Chapter 2: Time Flies
SLURP! Ide took a long sip of hot green tea as he sat at small table in a studio apartment with a traditional Japanese meal splayed out on the table for him complete with steamed fish, rice and vegetables, a bowl of miso soup and a hot kettle of tea for him to refill his cup at his leisure. Thankfully Ide found himself alone in this apartment as his hunger and exhaustion compelled him to scarf the meal down as quickly as possible which led to a lack of table manners as he practically shoveled the meal into his mouth via his chopsticks.
After dinner Ide decided to relax on the bed removing his Hidden Leaf military vest revealing the red and white fan that was the Uchiha clan symbol that was sown onto the back of his gray jumpsuit. 'I suppose it's nicer than being locked up in a cell…' Ide thought as an annoyed expression appeared on his face. 'I suppose I understand why they're being cautious. According to my "supervisors" I was pronounced dead after the war ended so me showing up out of the blue without aging is probably enough to raise suspicion but I have to meet with a new Hokage tomorrow? Normally wouldn't they have just had the Anbu interrogate me and that'd be the end of it? They already had a couple of those Hyuga guys check me out, shouldn't that be enough why bother the Hokage?'
Ide rolled over onto his side and put the thoughts away. 'Probably just being overcautious. With the war being over I bet the new Hokage is bored and once a distraction from the day to day stuff…. I wonder why no one from the clan has been to visit? I'm sure by now word has spread that a dead Uchiha has shown up out of the blue…'
"Hmph!" Ida grunted as he pushed himself out of the bed, unable to relax. He made his way to the window of the apartment and opened the blinds to take a look outside. "Well as far as a house arrest goes they could've picked a worse view…" Ide managed to smile as he looked out on the hidden leaf village. The apartment complex seemed to be located near the center of the village and had a view of the Hokage's office and the mountain behind it.
'Is that Minato Namikaze?' Ide asked as he studied the statue of the 4th Hokage making a puzzled expression. 'It doesn't really look like him but it's definitely not Fugaku so it's gotta be Minato. That must have had the compound furious. I know my uncle swore Fugaku was a shoe-in. I never really bought into that, as long as they're still telling ghost stories about big bad Madara Uchiha it'll be an uphill battle to get an Uchiha in that robe.'
"I wonder if my uncle is even still around?" Ide, who had tried his best not to think about the passage of time, couldn't stop those words from slipping out. "Damn it…" Ide gritted his teeth in frustration as he'd just opened the floodgates. 'Mom and Dad were both soldiers…' He thought. 'I mean I gotta expect the worst. Ayana's parents too I wonder if they're still around? Should I tell them what happened? I'm sure they've already long since accepted that she's gone, would telling them what happened bring any closure or would it just open up old wounds?'
As Ide's thoughts began to run wild he barely noticed a powerful THUD! THUD! THUD! As someone knocked on the apartment door. 'Are my handlers trying to make sure I brush my teeth before bed?' Ide thought as he opened the door to see a tall man standing in the threshold with a cane in his left hand, he had black, shaggy hair, and his right eye was bandaged up and he kept his right arm tucked in his robe like a split.
"May I come in?" He asked in a serious, stern tone with a voice Ide knew he could not refuse so he stepped aside and let him in.
The man limped into the room taking a seat on the edge of the bed locking eyes with Ide who managed to find the nerve to ask. "Who are you?"
"I am a man concerned with the safety of Konoha." He answered quickly as if he knew this question would be asked. "You may call me Danzo."
"Alright, Danzo…" Ide scanned the hobbled man head to toe trying to get a read on him. "I understand you're concerned with the village's safety but I'm no threat. The Hyuga already confirmed I am who I say I am."
"I believe you, Ide Uchiha." He responded by putting a strange amount of emphasis on Ide's clan name. "I'm not here to assess you as a threat to the village, rather I hope to evaluate you as an asset. Your eyes, can you show them to me?"
"My eyes?" Ide was taken aback. "If that's what you want." Ide didn't feel any need to hesitate transforming his eyes into the base sharingan.
"Interesting, three tomoe at your age…." Danzo studied the sharingan intently but he didn't seem satisfied quite yet. "Is this the FULL evolution of your sharingan?"
