WhIP

by footfungus

nederlands verhalen over mijn otp

55. NARUTO 4

Great Ninjas Don't Make Great Parents

YuuTama

Summary:

Some would say that the Uchihas are cursed by hatred, but Uchiha Hinode has a different kind of curse - the Deadly Nanny Curse.

This is a story of a girl's lifelong journey of becoming the ultimate mother hen of Konoha village, and eventually realizing that the man who will love her even with all of her baggage, Hatake Kakashi, has been by her side all along.

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Curse

Chapter Text

Part I

What's in a name? In the case of the name "Uchiha", you might say power, nobility, pride, hatred, cursed, or a bloodied history. And if you were to ask Uchiha Hinode, she would say, blindness. For a clan whose most prized possession was their eyes, she thought, they really couldn't see how blinded they were by power, pride, and hatred.

Of course, as a five year old child, Uchiha Hinode could not have had this kind of insight about her own clan. Her mother, Uchiha Byakue, often said this to her on nights when her father, Uchiha Hidenobu, went alone to clansmen meetings. Hinode loved and adored her mother, unlike many of the Uchiha clansmen. Byakue was married into the Uchiha Clan, so she was somewhat considered an outsider. If Byakue had not been a skilled medical ninja, the clan never would have approved of her marriage to a Uchiha, and Hinode never would have been born. Their marriage was even more scandalous to the other clansmen because Hidenobu was such a highly-regarded man amongst the clan, second only to Uchiha Fugaku. Why a kind, loving woman would marry a cold and prideful man like her father was more than Hinode's young mind could fathom.

"Though they are blind, the Uchihas are not bad people. They just need love," Uchiha Byakue always said with a kind smile.

'Love is also blind,' Hinode came to that conclusion at a young age.

For the most part, Hinode resented being a Uchiha. Not only because the other people of Konoha tended to avoid them, but also because they were extremely strict with their children at a young age. The adult clansmen started training their children before they even enrolled in Ninja Academy. Children of the same age group were often compared against each other based on combat skills and intelligence. Naturally, the weak ones were not favored. Hinode would not be labeled as a prodigy or even as gifted. Her basic hand-to-hand combat and weaponry skills were passable, but she was lacking in control of chakra. And as a clan, the Uchihas were quite proud of their naturally powerful chakra and their masterful use of it. Hinode had heard whispers about her incompetence in comparison to her father, and some even said that she's incompetent because she's only half of a Uchiha. Sometimes she wondered if that was why her father was so cold to her; because she was an embarrassment to him.

On this sunny day in late spring, Hinode was sparring with her cousin, Uchiha Obito, in a training ground inside of the Uchiha compound. Hinode considered her cousin's skills to be about the same as hers, which was why the two of them got along. His parents died when he was still a toddler, so he never had any guidance from his parents, but he worked really hard on his own to become stronger. And while the other clansmen had nothing great to say about Obito, his grandmother was very proud of him. And Hinode was as well, even though she would never say that to his face, or any living being for that matter.

The two of them practiced combat with short wooden swords. Obito was not the best at wielding weapons; however, he had quick reflexes, so he easily dodged many of Hinode's attacks.

"Damn it, Obito! Will you quit dodging? We're supposed to practice using the sword!" Hinode pressed towards the boy with continuous swings and jabs. She had quite some brute force as a girl, and even Obito was worried of being hit by the sword. It wouldn't kill him but it would definitely hurt for several days.

"What about you? You're not even using proper sword techniques!" Obito protested in frustration as he dodged Hinode's attacks. "You're just trying really hard to hit me!"

"If you're fighting a real ninja, you wouldn't care about techniques in a time!"

"That's why Uncle Hidenobu said you have to practice the techniques until they're second nature to you!"

Annoyance surged inside of Hinode as she heard her fathers name, and she swung even harder at Obito. Obito, knowing Hinode's relationship with her father, ran away while repeatedly yelling 'sorry.'

Eventually, the two children were exhausted by the wild-goose chase. The two of them collapsed on the training grounds, gasping for air. After a few minutes, they decided to call it a tie and continue another day.

"Don't be so upset, Hinode," Obito patted Hinode on the shoulder. "It's not like you lost. It's a tie!"

Though Hinode had always appreciated Obito's optimism, it could not have cheered her up after the mentioning of her father.

"That's not what my father would say," Hinode wiped the wooden sword clean and put it back to the training tools bin. "...I can already hear father's voice saying 'there are no ties in the battlefield! There is only victory or death!'"

Obito laughed dryly at Hinode's impression of her father. Despite her clear distaste towards her father, anyone who knew Hinode's family would agree that she was more like Hidenobu than Byakue. It's rare to see a smile on Hinode's face and the things she said were harsher than they were kind.

"You'll get better. Aunt Byakue said your heart's just not in the right place."

Indeed, her mother often said that.

Hinode shrugged. "Do you think any of our parents would have given us the choice to not become a ninja?"

Obito gave her a confused look, blinking his black eyes. "Not become a ninja? What would you do then?"

It was somewhat predestined. If you were a Uchiha, you were a ninja. And a really good one, too.

"I don't know. Ichiraku Teuchi's daughter Ayame seems to have a pretty good life."

"The girl who's always crying at the ramen shop?"

"She's only crying because she's helping her father chop onions!"

Obito quickly discarded what Hinode said. The girl often talked about not being a ninja, but he always perceived it as one of her weird musings. It was an absurd idea. "Oh, that reminds me! Grandma wanted me to get onions for dinner tonight. Wanna come with me?"

"No, thanks."

"Grandma said I can use the change to get sakura mochi."

"Count me in!" Hinode's eyes lit up at the mention of dessert. The young girl was a fiend for sweets. "Wait for me at the front gate! I'm going to change out of these dirty clothes."

Obito chuckled and shook his head at the same time at his cousin. His Aunt Byakue was right; Hinode's heart was not in the right place. While sparring with her, Obito noticed that she didn't try her best to improve her skills. He couldn't tell if it was frustration or boredom, or something totally different that's holding her back. For a boy whose ambition was to become Hokage, he definitely couldn't fathom why Hinode didn't want to become stronger.

When Obito and Hinode got to the grocery store, Hinode realized that the sun was beginning to set. The dessert shop was going to close in an hour.

"How many onions did Grandma Mio need?" Hinode went straight to the vegetables section so that they could quickly buy the onions then go to the dessert shop. The sakura mochi's will be discontinued once spring is over; Hinode wanted to get as many as she can get.

"She said just on- AH! YOU!"

Obito dropped the onion as soon as he picked it up; his hand now pointed towards the fruits section. Hinode caught the onion with quick hands. If the onion fell, then they'd have to pay extra for damaging the store's goods and would not have enough change to buy the sakura mochi. Hinode followed Obito's pointed finger to see what he was so worked up about. Next to the apples stood a boy with gray hair. The bottom half of his face covered by a black mask. Hinode instantly recognized the boy-Hatake Kakashi.

All three of them were enrolled in the Ninja Academy just a couple of months ago. In a short time, Kakashi already became the most popular kid in their class. To begin with, Kakashi was already well-trained in physical combat, and he already has a pretty good grasp of chakra control, while other kids in the same class barely even know what chakra was. Their teacher had a few of the students practice against each other last Friday, and Obito was defeated by Kakashi within one minute. Ever since then, Obito had been babbling about paying back the entire weekend. Hinode did not have anything against Kakashi, but she definitely did not like him for turning her cousin into a whiny five-year-old.

Kakashi looked over toward their direction upon hearing Obito's shout. It was hard to see his emotion besides a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Oh, it's you, loser."

Obito fumed and wanted to run over and punch Kakashi, but Hinode grabbed onto the back of Obito's collar.

"Don't stop me from kicking his butt, Hinode!"

"I'm stopping you from getting your butt kicked."

Right when Obito was about to break loose from Hinode's grasp, a man appeared behind Kakashi with a basket.

"Oh? Are these your friends from school, Kakashi?"

Needless to say, the man with gray hair was Kakashi's father. Anyone could tell by the resemblance. Hinode wondered how old the man was since he probably had gray hair his whole life, judging by Kakashi's hair color.

"Hmph, not friends. Classmates," said Kakashi. While popular, Kakashi didn't have many close friends besides a boy named Might Guy, and all those two did was fight all the time. Hinode thought he was a little bit snobbish because of that.

The man smiled and approached Obito and Hinode. He knelt down in front of them and asked, "My name is Hatake Sakumo. What are your names?"

Both Obito and Hinode were taken aback by the man. He was smiling so kindly compared to his son's stony face.

"Uchiha Obito."

"Uchiha Hinode."

"Uchiha Hinode?" The man put his gaze on Hinode when he heard her name. Hinode, who was still holding onto Obito's collar, felt Obito's body twitch.

"You're Uchiha Hidenobu's daughter, aren't you? We've partnered on a few missions before. He talked about you a lot!"

Hinode raised an eyebrow. "By talk, do you mean complain?"

"...Ahem, haha…" Hatake Sakumo laughed dryly at Hinode's cold words, though they were true. "Your father is a great shinobi, Hinode-chan. I can tell you will be too by the way you tried to protect your friend."

Hinode Shrugged. "I just thought it was stupid to fight someone who already beat you not too long ago."

"Yes, and protection is not always physical," Sakumo grinned widely at Hinode and stood upright. "My boy could learn some of that from you."

Kakashi and Hinode both shuddered at that thought. Clearly over this conversation, Kakashi walked up to his father and tugged on his sleeve. "Dad, it's almost time for your favorite soap opera. Do you still want to chitchat?"

"Oh yes, I almost forgot! You kids do well in school!" Sakumo waved goodbye to Obito and Hinode and left with Kakashi.

Hinode watched Obito as he quietly watched Kakashi leave. Hinode knew that something triggered Obito just now, and she could guess what it was. Obito has always struggled with acceptance. Growing up with no parents and subpar skills in the Uchiha clan meant that no one would acknowledge him. And even in school, he does not have the skills to compete with Kakashi, and was considered "one of the kids who lost to Kakashi." From the interaction earlier, Obito was probably bothered by the fact that Hatake Sakumo recognized Hinode's name and not Obito's. Hinode let go of his collar and grabbed his hand, and dragged him towards the cashier to pay, then to the sweets shop.

The two of them walked together in sunset back to the Uchiha Compound, Obito holding the onions and Hinode eating a plate of sakura mochi. Obito was quiet the whole time. Hinode felt uncomfortable in the silence, since Obito was always the chatty one. She decided to break the silence.

"You know, he only knew my name because of my father," said Hinode.

Obito looked at Hinode, sadness clearly showing in his eyes. "I wish I had your father."

"That's disrespectful of your dead parents!" Hinode smacked Obito on the head. Obito yelped and glared at Hinode with teary eyes; Hinode had a heavy hand. Hinode sighed at the boy. "You know, having famous parents doesn't mean anything. I would have much more respect for someone who worked hard and earned recognition on their own."

Obito's eyes showed a bit of hope. "You think I can beat Kakashi next time?"

Hinode looked away from Obito's hopeful eyes. "Maybe when you get your Sharingan."

"Hey! Have a little faith in me!"

"I do," said Hinode. "You're the best Uchiha of them all."

"...Hinode…" Obito was a little flustered by his cousin's suddenly encouraging words. "When I become Hokage, I will make sure you live a carefree life like Ichiraku Ayame!"

Hinode finally looked back at Obito with a frown. "You want to beat Kakashi AND become Hokage? I won't keep my hopes up…"

"Uchiha Hinode!"

Grandma Mio insisted that Hinode stay for dinner at her and Obito's house. Grandma Mio was always fond of Hinode, as she was born only 2 months after Obito and they grew up together. Grandma Mio, at 97 years old had watched many great Uchiha ninjas grow up, but none of them delighted her as much as the two children sitting at her dining table, eating her stew. They were pure-hearted. Grandma Mio prayed every night that the Uchiha curse would never taint them.

"Hinode-chan, don't you want a second serving of stew?" Grandma Mio asked from the kitchen, ladling stew into a container. "You won't grow stronger unless you eat."

"No, thanks, Grandma Mio," said Hinode. "I'm ready for dessert, though."

"You already had half a dozen sakura mochi on the way back!" Obito protested. The girl could eat a terrifying amount of sugar. "You didn't share a single piece with me and it was my money!"

"But Grandma Mio said she made banana cake," Hinode said as her eyes lit up again. "Even mother loves Grandma Mio's banana cake!"

"In that case, take some of this stew and some banana cake to your mother," Grandma Mio came into the dining room with a container of soup and the famed banana cake, as if she was already planning to give them away. "Your mother is eating for two now. She needs to eat so the baby will come out healthy!"

Hinode's mother was six months pregnant at the time. Hidenobu and Hinode were very excited about the new baby, but neither were the type to show it.

"I'm just glad that father will have someone else to scold besides me," said Hinode as she began to cut the banana cake on her own.

"Who knows? Maybe the baby will turn out to be a genius and you will continue to be your father's embarrassment," joked Obito. Hinode glared at Obito for a moment, but shrugged it off and ate the banana cake. She saw that Obito was in a better mood now than before, so she decided to let it slide.

"Hinode-chan is not an embarrassment," said Grandma Mio softly. "She's just a late bloomer like you."

"How can you say that about your own grandson, grandma!"

The dinner ended in laughter. A rare sight to behold within the boundaries of the Uchiha Compound. Hinode thanked Grandma Mio for dinner and offered to help wash the dishes while Obito cleaned up the dining room. Grandma Mio watched Hinode as she stood on a stool to wash the dishes, suddenly feeling sentimental.

"Hinode-chan, thank you for being such a good friend to Obito," said Grandma Mio. "He always hangs around old people like me, so I was afraid he wouldn't know how to act around kids his age once he started Ninja Academy. But he seems to really enjoy going to school."

Hinode was a little surprised to hear that from Grandma Mio. The old woman usually energetic but this time she sounded a bit sad.

"You don't have to thank me, Grandma Mio," Hinode wiped her hands dry with a towel and turned around to face Grandma Mio. "Considering everything, Obito is more positive of a kid than any other kid would have turned out. He even talks about becoming Hokage, that's the level of his optimism."

"And I think you have something to do with that," Grandma Mio eyes twinkled with that statement. "Hokage, huh… I'm afraid I'm too old to be able to see that happen."

"Don't say that, Grandma Mio."

"It's true, I'm 97 years old for goodness sakes. For a retired shinobi, that's more years than I could ask for already!" Grandma Mio got closer to Hinode and took the young girl's hands in hers. "But I have just one thing to ask for, Hinode, from you…"

"What… one thing?… I don't like the way you're..." said Hinode, not liking the way the conversation was going. Her small hands started to sweat.

"Please take care of Obito when I'm not around."

Two weeks later, Grandma Mio passed away.

To be continued.

Chapter 2: An Idiot's Curse

Chapter Text

Grandma Mio passed away peacefully in her sleep. As many shinobi would say, she's a lucky one. The Uchihas gathered in robes of black inside Grandma Mio's old house; she had always said that she wanted to be buried in her own backyard. Next to the grave, they set up a small table with flowers and candles surrounding an old photograph of Grandma Mio. She was in her twenties in that picture. Her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail and her fringes held up by Konoha's forehead protector. Although Hinode knew Grandma Mio as a kind old woman, the young kunoichi in the photograph had fierce eyes that seemed to show her strength.

Hinode wondered what Grandma Mio was like back then: how many battles she fought and what did she fight for?

Obito stood next to Hinode in front of his grandmother's grave. He has not said a single word the entire day. Hinode felt bad for Obito more so than she did for Grandma Mio. In fact, she felt a tiny bit responsible for Obito, because of the ominous things Granda Mio said in her kitchen two weeks ago. She didn't know exactly what Grandma Mio meant by "take care of Obito," but she thought that cheering him up must be part of it. She reached out her hand and wrapped her fingers around Obito's hand. She didn't know what to say, so she just held on. Obito didn't seem to even notice Hinode's hand on his; he was deep in his thoughts. Hinode felt almost like a stranger. Even though they grew up joking around each other, she could not think of anything to say to him when he was really hurting.

After hours, most of the other clansmen took their leave as the sun was setting, and they had to rejoin their families and prepare for the next day. Hinode was still standing hand in hand with Obito in Grandma Mio's backyard.

"Hinode? Obito?" the sliding door to the house opened with the sound of Uchiha Byakue's soft voice. "There you guys are! I have been cleaning up inside the house and I packed some of your things, Obito. Are you guys ready to go?"

Confused by Byakue's words, Obito finally raised his head and looked back at the woman who was holding a bag of his clothes.

"Go where…?"

"To my place, silly," Byakue smiled and knelt down in front of Obito. "Obito, you have been like a brother to my daughter and your grandmother has been kind to my family. I would like you to stay with us until you are comfortable with moving back to this house, okay?"

"I… I'm okay with staying here…" Obito said stubbornly. "I am a ninja! I'm brave!"

"Yes, Obito, you are a ninja," said Byakue. "And you'll experience countless more loss and pain in your lifetime. But you don't have to bear it alone. We create bonds with those who experience the same loss and pain, and bonds heal and strengthen our souls, thus strengthening our chakra, making us stronger. You want to be stronger, don't you?"

"I…" Obito began to speak, but stopped. His throat was clogged by something, and in the next moment, streams of tears flowed down his eyes. "I wasn't going to cry!"

Byakue smiled and looked towards the orange and red clouds in the evening sky. "Who's crying? I don't see anything. Do you, Hinode?"

Hinode, still holding Obito's hand, looked up at the sky too. "I don't either."

"So that's that then. Is there a strong ninja around here who could help a pregnant woman up so they can all go home and have dinner?"

"Me! I'm strong!" Obito took one big sniff and let go of Hinode's hand to help Byakue to her feet. As soon as he did that, his stomach growled loudly.

Byakue giggled and grabbed each of the children's hands in hers and together they walked back to her home. On the way, both Obito and Hinode sobbed quietly. Obito, still mourning for his beloved grandmother, and Hinode, ashamed that she did not have the words to say to Obito when she had made a promise to take care of him. The evening wind ruffled leaves on the lush trees inside of the Uchiha Compound. It masked the sound of their sobbing, not to Uchiha Byakue, but to each other, and that was enough.

On the next day, Hinode went to school by herself. Uchiha Byakue insisted that Obito took a day off from school, since he might still be distracted by the death of his grandmother. Obito sheepishly agreed. After crying in front of Byakue, Obito became more susceptible to her advice. Hinode admired her mother for a multitude of reasons, and one of them was her ability to understand what people needed in different situations.

The kids at school didn't know about Grandma Mio's passing. In fact, no one except for Nohara Rin knew that Obito grew up without parents and only with his grandmother. Obito and Hinode rarely get asked about their families, perhaps because everyone knew about the Uchihas. The Uchihas were notorious and they were elite ninjas. And even though they were household names, they were not very well-integrated with the rest of the village. And that was another reason why Hinode resented being a Uchiha; people knew about them, but no one really knew them. However, in the current situation, it actually made it easier for Hinode to hide the truth. She knew that Obito wouldn't want sympathy from the other kids.

"Hinode, good morning!" a young girl with short brown hair waved at Hinode when she entered the classroom, motioning for her to sit next to her. Nohara Rin was a good friend and playmate to Obito and Hinode. She was nice and kind, and with a bit of a boyish look, she was popular among the boys in class. Even as a five year old boy, Obito had a huge crush on Nohara Rin.

"You came to school by yourself? Where's Obito?" Rin asked as Hinode sat down next to her. Since Obito was always late to school, their teacher eventually asked Hinode to get her cousin to school on time. Hinode dragged Obito to school whenever she could.

Hinode contemplated whether to tell Rin about Grandma Mio, since she was Obito's closest friend. Obito would probably feel embarrassed and uncool about taking time off school to mourn, so Hinode decided not to divulge the information even to Rin and leave that decision to Obito at a later time.

"Obito is sick," Hinode lied in a hushed voice.

"Obito is sick?" asked another girl with a full head of black hair who sat on the other side of Hinode. "That's weird. He seemed so energetic just yesterday."

Yuuhi Kurenai was another popular girl in class. She was friendly and caring just like Nohara Rin, and her general mature demeanor earned her a secret nickname of "Beautiful Big Sis" from the boys in the class.

"Um… you know, it might even be allergies, since it's spring and all…" Hinode said.

"G-Good morning, Hinode-chan," spoke a tiny voice from behind Hinode.

Hinode turned around to face one of her best friends, Kusanagi Yakko. Yakko was a shy girl to say the least. Although she and Hinode were good friends, she still stuttered around Hinode and got flustered easily. Yakko had platinum blonde hair in a face-framing bowl cut, and her skin was so pale that she looked like a porcelain doll.

"Good morning, Yakko-chan," Hinode smiled. She had a soft spot for the shy girl.

There Hinode was, surrounded by the three most popular girls in class. Many of the boys in class would kill to sit in Hinode's chair, with the exception of Hatake Kakashi. Kakashi was not the type to be very concerned with all the going-ons in his class.

As the school bell rang, their teacher, Ono Masano, entered the classroom. Ono Masano took a quick scan around the classroom, and annoyance crept up on his face.

"Uchiha Obito is tardy again?" he asked. "Uchiha Hinode, I thought I told you to make sure that he's on time to school."

Hinode frowned at her teacher. "Ono-sensei, Obito is sick, not tardy."

"Sick?" Ono Masano repeated incredulously. "Well, someone should have informed me that he wasn't coming to school today."

"You assumed he was tardy before I could tell you, so that's not my problem," said Hinode.

The other students looked at Hinode with worrisome faces, and even Rin lightly nudged Hinode to watch her mouth. Hinode was not typically loud and hot-headed like her cousin, but her bluntness could be considered abrasive to some people. And clearly, Ono Masano was ticked off by the younger Uchiha.

"Uchiha Hinode! Go to the back of the class and squat against the wall! You'll do it for the whole day or until I say you can stop, got it?" Ono Masano said sternly, "And that's through lunch, too!"

Hinode stood up as she was ordered and went to the back of the class, passing by Kakashi who sat in the last row. The boy did not glance at Hinode but the incident slightly intrigued him. Kakashi did not really know much about Hinode until their run-in at the grocery store a few weeks ago. Until now, Kakashi only knew of her as the cousin of the loser, Uchiha Obito. The girl was more low-profile compared to her cousin, so it was unusual that she had spoken out against their teacher.

Hinode squatted against the wall all the way until lunch. Ono Masano did not allow Hinode to return to her seat and left the classroom for lunch break. He seemed extra annoyed due to both Obito's absence and Hinode's rudeness.

"Hinode, how are you doing?" asked Rin, who went to the back of the classroom along with Kurenai and Yakko.

"I'm not sure. I can't feel my legs anymore," said Hinode.

"I can't believe you said that to Ono-sensei. You know that he has a bad temper!" Kurenai commented.

"Hi-Hinode-chan…" Yakko approached Hinode with a rice ball in her hand. "Lunch…?"

Hinode took a bite of Yakko's rice ball. "Thank you, Yakko-chan."

As soon as Hinode was about to take another bite of the rice ball, several students crowded around her.

"Hey, Hinode! Is Obito really sick?"

"That guy looked healthy to me yesterday!"

"Allergies? Spring is almost over and he never had allergies the whole season, are you sure?"

"That must be a lie!"

"That Obito must be too embarrassed to come to class because Kakashi beat him again!"

"Yeah! I'd believe that over the sick thing!"

The kids in class laughed and joked about Obito. Kakashi was normally uninterested in other people, but being so close to the crowd, he couldn't help but take a look at Hinode, who was still squatting while being surrounded. Kakashi wasn't sure if the girl was shaking from holding the squat, or if she was shaking from embarrassment. She held her head low and her long black fringes hid her facial expression.

Kakashi couldn't deny that he was a bit amused by this.

"Kakashi! What do you think? Do you believe that Obito is sick?" one of the kids asked.

Without thinking too much, Kakashi said, "I didn't know idiots could catch a cold."

Hinode stood upright as soon as Kakashi spoke. The kids surrounding her silenced at her abrupt action. Hinode took a few steps forward and the kids backed away. Hinode stood in front of Kakashi, who was still sitting in his seat, and glared at him with her piercing black eyes.

"Hatake Kakashi!" She exclaimed, shocking everyone around them. "I challenge you to a fight!"

"...?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow, while everyone else was similarly at a loss for words.

"You heard me," said Hinode, beginning to crack her fingers. "I just wanna see if idiots could bleed."

Aside from random duels with Might Guy, Kakashi was never the type to entertain challenges from classmates. For one, Might Guy wouldn't take no for an answer. For two, it wouldn't be a challenge for him, because his skills were many times more advanced than the others. Thirdly, he thought that he was above that. And lastly, no one in the right mind would challenge Kakashi anyway.

This time, Kakashi obliged to Hinode's request, though he was unsure why. He might have been caught off guard by how she snapped. She was the one who said it was stupid to fight someone who's clearly stronger, and yet she was now the one starting the fight.

Kakashi never really paid attention to Hinode's strength. The Uchiha clan was one of the, if not the, strongest clan in Konoha. But throughout their time in school, Kakashi can confidently say that Obito and Hinode were both not strong at all. Kakashi had beaten Obito in a friendly match within a minute, and Hinode just never got good grades on tests. The difference between the Uchiha cousins was that Obito continued to train hard and claimed that he will one day surpass Kakashi, and Hinode was mostly nonchalant about her performance. Honestly, Kakashi didn't care very much about the girl's grades, but he was intrigued that she thought she had a chance to draw blood from him.

The two of them met inside the school dojo. Of course, the whole class was there waiting for them. They were excited to see another fight where Kakashi was involved, since he was undefeated so far. The kids discussed among themselves how long it would take for Kakashi to take down Hinode. Of course, no one thought there was even the slightest chance of Hinode winning the fight.

Neither did Hinode.

"Y-You can do it, Hinode-chan!" Yakko cheered softly behind Hinode, who now faced Kakashi in the center of the dojo.

Hinode regretted her words as soon as she stepped inside the dojo. What was she thinking, challenging Hatake Kakashi? But for a second there in the classroom, she thought that she had blacked out. Her patience was already at its limit when the kids were surrounding her, doubting her lie about Obito's sickness. Then she snapped when she heard Hatake Kakashi's words.

"Don't encourage her, Yakko!" Kurenai said to Yakko, frowning with disapproval at the scene in front of her. "What is that girl thinking? And what is Kakashi thinking, accepting her challenge?!"

Hinode contemplated just how much embarrassment she would have to endure if she forfeited the match before it began. But as she looked towards Kakashi's relaxed expression, she could feel that anger rising up again. She decided to go through with the fight. She didn't care if she suffered a humiliating defeat since everyone was expecting it anyway. But if she could land a punch on Kakashi's mouth, just one, that would be exhilarating.

"Ready?" Hinode asked as she raised her fists in front of her.

Kakashi shrugged, and Hinode leapt towards him.

Hinode knew that the gap between her and Kakashi's skills was big, so she decided to attack as fast as she could. Her goal was to land one hit; she didn't need to win. In a matter of seconds, Hinode already threw out tens of punches and kicks, but all were dodged or blocked by Kakashi. Hinode continued to push forward with attacks, not wanting to show any openings for Kakashi to counter. But Kakashi wasn't just going to be on the defense. On the next punch he blocked, he lowered himself and moving with Hinode's momentum he hit her abdomen which was wide open due to her nonstop attacks.

Hinode fell onto her knees from the blow, holding her stomach and coughing.

One minute, Kakashi counted. Looks like the Uchiha lineage isn't all that.

"Damn it… " Hinode stood up slowly, muttering to herself, "just one hit… "

Kakashi heard her muttering, and said amusingly, "Give up. You're worse than Guy and even he cannot hit me."

"Ohhh! That's why you're my eternal rival, Kakashi!" Might Guy shouted from the sideline, not realizing the insult behind that sentence.

Hinode didn't listen to Kakashi and leapt at him again. This time Kakashi wanted to go harder so she would give up already. He easily dodged Hinode's swinging fist and threw his own at her. His fist landed on her side and within that split second, Hinode's hand was on his wrist. It took Kakashi by surprise; Hinode took a hit so she could catch him. Also her grip was freakishly strong for a little girl! Next thing he knew, Hinode's other fist was coming at his face.

Got you, Hinode thought. But when her knuckles landed on some white smoke and then a rock hard log, she almost cursed out loud.

"Body Replacement Jutsu," said Kakashi from behind her.

"Damn y-"

"Uchiha Hinode! Hatake Kakashi!"

Hinode swerved around and found Ono Masano towering over them.

"Crap…"

"You guys think you're too good for school, don't you?" Ono Masano asked, the vein in his forehead visibly throbbing. "Since you both don't care about afternoon classes, why don't you both run laps around the school until school is over!"

Hinode was exhausted, physically and emotionally. She had already been squatting for most of the morning, and now she was running around the school. Not to mention she also took two heavy blows from Kakashi during their fight. She cursed Ono Masano with every heavy step she took; the whole class was watching the fight, how come only her and Kakashi were being punished?

Kakashi easily jogged past Hinode with his hands in his pocket for the third time. Each time he jogged past her, he peeked at her face from the corner of his eye. The girl was clearly upset; a vein similar to Ono Masano's was starting to grow on her forehead.

He figured he should stay out of her way.

The two of them continued jogging for another hour. And finally, as Kakashi was about to lapse Hinode for the twelfth time, she had finally collapsed. He stopped right beside the girl who was now belly-down on the floor, her back heaving up and down with each breath. Basking in the red hue of the sunset, Hinode seemed so defeated.

"You know you could breathe better if you turn over."

"..."

Getting no response from Hinode, Kakashi was about to start running again.

"Obito's grandmother died."

Kakashi stopped his footstep, looking back at the girl again.

"I mean, he's not sick," she continued. "His one last family member passed away."

For a split second, Kakashi felt a little bit guilty for calling Obito an idiot. "...Why didn't you just say that to the class?"

Hinode propped herself up and sat cross-legged on the ground. Her usual pale face was painted with dirt smudges mixed with sweat. Some of her black hair stuck to her face and her black eyes seemed darker than usual.

"I don't know. I guess I didn't want anyone to feel sorry for him, because he wouldn't like it," said Hinode, finally looking at Kakashi. "Don't tell him about this."

Kakashi didn't really get what she was saying, but nodded to her request. "I won't tell him, but I don't think he's so weak that he needs you to fight for him. Besides, aren't you his family?"

Kakashi turned away and began to run again. The Uchihas sure are as prideful as the villagers say, he thought. That was why it was most important that he should never let her know that his hand, hidden well in his pocket, was swollen from her monstrous grip.

To be continued.

Chapter 3: Curse of the Stars

Chapter Text

Hinode couldn't deny that having Obito living in her house has made everything a lot livelier than before. Without him, it would have just been Hinode and her mother alone, since her father was often away on missions. And because Hinode got to see her friends at school, she didn't have to spend days and nights alone like her mother, who was taking a break from ninja duties during her pregnancy. Uchiha Byakue had a difficult pregnancy the first time around with Hinode, so the medical ninjas have ordered her to stay well rested.

"Thank you for the food!" Obito declared loudly as he slapped his palms together before digging into his bowl of rice and braised fish. Within seconds his cheeks were covered with grains of rice and sauce smears. The boy then loudly slurped the miso soup to wash everything down.

Hinode looked at him with disgust, but it was too early in the morning for her to bother with scolding him. Byakue, on the other hand, giggled happily at the boy's energy.

"Aunt Byakue, your cooking is the best!" Obito said while his mouth was still full of food. "If you quit being a ninja and started a restaurant, it might be even more popular than Ichiraku Ramen!"

Byakue was delighted to hear Obito's compliement. "Oh my, Obito, you sure know how to flatter a lady!"

"I'm serious, Aunt Byakue! If you open a restaurant, I would go there everyday!"

"You're already eating here everyday," Hinode rolled her eyes at Obito. "For free."

"That's why I'm going to pay it all back when I'm making lots of money as a Jounin!"

"Open a restaurant, huh…" Byakue pondered the idea. "Maybe when there is peace in the village…"

The two kids quieted down at that. There had been talk among the villagers that a war was going to break out between the Five Great Shinobi Countries. Due to the five countries' power struggles, an increasing amounts of skirmishes between neighboring Shinobi Villages have been reported around country borders. It was a matter of time before the tension reaches its peak and the countries declare all out war.

"Aunt Byakue, do you also believe that there's going to be a war?" Obito asked with unusual seriousness.

"Well, it does feel imminent at this point," said Byakue, not hiding any truths from the children. "Perhaps only when peace is lost, will people desire peace over power."

Obito was silenced again. A five year old kid like him, living in a flourishing village like Konoha, could not imagine what a war would be like.

Noticing the tension in the room, Byakue showed the kids a warm smile. "You kids just worry about school, all right? Let the adults fight this war."

Hinode looked away from her mother's smile. She understood that if a war really started, her mother will eventually rejoin the other ninjas on the battlefield, then she would be alone, waiting for her parents to come home.

"Ready to go to school, Hinode?" asked Obito, already standing and putting his goggles on top of his forehead.

'But I guess he'll still be around,' Hinode thought. She stood up and nodded at Obito.

Ninja Academy was not just combat training and Ninjutsu learning. There were some dull days from time to time, and today was an example. The class spent the morning learning about astronomy, a useful survival skill in case anything happened to a ninja's maps and tools during a mission, they can orient themselves with constellations. For most students, this was extremely boring, and they have never even pictured a situation where they could be lost in the wilderness since none of them have even been outside of the safety net of Konoha.

"And if you follow the handle of the Little Dipper, you'll find the North Star…"

Ono Masano's monotonous voice dragged on during the lesson. Hinode wondered if he was even interested in teaching this subject, or he was forced to teach this. First year students had more of these types of lectures than the upperclassmen, who were learning more skills for battle.

Hinode heard a very soft snore. She looked to her side and found Obito dozing off but not quite asleep yet. Wondering who it was, she heard it again, this time pinpointing the sound from behind her. She looked back and found Kakashi sound asleep in the very back of the class, carefully hidden behind Guy, who sat in front of him.

Hatake Kakashi, the number one student and supposed genius, was sleeping in class.

It has been a week since Hinode and Kakashi's brawl, which ended in Hinode's defeat and humiliating punishment by Masano-sensei. Though they shared a short moment of vulnerability at the end of that day, neither of them talked about it when they saw each other again in school. In fact, they went right back to how they normally were with minimal interactions. Hinode was not yet sure what to make of Hatake Kakashi. Though he was mostly still a snobby brat in her eyes, he did show a her a little bit of kindness and he did keep his promise of not telling Obito about what went down between them. Hinode quietly thanked him in her head and left it at that.

When morning classes finally came to an end, even Masano-sensei himself yawned.

"All right, you kids, your homework tonight is to pair up and draw and identify the constellations," said Masano-sensei. "Now pair up, then we will break for lunch."

Immediately, the kids stood up to find their friends.

"Rin…" Obito skipped past Hinode who was next to him and said timidly to the girl on Hinode's other side. "Do you wanna be my partner for the homework?"

"Sure, Obito!" Rin answered with a smile, making Obito's ears red as tomatoes.

"Kurenai!" a boy sitting behind Kurenai called out to her. "Wanna be partners? We can meet up easily since we're neighbors."

"Okay, Asuma," said Kurenai.

Hinode narrowed her eyes at the boys in her class, unsure why the boys in this class are so smitten with girls at such a young age.

"Hey, Yakko!" a brown-haired boy made his way towards Kusanagi Yakko.

"No!" Hinode jumped up and encircled Yakko's neck with her arms. "Yakko is my partner! Genma, don't you get any weird ideas about Yakko!"

The boy named Shiranui Genma looked shocked and embarrassed. "What do you mean 'weird ideas?' You're the one that's weird, Hinode!"

"Tell him you're my partner, Yakko-chan!" Hinode looked smugly at Genma.

"S-sorry, Genma…" Yakko said softly with a blush.

Genma blushed as well at Yakko's soft voice, and glared at Hinode. "Fine! I'll partner up with Ebisu. You happy?!"

Hinode waved goodbye to Genma.

Night time came and several kids from Ninja Academy were out and about. Some were running around on top of rooftops and some, like Hinode and Yakko, even went as far as climbing the Hokage Rock to see the stars better. Hinode and Yakko sat on top of the First Hokage's head; the Second and Third Hokage had spiky hair so they were hard to sit on. But even at such a height, the stars were hard to see.

"Maybe we should have been more prepared…" Yakko said as she looked around at other students in the area who brought binoculars to complete the homework.

"Learning astronomy is to prepare us for unforeseen situation. Who's to say that we would all be prepared with binoculars during a mission?" Hinode shrugged and squinted towards the sky. "Should we go to the mountains behind the school? The further away from the village, the darker it is, so we can see the stars."

Yakko looked to Hinode with admiration. "Y-you're so smart, Hinode-chan!"

"Masano-sensei said that during class," said Hinode as she stood up. "So you weren't paying attention in class either, huh, Yakko-chan?"

Yakko blushed profusely and followed behind Hinode towards the school.

It was clear that none of the kids were actually listening to Masano-sensei's lecture. No one else could be seen around school, nonetheless the mountain behind it. Hinode and Yakko traveled swiftly through the dark forest and came to a clearing. Yakko gasped a little when she looked up at the sky; the stars were so clear and they covered the black sky like a blanket. The corners of Hinode's mouth curled up at Yakko's reaction. The two girls found a spot to lay down their paper and began to draw.

The forest at night was extremely quiet. Spring was nearing it's end and there was not even any wind that ruffled the grass. No sound of animals or insects could be heard.

"It's too quiet," Yakko suddenly spoke.

"Now that you mentioned it, it is a bit quiet here," said Hinode. "Are you getting a little spooked, Yakko-chan?"

Yakko shook her head but her face showed concern. "...let's finish up and get back home. Your mother would be worried."

Hinode nodded in agreement; it was indeed getting late.

The two of them hurriedly finished their assignment and began to leave. Yakko suggested that they traveled back among the trees and Hinode agreed. As soon as they picked up speed, they noticed it clearly. Someone was on their tails.

Yakko looked to Hinode worriedly. Hinode mouthed to Yakko to stay calm, even though her own heart was racing. The two of them were still kids, so there was no way they could outrun whoever was chasing them.

"Ahh!"

Hinode heard a yelp to her left; Yakko's foot had slipped and she was barely able to hold onto the tree trunk as she fell. As soon as Hinode turned back, the pursuer had caught up and showed his face finally. It was an adult man with a sinister smile on his face, and he was wearing a forehead protector not of Konoha's. He stopped at the tree trunk where Yakko was hanging and looked down at the girl, who was already crying.

"Well, look what we have here! Up close, you look pretty cute!" The foreign ninja grabbed Yakko by the arm and pulled her up to his eye level. "It would be a waste to kill you. Maybe I can get some good money out of you!"

"Let her go, you disgusting old man!" Hinode leapt toward the ninja with a kunai.

The man easily blocked Hinode's kunai with his own, and with some added force, he knocked the weapon out of her hand. With one hand holding onto Yakko and one hand disarming Hinode, the man was left with a big opening. Flipping over and propelling herself with her hands on the tree trunk, Hinode's left foot went straight for the bottom of the man's chin.

"Tsk!" the man let go of Yakko and blocked Hinode's kick, then swung his kunai once again.

"Hinode-chan!"

Blood gushed out and splashed into the air from a gaping wound on Hinode's left leg. Hinode had to bite down on her bottom lip so that she wouldn't cry out from the pain. However, before she could register, she was already falling off the tree. But before she hit the ground, she felt a pair of strong arms catching her and held her tightly.

"That was a close one."

Hinode looked up to see a kind and caring face. Her savior was none other than Kakashi's father, Hatake Sakumo. The man's silver hair glistened under the moonlight and the corners of his eyes squinted into a reassuring smile. He gently put Hinode down and propped her back up against a tree.

"Is your leg in pain?" asked Sakumo as he tore off his sleeve and held it against the wound on Hinode's leg. Hinode was so dumbfounded the whole time that she couldn't react at all, until the pressure on her wound caused her to wince. Sakumo took one of her hands and put it on top of the cloth on her wound. "Keep pressure on it. Just hang on for a little while and I'll take you to the hospital."

Hinode nodded slowly at Sakumo, not noticing that her face and ears were burning up.

"You did well, Hinode. I'll take care of the rest." Sakumo turned back towards the direction where the Iwagakure ninja was and shouted, "Hey, Hidenobu! I think we should take him to the Hokage before w-"

Sakumo stopped mid-shout as the Iwagakure ninja's scream pierced through the night. At the mention of her father's name, Hinode looked up immediately to find her father next to the Iwagakure ninja, who now had a blade sticking through his chest. In the dead of night, Uchiha Hidenobu's sharingan shone eerily and his face adorned with the blood of the Iwagakure ninja. As if sensing Hinode's gaze, Uchiha Hidenobu looked down into Hinode's eyes with a look so cold that it sent shivers down Hinode's spine. Being attacked by another ninja was terrifying, but somehow her father terrified her even more. Uchiha Hidenobu withdrew his sword and the limp body of the nameless ninja fell to the ground with a thud.

"Oh, boy…" Sakumo scratched the back of his head at the sight of his partner's ruthless killing and Yakko's pale face; the girl was scared to death.

Uchiha Hidenobu descended from the top of the tree in a flash and appeared in front of Sakumo and Hinode.

"A weak ninja like him wouldn't be any use to the Hokage," said Hidenobu to Sakumo. "He was probably just doing petty crimes in the outskirts of the village, and thought that these kids witnessed him."

"Still, the Iwagakure ninjas are getting cockier by the day, causing trouble so close to the borders of Konoha," said Sakumo sternly.

Hidenobu did not respond to Sakumo's comment and moved over to the sitting Hinode. He looked down at Hinode, who trembled with dread of what her father was going to say.

"Get up," said Hidenobu. "You should be home at this hour."

"Y-yes, father," Hinode replied immediately and proceeded to push herself up.

"Now, now, Hidenobu, be nice to your daughter! She got hurt trying to protect her friend," Sakumo walked over by Hinode to relieve the tension between the two, but paused for a moment when he looked down at Hinode, who already got up by herself.

"M-mister! We were out here doing our homework. W-we weren't just fooling around…" Yakko jumped in to defend Hinode as well, but when she met Hidenobu's cold gaze, her voice got softer and softer until it was inaudible.

Hidenobu ignored all that was said and snatched Hinode by the waist, and slung her over his shoulder. Without saying goodbye, he disappeared into the forest.

The night had become a very strange but memorable night for all who were involved. Kusanagi Yakko silently vowed to become stronger and to never let Hinode get hurt again for her sake. Hatake Sakumo went home with a mind-boggling discovery that Hinode's leg wound had stopped bleeding and began to heal within just minutes.

And Uchiha Hinode developed a small crush on the man who saved her life, Hatake Sakumo.

To be continued.

Chapter 4: Curse of the Childhood Crush

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

By the following day, Hinode's leg wound had healed completely. In fact, it barely looked like a scratch when Hinode and her father arrived home late at night. If it weren't for either Byakue's observant eyes or her maternal instinct, no one would have noticed. Of course, Obito made a big deal about Hinode being attacked, until he was silenced by Hinode's glare. Byakue inspected the wound and decided it didn't need any further treatment, but she demanded to know what happened from Hidenobu.

Hidenobu explained flatly, "It happened in the mountains behind Ninja Academy. They were attacked by an Iwagakure ninja."

"It was my fault. Going to the mountain was my idea," Hinode added sheepishly. "If father hadn't been there, Yakko and I would be dead by now."

"Nonsense. It wasn't your fault," said Byakue. "That Iwagakure ninja had to be out of his mind to attack mere children of Konoha."

"He has been taken care of," said Hidenobu as he stood and headed for the bedroom.

"Did you kill him?" Byakue asked, sensing that that was the case from what her husband's words. "Wouldn't that be bad if Iwagakure found out that one of their ninja was killed by a Konoha ninja?"

"And what kind of ninja would I be, if I spared the life of a scum who intended to kill Konoha's children on their own turf?" Hidenobu countered harshly.

Hinode watched as her father disappeared into the hallway and her mother watched him while sighing deeply. Her parents could not be more different. Byakue was warm and Hidenobu was cold. Byakue sought peace and Hidenobu would easily take a life. And even though they were so different, Byakue still loved and cared for Hidenobu deeply. It bothered Hinode that she could not tell if her father reciprocated that.

Hinode felt that it was unfair.

"You must be exhausted from tonight, Hinode," said Byakue gently. "Go on and head to bed."

Hinode nodded quietly and went upstairs to her room, followed by Obito.

Ever since she was born, Hinode had always been able to recover from wounds quicker than others, but she never paid very much attention to it. But this time it turned out to be a useful thing for her as she didn't have to explain to people how she got hurt. The only people who knew about last night's incident were her parents, Yakko, and Obito. And while Yakko and Obito were concerned about Hinode, they knew her enough to know that she liked to keep things to herself because she found it bothersome to explain the details.

So naturally, none of the kids paid any attention to Hinode when she and Obito walked into the classroom. Hinode casually went to sit in her usual spot, then Yakko came and sat next to her. Yakko's face was slightly flushed and she eyed Hinode's leg carefully.

"H-Hinode-chan, your leg…"

"It's fine," said Hinode quickly. "It wasn't a deep cut."

Yakko bit her lip and looked down at her laced fingers as if she was deeply embarrassed. She barely caught any sleep last night because she felt so guilty that Hinode got hurt. Hinode, of course, noticed this.

"Don't worry about it, Yakko-chan," she placed a hand on top of Yakko's shoulder. "If you really feel bad, you can buy me some shaved ice after school!"

Yakko's eyes lit up at Hinode's suggestion. "O-Of course! As many bowls as you want!"

"Really? I'm going to hold you to it!"

Yakko nodded furiously. Hinode let out a sigh of relief; she didn't think that Yakko should feel responsible for what happened. Besides, what kind of ninja would she be if she didn't go back for Yakko and just ran away from the Iwagakure ninja on her own? Even if she wasn't a ninja, she wouldn't have left Yakko behind. Yakko was shy, but had gifts in Ninjutsu. It wasn't her time to die.

The day's lessons were short as the class was to practice combat in the training grounds in the afternoon. Ono Masano paired the students up to train in Taijutsu, and Hinode looked at his partner dreadfully when his name was called - Might Guy. The thick-browed boy, on the other hand, was delighted with this pairing.

Without a doubt, Might Guy was the best at hand-to-hand fighting in the class. The only person who could take him on was Hatake Kakashi.

"Ono-sensei, don't you think Kakashi is a better training partner for Guy?" Hinode raised her hand and asked.

Ono Masano glared at Hinode as if she'd said something incredibly offensive. "Guy is a good training partner for you in Taijutsu. You have a lot of strength to become great at Taijutsu if you bothered learning good form and techniques."

"Ono-sensei is right," said Guy as he patted Hinode on the shoulder. "Uchiha Hinode! Ever since you and my eternal rival, Kakashi, had that duel, I have been awed by your guts! I can't wait to train with you!"

Hinode rolled her eyes. If she has to hear about her fight with Kakashi one more time, she was going to dig a hole in the ground she was standing on and bury herself in it.

"What guts? I lost that fight."

"Fighting with your all even in a losing battle is guts!" Guy declared. "And not giving up after losing is the meaning of youth! That's what papa says!"

"Your papa is thirty-five. Everything is youth to him."

"What? Hey! Are you saying bad things about my papa?!"

"Uchiha Hinode! Might Guy!" Ono Masano bellowed; the vein in his forehead bulged out slightly. "Quit chit chatting and get to training!"

Dummies were set up in the training ground, each to be shared between a pair of students. As expected, Hinode could not keep up with Guy. The boy was throwing punches and kicks at twice the speed of hers. The good thing was that Hinode had exceptional strength compared to her peers, so by the end of training, Hinode and Guy's dummy was the most beat up out of the whole class.

While other students murmured to each other about Hinode and Guy's dummy, Ono Masano shook his head as he wrote on his clipboard.

"Uchiha Hinode, your movements are still too slow," Ono Masano said. "In a real fight, your opponent won't be motionless. If you're slow, then your attacks are useless and what's worse is that you'll be caught."

Hinode would normally retort, but remained quiet when she thought about the night before.

"What about me, Ono-sensei?" asked Guy enthusiastically.

"...Room for improvement."

"Ohh! Just what I wanted to hear!" Guy's eyes lit up at his teacher's comment. There seemed to be a fire burning around the boy. "In pursuit of youth, I'm going to run laps around Konoha! Wanna join me, Hinode?"

"No, thanks," said Hinode as she turned away from him. When the class was dismissed for the day, Yakko ran up to Hinode, flushed in the face after training.

"Hinode-chan, um… the sh-shaved ice…"

"Oh yeah! Let's go!" Hinode perked up at the mention of shaved ice. Then she called over Obito to come along, and Obito invited Rin. Rin then invited Kurenai, and Kurenai invited Asuma. One after one, almost half of the class ended up going to the shaved ice shop together. Even Kakashi agreed to join them after Rin's insistence, much to Obito's dismay.

"Sorry, Yakko-chan, I didn't expect the turn out to be like this," said Hinode quietly to the timid girl among the group.

Yakko shook her head with a soft smile. "That's ok, Hinode-chan."

There was a hint of disappointment in Yakko's voice that Hinode couldn't catch, and even Yakko herself didn't notice at the time.

It was the beginning of summer and the weather was quickly getting warmer. The children's chatter livened up the afternoon streets in the village. The shaved ice shop owner welcomed them into his shop happily. In a time of great tension between countries, the village children seem to be the only thing that raised people's spirits. The owner even made the shaved ices extra large for them for free.

Hinode was, of course, ecstatic about this. She took the opportunity and asked for nearly all the sweet toppings the shop had. A mountain of red bean, mochi, candied fruits, and heavy drizzles of syrup stood in front of Hinode, and the girl dug in right away. While Obito was used to seeing Hinode's ability to eat large amounts of sugar, the other kids stared in awe, some lost their appetite imagining how sweet Hinode's bowl must be.

The bell attached to the shop's door jingled, and a man in a jounin outfit walked in.

"Kakashi?" the man called out with surprise.

The children looked toward the man then back at Kakashi, and then back at the man. There was no doubt that they were related; their silver hair was exactly the same.

"What are you doing here, dad?" Kakashi asked as he got up from his chair and went towards the man.

"I was going to bring some sweet mochi home, but it seems like you already had your dessert today," Sakumo smiled warmly at his son, then looked around the room with a slight excitement, seemingly very pleased that Kakashi was hanging out with a group of kids his own age. Then he noticed the young girls he'd encountered the night before.

"Oh! Hinode-chan!" he called out.

Hinode, who was sitting with her back facing Sakumo, looked back from her now-much-lower mountain of shaved ice and nearly choked when she saw Sakumo. She dropped her spoon and furiously wiped her mouth with a napkin, all the while getting very red in the face. Her heart started racing as she made eye contact with the man who smiled expectantly at her.

"H-hello, Ha-hatake-jo-jounin," Hinode stammered, a very un-Hinode behavior.

"Haha, you don't have to be so formal. Just call me Sakumo," said Sakumo as he approached Hinode, bending down to be at her eye level.

With the closeness in distance, Hinode's face grew redder. Kakashi noticed Hinode's strange behavior; the girl usually never stuttered or got embarrassed. As he studied the way Hinode was looking at his father, he had a thought, and shuddered at the thought immediately.

"How is your leg, Hinode?"

"M-my leg? It's fine! B-better than ever!" Hinode said shakily; her heart pounded so hard that she could barely hear what she was saying.

Sakumo's smile shifted for a split second at Hinode's answer, but it was unnoticeable to the kids around him.

"That's great!" Sakumo extended a hand and ruffled Hinode's wispy black hair, which made the girl's face almost as red as the red beans on her shaved ice. The older man, of course, had not the slightest clue about Hinode's crush on him. He merely thought that Hinode's blush was due to shyness. But Hinode's classmate and somewhat close acquaintance, Kakashi, knew that Hinode may be cold and quiet, but she was not a shy person. He noticed all of her irregular behaviors while interacting with his father and figured it out easily.

"Dad, it's getting late. We should go home," said Kakashi as he snatched his father's hand away from Hinode's head. He had to save his father from Hinode's clutch.

"Oh, don't you want to hang out with your friends more?" Sakumo asked lovingly to his son.

At the word 'friends' Kakashi looked around at his classmates, then stopped his gaze at Hinode. His eyes narrowed at the girl with distaste.

"I'll see them at school tomorrow," Kakashi said, and then pulled his father away. As the father and son duo walked away from the store, Hinode's gaze was still fixed on Sakumo's back.

"Kakashi and his dad look so alike, but his dad is so much nicer," Kurenai commented after Kakashi and Sakumo left.

"Hinode, what was wrong with your leg?" Rin, the aspiring medical ninja, asked Hinode curiously. "And are you having a fever? Your face is red."

"N-no, everything is fine!" Hinode said, realizing how stupid she was acting. "I'm just warm, that's all!"

"Hinode-chan, your shaved ice…" Yakko chimed in.

"Oh, you're right!" Hinode turned back to her bowl of shaved ice, only to find it in its melted state. With disappointment, she groaned, "Oh man… it's melted…"

"W-would you like to get another one?" Yakko asked. "I-I can get you another…"

"No, it's fine…" said Hinode dejectedly. "If only there was a jutsu to keep desserts fresh…"

"Hinode, that would be the most wasteful use of chakra in the history of ninjutsu…" Asuma said, rolling his eyes at the girl's idea.

The other kids laughed all around her. Hinode was relieved that no one caught her acting weird in front of Hatake Sakumo. Years later, she would find out that not just one, but several others noticed her little crush at five years old.

To be continued.

Notes:

Isn't Kid Kakashi the cutest?! Sigh.

Chapter 5: Curse of the Pork Belly

Chapter Text

Summer was in full swing and the worst place to be in a house was, Hinode now realized, the kitchen. Hinode's mother, Byakue, was ordered to be on bed rest, so Hinode has taken over the household chores. Byakue's health was not in any serious condition, but she was feeling more and more fatigued each day. And because she had a very difficult birth with Hinode, the medical ninjas at the hospital decided that she should store up her energy for the birth of her second child.

Though cooking and cleaning were not exactly her strength, Hinode was more than willing to help her mother and her soon-to-be baby brother. It was early morning and Hinode was in the kitchen, standing on a stool by the stove, hovering over a hot pan of sunny side up eggs.

"Hinode, let me help you with that."

Hinode could hear the grin in Byakue's voice coming from the kitchen doorway. She looked over to see her mother coming through the door.

"Mother! You're not supposed to be up!" Hinode quickly turned off the stove and ran over to Byakue. She pushed her mother back towards the bedroom.

"But, Hinode-chan~" Byakue whined. "I've been in bed for days! I'm so bored~"

"It's for your own good!" Realizing she could not push her mother all the way upstairs, Hinode settled her down on the living room couch. "Besides, if anyone should be helping me, it should be that lazy bum Uchiha Obito."

Even speaking of Obito's name annoyed Hinode. Obito has been waking up late everyday while Hinode took care of breakfast. She believed that the boy was getting lazier each day since summer break was approaching. And now, on the last day of the first term of Ninja Academy, Obito was sure not to be up until the last minute.

"Obito? I think he left the house already before you were awake," said Byakue.

"...Huh?"

The first term of Ninja Academy was coming to an end. Hinode felt like it was the longest four months of her entire life thus far. She couldn't believe that she was going to have six years of this with these classmates. But at least for now, she was glad to be able to enjoy a summer break away from walking the path of a ninja.

"Uchiha Obito!" Ono Masano bellowed when Obito tried to sneak into class from the back door. "Even on the last day of the term, you're going to be late, huh? What if I made you stay after school so your break starts later than your classmates?!"

Obito wailed his apologies and bowed to Ono Masano continuously. The classroom burst into laughter while Hinode looked back at Obito quietly. She knew that Obito left the house earlier than she did, but why did he arrive so much later? She scrutinized him as he made his way to the seat next to her. The boy was sweaty and was catching his breath; perhaps he was running to get to class.

While she could just ask him about what he was doing, he would probably say that he was helping some old lady. Ever since the incident with the Iwagakure Ninja, Obito has been a little secretive. And it was not that Hinode didn't care, but she didn't want to pry. She knew that Obito had his own personal struggles even though he appeared to be a happy simpleton most of the time.

"What are you doing over summer break, Kurenai?"

"Mom said it's too dangerous to travel outside of the village so I'm just staying home. How about you, Azuma?"

"Me too. Wanna hang out over the summer?"

"Sure!"

Hinode rolled her eyes at Azuma and Kurenai who were whispering to each other in the seats in front of her. Azuma sure didn't want to waste any time hanging out with Kurenai. Then, she noticed a movement to her left, where Yakko was sitting. A note had been thrown to Yakko's field of view and she opened it up.

'What are you doing over summer break? - Genma'

Hinode rolled her eyes again. These boys sure are pushy when they haven't even hit puberty yet, she thought.

She stayed quiet and peeked at what Yakko wrote as her response.

'I will be busy. -Yakko'

Hinode held back a snicker, but also wondered what Yakko was busy with over the summer. Then, she wondered what she was doing over the break herself. Taking care of her mother was, without question, the priority. But her mother wouldn't need to be looked after all day. She had planned to hang out with Yakko, but she didn't think that Yakko would be busy. For a moment, she seemed to have forgotten what she used to do with her time before Ninja Academy started.

Just as she started to get a fleeting feeling, a piece of chalk hit her in the forehead.

"Uchiha Hinode! You think you don't need to pay attention to class just because you're done with final exams?" Ono Masano bellowed. "I'll have you know that you'll have to take extra classes next term if you failed any of your tests!"

The class roared with laughter again and Hinode silently glared at her teacher while Yakko wiped off the chalk residue on Hinode's forehead. Even Obito laughed at her, though he was the laughing stock just a while ago.

Hinode was sure that she wanted school to end as soon as possible.

After six excruciating hours, the school bell rang, signifying the end of the school term. The children rushed out of the classrooms and ran towards the school entrance. A few parents were waiting for their kids at the gate, smiling pleasantly at their kids for completing another term at school. Uchiha Byakue was one of those few.

Of course, Hinode freaked out.

"Mother! What are you doing out of bed?!" she said hotly as she ran to the gate to meet her mother.

"Picking you and Obito up, of course!" Byakue beamed at her. "It's the last day of school! I thought we could celebrate!"

"The doctor said you need to rest."

"He also said I shouldn't stress, and resting at home all day is stressing me out!" Byakue whined, acting like the little kid.

"What if something happens? We're talking about both you and the baby here!" scolded Hinode.

"I'm here to protect you all!"

Hinode turned at the familiar and cheerful voice that came from behind her. She blushed profusely when her eyes met those of Hatake Sakumo's. His were in the shape of crescent moons from his grin. Her field of view was immediately filled with imaginary bubbles and the sounds of her mother greeting Sakumo was muted by her brain. All she could see or hear was Sakumo's face and his laugh.

Then, someone bumped her left arm. Hard.

She looked to her left to see Kakashi giving her the most judgmental look a pair of eyes can convey. She was immediately hit with embarrassment after receiving that look, and she growled softly.

"What are you doing here, dad?" Kakashi asked his father with a slightly accusing tone.

"Ah, I just thought I'd come pick you up from school since I've never had time to during your whole first term," Sakumo ruffled Kakashi's hair lovingly. "I can't have your friends think that you have a negligent father!"

"Hmph. I don't care what other people think."

"You should care a little…" murmured Hinode.

Byakue studied the interaction between Hinode and Kakashi with amusement. She then looked around the schoolyard for Obito.

"Where's Obito?" she asked.

"Probably back there talking to Rin," Hinode said, pointing her thumb over her shoulder.

"Rin!" Byakue's eyes lit up with delight. "I really haven't seen you guys' friends in so long! This stay-at-home pregnancy is depriving me of so much!"

Hinode frowned at her mother. "I know it's hard for you, but you have to be responsible, mother."

Byakue covered her eyes with her hands and pretended to cry. "You're so mean, Hinode!"

"Hinode-chan, don't worry," Sakumo knelt down next to Hinode and put his hand on top of her head and ruffled it like he did to Kakashi's. "Kakashi and I will join you guys! I promise nothing will happen with just a ramen dinner."

"But…"

"Besides, it'll make your mom really happy."

Unable to look straight at Sakumo's warm smile, Hinode turned towards her mother, who was sending intense anticipation through puppy eyes. Hinode sighed in defeat.

"Fine. We go home right after ramen."

"Did someone say ramen?" Obito arrived at the school gate just at the right time with Rin.

"We're all going to Ichiraku's for dinner," announced Byakue happily. "My treat to congratulate you guys for finishing your first term! Rin, you come too!"

"Really? That's awesome!" Obito raised his arms in excitement.

"Thank you, Byakue-san," Rin bowed courteously.

Hinode's lips tightened into a straight line at Obito's reaction, but then shook it off. "I'm going to invite Yakko, is that okay, mother?"

"Of course!"

Watching Hinode run back into the schoolyard to find her friend, Sakumo turned to look at his own son.

"Do you want to go invite your friends, Kakashi?"

Kakashi shrugged coolly and stayed besides Sakumo. Sakumo took one long look at him and sighed softly. Sakumo was, of course, very proud of his son for his exceptional skills as a ninja at such a young age. But he always worried that his son would forgo the importance of companionship if he was too different from other kids his age.

Luckily for the group, Ichiraku Ramen was empty when they arrived. The owner, Teuchi, recognized Sakumo and Byakue and welcomed them enthusiastically. Teuchi was a loving and generous man, so he was delighted to see the many children that came in behind the two Jounin.

"Finished your first term at Ninja Academy? All right, I'm upgrading all of your ramen orders to large bowls!"

The children, especially Obito, cheered for Teuchi. Teuchi went right into the kitchen to get enough noodles for seven people and called for his daughter to serve tea. All seven of them sat around the ramen bar in the order of Byakue on one end, then Sakumo, Kakashi, Hinode, Yakko, Obito and Rin.

"Thanks for waiting!"

The young daughter of Teuchi hollered as she emerged from the kitchen, holding a tray of teas. Ayame was around the same age as the children present, and while she was not going to Ninja Academy like the rest of them, she worked just as hard in her father's shop, feeding the hungry villagers of Konoha. She set down the cups of tea one by one in front of the guests, and when she got to Kakashi, she paused for a second.

"Thanks," said Kakashi as the tea cup was set in front of him.

Hinode watched as Ayame's body stiffen and a shade of pink appeared on her cheeks. Apparently, Obito noticed this as well, as he made an annoyed 'tsk' at Ayame's reaction.

"What's up with that brat's popularity with girls?" Obito leaned past Yakko and mumbled in a low volume so that only Hinode could hear. "Half of his face is under a mask!"

"Aren't you a brat too?" Hinode mumbled back.

"Not the point!" Obito whispered too loudly. "Why do you think he wears a mask anyway? You think it's to look cool?"

Hinode peeked at Kakashi's masked face for a quick second, and whispered, also too loudly, "Probably because he's too ugly? What else could it be?"

Two short stifled laughs sounded from the end of the bar. Kakashi glared at the girl but didn't retort.

The ramen was served all at the same time. While she didn't care that much, Obito did pique her interest in Kakashi's face under his mask. Saying that he's probably ugly was a payback for bumping her arm earlier. But if one of his parents, Sakumo, was so handsome (to Hinode), then Kakashi couldn't be that ugly.

Hinode stared intently at the boy next to him as he raised up his hand and pinched the fabric of his mask. She subconsciously leaned forward so she could get a good frontal view. Then, just as Kakashi started to pull down his mask, Hinode felt a tug at her sleeve.

"Hi-Hinode-chan, Obito-kun is a-about to steal y-your chashu," Yakko sputtered.

Hinode reached over Yakko and slapped Obito on the head. The boy yelped in pain, but snickered right after because he already got the chashu he was targeting. Hinode looked back at Kakashi, but the boy was already done eating.

Hinode narrowed her eyes at Kakashi. "What is that, Vacuum Mouth Jutsu?"

Kakashi glanced at her with dead eyes. "This is normal. You just have slow reflexes. That's why you're out of chashu."

Hinode glared at Kakashi, but before she said anything, Sakumo reached past Kakashi with a piece of chashu in his chopsticks and put it into Hinode's bowl.

"All right, let's save that energy for summer break, kids,"

Hinode blushed furiously at this. For a split second, she wished that she could not eat the piece of chashu and save it forever. If she said that out loud, Kakashi would probably beat her up. And Obito, well, Obito didn't know about her crush.

After they've finished their dinner, the group stood outside the shop to say their goodbyes.

"It was very nice seeing you, Sakumo-san," said Byakue pleasantly.

"Same here. Please say hi to your husband for me," said Sakumo, and then turned to Kakashi. "Let's go, Kakashi!"

The silver-haired boy held onto his father's hand and they walked away into the night.

"Thank you for the meal, Byakue-san," Rin bowed to Byakue politely. "Hinode, Yakko, Obito, see you guys around!"

"Rin! Let's hang out over summer break!" Obito blurted out with his face bright red even in the night.

"Okay!" Rin grinned almost as brightly as Obito and took off.

"Th-thank you, Byakue-san," Yakko bowed like Rin did, and turned to Hinode. "Hi-Hinode-chan…"

"I'll see you over the summer, Yakko-chan," Hinode smiled softly at the shy girl.

The four of them parted ways. Byakue held the hands of Obito and Yakko in each of her own tightly. They walked slowly and leisurely because there was no school tomorrow and Byakue's stomach was getting bigger and bigger by day. Byakue savored this moment with two of her favorite kids in Konoha; surely peaceful moments like this were going to become a rarity with the outbreak of war.

She wanted it to last forever, even though she didn't know at the time that it was going to be the last time she'd hold both of these small hands at the same time.

To be continued.

Chapter 6: Curse of the Summer Body

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Hinode didn't expect her first summer break to turn out the way it did. What she expected was taking over house chores in order for her mother to rest, which did happen. What she expected was her cousin Obito to help her out once in a while, which absolutely did not happen. In fact, she barely saw Obito at all over the month of summer break. He'd show up during lunch and dinner to eat and not help with dishes after, which drove Hinode crazy. And every time she'd ask him what he was so busy with, he'd say that he's helping out the old ladies around the village. The most outrageous part of it all was that Obito would wake up so early and leave the house so Hinode couldn't stop him at all.

Finally fed up with Obito's phantom presence, Hinode set up a trap near the tree next to the front gate of their house one night. Karin woke up the next morning to a scream she'd been waiting for. She stepped out of her house to meet the boy who was hanging upside down from the tree by a rope.

"Was this your doing?!" Obito bellowed from the tree, his face turning red from being upside down. "Where did you even learn to make a trap like this?!"

"Ono-sensei taught us during Traps 101," Hinode said. "You and everyone else in the class were dozing off."

"Whatever! Just let me down!"

"Tell me where you've been the whole month, then I'll let you down."

"...That's none of your business!"

"It is my business if all you do is eat and sleep in my house without helping with the chores!"

Obito fell silent. His eyebrows furrowed in a manner of guilt and regret. Truthfully, Hinode didn't care so much for Obito's help around the house. She took over the chores on her own accord without her mother asking to begin with. She was more bothered by the fact that Obito was running about, doing his own things without telling her.

"Hinode, I'm grateful for how much you and Aunt Byakue have helped me since grandma died. I'll repay you in due time, but I must do what I have to do first."

Hinode raised an eyebrow at her cousin. "Don't give me that sentimental stuff."

"F-fine!" Obito exclaimed. His face turning red from the blood rushing to his head. "I've been secretly training, okay? Ever since your incident with the Iwagakure ninja, I've been training! I keep thinking about how it would have happened if it were me instead."

"...But you weren't there."

"I said 'what if!'" Obito shouted. "You were in a real life fight with an adult ninja, Hinode. I don't know if I could have done the same."

"You do remember how my leg turned out, right?" Hinode asked. "If it weren't for Hatake Sakumo and father, I would be dead."

"I mean, you fought them, Hinode," Obito said in a lower voice. "I would have ran."

"I tried to," said Hinode. "If it weren't for Yakko, I would have kept running."

"I think you're admirable, Hino…" Obito's voice trailed off as he started to lose consciousness from being hung upside down too long.

Hinode jumped onto the tree and lowered the Obito down. The boy took big, long breaths as he laid down on the ground. Hinode jumped back down and untied him. And while he was still too dazed to glare at her, she grabbed one of his arms and flung it around her shoulder. She led him back towards the house.

"You didn't need to explain to me why you wanted to train. It's not like I was going to stop you," Hinode muttered. "But, at least, eat some breakfast before you run off."

Just like Hinode suggested, Obito ran off on his own after finishing breakfast. Hinode cursed at herself for not setting a second trap, because she forgot earlier that they had plans to go buy the textbooks for the next term today. She was surprised that Obito forgot about it too, because Rin was supposed to go with them. But it was too late to find him now, and she decided that she'll just buy his textbooks for him and scold him later. After cleaning up the dishes and saying goodbye to her mother, Hinode left the house as well.

There weren't many people out and about during the middle of the day in the middle of summer. It was simply too hot, especially in the Fire Country. Thinking about carrying double the textbooks around in this weather made Hinode even more annoyed at Obito.

Before heading to Rin's house, Hinode stopped by Yakko's.

Yakko lived by herself in an old house left to her by her parents. She was orphaned as a toddler, much like Obito. Hinode had stopped by many times throughout the summer, but Yakko seldom answered the door. That didn't stop Hinode from knocking on her door, though.

Hinode waited outside Yakko's house and started to count the planks of wood on Yakko's rooftop. She made a habit to do this each time she waited for Yakko; when she'd count from one end to the other and Yakko hadn't come to answer the door, it was time for her to leave. To her pleasant surprise, the door creaked open when she was halfway across the rooftop. She lowered her eyes from the roof to see Yakko, whose dark circles under her eyes made her look like a panda.

"Yakko-chan! What happened to you?" Hinode asked out of concern.

"I-I'm fine, Hinode-chan," Yakko said with a hoarse voice. "I just haven't had good sleep for a few days."

"Is everything okay?" Hinode persisted with her questioning. "If you're getting scared again about sleeping alone, you can sleep over at my house."

"I'm-I'm not. D-don't worry," Yakko managed to smile at Hinode. "I've just been… r-reading."

"Reading?" Hinode raised an eyebrow at the platinum blonde. "What are you reading during summer break?"

"I-I'll tell you another time, Hi-Hinode-chan," Yakko said as she stepped out of the doorway and pulled the door closed. "Le-let's go buy our textbooks."

Hinode felt that Yakko was acting a little strange. The timid girl did not often talk about herself, but she rarely kept secrets from Hinode deliberately. It wasn't a matter of loyalty, but a matter of Yakko failing to take care of herself. Out of everyone in her circle, Hinode was always most worried about Yakko. But if Yakko insisted that she didn't have to worry, then she'll have to trust her.

The two girls traveled together to Rin's house, which was closest to the shopping district. Sometimes Hinode resented the fact that the Uchiha compound was so far away from Konoha's village center, especially on a hot day like today. Both of the girls were getting very sluggish as they arrived at Rin's house.

"Hey, Hinode! Yakko!" Rin had more energy than the two girls combined when she answered the door. You could always count on Rin to brighten the mood. "Where's Obito?"

"He's so obsessed with training that he forgot about our plan today," Hinode scoffed at the thought of her cousin's behavior this morning.

"Obito sure is training hard, huh," Rin said, not at all annoyed by this like Hinode. "Ever since we ran into Kakashi training on his own, Obito has been training extra hard to catch up to Kakashi. I guess I need to train harder too!"

Hinode looked at Rin quizzically. "You what? Kakashi?"

"Ah, it was when summer break just started! Obito and I were going to hang out in the mountains, and we saw Kakashi training there," Rin explained. "But don't tell Kakashi that we were peeking, okay?"

"Why would I tell him that?" Hinode asked. "I don't even talk to him a lot."

"Really? You guys seem close ever since your fight in the dojo," Rin recalled the incident from the last school term. "For you and Kakashi's standards, I mean."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you both are kind of distant, especially Kakashi."

"I don't think I am," Hinode countered, feeling a bit attacked that she was being compared to that stuck up, so-called genius.

"Only until recently, you didn't start opening up to anyone besides Obito, Yakko, and me," Rin said. "And Kakashi started opening up a little bit more lately, too, eating ramen with us and everything"

"Okay, Ms. Observant," Hinode waved off Rin's analysis of her and Kakashi. "Why do you pay so much attention to Kakashi anyway?"

A splash of pink appeared on Rin's cheeks and Hinode knew she didn't need a verbal explanation anymore. Until now, Hinode would have rolled her eyes at the aspect of a child having a crush, but now that she also has a crush on Hatake Sakumo, she tried not to be a hypocrite. Although she couldn't understand why a bright and loving girl like Rin would have a crush on that snooty mask boy. It made much more sense to have a crush on Sakumo, albeit the fact that he was Kakashi's father. Also, poor Obito.

The three girls chatted about the weather and what kind of snacks they've eaten over summer break as they made their way to the bookstore. It didn't take long for them to arrive. As they walked into the bookstore, they were surprised to see the boy they were just talking about standing in one of the aisles.

"Kakashi! What a coincidence!" Rin was pleasantly surprised in comparison to Hinode, and she immediately greeted the boy.

Kakashi didn't greet back right away, but first scanned the faces of his classmates, then narrowed his eyes at Hinode, who was looking at him with the same narrowed eyes.

"Are you also buying next term's textbooks?" Rin continued to strike up a conversation with the cool boy.

"No, I bought those last week," said Kakashi.

"What are you buying, then?" Rin peeked over at the book in Kakashi's hand and gasped. "Kakashi! That's Genin level material!"

Kakashi merely shrugged towards Rin's awe. "I finished reading the class material already."

"Hmph, nerd." Hinode, unamused by Kakashi's blatant display of overachievement, snorted with disgust.

Kakashi dead-eyed Hinode. "It's better to gain knowledge over summer break than gain weight, Hinode."

Hinode's whole body shook at Kakashi's comment, and even Rin opened her mouth in shock. Yakko immediately held onto Hinode's arm by her side to prevent her from mauling Kakashi. Fortunately, Hinode was the calmer one of the Uchihas in their class, but even then she was ticked off. However, she couldn't really retort against Kakashi, because without training and all the cold desserts she ate over the summer, she really did gain weight.

Seeing as he won the verbal battle, Kakashi walked past Hinode with a slightly snobby 'hmph' and paid for his book at the counter. Rin and Yakko pulled Hinode on each side to the textbooks section before the situation got any worse.

"Rin…" Hinode said through gritted teeth as they looked through the shelves for their textbook. "Are you sure you still like that brat? He's probably too proud to like anybody."

Rin gave Hinode a troubled smile. "I can't help it. I'll probably continue to like him even if he doesn't like me back."

Hinode frowned at Rin's words. A part of her got more mad at Kakashi for causing pain to such a lovely girl like Rin, and a part of her could hardly believe that a composed and collected girl like Rin could say something like that. Then again, she also had an unrequited crush, but she always believed that she would grow out of it eventually. That in itself might be a sadder thought.

The sun was starting to set by the time the three girls were done shopping and had themselves an afternoon treat at the Dango shop (Hinode sheepishly had just one skewer instead of her usual three). They walked back to Rin's house first, then Hinode walked with Yakko back to Yakko's place. Yakko's house was the only one along the road without a light on inside.

"Will you be okay walking home alone, Hinode-chan?" Yakko asked as they stood at her doorstep.

"Of course," Hinode said. "Just hurry inside."

Yakko sent her a soft and tired smile, and then retreated into her home. Hinode stood there in silence for a moment before turning away. But instead of heading in the direction of the Uchiha compound, she went back towards the town. She walked until she was at the bottom of the Hokage Rock, and she sat down by the sidewalk. Within a few minutes, another presence joined Hinode under the monument.

"Oh, Hinode? What are you doing here?"

Hinode stood up at the arrival of Might Guy, whom she knew would show up here everyday around this time. She'd seen him out here whenever she was out for groceries.

"Guy, you're training everyday, aren't you?"

"Of course!" Guy's white teeth sparkled even in the sunset. "Five laps around the village and after each lap, 100 pushups!"

Hinode felt a little annoyed at how excited he was while talking about his intense physical training. However, there were other things that annoyed her more at the moment.

"Let me train with you, Guy."

To be continued.

Notes:

Perhaps Hinode will never win when it comes to bantering with the Hatake Kakashi. But if a boy picks on you, that means he likes you, right? (No.)

Chapter 7: Cursed at Birth

Notes:

Thank you all who have given me Kudos, Comments, and time out of your lives to read this fic! I appreciate you all! I have drawn a little pic of what I envision Hinode to look like as a child. She'd probably have a little ponytail when she's older.

Chapter Text

A month of summer break had passed and fall was starting to roll in. The students of Ninja Academy returned to classes, some with excitement and some with dread. Those with dread were mostly students of Ono Masano. He was not described as a loving teacher by many of his alumni. One of the reasons why was that he always made clear to the students, no matter how young, the rankings in his classes. He believed that knowing your rank in class should motivate you to work harder.

Obito was nervous as Ono Masano announced the class ranking from top to bottom. The last time the ranking was announced, Obito was dead last in his class. This time, Kakashi was first again, but no surprise there. Then the list of students' names were called, and the longer the list got the more sweat Obito collected on his forehead.

After a long while, Obito's name was finally called, and surprisingly, followed by Hinode's.

"All right!" Obito jumped out of his seat. "I'm not dead last this time!"

"Sit back down!" Ono Masano bellowed. "Second to last is not something to celebrate!"

Hinode's lips tightened into a straight line. She never really cared for the ranking in class, but to be the worst student of the entire class definitely affected her more than she expected. At the same time, she was glad for Obito to have risen up in ranks. The boy had been trying way harder than she had since the start of school.

However, if her father found out about this, she would definitely get scolded. Disgrace to the Uchiha name, he'd say. Her mother would smile at her and say that her heart's not in the right place. And that was true. Somehow that didn't feel as relieving as it did before.

Lunch time rolled by and Hinode was in more of a gloom than usual. It really didn't help that Obito kept bringing up her rank every few minutes, and he didn't stop until Rin finally whispered to do so.

"Hi-Hinode-chan," Yakko poked Hinode's shoulder from the seat behind her. "Are you okay?"

"How does it feel to be worse than Obito?" Genma sneered from another row behind Yakko.

"It feels all right, but my knuckles feel a bit sore," said Hinode without looking back at Genma. "I feel like cracking them on somebody's face."

"Such a brute girl…" Genma mumbled.

Yakko got up from her seat and went next to Hinode, holding out a scroll. "Hinode-chan, I wanted to show you something. I think this will make you feel better!"

Hinode eyed the scroll questioningly. "What is it?"

Yakko rolled the scroll open on Hinode's desk space, showing a spiral of words written in the center. By the handwriting, Hinode could tell it was Yakko's work. Hinode and the kids around her, Obito and Rin, hunched over and held their breaths as Yakko put her palms on the scroll. With a concentrated look, Yakko released chakra into the scroll.

A little cloud of smoke puffed from the scroll, and the smoke scattered slowly by what looked like steam. Hinode's eyes widened as a delicious looking red bean bun appeared before her. As she picked it up, it was still warm as if it just came out of the steamer.

"Amazing!" Obito was the first to comment.

