blade make him understand? She wondered.

"Your contract is for ten years, Hifumi-sensei," Tobirama replied calmly. "We received glowing reports from Tanaka-san and many other parents with children that you instructed unofficially while they were in the hospital. After that, if we find an adequate person to take your place, you might be able to open a cake shop."

"Ten years?" She shouted, horrified.

Tobirama opened the door and gestured for her to get out. "You can consider it a tax for bringing a defective ouraitegata," he reminded her. "You modified official documents. You did not think that would slide, did you?"

Nene bowed. "Fuck you," she hissed through her teeth, and smiled politely as she straightened and their gazes met once more. She would have been too well mannered, too scared probably to do that when she had arrived in Konoha, but the paperwork had done her in.

"After you, Shissei-dono," she said politely.

"You can call me Tobirama-sensei, Hifumi-sensei," Tobirama replied, gesturing to her to get out in front of him.

"I could never be so familiar," she retorted with a fake smile as she left the room.

Tobirama followed like a damn oni. She had found out more about him since she started living with the other girls, and the moniker seemed especially fitting today.

Fuck you fuck you fuck you she chanted in her head.

"If you want us to have intercourse that much, I will have you fill in the appropriate paperwork," Tobirama said. "I'm sure it could be arranged."

Nene threw him an incredulous look as hysterical laughter bubbled in her chest and erupted in an undignified snort that was followed by painfully strong guffaws that left her breathless, gaze blurry from the tears streaming from her eyes.

Finally, she wiped her nose and eyes and cleared her throat. A few deep breaths and she was mostly calm.

Tobirama watched her impassively. "I'm glad you feel better, Hifumi-sensei. We will proceed."

"Wait," Nene croaked, "don't think everything is magically solved because you made me laugh once! You're a total piece of shiiiinobi," she back-pedalled, remembering the slander paragraph. No, despite not being traumatising, jail was mind numbingly boring and annoying. She'd do that only if she wanted forced bed rest.

Tobirama turned to watch her with a small smile. "Fill in the necessary paperwork and you might find out more," he repeated dryly.

"If I see one more paper, I shall resort to arson," she threatened.

"Arson can be punishable by death," Tobirama reminded her calmly.

"Screw you," Nene muttered, wanting the violence to be expressed somehow.

Tobirama threw her a small slip of paper.

Nene unfolded them with foreboding. It was the name of the famous roasted duck place, and the hour of the monkey.

Nene ripped it savagely in little pieces and pointedly threw it in a garbage bin.

She smiled brightly. "Thank you, it helped."

Tobirama threw her an unimpressed look. "You do realise we're going to be colleagues. We will have teacher meetings. Tonight we'll meet at Tokoroden so that all teachers know each other. Or rather, so they know you."

Nene sighed. "What are the chances I can leave Konoha?" She asked resignedly.

Tobirama smiled. "Why would you want to? We have the perfect opportunity for everybody. The best medical care! The cleanest village. The safest village. Prosperity. Safety."

"And paperwork," Nene muttered as she followed him.

The Academy was quite impressive, and she let herself be engaged by the obvious enthusiasm Tobirama showed when describing the classes and the grounds.

The Academy sprawled in several buildings with no less than ten training grounds ranging from orderly obstacle courses to overgrown weeds for stealth training. Today it was all unusually quiet, because the students had a week off.

The Hour of the Monkey came faster than she expected it to; they went together to the lauded roasted duck restaurant where ten other teachers already waited. Nene smiled at Kaede, relieved to find a familiar face.

There followed the usual round of introductions while Nene tried to keep up with the names. There were six men and four women, five with her, making for a surprisingly balanced ratio.

In Yashiro, most teachers were women. But, she supposed, as she eyed some of them, the training they did would warrant shinobi. Fortunately, the food soon came and the discussion petered out to small pleasantries with the closest neighbours.

Nene was happy to find herself next to Kaede. Her neighbour on the right was Takahashi-sensei, an elegant woman that taught the more advanced classes.

The meal mostly ended, Nene was moved from one place to another at the table to talk with each teacher, once more introduced and accompanied by Tobirama.

While welcomed warmly, she still felt out of sorts, the day in which her future was decided feeling stretched long and thin.

Thr teacher she would assist for the first month, Senju Daiki, was a middle aged man that seemed to always judge and mock the other person. It was in the way his gestured and words seemed slow and deliberate that made her second guess anything he said.

After ten minutes in his company she felt like a student that had failed a simple test.

She left to go to the kawaya as fast as she could, then sat on a bench outside, watching the light of the lanterns dance in the night next to the building, about twenty paces off.

The garden was dark where she stood, but it felt peaceful.

She was not alone for too long, for soon Tobirama came by. "You'll start orientation tomorrow," he remarked, seating himself on the bench as well.

Nene sighed.

"Konoha is new," Tobirama started, voice soft. "We must all make sacrifices for it. But it will not be in vain. And Konoha does not just take. It protects you. It will make itself your home. It will receive you gladly."

He threw her a wry look. "You know you are safe here, for otherwise you would not dare threaten me with bodily harm with impunity. Did you feel safe enough to do that in Yashiro to someone of similar standing to mine?"

Nene frowned. "Maybe," she admitted. "But I did not dare." She turned her head towards him slightly. "I know you won't do anything until the paperwork is done and filed, and approved," she said, trying for a joke.

Tobirama gave a short laugh. "See? You already know the answer. We need rules, " he added kindly, "for we are many and many of us have met on the battlefield before, we have killed each other. It is not easy to stay long in the company of those you were taught to hate; for a short while, perhaps, but a lifetime needs commitment."

"Sounds like marriage," Nene observed, amused.

Tobirama inclined his head. "It is, in a way. And we need these rules. We will change them when we feel they are no longer needed. But for now, we all need assurance, and we all need to know exactly what we can and cannot do. We need to be told how to do it right."

"Getting someone to help with filing would be better," Nene commented.

Tobirama smiled. "It's one of the tests, so no. Also, a shinobi village needs an extra layer of caution that would not be needed in another place."

Nene put her knees up, embracing her legs with her arms, resting her chin on top of her folded knees. "Will I have to write reports?" She mumbled.

"Every day," Tobirama assured her.

Nene groaned.

Tobirama chuckled. "You will come to enjoy these meetings after work," he said amusedly. "You teachers will grumble together about children, will boast about your pupils, and will guide the new generation to become true citizens of Konoha."

"Even me?" Nene asked sceptically. "I was accused of treason, had my background searched with a fine toothed comb, I want to open a cake shop and I might want to leave."

"Konoha is about giving chances," Tobirama replied, sounding amused. "And I think you enjoy teaching. And nothing impedes you from selling cake now and then."

"Except paperwork," Nene grumbled.

"I'll help you with that," Tobirama promised, his hand on top of her fingers.

"And complain about my reports," Nene retorted without much heat.

Tobirama's hand squeezed hers gently. "Coming to Konoha by yourself was very brave." He smiled. "Those that are alone and vulnerable, we want to take care of them, like family would. It is my and my brother's dream."

"You must be a tyrannical older brother," Nene murmured.

A shadow passed over Tobirama's open face. "Indeed," he said quietly, wistfully. "I guess I have many younger siblings to take care of." He said, looking at her.

Nene curled an eyebrow. "And yet you propositioned me?" She grinned, cackling when Tobirama went slightly pink.

She put her feet down, moving Tobirama's hand. Somehow their fingers tangled together but it was cold and his hand was warm so she did not care overmuch or feel the need to disengage.

"I guess I'll start small with the cake shop," she said carefully.

Tobirama nodded. "You can bring some for the teachers' lunch," he proposed.

"I'll sell them to you, Kocho-sensei, at inflated prices," she grinned. "You better buy them every week."

"I will," Tobirama replied amusedly. "After I read your reports."

Nene tsked. Tobirama laughed, a light sound that swirled towards the blinking stars.

Konoha was about negotiating. Nothing came easily, but she could win.

Tobirama snorted then suddenly straightened. "Anija," he called.

Nene straightened as well and saw two other shadowy figures coming towards them, contouring in a tall man with an open face and a shorter one with wild black hair.

She looked at the two men, trying and failing to reconcile the stories which seemed more myth than reality with the two persons in front of her, flesh and bone like her, too small for the weight of their importance.

"Hokage-sama," she said as she got up and bowed, "Uchiha-sama."

The Hokage smiled and gestured for her to sit back down, seating himself next to her.

"Hifumi-sensei, teaching literature and letters to classes three and five," Tobirama introduced her shortly. "She will start assisting Daiki-sensei from next week."

The Hokage smiled broadly. "It is a delight to meet you, Hifumi-sensei," he said warmly. "We need good teachers for the new generations, don't we, Madara?" He asked, turning towards the Uchiha Clan Head who had remained standing.

"Indeed," he replied in a deep voice.

"Won't you sit?" Hashirama continued, watching the other man intently.

Madara snorted. "Where? In your lap?"

Nene immediately got up. "I think I am a bit chilly," she lied with a self deprecating laugh, "I think I should go inside."

"So soon?" Hashirama exclaimed. "We did not intrude, did we?" He continued, tilting his head towards Tobirama who rolled his eyes. He smiled at her again, gesturing to the Uchiha. "We have someone who can make you a fire," he smiled.

Madara crossed his arms. "And then your little brother would accuse me of arson and destruction of property and we'll have a mess. No thank you."

Hashirama hummed thoughtfully. "You could burn my mokuton," he offered with a grin.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama, Uchiha-sama, but I will go inside." She bowed and suddenly got an idea. "Hokage-sama do you like cakes?" She asked.

Hashirama looked at her with a bemused smile. "Yes," he replied.

"Don't bother," Tobirama interfered, "you won't get the approval that way. I'm the one stamping them."

Hashirama laughed good naturely. Nene took it as her cue to go and excused herself.

A young dark haired man in a dōshin uniform passed her by, going in the opposite direction.

"Izuna," she heard Madara greet warmly, the other words lost in the sound her footsteps made on the pebbled path.

In the end, she did not go back inside, opting to go to the other side of the garden, stopping at a gnarled wisteria tree that looked eerily similar to one she had at home in Yashiro. She sat on a tree trunk, legs swinging absently as she wondered what her family was doing. Slowly, the cold crept upon her spine, crawling with cold fingers from the rough bark under her clothes. There were no other people wandering around, but of course, after a while Tobirama came once more.

"Soon it's going to snow," he remarked.

Nene nodded.

"There will be a winter festival in Konoha," he continued. "Most clans have their own tradition, but bringing them together will be during the winter festival."

Nene grunted in affirmation.

"Do you have any traditions from home you'd wish to be represented?" He asked.

Nene looked at him. "Why? There are not many people from Yashiro."

"Indeed," Tobirama replied, "but they all matter."

"Then no roasted duck as festival food," She said categorically. "I prefer fish."

Tobirama leaned on the trunk, next to her. "There will be fireworks as well," he continued. "Good opportunity to relax."

"Except for those organising it, " she pointed out drily. "Did you come here to make small talk because I looked lonely? Or you are simply taking your role as the organiser of the meeting very seriously?"

"Being away from family must be hard," Tobirama said.

Nene turned to watch him better. "Do you always feel the urge to help people in need?"

Tobirama shifted. "It's normal to take care of helpless persons if you have the means to," he pointed out.

Nene snorted. "I think that for you it's a bit more than that. You even corrected my complaints in the beginning in red ink…and now I'll be using what I learned in the Academy."

"You had practice," Tobirama nodded, sounding amused.

Nene inclined her head slightly and felt something cold touch her nose. "It's snowing," she said, her breath pluming white in the still air as she watched the snowflakes dance down to settle, cold on her cheeks, eyelashes, and hair.

She let her mind wander as she watched the snowfall pieces falling into place, rubbing her fingers idly. That day had been long and it seemed that even Tobirama was prone to make mistakes. He had forgotten about the name change.

A snowflake tangled in another, sending both on the ground in a dizzying fall. She stood straighter. Tobirama to forget something?

"How come you forgot to forward the name change?" She asked, her voice sounding loud in the stillness.

Tobirama turned to watch her calmly. "These things can happen."

With anybody else she could believe it. With Tobirama, it became a certainty. "Did you forget or did you forget?" She asked, more and more suspicious.

Name change would mean- it would mean a greater chance of getting her original proposal accepted because at that time she was not yet considered a good candidate for a teacher. So Tobirama had put off her trying for anything else until he was sure she was ready to take on the job he needed?

Sending her to live with Kaede who was also a teacher.

Even the Konohan Standard Script. He had used even that to get her towards the job he needed. Her own actions had been used against her. She had been trained for it without realising it.

She buried her face in her hands. "Shit," she muttered. Her chakra seemed to boil hotly in her stomach and she desperately pushed it in her body. "Was it because you needed to check my teaching abilities?" She asked, voice muffled by her palms.

"I did want to see what you were capable of, yes," Tobirama replied in the same collected tone.

Nene threw him a wild look. "Can you for once look at people as actual persons instead of quantifiable variables?" She hissed. "I have feelings of my own and wishes of my own and even if they might not be what I'm most adept at, I want to choose for myself."

"You never only choose for yourself," Tobirama informed her. "It's supply and demand for one, and two, you live in Konoha; you are a citizen here and you are put to use in a way that fits and is needed. Don't pretend you did not give up doing other things because you got bored and you had no pressure to force you to continue."

Nene's eyes flashed. "So you dug into my personal history quite well."

"Your past behaviour demonstrates you work better when you are told exactly what to do," Tobirama informed her, tone flat.

"And you so generously do that for me," she spat. "I came to Konoha specifically for a new beginning."

"And you got it," Tobirama replied calmly. Unmoved. "If in ten years you still feel the same way, you will retire early and open your cake shop. You would have learned forbearance and perseverance by then, so your chances of actually keeping your business alive and well would increase."

Nene looked at him, feeling as if strangled. She wanted to tell him to go fuck himself. She wanted to tell him to go die in a ditch with his guts out, eaten alive by rats and dogs.

