Well

Renri walked down the hall leading to the far end of the building. She covered a yawn. Her legs felt heavy. Her eyelids were somehow heavier. The lack of light in an empty building, she considered going to sleep in the hall. It's not like anyone was around to stop her.

A long day at the academy doing taijutsu drills turned into an afternoon of the same, except with Itachi correcting her forms while flawlessly doing his as a warm-up. A warm-up that left her dragging her feet and only mildly wishing for death in the form of sleep.

Forget reading, her concentration was spent for the day.

Another yawn had her blindly turning a corner. Not that the layout hadn't become dreadfully familiar by now. She didn't need to see to navigate a devoid, unchanging place.

Light from an ajar door, she froze mid-step. A half second pause, her mind caught up and spiraled with a new surge of energy.

No one should be here.

Orochimaru had left. Anko had left with him. No one else would dare. Especially not at this hour, nor at her room.

She ducked back around the corner, heart pounding.

Her room. A storage closet or records room, the wear of the floorboards left a pattern of footpath and clustered shelves. Someone with outdated information? Her home was a lab. An unstaffed lab. Maybe it had been used during the wars. Maybe he had once used the place exclusively before leaving…

Leaving Konoha? The thought didn't-

Underground. Dark, stone, damp, crash-

Aadda slithered down her leg to drop to the floor with a thud that sent Renri's heart into her throat. The memory slipped through her fingers. A backwards glance, Aadda slinked off into the darkness despite Renri's glare. Not assisting with a possible break-in…

But there had to be some form of security. Perhaps not active, but he wouldn't leave research unguarded. She knew he still kept stuff here, she had helped put it away!

She shoved the unsettling memory aside. Solving it now would do little good if she died in the next minute.

Crashing stone and insect wings, she didn't want to remember.

Hoping that Aadda's hefty thud hadn't drawn attention- while Renri mildly panicked over her own stealthy entrance of dragging her feet the entire way- she needed a strategy. One that didn't involve chakra because she'd blown most of hers on training.

A kunai in hand, explosive tags shoved in her sleeve, she took a breath. Calm. Another breath, her heart pounding away- Nope! She couldn't focus enough to try to sense over even the short distance. Not without risking exhausting her limited chakra to nothing while becoming a flare to any other sensor. Maybe. The books were confusing!

She could blow up her room with little consequence. The collateral damage would be a smaller price to pay than allowing intruders free reign.

A matter of value, she understood her place.

She swallowed, steeling her nerves. And loosened her death grip on her kunai to stop her hand from shaking. It didn't.

Feather light steps, she turned the corner. Progress felt agonizingly slow. Her door seemed forever away, odds of someone realizing there was nothing and leaving increasing. Each step felt like a step closer to the end. Heart pounding through her chest into her ears made hearing near impossible. Yet, even then, her footsteps sounded so impossibly loud. Door within reach, she held out her free hand before hesitating. Nothing. No sign of having been noticed. Door already cracked a sliver, she had to look before swinging blindly. Holding her breath, she leaned in to-

Her kunai clattered on the floor. The noise echoed forever in sudden silence.

She froze.

The door swung open without a care in the world. A smile spread across Renki's face as he threw his arms out in an excited 'you're here' gesture. Dressed in mostly black, cloak draped over an arm, accents of red bled. The grip of a tanto poked over his right shoulder while the daruma mask was pushed to the side to show his whole face. Renki, like she had last seen him, but older. Renki, with the same dark gray eyes as her, but the kindness tempered to something colder beneath weariness. Renki, with his pure white hair secured in a low ponytail.

Once, in name, they had been twins. Long white hair and sharp weary eyes, he had started to more resemble Renta and Mom.

She… White hair tinged peach, gradually darkening while she pretended otherwise, she looked more like Renji.

"Hey, Renri," he greeted with all the brightness she remembered, mismatched in the way his tone didn't completely reach his eyes. "Out training late again, huh?"

She stared. Obviously, this wasn't real.

Yet she found no genjutsu to break.

"Look at you!" He threw his arms to the side. She should have flinched, expected an attack, but she stood stupidly still. Renki always gestured wildly when excited. The moment felt like… a piece of home. A dream soon to fade feeding off a precious memory. "You've gotten tall, you know? So have I, right?" He stepped back, thumb pointed to himself as he puffed out his chest. He deflated a bit when she didn't react. She didn't understand. "Think I'll be as tall as Renta?"

Two years. Forever and no time at all.

He laughed as she stood dumbstruck, sound striking a nerve, yet nostalgic. He took a half-step back to invite her into her own room. She failed to move. Renki's eyes scanned over everything, giving a loose gesture to her desk cluttered with too many books, scrolls, inks, and brushes.

"Speaking of Renta, he really dropped the ball with you. Pulling me out of the academy was one thing, but you, you would have been…" He trailed off when he glanced at her. Something in her expression shifted his. His posture stiffened. "What did he expect you to do in that village? Mend fishing nets and clothes like he had Mom doing?" Defensive edge, she didn't understand. Was he blaming Renta? "She was above that. She was jonin-level."

