Deserter

by TartCherryScones

Summary:

After Sasuke regains memories of a previous life and realizes that he is part of the story of Naruto, he rejects his destiny and ducks out of the story before Naruto can get attached. Kakashi, martyr and troll that he is, objects.

Sasuke out there, just living his best life, lounging on a beach under an umbrella, drinking lemonade:

Kakashi, running full tilt and carrying the rest of Team Seven under his arms: I’ll save you, Sasuke!

Naruto and Sakura: *cheering Kakashi on*

The Plot will not be denied.

Notes:

Warning: Suicide attempt and suicidal ideation. Also depicted are tools for coping with grief and trauma, along with some unhealthy coping mechanisms. Sasuke is having a tough time, but he is doing substantially better than he did in canon. He is more like he was before the massacre, as a result of continuously working to grieve and heal.

Just like in canon, Kakashi favors Sasuke and ignores Sakura. I came up with an explanation for the later beyond “the author’s misogyny,” but it isn’t a nice, mature reason, because no matter what his unstated, canonical reason is, it isn’t a nice, mature thing to do. It’s one thing to have a favorite student. It’s another thing to neglect a student.

Chapter 1: Prologue

Summary:

After Sasuke regains memories of a previous life and realizes that he is part of the story of Naruto, he rejects his destiny and ducks out of the story before Naruto can get attached. Kakashi, martyr and troll that he is, objects.

Sasuke out there, just living his best life, lounging on a beach under an umbrella, drinking lemonade:

Kakashi, running full tilt and carrying the rest of Team Seven under his arms: I’ll save you, Sasuke!

Naruto and Sakura: *cheering Kakashi on*

The Plot will not be denied.

Notes:

Warning: Suicide attempt and suicidal ideation. Also depicted are tools for coping with grief and trauma, along with some unhealthy coping mechanisms. Sasuke is having a tough time, but he is doing substantially better than he did in canon. He is more like he was before the massacre, as a result of continuously working to grieve and heal.

Just like in canon, Kakashi favors Sasuke and ignores Sakura. I came up with an explanation for the later beyond “the author’s misogyny,” but it isn’t a nice, mature reason, because no matter what his unstated, canonical reason is, it isn’t a nice, mature thing to do. It’s one thing to have a favorite student. It’s another thing to neglect a student.

The day of team assignments, Kakashi went to the houses of each of his prospective students. Haruno Sakura’s parents’ house had family photos, childhood artwork, a potted plant, and coffee table books. It was the sort of normal that Kakashi had long ago given up on achieving, but that still made his slightly jealous all the same. A happy family’s home. Taking tea inside it with Sakura’s parents made Kakashi feel like an alien.

 

Uzumaki Naruto’s apartment made Kakashi feel less bitter, but more depressed. It contained little clutter, but it wasn’t clean. Simply opening the door hit him in the face with the smell of preteen boy and dirty dishes. Sitting on the counter was a carton of milk that Kakashi could smell before he even picked it up to confirm that it was long expired. Kakashi really hoped Naruto hadn’t drunk any of it. Minato-sensei would have been appalled. He had always been so fastidious.

 

Finally, Uchiha Sasuke’s house was… Creepy. It was filled with dust, and mildew, and silence.

 

“The bloodstains are still here,” Kakashi said, staring down in mild horror at the place Sasuke’s parents had been found in the living room.

 

“So they are,” the Hokage said, sounding disturbed.

 

Kakashi walked over to the wall where pictures of the family were displayed and found Itachi’s face smiling back at him. Had the last Uchiha never gone back in this room, not even to take down things like this?

 

The two walked through the oppressively silent house. Apart from the kitchen, laundry room, and a bathroom, the whole house had plainly not been cleaned since the massacre five years ago. If he hadn’t seen those three rooms, Kakashi would have assumed the house was abandoned. Even the kid’s own bedroom looked like it hadn’t been opened in years. There were clothes laid out beside the bed that certainly wouldn’t fit a twelve-year-old. In a kitchen cupboard, they found a futon and a flat pillow.

 

“I should have placed Sasuke-kun in an apartment,” the Hokage said. “He resisted when I asked the first time. Perhaps it’s time I asked again.”

 

Kakashi recalled the first time he had met the last Uchiha and privately thought that an apartment wasn’t likely to cut it. It hadn’t for Kakashi.

 

The kitchen at least had touches of personality. There was a bowl of apples, a radio, and a vase of flowers on the kitchen island. The room opened to the back of the property, where previously had been a fine traditional garden with tall bamboo and white gravel. Now, it full to bursting with flowers, fruits, and vegetables that seemed to be growing on top of each other. A birdfeeder, filled with seed and guarded by a squirrel baffle, hung down from a high branch of a nearby tree that leaned over the yard, along with another feeder that contained a brick of what looked like peanut butter and another that was for hummingbirds. On the engawa between the kitchen and the garden was a single cushion and a pair of rubber gardening boots. It seemed the kid could relax after all.

 

All in all, however, Uchiha Sasuke was going to be trouble. At least, he would be, Kakashi reminded himself, if the future Team Seven managed to pass the bell test. However, Kakashi didn’t have any expectation that they would.

 

-

 

A dusty chalkboard eraser landed on Kakashi’s head as he opened the door to the classroom where the students were waiting. It produced a faint cloud of chalk dust that would need to be washed out his hair. Kakashi looked around the room to find Uzumaki Naruto gasping happily at the successful prank, Haruno Sakura being ingratiatingly apologetic for Naruto’s behavior, and the last Uchiha in the far corner scribbling away in a notebook, giving no sign that he had even noticed Kakashi’s entrance to the room. The class smelled faintly of apples.

 

“My first impression is that I don’t like you guys,” Kakashi said to the kids. Naruto and Sakura both looked worried, but the Uchiha didn’t so much as flinch, his pencil continuing to skim across the page in front of him without pause. “Meet me on the roof.”

 

Kakashi body flickered up to the roof and Naruto and the happy-home girl ran up after him, but, somewhat irritatingly, the Uchiha walked the whole way, so the rest of the team had to wait for him. Because of Kakashi’s orientation to the roof door, he was able to look the last Uchiha in the eye for the first time. The kid looked bored.

 

“Why don’t you guys introduce yourselves,” Kakashi said, after the boy had sat down politely.

 

Sakura complained about it being unfair that Kakashi wasn’t going to start off the introductions, so Kakashi made some vague noises that successfully riled her up further, and then it was Naruto’s turn. The kid was a bit impressive, because, despite his position on the very bottom rung of the social ladder, he expressed his determination to become the next Hokage. To voice such an ambition aloud, where it would probably be ridiculed, took guts. Sakura went next and she used the opportunity to make squeaky, love-sick noises at the last Uchiha, who completely ignored her in favor of staring into the distance. Finaly, it was the last member of the prospective team’s turn and, in a move Kakashi should have seen coming, the brat just said, “Pass,” without bothering to look at any of them. Naruto shouted at Sasuke-teme for a while, but the brat refused to even look at him, although Sakura was more than happy to jump in to defend Sasuke-kun’s honor, as if the kid was even capable of appreciating it. Kakashi could call it now. This team wasn’t going to work out.

 

Kakashi handed out the forms for his test and made sure to encourage the kids to arrive at five and to skip breakfast. No reason why he couldn’t have a little fun before he sent this team packing. The first two kids had the right reaction to his ominous description of the test, but the Uchiha remained as bored-looking as ever. Had this boy been dropped on the head as an infant? Kakashi thought back to a dark night on the hospital roof and felt ashamed of himself.

 

Kakashi arrived at ten the next day, five hours late, to find Sakura and Naruto eagerly munching away at some apples, like little squirrels. So much for the stress part of the stress-test. Sasuke sat with his back to a tree with a notebook propped up on his knees, scribbling away, looking as dull as ever.

 

Sakura and Naruto griped at Kakashi for being late, which made him nostalgic for the days when he was the one griping at Obito for the same thing. His aching heart soon subsided and he got down to business. Kakashi explained the test, but before he could say “go,” Naruto drew a kunai and tried to get the jump on him, as if Kakashi wouldn’t be able to deal with that sort of thing. How insulting.

 

To demonstrate the difference between a green genin and a senior jounin, Kakashi twisted Naruto’s arm behind his head, so the boy’s weapon was aimed at the back of his own skull. As soon as he had this accomplished, however, a sandal hit Kakashi in the back of the head. Kakashi blinked down at it on the ground and then followed its likely path back to Sasuke. The brat was standing on one foot, because he was missing a sandal, and giving Kakashi a disapproving look. Sasuke must have body flickered at the same moment Kakashi had, so, as Kakashi grabbed Naruto’s arm, Sasuke had whipped off his shoe and thrown it at Kakashi’s head. Kakashi was surprised; this kid had actually managed to hit him and with a sandal at that, not the most aerodynamic of weapons.

 

“Wow! You can actually move your face,” Kakashi said. Sasuke’s disapproving look intensified gratifyingly, but Naruto squawked in Kakashi’s grip, so Kakashi turned back to him.

 

“Don’t be in such a hurry, Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said. “Wait until I tell you to start.” When he released Naruto, the boy’s expression showed that he was finally taking Kakashi seriously. Good. No matter how old Kakashi got, he still hated being underestimated. Kakashi picked up Sasuke’s shoe and tossed it to the boy. And at least one of them (Sasuke, surprisingly) was trying to look out for their teammates. It was also a surprise that Sasuke could body flicker. Of course, compared to his brother at that age, he was just another kid.

 

During the bell test, Naruto, tiny, adorable, idiotic Naruto, had gone it alone, until Sasuke, having gained Sakura’s cooperation immediately, approached Naruto with some logic.

 

“What do you want, Sasuke?” Naruto asked glumly, as he nursed the wounds he had given himself while using the multi-clone technique.

 

“Let’s work together to get the bells and then fight amongst ourselves afterwards,” Sasuke said, bland as rice.

 

“Oh! Oh, I get it!” Naruto said. “Divide and conquer, but the opposite! Unite and conquer! And then divide! Okay! I have a plan!”

 

“I’ve already made up a plan!” Sakura said petulantly. “And Sasuke-kun’s agreed to go along with it, so that’s two against one! Your plan has already been outvoted!”

 

“Aww!” Naruto said. “That’s not fair! You haven’t even heard my plan yet! It’s a good one, too!”

 

“You don’t have a plan!” Sakura said scornfully. “All you’ve come up with is something like: you charge him head-on and we back you up.”

 

“Hey! It could work!” Naruto said, looking defensive.

 

“Later,” Sakura said. “The Academy taught us how to fight in formation for a reason. They wouldn’t have done that if charging in blindly worked. If my plan doesn’t work, we’ll regroup and reassess. You can tell us your ‘plan’ then, but I can’t promise we’ll use it.”

 

To make a long story short, Sakura’s plan hadn’t worked. Neither had Naruto’s and nor had Sakura’s second or third plans. Sasuke hadn’t bothered to come up with one and simply did what his teammates told him to. The kids had all used taijutsu and weapons, but Naruto, the kid who had barely passed the Academy test, was the only one who used any ninjutsu offensively. In addition to the body flicker, at one point, Sasuke used chakra to run up trees to avoid Kakashi’s counter attack and then told the others how to do the same, another unexpected point in his favor. Incredibly, Sakura got it on her first try, even with Sasuke’s painfully minimal instruction (“Use chakra”). Was Sakura a genius? Kakashi hadn’t paid her any mind before, but to display such an aptitude for chakra control was astounding.

 

None the less, they failed to get even a single bell.

 

“You guys suck,” Kakashi said. “But Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan got the closest to getting a bell. You two can have lunch, but if you share any with Sasuke-kun, you’re out. It’s back to the Academy for all of you. After lunch, you guys can have one more try.”

 

At this ultimatum, Sakura and Naruto looked anxious, but Sasuke just continued to look bored to death. It was a problem. He had been so defensive during the test that he hadn’t even tried to get the bells once. Instead, confoundingly, he’d been by Sakura’s side to snap her out of the genjutsu Kakashi had laid on her with Obito’s eye and he’d pulled Naruto out of the way of Kakashi’s One Thousand Years of Pain attack. He wasn’t displaying the proper aggression, but he was looking out for his teammates, so Kakashi couldn’t completely condemn his performance. Sakura, despite her desire to put on a demure face around Sasuke, had come at Kakashi seriously when the occasion demanded it and Naruto had thrown himself headlong into the test, but Sasuke…

 

It was troubling. Sasuke had the right mindset about teamwork and protecting one’s teammates, but he didn’t seem to want to fight Kakashi or even to pass the test. If he had used body flicker, he might have been able to get a bell off Kakashi, but he didn’t even try. The kid hadn’t offered the slightest resistance when Kakashi had tied him to post, either, instead going passively and giving a great up-upon sigh, although his face remained blank.

 

Kakashi started to wonder if the kid really wanted to be there. Kakashi did not want to pass someone who didn’t even want to become a ninja in the first place. This was not a life that anyone should lead unwillingly. There just wasn’t enough of a reward to justify the cost otherwise.

 

At the same time, now that he thought about it, even if Kakashi failed the team, Sasuke wasn’t going to be sent back to the Academy with the other two. The world had been waiting with baited breath for the last Uchiha to graduate and show what the clan was still capable of. This boy would be participating in upcoming the Chuunin Exams this year, even if some other team had to get reshuffled. Sasuke couldn’t avoid becoming a ninja. His lack of drive would just mean that his career as a ninja would be a short one. Either he would quickly be killed in action or he would retire just as soon as the Hokage could be convinced to let him go, which might not be any time soon. Each ninja was an investment and Konoha wanted to get her money’s worth.

 

Actually, since Sasuke could use body flicker and do tree walking, it was a bit odd that he hadn’t graduated early. Kakashi would have to look back through Sasuke’s file to see when he learned those moves.

 

Kakashi watched the three from a concealed position among the trees to see if they could get through this. He was surprised to find himself feeling hopeful about their prospects. They had come very close to passing when they had decided to work together, but their open declarations that they would fight for the bells amongst themselves after they acquired them put Kakashi off. They would need to pass the food test or he would fail them. Sasuke stared up at the birds in a nearby tree and Naruto and Sakura silently picked at their food. If only they hadn’t eaten those apples, this would be a clearer test of their mentality. Naruto, surprisingly was the first one to crack.

 

“This isn’t right!” Naruto burst out. “You always share your food with me, so I’ll share my food with you! Eat!” Kakashi was doubly shocked. He’d thought Naruto had disliked Sasuke. And what was this about Sasuke sharing food with Naruto? Kakashi thought back to the apples Naruto and Sakura had been eating that morning. Had Sasuke actually been the one to provide them?

 

Sasuke stared suspiciously at the chopsticks Naruto held out to him, but he opened his mouth and accepted the bite. He chewed very slowly, as though he was eating something bad. Kakashi was a bit offended. He hadn’t bought expired bentos!

 

“Ah! I’ll share with you, too, Sasuke-kun!” Sakura said. “Have some of mine!” Sasuke accepted the bite of food the blushing girl offered less warily, but no more eagerly.

 

Kakashi smiled. Whatever! This was fine! Sasuke was going to be the problem child, but Kakashi had known that from the very beginning. He wasn’t problematic in the way Kakashi had expected, but he was still going to give Kakashi a headache. But it was fine! What mattered was that these three had the makings of a team that could survive! Their teamwork was barebones, but they had potential. Even Naruto, the only one who had been arrogant enough to take on Kakashi alone, had quickly teamed up once the other two had approached him. Kakashi could make this work.

 

“You all…” Kakashi said as he shot out of cover, “Pass!”

 

Sakura and Naruto looked shocked and happy, but, unless Sasuke was a very good actor, he could not have cared less. Bad. This was bad. Kakashi would need to work on this. What exactly that would entail escaped him. He would talk to Gai about it.

 

“We do?!” Naruto asked.

 

“Yes! You all worked together to get the bell and shared your bentos. That’s the kind of teamwork that makes the dream work!” Kakashi said. “Good job!”

 

“You saw that?” Sakura asked anxiously. “But wait! You told us that we couldn’t share with Sasuke-kun! Why are you passing us, if we broke the rules?”

 

“Listen well: Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash,” Kakashi said. “You did the right thing by looking after your teammate when he needed you.”

 

Naruto brightened up.

 

“Yeah!” Naruto said. “Of course I did! I’m super dependable!”

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi said. “Do you want to become a ninja?”

 

Sasuke’s preternaturally still face cracked with a small, fleeting look of surprise. He looked entirely too shifty to Kakashi.

 

“What kind of question is that?” Sakura demanded. “Of course he wants to become a ninja! Sasuke-kun is the best boy in our year!”

 

“I didn’t ask if he did well at the Academy,” Kakashi said patiently. “I asked if he wanted to become a ninja.”

 

“… Yes,” Sasuke said. It sounded like a lie. Kakashi frowned.

 

“Then you better start acting like it,” Kakashi said. “If you mess around in a real fight the way you did today, then you’re going to die or get your teammates killed. No amount of help from me will keep you alive.”

 

Sasuke looked slightly irritated at being chastised.

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said.

 

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. What a brat.

 

Once he returned home, Kakashi opened the file the Hokage had given him on Sasuke. There was nothing in Sasuke’s file to indicate that he knew how to tree walk or use body flicker. By all accounts, he had been a diligent, if spacy, student, but he hadn’t been good enough to graduate early. He hadn’t even mastered the clone jutsu until his last year. The kid must have only learned how to do those things recently. Kakashi wondered how proficient the kid was. At least he was a self-starter when it came to learning, even if he hadn’t taken the bell test seriously.

 

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck and tilted his head. He flipped through the pages to see if he’d missed something, but found nothing to explain when the genin had learned the upper-chuunin level techniques.

 

“Whatever,” he said and he closed the folder. He considered looking through Sakura’s file, too, to see if her teachers had helped develop her readiness to study techniques that required fine chakra control. There was a foolish child. You have a family who loves you and the ability to do anything with your life, but you decide to become a ninja? What an idiot. She should just quit and go home. Kakashi decided to read his book instead until Gai got done training his team for the day. Sakura was either ready or she wasn’t.

 

-

 

Sasuke sat on the engawa, letting one foot dangle over the edge, and working on his next technique formula. Birds flew in and out of the feeders in the garden, making the place lively. The local birds knew him by now and weren’t too afraid to eat from the feeders even though he was quite near. Clouds passed overhead, making the day soft and comfortable. Weezer’s Only In Dreams played quietly from the radio in the kitchen and Fugaku lay across the engawa, napping in the shade. Eventually, Sasuke got bored of his studies and opened his journal to record the day. That done, he took out another notebook to draw in.

 

Sasuke felt the genjutsu on him expire, making the music he was listening to end, his father disappear, and causing the slight kink in the chakra flow in his head to straighten out. He was able to discern the feeling nowadays, thanks to spending the last five years almost constantly under a genjutsu. He was so familiar with the feeling of being half trapped in an illusion of his own design that he felt slightly restless when he wasn’t under one. Without a genjutsu, all he had to occupy himself were his own thoughts in this empty village. He could only handle that for so long. Sasuke reached up and tapped his temple. In his head, his chakra twisted ever so slightly out of place, and, in his ears, AJR’s Come Hang Out bloomed as sweet and vibrant as the colors of his garden and, when he turned his head, he saw his mother sitting on a second cushion on the engawa, drinking tea and reading a book. Sasuke hummed along to the song.

 

This world’s magic system was full of potential, but Sasuke’s favorite part was the genjutsu. With it, he was able to consume music he had loved and see the people he had lost. Sometimes he chose people from his last life or members of his extended family. Sometimes, if he was feeling in a fantastical mood, he created illusions of his favorite fictional characters to accompany him. However, mostly he chose to see his, Sasuke’s, parents again. He knew they weren’t truly present, but it made him feel less lonely to have these imaginary friends with him to walk him to and from school, to sit with him in the evenings, and to tell him stories at bedtime.

 

It seemed that he had a talent for Yin Release, because it hadn’t taken him very long to learn. After he’d remembered his past life, he had decided against trying to live up to Itachi’s standard and explored only the subjects that interested him. His father wasn’t around to even potentially give his approval anyway, so there was no point in trying to be the best Uchiha anymore.

 

The bell test today had been a chore, but Sasuke had done his best to play along. There was no point in throwing off the story yet, after all. That Kakashi was even weirder than he remembered, though. Was keeping everyone waiting a power move? While Sasuke waited for his good-for-nothing teacher today, he had focused on his technique formulae, but, in the future, he would need to focus on general training that he could share with Naruto and Sakura, so his teammates were better prepared to defend themselves after he left them. He would set an example by stretching, doing physical exercises, and practicing water walking and body flickering. He would bet that the other two would copy him out of boredom, if nothing else.

 

Sasuke tapped his lip with his pencil. He should challenge them to races and spars, too, if they didn’t do so first. Nothing like having a rival to spur you on. He hoped Sakura would catch some of Naruto’s competitive spirit.

 

Noticing the time, he got up to make dinner. He threw together a stir fry with tomatoes, green onions, and eggplant from his garden as well as some tofu.

 

“Looks like it turned out good this time. It smells great, too,” Sasuke said to his mother. “I think you would have liked it, Mom. If you hadn’t laid down and died, you could have had some, too.”

 

When he had plated his meal and set it beside his cushion on the veranda, he filled a little bowl with water, cut an apple in eighths without coring it, and put these on a little plate. These things he set beside his cushion as well.

 

With everything in place for dinner, he dispelled the genjutsu and pushed down the arm warmer on his left arm, revealing an enclosure seal. With his other hand, he pushed chakra through his wrist to activate the seal and out popped several scrolls. Sasuke chose one and unrolled it, revealing a summoning contract. He had never been able to make himself bite through the skin of his own fingers, like Kakashi and Orochimaru had done in the story, but he didn’t need to. It didn’t actually take much blood to activate such a scroll.

 

He took out a sharpened bobby pin from where it was hidden in his hair and pricked his finger. In short order, a droplet of blood welled up, so Sasuke put the pin back in his hair and pressed the injured finger over the seal. Out of the seal for this summoning contract popped a flock of more than a dozen tiny, lime green warbling white-eye, filling the kitchen and garden with their bouncy, bubbly song.

 

“Hello,” Sasuke greeted the birds with a smile, as he pushed his arm warmer back into place. All the birds greeted him warmly in return. Several of them descended on the apple, some flew off to eat the seed and suet in the birdfeeders, and some were content to settle on the engawa.

 

“No popcorn today?” one asked.

 

“Not today,” Sasuke said, and he started gently scratching the little thing with one finger along its throat. The bird, named “Satori,” was soft as silk.

 

“Sasuke-kun!” another one, named, “Tomu,” chirped happily. “How was your day? Did you pass your teacher’s test?”

 

Sasuke nodded and shared his day with the flock as he ate his dinner. It was good to have real company. When he got home from the hospital, Sasuke had resolved to do things differently than the original Sasuke had, starting with his social isolation. Getting attached to anyone in Konoha was out, because Konoha was an evil place and he didn’t plan to stay. Therefore, he chose to make friends with outsiders, including these warbling white-eye summons.

 

He hadn’t remembered his past life as a reader of this story until he woke up in the hospital after the massacre. It was a terrible thing to wake up and know your whole life’s story when it was too late to do anything about the most important part. Then, after laughing until he cried, he had taken stock of his future.

 

Sasuke was going to spend the next several years depressed and vengeful and then, for the rest of his life, he would just be depressed. He would get his ass kicked by Rock Lee. Then, he would get his ass kicked and get necked by a creepy old man, whose aesthetic he could best describe as “middle-aged, gender-fluid, snake-furry.” Then, he would fight to defend the traitorous Konoha against its enemies. Then, he would get his ass handed to him by Itachi again. Then, he would run off and join the snake-perv, whom he would eventually sort-of kill. Then, he would barely survive his fight with Itachi, which Itachi would only lose because he was already dying, which made Sasuke feel like the author didn’t respect him. Then, he would join Akatsuki, the group that wanted to kill the whole world, himself included. Then, he would get his ass handed to him by Killer B. Then, he would get his ass handed to him by a bunch of Kages. Then, he would have to listen to Tobirama and Hashirama go on about how evil the Uchiha were and how great Itachi was for committing genocide. Then he would have to fight a pair of evil Uchihas, because the author was apparently bigoted against a fictional fucking people; every Uchiha with any real characterization had been morally grey, if not outright evil. Then, he would lose an arm. Then, he would get arrested. Then, the next two Hokages, his teacher and his best friend, would both decide not to make changes to the government to even prevent a repeat of the Uchiha Massacre, let alone to make amends for it.

 

As for his revenge, he would be unable to kill Itachi, not even try to kill Obito for a thousand more chapters, be too late to kill the Third Hokage, decide not to kill the Konoha council for no good reason, merely seal Zetsu instead of killing him, and kill Danzo. The other him didn’t even reveal the truth of the ethnic cleansing of his people to the public, because there would have been blow-back on his dead family for righteously resisting their oppressors. All that stress, strain, and limb loss and the only person he managed to properly get revenge on was… Danzo, who was, admittedly, a monster, but still. Sasuke righted exactly nothing, even though he had eventually been powerful enough to fight a god. All that strength and he was still too weak to fix anything.

 

At the end of that tumultuous period, he would be best friends with Naruto (eww), marry Sakura (eww), and become an absentee father (eww), increasing the size of the clan by exactly one member, before everything kicked off again with an alien invasion and him getting eaten by a tree.

 

In summary, Sasuke was going to be miserable for the rest of his life and spend his time working for one villain or another until he died, because he had become more useful dead than alive to the story that the author wanted to tell… Just like Itachi. Nothing was ever going to get better.

 

As he lay in bed staring at the ceiling in the small hours of the night, Sasuke made a decision: Fuck. That. Shit. And fuck Itachi.

 

Driven by grief and spite, he got out of bed, only to discover a deplorable lack of knives, cords, belts, or laces in his room. Then, he went to the window, found that he was on the third floor, and decided that wasn’t high enough, but that he could work with it. So, he slipped out of his room and made his way to the roof. The hospital, unlike the ones he had visited in his previous life, was intuitively designed, so it wasn’t hard to navigate to a stairwell that led to the roof. The door to the roof wasn’t even locked. Sasuke took a deep breath once he emerged. The warm night air was much more comfortable than the air-conditioned hospital interior.

 

Beyond a narrow corridor of flat concrete that ran the length of the building, the roof was sloped, so Sasuke would have to be careful; he didn’t want to slip and end up falling feet first. He remembered that hedges grew around the front of the building, so he made his way to the back before climbing over the railing and onto the turquoise roofing tiles. The roof was steep, so he carefully made his way forward towards the edge.

 

“Hey!” a young man shouted.

 

Sasuke was startled so badly that he lost his footing and fell onto the tiles. He lacked the presence of mind to try to fall head-first, because he was falling, which turned out to be a very distracting thing to happen while you are trying to jump to your death. Who knew? In the next second, Sasuke was being held tightly against a man who was standing on the steep roofing tiles, like it was no big deal at all. Fucking ninja magic!

 

“What were you thinking?! What were you doing?!” the man demanded. Sasuke looked up and into the mask of an ANBU with long hair. Judging by the slim build, Sasuke thought the man was more likely a teenage boy. Sasuke relaxed his tensed muscles.

 

“What does it look like I was doing? Put me down,” Sasuke said angrily.

 

“Not if you’re going to try to… to…” The older boy trailed off.

 

“To jump?” Sasuke suggested.

 

“Yes! You’re just a kid! You might not survive a…”

 

“Are you stupid?” Sasuke asked. “Looks like they’ll let anybody into ANBU these days.”

 

“… A fall from that height probably wouldn’t even kill you,” the kid said.

 

“It would if I fell head first,” Sasuke countered.

 

The kid failed to come up with a comeback to that one. For an instant, the oddity of thinking of a teenager as a kid while being eight himself struck him, but he shook that thought away. He might be sort of eight, but he was also an adult. He could deal with this. Sasuke sighed and made himself more comfortable in the teen’s hold. It had been a long time since he’d been princess carried. It wasn’t bad.

 

“…. But you’re right,” Sasuke said. The teen sighed in relief, which just showed that he hadn’t been paying attention. “I should try the Hokage Monument.”

 

“NO!!!” the teen shouted. “Sempai!”

 

Another ANBU landed on the roof and Sasuke’s carrier turned to face them.

 

“Report!” the young man barked. He sounded bitchy. Sasuke guessed that it was Kakashi. Sasuke hadn’t seen the man before in the flesh, but this young man’s hair was very pale, shiny, and spiky and he had distinctly Main Character energy. Additionally, this other guy, probably Yamato, had just called him “Sempai.” How many shiny assholes could possibly fit that description? Konoha was not that big.

 

“He tried to- to,” the teen said, “kill himself.”

 

Kakashi stood there staring at Sasuke. Sasuke stared back, or tried to; he couldn’t see Kakashi’s eyes through the shadows of his mask. He hoped the lack of eye contact didn’t make him look uncool. It wasn’t his fault it was so dark!

 

“A fall from this height might not kill you,” Kakashi said.

 

“We’ve been over that already,” Sasuke said. “Make him put me down.”

 

“He said he’ll jump off the Hokage Monument!” the teen tattled anxiously.

 

“He’s going to put you down, but if one of us has to pull you out of the air again tonight, I’m not going to be happy. This has not been a good week,” Kakashi said warningly.

 

Sasuke laughed hysterically. Once he had calmed down, Kakashi nodded at Tenzou.

 

“Set him down on this side of the railing,” Kakashi said. “Escort him back to his bed and check his room for anything that he might use to hurt himself with. I’ll report this to the hospital staff.”

 

Sasuke was quite put out by this, but there was no point in arguing. He could wait.

 

“What are you ANBU doing here anyway?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Keeping an eye on you,” Kakashi said. “In case he comes back.”

 

Sasuke enjoyed the irony of that.

 

“What would you do about it?” Sasuke asked bitterly. “The whole clan couldn’t take him, but you think you could?”

 

“We aren’t off our guard,” Kakashi said.

 

Sasuke had to concede the point. Sure, some people would have been armed, but most people wouldn’t have been. Hell, most of the clan hadn’t even been active-duty ninjas. Doing some quick math, he realized that at least a quarter hadn’t even been adults.

 

“If he comes back,” Yamato said. “We’ll get him. He won’t get away with this.”

 

“Yes, he will,” Sasuke thought, “but he shouldn’t.” It wasn’t fair. Itachi should have to own up to what he did and face punishment. The other Sasuke had forgiven Itachi the instant his older brother died, but this Sasuke couldn’t see how. Itachi wasn’t even sorry for what he had done. Sasuke sagged dispiritedly.

 

Sasuke was escorted back to bed by a strangely wary and incredibly awkward Yamato. Did the kid expect him to start strangling himself in the hall? Not that he could put the blame on Yamato when he wasn’t the one who created the night’s drama. Tiredly, Sasuke lay under his covers in the chilly room and stared at the ceiling.

 

Thoughts of culpability swirled in the cauldron of Sasuke’s mind. Before he had regained his memories of his past life, Sasuke had thought that thirteen was nearly the same as being grown-up. Now, with decades more experience to draw on, he knew that Itachi was still too young to be held fully responsible for his actions. How much responsibility should be allotted where was a tricky question.

 

However, even if Itachi was completely responsible for his own actions, did Sasuke want Itachi to die, the way Yamato implied Itachi should? No. Absolutely not. Sasuke’s mind shied away from the thought of seeing Itachi’s body lying limp and bloody on the ground like all the others Itachi had left in his wake. He wanted to hurt Itachi, maybe severely enough to kill him, but he didn’t actually want Itachi to die.

 

And how do you even begin to adequately punish someone for taking more than a single life? How could Itachi ever make up for what he had done, even if he was sorry? How could anything ever be made right again? How could you make ethnic cleansing right?

 

The Uchiha had been destroyed because Danzo and the Council had seen an opportunity to eliminate internal outsiders and capitalized on it. They had known that the Hokage would back them after the fact and they were right. They had literally perpetrated the worst attack on Konoha in its history, and the Hokage had sided with them. Would the invasion by Suna and Orochimaru be as deadly as this massacre had been? Perhaps only Pain’s attack would exceed this. The Council had betrayed their own village, and no one who knew would ever hold them accountable for it. Even the story-Sasuke’s revenge on Danzo hadn’t included publicly revealing what the man had done. Even if no one would fault him for it in light of the Uchiha’s plans for a coup, it still wasn’t right. The truth mattered.

 

Sasuke fell asleep as dawn was breaking. After getting only a few minutes of sleep, Sasuke, with a straight face, explained to the nurses and doctors who came to check on him that he wasn’t going to try to kill himself again. He didn’t think they believed him. He also didn’t think they cared very much. Then, he ate as much breakfast as he could stomach, which wasn’t much, brushed his teeth, and slept for a few more hours.

 

Then, he woke up and lay in bed with his pillow over his head thinking about the way the bodies had looked in the streets, how his parents had looked on the floor, how Itachi had tortured him for twenty-four hours and then chased him from the house, while Sasuke begged for his life. He thought about how there must be bloody cribs in the Uchiha Quarter right now, and bloody kitchens, and bloody walkers. He thought about how he was helpless to get vengeance or justice for anyone, even himself. The author of the world was against it and Sasuke was so powerless, so useless, and so wounded. He felt that he should die from heartbreak alone.

 

He didn’t have any answers. All he had were questions. Why did his memories have to come back when it was too late to stop anything? Why did Itachi have to be so selfish? Why couldn’t he have just killed Sasuke, too? Why did his parents have to just lay down and die, instead of trying to protect themselves and the rest of the clan? Didn’t they know that Sasuke needed them? How could they abandon him like that? He needed them now more than ever, but they weren’t there, because they lost the will to fight in the face of Itachi’s determination to kill them. How did that make sense?

 

Sasuke felt his eyes change, but he didn’t bother to examine them. He couldn’t show them to anyone, or they might be stolen out of his head. Was this his first or second tomoe, he wondered. He remembered from the story that he had gotten back up and chased Itachi through the night, thereby gaining his first tomoe. He also remembered that he wouldn’t get his first tomoe until the fight with Haku, because that’s how retcons worked. He didn’t remember chasing Itachi in real life, but that didn’t mean it didn’t happen. Who could say what state his eyes were in?

 

Did it even matter?

 

During dinner, Sasuke considered the chopstick in his hand and thought about how he might use it to kill himself. If he channeled chakra through it, he might be able to make it sharp, like Naruto did in the manga with Wind Release and Azuma’s knife. Sasuke couldn’t make Wind Release chakra, but he knew how to make Fire Release chakra and that might be good enough.

 

Sasuke walked into the bathroom, staring at the chopstick in his hand. In the bathroom, he looked into the mirror and found a likely looking spot on his neck for stabbing. Sasuke frowned. What if the artery was merely displaced and wasn’t torn by his stab? Was the artery in his groin any bigger? And where was it exactly? Sasuke poked his thigh with the stick where he thought might be a good place to stab, but gave it up as a bad job. He felt he needed a bigger target, so he palpated his chest for a promising point to drive the chopstick into his heart.

 

The chopstick was suddenly gone.

 

“Don’t,” a male ANBU Sasuke hadn’t met before said from the doorway. Sasuke jumped in surprise and then looked down to find the chopstick in the man’s hand.

 

“I wasn’t going to,” Sasuke said petulantly. “It’s too dull.”

 

“I’ll get you a spoon,” the man said.

 

Sasuke tisked. Could he make a spoon work? How did chakra scalpels work anyway? Did he even need an implement? Sasuke tried to make his chakra form a point beyond the end of his finger, but it just bubbled away.

 

In this way, a week passed, during which time Sasuke mostly cried, slept, and waited for a chance to kill himself.

 

Everything he came up with sounded painful or liable to fail. It was just too hard to kill yourself in a hospital surrounded by bodyguards. Sasuke was just about done with pain. He didn’t want any more of it. He felt nauseated, and tense, and achy with exhaustion all the time. Everything was already so awful, he couldn’t bear it. Sasuke didn’t want to be miserable anymore… But, when he thought about it, he didn’t really want to die either, even if it would be an excellent fuck-you to Itachi. Was it even possible that he could find a way to not end up like the Sasuke in the story? It wasn’t his story. What agency did he have? Could he do anything?

 

Maybe, he decided. He might not be able to influence the world around him in the way he wanted, but he might be able to influence himself. He’d been to therapy before. He’d even had some grief counseling after his best friends had died in a car accident in his previous life. He had a few tools that he could use. They might help. Maybe he could get better, even if he couldn’t ever be who he was before. Maybe he could stop being quite so sad and angry all the time. He might never be strong enough to beat the people who had destroyed his clan, but he might get strong enough to be happy again. “Resilience” his therapist had called it. The strength the heal one’s self. Maybe he could develop that kind of strength. And maybe he didn’t have to make the same mistakes the original Sasuke had made. He liked the sound of “Maybe.”

 

Sasuke came up with a plan to incorporate coping strategies into his day. It was fine if it failed. He could kill himself later if things didn’t work out. He’d rather die in his home than in the hospital anyway. He looked into his bathroom mirror and activated his eyes.

 

Fugaku started reading a bedtime story aloud in the next room. Sasuke stepped out and stared at his father, who didn’t react and merely kept reading from the bedside. His father hadn’t read Sasuke a story at bedtime since he was small. Eventually, Sasuke got into bed, tucked himself in, and cried while his father’s voice flowed over the cracks of his broken heart like saltwater over a cut.

Chapter 2: Building Bridges

Summary:

… And drinking beer.

Sasuke makes progress towards healing and Kakashi takes up that favorite pastime of all teachers: gossiping about their students and their students’ legal guardians.

Notes:

In this story, I gave Sasuke abilities he doesn’t have in canon, because he would have been stronger as a ninja if he had been more mentally healthy. I don’t know how he wasn’t completely burnt out on school and training by the time the series starts, but he would have been more than simply first in his class if he hadn’t been dealing with trauma, social isolation, grief, self-loathing, fear, and so on. Being miserable does not help you learn efficiently, no matter how badly you want to kill your brother.

The Saturday after Sasuke joined Team Seven saw Sasuke standing in the hallway in front of the living room with two empty cardboard boxes, a dust rag, his mother’s camera, and a queasy stomach. It was time to start making final preparations to leave his parents’ house.

 

Over the years, he’d made a list of everything that he planned to pack. That included everything he wanted to keep and everything he couldn’t bear to leave in Konoha’s hands. That meant the family photos, the books and papers, the valuable formal clothes, the antiques, the paintings, the childhood artwork, that colorful outfit his father had worn when he wanted to be complimented by strangers, the baby teeth from off the roof and from out of the front garden, his mother’s wedding dress, the framed photos of foreign countries his mother had visited, Itachi’s music collection, the origami Sasuke and his mother had made together when he was six, the clan’s uchiwa collection, and the hidden stone in the Naka temple.

 

Sasuke opened the door to the living room and activated his eyes. The bloodstains drew his gaze first, but he forced himself to keep looking around. This was the last time this room would look this way and he wanted to preserve this image, dust and all. He walked around the room, observing it from different angles. Then he lifted his mother’s camera and took pictures of the room and its view of the street out front. They weren’t artful and the light wasn’t beautiful, but it wasn’t a beautiful place. It was the house his family was relocated to under protest, along with everyone else in their clan, when this ghetto had been created. It was the place his parents had been murdered. It was the place Sasuke had been tortured. None the less, it had been his home since he was a year old.

 

Beyond the way his parents’ bodies had laid on the floor, Sasuke could also recall where everyone had sat when they watched TV together, where he and Itachi had played dominos, where he had put a hole in the floor with a kunai he’d been playing with.

 

Sasuke knelt down and touched that nick in the wood. He was probably going to be the last person to bother touching this floor. After Sasuke left and it became abandoned, it would be torn down like all the other buildings in the Uchiha Quarter had been. That was a shame, Sasuke thought. It was still a good floor, despite the nick. This was still a sturdy house, despite what had been done here.

 

He let his gaze stray to the bloodstain a few feet away. It had been looming out of the corner of his eye the entire time he had been in this room. Now, he was face to face with it. As he stared at it, he felt his heartrate spike and he felt a sudden and unshakable sense of imminent doom grab him in a vice grip.

 

He ran out of the room and back to the kitchen. He needed help! He couldn’t explain it, but he suddenly knew he was going to die and he needed someone to save him!

 

He fumbled with an arm cover and extracted his scrolls from the seal hidden there. He pricked his finger and slammed it onto the scroll, forcing chakra through it as quickly as he could. He must have used a lot more than usual, because he summoned dozens of birds, enough to fill the kitchen.

 

“Sasuke!” they cried in their piping voices, speaking over one another to ask what was wrong.

 

“Help me,” Sasuke begged, gasping for breath. “Help! I’m dying!”

 

The birds descended on his shaking form as he collapsed against the counter.

 

“Help! Please, I don’t know what’s wrong! Help me!” Sasuke begged.

 

“Hold still!” Satori cried from where they sat in Sasuke’s hair. Sasuke clutched at the counter and tried to hold himself still for the birds’ examination. The warbling white-eyes tended to be chakra sensors. If something was wrong with him, at least at that level, they would find it.

 

“I can’t find anything!” another bird said. A chorus of agreement was taken up by a score of other birds. “What happened?!”

 

“I was in the living room and…” Sasuke trailed off as realization dawned. He wasn’t dying; he was having a panic attack. He’d had them in his last life, too.

 

“And what?! What happened?!” Satori asked desperately. Some of the birds detached from the flock and flew in the direction of the living room, presumably to investigate matters for themselves.

 

“I’m not dying,” Sasuke croaked.

 

“What?! How can you be dying one second and then not dying the next?!” another bird demanded.

 

“I think I’m having a panic attack,” Sasuke said, wiping the sweat off his face.

 

“What’s that?” Satori asked.

 

“It’s where you feel like you’re going to die,” Sasuke said. “I need to sit down.”

 

The birds backed off, hopping and flying away so Sasuke wouldn’t accidentally crush them, and Sasuke slid to the ground. He pressed himself into the cabinets for the comfort they gave and waited for the fear to pass. He endured the next few, miserable minutes silently, except for his ragged breathing. God, this feeling sucked.

 

“Oh, God,” Sasuke murmured. “I have to go back in there.”

 

“Hey,” Tomu said, perching on one of Sasuke’s fingers.

 

Sasuke looked down at the bird.

 

“We’ll go with you,” Tomu said.

 

Sasuke closed his eyes as relief suffused him.

 

“Thanks,” Sasuke said.

 

His pride chose that moment to remind him that he was effectively the head of the Uchiha Clan and representing his people, so he should be able to handle this himself. He was torn for a moment; should he tell the birds that he could go it alone? Then, he asked himself, “What would story-Sasuke do?”

 

Story-Sasuke would send the birds off. He wouldn’t even have summoned them in the first place. Sasuke couldn’t think of a single instance in the story where the other Sasuke had sought comfort from someone else. Being strong took guts, but being vulnerable did, too. Sasuke’s resolve hardened.

 

“I’ll be glad to have you guys with me,” Sasuke said.

 

They went back into the living room together and Sasuke continued documenting the room. With that first step finished, the hard part began. The time had come to break the house down. He wasn’t actually damaging anything, but it felt like he was. He hadn’t wanted anything to be moved from their rightful places, because he would never be able to put things back exactly right again. The house would never be the same as it was when his family had lived here again once he started. That time would truly be over.

 

However, it was coming whether he wanted it to or not. As much as he would like this house to be preserved like a house sculpture in a snow globe, he would be leaving soon. When that day came, everything would be over. All he could do was salvage what he could before then.

 

With a heavy heart, Sasuke took down and dusted off the photos and paintings that hung on the wall, wrapping each one in tissue paper and placing it in a labeled carboard box. Piece by piece, he disassembled the room and packaged it up. Once a box got full, he stuck it in a labeled enclosure tag, which went into a resealable plastic bag. Eventually, this bag would be sent to the hidden realm of the warbling white-eyes for safekeeping. Sasuke had already installed a bird box to keep it in, which could be used as a nesting box for the birds once Sasuke had established a new home in a new place.

 

Sasuke, with birds in tow, worked his way through the house documenting everything and collecting treasures great and small. In addition to his mother’s camera collection, in his parents’ room, he found a cool funnel-collared, double-breasted greatcoat his father had owned, which Sasuke hoped to wear eventually. It had a band of colored fabric sewn jauntily over one hip. With its foreign style, he couldn’t even guess where his father had gotten it. It was too cool to be something Kishimoto had drawn. The same had to be said for his mother’s awesome silk cheongsam, embroidered with a phoenix and dragon in gold, and a twelve-layer kimono, something that would only be worn at court. All three garments had hidden pouches for weapons. He wished he knew how his parents had come by these colorful things and how long they had been in the family.

 

The Uchiha were a visually oriented people, so there were a lot of paintings and photographs. His father, for instance, had been a good painter of both landscapes and portraits. Sasuke had mostly enjoyed going through his father’s art journals. Unfortunately, there were several nude drawings of his own mother, too, which Sasuke felt certain he was never meant to see, and that were hastily packed away in a box labeled, “Mom’s Nudes,” so he wouldn’t accidentally open it again. The various lingerie, porn mags, porn videos, vibrators, lubes, and the strap-on went in the trash.

 

Look, Sasuke was glad that his parents had a healthy relationship, okay? He just wished that they had prioritized getting rid of their private things over searching for inner peace while they waited for death. Sasuke wanted to think of himself as an adult, because he sort-of was, but he was also twelve, so he was really grossed out.

 

From his own room, he took his old dinosaur doll, the collection of trinkets, some of which were very old and some of which were dearly loved trash, the condolence cards his former friends from the Academy had given him, and all the wonderful children’s books that he had loved so much, once upon a time.

 

From his brother’s room, he tried to salvage the things that had been important to Itachi; the pictures Sasuke had drawn for him, the cassettes and CDs of music Itachi had enjoyed, the poster in a drawer for some concert, a portable CD player with stickers on it, the photographs of Itachi and Shisui on the dresser, Itachi’s old rabbit doll, the necklace Itachi’s girlfriend had gotten him that lay abandoned on the bedside table, and Itachi’s ANBU promotion papers.

 

Sasuke looked down at those papers, sat down on the dusty bed, and sighed. A bird perched on the hand that held the papers and nipped him reassuringly. Most of the birds had gone home already and only half a dozen remained with him in the room. Sasuke asked them to leave him alone for a bit and then he had the room to himself.

 

“Itachi, you should never have been a ninja,” Sasuke said to his absent brother. “You couldn’t handle it and you just couldn’t be trusted with that kind of power. If only Mom and Dad had held you back instead of pushing you forward. It was so selfish of them. Is that where you learned it from? You’re such a selfish bastard, Itachi. You think you’re some tragic hero, don’t you? But heroes have convictions and they stand by them.”

 

Sasuke thought about a dying Superman spending his final days bringing comfort to others, about Batman training endlessly and taking beating after beating to protect others, and about the Flash caring so much about everyone that he got to know even his enemies.

 

“That’s what makes a hero: faith. What was your pacifism and love for Konoha worth, when it came right down to it? What did you have faith in? You were always too weak to resist anyone, weren’t you?

 

“I’m almost the same age now that you were then. I worried, you know, that I would end up like…” Like baby-killer Itachi, like friend-killer story-Sasuke, like attempted mind-controler Shisui, like defeatist Dad. “But I don’t have your weakness. I may not ever be a hero, but I have faith.”

 

Sasuke couldn’t say what exactly he had faith in. It wasn’t gods, in this world confined by a mediocre story, or people, in this village run by the Hokage and his council, or even himself, in his weak and vulnerable condition, but it was there, somewhere. He knew it. Maybe he’d find the words to articulate it someday.

 

He packed up the last box and sealed the last of his important possessions in an enclosure tag by the end of the following day. Then, he went to the realm of the warbling white-eyes by holding on to one of the birds as it unsummoned itself home.

 

The realm of the warbling white-eyes, Hisui no Sougen, was beautiful. It contained a forest, which was full of succulent fruits and flowers that were dripping with nectar, surrounding a blooming meadow, which had a clear stream running through it. It was a wonderfully restful place. The trees had many of the usual bird nests that warbling white-eyes built in the human realm, but it also contained bird boxes in great variety and every color. Some were more bird mansions than bird houses and these accommodated large families of birds. Bees and other insects filled the meadow in abundance. The air carried a subtle perfume underlying the scent of the flowers that made Sasuke think that it was an especially healthful place. No matter the temperature, the air always felt good in his lungs.

 

The warbling white-eyes did not become larger as they grew older, unlike the snakes and toads, which could become truly massive. Instead, the birds became a more saturated green, so much so that they almost seemed to stand out from the rest of the world, like they were unreal, like they were from some other dimension where color was truer. The oldest ones even gained an iridescence to their feathers that made the birds glitter like jewels shooting across the sky when in flight.

 

Sasuke visited their realm whenever he couldn’t stand being in Konoha anymore. He was always remined that life was worth living when he saw this beautiful place and met with these beautiful friends. There was so much beauty to be found in this world if he could just leave Konoha to find it. He looked forward to showing this place to his children one day.

 

Sasuke opened his bird box and deposited the bag of tags next to the resealable bags containing his other items. This was where Sasuke kept his notes on the future, the various items he had recovered from the other Uchiha residences over the years, like artwork and family photos, and the goods he was stockpiling for when he left Konoha, like rice and tools.

 

Of course, the most important item to Sasuke had already been stowed away there. That item was a scroll containing the only other Uchiha to survive the massacre, a prisoner of war captured by the Senju and Sarutobi before the founding of the village: Uchiha Hikari.

 

In the story, security around the massive scroll that Naruto had used to learn the Shadow Clone Technique had been very light. Naruto had gotten in and out without alerting any guards. He even managed to get that bulky thing across town without being seen! He had encountered the Hokage, but that had been easily solved with Sexy no Jutsu. If that level of infosec was typical of the antiques belonging to the office of the Hokage, the Senju Clan, or the Sarutobi Clan, then it should be possible for a determined thief to make off with a much less culturally significant scroll, one that they had potentially forgotten they even had.

 

As a prisoner of war from before the formation of the village, Hikari was probably not in the Hokage’s treasury. People would have asked questions. After all, it wasn’t as if the scroll of Konoha’s forbidden techniques never got looked at. It simply wasn’t made available to ninja who lacked the Hokage’s permission to read it. For example, Sasuke couldn’t remember exactly, but Kakashi probably didn’t learn how to use shadow clones from Naruto.

 

Sasuke could potentially have searched the Senju and Sarutobi treasure houses and archives for Hikari’s scroll, but he was able to rule out all of those buildings, save one, by recalling that Pain’s attack on Konoha had destroyed all the buildings in the city center, but had left those along the wall standing. That removed the Senju buildings and the Sarutobi treasure house from consideration, leaving only the Sarutobi archive, which was nestled right up against the village wall not far from the Hokage Monument.

 

In preparation for this heist, Sasuke made a summoning contract with the rodents of Shinku no Machi. Sasuke chose them, because they specialized in stealth, sometimes even leaving no scent. They also had a gift for opening locks, making them the burglars of summon animals. Unlike the birds he had formed a contract with previously, some of the rodents got big.

 

In the realm of the rodents, a lively place full of music strummed by little hands and sung by lilting voices, whose streets that were lit by hanging lanterns of many colors, and whose air was perfumed by the smell of the fish the rats were cooking over wood fires in the open air, Sasuke had met the eldest rat, who must have been a hundred feet tall. She was also wearing sunglasses. This eldest rat, Sayaka, had been floating on her back and drinking an unlabeled beer out of a giant can. Sasuke had wondered which canning company was responsible for that monstrosity. Looking at the cans discarded on the bank, Sayaka had already enjoyed a few of them.

 

“Sayaka-sama, this is Uchiha Sasuke-kun, who comes to us from Konoha,” Koharu, a mouse who had ridden on Sasuke’s shoulder since he arrived, introduced him to Sayaka. Koharu had a purple dye-job on the top of her head and single a silver earring. It went nicely with her cool brown coloring. Sasuke had yet to see a even one of her people who wasn’t wearing some jewelry and many had died patches of their fur.

 

“Ah, hello there,” Sayaka had called out in a cheerful voice. Her fur was almost red in the light of the sunset. “Welcome, little one! It’s been a long time since a human has come to pay this old lady a visit.”