"I can't believe you can perform a Fuinjutsu!" Rin also said with amazement. "Fuinjutsu is the most intricate Jutsu that even some adult ninjas can't do! And to think you managed to preserve time with this technique is… incredible!"

"Yakko-chan…" Hinode muttered with disbelief, "Was… this what you were studying all summer?"

Yakko nodded timidly with a slight blush. "Remember when we all went to eat shaved ice together?"

Hinode recalled the day that she made a ridiculous wish for there to be a Jutsu to stop shaved ice from melting. Azuma said that would be the most wasteful use of chakra in the history of Ninjutsu. And here Yakko was, a mere child, figuring it out all by herself. Perhaps Kakashi was not the only genius in the class.

"This is amazing, Yakko-chan!" Hinode smiled at Yakko as she took a bite out of the red bean bun. "You should really show Ono-sensei this! What if you get to skip grades?"

Panic flashed across Yakko's face and she hurriedly picked up the scroll and ripped it apart, despite Hinode's attempt to stop her.

It was at that moment, Ono Masano stepped back into the classroom while it was still halfway through the lunch period. The teacher walked up to the row which Hinode sat in, and the kids surrounding her scrambled back to their own seats. He towered over Hinode, who was still munching on the red bean bun and looking up at him. The teacher-student pair had an antagonistic relationship among the class, but Hinode was sure that she had not done anything to upset Ono Masano today.

"Uchiha Hinode," Ono Masano said flatly. "Your mother is in the hospital. You can be excused for the afternoon."

In a split second, Hinode shoved the half-eaten red bean bun into Ono Masano's hand and darted out of the classroom, missing her teacher's disgusted face.

It took all of five minutes for Hinode to arrive at the hospital. The urgency in her eyes led the medical ninja at the reception to think that someone was in dire need of medical attention, but when Hinode blurted her mother's name, the medical ninja relaxed and told her that her mother had gone into labor. Hinode felt a mix of excitement and embarrassment as the medical ninja told her where the delivery room was. She blamed Ono Masano for leaving out that crucial information while giving her the news.

Hinode walked to the delivery room that the medical ninja directed her to, and she knew that she had arrived when she heard the painful cries that belonged to her mother. Hinode tensed up again, and instead of sitting on a bench to wait, she paced back and forth along the corridor. She didn't have the guts to knock on the door and try to go in.

After what felt like hours, Hinode heard a baby's cry from inside. The door to the delivery room opened, and a medical ninja peeked out from inside and noticed Hinode right away.

"Oh, you must be Byakue's daughter," the medical ninja said.

Hinode nodded almost as rapidly as her heart raced. The medical ninja withheld her laughter and told the young girl that she could go on inside.

Hinode held her breath as she walked into the room. Her mother was still lying down on the hospital bed, but her head and shoulders were propped up by extra pillows so she could cradle her baby. The baby had stopped crying after a short minute. Byakue was smiling at the little bundle in her arms even though her skin was so pale that it almost seemed gray. She looked up when Hinode got closer to her bed.

"Hinode, look!" Byakue turned the little bundle towards her daughter.

Hinode first noticed Byakue's dry and chapped lips before looking down at the baby. The baby's skin was red and soft, almost like she could tear it apart without any effort. An indescribable feeling filled Hinode's chest as she stared quietly.

"Say hi to your brother," Byakue whispered. "His name is Uchiha Shisui."

"Uchiha… Shisui…" Hinode muttered the name of her new brother.

"Would you like to hold him?"

Before Hinode could resist, Byakue already handed the baby to Hinode. Hinode became flustered as she didn't know how to hold a baby. With Byakue's instructions, Hinode carefully nudged the baby's head into the crook of her elbow, and with her other hand she cradled the neck for extra support. Her entire body was stiff as she was afraid that the slightest movement could hurt the baby somehow. That was how fragile the baby looked.

The baby began to stir and his face scrunched up a little after a few seconds of Hinode holding him. Hinode started to panic at the prospect that the baby would start crying.

"Relax, Hinode," Byakue told Hinode and cooed at the baby. "The baby can sense your nervousness. You have to help him feel safe and secure. If you feel restless, you can try swaying your body."

Hinode did as she was told, and the baby's face smoothed back to his peaceful sleep. A smile broke out on Hinode's face and she beamed at her mother, who beamed back at her. Hinode believed that up to that moment in her life, she hadn't truly felt happiness. However, this intimate moment that she was sharing with her beloved mother and newborn brother trumped any dessert she had ever tasted. If she could be in this moment forever, that would be heaven for her.

"Aunt Byakue! Hinode!"

An ear-piercing shout and a slam of the door shook the delivery room as Uchiha Obito barged inside. He'd come as soon as school was out; having lived with Hinode's family, he was equally excited for the arrival of Byakue's baby.

The boy immediately covered his mouth with both hands when Hinode shot him the most murderous glare while holding the baby. Intrigued by the baby, Obito risked his life and advanced towards Hinode. His eyes widened with curiosity as he looked into the little bundle in her arms.

"What's its name?"

"His name is Uchiha Shisui," Hinode huffed, still annoyed that her idiot cousin ruined a special moment for her.

"That's kind of a poetic name," Obito noted. "How did you think of it, Aunt Byakue?"

"Actually, Hinode's father came up with that name," said Byakue.

"Speaking of whom, where's Uncle Hidenobu?" Obito asked as he looked around the room.

If Obito hadn't asked, Hinode would not have noticed that Hidenobu wasn't there. Her father was so seldom around that she took it as a norm. But this was his wife giving birth to his own son. That's a different level of importance than just sitting around to eat dinner. Hinode felt a little bit upset about his father's absence, but just as she began to think about it, her father arrived at the hospital.

Hinode could tell that Hidenobu had just come from completing a mission. She could smell the stench of blood emitting from him. Byakue and Hidenobu exchanged a simple 'You're here' and 'Hm' before Hidenobu took the baby from Hinode's arms. Hinode tried to look at her father's expression as he silently scrutinized the baby that he held in his hands, but she couldn't see very well because his long hair hid most of his face. She wondered what her father was doing; perhaps somehow analyzing the baby's potential to be a ninja?

That would be absurd, Hinode shook her head. All babies are born the same.

But they were not. It turned out that every Uchiha offspring was special, and if you were an offspring of Uchiha Hidenobu, you were extraordinarily special. After Byakue was transferred from the delivery room to a private room to rest, the clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, and his wife arrived to congratulate the family.

Hinode and Obito stood quietly in a corner of the room, watching the polite exchange of words between the adults. Obito, on one hand, was gawking at Uchiha Fugaku. He'd never spoken to, much less be in the same room, as the clan head. A parent-less, non-prodigy like him could not possibly be under Fugaku's radar. He was amazed at the way that Fugaku and Hidenobu were talking so casually with each other. He wondered if one day he'll be able to talk to either of them that way. Hinode, on the other hand, was staring at Uchiha Mikoto and her mother.

Uchiha Mikoto was a beauty in a very Uchiha way. Long, silky, jet black hair and onyx eyes were like masterful paint strokes over her snow white skin. She was a few years younger than Byakue, and had a youthful and lively energy compared to her stern husband. Though, to Hinode, Byakue was still the most beautiful of them all.

"Now you have a boy and a girl, Byakue-san," Mikoto said with a slight envy as she admired the infant in Byakue's arms. Having recently married, she was already dreaming about children when she and Fugaku hadn't even discussed it yet. "That's what I'd like, too… a boy and a girl…"

"A girl with Mikoto's genes… the Konoha boys will swoon after her," Byakue teased.

"I'm not sure if I'd be thrilled or troubled by that," Mikoto giggled, then looking to Hinode. "However, you have a lovely daughter of your own, Byakue-san! Are you ready for all the flowers that will be sent to your doorstep in a few years?"

Hinode tensed up when the ladies' conversation directed to her. She blushed slightly at the thought of receiving flowers from a certain silver-haired shinobi.

"Oh? Look at the blush! The flowers might come sooner than you think!"

Byakue smiled in Hinode's direction. "Oh my, Mikoto, I think I'm able to imagine Hinode in a wedding dress already!"

The two kunoichi caught themselves in a bout of laughter as they saw Hinode silently fuming in the corner. The two Uchiha men turned their attention to their wives at the small commotion. Uchiha Fugaku placed a hand on Mikoto's shoulder.

"I didn't know you were a jokester, Mikoto," the man teased his wife.

"I'm hilarious compared to you!" Mikoto returned the teasing. She was listening to the men's conversation the whole time. "What kind of person would talk about the war during a celebratory day like today?"

Fugaku mumbled a sorry to Mikoto and Byakue for discussing such an unpleasant topic with Hidenobu. However, with the threat of war on such a large scale, the Hokage had requested full participation from the Uchiha Clan. While as a clan they were a bit remote from the rest of the village, they were still proud inhabitants of the Fire Country. When the time comes, Fugaku has decided, the Uchiha Clan will lend its power to the Konoha-nin.

Unwilling to prolong the conversation about war, Mikoto politely excused both her and her husband. At the same time, Hidenobu was ready to make his leave, having yet to report to the Hokage after completing his mission. He stood by Byakue's bed and reached out a hand at the baby. The baby did not stir at all as his father placed a big, rough hand on his head.

Hinode wondered why her father couldn't stay longer to be with his wife who had just given birth to his son. Surely the report could wait if the mission was completed successfully. She wasn't ever going to ask him out loud, though.

"Mother, let me hold Shisui," said Hinode when Hidenobu left the room. "That way you can get some rest."

Byakue didn't object. She passed the baby into Hinode's arms; the young girl was already comfortable with holding a baby. Something twinkled in Byakue's eyes as she gazed at her daughter and son.

"Hinode," Byakue said softly, exhausted from the long day she's had.

"Yes, mother?" Hinode looked up at Byakue, whose eyes drooped before drifting off to sleep.

"Take care of Shisui, okay?"

To be continued

Here's Uchiha Hinode in her Ninja Academy years!

Chapter 8: Curse of the Dream Team

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Finally, Aunt Byakue's home cooking!"

Uchiha Obito's exclamation echoed throughout the house in the early morning. Byakue sent the lively boy a warm smile, Hinode sent him a dead fish glare with a bottle of milk in her hand, and baby Shisui giggled and spit up the milk that he was supposed to swallow. Obito had been waiting for a long time for not just the arrival of baby Shisui, but also for his Aunt Byakue's recovery. While he was grateful to be fed everyday during the months that Hinode took over the house chores, Hinode's cooking was miles from Byakue's. If he had to eat another bowl of sweet porridge for breakfast, he might become the first six-year-old diabetic in human history.

"You sure have some thick skin to be picky as a freeloader," Hinode rolled her eyes at Obito while wiping the milk spillage on Shisui's onesie.

"I just have so much more energy after eating Aunt Byakue's cooking," Obito said as he scarfed down healthy proteins and vegetables, then washed everything down with a mouthful of miso soup. "I've got to be in my best shape today since the Hokage is visiting school!"

"The Hokage, huh?" Byakue thought about the Third Hokage of Konoha Village. It was like him to visit school every so often; he loved his village's children. She had the same sentiment herself and that feeling only grew stronger each time she sat at the dining table with the three kids around her. "Hinode, why don't you let me feed Shisui, so you can eat your breakfast?"

"I'm fine," Hinode answered her mother and promptly took some bites of her food using a spoon in one hand, all the while holding Shisui in her other arm.

"You're a natural at this, Hinode," Byakue commended Hinode, which made the young girl flush slightly in the cheeks.

"I'd say she's too attached to the baby!" Obito countered. "She won't let him go until the last minute before we have to leave!"

"You're just jealous that I have a baby brother and you don't," said Hinode.

"No, I think you're the one that's jealous because Shisui laughs around me and not you!"

"Shisui laughs at you, you idiot."

Byakue giggled as she watched sparks fly between the raging eyes of Hinode and Obito. Looking at the clock on the wall, she reminded the two that it was time for them to head to school. Hinode reluctantly placed baby Shisui into his rocker and headed out the door with Obito.

On the way to school, Obito blabbered with excitement, anticipating the visit from the Hokage. Hinode walked alongside Obito silently, her mind still back in the house with her mother and baby brother. She couldn't wait to go back.

The Hokage was, needless to say, a greatly admired figure among the entire village, ninjas and civilians alike. Hinode didn't know about the First or the Second, but the Third Hokage was very much like the village's grandfather to her. And she didn't mean that as an insult to his age, but it was a reflection of how he genuinely cared for each and every child. One example of his care was that he'd immediately memorized every kid's name in class with only one round of introductions.

After a short encouraging speech from the Hokage, he suggested an impromptu sparring session in the dojo. Many of the students were pumped to get one on one combat training from the Hokage, but Ono Masano was not as enthused.

"Are you sure, Hokage-sama?" he questioned. "They're only first years."

"Of course!" Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a hearty laugh. "Didn't you say that there were some really gifted students in this class?"

"I said no such thing," Ono Masano denied quickly. "They're a lazy bunch to be honest."

"Hah! I highly doubt that."

Hiruzen scanned the classroom. Two Uchihas, one of them the daughter of Uchiha Hidenobu and Uchiha, formerly Mibu, Byakue; his own son, Sarutobi Asuma; an orphaned child from two of his late Anbu members, Kusanagi Yakko; and of course, the prodigal son of the White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Kakashi. The first graders this year had an underlying potential that only a man with abundant knowledge of the village's history would know about. Ono Masano was not wrong in saying that they were only first years; Hiruzen himself never used to bring up sparring sessions until the kids were at least fourth years and up. However, with the scale of the current war rising, Hiruzen thought it would be critical to raise expectations for even the younger students.

The first year students entered the dojo with high spirits. Hiruzen took off his Hokage robe and stood at the center of the dojo in black training gear. One by one, the students sparred with Hiruzen, with most finishing within five minutes, save for Asuma.

"Asuma is lucky that the Hokage is his dad," Obito whispered to Hinode while they sat with the other students against a wall and watched the matches. "Imagine getting personal training from the Hokage everyday!"

"I doubt that the Hokage has that much free time on his hands," Hinode replied with a yawn. "Well, maybe he does, since he's wasting time here with us."

"What do you mean wasting time?!" Obito asked hotly. "He's obviously testing our strength!"

Or checking out the talents, thought Hinode as she watched Yakko walk to the middle of the dojo. The blonde's usual timid expression was replaced by determination.

When Ono Masano signaled the start of the match, she widened her stance and crouched low. Hiruzen raised an eyebrow with intrigue and made the first move. Yakko darted away from each of his attacks with a speed that surprised both him and the rest of the class. But Yakko wasn't just going to avoid him the whole time; once Yakko was able to get behind Hiruzen, she went at him with the blade of her hand by propelling herself with her back foot.

Hiruzen knew that that was her move. He'd allowed her to go through with her strategy, then as her hand got close to him, he slightly shifted to the side and easily knocked her down by her extended shoulder. Once she was down, he prevented her from further movements by twisting her arm behind her.

Yakko gritted her teeth. Not from pain, but from frustration.

"Your movements were good and I like that you came in with a plan," Hiruzen commended the young girl and helped her up to her feet.

"Uchiha Hinode, you're next!"

As Hinode passed by Yakko, the latter whispered a "Good luck!" to her. She didn't think luck was going to do much in a match against the Hokage. Lord Hokage gave so much handicaps to all the students, she wondered what was the point of all of this. A part of her found this incredibly mundane, but a part of her also wanted to see what she could do now after trailing behind Might Guy during training during the summer.

It was an unfamiliar feeling for her.

"Begin!"

Hinode's feet moved on their own at the voice of Ono Masano. She was in front of the Hokage before she knew it, and her right hand, in the shape of a claw, reached for the old man.

"Hm?" Hiruzen tilted to the side and watched Hinode's hand shoot past him. He believed that she was trying to grab him. Grappling was a physical move he didn't expect from an Uchiha.

Hinode landed on her hands and immediately popped back up. She went for another round trying to apprehend the Hokage. Hiruzen did not dodge this time, and instead he stopped her hand by grabbing her forearm. To his surprise, the girl's hand flipped down at the wrist and her fingers wrapped around his forearm. Next thing he knew, his feet were lifted off the floor as Hinode attempted to throw him. But as he was being lifted, Hiruzen shifted his weight onto their connected arms and swiped at her waist with his foot.

Just one kick was enough to knock the wind out of Hinode's lungs and she let go of her hand, resulting in her flying a few feet away from Hiruzen. She sat up coughing and gasping for air.

"Very nice surprises, Uchiha Hinode," Hiruzen smiled down at her with confidence. "You have good power and instinct. Work on connecting every move. Remember, don't let missed attacks go to waste. I'm curious, why did you choose grabbing as your first move?"

"Ono-sensei said, 'in a real fight, your opponent won't be motionless. If you're slow, then your attacks are useless and what's worse is that you'll get caught,'" Hinode said through labored breaths. "So I thought I'd catch you first."

Hiruzen couldn't help but smile. This Uchiha was an interesting one.

"Next up is Hatake Kakashi!"

The boy and the girl did not spare one look at each other as they passed each other. Hinode studied her hands and Kakashi studied the small indention on the dojo floor where Hinode's hand had landed.

It wasn't a surprise that Kakashi was going to be the strongest kid in the whole class, but his classmates still watched in awe as he actually 'sparred' with the Hokage. Even Lord Hokage himself was pleased with how well Kakashi moved.

"Kakashi sure is good," said Rin with admiration.

Obito faltered slightly upon hearing Rin's words out of jealousy, but he didn't say anything to rebuke that statement. He couldn't. It was obvious that Kakashi was on a different level than the rest of them. He didn't want to admit it, but he admired Kakashi's skills as well. Still, he wanted to hear something other than praise for Kakashi, and the only person who could easily grant him that wish was the bad-mouth princess Hinode.

As the boy turned to his cousin to get a kick of entertainment, he froze when he saw the look on her face. Hinode was leaning slightly forward with eyes agape. She was watching Kakashi's movements intently, not even blinking, as if to record all of it in her brain.

At that moment, Obito felt like his joy had really depleted. He leaned back on the wall and continued to watch Kakashi spar with the Hokage quietly, all the while thinking that it would have been much less effort for them if their Sharingan were awakened.

Hinode and Obito shared a stick of sweet dango as they walked home together. Neither of them thought they deserved a whole stick to themselves.

"What did you write on your dream card?" Obito asked Hinode as they walked across a bridge over Konoha River.

At the end of the sparring session, the Hokage asked the children what their dreams were. Obito was the first to shout that he wanted to be the Hokage, which earned some laughter from the rest of the class. Other classmates were not so quick to answer; they were too young to think about their dreams. In the end, Hiruzen gave them little note cards to write down their dreams and keep it with them all the time. It was supposed to help motivate them.

"It's confidential," said Hinode.

"Come on! You know mine!"

"Everyone knows yours," Hinode gave her cousin a deadpan look but proceeded to answer him. "I didn't write anything on it yet."

Obito turned his nose up at Hinode as if trying to sniff out any chance of her lying. He decided that it seemed believable and didn't press on. All of his suspicions were erased from his brain when the two of them entered the house. He could smell Byakue's delicious curry from the foyer.

"Cur—"

Just as Obito was about to shout out his joy, Hinode's hand clamped over his mouth, silencing him. She was in front of him at the edge between the foyer and the living room. He sent a protesting glare at his cousin, but she gave him a warning look and tilted her head toward the living room behind the wall.

Obito scooted closer to Hinode and peeked into the living room. Hidenobu and Byakue were both in there with their backs to the children. Another man whom neither of them recognized was standing there with a grave expression. Judging by his outfit, he was also a Jonin like Hinode's parents.

"I'm sorry to ask this of you, Byakue," the man said. Hinode noticed that he'd addressed her by the first name; they must know each other well.

"No apologies needed between old teammates, Sabimaru," Byakue's voice was soft and calm. She sounded as if she knew what was coming.

"The Earth Country has made their move in this war. Their shinobi armies have already invaded Kusagakure and Lord Hokage is sending aid to both help the small village and secure our border," the man named Sabimaru explained. "There is already a large number of casualties in Kusagakure, that's why I'm asking for your help, Byakue. Your medical skills alone amount to ten medical ninjas. Otherwise I wouldn't have come here… Of course, the decision is still up to you..."

Sabimaru's voice trailed off, he really sounded remorseful for asking Byakue to get back on the battlefield. Hinode held her breath as she listened closely for her mother's response. Her palms had started sweating without her realizing it.

"...Hide?" her mother's voice was a little shaky.

"I'll ask Mikoto to look after the children," said her father in his cold, stony voice.

"It's a revival of Team 18 then," her mother then said cheerfully. As cheerful as she could be at that moment.

Hinode felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. She could not hear what her parents or Sabimaru said after what sounded to her like a death sentence, nor could she feel the tug on her sleeve from Obito.

Before she could snap back to reality, the three adults were standing in front of her and Obito. Her parents were walking their friend out, and Hinode could see her mother's surprise from her peripheral vision, but her attention was focused on the man named Sabimaru. He was about her parents' age, but his skin was tan and dry, and his ash brown hair was long and bristled. His blue eyes looked tired and desolated now that he's seen Hinode. But that wasn't going to stop her from trying to erase his existence with her glare.

"Sabimaru," Hidenobu called the man's name to pull him out of his thoughts.

"S-sorry!"

Sabimaru snapped out of his trance at Hidenobu's voice and scurried out of the door with a stiff apology.

Hinode redirected her gaze to her parents. Hidenobu was expressionless and Byakue had replaced her surprise with a loving half-smile. She ushered the two of them inside, telling them that the curry was ready.

The family sat around the dining room, quietly eating their dinner. Obito tried to break the awkward silence by talking about the Hokage's visit at Ninja Academy, but whenever he hoped Hinode would chime in, the girl made no eye contact with anyone besides her plate of curry. She was holding onto baby Shisui again, though it wasn't time for him to eat. She made it seem like the only person who hadn't done her wrong at the table was her baby brother.

Hidenobu was the first to finish eating. He offered no explanation or consolation for Hinode (not that she expected any from him) and proceeded to head upstairs. Obito followed suit soon after; he wasn't so dense to stay around when Hinode clearly needed Byakue's help to process her feelings.

When it was finally just the mother and her two children, Byakue spoke up.

"Hinode—"

"Why didn't you refuse him?" Hinode raised her head towards Byakue as she asked. Hurt was an unusual look for her, but she couldn't contain it at that moment. "You have a newborn child and you're just recovering… That guy said it was your choice."

"That's precisely why I didn't refuse him," Byakue lulled in an effort to appease Hinode. "I'm doing this for you guys."

"If you were a good mother, you'd stay and take care of us!" Hinode's tone increased with brutality. She tightened her hold on baby Shisui without noticing, and the baby woke with a start and began to cry. Smiling sadly, Byakue reached over and took her son in her arms.

"I'm afraid I already signed away my chance to be a good mother when I became a shinobi," Byakue muttered as she rocked Shisui back to sleep.

"Then quit!" Hinode nearly yelled. "Didn't you enjoy your maternity leave? Didn't you enjoy cooking breakfast and dinner for us? Why not quit for real?"

Byakue's eyelids fell, leaving her eyes half open as she gazed at the peaceful face of her newborn son.

"Hinode, do you know what it means to be a shinobi?"

Hinode did not answer her; she was still trying to keep herself from losing her temper and crying. Six was too old of an age for her to be throwing a tantrum.

"The verb 'shinobu' means to endure. That means that we as shinobi must endure everything for the one we serve. Whether it be pain, suffering, hardship, physical wounds, despair… we inflict them on ourselves instead of our 'king.'"

"...King?" Hinode finally spoke up in a much softer voice.

"Yes, our king," Byakue gleamed at her daughter. "For some shinobi, it's their village. For some, it's their clan. But I think it surpasses a mere affiliation by name. For me, I'm much too selfish to say that an entire village or clan is my king. For me, it's all of you under this roof—you, Shisui, Obito, and your father.

"So if it means I must fight to shield my king from the war, then I will use every last shred of my skin and bones. You'll understand when you find out what your king is."

Hinode's lips quivered. She knew that she couldn't change her mother's mind. She knew that before dinner even started. But her mother didn't know what she knew.

"But you'll die, mom…"

Hinode's voice cracked as she whimpered.

"Now, now, don't kill me off just yet!" Byakue chuckled and ruffled Hinode's hair. "I've got strong teammates with me, like your father! You know that!"

With that, Byakue stood from her chair and walked baby Shisui upstairs to his nursery. Hinode sat still, with a couple of teardrops escaping her eyes. She reached into her pant pocket and took out a card that had been folded twice. As she unfolded the card, a tear slid off her chin and smeared the ink on it. But that didn't matter; she knew what she wrote on her dream card and she would never forget it even if it got burned in a furnace.

"To live a carefree life with Mom and Shisui."

Notes:

Gah, that was a tough chapter to write! Also, I can't believe it's been 8 chapters and they're still children. This is going to be a long one y'all!

Anyway, I wanted to blab a little about Hinode and Byakue. It's never been said in the actual fic but I'd like to think that Hinode was named by Byakue and Shisui was named by Hidenobu. The name Hinode means "sunrise" and I think the real meaning behind that name is the notion that the sun will continue to rise each morning no matter what happens. As for Byakue, I named her after the White-Robed Goddess of Mercy (Byakue Kannon). And Hidenobu... well, it has 4 of the same syllables as Hinode and I'd like to think that Byakue named Hinode that way as an expression of her love for Hidenobu! (Which is why Hidenobu insisted on naming the second child out of his embarrassment)

So thank you all for reading and see you next chapter!

Chapter 9: The Secret Curse

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The sun was mockingly bright on the day of Uchiha Byakue's funeral. The passing of Uchiha Byakue had happened two weeks after her parents were dispatched to Kusagakure. The war zones had expanded since then, and Byakue's death was just one of the increasing casualties. With the Konohagakure as their unofficial ally, Kusagakure had been able to hold down the fort; however, it was uncertain when Iwagakure was going to attack again. Many attendees of the funeral said that Kusagakure would have been taken down by Iwagakure if it weren't for Byakue's medical ninjutsu.

But even that sounded mocking to Hinode.

The young girl's deep, black eyes roved around the crowd inside Konoha Cemetery. It was perhaps the largest funeral she'd been to. Unlike other Uchihas, Byakue had many friends from outside the clan. There were medical ninjas from the hospital, other jonin she'd worked with, and even civilians. There was such a huge crowd around her casket that Hinode hadn't even seen a corner of it the whole day. Not that she was trying very hard to as she sat against a tree in a distance while holding her baby brother in her arms.

"Don't you want to say something to Aunt Byakue before they bury her?"

Obito appeared next to Hinode and asked her carefully. His eyes were puffy and his nose were red, but he made sure to stop crying before approaching Hinode. She had made a comment earlier about her disdain for other people's tears towards her mother, when she saw Uchiha Mikoto sobbing in front of Uchiha Fugaku and her father. How dare they cry? Hinode scoffed. How dare they send her out to die then cry about it?

It was nonsensical to Obito, but he knew that she was only this way because, well, it was her beloved mother.

"If I go, who's going to take care of Shisui?" Hinode muttered in a low voice.

Obito let out a sigh. "I can hold onto him."

"Don't drop him."

"That goes without saying."

"Tch," Hinode finally stood up and handed Shisui to her cousin, however unwillingly. It really wasn't because of the crowd that she didn't try to go see her mom's casket. She was afraid. When she saw it, it was going to make it real.

How stupid, she told herself. It was already real.

Hinode stood behind the wall of mourners in front of her mother's casket, making no effort to ask them to move. Then, a hand emerged from the thick of the crowd and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her in.

Hinode was sure that this was how a baby felt the moment when they were born. Her sides were squeezed as she was pulled by the strong hand, and she stepped on more people's feet than on the actual grassy ground. After headbutting several people's elbows, she finally got to the front of the crowd, and she was able to see the owner of the hand that grabbed her.

Kakashi was looking at her with a calmness opposite of those around him. And for that reason, while she was annoyed at everyone else at this funeral, she didn't feel so annoyed looking at Kakashi.

"What are you doing here?" she asked not with hostility.

"My dad heard about your mom right before he had to leave on a mission," said Kakashi. "He said I should come to pay respects in his place."

Hinode nodded as her gaze dropped to her feet. She found it weird that the mention of Sakumo didn't make her heart skip a beat like usual.

Having had brought the lost girl up to the front of the crowd, Kakashi thought it was time for him to leave. But as he took only one step away, Hinode flipped over her wrist and grabbed him instead.

Kakashi watched her as she walked closer to the casket. He moved with her when he felt the pull of her hand. It was hard to tell the emotions inside the quiet, dark abyss that were her eyes, but Kakashi imagined that she must be screaming on the inside.

Hinode's lips quivered as she let go of the breath she'd been holding.

"I warned you, mom…"

A childish thing to say to your dead mother, even for a six year old. But Hinode was just that at that moment, a child.

"That's harsh," Kakashi said.

Hinode swiveled her head towards Kakashi.

"I think I might be cursed."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the girl. She must have lost her wits because of the grief. Many people lose their loved ones in this village. To call it a curse would mean that the entire shinobi world was destined for doom.

"What? The shinobi curse? It's not the first time somebody lost a parent in the shinobi world."

Kakashi hadn't meant for that to come out so harshly, but he wasn't a guy who took back things he said.

"That's not what I meant," said Hinode as she started to dive into her memories. "One time when my great uncle asked me to dog sit for him while he went on a mission, he died two days after. When Obito's grandma asked me to take care of Obito, she died two weeks after. And two weeks ago, my mom told me to take care of my brother, and now she's dead."

Even his mask couldn't hide how ridiculous Hinode's words sounded to Kakashi. But then he thought about how people needed something to blame to cope with pain, so he decided not to invalidate Hinode's theory.

"Sounds like a deadly curse."

"Yeah…" Hinode's voice finally cracked. "Don't tell anyone about it."

Even without her asking, Kakashi was not going to tell anyone about the girl's baseless theory of a curse. And he certainly was not going to bother confirming other people's assumption that the girl was crying at her own mother's funeral.

"Hinode, we're so sorry!"

By the time Rin and other kids from school came to see Hinode at home, she had stopped crying. Sure, she was devastated, but she was also expecting it. So when Rin flung herself at Hinode and hugged her tightly, it was as if Hinode was comforting Rin instead.

"We brought some of your books from your desk," said Kurenai as she set down Hinode's textbooks on the wooden walkway to her backyard. "Ono-sensei said you can take as long as you need, and we'll bring your homework after school."

Hinode scanned the backyard at her classmates and friends—Rin, Kurenai, Yakko, Asuma, Guy, Genma, and of course Obito. Half of them had at least one deceased parent, and Yakko and Obito had no parents. Maybe she should consider herself lucky to have spent five and a half years with both of her parents.

She sat back down on the grass and rocked Shisui's cradle next to her.

"There's no need for that. I'm going back to school tomorrow."

"Are you sure, Hinode-chan?" Yakko asked.

"Yeah. My mom didn't throw herself into the war for me to slack off," as Hinode said that, while sarcastically, she noticed how much that sounded like something her father would say. Thinking about her father, a silent fury sparked inside her.

"I'm sure Aunt Byakue wouldn't want Hinode to lose heart over this either," Obito said to the other kids in the backyard, but he looked at Hinode.

The other children exchanged worried looks; Hinode seemed to be coping well with her mother's death, but they could never be sure. What they didn't know was that she'd already let out a good cry earlier that morning. Hinode watched them fidget around her quietly and sighed. This was why she told Kakashi not to tell anyone about her pathetic curse. Seeing people feel sorry about her only made her feel more sorry about herself.

"Why don't you guys sit and enjoy the sun with me. The vitamin D will cheer you up," Hinode patted the soft grass next to her. "It's not everyday that they'd let anyone into the Uchiha compound."

One by one, the children sat around Hinode. Some of them laid back on the grass and watched the clouds pass. They talked about what they learned at school and wondered what they would learn tomorrow. Ono Masano had hinted at a new jutsu.

From that day on to many years down the road, Hinode would often think about the last thing that her mother taught her. And she would find herself to be relieved that what it meant to be a shinobi was to endure pain and suffering. She was hopeless at chakra control and her brain was unreliable for hand seal memorization. But pain, she could take. And if anyone said she was faking it, she'd say she's mastered the jutsu.

Only a minute after Hinode and Obito said goodbye to their schoolmates, somebody else knocked at the front door. It was a short, elderly woman with a cane whom neither Hinode and Obito recognized. Beside the short and wrinkly woman was a big bag that was as comically tall as her chest. Just as Hinode was going to ask who she was, her father emerged from the living room.

"Thank you for coming," Hidenobu said to the old woman, then turned to the two children looking questioningly at him. "This is Lady Kamome. She'll be living with us from now on and she'll be taking care of you children."

Obito went ahead and helped the old lady with her bag while Hinode stared quietly at her father. Hidenobu only met her gaze for a brief moment before leaving the foyer and going back to the living room. After Lady Kamome had officially met Obito and Hinode, she was eager to meet the baby Shisui she was mainly hired to look after, so Obito led her to the upstairs nursery. Hinode, on the other hand, went into the living room.

Hidenobu was sitting on the sofa, reading a scroll that was laid out on the tea table, which Hinode assumed were details about his next mission.

Never in her life did Hinode have the guts to start a conversation with her father, but she was so enraged at that point that she hardly felt any other emotion, much less fear.

"So you're just going to carry on like usual then?" Hinode surprised herself with the disrespect in her voice when she spoke to her father, but it was too late to take it back. "Replace mother with some old nanny, and you're good to go?"

Hidenobu's head cranked slowly towards Hinode, and she froze when she met her father's eyes. Shining eerily through the dark bags that were his eyelids were his Mangekyo Sharingan. Hinode knew that her father had them, but she'd never seen them in real life. Regular Sharingan would have sent most shinobi running, but the Mangekyo would immobilize you with fear.

But again, Hinode was consumed by rage at that point.

"How could you let her die, father?" Hinode asked shakily, but she couldn't notice that her entire body produced cold sweat as she looked into her father's eyes. "If you really loved her, why did you let her die? You shouldn't have let her go there in the first place!"

Hidenobu didn't answer right away, but stood up from the sofa. He loomed over his daughter and she was engulfed in his shadow.

"What do you know about love, Hinode?"

Hinode couldn't place it, but this man in front of her did not sound like her father. There was too much pain in his voice.

"I know it's not moving on without shedding a tear when they die!" Hinode heard herself cry.

"Then tell me," Hidenobu said laboriously, "What should I do, when she died from depleting her chakra to heal me, other than to live and carry on?"

Suddenly, Hinode felt as if she was being sucked into Hidenobu's eyes, and in a split second she was somewhere else. She was not standing in the middle of her living room, but in a dimly lit hospital ward. Hinode laid in one of the many beds lined up against the wall. She looked to her left and then her right. There were rows of dead shinobi with a cloth over their faces and a few on the brink of death. White bandages, bed sheets, pillows, all stained in blood.

Hinode felt like she was going to throw up. What stopped her was the vision of her mother hovering over her.

Byakue extended a shaky hand and placed it on Hinode's cheeks, and it was instantly wet with tears. Byakue looked lifeless—ghostly pale with cheeks sunken in—but her smile seemed to say that everything was going to be okay.

"Remember, you are a shinobi," Byakue whispered. "And shinobi don't cry. You said so yourself."

Hinode felt a warmth in her chest, but as soon as the warmth came she also felt ice cold in her heart. As Byakue's skin turned gray and her eyes drooped to close, Hinode wanted to shout and grab hold of her, but she couldn't move.

Then, with a heavy strike at the back of her neck, Hinode was back in her living room. Before she fell to unconsciousness, she saw with blurry eyes Lady Kamome twirling her cane in her hands. The cane was not for walking after all, Hinode passed out with that last thought.

"Get a hold of yourself, Hidenobu."

Hidenobu looked at the old woman with his normal, black eyes. His breathing was unrhythmic as he shifted his gaze from Lady Kamome to his daughter lying unconscious on the floor with a face covered in tears.

"Now I don't know much about your clan, but I'm sure it's not good for the kid if you were trying to forcefully awaken her Sharingan," Lady Kamome said sharply.

"Kamome-sensei," Hidenobu muttered as he lowered his head. "What have I done?"

"You performed Genjutsu on her," Lady Kamome stated the fact. "I guess it's true that hurt people lash out at people they love. Good thing that Hinode is tougher than she looks."

Hidenobu's face softened as he bent down to pick up his daughter in his arms.

"She is our daughter after all."

To be continued.

Notes:

Thank you for the comments on the last chapter! I'm glad to say that Hinode's Ninja Academy Arc will soon come to a close! I knew it was going to be long, but not this long! There are some times when I'd think that I should have started to fic out when Hinode's an adult and just have flashback, but by then I was already six chapters in so... let's just treat this fic like a memoir, guys! Haha.

Chapter 10: Curse of the Leisurely Stroll

Notes:

Thank you all for reading as usual! I'm really grateful for all the feedback I've received so far on this fic.

I noticed some readers reactions last chapter towards Hinode's father was not the most pleasant. To be honest, that last part in the previous chapter was not written out in my outline at all; what I had was just "Hidenobu does something shocking" and maybe I went a little overboard on the fly, haha! It was also a way for Hinode to witness the reality of war and to see Byakue one last time. Either way Hidenobu was not meant to be all that lovable of a character, but I do apologize if the scene made anyone upset!

That said, the fic will switch to a lighter tone (hopefully) once Hinode&Co become genin. I'm worried that all this tragic stuff will tire you readers out, because writing it sure tires me out lol! As a promise for better(ish) days to come, I've drawn genin Hinode and Yakko smiling and put it at the end of the chapter. I hope you all like it!

Chapter Text

Saturdays were supposed to be days for relaxing—sleep in late and not worry about school. But ever since Lady Kamome moved in, Saturdays were not what they used to be for Hinode and Obito. First of all, they were woken up at six in the morning by a strike on their bums with Lady Kamome's cane. Neither of them had noticed when the old woman first arrived, but her cane was made of steel with a coat of black paint. She said it was smuggled from the Iron Country.

"Wake up, you lazy bums!" Lady Kamome screeched as she whacked the children a second time since they weren't getting up. "Breakfast isn't going to cook itself!"

Both Hinode and Obito got up from their futons glaring at the old lady and rubbing their buttocks.

"I already put a bottle of Shisui's milk in the fridge last night," Hinode grunted in a half-awaken voice. "Just heat it up…"

"I meant our breakfast, you little brat!" Lady Kamome shoved the end of her cane into Hinode's cheek.

Second of all, Lady Kamome ordered them around like she was the master of the house. She made them do all the cooking, cleaning, and other chores. Since they went to school on the weekdays, the bulk of the chores were piled up on Saturdays. Hinode had complained numerous times that this was supposed to be Lady Kamome's job, but she always got the cane for complaining. Obito was surprised that even until now, Hinode had the guts to defy Lady Kamome, no matter how futile her attempts were.

"You're paid to take care of us! Not the other way around!" Hinode grabbed the end of the cane and removed it from her cheek.

"I was hired as a nanny, not a maid," Lady Kamome smirked at Hinode's boldness. "As far as I'm concerned, I've done my job as long as none of you die under my watch!"

Lady Kamome pulled her cane back, but Hinode pulled on it as well. The old woman's eyes widened slightly at Hinode's strength, but a weak woman couldn't have possibly been the team leader of a couple of Konoha's best ninjas—Uchiha Hidenobu and Mibu Byakue—but neither Hinode or Obito knew about that.

With a push and a lift, Lady Kamome's cane broke out of Hinode's hold and swiftly smacked the young girl over the head.

"Now, you go make breakfast," the old woman barked at Hinode then at Obito. "And you go wash these sheets!"

The children had to grit their teeth so they wouldn't talk back, because the satisfaction from talking back wasn't going to help their swollen butts.

Hinode went downstairs to cook breakfast, but not before stopping by Shisui's nursery to give him a good morning kiss on the forehead. The baby's short and wild hair tickled Hinode's nose, which was an instant mood lifter for her. It had been two short weeks since Byakue's death, and to say that Hinode had moved on would be a lie, but she found that she was able to look forward to the future when she looked at Shisui.

When Hinode and Obito finished up all their chores it was already early afternoon. Obito didn't take any time before heading off to training. Hinode went upstairs again to check on her baby brother. As she got into the nursery, she found Lady Kamome fast asleep on the couch next to Shisui's crib, snoring loudly and drooling, with a shirt on her lap and a needle and thread hanging between her fingers. It took a few seconds for Hinode to calm her rage after seeing that the old woman sleeping the entire time, not to mention not being careful with a needle. Hinode took the needle out of Lady Kamome's hand and put it on the coffee table, and then she walked up to Shisui's crib to find the baby wide awake.

"Bah…Bah… paaah…" Baby Shisui babbled when he saw Hinode's face hover over his crib.

Hinode reached inside and picked him up, which made him squeal and babble more excitedly. She turned her head to Lady Kamome, who was still out cold, and turned back to Shisui with a smile. She had the perfect idea to salvage the rest of this beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Hinode brought Shisui downstairs and put him in a stroller; they were going to go for a walk. That lazy old nanny was always either sleeping or ordering Hinode and Obito around. Hinode didn't think that Shisui ever went outside so far, and though she didn't know much about babies, she thought it would be good for the baby to breathe some fresh air and get some sunshine.

The siblings walked down the quiet road outside of the Uchiha compound and into the bustling business district. Hinode had never noticed, but the villagers of Konoha loved children. And what they loved even more was a child taking care of a child. Many villagers swooned over the cuteness of Hinode pushing a stroller that was as tall as her chest. And when they'd peek inside the stroller to see baby Shisui, they'd squeal about how cute he was.

Hinode was pleased by this reaction. Not all babies could be as cute as her baby brother.

"Hey, you're Byakue's kid, aren't you?" a middle-aged man who owned a snack shop waved at Hinode and asked.

Hinode nodded at the man, unsurprised by his question because of how well-liked her mother was amongst the villagers.

"What a good sister you are!" the man said with a kind smile and hurried in and out of his store with a jar in his hand. "Here, have some of my famous candied beans!"

"Really?" Hinode asked, but she already reached out her hand to receive the jar.

The man chuckled. "Of course! I'm glad you're hanging in there. Come back anytime; I'll give you a discount!"

Hinode thanked the snack shop owner and continued down the main street. She wondered if that was considered taking candy from a stranger. Then again, her mother never taught her against interacting with strangers. If anything it felt like Byakue treated all the villagers with love and kindness.

That thought left a bitter feeling in Hinode's mouth.

"Oh! Hinode-chan, out for groceries?" the grocery store owner said to Hinode when she passed by the shop. "Such a responsible girl!"

"Hinode-chan, here, take some of these oranges I just picked today!"

"Hinode-chan, take some meatballs!"

"Hinode-chan, here are some free toilet papers!"

Within minutes, Shisui's stroller was surrounded by seemingly every villager ever who knew Byakue. As Hinode had no more room in her arms to take the villagers' consolation gifts, they began to tuck them around Shisui in the stroller. The villagers didn't notice Hinode's facial expression turning sour as they bombarded her. It was supposed to be a nice day out for just the two of them.

Unable to stand it anymore, Hinode picked up Shisui and leapt onto the rooftop of the grocery store. Ignoring the yelps of villagers that were surrounding them and abandoning the stroller, she took off running along the roofs.

Hinode kept running until she reached the residential district. She let out a big sigh of relief and was about to lay down on some stranger's rooftop for some rest, but she spotted a familiar head of silver below at the house's front door.

"...I wanted to apologize—"

"Apologize?!" An angry man's voice sounded from the doorway. "Do you think apologizing is enough to undo what you've done?!"

Hinode crouched low on the rooftop with Shisui held close to her chest as she peeked down at the scene. Hatake Sakumo was talking to the man who occupied this house; he looked distraught and overridden with guilt. Hinode's chest tightened. It was as if Sakumo suddenly aged ten years since the last time she saw him.

"You abandoning the mission caused the deaths of other Konoha shinobi!" the man shouted at Sakumo. "You should have let me die in honor instead of forcing me to live in shame!"

"How could I—"

"Do you know that I had to spend two whole days talking poor Yuuki out of killing himself? Instead he's going to quit being a shinobi. Just because he was unfortunate enough to be put on the mission with us! That kid's only 20 years old! You ruined his whole career!

"I'm going to resign as a shinobi as well. I'm doing it for my wife and for the village.

"If anyone should kill himself, it should be you, White Fang. Maybe that'll be enough punishment for your treason against Kono—"

"WAAH⸺! WAAH⸺!"

Hinode nearly lost her footing when Shisui began to cry at the top of his lungs. No amount of shushing could help now as Sakumo and the yelling man noticed her right away.

"What the—Get off of my roof!"

Hinode jumped off of the roof and landed next to Sakumo, who was astonished to see the young girl. Meanwhile, Shisui continued to wail at his max volume, which was impressive for a toddler. The neighbors began to peek out of their windows and doors, angrily complaining about the noise. The man who was yelling at Sakumo got distracted and, for a second, couldn't decide whether he was going to yell at Hinode or the baby or the neighbors.

Seeing the anger rising in his old comrade, Sakumo placed his hand on Hinode's shoulder and signaled for her to go with him.

"Come on, Hinode."

Hinode willingly left with Sakumo, but remembered to send her deadliest glare at the shouting man first.

When they arrived at the Hatake household the baby was still crying. Hinode realized that Shisui had not eaten since the morning, so she took out the baby bottle with formula already inside from her backpack and asked Sakumo for warm water.

Sakumo watched as Hinode prepared the milk and tested the temperature before giving it to the baby like she really knew what she was doing. He couldn't help but smile at the girl; his own son Kakashi was similar in a way. The young boy always took care of himself when Sakumo was away on missions, and he did it as well as any adult could. Still, Sakumo wondered when Kakashi would learn to take care of others.

"Sakumo-san," Hinode looked up at Sakumo after Shisui grabbed the milk bottle himself. "What was that jerk talking about?"

A look of surprise flashed across Sakumo's face before he replaced it with a soft smile. "I guess the news hasn't reached your side of the village yet."

"What news?" Hinode asked.

Sakumo hesitated to tell the young girl what had happened during his last mission. Kakashi had just found out this morning and the boy stormed out with a look he'd never used on his father before. However, Sakumo was too distraught at the moment to come up with a bluff for Hinode. So he gave her a short explanation.

During his mission, his teammate had fallen into the enemy's hands, and instead of carrying out the mission, he went and saved his teammate instead. The mission had failed and his team returned to the village in shame. For the last few days, Sakumo had been berated by villagers wherever he went. He'd gone to apologize to his teammates, but, well, Hinode saw what happened with that.

Hinode listened to Sakumo's story with anger boiling inside her. How dare they? How dare they berate him for one failed mission, when the man had risked his life to complete missions for years?

"Don't listen to that bastard!" Hinode said hotly. "He should have thanked you for saving his life!"

Sakumo couldn't help but chuckle a little at Hinode's foul language while trying to defend him. If only his own son had the same reaction to the story.

"Thank you, Hinode. Even after everything I don't regret saving a comrades life,though I didn't consider his feelings at all," said Sakumo. "Kenjiro was right; abandoning a mission is equivalent to treason. That's the shinobi code."

"Well, screw the code!" Hinode retorted, not realizing that she was raising her voice because she was panicking at the thought that Sakumo might really take the jerk's advice. "Whoever wrote the code must be a sad and lonely bozo with no wife and kids! Think about Kakashi!"

"Kakashi…Yes, that kid was constantly on my mind," Sakumo's eyelids lowered along with his voice. "But now that he's got a friend like you, I'm not so worried anymore."

Hinode stiffened at Sakumo's words; the conversation was not heading in a good direction. She needed to say something to get him off that path.

"You-you should worry! We're not friends! We-we can't stand each other!" Hinode stammered in a frenzy.

"Friendships take different shapes and forms," Sakumo said calmly. He took Shisui from Hinode's arms as the baby emptied the milk bottle and put the baby over his shoulder. He began to pat Shisui's back lightly.

She needed to say something; anything to get him off that path.

"But Sakumo-san, I… I…" with her heart racing and cheeks blushing, Hinode blurted out. "I love you, Sakumo-san!"

Sakumo's patting motion stopped and he looked at Hinode with slightly widened eyes. They stood there in silence for only a couple of seconds before Shisui interrupted with a light burp. Then, Sakumo gave Hinode a troubled smile.

"I'm flattered, Hinode," said Sakumo warmly. "And when you get older and really understand love, you will make one man the luckiest in the world."

As Sakumo handed Shisui back to her and ruffled her hair, Hinode understood why they called it a crush. Hinode felt as if her heart was smashed up against her lung and that was why she found it hard to breathe. But what really tore her up on the inside was not that Sakumo had gently rejected her feelings for him (she never expected the opposite.)

It was the fact that Sakumo had already made his decision and there was nothing she could do about it.

As Sakumo saw Hinode out the door, he finally had a look of peace on his face. And while all Hinode felt was pain, at least she was able to see his smile for the last time.

"If it isn't too terrible to ask… will you please look after my son?"

Hinode wasn't sure when she'd started crying. Could it be on the way home or when she'd entered the Uchiha compound? Or when she'd passed by Lady Kamome, whose eyes were glued to the TV, and went upstairs to Shisui's nursery? Whenever it was, all she knew was that she was crying so much that she'd lost her sense of time.

It wasn't until she heard rapid footsteps coming up the stairs did she stop sobbing.

"Hinode, where the heck were you?!" Obito's voice rose up from down the corridor. "Some old lady from the marketplace gave me Shisui's stroller. I thought something happened to you so I looked everywhere for—"

Hinode's red and puffy eyes made Obito stop his yelling. Saying that the boy was shocked was an understatement; Obito had never seen Hinode like this. Not even at her mother's funeral.

The young Uchiha girl was curled up in a corner of Shisui's nursery with her knees held tightly against her chest. Obito took careful steps towards her, his brows furrowed with concern.

"Hinode... what…?" Obito began to ask as he knelt down in front of Hinode.

"I can't do it…" Hinode said in a nasally voice. "I can't be a shinobi…"

"Yes you can," Obito said without thinking. "You're way smarter than me and you have that freakish strength!"

"How can I be a shinobi of Konoha when it's a monster that eats away at the good people who live in it?!"

Startled by Hinode's shrill cry and what she'd said, Obito had to take a few seconds to let it sink in.

"Are you still mad at the village for aunty's death?" Obito asked with sadness in his voice. "Isn't it enough, Hinode? You know that aunty went to war for the village, and she loved the village until the end. I'm sure she wouldn't want you to hate the village…"

"I don't care about the village!" Hinode cried. "All I care about is Shisui and that's it! All the others can… can…"

Unable to watch Hinode, the toughest girl he knew, cry anymore, Obito pulled his cousin by the shoulders into a hug.

"I know you better than you think, Hinode," said Obito with his chin on top of Hinode's head. "You say you don't care but you do, a lot. You care about me, Rin, Yakko, and our friends at school. And don't tell me you don't care about the dango shop! They're all part of the village, too!"

Hinode pulled away from the hug and glared at her cousin with her puffy eyes. "Don't try to analyze me, Obito."

"Fine! Have it your way!" Obito huffed and crossed his arms, sitting against the wall next to Hinode.

The two Uchihas sat side by side quietly for a while, each with a heavy heart. Then, once again, baby Shisui broke the silence as he giggled by himself in his crib. There was nothing to giggle at, but babies were babies and Hinode noticed that Shisui would always giggle when Obito was around.

"Hinode," when Obito spoke up again, his tone went from soft to firm. He should have known better than to speak softly to Hinode; the stubborn girl would take it as pity.

"I promise, when I become Hokage, I'll protect the entire village. You won't lose Shisui or anyone you care about ever again."

Hinode glanced at Obito with the corner of her eyes. It was just like Obito to make a promise that was larger than life. The last time Obito declared that he was going to become Hokage she brushed it off easily. But now, she thought it wouldn't be so bad to have a personal promise from a Hokage.

She let out a long sigh that steadied the beating of her heart.

"Don't make me wait too long."

To be continued.

Chapter 11: Curse of the Snow

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Hinode never thought a day would come where she became a full blown stalker.

It all began the day after Hinode confessed her childhood crush to Hatake Sakumo, who, instead of brushing it off like a normal adult should, gave her his dying wish instead.

Since then Hinode had been watching Kakashi closely at school. The boy acted normal enough for a couple of days, so Hinode thought that maybe Sakumo changed his mind after all. But her tiny flame of hope was extinguished when she saw in Lady Kamome's gossip magazine the words 'Konoha's White Fang Atones with his Life."

"Let me see that!"

Hinode had snatched the magazine from Lady Kamome, who was lounging on the couch with tea and snacks that Hinode received for free from the snack shop.

"Why you little—"

Hinode had not heard the rest of Lady Kamome's name-calling or felt the sting of the old woman's iron cane on her buttocks. All she had focused on was the quarter of a page sized column on White Fang's suicide.

None of the kids at school knew, since they didn't know that Kakashi's father was the White Fang. Hinode only knew because she heard it by accident, used in a hostile way by Sakumo's old comrade.

So on the day after confirming Sakumo's death, Hinode was even more aware of every little thing that Kakashi did at school.

"Why are we sitting in a different spot today?" Obito asked when Hinode dragged him to the back of the classroom where she could watch him from an angle. Rin and Yakko followed them back as well.

"Hinode-chan?" Yakko softly called when Hinode did not respond.

Hinode was watching Kakashi intently at a diagonal side view. It was hard enough to see Kakashi's face from where she sat, and it was even harder with him having his mask on.

On another hand, Rin was watching Hinode. She'd seen Hinode watch Kakashi with that much intensity before. That was the day that Lord Hokage visited the class. Although this time, Kakashi wasn't executing exceptional combat skills.

"Is there something wrong, Hino—"

Just as Rin began to ask, Might Guy barged into the classroom and badgered Kakashi to have a duel with him.

"Kakashi! My eternal rival!" Guy's loud voice startled everyone in the classroom besides Kakashi. "Let's settle this once and for all!"

"You say that every time but you always lose," Kakashi said in his usual cavalier way towards Guy's challenges.

However, Guy was not the kind to be easily discouraged. He disregarded Kakashi's resistance and went right at him with a drop kick. If Kakashi didn't pull his chair away fast enough, it would have been kicked into little wooden pieces. Letting out a sigh, Kakashi began to fight back, and within minutes, he was able to put Guy down on the classroom floor.

The exchange couldn't be any more routine in Hinode's eyes. But it made no sense to her; how could Kakashi not be affected by his father's death? Unless he was just really good at hiding it?

It must be the second reason, Hinode believed. She had dabbled in the art of hiding pain before.

The school day ended without any abnormal behavior from Kakashi, which in turn made Hinode the frustrated one. How could she look after him if he didn't need to be looked after?

"Hinode-chan," Yakko lightly poked Hinode on the arm as they walked out of the school building. "Rin said that she and Obito are going to do homework together, and she invited us too."

Hinode listened to Yakko absentmindedly as she watched Kakashi exit the school grounds alone. As much as she disliked the idea of giving solace to the boy she'd always thought was snooty, she really couldn't shake away the last words Sakumo said to her. Plus, she knew something about losing someone you loved and looked up to.

"I'm going to pass, Yakko-chan," said Hinode. "I've got something to do. You guys have fun!"

Before Yakko said anything, Hinode ran ahead. Yakko stopped and watched silently as Hinode turned the opposite direction of her home as she passed the school gates. As she wondered where Hinode could possibly be running to, she felt a tiny cold droplet on her cheek.

Yakko looked up at the sky; it was starting to snow.

Although Kakashi was long gone when Hinode ran past the school entrance, Hinode still remembered where Kakashi lived. She almost hesitated, as she wasn't sure if she wanted to see the house knowing that Sakumo died in it. But when she thought about Kakashi, who had to live alone where he found his father's corpse, she picked up her pace.

When Hinode got to the Hatake house, Kakashi was at the front door, ruffling his pocket for his key.

"Kakashi!" she called out to him.

The boy turned around, emotionless eyes unchanged at the sight of Hinode.

"Why are you here?"

"I…" Hinode opened her mouth to answer, but shut it as she contemplated the right words to say. She never knew the right words to say. "Um… how are you?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Just fine."

"But… your dad…"

"What about him?" Kakashi asked; Hinode could swear that his tone turned cold at that point. "What, he told you to look out for me and now he's dead? He's fallen victim to your curse?"

Kakashi's words felt like a kunai stabbing into her chest. Hinode's brows furrowed tightly as anger started to rise inside her.

"How could you say that?!" she asked, clearly peeved. "You know how I feel about that!"

"Whatever," said Kakashi. "It's not always about you. My dad chose this himself."

Brows furrowed, Hinode pressed on, "I know that, but… I'm asking about you. You must be angry and upset that the village drove him to suicide, but he… for the village…"

Hinode's voice trailed off and her eyes casted downward. She had tried to imitate Obito's hopeful optimism, but she couldn't bring herself to defend the village just yet.

"He used his life as retribution for those who died because of his mistakes," Kakashi said without holding anything back. After all, he'd thought about this constantly from day to night. "A shinobi must carry out his mission even at the expense of his comrades. That's the shinobi code."

Hinode's eyes widened. She had to take a second to check if she heard him correctly. Kakashi's voice was colder than the snowflakes falling down on them. But at this point, the inside of Hinode was boiling.

"If anything I should be angry at myself for looking up to a guy who'd break the shinobi code for another shinobi. But such emotions should be suppressed according to the shinobi code, as it serves no use to us."

"...Are you kidding me?!" Hinode muttered with a shaky voice, her eyes still opened wide. She was really angry now. "The guy you're talking about is your dad! He loved you so much that you were the only person who could have saved him, and yet you… you…"

"I suggest you train yourself to do the same," Kakashi continued snidely. "You've been letting your emotions control you since the start of school, and look where it got you every time. Whose favor are you doing by taking on dead people's burden? The only thing you should take on is the missions—"

Before Kakashi could finish his lecture, Hinode's right fist shot toward his face. Kakashi cocked his head to avoid her fist, then her left first swung at him immediately after. Kakashi ducked and put up his arms to deflect her right fist's second attack, then the left again, then right, then left.

She's much faster than when they first fought in the beginning of the year, Kakashi thought.

When Hinode threw her punches again, Kakashi grabbed both of her wrists and pushed them back. But to his surprise, Hinode used his hands for balance and her left leg swooped up at his head. Kakashi, forced to let go of her wrists, jumped to the side. As Kakashi straightened up, Hinode's fist came at him again, and this time, he was going to fight back.

Kakashi deflected Hinode's punch with his left hand and his right palm striked her between her collarbones. Hinode barely moved or winced at Kakashi's attack and immediately countered with another kick. Kakashi grabbed hold of her leg and slid his own next to her one grounded foot, and with a swipe he toppled her towards the ground.

But Hinode didn't fall so easily. Her hands made contact with the ground and she flipped back up with a kick towards Kakashi's chin.

Though Kakashi didn't want to admit it, it was true that Hinode had improved over this year. Her movements are fluid and connected now and he had to be cautious because he knew that she'd hit heavy.

Kakashi, once again, grabbed hold of Hinode's leg. This time he twisted it with both of his hands and the girl gritted her teeth at the pain coming from her joint. Her body moved involuntarily and with the blade of his hand, Kakashi striked her shoulder, successfully knocking her down to the ground this time. But before he could open his mouth to say that it was over, he noticed Hinode's hand grasping the arm he used to strike her. Then, he felt another grasp at the waistband of his pants.

It happened in an instant. Kakashi felt his feet leave the ground and then his whole body was launched as Hinode hoisted him over her head in her lying position. Next thing he felt was his back crashing through his wooden front door.

A faint groan escaped Kakashi's lips as he propped himself up in a sitting position. He opened his eyes to meet Hinode through a big hole in the middle of his door, who was still outside the door, panting heavily. The snowfall had gotten heavier since they started fighting and with each of her breath she produced a puff of white cloud.

Hinode was, at first, a little shocked that she had successfully put Kakashi down, but she had not expected the door to break. As she looked into the house and prepared for Kakashi to strike back, a photograph sitting on the bookshelf caught her eyes.

It was a photo of Sakumo giving Kakashi a piggyback ride. Both of them had loveliest smiles, not knowing that they would be separated so soon.

Hinode thought about her mother.

Her hands dropped to her sides as she looked at Kakashi, who now stood up on his feet.

"...Sorry I broke your door," Hinode said barely above a whisper.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her, but also relaxed his stance.

"...I'm sorry I made fun of your curse."

A chilly gust of wind blew some snow into the house; they couldn't leave the door like this for long. Wood Release would be really handy now, except that it was a lost art. Hinode offered to help with the door repair. Luckily, Kakashi had some wood planks in his father's old shed in his backyard.

Hinode hammered the nails into the planks as Kakashi held them up. They worked silently until the hole had been patched up.

When they were done, Hinode stepped outside of the door. She looked back at Kakashi sheepishly; while she felt bad for busting his door, she still felt that his opinion of Sakumo was unfair. But she remembered the day of Byakue's funeral, when Kakashi let her mourn in whatever way she needed to. She should at least let him have his time; she'd change his mind later if she needed to.

"Hey," Hinode said before Kakashi shut his door. "I don't care about the village or the shinobi code. I don't care if that makes me a shitty ninja. And you can believe whatever you want, but since somebody I care way more about than you asked, I'll keep looking after you. But if you dare say what he did was wrong again, I'm going to beat you to a pulp."

Kakashi only looked at Hinode and did not respond to her. After another few seconds, Hinode swerved around and walked into the snow. The girl's all-black attire contrasted greatly with the white snow, just like her with the conventional shinobi.

"And if you want to talk, we can do that over dango."

The last few weeks of Hinode's first year at Ninja Academy rolled by in the blink of an eye. She and Kakashi had not spoken since their brawl in front of his house, and she had stopped watching the boy as closely as before.

Then, the fateful day finally arrived—the final exams. The first graders' exams included a written test and a test on hand seals. Hinode didn't particularly study very hard for her finals as she had been mostly preoccupied.

What with the chores and watching over Shisui and pretty much still constantly thinking about her mother and Sakumo's deaths, she was mentally and physically tired each time she'd open up a book.

When Ono Masano called her name during roll call, she was already nodding off, which earned her a hit on the forehead with a piece of chalk.

"All right, that's all of us," Ono Masano said as he rubbed the chalk off of his hands. "I will now hand out the written test."

"Excuse me, Ono-sensei!" Might Guy's hand shot up towards the ceiling.

"Yes, Guy?"

"Is Kakashi absent? You didn't call his name."

Hinode's ears perked up at the mention of Kakashi's name.

"Ah, I forgot to tell you guys," Ono Masano scratched the back of his head lazily. "Kakashi had a private exam with the senior masters. He's graduated already."

Over the gasps and murmurs of the classroom was the loud sound of Hinode's chair screeching as she stood up abruptly. Even Obito, who was daydreaming next to her, flinched at her sudden movement.

"Hi-Hinode-chan?" Yakko looked up at Hinode, startled like the rest of them.

"Let me take that test!" Hinode exclaimed at Ono Masano. "I want to graduate too!"

Ono Masano's eyebrow raised incredulously. But before he could say anything, Guy stood up as well.

"Me too!" Guy shouted even louder than Hinode. "I can't let my eternal rival get that far ahead!"

"Wait a minute, if these two clowns want to graduate, then I should come first!"

"Hold on, I should qualify too!"

A commotion rose inside the classroom and a vein visibly surfaced on Ono Masano's forehead.

"Silence, all of you!"

The class quieted down at Ono Masano's yell.

"You two, sit down!" the teacher pointed a shaking finger at Hinode and Guy. "You all think we let anyone take an early graduation test? This is the rarest of rare cases! Kakashi already showed skills of a Genin by mid year. Do you kids, especially the last place in class, think you actually have anything to show for?!"

Hinode twitched at Ono Masano's last sentence. He was right; she didn't have anything to show for. Just a girl who talked big.

How would she ever beat Kakashi to a pulp now if he talked smack about Sakumo behind her back?

Hinode plopped back down in her seat with a huff, not noticing the strange looks some of her classmates were giving her.

The school day carried on as usual after that brief dramatic moment. Hinode and the rest of the class took their tests quietly. Some hearts were heavier than others regarding Kakashi's graduation.

Hinode ended up with mediocre scores on her exams even though she tried hard at the last minute.

And that was it; the end of their first year of Ninja Academy. As Hinode and Obito stood side by side at the school entrance, saying goodbye to their friends and making plans to see each other over the month-long winter break, Hinode couldn't help but wonder what Kakashi was up to. Perhaps he had already been dispatched on his first mission as a full fledged ninja.

No worries, Hinode thought. She knew where he lived. She could still check up on him.

The two Uchihas walked home together; Obito kicked down every little hill of snow on the road. Hinode knew that her cousin must not have done so well during the written test. But his performance during the hand seal test was better than expected. When they arrived at home, they entered a strange scene playing out in the living room.

Uchiha Hidenobu and Lady Kamome were sitting across the coffee table from each other, both sipping tea without saying a word. At the middle of the table was a half eaten lemon pound cake, which would normally make Hinode salivate, but the sight of her father made her shiver instead.

Hinode hadn't told Obito what happened between her and her father on the night of Byakue's funeral, mostly because she still didn't fully understand what had happened. She had contemplated that her father had shown her a scene from his memory, but she wasn't sure. Because Uchiha Hidenobu never cried.

"The brats are home," said Lady Kamome without looking away from her cup of tea.

Hidenobu glanced towards the foyer where the young Uchihas lingered. He set his cup down on the coffee table and stood up.

Hinode couldn't help but tremble when Hidenobu approached them, and she looked away from his eyes.

"It's time," the grown man said simply.

Hinode and Obito looked at each other, both confused by Hidenobu's vague words.

"You have completed your first year of ninja schooling," Hidenobu said further. "It's time that you learned the Uchiha's Great Fireball Technique. Meet me in the yard."

Obito was overwhelmed with excitement while Hinode groaned inwardly about training right after school was out. But come to think of it, it would be the first time she received personal lessons from his father.

As they began to make their way upstairs to put away their school bags, Lady Kamome suggested that they change into the thick training gear she'd laid out for them on their beds. She had sewn them with special fiber smuggled from the Iron Country that helped prevent burns, although they were going to be quite heavy. Hinode wanted to question why everything Lady Kamome owned was smuggled, but Obito was too excited about learning a flashy jutsu, so he pulled Hinode up the stairs with a strength she never knew he owned.

When they came back downstairs again, Hinode briefly saw Lady Kamome trying to feed baby Shisui some lemon pound cake before being dragged into the yard by Obito.

"Oh yeah! After you learn the technique," Hinode heard Lady Kamome shout from the living room. "Go melt the snow on the walkway out front!"

Hinode let out a long sigh.

She was going to visit her mother's grave tonight, but that will just have to wait.

No matter. Uchiha Byakue was more patient than anybody. And she knew that her mother would just be so happy for her to learn from her father.

End of Part I

To be continued.

Notes:

Cue time skip!

I'm so glad to be finally finished with part 1! Can't believe all this transpired over one year. Hinode will be even busier when she turns Genin next chapter! But I'm excited because Hinode will finally showcase some of her skills and talents, and also her fighting style!

Also, I decided that it snows it Konoha. I haven't watched or read Naruto in a while but for some reason I feel like I remember snow. If it doesn't then I guess this is now AU 😅

Thank you all for reading this far!

Chapter 12: The Curse of the Mission

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Part II

Even a shinobi village could be festive on New Years Day. Businesses set up booths along the Main Street for the fire lantern celebration. Shinobi and civilians alike dressed in kimono as they walked down the streets. Strings were stretched out between street lights; lanterns hung from the strings and flickered in the night. The sound the children laughing and street vendors hollering filled the streets.

Uchiha Hinode was not a fan of crowds or festivals, but she was also dressed in a kimono on this occasion. Black cloth with intricate red flowers, complete with a gold-colored obi. She looked down at herself, wondering how she was able to put on something so complicated on her own.

Then her eyes followed her long sleeves to her hand, and the hand that wrapped around hers, pulling her through the crowds. Her eyes then traveled up to see the back of a head with silver hair.

"... Sakumo-san?"

At Hinode's voice, the man turned his head towards her. His face was covered by a fox mask. Before Hinode could look closer into his eyes, they crinkled into smiling crescents.

"Hinode…"

The man's voice was unfamiliar to her. Hinode wanted to reach up and remove his mask. But the more she reached the further he became.

It took her a second to realize that everything around her was fading into darkness.

"Saku...mo...san…"

"Nee-san! Nee-san, wake up!"

Hinode's eyelids fluttered open and she had to close them again immediately because of the bright sunlight. She sat up from her bed and slowly blinked her eyes open again. A frowning Uchiha Shisui stood by her bedside.

"Nee-san, you're gonna be late. Don't you have to leave for a mission today?" Shisui lightly shook Hinode's leg over the blanket.

Hinode groaned as she remembered that today was going to be the start of her first out-of-village mission.

After five years of failed attempts to graduate early, Hinode was finally an official ninja. Along with the rest of her class, she had been placed in a four-man team with a leading Jonin and had gone on several missions. Not long ago, they also went through the Chunin Exam. She did not pass, but she had the bad luck of having Sarutobi Asuma as her final opponent.

"Maybe I'll just ditch the mission and stay home with you," Hinode smiled and ruffled her little brother's hair.

"That would be illegal," Shisui sighed, but leaned into Hinode's palm. "Plus I have to go to school. You'd only be staying home with Granny Kamome."

The bridge of Hinode's nose scrunched up in distaste, which made Shisui giggle.

"Fine, but at least I'll walk you to school."

"I'm fine by myself, Nee-san!"

"Your resistance is futile, young Shisui!"

Hinode ruffled Shisui's hair again before getting out of bed and into the bathroom. After washing up and getting dressed, she stood in front of the mirror. As she put on her forehead protector, tying the cloth under her short ponytail, she thought about the dream she had.

Was it really Sakumo in her dream? She couldn't tell because of the mask and the voice. Was five years really that long of a time for her to forget how he looked and sounded like?

Truth be told, Hinode had thought about Hatake Sakumo significantly less throughout the past five years. A lot had happened since his death.

Obito had moved back into the house that belonged to him and Grandma Mio once he became a Genin. He believed that to be an official ninja, he needed to be able to take care of himself. Hinode believed that it was really because he couldn't stand living with Lady Kamome any longer.

Lady Kamome was still as energetic as ever, even though she must be over 80 years old by now. It didn't take long for Hinode and Obito to find out that Lady Kamome had been a kunoichi in her youth before she retired to travel the world, then came back to Konoha to enforce child labor. In all of her travels, she stayed in the Iron Country the longest. She said she had taken a lover there, but it was too gross for Hinode and Obito to want to know details about.

Shisui was the only one in the house who could stand Lady Kamome. Hinode feared that her little brother had placed Lady Kamome as a mother figure, until she found out that he had been learning shuriken jutsu and other basic skills from the old lady. Shisui had started going to Ninja Academy at the beginning of this year, and from what Hinode had heard, he was quite the prodigy, as all Uchihas should be.

Uchiha Hidenobu was home even less than before, now that the war had spread over five countries. They officially called it the Third Shinobi World War. But whenever Hidenobu would be home, he'd teach Shisui the basics of Fire Release techniques. Rather than feeling unfair, Hinode was glad about that turnout. One, Shisui was getting the proper training for his level of talent, and two, Uchiha Hidenobu finally got the elite Uchiha child he'd always wanted.

Then there was Kakashi. Hinode could count the times she'd seen Kakashi over the five years with one hand. And every other time she saw him he seemed to rise up in ranks. They didn't talk a lot each time, since they usually ran into each other at the cemetery. Plus, she found things to have become a bit awkward between them now that they rarely saw each other. But since Obito and Rin were on the same four-man team with Kakashi, she'd entrusted them with the job of looking after him. Without telling them out loud, obviously.

Hinode looked inside her ninja tool bag to make sure everything she needed was in there, and headed downstairs. But before she got to the bottom of the stairs, she heard the door opening and Shisui's gasp.

"Father!"

Hinode had a fleeting thought of running back upstairs, but she sucked it up and went into the living room. The moment she stepped into the living room, her and her father's gazes met. Hidenobu wore his same old expression, except he did look much older than he used to.

"Hinode," Hidenobu spoke without any emotion. "Aren't you going on a mission today?"

Hinode nodded, but she wondered why he knew. Then she looked at Shisui, who stood right by Hidenobu with a guilty expression. The boy must have been writing his father and sending the letters with the clan's messenger birds.

"I'm going right after I take Shisui to school," said Hinode.

"Tardiness can ruin the rapport of a four-man team, and ultimately affect the outcome of a mission" said Hidenobu sternly. "Shisui can go to school on his own."

Hinode pursed her lips; she didn't want to hear about rapport from the least sociable man she knew, but she wasn't going to openly defy him. Instead she humphed loudly and headed for the door.

"Nee-san!"

Hinode stopped at the doorway and turned around. Shisui ran up to her and crashed into her with an embrace, his skull rammed into her midriff. Hinode took a sharp breath.

"Come back safe, Nee-san," Shisui said into Hinode's shirt.

Hinode smiled and ruffled Shisui's messy hair. If everything went well, she would be back home in a week or so. That would be the longest she'd ever be away from Shisui since his birth. Hinode felt somewhat happy at the thought that her baby brother would miss her as much as she would miss him.

"Of course, Shisui."

Hinode hopped over rooftops and ran through tiny alleys to get to her team's meeting point—the village entrance. The other three members of her team were already there waiting for her. One of them was obviously tired of waiting.

"You're late, Hinode!" Shiranui Genma announced as he leaned his back on the entrance gate with his arms crossed.

"It's not my fault if I live the furthest from here," Hinode shrugged.

"We're going to Ishigakure for our mission. It takes four days to get there. We don't have time to waste," said Genma.

"Well, maybe if we all ran fast, we'll get there in three," Hinode gave Genma a sideways glance. "Unless you can't, since you have short legs."

Hinode was tall for a 12 year old, and Genma had not yet hit his growth spurt, which was something Hinode loved poking fun at.

"Ohh, Hinode! I like your youthful spirit! Shall we make it a race?" Might Guy fired up at the idea of running nonstop for three days straight.

"Cut it out, you guys! There will be no race," said the team leader and the three children's teacher, Akimichi Choza. Even while reprimanding the kids, he was smiling gently. "Save that energy for the mission. Now let's get going; I'll explain the mission on the way."

Team Akimichi had been assigned a B rank mission to retrieve wounded Konoha shinobi from the war zone in Ishigakure. Technically, it should have been a medical ninja's mission, but with the waging war and the already scarce number of medical ninja in Konoha, the majority of medical talent had been placed at the front lines. A few medic ninjas remained at the village's hospital to treat those shinobi who were able to make it back alive.

In fact, the village had become increasingly short-handed over the years that the Hokage had to resort to sending teams with Genin into enemy territory. This created a lot of backlash from team leaders, and also the Third's own student, Tsunade, but no one could deny that this was part of the cruelties of war.

"We need to conserve energy for the return trip, since we'll be escorting wounded shinobi," said Akimichi as his team traveled among trees. "We need to get back to Konoha as quickly as possible, in case of enemy attacks."

"Does that mean—"

"Not a race, Guy!"

"Heh, sorry, I'm just excited!" Guy grinned. "Finally, a mission that doesn't involve finding lost pets or yard work! When we get back I'll get to tell Kakashi that I completed a B rank mission!"

Hinode peeked at Guy when he mentioned Kakashi's name, but didn't say anything.

"You know that that guy probably already has a hundred B rank missions under his name, right?" Genma smirked at Guy.

"Kakashi… that's the kid in Minato's team, isn't he?" Akimichi asked. "I heard he's quite the genius. The Hokage and the Elders are thinking of promoting him to Jonin soon."

"See?" Genma raised his chin at Guy.

"Whoa! Leave it to my eternal rival to become Jonin at age 12!" Guy only became more pumped at this news.

"That's some big talk from someone who failed the Chunin Exam!" said Genma, "Come to think of it, I'm the only one who passed."

"That's because you went up against Ebisu," Hinode cut in. "Even I can throw that boy out of the arena in a second."

"All right, all right, Hinode-chan, it's not nice to say that about your teammate and fellow Genin," Akimichi stifled a laugh at the problem child of his team. The girl never held back with her words. "You'll have another chance next year."

Hinode was not bitter about the Chunin Exam, nor was she mad that Genma now had something to hold over her head. He wasn't tall enough to. If anything she found herself lucky to be put in a team with Genma and Guy. Obito's team was a big love triangle and she'd be a huge third wheel if she were in the same team as Asuma and Kurenai. But if she could switch out Genma with Yakko then that would be perfect.

As the day turned to dusk, Choza ordered his team to stop and set up for camp for the night. They came to a clearing in the middle of a forest and decided to settle there. Choza told the kids to relax a little bit as they were still in Fire Country territory. Though they'd bantered all day, Choza could tell that they were nervous about going into the war zone.

"How about instead of worrying, I'll give you guys some pointers after watching your performance during the Chunin exam?"

Choza gathered his pupils around a campfire and gave them his critique. He understood that Lord Hokage was very prudent with selecting Genin teams. Might Guy and Uchiha Hinode both had incredible physical prowess, with Guy being one of the fastest kids he'd seen at his age and Hinode being one of the strongest. And Genma was the jack-of-all-trades. He was adept at learning all kinds of difficult jutsu, and was even able to help Hinode and Guy practice their chakra control. They were an amazingly balanced team.

The only problem was that all three of them marched to the beat of their own drums.

"Guy, it's not always good to show off your speed. When facing an unfamiliar opponent, you need to take a second to analyze the enemy before attacking."

"Genma, you passed the Chunin exam, but that doesn't mean you can't improve. You're careful and you have a good sense with ninjutsu. You might consider practicing taijutsu with Guy, in case you get caught in a close-ranged battle."

"Hinode, you did well in the beginning, taking advantage of your surroundings and using your chakra to enhance physical combat like I taught you. But when you faced Asuma in the final round, you basically gave up. What happened to trying out your Great Fireball Technique?"

Hinode's lips tightened into a line. She still remembered that match against Asuma. The boy knew that she was only ever good at taijutsu, so he made sure to dodge her attacks and mainly used ninjutsu to attack her from afar. She had planned to use the Great Fireball Technique against him, but everytime she had to avoid an attack, she'd let go of the chakra she'd built up. Not to mention when she saw Obito use the Great Fireball Technique, the fireball was so huge that it kind of made her ashamed to use hers.

"He was better than me, that's all," Hinode pouted. "Besides, why was there a tournament style exam at the end? Aren't we ninjas supposed to be silent and stealthy?"

Choza sighed at the young Uchiha. He knew better than anyone that she was capable, but she had very little motivation. He needed some rest before starting another lecture with her.

With such an enormous stature, Choza took up an entire tent by himself. The three preteens stayed in one tent together. Even in different tents, they could hear their mentor's snoring. All three of them were wide awake.

"I can't believe we've got 3 more days of this," Genma mumbled.

"I can't wait for the action!" Guy waves his fists above his head.

Hinode turned to her side to face the boys from the other side of the tent. "Guy, have you talked to Kakashi lately?"

Both of the boys turned their heads toward her.

"Not really," Guy said in honesty. "Last time I saw him was three months ago in the hospital."

