Disclaimer: The characters are Masashi Kishimoto's property, I own the OCs.

Characters age:

Akane: 13 - 15 1/2 (46 - 48 1/2)

Itachi: 13- 15 1/2 (30 - 32 1/2)

Shisui: 16 - 18

Naruto / Sasuke: 8 - 10

Kakashi: 22 - 24

"Wake up!" I jumped in my bed and Shisui fell from his. I looked at Tsunade-san.

It had been a week since Shisui and I left and six days since we were under her care. As I had suspected, Minato-san's note indicated to the house my family and I used to live in the Land of Hot Water. What was not my surprise to see Tsunade-san and Shizune-san expecting us there. Shizune took care of Shisui and Tsunade-san took care of me. I had broken ribs, a bad bruise on my back and some damage to my throat. Shisui had his missing eye, already taken care of by one of my seals, but was fine otherwise.

Ever since, we had been resting under Tsunade-san's and Shizune-san's care.

"Who's first?"

"Nature's calling," Shisui said immediately, leaving for the bathroom.

"Stretches, now." I sighed and did.

"We slept for two days and ate like ten men, but I'm fine…"

"You're fine when I tell you you're fine." I sighed and started stretching, my body cracking. After sleeping, my body and Shisui's were hurting from sore muscles, so we had wonderful stretching times under Tsunade-san's gaze.

Once breakfast was over, she sat down in front of us.

"It has been a week now and you both are fine, so Shizune and I are going to leave." I shared a look with Shisui. "Minato didn't explain in detail in his letter, he just said you were fleeing Konoha for a secret mission." Not wrong. "I don't know what is going to happen for you now, but I was tasked to give you this." I accepted the scroll, like Shisui accepted his, and opened it.

"A one-summon scroll for toads?" She nodded and I cut my thumb open to sign with my fingerprint, elbowing Shisui so he would do the same.

"Am I getting ahead of myself if I say it is from Jiraya-sama?" he inquired. Tsunade-san shook her head and stood up.

"Akane can explain what it is for. If I am ever needed, you will need to use it. Jiraya will tell Minato, who will tell me." I nodded and stood up, walking with her and Shizune-san to the door.

"Thank you for helping us."

"It is nothing." She leaned on her knee with one hand and put the other on my head. "Do take care however, especially now the village is no longer behind you." She glanced at Shisui quickly, who was standing but giving us privacy. "I don't know what happened to his eye exactly, but I sure hope Minato will fix this."

"I hope so too." I looked at Shizune-san. "Thank you as well."

"Oh, it was nothing," she replied with a tensed smile. Helping us when we had just become nukenin probably didn't sit right wither her.

"Uchiha," Tsunade-san told Shisui, who bowed respectfully.

"Thank you for your help."

"Take care." They left and I closed the door after them. Shisui sighed and sat back down; I just leaned my forehead against the door.

The silence was…deafening.

"So what now?" I joined him and sat in front of him at the table.

"I don't know. My plan was to head to Kiri once I was out of Konoha, but you were not supposed to leave with me. There's no way you could come with me safely and I don't want to split up without knowing what you're going to do."

"I'm not a kid."

"It's not…"

"But I get what you mean." He leaned back on his hands and looked at the ceiling. "If someone had told me that one day, I would be a fugitive…I would have laughed at their face."

"Better that than dead," I muttered.

"Hum…so, are you going to tell me how you knew Danzou was about to stab me in the back?" I blinked. "You've been mumbling about a debt you have to me, and I can't see one for the life of me so…how did you know?" I just looked at him.

Shisui was not supposed to leave and be here with me, and he was smart. He'd see through my weak excuses to explain my knowledge. I looked down.

"And I'm sure it's the same reason Itachi seemed to know what was happening and would happen too." It only made me wonder how he, and everyone, reacted to the news of us being gone.

"It's…I can…trust you, right?" He deadpanned at me.

"With our current situation, I'd say yes. Not that you couldn't before though."