Her hands balled into fists as she took shuddering breaths, trying to calm herself down. Tobirama's face swam before her eyes as her vision darkened from fury.

There was nothing she could say that would not hit the wall of Tobirama's rules and regulations. Nothing she could do either. Physically, she was much weaker and the thwarted attempt would definitely put her in jail again.

And she was a Konoha citizen which meant she had little to no chance of getting out soon so she was bound to its rules.

She stood up and left without a word.

She walked as if in a bad dream and broke down into crying only when she got in her futon. She did not know why she felt betrayed.

"Are you alright, Nene?" She heard Kaede's voice ask tentatively. A hand rested gently on top of the blanket on her shoulder.

Nene crawled from under her blanket, the stuffy air suddenly becoming cool and fresh. Her eyes, puffy from crying, hurt. She looked at Kaede with new eyes. "Did you write reports?" She asked in a small voice.

Kaede looked at her with a sad smile. "Of course. But it's the same for all new civilians," she hurried to add. "Nothing too out of ordinary, but we have to report how you evolve during training and if we observe certain qualities that might help in a certain job."

"Did you say I would make a good teacher?" She asked.

Kaede shook her head. "We do not pass judgement. We simply write down our observations.

Nene sniffled. Kaede gave her a cup of cold tea which she drank only hesitating for a brief moment.

Chiyo strode in as well, with a tea tray in her hands. Steam rose from a beautiful black and gold lacquered cup. It seemed she had the same idea as Kaede. "Nene," she said in her usual sharp tone, as she joined Kaede and put the cup tray next to Nene, "you are overreacting. You do have an aptitude and you do love children. You're just throwing a tantrum now."

Nene threw her a furious look. "I'm not considering myself or putting myself in the same position as someone who has never had any choice, of course," she spat, "but I do have a sense of self that here seems to be lacking."

"Then you shouldn't have come here," Chiyo retorted.

"Then Konoha should have made it clearer what it does for its citizens," Nene snapped. "You know what upsets me most? I know I'm throwing a tantrum, because I won't be able to change anything. Yes, tomorrow I will only feel bitter but I will soon forget about it and start living my life exactly as dictated. I love working with people. I will enjoy myself. And it will be even worse because it was not something I planned to do."

"You are too hung up on the fact that you were forced to go into a direction you are capable in anyway," Chiyo remarked. "What is actually wrong with that?"

Nene gave a frustrated groan. "I'm going out," she said irritatedly. "Don't follow. I want to be alone."

Walking aimlessly on the streets, she saw Tobirama in front of her.

Nene gritted her teeth, jaw aching from how hard she clenched it. "No," she said as he fell in step with her. "I won't try to sabotage the teaching. I will be there tomorrow, perky and enthusiastic."

"Hifumi-san," Tobirama started.

"I am being accosted against my will," she said coldly. "Wasn't it against the law?"

"Not when it's official business," Tobirama replied calmly.

Nene took a deep breath. "Figures," she muttered. "You'd somehow be above the law. Shissei-san," she started, her voice trembling from how tightly she was holding herself, "I am not in the right mental state to have a civil discussion. If we continue I might say something that will land me in jail again, and I do not actually want that. So please leave."

Tobirama's eyes bore into hers. "There are technical things we must discuss concerning your assistant teacher period."

"And it had to be you," she said flatly. "Why not Kaede-sensei? Isn't she qualified? Isn't she a teacher as well?"

"I wanted to make certain you understood what you have to do," Tobirama replied after a few moments. "And I will not keep you long; only for an hour."

Nene closed her eyes, imagining a brush making the strokes for the first three kanji. One, two, three, one two three. She breathed in, slowly, then opened her eyes. Tobirama stood there impassively.

So he had specifically chosen to be the one to explain. Either he wanted to grind his heel in metaphorically, or he was micromanaging the situation. She was quite certain there were both reasons valid.

She put on the fakest, brightest smile. Tonight it felt like a grimace. "Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule," she said. "I apologise for the inconvenience. Where do we go?"

Tobirama wordlessly gestured to a tea house on the other side of the street. They entered and were soon ushered in a separate room. The server brought tea, sashimi on ice and fluffy rice then left after starting a slender incense stick on a small stand at Tobirama's right.

"Don't hold yourself back," he said, gesturing to the table.

Nene let her head back and started laughing. The irony of the common courtesy phrase was too much. "I am not hungry, Shissei-san," she said through gritted teeth, "so I would prefer to start immediately."

Tobirama poured tea for them both, movements calm and precise. She bowed but did not move to drink.

Tobirama took a scroll out, made a sign and more papers appeared.

"As you probably already saw, peace brought us a population boom. There are many children born in the Year of the Horse and afterwards, and we need to offer them a more systemised education especially since so many different people gathered together in the same place. As such, from next year, when you will start, we will have the new classes by age rather than take them as they come. Of course, older students will be accepted as well, but they will be transferred in the older classes where they will be with peers close to them in age. You will start teaching on the seventh day after New Year. You will have three classes with five and six year-olds, each with twenty students. Two hours per day with each, for they are still young. We have 376 children between five and six in Konoha proper, excluding the surrounding villages that will also need schooling."

He gestured to the books and booklets on the table. "They will each receive a set of brushes, paper, a tenarai booklet, ink and a suzuri. It will all be free of charge. If they wish to bring gifts for the oler students, they may do so, but in the new system they will all be at the same level. They will start with the Iroha poem, which I am certain you know very well."

Nene nodded, mind still reeling. So many children and there were certainly younger ones too. They would need a lot of teachers for that, and maybe an even bigger school.

"They will learn the numbers, their names, the names of the village, the most important clans, basic geography, mathematics and literature. As for the material, since konoha is new, while there are some general things that have to be common knowledge no matter where one is from, specific geography, history and culture is still a work in progress. I have here a compiled list of the most important things. Please look it over and make your own material, then bring it for review. There will also be practical lessons such as herb lore, tea, preparing incense especially for dividing time, sewing, first aid and flute, koto or shamisen. There will be no gender division at this, they will all learn the same things."

Nene nodded.

"You know how to play the koto and shamisen," Tobirama said. It was not a question.

Nene forced a smile. "Adequately, shissei-san," she murmured.

Tobirama nodded curtly. "They will also receive basic chakra training and theory, and you will have to do it yourself." He paused. "How are your lessons with Kaede?"

"Not as good as my shamisen playing," Nene replied after a short pause.

"Show me," Tobirama demanded.

Nene threw him a look. "I need to be calm and concentrate. It's not something I can do immediately."

"Then calm down and concentrate," Tobirama replied without missing a beat.

"I find it a bit difficult at the moment," Nene replied through gritted teeth.

"You have to be able to do it at any given moment," Tobirama stated implacably.

"Does this mean I failed as a potential teacher?" Nene asked with a fake smile.

Tobirama shook his head. "It means you need more training." He looked her up and down once more. "You did not even try. Are you sure you can't do it?"

Nene's fixed smile was making her cheeks hurt. "I don't want to try," she replied in a light, cheery voice.

Tobirama's gaze narrowed. "Hifumi-san, I am not trying to be a tyrant," he said, ignoring Nene's involuntary snort, "merely pragmatic. You are qualified. We desperately need teachers. You came here instead of staying home in Yashiro."

"I am just as qualified in sweets making," Nene countered furiously. "And I was never given any choice."

"Would you have taken to teaching had you been given the choice?" Tobirama asked. "Exactly," he continued when Nene did not reply. "So I could not give you any. I had to make you temporarily postpone your dream in order to help the new generations of Konoha." His voice became warmer, more animated. "You would shape the new generation of children to become true Konohans. You know, we call the new generation 'the children of peace'. They have not seen war yet, and I hope they won't see it for a long time. It is a victory that we see every day, that reminds us that peace-"

"Shissei-san," Nene interrupted him coolly, "let me tell you a story. There were once three generals who went to the Aogiri Mountains wanting to take them under their control, for the mountains, despite being tall and inhospitable for those unused to them, had a lot of gold, silver, copper and high quality ore as well as the only pass towards the sea, from which the best pearls in the land came. The mountain folk saw their armies and some wise men came to them and asked for an audience. You see, they wanted to know the generals and their thoughts. They asked them then, "How would you keep a Rock Butterfly still in your hand?" There are these blue birds with a red chest and white tipped wings that live into the craggy walls of the lower slopes of the mountains, and they are very shy.

The first general said: "I shall squeeze it in my palm until it stops struggling."

The second general said: I shall hide and wait patiently until it comes into my hand. I will make it so it does not even realise it's not on the rock anymore."

The third general said: I shall observe it and learn its likes and dislikes, all its routine. Then, I will slowly approach, I will give it food, I will tame it so it will willingly come to my hand."

Tobirama's lips twisted into a smile. "You are indeed an excellent teacher, Hifumi-san," he said with a sigh. "Which general am I?"

Nene shrugged. "These stories are told so that people would fit themselves into the roles. But when do you think we teach this story?"

"History?" Tobirama guessed, "for moral instruction?"

"To explain why the Red Breasted Rock Butterfly is extinct now," Nene replied. "Shissei-san let us not pretend you need to convince me anyway. As I said, I will teach since I can't actually refuse."

"And you will not struggle," Tobirama replied flatly.

Nene shrugged, looking him in the eye. "I do not wish to be smothered."

There was a beat of silence until a new smell started wafting in the air. The incense stick was three quarters burned. Tobirama looked down at the remaining stub, jaw tightened, then he continued explaining her duties, the way the current curriculum was structured with detailed explanations on how to evaluate and report. She had a lot to catch up on, as she was unfamiliar with the customs of the regions, had a basic grasp of its geography and even less of what passed for history for the new village of Konoha. The curriculum also seemed to be specifically geared to instill certain behaviours and mindsets about the village proper, which, while not bad per say, were, in her opinion, a bit too clear-cut. The room had started smelling of fish in addition to the incense. The tea cooled.

"Do you not want to drink?" Tobirama finally asked.

"I have a small bladder," Nene chirped, "so I would go to the bathroom too often."

They continued in the same tense atmosphere until the incense stick had burned completely. Neither of them had touched the food or drink. Faintly, Nene heard the bells ring the Hour of the Rat and after checking to make absolutely sure the time was gone, she got up decisively. "Thank you for the explanations," she said, bowing politely. "I will go now." She took out a furoshiki from her obi and wrapped the books, for she would need to read them as well to see what passed for geography and history and general education here.

Tobirama also got up. "I will escort you then."

"Oh no, you must be busy with paperwork," she said sweetly.

Tobirama shook his head.

"I'm going to a brothel," Nene snapped, looking in satisfaction as Tobirama stilled. "I want someone to fuck my brains out so I can start over from tomorrow."

She expected he would say something about the duty of the teacher to keep morals, but she did not wait for his answer, just bowed low in parting and left, slamming the door behind her.

She did not go to a brothel. She had no idea if there were brothels in Konoha proper.

She did not go to her Konohan home either, opting to take a private room at one of the most expensive inns and curled under a soft, fragrant, futon moving listlessly the whole night.

Notes:

Whelp, the introduction arc is done.

People like Nene sometimes fly off the deep end, as they have accumulated a lot of stress and then they just blow up.
And they had such a nice moment too :))
I am curious to hearing your thoughts on the matter as well :)

Incense was used to measure time, and it could be as simple as an incense stick (or even more basic than that, a rope made of punk with knots at equal intervals) or elaborate incense clocks. There were even alarm clocks with incense...
tenarai: the basic booklet of a terakoya student in edo era.
Nene's story is inspired by a famous anecdote poem regarding the three unifiers of Japan: oda nobunaga, toyotomi hideyoshi and Tokugawa ieyasu.
How to make a bird sing?
Nobunaga: if it doesn't sing, kill it.
Toyotomi: if the bird does not sing, coax it.
Tokugawa; If the bird does not sing, wait for it.

Chapter 9

Notes:

Itty-bitty timeskip; we'll go back to the linear stuff a bit later XD.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Rainy Season, End of School, the Day Before the Fire Throwing Festival

Nene hummed slightly as she put the books away.

The heat was becoming sweltering already in the middle of the rainy season, much hotter than what she was used to.

"Hifumi-sensei," she heard a polite voice next to her desk.

She smiled back at the black haired teenager. "Yes, Kuroda-kun?"

As usual, the boy did not smile but kept his face in a polite mask. "I am leaving for Karasu-jō tomorrow to visit relatives and I will stay there for half a year," he said. "I believe I had to receive a task from Hifumi-sensei during my visit."

The voice was unfailingly polite but she could not suppress a wince, immediately regretting it as Kuroda saw and judged her failure of controlling her tells despite not saying anything.

She had completely forgotten about his homework, as she had suddenly had two more classes on her hands because one of the tutors got sick (she suspected a poisoning), she prepared to receive her family members on an extended visit and the rainy season was making her head throb in a constant ache.

And she finally managed to move in a room alone. But she could not tell Kuroda any of this.

She sighed. "Write a report on the economic trade and administration in Karasu-jō," she said finally. "And if you have more time, collect local variations of planting songs, traditions and folktales."

Kuroda stood impassively, not moving. "Is there any written document detailing this assignment?" He asked. "Format, length, necessary information…"

"I am quite curious to see what you deem important and how well you will do by yourself," Nene replied hurriedly, not letting herself be intimidated.

Kuroda bowed reluctantly. "Thank you, Hifumi-sensei." He sounded displeased, but at the moment, he was the least of her worries.

She nodded distractedly and was immediately accosted by another student. "Hifumi-sensei!" Kaoru, seven years old and moving, as always, like a hyperactive squirrel, came careening in the classroom. "Come quickly, Iguchi and Ennoshita are fighting again and Michio is not there to stop them!"