"Hospital?" Hinode sat up.

"Yeah, I tore a muscle during training," Guy grinned.

"I'm asking about Kakashi," Hinode said. "And don't be so proud saying that."

"Oh, I think he was wounded during a mission, but nothing serious," Guy said, trying to recall the day. "Their team gets to go on higher ranked missions than most of us in the same age group, you know? Because Kakashi is already so experienced."

"Why don't you just ask Obito?" Genma commented from the far side of the tent, and threw in a snicker at the end. "And when did you care so much about Kakashi? I thought you hated his guts since he humiliated you in a fight back in the academy."

"Why don't you go to sleep, Genma? Or I can knock you out."

Genma turned in his sleeping bag and mumbled something about wanting a cute girl teammate instead of a brute like Hinode. Hinode didn't care much about Genma's mumbling; she knew how sad he must have been when he found out Yakko wasn't on the same team as him. Besides, her mind was preoccupied with another silver-haired boy whom she was asked to look out for by her early childhood crush.

In all honesty, Hinode felt a little salty from time to time when she thought about Kakashi. She'd offered her friendship when his father died, but his response was to graduate early and stop talking to her. She could very well have visited his house over the years, but she couldn't bring herself to because of pride.

And yet a part of her knew that he was still affected by his father's death, just like she was affected by her mother's.

After four days of traveling, Team Akimichi arrived in Ishigakure. The destruction of war in Ishigakure was much worse than Konohagakure. Even some civilian areas were in shambles. When they reached the location where Konoha shinobi were stationed in the front lines, the great casualties in front of them nearly made the children sick. Hinode remembered a similar scene in her head five years ago, when her father showed her the situation in Kusagakure, but this was much worse.

Akimichi Choza, knowing that it was his pupils' first time in the war zone, didn't want to stay much longer. He talked with the head medic, who assigned gravely wounded shinobi to their care.

"I can take four of them," Choza said to the head medic. "And my team will take one each."

"Thank you, Akimichi-san," said the head medic, her hoarse voice and dark circles under her eyes showed that she hadn't slept for days. "I'm glad that they sent you for this mission. Please hurry and take them back to the village. Their lives are not in immediate danger because of the first aid I've done, but they need to be treated further as soon as possible."

Choza gave the head medic a reassuring nod and ordered his team to head out immediately.

A medic ninja helped one wounded kunoichi onto Hinode's back. Hinode could tell from the way the kunoichi's left arm and leg draped over her that they were broken. Hinode couldn't imagine the pain that the kunoichi must be in, and she seemed only a few years older than Hinode.

"Please," the kunoichi whispered weakly as she placed her chin on top of Hinode's shoulder. "I need to come back right away… my teammates…"

Hinode's chest felt stuffy as she listened to the kunoichi's breathless request. Unable to respond verbally, Hinode merely nodded, and set out with her teammates once they were all ready.

All members of Team Akimichi traveled just as fast as they did without carrying the wounded. With the lives of others in their hands, they were more alert than ever. Even when they set up camp at night, Choza decided against building an open flame until they were in Fire Country territory.

"Need… food…" Genma moaned as he plopped on the grassy ground. Not having the same level of strength and stamina as Guy and Hinode, he was the most exhausted of them all.

"You'll have to settle with the Military Ration Pill for now," said Choza as he had the wounded shinobi settled on some laid out sleeping bags.

Hinode scanned around their party; all were tired after so much traveling. The face of the kunoichi she'd been carrying was now close to a purple color and she was shivering all over. She looked as if she could use a hot meal. Hinode pulled out a scroll from her bag and brought it to the middle of the group.

"I was going to save this because Yakko made it for me, but some of you need it more than I do," said Hinode as she placed her hands on the opened scroll. She released some of her chakra into the scroll, and a big pot of stew appeared in front of everyone. It looked as if it had just been cooked up a minute ago with steam still rising from it.

"Oh! Yakko's Food Preserving Jutsu!" Sparks flew out of Guy's eyes.

"Humph…" Choza studied the scroll with intrigue and a salivating mouth. "Interesting use of Fuinjutsu…"

"Yakko-chan, my goddess," Genma looked at the pot of stew with teary eyes. "So talented with Fuinjutsu and cooking!"

Hinode smacked Genma on the back of his head. " I cooked this, you moron! And who are you calling 'Yakko-chan?'"

The shinobi team each pulled out a bowl from their backpacks and helped themselves to a big serving of stew. Hinode had to scold her own master not to get seconds until everyone had food. She then walked over to the kunoichi lying down on a sleeping bag. Hinode propped the kunoichi up against her shoulder, and spoonfed her some stew. Figuring that the kunoichi was too exhausted to chew, she scooped only small portions each time.

The kunoichi's eyes blinked open after a few spoonfuls of stew; her chapped lips were now moistened and gained a faint reddish color.

"Thank you…" the kunoichi murmured.

Hinode hesitated to respond. She had been thinking about what the kunoichi said earlier about coming back to the battlefield as soon as possible. She couldn't imagine herself saying the same thing.

Team Akimichi got ready for some sleep as they were going to set out again at sunrise. The team settled the wounded shinobi into the tents and found their own spots for rest. Hinode leapt up to a tree and found a nice big nook for her to rest against.

As the young girl closed her eyes, she finally felt the fatigue that had been building up in her body. She thought about thanking Yakko when she got back to Konoha, and maybe asking for a new scroll. Then, she'd go straight home and make a big dinner for herself and Shisui, and she'd bring some over to Obito. And maybe, if she was in the right mood, she'd finally go and visit Kakshi's house.

A head of silver and a face covered by a fox mask flashed behind her eyelids before Hinode drifted off into a light sleep.

Then, after a few hours, Hinode woke to a start.

The girl jumped down from the tree and darted to Akimichi Choza's side. The man opened an eye upon hearing Hinode's footsteps.

"Choza-sensei, we need to go," Hinode said in a low voice, eyes sharp and muscles tense.

"Enemies are coming."

Notes:

1) Sorry Ebisu! Hinode is taking over your spot in Team Akimichi 😝 who saw this coming?

2) A little peek at Hinode and young Shisui in the beginning, but there will be more in the next few chapters! As I work on the outline of this fic I'm trying to make Hinode the best big sis she could be, though it's a bit hard when your brother is a one of a kind genius. Hopefully she will unlock the power of MC!

3) Up next is the dreaded battle scene! I hope I can pull it off

I hope you guys liked this chapter and thank you for reading!

Chapter 13: Curse of the Ramen

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"How were you able to detect enemy shinobi tailing us?"

Akimichi Choza had saved his question for after his team were able to quickly pack up their tents and continued their journey back to the Fire Country. The tired shinobi leapt among trees rapidly while carrying the wounded.

"I set a boobytrap about five kilometers from where we camped," said Hinode, annoyed that she couldn't get more sleep. "I used chakra wires so I could detect if the trap was set off."

"So what happened to the enemy?" asked Genma.

"Hanging off a tree. Chakra wires can't be cut easily, so it should give us enough time."

"You should have left some paper bombs for those bastards!"

"I didn't want to attract the attention of possible enemies in the vicinity," said Hinode. "'Avoid engaging with the enemy during rescue missions.' Didn't you listen in class?"

Genma's cheeks flushed at Hinode's blatant criticism.

"Can you tell how many of them you trapped?" Choza asked from the front of the group.

"Felt like two," Hinode replied with a frown. "Does that mean…?"

"There's likely at least two more that didn't fall in the trap," Choza confirmed Hinode's suspicion calmly, and started to slow down his speed. "Let's change the formation. I'll be in the back in case they're still pursuing us!"

"But, Choza-sensei, you are carrying more wounded shinobi than us," Hinode countered.

Choza flashed a reliable smile at the girl and retreated to the back of the group, meanwhile making Guy the leading man. The team was in a diamond formation, with Hinode and Genma in the middle. Hinode could tell that Genma was having a hard time keeping up, as they had not fully rested and carrying an extra person was taking a toll on him.

"We're almost at the bridge to Fire Country," said Hinode to Genma..

"I know!" Genma huffed.

As the team exited the vast forest and arrived at the valley that separated the Fire and Earth Countries. They came to a halt as four Ishigakure shinobi blocked their access to the bridge. Hinode heard Genma curse under his breath. Had the enemy been waiting for them?

"Ha! The Hokage has some nerve to send children here," one of the Ishigakure ninja snorted at the sight of Team Akimichi. "I guess the downfall of Konoha will be sooner than later!"

"Fall back!" Choza ordered.

Guy, Hinode, and Genma darted to Choza's sides, each of their backs against each other as the enemy surrounded them. They released the wounded shinobi they had been carrying in the middle of their circle.

Two other shinobi that had been chasing them through the forest had also arrived; it seemed that they had already been planning this surprise attack days ago when one caught Team Akimichi entering Ishigakure.

"Hmph! I hate Konoha shinobi; you're all arrogant bastards!" one of the shinobi in pursuit shouted as he and his partner threw several shuriken at Team Akimichi.

"Baika no Jutsu!" Choza shouted and his already large body grew to a size bigger than any beast the Ishigakure ninjas had ever seen. The shuriken bounced off of Choza's armor and with his two large palms he swatted the two shinobi back into the forest, knocking down several trees in the process.

"I will guard the wounded shinobi!" said Choza.

With that, Guy and Hinode bolted out towards the enemy.

"Earth Release: Rock Trail!" Two of the Ishigakure ninjas slammed their hands into the ground.

Paths of large rock pillars emerged from the ground towards Guy and Hinode. Guy easily dodged the rock pillars with incredible speed and was instantly in front of one shinobi. The enemy could barely react fast enough to take out a kunai from his toolbag, and Guy kicked the weapon out of his hand. With a spin of his body, Guy landed a back kick on the enemy's neck, promptly knocking him out.

Hinode, on the other hand, smashed through the rock pillars with kicks. Her opponent was quicker to react; with another series of hand seals, he clapped his hands together and the shattered rock pieces gathered into a large boulder. The boulder launched towards Hinode with immense force, but the girl still did not dodge.

Emitting a layer of chakra on her palms, Hinode was able to catch the boulder that was more than twice her size, and threw it back at the enemy shinobi.

The enemy leapt into the air to dodge his own boulder just by a hair, but as soon as he looked up, Hinode was right in front of him. Next thing he knew, the heel of her palm was on his chest and an unbelievable force pushed him down into the ground, creating a sizable crater.

"Die, you little brat!"

Hinode swerved to the sound of another shinobi coming from behind her. A shuriken spun towards her nose, but before it touched her, it was deflected by a senbon.

"Can't let you two get all the glory," Genma smirked and clapped his hands together. "Earth Release: Bedrock Coffin!"

Walls of earth rose up from the ground and engulfed the third Ishi-nin.

Hinode narrowed her eyes at Genma; maybe the Ishi-nin was right about Konoha-nin being arrogant. What could have possibly given the boy the idea of beating an Earth Release user with Earth Release technique?

"Great job, you all," Choza finished off the last of the Ishi-nin by knocking him out with his oversized fist. Hinode tied them up to one of the rock pillars that remained with chakra wires, ensuring that they wouldn't be able to pursue them anymore.

After detaining the enemy, Team Akimichi crossed the bridge into the Fire Country's territory with their wounded shinobi. The rest of the journey back to Konohagakure was free of conflict, which was fortunate because the team was exhausted after the restless week spent on this mission.

Once returning to Konoha, the team delivered the wounded shinobi to the hospital, where they were admitted immediately.

"Thank you again," the young kunoichi mustered up a smile towards Hinode as she was being settled into a wheeled stretcher. "Will you please let me know your name?"

Hinode felt a mix of embarrassment and uneasiness. She wasn't very used to receiving that kind of appreciation when she'd found someone's lost cat or dog.

"Uchiha Hinode," Hinode muttered.

"Uchiha…" the young kunoichi's smile faltered for a moment at Hinode's last name. "That's a surprise…"

Hinode didn't get to ask the kunoichi what she meant before she was pushed away by two medical ninjas into an operation room. The young Uchiha kept her eyes on the wheeled stretcher until it disappeared into a room, wondering what her clan's name triggered inside another shinobi of Konoha. Her thoughts drifted until a large hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Let's go, Hinode," Choza said to her, accompanied by her two teammates. "I'll treat you guys to Ichiraku for completing your first B rank mission!"

"Hey, Teuchi! Let me get four bowls of ramen!" Choza called out immediately after stepping inside the ramen shop, then he turned to his students, "Just tell him how many bowls you want!"

The three teens laughed dryly at their teacher, and each ordered one bowl. As they entered the shop following their teacher, they noticed a group that was already dining inside.

"Ah! Hinode, Guy, and Genma!"

Heads turned in two directions, one group to the other, at the sound of Nohara Rin's voice.

Team Minato had also made the same dinner choice as Team Akimichi.

As the former classmates greeted each other and started to chat, the ramen shop became a lot louder than before. Hinode's gaze found its way toward a certain silver-headed shinobi, who was also looking her way. The two of them immediately turned their heads when their eyes met.

"Hinode!" Obito said with a mouthful of noodles. "How was your mission?"

Hinode slid into the empty seat next to Obito. "Long and tiring."

Choza laughed heartily. "Young Hinode! This will be the first of many long and tiring missions now that you've all completed a B rank mission!"

"That's great, you guys!" Rin smiled, genuinely happy for the team's accomplishment. "We just came back from a B rank mission too!"

The two teams talked about their missions with excitement. Only Hinode and Kakashi were quietly eating their ramen. More accurately, Kakashi was finished eating a while ago, but merely stirred the leftover soup with his chopsticks. The blonde team captain watched the two quiet children with interest.

"Hinode, you're Obito's cousin," he stated rather than asked. "Obito talks a lot about you."

Hinode looked up from her bowl and met the ocean blue eyes of Namikaze Minato. She was well aware of who he was; as if the nickname Konoha's Yellow Flash didn't make him famous enough, Obito could also talk about him for hours on end. This was the first time Hinode saw her cousin's teacher in person. Minato was very young compared to Choza, but just by appearances, she could tell that he was on a different level.

But Hinode had never been fazed by any adult besides her father.

"All bad stuff, I'm assuming," said Hinode, her expression stony as usual.

Minato's eyes squinted as he chuckled. "Obito often compared you to a mountain boar, but I think you're quite adorable."

Hinode's cheeks burned. She glared at Obito, but he was too busy chatting it up with Guy and Genma. A full-bodied laugh boomed from the seat next to Minato, where Choza decided to sit. They'd only arrived a few minutes ago, and Choza had already finished two bowls of ramen.

"If he's referring to Hinode's strength, then he's not wrong!" Choza waved his chopsticks near Minato. "Forgive me for bragging, Minato, but our Hinode here is quite the shinobi! If it weren't for her, our mission might not have been so successful!"

"Is that so?" Minato's brows raised slightly.

"Yes, she's smart, practical and efficient! I could see her doing great things in a few years. Maybe even ANBU if not a Special Jonin!"

Hinode was sure that there was more steam coming out of her head than her ramen bowl as she felt several pairs of eyes on her. She knew that Choza was only trying to encourage her and raise her motivation, but she felt uncomfortable by the exaggerated flattery. She could almost hear Genma snickering in her head.

"Smart, practical and efficient, huh?" Minato glanced at Hinode and Obito, his lips curled up mischievously. "Sounds like the opposite of the Uchiha on our team."

"Hey, Minato-sensei!" Obito jumped from his seat. "That was uncalled for!"

"Obito, you're spilling your soup," Hinode leaned away from Obito with disgust.

"I'm just kidding, Obito!" Minato chuckled again, smiling warmly at his pupil.

Dinner went by noisily between old friends and comrades. But Hinode noticed one quiet corner of the ramen shop. Kakashi had not spoken a single word to her, nor did she try to initiate a conversation. Her ears perked each time Guy or Rin said something to Kakashi, but Kakashi would only give very short answers.

By the end of dinner, Hinode had given up trying to think of something to say to Kakashi. If she couldn't think of one for five years, she wasn't going to think of one tonight.

As everyone went their separate ways, Hinode and Obito linked up to head back to the Uchiha compound together. They hadn't done that in a while since graduating Ninja Academy, but the walk back home was still as natural as ever.

Obito laced his fingers at the back of his head as he walked, while Hinode asked him questions like if he was eating properly and if his dirty laundry was piled up. By the twentieth question, Obito was finally fed up.

"Will you stop it? You're starting to sound like some naggy mom!" Obito's brows creased with annoyance.

"Gee, sorry for caring!" Hinode rolled her eyes.

As the two of them neared the Uchiha compound, Hinode slowed her footsteps. There was something in the back of her mind that was still bothering her.

"Hey, Obito," she started softly.

"What?" Obito scoffed, expecting another housekeeping question.

"Have you noticed anything different about Kakashi?"

Obito stopped in his tracks and looked back at Hinode with eyes creased with annoyance. "Different? He's as arrogant as always, if not more than before! You saw him earlier, didn't you? That jerk… he thinks he's too good to be caught eating ramen with the likes of us!"

The knot inside Hinode's stomach loosened a bit at Obito's words. Obito, on the other hand, became more irritated the more he thought about Kakashi.

"Everyone thinks he's so great!" Obito pouted. "Especially Minato-sensei and Rin! They're always Kakashi this, Kakashi that, and now even you…"

Obito's voice trailed off as he squinted his eyes at Hinode. He stared at his cousin's blank expression with such scrutiny that it seemed as if his Sharingan would awaken then and there. And though Hinode's face was as still as the windless night, Obito couldn't fight his suspicion.

"Hinode, don't tell me you…"

"I what?" One of Hinode's eyebrows raised at Obito's strange behavior.

"You… have a…" Obito's whole body shook as he tried to say what was on his mind, but it was too shocking for him to articulate.

Hinode sighed; whatever Obito was having trouble saying was clearly not worth waiting for.

"Better get your brain checked out at the hospital tomorrow, Obito," said Hinode as she began to walk again. Speaking of waiting, Shisui was probably still up for the night

Ignoring Obito's protests behind her, she picked up her pace.

To be continued.

Notes:

Gaaahhh you guys 😭 this is definitely not my proudest work, but it's done and I can move on to the next thing!

Speaking of what's coming next, I'm trying something new and I'm excited about it! However, the next update may be later than usual. I've been able to update once a week so far, but work has gotten a lot busier nowadays.

Anyways, I hope it won't be too much of a delay! Thank you guys for reading as always!

Chapter 14: Curse of the Pancakes

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Nee-san, isn't that enough?"

Shisui watched with apprehension as his older sister squeezed almost half a bottle of syrup over her big stack of pancakes. His sister was in a particularly good mood this Saturday morning. He figured that it was because she just got paid for completing a B rank mission, and on top of that, she had a day off on a weekend, meaning Shisui was also off from school. She even splurged on the expensive brand of pancake mix this time.

"No need to hold back, young Shisui," Hinode set down the bottle of syrup and cut up a big section of thoroughly soaked pancakes. "Your sister's got savings now!"

Normally, one would be horrified by the slow dripping of the syrup from Hinode's fork, but when Shisui saw how happy she was, he couldn't help but smile as well.

However, not everyone had the same kind of affection for Hinode as Shisui.

"That is disgusting," said Lady Kamome as she sipped tea, sitting with the children at the dining table. "Maybe all that syrup is clogging up your stomach, that's why you can't spit fire like a real Uchiha."

Shisui frowned at the live-in nanny while Hinode glared at her.

"Don't say that about Nee-san!" Shisui rebuked Lady Kamome. "Nee-san is strong even without the Great Fireball Technique!"

Shisui had seen Hinode in training before; he knew that his sister was strong, just not in an Uchiha way. He'd heard the murmurs of the clansmen when Hinode was away for missions. Byakue, their mother who died when he was only a few months old, was not from within the Uchiha clan. The clansmen discussed among themselves that Hinode was only half an Uchiha, that was why she had only half the talent. The first time Shisui heard that discussion was the first time the young boy experienced anger.

Half or full, Hinode was part of the clan. It didn't make sense to Shisui that the clansmen would single her out. Shisui could see very clearly even at five years of age that some of the clansmen were not as skilled as they believed they were. And if Shisui himself hadn't shown talent at his young age, would the clansmen be saying the same things about him?

"Don't you two know? An Uchiha is only really considered an Uchiha if they can perform the Great Fireball Technique. Even an outsider like me knows about that!" Lady Kamome said smugly, now pouring syrup over her own stack of pancakes.

That was an unfortunate truth. Shisui had seen his father try to teach Hinode the technique every time he was home. Even though Uchiha Hidenobu was an extraordinarily composed man, Shisui could sense the urgency in the man when he trained Hinode. While Shisui understood that his father wanted Hinode to be accepted by the clan, he believed that a man of his father's stature should stand up in Hinode's defense instead.

And Shisui would continue to believe that until he became Genin and attended his first clan meeting. Until then, he would truly see the darkness of the Uchiha clan. But that was going to be two years from now.

"Well, since I'm only half Uchiha, I guess it's only natural that I can only perform a Medium Fireball Technique," Hinode shrugged off Lady Kamome's provocation and continued to devour her pancakes.

The fact that Hinode never sought recognition or approval from anybody was something that Shisui admired about her. That was why he liked his sister more than anyone else in the clan. She wasn't constantly exalting the "elite" Uchiha name. He just wished that she wasn't so self-deprecating about it.

As the three of them finished breakfast, Lady Kamome went for a morning stroll around the compound while Hinode and Shisui did the dishes. After they were done, Hinode started packing a stack of leftover pancakes into a box.

"Nee-san, are you going anywhere on your day off?" Shisui asked as he watched Hinode carefully tie up the box of pancakes in a carrying cloth.

"I'm going to visit mother," said Hinode.

"Can I go too?"

Hinode's eyes brightened at Shisui's question. "Of course! Here I thought you might be busy training or playing with your schoolmates."

The young boy didn't have it in his heart to tell his sister that he didn't actually have many friends at the academy. While he always strived to be courteous to everyone, he found it hard to relate to the other kids in his grade. His father had once told him in a letter that the path of excellence was a lonely one. That was why when the opportunity to skip to the fourth grade next year was brought to him recently, he didn't hesitate to take it. That was another thing he had delayed in telling his sister. There was no particular reason that he withheld that information; he just didn't find the right time to tell her.

"I-I'd rather spend time with Nee-san," Shisui shifted his eyes.

Shisui was slightly startled when his sister's eyes welled up at his words. She grabbed her shirt around her chest area theatrically.

"Shisui…" Hinode said, stretching out the end of Shisui's name. "And I will always, always pick spending time with you over anything else!"

Shisui gleamed at Hinode. His catlike eyes squinted into crescent lines.

After getting some flowers in the business district, the Uchiha siblings went to the Konoha Cemetery. It was a nice day out, and the cemetery was as empty as usual. Shisui watched as Hinode placed a big stack of pancakes in front of a tombstone with the name of Uchiha Byakue carved into it. Shisui was too young to remember anything about his mother when she was alive, but from the way other Konoha villagers talked about her, Shisui could tell that she was not only a great ninja, but a great mother as well.

"Did mother enjoy sweets too?" Shisui asked when Hinode poured a generous amount of syrup on top of the pancakes.

"Who doesn't like sweets?" Hinode returned the question, her voice sounded distant even though she was right next to Shisui.

Shisui had learned from Lady Kamome that Byakue lost her life in the beginning of the war. While she was one of the best medical ninja in Konoha's history, having to heal so many ninjas at the frontlines proved to be too much. Shisui suspected that Hinode blamed their father for not protecting their mother, but she never said it out loud.

"What kind of mother was she, Nee-san?" Shisui asked as he had many times growing up.

Hinode put an arm around Shisui's shoulder, her gaze remained on her mother's tombstone.

"She was kind, loving, compassionate, a little stubborn, but in a good way," Hinode listed everything that she had told Shisui before. "She'd be the perfect mother if only she wasn't so great of a ninja."

Shisui scooted closer into his sister's hug. He hardly knew what she meant by that, but he understood that she had always resented the profession of a shinobi. And while it was an extremely dangerous profession, Shisui believed that it wasn't that simple of a reason.

After a few minutes in silence, Hinode led Shisui to another grave and laid down a stack of pancakes in front of it. Shisui read the tombstone that had the name "Hatake Sakumo" inscribed.

Shisui recognized the name to have belonged to the infamous White Fang of Konoha. Even though he supposedly died in disgrace, they still talked of his extraordinary skills and triumphs in history class.

"Nee-san, did you know the White Fang?" Shisui asked with peaked curiosity.

"Yeah, I did," Hinode put on a dreary smile. "In fact, you met him in person too, Shisui, as a baby!"

"I have?!" Shisui's eyes lit up; he'd always thought the White Fang was really cool.

Hinode grinned at him, "All thanks to me! Now you can brag to those other brats in your class!"

Shisui stiffened at the thought of bragging to his classmates, who already were not fond of him because he was an "elite Uchiha." He scratched the back of his head bashfully and pushed Hinode's idea aside. But perhaps, this was the right time to tell her about his skipping grades next year.

"Actually, Nee-san, I…"

A new presence in the cemetery interrupted Shisui's sentence. A teenage boy with lengthy brown hair and a bandana approached them with a frown.

"There you are, Hinode," the teen said to Hinode.

"What do you want, Genma?" Hinode turned her face towards Genma, her grin dissipated into her usual coolness in a split second.

"We're being summoned to the Hokage's office," said Genma. "It's an urgent mission."

Hinode stepped closer to Shisui and took his hand in hers. "It's my day off!"

Genma sighed as if he already guessed her response. "I said it's urgent. Like, as in lives are at stake?"

Shisui looked up at his sister, whose lips tightened onto a line. It wasn't the first time that Hinode was called for a last minute mission; after all, the war was rapidly growing and shinobi lives were quickly lessening. There were days where Hinode had to take double C or D rank missions due to the high demand.

"Nee-san, it's okay," Shisui said softly.

Hinode looked down at him, her eyes flashed with displease. He gave a slow shake of the head.

"I think I should get home and train anyway," Shisui added.

Hinode let out a long breath, then let go of Shisui's hand and took a step towards Genma.

"Don't let the old hag work you too hard," said Hinode before turning away from Shisui. "And eat your vegetables!"

Shisui couldn't help but giggle as Hinode and Genma leapt away. Hinode was the one who refused to eat vegetables.

The young Uchiha began to run to the exit of the cemetery. True to his words, he was going home to train. Though he was already going to skip to the fourth grade, that wasn't enough. The year after that, he was going to graduate no matter what.

He was going to be stronger, so he could protect his dearest sister.

Akimichi Choza and Guy were already waiting in the Hokage's office when Hinode and Genma arrived. Inside the office stood also the members of Team Minato, whom Hinode was surprised to see. The atmosphere in the room was tense and quiet; the Hokage had an expression more serious than usual. Hinode met eyes briefly with Kakashi, but immediately turned away to fall in line with her own team.

"Since the majority of you are here, I'll start to explain this urgent mission," said Sarutobi Hiruzen. "Keep in mind that this is an S rank mission. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have assigned this to Genin teams, but there aren't other Jonin teams available at this moment and we're losing time as we speak."

"Lord Hokage," Obito cut in, inattentive towards Hiruzen's pressing tone. "What do you mean by the majority of you?"

"I was getting to that," Hiruzen gave Obito a sharp look. "This is no usual S rank mission, so I've summoned three Genin teams to collaborate on this one. The third team should be on their way here."

Hinode frowned at the severity of the situation that was implied by the Hokage. For the Hokage to assign three teams meant that this was going to be an extremely dangerous mission. Hinode had not even considered the possibility of getting assigned an S rank mission any time soon, and what bothered her most was that she was going to be away from home for who knows how long.

"Now, your mission is a rescue mission," said Hiruzen, raising his voice in intensity. "You are to rescue the Fire Daimyo."

"The Fire Daimyo?!" The shinobi in the room gasped collectively. The Fire Daimyo was by far the most important figure in the Fire Country. If the inhabitants of the country found out about their Daimyo missing, there was surely going to be chaos.

"The Daimyo was traveling to Konoha for a meeting with the Council, but they were ambushed by Iwagakure ninjas," Hiruzen explained further. "Three of the Twelve Guardian Ninjas were with the Daimyo at the time. Two were killed and one managed to escape and come straight to Konoha for help."

"Those Iwagakure ninjas have some nerve to come into the Fire Country and take the Daimyo!" Choza said in a rare state of anger.

"If those enemy shinobi are taking him back to Iwagakure, we need to move fast," Minato did not lose his composure, but urged for the teams to head out.

"You're right, Minato," Hiruzen nodded at his former student. "As soon as the third team arrives, you are to set out for the mission."

"Sorry for the wait!"

As if on cue, the third team chosen for the mission arrived at the Hokage's office. A red headed Jonin whom Hinode had never seen before led his team through the door. But Hinode did not care to listen to the Jonin's announcement of his name as her eyes caught the blonde haired girl behind him.

"Yakko-chan!" Hinode exclaimed without much thought.

"Hinode-chan!" Yakko stepped into view after hearing Hinode's voice. She had on a slightly surprised smile when she saw Hinode.

The two girls had been too busy to see each other since the Chunin Exams, and now the timid blonde was dressed in simple black garments and a green flack jacket. Hinode couldn't help but feel proud of Yakko for being the only girl in their grade to rise to Chunin level this year.

Followed by Yakko was her two teammates, Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo, both of whom Hinode only saw once during the Chunin Exams but never really met or spoke with.

"Hm? So this is the 'Hinode-chan' you're always making scrolls for, Yakko-chan?" The boy with a bandage across his nose joked as he looked Hinode up and down. "I expected someone chubby from the way you described her."

"Ko-kotetsu-kun!" Yakko tried to shush the boy as her cheeks burned bright red.

Hinode raised an eyebrow at Kotetsu, but ignored him as she was more excited about seeing Yakko and going on a mission with her. As she was about to walk up to Yakko, a steel cold voice stopped her from taking a step.

"Save the catch-up until after the mission," Kakashi demanded. "We don't have time to waste."

Hinode's head whirled towards Kakashi, who was looking at her with his usual lazy eyes but with a certain solemnity. It was somehow reminiscent of the way that he looked at her the day that she punched a hole in his door. Hinode returned a dark look that was almost too mild to notice if one wasn't looking very closely.

The exchange of looks only lasted a mere second before they both looked away and all three times departed from the Hokage's office.

To be continued.

Notes:

1) Sorry it's a short transitional chapter even though it took longer than usual! Next chapter we'll have more action and heart-to-hearts convos (or as much heart as Hinode's willing to show lol).

2) Anyone notice a little Shisui POV in the beginning? It goes without saying that Shisui will be a big part of Hinode's life and I wanted to show his thoughts of Hinode AND also the clan's thoughts of her. I believe that, like Itachi, Shisui must have been highly intelligent and observant at a young age. My thought about the Uchiha clan is that even though in this fic, Shisui is half Uchiha, he is skilled enough for the clan to accept him by the time he's Genin, but not in the case of Hinode.

3) Also, there's a little glimpse of why Hinode's dad is so hard on her!

4) Yakko is back! (((o(*°▽°*)o)))

Chapter 15: Curse of a Thousand Birds

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Watch your back, Hinode!"

Hinode swerved around at Genma's voice after slamming an Iwa-nin into the ground. A spiral shaped boulder was flying at her and there was only a foot of distance between them. Hinode put up her arms in defense and braced for the impact, but she caught a glimpse of a large scroll roll open in front of her.

The boulder disappeared into the scroll and the next second, Yakko landed in front of Hinode swiftly. A thud was heard beyond Yakko followed by a loud grunt.

Hinode stood upright and looked past Yakko. The last of the enemy Iwa-nin was face-down on the ground, blood gushing out from the many kunai puncturing his back.

"Your speed is amazing, Yakko-chan!" Kamizuki Izumo exclaimed from a distance away.

Putting the pieces together, Hinode realized that Yakko had nearly simultaneously killed the Iwa-nin and sealed his attack. Yakko's growth was truly amazing; she had really developed her Fuinjutsu since she first learned it as a child. She could now seal enemy Jutsu and expel them with scrolls.

"Thanks, Yakko-chan," said Hinode, still slightly in awe of her friend.

Yakko swirled around with a smile, her blonde bob bounced around her chin. "Of course, Hinode-chan."

"Well done, you all," commended the Jonin leader of Yakko's team, whose name Hinode just learned to be Dogen. "Let's be on our way."

Tracking the whereabouts of the Fire Daimyo was a breeze when Kakashi was able to summon a couple of Ninken to help. But when the three teams ventured into Earth Country, they were ambushed by Iwa-nin hiding in the canyons.

To preserve time, Team Minato has gone ahead in pursuit of the abductors while the rest of them fought off the attackers. It took some time with two teams that consisted of mostly Genin, but they were able to defeat the enemy with minor scrapes. Of course, Choza and Dogen did most of the work.

Soon after the two teams got back on the road, one of Kakashi's Ninken named Pakkun came running at them.

"They've found the Fire Daimyo," said Pakkun as he turned back around without wasting any time. "Follow me!"

It took only a few minutes for the two teams to arrive at a canyon, where an enormous fight was taking place. From afar, Hinode could see Kakashi's shadow darting in between several Iwa-nin, the glow of his chakra blade swishing with him. A few feet away from him, Obito had blown a gigantic fireball at a group of enemy shinobi.

A large and rugged Iwa-nin was ahead of them, holding the Fire Daimyo hostage. Hinode could almost hear the horrible threats he was making to stop Minato's advance towards him, but it was over in a flash. Literally, a flash.

Hinode didn't even blink and she couldn't see what exactly happened. All she was sure of was that the Daimyo was now in Minato's hands and the Iwa-nin was bleeding out on the ground.

"Minato, well done," said Choza as their teams arrived at the scene. "Perhaps your team could have done this on your own!"

Minato chuckled at the head of the Akimichi clan. "That's nonsense. We would have been in big trouble if you guys hadn't stayed behind to fight those ninjas who ambushed us."

A muffled protest interrupted the two Jonin from the currently tied-up Fire Daimyo, whose mouth was stuffed with a dirty rag. Minato promptly pulled the rag out from his mouth and began to untie him. The Daimyo gagged and coughed dramatically as soon as he was freed from the rag. He looked up with a face filled with disgust.

"What took you guys so long?" the Daimyo cried angrily. "And to think that Sarutobi Hiruzen sent kids to come rescue me! I need to have a serious talk about his procedures when we get to Konoha!"

"We came as soon as we could!" Dogen said sharply, which earned him a look from Choza and Minato. "Oh, and by the way, your guardian who crawled to Konoha with a sliver of life left in him is alive and recuperating, if you care at all!"

The Daimyo bristled at Dogen's directness and tone. "Insolence! I ought to get you demoted when I speak to Hiru—"

"Forgive him, Daimyo-sama," Choza stepped in between Dogen and the Daimyo. His large stature almost covered Dogen completely from the Daimyo's view. "He had just become Jonin a year ago. There's still a lot for him to learn."

"But he—"

"At least give it a second thought while we're on our way back to Konoha," Minato cut in as well, looking at the Daimyo seriously. "If we don't leave now, there's a chance that none of us will speak to Sandaime-sama again."

Fear flashed in the Daimyo's eyes before he finally nodded and agreed to Minato's suggestion. Choza took this chance to turn himself and gave Dogen a shake of his head. Even the kids could tell that the Daimyo was being a little disgraceful, but they were too low of a rank to say anything.

Dogen turned away from the Daimyo. The red-headed Jonin was younger than both Minato and Choza, but the deep creases between his brows were unsuited for his age. A fire burned in his eyes that was too much to suppress.

"Sensei…"

Yakko, Kotetsu, and Izumo looked at their mentor with worry.

Meanwhile, the Daimyo had gotten into another argument with Minato, but he was much more respectful this time towards his savior. The Daimyo was demanding rest and a horse to travel with.

"No! I will not stand to be manhandled again!" The Daimyo shrieked hysterically.

Hinode could feel her ears ringing and her mouth itching to tell him off, but Minato finally sighed in defeat.

"Our only option would be to seek refuge in Kusagakure, and possibly buy a horse," said Minato reluctantly. "They are one of our few allies in the current war."

While every shinobi in existence would prefer to return to their village as quickly as possible, the Daimyo was delighted at the thought of a hot bath and a comfortable bed.

Little did he know, such luxuries did not exist in Kusagakure, a small village in ramshackle due to the war.

For the Fire Daimyo's safety, Choza instructed Guy to lend his red bandana to the Daimyo to cover his face. Though the Daimyo at first complained that the bandana smelt of sweat, he quickly stopped whining when they arrived at Kusagakure, where fearsome shinobi eyed them suspiciously.

Though Kusa and Konoha were unofficial allies in the war, the Kusa-nin were still weary of outsiders. It was understandable considering how badly their village got wrecked being in between Iwagakure and Konoha, the two powerhouses among the five countries.

There was no chance that they were going to find an inn that was currently operating. Minato, the better talker among the group, asked every shop they passed by. After a few hours of searching, they found a stable owner who was willing to sell them a horse at a high price. The Daimyo was very generous with his money if it meant comfort for him.

"Do you have any extra rooms that we can rest in for the night?" The Daimyo asked.

The stable owner studied the Daimyo. Even though it was weird to him that this strange masked man had so much money, he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to make some extra.

"I've got one extra guest room," he said. "I'll let you stay for a fair price, but it won't fit all of you."

The Daimyo happily accepted. The shinobi that accompanied him opted to stay outside the stables for the night.

As the night rolled in, the shinobi teams set up camp in the yard. Lying besides her two snoring teammates, Hinode was wide awake. Quietly she crawled out of the tent to get some fresh air.

Nights in Kusagakure were far from peaceful. Being in the middle of the warzone, if one listened hard enough, sounds of battle could be heard in the distance. As Hinode walked closer towards the woods behind the stable, a strange sound of a bird's cry stole her attention.

Hinode followed the bird's sounds and walked into the woods. It didn't take long for her to get to a clearing where she discovered the source of the strange sound. It was Kakashi practicing some Jutsu she'd never seen before. She watched quietly at first as Kakashi performed a series of hand seals rapidly, and lightning wrapped around his right hand. With a short charge, Kakashi threw his right hand out towards the trunk of a tree in front of him, but right before he made contact with the tree, the lightning disappeared. He stopped his hand a split second before his finger jammed into the tree.

Kakashi clicked his tongue with annoyance as he looked at his hand.

"You're not supposed to wander off by yourself unless given orders by your team leader."

The boy swirled around at the sound of Hinode's voice. He must have been so concentrated that he didn't notice Hinode's presence. He tried to suppress his heavy panting at the sight of the girl.

"I didn't think you'd memorize anything from the shinobi code," Kakashi said flatly.

"Only the ones that make sense," Hinode shrugged and approached the boy, who was visibly tired from his training. She sat down on a large rock near him and folded her arms. "I see that you haven't changed… still all about the mission, huh?"

"I didn't mean to be rude, but it's an urgent situation," Kakashi figured that Hinode was talking about what he said inside the Hokage's office before the mission started. "I'm sorry. I'm not used to working with a lot of people."

Hinode was surprised to hear Kakashi apologize so straightforwardly.

"So I've heard," she said, a little more sharply than she intended.

Kakashi nodded and proceeded to sit besides Hinode on the rock. He was aware of his rising reputation within the Konoha shinobi forces. Some of the older and more experienced shinobi didn't prefer to work with him. He heard that it was his attitude that rubbed them the wrong way, but it didn't really bother him. He'd always believed that actions spoke louder than words. However, the Hokage seemed to think differently, and eventually put him in a four-man team with two others around his age. That didn't really bother him either, as long as he continued to complete missions.

"What's so great about missions?" Hinode asked without looking his way.

"Nothing's great about them, but it's a shinobi's job to complete them," Kakashi answered.

"Okay, what's so great about being a shinobi, then?" Hinode pressed further. "And don't give me that crap about serving the village."

Kakashi stared up at the sky. His half-lidded eyes showed little emotion. "I guess... at least it gives my life a purpose."

That struck a chord within Hinode. Kakashi wanted to be a great shinobi like his father. But his father was dead. His dream was dead.

Hinode had to look away from him.

"I don't think Sakumo would be pleased to hear that," she said a little shakily. "I wouldn't want to see my son strip off his humanity to be a great ninja."

It was Kakashi's turn to look at Hinode this time. "You're not my parent."

"Thank heavens for that," Hinode scoffed. "I'd be disappointed if I ever have a son like you."

Kakashi let out a short breath. It sounded almost like a chuckle to Hinode.

"And I'd be surprised if anyone ever married a brute like you."

Kakashi hopped away from the rock before Hinode's fist could connect with the back of his head. He looked back with an ambiguous look before leaping into the woods in the direction of the stables. Hinode stood up from the rock, narrowing her eyes where Kakashi had disappeared.

"Just as I thought you guys were having a mature conversation, this happens."

Hinode jumped at the voice that sounded behind her. She jerked around to find the red-headed Jonin, Dogen, leaning against a tree not too far from her. He smiled at her teasingly, completely different from the angry look he had earlier towards the Daimyo.

"Eavesdropping is not mature either," Hinode rolled her eyes.

"You are really something else, Uchiha Hinode," Dogen laughed. "No wonder Yakko talks about you all the time!"

"Flattery won't get you anywhere," Hinode brushed off the Jonin and began to walk back to the stables.

"I agree with you, by the way."

Hinode pulled to a halt. She looked back at Dogen, who had softened his expression.

"A lot of people, even shinobi themselves, think of shinobi as emotionless pawns. The truth is, we're all humans," Dogen said to Hinode, but somehow it sounded as if he was saying it to someone else. Then he smiled again at the young girl. "I'm glad that you are Yakko's friend. She has never been very confident, even though she's improved in that aspect since the Chunin Exams. But I still worry about what she thinks about her self worth."

Hinode hummed and resumed her walk back to the stables without responding to Dogen. She knew more than anyone how little Yakko thought about herself. The girl had come a long way since the first time Hinode met her.

Kakashi, and Yakko too, Hinode breathed out a long sigh, I need to knock some sense into them.

The Konoha ninjas and the Fire Daimyo left Kusagakure at daybreak. With the Daimyo tracking on horseback, the shinobi teams had to slow down their pace to protect him. The speed at which they traveled felt almost leisurely.

"Are we almost in Fire Country?" asked Genma with a yawn, jumping from tree to tree lazily.

"You sure have some nerve to yawn after that long sleep you got," Hinode narrowed her darkened eyelids at her teammate. Meanwhile, Guy was adding a squat to every jump landing. Hinode was thoroughly annoyed.

"We will cross the border in about… half a day," Choza estimated as he looked down at the Daimyo and his horse.

"The Daimyo sure gets his way, huh?" Guy said as he did a flip in the air as he jumped.

"Don't say that so loudly," said Choza, but not disagreeing with his pupil. "At least he didn't ask for a carriage!"

Genma and Guy snickered, but Hinode rebuked, "Maybe a carriage would be good for extra protection in case a group of ninjas ambushed us."

"GAAAAAHH!"

An ear-piercing shriek boomed from below and as soon as the shinobi teams looked down, the horse had toppled over and the Daimyo had fallen off the horse. Several shuriken were visibly stuck on the legs of the horse.

"Oh, now you've done it, Hinode!" Choza said before jumping down from the tree.

"Proved my point, though!" Hinode followed him down along with her teammates.

More shuriken spun towards the Daimyo, but before they hit their target, they were knocked out of the way by Minato's shuriken.

"We're surrounded!" Minato called out to the group behind him.

"I've got the Daimyo!" Choza held the Daimyo up to his broad shoulders. The Daimyo was too frightened to complain this time.

"Who's there?!" Dogen shouted into the woods.

Four shinobi emerged from behind trees and lined up next to each other in front of the Konoha shinobi. Their forehead protectors indicated that they were from Iwagakure.

"One four-man team only?" Obito remarked. "Great, we have them outnumbered!"

"Don't relax just yet," said Minato, "I sense an immense amount of chakra from the four of them."

"In that case we need to take them out quickly!" Guy said as he charged forward with incredible speed.

"Wait, Guy!"

The four Iwa-nin began to form hand seals at the same time. It was then that the Konoha ninjas realized why the Iwa-nin stood side by side. They were combining their powers into one big Jutsu. But it was too late when they realized this.

"Wind Release: Great Tornado Technique!"

Hinode felt herself being lifted off the ground by the monstrous tornado. The wind was blasting so strong that she could not move or open her eyes at all. She heard Choza's voice calling the names of her and her teammates, but it sounded increasingly further away.

Suddenly, Hinode felt herself being propelled out of the tornado. She barely had the time to open her eyes before the back of her head struck something hard, and her vision turned to darkness.

"Hinode! Wake up!"

Hinode woke to a slap to the face. After wincing at a soreness in her neck, she looked up to see Kakashi's frowning eyes.

"You didn't need to slap me that hard," Hinode rubbed her slightly red cheek as she propped herself up to a sitting position. She looked around the trees around them and the lack of a road; they were blown somewhere by the tornado. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," Kakashi said. "They separated us on purpose. This whole thing must have been a plan."

"That's correct."

Kakashi pulled out the chakra blade he carried on his back and Hinode rose to her feet at the unfamiliar voice. Two Iwa-nin stepped out of the trees' shadows, one of them a tall and muscular man and the other a woman with sharp, upturned eyes.

"We'd planned to lure some of Konoha's strongest shinobi here by kidnapping the Daimyo," the man grunted with annoyance. "Can't believe the Hokage sent kids for a mission like this!"

"But wait, Daimaru," the woman eyed Kakashi with intrigue, "Look at the silver hair and chakra blade… you don't suppose that's Konoha's White Fang?"

Daimaru squinted his already small eyes at Kakashi. "Could that kid really be him?"

"We'll see," the woman licked her lips. "I call dibs on that one."

"You're gonna make me fight against a little girl, Kuro?!"

Kakashi and Hinode glanced at each other briefly and nodded. Hinode darted towards Daimaru and Kakashi towards Kuro.

Daimaru's lips cracked open into a bloodthirsty smile as he saw Hinode in front of him in an instant. He retrieved a giant flail weapon—the weapon itself was as big as Hinode—from his back and swung at the girl. Hinode eyed the head of the flail covered with spikes and leapt into the air. The weapon crashed in the ground and created a sizable crater.

I have to watch out for that, Hinode thought to herself in midair. But when she turned her head towards Daimaru, his other hand was right in front of her.

Hinode felt his large fingers fasten around her neck and she was pushed down into the ground. She coughed at the sudden loss of air and looked up at Daimaru, who was holding up his weapon right above her, ready to strike again.

"Sorry, sweetheart, your head is about to be smashed into—GUWAHH!" Daimaru screamed mid-sentence as Hinode reached up and grabbed his wrist and forearm, and in one motion broke his bones.

Not even Choza-sensei can hold me down, you idiot! Hinode smirked as Daimaru retrieved his hand.

"Damn you Konoha-nin!" Daimaru roared with anger and started to swing his flail weapon wildly.

Hinode darted around him in circles to avoid his weapon. Each time Daimaru missed a swing made his fury multiply.

"Stop running around like a mouse!" Daimaru shouted.

"Sure thing," said Hinode as she stopped right in front of him, which provoked him even more. As he swung his weapon down again, Hinode raised both of her hands and pulled on something Daimaru couldn't see clearly.

"What the?!"

Chakra wires wound tightly around Daimaru from shoulders to ankles at Hinode's pull. She had been laying the trap around him as she evaded his attacks.

"I figured your skin would be too thick to feel this," Hinode said. Holding the ends of the chakra wires tightly in both hands, she began to spin the big guy around. "Here's a taste of what you guys did to us!"

After spinning Daimaru rapidly several times, Hinode lifted him upwards and let go of the chakra wires. With a loud yelp, Daimaru was tossed away into the distance.

Hinode cracked her knuckles; the guy was heavy after all. Turning around to where Kakashi should be, she was about to check if he'd finished his battle, but as she turned she saw a dangerous shine coming towards her. Immediately, she moved to the side, but the shine which she now saw was Kakashi's chakra blade.

Ignoring the sting and warm dripping on her cheek, she turned fully around to see Kakashi looking at her with foggy eyes. Before she could say anything to him, Kakashi sliced at her again. Hinode ducked to the ground to dodge the attack, then with her hands balanced on the ground she kicked up and knocked the chakra blade out of Kakashi's hand.

"Tch," Kakashi, unwavered by the loss of his chakra blade, stabbed down at her with a kunai. Hinode rolled away just in time before she lost an eye to him.

As she rolled she did a quick scan of their surroundings. Hinode spotted Kuro hiding behind a tree; she didn't seem as if she was controlling Kakashi's movements. So why was Kakashi attacking her?

Kakashi was in front of Hinode again in merely a second. He went at her with a series of kicks and swings with his kunai. Kakashi was so fast that Hinode had to really focus to block and dodge his attacks.

"Why aren't you attacking, Iwa-nin?" Kakashi growled as Hinode continued to evade him.

Hinode widened her eyes as realization hit her; Kakashi thought that she was the Iwa-nin. He was under the effects of Genjutsu. Hinode gritted her teeth; this was going to be a pain.

Hinode remembered when she was under her father's Genjutsu. At that time she was even unaware that she was under Genjutsu, until Lady Kamome hit her with the cane. Hinode needed to hit Kakashi hard enough to break him free of Kuro's Genjutsu.

That would be easy if this guy wasn't so damn fast! Hinode thought to herself and she tried to look for an opening to strike, but Kakashi's movements were spotless.

Hinode threw some shuriken at Kakashi, knowing that he was quick enough to dodge them. She just needed to create some space between them.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Hinode gathered chakra in her stomach, then after forming the hand seals, expelled the fireball from her mouth.

Kakashi was surprised to see a Fire Release attack from the Iwa-nin, but didn't lose his cool. The fireball hit a log instead of Kakashi, and he was out of Hinode's sight.

"You call that the Great Fireball Technique?" Kakashi's voice sounded from behind Hinode. "Even that loser can do better than this."

Hinode heard a crackling and she swirled around to see Kakashi with lightning gathered around his hand. Her heart nearly jumped out from her rib cage; Kakashi was going for the kill.

"Kakashi, no!" Hinode took a sharp breath. She could see that the lightning was burning his hand. He hasn't perfected the Jutsu yet! I have to stop him!

Kakashi charged at Hinode without any hesitation at his fastest speed yet. The crying of the birds sounded as if it was right beside Hinode's ear. Hinode moved away from the sound. Then, just as Kakashi was inches away from her, she stood still.

I have to stop him!

The adrenaline rushing through her prevented her from feeling the pain that she should have felt at her side. All she smelled was the burning of her flesh as she watched Kakashi's hand pierce her side. If she had moved a second later, he would have gotten a vital organ.

Got you, Hinode thought as she grabbed his forearm with her left hand. Balling up her right hand into a fist, she threw a hard punch at Kakashi's cheek.

"Kakashi! Wake up!"

As Hinode's voice reached Kakashi's ears, they also ringed simultaneously from her punch. His head was knocked to the side, but from the corner of his eye he saw not the female Iwa-nin that he was fighting. It was Hinode. Then, he felt the intense pain on his cheek and the taste of blood in his mouth.

"...You didn't need to punch me that hard."

To be continued.

Notes:

1) Sorry about the late update you guys! It's a pretty meaty chapter so it's okay, right? Haha! I hope there aren't too many mistakes as I didn't take as much time to edit as I should have.

2) In terms of future updates, it will continue to be irregular as I'm still very busy with work. I expect this to continue through this month.

3) Let's talk about the fic! Do you guys think it's too slow or rushed? I'm pretty sure this is on the slow side, but I promise once we get to the actual Naruto timeline (in like... 20+ chapters lol sorry) it's gonna go soooo fast. Then again, no promises because I haven't worked on the outline for this fic in a while. Thank you all for bearing with my fic *bows*

4) On a random note, I watched the anime movie "A Whisker Away" on Netflix over the past weekend and I was like (▽) the main boy's name is Hinode! That probably made me like the movie more than I normally would (not that I own the name or anything, but you know how I feel) It's a cute movie though!

Chapter 16: Curse of Betrayals

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It didn't take long for Kakashi to figure out what had happened once he watched Hinode fall face down to the ground after punching him awake. Blood gushed out from her left side and her left hand was severely cut. His own hand was burnt too and covered with blood that he was sure was not his own.

He'd pierced Hinode with his Chidori.

"Hinode!" Kakashi knelt beside Hinode and turned her over.

For the first time in a long time, Kakashi felt his heart race. He should have known when he saw the 'Iwa-nin's' fighting style suddenly changed. He should have known when she performed a Fire Release Jutsu that was an Uchiha specialty.

But he didn't. He had never been under the effects of Genjutsu before and everything was so real to him. He could have killed her.

Before his thoughts could spiral any further, Hinode strained to lift her head up by the neck. The girl took short and labored breaths, and she winced when she turned her injured side. The dirt on her face mixed with the cold sweat her body produced from the pain.

"I'm so—"

"Kakashi," Hinode strained, squinting her eyes at him. "You better have one more of those in you!"

Tensing up at Hinode's words, Kakashi whirled around just in time to see the female Iwa-nin charging at him. The lightning crackled again around Kakashi's hand. He pressed himself low to gain speed, in order not to fall under her Genjutsu again, and rammed his hand through her chest.

The Iwa-nin was dead immediately. Both she and Kakashi collapsed facedown onto the ground.

Hearing two thuds, Hinode took a big breath and pushed herself up by the elbows.

"Kakashi!" Hinode shouted when she saw him lying motionlessly on the ground.

"I'm fine. I just can't move," Kakashi said strenuously. "The Chidori uses a lot of chakra. I went a little overboard."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Hinode moaned. She stood from the ground, legs bent as she could barely straighten them. "If you knew that then you should have used some other Jutsu! I was counting on you to carry me back home. Though on second thought, your shinobi code might tell you to abandon me here."

"You sound pretty energetic to me," Kakashi coughed.

Hinode checked her wound; the bleeding had already slowed down. She went over to Kakashi and flipped him over. She pulled him under his shoulders and propped him against a tree, then plopped down beside him, panting from the pulsing pain.

Kakashi called for Pakkun once he steadied his breathing. He told Pakkun to find the rest of the group.

"It smells like they're all scattered," Pakkun sniffed the air.

Before Kakashi could say anything, Hinode said to Pakkun, "Find Rin and bring her here."

"The little medic girl? All right!"

Pakkun began to run into the forest. Kakashi and Hinode sat quietly on different sides of the tree. Kakashi was a little bit glad not to be facing Hinode now.

"Knowing you, you'd want to find out what happened to the Daimyo," Hinode muttered. "Which wouldn't matter at all if you were dead."

Kakashi was too tired to rebuke, though it was true that if the Daimyo was in trouble, he wouldn't be able to do anything in this state. Plus, he was currently more upset with himself for getting both of them into this situation. If he hadn't let himself fall under the enemy's Genjutsu, he wouldn't have resorted to using Chidori twice.

Kakashi groaned and shut his eyes from a pulsing pain in his temples.

"First time getting caught in a Genjutsu, huh?" Hinode turned to look at him. "It will take a couple of days for that to go away."

"How do you know?" Kakashi glanced at her.

"The Uchihas are experts of Genjutsu after all," Hinode shrugged.

"But you don't even have Sharingan yet."

"That doesn't stop my father from showing me what they do."

Kakashi thought about Hinode's father. Sakumo talked about Uchiha Hidenobu from time to time since they teamed up often. While his father had a certain level of respect for Uchiha Hidenobu, the same could not be said about other Konoha ninjas. From what his father told him, Uchiha Hidenobu was currently the only Uchiha clansman who was not part of the Konoha Police Force, where most people believed an Uchiha belonged.

Kakashi remembered seeing Hidenobu in person once during the funeral of Hinode's mother. Even from a distance, he seemed like a powerful and intimidating man. He was unapproachable even by the same clansmen, with the exception of the clan's head.

Growing up with a man like Uchiha Hidenobu must have been hard. Kakashi also had a great shinobi for a father, but he was never overly pushy. But then again, Kakashi never really needed a push.

Kakashi turned his head a little to peek at Hinode, who was staring up at the rustling leaves. She was not the same girl from all those years ago when they were in Ninja Academy together.

The girl whom he chastised for being too emotional was now so much stronger. And even though taking an attack like Chidori to save a comrade was something he'd normally advise against, it was him who got saved.

Maybe if they come out of this mission alive, he'd reconsider that dango offer from five years ago.

After another hour of waiting, Pakkun came back with both Rin and Obito. Obito's face turned pale the moment she saw Hinode's shirt, which was half soaked with blood and had a large hole. He bolted to her side, demanding to know what happened in detail. Hinode rolled her eyes at Obito's incessant rambling, and she'd never loved Rin more than when the medic ninja pushed Obito aside to examine her wounds.

"Huh?" Rin's eyes widened at the sight of Hinode's wound. "Hinode, your wound…"

"What? What about her wound?" Obito pressed in panic. "Can it not be healed?"

"It can, it's just…" Rin said as she held her hands over Hinode's side. A bluish chakra emitted from her palms. "I was going to say… the wound is actually very light. I don't understand how you could have bled so much from this wound, Hinode."

"I've always been able to recover from injuries a little quicker than I guess," said Hinode, relaxing now that her wound was closing up.

"I don't think it's only a little," Rin noted.

"Well, I wouldn't question a good thing," Hinode shrugged. "Take a look at Kakashi, then. He might be in worse shape than me."

Rin quickly finished up with Hinode and went beside Kakashi. She gasped when she looked at him closely; she didn't notice earlier because of his mask, but the right side of his face was swollen to double its normal size. His hand also had burn patterns that looked familiar to her.

"Kakashi, Minato-sensei said that Jutsu is not ready for real battle yet," Rin reprimanded softly as she began to treat him.

"...I know," Kakashi muttered, watching his burns recede from his hand. "Sorry…"

"Those Iwa bastards!" Obito cursed angrily.

"Shut up, Obito, they're dead," Hinode shushed her cousin while gazing at Rin and Kakashi. "You're ruining a nice moment."

"There's got to be more of them!" Obito retorted. "Like those wind users! We need to regroup with the others as soon as possible."

"This won't be long now," Rin held up her hands now to Kakashi's swollen cheek. "But I can't do anything about Kakashi's chakra. I just have some military rations pill that can replenish just enough chakra for him to move around. But Ninjutsu is probably out of the question."

"That's fine," said Kakashi. "Pakkun, can you smell the Fire Daimyo from here?"

"Yes, he's not too far."

Kakashi glanced at Hinode briefly, catching her eyes, and said, "Let's hurry then."

The four children ran behind Pakkun through the massive forest. Hinode was thrilled when she noticed that they were heading in the direction of the Fire Country. The only thing bothering her was the sun starting to set; judging by the rhythm of Kakashi's breathing, he direly needed rest. But at this rate, she figured that he would refuse rest until the mission was complete.

"They're just a few feet ahead of us!"

Hinode quickened her pace at the announcement from Pakkun. Within seconds, she could hear the Daimyo's scream and she would have thought that he was being slaughtered if it weren't for the first person who appeared in her field of view.

"Yakko-Chan!" Hinode exclaimed with delight.

The blonde girl swirled around and a relieved smile blossomed on her face when she saw that it was Hinode. With her were also her teammates, Izumo and Kotetsu, and Hinode's teammates, Genma and Guy. And in the middle of them all, their mission's objective—the Fire Daimyo.

"Yet another group of kids!" The Daimyo cried exasperatedly. "Where are the three Jonin?!"

"We're worried about them too, if that's what you're implying!" Izumo glared at the Daimyo.

Ignoring the Daimyo's tantrum, Yakko ran to Hinode's side. She gasped in horror when she noticed the blood all over one side of Hinode's body.

"Hinode-chan! Are you hurt?" Yakko's eyes furrowed with concern. It was clear that Hinode must have been hurt, but not a scratch could be found through the hole of in her shirt.

"Not anymore. If anything, just uncomfortable wearing this crusty shirt with a big hole!" Hinode joked with Yakko, assuring her that she was just fine. "Don't worry."

Though clearly still worried, Yakko nodded. Genma and Guy had also come to Hinode's side, asking about what happened. Hinode told them about the attack from two Iwagakure ninjas, and their plan to separate the Konoha ninjas and take them out in groups. The Daimyo, who had been listening to their conversation, dropped to the ground after learning that information.

"I'm done for!" The Daimyo shrieked. "Just my luck to be stuck with these children! Oh, why didn't that Akimichi hold on to me inside the tornado!"

"Would you rather be stuck by yourself?" Hinode snapped at the Daimyo, raising her fist, but Genma pushed it down just in time.

The Daimyo made a sound like a dog having their tail stepped on and curled up on the ground. Holding his head in his hands, he started chanting about how he was going to die.

"What should we do now?" Izumo sighed and raised the question they had been discussing ever since the separation.

"Shouldn't we go find the sensei's?" Guy suggested. "They're the leaders after all."

"No, we should take the Daimyo back to Konoha as quickly as possible," Kakashi countered sharply. "Every second we waste here is a chance for an enemy attack."

"But how will we take him back?" Kotetsu said in a lowered voice. "Look at him. He doesn't trust us."

Hinode looked at the Daimyo, who was still squirming on the ground. What Kakashi said was true; they had already been ambushed twice during this mission and since Iwagakure had been planning this, they could be ambushed again.

"Yakko-chan," Hinode turned to Yakko suddenly. "Can you seal the Daimyo inside a scroll?"

Yakko's eyes widened at Hinode, and her cheeks reddened as the others all turned their attention to her. "I-I know the seal formation to s-seal a person, b-but I've never tried…"

"Do it," Hinode said, despite Yakko's stuttering. "It's the safest and fastest way we can transport him."

"I-I don't know, Hinode-chan…" Yakko frowned, fearing that something extremely bad could happen if she made a mistake.

"Hey, don't force her if she's not confident with the Fuinjutsu," Genma said to Hinode, putting a hand on her arm.

"I'm confident in your Fuinjutsu, Yakko-chan," Hinode looked into Yakko's eyes with so much firmness that Yakko tensed her shoulders. "Only you can do it!"

After a few seconds of silence, Yakko bit her bottom lip and nodded at Hinode. Unstrapping the largest scroll she carried with her, Yakko rolled it open on the ground. As she began to write down a series of intricate words and symbols, the Daimyo noticed the shinobi crowding around her. He crawled beside them and looked at Yakko's work with intrigue.

"What is she doing?" asked the Daimyo, making a few of them jump in surprise.

"Making your vehicle," said Hinode flatly.

The Daimyo raised an eyebrow. "Does that really work? Is it safe?"

Yakko's shoulders twitched, but she kept herself focused on her work.

"She might be young, but she's a known prodigy in Fuinjutsu in Konoha," Hinode lied without skipping a beat. "Am I right, guys?"

The other children chimed in with their agreements, praying in their heads that Yakko could really pull it off.

After a few minutes, Yakko finished making the scroll for the Daimyo. While the Daimyo was still suspicious of the scroll made by a twelve-year-old, he stood in the middle of it thinking it was either this or die. With a nervous gulp, Yakko performed the hand seals for the Fuinjutsu and placed her palms on the scroll. The words and symbols on the paper lit up as Yakko's chakra flowed through the material, and then with a poof, the Daimyo disappeared from their sight. The word 'sealed' appeared in the middle of the scroll.

"So…" Obito broke the silence among the group. "Did it work?"

"I think so," Yakko said, rolling the scroll closed.

"You guys can find out when you get to Konoha," said Hinode as she took the scroll from Yakko's hand and placed it in Obito's. "Genma, Guy, let's go find the sensei's."

"What?!" Obito exclaimed. "No, we should stick together!"

"The Hokage assigned three teams for this mission for a reason," Hinode looked at Obito sternly. "Plus, Kakashi is basically useless now if he stays behind. Your team should head back first."

Kakashi glared at Hinode, but his eyes turned sharp the next second. He saw a shadow swishing through the trees a few feet beyond them.

"Someone's coming!"

Hinode swiveled towards the sound of the approaching footsteps; each shinobi grabbed a weapon from their packs.

The shadow revealed himself to be Dogen. The children let out a breath of relief at the sight of one of their Jonin leaders. Dogen gave them a troubled smile and apologized to the children for being late.

"I got caught up with some pesky Iwa-nin," Dogen said, explaining the scratches and bruises on his body and the many blood stains on his clothes. He scanned the faces of the children in front of him. "Where's the Daimyo?"

"Yakko-chan sealed him inside a scroll for safety!" Kotetsu gloated.

Dogen turned to Yakko with a soft smile and ruffled her blonde hair. "Heh, well done, Yakko! You can hand it to me."

The moment Obito was going to move, Kakashi grabbed his arm. Obito raised an eyebrow at Kakashi, but the latter kept his gaze on Dogen.

"How do you know that the Daimyo was here?" Kakashi questioned.

Dogen did not answer Kakashi. Instead, as he turned to face them, he sent several shuriken flying at Kakashi and Obito. While Obito was still frozen in shock and confusion, Kakashi stepped forward with his own shuriken and knocked the incoming weapons out of their path. But the next second, two arms wrangled Obito and Kakashi from behind.

Body Flicker Technique! Kakashi noticed the scent of Dogen behind him.

"Hmph, so one of you has it," Dogen muttered dangerously next to the boys' ears. As he looked down at the boys in search of the scroll, wires wrapped around his neck, choking the air out of his throat. He let go of the boys to grab the wires, turning to see who had attacked him.

Kakashi turned toward Hinode, knowing it was her immediately after seeing the wires. He met eyes with the girl, who gave him a heavy look and nodded. He nodded back.

"Wha-Wait, Kakashi!" Obito yelled when Kakashi grabbed the back of his collar and leapt into the trees, forcefully making him escape with the scroll. "Hinode is—"

"Going to be okay!" Kakashi silenced Obito, not wanting to waste any energy arguing with him while they ran at their fastest speed. Rin reacted right away and caught up with them in seconds.

Dogen growled in the direction of the escapees. While still strangled by the chakra wires, he shouted into the woods, "What are you guys waiting for? Go!"

Several Iwa-nin, including the three Wind Release users, appeared from the trees and pursued the kids running in the direction of the Fire Country.

"Not so fast!"

Guy and Genma stood in the way of the Iwa-nin, preventing them from going any further. The Iwa-nin had no hesitation facing off whom they saw as kids. The fight broke out instantly and Izumi and Kotetsu engaged with more Iwa-nin trying to chase after the scroll.

"Sensei…" Yakko murmured as she looked at her mentor, "Why…?"

Dogen's eyes shot toward Yakko, but he didn't have the power to reply as he still tried to break free from the chakra wires. Hinode pulled the wires tighter despite Yakko's concern for her teacher.

"Yakko-chan, don't—"

Hinode's sentence got cut as a large hand struck her from behind and sent her flying into a tree, breaking it down with extraordinary force.

"Hinode-chan!" Yakko cried, turning to see a huge man smirking at Hinode with bloodlust. One of his hands seemed to be broken and there were gashes on his body.

"You little piece of Konoha trash…" Daimaru snarled. "Should've killed me when you had the chance!"

Yakko jumped onto Daimaru's back and attempted to stab a kunai into him, but she could barely penetrate his abnormally tough muscles. Daimaru reached his good hand behind him and Yakko jumped away. In mid-air, Yakko opened a scroll from her pack and sent a spinning boulder toward him.

"Another damned beat!" Daimaru grunted as he punched the boulder, crumbling it into pieces.

Hinode got up on her feet. Seeing that Yakko was struggling to fight Daimaru, she lunged to her aid, but was tackled to the ground by Dogen. As he held her wrists behind her with one hand, his other hand reached for his pack.

"I didn't want to fight you guys..." he murmured under his breath.

Swoosh!

Dogen swerved his head just in time to dodge the senbon that was going for his head. As he swerved, a green figure flashed before him. Dogen put up his arm to protect his head, blocking a drop kick that nearly broke his bones if he hadn't concentrated chakra in his arm.

"Not another move, or your teammate is dead!" Dogen shouted, pulling Hinode up against him and shoving a kunai near her throat.

Guy and Genma stopped moving. Both of them were panting heavily after fighting the other Iwa-nin.

"You…" Hinode growled, "After everything you said about Yakko… why?"

"Iwagakure and I have a deal," Dogen smiled but it did not reach his eyes. "I give them the Fire Daimyo and I get my little brother."

Hinode looked up at him, confused and surprised.

"Konoha deserted my brother after he was captured in a battle," Dogen's voice shook with anger. "As if his life means nothing!"

"Do you actually think Konoha will take you back after you've betrayed them?!" Genma yelled back at Dogen.

"As if I care," Dogen grinned. "Konoha betrayed me first!"

Hinode suddenly tensed up and broke her wrists free of Dogen's grasp. Surprised at Hinode's strength, Dogen pushed forward with his kunai. But as soon as Hinode broke free, Guy was already on the move.

Guy kicked the kunai out of Dogen's hand, and threw his fist at the man. Just as he thought he'd got him, Dogen flickered away from Guy.

"You kids are fighting for the wrong guys!" Dogen laughed as he flickered in and out of the children's sight, striking them hard and flickering away when they tried to attack him. In minutes, all three of them were beaten down to their knees.

A scream grabbed Dogen's attention. His eyes darted towards Daimaru and Yakko. Yakko had managed to seal Daimaru's movements with five scrolls, but she was quite tattered up herself. Dogen flickered away again.

"You're all expendable in Konoha's eyes!" Dogen barked when he appeared again behind Yakko.

Yakko turned and saw the tip of his fingers inches from her face. The same fingers that have ruffled her hair lovingly countless times before were going to hurt her. She almost didn't want to look up and see what kind of expression Dogen was looking at her with.

Yakko closed her eyes, then she felt a raging heat right behind her. As her eyes opened again, those fingers were replaced by burning fire. She whirled around fully, and she saw not only her mentor's hand, but half of his body was engulfed in flames.

Dogen's face was as filled with astonishment as Yakko's, but he was looking somewhere else. Yakko followed his gaze to look at where the fireball had come from.

What she saw was something she'd never forget. It was Hinode, with blood streaming from a head wound down her face. But the blood could hardly take anyone's attention away from Hinode's eyes, which now shone brightly in furious crimson.

"I don't give a damn about you or your brother… or Konoha," Hinode breathed through gritted teeth. "You betrayed Yakko, so I'm going to kill you!"

To be continued.

Notes:

1) Wow you guys! I'm overwhelmed by the feedback from the last chapter! I'm super pumped by all your encouragements and am having a lot of fun writing whenever I get the chance. Thank you all so much for reading!

2) I hope this chapter doesn't feel super rushed! I was supposed to finish this mission in two chapters but... life is full of surprises lol.

3) Let's go, Sharingan! To be honest, Hinode was not supposed get her Sharingan this chapter, but I changed my mind last minute. Originally, she wasn't going to get them for a long time because of her curse but I feel like it's time. She needs them for future fights ;)

4) Thanks again for reading! See you next chapter :)

Chapter 17: Curse of the Body Replacement Technique

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

I can see everything!

Hinode didn't realize that her Sharingan had awakened at first, when all she had on her mind was to protect Yakko. It surprised her when suddenly she could see a very thin thread of red chakra from where Dogen stood before he flickered to where Yakko was. Hinode didn't give it a second thought before charging towards the end of that thread and gathering chakra inside her.

Dogen appeared exactly where Hinode suspected him to appear. She released the Great Fireball Technique toward him. Dogen was shocked to see Hinode and attempted to dodge her attack, but the fire still burned much of his body. He stumbled back, no longer able to open his left eye and barely able to hold a kunai in his left hand.

"Those eyes…" Dogen muttered, almost mesmerized by Hinode's red eyes and the strange patterns in the pupils. He glimpsed down at Yakko, who noticed his gaze and leapt away. A slight smile curled up on his lips.

Hinode didn't waste any time before launching herself at Dogen after declaring her intention to kill him. She could see Dogen's every move with her Sharingan, but even then, Dogen was a Jonin level shinobi. He was able to block Hinode's attacks, at times even with his severely burnt left arm. It seemed as if he didn't even feel the pain.

Feeling her chakra draining quickly, Hinode was starting to get anxious. Not to mention that her muscles were screaming at her with her every move. She was pushing her body to its limit.

From a few feet away, Yakko could see that Hinode's movements were a bit awkward. She watched closely, and soon realized that Hinode was moving almost too early in response to Dogen's movements.

Dogen had caught on to this as well. He'd heard about the Sharingan as most of Konoha's villagers had; they were eyes that saw everything. It only made sense that it would take some time to get used to the enhanced perception.

The Jonin pushed forward aggressively at great speed. The more Hinode had to avoid his attacks, the more she was straining.

"I heard that those eyes activate when an Uchiha experiences trauma," Dogen began to speak as he pressed on with attacks, distracting Hinode's thoughts.

Hinode glanced away from Dogen's hands for a second to look at his face; he was smiling at her.

"So that's how much Yakko means to you," said Dogen gently. "Now I really don't have anything to lose."

Hinode paused for a split second before noticing Dogen's hand movement. Hand seal… Body Flicker! Hinode thought to herself as she whirled around, throwing a kunai in front of her.

Chok!

The kunai had struck Dogen between the eyes. But as Hinode watched Dogen fall backwards to the ground, she felt a pain in her abdomen. She glanced down at herself. Blood was oozing out from her stomach, where the tip of a kunai was protruding through the skin. Then she looked back to where Dogen had fallen, except her kunai was now stuck in a wooden log.

What…? Hinode wanted to say, but blood had filled her throat and mouth. She spewed out the blood with a cough.

Realization dawned upon Hinode; she had misread Dogen's hand seal. The real Dogen was still behind her. She could feel the shaking of the kunai as his hand was still gripped around it. She felt faint; another push and she just might be done for. With her Sharingan deactivated, her eyelids lowered slowly.

"Sorry, we're late."

A yellow flash blazed past Hinode, and she felt Dogen's presence disappear behind her, along with the kunai being pulled out from behind. It took her a second from the loss of blood to recognize that it was Minato's voice.

"Hinode!"

Big arms caught Hinode before she crashed down into the ground. A big hand turned her over so that she could breathe better, though she could only manage small breaths. Hinode strained her eyelids open, and Choza's worried face filled her eyes.

"Choza-sensei…" Hinode croaked, blood still spewing from her mouth and stomach.

Guy and Genma entered her field of vision. Streams of tears as thick as his eyebrows fell from Guy's eyes and Genma had the grimmest look she'd ever seen on his face. Hinode would have chuckled if her stomach didn't hurt so much; those looks didn't suit them at all.

"Sensei… please punch a hole in Dogen-sensei's stomach…" Hinode said to Choza.

"...Don't talk, Hinode," Choza said softly as he bandaged Hinode's stomach. "We're going back."

"Aren't I supposed to keep…" Talking so I don't fall asleep?

Hinode's voice trailed off along with her consciousness.

Physical tasks had always been easy for Hinode, but in her current state, even lifting her eyelids open was almost too difficult. When she regained her consciousness, all her brain could register was the softness of the pillow and blanket that now embraced her, and the muffled sound of people's voices surrounding her. Even when muffled, Hinode could hear the worry and frustration of Obito's voice. Hinode relaxed at the assumption that they had all returned safely to Konoha, and drifted back into slumber.

The next time she awoke, she finally had enough strength to open her eyes. Daylight greeted her dry eyes and she squinted, then she felt the dryness in her throat. She wheezed involuntarily when she tried to take a big breath.

"Hey, she's awake!"

Hinode turned her head toward the voice. Genma, Guy, and Choza stood by her bedside. Genma helped her up and Guy put a few extra pillows to prop her back. Then Choza held a glass of water to her lips. Hinode drank the water impatiently; the first few sips tasted of iron.

"Where's…" Hinode wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She had many questions, but didn't know where to start. "...Obito? I thought I heard his voice earlier?"

"That guy got all of us kicked out of the hospital," Genma snickered a little despite the situation. "When he saw you all beaten up, he got pretty upset and started yelling and fighting with Kakashi. The head medic got pretty mad and kicked us all out. So we went to the Hokage to give our report for the mission, and when we came back, the medic forbade Obito and Kakashi from coming in!"

That sounded exactly like something Obito would do. Hinode would roll her eyes, but even the thought of it felt tiring.

"What about Yakko?" Hinode asked.

"Since Yakko's team is without a Jonin now, Lord Third had asked them to stay behind in his office while he figured things out," said Choza, and his expression grew grim. "Hinode, I'm sorry that this happened to you. If I'd arrived faster…"

"It's not your fault, Choza-sensei," Hinode said casually, as if she didn't nearly die from the mission. "Just please tell me that you smashed that Dogen's face in."

Choza let out a sigh and shook his head. "If you must know, Yakko killed Dogen as soon as Minato got him off you. In fact, she was already making her move as we got to the scene. We'd have taken him back to Konoha so that he could receive punishment for treason, but I can understand how Yakko was feeling. If she didn't kill him, he could have killed you."

Hinode's eyes widened. A feeling of guilt arose in her chest. To Hinode, Dogen deserved to die. But for Yakko to kill her own teacher, it must have been traumatic. And Yakko did it to save her.

I was supposed to save her. Hinode bit her lip.

"On a positive note, the Fire Daimyo was quite impressed by Yakko's sealing technique, and he praised her incessantly in front of the Hokage," Choza rubbed Hinode's head with a kind smile, as if seeing through Hinode's guilt. "But from what I've heard, it was your idea for Yakko to use the technique and have Team Minato bring back the scroll first. You did well, Hinode. I'm proud to have you as a student."

Choza's palm was thick and as big as Hinode's head. The warmth of his hand seemed to seep through her hair follicles, and it calmed her head. It had been an awful situation; and they did everything they had to to come out of the mission alive.

"And guess what? The Konoha council and Danzo-sama were there to welcome the Daimyo also, and Danzo-sama seemed to be impressed by Yakko's skills!" said Guy excitedly, changing the atmosphere in the room. "I think he might take Yakko on as a disciple!"

"Danzo-sama?" Hinode blinked at Guy. "Isn't that a big shot guy? Almost as big of a deal as Lord Third?"

"I don't know if 'big shot' is the right word, but yes, he is very powerful," Choza said.

"Oh, well, that's great!" Hinode let out a breath of relief; Yakko's talents were finally being recognized.

The door suddenly slammed open. Team Akimichi turned their heads to the door at the same time, only to see the owner of Ichiraku Ramen and his daughter Ayame. Hinode raised her eyebrows; if any shop owner were going to visit her at the hospital, she'd expect the dango shop or the sweets shop, not Ichiraku Ramen.

"Hinode! You're alive!"

'Teuchi' wailed when he saw Hinode sitting up on the bed. 'Ayame' nudged him with an embarrassed smile. It was then when clouds of smoke poofted from their feet and revealed Obito and Rin. Obito ran to Hinode's side and demanded to know how she was feeling, only to be pried off by Rin, who scolded him gently for being too loud.

"Lower your voice, Obito! We already got kicked out once!" Rin said in a hushed voice. "That's why we had to use Transformation Technique to sneak in!"

"S-sorry, Rin," Obito lowered his voice sheepishly at Rin, then turned back to Hinode. "Are you okay? I freaked out when Genma said you almost died!"

"I did not say that!" Genma retorted. "I said she's in critical condition."

"Same thing!"

Hinode pressed her forehead to her palm; she could feel a migraine coming.

"I'm fine, Obito, as you can see," Hinode said tiredly. "Where's Kakashi? Has he completely recovered?"

