Chapter 19: Growing up

'Inner thoughts'

°telepathy°

Reply to Thor94 (because I don't know how to reply correctly): I plan to stick as close as possible to the Naruto timeline, that includes the jutsu he knows so no clan techniques. Regarding Naruto's appearance, I was planning on introducing him earlier but I didn't know how the setting for them to meet would work.

・

Yukino's POV

Kneeled on the forest ground investigating the tracks of a rabbit that passed by I stood up when I concluded the direction that it headed towards and followed. Running quickly through the forest I made sure to keep my eyes open for any more clues when I heard the sounds of kunai hitting wood. Dropping myself onto the ground silently I crawled and peeked through a bush to see who it was. A familiar raven-haired male stood with five kunai in hand aiming to a single target. Standing immediately from where I was hiding I yelled, "Shisui!"

"Yukino-chan" he waved, "It has been a while."

"There is something amazing that I want to show you," I said as I was stepping out of the bushes brushing away the leaves before running up to him hopeful. "If you have time," I added knowing how he could be busy at times.

"I do." Happy to see that he did, I waited for him to take back his kunai before telling him to follow me forgetting all about the rabbit I was following. Running through the woods I headed to the secondary home since the watering hole and tree were inaccessible to anyone that wasn't me or the foxes due to the barrier that Tsukiyomi-san had set up. Making my way out of the forest I jumped out of the trees, coming to a stop I brushed off the leaves sticking to my hair and clothes once more. Looking back I could see Shisui was still following. "Is this where you live?" He asked noticing the small hidden home.

"Yep," I said walking towards the closed gates and pushing them open. Holding the gate open I closed them again once Shisui entered.

"I should introduce myself to your guardians." He said as he began making his way to the main door while I was heading to the small pond in front of the house.

"They're not here, there is a summer festival today back in their home," I answered as I stopped in front of the pond.

"They left you here alone?" He asked as I could sense a worried tone in his voice.

"It's fine it happens, after all, they already taught me how to take care of myself," I tried reassuring him. Turning back to the pond I extended my hands over the water as it began to ripple. The water then began to slowly create blobs of water that began to separate from the pond. "Look!" I yelled hoping that the boy would notice.

"That's incredible," he said touching one of the floating blobs. "How did you learn this?"

"Haruko-sama taught me," I said focusing all the floating blobs and began gathering them close, "She gave me this piece of paper and it split in half then she gave me another one and it did the same, after many tries it went damp." compressing the water blobs closer and closer to each other it formed a ball of ice. Holding it in my hand I handed it over to the boy, "Here." The boy looked at the ball of ice with a small sad smile. "What's wrong?"

"You are mature for your age." He said handing me back the ball of ice. "So. I know you already know what is going on."

Feeling that he was talking about something else other than what I was talking about I placed the ice block on the grass next to the pond and waved him into the house. Entering the small home he followed after me and looked around while I headed to the kitchen and pulled one of the two chairs to sit on. Holding my hands together I sighed and looked down at them noticing for the first time how soft they looked compared to his. "They don't like outsiders, because of what the higher-ups are saying about the Uchiha and their connection to the Kyūbi attack," I said everything simply, "that's why I have to hide whenever Fugaku-san has visitors."

He stared at me surprised for a moment but sighed shaking his head, "there is more to that." he said looking out the window at the melting ball of ice I made. He looked at me and tapped his head slightly, understanding what he meant I connected myself to his mind without the use of the signs.

°Do you know what a coup is?° he asked me while still looking outside.

°I do° I answered looking outside as well.

I heard him sigh before making looking back at me °The Uchiha are planning one,° he told me, surprised at this I sighed leaning back on my chair. 'This can't be good…' I thought to myself so he wouldn't hear.

Sliding down I placed my head on my arms and asked °What do I do?° knowing that he was telling me this for a reason.

°If I'm unable to stop it, take the jinchūriki and hide him in your realm and don't let the Uchiha get a hold of him.° Looking back up I saw how he was serious about it. Hesitantly I nodded and placed my head on the table somewhat surprised that he knew who the jinchūriki was. 'If it's supposed to be a secret how does the whole village know?' I sighed when something popped into my head.

°On one condition.° I said with my head still on the table. Knowing that I needed to more about what was happening in order to avoid messing up their plans.