Nene groaned and ran after the boy, forgetting even to put down the papers she had in hand. She ran, papers clutched at her chest, following Kaoru who ran at breakneck speed along the corridors. Suddenly she felt a sharp tug on her leg and stumbled, barely managing to avoid a fall. Unfortunately, at the same time, a bucket full of icy water fell on her, soaking her from head to toe, chilling her to the bone. Nene yelped at the thermal shock, feeling as if she were suddenly plunged in an ice bath.

Before her, Kaoru skipped back, grinning. "Caught you, sensei," he crowed.

Nene took a deep breath as water sluiced off her body in a constant freezing stream. "I take it Ennoshita and Iguchi are not fighting?" She asked, keeping her voice even.

Kaoru grinned. "No, they even worked together for this! Isn't it great, sensei?" He asked, skipping from foot to foot, beaming proudly. He was not even doing it maliciously, which was even worse. A small smile tugged at her lips then she saw the papers in her hand.

Nene sighed, already feeling her headache increase. "I am glad, and I'm sure your classmates will also congratulate you when you have to retake the final test, as the papers are now ruined. A beautiful start to their summer holiday."

Kaoru's face fell. "B-but sensei," he whined. "The festival is tomorrow!"

Nene gave him a serene smile. "And you all will take half a day here for your test. With different subjects."

Kaoru's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth ready to protest when another voice came from behind her, startling her badly.

"Kaoru-kun, disrespect towards a teacher, damaging official papers and public property is quite serious," Tobirama said.

Nene tensed, as always on edge around him.

"Are you alright, Hifumi-sensei?" He asked as he finally came into her field of vision. Stupid shinobi and their silent footsteps.

Nene plastered on her usual social smile. "Yes, Kouchou-sensei, I apologise for the inconvenience."

Tobirama frowned at her drenched appearance and the destroyed papers clutched at her chest. Her clothes stuck to her body and were starting to feel uncomfortable already, even the freezing water losing before the humid heat in the air.

"But sensei," Kaoru whined, "you told us that property damage was fine!"

"It is fine if you do it accidentally. But if you do it when showing disrespect to an authority figure-"

"But we laid traps! It was in relation to our classes! And we used the strategies we learned. Lure, lead, we even used genjutsu to hide it! We worked hard for this! And when we did it to you, you praised us!"

"I was helping them test their skills," Nene added, taking pity on her student. He would be punished enough by his peers after all.

Tobirama raised an eyebrow at her. "And the ruined tests?"

"A lesson for them," Nene replied serenely. "They should learn now that they have to be more careful of what their target is carrying and gauge whether it can be destroyed or not in the process of catching them. I'm sure they will not forget to take that into account after this."

Tobirama threw her an inscrutable look. "You are a very good teacher, Hifumi-sensei, to make a lesson on the spot. Or should I call that a courtier's quick wit rather?" Nene's smile widened slightly, threatening to change to a snarl.

"Kouchou-sensei is too generous to me," she said full of humility and bowed while Kaoru was still gaping, trying to formulate a plea.

"Is this true, Kaoru-kun?" Tobirama asked as he turned towards the boy. "Did Hifumi-sense agree to help you do this?"

Kaoru nodded furiously. "Yes." It was technically true, Nene thought with a small grin.

Tobirama nodded. "Hifumi-sensei, you should still change your clothes. Do you have a spare pair? I assume that since you knew it was going to happen, you have come prepared," he continued, ready to unmask her. But the joke was on him.

"I do, actually," Nene assured him with a smile, not able to keep the smugness out of her voice. "Kouchou-sensei is too kind. Kaoru-kun," she said, "take Ennoshita and Iguchi and clean the hallway then announce to your classmates about the test tomorrow."

Kaoru gulped. "Yes, sensei," he said despondently.

Nene went back to the classroom, squelching all the way, clothes clinging uncomfortably tight and restricting her movements while Tobirama walked with her.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Kouchou-sensei?" Nene asked politely as he came with her into the classroom.

Tobirama nodded. "The general meeting was postponed due to several members being sent in the field," he stated, "so you will receive a summary the day after tomorrow instead."

Nene nodded as she put the papers down and took out her change of clothes ostensibly. Tobirama continued speaking, seemingly oblivious.

"Kouchou-sensei," Nene said sweetly, "I need to change my clothes."

Tobirama stopped. Blinked. "Do you need assistance?" He asked, taking a step forward.

Nene threw him an incredulous look. "No!" She exclaimed. "I don't." She waited but he did not take the hint, obtuse on principle probably.

"I wish to be alone when changing," Nene spelled it out loud for him.

Tobirama had the gall to look confused but did not press the issue, fortunately. Daichi-sensei had made her life hell with his exhibitionist tendencies, foregoing most clothes at the first hint of warmth, and Konohan in general seemed pretty laid back towards nudity, unlike people in Yashiro. Nene was andamat she would not adopt that practice.

Seeing her former landlord walking naked through the house she shared with his girlfriend, Kaede, and the other girls, loudly complaining of the heat, had been the last straw to make her move out.

And it had been a long, drawn out battle that had once more brought her against Tobirama and his stupid laws and regulations, and had soured their tentatively working relationship once more.

"Have you managed to settle in your new place?" Tobirama asked as he simply turned around, apparently deciding it was enough of a courtesy to her shocking sensibilities.

Nene glared at his back. Her "new place" was an added room with a different entrance to the main house. That was the compromise she had managed to wrangle from him. "Not yet," she replied shortly as she started peeling off her dress and fought to undress. It was harder than she expected, as the material stubbornly clung to her skin, not cooperating at all.

Tobirama politely did not turn around at her increasingly annoyed, jerking sounds. "Do you need help?"

"No," Nene replied empathically. She was going to arrange her stuff by herself, with her own hand. And she would especially not want Tobirama to put his grubby paws on her stuff. "I can manage by myself."

"It sounds like quite the battle," Tobirama commented. Nene finally managed to take her dress off and smacked it on the floor.

"I'm fine," she said flatly. He had been offering to help her with the dress? She wanted to say something unflattering about his audacity but she did not quite dare.

She changed quickly, taking off her underwear only after putting on the dry clothes, then sighed. Her hair was still wet, the water slowly soaking her back.

Tobirama turned to face her at exactly the moment she tied the last button. "You will have to give the exam once more today," he informed her calmly, as if he had not just shattered her last hope at a bit of rest. "The Festival Day is a mandatory free day and all children will be able to attend it. I'll tell them to gather in the classroom once more while you write the tests one more time."

"Right now," Nene said flatly, feeling her splitting headache somehow compound even more.

"Yes," Tobirama confirmed. "I'll inform you when all have gathered," he said and left.

Nene kicked at her sodden dress after he left then sat back on her chair wearily, searching her notes for similar themes and problems she could give her students then started writing.

Tobirama came back quicker than she expected and, annoyingly, stood next to her to check her progress.

"Your writing is unusually sloppy," he commented, pointing to a slightly misshapen kanji. "You can't pretend excellence for your students if you can't lead by example. Moreover, you should not let your work be influenced by your personal feelings."

Nene gritted her teeth. "I would do better without Kōchō-sensei standing behind me and finding fault in any little thing," she hissed.

"I am merely informing you of the standards expected for any teacher in this Academy," Tobirama informed her coolly.

"Standards and rules," Nene sneered back, unable to hold back. "I'm surprised it does not include others kneeling in front of you to suck your-" her voice trailed off in horrified realisation at what she had been about to say. Tobirama had made it abundantly clear to everybody that foul language would have repercussions, no matter who they were.

"Suck my what?" Tobirama asked in the ensuing silence.

Nene felt her clothes once more get drenched, this time in cold sweat, as her throat was suddenly too tight, her mouth too dry. Her headache was mounting somehow, vision blurring at the edges as she tried to think of something to say. "Toes?" She asked weakly, feeling bile rise in her throat.

Tobirama looked her over. "You don't seem too well," he said in a kinder tone that Nene found extremely suspicious.

"Why would you care?" She snapped.

Tobirama sighed. "Does your head hurt?" He asked instead.

"..yes?" Nene answered, puzzled at the non-sequitur. Her eyes also hurt but it was normal with the bright shine of the summer sun…

Tobirama nodded, apparently to himself. "I'll finish your tests and put in a supervisor for the duration of the exam," he said. "I'll send Daichi-sensei to take you to the hospital."

"Why?" She asked, puzzled.

"You've been poisoned," Tobirama informed her in the same tone he delivered his daily greetings.

Nene blinked. "What?" She asked incredulously. "I'm not."

"You have poisoned yourself, to be clearer. We've upped the dosage on your poison immunity treatment but it seems to have affected you negatively this time. Probably because you started self medicating for your migraines."

"I am- you did- what?" She croaked.

It was at this moment that Daichi-sensei entered, bowed to Tobirama, took her in his arms and started running to Konoha Central Hospital.

Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, Nene frantically said to herself as Daichi carried her through the familiar hospital corridors while her head swam and her stomach roiled, making her feel as if she had the worst stomach bug in history. Her hands around Tobirama's neck, squeezing it until he choked. It was nice. It was the last nice thing she could visualise before the nausea became so pronounced, she longed to pass out.

Notes:

NB on characterisation.
If Nene seems OOC, (and the reason is not obvious), she was behaving like that due to the combination of poison/wrong medication and existing migraine playing havoc with her body's chemistry and brain signals.

Chapter 10

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Hour of the Sheep, Konoha Central Hospital

Nene woke up feeling woozy and weak, vague dreams of someone shouting her name slowly becoming muted echoes. There was a throbbing pain in her head and right side. She was lying on a bed, thankfully alone in the room. That was a surprise.

"You're awake," the voice she wanted least to hear sounded somewhere next to her head.

Nene groaned as she looked up. Unfortunately, Tobirama was also there, sitting on a chair and looking like a shinigami there to see if she croaked already so he could take her soul to the underworld.

"Whyou 'ere?" She slurred.

"Your students finished the exam at the beginning of the Hour of the Rat and I graded them," he answered after a beat of silence. "They got excellent results."

Nene closed her eyes then opened them again. "Time?"

"Hour of the sheep the next day," Tobirama informed her. "The summer vacation has begun," he said as he stretched his hands, and suddenly Nene found herself raised to an upright position. She groaned miserably.

"You have to get up," Tobirama's voice said implacably as he kept her in place.

"Feel sick," Nene moaned and tried to lay down again but Tobirama held her straight. The nausea was back, and her vision blurred as tears pooled into her eyes. She sniffed.

Tobirama did not say anything.

A dull alarm blared in her head about crying in front of Tobirama so, with a gargantuan effort she squeezed her eyelids shut, making the excess tears roll down and when she opened them again, her vision was more or less good.

"Ar'n't you busy?" She asked. She looked more attentively at him, since he was so close and she saw the signs of exhaustion. Dark circles. Pallid skin. Burst blood vessels in the sclera. She fought to formulate her thoughts. "Ac'demy and fes'val, 'ur dod'gy thing."

"My dodgy thing," Tobirama repeated, sounding perplexed. "I usually send clones to the Academy."

Nene blinked slowly. She felt marginally better now but she did not want to make any sudden moves. "You clone?" She asked.

"It doesn't matter," Tobirama replied. "Now we will get up," he warned as he started lifting her. Nene groaned in protest.

Her forehead thunked on his chest and felt jarred through her bones. Her legs trembled and if he wasn't holding her, Nene was not sure she could actually stand on her own. Mercifully, Tobirama let her rest for a few moments before he opened his mouth again. "Try to walk, slowly." The pressure holding her upright started lessening and Nene panicked.

"Oni," she groaned, feeling her legs fold under her weight. Tobirama lifted her to her feet again.

"I am also here to ask you why you thought it would be a good idea to self medicate while going through poison resistance training," Tobirama said, sounding strained.

Nene threw him a baleful look. "You s'd nothin."

The pressure on her biceps marginally increased before Tobirama took a deep breath. "You were informed of the possibility in the Konoha Citizenship papers, and moreover, you were told that in teacher training at least three times."

Ah. Nene tried for a sheepish smile in his direction. "Tuned you out."

His jaw twitched. "How did you overdose?" He asked instead.

Nene blinked. Oh. "I forgot to take the last three doses so did it all in one go."

She heard Tobirama exhale something that sounded suspiciously close to fuck. "Why?" He bit out.

"Thought they were vitamins," Nene replied honestly. "Or supplements."

"You trained in the hospital and did not learn the dangers of overdosing on anything? " Tobirama almost shouted.

Nene winced.

"They were clearly labelled. You had to take one per week."

"I need to give the containers back at the end and did not want to throw them away," Nene said weakly. "Took them all the same day."

Tobirama looked livid.

"You seem mad," Nene observed inanely.

"Do I?" Tobirama all but snarled.

He took a few calming breaths then looked at her once more. "We'll need to rework the information session and the labels to state more clearly what happens when someone gets the wonderful idea to overdose while self medicating," he muttered to himself. "Hopefully people will actually read the damn labels."

Nene could already see the mountains of paperwork that would take and felt a brief stab of sympathy, quickly smothered by Tobirama's next words. "Circulate your chakra. I'm going to slowly let you go. Are you listening to what I say or tuning me out?" He continued when Nene did not reply.

"I was concentrating," Nene replied irritatedly. Slowly, she gathered the chakra in her belly and sent it coursing through her limbs. The relief was almost instantaneous and when Tobirama let her go, she could actually walk by herself, only feeling the strange lightness that came with using chakra in the whole body for support.

"Good," Tobirama said. "You can be discharged now. You will go home and take nothing. You will only drink water, and you will not eat anything except for rice porridge for two days. Are you listening? Comprehending?"

Nene gave him a glare. "Yes. I'm listening. "

"It seems I need to check that too," Tobirama retorted. "Good day," he said as he turned and left the room.

Nene was left alone, vaguely feeling as if she had gotten dumped. She snorted at the thought, then went to change. It seems that this time Tobirama had not stayed back to offer his "help".

After she buttoned up her blouse, Nene realised Tobirama had left the room normally. So it hadn't been a clone, she thought. She did not know how to feel about it.

