Chapter One — This Soul Has Windows

Kagami was used to feeling his children's chakra; he wasn't used to feeling it in the middle of the night. He sat up, dragging a hand over his face. Then he turned his sharingan on, catching the next visible flare of Kyoko's chakra. He threw back his blanket and surged out of the room, barely remembering in his haste to be quiet enough that he didn't wake Shisui. He slowed when he reached her door, carefully sliding it aside. "Kyoko-chan," he called softly. "What is it?"

Her head snapped up, eyes wide and her hands twisted together in front of her. She was pale. "Tousan?" she rasped.

He stepped in, frowning. "Kyoko-chan," he repeated. "Bad dream?"

"I—" She lowered her hands, and her brow furrowed as she continued to stare at him. Then her expression screwed up tightly and her eyes went glassy. "Tousan?" she asked again.

Kagami was across the room in a split second, sitting down on the edge of the bed and reaching for her. "It's okay, Kyoko-chan. It was just a bad dream. C'mere." He took up her hand and tugged her forward. He wasn't ready for the way she fell into him. Nor the way she started bawling. He immediately dragged her up into his arms, shifting to look down at her. "What happened?"

Kyoko shook her head, twisting her hands in his shirt and ducking her face down. She choked on another sob, and her shoulders shuddered violently. "Nothing," she gasped out. "Nothing happened."

"Okay. Okay, then. Nothing happened," he echoed, tapping her chin until she looked up at him. "You're okay, and nothing happened." He scrubbed away some of her tears with his knuckles and then pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Take all the time you need. Then you can try to sleep again."

Kyoko wouldn't stop staring at him.

She'd left her room mere seconds after he'd gotten up for the day, and she'd spent her time since then sitting at the table and not looking away from him. His back was to her, now, as he focused on preparing their breakfast, but he could still feel her watching him. "Did you get any more sleep last night?" he finally asked.

"No."

The answer was almost immediate, as if she'd been waiting to say it. He glanced back at her, wondering when the last time she'd blinked was. "Ah. Well, that explains why you're so grumpy this morning."

There. That was a blink. "I'm not grumpy."

Kagami smiled. "No. Of course you aren't." He looked to the hallway when he heard a door. "Good morning, Shisui," he called.

Kyoko straightened, whipping around and staring at the hallway with eyes so wide and pale that it made Kagami pause. A moment later, Shisui bounded in, all grins and bright eyes.

"Morning!" Shisui greeted. He climbed up into the chair next to Kyoko. "Morning, Kyo-chan!"

Kyoko didn't say anything, just staring at her twin as if she'd never seen him before. Shisui cocked his head at her. "Morning, Kyo-chan," he tried again.

"I— Morning," Kyoko said, her voice small. Raw.

"Kyoko-chan had a rough night," Kagami explained, setting plates in front of them. He watched as Shisui happily accepted that reasoning and dug into his breakfast. He watched as Kyoko didn't move. As she continued to stare. Kagami frowned. "Kyoko."

She jumped, snapping her attention to him.

He leaned across the table, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead. She didn't feel warm. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I . . . ." She frowned. "I didn't sleep well."

That didn't do anything to ease his growing concern. "Well, I want you to do your best to sleep tonight, okay? I'll ask your Obasan to make you some tea before bed. That will help."

"Obasan," Kyoko echoed. She blinked three times before asking, "Where are you going?"

He finally drew back, cleaning up while keeping half an eye on her. "I have a mission. I won't be gone long, but I want you two to behave for your Obasan in the meantime. That means no sneaking extra dessert, Shisui."

Shisui blinked up at him innocently. Too innocently.

Kagami huffed, smiling. He glanced at Kyoko, only for that smile to turn back into a frown. She was staring at Shisui again, seemingly fascinated. "Kyoko," he called. "Eat your food."

She looked down at her plate, almost as if she hadn't realized it was there. "Oh." And then instead of listening to him, she dragged her stare up to the empty chair at the table. "Where . . . where's Obito?" she asked quietly.

Kagami glanced at the empty seat. "He's on a mission, Kyoko-chan. Eat your food."

"When is he going to be back?"

"He should be back tomorrow. He'll be getting you from your Obasan's. Eat your food."

"Is his mission dangerous?"

"I'm sure you don't have to worry about that. Minato-san is with him, after all. Now eat your food."

She finally looked away from the chair to frown at her plate. "I'm not hungry." She started staring at Shisui again.

Kagami paused. "Okay," he said softly. "I need you to at least drink some water. And promise me you'll eat a good lunch."

Kyoko reached out and picked up her cup. She stared into it, frowning. "Okay," she murmured. She looked up at him, but she didn't drink. "Okay."

Even as he reminded Shisui of the basic rules for being around his obasan—no yelling, no swearing, no sneaking vegetables off of his plate when he thought she wasn't looking—Kagami couldn't help but watch the way Kyoko was watching him. He didn't call her out on it, and instead just rested a hand on her head as he walked his children across the compound. As they reached the main house, he raised his other hand in greeting. Mikoto was already out on the engawa, a bundle in her arms.

And then Kyoko pulled away, speeding up. Kagami let her go, watching as she moved with a purpose until she came to a stop right in front of Mikoto, leaving the woman blinking down at her. Kyoko reached out and glanced one hand along the edge of Itachi's swaddle.

"Can I hold him?"

Kagami took a moment to watch as Mikoto smiled and directed his daughter to sit before she carefully placed the baby in her arms. He cleared his throat, guiding Shisui forward. "Go and sit with your sister. I'll speak to your obasan, and then I have to go."

Shisui didn't need any more encouragement, rushing to his sister's side. Mikoto straightened, stepping to Kagami. "How long?"

"Unclear. Should be only a few days." He smiled. "Thank you, as always."

"Of course." And then Mikoto tilted her head, and he knew that she had noticed that there was something he was waiting to say. She always did. Mikoto was smart, observant, and so he wasn't surprised when she broached the topic herself. "Kyoko-chan has never asked to hold Itachi before."

He nodded, turning his attention to his daughter. It seemed she had finally given up staring at himself and Shisui in favor of staring at Itachi. "She had a nightmare last night. She didn't share what it was, but Obito was very . . . descriptive when speaking of his last mission. Mostly through tears, but still descriptive."

"Ah. Shisui-chan?"

Kagami shook his head. "No, but Shisui is still far less than attentive to anything that takes more than ten seconds to explain. I don't think he was listening."

"But she was," Mikoto murmured. It wasn't a question, just a statement of fact. Kyoko was good at listening. Obeying, not so much. But she'd inherited Kagami's sharp ears.

"She cried last night. And this morning, she wouldn't stop staring at us. She even seemed to forget that Obito was on a mission, and was concerned when he wasn't eating with us."

"Ah. Poor thing." She gave a curt nod. "Don't worry, Oniisan. I'll keep an eye out."