He paused, distant look in his eyes as he examined her desk instead of looking at her. His eyes landed on the incriminating scroll she'd left in the open with all the confidence of a kid sure no one would dare cross the snake Sannin by breaking into the building.

"So, you think Renta's alive?"

Her eyes went wide.

She tried to avoid thinking about them. About their fates. Father, missing. Mother, possibly dead. Renta, possibly dead. Renji, dead. Renki… She didn't know how to respond when he so casually brought them up with only a slight dip in his voice and downturn of his expression. Sometimes the mere thought of them felt like it would shatter her.

"Why?" A pathetic whisper, the dam would break, dutifully ignored and full of cracks, tears to follow. "Why are you here?" Rising pitch in her voice, she had snapped out of her stupor only to threaten a tantrum. He shouldn't be here. If he got in trouble-

"We finally get to talk and that's all you've got to say?" The panicked stutter out of her mouth had him waving his hands. "Kidding! Just kidding!" he said, voice cracking as he panicked. She sucked in a breath trying to cover a whimper. He used to do the same thing when he'd tease her, make her cry, and then worry Mom would scold him. "Don't worry, okay? I have every permission to be here. Neither of us will be in any trouble."

Who's permission!? Because she doubted there was agreement between any invested parties! She wanted to throw something at him.

"How's your ankle?" he cut off as she opened her mouth. "That thing had tossed you around pretty good by the time I got there. You had me so worried."

"I thought you were dead!"

Her shout settled in silence. He stared, eyes wide, lips parted without words. Vision watery, she finally sniffled and broke down. A few tears ran down her cheeks as she clenched her fists at her side. Too much. Upset with her messy emotions, irrationally angry with him for disappearing, overjoyed that he was alive, worried what his reappearance meant, exhausted to the point of swaying, it was all too much.

"I didn't know," she mumbled, stumbling into the room to throw her arms around him. Her fingers clutched at his shirt to keep her from falling as much as prevent him from leaving. He shifted away. She held tighter. "I thought you- You'd-" She choked on died protecting me. She didn't want him to disappear again. She wanted more than a stupid scrap of cloth and memories.

Rustling, the black cloak became a puddle on the floor.

"I know," he whispered, returning the hug. Cold porcelain pressed into her cheek as he leaned close. "I know, Renri. I'm sorry." She tried to swallow a sob. Instead she made a sad choking noise as she buried her nose in his shirt. Patting her back, Renki repeated the phrase until her shoulders quit shaking quite so hard. "Look at you, though," he mumbled, hand on her shoulder weakly prying at her. She refused to budge. "You're doing so well."

Well!?

She wanted to scream. Yell. Maybe even lash out and slap him for daring to say that. Well compared to what? Dead? Because that still may be better than her reality. Pretending the hazy memories creeping to the surface didn't terrify her was all she could do because she knew. She knew she was better off not remembering. She liked not remembering.

She didn't want reality and truth.

The order mattered. Gloss over it she may, but she had been a lab experiment. Then she had come to Konoha only to escape. Then she had dared to survive to become an issue.

Something had come loose. Ever since the monster, memories clawed to be freed.

"Would the Foundation not let you talk to me?"

A humorless laugh under his breath killed any hope he would answer. "You really are too smart for your own good." Ice in her blood, words too similar, a knot twisted her stomach. "I can see why he kept you."

Alive. Well to Renki meant alive. He knew. He almost sounded proud.

He held her closer, voice a muffled whisper not meant to be heard. "It wasn't for nothing."

Well meant alive. He applied the same to himself. She had no idea what he had been through since that night.

Deflect. Ignore. She didn't want to feel the roiling wave of anger, fear, and sadness.

"I don't have a lot of time," Renki said, pushing at her shoulder again as he straightened his back. She let him shove her the smallest step back. Prying her hand from his shirt took effort, her fingers left numb. "Let's just sit down and talk for a bit."

She nodded, no longer trusting herself to speak. Not without her voice cracking with the rest of her.

He sat down to lean his back against the wall, patting the spot next to him when she hesitated. She fiddled with her sleeve.

Thick paper crinkled.

He held out his hands as she pulled the explosive tags from her sleeve. "You made these," he said, smiling when she handed them to him. He flipped one around before tracing his fingers over ink. "You should have seen how fast a demonstration changed their minds. I don't think even Danzo-sama expected you to be so skilled at making them."

The name so casually said caused her to stiffen.

Orochimaru had taken a few from her, and she hadn't known why. She still didn't. He batted away the Uchiha officer taking her statement, but even he had to answer to someone. She hoped. She hoped he had to answer to both the ANBU and Hokage, because if he only answered to Danzo…

She sat beside Renki, pulling her knees to her chest to curl in on herself. He set a hand on her shoulder.

"Reminds me of the time you stole some of Renta's senbon." A soft laugh under his breath, he stared at a distant point well beyond the wall. She didn't remember. That stung. "He was so damn sure I had. He looked like he was about to explode when he saw you throwing them at a target you drew on the wall," he continued, voice a cheerful lie forced through a clenched jaw. "Almost as upset as he'd get when you'd steal his books and circle words. Renji sure knew what he was doing when he bought you crayons."

