It was surprising how quickly things turned back to normal after the Third Hokage's death. Even his most ardent supporters went back to their normal routine after a few days, but not out of malice. After someone dies, sometimes all you can do is find comfort in the common rituals of day to day life.

For Haruhi, that was the swimming lessons at the commons. She was training a new batch of lifeguards for the pool that had just opened here. They had done amazing so far. Inari was her assistant today, her now obvious baby bump accentuated by the swimming suit.

"You hear what Haruhi-sensei said, put some effort into those breast strokes!"

"Yes ma'am!" The lifeguards responded between gasps of air. If these people passed, they would go on to patrol the Konoha pool system which was now owned by Haruhi, or under her supervision, teach swimming classes of their own.

Haruhi was smug to see her successes paying off. Tsunade gave her a report noting the decrease in drowning cases at the hospital. She had also noticed that many of the immigrant lifeguards who already knew how to swim and Konoha's upper class were getting along better now, with the lifeguards forming friendships across social classes. She had seen this give the lifeguards families new opportunities with this networking, and more tolerance and even acceptance from the otherwise xenophobic upper circles. Haruhi even noticed some of the lifeguards this time that passed her reading test materials for training were the ones that couldn't before. They had gotten literacy lessons from The Commons as well. She loved it when everything came together so nicely.

"Oh-whoops!" One of the trainees said as their goggles fell to the bottom of the twelve feet section. They were good, but tackling deep waters was next week.

"Don't worry, I'll get them."

Haruhi took off her shirt, now only in her robin's egg blue one piece. She executed a perfect dive, smirking as she slipped under the water as she heard the awed gasps of her students. For some reason, it took her far more effort than normal to get to the bottom. It should have been easier with all the practice she was getting in recently. She retrieved the goggles from the bottom, and swam back up next to the student.

"Here you go! We'll be covering diving and deep water swimming next week."

"Thanks!"

They began to clear out and leave as Inari instructed, as Sakura was due to arrive soon, but Haruhi didn't hear, too busy trying to figure out why her limbs were so weak. Head rush? That would have already cleared by now. And she hadn't bumped against anything either.

She had a split second to realize that maybe she should get out of the pool before her head went under. She didn't even have time to call out.

It was funny, almost. Her mother and father taught her how to swim because of all her cousins and other african american kids who didn't know how to. A couple of them even drowned. And now she was drowning right now. The history behind it was actually really fascinating, in a sick way, because slave owners didn't want their "property" escaping via the water ways, so they successfully tried to...instill fear into the slaves so they….couldn't escape…

She awoke to Inari supporting her head why Sakura performed medical ninjutsu on her. They were both crying.

"What happened?"Sakura demanded.

"Really!" Inari said. She seemed shaken, which was reasonable as Haruhi was one of the best swimmers here.

"I don't know, I just felt so weak all of a sudden."

Sakura sat back, obviously upset.

"Well, you'll be fine, sensei. You must have stood up too quickly."

"Yeah...that sounds like it could be."

Haruhi sat up and smiled back at Inari.

"Let that be a lifeguard lesson, Inari, no matter how good of a swimmer you are, you can still drown."

Inari snorted, still shaken but getting better.

"Noted. But Sakura is here for a reason. We are going to pay a house visit to my husband, remember? I suppose it's a good thing I rented out a transport carriage."

"A good thing indeed."

Haruhi knew this world had machinery, as evidenced by the cranes at the land of waves, but the technology was patchy, almost break-even with her world in some areas, while behind in others.

She changed in the locker room, and boarded the carriage. Inari, having done this for some time now to work in Konoha and then go back over the weekends to her husband, signals for the horses to go with a well practiced flick of her wrist. Haruhi smiled at a nervous Sakura, fulfilling her role as moral support and observer.

After a few minutes of Sakura shuffling her papers and getting her notes together, she spoke.

"Right. What medical history can you provide me about your husband?" Sakura seemed determined to get this right. This was one of the first cases of doing house calls out of the village and not for mission money. It would be watched very closely.

Inari hummed, face falling deep into thought.

"I first saw him when visiting over the weekend at my family's house a couple miles out from Konoha. I was resting near the Naka river when I saw him bobbing in the water. He was so obviously unconscious, and maybe even dead. I screamed, alerting the rest of my family, and jumped into the water to get him."

Sakura furiously scribbled. Haruhi sat still, remembering earlier her own near miss with water.

"I grabbed onto him, and kicked to shore. I almost couldn't, but was determined to see what I could do for him. I almost dropped him when I noticed his missing eyes."

Sakura paused.

"Missing eyes?"

"Yes. They were both gone, with the surrounding area scratched up. I think he bumped into something in the river, likely a jutting tree branch or a rock It being spring time, the rains often washed many debri into the river. He was barely breathing when I pulled him ashore, and burning with infection. He hung between life and death for weeks, and I even had Kiki come from Konoha, but she could only make it a couple times, and only then administer medicine."

"What sort of medicine?"

"Anti bacterials, fever reducers, pain medication for his gouged out eyes. Also to remove the stitches she had put in place."