She left the Central Hospital still circulating chakra, fearing the crash when she would stop doing it. She knew that the longer she used it, the more the effect would linger, so she concentrated on keeping it up, thus not realising she was being called.

"Onene-san," Izuna called to her.

"Izuna-dono," Nene replied, surprised, bowing respectfully. "Forgive my rudeness, I was lost in thought."

Izuna waved her apology away. "My wife was quite worried about you, and urged me to personally confirm your well-being."

"Tomoe-dono is too kind," Nene replied, touched. "How is your honourable wife doing?"

"She cannot wait for the moment the child is finally out and in her arms," Izuna replied with an easy smile as he started walking along her. "She misses going outside, nevertheless, so when you feel a little better, if it would not be an imposition, she would be glad of the company."

"Oh," Nene exclaimed in sympathy. "Of course. If you would have me, I will come as soon as the symptoms pass."

Izuna nodded sympathetically. "We are most grateful. What an unexpected accident that was, Onene-san."

Nene coloured slightly. "A misunderstanding."

Izuna nodded once more, escorting her all the way home.

End of the Hour of the Rabbit, Two days later, Main Uchiha Residence

"What?" Tobirama asked irritably, annoyed at Izuna's long, contemplative look.

"What exactly is your angle?" Izuna asked suddenly, putting his teacup down with a click.

Tobirama frowned. "About?" He asked acidly.

"Inomata-san."

"You mean Hifumi-sensei," Tobirama replied frigidly.

Izuna gave a slow mocking smile. "Do I?"

"What about her?"

Izuna hummed. "Is she a side experiment?"

"She is a citizen of Konoha," Tobirama replied flatly.

Izuna's eyes glittered. "That was not my question. Is she your experiment to see how people who do not fit in either crack or ultimately adapt to survive?"

"She fits in," Tobirama said categorically. "She has friends and a normal social life."

Izuna nodded with an affected air. "Ah yes. Didn't she poison herself?"

Tobirama stilled. "What do you mean to imply?" He asked, voice low.

Izuna smiled thinly. "Inomata-san was, after all, forced into an undesirable position. She might have tried for a quick way out. I'm surprised she did not try to make it so someone else had poisoned her so she could stay away for more time until the official investigation would end."

Tobirama frowned. "She did not do it on purpose."

Izuna laughed. "Is that what she said?"

Tobirama's knuckles were white on the cup. "And what exactly are you trying to achieve with this insinuation?"

"Merely pointing it out," Izuna replied mildly. "Even if she did it on purpose or not, the fact remains that she almost crippled herself. Why would she do so accidentally though?"

Tobirama's lips pressed into a hard line.

Izuna smiled. "So it was something. From her typical behaviour, she probably tuned you out." His smile widened when Tobirama winced. "I would call this a direct consequence of your way of doing things."

"She was fine and will be more careful from now on," Tobirama replied through gritted teeth.

"Will she? Consciously or not, she does rebel against your authority. I thought that was grounds for a more…firm approach," he finished with a mocking smirk.

"There's no need."

"She is a potential liability."

"She saved the children even when she almost died!"

"Ah." Izuna leaned back. "So self sacrificing heroic acts move you? Who would have known?"

"She saved your son," Tobirama reminded him angrily.

"I know," Izuna replied flatly. "This is why I'm telling you this. You seem to be quite blind when dealing with her."

Tobirama's eyes narrowed.

"Your intentions may be good, but your execution is execrable," Izuna informed him. "Just like your flute playing."

"My flute playing is fine!" Tobirama snapped.

"That's the problem. She's not a flute."

"I can't make exceptions," Tobirama said finally. "And we need teachers."

"A pity," Izuna agreed. "I'll make her an offer."

"What?" Tobirama said slowly, dangerously.

Izuna finished his cup and watched him with an amused smile. "She will find it very hard to refuse."

"You'll be undermining-"

"I know exactly what I'm doing," Izuna interrupted him, teeth gleaming. "Let's see who gets the upper hand in this."

"We are supposed to work together for the benefit of Konoha," Tobirama shouted.

Izuna nodded. "Don't worry, I am doing just that. I'll adopt her into the clan."

Tobirama paled.

Izuna continued, pretending not to see. "I even have a few marriage offers for her. We need to get our numbers up after the war and all…"

"Izuna," Tobirama growled. "You are making an unstable situation by doing this."

"On the contrary, I'm putting things straight," Izuna countered coolly. "Inomata-san's name is quite apt. Miss Boar Crotch is a weak spot for you, no matter what you say. The children at school thought you were involved, even."

"While the other teachers thought she was trying to kill me through induced vomiting," Tobirama replied through gritted teeth.

"And yet your reaction was the most discussed amongst those that know you well," Izuna said, leaning forward. "So I'll take her from your sphere of influence before an enemy learns about it as well and takes action."

"How altruistic of you," Tobirama sneered. "I can-"

"You can and you will sacrifice her if it means Konoha is not threatened," Izuna interrupted him once more. "If you are so worried about her well-being, you can always marry into the clan. That will show unity like nothing else."

"I'm not interested in marriage," Tobirama said coolly.

"Everybody knows that," Izuna replied, pinning him with his gaze. "But lately, some have started wondering."

"Are you saying I broke the status quo?" Tobirama asked incredulously.

"I'm sure your brother will be ecstatic to learn you have caught feelings," Izuna replied viciously. "When he comes back after he has blown off some steam. He's searching for the Two-Tails now? Or was it the Three-Tails?"

"Don't change the subject," Tobirama retorted. "You won't force her to be your puppet."

"I will not," Izuna agreed. "I will give her a choice."

Tobirama snorted.

"She has proven herself to the clan through the actions of that day when she saved Kaoru so she won't have any problem integrating. My wife likes her and will help her accommodate. And we'll tell her when she has to do the poison resistance treatment."

Tobirama looked about to punch him.

"How much are you willing to bet she will say yes?" Izuna asked softly and saw Tobirama tense suddenly. "Is she already here?" He said in fake surprise. He stood up. "I should be a graceful host and greet her," he said, thus ending their meeting.

Tobirama also stood up reluctantly.

"You know the way out," Izuna said with an insincere smile and walked away.

Notes:

Ahh political machinations my beloved :))

Chapter 11

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Tomoe received her in an airy room with a magnificent view of the central pond and its walkways.

A set of black and white tiles was next to her. The smell of expensive tea wafted in the room; the cups were full of warm water, ready to be used.

With an elegant gesture, Nene was invited to sit down on a zabuton that was placed directly in front of Tomoe.

Nene sat down carefully, still feeling slightly lightheaded from all the exertion she put her body through immediately after the poison had been flushed out.

"I was quite distraught to hear about you," Tomoe started in her melodic voice, rubbing her growing belly absently. "I feared the worst."

Nene bowed, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I apologise for worrying you unduly."

"Indeed," Tomoe replied, fixing her with her dark gaze, her long, thick eyelashes shadowing her slanted eyes to give her a hooded, almost predatory look. "Don't do it again."

Nene murmured an acquiesce and another apology, stifling the urge to bristle at the commanding tone.

"I was truly worried," Tomoe added in a softer voice, her hand coming to rest on top of Nene's demurely folded hands.

Nene nodded. "I-it passed. I am well now," she hurried to assure her friend.

Tomoe sighed. "Do you know why you have not been explicitly told that you would take poison instead of vitamins?"

"Because it can be argued that all fall in the same category of making the body stronger and help it adapt and fight foreign substances or illnesses?" Nene asked with a hint of dry irony in her voice. It was something she was sure Tobirama would say.

Tomoe smiled. "Careful, you sounded a bit like Tobirama there. Is he rubbing off on you?" She asked, laughing at Nene's miffed expression.

"The truth is that sometimes, the effects are exacerbated when people know, so in order to mitigate that, they are given without any warning, together with supplements or vitamins."

Nene nodded in understanding. "That…makes a lot of sense," she acknowledged.

Tomoe's red lips widened into a smile as she gestured for Nene to arrange the board. Nene obeyed the wordless instruction, letting the soft clink of the black slate pieces together with the white clamshell pebbles harmonise with the distant bamboo fountain beating rhythmically on the rock.

"What do you think of Tobirama-dono?" Tomoe suddenly asked as she made her first move.

Nene could not stifle a slight grimace.

Tomoe laughed. "He was convinced you were a northern spy at first," she said conversationally as she moved a piece. "He put you in a surveillance house but then he seemingly realised his error." Her eyes twinkled.

Nene carefully moved her piece as well, trying to keep a still face as Tomoe covered her mouth with her fan, seemingly delighted with her choice. Nene got the sinking feeling she will lose even faster today.

"Then your complaints started and we were all so entertained," Tomoe continued smoothly as she moved her own pebble with a click. "Tobirama-dono would come and rant for hours."

"Surely you exaggerate," Nene replied blandly, "he does not have that much free time."

Tomoe gave a startled, genuine laugh. "He does not. And yet he was so incensed. Izuna gave him the idea to train you in some skills while replying to your complaints just to shut him up."

Nene's eyes widened. "It was Izuna-dono's idea?"

Tomoe nodded. "Tobirama-dono must have gotten the idea to get you on the teacher's position because well…we had a long string of active duty shinobi who could not teach effectively. And civilians who have the time and the level of education Tobirama wants, those are scarce. He was quite elated to have finally filled a spot more or less permanently."

Nene's eyes narrowed as she studied the board. "He seems to come here often."

Her piece finally crowded Tomoe's pieces. If she could start a chain reaction, she would win.

"He does," Tomoe confirmed serenely, smoothly blocking her advance. "And Hashirama-dono knows very little of what is going on. He was most perplexed when my lord husband said something in passing."

"What is going on?" Nene asked, hesitantly putting her piece close to Tomoe's. It was the only place left to put it seemingly safely.

Tomoe grinned. Her last piece set on the board, she started turning over all of Nene's, until the whole board was white.

"A great many deal," Tomoe replied. "Would you stay for dinner to hear more?"

"You have reeled me in," Nene observed, looking at the board.

"Tobirama-dono is the one who loves fishing," Tomoe corrected her. "I prefer luring."

Nene started to move the pieces away from the board. "Is that so?" She asked.

"I'm not using force," Tomoe said softly. "Would you help me get up so we take a stroll around the gardens?"

Tomoe could jump up and still spar. Nene had seen her do it while pregnant on more than one occasion, but she went next to her and grasped her arms, helping her stand.

Together, they started on the labyrinth of paths arm in arm while Tomoe told her all about Izuna's unending qualities as a husband. For the tenth time.

Tobirama was present at dinner as well, Nene observed with surprise but not real astonishment. She was starting to get a feeling of an invisible thread leading her to an unknown destination, and it seemed Tobirama was one of them.

She resolved to be as neutral as possible during the meal but could not stop her delight when she saw the crab meat. It was her favourite.

At first, after the round of greetings, she was left mainly to be an observer to the way Izuna delighted to poke and prod at Tobirama's already fraying patience to make him snap.

At any quip that landed a well-placed blow, Tomoe hid her face in her sleeve demurely, and Nene could see her silent laugh.

She felt she was the only one out of the loop, the machinations all happening around her.

But finally, around the fourth course, Izuna turned to her, yanking her as well into the maelstrom with an innocuous enough question. "What do you think about Tobirama?"

It was the same question his wife had asked her a few hours before, so it could not be a coincidence. That, or they really enjoyed riling Tobirama up.

Nene looked blankly, trying to keep her expression neutral. She had to answer in a way that did not leave her out of favour with either one. "A competent administrator who loves bureaucracy." And she added more grudgingly, "and a teacher the children love."

Izuna laughed. Tobirama, she saw with slight apprehension, seemed miffed. Or slightly perturbed.

"About his personality," Izuna continued, throwing a malicious look towards the Senju. "Would you say he's Hot blooded or cold blooded?"

Nene looked at Tobirama, then at Tomoe. She gave Nene an encouraging smile while Tobirama looked like a cornered cat. Ready to hiss and spit. She shook the image away.

"From the way he behaves when I see him…cold blooded."

Izuna snorted. "Putting you in jail for some drunken words is not cold blooded. Nor is cursing me and ranting for hours how copying with the sharingan is against the ethics of Konoha." During The dramatic pause Nene could practically see the incoming explosion. "Then he goes on and digs up corpses," Izuna concluded.

Tobirama turned to the side to face Izuna, face suddenly reddening from anger. "You flea-bitten copycat , it was my jutsu! I told you it was under revision and you go ahead and copy it and then use it without permission on an official mission and almost destroy the whole area!" He thundered.

Tobirama's voice got louder and louder as his rant continued and became more and more graphic and explicit in detailing Izuna's many failings and unsavoury character.

Nene looked at Tomoe, torn between horror and hilarity. Tomoe looked on serenely, apparently unaffected by the shouting match. Nene struggled to keep a neutral face as she turned back to the two men, but it was a losing fight. What she knew, was that Tobirama needed to calm down.

But how? Tobirama looked like he did not even need to breathe, he was not making any pause. All words crowded in her throat; after all, she was an inferior. She did not have the wherewithal to butt in.

But it was clear that Tobirama was being baited. Lured, as Tomoe was saying and falling exactly in whatever trap Izuna had sprang on him. She almost felt sympathetic to that. It was also good for her to try to keep the Uchiha from whatever they were trying to do, sp allying herself with Tobirama in this instance was natural.

She was also feeling irked by seeing Tobirama chased into a corner, in an unexpected show of camaraderie.

Shifting slightly as if to stretch her legs a little from the seiza position she was in, she straightened her right leg under the low table, fully intending to hit Tobirama and make him pay more attention to what the heck he was doing.

Although it was kind of funny in a horrible way which made her fight and flight response go haywire. Tobirama had absolutely no protection against Izuna. And apparently he felt comfortable enough to let go and be…like that. Boy, was he loud. And petty in his arguments. She almost cracked and giggled.