Obito's face darkened immediately hearing Kakashi's name. "Hmph! That guy better not show his face here after what he did!"

"What did he do?" Hinode frowned.

"He forced me and Rin to abandon you guys and escape with the scroll!" Obito started to raise his voice again.

"But that was my idea," said Hinode flatly.

Obito's hands tightened into fists. "Why are you defending him?! He would have done the same thing even if you didn't suggest it! That's the kind of guy he is!"

"Obito!" Rin grabbed Obito's arm. "That's enough… Kakashi already feels bad about this…"

Hinode watched as Obito's face scrunched up like crumpled paper. Before anyone could stop him, Obito ran out of the hospital room, ignoring Rin's call.

The depth of Obito's anger towards Kakashi surprised Hinode a little bit. She knew that Obito and Kakashi butted heads, which seemed harmless because she didn't think Kakashi was the most agreeable person either. But now that Obito has been on the same team with Kakashi for a while, things have only escalated.

Hinode wondered what could have caused this. Then, she glanced over to Rin, who was gazing at the door with a worried look. Hinode placed a hand on Rin's shoulder.

"Even great men will crumble at the feet of the young and beautiful, Nohara Rin."

"...Huh?" Rin blinked at Hinode.

Choza sighed. "I told you not to read so much Kunoichi Weekly, Hinode."

The door swung open once again and each occupant turned their heads. The room fell into silence—it was Yakko. Having been inside the Hokage's office since mission completion, Yakko hasn't even had the chance to change out of her bloodied clothes.

Hinode inhaled sharply at the sight of Yakko. The dark circles under Yakko's eyes wrung Hinode's heart.

"Yakko…" Hinode breathed as she scrambled out of the hospital bed despite Rin's disapproval.

None of the injuries she'd sustained during the mission hurt as much as now. And Yakko must have been hurting much more.

Yakko stepped forward to hold Hinode up by the arms, only to be pulled into an embrace.

"Hinode…" Yakko whispered into Hinode's shoulder, eyes welling up from Hinode's warmth.

"I'm sorry, Yakko."

Hinode's nasally voice pushed her over the edge, and she sobbed. It didn't matter who was watching; Yakko wrapped her arms around Hinode.

"Why are you crying, Guy?"

"This… this is the youth papa talks about!"

To give Hinode some time to rest, the team along with Rin and Yakko left the hospital together. It didn't take long for Hinode to drift off to sleep again. The head medic came by and told her that she was very low on chakra, so she was going to be fatigued for a few days.

Hinode woke up again to the sound of knocking at the door. Hinode looked out the window; it was already dusk. She'd spent nearly the whole day sleeping and yet still felt tired.

"Come in," she said in a hoarse voice.

"Nee-san!" The first to run inside was Shisui. Following behind him was Hidenobu and Lady Kamome.

"The teachers didn't tell me anything until school was over," Shisui pouted when he got to Hinode's bedside. "Otherwise I would have been here sooner!"

"It's all right, Shisui," Hinode ruffled Shisui's messy hair. "I feel better just seeing you."

Shisui smiled with a soft blush, relieved that Hinode was well enough.

A warm feeling filled Hinode's heart when she saw Shisui's smile. At the same time, a chilling sensation flashed through her. She thought about Dogen and his anger towards Konoha for abandoning his brother. As she looked deeply into Shisui's eyes, she imagined the same thing happening to her little brother.

She'd choose Shisui over Konoha in a heartbeat. And if the repercussion meant hurting other people she cared about, she'd leave them out of it.

It may be a childish way of thinking, but that was no argument for Hinode.

"Hinode," Hidenobu stepped up next to the bed. "Your Sharingan awakened?"

Hinode looked up at her father. He was as stoic as always, but she wondered if she was seeing a slight frown.

"Yes, father," said Hinode.

"The medic said you were low on chakra, so I assumed," Hidenobu then placed a paper bag on top of Hinode's bedside table. Hinode recognized the logo immediately as the dango shop. She looked back at Hidenobu quizzically.

"...A little food to re-energize you," Hidenobu mumbled.

Lady Kamome smacked Hidenobu's lower back with her cane and sneered. "Say what you were going to say, you big old sap."

Hidenobu grunted at the back pain.

"...Well done with the S rank mission," Hidenobu muttered, looking at the top of Hinode's head. Hinode thought he was going to pet it. "I'm… glad you're safe."

"Nee-san? Your face is pale, are you okay?"

"Y-yes," Hinode could have sworn she'd blacked out for a second. When she looked back up at Hidenobu, he was already looking away.

Mom, this is the big old sap you fell in love with.

Hinode opened the paper bag and took out the tray of dango. It was still a little warm. Hinode ate a whole stick within five seconds, despite Lady Kamome telling her to chew.

Once the sugar hit her tongue, something clicked inside Hinode's head.

"Father," Hinode called out mid-chew. "Is there a close range Fire Release Technique?"

"Close range?" Hidenobu raised an eyebrow.

"Like… maybe wrapping your fist with flame?" Hinode said, thinking of Kakashi's Chidori.

"I see," Hidenobu's eyes widened with realization. "There is not an existing Jutsu like that, considering the dangers of burning yourself. But I suppose, with good control, it can be very powerful. And it would be especially good for your melee fighting style."

Hinode's cheeks burned; when did her father notice that about her fighting style?

"It's an idea worthy of exploring," Hidenobu decided. "After you are discharged from the hospital, of course."

"Sounds like a craft project for me," Lady Kamome tapped her chin.

"Nee-san, that would be amazing if you created a Jutsu!" Shisui exclaimed with excitement.

With Hidenobu's approval and Shisui and Lady Kamome's support, Hinode was feeling so many emotions at once that she couldn't utter a word. She opted for nodding and stuffing her mouth with the rest of the dango.

S rank missions were not so bad, after all.

To be continued.

Notes:

1) My poor Hinode gets stabbed twice in one mission, but at least she has friends/family worrying about her ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡
2) Unmentioned in the chapter is that Hinode picked up the hobby of reading gossip magazines since Lady Kamome leaves them around the house (Re: Chapter 11)
3) Sugar = caffeine for Hinode
4) I've been trying to fit in as much development as I can for Hinode's relationships with those around her. It really is a very big cast (my fault for making Hinode a Uchiha) and I'm not even at the Naruto timeline yet! But Part 2 is coming to an end very soon! I hope you guys are as excited as me!

As always, thank you so much for reading this fic!

Chapter 18: The Healing Curse

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Uchiha Shisui was a light sleeper. In fact, all great ninjas were more or less light sleepers. But ever since his big sister's release from the hospital, Shisui had not been able to get much sleep at all. The young Uchiha had no complaints, though, because the person keeping him from sleeping was none other than Hinode.

From early morning to the dead of night, Hinode trained with Hidenobu in their backyard. The two of them had been 'exploring' Hinode's idea of a close range Fire Release technique. It took a couple of week's work, but they were actually able to do it.

To say that Shisui was not proud of his sister would be a lie, but he didn't exactly approve of her training regime right after she was discharged from the hospital. The medic had ordered her some days off to recuperate, so she didn't have any missions scheduled, but she was not recuperating at all. She was doing the exact opposite, especially since this jutsu was not so user friendly.

Shisui was woken up again at four o'clock in the morning to the sound of raging fire. He looked out of his second floor window at the backyard below. Hinode was at it again with Hidenobu's supervision.

The girl proceeded with a running start toward a wooden dummy. With a quick hand seal, a huge fire appeared from her right fist. The fireball was so large that it covered the entire length of her arm, and strings of flame on the outer layer of the fireball licked her face and neck as she pulled her fist back. The fire was more powerful than any Great Fireball she ever produced.

Shisui performed hand seals of his own and his body flickered downstairs.

"Ha!"

Shisui arrived at the veranda in time to see Hinode punch the wooden dummy hard. It exploded on contact, sending fiery shards into the air. There was no questioning the destructive power of the technique. Their father was right in saying that it was going to be great for Hinode's fighting style. Hinode had a lot of practice put into concentrating chakra in her fists to enhance her Taijutsu, so forming fire around her fist came much naturally to her rather than expelling fire from her mouth.

The fire dissipated from Hinode's fist after the attack. Shisui squinted and was sure that he said burn marks all over her hands and arm, even though they were already healing. Shisui had known about Hinode's healing speed for a while now. It wasn't hard because he'd inherited the same power himself. He noticed the very first time he'd accidentally snipped his finger with a shuriken at age four.

The second time Shisui sustained an injury, he was able to discern that the healing came from his chakra. He suspected that the power was passed down from his mother, but neither Hidenobu or Hinode liked to talk about Byakue.

In any case, the special chakra could be a blessing and a curse. Hinode's last S rank mission was the perfect example. The Sharingan must have used a lot of chakra, so Hinode's stomach injury didn't heal as quickly as it would have if she had her full chakra reserve.

And now, she was developing another chakra-heavy technique.

To be really honest, Shisui was getting angrier with his father by the day. How could he allow his daughter to practice this dangerous technique? All for the pride of Uchiha?

"Nee-san!" Shisui shouted. "Is your arm okay?"

Hinode stiffened at Shisui's voice. Instinctively, she hid her right arm behind her and peered at Hidenobu suspiciously.

Shisui had shouted that loudly on purpose, so that Hidenobu would hear clearly the disdain in his voice. Indeed, Hidenobu heard Shisui's concern, and walked over to Hinode and inspected her arm. While the burns healed quickly, some were still caught by Hidenobu's eyes. The father's brows furrowed slightly.

"Take the rest of the day off," said Hidenobu as he closed his eyes and shook his head. Hinode nodded in obedience and Hidenobu walked into the house.

Hinode looked toward Shisui and smiled sheepishly. She sat down on the veranda next to where Shisui stood and stretched. The last time she felt so sore after training was when Guy invited her to train with him.

"You sure have some sharp vision, Shisui," Hinode joked casually with Shisui. "Maybe even sharper than Sharingan, ha ha!"

"It isn't that funny, Nee-san," Shisui sat next to his sister. "Actually, I'm surprised that father didn't notice it earlier. Everything has a limit; just because the burns are not fatal now, that doesn't mean they never will be."

Hinode pouted; Shisui didn't like to lecture his sister, but if she was so reckless and incautious at home, then what did that say about her actions during a mission? Shisui couldn't help but worry.

"You're such a grownup, Shisui," Hinode's pout didn't last long as she reached over her hand and ruffled Shisui's hair. "Come to think of it, don't you have to go to school?"

It was Shisui's turn to be tense. "Um… actually, I am skipping to the fourth grade, so I won't be going back to school until the next term…"

Hinode's eyes widened at Shisui, but quickly switched to an excited grin. Shisui didn't have the time to say no before Hinode wrapped her arms around his neck. That wasn't true; he could have easily body-flickered away from her, but he didn't want to. Even if her strength knocked the wind out of him, he enjoyed Hinode's embrace.

"Shisui! That's amazing! I'm so proud of you!"

Shisui's cheeks burned.

"But what about your friends from the same class?" Hinode asked. The question was, of course, without any negative intention, but Shisui's eyes darkened for just a second.

"Well, the truth is…" Shisui casted his eyes down. "I don't really have many friends in the same grade."

The look on Hinode's face was clear disbelief. Shisui was always smiling and enthusiastic about school. No one would think that he didn't have a lot of friends.

"I get it," Hinode said after a long pause. "Shisui, you're too talented and intelligent for your age. It's only natural that you can't relate to the other kids in your grade. It's neither your fault or theirs."

Shisui was surprised that Hinode accepted the news so easily and didn't make a big deal out of it.

"But don't underestimate them now," Hinode gave Shisui a toothy grin. "Some of them might get even stronger than you in a few years and save your life! Your big sister was at the bottom of the roster, and now she's the star of her team!"

Shisui knew that Hinode was joking towards the end of that speech and he returned a grin. However, he doubted that she was ever at the bottom of any roster. And if he ever met anyone who was a little bit like Hinode, he was sure that they would be best friends.

As lazy as Hinode liked to be, she couldn't seem to sit still on her days off. Even when her mother Byakue was still around, Hinode was always busy with school and house chores. And now, she was busy with training and house chores. With her father forbidding her from training, Hinode suddenly had a big chunk of free time.

After Shisui went off to do his own training, Hinode wandered about the house. It was impeccably clean because Hinode had a daily cleaning schedule by now. Then she looked up at the clock; it was early afternoon.

She could bring a tasty snack for her mother.

Heading for the kitchen, Hinode walked past Lady Kamome, who was sprawled out on the couch, leisurely sewing something in her lap.

"What do we even pay you for?" Hinode narrowed her eyes at the old woman.

"Babysitting," said Lady Kamome matter-of-factly.

"There aren't any babies here."

"You're all babies in this old lady's eyes," Lady Kamome laughed at her own joke. "Don't worry, the agreement between your father and I was that I'd watch you kids while he was away on missions until Shisui becomes a Genin. So far no one has died under my 'watch' so I've done my job!"

Hinode rolled her eyes. "I'll never understand why father trusts you enough to have you here."

"You'll understand soon, little brat," Lady Kamome smiled a wrinkly smile. "After a certain amount of trauma, some people close themselves off, and they open up to very few..."

"...You're weird today," Hinode squinted her eyes in scrutiny. As Lady Kamome responded only with laughter, Hinode merely shook her head and went inside the kitchen.

Hinode filled a basket of sugar cookies she'd baked the night before and left for the cemetery. With the ever-growing number of deaths due to the war, the Hokage had a memorial stone placed in the middle of the cemetery with the names of the deceased engraved on it. The unspoken truth about the memorial was that it was largely made for those whose bodies were not recovered from the battlefield.

In a way, Hinode was glad that her mother still had her own grave among those who fought for the village.

The cemetery itself was often vacant of visitors, so Hinode noticed immediately when another person was in the cemetery before her. Hinode stilled her steps as soon as she laid eyes on the boy with silver hair, crouching in front of his father's grave as he cleaned his tombstone. She didn't need to say anything for him to notice her presence. As he turned his head, his eyes widened slightly in surprise, but quickly shrunk back. Then, he looked at the basket in Hinode's hands.

"So you're the one who's been leaving sweets here," Kakashi said a little awkwardly.

Hinode felt her cheeks warm up as if she was caught red-handed, though she shouldn't have anything to feel embarrassed about. "I thought that someone ought to. I didn't think anyone visited him much after… you know…"

An uncomfortable silence filled the space between them as Hinode's voice faded into the afternoon breeze. Hinode realized that she hadn't seen him at all since they were attacked by Dogen in Earth Country. Then she remembered the fight between him and Obito in the hospital; she wondered if they went on any missions since then.

"Are you and—" "Are your wounds—"

They opened and closed their mouths at the same time. Another bout of silence passed as they looked at each other. It was then when Hinode realized that Kakashi may be just as self-conscious as she was.

"I'm as good as ever," Hinode decided to start by answering what she assumed Kakashi was going to ask her. However, that answer did not lighten the mood like she expected it to.

Kakashi casted his eyes down to Hinode's left side, where he'd struck her with his Chidori. Even though he knew that Hinode didn't think it was his intention to nearly kill her, he couldn't help but hear Obito's voice in his head.

"You let this happen to her!"

He knew that he made the right decision at that time, but it still left a bad feeling in his chest. He wondered how his father felt the moment he decided to abandon his mission. Perhaps it wasn't guilt that drove his father to end his own life, because Kakashi did the right thing and still felt that guilt.

"Why is everyone so upset even though that mission was successful?" Hinode let out an audible sigh as Kakashi was clearly going through some inner turmoil. "No one died, except for that bastard Dogen!"

"You almost did," said Kakashi, almost remorsefully.

"...You're weird today," Hinode narrowed her eyes at Kakashi, who was the one who lectured her that emotions were unnecessary for ninjas. "Look, you saw with your own eyes that my wounds from your jutsu healed completely before Dogen turned on us, so that had nothing to do with whatever injuries I sustained after."

"But…"

"Just admit that I outdid you this mission and get over it!" Hinode jested with a smirk, "If you keep sulking, I'm gonna have to report you to the Hokage as a Kakashi imposter!"

Kakashi's eyes opened in wonder. He wasn't sure if she was just very simple-minded or highly intelligent. Why was everything so simple for her? He could have killed her, and Dogen could have killed her, but it was fine because everyone was fine.

"I don't care about the village or the shinobi code. I don't care if that makes me a shitty ninja."

And Kakashi remembered, Hinode had always been quite self-righteous since they were kids. So much so that they've had physical fights just because she didn't like the things he said. Perhaps that was just Hinode living by her own rules, which, technically, made for a terrible shinobi. And yet, she indeed outdid him on the mission.

"If you outdid me on this mission," Kakashi said, finally, in a much lighter tone, "then how come I'm the one who got promoted to Jonin?"

"What?!" Hinode bristled. "How dare you reap the rewards from my sweat and blood!"

"I'd say it was a joint effort of all three teams," Kakashi continued to tease.

"Well, it doesn't feel right because I was the only one who had to be hospitalized," Hinode pouted. Though it sounded like complaining, Hinode didn't really mind at all that Kakashi got promoted to Jonin. He fought so hard during the mission that he ran out of chakra. The fact that he was starting to make jokes was a good sign to her.

"How about some dango, then?"

"Huh?" Hinode blinked.

"I'll let you reap some of my rewards," Kakashi presented his overstuffed wallet; the Jonin pay grade was much higher than Genin.

Sparkles filled Hinode's eyes when it clicked that she was going to get some free dango.

"I guess you have some manners after all!" Hinode said.

Kakashi could have sworn this was the first time Hinode smiled at him. It was the slightest smile, barely visible, compared to Obito's big grins.

It was somehow calming.

When Hinode returned to the Uchiha Compound in the evening, she stopped at the street corner between her house and Obito's. Besides nearly emptying Kakashi's wallet at the dango shop, she also learned from him that their team was leaving for another mission next morning. The last time Hinode and Obito talked was at the hospital, and Hinode had a suspicion that the boy had been avoiding her.

Having grown up with Obito, Hinode knew that even though he was mostly an optimistic boy, he was also the type to hold grudges. For some reason, she had upset him at the hospital, and so he was giving him the silent treatment. It was not the first time Hinode received such treatment from Obito, and it was not the first time Hinode had to talk it out with him.

As it turned out, it became tougher to talk things out with Obito as they grew older. After all, they weren't as naive as they were when they were five.

Hinode exhaled deeply as she made a turn for Obito's house. She'd better talk with him before he left for the next mission, and finally put an end to all the mess that came out of the last mission.

"What are you doing here?"

Obito's face darkened when he opened the door. Hinode stepped into his foyer nonchalantly, ignoring Obito's obvious attempt to show his displeasure about her visit.

"Did you eat dinner yet?" Hinode asked as she walked into the living room, already peering at the empty instant cup noodle in the trash can.

"What's it to you?" Obito huffed.

"I figured you wouldn't eat vegetables," said Hinode as she tossed a sweet potato at him. "Here, some nutrients."

"This is not even… nevermind! I don't want to talk to you!" Obito threw the sweet potato back at her.

"Why is that?" Hinode asked without skipping a beat.

"Because I'm mad at you!"

"For what?"

"Because—" Obito halted. "Wait, don't try to trick me!"

Hinode let out a sigh. "Is it still about Kakashi…?"

"I said I'm mad at you!" Obito bristled. "I know that it's not Kakashi's fault that you were hurt; I'm not stupid! I just don't like him still!"

"What did I do?" Hinode raised an eyebrow.

"The same thing you always do!" Obito pointed his finger at her nose. "You always put yourself in danger for other people and you act like it's nothing when you get hurt! Since that time in the mountains with Yakko until now! Have you considered how other people who care about you might feel about that?"

Hinode stared at Obito with her mouth agape. Of all things she considered that he might be mad about, she didn't think it was that.

"Well, you know that my wounds heal fast…"

"What if one day the healing doesn't catch up?" Obito asked hotly. "And I know that's just an excuse, Hinode, I know you. I know that if that one day comes, you'd let yourself die before you let something happen to someone else!

"And the worst about all of this is that I was there and I couldn't do anything! Kakashi doesn't know that about you but I do. But you all just decided that I was to escape before I could react.

"And what could I have done if I was there? You got your Sharingan and still couldn't defeat that guy. What could I do without Sharingan?"

Eyes widening with each word that came out of Obito's mouth, Hinode didn't know that Obito had been thinking about so much. Obito's face was red after all that yelling. As he caught his breath, his clenched fists loosened slightly.

"I'm sorry I acted on my own," Hinode looked directly into Obito's eyes. "At that moment all I could think about was that Kakashi didn't have enough chakra to fight, you'd be targeted because you had the scroll, and I had to make sure Yakko was okay…

"And if it makes you feel better, I think the Sharingan was the reason I got stabbed in the back, so it's not exactly a great thing."

Obito deflated a little at Hinode's words. He really wasn't mad at Hinode for thinking of her friends. In fact, it was probably admirable that she did.

But this was Hinode, not just his cousin, but his first friend in the world.

Obito averted his eyes.

"How can I become Hokage if I can't protect anyone?"

Hinode did not answer right away. It didn't sound like a question for her.

Obito was right about her. If it ever came down to Obito's, Shisui's, Yakko's, or Kakashi's lives, she wouldn't hesitate to protect them with her life. Was she taking her promises to Grandma Mio, Sakumo, and her mom too far? Maybe. But that wasn't all.

When her mother died, Hinode's dream died with her. And somewhere in her heart, she knew that she wouldn't have been able to get over her mother's death if it weren't for these people.

Yakko gave her love and care like no one else.

Shisui gave her a future to hold on to.

Kakashi was the only person who knew her secret.

And Obito, well, Obito was always there.

In a way, maybe they took more care of her than she did of them.

"You protected Kakashi by escaping," Hinode patted Obito's shoulder. "And you protected the Daimyo."

Obito's face scrunched up with repulsion. "Of all people, those two are the ones I least want to protect."

"I don't think a Hokage can be picky about that."

"I guess you're right," Obito sighed.

"Obito," Hinode said softly. "Thank you."

Obito's shoulders stiffened. The boy narrowed his eyes at his cousin. He'd already forgotten that he was mad at her.

"You're weird today."

To be continued.

Notes:

I'm back, guys! So sorry for the late update! This chapter was so hard to write I don't know why. I'm usually comfortable writing dialogues but I was stuck at several points this time. I guess I'm just more in an action-y mood lately? Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter! We're counting down to the end of part 2!

Chapter 19: Curse of the Sugar Fish

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After a week off from work, Hinode had rejoined her team for missions. On this scorching hot day, Team Akimichi was hired to pull overgrown weeds from the large front yard and playground of the Konoha Orphanage.

Going back to a D rank mission from completing an S rank mission was a bit lacking in excitement for Guy and Genma. It was such an easy mission that Choza didn't even need to be present. In contrast to Guy and Genma, Hinode was fine with this type of work. She was used to this type of maintenance work in her own backyard anyway.

"Ahh! I'm so bored!" Genma wailed as he threw his sack of hand-pulled weeds and his bum to the ground. "Couldn't they have assigned this to another Genin team?"

"There probably aren't any new teams since graduation is not for another week," Hinode said while masterfully pulling the weeds from their roots. Genma had wanted to cut them with a kunai, but Hinode said that they would grow back right away.

"This could have gone to Izumo and Kotetsu," Genma continued to whine. "What kind of Chunin am I to be assigned a D rank mission?"

"This isn't so bad, Genma!" Guy's voice called out from inside the orphanage building.

"How about you get out of the shade and give us a hand?" Genma shouted.

Guy seemed to be popular with the kids at the orphanage. They were deeply intrigued by Guy's eyebrows and all wanted to touch them. Eventually, they started to climb on his shoulders and hang on his arms as he ran around. It was apparent that Guy was having fun himself.

"Look, Hinode! This could be great physical training if we came here everyday!" Guy called out to Hinode as he rapidly did push-ups with three toddlers on his back.

Hinode looked over at Guy and frowned. "That's dangerous, Guy."

A tug at the back of her shirt made Hinode turn around. A little girl with round cheeks and eyes looked up at Hinode with hopeful eyes. She looked around Shisui's age, maybe a little younger.

"Kinako wants to ride too," the girl mumbled nervously while shuffling her feet.

Sometimes Hinode forgot how normal kids acted because Shisui was such an extraordinarily smart child. She couldn't remember if Shisui ever went through that stage of referring to himself in the third person. Feeling strangely proud of Shisui, a faint smile surfaced on Hinode's face. Watching from a distance, Genma's face deadpanned, sensing the superiority in Hinode's smile.

"I'm busy working right now," Hinode said to the little girl. "Just go wait for your turn."

Dejection filled Kinako's eyes and quickly materialized into tears. Before Hinode could say anything, Kinako started to bawl.

"They never let Kinako have her turn!"

The volume of Kinako's crying was nothing like the volume of her mumbling earlier. Hinode felt like she was being shaken by some kind of sound jutsu. Of course, the crying drew attention from everyone in the orphanage. The housemother, more daunting than matronly, poked her head out of her office window with deep creases between her brows. Hinode looked between Guy and Genma for help as the housemother made her way out of her office, but the two of them only watched.

Hinode turned back to Kinako; she needed to make her stop crying before the housemother came out, or else the housemother would definitely tell Choza about this. However, for the first time in a long time, Hinode was frazzled. She'd never had experience with this kind of situation; Shisui never threw tantrums like this.

"Kinako? What's wrong?"

A familiar voice sounded from the front gate of the orphanage. When Hinode looked up, the owner of the voice was already standing behind Kinako. It was Yakko, holding a basket of fruits. To Hinode, Yakko was like an angel who'd descended from the heavens to save her.

"Yakko-nee!" Kinako cried into Yakko's shirt. "Kinako wants bouncy ride too!"

"Kinako-chan, didn't you promise me that you'd speak up if you wanted to play with the other kids?" Yakko said gently and patted Kinako on her back. "They won't know if you don't tell them."

"But… but Kinako gets nervous…"

"You can do it, Kinako-chan," Yakko smiled at the girl. "Now, go on."

Kinako's sobbing ceased slowly as she wiped away her tears with her sleeve. With a big nod, she ran back inside to join the other kids. She said something that Hinode couldn't hear, but the kids on Guy's back got off and let Kinako on. A couple of other girls joined her as well.

Hinode turned back to Yakko with awe. If she remembered correctly, Yakko was just as shy when they'd first met. Now Yakko was no longer stuttering, and even encouraging the little kid.

"Are you here on a mission, Hinode?" Yakko asked after seeing Kinako had started to play.

"Um, yeah," Hinode said sheepishly. "What are you doing here, Yakko?"

"I come back here once in a while and bring them some fruits or dessert," Yakko lifted the basket in her hand. "At first it was just to thank Mother Nanae for taking care of me, but now I'm a little attached to the kids."

Hinode had completely forgotten that Yakko had stayed in the orphanage before she started going to Ninja Academy. The orphanage had allowed her to move back to the old house that her parents left her. Thinking about it now, Yakko was still living in that house alone.

"So what happened with your team?" Hinode asked with concern.

"Izumo and Kotetsu are being reassigned under a Jonin. Lord Third said that I can join them too if I wanted to, since I am still a new Chunin," Yakko's cheeks turned a soft pink. "Then… Lord Danzo asked me if I wanted to be his disciple. Lord Danzo said… that I have talent, and that under his training I would qualify for ANBU in no time."

"That's great, Yakko!" Hinode grabbed both of Yakko's shoulders out of excitement, and Yakko's face turned pinker. "But… do you want to join ANBU?"

Hinode didn't know very much about ANBU. There were almost zero ANBU veterans in the Uchiha clan, and the Ninja Academy didn't teach them a lot about ANBU. She did know that you had to be highly skilled to join, and that once the ANBU mask was on, you let go of your individual identity.

"I… I don't know," Yakko looked down and muttered. "I'm just grateful that Lord Danzo saw something in me."

"You should go for it, then!" Hinode smiled at Yakko. "Whether you join ANBU or not, I'm sure you'll learn a lot from Lord Danzo."

Yakko stared at Hinode's smile for a while, and broke into a smile of her own. "I will. Thank you, Hinode."

With a squeeze at Yakko's shoulders, Hinode let go. Yakko made her way toward the orphanage building, and several of the children shouted her name. Genma seemed as if he wanted to do the same, but he acted cool besides the kids. That was until Yakko greeted him, then his voice cracked as he greeted her back. Relieved about Yakko's situation, Hinode went back to pulling the weeds.

The team finished their mission in the late afternoon. The three of them stood at the front gate as the housemother handed them a letter. Mother Nanae requested that the letter be delivered to Akimichi Choza by the end of the day, and she gave Hinode a sharp look that made Hinode flinch.

Great, Choza-sensei will probably scold me for making a kid cry.

As Hinode sighed to herself, Kinako ran to the front gate and pulled on Hinode's shirt.

"Ninja-san!" she looked up at Hinode with her big round eyes. It was as if she never even cried today. "Kinako is sorry for crying! If you get in trouble, tell them it was Kinako's fault!"

Hinode blinked at the little girl. Now, she was amused. The kid might not be as smart and mature as Shisui, but she wasn't so bad either.

Kneeling down to Kinako's level, Hinode reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of strawberry flavored candy, and placed it in Kinako's hand.

"Next time, I'll give you a piggyback ride, okay?"

The smell of charcoal invaded Hinode's nose when she got home in the evening. The scene she came across in the kitchen was something she'd never thought she'd see. Hidenobu was crouching over a small grill, fanning the burning charcoal as Lady Kamome commanded him to turn over the fish on the grill. Shisui was scooping freshly cooked rice into bowls and setting up the dinner table. Hinode had half a mind to activate her Sharingan in case she was under some kind of Genjutsu.

"Welcome home, Nee-san!" Shisui, being the first one to notice Hinode, greeted her with a big grin.

"Um… what's the occasion?" Hinode stepped closer to the dining table cautiously, still looking around for abnormalities in the room.

"Occasion?" Shisui tilted his head questioningly. "Father had a day off, and I don't go back to school for another week, so naturally we took over dinner."

Hinode wasn't sure which was more terrifying: seeing the apron on her father when he stood up, or the oven mitts he wore to carry the rack of grilled fish to the table. Not once in her life had Hinode seen her father cook anything. Hinode stiffly sat down on a chair at the table, and the rest of them joined her. It was a little strange; the four of them rarely ate dinner together like this.

The fish's eye seemed to stare back at her as she scrutinized it. Nothing seemed wrong with the fish; in fact, it smelled rather good. Hinode picked up her chopsticks and broke off a small piece of the fish and held it to her lips. With her heart pounding heavily, she put the fish in her mouth.

"BLAGH! This is disgusting!" Lady Kamome spat out the fish and gagged loudly.

Hinode was startled by Lady Kamome's dramatic reaction. She thought it was actually quite delicious. Looking over toward Hidenobu, he was frozen completely with his chopsticks in his mouth and face darkened.

"Father…" Shisui groaned after forcing the fish down his throat. "Did you use sugar instead of salt on this?"

By the way Hidenobu twitched at Shisui's question, they all knew the answer.

"Hidenobu, you moron!" Lady Kamome smacked Hidenobu over the head with her cane.

"I must have read the label wrong…" Hidenobu muttered and reached for everyone's plates. "I'll just throw these away."

"Wait," Hinode stopped her father. "I'll eat them all!"

The others sitting at the dinner table turned green at the thought of Hinode eating four sugar-grilled fish. But Hinode didn't mind; she liked that everyone was together at the dinner table, even Lady Kamome. She was sure that if Byakue was watching this from above, she would be giggling with delight.

Dinner carried on with Shisui and Hinode chatting about Ninja Academy and missions, Lady Kamome offering snide remarks, and Hidenobu quietly listening. Everything was well, until a commotion was heard from outside. Each of their heads turned toward the window.

Hidenobu was the first to get up and step to the window. The glow of lanterns could be seen in the direction of the compound's entrance. Several other clansmen were making their ways down the road to see what had happened.

"Maybe you should go see what's going on there," Lady Kamome suggested to Hidenobu with a rare seriousness.

Hidenobu agreed with a nod and made for the door. Hinode and Shisui looked at each other and nodded as well. Curious to what could be going on at this time of night, the two of them followed their father out the door.

The closer they got to the crowd, the more apparent that the voices of the clansmen gathered at the gates were angry. Suddenly, Hinode felt nervous. The Uchihas were skilled ninjas; it could not possibly be pleasant to be in the face of their anger. However, the crowd was too big for Hinode to see past them.

"You have some nerve bringing him here!"

"This is not a matter of apologies!"

"He's disrespecting the entire Uchiha clan just by having that Sharingan!"

Questions raced inside Hinode's head. Who was there at the gate? What were they angry about? Who had the Sharingan?

"What seems to be the problem?" Hidenobu raised his voice over the crowd. The clansmen turned and saw that it was Hidenobu, and promptly stepped back to make way for him. Hinode and Shisui stuck close behind Hidenobu so that they could get through as well.

As soon as Hinode saw past the crowd, she held in a sharp breath. Minato and Kakashi stood just past the gates with such grave expressions that one would think that they'd murdered a member of the Uchiha clan. Hinode's heart pounded as her eyes scanned the surroundings.

Where's Obito?

The voices around her became muffled as she could only hear the beating of her heart. Then, she met Kakashi's eyes.

It wasn't the scar across Kakashi's left eye that spoke to Hinode. It was the despair that took over his eyes when he saw her standing there. That left eye was Obito's; Hinode understood immediately, but she waited for someone to tell her otherwise.

At that moment, the two of them only saw each other.

"Uchiha Obito died during his last mission," a clansman explained to Hidenobu. "His Sharingan was transplanted into this boy's eye. We think that it's only right for the boy to return the Sharingan where it belongs—within the Uchiha clan!"

Obito… dead…

"We're deeply sorry for the death of Obito, but we're also grieving for the loss of a great teammate who'd put the lives of his friends before his," Minato said, looking at Hidenobu in the eyes, then at Hinode. "It was Obito's dying wish to give his eye to Kakashi."

"The boy was too young to know better!" a clansman shouted at Minato angrily. "A Sharingan used by an outsider is just outrageous! What if he used it for despicable things!"

"The village would surely turn all faults on our clan again!"

"As Kakashi's teacher, I can vouch for him," Minato placed a hand over his chest firmly.

"Your vouching means nothing to us!"

"You agree, don't you, Fugaku-san?"

Hidenobu looked over to the clan's leader; Fugaku was quiet and contemplative. With the clansmen's growing fury, Fugaku might just agree to taking back the Sharingan from Kakashi. Beside him, Hidenobu could feel Hinode's trembling body and erratic breathing.

"As Obito's fellow clansmen, we should respect his wishes," Hidenobu stepped forward and addressed the rest of the clan. "The boy might have been young, but he's a shinobi like any of us."

The faces of the Uchiha clansmen twisted even more in anger.

"Of course you'd be on their side, Hidenobu!"

"Your loyalty toward the clan is questionable!"

"Uchiha Obito had spent the majority of his childhood under my roof," Hidenobu continued sharply, glancing at each of the clansmen who spoke out against him with an ice cold glare. "If anyone should have more say in this matter, it should be me."

"If you dwell inside the Uchiha Compound, you must be loyal to the Uchiha clan!"

"We've put up with your antics long enough!"

"Just because you live here doesn't make you or your half blood kids more of a Uchiha!"

"Hmph, some elite Uchiha you all are," Hidenobu's voice dropped to zero degrees. "You should know better than to run your mouth before knowing someone else's strength."

A few of the clansmen standing near Hidenobu backed away. The red hue of Hidenobu's Mangekyo Sharingan shone dangerously in the night. His strength was not unknown to his fellow clansmen, but for him to stand opposed to them while outnumbered was surprising even to Shisui.

"That's enough!" Fugaku finally stepped in. "I agree with you, Hidenobu. We should respect Obito's wish."

"But—"

"I've made my decision," Fugaku said firmly.

Unable to speak against the clan head, the others reluctantly dropped the matter and scattered away. Some even glared at Hidenobu before leaving.

Soon it was only Minato, Kakashi, Hidenori and his two children left at the entrance of the compound. Hinode's eyes were still locked with Kakashi's, but it was clear that she was no longer looking at him.

Obito is dead...

"Father…" Shisui looked up at Hidenobu; the man's eyes were back to normal.

Hidenobu looked down at Shisui and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Before you are a Uchiha, you are first and foremost a shinobi. Remember that."

Shisui nodded.

"Thank you for doing that," Minato said to Hidenobu. Then, he tried to make Kakashi do the same. However, it was as if Kakashi couldn't hear him.

Kakashi was searching for something in Hinode's eyes.

Say something...

"No need for him to thank me," said Hidenobu. "I did it for Obito and my daughter."

Obito is dead…

Hidenobu lowered down and picked up Hinode's hand in his. Nodding a goodbye at Minato, Hidenobu turned back toward his house, pulling Hinode with him.

The tears welled up in Hinode's eyes finally rolled down her cheeks with the tug of Hidenobu's hand. She never thought this day would come. At least not until they were ninety-nine years old. She didn't want to believe it. Not unless she saw with her own eyes.

She looked back again at Kakashi's left eye. And even through vision blurred by tears, she could tell that it was Obito's.

Obito is dead.

With her father's pull, Hinode finally turned away from Kakashi. Not even knowing how she was still standing, she let her father lead her home.

"Obito… not you…"

Kakashi heard Hinode whimper as she walked away with her feet dragging. They were only three words, but they ripped his heart open. He felt as if he was going to fall right into the ground, if not for Minato holding his shoulder.

Vaguely, he heard Minato saying something about leaving. But all that echoed in his ears was Obito's last words.

"Oh and Hinode… she hates being alone, so be there for her in my place."

To be continued.

Notes:

Omg you guys! I have so much feelings about this chapter (and the next) ...(even though I've been preparing for it since starting the fic) that I'm just not going to say anything and save it for the A/N in the next chapter! I'm so sorry for the few of you who didn't want this to happen, but... it's for the greater good!(?) I hope you guys somehow enjoyed this chapter! See you soon in the next one!

Chapter 20: Curse of the Sharingan

Notes:

Omg! Two updates in one week?! Haha, I was actually writing this one simultaneously with the previous one, because I didn't want to leave you all hanging with the ending of the last chapter. So without further ado, here's the end of Part 2!

Chapter Text

At two years of age, Hinode's whole life was her mother and father. There wasn't much else in her day to day, but she didn't need anything else. Hinode was happy as long as she got to listen to her mother tell her old stories and watch her father train in the backyard.

She'd thought that that was going to be her whole life, and she was fine with it. Until one night, a messenger hawk delivered a letter that Hinode would resent forever.

"It's Sabimaru," Hinode heard her father say to her mother in the kitchen that night. "He's in trouble. It seems that he's hiding in the Hidden Mist… his companions were killed by Mist shinobi."

"We have to go help him!" Her mother said in a tone she'd never heard before.

"But Hinode…"

"You go ahead first… Tonight! I'll ask Grandma Mio to watch Hinode then catch up to you."

"... All right."

Hidenobu left in a hurry that night. It didn't bother Hinode all that much because he was often very busy. She knew how great of a ninja her father was.

But she didn't expect her mother to leave too.

"Hinode! Say hi to your cousin, Obito!"

Byakue had taken Hinode to a house down the road the morning after Hidenobu left. Hinode had not been to many places besides the market with her mother and occasionally the clan head's residence. So this meeting with strangers unnerved her a little.

The house they stood in front of was small and old, but not as old as the wrinkly woman who stood in front of Hinode.

"Obito, don't be shy. This is your cousin, Hinode!"

A spiky head of black hair poked out from behind Grandma Mio's legs. It was a boy around her age. He looked like her, like many others in the clan, but his eyes were different. They were more pure and curious than the glares she received while walking around the compound with her mother.

The boy soon revealed a toothy grin, though he was missing one front tooth.

Hinode cowered behind her mother in fright.

"Don't be scared, Hinode!" Byakue giggled at Hinode's reaction. "A smile means you're friends!"

Half convinced, Hinode tried to bare her teeth as well, but she still looked more terrified than happy.

Byakue left Hinode at Grandma Mio's that morning. Hinode asked the old lady where Byakue had gone, but the old lady only said that Byakue was off to work. Hinode was young, but she still found it weird. Mother never went to work before.

Throughout the day, her new cousin showed her around his little house and all of his little treasures. Some second hand toys he got from the neighbors, a hidden stash of candies that Grandma Mio occasionally gave him, some magazine clippings of cool ninja gadgets, and a pair of goggles that belonged to his father.

"Where are your parents?" Hinode had asked.

"I don't have any," said Obito.

"Then how do you know that these belonged to your father?"

Obito pondered that question all afternoon, until Grandma Mio called them for dinner.

Grandma Mio was a great cook, almost as good as Byakue. She'd cooked a feast to welcome Hinode to her home. Obito was delighted by all the food on the table. If his eyes could eat, all the food would be gone in seconds. Alas, he had to resort to chewing and swallowing.

"Hinode, why aren't you eating?" Grandma Mio asked when she noticed that Hinode had not even picked up her chopsticks.

"I'm waiting for mother and father," said Hinode, eyes staring at the rising steam from the bowl of rice in front of her.

A troubled frown creased between Grandma Mio's brows.

"Hinode, your parents will be gone for a few days," the old lady said gently. "You should eat so that they don't worry about you."

However, Hinode refused to eat all the way until bedtime. While Obito snored in the futon next to her, Hinode snuck out through Obito's bedroom window, and she ran all the way home.

The front door to the house was locked, but that didn't discourage Hinode. Running to the side of the house, she climbed the tree that reached her second-floor bedroom window. She never locked her own window in case her father's messenger hawk flew in during the night. Luckily, it was still unlocked that night. Hinode slid the window open and jumped into her bedroom.

The entire house was dark, even her parents' room, where Byakue often stayed up late at night. Hinode pushed open the door to her parents' room; she did not hear the soft breathing she'd expected to hear. She then ran downstairs and looked into the kitchen and living room, but no one could be found.

As her brows and lips scrunched up, Hinode curled up into a ball in the foyer with her hands over her ears. She didn't like the quietness in the house. It was never this quiet before.

"Mother… Father…" a sob escaped through Hinode's lips and faded into the silence of her home. It was the first time that no one answered when she called for them.

"There you are!"

A pat on the shoulder made Hinode's head spring up. It was Obito, the cousin she'd just met. He was still in his pajamas, and his hair was uncombed and messy, but he seemed to be wide awake.

"I woke up from the cold because you left the window open," said Obito as he knelt to Hinode's eye level. "And you left the window open here too. Grandma said you should always close the window at night!"

Hinode blinked at Obito with confusion, and a teardrop squeezed through the corner of her eye.

"Are you scared? I promise there's no monster in my room! I check the closet and the attic every night!" Obito said upon seeing Hinode's tears.

"Monsters don't exist," Hinode wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"Then why are you crying?"

Hinode didn't know what to tell him. She didn't realize until she was a little older that what she was afraid of was the silence. But at that time, her stomach answered Obito for her with a long and loud growl.

Obito looked at her stomach, which Hinode immediately covered with her arms.

"That'll teach you to eat dinner properly!" Obito laughed at Hinode's reddening face. Nonetheless, he reached into the pocket of his pajama pants and took something out. "Here!"

A slightly flattened strawberry flavored candy sat in Obito's open palm. Hinode didn't hesitate to take the candy, and she didn't notice him wince a little when she popped it into her mouth. The sweetness temporarily distracted her from her earlier discomfort.

"I was saving that for another day…" Obito mumbled, but still smiled at Hinode afterwards. "But it's okay, since we're friends!"

Hidenobu and Byakue returned home two days after that night. Since Byakue's spontaneous collaboration with Hidenobu, the village assumed that Byakue was returning to the workforce and began to request her participation in missions. seeing that Hinode was fine, Byakue agreed to go back to work. Hinode didn't like the fact that Byakue was no longer home all the time, but at least she had a friend to play with.

It didn't take long for Hinode to finish off Obito's stash of candy. Hinode would have felt bad about it, but Obito always smiled at her when she took his candy.

"It's okay, because we're friends!"

In a way, giving away his Sharingan—something he'd coveted for so long—as a gift to Kakashi sounded exactly like something Obito would do. Rin had told Hinode on the day of Obito's funeral everything that had happened during their mission to destroy the Kanabi Bridge. Though by the time that she got to Obito's last words, she was sobbing so much that her speech was unintelligible. Still, it was easy for Hinode to guess—Take care of his beloved Rin.

Hinode believed that her father made exactly the right call telling the clansmen to respect Obito's wishes. What kind of unsightly scene would it have been if the Uchihas gouged out a twelve-year-old's left eye just to get back their clan's precious Sharingan? Jokes aside, the whole fiasco that happened inside the Uchiha Compound on the previous night was the reason that none of the clansmen showed up at Obito's funeral. So much for clan loyalty.

Frankly, Hinode could care less about the conflicts within the clan. As she stood in front of the memorial stone inside the Konoha Cemetery, staring at the engraved name of Uchiha Obito, all she could think about was that Obito's body was just rotting away somewhere out there in the Earth Country.

Obito loved the village, Hinode knew that well. So much that he gave his life for it. And yet, all the village could do was putting his name on a slab of stone.

"Nee-san, the sun is about to set," Shisui patted Hinode's arm gently. "Maybe you should get some rest."

Hinode had been hearing that last sentence all day. She'd heard it from Genma and Guy, from Yakko, from Asuma and Kurenai, and even from Rin, who also lost a dear friend and teammate. They'd all cried during the funeral, but Hinode was too distracted by her thoughts to cry. Memories with Obito surfaced inside her head throughout the day as she stood in front of his name without moving a muscle. Her friends worried for her, but she couldn't even notice them.

"When I become Hokage, I will make sure you live a carefree life!"

"Please take care of Obito when I'm not around."

"I promise, when I become Hokage, I'll protect the entire village. You won't lose Shisui or anyone you care about ever again."

"How can I become Hokage if I can't protect anyone?"

"I'm sorry, Grandma Mio…" Hinode's fists tightened. "I couldn't keep my promise."

Hinode turned around and came face to face with her friends' concerned looks. Rin was still crying, and she cried harder when she looked at Hinode's dark eyes.

"Rin," Hinode's voice came out low and hoarse, "Tell me where Obito is."

Rin's eyes widened at Hinode's words with surprise. Shisui, on the other hand, immediately discerned the meaning behind Hinode's request. She was going to look for Obito's body and bring him back.

"Nee-san, don't!" Shisui grabbed Hinode's wrist. "Even though the war is coming to an end, it's still dangerous to go out there!"

"Your brother is right, we're in sensitive times right now," Asuma stepped in between Hinode and Rin. "We understand how much you're hurting, but if you leave the village now and get into an altercation with another village's shinobi… that could be very bad for Konoha."

Hinode said nothing to Asuma, but her cold glare was enough for him to stop talking. She looked past Asuma and met Rin's eyes. The latter quickly averted her gaze to the ground as if she was scared.

"I'll find him on my own," Hinode said and turned to Yakko. "Yakko, lend me a body-sealing scroll."

"But, Hinode…" Yakko frowned, also believing that Hinode shouldn't go.

"Please, Yakko," Hinode whispered shakily.

"...Okay," Yakko gave in quickly. "But I'll go with you!"

"Yakko, you don't have to—"

"We're going with you too!" Guy said loudly, dragging Genma with him. Genma looked between Yakko and Hinode, and sighed in defeat.

"Yeah, we're teammates, after all."

Hinode knew that she couldn't keep them from following her, so she gave her nonverbal consent. Shisui was still very much against Hinode running off to look for Obito's body, but as Hinode looked into his eyes and asked him to keep it a secret from their father, he couldn't say no. After all, Hinode had never asked him for anything.

Not wasting any time, Hinode ran toward the cemetery exit with Genma and Guy trailing behind. As Yakko gave Rin one last hug before she left, Shisui went up to her.

"Please keep my sister safe," Shisui pleaded with worry still written all over his face. "She's strong, but don't let her do anything reckless."

Yakko patted Shisui softly on the head and said, "You know I won't let anything happen to her. I swear on my life."

The four teens made their way to the front gates of Konoha village. As they approached the gates, Hinode made it clear that their only objective was to retrieve Obito's body. They were to avoid any conflict with shinobi from other hidden villages. With the whole team agreeing, they were ready to cross the gates.

"Stop right there."

The four of them froze in place; Namikaze Minato was standing behind them with a stern expression. When Hinode turned around, he was looking directly at her, as if knowing that she was the one that started the whole thing. Hinode gritted her teeth; either Rin or Asuma had told on them, or Minato knew that she would do this.

"It's not as easy as you think to avoid conflict," said Minato, "And you cannot just create your own mission without orders from Lord Hokage."

Hinode narrowed her eyes at the man. Even if other villagers thought of him as a war hero, she could not help but feel angry.

"And you just decided that your mission was complete with or without Obito?" Hinode snarled. "Some great teacher you are."

"Hinode!" Genma warned the girl. The grief had made her irrational.

"You're right. This will probably be my biggest regret as a teacher for as long as I live," Minato closed his eyes in repentance. "Rin and Kakashi were still in danger at the time, and there was no chance to retrieve Obito's body as the entire cave collapsed on him. Even if you spend days digging him out, I don't think it's best for you to see him.

"Besides, there's someone here who needs you more."

Hinode gave Minato a puzzled look.

"Kakashi is taking Obito's death quite hard," Minato said somewhat pleadingly. "You were so close to Obito, and I think that forgiveness from you would mean a lot to Kakashi."

Hinode's shoulders slumped. She'd been so wrapped up in her own thoughts all day that she never even noticed if Kakashi was there at Obito's funeral. Remembering the look on Kakashi's face last night, he probably thought that she blamed him.

"Come on, Hinode," Guy patted Hinode on the back, seeing that her fire had dissipated. "Let's go back."

Barely managing a nod, Hinode turned back toward the village.

Perhaps she should go and talk to Kakashi. Although, she didn't know why Minato thought that she needed to forgive Kakashi. She never blamed him to begin with.

Standing in front of Kakashi's house, Hinode hesitated with knocking on the door. Honestly she did not know what she'd say to him. Nor was she really in the mood to talk. But for some reason, she had a feeling that she had to come here.

Nervously, she knocked on the door three times. There was no answer for a while, and then she heard faint footsteps.

When Kakashi opened the door, Hinode could tell that he was dreading this just as much as she was. His face was so pale that there was almost no difference in color against his hair. As for his left eye, he kept it closed. Hinode wasn't sure if he kept his left eye closed for her sake or not, but it bothered her. She could feel anger bubbling inside her stomach.

"Open it," she demanded.

"...What?"

"Open your left eye," Hinode repeated shakily. "He wanted to see what the future holds through you, right? Then he'd better have expected to see me."

With a bit of hesitation, Kakashi opened his left eye slowly. Once it was completely open, Hinode's eyes were welling up again. Seeing this, Kakashi racked his brain for something to say, but he was at a loss of words. As tears fell from Hinode's eyes, she took a deep inhale.

"OBITO, YOU COLOSSAL IDIOT!"

Completely caught off guard by Hinode's outburst, Kakashi failed to see her left fist coming. Hinode landed a clean left hook on his cheek bone, and he was knocked back a few feet and down onto the hardwood floors of his house. If the door had been closed, she would have broken it again the same way she did five years ago.

Kakashi groaned and reached for the throbbing pain on his cheek, but before he could, Hinode stood over him and grabbed him by the collar.

"I told you the Sharingan was bad luck! And you go and awaken it anyway!"

Kakashi didn't know what to think or say as Hinode yelled at his face at the top of her lungs, all the while spilling tears all over his cheeks.

"Who's going to make sure that I get my carefree life now, you idiot!"

With a choke, Hinode let go of Kakashi's collar and sat back with her arm over her eyes. Kakashi sat up as well and watched quietly as Hinode sobbed. He wasn't sure if he should reach out to her, in case she decided to punch him again. That left hook might have hurt more than when the Iwa-nin slashed his eye.

No words were exchanged between Hinode and Kakashi for at least ten minutes. And finally, Hinode's sobbing subsided.

"...I'm sorry for hitting you," Hinode murmured in a hoarse voice.

"...It's okay," Kakashi finally said after finding his voice. "Compared to all the things I was afraid of hearing you say, I think I preferred this."

Hinode did her best to wipe away the tears in her eyes and the snot coming out of her nose, and Kakashi finally reacted and brought her some tissue from the living room.

"I'm… sorry about Obito," Kakashi finally said. After getting hit by Hinode, his head felt a little bit clearer. "If I hadn't hesitated to go with him to find Rin, he wouldn't have…"

"Stop! Don't blame yourself," Hinode put up a hand to stop Kakashi from talking. "You were made team leader for the first time. Anyone would hesitate in that kind of situation."

You wouldn't, Kakashi thought to himself.

"Besides, if Obito gave you his Sharingan, that means he doesn't hold it against you," said Hinode. "And if he doesn't, then I don't either."

Kakashi gave her a little nod, and the two of them sat in silence again. Within minutes, Hinode started to feel a little awkward and sheepish for her earlier actions. It was much too sappy for her character. At least she knew that Kakashi wasn't the type to go around telling people what she did, though people would probably question the black eye.

"Does it hurt?" Hinode asked. "The bruising looks pretty bad."

"A bit," Kakashi touched the tender skin under his left eye. It hurt a lot. "It will be fine."

"Maybe you should put your forehead protector over it," Hinode suggested. "A Jonin can't be seen walking around town with a black eye or people won't respect you."

Kakashi did not respond to that. It was strange that Hinode suddenly seemed to be over the grieving, but it was probably not so. Maybe she was acting fine so that he wouldn't feel so guilty.

It was an unfamiliar feeling, but he felt grateful.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

Hinode looked at him with a contemplating look. "No, I'm not. Not now at least. I resent being cursed to know when somebody will die, but this is so much worse."

"If… if you need anything…" Kakashi's voice trailed as he shifted his eyes. He didn't know why he felt embarrassed. All he wanted to do was keep his promise to Obito.

Hinode raised an eyebrow at Kakashi's nervous behavior. He used to be such a snooty brat that it was weird to see him act this way. Perhaps all that time spent with Obito softened him a little bit. Obito did have that kind of influence on people. She would know.

And she was thankful that Minato persuaded her to come see Kakashi.

She was thankful that Kakashi kept a little part of Obito alive.

But his nervousness right now was too good not to tease.

"You better be ready to buy a hundred dango after you get paid, Kakashi."

To be continued.

Author's Notes: First of all, happy end of Part 2! I am really thankful for everyone who's reading this story, and I love reading your comments and I don't know if it shows in my replies but I am so so so grateful for them! There were a lot that I wanted to say since the last update, but I really wanted to get this chapter out ASAP so I'm going to blabber a lot here!

1) I'm not sure if anyone caught the little hints I've been putting into the chapters, but Hidenobu is slowly going blind from his MS (with not noticing Hinode's burns and reading salt instead of sugar). And depending on your interpretation, Hidenobu may have used Kotoamatsukami on Fugaku to end the conflict within the Uchiha Compound last chapter. I'd like to think that Hidenobu eventually gives this skill to Shisui, but it won't be written in this story.

2) Since the fic is centered on Hinode, a lot of things happen in the background without Hinode knowing, especially since she's somewhat aloof. So far I've only been showing snippets of background plot through Shisui's POV, and there will be more of those from now on. Maybe even entire chapters in someone else's POV.

3) I've been getting an increasing amount of weary reviews about how closely I am following cannon 😅, and I don't really want to spoil anything, so I'll just say that I'm following pretty closely in the beginning, and you'll see the divergence later on. Though I can't say that very confidently since I still have much to outline for this story.

4) With all that said, I'm very excited to get into Part 3! New relationships will form after the loss of old relationships. And I know that a lot of you are worried about Yakko disappearing, but she has a big role in this fic if you guys can tell by her and Hinode's relationship. Anyway I hope I won't disappoint you all!

Chapter 21: Curse of the Book

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

PART III

A year had passed since Obito's passing. To say that things were starting to look up for Hinode would be a lie. Hinode had thought that time would eventually help her get over Obito's death, and it did to an extent, but things were not the same. Neither was she.

For example, Hinode failed the annual Chunin exam once again. It was apparent to her team and teacher that she did not even take the exam seriously. A year ago, Akimichi Choza would have expressed his disappointment in her, but now, he simply gave her encouragement. He told her that a shinobi's strength and worth was not solely reflected by their rank. And to that, Hinode offered no response, but she quietly accepted.

At the very least, she showed her support for Might Guy, who passed the exam with flying colors. Unlike Hinode, Guy's father's death became a driving force for him. Hinode respected Guy for that, but she wasn't like him. While she still trained with him from time to time, his motivational speeches never got through to her.

Shortly after Guy's promotion to Chunin, and Genma's promotion to Jonin, Team Akimichi had officially disbanded.

For example, Shisui had graduated from Ninja Academy before the end of his second year. A year ago, Hinode would have been extremely proud of him. However, ever since losing Obito while he was away, Hinode feared the same would happen to Shisui, even if the war was over.

The most initiative thing Hinode had done during the year was begging the Hokage to put her in a Genin team with Shisui, which was instantly denied.

On top of that, the Hokage was now Namikaze Minato, whom Hinode was less and less fond of since Obito's death. She still didn't like that he stopped her from looking for Obito's body a year ago, even if it was the logical thing to do.

"Hinode, your skills have far surpassed that of a Genin. Even if you're not officially a Chunin, you don't need to be led by a Jonin teacher."

Was it right for Hinode to think that Minato was intentionally against her? Probably not, but she didn't care. That was why she also rejected his recommendation for her to join ANBU. And that was just out of spite.

"I understand your worry, Hinode, but your brother is already proving himself to be an exceptional shinobi."

That, she knew. Countless people have told her the same thing, but to her, he was still her little brother.

For example, Lady Kamome had retired from her nanny duties since Shisui became a Genin. During their farewell, Shisui was sad but Hinode was overjoyed that they were rid of the lazy old tyrant. Until Lady Kamome gave her her parting gift—a pair of protective, elbow-length gloves sewn with special materials from Iron Country. They were to prevent burns from Hinode's Fire Fist Technique. Hinode would never admit it, but she felt a little bit touched.

"When you grow out of those, you can come find me for new ones in the Iron Country," Lady Kamome said. "Though I hope that by that time your chakra control will be good enough not to get burns at all."

"Don't you want to settle down in Konoha, Granny Kamome?" Shisui asked.

"No, thanks! I only came back to help my old student. You guys don't even know what you're missing out on in the Iron Country! The technology is much more advanced there!"

"But it's so far!" Shisui's shoulders slumped.

Lady Kamome ruffled Shisui's head. That was the most loving gesture she'd made over the years that she lived with Hinode and Shisui.

"We'll see each other again."

"Unlikely," said Hinode. "What are you, 99 years old? I don't think you'll make it all the way to Iron Country."

"Nee-san!"

Lady Kamome chuckled. "I'll miss ya, kid."

One month after Lady Kamome left, Uchiha Hidenobu fell ill. On top of that, his vision got so much worse that he was practically blind. It was a side effect from using his Mangekyo Sharingan, but when Hinode asked about it, Hidenobu said that it was best for her not to know. Hinode didn't push for an answer; she knew that Sharingan was bad luck.

Hidenobu was eventually moved to the hospital when the medicines failed to work as expected. Though the chief medic told Hinode and Shisui not to worry, that was not quite possible. Still, both of them were considered adults in the shinobi world and somehow they were lucky that their father didn't die on the battlefield.

And so, with Hidenobu in the hospital and Shisui now taking on missions, Hinode often went home to an empty house. Whenever this would happen, Hinode would always drag Kakashi to eat dessert. With Kakashi's wages, Hinode could eat the fancier desserts in Konoha like candied caviar or truffled cheesecake. At some point, Hinode suspected that the restaurants in Konoha were taking advantage of her sweet tooth with these bizarre and expensive dessert creations. Oh well, it was not her money.

Unfortunately, since a month ago, Hinode was not able to get a hold of Kakashi as usual.

To say that things were starting to look up for Kakashi over the course of the year would be a lie. Maybe they were for a while, but they were completely overturned when Rin died.

When the news of Rin's death spread, everyone was devastated, even though the details of the incident were hidden from them. What most people knew was that Rin was kidnapped by Mist ninjas and Kakashi was not able to save her while being outnumbered by several Jonin level ninjas. Hinode, however, heard the entire truth from Minato.

Hinode was shocked to hear that Rin was killed by Kakashi's own hand, but after considering the entire story, she couldn't help feeling horrible for Kakashi. Kakashi had finally realized the importance of friendship and comradery, and yet he couldn't protect Rin, even if it was Rin's choice to sacrifice herself for her village.

She wished that she'd known this before Rin's funeral, because that was the last time she saw Kakashi. Since then, Kakashi had joined ANBU and dedicated all of his days and nights to his duties.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Hinode asked Minato angrily.

Standing in front of the Fourth Hokage in his office with arms crossed over her chest, Hinode was often in this standoffish position toward him. She tapped her elbow impatiently; even if she was only fourteen years old, she had no problem giving him an attitude.

"I've been very busy since becoming the Hokage, but I'm still concerned about Kakashi," said Minato with a sigh. "Even Guy noticed something wrong with Kakashi."

"I mean, why did you tell me?" Hinode asked again. "Why not tell others the truth?"

"You know how the truth can be twisted," Minato looked at Hinode seriously. "I don't think that it's good for Kakashi to be exposed to possible gossip and slander."

A fire sparked inside Hinode's stomach when she recalled the day that she ran into Sakumo being yelled at by a former teammate. If the same thing ever happened to Kakashi, Hinode probably wouldn't hesitate to punch the other guy's teeth out.

"I think you're the best person to entrust this information," Minato continued. "Now, knowing all of this, will you finally take my offer and join ANBU? To watch over Kakashi, if anything?"

"No," Hinode flat out refused. "Ask Guy to do it."

Minato sighed and shook his head. "No, Guy is not suited for ANBU."

"I guess that's too bad."

"Hinode, this isn't about me or you or Shisui."

"It's all you, Lord Fourth," Hinode scoffed at the young Hokage, earning a surprised look. "What made you think that having Kakashi join ANBU would help him? How would killing more people after killing Rin help him?"

"I…" Minato was suddenly at a loss for words. "I thought it would be good if Kakashi worked close with me…"

"That's the kind of naïveté that my clan talks about behind your back," Hinode said ruthlessly, making Minato shrink into his desk in misery.

"Hinode…"

"If you've got time to talk to me, then you'd better go read some parenting books so that you don't ruin Kushina-san's baby like you did Kakashi."

Minato's head snapped back up with surprise. "How did you know Kushina's…?"

"She's friends with Uchiha Mikoto and Mikoto-san has been pretty talkative with me lately," Hinode shrugged. "Probably the pregnancy hormones making her crave female companionship, even with a teenage girl."

"Wait a minute," Minato cupped his chin. "I might have an idea…"

"Okay, can I go now?" Hinode asked, but she was already turning away.

"Oh, yes, of course," Minato looked back up at Hinode with a soft smile. "Thank you, Hinode."

Hinode repressed the urge to click her tongue and walked out of the Hokage's office. It wasn't as if Hinode didn't have any concern for Kakashi, but she was sure that joining ANBU wasn't the answer.

Like Guy, Hinode had known Kakashi for ten years now, and anyone in their class could say that Kakashi was different from everyone else. Even before Sakumo's death, Kakashi was already more closed off than others, being a genius and all. By Sakumo's request, Hinode had attempted to reach out to Kakashi, and even though there was some progress, it was understandable for him to revert back to his old self after losing two teammates during the war.

His old self seemed unapproachable and hard to please, but after all these years Hinode realized that he was really just confused with himself. Of course, it didn't help that just when he started to open up, he lost two of his closest friends.

And that was why Hinode didn't like the idea of Kakashi joining ANBU. Putting on a mask and hiding away in the shadows was the perfect escape for Kakashi, but what good could come out of that?

It was early afternoon when Hinode left the Hokage's office. Her stomach growled just as she closed the door behind her, reminding her that she hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch. She was saving her stomach for a special occasion.

Yakko had recently been promoted to Jonin and was slated to join a special division of ANBU under Shimura Danzo in a few days. Hinode couldn't remember the name since there were too many different divisions of ANBU for her to care. But since this was Yakko, Hinode wanted to celebrate with her at the dango shop. Guy had caught wind of this and invited all of their old friends from the same class. Hinode didn't like to be part of a big crowd, but it was the recognition that Yakko deserved, so she didn't stop Guy.

As Hinode arrived at the dango shop, everyone was already there. Genma caught sight of Hinode first and smirked.

"Oh, look! The last Genin of our class is the last to arrive!" he joked.

"And you'll be the first to die if you don't shut your mouth," Hinode rolled her eyes at Genma. She knew that someone would bring it up, and she more or less expected it from Genma. He'd always been more prone to wisecracking within their team.

"You'll be the last one to marry, too, if you don't start acting more ladylike," Genma mumbled a counter and Hinode merely shrugged.

"Hinode!" Yakko's eyes brightened up at Hinode's arrival, and Hinode returned a soft smile as she embraced her friend. She even rubbed her cheek against Yakko's to make Genma jealous as a retaliation.

Yakko's transformation throughout the year was extraordinary. She had grown a lot under Lord Danzo's training. Yakko had grained enough confidence now that she no longer stuttered no matter whom she talked to. And just by hugging her, Hinode could feel that Yakko had become much stronger than she already was a year ago.

There wasn't much that any of them knew about Lord Danzo. When Hinode asked Yakko, the latter didn't say much either. Yakko said that Lord Danzo was a very strict teacher and pushed her really hard to reach her fullest potential not only with combat skills, but also with her Fuinjutsu.

"Congratulations, Yakko!" Hinode gave Yakko a long squeeze, causing the girl to wheeze a little. "Are you sure you want to join ANBU? Why not become a Jonin teacher and take me and Shisui as your student? I don't care who the third one is!"

"You're funny as ever, Hinode!" Yakko giggled when Hinode released her from the hug. "Neither you or Shisui need my guidance! Besides, Lord Hokage is the one who assigns the Genin teams."

"What's wrong, Hinode? Are you worried about money?" Guy circled Hinode's shoulders with a big grin on his face. "Don't worry! When I get assigned D rank missions, I'll always request you to be on my team!"

Hinode rolled her eyes at Guy. As much as her former classmates make fun of her for being the only Genin among them, they were all trying to help her, especially her old teammates. Guy and Genma knew her enough not to push her too much. They knew that Hinode was fine staying as a Genin and only take D rank missions that didn't require traveling outside of Konoha, so that she could keep an eye on Shisui.

Although they thought that Hinode didn't need to go so far as wasting her talents just to keep Shisui, an already highly skilled ninja, safe, they understood her stubbornness more than others.

"Judging by the way she eats dango, she's not short on money at all," Kurenai commented as she watched Hinode order enough dango for a four-man team all for herself.

Hinode balanced plates of dango on her arms like a seasoned waitress and sat down next to Yakko. Everyone raised a skewer and congratulated Yakko, who couldn't help but blush a little.

"Ah! Nee-san!"

Hinode looked outside of the shop at the sound of Shisui's voice. The boy was walking over from across the street. Hinode stood up immediately with eyes bright and smiling.

"Shisui! You're done with your mission already?" Hinode asked and Shisui nodded.

"It was just a D rank mission," said Shisui. The boy looked slightly past Hinode and saw Yakko, who smiled softly at her best friend's brother. Shisui's cheeks turned red as an apple.

"He-hello, Yakko-san," greeted Shisui.

"Good afternoon, Shisui-kun," Yakko greeted back.

"Do you want some dango, Shisui?" Hinode asked, oblivious to Shisui's suddenly nervous demeanor. "And what do you want for dinner tonight? I'll shop for the ingredients after this."

"I, um, I won't be home for dinner, Nee-san," Shisui shifted his eyes back and forth between Yakko and Hinode, the color in his cheeks deepening. "I'm going to train with Itachi tonight."

A black cloud seemed to gather above Hinode's head. Not too long ago, Shisui had befriended a boy within the clan named Itachi, and they quickly became best friends. Uchiha Itachi was the son of the Uchiha clan's head, Uchiha Fugaku. Hinode had never met the boy, but she had heard of him before that cursed day when Shisui told her excitedly about his new friend. In fact, there weren't many who didn't know about Uchiha Itachi.

Itachi was three years younger than Shisui and had just started Ninja Academy, but was already building up a reputation as a remarkable child genius. Hinode had a suspicion that the clansmen purposefully exaggerated Itachi's talents because he was the future leader of the clan. Shisui was quite the prodigy too, but they didn't make that big of a deal out of him. If Hinode was to say these things out loud, others would say that she had too much parental pride over Shisui, but the truth was that she was a little jealous of Shisui and Itachi's friendship.

While she was glad that Shisui had found a friend, she didn't like that he seemed to prefer spending time with Itachi over her.

"Haha, like sister like brother, am I right?" Asuma laughed as he nudged Kurenai, who also giggled.

The snickering of her old friends pulled Hinode away from her thoughts. She raised a questioning eyebrow at their laughter.

"What are you guys talking about?" she asked.

"Falling for an older person must run in the family," Kurenai said teasingly. "We all remember your crush on Kakashi's father, Hinode! Now your brother has a crush on our sweet Yakko here!"

The Uchiha siblings both turned beet red at the same time. Hinode was shocked that all of her classmates back then knew about her crush this whole time. For Shisui, it was even worse because Yakko was sitting right there. Out of embarrassment, the young boy bolted out of the shop.

"W-wait, Shisui!"

Flustered by Kurenai's words, Hinode reacted just a second too late to stop Shisui, but that didn't stop her. She couldn't let this little incident drive Shisui further from her. Hinode threw her half-eaten stick of dango down on the plate and rushed out of the shop.

THUMP!

Just as Hinode turned at the street corner, she crashed into a pedestrian. Both of them fell on their butts, and a book dropped next to Hinode's foot. Looking up, Hinode was as surprised to see Kakashi as he was surprised to see her. He was wearing his ANBU uniform, but not the animal mask. Although half of his face was covered as usual, it was easy to see how exhausted he was from taking mission after mission, not to mention his recurring nightmares that Hinode didn't know about.

"...Sorry about that," Hinode murmured, looking into his bloodshot eyes.

"Don't worry about it," said Kakashi flatly as he got on his knees, reaching to the book that fell.

Hinode grabbed the book for him without noticing the slight panic on his face. She glanced at the front cover before handing it to him. The words How a Shinobi Should Die was printed in a rigid font over a black cover. Hinode felt her chest tighten, and she frowned at Kakashi.

While she understood Kakashi's grief, this was going too far. The buildup of everything from hearing about Kakashi's crazed obsession with ANBU missions, to avoiding his friends like Guy and herself, just reached the tipping point at this moment.

"Why are you reading this garbage?" Hinode asked, anger bubbling in her voice.

"None of your business," Kakashi reached for the book.

Before Kakashi could snatch his book back, Hinode easily ripped the hardcover book apart. Kakashi seemed as if he was going to protest, but Hinode continued to destroy the loose pages inside. The action almost seemed like an outlet for her anger, so that she didn't rip out his hair instead.

"Let me save you some time: there is no right way to die!" Hinode snarled as she worked on shredding the book.

"There is for a shinobi," said Kakashi.

Hinode's hands stopped. She looked into Kakashi's tired eyes and exhaled softly. "What, are you trying to join Obito and Rin in the afterlife?"

Kakashi didn't have an answer.

"If you die now, they might be pretty mad at you when you see them," Hinode said.

"Don't you think they're mad at me already?" Kakashi looked down at his knees. "It's my fault that they…"

"Good thing Obito didn't leave you an ear, because he'd be pissed off if he heard that," Hinode gathered the torn pieces of paper from the ground into one arm and got up on her feet, and reached out a hand toward Kakashi. "And as for Rin… she loved you. If she was going to die protecting the village, she probably wanted nothing other than dying by your hands."

Kakashi hesitated for a moment before taking Hinode's hand, letting her pull him up. Once he was steady on his feet, Hinode used a loose page from the book to pat away the dirt on his clothing, which he quickly stopped her from doing.

"No one's mad at you, Kakashi," Hinode muttered. "A lot of people are worried about you, like Guy and your lame teacher."

"You were mad at me earlier."

"That's because of this book! I was mad at this book!" Hinode rolled her eyes and shoved the torned up mess into Kakashi's chest. "I'd rather you read some dirty magazine like a normal teenager than this garbage!"

With a hot breath through her nose, Hinode turned back toward the dango shop.

"You want to join us for some dango? You look like you need some fuel," she asked as she walked at a leisurely pace, anticipating him to follow.

Kakashi stared at Hinode's ponytail swaying as she walked. He thought about telling her dango was not exactly the best kind of fuel for a ninja, but he was also a little sick of eating military rations pills all day since he was always on missions. And if he avoided Guy any longer, Guy would probably knock down his door at some point. Hinode's invitation came at the right time.

"I guess it's my treat again?" he asked, voice lighter than before.

"Do you even need to guess?"

Hinode's head turned very slightly, but it was enough for Kakashi to see the little curl at the corner of her lips.

To be continued.

Notes:

A sort of housekeeping chapter to start out Part 3. That was a lot of stuff! I'm sorry to fans of Minato! I love Minato but Hinode is a little petty sometimes so she doesn't quite like him right now. Or maybe, she won't like any Hokage unless they give her a carefree life lol.
I'm using materials from the filler episodes of Kakashi's ANBU Arc for most of Part 3, with tweaks and stuff. And I've jumbled up the event times because... I wanted to :P Hope you guys liked this chapter!

Chapter 22: The Curse of Sugar

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Uchiha Hidenobu could sense Hinode's arrival from down the hallway. To be exact, he could smell her coming. People said that losing one of your senses would heighten your other four, and Hidenobu could attest to that. The intensity of the scent of sugar couldn't exist in a hospital without Hinode's presence.

In less than a minute, Hinode was knocking on his door.

"Come in," he said, looking toward the door expectantly.

A blurry vision of his daughter came through the door. He didn't need his eyes to see Hinode; she was the splitting image of Byakue when they were young Genin, fighting side by side in countless missions.

"I brought you some lunch, father," said Hinode as she approached his bedside. "You must be sick of the food here."

The sweet scent intensified when Hinode took out some tupperwares from her tote bag.

"I made honey glazed ham and mashed sweet potato."

Even with nearly-blind eyes, Hidenobu could see the pool of honey that the ham soaked in. Hidenobu took a spoonful of mashed sweet potato and put it in his mouth. The taste of cinnamon sugar could have made some great ninjas gag, but Hidenobu was not a normal ninja.

"It tastes great," Hidenobu said.

"I saw your lips twitch, father," Hinode teased.

"Where's Shisui?" Hidenobu asked in an effort to change the subject.

"He's off on another mission," said Hinode. "He's making quite a name for himself out there."

"How about you? Have you been training on your days off?"

"Yes, father, I even roasted the ham with my Fire Technique," Hinode joked in an attempt to trick her father into a smile.

Hidenobu merely nodded. Five years ago, Hidenobu would not have found the joke amusing. Hinode had always needed more of a push than others when it came to training and learning jutsu, and Hidenobu used to worry so much for her. But since the war, Hinode had become more diligent in training, and knowing that it was due to the fear of losing more of her loved ones, Hidenobu felt heartbroken for her.

With not much else to do in the hospital, Hidenobu often pondered about how he could have raised Hinode differently. Hinode becoming a shinobi was decided as soon as she was born; in fact, there was no discussion in that. All Uchihas were excellent shinobi. But what if he didn't push Hinode onto that path? Hidenobu never wanted his children to experience the pain and suffering of war, but it was too late when he realized that. By then, he and Hinode had lost Byakue.

Every night, Hidenobu wondered what Byakue would say if she was still alive. She always seemed to know the right thing to do. She was the protector of the family. But even Sabimaru, their old teammate, said that Byakue was sometimes overprotective.

Perhaps no parent in the world would ever know the right thing to do for their children. But the truth was that Hinode and Shisui were grown, and they were strong enough to handle anything. Byakue would agree with him on that.

"Next time you come, will you bring Shisui along?" Hidenobu asked. "I have something to tell you two."

There was a short pause from Hinode, but Hidenobu couldn't see her expression clearly.

"Of course, father."

Hinode left the hospital with a heavy feeling in her chest. As bad as their relationship was in the past, it was hard to see her father's health worsen each time she visited him in the hospital. The hardest part was when he'd look at her face and could not meet her eyes. In a strange way, she missed the stern looks that her father used to give her; at least there was strength in those looks.

On the way back home, Hinode wondered what Hidenobu wanted to talk to her and Shisui about. Anytime anyone wanted to have a serious conversation with Hinode, she still got nervous, although her curse hadn't taken anyone from her in a while.

With all of her distracting thoughts, Hinode didn't even notice a little boy standing in front of her house until she was only five feet away. It didn't help that he was really short. Hinode raised an eyebrow at the kid who just stood there quietly facing the door. They didn't get many visitors at home.

"May I help you?" Hinode asked.

The boy turned around, not startled at all by the abrupt sound of Hinode's voice. He blinked his big black eyes at Hinode for a moment without any expressive emotion, and finally opened his mouth.

"I'm looking for Shisui-san," the boy said.

"What for?"

"To practice throwing kunai."

Hinode turned her nose up at the boy. "You must be Uchiha Itachi."

The boy nodded, and Hinode sneered.

"Shisui is out on a mission today. Didn't he tell you?"

Itachi's lips parted slightly in realization, and he shook his head. Suddenly, Hinode felt a sense of victory over the boy and wanted to tease him a little more.

"Why don't you go practice with your dad?" Hinode shooed at Itachi with her hand. "He's the big shot clan leader, isn't he?"

Itachi shook his head again. "Shisui-san is more skilled with the kunai than father."

Hinode's eyes widened slightly at Itachi's words. Any compliment toward Shisui was flattery for her, and judging by the innocent look in Itachi's eyes, he wasn't just saying that to please her either. He really believed that. The boy had easily put Shisui over his own father without hesitation. Hinode couldn't deny that she indeed was pleased.

"At least you have good eyes," Hinode said without showing that she was pleased. "Unfortunately, Shisui won't be home until tonight, so you can run on home now."

But Itachi did not budge. He seemed to be focused on something different now, and Hinode followed his gaze and found out that he was staring at the paper bag she held in her left hand. It was the takeout bag from the dango shop.

"Don't even think about it!" Hinode held the bag against her chest.

"No, it's not what you think," Itachi said quickly. "I'm just curious because I've had every flavor of dango from that shop, but the scent from that bag is unfamiliar to me."

Hinode raised an eyebrow at Itachi. A dango enthusiast? Could they have something in common?

"Heh heh, young man, listen closely. This here is the special limited coffee flavored dango dipped in white chocolate! They're only available this week and only twenty sticks are made a day, and guess who's got the first twenty sticks on the first day?"

"Is it you, Hinode-san?" Itachi tilted his head.

"Bingo—wait, how do you know my name?"

"Shisui-san talks about you all the time."

Fingers tightening around the paper bag, Hinode had to admit that she felt happy that Shisui talked a lot about her, even if it was to the little munchkin. She bent down a little to scrutinize the boy's eyes, trying to evaluate his honesty. The clansmen did say that he was a genius; he could just be saying all the right things to get to some of her dessert. But Itachi didn't budge at all under Hinode's interrogating gaze. He only blinked innocently, not knowing why Hinode was looking at him that way, but letting her look as she pleased.