"Sounds like good work."

Inari smiled, it was wobbly."

"It was." Her voice is rough and filled with gratitude for Kiki's work.

"...It took awhile for his fever to break, but one it did, he became very animated. He was weak at first, but so determined. It was inspiring to me. Everyday he could go a little further. I was able to buy his braille books, and he learned how to do it with help from me and my relatives. He was never resentful about needing help, even if he did get frustrated at times with his new limitations and his slow recovery."

"Slow recovery?"

"He is permanently blind now, and the fall and huge fever scrambled his memory. He remembered nothing, not even his own name."

"Really? Head trauma like that sounds serious. I'll make sure to check that out. What should I call him if he has forgotten his name?"

"He picked it out for himself. Shun." She sounded so proud that Haruh smiled.

"That's a good name."

"It is. My little cousins like it too. He's so good with them." She said, hand resting on her swollen belly. Sakura saw the movement and smiled, probably thinking of her mother's own pregnancy.

They traveled in silence, before coming upon a large house with a group of children playing in the front. When they spotted the carriage they dropped their toy ball, and ran towards them.

"Aunt Inari! You're back! Are these the doctors?"

"Sakura here is the medic-nin. She will be doing a check-up and will decide if Shun needs further treatment. Where is he?"

The back door shuttered as someone opened it.

"Hey all, did someone say my name?"

Haruhi turned to look at the silhouette of a man standing in the shadow of the overhang on the front porch, clutching the hand rail. As he stepped down, her jaw fell open.

The older, blinded face of Shisui Uchiha greeted her.

She sat frozen still in the carriage as both Sakura and Inari stepped out, the latter running to her husband, who stumbled a bit before carefully swooping down to kiss her. Sakura smiled as she brought her medical gear from the back. How could this be? Shisui must have washed up downstream after escaping Danzo. It was no piece of timber that gouged his eyes out.

As they made their way into the house, Haruhi, in a carefully relaxed tone, called out to Sakura as she carried Inari's bags.

"Sakura, you forgot a piece of equipment. It must have fallen out of your bag. My hands are full, so can you come get it?"

Sakura turned and headed back, telling the others to get the living room set up. Haruhi needed to tell Sakura Shisui was an Uchiha, or else she'd find out herself when she did the examination and saw the distinct Uchiha coils around his eye sockets.

When only Sakura was in earshot, Haruhi, gently but urgently pulled her down and whispered in her ear.

"Sakura

I recognize that man. His name is Shisui Uchiha, he went missing a few weeks before the Uchiha massacre, I saw his picture in Sasuke's house and he explained it to me."

In an almost identical look to Haruhi's earlier, Sakura's jaw dropped.

"It was no branch that gouged his eyes out. It's likely he was a victim of bloodline theft, probably while isolated at the side of the Naka river, and used it to escape."

"W-We need to tell Sasuke!"

"I agree." Thinking a mile a minute, she also said "We need to see if he can recover his memories. The thief may still be in Konoha and therefore represents an active threat to other village citizens."

"We're gonna have to tell Tsunade-sama."

Haruhi is silent, and Sakura reads the apprehensions on Haruhi's face. Her own features go through a journey, as if she is struggling to decide something. Haruhi's face softened into something understanding and patient and Sakura decided.

"Sasuke and I were attacked by Itachi the day Lord Third died. We learned the truth behind the massacre, and Itachi went to Tsunade with everything he knew."

Haruhi fell down in shock to the bottom of the carriage. Her hand clutched her heart, and the strange weakness from before returned. It was only Sakura's prodding that kept her conscious.

"Are you two okay!? Is that why Sasuke was wearing those glasses?"

"We made it out alright, and yes, actually. The point is, we learned the council ordered the massacre, and you already know that, don't you?" Sakura said, noticing the resigned expression on Haruhi's face.

"Yes. And if the council ordered it, that means we cannot trust them with Shisui. They might have been the ones to attack him in the first place. His testimony is too important to lose. Do the Yamakan have memory restoration jutsu?"

"I'll have to ask Ino."

"Great, but for now we need to convince them he wants his memories back. Should we tell him what we suspect? It could put their whole family in terrible danger, not to mention the baby with the Uchiha bloodline…"

Sakura stiffens at that, and Haruhi knows she touched a nerve.

"I'll do the examination. Then we'll decide."

They walk into the house, taking a moment to breathe deeply and straighten their backs before walking in. Haruhi didn't know what was going to happen next, but she would do whatever she could to support Sakura and the surviving Uchiha's.

Danzo would not get away with this.

I wrote this chapter in the days after the death of my Grandmother. She passed away this past week, and I am glad her suffering ended quick. It was a comfort to write this and gain a sense of familiarity back. She was always proud of the writer in the family. Thank you all for reading this, I really appreciate it.

And that Shisui plot twist, huh? Didn't see that one coming, did ya? I referenced it a few chapters earlier if you want to go digging. What do you think will happen with the plot now?

Also, to that one guy who said my story is shit and that no one care about my sick grandma, I hope you get hit by a stray firework.