"It might be hard to believe but…" I moved to be next to him and raised my shirt. My chakra on my hand, I made the seal on my stomach appear. He frowned at it. "It's a long story."

"I have nothing but time."

So, I told him, from the moment I left Konoha with Mom, Minato-san and Aunty dying, to me being abducted by Kiri until he got me out of it. I told him about how he promised me one day there would be a world where people were not judged because of their kekkei genkai. I told him how he died and the letter I got after that, how the Uchiha massacre happened and the role that Itachi played. I told him how Mom died and how I found myself traveling with Itachi, and then got involved with him. I told him how Itachi died against Sasuke, how I discovered I was pregnant with twins. I told him how Sasuke found me and was with me during labor, how he helped me and brought me back to Konoha. Ultimately, I told him how I died and found myself in my five-year-old body because I had become a Yuurei, I told him somehow Itachi had tagged along and that it had never happened in the recorded history of my clan.

By the end, I was panting. Shisui gave me a glass of water I drank in one go.

"Well…it's not something you hear every day," he finally said, playing with the string of his eyepatch right under his ear. "You're like…old enough to be my mother." I rolled my eyes.

"Seriously?"

"Don't blame me, I use humor in these kinds of situations to diffuse them like you do." I rolled my eyes. "I want to say you guys should have told me, but it's too late now. Itachi should have been to one to tell me anyway." I looked down. "However, you both make so much more sense now. Don't get me wrong, I do think you're a great kunoichi and all, but your mind didn't match the size of your body."

"Yeah, I know."

"So, the Hokage and Kushina-sama know." I nodded. "As well as Tsunade-sama and senpai?"

"I never told Kakashi the details, he didn't want to know."

"Jiraya-sama?"

"He may know but I'm not sure." He took a deep breath.

"It is a better outcome, even if the way it almost ended the same way with Minato-sama is crazy to think about." I pursed my lips. "Thank you for getting me out of this situation." I scoffed and sat on my butt instead of my knees, holding my knees close to my chest.

"And now you're a missing-nin."

"An alive missing-nin. Really, it is a win now I have the full picture." He crossed his arms and nodded to himself. "Actually, it's perfect, really."

"You're missing an eye Shisui. Can you even use your Mangekyou normally now?"

"Well, I doubt it but if Danzou could use Kotoamatsukami with only one eye, then I can too and it's what I care most about. If I can get more than the skeleton of the Susanoo, then it is fine." He glanced at me. "Konoha needs a man outside. Itachi did it once and I agree with you: he deserves to be on the good guys' side now."

"…are you saying you want to join the Akatsuki?" He shrugged.

"Maybe, who knows. Who knows who is going to be a part of it now?" True. "What I know is that if Itachi joined it, I could too. I am competent." I pursed my lips, which he saw. He frowned. "Okay, I'm hurt."

"I know you're competent Shisui, it's just…well, you died once so I'm…wary."

"Hum, well other Shisui killed himself for one, even if the poison would have killed him. It was the surprise of the attack that caused his loss Akane, not a lack of skills."

"I know that. I know." There was a short silence.

"Itachi really applied the 'act in the shadows' until the very end." I scoffed.

"Yeah, and what did it get him?" Shisui raised a surprised brow and I sighed. "I'm sorry, but this behavior pisses me off to no end."

"I can see that." I narrowed my eyes at the floor. "Akane, it's okay to be mad and resent him for leaving you back then. I'm surprised you just went along with getting back together with him."

"…I thought he would change," I admitted under my breath. "I mean, ultimately, if he had wanted kids and such, I'm not sure I would want that because I have been a mom and experienced this. When he told me who he was and once I was used to him, I thought he'd change and rely on me. Sasuke…the one before told me his brother had realized he should not have shouldered everything alone and yet…he still kept me away." I shook my head. "I'm one to talk, seriously."

"Did you tell him that?" I shrugged.

"What for? When it started to come back, we were barely seeing each other anyway." I sighed deeply. "I don't really want to talk about it, there's too much to unpack when it comes to my relationship with him."