°I can only tell you so much.°

At this, I realized that what he may be planning was more dangerous than what I believed it to be. Gulping I nodded once again determined to see if I could be of any more use. °Tell me what they are planning.°

°Alright…° Sitting there I looked back outside and listened carefully to everything he was telling me. The camerasㄧthat I already knew aboutㄧwhich the Anbu had set up to keep a close eye on the Uchiha. The meetings at Nakano shrine, the hidden meeting place. That Itachi knows and that the Uchiha are using him as a spy, but in reality, he is a spy for the village as well. Along with the location of where Itachi and he met to exchange information. Taking all this I started thinking of how I could take advantage of what I knew to help them somehow but I couldn't really do much since he told me all this but the plan. There were so many things I wanted to do to help them but I knew I wasn't strong, stealthy, or smart enough like them to do anything. They could use me to communicate but I knew Shisui would be against it since he knew that at my point of experience my technique allows me to connect with one person in the span of a couple of minutes. 'But there must be something I could do…'

Looking down at my hands I remembered the technique I learned a couple of years back. 'I wonder if he's okay…' Focusing my chakra to my index finger I looked up and reached for his hand he looked at my hand confused as I reached for his. Tapping his hand slightly my marking appeared and disappeared he looked at his hand and was about to ask what it was when I stopped him. "So I know you're safe." I simply said knowing that I could do something for him after all.

・・・

The sun had begun to set and so Shisui thought it was time for him to leave. As I was guiding him to the door I lied as to what the technique was and asked him to bring Itachi so I could give him the marking as well. "Bye, Shisui!" I waved from the doorway putting on a face in case we were being watched.

"Later." He waved making his way to the gate while I watched to make sure he closed the gate behind him as he left.

"He's sweet." I heard a soft voice say above me. Startled I looked up to see Kamen-san standing over me looking outside as well. "Did something happen while I was gone?" He asked closing the door with a soft click.

"No." I shook my head a bit nervous. "H-how was the festival?" I asked instead.

"Fun." He said heading into the kitchen. "There was food, games, and a theatre show." He said exiting the kitchen and entering the living room as he was making his way to the veranda.

"Really? Why did you leave?" I asked while following him.

"It got too loud for my liking."

"Oh."

"Maybe you will be invited next year," he said opening the doors to the veranda. "How has your training gone with your…" he said sitting down and looked up slightly.

"My Getsugan?" I asked tapping my face and he nodded. "I learned how to slow time for five seconds in the area around me as well as reversing time on objects," I told him excitedly pushing aside the serious conversation that happened a while ago aside.

"I heard you will be learning how to show the past." He said taking out a fan from his clothing and began fanning himself.

"Haruko-sama said she wants to start practicing it in the winter." I sat down next to him enjoying the wind he was making. "She said that it would be easier to see with a blank slate."

"Don't overwork yourself." He ruffled my hair. Closing his fan he handed it over and pulled something out of his pockets. "A gift. For working hard." He handed me a small charm. Holding it carefully I read the words on it, smiling I placed it in my pocket 'I will need it as I study.'

"Thank you." I looked up and hugged him tightly, he froze for a moment before returning it just as tightly. Pulling myself from the hug I focused on making a small portal in front of me the size of a plate and with the width of a sheet of paper that hovered over my lap. Reaching into my storage space I pulled out a small clay fox I made in class and handed it to him. "Here." I smiled.

・・・

Folding a piece of paper carefully I did the final fold before letting go and inspecting my work, a little butterfly origami. I looked up proud of what I did, "It's perfect." Kamen-san said placing down his. "The more you practice with your fingers the easier it will become to switch between hand signs." as he reached for another piece of paper he stopped, "Welcome home, Kuzunoha-hime."

Turning around in my seat I looked back and saw Kuzunoha-san standing by the kitchen entrance, she looked tired but still had a smile on her face. "Hi!" She waved.

The sound of the chair moving caught my attention as I looked back and saw Kamen-san stand up. "I'll give you some privacy," he said heading outside through the back.