Hinode clicked her tongue as she straightened up. She'd really gotten soft over the past year.

"Come inside," she said as she unlocked the door and pushed it open. "Maybe Shisui will come back early."

Itachi followed Hinode inside the house. Peering over her shoulder, Hinode watched Itachi as he put his shoes and tool bag neatly by the door and quietly walked behind her. With Hinode's permission he knelt down on the seat cushion at the low dining table with his back upright and hands folded over his knees. Although he was sitting so properly, the slightest look of anticipation twinkled in his eyes.

Needless to say, Hinode liked well-behaved kids because Shisui was always well-behaved. Hinode sat across from him and took the trays of dango out of the paper bags. She pushed one of the trays toward Itachi.

"Go ahead. Tell me how it tastes," Hinode prompted him to take the first bite.

Itachi carefully removed the lid from the tray. The little sparkle in his eyes when he saw the dango almost made Hinode smile.

"Thank you for the food," Itachi put his palms together and said quickly before picking up a stick. He took one bite of the dango, and he chewed his eyes gradually opened wider and wider while a hint of pink colored his cheeks.

Damn it, Hinode thought to herself. That's too cute.

"How is it?" she asked.

"It's delicious," the boy said in a breathy voice. Hinode gave in and smiled; she was warming up to him already. It was not often when another shinobi truly shared the same love for sweets as she did. Even Shisui sometimes couldn't handle it when she got a little too "creative" with her cooking. But Itachi was genuine when he said that the dango was delicious, even though his reaction was mild.

The two of them ate all twenty sticks of dango together without talking or taking any breaks. After they were done, Hinode made two cups of tea to wash all the glutinous rice and white chocolate down. Itachi accepted it graciously.

"I'm so stuffed," Itachi rubbed his stomach.

"Don't tell your parents that I let you eat ten sticks of dango if you're too full to eat dinner tonight," Hinode said lightly.

Itachi looked up at Hinode with his innocent eyes again. "Mother and father said that lying is bad."

"Er…" Hinode's smile dropped; maybe Itachi was a little too well behaved. "A little white lie is not so bad."

"White lie?"

"Yeah, like a lie to protect someone," Hinode pointed at her face. "You don't want Shisui's sister to get into trouble, right?"

Itachi shook his head right away, and a smile returned to Hinode's face. She reached over the table and ruffled Itachi's hair. It wasn't half as satisfying as ruffling Shisui's hair since Itachi's was so straight, but she missed doing it without hearing Shisui complain that he was too old for it. Unexpectedly, Itachi lowered his head and slightly leaned into her palm, just like Shisui used to at that age.

He's just a little kid, Hinode thought.

No matter how much of a prodigy Uchiha Itachi was, Hinode would never forget the look on his face this afternoon. The delight after eating the dango and the pampered look when she ruffled his hair.

Ever since meeting Itachi in person, Hinode started to have more and more frequent visits from the boy. Although he usually came to look for Shisui, Hinode would always offer him some sweets, or even lunch or dinner. Apparently, he was a big fan of Hinode's tamagoyaki, which was much sweeter than the ones his or any other mothers in Konoha made.

Shisui was glad that Hinode was getting along with Itachi. Just a month ago, Hinode would frown just from hearing Itachi's name. And now, she had even increased the amount of groceries she would buy and kept the snack pantry stocked up in anticipation of Itachi's visit.

On this chilly autumn day, Hinode was roaming the supermarket again.

"Let's see… should I make pork chops with cherry sauce or raspberry sauce…" Hinode murmured to herself, standing in front of the fruit display.

"Ah! Hinode, is that you?"

Hinode turned her head to see the woman who'd called her name. The first thing she saw was the woman's gigantic stomach, and then her deep red hair. It was Kushina. Hinode had only met her a couple of times in the Hokage's office, but Kushina left quite an impression. The way she spoke was enough to make her stand out.

"Did Lord Hokage send you out for groceries?" Hinode asked with clear disapproval in her tone, eyeing Kushina's stomach.

Kushina giggled, knowing how much of a hard time Hinode often gave Minato. Though she should really be on her husband's side, it was cute whenever Minato would get exasperated with a little teenager.

"No, Hinode, Minato is really busy, and I've got the biggest craving for chocolate, so I decided to come myself," Kushina explained with a smile.

"Chocolate, huh?" Hinode perked up at one of her favorite words. "The bakery here actually has some really good molten lava cake. They mix dark chocolate and milk chocolate, so it's not just sweet, but also incredibly rich."

"That… sounds amazing, Hinode!" Kushina was almost drooling after hearing Hinode's description. "Seems like I ran into just the right person!"

With a rare enthusiasm, Hinode led Kushina to the bakery section of the market and pointed out all of her favorite chocolate desserts. A new batch of molten lava cakes had just come out of the oven and they smelled so good that both ladies swallowed hard as they watched the baker bring the tray to the glass display. Kushina ended up buying four cakes and gave two of them to Hinode.

"For you and your little brother," Kushina grinned at the young girl as she handed over two boxed cakes.

"Really?" Hinode's eyes lit up, and she'd already reached out a hand to receive the cakes before waiting for Kushina's response.

Kushina giggled a yes and put the cakes in Hinode's hand.

The two of them finished shopping together and walked out of the market together. Though Hinode had been deliberately mean to Minato, she did not mind being around Kushina. She had always been more amicable toward mothers. She even offered to introduce more desserts to Kushina next time she had cravings for sweets.

"I would love that, Hinode—Ow!"

As they walked down the street, a couple of kids were playfulling chasing each other. One of the boys was not paying attention and bumped into Kushina from behind. Kushina fell forward and instinctively let go of her cake boxes to wrap her arms around her stomach. Hinode instinctively reached out her hand.

Instead of falling to the ground, a pair of hands caught Kushina by the shoulders just in time. Kushina looked up in front of her and Hinode was looking back at her, a little dumbstruck, with all of the cakes safely in her hands. Then, she looked to her left, where a boy in ANBU uniform and a fox mask stood and held her up.

Even with the mask, they could easily tell by the silver hair that it was Kakashi.

Guilt pounded on Hinode's chest when Kakashi turned his face toward her. She could see his eyes narrowing through the mask's opening.

"Did you seriously just choose to save some dessert over a pregnant woman?"

The judgement and mockery in Kakashi's voice were like arrows shooting at her conscience. It had been a while since Hinode was speechless in front of Kakashi. But her stubbornness did not let her own up to her mistake.

"I-I could have done both!" Hinode stammered, red in the face. "You just beat me to it!"

"I was watching from above the rooftops the whole time. You were clearly not going to make it," Kakashi shook his head and said flatly.

"I was too—wait, why were you watching us? Aren't you supposed to be working?"

"I am."

"Then go stick your nose somewhere else!"

"Okay, you guys, stop bickering!" Kushina put a hand on each of their shoulders and pushed them apart. "Hinode, Minato had tasked Kakashi to watch over me for the duration of my pregnancy, so this is him working. And we should all be glad that no baby or cakes were harmed in this accident!"

Hinode quieted down at Kushina's grin. She looked back at Kakashi; she remembered her last conversation with Minato. Minato must have finally realized that it would be beneficial to pull Kakashi away from the missions that involved fighting and killing, and have him spend some time close to Kushina and her baby. It seemed to have worked a little, since he didn't seem to have that constantly gloomy air about him ever since Obito and Rin died.

Come to think of it, Hinode hadn't bickered with Kakashi like this for a long time. When they were little kids, they often used to buttheads. It used to annoy her so much, especially when she lost. But this time, it wasn't so annoying.

She might have even felt a little bit of relief.

Hinode cleared her throat to interrupt her own thoughts. "Fine, you're the hero, Kakashi."

Kakashi watched as Hinode's lips puckered up while her cheeks were still red with embarrassment, her eyes avoiding direct contact with his. He didn't expect her to back down so easily, but by the looks of it, she was probably already feeling guilty before he'd said anything.

"We'll call it a team effort then," said Kakashi.

"Hmph!" Hinode cranked her neck even further away from Kakashi, though that allowed him to see the deep red tip of her ear.

"Ah! You guys are sooo cute!" Kushina exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Hinode and Kakashi's necks. The two teens gasped for air inside Kushina's powerful arms; Kushina was an excellent Jonin before she went on maternity leave, after all.

"I hope you guys will take care of my baby after he's born like you guys took care of me today!"

All of the redness on Hinode's face disappeared instantly. Her face snapped toward Kakashi and Kakashi looked at her, both of them wide-eyed. Kakashi could see fear filling up inside Hinode's eyes rapidly.

"I will, Kushina-san," Kakashi said quickly.

Kushina let out a happy squeal while Hinode remained quiet. She didn't say a word until Kushina let go of her neck. Hinode took a few shaky breaths, but to Kushina, it just seemed like she was out of breath.

"Excuse me…" Hinode muttered as she put the boxes of cakes back into Kushina's hands. "I… I have to go home and…"

Without finishing her sentence, Hinode already began to run. She could hear Kushina shouting behind her, telling her that she'd forgotten to take her share of molten lava cakes. But she couldn't turn back, let alone slow down. She was too scared to.

To be continued.

Notes:

Alt. chapter title: "A Normal Day in the Life of a Sugar Addict Until Someone Ruins Everything."

Thank you all for the feedback from last chapter! I feel very lucky to have readers like you! I know this chapter came out later than usual, but I'll try to update quicker. Thanks for reading as always!

Chapter 23: The Curse of Growing Up

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The bottom of Hinode's favorite pan was completely black after she burnt the bacon in it into cancerous strips. Hinode was in the kitchen the whole time, but didn't notice the bacon burning even when the pork pieces caught on fire and smoke was filling the room rapidly. It took Shisui body-flickering into the kitchen from the backyard and Itachi following not far behind to put out the fire.

"Oh no, the bacon," Hinode finally snapped out of her trance after noticing Shisui and Itachi's presence. She reached for the pot, but Shisui grabbed her wrist.

"Nee-san, the pan is too hot!" Shisui pulled Hinode away from the smoky mess on the stove, while Itachi opened the windows in the kitchen and the living room. "What's going on with you? You've been so distracted all day!"

Distracted was an understatement of how Hinode had been acting ever since running into Kushina and Kakashi at the market. She couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of Kushina, and even her baby, dying under the curse. She kept wondering if the curse would not take effect since Kushina was mostly joking with her statement, or since Kakashi answered instead of her.

Was it something worth bringing up to Kushina and Minato? Not even Kakashi believed in the curse. He only stepped in because he knew how much it affected her. Plus, Minato already assigned Kakashi to survey and protect Kushina closely throughout her pregnancy. The war was over. Konoha was at peace. What could happen to her?

"Nee-san!"

Shisui's sharp voice interrupted her thoughts. Hinode looked down at Shisui's concerned face and Itachi's curious one behind him.

"Sorry, you guys," Hinode smiled apologetically. "Your afternoon snack of maple bacon donuts will just be maple donuts today."

"That's not what I'm concerned about…"

"What time is it? You guys are done with training, right? Just go wash your hands and sit at the table. I'll bring the donuts over."

Shisui let out an exasperated sigh as Hinode went to the oven where she kept the fresh donuts warm. When he turned around toward Itachi, the younger boy had already run off to wash his hands. Shisui knew that his best friend was fond of dango, but ever since he met Hinode, the fondness was now close to love. For Hinode, it was past love. It was an obsession.

That made it even more serious that Hinode messed up on making dessert. Although, he wouldn't put it past her to purposely mess up the only savory part of any recipe.

The three of them sat together as they ate the maple donuts. To be more accurate, Shisui ate just one and watched his sister and best friend finish the rest. Ever since Hinode started making them afternoon snacks, Shisui and Itachi moved their training location to his and Hinode's backyard. Shisui didn't mind it, as long as it made both Hinode and Itachi happy.

And when both of them were happily eating snacks, that was when Shisui would bring up unpleasant news.

"So, um, tomorrow I will be leaving the village for a C rank mission," Shisui said carefully as Hinode shoved half a donut into her mouth. "Sensei said it shouldn't take very long, though."

"Is that so?" Hinode responded half-heartedly in between chews. "The donut is good as it is without the bacon."

"Agreed," Itachi said with a nod.

"Did you really hear what I said, Nee-san?"

"Yeah, yeah, D rank mission tomorrow, right?"

"No! C rank mission! Outside of Konoha!" Shisui enunciated loudly. This time, earning full attention from Hinode, whose facial muscles stiffened toward the end of his sentence.

"Where is it that you're going?" Hinode asked casually, but Shisui could see through her act.

"If I tell you, are you going to follow us?"

"...Well, what could be so bad about having reinforcement?"

"Nee-san," Shisui looked at Hinode sternly in the eyes. It was a little reminiscent of their father. "If you leave the village without permission, you could be named a rogue ninja."

Hinode let out a low growl; it was an unwritten rule that Hinode only learned about from Minato after her first attempt to leave the village to find Obito's body. It was such an obvious rule for other shinobi that it seldom needed to be said.

"Nee-san, you have to trust me," Shisui softened at the sight of Hinode's frustration. "It's only one rank up from the usual. Besides, the war is over, and Konoha is recognized as a powerful shinobi force, thanks to you and other great shinobi of your time."

Although Hinode was obviously overprotective, Shisui understood why. She had seen and been through so much during the war. Shisui would never forget the day that Hinode came back to Konoha on the brink of death, and the devastated look on her face when she found out that Obito had died.

And even after all the pain, Shisui could see that Hinode wanted nothing more than safety and peace for him, for her friends, and now for Itachi too, in a village that they love. He admired her for that, but sometimes, it was too much.

"Forgive me, Shisui," Hinode's shoulders slumped in defeat. "It's just that you're my little brother and I just want to protect you."

"...I don't need to be protected," Shisui mumbled. Before Hinode could say anything else, Shisui stood up and stepped away from the table. "I'm going to train some more. Itachi, you may join me after you're finished eating if you'd like."

Itachi nodded to Shisui, and the latter flickered out into the yard.

"Why don't you trust Shisui-san?" Itachi asked Hinode once Shisui was out of sight. "He's already stronger than most other ninja who are double his age. Even father says that."

Hinode let out a deep exhale, "It's not that I don't trust him, and it's not about strength."

"I think he's strong enough to protect you," Itachi said, finishing off his last bite of donut. Hinode watched him for a second, taking in his honest expression, and stifled a little laugh. She found his adoration toward Shisui quite precious.

"Even so, it's the older sibling's job to protect the younger sibling," Hinode said as if she was teaching Itachi a lesson. "Remember that when your little brother's born!"

Itachi's eyes sparked at the mention of his soon-to-be-born little brother. He had been waiting for the day to come ever since his mother told him that he was getting a little brother. And after meeting Hinode, he was even more excited.

"I hope he likes sweets too," Itachi said with a slight smile.

"Me too," Hinode smiled as well at the thought of possibly another companion to eat sweets with.

A few taps were heard from the living room window. Hinode looked over to see a messenger hawk from the Hokage's office. It reminded her that she hadn't reported to the Hokage for a while. When she used to be part of a team, Akimichi Choza was the one who picked up missions for the team. Consequently, a Genin without a team was less likely to be assigned a mission even if they were lower ranked.

Hinode walked to the window and removed the slip of paper tied to the hawk's leg. Just as she thought that she was going to be looking for some villager's lost puppy again, she read that Minato had a B rank mission for her. It was strange because she was usually given lower ranked missions that involved laborious but trivial work from villagers. Hinode normally didn't care too much about the ranking of the missions she was given, but now that she was spending more money on snacks, she was not going to complain about getting more money for working higher ranked missions.

"Took you long enough, Hinode!"

Hinode was immediately pulled into a neck lock by Guy when she stepped into the Hokage's office. She silently cursed his incredible speed and weird gesture of friendship. Behind Guy, standing just in front of Minato's desk, was Genma. The brown-haired Jonin snickered at Hinode's current predicament. Hinode rolled her eyes; out of all of her peers, she was closest with her old teammates, but sometimes, they treated her too much like one of the guys.

"Let go, Guy, or I'm sending you to the hospital," Hinode warned through her strained throat.

"That sounds like a challenge!" Guy exclaimed with excitement. "Might Guy never backs down from a challenge! That's what youth is about!"

"The fact that your voice hasn't changed shows me enough youth already!"

Hinode used her elbow to jab at Guy's stomach. The latter finally released the neck lock and held onto his stomach. Even as his body trembled, Guy flashed a shiny grin at Hinode.

"All right, Hinode! This hurt more than the last time you jabbed me in the stomach! I'm going to increase my ab training from now on!"

"Last time?" Minato turned his head toward Genma. "Do they do this often?"

"Whenever Guy caught her out of her house," Genma chuckled. "Hey, you guys! Quit fooling around! We have work to do!"

Guy zipped his mouth shut as he turned toward Minato, and Hinode smoothed out her wrinkled collar. Minato smiled at the three of them, saying how glad he was that they were so energetic. It was rare that all three of them were available at the same time, so he decided to put them together on the same mission. Since they were teammates before, he didn't have to worry about any issues with teamwork.

"A Jonin, Chunin, and a Genin together for a B rank mission?" Hinode remarked. "Isn't that overdoing it a little?"

"It's been a long established rule for Konoha that any mission outside of the village required a team of three, four if there was more than one Genin," Minato explained.

"Outside of the village?" Hinode narrowed her eyes at Minato as she repeated those tabooed words.

"I, uh, I thought you wouldn't mind leaving for a few days since Shisui was also leaving," said Minato carefully.

"Oh? What a coincidence. Or was it really all planned out?" Hinode narrowed her eyes even more. There was so much heat in her words that Genma had to nudge her as a reminder that she was talking with the Hokage.

"Hinode," Minato cleared his throat and hardened his expression. "When Shisui received his forehead protector, he was considered an adult. I know that you want to protect him, but he's eager to become a great ninja. As Hokage, it's my goal to help all shinobi of Konoha, even you, to reach their potential for the sake of bringing peace to the village."

Hinode did not retort this time as she thought about Shisui's behavior earlier. It was a complicated feeling to want to keep Shisui close to her, but also to want him to achieve everything he wanted. Sure, she knew that Shisui was going to become a great ninja, and she was eventually going to have to let go. She just didn't know that it was going to be so soon.

Seeing as Hinode wasn't going to speak, Minato continued with the explanation of the mission. The team was to deliver a scroll containing a signed request for alliance to the small village of Takegakure. The village was close to Kusagakure, which only required two days of travel.

"So we are forming an alliance with Takegakure after all?" Genma asked as he accepted the scroll from Minato.

"Yes, they are a small shinobi village and need protection from Konoha," Minato nodded. "They have already showed their sincerity during the war when they supplied enemy intel to Konoha."

The mission was simple enough. Genma suggested that the sooner they left the better.

"You guys wait for me at the main gates," Hinode said to her teammates. "I need a moment with Lord Fourth."

Genma and Guy looked at each other and shrugged. They left the office with a bow and headed to the main gates. Only Minato and Hinode were left in silence. Minato waited patiently for Hinode to speak.

"Earlier when you said 'for the sake of bringing peace to the village,'" Hinode began with a tone even more serious than before. "What do you mean by that? Is the war not really over?"

"Well, it's hard to say that we truly have peace when there are those out there still hungry for power…"

"Don't give me that vague answer," Hinode interrupted. "Why did you assign Kakashi to protect Kushina-san? Is Konoha in danger?"

Minato was slightly surprised at Hinode's questions. "The reason behind Kakashi's mission is top secret. However, you don't need to worry. You know as well as I do that Kakashi is capable of protecting Kushina."

The fourth Hokage gave Hinode a reassuring smile. Unfortunately, it only heightened her anxiety.

"You should spend more time with her," Hinode said, softening down a notch. "Getting the food his wife craves is the husband's job."

Minato chuckled.

"Roger that."

The trip to Takegakure took less time than the three Konoha-nin expected. Compared to when they first became a Genin team, all three of them had gained more stamina and speed over time. Without Choza, Genma was voted the leader of the team.

Not to say that Guy or Hinode were not strong enough, but Genma was the most mature one out of the group.

"This feels just like the old days, doesn't it?" Guy shouted from a couple of trees away as they leapt from one to another.

"Yeah, only without Choza-sensei!" Genma shouted back.

"Hinode, did you know? Choza-sensei is having a baby soon!" Guy shouted toward the front of the team, where Hinode sped through the trees.

Hinode didn't answer Guy. She hadn't seen or talked to Akimichi Choza since the team had dissolved. Partly because she didn't know what she would talk about with him. She was his only student who didn't amount to anything before the team separated, and she certainly didn't amount to anything more since then.

She often used taking care of Shisui as an excuse to avoid doing anything, but it sounded so trivial when others point out that he was considered an adult just like her.

"Hello, Hinode? Are you listening to me?"

Guy caught up to Hinode when he didn't hear a response from her. Just as he stepped onto the same tree branch as her, Hinode ducked down and swiped his leg.

"Wha—!" Guy yelped as he fell down the tree. Being as agile as he was, he landed on his feet. "Hey! That one didn't count…"

The moment Guy looked back up, he saw the bright red that replaced Hinode's usual black eyes. Several shuriken flew at her, but they were all deflected with the kunai in her hand. Only a split second later, Genma caught up to Hinode.

"One right behind that tree in front of us and another on ground level!" Hinode announced to Genma and Guy. "I'll take care of the third one trying to escape!"

"Those are some useful eyes, Hinode," Genma commented before charging toward the tree in front of them.

Hinode only hummed in response before leaping off in a different direction. From her tool bag took out her chakra wires and casted it forward. It seemed as if she wasn't capturing anything, but as soon as the wires wrapped around what looked like thin air, the shinobi revealed his physical body.

He was a young shinobi around Hinode's age.

"How were you able to see through my Camouflage Technique?" he growled, struggling with his hands constricted to his sides.

"My eyes can see chakra in colors," Hinode said as she pulled the boy toward her and brought him down the tree.

She roughly threw him to the ground, and the boy scrambled with his feet to sit up. All the while, he kept a nervous but angry glare at Hinode.

"Takegakure?" Hinode glanced at the boy's forehead protector. "So the alliance deal is a trick?"

"The village leader may want an alliance, but not us!" The boy shouted at Hinode. "Your battles with Iwa turned our village into a war zone! All of my family is dead! They were just civilians… and they're dead!"

"So, what? You're going to dedicate the rest of your life killing random ninjas out here?" Hinode crossed her arms and said coldly. "Get yourself a wife and make your own family!"

The boy's face turned beet red at Hinode's suggestion. "Are-are you mocking me?!"

"No, I'm giving you advice," Hinode tugged at the chakra wire. "You should listen to your allies."

"As if I'd be allies with the ones who killed my family!" The boy spat and shouted at the ground. "Hamuro! Get her!"

A creature jumped out from the ground behind Hinode and swiped its claws at her. Hinode leapt up into the air to avoid the sudden attack. When she looked back at the creature, it had run to the boy shinobi's side and clawed the chakra wire loose. At second glance, Hinode was able to see the creature clearly.

It was a large groundhog with strangely long claws. Hinode assumed that it was the boy's Summoning Jutsu, similar to Kakashi's dogs. Her Sharingan didn't catch it when it was underground.

"That'll teach you not to underestimate me!" The boy flashed a confident grin at Hinode as if he wasn't captured just a minute ago. His demeanor almost reminded Hinode of Obito, if only he wasn't trying to kill her.

The boy commanded the groundhog to attack, and the groundhog charged at Hinode with its razor sharp claws. Hinode didn't move a muscle as she watched the groundhog come at her. As the groundhog swung its right arm at her, Hinode simply leaned away, and with one hook kick she sent the animal crashing through a tree.

As she straightened herself up, the boy's fist was already in front of her. Unfortunately for him, Hinode already saw it coming and caught his fist with one hand. The boy widened his eyes not only at Hinode's hand not even budging against his punch, but also when she tilted her head and avoided a kunai attack from behind.

"I saw you perform hand seals to create a clone earlier," Hinode answered the boy's unspoken question, turning back to face an equally shocked clone behind her. Before he could react, Hinode struck his middle with her free hand. When the boy saw the intense and powerful flame around Hinode's fist that blasted a hole through his clone's stomach, he began to shake.

Hinode turned back to the boy, still grabbing the boy's fist in one hand and kept the fire burning on the other. "If you don't want that to happen to your actual body, then you'd better retreat."

The boy opened his mouth to respond, but Hinode suddenly pulled on his hand and tossed him to the side. When he sat up from the ground, he saw the four shuriken stuck in the ground where he would have been lying dead if Hinode hadn't saved him.

"I apologize on behalf of Takegakure for the despicable actions of our runaway shinobi."

A taller, older man wearing the same forehead protector as the boy emerged from further into the woods. It wasn't hard to deduce that he was a higher ranked Takegakure shinobi with his menacing look. If he wasn't supposed to be an ally, Hinode would probably have a hard time fighting him.

"You were going to kill him?" Hinode raised an eyebrow at the older man.

"Treason is a serious offense in our village," the older man said matter-of-factly. "Death is certainly a fair punishment."

Fire ignited around Hinode's fist again. She didn't plan on attacking the older shinobi, but she felt extremely irritated by what he said. The older man, on the other hand, seemed amused by Hinode's reaction.

"So those are the famous Sharingan of Konoha's Uchiha clan, huh?" he asked sarcastically. "No need to waste your chakra, I am not here to fight you."

"I have plenty of chakra left," said Hinode.

"Hinode, stop!"

Genma appeared in front of Hinode with the Body Flicker Technique and shielded her with his back. Even without seeing his face, she could tell that he was serious. Hinode stopped the flow of chakra to her hands, and the flames vanished. She looked back with her pitch black eyes; Guy stood behind them with two other teenage shinobi apprehended.

"Takuto! Utsumi!" the boy who fought Hinode shouted his friends' names.

"You're Uemura Kakei, right?" Genma asked the older shinobi. "You're here to retrieve the alliance agreement from us?"

"Yes, that and three criminals, apparently," Uemura Kakei said as he eyed the three teens with disdain. "We're sorry for the inconvenience caused, but it seems Konoha produced much stronger shinobi than us."

"Maybe because we're not killing them just because they're a little dumb," Hinode commended over Genma's shoulder.

"Hinode!" Genma turned his head and whispered. "You shouldn't interfere with other villages' internal affairs, especially when they're our allies."

"You know that he's going to kill them when they get back to their village, right?" Hinode whispered back.

Genma didn't say another word to Hinode, but turned his back to her again. Of course, he knew. The thought of these young shinobi being executed was sickening to him, too. But he knew better than to create conflict between villages just for the lives of three kids. There were things about the shinobi world that were cruel, but you had to endure for the sake of your village.

Unfortunately, Genma's teammate was Hinode, and Hinode was too stubborn to just stand there and endure.

"Uemura, we have a request as new allies," Genma said as he approached the Takegakure ninja. "Please reconsider the punishment for these three shinobi. After all, they were only fighting for the justice of their fallen comrades."

"Do you know what you are asking of me, boy?" Uemura turned his nose up at Genma.

"Yes, I do," Genma said firmly. "Konoha cares for their young shinobi, and we hope that our allies hold the same values. Unless you'd like me to tell the Hokage otherwise when we return?"

Uemura grumbled something under his breath, but didn't retort any further. Placing the scroll in his tool bag, he gathered the three young Takegakure shinobi and cuffed their hands. Hamuro, the groundhog, tried to claw at the cuffs, but the boy shook his head at it. The boy gave Hinode one last look before getting dragged back to his village; his fate unknown.

The look he gave was still filled with hatred, but with an addition of powerlessness and frustration. Hinode couldn't help but feel sad for him, even if he was just some stupid kid from another village.

Genma let out a heavy breath before signaling his team to head back home as well.

"Wow, Genma! I've never seen you that badass before!" Guy exclaimed as they made their way through the woods.

"My palms were sweating the entire time! Good thing he didn't call my bluff!" Genma complained and glared at Hinode. "You better thank me, Hinode! My reputation was on the line!"

Hinode didn't respond.

"Hinode?" Guy called out. "Hinode, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Hinode said, staring at the path ahead. "I'm just wondering… what good even came out of that war anyway?"

To be continued.

AN: Sorry for the slow updates lately! Please take this little sketch of "late teen Hinode annoyed that someone's judging her for eating a whole stick of dango in one go" as my peace offering! She's also wearing the flame resistant gloves from Lady Kamome. Yes, she's wearing skorts, and I'm kinda thinking that Kurenai helped her with this outfit choice, heh.

Notes:

Alternative chapter title: Hinode, a teenager, gets a bit of empty nest syndrome.
Sorry if it feels rushed towards the end in this chapter! I think I tried to stuff too much into one chapter. Whenever I'm writing a lot of characters at once my brain gets exhausted lol. I hope you guys like this chapter!

Chapter 24: Curse of Hatred

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"So you've awakened your Sharingan as well?"

"Yes, father."

Shisui stood by Hidenobu's bedside with a heavy heart. He never would have expected that his team would be ambushed during their last mission, and he certainly did not expect one of his teammates would lose his life during the ambush. The event had caused his Sharingan to awaken, and though it took a few minutes for him to get used to the eyes, at least he came back to the village basically unscathed.

Although Shisui wouldn't say that he was particularly close to his Genin team, the death of his teammate still impacted him. He'd thought that his personal training prepared him well for combat, but evidently, it was not enough for him to protect his teammate. The amount of regret he felt at that moment was enough to awaken his Sharingan.

"Shisui!"

The door to Hidenobu's room slammed open, and Hinode rushed inside.

"I ran into your teacher on the way here and he told me what happened," Hinode said as she bent grabbed Shisui's shoulders, scanning for any injuries. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"...No," Shisui mumbled.

Hinode opened her mouth and shut it before saying a word. Shisui could tell that she was holding something back.

"Since both of you are here," Hidenobu began to speak when he noticed the silence between his children. "I have something important to tell you two."

Shisui and HInode turned toward their father. His reaction toward Shisui's experience was a lot calmer than Hinode. While Shisui loved his older sister, at times like this, he preferred the company of his father. He didn't want to be reminded that he was unhurt when his teammate died during the mission.

"I want to talk to you about the Uchiha clan's Curse of Hatred."

Shisui noticed Hinode's body stiffen up next to him.

"I never mentioned this before because your mother didn't believe in curses," Hidenobu continued, the corners of his eyes softening when he brought up Byakue. "And she wasn't wrong; you can't just blame everything that goes wrong in your life on a curse. But the unfortunate truth about our clan is our most prized possession—the Sharingan.

"You both have awakened your Sharingan, and should have realized now that it takes an immensely painful experience to awaken the Sharingan. And that is not even the final form of the Sharingan. The Mangekyo Sharingan is awakened when you witness the death of someone you love. That is enough pain to drive you into madness.

"The Curse of Hatred says that every Uchiha is doomed for darkness. However, I am telling you that that is not true. What triumphs over the curse is love."

Hidenobu turned his gaze onto Hinode. He had a look which Shisui had never seen before.

"When your mother died, I almost fell into darkness. Hinode, I hurt you while I was in that state. But it was because of you that I could walk out of darkness."

Shisui peeked at Hinode. Her brows were furrowed, the bottom of her eyelids turned red, and she bit down on her lips. Shisui wondered what had happened between them.

"When I lost my greatest love, I wanted to destroy everything around me. But when I looked at you—when I really saw you—I saw hope," Hinode looked toward Shisui. "My greatest love gave me hope to hold onto, and now, my children are my greatest love. So, I want you to know this…

"No matter how strong you are, there is no guarantee that you can protect anyone. But no matter how much you're hurting, never lose hope. It might be hard to see, but hope can be right in front of you."

The Uchiha siblings looked at each other. Hinode's hand had been trembling since their father started talking about the Curse of Hatred. There was fear in her eyes; and Shisui wondered what she was afraid of. Was it the Curse of Hatred? But Hinode had more love inside her than anyone he knew.

Shisui reached out a hand and held his sister's. It must have been a while since they last held hands. He was never able to wrap his fingers around her hand before.

Hinode didn't say much after leaving the hospital with Shisui. There were so many things going through her head that she couldn't even piece together. It certainly surprised her to see her father so sentimental, but they said that people tend to become that way toward the end of their days. It wasn't as if Hinode was not prepared; the head medic already told them that Hidenobu's illness was untreatable. She wondered whether she would feel so terrible if her father had stayed emotionally unavailable like he used to be.

"Ah, it's Itachi!"

Shisui's voice snapped Hinode out of her trance and she looked ahead. Itachi was running toward them at high speed with a look that Hinode only saw when he was eating dango. His eyes were wide and cheeks slightly red, and he did not even slow down or spare a glance at Shisui or Hinode as he passed by them.

"Sasuke is here!"

The wind carried Itachi's words back to Hinode and Shisui, and by then the boy had already turned into the hospital's gates. Hinode and Shisui looked at each other briefly, nodded, and reversed their way back to the hospital.

As they approached the room where Uchiha Mikoto was staying in, loud crying was already echoing down the hallway. When they entered the room, Hinode saw the familiar scene of Itachi holding his baby brother next to Mikoto's bed. Fugaku was standing over them with a rare smile.

Hinode remembered when she held Shisui for the first time. He was sleeping so peacefully in Hinode's arms, completely vulnerable, and now, he was already an adult in the shinobi world.

"Oh, Hinode and Shisui, you're here!" Mikoto was the first to notice them standing by the door. "Come inside!"

Hinode and Shisui went inside, but still stood at a distance due to Fugaku's presence. He was the clan's head after all, and they have not been the most well-liked family in the clan. Even so, Hinode could see baby Sasuke clearly in Itachi's arms. The baby looked like any other Uchiha baby. Wisps of black hair sat on top of the baby's fair skin, and even though he was crying so much, Itachi was not bothered at all.

"He sure is energetic," Shisui smiled at Itachi.

Hinode opened up her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Fugaku.

"Shisui, Hinode," Fugaku said, dropping the already miniscule smile on his face. "How is your father?"

Hinode wanted to ask why he couldn't just go visit Hidenobu since he was already at the hospital, but she bit her tongue. There had been a rift between Fugaku and Hidenobu ever since the death of Obito, when Hidenobu verbally went against the clan.

"He's doing well," said Shisui politely.

"That's good to hear," Fugaku nodded. "I have been thinking about this for a while now. You two are both adults and very skilled ninjas despite your age. You are as integral to the Uchiha clan as your father was. I'd like you both to start attending clan meetings from now on."

For some reason, Hinode felt like Fugaku was speaking only to Shisui. As self-absorbed as she was, it was impossible for Hinode not to hear the whispers of the clansmen about her. Half Uchihas only have half the talent. They were only more courteous toward Shisui because he was an Uchiha-level prodigy. She was sure that they would turn against him as soon as Shisui had a single opinion not in line with theirs.

"I will be grateful to attend," said Shisui.

In that moment, Hinode saw a great space between herself and Shisui, even though they were standing next to each other. It was the first time that Shisui had decided something without consulting with Hinode.

It wasn't exactly upsetting to Hinode. She was already working on accepting Shisui's adulthood. It was a subtle pinch of realization that Shisui had already moved past her without her knowing. She remembered when he was only five years old, not having any friends at school because he couldn't relate to the other kids.

Could it be that Hinode was now one of those kids Shisui couldn't relate to?

Hinode looked around the room. That moment reminded her of the time that Shisui was born. She was looking onto her mother, Mikoto, Fugaku, and her father, feeling as if she was standing far, far away.

The difference back then was that Obito was standing there next to her.

It dawned upon her that maybe the only person who could have understood what she was feeling was Obito, the boy who grew up alongside her.

"I'm surprised to see you here."

Hinode was standing in front of the Memorial Stone inside Konoha's cemetery when Kakashi showed up behind her. She rarely came to see the stone because she still found it weird that Obito was not really there. Even though she greatly missed him and had a lot to say, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"That should be my line," Hinode's eyes widened when she turned around to see Kakashi. "Shouldn't you be guarding Kushina-san?"

"Minato-sensei gave me a few days off," said Kakashi, approaching the Memorial Stone and stopping beside Hinode. "He's taking over since the baby is arriving soon."

Hinode had not realized that Kushina's due date was already upon them. If the Hokage himself was watching over her, then she should be safe.

"Don't worry," Kakashi added, knowing that Hinode had probably been worrying about Kushina since their last meeting.

Hinode nodded.

"Do you want to know something funny?"

Kakashi turned his head toward Hinode and raised an eyebrow. Hinode didn't make jokes very often.

"I just found out that I'm double cursed," Hinode said with a sigh. "I guess just being born an Uchiha is a curse."

"Are you talking about the Sharingan?" Kakashi asked. Hinode often said that those eyes were bad luck.

"In a way," Hinode turned to Kakashi and smiled slightly. "I guess you're kinda cursed too, then."

The scar on Kakashi's left felt as if it twitched. "You seem too happy about that."

"No, I just…" Hinode shook her head. "I've decided that I should try and move on. I'm just half Uchiha; my mother didn't believe in curses. I keep living in fear because of the curses and it's not doing any good for me or Shisui. In the end, the curses are just an excuse.

"I've been hung up on Obito's death for a long time now. I don't think I'll ever get over that completely, but I need to catch up to the people in my life right now."

Kakashi listened quietly as Hinode talked. He, too, was trying to move on. Minato, Kushina, and Guy were all waiting for him.

"You and I both," said Kakashi.

"Heh," Hinode let out a light chuckle. "You're already ahead of me, ANBU-san."

The way she enunciated each syllable of ANBU was her way of poking fun at him. Knowing Hinode, there was no real ill intention behind it. It was one of her strange ways of expressing her friendship.

But Kakashi wasn't as easy to tease as some of Hinode's other friends. His eyes squinted together as he smiled behind his mask.

"Then I can pull you along from the front, Genin-chan."

Hinode froze. She must have looked really dumb with her eyes wide and mouth open, but she couldn't help it.

For a split second, she was reminded of Hatake Sakumo, and the way her heart used to skip a beat when she saw him.

That was weird, Hinode thought to herself as she turned away. I must be a bit too sentimental lately.

Still, she had to discreetly check the temperature of her cheek, so she lightly scratched it with a finger.

"Ahem, uh, I might have been bit by a mosquito," Hinode said with her face turned away from Kakashi. "I should probably go home and put some ointment on it."

"Yeah, you should."

Kakashi suppressed a chuckle as Hinode ran toward the cemetery's exit. There was a very low chance to get bitten by a mosquito in autumn, but it wouldn't be nice to call her a liar.

Hinode ran all the way home and didn't even stop by the dango shop. As weird as their last exchange of words was, she was feeling much better after talking to Kakashi. Though she could no longer talk to Obito, it was nice to let out her feelings to someone who understood.

Perhaps that was what her father was talking about in the hospital.

It was night by the time Hinode got back home. The house was dark when she went in, and as she noticed a note on the dining room table.

Shisui had to report for a mission in the early morning, so he'd already gone to sleep. He had picked up pumpkin pie at the bakery for her and left it in the refrigerator.

Hinode felt a sting in her nose when she read the note, but she quickly shook it out of her. She walked into the kitchen and put on an apron. Since Shisui was leaving early for a mission, she would cook up breakfast so he could easily heat it up the next morning.

For a while, all that could be heard in the night was the blade of a knife softly hitting the cutting board, and then the bubbling of water inside a stock pot.

Hinode placed a lid over the pot and stretched her arms and back. She had been cooking for an hour without realizing it. Feeling a bit warm from standing near the stove for so long, Hinode went into the living room to get some cool air.

As soon as she opened the window, Hinode felt something dark and ominous in the atmosphere. A restless feeling filled her heart, and it was almost harder to breathe now.

Hinode ran outside of the house and jumped onto the rooftop. The Uchiha Compound was quiet as usual. Hinode looked toward the village, scanning for any abnormalities. Then, she saw in the distance, the woods outside of the village were lit by fire. Hinode took a sharp breath as she realized that the fire was approaching the village, too rapidly by natural means.

"Nee-san!"

Shisui had flickered next to Hinode. He was also awakened by the strange pressure in the air.

Hinode glanced down at Shisui; as expected, he was looking at the same place that she was looking at—the hospital.

"Let's go, Shisui," said Hinode.

Shisui nodded, and the two of them leapt into the night.

To be continued.

Notes:

Much emotions in this chapter! The one I wanted to talk about most is Hinode and Shisui. Shisui might be walking further away from Hinode, they both still love each other very much as siblings. I feel that while families are usually close, there are still differences in understandings when they have the years between them. Kind of like how Hinode doesn't understand her father very well because she doesn't know what he's been through. Hinode and Shisui are 5 years apart, and Shisui was born during the war while Hinode grew up in peaceful times. That is why in this chapter, Hinode misses Obito a little more than usual.

Also, I was so happy writing Kakashi this chapter since he didn't show up at all in the last one. I think he's slowly walking out of darkness at this time. I really love when Kakashi smiles by squinting his eyes 3

By the way, I just found out that the Nine-Tails attack happened in October and I'm posting this in October. Funny coincidence! Thank you guys for reading and hope you liked it!

Chapter 25: Curse of the Tailed Beast

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Uchiha Hinode had never seen something so terrifying. As she and Shisui trekked further into the village center, so did the source of the fire from the woods. It was a beast with nine tails; its body was so large that just one footstep created craters in the ground and one swipe of its tails destroyed buildings in its path.

The most unnerving part of the beast to Hinode was that its rage was intensified by the fiery glow of its being. If the entire Uchiha clan blew Great Fireballs at it at once, it could probably withstand it.

"Could that be one of the legendary tailed beasts?" Shisui asked. Though they were both rushing toward the hospital to help their father, they couldn't help but let their attention stray to the giant monster destroying the village.

"Most likely," Hinode said, continuing to leap from roof to roof alongside Shisui and scanning the village below. "But why is it here?"

"I don't know," Shisui said gravely. "I hope that Lord Hokage is able to stop it."

Hinode's heart dropped. If Minato was going to stop that beast, who was going to look after Kushina? No, there were many strong shinobi in Konoha. If enough of them responded to the crisis, they should be able to chase the beast out of the village.

She had already decided not to worry about her curse, and she had a more important task at hand. They needed to make sure that their father was safe.

"Stop right there."

Hinode and Shisui halted when a masked shinobi appeared in front of them on top of the roof. The shinobi was in ANBU uniform, but the mask seemed a little different.

"The Lord Third has ordered the evacuation of young shinobi," the ANBU agent said to them. "The two of you need to evacuate now."

"Evacuation of young shinobi?" Hinode raised her eyebrow at the ANBU agent. "I'm sure you meant young civilians. There are young Jonin who should at least be protecting villagers who can't protect themselves."

"I have not misspoken," said the ANBU agent without a hint of warmth in his voice. "It's an order."

"We just need to find our father," said Shisui, a little more anxious now that he's seen the tailed beast. "He's in the hospital."

"There's an ANBU agent sent to help evacuate the hospital. The medical ninjas there should be enough to get the patients out."

"One ANBU agent? That's ridiculous!" Hinode's voice rose with anger. "The medical ninjas won't be able to fight when they have to take care of patients. What if the beast attacks the hospital?"

"You have five seconds to turn back from here," the ANBU shinobi would not budge.

"Or what?" Hinode narrowed her eyes.

"Nee-san, I…" Shisui began to say, but Hinode stopped him with a squeeze on his arm.

He looked up at her, expecting her to step in front of him, only to see her looking down at him too. She gave him a tiny smile, barely noticeable, and lightly pushed him forward.

"Go ahead," she whispered. "I've got your back."

Shisui smiled back at her, and as he nodded, his body flickered into the air.

"Wait—" the ANBU agent turned in pursuit, but he fell forward as his ankles were bound by chakra wires. "You dare attack one of your own village's shinobi at a time like this?"

"I should ask you the same question. I saw you reach for your kunai long before I let Shisui go," said Hinode.

Even the ANBU mask couldn't hide his surprise. The way he moved his hand slightly behind confirmed everything. Of course, Hinode didn't really plan on fighting the shinobi in front of her. There were much more dire things at hand. Hinode reached for more chakra wires from her toolbag to tie him up, but was stopped by the cold blade of a kunai pressing against her neck.

"You Uchihas sure are as arrogant as they say," a male voice whispered into Hinode's ear from behind. "Openly defying the Lord Third's order and resisting Root."

"Root?" Hinode repeated the unfamiliar word.

"We gave you enough warnings."

The kunai pressed harder against her neck. Hinode let out a small sigh; she was going to have to let Shisui wait. Hinode stepped a foot back, letting the kunai slice a gash into her skin as she twisted her torso. Her elbow shot upwards and connected with the man's chin. With her other hand, she knocked his kunai out of his hand.

The first shinobi already freed his ankles from the chakra wires, and he charged at Hinode with one leap. When Hinode's head whipped around, her eyes were glowing red in the night. With one back kick, she sent him flying over the edge of the roof.

When Hinode turned around again to face the second shinobi, a fist met her cheek. She must not have elbowed him hard enough earlier. The man definitely did not hold back even though she was young; her neck cranked to the side so hard with the force that any normal child would have snapped their neck.

The shinobi that she kicked off the roof was already back up. Hinode grounded herself just in time to duck and avoid the shuriken thrown at her. But the shuriken were only decoys; the shinobi rammed his knee toward Hinode's stomach.

"Ugh," Hinode backed away; the man's foot missed her by an inch. The second shinobi hooked his arms around hers as she backed up, pulling her arms behind her and holding them there.

"Now you can't use hand seals," he sneered.

"Hand seals? Child's play," Hinode scoffed and concentrated chakra into her fists. Changing the chakra nature as she released a large amount through her fists, the flames raged up her arms.

The second shinobi screamed as he let go of Hinode's arms. Hinode didn't need to look to know that his arms were completely scorched. With a roundhouse kick precisely at his neck, Hinode successfully knocked him out this time. She didn't waste any time before turning around again to fight the other shinobi, concentrating all of the flames on one fist this time.

Suddenly, a young shinobi's silhouette flashed over Hinode's field of vision, and took the other shinobi away. Hinode ran over to where the other shinobi stood and looked around; there was no one in sight. She frowned; if she didn't have her Sharingan activated, she wouldn't have seen what happened. There was no mistake. The masked girl used a scroll to seal away the other shinobi.

And even with a mask, Hinode couldn't mistake her platinum blonde bob and her slim build with anyone else in the village.

"...Yakko?"

The name sounded weird even to Hinode when she muttered it. Hinode had never spoken Yakko's name in any way other than in delight. Even if she hadn't seen Yakko in a while, she never expected to run into Yakko this way.

Was Yakko helping her or saving that shinobi?

Hinode shook her head; she didn't have time to think about this. No matter Yakko's intention, she had created a chance for Hinode to move forward. Hinode deactivated her Sharingan and got back on her way to the hospital.

In an alleyway, a young girl laid out two large scrolls on the ground and released chakra into the scroll. As the words written on the scrolls lit up, two bodies appeared above the scrolls. They were two Root members, one with severely burnt arms, still passed out from his earlier altercation with Uchiha Hinode. The one with less injuries stood up from the ground, his height blocking the moonlight from the young girl.

"Kusanagi Yakko," he said. "Where is that Uchiha girl? Remember Danzo-sama's order: No Uchihas are allowed near the tailed—"

A choke replaced the man's words. His mask hid his terrified face as he realized that the young girl had stabbed him in the throat with a kunai.

"Two Root members killed by Nine-Tails fire while on duty," Yakko muttered as the man dropped to the ground with a thud. She picked him up by the back of his collar and dragged him toward his unconscious comrade.

"What an unfortunate accident."

The young girl laid the two Root members side by side, and took out another scroll from her pack. The word "fire" was written on the outer cover of the scroll.

The closer Hinode got to the hospital, the more commotion could be seen. Fire engulfed buildings and people's screams filled the streets. It almost felt as if she was back in the war zones. Her heart pounded heavily while she looked from the hospital to the tailed beast. The beast was getting too close, and she hadn't seen Shisui or her father evacuating.

Anxiety grew inside her as she looked around. There were half as many shinobi around to evacuate the villagers than she had expected. In fact, many of the ones she recognized were her own clansmen.

When Hinode arrived at the hospital, there was still no sight of Shisui. The medical ninjas were scrambling to get the patients out of the building and into the clearing in the front of the hospital. Hinode was about to leap down from the rooftop when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Children need to evacuate immediately!" The head medic barked at Hinode.

"But my family—"

"We'll take care of things he—"

The medic's sentence was cut short when his eyes widened suddenly. He pushed Hinode hard and she fell off the rooftop. Hinode didn't have time to think about what happened before a giant tail swung over the hospital. Hinode took a sharp breath; half of the hospital was destroyed instantly, including where the medic and Hinode were just standing. Hinode looked up behind her, the tailed beast was close.

The tail induced flame onto everything it touched. Hinode was shaking, and she couldn't stop herself. The patients who were able to physically move by themselves ran from the building. Some tried to crawl away, and some were struck by flying debris.

Hinode struck her legs with her fists to get herself moving. Finally pushing herself up from the ground, she bolted into the burning building. As she ran through the halls while covering her mouth and nose, she tried not to look inside the rooms to avoid seeing the bodies burning inside them.

"Nee-san!"

Hinode swiveled toward the voice that called out to her from down the hall. It was Shisui, and he had Hidenobu's arm over his shoulder. Hinode's heart nearly stopped when she saw Hidenobu's other hand covering his mouth, but blood was dripping between his fingers. Shisui wasn't much better off with gashes and burns over his body. They must have been inside the hospital when the beast's tail hit.

"Shisui, let me help," Hinode ran over to them and took over her father's arm. In a quick scoop she lifted him to carry him on her back.

"You guys should have evacuated…" Hidenobu strained to speak without coughing. "Now Shisui is hurt from protecting me…"

"Are you gonna talk like that too, father?" Hinode strained as well, the smoke invading her lungs stung now as she used both of her hands to hold her father. "The head medic is dead. Who's going to save you if not us?"

They moved as quickly as they could through the burning building. It was harder and harder to keep her eyes open, but Hinode could see that the door was in sight. Then, she heard a shout from beside her. She turned her head just enough to see Shisui leaping towards her. Behind him, through the window, the tailed beast released mouthfuls of flames all over the village. One of its giant fireballs flew directly at the hospital.

Hinode felt herself being pushed to the ground, and her nose jammed against the floor. Next to her, she heard a thud and an "ooph" from Shisui. And then she heard her father.

"...Amaterasu."

Hinode craned her neck as far as she could while her father's hand pinned her down. Wild black flames filled her vision. She wasn't sure what she was seeing, but it seemed as if the black flames were burning the fireball. She struggled and dragged her chin against the floor to face the other side. Shisui had his back against the floor, and a devastated look on his face.

Two fires roared around them. Black flames fighting back the tailed beast's unrelenting flames, and Hinode could not hear anything for a while. All she saw was Shisui's lips moving, and then, tears started to flow out from his eyes.

Then, all of the noises stopped. Both colored flames had burned out. The tailed beast had gone away from the hospital. Hinode felt Shisui move to push Hidenobu off of them. She propped herself up immediately and braced herself before looking at Hidenobu.

"Father…"

Hinode could only whimper when she saw her father's face. Blood streamed from his eye sockets, but he was smiling. The rest of his body was badly burnt; it was apparent that even the black flames were not enough to completely contain the beast's power, and Hidenobu shielded them with his body.

"Help!" Hinode shouted at the top of her lungs. "Is there a medic around?!"

Not a living soul was anywhere in sight. The medical ninjas who survived had already evacuated with any patients they could take.

"Hinode, come," Hidenobu said just above a whisper.

Hinode reluctantly walked over to her father, who already had Shisui's hand in one of his. He reached his other hand out in search of Hinode. She could only assume that he was now completely blind. Hinode reached out her own shaky hand and grabbed her father's.

It was bloody and cold.

"I wish I could see your faces before I go," said Hidenobu.

Hinode wanted to tell him, "don't go." But the words were stuck in her throat.

"Hinode, you have your mother's heart. You're loving and kind, but you get fired up too easily. You can learn something from your little brother.

"Shisui, you have your mother's intellect. You're always quick to learn and excel in everything, but don't be overconfident. You can rely on your sister.

"Take care of each other."

Hidenobu's fingers loosened around Shisui's and Hinode's hands slowly, and he closed his eyes. He seemed almost as if he was in a peaceful slumber, but when the sun rose above the horizon and its rays lit up the hospital corridor, Hidenobu did not awaken.

As Hinode listened to Shisui's quiet sobs, she held her father's hand tighter and close to her heart.

The attack of the tailed beast had left the village of Konoha in shambles. Many villagers lost their homes, their livelihoods, and their loved ones. The beloved Fourth Hokage and his wife were among those that the villagers lost. Their funeral was held three days after the incident. All of the surviving villagers gathered to pay their respects.

A lone boy with silver hair stood at the front of the crowd, looking quietly at the photographs of Namikaze Minato and Kushina displayed with flowers. A girl approached him from behind and stood next to him. She bent down and lowered some white flowers down in front of the couple's photos.

"How are you?" Hinode asked Kakashi.

"I'm alive," he replied.

Hinode stared at the side of Kakashi's face. With his mask on, she couldn't see much of his face at all, but she could hear it in his voice. The desolation echoed.

"...Why am I the only one?" Kakashi said, this time a little shakier.

The question tugged at Hinode's heartstrings and she furrowed her brows. She understood how he felt. The guilt of surviving at the cost of someone else's life. How desperately he must have wanted to be under that boulder instead of Obito, or the one held captive by the Kiri-nin instead of Rin, or one of the many brave souls that died fighting the tailed beast.

Hinode, too, wished that she could have done something. If only she was the one who pushed the medic away, or the one who shielded Shisui and her father.

There were too many things that they just couldn't change. And while it would be easy to blame the tailed beast, or the Third Hokage for ordering the young to evacuate, Hinode remembered what her father said.

Let go of hatred, and hold on to hope.

That was a piece of him that Hinode would have with her forever.

As for Kakashi, what could he hold on to?

"Kakashi."

Hinode took Kakashi's hand, and the latter turned his face toward her finally. Surprise was written in his eyes.

"I'm still here," Hinode said.

Kakashi didn't have an immediate response for her, but he received her words. Yes, there were still things left in this village for him to fight for.

Although he was just the slightest bit flustered, because Hinode ended up having to pull him along, when he was the one who said that he was going to do that.

"Hinode!"

Hinode hurriedly let go of Kakashi's hand upon hearing her name being called. She turned around to see her former teammates and teacher approaching her. When she looked back toward Kakashi, he had already left. The only person who seemed to have noticed anything was Genma, who raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously.

"I'm sorry about your father, Hinode," Choza said to Hinode as he stopped in front of her. Though Hinode had grown since the last time they met face to face, he still towered over her. He looked down with a face of sympathy and regret. "I wish I could have been there to help you."

"Don't be sorry, Choza-sensei," said Hinode, cocking her head to the side to look beyond Choza. A few feet behind him stood a woman who held a big baby in her arms. She nodded at Hinode after their eyes met. "You were doing the same for your child as my father did for me and Shisui."

Choza gave her a compassionate smile and rubbed her head with his large palm, like he did before when she was hospitalized after the S rank mission. Warmth seeped through from his hand just like the last time, and Hinode could hardly hold it together.

Hinode had always idealized a father figure like Akimichi Choza ever since she was assigned to be a Genin under his care. But now, even after all the years of misunderstanding and fearing her own father, she realized that Hidenobu was the father that she really needed. One who wanted her to rise above the rest of the Uchiha clan and to overcome their curse, one who would go against his clan for his children.

It took so many years for her to figure out why her mother loved her father, and it was because they had the same dream—to endure for the ones they loved the most.

That was Hinode's new dream.

"Choza-sensei, I have a request," Hinode muttered.

"What is it?" asked Choza.

"I know that you're busy with whatever you do as a Jonin and being a new dad," Hinode looked up at Choza with clear eyes. "But could you please help me train? The next Chunin Exam… I will pass it!"

All three of her old teammates were shocked to hear her sudden proclamation, but it didn't take long for them to break out into smiles. They have always been confident in Hinode's abilities; the only thing left was for her to make up her mind.

"No matter when and where, I'll always be your teacher, Hinode," Choza said.

"Yes! This is what youth is about!" Guy exclaimed and grabbed Hinode by the shoulders. "I'm excited for our gruelling training together!"

"You know she didn't ask you to train her, right?" Genma digged at Guy, but couldn't hide his smile. "I mean, I guess I'll give you some pointers too, Hinode!"

The sun was bright and the sky was blue. Years ago, Hinode would have thought that the sky was mocking her. This time, it wasn't just a new day for her, but a new self.

To be continued.

Notes:

Hi everyone! I know that the updates have been slow lately, and I'm sorry that I can't update faster. Even though I have my outlines, the chapters are hard to write sometimes. Like this one, I didn't really like the way it turned out, but in the end I just had to post it. The interaction with Kakashi was supposed to be a big moment but it got reduced to so little. I think this slow burn needs to burn a little faster lol.
It kind of feels like the end of a part here and I didn't really plan for that. There will be a time skip next chapter just in case you guys get confused!

Chapter 26: Curse of Funerals

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The Nine-Tails Attack left a catastrophic impact on the Hidden Village of the Leaf. People's lives were never the same; everyone had lost something. But not everyone agreed with that statement.

The Uchiha clan did not suffer any loss except for one of its members, who was already terminally ill at that time. The Police Force that they ran lent no help in the fight against the tailed beast. Many villagers of Konoha turned their loss into anger towards the Uchiha clan. But who could beat the Uchiha clan in anger?

Ever since the Nine-Tails Attack, the Uchihas' anger towards Konoha had been boiling so intensely that if they were all to gather inside a volcano, it would surely erupt. However, there were no volcanoes near Konoha and the place that the Uchihas gathered to voice their anger was the weekly clan meetings at the Naka Shrine.

Hinode and Shisui accepted Fugaku's invitation and started to attend the clan meetings. For Hinode, it was eye-opening; the usually calm and collected Uchiha shinobi were angry and loud and sweaty in the basement of the shrine, like hungry barn animals crying at Fugaku. The Uchiha clansmen complained about how they were mistreated by the other villagers; how they were forced to help only with evacuation, and yet still get blamed for not fighting the tailed beast. Some of them, against Fugaku's wishes, physically retaliated against some of the slanderers, which caused even more backlash against the clan.

"They are trying to drive us out of the village!" a clansman would always say at every one of these meetings. "Even though the Uchihas are one of the village's founding clan!"

They always brought that point up.

"The village is still recovering from the damages of the attack!" Shisui would always speak up against the rest of the clan at every one of these meetings. "The people are sick with loss, and some are still mourning! As shinobi of the same village, shouldn't we try to understand and endure each other's pain?"

Uchiha Hidenobu once told his children that they were shinobi first, Uchiha second. As someone who was deeply affected by Hidenobu's death, Shisui firmly upheld that belief. By this time, Shisui had such a high reputation within the clan that others thought twice before getting back at him. Even when he joined ANBU, none of them insisted that he should join the Police Force instead.

On the other hand, Hinode typically stayed quiet at every one of these meetings. While she would give Shisui moral support, she didn't have time to push back against the pride of the Uchiha clan. Not yet, at least.

The complete rebuilding of Konohagakure took about five years to finish. With the loss of many shinobi during the attack, and without a Wood Release user like Konoha's first Hokage, there was no easy way to rebuild. As a Genin with a lot of physical strength, Hinode was assigned work after work after work. In the back of her mind, Hinode believed that it was the Third's way of forcing her to work enough to make up for lost times during the Fourth's time in office. She would have complained, but on top of work and training, she didn't have the time or energy to. She would just have to unleash all of her complaints at the Third when she reached her goal.

And her goal was to join ANBU.

It was ironic that she pushed away the Fourth's offer so many times, but now she was the one trying to get in. She would never admit that she was trying to join because of Shisui. No, Shisui was past the point of needing protection. Besides, there were other things that she could do as an ANBU agent. She had a feeling that she could learn more about this Root thing that Yakko might be involved with.

First thing first, Hinode needed to get promoted to Chunin rank. Because of the devastation of the Nine-Tails Attack, the annual Chunin Exam kept getting delayed. Hinode truly had to learn to be patient, but finally, as the oldest applicant that took the first exam after the NIne-Tails' Attack, she passed the test with ease.

However, Hinode had learned throughout her life that good news and bad news, more often than not, come hand in hand.

Before she could even celebrate her promotion, she received news that her old first grade teacher at the Ninja Academy, Ono Masano, had passed away.

"So why are you dragging me to this funeral?" Kakashi asked his Hinode as they walked side by side the morning after Ono Masano's passing.

"I didn't want to be the only one from our class who showed up," Hinode shrugged. "It's weird enough that Masano-sensei's wife only sent me an invitation. What if she comes and talks to me after the funeral? You're better at dealing with people than I am."

"That's true. You might say something insensitive," Kakashi nodded, earning a sideways glare from Hinode, which he ignored. "You could have dragged Guy or Genma. You know I don't get a lot of days off."

Hinode looked at Kakashi from head to toe. She didn't often see him without his ANBU uniform and mask. Both of them had buried themselves in work over the past four years.

"I don't know. We always run into each other at the cemetery, so I automatically associated funerals with you," Hinode joked halfheartedly.

"...Please don't associate me with funerals," Kakashi sighed.

There were very few attendees at Ono Masano's funeral. Hinode felt bad for expecting the turnout. After all, he wasn't a very well-liked teacher.

One attendee did catch Hinode and Kakashi's eyes. He was talking with a woman who was quietly crying, most likely Ono Masano's wife. Although he wore black like the others, he held his easily recognizable hat in his hands. It was the Third Hokage.

"Hey, Hinode! Kakashi!"

The pair looked to their left simultaneously to see their old friend Asuma. He waved at them and walked over.

"I didn't expect to see you guys here. Especially you, Kakashi, you didn't even finish Masano-sense's class," said Asuma and pointed a thumb behind him at the Hokage, "I'm here with my father, as you can see."

"He was a good teacher, nonetheless," said Kakashi.

Hinode rolled her eyes. She distinctly remembered catching Kakashi snoozing during class.

"Seeing you guys here sure brings back memories!" Asuma looked up at the sky in reminiscence. "I still remember the day when you guys fought in the dojo and got punished by Masano-sensei! And when Kakashi graduated early, Hinode got so emotional that she stood up and shouted that she wanted to graduate too! Masano-sensei got so mad!"

Kakashi peered down beside him at Hinode. The girl was visibly getting more and more irritated.

"I'm sure Masano-sensei really liked Hinode, that's why she was invited here," Kakashi said quickly, adding a couple of soft chuckles.

"Now that's a fresh way to look at it," Asuma rubbed his stubby chin, then looked back and forth at Hinode and Kakashi. "Wait a minute. If Hinode was the one invited here, then why are you here, Kakashi?"

Before Kakashi could respond to Asuma's question, the funeral had started. Hinode shrugged and walked toward the seating area without saying a word. Kakashi gave Asuma an apologetic smile and followed behind the girl.

Asuma cocked an eyebrow. Since when did those two become such good friends?

The funeral was over in less than an hour. Many of the attendees stayed around to chat, but Hinode was not in the mood for that. She signaled Kakashi to take their leave, but before they could get away from the crowd, a woman stopped them.

"You must be Uchiha Hinode!" the woman smiled kindly at Hinode. "My name is Ono Yuko, Masano's wife."

"Um… Hello," Hinode greeted awkwardly, and quickly added, "I'm sorry for your loss."

"And you must be Hatake Kakashi," Yuko turned to Kakashi, who nodded at her. "One of Masano's most memorable students."

Kakashi scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, while Hinode nudged him in the side with a sly smile.

"Ah, Uchiha Hinode and Hatake Kakashi! What a surprise to see you two here!"

Hinode's shoulders twitched upon hearing the Third Hokage's voice. She and Kakashi turned their heads together to see Sarutobi Hiruzen walking towards them with a grin. Hinode knew it was not a surprise to him at all.

"Oh, I just had to invite Hinode because I've always wanted to meet her," Yuko said to the Third, "She's Masano's favorite student, after all."

This time, Hinode was surprised. She got yelled at a lot by Ono Masano, second only to Obito, so she never expected to be his favorite student. She didn't know how to react or say to Ono Yuko after learning this information.

"Oh, is that so?" Hiruzen said.

"Yes, Masano always said that in his 35 years of teaching, Uchiha Hinode was the only student who never fell asleep during class. And even though she was a troublemaker, she was always looking out for her classmates, like Kusanagi Yakko."

Hinode felt her cheeks burn. She knew she should have left in the middle of the funeral to avoid this kind of conversation. This time, Kakashi nudged her on the side.

Ono Yuko gave Hinode a little bow. "Thank you for bringing joy to Masano's life. As his wife, even I know that he can be a bore. But I loved hearing him talk about you when he came home from work."

"P-please, don't thank me for that," Hinode hurriedly returned a bow.

With another smile, Yuko turned and left. Meanwhile, Hinode stood there awkwardly as the Hokage continued to scrutinize her. When she gave him an annoyed little glare, he started to chuckle.

"Did you hear that, Hinode?" Hiruzen smirked. "Even with an attitude like that, you can be someone's favorite!"

"So what?" Hinode grumbled.

"You know, this means I need a new first grade teacher at the academy, and the new school year is going to start in just a week!" Hiruzen said while smoothing out his beard, pretending to be in deep thought. "I think it would make Ono Masano very happy if his favorite student of all time took over his position…"

Knowing what Hiruzen was hinting at, Hinode said directly, "No, thanks!"

"And why not?" Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at her.

"I want to make Jonin and then join ANBU," said Hinode.

"ANBU? No, you're not made for ANBU," Hiruzen waved a dismissing hand at Hinode. The girl bristled and Kakashi had to hold her down. "You see? The ANBU reports directly to me and you already talk back so much!"

Frustration came out of Hinode's head in the form of steam.

"What is it with you Hokage?! First, you wanted me to follow my dream—which was to live freely, by the way, then the Fourth wanted me to join ANBU, I said no, and now you don't want me to join ANBU after I put in my effort!"

"You call passing the Chunin Exam at 19 effort?" Hiruzen raised his eyebrow.

"You passed the Chunin Exam?" Kakashi turned to Hinode at the news.

"The point is," Hinode raised her voice over the two men. "Even if you won't let me join ANBU, I'd still be better off taking missions and stuff! I don't know anything about teaching!"

"Not necessarily, I bet the only people who are willing to team up with you are Guy and Genma, and they are both very busy," said Hiruzen, "Besides, it's just the first grade. Read from the books, and the brats will be sleeping through it."

"So you want me to do a lousy job?"

"Only if you want a lousy pay."

Hinode was at the point of breaking when Hiruzen finally turned away from her.

"Just think about it and let me know by tomorrow, Hinode," said the old shinobi as he walked away. "I just want the best for you!"

Kakashi watched as the girl deflated next to him. It was not the first time that Hinode's plans didn't go her way. He knew Hinode enough not to comment on what Hiruzen had said to her. He wasn't sure that Hinode was teacher material, but he could guess Hiruzen's intentions. If he calculated correctly, Minato's son was old enough to go to Ninja Academy now. Hinode was someone who didn't care about what anyone said about her; she would be a good person to watch over the boy, whom a lot of the villagers were calling a 'monster.'

Besides, Hinode had a way with children, especially the outcasts. She might not know that about herself, but Kakashi knew that quite well.

"Congrats on passing the Chunin Exam," said Kakashi to Hinode, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I haven't had the chance to tell anyone yet," Hinode let out a sigh, not pleased at all about passing the exam anymore. "But now I don't even want to tell anyone. Chunin at 19… I don't even need to see Genma to hear him cackling."

"It's only a title," Kakashi tried to console her. "How about some dango to celebrate?"

Hinode's back straightened up at the word dango; no matter how many times Kakashi had seen that reaction, he still found it… amusing.

But this time, Hinode didn't immediately agree.

"Before that," she said as she moved her gaze toward Kakashi's face, "Will you go somewhere with me?"

Kakashi nodded even though he had no clue where Hinode wanted to go. He merely followed her as she took him on a distant but familiar path. They were almost at their destination when Kakashi finally realized where Hinode was going. Somewhere he hadn't been since he was six years old—the Ninja Academy.

He tried to peek at Hinode's face, but he couldn't tell from her expression what she was thinking. Perhaps she was really thinking about Hiruzen's offer.

Hinode and Kakashi stood inside the Ninja Academy dojo quietly, now feeling the nostalgia that Asuma was talking about. The sunlight coming through the windows made the little scrapes on the wooden floors stand out. Although the school's facilities had been renovated since the Nine-Tails' Attack, the dojo was already getting properly worn out by the students. In a way, the attack itself had sparked a new sense of motivation within the aspiring ninjas.

For six years in the Ninja Academy, Hinode worked just hard enough to move on to the next grade, and eventually to graduate. Perhaps the only time that she actually tried her best inside the dojo was the time that she'd fought with Kakashi. Even then, it was because she got mad that Kakashi said something bad about Obito.

Her parents had been right about her all along. Byakue said that her heart wasn't in the right place, and Hidenobu said that she was too hot headed. She wouldn't say that she had fixed all of that, but she would like to think that she'd changed at least a little.

"Care for a friendly rematch?" Hinode asked on a whim.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in response, which Hinode found a little funny.

"The oldie was right; becoming Chunin at 19 is nothing to be proud of," Hinode said, and before Kakashi could disrupt her, she added, "But beating the famous Hatake Kakashi is."

The corners of Kakashi's lips curled up at Hinode's statement.

"You know I've gotten a lot stronger since the time we were students," he warned.

To that, Hinode grinned.

"So have I."

The sunset casted a golden glow into the Ninja Academy's dojo. One would not have guessed the kind of fight that took place inside if they walked by. Kakashi and Hinode both lied on their backs with their arms and legs spread out inside the dojo, and both were too busy catching their breaths to talk.

Kakashi strained his neck to look at the state of his shirt. There were burnt holes everywhere. He groaned to himself; he didn't have very many shirts that weren't for work. However, it was also evident that Hinode held back during their fight. Kakashi had seen Hinode's Fire Release that combined her prowess in Taijutsu. It used to be such an explosive and dangerous technique that she'd needed protective garbs, but now her chakra control was good enough to keep the flames at a constant level. And with her Sharingan, she saw exactly where she needed to stop to avoid actually burning him.

If Hinode hadn't wasted all those years, not even Kakashi could fathom where she would be now. Definitely not still a Chunin, that was for sure. Then again, Kakashi never imagined Hinode to rise up to a Chunin or Jonin either.

"You snotty little bastard," Hinode huffed from a few feet away. "You held back on me. You didn't even use Chidori."

"You're the one who said to be careful not to break anything because you're tired of the rebuilding," Kakashi gave her an accusing look. "Once I start Chidori, there's no going back. If you dodge it, that means the wall behind you is done for."

"...Well, thanks for being considerate, I guess."

"What's the name of your Fire Release Technique, anyway?" Kakashi asked suddenly.

"I've never really thought about it. Guy and Genma asked me the same thing," Hinode shrugged at the ceiling. "My father helped me come up with the technique, so I never really thought of it as mine."

"It's very 'you' though," said Kakashi. "Besides, didn't you start with the idea?"

Hinode hummed in thought, then turned her head to look at Kakashi. "You named Chidori because of the sound it makes, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Kakashi turned to Hinode as well.

"Shall I name it Koshōken?" Hinode smiled slightly. "The move was inspired by you, after all."

"Tiger's Howl Fist, huh?" Kakashi thought about the name. "Very blatant copy, but I don't hate it."

Hinode laughed a bit and turned her gaze back at the ceiling. The curve of her smile dropped slowly. She breathed deeply; even the smell of the dojo was different than anywhere else in the village.

"Kakashi," Hinode said, "Do you think I should take Lord Third's offer?"

Kakashi peeked at Hinode's face; she was seriously thinking about it.

"Why not? You like kids, don't you?"

Hinode would never verbally agree with the suggestion that she liked kids. But if she were to choose between dealing with kids or dealing with that old geezer called Sarutobi Hiruzen, she'd choose kids in a heartbeat.

There was just one thing that was holding her back.

"But Yakko…" Hinode began to murmur.

"I'll keep a look out for her for you," Kakashi assured her. "I was approached by Danzo-sama to join Root. I can get a closer look than you even if you joined ANBU. Remember, it's impossible for you to look after every single person in your life."

Kakashi was right; he was probably a better person for the job than she was. And judging by that brief moment that she saw Yakko during the Nine-Tails' Attack, the girl was probably strong enough to take care of herself. She just couldn't help but worry since she couldn't see Yakko's face through the mask. She wondered if it was still the sweet and innocent face under that mask.

Hinode took a deep breath and closed her eyes, then let the breath out slowly.

One thing at a time.

To be continued.

Notes:

Hi everyone! Sorry I kind of took an unannounced break between updates! But hey, there's an appropriate time skip, right?

I hope you guys liked this one! I wonder if anyone guessed what's next for Hinode? What do you guys think about the future Hinode-sensei?

I actually had a another scene for this chapter but it didn't feel right to put it at the end so I pushed it to the next chapter. Get ready for the Uchiha boys including little Sasuke munchkin!

As always, thank you guys for reading!

Chapter 27: Curse of Parties

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Surprise!"

Hinode's mouth gaped when she walked into her house the evening after Ono Masano's funeral. Shisui had bought all of Hinode's favorite sweets and assembled them on the dinner table, decorated the house with streamers, and best of all, gathered a couple of Hinode's favorite people, Itachi and Sasuke, together in one room.

Seeing that he had successfully caught Hinode off guard, Shisui grinned and stepped forward to pull a petrified Hinode into the house.

"What's all this?" Hinode managed to ask.

"It's a party for you," Shisui said proudly, "Congratulations on your promotion, Nee-san!"

Hinode felt her face burn; while she was happy to see all of her favorite things, a promotion to Chunin didn't warrant such a big celebration. When Hinode tried to tell Shisui this, he stopped her before she could speak one word. He knew his older sister enough and he wasn't going to let her dampen the mood for her own party.

"Shisui, this is—"

"Don't be modest," Shisui led Hinode to the dinner table and stuffed a cream puff into her mouth. The combination of custard and a thick layer of powdered sugar almost made her choke. "Let me get you some tea!"

Shisui flickered into the kitchen and began to fill a kettle with water. As Hinode strained to swallow the cream puff before it killed her, a piece of tissue paper was handed to her in front of her face. Hinode looked to see that it was Itachi handing her the tissue paper; the boy smiled slightly at her.

"Thank you, Itachi," Hinode said after wiping the powdered sugar off of her face.

"Congratulations, Hinode-san," Itachi said as he handed her something else. Hinode was surprised to see a bouquet of roses in Itachi's hand.

Itachi had always been a sweet and polite kid since they met, but there were times when he did things that completely surprised her. Itachi was a one-of-a-kind genius as a shinobi, but his idea of social etiquette was out of this world.

"Itachi, you didn't pick out the roses, did you?" Hinode asked.

"I asked Yamanaka-san at the flower shop," though a little hesitant, Itachi answered honestly.

Hinode had to withhold a laugh at Itachi's honesty. "What did you tell her?"

Itachi blinked with confusion at Hinode's question, but proceeded to tell her the truth, "I told her that I wanted flowers for someone important. She asked me if that person was a girl. I said yes."

Hinode couldn't help but laugh, which made Itachi even more confused.

The Konoha shinobi often spoke of Itachi as someone way beyond his age, but sometimes, he could really be a clueless kid.

"You don't like it?" Itachi asked.

"No, I love it. It's just that roses are for girls that you like," Hinode explained as she took the bouquet from Itachi. When Itachi gave her another confused look, Hinode chuckled and ruffled his hair with her free hand. "You'll get it when you're older."

Itachi tilted his head and leaned into Hinode's palm like he did the first time she petted his head, and all of the times after that. Shisui had grown out of that long ago; Hinode was glad that Itachi hadn't grown out of it yet.

Suddenly, Hinode saw a movement from the corner of her eyes, and her hand was yanked away from Itachi's head from the elbow. Hinode looked down to see Sasuke glaring at her with eyebrows scrunched together.

"Don't treat Nii-san like a kid!" the young boy growled at Hinode.

Hinode had to hold back another giggle. Uchiha Sasuke was completely different from Itachi and Shisui as a child. It was even a little bit surprising to Hinode that she liked him so much. In a way, Sasuke was a very normal kid. He loved his parents and especially loved his older brother. He loved Itachi to the point that he'd bristle like a cat when anyone did anything remotely mean to Itachi.

And the kid could misconstrue a lot, especially when Hinode did it, which made it even more enjoyable to tease him.

Hinode looked down at Sasuke with a smug smile, and reached her hand toward Itachi's cheek.

"Would a grown man have such pinchable cheeks?" asked Hinode as she pulled Itachi's cheek with her fingers.

"Let go, Hinode!" Sasuke punched at Hinode's side, but for Hinode, it was not even a little bit painful.

"That feels great, Sasuke, do it to my back, please!"

"Hinode, you jerk!"

Shisui came back out of the kitchen with a tray of tea in his hands. He sighed and shook his head at the sight in front of him. An adult who had just turned Chunin was bullying a child prodigy who was about to become the youngest ANBU member and a five-year-old child of the head of the Uchiha clan.

While Shisui secretly enjoyed seeing a different side to his best friend, and knew that Itachi liked being able to relax and eat sweets around Hinode, he felt bad for young Sasuke. Any more teasing and the kid was going to throw a tantrum.

"Nee-san, that's enough teasing for today," Shisui chuckled as he set the teas down around the table. "Let's eat before the tea gets cold."

The four of them sat down around the dessert-filled table. Hinode and Itachi didn't waste any time with the tea as they raced to try every dessert on the table. Shisui picked up a slice of matcha pound cake and ate it slowly. Meanwhile, Sasuke didn't touch anything in front of him and complained that he didn't like sweets.

"I made tomatoes pickled with umeboshi. They're in the fridge," said Hinode with a mouth full of mochi stuffed with red beans and strawberry.

Sasuke looked to Hinode with a flash of glee in his eyes, but quickly pouted again. "If you made it, then it must taste bad!"

"Really? I'll throw it away then. I hate tomatoes," Hinode sneered at Sasuke.

"Mother said wasting food is like disrespecting the gods," Itachi commented and stood up from his seat. He then said lovingly to Sasuke, "I'll grab the tomatoes for you, Sasuke."

Sasuke finally grinned for the first time today.

"Thank you, Nii-san!"

Hinode looked around the room and smiled to herself. The house hadn't been this lively for a while; even when her father was still alive, the scarce conversations they had as a family revolved around missions. This reminded her of simpler times when her mother was still around, and when Obito still lived with them. Sasuke's complaining almost reminded her of Obito's complaining about her overly-sweet cooking. And while she and Obito bickered day in and day out, Byakue had the happiest look on her face.

It was just recently that Hinode understood what her mother must have felt. Being able to bicker and complain about things that didn't have to do with being a shinobi was a sign of peace. Hinode wanted to keep it that way.

"How come Hinode gets a party for turning Chunin, but Nii-san doesn't get a party for getting into ANBU?" After finishing the tomatoes, Sasuke was back to pouting. "Nii-san has a much bigger accomplishment!"

"Oh, and what do you know about accomplishments, Sasuke?" Hinode poked at Sasuke again. "Did you want a party for finally not wetting the bed?"