"I can see that." He licked his lips. "Do you think that maybe…just maybe, the abuse you went through in Kiri influenced how you view it though?" I blinked.

"Oh, definitely." He pursed his lips but didn't comment further.

"There is only thing I am sure of now." I blinked and he looked at me dead in the eyes. "Whatever debt you think you have to me, consider it paid. If anything, it was cancelled when I died on you. I'm alive now, I'm missing an eye yet I feel like I'm seeing clearer than I have in a long time." I chuckled faintly. "So, not Kiri for now and if I were to join the Akatsuki, then they would recruit me."

"Would you really be alright there? I mean…"

"Hey, give me some credit. Even if I'm discovered, I'm fast." And Obito could teleport. "Shouldn't I be the one worried about you going to Kiri after what you told me happened there?"

"Meh, I'll be fine. It is my birth village and I left it once so if anything, I have to do something about it now."

"It's funny though. I get you out of it and then watch you go back to it." I smirked. It was ironic for sure. "I have to make some noise for myself without the Land of Fire knowing and while keeping quiet about you."

"How?" He pursed his lips.

"I haven't thought of it yet, but I'd say stay in bordering countries."

"What about Kiri? They might come after me now I've left Konoha."

"Then we avoid them too." He stretched out two fingers to me. "We both work in the shadows together now Akane." I widened my eyes and looked down at his fingers. "Sorry we didn't involve you. We should have, maybe we could have avoided this mess. But now, I hope we can work together as a team." I smiled and sniffed, tears gathering in my eyes. I crossed my fingers with his before he could say a word, wiping a tear away.

"Sure partner." He smiled back. "Sorry for the tears, there's been a lot of stress."

We left the next day, traveling in the neighboring nations. I followed Shisui. I knew how to stay under the radar, so if it came to being seen, I'd gladly let him handle it. We traveled like this for four months, not hearing a word about the Akatsuki despite going through the Land of Rain. I had told Shisui infiltrating the Akatsuki was long-term and that there might be close to zero percent chance for him to ever go back home. He was quiet after this and told me not to worry about it and that he knew what he was getting into. Still, I needed to make sure he had a way out of this. He just told me he'd help me if I needed.

After four months, we found a village in the Land of Tea named Ruibosu Village. Shisui, with his friendly approach to people, did not struggle to find people who would pay for his mercenary work. He was picky in what he was choosing, and I was making seals for some people, so we were sleeping outside or in inns in villages. We were not rich, but it was enough to live as normally as we could. Eventually, as we were paying for our stay at the inn, the receptionist gave us a note with an address. Shisui and I looked at each other and shrugged before going there. On the note it said we could go to somewhere safe where we would matter. It sounded culty to me.

We ended up in a back alley in front of an old door.

"Ladies first," Shisui told me, stepping back. I frowned at him and knocked. There was nothing. I opened the door enough to peek inside. I opened it wide a second later.

The room was bare, some crates left here and there. There was a damaged mattress on the floor.

"Who're you?" In front of us was an imposing man rubbing his head. He yawned and looked at the both of us. "You have a note?" Shisui gave it to him. The guy read it and spat on the floor once he was done. "Follow me."

"What are we getting ourselves into?" I whispered to Shisui, who shrugged.

"We can fight back if it is needed." The guy led us through a dark tunnel. We exited in a cove. There was a motorboat directly alongside the beach.

"Jin, we have two others!" A guy, scrawny compared to our 'guide', sat in the boat, his hat slipping off. He yawned and gestured us to come.

Shisui gave me a push and as we were sailing to who-knows-where, I was shooting Shisui a pointed look. He ignored me like a pro.

We reached shore three hours later. The guy rang a bell, someone came out of a cabin in the harbor, looked at us and gestured us to follow them. We went through three different buildings and four different guys before we found ourselves in front of a woman in her fifties. She grinned at our sight and stood up.

"Welcome you two! It is always a pleasure to see new faces around here!" I showed the 'around here' with my finger. "Oh right, you don't know where you are. Well, rest assured, this is not a jail!" We followed her through town.

