WhIP

by footfungus

nederlands verhalen over mijn otp

157. Rising with the bd - Naruto Gen

Rising With The Breaking Dawn

fw_feathers (callmeren)

Summary:

She died too early and was born too late. Her existence is a curse, a pebble in a tranquil lake. There is no turning back. There is only forward, to an uncertain tomorrow.

Notes:

crossposted from

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: Arc I Chapter 1

Summary:

They called them the Demon Twins.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The full moon hung low in the dark sky, illuminating the remnants of a forest glade. Hiruzen faltered at its periphery, awed in spite of himself.

Blood painted the grass red, pooling in deep furrows left by the Kyuubi's claws. Hashirama trees the width of ten men lay scattered around the clearing like twigs. The clearing itself had grown, from a small patch barely enough to fit a camping site, to a field that spanned the length of one of these great trees.

He had seen some truly devastating battlefields in his long life. Few matched this one.

The silence was absolute, the kind of emptiness only strife could leave. Not even the faint wind and the cry of a fearful child could break the weight of it.

Two bodies lay dying in the grass.

Only when he approached did the silence shift—a hoarse voice, quieter than a whisper, piercing the emptiness with an old lullaby.

"As the seasons… turn… and the whirl… pools… churn…"

Immediately, he was at her side. Kushina sprawled across the ground, trembling down to the finger to reach the crying baby mere feet away. Her long, indomitable red hair merged with the blood spilling from her stomach, curled around the body behind her.

Minato didn't stir.

"If… you've gone a… stray… and miss the… ocean spray…"

"Enough, Kushina-chan." Hiruzen knelt down and rested his hand on hers. "Save your strength. The medics will be here at any moment."

She twitched at the touch. "Hiruzen… sama?" Her eyes, known for their brightness and cheer, were now dulled, dark oceans set in a pale face. She gave him a sad echo of her mischievous smile. "Too late. Kyuubi… sealed. Minato… the Shiki Fuujin…"

Hiruzen closed his eyes. There was no going back from the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

The baby's cries grew louder. Her breath caught. Tear tracks carved ravines through the blood on her cheeks.

He released her hand. A moment later, he returned, carrying the blond, wailing child, and the silent red-haired one in both arms. With a heavy heart, he set them down next to their mother, then helped her turn on her side so she could see them.

Her answering sob was more blood than tears.

"I'll look after them," he said.

"Don't let… anyone know," she whispered. "Like me. Let them… let them grow, loved…"

Hiruzen bowed his head. "I will."

Kushina smiled, one last, grateful smile. She rested her hand on her babies' feet. Her eyes closed.

"Take care of your sister… Naruto."

They called them the Demon Twins.

When the moon closed its eye, and the stars disappeared from the night, and the people hunkered down in their homes, they spoke of them. Wayward children would be hushed with tales of the Kyuubi; how it, with its last dregs of power, cursed Konoha as it breathed its final breath. Adults spoke with fear, wondering if the demon the Yondaime had given his life to defeat wasn't as gone as the Sandaime had assured them it was.

No secret stays hidden forever. Hiruzen knew that. He had hidden the twins among the many, many orphans from that day, and swore the orphanage matrons to secrecy. Their existence was a need-to-know. Only his council and the founding clans were privy to it; the rest had to make do with knowing that the Kyuubi was safely sealed away. He thought he had years to keep them safe.

But the children were too much like their parents. No matter how much he tried, there was no telling where the rumors came from, and no stopping their spread.

It all came to a head on the night of the Kyuubi attack's third anniversary.

One moment, he was giving a sombre speech. The next, the crowd erupted into screams of panic and rage. ANBU darted to the rescue, only to falter as an all-too-familiar chakra permeated the air.

And with it, the wails of a child.

Hiruzen rested his chin on his clasped hands, letting no sign of his weariness escape him. Thin trails of smoke still rose beyond the windows of his office, remnants of the fires from the night before. The police had managed to restore order, but not before a few festival stalls and an apartment building went up in flames. Soon enough, Koharu would be bringing him the problems of the merchants from the festival and demanding he do something about it. But right now, he had greater concerns.

"How are the children?" he asked.

Across his desk, an ANBU agent stood to attention. "Their injuries have been seen to," Bear reported. "And Yamanaka-sama has been called in, as you asked. Inu, Tora, and Uma are guarding them while we wait."

Hiruzen gave a nod of approval. Hound, Tiger and Horse were shinobi he knew well, and could trust with the children. "Continue."

"Uzumaki Naruto has been very… impatient."

Hiruzen's eyebrow rose.

"He began asking question after question when they were brought into the safe house," Bear elaborated. "Inu managed to put them to sleep for a while, but when they woke up he started all over again."

So Naruto had inherited the hyperactivity of his Uzumaki heritage. "And his sister?"

"Uzumaki Minako spent most of their time answering her brother's questions and staring out the window. She acted much calmer, even if she sustained more injuries."

Hiruzen's eyes fluttered, anger and regret a slow fire in his chest. "Thank you, Kuma. Please have Inu bring them here."

Bear bowed, baring his neck to his superior in the expected sign of trust, then disappeared in a puff of shunshin.

Hiruzen sighed. In the privacy of his office, he allowed himself to rub the bridge of his nose. An S rank secret cracked open, and a riot instigated, all by two mischievous children sneaking out of the orphanage on their birthday. Frog hadn't been able to ascertain whether they had escaped due to negligence or ingenuity; the matrons had been terrified enough as it was.

He will have to rework their S rank secret. Their safety depended on their anonymity. Konoha was still hard-pressed from the Kyuubi attack. They did not have the manpower to protect the children if any of the other nations got an inkling of how vulnerable Konoha's jinchuuriki was.

And preventing people from speaking about the topic could have other benefits. Those who lived through the attack might fear the twins on sight, but perhaps there was still hope for the children…

A flare of chakra alerted him to approaching ninja. Wind whipped through the room as first Hound, then Tiger arrived, carrying a child each. Horse did not appear, though Hiruzen sensed him take position on the roof of the building.

"Oh yeah! That was so cool, dattebayo! Again, again, again, again!" Naruto yelled from Hound's shoulders, tugging on the poor boy's wild hair like reins. His own hair was the habitual blond mess of his father's, while his whiskered cheeks painted his joy with mischief.

Hiruzen hid a smile behind one hand. It was good to see Hound getting along with his sensei's children, even if only peripherally.

Compared to her brother, Minako looked quite pale as Tiger slowly set her down. "Thank you," she told her escort. Tiger replied with a silent nod.

Her sallow face only served to emphasize the dark markings around her eyes, stunted versions of the black lines that extended from the Kyuubi's snout into its ears. Combined with the blood red hair she had inherited from her mother, it was no wonder the crowd had panicked at the sight.

It was also sheer luck that their injuries had been easy enough to heal.

"Naruto-kun," he said at last. "Please stop pulling Inu-san's hair. I don't think he appreciates it very much."

"But! It's so spiky, dattebayo! It's weird! It gets up even when I squish it!" The boy demonstrated, patting Hound's hair. True to form, it sprung back into position the moment his fingers left the strands. Once again, Hiruzen had to hide a smile at Hound's obvious discomfort. Certainly Tiger and Bear were having the struggle of their lives hiding their amusement at their teammate's predicament.

"Naruto, stop it." Minako craned her neck to look up at her brother. He pouted, but obeyed. Hound reached up and grabbed him by the torso, finally setting him down beside his sister.

Without pause, she grabbed Naruto by his own spiky hair and pulled, hard enough to bring tears to his eyes.

"Owowowow! Min'ko-chan, that hurts!" he cried, grabbing her arm and hopping in place, all in an effort to alleviate the pain.

She twitched. "One, it's Minako. Two, this is what you've been doing to Inu-san all day. Now say sorry."

Naruto pouted. Minako glared back. It was, quite frankly, adorable. Hiruzen could no longer hide his smile as Naruto grumbled an apology to Hound, who could only nod in reply.

Minako showed a surprising level of maturity for a three-year-old. Where Naruto was loud, she was quiet. Where Naruto was rude, she was polite and diplomatic. Where Naruto was wild, she was restrai—

"I'm not a killjoy, dattebana!" she screeched, stamping her foot against the wooden floor. She turned red just as fast, shrinking in her embarrassment. Naruto stuck out his tongue in reply.

Hiruzen winced. Or he could just be thinking too much. "That's enough fighting, you two."

The children jumped to attention, each muttering their own apologies. He gave the ANBU a nod. They bowed, and disappeared in a puff of chakra smoke.

Naruto went back to yelling in awe, while his sister covered her face in exasperation. Free from an obvious audience, Hiruzen relaxed, allowing more of his grandfatherly side to peek through. "How have you been?" he asked, taking off his hat. "Was the safe house comfortable?"

Twin sets of blue focused on him. With more age and knowledge behind them, those two would make for a forbidding stare.

"We're okay, thank you," Minako replied, enunciating every word with care. "The safe house was big. Everyone was quiet, but it was nice."

"It was super boring. Tora-san didn't do anything. But Inu-san was nice. Ne, Jiji," Naruto continued, jumping from topic to topic with nary a care. "Why did all those people get so mad? —Ow!"

Minako pulled her elbow back. "Naruto, manners!" she hissed. "You can't call the Hokage 'Jiji!'"

"Why not?" he retorted, rubbing his sore arm. "He's old, isn't he?"

Hiruzen quickly intervened. "It's alright, Minako-chan." He had seen that furious expression before. This was not the time for the second coming of the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero. "I don't mind at all."

Ah well. Tsunade would say it would keep him humble.

He was rewarded with Naruto's delighted look in his direction, before the kid shot another raspberry at his sister. She rolled her eyes.

"So why'd they get so mad?" Naruto insisted. For the first time since they had met the previous night, his sunny excitability was overcome by doubt and anxiety. He clutched his left elbow.

There had been a bruise there, just hours ago.

Hiruzen's lips thinned. "That's not something I can explain to you right now," he said. "Sometimes people fear what they don't understand."

"Fear what they…" Naruto's nose scrunched up, as he tried to process the concept. "But, why?"

Ah. The inevitable rush of 'why's. Hiruzen chuckled, in spite of himself. "You'll understand better when you're older."

"Does it have something to do with the Kyuubi?"

His gaze snapped to the quiet sister. There was a wariness to her gaze, sharpened by a light he tended to see in young Nara eyes. Her exotic facial markings only served to emphasize it, turning what could be a blank gaze into something more intent.

Now that expression was familiar. Hiruzen pushed back the nostalgia of blue eyes narrowed in determination and framed with golden hair.

"And what makes you think that?" he asked, letting no sign of his surprise rise to the surface.

She bit her lip as she thought over her answer. "Well… it was the anniversary of the Kyuubi attack yesterday, right? Miyagawa-san at the orphanage is always talking about it. So, I thought…" Her fingers played with her loose hair.

"I see." He paused, glancing over the two children once more. So young and already causing an uproar. Inheritors of the legacies of two great shinobi… one of the twins a container of the strongest bijuu in the world…

"Perhaps," he allowed. "Like I said, it's something you'll understand when you're older."

"But—That's not an answer, dattebayo!" Naruto flailed in outrage.

"There are some questions that cannot be answered." He took pity on the boy's utterly befuddled look. "Tell me, Naruto-kun. Do you want to become a shinobi?"

Naruto beamed. "Yeah! I'm gonna be a shinobi, just like Inu-san, dattebayo!"

Just like a sunflower—changing moods in a flip of a coin, but always turning back to the sun the moment he was able. Hiruzen smiled. "Well, here is your first lesson. A true shinobi knows how to be patient. Your prey will not appear to you if you run around noisily because of your inability to wait."

"So… the answer… is my prey?" Naruto squinted down his nose.

Hiruzen bit back a laugh. "I suppose… yes, you could say that."

"Then I'll definitely wait! I'll become the best shinobi ever, dattebayo!" Naruto grinned, smacking his chest for emphasis. Then his face fell. "But I hate waiting!"

Minako sighed. "So dramatic…"

"If that's all?" He allowed them time to consider, before nodding. "Then, I think it's time for you to head back to the orphanage."

Both children groaned. He smiled, warmth building in his heart.

"Can I ride on Inu-san again?" Naruto asked, blue eyes wide and pleading.

Hiruzen sighed. "I think you've bothered Inu-san enough for today," he said.

"Aww." Naruto wilted. Hiruzen ignored the tiny glare Minako shot him.

Kakashi's team would not have been his first choice to guard the children, but they had been the most competent team available. And they had certainly delivered above and beyond what had been asked of them, in Kakashi's case especially.

No, he'd already asked too much of Kakashi. If he could see echoes of Minato and Kushina in the twins, he could only imagine what the poor boy saw.

"Why don't you go outside and wait for Minoru-san there? You could say good-bye to Inu-san if you see him."

That made Naruto light up again. "Really? Really, really? Alright!" He threw up his hands with a cheer. "Min'ko-chan, c'mon! If we go outside now, we'll have more time to find Inu-san!" He grabbed her arm and pulled.

"Naruto, wait!" Minako yelped. She stumbled a few steps, before finally managing to halt her whirlwind of a brother. She planted her feet and bowed to Hiruzen, tugging on Naruto to do the same. "Thank you, Hokage-sama," she said.

"Please, Minako-chan. Sarutobi is fine." He gifted her with a kind smile. It was good to see children making such an effort to be polite.

"Then…" A mischievous light entered her eyes. "Thank you very much… Sarutobi-jiji."

He winced. Ah, so the impish behavior was not restricted to just one twin.

"Go on, then." He pretended to sigh, flapping his hand at the two to leave. They giggled, darting out the door to wreak havoc in someone else's life.

As the door swung shut, so did the grandfatherly expression on Hiruzen's face. He twined his fingers together, eyes lit with the spark that had led to him being granted his title as 'Professor.'

That intelligent, calculating light in Minako's eyes… and if Naruto's rambunctiousness was any indication…

He lit his pipe and brought it to his lips. Outside, Naruto's voice rose over his sister's, bringing life to the building's quiet halls.

Will the children someday surpass the legends that were their parents?

I wonder.

Notes:

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Edited 09.23.2020 because apparently I can stomach my writing mistakes from six years ago, but I draw the line at head hopping.

And, yes, this fic is at least 6 years old. I've pretty much used it as a playground to experiment with as I grew as a writer, so please be patient with my earlier chapters.

Enjoy the fic!

One last note: I researched all the possible Japanese suffixes that put emphasis on the sentence that comes before it (ex. -yo, -ne, though -ne has a different connotation). -na is the one I found most acceptable, which indicates a "casual emphasis on a decision, suggestion, or opinion". Men can also use it as a very emphatic "Don't do this!". (thank you, .com). Hence, we get Minako's customized dattebana.

Chapter 2: Arc I Chapter 2

Summary:

Growing up isn't easy when nobody wants to love you.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The sky is a bright blue, the color of stress, of hope and happiness, and the nearness of summer. People are yelling, I think, but I can't be sure. A part of me whispers that I should feel pain, that I do feel pain, but I feel nothing, not a thing, not anymore.

Someone bends over me… it's you. Dark eyes on a pale face. I can finally read them, the concern, the care… the fear.

I'm sorry, I try to say. Please don't look like that. I'm sorry I made you sad. I'm sorry for making my parents sad… and my friends…

Please… don't be sad…

I stirred.

It's cold.

Someone is weeping, soft, harsh sobs. I hear a baby, echoing them with its own wails nearby. It's cold, frightfully cold, as if I had just gotten out of a hot shower into the cooler air of the bathroom.

Fear spikes, deep in my heart. Where am I? How did I get here? I shift and squirm, trying to move, but something had changed – my body would not do as I willed.

Warm arms envelope me. I feel small, swallowed up in them, as I'm lifted like a babe. I open my mouth to scream, and it comes out in a high, screeching wail, in a voice I do not recognize as my own.

What's happening to me?

A curtain of red surrounds me. The sobbing intensifies, and I realize it's a woman. She's whispering something, a mantra, a prayer, in my ear. My cries slowly cease. Beside me I feel another presence, something intrinsically so familiar he feels like déjà vu – yes, he. But try as I might, I could not remember meeting him before.

The arms around me pull me closer. The woman presses a kiss against my forehead, crying, crying. I could feel her warmth, comforting me in her embrace, the curtain of red falling like rain over my bare, sensitive skin.

I tried to reach out but then—

Pressure weighs down on me like iron. A fear so deep, deeper than instinct seeps into my bones. A shriek pulls itself out of my lips, uncontrollable, echoed by the one-who-is-familiar-but-isn't. The grip holding us both tightens. I look up, and see the moon, the full moon and its light on the person holding me up, throwing a halo of gold around his head.

The fear is almost solid, sticky as honey but as cold and viscous as mud. The peace I had just so recently found is gone, torn away in an instant. Red blazes like an inferno, stark against the night sky.

What is going on?

I cried out.

Voices. An alto and a tenor. Rising and falling in a harmony of fear and anger and determination. I wail, and wail, and he-who-was-familiar-but-wasn't wails with me. I reach over, and find him nearby. I grab his hand, desperate for comfort in a world that was fear and voices and unknown, everything unknown.

And then they tear me away from him.

I scream, and scream, unable to stop, unable to restrain the fear pouring off of me in waves. Something hot drips on to my skin. Words and voices.

It sounds like goodbye.

Please! Please…

DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!

"Min'ko-chan!"

I shot up with a gasp, almost throwing Naruto off our bed. He yelped, falling backwards into the mattress. My eyes flickered in panic—left, right, white sheets and cold metal, sunlight through the windows and scratched wooden walls.

No moon. No fear but my own. No voices I didn't know.

"'Tetetetete… THAT HURT!" Naruto wailed, clutching his head where it had met the wall.

"S-sorry… Naruto." No matter how many years I'd been with him, it was always a wonder to wake up every morning and say that name.

Naruto. My brother. A boy that wasn't supposed to be real, in a world that wasn't supposed to exist.

And me. The one who was never meant to exist here in the first place.

"…y. Oy! Min'ko-chan, you're spacing off again, dattebayo!" said brother grumbled, waving a hand in front of my face. I blinked, then swatted it away.

"I'm thinking of a way to take revenge against you for ruining my beauty sleep." I grinned wickedly at him. "And for the last time, it's Mi. Na. Ko, dattebana!" I immediately clamped my mouth shut and scowled. I've been trying to get rid of that speech tic for ages. Why did I just keep blurting it out?

Naruto barked out a laugh at that, half in fear and half in glee. Then he sobered.

"That nightmare again?" he asked, his voice soft and sad. My expression wilted. That kind of look did not belong on his face. Naruto, dear, bubbly, beautiful Naruto, did not deserve to have expressions like that on his face.

"Yeah." I smiled and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine with a little food in me. What time is it anyway?" I looked around. The tiny window above our little closet-turned-room showed a fairly blue sky, which meant nothing in sunny Konohagakure.

"Somewhere around nine, -ttebayo," he replied, rolling out of the futon. "Everyone's probably eating breakfast already."

I wriggled out of the blankets, raising an eyebrow until he blushed and moved to help me roll it up. I had quickly learned that raising a kid meant constant vigilance (hahaha, quoting Harry Potter while living in a closet), micromanaging every move you and the child made to make sure he didn't pick up any bad habits, from you or anyone else.

Raising a kid at twenty… as a kid…

Dear God Almighty, kami or shinigami, whatnot… what did I do in my previous life to deserve this?

"Why do you keep spacing off?" Naruto whined, tugging on my arm. "You always do that, -ttebayo! Come on, I'm hungry!"

"Alright, alright…" I let my smile bloom on my face, this one clearly displaying my love and fondness for him. It had the immediate effect of turning him beet red, from his neck up to his tiny ears. He snorted and looked away.

God, was baby Naruto so cute! Can you believe we're actually related?

Oh man, if I grow up with even a quarter of the looks his – our! – parents had, I would die happy.

Then I remembered exactly what kind of world I was in, and quickly took that back.

"C'mon." I pulled him along, hand in hand like… well, like little kids. It took a little tiptoeing to reach the doorknob before we could exit our tiny closet-room. To keep the other children "safe from the demon brats", the orphanage staff had converted a utility closet into a tiny room filled with shelves and a crib, and later on a futon to share when a bed wouldn't fit.

Our bare feet padded on the wooden floor of the large, traditional Japanese style house. The one good thing about our room was that we didn't have to share a room with at least eighteen other kids. It was enough of a hellhole in the evenings, and I wasn't even in the room when they made noise.

The hall was unnaturally empty as we headed towards the cafeteria. The orphanage wasn't that big, and it felt even smaller with a population of about fifty kids from ages 1 to civilian 15. At least the cafeteria was easy enough to find; all we had to do was follow the cries of hungry children and the smell of a good stew brewing.

"C'mon! C'mon, I'm hungry!" Now it was Naruto pulling me along. I laughed, and sped up, with our little feet thud-thudding all the way up to the door.

Only to jump back as a horde of children roared out of it. Laughing, cheering, they bolted out the door, ready to play in the sun or turn an assigned chore into a competition. It was like a monster had been let loose to wreak havoc on the earth.

…well, considering we're talking about children here…

Scratch that. Considering we're talking about ninja children here, there is no doubt about the "monster(s) let loose to wreak havoc on the earth" part.

Orphanages in Konoha were funded by the government. However, with that funding came an agreement – all the children housed in the orphanage, upon reaching the beautiful, tender age of six and still not being adopted (boohoo), were sent to the Ninja Academy. If they passed, they became ninja.

Few managed to be selected for personal jounin senseis and their own genin teams. Even fewer managed to get a solo apprenticeship with a jounin. (The most legendary example of this rarity being dearest Yondaddy himself. And Kakashi, come to think of it, though I didn't find that out until later.) Those that were completely hopeless were sent back to the orphanage in shame, to finish their schooling in civilian school and become the shopkeepers and other unnoticed but equally important members of society.

…Which meant that, while the village now had a steady supply of cannon fodder and the occasional prodigy, it was also constantly breeding civilians that held a bitterness towards what they could have been, but weren't. The "ninjas are cool" and "to be a ninja is the utmost honor to have in the village" brainwashing didn't help any. Add that to the number of civilians that were creeped out by ninja in general, Konoha wasn't really building up a happy place here, huh?

Maybe, only a small portion of the village was actually made of orphans, and those were usually the children of ninjas killed while doing their jobs, meaning a higher success rate of becoming a ninja, so it probably didn't matter much in the face of ambiguous statistics?

Sometimes I thought thinking up crazy things like this was the only way my mind could cope with having the body of a three-year-old but the mentality of someone at twenty.

Naruto's yelp yanked me right out of my musing and back to the present. "WHAT?!" I winced and tried to clamp my hands over my ears, forgetting I was holding Naruto's hand. I nearly socked myself in the face. "Whaddaya mean the cafeteria's closed?"

At this rate I am never going to marry and have kids. Having to live with the shrieks of a pouting child once is enough for a lifetime, thank you very much.

"What I mean is… IT'S CLOSED!" We jumped in unison as a tan, wrinkly face shoved itself into our personal space. "You and your sister are late, therefore you miss breakfast!"

"But you said breakfast ended at 9:30!" Naruto whined. "You told me, -ttebayo! That's why I went to wake up Min'ko-chan first!"

"I said 9:00, brat." The orphanage head's nostrils flared wide with her fury. "Everyone knows the cafeteria closes at nine! It even says so, right here!" She slammed her hand against the wall.

BAM! We jumped at the sound. Again.

Sure enough, a small sign was plastered next to the cafeteria. She pointed at it, with a face that screamed contempt at the two of us. At my brother.

I could feel Naruto's hand shaking in mine. Without looking, I knew that his face was beginning to scrunch up and that his blue eyes were beginning to fill. I could hear the faint sniffles beginning to form and smell the faintest tang of saltwater on the air.

My eyes narrowed.

"Miyagawa-san." The woman visibly recoiled, before gathering her wits and pulling herself together. Her stern façade, however, wasn't as convincing this time. "Please forgive my brother for getting the time wrong." I felt Naruto jerk to protest and clamped my hand down on his. "It's not his fault though. We don't know how to read yet, so we couldn't exactly check the sign." Once again, I cursed my limited vocabulary in this world's language. That would have sounded more impressive if I'd used fancy words and formal language.

Please forgive my brother for mistaking the time of the termination of morning meals. However, it is not due to any fault of his, as neither of us is yet able to read, therefore he had no way of checking the time in the event of a misunderstanding or loss of memory.

It sounded ridiculous and maybe even pompous, and could even be made more highfalutin with a little work and editing, but hell, even just thinking it made me feel a whole lot better.

Miyagawa-san seemed to get her wind back at that. "Are you calling me a liar?" What she did after that statement could be compared to that of a threatened rooster: she inhaled, her wide nostrils widening even further, puffing herself up to seemingly twice her size. Her eyes narrowed until they were but dark lines on her reddened face. A mole on her cheek stood out horrendously against the color.

"No, ma'am." I let my eyes open up, the picture of puzzled childlike innocence. My voice was just the right shade of confused and clueless. "I was just saying."

Naruto was practically trembling with impatience and righteous fury. I kept my grip on his hand tight, a small action imploring him to keep quiet just a little bit longer. Miyagawa-san glared at us a little longer, but, unable to find a hole to attack me with, had to relent.

"Fine! Now get out of my sight before I ban you two from lunch too!" she roared.

She would. And she has, too, so Naruto and I wasted no time in turning tail and fleeing the vicinity.

The moment we were out of view and hearing, Naruto stomped his foot and began to yell. "I didn't get it wrong, -ttebayo, I didn't, I didn't! She said 9:30, and when I looked the short stick wasn't even at 9 yet and the long stick was after 10 so I didn't get it wrong, I didn't I didn't I didn-"

"Naruto!" I placed my hands on his whiskered cheeks and forced him to look at me. He wasn't even starting to make sense anymore, not even in convoluted toddler-speech, which meant he was really upset. "Naruto, look at me." He stopped glaring at the side and actually looked, red-faced and his blue eyes swimming in barely held back tears. "I believe you, Naruto."

His frown eased a little. "You do?" he asked, the scrunched-up eyes opening somewhat.

"Yeah, I do." I smiled at him, trying to convince him that I did, and do, that he was my Naruto and I knew he wasn't as stupid as people put him out to be. I didn't have proof yet, other than a few spotty lessons on learning how to tell time, and a few other things, but I knew.

Or I could be biased. But this was what having faith must be like, right?

"But… but why would Miyagawa-san say something like that?" His eyes were starting to swim again. I gently brushed the few tears that escaped with my tiny hands, wondering if I should tell him the truth or struggle to keep his innocence whole a little longer.

"I… don't know, Naruto." I finally, honestly, said. "Sometimes people are mean for no reason I can tell. Maybe Miyagawa-san is hurting inside, so she hurts others. Maybe she's lonely and feels better that others are hurting with her. Or maybe she feels better because she feels stronger when she hurts others."

"But why?" Naruto insisted, his tears bubbling over into streams. "It's not fair, dattebayo! I didn't do anything to her!"

I opened my mouth… then closed it. It's true. It wasn't fair. And what's worse is that I knew she wasn't doing it to any of the other children either.

Was it jealousy of the children who received two separate visits from the Sandaime? Two visits too many for a normal child? Or was it…

My hand strayed towards my temple, barely brushing the black line I knew stretched from around my eyes to there. Days of tracing it in front of the mirror let me memorize the smooth tattoo, from where it started at the corners of my eyes, over and under my lashes, to the tiny ends that reached for my hair, like a fierce eyeliner design for a Hollywood party.

Demonspawn, they'd called us. Called me.

"Minako?" he asked softly.

I shook my head clear and tried to smile. "Life isn't very fair at times. Especially people." I paused, but easily forestalled another "why?" when I saw it coming. "It's hard to explain," I said, stating the words I used when either my limited vocabulary could not keep up with what I was trying to teach Naruto (my brother!), or it really was hard to explain. This situation right now was both.

Naruto looked ready to push it, but relented with a sigh.

"C'mon." I wiped the last few tears off his cheeks with my hands once more, before wiping them off on my fourth-hand (possibly more) duster. Then I took his hand and tugged him back into motion. "Let's get you cleaned up."

My smile brightened as he gave a wobbly one back.

We walked to the bathing area. I had tried to drill the importance of bathing into Naruto, but it was hard to do when we only had a pair of clothes each. For now I was going to settle for washing his face.

"Come on, Kaoru, you can't not take a bath. Move along…" A gentle voice reached my keen hearing long before we saw the owner. Turning a corner, we found a brown-haired woman kneeling in front of a pouting child.

"I dun wanna!"

Minoru-san was Miyagawa-san's older sister. A soft, sweet woman, it was a wonder those two were even related. If there was ever a more impossible set of siblings, they would be it. While Miyagawa-san grumped and roared and glared, Minoru-san was always ready with a smile and a lap for all your misery. This was one of the reasons why most children called her by her first name, while Miyagawa-san by her last.

"I know! How about you take a bath now and—" A stifled gasp. I stiffened, coming to a sudden stop that sent Naruto bouncing off my back and nearly toppling both of us over. Hazel eyes were wide with terror, her skin as pale as an egg.

"Minoru-san?" Kaoru, a new kid, glanced between me and the frozen woman. "Minoru-san, what's wrong?" He reached up and tugged on her sleeve.

"N-n-nothing. Say, Kaoru, why don't we go for a snack first and then come back later?" Minoru-san snatched up the little boy in her arms. Shooting one last terrified glimpse at me, she fled, socked feet thump-thumping on the wooden floor.

"…Min'ko?" Naruto gave my sleeve his own, gentle tug. I didn't have to look to see his round, puzzled blue eyes.

"Come on, Naruto." My voice sounded distant to my ears. "Let's get your face washed."

"Min'ko… why'd Minoru-san look so scared?" he asked, following obediently. "She looked scardier than when I showed her that bug I caught before."

"More scared," I corrected him, dragging him to a sink and grabbing a stool to stand on. "Now scrub your face like I taught you."

"More scarblrbulbrrr," he repeated, the words disappearing under running water. "But," he added, pulling out from under the tap, "You didn't answer my question, -ttebayo!"

"I can't explain right now, Naruto," I said, fighting back my impatience that I knew wasn't truly directed at him.

"But why noooot?" he whined, stepping down from the stool.

"I just can't, okay!" I snapped.

He recoiled, making me wince and hold my face in my hands.

I took a deep shuddering breath. "I'm sorry, I… I don't know, okay, Naruto? I just can't."

How could I, when I was not supposed to know about the Kyuubi in the first place?

Notes:

edited 01.15.2020
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I'm going to be completely honest here in that I'm just writing this out as I go. There are events I can imagine and want to happen, but I have no idea how to link them together into an overarching plot. This is one of the reasons why updates are pretty slow too. I can imagine how Minako would react to certain events, like the Chuunin Exams for example, and there are characters I want her to meet but struggle to make it realistic, but that's pretty much more or less the limit of my capabilities for this fic. Seeing as how there is almost no planning in the first few chapters, and too much planning for future chapters has essentially ground my writing to a halt, I hope you will all forgive the dip in quality as I try to get my game together.

Chapter 3: Arc I Chapter 3

Summary:

He thought they were dead.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The first time Kakashi met his sensei's children, he almost tried to kill Minato's daughter.

Obito would have laughed.

He thought they were dead. He'd taken it for granted that the children had perished as Minat- the Yondaime battled the Kyuubi and gave up his life to seal it into a child. He'd never thought—no, he did not want to think—that the Yondaime would seal the monster into his own child.

(Of course he would. Only Minato-sensei would be noble enough not to ask any of his loyal villagers to give up their child in order to spare his own.)

He'd fled into ANBU, just as Jiraiya had fled into the country, barely staying for the funeral before they both ran with their personal demons nipping at their feet. He avoided every mention of his teacher, respectfully deflected every time Sarutobi-sama tried to breach the subject with him, and did his utter best to live for all who had died when all he wanted to do was join them in peace.

Then someone started a riot and the ANBU was set loose and Hokage-sama summoned him and his team, his face sad and apologetic, and asked him to protect two children with his life.

A girl with red hair, and a boy with blue eyes.

Only the weight of his mask and the presence of his team mates had stopped him from collapsing at the invisible sucker punch to his gut. He stood, frozen in place, as the Hokage debriefed him—them—of the circumstances surrounding the children. The S-class secret that had been broken by a gossip, a superstitious civilian and a panicking mob filled with grief.

The girl raised her head and looked at him.

Black markings bathed in red and chakra that burned like fire

He made an aborted movement towards a kunai. To the children's eyes his hand twitched. To the Hokage's eyes, his ninja all stiffened as they waited for Hound to launch himself at the girl that looked like the spawn of the devil who had slaughtered the only family he'd had left.

But she wasn't. They weren't. They were his sensei's children bearing their mother's burden and curse.

Hound nodded once. The room relaxed.

The safe house was meant to hold four people comfortably. And yet the room still felt impossibly small, with a couple of children, a teenager, and him.

Bear was a comforting presence in the roof above. Horse was merely a flicker amongst the trees as he ran patrol. Tiger was nearest to the children by the window, while Hound stayed as far away from them as possible without walking out the door. He didn't bother trying to convince himself that he was guarding the entrance. He could practically feel Tiger's puzzlement and concern wafting across the room.

The children were communicating silently in a corner, in a way that only children could. He could hear their muttering easily, as their eyes darted to and fro between their motionless companions. The boy in particular was almost shameless in his constant, nervous glancing. His sister nudged him, an unspoken language. The boy glanced at her, eyes wide, before outright staring at Tiger.

The silence was almost palpable.

Tiger fidgeted slightly. Unfortunately, there was no way to make masked men in black suits less intimidating to a three-year-old child. That was the point.

The girl nudged her brother again. The kid took one look at her before blurting out, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!"

"We're naming him after Jiraiya-sensei's book. Remember the Tale of the Gutsy Ninja?"

"His name is The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja?"

"No!"

"His name is going to be Naruto! And he's going to love, love, LOVE ramen, dattebane!"

"Oh no. Not another one, please. You drain my wallet enough as it is!"

"Shut up and just admit you're whipped, -ttebane."

"Wh-"

"She's got you there sensei."

"Kakashi!"

Naruto looked at his sister for reassurance at the lack of response. She put a hand on his shoulder, before patting down the skirt of a dress too big for her and facing poor, awkward Tiger.

"My name is Uzumaki Minako." She bowed. "Thank you for taking care of us."

" Mi-nato and Kushi-na's kid! Mi-na-ko!" Throaty, gleeful laughter. "And of course, there's still the kanji reading, ' beautiful child ', which she will totally be with Minato's girly face—"

"Hey—"

"—and then you can think of it as 'minna-ko', so everyone has to baby her—"

"At this rate, she's going to be spoiled rotten before she hits four."

"I think you're going to be the one who'll spoil her rotten, sensei. If Kushina-san has you whipped, Minako-chan will have you wrapped around her little finger."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I knew there was a reason I liked you, Kashi-chan!"

"...Aren't you supposed to be on my side Kakashi?"

"If you get her to stop calling me Kashi-chan then maybe I will be."

Remembered pain threatened to swallow him whole. Kakash- Hound frantically shoved it to the back of his mind, using every technique he knew to compartmentalize and focus on the present. It was the first time his Hound persona ever threatened to break.

Minato-sensei... Kushina-san...

He hadn't even spoken to the children and already he had failed them. He didn't need a file to see the lack of fat on their cheeks, the oversized clothes, and the way they stuck to each other. Where were they staying? Who was taking care of them?

Obito... What would you do?

"Naruto—"

Hound lowered his gaze. Two pairs of unnervingly similar blue eyes peered up at him. They were too close for him to ignore the whispered mutterings between them.

"So, wait, if he's Tora-san, then—"

"He's Inu-san, Naruto, just look at the mask—"

"Whaaat? But he looks nothing like—"

"Will you just—"

At least the children seemed to have recovered from their ordeal. What a mess.

"Ne, ne, Inu-jiji!"

...what.

He stared at the little fluff of yellow craning its neck up at him. Innocent blue eyes widened in the most devastating puppy eyes ever (he should know, he helped raise Pakkun) as little chubby arms rose in the children's universal sign of "up".

Tenzo stared.

He stared.

The boy stared.

"Naruto!" Minako gasped, utterly scandalized.

Obito would be having a fit.

With a resigned sigh, he reached down and pulled Naruto up, taking extreme pains not to accidentally poke him somewhere lethal. How do you even carry children anyway? Sure, he knew the anatomy of a human child, and more besides, but what if he hurt him? What if he cried?

Naruto giggled. He looked the exact opposite of ready-to-cry. His sister, meanwhile, looked like she'd just been slapped with a fish.

He held Naruto at arm's length, hands gripping him as loosely as possible around the ribs (why was he so thin) and gave him his best deadpan stare.

Never mind that he was wearing a mask or two, he was sure such stares could be sensed even with a barrier impeding the recipient's vision.

The brat only had the audacity to giggle more, and even waved his arms around in glee. "Look, Min'ko-chan, look! I'm flying!"

"Naruto, if you keep wriggling like that, he'll drop you," Minako said weakly, seemingly unable to tear her eyes away from the sight of her little brother flapping about in an ANBU's hands. Hound let out a little sigh, more of a huff, really—and then scents assaulted his nose, making his nostrils flare on instinct as he took it all in.

Naruto smelled like people-sweat and Konoha-dirt, with strong-detergent and child-piss layered over his natural scent. Kakashi inhaled, his mind automatically labelling it as pack and alpha's-pup.

He would never forget that scent for as long as he lived. Just as he would never forget the others of his small, broken pack.

This wasn't supposed to happen. He needed time to think, to get away, before he made it worse and hurt the children, just as he failed everyone he ever loved—

And then Naruto yanked on his hair.

"Naruto!" Minako looked like she was about to have a meltdown. Which, in retrospect, wasn't really surprising considering he knew at least twenty ways to kill her brother where he, er, hung, in various degrees of painfulness.

Naruto giggled. The brat. "Ne, ne, Inu-jiji, what's wrong with your hair? It's so weird!"

Obito wouldn't be having a fit, he'd be in absolute hysterics. And Kushina-san would be cackling proudly along with him. Tiger in the corner had actually turned around to try to keep his giggling in. Fuck him. Fuck them. Fuck everyone. Why did the world hate him?

And no, his lips were not twitching under his mask. No. Way.

He pulled Naruto away from his hair, thankful that he didn't struggle overly much and possibly pull out a few precious strands. A soft shuffling noise by his feet caught his attention.

He looked down.

Minako looked up.

Her gaze looked... curious. Calculating. He felt his hackles rise slightly.

Then her big blue eyes widened. Her lower lip slowly jutted out. She raised her arms.

Oh hell no.

He very pointedly lowered Naruto to the floor, never breaking eye-contact with her because dammit, he was not a babysitter—!

"NO!" Naruto barked, smacking him on the head. "Up! Up!"

His eyelid twitched.

"Meeeeeeee," Minako whined, standing up on her toes in an effort to reach her brother.

He could hear Tenzo snorting under his breath. Goddammit.

Twin sets of blue quivered.

It took almost no effort at all to lift both kids to chest level.

The twins wasted no time in happily exploring their new perch, patting the strange vest and the cool mask and the springy hair. He stayed iron-stiff the whole time, only shifting when Naruto pawed at the edge of his mask. He growled, a low rumble in his throat, that made Naruto's eyes widen in fascination. He looked ready to try again, but then Minako smacked her brother's arm, and Naruto desisted with a little pout. Neither made any move to climb down.

Kakashi resigned himself to being a kiddy perch for the rest of the night.

Tenzo fell silent, but the amusement radiated off of him in waves. Kakashi shot him the chakra equivalent of a jab to the gut. To his credit, Tenzo barely flinched. He sheepishly (to ANBU eyes) glanced at his senpai, who irritably flashed him some hand signs with the few free fingers he had left. Get back to work.

Tiger obediently returned his attention to the window. Minako stared at the exchange, wide-eyed. Naruto giggled again, patting experimentally at different parts of his head.

Despite his expectations, it didn't take long for the children to quiet down, the adrenaline bleeding away and leaving exhaustion from their ordeal. Soon enough, Naruto was sprawled over his shoulder, snoring softly, his upper half hanging over Kakashi's back and a hand clutched loosely around a few strands of Kakashi's white hair. Minako, meanwhile, was curled against his chest, her hand fisted around a vest clasp as she snuffled softly into his shoulder.

Something inside him circled; once, twice, then settled. Every breath gave him the scents of the two children, of his pack, in his arms. His instincts would not see them as anything less. He bit back a growl of helpless frustration. For better or for worse, he was stuck.

The first time Kakashi visited them was two weeks after the Law of Silence had been passed. Guilt had driven him to cling to rules like rust on iron. Guilt had driven him to change from the perfect ninja into a living memorial. Guilt had driven him into ANBU. And so, guilt drove him now, towards the two children he hadn't bothered asking about on the night that his teacher... Their parents... The last remnants of his and their family…

He shook his brooding off like raindrops on fur and settled down in the tree outside the orphanage. The windows were dark, to match the darkness of the evening sky. He probably shouldn't have picked nighttime to visit them, but…

A short jump took him to the orphanage roof. From there he started methodically searching the windows, starting from the south side of the miniature compound heading north. Like he was scouting out a hit…

He shook his head.

The miniature compound was more like a ring of traditional, single-floor buildings with sloping slatted roofs and paper screen doors. The buildings surrounded a square patch of sand, dotted with tufts of grass and children's footprints. It was one of the few left over from the Kyuubi attack. Not surprising in hindsight, considering its close proximity to the Hokage mountain and east of where the bijuu-dama carved a ditch through the center of Konoha.

"M-mmama… P-Papa…"

He found Minako on the east side of the orphanage, curled up and sobbing into her pillow.

"Ai w-w-wantu g-go h-honn..." her small, frail body shook as she cried, mumbling unintelligibly as she tried to muffle the sobs that might wake the rest of the room.

Kakashi sat beside the small window, unable to do anything but watch his sensei's daughter cry. It would have been better if she wailed, he thought absently, feeling every sob and hiccup like a punch to the gut. He knew those kinds of sobs, the quiet ones filled with pain that you couldn't... refused to let others hear.

It was the sob of those who felt all alone in this small, cruel world.

(But he hadn't been alone, not then. And the only time he realized it was when he lost everything he had.)

A short scan showed Naruto sound asleep on the opposite side of the futon. The boy shifted in his sleep, frowning as he sniffled, then settled. Minako hiccupped as his chakra slid over her, her chakra fluctuating against his in a pattern of surprise and misery.

A simple hand sign, and her chakra slowed, then calmed, until her chest rose and fell in sleep. A little twist to his chakra sent her the image of her family—Naruto, sitting on their father's shoulders, yanking on his hair much like he had yanked on Kakashi's, while their mother laughed and cuddled Minako on her lap. Her breathing eased, and peace smoothed the creases on the little girl's face.

He checked on Naruto again and deemed him fine for the night. His chakra roiled like a bubbling stream, but the little he could see of his face showed it unmarred of sadness or worry.

That was good. He didn't think he could cast another genjutsu that night. He'd gone straight from training to patrol to the orphanage, and now Obito was berating him for it. He could feel the wetness spreading from under his hatai-ate down to his mask.

He turned, and shunshinned back to his home, ignoring the fact that his other eye was leaking too.

It wasn't hard to convince himself that there was nothing more he could do for the two. He was in ANBU. He couldn't take care of a pair of toddlers; he was barely even home. Besides, he wasn't even twenty yet! His father killed himself when he was seven. What did he know about child rearing?

At least he visited. Jiraiya, their godfather, hadn't even had the guts to do that. He'd wrangled a promise out of his sensei to take care of them, stayed for the funeral, and left like the Kyuubi itself was on his heels. Being on guard for information in Konoha's time of weakness, his ass. Grief made the strongest of men bend, and Jiraiya was no exception.

And yet despite all those arguments, he could not stop himself from thinking about the twins. He could last a month, or two, and then he'd find himself darting over to that window and searching for the children that brought so many memories he didn't want to remember.

More than once he'd arrived at the orphanage without the sight of any of the children to greet him. The first time that had happened, he'd, well, he'd panicked. He'd thrown out his chakra across the orphanage and instinctively fell into a crisscrossing diagonal search pattern, sniffing wildly and almost summoning his ninken pack before finding Naruto's chakra in a tiny closet. A little more searching revealed Minako in a similar situation on the other side of the compound. He didn't sigh in relief, but he did slump, feeling absolutely stupid and more than a little ridiculous.

He scanned their chakra for signs of pain or distress. Minako stank of terror, but there was nothing he could do without revealing his presence to her. Besides, she wasn't in any harm, right? After all, weren't children supposed to be afraid of the dark? Naruto was less fearful, though no less frantic. He attributed that to his separation from his sister.

Why were they in the closet? Had they been naughty? Kushina-san would be proud, was all he could think before he bolted back home, sheepish and embarrassed like a dog with his tail between his legs. Wonderful way to display professionalism, Kakashi. Really.

His instincts were driving him crazy. Pack was pack. The hound inside him did not appreciate his efforts to avoid the children at all costs.

Everyone who got near him only got hurt, he argued against himself, bitterly and repeatedly, every week he didn't smell the scent of child-sweat and healthy-pup and paced the length of his apartment, practically carving a path on the wooden floor. They didn't need him in their lives. They were perfectly fine on their own.

They would grow up in the orphanage, enter the Academy, and become the powerful ninja they were born to be. They didn't need Kakashi. And Kakashi didn't need more family to lose.

Notes:

edited 01.15.2020
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Kakashi, you angst ball.

Please note that Kakashi here is a biased or unreliable narrator, meaning he does not see everything, does not know how other characters feel or think regarding his reactions outside of his own guesses about that, and is restricted by his own misconceptions and own view in reality (ex. His repetitive denial and rejection of responsibility as well as wallowing in guilt). For my readers who are already studying literary criticism, this will be familiar to you. For my readers who aren't, welcome! Time to learn how to be skeptical of everything the narrator tells you (or anyone really, muhahahaha) because this is not the first time I will use an unreliable and/or limited narrator nor will it be the last. Trust no one. Look underneath the underneath. MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Chapter 4: Arc I Chapter 4

Summary:

It's time to escape.

Notes:

cw: psychological abuse on children

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

I held up the tiny hand mirror, tracing the thin black lines around my eyes. It still felt so strange looking into a mirror and not finding dark eyes and hair on brown skin. I studied every vein and shift in color in my new eyes with fascination. Blue eyes had always fascinated me as a child. They were so bright compared to the browns I was used to. My eyes—Minako's eyes—were an ocean shade of blue, somewhere between the shade of deep-sea blue and water-over-a-coral-reef-on-a-sunny-day blue. It was the same as Naruto's eyes, actually, though his always seemed brighter, especially when he smiled.

My fingers returned to my natural tattoos. They might have looked sexy or intense on an adult, but it just made my eyes jump out of my tiny child's face. Why did I have them? Was it because Naruto was my brother? Or Kushina my mother? It was definitely because of the Kyuubi... they looked way too much like the markings around its eyes for it not to be.

But the Kyuubi was in Naruto... the little whisker marks on his cheeks proved it. I frowned at the mirror, feeling a little chill down my spine at how scary the glare looked. Sure, it was the glare of a teeny tiny five-year-old, but it was scarier than the glare of any other five-year-old!

I puffed out my cheeks a little, and had to bite back a giggle. Okay, now that just turned it cute. Maybe I should practice puppy dog eyes and see if I could make them as devastating as Naruto's.

"Min'ko-chan! Hey, hey, Min'ko-chan!"

I jumped, almost dropping the mirror in shock. I shoved it into the shelf to my right even as Naruto barged into the room. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at me. "Were you staring at the mirror again?"

I burst out laughing, trying to keep the nervousness out of my voice. "What? No! Why on earth would you think that?"

His lower lip jutted out as he glared harder, not convinced at all. "You're always staring at them, -ttebayo!" I grinned unrepentantly at him, making him groan. "I don't get it! Why do you like looking at them so much?"

"Because I am gorgeous, that's why, dattebana." I flipped my shoulder-length hair over my shoulder and propped a hand on my hip, striking a pose.

His groan rose into a whine. "Whaaaat?" I burst out laughing and threw a pillow at him, making him scowl. "Come on, come on come on, we still have to clean the bathroom."

"Fine, fine, I'm coming." I stood, dusting my skirt off. I pretended not to hear his mutterings about "weird" and "girls" and pushed him outside, giggling to myself all the while.

Productivity was something encouraged in the children here, so everyone had their own chores to do, and a rotation for doing them. The only difference was that Naruto and I were always assigned to a single room by ourselves, which always meant we stayed there cleaning longer and had the double effect of separating us from the other children. The thought made me frown. If Naruto wasn't here, I'd have probably gone crazy. Everyone was told not to talk to us, and it took effort just to find someone to talk to. No wonder he turned into a loudmouthed prankster just to get attention in canon. I'd have probably done everything I could for attention at that point too.

Naruto held out his hand. I didn't even think when I took it, once again pitter-pattering out of our tiny room. We made our way to the bathroom, only to find a pail with the cleaning materials in front of the door, and a note stuck underneath.

"What does it say?" Naruto asked, peeking over my shoulder.

I couldn't help a low growl of frustration as I squinted at the semi-familiar mix of Japanese characters and other symbols that weren't familiar at all. This was revenge for yesterday, wasn't it? I swear, Miyagawa-san's inability to choose between aggressive or passive-aggressive hate would have been hilarious if it wasn't so irritating.

"Who cares?" I replied, stuffing the note into the pocket of my duster. I snatched the bucket and everything in it, grunting from the effort of dragging it inside the bathroom. "Let's just get started, okay?"

"Okay…" Naruto gave me one last puzzled look, before taking his own rag and starting on the floor.

I emitted another angry grunt as I yanked a brush from the bucket a little harder than necessary. That's it, I'm going to pay a visit to the orphanage library and I am going to learn how to read.

With the first of many images of Miyagawa-san dying a brutal, painful death in my mind, I set the brush down and got to work.

Even when I was alive in my first life, I already acknowledged how lucky I was to be living it. My family was of the middle class, and could send me to private schools with the best available education. My parents were loving and caring, a bit traditionalist but always understanding. I had a group of friends who felt like my platonic soulmates, we were that close. My little brother was a lot less exuberant than Naruto, but he loved me all the same and I loved him back.

I would be the first to admit that that version of me was a naive, sheltered girl. I found it hard to believe stereotypes like jocks beating up other kids, girls hair-pulling and doing all the things teenagers did on American TV. I knew there had to be some part of it that was real, but it was hard for me to believe there were people who could actually do that. It felt too surreal, like fiction. That didn't quite cover more serious crimes (like murder for example), but it still felt like something that happened to other people, not me.

Growing up in the orphanage changed all that.

Overly-abusive adults always made my eyes glaze over in fiction, because they almost always ended up feeling flat or unrealistic, made to tug on the heartstrings of the reader for the poor main character. And yet, Miyagawa-san almost acted like she wanted to live up to the stereotype with vigor. Most of the time, she ignored us and did everything in her power to pretend we didn't exist, including trying to convince the rest of the orphanage we didn't exist (hence the separate chores.) If she wasn't ignoring us, she was bullying us.

"Brats!" was a word I wouldn't go a day without hearing.

She never beat us, a small mercy. She did find every excuse to lay the blame on me and Naruto, or give us heavy, tiring work, or keep us separate from the other children. She never outright called us stupid, but she certainly implied it with judicious amounts of sarcasm and patronization. It was all I could do not to scream in her face.

Just because Naruto took time to absorb and process things didn't mean he was stupid! In fact, I found that he caught on to things pretty fast, given enough reason for motivation. And it wasn't my fault I found it hard to process things in the Konoha language!

Logically, I knew that there had to be a reason for her actions. I've seen her treat other children with a brusque but caring touch, and her lullabies were a prized privilege in the orphanage. But how could I make excuses for her like that, when every day I would catch Naruto fighting back tears or looking down as the children refused to let him play? How could I forgive her, when despite all that she's done and despite all he's been through, Naruto always tried to make me smile in his own awkward, heartfelt way?

I couldn't stand up to her. What use was fighting back if all that would do is make things worse? She had her own reasons after all, and even if I burned under the injustice of it all I couldn't exactly blame her for hating us... Or what was inside him.

Naruto was braver than me. I don't know where he learned how to prank, but somehow he managed to dump a bucket of dirty water on Miyagawa-san's head when we turned four and he caught me crying into my pillow in the middle of the night. He didn't get caught then, but we got thrown into the Cabinets of Doom anyway (that's what I called them, at least). I actually considered scolding him for it—he confessed to me when we got reunited—but I remembered Miyagawa-san's livid face and the laughter of the children around us.

The next time Miyagawa-san tricked Naruto into missing dinner, I helped him set up a sponge trap that sent the crabby lady skidding across the hallway.

From the way Greeny was eyeing us, he was remembering exactly that, and wondering if it was worth it to answer my question.

We had been headed to the cafeteria for breakfast, only to find our way barred by a crowd of chattering children of different sizes. Naruto and I exchanged looks of puzzlement, before turning to stare at the crowd again.

"...What's going on?" I finally asked, addressing a blondie and a green-headed boy (and wasn't that weird?).

Greeny looked us over in that demeaning head-to-toe way, taking stock of my red hair and Naruto's big blue eyes and our clasped hands in one look. His expression screamed a bored, 'Oh. It's you.'

All the kids knew in some way or form to avoid us, thanks to Miyagawa-san's frequent angry outbursts and Minoru-san's silent example. My tendency to stick to myself and Naruto's natural tendency to wander in a small orbit around my general area didn't really help.

The adults' efforts didn't help. Having our own room, delaying our meal times, assigning us different chores... It wasn't good. I could see Naruto hurting with the desperate, clueless loneliness of a child. He found his ways around it, snatching pieces of conversation whenever the staff weren't in the room, messing things up just to make everyone laugh and Miyagawa-san fume... I did my best to teach him to make sure his pranks would always be just pranks and never hurt anyone ("Otherwise they won't be fun anymore, Naruto."), but to stop his bratty attitude completely?

Let's just say I couldn't be the best example of angelic behavior either.

And I had to admit, it was pretty satisfying to see Miyagawa-san shrieking obscenities with a red face and hair dyed pink.

I glared at Greeny, daring him to say anything that would ruin Naruto's perfectly good morning. He raised an eyebrow, not impressed at all. Considering he looked tall enough to be ready to graduate the Academy, and that I was a year away from entering yet, I couldn't exactly blame him for it.

"Edogawa just passed the independence exam," he said, jabbing a finger over his shoulder. "Everyone's fussing over it."

I blinked, searching through the smatterings of vague faces in my mind and trying to see which one matched up to the name "Edogawa". Naruto—who spent more time with the other kids than I did—reacted first.

"Eeeehhh?! But Edogawa's not even in the Academy yet!" I snapped to attention at that, looking at Greeny and Blondie with wide eyes.

"It's true!" Blondie nodded, her little bun-shaped pigtails bouncing in her enthusiasm. "Edogawa-kun is reeeaaally smart! He knows how to cook and everything! Sora-san taught him!"

Sora-san was the orphanage cook, wasn't she? "I didn't know you were allowed to take the independence exam below the age of ten," I said warily.

"Not really. As long as you know how to take care of yourself, they let you go." Greeny shrugged. "They want to free up as much space as possible in the orphanages. Besides, Sensei told me the Academy graduation record was 5 years old, so they can't say you're too young to live alone if you pass."

My eyes widened. "How do you apply?"

Turned out the basic requirements for taking the test were knowing how to read and write. Which, of course, sucked, because we weren't exactly good at that yet.

Naruto and I were currently halfway through our obligatory year of civilian school. Konoha's orphan children along with the rest of its civilian population started school at the age of 5, in a building separate from the one that housed the ninja kids.

No clan kid entered civilian school. Their clans were expected to teach them their own basic education, as well as whatever cheating beginner techniques they learned inside their compounds.

In civilian school, children learned how to read, write, do math, as well as a bit of the basic history of Konohagakure. There was a lot on how the ninja worked tirelessly to protect and support the village, and how the village upheld the Will of Fire, even when under assault from the other villages.

Which was, wow, very interesting, and plenty awe-inspiring, but also kind of creepy. I mean, I get it, Konoha is awesome and all that, but from the way they painted it, it sounded like they were the Hero of The Entire World? And the center of it too. And, okay, I might have fallen for it once, but after a couple of years of Tumblr I could sniff out a biased point of view from a mile away.

So maybe Iwa is a bit kekkai genkai hungry, but that doesn't mean they're all evil and drink-the-blood-of-their-enemies crazy! Also, Konoha isn't that awesome either, considering it pumped out nutters like Orochimaru, Madara, Tobi, and Danzo. The only stuff I was willing to believe was the stuff they told about Kiri, and only because I knew they really did have at least one shark baby (AKA Kisame). But, wow. Accusing them of breeding with sea demons? That's… a very disturbing mental image, to say the least. (But then again, wasn't there this one guy who graduated by killing an entire school…?)

After their first year in civilian school, the children who wanted to become ninja (AKA most of us, thank you biased history class) went on to the Academy. The rest (and the Academy flunkies) continued for another four years at civilian school, before apprenticing themselves to their profession of choice and growing up to become the working-class citizens of Konoha.

It took me an embarrassingly long time to learn the Konoha alphabet. Being an adult in mind if not body, you'd think I'd be able to pick it up in a snap, no problem. Unfortunately, memorizing things had never been one of my good points. And the Konoha alphabet was huge. Not as big as the Japanese/Chinese kanji alphabet, but huge all the same, considering some of the Konoha letters were borrowed from there. (I think.)

And since I was a minor, I couldn't claim guardianship of Naruto, so he had to take the test, too. Thank god his learning speed was slower than mine; I don't think I could have endured the humiliation if it wasn't. Keeping him caught up was hard though, especially since I wasn't exactly a master of the language yet. It didn't help that he had the attention span of a sea slug, and was picky about the books we read together.

"That one's boring." Naruto pouted, as I reached for the Legend of the Bamboo Baby again.

I sighed and put the book down. "It's either this or Ari no Ie no Ue, Naruto." Underneath the Ant's House was the local equivalent of an ABC book. Other than that, there were embarrassingly few books that we could read in the orphanage library. I said orphanage library, but it was more of an exaggeration. There weren't that many books in the indoor play room, not enough to warrant a room for themselves, even.

"I don't like them! They're all boring, -ttebayo!" Naruto declared. "I wanna hear the one about Suticchi!"

I felt my face burn with a blush. Okay, so maybe I used vague recollections of Disney movies to entertain Naruto on the nights he couldn't stay still enough to sleep. His favorite, unsurprisingly enough, was Lilo and Stitch—or Riro to Suticchi, as he knew it. I had taken heavy liberties with the plot, considering all I remembered was Stitch was a wanted alien and Lilo was the weird kid with no friends, but Naruto insisted on hearing it again and again. Whether he liked it for Stitch's similar situation (a lonely fluffy dog feared by everyone) or the family feels between the alien and Lilo was up in the air. One thing's for sure, his favorite part of the story was always that one line that stuck in my head, and probably everyone else who watched the movie.

"You just want to hear the ohana line again," I grumbled, rubbing my burning cheek. It was the one thing that stayed constant in the story. Yesterday Stitch had been chased by evil ninja, and last week he and Lilo had run away to Iwa, just because. Naruto didn't seem to mind, even if his memory was much better than mine. Sometimes I even lost track of where the story was going. For some reason, he liked those times best.

"I like Suticchi!" He defended his favorite story with all the might of a toddler. "It's not boring! Not like the other stories."

"We need those other stories so you can learn to read, Naruto. We can't take the independence test if you can't read!" Seeing his unconvinced face, I wheedled, "Don't you want to get out of the orphanage? No more Miyagawa-san?"

His face crumpled, brows furrowed in conflict. "But I hate the other stories…" he whined.

I searched my mind for something else to convince him. "Okay, fine. How about you read Ari no Ie no Ue to me, and if you finish it, I'll tell Riro to Suticchi to you?"

His frown intensified, eyes searching my face suspiciously. "Promise?"

I nodded, and held up my pinky finger in a solemn vow. "Pinky promise. Dattebana," I added quickly, because for some reason he never believed I meant something unless I said that stupid verbal tic too.

Naruto's nose wrinkled as he considered it. Finally, he nodded.

We shook on it.

Thanks to all the chores we did in the orphanage, we already knew how to clean up after ourselves. The next hard step was learning how to cook.

Not that I didn't know how to cook. But for once, Miyagawa-san's heavy skepticism and sarcasm did Naruto and me some good. I completely forgot we were in a world that snapped up child geniuses faster than you can say "feed 'em to the lions." So when she asked me how exactly I planned to take the independence test when I hadn't learned to cook yet, I realized… that I hadn't 'learned' how to cook yet. At least, not in this world. Could you imagine people's faces when a child just magically knew how to cook? Out of thin air? Nope, not going down that path.

And didn't that just suck, knowing I had Miyagawa-san to thank for something?

I peeked through the kitchen door, trying to see if there was anyone inside who would be detrimental to my cause. It was hard to tell, since Naruto and I hadn't been allowed inside ever since he played around with the suds and ended up breaking half a dozen plates in one go.

I still have no idea how that happened, and I was standing right next to him.

Inside the kitchen was a young girl in her early twenties (oh my god she had pink hair and it looked natural), a boy even younger than that, and a lady who looked old enough to be Miyagawa-san's aunt. She certainly had the frown down pat, though this one was directed at the pot she was stirring and not at me. For now.

Deeming it safe, I slid the paper door a little wider. The moment the wood scraped against the floor, the old lady's eyes snapped to mine, freezing me in place.

"You're not allowed here," she snapped, stormy eyes flinty over her wizened cheeks. I gulped, then grit my teeth and tilted my chin up, giving her glare for glare back.

"I want to learn how to cook like Edogawa," I declared, keeping my shaking hand on the door. I could see the younger girl giving me a wide-eyed look, while the boy looked ready to snap the broom in his hands. Hopefully it wasn't so that he could stab me through with a stick.

Good thing Naruto wasn't with me. Right now he was off with the other children, trying to join in their games with his usual relentless determination. I wished him luck and all the success. Thank goodness he didn't have to learn how to cook too, considering he was going to live with me. The thought of his hyperactivity inside the kitchen was enough to make my insides squirm. Not to mention how it would probably just worsen the tension in the room. Sister of the demon container, eww, gross. Actual demon container? Broom Boy probably would try to stab us with a stick.

Sora-san snorted, breaking the worst of it. Broom Boy turned back to his sweeping, his hands white-knuckled on the handle. Pinky needed a snap of the fingers from Sora-san before she returned to her senses and fled to what could only be the storage room. I bit my lip and did my best not to scowl. God save me from mutant hair colors the shade of neon lights and bad quality hair spray.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Sora-san snapped, breaking me out of my thoughts. I gaped at her, making her 'tch' and flap a hand impatiently at me. "The faster we get this over with, the faster I can get you out of my hair."

"You mean… I'm learning? Now?" I scrambled to follow, grabbing the chair she pointed at and dragging it over to the stove.

"Yes. Now. Unless you're waiting on that pesky brother of yours?" She raised an eyebrow. I scowled, but shook my head. "Smart choice. Now pay attention. I'll only say this once, so you better remember it." She pointed at a nearby box of eggs and made me fetch it.

"Wait a minute, you're only teaching me once?" I glanced between her and the pan already on the stove. "Don't you need more than one dish to know how to cook?"

"As far as the test is concerned, you only need to know how to cook something and rice." Like that egg, went unsaid. "Now get the oil and watch."

I balked. "You can't live off just egg and rice!"

Metal slammed into the counter, making it ring. I jumped, then yelped when Sora-san abandoned her pot to tower over me. "Look, brat. I don't like kids. I never did. The only reason I'm still here is because it pays the bills and I owed Risa's mother."

I felt too scared to blink. Risa… did she mean Miyagawa-san?

"Now if you want to leave, then fine. No skin off my back, and less mouths to feed. But if you think I'm going to spend more time than necessary to teach you shit you can learn on your own, you better get out now before I kick you out." She snorted again, leaning down and turning the potency of her glare up by fifty. I flinched back. "Well? Are you going to follow or not?"

Too shell-shocked to argue, I barely followed her subsequent lesson on cooking a sunny-side up and boiling a pot of rice. I moved on automatic, busy wrapping my mind around her declaration. This was the lady in charge of one of the essential skills children needed to move out of the orphanage? A woman who taught children how to cook an egg and rice, then left them to figure the rest out themselves? This wasn't right! If they were letting five- and six-year-olds live on their own, the least they could do was make sure they lived right!

Something must have shown on my face, because Sora-san made a rude growling noise in the back of her throat and almost startled me into flipping the egg into her face. "What? Shocked that I'm not happy with my job? I bet you're thinking, if I hate it so much, why am I still here? Well guess what, brat?" She punctuated her statement with the clang of pots landing among pans. "Life isn't fair. You better learn that before you go skipping into the sunrise of independent living. You planning to be a shinobi?" She waited until I nodded, then snorted again. "Ha! Good fucking luck with that."

I flipped my perfectly good egg onto a plate and avoided looking her in the eyes. Personally, I agreed, but that didn't mean I wanted to agree with a woman who just sent out children without caring whether they would live or not.

In the background, Broom Boy kicked a barrel into place a little too heavily and ended up cursing as it spilled over his foot.

With Sora-san out of the way, we only needed Miyagawa-san's permission before we could take the independence test. I grabbed Naruto by the hand and dragged him around the orphanage, searching for the rooster-like woman. God, I couldn't wait to get her out of my ass. The thought almost had me grinning as we scampered over the wooden floors. Maybe when we get out of here, I could finally go looking for someone who wouldn't hate the two of us on sight. The world's a big place, after all, and if ever, I could just find a clueless foreigner and befriend them.

If I didn't get any supportive social interaction aside from Naruto soon, I just might fulfill expectations and burn something to the ground. Or a lot of things. It was up in the air. Too bad I never learned how to make Molotovs in my previous life.

"Min'ko, slow down," Naruto whined, tugging at the hand around his wrist. "You're too fast!"

It was taking a loooong time to break Naruto's habit of calling me "Min'ko-chan", but at least we were making progress. I couldn't wait until I knocked him out of it; it would be one less thing that made me feel like the child I was supposed to be. "Mi-na-ko," I reminded him, ignoring his whining. He was the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, and an Uzumaki to boot. He could handle a little running. "Come on, Greeny said she would be over here by the baby area!"

"His name's Kuroba," Naruto mumbled, but forged on obligingly.

"Kuroba, whatebah." He pouted at the horrible pun. I just grinned at him. "Hey, look, I found he—"

I skidded to a stop, my feet locking into place. Naruto yelped, crashing into me, and spouted some colorful words I made note to scold him about later. "Min'ko, what the—" I could hear his teeth click shut as he clammed up.

Just around the corner we could see Miyagawa-san seated on the edge of the raised pathway of the traditional-styled orphanage. On her lap was a small kid, a year or so older than us, crying into her skirt. Miyagawa-san hummed, stroking his hair with her hand.

"I-I-I'm s-s-sowweeeeeee," the kid bawled, digging his face in even further. "I w-won't do it again, I p-promiiiiiiiise!"

"No… please… not the closet, not the closet! Please! It's too dark, it's too small, please, just let me go, I didn't do it, I swear—"

"Hey, now. Look at me." Miyagawa-san tapped his cheek with a finger, until he raised his snotty face and looked her in the eye. "You want to be a ninja, right?" He nodded, making her smile. "Ninjas are very brave people. They have to be, so that they can grow up strong and protect the village. So, you have to be brave too. When you make a mistake, you have to accept it! And then you do your best not to do it again. Alright?"

"What kind of ninja is scared of the dark? Get in there! Stop blubbering and accept your punishment with dignity!"

I felt something tug on my hand as if from far away. Someone was making small, whimpering noises at the back of their throat. Was it me? I couldn't tell. There was a fire burning in my gut, spreading from the tips of my toes to the back of my eyes. It pushed everything away, a wall of anger and hatred that made me see red.

"—n'ko—"

I hated her. I hated Miyagawa so much. How could she? How could she say such kind words to a crying child, only to turn around and say the opposite to a child even smaller than that? We had done nothing wrong except harbor a demon in the body of a child, which wasn't even a choice given to us. What kind of two-faced hypocrite could live with herself, caring for children and cursing just two?

"Min'ko—"

I wanted to hurt her. I wanted to hear her scream. Maybe then she'll feel like I did, trapped in a small, dank closet with only stale air and spiders for company. I could crush her under my heel like a bug. I could make her dream nightmares for the rest of eternity. All I needed was to reach inside and—

"Minako, you're hurting me!"

I jerked, my fingers opening of their own accord. Naruto's pained cry seemed to echo inside my head, chasing away shadows that suddenly clouded my vision. (And yet my vision had never been so clear.) I turned around, just in time to see Naruto recoil, his wrist clutched to his chest with his other hand. "Oww…" Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. He sniffled, trying to keep his hurt arm still. But what struck me the most was the way he flinched back from my outstretched hand.

"S-sorry," I stammered, trying to pull myself together. I felt heady, like I'd been standing on a cliff feeling the urge to jump, only to be pulled back at the last minute. I shook my head, clearing away the last of the angry fog. Hate doesn't get you anywhere, and only destroys yourself. I had to remember that.

Otherwise it would be a lot easier to turn into a killer than I feared.

"Sorry, Naruto. I was… I was thinking bad thoughts." I rubbed my still-burning eyes, and felt my hand come away wet. I looked at Naruto, whose stance had softened and his gaze more hurt than terrified. "I just… dammit." I rubbed my eyes again, and fought back a sob. This was not the time to cry! "S-sorry. Did I hurt you?" He nodded, biting his lip, but let me examine his hand. His wrist was red, my handprint clear against his tanned skin. I winced, pushing back the panic that threatened to take over me.

Wasn't I a little young to show signs of ninja super strength? Dammit, I didn't know anything! If anger could make me hurt Naruto by accident, then I needed to watch myself for now while there was no one around to teach me how to control it. The last thing I wanted was to hurt Naruto again… and this time, permanently. "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry. Let's go find some ice for that, okay? I'm sorry, Naruto."

My face must have been pitiful. I was worried sick. Naruto's eyes softened. He straightened his posture, bringing his chin up bravely. "Okay."

I placed my hand on his shoulder as gently as possible, steering him away… only for the last voice I wanted to hear right now speak up behind me. "What are you brats doing here?" Miyagawa-san said, her hard, clipped tone cutting through whatever peace I'd mustered for the moment.

I deliberately pulled my hand away from Naruto, clenching both into fists at my side instead. I turned, keeping my face as flat as I could. "We're ready to take the independence test," I said, frozen with the effort of keeping my voice cool.

"Hmph." Miyagawa-san scoffed, letting go of the boy she'd been holding to cross her arms. "You'd better be. You wanted this, so you better pass. Otherwise it'll be the cabinets again for you." I couldn't help but flinch at that. She sneered, delighting in my fear. She dropped her arms and took the boy's hand again and moved past us. I could see him peeking back at us out of the corner of my eye. Miyagawa-san had one last parting thing to say. "Thank the gods, I'll finally be rid of the two of you."

I closed my eyes and clenched my fists until I could feel my stubby nails biting into my palm. I took one deep breath, and another, and another. At last, I opened my eyes and gave Naruto a wobbly smile. His eyes were filled with the usual hurt, confusion, and anger whenever Miyagawa-san said something like that. "Thank the gods," I repeated, not caring if she heard me or not. I never looked away from Naruto. "We'll finally be rid of you too."

Naruto stared at me, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. Then, slowly, he smiled.

Notes:

edited 01.15.2020
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Chapter 5: Arc I Chapter 5

Summary:

Independence isn't all it's cut out to be.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The independence test was a breeze. No, seriously. There was a written exam, part of which tested basic math skills so they could ensure you had some idea on how to manage your finances. Then there was the practical test, where I demonstrated my sunny-side up and I managed to coach Naruto through a pot of rice. Afterwards, we were told to sign a contract that essentially sold our souls to the Ninja Academy for the next six years. Get kicked out of the Academy, get kicked out of your apartment. Ouch. It made sense though, considering we were basically walking, talking, monetary investments for the village. Once we made genin, we would be adults in the eyes of the law. Our contract would be over, and we could choose to move out or pay our rent ourselves.

I read all that in an agonizing eight minutes, shrugged, and signed my name with my best handwriting. Which meant it was shaky and full of blots. Ah, well. I was five years old. What could you do?

Naruto's wasn't any better.

The person in charge of the exam looked too bored to do anything but grimace in our direction. It's kind of sad how I considered that progress in our "adult interaction" experiences. He accepted our contracts and waved us out the door, mumbling something about "filing" and "a week". Grinning, Naruto and I took one exultant look at each other, before clasping hands and dashing into the hallway.

"Didja see that, didja see that? We did it, dattebayo, we did it!" he cheered, holding on to me with both hands and swinging the both of us around. I giggled, fighting to hang on and not bump into anything important at the same time.

"I did, I did!" I grabbed Naruto by the shoulders and jumped up and down instead, decreasing the chances of horizontal collateral damage. I ignored all irritated stares pointed our way and sang, "We're never going back to the orphanage, never never ever, and Miyagawa-san can kiss my—"

A loud cough interrupted our little celebration. We leapt together with not-so-little squeaks of surprise, latching on to each other like the second coming of Scooby Doo and Shaggy whatsisname. Standing in front of us was the Hokage, the fist covering his mouth not quite hiding his smile. "Good morning Naruto-kun, Minako-kun." He lowered his hand and let his smile grow into something kind and fond. "It's been a while. Do you remember me?"

"…You're the Hokage," I said at last, when Naruto was too busy gaping to reply. I fought to keep my body still, every limb screaming with the urge to fidget. There's nothing quite like the feeling of being stared down by the strongest man in the country. When the Hokage still looked expectant, I added, "S-sorry, I'm not really—I mean, Miyagawa-san said you visited, but…" My voice dwindled away. What on earth do you say to the strongest man in the country?

Naruto had no such qualms. His eyes lit up, and before I could even think long enough to stop him, he let go of my hand and threw himself at the Hokage. "Jiji!" he yelled with joy, throwing his arms around the Hokage's legs.

"Naruto!" I spluttered, waving my hands for lack of coherent thought to express. "I- you- don't just-" I threw my hands up. "You can't just call the Hokage, 'grandpa'-!" I cut myself off, deja-vu hitting me like a ten-ton truck.

The Hokage laughed, leaning down to rest one hand on Naruto's head while he waved off the alarmed staff with the other. "That's what you said the first time we met too," he told me, and held out his hand. "Do you remember me now, Minako?"

My eyes fluttered as I phased out, sorting through the sudden rush of memories in my head. "Naruto and I ran through the gate of the orphanage," I remembered, my breath shortening into gasps. "There were lots of lights, and everyone was in yellow… and then…"

A blank. "I don't remember," I realized, the thought shaking me more than I thought it would.

A hand plopped itself on top of my head, drawing me out of my memories. The same grandfatherly smile that I received to that day hovered above me now, with a warm hand that felt like hearth fire soothing my rabbit heart into a more natural beat. "It's alright." Jiji's voice was as gentle as the hand that smoothed back the hair from my face. "I wouldn't expect you to. You were very young then, and it has been a long time."

"No, but…" I trailed off. I should remember. It felt like I should. It was like there was a gap between my mind and the memory, and all I had to do was stretch a little more and I would reach it—

I shook my head, feeling my long hair swing through the air. It disturbed me, not remembering something I thought I should. It felt more and more like the things that made me, me were slipping away. Every day I lost more and more of the family I used to have and the world that I used to know. It would have helped if I still had the memory of an adult and could at least remember what I went through for the past few years, but I didn't. I couldn't remember much of my childhood at all, even though every night, dreams of tight spaces, lonely darkness, and senseless fear haunted me.

And this memory in particular felt so… odd. Like something was holding me back from touching it. I could remember the Hokage's office, and clambering all over Kakashi like a pair of monkeys (how could I forget that, that was comedy and fangirl gold, seriously?), but how we ended up there… Nothing.

"Min'ko!" Naruto smacked me in the face, catching my nose and lip and nearly poking my eye out. "Stop it! You're thinking too much again!"

I scowled at him, feeling my cheeks burn. He just hit me in front of the freaking Hokage Naruto how could you?! "Naruto…" I growled, my eyelid twitching. Naruto took one look at my flaming expression, yelped, and hid behind the Hokage. Oh, now he's in for it—!

The Hokage chuckled, amused by our little sibling squabble. That only made me blush harder. I opened my mouth to retort, only to be interrupted by a polite harrumph that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. The Hokage straightened, giving the man who coughed his full attention. It was the man who'd overseen our independence test. Sure enough, he had the clipboard with our grades and our contracts in his arms, half-hidden by the wide sleeves of his kimono-like office uniform.

Konoha fashion was weird.

"Hokage-sama," the man said stiffly, his eyes squinting with disapproval at Naruto and me. "Are these children bothering you? Please forgive their… exuberance, their guardian will be here any minu—"

Naruto chose that perfect moment to interrupt him with a yell. "Inu-jiji!" I whirled around, just in time to see him release the Hokage's robes and throw himself at one of the two masked ANBU flanking the man. Kakashi's movements were smooth and fast; he caught him right under his armpits and held him in the air, as Naruto bellowed his happiness for all the room to hear.

That's right, you heard me. Naruto just went from hiding behind the skirt of the most powerful man in the room to glomping the scariest looking man in the room. "I knew it, I knew it wasn't a dream, dattebayo! The other kids said I was just dreaming, and I was just making it up, but I wasn't, I wasn't, and now I'm right, dattebayo, I'm right!"

The sight of a stone-faced ANBU agent awkwardly holding up an ecstatic child made my face morph in interesting contortions as I tried to decide whether or not to scream, laugh, or cry. Clipboard-san didn't look like he was any better off.

"—and I remember when we went whoosh! and Minako went AAAAAAH! and then we left Tora-san behind, and—"

I'd like to think I shared a fond, mildly hysterical look with "Tora-san" at that point. It was hard to tell, what with the mask and all. The Hokage, trying to hide his smile behind a hand again, turned back to the twitching Clipboard-san. "As you can see, we're quite alright," he said, somehow making himself heard even as Naruto protested at his highest volume when Kakashi tried to put him down.

"If you say so, Hokage-sama." The clerk didn't even bother trying to sound convinced. In fact, he looked like he was having an aneurysm. His eye kept twitching and his face was turning an interesting shade of purple.

"—so I told them, one day I'm gonna be a ninja just like you, dattebayo! And then I'll show them ninjas really can fly, and I'll go really fast, and—"

Hmm, maybe Clipboard-san needed an even bigger headache. His constipated expression was starting to annoy me. "Hey!" I whirled around, feeling my hair whip behind me as I turned. "I want a hug too!"

Naruto looked at me over his shoulder and wiggled. "He hasn't even hugged me yet!" He looked even more offended than Clipboard-san did earlier.

"Well, I'm getting a hug," I declared, and did the most dangerous thing I'd ever done in both lives.

I hugged Kakashi's leg.

I hugged the leg of an armed man who could kill me with a finger, and hoooooly shit, was it an experience. I threw myself at that leg and almost brained myself on the sheer toughness of that hunk of flesh. Oh my god, that was real live muscle. Lord, was he made of rocks? Thank goodness I was so squishy, otherwise I would have broken my face on that. It was like trying to hug a tree at full speed.

I peeked at the clerk's face. He looked just about ready to keel over. Yes. Mission accomplished! Though, damn, Kakashi. No need to get all chakra excited on me. At least, that's what I assumed the prickly feeling on my arms and cheek was. You may not like hugs, but a little sparky is not going to stop me from hugging the fuck out of you!

Oh, gross, his pants smelled of dogs. And sweat. And dirt. And metal. With a hint of laundry soap and iron. Wait a minute—

"Hey! I wanna hug too, dattebayo!" Naruto flailed, trying to get his feet on the ground even as I jerked back from the leg I'd plastered myself against. Oh god, that wasn't iron, that was—!

It would have been hilarious seeing a stern ANBU looking to his Hokage for — Permission? Guidance? Support? Help? — if I hadn't been too busy trying to hide the fact that I was losing my shit over something else. Why the hell did Kakashi's pants smell of blo—oh wait. Stupid question, Minako. Honestly.

The Hokage just smiled at Kakashi (or was that a smirk?), leaving his subordinate to solve the problem on his own. Tora-san, meanwhile, was so still he looked like he'd turned into a tree. I'd bet my upcoming apartment it meant he was this close to losing his shit in public. Hell, I'd be losing my shit, except I was already losing said shit over—don't think about it think about it later suddenly throwing up all over the nice man's shoes will not help you!

Finally, Kakashi huffed, a soft sound that was only heard by Naruto and me. Our heads snapped up at the same time to stare at him. It was the first sound we'd heard out of Hound, the two times we'd managed to meet. Shocked into silence, he met no resistance when he put Naruto on the ground and pulled me away from his leg with care. Then he raised his hands and placed them on our heads. We just kept staring. I think even the other people in the room were staring, at the sign of humanity from what was essentially one of the bogeymen of Konoha civilians, children and adult alike. And no one could even tell what he was thinking, because all we could see was a painted Dog mask.

He moved his hands a bit, mussing up our hair in two, slow strokes, like… like he was petting a dog. I had to squint a bit as a bit of hair fell in my face. Naruto looked too amazed at the show of affection to even pout. Then Inu-san stepped back, pulled away and straightened. He was ANBU once more.

Everyone stayed a bit quiet after that. I was frozen stiff, too busy trying to fathom how… happy I was. That was it. That was the feeling fizzing in my gut and dancing all throughout my arms and legs and up the top of my head. Barely a noogie to the head, and I already had to struggle to keep from bursting into tears. Naruto and I turned our heads and shared one, gaping, wide-eyed look. His eyes were practically swimming with tears.

A different pair of hands clasped our shoulders and drew us away from the ANBU. The Hokage smiled, this one more honest and tender than anything he'd shown before. "Maybe next time you can ask Inu-san for a hug when he's not working," he said gently. We nodded, Naruto rubbing his eyes with a ferocity that surprised me. When he looked up, his eyes blazed with a fiery determination that sent shivers down my spine.

Do you know that feeling when you see something, and it feels like you've just caught the first, smallest sign of something great? That was how I felt when I looked at Naruto squaring his shoulders and raising his stubborn chin for all it was worth.

"I'll definitely become a ninja, dattebayo! I'll be an awesome ninja, just like Inu-san! Believe it!"

So it turns out dattebayo was different from saying, "Believe it!" (exclamation point included). I was so busy gaping I almost missed my own cue when the Hokage turned to me. "That's a great dream to have. What about you, Minako?" he asked.

"M-me too! I'll do my best too, -ttebana!" I stammered, then reddened and bit my lip when that stupid verbal tic came out on its own. Dammit, Kushina!

"Then I suppose I'll be seeing you two in the Academy next year," the Hokage said with a smile, stroking his narrow goatee. Naruto and I took one look at each other, then nodded furiously. Our hands clasped tight, like a promise.

"Yeah!" we chorused.

There wasn't much I could have said to the Hokage otherwise. I had to become a ninja. That path had been set for me when I was reborn as Naruto's sister in this world. If there was any chance that Naruto could not be a ninja, I would have taken it in a heartbeat. But he was the Konoha jinchuriki, and there was no way they would let him go. So I had to become a ninja, and one of the strongest at that. If there was any way for me to protect my brother and prevent a war, it would only be by his side.

And if announcing it to the world got us on the Hokage's good side, well, all for the better.

One week later, a different, and much more cheerful clerk handed us the keys to our apartment. "Here," she said, tossing the metal onto the table, not even bothering to look at us. She blew a gum bubble the size of a baseball, popped it, then waved her hand. "Blue for your door, red for the front, green for your mailbox and orange for the windows." A white envelope slapped down beside the keys. "Your monthly allowance. If you don't claim it, you don't get it." When she didn't hear the door slam closed, she looked up, her expression irritable. "Well?"

"Th-thank you!" I gasped. Naruto snatched the keys, and I, the money. We fled through the door and down the hall towards our new apartment. Unit 106 was at the very back of the building, right next to the exit into the backyard. The building itself was old but still serviceable. The walls were made of Hashirama wood and cement, depending on which side got smacked over by Kurama on his birthday rampage. At least, I'm guessing it was Kurama. The mixing of materials looked too random to be an intentional infrastructure design.

We stopped in front of a dark-colored door, tall and imposing to our kiddy height. On a small, bronze plaque were the numbers 106. "Our own apartment," Naruto said in wonder, his baby blues wide. "Our own rooms!"

"Our own home." We grinned at each other, identical beams lighting up our faces. Naruto looked adorable with his squinty eyes and whiskered cheeks.

It took a moment for Naruto to find the right key in his stubby little fingers, and another moment to unlock the door handle. He could just barely reach it. I was practically jumping with impatience by then, but it's not like I could have done it for him. We were the same height.

The click of the lock was music to our ears. We tumbled inside, giggling, and almost forgot to close the door in our excitement. Door closed, locked, shoes off at the genkan, and at long last, we could look at what would be our home for the next six years, if not more.

The first thing that greeted us was the dining table. It was square, with three chairs, one for each of us and another for a guest. Beside it was the kitchen, its three walls making a U that could fit the table if we wanted to push it aside for some space. The kitchen had a window overlooking the building's dingy backyard. When I ducked my head outside, I could see the door to the backyard to my left, and the trashcans to the left of that. Maybe that was why this room had been available. Well, their loss. The backyard was just big enough to accommodate two budding ninja kids practicing their kata after class.

"Min'ko, Min'ko, look, look!" Naruto's voice echoed back from the hallway past the kitchen. I followed it, passed the bathroom to my right, and ended up between the two doors opposite. Naruto's butt was sticking out of the one to the left. "We got two bedrooms! We can invite people over, dattebayo!"

I saw the opportunity and took it.

WHACK!

"YAGHRKK!" Naruto's squawk was a thing to behold. He must have leaped at least half his height into the air. "What was that for?" he demanded, clutching his butt with both hands.

I waved the hand I slapped him with, grinning. "You shouldn't stick your butt out like that! What if a ninja came up and stabbed you in it?" And he would, if Naruto wasn't careful. One day. Naruto pouted at me, his eyes watering at the injustice. "Oh come on, I didn't even hit you that hard." His lower lip trembled. I rolled my eyes and pushed his face away. "Oh stop it." I couldn't help the smile tugging at my cheeks though. He sniffed. "Oh, alright already, I'm sorry! Just stop making that face!"

Naruto grinned, the puppy dog look dropping away from his face like water. "Heh. Works every time."

I stuck my tongue out, mock-glaring at him. "Just wait. One day you're going to lose your cute fluffy-wuffy baby cheeks and your puppy eyes won't work on me any longer!" I grabbed him by the cheeks and smooshed the whiskered skin. His offended squawk was muffled by my hands. I grinned and kissed his forehead, then let go and entered the room to explore. He pouted and rubbed his reddened cheeks, still peeved, but followed anyway.

"Not gonna lose my cheeks," he grumbled under his breath. "Never ever."

I giggled to myself and took stock of the room. The room had an actual bed, a change from the futon we were used to. Whether or not it was a good change would depend on which was softer, the bed or our old futon. There was a cabinet on one side, and a smaller one beside the bed, but other than that the room was pretty plain. At least it had a window. This one overlooked the backyard too. The other room had a window pointed straight at the wooden fence surrounding the building.

"I'll take this one," I decided. It was for the sake of my sanity. If Naruto had to endure staring at a wall for a view every day for the next six years, we would both quickly go insane.

"Wait, what? But the view in the other one is so much better, dattebayo! We could even look at the sky there!" I had to stop and look at him for a moment, even as he ranted abuse towards my new room. "This one's boring. And the fence is ugly too! You can't even see outside!"

"Naruto," I said, cutting off the rest of his tirade. He didn't even look out of breath. "Naruto, this is my room. We can't- I'm not- we're not sharing it, Naruto." I raised my hands in a helpless gesture. How do you explain to a child the intricacies of adulthood and how it related to children not sharing beds as they grew older? "We won't fit," I finished lamely.

"What- but-" He stared at me, eyes popping out of his head, as if someone had just taken his world and flipped it upside down. "But we've always slept together!" he protested, shock morphing into panic. He scanned the room, as if it would hold an explanation for the absurdity he couldn't process. The sun rose in the mornings, his hair was yellow, and the two of us slept together every night. It was a fact of the world, and he couldn't understand why it had changed. "You're- you're not mad at me, are you? Did I do something wrong? Is it coz I stink? I promise I'll take a bath every night, dattebayo!"

"Naruto!" I grabbed him by the shoulders, both to grab his attention and to keep him from rattling himself to pieces. "No, Naruto, I'm not mad at you! It's just—we can't keep sleeping together anymore! We're older now." I searched my mind for any way to explain this to him. "We're going to become ninja soon, and then we'll go on missions, and—" I stilled, my mind refusing to understand the words even as they passed through my lips. "We won't always be together, Naruto." I whispered, feeling the truth of the statement like a rock on my chest.

Every part of me screamed denial. I'd built everything I was in this world on the only focal point I had in it—on Naruto. The thought of being separated from him made my heart seize and my breath quicken in panic. Naruto's reaction was even worse. He shook his head, backing away from my loosened hands.

"No… no, no, nonono no! I don't wanna! I don't wanna!" He stomped his foot, his cries turning into wails. He glared at me with watery eyes, and this time his tears were real. "I wanna stay with you, dattebayo! I wanna stay!"

"Shh, shh, I know, Naruto, I know," I hurried to say. It was our first day in our new home. The last thing we needed right now was someone complaining about the noise and getting us kicked out. "I'll still be here! And we'll still be living together. We just can't share beds anymore, okay? It's, it's just a part of growing up, dattebana."

Those words just made him cry harder. I winced, and moved forward to try and calm him down. But he refused to let me touch him.

"Then I don't wanna grow up! I hate it, dattebayo, I hate it!" He took one look at my apologetic face and knew he hadn't won this one. His face reddened, and his eyes were indistinguishable through his tears. "Fine!" he shrieked. He stomped his foot one last time, then bolted out the door. A moment passed, then the door of the other bedroom slammed closed.

I sank to the ground, curling up with my arms around my knees and my head buried in between. My hair fell like a red curtain around my face. "I'm too young to be a mom," I groaned to myself.

Naruto wasn't the only one crying in his room.

When Naruto didn't come out two hours later, no matter what I did, I decided to do something about our gastronomic situation before stomachs started growling and children started starving.

In short, I was hungry.

More knocking and promises of food didn't lure my brother out of his room. I sighed and pressed my forehead against the door, trying to bleed the exhaustion weighing me down into the wood. Naruto was a child. He wasn't immune to tantrums. His first one ended with that oil-floor trap that sent Miyagawa-san crashing into a wall. But this was the first time he had gotten angry at me.

"I'm going," I told the door, unable to keep the numbness in my heart from leaking into my voice. "I'll try to get back before it gets dark. I'm not sure where the grocery is yet. But there's food in the fridge if you get hungry." Two sandwiches—our last souvenir from the orphanage. Minoru-san was silent and fearful, but she was also fair when she tried. Miyagawa-san didn't even protest. She was too happy to see us go.

The door didn't answer. I pressed my hand against the wood, one more time, then pulled away. "See you." I turned away and trudged for the door.

Looking through the white envelope had showed me several 500 and 1,000 bills. A number on the front told me that it contained 60,000 ryo. A quick calculation told me that gave me roughly 2,000 ryo per day, and 14,000 a week, until our next allowance day. That didn't mean I had any idea how much things cost here in Konoha. I debated for a moment, before grabbing 2,000 and tucking the rest back into the envelope. I decided I would just buy a meal for myself and food for dinner for today, then figure out how to budget the rest of our money later. I also made a mental note to hide the bills throughout the apartment when I got home. Keeping them in one place was just asking for trouble, if anyone ever thought to break in.

I glanced back at Naruto's door one last time, sighed, and left the apartment, locking the door behind me. With the keys in my pocket and money in the other, I set out to explore the village I've read about but never actually seen in full—the legendary Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

It was hard to hold on to my glum mood as I walked through the streets filled with so many new things. Every other time I'd walked through Konoha, I had been busy making sure Naruto didn't run off without me or our companion. Finally alone, I could take my time and look where I wanted to. My stomach churned at the thought of being without my brother, but there were plenty of people milling around, so I didn't feel so alone.

For a person stuck in a toddler's body, Konoha looked huge. I counted an average of three floors for the regular buildings I passed by, with five being the highest—most of which seemed geared as residential buildings, like our apartment. The smaller buildings looked like shops with apartments on top for the owners. The Hokage's building towered over all of them, looking like it totaled a whopping seven floors. Above us rose the Hokage monument, the four great heads watching over the village. Not very subtle, but considering the oldest Hashirama trees were tall enough to brush Hashirama's chin, it was doubtful anyone could see it from afar. Once they made it close enough to the village, the sky would be too filled with branches to see it anyway. Flying scouts would be a problem, but I was several years too young and a clearance level beyond zero to know how Konoha coped with that.

Konoha was big enough—or I was small enough—that I couldn't see the fourth head well from the street I was walking down. The angle was terrible. I got a nice shot of half his profile before the Sandaime's hair blocked the rest. I spared all of three seconds trying to look for my second father's face before I had to return my gaze to earthly matters. Namely, trying not to bump into anyone.

Most of the people I saw were civilians, or at least had mostly-normal hair. I didn't see that many clan members that I recognized, which made sense once I remembered they had compounds of their own. Thinking of all those people stuck in one plot of land all day made me twitch. No wonder the Uchiha were so isolated, or the Hyuuga so haughty, or the civilians so clueless about actual ninja-ry. If everyone stuck to doing their own thing, then how on earth would anyone learn about anything beyond their own, narrow lives?

My first sight of ninja using ninjutsu in everyday life was a uniformed man walking out of a grocery. The telltale headband glimmered on his forehead, if the flak jacket wasn't telling enough. He waved goodbye to the grocer, then leaped for the roofs. It was as if he wasn't even carrying four bulging bags of groceries in both hands. He simply leaped for the side of the building, and from there for the roof, and out of sight. All in three seconds flat. Or less. I could barely see him move.

I looked after the man with jealousy. If I could roof hop, I would have a great view of the village, and might actually be able to find out where I was headed. As it was, I was stuck looking at buildings without any idea where I was going. There were a few convenience stores and restaurants around, but from the looks of it our apartment was deep in a residential area. Restaurants and convenience stores were fine, but I wanted to know where the market was. I had been raised on fresh produce in my previous life, and I wasn't going to stop now. The best part was, farming in this world would be more natural compared to my last one, considering the focus on developing arms more than agriculture. Hooray for all-natural products!

"Excuse me," I started, approaching a random lady holding a basket. She glanced up from her basket with a smile, but it fell once she set eyes on me. She turned pale, waved her hand in front of her face in a 'no', and scurried away. I looked after her in dismay, but shook my head. I had to expect that. Damn, did everyone in the village know?

I moved to another lady, this time two young girls gossiping as they left a shop. "Excuse me," I tried again, giving them my best innocent kid smile. "I'm a bit lost…"

"Oh, are you a clan kid? I haven't seen anyone with eyes like yours before." Smiling, one of them knelt down to my level. "Where do you need to go?"

"Saki…" The other one tugged her up, her eyes wide in her small face. I felt my own smile falter.

"Chie, honestly—"Her partner whispered in her ear. The girl's own eyes went wide, and I knew my chance was gone. "Th-that is, I—" She glanced at me, then at her companion, and shook her head. "S-sorry, we have to go—" They fled, leaving me standing on my own in front of the small perfumery.

I tried to be patient, I really did. I walked up to men. I walked up to grandmas, and grandpas. I walked up to children, only to have parents pull them away and flee. Any ninja I could see took to the roofs before they even saw me. I guess no one liked walking through crowded streets much, which I totally related to, because if one more person looked at me like I was going to kill them all, I really was going to kill them all!

Or, maybe just kick a wall. I might even be strong enough to break it now. Homicidal jokes weren't as funny when you realize you're actually going to do it later.

My stomach rumbled, reminding me I hadn't eaten lunch yet. I started looking around, trying to find someplace I could eat. More and more houses and apartments were appearing—meaning I was headed the wrong way. There should be a shopping district in Konoha, every city and town has one. And what shopping districts definitely did not have were an abundance of residential buildings.

I muttered an English curse under my breath and turned around, looking in vain for some sort of sign that would tell me where to go. Should I turn back, or should I keep going? At this rate, I was going to hit the village wall. But if I hit the village wall, I could at least circle around and find a main street that would hopefully lead me to the market…

Someone seemed to be looking out for me today, because turning around let me find just what I was looking for.

"Dango!" I said to myself, clapping with glee. It looked like a small restaurant, with tatami mats, low tables, and cushions for kneeling on. I've read about dango before, and I was looking forward to tasting it now. Maybe I could even get some for Naruto. I was not above bribery to get back in his good graces.

I jogged over, mindful of bumping into anyone as I crossed the street. I had yet to see any form of transportation. Looked like everyone just walked here.

There was a middle-aged lady greeting customers at the door. She had her hair bound up in a traditional bun to match her simple kimono. She was really pretty, in a homey sort of way. She looked like she would make the perfect mom. Beaming, I lined up behind a mother and child pair, waiting my turn to be seated.

Her customer-ready facade fell the moment she laid eyes on me. "We're full," she snapped, moving to block my way. I gaped, unable to process the unfairness of that statement.

"You're lying!" I waved at the mother and child taking a seat in one of the many empty tables. "There are only four people there!" Or six. I couldn't be sure, she was blocking the way.

"We don't serve children," was her rebuttal. She crossed her arms, making herself look even more imposing. Her motherly face was twisted in hatred and disgust.

"You're a sweets shop, and you're telling me you don't serve children?" I gave her my best incredulous and condescending look. It probably didn't look as impressive on a child. The lady certainly didn't look impressed. "You let that kid in!"

"We don't serve children without a guardian to accompany them," she insisted, her stance not relaxing at all. I could feel my face heating up as my temper rose. I fought to keep it down, knowing if I blew up now, I would wreck any chances I had of getting dango, or any other food anywhere near here.

"I'll just pop in and out," I said, trying to keep my voice steady and reasonable. "I won't take long, I just want a take out—" The lady was already shaking her head before I even finished. I clenched my fist and tried to plead. "At least let me take some for my brother!" Her glare didn't lessen one bit. I exploded, curses bursting from my lips in a virulent mix of Konohan and English. "Dammit you nasty old hag, I have had enough of this bullshit all fucking day—"

Her face colored at the torrent of angry words. She might not have understood the meaning, but she certainly understood the intent. "Get out," she snarled. "I have tried to be polite, but you are making a scene. Don't make me call the police!"

"Go ahead!" I challenged, standing on my toes in a vain effort to meet her glare. "Then I'll tell them you refused to serve a girl that just wanted to buy some dango for her brother, you—"

"Is something the matter, Isane-san?" A cool voice interrupted our fight, sparing me the effort of throwing mud at the lady in question. We turned to find a dark-haired girl in a dark sweater and loose shorts, her thoughts masked behind her impassive expression. A Konoha hitai-ate glinted on her forehead.

"U-Uchiha-san!" the lady stammered, her arms dropping to her sides. "F-forgive me, I didn't see you there—"

Uchiha? I did a double-take, taking in the wide, upturned collar and solid black eyes. So this was an Uchiha!

"Understandably." The girl nodded towards me, her expression not even twitching. "You seemed to be occupied."

The Uchiha were supposed to be the police, right? I took my chances and rolled with it, before the saleslady could warp the girl's impression of me any further. "She won't let me in!" I cried, drowning out any protests the lady might have made. "I just wanted to get some dango for me and my brother, but then she—"

"The brat was making a scene!" Isane-san interrupted, her pale cheeks now flushed with color. "You saw what she was like, Uchiha-san, acting like a savage—"

I raised my voice. "—said that they were full, which they obviously aren't—" If there was one thing Naruto and I had in common, it was an impressive set of lungs when we put our mind to it.

"The customers would be scandalized! Our reputation will go down!" the lady argued, forging through when I took a breath.

"That's enough." The girl said it without any special inflection whatsoever, but the two of us shut up all the same. The lady was flushed and trembling with fury and embarrassment, while I was red with indignation. It said a lot about the Uchiha if a small teenager could have that much authority with a middle-aged civilian. Or was it because she was a ninja?

I kept a wary eye on the Uchiha, waiting for her verdict. Would she discriminate against me too?

"Isane-san. You say you do not want—" Here Uchiha-san paused, her eyes on me. I realized what she wanted after a few moments of staring.

"I'm Uzumaki Minako -ttebana!" I said as firmly as I could. It was distressing, understanding canon Naruto more and more. If they were going to kick me out on the streets, they should at least remember my name!

Uchiha-san nodded, acknowledging my words. She turned back to the lady. "You do not want to let Uzumaki-san enter, in fear of turning away your other customers."

"Y-yes," the lady stammered, realizing she was waiting for an answer. "That's- that's true."

"Uzumaki-san." Uchiha-san settled her dark eyes on me. I was surprised to discover I found the action… comforting. My old life had been filled with dark-eyed people. None of them had eyes as dark as the Uchiha's, of course. But still, it was something familiar in a place filled with light browns, greens, and blues. It was stupid, but… I felt better anyway. "You simply wish to purchase food for you and your brother. Correct?"

"Yeah!" I nodded, unable to help the little flash of hope in my chest. If she was listing our arguments like that, then maybe, just maybe… she would be fair?

"Then it would be no problem if I collected her purchases in her stead?" Uchiha-san asked the saleslady. The lady froze, her mouth working as she tried to find a way to refuse her without… well, refusing her. She was an Uchiha, after all. I could feel my smile growing as I watched.

"Of… of course, Uchiha-san." The lady's eyes flickered between the Uchiha and me. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, she made the smart decision and bowed, stepping aside for Uchiha-san. Uchiha-san turned to me, her gaze as impassive as ever.

"Will two orders of dango be enough?" she asked. My eyes widened.

"Ah- y-yeah! Wait—" I dug around my pockets, until I came up with one 500 ryo bill. "Will this be enough?"

Her movements were smooth, but precise. It was the kind of elegance that made you want to stare but also sent a shiver down your spine. She nodded, took the bill, and entered the establishment, the half-curtains over the entrance swishing behind her.

The moment Uchiha-san disappeared, the saleslady turned back to me. Her pretty face was gone, an ugly grimace erasing any illusion of kindness. "You should be ashamed of yourself," she hissed, "Imposing on Uchiha-san like that!"

"At least she was willing to help!" I shot back. Her face went through a funny set of contortions as she spluttered. I sneered. "It's good to know there are still some decent people left in this world."

"You're a demon," the lady spat, recoiling from me like I was diseased. "You don't deserve any decency."

That hurt more than it should. I flinched back, my tough act faltering for a moment. I wasn't a demon, and I did deserve decency! I deserved it, just like anybody else! How could she?

Uchiha-san returned before things got ugly. "Here." She eyed the saleslady but said nothing, handing a white plastic bag to me. I muttered thanks as I checked the contents. Two boxes of what I presumed to be dango lay inside, with the change nesting on top. The numbers blurred in my vision. I rubbed my eyes and gave up on counting them.

"I apologize for the bother, Uchiha-san. I won't let it happen again," the lady was saying. Her glare in my direction made it very clear how exactly she intended to do that. Uchiha-san said nothing, her eyes focused only on me.

You should be ashamed of yourself, imposing on Uchiha-san like that!