 

“Hello, Sayaka-sama,” Sasuke said, bowing respectfully. “Pardon the intrusion. It’s an honor to meet you. I brought you a gift.” He held it out with both hands for her inspection. He wasn’t sure how much enjoyment a rat the size of an apartment building could get out of the vase of flowers he had brought with him, but he hadn’t known what was best to bring. Even if he’d been old enough to buy beer and had known that Sayaka liked beer, he didn’t know where to buy cans large enough for Sayaka to enjoy.

 

“Aw, thanks!” Sayaka said warmly. She had a pleasant voice, like an elementary school teacher. A slightly tipsy elementary school teacher. “How cute! How cute! Just set it on a table for me, pup! Then sit and talk with me!”

 

Sasuke set the vase on a table near a fire pit surrounded by skewers of fish that was being tended by two rats the size of dogs, who were wearing white forehead towel wraps, presumably to keep hair out of the food they were preparing. The skewers were stuck in a circle in the sandy soil of the lake so the fish leaned over the fire without touching it.

 

“Do you like robatayaki?” Sayaka asked.

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said. He hadn’t had any since before the massacre, though. His cooking was always very simple and quick. It was food for eating, not food for enjoying.

 

“Then you must stay and eat with us!” Sayaka said. “Would you like a beer?” Her voice was teasing, so Sasuke knew she wasn’t serious.

 

“I can’t hold my alcohol well,” the eight-year-old Sasuke had demurred.

 

Sayaka laughed.

 

“A tiny drunk pup!” Sayaka said. “I should like to see that one day! When you are older, you must have a drink with me, polite little pup!”

 

“I’d be glad to, Sayaka-sama,” Sasuke said, and found he was actually looking forward to it. Sayaka seemed a good sort. He liked her taste in jewelry, too. She wore beautiful necklaces and earrings made of gold and pearls. When she drifted just so in the water, Sasuke saw that she was even wearing two gold rings on the hand that was holding her beer can. The pearl that hung from her pendant necklace might be the largest in the world, Sasuke thought. It was a strange thing to wear jewelry for an evening of swimming, but maybe animals didn’t see it that way. Maybe Sasuke was the weird one here… Surely the rings would come off though, right? Wouldn’t the water make them slick? Sasuke decided not to ask.

 

“So, why have you come to us, Uchiha Sasuke-kun?” Sayaka asked, before taking another sip of her beer.

 

Sasuke took a deep, slow breath before he spoke. As he breathed, he pushed his feelings down and imagined that he was made of stone. His face became relaxed. He imagined that he must look bored.

 

“The Uchiha Clan is in serious decline. All but four of us were killed and I have expelled two from the clan for their participation in our massacre,” Sasuke said. “Uchiha Obito, also known as ‘Tobi’ and ‘Madara,’ and Uchiha Itachi.”

 

The old rat stared at him seriously for a while.

 

“A clan of two, eh? I’m sorry to hear that,” Sayaka said. “That is a terrible sad state of affairs.”

 

“Actually, as of now, the Uchiha are a clan of only one,” Sasuke said. “The fourth person is trapped in a scroll held by the enemies who colluded with Obito and Itachi to destroy us. I wish to recover this person, Uchiha Hikari, also known as, ‘Uchiha Nanashi.’ She was taken as a prisoner of war more than a hundred and fifty years ago and never returned.”

 

“My pup, terrible things happen to prisoners of war. This Uchiha Hikari, you don’t think she might be dead?” Sayaka asked.

 

“She may, but I live in hope,” Sasuke said. “Either way, as the head of her clan, it is my responsibility to discover the truth of her story, whether it ended long ago or continues today. If she lives, then I need to free her. If she has died, then I need to perform a funeral for her.”

 

“Your clan could not recover her in all this time?” Sayaka said.

 

“I don’t know why,” Sasuke said. “Records of her end with her capture.”

 

“Hmph,” Sayaka said. She covered a burp with her hand. “Well, you seem a good boy and a proper clan head. We will form a summoning contract with you.”

 

“Thank you, Sayaka-sama,” Sasuke said, bowing deeply in gratitude.

 

“Now, where is this prisoner being kept, do you think?” Sayaka asked.

 

“The same place I am; Konohagakure no Sato.”

 

“My poor pup, do you mean to tell me that you are a prisoner yourself?”

 

Sasuke frowned and he explained. He talked late into the night about politics, and about genocide, and about the goddess in the Moon. Then, Sayaka talked about two princes she had known long ago, Hamura and Hagoromo, and about a curse laid on the Uchiha by a shadow creature, and about burying her own children in darker times.

 

Sasuke and Sayaka spoke again the next night and the night after that. Telling all he knew of the past and of the future to come took time. It went somewhat faster this time than it had with the birds, because he had practice explaining it. It seemed to get easier to talk about the massacre with repetition, too. It was still hard to talk about his loss, and he had to stop several times, but hearing about Sayaka’s loss, her own stories volunteered freely, made the sharing easier.

 

Sometimes, Sasuke would come to Sayaka just to cry about how he missed his mother’s cooking, or his brother’s piggyback rides, or his father’s way of tweaking his nose. Sayaka would listen and share how she missed her daughter’s laughter, or the way her son sang and danced about the house when he was happy, or her husband’s sleeping presence in her bed at night.

 

After Sasuke, through the efforts of many talented rodents, finally recovered Hikari’s enclosure scroll from the Sarutobi archives a few months later, the gifts he offered Sayaka on his next visit were a second bouquet of flowers and his tears. Sayaka, so great and kind, offered her tears to him in return.

 

“Will you unseal her already?” Sayaka asked as Sasuke stared at the scroll in his lap.

 

“Not yet,” Sasuke said. “She won’t be safe in Konoha.” He hugged the scroll to his chest. “I’ll wait for Wave.”

 

“Wave?” Sayaka asked.

 

Sasuke smiled and he explained.

 

-

 

The Monday after Sasuke had packed up his house, he arrived at the designated meeting place and wrote in his journal until Sakura arrived. Then he started stretching, which got Sakura to do the same. Naruto joined in automatically when he arrived a few minutes later and Sasuke redid some of his stretches to encourage Naruto to do those, too. When everyone was limber, Sasuke started doing push-ups. Sakura gave up first and Sasuke had to start using chakra to strengthen his muscles to outlast Naruto. That Uzumaki stamina was no joke. After push-ups came sit-ups. Sakura gave up first. Then came running through the forest and up the stairs that lead to the Hokage Monument. Again, Sakura gave up first.

 

“Keep up,” Sasuke said, as he panted. Sakura glared at him.

 

“I’m trying! It’s not fair! I’m a girl; I’m just not going to be as strong or fast as you boys are,” Sakura said.

 

Sasuke raised a disbelieving eyebrow as the absurdity of this statement bowled him over. Had this girl forgotten that they lived in a world where magic was real? Sasuke looked around for a pebble. He spotted a stone not far away and picked it up. He held the stone out to focus Sakura’s attention on it. Then, he applied chakra to the muscles of his arm and hand, as he would for Body Flicker, and, after struggling to get the chakra properly distributed in his muscles, he crushed the rock.

 

“Holy shit!” Naruto shouted. “How did you do that?! Are you a monster?!”

 

Sasuke then picked up another rock and handed it to the open-mouthed Sakura. Why should she have to wait for Tsunade to learn how to use chakra to amplify her strength? She was smart. She could figure it out early.

 

“You have good chakra control. Figure it out, then catch up,” Sasuke said. “Come on.” Sasuke took off running again.

 

“What?! Don’t crush me!” Naruto wailed, twisting away from Sasuke’s path as he passed, wasting the breath he would need for their run. “Eh?! Are we running again?! Wait for me! You’re cheating! Wait for me! And you’re still running wrong! Stop moving your arms! What are you, a first year?!”

 

It was a good morning for physical training. The birds were singing, the spring weather was cool, and the trees were healthy and green. As Naruto and Sasuke came back towards where they would meet Kakashi, Naruto pulled ahead, making a gloating face as he passed, so Sasuke started running harder. He wasn’t being silly and competitive. He didn’t need to pass Naruto, no, it was fine just to keep up. At least until they got near the finish line.

 

Sasuke and Naruto lay on the grass in the shade, sweating like pigs and gasping for breath, as Sakura ran up to them.

 

“Sasuke-kun, look! I cracked it!” Sakura said excitedly, holding the two halves of the rock he had given her earlier above Sasuke’s head. “I put chakra into my muscles and I cracked it! I cracked a bunch of them! See?” Sakura pulled out a handful of broken pebbles from her pocket. Sasuke nodded.

 

Then, he remembered how sparing his father had been with praise and forced himself to say something.

 

“Good job,” Sasuke said awkwardly.

 

Sakura beamed.

 

“You broke that rock?!” Naruto asked, sitting up and making Sasuke wished he had such a quick recovery. “Wow, Sakura-chan! You’re amazing! Show me how!” Naruto said.

 

Sasuke watched Naruto gush over Sakura’s achievement and wished he had an Uzumaki’s vitality, too. Naruto was bouncing around again, but Sasuke would have been happy to lie there for another hour, maybe catch a nap. That made him think of what his brother had said on the night of the massacre.

 

Itachi had said that Sasuke was too weak to be worth killing. It might have been a lie meant to spur him on in his training, but it was true anyway. Sasuke’s mouth twisted. He would never be a match for Itachi. Sasuke tried to tell himself it didn’t matter. He wasn’t chasing Itachi’s shadow. He was never going to fight Itachi, never even going to see him again, so it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter. He could be a mediocre ninja and still be strong, because he had his own kind of strength.

 

Suddenly, Kakashi appeared, looming over Naruto and startling everyone.

 

“You’re late!” Naruto and Sakura shouted.

 

“Aw, are you puppies tired?” Kakashi asked happily.

 

Sasuke wondered if Kakashi was about to start throwing sticks for Team Seven to fetch. Kakashi gave him in particular a shit-eating grin, so Sasuke glared at the weirdo, his hackles rising. What was this guy planning now?

 

“Kakashi-sensei!” Sakura said. “Look! I broke this rock! I strengthened my muscles with chakra, like Sasuke did, and I broke a rock with my bare hands!”

 

Kakashi looked surprised.

 

“Get used to it,” Sasuke thought. “Sakura’s going to kick ass.”

 

“Training together so diligently,” Kakashi said. “Good job, everyone.”

 

“Thanks!” Naruto said.

 

“Thanks, Kakashi-sensei!” Sakura said.

 

“Did you say Sasuke showed you how to do it?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Yes!” Sakura said.

 

“No!” Naruto said. “He just did it and then he was all like, ‘figure it out!’ The bastard didn’t explain anything at all! I didn’t even get to try, either! We just started running again!”

 

“Yes, he did!” Sakura said. “He said chakra control was necessary.”

 

“What does that explain?” Naruto said. “Chakra control is necessary for everything! He just crushed a rock and then told you to do it, too.”

 

Yeah, Sasuke’s teaching skills might need work. He blushed and looked away when Kakashi looked at him.

 

“Well, I did figure it out, didn’t I?” Sakura said.

 

“Yeah, but… What did you do, anyway?” Naruto asked.

 

“I strengthened my muscles with chakra!” Sakura said. “If you put charka into your muscles evenly, then you can make them uniformly stronger. Then they can work together harmoniously!”

 

“Hm? Can you do that?” Naruto asked.

 

“Yes, you can,” Kakashi said. “With sufficient chakra control. The finer your control, the stronger you can make yourself by using charka where it’s most effective.”

 

“Huh,” Naruto said.

 

“Now, get up! Let’s go get you guys your first mission!” Kakashi said.

 

“Seriously?! Yeah!” Naruto said, leaping to his feet. “I’m going to do a real ninja mission! This is so cool!”

 

Sasuke dragged himself to his feet, hoping that Naruto wouldn’t be too noisy when he learned that they’d be doing D-ranks.

 

-

 

Kakashi might have enjoyed Naruto’s disappointment when he realized that Team Seven’s first mission wasn’t an assassination, but he didn’t enjoy Naruto’s constant whining about it. The team’s first assignment was a good one, in Kakashi’s opinion. It was safe, it paid, it served the community, it encouraged cooperation, it taught carpentry skills, and most of it could be done in the shade. There were worse jobs. Kakashi had done many of them, sometimes without pay.

 

Team Seven was tasked with tearing down and rebuilding a treehouse in a public playground, because the old one was becoming unsafe. Luckily, the plans were provided for them. Unluckily, Naruto had opinions about them and kept writing on the plans to alter them as he liked, adding things like water slides, and climbing walls, and a target practice range. He even scribbled some happy stick-figures playing on it. Seeing this, Kakashi just opened his book and let life unfold for his rookie genin.

 

The second time this happened, Sasuke actually stopped working entirely to make a copy of the original plans in his notebook, so they would have something legible to work from. This would have made Kakashi furious at his age, but Sasuke did it without apparent irritation or even speaking to Naruto.

 

Sakura, however, was mad enough for the both of them. After Naruto had drawn on the plans for the fifth time, Sakura progressed from scolding Naruto to punching him after loudly shouting, “shannaro.” This prompted Sasuke to intervene with the line used by parents of temperamental toddlers everywhere: “use your words.” Kakashi found this particularly funny coming from the laconic Sasuke, but he only laughed a little bit, because he was a good teacher.

 

Just like in the bell test, Sakura ended up providing the direction and Naruto and Sasuke ended up following it. Sasuke, whom Sakura had given the job of measuring and marking the wood for cutting, diligently measured each line twice and used a straight edge consistently. Then, Naruto cut the boards and poles where Sasuke had marked. Finally, Sakura went after the cut pieces with sandpaper as needed. She was meticulous in ensuring there weren’t any rough edges that could give kids splinters, running her fingers over the edges of the wood each time before she moved on to another piece.

 

They weren’t a very far along on the job when Naruto complained of being bored. Sakura shouted at him to shut up and get back to work, but Sasuke suggested they switch tasks. He gave Naruto his own job and told him to measure every line twice, which Naruto took offense to.

 

“What, do you think I’m stupid? I know how to measure, you bastard! I don’t have to measure everything twice!” Naruto said. Kakashi hoped they wouldn’t have to buy more wood. That would definitely come out of their pay. He almost said something, but the kids needed to learn how to work together. If Naruto screwed up the project, because he didn’t listen to his teammates, that would be an important lesson and this was the lowest stakes way for him to learn that lesson.

 

“Naruto!” Sakura scolded. “The phrase, ‘measure twice, cut once,’ is about woodworking! Measure the lines twice, so you don’t ruin everything!”

 

“Even if I mess up, we have so much wood!” Naruto said.

 

“What makes you think we have extra?” Sakura asked, putting her hands on her hips.

 

“We don’t?” Naruto asked incredulously. “Are we building some kind of tree mansion?”

 

“We’re making a pair of treehouses connected by a three-rope bridge, remember?” Sakura said.

 

“Oh, I missed that,” Naruto said. Man, that kid was all over the place. He was like a dog that misbehaved because the owner wasn’t taking them for walks. Maybe Naruto needed more exercise to get his energy level down. Whatever exercise the kids had done that morning, it evidently hadn’t been enough for him.

 

Kushina had done a lot of physical exercise, Kakashi remembered suddenly. She wore weights like Gai did, too. Kakashi shied away from the memory of his teacher’s wife. He got lost in those memories too easily.

 

So, while Naruto started measuring, Sasuke relieved Sakura of her sanding, and she took over sawing. Kakashi noticed that Sakura quickly started tiring and stretched her arms and fingers out while she rested them. After this short break, however, she worked much more quickly than before and didn’t need another break. She must have been applying what she learned about using chakra to power her muscles. Good.

 

This arrangement continued for a while, but soon Naruto was bored again and wanted to try sanding. The other two accommodated him without argument this time, although Sakura did roll her eyes. Round and round they went, until lunchtime.

 

The boys had the sad, simple, but very large bentos one would expect preteen boys to make for themselves. Sasuke’s didn’t have enough protein, lacking any fish, meat, or eggs. Kakashi would need to keep an eye on that. For contrast, Naruto’s was mostly egg. Kakashi would also have to keep an eye on that. At least Kakashi’s store-bought bento had two dishes, plus rice. Sakura had a well-balanced bento. Kakashi noticed that her rice had a smiling face on it. It stung his eyes.

 

Something about Sasuke’s bento niggled at the back of Kakashi’s brain. Then, he realized what it was: Sasuke was using Itachi’s bento box. Of course, he would do, Kakashi thought. It was part of his family’s dish set and not something to get sentimental about. Still, sitting there and eating from his brother’s bento box, the similarities between the two were striking. They looked so alike and they even shared something in their temperament.

 

He watched as Sasuke pulled a bag of apples out of his pack. The other two reached out to take one before the kid had even offered them one, Kakashi noted with approval. These three were closer than they appeared at first glance.

 

When Sasuke, who had been ignoring Kakashi all day, looked at him and held out an apple, Kakashi smiled and indicated that Sasuke should toss him one. Sasuke tossed him an apple and then, unlike the other two, went right back to ignoring Kakashi. While his teammates were busy trying to catch a glimpse of Kakashi’s maskless face while he ate, Sasuke was staring at the pigeons that were looking for crumbs outside a nearby food stall and eating his own apple absently.

 

“Even Itachi hadn’t been that reserved,” Kakashi thought. Sasuke was a year older than Itachi had been when he’d joined ANBU, but he acted older, much older, than Itachi had. “He’s more like me after Rin-chan died than his is like Itachi. He’s holding everyone at arm’s length so he won’t have to deal with the pain of losing someone he loves again.”

 

Kakashi had a few minutes of fun finding ways to hide his face and eat at the same time, variously making things fall in front of his face at just the right moment, having clones transformed to look like a pack of kids run in between him and his genin, and creating distractions behind the kids. This delightfully frustrated Sakura and Naruto, who became more and more invested the longer they were thwarted in their mission to learn what Kakashi looked like. Life couldn’t be all fun, though. Eventually, everything was eaten, lunch was over, and the kids got back to work. They traded woodworking jobs about every half hour, with Naruto occasionally fishing an apple out Sasuke’s pack for a snack, until all the wood was worked.

 

“Alright,” Kakashi said. “Time to knock off. That was a lot of work! Good job, team!”

 

Sakura glared cutely at Kakashi, but it was Naruto who spoke up.

 

“We did all the work! You didn’t do anything!” Naruto accused hotly, bringing a smile to Kakashi’s face.

 

“Now, now, don’t be like that! Let’s go get dinner together to celebrate taking on our first mission as Team Seven,” Kakashi said. It was like a switch had been flipped; suddenly, Naruto was all smiles.

 

“I want ramen!” Naruto said. “Let’s go to Ramen Ichiraku!” No objections were voiced, so Kakashi considered that settled.

 

“Tomorrow, we’ll do the demolition and start building the first new treehouse,” Sakura said looking up. Kakashi followed her gaze up to the old treehouse. Its wood had become shaggy from being out in all weathers. If you weren’t careful when you touched it, you’d probably come away with a porcupine palm. “We should all show up first thing.”

 

“But I want to learn cool ninjutsu! This is dumb stuff! Let’s leave it ‘til the afternoon,” Naruto said.

 

“No way,” Sakura said.

 

“Let’s train for an hour and then come here,” Sasuke said.

 

“Okay,” Sakura said.

 

“What?! Why are you listening to him, but not me, Sakura-chan?” Naruto whined. “That’s not fair!”

 

“Taking an hour for training is reasonable,” Sakura said. “Taking half a day off is not.”

 

“Who made you the boss?” Naruto asked.

 

“Nobody,” Sakura said. “I’m just helping figure things out. Now, come on; I’m hungry.”

 

“Yeah! I’ll race you!” Naruto said.

 

“No racing in town,” Kakashi said quickly, because the Hokage would have words with him if his genin tore up the place.

 

Sasuke went over to the scrap wood pile and selected two boards, which he stuck to his feet with chakra.

 

“What are you doing, Sasuke-kun?” Sakura asked.

 

“Training,” Sasuke said, walking noisily back towards the group. It made an obnoxious noise, but it wasn’t a bad idea. The kids could practice the basics of tree walking everywhere they went and without the risk of fall. Kakashi should have thought of it. It was the kind of training Gai would think of, actually.

 

“Oh, like the leaf exercise, but with our feet,” Sakura said. “Okay.”

 

“Ugh! I hate the leaf exercise!” Naruto said.

 

“You should do what Sasuke-kun’s doing,” Sakura said. “You need practice. Using chakra through your feet is harder, so it’s a good challenge! You said you wanted to learn a cool technique, so learn it!” She kicked up some pebbles using just her chakra to stick them to the bottom of her shoe and then releasing them at the top of her swing. That would be a good move to use against enemies one day and Sakura had just intuitively used it for fun. The rate she was learning at was impressive.

 

“If you can use chakra through your feet proficiently, then you’ll be able to kick sand into your enemy’s eyes,” Kakashi said to Naruto. “Or pick up weapons off the ground without bending over.”

 

“Or walk up trees,” Sakura said smugly.

 

“In fact, there are lots of ways it could be used in a fight. You’ve already seen Sakura and Sasuke do tree walking before,” Kakashi said. “It’s the same skill at work.”

 

“Well, I can do it, too, just not right now!” Naruto said. “Just wait! I’ll get it down in no time!” He hurried over to the wood pile and selected two boards of his own. Thus, Team Seven went to dinner, with Kakashi leisurely taking up the rear, Sakura never touching the ground, but walking along the sides of buildings in front, and Sasuke and Naruto clonking along the road in the middle of the pack. Naruto kept having to pause and reattach the boards to his feet as they walked, but other people were able to walk around them, so they didn’t hold up traffic.

 

“Teuchi-san!” Naruto called out, when they reached Ichiraku Ramen. It was an older restaurant. Kakashi remembered Kushina and Minato eating there sometimes.

 

“Hey, Naruto-kun!” the man working the ramen stall said. He was a fat man of average height, with a broad, wrinkled face and narrow eyes. His neat clothes and easy smile gave the impression that he was a warm, dependable sort of person. “Welcome back!”

 

“Teuchi-san! Teuchi-san! These are my teammates!” Naruto said excitedly. “This is Sakura-chan, Sasuke, and Kakashi, our teacher!”

 

“Good to meet you all!” Teuchi said.

 

“Pleased to meet you,” Sakura said, while Sasuke just nodded at Teuchi and gave a soft “Oh.” That boy had such poor social skills. Thankfully, ninja didn’t need those, so it wasn’t Kakashi’s problem.

 

“Pleased to meet you,” Kakashi said.

 

Naruto told the ramen guy all about their day of exercising and building treehouses.

 

“I’m training to be able to walk up walls now! I’m walking around with boards on my feet today, but, soon, I’ll be able to walk up things and even hang upside down off the ceiling like an evil ghost!” Naruto said waggling his eyebrows.

 

“That sounds like fun,” the Teuchi said, handing out their bowls.

 

“Thank you for the food!” Naruto said. The rest of Team Seven echoed Naruto and they ate their meal in busy silence. Kakashi got to play with Sakura and Naruto again, hiding his face in this way and that while he ate. While the other kids where distracted, Sasuke finished his food and paid his bill.

 

Kakashi noticed, though, that Sasuke wrote something on the back of the bill and left too much money under his note. Then he got up and left without saying “goodbye,” wood on his feet and all.

 

“Bye, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura said. “See you tomorrow!”

 

Sasuke waved at her without turning around.

 

“That guy is always going at his own pace. Thanks for the meal!” Naruto declared when he finished his portion. The other two departed, leaving Kakashi behind at the stall.

 

“What was that he wrote to you?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Ah, that shy one,” Teuchi said. “The note said, ‘Thanks for your kindness to Naruto.’ I don’t think I’ve done anything special, though.” Kakashi blinked. What was that about?

 

“You don’t treat Naruto especially kind?” Kakashi asked, before he realized how unusual that was. Nobody treated Naruto like a normal kid in this village.

 

“Nope,” Teuchi said. “I treat him just like all my other customers. Well, sometimes I’ll give him a free bowl of ramen. He is my best customer, after all.” That confirmed it. This man had been kind to Naruto, even if he didn’t know it. Guilt at not being present in Naruto’s life clenched its fist briefly in Kakashi’s guts.

 

“Have you known Naruto-kun for a while?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Oh, yes,” Teuchi said. “Since he was about four. He comes in here all the time. He’s my best customer!”

 

“Four?” Kakashi asked, surprised.

 

“Yeah,” Teuchi said. “He came in here alone one night looking like a wet kitten and I offered him a bowl. It was so long ago, I doubt Naruto-kun remembers it anymore.”

 

With that, Teuchi got back to work and Kakashi left.

 

-

 

“What a glorious day today was! The weather was perfect for training, don’t you agree? How did your first day of supporting the growth of the next generation of Konoha’s ninjas go, my rival?” Gai asked when they met at on the roof of Gai’s apartment for snacks and drinks that evening. Gai looked so excited at hearing Kakashi’s news that his eyes were sparkling.

 

“The kids trained on their own this morning,” Kakashi said. “Sasuke-kun taught Sakura-chan how to enhance her strength with chakra. Well, I say taught. Apparently, he demonstrated it once and told her to ‘figure it out.’ She did manage it, though, in spite of his paltry instructions.”

 

“What a caring teammate! That Sasuke-kun must have a good heart!” Gai said.

 

“He does though! It’s no joke!” Kakashi said, giving Gai an exasperated look. “He’s been carrying around apples for Naruto, walking on boards to train in a skill he already knows, so Naruto would practice, and thanking the guy who gave Naruto free ramen with a little note on the back of his bill. In addition to teaching Sakura how to crush rocks with her bare hands today, like she’s the second coming of Tsunade-sama, he taught her how to tree walk during the bell test. And he always supports her when she takes charge of the team, too, like he’s trying to build up her confidence! He hardly says two words to anyone, though, and he left the ramen stall we had dinner at without saying goodbye! He’s the most awkward kid I’ve ever seen, but he’s really, honestly looking out for his teammates!”

 

“A man of quiet kindness, gently holding his teammates in his cupped hands without seeking thanks or praise! What a fine young ninja! He is a credit to his clan and the village!” Gai said. “You sound surprised, though. Why?”

 

“Because he’s such a little asshole,” Kakashi said with feeling.

 

“Ah,” Gai said slyly. “He wasn’t interested in forming a deep bond with you the day you met, as I recall! Don’t give up, Kakashi-kun! You can reach his heart with your sincerity! If he dislikes you now, then you can only look forward to the day that you have developed the deep and true bond of the teacher and student!”

 

“I don’t know if he dislikes me, exactly,” Kakashi said. “He just doesn’t have any interest in me at all. He didn’t even try to look under my mask when we ate.”

 

Gai slapped Kakashi on the back.

 

“Your journey as a teacher may not be a smooth one, Kakashi-kun, but it will be a path worth traveling! You will go hand in hand with your new students in the coming years! A connection will naturally develop between you as you face the light and the dark of life and you can bask in the warm glow of the certainty of that happy day to come even now!”

 

“It isn’t just me who thinks he’s an asshole,” Kakashi said. “Naruto doesn’t seem to like him, either.”

 

“Even though Sasuke-kun clearly likes him so much?” Gai asked.

 

“That’s just it: he hides it! He pretends like he’s not doing it for them! When he told Sakura how to tree walk during the bell test, he acted like he was doing it to keep her from messing up the test for the team, even though he didn’t care about the test. Then, today, he left Sakura behind during training, but he was really giving her a quiet moment to practice the skill he showed her. He brought a whole bag of apples and didn’t even offer the others any, but he didn’t protest when Naruto ended up eating half the bag, either,” Kakashi said.

 

“Didn’t offer them…? It sounds like Naruto-kun is the awkward one here,” Gai said.

 

“Well,” Kakashi said. “He didn’t offer any to the other kids. They seemed to know it was alright to take as many as they liked. He offered one to me, though.”

 

Gai gasped and held his hands to his cheeks.

 

“Aww, Kakashi-kun!” Gai shouted. “He does like you!”

 

“No way,” Kakashi said, thinking hard. Was it possible?! “Does he? I don’t know, Gai-kun.” Kakashi sighed. “That’s enough about my weird students. Tell me about your weird students.”

 

Gai’s face lost some of its enthusiasm. Oh, no. Kakashi could already see where this was going.

 

“Neji-kun is having a hard time,” Gai said. “The anniversary of his father’s death is coming up, so he’s been snappish. Lee-kun has been taking the brunt of it, although I’ve tried to set Neji-kun straight again and again. Neji-kun, with his background, is convinced that everyone’s fate is fixed from the moment of their birth and they are helpless to alter it, which flies in the face of Lee-kun’s ethos, so he can’t leave Neji-kun alone.

 

“Lee-kun isn’t strong enough yet to prove that hard work can trump any advantage that a clan pedigree could provide, though, so he is becoming less secure in the worth of his efforts and in his own worth the longer this goes on. I’ve tried to tell him that it is right to have a rival to test himself against, but that he needs to notice how he is continually improving over his past self, but he can’t hear it right now.

 

“I just wish I had the right words for Neji-kun,” Gai said. “I wish I knew how to help him.”

 

“I’m sorry, Gai-kun,” Kakashi said.

 

“If I could beat Neji-kun’s uncle into the dirt just once, I would feel so much better,” Gai said. “I spoke to him this last week.”

 

“Like you do every week,” Kakashi added helpfully. Gai nodded.

 

“He is still refusing to allow Neji-kun to be taught the clan’s secret techniques,” Gai said. “He told me ‘We don’t believe in breaking tradition for blah, blah, blah,’ you know the line. And I just had to let him keep talking instead of righteously putting my fist through his face. It’s one thing to let someone be rude or cruel to myself, but it is so much harder to allow it to happen to my students. I wish I could just adopt Neji-kun myself to get him away from that family!”

 

“Seriously? You’d like to take the kid in? A teenager?” Kakashi asked. “That would be a lot to take on.”

 

“I’d give my precious students the shirt off my back if they asked!” Gai shouted. “What is the point of limiting a ninja’s growth?! Neji-kun will only be more likely to die on the battlefield if he is ill-prepared! Neji-kun is his nephew, the son of his brother, and just a teenager! How dare that man, a grown adult, undermine Neji-kun that way?!

 

“I can tell that boy that he can compensate for that lack of clan knowledge by becoming strong in other ways, by specializing in other skills, but it doesn’t change the fact that his own family regards him as a lesser being! Those miserable fucking bastards! Everyone in the main branch needs to be taught a lesson in decency.”

 

Gai’s righteous fire dimmed and he began to cry. He sighed dispiritedly and wiped tears from his cheeks, as Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder. It was the same every week. The Hyuuga really were a twisted family. It always took a toll on Gai to listen to Hiashi tell him to fuck off, but Gai couldn’t give up for Neji’s sake. It seemed to be hitting Gai especially hard this week, probably because Neji was suffering so much right now. Kakashi could understand that. He didn’t deal well with anniversaries, either, and he was an adult.

 

“Their training is going well, though,” Gai said, brightening. “Today, Lee-kun managed to do a thousand one-handed push-ups on each hand! And Tenten learned to use a new weapon this week, the yari. She is picking it up so fast! With her ability to use any weapon to hand, I’m going to put her up for consideration for special jounin rank as soon as she becomes a chuuin. Especially with how good she is with enclosure seals, she will never hurt for work, so long as she continues as a ninja. I’m going to try to arrange extra tutoring for her in kenjutsu with Hayate-kun. And Neji-kun! He’s convinced he’s the most graceful thing in the world, while still being thirteen! It’s adorable! He can’t seem to get his legs to do what he wants, but, so long as he isn’t falling on his butt, he thinks he doesn’t have any room for improvement! He takes himself so seriously!” Gai laughed heartily.

 

“Everyone takes themselves too seriously at that age,” Kakashi said. “I know we did.”

 

“Yes, but it’s funnier from this side!” Gai said.

 

Kakashi snorted and took another sip of his beer, enjoying how cold it was. He was very picky about beer, but this was a good brand.

 

“Isn’t it just?” Kakashi said. “It’s the privilege of the old to laugh at the young.”

 

“I’m not old! My youth is as strong as ever!” Gai said, raising his beer.

 

“Gai-kun,” Kakashi said. “We’re twenty-eight. We’re practically decrepit. Maybe, I’ll allow, maybe you are kept young by your youth now, but time is surely running out, my friend. Could youth ever be up to the task of keeping someone young at the age of, say, thirty? I don’t think so.”

 

“Youth has no limits!” Gai said. “Youth will triumph over any adversity! Youth will not fail! My youth will keep me young at the age of one hundred! Just see if it doesn’t!

 

“Anyway, did you enjoy your first day of teaching the youth?” Gai took a bite of pickle, reminding Kakashi that they did indeed have delicious snacks to eat.

 

“… You know, I did,” Kakashi said, taking a pickle himself.

 

“Excellent!” Gai said. “I knew it would be good for you! You are much more suited to this than to being in ANBU. Your light will shine even brighter when it is reflected in the faces of the youth! Developing the strength to raise others up, that will serve you well, rival. Of course, you will have to hone your skills as a jounin sensei before you could ever hope to compete with me in terms of quality of students. But! One day! One day, your students might just be able to compete with mine! Of course, mine will still be the best! But yours can look to mine for guidance!”

 

“I just told you that I have two students who are already enhancing their muscle strength with chakra and tree walking and you think yours can compare?” Kakashi said. “Please.”

 

“A competition then!” Gai said. “We’ll see who raises the better students!”

 

Kakashi raised his beer in salute, knocking his can gently into Gai’s.

 

Gai finished his beer and sighed.

 

“It sounds to me like Sasuke-kun has done quite a bit of independent training. He has skills one would expect of a chuunin. How long do you think you have before he runs off to fight his brother?” Gai asked.

 

“I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me if I asked,” Kakashi said. “Hopefully a good long while. He isn’t even where his brother was at his age, let alone whatever level Itachi is on now.”

 

“His brother was a uniquely dangerous ninja. Even the fiendish Orochimaru’s treachery cannot be compared to Itachi’s. Itachi killed as many people as the Nine Tails did. To be able to do what he did at any age, let alone at thirteen, who else could have caused so much devastation?” Gai said, shaking his head.

 

“We didn’t even know Itachi was capable of something like that,” Kakashi said. “I doubt anyone else in the village could have destroyed an entire clan, let alone one as strong as the Uchiha. They were the strongest clan in the village and they still fell. It’s still hard to believe that one person could have done all that.”

 

“I don’t wish to speak ill of the great skill and constant vigilance of my radiant village and I’m sure any ninja of Konoha would not flinch in their duty to defend her again such a person at all costs. However, because he is such a dire threat, if Itachi wished to return to the village to kill Sasuke-kun, I’m not sure that we could stop him before it was all over,” Gai said.

 

“Neither am I,” Kakashi admitted. “Sasuke-kun still lives in the same damned house, so he’d be no trouble to find.”

 

“Being Sasuke-kun’s teacher when Itachi might come back to finish the job… That is a dangerous responsibility and you’ve been slacking in your training these last few years,” Gai said, opening another beer.

 

“Slacking, have I?” Kakashi asked, taking a gyoza out of the takeout box.

 

“You should train more. I don’t want to lose my eternal rival to an animal like that,” Gai said.

 

“What a troublesome student,” Kakashi said. “Not only do I have to teach him how to use the sharingan, but I have to fight his big brother, too. See how much work he creates for me?”

 

“Has the Hokage shared anything with you about how he plans for a potential return by Itachi to be dealt with?” Gai asked.

 

“No,” Kakashi said.

 

“No?” Gai asked, sounding surprised.

 

“He didn’t mention Itachi at all when we discussed Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi admitted. “If there are contingency plans, Hokage-sama didn’t share them with me.”

 

“… You know you will not have to stand against that traitor alone,” Gai said, as solemn and serious as Kakashi had ever seen him.

 

“I never doubted it,” Kakashi said. Nevertheless, he was glad to hear it. It was always made him feel a little taller these days to be reminded that Gai cared about him. He was the best man Kakashi knew.

 

“Good,” Gai said.

 

-

 

The next morning, Kakashi went to the Memorial Stone to talk to his friends.

 

“I think I’ll have to buy Naruto-kun a weighted vest today,” Kakashi said. “Gai told me where he buys his, so I’ll stop in there before I meet the kids. And Sakura-chan… Her chakra control is amazing and she learns fast, too. I’ll sign her up for lessons at the hospital. If Tsunade-sama weren’t out of the picture, I’d actually go to her first. Maybe I should talk to Kurenai-chan about her, too. She hasn’t even been as distracted by Sasuke-kun as I thought she’d be.”

 

Kakashi found himself smiling as he thought about the day to come. He was actually looking forward to meeting with the kids today. This teaching stuff was easy and the kids were already making so much progress! It had been a long time since he felt energized about anything. Since he left ANBU, he’d been coasting through the jounin missions he’d taken on, doing them more because it was his job than because he cared about them or how they would support the welfare of the village.

 

“Gai-kun was right,” Kakashi said. “I have been letting my own training slip. I’ve gotten soft, guys. I should go do my own training now before I meet the kids. Bye, everyone.”

 

And off he went. All told, he reflected, he’d probably spent ten minutes in front of the Memorial Stone. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d only visited for ten minutes. He looked up into the cloudy twilight sky. It would be a good day for training, so long as the weather held. Kakashi’s smile grew.

Notes:

Sasuke’s section went long on this one because he deals with things and it’s a lot. And Kakashi! He’s like, “I’m good at this teaching thing!” when he hasn’t taught his kids squat, which cracks me up. I felt the same way when I started working as a TA.

I didn’t read much Naruto, because it bored and aggravated me, but I read character analyses on forums and such, so these characters will be as in character as I can make them. People seem divided on whether Kakashi is a good teacher or not and, I have to say, it’s the author’s fault.

On the page, Kakashi had these kids for a very short time and most of that time is taken up with adventure and community service hours, instead of training montages. Then, the reader is given the information that Kurenai, Asuma, and Gai taught their kids lots of things and spent lots of time with them, just developing rapport with those kids and supporting them emotionally. There’s a time dilation issue, because Kakashi has had these kids for several days, but these other teachers have had their classes for months or even a year and a half, in Gai’s case. It’s a failure of the writer that gets interpreted by the readers as a failure of Kakashi, because most people are working within the text. The highly incohesive text.

So, to definitively answer the question, “Is Kakashi a good teacher?” We can’t know that, because he didn’t get the chance to teach, but probably not, because teaching is a skill and Kakashi hasn’t honed it either on the page or in his backstory. Also, it’s hard to be good at a job you show up hours late for every day.

Has anybody else read Kishimoto’s explanation of Sasuke’s character? He explained his use of the word “pure” to describe Sasuke, saying it meant something like selfish and unencumbered by morality, and I was like, “I smell Randian bullshit.”

Speaking of bullshit, did you know that the kanji for “rat” is prohibited from use in children’s names under Japanese law? Rats are great, though! I had a science teacher who brought her pet rat to our class every day when I was in middle school. That little guy was a doll.

I assume this law exists because those names would be insulting to the child. I was going to give the rodents names including the kanji for “rat” as I had given the warbling white-eyes names containing the word for “bird,” but I worried that rat-containing names might be disrespectful somehow to my fictional rodents. Thus, their names contain the character for “small” instead.

Chapter 3: Chocolate and Kunai

Summary:

We see a day in the life of Kakashi before the team leaves for Wave. Team Seven has their first experience of combat while escorting their client.

Notes:

I made an impulse purchase of some cut-price nail polish that was highlighter bright, so I’m wearing that with a pearlescent top coat at the moment. The color is super intense, even with the topcoat tempering it somewhat. When I first finished it, I was indoors, and I judged the final hue to be “watermelon.” When I went outside this morning, I had to revise that. Everyone I’ve shown my nails to, when I describe the color as “Barbie Pink” they raise their eyebrows and say something to the effect of “Yeah! That is exactly the color you achieved!” My nails are so bright that I keep looking at them. I generally wear the colors that come to mind when you hear the phrase “office appropriate,” so it’s a nice change of pace.

This has nothing to do with the story. I just want everyone to know my nail polish embodies feminine childhood whimsy. *sparkle, sparkle*

The alarm clock behind Kakashi’s bed went off, with its cotton-wrapped hammer smacking back and forth between the twin bells obscenely energetically for this time of the day. Despite the muffling wrapping Kakashi had put on it, it was still loud enough to wake the dead, so Kakashi he twitched awake and stared blearily into the darkness. Seeing no threat, he pulled the covers over his head mulishly and waited for the torture to end. The alarm cut out after thirty seconds and he relaxed again. He sighed sleepily as he lay in his bed, waiting for his brain to boot up. He didn’t like to get out of bed for the first half hour after he woke up, so he was in no hurry to move. He stretched and yawned, fumbled around to grab a book off the self behind his head, turned on his lamp, squinting against the sudden brightness, and started reading.

 

Thirty minutes later, Kakashi was refreshed and ready to face the day, so he pulled off the covers and stood up. He stretched his arms above his head and flexed his back, giving a satisfied sigh when he had pulled everything just right. What was it about stretching that felt so good, Kakashi wondered, as he made his way to the toilet. He did his morning ablutions with alacrity, as he so often did these days.

 

He found himself sleeping more easily in the evenings and having more energy during the day since he started his new mission and begun training with Gai. Keeping in training was good for more than just his abilities as a ninja, he reflected.

 

The sky was clear again today, he noted as he looked out the bedroom window and pulled a clean shirt over his head. That was helpful. Gai would be training rain or shine, but it always more comfortable to train in the dry, unless it was midsummer.

 

Gai met him at the entrance to his apartment with a big grin.

 

“Good morning, my eternal rival! How do you fare on this fine day?” Gai asked, stretching his groin.

 

“Pretty good,” Kakashi said, doing his own stretches. “You?”

 

“I am doing stupendous! Isn’t the warmth of Spring coming on gently this year?” Gai said. “This is marvelous training weather! Of course, training in inclement weather hones the skills needed to fight in any circumstance, so I can’t complain, either way! It is all a valuable experience! Are you ready to run?”

 

“Got a course in mind for today?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Yosh! I would like to run to the wall, around the wall, across the Hokage Monument, around the wall again, along the river, through the Forest of Death, and along the river again to return here!” Gai said.

 

“Sounds good,” Kakashi said. “I’m ready whenever you are. Let’s do it.”

 

The Forest of Death was always fun. Kakashi enjoyed the increasing contrast over the years between how he had experienced the Forest of Death for the first time as a genin and how he experienced it as he got older and became more capable as a ninja. The dogs would enjoy it, too, but they didn’t like to get up before dawn, so he left them unsummoned.

 

“Okay!” Gai said, and off the pair went, sprinting into the dark side by side.

 

The night air was cool and refreshing and the wind felt good against Kakashi’s face. They ran over the roofs towards the village wall, each spinning and flipping as the mood took them. Kakashi was already grinning by the time they reached the wall and then they leapt onto it and ran along the interior face of it, picking up speed with nothing in their path to slow them down.

 

The uneven surface of the Hokage Monument came next. Each step had to be taken carefully in the dark, so they lost some speed, but the variable plane of the rock face was interesting to traverse. An ANBU team was getting in some early morning practice climbing up the face of the Third without chakra. Gai crowed a hearty greeting and Kakashi waved as they crossed paths with the group.

 

Gai, in his endless exuberance, started doing cartwheels and rolls once they reached the wall on the other side of the cliff. Kakashi followed his example. He reveled in the subversion of gravity, the way the world tilted to accommodate his changed direct of gravity resulting from simply channeling his chakra through his feet. His hair and clothes still obeyed the laws of physics, but the rest of him didn’t have to. Being a ninja wasn’t so bad at times like these.

 

They departed the wall to run across the surface of the river. It had been penned in a decade ago, its water channeled and bound by walls of its own, but it hadn’t been tamed. On the contrary, the river flowed even more vigorously than it had before. Running against the flow of the water slowed their speed, so they increased the strength of their steps, slamming their feet into the water’s surface, forcing them higher into the air, so they spent more time airborne than they did touching the water. They practically flew through Konoha, over a tall chain-link fence, and into one of his home’s more magical places.

 

The Forest of Death was a castle made of trees and her soldiers were the creatures who lived there and had grown giant and fey in the forest’s nature-energy rich atmosphere. Kakashi couldn’t sense nature energy, but he had always felt a wild thrill in the air of this place. Kakashi caught glimpses of strange eyes, shining fangs, and glittering carapaces in the shadowed depths of the forest. He and Gai were moving almost too fast to be bothered with, but one enterprising snake took a chance and Kakashi had to dodge its black-mouthed bite. From tree to tree, they pressed on, until they bounded over the fence again and left the Forest of Death behind.

 

Back to the river they ran. Kakashi started running over the water on his hands and Gai, never one to shirk from a challenge, joined in. They returned to the road again shortly thereafter, found to their starting position, and kept going. They ran lap after lap, until dawn broke and Gai ran off to meet with his students. Kakashi gave him a salute of farewell. Then, he shook his shirt to get some of his sweat to go ahead and evaporate and watched the sky brighten. The burn in his muscles told him, yes, he was out of shape, so he started running again. It was another fine day for training, so why not?

 

-

 

“You’re late!” Sakura and Naruto shouted in unison as Kakashi arrived at ten fifteen. The kids were practicing water walking lately. They did physical exercises and ninjutsu on alternate days. Today, they were using the big reservoir in the Uchiha Compound, but Kakashi had found them practicing in every creek and stream in Konoha in the last couple weeks. They would graduate to the river soon.

 

Sakura had mastered walking on calm water after a single morning of practice, and was now practicing what Sasuke had once called, “water bending.” It was a fairly apt name, Kakashi thought, watching the girl twist and weave the water into complex shapes. The girl seemed to have an affinity for Water Release, because she very naturally controlled the water she injected with her chakra. It wasn’t a Water Release technique, exactly, but it showed an understanding of water’s essence, which often went hand-in-hand with such an affinity. Kakashi really needed to go ahead and sign her up for lessons at the hospital. He just kept forgetting.

 

“Why are you always late?” Sakura asked, putting her hands on her hips and glaring daggers at Kakashi.

 

“Maa, you know, I got lost on the road of life,” Kakashi said. Sakura threw her head back and gave a great, “Shannaro,” before sending the water she had been playing with shooting at Kakashi like so many spears. He sidestepped it and clapped his hands once to rile her up a touch more.

 

“Good job, Sakura-chan! You’re making good progress with that,” Kakashi said, giving her a smile. He dodged the return strike Sakura’s water made at his back. “Soon, you might even be able to hit something with it!” Sakura growled and sent a wave of water at Kakashi. He dodged this, too. “Or maybe not.” She made a noise like a balloon losing its air and started muttering dark oaths under her breath.

 

“Hey, Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto said. “Here! Come over here! We got you a present!” Naruto ran back to the shore, only dropping below the surface every few steps, and grabbed up a potted plant off the ground. He held out the plant to Kakashi with both hands and he accepted it curiously.

 

“Thanks, Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said.

 

“I asked the Yamanaka guy for a plant that was hard to kill, because you’re a flake,” Naruto said. Kakashi stiffened and saw Sasuke turn away and Sakura fight down a smile. “He said this is called, um… Here, we wrote it down. Uh, Epi-pre-prem-num A-u-reum. Pothos. I know it’s just a plant, but it’s more fun to give it a name, right? So, I named it, ‘Ukki-kun.’ I wrote it on the gift tag, see? So, you won’t forget.”

 

Ukki-kun had a nametag. That was adorable. Kakashi was going to put it on his bedroom windowsill, right next to the pictures of his teams.

 

“I’ve never taken care of a plant before,” Kakashi warned. He flipped open the gift tag and found, “To Kakashi-sensei,” written inside on the top flap and, “From Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke,” written on the bottom. Each kid had signed their name. Kakashi’s heart swelled with affection for his genin.

 

“Put it by a window and give it water sometimes,” Naruto said. “Just don’t let the roots dry out! Because it lives in water, you can see when it needs more, right?”

 

“I guess so,” Kakashi said. Looking at it that way, he had some confidence that he could keep this little thing alive. “What’s the occasion?”

 

“No reason,” Naruto said. “I just thought we should get you something.”

 

Kakashi smiled. Naruto might be stupid, but he was a good kid, wasn’t he? Kakashi ruffled Naruto’s hair.

 

“Thanks,” Kakashi said. “All of you, thanks.”

 

“In exchange, get us a cool mission!” Naruto demanded. Kakashi rolled his eyes.

 

“No problem, Kakashi-sensei!” Sakura said happily. Kakashi patted her on the head.

 

Sasuke looked away. Aww, was he shy? Ah! Wasn’t that what the ramen guy had called Sasuke? He was shy! Kakashi grinned.

 

“Hey, I’m hungry!” Naruto said. “Can we eat lunch early?”

 

“Alright,” Kakashi said. The kids all sat down to eat. Once again, Naruto had nothing but eggs and rice.

 

“Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said. “You need to eat a more balanced diet. I put that sign on your wall for a reason.” Last week, Kakashi had taped a sign to Naruto’s wall that read, “Eat your veggies!”

 

“But I ate vegetables yesterday!” Naruto said.

 

“You have to eat them every day,” Kakashi said. “You should eat some with every meal, in fact.”

 

“No way! That’s impossible!” Naruto said, looking offended by the very idea.

 

“If you haven’t eaten all of the vegetables I gave you by this time next week, I will feed them to you myself,” Kakashi said. Naruto shrank away.

 

“… Okay,” Naruto said miserably.

 

“Now, give Sasuke-kun one of your eggs,” Kakashi said.

 

“No way! Are you being serious right now?!” Naruto said angrily. For his part, Sasuke looked as if Kakashi had just demanded that he eat a dog turd. At least he didn’t look bored anymore.

 

“You need to eat more protein,” Kakashi said to Sasuke. “Tofu doesn’t cut it. Give Naruto-kun some of your vegetables in return.” Sasuke visibly fought his face, trying to force it to relax. “What? You don’t like eggs?”

 

“No,” Sasuke said, looking far too grim about it.

 

“The pair of you,” Kakashi said, scratching his head. “How can you be so childish? Just eat properly.” Sakura giggled.

 

When Naruto had deposited an egg in Sasuke’s bento, Sasuke took some of his own lunch and gave it to Naruto. Sasuke stoically ate his egg first, clearly trying to get it over with. His face was ridiculously grim the whole time. Then, he downed half his bottle of water in one go, clearly trying to wash the taste of egg out of his mouth. For contrast, Naruto pushed his portion of vegetables to one corner and ate around them until there was nothing else left to eat. He whined like a puppy while he ate the miniscule number of vegetables he’d been given, but he did eat them. Brats, the pair of them.

 

After lunch, the team took on the job of hunting down the infamous Tora-chan, cat and escape artist extraordinaire, bane of genin teams throughout Konoha. Kakashi had expected the job to take a few hours, because none of his genin were trackers. However, it was over the first time Sakura located the cat, because Sasuke just Body Flickered behind the animal and picked her up. The cat had only barely realized that it was the focus of unwanted attention before it was being held up in the air. Sasuke even held it correctly, so Kakashi couldn’t even enjoy watching the cat try to take the boy’s face off. How dull. Of course, Sasuke would do it properly. The Uchiha had a special relationship with cat summons, Kakashi remembered. The old Uchiha Compound had been solid with cats before the Nine Tails attack.

 

They delivered the growling Tora-chan to Madam Shijimi, who thanked them profusely and remarked how impressed she was at the quick return of her pet. Kakashi wished she hadn’t said anything, because it seemed to give Naruto a big head.

 

“The next mission in the list is to do shopping in the neighboring village for an elder,” the Hokage said.

 

“I’ve had enough of these boring D-ranks, old man!” Naruto shouted. “Give us a real mission! We caught that stupid cat so fast, because we’re awesome! Therefore, we deserve an equally awesome mission!”

 

Kakashi had been waiting for this to happen. The boy just wouldn’t shut up about wanting to do cool missions and learn cool jutsus when he spoke to Kakashi, so it was only a matter of time before he tried to go over Kakashi’s head about it. It wasn’t smart to do it, especially in front of Kakashi, but he could explain this concept to Naruto later, possibly with kunai dodging practice.

 

“You didn’t do anything,” Sakura hissed.

 

“Stop complaining, you idiot!” Iruka shouted, rising from his chair. Naruto really got his goat, huh? He’d been Iruka’s student, hadn’t he? Kakashi would have to remember that in case he ever wanted to mess with Iruka. “These are the missions that all genin do! Everyone works up to more challenging missions!”

 

“But we get the worst ones! It’s not fair!” Naruto shouted, nearly stamping his foot in frustration.

 

“Pouting in front of the Hokage,” Kakashi thought. “Not smart.” Kakashi decided that Naruto had embarrassed himself enough for one day, so he punched Naruto on the top of the head.