We could see high towers around the town center, lower buildings being located near the harbor. The woman, Aina, explained where we were to us.

This place was called 'the Isle of the Lost'. It was pretty dramatic if you asked me. The city was created by a rich entrepreneur after the war between Konoha in Kumo. The man was from the Land of Frost and the battles destroyed his town and killed many of his family, including his wife. After this and how, apparently, the compensations were not enough compared to the loss, he had decided to leave to use his money and create a place where shinobi had no control on. He had left with survivors from his town and his son and had found this island. He had built on it and named it this way because he felt people like him, who were not shinobi and not from big nations, were 'lost' to shinobi conflicts. Anyone who felt they had been cheated by the system in place or had nowhere and no one to go to were welcomed here. Typically, the reception of the inn in the village would be the one to suggest people and then they were coming here to be offered a place to stay and a purpose, a way to be seen and be useful.

Another thing was that shinobi skills were prohibited.

"So, let's say I have lost everything to war, I would be able to build a life here," Shisui summed up. Aina nodded.

"Isn't that wonderful? Junchiro-sama is an angel." I couldn't help but think there was something strange here. "You can stay here if you wish."

"And what kind of job would we have?"

"Many. Shinobi can also go fight at the arena." I raised a brow. "For entertainment purposes." It sounded a lot like the Coliseum.

Shisui accepted. We were offered to stay in a hotel room, and he fell on his bed. I sat on mine and waited for an explanation.

"It sounds a lot like an underground cult, I'll give you that," he said, sitting up. "However, if it is, then I could go to that arena, make a name for myself and get the Akatsuki attention."

"You have no idea what you're doing."

"No Akane I don't, I'm sorry if I thought I would remain in Konoha my whole life without being seen as a traitor by everyone!" I was taken back. Shisui immediately looked ashamed and ran a hand on his face. "I'm sorry, it's not your fault, I shouldn't take it out on you."

"It's fine," I mumbled under my breath. "Just…I'm not sure of what's next."

"You master the Hiraishin?"

"Did you hear what she said? Shinobi skills are prohibited."

"Don't get caught then."

"And tonight, for you ladies and gentlemen, the return of our champion! He has been keeping a tight grip on his title for twenty-nine weeks now! It's Shisui of the Body Flicker!"

Shisui raised his hands when everyone cheered for him. I knew it was an act, but a part of me wondered if he wasn't enjoying the claps a little bit too much, now he didn't have to worry about his clan or his village.

I bit in my candied apple, leaning on the railing above the rows of seats as he started fighting. Shisui had gone through his opponents easily on his first participation without the Sharingan. The commentator had said it had been twenty-night weeks, so we had been here for seven months and a half. Thanks to his 'job', he got us a simple and comfortable apartment. It would be a year since that dreadful night in a couple of weeks. I would often wonder how they all were, how Naruto and Sasuke were mainly. It had been a big change after all. I knew from a toad that Minato-san had not suffered too much from my actions. It was good.

I also wondered how Itachi was. Losing his best friend was tough, of course, but I'd wonder if he missed me. A part of me wanted him to, I was still missing him after all. Leaving like this without telling him at the time seemed the easiest thing to do. Now, I knew I had just been a coward. I didn't want to tell him because deep down, I wanted to hurt him by doing so, but also because I didn't want him to try to change my mind and put the narrative I had built in my mind in question.

He had every right to be mad and hate me now. I wouldn't blame him. He had tried to leave without saying goodbye before he died though, but doing this was not…

The moment I'd see him again, I'd apologize.

Shisui had made me spill the beans about Itachi and I had told him what I was thinking. He had listened to me without a word. After my long monologue, he admitted he could not know what was in Itachi's mind like he had thought he could before because of everything that had happened to him. He did tell me that while it sounded like something he could do, he highly doubted Itachi had faked our relationship and that if anything, it was probably the only real thing he had had after the massacre and was holding onto it. When I asked him if it was because he was in love or for his own mental sake, Shisui could not answer. He was convinced Itachi was in love with me, but I was struggling to believe it.