I ducked my head, unable to meet her gaze. Both hands wrapped around my prize, I bowed as low as I dared, letting my hair shield my face. "Thank you very much, nee-san!" I said, with all the sincerity I could muster. I couldn't bear to look up and see what her expression was like, so I turned and fled. I am never going back there again, I vowed to myself, my little feet scuffing dirt into the air as I ran. I made sure to remember to tell Naruto not to go there either.

If this was how they treated his sister… how much worse would they treat him?

Heading away from the village walls and towards the center of the village was a smart move. Gravitating towards the center of government in the village was an even smarter move. The main road leading from the village gate to the Hokage Tower was lined with shops. Food, clothes, books, and so much more were sold along the road. Bright banners and cheerful cries gave the lane a festive atmosphere. Even the smell was inviting—the musty smell of new clothes, the intoxicating mix of human scents from all over the world, and of course, the ever-magical smell of food.

Logic dictated that the shops here would also be the more expensive kind, but I was so relieved to see friendly—heck, even just polite—faces that I didn't feel any inclination to leave. Hashirama Road was home to the merchants that visited Konoha to sell and trade their goods. None of them knew the significance of my eye marks, and only one recognized my Uzumaki-red hair. Among them, I could act like the child I was supposed to be, and I could give up the rage and frustration I needed for other adults in the face of their kind and respectful behavior. It was thrilling to be treated like a minor clan child for my tattoos too, sometimes. I probably didn't look like any they knew, but people preferred to be safe rather than sorry. Several probably guessed I was an orphan, but that only made them nicer, not meaner. I won more over when I showed a hidden talent for haggling.

It was not my first time at a market, after all.

"B-but… I've only got eighty ryo left," I stammered, my eyes plastered to a cute pink sling bag. It was small, meant for money and a few precious items, and shut with a drawstring. Someone had taken the care to stitch a pretty sunflower on the front. A tag hanging from the frog keychain priced it at 120 ryo. "I worked so hard…" I bit my lip.

"W-well…" The salesperson glanced at the small frog purse already in my hand and scratched his head. "I'm sure you did…" He glanced around, then leaned close and whispered to me. "Okay, since you already bought your brother's purse, I can get you the bag for just eighty ryo. But don't tell anyone, okay?" He winked at me, green eyes sparkling. "It'll be our little secret."

I let my face brighten with hope, my own eyes going wide and my smile spreading across my cheeks. "Y-yeah! Thanks mister!"

"Not so fast." A hand descended upon the boy's head, almost sending him crashing to the ground as it grabbed him by the hair.

"Ow ow ow! Nee-chan!" he yelped, grabbing her wrist in an effort to save his hair. The lady in question peered at me, a small quirk to her ruby-red lips.

"Nice try, kiddo. But I saw you hand a 500 ryo bill to Hisane over there, and that dress was only 300 ryo at the most." She crooked two well manicured fingers at me. "Come on, fork it over."

I pouted, busted. The boy gaped at me in shock and betrayal, which almost made me giggle. "Ninety," I demanded, letting my chin jut out in its most stubborn pose.

Her lips twitched. "A hundred, for being a clever brat," she countered. "That's final."

I basked in that, more than I should have.

By the time I finished shopping and exploring, the sun was setting and the merchants were closing their stalls for the day. I didn't even realize how late it was until the fat lady selling me dumplings patted my head and said, "Run along home now. Wouldn't want your parents to worry."

"Oh no," I breathed. I bowed and fled, yelling thanks over my shoulder.

I thought I knew where I was going, but as the light faded and the darkness came in, the streets just became more and more unfamiliar. I hurried along, my arms burdened by my spoils, too scared to ask directions from people who would be braver in the dark than they were in the day. I had wandered far enough from the shopping areas that there weren't many people wandering the streets anymore. Who strolled the residential area at sundown?

I could feel my breath start to hitch at the thought of empty roads and nothing but darkness to keep me company. It was late enough that people were starting to open the lights, but early enough that the moon wasn't even out yet. I kept my eyes on the ground, fighting the urge to look up in the sky for fear of seeing a monster staring back. Soon anything that would point my way home would disappear in the shadows descending on the streets.

My throat choked up at the thought. I shouldn't have stayed out so late. I shouldn't have wandered so far. I shouldn't have, I shouldn't have—

I perked up when I heard the sound of music and laughter in the distance. The thought of company spurred me on where terror threatened to paralyze me. I turned my mind to other things, worries that I could actually do something about. Like how I was going to get home. Like how scared Naruto must be, wondering where I'd gone and where I would be back. Like how I would make up for the promise I'd broken, and hug him extra hard when I returned.

Bright light bathed my face and pulled me from my thoughts. I looked up, hope filling my chest until it felt like I would choke with it. All I needed was someone who would stop long enough to talk to me and show me the way home. I still had the apartment address in my pocket—a forgotten blessing. My only wish was for someone, anyone, who wouldn't care about the demon fox and just see a little girl lost and alone in the dark.

I should have remembered instead what kind of establishments made that kind of noise when the sun went down.

I froze at the entrance of the street. A willow tree bowed over the road, its long branches trailing like women's hair. Beyond it, red lanterns glittered in the night, bonfires lighting what they couldn't. People walked through the street, dressed in bright colors and loose clothes… in more ways than one. Geisha with heavily painted faces strolled along, weaving a path through the chaotic river of life. Men with abs that would make my old friends cry showed off their wares in open happi coats. Sound rose and fell as melody interwove with chatter and giggles.

I didn't realize I was backing away until my back bumped into something hard. I croaked, too shocked to scream, and whirled around. A woman with a thick jaw and even thicker face paint cooed at me. Her shadowed eyes looked monstrous in the flickering lights of the fires in the distance. "Aww, honey, are you lost?" I shook my head, mute with terror. She reached out and clicked her tongue, her finger brushing the corner of my eye before I jerked my head away. "Who's your matron? I'll help you get back. Those are a lot of bags, aren't they?"

Her words registered in my head faster than the hand that reached for mine. I threw myself at the gap between her arms and her legs, fear and imagined futures giving me flight that pushed me faster than clubs and torches ever could. I barely even felt it when I crashed into another pair of legs. I just took a deep breath and shoved my way forward, away from the lights, away from memories of stories of little kids disappearing in the night, away from fire and broomsticks and screaming and pain—

But there was no crowd around me. No riots. No people. Just me, alone in the dark, panting in an alley with nothing but rats running away for company. I collapsed on the ground and burst into tears, burying my face in the plastic bag that held the meager possessions I had managed to obtain that day. It was too much, just too much. I was stressed, I was afraid, I was hated by everyone and they didn't even know my name. I had been this close to becoming a child prostitute, and my brother was trapped in an apartment he couldn't leave because he didn't know where I was.

I want to go home. I want to go home, I want to go home…

"I want to go home," I croaked into the plastic bag, tears bathing Naruto's new Gama-chan with an unhealthy amount of saltwater. It made his skin look mottled with spots, like a miscolored poison frog.

I wanted to go home. I wanted to go home to where I wasn't a child, where I was a teenager who let her parents take care of her, where my biggest worry was the paper I had due the next day and people didn't glare at me like I had the plague when I passed by. I wanted my mom. I wanted my dad. I wanted the brother who would roll his eyes when I demanded hugs and ignored me until I resorted to smacking his elbow for kisses.

I was scared. I was miserable. I was alone.

(DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE—!)

A small growl filled the silence. I shivered, and shuffled further into my corner. I had nothing to defend myself with. If a dog wanted to fight over its possession of the alley, then someone was going to find my dead body in the morning. I tried to think of Naruto, of his crying face, or his smiling face, in an effort to get some motivation in me, but it slipped away like water through my fingers.

Why did it matter? Why did this all matter? He would be fine without me. He'll grow up into a proper chakra monster, with proper superpowered friends, save the fucking world, and everybody will love him. Not like me. I didn't matter. For all I knew, this was just a dream, and I was actually locked up in an asylum screaming crazy words and trying to Rasengan all the doctors.

The growl sounded again, much closer this time. Suddenly, I felt pissed. A dog? Seriously? When I was feeling fucked up enough, and the day felt like a goddamn migraine sent by Satan, he sends me a dog? I raised my head, glaring with all my might at the shadows hiding the animal from sight. Goddammit, couldn't I even mope in peace?

Something glinted in the dark. The dog growled again, and moved forward… revealing a tiny pug with a hitai-ate over its head. In its mouth was the lumpy shape of a drawstring purse, its handle trailing behind it as it walked.

"…Oh," I whispered. All the fight left me, until I sank the few inches left between my butt and the ground. "That's mine," I said stupidly. It must have fallen when I bumped into that person while I was running away. Something told me I would have known who that person was if I had bothered looking up.

The pug whuffled, nosing at my shin until I started scratching it between the ears. I felt a smile tug at my lips, only for it to wobble, then fall apart. I sniffed, and then tears were pouring down my face and I was bawling onto Gama-chan. Again.

The plastic bag got decidedly violent and started shaking in my arms. I raised my head, my grip on the bag loosening. A determined dog nosed its way past the bag, shoving it aside, and squirmed until I hugged it instead. Then it started licking my face. The tears just poured faster at that, but it didn't stop licking.

"I don't know why you bother," I told the pug, trying to sound coherent around the huge block of snot up my nose and the dog kisses it was showering on my face. "I doubt I taste anything near appealing."

It huffed, like it agreed, but kept licking anyway. I scratched its ears and buried my face in its tiny shoulder.

I've never had a dog. Just a guard dog. She was big enough to reach my nose with hers with both of us standing, and her claws hurt. She was an affectionate dog. I was just never encouraged to play with her. She ended up trapped in our backyard. It made me feel bad when I thought about it, so I tried not to think about it. She had puppies once, but we had to give them all away. I was very sad.

What that basically meant was that I'd never experienced hugging, or being hugged by, a dog. When I cried in my old life, I cried into a ratty old teddy bear, held together by nothing but love and stitches. I read somewhere that pets were good for being there for you when you had nobody else, but my mother refused to have pets inside the house, and I died before I could live the dream of having an apartment with just a cat for company.

It felt good to be comforted, even if it was just a dog.

My sobs turned to hiccups, then sniffles. Kakashi's dog – because it was Kakashi's dog; what other pug would have a hitai-ate and a tiny dog vest? – snuffled, then sneezed. I'd like to think it was in approval.

"Sorry for crying on you," I told it, giving its ear a soft scratch. It barked once, then butted my cheek until I found the right spot. "Thanks though. You're a very nice dog." The look it gave me screamed, damn right was he a nice dog, and maybe a hint of, the things he did for children… but that might be me projecting. I petted him anyway. "Good doggy." It huffed. "Now if only I could find the way home…"

The dog stilled. It cocked its head, like it was listening. I looked up, trying to see what had grabbed its attention. "What is it—hey!" It barked, then bolted from my arms, snatching the purse it had dropped along the way. Without really thinking, I grabbed my bags and ran after it, trying to keep it in sight. It was much, much faster than it looked. Goddamn ninja dogs. "Wait! Give that back!"

At that time, I was too busy running after it to realize how well the pug knew what it was doing. Oh, I knew it was leading me by the nose three minutes into the chase. But it was only later when I realized how it always stayed just in my line of sight. Even when I had to stop to catch my breath, or ran at a fraction of my best speed, so soon after fleeing the red-light district, it was always there when I looked up and started running again. It led me through side streets and alleyways that kept me out of sight and away from crowds. It kept me running fast enough not to question where we were going, or where it was taking me.

It led me past the willow tree that I'd run from and back to the road leading to the market. I expected it to follow the path I had taken all day, which made sense if it was finding the way by tracking my scent. But before we reached the main street, it changed direction and started going down a street I was sure I hadn't been through before.

"Wait! This isn't the right way—" I clamped my mouth shut before I did something stupid, like slip on some litterer's chocolate wrapping. Or argue with a dog. The dog shot me an unimpressed look, as if daring me to tell it just exactly where the right way was, considering I knew it well enough to get lost.

It was a struggle to keep track of the dog, where I was going, and look around at the same time. Anyone else looking would probably think I was trying to find something familiar in the streets we were going through, but I was more concerned with looking for white hair on the roof.

Hey, the dog had a hitai-ate. It was going someplace I hadn't gone through, so it wasn't tracking me. The only logical explanation left was that it belonged to someone, and someone was leading it that way. Pretty sure even a kid could figure that out.

I shouldn't have bothered though. After all, we were talking about ninja here. If Kakashi didn't want to be seen, then he wasn'tgoing to be seen.

I didn't realize we were at the apartment already until the dog barked. I almost skidded right past it.

"That's-" I gasped, trying to catch my breath and talk at the same time. Even if I knew it was leading me… seeing the building, actually being there, right in front of it… I was so relieved I almost cried. "We made it!" I turned back towards the dog, my lips stretching into a grin so wide it hurt. Except the dog was gone, and there was just a purse on the ground, damp with spit and streaked with dirt. Funny how I didn't mind at all.

I looked around, searching for any sign of the dog or its owner. Not a hint of white or metal-and-travel-dust. Not even the smell of wet fur or the feeling of lazy, warm dog piles was left behind. Goes to show that tracker teams knew how to cover their tracks.

The awful pun made me giggle, even as I reached down and picked up the purse. If it was touched with a bit of relief and hysteria, well, there was nobody around to notice.

Then I turned around and bolted for our rooms.

I barely got the door unlocked and open before I was covered in blubbering, weeping, clingy toddler. "You're- you're back! You came back, you came back, I thought you w-wouldn't, I'm s-s-sorryyyy…!" Bags dropped to the floor as I threw my arms around my brother, crying as well. At this rate my tear ducts were going to get more exercise than I did running back home.

"I'm sorry, I got lost, I shouldn't have stayed out so late, I'm sorry…" Comforting him was a lot harder than I thought it would be with my face buried in his shoulder.

"I thought you l-left me," Naruto wailed, almost strangling me in his desperate hug. "I th-thought y-you w-weren't c-c-coming b-baaack!"

Shock flooded me, enough to give me the strength to pull back when all I wanted was to plaster myself all over him. "What—No!" I grabbed his face with both hands and forced him to look at me. "I wouldn't- I would never- Naruto!" He looked. His eyes were red and puffy, tears and snot streaming down his face. The mix of relief and terror in his face was heartbreaking. "Naruto. I would never leave you behind. Never. Do you understand?"

His lip wobbled. "I thought you were mad at me," he whispered.

I shook him a little, trying to show how serious I was. "Even if I'm mad at you. Even if we're apart, even if we have to go different ways, I would never. Ever. Leave you." I shook him again, trying to blink away tears that were blocking my view. "I'll always come back. You hear me? Always."

Naruto looked at me, his eyes as wide as they would go while swollen with tears. "Promise?" he begged.

I threw my arms around him, holding him so tight it felt like he was going to leave a bruise on my heart. I wanted to hold him close until he would fill the empty spaces inside, and I would fill his. Hatred didn't matter; hostility didn't matter. If other people rejected us, we would be fine because we would be together. "I promise, dattebana," I told him. "I swear."

That night, I took one look at the shadows around my bed and at the moon shining through the window and quit. Bless Naruto, he didn't say anything at all when I crawled into his bed faster than you could say "Achoo!". From the bright blue eyes staring at me from the dark, it looked like he hadn't been trying to sleep either. He just shuffled over and reached out with his hand, weaving his fingers through mine. We curled around each other, me with my head under his chin and our legs tangled under the covers.

We fell asleep.

Notes:

edited 01.15.2020
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1. Have some gratuitous Kakashi+children fluff.

2. 'Believe it!' never sounded like a verbal tic to me, because verbal tic implies that it's unconscious or unwilling (see: poor Minako's struggle with 'dattebana'). When I imagine Naruto saying 'believe it!', I think the reason he keeps saying it is because, well, nobody ever believed in him. Awww. Cue sad music. So he ended up saying it out of near-reflex just to convince everyone to freaking believe him. And yes, I know the English dubbers put that in just to have something to replace 'dattebayo'. But still, it doesn't feel the same without Naruto telling people to believe in him, so, there you go!

3. Fuck Konohan economy, I simply cannot compute prices with numbers that high. Especially D ranks — D ranks look like they're made for everyone to use, civilian, noble, or ninja, but how can anyone afford them if the pay is that fucking high? And if someone yells INFLATION at me, I will throw pancakes at you.

For more on me messing with Konoha's economy, check here. For now… did anyone notice the odd look the shopkeeper gave Minako? :^)

Chapter 6: Arc I Chapter 6

Summary:

Time to enter the Academy.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Wow," Naruto breathed, for once quiet with wonder as we gazed upon our new home-away-from-home for the next six years.

"Wow," I agreed, feeling less than impressed at the tall, red-roofed building that was giving me a crick in the neck.

The Ninja Academy. The source of Konoha's military force. A building filled with a hundred titchy menaces called children armed with sticks, stones, and the power to grind both into dust. The place where it all began.

Or will begin.

I swallowed, feeling a sudden, invisible weight descending on my shoulders. I moved automatically with the crowd, our future schoolmates moving ahead and stuttering into motion behind us. I could hear a few getting last-minute freak outs and clingy episodes with their parents further back.

This was it. We're headed for the Academy, the Plot was going to start rolling, I'd been in this world for six years and I had no idea what I'm going to do.

Maybe I should just run away, I thought, feeling mildly hysterical. Or jump off a cliff and hope this dream will end.

A hand slipped between my fingers. "Minako?" I looked to my side to see big blue eyes staring at me in puzzlement.

No. Even if this was a dream, there was no way I could leave Naruto. Figuratively or literally. I squeezed his hand and gave him a smile. "Sorry. Come on, I know you're excited." I tugged him forward. He dug his feet in and pouted mulishly.

"You're not." He pointed out. Oh god. He's going to grow up into either a Captain Obvious or a smartass. I wasn't sure which one I liked better.

"I'm just nervous, that's all." I lied, shrugging a few stray strands of red hair off my shoulders. Naruto's eyes were still narrowed in suspicion, but at least he went along. I glanced over my shoulder at the rest of the orphan children entering ninja school this year. I hadn't seen them in a while, but I did recognize a few. Most of them were still reluctant to leave Minoru-san's side—even the impatient-looking ones stayed fidgeting near the edge of the group.

I turned away from them. "Let's just get this over with, yeah?" I started walking backwards, pulling Naruto along. His reluctance was obvious, but at least he was moving. I beamed, trying to make up for killing his mood. It's the first day of the ninja equivalent of grade school; he should have some good memories of that at the very least. "Who knows, we might even get to make new friends today!"

Naruto's face brightened at that. "Yeah!" He broke into a run, tugging me along behind him. I couldn't help the small giggle that burst forth. My good mood lasted until a pair of mothers caught my eye and immediately began to whisper amongst themselves with horrified looks. My smile fell.

I took one look at Naruto's bright, hopeful eyes and sighed. I could only hope that the teachers here wouldn't treat him as badly as the civilians did. The glares from the times we dared to venture outside of our home were bad enough. Now we had teachers, who could easily sabotage our education and ensure we ended up dead in a ditch in the future. I didn't want Naruto's hopes to be crushed on making a new friend either. Children could be cruel, especially if they were raised to be that way.

I let myself be led away, lost in my own thoughts.

Two minutes into class I was struggling not to panic. I was in the Academy, on my first day of class, and I was going to learn how to murder people or die, while juggling the fate of the world and trying not to fuck shit up by doing something as simple as tripping over Sasuke and later end up giving him an insecurity complex over his agility. It would sound hilarious in hindsight, but it didn't sound very funny to me then, as I hyperventilated at the classroom door.

Where was Naruto? Naruto was always the one who helped me knock myself out of things like this, sometimes before they even started. Just a sunny smile, and I could convince myself that everything was going to be alright, and I was going to make sure of it, dammit. Why did he have to be assigned into a different class?

Small steps, I told myself, gasping. Small steps. Just get through the first day of school. Don't think about killing people, or changing the future, or anything. Just step through that door, and finish the first day of school.

I shuffled a foot forward. It moved an inch. I whimpered.

"Hey! Move it!" Something bumped into me hard, throwing me into the room and to the side. I collapsed on the ground and wheezed, doing my best not to kiss dirt and breathe air at the same time. "Slowpoke. What, you gonna cry for your mommy now, Carrot Head?"

Carrot Head? Really? At least it's not something like Tomato Face, was what I would have liked to say, except I was too busy trying to catch my breath. At least whoever the brat was knocked me out of my panic attack.

I settled for glaring at him instead. I caught a flash of spiky dark hair and brown eyes (hmph, side character) before he yelped and ducked behind the girl beside him. The girl in turn shrieked, brown pigtails bouncing as she pointed at me and cried out.

"What's with your face?"

My hand slapped over said face before I could even think, as if fingers over one eye would hide the black markings snaking around both. Already I could see children craning their necks behind the main group in front, trying to see what all the fuss was about. At least four kids had a direct view in front of me, making me squirm.

"They're clan markings," I blurted out. Oh god, me and my stupid mouth. I swear I wasn't this impulsive before I was reborn. Apparently being a loudmouth is inheritable.

"No way. No clan has markings like that." Another girl piped up from beside Pigtails. She had pale green hair and light blue eyes. I squinted. Whether she was from a clan or a civilian was up in the air. Stupid Naruto world aesthetics.

"She's lying! I've seen her around the orphanage!" yelled a very helpful voice from the back. "You don't have a clan if you're from the orphanage!"

"That's because they're all dead! Duh." I rolled my eyes. The kids sucked in a collective gasp at my retort.

"Really?" Cabbage Head's bottom lip wobbled. Her eyes were wide at the thought.

"So what's your clan?" Spiky asked suspiciously.

"Can't you tell? I'm from the Uzumaki clan!" I waved my arms around, trying to buy time to think. Fast.

I knew jack shit about the Uzumaki clan. I was supposed to know jack shit about the Uzumaki clan. If anyone overheard and decided I knew more than I should, I would be dead dead dead meat!

"I've never heard of your clan," said Spiky with all the disdain of a six-year-old. Panic morphed to anger and indignation at the willing volunteer for an outlet for my anxiety. What right did any brat have to look down on me?

"We are so totally a clan!" I exploded, leaping to my feet. I could feel my face flaring with my fury, turning me as red as the hair that got me labeled Carrot Head. "Everyone got killed and we had to run away so now they're pretending we don't exist so we're safe but one day they're gonna come back and they're gonna make me a princess so there!" I ended my rant with a gasp for breath, a stomp of my feet... And promptly burst into tears.

Shame and horror at my rant only made my wails turn louder. Freaking kid hormones! Behavior! Mindset! Whatever! I was a fully-grown adult at a mental age of twenty three, and this was the worst time to turn out to be a crybaby!

"Hey guys, what's the hold up?" A dark red head appeared above all the little kiddie heads by the floor. He took one look at me and frowned. "Hey, now, don't cry! Bullying already, kids? Come on, at least wait for after the first day of school!"

Metal glinted on his forehead. My eyes widened. Shit, the teacher!

"She said her weird face is coz of clan markings. But everybody knows orphanage kids don't have a clan." Spiky pointed at me, the skepticism clear in his voice.

"She said her clan was all dead, that's why she's in the orphanage!" Cabbage Head argued in my defense. Which was… wow, okay, thanks, really nice of her, but not when she just brought up my load of fish droppings made of lies!

Sensei tilted his head, studying me closely. I bit my lip and glared at him head on, bracing myself for the inevitable denial. It was the perfect opportunity to bring one of the Demon Twins down another peg, of course he would. Well, who cares? At least I knew that I was telling the truth! Even if I wasn't supposed to know the truth…

Snot threatened to drip down my nose. I sniffed, hard, and wiped my eyes, before returning to my heated glaring.

Sensei shrugged, an easy roll of green-covered shoulders. "Who knows? It could be true. There are a lot of clans out there that even I don't know of." He wove his way through the crowd of little monsters and into the room. "Now, are you all coming in or am I gonna have to call the Hokage and say you all don't wanna be a ninja anymore?"

"Nooooooo!" Dozens of voices shrieked, and then everyone was rushing to make their way into the room. I was left gaping after the teacher on the floor.

"Well?" He blinked, and started rubbing his ear. "Are you gonna stay there all day, clan kid?" He smiled at me.

He smiled. At me.

"N-no!" I stammered, feeling my face burn to my ears. I turned and bolted for the nearest empty chair I could find. I could still feel him smiling at me as I sat, before he turned to the board and started writing his name.

I covered my face with my hands and stared at my table. In the background I could hear Hiro-sensei introducing himself. I was too busy to wrap my mind around the fact that an adult had just been nice to me.

Adults being nice? To me and Naruto? Didn't happen. It was nice to dream about actual friends from within the closed walls of the orphanage, but reality was a lot more disappointing. Few were outright mean like Miyagawa-san, but everyone had their own ways of dealing with us. Some went the way of Minoru-san and acted like terrified mice the moment we popped up. Some just glared at us and avoided us completely. But no one was ever nice.

I peeked up at Hiro-sensei in time to catch him in a wide grin. Heat flared through my cheeks again. I buried my face in my arms.

Maybe... Maybe school wouldn't be so bad after all.

The moment we were let out of class for lunch I bolted into the Academy outdoor area to find Naruto. The backyard was as big as two classrooms with a flower field on the side and enough trees surrounding it to sate a monkey. The open space continued beyond my line of sight, circling the Academy building. I could see a hint of cleared earth that had a few of the older kids sparring in the distance. I looked around, trying to find a familiar mop of blond hair—which was harder than I thought it would be, since blond apparently wasn't as rare as the anime made it seem to be.

I gave up and decided to wait for Naruto to find me instead. My hair definitely stood out a lot better.

I headed for the flower field because it was on a hill and thus would make me easier to see. Not to mention all those colors would clash with my hair. Only a couple of kids were playing here, which made it even better to avoid any leftover curious children from the fiasco this morning. Looked like everyone else preferred the open space of the lawn to play.

I looked at the two kids in the field and thought of the teacher who has smiled at me this morning. I thought of Miyagawa-san, Minoru-san, the orphanage kids... Then I thought of Hiro-sensei, who looked at me and gave me a smile.

I took a deep breath, and walked towards the field.

I eased my way between the flowers, wary of crushing one or getting pricked by another. The girl I was trying to approach looked up at the noise. I stared. She stared back.

Misty gray eyes, and a disturbing lack of pupils. Oh.

"Hi," I squeaked, and immediately regretted it when she flinched. "Sorry!"

"N-no, it's... um..." She bowed her head and fiddled with the flowers in her hand. Her flush was stark against her pale skin. I blinked. Was it hereditary or had she just never seen the light of day?

Hopefully not the latter.

I smiled, trying to make her more comfortable. "Let's try that again. Hi!" I waved at her. "I'm Uzumaki Minako."

"U-um..." That stutter was going to make me stutter, seriously. "W-we're in the s-s-same c-class..."

"Uh... Oops?" This was going just peachy. Social norms, what social norms? I was a teenager, old lady, whatever, reincarnated in a kiddy body shunned by society. What did I know of social norms? "Sorry, uh, guess I wasn't paying attention. What's your name?"

"H-hyuuga. Hinata." She said it like she was spitting the words out before she choked on them. I spared her a moment of sympathy. Then my mind caught up with her words. I did a double take.

Misty gray eyes, and a disturbing lack of pupils. Oh.

Black hair and full bangs. Oh.

"Oh." I repeated out loud, looking at her with wonder. Oh my god, chibi-Hinata was adorable. All pink chubby cheeks and big round eyes. Ohh.

Hinata's face fell. She returned her gaze to her flowers, turning them over and over in her hands.

"Wait, why do you look sad?" I yelped, and flailed a bit, wanting to touch her but not sure if I could. "Don't be sad, uh, I don't know what I did, I'm sorry!"

She made a tiny little "eep!" and jerked back, clutching the flowers to her chest. I squeaked and yanked my hands back, trying not to scare her. We stared at each other, blue eyes at empty gray.

Slowly, so she didn't startle, I raised my hands in the universal sign of harmless. "Please don't be scared. I'm not scary, promise." I wracked my brains on a way to gain her trust. What would a kid do? What would Naruto do?

...well.

"Want to be friends?" Hinata jumped, before staring at me like I had just pulled a cupcake out of thin air and was now offering her a bite. It was disturbingly similar to the face Naruto would make whenever one of the orphanage kids spoke to him first.

"F-friends...?" she asked, in the softest voice I'd heard from her yet.

I made my decision.

"Yep! Friends!" I declared, flopping onto the flowers beside her. Crunch, went about half a dozen. Oops.

She jumped, but it wasn't as bad as before. She stared at me from under her bangs. I watched in avid fascination as her lips slowly stretched into a tiny smile.

She had a dimple on one cheek. Oh no.

"I'd… I'd like that," she whispered, poking her fingers together. She looked at me with a tiny, tentative smile on her cute face, and surrounded by flowers of different kinds.

Uzumaki Minako. Dead by cuteness.

"So! Hinata-chan." She jumped again—gonna have to fix that sooner or later—but if the widening smile on her face was any indication, it was more out of surprise than fear. I beamed back. "Whatcha doing?"

"Oh. Um." She looked at the flowers in her hands. "I'm c-collecting f-flowers."

"Really? That's so cool!" I clapped in enthusiasm. My wide grin was starting to hurt my cheeks, but in the name of childhood friends and trust it had to be done. Hopefully I didn't look as demented as I felt. "So you can tell which ones are those?"

"Y-yes." She ducked her head. "Okaa-sama t-taught m-me."

"Really? She sounds like a great mom!" Wait, did I say "really" twice?

"Yes." Her shoulders rose to cover her ears. "Sh-she was."

I opened my mouth and closed it a couple of times, trying to think of what to say to that. Awwwkwaaard. I wracked my mind for something else to say before the silence settled and we would be left staring at the flowers and wishing desperately for the bell to ring and lunch to end. "I don't know my mom," I offered. "Never met her." This mom, at least. I felt a pang at the thought of my old one, and hurriedly pushed it away. I'd done my wallowing. Mom was gone, and so was the rest of my old family and my old life. Gone. Dead. Kapoof. End of story.

Naruto was my life now.

"I-I'm s-sorry…" Hinata mumbled, looking just as dismayed as I felt bringing her mom up. I flailed again, trying to wipe the look off her face and get her shy smile back. Dear god, spare me from teary-eyed babies that look like the incarnation of marshmallows and fluffy bunnies.

"It's not that bad!" I said hastily. "I've got a brother. We take care of each other! That's as good as having a mom, I think."

Hinata perked up at the mention of a sibling. Thank god. "I h-have a l-little s-sister t-too," she said. "Her n-name is H-Hanabi-chan."

"That's great!" I said, much more sincerely this time. I smiled at the thought of a mini-chibi-Hinata (oh god, this wasn't going to turn into Sailor Moon, was it), except with narrower eyes, because I kind of remembered something about a stone-faced Hyuuga brat. "Siblings are the best."

"Y-y-yes. Th-they are." Hinata smiled at her fingers, her widest yet.

I tilted my head to the side, studying her pink cheeks and the eyes hidden by her bangs. "You know, Hinata-chan? You should smile more. It's really cute."

"E-eehh?!" Her squeak broke off into a wheeze. Red rose up her cheeks until it flooded her whole face. She swayed in her seat.

I felt the blood rush from my face as I hurried to catch her. "Wait, wait, don't faint! Don't faint!"

In the end I didn't get to meet Naruto during break time. I would have spent the hour worrying, but thankfully trying to hold a conversation with Hinata was enough to keep me occupied. I managed to keep her smiling all the way to the classroom, and we even managed to sit together the rest of the day. That was accomplishment enough for me.

That was probably the first time I didn't freak about Naruto when I couldn't find him in sight.

"So how are you getting home?" I asked Hinata, hanging back from the masses of children rushing for the door. "Maybe we can walk home together?"

"U-um... H-Hikane-s-san is p-picking me up." She pointed at a young man standing stiffly in the distance, his face as blank as a sheet of paper. I was surprised to see that his forehead was bare. My assumption about the Main house had been that it only involved Hinata's immediate family, considering that her uncle had been branded and booted to the Branch house. Guess I was wrong.

"Aww." I pouted at Hinata, then grinned, letting her know I was kidding. She smiled hesitantly back. "Maybe next time, then?"

"Y-yeah!" She beamed, a small flash of pure happiness, and my face responded in kind. It was getting easier to smile back at Hinata now. The poor thing was like a little sunflower starving without sun. Just smile at her a little and she bloomed into wondering joy.

Kind of like Naruto, really. Maybe that was why it was easier for me to hang around her than with the other kids. She was much easier to please.

"See you tomorrow!" I waved cheerfully as she pulled away towards her fetcher.

"S-see you!" She waved back, her smile not fading even as she walked away.

My eyes met her fetcher's over her head. The Hyuuga's eyes narrowed slightly, but it was enough for me to feel his disapproval even from this far away. My smile faltered.

"Min'ko, Min'ko! Where've you been? I've been looking all over, dattebayo!" A huge weight crashed into my back, literally knocking me out of my train of thought. Only copious amounts of flailing and yelping managed to save me from falling flat on my face. It didn't knock Naruto's enthusiasm down a peg, however. (Unfortunately.) "Look, Min'ko, look! I found a friend!"

"It's Minako!" I said automatically, glancing back to where I last saw Hinata. Gone. I bit my lip, feeling my heart constrict with dread.

Then my mind caught up with what Naruto was saying. "Wait, what?" I whirled around, my growing hair smacking Naruto in the face. He squawked. I ignored him, gaping at the kid beside him.

My first impression of Uchiha Sasuke was hair. It wasn't the duck-butt hairdo he'd been famous for in my old life. It looked soft, and fluffy, like chick down, and stuck out every which way. His eyes were big and round, and his cheeks just as chubby as Hinata's.

In short, he was fucking adorable.

"I never said anything about being friends!" He crossed his arms and glared, trying for an angry expression but only coming across as a pout. I may or may not have wheezed like a dying balloon.

"We punched each other! Now we gotta be friends, dattebayo! It's the rules!" Naruto insisted. "My sister said so!" I slapped my hands over my face in lieu of more dying noises. I really, really needed to watch what I told Naruto. Gratitious pop culture references out of sheer loneliness and insanity did not justify corrupting a little kid's mind beyond repair. I knew children were impressionable, but sheesh.

"It was a joke," I said weakly. Of course, according to all rules of Fictional Male Rival Bickery, I was ignored.

"Your sister is weird," Sasuke retorted. That only incensed Naruto.

"Hey! Don't talk about my sister like that, -ttebayo!"

"I am right here," I said louder, raising my eyes to the sky. Was this fate? Or was Canon mocking me? Naruto and Sasuke, meeting on the first day of school? Next thing you know, I was going to turn around and bump into Itachi.

Despite his obvious irritation, however, Sasuke didn't look truly angry. More of bewildered and annoyed. And no matter how loud Naruto yelled on my behalf, I had never seen him look so… happy. This was probably the longest conversation he'd ever had with someone without them walking away. It didn't matter if it was more of a fight than a conversation, really. He was talking to someone, and they were talking back.

There's a lump in my throat. I couldn't say a thing.

"Sasuke? Sasuke," a woman called, her voice breaking through the bickering faster than a kunai through cheese. Sasuke's face brightened, abandoning his conversation without a second thought.

"Okaa-san!" he cheered, whirling around. I saw Naruto's face break into an expression of dismay, though he quickly hid it with a pout. I jumped, my hand jerking out to grab Naruto—why? To yank him away? To hide him? As if shielding him would preserve the happiness I saw on his face mere moments ago?

It was too late, anyway. The woman—Sasuke's mother—smiled at seeing her son. Then she saw us.

Her face paled. Her eyes widened. Her lips thinned.

She looked like she'd seen a ghost.

This time, I really did grab Naruto. "Come on, Naruto," I snapped, feeling my cheeks flare up. "We're going home."

It was that feeling again. That sinking sensation in my stomach, with the rush of air from my lungs like being punched from the gut; familiar, so, saddeningly familiar. Four years of growing awareness to the clear cognition I had now, and the one emotion I knew like the back of my hand was this.

Hurt.

I didn't want to stay long enough to see how else that woman would react to us. I whirled around and started dragging Naruto away.

"But—" He glanced over his shoulder. It said a lot about how he felt at that moment that he didn't even try to resist. And that hurt even worse. I was an adult, even if it was just in my head. I could handle people glaring me down, no problem. I'd heal. But Naruto was just a kid. And no matter what anyone said, he didn't deserve anything like this. The thought that hurt was as familiar to him now as it was to me…

I resisted the urge to strangle anything that would make his smile falter.

"Wait—!" I heard Sasuke call, but we were already shoving our way through the quickly-parting crowd. The rest of his sentence was lost to the murmurs and hisses of the adults come to pick up their children.

Notes:

edited 01.15.2020
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Chapter 7: Arc I Chapter 7

Summary:

A mother shows her concern.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It was taking all of Mikoto's effort not to let her Sharingan activate.

Mikoto stood in the hallway outside the Hokage's office, her back ramrod-straight and her face frozen in a cool, Uchiha facade. Chuunin carrying varying stacks of papers did double-takes as they passed by. A few narrowed their eyes in distaste. None stayed long after she turned her freezing gaze on them.

The Uchiha had always been associated with fire. It burned in their hearts, sang in their veins, and blazed out of their throats to sear their enemies into ashes. The thought of an Uchiha in a rage always brought with it images of the red burning in their spinning eyes and the red that burned at a snap of their fingertips. But Mikoto had always burned cold.

She had brought Sasuke home first. He was a smart child, not like Itachi (there was no one like Itachi), but perceptive all the same. He had been very subdued on their way back, walking obediently by her side as he tried to sneak peeks at her face. It saddened her, a bit, that his first day at the Academy had to end so unhappily, but the ghosts of her past were too busy haunting her for her to muster enough willpower to do something about it. Luckily for the both of them, Itachi had managed to arrive home in time today. Sasuke had brightened immediately, and with a joyful crow had launched himself at his aniki, spirits and babbling renewed. Mikoto left them to it, with an admonishment to take care of each other and prepare their own dinner. She was not sure what time she was coming home today.

She saw Itachi look after her as she left, worry clear in the small tightening of his eyes. She ignored him. She did not need his or her husband's coddling today. She took a deep breath of the cool autumn air, then let it out, leeching the tenseness from her shoulders and centering herself. Today was not an issue for the Uchiha clan. Today was an issue for Mikoto alone.

The door to the Hokage's office opened. Her stance did not waver, and to an ordinary observer she did not react at all. But inside Mikoto, her fire burned.

Nara Shikaku met her eyes as he exited the office. He nodded to her in a short greeting. She returned the motion, tilting her head forward slightly, her face serene. His eyes narrowed, but he said nothing, and left in his customary slouch.

"Enter," said a voice, old and low but nowhere near frail yet. She steeled herself and stepped forward, her strides petite in her kimono but filled with all the power of a shinobi. She entered the room.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had not changed since the last time she saw him. It's been years since she had to venture outside the Uchiha compound, and years more since she had to report in this very office. He had liver spots now, scattered across his face like puddles on a spring morning. His wrinkles were even more deeply set, his veins standing out from his skin. But the piercing brown eyes remained the same, pinning her to the spot the way it did even when she was just a genin.

"Mikoto-san," he said, his voice rumbling in his throat. Neither smoking nor age had thinned his voice at all. "This is a surprise."

She had run a lot of scenarios in her head, practiced what she would say here. She knew that she had to stay calm, had to stay polite and avoid any chance of lowering the Uchiha further in the old man's eyes.

"You told me they were dead."

That… was not in her script.

Oops.

Sandaime's eyes narrowed. She didn't miss the sharpness in his gaze, or the minute way he straightened in his seat at the accusation.

He knew what she was talking about.

He knew-!

"You told me they were dead." Her voice didn't rise; rather, it fell, lowering just shy of a growl. She could feel her chakra rising in contrast, her agitation pushing at the tenketsu behind her eyes. She pushed it back as much as she was able, drawing on all the techniques and years of experience she had dealing with the crabby, ambitious elder council of the Uchiha and any other adult who dared to believe they could tell her how to do her job as wife and Uchiha matriarch. She could not let her Sharingan activate. (But oh, how she wanted to.)

"I assure you, Mikoto-san, any and all Uchiha deaths are reported to your husband—" he began. Her fury only rose further.

"Don't treat me like I'm stupid!" she snapped.

"Do not speak to me with that tone."

Killing Intent slammed down on her. Now all her effort was simply focused on keeping her back straight, and her face impassive. Her chakra flared, fighting back the pressure that sought to bring her down. She would not bow to this man! Not now, and not like this! She raised her head from the respectful tilt that kept her gaze on his chest and looked at the Hokage in the eye. She knew her Sharingan had finally activated out of sheer stress, and knew she could be executed for this, but she kept her chin up and her head held high. She had been a shinobi once. She may be no match for the Hokage, but neither was she just a lowly housewife to be pushed aside!

And just like that, the Killing Intent stopped, as suddenly as a kunai yanked out of a tree. She couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips, or the way her body shuddered in relief. A tear slipped down her face, but she didn't raise a hand to wipe it away. She kept her gaze on the Hokage's face.

He sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing a hand over his face. He looked older, all of a sudden, the strength and power he emanated before receding. Where the Hokage sat, Mikoto now saw an old man, working past any respectable age and thankless in the job.

"Mikoto-san," he said at last. "We accomplish nothing with this." He dropped his hand and gazed back, his eyes still sharp but older than she had ever seen. "I assume you are talking about Uzumaki Naruto and Minako?"

Mikoto inhaled, taking in the names and engraving them in her heart. Naruto and Minako. She breathed out. Those were the names Minato and Kushina had chosen for their children.

Kushina.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered. "You let me think they had died with their mother! I could have taken care of them! I could have taken them in!"

"You cannot," he said, tired but sure. "Stop for a moment and think, Mikoto-san." He straightened, placing his withered hands on the table. "You are the matriarch of the Uchiha clan. Tensions are already high between the village and your clan. If the other clans heard of you taking in the vessel of the Kyuubi, there would be a riot."

Incensed, she stepped forward. "I'm their godmother! I have every right to take care of them!"

"It does not matter. No matter who took them in or whatever right that person had to them, any clan that takes those children in would cause the others to rise up and rebel. The power imbalance would be too great." The Hokage laced his fingers together. "They are safer where they are."

"Safer? Where? With whom?" The Hokage's lips thinned. He said nothing. Mikoto had to fight the urge to laugh. "Do you mean the apartment they stay in? Are you talking about the chuunin that mans the desk?"

The Hokage's eyes narrowed. Killing Intent rose again in the room, softer, quieter, like the low roar in your ears that could easily rise up and drown you. "Is that a threat?" His voice rumbled, almost mild with the anger that filled it.

Mikoto did laugh then, a short, breathless chuckle of disbelief. A threat? Just how far gone was the Hokage's trust in her clan? Far enough to suspect the care a mother would have for her best friend's children? To completely ignore it? "Have you even seen them recently?"

She hadn't even had to pick up her rudimentary tracking skills once more. It was easy enough to pretend to be a civilian Uchiha woman and ask around for the twins. People were always eager to gossip, whether they were shinobi or civilian. Several in particular took care to tell her in the vaguest terms possible to avoid the children, circumventing the Law of Silence in the easiest and most damaging way possible.

"Have you even seen how the civilians treat them?"

She managed to catch up to the twins, and watched from a distance as they struggled to find a place to eat dinner. Streets she would usually have trouble passing through suddenly cleared. Shop doors slammed closed. She listened to every false apology the manager spouted as they blocked the way into their stores.

"Restaurants refuse them entry. Parents pull away their children. When they walk through a street, the crowd parts around them."

She had watched as Minako fought to keep Naruto smiling even as she struggled to keep her own smile in place. What had been a happy day ended badly as they made do with yakitori from a food stall that didn't have the luxury of sending them away.

"You didn't leave them with anyone, Hokage-sama."

She remembered the way Minako had looked at her, and the way she had glared at those who dodged back as they passed by.

"You left them alone."

The Sandaime set his wrinkled brown gaze on her. "I hid them, Mikoto-san." His expression was unreadable, his face shadowed by the symbol of his office. Smoke curled from the mouth of his pipe, rising until it hung like a cloud above him, then dispersed. "Because I have hidden their identity, I have saved them from the manipulations that comes with being in a clan. They are free of outside influence, and from the politics of the village. They will grow strong and learn independence and survival. I'm keeping them safe."

"You're losing them, Hokage-sama." She spread her hands, like an invitation, or a challenge. "They are independent. They are strong. But they are alone. The villagers hate them. The children are told to avoid them. They barely even know how to take care of themselves!"

So thin. So frail. Naruto's shorts were too small. Minako's shirt was too big. The colors were faded, or stained. They looked ready to be knocked over by a breeze, or carried away like a kite.

It just made their eyes stand out all the brighter.

"Do you know how Minako looked at me when I first saw her?" Mikoto asked the old man seated in front of her. "She looked at me with anger, and suspicion. And I had done nothing except to stare."

Mikoto had taken one look at the red hair and known. Her breath had caught in her throat, her body frozen in place. How could she forget such blazing color? Not after the foreign Uzushio girl had managed to drag her into a clawing, hair-pulling, honest-to-goodness catfight that should have been below any Uchiha. Not after growing into a full-blown rivalry that both of them refused to admit to, from their Academy days until they made chuunin. Not after a trembling, fidgeting, scared teenage girl accosted her one afternoon, in the midst of a war, and begged her for help on what to wear to her first date.

Not after they promised to take care of the other's children, if one of them never returned from a mission.

"This isn't about politics. It's about two children in desperate need of care. But if it helps, Hokage-sama, think of it like this: At the rate things are going, there is nothing that will keep your jinchuuriki loyal to the village."

Silence fell in the Hokage's office. The Hokage said nothing, just staring at Mikoto. She had no idea what he was thinking. His eyes were perfectly impassive. Well, two can play at that game. She smoothed her expression into porcelain, blank as a fragile doll. If there were two spots of color on her cheeks, then it just made her look even colder, like a painter had taken two dabs of a red brush in a desperate attempt to keep her from looking lifeless. Her anger was iron behind her obsidian eyes.

The Hokage spoke. "That wasn't the argument your husband gave me when I told him of the plan."

And just like that, her anger shattered. More effective than ice water on molten steel, the old man ripped the floor from under her with just one sentence. She had to hand it to him, even as her knees locked together to keep her upright. He could not have chosen a better way to kick her to the ground.

There was no denying his words. She could neither deny that Fugaku knew nor that he would not keep something like this from her. He probably did. And he already does.

Any trace of color in her face was gone. She didn't bother with questions, protests, arguments. She bowed, her waist bending at the exact height appropriate for the Hokage, and no more. "By your leave, Hokage-sama," she said, her voice hard. She didn't wait for his permission, but left the room, her geta on the wooden floor the only sound left behind.

If she saw the sorrow in the Hokage's eyes, it was buried under the anger and shame bringing the color back to her face full force.

By the time she got home, Itachi was busy trying to enforce Sasuke's bedtime and the dishes they used were neatly stacked by the sink. She didn't pause, leaving her shoes at the genkan and heading straight to the kitchen. Soon the house was filled with the sound of a knife cutting through vegetables. It was a far cry from the satisfying thunk of metal through wood, and the feel of shuriken leaping from her fingertips in a perfect arc towards the target she marked out herself. It was too late for the Uchiha matriarch to be training. Besides, even if she went out to train she was too angry, and her cold fury thunk-thunking against the wooden posts for all to hear would be unseemly.

Unseemly. The word echoed around her head, jarring against the confines of her mind. Her kimono felt suffocating, the stiff collar flat on her shoulders and brushing the back of her neck like a threat. Her wrists were free but her ankles were not. The obi felt like a chain, not a support.

Any Uchiha woman who activated the Sharingan were forced to retire early. There was truly no retiring from the life of a shinobi, of course, barring loss of life or limb, but they stopped taking missions and were only called to action during emergencies. The Uchiha bloodline primarily ran through the males, so the women who had it were all the more precious, along with the children they would bear. They were not allowed to venture into the deadly battlefield or stay there long, leaving that to the men. Mikoto herself had been lucky; the elders had allowed her to rise as high as tokubetsu jounin. She was the clan head's bride to be. To marry a chuunin or lower would behoove the representative of the clan, and therefore the clan itself.

Thunk, thunk. Thunk.

"You're up late." Startled, she jerked, almost stabbing the hapless carrot in a wonky half. Mikoto turned around, coming face to face with her husband. The shadows lurking beyond the light of the kitchen draped themselves over his face. He looked as stern as the picture on the wall of the Police Headquarters, a picture she had seen less than the amount of fingers she had in one hand. There was a slight pinch to his wrinkled eyes, shadowed with exhaustion.

Had he always been like this? Her mind presented her with the image of a smooth-faced man, stern, yes, but with a small smile hidden for the times the elders were not looking his way. It felt faded, distant, almost as if it was a figment of her imagination. Fugaku shifted, stepping further into the light, and the lines on his face softened with the illumination, drawing her out of her thoughts.

"Welcome home," Mikoto said, a slight stammer to her voice. Sloppy. Sloppy. Four years, five years ago, she would have known Fugaku was home before he set one foot in the house and said "tadaima."

As though reading her mind, his lip quirked up slightly. "Did you not hear me call?" he asked.

Kushina had never understood why she put up with Fugaku, and looked at their arranged marriage with the expression she reserved for nonbelievers (i.e. people who were not overly fond of ramen but did not particularly hate it either). But then again, Kushina had never been able to read nor had the opportunity to see her husband's microexpressions. It warmed Mikoto somewhat, knowing it was quite possible she was the only one who had.

She shook her head, her hands twitching towards her bound sleeves, then falling back to her sides. "Forgive me. I was preoccupied."

His little smile fell. "Does this have to do with your impromptu visit to the Hokage?"

Her head snapped up—an instinctive reaction. She did not feel surprised. There was only a small rock resting in the bottom of her stomach, bitter and heavy. Of course he knew. The Uchiha were far nosier than their far-sighted cousins, though the red-eyed clan would accuse them of the fact. They were the police, after all. It was their job. They were trained for it, even. And he was the head of them all.

"I saw Kushina's children," she whispered. Fugaku twitched, his eyebrows rising then drawing together in a frown. No more dancing around the subject. They were beyond that, here.

At least, she had thought so.

"What did the Hokage tell you?" No denial. No surprise. Was this an interrogation? The walls were closing in on Mikoto again. She thought the walk from the Tower would remove the feeling. Now it came roaring back. She clasped her elbows, trying to keep herself together.

"He told me you knew."

The crickets were not very active this time of the year. Mikoto found herself listening for the sound, anything to fill the silence that seemed to last longer than a heartbeat.

Fugaku took her hands, his hands hot around her cold fingers. She realized, all of a sudden, that she felt cold, despite the thickness of her kimono. She did not curl her fingers around his.

"I didn't tell you because I knew you would worry." His voice was low and dark, like oil dripping onto her skin. It used to warm her, in the morning and in the night. Now she could only close her eyes. "The Hokage took them away, would not even let me see them. Despite the fact that we had the right, no, the duty to take care of them, he would not hand them over. He didn't want them to be under any clan's influence."

She wanted to scream. She wanted to rail against him, to throw her fists against his chest and say, we could have done something, we could have left them with a civilian, we could have watched over them!

I am not a weak-willed housewife!

But she could only close her eyes.

He laughed, low, mocking. Angry. She almost missed what he said next. "I should have known it would be the start of Konoha's ungratefulness to the clan."

"What?" Her eyes snapped open. This was the first she heard of this. "Ungratefulness?" She looked up at her husband, her eyes wide. She could see him withdrawing again, that warm gentleness in his crow's feet smoothening into honed steel. She held on to his hands, holding tight, keeping him from pulling away, figuratively and literally. "What are you talking about? What ungratefulness?"

"It's none of your concern." He unraveled her fingers from his. She was no longer caged, she was in a space. The kitchen yawned around her, the small step her husband takes back feeling like a canyon at their feet. What else didn't she know? What else were they keeping from her?

What else did she leave behind when she put her hitai-ate away?

"Fugaku, please." Not husband, not beloved. Fugaku.

He stopped.

"I need to know. I'm a—" Shinobi. "—an Uchiha too." She raised her head, chin held high.

She may no longer be a shinobi in all but name, but she was still an Uchiha. They owed fealty to the village, but they had been around before Konoha was born, had helped built the village that housed them now, and would continue after the walls crumbled and fell. They had sworn to serve the village above all else, even the clan, but with the Hokage's attitude earlier, it felt more and more like putting the clan before the village was the right action to take.

Fugaku looked at her, dark eyes to dark eyes. He nodded.

"The Hokage denying our right to the children was only the first in the list of the many grievances we would soon be receiving. Less and less Uchiha are being sent out on missions, or being promoted. More are being relegated to the Police Force, when we have more than enough people there already." He reached up to rub one side of his nose. It was a rare show of weakness, one he only allowed himself around Mikoto.

She felt her dread return, heavier on her shoulders than before. "Have you spoken with the Hokage about this?" The moment the words left her lips, she shook her head, realizing how meaningless they were. Of course he had. "Surely the council would have something to say on this," she said instead.

Fugaku exhaled, a strong, soundless huff that expressed his frustration more than the stress lines on his face. "When I try to speak in the clan meetings, I am constantly rebuffed or ignored." He dropped his hand and shook his head as well. "We are alone in this." He hesitated, then spoke lower, in a whisper only for her. "I fear the village is turning against us," he confessed.

Mikoto's eyes widened. Wordlessly, she took his hands, a reverse of the comfort he tried to give her earlier. Fugaku's eyes flickered to meet hers. His lips twitched, the smallest of smiles in gratitude. He covered her smaller hand with his, enveloping their joined hands.

"The civilians grow fearful, and our comrades watch us with jealousy or distrust. I…" He trailed off. Even Fugaku had a limit to the confessions he could make.

Mikoto's heart went out to him. She brought up their joined hands and pressed her lips to his hand, soft and gentle. Fugaku loved the village, with the strength and passion only an Uchiha could have. But he loved the clan even more. Everything he did, he did to serve both, even if it meant losing time to spend with his own children. His wholehearted dedication to service was something he expected of everyone around him. It made him the leader everyone respected, both within the clan and outside it. And that expectation could not be seen more than his expectations of his genius son. He had given Itachi to the village he loved, to serve it and protect it.

Her thoughts turned once more to another child, this one with red hair and deep blue eyes. She thought of Kushina's children, living alone and left to fend for themselves by an old man pulled out of retirement and long, long past his prime. She could feel her anger grow again, that cold fire flickering to life in her womb and spreading throughout her body. She looked her husband in the eye, letting the red swirl of her bloodline speak for themselves.

"I stand with you," she said, her voice fierce as the fire in her gut. "Whatever happens, whatever you do, I stand with you." Her hands tightened on her husband's. "This kind of treatment is unacceptable. If the village cannot take care of their Hokage's children, what of the clan? What of its people? We cannot let them continue like this."

Fugaku's eyes widened, then softened. He returned her grip, twining their fingers together and holding tight. "We'll find a way," he agreed, his own eyes burning red. He drew her into an embrace.

The next morning, Mikoto had to remake her sons' bentos from scratch. In the end, it turned out to be a good thing. She considered the two wrapped boxes before her. Her eyes narrowed. She nodded resolutely, and brought out two more.

Notes:

edited 01.15.2020
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Writing this chapter had me cursing out Uchiha Sasuke and all his relatives for months. Dramatic and angsty, the lot of them.

The first time I uploaded this, someone reminded me that canon Mikoto has jounin for rank. I put the reasoning behind sticking to my choice on my blog here. If any of you catch any more deviations from canon, or have any other questions you want to ask, please, go ahead. I love constructive criticism just as much as I love hearing about how you enjoyed this story.

Chapter 8: Arc I Chapter 8

Summary:

Itachi is given a choice.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Itachi tried to be kind. He really did. But no matter how much he tried, it never seemed to translate to something other people could understand. He did his best to fulfill, no, exceed expectations in his classes, defeating his classmates cleanly and efficiently. But instead of accepting they were defeated and standing up again, they would always burst into tears. He didn't understand. He tried to tell them what they did was wrong, to help them learn and improve, but they just glared at him and called him mean. And when the teacher repeated what he said, they just glared at him and hated him even more.

Even when he graduated, it was the same. He strove hard to excel in his training, repeating katas and practicing jutsus until everything was polished to perfection. He knew every little thing he learned would only increase his efficiency and chances of survival, and yet his teammates still looked at him like he was a monster. When he walked down the streets, people whispered about the youngest Uchiha genin, the great Uchiha heir. They gave him candy and showered him with compliments, but he could only feel their awe, never any care.

He strove to become the best shinobi he could be, so that he could make his family proud and serve his village well. His classmates didn't want to go near him and his teammates didn't want anything to do with him. So he poured himself into training, stacking promotion after promotion, until they recruited him straight into ANBU. (Because in the end, what else did he have if he wasn't the perfect Uchiha prodigy?)

People called him cold, he knew. He knew Gama-san liked to call him The Little Iceberg when he didn't think he was around to hear. It hurt, a bit, but by that time he knew how to push the feeling away. They were there to perform a job, weren't they? His father always valued professionalism and strength above all else. And it was effective—after all, he made it this far, hadn't he? ANBU at the age of twelve, an unheard-of record in the village. What did it matter what people thought of him?

None of his team mates ever saw the time he hoarded like gold to spend with his little brother. None of his classmates heard the tentative care he put into critiques of their technique, hearing criticism instead of help. None of the civilians saw his clumsy offers of help, always scrambling to serve him instead. So he trained.

(If they wanted him to be a figurehead, then he will be a figurehead.)

The incident at the dango shop haunted him. He remembered his conflicted feelings as he left, brushing away the shopkeeper's bows and promises that "won't happen again, you can be sure of it, Uchiha-san!" He wasn't stupid; he knew that by "won't happen again" the woman meant that little Minako wouldn't be allowed anywhere near the shop at all. He could see the glint of steel in the woman's eyes for what it was. He wished he could have done more for Minako. But the little girl wouldn't even look at him in the eye before she fled.

Would it have been better if he had not interfered? Civilians never liked it when ninja interfered in their business. It was something he had experienced, time and time again, out in the field. Perhaps if he hadn't forced his hand, little Minako would have found a way to come back.

And yet, it was the ninja's duty to ensure peace reigned in Konoha. Moreover, it was the Uchiha's honor and duty to ensure peace in Konoha. The Second Hokage himself had given them that task.

So why did he see the civilians flinch away from the police more often than not? He could see the hesitation, almost like a stutter in their movement whenever they faced him or one of his relatives. It was only natural that they feared them, he supposed, because of the strength and skill the Uchiha have. But it was… disturbing. He knew of no other way to describe the feeling of nervous eyes flickering towards him or avoiding him.

And the more the civilians avoided the Uchiha, the more tempers grew. Something was brewing between his village and his clan. Itachi could sense it, in the angry muttering on the streets of his compound and his father's visitors in the middle of the night. He didn't know what it meant. His instincts told him he didn't want to know what it meant.

It had never been about what Itachi wanted.

It was a rare occasion to have the entire family together for breakfast in the morning. Itachi was often away, both on regular missions and on ANBU ones. Their father was often so busy, he would head straight to work, to read reports over breakfast there. It seemed today was an exception.

Sasuke was ecstatic. He put on his best behavior, raising his chopsticks with a focus that rice didn't deserve. A shinobi must show precision and grace in all things, their father had told them once. And so Sasuke tried to live it, by eating his breakfast without spilling a single grain.

The way his little brother sought their father's approval so eagerly made something in Itachi's chest hurt. Of course, otou-san did not acknowledge him at all, other than a question on his training progress at the end of the meal. When Sasuke replied with enthusiasm and pride at advancing to using ninja wire, his father just told him that Itachi had done better when he was four.

Itachi knew it was the Uchiha way. It was almost traditional for brothers to have a rivalry with each other. The elders encouraged it, in order to push them to the limits of their capabilities. It was what made the Uchiha clan strong.

It didn't stop Itachi's hands from curling into fists as Sasuke's bright smile slipped away.

"Itachi," their father said, turning away from Sasuke. "Do you have a mission today?"

Itachi stilled. "No, otou-san," he said. "We've been afforded some downtime after my last mission." The infiltration mission had lasted two months, what with how important it was that they weren't detected. Just getting them home took two weeks, when open travel could have them finish it in one.

"Then you have nothing to occupy you for the day." His father rose from the table, sparing a moment to nod to their mother, in thanks for the meal. "Meet me at the shrine."

The shrine? Itachi hid his confusion and said, "Yes, otou-san." He watched as the man disappeared down the hallway. Slowly, he unclenched his fists. He did not look forward to the meeting with his father. He had yet to experience one that went well for him.

And at so odd a place?

"I have to go," Sasuke said abruptly, pushing away from the table. Their mother rose to her feet.

"Don't forget your bento," she said, taking a bulky package from the corner. She handed it to Sasuke, who wobbled, but managed to hold on.

Itachi blinked, curiosity overwhelming his dread. "Okaa-san… why so large?"

Her smile was small and demure. All his life, Itachi had never seen his mother's calm façade break. "It's for Sasuke to share," she said.

"It is?" Sasuke eyed the bento, high enough to reach his chin.

"Yes. With the two children you wanted to introduce to me yesterday. Remember?" Their mother patted Sasuke's hair down. The dark strands stayed stubbornly pointed every which way.

Sasuke's nose scrunched up. "…Oh. Them." His confusion cleared. He looked more doubtful than excited. "Thanks, okaa-san," he said anyway.

Their mother turned to Itachi. "Go ahead and meet your father," she said. "I'll take care of this."

Itachi nodded and rose. Their father would not appreciate Itachi making him wait. Still, he was glad to hear that Sasuke was already making friends. He hadn't been able to pick him up from his first day at school… but maybe today, he can make it up to his little brother. "Sasuke," he called.

His brother looked up, just in time for Itachi's fingers to meet his forehead. He yelped and jumped back, unable to retaliate with his arms otherwise occupied. His pout brought a smile to Itachi's face. "Have fun at school today," Itachi said.

"Thanks, nii-san." Sasuke beamed. Itachi ruffled his hair, and headed off. Behind him, he heard their mother murmuring to Sasuke, her voice fading as he left.

It was worse than he feared.

There, under the shrine dedicated to his ancestors, his father spoke the words he hadn't wanted to hear.

"You will become the clan's eyes and ears within the ANBU. Learn their plans. Gauge their numbers. Find their weaknesses. In the name of the clan, and the honor our ancestors have passed down to us."

And, lastly, the damning words:

His father laid a hand on his shoulder at his shaky nod. "I'm proud of you, son," he said.

Itachi wandered the compound like a ghost. The words were like an electric current running up and down his spine. Up, down, and back again. Any other boy would have shivered. All Itachi could feel was the weight of his hitai-ate on his forehead and the sting of the tattoo on his arm, as if it was still less than a day old. His hand twitched, rising as if to touch it, only to drop back to his side.

How much sweat, blood and spit had gone to give him that brand? His father had fought tooth and nail to get him accepted into Konoha's elite fighting force. He had borne it as best as he could, tamping down every bit of fear and despair at the thought of more blood on his hands. Itachi would give his life for his village, even if it meant living through the horrors of taking the lives of others.

Every life ended meant another would be spared, and the village would be safe. It was this single thought that forced him out of the gates, again and again and bloody again.

Itachi wished, fleetingly, that he had been talented at something else. Something that involved saving lives, not taking them. Medicine, perhaps. Then he brushed the thought away. He was the Uchiha clan heir. There was no other path for him but blood. If he could use that blood to smoothen the way to peace for the village, then he would do what could. It was what he was good at, after all, and if it could help him serve the village and the clan then so much the better.

The village and the clan.

The clan who, through his father, had just asked him to betray the village.

Duty versus duty. His clan's honor versus the village's. And his father was making him choose.

No, not choose. He was a fool to even think it. There was no choice.

He was the clan heir. It was what was expected of him. What his father expected of him.

"Ah, isn't that Itachi-sama?" A pair of gossiping housewives pulled him out of his contemplation for the moment. He let his eyes flicker towards them, then away. They were civilians, rare in the Uchiha but not unheard of. Either way, it was thoughtless of them to believe he couldn't hear them at this distance.

"Ah yes, the hope and light of the Uchiha clan…" The way they spoke made it sound like a whisper of hope, or a prayer. The whole compound knew of his father's displeasure with the village, and the supposed… encouragement of the Uchiha shinobi to stay in the Police Force. The older ninja all but buzzed with frustration at it. They may not proclaim it from the rooftops, but word of mouth served well enough in a compound as tightly knit (geographically) as theirs.

"He looks so small… hearing about him, you forget just how young he is, don't you?"

Their compound, forever under guard… The clan, unpromoted in the ranks… The Hokage, denying all knowledge of such measures…

All this time, Itachi had believed this was the reason Fugaku had pushed so hard to get him into ANBU. His father had wished to remind Konoha of the strength and prowess of the Uchiha clan, and why it depended on them for security and power. And it had, though, Itachi suspected, not in the way his father expected.

Itachi was a very good listener. And what he heard about the other clan's thoughts on his father's efforts was not generous at all.

He had taken pride in his ANBU work, in the little ways that he could. And now that very same father was asking him to betray it.

"I heard that he is very close to his brother, though!"

"Well, I suppose no one is perfect…"

Itachi ignored the gossiping housewives. Walking would take too long, he decided. He leapt for the rooftops, leaving behind the sudden spike of irritation at the clueless women chattering away.

"The prideful, ambitious Uchiha clan." That was how the village viewed them all. It had taken a while for Itachi to notice, but he did. He thought it had been his age that made fellow ninja stop speaking the moment he stepped into earshot. Instead, it was unhappy mutterings about his clan demanding more than they deserved. His father's efforts only served to make him look aggressive, and power-hungry. Pleas to give more consideration to the clan translated to greedy demands in the eyes of others.

And there lay the ghost that Itachi was running from.

The Naka river's roar was a comforting hum in his ears. He slowed to a stop on top of a small cliff, near the edge of the Uchiha compound.

He knew tensions had been building between his clan and the village he served. What he didn't expect was the word his father had whispered, deep in the bowels of their clan's home.

"Coup…"

It terrified him. He could admit that, to himself, all alone on a cliffside with nothing but his thoughts. Ever since that fateful day when he was four, Itachi had dedicated his life and soul to the village. He had forged himself into a kunai for Konoha to use, in order to prevent such a disaster happening again. But now his family was threatening a war against his village, a civil war that would raze Konoha to the ground. And the little that's left would be smothered by the other nations when they saw their chance.

He couldn't let that happen.

"There you are!" Shisui made no other noise when he landed. As if he hadn't expected to find Itachi at their regular meeting place.

Itachi spared him a glance, but made no other move. He was used to his best friend's antics, as well as his penchant for appearing out of nowhere. Shisui, used to Itachi's nonreaction as well, crouched down beside him, an easy grin on his face. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

He leaned over, trying to catch Itachi's eye. Itachi, not in the mood, kept his gaze in the distance. With anyone else, the conversation would have died a quick, ugly death. Shisui just took it in stride.

"I'm surprised you didn't walk Sasuke to school," he said. "It's our day off, you should do something fun!"

Itachi gave Shisui a look. His friend burst out laughing, knowing full well Itachi's answer to that. "Oh, come on, I can handle a spar or two!"

"The medic nin said on no account were you to do anything near combat-related today," Itachi said, raising an eyebrow. Shisui grimaced.

"Ah, yes, glorious Yua-san. Do you think she's forgiven me for the petal incident yet?" Shisui cradled his head in his hands. His added pout was just pitiful.

"I told you, if you really wanted to win her over, you should have gone for the chocolate mochi instead." Despite his exasperation, Itachi couldn't help the smile tugging at his lips. Shisui laughed and leaned back on his arms.

"Yeah, I should have listened to you. At least there would have been less of a mess." He ran a hand through his hair, before letting out a sigh and turning back to Itachi. "So what's bothering you?" he asked, his brow furrowing with concern.

Itachi looked at his hands. If he could count the two bright things in his life, it would be Sasuke and Shisui. If Sasuke was the warm fire that kept back the cold, Shisui was the beacon that gave him a path in the darkness. Whenever he felt lost and alone, and even Sasuke's pure admiration became too suffocating for him, Shisui was there. Now he was lost again, but it was darker, deeper. The shadows crawling in were bigger than the both of them. The wrong word in the wrong place could send both his clan and his village toppling to the ground, and everything falling apart around him.

"Did you know?" he asked his only friend.

Shisui leaned forward. "Know about what?"

Itachi dragged the words up from the pit within his gut. "This morning," he said. "My father told me to meet him in the clan shrine…"

Shisui's eyes sharpened. That was all Itachi needed.

"It was Fugaku-sama who wanted to bring you in," Shisui explained, his mischievous air slipping away. Replacing it was the cold determination he only showed whenever they sparred. Perhaps in missions as well. "The others were skeptical, but he was adamant you could do it."

"And you agree with them?"

Shisui held Itachi's gaze. Itachi stared back. They'd known each other since they were children. They've been training together since they hit genin. Shisui was the only person Itachi had ever told about the moment he activated his Sharingan. About the bodies that lay in the grass, some still moaning in pain. How the horror was seared into his memory, as his eyes turned as red as the blood on the ground.

"No," Shisui said. "I don't."

Itachi closed his eyes. The relief was overwhelming.

I'm not alone.

"What do we do?" he asked. With relief came clarity of mind. He began to review the facts as he knew them.

Shisui sat down, interpreting Itachi's clouded gaze correctly. He let Itachi unravel his thoughts in silence, while he spoke aloud. "So far, I've decided to stick to gathering information. Discontent is brewing, sure, and plans are being made… but even the clan knows what kind of risk they're taking. They won't be taking action anytime soon."

Itachi settled beside him. "We need to find where everything started." The clan and the village had two very different views of the other. Perhaps the solution would lie there.

Shisui's shoulders slumped. He picked at the grass, before tossing the strands into the air with a huff.

"We'll have to talk to the Hokage," he said.

Slowly, Itachi nodded. This was the choice the two of them were making. "The village, over the clan," he said, his voice hoarse.

Shisui clasped his shoulder and shook him. "No!" He waited for Itachi to meet his gaze before continuing. "The village and the clan. Don't give up so soon, idiot." His grin could outshine the sun. "Come on. We're Uchiha Itachi and Shunshin no Shisui! We'll find a way to fix this."

Objectively, Shisui hadn't given Itachi any concrete reason or plan to guide him forward. And yet, he feels steadier already, as if all he needed was Shisui's unwavering faith to keep him going. Itachi closed his eyes but couldn't hide the smile creeping across his face. It only lasted a moment — the situation was still dire, after all — but it was a smile all the same.

"You know, you're the only one who's ever called me an idiot," Itachi said. If anything, that only made Shisui grin wider.

"Tell you what." Shisui rose to his feet, dusting off his pants. "Why don't we spend the morning wandering around a little? See the sights! Reacquaint ourselves with our home!" He spread his arms in demonstration, trading his smile for a mischievous grin. Eavesdrop on the civilians. Gather information, he didn't say. "Maybe get some dango at your favorite place, yeah?"

Itachi sighed but stood as well. He would have preferred to train by himself—experiment with his shurikenjutsu, maybe—but considering Shisui was banned from combat, it would be better to keep him away from temptation.

Speaking of the dango place…

For a moment, Itachi debated the pros and cons of telling Shisui. The little girl's reaction could definitely be a start for their investigation. But he could also already tell how Shisui would take her words.

"What is it?" Shisui asked, tilting his head at Itachi's expression.

Itachi's eyes flickered to the right—his own version of an eyeroll—before resigning himself to his fate.

Sure enough, Shisui's cackling lasted all the way until they made it to the central residential area of the village. "Oh, we are definitely going there now," he said gleefully. "I want to meet the kid that mistook Uchiha Itachi for a girl!"

Notes:

edited 01.15.2020
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The first time I published this chapter, someone (rightfully) pointed out that nothing much happened in it. At the time, I didn't have the energy or time to do more than apologize and try to do better next chapter. Rereading the chapter, I now agree wholeheartedly. The old version was a mess of stream of consciousness worldbuilding nonsense. Of all the 2020 editing I'm doing, this chapter will be the one affected the most because it.

I'm fuddling up the timeline a little bit, but whatever. Shisui knowing before Itachi is such a minor thing.

Thank you to all the people who commented, subscribed, and gave kudos. I seriously appreciate your support, and therefore am doing my best not to disappoint with focus on quality over quantity work. This fanfic isn't dead, and will only die when I do. Seriously, I already have a whole three chapters written out set when they're fifteen, and very plot important. You'll see clues of it even earlier than that, so keep an eye out ;)

Chapter 9: Arc I Chapter 9

Summary:

Hatred is easy. Hope is harder.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

I may have been a bit presumptuous about Naruto's thoughts the other day.

"I still don't get why you pulled me away!" he yelled at me from within his room. I rolled my eyes and flipped my egg, letting it sizzle against the pan.

"Will you get over it?" I demanded, dumping the egg onto a plate when it was finished. It wiggled alongside its twin, which was already cooked and ready for eating. "You've been bugging me about that since yesterday!"

"You didn't answer me yesterday!" He tumbled out of his room, still tugging his shirt over his head. I could almost hear the pop when he finally managed to yank it down. Of course, that just allowed him to glare at me as he stomped his way to the kitchen table.

I bit back a growl and raised my eyes to heaven for patience. "I told you, I didn't want to meet Sasuke's mom," I said for the nth time. Eggs finished, I slid that plate onto the table and grabbed the bowl filled with rice. Two more plates, two pairs of chopsticks, and our breakfast was ready. (Are you proud of me yet, Sora-san?)

"But why?" Naruto insisted, ignoring the food for now. For once I wished this was one of the times he was so hungry the speed he chewed sent bits flying across the table. (We're working on that.)

"You know how people are like! If they're not glaring at us, they're chasing us away." If he didn't want his egg, then I was getting mine. I stabbed one of the eggs and slid it onto my plate. Who cared about the proper use of chopsticks? If anyone ever tries scolding me for it, I'd just blame it all on toddler motor skills. Ninja school at six, really. "I didn't want to stick around and see which one she was."

"Sasuke's mom wouldn't do that!" He glared at me, then at the plate, irresolute. At last he stabbed the remaining egg and slid it over to his plate as well.

….oops.

"Sasuke's a nice guy!" he continued, going on with the eating and the spewing. I wiped a bit of rice off my arm, grimacing. "So his mom is nice too!"

"That makes no sense," I said, a bit bitterly. Just a bit. Maybe.

"It does too!" Naruto had gone from offended on his friend's behalf to offended at the argument. This was the point where I usually gave up and just let him learn his mistakes on his own. Nothing could shake Naruto once we got to this stage.

A small part of me wondered: was this the beginnings of his Talking no Jutsu?

I stabbed my chopsticks in his direction, giving him glare for glare. "Finish your food," I growled. "Or we'll be late."

He grinned at his illusory victory and dug into his food, smug as a cat. I ended up scowling for the rest of the morning. Go figure.

My mood wore away by the time we arrived at the Academy. Naruto practically dragged me behind him in his eagerness to get to class. Not like I wasn't all that excited to get to class either. The memory of Hinata's softly blushing cheeks and tiny smile made me smile. Not even an old man's cursing as we dodged around his feet could flag our spirits down. It might be a bit strange for a grown woman like me (A grown woman? A teenager? Who knew how old I was anymore?) to look forward to the company of a toddler, but after years of depending only on Naruto's smile left me starved for more. Any sign of approval was still a sign of approval, whether it came from a baby or a nonagenarian. And Hinata was a sweet kid. I could practice my dying social skills on her before I turned them on anybody else.

"Bye Min'ko!" Naruto yelled, practically barreling down a poor kid with fluffy brown hair as he backpedaled towards his class. "See ya later!"

I covered my face with my hands. "It's Minako!" I yelled back. Fluffy shot me a wounded look, while a teacher hissed at me to shut up. I stuck my tongue out at her and headed for my classroom, a bit of a bounce in my step still.

Hiro-sensei was already in the classroom when I got there. He gave me a cheeky smile when I peeked shyly at him from the corner of my eye, making me flush. I fled to my seat in the middle of the room, by the aisle—which helped nothing, seeing as it put me at his eye level. I pretended to be busy with the pad paper I had gotten from the apartment manager. My handwriting was still shitty as hell, and I only had a basic vocabulary when compared to my English one, but I was going to be a good student, dammit, letters or no letters!

It was hard not to fidget and avoid meeting Hiro-sensei's gaze at the same time, but I couldn't just duck my head and pretend nothing was happening around me. I kept glancing at the door, waiting for Hinata to come in with the kind of impatience only a six-year-old could have. Just as the bell was about to ring, a familiar bob of dark hair darted through the door. I tried to catch her eye, but she kept her head down and her arms scrunched close to her body as she ran up the steps to her seat at the back. (No wonder I hadn't noticed her before we met yesterday.)

I caught a whiff of saltwater as she blew past. I turned to stare at her retreating back. Had she been crying?

This pretty much shattered my attention for the rest of the morning's class. Hiro-sensei seemed to be talking about teamwork and the Will of Fire, which is good and all, and would have had me riveted any other day. But the thought of Hinata crying, and my inability to sit still for more than five minutes without boiling over left me practically jumping in my seat. The bell signaling the start of lunch break was a godsend.

I wasted no time in whipping around and trying to catch Hinata's eye. I could see her dark head, bent low amongst the other kids scrambling to get to the door. I went with the flow, ducking out of the way as soon as I got to the door, so I could wait for her without getting stampeded by noisy children. "Hinata—" I started, as she got closer.

For a fleeting moment, our eyes met. She looked—panicked?

A voice called out, yanking my attention for a split second. "Hey! Wait! Uzumaki-chan, right?" I turned—it was Cabbage Head and Pigtails from yesterday, leaving the river of hungry kids to run up to me. One glance back at the door showed me Hinata was already gone. I bit back a very un-child-like curse.

"Sachiko-chan, wait up!" Pigtails gasped, doing her best to keep up. She had to pull up the skirt of her long duster just to run faster. (Honestly, what kind of parent sends a kid to ninja school in a dress?) Cabbage Head didn't even bother waiting; she just screeched to a stop in front of me and shoved her face into mine.

"Is it true, Uzumaki-chan? Your whole clan is dead?" she exclaimed with a voice worthy of a telenovela. Sure enough, her eyes began to water and her lips wobble at the thought.

I back pedaled and almost tripped over someone else. The kid yelped and pushed me right back at Cabbage Head. Please go away, I begged silently.

She didn't twitch.

"Y-yep! My whole clan! Eradicated! Poof! Gone!" I waved my hands around, trying to emphasize the enormity of that statement. Cabbage Head gasped accordingly, her hands flying to her face.

"Oh no! That's awful!" she wailed. Pigtails finally managed to catch up, bracing herself on her knees to catch her breath.

"I don't... I don't believe you!" she huffed, in between gasps for air. "I've never heard of a clan named Uzumaki! My papa would know, he works with all the clans." Somehow, she managed to sound smug and exhausted at the same time. Had to give her kudos for that, even if she did look too pathetic to last in ninja class.

I gave her a pitying look. Just wait til history class then, and Uzumaki Mito will smack you in the face.

"Of course he's not working with my clan," I said flatly. "They're dead."

Cabbage Head's eyes went wide. This time her hands flew over her mouth to hide what sounded suspiciously like a giggle. Pigtails spluttered, her face shifting into an alarming shade of purple. I hoped she wouldn't suffocate herself to death. It's a little too early for me to be killing anybody.

That thought sobered me a little. This was a waste of time. I glanced back to the now-empty corridor, itching to find Hinata and find out who made her cry and how I could kick them in the face.

"W-well, just because your clan is dead doesn't mean you're special, or anything!" Pigtails retorted, pulling herself together. "You can't have a clan if they're dead!" she finished, chest puffing out in triumph. "So there!"

In some convoluted toddler way, I supposed that made sense. Clan meant prestige in Konoha, didn't it? Just look at Uchiha-nee-chan. Not only that, but clan meant family, security, and support. A dead clan was pretty much equivalent to no clan. It made sense. It made sense.

And yet, for some reason, despite never having even been near a clan, it hurt anyway. All it did was piss me off, worry and impatience mixing into a cocktail of irritation just raring for an outlet. "Well then I'm gonna revive my clan," I shot back. "So there!" I repeated it in a mockery of her tone.

"Guys—" Cabbage Head was starting to sound worried. I wish I could say I was nice enough to pay attention, but Pigtails was pissing me off and Pigtails wasn't doing any better at comforting her friend either.

"Oh yeah? How?" demanded a kid that knew jack shit about biological reproduction. "You're just one kid! You can't make a clan all by yourself!" And still she sounded so huffy, as if she and her dad knew everything there was to know about the world and I was just a shitstain on the sole of her shoe.

My jaw moved, but nothing came out. Triumph burned in Pigtail's eyes as she continued, "I've seen you, you know. Nobody likes you. You're the kid all the adults tell us to stay away from! How are you going to revive your 'clan"—" I could hear the quotation marks through the ringing in my ears, "—if no one will even look at you in the face? Huh? Huh?"

I was hungry, and annoyed, and distracted, and I was so tired of being a shitstain on the sole of a six-year-old brat. I said the first thing that slipped out of my mouth.

"I'm gonna be Hokage, that's how, dattebana!"

…wait a fuckamoment.

What?!

Even I could hear the record scratch in my head. Not sure what sound was in the others' heads, but they looked just as dumbstruck as I felt.

Cabbage Head spoke first.

"That's awesome!"

I turned my dumbstruck look at her. Her eyes sparkled, palms squishing her cheeks in a surprisingly adorable pork bun face. "Orphaned at a young age… long-lost heir of a noble clan… becoming Hokage! It's awesome!"

"No it's not!" Pigtails was fast losing her temper. She stomped her foot, cheeks puffing out in a less adorable expression than Cabbage Head's. "There's no way someone like her can become Hokage! Dad says she's a demon. They don't make demons into Hokage!" She turned to me, red-faced and furious. "You're just a stupid Carrot Head! Bakemono!"

Shock gave way to fury. It didn't even matter that I was facing a child anymore, a clueless child lashing out from her own insecurities because her friend was currently occupied admiring someone else. Something under my skin burned.

I shoved a finger in her face. "I can so totally become Hokage," I snarled, tossing in every superlative adjective I knew in our language. "I'm going to kick your ass in school, then I'm gonna become the best ninja ever, and then I won't even need a clan because everyone's too busy looking up to me! So you can keep your ugly mouth shut, because you're nothing but a scaredy-cat trying to look like a know-it-all, and you know it!"

From the look in Pigtail's eyes, things could have gotten ugly right then and there. But all my body did was tense up before a large hand clapped down on my shoulder.

"Shouldn't you all be outside?" Hiro-sensei asked, sounding genuinely puzzled. But there was a teasing tilt to his grin that gave away his game. "What's with kids these days, hanging around the classroom? When I was your age, we'd stampede just trying to get out into the yard."

His voice yanked me out of my angry haze. Pigtails' expression was just as startled, while Cabbage Head looked ready to cry in relief. Hiro-sensei ruffled my hair with one hand, his other mirroring the action with Pigtails'. "Go on then, get. And no more fighting, you hear?"

Pigtails shot me a glare, but obediently chorused "Hai!" with the rest of us. I didn't wait for their reactions after that. The moment Hiro-sensei's hand left my head, I dashed outside.

To my surprise, I found Hinata waiting by the door. With me indoors, and her standing in the sunlight, I could see her reddened cheeks and swollen eyes from here. Her fingers danced around each other in distress. "Hinata-chan!" I called out, relieved. She jumped, her head whipping around to face me. "Hey! I finally found—" I took in her wide eyes, and shaking hands. "—you. What—what's wrong?" She looked ready to bolt. My hands reached out, but hovered just out of reach. I wanted to comfort her, not spook her.

The way her face twisted and turned towards the ground could only be an expression of misery. To my horror, a big, fat tear rolled down her cheek. "Hinata?" I said, worry making me forget the culture I had only learned more recently. She hiccupped at the word.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry…" she stuttered out in between sobs.

"What happened? Did someone do this? Whose butt do I need to kick for you?" I tried to tack on the last sentence as a joke, but it only made her cry harder. "Hinata?!"

"I- I can't p-play with y-you anym-more," she gasped. I froze, my heart seizing in my chest. She bowed, body rigid and much, much lower than what should be proper for bowing to a fellow child, let alone an orphan compared to a clan heir. "I-I'm sorry!" She didn't even look me in the eye before she bolted. I couldn't have stopped her even if I wanted to.

Who knew how long I stood there? My ears knew what they heard, but my brain blanked out, trying to process words I should have expected in the first place. After the third pair of curious eyes passing by, I managed to pull my leaden foot from the ground and put it in front of me. And the other. And again.

Somehow, I made it to the big tree in the corner of the play area. It was far from the park benches where the kids would eat, and the cleared area where groups congregated to play ninja. The damp shade from its thick leaves and the bushes surrounding it called to my mood like water droplets on a windowpane. The moment I stepped under the branches, the shadows wrapped me in a cold embrace. I felt the urge to laugh at my miserable mental poetry flicker, then slip away. That's when the tears started falling.

Pressing my hands against my eyes didn't help. My inhale turned into a sob, shoulders heaving with the weight of it. I bent my knees, wanting nothing but to curl up as small as I could and—

"Stop."

I almost toppled over at how my knees locked on instinct. Wide-eyed, I looked up, in order to meet the gaze of a little boy with a gray hoodie and shades where glasses should be. He stood to my left, nearer to the bushes. With how still he was, I would be surprised if I noticed him even if I hadn't been crying. "You should not sit there," he continued, voice lightly muffled by the high collar of his shirt. "Why? Because you will crush the ant colony making its way under you."

I stared at him, numb, stupefied. A glance at the roots beneath me gave me nothing. It could have been a snake underneath me for all I knew, what with the big, fat tears leaking from my eyes and blurring my vision. "…Sorry," I managed to croak. I shuffled to the other side of the tree, sniffling. I could feel his eyes on me the whole way. When I bent down to sit, he didn't say anything, so I figured it was alright.

If the boy hadn't interrupted me, I would have probably bawled in my little corner of roots under the tree. Being broken out of my trance erased any urge to do so. I was left with a tight, compact ache where my heart should be, and tears pouring silently down my cheeks.

It was… so, so stupid. How could I have scolded Naruto for being so optimistic about his new friend, when I was just as naive in looking forward to seeing Hinata again? Had it even crossed my mind that I might be rejected, when I was so used to it already?

But she had smiled at me.

And it had made me so, so happy.

And just like that, my hurt turned to fury, as easy as a match tossed on gasoline. Enough. Enough. I'd had enough of hoping, of holding on, of trying to find a sympathetic face anywhere in this fucking village that hated me because of my eyes, and my hair, and who my brother was. My brother, who was the purest child I've ever had the fortune to meet, forced to chase after people with his heart on his sleeve and never knowing why no one would even look his way without hatred or fear, emotions he didn't even know yet, not really. Children suspicious, then turned away, by adults who looked at us with appalled gazes and the quiet relief of knowing we were not their responsibility.

I hated it. I hated it, I hated them, I hated this entire, ignorant, superstitious village; I hated whatever god or circumstances that ended up with me here instead of the place I called home. People would say, back then, that death brought peace, but all I found was a living hell that I couldn't escape because I cared too much about the one thing that kept me trying.

I couldn't see the ground anymore. My eyes burned; my fingers made dents on my arms that I had wrapped around my knees. My shoulders were heaving again, though whether it was from sobbing or panting I didn't know. I would have sat there all day, staring straight ahead, deaf to even the school bell. Which was why I didn't hear the footsteps thump-thumping on the earth headed straight for me, nor the second pair chasing after.

"Hey! Heya! Min'ko! I finally found you! Guess what! I—" Panic seized me by the throat. I scrubbed my hands across my eyes, but it was too late. Naruto's gleeful expression melted into shock. "Wait, are you crying? Why are you crying?" He sounded scared at first, and that hurt, because I knew I needed to be the strong one, the calm one for him, and he wasn't used to this, but the tears would not stop falling.

Anger took over. "What happened? Who did it? Was it Shiro?" He looked around, as if he could find one of the older orphans just by turning. "Just tell me, I'm gonna kick their ass—"

That made my head jerk up. Concern and warmth warred in my chest. "Naruto, no!"

"Oi!" A third voice cut through the atmosphere as easily as a kunai through butter. Twin pairs of blue eyes stared at a petulant Uchiha Sasuke, lugging a bigass bento wrapped in cloth. He can't possibly eat that much… can he? I stared, flabbergasted.

"What kind of idiot just runs around the yard yelling?" he demanded.

"I'm not an idiot!" Naruto yelled back with no hesitation. "I was looking for my sister!" He threw his hand to the side, encompassing my scrunched-up form at the foot of the tree. Startled, Sasuke turned to me—and blanched.

"She's crying? Why is she crying?" The fear in his expression made me laugh, a choked-off sound that made him step back before he remembered that wasn't very impressive for a ninja.

My smile soured. I turned towards Sasuke. "What is he doing here?" I asked, emotions swirling in my chest, and a fire in my eyes that wanted to burn—

Sasuke's fear turned into a scowl. "What's wrong with me being here?"

My eyes narrowed. To his credit, he didn't flinch at a face that had made plenty of other children run away before. I stood and strode towards him, as if my scrawny height would scare him off. "Didn't you hear? We're the Demon Twins! We don't need flakies like you!" I was tired, tired, tired of being disappointed, tired of worrying Naruto's heart would break, tired of hoping that one day, one day, there would be someone that wouldn't care what other people thought.

"So just go away!"

"Hey! Who are you calling a flakey?" Sasuke straightened to his full height, not backing down. His scowl would have been adorable in any other mood.

"You're just here until your parents tell you to go away," I snarled. I could see Naruto looking between us in a panic. I ignored him. "We get it! Everyone hates us!" I shoved a hand against Sasuke's chest, making him stumble. "Go away already!"

"Min'ko!" Naruto cried. He grabbed my shoulder but I shoved him off. Shock, fear, hurt—it flickered through his face like a slideshow and stabbed me with guilt. I had never lashed out like this. Ever. And it was scaring him.

Another hurt to add to the pile. And yet he still ran in between us, arms held akimbo. "Sasuke's not like that! He's different, promise!"

"Who said anything about Demon Twins? All okaa-san told me was to share this food with you two, stupid," Sasuke hissed, bento clutched protectively in his arms. "Then you went and acted like an idiot." He twisted around, until he was holding the bento away from me. "Idiots don't deserve okaa-san's cooking!"

Ready to protest, my jaw clamped shut instead, almost cutting my tongue off in the process. "Wait, what?" It felt like someone had just yanked the carpet from under me and left me hanging upside down. My eyes were wide, unable to look away from the pouty, dark-haired kid in front of me. "Okaa—your okaa-san said—?"

"That's what I've been trying to say!" Now Naruto had joined the pouting session. With the two of them combined, it was like catching a heart attack. "Sasuke brought food to share, so let's sit together!"

I shook my head, red hair flying. "No way. I don't believe it. I bet she just meant some friends of yours, or your classmates, somebody else—"

Sasuke stomped his foot. Fury on his mother's behalf was giving him a darkness that didn't belong on a child's face. "What is wrong with you? I already told you it's for you! She even said—" His voice shifted a pitch, trying to emulate a voice I had yet to hear. "—'Make sure that redhead has some, she looks like she needs it.' I have no idea why okaa-san thinks you need a bento. You're even dumber than Shisui-san!"

"Th-that's… I…" I stared at Naruto. Then I stared at Sasuke. It was impossible to mistake the stack of bento to be for just one child, considering the effort it took to carry it, no matter how much Sasuke tried to hide it. My mind flashed back to the glimpse I had gotten of Sasuke's mother—she had looked so angry, so afraid. So why this? Why now? My mind brought up poison and discarded it just as fast. She had no idea whether or not Sasuke would eat the same things we would, and we lived in a ninja world. No way she would be that sloppy.

So why… why?

But it was free food, and freely offered, and I recalled a lesson a lifetime ago on how sharing a meal is an act of friendship, and trust.

I looked at Naruto. His blue eyes were focused only on me, shimmering with worry. I could feel them chipping away at the burning coal that my heart had been, while Sasuke's words brought out something small but bright that made me want to choke.

It was so, so easy to just throw it all aside and curse the world for the cruelty I was given. But Naruto… sweet, naive, Naruto, he hadn't stopped hoping. He had yet to stop hoping. And it had given us this: a boy who could be a friend, with a stack of food to share.

Could I do it? Could I hope too?

To everyone's surprise, my eyes started watering again.

Naruto yelped. Sasuke looked like a very offended, and very afraid pigeon. Puffed out feathers and all. "Wh-why is she crying now?!"

"I don't know!" Naruto mimicked my earlier reaction, glancing between me and Sasuke. His hands flailed, unsure of what to do. What a comedy these two are. "Min'ko, why are you crying? If you'd just tell me, I'd—yow!"

I threw my arms around him and hugged him tight. "I love you, Naruto." My voice cracked. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the panicked look he sent Sasuke. Hilariously, Sasuke's look was more of a relieved that's your problem now.

"…Lov' you too," he said, the words coming out with an ease that made my heart melt. Not letting go, I turned towards Sasuke.

"Sorry," I mumbled, chancing one glance at his solid black eyes before looking at the ground. "It's… I'm having a bad day." A terrible excuse. I felt terrible still. But that hope was burning again, painful as fire but just as stubbornly hot and bright. I wanted to crush it. It hurt, and I knew it would hurt again, just as much. Hope meant you could be disappointed. But hope also meant there was a chance for things to get better.

My emotions were a mess.

Sasuke squinted. He still looked unconvinced, but at Naruto's puppy eyes he sniffed and said, "Fine." He huffed, shifting the bento pack in his hands, and shuffled to the tree. "Now are we gonna eat or not? We wasted half of lunch time just looking for you, you know!" He plunked the bento down and sat next to it, the tree's roots providing easy seats for our stubby legs.

"Wait, don't—" His baby ass met wood. "—sit…" I trailed off, eyes flicking towards where the hooded boy had been squatting. Color me surprised when I didn't find him where I had met him.

In fairness, if I had a bunch of noisy boys and a sobbing girl in the area I would have left too.

"Never mind," I said, at Naruto's questioning look, and Sasuke's annoyance.

With three hungry kids working at the bento, the food was gone in a blink. By that point, the boys had recovered enough from their shock that they were— happily? —flinging insults back and forth with gusto. It was… nice. Sitting with them, taking another bite of perfectly-rolled onigiri, and watching as Sasuke tried to tackle my brother for making fun of his tomatoes. They dissolved into what I wished I could call friendly banter. The only reason food didn't go flying was because Sasuke guarded his tomatoes like a rabid Mist-nin, and Naruto had already finished eating most of his. I spent the time eating my food quietly, tasting the home-cooked meal with a sense of silent wonder.

The thing with emotional breakdowns is that you get so tired afterwards. Naruto kept sending me worried looks, but while his brows were furrowed, his nose didn't wrinkle, so it couldn't be that bad. It certainly didn't stop him from elbowing me on the way back the classroom and saying, smug, cheeky grin and all, "I told you so!"

I rolled my eyes at the hesitant tilt on his smile and shoved him back. Jury's still out—I kept telling myself, but the choking ball of hope in my throat said otherwise.

Avoiding Pigtails and co. plus Hinata… didn't turn out to be that hard. I entered the classroom last and sat near the front, so I didn't even have to look at their faces as I scurried to my seat with a minute to spare. Except we weren't even going to stay in our seats for the afternoon, apparently, as Hiro-sensei started herding us outside again the minute the bell rang.

"From now on, we're spending the afternoon outdoors," he said, impeccably cheerful in the face of various gasps of horror. "First day was just the introduction. Now, mornings are for lectures, while afternoons are for training. We'll be exercising til dismissal time!"

Looking around at my classmates' faces, I saw that there were a few who were actually excited at the thought, while the rest ranged from neutral to just a shy away from whining. That changed five minutes into the training session.

First, sensei made us run a circular track for ten minutes as a warm up. I took it easy, sticking to a gentle jog that kept me in the latter half of the class. When the ambitious ran out of stamina halfway through, I ended up in the upper quarter.

Back in my old life, I was the type to actually enjoy exercise and sports, but needed something to kick me into going and staying there. Before I died, I was the kid who could run the length of a block but end up going in shorter and shorter bursts after. So, I was surprised to finish the ten minutes with just a bit of sweat down my back, and my shoulders barely heaving.

From there we went on to stretches, baby push ups, and other kinds of conditioning. I went through the monkey bars with more than a little thrill, because while they were my favorite playground activity during my first childhood, I was also doing them with more space between me and the ground than I was used to.

By the time we were back at the track for cool down, I was sweating buckets but still had enough energy to bounce from one foot to the other. Pigtails, I was happy to see, was panting with her hands on her knees, duster wrinkled and covered in, well, dust. Cabbage Head didn't look any better, but at least she wasn't bent in two yet. One kid was leaning against his friend looking wrecked, while said friend looked like he was trying to erase the experience through the rapid consumption of potato chips. I have no idea why anyone let him even keep it during phys. ed. (Is it even called phys. ed at this point?)

Of all the kids in my class, only Spiky and an unassuming boy with short brown hair looked anywhere near like they were looking forward to one last jog.

I took stock of my own body. My arms ached, in a way that past-life experience let me know meant they were going to hurt tomorrow. There was that sweet, steady burn of exercise thrumming through my sides and legs. My shirt was damp enough that I was already thinking of packing an extra one for the next day.

Slowly, an idea formed in my head. I set my pace to put me in the middle of the lagging class. When we finished one lap and I still wasn't out of breath, I put on some speed. And some more. And some more. I made it to the front of the class, making it past Spiky. He growled and tried to run faster, but I managed to stay ahead of him. At this point, a grin was making its way across my face.

"Last lap!" Sensei called, bringing my mind back to the present. Looks like sensei had some sense of mercy after all. But while I was panting, I wasn't exhausted—yet.

I took one look at Pigtails practically walking at the end of the line of children. Could I? Should I?

I gave myself a moment to imagine her face if I did. Then I ran.

I made sure to shove a shit-eating grin in her face as I passed her on the way to the finish line. Her shriek of fury made poor Cabbage Head slap her hands over her ears.

Damn, I thought, chest heaving and hands on my knees. If she had enough breath to do that, she could have finished faster than Potato Chips.

Said Potato Chips had finished just ahead of me, right before I managed to run ahead of his friend and finish between them. His friend, who had a stubby ponytail that wouldn't look out of place on a shrub, was busy muttering under his breath and glaring at Pigtails.

I closed my eyes and tried to focus on breathing. If I had the air to spare, I would have groaned at the icky feeling of taking a bath in my own sweat. I could feel it dripping to the ground below me.

A hand on my shoulder startled me out of my misery. Hiro-sensei pulled me up, gently straightening my spine. "Don't bend over, you'll just make yourself feel worse." He smiled, giving me a gentle pat on the back. "Great job out there. Next time, remember this is a cool down and not a race, okay?"

I couldn't help the wide, woozy grin that stretched across my face. "Worth it," I gasped. He shook his head and turned towards the other students.

Pigtails glared at me from behind him. I stuck out my tongue.

Ending the day on that small victory meant that, by the time we got home, I was so exhausted both physically and emotionally that I almost fell asleep in the shower. At least I managed to get dressed on my own. Naruto fussed over me, going "dattebayo this, dattebayo that," even as he pulled me out of the bathroom and gently towel-dried my hair.

"Min'ko," he said, just as I was about ready to start purring at his fingers running through my hair. "Why were you crying earlier?"

I stiffened. Here we were, sprawled on the hallway, and he asks me just when I couldn't get away. "I told you, it's nothing."

"Why won't you tell me?" He leaned over me just to glare in my face. "I can help! Just say who it is and I'll beat them up, dattebayo!"

Which was the last thing I want. "Look, it's fine, okay?" I stood up, leaving the towel in his hands. "It's over and done with. I can handle it."

Naruto scrambled up, chasing me into our—temporarily! Dammit, I'll get to it—shared room. "Let me help you!" he insisted. The towel landed on the floor with a wet slap. I debated telling him to pick it up but gave up in the face of the bed's sweet, sweet call. "You're always doing the work, getting the 'partment, buying our food—" He circled around to face me.

I stopped, if only because he was blocking the way to the bed. I couldn't look away from his burning gaze. "I can help too, -ttebayo! Why won't you let me?"

Because you're just a kid! I almost snapped. Because you're just a kid, and you deserve whatever good of a childhood I can give you in a village that hates us both. I took a deep breath, trying to keep my thinning temper. I was just tired. I would not take it out on Naruto.

Almost unconsciously, I leaned forward, until my forehead rested on my brother's shoulder. "I'm tired." I couldn't keep the pleading note out of my voice. "Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

I almost thought he would push it. But I felt his muscles lax, and his arms go around me. "Fine," he grumbled. His fingers curled into my duster.

I waited for him on the bed while he took his bath. Curling around each other to sleep had always been the high point of my day. There was a warmth in holding my brother close that couldn't be found anywhere else. I tried to ignore the light tension in Naruto's body as I marked off yet another day in this second life.

Notes:

edited 01.15.2020
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Fun fact: I almost wrote Hiro-sensei's lecture. And then I figured it was taking me long enough to type this chapter and we didn't need to bring school into it. As interesting as it would be to read from a reader's perspective, I pretty much died trying to write it from a writer's perspective. Sigh.

To whoever loved Minako and Hinata's budding friendship... cough... I apologize

Lord give me patience and get me through the Uchiha Massacre arc

Chapter 10: Arc I Chapter 10

Summary:

Uzumaki loyalty goes both ways.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Naruto knew he wasn't that smart. His sister was smart. She knew so much, and she always knew what was going on. There are times when Naruto didn't know what was going on—like when he grinned at that old lady on the way to school, but she just looked really scared. Or like yesterday, when he found his sister crying and he didn't know why.

Naruto hated it when his sister cried. He knew she tried to hide it, but they didn't get willingly separated all that often, so when they did there was a big chance she was leaving to cry. It's one of the reasons why he hated letting her out of his sight. It's stupid, he knew it was stupid. But there were days when Min'ko's eyes grow hazy and her expression dull, and it felt like his sister will drift away the minute he turned his back. So he always tried to stick to her. Maybe she won't drift away when he's there. And sometimes, he could see that it helped.

That wasn't even counting the people who made his sister cry. Naruto knew Min'ko hated being away from him too, and Miyagawa-san also knew, which was why her favorite punishment was putting them in separate little closets. Min'ko hated the dark, and small spaces, and being alone, and putting all three together—

Naruto didn't want to hear her scream like that, like she did the first time, ever again. So getting their own place was the best.

Except he found her crying again, all alone, in the way he knew she would when she tried to hide things from him, and he knew it was because someone hurt her again.

His hands clenched into fists.

He could feel Min'ko glancing at him from the side, as they walked together to school. He didn't know what she saw in his face—but at least she didn't say anything about it, which was good because if she did they'd have a fight again and if they fought Naruto wouldn't be able to do what he was planning to do.

Which was find the person who made her cry and make them regret it.

In the orphanage, Naruto couldn't do anything about Miyagawa-san. He could only play pranks, make her angry, make the other children laugh to get their attention—but in the end, it was still the closet for them. And Min'ko hated the closet. But Min'ko also laughed at his pranks. So sometimes it was about deciding whether or not the prank would be worth it.

But it's different now. They're living by themselves! They're in the Ninja Academy! He's going to become a ninja, like the Yellow Flash and Hashirima Shenju and all the awesome ninja Minoru-san would talk about whenever he managed to sneak into story time! If Naruto couldn't stop someone from hurting his sister, what kind of ninja would he be?