She stifled a pained yelp as her angle was caught in a vice-like grip before making contact. Tobirama did not look at her and did not let go, forcing Nene to awkwardly balance her weight on her one folded leg, but slowly Tobirama's volume did decrease.

Nene bit her lip, feeling shivers travel up her spine as rough fingers aimlessly stroke the skin around her ankles. It felt decidedly weird. She unsuccessfully tried to free herself, her increasingly frantic shuffles getting Izuna's attention.

Or well making it so he could not ignore her anymore.

Nene thought frantically. "I would go to admire the flowers for a bit," she said weakly, voice cracking slightly from her effort to keep the laughter at bay.

"We can all go to admire the flowers after the meal," Izuna assured her, sounding like a perfect host.

Nene tensed. You asshole, you know exactly what I mean by that, don't play dumb. The hand gripping her leg changed position, stroking her heel in rhythmic, soothing motions. "Is that so?" She asked in fake cheerfulness. "I would prefer doing it now."

"Should Tobirama accompany you?" Izuna asked innocently.

Nene felt her anger rise exponentially. Unfortunately it made keeping in her stress-induced laugh even harder. Damn Uchiha and their games. He really was good at riling people up. She felt like strangling him and he only said two things. She almost pitied Tobirama now. But she also could barely hold herself from laughing to their faces.

Tobirama, who now seemed calm, squeezed her ankle soothingly and finally let go. "There is nothing shameful about taking care of bodily functions," he informed her kindly, making all her goodwill towards him evaporate like mist before a roaring fire.

"Maybe you should go with her," Izuna continued, apparently eager to prolong her misery. "She tried to get your attention quite diligently from the moment she arrived in Konoha. If nothing else, you should acknowledge her dedication."

"For my business!" Nene exclaimed, offended at his insinuation. Where exactly was it coming from anyway? "I would not-" she stopped, trying to formulate her thoughts. "I would not get involved with someone with such a disparity in position."

"So you know your place?" Izuna asked her with an ironic tilt. "Your actions seem to be at odds with your words."

The trap was sprung already and she had fallen in. Nene clenched her hands under the table, aware that all were watching. Like vultures, she thought, unnerved by their unblinking, dark stare fixed on her.

"As Shissei-dono can attest, we are not involved. Do I have to write an apology?"

"I thought he was your colleague," Izuna remarked. "Tobirama-sensei." The dulcet tones rang mocking in the silence.

Tobirama looked ready to commit murder.

Nene felt drained, her headache returning. "What is this about, really?"

Izuna smiled. "Since Tobirama has taken such keen interest in you, there have been discussions."

"Interest?" Nene replied, bewildered. "Discussions of what?" She asked, dreading the answer.

"Favouritism."

"What?" Nene exclaimed. "Favouritism?"

"Konoha is safe, but other places aren't, and you being an unaffiliated civilian with no relatives or a safety net around makes you too easy a target."

Nene chewed on the possibility. "Target for what?"

"Tobirama has many enemies," Izuna shrugged. "No matter what exactly he feels for you, he has singled you out. And unlike others he is close to, you are the lone prey."

Nene looked from one face to another, trying to discern the air. What was the real angle? She wondered. "So what are you saying?"

"You should not leave Konoha for now," Izuna warned her, eyes boring into hers.

Nene looked at him nonplussed. "What?"

"The danger will not pass. But there is one thing you can do to make it easier."

Nene looked from one another. Tobirama was frowning, lips pressed together, angry. Tomoe had her smiling social mask and Izuna was unreadable.

"Adopt you into the clan. Uchiha are known, and everybody knows how serious we take threats to ours."

Nene sat stunned. "I-I don't know what to say. Me becoming an Uchiha means…." It meant effectively cutting all ties to home. It meant that even if she got back home to visit, she would be an Uchiha. Right now, if she got back, she could slide in her usual slot again, for Konoha was far away, and the Daimyo of Yashiro recognised her as his own citizen.

"It means protection and a greater amount of freedom," Izuna continued, throwing her a knowing look. "Clans have different rules and we like sweets."

"Oh." She remembered what Tomoe had told her. Tobirama had been ecstatic to find someone to fill in the spot.

She wondered vaguely why she was remembering this at this particular moment. If it was merely an attempt to find one ally between the three.

She briefly looked towards Tomoe, but then she had extolled her husband's virtues from the Hour of the Sheep to the end of the Hour of the Horse. Nene was pretty sure that meant she would not find help there against Izuna.

But then, the offer was tempting in a way. She still felt as if she was in an invisible trap, the lure dangling sweetly in front of her.

"I need to think," she murmured.

"Of course," Izuna replied graciously. "But you should not tarry long. I remember the Hatake still have the tendency to kidnap people to adopt them into their clan," he said offhandedly.

"The Hatake?" Nene repeated confusedly.

"Izuna," Tobirama growled, sounding truly angry.

Tomoe's fan snapped shut loudly, cutting him off.

"The next course is here," she announced politely. "Tobirama-dono, your favourite. Glazed eel."

Tobirama visibly composed himself and started eating, but his movements were still barely suppressed, hiding restrained violence.

Nene ate the delicious fish without fully tasting it, its texture almost wrong on her tongue.

"It tastes…different. Is there a new recipe?" She asked politely.

Tobirama stopped with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth "What do you taste?" He demanded, immediately putting them back on his bowl.

Nene frowned. "Nothing much. But it doesn't taste like fish but like, I don't know, charred tea leaves mixed with tororo and raw egg?"

Tobirama got up. "Hospital," he said grimly as he practically dragged her up from the table notwithstanding Nene's protests.

She almost accused him loudly of wanting to get away and using her as his gateway, but she was immediately given a purgative at the hospital and hurled back all the expensive and delicious dinner she ate and started wishing murder upon him instead.

She was informed she was never in any danger and that she was absolutely fine, that her taste buds had been compromised from the previous poisoning and will recalibrate after more or less a week.

Nene listened with increasing annoyance, wanting to yell that she had known from the beginning she was fine. She threw a murderous look at the wall, imagining it was Tobirama.

"I will escort you home," Tobirama, the bane of her existence, offered.

"I just threw back four high quality crabs," she informed him coolly. "I'll walk by myself to mourn them properly."

Tobirama opened his mouth then closed it. "I'll-"

"Good night," Nene said with a polite bow and left.

On the way back, she composed a short, heart wrenching elegy to her lost crabs.

Two days later, she received five first grade crabs, still alive. She looked at them for a few minutes then sighed and put them in her rain barrels. She named them after ten more minutes.

What idiot gifted someone live food, she thought with annoyance as Spiky tried to escape his new home and start a fight with Spotty from the neighbouring barrel.

They were so cute.

Notes:

Nene saying she wants to go to see the flowers is an euphemism for going to the toilet. Izuna pretends she's talking about flower viewing while Tobirama goes all out and says it.

Chapter 12

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Nene groaned as a hand shook her awake. "You have wallowed in misery, got your free time, now get up and start putting your things in order, it's like a pigsty in here!"

"Good morning to you too, Chiyo," Nene groaned. "You missed your room. It's five corners to the left."

In reply Chiyo snatched her thin blanket away, making Nene roll out of the futon and on top of a calligraphy set.

"Ow," she groaned as she got up slowly, stretching. "It's my free day! Let me sleep in!"

Chiyo, her head covered with a kerchief and her sleeves already tied back, brandished her feather duster. "If you don't wake up and start helping me, I'll tell Tobirama you need help."

It was enough to make Nene scramble up. "You would not dare!" She exclaimed, voice cracking from sleep. She cleared her throat and continued with more confidence. "He doesn't have time for this."

Chiyo raised an eyebrow. "He's my second cousin. I would. And," she added with a nasty grin, "the thing about someone with a shitload of chakra and a jutsu that allows them to make clones that retain memory is that they can actually afford to do more things."

Nene gaped. "That's the first time I hear about that!" She looked Chiyo up and down speculatively. Yeah, she could see the family resemblance.

"What," Chiyo asked her flatly.

Nene snorted. "I believe you." They were both so bossy.

"Then you better start moving," Chiyo retorted. "Brought you tea, rice and soup since you seemed to have nothing here yet."

Nene groaned. "Haven't you heard of privacy?"

"You're welcome," Chiyo replied drily.

Nene saluted. "Thank you, dear commander, but I shall use the same kitchen as before, it's not like I moved house," she grinned and left to wash her face. Her stomach still stabbed her when she moved. Stupid purgative.

She took a deep breath of the morning air, noting the burnt, smoky tangs. Someone was probably burning trash around there. The smell reminded her a bit of the crisp morning air back home, where the smell of chicken, horse and manure wafted in the air together with the smell of ashes and cooking fires.

But Konoha was too hot. She splashed more water on her face, and heard a commotion from the back of the house where the rain barrels- and the crabs- rested.

"Crabs?" She heard Fusa's voice. Of course Chiyo would have told her to help despite her own full schedule. Ordered, rather. "Dinner will be-"

"Morning, Fusa-chan," Nene said, arms crossed as she watched her friend intently from the corner of the house. "Dinner will be vegetables."

"Good morning, my dear pickle," Fusa answered effusively, grinning at her widely.

Nene took a step back. "Are you well? Did you eat moldy pickles or something?"

"I'm fine," Fusa replied, still grinning maniacally. "How have you been?"

"We saw each other the day before," Nene replied. "Don't you remember?"

"Of course I do," Fusa chirped as she approached and took Nene by the shoulders. She leaned down conspiratorially. "I have some pickles with me if you want."

"Em, no thank you," Nene said, trying to disengage. Fusa kept her on the spot, eyes twinkling. She leaned in closer, lips touching her ear. "I have some pickles in my pockets if you want."

Nene froze for a second before understanding settled in. This was Fusa in a fever dream. Or a joke. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the chakra in her belly, feeling its thrum, then moved it in a burst along all her body, disrupting its usual flow. "Kai!"

When she opened them back again, Fusa was looking at her quizzically, an amused smile on her lips. "Why would you be so rude, pickle-chan?" She asked in exaggerated dejection.

"You are not Fusa," Nene replied drily.

Fusa grinned. "And yet you could not break anything," she said smugly as her features blurred and warped, changing to a slender Uchiha girl her height. "I'm a guy," the Uchiha said, as if reading her mind.

"I'll make you a girl if you don't leave my crabs alone," Nene snapped. "Why are you here?"

"I have come to ask for a favour," the boy replied sheepishly.

"A favour?" Nene repeated, unimpressed.

The boy shrugged then turned to look up at the roof. "Get down!"

To Nene's surprise. Kaoru and his two friends, Enishi and Suzuka, jumped down.

"Sensei!" Kaoru said full of remorse, "I am so sorry for what I did!"

"But can we get some help with homework?" Enishi added quickly.

Nene snorted. "And you sent him here first because?"

Kaoru gave her a wounded puppy look. "Because I was so ashamed, sensei!"

"I hope my no-good little cousin did not give you too much grief," the Uchiha boy continued smoothly, suddenly polite. "I am Yuzuru."

It was at this moment that Spotty waved its pincers and Kaoru saw them. "Crabs!" He shouted, forgetting all about her and his summer homework as all three children gathered around the rain barrels, peering excitedly inside and shouting in wonder.

Chiyo came out, fortunately with no feather duster in sight. "Who gave you these?" She asked curiously, watching the three boys plus the older Uchiha, each with a crab in their arms, having a heated discussion.

"A total bastard," Nene replied darkly. "But they're cute."

"I doubt that was the point," Chiyo muttered.

"Sensei!" Kaoru yelled. "What will you do with the crabs?"

"Dinner," Chiyo snorted.

The Uchiha gave an outraged shout. "Pets!"

"Gardeners!" Kaoru countered.

"Guardians!" Enishi insisted belligerently, waving his crab around for emphasis.

"Corpse disposal crew!" Suzuka yelled.

There was a beat of silence then the fight erupted.

"They can't be guardians, you idiot!" Kaoru yelled.

"They can't trim the hedge either!" Enishi shot back, incensed.

"No they can't, they use those to catch their prey! Dismember the corpses!" Suzuka insisted loudly.

"They can clean the garden from twigs and other scattered things and garbage!" Kaoru screamed, apparently convinced that if he shouted the loudest, he would prevail.

But Suzuka was undeterred. "Yes, like human intruders!"

"Good morning," a voice she really really did not want to hear, sounded behind her. She turned from the fight in front of her, and sure it was, Tobirama was there.

Nene frowned. "Is this your doing?" She demanded, gesturing to the crabs.

Tobirama took in the tableau, gaze dispassionate. On the edge of their barrels, Spiky and Grey, who had been let down by their captors, were fighting in slow motion, waving their pincers threateningly. Grey slipped and fell into his barrel with a splash; Kaoru and his friends were instead baiting Spotty with a twig, laughing at its annoyed swipes, then shrieked and scattered when Spotty had enough and started running after them. Michio was somehow in Yuzuru's arms who stroked it like he would a cat; its legs dangled limply, and somehow, its beady little eyes signal contentment; San, the smallest crab, was on his head, pinchers raised defiantly towards the sun.

"I can assure you this is not my doing," Tobirama replied, sounding offended.

"You bought them and then dumped them on me," Nene retorted. "And now I have five crabs and not enough space for them!"

"I caught them and gave them to you," Tobirama corrected her. "For dinner."

"You caught them," Nene deadpanned.

Tobirama did not flinch. "Yes."

Shit, he was serious. "They're sea crabs," she pointed out. The sea was quite far.

"Yes."

"In two days."

"One day and a half actually." He sighed and opened his mouth to say something else but then it clicked.

"Shit, they're sea crabs!" She exclaimed in horror. She threw a desperate look to Tobirama. "I let them stay in freshwater overnight. Will they live?"

Tobirama looked as if he wanted to sigh. "If you want them to live so much, I could try and modify their genetic makeup so they survive in freshwater as well."

Nene blinked. "Oh."