"Thank you," Kuzunoha-san said as he turned to leave. "There is a jutsu that we have taught to our summoners when we are confident of their loyalty." She said taking the seat that Kamen-san was previously sitting on, she extended her hand forward and opened her palm and a small flame appeared it twisted and collapsed onto itself becoming a round red marble the size of a handball. "This is a memory orb." she held the small ball handing it to me. Holding the orb in my hands I felt its warmth radiating from it along with something else. Looking closer at the orb I saw flickering images appear. "Close your eyes." So I did and the scene of a baby crawling towards two extended hands from the corner of the scene something rolled into view. Watching as if I was the person I saw the slender arm reach for the small round item. At the item turned around it showed the reflection of a more youthful Kuzunoha-san smiling. Opening my eyes I looked at Kuzunoha-san with the same smile from earlier.

"Who was the baby?" I asked.

She stopped smiling and explained. "My child. But he died long ago, humans, after all, have short lifespans compared to ours." She closed her eyes and gave a sigh, "To us, it is important to remember these flickering moments in our lives which is why we choose to preserve them in these orbs." She opened her eyes once again and extended her hand looking at the orb I placed it on her hand. "Memories hold an important value so there may be a time where you don't want to ever forget them." She placed the orb into her sleeve and stayed quiet for a while before speaking. "What I'm trying to say is if you are willing to store both precious and woeful memories." she held my hands.

"I am," I said confidently.

"Let me begin teaching you then." she smiled.

Kamen's POV

Exiting the house I looked up at the stars before turning to look at the house behind me. The first time I came to this house I assumed it belonged to a young adult but I was wrong when Kuzunoha-hime and she introduced me to her I saw a young child instead.

Inside the house, I would see books neatly placed in shelves, which could be found on both floors of the house. If you would open the books you would find tactics of shinobi, guides for poison, flower arranging techniques, biology, survival guides instead of fairytales and fiction books which I would have expected of a child. Beside one of the bookshelves, I remember seeing a kendo stick propped up on the couch in the living room which I saw her use a couple of times outside. The fact that there wasn't a single plushie or toy in this house was concerning to me at first but I then realized that she actually enjoys the way she lives even though she is extremely different from others her age. This oddity made it interesting whenever I interacted with her since it became a guessing game to see what she would like.

Feeling a smile on my lips I sighed before jumping back into the house through the balcony on the second floor. Opening the door I entered and closed it behind me. I looked at the armchair, paintings, and plants around that I knew Yukino didn't buy since I once saw Kuzunoha-hime bring them in to give life to the house which she would forget that she even bought the next day. Inspecting a small plant by the armchair I saw how healthy and green it was, knowing that Yukino cared for the plants watering them every day even though they weren't hers. 'If I ever have children I hope they'll be like her.' I threw the idea away since there was no way someone would take a romantic interest in me.

As I walked I took a turn to the hallway leading to either the bathroom or her room. If you entered her room and lifted her pillow you would find a kunai with a green ribbon around it. Looking at her bedside desk you would find those poison 'pills' that her previous guardian had given her inside the drawer and on top of it lay the homework she had finished for the next day. On the wall across her bed, there would be a simple wooden two hook hanger with her satchel hanging from it. Other than that there was a simple mirror above her dresser that had a flower vase on top of it, in the small hidden drawer she had her comb and hair tie placed inside with nothing else. The bottom drawer contained only three sets of clothing, a white long dress a yellow kimono shirt and one she didn't use at all which was a pink frilly dress that the twins (Haru, boy left / Hina, girl right) had gotten for her as a joke, and the top drawer contained undergarments, vests, kunai and shuriken that Haruko-sama had gotten for her. I had gotten her a bonsai plant for her birthday which could be found in the living room where she would often be learning about healing and herbs with Misa-san (black fox) through telepathic communication.

Reaching the bedroom door I entered and glanced at her desk with her homework on it, looking over the answers written I nodded to myself seeing how they were all correct. As I was about to head towards the window I spotted the recent addition to her room, a frame with the image of all of us standing side by side with her in the center. I held the frame and looked at the bright smile she had as she was surrounded by everyone, looking at the others faces a smile played on their lips due to her contagious giddiness that day. Placing the frame back on her desk I walked to the windows and I began closing the curtains as I was closing the last one I spotted two young boys walking up to the house. Both of them were from the files that Kuzunoha-hime had given to me the day I began working here. Closing the curtain I made my way down to the first floor.