He wanted to protect his sister. That's right, that's the word he's looking for. Protect.

Unknown to him, he nodded decisively, a fierce, determined look on his face. Min'ko gave him a concerned look again.

"Uhh… Naruto?" He blinked, yanked from his thoughts. He whipped around to face her, bouncing as he walked—a bundle of energy as always. Min'ko's lips stretched into a wry smile. "Should I be worried?"

"Ah!" Naruto yelped, flailing his hands in front of him. "Nope! Don't worry about it! I was just…" He searched for the right words to say. "I was just thinking, dattebayo!"

"And the world shakes with fear," his sister replied. Naruto could feel his lips forming into a pout. He wasn't sure what that meant, but he was sure it was something mean. The curl on Min'ko's lips was wider now, though, so he let it go.

"Damn straight!" he said, huffing out his chest. He wasn't sure what that meant either, but it sounded right.

Except it made Min'ko frown. Naruto began to sweat, backing away from her a bit. An old man behind him muttered something nasty as he dodged around the boy. Naruto didn't care. Min'ko was scary when she frowned. Her eyes would get really narrow, and the black stuff around would make them look even narrower, and he'd never tell her this but he saw one of the orphanage kids bring home an oni mask from a festival once and she looked scarier than that. "Who taught you that word?" she asked.

"N-nowhere!" Naruto spluttered. "I just, uh—" What word would Min'ko use again? "Overheard it, dattebayo!"

Actually, he heard Akagawa-san, their… their… apartment manager! say it while she was talking to a ninja friend. Naruto had been sneaking around the building, trying to find all the places he could hide a prank, and practicing being a ninja before going to the ninja academy. Min'ko had gone out for their weekly groceries, so she hadn't been around. Seeing a real live ninja had made him stop, though. And that's when he heard it. But the ninja friend had noticed him right after, so Naruto had to run back to their apartment.

"Don't say that word then," Min'ko said, bringing him back to the present. She took a deep breath, nostrils flaring, as she prepared for what could only be another lecture. "It's bad and—"

"AWRIGHT WE MADE IT!" Naruto whooped, cutting off his sister and dashing for the Academy gate. Relief trailed along behind him in a cloud of dust.

"Naruto, wait—!" he heard Min'ko yell. He was tempted to wait and walk inside together—she'd only get more suspicious now—but he really, really didn't want a lecture and he needed to find Sasuke.

Sasuke would help him find who made his sister cry. That's what friends did, right?

"I gotta go find Sasuke!" he yelled back. "See ya later!"

He almost crashed into a kid then, but all she did was yelp and dodge, so it was okay. The important thing was his sister didn't yell something after him, which meant she wasn't going to be angry and Naruto won't be getting a lecture later.

Sasuke wasn't waiting for him by the entrance. It almost made Naruto worry. Almost. He ended up finding him in their classroom, about ten minutes before the bell. "Sasuke!" Naruto hissed, bouncing up and down at the bottom of the classroom. Sasuke glared at him. Naruto didn't even flinch. With his friend's squishy cheeks and round eyes, his glares were nothing compared to Min'ko's. "C'mere!" Naruto waved him over. Hunts like these were supposed to be secrets, right? So he couldn't yell. He really wanted to though. Sasuke didn't show any sign of getting up from his seat.

"Sit down, idiot!" Sasuke said. He was speaking normally. What the hell? Naruto fumed. (He learned that one from the orphanage.) "It's almost time for class!"

And then he hit the part of the table beside him. Wait no, he was patting it. Hard. But that didn't matter. Naruto's eyes grew wide.

Did Sasuke… save him a seat?

By the way his scowl was growing darker and darker… yes.

Sasuke just.

Saved him a seat.

Naruto was grinning so hard his cheeks hurt. He bounded up the stairs, two at a time, and plopped down happily in the seat beside Sasuke.

No one had ever saved him a seat before! Friends were great!

"You gotta help me, Sasuke," he said, the moment his butt touched the seat. "I'm going on a… on a…" What was the word again? "You know, the thing police do!"

"Police do a lot of things, idiot." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You gotta tell me more than that."

Naruto wasn't even bothered. He's had worse reactions. His good mood steamed right over Sasuke's eye roll. "You know, when something bad happened, you find clues, and hunt down the bad guys, dattebayo!"

"You mean an investigation?" Sasuke said the word slowly, but the fact that he knew the word at all was amazing enough. Naruto nodded, filled with pride. Sasuke was so smart. Just like Min'ko. That meant he was cool. Not as cool as Min'ko though.

No one was as cool as Min'ko.

"Yeah! We gotta find who made my sister cry yesterday!" he said, bouncing in his seat with excitement. His cheerful face shifted into something more determined.

Sasuke frowned too, remembering. "Why don't you just ask her?"

"She won't tell me!" Some of his distress leaked into Naruto's voice. He had to look down and grit his teeth, feeling the back of his eyes burn. Min'ko knew a lot of things… and there were a lot of things she kept from him too. He knew that. Naruto wasn't as smart as his sister. But he knew she hated it when adults glared at them or when kids were mean. He hated it too, but it always seemed to bother her more.

If only she would talk to him!

"Are you going to cry?" Sasuke asked, voice more tinged with curiosity than mockery.

"No way!" Naruto shot back.

"Shhhh!" Both of them turned towards the girl in the row below them. She glared, light blue eyes twitching with irritation. "Class is starting!"

They looked up. Sure enough, Mizuki-sensei had entered the room. A tired smile on his face, he seemed to be in the middle of greeting the class. Naruto—and, quickly following his lead, Sasuke—ducked his head and pretended to be busy with his things when Mizuki-sensei turned towards them. "Some of us seem to be having a better morning than others," he said, voice dry. Sasuke flushed, red as the tomatoes he loved so much.

Naruto just grinned, putting a hand behind his head. "Heh…"

The minute Mizuki-sensei turned away, Naruto ripped a page out of his notebook and started writing. So wil U help me or not? he scribbled, tongue sticking out. Finished, he shoved it in Sasuke's direction, then slumped on his desk and pretended to be listening to the teacher.

It took a while for Sasuke to reply. Naruto kept glancing at him, his knee bouncing with impatience. At least that kid with the dog was being noisy again today. That meant Mizuki-sensei was too busy scolding him to see what Naruto and Sasuke were up to.

You 're gonna get me in trouble. Also, your handwriting SUCKS.

Naruto looked at his own chicken scratch. He thought for a bit, then drew an angry face.

:P I thot the uchiha polees wer supposd to B gud guys

They are! Sasuke's pencil dug deep into the paper for this one.

Then U shuld help me!

I wanna be a ninja, not a police oficer!

Ninjas stil catch bad guys, rihte? It'l B like Naruto paused, deep in thought. like treyning!

This one took Sasuke longer than the others to pass back. Naruto glanced at Sasuke, then at Mizuki-sensei writing on the board, at Sasuke, the window, and Sasuke again. Sasuke was still glaring at the note like it had said something nasty. Impatient, Naruto snatched the paper from his seatmate, ignoring his muffled "hey!" and scribbled one last thing.

Or R U SCARED?

Naruto watched as Sasuke's eyes widened, then narrowed. Finally, the other boy shoved the paper back at Naruto, scowling. FINE. But just this ONCE.

Naruto beamed. He knew he'd come around.

"And what's got you so busy this early in the morning, Naruto-kun?" Mizuki-sensei asked from right beside him.

Naruto yelped. Sasuke also yelped, except Sasuke didn't crash into his seatmate because he jumped so high in shock. Sheer instinct made Naruto slam his hand over the wrinkled and stained sheet of paper between them before Mizuki-sensei could make heads or tails of the scribbles on it. Sasuke shoved Naruto back into his own seat so hard Naruto almost fell into the aisle.

Mizuki-sensei sighed. There's a disappointed look on his face that made Naruto squirm. He held out his hand for the paper. "Come on, hand it over."

Naruto's eyes darted between his sensei and his seatmate. Sasuke's face was blotched red with embarrassment and anger. Naruto looked back at Mizuki-sensei, whose frown was slowly growing darker. He glanced at the rest of the room, where all his classmates were watching for his next move.

He couldn't let them know! It was supposed to be a secret!

So he crumpled the piece of paper and shoved it in his mouth.

"GROSS!" Sasuke yelled in disgust, along with the girl seated in front of them and a lot of other kids too. The boy with the dog's yell stood out, mostly because he sounded the most delighted out of all of them.

Mizuki-sensei stared. Naruto stared. Mizuki-sensei only raised his eyebrows. So Naruto began to chew. The paper tasted a bit like bread, if bread was flat and dry and tasted like air. It quickly turned into mush. There were bits that tasted salty. Naruto figured that was the pencil. It wasn't that bad. He was sure Min'ko would scold him if she found out, though.

It was worth it. With every chew, Mizuki-sensei's face got more pinched and pinched.

Finally, Naruto swallowed. He blinked at Mizuki-sensei, then let his triumph loose with a cheeky grin.

With a sigh, Mizuki-sensei pointed a finger at him. "Don't pass notes in my class again," he said, then turned back towards the front of the classroom. "…n't believe… reduced to this…" Naruto didn't really get what he was saying, but he knew what adult grumbling sounded like. So he stuck his tongue out at Mizuki-sensei's back for good measure.

And almost ended up biting it off when Sasuke smacked him over the head for it.

"Oww!"

"Shhhh!"

They started the plan the next day.

Step one: Find the enemy.

"You can't have your goal as step one of a plan, idiot!"

"Fine, if you've got a better idea, you do it!"

Step one: Gather information.

"We have to find out what happened first, obviously. That's when we can make a list of suspects and then figure out who did it." Sasuke finished, chin jutting out.

"I already told you she won't tell me, -ttebayo!" Naruto crossed his arms and scowled. They were seated in a corner of the play area, the day after Mizuki-sensei had caught them passing notes in class. Honestly, Naruto had wanted to start yesterday, but Min'ko had gotten suspicious and hunted him down during lunch break. He and Sasuke had agreed to plan the next day instead.

"Then we gotta find someone who saw it," Sasuke replied. He squinted at their notepad, scribbling down find witnes with his pencil. "Do you know anyone in that class?"

"…Nope." Naruto blinked. "Do you?"

They stared at each other.

"How is this even gonna work? You don't even know anyone from her class!" Sasuke yelled, slamming down his notepad. The uchiwa-stamped cover fluttered with the little dust cloud that rose from the impact.

"I dunno! You're the one who's supposed to be helping me figure it out, dattebayo!" Naruto retorted.

"It's your sister's class!"

"How would I know? I always meet her at the gates!"

Step one: Find someone from that class

The next day, Sasuke tapped his notepad, filled with a new list. "If we don't know anyone from that class, we gotta find someone who does," he said, confident once again. Naruto peered at the notepad, his jaw dropping at the number of lines inside.

"Where'd you get all that?" he asked. Sasuke's chin tipped up.

"My cousin Sho's a policeman," he said smugly. "He's one of the youngest district heads in the force. He told me all about it."

Naruto wasn't sure what district head meant, but if Sasuke thought it was cool then it was. "Cool!" He bounced to his feet, grinning. "Awright, where do we start?"

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, crossing his arms and looking around. "We gotta find someone we know who knows a lot of people. Maybe they'll know someone from your sister's class."

Naruto followed his example. There were a bunch of kids in the middle of the play area, playing a game of ninja. Off to the side were two boys, a fat one looking sad and a thin one lying on the ground. Farther away was the hill covered in flowers. Only a few girls were there. He looked towards the place where the benches and tables were set up and paused.

He recognized that blonde hair.

"Hey," he said, tugging on Sasuke's sleeve. His friend turned to him, annoyed. Naruto pointed towards the group at the table, chatting over their empty bentos. "Why don't we ask her? She's in our class, right?"

Sasuke took one look at the group and blanched. "But… they're girls," he said, the same way Min'ko said the word "toad."

Naruto glanced at the group of girls. One was the blue-eyed girl that sat in front of them in class. There were about three others sitting with her, but Naruto couldn't recognize them from this far away. "So?" he asked, confused. His sister was a girl.

"You don't get it!" Sasuke was glaring so hard it's like he was trying to jutsu them with his eyes. "Girls are weird! They're always giggling, and clinging to you…"

A slow grin spread across Naruto's face. He didn't get it, but… "Don't tell me you're scared of a bunch of girls," he said gleefully.

Sasuke's glare turned on him. "Am not!"

Naruto snorted. "Suuuure you aren't." He paused, a thought flashing through his head. "Wait a minute." He pointed a finger at Sasuke's nose. "Min'ko's a girl! You talk to her just fine!"

"She's different!" Sasuke insisted. "She's not… giggly!"

Losing his patience, Naruto grabbed him by the arm and began to drag him toward the group. "It'll be fine, dattebayo!" He raised his voice over Sasuke's spluttering. "Just pretend you're talking to Min'ko!"

Sasuke's gaze danced between Naruto and the girls with something akin to panic. It was too late to run, though. The table caught sight of them, and burst into giggles and loud whispering. Sasuke grimaced, and yanked his arm out of Naruto's grip. "Fine! But you talk to them!"

Naruto scoffed. Okay, sure, the giggling was a little weird. Min'ko never sounded like that. But hey, Min'ko was only scary if he made her mad. And the girls didn't look mad, so Naruto was sure it'll be fine!

"Hey, hey!" he waved as he ran over to the table, Sasuke slinking along at his heels. "Hey, you're in our class, right?" He pointed at the blonde girl, just in case they didn't know who he was talking to. A lot of adults didn't notice Naruto until he yelled and bounced a lot and pointed at them.

The girl reacted like all the other adults. She wrinkled her nose at him, obviously remembering the paper scene the other day.

Oops?

"Yeah, and?"

"Do you know anyone in the other class?" Naruto asked, bouncing on his toes.

The girl's frown got even more wrinkled. "Which other class?"

"There are three other classes, idiot," Sasuke hissed. Naruto blinked at him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl's face light up when she saw Sasuke.

"Oh, you're Uchiha Sasuke-kun, right?" Naruto's head whipped around so fast he almost got dizzy. Her voice sounded completely different from earlier! The girl leaned on the table, putting her chin in her hands. "I'm Yamanaka Ino. I sit in front of you in class." She batted her eyelashes.

Naruto stared. Sasuke grimaced at her, horror and disgust warring on his face. "I know," he said shortly.

"Oi!" Naruto darted in front of Sasuke, forcing Ino to look at him. Her smile dropped as fast as it had appeared. "I'm talking to you -ttebayo!"

"You don't even know what class you're talking about," she said, voice flat. Naruto scrunched up his face, trying to remember.

"I think it's class C." He crossed his arms and tilted his chin up, trying to look bigger. Sasuke seemed happy enough to pretend to not hide behind him.

Ino's frown faded. Something gleamed in her eyes. "So what if I do?" she replied.

"Then tell us!" Naruto stomped his foot. He rolled his eyes and added, "Duh."

"Ino-chan, that boy—" one of the girls whispered. Naruto twitched, his glance jumping to the long-haired girl. She squeaked, and ducked behind the girl next to her. Ino shushed her, her expression considering.

"And what do I get out of it, huh?" She crossed her legs, then crossed her arms, matching Naruto pose for imposing kiddie pose.

"Wha?"

"Nothing's free in this world," Ino said, her nose in the air. "Didn't your mom tell you that?"

"I don't have a mom," Naruto retorted. "Didn't your mom tell you that?"

Ino's jaw clamped shut. Some of the girls gasped. Sasuke choked on something that sounded suspiciously like a giggle. Naruto beamed. Take that, weird girl!

"Doesn't matter," Ino said crossly. Her face was blotchy red, her glare dark, now that Naruto got one over her. "A favor for a favor. I'll tell you who I know in class C…" A sly look stole over her face. "…if you let me sit next to Sasuke-kun in class."

She batted her eyelashes again.

"No way!" Sasuke said immediately.

"Hey! I'm the one asking, dattebayo!" Naruto yelled, jumping up and down. Ino pouted.

"Oh yeah? Then what can you trade?" she asked, looking down on him. Naruto scowled, hiding the sudden doubt he felt.

What could he give? Not his lunch—Min'ko always worked hard on that. Besides, he'd get hungry. It's the same reason he couldn't give any of his notebooks or pencils. Min'ko explained their allowance to him already. He couldn't just hand over money to Ino.

What was something only he could do?

Ino sniffed, turning back to face her table. "Guess you're not getting the info after all-"

"Pranks!" Naruto lit up, grinning. "I can prank someone for you, -ttebayo!"

"Pranks?" Sasuke said, staring at Naruto.

Ino mirrored his disbelieving look. "What would I do with pranks?"

She didn't look away though. Naruto's grin widened. "It can be like a, a—" What word did Min'ko use? "A distraction! Or payback!"

Ino looked skeptical. "How do I know you're any good?" she said. "For all I know, you suck at it!"

"I do not!" Naruto bumped his fist against his chest, insulted. "I'm the best pranker there ever is, dattebayo! I'll prove it!"

And just like that, Ino's sly grin was back. Sasuke jabbed Naruto with his elbow. "Idiot," he hissed. "Now you just gave her a free prank."

Naruto reddened. "Shut up!" He shoved him back.

"Alright then," Ino said smugly, ignoring their little exchange. "If you can prank Mizuki-sensei, I'll tell you what you wanna know. And you'll still owe me a prank." She sniffed and brushed back her short hair in a way that made it bounce. "But if you get caught…" Her eyes gleamed. "I get to sit next to Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke's eyes widened in horror.

"Deal," Naruto said quickly.

"Naruto!" his friend yelled.

Step one and a half: Prank Mizuki-sensei

"You can't prank a teacher!" Sasuke hissed, poking his head through the door.

"Watch me." Naruto stuck his tongue out between his teeth, sticking his little plastic bag under the teacher's table with care. He let go slowly, watching the package bloat downward under its own weight, hanging only by the teeny piece of sticky tape he'd used to put it there.

"He's a teacher," Sasuke continued. "And a chuunin. He'll know right away!"

"Nahh, he won't." Naruto waited a few more seconds. The bag didn't drop. "He'll have to look under the table first."

"How are we supposed to be catching bad guys if we're doing something bad?" Sasuke retorted.

"It's not bad!" Naruto said hurriedly. Sure that his bag wasn't going to fall early, he took soft, steady steps away from the teacher's table. "It's, uh, training! For Mizuki-sensei! To make sure he stays alert!" He glanced at Sasuke, who was giving him a disbelieving look. "What kind of lookout are you?" he said in dismay.

Sasuke flushed, and ducked back out. "No one goes to the classrooms during lunch, stupid," he grumbled.

"Exactly." Naruto poked his head out the door. Coast was clear, except for Sasuke's pouty face. "Now come on, before Min'ko starts wondering why we're taking so long."

"This better work. I am not sitting next to Yamanaka," Sasuke threatened.

"Yeah, yeah. Stop nagging." Naruto waved him off. Sasuke spluttered.

"I'm not nagging!"

"Yeah you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yeah you are dattebayo!"

The prank worked beautifully, of course. Mizuki-sensei liked rapping the table when he thought the class wasn't paying attention, or slamming his hands down for emphasis. After one particularly hard thud, there was a splat. Mizuki-sensei's face froze. Slowly, the scent wafted all the way to the back of the classroom.

Naruto had volunteered to bring out the trash last night. He knew Akagawa-san's cat liked to poop in the little yard behind their apartment. All he had done was scrape it into a plastic bag with some water and seal it up with some tape. At least the bag itself didn't smell. Min'ko had yelled at him for smelling like cat poop, even after he'd washed his hands twice.

Naruto covered his mouth as soon as the other kids in the room started whispering. The cries of disgust grew louder, mixing with some giggling. Even though he couldn't stop himself from sniggering a little, at least it didn't stand out. The boy with the dog was alternating between howling with laughter and choking on his own snot and tear-filled eyes. His dog had disappeared under his legs, whining. At Naruto's side was Sasuke, who looked like he didn't know what to do with his face—stare at Naruto, or look at Mizuki-sensei in disappointment?

"My nii-san would have never been caught by that," he whispered.

"Shhh!" Naruto mumbled behind his hands. Ino was smart enough not to turn around and give him away, at least.

"Alright," Mizuki-sensei said. The class immediately shut up. His voice was dark, heavy with something that sent shivers down Naruto's spine. "Who did this?"

No one answered. Sasuke's eyes had grown wide, his face even paler than usual. Naruto felt even worse; he couldn't breathe, couldn't move. He was frozen with terror in his own seat. Somewhere in the room, a boy whimpered. One of the girls began to cry.

"No one?" Mizuki-sensei continued, in that dark, deadly voice.

Naruto clenched his hands into fists. His stubby nails dug into his palms. Don't say anything don't say anything don't say anything— he chanted in his head. His lip began to wobble.

"Alright then." Mizuki-sensei's furious eyes burned into each of his students. "Three extra laps during training. For everyone."

No one spoke.

"Well?" he snapped. "Go!"

As one, the class scrambled for the door. His "I better see you all running when I get out!" followed them to the yard.

Finally, finally, Ino looked at Naruto. Her wide, blue eyes stood out on her still-pale face. He grinned at her, even though his heart was still hammering in his chest.

She frowned. But at least it wasn't the disgusted, wrinkled one she gave him yesterday.

Step two: Interrogate the witnesses

"This," Ino declared, sweeping her hands to the two boys beside her, "is Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji. They're the people I know in class C."

Naruto eyed the thin boy with the broomstick hair, slouched and grumpy. Beside him, his big friend munched on a bag of potato chips, offering him and Sasuke a shy smile. They were in the play area again, except this time Ino had cornered the boys right after they'd been kicked out of the game of ninja going on. They'd retreated to the side, ducking under the shade of one of the many trees bordering the Academy yard.

"They want to find out who made Uzumaki's sister cry a few days back," Ino finished, turning to her friends.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru whined, slumping further.

"Is your sister Uzumaki Minako-chan?" Chouji asked, in between potato chips. Naruto brightened.

"Yeah, yeah! You know her?"

Chouji's face scrunched up as he tried to remember. "She said something about being a clan orphan on the first day," he said slowly.

This made Sasuke look at Naruto in shock. "You guys have a clan?" He sounded irritated, maybe even hurt. Naruto winced. Oh man, he probably thought Naruto had lied to him.

He and Min'ko had made up their own clan a few times. Orphans liked wondering who their parents were, or daydreaming they had family somewhere. Min'ko liked spending time making pretend-stories about their parents. Naruto tended to think more about what their clan did. They knew a lot of super cool jutsu, of course! And they were the strongest clan ever! They were just busy fighting bad guys, so they had no idea Naruto and Min'ko were waiting at the orphanage.

Sibling loyalty made Naruto tilt his chin up and say, "Of course we do -ttebayo!" even when it made an angry flush rise up Sasuke's neck.

"Not anymore," Shikamaru grumbled. "Dad said almost all of them died back when he was a kid."

Naruto's head whipped around so fast he heard something pop. "Wait, you mean they're real?"

"You just said you had a clan!" Sasuke accused.

"So you were making it up all along!" Ino said at the same time. They shared a look: Sasuke's more horrified than Ino's elated expression.

"Of course we were!" Naruto zeroed in on her, confusion, excitement, and anger merging into a violent mix. "You wouldn't get it. You've got a family! You don't have to imagine what it's like to have one!"

For the second time in a week, Ino clamped her mouth shut, a sprinkle of pink blooming across her cheeks. Sasuke was still frowning, but seemed mollified too, considering he crossed his arms and didn't say anything. Shikamaru looked at Naruto for the first time since they were introduced, a considering light in his dark eyes.

"How'd you find out about it, Shikamaru?" Chouji asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"I've never heard of the Uzumaki clan until she mentioned them," his friend admitted grudgingly. "So I asked."

Ino's expression spelled doom for someone. Naruto wasn't sure who. It didn't seem to be him at least, so he edged away from her and focused on Shikamaru instead. "What were they like?" he asked, making sure to do that thing with his eyes that always got Min'ko to do what he wanted.

Now it was Shikamaru's turn to look alarmed. "Dad said their village got destroyed ages ago," he said, speaking fast. "He said it was because everyone was afraid of their sealing prowess. Now will you stop looking at me like that?"

"Pro… wess?" Naruto said, turning the word over in his tongue. He turned to Sasuke. Usually, the other boy would know what the word meant better than he did, but this time, Sasuke only shrugged.

"They were good at it." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"But what's sealing?" Naruto turned his pleading look on Shikamaru again. Shikamaru's face turned pinched, until he looked like he had eaten a bad egg.

Ino butted in, speaking up at last. "It's a ninja art. We'll learn about it in our fifth year." She raised her eyebrows, and placed her hands on her hips. "I thought you were gonna ask about your sister?"

Naruto hesitated. He really, really, really wanted to know about the Uzumaki clan. His sister would be really happy when she found out. He couldn't wait til classes ended, so he could tell her all about it. But he also really, really, really needed to know who made her cry, and even he could tell Ino's friends—or maybe just Shikamaru—only had so much patience.

Sasuke nudged him. "We can figure out the seals later," he said. "I know you use them in explosive tags and stuff…"

"Explosions?" Naruto's eyes grew even wider. Sasuke shoved him. He shook his head, trying to shake the image of explosions! from his brain. No, no, Sasuke's right! Focus! "Right, right! Someone made Min'ko cry. You guys know who?"

"It was lunch time last Tuesday," Sasuke clarified.

Shikamaru looked completely done with Naruto and Sasuke's squabbling. He looked towards Ino, the same way Naruto would look at Min'ko when he checked how far he could get away with something. He seemed to decide it wasn't worth it. Naruto would've too, with the look on Ino's face. Giving up, Shikamaru sighed and turned back to them. "I don't know who made her cry. But I saw her talking to a couple of civilian kids when I left the classroom. Try asking them."

Step two and a half: Interrogate more witnesses

Naruto twitched.

Why was it that every time he approached a group of girls, the first thing they would see was Sasuke?!

"I'm Nakamura Sachiko, and this is my friend, Suzuki Ran-chan." This girl at least, acted more normal than the others he'd met so far. She was beaming, bouncing on her toes with excitement. It made her short green hair flop every which way.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke muttered.

"Wow, an Uchiha?" said the girl with the brown pigtails Shikamaru had pointed them to. She kept twisting in place, looking up at Sasuke through her lashes. Her hands twisted at the hem of her shirt. "Dad says Uchiha are a super strong clan."

Sasuke looked torn between agreeing and getting away from the girls as fast as possible. Naruto elbowed him, scowling. "Yeah, yeah, Uchiha smoochie hah. Hey, you guys know Min'ko?"

"Hey!" Sasuke glared at him. Naruto stuck his tongue out.

"We're supposed to be asking about Min'ko, remember?"

"Do you mean… Uzumaki Minako-chan?" Sachiko's smile dropped. Naruto whirled on her, beaming.

"Yeah!" He raised his hand to his head. "This tall, pretty red hair, black stuff around her eyes?"

Ran scoffed, crossing her arms and tilting her nose up. "What do you want with a girl like her?" She glanced at Sasuke and melted right back into her weird, twisty attitude. "You're too good for a girl like her, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke slowly edged away.

"She's my sister," Naruto said. Ran's eyes widened.

"O-oh, Minako-chan! Of course we're friends with her!" She looped her arm around Sachiko's shoulders, laughing nervously. "Right, Sachiko-chan?"

"I… uhh…" Sachiko glanced between her friend and the boys. "Right," she said at last. Her face was paler than when Naruto and Sasuke had walked over.

"Do you know who made her cry last Tuesday?" Sasuke said, wanting everything over and done with.

"I—" Sachiko began.

"I do!" Ran butted in. She threw her friend a look over her shoulder before giving Sasuke and Naruto a painfully wide smile. "I saw it. She was talking to Hyuuga Hinata-chan." She pointed at the doors leading back to the classrooms, across from where they were standing. "They talked a bit, then Hinata-chan ran off. Uzu- Minako-chan stood there for a bit, then she went to the tree and started crying."

"FINALLY!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke looked just as relieved. They've been chasing this for days. Only Naruto's stubbornness kept them going. With a wide, foxy grin, he leaned towards Ran, whose expression shifted into something closer to alarmed. "Do you know where she sits?"

Her head bounced up and down in a panicked nod, eyes wide. "She sits in the back of the classroom, all the way in the corner by the wall," she said hurriedly.

"Thanks!" Naruto threw over his shoulder, already bolting for the Academy.

"Oi, idiot! Wait!" Sasuke cried.

"Ran-chan…" Sachiko shuffled closer to her friend, looking worried. Ran ignored her, throwing herself at Sasuke before he could run after Naruto.

"Wait! Uchiha-kun," she pleaded, looking up at him even as she clung to his arm. "D'you wanna come over to have tea sometime? My dad would love to hear I made a friend like you—"

Sasuke's face turned white so fast he looked ready to keel over. "No!" He yanked his arm free and ran off like ninken were after him.

Unfortunately, Naruto saw. He spent the next five minutes laughing his butt off, and refused to let Sasuke forget it for the rest of the week.

Step three: Pranking the culprit!

One weekend later, Naruto hatched his plan.

Notes:

edited 01.15.2020
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Actual chapter-related author's notes in my writing blog again, so I can keep this short and sweet. I know a lot of people worry about fic update rates and how a lot of Naruto SI fics never get finished. I won't say anything about finished, but believe me, I'm not abandoning this fic until we make it all the way to the thing I finished writing for Shippuden three years ago. So you guys have that to look forward to. Cheers!

Chapter 11: Arc I Chapter 11

Summary:

Small actions can lead to bigger problems.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

I'm not sure what I expected from a ninja school. Brainwashing, probably. "Konoha is the greatest, memorize!" I should have known it wouldn't be that simple. Brainwashing is subtle, and repetitive. It's in the words they say when you're bored and only half listening. It's in the praises they give you when you fulfill their expectations, and in the points you lose when you answer "wrong". It's not brainwashing, really—it's society raising its children into mature, socially-acceptable members of the community. It's neither wrong or right. It just is. It's a society that was built in the context it existed in—constant war—and is still continuously being built. But on that day, we brought out our notebooks and were told to work on our math.

It's… kinda stupid. I finished the problems in ten minutes and started bouncing in my seat three minutes after. I caught myself looking longingly out the window and wondering when recess or PE or something would start. My bones hummed with the need to move. I felt too jittery to sleep or daydream like I used to in—in my old life.

That's when it hit me. I felt my face flush, embarrassed to realize I had been expecting the Academy to breeze by like… like an anime time skip. The Academy was the first sign of the Plot—of Plot Movement and the beginning of the sequence of events that led to the story I knew. A part of me still saw everything as a story. My brother is the main character of a story I was, am, and will be witness to. It hadn't really hit me yet that I would live it. The good, the bad… and the tedious.

I realized my leg was bouncing again. The kid beside me gave me the stink-eye. I stuck out my tongue but stopped. I slumped forward instead, forehead on table with my hair curtaining my face as I looked at my lap.

I need a book, I realized. My other habit in my old grade school days, when the teacher talked about things I already knew and bored me to death. Maybe if I poked my head around I would find a library. I probably won't be as voracious a reader as I used to be (damn Konoha alphabet) but like any other skill all I needed was practice.

Ten minutes later, I cut my planning of dinner for tomorrow and looked up again. Hiro-sensei was answering the questions of Spiky in front of me. Lazily, I glanced at the problem he was having trouble over and frowned. There was something different about his paper and mine.

Then it clicked.

The problems were easy numbers, mostly single- and double-digit sums within the range of 1 to 20. The hardest had you add 17 plus 12. The best part was, they used Arabic numerals, AKA English numbers. Naturally, I did it all in my head and wrote the answers on the paper. Spiky's paper was filled with awkward numbers, erasures, and solutions, in large blocky numbers.

A horrified look slowly took over my face. This was what Hiro-sensei saw when he straightened from Spiky's seat.

"Problem, Minako-kun?" he asked cheerfully. My blood regained its ability to reach my face so fast it overshot its goal and left my cheeks feeling like sizzling rubber. "Can I take a look?"

I could hear the sound of stressed breaks. SCREEEE…

"NO!" I threw myself bodily on my table, blocking my paper from sight with my own flesh and blood. My seatmate's pencil snapped as he stared at me in shock.

Hiro-sensei's eyebrows were doing their own race to his hairline. "Are you sure? Maybe I can help."

"I'm not done!" I blurted. "It's, it's ugly! And messy!" I babbled, trying to think of something, anything, everything that could stop him. "You can see it later!"

Hiro-sensei paused for an agonizing second. "Alright then," he said at last. "Call me if you need help, okay?" He patted my head a bit, and moved on.

Heat rushed all the way to the roots of my hair. I slammed my face onto my desk (gently) and took a moment to scream inside my head.

Pull yourself together! It's just a pat on the head, for crying out loud!

Still blushing, I grabbed my eraser and shoved it at my paper. I didn't tear my sheet, but it was a close call. It still ended up as wrinkled as used toilet paper. After that, it was just a matter of rewriting everything in a way that made it believable that a six-year-old wrote it. Thankfully, I didn't have to fake clumsy handwriting. But I did write down the solutions with all my answers (even crossed out digits and scribbled numbers over the tenths), and even got some numbers wrong while I was at it.

I finished just in time for Hiro-sensei's call of "Pass!" and slumped in relief. That was way more complicated than it needed to be.

I couldn't stand out in class. It would be so easy. Academics were one of the few things I really excelled in during my previous life. I loved learning, and getting good grades, and the way I couldn't help but react to any signs of approval was just my joy in receiving approval brought over from my old life, raised to a hundred thanks to my new childhood. I had to be, haha, constantly vigilant. At myself. For eight hours a day, when I could barely even sit still.

How was I even supposed to start doing that?!

I groaned and buried my face in my hands.

School sucks. Why did I think going to another universe would change that?

The past first week of our time in the Academy had been a roller coaster ride. Thankfully, it mostly stayed in the first half of that week, with the latter end tapering off into something I could coast on. Then again, I had spent most of that time hunkering down in the newly discovered school library (a library dattebana! A LIBRARY!) when Naruto would dash off with Sasuke to do who knew what during lunch break.

Yes, I hid like a coward in the library from scary six-year-olds. Honestly, Pigtails I could handle. Most of what she did was just glare in my direction and speak loudly when I was around, as if I could be bothered about whatever insults she was trying to make me hear. I could hear her just fine across the aisle. All it did was make her look silly.

Cabbage Head would not. Stop. Giving me these pitiful looks. Like she wanted to walk over but needed to cling to her best friend, whatever. It was. It was so childish. And the sparkles in her eyes were the same ones from the first time I told her I was the tragic last child of a decimated clan. The hero worship was probably the most uncomfortable thing about her. It freaked me out. Not to mention this guilty undertone, because she kept looking between me and Pigtails whenever we were in the same room, which, by the way, really wasn't helping Pigtails' attitude towards me.

And Hinata.

Hinata wasn't doing anything wrong. In fact, she was avoiding me even more than I was trying to avoid her. It's just… every time I caught a glimpse of her face, my stomach would turn, my heart would clench, and I had to look away.

All I could feel when I saw her was hurt and disappointment.

I could feel a bunch of other kids eyeing me with interest too. There was Constantly Eating Potato Chips, for one, and his friend Broomstick Head who had a much more intense stare. It did not help that I found out they were Akimichi Chouji and Nara Shikamaru from my own brother, of all people. How I didn't recognize them is beyond me—but then again, real people look very different from 2D cartoons. Spiky at least only had derision for me, and didn't look like he wanted anything to do with me.

It's. It's unnerving. After six years of being ignored or pushed aside, suddenly there were all these teeny eyes looking at me. And the fact that I had no idea how to interact with children as a child (see re: years of being ignored or pushed aside) just made it all the more nerve-wracking.

Adding in the fact that I had yet to have an interaction with a kid not my brother that didn't end in tears and disaster?

Yeah, no. It was safer to be the strange kid that preferred to hide in the library.

It wasn't that big a library. My old grade school library spanned four big rooms. The Academy's library consisted of one room. From the little I could make sense of it, the shelves were arranged by subject matter, and in turn were arranged by what school year a genin should encounter said subject matter. So at the front of the room were the history books, with further shelves holding books on weaponry, strategy, and at the very back books on chakra, chakra natures, and even ninjutsu theory. I say, books, but they were more of a mix of bound books and scrolls. The bound books looked newer but more dog-eared, while the scrolls seemed to be in better shape but had an age to the paper that the bound ones didn't have.

There… weren't a lot. Then again, if you thought about it, ninja. Secretive plus relatively young village plus most lessons being better taught practically than through theory?

One-room library manned by a single bored chuunin, who at least seemed amused I spent my first lunch break there asking him to read the harder words aloud.

We weren't allowed to bring anything out of the library, either.

Ninja.

Monday found me dithering before lunch time on where I wanted to spend it. In my old life, I would've gone back to the library to finish the book I was stumbling through on the founding of Konoha. In this life, I darted around the inevitable crowding at the door when the lunch bell rang, and bolted for the tree Naruto and I had started meeting for lunch by.

You'd think, after months of living in an apartment and taking turns going out for groceries, I'd be used to being apart from him for hours. My expectation was that I'd be the one regularly leaving the apartment to buy groceries, leaving Naruto to take care of the place while we waited for the day we'd enter the Academy. I honestly should have known better. Leaving Naruto alone in a three-room apartment?

Once the novelty wore off, he insisted on going outside with me. After he snuck out and followed me to the market, I even said yes. Better to be where I could see him and stop people from hurting him or taking advantage of him, like that one lady who thought she could sell us fish for an exorbitant price.

Hell, just yesterday, he insisted on getting groceries on his own. That was a fun three hours of devolving into a nervous wreck.

As much as I knew I needed to stop clinging to Naruto so much—both for his sake, and mine—I always felt too relieved when we would reunite to seriously try, no matter how long or how short that amount of time was.

Like say, the four hours of class before lunch.

When I arrived at the tree, however, I didn't see a mop of blond or black anywhere. Most of the kids liked to play further down the yard, where there was enough space to run around.

Maybe they were dismissed late?

The ant kid from the other week was there, though. I saw him a couple more times last week, but he always seemed to fade out of sight when Naruto and Sasuke came around.

Hadn't there been something about a fog kekkai genkai? Maybe that was why he was so wrapped up all the time? So he wouldn't blow away?

We exchanged nods of greeting—with a bit of awkwardness on my part—as I moved to sit. I could feel his gaze on me as I examined the root under me before I did. I learned from the first time. Watching out for ants was no skin off my back, so I didn't mind.

We stayed quiet, with him doing his own thing with the ants and me looking out towards the other kids as I waited for my brother. I couldn't stop peeking at him out of the corner of my eye. This was the first time we stayed in each other presence long enough for me to study him. He looked familiar, for some reason. The shades and the coat in particular kept catching my eye.

He looked up. Said shades bore into me. Heat rushed up my cheeks.

"Do you mind that my brother and I hang out by your tree?" I blurted, trying to smooth over the embarrassment of being caught staring. Remembering how he had spoken before, I added, "I'm asking because I know my brother and his friend can get really noisy, and I don't want to bother you." I mean, he was here first.

The staring match only continued. My finger rose to rub at where my… facial marking would end right before my temple. "Uhh—"

"I do not mind," he said, making my mouth clamp shut. "Why? Because you are no bother to me. As long as they do not harm the ant colony living on this tree, it is fine."

"Oh." I swallowed. "Thanks." This was the first time I heard a kid my age speak so eloquently. Relatively, I mean, but considering Naruto had a habit of slurring his syllables in his haste…

Speaking of Naruto… where was my brother? I sighed and leaned my cheek against my fist. My free hand was used to drum my fingers against my knee. Naruto told me he was going to eat with me, and that Sasuke was coming along. He told me when he wouldn't meet me for lunch either. So where was he?

I got up and dusted my butt off. "Excuse me," I told my companion. He nodded and went back to his insects. I turned towards the doors leading back inside, a half-niggly feeling in the back of my head.

Insects? Why did that stand out?

With my slow, suddenly-thoughtful pace, I only made it halfway to the door before a bright yellow head almost crashed right into me.

"Min'ko!" said a familiar voice, and the tension in my shoulders just drained away.

"Naruto," I said, my hands automatically wrapping around to catch him. He let it stay for a second, then began to wriggle. I had never been successful in holding on to Naruto for long, no matter how much I liked to cuddle. I sighed anyway, and let go. He bounced back, his grin cheeky. My frown deepened. I've seen that kind of grin before. Several times before.

"You're late," I continued, my voice flat.

"Sasuke had to go to the bathroom," Naruto said, huffing through his nose. "Not my fault he took so long."

"Hey!" Sasuke caught up at last, pausing right beside Naruto. His cheeks were flushed, his bangs sticking to his face with sweat. Naruto, on the other hand, barely fit the definition of 'panting'. "You're the one who handed me the—"

"OH YEAH!"

Sasuke and I winced at Naruto's volume. My brother, meanwhile, shuffled around his pockets, before drawing out a bunch of ryo. "I forgot to give you back the change from yesterday!"

"Oh." I glanced through the amount, then passed it back to him. "Just put it in Gama-chan, so you have some money with you."

He blinked, then beamed, and pulled out his purse. It was the first time I let him keep money. Considering the fact that he managed to get the groceries on his own, I figured he could learn how to handle his own cash too. I felt a smile tugging on my lips, something like pain and pride mixing in my chest. God, we were only six. I shouldn't feel this much like a proud mom.

"C'mon, let's have lunch already." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Lunch break's halfway through."

Naruto threw his arm around his friend's shoulders, almost sending both of them tumbling to the ground. "Let's eat, I'm starving dattebayo!"

I let them get three steps ahead of me before I grabbed my brother by the ear. He yelped, clutching my wrist to keep me from pulling too far. "Alright, what have you been up to?" I asked, my voice dry. As if I'd let him get away with distracting me.

"Nothing, nothi- tetetete." He whimpered, looking up at me with big, baby blue eyes. I ignored him and shot a look at Sasuke.

The kid looked alarmed at grabbing my attention. He glanced between me and Naruto, then visibly gathered himself and shoved his hands into his pockets, scowling. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I just went to the bathroom."

"I was with Sasuke -ttebayo!" Naruto insisted. "We washed our hands together and everything!" He presented his hands to me. Sure enough, his palms were almost scarlet from scrubbing.

With a sigh, I let my brother go, and grunted when he slumped against me in exaggerated relief. "You didn't have to pull my ear," he whined, even as we started walking back to the tree.

I pointed at his face. "Promise me no one's going to get hurt," I said, putting every bit of seriousness I had in my voice.

He pouted, huffing. "Course not, dattebayo." I raised an eyebrow. His skin flushed. "Much," he added reluctantly.

"And that you won't get caught."

Now his nose rose into the air. "I didn't even get caught last week!"

I sighed and covered my face with my hand. "Alright." He was right about that. The news of the poop… thing that splattered all over Mizuki-sensei's feet had spread through the school like wildfire. I caught Hiro-sensei laughing about it with another teacher once when I walked out of the library. I knew who the culprit was of course. Naruto stank of cat poop the night before. The fact that a chuunin wasn't able to catch him in the act was… hilarious. And mildly disappointing. In the is that teacher really a ninja? way.

Maybe I should be stricter with my brother…

But there were only so many things I could worry about. Maybe telling him it was fine as long he wasn't caught was teaching him bad morals… but then again, I could just be preparing him for ninja life, right?

What really freaked me out was the news he brought me the day after the Mizuki-sensei Incident. I actually scared Naruto when I had to sit down for a moment.

I had confirmation of the Uzumaki clan's existence. Just because I "lied" loud enough for Nara Shikamaru to hear me, Naruto found out about his heritage years before he should have. I had to sit through five minutes of him babbling about sealing and how Sasuke said you could use them for explosions, Min'ko, isn't that cool dattebayo?

A part of me that wasn't panicking was already wondering what a Naruto proficient in sealing would look like.

We made it to the tree and sat down. Sasuke opened his bento and handed out a mini onigiri for us each. I brought out my own attempt at stir fry noodles and passed Naruto his half. God, I missed my mother's—

I bit back the remembered taste of soy sauce and slightly spicy noodles and focused on tasting my own cooking. The noodles were fully cooked, at least, but it needed more seasoning. Bless Naruto, he didn't complain and just chomped it all down.

I glanced to the side, only to be surprised that the ant kid was still there. The usual routine was that we would sit down to eat, and he would somehow disappear. He kept his gaze down, his focus on the tree roots… but for some reason, despite his high collar and sunglasses, I got the feeling his attention was focused on us.

Sasuke noticed me staring and followed my gaze. "Who's that?"

"I… actually don't know, dattebana." Oops. But it was embarrassing to realize. Right next to the person, even.

"He looks funny," Naruto spoke up, with the blunt honesty of a child. And because I was looking, I saw how the kid's shoulders hunched by a twitch.

Okay, this I wasn't going to let pass.

"Hey," I said, raising my voice. The kid took a moment to look up, his wariness clear in how he was slightly curled into himself. "Do you wanna to have lunch with us?" I paused, thinking about how to phrase things, then added, "Why? Because my brother needs to apologize, and having more people during a meal is always nice."

Naruto looked at me, face scrunched with confusion. Sasuke and the kid stared at me too. "Why're you talking funny?" my brother demanded.

I poked him on the nose, forcing an offended noise out of his throat. "Because there's usually a reason if people talk different, so I'm trying to be nice and talk the same way he does."

"There is no need to do so," the kid said, getting up from his squat and dusting his pants off. "Why? I can understand you just fine."

"I'm not saying you can't understand me," I said patiently. "I'm saying I'm doing it because I want to be nice."

There was no visible reaction. Not even a tilt to the head. But anyone's gaze could get jacked up by a hundred with opaque sunglasses on.

At long last, he stepped forward, and squatted down next to us. "My name is Aburame Shino."

I blinked.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke said, probably already somewhat familiar with the oddities of an Aburame.

"Uzumaki Minako," I offered, still stunned.

Aburame Shino. Why was I even surprised? The shades, the high collar jacket, and the fascination with bugs should have given it away. How much was I forgetting if I couldn't even remember this much?

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto -ttebayo!" Naruto puffed out his chest, pointing his thumb at himself for good measure. I shook myself, and poked him again, this time on the chest. He wheezed. "What?"

"Apologize," I reminded him.

His cheeks puffed up as he glanced between me and Shino. "But why?" he demanded.

"Because saying people look weird is rude. And Shino-kun doesn't even look weird, he's just dressed different. Looking different isn't bad." I glanced at Shino, but he didn't seem to mind that I didn't use -san. We were the same age, I guess. Physically. God, learning social graces was the worst without someone to teach you. Seeing Naruto's pout turn mulish, I added, "If you think he looks weird, then I look weird too. No one else has stuff like this on their face." I pointed at my eyes with both hands.

Naruto paused. "Well, they are kinda weird—" I cut him off, ruffling his hair as hard as I could. He laughed, almost bending in half from the force.

"Don't sass your sister!" I scolded, doing my best to keep my amusement from my face.

"If her eyes look weird, then that stuff on your cheeks looks weird too," Sasuke retorted, ready to one-up Naruto as always. Naruto bristled.

"No they're not! Min'ko says they look cute!"

"That just means you look like a baby!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

Naruto freed himself from my grip and launched himself at Sasuke. I covered my face with a hand, listening to the puppy growls and the sound of cloth skidding across dry soil and grass. I glanced at Shino, catching his eye, then rolled mine. Look what I have to put up with.

He shuffled a little, but said nothing. I tried to get a read on his mood, but the fact that I could only see 10% of his face got in the way.

I sighed again. "Naruto!" I called.

His head popped out from their little dust cloud long enough for him to yell, "Sorry, dattebayo!" It was almost cheerful, the way he said it

"Ah." Shino adjusted his shades. "You are forgiven."

And that was that.

Despite Naruto and Sasuke's bickering in the background, I could feel the awkward silence settling in. A part of me was frantically trying to figure out what to say. The other was frantic, period. Here was a kid, glancing between my brother and me. A kid, just like every other kid in my class that gave me the heebie jeebies from their staring. A kid from the Konoha 11, even, who I was pretty sure Naruto hadn't met this early. I think. (Was there anything I could really be sure about, anymore?)

Now that I thought about it, though, Shino hadn't really set off those alarms the few times we had kind of hung out, while I was waiting for Naruto. Maybe it was because we were content to sit in each other's presence, without having to speak or anything of the sort. I had never felt any pressure or expectation from him.

Still, my mind remembered Hinata and quailed. Yes, Sasuke was the exception. But that only meant I could wonder if Shino's parents will warn him away too.

I glanced at the kid in question, and realized how far he was sitting from me and the squabbling kids in front of me. Not too far, but just enough to feel like the edge of our little group.

Awkward silence. But, also wary.

Giving up, I sighed and patted the root next to me. After checking if there were ants on it, of course.

"C'mon, they're gonna be a while. You can have my onigiri. Sasuke-kun's—" I had to bite back a snicker at that one. The kid had yet to get a complex about it, but from the way girls were shooting looks at him from across the field, he would soon. "—mom likes making food for him to share with us."

There was a moment of hesitation; then he shuffled closer, taking the riceball from my outstretched hand.

If Shino stopped talking to us tomorrow, I'd be disappointed, but not surprised. But for now… I just couldn't bear the feeling that this kid was just as shy and lonely as I was.

"Tell me about the ants," I said. "Why do you like watching them so much?"

One of my favorite activities in the afternoon was the little obstacle course they had in the training field. It felt a little like those obstacle courses I vaguely remembered from military movies in my old life. Except, instead of tires on the ground (since they aren't common here) or some crawl space through mud, there were a bunch of wide, carved out perches or branches with things like monkey bars and short climbing walls interspersed throughout. Some of the perches weren't even man made, just marked out by a red flag. A gratuitous number of trees on the Academy grounds plus low hanging branches made for a great practice area, whether or not there were teachers around. Not a day went by that some Academy kid broke something trying to jump branches like a proper ninja. Hooray for tree parkour training and conditioning!

There was nothing like the feeling of doing your damnest to get from one end of the course to the other as fast as possible. Sure, my legs and arms burned, but it was a good burn. I couldn't always finish first, but some days when Spiky or a couple other boys in class were too tired from lunch, I managed to outlast their initial burst.

I was feeling good enough today that I had overtaken Spiky for fourth place. I could hear him catching up behind me as I swung across the monkey bars. Damn boys and their upper body strength. My palms tingled with the slap-slap of skin on metal as I tried to stay away.

The only reason I noticed anything wrong was because the soft gasp I heard sounded familiar. I hesitated at the platform after the monkey bars, glancing behind me.

Hinata sat on the ground, cringing away from the feet swinging above her head. She was bent low, lower than needed to duck under the kids. I figured out why she wasn't crawling away when I saw how her hands had disappeared between her stomach and her hips.

"Move it, Carrot Head!" Spiky crowed, shoving me aside and knocking me out of my thoughts. He also almost knocked me off the little platform, but eh. I shot him a dirty look and jumped down myself.

"Minako-kun?" Hiro-sensei asked, lowering his stopwatch as I ran over to where he stood, off to the side.

"I think something's wrong with Hina- with Hyuuga-san," I said, pointing at the monkey bars. Hinata had managed to shuffle over to one side, but even from this far I could see her shoulders hitching with little gasps. "She fell and wouldn't move."

He followed my gaze and frowned. "Alright. Thanks, Minako-kun," he said absently, already striding forward. By that point, everyone lagging behind had noticed little Hinata curled up by the monkey bars' supports, and anyone who had gone ahead were close to finishing. I watched Hiro-sensei kneel down and speak to Hinata. I could only hear murmurs of what he was saying—the other kids' whispers were drowning him out—but I did catch him pry Hinata's hands open.

The usually-pale skin flared an angry red, visible even from where I stood.

Something curled up in my gut like a bad egg.

Sensei stood, helping Hinata up by her wrist. Hinata kept her head down. The only thing keeping her from hiding behind Hiro-sensei's leg was his gentle grip on her arm. "Alright everyone," he called, grabbing the attention of everyone else on the course. "I'm heading to the clinic with Hinata-kun, okay? Start doing your cooldowns." He looked around, locked eyes with a kid with smooth black hair at the end of the course, and said, "Takashi-kun, can you watch over everyone's stretches? I'm counting on you." He said it with such a sincere grin that it made the kid puff up his chest.

"Hai, sensei!" He saluted, thumping the space over his heart.

To everyone's relief, the kid actually took his job seriously, and didn't take advantage of the power Hiro-sensei just gave him. The stretches couldn't end fast enough for me. When we were all finished, and close to milling about in impatient (kids, what did you expect) confusion, I spoke up. "Why don't we head back to the classroom and wait for sensei there?"

Silky shot me a suspicious look, but couldn't find a reason to say no. "Alright, everyone," he barked out, straightening his back. "Line up! Let's go back to the classroom in an orderly fashi- HEY!"

Again, kids. I could only be grateful that Spiky bolted ahead of the rest, yelling "RACE YA!" and almost starting a stampede. It let me stay in the first ten of the class—thank you, Uzumaki stamina—while the rest trailed behind. Panting, I tried to make it to the classroom first, but it was too late.

Hiro-sensei stood at Hinata's desk, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together. There was an uncharacteristic frown on his face. He looked up at the noise of dozens of children falling over themselves into the classroom, but his expression didn't change. "Perfect timing," he said, dropping his hand. "Thanks, Takashi-kun." Said Takashi-kun was too winded to even reply, slumping on the door frame.

"Hiro-sensei, how's H-Hyuuga-san?" I asked, running up to him. He glanced at me, dropping his hand. His frown twisted into a wry smile.

"She'll be fine with some milk and care." Leaving me befuddled, he turned towards the class, his face back in that serious expression.

"Everyone." His voice was calm, barely above conversation level. But something swept out from him, a kind of flick that made me snap to attention and silenced the rest of the class in one fell swoop. "Who rubbed chili pepper all over Hyuuga Hinata's things?"

My stomach dropped out from under me.

Red hands.

"We washed our hands together and everything!"

All my classmates were whispering with each other. Some looked horrified, others were already starting to snicker. I was glad there were kids that shared my numb look of shock. It meant I didn't stand out.

Naruto. Naruto. Why—why would Naruto prank Hinata? She was—she was supposed to be his friend. He was supposed to save her from… from bullies, or something. Wasn't he?

Maybe he made a mistake. Maybe he had gotten into a squabble with one of the kids in the classroom, and he got the wrong table. It had to be a mistake. This shouldn't have happened.

"Nobody?" Hiro-sensei's tone hadn't changed. "No one even saw who it was?"

I took a deep breath. At the very least, Naruto wouldn't get caught. He had promised, so—so it'll be fine. I'll just get the answers out of him when we get home—

Spiky stepped forward. "I saw it," he declared. "I saw the one who did it."

My heart seized.

"Daichi-kun?" Hiro-sensei prompted.

"I was in the bathroom," Daichi said. His hands were in his pockets, the line of his shoulders too lax to be anything but smug. "I saw someone washing his hands. They were really red, like Hyuuga's."

"Do you know who it was?" Hiro-sensei asked, his eyes sharp. He didn't look away from Daichi once.

A smirk flashed its way across Daichi's face. "Yeah. My friend recognized him. The guy's in Mizuki-sensei's class."

I took a deep breath.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

I stood outside the little meeting room by the faculty room. My hands were clenched so tight, I was trembling. Hiro-sensei had dismissed us early—Hinata had kept silent about her pain for so long she only gave in near the end of our physical exercises. The other classes should be ending soon. And yet here I was, shamelessly eavesdropping on Hiro-sensei, Mizuki-sensei, Sasuke, Hinata, and Hinata's guardian, Hyuuga Kou.

Unlike the other kids, Hinata never went home on her own. She was always fetched by the older Hyuuga, though once I spotted a Hyuuga boy with long hair walking her home. This meant that Hyuuga Kou was at hand to receive the report about Hinata's injury.

She had ignored the capsaicin on her skin until she skinned her palms on the monkey bars. It had only made it worse.

"—an affront to the Hyuuga clan," a deep voice said, quiet but firm. "An appropriate punishment must be given."

"It's just a prank between children," Hiro-sensei replied. Even as he tried to speak politely, he sounded tired. "There's no need to make it a clan matter, Hyuuga-san. Rest assured, we will make sure Sasuke-kun knows not to do it again."

The kids said nothing. I imagined Sasuke's scowl, red from anger with a hint of fear and embarrassment. Hinata would be near tears, either just as red or as white as a sheet.

"There is no way it cannot be a clan matter, Watanabe-sensei. It might be difficult for you to understand, but the boy is the second son of the Uchiha clan head. He must learn the responsibility such a position gives, even if he is only the second heir."

I squeezed my eyes shut in an ugly grimace. Everything had been delivered in perfect, respectful deadpan. But even I didn't miss the jab at Hiro-sensei's civilian origins.

"Is there no way for you to be more lenient, Hyuuga-san?" Mizuki-sensei's voice was gentle. If I didn't know what he'd do in the future, I'd almost describe it as kind. "They're just kids, after all. And Hinata-chan will be fine."

I didn't catch what the Hyuuga said in reply. The clatter of wood on wood past the end of the hall jerked me out of my misery. It was rhythmic, like—like footsteps. I bolted for the stairs, hiding behind the corner and out of sight. Hiro-sensei and the other teachers walked silently when they weren't paying attention, as though they only made noise for the sake of the kids they taught. I had gotten so used to it, I almost didn't recognize the sound of geta on the floor.

Around the corner came Sasuke's mother.

As if this couldn't get any worse.

She knocked on the door, and greeted whoever opened it with a formal nod. The minute she disappeared inside, I slumped against the wall.

I covered my face with my hands and focused on breathing. I wanted to cry out of frustration. This had gone from a prank to a full-on political conflict. This couldn't have happened in the original canon, no matter what I had forgotten. For one thing, Hinata had liked Naruto. Or loved him. She had been attached to him, that much I was sure of. There's no way she would have acted like that if Naruto had hurt her as a child.

I had to stop this. I had to.

Why did Naruto have to prank Hinata?

I charged up the stairs. It didn't take me long to find Naruto's classroom. I spared a moment to knock on the door, before sweeping it open. "Excuse me—" I started, only to almost choke on my tongue as the chuunin at the desk turned to face me. A bushy ponytail to rival Shikamaru's, tanned skin, a thin line of white over his nose, and a smile falling from his face.

"Yes?" Umino Iruka said.

"I-I've come to pick up Naruto," I stammered. "Mizuki-sensei's asking for him." What was Iruka-sensei doing here? Mizuki-sensei's supposed to be Naruto's teacher. At least for this year. So… is he subbing for him?

"Ah." He hesitated. I crossed my fingers. "Alright then. Naruto-ku—"

A streak of yellow bolted down the aisle. "Thanks sensei bye sensei!" Naruto yelled, less shoving me out the door and more crashing into me and making us stumble into the hallway.

"Hey!" Iruka-sensei sounded alarmed. I grabbed Naruto's hand and ran for it. I was just glad Iruka-sensei didn't try to chase after us. It was five minutes til the bell, and I was planning to bring my brother to Mizuki-sensei anyway.

"Min'ko, where's Sasuke?" Naruto babbled. He followed me without question, pattering towards the stairs. "Some new teacher came in during class and called Sasuke and then suddenly Mizuki-sensei was leaving too and another new sensei came in—"

"Sasuke's in trouble, Naruto," I said, the moment he took a breath. "Someone saw him washing his hands in the bathroom. He has the same red hands as Hinata-chan."

Naruto's eyes went wide. He tried to yank his hand back, a knee-jerk reaction, but I kept my grip firm. Even after all this time between lunch and now, there was still a redness on his skin. "Min'ko—" he started.

"We can't let him take the blame for you, Naruto." Urgency tugged my words into speeds that matched the clattering of our feet down the stairs. "Alright? You gotta tell them you did it, dattebana."

We avoided stumbling down the steps, in spite of Naruto's spluttering. "Min'ko, wait!" He tugged back on my hold, almost sending me crashing backwards onto him and dumping us both on our asses. "Why? You said, you said I shouldn't get caught!"

"I know," I said hurriedly. "But if we don't help Sasuke, he'll get in big trouble—"

"So will we!"

"—bigger trouble," I amended. I struggled to find a way to explain it, even as murmurs of the conversation happening just next door reached my ears. I shook my head. "Look. You gotta say sorry. Okay?"

"WHAT?" Naruto's yell almost made me punch myself with his hand, trying to cover my ears.

"Naruto!" I snapped. He glared at me, fuming. "This isn't the orphanage anymore! Your pranks have—" consequences now, I wanted to say, except I didn't know the damn word for it. I cut myself off, and tried again. "It's not like the orphanage where you get thrown in the closet and then you can try again. Sasuke's going to be in big trouble with his mom, and his clan will be in big trouble with the Hyuuga clan."

"So?" Naruto demanded. His whiskered cheeks were starting to puff out in frustration. "Why do I have to say sorry? I don't wanna -ttebayo!" He pushed at my hand, but the death grip I had on his wrist meant he couldn't slip away.

I whirled on him. "You can't let Sasuke take the blame when it was your idea in the first place!"

He opened his mouth to protest. Something about my expression cut him off. I didn't know what he saw on my face. I wasn't sure I wanted to.

There was anger, yes. Even nervousness and fear. But as it was, I was angrier at myself for letting this go on this long. Or for letting him start in the first place. Cursing myself in my head, I dragged us both towards the meeting room.

"—ensure he learn his lesson," Uchiha Mikoto said, just as I crashed through the door.

Every person in the now-cramped room stared at us. Hiro-sensei was halfway out of his seat. "Minako-kun," he said, his tone a forced kind of gentle. "This isn't really the time—"

I pulled Naruto into the room. "Naruto," I said. My voice sounded tinny in my ears. "Show them your hands."

Hiro-sensei's mouth snapped shut.

Red-faced and scowling, Naruto slowly brought up his hands, palms up. The redness on his skin stood out under the bright light on the ceiling.

"Naruto-kun," Mizuki sighed. "I should have known." Was that an undercurrent of satisfaction? Should I care? My hands curled into fists at my side. "Care to explain why you tried to hurt little Hyuuga-hime?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark head shrink into its owner's shoulders.

Naruto whirled on me. "You told me it's fine to prank people as long as I don't get caught." A child's way of saying If I'm going down, you're going down with me. The anger, confusion, and betrayal in his eyes made my breath hitch.

"I told you it's fine as long as you didn't hurt anyone!" I waved at Hinata, avoiding her gaze and keeping mine on Naruto instead. "Last I checked, pepper oil hurts, Naruto!"

Something dark and ugly flashed across his face. "She deserved it."

Shock and fear made me jerk back. It was the last thing I expected. Bright, sunny, mischievous Naruto, with an expression so close to hate it terrified me? I spluttered, trying to regain my mental footing with the metaphorical bucket of ice water in my face. "She didn't do anything to you, Naruto!" I said, my nails biting into my palms in frustration.

His eyes flared. "She made you cry -ttebayo!"

Hinata gasped.

My mouth opened, then closed. No words would come out.

Hinata's guardian interrupted my impression of a gaping fish with a soft cough. "Timely this interruption may be," he said, still polite, in spite of his severe expression, "it does not clear suspicion from Sasuke-san. It merely proves he had an accomplice."

I could piece together what Hyuuga-san was saying through context clues. Naruto could not. He took one look at the Hyuuga's stiff face and turned to the teachers. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Mizuki-sensei," he said, huffing. "I don't get it. What's he saying, dattebayo?"

Hyuuga-san was too good to flush in anger. His eyebrow twitched.

Mizuki-sensei covered his lips. It didn't hide the mirth turning up the corners of his eyes. "He's asking if you helped Sasuke-kun prank Hinata-chan," he explained.

I glanced at Sasuke's mom. Her face was serene, almost terrifyingly blank. It was a very different expression compared to the first one I saw on her. The moment her dark eyes flickered to me, I was already looking at Sasuke.

Sasuke, whose face could rival a thunderstorm in anger and shame, but was also glaring at Naruto with a desperation even my brother couldn't miss. Naruto's frown turned mulish, but the anger on his face was making way for something else.

Relief burned its way up my gut. I gave my brother a gentle nudge. His gaze snapped to meet mine. Loud Naruto may be, he wasn't completely oblivious. He could always tell what I was trying to express, even if I struggled to find words to say it. "He's your friend, isn't he?" I prompted.

His scowl deepened. For a moment, I was afraid he wouldn't do it; that he would throw Sasuke under the bus like he did me. That the loving, faithful Naruto I knew didn't exist, only the dark expression I saw earlier.

Because in the end, it wasn't the clans that mattered. It was that Naruto would learn to take responsibility for his actions, and that friends stuck together, even if it meant taking a hit for their sake.

My brother crossed his arms. "I told him not to touch it, dattebayo," he said, turning his nose up. "He wanted to know what I was doing with the stuff. He was the one who grabbed the bottle, then ran to the bathroom, crying like a baby."

Sasuke's skin turned the color of a dying tomato. "I did not!"

A pale hand on Sasuke's head quelled the argument before it even began. The voice, when it came, was a surprise. She had kept quiet throughout the whole exchange, after all."That will be enough, Sasuke," Uchiha Mikoto said. Her voice was soft, in the way people with power kept theirs soft, knowing others would quiet down to listen to them. She turned her gaze towards Hyuuga Kou. "Will that satisfy you, Hyuuga-san?"

If anything, the Hyuuga's frown had deepened. But there was no way he could refute what Naruto said without looking like an even bigger drama queen than he already did. It's possible he hadn't expected the clan head's wife herself to come. It could even be seen as an overreaction, if it weren't for the fact that Hyuugas probably took more care with their hands than everything else—except their eyes, of course.

I would never know for sure. All I knew was Kou saying, "It does, Uchiha-sama," to Mikoto, and a gentler, "Come, Hinata-sama. Let us return home," to little Hinata.

I tried to catch Hinata's eye, if only to apologize for my brother, but she refused to look in my direction. It hurt, as usual. I looked away, ignoring the stinging in the corner of my eyes and the burning in my cheeks. Sasuke, too, was quickly ushered out, to Naruto's dismay.

We were left staring at the door as Mizuki-sensei escorted them out. Hiro-sensei sighed, sparing a moment to rub the bridge of his nose.

"Thank you for being honest, Minako-kun, Naruto-kun," he said at last. We turned to face him: me, biting my lip; Naruto, still scowling, his little whiskers emphasizing his frustration. "That said, you've caused a lot of trouble today. Naruto-kun, especially." He frowned, his brown eyes darkening as he thought.

"Detention," he said at last, getting up. "I'll talk to Mizuki-sensei about it. But for now, expect to stay after school for the rest of the week." The corner of his mouth twisted into a small, wry smile. "You can have fun cleaning the classrooms and the training areas."

Naruto squawked and began to argue in his usual loud voice. I just closed my eyes and sighed.

Well. At least it wasn't the closets.

Notes:

edited 01.15.2020
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Hey so describing math using writing is HARD,

As much as I value characterization in my fanfic, I'm constantly struggling to balance canon, fanon, and personality-as-affected-by-Minako, especially when my main source of familiarity of Naruto is through fanwork. So please tell me if you find a character OOC, and if I can't reason it out convincingly, I will adjust it. It'll be really helpful if you do, believe me. I'll really appreciate it.

Chapter 12: Arc I Chapter 12

Summary:

Minako tries again.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

I eyed the setup on the table critically. I had splurged a bit on some coconut milk I found in the market (more expensive, considering it was taken from and made in some villages by the beaches that trailed into the cliffs of Wind Country). I needed it to try recreating a recipe I had in my previous life. Boiled some chicken with it, along with some green chili and corn. Not quite right… but close enough. Anyway, in case that flopped, I had grilled squid at the ready too, stuffed to bursting with onions and tomatoes.

All this was a ploy to finally get Naruto talking to me again.

A week had passed since I forced Naruto to own up to his prank. Seven miserable days of Naruto stomping around our home, speaking only when necessary in the morning and turning away from me at night. I never knew how much Naruto's babbling filled my life until it was gone.

I spent those days enduring what could only be a child's temper tantrum. I couldn't be the first to break, after all. I was the one teaching him a lesson. I suppose I underestimated how stubborn Naruto was. Considering what I knew of how he'll grow up, that was a stupid mistake to make.

But god, we've never fought this long before. Even the tantrum he threw about us sleeping in separate rooms—which was an argument I lost, by the way—only lasted a day.

It was when our week's worth of detention finished that I decided enough was enough. The silence hadn't made Naruto crack any, but it was easy to see the anger on his face fading into deeper and deeper misery. It only made my own hidden misery worse.

So, a special dinner.

Sure enough, I caught Naruto's eyes widening before he tried to school his expression back into a scowl. A scowl that didn't sit well on his face at all.

I pretended not to notice. We ate in silence, the way we've had all week in spite of my attempts to keep up a conversation.

For example:

I watched Naruto squint at the odd, very un-Japanese taste of the coconut-milk chicken, chew, then start eating faster.

"You like it?" I asked, my voice quiet.

His face immediately shut down into something sullen. He grunted.

I sighed and shoved a bit of chicken in my own mouth. It was chewy, slightly sweet, but it needed a little more oomph. Maybe more salt. Somehow, I got the feeling that eating with chopsticks changed the taste a little.

I put the chopsticks down. "Naruto," I said. He looked up, his expression wary. "We need to talk."

His cheeks puffed out, as if his stubbornness was rising to fill them. He kept chewing. But at least he didn't look away. I took what I was given and continued. "It's been a week, Naruto," I said, trying to keep my voice even. "You have to talk sometime."

His eyes narrowed. The chewing slowed to something deliberate.

I gritted my teeth, then forced myself to relax. "Can you at least tell me what you were thinking when you pranked Hinata? I thought I told you—"

"Why do you care so much?" he burst out. His tanned face boiled red with anger. My jaw dropped. "I'm the one who got in trouble, but you're more worried about her!"

"Because you hurt her!" Indignation made my voice rise. "I told you pranks are fine so long as you don't hurt anybody!"

"But she hurt you, dattebayo!" he yelled. "She made you cry! So why do you care what happens to her?"

I was shocked into silence. There were tears brimming in his eyes, as his lips wobbled in an ugly little grimace.

"Why do you care more about her than me?"

His voice was small.

"Oh no."

My frustration died in a blink. I scrambled off my chair and ran to Naruto's side. I threw my arms around him as he tumbled off his seat and started bawling. They were the sharp, desperate cries of a child holding a burden too long and too deep.

"Oh, Naruto." I had no idea what to say. Guild curled like a poison snake in my heart. "Naruto, I didn't- that's not what I—"

But I had, hadn't I? I was so worried about the Hyuuga, and the Uchiha, and the politics of the village, that I just dumped it all on my brother—my own brother, who didn't know any better. Who learned that pranking was the way to get back at people because I let him. The same person who just told him to own up to it without explaining anything.

All this crashed down on me with the weight of a sack of bricks. I slumped to the floor, cradling Naruto's shaking form.

"I'm sorry." Tears pricked at my own eyes, the shock of hurting the only person I had in this world without knowing hitting deep. "Naruto, I'm sorry, I wasn't—" thinking. Excuses. "I didn't mean it that way," I said softly. "I'm sorry that's how it made you feel. I'm sorry." Apologies that meant nothing, because he was hurt here. Right now.

"Why'd you get me into trouble?" Naruto whimpered. His voice was the smallest I'd ever heard it. Not even when we were four and he asked why Miyagawa-san was so mean. Not even when we turned six and he asked why people didn't like us. "I thought—I thought we were family. I thought we stick together. We don't leave anybody behind."

"We don't. I'm sorry." I held him close, feeling him tremble under my hands. "I won't do it again, I promise."

It was a promise I'd break several times over, in the far future. But I believed it then.

Slowly, his sobs died. I dried my tears on his shoulder. After a few more moments, he whispered, "Why?"

I closed my eyes. How to explain politics to a six-year-old? More importantly, how to explain why it mattered? I couldn't say it didn't, because it did. To me. And to the greater world in general.

…But, now that I thought of it, did it really matter? Did it really matter to us?

No.

The Plot tugged at the edges of my mind. What would happen if I just let things happen as they would? How would a feud with the Hyuuga have affected the Uchiha, who should be facing Danzo's own influence against them right now?

Shit. The Massacre. When did it—

Naruto sniffled.

I cast my mind back to the incident. "I…" Why did I care so much? "Because I like Hinata," I said slowly. "And I felt bad for her because she got hurt."

Naruto pulled back to glare at me. "But she made you cry -ttebayo," he repeated stubbornly.

"Even if she made me cry." I patted his back. The familiar pang of hurt at Hinata's face hit, and passed. "But… it's not her I'm angry at. It's not her fault."

"I-I can't p-play with y-you anym-more,"

"Why not?" Naruto demanded.

"Because there are times in our life when we have to do things we don't like." I wiped some of the tears from his cheeks as I thought. His nose wrinkled, but he didn't pull away. Something eased inside me. "Like… like going into the closets, because Miyagawa-san told us to." Not the best analogy, but… it was the closest I could get through association. "She said—she said she couldn't play with me anymore. Not she didn't want to. And I cried because—because I wish we could."

Naruto fell silent. I rubbed his arms, letting him think. I knew it was something he'd understand. It just so happened it was the first time I was the one to cry over it. "But… I didn't tell you to 'fess up because of Hinata," I said, speaking as I thought. "I told you to 'fess up because Sasuke was going to get in trouble."

Naruto twitched. "And?"

I glanced at his face. There was a dip in his tone there, a taste of bitterness I didn't expect. He just kept glaring at a spot somewhere off my arm. "He's your friend, isn't he?" I waited for him to nod. He jerked his head downward. "Well, friends are like family. We don't leave them behind." Something about his silence was starting to worry me. I shrugged. "Sure we got in trouble, but if we didn't speak up, Sasuke would have been in bigger trouble. He'd be in trouble with the school, with his family, and with Hinata's family."

Naruto's gaze snapped to mine. "Why?" he asked, surprised.

"Because he's part of a clan. And big clans mean big responsibilities." I sounded out the word slowly. The library visits were helping my vocabulary a lot. And Izumo-san—the librarian—was sweet, in a kind of bored, gruff way, helping me with the pronunciation. "They have to be nice to each other because… we're all a team, under the village. Under the Hokage." Amazing. Who needed teachers to indoctrinate my brother when I was doing it myself? "So, if Sasuke pranked Hinata, Hinata's family would think Sasuke's family was being nasty."

Naruto looked down. His lip wobbled. "Is that why Sasuke won't talk to me anymore?" he asked.

"What?" I stared at him. He squirmed, looking miserable. "What do you mean he isn't—what?"

It was the first I had heard of anything of the sort. Like I said, it wasn't like Naruto had been very chatty with me for the past week. But he also had taken to avoiding me during lunch time, so I hadn't noticed Sasuke disappearing from our company or anything. In fact, I had assumed they were spending time together because Naruto didn't want to spend it with me.

"Since when?" I demanded.

"Since the prank," Naruto replied. His tears were starting again. He scrubbed at his eyes, done with crying for the day. "He said… he said that because of me, his mom and dad got really, really mad at him. That it was my fault. And I—" He scowled, a familiar light entering his eyes. Oh, dear, pigheaded Naruto. "I told him it wasn't my fault, that I didn't make him help me, dattebayo! And he got really, really mad. And then he wouldn't talk to me anymore."

"Have you tried apologizing?" I asked gently. This was serious. This was not the time to think of teeny, round-eyed Uchiha Sasuke throwing a tantrum. I will not laugh.

Naruto squirmed.

"You did get him into trouble," I reminded him. "The prank was your idea. So even if you didn't make him help you, you still gotta apologize."

Naruto looked up at me, his eyes big and shimmery. "Do I have to?" he whined, puppy eyes on max.

A snort escaped me. "Yes, you do. If you want to stay friends with people, you have to apologize when you do something wrong. Because we all make mistakes. The important thing is you make up for it."

Naruto looked doubtful. "Alright." He nodded, his conviction growing. "I won't get caught again," he promised. "Believe it!"

I choked on a laugh. That was one way to look at it.

The weekend passed in general peace. We did the groceries together, and worked on our homework together. I used my paper to explain things to Naruto, which meant I never forgot to write my solution down, and even gave me a reason to crumple it up with hearty erasures every so often. I refused to let Naruto copy my answers, which also allowed me to still mess some stuff up while he'll –hopefully—get a better, and more honest score.

I really didn't want to say this about my brother, but he didn't need my help to do worse in class.

He loved doing the daily exercises our teachers taught us to do at home. Anything physical, he'd jump at it, with an enthusiasm that admittedly made his swings go wide and his aim about as precise as a weather forecast. But the minute we had to sit down and think?

Granted, I didn't have as good a time with that either. My attention would wander just as quickly as his would. But I still made an effort, because I knew why I should. Naruto, being an actual six-year-old, didn't care as much.

After our miserable week, the weekend was bright and cheerful. I even treated us to some pre-made teriyaki chicken don from a nearby grocery store for Sunday's dinner. I tried to get us into an actual donburi restaurant but…

The less said about that, the better.

I hadn't explored far enough to find Ichiraku Ramen yet. I'll definitely bring Naruto there someday.

Monday morning left me cheerful and optimistic. I waved Naruto goodbye before heading into my classroom, leaving him to go to his. The last I saw of my brother was him beaming brightly, before scurrying away.

Lunchtime with Shino found Naruto trudging over, his shoulders low and his face scrunched up in anger and misery. My heart dropped into my gut.

I ran up to Naruto and threw my arms around him. His hands came up and gripped my hoodie, while he buried his face in my shoulder. He didn't sob, but I could feel some tears soaking through the cloth.

Shino had leapt to his feet as well, but stayed off to the side, close enough to be with us but still too far to touch. He shuffled his feet. "Something is wrong," he stated, his usually-deadpan voice tinged with concern. "Why? Naruto-san appears to be crying."

Even for Shino, that was a terribly obvious thing to say. My heart went out to the poor, awkward boy, even as Naruto jerked his head up. "'M not!" He glared, then sniffed.

"Then perhaps you could explain to me why your face is wet."

Naruto's cheeks puffed out. "Naruto was going to make up with Sasuke today," I said quickly, before he could take offense and things devolved into a fight. Shino gave me a look. "Sasuke-kun," I amended with a wince. Sasuke had been just Sasuke in my head for so long, remembering to stick to what was actually polite was killing me. "But…" I glance at Naruto, waiting for his story.

"He just went 'hn' and crossed his arms—" Naruto did a ridiculously good expression of Sasuke's hn and scowl. "—and when I said it again he just turned around and put his chin up—" Up went his chin. "—so I got mad and I said 'Fine! Be that way, dattebayo!' and I left."

"I see." Shino adjusted his glasses. I hugged my brother again, only to whip around when he continued, "That makes sense."

"What?" Naruto and I exclaimed, a dattebayo?! trailing after.

Shino shuffled again, disconcerted at the attention. "Why?" he said, falling back on his own verbal tic in defense. "Because the Uchiha are known for being…" He paused. "…selective of who they befriend."

"What do you mean?" I demanded, dread crawling its way into my chest.

Shino tilted his head. He sounded sorry he brought it up at all. "They are not… known for being close to those outside the ninja clans in Konoha."

"You mean Sasuke doesn't want to be friends with me coz I don't have a clan, dattebayo?" Anger blazed in Naruto's eyes. The hurt was still there, but it was compounded now by the injustice of the thought.

My breath caught.

Something dark and ugly flashed across his face. "She deserved it."

"I'm sure that's not it, dattebana!" I leapt in front of him and waved my arms, as if I could physically block whatever thoughts were going through his mind now. Naruto blinked, then stared at me. I gave him my best grin. "I bet he's just grumpy. He'll come around, don't worry! Imagine it: when he starts missing you, he'll come crawling back and begging for you to be friends again!"

Naruto's confusion cleared. A tentative smile crept over his face. "Hehe." He rubbed his eyes, then put his arms behind his head, to match his Cheshire grin. "Yeah! That'll teach him, dattebayo! Besides, everyone knows we have a clan." He grinned at me. I nodded, beaming back.

"That's right! He'll be back in no time," I said cheerfully.

"I do not believe—" I shot a glare at Shino, stopping him in his tracks. I'll explain it to him later, I swore to myself.

Typical parents, an ugly part of me whispered. Selfish, hateful adults.

I shoved the thoughts back. I could hate Sasuke's parents. I could. But I couldn't let Naruto do it. He needed to stay that bright, cheerful boy that always found hope in a terrible situation. Not just for the world's sake. But for his.

I needed a plan.

It took me a while to work up to it. It was easy to put off. Naruto had found new playmates in Shikamaru and Chouji, as well as a kid with a dog from his class that could only be Kiba. Word had gotten out that Naruto had been behind The Poop Prank, and it had won him a bit of a reputation. From what I could tell, Kiba had been impressed by it, in the way that kids that wanted to prove they were better. His attempts at pranks were pathetic, though. He'd gotten caught and put in detention twice now, and Naruto lorded it over him with glee. So he'd taken to kicking Naruto's ass in conditioning instead.

Chouji was simply happy to have people who were willing to play with him, and where Chouji went, so did Shikamaru. Ino apparently preferred hanging out with girls her age at the Academy, so I didn't get to see her a lot. Shino and I kept to ourselves under the tree, with Shikamaru enjoying his naps near the two other kids who wouldn't bother him about them. Meanwhile, Kiba, Akamaru, and Naruto tussled in the grass, Chouji chasing after them.

Suddenly, our little circle of two had blown up into six. It left me nervous. I would skitter around the edges, preferring to stick to Shino, who wasn't enthusiastic about talking to new people either. Shikamaru's sharp eyes caught everything, even when they were half-lidded. I was constantly on edge, trying to act the kid that I'm supposed to be. Kiba had no patience with my skittishness, so the moment he managed to assert himself over me, he was satisfied.

(It burned, a little. The way he automatically assumed he was better than me, just because I flinched away when he shoved his face close to mine. Naruto tackled him when he called me weird, though, so that took off the edge of my indignation.)

Sweet Chouji just gave me the space I needed.

And under all this was the voice that whispered, they'll leave too. Look at Hinata. Look at Sasuke. All these people are the same. Once their parents find out, it's all over.

It helped that they weren't always around. When the big clump of kids playing ninja in the middle let Chouji play, he and Shikamaru always joined their group. Kiba spent a lot of his lunch breaks with other kids from his clan, feeding their dogs together and letting the little puppies play with their kin.

It was on those days that Naruto would sit with me and Shino, his smiles just that little bit smaller, and his grins falling just that little bit faster.

And every time that flash of anger and hurt would pass through his eyes, I knew what he was thinking. He was thinking, Sasuke won't be my friend because I don't have a family. And I would feel afraid again.

One day, I looked at the calendar and knew it was now or never. This had gone on long enough. I had to try. If it didn't work, then… then the voice was right, and Naruto would never lose that hurt in his heart. But if it worked…

I was terrified. This went against everything I knew, everything I could remember of the Plot. But I had to try. I had to give the world one more chance to prove me wrong. Because no matter what the Plot said, no matter what my memories showed of what he was supposed to be, Naruto was still my brother. And I didn't want my hopeful, cheerful little Naruto to learn how to hate.

I marked down a certain day on the calendar and nodded to myself.

One last chance.

Following someone isn't easy. Especially in a village where ninja watched over everything.

The next day, as soon as class was dismissed, I hid under the stairs and watched Naruto thunder past, arguing happily with Kiba. The spot I had been watching Uchiha Mikoto from had finally come in handy. From it, I managed to catch her son leave for home, without him seeing me.

As soon as Sasuke turned the corner, I left my hiding place and took off my hoodie. Underneath was my best—my only—sundress, made serviceable for physical conditioning with the leggings underneath. Even as I walked—fast, but calmly!—towards the school gates, I tied my hoodie around my waist, and a spare hanky around my head like a bandanna.

I couldn't wear my hoodie to hide my hair today. As much as it helped me get around markets without too many glares, it would only make me look suspicious. With my hair in a small bun, hopefully the hanky would do in its place. I crossed my fingers, prayed no one would look too closely at my face, and followed Sasuke home.

My excuse to Naruto was that I needed to buy some emergency groceries, so he could go home without me. He had blinked, opened his mouth to protest, paused, then closed it, a mischievous light glimmering in his eyes. I resisted the urge to remind him not to hurt anyone. He's learned his lesson.

To give Sasuke some credit, he seemed to have some awareness he was being followed. I kept at least two blocks behind him, with plenty of crowd between us. Still, I would catch him looking over his shoulder, a puzzled frown on his face. I had enough sense to keep walking with a disinterested air, relying on adult legs to hide me from sight. At least I didn't jump from cover to cover, like… like a ninja.

Asking about the Uchiha compound had proved futile. Anyone I asked looked at me like I was crazy, or worse, suspicious. One person was questionably kind enough to tell me not to go anywhere near the place, if I knew what was good for me. So I had been reduced to following Uchiha Sasuke home like a stalker.

It was… worrying, in a way. A lot of it was because I was one of the Demon Twins, I knew. No one wanted to talk to me more than necessary. But a part of me couldn't help but worry at the genuine… fear that seemed to lurk behind every person I asked. Just because I said the name "Uchiha."

When was the Massacre supposed to happen? It couldn't be so soon… Could it?

Slowly, the amount of people on the street petered away. More and more of them got replaced with pale-skinned, dark-haired people, walking in twos and threes towards a wooden arch in the distance. There was no gate, but I could clearly see the symbol at the top of the arc.

The uchiwa.

I watched Sasuke disappear between two guards and bit back a curse. Of course they had guards. And of course I couldn't just follow Sasuke through. Already, I was getting the odd glance, catching on the red peeking out of my bandanna, my tanned skin, and the black marks around my eyes.

Before anyone could get concerned enough to approach me, I steeled myself and marched towards the compound entrance. Any attempt at casually walking in was barred by one of the guards. I looked up to meet his gaze, only to flinch as the light from the setting sun bounced off his hitai-ate.

"Where do you think you're going, little miss?" the guard asked.

His voice seemed pleasant enough, with a touch of amusement. I squinted at him. "I-I'm here to see Uchiha Sasuke-kun," I said. My voice did not shake. "He's my—my classmate."

I made a desperate wish to sink into the ground and disappear. I couldn't have lied more obviously than if I had said the sky is green.

"Is he expecting you?" he asked again. His partner made a very Uchiha "Hn." He shot her a glare, then turned back to me.

"N-No." It would have been easier if he wasn't friendly. I could have bluffed my way to oblivion if he hadn't been friendly. Damn it, weren't the Uchiha supposed to be stoic with little sticks up their butts?!

"Sorry little miss." He shook his head. That touch of amusement was still there. "You can't go in if you're not a clan guest."

"I just need to talk to him," I pleaded. My dress was starting to crumple under my grip. I wanted nothing more than to run away. But I had already dug my hole, so I was going to dig my feet in and stay there. "It's important."

"Just wait for him after school like everybody else," the other guard spoke up, sounding extremely bored.

"Kiku," Guard the First scolded her. But there was no hiding the laughter in his eyes now.

It took me a couple of seconds to understand.

I spluttered. "I'm not—I'm not here to confess to him!" I cried in outrage.

"Of course not." Guard the First nodded. He was grinning now though, a sneaky little smile that meant he was clearly laughing at me.

I felt my face heat. Anger took over any fear I had left. "I'm here to talk to his mom, dattebana! Alright?" I stomped my foot, scowling as Guard the First's grin only widened. Kiku looked like she was just getting more annoyed. "His mom! Not Sasuke! I just need to see her for a little bit—" I tried to take one step around the guard, and just like that, he wasn't laughing anymore.

"Ah, ah, ah." He stepped in front of me, blocking my way. "Sorry, little miss. But like I said, only clan guests are allowed inside the compound."

His serious expression poked a hole in the balloon that made up my anger. I struggled to hold on to it, because to let it go meant to be overwhelmed with fear again. "At least let me send a message," I said, trying to sound angry and not desperate. If Sasuke came here, I could make him let me in, right? Somehow. "You can let me do that, right?"

The guard shook his head. "No." He eyed the other people going in, who were shooting us even more questioning looks. "I think it's time you went home."

Home meant failure. Home meant Naruto still angry and hurt, and him and Sasuke never speaking until they were put together on Team Seven. Suddenly, I got an image of Naruto when he was older, with that anger and hurt drawing lines across his scowl, as he faced down his old friend and decided to kill the village traitor instead of bringing him back.

One last burst of courage gave me the strength to push against the guard's strong, ushering hands. "Just tell Sasuke I need to talk to him about my brother! I have to talk to him about my brother!" My feet skidded against the dirt path. I scrabbled to find a grip on the guard's sleeves, but my nails wouldn't catch on the tied-down cloth and my fingers slid over hard armor underneath. "C'mon, dattebana!" I all but screamed in frustration. The damn guard didn't even grunt when I accidentally (not that he'd think that) kicked his shin. "Just one little note! He's my brother's friend! I have to talk to him about my brother!"

"Kiku-san, Ryoji-san. What's going on?"

I whirled around. A familiar long-haired girl walked up to us, a curly-haired boy just a few steps behind her. Hope, bright and uncontrollable, no matter how reluctant, burst into my chest. I threw myself at the girl with a cry, even as the guard greeted her in surprise.

"Uchiha-nee-san!"

"Itachi-sama!"

I felt the blood drain from my face. Slowly, I looked up from my grip on a dark blue shirt, and locked eyes with Uchiha Itachi.

His face was bright red.

Beside him, the other boy bent over, put his hands on his knees, and started howling with laughter.

Notes:

edited 01.15.2020
tumblr |

Me? Make a corny throwaway line from 3 years ago relevant again? I too am amazed. No, seriously.

This chapter actually went on for longer than planned. It was supposed to include the actual interactions with our important Uchihas (sorry Kiku, Ryoji, and Takashi) but then Kiba and co decided to arrive years too early, so… /shrug

Oh, also, for the curious, the recipe Minako tried to recreate is a version of ginataang manok, or chicken stewed in coconut milk. Google recipes if you want to try it!

Chapter 13: Arc I Chapter 13

Summary:

Sometimes, all that's needed is a mother's touch.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The boy was still howling.

I stared at him, because it was easier than staring at Itachi. (He was so small. So young. This child was a murderer? And yet, those stress lines… stress lines that don't belong on a child—) There was a red flush on this boy's face too, from the wheezing in-between every giggle. Just when it sounded like he'll calm down at last, he'd take one look at me and Itachi and start laughing again.

My hands were still curled into Itachi's shirt. I opened them, sharp, mechanic, like a robot, and let them drop. Slowly, they curled into my skirt instead.

"Itachi-sama," Lady Guard said. She was mid-stride, as if she had tried to reach out to stop me before I latched onto their clan heir and called him a girl. Her hand twitched, then dropped. She forced herself to stand straight. "Do you know this child?"

"…we've met." If there weren't still a pink tinge to his cheeks, Itachi could have been commenting on the weather.

Still giggling, the boy I didn't know staggered to Itachi, leaned on his shoulder, and wheezed, "Best way to end the day." He wiped away a stray tear. "Aka-chan, of all places!" He giggled again.

Instinct made me shift my weight back. With the way they were standing, I was this close to being squished between the two of them. I wanted to step back, but—

I squashed the feeling and planted my feet. Just to hammer in the point, I looked over at the guard and stared.

Most people don't like my stare.

To Lady Guard's credit, she didn't flinch. But she did step back at the clear sign I was with Itachi and… his friend.

(This kid has friends? All I could remember was a stone-faced adolescent out to murder teenagers.)

Itachi turned his gaze on me. I tensed, and forced myself to look back. "Uzumaki Minako-san, am I right?"

My eyes widened. He remembered my name! "Yeah, that's me!" I nodded vigorously.

"So that's your name!" Itachi's friend leaned over to grin at me. The damn bastard was taller than the both of us, meaning I was at least half his height. His curly hair flopped over dark, cheerful eyes. "I'm Uchiha Shisui, Itachi's friend. I bet he never mentioned me, huh?"

"Um…" I glanced at Itachi, then back to his friend. Shisui? "I… actually just found out his name now… dattebana." My voice lowered and lowered, until the end was an embarrassed mumble. I didn't want the guards to find out I hadn't even known who Itachi was, after all. But there was something about Shisui's easy smile that left me both feeling charmed and shy.

"What?" Shisui gasped, whipping around to face Itachi. "Itachi, you never even introduced yourself? I thought I taught you better manners than that!"

Itachi—get this—Itachi rolled his eyes. And Shisui? Shisui just laughed. He threw his head back, curls flying, and laughed.

It felt like my world had tilted six degrees to the left. A cheerful Uchiha, and Uchiha Itachi with facial expressions? Next thing I know Orochimaru will be waltzing in like the Hokage's prodigal son or something.

"What are you doing here, Minako-san?" Itachi asked, ignoring Shisui. His face was impassive, but his tone was gentle.

"…I need to talk to Uchiha Sasuke," I muttered, wringing my skirt. "It's about my brother." Of course, I couldn't let on that I knew Sasuke was his brother.

"Lemme guess, the mean guards wouldn't let you in?" Shisui tossed his easy grin the guards' way, to show he was teasing. Guard the First grinned back, showing no harm done. His partner was another matter.

Apparently, Lady Guard wasn't done with me yet. "We caught her following Sasuke-sama," she reported. Beside her, Guard the First gave a snort. I felt my face heat.

"It's coz no one wanted to give me directions!" I yelled, stomping my foot. "How else would I get here?"

A line appeared between Itachi's eyebrows. "What do you mean no one wanted to give you directions?"

I scowled at my feet. Everyone hates me and no one wants to talk to me. "People just told me not to bother."

I caught Itachi and Shisui share a glance. If anything, that line on Itachi's forehead had deepened. There was a twist to Shisui's smile that wasn't there before.

My hands tightened on my skirt. "What?" I snapped. The boys jerked, then glanced at me. It was almost as if they'd forgotten I was there. That only made me scowl harder. The least people could do was have the decency to keep yet another silent "one of the Demon Twins" conversation to themselves!

"Why didn't you just talk to Sasuke-kun in school?" Shisui said smoothly, as if there had never been a break in the conversation. I opened my mouth to retort, then froze. As if I could say this was all an elaborate excuse to see his mom!

"It's… not something I can ask him in school!"

They exchanged another pair of looks over my head; Shisui's gleeful, Itachi's exasperated. I gave in to the urge to cover my boiling face with my hands. Was leaning into the confession assumption the only way I could get my ass inside the compound?

I stomped on my pride and opened my mouth—in for a penny, out for a goddamn pound—only to shriek as pale hands grabbed me around the waist and pulled me up.

"Shisui." Itachi's voice was flatter than the ground no longer under me.

"Come on, lighten up!" Shisui's laughter was clear as a bell, mere inches from my ear. "It would be a waste if she went through all this trouble for nothing."

"Put me down!" I slammed my fist against the nearest available shoulder and immediately regretted it. Holy shit, is this kid made out of rocks?

"We don't need rumors of Uchihas kidnapping children, Shisui." So says Uchiha Itachi, and yet, I didn't see him making any move to help me out. Shisui shifted, putting his arm under my butt and his other hand on my back, so I was more sitting on him and less hanging from his grip.

"It'll be quick! There's plenty of sunlight left. We'll get her there and back home in a flash!" Itachi and I gave him mirroring looks of incredulity. The sun was waving its last tendrils of orange fire at the sky. Already, the streetlights were turning on. Soon they'd be the only light left.

Now Shisui's grin curled into something smug. "What say you, Minako-chan?" To add insult to injury, he bounced me twice, like he would a baby. A baby. "Would you like a ride from Shunshin no Shisui?"

I glared at him.

"So cute." He grinned back. His eyes crinkled until they almost closed from the force of his smile.

I glanced at Itachi, and even Guard the First, unable to keep the pleading look off my face. Itachi's expression had become even more stone-faced. Guard the First just gave me a little twiddle of his fingers, the twitch on his lips saying you asked for this loud and clear.

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. Go through all this trouble and embarrassment and give up now? I tried to summon Naruto's miserable face in my mind, asking the universe for strength.

It worked. Barely.

"Fine." I spat out the word through gritted teeth. "But put me d-OWWWN!"

The world went dark. Every muscle in my body was tense, trying to hold on to any sense of solidity when it felt like my innards had been ripped from my belly, leaving queasy, empty space.

Tinny laughter broke through the ringing in my ears. "You might want to let up on that choke hold you've got there, Minako-chan," Shisui said, his voice a little strangled. A finger prodded my side, making me flinch.

That's when I realized I had been pressing my face against something slightly fuzzy. The blood was returning to my face, which meant the numbness was fading away.

Cloth. It was cloth. I had shoved my face against Shisui's shoulder.

I forced myself back upright, loosening my iron grip on the back of Shisui's shirt. I looked at his wide grin, a sparkle twinkling in his eyes. "Wasn't that fun?" he asked.

I glared at him, as much as I was able. He just laughed again.

A soft rush of air, and Itachi was there, absently brushing some stray bangs back. How the fuck did this kid end up so pretty? "Congratulations," he said. "You've convinced half the district that Uchihas don't steal children out of their beds."

"Minako-chan wasn't that loud." Shisui sniffed.

"A warning would have been nice, dattebana!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow.

Shisui winced.

Victory!

He freed one hand to rub at his ear. "Okay, so maybe she was that loud," he admitted, giving me a mock-pout.

My answering grin was all teeth.

"Itachi? Shisui-kun?" A soft, steely voice drifted out from behind me. "What is with all that noise?"

And just like that, I was yanked back into reality. I had been so busy yelling at Shisui, I completely forgot lost stomach meant displacement meant travel, which then meant we had arrived somewhere. I jerked back, whipping my head around to take in a fence; a small, immaculate garden the likes I hadn't seen in this life; stone steps leading up to elevated wooden floors and shoji doors opening to reveal—

Uchiha Mikoto stood at the entrance to their home, her brow furrowed in the exact same way Itachi's did. In fact, their similarities were all over the place—the long, delicate lashes; the almost elfin features; even the way their eyebrows arched. I assumed Itachi's stronger jaw was from his dad.

(Behind me, I heard Shisui splutter as my hair splat across his eyes and mouth. His fault—it had gotten loosened from its bun with his sudden shunshin.)

"I'm home," Itachi said.

She took in the strange picture we made. Itachi, with the same pained expression of someone suffering an annoying fly, stood off to the side, the fence door swinging shut behind him. Shisui was still shaking his head, trying to get my hair out of his face.

I had to be the funniest looking one of us all. My hair felt like it was all over the place. I was still cradled in Shisui's arms, like a fucking child. Hell, the knot holding my jacket around my waist had unraveled, leaving it hanging from Shisui's elbow. One sleeve drew slow, sad circles in the dirt.

Mikoto's eyes widened. I saw the hint of pink on her cheeks disappear. "What do you think you're doing?" she snapped.

"We found Minako-chan outside the compound," Shisui explained, bright and cheerful. "She wanted to talk to Sasuke-kun, so we did her a favor and brought her here!"

"Don't involve me in your mischief." Itachi's annoyance was a subtle undercurrent to his now-reserved tone. He sounded louder, like he'd moved closer, even if I hadn't heard his footsteps on the path.

Mikoto's expression didn't change. She strode towards us, geta clacking against polished wood. "She shouldn't be—"

I flinched.

Everyone stopped.

Mikoto's foot was on the stone steps to her home, the other still on the raised wooden platform. Itachi's stare was burning through the side of my head. Shisui had gone unnaturally still, until I needed to focus to feel his chest rise and fall to breathe.

And I couldn't focus.

I didn't know what I was preparing for. It could have been the ghost of sharp nails digging into my ear, or the memory of a broom smacking my butt as I fled. All I knew was that every nerve in my body was focused on the foot Mikoto had on the steps.

Shisui gave me a little bounce. "Minako-chan?" he asked. Quiet. Gentle.

I stared at Mikoto's hip. Low enough to catch her leg when it moved but high enough to still have her hands in sight.

I heard a small huff, like a sharp breath caught before it could be heard. Mikoto pulled her foot back, until her feet were even on the platform and her hands clasped in front of her.

Something loosened between my shoulders with every move. But I still couldn't look away.

"Why don't you three come inside," she said, shifting to the side and tilting her head in a clear invitation. "I'll set out some tea and call Sasuke down." Her voice was soft. Her expression had slipped into Itachi's cool facade, with a slight crinkle at the corners of her eyes to look… kind. But there was still that tension in the angle of her elbows and the stiff way her hands lined up over the other.

"Thanks, Mikoto-sama." Shisui turned his head, in a way that meant I could see his grin from the corner of my eye. Something was missing from it now. "Well, Minako-chan? You wanna try Mikoto-sama's homemade wagashi?"

Itachi hadn't stopped staring at me.

Shisui tried to catch my eye again. "They're the best I've ever tried, and I've tried some from the Land of Tea!"

My fists tightened on his shirt.

"…t going."

"What's that?" He leaned back, trying get a clearer view of my face.

"'m not. Going." My hands began to shake. The world began to waver. I blinked, holding back the tears through sheer anger and force of will. "I—"

—know when I'm not wanted.

—'ve had enough.

—want to go home.

Home. Home where there were no glares and no anger and no hate, just four walls and Naruto to keep me safe from hurting—

Naruto.

I curled around the helpless rage in my heart and breathed. I was here, wasn't I? I had stomped all over the tattered remains of my pride way before Itachi and Shisui even walked up to the compound gate. If I did this, I could at least say, "I tried." If I did this, I could at least look Naruto in the eye, and know I did everything I could.

I raised my head, my jaw clenched in determination. I looked straight at Uchiha Mikoto, holding on to that stubbornness with everything I had. She blinked, a flash of surprise stealing over her face, before it melted back into something impassive. I wriggled in Shisui's hold. This time, he got the message and put me down.

I smoothed down my skirt with as little fidgeting as possible, never taking my eyes away from Mikoto's. I forced myself to step forward. Her lips flattened into a thin line. But she didn't look away either.

I took a deep breath, and bent into a low bow.

"Please let Sasuke be Naruto's friend again, dattebana!"

"…what?"

The single syllable was calculated and precise. There was no feeling, only a subtle note of inquiry and mild surprise.

Did she care so little? Or was she just shocked that I had the audacity to come all the way here to ask her this?

Ah. Shit. There were the tears.

Clutching at my skirt, with my long hair as the only shield to protect the brutalized remains of my dignity, I forced myself to speak. "I kn-know that Naruto and I aren't fr-from a big clan. And that he can be r-really naughty sometimes. And that p-people don't like. Us. B-but he's—" I sniffled. Dammit. "—a good kid, really, and I'll d-do my best to make him behave more, b-but please don't stop Sasuke from b-being his friend anymore. He's Naruto's first friend and my brother really, really cares about him a lot and ever since Sa-asuke stopped t-talking to him he's been so s-sad, so p-please—" I gave up and scrubbed an arm over my eyes. "—p-please give my brother a cha-ance—"

"Minako-chan—" I heard Shisui shift closer.

I dropped my arm, to be greeted by pale hands reaching for my face. I jerked back, startled. One grabbed me by the shoulder to keep me from tripping over myself. The other brushed my hair out of my eyes. I stared at Mikoto's face—Mikoto's face, which was neither angry nor cold but filled with a concern so warm it made my tears start pouring faster.

Her grip was gentle. Her touch was gentle. She took her kimono sleeve in one hand and wiped my cheeks with it. There was no point—I wasn't stopping anytime soon—and yet she kept doing it anyway.

"Whu. W-wh—"

I couldn't even spit out one syllable through my sniffling. But she just wiped away the tears and snot, and—

And smiled.

"Naruto-kun is very lucky to have a brave sister like you," Mikoto said.

My face crumpled. I tried, I tried so hard to keep it in, but she pulled my head down onto her shoulder and I—

I cried.