'There it is..' Ide thought. 'Those Hyuga must've sensed my Mangekyou when they were looking through my chakra and if that's the case there is no use hiding it.' With a deep breath, Ide's eyes transformed once again unveiling his Mangekyou.
"Incredible.." Danzo managed to remain stoic but it wasn't hard to tell this was exactly what he'd hoped for. "What abilities do your Mangekyou grant you?"
"I'm not sure." Ide lied not willing to feed this stranger anymore of what he wanted. "It's still new to me. I haven't had time to train it yet."
"Is that so…." Danzo answered in the same serious voice as he entered with. He lifted himself off the bed with help from his cane indicating he was ready to leave but before he could he looked over at Ide's vest which was resting on a chair. "That's right, you're a soldier…" A slight smile formed across the man's face. "We'll meet again." He left with what on the surface sounded like a kind farewell but it came across to Ide almost like a warning. After the man left, Ide plopped himself back down on the bed but rest didn't come easy for the young man. He spent hours of the night processing the day's events before sleep finally took him.
(The next day)
Bright and early an hour or so after dawn, a young girl with pink hair happily made her way through the doors of the red dome shaped building that housed the hokage's office.
"Good morning, Sakura." A woman in a black robe greeted the pink haired girl at the door. She had straight, shoulder length hair that was even darker than her robe and she was currently carrying a stack of books. "Your morning training will be put on hold today, Lady Tsunade is going to have an important meeting in a few minutes. Do you think you can bring some tea up to the office?"
"Sure thing, Shizune." Sakura answered happily. As much as she was looking forward to training she also enjoyed the time she spent helping at the Hokage's office. It made her feel like an important part of daily life in the leaf village even if all she was doing was fetching tea.
"Great, I'll see you upstairs." Shizune said with a smile as she turned to head up the stairs. As she did, Sakura managed to get a glimpse at one of the books Shizune was carrying and recognized a symbol on the cover, the red and white fan that represented the Uchiha clan.
Sakura froze in her tracks as seeing that symbol caused a single thought to take control of her mind. 'Sasuke…..'
(Later, in the Hokage's office)
Ide entered the penthouse office of the Hokage and was met with a face he recognized. "Oh!" He muttered surprised at how well he recognized the woman sitting at the Hokage's desk. "Lady Tsunade!" Ide spoke the hokage's name which brought a smile to her face.
"Sealed in stone for more than a decade and a half and you can still recognize me at first glance?" She smiled at the still stunned Uchiha. "You'll have to remind me, have we met before?"
"No…" Ide replied as the Hokage's aid Shizune gestured for him to take a seat, which he did. "But I'm sure you'd still be hard pressed even today to find a leaf ninja that didn't recognize one of the Sannin."
"Hmph! You'd be surprised…." She responded with a smirk as the door to her office creaked open and in the doorway Sakura stood holding a tray with three cups and hot kettle of tea. "The tea's here. Now we can start our meeting." With that Tsunade prompted Sakura to approach the desk.
Sakura poured a cup for the Hokage first and had just finished preparing Shizune a cup when Tsunade opened one of the books Shizune brought her. "Alright let's see Ide Uchiha."
Sakura was pouring the third cup when Tsunade read out Ide's name and this caused the girl to freeze. "Uh… Thank You…." Ide called out to Sakura letting her know politely that his cup was full and getting dangerously close to overflowing.
"You graduated from the academy at eight years old and became a Chunin at eleven…" Tsunade read Ide's record from the 3rd great ninja war.
"Actually I was scheduled to become a Jonin." Ide lied hoping to take advantage of the passage of time. "We just never got around to making it official." Tsunade simply ignored this and continued.
"You were a team leader before the war, well decorated as a reconnaissance ninja. All very impressive." With that Tsunade closed her book and locked eyes with Ide. "As Hokage I'd like to thank you for your service to the hidden leaf but now I'm afraid we need to move on to the true nature of this meeting." With calmness and reverence Tsunade said. "The reason you were kept confined overnight is we figured it was better that you heard this from the Hokage before anyone else. Six years ago Itachi Uchiha massacred almost his entire clan, your clan, and then fled the village. You're currently the only remaining Uchiha in the leaf village."