Reaching the front door I opened the door in time to see one of the two boys about to ring the doorbell. Stepping forward I closed the door behind me and asked, "Evening, who are you?" I pretended to not know who they were.

"I'm Shisui and this is Itachi." The eldest of the two said with a smile. "Is Yukino-chan home?" He asked.

"She's with her aunt," I lied knowing that both were busy practicing a secret technique in the living room. Glancing at the kitchen window I hoped that they wouldn't be visible from the angle that they were standing. "I can pass the message for you."

"We came to give her dango since we knew she was alone." The boy with the long hair said lifting the bag he was holding. Reaching for the bag I was about to take it when I heard a crash coming from the side of the house. Both boys were startled and quickly made their way to the side of the house to investigate. Opening the door I ran to the living room and saw that the window I broke last time was broken once again, from the time I went to inform Kuzunoha-hime of Haruko-sama's appearance.

"Visitors," I said and immediately Kuzunoha-hime hid her ears and tail.

Both boys arrived at the broken window and looked inside to see the girl's hair blown back with a look of surprise in her face. Achoo! The girl sneezed blinking rapidly while trying to fix her hair. "What happened?" Both boys asked simultaneously.

"Nothing." the girl said immediately, "No!" The girl screamed running to the window watching the broken shards still on the frame fall.

Remembering that the Hokage was going to visit in three days I went up to her and my hand in her shoulder. "It's fine. The twins will fix it."

"Yes. They will don't worry." Kuzunoha-hime said reinforcing my idea. "For now. Welcome your friends in." Kuzunoha-hime waved them to the door as she passed by me to go to the kitchen.

Both boys sat silently on the two seats by the kitchen window eating food that Yukino had offered them while Kuzunoha-hime sat at on the barstool next to Yukino who was eating a dango that her friends had brought her. While they were eating I cleaned the mess of glass making sure that there wasn't a shard on the ground. Dumping the glass away, I headed back to the kitchen and saw Kuzunoha-hime smiling to herself while Yukino glanced at the curly haired boy. Passing by her I was able to whisper, "she knows." I watched how her eyes went wide and looked back in shock at Kuzunoha-hime who began chuckling. With her eyes she sent her the message, 'It was our technique first.' Referring to one of the techniques a fox was capable of learning in Inari mountain, a technique we learned from a long time ago. Whatever she was talking about her face went red and she started choking on the food she had in her mouth. Smiling at this I slid a glass of water in front of her and began patting her back.

Yukino's POV

Upon arriving at the Uchiha home for the babysitting job I began walking in the direction of the one I would be taking care of. "Yuki-chan!" Sasuke called me waving me over to the veranda, lately, he had grown out of calling me "nee-san" I noticed. "Are you here to sleep over?" He asked enthusiastically.

"Sasuke," Mikoto-san said coming into the room leading to the veranda, "Yukino-chan will be watching over you so behave." As she was saying this she bent down slightly, "you know where everything is… please make sure he doesn't get into trouble." She whispered and I nodded in confirmation.

"Sasuke, Itachi told me how smart you are, so show me your homework," I called out walking in the direction of his room. Looking back I saw Mikoto-san say thank you before leaving with Fugaku-san knowing that there will be another meeting today at Nakano shrine. Hearing the rapid footsteps pass me by I looked back to see Sasuke run into his room closing the door behind him.

Walking up to his door I knocked, "Who is it?" I heard from inside.

"You know who it is, let me see your homework," I said trying to pull the door open.

"If we play house after," he said from the other side.

"What is that?" I asked curiously since I've never heard of this game before.

"..."

"Sasuke?" Hearing no response I began to panic a bit. 'Did he jump out through his window?!' Shaking my head I realized this could not be, 'No, I do that…' I knocked on the door this time. "Sasuke?" I asked again still hearing no response I teleported into his room in fear that something happened to him.

"AH!" He screamed as I suddenly appeared behind him. He was leaning against the door with his ear on the wood. "H-how?" He asked looking at me and then at the closed door.

"Don't change the subject. Show me your homework," I demanded extending my hand forward.