For the first time since I was a small child, I cried my heart out. No holding in the sobs, no hiding the tears in the bathroom and washing them off as soon as my brother knocked. I was crying so hard I was shaking with it, wailing and shrieking as I curled up in a stranger's arms. And the whole time, Mikoto just held me, rocking on her heels as she murmured in my ear.

The warmth in her face, in her embrace; it was just so sudden it caught me off-guard and burned whatever restraint I had left. When was the last time I'd been embraced like this? Being wrapped up in the gentle arms of someone bigger than me, encompassing the whole of me, as if to support and protect me at the same time. It felt unreal. Every sob felt more like an expression of shock than of distress.

My crying ended, as all things do. It could have only been a few minutes that passed, but it felt longer. I clung to Mikoto's kimono for a few more moments, too reluctant to let go of this warm feeling that was both familiar and strange.

Little feet thundered on wooden planks. "Nii-san!" A loud, happy yell broke through the silence. I looked up just in time to meet Sasuke's eyes as he threw open the door.

We stared at each other.

"Mi- Min'ko?"

"It's Minako, dattebana!" I yelled, embarrassment shocking me out of—out of whatever had taken a hold of me in that moment. I caught a pinched look on Mikoto's face as she pulled back as well.

Oh. Right. Yelling. By her ear.

Oops.

Sasuke scowled and crossed his arms. "Yeah well The Idiot calls you that," he said, turning his nose up.

It took me a second. "Did you just call my brother—"

"Sasuke." Mikoto didn't just cut me off verbally, she cut off my view of Sasuke, straightening to her full height. "Minako-chan came here thinking that I told you to stay away from her brother. Why is that?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. I couldn't see Mikoto's face very well—she had turned to face her son—but Sasuke's expression spelled it out just fine. I would bet a pack of dango she was wearing the universal you're in deep shit mom face.

"I never said anything like that!" he protested.

I shuffled my feet, a cringe building up my shoulders and the back of my neck. It was enough to grab Mikoto's attention. "Minako-chan?" she asked, just a touch less stern than the tone she had taken with Sasuke.

"…It's always the parents," I mumbled, lavender eyes and a shy smile flitting through the back of my mind. "When we try to play with kids, it's always the parents that pull them away."

"Why?"

I jumped. I'd actually forgotten Shisui and Itachi were still there. Shisui had moved closer to Itachi, somehow ending up on the side furthest from Mikoto and me. Hilarious. Meanwhile, Itachi was busy looking like he'd smelled something odd, and couldn't figure out why.

I shrugged at Itachi's frown. "I don't—"

"Damned fox," faint in my ear, as I held on to Naruto's hand and ran away

"—know."

Itachi's gaze flickered from me to somewhere above my head. I looked up at Mikoto, but she just shook her head. "Why don't you tell Sasuke what you told me, Minako-chan? So this misunderstanding can be cleared up."

I stared at her in dismay. Repeat what I said! To Sasuke! Saying it once was bad enough!

But my voiceless plea didn't move her at all. "Well?" she asked.

I glanced at Sasuke. He looked like he wanted this done as quickly as possible, if not at all. I took strength from our shared misery, inhaled, and blurted out, "Naruto's really sad because you won't talk to him anymore which made me really worried so I went all the way here to ask your mom to let you be friends again because I thought it was her fault dattebana."

I clapped my hands over my lips and peeked at Mikoto, fighting the urge to hide behind Itachi with Shisui. Mikoto's lips twitched, but that was all.

If anything, it was Sasuke that was more affected. Disbelief cast a shadow over the thunderstorm on his face. "He doesn't look really sad to me. He's got other friends now, right?"

I stared at him. He glared back. It was a very familiar glare. In fact, it was the same hurt, angry glare I had been on the receiving end of just a few days before.

"So you're telling me that I went through all this trouble for a pair of stubborn idiots?"

"Who are you calling an idiot?" Sasuke cried, his crossed arms dropping in outrage.

"You! And my brother!" I threw my hands up, propriety be damned, because the sun had set and I had zero dignity left and zero fucks to give. "Of course he's sad, dumbass, you're his best friend! He's always moping around because he thinks you don't want to talk to him anymore!"

"He's not moping!"

"Is to!"

"Is not!"

"How would you know, you don't live with him!"

"That's enough." Our mouths clamped shut. Off to the side, I heard Shisui snicker. Mikoto glanced at him. He shut up. I managed to stick out my tongue at him before Mikoto turned that mother's look on me. All it took was a raised eyebrow and I was curling up in shame. Man, mothers are amazing. "It seems you and Naruto-kun have a lot to talk about in school tomorrow, don't you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked at his feet, but replied with a jerky nod. His cheeks didn't puff out like Naruto's would, but that didn't lessen the stubbornness in his face. Oh yeah, he was definitely talking to Naruto tomorrow, under the light of a blue moon.

I'll make him talk to Naruto even if I had to drag him by the ear—

"And Minako-chan." I stiffened. "It was very brave of you to come here to speak for your brother." Mikoto paused, just long enough for me to look up and meet her eye. "But if you can come all this way for his sake, he should be just as able to speak for himself."

Ow, and ow. My shoulders rose to my ears. The lady sure knew where to aim. She hadn't looked away from me, however, so I gave my own jerky nod and glared at my feet.

Apparently, that was enough for Shisui to feel safe to move out of Itachi's shadow. "Man, Mikoto-sama. You sure know how to knock kids down a peg, huh?"

Her lips spread in a small smile. "It hasn't been that long since it was you I was scolding, Shisui-kun."

"I wasn't—I didn't—" Shisui spluttered. He glanced at Itachi for support, but only got a raised eyebrow for his trouble. "What's that look supposed to mean?!"

Even I smiled at that.

While Shisui tried to protest his innocence, Itachi looked up at the sky. "It's getting late," he said quietly.

We all looked up. The moon had risen above the rooftops. It was still small, but growing fuller by the day. I shivered, and stepped back, putting me closer to Shisui. He glanced down at me. I shook my head, embarrassed. Seeing the moon still reminded me of the first time I tried to buy our groceries by myself. I never let myself be caught out late alone since.

Until now, at least. Shisui said he'd bring me home though… right?

"You boys better walk Minako-chan to the gate," Mikoto said. She turned her gaze down the path where we had come from (I think) with a small furrow on her brow. "Will you be alright from there, Minako-chan?"

I couldn't help the way my head turned towards Shisui, before I forced myself to look straight ahead. I swallowed, and nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine." No big deal. I just had to retrace my steps to the Academy, then find my way back from there.

I was a big girl, with seventeen years of experience on top of my current six. I'll be fine!

Itachi was the last person I expected to speak up. "Shisui will bring her home." He stepped forward, so quiet it was creepy, until he was standing in front of me and across from his mother. Sasuke took the opportunity to run down the steps and all but slam into his brother. I thought he was going to hug him around his waist, but all he did was stand as close as he could without pressing himself against Itachi's side.

Just as subtly, Itachi's hand moved out of my sight, pressing against Sasuke's back. Something in Sasuke's scowl eased.

I was surprised at how cute that was.

"He promised," Itachi finished, tilting his head in Shisui's direction.

I saw Mikoto look down, at where her children were connected. Before she could say anything, a hand slapped my back, making me yelp. "Don't worry, Mikoto-sama," Shisui said, grinning. He jerked a thumb at his chest. "I'll get Minako-chan back in a flash!"

He winked. I stared at him. That was the second time he'd used that line. Was it… supposed to mean something? Was it a joke?

Mikoto sighed, but relented. "Alright. I'd send Itachi with you, but his father wants to see him tonight when he gets home for work."

"It's just within the village, Mikoto-sama," Shisui laughed. "We'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Itachi asked, voice dry. "One of you needs a babysitter, and it isn't Minako-chan."

"Itachi!"

"Hah! Nii-san got you there!"

"Sasuke-kun too?" Shisui whirled on me, crouching down with a pitiful look on his face. "Minako-chan, they're ganging up on me!"

I hesitated. Then—

"Oh, so did you want me to be your babysitter?"

Sasuke laughed in delight. Shisui mimed taking a kunai to the gut. Mind you, he did a very good theatrical death scene. He made the most ridiculous faces as he gurgled. Even Mikoto smiled.

Then it fell, as a thought crossed her mind. "Sasuke—" Her son looked up, a questioning look on his face. "—if you haven't been talking to Naruto-kun the past few days, where did you put the extra food I gave you to share?"

He bit his lip, and shuffled closer to Itachi. Itachi just stepped back, and turned to face him. "Sasuke?" he prodded.

"You couldn't have finished it all by yourself." There was that line between her eyebrows again, as Mikoto tried to puzzle it out. Sasuke ducked his head. I watched his weight shift from one foot to another.

"…threw them in the river."

"You've been wasting food?" I yelped, the words ripping themselves out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Even in my first life, I had been raised to finish every grain of rice left on my plate. Now, when I counted out money every week and balanced what I could buy with what Naruto and I needed to eat?

Sasuke took one look at my face and turned as red as his favorite tomatoes. For a moment, Mikoto's face turned cold, her pallor white as porcelain, enough that I felt a flash of fear. Would she kick me out for screaming in her house?

Shisui placed a hand on my head. "She's right," he said, voice light but still admonishing. "Food's important, Sasuke. You'll be wishing you had those bentos in the future, when you're stuck hunting in the deserts of the Land of Wind."

He said hunting with the kind of emphasis that let me know he didn't mean animals.

"We'll speak about this later." Mikoto gave her son an admonishing look, before turning a small, gentle smile back on me. It was as if I had imagined the cold, cold fury I had seen on her face earlier. "For now, Itachi is right. It's getting late. You need to be getting home, Minako-chan. Do you have curfew?"

I shook my head, my hair swishing with the movement. "Akagawa-san doesn't care what time we get home, as long as we don't wake her up."

"Then we don't have a time limit!" With just that as a warning, Shisui draped my jacket over my shoulders and hefted me up. I yelped, and scrambled for a handhold. I was left clinging to his shirt all over again. "What say you, Minako-chan? Want a quick detour? Konoha looks gorgeous at night from the Hokage Monument!"

"No shunshin!" I squeaked, spitting out the words as fast as I could.

"What?" Shisui pulled back to look at my face. The sincerity of his dismay just made it funny. "Why not?"

"Coz you don't have to." I glared at him. "If you do it when we're not in a hurry, I'll bite you. That's a promise, dattebana."

"You can't be a ninja if you can't handle shunshin," Sasuke butted in. A look from his mother shut him up. He wasn't out of trouble yet.

"I'll handle my own shunshin," I retorted. How, I had no idea. At the very least, if I threw up it would be on myself, and nobody else.

"Shisui," Itachi said.

"Alright, alright." With a sigh, Shisui shifted me around, until I was cradled in something closer to a princess carry. "Happy, Minako-chan? We'll go the slow, easy way—"

My stomach dropped out from under me. I managed to bite back a screech. Barely.

"—or not." I raised my head from where I'd shoved it against Shisui's chest, just in time to catch him grinning at me. "You're really bad with this kind of stuff, huh?"

I opened my mouth. "A warning w—"

He interrupted my yell with a hand. "Shh," he said, laughter in his voice and eyes. "You'll disturb the neighbors."

I glanced down and found us on a sharply angled roof. When I turned my head, I caught Mikoto and Sasuke walking back into their home, Mikoto's hand on his ear. Some things don't change across families, I guess. Itachi looked up, gave a little wave, and followed them inside.

"Alright, Minako-chan. You ready?" Now he was just making fun of me. I glared at him, but didn't bother protesting. I clamped onto his shirt, hoped I'd stretch it out of shape, and buried my face in his shoulder. Then I nodded.

A pause.

"You have to tell me where to go, Minako-chan."

Face burning, I muttered my address and cringed through the sickening jump-fall rhythm of him crossing the rooftops. His chest vibrated with his laughter the whole time, an admittedly soothing counterpoint the sound of the wind rushing in my ears.

Soon enough, we landed with a quiet thump in front of the apartment. "Here we are!" He let me down, and had the decency to let go only after I had made sure my legs could take my weight.

The day had gone past the peak of my capacity for embarrassment. I just clung to his hand and trembled, grumbling under my breath.

"Thanks," I said, when the ground felt steady again.

"It's nothing." He ruffled my hair, chuckling when I ducked away. "Really, I'm glad you came by!"

I shot him an incredulous look. I had made a scene at their compound gates, burst into tears at the clan head's house, and yelled at him the whole time. "Why?"

He shrugged, an easy roll of his shoulders. "It's been too quiet recently. The compound could do with some noise." What? That just left me feeling even more baffled. Glancing at my face, he added, "And I like kids. Especially kids that need to smile more often." He tweaked my nose.

"Hey!" I covered the offended feature.

Grinning, he stepped back, rolling on the balls of his feet. "So, this is your home, then?" He nodded at the plain white building. Under his eyes, the mongrel walls of wood and cement became shoddy, not quirky. I was hyper-aware of the faded shingles on the roof.

"Yeah," I said, jerking my chin up and daring him to comment. Anything would look shoddy compared to the Uchiha's perfectly manicured homes. "And?"

Somehow, that only made him grin wider. "Oh, nothing." He ruffled my hair again, too fast for me to duck. I growled. "Who knows? Maybe I'll visit! After all, Itachi could use more friends like you."

"What?" I looked up, but he just winked. "Wait—" He flickered out of sight. "Dammit."

Naruto fussed over me when I got home. I let him, too confused and tired to do more than tell him I was fine. All that trouble, just to get Sasuke to talk to him again. Several swear words were spouted in the privacy of my mind.

It was out of my hands now. In fact, a part of me was just praying everyone involved would forget it ever happened.

Most embarrassing day of my life. Both lives. Ugh.

I honestly didn't expect Sasuke to do anything. The stubborn look on his face had said all I needed to hear. Every time I thought about dragging him to Naruto, Mikoto's voice whispered in my ears.

"He should be just as able to speak for himself."

Then I would remember my rampage through the Uchiha compound and wince.

I had done enough. So I sat on any such impulse. Hard.

Imagine my surprise when a certain dark-haired boy walked up to our little spot under the tree, a scowl on his face and a bento box—no, bento boxes—in hand.

Everyone froze. Shikamaru raised his head from his napping spot, laser focus on Sasuke. Kiba had a look of open curiosity at the new person entering group territory. Chouji sat back, ready to follow everyone else's lead, while Shino and I kept mum in our corner.

Naruto eyed Sasuke warily.

I saw Sasuke hesitate. Then he shook his head, jerked his chin up, and marched to Naruto. He shoved the bentos in his face.

"Okaa-san made food, Idiot," he said.

"Food?" Kiba repeated, eyes bright. Chouji perked up. Sasuke glared at them, before turning back to Naruto.

"Well?" he asked. I could see his arms trembling from the weight, from where I was sitting.

I crossed my fingers.

Naruto sniffed. "Okay."

I slumped against Shino in relief, which made him jump in surprise.

"Bastard," my brother added. Then took the boxes from Sasuke.

And that was that.

(I'll get where he learned that word out of him later.)

Notes:

edited 01.15.2020
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Wagashi = japanese tea sweets. Good stuff. Can be too sweet, but that's what matcha is for. (And I don't mean matcha lattes!)

Chapter 14: Arc I Chapter 14

Summary:

Shino just wanted to train with his friends. But the clans' squabbles are inescapable.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"WHAT?"

Shino looked up from the ant colony under the tree nearest the Academy main building. Naruto, Minako, and Sasuke had just exited said building, on the tail of a group of kids giving the noisy blond dirty looks. Shino shifted his weight, hesitated, then stayed seated. It would be odd to stand to greet them, right? And yet, greeting one's peers was expected, right?

His kikaichu began to hum to the melody of Confusion and Anxiety.

"How come Min'ko's been to your house but not me?!" Naruto continued, almost bouncing in his indignation. Minako rolled her eyes, then met Shino's gaze. She shot him a quick smile, then reached out a hand and ruffled Naruto's hair. Hard. Hard enough to force Naruto to bend over, yelling 'tetetete' the whole time.

Shino's kikaichu quieted.

"What did we talk about back home, Naruto?" she asked sweetly.

Naruto paled. "Minako! I meant Minako, dattebayo!"

There's a story behind that. Humming to Curiosity, Shino settled into a more comfortable position in the grass. Maybe Minako will tell him about it later. For now, he was content to wait for them to approach, watching as Sasuke scoffed and crossed his arms.

"I didn't invite her, idiot! She just showed up!" He glared at Minako, only to get that sweet smile turned on him. He spluttered.

Shino had been glad when Sasuke came back. It's difficult for him to interpret emotions from non-clan members without a hive for him to listen to. But even he could tell that Minako had become more and more distressed in the days before that, and that it had something to do with her frequently-absent brother. And from her reaction when Sasuke reconciled with Naruto, Shino had been right. It meant that their area was back to being noisy, but for some reason Shino didn't mind so much.

"Did something happen? I ask because Naruto-san is more excitable than usual," Shino spoke up, as soon as they settled under the tree with him. Minako brought out the bento she had made for her and Naruto. Her brother, meanwhile, turned his enthusiasm on helping Sasuke open his mother's large bento.

"Sasuke said Minako went to his place last Monday!" Naruto told Shino. His grabby hands got in Sasuke's way more than they helped. The dark-haired boy scowled and swatted them away, unwrapping his mother's work with more care. Naruto didn't even pause. "Minako said she went to ask Sasuke something, but then Sasuke's nii-san invited her inside! It's not fair! I was his friend first, dattebayo! Why didn't he invite me?"

"I told you, I didn't invite her!" Sasuke all but shoved an onigiri at Naruto's face. "Will you shut up about it already?"

Monday… four days ago? Shino blinked and turned to Minako. "Would this happen to relate to Sasuke-san's retu—"

"Shhh!" Minako crossed her index fingers over her lips, looking up at Shino with wide blue eyes. He resisted the urge to fidget. He wasn't sure what that expression meant. Had he made her sad? Afraid? Her posture implied a level of urgency, at the very least. He decided not to press it.

He took Minako's answering smile as approval. As was her habit, she offered him a bite from her sandwich. He shook his head. His parents had drilled into him the risks of eating in front of non-clan members. He had no wish to alienate the few friends he'd managed to get.

She tucked her hair behind her ear and shrugged. "I was having trouble with some of the new exercises Hiro-sensei taught us, so I thought Sasuke-kun could give me some tips. That's all." She bit into her sandwich, not looking at anyone.

"Hey, hey! I wanna train too!" The first onigiri was gone, and so was his second. Naruto beat his hand against the ground, as if his point needed any further emphasis. "How come you let Minako train with you and not me, huh? Huh?"

"I didn't—" Sasuke glanced over in Shino's direction and blanched. Shino blinked, then glanced beside him. Minako was busy picking at her food. "Just a little!" Sasuke amended.

"Me too! Me too!" Naruto insisted. He had moved from pounding the ground to shaking Sasuke by the shoulders. Sasuke twisted out of his grip, yelping, and scrambled to his feet, all while trying to protect his half-eaten onigiri. "I wanna train too!"

They devolved into a twisted game of tag, where Sasuke balanced on the balls of his feet as he twitched and stepped in response to Naruto's feints from the other side of the bento. Then Naruto let out a gleeful yell, and darted for Sasuke.

They ran around the bento, Naruto trying to catch Sasuke as Sasuke clutched his food to his chest and finally burst out laughing. Beside him, Minako didn't even look up from her food. She just raised her hand, holding a sandwich out. It was snatched from her fingers, and reappeared in Naruto's mouth as he dashed after Sasuke with a muffled attempt at a roar.

Their behavior had confused Shino at first, who found himself both wanting to join in and reluctant to run around for no reason. Minako had tried to explain it to him—that it was the boys' way of bonding with each other, much like friends would spar, but without the skill involved. She had also reassured him he didn't have to join in if he didn't want to, because friends bond in different ways. She must have noticed his cringe. She'd nudged him then, a small smile on her face.

Even today, Shino recalls the bright, near-painful spike of joy it brought him, realizing he had a friend.

"Why don't we all go train at Sasuke's place?" Minako said suddenly.

Shino stared at her. Sasuke stared at her, stopping so abruptly that Naruto crashed into his back. They tumbled to the ground with a cry. She snorted at Sasuke's dumbfounded expression. "What? It's a good idea. We're all good at different things, so we can help each other get better at the things the other person's not as good at." Her tone was light, casual. But there was an odd glint to her eyes, twisting her innocent look into an expression Shino hadn't seen on her face before.

Naruto lit up. "That's a great idea!"

It made sense, Shino admitted, his hands curling into his knees. It made logical sense. And yet, his gaze meets Sasuke's, whose new frown mirrored Shino's uncertainty.

"You can't just go inside the clan compound," Sasuke said, squirming away from Naruto. Naruto sat back on his heels, letting his friend crawl out of their little pile.

"Why not?" Naruto demanded.

"Because—you just can't!" Sasuke crossed his arms, scowling. "Outsiders aren't allowed inside the clan compound!"

Naruto crossed his arms back. "Says who?"

"Says—people don't have to! You just know!"

"My clan compound does not see many outsiders inside as well," Shino offered. "Why? Because it is not a good idea to let people we do not trust near our homes." He tugged on the hem of his sleeve, trying to keep his hive's buzzing down. Minako glanced at him, her head tilted. She scanned him from head to toe, before turning back to Sasuke.

"The guards said I just needed an invitation from a clan member to go inside," she pointed out, packing up their empty bento box. Shino hesitated, then stood up to help her pack up Sasuke's. "As soon as Itachi-san and Shisui-san picked me up, it was fine."

Naruto poked Sasuke in the arm. Sasuke hissed, rubbing the offended area. "You're a clan member. You can let us in!"

"Hn." If anything, Sasuke's scowl just grew. Turning away from Naruto, he pointedly pushed Shino and Minako's hands away and finished packing up his own bento. His cheeks were puffed out, bright red. Shino backed away, dusting his hands off on his shorts. Minako settled on her heels, bouncing a little as she watched Sasuke.

"Hey!" Naruto scrambled around to face Sasuke, forcing Sasuke to at least have him in his field of vision. "Don't ignore me!"

"Leave me alone, idiot! No means no!" Sasuke shoved Naruto away, sending the boy on his back with a yelp.

It would have probably devolved into another wrestling match if Minako hadn't spoken up.

"Well, if you don't want us to, then I guess you don't have to." Shino shot her a wary glance. Minako's tone had changed; still light and casual, but with a bit more weight to it that Shino…recognized. She winked at him, before schooling her face. "I mean, if my training grounds weren't as good as I said they were, I'd be scared of showing them off too."

It took Sasuke a second to understand. "What?" he cried, leaping to his feet.

Naruto caught on quickly. Whenever one twin took the lead, the other was never far behind, in mischief and in perceptiveness. "Yeah! No way you've got a part of the forest for your training area! I bet it's just a teeny park or something." He huffed, crossing his arms.

"We do so have a forest! It's big enough to fit forty clan members training, all at the same time!" Sasuke turned on Minako, the one who started all this. "You were there, you tell him!"

Minako spread her hands. "It was dark, and I mostly kept my eyes closed when Shisui-san brought me home." She shrugged, a frown overtaking her face for a moment before it cleared. "For all I know, there is no Uchiha forest."

"There is too!" Sasuke stomped his foot, seething.

Naruto grinned, his chest puffing out. "Prove it."

Sasuke looked between them, his frustration obvious to even Shino. Sasuke wasn't stupid; he knew he was being played. Now it was a war between his clan customs and his pride.

Their eyes met. Shino looked away, unable to do anything but shuffle in place. He was reluctant to enter the fight, as he had nothing to offer. It's not like he's ever seen the inside of the Uchiha compound. And the Aburame had their own reasons for being picky about who they let into theirs.

"I bet your nii-san would think you're really cool, getting so good at throwing kunai that you're helping me and Minako out," Naruto said.

Sasuke's gaze snapped to him, and Shino knew the boy had lost. Minako's smile flared, mirroring Naruto's toothy grin. Shino shook his head, hiding a small smile of his own behind the high collar of his jacket. The two never looked more alike than when they pulled off something together.

"Fine. But you better not wreck anything!" Sasuke crossed his arms, scowling. Shino could tell by how the twins' grins widened—Sasuke wasn't fooling anyone.

"Great! Now we have a play date!" Minako hefted her bento box under her arm, and nudged Shino with her free one. Shino blinked, turning to her in surprise.

"Me too?" he asked. His hive stirred, buzzing to the melody of Excitement.

"Of course!" Minako scoffed, and bumped him, shoulder to shoulder. Used to her antics, his side facing her was as clear of any surface kikaichu as he could make it. This time, none got crushed. "It's because you're one of us too." Her words came out thoughtlessly, without hesitation or struggle. "Right, Sasuke?"

Sasuke's nose wrinkled. He tilted his head, squinting at Shino. "…Right."

Shino's cheeks hurt. He prodded them with a finger, and found them flushed with heat. He didn't know how Minako could tell he was beaming. His jacket and sunglasses covered most of his face. But she giggled anyway. Somehow, hive-less or not, Shino knew it was because she found joy in his joy.

"I must ask my parents," he said, Anxiety and Excitement rising and falling in counterpoint to each other under his skin. "Why? Because they will want to know before I enter another clan's compound."

"I'll ask too," Sasuke mumbled, hunching into his shoulders. Shino wasn't too worried. Sasuke had said he would take them, and Shino has yet to see the Uchiha go back on a promise. "Just so okaa-san knows."

"Why? You scared?" Naruto slumped against him, making them stumble. Sasuke growled.

"I'm not sneaking you into the compound!" he said, adamant.

"Naruto," Minako said at the same time. Catching her brother's attention, she nodded towards Sasuke's bento, still on the ground. A moment after, a sensei stepped out of the Academy building and rang a bell. Everyone glanced at the sensei and grimaced. No one was looking forward to going back inside on such a nice day. But if they didn't start moving, they were going to be late.

"Okay, okay." Naruto bent down to pick it up, only for Sasuke to shove him again and take it himself. "Oi!" He scrambled to his feet. "Don't push me!"

"You pushed me first!" Sasuke retorted over his shoulder, walking for the door.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

And there they went again. Shino watched them head for the doors, arguing, before turning to Minako. He didn't know what she saw on his mostly-hidden face, but it made her laugh.

"Guess we're going training together tomorrow." She brushed her bangs out of her face, then tilted her head back. She sighed, taking a moment to enjoy the sun. Then she opened her eyes, and grinned at Shino. "Exciting, huh?"

Shino looked at his feet, focusing on his hive. They still sang to Anxiety and Excitement both, but Excitement was definitely overwhelming the other. "Yes," he said, and tugged the neck of his jacket over his smile.

After class, Shino waved goodbye to Minako at the Academy doors and headed home. He found himself walking faster than usual, almost running. The thrill that's been tugging at him since lunchtime danced through his bones like lightning.

An invitation! An invitation, no matter how reluctantly given, to go over to a friend's house! He knew such a thing should not be taken lightly. Being invited inside the clan compounds was a sign of trust. Minako and Naruto had essentially nagged Sasuke to let them in… but Shino hadn't expected to be included too. That Sasuke trusted him so…

He bit his lip and ran past the compound gates, sparing a wave to the guards. They watched him go, hives humming to Confusion, then Amusement. Shino bit his lip, hoped his jacket hid his flushed face, and just tried to run faster.

He was young yet, so he had little control over his hive. It meant that every house he passed on the way to his home could hear his hive singing his Excitement. A few of his clansmen stuck their head out their windows or turned to watch him pass by. Songs of Amusement and Affection hummed in his wake. There was also Exasperation and Happiness as a thrumming undertone. By the time Shino made it home, his hive had switched to humming Embarrassment.

He stopped right outside his front door, and took a moment to smooth his jacket down and try to quiet his hive. He took a deep breath, and walked in.

"I'm home," he called out, kicking off his shoes. Just outside the genkan was a coat hanger, holding up a large, gray coat, and a slightly smaller brown one. Shino shed his jacket and hung it up. So okaa-san and otou-san were home?

"Welcome back," his mother replied, from out of sight. Shino tilted his head, listening. He could hear her hive in that tingling spot at the base of his skull, where he would always hear the kikaichu's song. To his left… The kitchen?

She smiled at him as he rounded the corner. A white apron and rubber gloves shielded her shirt and pants from the open faucet. Shino had to stand on his toes to see the lettuce she was washing. Without her long coat to hide them from sight, her kikaichu were free to crawl out from under her ear, and over her legs and ankles. They avoided her wet arms.

Shino twitched as one of his own kikaichu crawled near his eye. He gathered chakra in his hand to lure it away from his face, like he'd been taught. "Shouldn't you be downstairs, okaa-san?" he asked, peeking over the table this time. Ooh… sandwiches. His mother nodded her permission. He grabbed a piece and bit down. Jam! He began to eat faster. Kikaichu crawled out of his wrist and elbow holes. One poked his sandwich from the safety of his little finger. The others crawled under his shirt or landed on the table, exploring his surroundings.

"Everyone was talking about Shino-chan, so I came to see what the fuss was all about," Okaa-san said cheerfully. Shino's cheeks pinked behind his sandwich. He could hear his mother's laughter in her kikaichu's song.

Taking pity on him, she took off her gloves and apron and hung them up. "Come." She dried her hands, patting down the more sensitive skin around the holes near her wrists. "Let's bring these sandwiches to your hard-working otou-san, then you can tell us all about it."

"Okay," Shino said, cheering up a little. His father must have returned from the weekly meetings between the clan heads. Otou-san preferred to spend a few minutes of meditation afterwards, then headed back to work based on the conversation of the day. Sometimes he'd let Shino hang around his office, so long as Shino kept quiet and his buzzing to a minimum.

Shino always enjoyed those moments. He'd do his homework, or read a book. But mostly he'd watch his father shuffle through his work, and listen to the crinkling as pen moved over paper. His father's hive was quiet, much quieter than Shino could make his own yet. The humming would settle over his skin like a thin blanket, comforting with its presence.

His mother handed Shino the plate of sandwiches. He held it with care as they walked to the inner part of the house. They entered the miniature hall meant for hosting guests and formal meetings. Shino's feet rasped against the tatami, though his mother's never made a sound. Sunlight shone through the shoji doors on his left, casting an orange hue over the room.

At the end of the hall was a carved replica of a leafless tree, tall enough to reach his mother's knees. In front of the wooden ornament was a tray with a single stick of unlit incense. A decorative scroll hung upright on the wall behind both, depicting a single cherry blossom tree overlooking a valley.

Okaa-san lifted the wall hanging, revealing the plain wood behind it. She nudged the wall, pushing the whole panel of wood to reveal a revolving door. Shino stepped over the threshold and waited for his mother to follow.

He glanced above the hidden door. A deep violet beetle rested patiently on the lintel, with not even a twitch to give it away.

Genjutsu would only bring attention to the hive entrance, his father told him once. So the Shihari were bred to guard the entrance to the hive in every Aburame home, to attack anyone unmarked by kikaichu who tried to enter. Its death immediately after that would alert the hive, and the whole clan, of the intruder. Like a soldier bee, but deadlier than any wasp.

It always fascinated Shino, how kikaichu could be bred to almost any purpose. Maybe, one day, he'd be able to breed strains just as specialized as that of the Shihari.

The door shut without a sound, cutting out any light from the setting sun. Shino heard his mother sigh. He saw her take off her sunglasses as the moss on the walls began to glow a soft blue. Parts of it flickered, as kikaichu (both hosted and free) flitted and crawled over the walls, disappearing into the dark.

News traveled fast in the Aburame compound for a reason.

"Okaa-san," Shino called.

"Hmm?" She looked down at him and smiled. "Ah, forgive me, Shino-chan. Just a moment." She tucked her glasses into the pocket of her pants, then took his off for him. She poked his nose with it, before tucking it into the neck of his shirt. She laughed as Shino pouted. His hands were too full for him to poke back. "Come," she said. "Let's go find your otou-san."

They walked along the tunnel, skipping the parts where it branched out into Shino's room, his parents' room, and the tunnel that led to the rest of the hive. The ground was smooth and cool under Shino's bare feet. A bright light shone from his father's office. Shino glanced up at his mother, his hive's song changing to quiet Concern. If his father had turned on his lamp, then he must be very busy.

She ruffled his hair, singing Comfort.

"I'm home, otou-san," Shino said, walking into his father's office. His father looked up from his papers, blinking. His reading glasses flashed in the light.

"Welcome home, Shino." He accepted a sandwich with a nod of thanks. Shino reached up and placed the plate on a small table next to his father's desk. "I heard you got some good news today." His father's tone never changed, but the soft buzzing of his kikaichu shifted to Amusement.

Shino shuffled in place, his Embarrassment loud and clear. His mother's Amusement rose to join his father's, her laughter as the counterpoint. "It's alright, Shino-chan." She sat down on the small couch pushed up against the wall and drew him close. "Now tell us. What happened to make you so excited you ran all the way home?"

Shino stilled any instinct to fidget, wary of crushing a stray insect on his mother's lap. He bit his lip, then spoke. "My friends invited me to train together." He couldn't quite keep the glee out of his voice.

His mother's Amusement changed pitch, rising to Joy. She leaned over him, her teeth flashing in the lamplight. "Do you mean Minako-chan?"

"Yes, and Naruto-san and Sasuke-san." Her Joy sparked his. He smiled up at his mother, letting his song ring loud in the safety of his own home. "We're going to train together and help each other with schoolwork. Minako-san said…" He tried to remember her words. "We're good at different things, so we can help each other improve at what the other isn't good at."

"Very logical," his father said. His approval made Shino beam.

He nodded vigorously. "That's what I thought!"

His mother ruffled his hair. "Not even a month in school and making friends already. I told you, you had nothing to worry about."

Shino flushed at the reminder. He'd grown up listening to cousin Shima complaining about her guard team and how they refused to listen to her. The adults would always nod and smile in response. But even Aunt Sen would talk about how her old genin team would get into fights over misunderstandings. Information that Shino could just send via insects, pheromones, and chakra went unnoticed with non-clan children. Or worse.

Shino learned very quickly to keep his kikaichu to himself.

The closer the Academy had neared, the more nervous Shino felt. He searched through the books he could read, and listened in on conversations, trying to learn more words. He didn't want to run out while trying to explain himself. He saw that on TV once, when a kunoichi stammered as she tried to talk to the daimyo's son. It scared him enough to send him scrambling for a dictionary.

His mother had caught him at the height of his panic, practicing in front of a mirror. He must have rehearsed introducing himself a dozen times at that point. He'd stared up at his mother in the bathroom door, stammered, and found that the words to explain would not come to his lips. Tears sprung to his eyes. What use were words if he couldn't say them?

Okaa-san had fallen to her knees and pulled him close, much like how she held him now. "How did you know?" Shino asked, looking up at her. "You were so sure I'd find good friends. How did you know?"

She grinned, and tapped her nose. Her hive whispered Mischief. "A mother always knows, Shino-chan."

"Where do you plan on training?" Shino's father spoke up. He lifted his glasses, rubbing the corner connecting his eyebrow and nose. "Has the Academy started opening its training grounds to students outside of class?"

Shino shook his head. "Sasuke-san invited us to train with him on his clan grounds."

His father stilled. Shino glanced at him, then at his mother's crestfallen face. "…What is it?" he asked, Anxiety humming through his bones. His father's hive had gone silent, and his mother had changed her song back to Comfort. His parents shared a look. He could hear kikaichu flying between them, but couldn't tell what they were sharing. He clenched his fists. He hated it when his parents talked over his head like this. "What's wrong?"

His father sighed. He lifted his chair and turned it to face Shino. "I'm sorry Shino," he said, clasping his hands together and leaning forward. "But I cannot let you go."

"Why not?" Dismay made Shino's voice rise. It sounded like a whine. It was embarrassing. He simmered into silence, his song the only thing he couldn't control. Confusion and Anxiety buzzed.

Shino's parents glanced at each other again. Shino could see the unhappiness in his mother's face, even if her kikaichu kept humming Comfort. She held his hands, enclosing him in a loose embrace from behind. "Are you sure?" she asked his father.

His father shook his head, rubbing that spot above his eye again. Kikaichu buzzed. Okaa-san covered her lips. Her gasp escaped anyway. "It's gotten that bad?"

"What has?" Shino's grip tightened on his mother's hand. She rubbed her thumb over his fingers, trying to soothe him. When she didn't answer, he turned to his father, pleading. "Otou-san."

His father took a deep breath, then looked at him. His expression was solemn. "Shino." Shino's back straightened at his tone. "Remember when I told you about your duty as clan heir?"

Shino bit his lip. "You told me to take care with what I do, because it reflects on the clan more than anyone else." It took no effort to remember these words. His father had told him again and again, and he'd told it to himself when his father didn't. Sometimes it felt like it haunted him in his sleep. Despair welled up inside him as he put it together. He asked anyway, in a silent plea that his father would answer no. "Is this one of those times?"

Otou-san reached out and placed his hand on Shino's knee. "Yes."

Okaa-san's Comfort grew louder, as if her kikaichu were trying to embrace him as well through sheer volume.

Shino kept his eyes on his father's hand, wrestling with his feelings. He wanted to lash out. He wanted to give up. His chest burned. His friends. His friends had invited him, and now they were going without him because his father had said no.

"Why?" he asked at last.

His father withdrew his hand. "There is conflict within the council at the moment," he said, his words gentle but firm. "If our clan heir enters the Uchiha compound in this time, it will be taken as a sign of trust and support. Even if it isn't your intention."

Shino shrank into himself. "Sasuke-san trusted me enough to invite me," he said. His hive would not stop buzzing his distress.

"Sasuke-kun has that freedom precisely because he is not his clan's heir." His father ran a hand over Shino's hair. "As clan heir, your actions represent the clan to some degree. The older you get, the truer this is." He hesitated, then added, "I'm sorry, Shino."

And he did sound sorry. But sorry didn't change the fact that he had said no. Otou-san turned back to his work, signaling the end of the conversation.

"Shino-chan," his mother said. He looked up. The corners of her lips were turned downward. Her brow was wrinkled. She rubbed his hands again, soft caresses that helped Shino relax, even just a little.

"It's okay, okaa-san. I understand." It hurt. He sank into his mother's embrace, unable to smoothen the frown on his own face. He wished he wasn't clan heir, but not really. If he could not be clan heir and still be his parents' son, then maybe, he'd be happy. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard then.

But he was who he was, and so the responsibility was his.

"What's on your mind, Shino-chan?" his mother asked, nudging him gently. His father's hive hummed. But when Shino looked up, he was busy poring over his papers.

Shino twisted around, so he could meet his mother's gaze. "Do you think Minako-san and the others will be mad that I can't go?" he asked. His song dipped into the low thrum of Fear.

His mother brushed the hair from his face, then cupped his cheek. "True friends don't get mad over things like that."

Shino thought it over, then nodded. It made sense, in a way. But he'd always thought he was lucky to find someone like Minako, who just took his silence and his explanations at face value. She didn't mind explaining things back. If Minako wasn't his true friend… Would he be able to find someone else like that?

Okaa-san gifted him with a small smile, before drawing him close again. He listened to the humming under her skin, and the beat of her heart in his ear.

He hoped his mother was right.

He did his best to focus in class. He was too distressed to control his kikaichu properly, to the point that even his civilian seatmate could hear the buzzing. Shino could tell from the way she edged her seat away from him. The more he tried to quiet his hive, the noisier they got, so he just gave up and waited for the clock to tick towards lunch.

He found Minako, Sasuke, and Naruto already seated under their tree by the time he gathered the courage to leave the building. To his surprise, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Chouji were there as well. Naruto was on his feet, waving his arms as he spoke.

Minako glanced up as Shino approached, then looked down, biting her lip. Shino's hive felt ready to to crawl out of his skin with their buzzing. What would she say now that he couldn't go?

He forced himself to walk over to them.

"—gonna show them how cool we are—Hey!" Naruto whipped around and pointed at Shino. "You're late!"

Shino adjusted his sunglasses, then shoved his hands into his jacket. Late? To what? Lunch? "I am not. Why? We have not set a time to meet at this place, so I am not required to be here at a specific time."

Naruto scrunched up his nose, then turned to his go-to translator. Minako scrunched her face back at her brother. "He can't be late if you never gave him a time to be here in the first place," she explained.

"Oh." Naruto floundered. "W-well, now you gotta be here when lunch break starts! It's in the rules!" He pointed at Shino again, nodding decisively.

"Said who?" Sasuke asked. He leaned back on his arms, giving Naruto a disbelieving look.

"Said me, dattebayo!" Naruto jabbed his thumb at himself.

"Who made you boss?" Kiba demanded, rising to his feet. The puppy on his head barked in challenge.

Shino took one look at the Inuzuka and Uzumaki raring to go and stepped towards Minako. Better to deliver the news to her, than to those who would make a scene. He stopped beside her and tried not to shuffle. Off to her left, Chouji sat, nibbling on some jerky. Beside him lay Shikamaru.

"Heya, Shino," Chouji said, waving. Shino returned his greeting with a nod.

Shikamaru cracked open one eye. He looked Shino over, before turning over and going back to his nap.

That meant disinterest, didn't it? Shino took the implied privacy and spoke up before he could chicken out. "Minako-san." She looked up. "I cannot train with you in the Uchiha compound." He tugged at a stray thread in his pocket. "Why? Because my father will not let me go."

She didn't look surprised. If anything, her frown grew. She stared at the ground, her long ponytail shielding her face from sight. "Okay."

Shino's heart dropped into his stomach. "You are angry."

She shook her head, red hair whipping. "No. It's fine. I understand. You gotta do what your dad says, right?" She brushed her hair back and smiled at him. It was nothing like his mother's wide smile, nor was it anywhere near Minako's usual secretive ones. She turned back to studying the ground.

Shino knew something was off, but not what. And he wasn't sure if he should press. If he asked, would she get angrier? Unable to choose, he sank to the tree roots instead. Maybe silence would be better. He couldn't force Minako to explain if she didn't want to.

His feet scraped against the earth as he sat down. Minako jerked, turning to face him. "You're staying?" she asked. Wide eyes… surprise?

Shino froze. "Do you… not want me to?" His kikaichu sang his Fear.

"No, I do!" Minako blurted. She still looked surprised, but she hadn't hesitated. She wasn't lying.

Shino relaxed. "Then I am." Minako looked so relieved it melted Shino's nerves away. He settled into his seat.

"But won't your dad be mad?" she asked.

Shino tilted his head, baffled. "Why would he be?"

Minako brushed her bangs back. She was frowning again, but it was more like her frown when she was puzzling over something. Confusion, then. "I thought he didn't want you to play with us anymore?"

Shino hadn't said that. Right? "Maybe you misheard," he suggested, playing with the hem of his sleeve. "Why? He said nothing of the sort. It's the Uchiha compounds I'm not allowed to enter. That's all."

Color flooded Minako's cheeks. Her jaw dropped, her lips forming a small "Oh." Shino watched as the 'o' slowly widened, until her smile was brighter than any other Shino had yet to see. "That's—that's great! My bad." She laughed and leapt up, arms wide.

Shino flinched before she could slam into him with a hug. Minako stopped, leaning forward at an awkward angle. "Oh!" She drew back. "Sorry, do you not like hugs?"

"No." He rushed to correct her. "I simply prefer to be warned before you do. Why? I must ensure my kikaichu are not on me, so none will be crushed." Last time, she had slumped on him with a sigh of relief, crushing eight. He couldn't breed his insects as fast as an adult yet, so his hive was still recovering from that.

Understanding dawned. Minako sighed, ending it with a small laugh. "Oh okay. Sorry! I'm glad it wasn't anything serious." She slowed her approach, holding out her arms. She waited for Shino to close the distance, before enveloping him in a careful embrace.

He patted her elbow. His kikaichu calmed as he did, their song slowing to gentle Joy and Relief.

"It's too bad your dad won't let you go," she said, pulling back. "We've been planning what to practice first and—"

"Wait, Shino can't go?"

Shino jumped. He hadn't noticed Naruto and Kiba near. Naruto grabbed his water bottle from his sister, but his attention was on Shino. "Why not? Even Kiba and Shikamaru won't go!"

Sasuke had invited the others as well? Shino glanced at Sasuke. The Uchiha joined them at the tree, dusting off his knees. "It was Minako's idea," he grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I don't think I'll be allowed to go either," Chouji admitted. The plastic bag where his jerky used to be crackled as he crumpled it into a ball. He stuffed the end result into his pocket.

"Whaaat?" Naruto whirled on him. "What are you, chicken or something?"

"Of course he wasn't allowed to go, idiot." Kiba scoffed. "Everyone knows the Uchiha are in big trouble right now." Akamaru yipped. The dog nosed his owner's head, then began chewing on his hair. "Ow! Hey—Akamaru!" Kiba pulled his dog off, wincing in pain.

Kiba's comment didn't escape Sasuke. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, whirling on the boy and his dog.

To Shino's surprise, it's Shikamaru who replied. The boy didn't move from his position, other than to roll over onto his back. "Tou-san says the Uchiha are making a lot of unreasonable demands," he said offhandedly. "He says that your father stirs up trouble every meeting."

Sasuke bristled. "Yeah well my otou-san said it's you being unreason-bull!" Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the stutter, which only incensed Sasuke further. "Our clan works even harder than yours, and we're the ones not getting acknowledged!"

Shikamaru's expression flattened. "Of course he'd say that."

Naruto glanced between the two. He wasn't so dense as to miss the sudden tension in the air. Chouji was frozen in place, too scared to finish opening his next bag of chips. Kiba smirked, putting his arms behind his head. "Fight, fight, fight!" he chanted.

"Kiba-san," Shino said, his hands tightening on his knees. Kiba snorted, but stopped. No one else paid attention to them.

Sasuke, used to Naruto's more straightforward style of confrontation, had no outlet in the face of Shikamaru's impassivity. At this point, his face was so red Shino could imagine him steaming from the heat. Sasuke wasn't able to compete on the level Shikamaru brought his fights. So he did what any ninja would do—he tried to drag Shikamaru to his.

"Everyone knows the Nara are lazy," Sasuke snapped. "Your dad's just stupid!"

Shikamaru sat up. It was the first time Shino saw that dark a glare on the otherwise quiet boy. "My tou-san knows more than your father ever will," he said. He never raised his voice. Somehow, that did more than Sasuke's yelling did. "Your father's the one who's so focused on his own pride that he demands more than what other clans get like it's his right!"

"My otou-san is protecting my clan's pride!" Sasuke stepped forward, his hands clenched into fists. Shikamaru rose to his feet, staring him down. Sasuke didn't falter. He kept going, saying, "Your dad and the other clans won't listen! You're the ones who want to bring the Uchiha down so you can—"

"Stop!"

The cry jolted Shino out of his frozen state. He moved his fingers, suddenly aware of the tension in his back and shoulders. His hive's buzzing filled his ears.

Shikamaru and Sasuke faced off in front of him. Minako planted herself between them, arms open wide. Chouji stood close to Shikamaru, just a little ways behind him. His eyes were wide open, flitting nervously between Shikamaru and Sasuke. Naruto was the same, only he stood at Sasuke's side, chewing on his cheek.

"No government in school!" Minako blurted.

Everyone stared at her. It was enough to break the tense atmosphere, if not clear it. Shino glanced between his friends. (They were all friends… right? Right?) He could see the line drawn on the sand, separating the two pairs. Only Kiba stood separate, eager to see a fight.

No one seemed to know what to say, or was willing to speak. So Shino swallowed, and said, "Did you mean clan business?"

It seemed to break whatever had frozen them in place. Shikamaru grunted and crossed his arms. "Politics," he corrected.

Chouji sighed, and immediately opened his bag of chips. He stuffed an entire handful into his mouth with a loud, relieved, crunch. Naruto had relaxed as well, his bright eyes on his sister. If Minako was on it, then Minako had it handled.

Minako didn't move. "Right," she said. She kept her eyes on Shikamaru, her back to Sasuke. "New rule: no politics on the playground!"

"He called my otou-san incompetent!" Sasuke yelled.

"You called my tou-san stupid," Shikamaru retorted.

"Let it go!" The fearful look on Minako's face was slowly morphing to anger. She glared over her shoulder, making sure to include Sasuke. "I mean it! Let the adults figure out their own problems!"

"Troublesome." Shikamaru shoved his hands into his pockets. He almost spat the word out, instead of his usual drawl. Chouji shuffled closer. He chewed through chips so fast that he barely gave himself space to breathe. But Shikamaru's shoulders lowered slightly at Chouji's touch.

"Hn." Sasuke crossed his arms and turned his back on Shikamaru. Shikamaru sneered.

"Man. And just when it was getting good too," Kiba complained. Minako and Shino turned to him. He blanched, almost choking on his own tongue. Akamaru whimpered and crawled under his hood. Only his snout was left sticking out.

Of course, this was the moment Naruto exploded. Shino was surprised that it took him this long to speak up. "Seriously, why don't your dads just talk to each other?" he cried. His frustration burst out of him like sparks on the ground as he hopped from one foot to the other. "If Sasuke's dad knew what Shikamaru's dad knew, and Shikamaru's dad knew what Sasuke's dad knew, then it'll be alright, right?"

Kiba rolled his eyes. He pretended to act casual, his hands in his jacket pockets, but his gaze went everywhere except Minako and Shino. "They already talk in the council, Naruto."

Naruto just stomped his foot, scowling. "Then do it properly!"

The bell rang. Minako spared her brother a fond look. Sasuke ignored them, just snatched up his bento and tramped off on his own. Naruto was still muttering under his breath about how he talked to Minako and they always sorted things out. The rest of them packed up their things in silence.

They were halfway to the door when Minako spoke up. "Well, we're still going to Sasuke's house," she declared, her eyes on Shikamaru.

All he did was shrug. "Suit yourself."

Shino couldn't read his expression. He shared a glance with Chouji, who seemed to mirror his distress. Their group had never had a fight like this before. Hopefully things would smooth over after a while. They would, right? It's what friends do. Right?

Notes:

edited 01.15.2020
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I promised politics, and we're getting politics! It's fun showing it through how it affects the children. Much more interesting than 7k words of adults arguing. We'll get enough of that later.

Aburame communicating through their kikaichu's songs was inspired by Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight series! And the Aburame living underground was adapted from One Eye, Full of Wisdom with permission. When MrBright01 wrote the Aburame's hives, I couldn't believe no one ever thought of it before. It made complete sense — sunglasses to shield sensitive eyes; completely covering oneself up to protect pale skin. Hiding the kikaichu holes are already a given, but it really added to the worldbuilding, so I joyfully adopted the idea into my own headcanon.

Shihari literally means Death Stinger. I got practice naming things with kanji from Bleach (die, new zanpakuto names, die,). I didn't have to put effort into this name at least. The secret entrance is inspired by actual hidden doors in actual ninja houses. Google them, or visit if you're in the area. They're fun!

Yes, I just explained away Shino's verbal tic. And yes, I did it by giving our dear baby Shino social anxiety. So sorry bby, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. But I like how it gives him more character, instead of making "talks like a robot" a quirk to distinguish him. A writing crutch a major character doesn't deserve. To be fair, he wasn't exactly a major character when he was introduced.

I kinda hate this chapter, coz I struggled so much to keep the narration in Shino's voice, which in turn was difficult because he's a lot more advanced, vocabulary-wise, than Naruto or Minako. So I had to balance kid thinking with his more logical and formal language. Relative to the kiddie perspectives we've had so far, at least.

Thanks for your support, sorry for the long A/N, and please R&R!

Chapter 15: Arc I Chapter 15

Summary:

There are different kinds of training.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The incident at the playground rattled me. Knowing what was going to happen to the Uchiha made me jump at every mention of politics of any sort. Considering Shikamaru had been an unflappable kid before that confrontation, things must be getting really bad. I almost considered not pushing through with the playdate. But Naruto would have never gone with it, and Sasuke would just be insulted. So off to the Uchiha compound we went.

Walking into the Uchiha compound the second time was only slightly less nerve-wracking than the first. Two things helped: first, I had a legitimate reason to be there in Sasuke, walking ahead of us with his chin held high and his face still flushed from squabbling with Naruto two blocks ago. The second was Naruto's mere presence, as he held my hand and babbled my ear off with boundless cheer.

"Hey, hey, did you see that shop? Did you see it? We should drop by next time! Maybe they'll sell us some mochi!"

"Minako, look, look! A big dog! D'you think Akamaru'll ever grow that big?"

"Oh, wow! That guy's running around on his hands!"

"Do you ever shut up?" Sasuke demanded, whirling around to face us. Naruto didn't bother replying. He just stuck out his tongue and blew.

I snorted, unable to keep my smile off my face. Sasuke spluttered, trying to think of a way to retaliate. Thankfully, the guard interrupted us before the two broke out squabbling again.

"Welcome home, Sasuke-sama," said a familiar voice. I looked up to see the grinning face of Guard the First, standing at ease with his hands hooked onto his belt. "And welcome back, Aka-chan!"

He was clearly teasing me. I scowled. "My name is Uzumaki Minako," I said, stressing every word. He just laughed. He glanced at his partner, who replied with an exasperated look. She seemed more relaxed than the last time we saw each other, now that I was actually with an Uchiha and not trying to break my way in.

Beside me, Naruto perked up. "You know my sister?"

Guard the First nodded. "Yeah. We met the first time she visited, trying to get to Sasuke-sama here." He spared a moment to wink at me. "Guess that confession went well, huh, Aka-chan?"

Sasuke whirled around, his jaw dropping to a rictus of horror. It's like I had become the embodiment of his worst nightmare. "You were going to confess to me?"

"NO, DATTEBANA!"

Naruto just stuck out his tongue in disgust. "Sasuke and Minako? Gross." He hopped up and down, trying to catch Guard the First's attention again. "My name's Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!"

"Nice to meet you, Naruto-kun." The guard jerked his thumb between himself and his partner. "I'm Uchiha Ryoji, and this is my partner, Uchiha Kiku." He even went to the effort of bending one knee to get to Naruto's level. "You headed somewhere with Sasuke-sama?"

Naruto's eyes were wide and gleeful. It was the first time an adult spared the energy to give him the time of day. He was practically vibrating with excitement. "Yeah, yeah! We're gonna train at Sasuke's house!" he said. "He's gonna teach us how to throw shuriken. Then I'm gonna kick his ass!" He nodded, as if to cement his determination.

"You wish!" Sasuke retorted, crossing his arms.

The fact that Guard the First made Naruto smile like that was enough to melt the last bit of resentment I had against him and his partner. "That's a good skill to learn," he said, ruffling Naruto's head. "Right, Kiku?"

"Hn." Lady Guard rolled her eyes.

Okay, so maybe just him.

"Good luck with your training, Naruto-kun." Ryoji- Ryuji? gave Naruto one last ruffle before standing up. "Teach those targets who's boss."

I could swear Naruto glowed in that moment. "Yeah!" He pumped his fists into the air.

Sasuke elbowed Naruto, making him yelp. The spotlight had been off of him for long enough, probably. "Ryoji-san," he said. "Has nii-san come home yet?" He could barely hide his eagerness, no matter how much he tried to keep an impassive face. The change from his usual rough speech was jarring enough that I felt a grin break out on my face. Naruto didn't miss it either.

"How come you don't talk to me like that?" he demanded. Sasuke closed his eyes, as if that would keep him from reacting to Naruto. But Naruto would not be ignored. "You're talking all polite and sh- stuff!" he corrected himself, glancing at me. I raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you talk polite to me, huh?" Naruto poked Sasuke.

"Because you're not an adult and you're annoying!" Sasuke snapped.

I swear I heard Lady Guard choke on a laugh.

"Not yet, Sasuke-sama," Ryoji-san said with an admirably straight face. "He left with your father earlier this morning, however, so he should be back soon."

Sasuke's frown relaxed. His brilliant smile was ridiculously adorable. "Thank you!"

Naruto bugged Sasuke all the way up to his house. I couldn't help but join in with the teasing as well. It made for a rambunctious little group by the time we made it to Sasuke's place.

Facing Mikoto again was less embarrassing than the guards, at least. She welcomed us into her house with a smile (and a pointed look at Sasuke for being rude). She made no mention of my previous visit, expressed delight in "finally meeting Naruto-kun," then pointed us to the private training area behind their home. To Sasuke's credit, it was something like a mini forest, not counting the actual Uchiha forest that came up to the village wall. Damn rich people.

The only time Mikoto paused was when Naruto bounced up and down and said, "Thanks, oba-san! You're the best!"

"Don't call my mother oba-san!" Sasuke yelled.

"Sasuke." Mikoto's face had done that thing again, where her expression was blank, but her eyes crinkled with a kindness I was starting to believe was real. "It's fine, Naruto-kun," she added, turning to my brother. "Please, call me oba-san." She made sure to look at me, including me in the request.

This was the lady whose thousand ryo kimono I'd soaked with my snot. I nodded, my hands twisting behind my back. Naruto beamed. "Mikoto-ba-san!" he cheered. And because I never taught him about personal space, he threw his arms around her knees and hugged her.

I couldn't see Mikoto's expression. I was too horrified. "Naruto—" I squeaked.

Mikoto bent down and gently unwound Naruto's arms from around her. She squatted to his level. "What a sweet child," she said, pushing his hair back from his face. And that was all.

"Sasuke, remember to set up the dummy away from the house. I don't want you breaking the lamps again." She stood back up and shooed us towards the training area. "I'll have snacks ready in a few minutes. You children go have fun outside."

Sasuke reddened. "Yes, okaa-san," he said hurriedly, running for the door. Naruto chased after him with a cackle, mangling the pronunciation as he went.

"Sasuke broke a lamp, Sasuke broke a lamp—"

I spared one last glance towards Mikoto. After all, you don't just leave kids throwing metal objects unsupervised, right? Right?

Her hand fell from her face. She seemed surprised to still see me there. "Go on," she urged.

Wait, she was seriously leaving us alone? Was this a ninja thing?

Confused, I just answered her with a nod and bolted after the boys. The "Thank you!" over my shoulder was an afterthought.

I caught up to the boys as they were dragging the dummies to one of the trees. Sasuke was scowling, and ribbed Naruto even more than he had on the way here. The angry flush on his face amused me. Don't tell me the kid was jealous.

Of course, that just meant things dissolved from there. His impatience made any advice on shuriken throwing useless to Naruto, who himself learned better through demonstration than clumsy words from a six-year-old. It ended with, of all things, Itachi and Sasuke's father coming home to a horrified Sasuke pinning Naruto to the dust.

And me?

I was sitting on the veranda, spinning a shuriken around a finger and wishing I had a book.

I caught Itachi's lip twitching, before schooling his face into a neutral expression. There was a weariness in his young eyes that made me drop the shuriken as he met my gaze. I offered him a hesitant smile.

The thin line that was his lips relaxed. He tipped his head in a slight nod.

Guess that's what stood for an Uchiha smile?

If I thought Mikoto was intimidating, Sasuke and Itachi's father blew my standards out of the park. The lines around his scowl looked like they'd been etched in stone. He stared Sasuke down as the boy scrambled off his playmate, stammering out a greeting. Even Naruto's gleeful grin shrank in his presence.

"What is going on here?" he asked. That was the voice of a man who didn't need to raise it to silence a room.

"I've been teaching Naruto how to throw shuriken, otou-san." Hearing Sasuke sound so meek, and yet filled with a hopefulness we'd never heard from him before did funny things to my gut. His enthusiasm was adorable. But there was a pleading tone to his words that made me squirm. "He and Minako aren't that good yet, so they asked for my help." He was standing so straight, I could see his toes straining from where I sat.

"Hey! I just need some pointers, that's all!" Naruto leapt to his feet. I quelled him with a look, too far to kick him quiet.

"It's true," I said, for Sasuke's benefit. Those pitch-black eyes turning on me made me wince. "Sensei started us throwing stuff a few days ago. Naruto and I needed practice, and Sasuke-kun's the only one with a place to do that, so I nagged him to bring us here." Now I knew why Sasuke was so reluctant to bring us home.

I didn't even live here and I was already scared of his dad. If it meant not getting his dad mad at him, then I was ready to throw myself under the bus. Not like people could have a worse first impression of me than they already have.

"I take it those are yours, then?" Sasuke's dad nodded towards the shuriken-imbedded dummy. Sasuke nodded eagerly.

"Some of it's mine too!" Naruto said, though not as enthusiastic as his usual energy.

"Sure, the ones on the ground," I teased. I held out my hand. He scampered over and took it, giving the father and son pair a doubtful look. Itachi spared us a glance, but otherwise didn't look away from his family.

"It would be better for you to concentrate on your own skills before you try to pass them on," Sasuke's father said. He pointed at the neck and hips of the dummy. "You missed the vital spots here, here, and here. I expect better from you than this."

Sasuke's face fell. "Y-yes, otou-san."

I couldn't help it. My jaw dropped. I tried to catch Naruto's eye, but he only looked at me with troubled confusion. He knew he didn't like what was happening, but not quite why. I ended up sharing my disbelief with Itachi, of all people, who answered me with a faint frown.

None of Sasuke's shuriken had missed the dummy. I knew, because I'd had nothing better to look at for the past thirty minutes. I'd been impressed by a six-year-old that could hit a dummy from 10 feet away. And yet his father would rather point out what he missed?

Suddenly, the other students' respect and envy for the clan kids made more sense. Was every ninja clan really like this?

"Itachi had already advanced to moving targets at your age. Focus on achieving that before you teach anyone else," Sasuke's father ordered, before moving for the house.

Itachi was a once-in-a-generation super-genius, the likes of which wouldn't be seen before or since! Otherwise known as ridiculous standards for a six-year-old boy!

Naruto may not have understood Sasuke's turmoil, but he did understand a dismissal when he heard one. "Hey! What about me and Minako?"

"It's okay," I butted in, quailing under the intense stare leveled at the both of us. Sasuke's father felt like a simmering fire, waiting to burst into an inferno. It made me shiver. "We can come back another time—"

To my surprise, Sasuke protested too, albeit more quietly. "I promised, otou-san."

"Hn." If anything, it only made his father's—dammit, if I could just remember his name—frown deepen. But still, he paused at the door to the house.

My grip on Naruto's hand tightened. He frowned at me, glanced at Sasuke's dad, then scrunched up his nose. I squinted at him, flicked my eyes to the ground and back, then pressed my lips together. He widened his eyes, incredulous.

"Otou-san, if I may." Itachi stepped forward. "I could assist Minako-chan and Naruto-kun, which would let Sasuke fulfill his promise even as he focuses on improving." A breath. "Unless we had more to discuss?"

Naruto squeezed my hand. I held my breath, and squeezed back.

Their father considered the two of us, standing in the corner of his backyard. We tilted our chins up, almost at the same time.

"Very well," he said.

I breathed out.

He tipped his head towards us. "Let it not be said that the Uchiha are lacking in hospitality."

Naruto blinked at me. I bit my cheek and shrugged one shoulder, the subtlest I could get. There was a bite behind the words that gave me a quiet sense of dread. The sarcasm wasn't directed at us, as far as I could tell. That didn't stop it from affecting me. Like a kunai glancing off my skin, before hitting its true target.

Sasuke glanced between Itachi and the two of us, looking conflicted. "Thank you, otou-san," he said anyway.

I gulped, and rushed to pull Naruto into a shallow bow. "Thank you, Uchiha-sama!" I said, Naruto echoing half a second after.

He acknowledged us with a nod, and finally left. I slumped in relief.

Naruto turned to Sasuke, frowning. "Why's your dad so grumpy?" he asked. Sasuke sputtered.

"Shh!" I squeaked. The door had closed behind the man in question, so I couldn't tell how far away he had gotten. "He might hear you!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow, wryly amused. "You might want to take more care with your words, Naruto-kun, if you don't want otou-san to… get grumpier."

"Nii-san." Sasuke tugged on Itachi's shirt, eyes brimming with dismay. "You're gonna teach them? Not me?"

Itachi frowned, then relaxed as understanding dawned. His smile grew. "There's nothing stopping me from training all three of you," he said. "No need to worry, Sasuke."

I tried to bite back my giggle, I really did. Naruto didn't even bother. He grinned is fox's grin. "Hehehe, Sasuke's jealous we need his nii-san's help!"

"Am not!" Sasuke fired back. "That just means you suck, idiot!"

Naruto reddened. "Do not! You're just… just…" It took him a second. "Just advanced!" He puffed out his chest in triumph.

I turned to share an exasperated grin with Itachi, only to find him smiling softly as our brothers began to squabble. My breath caught.

Such an expression didn't belong on a murderer. The quiet joy at seeing his little brother brimming with life erased every line on his face. In that one moment, Itachi looked like the twelve-year-old he was supposed to be.

Feeling my gaze, he turned to me. His smile… didn't disappear, not exactly. It faded, into a small tilt to the corner of his lips. If I was a betting kind of girl, I'd say he felt embarrassed.

"I have never seen Sasuke this animated," he said.

"You should see him in school, then," I replied, still a little stunned. "Every time I turn around, they're rolling on the ground again."

His lips twitched. "I'd like to see that."

He slipped between the boys as they paused to breathe, casually picking up a shuriken at their feet. And just like that, the argument was over. Both boys watched with wide eyes as he ushered them to the target. Considering my S.O.P. was to ignore them til they finished, well.

Hilariously enough, it was Sasuke's challenge that gave Naruto the drive to focus on Itachi's lesson. I stood a little ways behind them, watching as Itachi reminded Sasuke about wind resistance and set him to work. Then he turned to Naruto.

He had him demonstrate a few throws. I had to admit, it was adorable seeing Naruto scrunch up his nose, stick out his tongue, then toss the shuriken. It landed at the dummy's feet. A couple more swung wide. Naruto scowled.

"I see." Itachi stopped him. He held up Naruto's hand and tapped the base of his wrist. "Your muscles are too lax. When you throw straight ahead, you need to add resistance at the end of your swing."

"Eh?" Naruto turned to me. Curious, Itachi set his eyes on me as well.

"Oh!" I took a moment to think back through Itachi's words. There was that one word I didn't know, but if I got it right… "He means you should make your arm go all stiff when it points at your target. Right?" I looked to Itachi for confirmation.

His expression was thoughtful. "Not quite, but close."

His heavy gaze made me uneasy. "It might be better to show him. Naruto learns better that way," I suggested. He nodded.

"Alright." He demonstrated what he meant, first slowly, so Naruto could see the way his elbow, then his wrist locked when he aimed. Then he threw, in a flash of movement not even I could catch.

Thunk!

His shuriken pinned the dummy to the tree by its throat.

"WHOOOOOAAAAA! THAT'S SO COOL, DATTEBAYO!"

"Shut up, idiot! You're too loud!"

Sure, my hands were over my ears and I was cringing into my shirt, but I could not disagree. Itachi was smiling again as he supervised Naruto's next throw. This time, it actually hit the dummy, even if it just glanced off its straw leg.

"I'm gonna get it next time!" Naruto stomped his feet, then dashed over to the dummy to collect his shuriken.

"Ready, Minako-chan?"

I jumped, then grinned sheepishly at Itachi's raised eyebrow. Oh yeah… my turn to throw the semi-sharp thingy…

"Right. Um. Here." We headed to the third dummy. It had quite a few shuriken littered on the ground… but I did manage to land a couple hits. One of the dummy's arms sagged, because I managed to nick the top but the shuriken cut through instead.

His eyes on me made me self-conscious enough that my first throw went wide. I gritted my teeth and tried again, focusing on my target this time. Remembering their father's words, I tried to aim for the biggest vital spot on the dummy—the neck.

It thudded into the dummy's chest.

I beamed at Itachi.

"Was that what you were aiming for?" he asked.

The question made me scowl. "No," I admitted. "I was trying to go for the neck, like you did."

"I thought so." He squatted down to my eye level. "Try to aim for behind your target to add more strength behind your throw."

"Right. Got it." I ran towards the dummy and picked up my shuriken.

"It's wise to aim for the vital spots when you're practicing," Itachi noted as I walked back. "But with shuriken, it would be more prudent to aim for important muscle groups than with arteries, like kunai."

"Really?" I came to a stop next to him. "Why?"

He took one of my shuriken and pointed at the blades. "A shuriken has shorter points than the kunai. If it stabs a major muscle group, like the bicep or the thigh, it would render that limb near-useless. It is also much harder to pull out on the spot than a kunai with a handle."

"Oh. That makes sense." I studied the metal in my hands, flipping the star over. The logic behind weapons was fascinating. We hadn't started on any specific things like that in class yet, just the basic "these are what make up the parts of the human body."

And yes, I knew it was the science of how to end the life of another person. But reality and theory were two different things. You could look at a sword in a museum and 'ooh' and 'aah' over the design. It was hard to fathom just yet how I would be using these lessons to kill people.

A thought crossed my mind. "What if you boost it with chakra? Could you make up for its reach then?"

Itachi's eyebrows rose. "I wasn't aware they were already teaching chakra theory in the first year."

My face burned. "I read about it in a book," I explained, reaching up to rub my temple. Then I remembered I was holding sharp metal.

"Where did you find that book?" Itachi asked.

"In the school library. Izumo-san is helping me practice reading." Well, help was a strong word. The thought made me smile anyway. Chakra was pretty much the local system of magic. I could read about its theory and applications for hours. I tried my best, honestly.

I caught Sasuke scowling at me from the corner of my eye.

Thunk, thunkthunkthunk.

"Nii-san! Look at what I did!"

I fought back a snicker. "Looks like Sasuke-kun got tired of having your attention elsewhere."

Itachi huffed in wry amusement. "So it seems." He stood, then paused. He held up the shuriken still in his hand, then offered it to me. "Wind chakra would allow the shuriken's radius to grow to a size that could cut limbs off. If you like, there are some scrolls in the house that might be of interest to you."

My eyes widened. More books? Really? "I'd love that!" I took the shuriken, then grinned up at him. "Thanks!"

Alas, the peace was not meant to last. I managed to get two out of four shuriken to land on the dummy, before Naruto and Sasuke were squabbling again. Something about it being Sasuke's turn with Itachi, while Naruto complained he'd been taking too long. Honestly, the whole thing was hilarious. I didn't think Sasuke had ever had to share his precious brother's time before, and it showed. The clinginess alone made me want to laugh.

I tried to keep practicing what Itachi taught me, while he mediated between our brothers. In the end, I had to help him out, just to get them to stop.

I shoved my way between the two. It was rare for me to have to physically separate them. Man, Sasuke must be really upset. "Naruto's not stupid, and he isn't hogging your brother. Sasuke-kun's not a bastard, he just misses Itachi—" Oh. Shit. I didn't know what honorific to tack onto his name.

"-san" would be appropriate, since it seemed to be a catch-all for everyone you're not close to. But he was also technically our senior in the profession, so…

"—senpai?" I squeaked, peeking in his direction.

"That would be better than 'nee-san,' yes," he agreed.

I gaped at him. My face was so hot I felt ready to steam. Somewhere in the corner of my gibbering mind, I could hear myself screaming into the void.

Was that a smug edge to his smile?!

Thankfully, Mikoto returned then, a platter of onigiri in tow. Her mere presence ended any and all arguments, by the simple fact that the boys couldn't yell and eat at the same time.

After the onigiri was a platter of a platter of outrageously delicious daifuku mochi. Shisui wasn't kidding about how good it was. I swear I was sobbing from the taste. It took everything I had not to shovel the whole thing into my mouth. Naruto didn't even bother. He was squirrel-cheeked and already reaching for seconds. Before I could scold him, a pale hand smacked him lightly on the wrist.

"Hey!" Naruto yelped, showing off a disgusting mess of half-chewed mochi. He pouted, only to flinch at Mikoto towering over him. Mikoto didn't react, other than to kneel down into a perfect seiza.

"That's not how to eat mochi, Naruto-kun," she said.

"Huh? Then 'ow?" Naruto asked, chewing around his food. He seemed unsure how to deal with Mikoto, glancing between her, Sasuke, and me.

"Please don't talk when your mouth is full," I begged. He swallowed, then choked.

Mikoto sighed through her nose. She handed him his cup of green tea. He tried to take a huge gulp, and whined at the heat. I covered my face with my hands.

Itachi hid his smile with his cup.

Mikoto patiently walked Naruto through eating the mochi, complete with using the little bamboo utensil I'd only guessed at. Soon, I was paying attention too, especially when Mikoto showed us how to hold the cup so an enemy couldn't smash it into our face. Sasuke was happy to demonstrate for his mother, while she corrected our hands and posture. Nothing could beat down his smug smile.

Naruto stuck out his tongue at him while Mikoto wasn't looking, only to make the same discovery I did a week earlier. Mikoto didn't need to glare to keep children in line.

By the time the sun was setting, Naruto and I were headed home, with a bento of leftover onigiri between us, and the promise of daifuku tomorrow to look forward to.

"And then he went WHOOSH! And I went AAAAH but it hit! And the dummy went uuugh."

I nodded along as Naruto narrated his whole afternoon. Events that I had been there for, mind. I was tired in the pleasant kind of sense, after a day where I got a lot done and nothing went wrong. I looked forward to sleeping tonight.

"Let's go again tomorrow! Let's go again tomorrow!" Naruto yanked my arm this way and that with his glee. I rolled my eyes, tugging him back before his bouncing caused him to crash into someone.

It was easier to ignore the glares today.

"Fine," I said.

Naruto cheered.

"But only if Sasuke says we can."

He opened his mouth.

"And you can't make him either!"

While it was fun seeing how far Naruto and I could push our puppy eyes to the limit, it would be unfair to abuse it. Especially with Sasuke, who was already in an uncomfortable position between his father and his friends.

Surprisingly, we did get a second invitation, and from the most unexpected source.

"Nii-san said he and otou-san will be out late, so we'll have the training ground to ourselves," Sasuke said. "He also told me to lend you some books he found."

"He did?" I asked, starry-eyed.

And so began our regular visits to the Uchiha compound. There were a couple of days where Itachi warned us away, but otherwise the days their father (and sadly, Itachi) were home were few and far in between. Sasuke was positively cranky the three days Itachi left on a mission.

Naruto and Sasuke trained their taijutsu and shurikenjutsu, with Naruto doing his best to catch up. The Academy had yet to teach us any formal taijutsu. Naruto pretty much flailed around while Sasuke kicked his ass. This resulted in many arguments I chose to stay out of.

I turned my focus on a far more interesting puzzle: the books Itachi had chosen for me. He had left three books for me on what I assumed was the chakra manipulation I asked about. To my chagrin, I could only read the first, with plenty of holes in my vocabulary. At least he was thoughtful enough to leave a dictionary.

Mikoto caught me struggling over my reading and promptly swept them away. When I whined, she replaced them with storybooks. Storybooks. None of those technique scrolls or instruction manuals from the school library. She brought me books on the bijuu, on spirits, on local legends, and even stories about the summons Konoha had contracts with. There was a series on the misadventures of a fictional ninja named Tomo-san, which were both entertaining and educational. Might as well make call them A Manual on What Not to Do as A Ninja.

The more I read, the faster I got. Letting me bring home books meant I could read well into the night or even during lunch time at school. Shikamaru and Sasuke could've started a brawl in front of me and I wouldn't have noticed.

And, of course, since I had to return said borrowed books, we spent even more time over at Sasuke's.

The next time Itachi managed to hang out with us, he brought a friend.

"Minako-chan!"

I shrieked as Shisui yanked me into the air. "Put me down, dattebana!" I yelled, clinging to the book in my hands with everything I had. It was the most recent book Mikoto had lent me, on the founding of the Hidden Villages. I could not let it get dirty.

He twirled around before finally setting me on the ground. I kicked him on the shin. "Ow!" He shot me a mournful look, holding the aggrieved spot. "Is that really how you greet your senpai?"

My eye twitched. Itachi must have told him. Too bad I had no sympathy for him. I was under no illusion he couldn't have dodged me if he had wanted to. "Senpais shouldn't grab little girls without their permission."

He winced. "Maa, Minako-chan… you didn't have to word it that way."

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Who're you?" Naruto asked, wide-eyed at the ninja that had appeared out of nowhere. Sasuke was too busy greeting his older brother to comment.

Shisui grinned, jerking his thumb towards his chest. "Uchiha Shisui! You must be Naruto-kun." He ruffled Naruto's hair, making Naruto squint through his bangs. "My enemies call me Shunshin no Shisui… but you can call me Shisui-senpai."

"Did you practice that?" I said flatly. He winked at me.

"But why Shunshin no Shisui?" Naruto demanded. "What's shunshin?"

"It's how shinobi move really, really fast," Shisui said. He held up a finger, eyes alight with mischief. "Watch this." He tapped my brother on the nose, then disappeared.

I blinked and my hair was flying in a rush of wind, yanked loose from its tie. Across from me, Itachi moved. I didn't know what he'd done, exactly, until Shisui reappeared a few feet away, pouting, while Itachi raised his head.

"You could've played along," Shisui said, raising my hair tie. Itachi just stared him down, his ponytail swinging back into place. Sasuke's starry eyes could've lit up a whole room.

"Hey! Give that back!" I sputtered, coming to my senses. Beside me, Naruto jumped up and down.

"That's so cool, dattebayo!" he cheered.

"See, Minako-chan? At least your brother appreciates me." Shisui preened.

I held out my hand, scowling. With a sigh, he disappeared again. The only warning I got was the wind tugging on my hair. I whirled around and yelped, falling flat on my ass. My book fell to the ground with a thud. Shisui grinned, holding up my hair tie. "I thought you wanted it back?"

I stared at the book. Already I could see clumps of dirt sticking to the cover and its edges. Blood rushed to my face. I rose to my feet, picked it up, yanked the hair tie from Shisui's fingers, and stomped off to the door.

I sat down on the elevated wooden floor and gently tried to brush off the earth with a finger. I had to go slowly, because I was too busy trying not to cross the line between fury and angry bawling.

"Huh, I didn't know you lent her that book, Itachi," Shisui said, leaning over my shoulder.

I stared at Itachi in horror. "I didn't know it was your book!" My voice cracked. "I tried to take good care of it, I swear!"

Shisui threw up his hands in alarm. "Aw, hey, no, Minako-chan, don't be upset." Any other time, I would have found his verbal backpedaling amusing. "Here, I can take care of it! Just give it to me and—"

I hugged the book to my chest, glaring at him. "You'll just make everything worse!" At the same time, Naruto charged forward, missing only because Shisui hopped back.

"Get away from her!" he yelled, diving for him again. Shisui dodged him just as easily, looking chagrined.

Itachi walked over, his face impassive. I bowed my head, unable to look him in the eye. His hand entered my vision. I handed him the book, cringing.

He immediately tossed it at Shisui's head.

Shisui caught it with a loud smack. There was this odd shiver in the air. Clods of dirt fell to the ground. He raised his hands in surrender, the book free of mud. "See? All better!"

Naruto paused, squinting at the book. He turned to me, lower lip still jutted out in an angry pout. I was too startled to react. I just stared at them both, eyes wide and watery.

"Thanks," I croaked at last. Naruto stopped glaring Shisui down and ran over to me. Automatically, I put my hand on my lap so he could scramble up beside me and all but cuddle close.

Itachi had settled down next to me as well. Shisui joined us like a normal human being, walking step by step until he stopped in front of me. He handed over the book. "Sorry, Minako-chan," he said. The sincerity in his voice made me squirm.

"'s fine," I said.

Sasuke climbed onto the wooden floor too. After a moment of hesitation, he crawled under Itachi's arm and settled by his lap. Itachi, startled, raised his hand and rested it behind his brother.

"It's just a book," Sasuke said with a huff. "Don't be such a crybaby."

"I'm/She's not a crybaby!"

Naruto and I shared a look. He grinned first.

"Nah. Minako-chan was just trying to take good care of the things she borrows. Right?" Shisui smoothed my hair back with a gentle hand. I couldn't help but lean into the touch.

"And good job trying to protect your sister, Naruto-kun," he continued, ruffling Naruto's hair too. "With a little more training, you might even be able to fight me off!"

"Hmph." Naruto tried to keep his frown. I didn't miss how his chest puffed out with pride.

I poked him in the side, making him yelp. "That's what we're here for, isn't it? I bet Shunshin no Shisui has a lot he can teach you." I grinned at Shisui to let him know I was teasing. He grinned back, relieved.

Naruto shuffled away, rubbing his side. "Don't wanna," he grumbled. "He's mean."

Shisui made a wounded noise, sharing a pout with Itachi. Itachi raised an unimpressed eyebrow. You dug this grave, so you sit in it.

"He isn't mean! Shisui-san's the fastest ninja around!" Sasuke said, leaning over Itachi to glare at Naruto. Itachi seemed resigned to being his little brother's climbing post, his lips curling in a small smile.

"Ehh? Even faster than Inu-san?" Naruto asked, interested in spite of himself. Itachi blinked.

"I don't know who Inu-san is, but I'm sure I could give him a run for his money." For someone who had just knowingly challenged an ANBU member, Shisui sure looked cheerful. Then again, he could just be humoring Naruto, for all I knew.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. Inu-san was his inspiration for starting the life of a ninja. Any slights against him were taken as a slight against himself. "Prove it," he demanded.

Shisui's grin turned shark-like. A rush of air, and suddenly Naruto was shrieking on the floor. Only long familiarity with the sound kept me from doing more than jumping in my seat.

"Ah… no… stop… HAHAHAHA!" Naruto laughed, squirming away from Shisui's fingers.

"But you said I was mean! If I stopped, I wouldn't be mean anymore, would I?" Shisui countered. He found the vulnerable spot under Naruto's ribs, making my brother squeak.

Itachi nudged Sasuke. "You should go help Naruto-kun."

Sasuke looked at him in dismay. "But why?"

"True shinobi don't abandon their comrades." Itachi nodded towards the noisy pile Shisui and Naruto made. "Especially if they're your friends."

Sasuke scowled. But what Nii-san said, went. He crawled off Itachi's lap and crept for Shisui. I blinked at Itachi, puzzled. What he said sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it.

Shisui dodged Sasuke's leap, sending the poor boy sprawling. "A new challenger has arrived!" he cried. He dived in again, this time to the tune of Sasuke's involuntary howls of laughter. I scrambled to the side, shaking my head when Shisui eyed me. He spared me an understanding, apologetic smile.

Then Naruto yelled, launching himself at Shisui's back and making for an effective distraction.

I tuned out Shisui's gleeful "You can't catch me, you can't catch me!" and inspected Itachi's book. The pages were clean, with not a speck of dirt on the spine or cover.

"You can clean stuff with chakra?" I asked Itachi, holding it up.

"Shisui is trying to learn how to use Earth jutsu. Repelling soil like that requires good chakra control, nothing more," Itachi confirmed.

"Huh." I gave the pages one last, sad glance, then handed it to him.

"Have you finished?"

"No?" I said, startled.

"Then keep it." He pushed the book, and my hand, back. "You can return it when you're done. I'm sure you'll be finished quickly." I stared at him. "This wasn't one of the books I lent you," he explained.

"Oh. Hehe." I tugged on a loose strand of hair, a sheepish grin tugging on my lips. "Mikoto-ba-san took them away because they were too hard. But I finished reading Sasuke-kun's and wanted something harder, so she found this and lent it to me." It meant I was stuck with stubbornly sounding out the words as I read. But reading about the founding of the Hidden Villages was worth it.

"Are you enjoying it?" Itachi asked.

I nodded, bright-eyed with enthusiasm. "Yeah! It's really, really fascinating how the Shodaime and Uchiha Madara managed to convince the different clans to come together, dattebana! I'm in the chapter comparing the clan mini-villages from the Warring States Era to how they adapted to living inside a more confined space. The culture was way different back then too. It's really… cool." My face burned as I trailed off. I had never talked this much to anyone that wasn't Naruto.

Itachi looked pleased, which helped soothe my embarrassment. He nodded towards the book in my hands. "I'm glad," he said. "I finished that book when I was six as well."

I stared at him. My immediate reaction was disbelief. Of course this kid had read this book when he was six. I bet he breezed right through it too. None of the muttering I did as I traced every character with a finger. Freaking prodigies.

Then I remembered I was six. And I was meeting a dark, expectant gaze.

The blood drained from my face.

Itachi nodded, as if putting together the last piece of a puzzle. "You aren't very good at hiding your intellect," he said gently.

I took a deep, shuddering breath. "With you, or in general?"

"It's probable Izumo-san has an inkling," Itachi allowed, leaning back. "I don't know enough about your library sessions to make an accurate assessment."

I closed my eyes. Had I been learning too fast? I stuck mostly to the first year and second year books in my time at the library, with a few stubborn excursions into the chakra section. My first few days were spent bugging Izumo-san for word meanings, because I was slow and the books were dry as hell. My library time lessened as Naruto gathered more friends to hang with at lunch. It was only recently, with Sasuke's books, that I'd gathered enough of a vocabulary to breeze through them. If Izumo-san knew, the rest of the faculty would, for sure. If he didn't—it would be a miracle, if he didn't.

"The books gave it away, huh," I said, my heart sinking.

"It was during shuriken training, actually." My head jerked up, startled. Itachi's lips twitched. "Naruto-kun turned to you without hesitating, implying this had become routine between the both of you. Your comprehension was high enough to explain my words to your brother. Neither did you falter when I made my choice of words more complex."

I covered my face with my hands.

He tapped the book on my lap. "The books were a test. How much could you understand, and how fast could you learn?" His lips twisted. "I wasn't sure you were trying to hide it until now," he admitted.

"Because I was doing so well," I said sarcastically. Inside, I was panicking. What was I going to do? Izumo-san might not have caught on yet, but that didn't mean I hadn't slipped up elsewhere. I could lower my grades even more, while keeping my reading subjects up. Math could go down, but not phys ed. I couldn't really fake sweating.

"Why?" Itachi asked.

I drew my knees up, curling into myself. Why did I even bother? I was terrible at it anyway. I was so sick of the mind-numbing existence of a toddler that reading and learning never failed to send me sky high with joy. To give it up…

But the answer was easy. And if there was anyone in the world who would understand, it would be Itachi.

"I don't want to be separated from my brother," I mumbled into my knees.

His eyes darkened. I could guess what he was thinking. We sat there for a while, ruminating on Konoha's treatment of its youngest greats. All I could do was sink further and further into my misery.

I could put more effort into it. I could. But I didn't know if that effort would only make it more obvious. Or if I could even give up reading so much, for my brother's sake. Would it even work? What the hell did I know about fooling ninja?

"Perhaps it may be something you can train," Itachi said.

It took a minute for the words to sink in. I was too busy wondering, is this genius a fucking mind reader too?!

I straightened, like someone had jabbed a bolt of lightning up my spine. "R-really?"

He nodded. "Consider it a form of infiltration training," he elaborated. His hands curled together in his lap, his gaze distant as he thought. "Your comprehension is high, but your speech has yet to stray too far from that of children your age. All you need to do is hide how much you understand."

It was a rope. A frayed rope handed out as I hung over a cliff, but a rope all the same. Relief ended my panic spiral as abruptly as it began. It took a while before my body got the message.

I picked at a stray thread unraveling from the hem of my pants. "You think I can do it?" I mumbled into my knees.

I felt more than heard Itachi's surprise, like sparks jumping out of a low fire. "You're a fast learner," he said, the same way someone would say, Of course. What made you ask that?

I breathed in, and out. The last of my anxiety escaped me. I raised my head and gave him a shaky grin. "Got any ideas?"

The corner of his lips curled. If I didn't know any better, I would have accused Uchiha Itachi of smirking. He nodded towards Shisui's game of tag. "You could start there."

We watched little Sasuke try to take out Shisui's face with his feet, while Naruto clung to one knee. My brother wrapped his legs around Shisui's shin, then bit.

I winced. Shisui yelped. Down he went.

The corners of Itachi's eyes creased. Oh, he was definitely laughing now. I gave the book in my hands a mournful look, then sighed.

"You can keep it," Itachi said. My head snapped up. I could almost feel the stars blooming in my eyes. Melancholy stained his smile, dimming my joy. "I have no need for it anymore."

I bit my lip, searching for the words to say. There was a weight to his words that I couldn't fathom. It could have been about anything—about his childhood, his career, his family's dynamics. After all, he had been—is—a pacifist, right?

It sounded like a man twice his age carrying a burden too big for his shoulders.

It sounded like an omen.

"Hey, Itachi," I said. "If you… if you have a problem—" I twisted my fingers together. "—and you can't talk to anyone about it… you can always talk to me, yeah?"

His eyebrows shot towards his hairline. It was the most surprised I'd ever seen an Uchiha, even Sasuke. I cringed.

"As a thank you! For, for helping me, with the books and stuff!" I flailed my hands, trying to dispel whatever came over me. Shit, this is why Itachi told me off for being too obvious. This was what I got for calling everyone younger than fifteen a kid. "That's what friends are for, right? They help each other. I mean, we've helped each other out, so—so we're friends now. Right?" My breath caught in my chest. Suddenly, I was very, very invested in the answer.

Swear words piled up in my head as I quivered like a rabbit under his stare.

"Thank you," he said at last. I couldn't read his expression. "I'll keep it in mind."

I jerked my head down, one, quick nod. No answer was not a no. That was the vaguest no answer I'd ever received in my entire two lives. But fair enough. To him, he was an adult in the body of a child, speaking to a kid who knew too much for her own good. Maybe that was why my heart went out to him.

Maybe I was just lonely.

I decided to spare us any more awkwardness on my account and followed the noble, ninja way:

I fled.

"Alright, imma just—go." I pointed over my shoulder, nodded again, then ran. I threw myself at Shisui with an enthusiasm only sheer embarrassment could bring, sending him to the ground again.

Only later would I realize I'd forgotten to slap "-senpai" on Itachi's name. I screamed into my pillow. It was enough to send Naruto running out of the shower in a panic, soap suds still in his hair.

Notes:

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Please don't try to throw shuriken like this. The anime doesn't throw them properly anyway. And, yes, I made up everything about shuriken vs kunai.

Even if I only update once a year, I'm going to update, dammit!

Ps. For those who weren't aware, I went through this entire fic and edited it. Most of it were just minor edits like sentence structure and punctuation, except for VIII, which got a major overhaul. It was the weakest of my chapters, so I was glad I got the chance to fix it. I hope you enjoy the new version!

Chapter 16: Arc I Chapter 16

Summary:

Things don't change unnoticed.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

I didn't expect training at the Uchiha compound to be as fun as it turned out to be. School had taken on the monotony a regular schedule would. Sitting for hours facing the board was more excruciating than I remembered. It didn't help that I had to pretend not to understand; when I was a kid I could just read in class and answer questions.

Itachi didn't have to tell me that would be stupid to do here.

With my advancing reading skills, I made it to the upper-bracket, performance-wise. Nowhere near special, but nowhere near failing either.

PE was fun, up until it was time to practice throwing, or basic kata, or anything repetitive. Imagine standing in one place and tossing shuriken at a target. What a snoozefest. It was boring, monotonous, and really, really tempting to zone out and be happy with more than half of my shuriken hitting my mark.

Training with Naruto and Sasuke was just as bad. Six-year-olds didn't quite have the self-discipline to practice a set routine. Naruto was worse. Any attempts Sasuke made would eventually get derailed by Naruto getting bored, or frustrated, or both. When it was just the three of us training, I tended to give up after a while and sit in the corner to read. This was not a choice whenever Shisui or Itachi were around.

With Itachi, I was an eager student. While the more energetic boys tackled Shisui's newest idea of training, Itachi and I sat to the side and talked. He would ask me questions—about what I was reading, my day at school, or how my shopping went over the weekend. We would discuss the history of Konoha, the dynamics between the daimyo and his people, and the other Elemental Countries. He would tell me of the places he's been, and how people lived and interacted there, compared to what we knew here.

Then he would point out my tells. He taught me to suppress the sparkle in my eyes when I found something interesting. He taught me how to hold back questions that would only give myself away.

I knew Itachi was smart. I knew he was considered a genius, both combatively and academically, with an asynchronous maturity that would make people from my old life cry.

It was a whole other thing to experience it, though. He picked apart nuances in paragraphs describing a decisive battle. He debated with me on the perspectives of either side. He saw how specific choices by certain people led to new conflicts, years later.

It was awe-inspiring and humbling both. It's easy for people to fling around the word "genius." Few actually stopped to consider what kind. A violin prodigy did not make a young genius in physics. For me, it was Itachi's ability to break apart events, techniques, and words, then connect them in a causality that was the source of his amazing capabilities.

It was an honor to know Uchiha Itachi. And I had barely scratched the surface.

I think he appreciated the chance to talk. He would still leave when Sasuke called, or urge me to physically train when we talked for too long. But I could feel a part of him relax when we got deep into a discussion. Not much, and not for long. But the simmering coals that were Uchiha Itachi cooled, and the lines on his face lightened. If talking to me gave him a break from his busy schedule, I was more than happy to provide.

Because he was busy. Terribly busy. We barely saw him as it was. When he wasn't on a mission, he was with their father, Fugaku. (Ha! Finally remembered.) Some days it felt like Itachi was taking missions back, to back, to back. Shisui was a jounin, and had almost twice as much downtime.

Contrary to popular belief, jounin tended to have longer downtimes than chuunin and genin, relatively speaking.

Genin were in high demand, taking care of the D and E missions that the citizens of Konoha requested. They were the closest I could find to my old life's 9-5 jobs, complete with days off. The longest a D and E rank mission lasted was just a few days.

Chuunin got longer missions in the sense that they were the most likely to get guard missions, border posts, messenger runs, and patrols. Those could last anywhere between a week, to months at a time.

Jounin—at least those not attached to genin or chuunin—spent only as much time outside of Konoha that A rank clients could afford. They also had a small amount of flexibility in choosing their missions. The pay was good enough that single or unattached jounin only had to take missions to fulfill their yearly quota.

All this was explained by Shisui, when even Naruto's patience snapped as Sasuke and I moped after a particularly long absence without Itachi. Shisui took it with aplomb, all things considered.

And if I thought I could get away with not training when Itachi wasn't around, I was dead wrong. Shisui and Itachi must have made a pact or something. If I didn't want to read so I could talk to Itachi, Shisui made sure I couldn't read.

Let's just say he had a gift for being aggravating.

"Ooh, so close." Shisui tsked. He side-stepped my lunge, and twisted around Sasuke's kick. "C'mon, Minako-chan! You can do better than that!"

He held a storage scroll above his head, where he'd sealed the Uchiha-Senju history book I'd been reading. So he learned from his previous lesson. Whatever. It didn't stop me from getting ticked off every time he yanked a book from my hands.

"Shut up!" I panted. "You're cheating!"

"It's just one step," he protested, dancing around Naruto's attempts to trap him.

"You're a ninja! You're faster than all of us!"

"I'm not even using shunshin!"

Shisui and Itachi never let training become the boring standstill it became in group-focused school. The simplest way was through competition. Most shuriken on the dummy wins. Least hits from a fist-sized, flour-covered ball wins. Then there were the games hilariously like my old world's game of Ninja, training our reflexes and reaction time.

They didn't even call it training. But most of the time, I could tell. Past life knowledge helped. (This was part of what Itachi was teaching me to hide—hiding that I understood.)

Today's game was something I'd started calling Tickle Tag. It meant exactly what it was called, except Shisui's tickle spots were suspiciously close to the vulnerable points they hadn't taught us in school yet.

Didn't change the fact I was still pissed he took my book away. Especially when I was getting to the good part with Senju Tobirama's rising career.

Did—did he just twirl?!

"UGH." I planted my hands on my knees, breathing hard. My hair had slipped enough from its ponytail that red flopped into my face with every head bob.

Naruto's blond hair was plastered to his head with sweat. Boundless energy us Uzumakis might have, even we had our limits. Sasuke looked like he was still on his feet out of sheer bullheadedness.

Naruto frowned at me, concern overtaking his own frustration. I made a face, then let my head drop.

"Aww, tired already?" Shisui grinned, raising his leg. Sasuke flew through the now-open space and ate dirt.

"Shut… up." I kept a sharp eye on him, hidden behind my bangs. How well did he know my stamina? My reluctance to join training meant I never truly pushed myself beyond what I needed. Combined with my fondness for books, Shisui might underestimate me.

Well, it was try or wait for Shisui to give my book back.

And waiting was boring.

"Now, -ttebayo!" Naruto and Sasuke charged Shisui at the same time. Shisui did another unnecessary twirl—

—putting his back to me.

There was no way I could sneak up on him. So I threw myself forward, running as fast as I could. "GRAAAAAHHH!"

He whirled, but Naruto made one last weak swipe at his ankle, forcing him to dodge that first.

Leaving him open to me.

I crashed into Shisui's waist, sending us sprawling.

I ended up sitting on his stomach, making him wheeze. I pushed myself up, my breath rasping in my throat. We stared at each other.

"I did it," I marveled. I just toppled a jounin level ninja. Never mind that it had been sheer luck and he hadn't been taking me seriously either. "I can't believe you fell for it!"

The thrill of victory flooded my chest. I threw my head back and laughed. The adrenaline rush began to bleed away, leaving me dizzy.

Naruto flopped down where he stood, wide-eyed. Shisui grinned, his eyes sparkling. He raised himself up on his elbows and ruffled my hair. "Great job, Minako-chan!"

I beamed. My hair was halfway out my ponytail, my shirt clung to me with all my sweat, and I was sure I had a blotchy flush on my face. I probably didn't look pretty, but I felt damn good.

"You forgot something though," Shisui added.

"Eh?" I blinked at him.

"Don't leave yourself open, even when your enemy is down," he said cheerily.

Fingers dug into my sides.

I shrieked, scrambling off him. Naruto yelled with glee and threw himself into our little pile. Shisui yelped, the air leaving his lungs for a second time. Sasuke made a face, and stayed well away from the messy group rolling in the dirt.

Naruto and I settled into bed. A good shower washed off all the sweat and dirt from training, leaving us fresh and clean. We crawled over each other, giggling weakly. The moon was low and fat in the sky, the air cool. Just getting the covers in order was a production in itself.

"Min'ko," Naruto slurred, shoving his nose into my neck.

"Mm?" I pressed my cheek to his hair. I was too sleepy to correct him.

"You laughed today," he said.

I scrunched up my nose. "I laugh every day."

"Nn. No." He yawned. "Like, really, really laugh." He snuggled closer, curling our fingers together. "I'm glad," he added.

My heart warmed. I couldn't stop the smile pulling at my cheeks. I pulled our hands to my chest, and closed my eyes.

This was what our nights were like now—sated, buzzing with exhausted joy, eager to sleep and meet the next day. I sank into the cozy feeling, wrapping my brother's scent and warmth around me.

If things could stay like this, I would be happy.

"Minako, wake up!" A small hand grabbed me by the shoulder and shook.

"What?" I snapped, opening my eyes—and gasped as blue light spilled over my face. Then it winked out, leaving me blinking in the dark.

"What did you do?" Naruto hissed, now sounding irritated himself. I raised my hands in defense, much good it did me in the dark.

"I didn't do anything! I don't even know what happened!" I sat up, holding out my hands. Just a second ago, blue light had spilled from my skin. And now it was gone.

"Do you think…" Naruto's shadowed eyes flickered left and right as if he was about to confess to a crime. "D'you think it could be… chakra?" He looked aghast at saying the word, mixed with an almost painful hope.

I couldn't help the fond smile that flashed across my face. "It might be," I agreed. "It can't be anything else, right?" Civilians knew of chakra, but spoke of it the way a country farmer would speak of magic.

"Let's see if we can do it again," I suggested.

"Uhh… okay." Naruto blinked at me. "How?"

I bit back a giggle. "Well, first, we gotta do what we were doing before."

"But I thought we weren't doing anything before!" Naruto squirmed to face me. His restless bouncing made the bed creak.

"We didn't know what we were doing before," I corrected. "So, that's what we're going to find out."

"Ohhh." He held out his hand without prompting. That made me grin. I took his hand in mine and waited.

Naruto fidgeted. I shushed him absently, trying to think. What had been different this time? We've held hands in our sleep plenty of times before. I closed my eyes and tried to recall how I felt before Naruto woke me up. All I had felt was the heat in our hands, warming each other.

Wait, what if that was chakra? I tried to focus on the sensation. Was it just me, or was that heat moving?

Maybe if I just… push…?

"Ow!" Naruto yelped, yanking his hand back. "That hurt!"

"Sorry!" I apologized, patting his knee. Okay, pushing, bad idea. "One more try?" I asked. Looking much more reluctant now, Naruto gave me his other hand.

It had just been… contentment. Peace. A gentle joy in living this life together, in being with each other, of sharing our warmth…

Naruto gasped. I opened my eyes and gazed with wide-eyed wonder at the thin film of glowing blue light around our fingers. I could feel the heat, suddenly sharp under my skin. I pulled my hand away, intending to study the light, only for it to wink out and leave us in the dark again.

"Again, again!" Naruto demanded, holding his hand out. I obliged, giving him my hand. Now that I had an idea of how to do it, the light came back much faster. Instead of pushing, I eased the heat in my hands—the heat changing from a general warmth to a focused line swirling around my hand almost like veins—towards Naruto, not pushing, not forcing, waiting for him to reach out too. He must have, because soon enough, our hands lit up.

"How'd you do it?" Naruto's bright blue eyes shimmered in the light.

"You mean you don't know how?" I asked in surprise. "You're doing it too."

"I am?" Surprised, Naruto looked at his hand—and the light winked out again.

"Okay, here." I shifted on the bed, making it easier to hold his hand. "Feel the warmth in your hands. You feel it?"

I saw Naruto's forehead crinkle in the sparse moonlight. "…I think?" he replied.

"Okay. Now, try pushing it towards me—" Pain seared through my hand, making me screech and pull away. It felt like someone had gotten the mother of all pins-and-needles sensations and found a way to heat it to scorching.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Naruto cried in distress, frantically patting my face, shoulders, and knees. I tried to smile, but end up grimacing as I shook my hand out. It tingled in a weird combination of sore and numb, like I'd been electrocuted.

"It's fine, it's fine." I reached out with my other hand. "Try again, only gently… slow and careful now… ow!" My hand got zapped again, leaving me with two painfully tingling limbs. "Don't force it!"

"Sorry…" Naruto wilted.

"Let's try again later, okay?" It didn't feel like the burns were going to do me permanent damage. I flexed my hand experimentally, and winced. It felt like an ordinary burn from accidentally grabbing a hot pot, plus a hint of muscle soreness.

"Maybe we can ask Mikoto-ba-san." Naruto perked up. "She'd know, right?"

"Good idea," I said, pleased. Naruto beamed. He flopped back into bed, pulling the blankets we've kicked off back on.

I gave my hands one last look before lying down beside him. Slowly, a smile bloomed on my face.

So this was chakra.

Of course, the next day, the Hokage showed up.

The first sign was the sudden dearth of noise at the entrance of the school. Where there should have been loud, childish giggles, whining, and fetchers alternating between greetings and scolding, there were only quiet murmurs and the occasional, "But kaa-san—!"

We hadn't even made it to the door yet, and I was already curious. But then Sasuke and Naruto dragged me into a debate on whose turn it was to be the Shodaime, distracting me. It was Shino stuttering mid-step that made me raise my head.

The Sandaime stood at the gate to the Academy, tapping his unlit pipe against his lips. He was wearing his Hokage robes, sans the hat. It left his weathered face open to the elements. His only guard was a single ANBU member, who—to my disappointment—did not have a shock of spiky white hair.

I slowed to a stop beside Shino, just as bewildered. Why would the Hokage visit the Academy? The easiest answer would be, well, us, but it would be ridiculous to assume when we hadn't seen him since—

"Jiji!" Naruto yelled, barreling towards the gate. The old man looked up and smiled. Naruto came to a stop at his feet and began to jump up and down. "It's me, it's me, Uzumaki Naruto -ttebayo! Remember me?"