"I have never wet the bed!" Sasuke shouted with his face as red as the tomatoes he'd just eaten.

"All right, Nee-san, take it easy on Sasuke," Shisui chuckled at Sasuke and Hinode's back and forth. "Sasuke, we'll have a party after Itachi's first day, and we'll have a party after your first day at the academy, too!"

Though still pouting, Sasuke seemed to have deemed Shisui's suggestion satisfactory.

"I'm gonna be top of the class like Nii-san, and graduate early! I'm gonna make Chunin way before I'm nineteen!" Sasuke declared.

"I'm sure you will, Sasuke," Itachi said to Sasuke, taking a tissue to Sasuke's cheek to wipe away some tomato juice.

Hinode watched the brothers deeply, especially at Itachi. Over the years, Hinode had watched him grow. He had always been hard to figure out. With so little spoken words, she never could tell what he was thinking or feeling. But with Sasuke, Itachi couldn't hide his love.

Uchiha Itachi, prodigy of the century, youngest shinobi to enter ANBU, eventual heir to the Uchiha clan, was just human underneath it all.

From the corner of her eyes, Hinode caught Shisui looking at the brothers as well. She could imagine that he wanted to protect them like she did.

On the next day, Hinode reported to the Hokage's office. Hiruzen wore a knowing smile on his face when Hinode walked in, as if already knowing that she would accept his offer. For a second, Hinode even missed Namikaze Minato sitting in that seat. At least the Yellow Flash would never gloat like the old geezer.

"So, what now?" Hinode asked with an impatient tone. "I told you I don't know anything about teaching."

"You have a lot to prepare," Hiruzen handed Hinode a large, thick folder. "This is Masano-sensei's old curriculum. You might want to study it and modify it on your own. Also, the Opening Ceremony for new students is next week…"

Hiruzen's voice dragged on and on and Hinode felt her head start to spin as if she was under some Genjutsu attack. She never liked to study and she thought that she was done with it, but now she was being told to study what her old teacher had made her study? She was already beginning to regret her decision.

"By the way, you might want to invest in a flak jacket," Hiruzen added at the end of his list. "It's not the best idea to sport your clan's symbol at school, in case someone accuses you of favoritism."

Hinode had never paid much attention to the symbol she carried on her back, pretty much since she was born. The Uchiha clan's symbol, the fan, never meant a lot to her. The same could not be said about the rest of her clansmen, especially in recent years. It seems that the more discrimination the clan faced, the bigger their pride grew. Even Hinode became slightly sensitive about the situation.

"Don't you mean that parents won't trust an Uchiha as a teacher?" Hinode scoffed.

Hiruzen frowned and shook his head. "Not you too, Hinode."

"Relax, I don't really care," Hinode waved a hand at Hiruzen. "But you should know that the others do care and they care a lot, and sometimes, I don't blame them. You really messed up during the Nine-Tails Attack, you know that?"

Hiruzen didn't respond to Hinode for a while, then said, "I fully understand that and I take the blame for all the lives that we unnecessarily lost that day."

"That's a nice sentiment, but you are the Hokage," Hinode shrugged and made her way to the door. "It's much easier to hate a clan that's unlikeable to begin with."

"You really need to watch what you say when you start teaching, Hinode."

Hinode waved off Hiruzen's words and walked out of his office. Needless to say, she was not going to talk about politics in a classroom filled with five-year-olds. Even when she was a child, she didn't like being identified as an Uchiha. There were many assumptions and expectations placed on that name, and things had not snowballed the way they did up to now.

Shisui and Itachi understood both sides as they grew up; and both of them joining the ANBU was a surprise to some of the clansmen. Some said that their loyalty to the clan was questionable, but these were only whispers since Shisui and Itachi were quite the powerful duo. Hinode was not worried about those two. She was more concerned for Sasuke.

Not to say that Sasuke was sheltered, but so far in his life, he had kept a tunnel vision toward his genius of a brother. Sasuke loved and admired Itachi and Itachi loved him back. He was loved by his parents and loved by her and Shisui. Sasuke had yet to experience any kind of discrimnation from having the Uchiha name, and he was about to enter into a whole new stage of life.

Hinode knew that children could easily be influenced, and she was determined to protect Sasuke from even one hurtful word. Sasuke was, albeit a little bratty, such an innocent and happy child. He didn't need to grow up the way she and Shisui did.

Hinode's wandering thoughts brought her to the business district. When she finally realized that she was walking aimlessly, she had stopped in front of the dango shop.

Might as well. Hinode shrugged to herself and walked in.

The owner smiled immediately when Hinode walked in, and showed her to a table all to herself. Hinode ordered enough dango to feed a small family and laid down the big folder on the table and flipped it open.

Basic Shinobi Principles

Intro to Taijutsu

Intro to Chakra

Basic Hand Seals

Basic Tools and Weaponry

Intro to Tactics

Hinode felt her head spin just from reading the folder's tabs. She remembered how unbearably dull these "basics" were, especially when they were already being taught at home from her parents.

In fact, so were most of her classmates back then. She couldn't really blame anyone for falling asleep in Ono Masano's class at that point.

"Is this Genjutsu or am I really seeing Uchiha Hinode reading with such concentration that she hasn't noticed the dango on the table?"

Hinode drew her eyes upward from the pages to see Kakashi, this time back in his ANBU uniform and mask. Just as Kakashi said, there were several plates of dango on her table.

"What are you doing here?" Hinode asked, picking up a skewer of dango.

"Looking for you," Kakashi helped himself to a seat next to Hinode. He removed his ANBU mask and peeked at Hinode's reading material. "So you accepted that teaching position?"

"Don't remind me of my poor life decisions," Hinode sighed dramatically and flipped the folder shut, then wolfed down all three dango on the skewer at once.

"I don't want to add stress to your day, but I thought that you probably should know this..." Kakashi handed Hinode another skewer of dango from the table. "I attended a Root meeting. Yakko was there."

Hinode whirled to face Kakashi, and he was holding a cup of tea in front of her. She snatched the tea and washed down the sticky rice balls in her mouth in a matter of seconds.

"I had a feeling that she was part of that group," Hinode frowned when she was finally able to speak. "How was she? What kind of organization is Root?"

"It seems that it's a division of ANBU that solely serves Danzo-sama," said Kakashi in a hushed voice. "The members are… strange. In a way, they seem to be the perfect shinobi. They don't exert any emotion. And Yakko… Well, she didn't seem to remember who I am."

Hinode's frown deepened. Her breathing became quick and shallow as she searched her memory for the last time she saw Yakko. She'd only seen a shadow of the young girl during the Nine-Tail's Attack, and they did not make any eye contact. Was Yakko helping her or a fellow Root member? If Yakko was helping her, why didn't she say anything?

"It's almost as if Danzo-sama has molded them for his personal use," Kakashi continued. "Considering how long ago Yakko started training under him, I'm not surprised that she can't remember me, someone she barely knows."

"And what kind of missions does Root take on?" Hinode asked, her voice shaking a little.

"Assassination, mostly," Kakashi said calmly, sensing Hinode's worry rise. "I have not yet found anything suspicious, though it is not the most glorious of organizations. And the good thing is that Yakko seems to be in a high position. Danzo-sama keeps her pretty close, so she's not involved in the dangerous missions."

The dangerous missions didn't worry Hinode. She always knew that Yakko had a lot of talent and was only going to get stronger under Danzo's teaching. What worried her was the path that Yakko was traveling down.

Yakko grew up not having anyone; what if she got attached to Danzo? Hinode didn't want Yakko to become an emotionless tool, for Danzo or anyone.

Hinode bit her lip. "Do you think she remembers me? "

Kakashi's eye softened at Hinode. "If she were to remember anyone, I think it would be you."

"Why do you say that?" Hinode blinked, making Kakashi sigh deeply.

"For someone who always acts like a know-it-all, you really don't know anything," Kakashi mocked as he propped his head up with his elbow on the table.

"What is that supposed to—"

"Hinode? Kakashi?"

The two of them peeled their faces away from each other and looked to the storefront. Kurenai walked toward them, holding a takeout bag. She looked at Hinode and Kakashi suspiciously, and specifically noted their seating arrangement.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you both! What are you guys doing here?" Kurenai asked affably, lifting the mood for Hinode and Kakashi instantly.

"Just wandered here," said Hinode.

"Just passed by," said Kakashi.

"...Okay?" Kurenai raised an eyebrow at them. "I can understand Hinode's case, but Kakashi…"

"I was on my way home," said Kakashi as he stood up. "Nice to see you, Kurenai."

With a quick nod, Kakashi walked past Kurenai and out of the dango shop. He was out of sight before Kurenai could think of telling him to wait. Kurenai looked back at Kakashi, shrugged, and sat down across from Hinode.

"That was weird," said Kurenai, looking at Hinode for an agreement.

"Was it?" Hinode pushed herself up from her seat as well. "I've got to go too. I have so much reading to do."

Hinode flashed the cover of her giant folder in front of Kurenai before heading out of the store. She moved so fast that Kurenai could barely even read the words on the cover. Kurenai did catch the name Ono Masano written on the folder. She then remembered something Asuma asked her after he'd attended Ono Masano's funeral.

"Since when did Kakashi and Hinode become close friends?"

At that time, she told Asuma that he was being too gossipy. It was normal that Kakashi and Hinode would grow out of their childish quarrels and become friends. They've all been through so much, after all.

But now, Kurenai made a mental reminder to take back what she said to Asuma. However, Asuma was still wrong. They didn't just become close friends. Kurenai was a knowledgeable woman and she knew this:

Friends don't sit side by side at a restaurant by themselves.

To be continued.

Notes:

That was kind of a slice-of-life-y chapter! Next up: Hinode's first day on the job!

Chapter 28: Curse of the First Day

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

For a long time, Hinode hadn't felt nervous about anything. She didn't feel nervous carrying out a mission, talking to the Hokage, or talking to anyone for that matter. But her heart was racing as she stood behind a temporary stage they'd set up in the schoolyard for the Entrance Ceremony at the Ninja Academy. The Hokage was giving a motivational speech to the new first years, who were accompanied by their parents. In just a few minutes, he was going to bring Hinode up to the stage to introduce her as a new teacher.

She was not afraid of the parents. Rather, she was nervous about the children. It was at that exact moment did she decide that she'd made a terrible decision. Sure, she liked kids, if they behave. Sure, she could whip up some sweet treats for them. But teach them to be a ninja? Guide them when they need guidance? What did she sign up for?

"Now, I'd like to introduce the academy's newest faculty member, who will be teaching the first grade."

Hiruzen's voice beckoned her to the stage. Hinode unzipped the high collars of her new flak jacket to take a deep breath. It didn't work, but she was out of time.

"Hinode-sensei, please come up to the stage."

Hinode was not sure how long it took her, but her feet slowly brought her up to the stage next to Hiruzen. Below the stage, twenty something children stared at her with their big, round eyes. A couple of parents seemed to recognize Hinode, which was not a surprise to her. She helped repair a lot of people's houses after the Nine-Tail's Attack, after all.

Some of the parents started to murmur amongst themselves. Hinode could have sworn that she heard her last name come up a few times. She felt her back start to produce sweat as her eyes shifted around the crowd, feeling thoroughly uncomfortable.

Then, she saw him.

Sasuke was looking at Hinode with his mouth agape. He blinked his eyes hard a few times, like it was going to make her disappear. Then Hinode realized that she had never told Sasuke that she was going to start teaching at the academy.

Hinode's lips quivered. Sasuke's expression was too funny and adorable. She sent a playful grin his way, and then bowed to the rest of the crowd.

"Pleased to meet all of you," said Hinode loudly and clearly. There was not a hint of tenseness in her voice. "Parents, please bring the students to the first grade classroom and say goodbye."

Hinode stepped down after that short greeting. Beside her, Hiruzen peeked at her with amused eyes.

"I thought you'd be more nervous," said Hiruzen.

"Don't be ridiculous. They're just five-year-olds," Hinode dropped her smile and hopped off the stage. "I'm off to the classroom."

"Good luck!" Hiruzen called after her, but she did not turn around and simply waved. Hiruzen shook his head at her back. "Hope this keeps you busy, child…"

The first grade classroom was smaller than Hinode remembered. Besides being several feet taller, the view was completely different now that she was standing at the podium. Several children started filing into seats after saying bye to their parents at the door. A few of them looked as nervous as she was earlier.

"Hinode! I can't believe it's you!"

Akimichi Choza bent at the waist to squeeze through the front classroom door. His big hands were holding onto the shoulders of a not-quite-mini version of himself, who was munching on a family-size bag of potato chips.

"Choza-sensei," Hinode nodded at her former teacher, not surprised at all since she had already spotted him amongst the crowd earlier.

"How funny is this? First I teach you, then you teach my son!" Choza beamed at Hinode. His excitement made Hinode's cheeks slightly warm. "Please take care of Choji here!"

Before Hinode could respond, two more parent-child pairs attempted to push Choza to the side.

"Hey, Choza, trying to get special treatment for your son, huh?" A blonde man with long hair accused Choza jokingly, but also pushed his daughter toward Hinode. "Hinode-sensei, I'm Yamanaka Inoichi and this is my daughter, Ino. Perhaps you have seen my wife before at Yamanaka Flowers?"

"Um, yes, your wife has great eyes for flower arrangements," Hinode nodded.

"What's your favorite kind of flower? I'm sure my wife wouldn't mind arranging something nice…"

"Oi, Inoichi! You're blatantly bribing the teacher!" A black-haired man with a high ponytail pushed Inoichi out of the way and smiled at Hinode. "I'm Nara Shikaku, and this is Shikamaru. If he sleeps in class, don't hesitate to punish him!"

The Ino-Shika-Cho combo was as powerful as people said. Hinode was flustered while being swarmed by the three fathers even though she usually could come up with quick and snarky remarks. Hinode blamed it on her new job.

"I, uh… I'll do my best?"

That wasn't supposed to come out like a question, but the fathers seemed to be satisfied. They said goodbye to their children and urged them to go find their seats, and the children left to sit next to each other.

Before Choza ducked down again to exit the classroom, he turned back at Hinode and pointed his thumb up at her.

"I'm happy for you, Hinode!"

Hinode smiled and said in a lowered voice, "Thank you for everything, sensei."

Choza looked surprised for a split second, and waved with a smile. After leaving the classroom, Hinode could hear Inoichi's voice from the hallway, teasing Choza and telling him not to cry.

Hinode chuckled to herself, and another pair of parents showed up in front of her. Both the father and the mother had interesting hairstyles, and Hinode found it quite nice that both of them came to their daughter's first day of school. They had warm smiles that led Hinode to think that they were great parents.

"Hinode-sensei, we are the Harunos. We just wanted to say hello," the mother said to Hinode. "Here, Sakura-chan, say hello to your teacher."

Barely reaching the height of Hinode's thighs was a girl with such light pink hair, the color of her blushing cheeks was deeper, despite most of her face being covered by her bangs. She had a timid look that reminded Hinode of Yakko when they first started school.

"Come on, Sakura," the father urged the young girl, but she was too nervous.

"It's okay," Hinode stepped in to save the young girl. "We have a whole year to say hello to each other."

The parents conceded at Hinode's assurance. The mother smiled at ruffled Sakura's hair. "We're a civilian family, so Sakura is a bit nervous about Ninja Academy. But I promise you, she's really smart!"

"Mom!" Sakura objected softly.

Sakura's parents finally decided to give her a break and said goodbye after each of them gave her a hug. Civilian parents were clearly a different breed.

More and more students piled in and Hinode tried to smile at each of them to seem more like a teacher. Then, a familiar face appeared besides her.

"Hinode," Uchiha Fugaku said sternly.

"Fugaku-san," Hinode dropped her smile, even though Sasuke was right beside his father.

"I did not know that you were considering a teaching job here," Fugaku said, relaying his disapproval with his tone of voice.

"I did not know that you needed to know my every thought," said Hinode.

"You're an Uchiha, Hinode. The clan can better look after each other as members of the Police Force."

Fugaku was calm but firm with his words; as a clan leader, he wasn't easily affected by Hinode's attitude. But Hinode could tell that he was upset, especially since she, like Shisui and his own son, had turned down a spot in the Police Force.

Police force or army? Hinode thought but did not say. It would be too much in front of Sasuke.

"I'm looking after your precious son here, Fugaku-san," Hinode grinned down at Sasuke, who was already giving her his best glare. The message behind his eyes said "Don't you dare reveal our familial ties to the class!"

Fugaku did not say anything further, but shook his head and left the classroom. Sasuke looked back at his father; Fugaku did not say goodbye. Hinode wanted to pat the boy on the head, but Sasuke turned at his heels and headed for one of the seats next to the window, fully ignoring Hinode.

A few seconds after that, the school bell rang to start the day. Hinode picked up the roster on the podium to call roll.

"Akimichi Choji."

"Here!"

"Aburame Shino."

"Here."

"Inuzuka Kiba."

"Here!"

Going down the list, Hinode noticed that many of her students were from very established clans in the village. She was especially surprised when she saw the last name Hyuga for one of the girl students. The girl barely whispered "here" when she was called, but Hinode took notice of her white irises and pupils.

The Hyugas and Uchihas were the only clans in Konoha with ocular bloodlines. Hinode had heard that the Hyugas' strict rules could rival her own, and it only made her more stressful about the coming year.

Clan children were different from children from regular shinobi families. She knew that firsthand. Clan children were being taught by their parents or clan elders before they even started studying at the academy. In a way, Hinode should consider herself lucky to be the first grade teacher, because any older the clan kids would start learning their clan-specific techniques and hone their bloodlines. She wouldn't know how to handle that.

She had to be careful not to let the clan kids get too much ahead and discourage the others.

When she was being taught by Ono Masano, he had always ranked all the kids by their grades. That was partly what started the rivalry between Kakashi and Obito, besides the fact that Masano-sensei often paired them together for sparring. Maybe they could have been friends longer if they weren't pitted against each other so early on.

But considering Kakashi's attitude back then, that was probably unlikely.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Hinode widened her eyes at the last name on the roster after saying it out loud. Uzumaki. That was Kushina and Minato's son. The one whose name the villagers uttered with hatred. The one whom Minato decided to seal the Nine-Tails inside. A fire grew inside of Hinode's stomach every time she thought about that.

"I hope you guys will take care of my baby…"

Hinode heard Kushina's voice in the back of her head. She had ran away that day and never promised Kushina anything. And while she had never tried to look for Uzumaki Naruto over the five years, it always made her head turn when his name was mentioned throughout the village.

The lack of response from her roll call pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked around the classroom; it seemed that she'd called every one of them.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" Hinode called again. This time, the students looked around as well, some of them whispered to each other.

"Skipping on the first day, huh…" Hinode murmured.

Just as she was about to mark the boy absent, the back door creaked open. Hinode looked up to see the tips of the same golden-colored hair that belonged to Namikaze Minato. The rest of him was hidden back the back row students as he crawled, who were looking back at him suspiciously.

A corner of Hinode's lips twitched. She wasn't sure if it was funny or irritating that the boy thought he could sneak into her class late.

Hinode took a brand new piece of white chalk from the blackboard. As the boy neared the open aisle toward the last empty seat, she threw the chalk so quickly that she didn't make a noise.

"Ahh!"

Uzumaki Naruto screamed when the chalk hit the floor just a centimeter away from his crawling hands. The stick of chalk bursted from the impact and the powdery fragments stuck onto his hands and face.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Hinode called again, this time drawing out every syllable.

The boy shot up to a standing position and smiled a smile so wide that his eyes squinted into fox-like slits. He patted the back of his head with his hand and laughed dryly at Hinode.

"I-I was helping an old lady find her cat!"

Hinode's stomach lurched. The green goggles on his head and the big, toothy grin instantly reminded her of Obito. And not to mention the horrible excuse of being late to school.

Naruto looked hopefully at Hinode and Hinode softened her gaze.

"Use that excuse again, I will expel you."

The entire room shuddered. Naruto practically jumped into his seat while apologizing nervously. He did not notice the way other students around him scooted slightly away from him when he sat down, but Hinode caught it easily. It bothered her slightly, but she wasn't going to treat him differently.

"You guys know my name already from the Entrance Ceremony," Hinode glanced at Naruto, who was fidgeting and definitely hesitating to ask for her name. "Now I know yours. However, let's do an exercise today to help us get to know each other better."

The students looked at each other again; all of them were wondering what they were going to do.

"Follow me to the dojo," Hinode said and headed for the door.

The sound of chairs scraping against the floor set off behind Hinode, followed by the scurrying of small feet. The students begin to whisper to each other.

"Are we doing combat training already?"

"My dad said that the first week should be a breeze. He never said we had to fight!"

"My mom said that it should be the Shinobi Principles. She made me memorize them already!"

"We're going to fight? I hope I get paired with a civilian…"

The one student's mother was correct. According to Ono Masano's folder, Hinode was supposed to go over the Ten Shinobi Principles and talk about the consequences of breaking them using examples and documented historical events. The material was as excruciating to read the second time as it was the first. Just the thought of speaking to the children about putting missions before their lives or dying for their village or erasing their emotions made her so queasy that she decided to put simply it off for now. She would just have to figure something out by the end of the school year.

So she decided to get the kids active first. Those were the only lessons that all students were excited back in her days. Well, except for her. Being paired with Might Guy often for sparring was the most tiring thing from her first year. That and listening to Obito complain about Kakashi showing off.

Once the class arrived at the dojo, Hinode took the lead to remove her shoes and stood in the center of the room. The students followed suit and she instructed them to form a circle around her.

"All right, everyone," Hinode folded her arms in front of her chest. "Try to hit me whenever you're ready. Even just one punch is encouraged!"

The kids were all shocked by what Hinode said. Naruto was the first to jump up and question her activity.

"Aren't you supposed to teach us first? " he protested.

"She's obviously trying to test our abilities since there are clan kids and civilian kids," Nara Shikamaru spoke up lazily. The slouch in his shoulders suggested that he wasn't going to be the first to attempt an attack.

Hinode smiled softly at Shikamaru, which made him tense up slightly.

"Think of it as a formal greeting," said Hinode as she flattened her palms out in front of her. "Anytime now, kids."

Naruto was the first to rush toward Hinode, much like the latter expected. The boy even added a warcry as he raised his fist. It was almost exactly like the first time that Obito had fought Kakashi during class. Highly amused by their similarities, Hinode copied what Kakashi had done during that fight. She moved slightly to the side at the last second before Naruto's hand reached her, and left one foot where she stood before.

Naruto yelped as he tripped over Hinode's leg. He tumbled a couple of times on the ground, but bounced back up right away and ran toward Hinode again with another cry.

"Silence is one of the Shinobi Principles," Hinode said as she easily dodged Naruto's attack again, but this time her hand shot toward Naruto's face and she grabbed his cheeks. She squeezed his soft cheeks so that he could not move his lips. "You should hide your intentions during a battle, even if your battle is head-on."

Naruto struggled to pry Hinode's hand from his face, but her grip was too firm for him even though she was just lightly holding on.

"Anyone else care to 'greet' me?" Hinode smiled pleasantly at the students once again. "If not, then Naruto-kun here is the strongest one in class, as far as I'm concerned."

That seemed to motivate some of them. One of the boys with red markings on his cheeks was obviously ticked off by that, and he crouched down and leapt at Hinode with clawed hands.

He was obviously the Inuzuka; even at his age, his Taijutsu was already being shaped to better perform his clan's techniques later on. He was one of those students that Hinode was wary of. What could she teach him that his clan couldn't?

Probably the 'silence' thing as the boy barked at the start of his attack.

Hinode ducked down before Inuzuka Kiba could claw at her face, and with her free hand she simply reached up and pushed the bottom of his chin with her index and middle finger. Kiba's mouth clicked shut, and incidentally, his tongue was in the way of his teeth.

"Gyah—!" Kiba wailed in pain as he stumbled onto the floor while holding his mouth.

Oops, Hinode thought when she looked at Kiba. It didn't seem like his tongue was bleeding, so Hinode left him alone. She would have to go easier on the kids.

A few of the students attempted to attack Hinode one by one. Most of them did not have the same wild confidence of Naruto and Kiba. Many of the girl students only attempted one punch like Hinode suggested. The Hyuga girl actually had good footwork, as expected of an elite clan.

To Hinode's disappointment, Haruno Sakura was too shy to even try a hand at the exercise. But so were the other civilian children. They must have seen the amateur punches from Naruto, whose cheeks Hinode was still grabbing as she deflected other students' attacks, and thought that they couldn't do any better.

As Hinode kept a prolonged glance at Sakura, she caught a quick movement from the corner of her eyes. She bent at her back just in time as a little fist punched through the air in front of her nose. Though small, the punch had power. And that was the fastest movement of any of the kids. Hinode didn't need to look to know that it was Sasuke.

Hinode turned slightly and snatched the back of Sasuke's collar. A smile of mischief crept up her lips as she held him like a cat. But Sasuke didn't find it amusing. He gritted his teeth and swung his legs to kick it up towards Hinode's head. Hinode was a little surprised at this, and let go of Naruto's face to block Sasuke's kick.

It would have been a great chance for Naruto to attack again, but he, like all the other students, all gasped in awe of Sasuke's movements.

Oh no, Hinode thought to herself. I can't let Sasuke become the Kakashi of his generation!

Hinode tossed Sasuke into the air by the back of his collar. The boy swiftly landed with a roll, launched himself up by the hands, and attempted a jump spin kick at Hinode. As much as Hinode complimented his form in her head, she refused to say it out loud. Instead, she stopped Sasuke's foot with her palm and easily flipped him over the opposite direction.

Sasuke, fazed by the fact that he got flipped over in the air, tried to land on his feet once more. However, he could not time it correctly and his left foot hit the floor at an angle. He fell down with a thud, and even though he had been quiet the whole time, he couldn't hold back an audible wince.

"Crap!" Hinode said under her breath and quickly knelt down beside Sasuke. "Let me see your leg."

Sasuke glared at her, and she knew that he was about to say no, so she forcefully lifted his leg by the back of his knee. His left ankle was swollen, and probably sprained.

"You guys head back to the classroom for lunch," Hinode said to the rest of her students. "I'm taking Sasuke-kun to the school nurse."

Hinode tried to lift Sasuke up, but he swatted her hand away and pushed himself up on his own. He hopped on one foot next to Hinode, as if telling her to lead the way. Hinode sighed and did as such, and Sasuke hopped one step behind her. She hoped that he wasn't too hurt. Not his ankle, but his pride, to be injured on the first day of school when he so adamantly said that he was going to be as strong as his brother.

Hinode really regretted not holding back more.

"Never in my years working as the school nurse had any teacher send me a student on the first day of school, and a first grader, no less!"

The lady school nurse yelled at Hinode as she settled Sasuke on one of the beds in the infirmary. Hinode's cheeks burned with embarrassment, but the school nurse was not done.

"You were supposed to teach them about the Shinobi Principles! Have them read! Have them memorize stuff! Not giving them an ankle sprain!" The school nurse's voice raised an octave every five words. "What's your name again, Newbie?"

"Uh… Uchiha Hinode…" Hinode answered weakly.

"Of course, you Uchihas have no regard for rules, do you?" The school nurse rambled on. "I am writing a letter of complaint to Lord Hokage right after treating this boy. I'm telling you…"

"Tanemura-san, that was unnecessary," Hinode tried to retort; the school nurse had no reason to say that about Uchihas.

"You get out of here so I can treat my patient, who is, let me remind you, a five year old kid!"

Nurse Tanemura bellowed one last time and drove Hinode out of her infirmary, which made Hinode quite frustrated as she had not been able to apologize to Sasuke. But since she needed the nurse to treat Sasuke, she figured that she probably should not bother the nurse any longer.

With half of the lunch hour already passed, Hinode quickly made her way back to the classroom to grab her packed lunch. Most of the students remained in the classroom to eat their lunch. As Hinode reached behind the podium to grab her lunch, she noticed three students in particular were sitting separately and alone.

Hyuga Hinata was one of them. She ate the food from her beautifully decorated bento box quietly with her head down.

Another one was Haruno Sakura. Her head was lowered over her lunch and her bangs covered her eyes. She didn't seem to be eating, and by the movement of her shoulders, Hinode could bet that the little girl was crying.

The third one was Uzumaki Naruto, who was eating a cup noodle. He was eating quite enthusiastically even though there was no one around him.

Hinode contemplated doing anything at all about the three kids. It was only the first day of school and friendships took time to build. Thinking back, Ono Masano never really did anything to encourage his students, especially the weak ones. If anything, he was harsher with the weak, like Yakko and Obito and herself.

And look where these guys ended up?

Hinode let out a long sigh and walked over to Hinata's desk. The girl jumped a little when she saw her teacher approach her.

"Would you like to have lunch with me?" Hinode asked quietly.

Hinata was still a little dumbfounded, but she nodded nonetheless. Then, Hinode went to Sakura's desk, then Naruto's desk. Next thing the children knew, they were following Hinode up the stairs like little ducklings.

Hinode took them to the teacher's lounge on the second floor. It was currently empty, much to Hinode's delight. She instructed the kids to sit at the sofa, which had plenty of room for three munchkins, and eat their lunch. As for Hinode, she started the water heater so that she could brew some tea. It didn't take long for the kids to start chatting behind her.

"Sakura-san, are you okay?" Hinata asked softly.

"I-I'm fine…" Sakura answered in a softer voice.

"Were you crying? Your eyes are red! Those girls you tried to talk to, did they say something mean?" Naruto fired off questions, each one louder than the previous. "What did they say? At least someone talked to you! Or just ignore them, y'know?"

"I said I'm fine!" Sakura raised her voice, a little anger seeping through her defense.

Hinode carried over four cups of tea and set them down on the coffee table in front of the sofa. She then opened her lunch box in front of the kids, and it was filled with all kinds of sweet treats. The three kids' eyes lit up at the sight. Naruto was first to pounce for a daifuku, but was grabbed by the face again.

"Ladies first, Naruto-kun," said Hinode as she pushed the box toward the girls. Hinata took one butter cookie gratefully, but Sakura, sitting in the middle, hesitated. "What's wrong, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura bit her lips, and soon she began to cry again. "They called me ugly…"

"What?" Naruto looked at Sakura wide-eyed.

"H-how mean…" Hinata frowned.

Hinode hadn't expected that from Sakura. It was a very trivial thing, but for a five-year-old girl, it probably hit a lot harder. Hinode wasn't sure what to do. Shisui, Itachi, or Sasuke would never cry about something like this. Though this panicked feeling felt oddly familiar for Hinode.

"Pff!"

Hinode's head swirled toward the window when she heard the snicker. Crouching on top of a large tree branch outside were Genma and Guy. Hinode raised an eyebrow at her former teammates, and walked to the window.

"What are you guys doing here?" Hinode asked as she slid the window open.

"We heard about your new job as a teacher, so we came to surprise you on your first day," Genma said between snickers. "Way to go, Hinode! Injuring a student and making a student cry on the first day!"

Guy laughed loudly besides Genma, and Hinode's face was red with fury.

"By surprise, you mean humiliate?" Hinode growled at Genma.

"Don't worry, Hinode!" said Guy. "The springtime of youth is the best time to fumble and learn new things!"

"Why don't you fumble off this tree?!" Hinode snapped at Guy.

"Is that how you sprained that kid's ankle?" Genma asked.

Another round of laughter from Guy and Genma tested Hinode's patience. She was about to slam the window shut on them when Guy suddenly stopped laughing and looked at Hinode.

"Oh yeah, Hinode," he said casually. "You wanna go on a date?"

Hinode's eyes popped and Genma nearly fell off the tree, but caught himself with one arm.

"What the hell, Guy?!" Genma shouted.

"I'm sorry! I heard that Kakashi has a girlfriend and I can't let my eternal rival get ahead!" Guy laughed cluelessly.

"Kakashi has a girlfriend?" Hinode raised an eyebrow at Guy. Last time she checked, the guy was still single. Well, she never checked, but he was probably single. Maybe?

Guy turned to Hinode again and flashed her a grin with his sparkling white teeth. "So is that a…"

"Not a chance, Guy," said Hinode.

"Haha, I thought so!" Guy then got up from his seated position. "That just means I need more training! 50 laps around Konoha, here I go!"

"I gotta go too. See ya, Hinode! Don't hurt any more kids in the afternoon!"

Guy and Genma came and left like the wind. Hinode didn't know what the purpose of that visit was besides poking fun at her. Now she had wasted most of her lunch hour and she hadn't gotten a single bite yet.

Upon turning back to the sofa, the three kids were now gawking at her. Even Sakura had stopped crying. There was a strange silence amongst them, and it took one kid to break it.

"See, that eyebrow guy is what you call ugly!" Naruto said to Sakura as he pointed toward the window.

"Pff… Haha… Hahaha…" Sakura broke into a fit of giggles. Hinode assumed that she'd just pictured Guy's eyebrows in her head again and she didn't blame her for laughing.

Soon, all three of them were laughing together. Hinode let go of her breath in relief and sat down with them, finally able to eat her lunch.

She watched Naruto closely as she ate her blueberry pancakes. Too much of him reminded her of Obito. Though he was terrible during the exercise in the morning, he was confident and persistent. And though everyone in class avoided him, he wasted no time offering friendship to Sakura and Hinata. And he was a natural at making friends too, like Obito.

Hinode felt a dryness in the back of her throat, and she quickly looked away from Naruto.

As soon as Hinode finished her lunch, it was time for afternoon classes. Much to Hinode's guilt, Sasuke was already sitting in the classroom when she got back with Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata. He was still pouting and when he met Hinode's eyes, he looked away so quickly that Hinode thought maybe she was the ugly one.

Shoving her guilt to the back of her head, Hinode began the afternoon classes. She had opted to expand more on the Shinobi Principle of 'Silence' and ended the first day on a boring but safe note. She'd let the students leave without homework, so that earned her some popularity points.

However, the only popularity points she wanted now was from Sasuke.

As Sasuke left the academy, Hinode followed from a distance to make sure that no one noticed that she was going home the same way. Until there was no familiar person in sight, Hinode quickly caught up to Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" Hinode patted the boy on his shoulders. When he turned around, Hinode smiled widely. "I don't see a limp, so I'm guessing Tanemura-San healed you!"

Sasuke nodded, but the pout was there to stay.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke! I should have held back more," Hinode put her palms together in front of her face and tried to smile at Sasuke as sweetly as she could. "If it makes you feel better, you forced me to use two hands! You were great! Outstanding! Best of the bunch! Brightest crayon in the box!"

Sasuke looks up at Hinode. "Don't hold back."

"...Come again?"

"Don't hold back," Sasuke said again, cheeks turning slightly red. "I want to be like Nii-san. I can't if you hold back."

Hinode blinked at first, but broke into a smile. "Of course, Sasuke! We're going to beat that brother of yours for sure!"

"Not 'we'! Just me!" Sasuke protested loudly, face fully red now.

"You need me! I can just beat Itachi on my own!"

"No! Nii-san is the strongest!"

"Ah, should I run back and 'greet' Itachi?"

"No—wait, wait up!"

Sasuke chased Hinode all the way back to the compound. Considering everything, Hinode's first day teaching turned out to be all right. As for the part about punching Itachi in the cheek, that was just a lie. She was not about to be in the vicinity of Itachi when he finds out that she made Sasuke sprain his ankle on his first day.

To be continued.

Notes:

Wow this is the longest chapter I ever wrote in my history of writing fanfiction! I guess I got carried away. I've been really looking forward to writing this portion of the story. Btw, has anyone noticed that Hinode shows more respect towards people whom she deems as good parents? Also, gossip spreads fast and powerful in Konoha! I assure you that there will be progress between Kakashi and Hinode even when she's busy teaching (or even when don't notice)! ;)

And I just want to say Happy New Year to all my readers! I started writing fanfic again in the beginning of 2020 after many years off, and I only started because of this pandemic, but your readership has really sparked my love for creating stories again! I hope that I will be able to share more interesting and better-written stories in the next year! Thank you all for your support!

Chapter 29: Curse of the Rumor

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Kakashi passed by the dango shop in the late afternoon, while he was on the way home after being dismissed from his duties. The lie there would be that the dango shop was on his way home at all. He had made it a habit to go slightly out of his way each time, because three out of five times, Hinode would be dining at the establishment, at any given time of day. It made sense to casually run into her from time to time, that was much less suspicious than meeting with her in a seemingly secret place as he was helping her investigate Root operations.

It was a lot to spy on Root, especially when his main objective, Yakko, was basically second in command. His reputation was something that helped him. No one would suspect a shinobi who killed his own friend to be in the midst of other soulless shinobi. Nonetheless, what he was doing was a huge favor for Hinode, but he couldn't let her know that. She would drop her teaching job in a second.

This time, Hinode was not at the dango shop. She was starting to be there less and less on weeknights ever since she started teaching at the academy. If Kakashi remembered correctly, it had been slightly over a week since she started. Hinode ranted about teaching whenever they did run into each other, but he could tell that she liked the children, four of them in particular. It seemed to him that her new position was helping her become less reclusive. He thought that it was good for her.

"Hey, Kakashi!"

Kakashi heard Guy's voice call out to him from inside the dango shop. Guy was enjoying some snacks along with Genma, Asuma, and Kurenai. Not many remained from their first year together at the academy, and it was not because only the strongest survived the war. War was too unpredictable. And if history repeated itself as it often did, he knew that Hinode surely would not forgive herself if anything so tragic happened to any of her students.

That was the most worrisome trait of Uchiha Hinode. If she had the chance to stand between death and anyone she cared about, she would.

"Want to join us for some sweet dango ?" Guy shouted from inside the shop.

Kakashi shrugged and sauntered into the shop; it was still early in the day. As soon as Kakashi sat down at the end of the table between Guy and Kurenai, he knew that he had made a mistake. He was front and center to everyone's gaze and for some reason, Kurenai was looking at him with a mysterious smirk.

"Let's see who can eat the most dango !" Guy said, oblivious to the atmospheric change since Kakashi sat down. "You better hurry, because I already ate three sticks!"

"I'd rather not take that challenge," Kakashi said without even considering it, and ordered just a cup of tea.

"Oh, come on, Kakashi!" Guy complained. "You're already ahead in our competition with the girlfriend thing, at least let me get even with this dango eating contest!"

"...What?" Kakashi turned his head toward Guy, and then he felt it. Kurenai's eyes on the back of his head were burning holes into his skull, and she was not even using Genjutsu. This could not be good.

"I don't have a girlfriend," Kakashi denied right away.

"Just because you're a genius, that doesn't mean we're dumb," Kurenai finally said; her tone sounded like she'd already won. "You and Hinode are always together, sitting side by side, whispering god-knows-what with your heads glued together. It's like you're trying so hard to be discreet, which makes it even more obvious that there's something going on between you two!"

Kakashi's eyes widened. He had no idea that there were rumours going around about him and Hinode. It was a ridiculous assumption; he had never thought of Hinode that way. They were just very good friends. Although, he felt strangely as if he was being caught red-handed. It was probably the fact that they really were doing something secretive together, and he was actually trying not to be discreet.

"Wait a minute, Hinode is the girl?!" Genma asked incredulously. "Damn it, Guy! She tricked us last time, acting all clueless about the rumor!"

"No way!" Guy grinned at Kakashi in excitement. "Two of my greatest friends together! That's what the springtime of youth is all about!"

"Do you guys listen?" Kakashi let out a big sigh. "I don't have a girlfriend."

"Not yet , you mean," Asuma teased. "Come on, Kakashi, Hinode's not a bad girl! I even heard that the third grade teacher at the academy has his eyes on her. But don't worry, you have a leg up on the competition since you already look like her childhood crush!"

Laughter filled the table and Kakashi wanted to roll his eyes, but the others were already laughing so hard that an eye roll wasn't going to be very effective. He considered retaliating with Asuma and Kurenai's obvious relationship, but he didn't want to seem petty.

Fortunately, the conversation didn't linger on the rumor between him and Hinode, and they started to discuss the third grade teacher instead. Genma criticized the third grade teacher's taste and Kurenai accused him of being jealous because Hinode stole his childhood crush. By then, Kakashi's mind had wandered off, and he barely remembered the name of that third grade teacher. And soon after, the group of Jonin dispersed with Guy telling Kakashi to be prepared for his next challenge.

Kakashi smiled and shook his head as he left the dango shop; life certainly seemed simpler when he was with that group. As he continued walking home, he realized that he hadn't eaten anything at the dango shop. Ramen Ichiraku was just up ahead; the warm lights from the restaurant were glowy invitingly in the evening twilight. It wasn't the healthiest choice for dinner, but he was a little tired from being bombarded by four gossip mongers earlier. He decided to treat himself for the day.

"Ah, welcome, Kakashi-san!"

Ayame greeted Kakashi with a bright smile as soon as he walked in. Her cheerfulness often reminded him of Nohara Rin, and he couldn't help but return with a soft smile.

"Good evening, Ayame-san," he said.

Ayame's face turned red like it did everytime he visited the ramen shop. Again, it reminded him of Rin. And everytime, it made him a little uncomfortable. No, he was not repulsed by the affection. He was afraid of it.

Thankfully, it was well-hidden behind his mask. "Shio ramen, please."

"O-of course," Ayame scurried into the kitchen. A few seconds later, Teuchi's loud voice sounded from outside the shop.

"Hinode? Why are you hiding there? We're not gonna serve you ramen outside!"

"Shh—Teuchi-san, your voice…"

"Come on in, Hinode! I just bought some fresh bean sprouts! You can't just eat sweets for dinner, you know?" Teuchi's voice became clearer as he entered his own shop, and he noticed Kakashi sitting at the bar. "Oh, Kakashi is here? Hinode, come in, your friend is here!"

Kakashi turned slightly just in time to see an embarrassed Hinode entering the restaurant. She was already looking at him when he turned, which could only mean one thing. She was spying on him. And for some reason, he could guess why.

Hinode bounced back from her embarrassment quickly and held her head high as she walked to the bar. She plopped into the seat next to Kakashi indignantly and immediately glared at him.

"Hello to you, too," Kakashi said amusedly.

"Kakashi," Hinode said in a lowered voice. "Are you hiding something from me?"

Kakashi looked up at the ceiling as if he was really thinking about it.

"No, I don't think so."

"Lies! I've already heard about it!" Hinode pointed her finger at him with conviction. "Come on, tell me who the girl is! We're friends, aren't we?"

So Hinode had already heard about the rumor. Kakashi could have easily denied the rumor, but he was feeling a rare mischievousness. After all, Hinode was at least half responsible for the rumor, and if she hadn't had a crush on his father, Asuma wouldn't have been able to make that joke about him. She needed to have a taste of the embarrassment that he had to endure.

"I always thought that we were more than that."

Kakashi smiled with his eyes and Hinode's eyes popped wide open. A pink hue emerged from her cheeks.

"Y-you…"

A shattering sound interrupted Hinode. Both Kakashi and Hinode turned toward the kitchen, where Ayame stood with her hands raised. If Kakashi had to guess, Ayame must have dropped the ceramic tea cups that she was supposed to serve him.

"The… the rumor is true…" Ayame murmured.

"Wait, Ayame-san, what did you just say?!" Hinode nearly stood up from her seat, but Ayame hurried back into the kitchen after apologizing and promising new cups of tea. Hinode looked back at Kakashi with a more flustered face than before. "Don't joke around, Kakashi!"

"I'm not," Kakashi repressed the urge to chuckle. "You're more like a confidant to me."

Hinode's eyes instantly narrowed at him, though her face was still red from embarrassment. "Having fun, Kakashi?"

Kakashi did not answer, but he was, indeed. The satisfaction from making the comeback queen of their generation flustered was comparable to completing an A rank mission. Hinode, as if knowing what he was thinking, let out a sigh and propped up her chin in her palm.

"Fine, I'll let you have this one," she said quietly. "Not often do I see you in such a good mood."

Kakashi studied the side of Hinode's face without saying a word. Asuma's words from earlier replayed in his head. Hinode was not a bad girl. Of course, she was far from bad. Sure, she was not the sweetest or friendliest of girls, but once you were her friend, she never stopped caring about you. Sure, she had a sharp tongue, but she had a soft heart. Sure, she might act tough and self-righteous, but only after she'd crawled back up from depths of darkness with a tear-stained face.

Two bowls of ramen were set down in front of them. Hinode's bowl was piled with bean sprouts and bamboo shoots, even though she never even ordered. Teuchi looked at Hinode's pouty expression and laughed.

"Eat your vegetables, Hinode!" Teuchi said, then went back into the kitchen.

"I don't even like ramen..." Hinode mumbled.

Hinode was not a bad girl. And sometimes, she could even be kind of cute.

Children's friendships evolved overnight. That was something that Hinode quickly learned over the first week of her teaching career. Over the course of the first week, Haruno Sakura had become friends with Yamanaka Ino.

On the following Monday, Sakura came to school with a brand new look with her bangs trimmed and parted, and neatly pulled back with a red ribbon tied on top of her head. The new hairstyle revealed Sakura's biggest insecurity, her forehead, but also her beautiful green eyes. Sakura's nickname of 'Forehead' was rarely heard again and she had instantly risen in rank to "one of the cute girls." Naruto certainly thought so when he saw her walk into class on Monday. However, when he and Hinata went to find their usual lunch buddy, she was eating with a different group instead.

For the next three days, Hinode had one less duckling following her to the teacher's lounge. Naruto and Hinata were a bit sad about the absence of Sakura in their lunch party, but Hinode assured them that they would eventually find their new groups of friends too. And they needed to do that soon, because she really wasn't supposed to bring students into the teacher's lounge so often. It could be taken as favoritism and she did not need another lecture from Hiruzen after the one he gave her after Nurse Tanemura tattled on her about Sasuke's ankle.

"But who would you eat lunch with if we leave?" Hinata asked Hinode during lunch on Thursday, after Hinode told them, once again, that they should eat their lunch in the classroom.

"Probably people my own age," Hinode answered with a shrug.

"But the other teachers don't like you," Naruto pointed out casually.

Hinode narrowed her eyes at the young boy. "Who told you that?"

"I overheard the nurse lady and some other teachers when I had that stomachache yesterday."

"I think the third graders' teacher likes Hinode-sensei," Hinata corrected Naruto.

Naruto thought for a second. "You mean Poop-sensei?"

"Ahem, he's Ungo-sensei, not unko ," Hinode nearly choked on her tea when Naruto botched her colleague's name. "You guys just worry about yourselves, all right? Your teacher has plenty of friends."

Naruto and Hinata looked at Hinode and then looked at each other. They clearly did not believe her, but Hinode decided that she wasn't going to prove herself to a couple of kids. Instead, she reminded them that there was only ten minutes left of lunch and they needed to finish up.

The plan for the afternoon lesson was the same as the past week—meditation. The entire class groaned when Hinode brought them to the outdoor training ground and announced.

"Again?" Naruto wailed from the back of the class. "We've been doing this for a week! We know how to meditate!"

"Our deal was that we can move on from this lesson if the whole class can meditate through two hours. You guys have not succeeded, so we're doing this again," Hinode said firmly.

Even Hinode was not a fan of meditating when she was young nor now that she was older, but in theory it was an important practice for a shinobi. The goal of meditating for two hours was taken from Ono Masano's handbook. And just like she remembered from her school days, at least one kid would always ruin it for the rest of the class. In her current class, it was either Naruto who would break the silence or Shikamaru would fall asleep halfway through the meditation. Mostly, it was Naruto.

"When I talk about 'Silence' as a Shinobi Principle, it's not just about shutting your mouth," Hinode lectured. "It's also about silencing your mind. Purge your mind of distractions, so that you can listen, learn, and see more clearly."

Naruto grumbled something quietly, but did not fight it any further. With Hinode's instruction, the class sat down on the ground each in their most comfortable position. Hinode sat down across from them as well, like all the previous times, to go through the meditation practice with them. Seeing that every student had closed their eyes, she closed hers as well.

Practicing what you teach was not as easy as one might think. Being quiet on the outside was easy for Hinode, but on the inside, she was mostly restless, especially after that joke that Kakashi pulled on her last night.

Hinode was curious about the girl that Kakashi was dating, and frankly she was a little insulted that, as a friend, Kakashi didn't tell her something so important. So she tried to spy on Kakashi after school and if it weren't for Teuchi blowing her cover, she wouldn't have had to suffer the embarrassment that transpired afterwards. And what made everything was that, according to Ayame, the girl in the rumor was none other than herself!

She was going to find out which insufferable villager was spreading the false rumors and that person was going to wish they were a mute.

Growl!

Hinode slowly opened her eyes to the sound of a growling stomach. Akimichi Choji's face was reddening, but he strained to keep his eyes and mouth closed. On the other side of the classroom, Naruto's shoulders were trembling and he was biting his lips; he was trying not to laugh. Beside Naruto, Hinata's brows furrowed, and a few seats away, Sakura peeked one eye open to look at Naruto.

She should have called the exercise off by then, but even she didn't want to go through another day of meditation. And in that moment of hesitation, Choji's stomach growled again even louder.

"Bahahaha!" Naruto broke out in laughter, while the rest of the class groaned collectively.

"Naruto, you idiot! You ruined it for all of us!" Sakura jumped to her feet and shouted at Naruto in frustration. Naruto's laughter ceased immediately when he saw her angry face. Sakura seemed to have realized that she'd overreacted, but at the same time, several students also stood up behind her.

"Sakura-chan is right! It's always Naruto who messes up!" a girl said angrily.

"Naruto ruins everything!" a boy shouted. "As if he hasn't ruined enough!"

Naruto bristled. "W-what is that supposed to mean?"

"Naruto probably did that on purpose!"

"Hey, I really tried not to laugh!" Naruto retorted, but his voice was becoming weak.

"You just can't help it, can you?" another student mocked. "And you never feel bad for dragging down the rest of us! Don't you agree, Sakura-chan?"

"I…" Panic flashed through Sakura's eyes when all eyes, including Naruto's, turned to her. "Y-yeah, Naruto! Don't you feel bad about yourself?"

Hinode watched as her entire class went into chaos, more and more of them standing up, surrounding Naruto. All except for Sasuke, who still kept meditating with his eyes closed. But Hinode could tell that he was getting impatient with his eyebrow twitching with every shout from the students. It didn't take much longer for him to break as well.

"Shut up, all of you!" Sasuke said just loud enough for all his classmates, causing them to turn their attention away from Naruto. "You're all the same, getting distracted by one growl and getting distracted by one laugh!"

"Oh, you think you are so great, Uchiha?" one of the boys retaliated.

"That's enough!" Hinode stood up and bellowed. The entire class quieted down at the volume of her voice. "Sasuke-kun is right. None of you have the right to blame another. And to turn to anger so quickly tells me that you haven't learned anything from meditation at all!"

The students either looked down on the ground or away from Hinode, all besides Naruto and Sasuke. Hinode sighed deeply; she really didn't want to meditate again tomorrow. "Head back to the classroom. We'll move on to the next lesson and come back to this next week. By then, I want you all to have thought about what you did wrong today."

The students grumbled and dispersed from the training ground with heavy steps, many of them glared at Naruto as they passed him. However, Naruto didn't budge from his spot, and lowered his gaze to his feet. His hands were shaking in tight fists, and he bit down on his bottom lip so hard that it was turning white.

"Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked up at the sound of Hinode's voice close to him. She was kneeling down in front of him, and caught his eyes as he looked up. She seemed almost displeased with her unsmiling face, but the corners of her eyes had softened down.

"There is another aspect of 'Silence' that is truly the hardest aspect. Even I have a hard time following this principle," Hinode said carefully. "That is to silence the words of others. Words are sometimes more painful than physical wounds. Words are so powerful that they can change you. And I don't want you to change because of what everyone says about you. I want you to decide for yourself, okay?"

Naruto responded to Hinode with just a few blinks. Hinode wondered if that was too confusing for a five-year-old, but at least, his fists had loosened their grip.

"Uh… Sensei," a lazy voice broke the silence between them.

Hinode looked behind her when she felt a tap on the back of her shoulder. Shikamaru was the one who tapped her, and Choji was standing slightly behind him. Choji's face was still slightly red from earlier when his stomach growled.

"Choji has something to say," said Shikamaru.

"Hinode-sensei… and Naruto…" Choji began slowly, and Naruto stiffened at his name being mentioned. "I'm sorry for growling so loudly. I got you in trouble, Naruto."

Hinode watched as Naruto's eyes widened at Choji's apology, and the corners of his lips gradually curved. Besides Choji, Shikamaru also began to smile, and he patted his friend on the back. The kids' smiles were infectious even for Hinode.

"It's all right, Choji-kun," Hinode ruffled Choji's hair. "Next time, make sure to eat enough during lunch, okay?"

"Heh, you should come to the teacher's lounge sometime!" Naruto grinned at Choji. "Hinode-sensei always has extra snacks, you know!"

Hinode sighed, but she couldn't hide her smile.

"That's actually my lunch, Naruto-kun."

Hinode had the students read on their own for the last hour of the class. The students were obviously still simmering down, and there was no way that they would pay attention to her lecture. A few of the students passed around notes, but Hinode didn't bother calling them out.

The hour went by quickly and school was over. Everyone was eager to leave the day behind, but Hinode had a different plan.

"Sakura-chan, please stay for a few minutes."

Sakura flinched in her seat when her name was called while the rest of the class murmured as they made their way out of the classroom. Yamanaka Ino lingered next to Sakura for a while, but left reluctantly after Hinode gave her a look.

Once only Hinode and Sakura remained in the classroom, Hinode walked over to Sakura's desk. Ever since returning from the training ground, Sakura kept a frown on her face. Especially when she noticed that Naruto peeked at her from time to time. She fiddled with the ribbon in her hair as if she wanted to cover her eyes with her bangs again.

The young girl looked even worse when Hinode sat in the chair in front of her, and crossed her arms over the back of the chair. It was almost like the first day of school again.

"Sakura-chan…"

"I wasn't the only one who said those things!" Sakura blurted suddenly.

"I know," Hinode said. "I just wonder if you agreed with the other kids because you don't want to be the one being bullied anymore.."

Sakura widened her eyes at Hinode; the tears that had been pooling up under her eyelids rolled out from the motion.

"Sakura-chan, you must know how Naruto feels when he hears those things, right?" Hinode softened her voice. "I'm not telling you who to be friends with; I'm glad that you're making new friends. I just hope that you don't forget the bond between you and Naruto."

"Bond…?" Sakura whimpered.

"My mother once said that special bonds are created when we meet someone who shares pain with us, and those bonds make us stronger," Hinode said, remembering what her mother said to her and Obito when they were just as young as Sakura and Naruto. "Do you want to be a strong ninja or a pretty one?"

Sakura sniffed and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. "A… a strong one…"

"Good," Hinode smiled. "And if you ask me, I think you're already pretty."

Sakura blushed at that statement, but couldn't hide the giddiness behind her eyes. Then, as she realized something important, she quickly grabbed her school bag.

"I have to catch up to Naruto."

Hinode waved to Sakura, then the latter sprinted out of the classroom. Hinode let out another big sigh. It certainly had been an eventful day even though all she had on the agenda was to read and meditate. Hinode stood up and stretched. She stepped up to the window to see if most students had left. She usually waited until most kids were gone before she left, since Sasuke told her over and over that he didn't want people finding out that they were related in any way.

Surprisingly, Sasuke was still in the schoolyard, facing a couple of students from class. There was one taller boy whom Hinode didn't recognize. He must have been an older student.

Hinode could tell from their faces that they weren't exactly being friendly to Sasuke. Upon closer look, one of the younger boys was the one who mouthed off to Sasuke during the afternoon. Sasuke definitely did not look pleased, but he kept his hands inside the pockets of his shorts.

The more Sasuke ignored the boys, the more irritated the boys became. It didn't take long for the boys to give up and walk away. As all of this went down, Naruto and Sakura were watching from behind a tree with eyes wide with wonder.

Naruto and Sakura's faces drew a short chuckle out from Hinode's lips. However, her smile dropped almost immediately after, as she watched Sasuke leave the school by himself. She thought about Kakashi, who also used to leave school alone. And she thought about Shisui and Itachi, who couldn't find a friend in school.

Although those three turned out okay, Hinode couldn't help but feel sad for Sasuke. This was supposed to be a time of peace, and yet there was so much conflict stored inside the villagers' hearts, so much hatred buried in a shallow place in the grounds of Konoha.

Hinode thought that, at the very least, that place should not be the academy.

To be continued.

Notes:

First update of 2021! I hope guys liked this chapter. I had the Kakashi moment in the first part of the chapter in my mind for a while ️ I also hope that you guys like reading about the school days. I know there's not a lot of action right now but y'all know there are some big things coming in this school year!
I'm also thinking that a couple of kids will turn out a bit different in the future. Most obvious ones right now are Sakura and Hinata. So if they are kinda OOC... sorry! They are staying that way 😛
Anyway, thank you for reading as always! See you at the next one!

Chapter 30: Curse of the Clan Meeting

Notes:

Hi guys! Just wanted to quickly apologize for the late update! Between work and study, I have been pretty swamped. It won't get much better until the end of April which is my exam, but I'm writing whenever I get the chance! Hopefully there aren't too many mistakes in this chapter, because I'm very excited to publish it!

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

Chapter Text

It was a lively night at the house of Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto. Hinode and Shisui had joined the family for dinner as they did on occasion. Mikoto was quite excited that their family of four all had the night off and wanted to spread the joy. She even bought the expensive beef for their sukiyaki dinner. Although Hinode was not thrilled to be sitting across from Fugaku on a Friday night, wagyu was hard to come by on a Chunin level teacher's salary.

"Ew, Hinode, you're disgusting!" Sasuke made a gagging noise as he watched Hinode mix a big spoonful of sugar into her raw egg dip for sukiyaki.

"That's Hinode- sensei for you, Sasuke!" Hinode stuck out her tongue at Sasuke and turned to Itachi with a spoonful of sugar. "Want some in your dip?"

Itachi nodded and presented his bowl to Hinode with both hands. Meanwhile, Shisui shook his head beside his best friend, silently agreeing with Sasuke.

"Hmph! You're just Hinode at home!" Sasuke's cheeks puffed from his signature pout.

"Now, now, Sasuke, Hinode is still your senior even if you guys are close," Mikoto grinned.

"We're not close!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"Speaking of school," Fugaku looked up from his bowl. "Hinode, you have not given homework in over two weeks."

Hinode's shoulders tensed. Several parents had shown the same concern to her recently. She had told them that homework was just to review what they learned in school, but she really had no clue.

"I, uh… I'm working on that," Hinode muttered with guilt.

"It seems to me that you're not suited to be a teacher," Fugaku said sternly. "If you're not going to take teaching seriously, then maybe you should quit before you waste any more time at that school."

Hinode almost slammed her hand on the dinner table, but Shisui grabbed her hand as soon as she dropped her chopsticks.

"Who are you, my father?" Hinode asked coldly.

"I'm just saying that your talents lie elsewhere, Hinode," Fugaku continued, unaffected by Hinode's hostility. "Uchihas are elite ninjas. The Hokage offering you that teaching job was just another way of keeping you in check, since you refuse to be part of the Police Force."

"Dear, let's not talk about that during dinner," Mikoto whispered to Fugaku.

The air thickened inside the dining room. Hinode had wanted to talk back some more, but she decided not to disrespect Fugaku in front of Sasuke and Itachi. But by the slight frown between Itachi's brows, it was clear that he was already uncomfortable.

Sasuke, not really understanding the dynamic between his father and Hinode yet, paid no attention to their quarrel. Instead, he turned to Itachi.

"Nii-san, will you teach me Shurikenjutsu after dinner?" Sasuke asked.

"Why don't you ask me? I'm your teacher!" Hinode leaned towards Sasuke, who effectively leaned away.

"Nii-san is better!"

"How would you know that? Have you not seen my accuracy with the chalk?"

"It goes from Nii-san, then Shisui-san, then you!"

Shisui chuckled. "Somehow I got roped into this silly competition."

"That's enough, Sasuke," Fugaku spoke up with a tone slightly too harsh, making Sasuke shrink behind the dining table. The man seemed not to notice Sasuke's tiny change in body language. "You will train with Hinode. Itachi and Shisui will be attending the clan meeting with me tonight."

That made Hinode arch her eyebrow. It was the first time that Fugaku deliberately left her out of a clan meeting, even though he was insistent on her attending before. When Hinode gave Fugaku a questioning look, he simply averted his gaze to his bowl. Then, Hinode realized why. It was simple; the clansmen must have expressed their distrust of her to Fugaku because she was teaching at the academy, which was directly under Konoha Council's responsibility.

However, Hinode decided not to react to it. As long as Shisui was still attending the meetings, she was sure that he would speak up if something concerned him. He was more eloquent than she was, after all. As if to relay a message, Hinode reached for Shisui's hand under the table, and he turned over his hand to give her hand a little squeeze. It was a gesture that the two of them developed since the Nine-Tails Attack, since the death of their father.

Trusting that Shisui was going to take care of the clan meeting, Hinode happily agreed to give Sasuke some tips on Shurikenjutsu, not that Sasuke asked for it. As soon as Fugaku, Itachi, and Shisui left for the clan meeting, Sasuke jumped from the dinner table and rushed to the training ground.

"No training right after eating!" Hinode grabbed the back of Sasuke's collar just before he could make it to the door. "And don't run!"

Sasuke mumbled his complaints, but walked at a regular pace after Hinode lowered him down. After Hinode thanked Mikoto for dinner, the two of them walked together to the training ground.

As summer approached them, even the nights were getting warmer. The full moon lit up the empty roads inside the Uchiha Compound, as the majority of its inhabitants left for the Naka Shrine. The last time that Hinode made the way to the training grounds was when she and Obito were little. Hinode realized that she had been living in the Uchiha Compound for almost twenty years. Back then, she and Obito were the ones who didn't really fit in with the rest of the Uchiha clan. But Obito was never discouraged that the other clansmen thought he was talentless as an Uchiha. He wanted to become Hokage.

So many things have changed, and yet, so many things remained the same. Like the clanspeople who resided there; they have lived there for their whole lives, and they would die there if they could help it. Hinode wondered whether Obito would have become a proud Uchiha if he had lived, if he eventually was accepted by the clan, or would he have stood on the side of Konoha and held on to his Hokage dream. He probably would have wanted both, considering how simple-minded he was.

Nonetheless, Hinode decided that it was a silly thing to think about. Obito had left the compound forever, and so did all the people she grew up with. From time to time, Hinode still felt a silent terror when she'd walk into an empty home. No one knew this about her; not even Shisui. The fear of losing Shisui was still there even as he grew older, it was just buried deeper.

"Why are you so quiet?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

Hinode looked down at Sasuke's inquisitive eyes. He was not pouting, for once.

"The full moon is pretty, isn't it?" Hinode answered him with another question. Sasuke looked up at the sky and said, "I guess so."

"Looking at beautiful things makes you think," said Hinode.

Sasuke observed her a little more, and mumbled, "Nii-san gets all quiet sometimes too when he's thinking…"

"Oh, does he?" Hinode smiled, thinking how quiet Itachi already was normally.

"I-I'm not saying that you're like Nii-san, got it?" Sasuke hurriedly added. "He's way smarter than you!"

"Well, I won't deny that," Hinode let out a short laugh "Itachi is great, but you know, you can learn a lot from your peers at school."

"Why? Nii-san is the best!"

"There's a whole wide world outside of this compound, young Sasuke."

The cool weather provided a great start to the new school week. The first year students were certainly glad that they were able to move on from meditation, only to find out that they were going over basic kata forms. Most of the class, including Naruto, groaned and complained about another dull exercise. Hinode explained that not all of the students were taught by their shinobi families, and even added sharply that some students from shinobi families had sloppy forms.

"You will practice in pairs," Hinode announced, in which all students looked to their friends, until she added, "Decided by me."

The class groaned again. Sakura certainly seemed nervous, as she was one of those with little experience in martial arts training.

"Taijutsu is about balance, not about how hard you can punch or kick," Hinode lectured the class. "It all comes down to footwork, and if I'm perfectly honest, there is only one of you who has it down."

Hinode caught Sasuke's intense gaze toward her. She had to resist the urge to laugh as he was so obviously curious who "the one who had it down" was, since Itachi was always at the top of his class in every subject. Without spoiling any of the mystery, Hinode led the students to the outdoor training ground.

"I'll briefly demonstrate the first five basic kata ," Hinode said in front of the class. "And I'll need the help of Hinata-chan."

The entire class drew surprised breaths, including Sasuke and Hinata herself. As heads whirled towards Hinata, her face turned beet red. Immediately, Hinata begged Hinode with panicked eyes and shook her head incessantly. Hinode, however, only smiled and nodded at Hinata.

"I didn't know you were that good, Hinata!" Naruto grinned at Hinata and patted her on the back just a little bit too hard, and his loud voice only made Hinata more embarrassed. "Hurry and go up there!"

"I… I…" Hinata stammered, her legs frozen under her body.

"Come on, Hinata-chan," Hinode held out her hand, "We're doing this together."

Hinata bit her lips. With a deep breath through her nose, she finally stood up and joined Hinode at the front of the class. And once the two of them started performing the kata , the whole class quieted down.

The Hyuga clan was proud of their heavy Taijutsu influenced Techniques, and it was no surprise that their masters emphasized the importance of the basics. Hinode could tell that Hinata must have practiced all the basic kata hundreds of times. Although Hinata lacked confidence and decisiveness at the beginning, once she tuned out the attention from her classmates, her movements became beautiful and fluid.

Even Hinode was a little surprised; she was not so graceful at Hinata's age, or maybe even now. Her feet were so light at each step and turn, yet firmly rooted at striking points. Hinode peeked over at Sasuke, who caught her eyes, and gave her an annoyed pout. The fact that he was not the best in class at even the basic kata was a jab at his pride. But Hinode believed that it was necessary. Even if it was his dream, Sasuke could never be Itachi. Not to say that Itachi was unsurpassable, but if all of Sasuke's attention was focused on Itachi, Sasuke would be chasing after his brother for a long, long time.

Besides, Hinata also needed to step out of her comfort zone. Once they were finished with their demonstration, Hinata's shoulders shrunk back and her face reddened. Observing Hinata, Hinode let out a soft sigh, and put the children in pairs.

Hinode paired Hinata with Naruto, whose fighting style was basically punching through instinct. Even though he had no previous training whatsoever, he had an unexplainable confidence and overflowing energy. Hinode hoped that Naruto's confidence would rub off on Hinata, and Hinata's calmness would rub off on Naruto. She didn't have high expectations on the latter, but she hoped nonetheless.

The next pair was Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura had even less experience in fighting, coming from a civilian family, but she was a quick learner. Hinode was sure that Sakura could learn something by watching Sasuke closely. The only problem was her own nerves.

Hinode had the children face their partners while they practiced their kata. Watching one another closely could make one more conscious of oneself, and adjust to make improvements. That was how Hinode improved as a child, when Masano-sensei had Guy practice with her. She had the physical strength, but not Guy's speed and accuracy. To be really honest, Hinode improved more from training with Guy than from any of the Academy teachers. And she had a sudden realization that perhaps Masano-sensei was a really great teacher after all.

"Ack, s-sorry!" A shaky apology from Sakura rose from the crowd.

Hinode looked over to Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura's movements were unnaturally stiff, which could be due to the fact that she was practicing with someone who had stood out since the first day of school. She made several mistakes, and Hinode had specified at the beginning of the practice that partners had to start over from the beginning if either one of them made a mistake. Halfway through the practice, Sakura's face was as red as Hinata's was earlier. Each time she made a mistake, she peeked at Sasuke's stony expression and flinched.

Perhaps she didn't want to annoy Sasuke, so each time they started over, Sakura picked up her speed, which made her footwork even sloppier. At one turn, she twisted her feet so fast that she tripped over herself. She looked more terrified than hurt by her fall.

"Sasuke-kun, I'm…" Sakura began to apologize, but Sasuke finally spoke up.

"You need to widen your stance and bend your knees more," Sasuke said flatly, "Watch me."

Sakura blinked her wide eyes a few times, and stood up promptly. They performed the kata from the beginning, but this time, Sakura was fully watching Sasuke. They went at a slow and steady pace; even Sasuke's movements were getting better and more precise. Sakura took Sasuke's advice and paid closer attention to her legs, and finally, they finished the whole sequence together.

"I can't believe it!" A wide smile bloomed over Sakura's face as the redness in her face reduced into a light pink. She whirled towards Sasuke with excitement. "You're amazing, Sasuke-kun! Can we do that again?"

Sasuke seemed taken back by Sakura's sudden burst of spirit. Before Sasuke could respond, the school bell rang, signaling the time for lunch break. A look of disappointment replaced Sakura's smile for a brief moment as Hinode dismissed the class. Sakura shot Sasuke a grateful smile and began to turn away.

"Make it quick this time," Sasuke said, a ghost of his signature pout floated on the surface of his face.

Sakura halted and turned back to face Sasuke, beaming brightly. Even more delighted than the young girl was Hinode, who pressed her fingers to her curled lips. Hinode had been worried about Sasuke not being able to make friends at school, like his older brother and Shisui, but she was relieved to see that he was willing to spend extra time helping Sakura.

Hinode left the two of them at the training grounds and made her way to the teacher's lounge. By the time she got to the door, loud voices could already be heard from the inside. The loudest voice was none other than Naruto.

"Let's see what Hinode-sensei brought today!"

"Naruto-kun, shouldn't we wait for Hinode-sensei?"

"It's fine! Oh! A whole chocolate cake!"

"Don't tell me she's planning to eat that all by herself…"

The last voice was a new one to hear inside the teacher's lounge, but Hinode was familiar with it.

"Do you have a problem with that, Shikamaru-kun?" Hinode asked as she slid the door open. The boy with the ponytail had his back to her, but his shoulders visibly twitched. Besides him were Choji and Ino, along with the teacher's lounge regulars, Naruto and Hinata. The only couch there seemed much smaller now than when it was only Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura sitting there with their hands on their knees. In fact, Shikamaru had to sit in a separate chair due to the lack of space.

While Shikamaru shook his head at Hinode, Naruto and Choji were already helping themselves to Hinode's chocolate cake. They did not seem to notice Hinode's smile darkening as she approached them.

"Sensei, where's Sakura-chan?" Ino asked, diverting Hinode's attention.

As if she was summoned, Sakura appeared at the door with her face still slightly flushed. Though she was a little bit out of breath, she seemed to be quite pleased. Hinode looked behind Sakura to see if she had brought Sasuke along, but the boy was not there.

"Oh, hi, everyone!" Sakura smiled towards the group.

"What took you so long?" Ino asked Sakura.

"I had extra practice with Sasuke-kun," Sakura smiled even wider. "He's really amazing!"

Ino did not respond to Sakura, nor did she share Sakura's gleeful sentiment, but Sakura did not notice because Choji started to laugh at the chocolate icing that Naruto had spread between his nose and lips. Naruto pretended to brush the icing as if it was his mustache, which caused Hinata and Sakura to giggle as well.

Stuck between the choices to either let the kids have fun or to save her lunch, Hinode blew out a deep breath. Then, without warning, the door to the teachers lounge slid open.

A young man with short brown hair took a visible step back at the scene inside the teacher's lounge. His astonished eyes scanned across the room, widening at the cake crumbles scattered everywhere, pausing at Naruto's chocolate icing beard, and finally stopping at Hinode's equally surprised face.

"Ungo-sensei," Hinode greeted first.

"Oh, I'm sorry for intruding…" the young teacher named Ungo whipped up an awkward smile as he noticed that all of the children's eyes were on him.

"Not at all. This is the teacher's lounge," Hinode gave him an apologetic look. "In fact, I discouraged this many times."

"Don't worry about it, Hinode-sensei," Ungo shook his head. "Most of the teachers take their lunch in their classrooms anyway. I just forgot to bring my bento today."

Ungo raised the instant cup noodle in his left hand, at which Hinode nodded and stepped aside, revealing the hot water dispenser behind her. As Ungo walked towards Hinode, the children's eyes followed him. He chuckled uncomfortably as he halted besides Hinode.

"So, uh, speaking of the other teachers," Ungo turned his head towards Hinode as he slowly ripped open the lid of his cup noodle. Hinode, not expecting Ungo to continue to converse with her, jumped slightly before turning towards him. This little action put a pink hue over Ungo's cheeks.

"S-sorry!"

"That's all right," said Hinode. "What were you saying?"

"Right, um, there's going to be a group dinner amongst the teachers after school this Friday—we do this monthly on our pay day!" Ungo spoke a little too fast. "You should join us!"

"Oh…" Hinode was at a loss of words. She was not close with the other teachers. Most of them seemed to have their noses in books or binders when they walked past each other.

As if sensing that Hinode was going to decline, Ungo blurted, "I'd like to get to know you—I mean, we're coworkers and all."

"Um… Sure, I guess," Hinode raised an eyebrow at Ungo's persistence, but shrugged at the end.

"Great!" Ungo grinned with relief. Finally, he filled his cup noodle with hot water and closed the lid. "I'll come find you Friday afternoon."

Ungo then turned around for the door, but his shoulders jerked when he realized that all of the children were ogling him still. Once again, he chuckled dryly.

"The kids sure like you a lot, Hinode-sensei," Ungo noted.

Hinode looked at her students and smiled. "Well, I like them too."

The pink hue on Ungo's cheeks spread all over his face at that point. He mumbled a "See ya" and escaped the room. After the kids' eyes followed Ungo out, their heads spun towards Hinode.

"Ooh, sensei's going on a date!" Ino sang teasingly.

"What? No," Hinode shook her head immediately. "It's a work dinner."

"Adults are supposed to be smarter than that, sensei," Shikamaru smiled sneakily as he leaned back in his chair, hands folded behind his head.

"Sensei, I thought that eyebrow guy said you are already dating someone," Naruto pointed out.

"Sensei, you shouldn't cheat," Hinata frowned with worry.

"Yeah, especially not with Poop-sensei," Choji added.

Hinode pressed her hand to her forehead in an attempt to subdue the headache that was growing inside. It was useless, as the next thing she noticed was that the chocolate cake was completely devoured while she was talking with Ungo.

"I am so giving you guys homework today."

The amount of satisfaction Hinode felt after she gave the class one hundred pages to read in their History of Konoha textbook was truly petty, but Hinode didn't care. She snickered to herself when she recalled the faces of the children who were in the teacher's lounge with her as she announced that she would quiz them the next day.

All the way home that evening, she was in a good mood. She bought herself a new chocolate at the grocery store, thinking that she would share it with Shisui, Itachi, and Sasuke. Coincidentally, Shisui and Itachi were already standing by her front door when she arrived home.

As she approached them, their faces came into focus. Shisui had a rare frown on his face as he spoke to Itachi; almost like he was angry, or frustrated. Itachi's lips were in a tight line. Something was not right.

"Hey!" Hinode called out as she quickened her steps. Shisui jumped at the sound of her voice and immediately closed his mouth. Hinode's smile dropped when she noticed this.

"Hinode-san," Itachi greeted.

"What's going on?" Hinode asked, looking at Shisui.

"Noth…" Shisui began to say, but Itachi cut in.

"The clan is pushing for a coup d'etat against the Hokage."

Hinode's whole body froze. She would have been bothered by Shisui's protesting nudge at Itachi, but her mind was occupied by the thoughts of a vicious war. Her clansmen, led by Fugaku, with Shisui and Itachi on his sides, and even Mikoto with her old Jonin attire. The other side was Sarutobi Hiruzen, along with his Tokubetsu Jonin, including Genma, and all his best ANBU agents, like Kakashi, whose hand was bloodied once again after his Chidori took her clansman's life.

In whatever aftermath of the chaos, shinobi from other lands invaded Konoha. The village burned like the Kusagakure that she saw during the last war. Or like the Nine-Tail's Attack. The children from the Academy cried for help. Sakura's parents were defenseless; other shinobi parents lost in battle. Will Naruto be put to use or be protected? Who was Sasuke going to lose?

Hinode had not realized that her lips had been trembling, but when she looked up at Shisui and Itachi, her eyes were focused and her voice was steady.

"We can't let that happen," she stated firmly.

Under the moonlight, Itachi's black eyes glistened while fixed on Hinode's face.

To be continued.

Notes:

Hinode the heartbreaker is at it again. Also, I promise Kakashi will be in the next chapter! He needs to see that he has some competition lol.
Hope you all liked this and see you at the next chapter!

Chapter 31: Curse of the Uchiha

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Don't do anything rash, Nee-san."

If it wasn't for Shisui's warning, Hinode would have stormed directly to Fugaku's house and demanded him to keep his clan in check. That would have probably caused quite the scene, and most likely would have gotten Shisui and Itachi in trouble.

Since Fugaku had not yet expressed his opinion on the coup, it was decided that Shisui would try to steer Fugaku in the right direction. Itachi wanted to help as well, but Shisui did not want Itachi to soil his relationship with his father. Hinode agreed with Shisui; if things got complicated at home, it would affect Sasuke as well. And whenever Sasuke was involved, it was easy to get Itachi to listen.

By the time they finished their discussion, it was already past midnight. Itachi was sent home with half of the chocolate cake, and then it was just Shisui and Hinode.

"You sure know how to convince Itachi, Nee-san," Shisui smiled as they walked into their home.

Hinode merely nodded to Shisui's and headed into the kitchen. "You haven't eaten dinner, right? I'll make a quick omelette rice."

"Nee-san, is there something wrong?" Shisui asked, noticing an unpleasant mood from Hinode.

What answered him was the sizzling of eggs sliding into a hot pan. He knew his sister enough not to push her until she was ready to talk, so he resorted to setting the table instead.

Within a few minutes, Hinode brought out two plates of omelette rice and sat down across from Shisui. Shisui murmured a thank you and scooped some of the food into his mouth. The egg was fluffy and sweet and reminiscent of Hinode's signature tamagoyaki . Even after all these years, Shisui still couldn't get used to the sweet taste.

But it was the taste of home.

"You weren't going to tell me about the coup," Hinode said after Shisui finished his last bite.

Shisui sighed at his plate and raised his gaze up at Hinode. Her facial expression was calm, which made him feel more guilty.

"I didn't want you to worry," Shisui's voice trailed as he spoke; it sounded ridiculous when it was said out loud. "You shouldn't have to be involved. You're teaching at the Academy now. If something happened to you, the kids…"

"You always come first, Shisui."

Shisui frowned. Hinode's words should have made him feel warm, but he had to fight against his body's tremble.

"You're planning something risky against Fugaku-san, aren't you?" Hinode asked, but it was barely a question. She knew him too well. Shisui was only ever dishonest when there was danger involved.

"I'm going to leave ANBU," Shisui finally gave in, "and then I'm going to join the Police Force. I will be on Fugaku-san's good side, and I'd be able to keep the other clansmen from acting out violently if they got into any arguments with villagers."

It was Hinode's turn to frown. "Genjutsu?"

Shisui nodded, and Hinode sighed in response.

"Are you that confident in your Genjutsu?" Hinode asked carefully, as if she was afraid of his answer. Yes, Shisui was a prodigy. But would be against all of the other clansmen who also owned Sharingan.

To Hinode's surprise, Shisui looked her dead in the eyes, and activated his Sharingan. But they weren't the ones she was used to seeing. The three tomoe of the Sharingan spun into a shape like a circular saw with four blades.

Mangekyo Sharingan.

The first and last ones she'd seen were her father's.

"When did you…?"

"When father died."