 

“Ow!” Naruto said, holding his head.

 

“That’s enough,” Kakashi said.

 

“But, Kakashi!” Naruto whined.

 

“Be quiet,” Kakashi said. He happened to glance over and saw Sasuke, who was standing beside Naruto, glaring at him, like some over-protective mother, upset at her precious son receiving the slightest discipline. Kakashi ignored him while the Hokage began lecturing Naruto on how missions were assigned and what the ranks for ninja were, which Naruto should already know back to front.

 

“… If the duty is completed successfully, then we receive payment from the client,” the Hokage said.

 

“If,” Kakashi thought. “If. And there were so many ways for a mission to not be completed satisfactorily.”

 

Kakashi had decided that Naruto was done embarrassing himself for the day, but, apparently, Naruto disagreed. The Hokage continued, but Naruto turned his back on him and sat down on the floor. It was so childish and unprofessional that it made Kakashi cringe. He didn’t want to get in trouble himself, but the kids needed to be allowed to make their own mistakes… Even in front of the Hokage.

 

“Get up,” Kakashi thought exasperatedly. “The Hokage isn’t your friend; he’s your commander.”

 

“Stand up straight and pay attention when I’m speaking to you!” the Hokage shouted, losing his temper. Kakashi took that as his cue.

 

“I’m sorry, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi said. Before he could drag Naruto up, the brat started talking again.

 

“I’m tired of lectures! You’re always lecturing me! But I’m not a little kid anymore! I haven’t gotten into trouble since I graduated!” Naruto shouted petulantly.

 

Kakashi knew, he just knew, that he was going to get criticized by the Hokage later for failing to instill discipline and respect for authority in his students. He hated getting criticized by the Hokage. It always made him feel like he wasn’t being a proper ninja, which stressed him out. He should make his team run laps or something as punishment.

 

“Alright,” the Hokage said, smiling genuinely at Naruto for no apparent reason. “Since you have been behaving yourself, as you said, and since you want it so badly, I’ll give you a C-rank.”

 

“Yeah!” Naruto shouted, still sitting on his ass.

 

Kakashi was shocked that the Hokage had capitulated, especially after Naruto’s display of blatant disrespect. The Hokage must have quite the soft spot for the boy.

 

“It’s an escort mission. You’ll leave today and be back in a month. You’re to see your client, Tazuna-san, safely back to his village in Wave and protect him until the work on his latest project is done. Be on guard against bandits while you go. You can meet with Tazuna-san in the client waiting room,” the Hokage said, hooking a thumb at the door to said room. “Good luck.”

 

All three of the kids looked excited at the news. Even Sasuke, for once, was actually smiling. It was a faint, nervous little smile, clearly uncomfortable with being in a strange environment. It was the smile equivalent of a colorless cave fish that, having curiously followed a new crack in the rocks, suddenly found itself in a goldfish pond with lily pads and bigger fish all over the place. At least, until it managed to escape back into its familiar darkness. Kakashi wasn’t exactly looking forward to this job, but he was happy the kids were happy. Their client, however, was not happy.

 

“What’s this? You’re just a bunch of kids,” the middle-aged man said sourly, the smell of alcohol and nervous sweat wafting off of him. Kakashi’s nose wrinkled. Their client had the kind of deep tan that developed over a lifetime of outdoor work, like the patina on the brass spigots of the drinking fountain in Konoha’s largest playground. He wore glasses, had a no-fuss haircut, a close-cropped beard, and was holding a bottle of the cheap sort of booze that only teenagers bought. “I paid for ninjas! Are you really ninjas? And you, shorty with the dumb face, are you even old enough to be a ninja, huh?”

 

This looked bad. Kakashi had dealt with more than a few drunk clients over the years. Something about needing bodyguards tended to put people on edge, he supposed. Not that this client needed protection from anything but bandits, so he was probably just a drunk. Charming. Guarding a drunk person was never a good time. No one was ever more polite and reasonable when they were drunk. And, although the man said he had paid for Team Seven’s services, he had really only paid a small deposit to Konoha. The nature of the business meant that Team Seven would never see a single cent of payment if this guy decided to stiff them at the end, which drunks were particularly likely to do.

 

“Oh well,” Kakashi thought. “Time to learn that bad clients are part of the job.”

 

Naruto looked around, visibly comparing his height to the heights of each of his fellow genin and then to Kakashi, as if he had forgotten that Kakashi was more than two feet taller than he was. With these careful measurements taken and the target of the client’s insult deciphered, Naruto proceeded to go apeshit.

 

“You want to go, you bastard?!” Naruto shouted, balling his fists and taking precisely one step towards the client before Kakashi grabbed him by the collar, painfully aware that the Hokage, who was sitting in the adjoining room, had heard that outburst.

 

“We don’t attack clients,” Kakashi explained patiently. “Our job is, explicitly, to keep the client from being attacked.”

 

“Hmph, whatever,” the client said, slurring a bit. “I’m Tazuna, the super expert bridge builder. And you are going to protect me while I go back to my country and complete the bridge.”

 

“A pleasure to meet you, Tazuna-san,” Kakashi said.

 

After the introductions were finished, Kakashi sent the kids off with instructions to go home, pack for a month, and meet at the north gate in an hour and a half. An hour would have been sufficient, but they were genin on their first away mission and, so, wouldn’t necessarily know how to pack properly and Sasuke lived in a far corner of Konoha and, so, would need more travel time.

 

Kakashi, who lived downtown, like Naruto did, sprinted home himself over the rooftops and packed his own bag within a few minutes. Then, he checked in on Naruto, removed some cup ramen from the boy’s bag, and instructed him to purchase some foot powder. His next stop was Gai’s apartment, where he left his new plant and a note on the front door, telling Gai that he would be gone for maybe a month, so would he please babysit Kakashi’s plant. He signed it with his henohenomoheji and went to Sakura’s place next. She defensively refused to let him see what she was planning to take, so he just reminded her of the importance of good hygiene and packing as lightly as she could. He made his way to Sasuke’s place after that.

 

Kakashi knocked on the front door that he suspected Sasuke never used, just based on how mush dust he had seen when he’d visited with the Hokage, and waited. And waited. Eventually, the door opened a crack.

 

“What are you doing here?” Sasuke asked, glaring at him.

 

“I just thought I’d help you pack,” Kakashi said.

 

“… Why?” Sasuke asked, giving Kakashi a narrow-eyed look. This boy was so suspicious. He was like a little hedgehog, curled up into a ball and squeaking at everyone to go away. What did he think Kakashi was going to do? Steal something?

 

“Because your house is a monument to the dead and the absent and I thought you might need emotional support to go get the things you need from the rest of the house,” Kakashi thought.

 

“Because I want to make sure that all my adorable genin are properly prepared for their first trip abroad,” Kakashi said. “I’ve already checked on the other two.”

 

Sasuke looked behind him uncertainly.

 

“Alright,” Sasuke said, opening the door.

 

“The floor is clean,” Kakashi thought in surprise, noting the lack of dust in the genkan.

 

“Pardon the intrusion,” Kakashi said perfunctorily.

 

“Hm,” Sasuke said.

 

“What?” Kakashi asked, taking off his shoes. He looked up to see Sasuke staring at him.

 

“You’re the first visitor in five years,” Sasuke said, like that wasn’t the saddest thing he’d ever said. Kakashi’s heart hurt. At least he’d had Gai and Minato knocking down his door on the regular when he was Sasuke’s age. Well, Kakashi could start showing up here more often. He’d get the rest of Team Seven to start visiting, too. That should do Naruto some good, as well. He probably didn’t have too many visitors, either. Guilt curled in Kakashi’s gut.

 

Sasuke led Kakashi into the kitchen, which was closed off from the outside today. There, Sasuke picked up his backpack and held it out for Kakashi’s inspection.

 

“Already packed?” Kakashi thought. “That was quick.” Kakashi didn’t take the proffered bag. “Could I get some tea?” he asked, smiling at Sasuke. If he was going to be visiting, then he should do it properly. Of course, Sasuke gave him the most dubious look his round little face could make.

 

“… Okay,” Sasuke said. He stepped around Kakashi and led him into the living room. Kakashi was amazed at the change in the house. The furniture was still there, but, not only was the dust gone, the place had been stripped of all personal effects.

 

“You’ve cleaned the place up, packed things away,” Kakashi said.

 

“So?” Sasuke said defensively. “It’s my house.”

 

“Why did you get rid of the personal things?” Kakashi asked. “This place is bleak.” Not that it wasn’t bleak before.

 

“… They were reminders,” Sasuke said.

 

“Why now?” Kakashi asked, staring at the spot where an ink painting had hung on the wall. He couldn’t remember what it was a painting of, but he remembered thinking it was nice. Now, only a small nail-hole in the plaster remained.

 

“What?” Sasuke asked, glaring at Kakashi and hunching his shoulders.

 

“I just know you hadn’t done it before you joined Team Seven,” Kakashi said. “We poked around a bit.” Sasuke whirled on him, glaring like a tiger.

 

“’We’ did what?!” Sasuke demanded. Kakashi felt a bit bad about it now. Maybe he shouldn’t have gone into Sasuke and Naruto’s places without permission, even if the Hokage had been with him.

 

“The Hokage and I came to visit,” Kakashi said, appealing to authority. “He showed me where each of you lived and we went inside each place to get a feel for you guys. You can learn a lot about a person from their room.”

 

“The Hokage-?!” Sasuke growled. Then he frowned and turned away sharply. “Of course you did,” he muttered.

 

“The place was in a pretty sad state,” Kakashi said. “Why hadn’t you done it before?” When Kakashi’s dad died, he’d done the opposite, keeping the house spic and span, trying to prove that he was a proper ninja, trying to live correctly to prove that he wasn’t like his father, needing to fit in again, needing to stop the ostracism.

 

“Why would I?” Sasuke asked acidly.

 

“Because it needed to be done,” Kakashi said simply.

 

“… Taking a house apart when everyone who lived there has died,” Sasuke said. “It’s like taxidermy of the soul. You break a place down and reserve the bits you like the look of, the things that you think had the most meaning, but you lose everything else. What remains is rendered a carcass.”

 

“So melodramatic. Teenagers…” Kakashi thought. “And you speak as if you died that day, too.”

 

“What would you prefer?” Kakashi asked. “What’s the alternative? Letting it all rot in place?”

 

“Burning it down,” Sasuke said firmly. “That’s what I’d prefer.”

 

“Been there, done that,” Kakashi thought. “Wasn’t worth it.”

 

“… Did you throw away very much?” Kakashi asked. “What was the size of this, ‘carcass,’ you had to discard?”

 

Sasuke sighed and looked slowly around the room, taking in what remained with a distant expression.

 

“Not very much at all,” he said quietly.

 

“You didn’t have to take all the pictures down, you know,” Kakashi said. “I hope you didn’t destroy any of them. You need to let it go. Even if it hurts, even if you’re angry, memories that might be too much to bear right now can be worth having later.” Sasuke didn’t reply and his face became its usual blank, bored mask. Kakashi couldn’t reach him without giving something of himself, he realized, so he dug deep and soldiered on.

 

“When my father died, I took down his pictures. I kept them for a while, but, one day, when I was feeling really down, I took them out back and burnt them. I regretted it the instant I did it, but I couldn’t take it back. I felt like it was something I had to do, so I didn’t let myself stop. I just watched them curl up and disappear in the fire. I burnt them all,” Kakashi said, deeply uncomfortable with revealing this soft, secret part of himself to anyone. “If I had just put some distance between myself and what happened, I could have appreciated what I still had left of him.”

 

“Oh, Kakashi,” Sasuke said sadly, sagging and dropping his mask again. He looked so beaten down and small that Kakshi couldn’t help but put a hand on his shoulder. As soon as he did, Sasuke looked on the verge of tears.

 

“I hate this place,” Sasuke whispered. Kakashi’s hand tightened its grip on Sasuke’s shoulder and his brow knit. He knew exactly what that felt like, too.

 

“You don’t have to stay here,” Kakashi whispered back.

 

In response, Sasuke’s face hardened and tears dripped down his face.

 

“Yes, I do. It’s the Uchiha Quarter,” Sasuke said sharply, standing up straight again and wiping his face. “Uchiha aren’t allowed to live in the rest of Konoha.”

 

Kakashi felt like he’d missed a step going down the stairs. He’d forgotten that rule even existed. Surely, the Hokage wouldn’t still insist on it. He’d even told Kakashi that he’d offered to put Sasuke in an apartment.

 

“I don’t think that’s enforced anymore,” he said. “I can help get you a place, if you want.”

 

“No,” Sasuke said darkly, shaking off Kakashi’s hand. It was like a great door had been slammed closed in Kakashi’s face. He wasn’t sure he could get it open and he’d done enough trespassing lately. He left it closed.

 

Sasuke sniffed and wiped his face again.

 

“You might not think much of rules, but you obey your Hokage, right? You respect his judgement, right? It’s the Hokage’s policy, one Sarutobi Hiruzen-sama put in place,” Sasuke said angrily. “Are you trying to undermine the Hokage’s authority?”

 

“Why are you defending that rule?” Kakashi asked, bewildered. “You don’t like it, do you? Hell, if that rule hadn’t existed…” Kakashi bit his tongue. He hadn’t wanted to remind Sasuke of the massacre or to get into the logistics of why it had been so terrible, what factors had made it so destructive to the Uchiha Clan. He should have kept his mouth shut.

 

Sasuke glared at Kakashi for another second, before his expression morphed into a fleeting look of flat disappointment. Then, he turned his back on Kakashi.

 

What was that? Was Sasuke hoping he’d say something else? Something about that rule? That line of thought made Kakashi nervous. What was Sasuke thinking?

 

At the doorway, Sasuke paused.

 

“What happened to your father, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry. He didn’t deserve it. The people who cut him out, they sucked,” Sasuke said, without turning back around.

 

Pain pierced Kakashi’s chest at the reminder of how miserable being ostracized made his father. He thought of the friends and neighbors who had begun ignoring them. He remembered his teacher at school lecturing the class on what it meant to be a real ninja. He recalled the disapproving glares leveled at his father and at himself. They had been so cold. A flash of anger thundered down on Kakashi.

 

“Yeah,” Kakashi thought. “They did. Assholes.”

 

“So, what made you decide to clean the place up?” Kakashi said, sidestepping Sasuke’s comment and shaking off the unhelpful feeling. There was no point in placing blame.

 

“… It was just time,” Sasuke said, and then he left Kakashi alone in the hotel-esque living room with the backpack.

 

Kakashi took the opportunity to open Sasuke’s bag and check that it had the necessities. It seemed like everything that needed to be there was. Sasuke hadn’t included anything extra, except for two pens and one notebook in a resealable plastic bag. Curious, Kakashi flipped it open to find notes on fuinjutsu. Sasuke seemed to have an interest in chakra draining seals.

 

“Ah,” Kakashi thought. “So much for respecting his privacy.” He shut the notebook and looked back into the backpack. Everything was folded and packed neatly. Kakashi repacked everything he’d taken out and took out his own book to pass the time.

 

Sasuke’s face was still blotchy from crying when he got back with the tea, but his bangs looked a little damp, as if he’d washed his face in the sink. When Sasuke set the tray down, Kakashi was surprised to see a bowl of raspberries and another bowl of cocoa-dusted chocolate truffles.

 

“Thanks for the food,” Kakashi said, picking up a truffle and popping it in his mouth, while Sasuke deliberately looked away, as if Kakashi would have let him see his bare face even if he hadn’t. The truffle was room temperature, so it melted instantly against his tongue. It was more bitter than he was expecting, but oh-so rich and not too sweet. He held it on his tongue, savoring the flavor as it melted away. As soon as he had swallowed the last of the treat, he praised Sasuke for it. “That’s delicious. Not interested in serving traditional sweets, huh?”

 

“I hate mochi,” Sasuke said, pouring tea into Kakashi’s cup and then his own.

 

“Really?” Kakashi said, selecting a brightly colored raspberry. “I wasn’t complaining.” He ate the raspberry and its intensely tart, sweet juice cleansed the palate. It was well-paired with the chocolate. Kakashi ate another one. “I don’t like sweets much, so this suits me perfectly.” A thought occurred to Kakashi. “Did you make these?”

 

“Nobody else made them right,” Sasuke confirmed.

 

“Ehhhh? Sasuke-kun makes his own sweets? The girls would like you if you gave them your homemade chocolates,” Kakashi teased.

 

“Girls like me anyway,” Sasuke said, looking uninterested. Kakashi could name five men off the top of his head who would be tempted to give this kid a smack if they heard him treating the blessing of a beautiful face like it was a burden.

 

“That’s true,” Kakashi said. “Sakura-chan will die of jealousy when she hears about this. After she kills me, of course.”

 

Sasuke rolled his eyes and took a truffle for himself.

 

“I think I had better eat enough to make my punishment worth it, then,” Kakashi said, taking another one. Sasuke once again looked away while Kakashi ate the truffle. “Say, why don’t you ever try to look under my mask?”

 

Sasuke gave him a sly look and stifled a smirk.

 

“You want me to?” Sasuke asked, sounding far too amused for Kakashi’s taste. He was tempted to smack the boy. What a brat.

 

“Yes,” Kakashi thought. “It’s a game I enjoy playing with the people I like. Don’t you want to play, too?”

 

“I didn’t say that,” Kakashi said. “People usually try to look when I’m eating, though. It makes me feel so lonely that one of my students is so disinterested in me.”

 

“It’s your body. You don’t want to show me, so I won’t look,” Sasuke said.

 

Kakashi blinked.

 

“You’re trying to preserve my modesty?” Kakashi asked incredulously. “Sasuke-kun, you’re so chivalrous! But aren’t you the slightest bit curious what I look like under my mask?”

 

“No,” Sasuke said.

 

“Why?”

 

“Who cares what you look like?”

 

“Everybody cares what I look like,” Kakashi said. “Don’t pretend.” It was true, too. People were always curious about Kakashi’s face.

 

“Well, I don’t.”

 

“Yes, you do.”

 

“No, I don’t.”

 

“Yes, you do.”

 

“No, I don’t.”

 

“Yes, you do.”

 

“No, I don’t,” Sasuke said irritably. The boy was getting into a snit and Kakashi was living for it. He was very easy to tease today. For some reason, the kid was allowing himself to engage in conversation. It felt like progress.

 

“Is that because you think you already know what I look like?” Kakashi asked, trying to inject as much sardonic mirth as he could into the syllables to rile Sasuke up further.

 

“Yes,” Sasuke snapped.

 

“Oh, really? What do you think I look like, then?” Kakashi asked. This was always a fun question to ask. It had been a while since he’d found a new person to pose it to.

 

“You have a mole,” Sasuke said confidently. “Between your mouth and chin.”

 

“What?” Kakashi asked, genuinely shocked. How the hell had Sasuke known that?

 

“I forget which side,” Sasuke said, lifting his cup.

 

The room went silent, except for the sound of Sasuke draining his tea.

 

“… Are you telling me you’ve seen my face?” Kakashi said.

 

“It’s just a face,” Sasuke said, pouring himself a new cup. “It wasn’t interesting.”

 

“What?! When?!” Kakashi sputtered.

 

“Years ago,” Sasuke said.

 

“That’s not good enough! I need details! I need to know the exact circumstances that lead to this discovery! Where you spying on me?” Kakashi said.

 

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

 

“Why would I spy on you?” Sasuke asked, and he pronounced the last word with so much judgmental reproach that Kakashi believed him. Sasuke sounded like he may as well have been talking about a cockroach.

 

“Mean!” Kakashi said, his antennae twitching angrily. “Sasuke-kun is so mean to me! Then, were you spying on my doctor?”

 

“Who-? No,” Sasuke said, looking confused. Then he looked as if he’d just had a revelation. It made Kakashi nervous. “You leave your mask on even during sex, don’t you? Do you bathe with it on, too?”

 

“What?! I didn’t say I did that!” Kakashi said, blushing. “You can’t talk about my sex life! Don’t speak so inappropriately to your teacher!”

 

“You spend your whole life smelling your own breath, except for when you’re at the doctor or the dentist,” Sasuke said. “Sad.”

 

Kakashi, who did indeed have to brush and floss his teeth three times a day to avoid choking to death on the smell of his own breath, cuffed the little shit and stole the rest of his truffles. Sasuke didn’t even have the good grace to look upset at the loss of his chocolate.

 

“How did you see it?” Kakashi asked, keeping the chocolate out of reach.

 

“Who cares?” Sasuke said, rolling his eyes. “It was a long time ago.”

 

“Tell me,” Kakashi demanded softly, putting a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder threateningly, making Sasuke look the slightest bit nervous.

 

“It was in a picture,” Sasuke said, looking at his hands.

 

“So, you didn’t see me yourself. Someone took a picture of my face and showed it to you,” Kakashi said. “Who showed it to you?”

 

“Nobody.”

 

“Hm. Who could have…?”

 

Sasuke said it was years ago. As far as Kakashi knew, Sasuke hadn’t had any friends since the massacre and before the massacre most of the people he knew would haave been Uchiha. That was how it was for the children of big clans. Was it Itachi? That kid had been so strait-laced, though. At least, he had been, until he went insane and killed his whole clan, bar one. Maybe Shisui? That guy had been fast. He might have been able to get a picture of Kakashi without him noticing. He’d been a bit of a joker, too, as Kakashi recalled. He was Itachi’s friend and might have known Sasuke, too. At least, until Itachi killed him. That kid really had been a wolf in sheep’s clothing. And now Sasuke was probably keeping a promise to someone long dead to keep this photographer’s identity secret, even though there was no one left for Kakashi to punish. Kakashi let go of Sasuke’s shoulder. He didn’t need to press the boy to talk about his dead clan right now.

 

“Alright. Where is this photo now?” Kakashi asked.

 

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen it since,” Sasuke said.

 

Kakashi sighed. He’d been bested and he didn’t even know by whom! It was frustrating, but also terribly sad somehow. All these people, all these lives, gone, leaving only the ragged edges of where they should connect with the rest of the village and a boy living in the void they left behind.

 

“Are you going to give me a bag for these?” Kakashi asked, pointing at his plate of stolen chocolates.

 

“No,” Sasuke said, taking a raspberry.

 

Kakashi ended up carrying them away in a handkerchief. Sakura was delightfully jealous and ate the two chocolates Kakashi gave her with a special intensity, as if trying to develop the more mature palate needed to enjoy them all in one go. Naruto, who put both of his chocolates in his mouth at once, complained that they weren’t sweet enough and made him thirsty. Even the client got one, but didn’t comment beyond a hum. Kakashi and Sasuke ate the final two. It was a pleasant way to start a mission.

 

Finding two strange ninjas hidden in the trees right outside the gates was less so.

 

-

 

Sasuke saw a puddle way up ahead and knew exactly what it meant: Zabuza had three lackies of varying levels of attractiveness and Team Seven needed to shield their eyes, because they were about to meet the ugly two. Sasuke canceled the genjutsu he was under, ending his enjoyment of “Movin’ Right Along.”

 

He’d been listening to it on repeat since he had left Konoha, caught up in nostalgia for his past life. Whenever he and his previous father had taken a road trip together, they always started by singing along with Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear’s own road trip song. His dad had always been loved singing, even when there hadn’t been anything playing in the background. As a kid, he’d been embarrassed by that behavior, but it was a wonderful memory now.

 

Since those two ninjas were targeting Tazuna and Sasuke was closest to the old man, he should probably take responsibility for his wellbeing. But wait, how had that fight gone again? They hadn’t gone for the civilian at all, had they? At least, Sasuke couldn’t remember Tazuna ever being in danger. Still, it had been so long since he’d read that story. What could he remember? Kakashi being torn to pieces? Chains? What could he do with that?

 

“Oh,” he thought. “I should try the transformation technique.” Sasuke used that technique daily to avoid notice, but he hadn’t used it to change himself into something like a windmill shuriken, like story-Naruto had. As a shuriken, story-Naruto had gotten his body to behave like a flat piece of steel, possibly even becoming as strong, sharp, and durable as the real thing. Sasuke could use a trick like that, but he had to test it first.

 

He thought for a moment and then applied the transformation technique to himself. He decided he wanted more armor, so he transformed his sandals into steel-capped boots with steel cleats, his arm warmers into the steel plate armor that had been part of Itachi’s ANBU uniform, and his shirt into a chain mail vest that covered him from chin to thigh.

 

“What are you doing?” Naruto asked.

 

“Testing,” Sasuke said, as he tapped a nail against the armguard. It certainly felt like steel. He took out a kunai and stabbed it. Yeah, it seemed pretty resistant.

 

“Transformed armor isn’t optimal,” Kakashi said. Sasuke turned back to make eye contact with his teacher. “If you aren’t thorough enough when you’re planning the transformation, you can end up with armor that has big weak spots. Having transformed armor can be worse than having no armor at all, if you over-rely on it.”

 

Sasuke stopped and imagined the armor he wanted, its thickness, its weight, its pliability, its hardness, the bluing of its surface, the uniformity of the arrangement of the links in the chainmail, the way it would sound when struck by a blade, the coolness of the metal against his hand, and even the way it behaved around a magnet. He drew on all the experience he had gained with armor from years of living in a village where armor was everyday wear for a significant portion of the population. With this image in mind, he transformed himself again. Happy with the results, Sasuke resumed walking.

 

“Is that heavy?” Naruto asked.

 

Sasuke shifted his shoulders, feeling the added weight of the armor pressing him down, and nodded. It felt quite solid. Then, he took out a kunai and stared thoughtfully at the blade.

 

“Chains,” Sasuke thought and had a moment of inspiration. He canceled the transformation technique he was using by applying another to his kunai. He changed nothing about the blade’s outward appearance, while restoring his clothing to its natural state, so it looked like he had simply canceled the transformation technique, but he held the kunai well away from his body. He twirled it on one finger, so it wouldn’t look too suspicious. Holding a kunai out to one side for no reason was not a normal thing to do.

 

“Tazuna-san,” Sakura asked from the front of the pack. “Does your country have its own ninjas?”

 

“Why are you asking that?” Sasuke wondered. “We were taught which nations have ninjas in school.”

 

“No,” Tazuna said. “Wave doesn’t have ninjas.”

 

Sasuke finally understood when Kakashi started to ramble on about the various countries, and the hidden villages, and the kages, as if this was all new information for Team Seven. Sasuke gritted his teeth. Kakashi was expositing for the unseen audience, because the author couldn’t think of a more organic way to do worldbuilding. How ridiculous. Even Naruto, who skipped class all the time, couldn’t be so ignorant of the world as to need this lesson.

 

“Wow,” Sakura said. “Hokage-sama is the best!”

 

“You all just doubted Hokage-sama, didn’t you?” Kakashi asked in a scolding tome.

 

Sasuke watched Naruto and Sakura flinch with guilt. Kakashi and Sakura then reiterated for the audience that, no, they were not expecting to meet any other ninjas on this mission. That’s right, wink, there would be absolutely no action in this action story. Sasuke watched Tazuna flinch in response and resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

 

“Oh, right. Weren’t these two called the Demon Brothers? They’re definitely family then, right? Almost time now,” Sasuke thought, sweating. He started counting his steps in his head as he walked past the Puddle of Violence.

 

“One, two, three,” Sasuke thought. “Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.” What was taking them so long? The suspense was killing him. He suddenly remembered the way Itachi had looked, standing above their parents’ bodies. The abrupt, intrusive thought, cast Itachi as a great demon of shadow waiting to pounce on Sasuke. “Eleven, twelve, thirteen.” Sasuke had no way to defend against Itachi’s assault. So long as he was making eye contact with Itachi, his brother could crush him any time he wanted. And he had. “Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen.” Sasuke was walking too fast. He was getting too far ahead. He had passed Sakura. He needed to get out of his own head and-.

 

“What?!” Kakashi screamed.

 

“Huh?! What’s this?!” Sakura shouted.

 

“One down!” one of the enemies said, just as Sasuke body flicked towards Kakashi’s fake body. Sasuke arrived in time to get splattered with blood. It wasn’t real, but it would feel real for the next split second.

 

Sasuke’s parents’ blood had gotten on his arm when he collapsed to the living room floor after Itachi’s attack, he remembered.

 

Sasuke twitched and stabbed the kunai into the chain like he was stabbing the horrifying memory to death. The point didn’t go through the chains and into Kakashi’s fake body, because the chains snapped to the kunai as fast a striking snake. The chain began to collapse at a furious pace around Sasuke’s hand, drawing in the slack of the enemy’s weapon. By the power of ninja magic and imagination, Sasuke was holding the strongest magnet in the world and it was shaped like a kunai. Kakashi’s “body” disappeared, taking the blood on Sasuke with it.

 

As soon as Sasuke felt the chain go slack, he used the transformation jutsu again, this time turning the back of his clothes into a giant, purple sea urchin’s shell of calcium carbonate spikes, while keeping the magnet real. Sasuke felt a sudden pressure against his back push him forward, nearly knocking him off his feet. A man screamed right behind him. Then, one of the enemy ninja, a man with his hair flowing down his back, a rebreather-looking thing over his lower face, and a Kiri forehead protector above his eyes, came at him from the front, but Sasuke blocked the blow from the man’s wickedly clawed steel gauntlet with the still growing ball of chain that surrounded Sasuke’s magnet, trapping the gauntlet immovably against the chain.

 

The man shifted from a side-forward stance to a front-forward stance, probably for increased leverage as he tried to extract his gauntlet from Sasuke’s magnet. Without any conscious planning, Sasuke brought his foot up and into contact with the man’s groin. The man gave a squeal of pain, grabbed his privates with his free hand, and dropped to the ground, held up only by his gauntlet, thus bring his head into the range of Sasuke’s foot. Once again, without thinking, Sasuke attacked, smashing his shoe into the man’s nose, causing his enemy’s head to fly back. This was a mistake. Sasuke’s toes screamed in pain.

 

“Fucking sandals!” Sasuke thought miserably. It felt like he’d broken a toe! The man raised his free hand to defend his face and Sasuke climbed on top of him, drawing a kunai as he did. As he moved, he heard renewed screaming from behind him and the weight at his back disappeared. With this new kunai, he stabbed the man’s free hand clean through and brought the magnetized junk near enough to capture this second kunai in the magnetic field of the first, pinning both of the man’s hands together. The man jerked and squirmed, wrestling the mass of metal in front of his face and throat.

 

Sasuke only just had time to bring his free hand up to guard his face, before his enemy, with a great roar, smashed the pile of metal into Sasuke’s face, trying to throw him off. Sasuke transformed the back of the gauntlet into a mass of steel spikes. The poof of smoke of the transformation obscured this change just long enough for the man to draw back the mass of metal for a second blow to Sasuke’s face. Instead of the wind-up the man had been anticipating, he stabbed himself in the chest, neck, and face with a dozen terrible spikes. As Sasuke sat on his enemy’s chest, waiting to see if the fight was over, the man made a bubbling noise.

 

“I’ll protect you!” Sakura shouted from behind Sasuke. Sasuke realized she must be in danger and moved automatically to protect her. He dropped his transformation jutsu on the kunai, disengaging from the enemy. The chain went slack just as Sasuke Body Flickered to fling himself to his feet. He looked back to find Sakura dashing in front of Tazuna with a kunai drawn to intercept the remaining enemy.

 

Sasuke Body Flickered in front of her, holding out a kunai in his hand, thinking to transform it into a spear for the man to impale himself on.

 

Then, Kakashi, appearing in front of the enemy, held out his arm, using the man’s own momentum to catch him in the throat. The man’s feet continued forward while his head went back and he rotated around Kakashi’s arm. He landed on his back in the dirt and Kakashi picked him up like a bag of groceries.

 

“Sensei!” Sakura shouted.

 

“Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto shouted. “You’re alive! But how? We saw you get killed!”

 

“Nobody has any respect for me these days,” Kakashi said. “I am a jounin, you know? I used the Body Replacement Technique. Sasuke-kun, what did I tell you about using transformed armor?”

 

“… Not to do it?” Sasuke asked. Kakashi hadn’t said that exactly, but that had been the underlying message.

 

“I told you not to become overly reliant on it. You used it perfectly. Well done,” Kakashi said and began tying the man up.

 

The man, who’s dark hair hung down over his face, partially obscuring his vision, looked out of it. Sasuke’s wasn’t sure why. He’d been hit in the throat, not in the head. Of course, he was bleeding from his face, arms, and chest, apparently having hit Sasuke’s armor head first. His face was a mess of holes. He might have even lost an eye. He was probably lucky to be alive, Sasuke reflected. Sasuke could almost smell the blood that had pooled beneath his parents’ bodies. He went white.

 

“What about the other guy?” Naruto asked.

 

Sasuke looked over at the man. He looked just as messed up as his brother did as he clutched his throat, bubbling. He seemed to have pulled Sasuke’s kunai out of his hand at some point. Sasuke ran over and turned him on his front so the blood would run out of his throat rather than into it.

 

“He’s dead,” Kakashi called, as the enemy gasped and sputtered beside Sasuke. “Leave him, Sasuke-kun.”

 

Sasuke didn’t know medical ninjutsu, but he did know something; people trapped in enclosure seals didn’t age. Sasuke palmed an enclosure tag from his pocket and activated it. The man became so much smoke and was drawn into the paper, leaving behind only a length of chain with blades all along it, two kunai, and splatters of blood in the dirt. Sasuke sighed in relief, glad he hadn’t killed anyone’s family.

 

“Hm,” Kakashi said. “Okay, bring him here.” Kakashi, looking as relaxed as ever, made a beckoning motion with the hand that wasn’t holding the dripping prisoner. Sasuke realized he was shaking only when he handed Kakashi the tag containing his captive. Kakashi stuck the paper in his pocket without comment and Sasuke hid his shaking hands in his own pockets.

 

“I’ve never seen anyone trap an enemy in an enclosure tag before,” Kakashi said.

 

“… Why not?” Sasuke asked.

 

Kakashi blew out a breath, puffing his own cheeks slightly.

 

“Generally, when you’re close enough to an enemy to stick them in a tag, you’re close enough to stab them in the gut and that works better in most cases,” Kakashi said. “And, generally, you aren’t trying to save an enemy. You’re cut.”

 

Sasuke looked down at the hand he had held the kunai-magnet with. Along the back of his hands were five or six cuts. They hadn’t even hurt.

 

“The chain,” Sasuke said.

 

“Yep. Better hope it wasn’t coated in poison! It probably was, though,” Kakashi said with a smile. “Also, if your enemy is strong enough, they could just break out of an enclosure tag.”

 

Sasuke thought about the seal left by the Fourth Hokage on Naruto’s stomach.

 

“You mean like the Nine Tails?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Yeah,” Kakashi said. “Not that we need to worry about that with these guys.”

 

“How did Sasuke collect up all that chain?” Naruto asked.

 

“Magnet,” Sasuke said.

 

“You had a magnet on you? Like the little bendy things that stick to metal?” Naruto said.

 

“Yeah, our science education was shit,” Sasuke thought.

 

“No, I used the transformation technique on a kunai,” Sasuke said.

 

“You can do that?” Naruto said. “You can just make a kunai into a magnet? Like, a really big one? Or a really strong one, at least?” Sasuke nodded.

 

“Why did you try to stab me?” Kakashi asked Sasuke.

 

“What?” Sasuke asked, taken aback. What was this man talking about right now? When had Sasuke ever tried to stab him?

 

“You came at me with that kunai as soon as the others raised the alarm,” Kakashi asked.

 

“Oh,” Sasuke said. “No, I just needed to get the magnet close enough to catch the chain.”

 

“And you didn’t care that I would be even more trapped by the chain if you did that?” Kakashi asked.

 

“You weren’t there,” Sasuke said, brow furrowing defensively. “You’d already left.”

 

“… Yes, I had,” Kakashi said. “So, you can already see things like that.”

 

Sasuke’s face shuttered. Was this guy talking about his sharingan? And Kakashi had stopped talking. This was bad. Was he waiting for an explanation? Would he ask about the magnet? Sasuke couldn’t very well explain that he knew the enemy would be using a chain in their attack, though, could he? What else could Kakashi be talking about Sasuke seeing? The body replacement, the flow of battle, or what? No, Sasuke thought, Kakashi couldn’t be talking about the sharingan! Sasuke hadn’t activated his sharingan, so Kakashi couldn’t have seen it, so it wouldn’t be reported along the grapevine to Danzo, Orochimaru, or anyone else! His secret was still safe! Kakashi was probably just saying Sasuke was skilled or whatever.

 

“When did you first notice them?” Kakashi asked.

 

“In the trees,” Sasuke bullshitted, recalling the story. “They were right outside the gates, but I didn’t know they weren’t ours.”

 

“Good. And then?” Kakashi asked. “When did you realize they were enemies?”

 

“The puddle,” Sasuke said.

 

“What?” their bound prisoner asked, aghast.

 

“It hasn’t rained lately,” Sasuke said, just repeating Kakashi’s explanation from the story.

 

“Good. You got nervous, but you kept your head,” Kakashi said. “You did well, Sasuke-kun. For your first battle, you did very well. So did you, Sakura-chan.”

 

“You knew there were enemy ninjas, but you didn’t tell us, Sasuke-kun?” Sakura asked, sounding hurt.

 

“I… took my cue from him,” Sasuke said, pointing at Kakashi. He felt a bit bad about it, seeing Sakura’s stricken face. He hadn’t wanted to impact the story by revealing anything to the others.

 

“And why didn’t you tell us, huh?!” Naruto demanded of Kakashi.

 

“I couldn’t give away the element of surprise,” Kakashi said. “How could I alert you all without alerting the enemy that they had been spotted?”

 

“Why did you wait so long to help us?!” Sakura demanded.

 

“I wanted to know what they were after,” Kakashi said. “I had to wait for them to show me.”

 

“Did they?” Naruto asked.

 

“They did,” Kakashi confirmed. “They went after our client.” Tazuna tucked his chin defensively.

 

“Hmph. So, what are we going to do with these guys?” Naruto asked, crossing his arms.

 

“Why don’t we pack this one up like the other,” Kakashi said. “We can release them when we return home. They won’t cause us any problems that way.”

 

Sasuke took out another enclosure tag, sealed the injured captive inside, and handed the tag to Kakashi.

 

“Sasuke-kun, bandage that hand. Tazuna-san, I need to speak with you,” Kakashi said.

 

“I can help, Sasuke-kun!” Sakura said.

 

Sasuke nodded at her and Sakura went to work. Naruto wandered over to check out Sasuke’s terrible war wounds, but quickly lost interest when it became apparent that they were just scratches. Instead, he crossed his arms and glared at the ground. As Sakura cleaned and bandaged the back of Sasuke’s hand, Kakashi failed to get the truth out of Tazuna: that the crime lord, Gatou, had put a hit out on him, hiring one of the Seven Swordsmen, the Demon of Kirigakure no Sato and eye-browless wonder, Momochi Zabuza, so Team Seven was now in deep shit. Kakashi didn’t even interrogate Tazuna. When Tazuna didn’t have anything to say, Kakashi didn’t press for more information. It was really very irresponsible.

 

“This is beyond the scope of our duties,” Kakashi announced.

 

“This is too much for us,” Sakura added. “Sasuke-kun has already been injured. Let’s go back.”

 

Sasuke looked to Naruto, but Naruto was silent.

 

… Where was the hand stabbing scene? The heartfelt declaration that he would protect Tazuna? Where was his main character energy? Why was he just sitting there like a bump on a log?

 

Sasuke stiffened as he realized the truth.

 

The answer was: Naruto wasn’t stabbing himself in the hand, because he hadn’t been poisoned by the Demon Brothers claws, because Sasuke had fought them wrong. Thus, Naruto was just standing there, glaring frustratedly at the ground and not doing self-harm in a misguided attempt to remove poison from a wound in a manner that would only appeal to ignorant children, who had no idea how the circulatory system worked nor how much permanent damage a knife to the back of the hand could do.

 

“Come on, Naruto!” Sasuke thought worriedly. “Stop internally monologuing and do something!” And Naruto, the man, the legend, delivered.

 

“Let’s keep going!” Naruto said. “We can handle these guys! They were so weak that we would have beaten them, even if you hadn’t stepped in! The only one who got inured was Sasuke and he basically did that to himself! I’m not scared! I’ll protect that old man and everyone else next time, just you wait and see!”

 

“How are you feeling, Sasuke-kun?” Kakashi asked.

 

“I’m fine,” Sasuke said quickly.

 

“Hm… I guess if you had been poisoned, we would know it by now,” Kakashi said. Then he smiled. “Probably.”

 

How comforting.

 

“What do you mean, probably?!” Sakura demanded angrily. “Could Sasuke-kun really be poisoned?!”

 

“Slow acting poisons do sometimes get used, but usually only for food and drink. Generally, only fast acting poisons are applied to weapons,” Kakashi said. “Poisons are generally unreliable anyway. It’s hard to be sure you’ve administered a lethal dose of anything, especially through a cut. That means finishing the job the old-fashioned way.

 

“My professional advice is: always get confirmation. Nothing pisses off a client like telling them you’ve killed their target, only to have said target pop back up later, especially if they happen to be holding a knife to your client’s kidneys. It can be very awkward.” Kakashi looked back at Tazuna, who looked increasingly nervous, and flashed him a big smile.

 

Sasuke hated to admit it, but he sort of liked Kakashi, just a little bit.

 

“All done!” Sakura said, releasing Sasuke’s hand.

 

“Thanks,” Sasuke said.

 

“Of course, Sasuke-kun!” Sakura said smiling widely and blushing.

 

“About this mission,” Tazuna said, looking guilty. The old man took his time explaining, adding dramatic pauses and padding the conversation, before he finally told Team Seven that Gatou was after him. Sasuke wasn’t impressed. Kakashi, the most easily shockable man in the world, nearly had a heart attack when Gatou’s name was mentioned, though. Then, Tazuna exposited for a while about how bad the bad guy was.

 

“Oh, yes, very bad. So bad. Much bad. But without concrete details,” Sasuke thought. “Has Kishi never heard the phrase, ‘show, don’t tell?’”

 

“So, by building your bridge, you’re getting in Gatou’s way,” Sakura said.

 

“Only if the bridge is so low it disrupts shipping traffic,” Sasuke pointed out, unable to help himself. It really had been a poorly thought-out plot device. “Then, he’s getting in everyone’s way. Either way, when it’s finished, Gatou could just tax the bridge traffic, making it another stream of revenue.”

 

Tazuna looked shocked at this revelation. Sasuke felt his respect for the old man fall even further.

 

“Seriously?” he thought.

 

“It’s the symbolism of the project,” Kakashi said. “There are people actively resisting him, working around him on such a highly visible public work. It doesn’t matter if it’s good for business; what Gatou wants is control.”

 

“Nice save,” Sasuke thought.

 

“And that’s why he’s sending ninjas after you,” Sakura concluded.

 

“However, what I still don’t understand is why you chose to hide the fact that ninjas were after you,” Kakashi said, rather stupidly, in Sasuke’s opinion. Was Kakashi born yesterday?

 

“Kishi strikes again,” Sasuke thought.

 

“You could have gotten better protection if you had just been upfront about what you were facing,” Kakashi said.

 

Sasuke then had to listen to Tazuna plead poverty and use emotional manipulation, going on and on about his poor little grandson crying himself to sleep at night over his grandfather’s death, and about how miserable his daughter would be, and how Tazuna forgave them for leaving him to die. Sasuke had to work very hard not to roll his eyes.

 

“Looks like we’re going to continue on,” Kakashi said lamely.

 

Sasuke straightened. One more hurdle had been cleared and it had only cost him some scratches and a broken toe, he thought, looking down at his purpling foot. Sasuke’s heart pounded and he felt an excited flush appear on his cheeks. He was so close!

Notes:

Wave! Wave! Wave!

About the Wave arc in Naruto, I found it unlikely that there wouldn’t be ninja bandits. That seems like a pretty solid career move for a missing-nin.

I know, canonically, tree walking only involved sticking your feet to a surface, but, man, the core strength that would be required to walk vertically like that! My midsection aches just thinking about how much effort it would take. And your lower legs would get so tired just from fighting the leverage the rest of your body would exert. You better have strong ankles, that’s all I’m saying. But imagine what a trip it would be if you could effectively change which direction gravity pointed! You’d find yourself on a tree and then go, “oh, shit, what happens if I start falling sideways?!” I think that’s fun, so that’s what I’ve gone with here. Would the explanation that chakra just makes standing straight effortless while sideways have been more logical? Yes. Do I care? No. Now, imagine the world sideways! Fun, right?

Chapter 4: Zabuza

Summary:

ZABUZA! ZABUZAAAAA!!! *finger guns*

Notes:

Even Haku has never been as happy to see Zabuza as Sasuke is in this chapter. I was pretty excited, too.

I saw that there are a bunch of new comments, but I get an error message when I try to access my AO3 inbox, so I’ll try to answer in a day or so when I expect the site will be running on all cylinders again.

I have the next chapter written and simply need to rewrite any parts that no longer fit. It’s actually the first thing I wrote for this story.

I heard a Gai&Kakashi (or Gai/Kakashi) song: Myles Smith, “Wait For You.”

Sasuke stared out across the waves as Team Seven and Tazuna walked along the road on the ridge above the shoreline. They would sleep on this side of the strait tonight and cross in the early morning, starting before dawn, so they needed to be at the dock before they made camp for the night.

 

“By this time tomorrow,” Sasuke thought, heart skipping a beat, “I’ll be free. I’m so close now.”

 

“I can’t believe you managed to spot those enemy ninjas twice and I didn’t even see them once! You’re so amazing, Sasuke-kun! How did manage to spot those guys?” Sakura asked.

 

“Yeah,” Naruto said. “Tell us!”

 

Sakura was supposed to become a sensor eventually, wasn’t she? Sasuke should encourage her to develop that skill and reiterate some of their basic education for Naruto’s sake. He shifted his grip of the mesh bag holding a watermelon, which they had purchased a couple hours ago at the last town they passed through, and considered what he should say.

 

“Don’t assume someone else isn’t there, unless you’ve checked. Remember that there are techniques that can defeat one or more senses, so be thorough. Knead your chakra to sense the chakra of others,” Sasuke said. “Practice while we walk.” Sasuke should take his own advice; he was a terrible sensor, despite the warbling white-eyes’ tutelage. He started kneading his chakra and an awareness of his companions, but not much else, prickled against his skin.

 

“Okay!” Sakura said, her mien becoming one of adorably eager determination. “I will!” She pumped a fist, stared out at the road ahead, and furrowed her bow intently.

 

“Me, too!” Naruto said. “I can do it, too, Sasuke!”

 

“I don’t need you to prove it to me,” Sasuke thought.

 

Two minutes later…

 

“I can’t do it,” Naruto said, gloomily.

 

“Well, there’s always Sage Mode,” Sasuke thought.

 

“Don’t give up, Naruto-kun,” Sakura scolded. “You can do it if you try. I’ve already sort of figured it out.”

 

“Seriously?” Naruto said. “You’re amazing Sakura-chan!”

 

“Yeah,” Sakura said. “I can kind of tell that you guys are around me, I think.”

 

“What did you do?” Naruto asked. “Tell me how! Please?”

 

“You take your chakra and smoosh it around,” Sakura said, making hand motions to that effect in front of her torso.

 

“It requires chakra control, but it doesn’t require hand seals,” Sasuke reminded Naruto. Naruto was a physical person, so this shouldn’t be entirely outside his wheelhouse. His chakra control was shit now, but it would be much improved by the time he was seventeen.

 

“So, even you should be able to learn how to do it,” Sakura said flippantly. So mean.

 

“Okay!” Naruto said.

 

Two minutes later…

 

“Hey,” Naruto said, kicking a pebble on the road. “Who’s your favorite Hokage?”

 

“I thought we were training?” Sakura said.

 

“We can talk while we train,” Naruto said.

 

“Alright. The First Hokage,” Sakura said.

 

“The Fourth Hokage,” Kakashi said.

 

“He’s my favorite Hokage, too!” Naruto said. “The Fourth was the best! What about you, Sasuke?”

 

Sasuke considered this for a while. The First Hokage did make peace between the Senju and the Uchiha, but then he did say that Itachi was a great ninja for killing off the Uchiha, which made the First Hokage no better than dog shit, in Sasuke’s estimation. The Second Hokage had deliberately isolated the Uchiha, dealing with his fellow villagers in bad faith, so fuck him. The Third Hokage was so far from the top of the list of Sasuke’s favorite anything that he was essentially buried in the molten core of the earth. The Fourth Hokage hadn’t wronged the Uchiha, as far as Sasuke knew, but he didn’t like how the man had chosen to die, rather than raise Naruto. So… None of them. Sasuke didn’t have a favorite Hokage, because they all sucked. If pressed, Sasuke would only admit that the Fourth sucked the least.

 

“The Third Tsuchikage,” Sasuke said.

 

“What the hell?! You can’t pick a Tsuchikage!” Naruto said angrily.

 

“Who says?” Sasuke asked, looking at Naruto narrowly. He wouldn’t be made to pick a favorite Hokage.

 

“I do!” Naruto shouted. “Tell me who your favorite Hokage is!”

 

“I don’t have a favorite Hokage,” Sasuke said.

 

“Everybody has a favorite Hokage!” Naruto said. “Think about it and pick one! There’s only four to choose from, so it isn’t that hard!”

 

“I’m not interested in putting people on pedestals,” Sasuke dodged.

 

“But you just picked the Third Tsuchikage!” Naruto said.

 

“He can fly,” Sasuke said.

 

“HE CAN FLY?!” Naruto shouted.

 

“It’s more like levitation, actually,” Kakashi said. “He manipulates his own gravity to float through the air.”

 

“Seriously?! That’s so cool!” Naruto said.

 

“It’s a common enough skill among Iwa jounin,” Kakashi said.

 

“I want to learn it!” Naruto said. “Can you teach me?”

 

“Sorry, that’s actually not one I ever learned,” Kakashi said. “We haven’t had much contact with Iwa. Even if I had, you’d need to learn to use Earth Release first. Light-Weight Rock Technique is a fairly advanced skill, so you’d have to start out with more fundamental Earth Release techniques. It would take time to work up to it.”

 

“Can you use any Earth Release techniques?” Naruto asked.

 

“A few,” Kakashi said.

 

“Can you please explain how to use Earth Release to me?” Sasuke asked sincerely. The Earth Release moves were the coolest ones, after all. There was Hiding Like a Mole, Light-Weight Rock, Added-Weight Rock, Earth-Style Wall, Sand Binding Coffin, Sand Waterfall Funeral, the list went on. Sasuke really wished he’d been Earth natured instead of Fire natured. His father would have been disappointed, but Sasuke would have been able to learn a lot cool jutsus before now. He’d tried to form Earth Release chakra on his own for the last couple years, but hadn’t managed it yet.

 

“So polite!” Kakashi said. “Is this the Uchiha Sasuke-kun equivalent to getting down on your knees and begging?”

 

Sasuke glared at Kakashi and looked away huffily. This man…

 

“Aww, don’t be so sensitive!” Kakashi said cheerfully, despite clearly greatly enjoying how sensitive Sasuke was. He wrapped an overly-familiar arm around Sasuke’s shoulder. Kakashi’ faint smell of sweat and soap surrounded him. “I’ll tell you!”

 

“Tell me, too! I can’t let that guy beat me!” Naruto shouted desperately, clinging on to Kakashi’s chuunin flak jacket.

 

“Maa, I don’t know, Naruto-kun,” Kakashi teased. “This is the first time Sasuke-kun has asked me for anything. What if he feels that I don’t value him as one of my precious students if I tell everybody how to use Earth Release? I almost have to keep it a secret. This will be a special bonding moment for just the two of us!” Sasuke fought hard to keep himself from rolling his eyes.

 

“What?! No way! But I want to learn how to fly, too! Sakura-chan and I both do, right? Why hide it from us? Aren’t you supposed to be our teacher, too?! I’ve been asking you to show me how to use cool techniques this whole time, but you’re only going to tell Sasuke?! That’s not fair! I can’t be beaten by Sasuke! You have to tell me, too!” Naruto whined loudly.

 

“Calm down! He’s messing with you. You’re going to be the strongest ninja in Konoha one day. Don’t worry so much,” Sasuke said irritably, wondering if he could shove Kakashi off without being mean. Wasn’t this guy supposed to be lonely? Sasuke didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

 

Everyone went silent.

 

“Do you really think so?” Naruto asked quietly. Sasuke noticed that Naruto was blushing. What the hell? Wasn’t that what Naruto was saying all the time about himself? Why was he acting so touched?