His smile didn't reach his eyes, same falter in his voice at Renji's name as in hers.

"Really," he started again after a sinking pause, "how are you doing? You must have taken a nasty hit to have…" He paled, fear ghosting over his face as he looked at her. Past her. "To have been like that," he quickly finished, looking away.

"Fine." Again, he circled back to that moment. He could see she had recovered. "What happened to it?" What response was he fishing for? Someone knew the truth, between the ANBU and the Foundation.

"Renri," low, dangerous, his eyes narrowing as he stared down at her, "don't. You know better than to ask."

One word different. Only one.

He patted her shoulder, whispering an apology as he again dodged her gaze. Sitting side by side and the distance never felt greater.

"Was your friend okay?"

She blinked. "The girl I was with?" He nodded like it should have been obvious. Maybe it should have. She'd saved her, from an outside perspective, her thoughts of leaving Mariko hers and Orochimaru's to judge. But why ask after her? Mariko didn't seem to have any connections worth investigating. Right? She blanked at her own question. "We're just classmates. She's fine."

"You-?" Sharp, a crack in the mask he wore, he took a deep breath. "You really risked your life for a classmate?" The anger leaked through anyway, his brows lowered while his lips fought a sneer. "Renri wha-"

"Renki," she interrupted, setting her hand over his, his sudden grip bordering uncomfortable, "please don't." Please don't agree with Orochimaru.

Renki swallowed before looking away. Slowly, his fingers relaxed with his jaw.

"Do you…" He trailed, eyes no longer meeting hers. The flash of anger faded to something else. Something between resignation and desperation. "Do you like it here? In Konoha?"

"I do."

Said without consideration, she bit her lip. Did she? She must, no hesitation keeping the words safely in her mouth.

The stifling pause choked elaboration.

"But the academy curriculum is boring, isn't it?" Pressing to find fault, the desperation slipped through as he leaned a little closer. Why? It's not like they could just leave. They had nowhere to go that wouldn't be the same or worse. "Wouldn't you rather practice what interests you?"

Scroll conspicuously on her desk, "I already do." The academy wasn't an obstacle when she had ways around it. Going may take up time, but… "I asked to go. I wanted to…"

Pretend. She wanted to pretend to have some semblance of normalcy. She wanted-

"Have any friends?" Renki asked, filling in a thought she tried to bury. Silence mistaken as no, Renki patted her shoulder despite her loose grip on his fingers remaining. "You were always shy. Don't worry, I'm sure-"

"I do." Forced out a little louder than intended, she softly repeated it a second time like it could undo the outburst. Unfortunately, voice found, she rambled like she wanted to reassure herself. "I think… I think he thinks a lot like I do. He's really smart. Likes to read and train and learn. He's also really nice. And quiet, so it doesn't bother him that I'm quiet."

"The Uchiha boy, right?" His expression twisted between something amused then pitying at her nod. He knew about Itachi? "Consider him a rival?"

"No." Renki blinked at the blunt speed of her answer. She shook her head, slightly bitter smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "I know I can't compete with him. I think… It'd be stupid to even try. I'm jealous of him sometimes." She would never catch up. Every passing day she could see that more and more. She had to find her own path while hoping, maybe, their paths would at least continue to cross.

Another lapse. Renki leaned his head back into the wall, eyes closing with a sigh.

She'd answered wrong again.

"Renki," she hesitantly tried, "where have you-"

His answer was a pitying look paired with a strained smile that would never reach his eyes.

"Renri," voice lowered, tired and unsure, "I just… I just need to hear it again." He swallowed, something fearful in his eyes as he gripped her shoulder a little tighter. Something broke in him as she held his fingers tighter in return. "Despite all the shadows you've seen beneath Konoha," all the pain and darkness she'd experienced since being ripped from home, all the pain to come as a shinobi, "do you want to stay? For this to be home?"

"Where else could I go?" Kirigakure had never welcomed them. That lab had brought nothing but pain. Konoha was… She knew nothing else. "It's like this everywhere, right? I-" Want to pretend. She could imagine the stack of corpses the village was built on, the names of lives sacrificed dearly preserved. But here, she could pretend.

"No matter how hard it gets," intense look as he shifted to fully face her, "no matter what you have to do to stay," he grabbed her hand, squeezing, "you want to be here?"

"I want…" She swallowed harshly before nodding. "I want to be a Konoha shinobi."

"Okay," he whispered. He dropped her hand, pulling his free from her grasp. He messed with the ends of his hair. Lips pressed thin, teeth clicking together as his jaw clenched, his features pinched. "Okay." Firmer, his eyes snapped to her. "Trust your older brother?"

She wanted to.

A/N: Because I know the names are way too close:

Renta- 13 years older than Renri, a Kiri ninja, current status unknown

Renji- 9 years older than Renri, though he was 12 when he died

Renki- 4 years older than Renri, so 11 this chapter, taken into the foundation

This all happened because I had the thought their mother would have a cute naming convention for them, and that happened to be them all sharing the same first kanji.

Thanks for reading!