"Crabs are organisms that adapt extremely well, since they have quite a simple structure, but it is exactly this that enables-"

"Ooooh taicho can you also give them explosive shrimp claws?" Yuzuru asked excitedly.

"But I don't have enough space," Nene muttered, glaring at Tobirama half-heartedly.

"They are wild animals," Tobirama pointed out. "If you want them to live, then you should put them back."

"But others will catch them!" Nene protested.

"That's living in the wild," Tobirama reminded her.

Nene pouted. "Oh, I would not want to give you so much trouble to take them back," she fibbed. "Do you have any other ideas?" She asked, imbuing her words with all the pleading tone of her students. Tobirama seemed susceptible to that.

Tobirama hummed noncommittally. "I'll make a provisional tank for them and later an artificial lake; I need to keep them in the lab for a while so that they get used to fresh water- or conversely, take them to the saltwater lake next to the salt mine- but then we need to see if they will destroy the ecosystem." He briefly passed his hand over his face then looked once more at the crabs. "I'll see the best solution."

Nene opened her mouth. Closed it. "Thank you," she said finally, feeling both impressed, grateful and irked. "Can I come to see them in the meantime?"

"No," Tobirama answered flatly. "I'll be busy. I'll let you know when they're ready."

Nene closed her mouth with a click, feeling very much as if she had gotten spurned. Which was, again, ridiculous. Maybe he really was showing favouritism if she had been so sure until that moment that he would not refuse her.

Tobirama still looked at her fixedly, seemingly waiting for something. Nene composed herself.

"Thank you," she replied evenly, "for taking the time out of your busy schedule to deal with this too. I will patiently await."

For a moment, Nene thought Tobirama seemed dissatisfied with her answer but then he nodded, ordered Yuzuru to put the crabs in a sac and left together with Kaoru and the other two, the children informing Tobirama all about their grand plans. Nene hoped he would not take them seriously and do some crazy modifications on them. She was not sure what he could do, exactly, but knowing Tobirama…

"He was quite stressed," Chiyo remarked after he left and they overturned the barrels as the water could no longer be used.

Yuzuru nodded. "He needs to get laid," he announced with all the confidence of a thirteen years old.

"Get laid?" Nene repeated, not understanding the expression.

"Have a butterfly kiss his vegetable patch," Yuzuru explained with a grin.

Nene blinked. "What?"

Chiyo snorted, but offered no help.

Yuzuru suddenly seemed less certain. "Get a scabbard for his sword?" He tried.

What was talking about? "I don't get it!" Nene exclaimed. Was that some sort of weird shinobi thing?

Yuzuru nodded sagely. "Neither does he," he replied gleefully.

That evening, after dinner, Nene went to sleep with a coppery tang coating her mouth in a numb kind of phantom pain, as if she had opened her mouth in highly charged air. It reminded her of the mountain storms she had weathered back home, when on the slopes.

So much remembering today, she thought. Well, it's been a year. She would be homesick.

She went to sleep and dreamed of ice crevasses and blinding snow, of snowshoes and freezing cold.

She did not know it at the time, but the Two-Tails, Matatabi, had arrived in Konoha.

She did not know that it was the catalyst to irreversible change.

Notes:

Ahh foreshadowing XD. How I love it poor Nene

Chapter 13

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The next day Nene got up before dawn and started towards Yaozoru-an, enjoying the slight breeze that cooled her skin. She had promised Mone to help her with tofu-making, and they had to make an early start.

The house looked exactly like it had on her first visit to Konoha, giving her a strange sense of returning home.

At the gate, Mone received her with her two sleepy boys; the beans were already deshelled and picked, so they could start right away.

After washing her hands, Nene and Mone started grinding the beans right away, letting the boys take the crushed beans and filter the shells out.

The day dawned with clear skies but the humidity still made it feel like a sauna. At least the rainy season was more or less over, Nene thought optimistically as she mentally counted the days until her cousin was slated to arrive in Konoha, around Tanabata, mind already buzzing with ideas on what to prepare in welcome.

They left the beans to soak, Nene promising to return for the next part.

"Won't you eat first?" Mone asked her cheerfully. "We haven't seen each other much lately."

"Indeed," Nene smiled. "How is your husband, Mone-san?"

"He's making the onigawara for five merchant houses," Mone boasted, eyes sparkling. "He was specifically commissioned for it."

"And I see your boys are well too," Nene said. "I'm glad."

"You see them more than I," Mone replied. "They are gone to school and then to apprenticeships, I barely see my own boys."

Nene laughed. "They're not in my class, but I heard they are very diligent." She paused and looked around at the empty main room. "Where is Sanji-san? He gave me that umbrella when I moved, and I must thank him, for it kept me going through the whole season."

Mone pursed her lips, stopping from her aimless chatter. "He got ill," she said finally, "and he hasn't come from the hospital yet."

Nene made a sympathetic noise, making a mental note to ask Tanaka about that. "Do you know what he could have?"

Mone shook her head. "What about the boy? Kisuke?" She remembered the boy with the limp, always smiling and ready to give a helping hand. He was working at an udon stall last she knew. She sometimes went there when she was hungry and did not have time to make her own food, but it was quite out of the way for her so she did not go there much and since the rainy season she had only eaten there once. "I don't remember seeing him at the stall the last time."

Mone hesitated. "Well, he moved out," she said finally.

Nene frowned. "Where, with the udon stall owner?"

"I don't know," Mone replied tersely, "I think he left Konoha for good. What do you think about the Bijuu being here?" She suddenly asked, changing the discussion.

"Bijuu?" Nene repeated. "What is that?"

"Ah," Mone said. "A Tailed Beast." The screech of the grinding stone was the only thing that could be heard for a few moments. A rooster called the dawn. "You could go and see for herself," she suggested. "Shissei-dono might even let you get closer than usual."

Nene hummed noncommittally, then concentrated on the motions, letting her mind wander back to the meal she would prepare for her cousin.

When they had finished, it was already late morning. Nene wiped the sweat from her brow with a handkerchief, grimacing at the feel of sticky, sweaty clothes sticking on her skin. Mone gave her A cup of water while the boys scarpered away, eager to go play with their friends.

"Gomen kudasai," Hiroto's voice sounded loudly from the house. As they both went inside, Hiroto waved at them; a large box was at his feet, and when he opened the lid, the smell of ice and crushed fruits went to Nene's nostrils, making her mouth water.

"Mone-san, please bring some bowls and spoons for this. Nene-sensei, how fortunate you are to be here right now."

Nene laughed. "Indeed." Kakigori was always welcomed, although she had only managed to eat it once here in Konoha.

Hiroto gave them much too generous portions, creating a veritable mountain of ice over the bowl, especially when he topped it with strawberry syrup and gave it to each of them with a flourish.

"We can get a stomachache from that," Mone remarked and Nene nodded.

"Now, don't be a coward, Nene-sensei," Hiroto grinned as he put the lid back. "I'm off," he said cheerily, "this will keep until tomorrow."

He left whistling a jaunty tune. Nene and Mone looked at each other. "He was in very high spirits," Mone commented with a knowledgeable twinkle in her eye.

Nene shoved the spoon in the shaved ice, put it in her mouth and groaned in appreciation as the cold flakes freezed her tongue instantly. "Kaede must have given him something good," she remarked with a snicker.

After taking her farewells, feeling much more energised because of the shaved ice cream, Nene took off to the market that sprawled in front of Konoha's gates each month. She never arrived there though, for she was waylaid twice.

"Sensei," Kaoru yelled at her from a rooftop to her right then jumped down together with Suzuka and surprisingly, Haru. "We're going to see the Nibi from the wall! Come with us!"

"Have you done your homework, Haru-kun?" She asks, arching an eyebrow.

Haru grinned at her. "I'll bring it tomorrow, Nene-chan, pinky swear."

Kaoru hit him in the shoulder. "It's Nene-sensei! Show some respect."

Haru shoved back. "We have an arrangement."

Nene laughed out loud. It sounded so ridiculous coming from a ten year old. "That we do," she snickered, "but do find another way of saying it. Wouldn't want Tanaka-san to think we'd elope soon."

"I would elope with you, sensei," Kaoru said cheerfully as he walked backwards. "And if you don't want me, Yuzuru-nii is very popular. He has the best aim in the clan! And his Katon is the best!"

"I'm overwhelmed by Yuzuru-san's credentials," Nene deadpanned. "But I might need to get in line, especially since my aim is not good at all."

"Ooh he could teach you!" Kaoru said enthusiastically.

"Very romantic," Nene allowed with a smile, amused at Kaoru's willingness to play matchmaker to his clueless cousin.

Kaoru threw her an indignant look. "Sensei! You're making fun of me," he whined then gasped. "You already have someone?"

"She has me," Haru butted in with a grin, "right Nene-chan?"

Nene laughed.

Kaoru scoffed. "You don't count, dirty nosed brat!"

"I'm cleaner than you!" Haru yelled. "I use disinfectant!"

"Boys!" Nene snapped as the children almost started brawling right there in the middle of the street.

The two separated, going on each side of her as they pressed forward with the other market goers. "Sensei, are you with Tobirama-sensei?"

Nene groaned. "No, Kaoru, I have told you and the rest of the class time and again , that we are not involved in something more than a professional capacity."

"But he came to your house." Kaoru pointed out.

"You came to my house," Nene replied. Was she seriously having this discussion with a kid? The misunderstandings of the class during the school year have been at first amusing then embarrassing then slightly annoying.

"Have you asked Tobirama-san?" Haru asked suddenly. "If you are involved in something more than a professional capacity," he clarified.

Nene blinked. "I did not."

"Sometimes people think differently," Haru announced.

"Juunin to iro," Kaoru added.

"Not quite the correct application to the proverb, Kaoru-kun," Nene said in a long-suffering tone then picked up the pace as the gates loomed closer. "I need to buy some things," she told the children, "so I will be off. Kaoru, don't try to organise a sneaky omiai again. Once was enough."

Kaoru and Haru grinned. "See ya, sensei," they said and took off to the roofs again, soon disappearing as two specks of dust into the blinding white of the day.

Alone now, Nene plunged in the deepening crowd, and was soon once more accosted. "Mito-sama is waiting for you," the Senju shinobi informed her, his tone transmitting that it was not something she could delay.

She followed him to the Hokage's residence, through three courtyards and a garden full of a wild explosion of vegetation, took off her sandals before the stone steps and stepped on the veranda, the long exterior corridor that ran the length of the main house.

She is received in an interior room, all closed doors and diffuse light. The room was cooler than she would have thought, as if keeping the autumn breeze trapped inside.

She bowed. "Uzumaki-dono," she said politely, kneeling to be on the same level as her.

The Hokage's wife was dressed casually, long red hair cascading down her back to pool on the floor. Her nine years old daughter, Tsume, was also there, hair pinned and posture straight.

"Nene-sensei," Uzumaki Mito said, "I was told you are particularly knowledgeable in the classic literature of the various countries surrounding us, and a gifted poet as well."

Nene bowed low to hide her face. "I am honoured to hear such high praise from your lips, but whoever said that had exaggerated my knowledge and skill," she replied carefully.

"Are you saying that my brother-in-law has made a mistake in his assessment?" Mito's voice cut in.

Nene stifled a wince as she raised her eyes from surprise, mouth partly open to deny both the perceived slight and partly to blurt out that she was merely being polite. Refusing a compliment was normal and it had nothing to do with Tobirama.

"Far from me the thought to throw any doubt on your honourable brother-in-law's character," she finally said, and because Mito's insinuations opened the way, "it is I that am not worthy-"

"Spare me the empty words," Mito interrupted her not unkindly. "I called you so you would tutor my daughter, Mizuho. She is having trouble with an assignment."

"I will do my best," Nene replied, hiding her surprise. "What is the problem?"

"Nene-sensei," Mizuho said with a warm smile that showed a gap on her teeth. "Daichi-sensei gave us the versions of Tanabata and told us to choose one and give reasons. We also have to put it in verse and it's so hard!"

"What do you think, Nene-sensei?" Mito asked, eyes sharp.

Nene nodded. "You have the version from the Eastern Fire Country region, with the Weaver Goddess falling in love with the human cowherd, and the trials they go through because her parents are against their marriage. Then, here in center and east the version where both are gods, and fall in love so much they neglect their own tasks and thus are only allowed to meet once a year, or the lesser known version from the north-east part where there is a dog wrangler who sees a celestial maiden bathing and steals her hagoromo, thus making it impossible for her to return home. He marries her but she finds her hagoromo and thus goes back home; he has to go through trials to get her back, and in the end he remains in the sky with her. Incidentally, this version has similarities with coastal legends and myths where fishermen hide seal pelts to get their wives but," she added, "it is not relevant unless you wish to explore the relation to both sides of your ancestry."

Mizuho grinned. "You speak like oji-san."

Nene stifled a groan.

"Which one do you like best, sensei?"

Nene hummed. "Orihime and Hikoboshi, I think. They are in love, they are both gods and they have her father's approval."

Mizuho hummed. "I like the one with the goddess and the mortal more," she announced.

"Then we can choose that one for your assignment," Nene smiled encouragingly. "I can tell you a few regional variations too, if you want to hear."

"Oh, yes, sensei!" The girl exclaimed, listening enraptured to Nene's performance, gasping, cheering and shouting loudly in disappointment at all the right places.

Nene bowed in the end while Mizuho clapped excitedly and Mito more sedately, a faint smile on her lips. "Sensei, can I hear another story? How is your version? Where are you from?"

"I am from Yashiro, Snow Country," Nene said, amusedly. "But our version is quite different."

Mizuho brightened even more. "Uncle!" She shouted, jumping up and running past Nene.

Nene froze. Mizuho had one uncle and it seemed she was destined to never get away from him. The dramatic thinking from the story seemed to have seeped in my thoughts, she thought drily as she turned around to greet Tobirama as well.

"Uncle, you were right!" Mizho exclaimed as she embraced him. "She really is so good at playing theater!"