 

“So long as you don’t give up,” Sasuke said, trying to regain his bland façade. Naruto swelled up and exploded with joy, like a little chihuahua greeting its human at the door.

 

“YEAH!!!” Naruto screamed, making Sasuke’s ears hurt. “I’m definitely going to be the strongest ninja in Konoha! I’m going to be the strongest ninja in the world! Even Sasuke knows I’m great! I’ll be the Hokage for sure!”

 

“Stop screaming!” Sakura shouted, raising a fist threateningly. Then, she looked nervously at Sasuke and lowered her fist again. He didn’t even have to glare at her. Good. Naruto was cowed all the same and quietened down.

 

“There’s the boat ramp,” Tazuna said. “You all need to keep quiet once we get on board. If you shout like that, you could get somebody killed.”

 

“Okay,” Sakura said.

 

“No problem,” Naruto said.

 

Sasuke stared out into the distance, trying to spot any boats on the horizon.

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi said, finally detaching from him. “Take a piece of paper from your notebook or a leaf and try to make it crumble with your chakra.”

 

Sasuke frowned at Kakashi and looked back out into the waves. Useless. He’d tried that. He’d been trying that for two years now and he still couldn’t get it.

 

“Not going to try?” Kakashi asked.

 

“I tried that,” Sasuke responded, not looking back at Kakashi.

 

“I suppose you aren’t Earth natured,” Kakashi said. “Uchiha tend to be Fire natured. Did you learn the Great Fire Ball Technique?”

 

Sasuke nodded. He was glad he had learned his clan’s signature technique before there was no one left to teach him, even if he would probably never use it. It was something he wanted to be able to pass down.

 

“You’re likely Fire natured. That means it will take you more time to learn how to use Earth techniques than it did to learn Fire ones,” Kakashi said. “People don’t generally learn how to use a second nature transformation until they’ve been chuunin for a while. Being able to use two different nature transformations is a requirement for becoming a jounin, and not a chuunin, for a reason. Being able to use even a single nature transformation before becoming a genin puts you ahead of your peers.”

 

“I know that,” Sasuke thought, keeping his face from showing his displeasure at being talked down to. Kakashi probably didn’t mean to treat him like an ignorant child. He just didn’t know what his genin class already knew.

 

“That’s where my guy will pick us up,” Tazuna said, pointing out at the beach.

 

The path split, with one section leading onto the beach where a boardwalk onto a low dock jutted over the water. Naruto and Sakura raced ahead and ran down a wooden staircase that led from the ridge into the sand. Tazuna, Kakashi, and Sasuke followed after them more sedately. Tazuna irresponsibly tossed his empty bottle into the sand.

 

“Litterbug,” Sasuke thought, picking up the bottle with a slight frown and wondering what he should do with it.

 

“I like the smell of the ocean,” Naruto declared. “It’s nice.”

 

“It is,” Sakura agreed. “And the sand is so neat! Try letting it run through your fingers!”

 

“That feels cool!” Naruto said. “It’s getting in my shoes! Hey, look at all these little shells! They’re all different patterns! What do you think lived in them?”

 

Sasuke examined the shell Naruto was holding up.

 

“Leopard cone snail,” Sasuke said.

 

“Really? What’s this one? Why does it have a hole in it?” Naruto asked. “It looks like it used to be on a necklace or something.”

 

“Clam with an octopus drill hole,” Sasuke said.

 

“Octopuses drill holes in shells?” Naruto asked in amazement.

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“How? They’re just squishy!” Naruto said.

 

“Their radula,” Sasuke said.

 

“What’s a radula?” Naruto asked.

 

“A toothed tongue,” Sasuke said.

 

“Woah!” Naruto said. “So, they drill holes in the shells of clams with their tongue teeth! That’s disgusting!” Contrary to his words, Naruto looked quite taken by the idea. He opened his mouth wide and pretended to try to drill into a giant invisible clam shell with his tongue.

 

“Poor clam,” Sakura said sympathetically. “You were just minding your own business, when some freak with a radula came along and bit through your shell with its tongue.” She stabbed out her tongue in demonstration making a little, “mnuh,” sound as she did so.

 

“Snails have them, too,” Sasuke told her. “Most mollusks do.”

 

“… Are both snails and octopuses mollusks?” Sakura asked curiously.

 

“And clams,” Sasuke said. “But they lack radula.”

 

Sasuke felt a pang of pity for Sakura and Naruto. It was a shame that their formal education was over. Both Sakura and Naruto were curious about the world and wanted to learn. Sakura, in particular, was a little sponge for new skills and information. Naruto might benefit from some special accommodations, but he was equally capable of learning as anyone was. Unfortunately, Konoha didn’t provide any of that.

 

Naruto brought over a few more shells. Sasuke named the ones he could and shook his head at the ones he couldn’t. Hearing that they were stumped, Tazuna volunteered his knowledge to cover the rest.

 

“My little girl loves shells,” Tazuna explained. “Collects them. We bought books and books about them over the years.”

 

“Thanks, old man!” Naruto said. “How do you know about shells anyway, Sasuke? You haven’t left Konoha before either, right?”

 

“My aunt wrote a book on them,” Sasuke said. That book on the shells of Fire Country beaches had contained many beautiful, hand-drawn illustrations. He hadn’t even known Auntie Momo was a published author and biological illustrator. He’d only found out when he was packing up her house about a year ago and found her books on a shelf in her study.

 

“Cool!” Naruto said.

 

Sasuke nodded. She had been cool. Sasuke watched some seagulls land nearby and realized that he hadn’t felt their approach, because he had stopped kneading his chakra at some point.

 

“Let’s make camp on the ridge,” Kakashi said. “Then, you guys can get back to playing in the sand.”

 

Everyone went back up the slope and laid out their things. It looked to be a clear night, so they decided to sleep under the stars. Then, the genin fished for a while.

 

After quickly adapting to walking on waves, Sakura used her patented fishing method, which involved walking along the surface of the water, looking for fish, and then kicking the water. This caused the water to bow up ahead of her kick and rocket any poor fish inside Sakura’s wave out of the water, like a cork shooting out of a bottle. It was as if she stepped on a board that was only sitting on a joist. As the end Sakura stepped on fell, the opposite end of the water rose, taking any fish in its range with it. So, Sakura would stamp on the water and Naruto and Sasuke would run forward trying to catch the fish without sinking beneath the waves.

 

The technique defied all logic, but it was the most fun Sasuke had ever had fishing. Despite Sasuke’s efforts to keep his face clear, Sakura had figured out that Sasuke enjoyed this game the very first time they played it and she made sure Team Seven did so at the end of every day in recent weeks. After they completed their missions and Kakashi left, the genin would catch dinner from Konoha’s creeks and ponds. Sasuke appreciated the fish, because sticking one in his lunch meant that he wouldn’t be forced to eat any more eggs.

 

They had bought food at the last town they’d been through, so, after setting up a pit on the sand, Kakashi pulled out a small, collapsable grill grate, and they cooked their fish and vegetable skewers over a fire of driftwood. Their catch went quite well with the sweet watermelon.

 

After they had finished eating, the three genin went back to the sand to look around, but Kakashi followed after them.

 

“Hey,” Kakashi said. He held out three blades of seagrass. “Take one.” Each of the genin did so. “Think about a stone,” Kakashi said, drawing everyone’s gaze back to himself. “It resists change, but it weathers and leaches. That is how a granite cliff crumbles to sand. Stone is solid and steady. When I was learning how to use Earth Release, I had to meditate first before I could get it to work. Meditate to make your mind, cool, but firm. Learn how to make yourself calm and still. I used to think of them as ‘room-temperature’ thoughts, because stone doesn’t produce heat.”

 

“Unless it’s undergoing a chemical reaction that produces heat,” Sasuke thought. “Or radioactive decay. And talc isn’t steady. It crumbles easily. And asbestos is pretty soft, too, and fibrous and fluffy instead of solid. And pumice is porous, so…” He didn’t say anything, however, because he recognized those as unhelpful thoughts. Science who? The Naruto-verse didn’t know her.

 

“So, we have to mediate and then we can use Earth Release chakra?” Sakura asked.

 

“Basically,” Kakashi said.

 

Sasuke sat on the dry sand to begin his training. Naruto sat beside him and picked through the sand for little shells. Sakura sat on Sasuke’s other side and Kakashi lay out, with his hands behind his head, on the beach alongside Naruto. Why was everyone sitting so close to him, Sasuke wondered. He put the others out of his mind and started trying to meditate, as Kakashi had instructed.

 

“I don’t like meditating,” Naruto said, flinging a shell into the water. “It’s so boring.”

 

“So much for my practice time,” Sasuke thought wryly. Oh, well. He could practice another time.

 

“We don’t know what your chakra affinities are, so you might be learning nature transformation the hard way if you start with one you don’t have an affinity for. It would be better to start with the easiest one,” Kakashi said.

 

“What’s my affinity, then?” Naruto asked.

 

“I don’t know,” Kakashi said. “They make a kind of paper that you can use to find out. I’ll get us some when we get back to Konoha.”

 

Sasuke had always liked personality tests and horoscopes, even though he knew they were bullshit. People were too complicated and the universe was too indifferent for the arbitrary categories people came up with to be meaningful, but they could still be fun.

 

Sasuke considered his team. Kakashi was lightning, because he the genius white-haired teacher figure or something, Naruto was wind, because he was growing and empathetic, Sasuke himself was fire because he was angry and single-minded, and Sakura was… What was she?

 

“What is it?” Sakura said, blushing under Sasuke’s scrutiny. He waved a hand and looked away.

 

“A Gemini,” Sasuke thought. “Of two minds. That’s an air sign. Is that a Void/Lightening air or a Water air? Is a Water air a thing? A flowing fluid type of thing, but maybe only water is Water… I bet Western astrology doesn’t count, even though magic is a thing here.”

 

“I wonder what affinity I have,” Naruto said.

 

“Wind,” Sasuke said softly, still staring into the waves.

 

“You think?” Naruto said. Sasuke nodded. “I was thinking Fire, because I have the Will of Fire, you know? Because I’m going to be the Hokage.”

 

“Having the Will of Fire doesn’t have anything to do with your affinity for one nature transformation over another,” Kakashi said. “You can’t tell just from looking at a person what their affinity will be. For instance, I bet you can’t guess mine.”

 

“Well, you already told us it’s not Earth,” Sakura pointed out. “If it were, you would have learned how to fly.”

 

“Lightning,” Sasuke said, enjoying this game. Cheating could be fun sometimes.

 

“Then, I’m going to guess… Fire,” Naruto said.

 

“I’ll go with what Sasuke-kun said,” Sakura said. “He’s really smart.”

 

“Well… You lucked out, because it is Lightening,” Kakashi confirmed.

 

“What about me, Sasuke-kun? What do you think I am?” Sakura asked excitedly.

 

“I don’t know,” Sasuke said, looking back at Sakura as he considered her.

 

“Well, guess! What am I?” Sakura asked, leaning closer to Sasuke, who leaned a little further away to regain some distance, and only succeeded in bumping into Naruto. These guys were too close.

 

“Setting aside the second personality, maybe Taurus or Pisces,” Sasuke thought. “No, it’s about the five elements, so either Water, for emotion, or Earth, for stubbornness.”

 

“… Water,” Sasuke said. In the story, Sakura had been defined by her love, after all.

 

“He’s probably right about that,” Kakashi said. “Your ‘water bending’ shows that you have some natural talent for manipulating it. That’s very close to being a Water Release technique, even though you haven’t transformed your chakra’s nature.”

 

“So, if I’m Water, you’re Lightning, Sasuke-kun is Fire, and Naruto-kun ends up being either Wind or Earth, we could cover a fairly wide range of techniques. That’s four out of five natures. That would allow our team to deal effectively with lots of different enemies, right?” Sakura said.

 

“To an extent,” Kakashi said. “In reality, life isn’t a card game, so you can’t always create optimal matchups and, sometimes, you have to be able to deal with whatever opponent is in front of you, even if your teammate might be better equipped to face them.”

 

“Is that why you know Earth Release techniques, as well as Lightening Release ones?” Sakura asked.

 

“Yes,” Kakashi said. “Versatility isn’t the only way to go, however. Most ninjas do specialize in only one type of nature transformation, if they even use nature transformations at all. They can produce some amazing techniques, but they don’t always have a lot of utility outside of specific contexts. That means that your time might be better spent learning something with a wider application.”

 

“Do you think we’re going to operate as team for very long?” Sakura asked.

 

“Who can say?” Kakashi said. “But, for as long as you’re together, it behooves you to mesh well with your teammates, compensating for their weaknesses and playing off their strengths. You’ll need to build your strategies for the jobs you take based on your individual and group capabilities. You’re all still working on the fundamentals, building your foundations, so you will have a lot of overlap with your teammates, but, eventually, you should develop your own specialties. What specialties you develop is very much up to you.

 

“The average soldier in a lord’s army won’t ever be much more than a slab of meat with a katana, or a yumi, or a yari, so they’re trained by the score, but each ninja has their own style, so they must be trained almost individually.”

 

“Why can’t we all be trained in these fundamentals together?” Sakura asked. “I mean, why couldn’t we all stay in the Academy for another year and learn tree walking and water walking together, for instance?”

 

“Genin are enrolled too early,” Kakashi said. “Sure, there are certainly kids that are capable of doing work for ANBU at the age of fourteen, like I did, but just because someone can do that work doesn’t mean they should.”

 

Sasuke looked back at Kakashi, but nothing could be seen of his face, because of the forehead protector and mask. Itachi was eleven when he joined Kakashi’s ANBU team, Sasuke recalled.

 

“When the village was founded, you couldn’t be a genin until you were fifteen,” Kakashi continued.

 

“What happened?” Sakura asked.

 

“War,” Kakashi said simply.

 

Sasuke remembered the Memorial Stone Kakashi had shown them on their first day with its few dozen names. So few dead, but when each village only had a few hundred ninjas total, each one was vital. Adding cannon fodder to pad the roster may have made the difference between victory and defeat. Maybe.

 

Maybe it just meant more dead kids. After all, in the story, any one of the twelve-year-old rookie nine would have stood no chance against their seventeen-year-old selves. Looking at it that way made child soldiers seem an especially terrible idea, actually. At least in his previous life, a gun was a gun, no matter how old the person holding it was. Thanks to lax gun laws, kids with guns accidentally killed other people fairly regularly in the US. Here, a twelve-year-old ninja couldn’t compare to an adult ninja and every dead kid meant one less uniquely talented and powerful adult.

 

Unless it was Mizuki-sensei. That pitiful guy was as soft as a peach.

 

Combined with the low birth-rate, Konoha seemed to be pawning its future to pay for its current prosperity. Unless Sasuke’s math was way off, it wasn’t sustainable to take risks with Konoha’s genin like Kakashi was now, like the Hokage would during the Chuunin Exam, like Danzo was by having the Root child-slaves fight their partners to the death. The danger and resulting rate of attrition was too high. Konoha would have been running out of ninjas, even if they hadn’t killed off Sasuke’s clan. Ninjas were a finite resource and they were being mismanaged.

 

“That won’t be my kids,” Sasuke said to himself, as he watched the clouds flow over the ocean. “That won’t be my clan, not while I’m our clan head. Our eyes were meant to see beyond the walls of Konoha. I will show the next generation the horizon.” He thought of Sarada, with a star in each of her beautiful red eyes. She might never be born, but Sasuke would fill her siblings’ eyes with stars, with constellations, that Sarada could never have known. “I swear,” he thought, feeling the promise swell his chest and straighten his spine.

 

He was so close.

 

It was Kakashi who broke the silence.

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi said. “If that leaf is no good, why don’t you try it with sand? Remember what I said about Sakura’s ‘water-bending?’ You might be able to get a feel for the element of Earth if you played with some sand.”

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“Sakura-chan, you can keep trying to produce Earth Release, or you could try to produce Water Release. You’re already very close, so I think this would be a good time for you to take that next step. Instead of messing around with the leaf, try this technique.” Kakashi went slowly through a series of hand seals.

 

“What’s that?” Sakura asked after she started miming his movements.

 

“Water Release: Gunshot. It’s basic Water Release technique. It shoots a small blast of water at a target from your mouth,” Kakashi said. “Give it a try.”

 

“Okay!” Sakura said excitedly.

 

“What about me?” Naruto asked.

 

“No matter how smart Sasuke-kun is, you can’t actually tell someone’s nature affinity by looking at them,” Kakashi said. “You should start with the nature transformation that’s easiest for you, but, as we don’t know what that is, you might as well keep doing what you’re doing… However, you should probably make a shadow clone or two.”

 

“Why?” Naruto asked.

 

“Two heads are better than one,” Kakashi said. “By using a shadow clone, you double your experience. By using three, you triple it. That’s because a shadow clone isn’t just an illusion, it’s another body. You’ll learn faster if you train while using that technique.”

 

“Okay!” Naruto said. “What do you think, Sasuke?”

 

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Naruto.

 

“About which I should practice! Should I stick with the Earth one or try the Wind one?”

 

“Wind,” Sasuke said. “Try to cut the leaves with your chakra.”

 

“Maa, I guess it doesn’t matter, either way. Each is as likely as the other to be your nature affinity, Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said, waving a hand.

 

Sakura glared at the waves and repeatedly went through the hand seals for Bullet. Naruto produced ten clones, making their little gathering quite crowded indeed, and the clones ran off to grab themselves a blade of grass off the dunes.

 

Sasuke closed his eyes, thought still and solid thoughts, leaned forward, and put a hand on the sand in front of him. The grains stirred against his palm and Sasuke smiled faintly. An idea occurred to him, so he got up, leaving Kakashi lying on the sand, and collected Tazuna’s empty bottle from the trash pile. He returned to the beach and went forward until he stood just on the edge of where the water had wetted the sand. He knelt in the sand and immediately regretted it, because his broken toe did not like that. He sat down, set the bottle mouth first in the wet sand, so it wouldn’t fall over, and urged the sand to swallow the bottle. First by millimeters, then by centimeters, the bottle was consumed by the sand. Sasuke kept his chakra pushing through the sand, like a cement truck agitating a load of wet cement to keep it from solidifying again.

 

“A tiny Sand Binding Coffin,” Sasuke thought. “Almost. Almost. Gaara doesn’t have to be in direct contact with the sand, though, does he?”

 

The longer he worked at it, the faster he could make the sand move and the more he felt his chakra shift into a stonier phase as it passed through his hand and into the sand.

 

“Now, for the finisher,” Sasuke thought, trying to force the sand to contract. His chakra flexed weakly against the bottle. Sasuke settled himself more comfortably in the sand and tried again. And again. A few minutes later, the bottle cracked, breaking into a few pieces. Sasuke took a deep breath and tried one more time. The bottle crunched into dozens of pieces, as if it had been hurled at a wall. Sasuke sighed in satisfaction.

 

“Sand Waterfall Funeral-ish,” Sasuke thought. As Sand Waterfall Funerals went, Sasuke’s had been pretty wimpy, but he was still proud of it.

 

He straightened his posture, flexed his back, used his chakra to lift the sand, so it sat in his hand in a ball. Then, he set the sand spinning faster and faster, churning the glass contained within, grinding it down. While he worked, he could feel where he was going wrong with his nature transformation, so he made corrections as he worked. His previous months and months of practice weren’t as helpful as he would have liked, but they gave him some pointers in this training. He tapped his temple, so he could listen to music while he practiced.

 

Eventually, he was able to transform his chakra into what was distinctly Earth Release chakra. As he refined the process, he was able to increase the force of his sand on the bottle pieces little by little as gained a feel for the task. The ball of wet sand became warm in his hand as he worked.

 

By the time it was getting too dark to see, the ball was had darkened with flecks of glass and dried significantly, so Sasuke had to stop or risk getting silicosis. He released the sand, letting it fall in clumps onto the beach. He was gratified to see among the sand that the amber bottle had been reduced to chunks of frosted glass. He picked up the lip of the bottle, which had come through the tumbling process intact, and enjoyed the feel of the matte surface against his skin. Dropping it back to the earth, Sasuke stood up, dusted his hands off on his shorts, and left the pieces behind. Maybe some beachcomber would enjoy finding them one day.

 

Sasuke saw Kakashi still lying on the beach where he had left him, apparently napping under his book.

 

“Any luck?” Kakashi asked, raising the book off his face.

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said, bowing gratefully. “Thank you, Kakashi-sensei.”

 

“Sasuke-kun!” Sakura said excitedly. “I did it! I did Water Release! I made a ball of water and it shot out of my mouth!”

 

“Congratulations,” Sasuke said.

 

“Did you see it? Watch!” Sakura demonstrated her new technique, which produced a small ball of water. “Wait, I can do it better!” She tried again and this one was much more substantial.

 

“Well done,” Sasuke said.

 

“What about you?” Sakura asked.

 

“I think so,” Sasuke said, nodding. He was quite pleased about it, actually.

 

“Congratulations,” Sakura said.

 

“Why can’t I get it?” Naruto asked.

 

“This is the first day you’ve tried, right?” Kakashi said. “Sakura-chan has been practicing manipulating water for a couple weeks, so she had a head start. Sasuke-kun, too. He’d been training to use Earth Release for some time before today. This was just the first day he’d succeeded. It generally takes six months to learn your first nature manipulation. Don’t worry that you haven’t gotten it yet.”

 

Naruto glared at Sasuke.

 

“It took Sakura-chan two weeks. How long did it take you?” Naruto asked jealously.

 

“Two years,” Sasuke said.

 

“What?! Seriously?! That’s so slow! Maybe you aren’t such a genius after all!” Naruto crowed.

 

Sasuke wished Naruto wasn’t so insecure. It made him so abrasive sometimes. Without responding, Sasuke went to get cleaned up for bed. Behind a blanket that they had set between two stakes as a shield, Sasuke took his turn washing for bed with a bottle of water, a bar of soap, and a bucket, and then dried himself with a small towel, reapplied his deodorant, retaped his broken toe, rebandaged his hand, and changed into pajamas. As he cleaned up, he listened to his teammates continue to speak.

 

“Naruto-!” Sakura growled, but Kakashi cut her off.

 

“Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said. “This is Sasuke-kun’s second nature transformation. He can already do Fire Release. Learning a nature transformation that you don’t have an affinity for is much more difficult than learning one you do have an affinity for.”

 

“What…? Then Wind Release must not be the right one for me, or I’d have gotten it in one day!” Naruto said.

 

“That’s not how this works,” Kakashi said. “It didn’t even take Sakura-chan one day and she has incredible chakra control. If you want to learn a nature transformation, then you should stick with it. Give it time, okay? If you wait until we get back to Konoha, we can check what your affinity is and get you on the best track.”

 

Because they had packed so light, they had to do laundry every other night, so Sasuke did his laundry and hung it to dry on the line his teammates had set up for that purpose. Sakura was able to contribute the clean water for their laundry.

 

“It looks like you’re making a really huge spit ball,” Naruto said. “Like you’re hocking a huge loogie.”

 

“No, it doesn’t!” Sakura said.

 

“It kind of does,” Sasuke thought, adding a scoop of washing powder to the bucket.

 

Sasuke had trouble sleeping that night. Not only was it hard for him to sleep in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar sounds, surrounded by unfamiliar presences, in an unfamiliar bed, but he kept thinking of the fight the next day and how he could evade Kakashi. Not that Kakashi would be likely to try to track Sasuke down. Someone who abandoned their teammates was worse than trash, right? Kakashi wouldn’t bother with him. Kakashi hadn’t gone after Sasuke in the story, so why would he do so here, when they had even less of a relationship? Sakura might be tempted to chase him down, because her crush was like a physical presence, but she wouldn’t act on her own, because she still wasn’t confident in herself. Naruto wouldn’t chase him, either, because they hadn’t experienced the Haku fight together. Sasuke was going to get away. It was going to be fine. He was going to be free. He was going to meet Hikari!

 

“Can the dogs track me if I swim?” Sasuke wondered as he rested his eyes.

 

After a night of too little sleep, Sasuke was woken in the dark by Kakashi. Blearily, he rolled up his sleeping mat, inflatable pillow, and blanket, and used Fire Release to give everyone’s clothes a quick blow-dry. Then, everything was packed away and the group made their way down to the dock, which was lit by a single orange lamp, around which moths sped back and forth. Team Seven and Tazuna waited in silence, eating a sad breakfast of granola bars, oranges, and water while they waited.

 

Sakura broke the tired silence.

 

“I saw Ino’s team learning to tree walk the other day,” Sakura said around a yawn. “Ino-pig grabbed Shikamaru-kun and shouted, ‘torque attack!’ Pulled him right off his tree.”

 

Naruto laughed sleepily.

 

“Man, how come we don’t have fun like that?” Naruto asked. “We’re always just training or doing boring missions! We should play ninja or something sometimes!”

 

“How can we play ninja? We ARE ninjas!” Sakura said. “Besides, we fish together. That counts.” Naruto looked embarrassed. Sasuke wanted to stick up for him by talking about the importance of play for people of all ages, but bit his tongue. What was he doing? First the shells and now this?

 

“I’m getting too close,” he realized. “I actually want to talk to them. I’m getting attached. That’s unfortunate.”

 

“Playing together is good sometimes,” Kakashi said.

 

“Did you play with your team when you were a genin?” Naruto asked.

 

“No, I did not, unfortunately,” Kakashi said.

 

“You should play with us, then,” Naruto said.

 

“I should,” Kakashi agreed.

 

Sasuke saw the boat as something on it reflected the light of the dock. His didn’t shift in his seat, but his heart started beating faster, his eyes widened, and color rose in his cheeks. The fight that would knock out Kakashi and allow Sasuke to slip Konoha’s leash was less than a day away. He was so close. Now, he just needed to stay calm and not give the game away.

 

“Zabuza,” Sasuke thought hungrily. “Zabuza, you beautiful bastard, come and get us!”

 

-

 

“Hey, Dangou-kun,” Tazuna greeted the ferryman. “Thanks for the ride.”

 

“Hey,” Dangou greeted as he tied the boat to the pier with Tazuna’s help. Before Kakashi could properly take the man in, Kakashi’s instincts pegged the man as suspicious. He was a narrow-jawed man with an underfed look and a surprisingly low-pitched voice. Tazuna handed over a wad of cash to the ferryman, who immediately started counting it out. Once he had finished confirming his payment, he looked at Kakashi without looking him in the eye.

 

“While you guys are on my boat, you need to be quiet, especially once we get closer to Wave, got it? Don’t chat after I cut the engine,” Dangou said. Kakashi took a deep breath and noticed the smell of stress in the man’s sweat. He was also avoiding looking Tazuna and Kakashi in the eye. He might be nervous for any reason, including the obvious one (he was smuggling someone on Gatou’s shit list into Wave), but Kakashi thought it was something more. Still, Kakashi reasoned, the man wouldn’t start something on his own tiny boat. At most, he would probably deliver them to a bad port. Kakashi could deal with that.

 

“We understand,” Kakashi said.

 

“Come on,” Dangou said, holding out a hand to help Kakashi onto the boat, like Kakashi was some civilian. Kakashi ignored the hand and hopped lightly into the vessel.

 

Kakashi examined his sleepy genin as they each made their way onto the boat in turn. Sakura was brushing her hair and missing, Naruto was so out of it he almost fell into the boat, and Sasuke kept blinking and rubbing his eyes. At least Kakashi himself had gotten a nap yesterday while the kids practiced nature transformations. Today would not be a good day to get attacked. Sleep loss dulled your senses and slowed your reaction times. He had hoped they would be able to sleep some in the boat, but it was a tiny thing. If they fell asleep in this boat, they’d probably fall out. It would have been a tight fit with the ferryman, Tazuna, and Kakashi. With the three adult men and the three kids, it was an absolute squeeze. The boat rode so low in the water that Kakashi worried it would sink.

 

Never the less, when the ferryman started up the motor again and the boat left the circle of light produced by the dock’s lamp for the pitch-black waves of the ocean, Kakashi saw Naruto and Sakura close their eyes and slump in their seats. Sasuke, however, tapped his temple and flexed his hands. He seemed to be trying to stimulate himself into a more wakeful state by stretching everything that he could without bumping anyone. He twisted his neck and tapped his toe rhythmically.

 

“Do you sense anyone else?” Kakashi asked, leaning back into Sasuke to be heard over the roar of the motor.

 

Sasuke shook his head. Kakashi patted Sasuke on the head. Sensors were so useful. It would have been good to know that Sasuke was one before now. One more thing left out of the kid’s school assessment. Was it missed or had Sasuke deliberately not shown it to his teachers? Kakashi was starting to wonder how much else he was hiding. He recalled in a flash the way Sasuke had clammed up when Kakashi had observed that Sasuke noticed that Kakashi had used the Body Replacement Technique. He was definitely hiding something.

 

“Damned if I know why, though,” Kakashi thought.

 

“Rest while you can,” Kakashi advised him. “We won’t land for at least half an hour.”

 

Sasuke stared at him with a little frown, but didn’t disagree. The boy shut his eyes, pulled his shoulders back, straightened his posture, and ran a hand through his hair. He looked like he was trying to meditate, so Kakashi called it a win.

 

Kakashi couldn’t blame him for being nervous; as soon as they reached Wave, they would have to face enemy ninjas of unknown ability. Plus, Kakashi reflected, the last time the kid had fought, Kakashi hadn’t backed him up immediately and neither had the rest of his team. It shouldn’t have been too bad for him, though. The only injuries he took were self-inflicted and nobody else got injured.

 

Except for the enemies Sasuke had shredded like so much cabbage. The way the kid used the Academy-level transformation technique as if it were a hiden was wild. If Kakashi had still been in ANBU, he’d have loved to have somebody on his team who could go from “perfectly innocuous-looking baby-face” to “ball of deadly spikes” in an instant and without a weapon. That was an assassin’s talent. Kakashi also wouldn’t have let someone as young as Sasuke within a thousand feet of an ANBU team, especially after what happened with Itachi, even if Itachi hadn’t been the kid’s older brother. Kakashi was going to have to block the ANBU commander for the next few years once the wider community found out about Sasuke’s newfound ability. Thankfully, Kakashi had some blackmail he could use, if it came down to it. At least Danzo didn’t have Root anymore, so Kakashi didn’t have to worry about him.

 

And Sakura! What the hell?! She had essentially learned how to use a nature transformation in two weeks! What was that?! People didn’t do that! Her chakra control was supernatural. She might never have as much chakra as either of her teammates, but she had enough to get the job done, if her chakra pool was used judiciously. He wondered how long it would take her to learn her second nature transformation. He was actually looking forward to teaching her. He had vague plans to see if he could teach her all five within six months. She was good at studying, too. Maybe he should see how many of his thousand techniques he could teach her. He should find out what she had an interest in to see where she should develop her skills. Obviously, genjutsu and medical ninjutsu would be where she would excel, but the most important thing was passion for the work. They needed to have a talk. He hated to admit it, but the girl really was born to be a ninja, even if she should have been content as a civilian.

 

And Naruto… The kid had frozen. Oh, well. It happened, especially with rookies who hadn’t been a ninja long enough. Sometimes, it happened with veterans who had been a ninja too long. Fear could keep you alive, but it could kill you, too. You had to control your fear to keep it from controlling you… And that was what combat training was for. Kakashi felt a bit guilty for not actually doing any of that with the kids before now. Taking them into combat when they hadn’t had any of the appropriate training was not smart. If they died here, it would be because he had neglected their training. He needed to start sparring with them and exposing them to tense situations, as soon as they got back to Konoha. Fear made you stupid, so you had to train to fight by instinct. Naruto would get past his instinctive fear-response and put his training to use soon enough. At least, he clearly understood that it had been a dangerous situation. Freezing might be bad for your health, but underestimating your enemy could be, too. He might be a bit dumb, but he had working instincts.

 

They were good kids, Kakashi reflected as their boat pressed into the darkness, but still just kids. He watched the dock light dwindle away behind them and stretched his arms above his head. It had been a while since he’d faced a real challenge. Guarding four people by himself when facing an unknown number of enemy ninjas would be a challenge, even if they turned out to be no worse than the two they had fought earlier. If Kakashi had been on the opposite mission, he might not even have bothered to deal with the jounin guarding the group. He would probably just wait for one clear shot at the client. If he were facing himself, Tazuna would be dead as soon as Guard-Kakashi dropped his pants to answer the call of nature. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be facing anyone that patient and risk averse.

 

Whatever. Kakashi could handle it.

 

The sky began to lighten, but fog was rising off the ocean, so little could be seen. Kakashi sighed sleepily and enjoyed the close view the morning afforded him. He had always found fog calming despite the danger it presented, especially as at least some of their current enemies were Kiri ninjas, who famously fought best in fog. The light scattered in the moist air, so both shadows and light were softened. It made for quite a beautiful morning.

 

Kakashi heard the kids behind him start to stir as the morning bloomed. He looked back to find Sakura nudging Sasuke to offer him a drink of water and Naruto playing with a kunai. He turned back around to see the ferryman checking a stopwatch and a compass. He cut the engine, picked up a pole, and began punting them forward. It seemed the water was shallow enough here for that.

 

“I could really use a drink,” Tazuna said, scratching his beard. The ferryman made a noise of agreement.

 

“Would you like some water, Tazuna-san?” Sakura asked, holding out her bottle.

 

“No thanks,” Tazuna said. “But, if you’ve got tea or coffee, I’d take that in a heartbeat.”

 

“Sorry,” Sakura said.

 

Their client probably was tired; he’d been up four times in the night to pee, just as he had every single night since Team Seven had begun escorting him. Kakashi wasn’t looking forward to that stage of life, assuming he would even live that long.

 

“One of the good things about dying young,” Kakashi thought reflectively, as he stared at the bags under Tazuna’s eyes, “is that you don’t have to get old.”

 

“There’s so much fog,” Sakura remarked. “I can’t see a thing. And we’ve been going for so long. I didn’t think Wave was so far away from Fire.”

 

“The shortest route isn’t the safest,” the ferryman said.

 

Since there was enough light to read by, Kakashi took out his book to pass the time, while keeping an ear on the fog for enemies. For another half hour, he heard nothing but the sound of the ferryman’s punting. Dangou skillfully navigated the boat through the twisting shallows of the sandbar without beaching them.

 

“Wow!” Naruto shouted. “Look at that! I’ve never seen such a big bridge!”

 

Kakashi looked up to see an unfinished bridge being slowly revealed through the veil of fog.

 

“Shut up, or we’ll be spotted!” The ferryman hissed angrily. “Do you want to bring Gatou’s men down on our heads?!”

 

Naruto gasped and slapped his hands over his mouth. Kakashi sighed.

 

“I wonder if it really is too low for ship traffic,” Kakashi thought as they passed under the bridge. He had never actually seen a merchant sailboat with a mast low enough to pass under that bridge. The pillars were very close together, too. “Maybe the bridge is higher out in deeper water. Or maybe ship masts can be lowered. Is that something ships can do?”

 

“We’ll stick close to the trees, to avoid being seen,” the ferryman said.

 

“Good. Thanks, Dangou-san,” the client said.

 

Kakashi put his book away. If their enemies attacked from above while they were in the boat, he needed to be ready to react. They entered a tunnel under a bridge, which made Kakashi very nervous. He couldn’t see around corners, after all. It might be difficult to counter an attack if the enemy struck from directly above when they left the tunnel. To make matters worse, the kids were up front and would be exposed before he would. He prepared himself to spring into action, but nothing happened. They left the tunnel without incident and continued on past a clump of the mangrove trees growing in the water.

 

Wave was an interesting place. This part of it seemed to be a swamp. Like the mangrove trees, the buildings, which were made completely of wood and no more than two stories tall, were held only a couple feet above the water by driven piles. Paint seemed to be a luxury few could afford here, so the buildings were mostly the grey of weathered wood.

 

The ferryman dropped them off on a narrow walkway that ringed one closely grown copse of houses.

 

“Thanks for the lift,” Tazuna said.

 

“Yeah,” the ferryman said, looking worried and guilty. “Good luck.” Then, he revved the boat’s motor and sped away.

 

“Bad sign,” Kakashi thought.

 

“Alright, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi said. “Keep alert for strange chakra signatures.”

 

“Okay,” Sakura said. Both kids started looking around. Then, Sasuke lowered his eyes and frowned, while Sakura gave a full body twitch. Sasuke looked at her meaningfully and she nodded tensely.

 

“Sensei,” Sakura whispered worriedly, looking towards the trees that lay ahead on their path. She held out two fingers surreptitiously. When Kakashi looked at Sasuke, he did the same.

 

“Thought so,” Kakashi said, rubbing his neck. “Try to spread out when you can. We’re in more danger when we’re on top of each other.”

 

“What?” Naruto asked. “What’s wrong?”

 

“Be ready for a fight,” Kakashi told him.

 

Naruto’s eyes widened and he nodded with determination, balling his fists. Tazuna looked much less certain. He told them which way to go, but stayed in the middle of the pack as the group progressed away from the neighborhood and followed the sandy path into the trees.

 

“There!” Naruto shouted. Kakashi whirled around to see the underbrush shaking. “… Must have been just a rat.”

 

“Naruto!” Sakura hissed furiously.

 

“Please don’t play around. You could seriously hurt someone with a shuriken,” Kakashi said.

 

“You little idiot!” Tazuna roared. “Do you really think this is the time to goof off?!”

 

But Naruto was off like a curious puppy.

 

“There!” Naruto shouted, tossing another shuriken. This time he hit a white rabbit. Not exactly a native species. It might be an escaped lab animal, a loose pet, or it could be an animal kept for use as a ninja’s body double for the Body Replacement technique. Given the circumstances…

 

Sakura growled at Naruto at the same moment Kakashi heard a movement from the trees behind them.

 

“Everyone down!” Kakashi screamed, knocking Tazuna down with him. A great wind rushed by overhead and the sound of a massive blade cracking into a tree trunk rang out ahead of them. Kakashi got up first to see that Sakura had pushed Naruto down and Sasuke had dropped, too, so everyone had survived he first attack.

 

Sakura looked worried and pale, Naruto looked ferocious, and Sasuke was staring intensely at their attacker, his eyes wide and color high on his cheeks. He was actually trembling slightly as he observed the man. He must be able to sense the difference between a jounin and a genin.

 

“Hello, there,” Kakashi said, waving at the revealed enemy. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Momochi Zabuza, formerly of Kiri.”

 

“And you, Sharingan Kakashi,” Zabuza drawled. “Sorry, but that old man you have, I’m going to have to take him off your hands.”

 

Kakashi heard Naruto shift, coiling himself to spring at Zabuza, so he held a hand out in front of the boy.

 

“You guys just leave this one to me,” Kakashi said. “He’s not someone you can handle. He’d even be difficult for me to deal with, unless I do this.” Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector and felt Obito’s eye start to drain his chakra. “You three, protect Tazuna-san.”

 

“Revealing your best trick already,” Zabuza said, leering at Kakashi “I feel special. I’ve never seen a Sharingan before.”

 

“What’s a Sharingan?” Naruto asked.

 

“Later,” Sasuke said.

 

“But I want to know now!” Naruto said.

 

Sasuke sighed deeply.

 

“Oh my God, Naruto-kun!” Sakura exclaimed shrilly.

 

“What? I’ll forget to ask, if I leave it ‘til later!” Naruto said.

 

“The Sharingan is the doujutsu of the Uchiha Clan,” Kakashi said, keeping his tone casual. “It allows the wielder to read and, potentially, even defeat every single genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu.”

 

“Don’t be modest, Kakashi-kun!” Zabuza said lazily. “Its most impressive function is how it copies any technique it sees, enabling the wielder to perform it themselves. It’s very special.”

 

“You’re too kind,” Kakashi said.

 

“Not at all. When I was part of ANBU in Kiri, you had a whole page in our handbook all to yourself. It said you had copied a thousand different techniques,” Zabuza said.

 

“A thousand techniques?! You’re awesome, Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto said.

 

“Oh, yes. Now, it’s been nice talking to you, but I have to get back to work,” Zabuza said. He flashed killing intent at Tazuna, so Kakashi stepped in front of the man and heard his genin behind him do the same. “Guess it’ll will be a long day.”

 

Zabuza disappeared, Body Flickering to the surface of the water and then using the Hiding in Mist Technique to disappear.

 

“He’s gone! Where did he go?!” Naruto shouted.

 

“He’s using a technique to defeat our eyes and ears,” Sakura said. “But I can sense him! He’s moving around us!”

 

“Calm down,” Kakashi said. “He’ll have to kill me first before he can get to you guys. He’s known for attacking silently, so keep your guard up. I’m pretty good with this Sharingan, but not perfect, so I need you to keep watch, too.”

 

“The fog is getting worse!” Naruto said.

 

“There are so many choices,” Zabuza’s said, his voice echoing unnaturally around the path, so Kakashi couldn’t tell where it was coming from.

 

Sasuke’s hands flew through his Fire Release: Blow Drier Technique or whatever it was called. He had used it earlier that morning to dry the kid’s wet clothes before they packed up to leave. This time, he used it to melt the fog out of the air around them, pushing the fog back twenty feet.

 

“So many soft parts I could stick a knife in, so many ways for you to die… Which one should I pick, do you think?” Zabuza asked dreamily.

 

Kakashi unleashed his own killing intent to show that he wasn’t intimidated, while creating a Water Clone and running off into the mist. Unfortunately, this affected more than just Zabuza, because, behind his clone, Sasuke gasped.

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi’s clone said. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you guys, even if It kills me. I don’t let my comrades die.” Kakashi’s clone turned around to give him a smile, but Sasuke did not look reassured. He was white as a sheet and looked confused for some reason.

 

“Is that so?” Zabuza asked, sounding playfully curious.

 

And Zabuza body flickered behind Sasuke, who was apparently in no mood to allow Zabuza, no matter how charming he’d been earlier, to get so familiar. If Zabuza had asked Kakashi, he would have told him, “He only just recently let me put an arm around his shoulder. You have to take it slow. You have to let him warm up to you, get comfortable with you. You can’t just jump in there. He’s shy.” But no, Zabuza hadn’t asked for Kakashi’s advice.

 

So, Sasuke gave him a face full of spines without even turning around.

 

“Those things materialize fast,” Kakashi noted from his vantage point in the trees. “But what was that clueless look for earlier?

 

Zabuza’s Water Clone popped just as Kakashi’s Water Clone Body Flickered beside the genin. When Zabuza moved in to kill Kakashi’s Water Clone, Kakashi Body Flickered behind him and put a kunai to his throat.

 

“I think you should give up this job of yours,” Kakashi said. “It’s no good for your health.”

 

Zabuza laughed delightedly.

 

“You think you can beat me by aping my techniques?” Zabuza asked, as though charmed by the notion. “You’ve got a lot to learn, but I will admit that I am impressed. It was a good plan. Unfortunately…”

 

“I had a better one,” the real Zabuza purred from behind Kakashi.

 

“How many clones are there?!” Naruto demanded, as Kakashi burst the Water Clone in front of him.

 

“It does seem excessive,” Kakashi thought as he dodged under Zabuza’s first strike. “There should definitely have been one fewer.” After an embarrassingly brief bout of hand-to-hand combat, Zabuza kicked Kakashi like a horse, causing Kakashi to be thrown into the water. As he sailed through the air, Kakashi reflected that he needed to start sparring with Gai. On his way out, Kakashi only had time to toss down some caltrops before he landed.

 

“This is bad,” Kakashi thought. He surfaced as quickly as he could, stomach aching from where Zabuza had driven in his heel, but Kakashi wasn’t fast enough. Suddenly, instead of water, it was as if Kakashi was pushing through tar. His legs strained against the pull of the water, trying to get out. Then, Zabuza was behind him. Before Kakashi could turn around, he was captured in Zabuza’s Water Prison Technique.

 

“Copy Ninja, are you paying attention?” Zabuza drawled intimately. “Now, watch.”

 

Zabuza made another Water Clone. Kakashi’s insides filled with ice. Zabuza intended to kill Kakashi’s genin and he wanted Kakashi to watch.

 

“Run!” Kakashi shouted. “Take Tazuna-san and retreat! He can’t move while he has me trapped and his Water Clones can’t go far from him! Go now!” The kids ignored him. “Run! Run now!”

 

“Look at you three,” Zabuza’s clone said chidingly. “Wearing forehead protectors and carrying shuriken. You thought you were real ninjas, didn’t you? But you were only ever kids playing pretend. It’s a pity. If only you hadn’t come up against a real ninja.”

 

Zabuza’s clone moved to kick Naruto in the head, but Sasuke’s Transformation Technique was faster. The clone popped inches from Naruto’s face as a single long spike materialized from Sasuke’s outstretched arm through the clone’s midsection. Naruto looked shaken at the near miss, but Sasuke didn’t even look at him or the remains of the clone, opting instead to give Zabuza the same glare Kakashi received when he last disciplined Naruto in front of the Hokage.

 

Zabuza hummed curiously.

 

“A hedgehog?” Zabuza said.

 

“He is actually, yes,” Kakashi thought.

 

“Naruto-kun,” Sasuke said. “I seem to recall you promised to protect us all.”

 

“What…? Yeah! Yeah, I did!” Naruto said.

 

“Step up,” Sasuke demanded.

 

“R-right!” Naruto said, standing taller.

 

“But, Sasuke-kun, Kakashi-sensei said we have no chance against him, plus there’s the other-!” Sakura said desperately.

 

“If we run, we will all die! We will be hunted down and killed before we reach Konoha!” Sasuke interrupted loudly.

 

“Oh shit, he’s right,” Kakashi realized, on the very edge of complete panic. “This is Momochi Zabuza, famous throughout the world for killing children! At twelve, he killed an entire graduating class at the Kiri Academy and he wasn’t even a student! Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, God, not again! Please, no! Someone, do something! I can’t watch them die! I can’t do this again!” He felt himself start to shake.

 

“Naruto-kun!” Sasuke shouted.

 

“Got it!” Naruto shouted. “Okay! I’ve got a plan! You ready Sasuke?”

 

“Ready,” Sasuke said.

 

“Yosh! Be distracting! Go wild!” Naruto said, shooing Sasuke and then turning around to whisper in Sakura’s ear.

 

Sasuke blinked, as if that hadn’t been what he was expecting Naruto to say, but he turned back to Zabuza, gave the man a considering look, and made of face of realization while pointing at Zabuza’s face. To everyone else, it must have looked like Sasuke had simply decided on a course of action. Because Kakashi had Obito’s Sharingan activated, he could clearly see that it was Sasuke’s first attack. He watched as Sasuke’s chakra swelled through his arm, into his hand, and emerged from the point of his finger. It was such a small amount of chakra that it must have been a genjutsu, which was little more than a disruption in the flow of chakra in someone’s brain. Kakashi briefly noticed Naruto making a couple dozen Shadow Clones.

 

Then, Sasuke dropped his hands to the ground and pushed his chakra into the sand. This caused a fountain of sand fly up through the water around Zabuza’s feet. Zabuza didn’t even try to dodge, so the sand caked him to his knees. Zabuza jerked, breaking the connection between the sand on his body and Sasuke’s technique.

 

“What was Naruto doing?!” Kakashi wondered. He glanced over and found that Tazuna had disappeared.

 

Then, Zabuza screamed, drawing Kakashi’s gaze back to him, and with a contemptuous wave of his hand, Zabuza caused the water rise up and wash away the sand on his legs.

 

“Putting me under a genjutsu,” Zabuza said, sounding angry. “Making me see you standing still. Not bad, not bad. But it breaks if the target experiences pain, you know? Rookie mistake. You should have killed me. And you think I didn’t see your little friends making Shadow Clones?” Zabuza asked, tossing a kunai into the eye of one of Naruto’s many clones, which burst. Kakashi shuddered. “Ah, now where has the target gone? You disguised him as one of your clones. Cute, but that’s just not going to cut it, kids. I can just kill you all one by one, until I have him.”

 

Then, Zabuza caused a wave to come barreling towards Sasuke. Sasuke jumped into the air to avoid the wave, at which point, Zabuza threw a handful of kunai at him. Sasuke couldn’t dodge, not while he was in the air. He was going to be struck! Kakashi tore at the water surrounding him fruitlessly.

 

And then Sasuke was gone, replaced with… Zabuza’s fucking sword. The man had let it go to toss kunai at Sasuke, so, while heavy, it must have been just within the weight range for it to be a candidate for the Body Replacement Technique. This put Sasuke where Zabuza’s sword had been, right beside Zabuza.

 

“No!” Kakashi screamed.

 

Zabuza grabbed Sasuke by the neck, who exploded into spikes, just as Zabuza, realizing his mistake a step too late, flung him away.

 

“You shitty little hedgehog!” Zabuza cursed, looking down at his injured hand and standing on one foot. That was the moment that an evil windmill shuriken came flying out of the mass of Narutos, making for Zabuza’s head. Zabuza snatched it out of the air as the sound of Sasuke’s many spikes hitting a tree reached Kakashi’s ears. That was when Zabuza noticed the second evil windmill shuriken flying in the shadow of the first. Zabuza hopped to avoid it and it flew harmlessly underneath him.

 

“Missed!” Zabuza said. “Hey, don’t touch that! I’ll kill you!”

 

Kakashi looked to see what Zabuza was shouting at and noticed Sasuke holding a paper tag and racing towards Zabuza’s sword. Sasuke pushed his chakra into the writing on the tag, activating the enclosure seal written there, and sucking up the massive sword. Then, he stuffed the tag down his pants.

 

“What a brat!” Kakashi thought.

 

“You brat!” Zabuza shouted. Then, suddenly, he gasped and jerked violently forward, breaking his contact with the Water Prison holding Kakashi. Kakashi saw a spear of water sticking out of Zabuza’s chest. Zabuza swung around, preparing to throw the evil windmill shuriken at whoever had attacked him. It wasn’t until Kakashi had blocked the man’s swing with the back of Kakashi’s own hand that Kakashi saw that it was Sakura who had stabbed Zabuza. She must have been using the transformation technique to make herself appear as that evil windmill shuriken and then used her water bending to stab the man in the back. The girl landed adroitly on the waves as Zabuza’s attention was drawn to Kakashi.

 

“That hurts,” Kakashi thought, baring his teeth. The metal plate on the back of his glove hadn’t entirely blocked the blade from biting into Kakashi’s hand. He let the pain in his hand, and his fear for his students, and his moral disgust at Zabuza’s sadism feed his anger.

 

Zabuza coughed, staining the bandages around his mouth with blood. A dozen Narutos descended on Zabuza with kunai drawn. Kakashi stabbed a kunai of his own into Zabuza’s stomach, but only cut the muscle, because the man fell into the water and swam away as fast as a fish.

 

“No way!” Sakura shouted fiercely. She lifted a foot and stamped it down onto the surface of the water, causing the water to heave like a seesaw and Zabuza to be ejected into the air.

 

“Wow!” Naruto said. “Is that your fish-catching technique, but bigger?!” Kakashi felt the same way, but he didn’t have time to congratulate his student for being a badass. He Body Flickered to where Zabuza would land and repaid him for the kick he’d given Kakashi earlier, sending him flying back onto land. Zabuza landed on his front in the sand near Sasuke.

 

Sasuke slapped his hands to the ground and sand rose up to encase Zabuza, who struggled mightily, but couldn’t get free before a Naruto, who had been hidden in the trees, dashed forward and stabbed him in the back with a kunai. Zabuza roared, blasted Sasuke away with a jet of water from his mouth, breaking the connection between Sasuke and the sand, and knocked the Naruto off his back, rolling him down the path like a ball. This Naruto didn’t break from the impact of the blow, indicating that it was the real one.

 

Zabuza scrambled to his feet, but Kakashi was already on him, whaling on the bastard, taking advantage of his existing injuries to make it hurt even more. It was a beating and a judgement and he did not let up. Zabuza managed to disengage long enough to Body Flicker back onto the water, but Kakashi dogged his steps. He had his teeth in Zabuza now and he refused to let go. He was going to kill this man for what he’d done.

 

Zabuza ripped the bandages off his face and spat out a mouthful of blood. His breathing was ragged and his stance showed how badly his injuries were affecting him. That hole Sakura had put in him would surely kill him eventually, but he was still able to cause trouble, somehow. Kakashi thought Zabuza might be using some technique to keep his damaged lung functional, but Obito’s eye told him otherwise. Zabuza was just powering through with only one working lung. Kakashi was in no mood to be impressed, however.