Sasuke stopped beside me. All three of us stared as the Hokage obliged Naruto and said, "Of course I remember you, Naruto-kun. You passed the independence test with your sister, didn't you?"

He turned that grandfatherly gaze on me. I had the weirdest urge to look behind me, then point at my chin. Me?

Having the strongest ninja in the village know your name was still so surreal.

"I see you two have made some friends," he said, gesturing us forward. A smile bloomed on my face.

"Ah…" I scratched my cheek. Naruto was too busy peering up at the ANBU, so I said, "Jij—Hokage-sama, this is Uchiha Sasuke and Aburame Shino. Um. You guys probably know the Hokage." His face was on the goddamn cliff. "We've met him a few times before." On a whim, I added, "Naruto calls him Jiji because he's old."

Jiji's eyes narrowed. His thoughtful, teasing hum made me grin.

"Hokage-sama," Shino greeted, his hands hidden in his jacket pockets. He shrunk into his hoodie, his face unreadable behind his sunglasses.

Sasuke, for once, was speechless. He kept looking between Naruto and the Hokage, like he couldn't believe my scruffy little brother knew the village leader.

"Hey, hey, where's Inu-san?" Naruto asked, ducking behind the Hokage as if he could find the ninja there.

"Inu-san is on a mission with his team. You'll have to make do with Shika-san, I'm afraid."

"Aww." Naruto pouted. The deer-masked shinobi showed no sign of being bothered by his disappointment.

The crowd (and it was a crowd now, mothers dithering as they watched us from the corner of their eyes) had gotten even quieter as the Hokage spoke to us. I shifted closer to Shino, trying to ignore the heavy weight of their stares. "Are you waiting for someone, Hokage-sama?" I asked.

"Yes. Good thing they didn't keep me waiting that long." It took us a second to get it. Naruto actually did the whole who, me? routine. Jiji's smile changed. "I wanted to see how you two were doing. Is that so strange?"

"No," I stammered, blurting out the easiest, politest answer. "No, of course not, just—"

"Really?" Naruto demanded, starry-eyed. "You wanted to see us?"

"Yes, really."

"YEAH!" Naruto danced, then leapt at Sasuke. "Wait til those jerks in class hear about this! They can't call me a liar anymore, dattebayo!"

At least, his enthusiasm shook Sasuke out of his funk. Literally. "Get off!" He shoved Naruto away. Naruto just laughed, gleeful at the thought of bragging to his classmates tomorrow.

Jiji's gaze followed the two's mock-wrestling. He kept his hands clasped together, hidden under his voluminous sleeves. "Let's talk over dinner. It'll be my treat."

"Dinner?" Nothing could grab Naruto's attention like food.

"Ah." I glanced at Sasuke and bit my lip. "We were supposed to head to Sasuke-kun's…"

"Oh yeah." Naruto's smile fell. He'd been looking forward to it too, after last night.

"I think you could stand to miss one day," Jiji said, amused.

I blinked, then forced myself to keep my eyes on Sasuke like I hadn't noticed anything. He knew about our visits? Well, okay, fine, ninja leader. And he probably had good reason to keep track of what the local jinchuuriki was up to.

"S'fine," Sasuke said. His disbelief gave way to a sullen pout. My heart went out to him. He could act grumpy all he wanted. Ever since Itachi pointed it out, I couldn't not notice how much arguing with Naruto made him light up. Anyone would get disappointed if their playdate got cancelled.

But it was the Hokage. What else could you do?

"Say sorry to Mikoto-ba-san for us," I said wistfully, thinking of the onigiri that had to be waiting for us.

"Yeah, yeah." Sasuke hesitated, then bowed to the Hokage. He nodded goodbye to Shino. "I'll go ahead then."

"See you tomorrow, teme!" Naruto bounced on his heels, waving. I reached over and smacked him over the ear. "Ow!"

"See you tomorrow, Shino-kun," I told our other friend. He, too, nodded goodbye, with a deeper bow for the Hokage. I waved him off, frowning. His silence worried me. He only quieted when he was nervous. Which, considering our esteemed company, was pretty understandable. Hopefully he'd feel better tomorrow.

"Where're we gonna eat? Where're we gonna eat? Ooh, how about some barbecue? Me and Minako always pass this one on the way to school, and it smells soooo good. Or, or, how about udon? I've never tried udon before! And kakigori! It always looks so nice in the pictures—"

The Hokage did a good job of lending Naruto an ear as my excited brother babbled. I trailed after them, tugging my ponytail back into place. I was excited to try new food too, but I couldn't stop feeling unnerved.

Jiji looked at something over our heads and nodded, before returning his attention to Naruto. "I'm afraid you'll have to pick one, Naruto-kun," he said, grandfatherly voice cheerful and kind.

Curious, I waited a few moments before turning back. The few civilian parents milling around had gone back to talking as we left. One glanced at me, then away, her shoulders slumped in clear relief.

Irritation flared in my chest. I faced front again, striding to catch up.

It wasn't a good way to start Jiji's visit.

We ended up in a donburi restaurant. It was a good middle ground, considering the variety of options available. Deer had disappeared somewhere, leaving the three of us to walk in on our own. I tensed on our way in, but aside from the waitress' eyes flickering to Naruto and me, there was no fuss.

I glanced at Jiji and fought the urge to roll my eyes. Amazing, what he could do through sheer presence alone.

They settled us in a closed off booth, away from the rest of the customers. We had to kneel on cushions, set around a low table. Our shoes were left outside the door, so as not to damage the tatami mats. The many pictures on the menu made my mouth water.

That was when Jiji made his second mistake of that day—telling us to eat as much as we wanted.

It was the first time we got to eat in a restaurant. And the Hokage had to be filthy rich, right? Right?

Between the two of us, I think Naruto and I managed to order one of everything on the menu.

Jiji was definitely twitching when they brought over our third bowl. Still, he went with the flow, asking us questions between every serving. How was our apartment? Was the apartment lady treating us well? How about school? Our teachers? Did we have other friends aside from Sasuke-kun and Shino-kun?

"Sometimes Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and Inuzuka Kiba hang out with us during lunch," was my reply. "But usually we hang out with Shino-kun and Sasuke-kun." I hesitated, then added, "We train at his place after class." It's not like he didn't know, anyway.

"You know the Uchihas very well then?"

"Mmhm!" Naruto ground down on his yakiniku, before swallowing. Thank god that lesson caught on fast. I wasn't sure what I would do if he spat rice bits at the Hokage. "Mikoto-ba-san's really nice! And Shisui teaches us a lot!"

"Shisui-senpai," I corrected, taking a more delicate bite of my katsudon. Oh, man, the pork was melting in my mouth…

I was not ashamed of making an embarrassing noise at my food.

"Shisui-senpai," Naruto repeated gamely.

"It's good of Sasuke-kun to invite you to his home." Jiji nodded. "But it's also good to be careful of invitations like that. Someone might expect something in return."

My chopsticks clacked together. I relaxed my grip, almost dropping them in my haste. Did he just say what I think he said?

"Huh." Naruto squinted at his empty bowl. He pushed it aside, then reached for a steaming bowl of oyakodon. "Well, obviously. Sasuke gives us a place to train, and me and Minako keep him on his toes!"

"You could be giving something else without knowing it," Jiji pointed out. His chopsticks rested on his bowl, a clump of rice left unfinished on the bottom. "Is there something you want to say, Minako-kun?"

I froze mid-squirm. Shit, shit. I thought I was keeping it down pretty well, but—well. Itachi was a genius, but Jiji had decades on him. And I'd only started learning weeks ago.

Now I had to think of something to say, and fast.

"It's just…" I tapped my chopsticks on the rim of my bowl, resisting the temptation to fidget. "Is there something wrong with training at Sasuke-kun's place?" There. Not too insightful, while obvious enough that I noticed something. Hopefully, it would work.

Jiji leaned back. His eyes were heavy where they rested on me. I swallowed. Unable to keep eye contact any longer, I shoved more katsudon in my mouth as an excuse to duck my head.

"Not quite," he said, clear as mud. "I think it would be best if you stopped going to the Uchiha compound for the time being, however."

I stiffened. I put my chopsticks down, then gave in to the urge to clench my fists on my lap. The table kept them out of sight.

It was not a suggestion.

"Ehh?" The chicken headed for Naruto's mouth fell. He looked at Jiji in dismay. "Why, dattebayo? Everyone's really nice, and they haven't asked us to do anything!"

Jiji shook his head. "There are things happening in the village that you don't understand. As things are, your visits to their compound only hurts them, not helps them."

"Is this about the other clans being mad at the Uchiha?" I blurted.

"Who told you that?"

I quailed under Jiji's sudden, intense gaze.

"Shikamaru and Sasuke fought about it during lunch," Naruto replied, frowning. He didn't appreciate the reminder. Shikamaru and Chouji stopped hanging out with us as much after the fight. And while Shikamaru was willing to nap while Chouji played with Naruto, Kiba, and Sasuke, his demeanor stayed cold towards the little Uchiha.

"Hmm." Jiji tipped his head, his arms crossed. "The Uchiha are in a bit of trouble right now, but it's not for you to worry about."

"Why?" I tilted my chin up. The thought of missing Shisui's teasing, Mikoto's quiet generosity, and Itachi's lessons sparked a fire in my churning gut. "What kind of trouble are they in, that we can't see our friends?"

The corners of Jiji's mouth turned down. It wasn't quite Naruto's or Sasuke's mulish pout, but I'd seen theirs enough to guess at what it meant. "Jiji," I insisted, my nails digging into my knees.

His gaze was as heavy as ever, drilling into my eyes and my head, like he could lay out the insides piece by piece. "I'll explain it to you when you're older."

Oh, wrong answer, old man. "Shikamaru said the Uchiha were making a lot of unreasonable demands," I said, searching my memory. "That they were starting fights every clan meeting. But Sasuke said his otou-san thinks the Uchiha aren't being acknowledged. Is it always like that? Do they only bring up the same thing, every meeting?"

Jiji's eyes narrowed. "The Uchiha have been saying these things for months now. Don't think you'll be able to sway me with their words, Minako-kun."

I looked askance at him. "No one's making me say anything! I'm just saying, if they keep repeating something, maybe it's time somebody listened." I bit my cheek, trying not to think of murmurs of Those Kids, of my throat going hoarse from crying My name is—

"And if they're the ones who won't listen?"

I slapped the table, my irritation flaring to full on anger. "Maybe you're just being stuck up! Nothing's gonna happen if nobody wants to give! You gotta give them a chance, jiji!"

"Oh?" His eyes turned impossibly sharp. The air grew heavy with tension. "And what would you suggest, Minako-kun?"

I froze in terror.

"Why don't you just ask them?" Naruto piped up. He was glaring now too. "Minako and I fight all the time, but we talk about it, so we fix things up! She always says there's a reason why people are mean. If you can't think of one, it means you just don't know them well enough yet."

Heat flooded my face. Whether it was from embarrassment or pride, I didn't know. It was something I used to try to comfort him with, since our orphanage days. The fact that he remembered it enough to tell someone else made my stomach flip.

Jiji stared us down. Sweat dripped down the back of my neck. But it was too late to back off. I stayed on my knees, bracing myself on the table. Any longer, and my teeth would be ground to powder.

Suddenly, the pressure eased. Jiji huffed, grandfatherly smile back in place. "Very well. You kids have convinced me."

I eased myself back into my seat, unable to relax. No way it worked. No way it was that easy.

"Since you're so adamant, I'm sure you don't mind if I tag along to your next training session," Jiji said. "You can show me what it's like, and I could talk to Sasuke-kun's parents in the meantime."

My stomach dropped to my feet.

Naruto beamed. "Yeah! We'll show you! Then you'll see how nice Mikoto-ba-san and everyone are."

I mirrored his smile, even as my brain ran in panicked circles. What had we just done? What were we bringing to Itachi's door? No way was this a canon development. Naruto would have never thought of this on his own. It was my temper that got me nagging the Hokage, and now here we were.

Maybe… maybe things would turn out alright. Or maybe we just made it worse. How would this affect the plot? The Uchiha Massacre?

My heart skipped a beat at the thought. If there was a chance… if there was a chance I could do something to help, then… then…

Could I? Should I? Would it be worth it?

Sasuke. Itachi. Shisui. Mikoto. I swallowed, and pushed my terror down, as far as it would go. "It's a great idea," I croaked.

Yes. Yes. If there was a chance, yes. I didn't know what to do. None of this was planned. But I didn't want them to die. So if there was anything I could do, anything…

I would do it. For even that slightest chance.

Naruto held on to my hand as we left, telling Jiji all about the things we got up to at the compound. I followed listlessly, too busy trying not to throw up everything I'd just eaten. His grip tightened, making me glance down.

I remembered the blue glow last night, and frowned. Now was the perfect chance to ask someone about it. The Hokage was older and more experienced than Mikoto. He'd know more about incidents like this.

"I'll be seeing you tomorrow, then," Jiji reminded us as we walked out the restaurant.

I set my jaw and raised my head. The Hokage nodded farewell, before heading off with his ANBU at a leisurely pace.

"C'mon," I told Naruto, tugging him away. "Let's go home."

I'll ask Mikoto tomorrow.

Notes:

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Me, yelling from the top of the Hokage monument: HEEEERE COOOOMES PLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT

Yes, Shisui is teaching the kids where to stab with a kunai. :)

Also, I'm thinking of changing the summary of the story, to make it more appealing to new readers. What do you guys think?

Ps. I've discovered Picrew, and now there are a bunch of pictures of Minako on my writing blog. Check it out!

Chapter 17: Arc I Chapter 17

Summary:

Everyone has sacrificed something for the village.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Sarutobi Hiruzen was getting too old for his job. He knew it, his friends knew it, maybe even his enemies knew it. It was true when he retired and it was true now that he was back. A year of retirement had done little to help the exhaustion that had settled into his bones. More and more, the problems he faced as Hokage was making him feel every one of his 68 years.

One of those was the recent conflicts between the Uchiha clan and the rest of the village. In his youth, politics had been another battlefield for him to navigate. He studied the parties' strengths and weaknesses, manipulating their arguments like a chessboard. A nudge here, a wall there, and his enemies were outmaneuvered with minimal expense of his own power.

Now, it only exhausted him.

Hiruzen had a village to run. He did not have time for Fugaku's misconceptions on the idea of honor.

Minako and Naruto's insistence on speaking to Fugaku was amusing, if not painfully naïve. Hiruzen wanted the situation with the Uchiha to resolve peacefully. But he was juggling dozens of shinobi clans, even more civilian clans, Konoha's military force, and the merchant clans. One step to humor the Uchiha would ripple across the entire village and affect everything else.

Still, the children's idea gave Hiruzen the opening he needed. Danzo had been hounding him for weeks now, accusing him of being too lax with the Uchiha. This would at least shut his old friend up, and remind Fugaku who was in charge at the same time.

So he cleared his calendar for the afternoon and headed downstairs to the Academy. And just in time—Uchiha Sasuke dashed out the entrance, the peals of the school bell echoing behind him.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun, isn't it?" Hiruzen called out.

Little Sasuke stumbled to a stop. "Hokage-sama," he stammered.

At least he knew better than to pretend he hadn't heard Hiruzen.

"Minako-kun and Naruto-kun invited me to your training session today." Hiruzen smiled around his unlit pipe, kind and unthreatening. "Why don't you walk with us?"

Sasuke shuffled in place. "I, uh, have to tell okaa-san, so she can... prepare…"

"Nonsense." Hiruzen huffed. "I'm sure your okaa-san will be fine. We're headed in the same direction, so why not walk together?"

"I—" Sasuke darted a look towards the school, then sagged. "Okay."

As if on cue, Minako and Naruto slunk towards them, Shino trailing after the former. Hiruzen tucked away his pipe, ignoring the light hum of a kikaichu flying back to its owner. Using the insect to watch for his approach was a smart plan, if clumsily executed. Had the twins doubted he would push through? Or were they looking for a warning before Sasuke dashed off?

"Thanks, Shino," Minako whispered. Shino nodded.

"Is Shino-kun coming as well?" Hiruzen asked.

Shino tensed. Naruto opened his mouth. Minako shoulder-checked him, and said, "Shino-kun has to go home early, so he doesn't train with us."

There was a moment's hesitation before Shino nodded confirmation. "Why? Because—because I need the time to train my control over my kikaichu."

Hiruzen dismissed the children's excuses on principle. So did that mean Shino was not invited, or did Shibi refuse to let him go?

Interesting.

"I see. Very well then. Take care, Shino-kun. Greet your parents for me."

Shino bobbed his head. He exchanged goodbyes with the other three, before running off.

Naruto crossed his arms behind his head, frowning in thought. Minako wrung her hands—something her teachers will have to train out of her. Sasuke simply slouched, sullen.

"Shall we?" Hiruzen said.

An Uchiha, the Hokage, and the children the village called the Demon Twins made for quite a parade down Konoha's streets. Eyes trailed after them as they walked. Whispers erupted in their wake, especially when their destination became obvious as well.

At least Hiruzen had opted out of a visible ANBU guard. There was threatening, then there was displaying a blatant lack of trust for all and sundry to see.

He made eye contact with an Uchiha MP. The woman took in the sullen Sasuke, anxious Minako, and excited Naruto. She slipped into the crowd.

Satisfied, Hiruzen focused on entertaining Naruto's determined chatter. If the policewoman hurried, Fugaku should have plenty of time to get home, and Mikoto to prepare for their arrival.

Minako stayed silent, clinging to her brother's hand. Wide blue eyes watched the people watching them.

This is our village, Hiruzen wanted to say, as he acknowledged a civilian's greeting. These are the people we protect. He wanted to show her how the people relaxed in his presence, reassured of his strength, and the strength his shinobi provided to the village.

He knew it was his presence that made people feel safe. He knew how they avoided the twins otherwise, fearing Minako's red hair and eyes, and Naruto's blond, shaggy hair and whisker-marks.

But time would heal those wounds. As the children grew, and their comrades grew to trust them, so would those who saw how their shinobi guardians treated these children they feared. And the Hokage casually walking with them down the street was the first step.

It always satisfied him when he accomplished several goals through a single action.

Soon enough, they arrived at the compound. The gate guards stood to attention at his approach. "Hokage-sama," they greeted him in unison.

Naruto dashed from his side, dragging his sister along with him. "Ryoji-san! Kiku-san!" Naruto jumped up and down, grabbing their attention. "This is jiji," he declared, waving at Hiruzen. "He's coming to visit with us!"

Dark eyes darted in his direction; Hiruzen kept his face impassive. He was in no denial about his age, unlike his student.

(Oh, Tsunade…)

The one Naruto called Ryoji managed a strained smile. "So I see. Well, it's good to have you back, Naruto-san, Minako-san." Minako twitched, then hunched closer to her brother. Naruto tilted his head, eyes wide.

"Sasuke-sama," Kiku spoke up, cutting off the exclamation Naruto was about to make. "Your brother is home."

Sasuke perked up. "Nii-san's back?"

"Itachi's back?" Minako said at the same time, slumping with relief. "Itachi-senpai," she corrected, flushing at Kiku's raised eyebrows.

"He mentioned going home to rest. It's likely he'll still be there," Ryoji said, saving her from further mortification.

"Thank you!" Sasuke said, dashing into the compound.

The change in Sasuke was startling in its contrast. He all but vibrated at the leisurely pace the Hokage set. He did manage to restrain himself from tugging Hiruzen forward, like Naruto was doing.

"Let's go, let's go!" It seemed even Naruto could be energized by the mention of Uchiha Itachi.

Hiruzen hummed agreeably, reviewing what he knew about the Uchiha prodigy. Young Itachi had been quiet even in his genin years. Brilliant and obedient, he never questioned the orders given him. Hound had nothing but good things to say about him. However, he didn't seem to be very popular with his teammates, which was why it was so surprising to see him this popular with children.

"How long have you known Itachi-kun?" Hiruzen asked, trying to draw Minako into the conversation.

"Oh." She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. She scrunched up her nose. "A few weeks? He's helped me train a few times." Color stayed in her cheeks, as an embarrassed smile played on her lips.

"You two must be very close," Hiruzen said. "On a first name basis already, aren't you?"
he clarified at her confused blink.

"What—no! Oh no, nonono, we're not. It's my fault, I just keep forgetting, I'm really bad at addressing people properly, dattebana!" She flailed, turning even redder at his insinuation.

"My mistake then." Hiruzen curled his lips into a teasing grin. "I assumed differently from how you spoke of him."

Minako squawked, embarrassment and childish disgust blocking any words she might have said in reply.

"She always forgets," Sasuke scoffed. "Okaa-san says it's rude to just call people by name."

"I can't help it if I forget!"

"Forget what?" Naruto butted in.

Hiruzen left them to it, as Minako took out her mortification on Sasuke.

Too young? Still, the way her eyes lit up when she spoke of Itachi spoke of some level of admiration, if not idolization. Hiruzen knew the young Crow. He had the beautiful Uchiha features that attracted their fellow students in the Academy. His proficiency in the ninja arts was definitely something an underclassman could aspire to.

Had that been the intention? Forbidden from bringing in the children, had Mikoto sent her sons to lure them in? For all intents and purposes, the Academy instructors had reported Naruto and Sasuke's friendship blooming from a spectacular fight on their first day of class. Meanwhile, Itachi was good at many things, but emotional manipulation was not his forte.

Either way, the bonds had been struck. Hiruzen had been willing to overlook Mikoto's subtle efforts at reaching out to the children. But now the twins were all but living in the Uchihas' pocket. It could not be allowed to continue.

Foot traffic didn't pause as their little group walked through the Uchiha compound. People bowed respectfully as he passed, but didn't linger. Still, he could feel the hidden stares following him and the children as they approached the clan head's home.

Mikoto greeted them at the door. "Hokage-sama," she said, bowing. "Forgive us for the lackluster welcome. We were not informed of your arrival."

Perfectly respectful, with the easy implication that if he wanted a warmer welcome, he could inform them in advance. It almost made Hiruzen smile.

"No need to apologize," he said. "I was merely accompanying the children."

Mikoto always had a subtlety that Fugaku lacked. She had been a brilliant kunoichi in her own time, manipulating her targets with genjutsu and words both. Her retreat into her family in recent years was regretful. If the Uchiha learned how to value their kunoichi, they would be even more devastating than their reputation already had them out to be.

"Mikoto-ba-san!" Naruto ran up and hugged her knees. Mikoto brushed his hair back, her smile wan. Minako followed at a more sedate pace, but leaned into her hand when Mikoto repeated the motion for her.

"—tried to tell us not to come, but I told him talking to people is important, dattebayo! And he agreed, so now I brought him, and you guys can talk about it and make up, like me and Minako, and me and Sasuke did!"

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," Mikoto said firmly, cutting off any follow-ups. Behind her, their front door slid open, revealing Itachi, still in the clothes he would wear under his ANBU uniform.

"Nii-san! Welcome back!" This time, it was Sasuke's turn to run. Hiruzen was surprised to see him carefully hug his brother around the waist.

A pleased smile tugged on Itachi's lips. "It's good to be back," he replied, resting his hand on his brother's head. He looked at Minako, who ducked her head and squirmed.

A sheepish Uchiha Shisui skirted around the family reunion. He greeted Hiruzen with a quick bow. "Hokage-sama."

"Shisui-kun," Hiruzen returned.

"Why don't you children go train with Itachi and Shisui-kun?" Mikoto continued, unwrapping Naruto from around her legs. "I'll take Hokage-sama to the receiving room for some tea."

"Okay!" Mission accomplished, Naruto jumped down from the house's raised floor. He ran ahead to the yard around the corner.

"Wow, so excited!" Shisui's longer strides let him catch up with ease. "When I was your age, I was happy to get out of training."

"Liar," Itachi said, keeping pace with his calmer little brother. He greeted the Hokage with a quick, graceful bow, dark eyes flicking towards him, then away. "Your jounin-sensei had to drag you out of the training grounds for shunshin-related injuries."

Minako tugged on Mikoto's sleeve.

"That was one time!" Shisui protested.

A simple twist of chakra let Hiruzen hear her whisper:

"I hope you guys work things out."

Some of the frigid lines on Mikoto's face eased. "Thank you, Minako-chan." Gently, she pushed the child away.

With one last worried look, Minako hurried after Itachi and Sasuke, who waited for her at the corner.

With the children gone, Mikoto settled back into rigid formality. "Please, come in." She gestured towards the door. She waited for Hiruzen to remove his shoes at the genkan before closing the door behind them.

"I'll have to apologize for the short notice," Hiruzen said, making no move to do so.

"No need for your concern. A mother learns to adapt."

Hiruzen hummed. The sound from outdoors faded as she led him further into their home. The house was simple in construction, if not in expanse. But the Uchiha knew how to display their wealth without the ostentation of a palace.

"They seem fond of you," Hiruzen commented, as they passed an intricate bonsai. Stones and moss structured tastefully allowed the miniature tree to mimic a mountainside within its deep stone pot.

Her dark gaze flickered at him from the side. "The twins are very affectionate," she replied. "I don't believe anyone has taught them to be wary of others' physical boundaries."

They reached a shoji door. The shadow of its occupant was hazy against the paper. Mikoto stepped to the side and slid it open for him.

Their receiving room followed the rest of the house—wide, but simple. The tatami mats were fine, and newly replaced. A scroll hung from the north end of the room, displaying calligraphy that could only be appreciated by those with an eye for it. The second set of doors, ones that should allow a view of their garden, were closed. Only the curling flames carved into the roof beams served as a reminder that the simplicity was a choice.

Fugaku rose from his seat at the low table, set in the center of the room. He dipped his head. "Hokage-sama," he said. "This is unexpected." There's an undercurrent of a growl in his voice. His face, however, stayed impassive.

"The children insisted I come," Hiruzen said, taking his position opposite him. The cushions were placed parallel to the shoji doors, allowing both occupants to see anyone entering and leaving. He settled into seiza, Fugaku following a beat after. "They wanted me to meet their Mikoto-ba-san."

Mikoto had already slipped away, sliding the doors closed behind her. Fugaku scoffed, waving his hand in dismissal. "A nickname, nothing more."

"I see. Then they must call you Fugaku-jii-san as well?"

The line between Fugaku's eyebrows deepened. From him, it might as well have been a twitch. "No. I've only met them once before. They take no such liberties with me."

"So they spend their time with their oba-san," Hiruzen said.

"They spend their time with Sasuke and Itachi," Fugaku corrected. "Mikoto feeds them after they've trained, and answers questions when they ask her. She is their friends' mother, nothing more."

Shadows danced on the western side of the room, followed by a familiar yell. Ah. That would explain why those doors stayed closed. The room was most likely sealed against eavesdropping, then, if they were willing to let the children play so close by.

Hiruzen kept his pleasant, grandfatherly smile in place. If the doors led to their backyard and not to a garden, then this had to be their informal receiving room. How bold of them to house Hiruzen here. Not that he could complain—he'd started it, after all. He had treated this like an informal visit, so they responded as such. No one would be able to fault them for it.

Now, had that been Fugaku or Mikoto's idea?

"For someone who's only met them once, you seem to know what they get up to very well."

Fugaku no longer bothered to hide his scowl. "I know what goes on in my own household."

"Then you knew your wife was deliberately disobeying my orders?" Hiruzen asked.

Blood flooded Fugaku's face. His clenched fists wrinkled his dark blue pants where they covered his knees. His chakra snapped and crackled; a bonfire of restrained fury.

The silence stretched between them. Sasuke's voice rose outside, only to be soothed by Shisui's encouraging tone.

"My wife is not a traitor," Fugaku said. "The twins approached Sasuke and Itachi of their own initiative. In fact, from what Sasuke has told me, training here was Minako's idea."

"Children have foolhardy ideas all the time. It is the adult's job to discourage them."

"From what?" Fugaku demanded. "They are aspiring shinobi, seeking a way to train their skills through the connections they have. How is that foolhardy?"

"It is foolhardy, because your continued patronage has implications they do not see!" Hiruzen thundered. "Your clan is on a precarious position as it is, and yet you allow incidents such as this to further endanger you!"

"My clan is one of the four noble founding clans of this village, and the first who joined with the Senju." Fugaku's voice rose. "We have served Konoha faithfully since her birth. We turned our clan head away, for her sake. So why are we being interrogated like criminals for befriending children who should have been in our care in the first place?"

"Because you disobeyed a direct order!" Hiruzen let his own chakra leak, a focused wave more effective than a fist against the table. Fugaku stiffened in his seat.

Bitter satisfaction curdled in the back of Hiruzen's mouth. It seemed Fugaku needed a reminder—while he preferred to be a benevolent leader, Hiruzen did not get to where he was now by being soft.

"You are pushing the limits of my patience, Fugaku-san. Both here and in the Council. Your clan may have helped found Konoha, but it is equal to all the others under her laws."

"Are we truly?" Fugaku challenged. The only sign of his discomfort was the drop of sweat sliding down his neck. "What other clan has its members restricted to their compound? We are feared by the civilians and rejected by our comrades, and Konoha does nothing."

Almost as if on cue, the door slid open. "Excuse me." Mikoto kept her gaze low as she entered, a small tray balanced in her hands. She placed the tea set on the table and began to pour.

Hiruzen sat back, his lips sinking into a frown. The problem was, Fugaku was right. Only the Uchiha were forced into their own little corner of Konoha, which then subtly affected how everyone else interacted with them.

"Thank you," Fugaku said, dismissing his wife. She bowed, leaving the teapot on the table between them.

"I hope it's to your satisfaction," she murmured, before shuffling back. But instead of leaving the room, as she should have, she settled into a seiza in the corner. From where Hiruzen sat, he could see her just behind Fugaku, head bowed and expression serene.

He had to consciously suppress a bitter smile.

Fugaku took a sip of his tea, allowing Hiruzen to do so as well. He took a moment to appreciate the gentle taste of the sencha on his tongue, before speaking.

"The restriction is to keep your people safe. You know this." He put down his cup, piercing Fugaku with his hard gaze. "Every one of us lost something to the Kyuubi's attack. And we all had to sacrifice more, for Konoha's sake."

Mikoto shifted, her lips thinning. Fugaku's scowl deepened. Hiruzen allowed himself a small sigh, at the memory of nine monstrous tails piercing the flaming sky.

It all came down to the Kyuubi attack. In one night, Hiruzen had lost his wife, his successor, many good shinobi, and the release of retirement. The first months alone left him buried in the village's recovery, while pulling on every political and military clout he had to keep potential invaders away. Of all the clans, the Uchiha had proved themselves invaluable then, pulling double duty to police the streets and help organize the rehousing projects.

It was the rumors that ruined everything. Somehow, somewhere, a fool had remembered a story even Hiruzen had forgotten, and begun spreading it throughout Konoha.

The Sharingan can control a biju.

Fear and suspicion against the Uchiha began. If a member hadn't caused the attack, the clan had failed to eliminate a rogue. Or worse, the clan had known, and refused to help during the attack for clout.

This was the reason Hiruzen had the clan centralized in their compound. It appeased the civilians that the powerful Uchiha were kept under some modicum of a watch, while leaving no individual clan member vulnerable to misplaced revenge.

"The Uchiha are loyal to Konoha," Fugaku said, breaking the silence. His voice was an ominous rumble. "But even we have our limits. My clansmen are growing dissatisfied, and their flame can only be restrained for long."

Hiruzen's gaze sharpened. "Is that a threat?"

Fugaku's obsidian glare was his only reply.

Hiruzen lowered his cup, letting no sign of his fury show. It had been a long, long time since someone openly defied him. And the fact that it was the Uchiha, hackles raised and backed into the corner, did not bode well for the village at large.

He had been a child when Uchiha Madara betrayed the village. Afterwards, Senju Hashirama had kept Konoha together through tape, spit, and sheer determination. Hiruzen did not have the strength to do that now. Part of him was afraid of what he'd have to do if the Uchiha clan forced his hand.

Did Fugaku know what he was saying? What a civil war would do to Konoha? Hiruzen searched his face, but the man didn't falter. Neither did his wife, who never looked up from the floor.

Hiruzen took a deep breath, then released it. He gathered his wrath, forging it into an iron core. "You are playing a dangerous—"

A piercing scream rent the air.

Anger flashed across Fugaku's face, before his expression was Uchiha-blank once more. Hiruzen leapt to his feet. The appalled Mikoto was only a step behind, as Fugaku threw open the shoji doors.

"Don't sneak up on me like that, dattebana!"

Minako sat on the wooden floor of the house, a sizeable book held over her head. She twisted around, feet dangling from the edge, in order to hit the teenager behind her.

Shisui raised his hands in an exaggerated wince, keeping Minako's sizeable book from doing more than bounce off his forearms. He was all but doubled over, just so the redhead half his size could take out her shock on him. "Sorry, sorry!" he cried, not sounding sorry at all.

Itachi rose from his seat across the two. "Otou-san," he began.

Naruto, who had been creeping behind Itachi in the most unsubtle way possible, saw his chance. He leapt for Itachi's back.

"Gotcha!" Naruto howled.

"No!" Sasuke, already dashing towards him, put on speed.

Itachi shifted, ready to dodge, only for Shisui to stick his foot out and trip Sasuke right into his brother. Itachi had to bend over to catch him, twitching as Shisui slipped a genjutsu on him as another distraction. In the moment it took to break the illusion of numb feet, Hurricane Naruto hit. Down all three children went.

Itachi sat on the dusty ground, face blank but eyes wide with bemusement. His arms were bent, carefully supporting himself and the yelling children clambering over him.

"Don't hit nii-san, you bastard!" Sasuke cried, crawling over his own brother to chase Naruto down. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him, and blew.

Off to the side, Minako put her hands on her knees and laughed so hard she cried. Shisui wasn't doing much better.

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama," Fugaku said mildly. "I will have to reprimand Sasuke for his language later."

Suddenly, Hiruzen felt exhausted. Minako's bright-eyed grin, Naruto's unrestrained laughter, even Itachi's secret little smile. Their joy was weightless, in a way Hiruzen hadn't had the luxury of feeling in a long, long time.

These were the children Konoha had been built for. The children that would lose the safety the village provided, if things with the Uchiha escalated beyond Hiruzen's control.

The shoji slid shut to Mikoto's hushed admonishment. The last thing they heard was the children's "Sorry!" before Mikoto ushered them away, presumably to the kitchen.

Hiruzen followed Fugaku back to the table, weariness in every step. Minako and Naruto had always been solemn, wide-eyed little children, in all the years he's visited them. He had never seen them so relaxed, so free-spirited. Laughing for the sake of it, not from bitterness or mischief. He mourned that it had to come from this, even as he took joy from seeing the children of the man he'd seen as a grandson finally happy.

It was Itachi's bemused smile that hammered it in. Itachi, so young in peacetime yet already with a career to rival the best of his elders. Itachi was a reminder that the clan was more than Fugaku's demands. Fugaku, who had the pride to match the height of the Hokage monument, but always put his clan first and foremost.

"Fugaku-san," Hiruzen said. "Let's drop the formalities and speak plainly."

Fugaku stiffened in surprise. He pressed his lips together, wary. But there was hesitation there, too—hesitant relief. "Very well," he agreed.

"I understand your concerns. I do," Hiruzen repeated, narrowing his eyes at Fugaku's restrained huff. "You are looking out for your clan, and I respect that. I haven't forgotten all that the Uchiha have done for the village. I ask you to bear these temporary measures because I trust in your dedication to Konoha."

He took a deep breath. "What I did forget was the burden such sacrifices can make. And for that, you have my apologies."

Fugaku sat back, gauging the sincerity of Hiruzen's words. Hiruzen let him, pouring more tea for himself.

"Thank you," Fugaku said at last. "But I do need to ask—where does that leave us?" He spread his hands, a bitter gesture. "Words alone cannot assuage my clan's problems."

"Tell me what your clan needs, and I will try to provide it." Hiruzen raised his hand, preempting any exclamations Fugaku might make. "I cannot promise you anything, nor can I grant everything you ask. So, choose one, and I will try."

Fugaku let the silence settle as he thought. Hiruzen took his time as well, sipping his cup as he tucked his bone-deep exhaustion back into the dark spaces he kept it in. He'd just given Fugaku the opportunity he needed. All that was left was to see what the man did with it.

"More high-profile missions," Fugaku decided. "To remind others of the value our clan members bring."

Hiruzen frowned. It was sensible, even. The visibility alone would help their reputation, if only to allow more to see and interact with the Uchiha. But the fact that missions were a serious source of revenue would tread on the toes of many people. "Alright. I'll see what I can do."

"You won't regret this," Fugaku said, rising as Hiruzen did.

Hiruzen stopped. "Don't be mistaken," he said, his smile wry. "Everything I do is for the village. I value the Uchiha too much to risk the clan on petty squabbles. But I, too, have my limits. Don't push them, Fugaku-san."

Fugaku's eyes narrowed. He nodded sharply. Satisfied, Hiruzen opened the door, turning towards the genkan.

"You aren't taking the children?" Fugaku asked.

Hiruzen chuckled, voice low. "No. Let them enjoy playtime a little longer." They'll have to grow up soon enough.

In the absence of Mikoto, it was Fugaku who showed him out. They didn't waste time; as soon as the pleasantries were done, and Hiruzen past their fence, the Uchiha head's door closed.

Hiruzen sighed, allowing himself the luxury of strolling back to his office. Naruto and Minako would be ecstatic, he knew. They might even be smug, believing their advice had fixed everything as they thought it would.

All that had resulted was a bandage for the festering wound between the Uchiha clan and the village. Perhaps the children would be right, and it would be enough. Hiruzen could only hope. Unfortunately, experience told him it would be a long time coming yet. In the meantime, he had work to do, and more ruffled feathers to soothe once he started adjusting things as he had promised.

If it went well, he might treat himself to an early night. The Uchihas' missions could be done tomorrow.

But things were never that easy.

Later that night, once the moon had crested above Konoha's rooftops, a lone ANBU agent appeared, kneeling at the foot of his desk. The red, beak-like paint of the Crow's mask gleamed in the moonlight.

Hiruzen's eyebrows shot up. "Karasu. Report."

Uchiha Itachi pulled off his mask. His face was pale in the faint moonlight. "Hokage-sama," he said, voice wavering. He kept his head bowed, unable to meet his leader's eyes. "There's something I need to tell you."

Notes:

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I promised clan politics, we are getting clan politics! What do you think? Did Minako and Naruto succeed or not? HMMMM. *eye emojis everywhere*
More random A/Ns here, because this (relatively) shorter chapter is packed full of stuff I wanna talk about. Cheers!

Chapter 18: Arc I Chapter 18

Summary:

Shisui takes the twins on an adventure. Minako gets to know him better.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It was difficult to tell how much Naruto's and my argument swayed the Hokage's stance towards the Uchiha. He never told us to avoid going to Sasuke's again, and humored Naruto's enthusiastic stories about our latest training mishaps. But his visits also became more frequent. Considering we had only seen him for a total of six times before we entered the Academy, three outings in two months were a sharp change in direction.

Obviously, I couldn't ask him directly about things that should be over a normal six-year-old's head. But even the people I could ask refused to speak about it.

In this, Itachi and Shisui treated me like the child I looked to be. Shisui stayed tight-lipped, somehow dodging my questions in a way that left me oblivious to it until long afterwards. The one time I tried to insist, Itachi had placed his hand on my head and said, "Nothing you should be concerned about."

I was forced to drop the issue.

Resigning myself to ignorance was torture. It was stressful, sitting in the dark when it came to the lives of actual people. People I've met, talked to, touched.

Mikoto, who was always ready with a snack and a gentle reprimand on how to behave; Shisui, who teased and prodded and laughed us into improving every day. And, of course, Itachi. Itachi, who I still couldn't help but see as a kid, who had stress lines on his face and a gaze far older than his years.

A situation that I could relate to with a desperation that ached.

And that was why I couldn't ask. Because as much as I cared about Itachi, I knew enough to see how much he closed himself off from even the closest people in his life, barring perhaps Shisui. I was in no position to ask him to confide in me.

So I stayed quiet. We kept training at Sasuke's, and no more was said about the matter. Shisui stayed his cheerful, dramatic self, while Itachi disappeared into his work. Whatever issues the adults had stayed within the walls of the clan council room, wherever that was. Shikamaru and Sasuke never quite got over their fight, but neither did they do anything more than ignore each other at our little hangout spot.

Slowly, for lack of any further cause of alarm or stress, I began to relax. I even began to hope. No news had to be good news.

Right?

The days were edging into late summer when I finally got around to asking about Naruto and my little…trick.

"Hey, Shisui," I said, pausing in our kunai-throwing practice. Shisui hummed, never looking away from the senbon balanced on his nose. "Have you ever heard of glowing hands?"

That got his attention, even if all he did was break eye contact with his senbon. "What kind of glowing hands? Floating hands? Hands on fire? Lightning hands? Lots of jutsu can cause or create glowing hands."

He was definitely using chakra on that senbon. No way he could keep it balanced with his jaw moving that much.

I wiped the sweat off my forehead, grimacing at the little strands of hair sticking to my face. Summer might be on its way out, but by the gods it was not going out without a fight. The humidity brought back days in a thick skirt and cotton blouse, darting from covered court to classroom, as if the concrete walls could save me from the heat of the sun.

Three consecutive thuds pulled me from the faded memory. Sasuke crowed; he must have hit bullseye. Thrice.

I shook my head. "Like… hands that glow when you hold hands," I said, spreading my fingers. "But not when you let go."

Shisui sat up, frowning. The senbon fell down; he caught it in his teeth, then put it back in his pocket.

"Where'd you see something like that?" he asked.

"We did it!" Naruto dropped his kunai and ran over. "Here, see?" He grabbed my hand and held it out, bouncing in anticipation.

I had to take a second to concentrate. Naruto still didn't understand how it worked, even after we tried practicing. But now that I knew what to look for, I was able to tease that flowing warmth in my veins towards my palm. Naruto's own sunshine warmth seemed to naturally respond, blending into mine with ease.

A soft blue glow shimmered around our fingers.

Shisui frowned, an uncharacteristically serious look on his face. Something flickered, like a feather swiping at my nose.

That was the first time I saw the Sharingan.

The solid black of Shisui's eyes split into the iconic triple tomoe, spinning queasily in a pool of red. The sight was so startling, so outside of what should be natural that I lost my grip on the chakra Naruto and I were weaving. The light on our fingers winked out.

Shisui blinked. "Oh, sorry." His eyes creased as he smiled. "Did I startle you?"

He didn't look away. And he didn't turn off his Sharingan.

"What's that?" Naruto leaned forward, jaw dropped. Shisui let him stare, indulging his curiosity with amusement. "What's up with your eyes, -ttebayo?"

"That's the Sharingan, idiot," Sasuke said, abandoning his own training to join us.

"What's it do?" Distracted, Naruto turned towards him, dropping my hand.

"Haven't you been listening in class?!"

Shisui raised an eyebrow at me. Taking the implied permission, I left Sasuke to explain their kekkai genkai to my brother. The extra pupils in Shisui's eyes only got weirder as I stepped closer, especially with their slow spiral around the main one. I was close enough to see the ridges in his scarlet iris, and the minute contractions in the muscle as the tomoe moved. It was kind of like passing by a car accident—goosebumps rose on my arms, but I couldn't look away.

A bop on my nose startled me out of my morbid fascination. I snorted, blinking. Shisui grinned at me.

"You know," he said, resting his arms on his knees, "Not a lot of people are as willing to look an Uchiha in the eye."

I squinted at him. I could sort of see the reason, considering how the Sharingan's bizarre spinning made the earth want to roil under my feet. But surely someone who can gut a person with a small knife could stand a pair of weird eyes, right?

"Why?"

"Well, we can cast genjutsu with them," he pointed out. "Strong ones, too."

I settled next to Shisui. I'd been standing for two hours, okay? Muscles I didn't know existed ached in my arms and legs. "Okay, but everyone? Even ninja? I mean, you guys aren't the only ones with weird eyes—wait, sorry—"

He snickered at my dismay. "Genjutsu users already tend to get a bad rep," he explained. "The art is founded on deception and subtlety, taking in people's weak points at a glance and manipulating them. A whole clan that can cast them through eye contact alone…" He twiddled his fingers at me.

I swatted his hand away, nose wrinkling. "But can't you say the same thing about, uh, the Yamanaka?"

"Sure, the Yamanaka have their own problems. But remember, their specialty is psychology." He gestured at the clan houses around us. "A flower-shop owner is less intimidating than a police officer."

I bit my lip, frowning at the wooden paneling underneath me. Frustration bubbled, a familiar bitter taste in the back of my mouth.

"That's so stupid." I kicked at the dirt. "It's just a legend. At least it's obvious if you're gonna get genjutsu'd by the Sharingan. You just have to look away if they're turned on."

That made him smile. He ruffled my hair again, loosening my ponytail in the process. I squawked, slapping my hands over my head.

"Fear rarely makes sense. The point is not to let it get to you." He tapped me on the chest. "Yours, or others'."

His gaze was warm and fond, bloodred eyes stark against his pale skin.

"Remember that, okay?"

I stared at him.

What did he mean by that? Was he still talking about the Uchiha and the village? Had we been talking about the Uchiha and the village in the first place? Was this ninja life advice or jinchuriki sibling advice?

Or maybe it was all of them. Fucking ninja.

Still, my heart fluttered. You didn't give advice to people you didn't give a shit about. Apparently, that was now enough to make me all gooey on the inside. I was turning into a filthy, unforgivable sap and I knew it.

"Hey, hey, Shisui! Sasuke says you can copy any jutsu! That's way too cool, dattebayo!"

"Well, not just any jutsu—"

The shoji door slid open, breaking off our impromptu Sharingan lesson. Mikoto slipped outside, a small frown on her face. "Shisui?"

"Ah, Mikoto-sama, perfect timing." He turned to face her. Her lips thinned as she took him in, red-eyed and surrounded by inquisitive children.

"I felt you activate your Sharingan," she said. Unspoken was the question: why?

"The twins had a question about chakra. I was about to ask for your opinion, actually." He crooked his fingers at Naruto and me. "What do you think of this?"

Taking his cue, I took Naruto's hand and activated our little light show. Mikoto's eyebrows shot up.

"It stops when we let go," I explained, waving our joined hands. The chakra left a ghostly afterimage in the air, like staring at a light source for too long, then looking away. "We couldn't figure out why, so we asked Shisui."

Mikoto's eyes were already red and whirling, as she knelt to our level for a closer look. "Hm. They seem to be blending their chakra together, somehow."

"You have it too!" Naruto jerked us forward, trying to peer into her eyes. I yelped, struggling to keep a hold on the delicate balance needed to make the light without burning either of us. The light sputtered, then settled.

Mikoto gently pushed him back. "It's rude to stare at people's kekkai genkai, Naruto-kun," she said, her Sharingan flickering off.

"Shisui let me," Naruto pointed out.

I prodded him with my free hand. "Shisui-senpai."

"Shisui-senpai," he repeated carelessly. I sighed.

Shisui's eyes danced. If it weren't for Mikoto's presence, he would be cackling at me already. Because at this point, I had all but given up remembering to use honorifics for the people I had begun thinking of as friends. And, of course, it had quickly bled into Naruto.

Every Uchiha I knew had turned it into an inside joke. Yeah, even Kiku. For a stick-in-the-ass clan with a reputation to uphold, they sure liked having little in-jokes they could share secretive smiles about behind other people's backs. Assholes, the lot of them.

"That's because I'm awesome," Shisui said, blinking his Sharingan away. "But Mikoto-sama's right. You should ask permission before taking a look, especially if it's a doujutsu." He poked at Naruto's cheek, bending the thin, black lines there. "How would you feel if someone stared at you because of your whiskers?"

I tugged on Naruto's hand. "Like when people stare at us when they think we're not looking."

His scowl deepened, then fell. "Okay. Sorry," he added, without needing me to prompt him. My chest swelled with pride, which was ridiculous. I wanted to kick myself.

Mikoto smiled. "You're forgiven. Now, as for your trick…" She turned to Shisui, tapping her finger on her knee as she thought. "I'll call on Keita and Kouta. It might have something to do with their being twins. Still, it would be best to take them to the hospital for a check-up."

"What's a hos-pital?" Naruto asked.

Mikoto paused. "You've never been to a hospital?" she said at last, her voice cool.

Granted, it had taken me a moment to place the word too. "We've never had to," I explained with a shrug.

After all, who needed a hospital if cuts, scratches, and bruises disappeared pretty much overnight? The biggest injury we had gotten so far was the time Naruto sprained his ankle. He'd only needed ice packs for a couple of days before he was bouncing all over the walls again. The worst part had been keeping him in one place.

"Not even for vaccines?"

When I blinked at Mikoto, confused, Shisui took over. "Have you ever had an injection before? You know, where someone pokes you with a needle full of medicine?"

He had to mime taking a syringe to the shoulder before I understood. "I don't know," I said truthfully. "I think they did in the orphanage? I don't remember." The more time passed, the more my earliest days faded from memory. Good riddance, honestly. Who wanted to remember being a baby?

"Definitely the hospital," Mikoto decided.

Sasuke, who had been standing by this whole time, kicked at a pebble by his foot. "It's just chakra," he said sullenly.

"You're just jealous you can't do it," Naruto shot back.

For once, Sasuke didn't puff up at the challenge. He shoved his hand in Naruto's face. The same, bright blue glow wafted off his fingers like tiny flames.

"That's kid stuff," he scoffed, basking in Naruto's sputtered dismay. My brother yanked his hand from mine, extinguishing our light with a puff of smoke.

"Why can't I do that?" he demanded. He waved his hand, as if the flailing would draw the light out of his pores.

His hand stayed stubbornly normal. He gave it an affronted look.

Mikoto hid her smile behind long, dainty fingers. "Sasuke has been training since he was four. With a bit of practice, I'm sure you can do it too, Naruto-kun."

"I'll teach you," Shisui promised. "After your check-up."

Their reassurance wiped the frustration from my brother's face as easily as a wet rag over a chalkboard.

"Hell yeah! I'll definitely get it down, dattebayo!" He shoved his glow-less hand at Sasuke's face. "Just you wait, I'm gonna learn so fast, I'll be doing it with two hands! Nyeh!"

With a blank face Itachi would have been proud of, Sasuke raised his other hand. And set it alight.

Naruto yelled.

Shisui and I bent our heads together, snickering. Mikoto rose to her feet, her own amusement shining through in the tilt to her lips.

"Shisui-kun, I hate to impose…" she began, gesturing between Naruto and me.

Shisui snapped to attention. A bright smile burst across his face, an excitement so sudden and new that I jumped back with a squeak. "Oh, I'd be delighted to! It's about time I visited, anyway."

"What's gotten into you?" I asked, edging away from his sunny grin. I had never seen him so giddy before.

"Maa, don't be mean, Minako-chan!" Before I could even think about dodging, his hand was on my head. My ponytail fell apart around his wriggly fingers.

"Shisui!" I yelled. He cackled, pulling away from my retaliatory swipe.

"You'll see what I mean. Oh man, I can't wait for you to meet Yua-san." He sagged with a dreamy sigh.

I gaped at the alien creature before me.

"Yua who?"

"I can't believe you have the balls to show up here again," a low voice drawled.

Naruto and I gawked at the small, mouse-haired woman, fearlessly bearing down on Shisui. Uchiha Shisui, Shunshin no freaking Shisui, a whole head taller than her and shrinking in the face of her scowl. He raised his hands in surrender, pressing back against the hallway wall.

"Yua-san," he stammered, his smile shaky. "You're looking lovely today!"

She raised an eyebrow. She lowered her gaze, somehow encompassing her wrinkled gray uniform and haphazard bun in one look, then stared at him.

A blush—a blush!—bloomed on Shisui's cheeks. "You do!" he insisted, with admirable obstinacy.

Her eyeroll could have encompassed the Hokage monument. "You're not broken, bleeding, or dying," she snapped. "So stop wasting space people actually need, and get out of here!"

A passing medic didn't even look up from his clipboard as he stepped around the two. At the end of the corridor, two more iryou-nin wearing the same uniform giggled, peeking from around the corner. No one else was around to witness the scene.

If there was space they couldn't afford to waste, it certainly wasn't here.

"I'm not here for me," Shisui said hurriedly. "I'm just accompanying these kids for a check-up. Right, Naruto-kun? Minako-chan?"

The iryou-nin followed his pleading look, facing us at last. She had round brown eyes, accentuated by her short eyebrows. Her lips were full and pursed, with a twist to the corner that gave her a constant secretive smile. The only thing stopping her from blending into a crowd was the wicked burn along the side of her face, just barely missing her right eye.

Naruto tensed as her gaze landed on us. I didn't know what we were expecting, but it wasn't for her to shoot Shisui a baffled look.

"Since when did Uchiha come in red, yellow, and missing the constipated look?"

Shisui choked on a laugh. "No, they're not—we're not—"

"No, you're right. My bad." She waved her hand, stepping back. "They're too pretty to be related to you."

She winked at Naruto and me. All three of us gaped at her.

"My name's Tanaka Yua," she said, bending down to put herself at eye level with me. It wasn't very far. She was built bony too, so it was difficult to tell how old she was. "What's yours?"

Naruto recovered first. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I'm gonna be a ninja someday, dattebayo!"

"Of course you are." Before anyone could comment on the surprisingly bitter statement, she turned to me. "And is this your sister?"

Still stunned, it took me a second to reply. "I'm Minako," I said, my brain looping pretty, pretty, pretty in the background.

I couldn't tear my mind away from it. Me? Pretty? I had half a mind to call her a liar. Six years in this life, and the only one who had judged this heart-shaped, black-lined face as pretty was me.

It was one thing to look in a mirror and call that face pretty. It was another to associate me with pretty, and I hadn't realized the difference until now.

Warmth suffused my cheeks. I pressed my hand to my lips, trying to hide a bashful, preening smile.

"Nice to meet you, Naruto-kun, Minako-chan." Yua tilted her head, studying us with a professional eye. "Now, you two look perfectly healthy to me. How'd you end up all the way here?"

Shisui seemed to find his voice. "Are you ignoring me?" he squeaked.

"Yes."

Naruto burst into surprised laughter. I was more surprised by Shisui looking torn at her answer, so I only managed a few guilty giggles.

"If this is about the roses, I—"

"Rose petals!" She whirled on him, pointer finger raised and ready to stab. His hands shot up all over again. "Rose petals, all over the lobby! In a hospital! Do you know how long it took to clean that up? Do you know how long I had to make up for the mess you made?"

"Is that why the receptionist wouldn't stop giggling?" I blurted.

The lady at the desk had taken one look at Shisui before collapsing in a fit of laughter. She then waved us in, without bothering to ask why. I don't think she even saw Naruto and I follow him inside.

Yua pressed her hand to her face and sighed deeply. To my utter delight, Shisui ducked his head, his blush as strong as ever. He scratched a spot under his jaw, unable to look her in the eye.

"Okay, I'll admit I didn't quite think that through—"

"Oh, really?" Yua asked, her smile saccharine sweet.

"You wouldn't believe me," he said, shoulders hunching defensively. "So I thought if I did something grand and romantic, you'd change your mind."

Yua stiffened. With her back turned to us, only Naruto and I could see the red crawling up her nape.

Another burst of giggles. Yua and Shisui's heads snapped up, towards the medics at the end of the corridor. Discovered, the two kunoichi stopped trying to hide. One of them leaned against the wall, wheezing for air.

"Put the poor guy out of his misery already, Tanaka!" the other called, flapping a hand in their direction. "This is a hospital, we don't need any broken hearts around here!"

Shisui opened his mouth. Yua beat him to it, kicking her clinic door open. "Get in."

"But you just—"

"In!" She yanked him by the arm, while Naruto and I scurried after. At this point, even Naruto and I were laughing—Naruto at Shisui, me at the cuteness unfolding before me.

The clinic was small. A short hallway opened up to a wooden desk that continued along the wall to the left. Above and behind it were cabinets with glass doors, labeled jars filling the shelves. To the right was an examination cot, with more cabinets built underneath it. A window opened up to a view of the courtyard outside and the colorful garden surrounding it.

Yua pointed at the chair before the desk. "Sit!"

Shisui sat.

Naruto laughed harder. Shisui gave him a wounded look, even as humor tugged at his lips. If there was one person I could count on to see the funny side of things, it was Shisui.

"You two can go up here." Yua pulled on a particularly large door under the cot, revealing a small set of steps for us to climb. We scrambled up, settling on top with our legs hanging off the sides. Naruto's swinging feet thump-thumped against the cabinets. I had to nudge him to stop.

"'Sit,'" he mumbled, still giggling to himself. "And he sat! Nee-chan, you're so cool," he said, beaming at Yua. "You bossed him around, just like that! I wanna do it too!"

"I'm being betrayed," Shisui told the ceiling mournfully.

Her lips twitched. She did not look at Shisui. "Maybe if you're good, I'll teach you. So," she said, propping her hands on her hips. Back to business. "What seems to be the problem?"

I held out my hand; Naruto smacked it, linking our fingers together. The now-familiar blue glow slipped over our skin.

She raised a skeptical eyebrow, so I said, "We can't do it if we let go."

"Huh." She pressed her lips together, looking thoughtful now. "Why'd you bring them to me?" she asked, absentminded enough that she actually turned to face Shisui. "You know this isn't my area."

"They also need a general checkup." Shisui leaned back, relaxing into his seat. He crossed his outstretched legs at the ankles. "Maybe a check on their vaccines."

She scowled. Elbow in one hand, she rubbed her cheek with the other, right at the spot where her burn tugged at her lip. "You know I don't have access to records."

"But you can do the examinations, right?"

She shook her head. Her foot tapped a jittery rhythm on the floor. "Even still. I'm just an apprentice. You should have gone to someone else—"

"Hey." Shisui abandoned his sprawl. He leaned forward to gaze up at her. "You're doing it again."

Yua stared at him. Something seemed to travel between their locked eyes, a meaning behind the words that I couldn't read.

"I just wanted the kids to meet a friendly face, that's all." His voice was gentle. "No need to worry."

She closed her eyes, then dug her fingers into her forehead. "I hate you so much," she muttered. "Alright, fine. It's your funeral."

She turned back to us. Only I saw the soft look Shisui gave her behind her back.

"Thanks, Yua-san," he said.

The examination was both familiar and strange. I went through the motions, letting her check over me with a hand that glowed green, breathing when asked and raising this arm or that. Many of the doctors' instruments I knew never showed up, useless in the face of a diagnostic jutsu. She did have a kind of hammer for our knees—which of course, amused Naruto to bits—and a thin flashlight for our eyes and ears.

She stayed kind but professional the whole time, never flinching at the markings on Naruto's face or around my eyes. Her touch was firm, but gentle. She even took a few more potshots at Shisui, because it never failed to make Naruto laugh. Instead of his usual drama, though, Shisui curled in on himself, embarrassment in every wince and sheepish grin.

By the end of the exam, I was practically vibrating with questions.

"So far, so good," Yua said at last. "You two are in pitch perfect health. Maybe a mild case of malnutrition, but that's easy enough to fix if you eat. Your. Vegetables." She poked Naruto in the stomach, drawing out a giggle.

"But they're so icky!" he said, pushing her hand away. "They don't taste like anything, dattebayo—ow!"

I pulled my elbow from his side. "We will, Yua-sensei!" I chirped.

She shot me an amused look. "Not a sensei yet. But I'll hold you to that. Now, stay here while I go get someone for your chakra puzzle. You better not touch anything," she added, whirling on Shisui for the first time since she started. "I remember the last time!"

"I was high on Death's Row!" he protested. "I had no idea I was even in a room!"

"Death's Row?" I repeated, curious.

"Poison," Yua said, waving her hand dismissively. There was a story behind that, and I was going to get it, so help me. "Stay," she repeated, before darting out the room.

Naruto went straight for the jugular. "Is she your girlfriend, Shisui?"

I cackled as said jounin turned a shade of red worthy of the Sharingan. He glared at me. His horrid blush and the way he glanced towards the half-open door killed any intimidation it was worth.

"Not you too," he groaned. "I get enough shi—ah, ribbing from Akiko."

"I can't help it! You're acting so cute, dattebana!" Whoever Akiko was.

Shisui's incredulous look all but screamed look who's talking. "No she isn't," he said to Naruto, valiantly ignoring my uncontrollable fit of giggles. "I'd like her to be, though."

His wistful smile pulled an audible "squee!" from my lips.

He squeezed his eyes shut, as if to wish me away. Ha! Sucks to be him, because the one thing that never failed to entertain me was teasing friends to hell and back. That, at least, was something I could still do, whether I was an adult or a child. I was going to make him regret ever bringing me here, and I was going to relish it.

Now it was Naruto's turn to nudge me with an elbow. "Stop being weird," he said, squinting. Even if we were twins, he could still be mystified by my behavior.

"But it's so cute! And funny!"

In the end, he opted to follow Shisui's example and ignored me. He gave the jounin a sagely nod.

"She's really nice, dattebayo. She didn't glare at me and Minako, and she made me laugh. I like her," he decided.

"She is, isn't she?" Shisui glowed with his sunny smile. "I'm glad."

He really cares about her, I realized.

My heart melted into a sugary puddle.

"How'd you meet her?" I pulled my feet up so I could sit cross-legged on the cot, ready for story time. Both because I wanted to know, and because I wanted to see more of this head-over-heels version of Shisui. And who wouldn't want to give their friend a chance to gush about their crush?

"Ah, well…" He rubbed that corner of his jaw again, back to bashful. "It was my first solo mission as a jounin. Let's just say I, uh, messed up and had to hide from the people chasing me down. She helped me out, and we've been friends ever since!"

I narrowed my eyes at him. That had absolutely zero relevant details. C'mon Shisui, gimme something to work with here!

The door interrupted any further story time. Dammit.

"This way, Eiichi-sensei." Yua swept back inside, regal as a queen and just as distant. Her sly approachability was gone, replaced by a flat look. The only sign of the girl I had met earlier was the little tick in her jaw when she glanced at Shisui.

Behind her entered what could only be a Hyuuga, his signature milky-white eyes stark against the deep bruising underneath. Despite his haggard appearance, the gaze that landed on Naruto and me stayed sharp.

I bit down a gasp. That was what was so strange about meeting Yua. Every adult I'd ever met flinched upon meeting us. From Hiro-sensei's pause to Mikoto's white face, every one of them had given Naruto and me an assessing glance, a moment of recognition before fear, distaste, or cold disinterest took over.

Not Yua. She hadn't taken our measure and decided how to act from there. She had glanced at two kids before turning back to Shisui without a blink.

The girl in question settled within the L formed by her desk. She set the tray in her hands on the counter, then leaned her hip against the edge. She shot Naruto a thin smile, but said nothing else.

The Hyuuga dipped his head towards Shisui, a faint line between his brows. "Uchiha-kun."

Shisui's expression had returned to the cheeky grin I was more familiar with. He wore it like Mikoto wore her porcelain smile, and Itachi his cold, blank face. "Hyuuga-sensei," he greeted in return.

"I wasn't aware the Uchiha had adopted recently. Uzumaki Minako and Naruto, isn't it?" he said, addressing us. Well, at least he wasn't talking over our heads.

"That's me, dattebayo!" Naruto puffed up his chest.

"Oh, it's not clan business." Shisui waved off the mild accusation with a near-insulting ease. There was something admirable at seeing a sixteen-year-old face down someone who had to be close to twice his age. "They're Academy students. They had a question about their chakra, so I'm helping them get an answer with my connections as a jounin."

If anything, the Hyuuga's frown only deepened. Shisui shook his head, lips pressed together, before nodding towards me.

For the fourth time that day, I launched into an explanation of our new trick, light show included. Because this was a doctor, I gave a more detailed explanation of how we discovered it, what it felt like, and how we tried to practice with it. Unlike everyone else, however, the Hyuuga didn't seem to find our chakra hands strange at all.

"A moment." He raised two fingers to chest height. I jumped as the veins around his temples throbbed to life. The spasm in his eyes was enough to distinguish the faintest shape of a pupil, before I remembered Mikoto's words and quickly looked at my brother.

Who was staring, of course.

I squeezed his hand. He broke eye contact with a hiss, then pouted at me.

"Do you still live in the orphanage?" the Hyuuga asked, ignoring our silent conversation. We shook our heads, Naruto making a face. "Alright. Do you share a room? Do you sleep in the same bed?"

"Yeah," I said, surprised.

"Is that important?" Shisui asked.

"Yes." Hyuuga-sensei straightened. He turned to face Shisui in what could only be a courtesy, considering the guy had 360-degree vision. "Their situation is rare, but not unheard of. Twins have a naturally lower resistance to each other's chakra from exposure in the womb. Their bodies acclimate to it as they grow."

He gestured towards our joined hands. "The reason it's so rare is that few physically stay attached long enough for their chakra coils to mature and the resistance to lower this far. What you see is, essentially, the twins serving as two sources for a single jutsu."

For the first time in a long while, I had to pause and pick apart everything he said. Those were a lot of new words, some of which I hadn't heard outside of reading them in books. I think I got the gist…

"What's all that mean?" Naruto looked to me, brow wrinkled in confusion. I opened my mouth, closed it, then shot a pointed look at Shisui.

To my surprise, it was the Hyuuga who answered. "It means your body is so used to your twin's chakra that, to some extent, it sees her chakra as your own. The same goes with her body, and your chakra." Even as he kept the words simple, he didn't change his tone to baby talk, which was a relief.

Huh. Maybe shinobi were just used to treating children like adults.

"So… we can share chakra?" Naruto asked, his eyes wide. "Can we do jutsu together too?"

"Perhaps." The Hyuuga sounded doubtful. "It's more useful for chakra transfusions—sharing your chakra when the other is low."

"What happens if the twins have special circumstances?" Shisui asked, his tone light but curious. "Like a kekkai genkai, or…" He trailed off.

"Ah."

I looked up at the Hyuuga's pause. The man had cocked his head, as if looking somewhere distant. Shisui stayed in his seat, fingers tapping idly on the desk. Yua was studying her nails with an intensity they didn't deserve. Her body all but screamed not listening!

Her reaction was so odd, it almost distracted me from Hyuuga-sensei's answer.

"It depends on the case. As far as I have seen, special circumstances don't seem to have any adverse effects." His back was turned to me, so I couldn't see his expression at all. "It may even be beneficial, like building an immunity of sorts. Only time will tell."

"I see." Shisui's eyes flickered to me, then away, so fast that I could almost believe I had imagined it.

That's when it hit me.

I fought to keep my confused expression, wrinkling my nose to hide my shock. Special circumstances—did they mean Naruto's, er, guest? So if Naruto and I kept sharing chakra, I could build up an immunity to the Kyuubi's?

The question was, how much? I had to struggle to recall specific incidents in the anime that weren't the usual, big pillar events. The later it happened in canon, the less I knew about it. I did know that one day, Naruto wouldn't be able to control the bijuu's chakra. If I built up an immunity, would I be able to help him then?

The Hyuuga deactivated his Byakugan, drawing me out of my thoughts. "As for their vaccines," he said, "I've checked the records. They're a little behind, but nothing concerning. Tanaka-san can administer those in my stead."

On cue, Yua came to life. She grabbed the tray from the desk and pulled a small, steel table on wheels from underneath it. I eyed the cotton buds, tiny, labeled bottles, and large needles—oh yikes.

I could handle syringes. I was used enough to blood tests and injections in my previous life. But for fuck's sake, I'd never seen one that big.

Don't tell me they handcraft syringes here. Oh god, they do, don't they?

"You'll be acting as witness, then?" the Hyuuga asked Shisui. Shisui nodded, leaping to his feet with a huff.

"Witness?" I repeated. Now that was a word I'd never heard in a hospital setting before.

"It's a Konoha thing." Yua smiled wryly at me, speaking for the first time since she had entered with the other iryou-nin. "If a shinobi needs help from an iryou-nin, a teammate, family member, or friend has to be there, if possible. So if the iryou-nin does something wrong, someone knows who did it. And if the injured shinobi gets scared, they won't hit the iryou-nin, because their friend is there to tell them it's safe."

"Ohhh." My jaw dropped. A witness as a trusted third party, to keep both patient and iryou-nin safe from each other. And, honestly? It made a terrifying amount of sense.

From someone who had been trained to trust people in white rooms waving prescriptions around, the idea of being in danger in a hospital was almost alien to me. Only a paranoid shinobi would think of such a system. It also spoke volumes about the level of paranoia these people had. And it whispered ominously about the vast amount of reasons they had to reach that level of paranoia.

I eyed the tray with a whole new level of appreciation. A lower one.

Shisui chuckled, joining us by the cot. "Don't worry, Minako-chan. That's what I'm here for. And besides, I trust Yua-san with my life."

"I shall leave you to it, then." Hyuuga-sensei walked to the door. "Tanaka-san, if you need anything, I'll be in the next room."

The words sounded comforting. But Yua hunched over, her lips thinning. "Hai, sensei."

I glanced between her and the door. Shisui slipped closer, the whisper of his pants against the cot loud in the silence left behind. He didn't touch her, but I was starting to learn that the sound of movement alone was a language to shinobi in and of itself.

Wordlessly, she handed him the first bottle. It was barely the size of his thumb, with a rubber-covered hole in the steel cap. He held it up to the light, flashed red eyes at the label, and even sniffed the seal.

"Do you even know what you're doing with that?" I blurted.

Shisui shot me an offended look. Yua chuckled. At the very least, it eased the tension in her shoulders.

"So mean, Minako-chan," he whined, closer to his usual dramatic self. "I'm a jounin, you know! You should treat me with more respect!"

Usually, this was where I'd take the chance to rib him further. But it felt wrong to do it in front of someone he so obviously wanted to impress. Taking one for the team, I reined myself in.

"I was just curious." I pouted. He squinted at me, wary. I had to bite down a cheeky grin.

Note to self: keeping him on his toes is entertaining, too.

"A witness is pretty much just someone to make the patient and iryou-nin feel better," he explained, still eyeing me with suspicion. "It's rare for someone to catch, say, a poison they know in the bottle, since everyone's experience is so different. I just have to make sure I can answer questions if something does go wrong."

"Which is very comforting for the patient in question to hear," Yua drawled. She took the bottle back, readying the syringe. Naruto's sleeve was already rolled up, his arm at the ready.

It was only when she held the needle over his skin that he caught on. That was a fun experience.

To be fair, he did way better than I did the first time I was his age. He didn't hold my hand; he stared down the needle like it was a snake and he was going to kick its ass. His lip wobbled, and his grip on the cot covers made the cloth creak. But he didn't cry.

"What a brave kid," Yua said, ruffling his hair. "I've had adults in here more skittish than you."

Naruto beamed through swimming eyes. "Ha! I told you so!"

Yay, now it was my turn!

Bottle to Shisui, alcohol swab to my exposed arm. I drilled a hole into the wall over Yua's shoulder with my eyes as she readied the needle.

"So," Shisui said. "There's this café I discovered just last week…"

Yua flinched. I stared at him in horror. Could he do this another time when I didn't have a syringe an inch from my skin?

With a growl, she pointed the needle at him. "Uchiha." She pointed at herself. "Clanless nobody from The Middle of Bumfuck Nowhere, Water." She huffed, turning back to me. "It's not happening. Alright?"

She all but stabbed the needle into my arm. I was not ashamed of the squeak that followed.

Naruto snickered at me. Which—et tu?

Shisui was not as amused. "Who told you that?"

"No one. Don't be stupid, Uchiha." She wouldn't look him in the eye. "I have enough to worry about. Go bother someone else."

Shisui clamped a hand on her shoulder. Her head snapped up. There was no sunny smile, no silly jokes, no shy embarrassment. He pinned her in place with intense eyes, black as pitch and burning with a fire that outshone their depths.

"My clan has no say in what I do," he said fiercely. "Who I care for is my business, not theirs."

She stared at him.

Naruto opened his mouth. I slapped a hand over it and silently begged for forgiveness, because this was the one time opening it would be a terrible idea, and it was the only way to guarantee he wouldn't. He grunted, but mercifully took the hint.

Yua took a deep breath, then shook her head. She turned towards us, slamming the gates shut on their conversation. I yanked my hand off Naruto so fast I almost punched myself in the hip.

"You might get a low fever from the vaccines, or maybe the sniffles. That's normal. If it gets worse, find someone to take you to the hospital. Okay?"

I glanced between her and Shisui. I bit my lip. He looked like he wanted to say more, but didn't. A tick in his jaw was the only sign of whatever he was thinking.

He waved me on.

"Okay," I said, reluctantly. For lack of anything better to do, I slid off the cot, Naruto half a second behind me. "Um…" One more embarrassed peek at Shisui. "What about the payment?" I asked. I had brought all the cash I could spare from this month's allowance, but no one had mentioned any fees.

"You're Academy students, right? They'll foot the bill. Can't have future ninja getting sick, and all." Yua spared us a smile, sharp and brittle. She ushered us to the door. "Now go on, get. I have other patients I need to work with."

The hallway outside was empty, distant footsteps calling out her lie. Shisui dawdled by the entrance. "Yua-san—"

"Shisui." She cut him off. I couldn't see her expression without peering around Shisui's knees. "Just… go."

He frowned, but stepped back, letting her slam the door in his face.

"Shisui," I said.

"Mm?"

We were walking down the road from the hospital. I slumped over his shoulder, his strong arms hooked under my knees to keep me from sliding off his back. Naruto scrambled along beside us, his fist crumpling the hem of Shisui's shirt.

"How long has Yua-san been in Konoha?"

That got me a look, out of the corner of his eye. "Three years. Why?"

"Nothing. Just curious."

He raised an eyebrow, calling me out on my bullshit. I stuck my tongue out, just barely missing his cheek. He snorted.

"Did we do something wrong?" Naruto asked. Shisui walked at his pace, so it wasn't hard for him to keep up. "She seemed really down, at the end."

"Nah. She just worries about a lot of stuff. It's not easy, joining a Hidden Village." He adjusted his hold, making me bounce.

I patted the dark curls within easy reach. "I hope she changes her mind someday," I said.

Shisui had been so different around her. Sure, he was exuberant on a good day, but the little shyness and embarrassment he showed around her felt…sincere. An openness he didn't dare outside that little clinic. I wanted that for Shisui. And, from the looks of it, so did Yua, even if she tried to hide it.

"I hope so too," Shisui said, voice soft.

I leaned my cheek against his shoulder. His melancholy was making me itch to do something. Shisui had put a lot of thought into the hospital visit, for Naruto's and my sake. I wanted to cheer him up. Pay him back, somehow.

Three years. The last piece of the puzzle. Because if Yua had only been in Konoha for the past three years, it meant she had completely missed the Kyuubi attack. People were banned from talking about what happened to it, so she wouldn't have known who we were.

Shisui wanted to give us a good hospital experience with a friendly face, and went through all the effort of getting it. Never mind that it gave him an in to talk to Yua; that was just ninja efficiency at work. What was the saying? One senbon, a thousand nin?

Either way, it was something I wanted to thank him for. The question was, how?

"You two will be fine from here, right?" he asked, stopping at a familiar intersection. One road led directly to the Academy, while the other led to Hashirama street. In the corner was a small grocery store, wilting flowers arrayed around the front.

"Yep." It would only take a few left turns, a shortcut through a park, and a sidestreet to get home from here.

Home.

He shifted, readying to put me down.

"Do you wanna come over?" I blurted. He turned his head, enough for me to catch one, startled eye. "As a thank you! For bringing us to the hospital," I explained, warming up to the idea. "I'm sure we have some snacks left in the fridge…"

Naruto's face lit up. "Yeah, yeah! Come over! We've never had someone visit before," he said, tugging on Shisui's shirt. "Minako can make pancakes! Then it'll be a party, dattebayo!"

"Pan-keiki?"

I buried my flush into his shoulder. "I tried to make a cake for our last birthday," I mumbled. "But we only have a stove and a pan. It turned out okay, so… I called it a pancake."

Putting together flour and eggs was cheaper than trying to haggle for a cake slice. They turned out more like crepes, thin and chewy, but that was easily resolved by dumping chocolate bits on top. It made for quite a mess over our sticky, newly-six-year-old fingers, but eh. Worth it.

Shisui's chuckle rumbled against my torso.

Wait, ack, six years old! Why would a teenager like Shisui want to spend his afternoon with a bunch of six-year-olds? He'd already fulfilled his babysitting duty for the day. I was trying to thank him, not make his day longer!

"It's okay if you're too busy," I said, giving him an out. "We can try another time…"

"I really do have to see the Hokage—"

"Aww." Naruto sagged. I sagged.

"—but I can come over afterward, sure."

"YES!" Naruto threw his hands up with a yell.

"You mean it?" I craned my neck, trying to catch a glimpse of Shisui's face without eating hair. "You're not saying that just to be nice, are you?"

He twisted, getting his arms around me and swinging me to face him. "Of course I mean it," he said, amusement bringing back a hint of that beautiful, beautiful, sunny smile. "Have I ever lied to you, Minako-chan?"

Plenty of times, probably. Without me even noticing. Still, his reassurance did what it was supposed to. I laughed and threw my arms around him. "Yay!"

He seemed surprised, but happy, squeezing back just as hard.

I melted. The warmth I felt from his back enveloped me through his arms. My face was buried in his silly Uchiha neckline, surrounded by the scent of smoke, sweat, and steel. His strength was a comfort, holding me up without a hitch.

Oh man, I did not get enough hugs in this life. Naruto was, thank ever-loving fuck, as touchy-feely as I was. We all but transformed into a pair of octopi most nights. But if the hug with Mikoto and now Shisui was any indication, I couldn't rely on just Naruto for my cuddles. Variety was the spice of life and all that jazz.

More hugs. More physical affection from people I could trust. Watch me climb Kakashi like a tree if I had to. I was six, I could think like that and it wouldn't be weird!

"Oi, me too!" Naruto whined. And because Shisui was the best, he put me down and spun my brother around in a back-cracking embrace. I knew because I heard it. Naruto didn't even care. He had to be deafening Shisui with his delight.

"Alright, I'll see you two later." The hugs must have cheered Shisui up a bit too, because he shot us a wink—

"Be back in a flash!"

—and disappeared.

"C'mon, Minako! We have to buy food! And clean up the house!" Naruto dragged me forward, running down the streets for all our knobbly knees were worth. "That's what you do when you have a guest, right? You have to make everything pretty!"

Laughing, I dug my heels in. "Yeah, but you're going the wrong way! The bakery's this way, silly."

"Right!" He made a sharp turn, almost taking out a flowerpot in the process. An old lady squawked from the grocery door.

We fled. Ignoring the swearing was just habit at this point.

Notes:

A/N: I think we can all agree that life has gone to hell in a hand basket the past few months. So while I may not be able to promise an exact update date, I can promise this and the next chapter will be full of nothing but fluff. For your sake, and mine, and the kids in this story who just wanna have fun.

Take care, all. And whatever country you're protesting in, remember to keep your masks on and your personal space wide. Cheers.

As usual, more A/Ns here! Also please let me know if you see any typos. I wrote this chapter with god awful eye strain, I literally can't read them at the moment. Thank you!

Chapter 19: Arc I Chapter 19

Summary:

Happy birthday, Naruto, Minako.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Oi, are any of you going to the Flash Festival next week?"

I looked up from my book, blinking away images of Tomo-san bumbling his way through the Fire daimyo's court. Kiba flopped down on the grass, making a half-hearted swipe at Sasuke's bento.

"The what?" I asked. Naruto shoved him back, cheeks stuffed with Mikoto's onigiri. Akamaru barked from inside Kiba's hoodie, snapping playfully at my brother's fingers.

"The 'Flash Festival' is what everyone calls The Festival of the Yellow Flash," Shino said, from one of the lower branches of our tree. A large beetle scuttled on the back of his hand, round and muddy green. "Why? Because it is quicker to say in casual conversation."

From what I had been able to gather, he had rescued the beetle from a terrified girl's desk when it had gotten lost in their classroom. He lounged on the branch, as relaxed as any child of Konoha in its trees. He brushed a finger over the beetle's carapace, in the same way Kiba would scratch behind Akamaru's ears.

Not gonna lie, it was pretty adorable.

"Oh. That festival." My gaze met Naruto's. We shared a grimace.

"I don't wanna go with Hana," Kiba said impatiently. "She's gonna be with her genin team, and they'd rather sit around and eat than do the fun stuff."

Shikamaru groaned, his arm over his eyes. He had switched from lying on the ground to leaning against Chouji's side, a half-hearted attempt to ward off the autumn cold.

"Troublesome," he grumbled.

"Ino's friend can't go to the festival," Chouji explained, happy enough to serve as a friendly cuddle buddy. I was not jealous. "So tou-chan says she has to come with us. We're not allowed to around by ourselves."

"She's going to be nagging me all night." Shikamaru pouted. Not like he'd ever admit it.

I grinned at him. His scowl deepened.

"My father promised to accompany me," Shino offered, returning the beetle to its home. He slid down the tree, then settled back in his spot next to me. I handed him his bento back. He took it with a grateful nod. "Why? Because he has been busy as of late, and wishes to spend time together."

Kiba turned to Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke shrugged. "If nii-san doesn't have a mission, maybe. I can't go on my own either."

The longer the silence stretched, the thinner Naruto's lips got. Even Chouji seemed to notice the lack of an answer. I took pity on my brother and said, "We don't go out during the Flash Festival."

"Hahh?" Kiba gaped at me. "Why not? It's the best one! Like 'Natsumatsuri, but better, coz it isn't hot!"

"Adults don't like us," Naruto said bluntly. Kiba's jaw snapped shut.

"They don't?" Chouji asked, confused. Beside him, Shikamaru opened one eye, frowning. "All of them?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it. "Not all of them," I said, a little spark of warmth spreading in my chest. I was still full from Mikoto's delicious sesame-encrusted salmon onigiri. "But a lot of them do. Like, a lot, a lot."

"But why?" Sweet, kindhearted Chouji still couldn't quite process the idea. Not yet.

Naruto scowled. He yanked at the grass by his feet. "How should I know? Everyone just yells at us to go away."

"S'why we try to avoid crowds. Like at the festival." I poked him comfortingly with my foot. He poked back. We started a foot fight, him on the ground while I sat on the roots of the tree.

"So you've never been to a festival," Shikamaru said, more statement than question. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, wary.

Deductive Shikamaru was never a good Shikamaru. I was 99% sure he knew I was fibbing my grades. If there was anyone who would notice, it would be him. Kid had an eagle eye, kept hidden by constant yawns and languid napping.

(Also, it took one to get to know one. Lazy butt.)

What concerned me were his allegiances. I knew he was loyal; the argument with Sasuke about his father was proof of that. I knew he liked my brother to some degree, too. Naruto didn't care that Chouji was fat, because the kid was a surprisingly good wrestler. He added spice to Naruto and Sasuke's constant squabbling. This was enough to make Naruto good in Shikamaru's book.

What I didn't know was how far that went. If Shikamaru found out exactly how much of the world I understood, what would he do? Would he tell? Who would he tell?

"Nope," Naruto replied, shrugging. Shikamaru's frown deepened. Everyone seemed to be some level of disconcerted at that, even Sasuke, who squinted in Naruto's direction.

Were festivals that significant here, then? I knew everyone got hyped around them, but most of the meaning flew over my head. Who was gonna tell us what they meant? Miyagawa-san?

The thought made me snort.

"Maybe we'll go someday," I said, half-hearted in spite of myself. Desperate to break the awkward atmosphere, I cast my mind for a subject change. "Hey, have you guys heard about the pink girl from the other class?"

"You mean Haruno?" Shikamaru asked.

"Ino's friend," Chouji elaborated at my dumbfounded look. "With pink hair. She's your classmate, right, Shino?"

Shino tipped his head in confirmation.

Well. That explained where Sakura was. "No, not just pink hair. The one who got bombed?"

Kiba snapped to attention, eyes wide. Considering we were talking about explosions, Naruto was suspiciously focused on the grass.

"Apparently, the smoke cloud turned her pink all over—clothes, skin, everything." I gestured at myself from head to foot.

"Ah. I know of this." Shino pushed up his glasses, straightening in his seat. "Why? It was also my classmates who suffered the incident. Three girls were caught in the smoke bomb, while the surrounding tables were more mildly affected. The culprit is still at large."

"A smoke bomb?" Kiba quivered, a mix of excitement and envy. "How the hell did they manage that? Kaa-san won't even let me into the house armory."

Naruto started ripping his grass bits to pieces. What surprised me was Sasuke, who also refused to look anyone in the eye. I would've thought he'd stay out of pranks, after the last time.

"Just tell me where you got the smoke bomb," I sighed.

My brother slumped. "Shisui," he said, tossing the grass aside with a pout.

"Shisui?" I squeaked. It was the last thing I expected—even though, in hindsight, I should have. "Shisui's been lending you explosives?"

"Only little ones," he defended. "He taught me how to put the pink dye in, too!"

"Oh. Sure. That definitely makes it better." I pressed a hand to my face.

He perked up. "Right? Better than buckets, dattebayo!"

"That was you?" Kiba leapt to his feet, outraged. "That was a whole different classroom! How did you even get away with it?"

Naruto grinned, giving him a cheeky thumbs up. "10-6," was all he said. I rolled my eyes.

They had started counting pranks a few months ago, and things started escalating from there. Their impromptu competition had even inspired a few other wannabe troublemakers in the other classes. But none of them ever got the same reputation that Naruto had as our year's top prankster. How he built that reputation without getting caught, I would never know. Kiba got caught more than he did, which meant he was always behind by their rules.

"It was nothing harmful," Shino reassured me in a whisper. "Why? The blast radius was small. Only Ami-san and her seatmates were forced to leave and attempt to wash it off."

Shikamaru wrinkled his nose, as if smelling something dirty. "Is that why Ino was so smug yesterday?"

"Ino?" It only furthered my confusion. What's Ino got to do with this?

Sasuke sank further into his slouch. His glare was slowly morphing into a pout. My eyes narrowed.

"Oh hey, look, the bell!" Naruto jumped up, all but yelling it for the world to hear. "C'mon, asshole, time to go—"

"Oh no you don't," I said, snagging him by the ear. "Don't tell me you're taking commissions now, Naruto!"

"Tetete—I don't even know what that is!" he protested, clinging to my wrist.

"It's when people pay you to do stuff," Shikamaru explained. He stretched, yawning. "She's asking if Ino paid you to do a prank for her."

An unholy gleam entered Naruto's eyes. As one, Shikamaru and I looked at each other in horror.

"You explained it," I said.

"You brought it up!" he shot back.

Naruto exploded.

"I can get paid to do pranks?"

Sasuke had a dinner at a cousin's house, so Naruto and I went straight home later that afternoon. While we were at his house more often than not at this point, there were still many, many aspects of the clan we weren't privy to. Itachi wasn't meant to come home from his mission until tomorrow either.

This meant I wasn't surprised when Shisui came in through the kitchen window, saying, "What's this I hear about not going to the Flash Festival?"

"What's this I hear about giving my brother smoke bombs?" I countered, placing a wet plate on the drying rack.

Shisui's face lit up, an uncanny dark, curly-haired mirror of Naruto's earlier expression. "Did it work, then? How was it?"

I propped my hand on my hip, feeling very much like an exasperated mother. Not how I wanted to feel, as a young girl in every possible sense of the word. "Please don't try to relive your Academy days through my brother. Kiba's taken offense, so now he's going to start making exploding pranks too, for sure."

He pressed a hand to his chest in mock hurt. "Me? A prankster? What kind of delinquent do you see me as? No," he continued, before I could retort. "I am the shining example of Uchiha grace and serenity. I'm only supporting Naruto-kun's career choices.

"Also, I graduated too fast to waste time pranking cranky old Hikaru-sensei."

He beamed at me.

Grace and serenity, I mouthed in disbelief. Denial, drama, and preening, all in one go. Shisui really didn't do things in halves. "Career choice? Really?"

"With more practice and better tools, your brother would make an excellent trap specialist," he explained, dropping the act. He plopped the steaming paper bag he had brought on the dining table. "For someone so noisy, he's got a talent for sneaking around and the creativity to get nasty."

I frowned, rinsing the next plate. Okay, that actually made sense. I didn't recall Naruto using a lot of traps in the story I knew, though. Mostly he threw around clones, jutsu, and kunai, in that order.

Well, if Shisui thought it was a good idea, who was I to argue? Besides, the more skills Naruto could use, the better, right?

Said shinobi plopped down at the third seat on our dining table, groaning. The angle meant there was enough space for him to stretch out his lanky form to the side. He'd been visiting enough that I'd started calling it his seat, even if only in my head.

Shisui's first visit had somehow become an open invitation to visit whenever. I hadn't even believed he was coming that first time, not when afternoon passed into night with no sign of the jounin. Thankfully, before Casa Uzumaki was overcome by doom and gloom, Shisui arrived through the very same window, with mochi in a plastic bag.

(Naruto forgave him immediately.)

When I asked what made him so late, all he said was, "The Hokage had a lot of questions." From the dry smile on his face, I figured it was wiser to leave well enough alone.

Ever since then, Shisui would drop in at the most random times, often with food. If Itachi was out of town, or we left Sasuke's early, or even just a pleasant day spent on homework, more often than not, Shisui would come crashing in, some takeout in hand and a new story to tell.

I should be more amused by the seeming Uchiha obsession to feed me and Naruto, but honestly, it was too big a help. The food we could buy with our allowance was nowhere near enough to fully sate a pair of growing kids. Without Mikoto, and now Shisui, I didn't doubt we'd have been reduced to instant ramen and canned tuna.

I wiped my hands on a towel before opening Shisui's newest offering. Steam wafted over my face. Six pieces of roasted sweet potato sat at the bottom of the paper bag, fat and reddish. I had to stop myself from drooling. I've made boiled yams (or kamote, as I knew it) before, but noting beat the smoky aftertaste only leaf-roasted ones had. Someone must have been sweeping up leaves in the clan grounds.

Shisui's grin was knowing. "Speaking of, where is your adorable little brother?" He looked around, taking in the cleared table and distinct lack of noisy blond.

"Not my little brother," I said absently, then raised my voice. "Naruto, Shisui's—Shisui-senpai's here!"

"SHISUI'S HERE? WAIT, WAIT, DON'T EAT WITHOUT ME—OW!"

Shisui's eyebrows rose. Whatever he meant to say, it was gone, dissolving into chuckles as Naruto's delighted yells echoed from the bathroom. "Just stick with Shisui," he told me. "You're just hurting yourself at this point, Minako-chan."

"Ughh. Fine." I slumped into the seat beside him. "What've you been up to now, Shisui? Did you go nag Akiko-san today?"

Turns out, Shisui was a nosy little fucker. He popped in and out of his friends' lives like a mad jack-in-the-box. Invite him over once, and he will be dropping in right in the middle of that one math problem that's taking you ages to get through. Already saw him earlier in the day? You're not safe. Stuck in a meeting? You'll find him poking around your office when you get back. He was proud of the one time Morino Ibiki himself kicked him out of T&I.

"Shisui!" Naruto came barreling in, midway through Akiko's latest attempt at kicking her genin teammate out of her office. "The smoke bomb was so awesome, dattebayo! You should've seen them! It was obvious they tried to wash it off, but their clothes were still pink, and so were their ears!"

"Awesome!" They shared a gleeful fist bump. "And you remembered what I told you?" Shisui prompted.

"No proof, no problem." Naruto rested his hands behind his head, grinning.

"You are a horrible influence." I shook my head, too fondly for either of them to take seriously.

Naruto slipped into his seat, making grabby hands at the roasted yams. "Hey, hey, you think I can sell my pranks? Minako said I could! People could pay me, and I would play pranks for them!"

"I never said that!" I protested. He stuck his tongue out at me.

"That's a great idea!"

"Shisui!"

After we threw out the battered remains of the sweet potatoes, it was time for chakra training. Shisui had kept his promise—with Yua's blessing, ish, he'd started Naruto and I on the basics. Which meant the leaf sticking exercise.

Chakra wasn't that hard for me to manipulate. Since I had a greater awareness of it than Naruto, it took me only a few days to learn how to channel it towards my forehead. Naruto caught on fast enough with manipulating chakra, but controlling the amount was much harder. He was still repelling the leaf from his forehead, sometimes even crumbling it to pieces. I also found managing the amount of chakra difficult, but even harder was keeping my concentration. Gods knew how hard it was for me to keep focused for more than ten minutes.

Shisui seemed to delight in trying to distract us. Not that I could begrudge him for it.

The best thing about Shisui's visits had to be his stories. He told us about his genin team, and his Academy days. He told stories of his life as an orphan in a clan, so different from ours but in some ways still the same. He painted a picture of the white beaches south of Wind, and the endless fields of Grass. He liked his meat well-done and his drinks strong and bitter. Itachi's sweet tooth always made him laugh.

Shisui had told me that he liked kids, but I didn't realize how much until then. He treated the both of us like he would kids twice our age, patiently explaining concepts that went over Naruto's head. He knew exactly what stories would excite Naruto, while adding details that would interest me.

On my part, I did my best to meet him where he was. The fact that he knew my secret was a relief. I could ask questions a child would never think of, or tease him for things someone my physical age wouldn't notice.

For once, I could forget I was a child, pushing into my twenties with my mental age. I could be seventeen again, giggling over Akiko finally asking out the Yamanaka girl at the missions table.

"Seriously, though. You've never been to a festival?" Shisui said, bending to the side to pick up Naruto's leaf. Naruto pouted from his seat.

The question was enough to break my focus. I cursed as my leaf fluttered off my face. I caught it, glaring at the accursed green.

"Did Sasuke tell you?" Naruto asked, taking his leaf back with a frown.

"He was pretty surprised," Shisui admitted. "It made Mikoto-sama worry. Festivals are fun, you know? Everyone should go, at least once."

I plastered my leaf to my forehead with a sigh.

"If you're worried about the crowd, I could go with you." Shisui leaned back in his chair, spreading his hands as he made his offer. "We could take Sasuke with us. It'll be fun for everyone!"

"It's not that." I was sure the crowd wouldn't do more than glare, not with a famous jounin like Shunshin no Shisui leading us around. But…

I looked across the table at Naruto. The painful hope in his eyes was already fading.

"It's our birthday," I said quietly. "Our little vacation from the world. Right, Naruto?"

"Yep." Naruto pulled up a weak grin. "And it's even better now, coz Miyagawa-san can't open the door and force us to do chores! And Minako can make pancakes, and we can play pretend and watch the fireworks from the backyard!"

I glanced at Shisui's solemn expression. "I'm sure you'll keep us safe," I said. "But you can't stop anyone from giving us dirty looks behind your back." Not even Itachi could, that one afternoon a year ago, in front of a dango shop. "We just want one day without that. That's all."

For once, Shisui's ever-present smile was gone. His dark gaze hovered between the both of us, his lips a thin, flat line. Whatever he was thinking was hidden behind the hard planes of his face. "I see," he said.

He dropped the matter after that. I bit back a sigh of relief, even as my shoulders sank. Naruto kept his eyes on his leaf, tugging on the ends instead of sticking it to his head. We did our best with what we had, but that didn't stop it from being a sore subject. We never had to explain it to anyone before, and our usual ways of coping crumbled in under the weight of Shisui's knowing look.

The visit never really bounced back, after that. Shisui left a few minutes later, with a head pat for the both of us and an absentminded goodbye.

I should have known that wasn't the last of it. This was Shisui we were talking about. Akiko still hadn't managed to kick him out of her office without him going on his own, and she'd been in the jounin admin staff for the past 4 years.

But I was busy preparing for my celebration with Naruto. I had to sneak his gift into my underwear drawer and hunt for a proper cake recipe. Any thoughts of Shisui and the mortifying conversation over the dining table fled my mind.

(Ironically, I got that latter from Izumo-san, when he asked me why the hell I was looking for cookbooks in the school library. The recipe turned out to be his mother's, which turned me into all kinds of mushy pudding. Plus, it was a cheesecake, so I didn't need an oven to make it!)

Sasuke's jumpiness should have clued me in. There was a sparkle in his eyes and a flush on his face all day. But I just put it down to Itachi being home. It was rare enough nowadays that it never failed to turn Sasuke into a ball of sunshine, one fit to rival Naruto.

So when I spotted Shisui and Itachi waiting outside the Academy gates, I stopped in my tracks.

"Yo, Minako-chan, Naruto-kun! Happy birthday!" Shisui yelled at the top of his fucking lungs. The few parents and siblings that still picked up students this late in the year turned at the noise.

Beside me, Naruto gaped. For once in his life, he had nothing to say. Shino had gone so still, I jumped when he spoke.

"It's your birthday?"

I couldn't read his tone, but his hive was buzzing loud enough to be a white noise in my ears.

"Yeah, but we didn't… I didn't…" Words escaped me. I could only stare as Shisui and Itachi approached. Sasuke bolted for his brother, throwing his arms around his waist with a giggle.

"Surprise," Itachi said, a soft smile on his face. He rested his hand on Sasuke's back, making no move to pull away.

"How… And you just… Our birthday…" Naruto could not stop looking between the three Uchiha. He stepped forward, then back, unsure of what to do or what was expected of him.

"Thank you," I said, and hoped that was an acceptable response to a birthday greeting in this universe. I couldn't muster any brain power to attempt anything better.

"It was Sasuke-kun's idea," Shisui said, grinning.

"What, no it wasn—grrk." Sasuke couldn't even finish protesting before Naruto tackled him in a hug. Itachi shifted with the blow, holding both kids up as Naruto blubbered into Sasuke's shoulder.

"This is the best birthday ever."

I had to turn away from the sheer joy on his face.

"Wow," Shisui said. "And we haven't even gotten to the main event yet."

Two pairs of blue eyes arrowed towards him.

"There's more?!"

"Of course there's more. It's your birthday!" Shisui crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Unless you've got other plans?"

"NO WAY, DATTEBAYO!"

"I'll see you tomorrow," I said hurriedly to Shino, struggling to keep Naruto from dragging me into a faceplant.

"Aa." He gave us a tiny, shaky wave. "Happy birthday, Minako-san, Naruto-san."

"Thanks, Shino." I beamed at him. Then yelped as Shisui lifted me off the ground.

"Hold on tight! We're in a hurry," he said, prodding me to wrap my legs around him. Naruto did the same, but from his back. Shisui had one hand under my butt, supporting me, while his other was under Naruto's. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Itachi pick up Sasuke.

"Don't you dare drop me," I said, gripping him with my hips for all I was worth. "Or my brother."

"No trust in me whatsoever," Shisui teased.

"Be careful, Shisui," Itachi said, Sasuke already clinging to his back. Shisui made a wounded noise; I stuck my tongue out at him.

The rush of shunshin was just as dizzying as the first time. Now, though, I had Naruto yelling with glee, arms in the air while he held on with only his legs. I would have worried, but Shisui didn't even falter, indulging him by running up taller buildings and jumping off the top. It was the closest I could get to being on a roller coaster again.

Mikoto greeted us at the door. Her smile was wider than the usual curve to her lips, her cheeks pink with life. She glowed with her own joy and mischief.

"Come, Minako-chan." She held out a hand, helping me stay steady on my feet. "The boys will help Naruto-kun prepare. Let's have some girl time, ne?"

I managed to share one last, wide-eyed look with Naruto before we were hustled away. Sasuke had shed whatever tsundere pretenses he had on, dragging Naruto up a set of stairs. The last thing I saw was Shisui fluttering his fingers at me, a cheery goodbye.

"Mikoto-ba-san?" I stammered, as she led me deeper into the house—deeper than I'd ever been before. She opened a shoji door to a small, enclosed garden, bracketed by hallways open to the elements and another, smaller house on the other end. My bare feet padded on the wooden floor, while Mikoto's barely made a sound.

One of the house's doors led to what had to be a guest bedroom. The wide bed took center stage, with a cabinet and a bedside table on either side. I barely caught a glimpse of an empty flowerpot and a scroll hanging on one wall before she ushered me into the bathroom.

I tried again. "What's happening? Shisui didn't mention anything."

She tapped my nose, a wordless admonishment. But her smile didn't falter. "It's your birthday, isn't it? Do you know what people do when someone has a birthday?"

"A… a birthday party?" It was the logical answer, and yet it still came out timid, small.

Mikoto nodded. My eyes went wide.

"You're throwing us a birthday party?" I needed to ask it again.

This time, when Mikoto nodded, there was a softness to her eyes, their sparkle changing to something deeper. "That's right. And you're going to be late to your own party if you don't hurry and take a bath."

Laughter burst from my chest like a cloud of bubbles released into the sky. I chucked off my clothes, my hair coming loose all the way to my back.

Getting bathed wasn't… strange. I had vague memories of being bathed in the orphanage, and it was only recently that Naruto and I had stopped bathing together. It could still get unnerving, having someone else's hands on what sometimes still didn't feel like my body. But I focused on Mikoto's affectionate touch, sinking into the slow, gentle circles she was drawing in my scalp. The soap left my skin silky soft, nothing like the light sting of our cheaper bar. The shampoo had the subtlest scent of jasmine I'd ever had the pleasure of experiencing. I didn't know how long I sat on that little stool under the shower, too focused on not melting into a puddle and getting Mikoto's kimono wet in the process.

Finally, she set the shower back on its hook on the wall. "Why don't you go enjoy the bath for a while?" She unraveled the strip of cloth she had used to tie back her sleeves. "I'll call you when everything else is ready."

At this point, she could have told me she was leaving to assassinate the Hokage and I would've hummed in agreement. I slipped into the tub ensconced in the end of the bathroom. Whatever was in the water had turned it sencha green, with that faint jasmine smell steaming off the surface. A happy little moan escaped me as I sank up to my nose.

The bathroom in our apartment was too small to have a traditional bathtub like this one. This was effectively the first time I had been in a body of water big enough to sink into since I had died.

An ache bloomed in my chest, small and prickly. I took a deep breath and let it bleed away. I doubted if I would ever stop missing things from my past. I'd had enough time to learn it was easier to just accept it and move on. At least this time, all I had to do was wait. Once I've graduated, I could find a river or a lake and dive straight in. One day, I would swim again.

Too soon, Mikoto's voice was calling me out of the water. I grumbled but rose. She held up a big, fluffy towel. "Time to come out, Minako-chan," she said, giggling at my put-upon expression. "We still have to put your kimono on."

I stopped, halfway out of the bath. "My kimono?"

And it was a kimono. A gorgeous, vibrant kimono, spread out on the bed in all its amber-orange glory. Red chrysanthemums drifted past its shoulders, joining the hyacinths clustered along the hem and sleeves.

"Is this… for me?" Wonder, horror, and a giddy, giddy joy fluttered in my ribs like manic butterflies. "I can't… I can't accept this. It's too much!"

As far as I could tell, while plenty of people still wore kimonos as casual wear, most had moved on to the more durable and practical shirt-and-bottoms combo. A cheap, plain kimono would cost me 3,000 ryo, at the most. Something this colorful, this detailed, this crisp, this beautiful—I could not afford it, not unless I saved for the next five years or something.

But it was so beautiful. I didn't realize how few truly beautiful things I'd encountered in this life until I saw this. I was too busy managing our finances and focusing on practicality to even think about getting anything prettier than my sunflower drawstring bag.

I couldn't stop myself from reaching out to touch the smooth cotton.

"Oh, Minako-chan." Mikoto moved closer. Her own kimono rustled in my ears, until her arms came around me from behind. "There's no need to worry. This is merely a lend from a relative. You can give it back tomorrow."

When I still hesitated, she said, "I've always wanted a daughter, you know." She rested her cheek against my head. "Will you wear it? For me?"

Every last protest I had crumbled. "Okay," I croaked.

She helped me get into the white under-kimono first, then the kimono itself. Getting it to fall to the right length involved folding it along my waist, then pinning it in place with thin strips of white cloth. Covering those was the obi. It was dark bronze, almost black, overlaid with the golden lines of a flower pattern. The cord securing the whole thing to my waist was gold, with a flower charm on the knot.