It shouldn't have been a surprise. Shisui was much closer to their father growing up. His combat style and prowess emulated his father's since he was a child, and even until now. On the other hand, deflecting Genjutsu was as much as Hinode could do with her Sharingan.

"Shisui, those eyes…"

"Don't worry, Nee-san, I won't use them unless I have to."

Hinode would have told Shisui not to use them at all, but his grin reduced her words to another long sigh.

"Okay, I'm not going to stop you," Hinode said finally, managing to smile back at Shisui. "To be honest, you are probably the only hope this clan has."

Shisui laughed. The tension between them was lifted.

"That's not true at all, Nee-san."

It was Friday afternoon and Hinode was spacing out in the classroom during recess. A lot had been on her mind ever since Itachi and Shisui told her what happened during the last clan meeting.

Even though Hinode promised Shisui that she wasn't going to worry, that was obviously impossible. And though she said that she wouldn't stop him, she didn't promise that she was going to sit still. Everyday after school, Hinode had been running to the Hokage's office, demanding a meeting with the Third. Of course, she never made it past the guards.

"Hinode-sensei!"

Sakura's shout snapped Hinode out of her trance. The girl was frantically running into the classroom and nearly crashed into Hinode if Hinode had not grabbed her by the shoulders.

"What is it, Sakura-chan?" Hinode knelt to Sakura's eye level.

"Sasuke-kun got into a fight!"

Without a second thought, Hinode sprung to her feet and asked Sakura to lead her to the fight. Sakura, while out of breath and panicking, told Hinode what had happened.

Sakura was going to the training grounds to practice kata when she saw that Sasuke was already there, practicing with a wooden dummy. Just as she approached him, so did a couple of upperclassmen. One of them said something about Sasuke bumping into him in the hallway and did not say sorry. Sakura had ran over to stop the argument, but the older kid pushed her to the ground. And when Sakura pushed herself up again, Sasuke was fighting both of the upperclassmen.

When the two of them got to the training grounds, the fight was still going on. Sasuke had just given one of the older boys a back kick in the chest. The other boy, who already had a black eye, plunged toward Sasuke with an angry cry. Sasuke must have anticipated the attack, as he turned back and swung his fist.

Sakura was mid-scream when she felt a wind next to her and her hair whipped to the front of her face. Hinode had pushed off of her back foot and arrived in between the two boys in a second. One of her hands grabbed Sasuke's arm and her leg swept the older boy's foot, then she caught him by the back of his collar with her other hand.

"Hinode?!" Sasuke blurted in surprise.

Hinode looked down at Sasuke with a sharp glare, the harshest look Sasuke had ever received from her. She was disappointed with him.

The two older boys grimaced at the arrival of a teacher. Hinode ordered all three of them to stand in front of her.

"State your names and what year you're in."

The older boys looked at each other and reluctantly gave their names.

"Nagahara Susumu, fourth year."

"Suedo Daiki, fourth year."

"Two fourth graders ganging up on a first year?" Hinode seethed. "Aren't you ashamed?"

"He started it first!" The boy named Daiki shouted with frustration. "We just wanted to get an apology from him for shoving us in the hallway!"

"What I heard was that you guys pushed Sakura-chan," said Hinode.

"I just pushed her a little so she'd stay out of it!" Susumu retorted. "She fell on her own!"

Hinode looked to Sasuke and Sakura, both of whom were red in the face. Sakura from embarrassment and Sasuke from anger. Under Sasuke's nose were remnants of smeared blood, barely noticeable. But Hinode felt a fire growing in her stomach.

Calm down, Hinode repeated to herself in her head.

"I'm going to report this incident to your teacher, Manabu-sensei," Hinode said coldly. "Now, apologize to each other."

The two fourth years shuddered when Hinode mentioned their teacher's name. Manabu-sensei was a middle-aged Jonin who did not hold back with her punishments. So though reluctant, the boys muttered their sorrys and ran back towards the school building without waiting for Sasuke's apology.

Hinode's tense shoulders relaxed as the two boys disappeared through the front doors. She then turned to Sasuke and kneeled before him, reaching for his face to examine his nose. But Sasuke took a step back and glared at her. Unlike his usual pout, his lips were pressed hard together, and his and the corners of his eyes red.

"Sasuke…"

"They called the Uchihas spineless," Sasuke said just above a whisper. "I guess you confirmed that for them!"

"Sasuke-kun, are you—" Sakura stepped in worriedly, but Sasuke snapped at her with the same glare.

"Next time, mind your own business!" Sasuke yelled and ran away from them.

Hinode watched Sasuke's back with a feeling of suffocation. Did she let the two older boys go too easily? Leaving the punishment to their teacher was the only thing she could think of while she was trying to suppress her own emotions. She had even forgotten to listen to Sasuke's side of the story. Feeling awful and ashamed, she forgot that she was still kneeling on the dirt field.

A small hand clasped Hinode's sleeve. She looked down to see Sakura and her futile attempt at holding back tears. The poor girl just wanted to help, but was blamed by both sides. Hinode had failed to defend her as well.

"Sakura-chan…" Hinode smoothed out the girl's pink hair. "I'm…"

Before she could say sorry, she saw in her periphery Manabu-sensei stomping through the schoolyard towards them. Hinode turned her head to see that the fourth grade teacher was holding Naruto by the back of his shirt while the boy resisted with all of his might. Her heart dropped instantly as it was easy to guess what was coming next. He must have seen what happened.

"Hinode-sensei!" Manabu-sensei exclaimed with a scowl on her face. "What do you think you're doing out here after the bell has rung? Because of your neglect, this imbecile here interrupted my class while he tried to pick a fight with two of my students! Not to mention the fact that I had to send those two students to the infirmary because of that Uchiha in your class!"

"Those jerks are the real bad guys!" Naruto protested loudly as he tried to kick the teacher in midair.

"Quiet, you!" Manabu-sensei threw Naruto towards Hinode, who scrambled to her feet to catch him. "I'm going to let Lord Third know about this. I bet this will finally help him see what a terrible mistake it was to let you teach here."

"Hinode-sensei is a great teacher, you old ha—"

Naruto was silenced by Hinode's palm. When he tried to shake her hand loose, he saw the expression on her face and froze in fear. It was a good thing that it wasn't him she was glaring at. Her eyes flickered with specks of red threatening to take over. Even Manabu-sensei took a step back.

"Do not put your hands on my student again."

Manabu-sensei's face turned red and then blue. Her nostrils flared and she opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. It was obvious that she was avoiding looking into Hinode's eyes. In the end, Manabu-sensei retreated back to the school building, but not before one last hateful snort.

The school bell barely finished ringing before Hinode rushed out of the classroom. If she were any good at the Body Flicker Technique, she would have done it all the way to the Hokage's office, but running was way faster for her, especially in her current agitated mood. If anyone tried to stop her from seeing the Hokage, she was going to dash right past them.

Unfortunately, the person who happened to be outside of the Hokage Residence was Hatake Kakashi.

"Whoa! Slow down!"

Kakashi recognized Hinode from a mile away, but when he realized how fast she was going, he knew there was trouble. Hinode ignored his shout and veered to his left, which convinced him that he needed to stop her.

Using the slight drop in speed as Hinode tried to run around him, Kakashi darted towards her and managed to swipe a foot across her right leg. She took a great tumble, and as her head whirled she seemed as if she was going to punch him, but then realized who he was.

"Kakashi?" She breathed.

"Charging into the Hokage Residence like that makes you look like an assassin," Kakashi scolded. "You're lucky that it's me instead of a team of ANBU."

"Those guys can't stop me," Hinode growled.

"You know you're insulting me too, right?" Kakashi pointed at his ANBU mask. "What is your hurry, anyway?"

"The Third is avoiding me, but I have to speak to him no matter what!"

Kakashi let out a sigh; he was sure that Sarutobi Hiruzen was not avoiding Hinode, but in her angry state, she wouldn't believe otherwise. Coincidentally, he had an appointment with the Hokage to turn in some completed missions, so he offered to bring her in with him. Hinode's anger simmered down a bit at that and she followed Kakashi into the building.

Kakashi was sure that he was going to regret this later.

Once the two of them arrived at the Hokage's office, Hinode nearly kicked down the door if Kakashi had not opened it a second before her. Nonetheless, she marched into the office, disregarding Hiruzen's surprised face, and slammed her hands on his desk.

"Hinode? Kakashi? What's going on?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at Hinode's fury and looked past her shoulder at Kakashi, who shook his head in apology.

"You need to do something about the villagers!" Hinode shouted even though she was only a desk's distance from Hiruzen.

Hiruzen's expression hardened. He knew immediately what Hinode was referring to. He'd had the same conversation with Uchiha Shisui, but he didn't expect it from her. Hinode had always been neutral about the village's internal conflicts. But what changed?

"It isn't as easy as you think," Hiruzen said slowly.

"Why not? You're the Hokage!" Hinode slammed on the desk again, rattling everything that was on the surface. Kakashi had to step up to pull her back; another slam and the table would probably break. "Can't you just give an official statement that the Uchiha clan was not involved in the Nine-Tails Attack? The villagers will believe your words more than the Uchiha's—"

An unfamiliar voice from behind her cut in.

"Because the fact that only the Sharingan can control a tailed beast still remains."

Hinode turned around to see an older man walking into the office. His forehead and right eye were wrapped up with bandages, and his left eye's glare was ice cold. Hinode recognized it as blatant distrust when he looked down at her, much like when Manabu-sensei looked at her. Hinode had never met the man before, but she'd heard of him many times. Shimura Danzo, a high ranking ninja who was often at the Hokage's side. More than being surprised by his presence, Hinode was surprised that she felt a shiver of fear when she met his eye. Then, a flash of gold in the corner of her eyes caused her to look past Shimura Danzo, and she held her breath.

There was no mistake; the young woman behind the bear mask was Yakko. The warm orange of the afternoon sun casted over her and made her blonde hair shine brightly, but the energy that she exuded was the opposite temperature. She made no sound as she stood a few feet behind Danzo, her previously fair skin was pale like bones, except for the faded pink and beige scars that decorated her bare arms. It seemed as if anything that came close to her was going to wither away.

"How typical of an Uchiha to play the victim," Danzo continued to speak upon Hinode's silence.

They called the Uchihas spineless.

Hinode's hands tightened into fists.

"No, you're wrong…" she growled.

"If you can prove me wrong, then it would solve everything," Danzo said coldly, then turned to Hiruzen without sparing her another glance. "It seems that this is a bad time to talk. I will come by again in the evening."

Hiruzen nodded at Danzo, and Danzo made for the door. Hinode glanced at Yakko, who stood by the door as she waited for Danzo to pass first. For a moment, it felt as if Yakko was looking at Hinode behind that mask, but as Danzo passed through the door, Yakko simply lowered to one knee and bowed to Hiruzen.

"Come, Kinoto," Danzo called for the young kunoichi, and she quickly followed him.

The room fell to silence. Even the air felt heavy.

Hinode pushed herself to turn back to Hiruzen, whose face was grim and seemed a few years older. She remembered when she'd seen him for the first time when she was little. When Hiruzen visited the Academy to check on all of the children, he'd ask them about their dreams and aspirations. And though Hinode often butted heads with him, she always thought that at least he genuinely cared about all of his villagers.

"You suspect that it was an Uchiha too, don't you?"

Vocally and physically, Hinode was shaking. Even though Hiruzen's silence was enough of an answer, she waited.

Finally, Hiruzen sighed deeply.

"There is still much to be investigated."

"I see…"

Hinode wasn't sure if she said her last words before she took her leave. Unlike the way she came, she walked out of the building slowly. Each step was almost too difficult to take, and each breath stung her throat.

Then, a hand grabbed her shoulder. It sent a jolt through her arm and she let go of everything that was holding her back. Hinode shifted her feet and twisted her waist, and her fist followed swiftly and powerfully to strike whoever was behind her.

"Hinode!"

Kakashi grunted as he tilted his head to the side and caught her fist in his hand just in time before it cracked his jaw. If he hadn't sent as much chakra as he could to his palm in that split second, his hand might have broken. Still, the impact of her punch pushed him back a few steps, and she almost crashed into his chest from her own momentum.

Hinode was surprised to see that it was Kakashi who had caught up to her. Instantly, her tense muscles relaxed. But remnants of fury were still visible on her face.

"Who did you think I was?" Kakashi relaxed as well, seeing that she wasn't going to attack again. His hand was feeling numb.

A pout formed at her lips. "I don't know… the old geezer, maybe…"

"You really were going to punch the Hokage?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

But it was as if Hinode didn't hear Kakashi's question. Her shoulders slumped and her eyelids dropped, along with her chin. Kakashi could only see the top of her head from this close of a distance. She seemed incredibly tired.

"How did things turn out like this?" Hinode asked, but it wasn't clear whether she was asking him or herself. "They say that we tried to destroy Konoha, but this is our home too! And the clan doesn't want to compromise either. Is pride more important than their lives?"

"This is bigger than just you or Lord Hokage," Kakashi said as calmly as he could, although he was becoming frazzled by Hinode's emotions. "We can only trust him. The truth is the only thing that will end this…"

"And what if the truth incriminated a member of the Uchiha?" Hinode looked up at him. "Then what? Konoha wins? The clan wouldn't take that sitting down, that's for sure."

Kakashi didn't know what to say. For all of his life he'd been a model shinobi. He had always been dedicated to Konoha, and he never questioned why. But seeing Hinode this way was eye opening for him. It wasn't the first time that he'd heard discriminating words against the Uchiha, but he never knew how much it affected Hinode.

Something must have happened at home, or around the village, or at school. As a matter of fact, Hinode was never fully integrated into any place. Yet, Obito had said that Hinode hated being alone. Perhaps it was because the people at those places wouldn't let her become fully integrated. They didn't accept her.

"Can you let go of my hand now?"

Hinode's question pulled him away from his thoughts. He had to look to realize that his hand was still firmly grasping Hinode's fist up high, which was loosened by now.

"No," he said.

Hinode raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Listen," Kakashi stepped a little closer to her, though it was nearly impossible to do so. "Obito was not accepted by the village nor his clan, but he still fought with everything he had. Do you know why?"

Hinode looked at him with surprise at the mention of Obito's name.

"For you, for Rin, for… me," Kakashi listed. "He must have believed that he could change our lives… no, our world, if he became Hokage."

Hinode's lips pressed into a straight line, like she was suppressing something. Then, a puff of air first escaped from her nose, then a full chuckle came out of her mouth. The laugh made Kakashi a little dumbfounded.

"Way to give him too much credit," Hinode said between laughs. "You must still feel pretty guilty to say something like that about Obito!"

Kakashi's cheeks burned, but luckily, his mask hid him well.

"Hinode, I was trying to—"

"He only ever saw what was in front of him, didn't he?" Hinode reminisced with a smile. "Now I'm thinking that that's not a bad thing."

They weren't gods, they were shinobi. There was an extent to how much they could fight, and how many they could protect. Maybe a shinobi who was as strong as a Hokage can serve a whole village. But for the rest of them, if they could just help those who were right in front of them, those who mattered, then that would already be quite a feat.

Kakashi nodded, and gently lowered her hand to her side. Hinode took a step back so that she could look at him without tilting up her head.

"I'm going to protect the ones who are important to me, no matter what happens to the clan or the village," Hinode vowed. "Shisui, Itachi, the kids, my friends, you… and Yakko."

Kakashi frowned slightly, though he knew that it was coming.

"I'm sorry, but… I don't know if she's the same Yakko you know," Kakashi said grimly. "You heard what Danzo called her, right? Those guys under him all had to throw away their identities. What if she doesn't…"

The words were clogged in Kakashi's throat as he watched an assured grin rise up on Hinode's lips. It made his heart flutter, and he wasn't sure if he was moved or he was scared.

"I'll bring her back."

To be continued.

Notes:

Kakashi: I'm scared... scared to fall in love.

Meanwhile, did anyone notice a tiny detail? Hinode stood Poop-sensei up! Don't worry, I'm not done with him just yet!

Also! Things are about to go off the rails soon! Hinode is, after all, an Uchiha and vulnerable to her emotions. And she is almost at her breaking point. To be honest, I have strayed from my outline too many times and I can't tell if I can steer it back, so please bear with me in this roller coaster ride!

Chapter 32: Curse of the Secret Training

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"I thought that you stood me up because you didn't like me, but I'm relieved to know that it's because you weren't feeling well—Oh! I mean, I'm not happy that you're in the hospital, but, you know, you don't hate me!"

Hinode braced herself for the headache right before straining to turn her head to the side, as her brain felt like it weighed five tons and filled with tiny shinobi ants throwing shuriken around. It was Monday afternoon and she had been lying in a hospital bed for the whole day. She wasn't sure who was able to substitute for her at the academy, but only five minutes after the school's end, Ungo had come to visit her at the hospital.

When Ungo showed up with a bouquet of summer blooms, she remembered her promise to him to go to the teachers' group dinner on Friday. She had completely forgotten about it after everything that had happened. She would feel bad about it if she wasn't already feeling so terrible physically. Plus, there was no way she was ever going to voluntarily be around Manabu-sensei after all that.

"I don't know why you'd think that I hate you," Hinode murmured with a hoarse throat. "Are we that kind of people to you, too?"

"W-we?" Ungo stammered in confusion. He decided to let it go because Hinode was probably a little incoherent from being sick. Just look at her; her face was pale like a ghost. He settled his bouquet on Hinode's bedside table and went to the foot of her bed.

"Let's see… Dehydration and… Critically low chakra level?" Ungo picked up Hinode's clipboard and read her symptoms. Dehydration was not something that could put a shinobi in a hospital, but chakra exhaustion was something serious. It could be lethal. What could a first grade teacher like Hinode have been doing to use up so much chakra?

Ungo frowned and looked at Hinode's dreadful face with concern. "Have you been training or something?"

Hinode blinked slowly at him.

"Yes, I have."

It wasn't a lie, though she could not tell him what kind of training she had been doing. It would probably scare him or alarm him or both. It started on Friday after she'd parted ways with Kakashi. She had gone back to the Uchiha Compound and waited until nightfall. Luckily, Shisui was not home all night; Hinode suspected that he was working a night shift at the police station. She snuck into the backyard of Uchiha Fugaku's estate, and peaked into the window of Itachi's room.

The boy wasn't there, but she didn't give up quite yet. She then went to Sasuke's room, which was connected to the veranda, and gently slid open the door.

Immediately, she met Itachi's eyes. He was propped up from his futon next to a sleeping Sasuke. The caution in his eyes disappeared as soon as he saw that it was Hinode. He crawled on his knees towards the sliding door and opened it a little more.

"Hinode-san, what are you doing here?" he whispered. "Sasuke came home very upset and it took me two hours to get him to sleep. Did something happen at school?"

Hinode put a finger to her lips, signaling him to keep quiet. Once Itachi stopped talking, she motioned for him to follow her, and he did so with obedience. He must have had many questions as he followed Hinode quietly in the night, through the back end of the Uchiha Compound and into the forest path that would eventually lead them to the Naka Shrine. But instead of heading to the shrine, Hinode took a turn and ventured deeper into the forest.

Finally, they stopped at a small clearing, and Hinode turned back at Itachi.

"I need your help with something, Itachi," Hinode cut straight to the point.

"What is it, Hinode-san?" Itachi asked.

"You excel in Genjutsu, right?" Hinode looked into his eyes. "Use Genjutsu on me."

Itachi was startled when Hinode's eyes turned into Sharingan as she asked for such a crazy favor. But he was no ordinary teen; he instantly understood what Hinode wanted to do. He had heard from Shisui that since obtaining the Sharingan, Hinode had never used Genjutsu or attempted to use it. While the Sharingan was a powerful tool that allowed the Uchiha clan to perform Genjutsu with ease, the different techniques still required practice.

It was clear that Hinode wanted to see the flow of his chakra while he performed Genjutsu so that she could learn it at an accelerated rate. It meant that she was going to forgo deflecting the Genjutsu and experience it fully.

"That's dangerous, Hinode-san!" Itachi countered anxiously. "It could cause damage to your brain…"

"There's no time for discussion, Itachi," Hinode pressed harder. "I'm ready to do anything to save the people I love. Are you?"

It might have been the first time Hinode had ever seen the thirteen-year-old boy physically shudder. Of course, she knew that it was a lot to ask of him. Shisui would never agree to do it, and Itachi was her only hope.

She was going to project memories into Yakko's mind to bring her back.

After a long while, Itachi finally accepted her request. Hinode didn't remember how many times Itachi had casted Genjutsu on her that night or how many times she vomited. She certainly didn't remember when she had finally passed out from mental exhaustion. By the time she gained consciousness, she was in the hospital.

"Well, please take it easy Hinode-sensei," Ungo said to Hinode, pulling her back from her memories. "I hope that you get better soon, then we can make up for that dinner that you missed."

Hinode blinked at her young colleague as she imagined a dinner party with Manabu-sensei, who must have told all the other staff about everything by now.

"Haven't you heard about what happened with me and Manabu-sensei?" Hinode asked darkly. "I don't think they'd want to have dinner with me."

"I have, and no, I wasn't talking about a group dinner," Ungo smiled shyly as he brought a hand to the back of his head. "I… this is actually what I intended to ask you last time, but I was too much of a coward…"

Hinode watched as Ungo's face turned pink, then turned red. She remained quiet so that Ungo could ask what he wanted to ask.

"We can go for a drink, just you and me?"

Kakashi didn't intend to eavesdrop and that was the truth, but he had been standing outside of Hinode's hospital room just a tad too long. It was easy to figure out that the man currently visiting Hinode was the third grade teacher at the academy. The one whom Asuma said was smitten with Hinode. Kakashi didn't even need to see the guy's face to know; the nervousness in the teacher's voice sounded just like Hinode when she talked to Kakashi's father.

What was unclear to Kakashi was the weird feeling in his stomach, like he'd eaten something bad, but all he had since the morning was a Military Rations Pill. And those had a long shelf life. Maybe it was remembering Hinode's gross and wildly inappropriate crush on his father. Or maybe it was the guy's unethical behavior of asking a coworker out.

Maybe, he was anxious about Hinode's response.

"I'm not of legal drinking age for another month," Hinode's cool voice traveled through the closed door after a short minute.

The vague response nearly made Kakashi topple over even though he was leaning against the door. At that moment, Kakashi understood why Genma always said that Hinode was unwomanly.

But to his surprise, the teacher started to laugh.

"This is what makes you so cute, Hinode-sensei."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. The weird feeling in his stomach intensified. And then he realized that it was not that Hinode said was not cute. It was that it was and he wasn't the one who pointed it out. He could see her face when she said that and he wasn't even the one in that room.

And the more he tried to imagine Hinode's face when she was called cute, the more uncomfortable his stomach. He wondered if she blushed like when he joked with her.

"Thank you, Ungo-sensei, you're a really nice person…"

Kakashi held his breath.

"There's just a lot about me that you don't know, and you don't want to know, because it's… a lot…"

"But I want to—"

"It's a lot, even for me."

Silence fell upon them, and Kakashi could imagine the pain that Ungo must have felt, but even more so, he felt Hinode's pain.

She had really been through a lot, and she was still going through a lot.

"I understand," Ungo's voice carried through calmly. "I'll... give you some space."

"Thank you."

Kakashi stepped to the side of the door and it opened slowly. He hid behind the shadows while Ungo walked out and snuck into the room before the door closed.

He came face to face with Hinode right away, because Hinode didn't have the energy to move her head. She looked surprised at Kakashi's arrival, but soon relaxed into the bed. She let out a sigh that sounded too much like a groan.

"What a sick hobby you have, Kakashi," she said weakly.

"Do you really want to say that to someone who has dango?" Kakashi shook the paper bag in his hand, and Hinode shot up immediately, but dropped right back down after looking like she'd been struck by lightning. She pressed a hand to her temple and hissed in pain. With a deep frown, Kakashi pulled a chair up besides Hinode's bed and sat down.

He didn't need to ask to know that it was Genjutsu. He still remembered the splitting pain in his head after he broke away from the effects of Genjutsu with Hinode's help all those years ago. But since inheriting Obito's Sharingan, normal Genjutsu was rarely a threat to him. If anything, the amount of chakra required to deflect Genjutsu with a Sharingan was more of a threat than the Genjutsu itself.

As an Uchiha, using her own bloodline to deflect Genjutsu should not have been difficult for Hinode. So why was she in such bad shape now? The only explanation was that it was voluntary.

"You're learning Genjutsu," Kakashi concluded. He looked at her with furrowed brows; the way she averted her eyes gave him the confirmation that he was right. The only question left now was why? "You think you can bring Yakko back with it?"

Hinode pursed her lips. At this point, she couldn't hide anything from Kakashi.

"That Danzo guy… he's dangerous," Hinode said with gritted teeth. She was recalling her first meeting with Danzo. "Even if he's loyal to Konoha, I don't like what he's done to Yakko."

"But have you forgotten that Yakko followed Danzo out of her own will?"

As soon as the question left Kakashi's mouth, he'd regretted it. If Hinode's glare shot lasers, his head would have been sliced in half by now. He didn't really mean what he said; he was just trying to dissuade her. After all, she would be putting herself in great danger if she were to cross Danzo by taking one of his best agents. But now, she was looking at him as if he was her enemy as well.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that," Kakashi looked down at the edge of Hinode's pillow. "I just can't let you do something so dangerous. Haven't you noticed that no one knows anything about Root agents? Even if you can make Yakko remember herself again, do you think it's so easy for her to leave Root?"

"I can't just turn a blind eye after I've seen what has become of my friend," Hinode suppressed the anger in her voice. "You can't stop me, Kakashi."

"Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash!"

Of course, there was no stopping Hinode. If stopping a stubborn Uchiha was that easy, Obito would not have died. People said that the Uchiha clan was a hateful bunch, but Kakashi realized that, on the contrary, they loved too much. If Kakashi was younger, he would say that, love or hate, those emotions were unnecessary for shinobi. But now, if Kakashi was being honest, he would say that he was a little envious.

For the longest time, he wished that he was the one under that boulder, or the one who was pierced by Chidori, or the one who sacrificed himself during the Nine-Tails Attack. But his belief of what made a perfect shinobi inhibited him. He wondered if he could have saved his comrades, if he just had a little bit of what Hinode had.

"I'll go with you," Kakashi said, looking straight at Hinode, who was slightly stunned by what he said.

"No, Kakashi, you're an ANBU captain," Hinode struggled to sit up, pushing a shaky hand on top of the bedside table. "You could lose everything if you get caught! You'd lose your title, your shinobi status, and they might even banish you from…"

"I can stand to lose everything," Kakashi gently put his hand over her hand on the table. "I just can't lose you."

Hinode stopped struggling and gaped at Kakashi. He felt the warmth of her skin even through his glove. It made him want to hold it tighter.

Kakashi went ahead and took her hand off the table, and held it with both of his hands on his knee.

"After Minato-sensei died, I had thought that that was it. I had lost everything. But you stood beside me and told me that you were still here, and that became the reason why I'm still here. As a shinobi, you have to take responsibility for everything you say, Hinode. Don't push me away now."

Kakashi's eyes squinted into a gentle smile, as if he wasn't saying something so weighty. Hinode bit her lips; something in her eyes said that she was wavering. He could feel her pulse through the palm of her hand; it was beating faster than before, and the longer he looked at her the faster it beated.

"Kakashi…" she called his name softly. A shade of pink rose to her cheeks.

"HI-NO-DE! WE'RE COMING IN!"

A loud shout echoed in the hallway just outside Hinode's room and it made both of them jump. The voice belonged to Guy, no doubt, as Genma's voice soon followed.

"Quiet, Guy! We're in the hospital!"

Kakashi stood up and leaned over the bed as the doorknob turned. Hinode drew a sharp breath when he came face to face with her.

"Promise you won't go alone."

Hinode barely began to nod before the door swung open and Kakashi's shadow zipped through the window.

Guy and Genma stampeded into the room with boxes of sweets, not even questioning the bewildered look on Hinode's face. Apparently, Guy had been asked to be a last minute substitute teacher for Hinode's class, and that was how he found out about her being in the hospital. As a good friend and teammate, Guy told Genma and the two of them bought some of her favorite sweets for a visit.

"Asuma and Kurenai will drop by later. I couldn't find Kakashi as usual. That guy's like a phantom sometimes!" said Guy as he plopped down on the chair where Kakashi was previously sitting. "Hm? Why is this chair kind of warm?"

Genma looked at Hinode's bedside table, and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Flowers and dango? Guy, maybe Kakashi was already here."

"What?! Leave it to my rival to visit Hinode in the hospital before me!"

"You missed my point there, Guy."

As her teammates clowned around beside her bed, Hinode took a deep breath to calm herself. But each time her heart rate slowed, it picked back up when she saw Kakashi's smile in her head. When he leaned over her, it reminded her of the time that Sakumo saved her from falling to her death. All that was in her view was his strong shoulders and calm eyes that made her feel like she could rely on him.

Since when did that little snooty brat she met at the academy grow so big?

Hinode was finally back at school after a few days in the hospital. She was still feeling a little fatigued, but seeing the students happy to see her gave her more energy. Apparently, Guy had drilled them pretty hard in the training grounds while he was substituting for her. The students complained about their sore bodies after running 100 laps around school and 100 pushups every time their lap time was slower than the previous. The students were quite literally tired of "Weird Eyebrow Guy."

Feeling pretty tired herself, Hinode let the students have it easy with a simple lecture for the day. That was the first time the students did not whine when they heard her lesson plan.

"Today, we're going over one of the Shinobi Principles, Loyalty," Hinode read lazily from Masano-sensei's old textbook while sitting at the podium. There was really nothing out of the norm for this lesson. A shinobi must show absolute loyalty towards their village. Anything that could put the village in danger was a punishable offense; anything from abandoning a mission to leaking important intel. And punishment in the shinobi world was, simply put, cruel. Not just from the elders, but from the village as a whole.

The collective anger of the villagers could easily break a person. Hinode knew that first hand. If the Uchiha clan didn't have each other, maybe they would have broken by now.

"I'm sure that I don't have to tell you that a shinobi must be loyal to their village," Hinode looked up from the textbook to her students. Some of them were dozing off and some of them were spacing out. A few of them listened intently. "But I implore you to question the village's decisions. A shinobi is not just a tool to be used. You all have a conscience, a brain, and emotions. In fact, if you know that something is wrong, you'd be betraying the village if you don't try to change it.

"One day, one of you will become the Hokage. Some of you will become his advisors. Some of you will become Jonin teachers. Some of you will become protectors. Stay loyal to your friends and comrades, trust each other and listen to each other, because you're all the future of this village."

In her field of view, Naruto and Sasuke stared at her with big eyes.

And so the morning classes ended as quietly as Hinode intended it to. Lunch break was not going to be as serene as she hoped, when the regulars showed up at the teachers lounge. However, there was one child missing from the usual group. Naruto was not amongst them, and for some reason, Sakura was quieter than usual.

"Hinode-sensei, my dad made chicken soup for you," Choji carried a huge pot into the teacher's lounge, so huge that Hinode wondered why she didn't notice it in the classroom.

She deduced that Guy must have told Choza about her being in the hospital. Leave it to Guy to run around the whole village and announce her "illness" to all her friends and substitute for her at school on the same day. But Choza made so much chicken soup that it could probably feed her for a whole week.

"Thank you, Choji-kun," Hinode accepted the pot of soup with a twitchy smile. "Let's all have some, shall we?"

"Hinode-sensei, my mom cut some elderflower for you," Ino walked up to Hinode with a large bouquet of the small, white flowers. "You can put some in your tea for good health."

"You guys are all impractical," Shikamaru said to his friends before handing a little bag to Hinode. "Sensei, my dad bought these cold and pain medicines for you. He actually bought it, not just grabbed some stuff from home."

Shikaku had definitely instructed his son to say that.

With her hands full, Hinode only smiled stiffly as she watched the children help themselves to the chicken soup. Of course, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio's parents wasted no time to round up their get-well gifts. Though she wasn't actually sick, she was touched by their gestures. Shikaku and Inoichi must have known that she was an Uchiha from Choza, and yet they showed her kindness.

It was nice to know that not everyone in the village was against Uchihas. But they were few and far between.

"Sensei, you were sick?" Sakura asked, as she was not partaking in the chicken soup.

"Yes, but I'm a lot better now," Hinode said to Sakura.

"W-we thought that maybe Hinode-sensei was going t-to…" Hinata's eyes watered as she began to speak. Sakura looked as if she wanted to cover Hinata's mouth with her hand, but she was just a second too late. "...Quit!"

The room fell into silence. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Hinode, all except for Sakura. She looked down at her hands, her fingers fidgeting and her lips quivering. Then Hinode realized that Sakura must not have forgotten about the incident with the two fourth graders and Manabu-sensei.

"We heard from Sakura and Naruto," Shikamaru, the only one calm enough to speak up for the group, explained to Hinode. "We thought that you might have quit teaching because you were being bullied."

It would be a lie if Hinode said that she was not surprised. She had thought that the kids would have forgotten the incident by now, but they were more sensitive than she expected. And for such young children to worry about her being bullied, it made her nose burn a little.

"Bullied? No way," Hinode chuckled, but it was more of an excuse to cover her nose and mouth as to not give her emotions away. "I may only be a first grade teacher, but…"

"Let go of me! Dammit!"

"Stop resisting!"

Naruto and Sasuke's voices suddenly interrupted Hinode midspeech. The occupants of the teachers lounge all looked over at the door when Naruto kicked it open. He had not meant to open the door in such an aggressive way, but both of his hands were busy with dragging Sasuke into the room. Sasuke was desperately pulling Naruto's hands off of him, but every time he pulled off one hand, it sprang right back and grabbed another part of his shirt. The frustration painted Sasuke's face beet red; he bared his teeth as he growled, and it almost looked as if he was going to bite Naruto's hand.

Hinode was astonished. Sasuke had never shown such strong emotions while he was in school. And the fact that Naruto had the strength to drag Sasuke all the way from the classroom to the teachers lounge added to her amazement.

"Sasuke-kun? Naruto-kun?" Hinode blinked hard at the two boys.

"Come on, we talked about this!" Naruto whispered not-so-discreetly at Sasuke, who pushed Naruto's face away from his ear.

"I never agreed!"

"Well, we're here now, so let's just do it!"

Sasuke suddenly looked at Hinode, making her falter slightly with his reddened cheeks and the biggest pout she'd seen on him yet. She couldn't tell if he was still angry with her or not. She had not exactly had a chance to talk with him since she had been in the hospital, and according to Itachi that night, Sasuke was quite upset.

Jaws dropped when Naruto slapped Sasuke's back real hard, then both of them bent at the waist and gave Hinode a deep bow.

"Sorry for causing you trouble!"

Both of them declared loudly with their heads down. Hinode felt a wave of emotions like relief and gratitude, but most of all, she wished that she could take a photo of them right now so that she could show it to Itachi.

Meanwhile, Sakura was the one who broke out in tears. Hinode's heart almost left her ribcage at Sakura's wail; any more surprises today and she was going back to the hospital.

"S-Sakura-chan?" Hinode hurried over to Sakura and patted her on the back. "What's wrong now?"

Ino started laughing. "You don't even know, Hinode-sensei! Sakura yelled at those two so hard yesterday, with everyone watching too! She was like 'If Hinode-sensei doesn't come back to school, just know it's 100% you guys' fault! 100% each!'"

"No one asked you!" Sasuke snapped at Ino, but guilt was written all over his face. Finally, he inched towards a sobbing Sakura, who looked up when she noticed Sasuke right next to her. Sasuke murmured quietly, "I'm sorry."

Sakura stared at Sasuke in silence, until her wide eyes filled up with tears again and her cry blared throughout the room. Naruto practically leapt across the room in an attempt to punch Sasuke, which was easily dodged.

"Making Sakura-chan cry again, Sasuke?!" Naruto didn't hesitate to throw his arms at Sasuke again.

"I didn't do anything, you idiot!"

Hinode watched powerlessly as the two of them wrestled and knocked over the pot of chicken soup. The savory liquid was going to stain the beige-colored couch for sure, as well as Sakura and Hinata's clothes, since they were sitting there. Choji had jumped to save the flying chicken pieces directly with his mouth, and he ran into the wall and a framed painting fell to the floor and broke into five large pieces. Ino yelled at Choji so loudly that it was almost the same octave as Sakura's cry.

All the while, Shikamaru had made his way next to Hinode, and he observed the scene with his hand cupping his chin like some seasoned old man.

"Imagine what will become of this class if you left," Shikamaru said nonchalantly, with no intention of stopping his friends.

"Well, let's hope I don't get fired for destroying the teachers lounge," Hinode chuckled dryly. Hinode looked down at Shikamaru, a boy who was way too level-headed for his age. Maybe even for her age. "Then you'll have to be in charge of them, Shikamaru-kun."

Shikamaru turned to Hinode with a deadpan look. "Too troublesome."

"What happens when you all get to the second grade?"

That was a question that stumped the clever boy.

Hinode chuckled again softly and patted him on the shoulder.

"You guys will be fine," she said, loudly enough for everyone to hear, if they were listening at all. "You'll always have your friends."

Hinode carried on the rest of the first term with a trait she'd learned from Shikamaru—staying out of trouble. She stayed out of other teachers' way and only minded her own business. She needed to lay low for the time being, after having created so much tension with Hiruzen and Danzo.

The Uchiha clan was becoming quieter as well. There were less public fights between an Uchiha and a villager. Perhaps Shisui's transfer to the Police Force had some positive effect after all. It was all going in her favor.

Then, summer break began.

Sasuke was hanging out at Hinode's house more than usual during his vacation from school. Hinode couldn't figure out why until he and Itachi came over to celebrate her twentieth birthday. There was a weird change in dynamic between the brothers. More specifically, there was a change in Itachi.

While Itachi had always been quiet, he was always gentle and sweet around Sasuke, Shisui, and Hinode. But there was a dark air about him. His spoken words were short and cold, and Sasuke was clearly affected. While they were in the kitchen, Shisui had told Hinode that Itachi was under a lot of stress, what with working for ANBU and being pressured by Fugaku to spy on the Hokage. Meanwhile, the impending coup was still hanging above their heads.

It will all be over soon, Hinode thought to herself, because she couldn't tell anyone.

If Konoha needed a scapegoat for the Nine-Tails Attack, and it must be an Uchiha, then she was going to be just that. Even if Hiruzen didn't suspect her, it would be easy to stack the charges against her after she's infiltrated Root. It had nothing to do with the Uchiha clan; it was her personal plan to destroy Root and save her friend. And she didn't care that the village got demolished along the way.

Yes, that was going to be her story. It was in character for her, even. Danzo would surely be glad to punish her for it, be it exile or death.

"Hinode, I want to sleep over tonight," Sasuke demanded after Hinode finished her birthday cake.

"Not tonight, Sasuke," Hinode said, surprising Sasuke because normally she would have agreed in a heartbeat. "I'm going for a drink with friends tonight."

Shisui removed his gaze from a sink full of dishes and sent his sister a questioning look. "Who?"

"Uh…" Hinode was taken back from Shisui's sudden interest, but she was ready with a lie. "Guy and Genma, my old teammates, remember?"

Shisui hummed in response, and then turned back to his dishes. "That's weird. They never celebrate your birthday for all these years and all of a sudden they want to go for a drink."

"Well, you know, you only turn twenty once," Hinode said, not skipping a beat. Of course, she never told anyone when her birthday was.

"Just be careful, Nee-san," Shisui smiled at her, though Hinode couldn't tell if he was really smiling from joy. "Sasuke, you can stay. I don't have work tonight!"

As Sasuke cheered and immediately asked Shisui to teach him some cool combat moves, Itachi quietly stood from the dining table. He and Hinode left the house at the same time, and they stood side by side in front of the house for a few minutes. Hinode wanted to thank him for helping her with Genjutsu. It was something terrible for him, and he was already under so much stress. But she didn't know how to say it the right way.

"Father's waiting," Itachi muttered as he took a step in the direction of his home. "Happy birthday, Hinode-san."

"Thank you, Itachi," Hinode replied softly.

Itachi turned his head slightly, and the corner of his lips turned up for just a split second before he picked up his speed and ran into the night. And after Hinode could no longer see even a silhouette of Itachi, she mimicked him in the direction of the village.

Once she was out of the Uchiha Compound, she jumped and traveled on top of the buildings. She avoided the busy areas of the village center and kept going until she was at the Konoha Cemetery. She walked briskly into the dark cemetery, which wasn't a place where people wanted to go in the middle of the night. In front of the Memorial Stone, someone was already there, waiting for her. His back was facing her, and she could hear him whispering something about a promise.

"Kakashi," she called out in a hushed voice.

The silver-haired man turned around. Kakashi was not wearing his usual ANBU uniform and mask. Hinode, on the other hand, was not wearing her forehead protector. What they were about to do was, by all means, against the Shinobi Code. Others would probably freak out if they found out, but it was surprisingly easy to remove the village's garbs when they did.

It didn't matter what they were wearing. The ones they wanted to protect still belonged to Konoha.

"Ready?" Kakashi asked.

Hinode nodded, and they leapt into the trees.

Notes:

Guys! Happy 100k words and finally Kakashi expresses his feelings (kind of)! This is now officially the longest fic I've ever written and I'm... not... even... close...
But! A lot is about to go down now and I'm nervous but happy at the same time! So thank you to everyone for reading, and looking forward to the next chapter!

Chapter 33: Curse of Promises

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Some people could tell you very confidently what their first memory was. Most people could think of a few old memories. Uchiha Shisui belonged to the second group, but he could say for certain that all of his early memories consisted of Hinode.

Sure, there were a few bits with his father, Lady Kamome, and Obito, but there was always Hinode. So ever since Shisui was very young, Hinode was a symbol of safety to him.

As he grew older, he realized exactly why that was. He realized that Hinode was, simply put, overprotective. Not only over him, but over everyone close to her. He also noticed that no one was doing the same for her. That was why he wanted to get stronger—to protect his sister, even if she didn't want him to.

The Uchiha clan ostracized her for not being a full blooded Uchiha. It didn't make sense to him; he was the same as her: not a full blooded Uchiha. The difference was that he was Hidenobu's male heir. On top of that, their father was hard on her so that she could stand on her own. Was that really the right way to go about it? Every time Hinode went away on a mission in the height of the Shinobi World War, Shisui feared that she wouldn't return.

That was what happened to his mother. He had no memory of his mother, but he knew that she was a woman whom Hinode admired. And if their mother was to Hinode as Hinode was to him, he would be devastated if she were not to return home from the battlefield.

That fear became very real on the day that Hinode returned to Konoha from an S rank mission. Her teacher had sent a messenger hawk to relay the message that she was badly injured and was in the hospital.

Shisui and the rest of the family didn't get the message right away, as they were at the Ninja Academy, going over details of his grade change for the next school year. Shisui was, at first, looking forward to telling Hinode about his advancement to a higher grade, but once his father read the message brought by the hawk, he felt all happiness usurped from him.

The entire family rushed to the hospital. A girl around Hinode's age stood in front of the hospital. She had short blonde hair and extremely pale skin, maybe paler than usual at that time because of what happened to Hinode.

"Sir, it—it was all my fault!" the girl cried to Hidenobu. "If I wasn't so weak, Hinode wouldn't be—"

"You're that girl from that time in the mountains," Hidenobu had recognized the girl.

Shisui looked from his father to the young girl. The girl seemed as if she just received a death sentence. She bit down on her lips and looked away from them.

Hidenobu did not wait for the girl to respond, and continued towards the hospital. Shisui hesitantly followed, peeking at the girl several times.

"My daughter was not taught to blame others for the consequences of her own actions," Hidenobu said as he passed by the young girl. "If she decided that you were important enough to risk her life for, then I acknowledge that decision."

Shisui thought for sure that his father's cold demeanor would make the girl cry, but the girl only turned around to face them again. And even though Hidenobu continued to walk away, the girl shouted at the top of her lungs.

"I, Kusanagi Yakko, vow to never let anything like this happen to Hinode again for as long as I live!"

Although tears did fall eventually down her reddened cheeks, Shisui was impressed by her look of determination.

When they finally got to see Hinode in the hospital room, she was already making great recovery from the near-fatal wound. It confirmed Shisui's suspicion that they had the same healing power that was linked to their chakra. It both relieved him and worried him. Relieved because she was fine in the end, and worried because knowing Hinode's overprotective nature, her healing chakra might not be enough one day.

He wondered if Hinode's friend knew this about her.

When Shisui looked out of the hospital window to see if the blonde girl was still standing outside, she was already gone.

Kusanagi Yakko, Shisui repeated her name in his head. He'd made sure not to forget it, so he could find her another day. As he was not yet strong enough to protect his sister, he would leave it to her friend. He could tell by the look in Yakko's eyes that day that she was strong enough for the job.

"Don't forget what we agreed on: the goal is getting Yakko out only."

Kakashi reminded Hinode as they crouched in the shadows outside of Root's hideout, away from the bright moonlight of the full moon. The two of them had planned the operation in secret, and Hinode had no choice but to accept Kakashi's terms if she wanted him to lead her to the hideout. First and foremost, he forbade her to actively seek out Danzo and engage in combat, which she easily agreed to. As much confidence as she had in her abilities, she was well aware that she would die in a fight against Danzo.

Kakashi believed that Danzo would let his agents deal with intruders, and would not show his face unless it was absolutely necessary. The best way to approach their rescue mission was to avoid any fighting at all, in order not to sound off any alarms.

"I will take care of any Root members who notice us as quietly as possible," Kakashi looked behind him at Hinode and whispered. "You focus on getting Yakko to willingly come back with us."

"Got it, captain," Hinode smirked and gave Kakashi a little salute. "Lead the way!"

"Is this really the time to make jokes?" Kakashi shook his head at her before turning back toward the padlocked gates to the hideout. "All right, follow m—"

Thwack.

Thud.

Before Kakashi could finish talking, he fell forward as he was completely knocked out. Behind him, Hinode's hand was still raised in a chopping form, and she winced slightly at the way Kakashi face-planted into the ground. Knowing Kakashi, she had to hit him a lot harder than she was used to after dealing with children for a while to ensure that he would pass out.

Gently, she lifted him by his waist and hid him in a tall tree. Before she jumped back down to the ground, she held his hand for a few seconds.

"Sorry, Kakashi," she whispered. "I can't let what happened to Sakumo-san happen to you too. You are also someone I can't lose. Besides, I promised him..."

Hinode's tailed as she leapt from the tree and landed directly in front of the gates. She held the large padlock in one hand and raised her other fist. She sent chakra to her hand and her fist was immediately covered with fire. She struck the lock hard until it shattered, and she threw the pieces aside. Slowly and quietly, she pushed the gates open.

And she was in.

After a short and dark walkway, she came to a wide open area. It looked almost like a place designed specifically for fighting, with an open floor as large as the Ninja Academy's schoolyard, and nothing obstructing the way to the next door. The three walls that she could see had mezzanines built into them. If this wasn't the perfect set up for an ambush, she didn't know what was.

It would be stupid to head straight to the door ahead of her. She leapt onto the mezzanine on her left, and as her foot touched the surface, she activated her Sharingan.

Eight shuriken flew at her from the ceiling. With her Sharingan at work, she avoided them easily with one jump.

Already? Hinode looked up at the tall ceiling. The color of the Root agent's chakra gave him away, but he didn't know that.

One.

She heard a faint footstep from behind her. Whirling around and pulling out a kunai at the same time, she blocked the swing of a tanto blade. She pushed the Root agent's blade to the side with force and sent him several meters away with a hard back kick.

Two.

Another shadow moved towards her from the other end of the mezzanine. Hinode hopped over the railing, and as she descended, the attacker propelled himself using the railing. He aimed his kunai at Hinode's chest with great speed. Hinode turned in midair, blocking his weapon.

The man pushed away after getting blocked, not letting Hinode have the chance to strike him while in close distance.

Three.

A Root agent donning a beige cloak approached her from the side once she landed on ground level. A kunai aimed straight for her throat. Hinode cranked her neck to the side without moving; the sharp blade of the kunai drew a shallow gash in her neck, but at the same time, Hinode grabbed onto the cloaked man's forearm. The cloaked man couldn't break away from Hinode's grip.

Four.

Just then, more shuriken were shot at her from above. Hinode threw the cloaked man hard so that he was sent crashing into the wall, and she leapt away in the opposite direction. More and more shuriken were thrown at her, and she leapt around the open space to dodge the weapons. The Root agent hiding in the ceiling was really going to kill Hinode even if his fellow agent was there with her.

Hinode touched her neck; the gash from the kunai had already closed.

She bent at her knees and jumped up towards the ceiling. She wasn't going to reach the enemy, but she closed enough distance. Quickly forming hand seals, she gathered a large amount of chakra from her stomach to her throat.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.

The Root agent jumped off the ceiling to dodge the attack, but as he descended, Hinode formed another set of hand seals.

Fire Release: Flame Thread Technique.

Fire spread from Hinode's palms and travelled down like two snakes. The fire was catching onto Hinode's chakra wires that she had been placing all over the open space. In a matter of seconds, a web of flaming wires lit up the entire place. Because they were chakra wires, the fire continued to rage even when Hinode stopped producing fire on her own. The Root agent who jumped from the ceiling did not have enough to react and fell into the web.

Hinode landed onto the mezzanine on the right. Besides the cloaked man who was knocked out from crashing into the wall, numbers two and three were trapped within the web of fire. Number one should not be able to move, considering the third degree burn he should have at least gotten.

She made her way to the door and pushed through without looking back. Ahead of her was another large room. On all four walls were several closed doors. Anything could be behind them; secret intel, weapons, Danzo, Yakko. The floors were clear of any objects, except for faint bloodstains and cracks in the metal. The cracks were produced by weapons, no doubt.

Training space? Hinode questioned in her head. Just then, more shuriken were thrown at her from behind. She sprang further into the room as she looked over her shoulder. The three Root agents still conscious had come after her, even the one with badly burnt skin. The fire had burnt through his gloves, yet he held onto the handle of a tanto blade tightly.

Hinode's stomach churned at the sight. Do these guys not feel pain?

Then, she felt the air flow in front of her change. She ducked on instinct, and the tip of a blade sliced off a chunk of hair from her ponytail. Hinode swiped her foot against the legs of the attacker, but the attacker jumped up so gracefully that it was almost like floating.

A shadow loomed over her; she looked up to see rocks in the form of spears inches away from her. She rolled to the side to dodge the rocks, but she was a second too late. One of the spears cut through her left calf, almost deep enough to expose her bones. Hinode gritted her teeth; more than the pain that she was feeling, she felt a rush of anxiety. Her Sharingan didn't detect any hand seals or the large amount of chakra that should have been used to produce a jutsu like this.

It only meant one thing.

Three Root members appeared from the shadows while she was down. Two of them held each of Hinode's arms behind her back, and the other pushed her head to the ground. Hinode's head rang as her chin was jammed to the hard surface.

"Kinoto-sama, she has the Sharingan," a voice behind Hinode said.

Hinode looked up when a set of feet stepped in front of her. It was the shinobi who used the rock technique earlier, a pale girl with blonde hair and a bear mask, who slowly rolled up a scroll which had sealing scripts on the inside.

Yakko.

"Not for long," the blonde said. Her voice was ice cold, but it was Yakko's voice.

"Let me," the Root agent with the burns stepped up, sounding eager to get even with Hinode.

"No, Tori," Yakko unsheathed her tanto blade that Hinode barely dodged earlier. "You retreat and tend to your wounds, along with Uma and Hitsuji."

"But, Kinoto-sama—"

"Shall I amputate your arm now, then?" Yakko pointed at Tori's arm. The handle of his sword was basically melded into his bloody flesh now.

Without further resistance, the three injured Root agents retreated obediently. Three other Root agents continued to hold Hinode down.

Yakko knelt down in front of Hinode. She reached out a gloved hand and lifted Hinode's head up by the chin gingerly. The cold leather of the glove sent shivers down Hinode's spine, but now, she was close enough to see Yakko's green eyes past the bear mask.

"Yakko!" Hinode called out shakily. "Don't you remember me? I'm—"

"Uchiha," Yakko stated. "I'm taking your eyes."

Yakko angled the flat side of her sword on Hinode's right cheek, the tip of the blade touched her bottom eyelid. Hinode inhaled deeply and resisted the urge to cry.

"Nngh!"

Suddenly, Yakko grunted in pain and backed away from Hinode. The blonde held her head with one hand, but her whole body was trembling. Hinode smirked; it was working. She was sending all of her memories with Yakko through her eyes.

"Kinoto-sama?!"

"Genjutsu! Break their eye contact!"

The grip on Hinode's right wrist loosened, and she used the chance to sling the Root agent away from her. With her free hand she pried away the hold on her head, breaking the man's wrist in the process. Then she headbutts the third guy on the chin.

Hinode sprang towards Yakko and grabbed the sides of her bear mask. As Yakko was still trapped in Genjutsu, Hinode easily ripped the mask off of her face. Hinode gasped at Yakko's face.

The blonde's once porcelain skin was now cracked with numerous scars. Her emerald eyes had lost their shine; even the whites of her eyes seemed almost gray. She was looking forward, but as she was under the effects of Genjutsu, she could not see Hinode. Her face wrangled with the pain that came with Genjutsu; veins and sweat emerged from her forehead.

Was it enough?

Hinode couldn't bear to watch Yakko suffer for so long.

Red Sharingan faded back to black. Yakko's shoulders slumped at the release of the Genjutsu and Hinode caught her by the shoulders.

"Yakko…?"

The girl being called looked up at Hinode; there was no emotion in her eyes besides fatigue. With lightning speed, she swung her blade upwards and cut deeply into Hinode's forearm. As Hinode winced and loosened her hand, Yakko's knee rammed into her stomach. The other leg swoops and struck Hinode in her temple.

Hinode's ears rang as she tumbled to the ground. Meanwhile, Yakko got down on one knee and breathed heavily.

It didn't work? Hinode shook her head to make the stars in her eyes go away. She struggled to get back on her feet, but just as she took her first step, she realized that she was stepping on an open scroll. Before she could step away, bolts of lightning traveled up her leg and spread throughout her body. In a flash, she was completely enveloped by the lightning.

It felt as if hot lasers were penetrating every pore on her body and all she could see in front of her was white. In the next second, she was down, with smoke permeating from her skin. Her entire body was numb and the only thing she could register in her brain was the smell of burnt flesh.

When she could finally see, Yakko's tanto blade was pointing at her again.

It was past midnight and Sasuke was fast asleep in Hinode's bed after a tiring shurikenjutsu practice with Shisui. Meanwhile, Shisui was downstairs in the living room, staring at an old family photo. The photo was the last remaining image of his and Hinode's mother. Uchiha Hidenobu stood rigidly behind a sitting Uchiha Byakue. The beautiful mother smiled kindly into the camera while Hinode sat on her lap. In Hinode's arms was Shisui as a baby.

Hinode, like the deviant child that she was, was smiling at Shisui instead of the camera.

Shisui looked at the clock; it was one o'clock in the morning and he knew for a fact that no drinkery in Konoha was open past midnight after having worked for the Police Force. He already had a feeling before Hinode left that she was up to something, but now he was sure. And if Hinode lied to him about it, it was something big.

As to not awaken Sasuke, Shisui quietly opened the front door and stepped through. As soon as he pulled the door closed again, he flickered away into the night.

Finding Hinode was not a difficult task; his immediate thought was that she was going to go after Root. He and Itachi had been secretly meeting with the Hokage and Shimura Danzo for some time, ever since they found out about the Uchiha clan's plans. As both of them did not want the clan to go through with the coup, they had been trying to work out a solution. His transfer to the Police Force was part of that plan, getting close to Fugaku so that in the worst case scenario, he could use Kotoamatsukami on the clan leader.

But in their last meeting with Hiruzen and Danzo, the latter mentioned Hinode's name.

"Uchiha Hinode is your sister, is she not?" Danzo had said her name as if she was some kind of nuisance. "I suggest that you keep an eye on her. Her loyalty to Konoha is questionable and mentally, she seems highly unstable."

"Hinode-san is against the coup," Itachi had defended her right away.

Shisui had stayed silent as he processed what Danzo said. He didn't know how the two had met, but that was alarming to him. For a while now, Shisui had been wary of Danzo. Whenever they met, Danzo was very pushy with the agenda that the Sharingan was the only thing capable of controlling tailed beasts. It became a little obsessive.

While Shisui was the kind to stay quiet and observe, Hinode definitely was not. If she had picked up the same impression from Danzo, she was not going to sit still.

But then she did. She was oddly calm for about a month. To Shisui, it meant that she was actually being careful and planning something big. And that was not a good sign.

Shisui had been investigating Danzo and his Root organization during his night shifts at the Police Force. He was able to track down Root's hideout rather easily, and when he saw the broken padlock, his heart immediately sunk.

Without wasting any time, Shisui activated his Sharingan and flickered into the building. He zoomed past the first open room, which was tricked out with chakra wires, Hinode's most frequently used tool. He held the wire between his index finger and thumb; the wire was still hot. He flickered past the wires and into the next room. Immediately, he saw Hinode on the ground, and a Root agent with a tanto blade raised over her head.

Shisui threw two shuriken towards the Root agent and charged forward. The Root agent looked up when she sensed the shuriken coming and jumped back. The shuriken cut a few pieces of her blonde hair, but they were only distractions. Shisui was suddenly right in front of the Root agent, swinging his right arm towards her, when her toes touched the ground.

Shisui widened his eyes. "...Yakko-san?"

He dropped the kunai that was previously in his right hand out of instinct and formed a fist instead. The Root agent, who was undoubtedly his childhood crush Yakko, didn't bother dodging his punch. Instead, she rocked forward on her toes and aimed the tip of her blade at his chest. Shisui flickered away just in time.

"Shisui?!" Hinode yelled out from behind him. "What are you doing here?!"

Shisui did not answer her question, but he smiled to himself. "Now I see why you came here on your own. I was afraid that you might try to fight Lord Danzo on behalf of the clan."

Hinode called his name again, but he charged toward Yakko again. Yakko retrieved another scroll from her belt and summoned a half dome of earth over herself.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.

The fireball collided with the thick walls of Yakko's protection and caused a great explosion. A dense cloud of dust rose from where the half dome once stood and spread quickly throughout the enclosed space. A regular shinobi would have trouble seeing, but the Sharingan could see clearly.

The chakras of numerous Root members caught Shisui's eyes; they were hiding in the ceiling. As the Root agents descended with their weapons in hand, Shisui fought them off easily. But more and more of them emerged from every corner, and even the Sharingan had its blindspot.

Shisui felt a wave of heat behind him and then a muffled grunt. He turned around to see Hinode up on her feet; she had knocked out a Root agent who was going to attack him from behind. The flame on her fist was small, and she was breathing heavily. The burns on her boy were slowly fading away, and a deep cut in her forearm had stopped bleeding. Shisui didn't get a chance to tell her to step down before the Root agents attacked again.

So did Yakko.

Yakko's chakra was of a light blue color, and it spread round the blade of her sword. More of the light blue pulled at her feet, and she launched herself at Shisui, who was dealing with another Root agent.

"Shisui, jump!" Hinode rammed her shoulder into the Root agent in front of Shisui, freeing him of an enemy. Shisui jumped up immediately, avoiding Yakko's weapon by an inch. But Yakko swung her sword upwards while Shisui was in the air.

Wind nature chakra!

Shisui gritted his teeth as the razor sharp wind from Yakko's sword cut into his leg. His brain had just registered the brain when Yakko leapt towards him.

"She's no longer the Yakko we know!" Hinode shouted from the ground. She desperately looked at Shisui whenever she had an opening from fighting the Root agents who kept coming.

Shisui could hear the pain in Hinode's voice when she shouted. The message was clear; Hinode wanted him to stop holding back. It was just like Hinode to be able to tell right away that he was holding back as he faced Yakko. But now that he gained the knowledge that Hinode had infiltrated Root to save her friend, how could he resolve to kill Yakko?

"You always come first, Shisui."

He couldn't possibly let his sister lose another person important to her in exchange for his life.

The three tomoe in Shisui's Sharingan spun as Yakko caught up to him in the air. The image he projected to her in Genjutsu was of herself that afternoon in front of the hospital. He saw her eyes falter slightly, but she jammed her tanto sword into her thigh. Shisui nearly winced for her as the sword had pierced all the way through to the back of her thigh, but with that much pain signals disrupting the chakra in her brain, she was free of his Genjutsu.

While he was still in shock, Yakko's fist was already so close to his left eye that he felt it touch his eyelashes.

Shisui's hands shot up and grabbed Yakko's wrist and forearm, effectively stopping her attack just in time. Yakko opened up her fist and five small blades of wind propelled from her fingertips. Two of them slashed into his left eye as he bent backwards, lifting Yakko over his head, attempting to throw her to the ground.

Without even blinking, Yakko dislocated her own shoulder of the arm that was held by Shisui. Twisting herself in an unnatural manner to his side, she used her free hand to snatch him by the back of his neck. Using his neck for balance, she whipped her leg against his stomach. The sudden loss of air caused him to loosen his grip. Then, her other leg came and sent him crashing into the ground.

The voice of Hinode calling his name echoed in his head, but she sounded so far away. When he opened his right eye, Yakko was standing over him. She frowned as she popped her shoulder back into place, but she made no sound.

Sweat ran down Shisui's forehead and mixed into the blood that oozed from his left eye. He tried to calm himself as he felt a large amount of his own chakra flow into his eye. His eye was healing at a much slower pace than the cut on his leg, even with the high chakra flow. It made sense as eyes were the second most complex organ of the body; it was just a horrible time to find out.

"Do you not have any regard for your own body?" Shisui asked in an attempt to buy some time.

"Do you have any regard for the tools in your bag?" Yakko threw the question back at him. It was astonishingly clear that she was ready to either kill him or be killed.

Shisui quickly formed hand seals behind his back, and he flickered to Yakko's back. The girl leapt forward, but Shisui was there again. And when she realized it, there were multiples of him surrounding her.

That was the peak of Shisui's Body Flicker Technique, which he flickered so fast that he was seen as multiples to the naked eyes. And yet, each of him was not just an illusion; they were all of him. He attacked Yakko from every direction; his kunai created countless gashes into her body, but he never dealt a fatal blow.

She will pass out from the loss of blood in a minute.

But Yakko relaxed her body and closed her eyes and started to take deep breaths. Shisui was impressed; only very experienced shinobi could be so calm in a situation like this. She had closed her eyes to heighten her senses, to feel the air current and to smell his scent so she could tell where the next attack was coming from.

Yakko began to dodge all of his attacks. Even as Shisui picked up his pace, she dodged them like a feather dancing with the wind. In a moment of frustration, Shisui flickered behind Yakko again, and channeled his quickly dwindling chakra into his hand.

Koshōken. Shisui said the name of his sister's technique in his head as fire formed around his fist.

Just enough to knock her out, Shisui repeated to himself as his fist neared Yakko. The fire licked the surface of her vest and quickly, it ate away at the fabric. He got her.

Suddenly, he felt his fist being pierced by something. In the next second, his body was pierced by countless kunai, shuriken, swords of all lengths. Before his Sharingan shut off, he saw the faint color of Yakko's chakra flowing through the fibers of the shirt underneath her vest.

She had sewn Fuinjutsu scripts into her shirt with threads of the same color.

Shisui didn't know which was draining faster, his blood or chakra. Or his vision.

He fell to his knees, and as his vision blurred and darkened, he had barely enough strength to keep one eye open. Or breathe, for that matter, as his lungs were pierced through. He looked up at Yakko, whose clothes were tattered and skin covered with cuts and burns. But for some reason, Shisui was convinced that the pain in her eyes was not physical pain.

Just before darkness completely consumed his sight, he swore that he saw Yakko's tears. Her lips moved, but he couldn't register any sound. He couldn't read her lips without his Sharingan, but he took a wild guess.

"I'm sorry, Shisui-kun."

Notes:

I have so much to say but I can't say it!
Action is not my forte but I hope this was somehow enjoyable (even with the ending.) No matter how many times I tweaked the plot, this was Yakko's role in the story. BUT, her job is not finished yet! I hope you guys liked this chapter, I hoped you guys liked the Shisui POV; I sure was nervous posting it!

Chapter 34: Curse of Memories

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Hinode had never let her Sharingan work so hard in one day. Keeping an eye on Shisui and Yakko while fighting off eight Root agents was taxing already, but the other fight that was going on was what she was more anxious about. There was no possible scenario that she could imagine where Shisui loses to Yakko. But every time she looked, it was clear that Shisui was still holding back.

She had shouted several times, but he seemed not to listen. With the ruthless way that Yakko fought, Shisui couldn't spare his concentration.

Then, after she pushed back the Root agents far enough with the Great Fireball, she turned and saw Shisui falling to his knees. Weapons were pierced into his body, and as tears welled in her aching eyes, he fell lifelessly to the ground.

Hinode heard herself cry out his name. He didn't get up. Yakko, on the other hand, opened a large scroll and laid it on the ground. She began to roll Shisui's body onto the scroll. The color red stained Hinode's view, and warm fluids dripped down the corners of her eyes.

"Don't touch him!" Hinode screamed as she darted towards Yakko.

But more Root agents got into her way. She didn't bother to count how many there were. She produced fire on both fists and didn't even notice that the flames were black. One shinobi attempted a Water Release technique on her, but the flames burned even the water. The black flames raged, and with one swing of her fist, the Root agents in the path of the flame disintegrated at the same time their screams were cut short.

The remaining few enemies backed away at the sight, all except for Yakko. When the blonde turned to look at Hinode, her expression was unreadable. But Hinode was not really looking, as she kept her eyes on Shisui. The color of his chakra was barely visible to her eyes.

Then, a man swiftly landed in front of Hinode. She didn't think twice before swinging her fist at him. But as her forearm came into her view, it melted off onto the ground.

Hinode halted at the sight; she looked to her other arm, which had melted off at the elbow as well.

Shimura Danzo , Hinode said to herself as her gaze traveled up the man's robes. It was him, all right. But before she could take a good look at his face, her right leg melted and she dropped to her left knee.

Genjutsu! Hinode thought as she looked down at her leg. Her own Mangekyo Sharingan spun and the black flames formed into giant claws from the tips of her elbows. She pushed herself up with one claw and reached for Danzo with the other. The man leapt away just in time from the all-consuming fire.

Hinode bent her knees to leap after him, but a hand grabbed her left ankle. She looked back and she froze.

Shisui was holding her ankle, still bleeding from all the attacks he sustained from Yakko.

Hinode bit her tongue; it was Genjutsu again, but it was unlike anything Itachi showed her. How could Shimura Danzo perform such a high level genjutsu that even she couldn't deflect? Even though she had just obtained the Mangekyo Sharingan, she couldn't break out of the illusions. At least, she could tell that she was under the effects of Genjutsu, and she had no choice but to break away with force.

She jammed her claws into the ground and pulled hard, but the weight on her ankle increased as she pulled. Another hand had grabbed that ankle. She shouldn't have looked back, but she did. It was Obito; one half of his body was completely destroyed.

"Help me, Hinode," the illusionary Obito said, pleading with one eye.

Hinode felt queasy.

"You've become useful after all, Uchiha Hinode."

Danzo's voice sounded next to Hinode. A little too closely. He'd performed hand seals before Hinode turned back, and a giant hand of wood grabbed hold of Hinode's body. The wood drained Hinode's chakra, and her black flames subsided. She tried breaking through the wood with physical strength, but it didn't budge. She felt powerless and exhausted.

All Hinode could do was glare up at him. "Let Shisui go!"

"How demanding for a traitor," Danzo raised an eyebrow and said with fake amusement. "Though from an Uchiha, it's unsurprising."

His fingers inched towards Hinode's left eye. Just as they touched the skin of her eyelids, she heard the cry of a flock of birds.

"Chidori!"

Danzo backed away at the crackling sound of lightning. The speed of Kakashi's Chidori was not to be taken lightly; part of Danzo's sleeve was burnt into ashes.

Kakashi did not attempt to finish Danzo off. It was too risky; he didn't know what kind of techniques Danzo had up his sleeves. Plus, Kakashi did not want to experience Genjutsu that even Hinode couldn't deflect.

Instead, Kakashi turned the other way while Danzo looked down to check his arm. He used a sword that one of the Root agents dropped earlier and slashed the wood that was binding Hinode. Her eyes and mouth were wide open with shock as she dropped into his arms, but he didn't wait for her to say anything before bolting for the exit. Behind him, he could hear Danzo ordering Root agents and Yakko to pursue them.

"Kill them if you have to!"

Kakashi ran at his fastest speed while carrying a struggling Hinode. And when Hinode struggled, it was like trying to hold down a mountain boar.

"Kakashi! Let me go! Shisui is—" Hinode cried as she tried to climb over his shoulder.

"No!" Kakashi said hotly. "You didn't listen to me, so I'm not going to listen to you!"

That shut her up good. Her weak hands lingered around his neck. Kakashi made his way out of the hideout and into the woods before it. And it was only then that Kakashi noticed the blood that oozed out from Hinode's eyes.

"Kakashi, I…" when Hinode blinked her eyes open at him, they were a different patterned Sharingan than she used to have. "I couldn't save Yakko! And Shisui came and... I shouldn't have… I should have… it should have been me..."

"That's enough!" Kakashi's grasp tightened at Hinode's incoherent words. "I'm still mad at you, but… I understand how it feels to wish you had died in someone else's place."

Hinode got quiet again. She didn't retort, and she slumped into his arms. The Wood Release had drained a lot of her power and all of her struggling earlier was all just adrenaline. Plus, the Genjutsu that Danzo had her under was catching up to her.

"I'm sorry."

It was all that she could manage to say.

Kakashi didn't want to just leave Shisui behind either, but it was already too late. If he was even half a second too late, Danzo would have killed Hinode. That was why he charged in there with Chidori, and he would admit that they got lucky that Danzo was, for some reason, more concerned about his arm than the fact that they were getting away. Perhaps Danzo believed that they couldn't get away. Using the Chidori in combination with Sharingan took a lot from Kakashi, and now, the Root agents were creeping up behind him.

He counted the sound of footsteps behind them; there were at least ten of them. He could possibly take all of them, especially when Yakko was already heavily injured when he arrived. But not while having to keep an eye on Hinode. He was sure that Yakko would sweep Hinode away as soon as she found an opening.

He had no other choice if he wanted both of them to get out alive. He suddenly stopped running and put Hinode on the ground. Before Hinode could question him, he bit into his thumb, and Hinode realized what he was doing.

"Kakashi, don't you dare!"

Ignoring Hinode, Kakashi put his palm on the ground and two clouds of smoke rose up beside him. Two ninja hounds appeared from the smoke, one a small pug and the other a giant bulldog. The pug looked at Kakashi with a deadpan look.

"Kakashi, what the hell is this?"

"No time to explain, Pakkun, just get her away from here!" Kakashi picked Hinode up again despite her protests and threw her at the bulldog. "Bull, catch!"

The bulldog named Bull opened his slobbering mouth and caught Hinode like a frisbee. Surprisingly, his bite was gentle enough that Hinode wasn't hurt at all. Pakkun, the pug, sensed the urgency in Kakashi's voice and started running alongside Bull. Kakashi, on the other hand, went back to where the Root agents were coming from.

"Kakashi!"

Hinode had no words to shout besides Kakashi's name. Panic washed over her as Bull and Pakkun sped off and she was unable to see Kakashi in just a few seconds.

"Where to, girl?" Pakkun asked as he ran just a bit ahead of Bull.

Hinode's mind raced. She had to get help and come back for Kakashi, but who? Sure, Guy and Genma were strong, but against Shimura Danzo? It was too dangerous. Danzo was somehow using Wood Release, and he had Uchiha-level Genjustu prowess, and he was neither Senju or Uchiha. How was that possible?

Yakko… Yakko wanted her Sharingan as well. It must have been Danzo's order.

The Hokage. Could he be of any help? Hinode wasn't sure, but she was sure of one risk. Running to the Hokage would be anyone's first choice, and Danzo was surely already on his way there. Danzo would either kill her before she could step foot into the Hokage's Residence, or he would turn her as a traitor.

Danzo had baited Hinode to infiltrate Root by letting her and Yakko meet. He had lured her there so that he could incriminate her, and he got Shisui as a bonus. Even if she tried to explain this theory to Hiruzen, Hiruzen would trust Danzo over her, that was undebatable.

Who else? Who else could she trust?

Itachi.

"Head to the Uchiha Compound," Hinode said to Pakkun. "But quietly."

Kakashi's ninken ran through the alleys of Konoha all the way to the Uchiha Compound. The sky was grayish blue; it was going to be morning in two hours, tops. Danzo would want to take care of things before daybreak.

Once they were in, they walked at a brisk pace as Hinode whispered the directions to the clan leader's unit. Bull released Hinode from his mouth when they arrived, and Hinode motioned for them to wait. Hinode sneaked around the house and crawled towards Itachi's room next to the backyard. Quietly, she looked through the window; it was completely dark inside, and a futon had not been laid out on the floor. Itachi was nowhere in the room.

While Hinode wondered where Itachi could have gone, footsteps approached her from the corner. A voice made her flinch just as she moved her foot slightly to escape.

"What are you doing here, Hinode?" Fugaku walked towards her along the veranda.

Hinode couldn't think of a lie as her mind was jumbled by all of the events that occurred within the last few hours. All she could do was stare at Fugaku with dumbfounded, wide eyes. Fugaku, of course, found Hinode's lack of words to be strange, but as he came closer to her, he noticed her battered clothing and her scrapes and bruises.

"What happened?" he asked with a frown.

Hinode couldn't tell him. "Is Itachi home?"

"He reported to the Hokage's office a few hours ago," said Fugaku as he took a few steps forward. "What business do you have with him at this hour? Itachi has been acting strangely these days; and now that you're here, you and Shisui have been acting strangely too. What is going on with you three?"

Hinode bit her lower bit; Itachi had gone to the worst place imaginable. What if he ran into Danzo? Surely, Danzo wouldn't dare to do anything to the heir of the Uchihas? Would he? If he caused harm to Itachi, the Uchihas would not hesitate to revolt. In fact, the Uchihas would revolt tonight if they found out about Shisui.

" The arsenal you need to fight against Root is right here... "

Hinode's head whirled towards the trees behind her. She had heard an unfamiliar voice. Or was it just in her head? Had she gone mad after the night's events?

As delirious as she was, the voice was right. Konoha's finest fighters were all around her. Although they had never really thought of her as their own, they would not be against her if she needed help fighting against Danzo.

But that would jump start the coup and that was not what Shisui wanted. Or what she wanted. Or Itachi.

"Hinode?" Fugaku called, seeing Hinode's breathing become faster. He did not even need to use Sharingan to know that her chakra was all over the place.

"What are you waiting for? Don't you want to save Shisui and your dear friend?"

Save two of the most important people in her life, or go against what she believed in? What about the children of Konoha? The village could not survive another war so soon after the Nine-Tails Attack.

"What is more important to you? The village or Shisui?"

What a useless question. Of course it's…

"What would your mother want?"

Hinode choked on a sharp breath. She looked around her again, frantically, but by the looks of Fugaku's face, there was no one around. She held each side of her temples with her palms and closed her eyes, and tried to shake away the image that the voice put in her head.

She and her mother were in a clean and white hospital room. It was the day that Shisui was born. Byakue had gently handed the baby to Hinode, and Shisui giggled at his big sister.

Hinode looked up at Byakue with glee, and Byakue returned the sentiment with her kind, beautiful smile. Then, Byakue smoothed her daughter's hair with her slim fingers and said:

"Take care of Shisui, okay?"

.

.

.

"Hinode, can you hear me?" Fugaku's voice sounded just inches above Hinode's head. He placed a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Fugaku-san," Hinode looked up at Fugaku suddenly, "Wake the clansmen. Shimura Danzo and his associates have taken Shisui. We must fight back."

Fugaku widened his eyes at Hinode. It was the most serious he'd ever seen Hinode, but it was too peculiar. Her dark eyes and tone of voice were emotionless. If Shisui was really in trouble, he couldn't imagine her to be so calm. However, she was acting a little distraught earlier. Perhaps something had pushed her over the edge.

"Do you understand what you're saying?" Fugaku asked. Although he should have been more pleased that Hinode seemed to be siding with the Uchiha clan, the sudden change in her was alarming.

"Yes," said Hinode. "Konoha is not a village worth living in without Shisui."

Fugaku's lips pressed together tightly as he tried to put more thought into the situation, but a scream in the distance startled him. Both he and Hinode's eyes darted towards the direction of the scream, and soon enough, more distinct screams followed. As the voices became gradually closer to Fugaku's estate, the words also became more audible.

"Itachi, what is the meaning of this?!"

As soon as Fugaku heard his son's name being mentioned, he ran towards the house for Mikoto. Hinode lingered in the yard for a few seconds before moving her feet. She walked past the front of the house, when Pakkun and Bull rushed towards her.

"Hey, something crazy's going on out there!" Pakkun said to Hinode. "I smell so much blood! Some guy named Itachi is on a killing spree and heading this way!"

Hinode looked down at Pakkun without a hint of surprise on her face. "Use my scent to find my house. There is a young boy there…"

"Are you staying?" Pakkun frowned. "Hey, what's going on with you?"

"I'm staying," Hinode answered only the first question. "Go find the boy and leave."

Though they hesitated for a moment, Pakkun and Bull eventually listened and left. Hinode then continued making her way to the front gate. As she stepped through, a clansman was just around the corner. He limped towards her with a hand to his bleeding stomach.

"He… help…"

A shuriken flew from behind Hinode's head. The blade brushed past the side of her ear and straight into the clansman's forehead. Hinode watched as the shade of his eyes turned from red to black, exactly the same way Shisui did.

When she turned around, she saw Itachi perched atop a wall opposite of his house. The painted clan symbol on the wall had a crack in the middle. It didn't look like the byproduct of a fight, but Hinode knew that it was Itachi who did it.

The crazed look in his Sharingan was evidence enough.

"Itachi," Hinode touched the side of her ear and brought her fingers to her face. Blood dripped from the top of her fingers to her palm. "What have you done?"

"Hinode-san," Itachi said shakily, but his hand that held the bloody sword was steady. The blood, undoubtedly, belonged to his parents. "You're rounding up the clansmen to start the coup d'etat?"

"Is that what Danzo told you?" said Hinode. "That Shisui and I betrayed the village? And you believed him?"

"By the looks of it, you did have conflict with Danzo and his men," Itachi's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized Hinode up and down. "No matter your reasons, you went behind my back, and dragged Shisui along. You knew that this would jump start the coup d'etat and you still went. How are we going to repair the situation now?"

"There is no repairing this corrupted village," Hinode said coldly. "You want to murder the entire clan to stop the coup d'etat? Suit yourself. I'll find my way to get Shisui back."

"Hinode-san, Shisui is dead!" Itachi exclaimed. "Your Mangekyo Sharingan is proof!"

Hinode did not realize that her Mangekyo Sharingan had been activated since she laid her eyes on Itachi.

"I… looked up to you, Hinode-san," Itachi raised his sword towards Hinode, his voice sounded hurt. "But I won't let you go and drag the Uchiha name down further."

"How ironic," Hinode smirked and took a step towards Itachi. The blade of his sword was barely an inch away from the tip of her nose. "Because if you want to stop me, you'll have to kill me."