 

Zabuza started flying through the hand seals for something, probably something big. Just to screw with him, Kakashi copied him, hand seal for hand seal, for each of the forty-four seals of Zabuza’s technique. The resulting Water Dragon Bullet Techniques drew so much water so quickly from the surrounding swamp that it completely drained the area for a hundred feet around Kakashi, so he ended up standing on the sandy seabed. A wave in the shape of a dragon, making a noise like a crashing tsunami, erupted from in front of Kakashi. It roared forward and met Zabuza’s equally large water dragon, where both canceled each other out.

 

“That was costly,” Kakashi thought, noting his decreased chakra level.

 

In the aftermath, as water poured down around them, Kakashi struck. He and Zabuza clashed, kunai meeting kunai in a flurry of blows. Using Obito’s eye, Kakashi matched him, blow for blow. Zabuza began to look unnerved. The two kicked off, gaining distance from each other, presumably so Zabuza could regroup, take a breather, and then use another flashy move, but the seed had been sown. Time to twist the screws. With Obito’s eye, Kakashi hypnotically suggested what Zabuza’s next more should be and kept copying him. With every movement that Kakashi copied, Zabuza became more and more stressed.

 

“… Reading them,” Kakashi said, guessing Zabuza’s thoughts. Zabuza’s affably evil demeanor had disappeared to be replaced with rage. Kakashi could see the veins standing out on his forehead and neck.

 

“Let’s give that screw another twist,” Kakashi thought.

 

“… Freaky eye is pissing me off,” Kakashi said, guessing again.

 

“Shut up! All you’re doing is copying me! You can’t beat me, you-!” Zabuza shouted.

 

“- Can’t beat me, you monkey bastard!” Kakashi finished with him, copying Zabuza down to the movements of his speech.

 

“Shut up! I’ll break your face, you-!” Zabuza raged, but Kakashi used Obito’s eye to show Zabuza the illusion that a second Zabuza was emerging from mist right behind Kakashi, facing off with Zabuza right alongside Kakashi. It unnerved Zabuza enough to make him falter in his hand seals, giving Kakashi, who had selected the technique they were both performing, a split-second edge.

 

“Got you, fucker,” Kakashi thought viciously. He took the lead, completing the hand seals for Great Waterfall Technique, causing a swirling column of water to shoot out and slam into Zabuza, washing him off his feet and battering him as it tossed him around and around, bashing Zabuza’s body into the debris it picked up along the way. The move drained Kakashi’s chakra dangerously low. Finally, Kakashi’s technique expended the last of its energy and coughed Zabuza up on the shore, where he lay among the mangroves, gasping for breath and shaking.

 

Kakashi nailed Zabuza in the knees and elbows with kunai. The man didn’t look to be in any shape to run away, but it never hurt to be sure. At least, it didn’t hurt Kakashi. Based on Zabuza’s face and his groan of agony, it might have hurt him a bit. Kakashi stood over Zabuza’s fallen form.

 

“It’s over,” Kakashi said, drinking in Zabuza’s fearful expression. It fed the dark, angry thing in Kakashi’s chest.

 

“How?!” Zabuza stuttered. “Can you see the future?!”

 

“Yeah,” Kakashi said, his smile all teeth. “You’re about to die!” He pulled out one more kunai to drive into Zabuza’s heart, but, without warning, Zabuza was stabbed through the neck with two senbons. Kakashi whirled around to see one of Kiri’s nightmarish hunter-nin standing thirty feet away.

 

“You’re right,” the hunter-nin said in an amiable voice. “He’s dead.”

 

It was a teen not much older than Kakashi’s students, although, of course, Kakashi couldn’t see the boy’s face through his mask. Without taking his eyes off the hunter-nin, Kakashi knelt at Zabuza’s shoulder and checked his neck for a pulse.

 

“Thank you very much! I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to kill Zabuza for a while,” the hunter-nin said cheerfully, bowing respectfully.

 

“Wearing a mask like that, I assume you’re a Kiri hunter-nin,” Kakashi said.

 

“Indeed!” the hunter-nin replied.

 

“What’s a ‘hunter-nin?’” Naruto asked.

 

“It’s the job of my colleagues and I to hunt down missing-nin from Kiri,” the hunter-nin answered.

 

“You were hunting Zabuza? Is that why you were in the trees this whole time?” Sakura asked.

 

“Yes,” the hunter-nin answered.

 

“But, you just killed him! You killed him just like that, even though he was so tough!” Naruto protested. “How can someone who isn’t much older than me be so damned strong!”

 

“Don’t act so impressed,” Kakashi thought. “Zabuza was already defeated and we’re the ones who defeated him. This guy is just stealing my thunder.”

 

Kakashi sighed, putting his anger back in the box where it belonged. He turned his back on Zabuza and the hunter-nin, to demonstrate that he had no intention of fighting. Kakashi didn’t collect bounties that weren’t set by Konoha, anyway.

 

“Sometimes, kids younger than you are stronger even than me,” Kakashi said. “Don’t rush to judgement.”

 

“Since he’s dead now, I’m going to dispose of his body. Kiri doesn’t want the secrets of her children to spread, after all. I also need his sword, please,” the hunter-nin asked.

 

“It’s mine. Cut your losses,” Sasuke declared tyrannically, glaring fearlessly down his nose at the hunter-nin and drawing a kunai. “Or do you have time to play with us?”

 

What the fuck was this little idiot doing?! Kakashi did not have the stamina to fight this hunter-nin, too! He was running on fumes as it was!

 

“… Very well,” the hunter-nin said, showing commendable maturity. “Goodbye.” And then he left with Zabuza’s body.

 

“That could have gone badly,” Kakashi said, and then he keeled over. Man, chakra exhaustion felt so bad. Like a sudden-onset flu. At least he didn’t have to fight that hunter-nin, too. Kakashi was so tired! And, then, he was simply unconscious.

Notes:

The leopard cone snail, Conus leopardus, is an adorable little guy that will fuck you up. They’re the rookie genin of the sea. They’re venomous, like a lot of cone snails are. They goosh along the sand and harpoon passing fish.

Radula are like a cat’s tongue. Octopuses use their radula to scrape off teeny-tiny pieces of meat from their prey and bring them back into their mouth, so it’s more soup than steak when it enters the beak. If you ever see a little octopus going to town on a clam, just know that it’s basically making clam chowder over there. Not all octopuses eat clams and not all octopuses that eat clams drill into clams. Some can force open clam shells. They Stronk.

And, just so you know, the hole Sasuke identifies as being an octopus hole is not necessarily an octopus hole, because there are other mollusks that drill holes in shells. He doesn’t know everything. He just read a book once, okay?

To answer Kakashi’s question, yes, many sailboats can lower their masts to pass under bridges.

Did anyone else think Tazuna’s bridge looked like ass? That thing is unsafe. “Super builder” my foot. Between you and me, I don’t think he even has an engineering degree.

I reread the first Zabuza/Team Seven scene and I got more and more fed up as I went along with all the dialogue that was being injected into an action scene to explain said action scene. By the time I got to the Zabuza backstory reveal, I was in physical pain from all the narrating, so I wrote the following scene to cheer myself up. I thought you should be able to enjoy it, too.

“You know, when I was your age, these hands had already been stained with bloo-,” Zabuza began, but he was interrupted by Sasuke, who was, apparently, in a mood.

“With cum! They were stained with cum! Wait! Wait! I’ve heard this story before! Let me tell it,” Sasuke shouted aggressively, pointing at Zabuza. “You weren’t even enrolled in Whore Academy, but you became the best little cock-sucker in the village, because you practiced on every… single… dick… you could get your thirsty little mouth on. Unfortunately, you came in last place in ‘taking it up the ass,’ because you were just too loose down there. Absolutely gaping. The moral of the story is: Kiri sucks, but Momochi Zabuza sucks harder.”

Sasuke even performed obscene hand-gestures in the most embarrassing dramatic reenactment Kakashi had ever seen. Forget distracting Zabuza. Kakashi was fairly sure the birds in the trees and the worms in the earth were distracted by quiet little Sasuke cussing like a sailor. It was a good thing Kakashi was using Obito’s eye already, because he wanted to preserve this moment for when it was over and he needed to convince himself that he hadn’t hallucinated it.

“Storytime is over now. No one cares!” Sasuke shouted. “Stop talking!”

Chapter 5: Hikari

Summary:

Sasuke hits the light fantastic out of town and frees Hikari. Kakashi wakes up to bad news on top of bad news and tries to figure out what’s going on.

Notes:

Although I thought it would be out quickly, this chapter needed a lot of reworking and expansion. I think it ended up being the largest one yet, because Sasuke and Kakashi are both broody. Broody boys gonna brood, you know?

I just about had an aneurism when I read that Hikari was locked up by the Uchiha Clan because of her Mangekyou Sharingan. Fucking why, people? Why not make the Senju or the Sarutobi the ones mistreating her? Or, if you really want the cursed race (In case you missed that allusion, google, “Curse of Ham”) to be the ones doing the child abuse, then give them a more in-character excuse, like “Hikari was violent to her own clanmates because of her typical Uchiha hubris,” or something. I disagree so strongly with that writing decision, but I’m rolling with it, guys. Be prepared for relentless Uchiha bashing from Hikari. As an Uchiha Clan stan, it is hard for me, too.

Haku whisked Zabuza away and, under Sasuke’s intent gaze, Kakashi folded like a crisply starched pair of pants.

 

“Kakashi-sensei!” Sakura shrieked, as Kakashi landed in the dirt with a groan.

 

“Right on cue,” Sasuke thought, elation and fear warring inside him. His heart was pounding. From that moment, Sasuke had seven days before Kakashi could even think about pursuing him. It might not amount to much against a jounin with a pack of nin-dogs, but it might be enough. He had a sudden vision of dogs dressed as Sherlock Holmes chasing him. He fought down the urge to giggle.

 

“Help me move him,” Sasuke said to Naruto, approaching Kakashi, whose eyes were roving in a way that made Sasuke think Kakashi wasn’t fully conscious anymore. At least there were four of them to carry the big lug to Tazuna’s house. They were lucky ninjas didn’t tend to pack on muscle. As Sasuke pulled down Kakashi’s forehead protector, he fought down a grin at the thought of a hugely muscled Kakashi flexing and posing like Major Armstrong.

 

Sasuke looked around, realizing that their group was short a member.

 

“Where is Tazuna-san?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Oh, I’ve got him safe and sound,” Naruto said. He reached into his shuriken pocket and pulled out a small, horseshoe shaped, red and white magnet attached to a couple shuriken. Naruto pulled the shuriken off and, with a poof, revealed the magnet to have been a transformed Tazuna.

 

“That was something,” Tazuna said, holding his head and looking slightly unsteady.

 

“But what’s wrong with Kakashi-sensei?” Sakura asked. “He must be hurt! We need to find his wounds!”

 

Sasuke blinked. Kakashi had been in a serious fight and he might really be injured. Sasuke knelt down beside Kakashi and started looking for wounds. As if chakra exhaustion wasn’t bad enough. It didn’t make sense for Kakashi to not carry military ration pills for times like this. Of course, a lot of things in Naruto hadn’t made sense. He remembered the fake sun at the center of the Moon and wondered how the day/night cycle worked there. He might get to find out once he was unfettered by Konoha, he thought, suppressing a smile.

 

“Sensei,” Sasuke said. “If I take your clothes off, is something going to explode?” Sasuke fought down a nervous smile at his own terrible joke.

 

“Explode?!” Naruto said. “Why would something explode?! Are you crazy?!”

 

“His clothes might be boobytrapped to prevent an enemy from robbing his corpse,” Sasuke said, trying to play it off as a reasonable worry. It wasn’t, but his thoughts seemed to be pinballing around his head and his mouth was running away with him. He needed to calm down.

 

“Is that possible?!” Naruto asked.

 

“I made some scrolls that are like that,” Sasuke confirmed.

 

“You can do fuinjutsu, Sasuke-kun? Wow,” Sakura said. “I mean, I saw you use enclosure tags, obviously, but I didn’t know you could make them.”

 

“Yeah,” Sasuke said, not taking his eyes off Kakashi, who seemed to be properly unconscious now.

 

“That’s so cool!” Sakura gushed.

 

Sasuke cringed at Sakura’s love-struck behavior and looked Kakashi over for bleeding. He didn’t find any, but that didn’t rule out internal bleeding or a brain injury. He hadn’t seen Kakashi take any hits that could cause that kind of damage, except for that kick that sent him flying, but Sasuke might have missed something.

 

He started with concussion first, because that was something he had general knowledge of. If you have a concussion, then your eyes don’t dilate properly. To check for this, Sasuke produced a tiny flame on the tip of one finger, opened Kakashi’s eye, and watched it dilate. Looked normal enough.

 

Sasuke hesitated before checking Kakashi’s other eye. As soon as it was opened, it would start draining Kakashi’s already dangerously depleted chakra. Best to move on, Sasuke decided.

 

“Can you even check for internal bleeding externally?” Sasuke wondered. He had no idea. He opened Kakashi’s flak jacket and pushed up his shirt. There was a big, red mark in the shape of a shoe, complete with tread pattern, on Kakashi’s stomach.

 

“If he’s bleeding, would there be squishy bits or maybe taut bits?” Sasuke wondered. He thought back to the time he’d had a blood blister on his toe. It had been pretty firm. Maybe it would be the same for one in the abdomen… Assuming that was the same kind of thing. He really wished he’d taken a first-aid course at some point.

 

He pressed his fingers into Kakashi’s stomach and ran them around the man’s abdomen. He didn’t find anything especially soft or especially hard, even when he pressed firmly, so he stopped. Maybe Kakashi was fine. Sasuke didn’t know, but he didn’t have the patience to dither about Kakashi’s potential injuries any longer; he felt like he was about to vibrate out of his skin.

 

“I think it’s just chakra exhaustion,” Sasuke said.

 

“What’s that?” Naruto asked. “And why is it happening? How do we fix it?”

 

“Are you kidding?” Sasuke thought. “The Academy really failed you.”

 

Sakura gave a frustrated sigh.

 

“What?” Naruto asked defensively.

 

“He’s near death from exhaustion, but he can recover with rest. He used too much chakra,” Sakura said.

 

“He can rest at my house,” Tazuna said. “You all can. It’s the least I can do.”

 

Sasuke forbore to comment.

 

“Thanks, geezer,” Naruto said. “You’re not as bad as I thought you were.”

 

Sasuke, cringing inside in secondhand embarrassment for Naruto, pulled out a tag he had placed in his pocket for just this occasion and unsealed it, producing a spine board with a cartoonish poof. If Kakashi had been conscious, he might have asked Sasuke about it, but neither of Sasuke’s teammates nor Tazuna had sufficient context to find his level of preparedness for this specific situation unusual.

 

“Nothing to see here,” Sasuke thought. “Just a conveniently placed adult spine board in my pocket.”

 

Reminded of the other inappropriately placed item on his person, he pulled the tag containing Zabuza’s sword out of his underwear and put it in a pants pocket.

 

Between Sasuke and Naruto and with Sakura supporting Kakashi’s head, they logrolled their teacher onto the spine board, strapped him down, and then everyone carried Kakashi to Tazuna’s house. There, Tsunami greeted them with shock and concern. She put Kakashi and the rest of Team Seven in her son’s bedroom and moved her boy into her bedroom. Sakura and Naruto put their bags down in their temporary lodgings, so Sasuke put his down there, too. His bag didn’t contain anything important, so he didn’t mind parting with it. When Tsunami left the house to fetch a doctor for Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto finally sat down.

 

Seeing this, Sasuke took a steadying breath. Everything had gone off without a hitch, other than his exhaustion from lack of sleep. This level of discomfort wouldn’t slow him down, though. It was time.

 

Heart pounding in his chest, Sasuke turned towards the door.

 

“Where are you going, Sasuke-kun?” Sakura asked.

 

“I’m going to scout the surroundings,” Sasuke lied, trying not to show the shaking of his hands. He could feel himself starting to sweat and a nervous smile tried to tear his mouth open. “I’ll be back in an hour.”

 

“Hey!” Naruto said, jumping up. “Just because Kakashi-sense is down doesn’t make you team leader. Why should you be the one to scout in his place? I don’t need you to take risks for me! I can protect us! I don’t need to rest!”

 

The delay gave Sasuke the sudden, terrible fear that Kakashi was going to get up from his sickbed and stop him from leaving. Sasuke needed to get out now. He needed to run!

 

… No! No, he needed to stay calm and not run. Stay calm. Don’t run.

 

“Don’t run,” he told himself. “Walk.”

 

“It’s precisely because you have so much stamina that you’re the best person to protect the client and his family right now,” Sasuke invented. “You and Sakura have plenty of chakra left, so you can fight if you need to. I’m not good for much more than stealth at this point.” Sasuke was over-selling his own chakra depletion, but he really was tired and it showed in his face, so he pulled it off.

 

Naruto looked mulish.

 

“Then, I should come with you, since you’re so weak!” Naruto said. “Or you can stay here and take a nap with Kakashi!”

 

How to counter that? Sasuke had to think fast.

 

“That would put most of the burden of protecting these people on Sakura-chan,” Sasuke said, appealing to Naruto’s chauvinistic pride. “She’s capable, but if something happened, would you want her to be fighting alone?”

 

That brought Naruto up short.

 

“I guess not,” Naruto said reluctantly. “But I don’t want you to be fighting alone, either. You better be back quick, then.”

 

“I can be the one to go,” Sakura volunteered.

 

“I scored higher than you did in stealth,” Sasuke said. “Just wait here. I’ll be an hour.”

 

“And if you aren’t? What if you aren’t back in an hour?” Sakura asked. “What are we going to do? When is Kakashi-sensei going to wake up? Do we need to get him to a hospital? We should stay together. Don’t leave, Sasuke-kun.”

 

Sasuke regarded her and, for the first time, felt guilty about his plan.

 

“I need to do it now, while we’ve still got daylight. It’ll be harder to scout in the dark,” Sasuke said. “If something happens to me and Kakashi-sensei doesn’t wake up tomorrow morning, go back to Konoha. Take the client and his family with you. This house won’t stand against a serious assault, no matter what traps you use. Don’t sit here waiting to die.”

 

“Hey, don’t talk like that,” Naruto said. “You’re going to come back, you bastard. We already beat three enemies. We can handle anything!”

 

“That was when your teacher wasn’t half-dead. Gatou has a lot of men, hundreds of them,” Tazuna said. His face was grave. “You’re just a bunch of brats.” He sounded as if the penny might have finally dropped that three preteens could have died defending him. At least, that was what Sasuke hoped. It might have been wishful thinking.

 

Naruto started shouting at Tazuna, which Sasuke took as his cue to leave. After shutting the door, he parkoured onto the roof with his ninja magic and looked into the brilliant distance.

 

The day was warm and clear. Tazuna’s neighborhood was built out over the water on stilts. The waves were calm enough that they only smacked lightly into the piles. The salt smell in the breeze had been hitting Sasuke over the head with nostalgia ever since they had gotten close to the coast back on the mainland.

 

Sasuke reflected that the storm surge here must usually be small, because the buildings and walkways were only about two feet feet over the water’s surface. He couldn’t see how they would stay dry in a serious hurricane, especially if the tide was high. Actually, he couldn’t see how this place could survive a hurricane. It really was flimsy-looking. Thin-walled all-wooden buildings and all-wooden paths made up the entirety of the neighborhood. An enemy wouldn’t even have to fight Naruto and Sakura to defeat them; they could just set this place on fire. Sasuke imagined using the fireball jutsu to destroy the house he was standing on. He could probably collapse the building and crush those inside with the force of such a blast alone. Team Seven really was vulnerable right now.

 

It didn’t matter, Sasuke reminded himself. None of this was his problem. A shaky sigh rattled out of his chest and an excited grin spread slowly across his face, even as nausea and guilt sloshed into his stomach. It was now or never.

 

Sasuke leapt into the sky, going from rooftop to rooftop back down the route they had arrived by. When he reached a place without witnesses, he tacked a note to the edge of the walkway and left the path. A single bound took him from the wooden road to the ocean. He had practiced water-walking quite a lot, but never on water that shifted and flowed as much as the ocean did, so, once he left the sheltered swamp behind and crossed onto the open ocean, he sank into the waves every few steps, causing him to be wet to the crotch in short order.

 

There was something comical about it, actually. Running for his life, but falling through the water like a clown. The contrast was hilarious to him. He laughed aloud as he slipped under again and again. The more he laughed, the more difficult it became to focus on his water-walking, the more he fell in.

 

He looked back at the shore of Wave and caught his breath. He knew which way it was to the mainland and he might not have as much chakra left as he would like, but he had a ninja’s stamina. He could run at least until midnight. He didn’t plan to run the whole way, however. After laying down a distracting trail, he was going to transform into a bird and fly out of there.

 

In the event, however unlikely, that Kakashi sent his dogs after him, Sasuke needed to cover his scent. Certainly, the man would be too busy dealing with Tazuna’s issues and his young students to focus on Sasuke’s desertion, but he might still send a dog after Sasuke anyway. Maybe Sasuke’s scent wouldn’t stick around because there was nothing solid on the water for it to cling to and the breeze was strong, but maybe it would. To trick the dogs, Sasuke started running in a huge figure eight. He hoped that would keep them busy for a while.

 

Sasuke found himself laughing again, half in hysteria and half in joy, as he ran across the water. He might be found by Kakashi and his dogs. He might be captured by Konoha’s hunter-nin, if they had those (he’d never been able to confirm that they did and he didn’t trust that they didn’t). He might be killed by bandits while he slept alone. He might run into Orochimaru. He might trip and fall off a cliff into a pit of spikes. Anything could happen! He might not survive this, but he was finally free of Konoha and the Plot. That terrible future he remembered when he woke up in the hospital was broken, albeit not completely.

 

“Haven’t we got someplace to be?” Sasuke crooned softly in English, drunk on exhaustion, fear, and joy. “Cash-in our collective memories.” It felt wonderful to be able to speak the language of his past life. He couldn’t do so within Konoha’s walls for obvious reasons.

 

What would they have made of him, he wondered, if he started speaking a new language after waking up in the hospital following the Uchiha massacre? T&I might have pulled his brain apart and then, finding that he had foresight, gleaned what they could of the future to use to their advantage and then added his eyes to Danzo’s creepy collection, like so many semiprecious gems in a rock collection.

 

He imagined Danzo cataloging jars of eyeballs with a little ledger and a pair of reading glasses, Danzo cleaning jars of eyes on a shelf with a feather duster, Danzo going to eyeball exhibitions to see if he could find new specimens and haggling with the dealers, Orochimaru and Tobi, over the price of a rare eyeball. Sasuke laughed at the thought and sang louder.

 

The future was uncertain, but he didn’t have to worry about hiding anything anymore, except for his identity. The vast array of goons the world had to offer would likely be sniffing around for “the Last Uchiha,” once word got out that Sasuke was in the wind. The world sure had a lot of goons, now that he thought about it. There was Orochimaru and his goons, the Hokage and his goons, the other Kages and their goons, Akatsuki (goon central right there), and anyone else who might want Sasuke eyes… Or, realistically speaking, his sperm. Sasuke wanted to be a father, but he didn’t want to be compelled to become one at knife point.

 

He wondered if Zabuza and his remaining goon would cause any problems. Probably nothing Sasuke couldn’t handle. After all, Zabuza was just a mini-boss who couldn’t find his ass with both hands. How would he manage to find Sasuke? Zabuza didn’t matter. What mattered was that Sasuke was free and he was about to meet Hikari. This was the beginning of Sasuke’s brand-new life.

 

Sasuke admired the blue waves as they leapt playfully under his feet. They sparkled like a fruit glaze as they caught the sunlight. The sweet blue-raspberry of the sky contrasted with the candy-glass blue-green of the water and the marshmallow white of the seafoam, making the whole look like a delicious painting. As horrible as this dystopian world was, it was undeniably a feast for the eyes. At least, this part of it was; Konoha had been pretty unappealing aesthetically, despite being fairly colorful. He remembered liking the look of it when it had been a story in his previous life, though. He wondered if his current opinion was a product of the trapped feeling it gave him, or if it really had been an ugly village.

 

Sasuke startled as something breached the water nearby. It was a dolphin. A pod of them were following him, perhaps out of curiosity. Sasuke was awed at being so close to the wild animals and excitement bubbled in his chest and emerged as laughter.

 

“Hello!” Sasuke called down to the dolphins. A thought occurred to him. He had planned to take bird shape, but he he’d never been scuba diving before.

 

He stopped, thought about what he’d read of dolphin anatomy in the past, how they made their clicks, how they could hold their breath, how their bones were arrayed, and the shape of their skulls. He imagined the body he wanted to shape for himself. Then, he used the transformation technique to become dolphin-shaped.

 

Dropping below the water, he swam about with the real dolphins, who were even more curious about the new dolphin in their midst than they had been about the human running along the surface of the ocean. Sasuke felt light as a feather as he swam in his borrowed shape. He visited with them as best as he could, but he wasn’t sure how to interpret their sounds or their movements. He hoped he wasn’t being rude by not responding correctly.

 

When he finally departed from the pod almost an hour later, he looked up at the sky through the waves and was glad that he was part of this world. It was just so full of beauty and possibility. He hadn’t been able to see it in Konoha, but now it was undeniable. A vast landscape of magic and life rose up on every side. Gratitude and awe filled him. For the first time since the massacre, he loved this world. His heart was fit to burst with it.

 

He felt it when his Sharingan evolved. His drained chakra suddenly spiked through the roof and his vision became clearer as his magical eyes crystalized this moment in his memory, even while he was still in this borrowed shape. He rose for a breath and saw the droplets of the spray produced by the waves, the tines of the feathers of the seagulls calling above, the wrinkles in the clouds overhead, and the perfect blue of the sky beyond.

 

Sasuke breathed deeply in ecstasy at the beauty he could find with this increased clarity. He was so glad he was an Uchiha, that he had the Sharingan, because it would enable him to take in and remember all the beautiful things he would see on this journey. It was such a gift.

 

He swam off again, trying to stay under the water for as long as he could to avoid leaving a trail of scent on the surface. He empowered his muscles with chakra so he could swim faster, stay under longer, and travel farther up the coast and away from Wave and Konoha. He swam for miles and miles, away from Wave, away from Konoha, and into the north.

 

Eventually, he came upon a reef when he neared the coast. It was an incredible sight. He had no idea that Fire had reefs off its coast. The smaller fish scattered as he approached, but it was still a sight to see. He poked his long nose into different cracks and crevasses, just looking around. He wished he knew, well, anything really about corals and sponges. They were just so fascinating! He would look into them when he had the opportunity. For now, he would have to settle for observing in ignorance. Maybe he could come back here one day, once he knew more about the place and its creatures.

 

“I’ll show Hikari and the others this place one day,” Sasuke thought happily, as he watched a pale squid flutter its translucent chiffon cape. It became more colorful as he approached. “Don’t worry little guy. I’m not here to eat you,” Sasuke thought at the cute squid and moved on. There was so much more to see, after all.

 

Finally, the sun began to sink and Sasuke was starving and exhausted. He hadn’t eaten anything since the painfully early morning, so he finally beached himself on the mainland and canceled the transformation. There, miles from anywhere, he summoned some warbling white eyes.

 

“Please, retrieve my stash of scrolls and tags,” Sasuke asked.

 

“Sure thing!” And the birds unsummoned themselves back to Hisui no Sougen. A few minutes later, Sasuke summoned them again. This time, they came baring everything Sasuke needed.

 

Up on the dunes, Sasuke took a bucket bath, changed his clothes, and stuffed himself with a chocolate cake he had put away for the occasion. He wanted so badly to sleep, but, more than that, he wanted to meet Hikari, so he selected her scroll from his stash.

 

“Would you like to open it in Hisui no Sougen?” Satori asked. “That might be safer.”

 

Sasuke thought about it.

 

“No,” he said. “Here is good. I don’t want her to feel trapped.”

 

“Don’t forget her things,” Satori reminded him.

 

“Right,” Sasuke said, picking up an enclosure scroll he’d assembled for Hikari. It was full of supplies, maps, compasses, star charts, camping gear, tools, weapons, feminine hygiene products, condoms, a pamphlet on safe sex, a book on modern history, new clothes, and half his funds. He knew that she was only about twelve, but that was old enough to get pregnant and germ theory hadn’t existed two hundred years ago. If she left immediately, he wanted her equipped to make informed decisions. From the end of the scroll hung an omamori he’d purchased for her at the start of the year. Sasuke pulled out a tag with his own field supplies, too.

 

“Please take the rest of these back,” Sasuke requested, resealing the bags and handing them to the warbling white-eyes.

 

“I want to be here when you release Hikari-chan!” Tomu said.

 

“Me, too,” another cried. The air filled with a chorus of birds all eager to meet the girl who had been trapped in a scroll for almost two hundred years and whom they had been hoping to meet since her scroll had been recovered a few years ago.

 

“Of course,” Sasuke said, gladdened by their enthusiasm for Hikari. He hoped they would be as good a friend to her as they were to him.

 

A few minutes later, all the birds who had been sent back and more had been summon. They covered the beach in the setting sun. Because his chakra was running out, Sasuke had to get help from some of the birds to summon everyone. In addition to the birds, Sasuke summoned the rodents who had helped him rescue Hikari and a few others who simply wanted to be there to meet her when she was freed.

 

Saki, a rodent the size of a German Shephard and holding a large first aid kit, stood poised to provide medical assistance, if Hikari needed it. Saki told Sasuke that he didn’t need to bandage his hand anymore, but she tutted over his broken toe and told him to get different shoes if he was going to keep using such a move.

 

“Otherwise, use the side of your foot, like everyone else,” Saki said, demonstrating as she stood on one leg.

 

“Sorry, Saki-sensei,” Sasuke said meekly around a jaw-cracking yawn.

 

Despite Sasuke’s yawning, he was as excited as he had been when he fought Zabuza or the Demon Brothers. He was finally going to meet Hikari and set her free. He hoped she wouldn’t become yet another villain, bent on destroying the world and kicking puppies, like she had in the story. The nonsense genetics of their world made it unfortunately likely that she would, because the Uchiha were portrayed as seemingly lacking the brains the rest of humanity was endowed with.

 

Sure, Obito had been a kind person who cared about others, helping little old ladies cross the street or whatever, but, one dead crush later, and he was literally murdering those same little old ladies, just because some punk thirteen-year-old asked him to. Sure, Madara had been the head of his clan and responsible for their survival and wellbeing, but, just because they disobeyed him once, he decided it was fine to prey on an injured boy from his own clan. Sure, Itachi had been a loving big brother to Sasuke, but, one threat from an evil old man later, and he was torturing Sasuke into the hospital, demanding Sasuke kill his own best friend, and manipulating Sasuke into murdering his own brother. The stupidity of the Uchiha was the bane of Sasuke’s clan’s existence. It turned them from people into characters. He hoped it wouldn’t get Hikari.

 

Whoever Hikari ended up being, even if she ended up being just another villain, Sasuke wanted to give her the chance to live. So many of his clan had that chance stolen from them in the massacre and Sasuke couldn’t give it back to them, not even to the ones he loved the most. However, freeing Hikari was different. Letting her out, letting her get on with her life, helping her make her own path, it was probably the greatest gift he would ever give. He felt that saving Hikari was the best and most important thing he might ever do in his entire life.

 

He felt such love for Hikari, for this girl he had never met and might never get to know, because she was something precious snatched from the fire. She gave him such hope just by existing. He wanted her to feel hopeful, as well. He wanted her to be happy, and healthy, and secure, and strong, and loved. He wanted the world for her. He wanted to help her in any way he could, if she would let him. He wanted to get to know her. He wanted to be a good clan head, not just for the unborn children of his clan, but for the girl who was real right now. And that felt different, more real, more vibrant, more empowering. Hikari carried a piece of his heart, even if she bolted like a deer the instant she was free and he never saw her again.

 

With his heart beating fast in his chest and his grin stretching wider on his face, Sasuke unrolled the scroll, pressed his chakra into its ink, and watched in awe as Uchiha Hikari was freed.

 

Sasuke’s first thought was that she was beautiful. She wasn’t quite how he had imagined her, but close. She looked pale, dirty, and scratched, but she still had those classic Uchiha features: the hair, the nose, the ears. She looked a lot like Sasuke, actually. Mostly, however, she looked pissed.

 

“Are you Uchiha Hikari?” Sasuke asked, already knowing the answer.

 

“Who are you?” She demanded fiercely, the three tomoe in her limpid red eyes spinning slowly.

 

“I’m Uchiha Sasuke,” Sasuke said eagerly.

 

“Don’t say that name as if it gets you anything from me,” Hikari said venomously. “I hate the Uchiha.”

 

“Then throw yourself a party, because we’re all dead!” Sasuke said, maintaining his smile with black humor and sheer force of will. “There’s you, me, and two evil bastards you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley, but that’s it. Everyone else was murdered.” Sasuke held up his hands to show that he was no threat.

 

“Where am I?” she asked, instead of answering.

 

“I’m not sure exactly,” Sasuke said. “We’re on the coast of northern Fire Country, I think.”

 

“What do you mean you ‘aren’t sure?’” Hikari interrogated him.

 

“I’ve been on the run,” Sasuke said. “I’ve been avoiding people, so I really couldn’t tell you where we are. I think we haven’t crossed the border into the Land of Hot Water yet, but we should be pretty far north by now.”

 

“On the run,” Hikari repeated. “From whom, the Senju, the Sarutobi?”

 

“Everybody,” Sasuke admitted. “Sort of. I’ll explain later. Right now, though, no one. Almost no one knows I’ve escaped yet. I was out on an escort job with my team, but I got away from them. They won’t be able to come after me yet, even if they wanted to, and they’re days away from backup in Konoha.”

 

“Konoha?” Hikari asked. “Where’s that?”

 

“Konohagakure no Sato. It’s where we’re from, my team and I,” Sasuke said. “The Uchiha and the Senju made peace and formed a village together seventy years ago. That’s Konoha.”

 

“… How long was I sealed for?” Hikari asked, looking uncertain for the first time.

 

“Almost two hundred years,” Sasuke said.

 

Hikari looked stunned.

 

“… And you’re on the run from these people?” Hikari asked.

 

“Konoha betrayed the Uchiha,” Sasuke said. “They killed everyone and pushed all the blame onto my older brother. He was their cat’s paw.”

 

“… So, what now?” Hikari asked. “What do you want me to do?”

 

“That’s up to you,” Sasuke said. “You can come with me or go your own way. No one knows you even exist, so, as long as you don’t use your Sharingan or tell anyone you’re an Uchiha, I think you should be safe. If others find out, though, you’ll be hunted, so be careful. I got you some things. Here! There’s money and supplies inside.”

 

“What’s this?” Hikari asked faintly, examining the charm on the scroll.

 

“It’s a kaiun omamori,” Sasuke said. “You can take it apart and check that’s all it is, if you’re worried. Some people say that takes the magic out of it, but, under the circumstances, I don’t think any god would hold it against you. I got it for you at new year’s. I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you. I hope you’ll stay with me, at least for a while, but you can leave, if you want. I put maps and things in that scroll.

 

“Oh, these guys retrieved your scroll from the Sarutobi Clan, by the way.” Sasuke pointed out the rodents who had rescued Hikar’s from the Sarutobi archive. “They’re amazing. I wouldn’t have been able to find you on my own. They’ve been true friends to our clan. And Saki-sensei can help treat your wounds,” Sasuke finished, yawning.

 

“Would you like to get checked out, Hikari-chan?” Saki asked.

 

Hikari glared suspiciously at Saki, but nodded. Sasuke sat in the sand with his back to the dunes as the sunlight faded and Saki treated Hikari’s surprisingly minor wounds. Sasuke smile contentedly. He had done it. He’d deserted from Konoha. He was free and so was Hikari. Sasuke lay back on the sand and rested his eyes. A small smile remained on his lips even as, quite without meaning to, he fell asleep.

 

-

 

After waking briefly a few times in the night, Sasuke awoke at dawn, damp with dew, but much more rested. He found himself in a very good mood, but was still anxious. In the dim light, he lay on the sand and thought about yesterday.

 

Yesterday had been… Well, a lot of it had been good, but it had been frightening, too. Especially when Kakashi had used his killing intent. That moment stood out from the rest. In the moment, Kakashi’s action had been jarring and frightening, but it was brief, inconsequential in light of the real danger they were facing. In the diary of Sasuke’s memory, however, Kakashi’s action was recorded in bold, the page so saturated with the ink of those letters that it bled through the paper and became legible, not just on the back of the page, but in drips and blots on the next pages, too. As the day went on, Sasuke would repeatedly encounter those blemishes and turn back to that page over and over.

 

When Kakashi had tried to intimidate Zabuza with killing intent, Sasuke had started what he could only think of as “hallucinating.” It was as if a switch had been flipped in his head and he had stopped feeling those emotions relevant to the moment and started feeling those relevant to the moment Itachi had tortured him. Sasuke had still known where he was, had still seen Zabuza and Kakashi standing in front of him, had heard the distant waves crashing, and had smelled the sea. He had simply been transported in time back to the twenty-four-hour period where Itachi had held him captive in his own head and made him watch everyone die on repeat. It was a hallucination of context, not of sight or sound.

 

Because Sasuke had never had a flashback before, he hadn’t realized what was happening to him right away. All he knew was that he was in the past, and he recognized it intellectually as being the past, something already over, while simultaneously standing in the present. It had been very confusing. And terrifying, of course.

 

“Could that happen?” he wondered. Did it happen like that for other people? Did other people experience trauma and then, years later, start having flashbacks? Wasn’t it too late for what happened to be affecting him in new ways? Surely, the damage was already long done and new symptoms wouldn’t occur. Was it not really a flashback? Was it just a spasm of memory? A lapse in continuity? Was he blowing the experience out of proportion? Was there something else wrong with him? Was he experiencing what happened incorrectly? Was he not normal, even in the ways he had been damaged? What was wrong with him?

 

He had found no answers to the questions percolating in his mind before the warbling white-eyes began to wake up. They started chatting to each other in the trees.

 

“Noisy,” Hikari grumbled from her bedroll. Sasuke looked over to find her pulling her cover over her face.

 

“Did you sleep well?” Sasuke asked.

 

“… Fine,” Hikari said.

 

“There’s cake for breakfast,” Sasuke said, sitting up and patting the sand out of his hair. “But I could make you a traditional breakfast, if you like.”

 

“What’s cake?” Hikari asked, turning over to look as Sasuke.

 

Sasuke grinned.

 

“If this is poison, I’ll kill you,” Hikari warned as she looked dubiously at the bite of cake on her fork. Looking braced for the bite of food to explode, she put the fork in her mouth. Hikari’s shocked face when she tasted her first bite of chocolate cake was priceless.

 

“This is good,” Hikari said, sounding surprised. Sasuke was reminded of Wonder Woman trying ice cream for the first time.

 

“I’m glad you like it,” Sasuke said. “There’s lots of different kinds of cake to try. If you like that one, you should try vanilla or lemon. Coffee is good, too. So is coconut.”

 

“Hmn,” Hikari said, frowning and glaring at Sasuke. “You’re grinning at me again,” she said accusingly.

 

“Of course. I’ve been waiting for a long time to meet you,” Sasuke said, smiling. “And I’m glad you like the cake.”

 

“That’s a stupid thing to be happy about,” Hikari said, blushing.

 

“I disagree,” Sasuke said, still smiling as he took another bite of cake.

 

When they finished eating, Sasuke did the dishes, while Hikari wandered around the beach. Tomu rode on Hikari’s hair, chatting brightly to her. Sasuke joined them when he was finished cleaning up and packing away all of his things.

 

“How did you know where to look for me?” Hikari asked, burying her toes in the sand as a wave rolled over their feet.

 

“That’s a bit of a tale. We have time now, though, if you’d like to hear it,” Sasuke said, taking out an empty enclosure tag. He had long been curious about how much the tags could hold and figured this was the perfect time to find out. With the waves lapping at his ankles, he activated the enclosure seal at the ocean and let it fill with water as he told Hikari about his memories. When he had finished his story and given up on defeating the enclosure seal for the day, he fell silent, stopped powering the seal, and labeled the tag “Ocean Water.”

 

“I don’t believe you,” Hikari said. “That’s just too farfetched. It’s crazy.”

 

“I was right about you, wasn’t I? You really did exist. I found your records in the clan documents and the nezumi found you in the Sarutobi archive,” Sasuke said, putting the tag in a pocket.

 

“Your brother probably manipulated your memory when he attacked you,” Hikari said.

 

The idea offended Sasuke. As if Sasuke couldn’t tell reality from fantasy, as if all his memories of his past life had been something simple enough that Itachi could even make them up, as if Sasuke was just a confused child. His smile faded.

 

No good would come from arguing about it. He tried to look at it another way. Hikari’s skepticism was reasonable, Sasuke told himself. It would probably have been a bad sign if she took his wild tale at face value. The warbling white-eyes and rats seemed to, but they might have just been humoring a lonely little boy, now that he thought about it. He should find a way to thank them all again for their cooperation. They had been so kind to him and helped him so much.

 

“I suppose I can’t rule it out,” Sasuke said diplomatically. “But I disagree. Please avoid the people I warned you about.”

 

“So, you’ve fled Konoha and freed me,” Hikari said. “What are you going to do now?”

 

“That depends on you. You could stay with me or you could go somewhere else. Would you like to go to Hot Water? I know you hate ninjas, but theirs are probably not too bad. Their policy is pacifism, so their ninjas don’t kill people.”

 

“Seriously?” Hikari said scathingly. “You think there are good ninjas? Ninjas that are sweet, cat petting, lovey-dovey people, who don’t support the rotten system that hurts people and makes them hurt others? All of you people are evil.” Sasuke tilted his head, rather than answer directly.

 

“Hot Water a kinder place. With a new family name, you could be fairly safe there,” Sasuke said.

 

“How long will you be staying there?” Hikari asked.

 

“I would stay long enough to help you get settled,” Sasuke said. “Or I could leave right away, if you want.”

 

“You just want to abandon me in some strange place in this strange time?” Hikari asked accusingly. “I’m two hundred years in the future! Just because you don’t need me, you think it’s okay to throw me away?!”

 

That didn’t strike Sasuke as a rational response. Sasuke considered his words carefully and, when he spoke, he explained as gingerly as he could.

 

“Hikari-san, I want you to come with me, to be with me, and be part of my family. However, more than that, I want you to live your own life outside of any cage. I want to help you, to free you, not to shackle you,” Sasuke said. “I think you might never want to see another Uchiha again. You don’t love our clan…” Sasuke’s jaw tightened as he continued. He hated to speak badly of his clan, but Hikari needed Sasuke’s support. “… And for good reason. What we did to you was wrong for so many reasons. If I could make it up to you, if I could make it right, if I could help you heal from what we did to you, if I could apologize, even in a small way, then I want to very much! I want you to thrive. Whether you ever think of me as your family or not, I think of you that way, so I want you to be happy, however you can be. I don’t want to keep you close, if I hurt you by doing so.”

 

Sasuke walked back onto the dry sand, turned to Hikari, got down on his knees, and bowed so low his forehead touched the sand.

 

“As the Head of the Uchiha Clan, I deeply apologize, Hikari-san,” Sasuke said.

 

Hikari said nothing. Sasuke stayed in his submissive posture and waited for her judgement. She approached Sasuke and, for the first time, he wondered if she might be dangerous to him, but he didn’t move.

 

“I don’t forgive you,” Hikari said. “I’ll never forgive you.” She sounded close to tears. Sasuke’s heart hurt for her. He sat up and looked her in the eye. Her Sharingan was still showing. Did she keep it activated all the time, like Itachi did? Was she feeling insecure and wanted to be able to react if Sasuke did something aggressive? Was she scared? He wished he could give her a hug.

 

Hikari looked away.

 

“If you left me there, what would you do after?” Hikari asked.

 

An idea that had been building in his mind since the night before coalesced in response to Hikari’s question.

 

So many people Sasuke could name were defined by what they took out of the world, but, because of Hikari, Sasuke would be defined by what he gave back. Even if no one else ever knew that Sasuke freed Hikari or even that Hikari existed, Sasuke was defining himself by helping another person. He realized that he very much wanted to be the kind of person who helped others.

 

Was that compatible with his goal of rebuilding his clan? Yes, he realized; it was indispensable to that goal. He couldn’t create and raise the next generation by himself. He had also left Konoha, so he didn’t need to keep other people at a distance anymore. He could make new friends, allies, comrades… and siblings. The best way to do that was by being compassionate. He thought of Batman and the Robins, of one man reaching out to vulnerable people who needed help and giving them wings.

 

“I’m going to rebuild our clan. That means I need to find more people that need help, like I did, like you did,” Sasuke said, rubbing the sand off his head. “There’s this boy. He’s all alone. I think he needs a friend.”

 

“A friend, huh,” Hikari said.

 

Sasuke smiled coaxingly.

 

“Would you like to meet him with me? I bet he’d like to meet us both and I’d like it if you did. As the head of a clan of one, I’d really like to have the opportunity to take care of someone else.”

 

“I don’t need you to take care of me,” Hikari said. “I’m stronger than you are, idiot.”

 

“I hope so,” Sasuke said. “I’m pretty weak, actually.” With a chill in his heart, he remembered Itachi in the story breaking Sasuke’s ribs and strangling him against a wall.

 

“I’ll come with you for now,” Hikari said tersely. “You let your guard down too quick. It would be easy for me to kill you. If you betray me, I will.”

 

“How dramatic,” Sasuke thought.

 

“Okay,” he said.

 

“It’s not like I have anything else to do. Where is this boy of yours?” Hikari asked.

 

Sasuke grinned impishly.

 

“The Moon,” he said. Then, he suddenly sat bolt upright and gasped as he remembered something. “My notebook!”

 

-

 

“He’s not dead!” Kakashi mumbled blearily.

 

“What?!” Naruto asked, bewildered. He was sitting near where Kakashi was laying. So was Sakura.

 

“How do you know?!” Sakura asked, voice raw with desperation, leaning over Kakashi. He tried to sit up, but everything hurt too much.

 

“Zabuza’s not dead,” Kakashi said, waking up enough to realize that he was bedbound from chakra exhaustion. He sucked in a bracing breath. “That hunter-nin, he moved the body, instead of destroying it then and there. It wasn’t a hit; it was a rescue mission. He was Zabuza’s teammate.”

 

“But Zabuza got stabbed in the neck!” Naruto said. “How do you survive that?”

 

“With senbons,” Kakashi said, recalling what Genma had told him. “With enough skill, a ninja could mimic death with well-placed senbons.”

 

“Okay, but what about Sasuke?” Naruto asked quickly.

 

“What?” Kakashi asked, confused. “What about him?”

 

“He’s missing!” Sakura said, nearly wailing. She looked exhausted. So did Naruto, now that Kakashi was looking. “He went to scout around yesterday morning, right after we arrived, but he never came back!”

 

“He’s gone?!” Kakashi asked. Electric anxiety, screaming and painful, abruptly flashed in his mind, the emotional equivalent of a Chidori being formed inside his skull.

 

“That bastard had us stay to protect Tazuna and his family, ‘cause we weren’t tired,” Naruto said. “Sakura went looking for him when he didn’t come back, but she couldn’t find him. Then we both went looking. We searched all night.”

 

“No one saw him,” Sakura said. “He said he was going to be stealthy, so civilians wouldn’t have noticed him, but nobody heard a fight either. He’s just gone! Sasuke-kun just disappeared! What do we do? Did that hunter-nin take him? What do we do? How do we get him back?”

 

“He said he was running out of chakra,” Naruto said, frowning darkly. “He might not have been able to fight.”

 

“Shut up!” Sakura said. “Sasuke-kun is the best! He wouldn’t be taken so easily!” the next moment, she was sobbing.

 

Kakashi had always been on guard when the team made camp, knowing that he could handle anything Team Seven might encounter. Because Kakashi was out of commission, Sasuke had taken on that responsibility and he hadn’t been able to handle it. Sasuke, whom the enemy might have realized was an Uchiha with two perfectly functional eyes that had the potential to awaken the Sharingan. Kakashi felt sick with dread and guilt.

 

“We can’t abandon him!” Sakura said fiercely. “Those who abandon their teammates, you said, you said, they’re worse than garbage!”

 

“Bring me my vest,” Kakashi said.

 

Kakashi took his summoning scroll out and, with shaking limbs, managed to summon a single dog without passing out. It took almost everything out of him.

 

“You don’t look so good, Boss,” Pakkun said.

 

“Work with these two. Find Uchiha Sasuke,” Kakashi said groggily.

 

“Got it,” Pakkun said, but Kakashi hardly heard him. He was back to sleep in another minute.

 

When Kakashi woke an hour later, he got an update that made everything better and so much worse. The kids explained that Sasuke had left his backpack, so Pakkun was immediately able to identify him by scent. Pakkun had tracked Sasuke’s scent to a section of walkway over the water not five minutes from the client’s house. Pakkun hadn’t found Sasuke, but he had found something else: a note stuck to the side of the walkway, just out of sight, by a thumb tack.

 

Naruto, your mother’s name was Uzumaki Kushina, Konoha’s previous Nine-Tails jinchuuriki, and your father’s name was Namikaze Minato.

 

Kakashi’s eyes darted to Naruto, who was sitting quietly, staring out a window at the ocean. They would have to talk about that eventually.

 

“It’s in Sasuke-kun’s handwriting,” Sakura confirmed. “Naruto-kun told me what a jinchuuriki is, but it doesn’t explain anything! Even if it’s true, why did he write it? Did he just abandon us?” Enemy ninjas wouldn’t have let Sasuke pen a note before they captured him.

 

“Looks like,” Kakashi gritted out irritably, too exhausted to be properly angry or to hide his feelings. “Pakkun, keep looking.”

 

“On it,” Pakkun said.

 

Kakashi couldn’t believe it. On Sasuke’s very first mission out of the village, he had deserted. Kakashi hadn’t even realized that Sasuke was a desertion risk. Had he been scared off by the fighting? Gotten his first real taste of what a battle with an enemy jounin was like and turned tail? He had stood firm during the fight, but maybe, after it was over, he realized that his team was too weak to defend themselves against further enemy assault, so he abandoned them, leaving while Kakashi was down, Naruto and Sakura were nervy as deer, and the client and his family were staying at their publicly known residence? Had Sasuke intended for them to be a distraction while he saved his own skin? He hadn’t seemed cowardly, but you never knew what kind of ninja someone was until they were out in the field.

 

“He told us to go back,” Sakura said sadly. “He told us to take you and the client and his family and go back to Konoha.”

 

“What?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Before he left,” Sakura said. “I asked him to stay. He said if he didn’t come back, then we should run away. He said we shouldn’t wait too long, because this place wasn’t safe.”

 

“I’m not leaving,” Tazuna said, crossing his arms. “Gatou can’t scare me away. I don’t care if he kills me, I won’t run.”

 

Kakashi mulled over Tazuna’s words.

 

“Then you can die,” Kakashi said simply. “We’re leaving.” He didn’t have any more time for this man. He needed to catch Sasuke before the fool ruined his own life. Desertion wasn’t small potatoes.

 

“What? No!” Naruto shouted, turning to Kakashi. “I’m not scared! I can still fight! I’m not going to just run away and let this old man and his family get killed!”

 

“This mission has gone sideways again and again. First, we find out the client lied about the danger we would face when he commissioned this job, then two ninjas attacked us, then we faced an even stronger enemy, then I became dead weight, and now Sasuke’s deserted. We are currently staying at the known residence of someone that at least two powerful missing-nin are targeting for assassination. Make no mistake; we might not have seen that senbon-wielding ninja do much, but we saw enough to know that he can move silently and deliver a fatal strike without warning.

 

“We have done more than was required for this fraudulent contract. Tazuna-san is no longer our client. If we stayed, we would be fending off assassination attempts until Gatou runs out of money to throw at the problem. Even if we managed to kill Zabuza and his comrade, Gatou can always hire more ninjas. We would need to kill Gatou and overthrow his criminal gang to bring an end to this. We haven’t been paid for any of that.

 

“If you want to desert, like Sasuke-kun did, and dedicate the rest of your life to fighting Gatou and his gang, I can’t stop you, at least not for a few more days. When I can move again, however, as your commanding officer, I will detain you and drag your insubordinate ass back to Konoha to face the consequences,” Kakashi growled.

 

Naruto winced and subsided, looking frustrated, but not arguing.

 

“You should go with them, Tsunami-chan,” Tazuna said. “You and Inari-kun. Gatou fights dirty. You aren’t safe here anymore.”