・・・

"No. That is the second Hokage the first Hokage is…" At that moment my sight blurred and I leaned over the table feeling tired, Closing my eyes I felt like my chakra was leaving me at a fast pace. Shisui came to mind when suddenly I felt a pain in my right eye. Falling over the table I held on tightly while covering my eye. Not knowing what this all was I began to panic as my heart began to speed up along with the numbing feeling coursing through my body.

"Yuki-chan!" I heard Sasuke scream and he ran towards me. "What's wrong?" He asked me afraid to touch me. After what felt like minutes I tried to stand up using the table as support when I felt another jolt in my other eye. Covering my eyes I gasped and fell back curling up on the floor. With my eyes covered I gasped still feeling a numbing feeling in my eyes. In my pained and agonized state Shisui came to mind again, something told me to head to the cliff by Nakano river and with that, I pulled myself up and began to head to the door based on my memory. "No don't!" I felt his hands pull me down preventing me from leaving, trying to pry his hands away I stopped when suddenly all the pain I felt disappeared. Collapsing onto the floor I suddenly felt like a hole had been carved into me, the tears began to accumulate in my eyes, rubbing them I wiped them away feeling overwhelmed with a sense of sudden sadness. Feeling the tug of the boy next to me again I came to my senses and shook my head.

"I'm fine," I told him unsure of what that was moments ago, seeing my sight become blurry I felt overwhelmingly tired. "Don't tell Mikoto-san…" I was able to tell him as I fell back and passed out.

3rd POV

The girl stirred feeling the morning light hit her eyes. Sitting up she realized that she was still at the Uchiha home. Remembering last night's events the girl didn't bother to pack her stuff and ran towards the door to see what happened to her was about. She was making her way to the door when she stopped at the sight of Sasuke already up and watching something happening outside.

Walking up to the door she was about to ask when she saw Yashiro, Inabi, and Tekka on all fours on the ground. Moving back she hid in the shadows of the house and watched as Fugaku-san arrived at the scene. They were standing outside the house facing Itachi when suddenly he threw a kunai. Confused as to what was happening she connected herself to his mind searching for what had caused him to act this way, her eyes widened and she began to tear up. She cut off the connection and ran out from behind the house making her way to the cliff.

As she was running she instinctively used her fox form to run fast. Running from the clan district all the way to the cliff outside the village without a break she began ignoring her burning lungs until she slid to a stop at the cliff. She began coughing and while she did the transformation disappeared. Trying to focus her chakra to her eyes trying to force the jutsu she was meant to practice at a later date to work. The silent image of Shisui and Itachi appeared standing by the edge of the cliff they were talking but due to her inexperience, the technique was incomplete. Falling down she felt a crushing pain in her head that appeared suddenly, shakily looking up to see the events that were occurring she clutched dirt into her hands as she forced herself to inch closer. Watching how Shisui was saying a couple of words she saw Itachi standing behind him placing both of his trembling hands on his back. Watching what was happening she flinched when she heard her friends voice, "I'm counting on you to handle the rest." With that Shisui stopped talking and Itachi pushed him, staring in silence at what occurred the girl began to try to stand up ignoring the pain she was going through to reach the edge of the cliff. Sitting in the place where her friend once stood she saw how the other boy began to cry and through the tears, the remaining raven-haired boy's eyes turned into a different pattern than that his usual pattern. Walking forward she wanted to console the usual quiet boy she knew but her hands only touched air as her hand went through the mirage.

With her hand extended she watched how the jutsu became undone and it all disappeared and the world became darker quickly until she saw nothing. With her sight gone she stayed there by the edge of the cliff listening to the crashing water below. She stayed like that for a long time until someone came into the area looking for her. Hearing the sounds of footsteps she tilted her head in the newcomer's direction.

"You've been gone for a while now," she heard a soft voice say.

"Kamen-san?" she asked as her voice cracked a bit.

The man in the mask stood and looked around noticing that there was a scent of blood and death in the air. He turned and looked back at her when he noticed that her gaze was unfocused. Walking immediately to her he kneeled and lifted her chin seeing that her gaze was blank. "Can you still walk?" He asked with a hint of disappointment knowing that she had broken one of their rules. The girl nodded and he let go of her chin, extending his glove-covered hand he took hold of one of her small hands and pulled her up to a standing position. As he began taking the first few steps he looked back and saw her lips twist down as she tried to keep it straight.