Tobirama caught her eye from above Mizuho's head and nodded. "Hifumi-sensei," he greeted in his usual reserved tone.

Nene blanked for a moment. She had no idea how to call him back. Or rather, she realised that she could not call him something else rather than Tobirama. Shissei-dono was out of the question as they were colleagues and he acknowledged their relationship by calling her teacher. She could no longer call him Kouchou-sama because he had transferred that title to Satoru-sensei less than a week ago. And Senju-sensei was too vague; there were three of them in the school.

"Tobirama-sensei," she finally murmured, frowning slightly at his smug air. As if he had won in a contest. Well, it had been, she realised belatedly, because she had indeed made a point not to call him in a personal manner. She had no idea he was playing in the game though, and now she had lost.

Tobirama greeted his sister in law while his niece clung to him then sat down, balancing Mizuho on one knee.

"I apologise for interrupting," Tobirama told them, "do continue Hifumi-sensei."

Hearing that, Nene wondered how much he had seen. She had enjoyed cackling evilly in the parents' role a bit too much.

"Our legend says of a long, white road that takes our souls and guides them in this life and the next. At night it is said that our souls are less tethered, and as such we walk the White Road in our dreams and meet our ancestors. And so that we do not get lost into the dark abyss of the night, two bird-guardians keep watch on us."

"Eeeh so no love story?" Mizuho asked, sounding disappointed.

"Did you experience the White Road yourself?" Tobirama asked, sounding much more interested than she would have thought.

"Yes," she replied. She had, only not in summer but during the long dark months when the stars and moon glittered into the darkest sky and during the day, the sun shone pale and shy in steel coloured skies. That was the month one was most untethered to life.

Tobirama looked as if he wanted to ask more, but at the same moment Mizuho tugged at his clothes. "Can we go see Matatabi today?" She asked imploringly.

"After you finish your studies," Mito told her. "Nene-sensei has already helped you enough for today. You will show her the draft for your poem tomorrow."

So she had to come here again, Nene thought.

"Have you heard of the Nibi, Nene-sensei?" Mito asked her as Mizuho bowed and left the room.

"The Nibi?" Nene repeated. "I am not knowledgeable about it but it seems to be on everybody's mind," she replied vaguely. "Even Mone-san mentioned it."

"Did she?" Tobirama asked. "What did she say?"

Nene threw him a look. "Nothing," she lied. "She was just curious."

Tobirama looked briefly at Mito then back at her. "Do you want to see it?"

Nene was torn. On one hand, she was curious. On the other hand…why would he?

Tobirama's behaviour was getting glaringly obvious even to herself. She wondered how the heck Mone had gotten wind of it. Surely she hadn't been that obvious with her vexation with Tobirama. Probably.

She also finally started to realise what Izuna had been trying to tell her that day.

Her shoulders slumped. "Sure," she said, "might as well."

Mito raised an eyebrow at her tone.

Nene flushed. "I would be very thankful for the opportunity."

"Really?" Tobirama asked, full of skepticism.

Nene threw him an incredulous look. He threw her a haughty gaze in exchange, making her wish to punch him into oblivion.

"Yes," she said, "but Uzumaki-dono has graciously invited me here." So I'm not going anywhere.

"I won't keep you any longer, Nene-sensei," Mito replied, "although I have been wholly remiss in giving you refreshments."

"I will take care of it," Tobirama replied easily as he got up.

Nene got up as well, feeling the same gnawing displeasure at being yanked around. It was happening again, more and more lately, with Tomoe and Izuna on one side, and now here, on the Senju side. It was not as if she could actually refuse the invitation, so she got up, respectfully said her farewells to Mito and followed Tobirama out of the house. The heat hit her like a wall of steam. In that room she had forgotten how unbearable it was outside.

"What would you like to eat, Hifumi-sensei?" He asked as they started on their way to the main gate of the Hokage's residence.

Nene took a deep breath. "Udon," she said decisively. "I know a place."

Notes:

I had a lot of fun thinking tying tanabata legends with Nene's story XD. I mean, she and Mito were discussing on another level there lol (whether intentionally or not)

I'm so curious what people make of the way the things are going, and how much Nene is aware of what is going on, and whether she interprets things correctly.

Chapter 14

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Which one?" Tobirama asked her as they passed the last gate.

"Ukiyo's stall, in the Tamazakura quarter," Nene replied, keeping her voice neutral. "I like their udon the most." And she could also ask about Kisuke.

"It's in the opposite direction to where we're going," Tobirama pointed out. "I know a very good shop that is also in the right direction."

Nene hesitated, wondering if she should press the issue or not. But up until now, in all their interactions where they had opposing opinions, Tobirama had not budged from his position, not even once.

"Lead the way," she said, gesturing towards the street. The sun was setting, throwing all in a reddish glow. Nene walked with even, measured steps, finding herself irritated with the way Tobirama matched her pace perfectly despite the difference in their strides.

"Since your family is coming to visit you, for its duration you are exempt from the other duties. No hospital rotation necessary," Tobirama informed her. "And we'll postpone your chakra lessons for the time being as well."

Nene threw him a suspicious look. "I never told you about my family visiting," she said. Although, by now she knew that it did not matter. They were probably (definitely) reading her correspondence too.

Tobirama shrugged. "You told Chiyo."

"And she told you?" Nene asked speculatively, making a mental note to be more careful what she talked about when in her presence. "Does she also tell you everything?"

Tobirama shook his head, the beginning of a smile curling at the corners of his mouth. "Only when she thinks it's funny."

Nene frowned. "Like what?"

Tobirama threw her a side eyed-look. "Like that time you painted your face and played the mummer after getting out of jail."

Nene felt her cheeks redden. "Oh. That."

"Left here," Tobirama said, bringing them to a very narrow alley where it seemed as if everybody thought they could hang their laundry anyway, making for an exercise in side stepping drying poles, squeezing between clothes and ducking under fluttering yukata.

"If you know about everyone, what about Sanji? Is he alright?" Nene asked as they navigated the labyrinth of clothes.

Tobirama's voice somehow seemed muffled as he answered from the front. "Sanji? The umbrella maker from Yaozoru-an?"

Nene nodded. "He gave me an umbrella when I moved out. Never had to patch it once during the whole rainy season."

Tobirama stopped and held to the side a red kimono hanging low, making space for her to pass. "A pity," he muttered.

Passing by him, Nene blinked. "What?"

Tobirama let the kimono fall back into place. "He's dead."

"Dead?" Nene replied uncomprehendingly. "Was he sick?"

"Yes," Tobirama replied curtly and brushed past her to start walking again.

He was lying, Nene thought. The answer had been delivered in his usual tone but he was definitely lying.

She joined him on one of the main streets, which now seemed so much bigger and almost blindingly bright, and they started walking once more side by side.

"What about Kisuke-kun? I haven't seen him lately at the udon stall."

Tobirama threw her a brief look that seemed to hold a warning. "He's in jail."

"In jail?" She repeated, sounding like a parroting bird. "What did he do?"

"Something to put him in jail," Tobirama replied flatly.

"Can I visit him?" Nene asked innocently. "He was a very nice kid, and now that I have more free time… I remember he did not read very well, but was exempt from school. He told me his apprenticeship took priority."

"He does not receive visitors," Tobirama said.

Nene's steps slowed, the pieces of the puzzle trying to fit together in her mind. Then she remembered Tomoe's words from what seemed like long ago. He thought you were a northern spy.

"Oh," She exclaimed, realisation sinking in. Now Mone's words seemed to stretch and distort to take another meaning.

Tobirama threw her an inquiring look over his shoulder. "What is it?"

"I just remembered," Nene said quickly. "What does butterfly kissing the vegetable patch" mean? she asked innocently, willing herself to look unconcerned.

Tobirama threw her an unimpressed look. "It means to have sex." He replied bluntly. She felt second hand embarrassment from that.

She had to keep going. "Get laid?"

"Same thing," he answered unruffled. "We're here."

Nene looked at the yatai where the paper lanterns with the name of the wares, udon noodles, were already lit. The noren hung low and pristine, a vibrant blue with three white leaves in a circle making a sort of mon.

"Good evening," Tobirama said as they both parted the cloth and went to the counter.

A middle aged man greeted them. "Tobirama-sama! And a new customer!" He said warmly. "Your usual, Tobirama-sama?"

Tobirama nodded.

"And for you, ojou-san?" The man asked her, gesturing to the small wooden plates where the types of udon were written in cursive calligraphy.

"The vegetable tempura is excellent," Tobirama mentioned as he sat down.

Nene hummed. "Kitsune udon for me," she said with a small smile.

"Understood," the man replied cheerfully and turned to boil the noodles.

"Why kitsune udon?" Tobirama asked her curiously.

"You can gauge the actual quality when there are no other tastes to distract you," Nene replied serenely.

"I see," Tobirama said, sounding amused.

Nene wasn't. "So you are a regular customer here?" She asked lightly, squashing the urge to play with her chopsticks. She had to keep herself still.

"I come here sometimes, yes," Tobirama replied vaguely and then the udon stall owner turned back to them and slapped their bowls on the counter with gusto.

Nene took hers with a smile. "It smells delicious," she told the man. "Itadakimasu."

The broth was indeed delicious, and she sincerely told the stall owner so. "How did you open your business here?" She asked. "Have you been here long?"

"I can say I'm one of the first to come, ojou-san!" The man boasted. He leaned over the counter, eyes gleaming. "And to tell you a secret, I was a medicine seller before that. A snake-oil seller even! But here I was given a chance and Tobirama-sama himself helped me start this business. And now," he finished with a flourish, "I have this and two other noodle shops in Konoha as well."

"Is that so?" Nene asked, eyes widened a touch too dramatically, tone a bit too vapid. "How…peculiar," she finished with a smile, crinkling her eyes on purpose.

The man seemed thrown off. "Peculiar?" He repeated, the word foreign on his tongue.

Nene put her chopsticks and spoon down on the bowl. "Thank you for the meal."

"But you have barely eaten anything!" The man exclaimed. "Ojou-san, if it was not to your liking I can-"

"It was good," Nene assured him. "But I had already eaten so this was too much for me." She gave him a wide smile. "I can wait for you to finish, of course," she continued, turning towards Tobirama.

"No need," Tobirama replied as he took out two coins and put them on the counter. "We were in a hurry anyway. Thank you for the meal, Nio."

The man looked crestfallen. "It's the first time my customers haven't finished their meals," he uttered. Nene felt bad for him, but that emotion was soon buried in irritation.

The rest of the way was spent in utter silence, the deepening shadows making a nice counterpart to the darkening mood.

Nene was so distracted by the subsequent revelations she did not realise they had gotten to their destination. And then, at a word from Tobirama, she looked up and saw the cage.

It was huge, so big the brain briefly refused to process it. And yet, there it was, tree trunks changed to bars. And something blue flickered like flames, two mismatched eyes bigger than her head turned to look at them, pinning her with their intelligent, ancient gaze. Her hair started to rise up from static, and she felt as if she was on a mountain with the charged air of lightning coming towards them.

She dimly saw the figures of the guards disappear, leaving them alone.

"What do you think?" Tobirama asked.

Nene thought it was horrible, keeping a living being, a sentient being, locked inside a cage that seemed to be too small to even turn around in. She choked those words and shrugged. "Certainly it showcases the prowess of the Senju clan," she answered blandly. "I assume it is a great evil if it's kept in such conditions," she continued, not able to keep out the viciousness in her voice.

"It is a chakra construct," Tobirama informed her. "It does not need space to move. It won't get cramps or health problems from being temporarily contained like that."

"How very fortuitous then," Nene replied through clenched teeth.

The eyes blinked. She dimly saw a great maw open and a long pink tongue tasting the air. "Good evening," the Matatabi said,

"It speaks?" Nene asked, shocked. That somehow made it even worse.

The bijuu considered her. "Come closer," it rumbled, the words rumbling like a thunderous purr of a dragon.

Nene looked at Tobirama, who nodded and she took the last twenty steps to stand right before the bars, so close that if she stretched her hand she could touch the wood. She did not.

"There is no door," she said in horrified realisation.

The Matatabi's great head lowered until it pressed on the bars, eyes almost at the height of her head. It looked like a cross between a lynx and a cat, with flaming blue fur which changed and distorted its shape each moment. It sniffed her. The ears twitched. "I accept," it said.

"I see," Tobirama said from behind her.

Nene whirled towards him. "Accept? Accept what?"

"Matatabi accepted you as a jinchuuriki candidate," Tobirama replied calmly as he took her by the arm to lead her away from the cage. "We'll talk more about this tomorrow where you will receive more information from Mito-sama."

"Why not tonight?" Nene shot back.

Tobirama threw her a considering look. "Very well. Tonight."

Nene did not have time to be surprised by that as he closed the distance between them and put his arm around her waist, pressing their bodies together. "Wha-" she started as suddenly she felt yanked through her guts by something and time warped, throwing her body in ten different dimensions.

She came back to herself gradually, all her limbs and senses returned to her like a slap to the face. She felt like a broken bowl smashed back together. She raised her head from Tobirama's chest and took a tentative step backwards. When she did not fall over or the world did not undulate and distort around her once more, she finally took in her surroundings. They were back at the Hokage residence, inside one of the inner gardens.

A door opened and Mito herself came out, frowning. "Tobirama, did something happen?"

"The Nibi accepted her," Tobirama said without preamble.

Mito raised an eyebrow. "Oh? But she might not be compatible."

"May I know what is it?" Nene asked politely. "A jinchuuriki."

"A way to ensure both humans and tailed beasts are safe," Mito replied. "Come inside."

The small room they were in was full of pens and brushes. Mito poured tea for all of them. "It means the tailed beast is inside a human host. It has a safe place, is not destructive, and it can be released at any time by its host. It can understand and live among humans too, so maybe in time they can go back and we can change the relationship."

Nene kept the incredulity off her face at the last part. Tobirama seemed to sense her discomfort though.