Notes:

Sorry to leave you guys hanging for so long! Real life and writer's block has been a challenge. As I've said before, the plot has changed a lot since I first drafted it and I apologize if things are a bit messy now! I promise things will become lighter after this part!

A few things I want to make clear (though they might be spoiler-ish):
1. Itachi has actually cracked under pressure in this fic. There is no scheming to make Sasuke the hero or anything.
2. Hinode was under Genjutsu in the last bits of this chapter. By whom? I think you all know.
3. I know that MS has unique powers for each person, but I am not a creative person lol. So one of Hinode's powers is Amaterasu, if you have not guessed from 'black flames.'

Lastly, on a very personal note, here's a life update that no one asked for: I'm going to be a mom!
It's part of the reason why this update came so late because things are just crazy for me right now. Though I have less and less time to write, I'm still writing because it's fun for me. So I apologize again for slow updates, but I'm very very excited!

Chapter 35: Curse of Illusions

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Itachi could see Hinode's every movement clearly. Even without his Sharingan, he could see everything. Hinode's movements were much slower than usual, and her chakra flow was weak and unsteady. Her own eyes were unfocused; she was not using her newly acquired Mangekyo Sharingan to their full potential. She was already too tired; her chakra reserve was nearly drained from the fights she had endured earlier in the night.

Even so, it might have been a smart move on her part, if she had chosen not to use genjutsu against him. She was decent with genjutsu, at best, and it would be a waste of chakra . Hinode had chosen to fight him with what she knew best— taijutsu .

And of course, reckless fighting.

Itachi almost winced when Hinode grabbed his sword with her bare hand. Blood spewed from her palm, and she used the moment of surprise to throw a flaming fist at him.

The left side of his collar burnt to cinders. Had she been at her regular speed, Hinode might have made contact with his head. At the same time, if Itachi had been using his regular speed, he might have sliced off her head already.

When Itachi heard from Danzo that Shisui had been overtaken by his agent, he couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe that Shisui would go behind his back to infiltrate Root, knowing that it would surely propel the coup d'etat. He refused to believe that Hinode would betray him either.

Most of all, he couldn't believe that a mere Root agent could kill Shisui.

It could have been Danzo who had killed Shisui. But knowing Shisui's strength, Danzo would not have left that fight with just a wound on his arm. Plus, Shisui would not have raised a hand against Danzo if it meant starting the coup d'etat.

Then, Itachi realized that it must have been Hinode who was in the middle of it all.

Hinode was against the coup d'etat, but she was not completely loyal to the Uchiha clan. She would turn her back on the clan for Shisui without a second thought.

And Shisui, too, wanted to protect his sister above all.

Everything snowballed at that point, and there was no going back. When Itachi got back to the Uchiha Compound, he saw with his own eyes Hinode pleading with his father to start the war. Shisui was nowhere to be found.

What Danzo said was true.

"How are you going to stop this?"

The masked man emerged from the shadows of trees. He had been lurking around the clan's grounds for some time now. Itachi had learned the Uchihas' secrets from the masked man, even though he didn't really trust the man. He had learned about the Curse of Hatred. And just seeing Hinode's Mangekyo Sharingan glowing in the morning mist made his own eyes throb.

"With force," Itachi whispered.

But of course, it was easier said than done. Itachi held back with every attack he made against Hinode. He imagined that Shisui must have held back too.

Hinode took another slash of his sword on her arm, and grabbed the front of his collar. Even without the enforcement of chakra, her raw strength was enough to lift him off of his feet. She threw him over her shoulder, but before he made contact with the ground, his body turned into black crows and they flew swiftly past her. Hinode didn't waste any time to turn around and blew a Great Fireball towards the crows. The crows dispersed into different directions to dodge the fireball, then they gathered behind Hinode to form Itachi's physical body.

Before Hinode could react, Itachi push kicked her lower spine. The attack should have sent her flying, but she grounded herself by slamming one foot into the ground. Shifting her balance, she swiped her other leg back towards Itachi.

Itachi jumped up; it didn't matter how well Hinode responded to his attacks, because his Sharingan saw her every move. And while Hinode's Sharingan could see his moves as well, her body could hardly keep up with her demands. Itachi swung his sword as he came down at her, and his heart pounded along with the sharp clash of his sword against a kunai that she had taken out of her tool bag just in time. Hinode was able to stop his blade, but not the force that he came down with, and she dropped her back onto the ground.

It was over, Itachi thought as he stood over Hinode, his sword could easily overtake her shaky kunai in a short second. But now that they were face to face with each other, Itachi couldn't go through with it.

"I'm willing to spare you," Itachi breathed. "If you change your mind."

There was no sign of stirring in Hinode's eyes even as she was under Itachi's mercy. "Then what? Turn myself in to Danzo so he can have the complete pair?"

"I can talk to Danzo. The Hokage doesn't want the coup d'etat to happen…"

"I don't care what the Hokage wants," said Hinode. "I want to kill Danzo."

"Hinode-san…" Itachi's hands tightened around the hilt of his sword. There was no convincing her, and he already knew that before the fight began.

Still, he hoped that, maybe just for him, she could change her mind.

"Nii-san! Hinode!"

Both Itachi and Hinode looked towards the voice that broke the silence between them. Sasuke was standing at the end of the street. He was breathing hard from running, and his face had confusion and horror written all over. Two ninken stood besides Sasuke; they were supposed to take Sasuke away from the compound, but Sasuke insisted on finding his brother.

"Nii-san, why are you doing this?" Sasuke cried towards Itachi, but he was too scared to take another step forward.

Itachi frowned; Sasuke was the last person he wanted to be involved in this mess. But Sasuke was going to find out sooner or later. And if he had made up his mind to stop Hinode by whatever means possible, then there was no one to be spared.

First, he easily put the two ninken under genjutsu with his Sharingan. Then, he made his move.

Itachi could not feel his hands and feet as he charged towards Sasuke with his sword pointed directly at his chest. The young boy was frozen with fear; Itachi wanted to close his eyes for his own sake.

"Hinode! Help!"

Sasuke's scream echoed through the street as Itachi felt his sword pierce through flesh in the blink of an eye. When his eyes opened again, it was Hinode who knelt before him. His sword had penetrated through her chest, past her ribcage, and its tip stared right at Sasuke's face.

Pain was throbbing inside Itachi's chest, even though he was not the one who sustained the attack. And as he watched Sasuke crouch over with yellow bile spewing out of his mouth, Itachi wanted to do the same.

"...Stupid me…" Itachi heard Hinode whisper, though he was not sure whom she was speaking to.

"...Shisui wasn't smiling the first time I held him… he was crying…"

Hinode slowly looked up at Itachi. Her eyes were pitch black again and empty. Itachi held his breath as the color of her chakra faded away.

"Itachi, think it over," Hinode pleaded. "Sasuke is all you have left."

Then, the weight of Hinode's body pulled his sword out of his hand and onto the ground with her. Blood started to pool from her chest. Itachi was mesmerized by the enlarging shape, until Sasuke leapt towards him with Hinode's Kunai in his small hands.

Anger blazed inside the young Uchiha's newly attained Sharingan, and grief flowed down his cheeks as hot tears. Seeing Sasuke like that made Itachi feel both relief and regret.

Itachi's own Sharingan had changed. There were new powers behind his eyes. And for his most beloved brother, he would let him go painlessly.

"Not so fast, Uchiha Itachi."

Before Itachi's genjutsu reached Sasuke, the latter was knocked unconscious by the masked man. Behind the small opening of the mask, a Mangekyo Sharingan shone eerily and nullified Itachi's genjutsu .

"We have use for him yet," the masked man said. "Remember, the Curse of Hatred."

The Curse of Hatred. The Uchihas' curse. The Mangekyo Sharingan would eventually deteriorate to blindness, and would only be restored by transplanting the Mangekyo Sharingan of an Uchiha with strong blood ties. Even at his emotional state, Itachi knew that he could never allow himself to use Sasuke's eye for his own empowerment, let alone kill Sasuke.

But Sasuke could kill him.

Hinode was right; Sasuke was all Itachi had now, after he finished off the rest of the clan. If Sasuke could kill him, then that would put an end to his guilt. And if Sasuke could take his eyes, then that would be his redemption.

Itachi turned his back on his family, and looked up at the sky. The sun had climbed over the horizon completely, but there was nothing but the color of blood in his sight.

It was the most uncomfortable slumber that Hinode had ever experienced, but she could not wake herself up. Every nerve in her body was protesting in pain, especially in her chest. At times, she heard voices around her, but she couldn't make out the words. She was quite certain that she was dying, so maybe the voices are others traveling to the afterlife with her.

After all, Itachi had gone and started killing his clansmen.

Hinode listened hard for the voice of Sasuke, hoping not to hear it. It was Sasuke's voice that broke her out of the genjutsu during her fight with Itachi. If Itachi went as far as killing Sasuke, Hinode was going to will herself into becoming a vengeful ghost.

"Hinode…"

Hinode's breathing quickened; she recognized that voice.

"Hinode, please…"

It was Kakashi's voice. Hinode didn't think that her heart could hurt more than it already did, but it was more painful than when Itachi stabbed right through it.

Not you too, Kakashi…

Hinode felt tears gather behind her eyelids. She wanted to blink them away. Then she realized that could actually blink.

And once she was able to blink, she managed to open her eyes.

First, it was the bright light hanging right above her. Then, it was Kakashi's silvery hair and his paper white face. Hinode barely had time to take a second look at him before he was pushed away by another man.

"Don't you dare try to move!" The man said to her threateningly and yelled towards his back, "She's losing blood again!"

"She's losing blood again?! Take mine! Take as much as you want!" Guy's voice wailed from somewhere close by.

"Idiot, you already gave too much!" Genma's scolding came from the same direction.

It was then that Hinode decided that she wasn't, in fact, on her way to the afterlife. Guy alone would have dragged her back. And probably Kakashi too.

With a soft sigh, Hinode drifted back into sleep.

.

.

Several hours later, Hinode awoke with bleary eyes. There were birds chirping outside of the window next to her bed. The soft glow of the early morning replaced the blinding light of the operating room. The atmosphere was a little too peaceful, considering everything that happened before Hinode got here. However she got here.

"You're awake."

Hinode looked to her side; Kakashi sat by her bed. She didn't notice during her semiconscious state earlier, but Kakashi's arm was in a sling.

"Don't worry about this. It was me overusing Chidori," Kakashi said, as if sensing her guilt.

Hinode nodded, or at least she thought she did.

"I'm glad that you're okay," Hinode said.

Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle. "I would say the same, but you're not exactly okay."

Hinode managed a wry smile.

There was a moment of silence between them as they looked at each other. Both of them seemed to be waiting for the other to speak first, yet they were thinking of the same thing.

"So… what happened?" Hinode asked finally.

"Do you want me to tell you from the beginning?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah," Hinode said, bracing herself mentally.

Kakashi told her everything that happened to him and everything that he'd learned since they separated that night. Though it felt like weeks to Hinode, it had only been about 48 hours. After Kakashi ordered Pakkun and Bull to escape with Hinode, Kakashi waited for the Root agents to catch up. To his surprise, there were only a handful of them that were in pursuit.

Yakko was nowhere to be found. Kakashi concluded that Danzo must have had other jobs for her, and that Hinode should stay cautious. Nonetheless, it was a tough battle against the Root agents. They were completely ruthless and ready to fight to the death.

It took him hours to immobilize the Root agents. His chakra reserve was low to begin with, so he was just about ready to collapse too. But Pakkun and Bull had not reported back, so he summoned another ninken to track down Pakkun's and Bull's scents.

Once they were on their way, Kakashi realized that they were headed for the Uchiha Compound. He was, at first, relieved that Hinode was back with her clan. But once he got there, he knew that he was completely wrong.

The scent of blood was all over the compound, and bodies of slain Uchiha were in alleys or their homes. Kakashi quickened his pace in hopes of finding Hinode, but he also dreaded it. With the help of his ninken , he found them easily.

It was exactly the scene he didn't want to see. Pakkun and Bull had fainted, but there were no signs of physical wounds. It must have been the result of genjutsu. A young boy also laid unconscious on the ground. There was blood on his clothing, but it didn't belong to him. It was easy to see that the boy was still breathing.

Then, close to the young boy, was Hinode's body on top of a large pool of blood. A sword was left completely pierced through her chest and back, and that was not the only injury she endured. Her skin was turning gray with the loss of blood.

Kakashi didn't bother checking her for a pulse. He was afraid to. All he knew was that he needed to take her and the boy to the hospital, and it was the fastest he'd ever moved. Needless to say, Kakashi collapsed as soon as he'd stepped through the hospital door.

Once he woke up, he was in bandages. The medical ninja attending him told him that the two Uchihas are alive, though the girl was in critical condition. Two Jonin who claimed to be her teammates were in the operating room with her. One of them was very loud and happened to have the same blood type as the patient, so he wanted to give all of his blood, until he almost fainted after a gallon.

Kakashi insisted on visiting Hinode even though the medical ninja told him to rest. And soon after he saw her in the operating room, Hinode opened her eyes for the first time, then they were all kicked out of the room and especially Guy was sent home.

Twelve hours later, Hinode's condition became stable, and she was moved to a hospital room. Soon after that, she was awake.

"I was lucky to have passed out after getting here," Kakashi slumped back into his chair after he was finished with the story. "The head medic said that he and a team of eight operated on you for twenty hours straight. I wouldn't have been able to get through that."

Hinode sent Kakashi an apologetic look. She'd caused trouble for so many people. The head medic, especially, must have been tired of healing her throughout the years.

"Is Sasuke all right?" Hinode asked.

Kakashi figured that that was the young boy who was lying beside her at the Uchiha Compound.

"He's in another room," said Kakashi, and he paused for a moment before continuing. "The medics are keeping an eye on him. He's traumatized because he thought you were killed… and because he learned that his entire clan… was massacred."

Hinode took a sharp breath. Although she had thought of that possibility, she didn't really believe that no one was able to stop Itachi.

"The news about the massacre spread yesterday," Kakashi explained further. "The Hokage declared Uchiha Itachi the culprit."

Hinode bit her lips. "Itachi was not the only one."

"Who?" Kakashi sat up straight at Hinode's proclamation. "What exactly happened to you that night?"

"Well, I don't know who for sure," Hinode frowned as she tried to recall the blurriest moments of that night. "Someone used genjutsu on me before Itachi arrived at the compound. He showed me a memory… a very personal memory of mine—"

Thwak!

The door swung open with so much force that it slammed against the wall. Before Kakashi and Hinode could react, a swarm of little human beings rushed into the room and crowded the bed, squeezing Kakashi out of the way.

"Hinode-sensei!" The blonde boy in the very front burst out in tears.

"Hinode-sensei, don't die!" A rather chunky kid wailed as he grabbed Hinode's hand.

"Naruto! Choji! Give her some space!" The blonde girl yelled.

Two other girls sobbed at the sight of Hinode being completely bandaged up and strengthless. A boy with a black ponytail shook his head at his friends, but stayed by the bedside.

These were clearly Hinode's students at the academy, Kakashi thought.

"Wh-what are you all doing here?" Hinode was surprised to see the children, but nothing could hide the light in her eyes when they showed up.

"The weird eyebrow man came to substitute for you again," said the black haired girl softly. "But he was crying the whole day. He then told us that you were in the hospital!"

At the words 'eyebrow man,' Hinode looked up towards the door. As if on cue, Guy's bowl cut and thick brows peeked past the door's opening slowly, and then his swollen eyes and reddened nose.

"Sorry, Kakashi," Guy said in a nasally tone. "I know you said that she needs rest, but I spilled the beans…"

Kakashi shook his head, but his eyes gave away his smile. It was clear that this was doing more good for Hinode than bad. He backed away from the children to give them some time to themselves. But as he made his way to the door, he noticed another child standing quietly outside.

Black hair, black eyes, fair skin, and a pout that looked identical to Hinode's when she was five years old. The boy was none other than Uchiha Sasuke.

Kakashi felt strangely uncomfortable being stared down by a mere kid, so he looked back at Hinode.

"Hinode, someone's here to see you," he called out.

When Hinode looked over to see Sasuke, it was as if she found land after months of drifting in the sea. Tears quietly fell down her cheeks; she probably didn't even notice them. Sasuke, on the other hand, pouted even harder. His hands were in such tight fists that his knuckles were white. Kakashi could tell that the boy wanted to cry, but he held himself back. If he was anything like a young Hinode, then he would never cry in front of other people.

Sasuke seemed to hesitate approaching Hinode in an effort to control himself. He stood outside of the hospital room for a while, until a girl with pink hair ran towards him and nearly tackled him with a bear hug. The girl didn't care that her eyes and nose were swollen from crying.

"Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry!" The girl sobbed loudly. The news about the Uchiha clan's massacre must have spread throughout the village already.

Sasuke was too startled to say anything to the girl. He only stiffly patted her on the back.

Nostalgia could hit at any moment, without warning. Past memories surfaced in Kakashi's head. He thought about Obito, the crybaby, and Hinode, who was too proud to cry even at her mother's funeral. Kakashi, himself, didn't cry when his father died, but he did for Obito and Rin. Then, he wondered why that was. Was it because the less you had, the more you had to lose? Why did he cry besides Hinode in the operating room?

Perhaps, because she might really be the only light left in his dark world.

As the sun started to set, the children scurried home one by one. Sasuke had been quiet the entire time while he was in Hinode's room. In fact, he kept a distance from her bed until everyone had left. Hinode didn't pressure him to come near her while she was surrounded by the other children. She could only imagine how Sasuke must have been feeling, after experiencing what he had experienced. How was a five year old boy supposed to process the fact that his brother had murdered his family? It broke her heart, but she had to suppress it and wait for Sasuke to talk.

Sasuke approached Hinode after the faint chatter of his classmates disappeared in the hallway. He looked at her as if he didn't know what to say, and Hinode waited patiently. Finally, he looked down at his feet with a little pout, and a slightly pink hue across his cheeks.

"Can I stay here tonight?" he asked in the smallest voice Hinode had ever heard from him.

Hinode didn't even need to think before agreeing with a smile. Strenuously, she propped herself up by the elbow in order to shift to the side of the bed. But as she moved her torso, the motion pulled at her chest, and she hissed at the pain. Out of instinct, she clutched the layers of bandages and gauze covering the wound.

Immediately, Sasuke's face turned paper white. He stared at Hinode's hand over her chest as if he just saw Itachi's sword go right through her again. Hinode noticed his gaze and quickly whipped up a reassuring smile, not knowing that her face was as white as his.

"Hey, don't look at me like that! I'm fine!" Hinode said weakly and patted the space next to her on the mattress.

Sasuke slowly made his way up to sit next to Hinode on her bed. When he looked up at her again, there was nothing but anguish in his eyes.

"I'm going to kill him," he swore.

Hinode felt her nose sting. That was something she never thought she'd hear from Sasuke. She never thought that she'd lose Shisui and Itachi in one night, and nearly Kakashi and Sasuke. It all felt like a great nightmare, even now. How did everything turn out like this?

"That is not your burden to bear, Sasuke," Hinode whispered as she pulled him softly into an embrace. Within a few seconds, Sasuke's shoulders began to tremble as he cried silently. And, within the hour, the boy cried himself to sleep.

.

.

Hinode stayed awake deep into the night as she held Sasuke close to her side. The moon was full and low, and it lit the hospital room well. Hinode had left the window open for the fresh air. Luckily, it was a quiet night, so Sasuke slept deeply. The only sound to be heard was Sasuke's and Hinode's breathing.

"Have you come to finish me off?" Hinode said suddenly.

From the darkest corner of the room appeared a slim figure in ANBU uniform. As she stepped into the moonlight, her golden hair shone brightly as well as her emerald green eyes. Yakko stood still like a doll, even when Hinode appeared before in the blink of an eye, holding a kunai to her neck.

"Hinode," Yakko said before Hinode applied pressure to her throat. "Shisui-kun is alive."

The words stirred Hinode, as well as the familiar way Yakko called her name. But it was still too soon to trust her.

"Explain," Hinode demanded.

Yakko nodded. "I don't know how much I can tell you, but I will try."

"That's not the best way to convince someone," Hinode scoffed.

But Yakko looked into Hinode's eyes. She looked different than when she was fighting inside Root's hideout. Hinode didn't want to admit it, but she seemed sincere. Then, Yakko opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue.

Hinode was surprised to see what was clearly a seal imprinted along the top of Yakko's tongue.

"Danzo gave this seal to all of his agents to prevent them from leaking information about him. As you can probably guess, the final consequence is death," Yakko said calmly. "Even now, I can feel my muscles go seizing up as I speak. I will say as much as I can until my last breath."

Hinode frowned and finally lowered her weapon.

"Yakko, you…"

"I owed you my life for many years, Hinode," Yakko smiled timidly, and it took Hinode back in time.

"Wait," Hinode took Yakko's hand and pulled her into the hallway. Yakko looked at Hinode questioningly as they hurried down the deserted path. They stopped at a door in which the name 'Uchiha Sasuke' was written on a plaque that said 'Patient Name.'

Hinode led the confused girl inside the empty room and had her sit at the edge of the bed. Then, she pulled a chair up and sat in front of her.

"Hinode, what are you doing?" Yakko asked.

"Look at me," said Hinode.

Yakko did just that. She gasped slightly when she watched Hinode's eyes turn into the new Sharingan that she'd acquired. For a second, she thought that Hinode had brought her here to kill her. But when she realized that she was still breathing, she noticed that her surroundings were different.

She looked around in awe. They were no longer inside the dark and empty hospital room. Instead, they were inside a classroom at the Ninja Academy. The first-years' classroom, where they'd first met. Yakko knew that she was in an illusion, but the warmth of the sunlight felt real.

When she laid eyes on Hinode again, her old friend was her five year old self. Her wispy black hair was still short at the time, and there was not a single wound or scar on her body.

Then, Yakko raised her hands up in front of her. They were smaller and free of callouses from years of weapon-handling. She examined her upper arms; the ANBU tattoo was gone. It meant that the seal on her tongue was gone as well.

"I don't know how long I can keep this going, or what will happen after this," Hinode said, her voice shaking slightly. "It's up to you to talk, but know that at this moment, I cannot trust you, and I will still kill you."

The words were meant to be cold and heartless, but all Yakko heard was the pain in Hinode's voice.

"I'm only doing this for you, because we were once friends. Understand?" Hinode asked.

Yakko nodded in response. After all, she had been ready to die for Hinode for a long time.

Probably ever since she realized that she loved her.

Notes:

First of all, thank you all for the overwhelming congratulatory messages on the last chapter! I'm so lucky to have such lovely readers even though I left you all on a big cliffhanger!

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I last updated. Life has been crazy since the last update, I hope the chapter doesn't feel rushed or jumbled.

I wanted to blab a little bit about my thoughts on Kakashi/Hinode so far. I felt super bad while I was writing in Kakashi's POV and he was thinking about how important Hinode was to him while Guy was, like, right there. I don't want to downplay Kakashi's and Guy's friendship, but I had to make his and Hinode's different. Not just because there's romance involved, but also they share something that only they understand.

A large part of what brings Kakashi and Hinode together is Obito. They basically only ever interacted because of Obito, and I think that Obito's death was the most impactful death both of them experienced. They're both the only ones in the village who still often thinks about Obito. Anyway, I think that's what makes Kakashi's and Hinode's relationship different from their other friends and even family.

Ok, that was my blabbing of the day! Sorry if that was totally unnecessary lol. Thank you all for your patience with me, and thank you so much for reading! See you next time!

Chapter 36: The Curse of Sacrifice

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Ever since Yakko could comprehend things, she had understood what it meant to be a ninja. It was the lowest way of life for a human being; their worth was somewhere between some tools in a shed and livestock.

The housemother at the orphanage told her about her parents—they were ANBU members who died in battle. Nothing more, nothing less. They left her daughter nothing besides an empty old house. Smart ninjas didn't have many belongings, because they knew that their lives could end at any time. Some even seemed that honorable.

The shinobi answered to their kage with their lives, and the kage answered to their daimyo. It was the lowest way of life, but Yakko still chose it for herself.

It was an easy choice for someone who didn't have anything or anyone. No family, no dreams, no aspirations. Vice versa, nothing and no one had her.

At five years old, Yakko moved out of the orphanage and into her parents' old house, and enrolled in the Ninja Academy. On the first day of school, there was a boy who was an hour late to class. He tried a lame excuse about helping an old lady get her pet cat from a tree. Of course, the teacher did not buy it.

"What's your name?" Masano-sensei asked the boy after lecturing him for fifteen minutes straight.

"Uchiha Obito," the boy winced.

"Another Uchiha?" Madani-sensei checked his attendance chart. "Where's Uchiha Hinode?"

"Here," said a girl's voice from behind Yakko. Others in the classroom turned to look, but Yakko did not. The Uchiha clan was famous within the village for having the most elite shinobi. Yakko didn't understand why that was a thing to be proud of; they still lived the lowest way of life.

"Since you both live in the same compound, you should now hold each other accountable and get to school on time!" Masano-sensei turned his scolding towards the girl.

Yakko heard the girl make the slightest click of the tongue, and said nothing to refute. The boy named Obito then made his way to the seat next to the girl and started to chatter immediately.

"Why didn't you come wake me up, Hinode?"

"Your house is the opposite way from school."

"By only five minutes!"

"And yet you're an hour late."

"Well, there was an old lady…"

The boy continued to whisper to the girl throughout class, whilst the girl offered simple replies with a slightly annoyed tone.

When lunchtime rolled around, the kids quickly formed into groups. Some of them were playmates before school started, some of them were neighbors, and some of them just sat with those around them. Yakko, on the other hand, sat alone. She was never very good at socializing back at the orphanage. She took out a single onigiri that she made for herself and began to unwrap it.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Yakko looked to her left; a girl with black hair and black eyes already sat down in the empty seat next to her. Yakko discerned from her voice that she was one of the two Uchiha of their class.

"…You're not going to eat with… your cousin?"

The girl took out a big bag of red bean dorayaki from her backpack and looked at Yakko with a slight smile. "No, I need some quiet once in a while."

Yakko understood exactly what she meant. Growing up in an orphanage, there was never a moment of silence. In fact, the housemothers thought that Yakko was too quiet as a child. And now, here she was, sitting next to a girl who needed her quietness.

"So what's your name?" the girl asked.

"Kusanagi… Yakko…"

"That's nice," the girl said. "I'm Uchiha Hinode."

Then, the two of them spent the rest of the lunch hour eating quietly. Yakko didn't know what was so nice about her name, but it was the first time she ever received a compliment. On the other hand, Yakko thought that Hinode had a prettier name. And it suited her as well. The serene look on her face as she enjoyed her dorayaki was like Yakko's favorite time of the day—dawn.

Since then, Yakko had gotten to know the other children in her class through Hinode. First, her cousin, Obito, and their friend, Rin. Then, Kurenai and her friend, Asuma. Then, Guy and Genma and Ebisu. Even though Hinode wasn't the most talkative or friendly kid in class, Yakko could tell that others were drawn to her because she was quirky and witty.

Yakko also thought that Hinode was the prettiest girl she'd ever met, but Hinode didn't know that.

When Hinode smiled, it was as if sunlight emitted from her skin. Yakko felt warm and happy whenever Hinode was around her. And for the first time since she was born, Yakko desired something. She desired to be in the presence of Hinode's light.

Two weeks into their school year, Hinode got into a fight with Hatake Kakashi, the top student in class. It was Yakko's first time seeing Hinode react so strongly about something. Enough for her to start a fight against someone who was much stronger than her.

Yakko couldn't understand why. In class, Masano-sensei taught them to always assess an opponent's strength before making a move. So why did Hinode challenge Kakashi when they were so clearly on different levels?

When Masano-sensei found out about Hinode's and Kakashi's fight, he made them run laps around the school as punishment. Yakko watched from the window as Hinode collapsed in the school's courtyard. The other kids who sat by the window snickered at the sight; they whispered to each other that Hinode got what she deserved for challenging Kakashi. Yakko didn't think that the other kids were wrong to say those things, but her chest felt tight as she watched Hinode struggle to sit up.

Yet, with her clothing and face dirtied by the fall, a fire still burned inside Hinode's eyes. Yakko found herself drawn to them.

After school, Yakko rushed over to Hinode's side with a dampened handkerchief. She gently wiped away the dirt on Hinode's face as she asked the question that had been on her mind all afternoon.

"Why did you pick a fight with that boy?"

Hinode shifted her gaze with embarrassment. "I got a little too defensive about Obito."

"A lot of kids were talking about Obito-kun."

"I guess it's because I know that Obito can't stand Kakashi, so I reacted to Kakashi over everyone else."

Yakko frowned, because she was only more confused by Hinode's explanation. "I don't think Obito-kun would be happy to see you get hurt for his sake."

"Good thing he's not here to see it," Hinode shrugged with a tired smile. "I'm not sorry that I fought with Kakashi. I made a promise that I would look after Obito, so I'm going to look after him whether he wants it or not."

"Because he's your cousin?"

"Because he's my best friend."

Yakko's chest tightened again as she listened to Hinode's confident words.

She realized that she admired Hinode's ability to answer all of her questions without any hesitation. But that wasn't really why she felt that pain in her chest. She was really longing for Hinode to feel the same way about her. How nice would it be if someone like Hinode cared about her so obviously and unapologetically?

Yakko wanted to be needed by Hinode, and cared for by Hinode.

But when she actually got what she wanted, it was a lot more traumatizing than she had imagined.

Over the years, Yakko had learned that Hinode was someone who went against everything she'd learned about shinobi from the textbooks. Hinode never thought twice about fighting someone stronger than herself to save her comrade, which was something highly ill-advised. Besides losing her life, it could cause missions to fail, and that was the biggest shame of all.

Hinode had saved Yakko's life twice; both times almost getting herself killed in the process. It made Yakko more scared than happy. All Yakko wanted to be was a tool, a pawn for the village, but Hinode thought that she was worth more than that.

On that day, when they were all still Genin during the war, Hinode fought against a Konoha Jonin and awakened her Sharingan all because of Yakko. Hinode was barely hanging on when they got to the Konoha Hospital. The guilt had almost crushed Yakko, and yet when she was finally able to visit Hinode, she embraced her tightly and cried for her.

All kinds of emotions rose inside of Yakko when she saw Hinode's tears. She was angry and sad that Hinode was hurt because of her, but she also felt inexplicable happiness that someone like Hinode was crying for her. But there was also the urge to wrap her arms around Hinode's neck and kiss her, because she looked just as beautiful when she cried as when she smiled. And the reason was that they were for her.

It was then when Yakko realized that she loved Hinode, and that she would dedicate her life to Hinode. Rather than a master who had betrayed her, or a village would not care for her, she would rather serve someone she loved.

Luckily for Yakko, the opportunity presented itself sooner than she could have wished for, when Shimura Danzo came into her life.

Shimura Danzo took interest in Yakko's talent at Fuinjutsu; that was the public understanding as to why he had taken her as a disciple. It was said that he wanted to personally train her so that she could fully realize her potential and become a useful member of the ANBU. However, Yakko knew that there was something underneath his spoken intentions.

When Yakko released the Fire Daimyo in front of Danzo and the Hokage from her sealing scroll, Danzo was only slightly amused. But when the Hokage asked her about how Hinode was doing in the hospital, Danzo showed much more interest.

"Hinode is no longer in critical condition, but still needs much rest and monitoring," Yakko had reported to the Hokage.

"Understood," said Sarutobi Hiruzen grimly. "Poor child. The awakening of her Sharingan must have taken a huge toll on her."

Danzo perked up at the mention of Sharingan. "This Uchiha Hinode… she is the child of Uchiha Hidenobu and Byakue, is she not?"

"Yes, she is," said Hiruzen.

"And she is the older sister of Uchiha Shisui, right?"

Yakko observed Danzo closely then. Why was this man asking these questions about Hinode? Why did he know so much? Perhaps no one else would have noticed, but Yakko was sensitive towards everything that had to do with Hinode. And with her heightened sensibility, she had a feeling that there were impure purposes behind those questions.

So Yakko accepted Danzo's offer, and pretended to be the thing she trained to be as a child - a mere pawn.

The thing with pretending to be a pawn was that it was extremely easy when your master thought of you as much. Yakko had gone through days, weeks, years of brutal training from Danzo without a single complaint. She watched the other Root agents under Danzo and copied their emotionless demeanor, even when she had to kill other shinobi around her age during training. It was all to gain Danzo's trust, and she was successful.

When she finally became Danzo's favorite, Danzo gave her the code name "Kinoto" and developed a sealing technique to keep his agents from revealing any secrets about him. She was the first to receive the seal, and to prove her loyalty to Danzo, she placed the seal on her own tongue. Danzo was quite pleased with her gesture, and had her place the seal on every Root agent under him.

Days went on as Yakko got closer and closer to Danzo. Soon, she was given plenty of the biggest responsibilities within the organization, such as training the newcomers and leading S ranked missions. But the biggest one was leading a team of surveyors dedicated to the Uchiha clan.

It was crystal clear that Danzo had an obsession with the Uchiha clan and their Sharingan. He detested the clan, but wanted to know everything about their power. When a member of the Uchiha clan would be assigned to a mission by the Hokage, Danzo would always send out a spy unit to follow them. He wanted intel on the Uchiha and details on their Sharingan's power.

Then, Yakko's suspicion towards Danzo was further cemented when she met a boy named Kinoe. He was also one of Danzo's favorites within his organization, and a few years younger than Yakko. When Danzo ordered her to place a seal on Kinoe's tongue, she hesitated.

Everyone knew that Hinode loved children, and Yakko just couldn't bring herself to put a life threatening seal on the boy. So she created a fake seal for him instead. Due to this decision, Kinoe was able to eventually leave Root, and before he left, he gave Yakko an important parting gift.

"Danzo-sama wanted me to steal Hatake Kakashi's Sharingan."

Yakko was shocked by this revelation. She had thought that all of the spying was for Danzo to figure out the Uchiha's weaknesses, but it turned out that he wanted to possess their Sharingan. Moreover, it was Kakashi's Sharingan—Obito's Sharingan.

Yakko wanted badly to reveal this information to Hinode, but it was risky. First of all, she would likely die before she could reveal the whole truth. Second of all, Hinode would have acted irrationally if she were to know, and her father was too sick at the time to protect her.

"Are you still going to remain inside Root?" Kinoe asked her.

"This is where I need to be right now," Yakko nodded at Kinoe.

Since then, Yakko had volunteered for every mission that had to do with the Uchiha clan, making sure to come back with false intel. All the while, she would make sure that Hinode was safe from Danzo's schemes.

Time passed by slowly as Yakko tried to help Hinode in secret. She had avoided Hinode at all costs to gain Danzo's trust and keep Hinode safe. But really, she felt somewhat ashamed to speak to be seen by Hinode as well. She feared that she had already changed too much under Danzo's command, even if she was not truly faithful to him.

Yakko noticed that she had become more ruthless, going as far as killing her fellow Root agents without blinking an eye. She was convinced that she had really forgotten how to smile, due to constantly having to act emotionless around everyone within Root. She was almost numb towards Danzo's brainwashing tactics for the agents he enlisted, which often involved them fighting each other to the death. Until it was the children's turn.

Yakko had learned that many of the children enlisted in Root were taken from the orphanage. She had to give it to Danzo for picking the best place to find his agents. Like her, many of the orphan children didn't have much to lose.

It was hard for Yakko to watch the children slaughter each other in training. She tried to save as many of the children as she could, knowing that that was what Hinode would have wanted, but she could only do so much without raising suspicion. At the very least, she was able to put fake seals on their tongues without anyone noticing. Except for one child.

"My seal looks different from yours," said a young boy of only five years old. His name was Sai, and he was a talented child. But as with all talented children inside Root, their innocence faded each and every day.

"It's for your own good," Yakko told him gently. "It would be a waste if an intelligent boy like you lost yourself within the darkness of this organization."

Sai was confused by Yakko's words at first, but Yakko reminded him of his friendship with Shin, an older Root member who had died. Before his death, Shin told Sai to suppress his emotions in order to survive in Root, and that was what Sai did. After some time passed, Sai got so used to erasing his emotions that he nearly forgot about Shin all together.

"Shin was right about suppressing your emotions to survive in Root," Yakko said to Sai. "But don't ever forget the feeling of love and friendship, for the world outside of Root."

"Why would I want to leave Root?" Sai blinked at Yakko.

"Here, you are just an expendable tool to Danzo," Yakko answered. "Out there, you'll find someone who truly cares for you, like Shin did."

"Why are you staying here then?"

"To protect the one I love."

Sai had to think for a while, but he understood. "How can you remember that feeling for so long?"

Yakko smiled, for the first time in a long time.

"Each day when the sun rises, I am reminded of the person I love."

When Yakko discovered that Hinode infiltrated Root, she was both touched and terrified. Hinode was, once again, risking her life to save her. But it couldn't have been a worse timing. There were no active missions at the time, so all Root members were stationed at the headquarters. Danzo was meeting with the Hokage at the time, but he was going to return anytime.

She had to get Hinode out as quickly as possible, without giving away her disloyalty to the other agents. The only way was to fight Hinode until she retreated.

But things got even more complicated when Shisui showed up. Although Shisui and Hinode together may stand a chance against Danzo, but not with a full house of Root agents. Besides, even Yakko didn't know Danzo's true strength, or what he could do with the Sharingan embedded in his arm.

Yakko had to turn her attention from Hinode to Shisui. She had to get him somewhere safe.

Years ago, Yakko had met Shisui under the worst circumstances. She had almost caused the death of his sister, but her sweeping declaration to protect Hinode seemed to have left quite an impression on him.

Yakko knew very well that Shisui had a tiny crush on her, but she also knew that, even so, his sister came first. And that somehow helped during their fight. Shisui held back precisely because he didn't want to kill her in front of Hinode. And Yakko took advantage of that. Still, it was the toughest battle she had to fight, not only because Shisui was such a strong opponent, but also because he was Hinode's beloved brother.

"I'm sorry, Shisui-kun," Yakko whispered to Shisui after wounding him just enough. "Please, trust me."

A look of realization flashed in Shisui's eyes right before his pupils rolled behind his eyelids. He had passed out from blood loss.

Yakko didn't waste any time then to seal his body inside her specialty scrolls. Time stopped inside her scrolls; Shisui would stop losing blood and chakra until he was let out of the scroll. Then, she needed to take the scroll somewhere safe. No, not her. Shisui would not be safe with her. She needed someone whom she trusted to take him outside of Konoha. Shisui would not be safe in Konoha.

Kakashi had come to Hinode's aid. Much to Yakko's relief, Kakashi was smart enough not to engage in a brawl with Danzo and escaped with Hinode, though she painfully wished that she was the one who could take her to safety.

Yakko shook her head; she had already decided that that was not her destiny. That she was going to protect Hinode from the shadows.

Danzo had ordered his subordinates to pursue Kakashi and Hinode. That gave Yakko a chance to get away from Danzo's eyes. And luckily for her, amongst the pursuers was a familiar face.

"Kinoto-sama! What are you doing?!" Young Sai watched with fear as Yakko trapped their fellow Root agents inside scrolls, blatantly disobeying Danzo's orders.

"Sai, I have a mission for you," Yakko said as she gathered all of her scrolls. She did not have enough for all of the Root agents, but Kakashi should have no problem taking care of the rest. She knelt in front of the young boy and handed him Shisui's scroll. "Take this to the Land of Iron. There is a woman named Lady Kamome. She will know what to do."

"Land of–Wait! But Lord Danzo–"

"Do not be afraid of that man," Yakko said firmly. "The fall of Root is imminent, Sai. Trust me. Stay with Lady Kamome and you will be safe. And soon, a girl named Hinode will find you there."

"Hinode…?" Sai was still hesitant. "What about you, Kinoto-sama?"

"I'm going to protect the ones I love."

"That's insane! You're going to die for this person?!"

"Not just one person," Yakko removed the mask on her face and looked into Sai's eyes. "Also for you, and all of the other orphans who suffered from Danzo's selfish goals."

Sai was still in disbelief, but he took the scroll from Yakko's hand. She was the only other Root agent's face he'd seen aside from Shin. And even if her plan was outrageous, he owed her for sparing him from Danzo's seal.

"By the way," Yakko smiled gently at Sai. "My real name is Kusanagi Yakko."

The numbness started with her tongue and spread throughout her body, then the pain reached her organs and her heart. She wondered when she'd stopped talking, or if she'd been talking at all. Where was she? She couldn't remember anything.

Then, she felt a drop of warmth on her cheek. Then, a few more. Then, she realized there was warmth all around.

It felt as if she was bathing in sunlight.

Oh, that's right, she was telling Hinode the truth about everything.

Yakko fought to open her eyes. She saw Hinode looking down at her, tears streaming down her face. Hinode was cradling her head on her lap. It was present day Hinode; her genjutsu must have stopped at some point, and Danzo's seal activated.

"Yakko," Hinode's lips trembled. "You shouldn't have done all of this. Not for me."

Yakko wanted to raise her hand to wipe away Hinode's tears, but she couldn't feel any of her limbs. She knew that she had just a moment left with her.

"Don't cry, Hinode," Yakko whispered. "I'm happy that someone I love could cry for me in the end."

Would it be too much to ask for you to smile for me?

Yakko's eyes blurred; she closed her eyes as she found it too hard to keep them open. Either way, she was content, because she could easily see Hinode's smile in her mind. So she smiled as she drifted into a deep sleep, with the last thing she felt being Hinode's arms tightening around her.

Notes:

Hi everyone! It's been way too long! Motherhood is so much more than I expected and there were times when I felt that maybe I will never write fanfic again, but slowly I wrote because I think about it a lot. I apologize in advance for grammatical errors, formatting, and kind of rushing it a bit since I don't have much time to edit. I also hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter even though it was centered on a secondary character (kind of) but I'm sure many of you saw this coming.

I'm excited that this part of the story will be over in the next couple of chapters, and I planned some pretty big things, so I'm hoping that you guys will take it well. However, I cannot promise how long it will take until the next update. Thank you all for your patience if you're still reading this! I read all your comments and feel very encouraged though I cannot reply to them all!

See you at the next one!

Chapter 37: The Curse of Treason

Notes:

Has it really been almost a year since I last updated? Life is really so different now. I'm grateful for every single one of you still reading this fic. I'm going to do my best with updates and hopefully respond to a few messages. In the meantime please enjoy this chapter! It's almost the end of an arc and I'm going to push through for sure!

Chapter Text

Rain poured on the day after Yakko died. For Hinode, the whole world was falling apart.

When the hospital staff found them during the night and pronounced Yakko dead, Hinode kicked and screamed for them not to take her away. She cried that she just needed to activate her genjutsu again and Yakko would be back to her youthful self. But that level of genjutsu she performed to alter reality had already cost too much of her chakra . If she pushed herself, she would likely lose her life. It took two medical ninjas to hold her down and sedate her so that she could rest and recover.

Since she woke up, she hadn't said a single word. The chief medical ninja, worried that Hinode would act up again, called in her friends to keep an eye on her. Of course, the news about Yakko shook them, and they understood immediately that Hinode needed help.

Guy, Genma, Kurenai, and Asuma stood around Hinode's bedside, offering their sympathy and forced smiles. However, even the sweets that they piled on Hinode's lap didn't draw her eyes away from the window.

"Astounding," the chief medical ninja murmured as he looked at Hinode's chart. Kakashi, who was leaning against the wall on the far side of the room, away from the rest of the group, overheard him.

"What was that, Aogi?" Kakashi asked.

"Her chest wound is already healed," said Aogi with a tone of disbelief. "I'd ask you to pinch me, but I'm pretty sure no one is using genjutsu right now."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "That can't be normal."

"It can't be a kekkei genkai of the Uchiha…"

Kakashi paused for a moment, recalling a past memory of Hinode's mother. He had only seen her a couple of times when he was merely five years old, but he remembered her well. She was distinctly not an Uchiha.

"I believe Hinode is only half Uchiha," Kakashi pointed out.

"Half?" Aogi's eyes finally peeled away from Hinode's chart. "What is the other half?"

"I don't know," said Kakashi.

"Could she…" Aogi rubbed his chin in thought. Then, suddenly, he made a beeline for the door. "I'm going to do some research. Since your friend is okay, we'll discharge her by the end of the day. Make sure she eats and rests today."

Aogi hurriedly left the room. Kakashi quietly shook his head and looked towards Hinode. That was the problem with hospitals in a shinobi village. They took care of you as long as your physical wounds were healed. But there was no way that Hinode was emotionally ready to go home. Especially when there had just been a massacre at the Uchiha compound.

Then there was also the threat of Shimura Danzo. Once he found out that Yakko had died, he would know that his secrets were revealed. He would doubtlessly try to find the person whom Yakko revealed his secrets to and dispose of that person.

In an attempt to help Hinode, the group had decided that Genma would go and persuade the hospital staff to withhold information about Yakko's death. It wasn't going to be a difficult task as Yakko did not have any family.

"Even if they were to question anything, I could just say that it was a special request by the Hokage," said Gemma. As one of the few elite bodyguards of the Hokage, Gemma would be the most convincing of the group.

"Speaking of Hokage-sama…" Guy muttered solemnly, "I can't believe that Danzo has been doing such despicable things right under his nose."

Asuma, who had been almost as quiet as Hinode the entire time, let out a low growl and slammed his fist into the wall. The others casted their gaze towards him.

"That geezer… I wouldn't put it past him to have turned a blind eye towards Danzo this whole time…"

"Don't say such things about your father!" Kurenai whispered to Asuma.

"We can dig into the details later," said Genma as he turned towards the door. "I will talk to the hospital staff first. Asuma, I'm sure you can request a formal meeting with the Hokage and all of us. Guy, Kurenai, Kakashi, one of you should stay with Hinode at all times."

Everyone agreed in silence, then Genma proceeded to head out.

"I'm sorry, Genma…"

Genma stopped in his tracks and a soft gasp escaped from Kurenai's lips. Hinode had finally removed her gaze from the window to speak to Genma, but was still only looking at her hands.

"… What for?" Genma asked without turning around.

"It was my fault that Yakko…" Hinode muttered. "She was… your…"

Before anyone could react, Genma took one big stride back to Hinode's bedside and grabbed onto the collars of her hospital robe. Ignoring Kurenai's panicked yell of his name, Genma forcibly turned Hinode to face him. He looked into her dull black eyes, which now showed a hint of surprise.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Genma said shakily, anger seething through his teeth. "Don't you insult me with your apology."

Hinode's mouth was agape. There was no snarky response this time. It was the scariest Genma had ever looked at anyone in the room.

"You're always like this, Hinode. You act like it's only your job to take care of every single person in this damn village. God forbid anyone of us here gets even a little bit hurt as shinobi," Genma said, trying suppress his urge to yell. "Sure, I had a crush on Yakko years ago, but you and I are teammates! We fought side by side in a war! I thought you'd at least have enough respect for me to let me fight with you; not try to shield me from the truth just to–"

Genma's voice trailed as Guy's hefty hand patted him on the shoulder. As Genma took a long, calming breath, Guy stepped up next to him. It was rare not to see Guy flashing his pearly whites with his confident smile. The knot between his brows was as tight as Hinode's chest felt at that moment.

"Genma is a little harsh, but I agree with him," Guy said firmly. "Please remember that we are friends."

With that, Guy pulled Genma with him and left the hospital room. Then, Kurenai quietly fixed the flowers on Hinode's bedside desk, and left with Asuma.

Only Kakashi and Hinode were left in the room. Kakashi had not spoken a word to Hinode since he stepped foot inside. He stared at Hinode's lowered head.

He knew that she knew he was standing there. Maybe she was not ready to face him. After all, she could probably guess that he agreed with Genma as well. But he already said what he wanted to say to her. Now, he just wished he knew something to say to make her feel better, because he knew her feelings well. In many ways, he still felt that Obito's death was his fault, but Hinode was there to tell him otherwise.

"If I hadn't hesitated to go with him to find Rin, he wouldn't have…"

"Stop! Don't blame yourself. You were made team leader for the first time. Anyone would hesitate in that situation."

"Besides, if Obito gave you his Sharingan, that means he doesn't hold it against you."

Kakashi thought about telling her that none of her friends blamed her for Yakko's death. But he couldn't bring himself to speak. He wondered why he couldn't. As he looked at Hinode, his nose became stuffy and he couldn't take a full breath.

"Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not. Not now at least…"

"If… if you need anything…"

"Kakashi."

Hinode's whimper snapped Kakashi out of his trance. He approached her with a few steps. Once he was up close, he saw that the edge of her bedsheets were drenched in tears.

Suddenly, she looked up at him. Her eyes and nose were red and puffy, and her lips were shut tightly to prevent any trembling. If Kakashi wasn't so good at keeping himself composed on the outside, he might have jumped back.

But as more of her tears rolled down her cheeks, Kakashi started to lose his mind.

"I don't know how many more I can take," Hinode managed to say between chokes.

Before his brain could function, his body had already moved on its own. He pulled Hinode into a tight embrace, one hand gently held the back of her head as she buried her face into his shoulder. He felt each quake of her body as she sobbed, and held her tighter as if he could possibly absorb her pain through his touch.

Kakashi understood then why it was so hard for him to speak up. He was still fighting his instincts of being the textbook shinobi. He was still afraid. And as the genius Hatake Kakashi, he shouldn't have that fear.

The fear of losing someone you love.

A great shinobi suppresses any emotion that could hinder his goal. In the case of Kusanagi Yakko and the rest of Root, they were some of the best shinobi of the village. But Hinode appeared in front of Yakko and love took over. It was love that brought Yakko's downfall.

But what was the point of being that great ninja again?

Even though Kakashi didn't know Yakko well, he was sure that she had no regrets dying for her love. Just like how Obito had no regrets.

Perhaps the first step to get over that fear was to admit that you had it.

Kakashi turned and pressed his lips against the side of her head, and he whispered.

"I won't let this happen to you again."

############

Hinode was discharged from the hospital the next day. The staff had plans to discharge Sasuke as well, but Hinode asked them to keep Sasuke a little longer. She couldn't imagine how traumatic it would be for him if he returned home to the scene of a mass murder. The medical ninjas empathized quickly and accepted her request.

It proved to be a wise decision when Hinode returned to the Uchiha compound. The stench of blood still lingered in the air even though they had dried out. It would take her days to scrub the houses clean, considering how many there were in the compound.

But before she could start cleaning, she had to remove the bodies of her clansmen. And to no surprise, a few bodies of Root agents as well.

Danzo must have sent his agents to collect the Sharingan, but Yakko must have intervened.

Hinode thought about what to do with the bodies, then she decided that it would be best to bury them behind the Naka shrine. And once that decision was made, she began working.

Her physical strength had always been handy for tasks like this, but she was weak emotionally. She especially feared the part when she had to face Fugaku and Mikoto. The only thing that kept her going was that it was all for Sasuke.

By the time she was digging the soil behind Naka shrine, she was wishing for some help. Either Genma or Kakashi could probably use an Earth Release technique instead of her digging with a shovel. However, she had asked for their help with other urgent things.

Since Genma's lecture and everything else that transpired, Hinode was becoming better at asking for help. Of course, Genma apologized later on, but Hinode really needed it over sympathy time and time again.

When she was finally finished with the burial, the sun had already set. Hinode took a long drag of the cool evening air and decided to take it easy while following the Naka River back to her home.

Typically, you could see the paved road somewhat clearly as the lights from the Uchiha residents were not too far away. But there were no lights tonight. And as Hinode walked through the woods by memory, her footsteps also slowed down. There was a part of her that didn't want to reach the compound.

This time she was truly returning to an empty home.

Despair quickly dissipated from her mind when she noticed a presence behind the trees. She stopped in her tracks; if there was going to be conflict, she wasn't going to let it happen inside the compound.

"You are either brave or stupid to come back here, Uchiha Hinode."

Knowing that he had been discovered, Shimura Danzo stepped into the clearing.

"Here to take my clansmen's eyes?" Hinode seethed. "Were their lives not enough for you?"

There was not a single trace of emotion on Danzo's face. "To put it plainly, the only thing that the Uchiha clan has that's beneficial towards Konoha is your eyes. But not in your evil hands. The Uchiha clan's hatred has endured since the founding of the village, and eventually it will destroy the village."

Hinode couldn't believe her ears. "Danzo… you wanted the destruction of our clan from the start, didn't you? But you were too cowardly and used Itachi for your own gain."

Anger bubbles inside her like lava. She didn't know if she was seeing red or if she simply activated her Sharingan.

She was ready to kill Danzo.

"I was surprised that a second-rate shinobi like you could have awakened a Mangekyo Sharingan," said Danzo, feeling no remorse. "I can utilize your eyes for good. For Konoha."

Hinode clenched her teeth tightly so that she would not scream in her rage. She unsheathed the tanto that she carried behind her back—Yakko's tanto, and charged towards Danzo.

Danzo dashed forward as well; his reaction so fast that it seemed like age wasn't a disadvantage for him at all.

Hinode had chills like she did when she met him for the first time. His cold eyes instilled fear in her and she instinctively took a step back. But she steadied her right foot just in time and pushed forward.

In an instant, Hinode's tanto attack was dodged by Danzo. As he crouched down, Hinode leapt over him and landed at his back. Black flame enveloped Hinode's fist and she swung without a second thought.

Danzo had no chance to escape. He quickly performed a hand seal, and the ground beneath Hinode rose up like a tall wall.

Hinode, instead, punched the wall and it shattered into large fiery pieces, flying towards Danzo. He deflected them with bare arms, but in between the rocks, a tanto was thrown straight at his arm. The blade grazed his arm as he barely avoided being pierced after removing the bandages around his eye just in time.

A slight annoyance surfaced on Danzo's face as looked at Hinode's unsurprised expression.

"How much did that little scum tell you?" Danzo spat. "I just can't trust anyone."

"Maybe if you saw Yakko as more than just a pawn, then maybe you would have caught on," Hinode said as she landed on her feet. "I bet you don't really care about the people of Konoha either, do you? You'll just turn against them if they reject you."

Danzo's face distorted for the first time in front of Hinode and he tore off the sleeve of his left arm. Multiple Sharingan were implanted into his arm, and Hinode squinted her eyes with disgust.

"I have heard enough from you, Uchiha," said Danzo. "It's time you rejoin your clan!"

Hinode sneered, "There's a difference between you and me, Danzo. I have real friends, and if I die today, they will be coming for your head. And these are your beloved Konoha villagers. So, really, you are writing your own death sentence."

"Well said, Hinode!"

Danzo whirled towards the voice behind him. There stood some of Konoha's most formidable Jonin: Shiranui Genma, Might Guy, Sarutobi Asuma, Yuhi Kurenai.

And another Sharingan staring back at him—Hatake Kakashi.

"Those errands you gave us took some time!" Genma shouted towards Hinode.

"Take care of these traitors," Danzo said.

A dozen Root agents descended from the trees. Hinode had no doubt that Danzo would bring his backup. She sent her friends a grateful look and they responded with smiles.

Battle broke out in the next second. Danzo's goal was still Hinode's eyes. While his subordinates went after the others, Danzo charged towards Hinode.

Chidori!

The sound of a thousand birds caught up to Danzo from behind. Thanks to Danzo's stolen Sharingan, he dodged Kakashi's attack by making a sharp turn into the woods. But as he looked to his side, Hinode's Mangekyo Sharingan was staring right back at him.

Amaterasu!

The ground which Danzo stepped on turned into a fiery runway. Unable to make a landing, he unsheathed his katana to use it as a stepping stone. The black flames quickly ate away the katana, but Danzo had jumped away into a tree away from the flame's trajectory.

As soon as Danzo steadied himself, Hinode was in front of him again. Annoyance grew inside him; what tactless and incessant attacks.

Danzo drew a kunai and performed a one-handed seal behind his back. Though Hinode could not recognize the seal, she leaned away from the kunai. To her surprise, the kunai was extended by wind blades. The wind blades would have been invisible to other shinobi, but Hinode could see the yellow hue of the chakra , and it was close enough to slice the tips of her eyelashes.

One little push from Danzo and one of her eyes will be lost.

A brute force knocked Hinode out of the way. Both she and Kakashi tumbled onto the grass. She pushed herself up quickly and examined Kakashi. There were lacerations on his arm, deep enough to see the bone.

"The Sharingan is wasted on you," Danzo's voice could be heard overhead. "Both of you."

With a loud boom , the world around them became muted. The leaves on the trees withered away, and their branches moved like snakes. Kakashi instantly knew that it was a genjutsu attack, but even with his Sharingan he could not break out of it. Danzo's technique was too high level.

Out from the ground, branches curled around his stiff legs and torso, then constricted his arms. As he blinked he saw Guy, Asuma, Kurenai, and Genma all binded by the trees like him.

"Kakashi."

It was Hinode's voice. Or was it? Kakashi was not sure anymore, until he turned and saw Hinode's body. A sharp branch pierced through her chest, and the rest of her dangled lifelessly beside him.

"That sick freak!"

Kakashi was suddenly sent flying with a punch to the face. It felt all too familiar.

"Sorry about that, Kakashi!"

The real Hinode shouted. After seeing a weak thumbs up from Kakashi, she turned back towards Danzo. That was a strong genjutsu but she was much more capable of repelling one than casting one herself. She had all that training with Itachi, and plus, regular Sharingan and a Mangekyo were just not the same.

Danzo came at her again with a combination of slashing and kicks. Hinode did not back down and stayed on the defensive. For an old man, Danzo's physical strength was higher than anyone Hinode had encountered. Except for Might Guy. Danzo was not nearly as fast.

She blocked and dodged Danzo's attacks. Though the wind blades did some damage, Hinode was able to anticipate his movements. On his next kick towards Hinode's head, Hinode blocked his leg with her arm. Next, he was going to throw a punch at her stomach.

Not if I kicked him first , Hinode thought and lifted leg and aimed for his arm. But instead of his arm, Hinode kicked something hard.

Spears of wood grew out of Danzo's arm. It was a Wood Release technique. Hinode was dumbfounded for a second; it was supposed to be a lost technique after the First Hokage. In that split second, the wood wrapped around Hinode's leg and quickly spread towards her body.

Hinode tried to use Amaterasu , but she found that she couldn't get enough chakra to her eyes. The wood was absorbing her chakra. By the time she realized it, her body had been completely covered by the wood.

Crack.

Crack.

Crack.

Hinode felt her bones break as the wood tightened around her. She had to bite down on her lips not to scream out in pain.

It didn't stop there, the wood continued to grow up her neck and around her face and skull. Only her eyes remained uncovered and she realized that he was going to crush her head and retrieve her eyes.

Chidori!

Hinode saw a flash of blue and then she was blasted away. At the same time, the impact had broken her free from the wood's binding.

She struggled to get up; her body felt numb from Kakashi's Lightning Release technique and weak from having lost chakra.

"Sorry about that," said Kakashi.

Before Hinode could open her mouth, two large spinning disks were flying their way. They were Danzo's Wind Release technique. Hinode looked back at Kakashi; his eyes were back to normal and he looked disoriented. The genjutsu attack must have taken a toll on him. It was a feat for him to do another Chidori at that point.

Come on, Hinode thought to herself with panic. Come on, Hinode!

Hinode strained to open her eyes wider, as if that was going to put more chakra into her eyes. But her chakra was dwindling and she was racing against her broken bones being healed.

"I won't let this happen to you again."

Kakashi's voice ringed through her head.

"I can stand to lose everything. But I can't lose you."

Dumbass. Hinode thought before throwing her arms around Kakashi's neck. Kakashi could barely comprehend what was happening as his body was on its way to shutting down after the overexertion of his chakra, but at that moment, he put his hands around her back.

Susanoo.

A colossal green skeleton rose up from where Hinode and Kakashi stood. The chakra emitting from the giant easily deflected the wind shuriken. It was protecting the two of them on the inside.

Just a few feet away, Danzo looked up in awe.

"This… is the power of Mangekyo…"

As he muttered to himself, Danzo moved his gaze towards Hinode. She was looking back at him, over Kakashi's shoulder. Her eyes almost seemed like those of a territorial wild beast, and they were terrifying.

A drop of blood trickled down from her left eye, and that was when Danzo turned and ran.

Oh no, you don't.

Hinode's entire body shook with pain as she tried to control her Susanoo. She felt a splitting pain in her chest, much like when Itachi's sword pierced through her.

The green skeleton raised its hands and opened up its rib cage. A giant sword appeared from its chest, and aimed it towards a fleeing Danzo. However, running was futile.

The sword propelled from the Susanoo's chest, and miles of the forest was destroyed within a few seconds. Danzo's scream was engulfed by the crashing and burning of the forest. And then, there was silence.

Hinode and Kakashi collapsed into the ground. They laid side by side as they looked up at the stars.

"Hey…" Hinode said after a while.

"…What is it?" Kakashi responded weakly, but at least his mind was clearer.

"How did your talk with the old geezer go?"

Hinode had asked Kakashi to meet with the Third Hokage in the morning. He was supposed to explain everything that happened with Danzo and Root, before they tried to arrest her for treason.

"Ah… well…" Kakashi sighed. "He said he and the elders would need to meet with you… along with Danzo…"

Hinode groaned loudly.

"I'll be there with you," said Kakashi.

"Can you even get up?"

"…No."

Hinode groaned again.

Chapter 38: The Beginning of the End of Curses

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Sarutobi Hiruzen has been the oldest Hokage to date. While it was an honorable job to serve the village that he loved, but most days he found it to be excruciating. This day would be one of those days.

He scanned his office with a long face. The elders Koharu and Homura sat side by side on a couch while glaring daggers at the center of the room. In front of him stood Uchiha Hinode, hands placed in front of her in handcuffs. The devil-may-care attitude shown on her face gave him a headache. He knew very well that she could break those handcuffs if she wanted to.

Then, on the other side of the room, where Shimura Danzo should be standing, was occupied by the replacement of Nara Shikaku, his advisor. All because Hinode just said that she killed him.

"What are you waiting for, Hiruzen?" Homura asked. "It's clear that this girl should be executed for treason."

"…" Hiruzen could have guessed the elders' opinion on this since he heard from Kakashi last morning. "Hinode, why did you do it?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Hinode returned the question.

"That's right," said Koharu. "The reason does not mat—"

"I buried over one hundred members of my clan," Hinode cut the old woman off. "Then he came after my eyes. It's totally possible that I accidentally killed him from self defense."

"Shimura Danzo is not someone you accidentally kill!" Homura scoffed.

"The Uchiha clan was attacked by Itachi," said Koharu. "And if I'm not mistaken, you were the one rounding up the Uchihas to revolt against the village. How can we believe what you say is true?"

"Because we were there to see it."

The door to Hiruzen's office opened and four Jonin walked in—Genma with his arm in a cast, Guy walking on crutches, Kurenai with bandages over one eye, and Asuma with bruises on his cheeks. Hiruzen and the elders were surprised to see them all tattered up.

"Danzo had been running a secret organization called Root to carry out his dirty business," Kurenai started to explain. "He brought them with him to ambush Hinode last night. If we hadn't arrived in time, Hinode might have been killed."

Hiruzen stayed silent. He knew that Danzo was doing a few things behind his back. But due to the guilt he felt towards Danzo, he never questioned anything. But now, everything was laid out in front of him.

"Danzo is an advisor of the Konoha Council," Koharu persisted. "What he does is always in the best interest of the village, even if he tends to lean towards extreme measures."

"The extreme measures you're talking about are the lives of Konoha villagers!" Asuma took an angry step forward.

Genma approached the Hokage's desk with a scroll in his hand. It was a scroll that he found while he and Guy sorted out Yakko's old house as Hinode requested. He opened the scroll in front of Hokage.

A list of names were revealed as Genma undid the scroll. Some were crossed out and most had no surnames attached.

"These are the names of Root members," said Genma. "Most are orphans directly from Konoha."

"They were made to fight each other to the death as training," Guy said with an unusually grim face. "If they somehow survived, they were used for experiments."

"If that's not treason, what is?!" Asuma shouted, facing directly at his father. His face was full of disappointment.

"I think we have heard enough to warrant a thorough investigation against Danzo," Nara Shikaku finally stepped in, looking at Hiruzen as well. "And perhaps a deeper look at everything that's broken about this village."

Koharu and Homura looked as if they'd found feces under their noses. But now that Shikaku had spoken, and with the evidence presented, they couldn't argue further. However, Koharu had one last thing to say.

"What about the girl?" She pointed at Hinode. "Danzo's verdict was not hers to decide, nor was his death as his punishment. What would the village think if we pardon her action?"

"Lord Hokage," Hinode finally spoke again, this time softly and looking directly into Hiruzen's eyes. Hiruzen couldn't remember if Hinode had ever addressed him in such a manner, but this side of Hinode made him nervous.

"I'm not looking for a pardon. I'll take any punishment you want to give me, as long as you can live with that decision. I have no regret for killing Danzo," Hinode said clearly and ignored Koharu standing up in her periphery. "My only wish is that, if we can move past this, then maybe I can teach at the Academy again. Those children are the village and I would never do anything remotely as sickening as what Danzo did to Konoha children. They are the reason I still wear this forehead protector."

Hiruzen looked at Hinode's forehead protector. Behind the dents and scratches on the metal was his slightly distorted reflection. When did he forget what was truly important to him? When did he forget the ones he served as the Hokage?

He took off his hat and pinched the nose bridge between his eyes. With a deep breath, he said,

"I'm sorry for your pain all of these years, Hinode."

The news about Danzo's death was out on the next day. The majority of the villagers were shocked and in disbelief. Of course, the Konoha Council left out many details, such as who killed him and all of his crimes. All that was said was that Danzo led his own organization and conducted treacherous activities that were not in the best interest of the village, and that investigations were still ongoing.

Asuma was angry and discontent with that, but even Hinode had accepted it was the best Hiruzen could do. It was not Danzo's reputation that she wanted to bring down.

The punishment for Hinode was the removal of her shinobi status.

Guy and Genma were outraged at first, but it was a secret agreement between her and the Hokage. Koharu and Homura were going to be questioning her every move now, and by removing her shinobi status, she now had freedom. And she had planned to bring back Shisui and Itachi.

"Do you know Itachi's whereabouts?" Hiruzen had asked while they were talking privately.

She had no idea.

"It could be dangerous. He could be dangerous."

"I am aware."

If anything, Hiruzen owed Hinode more than ever. She was basically taking on an S rank mission for free. Chase after an extremely powerful rogue ninja who single-handedly massacred the entire elite Uchiha clan? He would have to send his entire ANBU roster and that would put the village at risk. So for Hinode to volunteer, it was the favor of a lifetime.

And with Hinode and Shisui up for the task, Hiruzen was slightly relieved. If he knew Itachi at all, the young man might come around to his best friend and his sister. Whether or not he would be accepted by the villagers was another issue, but that was if Hinode and Shisui succeeded in bringing him back.

In return for this favor, albeit the huge difference in value, Hiruzen allowed the now-civilian Hinode to finish teaching the current academic term at the Academy, even though there was only a few weeks left. Hinode was glad to do this; she needed time to finish cleaning up the Uchiha compound and making sure that Sasuke was okay before leaving for her quest. In fact, HInode had asked Sasuke to come along with her, but was outright rejected. He said that she was definitely going to get in the way of his goal.

"I'm going to kill him."

Sasuke's stance on Itachi hadn't changed even after Hinode told him that Itachi was manipulated by Danzo. She didn't like the way Sasuke had been acting lately, but she was trying her best to understand him. There was a darkness looming about the young boy, and it was not just the sadness of losing the people closest to him.

Hinode recognized the look on him. It was his dream being shattered.

"How can you forgive him?" Sasuke asked her one day out of the blue as she came home from cleaning up Fugaku and Mikoto's house.

Sasuke had been staying at Hinode's home since being discharged from the hospital. It was the only house in the compound not ruined by the mass slaughter. However, Sasuke had been giving her the silent treatment, and Hinode had been waiting for the moment he was ready to talk to her.

Hinode set down two big bags of clothes that she gathered from Sasuke and Itachi's rooms, and labeled the bags so. Sasuke looked at the masking tape with Itachi's name written with disgust.

"He should have been strong enough not to let Danzo get to him!" Sasuke shouted at Hinode with pain and anger. His admiration for his brother was still present in his heart, but that was also why he was so deeply disappointed. "How could he kill his family? How could he kill mother and father? Did you not see his eyes? He really meant to kill you! He really meant to kill…"

Me. Sasuke couldn't finish his sentence as he started to sob.

Hinode knelt down in front of Sasuke and forcefully wiped away his tears and snot with a tissue, easily swatting away his protesting hands.

"I saw," she said softly. "But… I guess I'm just the type that dwells in the past."

After a few days, Hinode convinced Sasuke to wait until he saw Itachi in person to make his decision. There was a certain power behind seeing a person you love.

The days leading up to Hinode's last day at the Ninja Academy were deceivingly peaceful. It could be because she was a civilian now, but her old profession taught her that this was all a fabrication. There was conflict now within the Konoha Council, and there was a nervous feeling that Hinode couldn't shake. It was as if there was an invisible dark cloud looming over Konoha.

"Hinode-sensei, are you really not going to come back next year?" Naruto asked during their last day of class. "Are you going on a mission to catch that bad guy that killed your family?"

"Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura chastised him. "Why would you say something so insensitive?"

"It's okay, Sakura-chan," said Hinode. "I would call it a reunion. We will hash things out then."

Sasuke scoffed audibly from the back corner of the classroom.

"Isn't he super dangerous? Aren't you being naive?" Shikamaru, the logical one, asked what should have been the obvious questions. "Will you really come back?"

The kids in the classroom started to protest passionately, saying that Hinode should not go. That she should leave it to the ANBU.

"You guys just focus on moving onto second grade!" Hinode put on a forced smile. "The other teachers here won't be as easy going as me. Expect homework every night!"

Suddenly, Hinata bursted out crying.

"I wanted to keep having lunch with Hinode-sensei and everyone next year," she sobbed.

Hinode felt her nose sting. She took a big breath and kept up her smile.

"You will be alright. Even when it doesn't feel like it, remember that you have your friends."

Hinode looked at Sasuke once again. This time, he wasn't pouting as usual. He looked calm and grown up.

As the school bell rang to signal the end of school, Hinode hugged each of her students goodbye. After all the kids left the classroom, she began to wipe the blackboard clean and box up her things. There wasn't much that she kept in her classroom; just the old teaching material left to her by Ono Masano. She thought for a minute, and decided to leave it for the next teacher. She read through the material too many times already.

She began to make her way out of the school. As she passed the front gate, she saw Ungo-sensei taping something to the bulletin board. He noticed her and sent her a sheepish smile, then stepped back from the flyer he'd just posted. Hinode stepped closer to take a look.

" Now Hiring: Substitute Teacher for First Grade"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's signature was on the bottom of the job posting.

"You are a great teacher," said Ungo. "I look forward to working with you again in the future."

Hinode smiled at him slightly and nodded a goodbye.

Instead of taking the direct route to the Uchiha compound, Hinode took a longer route. First, she stopped by Yakko's old house. Hiruzen had asked her to sort through Yakko's belongings before the landlord took back the deed. There wasn't much kept in the house, but there was a crate with Hinode's name written on a label.

Gingerly, Hinode opened the crate. Sealing scrolls filled up to the crate, and on the very top was a written instruction for how to create Yakko's very own Food Preservation Seal. The seal she created for Hinode.

With a sad smile, Hinode placed the lid back onto the crate and picked up the crate in one hand.

Next, she stopped by the dango shop. She ordered twenty orders of each flavor in the morning, and as a token of appreciation, the owner threw in an extra five orders. Hinode used one of Yakko's scrolls and sealed all of the dango inside. She had plans to lure Itachi with the dango , but she ordered extra in case she ended up eating them all before she found him.

"I knocked on the door of every single house in that compound and she was not there!"

"Guy, you idiot, obviously she's gonna be here of all places…"

"Well, let's hurry so we can say goodbye! She's leaving first thing in the morning tomorrow…"

Hinode heard Guy and Genma's voices approaching the dango shop. She hurriedly asked the shop owner if she could leave through the back door. Once she was out, she ran through the dark alleyways, avoiding any shops that sold sweets in the village.

By the time she got back to the Uchiha compound, the sun had set. She stood in front of the gates, but she was unable to go in. It was not because she was afraid of going home to an empty house; Sasuke was sure to be home. It was because she couldn't say goodbye to him, just like how she couldn't say goodbye to Guy and Genma and the rest of her friends.

After all, she was getting tired of feeling so emotional.

She stared at the Uchiha clan's fan symbol for a long time, and then she took off.

Instead of leaving through Konoha's main gate, she opted for trekking through the forest behind the Hokage Monument. Getting over the Hokage Monument was easy enough, and once she was in the forest, she let out a relieved sigh.

"You're just going to leave without saying goodbye?"

Hinode jumped at Kakashi's voice that sounded behind her. She turned around slowly, wearing a guilty look on her face, while Kakashi didn't even look annoyed. It seemed as if he'd expected her to sneak away.

"Well, I… uh… you see…" Hinode racked her brain for an excuse.

"It's fine, I understand," said Kakashi as he approached her. He stopped a few inches away and handed her a scroll. "Aogi told me to give you this."

Hinode raised an eyebrow at the scroll; Aogi was the medical ninja who tended to her often at the hospital. Other than that, she couldn't think of why he'd have any other business with her. She opened the scroll and widened her eyes. It was a report on her mother, except her name was slightly different than what Hinode was used to.

Byakue of the Mibu clan.

She was the last known member of the infamous clan. The members of the clan produced a special chakra that repaired damaged tissues at a pace faster than any medical jutsu could. Because of this special chakra , the small clan experienced various kidnappings as shinobi villages wanted to study them. The few remaining members went into hiding, and the clan was considered extinct after Byakue's death.

Hinode's parents kept that a secret from her so that no one would know that she was part Mibu.

"Aogi said that he will keep it a secret," Kakashi added. "He was only researching out of curiosity."

"Then why did he tell you?" Hinode asked, but not that she minded.

Kakashi shrugged. "I guess he thought that we were close."

"Well, I suppose he's not wrong," Hinode smiled. "You do know all of my secrets."

Kakashi returned the smile.

They looked at each other in silence for a while. Both of them seemed as if they wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words.

"You are going to come back, right?" Kakashi broke the silence and asked carefully.

"Of course I am. Sasuke is here. And you guys," Hinode answered quickly, but did not notice Kakashi's eyebrow cocking at 'you guys.' "Plus, something has been on my mind…"

"What's that?"

Hinode frowned as she looked towards the walls of Konohagakure. "I heard a voice inside my head that night of the massacre. It was sinister and I think I might have been under a genjutsu for a while."

"An intruder?" Kakashi frowned as well.

"I don't know," Hinode shook her head. "I have a feeling that he's from Konoha."

Kakashi gave her a long look. The looming feeling came back, or maybe it was always there. Even with Danzo gone, there was something else bigger that posed a threat to Konoha. The village that they called home was not as peaceful as it seemed.

"Hey," Kakashi waved to get her out of her thoughts. "Don't think too much about it. Focus on your mission. I'll take care of Sasuke and the others."

Hinode widened her eyes with surprise, then let out a chuckle.

"Thank you, Kakashi, really," Hinode said while looking into Kakashi's eyes. It was possibly the most sincere she had ever been. "It's nice to know that someone out there knows everything about you and still accepts you."

Kakashi looked back into her eyes. A little bit of tears lined the bottom of her eyelids. She must have thought that he couldn't see in the night, but the moonlight gave her away.

He lifted a hand to the bridge of his nose. Then, amusingly, he watched Hinode's smile fade into complete shock as he pulled down his mask. He couldn't control the corner of his mouth curling up at the look on her face.

"Now you know everything about me too."

Hinode was speechless. She didn't know when was the last time she blinked or how long her jaws had been agape. She didn't know why she couldn't really breathe or why her heart was beating so fast. Was it because he looked like Hatake Sakumo? No, she could hardly remember what the man looked like after all these years. But she couldn't deny that Kakashi was handsome.

Wait, why was she thinking that? Why were her cheeks burning? Did the healing chakra work on flu viruses or not? All she knew was that if she kept looking at him, she might really set herself on fire.

"I-I should get going!" Hinode sputtered, but her legs had already taken off before she finished her sentence.

"Hinode!" Kakashi called out to her.

She peeked behind her just a bit, so that Kakashi wouldn't be able to see how red her face was.

"When you get back, I have something to tell you."

It took seven days to get to the Iron Country. The Iron Country was the land of samurai . They typically did not care for shinobi, but with her papers now showing that she was just a regular traveler, they welcomed Hinode in.

Back in the days, Lady Kamome always talked about how great the Iron Country was. It looked to Hinode like any other shinobi villages, but with cobblestone roads and tall castles. The samurai wore heavy armor as well. But the one thing that grabbed Hinode's interest was a dango shop that sold ice cream dango .

Making a note to come back to the shop later, Hinode went back to looking for her brother. She asked random strangers walking by about Lady Kamome, and apparently, she was famous.

Hinode came upon a large factory in the outskirts of the city. Lady Kamome was running the largest weapon manufacturing plant in the Iron Country. Some distance from the factory was a fancy estate where she lived. Hinode wondered if anyone was home, since it was midday. Then again, knowing Lady Kamome, she probably had hundreds of workers hard at work while she took naps at home.

Hinode arrived at the estate and knocked on the double doors that were five times her height. While she looked up to estimate how tall the doors were, they opened up slowly.

"You must be Hinode-san."

Hinode's gaze was pulled downward by a young boy's voice. A black-haired, fair-skinned boy had opened the door for her. He was about Sasuke's age, and Hinode instantly knew who he was from Yakko's description of him. Though he was not wearing any trace of emotion on his face, Hinode already took a liking to him. Call it bias or call it empathy. Now that Root was disbanded, the boy would adjust in no time.

"Sai-kun," Hinode gave the boy her best matronly smile. "Right?"

The boy stared for a short while, then attempted to form a similar smile back at Hinode.

"Yakko-san compared you to the sunrise, so I thought you'd be a lot prettier than this."

Hinode's face darkened in an instant.

"Hahaha! I just love this kid!"

Before Hinode could physically hurt the child, a gruff laugh from inside the house distracted her. It belonged to none other than Lady Kamome, who slowly walked over with her large iron cane. She seemed to have shrunk even more over the years, and gained more wrinkles. It would have been an emotional reunion if she didn't look so comically old.

"I heard you guys stirred things up big time back in Konoha, heh!" Lady Kamome looked Hinode up and down. "You've grown, brat."

For the first time, Hinode didn't immediately roll her eyes when Lady Kamome called her a brat. It dawned upon her that she might have picked up the old hag's hobby of teasing young kids. Perhaps Sasuke also viewed her as an annoying old lady?

Before Hinode could decide how to greet Lady Kamome, someone else emerged from behind her.

"Nee-san!"

Shisui's voice was as bright and pleasant as ever as he hovered over Lady Kamome's short stature. He wore a smile as innocent as he always had ever since he was a child. The wounds he endured during his battle with Yakko had healed completely.

Hinode wondered how much of the news on Konoha had traveled to the Iron Country. Did Shisui hear about the Uchiha clan's demise? Could Shisui smile the way he did if he'd learned about what Itachi did? Or whom she couldn't save?

Hinode didn't know what to say first. She had a million things to apologize for, but for now, all she wanted to do was embrace her dear brother.

So she did, and she was never going to lose him again.

End of Part III