He had promised me we would have a future together and all, but a lot had happened since then.

In any case, dwelling on it for now wouldn't be of any use.

"Ah, candied apples! Tobi loves candied apples!" I froze immediately.

Tobi?

Tobi!? Tobi speaking in the third person!?

I looked to my left, my mout opened a centimeter from my candied apple. Leaning against the railing like I was and rocking back and forth on his feet was Obito. The stupid orange mask I had heard of was there, like the silly voice Kakashi had told me he had used before being known to all as 'Madara'. He didn't have his Akatsuki cloak though.

He turned his head to me. With the lights only on the fighters, I couldn't see if his sharingan was on or not. He pointed his thumb at Shisui.

"Is he your friend?" I nodded numbly, not knowing how to react. It would be suspicious if I were to just run away with the Hiraishin I had finally mastered, although I couldn't use it more than five times in a row. "Ohhhh Tobi has heard he was super strong!"

"…yeah, he is…"

"What happened to his eye?" I looked away and tried to relax a little. "Tobi's friend is going to win anyway!"

"Your…friend?" He nodded and for a brief second, I caught his gaze perfectly. It was not the Sharingan, just plain old black eye.

"On the opposite side we have someone from a powerful clan which met its demise during the Second Shinobi War!" I widened my eyes slowly and turned my head back to Shisui. The man in front of him was slowly walking to him. "Uzumaki Ushio!" He removed his cloak entirely.

"The…fuck?" A heavy hand was on my head, making me lean it forward a little.

"I love family reunions!"

Dad had longer hair than the last time I had seen him, but not much. His disheveled, spiky hair fell toward his eyes and down his neck now, some stubborn lock of hair remaining quite spiky. I narrowed my eyes at him. He had a stubble, but his left eye was lighter in color than the right one.

Shisui glanced at me briefly, but it was enough for me to catch the surprise on his face. He hid it quickly.

Dad fucking waved at us though.

"And the battle can start!"

Shisui was quick on his feet, didn't waste any movement. Yet, he couldn't land a hit on Dad who would or block him, or straight-up dodge. Shisui was close to fall from the fighting stage when Dad disappeared. He reappeared on the other side, his hands on his hips.

Shisui was still visible at the edge of the fighting stage that Dad blocked his vicious side kick with both his fore arms, apparently becoming more serious. Shisui did not give him a second to breathe and used the Body-Flicker to create many mirage images of himself. Dad looked around and jumped in the air. He made a few hand seals I recognized vaguely.

"Suiton: The Water Hydra Jutsu!" He spat water from his mouth, but instead of one water dragon, there were several who went down on every image of Shisui. Water quickly covered the whole area. Shisui glanced at it and was about to use a Fire Jutsu, most probably to evaporate it because water was dangerous with my dad as an opponent.

He found his limbs trapped by water whips coming from the ground. He gritted his teeth and tried to remove them, but more came out. When my dad landed, he put one knee on the floor, his right hand as well while the other was forming the tiger seal.

Then, the water whips disappeared and Shisui literally just ran out of the stage. Well, at least I thought so but he was using chakra in his feet to remain stuck a meter from the ground. I saw my dad roll his eye and use the Wild Water Wave Technique to have Shisui touch the ground, which he did.

It was dead silent in the arena until the commentator announced my dad as the winner. I went to Shisui's side immediately, who was sitting and flexing his fingers. He was looking at them strangely.

"Are you okay?" I asked him in a whisper. He nodded and licked his lips. "What happened? You…"

"I didn't," he interrupted me, now looking at his legs and feet as he was moving them. "I lost control over my own body." I raised a brow. "I don't know, I just couldn't move on my own, almost as if someone was using me as a puppet. Just using chakra to prevent falling was complicated."

"I'm impressed though, you are the first one who managed to use chakra when they were under my control." I frowned and looked up. Dad was there, sitting on the edge of the stage, leaning his arms on his legs. "Hello honey."

"Asshole." He raised his brows.