I sat at the dresser for the next part. Long brush strokes and chakra-warmed fingers combed through my hair. I was too stunned by the kimono to relax, even with Mikoto humming over my head. There was no mirror, so I couldn't see what she was doing. I chanced a stroke through a few strands while she reached for more pins.

I didn't even know my hair could be that silky.

Nothing got past Mikoto. "You have beautiful hair, Minako-chan," she reassured me.

"Thank you," I said. I loved my hair, with its impossible, bright color and how it fell in a thick, straight line. The compliment made my spine straighten, a happy flush spilling over my cheeks.

She arranged my hair into what had to be traditional twin buns on either side of my head. I'd seen kids in kimonos wear them during a holiday earlier this year. Mikoto twirled the rest around her fingers, styling a pair of loose curls to frame my face.

Huh. Who needed a curling iron, when you had fire chakra and awesome chakra control?

"Now, for the final piece." She turned the chair so I would face her. Squatting to my level, she picked up a hair clip I hadn't noticed before and held it out to me. "You can return the kimono. But this is my gift to you."

Slowly, I turned the metal clip over in my hands. Three white lilies bloomed on its back, their mother-of-pearl petals glimmering in the light. "Mikoto-ba-san—"

She folded my fingers over it, her smile soft. "Happy birthday, Minako-chan."

I threw my arms around her neck. She returned the hug, warm and tight.

It was worse, I think, that I understood. A child wouldn't have known why they wanted to cry. A child wouldn't have known how wrong it was to be left to struggle alone. A child wouldn't remember what it was like to receive gifts, wouldn't miss the easy love and care that came from giving and receiving. Mikoto, Shisui, Itachi, Sasuke… they were making me remember things I had forgotten. Things I'd forced myself to forget.

It was good to remember, even if it ached.

She only allowed me a few minutes before pulling back, sleeve at the ready. "That's enough now. It's your birthday! You should be smiling."

"I'm trying," I said, giving her a wobbly demonstration. "Thank you, Mikoto-ba-san."

"You're welcome. Now, let's put that on, and then you can look in the mirror. Okay?"

I stood in front of the full-length mirror and stared. I looked…different. Beautiful, in the way only children could be beautiful. There was more baby fat on my cheeks than I remembered, dulling the sharpness of my chin. The markings that looked so out of place on a six-year-old now gave me a mischievous air, a kid playing at adult makeup. Whatever tint Mikoto had dabbed on my cheeks and lips helped.

The kimono hid whatever scrawniness I had left, turning my wrists into something delicate instead of slim. Somehow, Mikoto had added volume to my hair, making twin half-moons instead of the meatballs I expected. Crowning the right bun was the lily clip, snug against the curve. Not the most traditional accessory, but it shone bright against my scarlet hair.

It was me—Minako—a Minako from another life, cared for, spoiled, bright with joy. Well-loved.

A sigh. "Your mother would be so proud of you."

I whirled around, eyes wide. "You knew my mother?"

My voice cracked. I reached up, attempting to catch the tears before they fell again, but Mikoto was already there. She drew her knuckle over my lashes.

"What mother wouldn't be proud of a strong, beautiful girl like you?"

Her expression was soft, compassionate. A fierce light glinted in her eye. But I couldn't glean anything else from her face. Ninja were too good at hiding secrets, compartmentalizing emotions. From a world where people expressed their emotions freely, near-enthusiastically, my meter for reading others was off by a hundred miles.

If Mikoto knew Kushina… if… then it would explain her reaction when she saw us, or how oddly willing the Uchiha were to allow a pair of orphans into their compound. Sasuke and Shino themselves had pointed out how strange it was.

Had they been friends? Was that why Mikoto would look at me so tenderly, when she didn't think I would notice? Why she was always there with a hair tie to replace a snapped one, always feigned deafness when Naruto bragged about his latest prank?

"I wish I knew my mom," slipped out before I could stop it. I bit my lip.

Maybe, if I had known Kushina, I would look like this Minako all the time. Maybe, if I had known Kushina, I would know how to raise Naruto right. Maybe, if I had known Kushina—

"Oh, Minako-chan." Mikoto smoothed my bangs down, then cupped my cheek. "I wish that too."

We walked into the main house to delighted gasps. "Minako-chan! Look at you!" Shisui dissolved into a blur. I shrieked with delight, clutching his shoulders as he swung me around. "You look so cute!"

"Thank you!" I beamed, blushing at the praise.

"Minako!" Again, Naruto had run out of things to say. He could only stare, eyes shining and cheeks flushed with happiness.

"Naruto! You look amazing!"

He wore a plain red kimono and a black hakama patterned with subtle spirals. His haori was the star of the show, black with maroon half-circles and pale yellow smoke. A silver dragon slipped in and out of the stylized clouds.

"He took forever to get ready," Sasuke complained. "Shisui was already helping him, and I still finished first!" He held out his arms, showing off his immaculate outfit.

His kimono was a deep navy blue, while his hakama was patterned in blocky shades of cream, ochre, and gold. His haori featured a full moon on the same navy blue as his kimono, filled with drifting white petals and a burning phoenix piercing the sky. A white fan tucked into his obi completed the look.

"I've never worn something like this!" Naruto defended himself, turning this way and that. "It's so fancy!" He flapped his sleeves, raising a small breeze.

"Stop that!" Sasuke said, scandalized. I giggled. Itachi and his mom hid their smiles behind their sleeves.

"Shisui, why aren't you dressed?" I asked. I had seen him in his jounin uniform before, but even Itachi had ditched his for a plain black haori and kimono. The hakama was gray, patterned with thin, vertical stripes. The only decoration he had on was the uchiwa mirrored on the lapels of the haori.

"I'm leaving for a mission right after," Shisui explained, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"Again?" I blinked. "You just got back last week."

"Aww, miss me already?" he teased. I replied with an unladylike snort, sending him into a fit of laughter. "Uchiha jounin are in high demand nowadays, y'know," he explained, wiping away a tear.

I hesitated. My first thought was that more work meant more stress for everyone. But he seemed… content with the idea. Glad, even. "Is that a good thing?"

Itachi smiled. "Yes. It is."

"Minako, look! Look at my present! Itachi got me a present!" Naruto shoved a flat box in my face. "Did you get a present too?"

"Wait! Lemme see!" Laughing, I pushed him back. The box was lacquered and sturdy, with a little white spiral in the corner as its only decoration. Together, the two of us opened it, revealing a pair of brushes, a stoppered inkwell, and a notebook.

My jaw dropped. I turned my stare on Itachi.

"Naruto-kun has expressed his interest in fuinjutsu before." Opening the notebook, he showed me the kanji worksheets inside. "I thought it would be good to get him started on his penmanship first."

"There's so many letters," Naruto said, bracing the box with near-comical care. "And you have to write them again and again, which is boring. But Itachi says I need to be good at drawing to be good at fuinjutsu, so I'll do it!"

I didn't doubt him. The determined set to his jaw was all too familiar. Naruto may not be good at schoolwork, but if there was something he wanted to get done, he would. Believe it.

And nothing had captured his imagination quite like the heritage of a lost clan.

"At least you didn't give him a book on it yet," I muttered, knowing only Itachi and Shisui would hear.

"No," Itachi said, his lip curling with amusement. "That would've made it a gift for you, Minako-chan."

My face burned with embarrassment. I stuck my tongue out at him, which only made Shisui laugh harder.

"Let's take this to the dining room," Mikoto suggested. "Otherwise, there won't be time for your other surprises."

"There's more?" Naruto shrieked.

Mikoto sent Sasuke ahead to prepare the next surprise. Naruto's unbridled joy at everything must have galvanized him—he seemed thrilled to run off, even if it meant losing his nii-san's attention for a few minutes. I showed off Mikoto's present to an enthusiastic audience (i.e. Shisui and Naruto), and promised my brother I would join him in practicing calligraphy. If only to make sure he didn't get his hands on, say, an explosion tag and attempt to copy it. Not yet.

Dinner was an entire spread of sushi, to my absolute delight. You bet your ass I fought Shisui for the salmon sashimi, even if I lost and Mikoto scolded me for it. (Itachi stole some slices off Shisui's plate for me, which is why he's my favorite.)

Mikoto even prepared ramen as a side dish. It was worth it, if only for the way Naruto's eyes widened at his first bite. I got to watch my brother have a near-religious epiphany, and knew my life would never be the same again.

I sighed and mentally upped finding Ichiraku on my to-do list.

The next surprise was a cake big enough to feed all five of us, carried in by Sasuke himself. Naruto's and my names were scrawled in clumsy letters over the top, revealing who had done the icing. Itachi lit the seven candles with a flame off his finger, and everyone sang happy birthday.

Naruto and I were almost too covered in snot to blow out the candles, but we managed. Sasuke didn't even make fun of us for it. Much.

Mikoto's eyes glittered, even as she looked towards the clock. "You better go," she said, rising to her feet. "If you hurry, you'll have plenty of time to explore before the fireworks."

I blew my nose into the tissue they'd provided. "Fireworks?" I croaked.

Sasuke, all puffed up with all the surprises he's been keeping, exploded. "We're going to the festival!" he cried, throwing his hands in the air.

Naruto dropped his tissue.

"I… But…" My hand moved up to my eyes, before I forced it down.

Shisui knelt down to face us. His smile was warm and affectionate, so different from his usual blithe mask. "I haven't given you my gift yet, right?"

We watched, wide-eyed, as he flipped through hand signs. It was the first time I'd seen anyone do it up close, and I couldn't even follow. He was too fast.

Then he rested his hands on our heads.

I shivered. What I could only describe as playful flames slipped under my skin, even as they poured over my head. Naruto looked up, trying to see what Shisui was doing.

"You actually look like twins now," Sasuke said, peering at us from across the table. Mikoto passed Itachi a mirror, who held it in front of us.

I blinked. The girl in the reflection blinked back. It took me a moment to recognize myself, if only because my blue eyes looked so much smaller and lighter without being ringed in black. Naruto had lost some of his baby-cheeked look, without his whisker marks rounding out his face. As one, we whirled on each other.

"Your hair!" Naruto yelped, pointing. He almost stabbed me eye out.

"Yours too!" I ruffled the now-black strands, marveling at how the color even changed with the light. Naruto almost ruffled mine back, except Mikoto gave him that Mom Look. So he made do with drawing my eyelid down with a finger on my cheek.

"There." Shisui sat back on his heels, satisfied. "Now you can go to the festival with no problem."

I heard the words. It took me another second to truly understand them. Realization dawned on Naruto's face, until he was burning with excitement as bright as the sun. "We can go to the festival," he breathed. "We can go to the festival, and nobody's gonna be mean, and we can play the games, and—"

I threw myself at Shisui. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

He laughed, letting me topple him over. He patted me on the back, careful not to mess up my obi. "See? I told you to wait for the main event!"

"I don't need to wait for the main event," I declared, looking him in the eye. Behind me, Naruto leapt into the air, cheering.

"Best! Birthday! EVER, DATTEBAYO!"

By the time we made it to the festival, night had fallen and the celebrations were in full swing. Hashirama street had transformed into an explosion of color, reminiscent of the blaze that the country was named after. Yellow paper lanterns hung everywhere, round and fat. Red and yellow banners hung on the stalls, with white streamers fluttering in the faint wind.

"WHOOOAAAA!"

I grabbed Naruto's hand before he could run off. The crowd was making me nervous, an almost deja-vu-like sense of fear.

Then Itachi's hand brushed my back—just two fingertips pressing on the cloth—and I relaxed.

"Where do you guys wanna go first?" Shisui bounced on his heels, just as excited as the kids half his size.

"Um, ah, uh—" Naruto whipped his head back and forth, trying to look everywhere at once. He leaned towards the yakitori stall, then sent a yearning look towards a game booth.

"Nii-san, I wanna go to the shuriken booth!" Sasuke tugged at his brother's sleeve.

Itachi patted his head. "Let's let Naruto-kun and Minako-chan choose first," he said. "It's their birthday, after all."

"Yeah, bastard, it's our birthday—ow!"

I pulled back my elbow. "Be nice," I told him. To Itachi, I said, "We can go to the shuriken booth first, then wherever's cool next. We wouldn't know where to start otherwise."

To be fair, I was also curious. What kind of festival had a shuriken booth?

"Alright then, to the shuriken booth!" Shisui pumped his fist. Sasuke brightened.

"It's this way," he said, bolting for the crowd. "I'll race you there, idiot!"

"Hey, that's cheating! Get back here!" Naruto grabbed my hand, click-clacking frantically after them.

He almost yanked me off my feet. "Naruto, wait!" I yelped. Itachi followed sedately, content to hold up the rear.

I didn't realize how heavy the glares had been until they were gone. For the first half hour, I still walked in a slouch, bracing myself for the flinching, the low whispers, the angry reception. But people kept smiling. Vendors greeted us with cheer. Old ladies cooed at Naruto's enthusiasm, gushed at my kimono.

Soon, I was walking with my head held high. I beamed at everyone I saw, and they beamed back.

I had never felt lighter.

The shuriken booth was a ninja booth. With paper shuriken. Paper shuriken, to knock down prizes on a conveyor belt, because ninja were superpowered fuckers and needed ridiculous twists to make festival games a challenge. The civilians got to keep their dartboards and their ring-throwing stalls. Ninja? Paper shuriken.

The person manning the booth was a ninja too, apparently, because we arrived just in time to see a chuunin get kicked out for cheating with chakra strings.

Sasuke and Naruto immediately started a competition for the biggest prize, because of course they did. I played it safe and went for a humble pinwheel. A small stand kept it upright, its colored points spinning as it moved along. My first two tries missed, but the third shuriken clipped its edge. The pinwheel swayed.

"Ahh… Ahhh… AAAAHH!" I jumped, cheering, as the pinwheel finally keeled over. Naruto yelled and hugged me. Shisui gave me a high five.

"See, kids?" the owner told Naruto and Sasuke as he handed me my prize. "Play smarter, not harder. You'll win more."

I was mature enough not to rub it in their faces. I was!

Shisui treated us to candied apples; I paid him back by treating everyone to chocolate bananas. In the next stall, Naruto convinced him to win him a giant, stuffed frog, which of course meant Sasuke begged Itachi to win him the giant cat. Now that was a show.

Considering they had two kids tugging them every which way, the two shinobi managed to stay pretty calm. Or energetic enough to keep up, in Shisui's case.

Okay, three. I wanted to see the mask booth, alright?

Still, I ended up falling back to walk with Itachi, more often than not. I was still adjusting to the new rhythm of walking in a kimono's limited gait and the odd heels of the wooden zori. Lucky Naruto and Sasuke could just run around people's legs, unrestricted by their loose hakama.

We hung back as Sasuke and Naruto set out to conquer the kingyo sukui booth. Naruto and Sasuke proceeded to destroy five rice paper scoops between them, and were now arguing on the best way to scoop up a goldfish. Most of the other kids had already skittered away, wary of their enthusiastic splashing. Freaking Shisui was just egging them on.

Safe from the splash zone, I leaned against Itachi, in a futile attempt to rest my knees. The fact that he let me was enough to bring a smile to my face.

I tilted my head back, getting an excellent view of his chin. "You alright?" I asked.

He blinked, then dipped his head to meet my inquisitive look. "I'm fine," he said. "Why do you ask?"

"You look tired."

He actually looked better than usual. I doubted the stress lines would ever truly go away, but his eyebags were the lightest I'd seen in weeks.

He smiled. I didn't like it. Itachi was a very good shinobi, but I knew the difference between an affectionate expression and a patronizing one. Especially with someone who had all but taken me under his wing.

"I'm fine, Minako-chan," he repeated, tapping me on the nose. "Thank you for asking."

I made a face, not missing how he'd probably stolen the condescending gesture from his mother. It was fine when she actually believed I was a kid. Itachi knew better.

"Is your father still keeping you busy?" I asked, refusing to be put off. Signs pointed to things looking up—signs that I tentatively, tentatively noted, not daring to hope. Even so… "Can't you take a break? You've been working so hard."

"There's a lot of work to be done," he said, vaguer than this world's version of a weather forecast. Did we have forecasts? I didn't know; our apartment didn't come with a TV.

My eyes narrowed. "Hey. It's my birthday, right?"

"…yes?"

"And on my birthday, what I say goes. Right?"

He looked wary now. "I suppose."

"Then!" I pointed at him, using my best Naruto impression. "I, the birthday girl, decree that on my birthday, Uchiha Itachi is not allowed to think of work! For one night, you're gonna be a normal kid, just like the rest of us!"

The corner of his lips turned down. I had never been under the weight of Itachi's irritation before, but it was unmistakable now.

"I'm not a child anymore, Minako-chan." Somehow, he managed to make the honorific grate.

I couldn't help it; I rolled my eyes. Bitch was thirteen. Yes, murder aged people. Yes, he was a prodigy with a maturity above kids his age. That didn't mean he couldn't take time off like everybody else. Gods knew he needed it. Constant stress wasn't good for anyone, let alone kids with easy access to murder weapons.

"Being a kid isn't here." I was too short to reach his head, so I tapped mine. Then I poked him in the chest. "It's in here."

He stared at me. I sighed, discarding unexplainable knowledge of basic psychology, as well as the unhelpful if Shisui can do it, why can't you?

"C'mon," I wheedled. "It's just for one night. You can relax for one night, right? It'll be good for you! Plus, if you don't do it, I'll be sad and worry, and then Naruto will be worried, and our birthday will be ruined. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

Hmm. Maybe the puppy eyes were overkill.

Finally, finally, his neutral mask broke. He gifted me with a smile, crooked, fond, exasperated. "You're a stubborn one, aren't you?"

"No." I huffed. "That would be my brother."

"One does not negate the other."

I squinted at him. "Is that a really complicated way of saying we're two peas in a pod?"

He chuckled. It was low, and lasted about two seconds, but my heart leapt anyway.

"Alright," he said. "One night."

I could've jumped over the moon. My smile was the widest I'd ever had. I must've looked ridiculous.

His eyes softened. He didn't… relax, not exactly. But something had changed in the set of his shoulders, like setting down a backpack after a long, long day.

"Thank you, Minako-chan."

Before he even finished, I was already shaking my head. "It makes me happy when you take care of yourself like you take care of us," I said, trying to explain it in a way that wasn't nagging or, god forbid, cheesy. "That's what friends are for, right?"

"Friends…" He almost sounded thoughtful. I met his gaze head on, with far more confidence than I had a few months ago.

(Had it only been five months? It felt like years. My life had changed so much after I met them.)

I nodded towards the goldfish tank, where Naruto had ripped yet another scooper. "You guys made my brother smile like that," I said quietly. "That makes you my friends."

A complicated series of emotions crossed Itachi's face. He followed my gaze, taking in our messy siblings trying to wrestle each other into the water.

"You two have also made Sasuke happier than I've seen him, in a long time," he said at last. His smile was small, but sincere. "In that case, I'm honored to be your friend, Minako-chan."

I grinned back at him. "Right back at you."

"Nii-san! I did it!" Sasuke ran towards us, holding up his prize. The water-filled plastic bag swung, possibly traumatizing the poor goldfish inside.

"You cheated! You're not supposed to use the plastic bag!" Naruto argued, running after him. Itachi squatted down, obligingly admiring his brother's accomplishment. He ended up soothing Naruto's hurt pride too, before it could devolve into an actual tantrum.

I almost didn't catch Shisui before he had his hands on my waist, sweeping me into the air. He must've let me see him, so I wouldn't screech my head off and send any nearby shinobi jumping out of their shoes.

It was so nice when people learned their lesson.

"Shisui!" I half-shrieked, half-laughed, as he twirled me around. He grinned, settling me on his arm. His other hand braced my back.

"Hello, pretty girl!" he said. I squirmed, unable to keep the happy flush from my cheeks. "Now that the little gremlins are done, where do you want to go next?"

"Who're you calling a gremlin?!"

"Hey, I won! I should be the one to pick!"

"Let Itachi pick," I said slyly. Said boy looked up from the indignant Naruto.

"I want to get dango," he decided. Shisui snickered.

Sasuke shuffled, conflicted over his win and his love for his brother. "I guess, if nii-san wants it…" he grumbled. The goldfish bag hung limp in his hand, forgotten.

I bent over backwards, trusting Shisui to keep me from toppling over. "A shinobi shouldn't be so predictable, Itachi!" I teased, hanging in his face.

"You can criticize my choices when you've become a better shinobi than me, Minako-chan," he retorted easily. I opened my mouth, then closed it, scowling. Dammit! I've been outplayed!

"That's never gonna happen," Sasuke said loyally. "Nii-san's the best shinobi ever!"

Wow, ouch. I mean, he's right, but also, couldn't he have delivered it with a little more… tact?

"No, Minako's the best!" Naruto ducked under Itachi's arm, just so he could shove his face in Sasuke's. "She'll definitely be a better shinobi someday, believe it!"

I sagged in Shisui's grip, touched and exasperated all at once. He was too busy laughing to pull me up.

"My brother's cooler than yours!"

"No, my sister's cooler than yours!"

"My brother's already a jounin, and he graduated after just one year in the Academy." Sasuke crossed his arms, secure in his victory. Naruto sputtered.

"Y-yeah, well, my sister's a girl!"

Sasuke shot him a look of disgust. "So?"

"Even Itachi is scared of girls!" Naruto said triumphantly.

Sasuke's jaw dropped. Still sideways, I burst out laughing, clutching my aching stomach. That was how I discovered that laughing while relying on my core to hold me up was a terrible idea. Itachi looked like he was contemplating murder, or maybe time travel, to prevent Shisui from sharing Academy stories ever again.

"It's okay, Sasuke-kun," Shisui said with glee, "Apparently, Itachi looks enough like a girl, he might as well be one."

My laughter died an ugly death.

"Stop!" I slapped my hands over my face. "Let it go already!"

"Never." Shisui beamed, only to yelp as Itachi stabbed two fingers somewhere tender. I shrieked, clutching the closest thing I could—Shisui's sleeve—in a frantic attempt to keep myself from falling ass over teakettle.

"Dango," Itachi said firmly, rising to his feet.

We managed to get ourselves sorted into some semblance of order, with Naruto taking the enthusiastic lead, thanks to the mention of food. Shisui pulled himself together in time to stop all the blood rushing to my brain. I rested my woozy head on his shoulder, trusting him to go after the others.

His lips brushed my ear. "I'm honored to be your friend too, Minako-chan."

A smile spread across my face. That answered whether he had heard me or not. I hadn't been sure. Yeah, ninja had enhanced senses, but the festival was loud as hell, and he had seemed pretty occupied with keeping Naruto from shoving Sasuke into the fish tank.

Instinctively—and because the angle was just right—I kissed him on the cheek.

He recoiled. "Ew, cooties!"

I almost fell off again. "That's so stupid!" I cried, gasping through the giggles.

He grinned at me, retort at the ready, only for his gaze to flicker over my shoulder. His footsteps stuttered.

I straightened. "What is it?" Alarm shot through me, cold as a senbon.

"Ah, nothing." He tried his signature smile, but his eyes wandered off again. I shoved my hand against his face and used it as leverage to raise myself higher. He spluttered under my silent callout of his bullshit.

It took me a second; the crowd extended beyond the stalls, as people searched for side streets to eat their food in relative peace. Only when a brunette turned her head did I catch the familiar scar. I wouldn't have even spotted her if Shisui hadn't been carrying me.

Yua looked nervous, dressed in a kimono of her own. The colors were faded, but the white flowers were still beautiful against the sky blue. An older woman elbowed her, drawing out a smile. A coworker?

"Minako-chan!" Shisui protested, finally wrangling my hand off his face. I poked him in the cheek.

"Go on," I said, jerking my head in Yua's direction.

His face turned bright red. "Ah, no—" he tried.

"Don't chicken out on me now," I teased, poking him again. I liked seeing him flustered, okay? It was funny!

I hadn't seen Yua since that disaster of a doctor's appointment. Hopefully Shisui had spent some of his time being an obnoxious jack-in-the-box to visit her. It was the one thing he refused to talk about, no matter how much I tried to ask.

"You can leave us with Itachi. Between him and me, I'm sure we can keep Naruto and Sasuke down."

"But… your genjutsu…" Shisui looked between me and Yua, torn. The fact that he hesitated was enough to turn my insides into goo. He liked to act blasé, but he really was just a sweetheart.

"It's almost time for the fireworks, right? We can find a spot early and avoid the crowds. You can catch up after. Or bring her along, even." I started turbo-poking his face. He snorted, slapping my hand away.

"I promised, though," he insisted.

"Then consider it my birthday present," I said magnanimously. He stared. "What? Did you seriously think I wouldn't find out that your birthday is next week?"

With our budget, Naruto and I didn't have much in the way of gift-giving. I copied out a basic fire jutsu from the library for Sasuke's birthday, then attempted homemade chocolate for Itachi's as a joke. I hadn't been sure of what to do for Shisui's, though I had half a mind to set up something with Yua. This just made everything convenient.

"Since when were you a matchmaker?" Shisui complained.

"What, I can't want my friends to be happy?"

His glare was all kittens and rainbows, and he knew it. "Work on that," he retorted instead. A few steps, and we were on a nearby restaurant roof, away from the crowd. "If you want to start manipulating people, you need to learn how to be subtler than a guilt trip."

I pouted at him. Ninja advice. Fucking ridiculous sometimes.

It didn't take long to find Naruto and the others. Itachi's head snapped towards us as we landed next to the dango stand. The second Shisui set me on the ground, I threw my arms around my brother. He gave as good as he got, just barely missing my hair with his half-eaten stick of dango.

"It's getting late," Shisui said to Itachi, absently ruffling Sasuke's hair. Sasuke squawked. "You should go find a good spot to watch the fireworks, before someone beats you to it."

"You're going? Already?" Naruto pulled away, dismayed. I dodged a dango disaster for a second time.

"Yeah, to Yua-san," I sang. Itachi relaxed. Shisui retaliated by pinching my cheek. "Ow!"

"You know me," Shisui reassured Naruto with a wink. "I'll be back—"

"—in a flash, we know, we know." I shoved at his hip, my zori skidding ineffectually against the dirt. "Go already! Before you miss your chance and mope all the way to Grass, or something."

"Okay, okay! Sheesh, it's like you're more invested in this than I am!"

"And what if I am? You're more entertaining than a romance novel!"

"Shisui."

Shisui paused, looking over his shoulder. Itachi held out two sticks of dango, his eyes twinkling.

"Brilliant. You're a lifesaver," Shisui said, snatching the dango. "I'll see you at the memorial!" One last nervous, sunny grin, a puff of chakra smoke, and he was gone.

The dango stall was near the edge of the festival, so it was easy enough to slip away. I felt the moment the genjutsu dropped, snapping like a rubber band stretched too far. I rubbed my arms, trying to will away the prickly feeling it left behind. Naruto tugged on the hair framing my face.

"I like it better when it's red," he confided. I smiled and nudged him.

"Me too."

"This way." Itachi took the lead, ushering us through the darker side streets. I didn't know if he was navigating with his hearing, or some kind of chakra sense, or something, but he still managed to get us to an open field without ever bumping into someone.

For a second, I thought I saw a white shape in the shadows, but when I looked closer, it was gone. The field was empty, save for a pointed structure at the end and some poles along the sides. There were no streetlights here, so our only light was the ambient glow of the distant festival and the waning moon in the sky. It was the perfect place to watch the fireworks.

We settled on the grass, chewing away on the rest of the dango. Sasuke slumped against Itachi, exhausted by the long night. My obi didn't give me the luxury of slouching; I didn't dare flatten the bow on the back or wrinkle the front.

The open field was still giving me the heebie-jeebies, and I couldn't tell why. It wasn't the dark. Naruto was here, and so was Sasuke, along with the scariest ninja I knew. Was it the Plot? But as far as I could remember, there was nothing about Naruto's birthday in the story, except for his actual birth and a movie. I think it was a movie.

Maybe it was that white flicker I may or may not have imagined?

I considered asking Itachi if he had noticed anything weird, then decided against it. The last thing I needed was to find out that ghosts were real here.

Shisui arrived sooner than I expected. We had just put away the dango sticks when he faded out of the shadows, sending my heart into the stratosphere. "Sorry," he said quickly, picking me up so he could sit next to Itachi. Itachi pulled Sasuke into his lap to make space, wrapping the drooping boy in his arms.

Shisui set me on his knee, letting me rest my head against his chest while keeping my obi from getting crumpled. Naruto flopped onto the grass, using Shisui's outstretched leg as a pillow.

"How'd it go?" I asked, worried. He grinned at me, teeth flashing in the night.

"She turned me down today," he said, leaning back on his hands. "But we're going on a date when I get back!"

I sat up straight, Itachi turning his head to face us. "Shisui, that's great!" I hugged him. "Congratulations!"

"Now he's going to be insufferable all the way to Grass," Itachi said. His smile was a 'congratulations' all on its own.

Shisui poked him on the arm, which only made Itachi tighten his hold on Sasuke.

"I'm going to be amazing all the way to Grass," Shisui corrected. He all but glowed with happiness, his eyes already distant as he began planning his date. "Those clients won't know what hit them! I'll be there and back so fast, I'll break the record of shortest A-rank ever—"

"Over there!" Naruto shot up, pointing at the Hokage monument in the distance. "It's starting, it's starting!"

The faintest of whistles, then a pop. Then flowers of fire were blooming across the sky.

We sat in silent awe, watching the red and white sparks careening into the night. Yellow light streaked down like raining stars. There was a green rendition of the Leaf of Konohagakure, a pink rabbit, even a multicolored pinwheel like the one in my hand.

Naruto cuddled closer, curling around Shisui's leg. Shisui placed his hand on my brother's head, resting all his weight on the other. Beside us, Sasuke sat up to watch, safely ensconced in Itachi's arms.

I closed my eyes, letting the fireworks play over my eyelids. This was what family meant—surrounded by loving warmth, laughter and delight. I wanted to remember this night, for the rest of my life, and the next, and the next, whatever was next.

"Thanks, guys," I whispered.

Shisui squeezed my shoulder in reply.

The day after, fate had one last surprise for us. Shino greeted us at lunch with two wrapped packages, one in ocean blue, the other in sunset orange.

"Is that… a present?" Naruto leaned over, almost vibrating with excitement. You'd think he'd be all tuckered out after a late night, like half of the school. But apparently, the novelty of being inundated with presents had yet to wear off. Or overwhelm him.

I was feeling overwhelmed. "I don't think I ever told you my favorite color," I said, accepting the blue one with shaking hands.

"I hope they are acceptable." Shino shoved his hands back into his jacket pockets. "Why? I was not sure if you wanted them, seeing as…"

His faltering voice pulling me out of my shock. I looked up from the present. "What is it?" I asked.

"You never told me it was your birthday." He shrunk into his jacket. "I… I don't know why. Did I do something wrong?"

Oh.

"Shino," I said. "I'm going to hug you now."

I gave him two seconds for his hive to stop buzzing before I drew him into a tight embrace. He stood there, stiff at first, before finally reaching up and hugging me back. Beside me, Naruto was staring in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me?" he demanded. "I've never had more presents in my life!" He tore into his package, tossing orange wrapper everywhere.

"We weren't keeping our birthday a secret or anything," I explained quietly, even as Naruto whooped over his new bag of miniature smoke bombs. Um. Eek? "It was just… it's never been a big deal. I didn't know you wanted to know."

He pulled back. "I…" He pushed up his sunglasses, fidgeting. "But you told Sasuke-san."

"Actually, I told Shisui. And only coz he kinda forced it out of us." Shino wasn't the touchy-feely type, so I restrained myself to brushing his hand with mine. "We're not used to celebrating our birthday with other people. I'm sorry it made you feel left out."

"Was it a good birthday?" he asked. I couldn't help the smile spreading across my face.

"Yeah. It really was."

He relaxed. "Then I'm glad."

"Thanks, Shino," I said, clutching my present to my chest.

It turned out to be a book on a princess' life, living in the daimyo's court. I had to hug Shino again.

Best birthday ever.

Notes:

Hello! This is your reminder to pause, take a break, drink water, or go to sleep! It'll be much harder to stop next chapter. Thank you so much for reading RWTBD! 333

I wish their birthday was when we hit 100k words, but either way, I can't believe we hit 100k words! I can't believe I've written 100k words for a single work! And to think I can't even finish 40k on an original piece. But you're not here for my whining.

I want to thank everyone, and I mean everyone who has ever left a kudos, comment, favorite, bookmark, review, whatever. You regular reviewers, anons, emoji commenters, constructive critics, even the mean people have contributed to my investment in this fic in one way or another. I see every one of you, and I am so grateful you guys have stayed with this fic for so long. Guys, it's six years old! And I have grown so much in that time, doing my best to improve on what I had written before. I hope you will all stay with me as we continue Minako's slow but steady adventure into the depths of Naruto's world. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LOVING RISING WITH THE BREAKING DAWN!

As a last thing to celebrate, some good news! Minako doesn't know this coz she has no sense of the timeline whatsoever, but GUYS! WE DID IT! Shisui lived to see his seventeenth birthday!

If y'all wanna see a running commentary and bonus content for this chapter, click here!

Chapter 20: Arc I Chapter 20

Summary:

Playtime's over.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Winter solstice passed. No massacre. New Year's passed. No massacre. Shisui's visits grew less, but Itachi grew more relaxed. Jiji's twice a month visits became once a month. Mikoto fussed over our scarves, kissed our foreheads, and sent us home everyday.

Naruto's life was so different now from his canon past. He had friends. He had a family that wasn't just me. He had waltzed into the Uchiha compound and came out carrying their hearts.

I thought, we did it. I thought, Talk no Jutsu worked like a charm.

I thought it was enough.

But there were bigger things in this village than a charismatic seven-year-old with a demon in his gut. And I had forgotten that.

It was the twelfth of January. I spent the day as an angry, wool-wrapped ball, hating everything from Hiro-sensei's encouraging grin to Shikamaru's wary look in my direction. Neither Sasuke and Naruto seemed as bothered as I was about the terrible weather, even after we ran all the way from the Academy to the Uchiha compound. It only made me crabbier.

"Hold it."

"But Itachi!" I whined.

His clothes didn't even whisper as he stepped out of my line of sight. "If you have the breath to complain, you have the breath to hold it."

"Why are you complaining? It hasn't even been thirty minutes yet!" Sasuke may have been sweating, but he didn't even pause for breath for that entire sentence.

I glared at him as best as I could from my upside-down position. My arms and legs trembled under the weight of my torso.

A hand slipped under me and pushed up, fixing my sagging backbend. My glare broke. I whimpered.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAH! I'M GONNA BEAT THAT TIMER, BELIEVE IT!" Naruto screamed from somewhere to my left. I wasn't sure how using his abs even more would help, but if it worked, more power to him. If I could scream, I would too. For different reasons.

The minute Itachi called time, I let my joints fold, collapsing to the ground with a gross squelch. My limbs splayed across the polished wooden floor, while the rain drummed the beat to my funeral march on the roof.

"So… tired…" Naruto gasped, from his own resting place by my left foot. "Even school never gets that tiring!"

I groaned something unintelligible.

The Uchiha head family had their own private dojo—because of course they did—for days like this. Seals older than Mikoto kept the wide room safe from the terror of the winter cold. While we'd have to train to fight in the mud and rain eventually, it seemed ninja did have a modicum of sense and decided that wasn't suitable weather for children in the single digits.

Maybe when we hit doubles.

That was unfair. This was a new world. It was so, so easy to forget it ran on different rules than the ones I was raised on. In the mundanity of everyday life, in the casual interactions between neighbors and friends, I only saw people. Some of them were blue-haired or pupil-less, sure, but still people. I didn't see merchants buying whatever protection they could afford for what should just be a simple cross-country road trip. I didn't see smaller ninja clans covering identifiable clan features before leaving Konoha, because there was a reason their clans were small, and it wasn't for lack of trying.

It was so easy, to forget the shadow of death stalking every person in this world.

Dark hair interrupted my hazy appreciation for the dojo's ceiling. Itachi peered at me from over my head. His small smile lightened his face, turning stress lines into laugh lines, with a hint of a renewed sparkle in the depths of those solid black eyes.

"You did very well today," he said. "Good job."

My lips curled in spite of myself. I quickly turned it into a scowl, though it was more likely to look like a pout. Just to add insult to injury, a panting Sasuke pushed himself into a handstand before folding back upright.

"Come," Itachi said, holding out a hand. "You still have to go through your stretches."

I changed my mind about taking his offer, letting my hand flop back to the floor. His smile widened by a smidge. For an Uchiha—no, for Itachi, he might as well have laughed at me.

"Flexibility is important," he reminded me. "You can supplement your physical strength with chakra, but you can never quite train your flexibility to the levels you'd have if you started young."

"I know, I knoooow." I did not need a repeat of this lecture. I batted at his hand. "Just… gimme a sec."

He tilted his head, considering, before rising to his feet. "Two minutes." He wandered out of sight, probably to check on Naruto.

Sasuke poked my ribs with his toe. "You're pathetic," he informed me. "I moved on from that routine when I was five."

I pointed at him. "Shut up."

Apparently, Uzumaki stamina collapsed in the face of good old physical conditioning. Boundless energy meant nothing if I didn't have the muscles to do forty fucking push ups. Sure, I wouldn't feel it in the morning as much as I should. That didn't stop it from aching now.

"Have you been doing the exercises Shisui taught you?" Itachi asked, as he helped Naruto to his feet.

He let me swim in the puddle of my own sweat for a little while longer. "Every morning, on the dot," I said dully.

Like they wouldn't notice if we stopped. The one time Naruto and I had given in to the temptation of a lazy weekend, Shisui revealed his ability to turn into a demon straight out of hell. He spent the rest of his downtime waking us with relish. At five in the fucking morning, we went through the stretches in the apartment building's backyard.

I was seven! I had the right to sleep in, dammit!

"C'mon, Minako! You're the only one left lying down!" Naruto did his version of being helpful and began trying to yank my arm off. Unlike Itachi, he couldn't be denied by something so mundane as a word of protest.

"Ugh," I said anyway, before rolling over. My arms trembled as I pushed myself to my feet.

The flexibility exercises were at least more fun than standing in an awkward position. Bridges, planking, whatever, all involved ten minutes of boredom, before my body started realizing this isn't fun, actually, until I reached the twenty minute mark where every atom was consumed by the need to collapse, and only sheer will and the threat of Uchiha Itachi's disappointment kept me elevated.

I got a greater sense of wonder touching the back of my head with my toes, or lying flat on my stomach with both legs spread to either side. There were cartwheels involved, special rolls to teach the proper way to fall. I could stand straight with my leg up in a perfect split, then drop down and catch myself on my hands with only the barest of flinches. If I added a half-remembered EDM beat, it could almost be a dance.

Bent over my outstretched leg, I said, "Where is Shisui anyway? Or is that top secret?"

Naruto perked up, abandoning his stretch. "A top secret mission? Is he rescuing a princess? Killing an evil merchant lord? Stealing from another Hidden Village?"

Itachi reprimanded us both by pushing on our backs. I squeaked.

"He was sent on a solo mission near Water," Itachi said, making sure we stayed down for the required count before letting us up. "If I remember correctly, the local noble's daughter had been plagued by assassins as of late, and wanted a shinobi to deal with the one responsible."

Naruto eyes were so wide, you could have fit a starry sky in them. "So he is guarding a princess! That's so cool, dattebayo!"

It certainly sounded romantic. I could see Shisui sweeping the noblewoman off her feet, with his signature grin and a jibe thrown over his shoulder for his enemies. Grand Fireball Jutsu optional.

"Do you know when he'll be back?" I asked.

Itachi looked up from where he was correcting Sasuke's stance. He studied me for a moment, then his gaze softened. "Shisui is perceptive, and highly skilled. He will doubtlessly finish this mission with the same alacrity he has all the others."

That said nothing about who or what he might be facing out there. But Itachi had been relaxed throughout all our exercises, without a flicker of worry or absentmindedness breaking his focus. I had no idea if I could ever describe Itachi as cheerful, but his pleased serenity was as close as it could get. Reassured, I switched to the other leg.

Naruto, too used to Itachi and I talking with big words all the time, dattebayo, ignored us. "What's she like?" he demanded, through a faceful of pant leg. "Is she pretty? She has to be rich, right? Is she gonna reward him with gold? Or a kiss? Princesses give out kisses, right?"

"I think Yua-san would kill him if he let someone land a kiss on him." I snickered at the thought. Not that Shisui would ever let it happen. He was head over heels, and rolling straight down the hill for it.

"Is everyone finished?" The door slid open, letting in Mikoto with a plate full of—holy shit, was that siopao? "The food's ready!"

Naruto and Sasuke's heads snapped up like a pair of bloodhounds, as the scent of steamed pork buns filled the room.

"Food!" Naruto made a mad dash for the door. Sasuke was too refined to barrel towards his mother like that, but his bare feet did make a painful sounding squeak as he skidded to a stop beside her.

My attempts to finish my stretches were half-hearted, at best. I scrambled after them.

"What is it?" I asked, because if there's one thing I had to learn fast, it was to avoid calling things by how I knew them without learning what they were called here.

"They're called nikuman." Mikoto offered me a plate. "Careful, they're hot."

"How'd you make 'em?" I pulled it apart, sniffing the mushy brown pork inside. Soy sauce, maybe? They would make a handy change from sandwiches, if I could figure out how to switch out fillings for variety.

I was fast running out of recipes for our meals, if only because I had no idea how to make the Japanese-like food that Konoha favored. They didn't have sour vegetables I could use for soup. Garlic was also more expensive, which put a damper on pretty much all the recipes I knew how to cook.

"Would you like me to teach you?" Mikoto pulled the plate out of the boys' reach, just in time to save the last bun. Itachi smiled as she held it out to him, murmuring his thanks.

I beamed up at her, my right cheek puffing out with half of my nikuman. "Mmhm!" I said, knowing better than to open a mouth full of pork.

"Then you can help me make the snacks tomorrow." She brushed crumbs off my cheek with her thumb, exasperated and fond.

"So long as she finishes her drills first," Itachi put in. I scowled and chomped down on the remains of my nikuman. Mikoto hid her smile with a hand.

"Minako, so lazy," Naruto said, in a tone horrifically reminiscent of Shisui.

"Like a Nara," Sasuke added. I shot him a dirty look.

"You take that back," I said, and proved him wrong too. Naruto threw his hands up with a whoop, as I launched myself at Sasuke. I dug my fingers into the little brat's sides. He shrieked.

I wasn't that bad! It just so happened that my standards of exercise were, apparently, ridiculous, compared to freaking Uchiha. Who thought three hours of training on top of an afternoon of P.E. was normal, hell, even easy? Freaking Uchiha, that's who.

Mikoto huffed, smiling even as she held the plate out of kicking range. An 'oof' exploded from my lungs as Naruto decided to join the fight, because why the fuck not?

By the time we were done, the rain had moved from cheery drumming to a blurry torrent. We couldn't wait it out. The only thing worse than walking home in the dark was walking home in the rainy dark.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Mikoto asked, tugging our raincoats tighter around us. "Sasuke can lend you some clothes. You can have another sleepover…"

I giggled at the memory. Oh, that had been fun. I didn't remember whose idea it had been, exactly. But there had been yelling involved. Lots of yelling. Maybe even a dare—now that one was all on Naruto. Either way, I got to take a break from, well, babysitting, while Mikoto let the two boys run themselves to the ground before bed. And because she had dumped the three of us in the guest house, we didn't even run into Fugaku. The only thing missing had been Itachi and Shisui, both out on missions at the time.

"Thanks, Mikoto-ba-san," I said, basking way too much under the fussing. "But we've got food waiting at home. We'll just hurry back."

Naruto didn't even flinch as he ran out into the icy rain. "See you tomorrow!" He waved, as if tomorrow wasn't a nap and a day at school away. I braced myself, before running after him.

"Bye!" I yelled over my shoulder.

Winter in Konoha was cold. You'd think this would be obvious, but in my humble, tropical opinion, a season this rainy did not have the right to send me shivering in my stupid, open-toed shinobi shoes. Konoha's winters liked to deliver sheets of freezing, miserable rain, punctuated by the rarest of snowfalls. I didn't even know winter could be like this. I only knew white Christmases from American movies, or typhoon rains falling at a slant in the wind. Who knew winter could be the worst of both worlds?

The raincoats kept out the water that fell straight down, not the droplets that we ran straight into and the puddles splashing around our feet. The villagers' eyes seemed to drill even deeper into my back, in spite of the haze blurring everyone in sight. It added a chill couldn't be explained away by the tender embrace of winter.

We were both shivering before we even made it to our door. "Don't forget," I called, kicking off my shoes with a splat. "Dry—"

"—between my toes, I know, I know." Naruto's whine was undercut by his chattering teeth. He stumbled into the shower, leaving me to juggle our raincoats. I distracted myself from my miserable state by hanging them up and flipping on Konoha's version of an ancient heater.

"Don't use up all the hot water!" I yelled, kicking a rag over the puddles in the kitchen.

"You're the one who uses all the hot water!"

"Because it's cold!"

I turned on the stove, just to spread the heat faster. By the time Naruto's crashing about moved from the shower to our bedroom, I had the table set and dinner simmering in a pot.

"Naruto, I need you to watch the ramen while I shower," I said, putting the lid back.

"RAMEN?!"

There was no holding back my fond, exasperated smile. I loved ramen too, if not to the depths that my brother did, so I didn't mind having it as a meal often. At the very least, I could keep him from eating the instant kind.

I paused at the hallway, sparing one last glance out the kitchen window. The rain poured, smearing the world into an Impressionist's dream of gray and blue. The thin plywood we used as a makeshift target swung under the backyard's lone tree. On any other day, the sight would have been soothing, a paintbrush along my senses. Today, it prickled.

Rubbing my arm, I went to grab that shower.

I woke up in the middle of the night, half a second before the knock on our window. Something tingled under my skin. I sat up, all the hair on the back of my arms standing on end.

The rain had cleared, giving the moon free rein to deepen the shadows in the corners of our room. Beside me, Naruto was still, buried in the sands of sleep. Shisui knocked again, his face lit from the side by the street lamp beyond the fence.

"Shisui?" My pulse thudded in my ears. I forced myself towards the window, drowsy and sluggish. As if water filled my bones, and I was walking on the seafloor. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on a mission?"

"I just got back," he said sheepishly. He rubbed the back of his neck, perched on our windowsill with what could only be a judicious application of chakra. "There's something I needed to show you, and it couldn't wait."

Nothing felt right. Even the very air felt heavy, weighing down on my skin. I rubbed my arm, grimacing. "Gimme a second."

Whatever it was, it had to be important. Shisui was a nutty jack-in-the-box, but even he wouldn't pop into someone's place at fuck o'clock in the evening. Morning?

My clumsy fingers took a few seconds to unlatch the window. The scent of early morning Konoha rushed in with the winter chill, a cocktail mix of wet grass and soggy trash bags that I'd never had the bad luck to experience. I yawned, half-expecting the taste of rust and smoke on the back of my tongue.

There was no scent. I shuddered, even though it made sense that he would hide it during missions. It just didn't feel right, to see him but not smell him, or barely even hear him.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Here." He held out his hand. I broke eye contact and looked down.

Black on red on white filled my vision, a sight ingrained into my brain before I had even been born—

sleep.

The world spun, dragging me deeper and deeper into a whirlpool of blood and void. Searing wind and rotting branches slashed through my veins, digging in with thorns I couldn't fight off. A roar filled my ears. My legs folded under me.

Shisui's voice drifted over my head.

"You know what to do."

Naru … to…

Then, darkness.

Notes:

Oh my god guys, so much has happened since my last update, I don't know where to start. It's too long to put here, so if you wanna know about a temporary update schedule, RWTBD AUs, fic edits, and more, click here! My usual chapter notes are here.

Note that I have added the tag "Canon-typical Violence" to this fic, so prepare yourselves for the usual gut wounds, misplaced eyeballs, aggressive use of teeth, etc.

Finally, this is where I remind everyone of what I said in ch. 3: Everyone is an unreliable narrator. Their POV is narrow, they will know things you don't and not know things you do, and they can be and are mistaken a lot of the time. Look underneath the underneath ;) It'll get even more relevant as we move forward.

Cheers, and see y'all in two weeks!

EDIT: I'M SO SORRY I added back something to the beginning of this chapter that I took out before I uploaded it, so no, you're not imagining things. I made a mistake and I tried to correct it. I don't have a beta, so I've only got me to catch my mistakes T_T I'm so sorry about that

Chapter 21: Arc I Chapter 21

Summary:

Itachi can't catch a break.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Itachi put his pen down and breathed out, letting the tension seep from his shoulders. His finished report lay on his desk, detailing the Iwa missing nin he'd encountered in his last aboveboard mission. ANBU had to maintain a public persona, after all, or risk getting exposed by the simple act of constantly disappearing without explanation. He was just glad could write this report at home, instead of the musty caves that made up the ANBU barracks.

The report went into his sealed desk drawer, to be submitted the next day. He pushed his chair back, stretching. A quick glance at the sky gave him an approximation of the time—the rain had finally faded to a light drizzle, giving the moon space to peek out of the clouds.

He allowed himself a moment to lean back and simply bask in the quiet sounds of Konoha at night. Bare-faced trees creaked in counterpoint to the Hashirama trees' rustling. Soft voices murmured from the street below, as the owners made their way home.

Months ago, he had pleaded to the Hokage to help his clan, to keep them from falling on their own sword. It had doubled his responsibilities into an agonizing weight. He had to personify the Uchiha name and reputation on every mission, attend hidden meetings and appease the elders leading the coup. Every shift of the clan's sentiments at the Hokage's efforts to bring peace, he reported to the man himself. He and Shisui chased rumors that sprung up like weeds, suffocating his clan from both within and without.

Konoha blurred under his feet, shops closing and families changing as the seasons passed. In trying to do everything he could, everything he cared about moved on without him.

But it was worth it. Things were looking up, even if only slightly. Allowing the Uchiha jounin more missions brought the clan back into the public eye. Their accomplishments were more visible, their reputation building once again. It was a start, and the mood within the clan and the village was already changing because of it.

One last glance out the quiet night sky, then he picked up his empty thermos. It wasn't even midnight yet. Perhaps he could actually get more than four hours of sleep tonight.

He closed his door behind him, just as the door to his right opened. His mother blinked, an empty tray in one hand. Behind her, a lamp chased away the shadows of the room, leaving a single, humanoid form cast against the opposite wall.

She smiled, shutting the door behind her. "Here," she said, her voice soft. "Let me take care of that."

He let her take the thermos, his eyes drifting towards the office. "What time did otou-san get home?" he asked. He had noted his father's tread in the hallway, but hadn't given it more thought.

"Just now." She followed his gaze, her expression as exasperated as it was tender. "He asked for some onigiri so he could keep working. I can make more if you're hungry."

"Thank you, but it's fine. I finished early today." He hesitated. "If otou-san needs help—"

"—he'll ask you. Don't worry." Her feet were a light whisper against the floorboards as she drew him away.

Uchiha Mikoto was fourteen years off active duty. It had unnerved Itachi, the day he realized how much it showed.

She stopped when they were closer to Sasuke's bedroom, far enough that any murmuring could be ignored. "Let your father worry about his own work," she continued. "Go ahead and catch up on some sleep. You've been working very hard, after all."

The corner of his lip pulled upwards at her unwitting echo of his thoughts. "Very well. Thank you, okaa-san."

"Itachi." She cupped his cheek with her free hand. He stilled. "Your father and I are so proud of you."

The breath left his lungs. "Okaa-san?"

"I know your father doesn't say it enough, but believe me when I tell you it's true." She smoothed a lock of hair behind his ear, before pulling away with a sigh. "You remind me of your father, you know. Both of you give your all for the clan, even at the cost of your own wellbeing. I used to worry it would be too much to put on you, but you rose to the challenge."

She clasped the tray and thermos to her chest. Her smile shone in the moonlight. "You've come so far in such a short time. And I want you to know your father and I see that."

Itachi pressed his lips together, swallowing the bile climbing up his throat. "Thank you," he said. "I… am honored by your regard."

She chuckled. "So formal. It's just a mother doting on her child, Itachi."

"I don't know how you want me to react," he said, embarrassment burning his cheeks in spite of himself.

"Nothing. Simply continue as you are." She squeezed his arm. He forced his hands to go lax, instead of the fists they wanted to clench into.

"Then I will do my best—" He took a deep breath, refusing to let his voice crack. "—to continue making you and otou-san proud."

"Starting with a good night's sleep, right? I've held you for long enough." Laughing softly to herself, she headed for the stairs. "Sleep well, Itachi."

"Good night, okaa-san."

He waited for her footsteps to reach the base of the stairs before breathing out. His nails dug into his palms.

Ever since Minako and Naruto began visiting, a change had come over his mother. There was a new light in her eyes, like a painting come to life. She became more… present. Happier. More affectionate.

It was the little things, like a hand on his shoulder, or a plate of mochi to welcome him home. Every loving touch and encouraging word made his heart flutter. He held his head higher. And yet every meeting with the Hokage and his Council poisoned the warmth his mother brought, until only guilt and shame were left.

He was a double agent, betraying his clan to the village for the sake of both. There was nothing to be proud of.

A few strides closed the distance between him and Sasuke's door. He pressed his hand to the door frame, listening. His brother's soft snores eased the storm inside him, little by little, until his head rested against the wall.

This was what mattered. He would walk to hell and back, if it meant children like Sasuke would grow up not knowing war like he did.

"Sweet dreams, otouto," Itachi whispered to the wood. Then he headed back to his room.

He woke up to a call at their gate. "Uchiha-sama, forgive the intrusion…"

A glance out the window confirmed his suspicions. It was early morning, the sky lightening just beyond the towering Hashirama trees at the edge of the village. Any news at this time would not be good news.

He was a step behind his father as the man strode towards their door. Otou-san's haori ruffled in his wake, with Itachi's mother bringing up the rear. Outside, a brown-haired cousin stood at attention, hands clasped in front of him. One of the guards on the night shift—he should be guarding the compound's gates.

"Keita. What is it?" Even in only a jinbei and haori, Itachi's father cut an imposing figure.

The guard didn't waste any time. "Sir, there's a child at the gates asking for Mikoto-sama," he said, report clipped but not rushed. "We tried to turn him away, but he's been too distraught—"

Itachi's blood ran cold. "Okaa-san," he said.

"Go." She stepped forward, dropping any sign of her earlier drowsiness. "Your father and I will take care of things here. Keita-kun, start from…"

The path blurred under his feet. The early morning chill seeped into the folds of his pajamas, trailing goosebumps along his exposed skin. His sandal treads left no mark as he rushed towards the gate.

Keita had said one child, not two. Itachi had never seen Minako and Naruto apart, not since the day Minako had tried to get inside the Uchiha compound. And no other boy would come to the Uchiha compound to ask for his mother at this hour.

Let it be nothing, he prayed, even as his instincts screamed otherwise. Let it be an easy, rectifiable mistake.

He heard Naruto before he saw him. The frantic cries brought back memories of walking up to this very same gate from the other side, wondering at the uncharacteristic fuss happening up ahead. But there was no anger in Naruto's voice, only fear and desperation lacing every word.

Keita's twin knelt at the side of the road, out of the way of the gate. Kouta—his name was Kouta—held tight to the squirming child in his arms, his brow furrowed in badly concealed panic. Naruto thrashed, any coherence lost under his deep, ugly sobs.

"Lemme go… lemme… help… I need… ba-san, help…"

Itachi landed right beside them, startling Kouta into reaching for a kunai. He barely spared him a moment, dipping his head in an apologetic nod. His gaze never left Naruto.

"Naruto-kun," he said.

Naruto's head snapped up. Bloodshot eyes widened, then scrunched up, more tears pouring down his cheeks.

"Itachi!" He threw himself forward, squirming out of Kouta's loosened grip. Itachi caught him, bracing himself on the balls of his feet as Naruto clung on. He shook in Itachi's arms.

"Naruto-kun," Itachi said, rubbing the boy's back. He relaxed his hold, letting no sign of his own alarm come through in his body language. "Where's Minako-chan?"

Naruto's grip tightened. "I don't know!" he wailed. "I w-woke up, and she wasn't there, and I c-couldn't find her! I l-looked all over, and I waited and waited, but she didn't show up and I got so scared—"

Itachi's hand stuttered in its movements, before continuing. He met Kouta's gaze. The older genin nodded and quietly returned to his post.

There was no question in his mind. Naruto was telling the truth. He was excitable, yes, and missed details that others noticed with greater ease. But the Uzumaki twins had been an independent pair long before his mother had taken them under her wing. Naruto would have exhausted all his options before turning to an adult for help.

Which meant that they had wasted enough time as it was.

"Naruto-kun. Naruto-kun." He forced Naruto to pull back, cutting through his babbling. Naruto stared up at him, wide-eyed and pale with terror.

Itachi needed him to calm down. He couldn't answer questions like this, and they would need all the information they could get from him to start the search.

What would Okaa-san do? What would Shisui do?

Okaa-san would try to comfort Naruto, with tender words and touch. Shisui would smile and cajole him, getting him to let down his guard.

Itachi could do that. Right?

He squatted down to Naruto's height. Modulating his voice to be lower, softer, he brought up the same smile he reserved for when Sasuke begged him for training. It came easier than he expected it to.

"I'm going to need you to be brave, Naruto-kun. We need you to answer questions, so we can look for Minako-chan as soon as possible. Can you do that? Can you calm down, so you can tell us what happened?"

Naruto trembled. He shut his eyes, squeezing out the last of his tears, then shook his head to clear it. "I can—I can. I'll be brave. I will, dattebayo."

Itachi had never heard him sound so small.

"Thank you. Now, hold on. I'm taking you home." He scooped him up, one hand underneath him while the other rested on the back of his head. Naruto locked his arms and legs around him, burying his face in Itachi's shoulder.

Every heartbeat was another second lost as Itachi shunshined back. He kept his breathing even, checking to make sure the high speeds wouldn't distress his passenger.

Naruto's stubby nails dug through his thin shirt. Otherwise, he didn't make a sound.

Okaa-san was ready for them at the door. She swept Naruto out of Itachi's arms, cooing softly at his messy face. True to his word, more tears trailed down Naruto's cheeks—but he did not sob.

She deposited him in the dining room with a glass of water and a plate of senbei. He accepted the glass, casting a wary glance at the opposite side of the table. Otou-san, already in his MP uniform, didn't pay him any attention. His gaze stayed focused on his notepad.

It had been years since Itachi's father had personally been in the field, but he still interviewed people from time to time. And he still knew when it was best to step aside and let someone else do the job.

"Can you tell me what happened, Naruto-kun?" Okaa-san said, kneeling on the tatami mats. "When did you realize Minako-chan was missing?"

Naruto curled around his glass. "When I woke up," he said.

Itachi settled down by the door, intent on every word. Slowly, a timeline began to emerge. The twins had collapsed into bed soon after dinner, exhausted by the training he had put them through. Naruto slept like a log, up until he had been woken by the cold from the open window. That was how he had known something was wrong. Minako hated the cold, and always scolded him if he left the windows open.

Naruto searched the apartment first, even the backyard and the rest of the building. When Minako didn't show, he had dithered for about half an hour, before giving in to his panic and running towards the compound.

All in all, it gave a seven hour window for Minako to have gone missing. By now, a total of nine hours. To any seasoned shinobi, nine hours was an eternity.

"Is it possible that she was drawn outside by something? Perhaps she got lost?" Otou-san asked, even if he sounded skeptical himself.

"No!" Naruto glared at him, his fear overridden by his indignation. "Minako would never go out at night! Not without me."

Otou-san's eyebrow rose at the surprising vehemence. "How are you so sure?"

Naruto bit his lip. He turned to Okaa-san, who nodded encouragingly. It seemed to comfort him, because he said, "Coz she's scared of the dark. She can't be alone when it's dark."

The line between Okaa-san's brows deepened. Otou-san nodded firmly, rising to his feet. "That will do. Itachi, alert the Hokage immediately. Mikoto, I'll send an MP back to get more details."

"Hai, otou-san." Itachi stepped aside with a nod.

His father rushed off, shoving the notebook into his pocket and muttering under his breath. Itachi caught a few words, right before he swept out the door.

"But how did they know?"

Naruto's apprehensive look stopped him before he could follow. The boy clung to Okaa-san's kimono, his momentary blaze of courage worn down to fitful sparks. He shook with stifled sobs, eyes wide and watery.

Something in Itachi's chest ached. He pulled on his smile for Sasuke again, trying to reassure him. "It's alright, Naruto-kun. We'll find her."

"Promise?" Naruto whispered.

"Fugaku is the Chief of Police, and the Hokage will soon have his best shinobi on the trail," Okaa-san said, smoothing his hair back. "They'll find Minako-chan."

"D'you promise?" he insisted, never looking away from Itachi.

Itachi dipped his head. "I promise," he said. His mother cast an assessing glance at him—not disapproving, merely resigned.

He knew it was a promise he couldn't make. But he would do his utmost to fulfill it anyway. Because Minako was Naruto's sister; Naruto, who made Sasuke scream and laugh like nothing would. Because she woke something in his mother that he hadn't seen in a long time. Because she teased Shisui into a blushing, giggling mess.

Because she was his friend.

Long practice allowed him to throw on his ANBU armor in less than a minute. He was out his window just as fast, absently noting the sound of Sasuke stirring as he left.

Chakra-enforced leaps took him over rooftops, with not even a click of a shingle to give him away. He kept his pace fast, but even. Urgent enough to keep other ANBU from stopping him, but smooth enough that it wouldn't spark his comrades' insatiable curiosity. He didn't know how great an alarm this incident deserved. Not yet. That was for the Hokage to decide.

Even if Itachi wanted nothing more than to run straight to the twins' apartment and get the investigation started yesterday.

Only one thing could have ripped him from his focused dash towards the Hokage's office. A familiar voice greeted the gate guards below, worn but still cheerful. Itachi stopped, spun on his heel, and dropped down a side street. A quick inspection revealed no humanoid chakra systems nearby. Deactivating his Sharingan, he sealed away his mask and released the tight grip he kept on his chakra.

Shisui arrived in a whisper of shunshin, his landing sending up a puff of dust from the dirt path.

"Itachi?" His grip tightened on his mission pack, as he scanned the armor Itachi had donned. "What is it?"

Itachi was pushing regulations, but the secret of his ANBU status was long dead within the inner circle of the clan anyway. So long as he still kept his mask hidden, it mattered little. Not here, not now.

He spared a moment to scan his best friend. Shadows clung to the wells under his eyes and the lines of exhaustion on his face. His sleeve was torn, even if the skin underneath had been healed. Scorch marks and blood darkened the blues of his uniform into wrinkled black. He looked tired, in the way only off-duty shinobi let themselves be. It meant the shinobi felt safe. It meant they were home.

"Minako-chan is missing," Itachi said.

He watched as Shisui slid his mission persona back on. No hesitation. No thought given to his own fatigue. Just a stone-faced mask, shutting away any levity or injury behind focused determination.

"What do you mean Minako-chan is missing?" Shisui demanded.

"Naruto-kun woke up to find her gone." Itachi quickly filled him in on the rest of the details, ending with, "Father has gone to the station to head the investigation. I need to report to the Hokage."

Shisui nodded. "I'll head for the station, then. I've been to the twins' apartment often enough. I'll know if anything is out of place."

Itachi looked him over again. He was starting to rethink the wisdom of telling Shisui so soon. Of course, his friend would have never forgiven him if he heard the news from another source, possibly a day late besides. Even still…

"You should drop by our home, first," he told him. "It would do Naruto-kun good to see another familiar face."

Shisui grinned wryly and flicked Itachi on the forehead. Itachi's frown deepened. "I'm sure Mikoto-sama has it handled," Shisui said. "Besides, Sasuke-kun's there too, isn't he?"

"Shisui…" Itachi began. His friend waved off his concern.

"I'll tackle things from this end, while you take yours. Alright?" Shisui stepped back, the light in his eyes fierce. His smile was a bloody promise. "Happy hunting."

Itachi huffed, then gave in. His steady gaze was just as vicious. "Happy hunting."

They darted into the trees.

Notes:

Feel free to speculate and discuss with each other in the comments! ;) I will neither confirm nor deny, but I love seeing all your theories on what's happening/will happen!

Also, here's the fic's cover photo on ffnet, so y'all can see what Minako looks like :D

No commentary post, coz I've only got two things to say:

I've been living for every little drabble of Murder Uchihas you guys leave in the comments (hi, Goshikku!) and now I get to whip out my own version! Wheeee!

Also, remember that "I'm proud of you son right before you're about to kill me?" scene? Miss me with that shit. I get it, they needed max drama in the space of one page/minute. Since I have a little more leeway than that, I wanted to try my hand at it.

See y'all in two weeks! 3

Chapter 22: Arc I Chapter 22

Summary:

The ANBU hunt.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The Hokage's Killing Intent permeated his office, a promise of violence with no target. It hadn't stopped since Itachi had delivered his terrible news. Behind his desk stood Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Shimura Danzo. With the village in a silent lockdown, it was necessary for the council to be present, in order to have the information to soothe and coordinate the merchant clans, foreign dignitaries, and shinobi clans respectively.

Itachi knelt before them all, masked as Crow. The rest of his team was arrayed behind him—Frog in his customary place at the rear, with Turtle to his right and Hawk to his left. Team Wo and Team Na had already been dispatched to reinforce the village border, while Team Su was tasked with guarding Naruto at the compound. The only other team in the room was Crow's old one. Tiger knelt at Hound's right, guarding his flank, while Horse kept the rear. Crow's replacement, Fox, took his old spot on the left of their formation.

"Team Ro. Team Chi." The Hokage's anger rolled over them all. No one flinched, unmoving in the face of an apex predator. "You are in charge of pursuing Uzumaki Minako and her captors. Ensure one of them remains alive." His voice was the creak of ancient trees, the wind heralding a typhoon. "Kill the rest."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Team Ro will take the lead, with Team Chi as assistance and backup." That dark, wizened gaze, with a rage honed by decades of war, settled on the silver head to Crow's right. "Inu. You know what to do."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

At a passing glance, anyone would think Hound was as unfeeling as the words he just uttered. He acted the role of the perfect ANBU—still as stone, with a deadened voice untouched by any emotion. But anyone who had been in Team Ro could read past the mask. The last time Hound's lightning chakra had been this condensed, he had run for two days straight from the border of Earth to Konoha, a distance that should have taken three. Two days, in a mad dash to save the poisoned Tiger on his back. Horse had to carry Crow halfway through, when his shorter stamina failed to keep up.

It soothed the flutter in Crow's ribs, changing it to something cold and calm. He and Hound had never been particularly close, if only because of the strained relationship between the man and his clan. But Crow respected him, and more importantly, trusted him.

This was the chakra of a man who would not rest until his comrades were safe and sound. He will bring Minako home or die trying.

"Do not overlook the inside of the village," Shimura said suddenly, speaking for the first time since the Council was summoned. "The culprit may be in hiding, waiting out the initial response."

The air around Hound shifted from impatient to distinctly scornful. Tiger's chakra jumped in the silent equivalent of a cringe.

Crow had heard senior captains complain about Shimura Danzo before. Not satisfied with governing ROOT, the shadow of Konoha's shadow forces, the man had been making increasing attempts to meddle in ANBU missions in the past few years. Crow never expected to witness it happen in front of the strongest shinobi in the village, with a fury that weighed a thousand suns.

"Rest assured, Danzo," the Hokage said, that ever-present Killing Intent strengthening with every word, "that my shinobi know how to do their job."

The lines on Shimura's face deepened. But he said nothing more.

"Dismissed!" the Hokage snapped.

As one, Team Ro and Team Chi shunshined out of the room.

The streets around the twins' apartment were deceptively empty. Crow counted two Uchiha MPs through the windows, while murmuring further inside hinted at a third, talking to the apartment manager. As far as he could tell, those were the only people his father sent to investigate. He approved. Even if the lockdown confined the civilians to their homes, it didn't mean there were no prying eyes eager to figure out what the fuss was all about. The MPs' discretion meant that any gossip would stay contained for a few more days, at least.

Hound motioned for him to take point. Crow glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. So he wanted him to take care of the officers while Team Ro went straight to investigating, then?

Understood, Crow signed. Honestly, he couldn't even begrudge the man his impatience. It hummed in his veins as well, tempered only by the steady patience of a smith controlling forge fire.

Frog dropped down at their team's prearranged signal, grabbing the attention of the two MPs inside the apartment. Fox's curiosity shivered in Crow's senses. He ignored it, sending Hawk and Turtle to search the perimeter. Hound signaled his team to follow after Frog.

Because of Crow's shorter stature, most of those he met while masked were put off by his height first, and its implications second. He was content to let the older Frog be the face of their team, while he gathered his own information and made decisions from the shadows.

From Hound's lack of reaction, he understood. Maybe even approved.

Below him, cousin Sho gestured towards the corner where the building kept its trash. Crow landed, just in time to hear him say, "—haven't touched the body."

Crow's head snapped towards the trash pile.

Splayed on top like a broken, discarded ragdoll was the corpse of an ANBU agent. Dried blood stained his slit throat, spilling over his Rat mask.

The message could not have been any clearer.

Hound's subsonic growl vibrated in Crow's bones. He reined his own anger—and Sharingan—in, pushing back the vivid memory of Rat's larynx peeking out of his skin.

"Based on the blood left behind, Nezumi-san was thrown or moved from the tree." Sho gestured towards the lone tree on the other side of the tiny yard. A tick jumped in his jaw, his own anger buried deep.

"How many people covered this area?" Hound said.

"Just me." Sho was Uchiha through and through. But Crow doubted that Hound needed an expression to understand the silent I'm not stupid hidden in those two words. Investigators knew better than to muddy the scents in a crime scene by letting half a dozen people tramp through it.

Hound turned on his heel, motioning to the rest of his team. "Good," Frog translated. "We'll take over from here." His posture gave nothing away. Let Sho think Hound's impatience was normal ANBU brusqueness.

Out of his cousin's sight, Crow twisted his index and middle finger together and flicked them twice.

"If you have any other information…" Frog tilted his head. Sho nodded, getting the hint.

"This way. My team will have more to report inside." He led the man into the building, leaving the back door propped open in their wake.

Tiger was already at the tree, ostensibly examining the blood staining the trunk. He pressed his hand against the bark. A flicker of Crow's Sharingan revealed his chakra sinking into the tree's roots, searching for loose earth and other signs of tunneling jutsu.

Hound crouched over the body, his gloved hand moving refuse out of the way with care. Fox and Horse darted towards the roof, getting a bird's eye view of the area.

Crow approached the twins' apartment, scanning the two windows facing the yard. The one looking into the kitchen was closed. Dishes from last night were still on the drying rack, while the pot sat upside down by the sink. Naruto's gigantic stuffed frog slumped in its seat at the dining table, waiting for the twins to come back home.

The bedroom window was open, just as Naruto had said. Evidence of the boy's panic littered the scene. The cabinet to the left had been thrown open, clothes yanked to the side. One of the pillows had slid off the bed, with the blanket on the complete opposite side of the narrow room.

Crow activated his Sharingan, examining the wall and ground below the window. No tracks were left in the mud. The windowsill showed no scuff marks, not a single sign of forced entry.

Polite footsteps approached him from behind. "Nothing's amiss inside the apartment," Shisui said. "We've checked."

His hands hung at his sides, visibly empty. He had found the time to change his shirt, while a weak genjutsu hid the scorch marks on his flak jacket. His presence alone eased some of the tightness in Crow's chest.

"The only fingerprints on their bedroom window are the twins'," he continued, coming to a stop beside him. "And Naruto-kun said there was nothing else out of place when he woke up. It's as if she left of her own free will."

Hound stiffened.

"Uzumaki Naruto reported his sister's nyctophobia," Crow said, for Hound's sake. "He claims he would not have left without someone to accompany her."

Shisui crossed his arms. "So she must have seen something that made her open the window."

Hound stalked over, interrupting them. They stepped aside, letting him examine the area. He sniffed once, twice, then shook his head. He slashed his hand across the air, the only sign of his frustration. Target not found. No hostiles.

Crow frowned. The trash would have muddled any incriminating scents on the body, but the window itself should have held more than that. To seal their own scent was to be expected, but even Minako's?

A subtle pulse of chakra drew their attention to Tiger, who also signed, No hostiles found.

Which meant whoever had taken Minako hadn't passed through the ground in their escape.

"Were there any traces of chakra found in the area?" Crow asked. Shisui's eyes narrowed.

"Not that I know of," he said. "But I can ask Sho."

Crow tipped his head in a silent request. With a nod, Shisui disappeared.

Not all Sharingan were created equal, just as not all Uchiha excelled in the same thing. There were those who could track the movement of a kikaichu from ten feet away. Others could see chakra flow in detail, fit to rival their Hyuuga cousins. The reason Uchiha Sho rose so rapidly up the ranks of the Military Police was his sensitivity to chakra. He could see chakra left behind by jutsu use, an invaluable trait in crime scenes where the possible culprit had been trained to leave no evidence behind.

Fox reappeared, dropping to one knee. "Taicho," she called. "We found another body."

Hound whirled to face her. As one, Team Ro disappeared. Crow resisted the urge to follow, merely noting the direction they had gone as he waited for Sho.

His cousin came out soon enough, Sharingan already red and spinning. Sho looked over the window, frowned, then leaned closer. Shisui stayed by the door, hip against the frame. Frog came to a stop in front of Crow. With the hand resting on his belt, he shared the important details of Sho's report.

No evidence found. No witnesses. Priority: classified information.

Understood, Crow tapped against his tanto's sheath. He shoved down his building frustration. Outside of the usual crime scene investigation, the Military' Police's standard procedures wouldn't work here. Interviewing the neighbors could only get so far when you didn't want to spark gossip about the local jinchuriki.

Which was why ANBU had been called in.

"Tch." Sho rose from his crouch, scowling. "There's traces of chakra here," he gestured at a space four inches below the windowsill, "but it's very faint. Nothing more than what someone would use to tree walk, and nothing we can use to track them."

"But can that prove there was someone there?" Shisui asked.

In this, at least, Sho's nod was decisive. "Assuming they were crouching to look into the window, we're looking at someone at around average Konoha adult height."

Which meant absolutely nothing, other than someone or something trained in chakra had prompted the open window. Crow nodded.

"Thank you, Uchiha-san," Frog said. Sho waved it off.

"Go get the bastards," he said, tone fierce. Frog's chakra fluttered, mirth and agreement in one.

Shisui's gaze met Crow's across the yard. For a split second, Crow became Itachi, peering out of a mask that hid even his eyes from the outside world.

And still, Shisui seemed to know exactly where he was looking.

Shisui dipped his head. Crow returned the gesture, a reiteration of this morning.

As one, he and Frog shunshined towards the roof. Team Ro had situated themselves in a loose circle, with Horse and Fox murmuring to Tiger, while Hound crouched over the body.

Snake had died quietly, perforated under his chin and into the brain. The culprit had left his corpse in the shadow of the locked door to the stairs, allowing an excuse to why the MPs hadn't noticed it.

The sight made Crow frown. No ANBU agent would be killed so easily, or so cleanly. Their killer would have had to get very close without alerting him first.

Hound rose to his feet in one, fluid motion. He circled the roof, sniffing. A low growl of satisfaction left his lips.

As one, the ANBU on the roof snapped to attention.

"You have a scent?" Crow asked. Hound's sign of affirmation was almost careless. It didn't take much imagination to see his mask baring sharp teeth.

"We're going ahead," he snarled. "Catch up." In a blink, Team Ro was gone, tracking the scent over the rooftops.

Thinking fast, Crow flared his chakra. Immediately, the rest of Team Chi returned, kneeling on the concrete.

"Nothing out of place within 20 meters, taicho." Hawk reported. Turtle nodded his agreement.

"Noted." Crow pointed at the corpse by the stairs and the one out of sight. "Frog, Turtle, take the bodies to T&I for further analysis, then report our findings to the Hokage. Hawk, with me."

"Hai!"

Last year, Frog might have balked at his command, or Hawk would have said something disparaging. Not anymore. Any doubt about Crow's capabilities as a captain was gone. They darted off, a well-oiled machine built from blood, duty, and months of putting each others' lives in their hands.

The culprit's trail led to a cave off the far bank of the Naka river. The distant waterfall pounded in Crow's ears, an ominous drumbeat. Not even a mile away was his and Shisui's usual meeting place, and he cursed the fact, even if he wouldn't have had any idea to search here without Hound's lead.

Their group fanned out. Horse and Hawk disappeared into the twilight, off to secure the perimeter. Fox perched on a small stone shelf above the entrance. Her hand rested on the hilt of her sword, ready to cut someone down at a moment's notice. Heading inside, Hound took point, with Crow and Tiger taking up the rear.

Dark red spilled across the shadows of the cavern, a macabre juxtaposition against blue kitty pajamas. Black ink crawled over thin arms and a round cheek, blending into the markings on her eyelids like a sickening blindfold.

Minako lay still. Too still for someone asleep.

A pillar of wood cracked across Itachi's path, stopping him and Hound in their tracks. Tiger, his chakra jumping in agitation, shook his curled index and middle finger in their direction.

TRAP.

Crow—Crow—shook his head, shoving the lump in his throat down, down, where it couldn't impede the mission. He focused his spinning Sharingan on the ground, Hound's growl reverberating around the cave.

The seal drew a half-finished circle around Minako's splayed body. Straight lines crawled down her arms and legs, connecting to the base design. He caught the symbols for "control" and "release," but couldn't decipher anything else.

Reluctantly, he stepped back. This was Hound's purview, not his. Fuinjutsu was a complicated art that not everyone had the creativity for. Without a Seal Master to teach them the intricacies, most shinobi resigned themselves to learning patterns and familiar designs. The seal didn't glow in his sight like an active seal would, and looked unfinished to his untrained eye. But for all he knew, there was a trigger to activate the seal, somewhere within the inky parody of a broken plate.

Hound circled the seal, his anger filling the air with static. Trusting him with it, Crow turned his attention to Minako. Now that he was in control of his own impatience, he could see the faint rise and fall of her chest, with the Sharingan's aid. Too slow, too shallow—but there.

He breathed out.

The state of her chakra was more concerning. It flowed along her system in gentle waves, instead of the torrent of energy he was used to feeling from her. The waves fluctuated in a way that clearly marked a strong genjutsu, but the pattern…

Crow's eyes narrowed. Foreboding crept up his spine.

The pattern was familiar. Too familiar.

Abruptly, Hound stopped. "The seal is worthless," he snapped. Pressing his hand against Minako's shoulder, he held the other to his chest and said, "Kai!"

Crow caught the stutter in her chakra, as Hound's stabbed through the pattern the genjutsu had forced it into.

Minako flinched. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Naru… to?"

Hound slid his hands underneath her, lifting her into a more upright position. She struggled, too weak to do more than flail in his grip. Hound caught her hand before she could hurt herself on his armor. Her heart rate spiked, a hummingbird's flutter in Crow's ears.

"No… no… Naruto… Where is… I need… Naruto…!"

"Uzumaki Naruto is safe." Hound's words fell on deaf ears. Her gaze flickered around the cave, panicked and unseeing.

"Naruto!" The cry wasn't even loud enough to echo. "Naruto!" Her next spasm almost sent her falling out of Hound's arms, the man too afraid of hurting her to tighten his hold.

Instinct and a half-baked suspicion made Crow step to the side, into the breeze entering the cave.

Hound twitched, but Minako—Minako's head snapped towards him, the rest of her freezing in place. Her panting slowed, until she shook with little, hitched gasps.

Crow stepped closer, keeping his movements steady and predictable. Her eyes never left him, the blue all but disappearing under her dilated pupils.

She raised a trembling hand. He held out his. The moment her fingers brushed the skin of his palm, she hiccuped, and twisted out of Hound's slack grip.

For the second time that day, Crow was pinned down by an armful of Uzumaki. It was like embracing a block of ice. Goosebumps rose on his skin as she buried her face in his collar, her breaths puffing against his neck. Quickly, he made the sign for katon jutsu against her back, where Hound could see.

"Naruto?" she whispered.

"Safe," he replied.

With a sigh, she went limp.

Hound hadn't moved. His bone-white mask stared him down, the sealed eye holes hiding whatever thoughts whirled in his mind.

"She's too cold," Crow snapped.

That broke through Hound's daze. He glanced up at Tiger, who dashed out the cave without another word.

Crow wished, not for the first time, that Tiger's kekkai genkai wasn't as resistant to fire as it was. It would have been helpful in their missions to the north. It would be priceless here. He did his best to cover Minako with his arms, but there was little he could do with his armor in the way.

Then there was a puff of smoke, and Crow was surrounded by several wriggling bodies of various weight and sizes. Wet noses nudged him this way and that, snuffling in worry. He had to sit down, or be bowled over.

A tongue brushed over his hand. He stared at the greyhound. Uhei returned his gaze, lips drawn in an unrepentant a doggy smile.

It was working, at least. The ninken's heat was almost sweltering in the damp cave. Minako began to shiver as warmth returned to her limbs. Crow wondered at the odd sight they made—an ANBU agent and eight dogs, crowded around a single, unconscious child.

Hound stuck his head outside the cave and began snapping orders at Fox. Tiger returned, carrying a standard ANBU cloak. He had to help Crow wrap it around Minako, when the dogs refused to give an inch.

Soon enough, they managed to come to an arrangement. Crow had Minako bundled against his front, shielding her from the wind. Any of the bigger shinobi would have been a better choice, but when they tried to transfer her to Hawk, she tensed. Still operating on Crow's suspicions, they had decided to keep her with the most familiar scent and left Crow to it.

Hawk and Tiger would take point and rear respectively, while Uhei and Bisuke stayed hidden, guarding their flanks. As soon as their group deposited Minako in the hospital, Crow would send Turtle and Frog to backup Hound, Horse, and Fox, who were to continue investigating the cave.

Pakkun settled on the cave floor. The rest of the dogs unsummoned themselves, too disciplined to protest. Uhei wagged his tail goodbye before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

A hand on his shoulder stopped Crow at the entrance of the cave. He looked up at Hound, expecting a last-minute order. Instead, Hound gently tugged the cloak further over Minako's head, tucking her loose hair out of sight.

Crow's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. The out-of-character action only served to further the suspicions he had buried about the Uzumaki twins. After all, he knew who Hound was. He knew who had taught him.

And in the distant past, he still had a memory of deep red hair and an unbridled laugh.

With a nod, Crow and his team leapt into the trees.

All in all, the mission had taken less than twenty-four hours. If it weren't for the culprits still at large, it would have been an indisputable success. Minako was safe and sound.

And yet, the ANBU team were still restless. Tiger glanced back over his shoulder, to where they'd left the rest of Team Ro, while Hawk kept scanning their surroundings.

Questions rattled around Crow's skull. Where were Minako's kidnappers? Why did they just leave her? The half-finished seal implied that something had drawn them away, as if the ANBU had arrived while they were gone.

Crow didn't believe they were so lucky. And there was that pattern to Minako's chakra…

Perhaps he was mistaken. If Crow had truly recognized the pattern, so would Hound. It was one they were both intimately familiar with. He'll confirm with him later, when they regroup. Just to be sure.

Shaking his head, Crow put on speed, trying to outrun the foreboding creeping up his spine.

Notes:

I've had a terrible week, so y'all are getting a new chapter early coz we deserve it :) Enjoy!

Can you tell why I took so long to write these chapters in a batch? It's a mystery story! I needed to make sure all the little pieces are in place, and not so stupid obvious it would give my whole game away, up to and including plans for Shippuden. Teehee.

Also, I am so, so sorry. I know I mentioned rewriting chapter 1 ages ago, but I completely forgot to implement that change on ao3 T_T it was only on ffnet HAHAlsdkjgaldg. Please enjoy the revamped version, ft. the littlest bit of Uzushio worldbuilding I could squeeze in!

Lots of commentary on this chapter here. See you guys in two weeks 3

Chapter 23: Arc I Chapter 23

Summary:

Fear digs its claws deep.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Consciousness was a fleeting thing. My only constant was the pain and cold, intertwining like ribbons, digging deep into my bones.

The anger was more familiar. I floated in it, a fury and hatred only years of helplessness could bring. Hatred at my fate. Hatred at the people who forced me to endure it. It was an anger that haunted me, every night I dreamed of a full moon and a suffocating sky; every day I walked down the streets under the eyes of an apathetic world.

In and out of the black. In and out, helpless, raging.

Something familiar—embers from a warm fire.

…

Was that Naruto's voice?

The heat was a weight that pinned my arms to my sides. I thrashed, trying to free myself from the trap. Panicked murmurs casted a spell over me, forming strong hands to hold me down. I cried out, gazing into a dark expanse. Empty. Uncaring.

Blurry shapes entered my vision. I had been here before. Like an old, forgotten nightmare—small, weak, helpless. Rough hands wielded by giants. Lifting me, washing me, then dropping me back onto a nest made of rags, and leaving me in the dark. Leaving us in the dark. Always in the dark. Small, weak, unable to even lift a finger to help myself. Alone, save for him. He-who-was-familiar-but-wasn't.

He was all that I had.

"Naruto… Naruto! Naruto!"

My throat burned. Something pierced the shadows, stinging my bicep. My fear surged against the heaviness pouring into my limbs.

I was alone, I couldn't move, I was alone and it was dark and I was being squeezed through a pulsating, burning tunnel, unable to breathe unable to see it's dark and the sky is red and I'm scared, so scared, please, please!

Don 't leave me alone!

Someone was singing.

A lullaby?

When I woke at last, it was day. I squinted against the bright, fluorescent lights. Automatically, my hand patted the space at my side, every sense reaching for that familiar warmth.

My hand grasped cloth, then empty air.

I took a deep breath. My fingers curled into the streets. I clenched my jaw, trying to fight the irrational spike of panic at the vacant space beside me.

Maybe, maybe he was just in the room? I turned my head, but the chair next to me was empty. There were flowers on the bedside table, matched by a merry honeybee on a folded card. A pitcher of water glistened beside an empty glass. On my other side was a blank wall with a metal hook, the hanging saline drip attached to my hand.

I cracked open my jaw. "Na… Naruto?" I tried, working past the dirt-ash taste in my mouth. "Naru… Naruto!"

No answer. My pulse skyrocketed. I squeezed my eyes shut. There was no reason to panic. No reason. I just needed to take deep breaths, and calm down. Never mind that I'd never woken up alone before. Never mind that I could be alone for class or for groceries, but I always knew where I was going and I always knew where he was. I wasn't—I was fine. There had to be an explanation. I just needed to wait. I just needed to wait.

"Naruto?" I cried, struggling to push myself upright. My arms trembled with the effort. "Naruto!"

The door slammed open. I jumped, a scream catching on my dry throat. Warm arms enveloped me, bringing with them the scent of green tea, soy sauce, and the faintest, faintest hint of lavender.

"Shh, shh. It's okay, Minako-chan. You're not alone. It's okay. I'm here."

The relief at hearing Mikoto's voice sent me bursting into tears. My weak, sweaty fingers scrabbled at her kimono, trying to hold on to something living, warm, solid. Real.

"Naruto," I said. "I need—I need Naruto. Where's Naruto?"

"He's safe. Don't worry. He's been staying with us at the compound while you're here." She tried to soothe me, wiping my cheeks with her sleeve. But I couldn't stop sobbing. That haunting terror, the fear of losing the one thing that was safe and familiar in this new world—it clung to my skin, shivered in my bones. It would not let me go.

"It's alright. Hush now. Let me call them. They'll be here in a few minutes." She ran her fingers through my hair, letting me cry into her stomach. "Would that be alright? Can you calm down and wait that long, Minako-chan?"

My grip on her tightened. "Don't leave me," I begged.

"I won't, I won't. Look." She pushed me back, until I was forced to lie down again. Keeping my hand in hers, she leaned over and opened the window above my head. "Karatenko-kun?"

A rush of wings, and a black bird the size of a hawk landed on her outstretched arm. "Mikoto-sama," it said, in a deep voice. "Am I to inform Itachi-sama that the child is awake?"

"Yes, please. Tell him to bring Naruto-kun here, as soon as possible."

"As you wish." The giant crow tipped its head towards her, then—surprisingly—me, before disappearing in a torrent of feathers.

"There, see? They'll be here in no time." Mikoto pulled her chair over and sat. The talking bird—summons, it could only be a summons—was shocking enough to distract me from the fear.

It was more unnerving to see an animal talk than I thought it would be. Not in the squawking mannerisms of a parrot, but an honest to goodness human voice, with only a slight rasp to differentiate it from any other person.

I didn't even notice the nurse until he moved closer. "Good morning, Uzumaki-san."

Only Mikoto's firm grip kept me from jumping out of my skin. "This is Ken-san," she said, as cool and as unflappable as ever. It settled my nerves a little. "He'll just check your vitals, okay, Minako-chan?"

"Okay." I eyed him warily, but all he did was check the sheet of paper wrapped like a cuff around my wrist. (How did I not notice that?) Curious in spite of myself, I let him turn my hand this way and that. Something in the mix of kanji, Konohan letters, and indecipherable scribbles must have made sense to him, because he dropped it with a mild smile in my direction.

"Heart rate's a little high, but temperature's still normal. Chakra flow is even." He helped crank up the bed so I was mostly vertical, then handed me a glass of water. "Now that you're awake, you should be able to go home by this afternoon."

My eyebrows rose. That was fast. Wouldn't they monitor me for a day, at least? Maybe ninja hospitals were quicker to kick out people who didn't need to stay.

Still, getting out of here faster meant being with Naruto sooner.

Something must have changed on my face, because Mikoto said, "Thank you, Ken-san. We can discuss that later."

"Of course." He bowed, withdrawing from the room. "I shall inform the Hokage she's awake."

"That would be helpful, thank you."

The door clicked shut, leaving me with nothing but the white walls and silence to focus on. I swallowed hard.

"Where am I?" I asked. It was pretty obvious from the dextrose alone, but I needed a distraction, or I would be right back where I started.

Mikoto humored me. "You're in Konoha General." She took the glass back, setting it on the bedside table. "It's January fifteen, 10:40 AM."

My heart leapt into my throat. Nope. This wasn't making me feel better at all. "I've been out three days?"

"Yes. You got very sick after they found you." She brushed my hair back, smoothing down my metaphorical hackles. "Thankfully, your fever didn't last long. It broke sometime near midnight, last night."

"After they found me?" I parroted. The last thing I remembered was waking up in the middle of the night, and then…

I pressed my free hand against the corner of my eye, grimacing. My head throbbed with the remains of a headache.

"Do you not remember?"

I shook my head. Her brow furrowed.

"You went missing on the night of the twelfth. Naruto-kun came running to the compound when he couldn't find you. ANBU found you in the afternoon of the thirteenth, near the Naka falls. Whoever took you is still at large, I'm afraid."

The polished steel in her voice said plenty about who she was afraid for, and it wasn't for me.

"What about Shisui?" The memories began to trickle in as she explained. Shisui had knocked on our window for an emergency, and then… what?

I gripped my sheets with my free hand. "Is he okay?"

Mikoto gave me a strange look. "Minako-chan, Shisui-kun is—"

An imperceptible flick of her lashes. Her lips pursed. She turned towards the door, moments before I heard, "Idiot! Slow down!"

The door slammed open. Naruto stood in the doorway, panting, arms akimbo. His blond hair was plastered to his forehead, his blue eyes wide.

My heart leapt into my throat.

"Minako!"

"Naruto!"

He launched himself at the bed. A whoosh of air, and Mikoto was standing between us, catching him mid-leap. "No, Naruto-kun," she said firmly. "You're going to hurt your sister."

A wounded noise escaped my lips. I fought the sheets tucked around me, arms straining to reach him. He twisted in her grip, not even listening, just crying and trying to reach back.

"Lemme go! Lemme go—Minako!"

"Please," I gasped. "Please, please, Naruto, please—"

Carefully, Mikoto lowered him to my bed. We ignored her. She was a nonentity, insignificant in our scramble to throw every limb over the other first. I lost, if only because the blanket was in the way of my legs.

"You're here, you're here, you're here," I chanted, my arms around his waist. He wriggled his own around my neck, one leg pinning the rest of me down.

"I was so scared!" he wailed into my hair. "I woke up, and you weren't there! I waited, and waited, but you didn't show up, and I didn't know what to do…"

I buried my face in his collar, letting his relentless voice wash over me. This was our laundry detergent, our cheap shampoo, our pencil lead and borrowed weapons oil. This was a cool breeze on a bright summer day. This was Naruto.

The terror seeped away, leaving only tears of relief.

Naruto was here. Everything was going to be fine.

Long fingers dragged through my hair. I stiffened, tightening my grip on my brother.

But it was only Mikoto, who withdrew her hand at my reaction. The reminder of a world outside the two of us brought me out of my haze. I blinked the tears away, and raised my head.

Sasuke peeked over the edge of the bed, dark eyes flickering between Naruto's back and me. There was a frown on his face, confusion and concern that I'd never seen before. Itachi put a hand on his shoulder, stepping closer to the bed. His stress lines had gone back to full prominence, but the small tilt to his lips was sincere.

"It's good to see you well," he said.

Naruto hiccuped. I pressed my cheek to his shoulder. It took a few more seconds to remember why seeing the two of them made my worry spike.

"Where's Shisui?" I croaked.

A finger poked the back of my head. "Right here."

Rolling over without letting go of Naruto was a challenge. The dextrose kept getting in the way. It took some wriggling, but I managed to lie back on my back while he lay on top of me.

Shisui leaned on the other side of the bed, his hip against the edge. His shirt hung, wrinkled and loose, on his sagging shoulders. He was pale with exhaustion, but still managed a smile for me. "Hey, pretty girl. Welcome back."

I reached out to him. He took my hand, careful not to aggravate the needle.

Little flames, lapping at my skin, as I breathed in the scent of charcoal and freshly laundered cotton.

I sighed in relief. "You're okay."

His fingers twitched. "You should be more worried about yourself, Minako-chan," he said, voice strained.

"Don't be an idiot." I was too tired for the insult to bite. "What happened?"

"You went missing," he said, before I cut him off.

"Yeah, I know." I shook his hand a little. "Mikoto-ba-san told me. But what happened to you? I remember you visiting, then…"

His expression switched to a focus so sharp I jumped in Naruto's grip. "What do you mean, I was visiting?"

I quailed under his stare. Gone was the cheery Shisui I knew, shut behind an intensity that screamed at my animal brain to freeze. hide. be small.

Why? What did I say?

Naruto raised his head and glared at Shisui. It broke the sudden tension in the room. With a crooked, apologetic smile, Shisui patted my hand. "Sorry. Go on."

"I—" Deep breaths. I tried to will the nerves away, running my hand along Naruto's back. "But you were there, weren't you? You woke me up, and you said…" My voice lowered and lowered, until it trailed off.

Itachi stepped closer, his eyes a flinty obsidian in the hospital's unforgiving light. "What did Shisui say?"

"Yes, Minako-chan. What did Shisui say?"

My grip on Naruto tightened into iron clamps, forcing out a yelp. Heads whipped towards the door, as the Hokage closed it shut beside him. And it was the Hokage, not the 'Jiji' Naruto had so affectionately named. His face was as old and worn as the mountain that bore it above us, and just as unreadable. Those sharp eyes sent lightning shooting down my spine. Flanking him on either side was an ANBU agent, with masks I didn't recognize.

"Hokage-sama," Mikoto greeted, her voice so, so even.

"Mikoto-san." He dipped his head, his ever-present hat shielding his face for a split second. I shuddered at the slight reprieve. "Now, why don't you continue your story, Minako-kun? Or better yet, start at the beginning. So we can all be sure we're on the same page."

My gaze skittered around the room. Mikoto had gone as pale and expressionless as porcelain. Itachi was staring at some point over my head, his hand firm on Sasuke's shoulder.

Pieces of a puzzle settled in my gut like a leadened weight, their answer lying just beyond my fingertips. Never before had my words felt like blades, ready to draw blood at the slightest misstep.

Callused fingers patted my hand again. "Minako-chan?"

Shisui's eyes blazed with grim determination. It braced the cracks in my rattling composure. My grip on his hand tightened. I looked at him, and only at him as I spoke.

"I woke up in the middle of the night. You were at our window—not the kitchen window, like usual. The one to our bedroom."

He nodded encouragingly.

"You said—you said you had something important to show me." The words slowed, as I drew on my memories. "So I got up, and opened the window."

Itachi huffed. It was a small puff of air, little more than a breath. In the silence of the room, it might as well have been a pin clattering against the ground.

"I opened the window," I repeated. "You showed me your hand. And I saw… I saw…"

Unwittingly, I glanced at Shisui's free hand, braced against the bed. Noticing my gaze, he turned it over.

I flinched. Nothing happened. It was an ordinary hand, with faint, bluish veins slipping around yellow calluses. He tried to pull away, but I hung on, shaking my head.

My heart thudded in my ears. Pieces of a puzzle, outstretched fingers. A sense of wrongness, denial. Like acid burning my throat.

"What did you see, Minako-kun?" the Hokage prompted.

Words were a weapon. And I didn't want to wield these.

"Minako-kun."

"A Sharingan," I choked out. "I saw a Sharingan."

No one spoke or moved. Sweat trickled down the side of my neck. All I could see was Shisui's hand in mine, and the other, clenched into a white-knuckled fist on my sheets.

"Shisui-kun," the Hokage said. "If you wouldn't mind accompanying Suzume-san outside? I would like to have a word with you."

"Of course, Hokage-sama." His hands slipped away. He stepped back.

"Wait, no!" I yanked my arm out from under Naruto, struggling to sit up straight. Naruto sat up as well, wide-eyed with alarm. "Don't! It's not what you think! That guy—he wasn't Shisui!"

"Minako-chan," Shisui said, voice low and wary and—scared? Was he scared? Was that slightest tremor at the end of my name fear?

"No, listen!" How to say it? How to explain something I knew deep in my bones, a surety I could only describe with metaphor and allegory?

"Whoever that person was—they looked like Shisui. Sounded like Shisui. So I opened the window. But they didn't smell like Shisui, and the genjutsu—"

I glanced around for confirmation. The Hokage was frowning. Mikoto stared at me, her eyes wider by a fraction of their usual size. It was Itachi who tipped his head in a small nod, his lips pressed into a thin line. I swallowed.

"I know what Shisui's genjutsu feels like. And it didn't feel like his at all. So it couldn't have been him, dattebana!"

"You've cast a genjutsu on her before?" the Hokage asked.

"On their birthday," Shisui replied. The bruises under his eyes were even more prominent on his bloodless skin. His gaze rested just shy of the Hokage's shoulder. "I disguised the twins so they could attend the Festival of the Yellow Flash."

No, no. This was all going wrong. It was supposed to help, not—not make things worse!

"Shisui would never hurt me. It couldn't have been him." I wrung the sheets in my clammy hands. "The Sharingan was probably part of the genjutsu, or something, just to make things extra suspicious—"

"Then explain this to me," the Hokage said, sounding almost… curious. "Why were you found under a genjutsu that could have only been cast by a Sharingan?"

My jaw snapped shut under the old man's piercing gaze. There was something in those wizened brown eyes, an attention he'd never laid on me before.

What could I say to that? A Sharingan user's genjutsu necessitated a Sharingan. But I knew it wasn't Shisui. So if not him, then who?

My head swam. I swayed. The stress and fatigue of recent recovery dragged at my limbs.

No. I couldn't—I couldn't give up!

"But that doesn't make any sense! Why would Shisui even—"

"Minako-chan." This time, it was Itachi who stopped me. I shrank from the gentleness in his face.

I turned to Shisui, pleading, but he had already turned away. Vaguely, I heard Mikoto step forward, as Sparrow escorted Shisui to the door.

"Hokage-sama, if I may…"

Itachi had pulled Sasuke into his arms, answering his questions at a whisper. Naruto tugged on my clenched hands.

"Minako? What's wrong? Where's Shisui going?"

The ANBU turned the knob, then stepped aside, letting Shisui go first.

He didn't even look back.

"No! Wait! Shisui!"

I scrambled for the edge of the bed. A glimpse—his head turning, his horrified face—then the blanket tightened around my legs. The world tipped sideways.

"Minako!"

Strong arms caught me before I smashed my head on the floor. I clung to the familiar, safe warmth of Shisui's shoulders, gasping with relief.

Then froze.

Two bone white masks loomed over us. Angry red paint lined Sparrow's eyes and beak, while black covered half of Bat's face. The scent of metal and weapons oil tainted my tongue, bitter as bile.

Shisui stayed very, very still.

I locked my arms around Shisui's neck. Fear made my breath hitch. My body trembled. But if they were going to hurt Shisui, they were damn well going to have to pry me off first.

"Hokage-sama," Mikoto said, low, furious.

A moment passed, unbreathing. Then a flicker under my skin, like a snap of a finger, and the ANBU agents stepped back.

Shisui's quiet sigh brushed the top of my head.

"I'm going to put you back on the bed now, okay?" He waited for me to nod before moving. "See, Naruto? This is why you gotta hold on tight to your sister. Who knows what she'll fall out of next?"

Naruto jerked his head up and down, eyes wide. He wrapped his arms around my waist, while Shisui gently, but firmly, pried my hands out of his shirt. "And you! What kind of shinobi are you, losing your head at every little thing? If someone's trying to frame me, the Hokage definitely needs to ask me some questions, so we can figure out how they did it. No need to panic."

He turned to the Hokage.

The old man's eyes softened. "Shisui-kun is right," he said. "There are a lot of strange things about this incident. Anything he could give us will be of help."

"See? It'll be alright, Minako-chan."

"Then why won't you look at me?" I whispered.

He paused.

My heart hammered out the seconds.

Then he straightened his shoulders, took a deep breath, and turned me around.

I squeaked, bouncing on the mattress. Now my back was to the rest of the room, while he knelt at the side of the bed, looking up at me.

"No faith in me whatsoever." His sunny smile burned through my fear. "Come on. I'll be back before you know it."

I scowled at him. With my blotchy face and overworked nerves, it was about as effective as a wet kitten's. He laughed and ruffled my hair.

"If you're not careful, your face will freeze like that," he said, rising to his feet.

Naruto got a hair ruffle too, even as I sputtered. "That's a lie!"

"Oh yeah? Let's see you prove it," he teased, stepping away. "Hokage-sama, I'm ready."

The Hokage nodded. "Suzume."

This time, Sparrow stalked Shisui's heels as they headed outside. I bit my lip, wishing I could run after, or even run back, back to after I woke up and slap my big mouth shut. Scrub out the memory of the swirly evil eye of doom. Take one look at not-Shisui and run out the door with Naruto, screaming.

"Minako-kun." Reluctantly, I turned my gaze to the Hokage. He didn't look quite so impassive then. The slightest hint of fatigue peeked from the shadows of his crow's feet. "Rest assured that we are doing everything we can to investigate what happened. Shisui-kun is in good hands."

His words meant fuck all to me and my nerves, but sure. Okay. You couldn't just talk away the terror when every cell in my body screamed, wrong wrong wrong wrong!

I jerked my head up and down, for everyone's benefit. Pretty sure it convinced exactly no one.

The Hokage took one last look at me, before nodding to everyone in the room and leaving with his escort. The remaining Uchihas bowed to his receding back.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Mikoto whirled into motion. "Itachi, I'll leave you to watch the children. Check Minako-chan out of the hospital when the time comes," she ordered. "I need to talk to your father. Minako-chan—" She pressed a firm kiss to my forehead, then pinched my arm. I yelped.

"Thank you." Her dark eyes were alight with a fire that mirrored Shisui's determination. "But never, ever argue with the Hokage like that, ever again. Do you understand?"