After a while of making their way to the village, he heard a quiet but broken voice say "I'm sorry." Looking back he saw how there were tears pooling in her eyes as she kept staring into nothing.

Sighing he stopped and lifted her with both arms before jumping to the trees to make their travel faster. "The loss of a friend can be painful, just know that they would wish for you to continue living." He said as he jumped from branch to branch knowing how close she was to the boy. He watched how she nodded while wiping away the accumulating tears trying to stay strong. "About your stuff, I will retrieve them later so don't use your chakra for a while," he said knowing that he would have to go and introduce himself to take her stuff back.

・・・

Sitting in her room with bandages around her eyes. A week had passed since Kamen-san had led her back to her house and called in a medic fox. She remembered the words that the twins had said from Misa-san to tell Kuzunoha-san, "that her sight will return in time, for now, rest is the best option, the other option would be to find the eye medicine plant to progress the healing but she was against it since it was incredibly dangerous to go into the valley of judgement." The events that brought her to lose her sight came back so she laid down wanting to sleep so she wouldn't be able to think or feel anything but nothing came. 'Full moon.' She realized. Creak. Sitting up slowly she got off the bed and placed her ear on the floor. Creak. This step was heavier compared to the foxes so she stood up and opened the door slightly.

Knowing the rules she made her way quietly to the balcony to hide as she was doing this she could hear the footsteps below had already reached the main hallway. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to make it in time with her current pace she sped up with her hand against the wall to the balcony. Feeling the glass door she slid it open and crawled through closing it behind her. As she crawled onto the balcony chair she pulled her legs up and stayed silent listening as the person was walking up the stairs. Feeling the cool night breeze she felt a gloved hand tilt her head up and tug the bandages. She felt the glove hand let go so she thought that it was Kamen-san telling ber that it was time for her to remove them so she pulled them off herself. As she did her sight began to return and the first thing she saw was the bright full moon hanging above her head. She stared at it with a hypnotic gaze before pulling herself away. Looking around she couldn't see Kamen-san as she thought, hiding around a corner the shadow of a woman watched how the girl looked around puzzled before looking back up. With her mission complete she left.

The balcony door slid open and the little girl jumped in her seat. 'Naruto?' she realized as she saw the blond boy enter.

"Yukino-chan," he called relieved that his friend was healthy. "Are you okay? You've been gone for a week!" He ran to her worried.

She nodded and smiled trying to hide what she was really feeling. "I'm fine."

・Two days later・

Sitting in training grounds three the girl looked up and knew school already started. She looked back down and placed her head on her knees sighing. She didn't want to return back to school but she knew she had to. She looked up once again and realized that this was the first time she ever skipped class. A smile escaped from her lips and she laughed softly but stopped when it was choked by a sob. Covering her mouth she saw that her sight became blurry, she wiped away the tears, looked down and hugged her knees tightly in a protective manner. She had one job and she failed at it, to help her friend. She tried smiling to stop the tears but even that failed as the smile kept twisting down. Wiping her eyes once again she tried to be strong but realized that the tears wouldn't stop.

Time skip: spring

Hokage Residence

Sitting in a chair in the corner of the Hokage's office the girl waited patiently for the old man to return. Looking around she remembered to keep her emotions to herself, 'What has he been doing? There has been no change in the Uchiha.' feeling a tight feeling in her neck she took in a deep breath and calmed down knowing that it wouldn't help anyone if it was revealed that she knew what was happening between the village and Uchiha. At that moment she heard the door open and she saw the old man come in with a huge scroll in his hands.

He placed it down and hesitantly handed it to her, "I'm sure you will be able to learn it if you have any problems I'll be here." he finished as he headed to his desk and began to read the file of papers that had accumulated while he was gone.

"Someone passed by, a silver-haired man in a fox mask," she told him the moment he sat down remembering the man that passed by when he left. "He was wearing an Anbu outfit."

"Did he say anything?" He asked seeming to have an idea as to who it was.

"He said that he was leaving his report so he placed it on your desk." she pointed to where she saw him place it. By this time those in the building knew of her existence and didn't find it suspicious that she sat in his office. Thanks to one of Haruko-sama's underlings they spread the rumor that she was a distant relative with no family and that he had taken it upon himself to care for her.