 

“I won’t…” Tsunami began loudly, but she turned her eyes down and made a despairing grimace. She looked at Inari and then back at the ground. “Come with us, dad,” she begged. “Please, come with us.”

 

“I’ve lived here my whole life,” Tazuna said firmly. “I’m not going to be driven out. I’m an old man. I want to die in the place where I was born, fighting for my home. How could I face your mother if I left? Some things a man just has to do.”

 

“A man also has to look after his family,” Tsunami argued. “Inari needs you. I need you! I need your support, I need your income, and I need my dad! I know that Wave is important to you, it’s important to me, too, but family has to come first. I need you to put our family first. Mom would understand. If mom were here, she would be coming, too, and she wouldn’t ask you to stay behind.”

 

“Tsunami-chan…” Tazuna said miserably. “I can’t leave. How can I call myself a man, if I run away with my tail between my legs?”

 

“A real man can accept defeat and deal with the shame! If you’d rather die than do that, then you aren’t being a man, you’re being a coward! You don’t get to throw your life away! I need you! I need you! Don’t you dare take the easy way out!” Tsunami shouted. She took a deep, shuddering breath, but didn’t stop glaring at her father. “Now, I’m going to help Inari-kun pack. You should get ready to go, too. You’re a builder. You can find work in Konoha.”

 

Tazuna left the room shortly after Tsunami did, presumably to pack up.

 

“We will be heading back to Konoha soon. Prepare to leave,” Kakashi said. “You’re going to have to use the stretcher to carry me, so don’t wear yourselves out before we even get on the road.”

 

“Will we be safe?” Sakura asked. “Won’t those ninjas come after us?”

 

“Zabuza is no state to be coming after anyone at the moment,” Kakashi said. “Faking your death like that is a serious injury, even if it saves your life. He’ll be bedridden for a week. Actually, that wound you gave him, Sakura-chan, should keep him down even longer, if he even survives it. He might not. There’s also the kunai I stuck in his knees and elbows to consider. Those will take weeks or months to heal. No, Zabuza is no threat.

 

“His comrade, however, is uninjured. It’s time to retreat.”

 

“I hate this!” Naruto declared. Sakura nodded.

 

“Tazuna-san was right about one thing,” Sakura said softly. “Running away feels wrong. It feels dishonorable. I feel like we should be fighting Gatou, not letting him get away with what he’s been doing here. I talked to Tsunami-san while you were asleep. Gatou’s a terrible person.”

 

“We’re ninja, not samurai,” Kakashi said. “We don’t work for honor. We work for pay, we attack from the shadows, and we retreat when we need to.”

 

“More importantly, we have to recover Sasuke,” Kakashi thought groggily.

 

The retreat from Tazuna’s family home took hours longer than it should have, but Kakashi didn’t have the heart to hurry them along. He also wasn’t awake enough to do so. He dropped off the sleep almost as soon as he stopped talking to Sakura and only woke up when Naruto shook him awake to let him know everyone was ready. On their way out of town, Tsunami said farewell to her friends and neighbors.

 

“I’ve known these people my whole life,” Tsunami said, looking back at the entrance to their neighborhood. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without them.” Her father hugged her and then they were off. Tazuna arranged for a boat to collect them in the night as soon as the fog rolled in. The group rested at an inn on the docks, with Team Seven and Tazuna’s family staying in separate rooms.

 

“What’s going to happen to Sasuke-kun?” Sakura asked, when everyone was settled in for the night.

 

“He’s a missing-nin now,” Kakashi said coldly, his poor health making him irritable. “The Hokage will make it formal and then he will be a kill-on-sight target for all of Konoha’s ninja. He’ll be in the Bingo Book, just like his brother. He won’t be able to set foot in Fire for the rest of his life without risking his neck.”

 

Sakura and Naruto looked gratifying disturbed by his answer.

 

“Good,” Kakashi thought. “Hopefully, they won’t think of following in Sasuke’s footsteps.” Having another of his students run off to find the first one would only make Kakashi’s job harder.

 

What Kakashi described wasn’t actually what would happen to Sasuke, because Kakashi was going to track him down and drag him back by the scruff of the neck, but Kakashi was upset and he wanted to spread it around.

 

Actually, Sasuke was the last Uchiha in Konoha, so he might just be put under observation and forbidden from leaving the village ever again. Perhaps he would be imprisoned for a year. The Hokage probably wouldn’t write Sasuke off, whatever Sasuke’s punishment was. If Sasuke hadn’t been special, he would have been in grave danger, though.

 

“Sasuke has a brother?” Naruto asked.

 

“Uchiha Itachi,” Sakura said quietly, as if afraid of summoning the man by saying his name. “He killed everyone else in Sasuke’s family and escaped Konoha.”

 

“Damn, that’s horrible!” Naruto said. “Well, I don’t care what the old man says. I won’t kill him,” Naruto said mulishly. “Sasuke may be a bastard, but I won’t do it.”

 

Sakura shook her head.

 

“Me neither,” Sakura said. “Even though he abandoned us, I couldn’t hurt Sasuke-kun.” She sniffled and rubbed her eyes. “I might punch him, though.”

 

Kakashi sighed. He couldn’t kill Sasuke either, no matter what orders he was given. Coward or not, Sasuke was his teammate.

 

… But was he being cowardly or was this the moment Sasuke had chosen to hunt down his brother? God, Kakashi hoped not. Itachi would slaughter Sasuke. But how would Sasuke know where to find Itachi? Was he planning to rove the countryside and hope to get lucky?

 

Regardless, why leave like this? Why would Sasuke burn his bridges so thoroughly? He’d abandoned Konoha in a way that was almost calculated to destroy his reputation. Leaving in the middle of a dangerous mission was beyond inflammatory. He’d also broken a rule that the Hokage had personally instituted: he’d discussed Naruto’s parentage and the Nine Tails and he’d even done it in writing. He’d abandoned Team Seven, when Kakashi had explained, in no uncertain terms, how he felt about people who abandoned their teammates. He’d deceived and abandoned Naruto and Sakura, who were hurt and endangered by his decision. He had isolated himself completely from everyone who cared about him. He’d even abandoned his family home.

 

“I hate it here,” Sasuke had said on the verge of tears. The memory pricked Kakashi’s heart, even as suspicion stirred within him.

 

“And then he’d brought up the Uchiha housing law,” Kakashi recalled. Did Sasuke blame the village for what happened to his family? Then, Kakashi recalled something else.

 

“He packed,” Kakashi exclaimed.

 

“What?” Naruto asked.

 

“Sasuke packed,” Kakashi said. “He packed his house before we left Konoha. No, even before then. It would have taken too long. There wasn’t enough time the day we left. And the house was cleaned. Sasuke packed and cleaned the house.”

 

“Why would he pack his house?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Because he never intended to come back with us,” Kakashi said with certainty. “He always intended to abandon us on this mission.”

 

But would Sasuke pack his house if his goal was to hunt down his brother? Possibly. That would depend on what he packed, Kakashi reasoned. If he had taken the furniture, then he was probably planning to set up house somewhere else, because he was just running away and not seeking to engage in a battle, very probably to the death, with Itachi.

 

If he only took photographs and mementos, then he might be on a suicide mission and decided to take those things to remind himself why he left. Did that painting Sasuke had taken down in the living room count as a memento? Kakashi hadn’t seen the rest of the house. How much had Sasuke taken?

 

Before Kakashi could come to any conclusions, he fell asleep again.

 

-

 

At about three in the morning, Pakkun had arrived to give Kakashi an update. Sakura and Naruto woke up enough to listen to his report, too.

 

“I was expecting you sooner,” Kakashi said.

 

“Would have been quicker if the wind hadn’t been blowing all over the place. Your student, he water-walked away from Wave and then tried to give me the slip by doing a big figure eight,” Pakkun said tiredly. “It wasn’t hard to track him, though. The only noteworthy aspect of the hunt was that your student seems to have he found a way to spend longer under water. I thought he’d drowned at first. The trail went faint, like he was swimming without coming up much for air. He swam in a straight line, though.”

 

“The overconfidence of youth,” Kakashi said, shaking his head. “Which way?”

 

“North,” Pakkun said, and then had to stop to yawn. “I found where he returned to shore. Seems like he may have slept there some, or at least laid down for a while. And he wasn’t alone. I picked up several other scents on the beach, a bunch of rodents and birds.”

 

“Summons?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Possibly,” Pakkun said. “Their scents don’t leave the area.”

 

“What kind of birds?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Little ones. They left some feathers. I put a couple in my vest,” Pakkun said.

 

Kakashi reached in and pulled out a few small green feathers.

 

“But they weren’t the only ones your student met,” Pakkun continued. “There was a girl.”

 

Alarm bells started ringing in Kakashi’s head.

 

“She smelled scared and hurt,” Pakkun continued. “They treated her wounds. There’s disinfectant on the sand. I can’t find which direction the girl came from, though.”

 

“What about Sasuke-kun? How does he smell to you?” Kakashi asked. “Is he alright?”

 

“He smelled like happy, wet human,” Pakkun said, yawning again.

 

“Happy?” Kakashi said.

 

“Like a puppy chasing a ball,” Pakkun confirmed. “His smell was happy and excited the whole way there, but scared, too. He smelled like he took the time to bathe after he reached land. Best guess? He knows this girl and he went there to see her.”

 

That was what Kakashi was afraid of.

 

“Had she been there long?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Not that I can tell,” Pakkun said. “But she hid all traces of herself before she reached that point.”

 

“How injured is she?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Hard to say,” Pakkun said. “I didn’t find a lot of medical waste or blood, so she probably didn’t need surgery.”

 

Who was this girl? Was she why Sasuke had left? Had she lured him away from Konoha somehow?

 

“Could you have tracked them any further?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Oh, yeah,” Pakkun said. “They didn’t even try to cover their tracks after they met up on the beach. They must not be expecting anyone to be following them.”

 

“Then Sasuke-kun is in for a big surprise,” Kakashi said grimly. “Anything else?”

 

“I’ve got some thoughts,” Pakkun said, yawning again.

 

“By all means,” Kakashi said.

 

“I can think of two options for how this girl got there,” Pakkun said. “Either she traveled while covering her scent or she arrived with one of the summons. That would enable those two kids to meet at the same time in the same place without much coordination. They had rodents with them, and those guys can leave no scent when they want, so it could be that she was using their techniques instead. Either way, I think this girl must have been evading whoever caused her injuries. You may have competition in your hunt. Also, I think your kid needs to be taught how to hide his tracks and lose a tail.”

 

“Then, I’ll have to educate him when we get back to Konoha,” Kakashi said. What he would be teaching Sasuke exactly (beyond “Don’t do this ever again”) remained to be decided. Lessons would be taught. Sasuke would be learning them. Possibly, Sasuke would be learning how many laps he could run around Konoha before he threw up, how it felt to be sat on by Kakashi’s dogs continuously for the ten years, and how he could compensate for the brain damage that would result from Kakashi violently shaking Sasuke by the shoulders until he felt better.

 

“Are we going to find Sasuke-kun?” Sakura asked hopefully.

 

“Yes,” Kakashi said. Even in the darkness of the room, Kakashi could see Sakura’s relief on her face.

 

“Good! He’s still our teammate, no matter what,” Naruto said. “We’ll give him a good beating and go home together. Nobody else has to know that he ran off.”

 

Kakashi wished it could be so simple.

 

“You did well. Go home, Pakkun,” Kakashi said, patting Pakkun on the head.

 

Pakkun disappeared, Sakura and Naruto fell asleep, and Kakashi was left alone with his thoughts for the next hour. A new question occurred to Kakashi and refused to let go.

 

“Why didn’t I do more for him?”

 

-

 

The first thing Kakashi did after he finished brooding was to swallow his pride and do what needed to be done. He liked to think of himself as fairly competent at his job, but he needed to bow out of this one so he could rescue his wayward student. Kakashi summoned another nin-dog, Akino, and unsummoned him back to Konoha with a request to the Hokage. He asked for backup to meet Team Seven on the beach once they got back the mainland, to come prepared to evacuate three civilians to Konoha under potential enemy ninja attack, and bring military ration pills.

 

It was just before sunup when everyone was roused and herded into the boat that would take them out of Wave. Everyone was tired. Naruto seemed to sleepwalk through the morning mist to the boat, even though he was holding up one half of Kakashi’s stretcher. He fell asleep again when they got in the boat and, for a full five minutes, was dead to the world, even in a sitting position, before he swayed over with the motion of a strong wave. Sakura had to grab him by the arm to prevent a fall overboard.

 

“Uragh!” Naruto shouted, rubbing his eyes. “Why did that shitty bastard have to put us in this position?! This is all Sasuke’s fault!”

 

“Quiet!” The boatman hissed. “Be quiet or you’ll get us all killed!”

 

There was a noise from the shoreline. Naruto slapped his hands over his mouth as his eyes went comically wide. Kakashi began scanning the fog for movement and he sought for a shuriken in his thigh holster with shaking fingers. His chakra exhaustion would make it nigh impossible for him to fight. He could barely lift his head. Even his aim with his weapons would be off, because he couldn’t hold steady. Nevertheless, he wasn’t about to give up.

 

“Oh, no!” the boatman quailed. “They heard us! The boat’s too heavy to outrun anyone!”

 

“We can handle it, sir,” Sakura said confidently. “Just get us out of here.”

 

Shouting could be heard through the fog. Sakura drew a shuriken herself and Naruto followed her lead. The boatman pulled in the oars and revved the motor, abandoning silence in favor of speed. More shouting reached Kakashi’s ears. Finally, after too many failed tugs on its pull cord for Kakashi’s liking, the engine buzzed to life and the boat sped away like a wasp. The passengers spent every second of the journey watching back the way they had come, hoping against hope that no one would catch up.

 

Someone did. Fortunately, Sakura and Naruto’s aim was true and they hit man after man on the pursuing vessel, until its driver turned back to Wave. The pursuers had fired arrows from short bows at them, but none connected, thanks to Naruto and Sakura’s quick deflections. The combat hadn’t even taken all that long, really. Kakashi hadn’t even needed to move. They had gotten very lucky.

 

“Thank goodness they weren’t ninjas,” Sakura said as she collapsed to the floor of the boat in relief.

 

“It’s hard to aim on a boat,” Naruto complained, sitting down himself. “We’re going up and down and they’re going up and down. I wasted a lot of shuriken.”

 

“Yeah,” Sakura said vaguely. Then, she punched Naruto in the arm. “Don’t you ever start shouting when we need to be stealthy again! Learn to be quiet!” Kakashi felt that her point was somewhat undercut by the fact that she was now the one shouting, but he simply closed his eyes and tried to relax, rather than point this out. They were probably in the clear now, anyway.

 

“Sorry, Sakura-chan,” Naruto said, rubbing his arm.

 

The daylight was strong by the time the shore came in sight. After the ferryman docked the boat at a little fishing village, everyone hurried out, except for Kakashi, who still needed to be carried.

 

“How are we going to find Sasuke-kun?” Sakura asked.

 

“Because I spent almost a whole day unconscious,” Kakashi replied, frustrated at his own failure, “he’s two days ahead of us. We’re going to head north along the coast until we find where he made land by scent.”

 

He summoned Guruko and told him to head north along the coast until he found the place with the scent of Sasuke (Kakashi let him sniff Sasuke’s bag), a bunch of birds (Kakashi let him sniff the feathers), and a bunch of rodents had congregated.

 

“Start looking around for a trail leading away from that spot,” Kakashi said. “And then wait for us to catch up.”

 

“You got it, Boss,” Guruko said, before he took off running.

 

“What about us?” Tsunami asked.

 

“We’ll wait with you until backup arrives,” Kakashi said. “Our backup will escort you three to Konoha.” Kakashi fished the two tags containing the ninjas Sasuke had perforated out of his vest. “And get these two to the hospital.”

 

“Oh, wow. I’d totally forgotten about them,” Naruto said.

 

“So had I,” Kakashi admitted. The group sat down to wait for their backup. Tsunami tried to keep her son occupied by walking around the beach with him, while Tazuna sat down and stared cheerlessly out at the water.

 

“Kakashi-sensei, who do you think that girl is?” Sakura asked. “I mean, the one Sasuke-kun met. Do you think she was from Konoha?”

 

“What are you thinking?” Kakashi asked.

 

“It’s just that Sasuke never had any friends in our class, not since his family died,” Sakura said. “All the girls liked him, but he didn’t talk to any of us. Sasuke-kun never had any interest in girls. This girl must not have been in our class, or we would have seen them talking, so where did he know her from? He never walked home with anybody after school. And, if she was from Konoha, then why did he come out here to meet her? You said Sasuke-kun packed up his house. If he was planning to live with her, why did they have to leave Konoha, when he already has a house and he doesn’t even have parents telling him what to do all the time? I just don’t understand. It doesn’t make sense that he would abandon us to go meet some strange girl!”

 

“No,” Kakashi agreed, “it doesn’t.”

 

Sakura grabbed Sasuke’s pack from Naruto and tore it open.

 

“There’s got to be some kind of clue in here!” Sakura said. She took everything Sasuke had packed out of his bag and set it neatly on top of her own bag to keep the sand off. She was trying to be respectful of Sasuke’s things even now, Kakashi noticed. The first thing Sakura inspected was the notebook Sasuke had packed.

 

“This!” Sakura said. “He was always making little notes in it, right? Maybe there’s something in it about what he was planning!”

 

“Let me see!” Naruto leaned over Sakura’s shoulder to examine the notebook as Sakura flipped through it.

 

“These are all notes on fuinjutsu,” Sakura said, frowning in concentration. “We didn’t learn much about this kind of thing in the Academy… It’s all fuinjutsu and fish.”

 

“Fish?” Naruto asked.

 

“Look,” Sakura said, pointing to a page. “He’s writing about fish. He’s describing the type and size, how he kept them alive in a bathtub with a bubbler, stuff like that. They’re listed under the heading ‘Materials and Methods.’”

 

Kakashi’s eye narrowed. That sounded like science to him and he didn’t trust science. Science made him think of Orochimaru. Intellectually, Kakashi knew that not all scientists were egomaniacal monsters. Some studied bears, or medicine, or, or… how to make a television. However, in a ninja village, science tended to be directed at enabling ninja work, which, to be completely frank, wasn’t always very nice. It was one thing to do those not-nice things. It was another thing entirely to sit down and study, with live test subjects, how to make them even less nice. Konoha’s scientists tended to be furtive people who smiled too much and smelled funny. He didn’t trust them.

 

Kakashi sat up. It hurt, but he could manage it and he was getting stiff from being in one position for so long. He sighed as he settled himself into a seated position, and then held out a hand for the journal.

 

He tapped the page when he found the entry he’d seen before on chakra draining seals and started working backwards through the notebook. Sasuke had notes, not just on one chakra draining seal, but on five variations of chakra draining seals, each with their own properties and modes of operation neatly listed. He had notes on methods of tailoring a chakra draining seal to preferentially remove different kinds of chakra, to draw chakra away from a target at different rates, and to remove chakra from specific places within a target.

 

However, that wasn’t the only thing Sasuke had notes on. Sakura was a rookie genin, so she couldn’t be expected to know the difference, but Sasuke also had notes on juinjutsu. Among the preceding entries, there was a meticulously detailed study that Sasuke had conducted on placing juinjutsu on a variety of objects with some successful results. Before that was another study Sasuke had done involving successfully transferring juinjutsu from one fish to another. The earliest entries involved failed attempts to directly remove a juinjutsu from fish.

 

Kakashi flipped back to the page he’d first opened to and reread the notes on the chakra draining seals more carefully. Sasuke must be trying to develop a method of removing a curse seal by draining it away. His research even referenced other works of study into juinjutsu. Kakashi’s formal education had ended at twelve, but this looked like advanced stuff to him.

 

“He’s trying to discover how to remove juinjutsu,” Kakashi said.

 

“What’s juinjutsu?” Naruto asked.

 

“They do different things, but a juinjutsu is a technique formula that gives the caster control over whomever it’s placed upon,” Kakashi explained. “They can be very dangerous. You don’t want to have one placed on you.”

 

“They sound horrible!” Naruto asked. “But Sasuke wasn’t studying how to place them, right? He was studying how to remove them.”

 

Sasuke had clearly learned how to place juinjutsu in the course of his studies, but that hadn’t been his focus.

 

“It’s generally thought to be impossible to remove them,” Kakashi explained. “Juinjutsu are permanent. Sometimes, they can be removed if the person who placed the juinjutsu dies, or if that person decides to remove it, or the person who received the juinjutsu dies. Standard practice isn’t to try to remove them at all; it’s to suppress them.”

 

“Did he find anything important?” Sakura asked.

 

“Yeah,” Kakashi thought. “He did. But, if it gets out that juinjutsu can be transferred to others, this method could be used offensively. Also, this would make waves among Danzo’s former subordinates and among the Hyuuga. If this becomes public, it could get ugly.”

 

“He’s made progress,” Kakashi allowed, putting the notebook in his own backpack for safe keeping. Sakura watched him zip his backpack up suspiciously and then turned away to look through Sasuke’s clothes and toiletries, with a minimum of blushing, for hidden correspondence, or a map with a destination circled, or other such clues. Unfortunately, she found nothing.

 

Kakashi looked at Naruto. The boy was being surprisingly quiet about the letter Sasuke had left him. That suited Kakashi fine. If that whole issue could wait until they had Sasuke back, that would be great.

 

Gai arrived not long after, doing a trip that had taken Team Seven the better part of a week in only two hours.

 

“My eternal rival!” Gai exploded. “Are you injured?!”

 

“Not much,” Kakashi said. “I just used up all my chakra the day before yesterday. Thanks for coming.”

 

“Who’s this guy?” Naruto asked, giving Gai a skeptical look.

 

“He’s our backup,” Kakashi said. “Might Gai-kun. He’s a jounin-sensei, like me.”

 

“Indeed! I am Konoha’s sublime green beast of prey! I will take all of you weary heroes back to Konoha at once!” Gai announced. “Where is the fourth member of your team?”

 

“That’s the problem,” Kakashi said. “I don’t know for sure, but it looks like someone lured Sasuke-kun away. It seems like he was planning to desert for at least a week, possibly much longer. I have no idea how long they’ve been communicating with him, but I can guess what they want him for.”

 

“What do you mean?” Sakura asked. “Pakkun-san said that person was just a girl, right? I thought he meant that she was about our age. What would somebody our age want to kidnap Sasuke-kun for?”

 

Kakashi put a hand on Sakura’s shoulder and looked her sympathetically in the eye.

 

“Sakura-chan, you know about stranger danger, right? Sometimes adults will use candy or puppies to lure in kids,” Kakashi said.

 

“I know that!” Sakura said sharply, balling her fists. “But we aren’t kids!”

 

“Sometimes kids are used to lure away other kids,” Kakashi said. “Sasuke-kun was isolated, so, if someone wanted to capture him, hypothetically speaking, a good way to get at him would have been to manufacture and play on a social connection. Because he was so isolated,” Kakashi clenched a fist as guilt and shame prickled up his neck and face (He should have done more. He should have been there.), “there would be no one around to notice when someone unsavory started trying to influence him. In the Academy, you studied luring targets to a kill zone and, in your kunoichi lessons, you studied using charm to get information out of them. This is the same sort of manipulation.”

 

Sakura looked miserable.

 

“But what would someone want to lure Sasuke away for?” Naruto asked, upset making him even louder than usual. “Because he’s a pretty boy?”

 

Now that was a horrible thought.

 

“… That’s possible,” Kakashi admitted. “But he’s also the last Uchiha; his eyes are immensely valuable. He might not have awakened his Sharingan yet, but he still could. There isn’t a single ninja village that wouldn’t want to get their hands on him and his eyes, and it’s not just other ninja villages. There are dangerous people out there, Naruto-kun.”

 

“And now Sasuke doesn’t have us with him to protect him anymore!” Naruto said, dread clear on his face. “What an idiot!”

 

Gai handed Kakashi a paper packet of military ration pills.

 

“Thanks, Gai-kun,” Kakashi said.

 

“What do you need?” Gai asked seriously, brow deeply furrowed.

 

“I need you to get Tazuna-san and his family back to Konoha, keeping on the lookout for Kiri missing-nin. We fought Zabuza in Wave,” Kakashi said.

 

“The Demon of the Kiri?” Gai asked.

 

“Yes,” Kakashi confirmed. “He got away from me, but he might still die. He has at least one partner, though, plus these two.” Kakashi pulled the tags containing their captives out of his pocket. “These two need medical attention, one of them quite urgently, but they might attack, so alert the staff to handle them with guards present.” Gai raised an eyebrow at the tags Kakashi handed him.

 

“Enclosure tags,” Gai remarked.

 

“Sasuke-kun wanted to save them,” Sakura remarked worriedly, wringing her hands. She barely seemed to be paying attention to the conversation.

 

“… I will do my best for them,” Gai said sincerely to her, giving her a thumbs up. “How close do you want to keep this?” Gai asked Kakashi tactfully. Kakashi appreciated the sentiment, but this couldn’t be covered up.

 

“It can’t be kept from the Hokage,” Kakashi said bluntly. “There are three civilians, one of whom is a child. They might tell anyone. Right now, we don’t know anything for certain anyway, except that Sasuke-kun left, met with an injured girl, and disappeared. One or both of them seems to be using rodent and small bird summons. Looks like maybe white-eyes from the feathers Pakkun collected.” Kakashi handed Gai one of the green feathers.

 

“At least that doesn’t sound like anyone we know,” Gai said, holding his chin in his hand as he examined the feather. “On the other hand, it doesn’t sound like anyone we know.”

 

“So, it could be anyone. Yeah,” Kakashi said, before eating one of the military ration pills and washing it down with water from his flask.

 

“Despite the pressing need for speed, care for your body must not be neglected,” Gai warned. “You still need to be able to get your team home when the three days of energy that pill gives you are up. If you take care of yourself, rival, the withdrawal will be less strenuous. Would you like me to return and accompany you, after I have delivered the civilians to Konoha?”

 

“I think we can handle it,” Kakashi said. At least, Kakashi hoped so. That would depend on who else Sasuke and the mystery girl met up with. He hoped it wasn’t someone like Orochimaru.

 

“I know you can,” Gai said, giving Kakashi a thumbs up and a wink. Something tight in Kakashi’s chest relaxed just a little bit at the encouragement.

 

“Thanks, Gai-kun,” Kakashi said. He stood up and stretched. “Tazuna-san, you and your family will go with Gai-san back to Konoha. Team Seven, you’re with me. Prepare to run. Sakura-chan, do you know how to use chakra to enhance your speed?”

 

“Yes,” Sakura said, pulling on her backpack.

 

“Naruto-kun?” Kakashi asked.

 

“No,” Naruto said, shaking his head nervously.

 

“Okay,” Kakashi said. “Sakura-chan, today you’re going to be using chakra to enhance your muscles to carry Naruto-kun, while you try to keep up with me. It will involve sending chakra to multiple muscle groups. Think you can handle that?”

 

“Yes,” Sakura said without hesitation.

 

“What?! I have to be carried?! But I’m not a baby! Don’t I get a say in this?!” Naruto asked, blushing and looking desperately at Kakashi.

 

“Nope!” Kakashi said, smiling. “Let’s go!”

Notes:

#NotAllScientists

Sasuke was fairly manic in this chapter, wasn’t he? He’s feeling all the feels.

Trauma can find new ways to manifest sometimes even years after the traumatic event(s) have occurred. Kids especially can take years to start processing their trauma. Delayed symptoms are common. Flashbacks are more likely to occur if you are fatigued or under stress. Triggers for flashbacks might not be obvious and flashbacks can occur without them. Sasuke’s experience of his flashback is based on my own and is not universal. There is no wrong way to experience trauma and its aftereffects. You can’t experience a psychological trauma wrong any more than you can experience a broken arm wrong. Judging your own emotional response to trauma is not necessary or helpful. Get therapy, if you can afford it (or even find it). There are some places that will tack the cost of their services to your ability to pay. Be compassionate to yourself.

Fun fact about dogs: Yes, they can track you, even if you swim. They’re used for tracking whales, which are, to use the scientific term, the swimmingest. Technically, they track whale scat, but still. Some hunting dogs will have trouble tracking a scent if you go into the water, but you (and the ducks I read about) have to come up for air eventually, so the dogs will be able to trace that scent. Best bet? Put daylight between yourself and the dogs. They can have trouble with a track that is more than a couple days old. They also don’t run as fast as cars can drive, so get in a car.

On top of that, Sasuke is dealing not with real dogs, but with magic dogs, who potentially have a sense of smell even more acute than real dogs do, who can talk, and who are as smart as a human. Pobrecito…

Chapter 6: Caves

Summary:

Sasuke hunts for a cave. Kakashi hunts for Sasuke.

Notes:

Does anyone else love the idea of Sakura just carrying people around like its nothing? Like, “Oh, do you want mommy to carry you? Okay, sweetie!” The child is fifteen and has period pain. “Oh, no! Is your chakra low? Let me carry you!” It’s Kakashi and Sakura is twelve. “Don’t worry, I’ll take the prisoner to T&I!” It’s Kisame. I just love that for her. Carrying people around is so her, you know?

On an unrelated side note, one of my dogs is weird about deer. I live on a greenbelt and put out water, minerals, and food (apples, cabbage, carrots, dried corn, and such) for the white-tailed deer in the evenings. I think the deer spend most of their time on a nearby ranch. There are between ten and fifteen who regularly swing by for a bite of supper. My dogs have been exposed to the deer since they were puppies. They like to chase them along the fence, on the occasions that the deer don’t just ignore the dogs, but mostly the dogs just watch the deer eat or steal some deer food through the bars of the fence. Sometimes, a doe will leave her fawn in the yard or right behind it. We all have a harmonious relationship. At least, we did…

A few days ago, a new buck arrived. It’s that time of year, you know? My young male dog hates this new buck with a fiery passion. He barks madly at this big dude every time he sees him. It’s nonstop. I have to shout at him to get him away from the fence. The poor deer just flinches back and watches my dog with squinted eyes, while the dog loses his tiny mind. This tells me two things: not only does my dog hate this one deer in particular, he actually knows the other deer who regularly visit and can distinguish them from foreign deer. I wonder if he tells them apart by smell. Why does he hate this one buck? Is it stranger danger? Does the buck smell scary? Is the little corgi boy’s predator instinct engaged by the sheer size of the prey item? You can’t eat him, though, buddy; he’s too big!

Sasuke and Hikari ran through the trees in the mountainous northern end of Fire. The air became cooler the higher the pair went. In some places, there was snow on the tops of the mountains, even though it was midsummer. The view was so spectacular that Sasuke detoured to climb a mountain. With Hikari by his side, the unseasonable frost igniting his spirit, and the glowing skirt of the valley unfurling below him, he was moved to sing.

 

“If life is a season, I was drunk on Christmas evening,” he crooned.

 

Hikari stared at him as if he had grown a second head, but Sasuke thought of his dad in his last life and, though he blushed to do it, he kept singing and sang all the louder. He wished he could share the original song with her, so, recalling a method of applying genjutsu that he had been shown by the warbling white-eyes, but never tried, he channeled his chakra into his vocal cords at the same time he tapped his own temple to give himself the same genjutsu. His ears filled with music as Hikari jumped in surprise. Sasuke laughed at the shock in her bright ruby eyes. Hikari glared at Sasuke, which only made him laugh harder, but he kept on singing. Sasuke sighed when he reached the end of the song, red as a radish, but elated.

 

“Are you done?” Hikari asked snidely.

 

Sasuke shook his head at her behavior and shifted his feet in the snow. It was another beautiful day. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and looked out over the valley and into the sky. It was such a gorgeous scene and he never wanted to forget it, including the judgmental look Hikari was giving him.

 

“Yeah,” he said, still smiling.

 

“Hey,” Hikari said. “What’s that symbol mean, the one of your forehead protector?”

 

Sasuke reached up and took it off.

 

“It’s the symbol of Konoha,” Sasuke said, handing it to her.

 

“Hmm,” Hikari said, staring at it. “So, why are you still wearing it?”

 

“I thought it might come in handy at some point, but really…” Sasuke said, taking it back. “My mom would have been so proud of me for getting this thing.”

 

Sasuke could see her in his mind’s eye, standing in front of the Academy gates, proud as a peacock, on the day of his graduation and taking Sasuke’s picture as he wore his forehead protector for the first time. Instead, there were no pictures taken of Sasuke in his forehead protector.

 

No, there was one, he remembered: the official Team Seven photograph. However, besides that, there would be no visual record of that brief time in his life. It was over.

 

Itachi would have been there on his graduation day, too, smiling gently at him, Sasuke imagined. If his dad hadn’t been busy, he’d have been there, too, but Sasuke could only imagine him frowning.

 

“Itachi, too. They’d have been proud of me becoming a proper ninja and entering into the service of the village,” Sasuke said. It was heartbreaking to remember how much his family, his entire clan, had loved the village that had devoured them.

 

“… Not your dad?” Hikari asked. Sasuke scoffed.

 

“He’d have been ashamed it took me so long,” Sasuke said sharply. “I can hear him now: ’Itachi got his when he was eight.’” Sasuke shook his head as pain and anger bubbled up, black and tarry, inside of him.

 

“That’s pretty mean. Didn’t he love you?” Hikari asked, sounding genuinely baffled. “He was your dad.”

 

“Maybe,” Sasuke said. “Maybe he just showed it by never being happy for me and criticizing everything I did. He was always telling me how inferior I was to Itachi.”

 

“That sucks,” Hikari said. “What kind of parents only loves one of their kids?”

 

Had he, though? Sasuke’s father had pulled strings to get Itachi into ANBU at eleven, he’d allowed Itachi to become a genin at eight, and he’d taken Itachi onto the battlefield to complete his first kill at four. All those important milestones, but they were also horrible things to do to a child. What four-year-old even knew what death was? Was that love?

 

On the other hand, their father had willingly died just because Itachi had wanted him to. What was the truth?

 

“… You know,” Sasuke said. “I don’t remember exactly how he was with Itachi. I wonder if Itachi had it any better. Maybe he was just a bad father.”

 

Sasuke held his forehead protector up to the sky.

 

“Sorry, mom,” Sasuke said. He didn’t need to keep this symbol anymore; that part of his life was over. His clan had wasted their lives serving a village that didn’t love them, honoring a treaty that wasn’t worth the paper it was written on, supporting the regime of an evil man who killed them when they became inconvenient. Konoha had no claim on Sasuke and he would never wear their symbol again. He crouched down and buried the armor under some loose rocks.

 

“Race you to the bottom,” Sasuke said, taking off down the perilous slope ahead of Hikari. He had to body flicker here and there as his momentum exceeded his ability to keep his legs under him. Hikari didn’t race him, she never did, but she did keep up with him.

 

It took Sasuke and Hikari running the rest of the day before they made it to their third waterfall. The first waterfall had been on the northern edge of Fire, near the border with Hot Water. The second had been in the Valley of the End, near the border with Rice Fields. To reach the third waterfall, they had to travel southwest, leaving the border region and delving deeper into Fire than they had before. It also took them within a day’s travel of Konoha, but Sasuke and Hikari had stayed on their guard, with Hikari using her Sharingan and Sasuke using his chakra sensing to avoid anything with more chakra than a squirrel.

 

When they arrived at this third waterfall, Sasuke pumped a fist, wiped sweat off his forehead, and told himself not to get excited. It might not be the waterfall they were looking for. After all, there were still two more on Sasuke’s list. Fire had five waterfalls large enough to put on a map, making five candidates for the place Sasuke only vaguely remembered as being the entrance to the secret passage to the Moon from that one Naruto movie. It was a story that Sasuke remembered primarily as being the one where Hinata conveniently forgot how to walk on a vertical surface, which was something all ninja learned when they were like twelve. Of course, her ineptitude was all in service of allowing Naruto to play the gallant hero and catch Hinata as she fell to her death.

 

As a feminist, Sasuke had been irked by that scene. As a consumer of media, he had been absolutely disgusted by it. No consistency! If ninjas could walk on walls, then Hinata should be able to, too! Naruto could be heroic without nerfing Hinata! All the animators had to do was throw Hinata further away from the building, so she wouldn’t have the opportunity to stick to the wall! That would even keep the scene basically the same! Hinata would still be falling to her death and Naruto would still be able to manfully save the girl! They wouldn’t be able to drag out the suspense of, “Is Hinata going to fall,” but it hadn’t been suspenseful in the first place.

 

When Sasuke had watched Hinata hanging pathetically, he recalled mostly being curious about why Hinata was moving so slow. Why was she still hanging there, he had wondered? What is she doing? When was she going to remember that she was a chuunin, swing herself over to that damned wall, and stick to it with chakra? Then, he had realized, no, Hinata wasn’t a ninja. In that moment, she was a Damsel in Distress, so she couldn’t be allowed to show basic competence with standard ninja magic.

 

As a ninja, Sasuke was embarrassed for Hinata. What was that performance? Where is your professional pride? Mizuki-sensei would have handled that situation more adeptly. Stop hanging there like a dried fish, girl. People can see you.

 

“Don’t worry, Hinata,” Sasuke thought. “I’ll keep the gods from shaming you. You can’t get a brainfart while being kidnapped by the villain if the villain is reformed before the story even begins!”

 

As he had done at the previous two waterfalls, Sasuke summoned dozens of the warbling white-eyes and reminded everyone what they were searching for.

 

“It’s a large cave with a glowing green pool inside,” Sasuke said.

 

“We know. And you’re sure this thing really exists?” Hinata asked.

 

“I’d say the evidence of it’s existence is fairly well supported,” Sasuke said. After all, the Moon ninjas had been referenced multiple times.

 

As the birds and Hikari dispersed to search the surrounding area, Sasuke took off his clothes and leapt up to the side of the waterfall, light and sticky as a tree frog, to see if he could spot a cave anywhere on the other side. There was a lot of water falling down that cliff and Sasuke didn’t want to get in its way if he didn’t have to. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see anything from the outside, so he had to go into the water to check for any caves hidden behind the waterfall. The water battered his head and shoulders and the roar of it clogged his ears, but he searched around until he was certain there was no hidden cave behind it.

 

After half an hour of searching, the team gave up. If there was a cave in that stretch of cliff, they couldn’t find it. Disappointed with the lack of result, but not worried, Sasuke sent the birds home, took out his map and compass, and pointed out their next destination.

 

“Just two left,” Sasuke said, combing out his damp hair.

 

“I’m guessing we’ll try this one last,” Hikari said, pointing at the lone waterfall south of Konoha. Sasuke nodded.

 

Sasuke looked up at the waterfall and was struck by a sudden worry.

 

“I wonder if they found the note,” he murmured.

 

“Note?” Hikari asked.

 

“I left a note for my team,” Sasuke said, “So they wouldn’t think I had been captured by the enemy.” They might get themselves in real trouble if they got in Haku’s face while he was tending to Zabuza’s injuries.

 

“’Goodbye forever, you bastards?’” Hikari guessed.

 

“Pretty much,” Sasuke said. “Did you have anyone you wish you could have said goodbye to?”

 

“No,” Hikari said, unconcernedly. “My parents were dead and everyone else in this evil fucking clan was just using me.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Sasuke said softly, inwardly seething at hearing the Uchiha Clan badmouthed, but knowing that Hikari’s pain was more important. “Let’s get going. I want to get as far as we can before we stop for the night.”

 

“Okay,” Hikari said. “Race you.”

 

Happily surprised by Hikari’s invitation to play, Sasuke nodded and the two sped away into the trees. Hikari won.

 

-

 

“Boss, I’m smelling the birds over here,” Bull said. “They’re all over the place.”

 

“They were over here, too,” Shiba called out.

 

“This is the second time,” Kakashi said. “Are they looking for something?”

 

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked. “What makes you think they’re looking for something? Maybe the birds just like to look around, you know? This place is really impressive! Look at those statues! They’re even bigger than the Hokage Monument!”

 

The monument to the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara really was massive. Kakashi couldn’t be sure, but they really did seem taller than the Hokage Monument. The statues carved into the living rock of the cliffs on either side of the waterfall were far and away more heavily detailed, certainly. The work itself was also more extensive, as these were not simply faces on a cliff wall, but full-body statues. The way the statues rose so high above the hanging valley and extended so far from the rock face, being almost completely separate from it, indicated to Kakashi that someone must have used Earth Release in their construction.

 

Kakashi wasn’t impressed by them, however. He thought they were in poor taste. Yes, Madara had battled with the First, but their clans had already become part of one village by that point. These statues, facing off with the sign of confrontation, were essentially a reminder of one man’s rejection of peace and stability. However, he was depicted not as a defeated party, but as an equal of the First, as an eternal enemy, when their fight was philosophically over before it had even begun.

 

Their clans had made peace. The Uchiha and the Senju were more than allies; they were comrades. The Uchiha were equal partners with the Senju in the creation of Konoha, even if Madara couldn’t accept that. The posture and posing of the statues, however, made the meaning of the monument something along the lines of, “This fight will never be finished,” which was a terrible and untrue thing to build statues for.

 

Not only were the Senju and Uchiha comrades, both clans had been reduced almost to nothing and could hardly continue the fight, even if they wanted to. It was ludicrous to even think of Sasuke fighting Tsunade. What would be the point?

 

Kakashi thought about the diminishment of those two great clans. It was bitterly ironic that it hadn’t been until after they made peace that their survival had been endangered. It felt like it shouldn’t be true. Surely, they should have been stronger and more enduring together. It was too tragic that they had both been almost destroyed while standing back to back.

 

“My nin-dogs are only smelling the birds at waterfalls,” Kakashi said. “Only along the cliffs around waterfalls. Although they did so at the previous waterfall, there’s no evidence that Sasuke spent the night here, right?”

 

“Right,” Pakkun said. “Nobody’s made camp here recently.”

 

“So, they’re not choosing these places to spend the night and letting the birds scout before they settle in,” Kakashi said. “They’re looking for something.”

 

“Maybe Sasuke just likes waterfalls,” Naruto said.

 

“I don’t think Sasuke-kun would run away just to take in the scenery,” Sakura said. “We’ve been running hard, but we still haven’t caught them, so they’re obviously not stopping to take photographs.”

 

“What about that time we had to climb that stupid mountain?” Naruto asked. “Was he looking for something then?”

 

“He went there to get rid of his forehead protector,” Sakura said grimly.

 

“We don’t know that!” Naruto said. “Maybe he just dropped it! He is pretty dumb, you know? Maybe it came off and he didn’t notice!”

 

“Sasuke-kun isn’t dumb!” Sakura shouted. “Maybe that was the first time this girl convinced him to take it off. Maybe she’s slowly breaking Sasuke-kun’s attachment to Konoha. Anyway, we have to find him before we can ask. If he really is looking for something, maybe all he knows that whatever they’re seeking is at a waterfall, but he doesn’t know which one, so he’s checking them all. If we could skip the next waterfall for the one after that, maybe we could get ahead of him.”

 

“Or we might overshoot him and lose the trail,” Kakashi said. “The next waterfall could be the one that has whatever he’s searching for. Once he’s collected it, he could go off in any direction. It’s a good thought though. If we had two teams, that would be the best plan.”

 

“If this person was trying to kidnap Sasuke, then why are they looking for something hidden at a waterfall?” Naruto asked.

 

“That’s a good question. I don’t know,” Kakashi admitted. “It could have something to do with the Uchiha Clan. Maybe they have a secret hideout or some hidden clan treasures near a waterfall. As the last Uchiha, Sasuke-kun would be the best person to ask.”

 

“First, he’s being kidnapped for his Uchiha eyes and, now, he’s looking for an Uchiha treasure. That’s a lot of Uchiha drama. You know, it’s turning out to be pretty inconvenient that Sasuke is the one missing. If he were here, we could ask him about all this,” Naruto said, crossing his arms.

 

Kakashi chuckled dryly.

 

“What if it doesn’t have anything to do with him being an Uchiha,” Sakura said.

 

“What else could it be?” Naruto asked.

 

“Kakashi-sensei, you kept his notebook,” Sakura said seriously.

 

“Ah, did I?” Kakashi asked. “I guess I did.”

 

“What did you find in it?” Sakura demanded.

 

“It looked like some incomplete research,” Kakashi said.

 

“Into removing juinjutsu,” Sakura said. “Which juinjutsu?”

 

Kakashi had tried to discover this himself. While the kids were asleep and the military ration pill was keeping Kakashi awake, he had poured over the journal Sasuke had left behind.

 

“… He used a few different ones in his tests, but I’m not sure. There was a note on sage charka and foreign DNA, so the one he’s interested in might contain those things, but it might not be related. It wasn’t expanded on,” Kakashi admitted. “I don’t know of any juinjutsu that would have those characteristics, but I’m not very knowledgeable on the subject.”

 

“It must be,” Sakura said.

 

“Not necessarily,” Kakashi said. “There was one note that just said, ‘toad stick.’ He underlined it, like it was important, but I don’t see how a ‘toad stick’ could be relevant.”

 

“What the heck is a toad stick?” Naruto asked, squinting at Kakashi. “Is that what you get when a squashed toad dries out on the road?”

 

“Who knows?” Kakashi said. “It would be good if we could get hold of Jiraiya-sensei. He might be able to get more out of this notebook than we could.”

 

“Who’s Jiraiya?” Naruto asked.

 

“One of the three legendary Sannin, so named because they survived a battle with Hanzo the Salamander, the former head of Amegakure,” Kakashi said. “There’s Jiraiya-sensei, Tsunade-hime, and Orochimaru.”

 

“Are they from Konoha?” Naruto asked.

 

“Yes. They were students of the Third Hokage, in fact…” Kakashi hesitated before he bit the bullet. “And Jiraiya-sensei was the jounin-sensei of the Fourth Hokage.”

 

Naruto’s eyes widened. His expression was so open and vulnerable that Kakashi had to look away.

 

“He taught my dad?” Naruto asked eagerly, voice full of hope.

 

“The Hokage has forbidden any discussion of your parentage,” Kakashi said awkwardly.

 

“But, I already know! Sasuke already told me!” Naruto said.

 

“And, if that ever comes to light, the Hokage would punish Sasuke-kun for it,” Kakashi said.

 

“Why am I not allowed to know?!” Naruto shouted. “They’re my parents! Mine! They’re the only family I ever had! All this time, I just had to trust that the Hokage was telling the truth when he said my parents were heroes, that they died protecting the village, that they didn’t abandon me on purpose! It’s not fair! My dad’s face is on the Hokage Monument, but no one could tell me?! Like something bad would happen if I ever found out!”

 

“It’s the rule,” Kakashi said.

 

“I don’t care if it’s the rule! It’s a stupid rule! Stupid, wrong, awful rules shouldn’t be followed! You’re the one who said we’re supposed to break rules for our teammates, but you couldn’t break that one for me?! You knew, didn’t you?! You knew, but you didn’t tell me! Nobody told me!

 

“All my life, I wondered, you know? How could I be sure if they really wanted me, or if they hated me, just like everyone else did, so they abandoned me! It’s wasn’t fair! It’s not fair!” Naruto turned away and screamed in frustration. Kakashi saw his shoulders start to shake. Then, Naruto kicked the ground and threw his backpack at a tree. “Fuck this! Fuck everyone! Fuck the Hokage! Fuck Sasuke! He’s nothing but a stupid bastard!”

 

“Don’t talk about Sasuke-kun like that!” Sakura shouted. “He’s the only one who ever stood up for you and, yet, you feel free to say things like that about him?! Why are you like this?!”

 

“Because he left me!” Naruto screamed, whirling around to get in Sakura’s face. Tears flowed down the boy’s face. “You don’t understand anything! Everybody bullied me or ignored me, but Sasuke never did! He was gloomy, and boring, and he never talked unless he had to, but he was there! He never ran me off! He let me hang out with him and he gave me food! He was annoying, because everything was easy for him, and he was always showing off and looking down on me, but he was there! And he said I’m going to be strongest! He was my friend, but now he’s gone! He left me, like it was no big deal at all! Like I didn’t matter! And he knew who my parents were and didn’t tell me before! He’s an asshole!”

 

Sakura looked small in the aftermath of Naruto’s outburst. Pakkun and the other nin-dogs crowed around Naruto’s legs. Bull put his head under Naruto’s hand and Naruto scratched him. They were such good dogs. They had been there for Kakashi over the years and now they were being there for his students.

 

“Do you think the Fourth Hokage was really your dad?” Sakura asked.

 

“Sasuke doesn’t lie,” Naruto said.

 

Sakura nodded sadly. Kakashi handed Naruto a tissue and laid a hand on the boy’s back. Recalling something Minato had done for him once, Kakashi began to rub circles into Naruto’s back.

 

“I’m sorry, Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said, heart aching for his student.

 

In response, Naruto turned into Kakashi and hugged him as he cried.

 

“Naruto-kun…” Sakura said awkwardly. “I’m sorry… For never being nice to you. And being mean to you, sometimes, too. And for hitting you… Do you… Do you want to be friends? With me?”

 

Naruto reached out and pulled Sakura into their hug and she started crying, too. They were such good kids. He was so proud of these two.

 

When the kids let go, sniffling and wiping their eyes, Kakashi handed out a few more tissues and then, thinking better of breaking out the ration bars, started cooking dinner. Unless he was much mistaken, their whole crew could really use a proper meal. While Kakashi cooked, the kids washed their clothes and bathed in their bathing suits in the river with the dogs. Neither kid had taken the time to get properly cleaned up since before the got on that boat for Wave. That was… Hm. That was five days ago. No wonder they were getting a bit stinky.

 

The bath and the food definitely helped everyone’s mood. Kakashi hadn’t used his Sharingan to watch Sasuke use his Blow-Drier Technique, but he had seen more than a thousand different techniques, so he figured it out fairly quickly and soon had the kid’s clothes ready to pack.

 

“Okay!” Naruto said. “Let’s get back on that trail!”

 

“Yeah!” Sakura said, balling her fists. The dogs barked and bayed their enthusiastic agreement. They had clearly been enjoying the opportunity to run all day.

 

Kakashi supposed they really couldn’t delay any longer. He only had one more day before the military ration pill wore off. He needed to have Sasuke in custody before that happened. It was time to move.

 

-

 

“What all did you put in here?” Hikari asked as she looked through the scroll Sasuke had given her that evening. “What’s this? ‘Condoms.’ It says…” Hikari’s face froze. “Why did you give me this?” She asked, voice full of knives.

 

“Because I want you to be safe,” Sasuke said, a little intimidated despite himself. “I wasn’t sure if anyone had ever given you the talk, and I didn’t know if you would stick around long enough for me to give it, so I tried to pack what you would need. I should have included dental dams, too. Sorry. When you find a partner you want to explore with, you can do so safely by using the right tools. Look at that pamphlet. It explains the importance of using safe-sex practices.”

 

Hikari glared at Sasuke suspiciously, before opening the pamphlet. Sasuke let her get to it and went back to tending the fire. After a while, Hikari spoke up.

 

“What’s a ‘virus?’” Hikari asked.

 

Sasuke told her. Then, he explained germ theory and detailed some of the STD’s he could remember. Then, he explained consent using the tea analogy, before getting into marital rape and, with great trepidation, childhood sexual abuse. He was honestly fairly terrified that Hikari was going to tell him that she had been raped while in captivity, but, luckily, she said she wasn’t.

 

“Sometimes, pregnancies go wrong,” Sasuke said. “This can happen for any number of medical reasons, but pregnancy loss generally happens in the first trimester. Sometimes, when a miscarriage happens, it’s a medical emergency. You can die from a miscarriage, so you should find a qualified medical facility-.”

 

“Stop,” Hikari said. “I’m not planning to get pregnant any time soon, okay?”

 

“That’s for the best,” Sasuke said. “You should definitely wait until your body finishes developing. Pregnancy isn’t always a choice, though. There are people who try to get pregnant, but can’t, and there are people who try to avoid getting pregnant, but do. Early education is important.”

 

“Just stop, okay?” Hikari said. “This is so weird.”

 

“Sorry,” Sasuke said.

 

“If I had to guess what someone from the future would think it important to tell me, I would not have guessed, ‘how to have sex,’” Hikari said.

 

Sasuke tried to suppress it, but a laugh forced its way out of his chest. As he watched, the corner of Hikari’s lips began to curl. First one side went up, and then the other, and then she was smiling at him. It wasn’t a big, toothy grin, but it was real.

 

“Is everyone from Konoha concerned about this or is it just you?” Hikari asked. “Was the rest of your team like this?”