I squirmed. She cupped my cheek, forcing me to meet her gaze.

"Hai," I mumbled. She took that in the spirit it was meant and sighed. With no more time to lose, she gave Naruto and Sasuke their own kisses, Itachi a hand on his shoulder, then left, the door swinging shut behind her.

I immediately turned to Itachi. "What just happened? What did I miss?" My voice trembled. "They just took him away like… like…"

Red and black ANBU masks, looming over Shisui's back. Over me. I shook the memory away.

"After the ANBU found you under the genjutsu, the clan was placed under investigation," Itachi said quietly. I couldn't read his face. "Movement in and out of the compound was heavily monitored, and all Uchiha missions were put on hold. We were waiting for you to wake, in hopes of getting more definitive evidence on the culprit."

Horror dripped down my spine, cold as ice. "And I just told them it was Shisui."

He nodded.

My lungs seized. I couldn't breathe. "But Shisui would never do that!" I choked out. "We have to do something! There has to be an impostor, or, or…"

Itachi helped Sasuke clamber up the bed to join us. "We will," he said. "There are still a lot of questions that still need to be answered, so we needn't worry about Shisui just yet. Otou-san will make sure he's well cared for, at the very least."

I opened my mouth to protest further, only for Itachi to shoot the boys a pointed look. I couldn't see Naruto's face, but Sasuke's eyes were wide and watery.

"Is Shisui gonna be okay?" he asked.

Naruto hooked his chin over my shoulder. "Jiji said it's okay, so he'll be okay!" he said, though even his usual optimism was tainted with doubt.

Itachi and I stared at each other. He shook his head. I pressed my lips together.

The stress of the past hour, so soon after waking, dragged at the little energy I had left. By some miracle, I ended up drowsing against the boys' warm, wriggly bodies. Naruto woke me by the simple act of trying to pull away. I growled, tensing instinctively against a newcomer, but it was just Ken again, handing some documents for Itachi to sign. They both ignored me.

The nap had invigorated me enough to walk out of the hospital on my own two feet, but not much further. Itachi had to carry me on his back the rest of the way home. Sasuke, to my surprise, didn't protest, just fumbled around my leg so he could snag his fingers into his brother's shirt. Naruto walked in front, leading the way.

They didn't drop us off so much as literally drop me on my bed. I was forced to endure being tucked in by Itachi, with Naruto running to turn on the heater and Sasuke still in the kitchen, ogling our (comparatively) tiny space.

Itachi smoothed over the blanket on my chest, then paused. "Earlier… you said you could feel the difference between Shisui and the impostor."

"Wha—yeah," I said, startled out of my struggle with my uncooperative limbs. Naruto had dumped Oogama-chan on me too, which didn't help at all. "Yeah, I can. I swear, I'm not making it up!"

His expression softened. "I believe you," he said. "Can you describe it to me?"

My shoulders rose, tensing in spite of myself. The easiest response would be a gut feeling, but it was also the worst response, because what kind of evidence was that?

"I dunno. I just." My free fingers plucked at the blanket. "It sounds stupid," I warned him.

He placed a hand on mine. "Just do your best."

One last breath. Then…

"He feels like fire." I gripped Itachi's hand, needing the reassurance. "Shisui. Like… like little flames, dancing. You know? Not that I've ever put my hand in a fire, but. It's the closest thing I can think of."

A little frown marred Itachi's brow, but he didn't seem skeptical. Just deep in thought. "And the impostor?"

The ghostly remnants of the experience still made me shudder. "You know those really thick thorns? The ones with bark on them? Like that. Like they were digging under my skin." I rolled over, as if curling up could chase away the sensation. "…It hurt."

He gave my hand a light squeeze. "And me?"

Surprise pulled me from the clinging memories. But his hand was already in mine, so it was easy enough to say, "Sparks. From a campfire? But the kind that could start a forest fire, if someone's not careful."

The last part was hastily tacked on, a last-minute addition that just rolled off the tongue. It felt right.

"It's easier coz you're so close," I explained to his raised eyebrows.

He glanced at our clasped hands, then nodded. "I see. Thank you."

"Will that help?" I held on, my own desperation keeping him from walking away.

His other hand came up, wrapping mine with the warmth of his palms. The smile on his face was faint and grim. "I hope so."

Then he was out of sight, calling to Sasuke so they could hurry home. I melted into my pillow with a sigh, all the adrenaline draining out of me.

It was out of my hands now. Itachi and Mikoto… they would take care of it. They'd make sure Shisui came home.

Naruto was all for skipping school the next day too, but at that point, the Uzumaki stamina had finally kicked in. I wasn't bouncing off the walls, mind, but I could walk to school and slump over my desk. The clan kids must've heard some version of what happened, because Shikamaru's stare was drilling into my back all morning, and Shino joined Team Naruto in fussing over me. Even Ino dropped by, dragging along a pink-haired girl I was too distracted to pay much attention to.

Because Sasuke was nowhere to be found.

Notes:

Fun fact I didn't even know Shisui existed when I started this fic, and now he's one of my favorite characters wtf wtf.

Also, my second Word of God ever: Kotoamatsukami? Doesn't exist. Yeet that OP BS back to canon where it belongs. Shisui here doesn't have the Mangekyo, so small comfort...?

Updated upload schedule and more here 3 Love you guys, hehehehe :D

Chapter 24: Arc I Chapter 24

Summary:

All this effort, everything he had worked for, and he was just right back where he started.

Notes:

cw: see end of chapter because spoilers

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"Should I have dressed up?" Shisui whispered, with a less than subtle attempt at hiding it behind one hand.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. Seated beside him, his father's expression grew more pinched. It just made Shisui snicker.

"It's not often I get a visit from the clan head," he continued. "In fact, I'm pretty sure the last time you visited, Fugaku-sama, I had just unlocked my Sharingan—"

"And at what point," Otou-san said, "do you intend to start treating this with the gravity it deserves?"

The smile slid off of Shisui's face. "Don't worry, Fugaku-sama," he said. "I already am."

He rested his hands on the table, letting the manacles clank against its steel surface.

The sight made Itachi's skin crawl. Inked paper snaked around the cuffs, dark and malevolent. Chakra-suppression seals, keeping Shisui as ineffectual as the average civilian.

And just as vulnerable.

"How are you doing?" he asked, before that tick in his father's jaw became an explosion.

"Just fine. Morino-san's been positively hospitable." Shisui gestured to himself, the short chain connecting his hands tinkling with every move. "They haven't even brought out the scalpels yet!"

"Shisui."

Shisui sighed.

The stark lights of the interrogation room deepened the shadows under his eyes, rendering his pale skin near-transparent. With his black clothes and the plain white walls, he looked ready to fade away.

It had taken them three hours and forty-eight minutes to negotiate their way into a meeting with Shisui. As clan head, Otou-san had a right to question or defend a clan member under suspicion. Itachi had followed like he had every right to be there, leveraging his height, his status as clan heir, and his recent jounin ranking to slip around any who would protest. And so T&I had lent them an interrogation room, with the caveat that the meeting would be observed the whole time.

"I can't think of anything," Shisui admitted at last. "I have enemies, sure, but going as far as to involve the twins?"

Meaning the group of people with a grudge against Shisui and the resources to crack an S-rank secret was very small indeed.

"Someone could have tracked down your associates," Itachi suggested. "Or you weren't the target at all."

Otou-san crossed his arms. "Then why bother with a disguise?"

Shisui shook his head. "It goes deeper than that." His gaze slid towards Itachi. "Remember when I almost lost my arm a few weeks back, to some hack job's attempt at a fuinjutsu trap?"

"Yes."

The lacerations alone had shredded Shisui's sleeve from wrist to bicep. With Yua's help, they had managed to keep it from the children, though Shisui did show up the next day with a suspiciously angry bruise on his collarbone.

"Well, I got the genius idea to hunt down a few fuinjutsu scrolls to memorize, so I can recognize a seal before that kind of, ah, thing happens again."

Itachi's heart stuttered.

Minako had been found on top of a half-finished seal.

"What happened to the scrolls?" It came out sharper than he intended. His father shot him a look out of the corner of his eye.

"Nothing. Other than the fact that they found two more than there should be, when they searched my house."

Shisui nodded at Itachi's newfound pallor. His own smile was a macabre reflection of his usual grin.

"I can think of people who'd want me dead. I can maybe think of a few who would risk infiltrating a Hidden Village to do it." He slumped in his seat. "I can't think of anyone who'd be able to keep it up for weeks."

Otou-san leaned forward, expression dark. "Do you know what is in the new scrolls?"

"More advanced seals on binding and releasing. Way out of my league, but visually simple enough to copy, if the user was careful." Shisui flapped his hand at the walls. "At least three different people have told me it would've worked. In theory."

That was enough for Itachi's father to rise from his seat. "I need to see these scrolls. Both of you, wait for me here." He strode out of the room, the heavy metal door swinging shut in his wake.

"Not like I'm going anywhere," Shisui joked into the silence left in Otou-san's wake.

Itachi breathed out. The loss of his father's mounting fury lifted some of the weight squeezing his chest.

The steel in Shisui's spine bled away, here in their little illusion of privacy. "What a mess."

"There's still Minako-chan's testimony," Itachi reminded him. Reminded himself.

Shisui frowned at him. "Yeah, what was that? I know she was panicking—which, honestly, if she's serious about her goals, she needs to work on—but the things she said?"

Itachi settled into the seat his father vacated. The prying eyes and ears around them wouldn't think twice about being disappointed in a pre-genin for losing her head, and that was the most the two of them would say about the subject.

It was the least they could do. Minako had entrusted them with her secret, then had all but blown it herself in her panic to keep Shisui from being detained. It warmed Itachi's heart, even as he wanted to shake his head in exasperation. Yet another consequence of this tumbling disaster he'd have to keep in mind.

"I think she might be a sensor," he said.

Shisui bolted upright in his seat. "A chakra sensor. Like Mikoto-sama? Are you sure?" The raw hope in his eyes said more about his current state than any attempts at deflection could.

Itachi nodded. "I didn't have much time to question her, but everything she said points to some level of ability." He flexed his hand, remembering the brush of her fingers against his palm. "It would explain some things."

"That's—that's good." The tension seeped out of his friend's shoulders. "They wouldn't be expecting that. Even we didn't know. We can use that."

The gleam in his eyes was back, bright and fierce. His hands clenched into fists, ready, a silent vow. Itachi held his gaze.

He and Shisui hadn't needed words to speak in a long, long time.

There was an intricacy to this plan that went beyond personal grudges. It required an intimate knowledge of Shisui's movements that an outsider wouldn't have. Taking Minako could have been a coincidence. But it was more likely that it was not.

"You don't think it's…"

Shisui's eyes flashed. Itachi jerked his head down—one, sharp nod.

This was no place to discuss that. Whatever agenda they suspected there was against the clan, it would do them no good to speculate where all and sundry could hear.

Itachi's lip curled in frustration.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Shisui leaned forward, drawing his attention back to him. "I know it looks bad, but they are being careful about this. We've still got time." He tapped the table. "Just go with the same old training routine, keep an ear out, and watch over our people. The usual. We'll figure it out, alright?"

As always, Itachi could only surrender to Shisui's unwavering faith.

"Alright…"

"…I will."

He stood in front of the cell, tiny blots of red staining the ground just shy of his feet. More tiptoed across the cement, growing larger and larger, a garden path to a pool of blood.

Every wall was painted red. Dried blood lined the inside of the cell bars, flaking like rust. There were still pieces of flesh in the corners and on the wall behind him, shriveled on top of cloudy scorch marks.

Polite footsteps approached him from the right. Itachi stayed still, focusing on every salt-tainted breath and thundering heartbeat.

"Here," Morino Ibiki said, holding out a small, iron box. "That's everything."

"Everything," Itachi repeated. The box was plain and rectangular, just wide enough to fit in his hand.

"Everything worth taking," Morino amended. "The rest aren't worth the forceps they'd be hanging from."

Itachi's knuckles turned white against the metal.

Morino leaned against the wall, seemingly unconcerned with the gruesome view before him. "Any idea how he managed a suicide jutsu around chakra suppression seals?"

"Shisui would never kill himself," Itachi said.

That twisted, scarred face turned to him, all the more oppressive for the knowing look in its eyes. "That could be true," Morino said. "But would it be any better?"

Itachi chose to open the box instead of reply.

The crushed remains of a single Sharingan stared back at him.

It was ruled a suicide.

Itachi left the funeral to hisses of muted outrage. No one in the clan believed it. Shisui was known—had been known—for his cheerfulness, his skill as a shinobi, and his pride in his work. There was no reason for him to turn on the clan or the village. And only the guilty would choose to take his secrets with him to death.

"—a silent execution—"

"Infiltration? In T&I? Don't be foolish—"

"—shame on the Hokage."

"How dare they keep this from the clan?"

His father and the clan elders did nothing to stop the whispers. They stood apart from the crowd, cold, unmoving. They knew the truth. The Hokage himself had spoken to his father, teeth gritted in barely-hidden fury, about the blood that hadn't been Shisui's mixing with arterial spray.

It didn't matter if Shisui had killed himself or not. Either option meant that the Hokage had been undermined in his own village, and the culprit had gotten away. In the end, that was all Shisui's death amounted to.

And it ached, a deep-seated hollowness that Itachi couldn't escape. He hopped over the compound's closed gates, stalked the streets he and Shisui had walked so many times before; as if tracing their steps would lead him back to the light that guided him when he felt lost, back to the friend who had always been so sure what to do next.

A wary gaze snagged on his awareness, his body tensing before he had consciously registered it. His feet came to a stop, just outside Shisui's favorite cafe. The proprietor eyed him from behind the glass walls. Her brow was drawn low, her expression unwelcoming.

The sudden change in reception dragged him out of his thoughts. More stares hooked into his skin like claws, pricking at the tender flesh beneath. He slipped into the crowd, blending in with their movements until the gawkers turned away.

The sensation pooled in his stomach, bitter with dread. Such stares had lessened in the past few months, due to the efforts of those who wished to see his clan and the village reconcile. But this… this felt like a return to before, where every bystander seemed to eye the Uchiha with apathy or suspicion.

He bowed his head and channeled chakra to his ears, the way he and Shisui had so many times before. Slowly, the conversations trickled in.

"Did you hear—"

"—that ham, yes, please—"

"Shunshin no Shisui? No!"

"—getting married in July."

"—can't believe it. The Uchiha? But—"

He followed the whispers, noting specific trends, the same thoughts repeated with different words. Quick steps took him around people's view, his lowered shoulders registering as child instead of shinobi.

Rumors swirled in the wind's eddies. Most were idle gossip, spilled today, forgotten tomorrow. But always, always, there was that underlying tone, a single thread of shock and unease, weaving in and out of the conversation's flow.

Always about the Uchiha. Always spoken with fear.

Itachi roamed the central marketplace, frustration and dread building with every step. Why this resurgence? Why today? Why did it feel like fate was spitting at his feet, when all Itachi wanted to do was sear this hollow grief away?

"—kidnapped. You don't think they were planning to release the Kyuubi again, do you?"

"Wait, I thought that was just a legend!"

"I heard they found sealing scrolls—"

Itachi stopped. He turned.

A middle-aged woman covered her lips with her hand, appalled at her own temerity. Her companions erupted in a flurry of whispers.

She had wide, brown eyes, innocent and mild. Her light brown hair was tied up in a simple bun. She was homely to the point of obscurity, a face made to be forgotten.

Even as he approached, she was already detaching herself from the group, murmuring about a nephew and some heartburn. He kept his pace quick but careless, just another person with someplace to be. Between one breath and the next, red slipped over his vision.

In the world of the Sharingan, the woman blazed against the weak sparks of the civilians around her. Her too-familiar chakra was packed around her chest and hips, drifting behind her in thin tendrils that whispered harmless, ordinary.

A henge under a layered genjutsu, bringing down the guard of any who came near.

The woman turned a corner.

No!

Itachi broke into a run. He darted around a startled shopkeeper and a frowning chuunin, chasing after that wisp of brown.

The alleyway was empty.

His fist met the wall before he could restrain it. The impact jarred, all the way from his knuckles to his elbow.

"…Damn!"

That had been classified information. No one outside of the investigation, himself, and his father had known about the sealing scrolls found in Shisui's home. That should not have been something a civilian could spout in the middle of Konoha's streets!

In all the days he and Shisui had spent hunting down the source of the malicious rumors against the Uchiha, there had only ever been one chakra signature that appeared, again and again in the corner of their eyes and in the distant crowd. This was the closest he had ever been to catching them, and they had vanished like a ghost!

"Uchiha-san," a low voice drawled. "Everything alright there?"

Itachi dropped his hand. It was the chuunin from earlier—no, tokubetsu jonin, from the subtle difference in his vest's buttons. The older man raised an eyebrow at Itachi's reddened knuckles, a senbon pinned between his teeth.

"That woman with brown hair was using a henge," Itachi said, ignoring the look. "I sought to detain her for questioning, but she disappeared down this alley."

The other shinobi's gaze sharpened. "I'll make sure to keep an eye out," he said. "Will you report it, then?"

Itachi nodded his affirmation. "Thank you," he said.

The man gave him one last, lingering look, before returning to the main street. Itachi took another moment to press a hand to his face, pulling his tattered composure back together. He headed for the opposite end of the alleyway, away from the crowds that would question him with their whispers and stares.

His knuckles still smarted from the blow.

If the goal was to sabotage the Uchiha, Shisui made the perfect target. His skill as a shinobi and outgoing personality made him one of the more public figures of the clan. Tearing down his reputation meant tearing down the exception to the perceived Uchiha norm. It reinforced the negative perception of his clan.

According to Shisui, whoever had implicated him had to have been watching him for weeks, in order to plant the evidence. If the infiltrator at the market was the same one who had planted the scrolls, then this was no simple mission. They must have been sabotaging the Uchiha for a year. Maybe even more.

After all, didn't the conflict with the clan start soon after the Yondaime's death?

The question was, who? And why?

The last time he had seen the twins was when he had brought them home from the hospital. For days now, he had been overwhelmed with soothing the clansmen, reporting to the Hokage, preparing for the funeral. Only now, at the threshold of their apartment building, did he face the question that he'd buried in the back of his mind.

Had anyone thought to tell them what happened?

Itachi almost wished someone had. But then he would remember Minako's terrified, confused face as Shisui walked away, and press on.

They deserved to hear it from him. It was the least he could do.

Yet another duty to shoulder.

He skipped the front door altogether, taking a short leap over the fence and into their backyard. Despite being a crime scene a mere week ago, it looked messily undisturbed. The pile of trash had been replaced with new ones. Any trace of blood had been washed off the only difference was a familiar team hidden in various points around the area, detectable only because Hound had silently prodded Itachi for identification the moment he cleared the fence.

Itachi pulsed his chakra in the pattern of his ANBU signature, just as something thudded against the floor of the apartment.

"ITACHI!"

Doors slammed open and shut. He had one moment to brace himself before red burst through the back door.

"What happened? Are you all right? Where's Shisui? We tried going into the compound, but Ryoji-san won't let us in anymore. Sasuke hasn't been to school and no one will tell us anything—Itachi?"

Itachi stared into her deep blue eyes and found he had no words to say. The space Shisui inhabited gaped between them, an open maw sucking the air from his lungs.

Minako's grip on his shirt tightened. His arms were stiff around her, neither restraint nor embrace. Already, he could see the truth dawning in her gaze, even as she fought to deny it.

"Itachi—"

"He's gone," he said.

The color bled from her face. She opened her mouth, but said nothing. Her small frame trembled with every breath, until the first tear spilled down her cheek.

"No… How? Why? I thought they had him under guard… I thought…" She swallowed hard. Her voice lowered to a whisper. "Did they k-kill him?" She tugged on his shirt, her wide eyes pleading for him to deny it. "D-did Jiji kill him?"

"No," he said immediately. This, he knew to be true, even if the thought made his breath falter. "Hokage-sama would not have had Shisui killed. Not like this."

He believed the Sandaime when he said he wanted a peaceful resolution with the Uchiha clan. It's what they had been working for, step by agonizing step. Shisui's death had burned all their efforts into dust. At the very least, it made no logical sense for the Hokage to undermine his own power like that.

"Then, why?"

He should tell her it was a suicide. He should. But the word was acid in his mouth, eating away at his tongue.

"It's still under investigation," he said, and let himself believe it was to have mercy on a child.

Her face crumpled. With nothing else to hold on to, the dam finally burst. He stood in the middle of the yard, numb to her cries and the tears soaking his shirt, because to feel for her would mean to feel his own pain as well.

"But Shisui… he can't… Shisui can't be… no! No!"

He raised his head, searching for an escape he wouldn't take. He didn't want this. He didn't want to go through this a second time, to rage with denial and agony all over again.

That's when he noticed what was missing. "Minako-chan," he said. "Where's Naruto-kun?"

She hiccuped, wiping her face on her thin sweater. "We… we needed groceries. It's bad when we go together, and he's still worried about me, so he insisted."

He was too close for her to miss the way he tensed. Her head snapped up.

"Why? Is something wrong? Is he in danger?"

Itachi wrapped his arms around her before her panic could escalate. "Is he alone?"

"N-no. Tora-san went with him."

"Then it's fine." Behind her back, he signed, suspicious person identified—henge and genjutsu, four days ago. "The ones who took you still haven't been caught, so I got worried."

A chakra signature detached itself from the roof, possibly heading to wherever Tiger and Naruto had gone. Itachi had no real proof that the gossipmonger was connected to Minako's kidnapping, but with the state of things, it was better to be careful.

"Oh." She pressed her face against his shoulder, a blade cutting through string after string until she was limp in his arms. Drawing comfort from touch as always. Itachi ran his hand down her back, letting her take what she could from the little he had to offer.

"When—when's the memorial?" Her voice cracked.

He closed his eyes. "Funeral," he corrected her. "It was last Saturday."

"What?" She jerked back. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? Why wasn't—why couldn't we go? I could've—I want to—" I want to say goodbye hung in the air, thick as a poison cloud.

"Only clan members are allowed in or out of the compound right now."

The clan had taken their imposed isolation over the past few days and spitefully embraced it. They retreated into the compound, refusing all but the most necessary contact with the rest of the village.

They were in mourning, his father would say. In truth, the clan's pride seethed. Rage over a thousand injustices burned, like a pot ready to boil over. And at the very top of the list was Shisui's imprisonment and death.

Itachi could only be glad that, at the very least, the twins would not be entangled in it.

"What about Yua-san? Did she get to attend?"

He shook his head. His father had taken the time to inform her of Shisui's death himself. She had been given that much, at least.

Minako slumped. "Can we at least visit his—visit it? When we come back?"

The thought of the twins returning to the compound made the hair on the back of Itachi's neck rise. "There is…unrest," he said. "It would be best for you to avoid coming over."

"What do you mean, unrest?" She tried to pull away again. He sighed, holding her close in an attempt to soothe her.

"It's nothing for you to be concerned about," he said.

That only made Minako bristle. "It's a concern for you, so it's a concern for me!" Hands fisted in his shirt, she leaned back to look him in the eye. "Friends look out for each other, remember? There has to be some way I can help!"

"You've already done enough, Minako-chan," he said gently.

She recoiled.

He buried his wince before it could show. He hadn't—he hadn't meant it like that. If he could take the words back…

But, no. Minako had already showed a penchant for inserting herself where she had no business in doing so, especially when it involved people she cared about. If it would discourage her from doing something foolish, if it would keep her safe, then he wouldn't take it back, even if it hurt her.

He rose to his feet, a dull throb in his chest. "I should go."

The words knocked her out of her stupor. Panicked, she threw herself at him. "Wait! Itachi, wait!"

When would he learn not to underestimate her perseverance? He should leave, now, and reinforce his message.

"Please," she begged.

He gave in. Guided by her hands, he bent low, until they were almost nose to nose. Her words were so soft, he had to read her lips to understand what she was saying.

"Whatever you're thinking of, whatever you've got planned, don't do it, okay? Don't do that to your brother. Don't hurt him like that. Please, Itachi."

He stared at her. "What are you talking about?"

Her eyes widened. "I'm worried," she blurted, wringing the hem of her sweater. "People—people do reckless things when they're sad. Shisui was your best friend, dattebana. I don't want something bad to happen to you too."

What was she so afraid of? He tried to search her face, but she looked away. "I won't do anything reckless," he said.

"Promise?"

"Minako-chan."

She turned back to him. "Promise me." Her blue, blue eyes were dark and knowing, ageless in a way he had never noticed before. "Me and Shisui. Promise."

A chill crawled down his spine.

"I promise," he said.

Her shoulders slumped, and she was Minako again, tired, anxious, and mourning. Outside, a loud, high pitched voice babbled at his companion, drawing nearer by the moment.

"Do you want to…?"

"I should go," he repeated. She nodded, rubbing her eyes.

"I'll—I'll let Naruto know." Grief weighed down every word. He hesitated, then ran his hand through her hair, the way his mother would have if she was in his place. Minako hiccuped, but leaned into the touch.

He leapt for the rooftops. Behind him, he could hear Naruto call out in alarm at his sister's tear-stained face.

That knowing blue gaze haunted him for days.

He couldn't discount the possibility that an organization was behind this. Even if he only ever saw one chakra signature, that didn't mean there hadn't been others before. The infiltrator could be continuing a predecessor's work.

But there was a maliciousness to the method that made it seem personal. There were many ways to take down a Hidden Village that were faster and more reliable than a public relations disaster. The mastermind had to have a grudge against the clan, and the patience to enact his vengeance over years. They either didn't care about the village itself, or wanted to see it burn alongside the Uchiha.

If Itachi could find who was behind this, if he could find the person who orchestrated Shisui's death, then he could prove the Sandaime's good intentions and deescalate the rising conflict.

He just needed to find them.

"What is she doing here?" Elder Ryuuzo shot up from his sullen slouch.

Itachi's father paused, a step behind his wife on the stairs descending into the depths of the Naka Shrine. Itachi followed their example, letting his hand rest against the stairwell.

Okaa-san raised an eyebrow.

"No offense to Mikoto-sama, of course," Elder Ryuuzo added. "But this is no place for the Lady of the Uchiha."

His dark, wizened eyes were trained on Otou-san, clearly expecting him to answer. But it was Okaa-san who spoke.

"And where would my place be, Ryuuzo-san?" she asked. She clasped her hands in front of her, her expression serene. "With my children?"

Murmurs rose and died. It seemed even Elder Ryuuzo caught a hint of the danger in Okaa-san's tone. He held his tongue, eyeing her warily.

"But one of them is already here," she continued, tilting her head towards Itachi. "And the other was killed, just a week ago, when he should have been under the Hokage and the village's protection."

Silence slammed over the crowd with the force of a block of steel.

The coup had now grown so large, they filled the secret room to the brim. Members of the Military Police stood against the walls, leaving the center for the Uchiha Elders kneeling in seiza. In the corner was a pair of chuunin Shisui's age—his year mates from the Academy, who he'd kept in touch with, even after graduating much earlier. They pinned their gazes on Okaa-san, eyes blazing with grief and fury.

Their faces swam in Itachi's vision. He swallowed the nausea and turned away.

"Shisui-kun is not your son," Elder Nobu said, cutting through the silence. Okaa-san stared him down, the light from the fire casting her face in rippling shadows.

"I am the Lady of the Uchiha, am I not?" Her declaration was all the sharper for the coolness of her voice. "The children of the clan are my children, and one of them has just been murdered because of the Hokage's negligence. I have as much right as any of you to be here."

Whispers erupted all over again. The expressions in the room shifted, some pensive, others approving. Itachi's father crossed his arms, his support implicit in his silence.

A harsh cackle rose over the noise. "Give it up, Nobu. She'll talk circles around you until you find yourself nodding along."

Elder Kame leaned back, smug in the center of the seated Elders. She was the only other woman in the room. "Besides," she added, "Are you really going to turn away the best genjutsu user of her generation?"

The other Elder turned the color of a beetroot. The rest of the Elders shifted, but they all seemed to either agree with Elder Kame, or had had experience with her particular brand of spite before. No one else protested.

Itachi's mother held her head high, all the way to her place in front of the clan's stone tablet. She lowered her head once in Elder Kame's direction, and no more. The old lady's eyes glittered.

Otou-san sat beside her, his pride in her unmistakable in every step. Itachi settled in his usual seat, at his father's right and a little ways back.

His mother glowed with the fire of a dark star, her voice ringing throughout the room. "The village's inability to protect its people has gone on for long enough. We have tolerated being set aside, but no longer. It is time we fulfilled our duty to our people and to Konoha! It is time for change!"

Every back in the room straightened. Dark eyes shone in the torchlight, bright with passion and promise.

Itachi's gaze lowered to the ground.

He was going to be sick.

That thrice-cursed chakra signature appeared in the clan compound, chatting up the grandmother selling rice crackers. Itachi stalked it through their streets, tracking where it paused and who it spoke to.

The infiltrator vanished, just shy of the woods by the Naka Shrine. Each of his clan members offered up a different name for what had been a single man with dark hair and a charming smile. Every one of them swore he was a relative, son of this person and that.

None of those names existed in the clan registry.

"Nii-san, let's train today!"

Itachi looked up from his seat on the engawa, halfway through putting on his shoes. Any frustration on outsiders mimicking very specific clan tics withered away, in the face of Sasuke's angry pout.

"We haven't trained in ages," he continued, arms crossed. "And you promised to help me with my Housenka no Jutsu!"

The affectionate smile spread across Itachi's face without prompting. There was nothing he could do about the exhaustion tugging at the corners, but Sasuke was indignant enough that he wouldn't notice. Hopefully.

"You don't need me for that," he said. "You're doing well on your own as it is."

If Sasuke had had any other brother, his speed at mastering the Phoenix Flower Technique would have been astounding. But Itachi could summon six fireballs at the age of seven, so Sasuke must also summon six fireballs at the age of seven.

"But I want you to." Sasuke latched on to his arm, the better to peer up at him with round, pleading eyes. Itachi's smile widened helplessly. His little brother wasn't quite as good at it as Minako, let alone Naruto was, but his efforts to reproduce the effect was adorable all the same.

Gently, he pulled his arm out of Sasuke's hold and poked him on the forehead. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. Maybe next time."

He had to walk away from Sasuke's disappointed frown.

When all this was over, he would train with Sasuke to his heart's content. But right now, he needed to run to the clan archives and check their records.

He was so close to an answer. Just a little more…

Then Danzo summoned him to the Shimura clan shrine.

"We both know there is no stopping the Uchiha clan." The Elder's low rasp scraped like sandpaper across Itachi's skin. "They would drag the village into a civil war of chaos and misery with their aims.

"There is no one else. Only you can prevent this."

Itachi had the sudden, inexplicable urge to laugh. To release the despair bubbling in his lungs.

The village, or the clan?

All this effort, everything he had worked for, and he was just right back where he started.

"You must make a choice," Danzo continued. "Let the coup continue, and be slaughtered along with everyone in your clan. Or take down the clan, saving yourself… and your brother."

Any hysteria left Itachi in a cold gale. Three simple words froze the world into a picture, all too clear.

"Is that a threat?" he said.

"An offer," Danzo said. Danzo, who had been suspicious of the Uchiha from the start. Danzo, who had been incensed at the Hokage's capitulation to his father's request, who hadn't been pleased at the clan's slowly returning acclaim.

Danzo, who had been trying to extend his influence beyond what had been allocated to him for over a year.

How well Itachi had been played. Shoved against a corner, with a blade against his throat. The kidnapping jad never been meant to succeed. Danzo must've had Shisui watched for weeks, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Take Minako, implicate Shisui, and everything Itachi had worked for crumbled in a matter of weeks.

There was no one he could turn to. His father headed the coup; his mother embraced its goals. To tell them would only provoke them to act. The Hokage would never believe him. And Shisui was gone, leaving nothing to guide his way.

"And you can assure Sasuke's safety?" Itachi said.

He could almost sense Danzo's hidden smile. "I can."

Liar. Itachi looked into that wooden expression, and knew he didn't want whatever safety it had to offer his brother.

"Will you do it?" Danzo asked.

Itachi narrowed his eyes, letting his scorn shine through. He would not give this bastard the satisfaction of answering him aloud.

"Tell me one thing," he said instead. "Did you kill Uchiha Shisui?"

Danzo flinched. It was a small, nigh-imperceptible tension in his grip, shifting his cane by degrees. For the first time that night, the old man's single eye lit with an anger that burned in the shadows of his face.

"No."

Itachi turned on his heel and left. Rage, anguish, and disgust nipped at his heels as he fled the shrine.

That had been the only word Danzo had said that hadn't been a lie.

There were still pieces of the puzzle missing. Who had cast the genjutsu on Minako? Who had killed Shisui, if not Danzo? There was a shadow looming over Konoha, a sickness that went even deeper than this deepest betrayal. Itachi needed answers, and he would not find them within his beloved village, where the darkness festered.

He was a spy, wasn't he? This was the role he had been given.

Might as well play it.

He stood on the cliff by the Naka falls, letting the memories pour over him. This was where Shisui brought him when he couldn't sleep because of his first kill. This was where they ate an entire box of mochi each, until they both threw up into the river below. This was where Shisui reassured him, telling him they'd find a way to resolve the coup for sure.

"Forgive me." The bitter words were lost in the rush of the distant water. "I couldn't keep my promise after all."

To Shisui, that he would protect the clan from itself. To Minako, that he wouldn't do anything rash. To Sasuke, that he would train with him again.

Itachi leapt for the trees. The ache in his chest was a constant now, the despair shoved deep, deep down so it wouldn't get in the way of what he had to do.

Sasuke. Oh gods, Sasuke. What would this do to him? He would survive, but he would be at the mercy of Danzo, and every political powerhouse that might want a piece of the Uchiha's bloodline and clout. And there would be no one to protect him, because if Itachi survived this, he would never step foot in Konoha again.

There had to be a way to help him. Some way to help Sasuke grow stronger, to motivate him to reach his full potential. Something Itachi could do.

What if—

Don 't hurt him like that. Please, Itachi.

Itachi froze. He stood on a wide branch, hidden in the thick canopy of the Hashirama trees.

Whatever you're thinking of, whatever you've got planned, don't do it, Minako had said.

Don 't do that to your brother.

Shock and dread crashed into each other, his knees buckling under the force. He turned towards the village, that memory looping through his mind.

He had to be mistaken. It was impossible. She couldn't have known what he was planning, when he had only gotten a ghost of the idea at this very moment.

But the specific words she had spoken, the strange fear in her eyes when he hadn't understood…

Could she have known? Had she known all along?

Impossible.

To see the future—it was a laughable concept. The stuff of folktales and superstition.

But what if…

Too late. Below him, a man with long, ragged hair wandered towards the moss-covered ruins of a stone house, hidden in the middle of Konoha's thickest grove. Despite the flat, tiger-striped mask, he had the hair and stride of the portrait Itachi had unearthed in their clan archives.

The infiltrator, the gossipmonger, the saboteur with a meticulousness that Danzo would not have the patience for. A ghost within the shadows, the only thing that might hold the answers Itachi sought.

He didn't know what ancient techniques the man had used to survive this long. But he knew he could never speak to Minako again, not while this man still haunted the village for his vengeance.

Itachi dropped to the ground.

"Uchiha Madara."

Notes:

cw: So, yeah, about Shisui... 😅 yep sorry Danzo's hate boner for the Uchiha cannot be denied. RIP.

Congrats to everyone who guessed right! Special mention to lunarlegend11 and CreativeMercinary for guessing the kidnapping was a cover and unraveling literally every clue I laid down to point at Danzo 3

Quick fire notes! More worldbuilding and context here, as usual.

This entire chapter is just me trying to frantically explain these four freaking panels because really? Really?

For the Itachi/Minako shippers in the mood for more angst, check out my new writing dump. send me more prompts muhahaha

Ps. You wanna cry? You really wanna cry? Listen to Skyfall by Adele after this chapter. I cried. (Actually, if this was an anime arc, the current EP would be Skyfall. Yeah, the angst train ain't finishing anytime soon. Put on your seatbelts!)

Chapter 25: Arc I Chapter 25

Summary:

Fate slips through their fingers.

Notes:

cw: see end notes because spoilers

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Losing Shisui was different from losing my family. I've had years with little to do but mourn my old family, my misery tucked into the corners of the orphanage's closet-bedroom. But I was the one who left them. I could still think of them as alive and happy somewhere, even if I would never see them again. They were completely separate from this world—far away, and long gone.

Not Shisui.

Shisui was in the empty chair at the dining table, in the stuffed frog banished to our unused bedroom. He was in the pranks Naruto wanted to brag about and the stories I wanted to hear. He was in the exercises we did in the morning, in the perforated target in the backyard, in every leaf that looked perfect for training chakra control.

Naruto had been inconsolable. He flat out refused to believe my news, until two days later when Sasuke finally went back to school. But Sasuke had been grieving in his own way too. Angry and abrasive, an echo of the boy I could see in that faint, faraway future.

It was their biggest fight yet. There was biting and screaming, punches and kicks that littered purple marks along their arms and legs. Everyone stayed out of it, with even Kiba silent on the sidelines. Chouji outright dropped his bag of chips. It was Sakura who put an end to it, running off to get a teacher before my brother and his best friend drew blood.

And me? I just sat there. Crying. If someone bothered to ask, I wouldn't be able to explain why. I was just drowning in the sadness, the fury, the helplessness, every scream and thump like a physical blow, until all I could do was let it out in ugly, hysterical tears. Shino had been so terrified, he all but plastered himself to my side, his kikaichu crawling and nipping at my arm and shoulder.

That night, Naruto and I curled into each other, clinging with hands and legs like we were three again and crying ourselves to sleep.

I wanted my mom. I wanted Mikoto. I wanted someone to hold me close and tell me everything was going to be alright.

But I didn't have that luxury anymore. And this wasn't a world where someone could promise me that.

I had fixed things. Hadn't I? The Massacre should've stopped in its tracks. Everything was looking up, and Naruto and I had found a family to embrace us at the end of each day. Now Shisui was dead, and the Uchiha had holed themselves up, and everything was ticking down, down, to a timer I couldn't see.

My dearth of knowledge was a gaping hole that yawned before me, threatening to drag me under. Had this all happened because of my meddling? What had changed? How did the Uchiha Massacre originally start, and could it happen now?

A story was simple. Easy. Pick and choose a series of events, find the cause and effect. Untangle it. But now there were the gate guards who wouldn't let me through, the teacher who forced Naruto and Sasuke to sit apart, the ANBU who slowly stopped revealing themselves to us as their duties dragged them away. There were the clan elders I'd never even met, the politics that adults hid from their children.

The world was bigger. There were factors that would never fit in a story, little things I couldn't touch and didn't know what they would affect.

What would have happened to Shisui if I hadn't been taken? Which was worse for him, canon or the life I was living now?

Did it matter?

I dug through my fading memories, reliving cartoons that had no equivalent in this world. Questions and fears plagued me as I stared into the shadows of our bedroom ceiling, unable to sleep.

It had all happened so fast. One day, I was waiting for more news. The next day, Shisui was dead. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even say goodbye.

I couldn't let it happen again.

It all came down to Itachi. He was the one who lost hope in his clan and decided to kill them for the sake of the village. And while I didn't know what triggered the Massacre, if there was one thing that would make a kid think this whole shitshow was irredeemable, it would be the death of his best friend.

I needed to talk to him. To make sure he wouldn't go down the dark, moonlit street of the cartoon in my memories.

But how?

"Well?" I demanded, as soon as we were settled under our schoolyard tree.

Sasuke's shoulders rose. He was perched on the tallest root, curled around his knees, as if it would keep him away from my incessant nagging. Still, he answered me.

"Otou-san went home late again, but okaa-san didn't go out after dinner. And nii-san…" His scowl deepened. "We were supposed to train together, but he put me off. Again."

My heart dropped to my feet. That was not a good sign. Hell, it was a terrible sign. Itachi had always tried to make time for Sasuke before. He wasn't always successful, but he tried. If he wouldn't train with Sasuke now, it meant he was very, very busy. Or worse.

"Why do you care so much?" Kiba said, lounging on one of the lower branches in the tree. Akamaru sprawled over his lap, huffing little puppy snores. "His otou-san goes to work, his okaa-san goes to the shrine. We get it. So what?"

"My friend is dead," I hissed, with enough vitriol that he sat up in shock. Akamaru yelped, woken by the jolt. "His entire clan has locked themselves inside their compound, and you aren't worried?"

A small hand settled on my wrist, careful to hold me over my sleeve.

It pulled me out of my sudden, blinding rage. I took a deep breath and patted Shino's arm, over his own sleeve. He was hesitant to initiate skin contact again, so soon after he lost control over his hive, and yet he still tried to comfort me. So I, in turn, did my best to accommodate his request for space.

Credit where credit was due, Kiba did look apologetic at the reminder. Naruto was tense on his own branch, ready to either throw himself at me or at Kiba. When he saw that Shino had it handled, though, he reluctantly settled back.

I took another deep breath. "Shino?"

He pushed his glasses up, in what I was starting to learn was a nervous tic. "Otou-san has expressed his exhaustion on the subject of the clan council. Why? Things seem to be strained as of late, especially after Fugaku-sama ceased attending."

Shikamaru tensed at my expectant look. "You know tou-san isn't in charge of the investigation, right?"

Chouji, who shared his tree root, patted his back in comfort. I leaned forward, refusing to let him dodge the question.

"But he's a clan head, and he's Jounin Commander," I said. "If he hasn't heard any news, I'll eat my shoe."

"Then why don't you just ask Ino? Her father is head of Intelligence."

"I've only met Ino twice," I reminded him.

She would also ask questions I didn't want to answer. Shikamaru was either too lazy to ask or would rather wait and figure it out on his own. (Which, on second thought, was still laziness.) Changing tactics, I said, "C'mon, Shika!"

He shot me a dirty look. We were nowhere near close enough for me to call him that. I made a face right back and raised two fingers. "Two weeks of homework, remember?"

Two weeks he could copy off my intentionally messy work, saving him hours, in exchange for whatever he could gather about Shisui's—the incident.

The me before death would have been horrified. I would have rather spent time helping classmates with the assignment than just let them take advantage of my own effort.

As things stood right now, my class standing could go fuck itself.

Shikamaru's head rolled back in a full-body groan. "Troublesome." Before I did something drastic, like bribe him with three weeks, he said, "The investigation's pretty much ground to a halt. They didn't have anything else to go on, not after he killed himse—"

"Okay!" I closed my eyes and leapt to my feet, as if I could flee from my image of Shisui's cell covered in blood and gore.

All they could recover was an eye. An eye. That was all that had been left of—

"Okay." My feet traced a path in front of everyone, back and forth in a shrinking circle. "Okay."

"What do you even plan on doing with all that?" Shikamaru asked, unwittingly giving voice to everything swirling inside my head.

"I—I don't know!" I shoved my hair back, dragging my hands against my temples. "If I could just talk to Itachi…"

"What makes you think he'll talk to you?" Sasuke retorted. "He won't talk to me, and I'm his brother!"

The sharp words did nothing to hide the worry in his white-knuckled fists. All my nagging had forced him to notice the tension in his family he might have otherwise missed. His mother, cold and distant; his father, busier than ever; his brother, almost never home. His clansmen, unhappy, furious.

"There has to be something I can do," I insisted.

(You 've done enough, Minako-chan.

I shoved the voice away.)

Naruto dropped out of his tree branch. "Why don't we just catch him while he's at home? Then he'll have to talk to us!"

We stared at him.

"What?" He blinked. "He has to sleep sometime, right?"

Kiba choked on a giggle.

"Naruto," I said slowly, "We're not allowed into their house anymore."

"Then we just sneak in," he said.

"Then we just sneak in," I repeated, dumbfounded. Despite the blitheness of his words, there was a ferocity in his gaze that silenced any doubts such an absurd statement deserved.

After Shisui's death, Naruto had been… quieter. Lost, even. He would look up with a grin forming on his face, only to remember, and look down again.

There was none of that here. His cheeky grin was cracked, a porcelain doll in need of repair, and the arms crossed behind his head trembled. But there was no humor in his stance. He wasn't just completely serious—he fully intended to go through with it.

Of course it wouldn't be that easy. But the simplicity of the statement condensed all my worries into a single, concrete action.

My mind began to churn.

"You really think that'll work?" Sasuke asked, his voice small.

"It's a start," I said.

Kiba swung his leg over his branch, facing us. "You're serious," he said in awe.

"You're going to sneak into a clan compound?" Chouji squeaked. It was enough to make him pause, halfway through taking a bite from his sandwich.

Shikamaru was just as skeptical. "Even if you get past the gate guards, every clan member will know you're not supposed to be there," he said, giving our bright hair a pointed look.

Naruto snorted. "Only if we get seen." Which of course only made Shikamaru's expression flatten even more. "Oi, don't look at me like that! I'm good at sneaking around, dattebayo!"

"In a clan compound?" Shikamaru said, eyebrows rising. "Full of ninja?"

"They don't have to go through the entire compound."

This time, everyone turned to stare at Sasuke. He wrung the hem of his winter jacket between jittery hands, his face furrowed in determined desperation. "The south gate is closer to home than the main one, and less people pass that way too. And it's right up against the forest, so you can get a lot closer to the guards than on the open street."

"It's cold," I added, going back to pacing. "And it still rains a lot. So it won't be that odd if we go around with our hoods up." My heart began to race. It was the reason I kept wearing hoodies in the first place—it kept the average person on the street from recognizing me by my hair or face. As long as they didn't have a reason to look closer, I was just any other kid doing her errands.

Kiba had progressed from leaning forward to practically hanging onto his branch by his knees. Mischief spread across his face, a bit of fang in his grin. "How do you plan on getting past the guards?"

"I believe I may be able to help with that."

To my surprise, it was Shino who spoke. He fidgeted with his glasses, but straightened under our scrutiny. His voice was firm. "I will need three days. Why? It would take time to breed the kikaichu required."

My eyes went wide. "You're lending us a kikaichu?"

"I want to help," he said, hands clenched over his knees. "If it will bring you peace of mind, then I would like to help as much as I can."

He hesitated, but didn't follow it up with an explanation. I clamped my mouth shut, tears pricking at the backs of my eyes. His hive began to buzz, in that swirling way that only ever seemed to happen when he got anxious. I shook myself, then sat next to him and rested my hand on his arm.

"I'm happy," I said. "Because you're being very kind, and I'm grateful."

He tilted his head, then nodded. He patted my hand before pulling away.

Kiba swung down, Akamaru cradled in his shirt. "I wanna help too! It's just like pranking. It'll be fun!"

"You can't," Shikamaru said. "Tensions are already high between the clans and the Uchiha. Even if we're just kids, there'll be trouble if we're found messing around their compound."

"Then how come Shino can?" Kiba demanded.

Sasuke recovered enough to roll his eyes. "Because no one's going to notice a single kikaichu, stupid."

"Who are you calling stupid?!"

"You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" I asked Shikamaru, as Kiba started yelling at Sasuke. He gave me a baffled look, then huffed.

"Do what you want. It's too troublesome keeping up with you crazy people."

"Be careful," Chouji said, more sincerely. I smiled at him.

"Thanks, Chouji."

Beside me, Shino shifted in his seat, his hive buzzing with activity. "Will Itachi-san truly be able to help?"

My shoulders slumped at the reminder. Yes, this was a step. A good one. Something I could actually work with. But everything afterward was just an open abyss.

"I just… worry," I confessed. "I want to talk to him so I can reassure myself. He's my friend too, you know?"

"I see," Shino said. And it comforted me. Because even if I could only read half of Shino's face, I knew he meant every word he said.

"Cheer up, Minako!" Naruto bounced over, flopping onto the root on my other side. Planning for our little jaunt had lit its own kind of fire inside him, bringing back a bit of that foxy brother of mine. "We've got this, easy!"

I stared at him. Then slapped a hand over my face.

"What?"

"It can't possibly be this easy," I hissed.

We stood over the unconscious bodies of the Uchiha gate guards, tiny cardboard boxes still open in our hands. The setting sun drew long shadows under the trees, which then let us get close enough to the gate to release Shino's kikaichu from the boxes. The whole thing had taken all of five minutes.

Naruto snickered. "'Course it is. Adults are dumb." He crouched down, squinting at the kikaichu. "How're we gonna make them come back, though?"

Their wings flicked under his stare, like an insect version of who, me?

He winced.

The Nemuhari crawled over their victims, innocuous as an everyday garden beetle. Each had the feeding capacity of the average shinobi adult, meaning one only had to land on someone to drain them into fainting. After getting covered in kikaichu (and their pheromones) to keep the Nemuhari from targeting us, my brother now had a healthy respect for the clan insects.

"Shino said they should find their way back to their hive, since there aren't any Aburame nearby." Sasuke shuffled in place. He hadn't stopped glancing left and right since we neared the gate.

"I wish he'd also told us how hard they would be to make," I ground out. If I had known breeding them would have turned him into the pale, exhausted mess he was at school this morning, I would have kicked him from Operation: Crash Sasuke's Place altogether. At least Chouji had volunteered to walk home with him, so Shino would have him and Shikamaru watching his back.

It took him a day's worth of chakra to breed one at his age, and he'd bred three! Three! When I got my hands on him again, so help me…

"What should we do about this one?" Sasuke raised his box. The Nemuhari inside didn't even buzz, waiting patiently for its release.

"Give it." Naruto held out his hand, fingers wriggling. "We can use it if someone catches us inside."

Sasuke's frown expressed his doubts about that. He handed it over anyway. This was Naruto's area of expertise, and both of us knew it. He'd know best when to use the kikaichu.

Our odd streak of luck continued once we passed the gates. There were so few people around that sneaking down the street was a breeze. Naruto tugged me along as we darted from bush to corner to wall, while Sasuke did a very unconvincing impression of minding his own business as he dawdled out in the open.

It was shocking how quiet Naruto became. He was in his element. Mischief danced in his eyes, birthmark whiskers tugging at his grin. Every movement was full of contained energy, his usual impatience coiled like a snake waiting to strike. He listened around corners before peeking, waited three whole minutes with bated breath for an old lady to pass, shushed me when I tried to ask a question.

All I could do was follow along, amazed.

We made it all the way to Sasuke's street with just one young woman greeting him as he passed. There was only open space from the next property to their gate, so we made one last scan of the street before booking it.

"Where is everybody?" I asked him, panting. My inner cynic was still ringing its alarm bells. In Shikamaru's words, this was a clan compound. Full of ninja. Little kids shouldn't be able to sneak in with only a couple of kikaichu going for them.

"It's Hinoshi," Sasuke replied. "The day we honor the Uchiha who have gone before. That's why I know for sure that nii-san's going to be home, because…"

…because Shisui just died, he didn't get to say. The minute our feet crossed the threshold, their front door slammed open.

"What do you three think you're doing?"

I didn't realize how much I missed Mikoto until she stood there, lips pinched and pale with fury. Her kimono sleeves were tied back, her fingers covered in rice flour.

All three of us quailed under her glare.

"Okaa-san," Sasuke stammered.

She glanced at the street behind us, then pointed at the door. "Get inside."

Her icy tone was more terrifying than any shout. We went. Any plans of sneaking through the back were dead in the dust.

She swept down the hallway, regal as a queen. We trailed after her like a set of cringing ugly ducklings. Their receiving room became our judgment ground—three children in their best seiza, given one chance to explain themselves before the verdict.

As one, Naruto and Sasuke turned to me. Fucking typical. I started sweating buckets under Mikoto's expectant—but unsurprised—look.

"We've been worried," I blurted. "Everything happened so fast, and after—" To my horror, my voice cracked. I swallowed hard, forcing the words out. "—after Shisui died, no one could tell us anything. So we wanted to see you. If you and Itachi were okay."

The lines around Mikoto's eyes softened. It didn't make her expression any more forgiving. "Thank you, Minako-chan. But you could have just asked Sasuke. You didn't have to go all the way here to know that."

"She did," Sasuke grumbled. "A lot."

"It was my idea!" Naruto straightened, almost straining to grab Mikoto's attention. "Coz Minako kept worrying, and I wanted to see you too." His face scrunched up, some of that lost sadness returning. "Why aren't we allowed to visit anymore? Did we do something wrong?"

Mikoto pressed her fingers against her forehead. It was the first sign of stress I'd ever seen from her. Dread crawled down my spine.

"The clan is going through some problems at the moment. Which is why," she said, voice growing firm, "you shouldn't be here. If you were spotted…"

If we were spotted, what? We'd be scolded and kicked out like naughty children?

But she never finished her sentence. Instead, she glanced at the shoji doors to the training yard, and the streetlight painting it amber.

A hint of her cold anger returned. "The minute Itachi arrives, you will be going home with him," she said. "No arguing. No tantrums. You will go quietly, and you will not tell anyone of what you just did. Understand?"

Naruto and I nodded vigorously. Any victory dances I felt like doing were reserved for an imaginary dance floor.

This was perfect! Now all I needed to do was get Itachi alone to talk. Even our backyard would do, so long as I convinced Naruto to go inside first.

Mikoto turned to her son. "And you. You and I are going to have a talk with your father about the importance of clan mandates."

This was the first time I truly understood the phrase 'white as a sheet.' Sasuke's wide, horrified eyes were the only color on his face.

Knowing how important his father's regard was to him, I said, "Mikoto-baa-san—"

"No, Minako-chan. This is clan business," she said, not unkindly. "It's something Sasuke needs to learn." She gave Sasuke one last admonishing look, before gesturing at us to stand. "You three can stay in the guest house for now. I'll bring dinner when it's ready."

Sasuke all but bolted for the door. "Hey, wait up!" Naruto said, stumbling after him. He paused at the door, turned, then threw himself at Mikoto's waist. "I'm glad you're okay," he said, before scampering after his friend.

I stretched out my legs first, letting my blood go back to where it belonged. Mikoto propped her hands on her hips as she watched the boys scurry away. The look on her face was fond, if exasperated.

"Sorry about the trouble," I mumbled. She sighed again, turning to face me.

"There are rules for a reason," she said, helping me to my feet. "You might not understand why they're there, but you could put yourself or other people in danger if you don't obey them."

I ducked my head, my face hot. She flicked my nose, rebuke and forgiveness both. Hand in hand, we headed for the door leading to the back of the house.

"You're very lucky no one was around to catch you," she said.

"Because of Hinoshi?" I guessed. That brought a smile to her face.

"Did Sasuke tell you?"

"A bit? He said it's when you honor the Uchiha who came before."

She hummed. Her voice took on the lilting tone of a story often told. "Senju Hashirama-sama changed the face of the world with his offer of friendship to the Uchiha. Some would think it best to forget the bloodshed of that past." Something heavy flashed across her face, smoothing over just as quickly. "But our clan believes in remembering those who died before that change occurred, so as to make the change all the more precious."

"Wow." The thought made my heart warm. I liked the idea. A single lifetime hadn't even passed since Konoha's founding—after all, Jiji was still alive. Just because people believed a period of bloodshed and horror was over didn't make it true. Trying to forget would only mean leaving ourselves vulnerable to those who couldn't adapt to a life beyond war and hatred.

She smiled, pulling the door open with her free hand. "I'm glad you understand. It's a very important day for us, which was why no one was outside."

It took me a moment. The implications tore through my answering grin. "Wait, everyone's at home? Everyone?"

She looked down, confused at my sudden stop. "Well, the MPs are still on active duty, of course. But yes. Save for a few clan members on long term assignments, this is a day for our clan to be with our loved ones."

There was nothing I could hide my dawning horror behind. I stood, frozen stiff in the middle of the hallway, my grip on her hand painfully tight.

Her frown deepened. She shut the door and knelt down to my level. "Minako-chan? What's wrong?"

My thoughts were a whirlwind. Panic burst in my chest. I tossed aside word after phrase after word, frantically trying to figure out what to say. What a child could say.

"Mikoto-baa-san." I swallowed hard. "If the clan is… in trouble, and everyone's at home, isn't that… dangerous?"

Her stare burned me from the inside, lighting up every hidden nook and cranny. Like she was peeling me apart. I shivered, unable to read her expression, only able to watch as her face grew paler and paler.

She brushed my hair back. "I should have known one of you would take after your father."

My heart stopped. I choked on it, on the words rushing out of my throat. "My what?"

The fire in her eyes didn't fade, only softened. "Your father," she repeated, each syllable crisp and clear so I couldn't mistake it. "He was a fearsome shinobi in his time, but it was his quick thinking that was always his greatest weapon." She cupped my cheek. "Just like it will be yours, I'm sure."

"What do you mean, my father? You knew my father? Did you know my mother too? Why didn't you ever say anything? Why are you only telling me now, dattebana?" I cried, clinging to her wrist with both hands.

"Yes, I did. I kept it from you because I was led to believe it would be safer, compared to telling a child who could be easily tempted into revealing a secret." She gave me a pointed look. "But you've already been keeping a secret for a very long time, haven't you, Minako-chan?"

I stilled, a rabbit caught in the gaze of a hawk. Oh god. Oh god, oh god, she knew. How did she know? Where did I slip up? What was she going to do, knowing that I—

She chuckled grimly. "Now I know why you and Itachi are so close," she said, patting my head. "Though why you two chose to keep your intelligence from me, I don't know."

It took everything I had not to sag with relief. Right. The smarts. Of course. "I didn't want to leave Naruto behind in school," I explained.

Her brow furrowed. She opened her mouth, then closed it, her lips thinning. "We're going to have a talk about that," she said, pulling the door open. "Not now, but soon."

I followed after her, confused. But she said nothing more, tugging me along after her.

By this time, night had truly fallen. The full moon hung bright and fat at the edge of the horizon. We hurried outside, padding down the walkway together. Naruto and Sasuke's shadows danced against the guest room's shoji door.

Right before we were in hearing range, she squatted down and looked me in the eye. "I need you to do something for me, Minako-chan. I want you to keep Naruto-kun and Sasuke from leaving that room. Whatever you do, whatever you hear, none of you are allowed to step outside. Do you understand?"

The fear crept back, insidious as a snake. "What about you? And Itachi?" I asked.

She squeezed my hand. "I'm going across the street to Tekka's, so he can send a message to Fugaku for me. I'll send someone to look for Itachi too. That's why I need you to stay. I can't do that if I have to worry about you and the boys."

I shook my head. She was right, the clan needed to be warned, but my fingers refused to let go. Shisui's distant back was still burned into my memory, receding into a scarlet void. I couldn't shake the dread gripping me by the throat.

"You still haven't told me about my parents," I said, desperate for an excuse.

Firm, gentle hands began to pry mine from hers. "How about this—you wait for me, and I'll tell you and Naruto-kun together. Would that do?"

No. No, I didn't want to let go. If she stayed, would it keep her safe? If she left, would she live? "Will you at least tell me their names?"

She paused. "Alright."

My eyes went wide. She pulled me close, her expression deadly serious. "Do not repeat this to anyone, understand? Especially those you don't trust."

"I won't," I managed to say, through air that had turned into rubber. I didn't mean to—she wasn't really going to tell me, was she?

She pressed her lips to my cheek, then spoke.

"Their names were Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina."

Then she stepped inside the guest room, back to the stern mother who had been scolding us just five minutes before. Her voice drifted into the night, telling Naruto and Sasuke to stay, or else. She left me outside, frozen, lips soundlessly shaping every syllable.

Namikaze Minato. Uzumaki Kushina.

It was different, hearing it aloud. They were names that had always echoed in the back of my mind, but never truly existed in the same way that Naruto or Sasuke did. It was giving voice to things, to people, that made them real. These were people who had lived and breathed, talked, made friends, left memories.

Who were they? What were they like? Did Minato ever trip over his socks in the morning, like Naruto did? What food could Kushina cook? How good was Minato in school, and could I do better?

Mikoto's hand jolted me from my thoughts. "Remember," she said.

I nodded. With one last squeeze of my shoulder, she left. I entered the guest room in a daze, barely cognizant of a still-horrified Sasuke and a petulant Naruto.

The minutes ticked by at a crawl. Mikoto returned with a quick batch of onigiri for dinner, before whirling away again. Somehow, I managed to convince the boys to get into bed, to at least wait for Itachi somewhere comfy. Naruto tried to goad Sasuke out of his nerves, while Sasuke insisted on listing the hundred different ways he was screwed. Their babble didn't bring the usual smile to my face.

I stayed flat on my back, eyes wide open, even as one by one they dozed off. Every breath was a roar in my ears, every rustle louder than a gunshot. Terror was all I could hear.

There was nothing I could do. Mikoto had taken my warning, my idea to heart, and was doing all she could to prepare the clan against it. I was a seven year old child. No matter how old my mind was, my body and I would only get in the way of whatever they had planned.

What if I went in there and got myself killed?

What if I stayed in here and Mikoto died?

I sat up. Naruto snuffled, but didn't stir. With Sasuke between us, I didn't have to worry about him waking up if I left. Sasuke was a different story. He had been a light sleeper during our slumber party, so I took extra care not to jostle the bed as I slid off.

A moment's pause. Sasuke's breathing stuttered, then evened out again. I waited another agonizing minute before slipping out the door.

The moment my feet cleared the threshold, I ran. The night wind whipped my hair back from my face. Every step pounded against the wooden floor, too loud for any ninja worth their salt to ignore.

I couldn't let Mikoto die. If there was the slightest chance, even the smallest inkling that I could save her life, I would take it.

It wasn't just 'the Massacre' anymore. It was names and faces and the closest thing I had to a mother in this life.

What was the point of my existence if I couldn't change a thing?

I threw open the door to the main house, running straight into the acrid scent of blood. The resulting splutter blocked the scream trying to escape my throat.

Two large shapes—

humanoid shapes—

bodies—

lay across the hallway. Blood soaked their flak jackets, dripping through the floorboards beneath them.

Oh god, that was—

that man is—

that was his spine—

"They would have you kill our children in their sleep, and for what? For what?"

Mikoto's voice pierced the black spots threatening my vision. I bit my lip hard, focusing on the pain and not the smell, the sight, oh god, there was another body halfway out the distant front door.

"What would you have me do? We are outnumbered. We have no allies. The village would burn before an Uchiha could stand as Hokage, and even then, it would have made us no better than Kirigakure!"

I shut my eyes and covered my mouth, shuddering at the sound of Itachi's angry despair.

No. Focus. Remember. I forced myself to take a step, ignoring the sticky wetness coating my bare feet, ignoring the nausea curdling in my belly. Focus.

"Would you rather live with our heads bowed and our ankles chained, then?" A frantic note entered Mikoto's voice. Her words blurred, coming faster and faster. "Just wait until we're reduced to a shadow of ourselves? Is that the kind of life you want to live?"

Fugaku's face was lax, in a way it had never been in life. A sob escaped, even as I slipped past.

"I don't care about my life." Itachi's voice lowered. Even with the receiving room so close, I had to strain to hear it. "If it's for Sasuke…"

Mikoto's breath hitched. "So that's why… those bastards!"

Close enough. I threw myself at the door.

"Stop!"

Itachi stood across the room, staring at an empty corner. Moonlight through the paper screen illuminated the blood on his cheek and arms. A dripping tanto hung from his slack grip.

Mikoto whirled to face me. "Minako-chan, no, stay back—!"

"I'm sorry, okaa-san."

Wet. Salt. Splattering on my face with an innocuous splurt.

Blood flowed like a river. I stared into Mikoto's eyes, even as the light in them died. She collapsed with a sickening thump.

Behind her was Itachi, his face tear-stricken, his sword still raised from cutting her throat. Red and black swirled into that all-too-familiar pinwheel shape. A single drop of blood joined the tears on his cheeks.

Those awful, awful eyes widened at the sight of me. "Minako," he said. "What are you—" His head jerked towards the shoji door leading outside, only to turn back to me. "You shouldn't be here!"

"You… you…" My shaking hands rose to my face, dragging through the salty wetness on my cheeks. Mikoto lay there, on the ground, those beautiful, loving eyes vacant and unseeing, unmoving.

That can't be Mikoto. It can't be. Mikoto-baa-san shouldn't look like—

"Nii-san?"

I gasped. Blood dripped over my lips, tainting my tongue. Sasuke stood behind me, his hands still on the door like he'd forgotten they were there.

Sasuke. Sasuke was—

Itachi was—

"Itachi, don't!"

When I turned towards Itachi, all I saw was a stranger.

A cold, unfeeling gaze stared us down, scarlet glistening in the light of the full moon. There was no secret smile, no barely-hidden affection in those eyes. He looked upon us and found us lacking. We were insects that weren't worth stepping on.

I shoved Sasuke behind me. Tears blurred my sight as I struggled to block his view, without turning my back on the sword still dripping in the moonlight. "Don't—don't look into his eyes!"

"What—nii-san, what's going on? Get off me!" Sasuke shoved against my arms. His fingers slipped against the blood on my collarbone. My breath hitched.

"Get out of my way," Itachi said.

"No!" I tightened my grip on Sasuke. He cried out, beating against my chest. I refused to let him pull back. "Enough already! You don't have to do this!"

"And who are you to say what is enough?" His lip curled. Dissonant. Mocking. "Uzumaki Minako. Always meddling in others' affairs." He stepped over Mikoto, sending ripples across the growing pool of blood. "Did you enjoy it? Playing with people's lives? Did it give you the family that you always wanted?"

"What?" I couldn't breathe. "What are you talking about?"

"It must have felt good, ingratiating yourself with the poor, tragic Uchiha clan," he continued. "Especially with what you knew." He tilted his head. "Why? Did you think you could save them?"

I shook my head wordlessly, trying to shake off the terror and dread dripping like embers on my skin, burning in my veins. The world swayed. Everything felt hazy, heavy as a nightmare. "No, I…"

His scarlet gaze seared me with his scorn. "You can lie to everyone, Minako, but don't lie to yourself.

"You couldn't stop Shisui's death. You can't stop me."

I reeled. Cold words, stated like mere fact. They lanced deep into my chest, piercing where no blades could reach. Words that had echoed in my head in the dead of night, spoken aloud and made real.

"No! I didn't know! I swear, I wanted to, I tried to, to save him, but I couldn't do anything! I didn't know!"

Shisui, smiling up at me. Shisui, ruffling my hair. Shisui, walking away, confidence in every step.

It wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault!

A flicker of emotion, buried behind the glacial cold of an uncaring predator. Bitter triumph.

"Move," Itachi said.

Sasuke gasped. It kicked me out of my frozen terror. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head.

No. This was—this was Itachi. He was just lying, trying to manipulate me like he would Sasuke. He didn't—he didn't mean it.

"Move, or die."

He stepped forward; I stepped back. His presence was a physical weight, corrupting the air with murderous intent. Sasuke had gone still, save for the terror and disbelief shaking him from head to foot.

"No." My voice cracked.

He didn't mean it. He didn't mean it!

"So be it."

He stepped forward. Sasuke was crying something; it didn't register. I could feel every sob against my neck, hear the wind through the eaves and the creak of wood underfoot. The fear was a roaring heat, filling me with the need to run, or fight, or do anything that wasn't stand there and die.

But it wasn't real. The fear was wrong, because Itachi would never hurt us.

He wouldn't.

Right?

Footsteps, on the hallway floor. A thump-thump-thump out of rhythm with my frantic heartbeat.

"Minako?"

Something flashed across Itachi's face. Ice spread through my limbs, my chest.

"No," I breathed.

The footsteps drew closer. "Sasuke! Minako!"

Itachi readied his blade, flicking the last of Mikoto's blood across the room. A blazing heat overtook the cold, fire flooding my veins.

"No, no, you can't! No!"

I threw myself forward, as those red, red eyes rose to look over my head.

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU!"

Red—

"Minako!"

—burned.

Notes:

cw: More dead people, sorry :'D

Me: no spoilers! :D
The RWTBD playlist: IT'S GONNA BEEEE / A MASSACRE / GONNA BE A MASSACREEEEEE (listen to it! I'm actually proud of this playlist :'D also the song itself is a banger? Wild)

Maybe I'm cynical, and I do read fics where the OC makes huge changes at toddler age (shoutout to like a river, super funny, go read it. Also, lots of Shisui!) but I've always wondered at how much change a seven-year-old can make in a story. Not in the little "kid says something that makes adult think," but more of "kid proactively pushes things into motion." Like, yes, the Naruto universe facilitates child geniuses by using chakra to overcome physical disadvantages in a fight. But also there's a difference between a child genius and a child acting like an adult. One is precocious, the other is disturbing. Look at Kakashi—he was a super genius as a kid, but he still acted like a kid, up until circumstances caused him to age horribly and stupid fast. (Literally five minutes before Kannabi, he was trying to show off to his sensei.) Being smarter than kids your age doesn't automatically make you more mature, it just makes you different, which ages you mentally but doesn't give you experience. Besides, I'm pretty sure most adults won't take kindly to a toddler telling them what to do, or taking genius kids so seriously to the point of taking political advice. This is not a critique, it's just me thinking out loud and also possibly explaining why I decided the Massacre must pull through.

More worldbuilding notes and context here!

Chapter 26: Arc I Chapter 26

Summary:

Pain and blood are all-too-familiar things, here.

Notes:

cw: reiterating the canon-typical violence tag :')

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Blood. Blood on his hands and in the air. He cut through swathes of faceless foes, passing through the world like a ghost. The road was full of bodies. He couldn't stop himself, couldn't help himself, could only run towards his next foe, teeth bared in a vicious grin.

It was the stabbing pain that woke Kakashi. He gasped into the shadows of his bedroom, his left eye throbbing in its socket. Cursing, he stumbled into the bathroom. The icy tap water soothed the pain, but only a little.

He bowed his head, pressing fingers against the scar bisecting his eyelid. While it was rare for it to ache outside of overuse, it wasn't unheard of. Not for Kakashi.

No, pain was something he dealt in, and dealt out, every day of his life. His dream was only proof of that, the impression of an oddly-familiar street already fading away. Usually, his nightmares were about other things—rocks falling, lightning and rain crackling over his skin, a demon rising over the rooftops while he stood, helpless. Perhaps his mind got bored of his well-traveled hellscapes and decided to mix it up a little.

It was the work of minutes to put on his uniform and leave his apartment. The moon had barely risen over the treetops; the night was still young. But Kakashi knew he wouldn't be getting any more sleep tonight. Instead, he found himself tracing a path over the rooftops that he'd followed many, many times before.

On another night, in another lifetime, Kakashi would have dropped by Naruto's apartment and found him snoring away, blankets kicked down past his knees. He would have gone back home, reassured, only to be greeted by an urgent mission to hunt down Uchiha Itachi, clan killer and missing nin.

Tonight, he dropped into the twins' backyard and found their bed empty, their apartment lifeless.

He was Kakashi now, not Inu. And there was no one around to see.

A press of his thumb against the inside of his shuriken pouch, and Pakkun was there. The dog sneezed, shaking his head at the smoke left behind.

He greeted Kakashi with a gruff, "Boss." A quick sniff; his ears perked up. "This is the pups' den," he said.

Kakashi knelt down, rubbing the pads of his fingers together in an attempt to release some of his building agitation. "They're not in their room. Can you tell if anyone has been here?"

Minako was barely four weeks out of her kidnapping. He'd argued against reducing the twins' guard, but ANBU was strained as it was. They had to cover the investigation for the incident, their regular mission work, and the increased unrest when the Uchiha all but retreated into their compound. If the kidnappers were to strike again, now would be the perfect time.

They could try to hide their scent again. But there were things his Dogs could smell that even Kakashi wouldn't notice.

Pakkun gave the area a more thorough search. Sniffing, he paused, and gave the twins' window a thoughtful look. "Nothing that isn't older than this morning," he said. "And they're all the other residents and the manager. The twins were here too, but they only smell like anticipation, sadness, and sweat. No fear. Nothing chemical, no chakra use." He raised a skeptical doggy eyebrow at Kakashi. "You sure they didn't sleep at the Uchiha's again?"

"Only clansmen are allowed in and out of the compound right now," Kakashi said, even as his mind whirled through the possibilities. Knowing the twins' obstinate and mischievous natures, knowing just how much Uchiha Shisui's death had affected them… "Let's check the path leading to the compound."

His gut roiled with worry as they sped west. If the twins refused to heed the clan's self-imposed isolation, it would be a disaster. People would see it as definitive proof that the Uchiha had machinations towards Konoha's jinchuuriki, and the clan would be punished accordingly.

Kakashi did not want to know what that would do to the already tense relations between the clan and the village.

They swept over Konoha's streets, bouncing from roof to roof. A few of the night guard watched Kakashi pass, but didn't say anything. He was a common enough sight at this hour.

A few streets past the Academy, they found the twins' scent again. The afternoon rush may have muddled it, but it was still fresher than the scent at their apartment. The trail led south, away from the direction of the Uchihas' main gate. Kakashi grappled with worry and relief. On one hand, it meant no political implosion over a pair of clueless kids. On the other hand, where would they be, if not there?

He needn't have bothered. Their scent (and it was their scent, the twins spent so much time together that he couldn't smell one without the other) slowly began to curve west again, until Kakashi and Pakkun were running through the forest that made up the Uchiha training grounds.

Following the twins' scent, with another one weaving in and around them. Leading the way.

Kakashi hadn't believed that Uchiha Shisui had been responsible for Minako's kidnapping. He would have spent more time covering up the scent of blood on his clothes, for one, on the day they had investigated the twins' home. And, contrary to popular belief, drawing out a seal wasn't as simple as copying a manual.

But if the rumors were true… if his clan had really ordered him to kidnap Minako…

Pakkun paused, just a few feet ahead of him. He raised his head, sniffing the air. "Boss," he said, a warning growl thrumming through his ribs.

"What—" Then the breeze hit him. Kakashi's hackles rose at the all-too-familiar scent.

Blood.

He was at the Uchiha South Gate before he realized it, staring down the corpses of the guards assigned there. In the shadows of the trees, they could have just been sleeping. The stab wound through their chests gave it away.

Not even a block down the street was an Uchiha MP, a kunai in his eye and throat. A body slumped over the windowsill of the nearest home. The scent of split intestines drifted from the open front door, telling Kakashi there were more corpses to be found inside.

His hands curled into fists. "Alert the Hokage. The Uchiha are under attack."

He prayed that it was true. That it was present tense, not past tense. That there were still survivors, somewhere under the flickering streetlights. But his instincts told him the absolute silence was the aftermath.

Underneath the blood, the stench of exposed organs, a single scent continued, drifting further down the street.

The twins were in there.

The twins were in there.

Pakkun yipped, darting into the undergrowth. Kakashi was already running ahead, ears straining for any sound of life. A breath. A heartbeat. Anything.

Not even the crickets dared to chirp.

His blood pounded in his ears. Air rushed in and out of his lungs, drying his throat. An MP, hanging from a post by ninja wire. A girl, slumped over a bench. An old man sprawled across the ground, his kunai just a few inches from his limp hand.

He found himself searching for blond hair amongst the black. A scarlet river that wasn't blood. He didn't want to find them. Not like the kid face down over a broken flower pot. Not like the child that had died while he ran.

He didn't know what he would do if they were dead.

Something shifted at the other end of the street. A shadow hunched over one of the corpses, their loose kimono hiding their movements. Kakashi drew a kunai, wary. Should he reveal himself? Or—

Their head snapped towards him.

The orange mask burned in the light of the full moon, a reflection of a sunset marred by clouds of smoke. Broad shoulders filled their kimono with a confidence only power could bring. Shaggy black hair obscured any other sign of the person's identity.

Whoever this person was, they were not of Konoha. And that was enough for Kakashi.

He threw his kunai towards the stranger's head. This much confidence in the middle of a Hidden Village meant they were too dangerous to try to capture alive. He cursed himself for not carrying enough weapons, drawing another kunai to—

His kunai passed right through them.

Kakashi didn't believe in ghosts. He had lost so much and destroyed so much more, but the only spirits he ever saw were in his dreams. The only thing that haunted him was his memories.

Still, in this place that should have been home, so saturated with death, it made him hesitate.

The figure began to laugh. Kakashi switched to a defensive stance, his kunai at the ready.

"Ah, it truly is my lucky day." Their cold baritone was eerie in the utter silence of the compound. "The death of the Uchiha clan, and Hatake Kakashi right in front of me."

Kakashi didn't even question how this man knew him. In certain circles, his hair and slanted hitai-ate were enough to distinguish him.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "How did you get in here?"

"I can wait a little longer," the stranger said to himself, ignoring Kakashi completely. "It'll attract too much attention if I kill you now. I guess it's your lucky day too, Ka-ka-shi."

The masked man wasn't making sense. But Kakashi understood enough to know an exit speech when he heard one.

He burst into shunshin. Too far! "Stop!"

That lone, haunting eye glowed red. Then, the man was gone, swirling into the darkness like the ghost Kakashi had mistaken him for. All he left behind was the echo of a low chuckle.

"Damn it!" Kakashi took a deep breath. He pushed aside the smell of the corpse at his feet, searching for anything that wasn't of Konoha.

Ashes. Blood. Damp moss, like an underground cave, contrasting heavily with the scent of trees. Soft bark, like the young Hashirama saplings at the edge of the great forest surrounding Konoha. And, even fainter than that, a strange scent that made his instincts howl—

A scream rent the night.

He was on the rooftops before it even petered off. When Naruto's cry joined his sister's, he was two houses away. Another shunshin, and he was on the nearest tree, overlooking the main family's training yard. The air was filled with chakra, crackling with the force of a building thunderstorm.

Fury. Hate. The promise of death. The very same chakra from that fateful night, rising like a torrent from the house below him.

Kakashi's throat went dry.

Minako.

"GUHK! "

A small body crashed through the shoji doors. Wreathed in red chakra, Minako flew through the air, smashing through a decorative stone lantern before rolling across the dirt. The demon fox's chakra sputtered, then died. She collapsed into the rubble, unconscious.

Itachi straightened from the kick that had sent Minako flying in the first place. At his feet was a woman's corpse. Naruto huddled in the opposite corner of the room, clutching the arm of a dark-haired boy. The boy's eyes glowed red.

For a second, Kakashi thought Itachi had acted in self defense. Knocking her out was the fastest nonlethal way to put a jinchuuriki down. And it took a lot to put a jinchuuriki down. There was no other explanation for how a boy, who had held her so gently just weeks before, could now throw her aside, just like that.

"You kicked Minako," Naruto said, unable to tear his eyes away from his sister. "You kicked Minako!" Like saying it again and again would warp the words into something that made sense.

"I told her not to get in my way," Itachi said. Dull. Almost patient. The tone of a person who knew he would get what he wanted, and didn't care how long it would take to get there. "Are you going to get in my way too, Naruto?"

He readied his tanto. The click of metal was loud in the echoing silence.

The dark-haired boy sobbed, a wretched, broken little noise. Naruto glanced between him and Itachi, realization dawning. The boy cried out again, a sound made with the sheer terror of knowing he was about to die.

Trembling, Naruto edged his foot to the right. It wasn't much. A snail could have covered more distance.

But it still put him in front of the other boy.

"I won't," Naruto croaked. "I w-won't leave Sasuke b-behind, dattebayo!"

Something unreadable flashed over Itachi's face. His grip on his sword tightened. He stepped forward. Naruto stumbled back, dragging the other boy with him. His sobs joined the other's. But he didn't let go.

"You're lucky to have so many people to hide behind, Sasuke," Itachi said, a sneer tugging on his young face. "But what happens when they're gone? I suppose you'll cower and die, just like everyone else."

"No! You're wrong!" Sasuke—his little brother? That Sasuke?—cried, his hands over his ears. "Otou-san wouldn't do that! You're lying!"

"Deny it all you want. Hate me, despise me, but until you have the strength to kill the ones you love, you will never gain the power that I have."

Kakashi had heard enough.

"Leave him alone!" Naruto screamed, and threw a small box at Itachi's face.

One slash, to cut the box in two. Another slash, killing the minuscule insect flying towards him. All of it a split second's pause in Itachi's steady gait.

A split second for Kakashi to reappear at his back, dark and menacing as a wrathful shade. His kunai cut down, aiming for the back of Itachi's knees.

Itachi blurred. He flipped over Kakashi's arm, landing on the other side of the room.

Kakashi didn't follow through. He planted himself between Itachi and the kids. The woman's corpse lay between them, a battle line drawn.

"Hatake Kakashi," Itachi said coldly.

He was a ruin of the shinobi Kakashi once knew. Cuts littered his clothes. Some were misses. Others weren't. Soot painted his ANBU armor black on one side. His posture was straight, but Kakashi could see the slightest hitch to one foot, telling of an injury somewhere on his leg.

So the Uchiha MPs had managed to get a few hits in before they died.

Kakashi's grip tightened around his kunai. Hurt, fury, betrayal, all raged under his skin like a thunderstorm.

There was only one thing he could say.

"Why?"

Itachi's lip curled. His eyes—were those the Sharingan? No Sharingan had a pattern like that—dragged from Kakashi's face to over his shoulder. Kakashi stepped to the side, a warning growl in his throat. They stared at each other, unmoving.

In this moment, wounded from so many opponents, it would take Itachi a long, brutal fight to get past Kakashi. And both of them knew it.

That cold, unreadable smile widened. "Sasuke," he said.

Sasuke's breath hitched.

"When you have eyes like mine, come face me."

And in one last burst of chakra, he disappeared.

This time, Kakashi was able to track his shunshin over the rooftops before he vanished. Every cell in his body ached to give chase, but he resisted. Instead, he turned to the boys.

"Are you two alright?"

Naruto shrank back, wary. Sasuke didn't even twitch. He still hadn't looked away from where Itachi had been standing.

No. He was looking at the woman's corpse.

Uchiha Mikoto's corpse.

His mother's corpse.

Feeling sick, Kakashi crouched down, blocking his line of sight. Echoes of a gutted body in the twilight burned in his chest. He shoved the memories away.

Sasuke blinked. Slowly, those red, red eyes dragged up to Kakashi's face. A single tomoe spun around each pupil.

"Did he hurt you?" Kakashi prodded. "Any injuries?"

At last, Naruto shook his head. "No, but—Minako!" He jerked towards the garden, then froze. Fear glued his feet to the floor. The pool of blood between him and his sister might as well have been an ocean.

Kakashi wasn't sure what to do. He had been younger than they were now when he had faced death for the first time. He had reported it to the nearest MP himself, had answered all their questions and let his sensei take him to his apartment. None of that applied here.

Sasuke solved his dilemma by collapsing in a dead faint.

"Sasuke!" Caught off-guard, Naruto staggered. Kakashi caught them before both boys hit the bloody floor. "Sasuke, Sasuke!"

Without even thinking about it, Kakashi rested his hand on Naruto's head. "Calm down. He just fainted." A quick peek under the boy's eyelid showed solid black eyes. "Probably from chakra exhaustion."

Kakashi wasn't sure what the chakra drain of a single tomoe Sharingan was. And on a full-blooded Uchiha, no less. But Sasuke couldn't be a year older than the twins. From the little Kakashi knew about clans, it was their youngest kekkai genkai users that were watched over the most. And since everyone and their uncle would have heard about the main family's youngest activating his Sharingan…

He glanced towards the corpse on the ground. Sorrow was a bitter taste in the back of his throat.

At least even the memory of his father's death had faded with time.

Fox arrived moments later, after Kakashi had moved Naruto and Sasuke to the garden. With Fox came the Hokage. Naruto sat next to Sasuke's prone form, hiccuping, while Kakashi examined Minako's. The little boy took one look at the Hokage and burst into tears, throwing himself at the old man's knees.

"Jiji!" he wailed.

Swan silently took over for Kakashi, a green glow lighting her hand. He sat back, resisting the urge to growl at her. Minako would be fine. The blood had worried him at first, but a quick sniff let him know it wasn't hers. The large swathe of bruises along her back and arms already looked a day old. As long as nothing was broken, she wouldn't even need a healer.

The Hokage placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto-kun? What are you doing here?" He searched the yard, taking in the bodies, Sasuke, and Kakashi. His gaze landed on Minako. His frown deepened.

Swan ended her Diagnostic Jutsu. "Heavy bruising," she reported. "Nothing more. The boy is unconscious, but otherwise unharmed."

The Hokage nodded. His chakra hummed with fury, restrained only by the boy hugging his waist. Freed from the immediate concern, he turned to Kakashi.

"What happened?" he growled.

Kakashi took a deep breath. "Uchiha Itachi has betrayed the village."

He had never seen the Hokage look so old.

"Hakuchou. Bring the children to the hospital. Suzume, search for more survivors. Kakashi, you know what to do."

Swan bowed and gestured her team forward. In a swirl of wind and leaves, they vanished, taking the children with them. Sparrow and their team followed.

Kakashi rose to his feet. That rage and hurt now had free rein, a howling storm in his blood. For his comrades littered around him. For the mission.

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

He signaled to Fox, then leapt for the ANBU base. They had a hunt to get started.

Notes:

At this rate I should label this arc "people wake up just in time for shit to go down and they're not happy about it"

More A/Ns here :D yay, we get a short end notes for once! I look forward to everyone's thoughts on this chapter, hehe.

Chapter 27: Arc I Chapter 27

Summary:

Kakashi bears the consequences.

Notes:

cw: brief reference to human trafficking. Just in case.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"We found his trail near the West Gate," Kakashi reported. He stood before the Hokage's desk, weary to the bone. His ANBU mask hung heavy on his hip, his clothes weighted with the toil of two days' worth of searching. "Frog and Hawk's bodies were also there, only a couple of hours old. He must have hidden himself within the village before trying to escape."

The Hokage's expression was distant, but not surprised. Any thoughts he had were hidden behind his clasped hands. "Continue."

"We followed him southwest, towards the Land of Rivers, only for the trail to end abruptly past Tanzaku Gai. We searched the surrounding area, but it didn't pick up again."

Frustration burned, a counterpoint to his exhaustion. Even ANBU needed sleep, and they'd given it all up… just to return with nothing. And it burned, knowing he could have saved his comrades if he had been a little faster, a little sooner. Could have brought a murderer to justice.

"You lost the scent?"

Kakashi struggled between a shake of his head and a shrug. In the end, he went with neither. "It just ended. There was no new starting point, like there would be with a tunneling jutsu. Even shunshin leaves a trail." He hesitated, then added, "It's as if he vanished into thin air."

At that, the Hokage's gaze sharpened. He lowered his hands, frowning. "Are you thinking of the masked man you encountered?"

"Space-time jutsu don't leave a scent trail," Kakashi said, bittersweet memories tainting every word. "And I can't think of any other reason someone like that would be there, on that night."

"An accomplice," the Hokage murmured. He rose from his desk, moving towards the window. He clasped his hands behind his back, thinking. The glass mirrored his dark expression.

Kakashi followed his gaze.

For all that it had just experienced its second earth-shattering disaster within the last ten years, the village outside the Hokage's office didn't look any different from the Konoha of two days ago. There was no rupture in the skyline, no trees still smoking in the distant mountains. The heavy thrum of fear that permeated the streets couldn't be seen from here. The sky was the kind of sunny blue that spat in the face of tragedy, especially with the rains that soaked the earth mere weeks before.

The only visible difference was the amount of genin taking to the roofs, trying to do the rounds that the Uchiha did, while administrative chuunin scrambled elsewhere to understand the policies the Military Police had implemented for decades. No one simply looking would know the entire village was now under martial law, as the the system scrambled to return to some semblance of sense around the gaping hole the Uchiha clan left behind.

"I'll have Jiraiya investigate the masked man," the Hokage said at last. His scowl reflected off the window, superimposed over Konoha's rooftops. "We cannot afford to stay unaware of a man who can enter and sabotage Konoha on a whim."

Kakashi shifted his weight, his eyes narrowing. "You think he's entered Konoha before," he said.

"Who's to say he hasn't?" The Hokage's hands tightened. "Uchiha Shisui could not have blown himself up with nothing but handcuffs and chakra suppression seals."

Kakashi's hand fell to his tanto's hilt, the worn grip an anchor against the shock. There had been many, many questionable details about Uchiha Shisui's death. It had all gotten wrapped up in red tape before Kakashi could build his own conclusions. But if the masked man had been involved… a man who could disappear on a whim, leaving behind no trail to follow…

A cold chill crept down Kakashi's spine. "Are you saying he was the one behind Minako's kidnapping?" His mind slotted the pieces into place—the twins, constantly visiting; the sharp escalation in tension, when an Uchiha became the suspect… "It was a set up?"

The Hokage turned to face him. Fury lit his glare, building like a thunderstorm. "Someone wanted Konoha to lose the Uchiha through any means necessary." His voice lowered to a growl. "And the more hasty of us fell for it."

"Sir?"

His gaze slid towards Kakashi. Instead of answering, he said, "Consider this classified. As far as anyone knows, Uchiha Itachi went rogue and killed his entire clan before fleeing the village. He worked alone. Understand?"

Kakashi released his tanto and dipped his head. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

His curiosity burned—who did the Hokage mean? But in this profession, there were times to ask, and there were times to feign deafness. He tucked the detail away for consideration later.

The Hokage returned to his desk, looking similarly engrossed in thought. He pulled out his pipe. "How is your team?"

The question dragged Kakashi from his thoughts. "Doing alright," he said automatically. "I sent them ahead to the barracks. A day's rest, and we'll be ready for duty again."

"Good." The Hokage began to clean his pipe, wiping the bowl with a soot-stained rag. "And Tenzo-kun? He's been with you for, what, five years now, isn't it?"

Kakashi nodded. Where was the Hokage going with this? While it wasn't rare for him to ask after a team, it was never just out of simple curiosity.

"Do you think he's ready for a leadership position?"

Oh.

"Yes," Kakashi said, without hesitation. Tenzo had come a long way from the Kinoe who could only follow orders. "He's been taking more initiative lately, and expresses his disagreement if he sees an issue with an order. If he started with a team familiar with him, I believe he can grow into a good captain."

His chest twinged with pride and sadness. It was good to see Tenzo come into his own. But his absence would leave a hole in the team that would be difficult to fill.

Ah well. Kakashi could still drop by and mess with him, captain or no captain.

"That's good to hear," the Hokage said, reassembling his pipe. "He can take over Team Ro for you."

Kakashi stilled. "Hokage-sama?"

The Hokage looked him in the eye, bringing to bear the full weight of his authority. "I'm taking you off the ANBU roster."

Kakashi had to bite his tongue to hold back the litany of no! that flooded his mouth. ANBU was his escape. When the weight of the world overwhelmed him, he would don his mask and disappear into Hound. For Hound, there was no past, no future. There was only his team, his comrades, and the mission.

What could be so important that he had to leave ANBU for it?

"There's a long-term A rank mission that only you can accomplish," the Hokage continued. "You won't have the time to manage an ANBU team."

His mouth was dry. Kakashi licked his lips, his mind whirling. "I can handle it, Hokage-sama."

"No." The Hokage shook his head. "Uchiha Sasuke needs a guardian—"

The breath left Kakashi's lungs.

"—and I won't risk you on an ANBU mission while you're in charge of him." The Hokage sighed. "I wouldn't ask you this if it wasn't necessary. If he hadn't activated his Sharingan…" He shook his head. "But he did. And now he's the easiest target for anyone after the doujutsu."

"I don't think one man is enough to hold a 24 hour guard," Kakashi said, deliberately, desperately misconstruing the Hokage's words. Because he couldn't mean what he was saying. He couldn't.

The worst part was the understanding in the Hokage's immovable gaze. "He needs a guardian," he repeated. "Someone who can teach him how to use his kekkai genkai properly."

I don't even know if I'm using it properly, Kakashi wanted to say. Hysterical laughter bubbled in his throat. Years and years of wielding Obito's gift, and every day was just finding new ways to keep up and cope with whatever new trick it pulled on him. There had been the headaches from the overstimulation, the information overload, fighting to stay ahead of the endless chakra drain, the constant ache of eye strain.

"Hokage-sama, with all due respect, I can't do this. I can't take care of a child."

"Your sensei was younger than you are now when he took you in."

Kakashi flinched.

The Hokage's gaze softened. But there was no regret in his voice. "Sasuke-kun may not be as precocious as you were at that age, but his teachers assure me he's got talent that puts him ahead of his peers. The Uchiha—" Sorrow flashed through his face. "—have always raised capable children. You won't have to worry about him."

Kakashi shoved his hand through his hair. Frankly, he disagreed. Even at Sasuke's age, Kakashi hadn't understood other kids at all. Putting him in charge of a traumatized child was an all-too-familiar recipe for disaster. He didn't know how Minato-sensei had done it. He didn't want to know.

"I wouldn't ask this if I didn't think you could do it," the Hokage said gently.

Panic buzzed under Kakashi's skin, as uncontrollable as the lightning he wielded. The Hokage might as well have said, "That's an order," and be done with it. His fingers itched for the porcelain mask at his hip.

He wouldn't even have that anymore, after this.

"What about the twins?" he said, trying to buy time as he searched for a way out of this. "Won't they need protection too, after…" He waved a hand towards the windows, trying to encompass the past month in a single gesture.

The Hokage's lips thinned. "So long as their secret remains, they'll stay safe."

Kakashi couldn't help the incredulous look he gave the Hokage. "Masked man or not, whoever took Minako knew."

"We can't be certain." The Hokage packed the tobacco into his pipe. The words had the sound of a well-worn argument. "We did plan for this. It's much harder to escape carrying two children compared to one. There could have been factors that forced them to take only her."

Perhaps the masked man could only bring one child with him in his jutsu, or he couldn't bring anyone and simply prioritized speed over going undetected. And still, it grated against Kakashi's frustration.

"So they just happened to get the twin that wasn't the decoy."

This time the Hokage's Killing Intent was more potent. He pinned Kakashi with a sharp look. "The status of jinchuuriki protects Naruto as well. Or have you forgotten how much an Uzumaki sells for in the black market?"

Kakashi looked away first. The bitterness still lodged in his throat, but there was revulsion now as well. The Uzumaki's vitality-based kekkai genkai had been infamous, even before Uzushio fell. It was one of the reasons the village was built in the first place. Who wouldn't want to get their hands on a kekkai genkai that could heal wounds and supposedly even extend a person's lifespan?

Even if Naruto never manifested the clan's heavily-matrilineal abilities, there were people out there who would risk taking him anyway, for the mere chance that his children would inherit it instead.

Seeing he understood, the Hokage relented. "I also considered the possibility that the kidnapper had chosen deliberately. But the only people who know the truth are the four Founding Clan heads, the Jounin Commander, the Head of Intelligence, my council, Jiraiya, and you. It's why the Uchiha came under suspicion in the first place."

He ran a hand down his face, before continuing. "But a reliable source told me that Fugaku never shared that information with anyone. No one else would have any reason to use or give up that information. So we're back to square one."

Kakashi's hands clenched into fists. "Hokage-sama, we can't risk the twins' lives on an uncertainty."

"I can increase their ANBU guard to a team, no more. No, Kakashi," he added, interrupting Kakashi mid-protest. "I want to protect the twins as much as you do. But you know how much our manpower was hit by the Kyuubi attack. And now, this…" He shook his head, weary. "We need every able body we have in the field. Or it'll be war all over again."

"Then let me—"

Kakashi froze, the words ice in his throat. It was a thought that had flitted through his mind, again and again, over the years. And again, it brought fear like nothing else could. An iron spike through his heart.

They were sensei's kids. They were pack. He should be taking care of them, instead of leaving them to a tiny apartment, washing their clothes by hand in the yard. Then the faces of his father, his team, his sensei would flash through his mind, and the fear would grip him again, tighter than any vice.

He couldn't take them in. He couldn't. Everyone he got close to only got hurt. He'd told himself that, again and again and again.

But that didn't stop them from getting hurt this time, did it? whispered a soft voice—kind and caring, even in the lightning and rain.

"You know why that can't happen, Kakashi."

The sadness on the Hokage's face burned away the black spots encroaching on his vision. Kakashi's breath rattled in his lungs.

"Sir?" he rasped.

"Their anonymity protects them from both Konoha's enemies and their father's." The Hokage wove his fingers together. "If word went out that you had taken in a blond child and his red-haired sister, everyone would know who they are."

Kakashi hated himself for the stuttering relief those words brought. It was an excuse. Not one he could argue with, but an excuse all the same.

The Hokage's voice dipped lower, reassuring. "We'll keep guard against the masked man and his possible cohorts. From what I've seen, none of the children seem to be aware of what Minako did that day. Their secret will keep them safe for a bit longer."

Kakashi bit his cheek. The pain cleared his mind, if only a little.

"Understood," he said.

"Get your affairs in order," the Hokage said, not unkindly. "Then I'll introduce you to your new ward."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Kakashi put his mask back on.

The Hokage lit his pipe. The acrid scent of smoke seeped into the room. "Thank you, Inu," he said. "Dismissed."

Kakashi headed for the ANBU barracks, hoping to get a spar in before he had to tackle the paperwork. His fingers twitched with the urge to move, to flee into the mindlessness of a fight. He wasn't going to get any sleep today, that's for sure.

To his surprise, he found the rest of Team Ro still there.

Tenzo sat on his bunk, rubbing a towel over his short hair. Yugao was on her stomach on the bunk opposite his, their conversation interrupted. She had her chin in one hand. Her eyelids drooped. Horse was in the far corner, flat on his back. Everyone politely ignored the towel covering his mask-less face. All of them were freshly showered, but still in their ANBU uniforms.

Kakashi yanked his Hound mask off. "I thought I told you to go home."

Tenzo and Yugao exchanged looks, silently debating on who would answer. Yugao was a new recruit, who just got cleared for missions a few months ago. She made a good addition to the team, never hesitating with her blade and giving Tenzo someone his age to relate to. But she had yet to truly settle in. Most of the time, she would wait for other team members to speak before giving her own input. Only time would tell if that became a hindrance or a benefit to Tenzo's leadership.

Kakashi dug a canine into his lip. The taste of blood was better than the bitterness in his throat.

With a sigh, Horse raised his hand and flicked two fingers to the side. Mission: Guard rotation. Estimated time of departure: 4 hours.

"A guard rotation?" Kakashi tossed his mask onto his bunk. It bounced once, then stilled. Tenzo followed its path with wide eyes. "We just came back from a 48 hour mission. Someone else can take that."

"They can't," Yugao said. "They're already there." She sat up, sweeping her wet hair back over the towel on her shoulders. "The Hokage has assigned ANBU to reinforce the village perimeter. The Barrier Interception Team is stretched thin as it is, with the usual chuunin sent to the border."

That gave Kakashi pause. "Why? Did Kumo try something while we were gone? Iwa?"

"No." Tenzo made one last pass over his head, before neatly hanging his towel from a wooden rack growing above his bunk. The not yet echoed in the silence of their underground room. "Hokage-sama is just being cautious. Last I heard, they received a message from Suna this morning."

So the news had already spread. Kakashi pressed a hand to his face, massaging the corner of his left eye. It had taken a rush of high risk missions and the sacrifice of Hyuuga Hizashi to keep war from breaking out after the Kyuubi attack. What would it take this time?

"At least we still have a couple of hours to sleep." Yugao's smile twitched. Not even her dry humor could push through her fatigue.

"Six hours," Kakashi decided. Sighing, he snatched up his mask again. He smoothed his thumb over the edge in silent apology. "I'll talk to Kuma. We'll get a guard shift in six hours, no earlier. Get some rest."

"What about you, Taicho?" Yugao asked. She perked up a little, a thought crossing her mind. "Are you going to check on your kids?"

It took everything he had not to stiffen. He put on his mask, and strode towards the door. "I'll rest after I talk to Kuma. And they're not my kids."

The towel on Horse's face fluttered with a suspicious coughing sound.

"I hope they're doing okay," Yugao called. Her sincerity did nothing to mask the teasing in her voice.

Kakashi slammed the door in their faces, ears burning.

The loud thud echoed down the tunnels. He took a deep breath, sighed, then started walking toward the office areas. The natural rock walls shifted to concrete as he headed deeper into the mountain. A few ANBU agents rushed past him, a distracted nod as their only greeting.

He had managed to keep his occasional visits to the twins a secret before. (By which he meant, subtle enough for those in the know to politely ignore, the nosy bastards.) But after he'd all but lost it at Minako's kidnapping, his team began taking a scary amount of interest in the children. They had gone along when he volunteered Team Ro for guard duty. They had quietly humored his irritability after they'd been taken off it. And because the shinobi grapevine was inescapable even in ANBU, soon enough, the entire division knew:

Hound had a soft spot for the Demon Twins.

Kakashi stepped to the side, just in time to dodge what would have otherwise been a shoulder check. Bat scoffed and walked on—only to almost trip over Tenzo, standing two feet in front of him.

They stared each other down.

"Maa, Koumori," Kakashi said. "You should really keep an eye on where you're going."

The tendons stood out on Bat's neck. "Ah," he said stiffly. "My bad."

Tenzo didn't speak. He didn't have to. That split second between his presence and Bat noticing him was enough. Threat delivered, he stepped aside, letting the older shinobi pass.

They watched Bat walk away, until he left their line of sight. Kakashi tilted his head, considering. Then he pulled Tenzo in by the shoulder and started ruffling his hair. Violently.

Tenzo yelped. "Wh—Taicho!" He thrashed, trying to escape.

His voice cracked. Hilarious.

"Look at my cute little kohai, standing up for me," Kakashi sang. "I have to reward him somehow!"

"Not—a reward—!"

One last rub, and Kakashi released him. The choking noises were starting to echo. Any longer, and someone might hear it and take it seriously.

Tenzo covered his head with his hands, frowning. "He shouldn't have done that," he grumbled.

His mask was still in their room, with only his facial guard to frame his face. Unlike Horse, who was the type to keep mask and mask-less life completely separate, Tenzo barely existed outside of ANBU at all. So he walked around without his mask, uncaring of who recognized him inside the barracks.

"I don't actually care what they think," Kakashi told him. ANBU wasn't as cold as the rest of the world thought. Most of the reception had been friendly ribbing between peers. Some had just minded their own business. Kakashi liked those best.

Then there were those who looked at Kakashi askance, scowling at his back.

Kakashi had grown up under the care of a jinchuuriki. Those agents could take their prejudice to the trash where they belonged.

"Even still," Tenzo insisted. "You're a captain. They should treat you with more respect."

The reminder sobered Kakashi. "Not for much longer."

Blankness slammed over Tenzo's face. With a sigh, Kakashi ruffled his hair again, breaking the ROOT-trained reflex. Tenzo's frown returned, even as he shoved Kakashi's hand off. "What do you mean, 'not for much longer?'" he demanded.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck. Did he really have to do this here? At least in Bear's office, he could dump the news on Tenzo and flee. But Tenzo was giving him increasingly horrified looks now, so he relented.

"I'm being reassigned to an open mission," he said. Out in the open. Mask-less. Not the hard efficiency of Hound, just Kakashi and all his mistakes. "Long term. Duration unknown. As of today, I'm no longer in ANBU."

Saying it aloud hammered the point home. He slumped. What was a marionette without strings to hold it up? Or a puppeteer to tell him what to do? There was no one he could turn to. How did one even look after a child?

"You're leaving?"

"I'll still be in the village." Tenzo's wide-eyed distress dug under his skin. Yeah, no. Kakashi had enough on his plate without having to deal with Tenzo's worrying too. He beamed, knowing it would show in his voice, if not through his porcelain mask. "Maa, it's almost like you'll miss me! Don't think I didn't notice you following me out of our room. Want to go on a training trip, for old times' sake?"

That erased any concern on Tenzo's face. He blanched, his weight shifting backwards in an aborted half-step. "No thank you." A blink. He gave Kakashi a surprisingly piercing look. "Was that why you were acting so distressed? I thought you were just worried about your—"

"They're not my kids."

The words whipped across the tunnels, trailing half-heartedly into the silence that followed. Kakashi clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and actually, you know what, enough was enough. He whirled on his heel and marched towards the offices.