Ide's eyes went wide and he rocketed up to his feet in disbelief, the sudden movement caused Sakura to flinch and she nearly spilled her tea kettle. 'NO! She's lying! There's no way that's true!' These thoughts raced through Ide's head and it took every ounce of self control to keep from shouting them in the Hokage's face but he just barely managed to restrain himself, instead he simply asked. "The compound? I need to see it, please…."
Tsunade and Shizune exchanged concerned looks before the Hokage returned focus to Ide and gave a nod of approval.
(Later, Uchiha compound)
Ide at last arrived at his ancestral home to find the ghost town he was warned about. The blood spilled by Itachi's slaughter had long since been erased and the homes, shops and road had all been relatively restored but seeing the compound so close to how he remembered it just lacking bustling population created a more haunting experience for Ide than if it had been left a bloody mess, at least then the erie quiet would be explainable.
Tsunade and Shizune had accompanied Ide but they chose to stay near the entrance of the compound. They were willing to let Ide see for himself and give him whatever space he might need to comprehend and process what he would experience.
Ide treaded lightly through the neighborhood. He understood by that point that he wouldn't find another living person in the compound but he couldn't keep his heart from hoping this wasn't the case, that maybe if he scanned and scoured every inch of the compound he'd find something they missed over the last six years. Maybe somewhere in this silence there was someone else who had simply been waiting for Ide alone to find them and that it wasn't true. He wasn't the very last of his clan.
Ide managed to get control of his emotions, he wasn't going to waste his time tearing the compound apart only to have his heart broken by a fruitless search. Ide had a singular purpose, his pace quickened as if he was trying to run from the ghost of the compound as he honed in on his destination.
Upon reaching his destination Ide made a sudden and immediate stop and he held there for a moment. He didn't move, he nearly stopped breathing as he stood in front of the doorsteps to his childhood home. The windows were dark and Ide could already feel the lifelessness emanating from inside but regardless he had to enter, he needed to see it.
He marched up the stairs and stepped through the doorway. Upon entering his home he was met with darkness, to combat this Ide ignited the tip of right index finger creating a personal source of candlelight. He saw his house in the same state he would find it had he returned from his mission 17 years ago.
The living room table sat in the middle of the room, four tatami pillows were placed on the floor around the table with an empty tea set placed there in case of guests. The kitchen had been cleaned out of food long ago to prevent spoilage but the dishes and the appliances were left in the exact same place Ide'd expect to find them only with a prominent layer of dust on top of them.
That was the case for nearly every inch of the house to the point where Ide's very steps kicked a visible amount of dust into the air. Ide didn't seem to notice this as he long since developed tunnel vision. His eyes remained focused ahead as if he was searching for something.
Ide finally reached his childhood bedroom to find it like the rest of the house in pristine condition to the point where even his bed had been made which was further evident that someone had been through to restore things. Ide went to his night stand and found a photo displayed in a case of him and his family.
He carefully opened the case and removed the photo. He couldn't have been more than seven years old in that picture but it was in that picture Ide finally saw his parents. That's when it all came crashing down on him and Ide finally broke. "Hu-huh…." His breath stifled as tears leaked from his eyes. Ide returned home from the war, after all the battles everyone he'd lost in the fighting, it was over, he should be able to go home but his home as he knew it was gone.
'In the academy we're taught to control our emotions even in the face of death…' Ide thought as the stream of tears intensified and sobs began escaping his lips. 'As ninja we have to understand that people will die. People we know, people we're close to. Our teammates and those we care most about, they can be lost at any moment. And we need to be ready to deal with that. When Sensei died and even Ayana…. But this time…. I can't even move.' Ide fell to his knees, tears streaming down onto the floor. 'What's the point… What did I ever fight for?'
(Flashback)
In that moment Ide's mind returned to the first day out of the academy he and his two other teammates awaited the arrival of their sensei. To his right was Hase Nara, a boy with long black hair who seemed to be sporting a permanent smirk as he rested his hands in his pockets like some kind of delinquent.