"There were other candidates before you, but the Nibi did not accept any of them," he said. "Until you."

"You are not forced to accept, of course," Mito added, seeing how Nene recoiled instinctively. "But you are a sitting duck right now. It would make you less of a target. You would be able to protect yourself and the ones you love."

That seemed like a standard spiel, Nene thought. And she would be even stronger tied to the village, unable to leave forever or as long as she would be its host.

"And," Mito continued, "you can get out of the Uchiha's offer of clan adoption and marriage too, as you will be yourself a separate entity."

"Will I get out of teaching too?" She asked with hollow humour.

"Most probably."

"So my whole identity will become that of the host of the two tails," Nene concluded.

Mito shook her head. "Of course not, but you will need time to adapt and learn to use its power. And," she added with a slightly amused tone, "I don't think Tobirama will let you off the hook with teaching that easily. But if you do not wish to, you will not. Matatabi will just have to accept the candidate we have chosen in this instance."

Nene bit her lip. Having all choice, all freedom taken must have been horrifying for the Matatabi. "I-if I would have to choose…I'd give it a try."

"Excellent," Mito said, as if she had expected it all along. "Of course, in the end you might not even be compatible, but we'll see. We'll start with-"

"A health check exam," Tobirama interrupted, and this statement sparked an intense staring match between Mito and Tobirama in which neither seemed to budge.

"Very well," Mito said finally. "The day after tomorrow. You start with that. Good night, Nene-sensei."

Tobirama escorted her back home despite her obvious wish to be alone.

The next morning, before going to the market, when Haru came to bring in his homework -this time only marginally splattered with cleaning products although the smell of disinfectant clings heavily to the rough paper the children use for assignments- she asked him to tell Asao-sensei that she'd like to see him after work when he has a bit of free time.

She had to find out something.

When she came back home, laden with three times the amount of produce she initially thought to buy, she saw a small strip of paper wedged in the doorframe. Asao will meet her this very day, after the hour of the Dog, in front of the hospital.

The next two hours passed with Nene trying out all her wardrobe and changing her hairstyle ten times before she finally put it in two long braids.

She waved at him excitedly when he came out, signaling her position. He seemed tired.

"How are you?" She asked, smiling.

Asao groaned, shoulders slumped. "Hungry."

"I invited you so I choose," she laughed. "A yakiniku place, come on!"

"Trying to get me to empty my pockets?" Asao grouched as he fell in step beside her .

Nene laughed. "I'll pay." She threw him a shrewd look. "I'll also be the one deciding the portions."

Asao snorted.

"So how have you been?" Nene asked him casually as they sat at the small, two person table.

Asao practically flopped on his zabuton. "Busy," he moaned. "Training newcomers as well. Tobirama's ideas sound good on paper but training idiots all the time gets exhausting."

"Ah," Nene, one of the idiots in question, said sympathetically as she poured sake in his cup. "Seems tough."

Asao threw her a dark look. "Yes."

Nene started grilling the meat. "I'm a teacher too, you know," she added. "I really get you."

"Children would be better," Asao said glumly then perked up as the meat started to cook. "Interesting hairstyle," he commented as he chewed five pieces of meat at once.

Nene smiled. "It's from home. Do you like it?"

Asao shrugged. "Makes me think of how you can use it as a rope to strangle someone."

Nenes snorted. "Why? You want to strangle someone?"

Asao's lips twitched as he took the tongs and turned the meat.

Nene took her cue and raised her bowl, grinning. Asao rolled his eyes and plopped them down on top of her rice then leaned down over the table. Nene mirrored his movements.

"Well, let's whisper sweet nothings in each other's ears," Asao murmured as the heat from the grill reddened their faces, "it's not as if my life was hard as it was anyway."

"You make it sound so dangerous," Nene quipped, keeping her tone light.

Asao snorted. "It is. And," he continued, lips barely moving, "there are many who can lip read here."

Oh. So that was the problem. Nene passed her hand through her hair. The tight braids were a miscalculation as her face was clear. "Do you have a lot of patients that…do not make it?" She whispered, trying to make herself look coy for any observer

Asao gave her a piercing look. "Are you asking about someone specific?"

Nene nodded. "Sanji, the umbrella maker. Middle aged, but seemed healthy enough. Apparently he died of an illness while in the hospital."

Asao looked thoughtful. "I don't know. Do you want me to check? You could ask Tanaka too."

"Ah, yes," Nene muttered, "I wanted to ask for your professional opinion first."

"I see." He leaned back and poured more sake. "You better buy me another meat course."

"Of course," Nene sighed. The next part of the meal was accompanied by the sound of sizzling meat.

"Was he staying at Yaozoru-an?" Asao asked suddenly.

Nene nodded.

Asao leaned back. "Ah," he said.

It was all the confirmation she needed.

Asao changed the topic after that, bemoaning the affair of medical assistants who thought they knew better but were actually wholly incompetent and the medics that encouraged them.

Ah yes, hospital drama, a thing she did not miss at all. She still remembered an instance when Asao and another Senju medic were giving her contradictory advice in front of the patient she was supposed to check on.

She was tempted to ask him to go to an udon stall after that and bring him to the one Kisuke had worked at. But she could not be that mean; after all, Asao had helped her even when he did not have to.

"Remember the first check-up?" She snickered. "I was so embarrassed."

"Yeah, you had no idea what ovulating meant," Asao grunted. "I would've been mortified too."

Nene gave a genuine, surprised laugh.

Asao smirked and the rest of the meal passed in good-natured ribbing.

"Well," Nene said with a sigh, calculating her remaining savings, "gotta go and find some odd jobs to do for the rest of the summer."

"Nene," Asao said seriously as they parted, the street lamps flickering to life, "don't plunge your hands in the hornet's nest."

"What about bees?" Nene joked then sighed. "I'll do my best. And I'll count on you if I get too many stings and have to rush to the hospital."

"Don't count on me," Asao warned her. "I might not even be there."

Nene nodded. Of course. "Thank you for keeping me company today," she said sincerely.

Asao nodded. "Take care," he said and left.

Alone, Nene sighed, too tired to think. One thing was sure. She had to do something.

Notes:

Sooo Nene is starting to see her own problem better by seeing the Matatabi, but she still feels powerless to do anything. The step forward is that she knows she has to *do* something. Hopefully she'll find out what.

For now, she's dissimulating and starting to use misdirection more…well, Tobirama is used to her passive aggressive behaviour but yeah…something has changed.

Chapter 15

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

That night, tired and stressed, Nene dreamed the ill-fitting fragments of a dream that had been plaguing her since early spring.

She heard the buzzing of the insects, felt the soft brush of young leaves caress her cheeks. She was barefoot this time, sinking into sucking mud up to her ankles.

It smelled of fresh earth and herbs and flowers.

In quick snaps, the dream showed her: Kaoru laughing loudly with Enishi at the edge of the cliff. To the side, far away from the plunge, Iguchi yelling at Suzuka and Yukine rummaging in his backpack. The sun bearing down her back, making her sweat profusely under her clothes.

The sting of sweat dripping into her eyes, that made her shield herself from the sun, arm rubbing ineffectively over her eyes to wipe it off.

She felt before she saw the earth starting to crumble. She did not think. She ran, hands outstretched, caught them both by the back of their shirts, twisted her body and flung them back.

There was the moment of weightlessness where the sun shone warmly on her skin, where her arms flung to the side almost seemed like wings keeping her afloat, where she felt she could surge up towards the sky in triumph.

And then the mountain crashed with a roar, flinging her down on the slopes, her body twisting, hitting jutting rocks and breaking her to pieces.

No, no, Nene thought frantically. I lived. I did not die. I was not smashed to pieces.

A sharp, gutting pain exploded in her abdomen, and when she looked, a flowering branch protruded from her body, leaning towards the sky.

Nene cried in pain, body curling protectively, but a teeth-shattering jolt of pain in her right hip kept her still, writhing like a salt covered worm.

And then Tobirama's face floated before her, demanding that she get up to teach advanced mathematics.

Nene woke up to the loud boom of the tower bells, panicking briefly when she heard only four beats. She could not have slept until noon, she thought as she scrambled out of her bedding head splitting with a hangover that was definitely not helping her think clearly. Her whole body was lathered in cold sweat after the exhausting nightmare but she had to put her thoughts in order before the day started and she had to go to the health check-up exam. Fortunately, after a moment of silence, the bells sounded out again, six times and she gave a short sigh of relief. It was the Hour of the Rabbit, so she was still fine.

Her mind, however, was not. Nene still did not know the details of that day, blurry smudges while she was awake, jumbled pieces in sharp relief when she was asleep. She remembered going on a day trip with the students. She remembered rappelling down a long line. She remembered how the children walked up and down effortlessly…but there the memories cut off.

"Head injury," Kaede had told her.

"Multiple lacerations, a shattered hip, a twisted ankle, five broken ribs, a broken wrist, concussion," Asao had told her in a clipped tone that showed how unimpressed he was.

"You had a branch through your gut," Chiyo had said her. "It stopped you from falling by impaling you. It's good that you fainted and have little memory of it."

"You hung there for almost an hour, sensei!" Kaoru had cried. "And Suzuka searched for your pack down below! We could not move you at all, sensei!"

Tobirama had only told her that while saving the children was appreciated, graphically killing herself in front of them was not.

Nene knew without it being said, that Tobirama had taken her inability to save herself personally since she was an Academy Teacher, and would force her to raise up to his standards.

Was this his way of forcing her to rise to his standard? Nene wondered idly then shook her head.

Tanabata and her cousin's visit were less than a week away, and in the evening she had to go again to help Mone with the tofu making.

She got up, for as it was already the hour of the Rabbit, it was thus too late to try and go back to sleep, and after washing her face and cleaning her teeth, she started the fire in the outside oven and put the water to boil hangover tea.

In the meanwhile, she took a piece of low quality washi paper, the same one her students used, a pencil and started outlining what she knew in what was certain and what was conjecture. Since meeting Asao last night, much of the conjecture had become reality.

Sanji had died in suspicious circumstances linked to the fact that he had been staying at Yaozoru-an. Asao had confirmed that theory. Kisuke, who was also a resident, was in jail and could not receive visitors.

According to Tomoe, Tobirama had first taken her for a northern spy "but saw the error of his ways."

And she dimly remembered what Asao had first said to Hiroto, her landlord, in the hospital, his surprise at her staying there.

Yaozoru-an, surveillance house, she wrote. Where did that put Mone? She wondered bleakly. She was friends with the woman; she seemed to be integrating well. Her children went to school in Konoha and her husband was making a name for himself in the local community for his beautiful roof tiles.

Her headache worsened, but she could not see Mone as something else than a normal wife. But then, Mone had gossiped about the Nibi and immediately afterwards Tobirama had taken her there. Coincidence? But then, why would Tobirama and Mone work together?

She crossed that off her list.

Tobirama took her to see the Nibi, and apparently it was with the ulterior motive to see whether she would get accepted by Matatabi. That was another mystery. Did Tobirama know something, or had he just gambled it? And why did Matatabi choose her?

Mito hadn't looked particularly thrilled by Tobirama's words, when he had announced she could be a candidate.

And she still had to answer to Izuna's proposal but if she became a jinchuuriki that would become a moot point. Was that all it was? Nene wondered. A clash between clans trying to wrestle for control?

There were too many unknowns, Nene thought frustratedly, and now she had the additional problem of dealing with whatever a jinchuuriki candidate had to do, as she had accepted in an emotional state. She had seen the Nibi in a too small cage and had accepted its conditional release through her without a second thought. Stupid of her, she now realised, but it was too late to take it back.

She threw the paper in the oven to burn. The only words written there had not offered her any comfort or closure.

She went to the hospital in the morning rush of people and was summarily ushered in an out of bounds hallway before one door opened and Nene stepped inside.

Tobirama was there, as well as Mito, the Hokage himself and at least five more medics and twice as many assistants. It looked like all clans had gathered there to see who would get the dubious honour of trying out to become the Nibi's host.

She felt dissected and judged from the moment that she set foot inside, but there were no outward comments. She wondered if the other potential candidates were also there, watching her.

She was summarily taken by two assistants behind a curtain and told to take off all her clothes, received a loose robe instead and then they started picking her apart.

There was the usual exam, once more with Asao, byakugan active and hands coated with chakra, and then three more did more or less the same while assistants wrote things down.

Then, she was asked to keep her right hand stretched, put a gurney around her biceps then drew blood with a needle, filling five different vials. Nene looked at it in morbid fascination, feeling slightly light-headed.

In all this time, Tobirama and his relatives were not involved, despite being present, making her feel both grateful and nervous. Her mind and body were taut with anxiety, reeling over the revelations of the past few days.

And there was no way for her to demand an answer either, so she let herself be poked and prodded, let them put seals on her to check her channels and compatibility and whatever else they wanted to, thinking of the Nibi in the cage.

She was told to rest on a bed before further testing, and Nene gratefully collapsed on it. Two seals burned at the edge of the bed, on both sides of her shoulders, soothing her.

She closed her eyes and dozed off, warmed by the fire's heartbeat. She vaguely heard a door open and a nurse's muffled voice.

"… thinking?" The voice sounded thoroughly annoyed.

"..you going to tell him that?" Asao's voice floated to her ears, dry as usual. She felt a needle poke her arm and after a moment or an hour, she was not sure which, something cool and soothing slipping in her veins.

"Not fit!" The voice exclaimed. "…impaled right through the spleen. An amazing recovery from all those injuries, goes to show how much he was involved, but not even he could reconstruct the channel! It's scarred over!"

"Not yet," Asao corrected her, pitch distorted and muffled. "And…"

The other voice scoffed, its echo bouncing in Nene's brain. "And since when would we care about that?"

The answer became a buzzing, indecipherable noise. Nene felt a hand brush away the hair plastered on her forehead, a cool cloth wiping her face and fell deep into dreamless sleep.