Looking down at the scroll she unrolled it to the first one, 'Multi Shadow Clone…' she read, glancing up she saw that the old man was working on his papers. Looking back down at the scroll she began unrolling it slowly while scanning quickly the jutsu to learn on her own later. Arriving at the part of the scroll that she was meant to read, she began reading what the techniques were about. One was to prevent the summoning of a creature that someone would try to call in while the other was a complicated stun barrier capable of immobilizing a person while the user is in motion. Shifting in the seat she began studying the signs and analyzing how she would learn it without actually doing it first.

"It's getting late this should be enough for today." the Hokage said placing down his pipe. Surprised the girl looked up at the clock and realized that she had been sitting down analyzing the same section of the scroll for over five hours.

Standing up she bowed ignoring the numbness she felt in her foot. "Thank you."

・・・

Exiting the Yamanaka flower shop with a small bouquet of flowers she made her way to the outskirts of the village. This was her first time visiting her friend in months and she was unsure how she should act so she read beforehand to have some idea how. But that wasn't enough since she still needed time to gather the courage she needed to face him.

Standing at the entrance of the cemetery she hesitated for a while before entering. Glancing around she sighed and looked down at her flowers in hand, determined to go forward she lifted her head and began looking for her friend's headstone. She had wanted to attend the funeral but was told that it was for clan members only. After that, she waited and waited for the right moment to go but didn't feel that it was the right time as she kept doing this the guilt kept piling on.

Finding it she stopped once again staring at her friend's name engraved into the headstone, kneeling in front of the empty grave she began cleaning it before placing the flowers in. 'Shisui, I know what happened… I… I intruded into Itachi's mind to find out. I'm sorry it's just that…' sigh 'I wanted to know what exactly happened that day at the cliff.' Looking at the empty grave she received no response and shakily sighed knowing that she would never see him again. 'I miss you.' she finished feeling a prickling feeling in her eyes she looked away and wiped them. She didn't want her friend to see her like that so she waved goodbye before leaving.

Yukino's POV

Arriving home I called into the house announcing my arrival but heard no response. Sighing I closed the door and leaned against it somewhat relieved. Feeling a tight feeling around my neck once again I sighed and headed to the bathroom to splash my face with cold water. Calming down I wiped the water off and began looking for an empty scroll.

Finding one in the living room I began writing down the multi shadow clone technique down as I remembered it when I saw it earlier. Finished with it I began to read what I wrote and began to study it. Seeing how simple it was I rolled up the scroll and opened a portal leading to my library. Walking to the shelves by the tree I traced the engravings on the wood admiring the creativity of the previous owner, to place a seal and a transportation formula on the shelf that would organize the books in this library by itself was amazing to me. Placing the scroll down in the shelf I watched how it disappeared in a puff of smoke after a minute before appearing on another shelf in the library alongside the other scrolls and books.

The forbidden section caught my attention as the scrolls sat there tempting me. Walking up to it I held one in my hands inspecting the markings over the paper. Tracing a finger over it I saw how I had some understanding of how to break it. Remembering something I placed it back and began to read the name of the scrolls. When I finished searching the lower shelves that I could reach I ran up to the ladder and placed it next to the shelves I was just searching.

After a while of scanning, I was able to find what I was looking for. Stepping off the ladder I placed the scroll on the table, opening a small portal I reached inside and took out a sheet of paper along with a pencil. Sitting down I placed the sheet of paper in front of me and held the scroll. Jotting down what I knew on the paper I stopped when I came to a stump. Groaning I tapped the pencil on the paper while looking at the scroll. 'Why are you so complicated…' I sighed placing the scroll down.

Adamantine chains. That's the name of the scroll I've been trying to open. Leaning back in the chair I saw the glass ceiling above me show the orange sky mixed with a couple of stars. 'I should try again when I know more.'

・Days Later・

Standing in training grounds three I saw the Hokage there waiting. "I'm here," I said knowing that I would be trying out the techniques I learned a while ago which is why I arrived before the set time.

"Wear this." He said handing me a simple full face fox mask. The mask reminded me of Kamen-san's in how it had red stripes, other than that the patterns were different. Placing the mask on I looked at him to see what we would do next.