"Rude." I stood up but Shisui was quicker and put himself between my dad and me. He glanced at me over his shoulder and shook his head. "Oh my, you've changed boyfriend I see, although he looks too old for you."

"Oh my God…" I muttered under my breath, anger and frustration pulsing in my veins.

"Ushio, old friend!" I looked behind me, like Shisui.

It was Junchiro, the man behind this place. His clothes were clearly expensive and sober in colors, his graying hair tied back in low bun. His blue eyes seemed…happy, at the sight of my father.

Dad jumped down and walked to him to shake his hand.

"Junchiro, long time no see! I love what you've done with this place."

"Oh well, sometimes you need to be the progress you desperately seek." He glanced at us. "So, is he the young man you wanted to talk to?"

"Yes, I have a proposal for him." I tried to follow them but couldn't. Shisui smiled at me before he disappeared from my sight, leaving me on the sides of the stage while people were leaving the arena.

I contemplated staying, trying to eavesdrop but with Dad and Obito around, it was better not to. I went back at the apartment instead, wondering what the hell was happening. Was Obito here to recruit Shisui? If so, did it mean Dad was part of the Akatsuki now? And when did he even meet Junchiro? Why were they so friendly with each other?

"Akane?" I jumped. I had been staring at my front door for a while. I turned around to see Kaiji, our neighbor. He used to be part of Ishigakure, a hidden village situated in the country between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. He was two years older than I was and was quite tall, with broad shoulders and was fit overall. His skin was tan, with short wavy black hair framing almond-shaped gray eyes.

He was good looking.

"Did the fight disturb you this much?" I averted my eyes.

"You could say that."

"Well, I don't think this guy is going to stay, so Shisui should get his champion title back soon. Unless I beat him this time." Kaiji was a user of Steel Release. It was rare and it was the first time I had met someone using it.

Shisui was surprised then over the moon when he fought Kaiji.

"Let's hope so." He smiled a toothy grin and nodded before getting inside. I did the same and sighed deeply.

Dad…and Obito. Together.

I did not see that coming. Could it be Obito was the one to release him as well?

Fuck, what if he was? How…

I screamed in my pillow. For someone who knew what could happen, everything was out of control!

Shisui came back in the evening. I almost jumped at him, but he told me to sit down instead. I watched him drink a big glass of water and run a hand on his face before he sat down next to me.

"Well, my plan is a success?" I furrowed my brows. "The Akatsuki heard about me and asked two members to come recruit me."

"Huh. So, my dad is part of the..." He nodded.

"Apparently his partner, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, died recently so he is in need of a new partner because Orochimaru is not wanted." I groaned.

"I forgot he existed." Shisui licked his lips. "So, what did they tell you?"

"They exposed their goal and such. Junchiro seems…to agree with them."

"…is this place secretly ruled by the Akatsuki?" He shook his head.

"No, I don't think so. Your dad knows him because apparently, he used to sell him seals during the last war." Oh, so it was an old client of his. "However, I wouldn't be surprised if it became an Akatsuki territory or something from the talk."

"So…you're joining the Akatsuki…as my father's partner?" He nodded. "Huh, I guess Uchihas and missing-nin from the Mist do belong together in the end." Shisui sighed.

"I'm not thrilled to team up with him, but well, I don't exactly have a choice."

"So…so it's time for us to split up then." I chuckled wryly. "Damn, I never thought it would happen this way."

"Neither did I." He glanced at me from the corner of his eyes. "Apparently, Junchiro gifted your dad with an apartment in the new towers in the north of the city. Your dad gave me the keys." I raised a brow. "I don't know, when it was just us, he said it was breaking his heart to take 'his daughter's only friend away from her'." My eye twitched. "And as long as I do the missions I'm given, I can do whatever I want in my free time, even come back here."

"I see." He left the room and came back with his forehead protector.

"I'm supposed to cross it," he whispered almost painfully.

"I know. It doesn't mean that…" His sigh interrupted me.