Because that was the heart of it. They're not. They were pack; their scents were carved into his memory, their safety his priority. They were one more thing he couldn't lose.

But the twins didn't know him. They could walk past him on the street and not even blink. They wouldn't find safety in him, not in the way that Minako had calmed at the mere scent of Uchiha fucking Itachi.

They were his pack, but he wasn't theirs. And now he was being forced to take in a child that wasn't his in the way they were.

And didn't the irony just sting?

Soon, Tenzo's presence rejoined him in the walk to Bear's. Kakashi couldn't sense him with his eyes, ears, or nose. But he was sensitive to air currents, especially in a space as enclosed as this was. He knew how Tenzo moved. And he could feel the air shifting behind him as he followed.

Bristling, Kakashi strode into Bear's office. His hand shot out, too fast for Tenzo to dodge. He yanked his sputtering kouhai into the room and shut the door behind them, preventing his escape.

"Inu," Bear greeted, mask on and sitting behind his desk.

Kakashi might be younger than Bear, but in ANBU, experience counted almost as much as age. Between the two of them, they were some of the most veteran captains of the force.

It also meant that Bear was all too used to Kakashi's habits. He didn't even blink when his old subordinate shoved Tenzo in his face.

"I've been reassigned," Kakashi said with manic cheer. "Meet my replacement, who oh so kindly volunteered to accompany me here."

Tenzo was too disciplined to squeak. Instead, all the blood drained from his face, turning it a sallow yellow.

"He'll talk to you about Team Ro's guard shift in six hours," Kakashi continued mercilessly. "I'll pick up the paperwork after you're done." He smacked Tenzo between the shoulder blades, hard enough to send him stumbling forward a few more inches. "Good luck!"

"Aa." Bear had the audacity to sound amused. Tenzo quailed. "Thanks for your service, Inu. Make sure you drop by from time to time, you hear? No one scares the newbies like you can."

"I'll think about it," Kakashi said, because if there was one thing Kakashi had built his reputation on, it was refusing to hold to any vague commitments.

Tenzo found his tongue at last. "Taicho, wait—!"

"Not your taicho anymore!" Kakashi said, and slammed the door in his face. Whatever Tenzo meant to say was lost behind the privacy seals carved into the ANBU commander's door.

Finally alone, he slipped into the shadows, in no mood for any other encounters for the day.

Did Tenzo deserve that? Probably not.

Did it make Kakashi feel better, though?

Definitely.

Now all he needed to do was burn off the anger and anxiety dancing in his bones. Clean out his apartment. Panic over an orphaned boy. Then collapse into bed, hopefully too exhausted to dream.

After a moment's pause, he changed direction for the ANBU training rooms. Bear said the newbies needed scaring, hadn't he? No one said Kakashi couldn't do it now.

If everyone's last memory of the ANBU Captain Hound was driving fear into the hearts of new recruits, well. It was better than slinking out with the paperwork.

Notes:

Surprise! :'D Wait, no, don't go, I promise it won't be Mary Sue, aaaaaaa D': All kidding aside, this plot twist is something I've been planning for years. I wouldn't say I planned this from the start, since the original form of this fic wasn't even as a chronological story, but in the end I decided this would be more fun and whack. I haven't seen a lot of people explore what kind of shinobi Naruto would be like without the Kyuubi, and only about three years in did I see people exploring an SI with the Kyuubi, though it was more of an SI with Naruto's role. This fic will be mostly neither. I think it's going to be fun exploring what Minako would do as Konoha's jinchuuriki, and what Naruto would do as Naruto without his chakra battery. He's not going to be relegated to a minor role in the "agency" sense, so no need to worry about that! (which is more than I can say about canon Naruto and its female characters but that's a rant for another day)

I hope I've built up enough good will and trust for you guys to not see this as a bad sign and jump ship ^^' (which I will not lie has been a worry of mine since 2014 LOL) Thank you so much for supporting me, and see you in the next chapter! It'll be the last one for this arc ;)

As usual, more notes here.

Chapter 28: Arc I Chapter 28

Summary:

It costs Minako everything to learn exactly what she has at stake.

Notes:

Here's an instrumental you can loop as you read the chapter for extra atmosphere :)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

A single hospital room was too big for three children. Shadows pooled in the empty spaces, echoing back the silence. The wide windows stayed shut at all times, turning the room into a giant fish tank. There were no in-betweens in this place. There was only the bright white light of day, and the utter darkness of night.

The Hokage delivered the news. No other Uchiha survived, he said, old and worn. We stared at him in disbelief, three kids who couldn't fathom a concept that big. An entire compound of people, gone. Everything else faded in the face of its enormity.

Something died in Sasuke that day. The light left his eyes as clearly as it had his mother's. In that vacant, hopeless face, I caught an inkling of the horror that always haunted me, so much so that I scrambled onto Sasuke's bed without a second thought, if only to chase away the dawning realization that he was now completely, utterly alone.

From that moment on, two of the three beds in the room went unused. Naruto had already abandoned his for mine, so it was only natural that he followed me to Sasuke's. It was hard work squeezing three children into one bed, but we managed. I laid my head on Sasuke's shoulder, my arm around his waist. Naruto fidgeted on his other side, alternating between squirming and playing with my fingers.

Sasuke just lay there. Silent. Unmoving, save for the tears that occasionally dripped down his temples.

I got the dubious honor of being the first to wake everyone up, screaming. My hands gripped the nearest warm, living body, frantic voices filling my ears. Mikoto's dying eyes faded in and out of the darkness of the ceiling. The strain of trying to see in the night burned red circles on the backs of my eyelids.

My cries abated. Not Sasuke's. He clung to me just as tightly, his tears soaking my shirt. Naruto was sprawled over his back, sobbing with relief at seeing me conscious and upright.

It took several swallows to clear my throat. I shoved back the tears that threatened to spill. They lodged in my chest, cold and unforgiving.

"I'm okay," I croaked. I pulled Sasuke's head to my shoulder, smoothed Naruto's hair back the same way Mikoto— "I'm okay. We're okay, see? We're safe. We're safe here."

There was no point in wishing for a warm hand on my cheek, or a reassuring smile. I squeezed my eyes shut, and let the boys anchor themselves on me.

They refused to let us go home. Ken, our nurse, always got this pinched look on his face when I asked. So I stopped. I peeked out the window, trying to see past the tree branches level with our room. But Tiger or Hound didn't show themselves. So either we didn't have an ANBU guard, or it was a different team assigned to us this time. There was no one to answer my questions.

The tree outside swayed, as leafless as the one in our yard. If I tried, I could still feel arms around me, stiff and wooden. His usual passive expression, shattered by pain, fear, and confusion. I promise, he told me then.

My breath hitched. Moonlight bled into the sunny afternoon, illuminating wooden flooring instead of tiles. That very same voice, freezing with scorn, spearing me with words that should have made no sense. And yet. And yet.

"You can lie to everyone, Minako, but don't lie to yourself. You couldn't stop Shisui's death. You can't stop me."

Did he know? What did he know? How did I give myself away?

"Genius," I whispered, then laughed. Somewhere out there was a renegade Uchiha Itachi, and he might possibly, possibly know I had some inkling of the future. What a joke.

Then I ran to the bathroom and threw up. What would I do if he knew? What would he do? Would he tell his Akatsuki buddies? Would he use it against me and my brother? Or would it become a reason to trust me as his ally?

I used to think I knew the answer. Now, I wasn't so sure.

"Minako?"

I jumped. The towel in my hands fell with a loud splat. It pooled in the wet sink like a sad, furry jellyfish.

Naruto hung back by the bathroom door, looking stricken. His hair was even messier than usual, flopping around his face. Bags hung under his eyes. In his hands was the glass pitcher that came with our room.

"Sorry," I stammered. "Did you say something?"

He hugged the pitcher to his chest, so he could squeeze my elbow with his free hand. "You've been spacing off again," he said, instead of answering. He searched my face, biting his lip. "It stopped for a bit, but after Itachi—"

I yanked my arm from his grip. We stared at each other, shock and hurt reflecting off the blue eyes that mirrored mine.

"I'm fine," I said. "There's just a lot to think about, that's all. Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

"Minako—"

I changed the subject. "Did you need something?"

He stared at me for a moment more, then held up the pitcher. "We're out of water, and Sasuke hasn't drank anything in a while. D'you think Ken-san could get us some more?"

Perfect. I took the pitcher from him, grateful for the excuse. "No need. I'll go get it."

"What? No!" He grabbed my arm, almost clonking me in the face with the glass. "I didn't mean that!"

"I'm just going to get us some water." It would be another couple of hours before Ken brought our dinner. With all the snot and tears flying around, we needed all the hydration we could get. "Go get some rest," I added, after a pause. "I'll be back soon."

Naruto shook his head. "Get Ken-san to do it. You need to rest too!" he insisted. He leaned on me, eyes wide and pleading.

Guilt clawed at my insides. But I needed to move. I didn't want to fall asleep; didn't want to sit and listen to the too-big room echo the emptiness filling in my ears. "Sasuke needs us right now. Why don't you take this towel—" I grabbed the towel in the sink and dumped it in his hands. "—and wipe his face? I'll be fast. I promise."

He glanced between us, stricken. His fingers dragged across my skin as I pulled away.

"Promise, dattebana," I repeated, the word ash in my mouth. Then I slipped out the door, fleeing from the plain white walls and the boy sitting blankly on the bed, alone.

Compared to our room, the hallway might as well have been a tunnel of sound. Iryou-nin murmured to each other as they passed. Someone had left a door open, letting the occupant's pained laughter trail out the room. A phone didn't even get to finish its first ring before it was answered by a harried-looking nurse.

A few of the adults looked up as I passed, more bewildered than hostile. I ignored them. I was holding a pitcher; my business was obvious enough.

Finding the nearest water dispenser was easy. There was a bit of a line, but they were filling paper cups, not water bottles, so I was fine with waiting.

Everyone in line was a ninja. It wasn't that hard to tell—I used to live with civilians, after all. Ninja had an animalistic grace when they moved, with an awareness that didn't miss even the slightest movement at their peripheral vision. Not even a clunky cast around one leg kept them from moving noiselessly over the floor.

The sounds of the hospital washed over me, smooth and simple as the water filling my pitcher. I didn't even notice the medics until they spoke.

"Every single one of them? Really?"

I stiffened.

"Yeah, even the ones that made it to the hospital," her friend confided. "They were hurt too badly, or something. The last one died yesterday."

The third member of their little group elbowed him. "Not the last one," he said. "I heard he left his little brother alive."

"He did?" the first medic gasped. "Why would you do something like that?"

"Who knows? Bastard lost his marbles, didn't he?"

"But leaving just one alive? On purpose? Shit, I'd rather be dead."

"Oi!"

I jumped. Water spilled over my arms, splashing my feet. I staggered away from the dispenser, even as the familiar voice drew closer.

"If you have time to stand around and gossip, Akimichi Haruka has burns that need tending," said the newcomer, moving into my peripheral vision.

"We're just getting some water, Tanaka-san," the third medic drawled, before his eyes focused on my face. "Oh shit, you're—"

"Minako-chan?"

My slippery fingers clenched tight around the pitcher. Yua stared at me, just as shocked. Her hair was in the same messy bun, the quirk to her lips twisted by the frown on her face. She had gained weight. Shadows hung under her eyes, her uniform wrinkled and slept-in.

The knot in my chest swelled, freezing my throat and lungs. The emptiness was no longer an echo, but a roar, drowning me in Shisui's laugh, Shisui's blush, Shisui's bloodied face as he clung to me and whispered, Why did you let me die?

"Minako-chan, what are you doing here?" Yua stepped closer.

"I—I have to go." My voice was distant, tinny. "S-sorry, I have to—I'm sorry!"

Too close. She was too close. It was all too close, to the knot in my chest, to all the words tangled up inside. I whirled around and ran, heedless of the water soaking my clothes.

She didn't follow.

The distance to our room felt like eons. I had to stop just around the corner to catch my breath. Wiping my face with my sleeve did nothing. I must've spilled half the pitcher over my jacket.

Deep breaths. It's fine. I'll—I'll just tell Naruto I slipped. The floor tiles were clean and shiny, clearly well-cared for. It's an easy enough story. And I could just borrow his jacket while my clothes dried. If it got cold, well. We were already cuddling with Sasuke anyway.

It was fine. I'll be fine.

I stepped into our room. Only the death grip I had on the pitcher kept me from dropping it.

"Ah, Minako," the Hokage said, turning to face me. He stood in the middle of the room, in front of the bed where Sasuke sat. "We were just waiting for you."

But my eyes weren't on him.

Suddenly, my body felt too short. Or I was older, and everyone was too tall. I was seventeen years old, not seven or twenty four.

Because Hatake Kakashi was standing before me. And my immediate impression of him was "cosplayer."

He was iconic. More than Naruto, more than Sasuke, that three-quarters-covered face with the half-lidded eye and eternally windswept hair distinguished the anime from every other of its time.

I could have walked past Itachi or Sasuke in my previous life. Shino, Shikamaru, Hinata, all the other kids were too short and baby-cheeked to be more than reminiscent of their cartoon character. Naruto was just a blond kid with thin lines on his face.

But Kakashi was here—in the unforgettable dark blue uniform and flak jacket, with the plated fingerless gloves, the bandaged ankles, the habitual slouch. Hell, even the pouch where I, somehow, of all the things to remember, just knew he kept his stupid book. He was here, flesh and blood and unruly white hair, raising his hand, while his lone visible eye crinkled in a bright smile.

"Yo."

I jerked my head to the side, because if I looked any longer, it felt like I would float away.

Luckily, Naruto made for an easy distraction. He bounced on his heels beside Sasuke's bed, brimming with life for the first time in days. "Look, Minako! It's the guy I told you about!" he said. "He's the one who saved us, during… y'know."

His smile faltered.

I put the pitcher on the bedside table, then wrapped myself around him. He yelped.

"Cold, cold, cold," he whined, making a face at my soggy clothes. "Why're you all wet?"

"Slipped," I mumbled into his shoulder. Warm. Noisy. Solid. Couldn't float away, because Naruto was here.

"At least take your jacket off!"

I submitted to his tiny hands, unzipping the jacket and shoving it off my shoulders. It dropped to the floor with a wet squelch. I snuck a peek at our observers while he was busy.

It was very, very hard to read Kakashi's expression. His mask seemed thick enough to blur the shape of his lips. He had shoved his hands back into his pockets, his posture unchanging. Compared to him, the Hokage's soft eyes were practically an essay unto themselves.

"This is Hatake Kakashi," he said. "He's one of Konoha's most elite jounin. He happened to be passing by that night, and went to investigate."

Keeping my hand in Naruto's, I bowed. Beside me, Naruto followed suit, too used to getting tugged into one with me. "Thank you for saving us," I said.

"Maa." Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "I did what I had to."

"No. If you hadn't come, I… he…"

My grip on Naruto tightened.

Even now, that night swam in and out of focus, blurred by the fear and adrenaline and buried in the knot in my chest. Moonlight dripping off a sword. Mikoto's face as she fell. Red eyes glowing in the night. A scream tearing at my throat as I threw myself forward.

"Minako," Naruto whispered. It jolted me out of my thoughts. I looked up into a dark eye that saw through everything.

"How's your back?" Kakashi said, changing the subject.

"Good," I said lamely. I squeezed Naruto's hand in silent thanks. "Can I, uh, ask? Why you're here? Not that I'm not grateful, it's just…"

He was one of Konoha's most elite jounin, as Jiji said. Why was he here, and not, I dunno, watching over us as Hound?

Kakashi's gaze wandered to the bed. Sasuke hadn't moved. He was sitting exactly where I'd left him, staring blankly at his lap.

"I'm here to pick up Sasuke," Kakashi said.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, baffled. "Why?"

"Kakashi is Sasuke's new guardian," the Hokage explained. "He'll be living with him, from now on."

Slowly, Sasuke raised his head. Naruto's exclamation was distant compared to the ringing in my ears. The world tilted on its axis.

Sasuke? Live with Kakashi?

I could forget the Uchiha Massacre, could forget the members of Akatsuki or whatever happened in Shippuden, but I couldn't be wrong about this. This had never happened in canon. I knew this never happened. Sasuke had grown up alone and an orphan in canon, because that was the point. It was the reason he was so angry in the first series, and why Orochimaru had managed to lure him away. There was nothing to keep him in Konoha, because no one had taken care of him.

This was it. This was the big change I've been searching for, all this time. The Plot would never be the same.

But Mikoto was still dead. And Itachi was still gone.

Was I supposed to feel happy about this?

"What about us?" Naruto looked up at Kakashi, tentative and hopeful. "Can we come too?"

Kakashi shifted.

"No, Naruto," the Hokage said gently. "You and Minako already have your own home. Now that Sasuke has unlocked his Sharingan, he needs someone to teach him how to use it. Kakashi can help with that."

"But…" Naruto slumped.

Rage flared. Hot and filthy, so sudden it took my breath away.

So Sasuke gets a guardian, but not us? And he gets Kakashi? Kakashi, who had been ours first, even if no one knew I knew he was Hound? Kakashi, who had been our father's student?

I clenched my free hand into a fist, took a deep breath, and shoved the anger down, down. No. This wasn't about me. What I felt didn't matter right now.

"Sasuke," I said. "Do you want to go with him?"

Eyes as deep as onyx flicked to me, before trailing back towards the adults.

For the first time in three days, I heard Sasuke speak. "You're Sharingan no Kakashi."

Kakashi stared evenly back. "I've been called that."

"You'll teach me?"

"I can."

Something dark flashed across Sasuke's face, so fast I almost thought I imagined it.

"I'll go," Sasuke said. Naruto jerked.

"Are you sure?" I bit my lip, trying to hide my sudden trepidation. "You don't even know him."

His hands balled into fists. Two spots of color burned in his cheeks. The signs of life should have elated me, but all it did was tighten the knot in my chest.

"I'm sure."

"Don't worry," Kakashi said quietly. For someone with only one eye, his gaze had a weight that pinned me to the floor. "I'll take care of him."

Tell that to canon, I wanted to say, then had to bite back the hysterical laughter that tried to follow. Canon? What canon? Shit, the world had fallen apart around my ears, and somehow, it still found a way to go even further.

This had to be a good thing, right? It could make all the difference between Sasuke who went with Orochimaru, and a Sasuke who wouldn't.

So why did the expression on Sasuke's face make the hair on the back of my neck rise?

"But why does Sasuke have to go?" Naruto insisted. "Why can't he just stay with us? We have an extra room, he can stay there!"

The Hokage's eyes narrowed. He slid his hands into his sleeves. "Well, Sasuke?" he said. "Would you rather stay with Minako and Naruto?"

Sasuke looked between us. The sheets crumpled in his hands. Something warred inside him, hidden behind thin lips and a scrunched up face.

The longer the silence stretched, the more Naruto's victorious grin shrank. Dread crept up my spine.

"No."

"What?" Naruto burst out. "Why? There's plenty of space—"

"I said, no!" Sasuke snapped. His glare was vicious, broken. "Leave me alone, idiot!"

Only Sasuke and I saw the utter desolation on Naruto's face. It stabbed straight through the knot in my chest. Sasuke flinched.

I stepped in front of Naruto. I didn't need words, just returned Sasuke's glare with my own, the knot roiling in my chest like a writhing snake.

Sasuke looked away first.

They repurposed one of the Uchiha Training Grounds for the funeral. It was appropriate, in a way. Close enough to home, far enough that anyone wanting to visit wouldn't be trespassing on private property.

And a lot of people wanted to visit. The entire open field was full of people clad in black. The ninja took the front rows, in almost-uniform black shirts and pants. But there were others in the back, people in kimonos and dresses and winter coats that fluttered in the wind.

The Uchiha were one of the greatest of Konoha's founding clans. They helped build this village from the ground up. Everyone had lost someone, here.

Sasuke stood in front of the new memorial, a block of obsidian twice his height and three times as wide. I didn't know what they did to the bodies (had Shisui mentioned cremation as their tradition, once?), but I could only be glad they hadn't involved Sasuke in it. Already, he looked so small, facing down the names of over two hundred people.

Kakashi stayed a few paces behind him, a silent guard. Beside him was the Hokage, with three old people arrayed behind them. After them was everyone else.

It must have looked strange, seeing Naruto and I in the front row. All these tall, imposing clan heads, and in the middle, a bright spot of red and yellow.

Did any of them recognize us? The thought was dull and colorless. Surely they would have known Minato and Kushina too. He had been their Hokage, after all. Or had Mikoto been the only one who cared?

We stood in a crowd of people, but together, we were still alone.

"Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

The Uchiha's traditional Grand Fireball Technique engulfed the stone flame perched on top of the memorial. It glowed red, lit by the wood nestled in its hollow insides.

Naruto raised his hand, shielding his face from the blast of heat. My loose hair whipped around, held back only by the white flower clip by my ear.

And it was over. The Hokage stepped forward, giving a short, heartfelt speech. A few sobs drifted on the wind. Unnoticed by anyone, Sasuke staggered, raising a shaking hand to his chest.

How much had he poured into that jutsu?

Naruto and I shared a look. Hurt and sadness pooled in the shadows of his expression. But when I stepped forward, so did he.

I took Sasuke's left hand; he took Sasuke's right. Sasuke stiffened. He moved to pull away. My grip tightened. Again, there seemed to be a war inside him, his grip on our hands loosening, then squeezing. In the end, we finished the ceremony like that—shoulder to shoulder, facing down the remains of the only family the boys had known.

Something prickled at the back of my neck. I turned, but no one seemed to be paying attention to me. There was only the Hokage and his council, exchanging farewells. One of them was already limping away.

"Our condolences once again," the old woman said, nodding towards Sasuke. Sasuke shifted his weight, but said nothing. I moved to step in front of him, only for a large hand to drop on my shoulder.

"Thank you, Utatane-sama," Kakashi said, carelessly polite. "If you'll excuse us, there's still some business that Sasuke has to attend to."

Her sharp eyes missed nothing. Still, she said, "Very well," and left, taking the last councilman with her. The Hokage glanced at Naruto and me, then to Kakashi. Something seemed to pass between them. Kakashi nodded. His hand fell away.

"Let's go," he said to Sasuke.

"Wait!" I blurted. Even now, Sasuke refused to look at me, his scowl directed towards the forest. "Where, uh, where are you going?"

"Sasuke needs to pick up some things from his house," Kakashi explained after a pause.

My jaw snapped shut.

"Oh," Naruto said.

I didn't want to leave Sasuke. Not when his eyes were still raw from unshed tears, his face shadowed by sleepless nights. But even I balked at the thought of going back there, to the room with the bodies, the pool of blood, the moonlight that haunted my dreams.

And still, I couldn't leave. Who else would take care of Sasuke, now that Itachi was gone?

"We'll come with." I grabbed Sasuke's arm. "Right, Naruto?"

Sasuke jerked away with a snarl. "Who invited you?" he snapped, looking me in the eye for the first time all day.

My nails dug into my palms. I bit back the first response that came to mind, then the second. Shove it down, down.

Breathe. I had to keep my temper, even if Sasuke wouldn't.

"You don't have to go there by yourself," I said. Then I remembered who we were standing with. "Or with just Kakashi-san."

Or should it be Hatake-san? It was that tug of war, again, between having known him all my life (lives) and having only "met" him yesterday.

Fuck it. I couldn't even apologize because I had essentially shot my argument in the foot and kicked it off a cliff.

If Kakashi was offended, he didn't look it. "I'm sure Sasuke would appreciate the company of his friends," he said. His tone was perfectly light, and yet there was a nuance to his words, the slightest emphasis on 'friends' that made me side-eye him.

"C'mon, bastard," Naruto said, knocking his shoulder against Sasuke's. "We're just getting your underwear, right? Don't have to be all embarrassed about it." He ignored the glare Sasuke shot at him.

Sasuke searched our faces, and finally, his new guardian's. Whatever he was looking for, he didn't find it.

"Tch." He turned on his heel and stomped off, his fists shaking at his sides.

"Oi, wait up!" Naruto charged after him. There was a fragility in his expression, a vulnerability hidden in exuberance.

Habit left me wandering after them in a more casual stride, a reassuring presence just behind me. But when I turned my head, all I saw were gloved hands tucked into black pants. Not dark eyes and a faint smile.

I didn't stop running until I was at Sasuke's other side. His shoulders rose to his ears. Naruto opened his mouth, but in the end, he had nothing to say.

The ghosts filling the emptiness were even louder in the compound. I've walked these streets a thousand times, but I never noticed how lively they were until they were gone. The Uchiha had never been a rambunctious bunch. But even they had faint laughter drifting from the open windows, once.

There were cracks in the walls, broken fences left untouched. Burn marks littered the ground. The compound was a shadow of itself. The only thing missing was the blood.

Naruto's eyes darted all over the place, noting all the spots a body would have lain, like he knew exactly where they had been. But when I tried to pause, he just shook his head and moved faster.

Sasuke stopped at the threshold to his house. We all stared at the front door, still torn from the MP that had collapsed through it. Down the hallway was the stairs to the second floor, visible from where we stood. The receiving room encroached from the left, a gaping maw in the the afternoon shadows.

Red eyes. Moonlight on a dripping blade.

And looking at the boys to my right, I knew they saw the exact same thing.

Yeah. Okay. Nope.

I grabbed Sasuke's hand and dragged him and Naruto to the right. "What—hey!" Sasuke twisted, trying to loosen my grip.

"Where's your window?"

He stared at me, incredulous. "What?"

"Where's your window?" I repeated slowly, leading them to the side of the house where the bedrooms were. "Which one is it?"

As one, we looked up at the second floor. Three windows lined the wall. One was closed; the other two were open. A couple of trees on this side kept them out of sight of the street.

Kakashi came to a stop behind us. He seemed content to hang back, letting us discuss things amongst ourselves.

Sasuke eyed the wall with a pinched expression, before finally pointing at the leftmost window. "That one."

I looked over my shoulder. "Kakashi-san, do you think you could get us up there?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. I had to take a moment to appreciate the level of expressiveness it took to give me that impression, what with a hitai-ate in the way.

"And if I could?"

Sasuke caught on, fast. "I'm not getting carried up there!"

I crossed my arms. "So, what? You're going to climb the tree?"

He actually considered it. It was more funny than irritating. Somehow, someone had made it so the trees' longest branches faced outward, away from the house. It made the gap from the nearest branch to his window too far for even a ninja child to take. Which was probably the point.

"No need to be hasty," Kakashi said, just as amused. "This won't take long."

And just like that, they were gone. He moved so fast, the only hint as to where they had gone was the wind in my hair, and Sasuke's cry of outrage.

I turned to my brother before Kakashi could get back and interrupt. "Naruto." I hesitated. "Can you take Kakashi-san to the dojo? He'd probably have a better idea of what weapons Sasuke'll want to take from there. Then you can ask him to grab Sasuke's shoes from the genkan."

Kakashi was a full-grown ninja at this point. He shouldn't have any problems walking over where a dead body used to be.

"Eh? But—what about you?" Naruto stepped closer, his fingers digging into my sleeve. "Why can't we all just go together?"

I shook my head. "It'll be faster if we split up. I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to."

To be honest, I didn't like the idea of splitting up either. But the worried look on Naruto's face scraped against my skin like sandpaper. It poked at the cold knot in my chest, unraveling its seams.

I pulled my arm from his. "Look, the sooner—"

"Alright, who's next?"

Naruto yelped. My heart lodged in my throat. "Don't do that!" I squeaked.

Kakashi tilted his head. He stood exactly where he did before, as if he never left.

"Do what?" He even sounded sincere.

I glared at him. "I'm just going to assume you heard everything I just said. Is it alright, then?"

His eye narrowed, while his cheekbones rose a little. A smile? "It's a reasonable plan," he allowed. "The question is, is your brother okay with it?"

Frankly, I couldn't have phrased it better myself. Any lingering apprehension Naruto felt was burned away by a familiar stubbornness. "Of course I'm okay with it! I can totally show you the way to the dojo, dattebayo!"

Relief loosened the tension in my shoulders. It was good to see Naruto like that again, even if only for a little while. "That's settled, then. Some help, please?"

I held on to Kakashi's shoulders—black funeral wear meant no vest for me to dig my fingers into—as he hefted me in his arms. A single leap, and we were in Sasuke's room. When I looked back, Kakashi was already on the ground, next to Naruto.

"This way. Minako wants to get things done, fast, so we better be fast, alright? Keep up, old man!"

Kakashi staggered. "Old man…?"

Naruto ran back to the front of the house, and out of sight. Kakashi sighed, gave me a two fingered salute, then followed at a more lackadaisical pace.

Somehow, the gesture managed to comfort me. At the very least, I knew Kakashi would keep Naruto safe. And the simple task of leading him around seemed to be already taking Naruto's mind off things.

I turned from the window, ready to call the last of our party.

A closet took up the left side of the room, posters plastered on its doors. To my right was the bed, snug against the corner and sheets neatly tucked in. A writing desk sat by the door. There were a few sheets of paper on top, pinned by an uncapped pen, while a cluttered box of kunai rested at its feet.

Sasuke stood in the middle of the room, unmoving. His eyes were pinned to his bed. Resting against the headboard, waiting patiently for his return, was a giant stuffed cat.

The cat Itachi had won him on our birthday.

My throat tightened. For once, the memories tugging at my mind weren't of that night, mere days ago, the moment everything fell apart. That didn't make them hurt any less.

I rested my fingertips against Sasuke's arm. He flinched, then scrubbed his eyes. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. "Aren't you always stuck to the hip with that idiot?"

It was so tempting to scowl at him. "I figured you might want someone familiar around," I said, keeping my voice steady. "Someone who won't try to fill the quiet with talking." Naruto meant well. But I didn't think his brand of comforting would help much here.

He smacked my hand away. "I don't need your help."

I rolled my eyes and turned to his cabinet. "You don't have to need it. I want to."

He spun me around to face him. Caught off-guard, I staggered, almost slamming into the foot of the bed.

Oh yeah. Definitely glad Naruto wasn't here.

"Hey!"

"I said I don't want your help!" Sasuke's eyes glittered. His shoulders heaved with barely-suppressed rage. "So just stop following me already!"

Deep breaths. Shove it down.

I sat. The mattress bounced under me, unfairly soft. I crossed my arms and looked him in the eye.

"You're hurting."

He flinched. My heart softened in spite of myself.

"I am, too. And so is Naruto." I dropped my hands, letting them rest on my lap. "We're your friends, Sasuke. We care about you. You don't have to be alone in this."

He gritted his teeth and looked away. "I don't need friends. I don't want anyone that he can—"

We froze under the weight of that unspoken name.

Here, this close to it all, the knot in my chest strained. It pulled too tight, crossing over my ribs and throat. Heavy. Suffocating.

I swallowed hard. "Everyone needs friends," I said. "His—his mistake was abandoning his."

The words tasted bitter in my mouth. Sasuke's hands clenched into fists. I looked at my lap, fighting to hold back the burning in my eyes. Absence filled the space between us.

"I'm going to kill him."

My head snapped up. "What?"

"I'm going to kill him," Sasuke repeated, his voice thick.

"Don't say that." My lips were on autopilot. A buzzing noise filled my mind.

No. Not this. Please, not this too.

"Why not?" Sasuke whirled on me. "He killed our clan! He's a traitor to the village! I should kill him!" He paced, restless, rage and agony fueling every step. "I have to kill him."

"We don't know that. We don't know why he did it," I argued, feeling sick. My fingers dug into his sheets.

The Plot was supposed to have changed. Things were supposed to be different now! So why was Sasuke still going on like this?

Sasuke, a little kid who had just lost everything, and could only try to rationalize it with what he'd been taught. Kill or be killed. Kill to defend. Kill to avenge, and restore your family's name. Sasuke. A kid. Not a character.

This was the world I was in now. There was no escaping the shadow of death here.

"There has to be a reason," I said, desperate, scrambling to find the words that would turn him around. I couldn't let this happen. Not this. "The Itachi I know would never—"

"Shut up."

The sheer venom in his voice shocked me into stillness. His own eyes were wide, hand rising to his lips. It clenched into a fist, then fell away.

"You didn't hear him," he said hoarsely. "He didn't even care. The whole time, he never cared. He was just pretending."

"He left you alive, didn't he?" I leapt over the bed and grabbed his shoulders. Even now, he wouldn't look at me. He stared at the floor like he could see through it, and into the rooms below.

I bent my knees, trying to get him to meet my gaze. "Out of everyone, he left you. You, Sasuke. His own little brother. Itachi would do anything for you, you know that!"

"Then why did he kill them?" Sasuke cried. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "If he really cared, why did he do it? Why did he leave me behind?"

My blood ran cold.

"That's—" I opened my mouth and came up short. My hands began to tremble. Again, in the most important moment, my memory failed me.

A conspiracy was the easy answer—I knew Itachi had killed the clan before they could get up to… to something. But knowing him now, as a person and not just from fanfiction and random online articles, it couldn't be that simple. Itachi loved his family with all his heart. And he loved Sasuke the most. So why go to such drastic lengths?

If this was a story, the reason had to be one of the villains. Orochimaru was the easiest to recall, but what would he even have to do with this? He was a scientist who wanted an Uchiha body. Killing them all would be counter-productive. There was Akatsuki, but their focus was jinchuuriki, not village politics. Danzo… he was the leader of ROOT, wasn't he? He was obsessed with making Konoha stronger, and even got instated as Hokage at one point. What would he gain from losing one of the most powerful clans in Konoha?

The most logical explanation was Madara. Everyone knew how the Uchiha had overthrown him when he tried to fight Hashirama, it was even in our history books. But he would be even older than Jiji at this point. What could he do at that age? Or did he find a magic ninja hack to stay young, all this time?

"I don't know," I gasped. The weight of everything I didn't know threatened to swallow me whole. "I don't know!"

The emotion bled off Sasuke's face. "Of course you don't know." He shoved my hands off. "You wouldn't understand."

"He was my friend too, you know!" I snapped. "I trusted him! And I thought he trusted me. But still, he… he…" My hand rose to my hair clip. "You think I don't miss them too?"

"Then why do you keep defending him?"

My mouth fell open. No words came. We stared at each other, panting.

"You don't care about me." Sasuke backed away. His certainty hardened with every step, his tear-filled eyes blazing with anger. "If you did, you'd be on my side. But you don't care." His voice rose. "He killed my family, and you don't care!"

His words shot through me like a bullet. The knot in my chest was gone, cut loose, spilling its rotting contents.

If Kakashi hadn't come, would Itachi really have attacked Naruto? Would he really have tortured Sasuke with his Mangekyo?

He couldn't have. I wanted to believe he wouldn't have. Our brothers were the most important things to us, and he understood that. We shared that. The Itachi I knew would never hurt Naruto and Sasuke.

Then I remembered leaping towards him, screaming.

In that one moment between consciousness and not, a rage had taken over me—no, a terror, one so blinding, it erased every other thought. Save one.

I would have done anything to keep Itachi away from Naruto.

And that scared me more than anything.

Itachi had done everything for Sasuke's sake. If I had been in his place, would I have done the same? Could I hate him, knowing I could have done the same?

Mikoto's dull eyes stared accusingly at me.

I slapped my hands over my mouth. I was going to scream. Throw up. Both. I bolted from the room, almost crashing into Naruto just outside. Had our fight brought him running?

"Minako!"

"Leave me alone!" spilled from my lips.

Shock and hurt. Almost disbelief, mirrored in blue eyes. I turned away, because the guilt was suffocating me, drowning me, and I couldn't take any more. I was holding on to everything by a thread, and it was snapping to pieces.

A door slammed behind me. I was in another room now, bigger, with a wider closet and a dressing table across me. The bed was clearly built for two, its sheets tucked as neatly as Sasuke's.

My panting reflection mocked me. Long red hair, rough and tangled after days without care. The ever-present black marks around my eyes only deepened the hollows underneath. The black mourning clothes the Hokage had bought for us hung from my shoulders like a shroud.

Guilt curdled in my gut.

Sasuke was right. I should hate him. Hate Itachi. He killed his family. He killed the closest thing I had to a mother here, in front of me. He would've hurt my brother. Will hurt my brother, now that he was out there, on his way to Akatsuki.

But I couldn't stop thinking about him. Is he okay? Is he hurt? Does he have anything to eat out there? When will he join Akatsuki? Will they keep him safe?

The guilt was damning. Inescapable. Sasuke had lost everyone he knew and loved, and I kept fretting about their murderer.

"I can't do this," I gasped. "I can't. I can't."

Everyone was dead. Ryoji, Kiku, Takashi, Shisui, Mikoto. No cartoon flashbacks, no magic plot twists. No escape.

This wasn't a game anymore. This wasn't leaping ahead in P.E., tossing cool weapons and learning ninja magic tricks, while I basked in the hubris of thinking I could save a world.

Itachi wasn't Uchiha Itachi the tragic character, he was Itachi. Thirteen years old, gentle, loving Itachi. Itachi, who had just killed his entire family in cold blood.

Every single character I've interacted with was a person who could kill. Who could die. Who would be next? Kakashi? Shino? Sasuke?

Naruto?

I was just a kid, and everyone's lives depended on my fading knowledge of a comic book series.

"Wake up. Please wake me up." Desperate, I clung to the easiest escape, pressing my hands against my face. "This can't real, right? I can't—I just need to wake up. I can't do this. Please!"

My fist slammed against the nearest object—the cabinet door. With a harsh crack, the wood splintered under my knuckles. Unbalanced by the lack of resistance, I crashed into the cabinet. Pain pulsed in my head from where it smacked against the door, my own panting harsh in my ears. A dent in the wood's varnish mocked me.

Stupid. Ridiculous. I've been kicked and punched and cut myself on live blades, and not once did the pain send me back to the peaceful, bloodless world that I came from. There was no going back from here.

Splinters drew red lines down my arm as I pulled it out. My knuckles throbbed. The sensation was all too real, after I did something I could have never done in my previous life.

"Ninja magic," I croaked. Oh, the irony.

My chest ached. The cabinet squeaked as I slid to the ground. I buried my head in my arms, trying to hold on to… to something. Anything. Anything, that would keep me from falling apart.

"I'm scared," I whispered to my knees. "I don't know what to do."

No, I knew what I had to do. I had to pull myself together. Apologize to Naruto. Talk some sense into Sasuke. Make sure Kakashi could actually take care of Sasuke, otherwise I'd have to start cooking for four people, and I didn't know if our budget could handle that.

Start training. Prepare for the epic fights to come. Practice… practice my shuriken, my chakra control. Look at a target, and pretend it's a person's throat.

Blood, splattering across my face.

My nails dug into my skin. I gasped for breath. Mikoto's blank eyes, except there was a kunai in my hand, red from cutting across her throat.

Nonono, no, I can't do this, I can't, I can't—

Then a box fell on my head.

"Wha—" I sputtered, fighting through the blanket trying to bury me. Talk about being saved from a nightmare, only to be suffocated to death. "Are you fucking kidding me right now?"

I yanked off the offending clothes and glared. Had it fallen from the top of the closet?

Red and gold cotton spilled over my hands, a river of autumn colors. Hyacinths pooled along the floor, while chrysanthemums drifted along the kimono's eddies.

"What…"

The dark bronze obi lay crumpled by my right foot. The cord with the flower charm slid off my shoulder. Even the under-kimono sprawled in front of me, its hem still tangled in the flat box it fell out of.

My hands were trembling again.

"Why is this here?" Our birthday was months ago. Mikoto should have returned this by now. So why…

I pulled the box toward me, trying and failing not to get blood on the white cardboard. Tucked within the folds of the box was a card.

Akino Textiles: tailored kimonos for weddings, New Year 's, and other special occasions!

I slumped against the cabinet. The kimono's stiff neck crunched under my knee.

"But she said it was on loan." My lips formed words. My heart thundered in my ears. "She said… she said she borrowed it from a family member. She said…"

The world blurred. Blinking cleared it away, but only for a moment. Red and gold swam in my vision. All the way at the dressing table's feet lay the box cover, one corner dented from its harsh tumble. Front and center on the white cardboard were two words, in elegant, precise strokes:

For Minako.

I covered my eyes. The scratches on my hands stung with every tear. Hadn't she patiently wiped them away, all those months ago? She would have put ointment on my knuckles already, indulging Naruto and Sasuke's argument about who exactly won their wrestling match.

"What mother wouldn't be proud of a strong, beautiful girl like you?"

Behind me, the door creaked. Hesitant footsteps paused at the edge of the room, before rushing towards me. Warm hands pulled me close, holding me in a tight embrace.

"Naruto-kun is very lucky to have a brave sister like you."

"Minako," Naruto whispered.

I clung to him, dug my nails into his biceps and buried my face in his chest. His tears dripped into my hair. I couldn't stop shaking.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry!"

He held me close, as I finally cried over the mother I had lost to my mistake.

Notes:

Right after reading this chapter, please give this classic Filipino lullaby a listen. It's exactly how Minako's feeling right now. You will cry. I cried.

I want to thank everyone for the massive support this recent arc has gotten, especially last chapter. Thank you so much. It was a joy sharing that emotional trainwreck with you all! ^_^ I know there are people eager to get back to chill times and cute kids (like me!) but I think everyone will understand when I say it'll take us a few more chapters to get there. I don't think anyone wants the kids to unbelievably bounce back from this whole mess easy peasy either. But we'll get there!

Announcements regarding future updates here. Usual chapter notes here.

Chapter 29: Interlude I

Summary:

Four moments, in three years.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

.0.

Exhaustion bore down on Itachi's shoulders, its heavy chains dragging at his feet. His warped armor dug into his cracked ribs. The sluggish drip down his leg had abated, leaving the dried blood on his pants crackling quietly with every step. He barely had any time to bind it in his two days of endless running.

He couldn't even limp. He didn't dare, not with Uchiha Madara mere feet in front of him, leading him further into the caverns of his new home.

"This will be our temporary base of operations," Madara said, sealing the entrance behind them. With a simple nudge of chakra, it was as if the opening in the rock had never been there. "Akatsuki's leader is preparing a better one as we speak."

"Aren't you Akatsuki's leader?" Itachi rasped. His eyes watered. The torchlight was bright compared to the utter darkness of the tunnels they'd passed through.

Amusement colored Madara's tone. "Not to everyone."

Of course. If Itachi hadn't been so exhausted, he'd berate himself for being so surprised. Shadow puppetry behind shadow puppetry. Madara would not have survived this long without miring himself in layers of deception.

Water dripped from the stalactites, pooling in the hollows of the limestone floor. The plink of every drop matched the cadence of their steps. There were no pipes for ventilation, but the torch's fire swayed in an unseen breeze. Itachi noted every turn they took, the chambers they passed, building a map of his new home in his head.

"They know me as Tobi, here," Madara continued. "Don't be surprised if I act differently around the others. As an Uchiha, I'm sure you understand the power of illusions."

"Who else knows?" Itachi asked, ignoring the mocking lilt. He would not flinch at his own clan's name.

The instructions and code to contact Jiraiya burned in the back of his mind. This was what he needed to focus on. Not the past. Not the blood, still clinging to his nails.

"I'll let you know when it becomes relevant," was Madara's answer. He flapped a lazy hand over his shoulder.

Not an unexpected reply. Isolate the pawns so none may incriminate the others, then. "Understood," Itachi said.

The line he walked was precariously thin. He had earned some measure of respect, and possibly fear, from this man, after following through with his end of their bargain. But it would take more than that for Itachi to cement his place in Madara's agenda. It would take more than that for him to gain information worth feeding back to Konoha. The Hokage could promise him a back way to visit Sasuke all he wanted; Itachi was under no illusions that he would have the chance anytime soon.

This would be his last memory of Sasuke: wild-eyed with genjutsu-enhanced terror, clutching Naruto's arm, his brand new tomoe spinning in a sea of red.

His mind drifted, exhaustion dragging it along the eddies of his thoughts. Who would hold Sasuke's First Tomoe ceremony now? Who would gift him handcrafted tokens and surround him with clan and family, so the distressing memory that usually heralded an awakened Sharingan could be overlaid with happier ones?

Surely, there were records of their traditions in the clan archives. Surely, someone would think to look there. Itachi had ripped everything away from Sasuke, but surely, surely, his little brother would still have that much of their clan left.

Perhaps Minako would know. Perhaps her foresight would tell her what Sasuke needs. They would hold the ceremony in their small apartment, with Minako making Sasuke her strange cake, and Naruto encouraging him with his usual mischief and cheer.

The image snaked around his heart, a vine with thorns scoring through sore flesh. The shock of his yearning ached more than any injury, any fatigue.

I wish—

"Oh? Who's this?"

Itachi paused. Hands loose, weight forward, ready to lash out at the first sign of aggression. To any seasoned shinobi, he might as well have screamed his surprise for the world to hear.

Beside him, Madara chuckled.

The path opened up to their left. Greenery spilled out of the cavern, blinding after nothing but shadows and pale rock. Leafless vines trailed over every nook and cranny, turning the space into an underground forest. Like veins to a heart, they converged in the center, connected to a thorny pod the size of a full-grown man.

Dark green spines peeled apart, a sinister flower blooming. Peering from within was a human face, if the human had been dipped in ink and left to fester.

Whatever this thing was, it did not feel human.

Slowly, the creature blinked. Its single visible eye was stark against the darkness, a near-bio-luminescent yellow. It bared its teeth in a rictus grin.

"Haven't seen you before," it rasped, its voice like dry leaves cracking underfoot.

Madara gestured towards Itachi. "This is Uchiha Itachi—"

The pod spasmed. Like an animal in a spiderweb, the creature thrashed, bulges growing and shrinking from the plant matter.

Itachi flinched. The creature's smile didn't change at all.

"—our newest recruit," Madara continued, just as unperturbed. "Itachi, meet Zetsu."

To say it was nice to meet it—him—would be a lie. Itachi pressed his lips together, fighting the nausea rising up his throat. Lucky for him, Zetsu's attention had moved on. He peered to his right, at something hidden within the spines of his cocoon.

"Oh," he crooned. "Does White Zetsu want to meet the rookie?"

The pod's spines parted further. The coloring arrested Itachi first—instead of black, like he expected, the rest of Zetsu was white, splitting him in half like a stitched-up doll. His right eye was black, pointed straight at Itachi while the yellow looked towards it in amusement. That rictus grin opened, the white parting reluctantly over his lips like putty—like webbing—

"Aa—aah!"

Zetsu moaned, his voice pitching higher. "Ahh!" Then, "Ooh, fiesty!" with a gleeful laugh, back to a lower register, a maddening harmony.

The pod thrashed again.

"Don't mind him."

Itachi jerked. His senses rushed back to him—pain, from his tightly-fisted hands, the roaring in his ears, his hammering heart. And Madara, that eye-searing, incomprehensible orange mask, glancing at him from the side.

"He just got a new host," he said. "It's taking him a while to acclimate."

"Host?" The pieces clicked into place. A pod, large enough to fit a full-grown man. Prey, thrashing in the spider's web.

"Zetsu is… special." Madara's lone eye glittered.

And just like that, Itachi remembered where he was. Deep in enemy territory. Surrounded. Alone.

Yet another test. Or a game, on Madara's end, playing with Itachi's puppet strings. The laughter in his eye was as loud as Zetsu's manic giggling.

Itachi shoved his horror down, down, trying to hide from Zetsu's cackles and the amused tilt to Madara's mask. It sat in his gut like a lead weight, even as Zetsu went back inside his cocoon, even as Madara led Itachi deeper into the tunnels.

Careless. He had no doubt that that would only be the first of many such games, where Madara would poke and prod for his every weakness while Itachi searched for his.

He had lost this time. Not again. If that subtle saunter meant Madara could read Itachi's frustration with himself, then, fine. He'll make it part of his act too. Stack layer upon layer of emotion behind a cold facade, until any meaning that could be read from it was just another illusion to hide behind. How had Madara put it?

As an Uchiha, he knew the power of illusions.

There was no turning back. Any path back to the children in his daydreams was gone, drowned in a flood of blood by his own hands. Itachi was alone, in a den full of masks and monsters. There was no point in wishing himself to a different time or place.

He was exactly where he belonged.

.1.

Kakashi didn't like gatherings. They tended to involve a lot of people, a smelly bar, and an unholy amount of noise. He was a veteran of the last war. He had been to battlefields. He couldn't say a party was worse than the screams and stench of desperate, dying men, but it was close. Yelling was yelling, whether it was to be heard over the blast of a katon jutsu or the thunder of a giant drum.

He propped his chin in one hand, sigh lost under Anko's raucous laugh. His nose was all but buried in his cup, if only so the scent enveloping him was mostly sake and not everyone who sat in this chair plus everything they ordered in the past four hours, including what is hopefully not puke.

It would be easy enough to throw off Gai's iron grip on his shoulder. Gai had disguised it as a friendly hand, which only meant it had more weaknesses than a proper hold. But it was Asuma's "welcome back" party, which had somehow become an excuse for their Academy batch to have a reunion of sorts. And Kakashi wasn't exactly aching to return to his apartment. So he stayed.

Yes, he was staying for an Academy batch reunion party. For a distraction.

He was pretty sure Obito was laughing at his misery.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, he thought towards the imaginary giggles. That anniversary was near, after all. The cloud of rage and sorrow hanging around his apartment wasn't going away anytime soon.

Unfortunately for him, Asuma also needed a distraction, especially from the drunken women gleefully gossiping to his left.

"Heard you got a kid, Kakashi," he said, grimacing. His free hand was busy keeping Kurenai from falling backwards onto his lap, without touching somewhere that would lead to an unfortunate outcome. For him, at least. "What's it like?"

Kakashi lowered his glass. His irritation bubbled over, eager for the offered outlet. "Like having a pet," he said.

Asuma stared at him.

"You know." He waved his hand. "You feed them, you house them, you let them out for walks…"

Asuma's grimace blunted the edge of the restlessness under Kakashi's skin. He beamed, just to be extra annoying.

"I was hoping for something more along the lines of how to gain their trust," Asuma said, as sour as his drink. His thumb dragged through the condensation on the side of his glass. "My nephew doesn't know who I am, and the only people he's been around is his nursemaid and his ANBU guards. He doesn't want to talk to me at all."

Kakashi's satisfaction died with all the nobility of a quiet fart. He dug his teeth into his lip, cursing silently. He should've remembered that Sarutobi Kenma had had a son, should've remembered that the Twelve Guardian ninja had disbanded years ago but Asuma had only chosen to come home now, after receiving news of his brother's funeral.

Kakashi had perfected the art of being a dick on purpose. He rarely enjoyed being one by accident.

He tried to change tack. "What makes you think I know anything about children?"

Asuma scowled. "You've had one for a year!"

Kakashi raised his eyebrow.

The horror was better than the bitterness from earlier. He had no idea what Asuma was imagining at the moment, but whatever it was, it did funny things to his eyebrows and pallor.

Beside Kakashi, Anko choked. "Someone get that poor kid away from him, before he traumatizes him even more," she said, cackling at her own joke.

Kakashi resisted the urge to say yes. Or maybe, please. You have no idea, might be more acceptable. Because no one did, not really. Not even Kakashi.

There were good days. He and Sasuke had settled onto some semblance of a routine over the past year. Both of them were invested in cleanliness, which meant Kakashi wasn't forced to draw a red line halfway through the apartment the Hokage had given them. Neither of them could cook anything beyond making things edible, but Kakashi had his ANBU savings, his jounin savings, the remains of the Hatake clan estates, and the fraction of the enormous Uchiha clan estates he had access to. So. If they wanted to eat out until Sasuke was a genin, they could.

It helped that Sasuke was independent enough. When he had to go on an inevitable mission, Kakashi only needed to leave a budget for a week, and the kid managed just fine on his own.

And when Kakashi found the time to train him? He was no Uchiha Itachi, sure. But the kid had talent. He could use jutsu Kakashi knew his Uchiha batchmates couldn't at that age. And what he couldn't achieve with that spark, he bulldozed through with sheer stubborn will.

But there was a ferocity in Sasuke's actions that Kakashi didn't know what to do with. More often than not, he had to stop him from training before he impeded his own growth. He never talked about school, never spoke about his classmates or his friends, even when prompted. Just the slightest mention of the twins would throw him into a rage, desperate, silent, and deep.

Kakashi could see it—a shadow of himself, eight years old and fighting all on his own. He knew where that had led. And he did not want Kannabi Bridge to happen again.

If only he knew how to stop it.

Get a kid to trust you? What a joke. Kakashi couldn't even be trusted to raise one. What did he know about children? Nothing. He wasn't Minato. Laughing and ruffling his hair didn't chase away the ghosts haunting Sasuke. Anko was right, they needed to take the kid from him, before Kakashi fucked this up again—

"Trust goes both ways!"

His hand twitched. Sake kissed the rim of his cup, before settling back into a little pool at the bottom. Gai gave him a concerned look, even as Kurenai gave Asuma's bicep a hearty slap. The poor man winced.

"You can't expect him to, to give and give, if you won't give him anything yourself!" The words slurred in her cherry-smeared lips. She jabbed her finger into Asuma's chest, making him yelp.

He shot Kakashi and Gai a pleading look, which only made Anko laugh harder. His ears were steadily turning redder and redder.

Kakashi took pity on him, even as his heart hammered in his chest. "I take it you've broken up with that chuunin from Intelligence," he said to Kurenai.

She slammed her cup on the table. "UGH, THAT BASTARD WAS SUCH A DICK!"

Asuma suddenly looked much happier to have an armful of drunken Kurenai.

The party devolved from there. Somehow, it turned into a bitching contest between Kurenai and Anko about their exes. The minute Gai jumped in and tried to expound on his many, many youthful conquests, Kakashi was out. He slipped out the window without anyone noticing, save perhaps for poor Asuma, who was too polite to leave his own party.

Wuss.

But Kurenai's words stuck. They dug deep into the vulnerable spots they had snagged on, niggling at Kakashi all the way home.

Trust goes both ways.

He shied away from the thought. To give something of himself was so antithetical to everything he was, Kakashi didn't even know where to start. Everything he shared with others had been picked and pulled out of him by his comrades (friends), by Tenzo's sharp eyes and Gai's unstoppable force of personality. What if it didn't even work? He had no assurances he could help Sasuke by—what? Talking? What could that even do?

"Don't be so cold to Rin-chan! She was just asking a question, you bastard!"

"Alright, alright," he muttered under his breath.

His insides still felt like a shriveled prune, his fists just shy of too-tight. But he had to try. He owed it to… well. To everyone. To Obito's little cousin, most of all.

The whining groan of rock against rock, threatening to come down on their heads, even as a weak voice said—

No. Kakashi couldn't let that happen again. Not to anyone else. Not to Sasuke.

So the next time the little brat blurted out, "Where are you going?" Kakashi didn't deflect. He faced that small, scrunched up face, and he… answered. For the first time in their acquaintance, an honest word left his lips.

"To the memorial," he said.

"The memorial?" Sasuke was so shocked by the blunt response that his ever-present scowl dropped. It left him looking painfully young, the distress in his dark eyes bared to the world.

Kakashi, choking on the anxiety of letting even that much out, simply nodded. And fled. Because that was enough feelings to last him the week, and even he was starting to think that the amount of pranks he'd been pulling on an eight year old was pathetic.

But later, when the sun had set, and he had lost himself in the rumble of falling rocks and lightning in the rain, a small body joined his. They stood in front of the giant obsidian kunai, silent in the darkness.

Sasuke smelled like the trees near the Uchiha compound—had he assumed Kakashi had gone there? It must have taken him hours to find his way here. Konoha had more than enough memorials. Had he searched every one?

Kakashi braced himself for the questions. He would rather pull out his own innards than talk about Obito and Rin, but if Sasuke asked, he would answer. Because trust goes both ways, right?

But Sasuke didn't ask. He just stood there, shifting restlessly, only moving when Kakashi turned to leave. His confused frown was louder than thunder. But he said nothing.

Something settled in Kakashi's chest, terrifyingly warm. He wanted to shove it back, to stick to the bitter carelessness he'd wrapped around himself for over a decade. But, once planted, the seed of hope was irrepressible.

Maybe, just maybe, they'll be all right.

.2.

The world rocked from side to side, a morose, gentle sway. The spring sun blanketed Naruto's back. He sat sideways on the swing, his forehead against its rope and his toes dragging against the grass. Sitting at the very end of the plank meant every kick was more likely to twist the swing on itself than send it into the air. Still, he kicked.

Tufts of green fluttered away from his toes. That kick was for Kiba, off to his appointment with his sister after class. That kick was for Shikamaru for being lazy, and that one for Chouji, who'd rather hang with him than play with Naruto. That was for Shino, who disappeared before he could even ask, and that one—

"Ugh!" Naruto stomped his foot. The world spun, rope twisting and twisting over his head. He tucked his feet in and leaned into it, letting the swing spin and the world twist into nothing.

But soon enough, the world was still. The swing rocked from side to side. And Naruto was left with nothing but the memory of Sasuke shoving him back, yelling, "I said, go away!"

He didn't know why it stood out, today of all days. It wasn't like it was the first time he'd tried to drag Sasuke into a game or spar, kicking and screaming. It wasn't the first time Sasuke had rejected him either.

Today was just a long day, in a series of long days. The longest.

He shook his head and jumped up. Now standing on the swing, he threw himself forward, flying higher and higher. He spoke out loud, so that his voice could drown out the weight lodged in his chest.

"Stupid Sasuke!" he said to the sky. "Training and training, always angry and never playing with anyone. I'll show him! I'll have so much fun playing, he'll get so jealous he'll beg to play with me again!"

The thought of Sasuke begging to be his friend again was enough to bring a smile to his face. He jumped off the swing, showing his fist to an imaginary Sasuke.

"I won't give up," he swore to himself. He tightened his grip, trying to hold on to the certainty bleeding from his fingers like sand. "I won't. Believe it!"

Naruto didn't give up. Because giving up meant accepting the way things were. It meant accepting the villagers would ignore him forever. It meant Sasuke would never play with him again.

So Naruto refused to give up. Because the alternative was worse than anything. Some days… some days, it was just harder. That's all.

"Just you wait, bastard," he said to the memory of hands shoving him away. "I'll kick your ass tomorrow, and then we'll play again! And we'll keep playing, and you'll stop looking const'pated all the time, and then everything will go back the way it was." He nodded. "Yeah."

Yelling always cheered him up. Shisui had taught him that. Sad times are the best times to laugh, he'd told him, over the smoke bombs they were filling with pink dye. No one will know you're sad, and soon, you won't too.

The memory tugged at the corners of his smile. But it was a good kind of tugging. A sadness that tasted sweet.

A loud thud snapped him out of his thoughts. The school doors burst open, releasing a group of girls who filled the air with their chatter. Their teacher called some last minute reminders after them, before disappearing back inside.

Naruto perked up. He stood on the swing, the better to wave at the redhead trailing behind the rest. "Hey, hey! Minako! Over here!"

Minako blinked. She turned to him half a second too late, like coming out of a haze. "Naruto?"

He jumped off the swing, then spread his arms. "Surprise!"

The other girls stared at him, whispering and giggling. He was used to it, so he ignored them.

Minako shot them a wary look, even as she walked up to meet him. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Shouldn't you be playing with your friends?"

"They all went home early, so I decided to wait for you, dattebayo!" He gave her his biggest grin. Most days, it was enough to get her to smile back, even if it was weak. Today, she only made a half-hearted attempt at it, the corner of her lip stretching to the side, then sinking.

"Thanks." She turned towards the exit. "Let's go, then."

"Wait!" Naruto threw himself at her back. She stumbled a couple of steps, sputtering. "It's too early! Let's play a little. Pretty please?"

"Naruto…" Minako bit her lip. She looked over her shoulder, trying to catch his expression, so he made sure to open his eyes extra wide, with his bottom lip jutting out.

Minako never liked playing with other kids. Even during their orphanage days, she would rather sit at the side while Naruto ran around the play area. But ever since Sasuke's family had died, Minako had grown quieter and quieter. Some days, there was a storm in her eyes, held back only by the tick in her jaw. Other days, the storm simply drained out of her, taking everything with it.

It scared Naruto. It made that sadness in his gut churn and twist even more. He didn't know what to do. So whenever he saw her eyes glazing over, and her movements shrink and falter, he did what he did best—create a distraction.

He poured a little more effort into the puppy eyes. Relief jolted down his spine as her face grew helplessly soft. It wouldn't matter how much she tried to resist. Naruto had already won.

"Yes!" He jumped up with a cheer, before dragging her back towards the other girls. "C'mon! We can ask them to play Ninja!"

"Naruto," Minako tried, but could only sigh and hurry after him. It was that or end up flat on her face.

The school's front yard was already half empty. No one really liked lingering around school, especially those who didn't have to attend kunoichi class. Most girls their age weren't interested in playing either. The older they got, the more they seemed to prefer sitting to the side, talking and giggling. Naruto recognized a few who still played, though, so he headed straight for them.

"Hey, hey! Do you guys wanna play Ninja?" He waved at one in particular, a girl with long, straight blue hair. Tsukikawa? "We can pretend-shunshin off the swing!"

Tsukikawa eyed him speculatively. "The older kids aren't around," she said to her friend. "They can't shoo us away."

"Yeah!" Naruto nodded. To his surprise, Minako spoke up.

"I can push," she offered.

Naruto's grin could be seen from the moon.

A volunteer who wouldn't argue for their turn on the swing was enough to grab the interest of the other kids. A few began to put their heads together, trying to come up with the premise for today's game.

Then a voice piped up. "Ew! You're playing with them?"

Minako's head snapped up. Tsukikawa's face soured. "No one asked for your opinion, Ami," she said.

Naruto recognized Ami as one of the girls that preferred to sit to the side and giggle. Her deep purple hair would always stand out from the grass. Her friends huddled around her, whispering amongst themselves.

She propped her hands on her hips. "You don't have to listen," she said, in a slow voice that made Naruto's hackles rise. "Just don't come running to me when you catch their bad luck."

Tsukikawa rolled her eyes, but one of the other girls leaned forward. "Bad luck?"

"Wait," Minako said.

"Oh come on," Tsukikawa snapped. Ami puffed up in victory.

"My mom says they're bad luck," she said, chin raised with the confidence of someone who believed every word she was saying. "It's their fault the village has been in so much trouble the past few years."

"Hey!" Naruto stepped forward. "That's not true!"

But even Tsukikawa's friend was starting to listen. Her gaze flickered between Naruto and Minako. "Wait," she said. "Are you telling me… they're those twins?"

Naruto's heart sank. This wasn't the first time. This wasn't even a surprise. But Minako's face was closing off, his plan was falling apart, and—couldn't he just have this one fun time? This one game with his sister?

"We're not bad luck!" He jerked towards Ami, only to yelp and stumble back. Minako shook her head, pulling on his arm.

"Never mind. Let's just go."

He hated it. Hated the exhaustion bleeding into her face, her lowered eyes, the tightness to her jaw. He yanked his arm away. "No! It's not true! She shouldn't say things that aren't true!" He whirled on Ami. "Your mom is wrong, she's just being mean!"

Ami's face flushed red. "My mom's not wrong!"

Minako grabbed him again. "Naruto," she said, her voice hard. "C'mon. She's not worth it."

"You—you—!" Ami pointed at her, but couldn't even stammer out a word.

Fewer and fewer of the kids were looking convinced. Tsukikawa whispered to her friend behind her hand. They giggled. Ami's lower lip began to tremble.

"Hey, didn't they used to hang out with Sasuke-kun?" someone said.

"Yeah!" Ami jumped on that. "Yeah, you always used to hang around with Sasuke-kun, right? Look what happened to him! See?" She crossed her arms, eyes gleaming with vicious victory. "You are so bad luck! You're the reason his family is dead!"

The blood fled Minako's face. The other girls gasped, horrified. Some of them refused to meet Ami's eyes. Tsukikawa was yelling something. Naruto couldn't hear her through the roaring in his ears.

"Wh-what?" Ami searched for a sympathetic face, but found none. Her own friends crowded around her, but even they seemed to understand she'd crossed a line.

"Take it back."

Naruto's hands shook. Everything he'd tried to shove back came rushing through him, the sadness digging its claws into his gut, the pain weighing on his chest. That dark room, with the person he secretly wished he could call his mom lying in a pool of her own blood, at the feet of the person he wanted so badly to call "nii-san"—that would never go away. He could only drown it out.

"Take it back!" he yelled, striding towards her. "Itachi did that, not us! You take it back!"

Ami backpedaled. "No way!" she stammered. "It doesn't matter who did it! You're still bad luck, and my mom's still right!"

"No, she's not!" He glanced to the left, expecting Minako to step up and support him.

Minako, who was already several meters away, her scarlet ponytail swinging with every stride.

Something alien seized Naruto by the throat. It trapped his breath in his lungs, his heart hammering in his ears. He was running before he knew it, chasing after his sister's back.

The girls cried out in surprise, Ami in outrage. He ignored them. They might as well not have existed, for all he cared.

"Minako! Hey—hey!" He skidded to her side, almost tripping over his own feet in his efforts to slow down. "Why—why'd you go? Ami was going to apologize!"

Minako didn't turn. Her hands hung carefully loose at her sides, her gaze pointed straight ahead. There was no expression on her face. The only sign of her distress was the sickly pallor of her skin.

He grabbed her hand. "Don't listen to her," he said fiercely, desperately. Everything had been going so well. Minako had been about to play. She had been talking to the other girls. Why did everything have to go wrong? "She doesn't know anything. She wasn't there when—"

Minako snatched her hand back. Naruto froze. They stood at an impasse, Naruto too shocked to reach out and Minako refusing to look him in the eye.

This wasn't spacing out. There was nothing drifting away for Naruto to pin down. This was a door slamming closed, a ghost fleeing into the shadows. This was a boy baring his teeth at him and shoving him away.

She curled her fingers into her palm, one by one. "Just… forget it." She pulled on a weak smile, then turned and started walking again. "You should go play with them. I'll see you at home."

"But I don't want to play with them! I want to play with you!" He tried to run into her path, but she simply stepped around him.

"Some other time, okay?" she said, her voice tight. But Naruto didn't give up. He couldn't.

"She's wrong," he babbled. He didn't know what to do. What would Shisui say, if he was here? "It wasn't our fault. Itachi—Itachi's the one who did it. He's the reason Mikoto-baa-san's dead, and Sasuke's—"

"Enough!"

His mouth snapped shut. Somehow, Minako had gotten even paler, the hollows under her eyes purpling in the setting sun. She pressed her lips together so hard, the blood left her skin.

"Just… go." She turned away. "I'm… I'm going to make dinner."

"But—"

"I said, leave me alone!"

Naruto stood in the middle of the street, his gaze pinned to her back. Even when she disappeared around a corner, he couldn't move.

Why? Why did she keep pushing him away? It was always like this. She would fall silent, curl in on herself, snap at him, then run away. She would make ramen for dinner and guiltily put more noodles in his bowl. Then everything would be normal, then she'd fall silent, and it would start all over again.

"Fine," he said aloud. "Fine." He turned back. The girls would have already gone home, but he could always find other kids to play with, if he wandered far enough. "Fine."

He rubbed his eyes with his sleeve, swallowing around the knot in his throat. Minako could give up, but he wasn't. He was going to play with other kids, make Sasuke their friend again, and become an awesome ninja so no one could ignore them ever again. He'll show her. He'll show everyone. He won't give up.

Today was just harder. That's all.

.3.

Akimichi Chouza opened his eyes to the morning sun, its wide beams streaming through the windows of his home. Beside him, his wife stirred, curling further into his warmth. Birdsong and people's cheery greetings crept into the room, the village stirring to life.

He pressed a hand to his face. Memories of bright blue eyes and a quietly mischievous smile flashed through his self-made darkness.

"Oh, Minato," he whispered hoarsely. "What have we done?"

Notes:

Hell yeah I'm retconning the fuck outta Zetsu.

Writing Minako and Naruto's developing relationship is going to give me hives. On one hand, this needs to happen. On the other hand, I can't deal with conflict especially sibling conflict lksgjldfkjg I want siblings to get along all the time always T_T So hold on to your seatbelts! This is going to hurt but it'll be a hurt that heals because I'm not writing distant siblings dammit (one of the things that hurt me about DoS lmao :( the twins never got to fix their relationship)

If I don't reply to your comment, please don't worry! I definitely read it, and I definitely appreciate it! There's just too many for me to reply to now (a happy problem lbr). Thank you for all the support you've given me, and welcome to the new readers! ^_^

Ps. If you can guess why Chouza's suddenly plot relevant I'm giving you top bragging rights til the end of time (I unfortunately am too busy to offer prompt fills)

More A/Ns here

06/01/2022: I drew the babeys

10/19/2022: naruto and minako fanart! holy shit!

Chapter 30: Arc II Chapter 1

Summary:

Chouza wakes up.

Notes:

Surprise! :)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Most of Konoha's trees were in their full golden autumn glory when Chouza made his leisurely way to the Academy. He passed several villagers sweeping a blizzard's worth of leaves from the streets, with more than one dog diving into the gathered piles with happy barks, to their owners' dismay. A few of his clansmen greeted him cheerfully; a couple even pushed food on him, to eat on the go.

It's a good day to go on a stroll. But the melancholic mood he woke up with persisted. In every gap in the crowd, he saw where an Uchiha would've been—patrolling the streets, entering restaurants, taking to the rooftops. Almost three years had passed, but the loss of the Uchiha clan was still an open maw in the village heart.

There's a tension in everyday interactions that wasn't there before. Villagers held purses closer to their chests. Women walked in pairs or groups; mothers stopped their children from running too far. The freshly-established domestic security department was doing its best, but even the Genin Corps could only transfer so much of their people without affecting other parts of Konoha.

Chouza grew up during the Second Great Shinobi War, and fought in the Third. Two wars, and even then, he could never have imagined the devastation the loss of the Uchiha gave him.

He came to a stop outside the Academy, sighing. At least the changes here were more appealing. They'd added a new wing to the main building since he attended, while more trees had been cleared away to expand the training grounds. The big old stump he, Inoichi, and Shikaku used as a table was gone, replaced by a proper set of picnic tables.

Ah, well. At least kids today won't have to experience finding a surprise caterpillar in their bento.

It's late enough in the school year that there weren't a lot of guardians waiting to pick up their children anymore. At least people still felt safe enough in Konoha to let children walk home from school on their own. Chouza nodded to those who greeted him, but was content to rest his massive bulk against a nearby tree, waiting patiently for the school bell to ring.

A shift in the air—Chouza smiled to his left, where a white-haired man now stood, his face hidden behind a book in a dog-patterned book sleeve.

He hadn't expected to see Kakashi. The man was notorious for avoiding situations he abhorred, with excuses even the Nara admired. And he was never more conspicuously absent than when it came to reminders of his old sensei.

Ah, but he had a ward now, didn't he? Perhaps Chouza had been mistaken, and Kakashi wasn't here because of that after all…

The school bell and the subsequent rush of children interrupted his pondering. Shouts and giggles filled the air. Some kids trotted out, eager to get home after a hard day's training. Others still had more than enough energy to run for the streets to play.

It wasn't hard to spot the splash of scarlet in the mass of mostly blacks, blonds, and browns. Chouza's heart leaped at the shockingly familiar color, so much like the red-haired girl he'd graduated the Academy with. Chouji had spoken about the Uzumaki twins before, but it was another thing to finally see Minako in the flesh.

She was so small. Her shoulders were hunched, her scrawny body swimming in an over-sized black hoodie, worn and faded to a dark gray. Her government-issue shinobi sandals scuffed the ground, its blue rubber cover peeling to show the white underneath. She walked with the stride of a ghost, a creature trying to disappear.

The shock of the state of her doused Chouza's enthusiasm like ice water. Where was the fierce, cheeky girl whose fire matched the color of her hair? And where was Naruto? If there was one thing Chouji could say about the twins, it was how inseparable they were.

Chouza had always imagined them as tiny versions of Minato and Kushina, getting into mischief. He hadn't expected this.

Minako looked up when another child touched her elbow, a young Aburame that Chouza recognized.

Aburame Shibi's son.

Chouza relaxed. He didn't even realize he'd leaned forward until he leaned back again.

Shino seemed content to walk alongside Minako, neither of them exchanging a word. The two made a quiet pair in the middle of the crowd of noisy children.

"Tou-chan!"

Chouza spread his arms as Chouji ran towards him, potato chips jumping out of his open bag. Shikamaru followed behind him, languid, with only the furrow to his brow betraying his curiosity.

"Surprise!" Chouza said, ruffling Chouji's hair. His son laughed, his round cheeks pinking with delight.

"Chouza-san," Shikamaru said. Chouza patted him on the shoulder.

"Hello, Shikamaru. Did you sleep through class again?"

Shikamaru yawned and shrugged—a decent attempt at hiding the flush creeping up his neck. Chouza had yet to discover what exactly put him so high in young Shikamaru's esteem. It was always amusing to hear Shikaku complain about it, though.

"But what about the clan meeting?" Chouji asked. "I thought you were coming home late today."

"Ah."

The meeting had been tense and fruitless, as all such meetings were. The debate had been about the distribution of clan lands and the growing size of the village. Danzo was pushing for more clan grounds to be given over to Konoha, which of course made the larger clans bristle and the smaller clans nod in agreement. It was an argument decades old. Frankly, Chouza had let his mind drift.

Then Danzo suggested reclaiming the Uchiha grounds.

Chouza shook his head. "The meeting ended earlier than usual," he said. "So I thought I'd drop by and take you and your friends out for a snack."

Chouji brightened.

"A snack?"

He beamed at Shikamaru, who seemed torn between going home early and his inability to say no to Chouji.

"Only Shikamaru?" Chouza nudged his son. "Are there any other kids you might want to invite?"

Chouji had shared plenty of stories of his time at the Academy. Chouza was confident in guessing who would come to his son's mind first.

"Maybe Naruto and Kiba?" Chouji looked at Shikamaru, who shrugged. Chouji shrugged too, then started searching the crowd. He bounced on his toes, giving away his excitement.

"Hey, Naruto! Kiba! You guys wanna go get snacks? Tou-chan's treat!"

Inuzuka Kiba's head popped out of the crowd, his toothy grin only matched by his puppy's as it peeked from the neck of his shirt.

"Snacks?" he said, in such a clear echo of Chouji that Chouza couldn't help but laugh.

Naruto, bright and sunny in muddy orange, popped up right beside him. He was scrawny too. Still, he looked closer to what Chouza expected, with his painfully familiar bushy blond hair and wide—if gap-toothed—grin.

His grin faltered.

"Ah, hehe, naw, Chouji, it's okay, I'm not really hungry…"

A loud rumble interrupted him. He turned beet red and clutched his stomach.

"Coz I ate something bad this morning, yeah! So my stomach's all rumbly, dattebayo."

"Are you sure?" Chouza said, without a hint of the concern twisting his gut. "I've never met a child that would turn down free food."

The word 'free' made Naruto perk up. Slowly, eyes flickering between Chouza and his son, Naruto's smile crept back.

"Can I bring Minako? Bring my sister?" he amended, for Chouza's sake, probably.

Chouza looked at his son, eyebrow raised. Technically, it's his outing, so it's his decision. Not like kind-hearted Chouji would say no—

To his surprise, Chouji hesitated. He shoved a chip into his mouth to cover it. Shikamaru wrinkled his nose, as if he'd bitten into a lemon; Kiba groaned.

"C'mon, Naruto—"

"Of course Minako can come," Chouji said, cutting Kiba off. He shot the Inuzuka a look. "And Shino too, if he wants. Is that okay, tou-chan?"

"The more the merrier," Chouza agreed.

Naruto's hopeful face could've outshone the sun.

"Be right back—Minako! Minakooo!"

"Do we have to?" Kiba grumbled, as Naruto ran out of hearing range. His puppy whined. "She's so… so…"

"Minako-chan is nice," Chouji said firmly.

"More like troublesome." Shikamaru sighed. Kiba huffed in agreement—surprise on top of surprise, for Chouza.

He listened to the kids with half an ear, his brow furrowed. He kept his eyes on Naruto, the spot of yellow and orange darting through the shrinking crowd.

"Minako!"

Some life sparked back into Minako. She lifted her head, drifting gaze focusing on her brother.

Naruto grabbed her hand and started dragging her back towards the other boys, babbling the whole way. Minako, befuddled, waved a distracted farewell to Shino. Shino simply waved back and left. This was normal for them, then.

"—free! We can get food, and our allowance will be fine, and we can eat all we want! We don't have to wait for Jiji!"

"Naruto, slow down," Minako said, exasperated. "Free food? How?"

"Chouji's tou-san!"

Naruto flailed his free hand in Chouza's direction. Chouza, for his part, gave her a cheery wave. He was careful to keep his smile friendly, enough to be kind but not so familiar as to spook her.

"We'll come, right, Minako?"

At last, comprehension spread across Minako's face. She wasn't so practiced that she managed to hide her dismay from Chouza in time.

"Akimichi-sama," she said stiffly, bowing.

"It's alright, Minako-chan. Any friend of Chouji's can call me Chouza."

"Akimichi-sama," she repeated, with a stubbornness that made Chouji startle. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. "Thank you for the offer, but Naruto and I have to go home. You guys have fun—"

"WHAT?"

Kiba clamped his hands over his ears, hissing. His puppy disappeared into his shirt with a whine.

"Naruto," Minako said.

"But it's free food! He said it's his treat, he did, dattebayo!"

"Naruto—"

"C'mon, Minako," Naruto pleaded. "You never have fun anymore! We can hang out with Chouji and Shikamaru! You like Chouji and Shikamaru. You don't have to talk to Kiba, he stinks."

"Hey!"

"Some other time," Minako said. She only got colder and stiffer the more Naruto went on. "Let's go."

"Minako, Naruto," Chouza said, hands up, trying to calm them. Naruto just raised his voice. The twins had gone deaf to everyone else but each other.

"But I'm hungry!"

"I'll buy you food on the way—"

"No you won't! You always say we don't have enough money. It's free food! What's wrong with it?"

"Because," Minako said, cheeks blotchy red, "That's the Akimichi clan head. Clans are— We don't—"

"What do you mean?" Naruto threw up his hands. Kiba snorted, rubbing his ears. His muttering was loud enough to carry.

"Never bothered you back when it was—"

"Kiba!" Chouji said, aghast. Kiba turned red.

"Yeah," Minako said, a wild light in her eyes. "And that clan ended up—"

Her mouth snapped shut. All the blood drained from her face. Her gaze was locked at something past Chouza's elbow.

"Maa, maa. Noisy party you've got here, Chouza-sama."

Chouza turned, eyebrows raised. He hadn't expected Kakashi, of all people, to interrupt. Everyone else had backed off, blatantly eavesdropping at a safer distance, away from the children's argument.

But Minako wasn't looking at Kakashi. She stood, frozen, staring at the dark-haired boy with a thunderous expression standing beside him.

"Bastard," Naruto said, stunned.

Uchiha Sasuke ignored him. He glared down a tree by the Academy doors with the steely focus of a hawk, pinned in place by Kakashi's grip on his shoulder. The other children might as well not have existed.

"Kakashi," Chouza said, casual as a morning stroll. "And young Uchiha Sasuke, isn't it?"

Sasuke stirred long enough to give him a proper, if quick, bow. "Akimichi-sama."

Then he went back to trying to replicate a statue.

Chouza's expression softened. Of course Mikoto's son would deliver a perfectly executed bow. It had been deep enough for respect, but not so deep that he undermined his own status as—did he consider himself as clan heir? Or the clan head of one?

"Sorry for butting in, Chouza-sama," Kakashi said, sounding the opposite of sorry. "I couldn't help but overhear your plans. And I thought, wow! What a perfect opportunity! See, I have to go help a little old lady with her groceries, but I couldn't just leave my cute little ward alone. You wouldn't mind if he joined your party, right?"

Sasuke growled.

Kakashi's cheery tone didn't waver.

"Don't be rude. Diplomacy is an important skill for a future clan leader. Who knows, your fellow clan brats might be able to teach you a thing or two that a hermit like me wouldn't know."

Chouza crossed his arms, amused in spite of himself. True enough—Kakashi might technically be a clan head, but he was the opposite of social.

"What do you say, Chouji?" Chouza said. "It's your choice."

"Ah—yeah!" Chouji said. His determined nod made Chouza's chest warm with pride. "Of course Sasuke can come."

Naruto and Minako stared at Sasuke, unnervingly still.

Sasuke seethed. He all but vibrated with fury.

"Or," Kakashi said, "We could always train with Gai again! You could practice your diplomacy skills with that Lee kid—"

"Fine," Sasuke spat out.

"You will?" Naruto blurted. Sasuke unfroze long enough to shoot him a venomous look. Naruto flinched, then hastily glared back.

"Perfect!" Kakashi clapped his hands. "I'll see you at home, tonight. Chouza-sama, I'll see you around. Have fun!"

He disappeared in a showy poof of smoke.

"I have to go," Minako said.

Naruto whirled to face her. "But—!"

She turned on her heel and strode off.

"Wait! Minako!"

It's as if he hadn't spoken at all. She walked away like there were ghosts nipping at her heels, disappearing around the corner before Naruto could call her name twice.

Naruto bit his lip, shaking. His eyes shone with tears, but none fell.

Kiba kicked at the ground, scowling. "I toldja."

"Kiba," Chouji said.

Kiba fell silent, looking guilty. He winced under Shikamaru's glare.

Sasuke said nothing. He stood, still as stone, staring fixedly away from where Naruto and Minako had been.

Chouza put a hand on Chouji's shoulder.

"It's too bad that Minako doesn't want to come. But we need to respect her wishes." He turned to Naruto, his tone soothing the poor child's bristling hackles. "How about this? After we get the snacks, you can bring home a couple to share with her. What do you think, Naruto?"

"I can still come?"

Naruto's helpless rage faltered. He looked up at Chouza, expression painfully vulnerable.

"If you want to." Chouza glanced at his son.

Chouji looked ready to cry at how quickly his snack trip had disintegrated, but quickly scrubbed his eyes and nodded.

"You can come if you still want to," he agreed. "We can get taiyaki! Tou-san, can we get taiyaki?"

"Of course! We can head to Kai-san's. How do you like that?" Chouza said, his heart filled with pride and affection for his son.

"Kai-san's!" Chouji said in delight. Slowly, Shikamaru's hunched shoulders lowered to their usual slouch. His gaze didn't lose that steely glint yet, though, especially when it passed over Naruto and Sasuke.

Naruto grinned, so wide his whisker markings curved over his cheeks, and his eyes disappeared in a squint.

"Hehe. Of course I can still come. Minako's such a killjoy anyway, we don't need her! Always spacing out. Cheh."

"Idiot," Sasuke muttered.

"Who're you calling an idiot?!"

"Come along then," Chouza said, intimately familiar with how shinobi would rather throw punches than let tears flow free. That was the last thing they needed right now. "If we take any longer, the store will close. And then we'll have to go home snackless."

"Noooooooo!"

The children settled into a more relaxed, if not cheerier, atmosphere, as Chouza led them down the street and asked them about Academy life. He fed them stories of his time at the Academy, plus a few funny ones from his genin days out on the front. The whole time, his mind was racing.

Inoichi and Shikaku were going to give him hell for his piss poor intelligence gathering. He'd landed himself (and poor Chouji) into a field of traps without realizing, underestimating the layers upon layers of relationship dynamics children could have.

Minako showed antisocial behavior he recognized from older shinobi overcome by the deep brutality of their job, or by great loss. Unlike those older shinobi, she didn't have a team or comrades that could spot her tells and force her out of isolation. None of the children, not even Naruto, had the skills to recognize it and help her. Naruto himself was lashing out in confusion at her behavior. Shinobi parents or his jounin sensei would've taught him how to respond to Minako better, but he didn't have either of those, did he?

And then there was Kakashi. Coming from a man infamously impossible to pin down, 'see you around' was a promise. A favor given for a favor owed, then? It was only polite after all, after asking Chouza to take Sasuke under his protection for the afternoon. And yet, Kakashi was not one to give unnamed favors—or even ask for them—lightly.

The tension between Sasuke and the twins had been thick enough to outdo a doton wall.

Had that been the reason?

Chouza sighed. He had only expected to check in on Minato's children, give them a treat, and make it a semi-regular casual outing. They were under the care of the Hokage, they should have been fine, if dealing with the normal angsts orphaned, clanless children had to deal with.

Now he had an armful of red flags and no idea what to do with them.

What would Minato have said if he saw his children now?

Torn apart the village hunting down who let this happen, probably. After his wife rampaged through it first.

"Hey, Chouji, is that it?"

Kiba pointed at a store up ahead. He'd cheered up after getting the chance to brag about his Academy mischief, and was now merrily leading the way, to Chouza's amusement.

"Yup!"

"HA! I found it first!"

"You only saw it coz I said something," Naruto protested, with half his previous energy. He kept pace with Kiba, pausing only to glance behind him as if he was worried the rest of the group was going to disappear.

Or perhaps he was worried one of them was going to disappear.

Chouji and Chouza walked just a few steps behind them. Shikamaru walked next to Chouji, his sharp gaze flicking from Chouji to Naruto.

Sasuke walked on Chouza's other side and slightly behind, as far as he could get from the other children without leaving the group. He gave one word replies or grunts to Chouza's efforts to include him in conversation—polite, but never more than what was required of him to be.

Naruto had tried to include Sasuke too, in his own way, taking potshots at the dark-haired boy instead of Kiba.

Trying to spark his temper?

Chouza caught Sasuke twitching once or twice, but just when Chouza thought his determination to ignore Naruto was about to crack, Naruto slumped and gave up. Sasuke hunched into his high collar and kept walking.

"Chouza-sama!"

Chouza waved back at the white-haired young woman standing in front of the store. Its large front window allowed people to watch the taiyaki being made from outside, but the true prize was the display case inside the store. From where Chouza stood, he could just see the rows and rows of taiyaki waiting to be bought. The fish-shaped buns laying on their side would be stuffed with all sorts of fillings, while the open-mouthed ones standing on their tails waited to be filled with ice cream.

Dailucky Taiyaki had started out as a small stall on a street branching off Hashirama Road. His wife was the one who had discovered it. Chouji and Chouza quickly fell in love with the freshly-cooked chewy dough and variety of flavors. With the Akimichi head family's patronage, the stall bloomed into a full-blown, if humble, shop. Kai and her mother were proud of their hard work, and honestly, so was Chouza.

The sweet smell wafting from the shop behind the woman was enough to make his mouth water. Considering the way all the boys perked up, without exception, they agreed.

Kai scanned the children, propping her hands on her hips. Her eyes widened when they landed on Sasuke. Pity flickered across her face.

Sasuke hunched even further. His scowl could've set something on fire.

Missing—or misunderstanding?—his discomfort, she gave him a sympathetic smile, before turning her attention back to the others.

Chouza hid his own stab of pity for the boy. He could only imagine what it would be like to be reminded of his clan's death every time someone looked at him like that.

"Big group you've got today, Chouza-sama," Kai teased. "Not sure we can feed them all."

"You can't?" Chouji said in dismay. Kai covered her lips with a hand, hiding her smile.

"I don't know. We can only feed good boys in this shop. Have you and your friends been good boys, Chouji-sama?"

Chouji nodded vigorously. So did Kiba.

"We'll be in your care again today, Kai-san," Chouza said, laughing.

Naruto had retreated in an uncharacteristic show of shyness, leaving Chouji, Shikamaru, and Kiba up front. Shikamaru had no patience for that flavor of adults patronizing children, so he just grumbled under his breath, slouching. Sasuke must've felt similarly. He didn't bother responding to Kai, his gaze flicking to Naruto as the other boy settled behind him and Chouza.

"Kai-san, Kai-san, do you have the custard ones?"

"Lucky you, Chouji-sama, we just put a batch on the pans to cook," Kai said. "You can have as much as you want."

Chouji beamed.

Kiba sniffed the air. "D'you have the red bean ones?"

"We've got lotsa flavors, Inuzuka-kun. Red bean, chocolate, vanilla, even matcha." Laughing at the boys' eagerness, Kai finally stepped aside. She gestured to the door. "Want to go see?"

The kids cheered.

"Don't break anything." Chouza burst out laughing as well, as Chouza and Kiba scrambled for the entrance. Kiba's puppy barked, tongue lolling excitedly.

Shikamaru and Sasuke hung back, neither wanting to get dragged into the rush. Delighted, Naruto dashed past them—

—only to yelp as Kai's hand shot out, grabbing him by the collar.

Chouza stilled.

"You really thought I wouldn't notice?" she hissed. Shikamaru and Sasuke, close enough to hear, stiffened. "Sneaking in after Chouza-sama like that, you really have no shame!"

"I'm not sneaking!" Naruto thrashed in her grip. "They invited me, dattebayo! They did!"

Chouji and Kiba whipped around at his yell. They hesitated, shocked at the sight of cheery Kai looking down at Naruto with such fury.

"A sneak and a liar? Of course you are. I'm sorry, Chouza-sama," Kai said, deeply apologetic at Chouza's frown. "He knows he's not allowed here. Go on ahead, I'll just take care of this."

"What did you do this time?" Kiba said to Naruto, baffled.

"I didn't do anything!" Naruto jerked away from Kai, violently enough to make her stagger. He raised his head and shot daggers at Kiba. "I didn't do anything, -ttebayo, I didn't, I was just running in like everyone else, so screw you, Kiba!"

Kiba gaped. "Hey!"

"Kai-san," Chouza said. He keeps his voice mild, his stance nonthreatening. He knows his bulk is more than enough to give civilians pause. "What's all this about?"

She patted down her apron, her actions stiff with anger.

"He's not allowed here," she repeated. "The brat's tried this trick before, sneaking in with other children. And now outright lying! Then again, what could you expect from…"

She huffed, cutting herself off.

"Eh." Shikamaru yawned. He rolled his shoulders, looking bored out of his mind. The sharp glint in his eye gave him away. "Naruto's a sneak, sure. But he's a terrible liar."

His words took a moment to sink in.

The blood drained from Kai's face. She looked up at Chouza for confirmation, but it was Chouji who answered her.

"I invited him," he said. "Please don't get mad at Naruto. I didn't know he wasn't allowed here."

He looked at the taiyaki longingly, then at Naruto. The blond had crossed his arms and turned his head away in a showy huff. But Chouza could see his white-knuckled grip on his elbows.

Chouji took a deep breath, then turned back to Kai.

"We can go somewhere else," he said earnestly. "Sorry for the bother."

Naruto peeked at Chouji, his scowl faltering. Panic flashed across Kai's face.

Chouji was a dutiful son, and attentive whenever Chouza pointed out to him the different responsibilities of clan head and clan heir. But he was still too young, and perhaps too earnest, to realize the threat he was unknowingly presenting to Kai and her small business, in taking away his and Chouza's patronage, even if only momentarily.

"No, forgive me," Kai stammered. "Of course any guest of Chouza-sama's is allowed here. Please, come in."

"Really?" Chouji said. He glanced between her and Chouza, his smile returning.

"Yes. Please." She stepped back, hands clasped in front of her.

"Thank you, Kai-san! We'll behave, promise!" Chouji nudged the other boys inside the store.

"Yeah!" Naruto stuck out his tongue as he walked past Kai. "I'm a guest, yeah! You better treat me nice, dattebayo!"

She shot him a scared, angry look.

"It's like you want to stay kicked out," Shikamaru drawled.

"What? What's that supposed to mean?!"

Chouza subtly rushed the children through their purchase while trying to sooth Kai and her mother behind the counter. Both of them kept slipping scandalized, or even fearful looks, towards Naruto.

"It's such a nice day," he said to the kids. "Why don't we enjoy our taiyaki at the park nearby? We can have a picnic!"

The sooner they're out of here, the better.

Chouji waved goodbye to Kai, a whole box of taiyaki clutched to his chest, while the other children went ahead. None of them were eager to stay in the tense air permeating the shop.

"'Adults don't like us,' huh."

For someone who'd spent the walk to the shop glaring at Naruto, Shikamaru certainly hadn't hesitated to jump to his defense. But that was Shikamaru—rousing from his doze to defend his friends, with Nara levels of vicious pettiness.

Now, he eyed Naruto with a speculative look, one hand in his pocket, the other holding his untouched taiyaki.

"What makes you say that?" Chouza asked, frowning. Shikamaru jerked his thumb at Naruto.

"They said so."

They said so? Meaning Naruto and Minako both?

Chouza pressed his lips together. He didn't say anything more, not with Shikamaru eyeing his reaction like that. If the child wanted answers, he could get them from Shikaku.

He did not pity his friend the task.

"That's what you meant?" Kiba asked. He had two taiyaki, one for himself, one for his puppy. Both of them still looked upset from the scene at the shop. "That's why you don't go to festivals?"

"Yeah," Naruto bit down on his taiyaki, a bag to take home swinging from his fist. "What, you didn't believe me?"

The hesitant look Kiba shared with Chouji made him scowl. He stuck his nose in the air.

"That's what they all say. 'You're not allowed here,' 'get out,' 'you've got some balls,' 'fucking brat.' So I prank them, coz they're mean."

"So you did prank her!"

"No!" Naruto huffed. "…Not yet. What?" he said, at Shikamaru's disbelieving look. "I need time to cook them up, yannow?"

Chouji's grip on his box tightened, hard enough to make it squeak. "But all of them?"

"All of them! Except your tou-san," Naruto added, grinning up at Chouza. "And Mikoto-ba-san. And Jiji. You guys are nice."

Sasuke turned and looked at Naruto for the first time since they left the Academy grounds.

Naruto met his gaze, defiant and fierce. "She was, dattebayo!"

"Kai-san's always been nice to me," Chouji said sadly. It snapped the cold tension building between Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke jerked his head away, his expression dark. Naruto shrugged, and went back to demolishing his taiyaki.

"She's always been mean to me."

"What happened then?" Inoichi asked.

By this time, the sun had truly set, leaving Chouza's sitting room lit by the candles on the low table at its center, and the moonlight shining through the shoji doors. He, Inoichi, and Shikaku sat (or sprawled) around the table. They'd gone through two sake bottles already, pushed to the side to make space for a bowl of roasted peanuts and a tray of his wife, Momo's, best yakitori.

It wasn't often that they got to meet anymore, thanks to Inoichi and Shikaku's duties, but they tried to meet at least once a month, especially since it was rare for them to get sent on missions anymore.

"We finished at the nearby park." Chouza sighed. "Sasuke left as soon as was polite, then Naruto remembered a prank he was going to pull…"

Shikaku snorted.

"Takes after his mother, then."

They all shared a laugh at that, Inoichi's trailing off into a groan. Kushina had been relentless in their childhood, tapering off only slightly as the Third Great Shinobi War exploded.

"Did you get what you wanted then?" Shikaku asked. He took one of the unopened sake bottles and unwrapped the cloth from its corked mouth. A moment later, the cork came free with a soft pop.

Chouza hummed his thanks as Shikaku refilled their cups before refilling his own.

"Have you two ever thought about Minato's children?"

Inoichi's expression flattened; Shikaku sighed heavily. Chouza understood. He had felt the same this morning, when he recalled their father, a promise made, and finally spared the children more than a passing thought.

"Remember the riot during the first Flash Festival? About… seven years ago?" Inoichi said.

Chouza grimaced. He and his family had been in the middle of the festivities at the time. Sheer luck found them at the edge of the festival when the screaming broke out. Off-duty, he'd ensured Momo and little Chouji could get to safety before using his height and bulk to help with the Uchiha managing crowd control. He had also been there, a few days after, when the Hokage announced Minako and Naruto as the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, and tried to spin it into a tale of sacrifice and heroism even as he banned anyone from speaking of it again.

Yet another chance he could have taken to look out for the children, and didn't.

Inoichi sipped his sake, distant gaze reminiscing as well.

"I was there, after. The Hokage asked me to wipe their memory of it. I haven't seen them since then."

"It was that bad?" Chouza said, gaze sharpening. Inoichi shook his head.

"Not that bad. They were fine, some bruises and breaks, but easily healed. He just didn't want such an early memory to build a fear of the village."

Shikaku grunted. Certainly a valid concern, when one of the twins hosted a monster that almost flattened said village less than a decade ago.

"Wouldn't that have affected them mentally?" Chouza asked.

"No, no," Inoichi said. "It's easier with children, actually. Their minds are more malleable. By this time, it wouldn't even be a block anymore. It would've been overwritten, like any normal childhood memory. I just made sure the trauma wouldn't stick."

"You're worried," Shikaku said.

"I'm worried," Chouza admitted. "Minato was our friend. We should have been keeping an eye out for his children."

He was ashamed it had taken him this long for the thought to even cross his mind.

"Aren't they under the Hokage's care?"

"Despite his efforts, the villagers still openly shun them. And when they fought…" Chouza sipped his sake, bone-weary. "Naruto said he was hungry."

"Are you going to feed them?" Inoichi teased.

Chouza smiled, but it died quickly.

"I don't think Minako is willing to accept help from a clan anymore."

"After what happened with the Uchiha? I'm not surprised." Shikaku downed his cup in one go. "What a mess."

"What did happen with the Uchiha?" Chouza asked.

Inoichi kneaded his forehead.

"What didn't happen with the Uchiha? Between the power plays, the whole mess with Uchiha Shisui, the massacre…"

Chouza gestured towards the sake bottle; Inoichi responded by showing him his mostly-full cup.

"Let's start with the twins," Chouza said. He tried for a teasing tone. Inoichi's answering laugh just came out flat. "The way people talked about it, it's as if the Uchiha were preparing to outright adopt them."

Which would have been an issue, considering the power dynamics between the clans at the time. The Shimura and the Hyuuga had been the most concerned, with a few of the more minor clans behind them.

Shikaku waved his hand dismissively.

"The Uchiha were annoying," he said. "But they were never the type to play politics by picking non-clan orphans off the street. They had more than enough influence considering how much of their shinobi made up Konoha's active forces, not to mention the Police. No, it was Uchiha Shisui's death that toppled that house of cards."

"Shunshin no Shisui?" Chouza said. "I remember that."

His clansman Akiko had been devastated. The Uchiha clan hadn't allowed her to attend Shisui's funeral, even if, as his genin teammate, she was his family as well, by law if not by blood.

Chouza picked up a stick of yakitori and took a bite, thinking of how to word his next question. His friends watched him with knowing, patient eyes.

Clan head of one of the four founding clans gave Chouza a lot of leeway in terms of information he could be privy to, but it was nowhere near the amount his friends could access as Jounin Commander and Head of Intelligence. Chouza was old enough to know not to ask questions that wouldn't be answered. And, in turn, Shikaku and Inoichi did their best to answer the ones he did.

It made for some circuitous conversations… but they were ninja. Look underneath the underneath, as Minato liked to put it.

Uchiha Shisui's death had been wrapped in so much red tape, the rumors had ranged from execution, betrayal, missing nin, and suicide. The only thing people knew for sure was that the Uchiha had held that death against the Hokage until the day they died.

"The twins were affected by the clan's reaction, then?"

Inoichi and Shikaku shared a look.

"Among others," Shikaku said in his driest voice. "Being there for the massacre probably didn't help."

"'There' where—in the compound?"

Shikaku nodded, his expression somber.

"Snuck in with Uchiha Sasuke at the worst possible time. Who knows what would've happened if Kakashi hadn't arrived."

Chouza put his yakitori down, a chunk of chicken still left on the stick. His stomach turned.

And just like that, Minako's avoidance, Naruto's desperation, and Sasuke's cold silence made sense.

"How bad?"

"From Kakashi's report, looked-Uchiha-Itachi-in-the-eye bad."

Chouza's hands clenched into fists.

"And their psych evals?"

He looked to Inoichi, hoping for his input—perhaps that information fell under his purview, or one of his clan's specialists had been in charge of the incident. But Inoichi's expression was blank, his eyes a million miles away. He rubbed his chin absently, the way he only did when he was thinking.

"Inoichi?"

He blinked. "Sorry. Where were we?"

Shikaku sat back, eyebrow raised. Inoichi breathed out a laugh, waving his hand.

"Just thinking about the Uchiha Shisui case. Something about it had always… anyway. Something for another time. What is it?"

"Psych evals on the children," Shikaku said. "After the massacre."

Inoichi winced. He tipped back his glass, swallowed, then sighed.

"Couldn't say. Technically, patient confidentiality applies here. But I'm sure you can imagine the conclusion."

Chouza's heart sank.

"Battleshock."

Inoichi didn't disagree.

Shikaku made a face. "Young for it. But nothing we didn't have, around their age." He rolled his shoulder. And look at us now.

Chouza picked up his yakitori again.

It was a pitiful comfort. True, they've all struggled with battleshock one way or another—it was an unavoidable factor of shinobi life. But experiencing it that young had to be pushing it too far. Look at all their early graduates: Kakashi, Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi. Chronically eccentric, died under mysterious circumstances, kinslayer. Not exactly the best picture.

"Gods. Small wonder Minako doesn't want anything to do with clans anymore."

"She'll be alright."

Chouza looked up. There was too much confidence in Inoichi's voice for his words to be a simple consolation.

Inoichi smiled.

"Minako—she's sharp. I've been inside her head, remember? Her thought patterns were advanced for her age, even when she was overwhelmed with terror." He nudged Shikaku. "Shikamaru might have competition."

Chouza laughed, even if he didn't feel all too comforted. Again—Itachi and Kakashi had been labeled geniuses too.

"It's Shikaku that needs to watch out." He raised his glass towards his friend. Shikaku's eyebrows rose. "Shikamaru's started questioning the villagers' attitude towards the twins. If he doesn't ask you about it by the end of the week, I'll eat my hitai-ate."

Shikaku groaned.

"Troublesome."

"Consider it revenge for Ino's terrible 'why' phase," Inoichi said, laughing. He finished his sake, then reached for the peanuts. "Can you believe she got mad at me for not telling her about the Uzumaki clan? As if I was just supposed to think of telling her without her asking me?"

"This, from the Yamanaka clan head?" Chouza said. Inoichi pointed a finger at him.

"Don't you start."

By the time they finished, the moon was well on its way through the sky. Chouza walked his friends to the door.

Shikaku turned to him. "What are you going to do?"

Chouza sighed. He could only be asking about the twins.

"What I can," he said.

Nothing as blatant as what the Uchiha did. There had been enough of an uproar when the other clans thought they were trying to bring the Uzumaki twins into the fold. The Akimichi clan had nowhere near the size and independence that the Uchiha had. Their power came from agricultural resources and land. All of each were much more easily affected by the government, their neighbors, and consumers.

That didn't mean Chouza was powerless. There were other ways for him to look out for the twins aside from direct interaction. But still, it ached.

"Have more faith in Shikamaru and the others." Shikaku clapped him on the shoulder. "They're friends, right? They're good Konoha children. They'll look out for their comrades."

Chouza chuckled, and shook his head. "You're right."

After all, hadn't Shikamaru and Chouji proved themselves, earlier today?

Shikaku clapped Inoichi on the shoulder too. Inoichi jumped.

"Well? Are you going to stand there til morning? Don't you have a wife and daughter to go home to?"

"Sorry, sorry. Just thinking…" Inoichi shrugged him off, then stretched, yawning. Shikaku's sharp eyes didn't miss anything.

"Uchiha Shisui again?"

"Yeah. It's just a passing thought, don't worry. I'll tell you after asking around."

Shikaku and Chouza shared a look. Inoichi didn't seem too concerned, so they let it go. They exchanged one more round of goodbyes, before splitting off.

Chouza went back inside. He stacked the bowl of roasted peanuts on the plate of empty yakitori sticks, and gathered the empty sake bottles in one hand. Finished cleaning up, he paused, right outside of Chouji's door.

If he spared a moment to drop a kiss on his son's forehead, no one had to know.

He went to sleep, holding Momo close, his thoughts filled with a young couple, and the two infants they were forced to leave behind.