After what felt like hours of waiting, I began to doodle on the ground waiting when I felt a chakra signature coming our way. Standing up immediately I looked in the direction of the chakra signature. The old man seemed to notice as well and turned to the woods to see who it was. He seemed to recognize the newcomer by how he walked calmly in their direction as he was greeting the person I stayed where I was, awaiting further instructions. 'Is this what it's like to be a shinobi?' I asked myself watching how a silver-haired man in a fox mask was talking to the old man. After a while of talking, they came back and the old man explained the situation, "He will practice the techniques with you for today."

Nodding I jumped back and stood in my combat position while watching carefully his hands. 'The moment he slams them onto the ground to summon is the time I have to stop him summon.' Taking in deep breaths I prepared and for the moment he would use his hands by watching for the slightest twitch of his body like Itachi taught me. When suddenly his hands came into contact forming the first two signs immediately. Activating my dōjutsu he slowed down, five. I ran a couple of steps forward while doing the signs I was supposed to, four. He continued doing the last few signs, three. He bit his finger and smeared the blood on his hand, two. As his hand was going to slam on the ground I did the same, one.

On the ground, the two seals appeared one from me and the other from him simultaneously. The moment they connected there was a puff of smoke, in case it didn't work I did the signs for the other technique. When the smoke cleared there was nothing signaling that it worked. Jumping back to create some distance I touched the ground lightly with my hand while placing a seal down which disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Four. Four more chances to place all the seals and trap him before he attacks. I looked around the area noticing that the seal would only so extend far depending on how much chakra I would place in the last seal.

As he began running towards me I ran towards him as well. Planning to go in for kick I was stopped when he took hold of my leg and flung me away to create some distance. As I landed on the ground I used the opportunity to place another seal down. Three. Standing up I ran towards him again, this time ducking the hand that tried to grab me I kicked him in the back. The hit made an impact but I kept my guard up feeling that it was too easy. Poof. Noticing how he was replaced by a log I began looking around for the man when I noticed that my breathing had increased, taking in deep breaths to return to normal I teleported away and hid in a tree watching the area for him to appear. Sitting by the tree I touched the trunk placing another seal. Two. Seeing nothing I teleported to a different tree and placed another seal down. One. Nervous now I had to make sure he was within the area of seals I placed or it wouldn't work. Shuddering I felt like I was being watched so I lifted my head slowly as I saw a single red glow coming from the fox mask of the man hanging above me, my heart stopped for a second as I recognized that familiar red glow. Quickly snapping out of my frightened state I jumped off the tree and ran to the clearing while focusing on my chakra.

Suddenly flying I realized that I had been hit. Hitting the ground hard believing that I wouldn't be able to stand up I was surprised when I could, standing up I was grateful for the times the twins didn't hold back when we trained.

Noticing that we were both within the circle of seals I slammed my hand on the ground, the seals that I had placed were activated and the ground around us was covered with a giant sealing circle. The man that had followed me froze almost in mid-run, holding my hand that I used I gasped relieved that it worked. Taking a step in the barrier I began walking up to him unfazed by its effects as the scroll said. Walking up to him I poked him and saw him react, 'I wonder if…' reaching up to his mask I planned to remove it when I remembered that the old man was present watching so instead I pretended to tap the mask instead. 'Porcelain.'

"Thank you," the old man said from a distance to the stunned young man. "Yukino-san are you able to remove the barrier?"

I wanted to say maybe but instead, I did the signs and tried anyways hoping that it would. The signs all disappeared as I dispelled it from where I was. Glancing at the guy in the fox mask I saw him fix the buckle in his forearm protector. No weapons, no jutsu, and no actual strategy. I looked down slightly knowing that my performance was poor. He was going easy on me and I knew it, 'I bet he knows that I know.' I glanced at the man in the fox mask once again. 'There's no way I could be Anbu level.' I thought to myself lifting my mask slightly to breathe. 'I need to try harder…'

・

Butterflies can have the meaning of 'soul of the living and the dead' I included this for a reason

Woeful: the cause of sadness and misery

Midnight novel pg. 110

Naruto Shippuden Ep 306

Also, I plan on making a short story series to speed up the story instead of dragging it all out.

Ps, I posted a new image on my deviant.