"I know Akane, I know it doesn't mean it but…it's still symbolic." He put it on the table. "Your dad said it was too bad you couldn't come because he didn't want to land on Kiri's radar." I raised a brow. "They're looking for you on the continent apparently but haven't gone to Konoha directly because we're both in the Bingo Book."

"Awesome." I had never fully unpacked here anyway, and neither did Shisui. "I guess it's time to go back to the Land of Water."

"I'll use the toad to tell you when I'm here." I nodded.

The contract Tsunade-san had given us was basically to summon one toad who would go to Jiraya-san with our message. It was the only thing we could do with it, but it was already pretty good to communicate.

Itachi had been Jiraya-san's contact in the Akatsuki after all.

I didn't tell Kaiji much, just that we were leaving the Isle of the Lost. He appeared confused at first but accepted it if it was what we wanted and told us to be careful.

He was a good guy. I had no idea what brought him here, ideals in contrast with the shinobi world or maybe he was a secret sociopath, and I wasn't seeing it. In any case, I had no idea if I'd see him again.

Shisui had indications to go to Ame. We traveled together back to Ruibosu village. It had changed a little and seemed more developed now.

"You're going to be okay, right? I mean, Ame is…" Shisui ruffled my hair.

"I will be fine. I told you once, I'll tell you again: he got me by surprise. I know I'm not going in friendly territory." I pursed my lips and nodded, clenching my hands on the straps of my backpack. "I should be the worried one. Where are you going to take the boat?"

"On the coast of the Land of Fire." We both had to go through it after a year without going in it. "We both need to be careful; the country is enemy territory now." He had this thoughtful look in his eyes once more, the same he would get when I'd wake up during the night and see he had insomnia again.

"Well, you better be careful too." We reached the border two hours later. We just stared at the sign for a few minutes before looking at each other. "Give me a big hug now." I chuckled and did. He returned it as tightly as I was hugging him. We stayed like this for a few minutes before breaking our embrace. "Stay out of my way though, I'd hate to fight against you." I smirked.

"You'd hate to lose." He gaped, fakely wounded.

"I'd hate to break your ego." I shook my head.

"Until next time Shisui." He nodded firmly and crossed his fore finger and middle finger with mine.

"Until next time Akane." Then, we split up.

Dad telling Shisui Kiri was looking for me was no coincidence in my mind.

I reached the harbor easily. There no longer were connections between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water though, so I went all the way to the Land of Frost to get one. I was in Ryoushi three days later. Somehow, I was almost relieved to see the familiar flora of the Land of Water and its overly humid climate in the summer. It would not get over 25°c, but it would be so humid and moist.

Seeing that…I felt like I was getting back some of that control I had lost the night Shisui and I fled Konoha.

I walked quietly for four days until I was back on the cliff overlooking the village. It was dawn and the sun was starting to rise above the sea line. I looked at it with nostalgia for a second.

It was funny. The last time I had been in Kiri, and on this very cliff, was with Itachi. I knew deep down I'd come back on my own. The reason I had a panic attack after seeing Yagura might have been a reaction to seeing him and having memories come back to me, but also not wanting to admit it.

I had never thought, in a million years, that I would be glad to come back here under Yagura's reign and yet…after having dealt with Danzou for a year, I was glad.

I went down the cliff and to the gates. Two chuunins looked at me, not understanding why I was here. I looked back at them. One of them pointed at me while he looked at its partner.

"Isn't she…"

"I think so."

"What should we do?"

"Move aside." They tensed and moved aside. I was now face to face with Yagura. He walked quietly up to me. I was taller than him now.

Still, I put a knee on the ground and kept my head low, showing everything, he needed to know.

"You are a year late." I knew better than to respond, so I merely nodded. "Whatever, you came to your senses Uzumaki." A forehead protector fell on the ground. The fabric was black, and the Kiri symbol shone faintly in the dim light of dawn.

Without a word, I took it and put it on.

"Raise your head." I did and he smirked. "That's way better. Get up." I did and he turned around. "Follow me, we have much to discuss."

Indeed, we had.

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