 

“No. I suppose Kakashi-sensei does read dirty books in public, so it can’t be said that he doesn’t think about sex, but I’m pretty sure he has never had sex in his entire life,” Sasuke said. “And the other two are just kids. So, no, no one else is worried about sex education.”

 

“Who’s Kakashi?” Hikari asked.

 

“My teacher. He’s an asshole. He’s lazy, and he doesn’t do his job properly, and he avoids me and the rest of Team Seven like we aren’t worth his time, and he’s always ignoring us and messing around, even when he’s present. He acts like he’s too good to be our teacher,” Sasuke said.

 

“Sounds like you two don’t like each other very much.”

 

Sasuke yawned and looked into the fire.

 

“Hm. He’s more than that, though,” Sasuke said. “… I kind of wish we could have been friends.”

 

“… Did you tell him that?” Hikari asked.

 

“There was no point,” Sasuke said. “He doesn’t care about me and our trajectories are too far apart. We won’t meet again.” The words cut Sasuke’s tongue as they left his mouth. It hurt to think that Kakashi didn’t care. It shouldn’t, but it did… Because, Sasuke realized, he cared about Kakashi, even though they hadn’t known each other long. He wanted to tell himself that he didn’t care, but what would be the point?

 

Sasuke tossed a twig into the fire.

 

“Did nobody care about you at all? Nobody?” Hikari asked, looking downcast.

 

“I guess Sakura-chan cared about my face,” Sasuke said.

 

“Your face?” Hikari asked. “Oh, you mean she liked you?”

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“You know, you shouldn’t be so dismissive of a girl’s feelings,” Hikari said reproachfully. “She might have liked you for who you were underneath.”

 

“How could she? I never let her get to know me,” Sasuke said. “I didn’t want to miss anyone when I left.”

 

“He said, while moping in the moonlight,” Hikari snarked. “How’s that working out for you, Mr. ‘I wish we could have been friends?’”

 

“Not perfectly,” Sasuke said. He pressed gingerly on his injured toe to see how tender it was.

 

“Why don’t you heal that?” Hikari asked.

 

“I don’t know how,” Sasuke said.

 

“Seriously?” Hikari asked. “That’s so basic, though.”

 

Sasuke shrugged.

 

“Watch me,” Hikari said. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and watched as Hikari pinched his broken toe to keep the bones straight and then healed it.

 

“Thanks,” Sasuke said, feeling on his newly-healed toe.

 

“You can do it for yourself next time,” Hikari said. “I had a lot of practice after the clan locked me up and started throwing me at the enemies they were too scared to face themselves.”

 

A muscled twitched in Sasuke’s cheek and he looked away from Hikari. It was pretty cowardly to force a child fight in your place, but that didn’t make hearing his clan called cowardly any more palatable.

 

“So, you had one teacher who didn’t give a shit, one girl who was in love with you,” Hikari counted.

 

“She wasn’t in love with me,” Sasuke corrected.

 

“Anybody else?” Hikari asked.

 

“Lots of girls had crushes on me. It doesn’t mean they were in love with me,” Sasuke said.

 

“Oh, a heartbreaker, were you?” Hikari said.

 

“No,” Sasuke said. “Why don’t we talk about you for a while? Tell me how old you are.”

 

“Thirteen,” Hikari asked. “Now, tell me about the rest of your team. How many were you?”

 

“Four,” Sasuke said. “Tell me about something. Tell me about your parents. And you must have friends at some point. Tell me about them.”

 

“I don’t want to talk about that,” Hikari said, shrinking in on herself and wrapping her arms around her middle. “There’s nothing interest to say.”

 

“I think you’re interesting,” Sasuke said.

 

“I don’t want to, okay? Just let it go. Tell me about your team,” Hikari pressed. “Who was on it with you?”

 

“Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, and Naruto-kun,” Sasuke said.

 

“Is this the same Sakura who liked your face?” Hikari asked.

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“And this Naruto-kun, he didn’t like you either?” Hikari asked.

 

Sasuke shook his head.

 

“I just made him insecure and jealous,” Sasuke said. He frowned. “He’s an outcast. I would have offered to take him with me, just so he could get out of that shitty village, but his greatest ambition is to be loved by everyone in Konoha.”

 

“That’s dumb,” Hikari said.

 

“Whether it’s dumb or not, it’s his dream. He would never have come with me. He might even have tried to stop me.”

 

“Didn’t he care about what happened to you, to your family?” Hikari asked incredulously.

 

“He didn’t know,” Sasuke said. “No one knew. Everyone thought it was Itachi alone, when really it was him and Obito. And nobody knew that the massacre was carried out under the government’s orders. Everything was covered up. I… when I woke up… in the hospital, they asked me what I saw. I… I told them that I had only seen Itachi… That I had arrived home and everyone was already dead and Itachi had attacked me. It was true, but it wasn’t the whole story. I knew that… I knew that, but I was… I didn’t say anything. In that moment, I didn’t care who knew the truth. I was just… surviving it. And after that, I didn’t want to die, so I didn’t say anything. I didn’t have any proof and I didn’t have any protection; nobody cared about me. They would have had me killed, so…” Sasuke waved a wand to indicate the general state of the world.

 

“Right,” Hikari said. She picked up a stick and stabbed the fire. “Hey.”

 

“Yeah?” Sasuke asked.

 

“I’ll care about you,” Hikari said softly.

 

Sasuke looked at Hikari and found her blushing.

 

“Thanks,” Sasuke said. “I’ll care about you, too. Family, right?”

 

“Right,” Hikari said uncertainly. “Family.”

 

Sasuke smiled.

 

“It’s nice to have family around,” Sasuke said. “I mean, I can talk to my summons, but having another human person is… It’s nice to not be alone so much. Thanks, Hikari.”

 

“For what?”

 

“For staying,” Sasuke said. “Don’t die, no matter what, okay?”

 

“I should be telling you that. I’m not so weak that I need a pipsqueak like you to worry about me,” Hikari said. “I’m the strongest Uchiha in the world, okay? Those bastards only caught me because it was an ambush.”

 

“Okay,” Sasuke said, still smiling.

 

“And you better not betray me, or I’ll kill you,” Hikari said.

 

Sasuke snorted.

 

“Sounds fair,” Sasuke said.

 

-

 

Kakashi lay awake, watching the stars and listening to Naruto mumble in his sleep. Time was running out. Sasuke was covering so much ground that, if Kakashi collapsed now, they would lose Sasuke’s trail. They needed to go faster. Having two genin to drag around was slowing him down. He wished he could ditch them and run ahead.

 

Sakura was doing so well, keeping up with Kakashi without complaint, even though the pace he set was punishing, but it wasn’t enough. Kakashi was running her ragged, he knew. She didn’t have an adult’s chakra level and she was pushing hard every day.

 

How could Kakashi get to Sasuke tomorrow? He didn’t have another team… Well, he might not have a second team he could send to the next location, but he did have his nin-dogs. Maybe he could send them to follow Sasuke’s trail and take Team Seven to the next waterfall on the map. Why hadn’t he thought of that earlier?

 

Kakashi sat up, fished out his flashlight, pulled out the map, and tried to see if it would work. Yes, Kakashi realized. The next closest waterfall was to the southwest and the one after that was nearly west of that one. They really could cut across country to catch Sasuke, if he really was headed there. They would have to run hard and Sasuke would actually have to go to that location, but, if so, then they would have him.

 

Kakashi smiled. He looked over at Sakura, who had passed out as soon as they made camp, just like she had the day before. It was time to give her a break, Kakashi decided.

 

-

 

“We should be close,” Sasuke said, after he finished brushing his teeth. “Maybe another hour of running and we’ll be there.”

 

“Alright,” Hikari said, brushing out her hair.

 

“Um,” Sasuke said. “Hikari-san?”

 

“What?” Hikari asked.

 

“I had long hair in my last life, so I know it can be troublesome when it’s windy,” Sasuke said.

 

“I can handle it,” Hikari said.

 

“I know,” Sasuke said. “But I just thought you might like me to braid it for you. I know it’s cooler when it’s off your neck.”

 

Hikari looked him up and down and then stared at the ground.

 

“If you want,” Hikari said with a shrug.

 

Sasuke brushed out Hikari’s hair, using a comb to give her a clean part down the center of her scalp. Then, he divided her hair into two sections, braided each section up from the base of her skull, and then fixed each braid into a bun on the top of her head. While Sasuke was doing this, Hikari picked out a couple of the silver hirauchi kanzashi from those Sasuke had put included with her clothes. Sasuke then pinned each bun with place with one of the kanzashi to finish the look.

 

“It’s been a long time since I could pick my own clothes and jewelry. I haven’t done it since my parents died,” Hikari said, softly, looking down at the small pile of hair elastics, bobby pins, kanzashi, barrettes, ribbons, and a comb decorated by a spray of tsumami-zaiku flowers. Sasuke had collected them all from the houses of the dead. “My mom used to do my hair. She would brush it in the morning and let me pick a style for the day and, in the evening, she would brush it out and braid it for bed. I never did my hair myself before she died.”

 

Hearing the melancholy in Hikari’s voice and seeing it in her bent posture, Sasuke reached his arms around Hikari and hugged her. Slowly, cautiously, Hikari curled her fingers around Sasuke’s arms in return. Sasuke sighed against Hikari’s should, immensely grateful that he had lived to this day.

 

-

 

“This is so fast!” Sakura shouted above the wind rushing in their ears. She tightened her arms around Kakashi’s neck.

 

“Yeah! It’s the best!” Naruto shouted back.

 

Kakashi had tied Naruto and Sakura into rope slings before they set off that morning. The jury-rigged rope slings were arranged either side of him, so that the weight of one child balanced the weight of the other child. Their weight was borne by Kakashi’s shoulders and a rope running around Kakashi’s chest and back held the slings in place. With this arrangement, it was fairly easy for him to wrap an arm around each of the kids to stabilize them, while the kids held themselves steady with their legs around his midsection. This arrangement meant that Kakashi didn’t have to wear out his arms carrying the two preteens around all day. He felt a little like one of those dads who carried their twins around the market in a stretchy sling, but there was nothing for it.

 

Kakashi raced along the ground between the trees as fast as he reasonably could, considering the width of his cargo and the closeness of the trees. They had a lot of ground to cover if they wanted to reach the waterfall by tomorrow morning.

 

Sakura held the compass she was carrying up to her face and watched it for a few seconds.

 

“I think we’re going a bit too south,” Sakura shouted.

 

“Got it,” Kakashi said, adjusting his trajectory slightly.

 

Suddenly, they left the trees and emerged onto flat farmland. A range of mountains rose in the distance and the morning sun shimmered on the surface of the rice paddies. Most of the field had already been sewn, but, several farmers doing some late season planting in one field shouted in surprise as Kakashi ran past. It looked as though a few families were helping out one of their neighbors, as they had probably been helped themselves by those same neighbors, because rice planting was a communal effort.

 

It was a pity, Kakashi reflected, that Konoha wasn’t in an area suited to growing rice. Planting rice seedlings together with local farmers would have made an excellent D-rank. It was safe work that would support the community, get the genin working alongside one another, and teach them to appreciate the food they received for the labor that went into it.

 

Kakashi could foresee his team doing a lot of D-ranks in the future, because the Hokage might not ever trust Sasuke to leave the village again.

 

“Should have thought of that when you decided to run away, brat,” Kakashi thought, taking care not to crush any of the rice seedlings as he ran through field after field. “Now, you’re going to be doing D-ranks until you’re twenty.”

 

When he got back to Konoha with Sasuke, they were going to have a long talk about not running off, and not trusting strangers, and not going off in search of lost Uchiha treasures alone, and not leaving one’s team in the lurch, and not antagonizing hunter-nin, and not leaving dangerous papers around where others could find them, and not keeping so much to himself, and not breaking the Hokage’s orders (well, maybe not that one), and having some consideration for his poor old teacher, and on the importance of behaving professionally on missions abroad, and not making Naruto and Sakura cry, and… Well, Kakashi would probably run out of things to lecture Sasuke about eventually. It was important not to leave anything out, but, if Kakashi left something out on the first pass, he could just lecture Sasuke again later. They would have time.

 

They would have time, because this was going to work. Sakura’s idea was perfect and either Kakashi would catch up to Sasuke today or the nin-dogs would show up tomorrow and Kakashi could take another military ration pill after he slept a bit. They would be another day behind Sasuke, but they would catch up to him eventually. They had been gaining on him, Kakashi knew. The places where they found evidence of Sasuke camping were closer together than Kakashi and the rest of Team Seven had made their own camps. It was only a matter of time before they caught him. Kakashi wasn’t going to give up and they would all be going home together. Any other outcome was unacceptable.

 

Kakashi furrowed his brow in determination and reflected that it had been a good thing that his training with Gai had focused on running. He had hours to go yet before they reached the next waterfall and his genin weren’t exactly light, but he could do it. He would do it. He was going to keep this team together.

 

-

 

“Found it!” Hikari shouted. “Sasuke-kun, we found it!”

 

Sasuke just had time to poke his head out of the waterfall and see Hikari wave at him, before she disappeared into the rock face. Sasuke returned to dry land, dried himself off, threw on his clothes, and ran over to Hikari as quickly as he could to see it for himself. The birds beat him there and filled the cave, poking into dark corners and commenting on the weird smell of the water. Incredibly, the whole thing wasn’t dark, because there was a massive pool of glowing, green water. At least, it was a water-like substance. What it really was, he had no idea. He had never seen anything that looked so stereotypically radioactive.

 

Sasuke grinned broadly as he gazed at the pool. They had finally found it.

 

“Well done!” Sasuke said. “Alright, this is going to be dangerous. There are bubbles in the water that will put you in a genjutsu that is difficult to break out of. Use chakra to enhance your muscles so you can swim fast enough to evade the bubbles. If that fails, you need to already have your Sharingan activated to break you out of it. At the end of the pools, there’s a giant crab that will attack us, but I don’t see why we should fight it. It was powerful and massive, but I never saw it move very fast. I think we can just evade it until we leave its area. Hikari-san, if you want to stay here, you can. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

 

“You know, you can call me, ‘Hikari-chan,’” Hikari said. “And anyways, I want to see if this really leads to the Moon, like you said.”

 

“Let’s find out,” Sasuke said. “Thank you all for your help.”

 

“No problem,” the birds said, each one echoing the sentiment, so the room was filled to the brim with the sound of their voices. When the birds had returned to Hisui no Sougen, Sasuke took a deep breath, activated his Sharingan, enhanced his muscles, and jumped into the pool feet first.

 

It was Moon time!

 

Sasuke swam for dear life to avoid the bubbles and managed to dodge them again and again, but, when he had almost made it out of the first pool, one finally caught him.

 

-

 

Sasuke was standing on the roof of the hospital. The warm summer air felt good on his chilled skin and in his hollow chest. He was going to kill himself and Itachi was going to regret that he’d ever been born.

 

But…

 

No, everything was subtly… off. The buildings twisted slightly, their edges not quite straight, the roof tiles weren’t lying naturally, and the air didn’t look right. It looked… Like water?

 

This wasn’t real. He could see it. Why was he looking at a fake roof? He tried to remember where he had been before he got here. He’d been in the hospital room, lying in bed… No, he hadn’t. He had been in a cave! This was a genjutsu! When he thought to check, he could even feel it in his head, a small eddy in an otherwise smoothly flowing stream of chakra.

 

“Kai!” Sasuke said.

 

The genjutsu released its hold on Sasuke abruptly. It was disorienting to go from being upright on land to being upside down in water and Sasuke gasped at the shift in perspective. He got very lucky that the water-ish stuff was breathable.

 

Sasuke left the bubble that had captured him and swam to the bottom of the pool. He swam out of the bottom of the pool and fell through the air onto a black sandy beach in another part of the cave system. The next glowing pool looked not green, but blue. Crystals grew out of the ground around it, aquamarine in the light of the pool and the size of apartment buildings. It was strange and beautiful, this alien interior of the Earth. Or were they on the Moon already?

 

Looking around, he found Hikari ahead of him, peering down into the next pool they needed to brave.

 

“Are you alright?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Yes,” Hikari said. “I didn’t get caught. What did you see in that bubble?”

 

“My first suicide attempt,” Sasuke thought.

 

“The night I woke up after the massacre,” Sasuke said.

 

“Seriously?” Hikari said, turning back to him with a concerned look. “Are you okay?”

 

“Fine,” Sasuke said. And it was true. Mostly. “How long was I in there?”

 

“Less than a minute,” Hikari said.

 

Sasuke nodded. That was what it had felt like.

 

“You need to get stronger so you can dodge things like that,” Hikari scolded.

 

“Let’s keep moving,” Sasuke said.

 

After getting through the next pool without incident, they found a chamber full of bubbles, just sitting on the sandy floor of the cave. Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan now that the danger of ending up in a genjutsu had passed.

 

“Crab time,” Sasuke said, hearing the beast approach, each of its rapid footfalls booming like a cave-in.

 

“Let’s get out of here,” Hikari said, taking the lead. They hadn’t gone far when they saw the great beast. It was in a part of the cave that was almost completely dark, so Sasuke only saw glints of glittering carapace, flashes of a spiney claw, and hints of darkest crimson in the shadows. It blew bubbles at them, just like the ones they had encountered in the pools. Sasuke and Hikari dodged the attack and raced on. As Sasuke passed the crab at top speed, he shuddered. It was the largest animal he’d ever seen and he could only too easily imagine being crushed in its claws.

 

They ran through the cave, following the path up and up, over jagged crystals and coarse rock, towards a distant light. With the crab crashing around behind them, they didn’t dare slow down. After what felt like far too long, they finally reached the exit and flew out of the mouth of the cave, emerging into a blindingly lit patch of dirt and scrub beyond.

 

“Do what I do!” Sasuke shouted. When Hikari had turned to look at Sasuke, he transformed into a warbling white-eye and took to the sky, focusing completely on flying higher to get out of range of the crab’s distance attacks before it caught up. When he looked back after his eyes had adjusted to the brightness, he saw that Hikari had followed his lead and taken wing right behind him. Far beneath them, Sasuke saw the crab emerge from the side of a lone mountain surrounded by a great lake. The creature was every bit as terrible and magnificent as he had imagined. It waved its eyestalks around, but didn’t seem to spot them.

 

The pair kept flying up and up, taking in the astounding view of a world inverted. Because of the nature of this place, all of the continents and bodies of water were on the inside, so the curve of the world hid nothing from Sasuke’s eyes. There wasn’t much diversity in landscapes. For instance, there were no deserts or polar regions, but mountains and valleys had been lovingly crafted by this place’s creators, Hamura, Hagoromo, and Hamura’s enterprising descendants. The interior of the Moon was its own world, albeit a simple one, like some god’s goldfish bowl.

 

Finally, after flying for an hour, they reached the surface of the artificial sun. Whatever heated this place, it wasn’t its “sun.” Sasuke was able to get right up close to it, and even to touch it, without being burnt.

 

“A lightbulb would be hotter than this,” Sasuke thought. “How is this world heated, if not by this ‘sun?’”

 

He released his transformation once he had secured his feet to the surface of it with chakra.

 

“This place is amazing,” Hikari enthused. “I can’t believe all of this is inside the Moon!”

 

Sasuke nodded and just stood there taking in the scenery for a while.

 

“So, what do we do now?” Hikari asked.

 

“Toneri-san is inside, so I think we just need to get him to let us in,” Sasuke said.

 

“Will your Moon boy let us in?” Hikari asked.

 

“I hope so,” Sasuke said. Now, he just had to figure out how to knock. Knowing that Toneri had superhuman skill at detecting chakra, thus enabling him to fight blind, Sasuke tried to think of a technique that would allow him to flare his chakra or otherwise make him more noticeable, without demonstrating hostility.

 

Hikari crouched down on the surface of the sun and knocked.

 

“Hey, let us in! We’re here to talk to you!” Hikari shouted.

 

Sasuke waited with baited breath to see if that would work.

 

A few second later, a hole opened in the sun a few feet away from them and Hikari immediately walked up to it.

 

“Don’t stand there gaping like a fish. Keep up,” Hikari said, when she looked over her shoulder to find Sasuke standing there with his mouth open. She then walked over the lip of the hole and disappeared inside.

 

“R-right,” Sasuke said.

 

Sasuke walked through after her and found himself in a place whose cloudy green atmosphere, diffuse lighting, and floating islands of bare rock immediately and irresistibly brought to mind the Fade from the Dragon Age games. He tried not to be freaked out when the hole closed after him, preventing them from leaving, and mostly succeeded. Sasuke looked at the place the hole used to be with a frown.

 

“Well, which one is he on?” Hikari asked, putting her hands on her hips and looking curiously around.

 

“I have no idea,” Sasuke said, looking around at the islands again. One of them had a castle with long spikes that looked like misremembered flying buttresses or a tacky villain’s idea of intimidating decoration. Sasuke pointed at it. “Maybe that one.”

 

“Maybe?” Hikari asked.

 

“It looks familiar,” Sasuke said.

 

“Okay,” Hikari said. The two transformed back into warbling white-eyes and flew over to the island.

 

When they approached the islands, their gravity unexpectedly snapped to the plane of the orbiting islands that circled the largest island, the Moon within the Moon, where Kaguya must be imprisoned. They landed in the courtyard of the castle and wandered around curiously for a few minutes. Personally, Sasuke was taking the opportunity to catch his breath.

 

As they were dallying, a puppet approach from the open doorway of the castle.

 

“Hello,” a puppet in the shape of little girl said cheerfully.

 

“What’s that?! What is that?!” Hikari asked, pulling out a kunai. “A haunted doll?! Sasuke, what is it?!”

 

“Ah, I forgot,” Sasuke said. “They have puppets here. They are semi-autonomous machines powered by chakra. These are maintained by the Moon’s central energy source.”

 

“What’s ‘semi-autonomous’ mean?” Hikari asked.

 

“They can make some decisions on their own,” Sasuke said. “They aren’t real people, but they can talk and fight.”

 

“If it can talk and make decisions, isn’t it a person?” Hikari asked.

 

“I guess you can test it for yourself later, if Toneri-san doesn’t mind,” Sasuke said. “Please pardon our intrusion, Miss. May we meet with Toneri-san, please?”

 

“You aren’t dangerous, are you?” the puppet asked.

 

“Not to him,” Sasuke said.

 

“He is curious about you,” the puppet said. “How did you find this place?”

 

“Old memories,” Sasuke said.

 

“What do you mean by old memories?” the puppet asked.

 

“I have memories of a past life,” Sasuke said. “I remembered how to find this place because I saw it in that past life, but I didn’t live here. Instead, this place was part of a story I experienced in that life. Because I’ve seen Toneri-san’s future in this story, we’ve come here to help him.

 

“Please, we mean no harm. We’ve only come to talk.”

 

The puppet held completely still for several seconds before answering.

 

“Very well,” the puppet said. “This way.”

 

The puppet led them to another island, hopping lithely from floating stone to floating stone until they reached another island in the chain. It was there that they met Toneri. Sasuke’s first impression of the boy was that he was slightly younger than Sasuke was, unusually pale, and lanky. He must have just hit a growth spurt. Toneri stayed well away from Sasuke and Hikari, standing twelve or so feet back from them. However, as nervous as he looked, he was also equally obviously excited by their arrival.

 

“Hi! I’ve been observing your progress since you approached the sun! Well, since you entered the cave, really. I wanted to see what you would do,” Toneri said eagerly. “Why did you go there, to that island, I mean? Because it was the largest?”

 

“No,” Sasuke said. “I remembered that one. I think you and Hinata-chan almost got married there in some great hall. You tried to feed her a cookie with your mouth.”

 

“Gross,” Hikari said, holding a hand up to her mouth as though somebody was threatening to stick a slobbery cookie in it.

 

“What?!” Toneri shouted, color rising on his pallid cheeks. “In that future you saw, Hinata-hime and I get married?!”

 

“I said, ‘almost,’” Sasuke said. “She and her friends fought you off, because you were forcing her.”

 

“No way!” Toneri said. “I would never force Hinata-hime to marry me!”

 

“That’s good,” Sasuke said.

 

“She would choose to marry me!” Toneri said.

 

“That’s not good,” Sasuke said. “Listen, can we talk somewhere?”

 

“Aren’t we talking here?” Toneri asked, sounding genuinely confused. Sasuke was vividly reminded that Toneri had grown up with only his father and a bunch of talking dolls for company.

 

“Generally, when welcoming guests, polite practice is for the host to bring everyone to a place with sufficient comfortable seating to accommodate everyone present and to provide drinks and snacks of some kind. Generally, this means tea and sweets,” Sasuke explained. “I have tea and sweets to contribute, if you will provide us with seating.”

 

“Okay!” Toneri said.

 

First Sasuke had to get a warbling white-eye to help him retrieve his stash of enclosure tags.

 

“Hello!” Satori said. “I’m Satori!”

 

“Hello!” Toneri said, swaying towards where Satori sat on Sasuke’s finger.

 

“Is it alright if Satori-san touches you?” Sasuke asked.

 

“How?” Toneri asked, drawing back a step.

 

“She could sit on your finger,” Sasuke said.

 

“I won’t if you’re scared,” Satori said.

 

“I’m not scared,” Toneri said, coming forward a few steps. “I want to touch the bird!”

 

“Their name is, ‘Satori,’” Sasuke repeated. “You must be respectful and gentle. They are very delicate and could be injured or killed if you aren’t careful.”

 

“Okay,” Toneri said eagerly. “I’ll be very careful with Satori-san!”

 

“Hold out your hand and stick out your pointer finger,” Satori said.

 

When Satori had perched themself on Toneri’s finger, Sasuke became quite nervous. He really hoped Toneri wouldn’t attack them.

 

“You’re so small!” Toneri remarked.

 

“And you’re so big! I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you, Toneri-kun!” Satori said.

 

“Really?” Toneri asked, sounding overawed.

 

“Yes!” Satori confirmed.

 

It was probably fine, Sasuke decided, so he returned to the task at hand. Finding the right tag in his stash, Sasuke unsealed what he needed. Next, using a little Fire Release chakra, he heated a kettle of water in his hand, made a pot of green tea for everyone, and served out the last of his chocolate truffles and with some raspberries. They had gone over well with Kakashi, so they were probably fine to serve to other people.

 

“What are these?” Hikari asked.

 

“Chocolate truffles,” Sasuke said.

 

“Like chocolate cake?” Hikari asked interestedly.

 

Sasuke nodded and, as Hikari took one and popped it in her mouth, he watched her curiously to see her reaction. She frowned.

 

“It’s a little bitter on the outside!” Hikari said, disapprovingly.

 

Sasuke snorted happily.

 

“That’s the cocoa powder,” he said fondly.

 

“I liked the cake better,” Hikari said.

 

Toneri took one and took a small bite of it.

 

“I like them,” Toneri said. “I haven’t had chocolate in a long time.”

 

“How long?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Since my dad last took me to Earth,” Toneri said. “I was eight. I’m eleven now,” Toneri said. “How old are you?”

 

“I’m forty-five,” Satori said. Toneri looked surprised.

 

“I’m twelve and Hikari-chan is thirteen,” Sasuke said. “Let me introduce us properly. My name is Uchiha Sasuke and she is Uchiha Hikari. We’re very pleased to meet you.”

 

“I’m pleased to meet you, too!” Toneri said. “Earth people haven’t ever come here since the founding!”

 

“Is that so?” Sasuke asked, as he poured tea for the group. He hadn’t expected that. Surely some new people had come in the last thousand years, if only so that the inhabitants could avoid marrying their cousins. Then again, hadn’t the Americas been populated by a relatively small number of people crossing the Bering land bridge?

 

“You know, you’re supposed to tell us your name in return, Moon boy,” Hikari said.

 

“Oh, right! Dad told me that! My name is Otsutsuki Toneri!” Toneri said enthusiastically. “I’ve never introduced myself to someone before!”

 

“Sasuke-kun didn’t tell me your eyes had been taken out,” Hikari said. “How did that happen to you?”

 

“Oh,” Toneri said, touching his face. “That’s right. Earth people don’t do that, right? Our eyes are taken at birth to add to Otsutsuki Hamura’s Tenseigan.”

 

“That’s horrible!” Hikari said. “What’s the Tenseigan?”

 

“The energy vessel,” Toneri said. “It maintains life here.”

 

“Hamura intended it to be used to help life on Earth, but I don’t know if that’s necessary,” Sasuke said. “It would be a shame to let this place die.”

 

“No,” Toneri corrected quickly, shaking his head. “That’s not right! It was intended to be used to punish Earth for misusing charka!”

 

Sasuke ate a raspberry as he chose his words.

 

“I said I had some knowledge of the future,” Sasuke said. “Remember?”

 

“Yes!” Toneri confirmed.

 

“In the story of this world, after you were defeated, the Tenseigan was destroyed, and all life on the Moon was extinguished, Hamura actually came back from the dead just to tell you off for trying to kill everyone,” Sasuke said. “In death, as in life, mass murder wasn’t something he condoned. He locked his own mother away to stop her from killing people. Do you really think that he would be so much more approving of you killing people, just because you disagree with how they use their chakra?”

 

“It’s not me who disagrees with it! It’s Hamura-sama!” Toneri said.

 

“And you were a total hypocrite about it, too,” Sasuke continued ruthlessly, ignoring Toneri’s assertion. “You thought that using chakra for violence was immoral, but you did it yourself over and over again. You didn’t even stand by your own convictions. You failed to live up to your own moral standards.” Real anger burned in Sasuke’s chest at this personal failure of the original Toneri.

 

“However, even if mass murder was something Hamura wanted, you still shouldn’t do it, because it’s despicable. That was why the whole world wanted you dead. Because you were trying to do something evil to them.”

 

“The… The whole world?” Toneri asked.

 

“Everyone hated you,” Sasuke said. “Hinata-chan, in particular, was really angry at you.”

 

“I… No, I…” Toneri said, looking lost.

 

“That… is what would have happened, but you don’t have to worry about that anymore, because we’re here to help,” Sasuke said. “We’re going to teach you about your future and how you can avoid it.” He ate a truffle and sipped his tea. “To begin with, let me introduce you to the concept of ‘consent.’ Now, imagine you’re serving tea…”

 

-

 

Toneri accepted Sasuke’s story of reincarnation readily and was full of questions about the future, his in particular. He accepted Sasuke’s story so readily, that it actually made Sasuke worry. Toneri seemed like the kind of person who would fall for a Nigerian prince scam. The poor kid might end up in a weird cult if Sasuke didn’t keep a close eye on him and teach him to be a bit less credulous.

 

The small party eventually paused their discussion to have a proper lunch when the truffles and raspberries ran out. At least, Sasuke assumed it was lunch; there was no way to tell time inside the fake sun. The sky resolutely remained an army green color. Toneri’s puppets served them koi over rice. They even made some popcorn for Satori and Sasuke summoned a few more warbling white-eyes to partake. Toneri was positively enthralled by the birds and, smiling broadly, chatted with them all through the meal. Sasuke didn’t try to reclaim his attention. They had all the time in the world to lead Toneri away from his villainous path. They could afford to take a break.

 

When the fourth helping of popcorn was gone, everyone went to use the restroom. It was Hikari’s first experience of indoor plumbing, which was made less awkward by her complete lack of embarrassment about such bodily functions.

 

“In my cell, I had to shit in a bucket with a lid,” Hikari explained, making Sasuke tense. “So, this is a nice improvement.”

 

“Yeah, indoor plumbing’s great,” Sasuke said mechanically.

 

“In my time, the untouchables would come and collect it all from the clan every day to sell it to the farmers for their fields,” Hikari said. “Where does it go in this?”

 

“Probably a septic tank,” Sasuke speculated. “Then, maybe to the fields or forests.”

 

“If Toneri-kun’s all alone here,” Hikari said. “Who does the farming? Who empties his septic tank? The puppets?”

 

“I guess,” Sasuke said.

 

“Free labor,” Hikari observed. “Nice.”

 

“I’ll be waiting outside the door,” Sasuke said.

 

“Mn!” Hikari said.

 

Sasuke stood outside the door and thought about all the technology he’d need to introduce Hikari to. There were fridges, fans, lights, radios, washing machines… Maybe he should rent a house somewhere and take a few months to familiarize her with modern life. That would give her the opportunity to meet more people and make some friends, too. If they chose a large enough town, Sasuke would be able to hire her a tutor or enroll her in classes. Maybe they should stay in the capital for a while. That situation would benefit Toneri, too, if he decided to come with them.

 

Sasuke crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. Toneri was really too naïve. He’d need an escort until he wised up.

 

Of course, a Hyuuga might spot them if they stayed in the capital of Fire. Perhaps the capital of Hot Water or even the capital of Earth would be good. Actually, the capital of the Land of Demons would take much longer to get to, as the continent the Land of Demons was on was thrice as far to the east as Earth was to the west, but that distance would mean better insulation. Akatsuki didn’t have any business there and that location was only featured in a single movie. Of course, it was only featured, because Konoha had business there.

 

On the other hand, Demons had a special demon-sealing method, didn’t they? That might come in handy against Black Zetsu. He was the “son” of an alien, but he was created from that alien’s will, rather than her lady bits, which sounded pretty demonic to Sasuke. Black Zetsu was essentially a malevolent force, wasn’t he? Maybe that made him a demon.

 

Before Sasuke could ponder more on the subject of what made a demon demonic, Hikari emerged from the bathroom and they returned to their discussion with Toneri.

 

“You guys are going to love it here!” Toneri said. “We can go swimming together! Then, when fall comes, we can collect nuts together and roast sweet potatoes! And snow is so much fun to play in! I like to make big tunnels with the puppets!”

 

“Toneri-san,” Sasuke said.

 

“You can use ‘kun,’ if you want,” Toneri said.

 

“Toneri-kun,” Sasuke said. “We are happy to stay for a while, but we can’t stay forever.”

 

“You’re going to leave?” Toneri asked. “But I thought you came here to help me!”

 

“We are here to help you,” Sasuke said. “And we hope you’ll come with us when we leave.”

 

Toneri fell silent.

 

“Toneri-kun,” Sasuke said. “May I put my hand on your shoulder?”

 

“I guess,” Toneri said quietly.

 

“Okay,” Sasuke said, laying a hand slowly and gently on Toneri’s shoulder. “I know you want to do the right thing, do your family’s duty, to protect your family’s legacy, but all of this will still be here, waiting for you, if you decide to come with us. You don’t have to be alone while you stand guard.

 

“Humans aren’t meant to be alone. You may have your puppets, but they aren’t enough. Fantasy can help, but it can’t cure loneliness. I know,” Sasuke said. He took a bracing breath.

 

“I was left alone after my family died and it broke me. Now, I have my summons, the rodents and the warbling white-eyes, and Hikari-san. I still talk to my parents sometimes. I imagine they’re still with me and it helps. It helps, but it’s not the same, because I know they aren’t real. People need people.

 

“Please, come with us. Be our brother and we will be siblings to you in return,” Sasuke said, the delicate words spoken so softly that they were hardly more than a whisper. “You’ll only suffer alone.”

 

“I miss my dad,” Toneri confessed sadly.

 

“I miss mine, too,” Sasuke said.

 

Without reservation, Toneri wrapped his arms around Sasuke in a hug. Wondering at how Toneri being so eager for a hug from a relative stranger, Sasuke hugged him back.

 

“Would you like some time to think about it?” Sasuke asked.

 

“I want to stay with you guys,” Toneri said into Sasuke’s collar.

 

“We’d be happy to have you,” Sasuke said. “How do you feel about joining the Uchiha Clan?”

 

“… I don’t know,” Toneri said. “What does joining the Uchiha mean?”

 

“It means protection,” Sasuke said firmly, his grip on Toneri tightening. “Yours and ours. You have to protect the clan and everyone in it and we all have to protect you, too. Because we’re a clan of two, three if you join, each member is very precious. We can’t allow anyone to be killed or left behind. Anyone can choose to leave, but no one can be stolen from us.” Sasuke thoughtlessly wrapped a possessive hand around the back of Toneri’s head.

 

“That sounds nice,” Toneri said.

 

“It’s a dangerous proposition,” Sasuke admitted. “There are terrible people out there who would do us harm. By calling yourself one of us, they would come after you, too. You might not be an Uchiha by blood, but you have a doujutsu that puts you at risk, if word of it ever gets out. We all have to keep our identities secret.”

 

“I don’t have a doujutsu, though. I had one when I was born, but not anymore,” Toneri said, drawing back. “My eyes were removed.”

 

“Your testicles weren’t,” Sasuke said bluntly. Then, he explained about Hinata’s kidnapping and the value of bloodlines.

 

“I should kill the Raikage for what he did to Hinata-hime!” Toneri seethed.

 

“That’s a bad idea,” Sasuke said. “He’s too strong for you and so are the hundreds of loyal ninjas who would kill you to protect him.”

 

“But he could do it again!” Toneri said vehemently. “She must have been so scared! Was she hurt? I can’t let him get away with it!”

 

Sasuke sighed.

 

“May I touch your shoulders?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Yes,” Toneri said. Sasuke took Toneri by the shoulders firmly.

 

“Vengeance is fine for them who can afford it,” Sasuke said. “But that’s not us. Survival is our all we can hope for. Survival of body, and memory, and spirit. Let me tell you about the Uchiha Massacre.”

 

“I know about that,” Toneri said.

 

“There are things you will need to know if you’re going to be traveling with Hikari-chan and I, even if you decide not to join our family,” Sasuke said.

 

“Okay,” Toneri said.

 

Sasuke told Toneri the whole sordid tale.

 

“Let’s kill them,” Toneri snarled. “Starting with Danzo! Let’s kill them all! How dare they?!”

 

“We don’t need that,” Sasuke said, privately gladdened by his automatic defense of Sasuke’s people. “We need to survive. We’re going to stay far away from Konoha while we build up our strength. Then, we go somewhere Konoha will never find us.”

 

“You could stay here!” Toneri said passionately. “It’s safe here! Really! You made it through, but people who come here usually just die! Nobody can find us!”

 

“It’s also empty,” Sasuke thought. He wanted to avoid other ninjas, but he didn’t want his clan to be raised in a cloister either. He wouldn’t establish a home in this fish bowl unless he had no other choice.

 

“Perhaps we will one day,” Sasuke said. “Thanks for the offer.”

 

“Why not now?” Toneri said.

 

“There are more people who need help,” Sasuke said.

 

“People with bad futures, like mine?” Toneri said.

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said. “There are people in even more dire and difficult straits than you are.”

 

“Then why did you come to me before rescuing them?” Toneri asked.

 

“Your problem was simple; I just had to tell you the truth, so you could make better decisions,” Sasuke said.

 

“Is it going to be harder to help the others?” Toneri asked.

 

“It will be worth it,” Sasuke said. “They are worth helping. Even if they don’t join our clan, they aren’t bad people.”

 

“Okay,” Toneri said. “I want to join your clan.”

 

“Uchiha Toneri, welcome to the family,” Sasuke said. “As the head of this clan, I swear to look after you, both of you.”

 

“Me, too!” Toneri said. “I’ll look after you guys, too!”

 

“Me, too,” Hikari said. “Where are we going next?”

 

Sasuke pulled out the map.

 

“We’re only a day or two away from Kusagakure,” Sasuke said. “I wonder…”

 

“That’s a ninja village, right?” Hikari said uncertainly. “Aren’t we supposed to be avoiding those?”

 

“Yes, but…” Sasuke said.

 

“Someone has entered the passageway,” Toneri said suddenly.

 

“What?” Sasuke said.

 

“I have a lookout puppet in the Earth-side entrance of the cave. Someone, three people and a dog, have entered the passageway that leads to us,” Toneri said.

 

Three people?! No way!

 

“No!” Sasuke said, jumping to his feet.

 

“They followed you!” Hikari said, obviously coming to the same conclusion.

 

“Let me focus on them,” Toneri said.

 

-

 

The sun had been getting low when Team Seven arrived at their destination. With Pakkun’s assistance, they had immediately found Sasuke’s trail and the entrance to a cave it disappeared into. Kakashi summoned the other dogs away from their search and sent them back to Konoha to rest.

 

“Why is that water glowing?” Naruto asked crouching over it. Kakashi wished he weren’t standing so close to it.

 

“It’s not water,” Pakkun said, following the trail to the liquid’s edge.

 

“What is it?” Naruto asked, poking it.

 

“It smells like chakra,” Pakkun said. “The trail enters the surface here.”

 

“This must be what Sasuke-kun was looking for,” Sakura said. “Could it be a passageway? If we swim in it, will we find him on the other side?”

 

“I’m going in,” Kakashi said. “You two wait here.”

 

“Now way!” Naruto said. “We want to find him, too, you know?! Why should we wait here?!”

 

“We aren’t helpless, Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura said. “When you fought Zabuza, if you had allowed us to fight from the beginning, we might have won more quickly and without causing you to exhaust yourself.”

 

“Your safety is my responsibility,” Kakashi said sternly.

 

“We know,” Sakura said. “We also know we’ve survived two battles with three older and more experienced ninjas. That wasn’t all Sasuke-kun.”

 

“That’s right!” Naruto said. “I came up with the plan to fight Zabuza and Sakura got him good! And so did I! Did you see me? I was hiding until the right moment to attack, just like you and Zabuza did! I’m basically a genius of battle strategy! If you leave me behind, you’ll definitely regret it.”

 

“You can’t exactly keep an eye on us if you aren’t here, either. I know you’re worried we can’t handle it, but we’re in this together,” Sakura said. “Let us come with you, Kakashi-sensei.”

 

Kakashi sighed and rubbed his eye. There wasn’t time to argue and the girl had a point.

 

“Alright,” he yielded.

 

“Yahoo!” Naruto said, jumping into the air. He hugged Kakashi tightly.

 

Kakashi laid a hand on Naruto’s shoulder and then returned his hug.

 

“Company!” Pakkun shouted, whirling to growl at a spot in the darkness. Kakashi and the kids drew kunai and faced the direction Pakkun was pointing. Kakashi directed chakra to his nose so he could get a clearer picture of what he was facing.

 

There, in the dark, was a space that smelled faintly, very faintly, of horsehair, cotton, and… ceramic paint. He couldn’t see it, but it had to be a ninja puppet. Someone had placed a puppet here, which meant that they were watching.

 

When nothing moved for several tense minutes, Kakashi spoke up.

 

“Well?” Kakashi said, “Is this going to take all day?”

 

“Who are you?” a young voice said. It sounded like a boy. It echoed from all around them, so the location of the speaker couldn’t be readily identified, even though Kakashi knew it must be coming from the doll. Where did its strings lead? He couldn’t smell anyone else in the cave.

 

“We’re Team Seven of Konoha,” Kakashi said. “We’re looking for our teammate.”

 

“He doesn’t want to see you,” the voice said.

 

“So,” Kakashi thought, “Sasuke-kun is still here.”

 

“That’s so cold. That really hurts my feelings,” Kakashi said blandly. “Still, we aren’t leaving here without him.”

 

“You can’t have him!” the voice shouted. “He’s mine!”

 

“Fuck off!” Naruto shouted. “He’s not yours! He’s ours!”

 

“Yeah!” Sakura shouted.

 

“We’ll just go on through and collect him then, shall we?” Kakashi said.

 

“The path is guarded against people like you,” the voice said arrogantly. “Enter and die!”

 

Kakashi body flickered behind where he thought the puppet was and stabbed it with a kunai. When he hit it, whatever concealment it was under broke and so did the puppet, the porcelain white shards of it scattering over the floor. Naruto and Sakura gasped at the sight of it.

 

… And Kakashi had almost left Sakura and Naruto here alone with it.

 

“We’ll take our chances,” Kakashi said to the puppet’s remains. “Let’s go for a swim.”

 

-

“Where are you going?” Hikari asked.

 

“I can’t let them die,” Sasuke said, hurrying out of the room.

 

“So, what are you going to do?” Hikari asked.

 

“I have to go stop that crab from eating them!” Sasuke said.

 

“Monban-sama will leave them alone if I ask,” Toneri said.

 

“Would you please?” Sasuke requested, drawing up short and causing Toneri to knock into his back.

 

“Certainly,” Toneri said. “… Done.”

 

“Thanks,” Sasuke said.

 

“Really?” Hikari asked.

 

“I just told one of my puppets to tell Monban-sama to let them through,” Toneri said. “Wouldn’t it be better to kill them, though? They’re coming here to take you away.”

 

“I don’t want them to die,” Sasuke said.

 

“They’ll never guess that we’re inside the sun,” Hikari said. “We could just wait for them to give up and go away.”

 

Now there was an idea… But, no, it wouldn’t work. The rest of Team Seven would leave… And then they would come back with reinforcements. Somebody would figure out that Sasuke’s group was up here eventually. In the meantime, Sasuke’s clan would be trapped in this place.

 

“I have to talk to them,” Sasuke said. “Convince them to let me go somehow.”

 

“Can you?” Hikari asked. “They’ve been chasing you for days.”

 

“I don’t know,” Sasuke said. “But we can’t wait them out. They’ll tell the rest of Konoha about this place.”

 

“Would that be such a bad thing?” Toneri asked. “I mean, it’s always been a secret, but having people visit more seems like it could be a good thing…”

 

“Konoha can’t be trusted,” Sasuke said. “They can’t ever learn about the Energy Vessel. They would use it to gain control over more people. This place needs to be kept secret.”

 

“Sounds to me like the people who followed you need to die,” Hikari said.

 

“No!” Sasuke said.

 

“Alright,” Hikari said, holding up her hands. “So, what are you going to tell them? Will they let you go if you explain about your family? About what Konoha did?”

 

Sasuke considered it. Would they?

 

… No. The truth hadn’t been enough to get them to let him go in the story. Kakashi hadn’t even believed it, at least at first. Why would it work here? Sasuke glowered and shook his head.

 

“Why did they follow me?” Sasuke asked angrily, balling his fists. “Why did they have to ruin everything?!”

 

“Hey, how about this?” Hikari said, drawing Sasuke’s gaze to her face. “I could erase their memories of you and this place,” Hikari suggested.

 

Sasuke considered it. That could very well work, so long as no one else know they’d come here.

 

“I have another idea,” Satori said.

 

-

 

Kakashi scrubbed his shaking hands and arms under the faucet.

 

He scrubbed and scrubbed.

 

And he kept scrubbing.

 

It would have to come off eventually. He needed it off. It had to come off. He’d wiped Rin’s blood off and washed his hands several times before he and Minato had returned to Konoha, but he could still feel it. He could still feel the inside of her body around his arm.

 

He could get if off. He just needed to keep scrubbing.

 

He had killed Rin.

 

He hadn’t meant to, but Rin had thrown herself in the path of his Chidori, and he had killed her. He had killed Rin. Rin was dead, just like Obito was dead, just like Kakashi’s father was dead. Three dead bodies, all because Kakashi hadn’t been good enough, hadn’t ever been good enough. He was never going to be good enough. Everyone was going to die.

 

Kakashi took an agonized breath.

 

He needed to keep scrubbing.

 

Kakashi scrubbed, and scrubbed, and scrubbed.

 

-

 

“Sensei!”

Kakashi opened his eye to see Sakura hovering over him. She was threading her chakra into the exposed skin of his wrist.

 

“Sensei, come on! Please!” Sakura begged.

 

“What?” Kakashi asked. “A genjutsu?” Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Kakashi.

 

“I’m going to help Naruto-kun now,” Sakura said.

 

Kakashi grunted in affirmation and sat up. Then, he reached up to rub the back of his neck and found his hand trembling.

 

“How?” Kakashi asked. He looked around and saw that they were in a translucent green sphere. “That’s right. It caught us.”

 

“Huh?” Naruto asked. “Sakura-chan?”

 

“Are you guys awake now? Don’t ever do that to me again!” Sakura scolded. “I was so worried about you two! I’d only ever read about breaking a genjutsu with chakra! I’ve never actually done it before! What would I have done if it hadn’t worked? What if I hadn’t done it right?”

 

“The genjutsu didn’t get you, Sakura-chan?” Naruto asked, scrubbing tears from his face.

 

“Genjutsu have never really worked on me,” Sakura said with a shrug. “I’ve always been able to tell when something was wrong with my chakra flow.”

 

Kakashi chuckled and patted her on the head. What incredible chakra control this girl had.

 

“Good work, Sakura-chan,” Kakashi praised her. “Who knows how long we would have been trapped there, if you hadn’t been with us.”

 

“Yeah,” Naruto said, sounding dispirited. “Thanks, Sakura-chan. You’re amazing.”

 

“What’s wrong?” Kakashi asked.

 

Naruto shook his head.

 

“Just… That genjutsu, you know?” Naruto said softly, rubbing his eyes.

 

Yeah, Kakashi knew. That emotions that genjutsu evoked clung to Kakashi like a bad smell. He looked out into the space around them. More spheres, like the one that had trapped them, swum through the space. When they left, they were very likely to be caught in another one. They had already passed several, so they might be struck again, even if they retreated. Kakashi frowned. He never wanted to experience that genjutsu again. He could avoid the bubbles, but the genin couldn’t. Well, maybe Sakura could, but Naruto certainly couldn’t. Could Kakashi swim fast enough while carrying Naruto? Maybe if Naruto held onto his back.

 

“Okay,” Kakashi said, raising his forehead protector and opening Obito’s eye. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”

 

-

 

“Everyone clear on the plan?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Got it,” Hikari said.

 

“Got it!” Toneri said.

 

“Then, let’s get you packed, Toneri-kun,” Hikari said.

 

“No need. I’ll have the puppets pack a travel bag for me,” Toneri said. “I’m sorry we couldn’t stay longer. I wanted to show you guys around.”

 

“We’ll come back some day,” Sasuke promised. “We should find a way to teleport here, so we don’t have to go through Fire over and over again.”

 

“Hey, I know!” Toneri said, grinning widely. “Let’s go outside!”

 

“Outside where?” Hikari asked.

 

“Outside-outside!” Toneri said.

 

-

 

“We made it!” Naruto said, disengaging from Kakashi, who crouched so Naruto could get down easily.

 

“Yeah!” Sakura said.

 

“Hey! Look guys! Look at these crystals!” Naruto shouted, running off. “They’re so big! They’re even bigger than my apartment! How did they get so big? Did you know crystals could get this big?”

 

“No!” Sakura said, looking around in awe.

 

Kakashi looked around with Obito’s eye, seeking enemies in the dark, and his gaze swept across a second puppet watching them from the shadows. It didn’t seem inclined to approach, so Kakashi kept looking, trying to see how many more there were, but only spotted the one. That didn’t mean there weren’t others, but it did mean that only one of them was watching his Team.

 

It also meant that whoever was controlling the puppets had gotten here before them. He could no more find them in this section of the cave then he could in the first room, even with Obito’s eye, which was a bad sign. They must be a very stealthy person.

 

“To have set up genjutsu traps,” Kakashi said. “That sort of thing might be difficult to break without a Sharingan.”

 

“But I did it,” Sakura said. “It wasn’t that hard.”

 

“You are something else,” Kakashi said, patting her on the head. “That genjutsu was good enough to trap me. Even without using this Sharingan, I’m able to see through and get myself out of most genjutsu. The fact that I couldn’t means that it was a very strong one.”

 

Never mind getting out of it, Kakashi hadn’t noticed that he was in a genjutsu in the first place, so he never even tried to get himself out. He might really have died in that bubble if Sakura hadn’t saved him.

 

“Looks like there’s another pool we have to swim through,” Naruto said. “I bet this one has genjutsu bubbles, too.”

 

Kakashi agreed.

 

-

 

The enormous black bird puppets of the Otsutsuki each wore a red cap, that draped down their backs like a cape, and dragged on the floor beyond their tail feathers. Toneri selected one to travel with and Sasuke, even knowing that it was only a puppet, reached out and petted its wing.

 

“These are so cool,” Hikari said. Sasuke quite agreed.

 

“Come on!” Toneri said, patting the space behind him. “Climb up!”

 

Sasuke and Hikari hopped up behind Toneri, attached themselves with chakra, and held on tight as the bird puppet took off. Together, the three flew out of the aviary, out of the artificial sun, and back down to the earth. They landed in a deserted city with a high tower. Toneri raced inside this tower and down the dark staircase contained within. Sasuke and Hikari followed after him.

 

Eventually, they came to a door in the floor.

 

-

 

“One more evil genjutsu pond defeated!” Naruto crowed. “Yeah! Who’s read for the next one?”

 

“You didn’t do anything but hold onto Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura grumbled.

 

“You know, I thought that one bubble back there was really going to get us!” Naruto said. “It was, like, chasing us!”