To Ide's left was Ayana Izuno, A short girl with brown eyes and brown hair tied up in a short ponytail. Ide recognized Ayana from the academy, every time he looked up for whatever reason he could always find her somewhere in his field of view. He'd grown to appreciate her familiarity overtime and looked forward to working with her.
Most of all though, Ide was excited to meet his new teacher. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting." On cue a voice called out and with a rush of wind and the rustling of leaves the teams instructor appeared. He was a young man, during these war times it wasn't uncommon for sensei's to have less than a decade of experience over their genin traineys, He sported slick black hair and black eyes the same color as Ide's."It's my pleasure to meet you all, my name is-"
"Maede Uchiha!" Ide unable to contain his excitement blurted out his cousin's name but was met with a quick WHAM!
Maede gave him a quick punch to the noggin to shut the young ninja up. "That's Maeda SENSEI! Or just Sensei to you squirt!" Maede corrected before shooting a playful smirk at his new student.
"Yes Sensei!" Ide smiled and saluted getting back in line with his classmates.
"That's better." Maede said confidently. "Now lets begin. Before we start training I want you all to give your names and tell me something you'd hope to accomplish someday."
"Alright." Hase was the first one up, his cocky smirk still plastered on his face. "I'm Hase Nara and I'm gonna be a captain of the Anbu Black Ops. Give me three years, five max." He answered by holding up all five fingers on one of his hands while leaving the other stuffed in his pocket.
Next was Ide who locked eyes with Maede as he answered. "Someday I'm gonna be a Genin instructor just like you." This answer touches his teacher's heart.
Finally it was Ayana's turn who answered sheepishly. "I-I…" She then took a quick glance at Ide before she answered. "I think that maybe…. I'd also like to be a teacher someday…."
"Excellent!" Maede said with a loud CLAP! "Those are fine aspirations but dreams won't amount to much without an honest motivation that will spur you forward. You all told who you hope to achieve in the long term but now I wanna know what's going to drive you to fight each and every day. What do you fight for?"
The three genin were pretty confused by this question; they were pretty sure they'd already answered. Wasn't achieving their dreams motivation enough but clearly that answer wouldn't suffice this time so collectively they came up with a different answer. "Uhh…. To be hokagef?"
"Uhh… Well, maybe I didn't explain that very well." Maede began furiously scratching the top of his head. "Crap, this teaching thing is hard. Let me try again. As a ninja eventually there will come a time where you'll be beaten down and have your backs against a wall and in a moment like that the dreams you hope to accomplish one day might not be enough to motivate and after you've achieved your goals what will drive you then?It's like a code to live by, here in the leaf we call it Nindo, our Ninja way."
For whatever reason this also didn't seem to resonate with Maede's pupils. "Alright I suppose I'll just have to tell you mine to help you better understand, Ide I'd like you to pay extra attention. I'm an Uchiha so I fight to protect the village for the sake of my clan, to honor those who've fallen doing the same and to inspire the future of my clan to do the same. To me, more so than Fireballs or Sharingans, that's what it means to be an Uchiha, to be a shinobi ..."
(end of flashback)
'My clan is not gone, I'm still here.' Ide thought as he wiped his eyes clean and found the strength to stand up. 'This is not the end of the Uchiha clan so I need to keep fighting for those who will come after me. I need to keep fighting for the sacrifices of those before me. I will keep the memory of my clan alive by protecting this village like my ancestors did, that is my Nindo, my ninja way…' Ide dusted himself off and left his room, making one more stop before exiting the house.
He looked into his parents bedroom and saw the blanket, pillows and even the sheets missing from their bed which told Ide all he needed to know. His parents had been killed in their own beds, probably in their sleep by this Itachi.
With that Ide left out the front door and turned to get one last look at his home before performing a series of hand signs. "Fire-release, great fireball jutsu!" He called out, spewing a circular flame from his mouth that engulfed his home.
Shizune moved to try to stop it out of fear of the flames spreading but Tsunade put a hand on her shoulder before she could take a step. Tsunade trusted that Ide knew what he was doing and the flames did not spread. In a little over an hour the flames extinguished themselves having run out of fuel to burn leaving a few pieces of wood charred black and a pile of ash and Ide spent every second watching the flames burn as he held onto the photo he recovered to be the last physical memory he'd keep.
(End)