 

“That was scary,” Sakura admitted. “We had to do so much dodging. That stuff is so weird. It feels like water, but then it doesn’t leave you wet. Pakkun-san said it smelled like chakra. How can you make chakra do that? How much chakra would you need to use to make two lakes of that stuff?”

 

“Got something more to tell us?” Kakashi asked the puppet that the kids didn’t seem to have noticed yet. This one wasn’t concealed in the way the first one was, so Kakashi assumed its appearance was intentional.

 

“Huh?” Naruto asked.

 

“You should go back,” the puppet said, emerging from the shadows to speak with that same echoing voice. “Don’t go any further.”

 

“Does Sasuke-kun know we’re here?” Sakura asked. “Have you told him?”

 

“He doesn’t want you to be killed,” the puppet said, sounding put out about it. “For his sake, you should go back the way you came. And forget about this place, too.”

 

“We beat your stupid trap!” Naruto said. “We aren’t about to give up and you can’t make us!”

 

“You aren’t wanted,” the puppet said. “You’re ruining everything.”

 

“What are we ruining?” Kakashi asked. “Why is Sasuke-kun here?”

 

“He’s here to help me,” the puppet said.

 

“Help you how?” Kakashi asked. “Do you need assistance in some way?”

 

“We can help you, too,” Sakura said. “You just have to take us to Sasuke-kun and we’ll do everything we can to help solve your problem.”

 

“You guys are just causing problems,” the puppet said. “You aren’t here to help anyone. Be quiet and go away! I’m not supposed to be talking with ninjas anyway.”

 

“Why can’t you talk to ninjas?” Naruto asked.

 

“Um, I’m not supposed to talk about it!” the puppet said. “Just go away!”

 

“Look,” Sakura said, holding out Sasuke’s backpack. “We have his stuff. We need to return it to him.”

 

“… Fine,” the puppet said. “Give it to me and go.”

 

“No,” Sakura said. “How do I know you’ll give it to him? I’ll only hand it over to Sasuke-kun.”

 

“Then keep it,” the puppet said. “I can give him anything he needs.”

 

“How generous. Is Sasuke-kun your friend?” Kakashi asked.

 

“We’re brothers,” Toneri said proudly.

 

“… In what way?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Um…” the puppet said.

 

“What?!” Naruto shouted. “Are you lying?! Sasuke only has one brother and that guy’s evil!”

 

“I’m not lying!” the puppet said.

 

“Are you Itachi?” Naruto demanded.

 

“No!” the puppet said.

 

“Did he say you were brothers?” Naruto asked skeptically. “Did Sasuke actually say that you were brothers? With his own mouth?”

 

“Yes!” the puppet said.

 

Kakashi was getting the impression that this person was either younger than he sounded or unusually immature.

 

“No way! That’s not fair!” Naruto exclaimed.

 

… Although whether the puppet master or Naruto was the most immature was up for debate.

 

“Sasuke-kun looks out for other people, doesn’t he?” Kakashi said. “He’s good at that.”

 

“Except when he’s abandoning you,” Naruto grumbled. Kakashi waved a hand at Naruto.

 

“He takes care of others. Did you need taking care of?” Kakashi asked.

 

“… Yes,” the puppet said.

 

“What happened to you?” Kakashi asked.

 

“… I don’t want to talk to you guys anymore,” the puppet said. “Just go away.”

 

-

 

“Oh, wow,” Satori said softly from where she sat on Toneri’s shoulder.

 

“Is that…?” Hikari asked quietly.

 

“Yeah,” Sasuke whispered.

 

“Isn’t it neat out here?” Toneri said. “Nothing lives out here, but I like it. I come out here just to sit sometimes. The sound of the wind over the rocks is so pure. You can’t hear anything else out here.”

 

“Toneri-kun,” Sasuke whispered, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight.

 

“Yes?” Toneri asked.

 

“Thank you,” Sasuke said.

 

“Yes, thank you, Toneri-kun,” Satori said.

 

“I’m glad you like it!” Toneri said happily.

 

“You should summon the others,” Hikari said faintly.

 

“Summon everyone. Tell them all to come and see,” Satori said.

 

“Yeah,” Sasuke said, still enraptured by the sight of the Earth on the horizon. Sasuke activated his Sharingan.

 

-

 

Kakashi led the team up the cave tunnel, jumping from crystal to crystal. When they made it to the mouth of the cave, Kakashi squinted in the bright daylight and looked around.

 

… And promptly freaked the fuck out, because the largest fiddler crab he’d ever seen was staring at him from way closer than he was comfortable with.

 

“Shit!” Kakashi said, snatching the kids up and racing back into the cave. Kakashi ran like hell back the way they had come. He was preparing to dive back into the “evil genjutsu pond,” as Naruto had put it, when he noticed no sounds of pursuit.

 

When half an hour passed without incident, Kakashi left the kids behind with Pakkun and cautiously returned to the cave’s exit. For a while Kakashi just kept an eye on the crab as he slowly left the cave.

 

“Yo,” Kakashi said to the crab.

 

“Yo,” the crab said, its voice deep and booming.

 

“Are you going to attack me?” Kakashi asked.

 

“No,” the crab said.

 

“Cool,” Kakashi said. “We’re just going to go through, then.”

 

“OK,” the crab said.

 

Kakashi went back without taking his eyes off the crab and got the kids.

 

“It can talk!” Naruto shouted. “We heard it talk! I want to talk to the crab! Let’s see what it knows about Sasuke!”

 

Kakashi shrugged helplessly. Might as well, he thought. When they returned to the surface, Naruto talked to the crab.

 

“Hey, you!” Naruto shouted. “Crab!”

 

“Hm?” the crab hummed.

 

“Have you seen Sasuke?” Naruto asked. “We’re looking for him.”

 

“… A couple humans passed through earlier,” the crab said.

 

“Was one of them a boy my age with black hair?” Naruto asked.

 

The crab bubbled for a bit.

 

“What’s a ‘boy?’” the crab asked finally.

 

Naruto made a face of disbelief and then confusion. Kakashi wondered how you would even begin to explain what a “boy” was to a giant fiddler crab. Everyone fell silent. Then, the crab cackled dryly, making a sound like an avalanche.

 

“You should see your face,” the crab said. He cackled again.

 

“That’s not funny!” Naruto shouted. “We’re looking for our friend! Have you seen him or not?”

 

“Nope,” the crab said.

 

“Are you messing with me?!” Naruto shouted.

 

“Yep,” the crab said.

 

“I’m going to put you in a hotpot!” Naruto screamed.

 

The crab cackled even louder this time.

 

“Please,” Sakura said, holding Naruto back from attacking the giant crab. “Have you seen him? Is he okay? Is he hurt? Did he look scared?”

 

“He’s fine,” the crab said.

 

“Which way did he go?” Sakura asked.

 

“Who?” the crab asked.

 

“Sasuke-kun! Which way did Sasuke-kun go?” Sakura asked.

 

“I ate him,” the crab said.

 

“WHAT?!” Sakura screamed.

 

“I missed lunch,” the crab said. “I was feeling peckish.”

 

“It’s hotpot time,” Sakura growled, so now Kakashi had to hold back both of the kids by the collar.

 

Pakkun, who had been sniffing around, called out to Kakashi.

 

“The trail ends right at the mouth of the cave,” Pakkun said. “I can’t smell anything else but crab on these rocks.”

 

“DID YOU ACTUALLY EAT HIM?!” Sakura screamed furiously at the crab, kicking out at it while Kakashi held her in midair.

 

The crab guffawed, but Kakashi wasn’t paying attention. His eyes were on the horizon. Rather, his eyes were above the horizon. Where the horizon should have been was more land and water. The earth curled up at the edges and rose into the sky. Kakashi followed it up. He looked up, and up, and up, and still there was more earth to be seen. It was as if the world had been inverted. Up in the sky, between Kakashi and some foreign continent, hung the noonday sun.

 

“Pakkun!” Kakashi called. He turned and hurried up the mountain that the cave had exited, still keeping hold of Sakura and Naruto.

 

“Woah!” Naruto cried. “Where are we going?”

 

At the top, Kakashi put his students down and looked around the inside-out world. Sakura gasped and put her hands over her mouth.

 

“So,” Kakashi thought, “We’re on an island in the middle of an enormous lake inside the Earth… Or possibly a pocket dimension or some sort. No big deal. I’m a ninja. I’ve seen plenty of strange things. This is no big deal. No… Big… Deal…”

 

“Why do I keep being treated like luggage?” Naruto moaned.

 

“Naruto-kun, look!” Sakura said, pointing at the lack of a sky.

 

Naruto’s jaw dropped.

 

“Boss…” Pakkin said in awe.

 

“Where are we?” Kakashi asked aloud, trying not to panic.

 

The crab cackled again.

 

“Just now spotted it, did you?” he asked, before he started laughing again.

 

“Hey, what’s that?” Naruto asked. Kakshi looked over and saw that he was pointing at a black spot that was getting larger in the sky. Well, not the sky, because there was no sky, because this place was like a backwards genjutsu, but the area overhead and away from them. “Is it a bird?”

 

When the bird was close enough, Kakashi saw that it was carrying passengers.

 

“Sasuke!” Naruto screamed.

Notes:

Can anyone guess what Sasuke and his clan are going to do?

Sasuke, twirling, tossing his forehead protector to the wind, and singing, “The hills are alive with the sound of music!”

Kanzashi are hairpins. Hirauchi kanzashi are flat hairpins. Tsumami-zaiku are little fabric and glue sculptures that are sometimes worn in the hair.

I tried to figure out how a Sharingan would see through the giant Moon-crab’s genjutsu. I may be way off base. I’m not very confident in it. The crab’s genjutsu is a funny one. It doesn’t require the crab to generate a scenario to entrap the target, instead relying on the knowledge in the target’s own head. How does one see through the details of one’s own memories and imagination? The play of shadow and light would be perfect or categorically beneath the target’s notice, right? If they expected to see/hear/smell/touch/taste something, then it would be there, so long as the target could imagine/recall it. But, the Sharingan is supposed to see through genjutsus, so…

Did anyone else feel sorry for the crab in that Naruto movie? Summons are people, they have personhood, but he was treated like he was just a big crab, which is tragic. He was a lone sentinel for perhaps a thousand years. He may have been tasked with guarding the Moon by Hamura himself. Perhaps generations of Otsutsuki knew him and relied on him for protection and he gave his life guarding the last of them. Such a loyal crustation… He deserved better.

I’m actually really enjoying writing two different perspectives in this way. The two protagonists keep passing the baton, so I can do some of the time-skips without them feeling like time-skips and choosing who gets to be the POV character for a scene means I can be more deliberate with my writing choices.

Chapter 7: Truths, Secrets, and Lies

Summary:

… Not necessarily in that order. Sasuke and Kakashi have a conversation that doesn’t go the way either of them is expecting it to.

Notes:

So much talking in this one. It’s all talking. And chilling. There’s only talking and chilling here. I’m sorry. I tried to make do with less talking, but Team Seven just has so much to talk about, you know?

On the massive black bird sat Sasuke, a blonde girl, and a white-haired boy. Once the bird landed on the tongue of flat land emerging from the cave mouth, Sasuke immediately dismounted and Naruto ran up and embraced him, nearly knocking Sasuke over in his enthusiasm. Sakura also came up and hugged Sasuke tightly. For some reason, Sasuke looked absolutely shocked by this behavior. Kakashi gave the two other kids with Sasuke a quick glance and decided that they weren’t much of a threat, at least at the moment. The posture of all three was wary, but unthreatening.

 

“Sasuke! Are you alright?!” Naruto asked. “Why did you leave me behind, you bastard?! Running off like that! You’ve got a lot of nerve! Who are these guys?! Did they kidnap you?! Is that the girl who lured you away?! Were you looking for secret Uchiha treasures? What is this place? Why is it round?! What’s up with that giant bird? Have you seen this jerk crab?! It told us it ate you! Can you believe that?!” Naruto punched Sasuke in the arm. “Don’t you ever do that again, you bastard! You aren’t supposed to go with strangers! Who even are these guys?! One of them said that you were their brother! I’ve known you longer, though! You can’t be brothers with them unless you’re brothers with me!”

 

“You idiot, Sasuke!” Sakura cried, burying her face in his collar. “We were so worried! Are you hurt?”

 

Kakashi watched Sasuke’s mouth drop open in shock as he listened to the words flooding out of Naruto’s mouth. He kept glancing from Naruto to Sakura with that stupefied look, as if he really, truly, honestly had not expected his friends to miss him and worry about him. How dense was this kid?

 

“I’m fine,” Sasuke said, when he could get a word in edgewise. When Sakura’s shoulders started to shake with emotion, Sasuke looked panicked and patted her on the shoulder soothingly.

 

For a moment, Kakashi was greatly relieved to see and hear that Sasuke in one piece. Then, he was pissed.

 

“Do you have any idea what you put us through, running off like that?” Kakashi asked, keeping his posture relaxed and his voice calm through sheer force of will. “We’ve been following your trail for days.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Sasuke said, sounding more baffled than apologetic.

 

“’Sorry’ really isn’t going to cut it, Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi said. “You deserted your post, abandoned your teammates, and risked everyone’s lives, including our client’s. I need to know why.”

 

Sasuke’s face went shifty and Kakashi realized that whatever came out of Sasuke’s mouth next wouldn’t be the truth.

 

“I wanted to help Hikari-chan,” Sasuke said.

 

“This is Hikari-chan?” Kakashi asked glancing at the girl who had ridden in on the bird with Sasuke. She was blonde and blue-eyed and she wore ninja sandals. The easy way she dismounted from the bird marked her as a ninja, too. Civilians just couldn’t match ninja for the fluidity with which they moved through space.

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said.

 

“Why did she need your help?” Kakashi asked. What story did she spin to lure Sasuke away?

 

“She had been kidnapped,” Sasuke said.

 

“By whom?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Some ninjas,” Sasuke said. “I don’t know their names.”

 

Wow, that was weak. Sasuke was not a skilled liar.

 

“And you just happened to come across this scene?” Kakashi asked.

 

“No,” Sasuke said. The boy swallowed nervously, but otherwise kept his face placid. “I learned about her situation some time ago. That day in Wave was the first chance I got to set her free.”

 

“Why didn’t you ask us for help?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Why would you help me?” Sasuke asked.

 

Sasuke’s nonsensical response left Kakashi completely speechless. The rest of Team Sever, however, was not.

 

“Are you kidding?!” Naruto exploded. “Because you’re our teammate, our friend! We’re supposed to help each other out! And if some girl needs rescuing, then we want to help her, too! And why should you get to do a cool, fun, secret mission without us? I’m a great ninja, you know? I’m Hokage-caliber! If you had just asked me for help, instead of trying to do everything all by yourself, it would have been way easier!”

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Sakura said. “Of course we would have helped! You help us all the time! What were you thinking? If you had told us, we could probably have rescued Hikari-chan even sooner! How long was she held captive for?”

 

Sasuke looked away, but Hikari spoke up.

 

“Two-hundred years,” Hikari said. “At least that’s what it felt like. I’ve been imprisoned since my parents died. These absolute bastards kept me in a cell and only let me out to fight for them.”

 

“Seriously?!” Naruto said. “How awful! Where are they?!”

 

“Dead,” Hikari said with some satisfaction. That Kakashi believed. Whether or not Hikari had been held captive, people that this girl had disliked were definitely lying dead somewhere.

 

“Did Sasuke kill them for you?” Naruto asked. Kakashi looked at Sasuke’s face, but found no indication there either way.

 

“No,” Hikari said. “Does that pipsqueak look like he’s capable of killing someone?”

 

“Were you injured in the fight?” Sakura asked Sasuke worriedly.

 

“We didn’t have to fight,” Sasuke said.

 

“So how did you rescue this girl if you didn’t fight anyone?” Naruto asked.

 

“Stealth,” Sasuke said.

 

Kakashi reached the end of his patience. It was time to put this bullshit to bed.

 

“That’s a nice story,” Kakashi said. “Very heroic, Sasuke-kun. However, my nin-dogs didn’t find the scents of any humans, except the two of you, on that beach.” Hikari glared down at Pakkun and then crossed her arms and glared at the back of Sasuke’s head.

 

Sasuke said nothing.

 

“Where did you first meet Hikari-chan?” Kakashi asked.

 

“On that beach,” Sasuke said.

 

“So, you weren’t actually involved in any rescue, were you?” Kakashi asked.

 

“I was,” Sasuke said. It didn’t sound like a lie, but it didn’t fit with the rest of what Kakashi knew.

 

“These people who captured you, Hikari-chan,” Kakashi said. “The ones who made you fight for them. Do you know who they were?”

 

“No,” Hikari said. Kakashi didn’t hear a lie in her voice, but she might just be better at it than Sasuke was. That wasn’t a high bar to clear.

 

“Surely you must have gotten some indication of who they were,” Kakashi said. “Where were you being held captive? What country were you in?” Kakashi asked. When Hikari and Sasuke refused to speak, Kakashi tisked. “I think you’re lying to us.”

 

Hikari glared at Kakashi and, suddenly, he was strongly reminded of Sasuke. The girl kind of looked like Sasuke, now that he thought about it. When Sasuke took Hikari by the hand and pulled her closer, Kakashi compared their faces, feature by feature. If not for her blonde hair and blue eyes, the girl could have been Sasuke’s sister.

 

“Are you using a transformation technique to look like Sasuke-kun?” Kakashi asked. Sasuke’s brow twitched and Hikari… blushed?

 

“No,” she said fiercely.

 

“Cancel it,” Kakashi said.

 

The atmosphere instantly changed.

 

Kakashi had been a ninja since he was in small pants. His instincts where combat was concerned were spot on, because they had been honed through decades of experience. When Kakashi got the sense that he was about to be attacked, he was right and something unnamable about Sasuke, something in his posture or his expression or both, gave Kakashi the impression that the boy was on the verge of attacking him. It wasn’t killing intent, but it was close.

 

As Kakashi watched Sasuke’s face, the whites at the bottom of the boy’s eyes were revealed threateningly. Sasuke was actually willing to fight him over this, Kakashi realized.

 

“Why is she hiding her appearance?” Kakashi asked.

 

“… For her protection,” Sasuke said, trying to stare Kakashi down. “She isn’t a threat to you.”

 

“I could be,” Hikari muttered darkly.

 

“You think we might recognize her,” Kakashi said. “Or that we might report home to someone else who would recognize her.”

 

Kakashi prepared to switch positions with a rock not far away. It occurred to him that he’d also need to avoid looking Sasuke in the eye until he’d pulled up his forehead protector. After all, he had no idea whether Sasuke had unlocked his sharingan or not. The file said, “no,” and Kakashi had never seen him use it, but the file had proved insufficient before. There were to many unknowns in this situation for Kakashi to be careless. Sasuke might be just a green genin, but he was Itachi’s brother, with secrets to match. The world held its breath.

 

“You’re right,” Hikari said, jaw jutting out. “I’m in hiding from Konoha.” Kakashi saw Sasuke flinch, his face showing anxiety and surprise, his jaw clenching, and the hand holding Hikari’s visibly tightening.

 

“Don’t,” Sasuke said, but Kakashi didn’t know who he was speaking to. Did he want Hikari to stop talking or was he trying to keep Kakashi from reacting to this information?

 

“Are you a criminal? Were you in prison?” Sakura asked. “Is that why you were locked up?”

 

“No,” Hikari said.

 

Kakashi felt all the blood drain out of his face as the penny dropped. Danzo was at it again. This was Tenzou all over again. Kakashi looked from Sasuke’s sweating face, to Hikari’s aggressive one.

 

“Your juinjutsu removal research,” Kakashi said, causing Sasuke to frown. “Did you remove one from her?” Sasuke didn’t respond. “And you put those two enemy ninjas in enclosure tags,” Kakashi said. “Was that something you did for her, too?”

 

“What’s going on?” Naruto asked. “Guys?”

 

“Tell me what juinjutsu you were trying to remove,” Kakashi pressed.

 

“… What are you going to do?” Sasuke asked. “About us?”

 

Kakashi thought about this. Half a dozen answers and twice as many questions flew through his head. Finally, the right words came to the fore.

 

“I’ll have your back,” Kakashi said, making Sasuke look shocked again. What was with this kid? “I’ll protect you.”

 

“… I won’t give Hikari-chan up,” Sasuke said. “Or Toneri-kun. I’ve adopted them into my clan.”

 

“What?!” Naruto shouted. Sakura gasped and Kakashi nearly did too. That wasn’t something people usually did unless they were marrying someone in. Why had Sasuke done that?

 

“You won’t have to give them up,” Kakashi said. “You don’t have to run away, either. I won’t let Danzo hurt you. Is she still marked?” Sasuke gave Kakashi an assessing glare, but he wasn’t the one who answered.

 

“You really care about Sasuke-kun?” Hikari asked cautiously.

 

“Yes,” Kakashi said without hesitation.

 

“You care enough to defend him? To fight for him?” Hikari asked.

 

“Yes,” Kakashi said.

 

“Even against Danzo and the Hokage?” Hikari asked challengingly.

 

“The Hokage?” Kakashi repeated in surprise.

 

“Is that a ‘yes’ or a ‘no?’” Hikari demanded.

 

“… Yes,” Kakashi said. What could the Hokage possibly have done to these two?

 

Hikari watched Kakashi thoughtfully.

 

“If you betray us, I’ll kill you,” Hikari said. Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Let’s tell them.”

 

“No,” Sasuke said.

 

“Look, Satori-san was right,” Hikari said. “When the truth won’t work, you have to make something up. But you were wrong; they do care about you.”

 

Sasuke grimaced.

 

“This is your fault for not telling us that your teacher had a nin-dog. Let’s tell them the truth,” Hikari said.

 

“How much?” Sasuke asked quietly.

 

Hikari sighed.

 

“Tell them about Danzo, at least,” she said nonchalantly. “This one seems to already know that guy’s a bastard.” Sasuke frowned unwillingly and didn’t answer. Hikari sighed again, pulled on Sasuke’s hand, and pointed out towards the edge of the cliff. “Let’s go sit down. Come on, Toneri-kun.”

 

Everyone sat down on the ground together and waited for someone else to start talking.

 

“Alright, who’s Danzo?” Naruto asked.

 

“The Hokage’s right-hand man,” Kakashi said. “He used to be in charge of a section of ANBU, called, ‘Root.’ He’s dangerous and evil. By my lights, he should be in prison or executed.”

 

“So, he’s a really bad guy, huh? Why would the old man have a right-hand man like that?” Naruto asked.

 

“I have no idea,” Kakashi said honestly. He had no clue why the Hokage had allowed a man who had once tried to assassinate him go without punishment.

 

“Did this Danzo guy do something to you two?” Naruto asked Sasuke.

 

Sasuke looked at Hikari.

 

“I can’t do this for you,” Hikari said, shaking her head. “They’re your friends.”

 

“I noticed,” Sasuke said, rubbing his forehead.

 

“Oh,” Sakura said. “Would you like your forehead protector back? And I’ve got your backpack, too.” Sasuke took his things from her and sagged.

 

“How did this happen?” Sasuke asked himself quietly as he stared dispiritedly at the bag.

 

“We ran like hell to catch up to you. That’s how,” Sakura said tartly. “You didn’t make it easy on us.”

 

“I didn’t, did I?” Sasuke said. “Sorry about that, Sakura-chan.”

 

“It’s okay,” Sakura said. “So long as you understand and don’t do it again. It looks you’ve been dealing with a lot, huh?”

 

Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes tiredly, and Kakashi had never seen him look more like Itachi. Pakkun settled himself beside Sasuke.

 

“It’s okay, kid,” Pakkun said. “Take your time.” Suddenly, Sasuke looked like he was about to cry. He covered his eyes with his hands. Kakashi resisted the urge to hug him. Preteen boys didn’t generally like to be hugged in public.

 

“Hey, are you okay?” Naruto asked, crowding Sasuke and radiating anxiety. “What’s wrong? Tell me! I’ll help fix it!”

 

“Stop,” Sasuke said. “I’m fine.”

 

“You don’t look fine,” Naruto said. “You look like you’re crying!”

 

“It’s just a lot,” Sasuke said, blushing. Pakkun put his head on Sasuke’s lap and Naruto, heedless of Sasuke’s pride, threw his arms around Sasuke’s shoulders and held him tight. Sasuke made absolutely no noise as he cried, apart from his steadying breaths. When Kakashi looked over, he saw Sakura crying in sympathy as she watched Sasuke. Kakashi’s heart ached as he watched Sasuke take one hand away from his face to grip Naruto’s jacket.

 

Eventually, Sasuke relaxed and Naruto released him.

 

“Sorry,” Sasuke said, sniffling.

 

“That’s not the kind of thing you need to apologize for, you know?” Naruto said.

 

“What I’m going to tell you,” Sasuke said. “I don’t have any proof, but I need you to believe this much: Hikari-chan is not safe from Danzo. Keeping her identity concealed is for her protection against him. Do you understand?” Sasuke looked Kakashi in the eye and Kakashi nodded.

 

“I understand,” Kakashi said. “Why is he a threat?”

 

Sasuke stared at Kakashi and then shook his head.

 

“I’m not going to talk about that,” Sasuke said.

 

“What?! Why?!” Naruto asked.

 

“Because I don’t trust you,” Sasuke said.

 

“Why?” Sakura asked, looking hurt. “We’re your teammates! You’re friends! If you or your family need protection from anyone, we’ll be there for you!”

 

“I don’t need your protection,” Sasuke said. “I need your silence.”

 

“Did Danzo say something to you or to her?” Kakashi asked.

 

Sasuke shook his head.

 

“Then how do you know he wants to kill this girl?” Kakashi asked.

 

“I can’t prove it, but he can’t know she’s alive” Sasuke said.

 

“And that’s why she’s transformed herself to look like you?” Kakashi asked.

 

“I didn’t,” Hikari said, sounding put out.

 

Sasuke and Hikari exchanged a look and Hikari canceled her transformation jutsu. Kakashi’s jaw just about hit the floor as he looked at her. He pulled up his forehead protector and examined her with Obito’s eye to confirm it. There, for all the world to see, was a girl with an Uchiha face, Uchiha hair, and Uchiha-colored chakra. It turned out that Hikari’s transformation hadn’t been done to make her look more like Sasuke; it had been done to make her look less like him.

 

“Why do you have that?!” Hikari asked tightly, looking horrified and angry.

 

“It was a gift, willingly given,” Sasuke told her softly. “Uchiha Obito was dying and he gave it to Kakashi-sensei to replace the eye he had just lost.”

 

“Obito?” Hikari asked, looking meaningfully Sasuke, who nodded. Did she know of him? She was too young to remember Obito personally, surely. Perhaps he was a close relative.

 

“Who was Uchiha Obito?” Naruto asked.

 

“My comrade,” Kakashi said. “Who is she?”

 

“Uchiha Hikari,” Sasuke repeated.

 

“How is she alive?” Kakashi asked. “How did she survive the massacre?” A terrible answer occurred to him as he asked that question. Had she been held by Danzo all this time?

 

“She was in a scroll,” Sasuke said, sweeping Kakashi’s fears away to replace them with confusion.

 

“A what?” Kakashi asked. He couldn’t have just heard that correctly.

 

“In the Sarutobi archives,” Sasuke said.

 

“What?” Kakashi asked.

 

“She was a prisoner of war from before the founding of Konoha,” Sasuke said. “She’s been sealed away for more than two hundred years.”

 

“No way!” Sakura said.

 

“Seriously?!” Naruto exclaimed.

 

“… Do you have any proof of that?” Kakashi asked.

 

“I still have the scroll,” Sasuke said.

 

“Does an old piece of paper prove anything, though?” Hikari asked. “It’s just an old enclosure scroll.”

 

“I suppose not,” Sasuke said, frowning.

 

“I could talk about the battles I took part in,” Hikari volunteered.

 

“You could have gotten that from the records,” Sasuke said.

 

“Um,” Hikari said. “I could tell you about things that aren’t in the records. Which people were assholes and which were alright.”

 

“You could be making it up,” Sasuke said. “My summons watched her come out of that scroll. They could testify to that.”

 

“They’re your summons,” Hikari said. “They could be lying for you.”

 

“Even if they did all see it, you might have simply been recently sealed into an old scroll,” Sasuke said added.

 

“Ugh! Okay, what about my clothes?” Hikari asked, plucking at her blouse. “I’ve got the clothes I was captured in. Your futuristic clothes are different.”

 

“Historically accurate reproductions,” Sasuke said. “And people do still wear kimonos sometimes.”

 

“Huh,” Hikari said, before turning back to Kakashi. “No, we can’t prove it. Does it matter? It isn’t actually important.”

 

How could that not be important?!

 

“May I see the scroll you were trapped in?” Kakashi asked. Sasuke summoned a warbling white-eye and produced an empty scroll. Kakashi examined the aged scroll carefully as Sasuke introduced the bird as “Satori” to the group.

 

“This wasn’t the plan we came up with,” Satori said.

 

“Plans change,” Hikari said. “Turns out, these guys like Sasuke-kun a lot.”

 

“Really?” Satori said.

 

“Yes, we do!” Sakura said.

 

“Aww! That’s great!” Satori said. “He needs more human friends.”

 

Sasuke gave Satori a look of disbelief and Satori laughed at him.

 

“May I see that scroll?” Sakura said. Kakashi handed it to her and she examined it curiously. “It does look old.”

 

“Yeah, it does,” Naruto said. “Really old.”

 

“How did you find the scroll Hikari-chan was inside?” Kakashi asked.

 

“I didn’t,” Sasuke said. “Some of my summons did, rodents.”

 

“They are good at burglary,” Pakkun added.

 

“What were your rodent summons doing in the Sarutobi archive?” Kakashi asked. “Please, please, please,” Kakashi thought, “Don’t have been doing anything I will need to fix. We are in enough trouble as it is!”

 

“Looking for Hikari’s scroll,” Sasuke said.

 

“You knew this would be there?” Kakashi asked. “They didn’t just stumble upon it while looking for something else?”

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“You didn’t take anything else, did you?” Kakashi asked.

 

Sasuke shook his head and Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief.

 

“How did you learn about it?” Kakashi asked. “Had you been in the Sarutobi archives before?”

 

Hikari grinned.

 

“If you don’t believe us about where I’m from,” Hikari said. “You’re never going to believe how Sasuke-kun found me. I’m still not sure I believe it myself.”

 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Sasuke said. Satori laughed brightly as she sat on Naruto’s head.

 

“Poor Sasuke-kun,” Satori said.

 

“What?” Naruto asked. “What is it?”

 

“Shall I tell you?” Satori asked mischievously. “Do you really want to know?”

 

“Satori-san,” Sasuke said warningly, glaring at the bird.

 

“Yes!” Naruto said, trying to look at the top of his own head. “Tell me! Tell me!”

 

“Sasuke-kun…” Satori said. “… Is a seer.”

 

Kakashi looked at Sasuke in time to see him give the bird a very old-fashioned look.

 

“You mean like, someone who can see the future?” Sakura asked. “Can you? Can you really see the future, Sasuke-kun?”

 

“… Sort of,” Sasuke said, looking away from everyone with a closed off expression.

 

“What does ‘sort of’ mean?” Kakashi wondered.

 

“Seriously? Since when?!” Naruto asked.

 

“Since I woke up in the hospital after Itachi attacked me,” Sasuke said bluntly. A hush fell over the group. Kakashi recalled Sasuke’s despair and hysteria that night. Had Sasuke been wrestling with more than just the loss of his clan? Had Sasuke tried to kill himself, not because of what he had witnessed, but because of what he saw in the future? Kakashi tried to put the question tactfully.

 

“Did you despair of your future? Did you see something terrible in it?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Huh?” Naruto asked. “Why would you ask that?”

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said.

 

“What did you see that made you despair?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Everything,” Sasuke said without, turning even further away. “Everything in my future.”

 

“Could your visions have been the product of what your brother did to you?” Kakashi asked. “Some sort of genjutsu?”

 

“That’s what I thought,” Hikari said. “But we’re here, aren’t we?”

 

“Where ever this is,” Naruto said grumpily.

 

“No one has found this place in a thousand years,” Toneri added. “Sasuke-kun is certainly a special person.”

 

“A thousand years?!” Sakura said.

 

“Wait,” Naruto said. “That can’t be right. If you can see the future, then you would know that we all care about you and would definitely follow you when you ran off!”

 

Satori laughed even louder than before and for much longer, as well.

 

“What?” Naruto asked. “What’s so funny?”

 

“I thought, if I left earlier, then you wouldn’t be so attached, so you wouldn’t chase me this time,” Sasuke said, sounding frustrated with the fact that people actually cared about him.

 

“Seriously?” Naruto asked. “Well, that was dumb. See, Sakura-chan? I told you he was dumb.”

 

“You did, yes,” Sakura said, staring at Sasuke.

 

“Very dumb,” Kakashi said.

 

“Shut up!” Sasuke said, glaring at Kakashi. “They might have been in my class growing up, but you’re never even there! You don’t know me from Adam!”

 

“… Who’s ‘Adam?’” Kakashi asked.

 

“Exactly!” Sasuke said. Kakashi didn’t get it.

 

“If you foresaw that we would care about you in the future, then why didn’t you come to us for help? Why don’t you trust us to support you?” Sakura asked. Sasuke’s glare faded away, but the cold look that replaced it was not an improvement.

 

“It doesn’t matter,” Sasuke said.

 

“What do you mean, ‘it doesn’t matter?’ Of course it matters,” Kakashi said.

 

Abruptly, the sky began to darken and, as the party watched, the unmoving Sun appeared to become the Moon. Night had fallen.

 

“I mean, ‘it doesn’t matter,’” Sasuke said to Kakashi. “It doesn’t matter if you know or not. Your knowledge changes nothing. You change nothing. No one ever does.”

 

So, this had to do with whatever Sasuke had seen in these visions of his. The way Sasuke had said it… That ominous pronouncement made a stone in the pit of Kakashi’s stomach. What had Sasuke seen?

 

“Just tell us, you bastard!” Naruto said irritably. “This mysterious-seer act isn’t helpful!”

 

“It’s late,” Satori said gently. She flew from Naruto’s head to Sasuke’s. “Let’s pick this up again in the morning.”

 

“Before that,” Kakashi said. “I need to know something. Sasuke-kun, will you be going back to Konoha with us of your own free will?” One way or another, Sasuke would be going back. The only question was how much rope would be involved.

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said.

 

Kakashi nodded. That was what he needed to hear.

 

-

 

As Sasuke was dug out the tags for food and firewood from his stash and Sakura and Naruto started setting up camp, Kakashi just stared at Sasuke. Sasuke found it a bit unnerving, to be honest. He sent Satori home with the tags and a somewhat stiff goodnight.

 

“You left your forehead protector behind. You hadn’t been planning on returning to Konoha before this,” Kakashi asked. “What changed your mind?”

 

“Satori-san,” Sasuke said, recalling that conversation.

 

“Here’s my plan,” Satori had said and Sasuke listened closely; it always paid to listen to Satori. “You’re not going to like it, but I think it will work.

 

“You mentioned Kusa. That means you want to rescue Karin-chan next, right?”

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“That’s a good move. You’ve been training as a sensor for some time, but you just don’t have the knack. Recruiting a strong sensor, perhaps even the strongest in the world, if your memories are correct, would make your future endeavors easier. You could find those you wish to find and avoid those you wish you avoid.

 

“But you have a problem: you don’t know where Karin is, not for certain. You know she’s a Kusa ninja, which would imply that she would be found in Kusa. However, you know that she will be the sole survivor of some other village that is massacred right before Orochimaru recruits her. Kusa doesn’t suffer such a massacre, which means that her village can’t be Kusa. Your knowledge conflicts with itself.

 

“You could still go to that country, looking from village to village, spending lots of time asking questions and drawing attention to yourself. It would be dangerous, but you could do it. Perhaps you would get lucky and find her in the first place you looked. Maybe she really is in Kusa. Maybe they will just let you in if you ask. Maybe she won’t be pursued when you run.

 

“However, you do know for certain where she will be,” Satori had said.

 

Sasuke had resisted at first, but Satori had been right. Sasuke would be much more likely to find Karin if he just went back to Konoha and played along with the plot for a little bit longer.

 

“It’s no good,” Sasuke had said. “I can’t abandon Toneri-kun and Hikari-chan.”

 

“You don’t have to,” Satori had responded.

 

“They won’t be safe in Konoha,” Sasuke said.

 

“When the truth won’t do,” Satori said, “Make something up.”

 

Hikari had then transformed into a blond-haired, blue-eyed version of herself and gone to meet Team Seven. They couldn’t just avoid them, after all. They needed to convince them to keep the world within the Moon a secret, which meant talking to them. Hopefully, charisma wasn’t a protagonist-exclusive skill.

 

Horrifyingly, things had gone sideways almost immediately. Sasuke had forgotten Kakashi’s damned nin-dogs while they were crafting a story that they hoped would allow Sasuke to rejoin Konoha without being imprisoned for desertion. He hadn’t been able to improvise a better story on the fly, either.

 

“Satori-san?” Kakashi asked. “What did they say to change your mind?”

 

“… That being in Konoha has its advantages, even if it’s dangerous,” Sasuke said.

 

With the agreement that Sasuke would do dishes, Naruto served as sous-chef and Sakura did the actual cooking. While Sakura was cooking and Naruto was complaining amiably to her about how long it had been since he’d last had ramen, Kakashi came up to Sasuke.

 

“Did you know I would be incapacitated during my fight with Zabuza?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said.

 

“… Did you know he would survive?” Kakashi asked. “Is that why you told Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun to retreat?”

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said.

 

Suddenly, Kakashi had Sasuke by the collar.

 

“You selfish brat,” Kakashi said softly, danger in his expression. Hikari, who had been sitting silently with Toneri, was suddenly on her feet and glaring at Kakashi.

 

“They had a week to get back to Konoha,” Sasuke said defensively, glaring at Kakashi. “That was more time than it took us to get to Wave.”

 

“You knew they were in danger, but you left them,” Kakashi said.

 

“Zabuza was bedridden for seven days and Haku wasn’t a threat.”

 

“Is ‘Haku’ that hunter-nin impersonator?” Kakashi said, narrowing his eyes.

 

“Yes, but he isn’t dangerous. He didn’t attack Naruto-kun when they met in the forest, even though Naruto-kun was sleeping on the ground,” Sasuke said. “Haku was kind to him, even knowing that they were enemies.”

 

“What?” Naruto asked, crossing his arms and frowning. “I never met anybody named, ‘Haku.’ I didn’t sleep in any forest, either.”

 

“I get it! It didn’t happen, because Sasuke-kun changed your future,” Sakura said. “Was that a good thing? Is it really okay to mess around with destiny?”

 

“It saved Haku’s life,” Sasuke said. “He would have died fighting us. Are you willing to go kill him to put things back on track?”

 

“No!” Sakura said. “It’s just, isn’t it dangerous? What if there are consequences for changing the future?”

 

“There are always consequences for changing the future,” Sasuke said. “That’s life.”

 

“… I guess so,” Sakura said. “Ah! The food!” she shrieked, frantically working the spatula through the food in the pan. “I’ve burnt it! Oh, no!”

 

Kakashi sighed and released Sasuke.

 

“That was too much of a risk,” Kakashi said. “You weren’t there to make sure that the rest of us made it out safely.”

 

“If I had run from Konoha instead of Wave, the Hokage might have sent an Inuzuka after me,” Sasuke said.

 

“Instead, you had a Hatake after you,” Kakashi said.

 

“He’s a Hatake,” Hikari said flatly. “Your teacher is a Hatake. You thought you could lose a Hatake with a little transformation technique and some swimming? You’re even more stupid than I thought.”

 

“Thank you, Hikari-chan,” Sasuke said crisply. “He was supposed to be bedridden for a week.”

 

“And yet, here he is,” Hikari said, waving a hand at Kakashi.

 

“I noticed that,” Sasuke said.

 

“Sorry to disappoint you, Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi said, giving him a false smile.

 

“He was bedridden for a couple days. We had to carry him around on that stretcher you brought. Then, this weird guy with big eyebrows brought him some pills,” Naruto explained. “Kakashi-sensei ate one and got right back up on his feet.”

 

Sasuke looked at the “Moon” in despair. So, Gai had been the one to deliver military ration pills to Kakashi and now knew that Sasuke had deserted? How embarrassing! Gai probably thought Sasuke was an asshole now.

 

“You brought a stretcher,” Kakashi said suddenly, looking surprised. “How did I not notice that until just now?”

 

“Oh my God,” Sakura said, looking amazed. “You can actually see the future! That’s incredible!”

 

“Aren’t we past that already?” Naruto asked.

 

“But Sasuke-kun brought a stretcher!” Sakura said. “Everything else could be a coincidence, right? No offense, Sasuke-kun. We don’t actually know if that hunter-nin impersonator is really named, ‘Haku,’ right? But he brought a stretcher! What kind of coincidence is that?”

 

“An unlikely one,” Kakashi said. “So, what would have happened, if you hadn’t run off.”

 

Sasuke explained the broad strokes of the Wave arc as Sakura put the finishing touches on the food.

 

“So, we would have defeated Gatou!” Naruto said, preparing the bowls for Sakura to serve into.

 

“Based on what he said, I don’t think we could have taken credit for it,” Kakashi said.

 

“But it wouldn’t have happened without us!” Naruto said, waving a hand airy, as if Zabuza killing Gatou and the citizens of Wave being the ones to run off Gatou’s men were trivial details. “I could have gotten a bridge named after me, damn it!”

 

“So, I never attacked Zabuza at all?” Sakura asked, looking puzzled. “Or this Haku person?”

 

“Originally, you were too weak and insecure to participate,” Sasuke said, feeling smug about it. With a little bit of help, his Sakura had gotten miles ahead of where her story counterpart had been at this point.

 

“But I’m strong, though!” Sakura said defensively. “I wouldn’t just sit around! I can pull my weight! I carried Naruto-kun the whole way here!”

 

“Last time, you hadn’t done any training since graduating from the Academy,” Sasuke said.

 

“So, I would have just stood around every day while you two trained?” Sakura said skeptically and looking increasingly pissed.

 

“No, neither you nor Naruto trained much. This time, I trained with you, instead of training alone,” Sasuke said.

 

“I wouldn’t have just sat there and watched you train!” Sakura said, sounding offended.

 

“I meant that I trained privately,” Sasuke said. “As a group, we just sat around waiting for Kakashi-sensei show up.”

 

As one, the three genin looked at Kakashi, who looked embarrassed. As Sakura portioned out the food into the bowls and Naruto handed them around to everyone, including Pakkun.

 

“Those two seem to be getting along better,” Sasuke noticed.

 

“When was Kakashi-sensei going to start training us?” Naruto asked Sasuke.

 

“He taught us tree-walking in Wave,” Sasuke said. “Then, he taught me the Chidori. That’s it.”

 

“Why did he teach you, but not us?!” Naruto asked. “That’s not fair!”

 

“Because I could have died if he hadn’t,” Sasuke said.

 

“Was someone trying to kill you?” Sakura asked. “Why? When? When is it going to happen?!”

 

“My opponent for the chuunin exam finals was planning to kill me,” Sasuke said.

 

“Who?!” Sakura asked, looking like she was preparing to kill Gaara with her chopsticks.

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Sasuke said.

 

“Sasuke-kun, how am I supposed to not worry about someone trying to kill you?!” Sakura asked. “Did you beat him?”

 

Sasuke shook his head.

 

“He was much stronger than I was,” Sasuke said.

 

“Did you use Chidori against him?” Kakashi asked, looking at Sasuke with horrified fascination.

 

“It only made him angry,” Sasuke said. Kakashi started looking worried.

 

“Are you better equipped to fight him this time? Are you stronger now than you were in your visions?” Sakura asked.

 

Sasuke thought about it. Was he stronger? He supposed he must be, at least in some ways. He hadn’t known much about genjutsu in the story. Story-Sasuke was probably better at taijutsu, though. He couldn’t say which one of them would win in a fight.

 

“However,” he reminded himself, “There are other ways to be strong. You have your own kind of strength.”

 

“I am. We’re all stronger,” Sasuke said. Maybe he could use genjutsu offensively somehow, or he and Sakura could do some sort of Boil Release together. Naruto would probably use Kurama’s chakra if things got stressful enough, too. They just had to hit him before he could finish the second phase of the test. “If we’re quick enough, we can probably deal with him as a team in the second section before it comes to that.”

 

“’Probably’ isn’t good enough,” Sakura declared, rounding on Kakashi. “We’ve been following Sasuke-kun’s lead in training since we became a team, but he’s not our teacher; you are. Are you going to train us properly now?”

 

“Yeah!” Naruto said. “I don’t want to be carried around anymore! And if somebody is coming to kill Sasuke, I need to be strong enough to protect him!”

 

“Okay,” Kakashi said meekly.

 

“Will you show up for training every day?” Sakura pressed.

 

“Yes,” Kakashi said.

 

“And on time? Not hours late?” Sakura asked.

 

“Yes,” Kakashi said.

 

“Oh,” Sasuke said, suddenly remembering something. “He also taught you the Rasengan, Naruto-kun. Well, he helped some. Others helped you learn it, too.”

 

“Is the Rasengan a super cool and powerful attack?” Naruto asked enthusiastically.

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“YEAH!” Naruto shouted.

 

“The Rasengan was your father’s invention, too,” Sasuke said.

 

“My dad? It’s my dad’s technique? I’m going to learn an amazing technique my dad invented?! Teach me now!” Naruto demanded.

 

“Later, Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said. “Later.”

 

Sasuke was able to eat his meal peacefully, while Naruto harassed Kakashi for information on the Rasengan. Then, Sasuke started the cleanup, while Sakura and Hikari went off together to bathe and Naruto quizzed Toneri about his life.

 

“So, doing things this way,” Kakashi said. “You kept Gatou in power and protected the lives of Gatou, Haku, and Zabuza.”

 

“And several of Gatou’s men,” Sasuke confirmed. “Zabuza mowed them down to get to Gatou.” He would have to do something about Gatou later.

 

“So, you saved a bunch of bad guys?” Naruto asked, abandoning his interview of Toneri and sounding very unimpressed.

 

“Bad guys are people, too,” Toneri said nervously.

 

“Yes,” Sasuke agreed.

 

“Whatever,” Naruto said. “Who cares about them? Wouldn’t the world be better off without people like that? You said Haku was nice, but what about the rest? Those people deserved to die.”

 

“Oh, shit,” Sasuke thought. “Naruto never had his heart-to-heart with Zabuza. Is that going to prevent him from learning Talk no Jutsu?” Sasuke stared at Naruto.

 

“What?” Naruto asked. “It’s true!”

 

Sasuke couldn’t just let him miss out on his greatest technique. How could he teach Naruto about empathy?

 

“I deserted Konoha,” Sasuke said, getting back to the washing. “As a missing-nin, what do I deserve?”

 

“What?! Don’t be so dramatic! You aren’t a missing-nin! You’re just a jerk!” Naruto shouted. “You left, but you’re coming back with us, so it’s fine. The old man won’t have a problem with it.”

 

“What if you hadn’t caught me?” Sasuke asked. “What if I didn’t come back? What if I really was a missing-nin?”

 

“Then, you’d still be Sasuke,” Naruto said. “Are you saying Gatou and those other people are like you? But you’re not like them at all! You don’t kill people! You even saved those two guys who attacked us on the road. Kakashi-sensei sent them with the bushy-eyebrowed guy, by the way. He said he’d take care of them. But Gatou and his men, they kill people for money.”

 

“Like ninjas do?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Well…” Naruto said, looking wrongfooted. “We would only kill bad people, right Kakashi-sensei?”

 

“That’s not how it works, Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said. “As a ninja, there will come a time when you will have to kill someone, not because they’re bad, but simply because they’re your enemy, or your client’s enemy, or your client wants them dead. Good and bad don’t factor into it.”

 

“Have you ever killed someone who wasn’t bad?” Naruto asked. Sasuke wished he hadn’t and dropped his gaze to the floor.

 

“Yes,” Kakashi said matter-of-factly. Sasuke wondered if he was only thinking about Rin, or if there was a long list of faces.

 

“Ninjas are awful,” Toneri said provocatively. Sasuke frowned at his behavior, but didn’t try to correct him.

 

“We aren’t awful!” Naruto said angrily.

 

“You guys are all using chakra to fight and kill people instead of to connect to them, as the Sage of Six Paths intended!” Toneri said.

 

“Sometimes you have to fight to protect yourself and others! You can’t connect to anyone, if you’re dead! But I won’t be the kind of ninja who kills people when I don’t have to!” Naruto said. “I’m going to be the kind of ninja that does heroic stuff, like saving people and having bridges named after me!”

 

“Then, you can’t forget that people are always people, even when they’re ‘bad guys,’” Sasuke said.

 

A thought occurred to Sasuke and he cut a glance at Kakashi.

 

“How long until you pass out?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Hmm?” Kakashi asked. “What do you mean?”

 

“When does that pill wear off?” Sasuke clarified.

 

“I’m not going to pass out when it wears off,” Kakashi said.

 

Sasuke just raised one skeptical eyebrow and went back to his dish washing.

 

After everyone had bathed and dressed for bed, Sasuke sat beside Naruto and explained how he would learn the Rasengan, who would teach him the different aspects of it, and some general information on the move. Then, Sasuke noticed Sakura staring at him.

 

“What?” Sasuke asked.

 

“You’re talking so much,” Sakura said, before becoming flustered. “It’s not a bad thing! It’s really nice, actually! I’m glad you want to talk to us! I really like talking with you!”

 

“Apparently, staying silent didn’t do me any good,” Sasuke said, feeling a bit cross about it. “You still followed me.”

 

Sakura smiled broadly, as if this was a compliment.

 

“Yeah!” she said. “We’ll always follow you!”

 

Sasuke frowned and Hikari gave a cheeky laugh.

 

“Fix my hair,” Hikari said, sitting down in front of Sasuke and handing him a brush. Sasuke undid the hair from its buns and braids and brushed it out.

 

“Why is he brushing your hair for you?” Toneri asked.

 

“Because it feels nice,” Hikari said. “Come sit in front of me and I’ll do it for you.”

 

“Okay!” Toneri said enthusiastically.

 

“You can’t share hairbrushes,” Sasuke said. “You might pass nits.”

 

“Nits?” Toneri asked.

 

Sasuke paused his brushing.

 

“You don’t know what nits are?” Hikari asked incredulously.

 

“They’re small parasitic bugs that live on the scalp. Have you ever had a cold?” Sasuke asked.

 

“What’s a cold?” Toneri asked.

 

“We’ll need to get you vaccinated immediately once we arrive in Konoha,” Sasuke said.

 

“What’s ‘vaccinated?’” Hikari asked.

 

“You, too,” Sasuke muttered. “A vaccine is a drug that teaches your body how to fight a disease. You should both wear masks and stay away from crowded areas until you’re protected.

 

“Toneri-kun, give Hikari-chan your brush, so she can do your hair.”

 

“I don’t have nits,” Hikari grumbled, as Toneri handed her his hairbrush.

 

Sasuke braided Hikari’s hair loosely for bed and tied it off.

 

“Um, Saskue-kun,” Sakura said, fiddling with her own hairbrush. “Uh, um, Could you… I mean, would you please, um, do my hair, too? Please? I mean, if you don’t want to, it’s fine!”

 

So much for staying aloof from Team Seven. Sasuke held out a hand and Sakura handed over her hair brush.

 

“I want Sakura-chan to brush my hair, too!” Naruto said.

 

“Sure!” Sakura agreed, surprising Sasuke.

 

“I want to brush Sasuke-kun’s hair!” Toneri declared, looking excited at the prospect. Sasuke’s hair didn’t need brushing, but didn’t want to dim Toneri’s happiness, so Sasuke fished out his brush from his backpack and handed it to Toneri.

 

“Boss,” Pakkun said, as he watched Sasuke brushing Sakura’s hair out.

 

“Yeah?” Kakashi said.

 

“Brush my fur, too,” Pakkun said.

 

“… Okay,” Kakashi said. Sasuke laughed quietly and Sakura shivered.

 

In the end, even Kakashi consented to Sakura’s request to brush his hair, so everyone went to bed looking fresh. As Sasuke lay in bed, he reflected that he wasn’t looking forward to going back to Konoha, even for the time it would take Karin to be recruited, but his stay there might not be too terrible this time.

 

Then, he remembered that he would be bringing Hikari into Danzo’s village.

 

-

 

After a quick breakfast that morning, Kakashi made an announcement.

 

“The military ration pill wears off this morning,” Kakashi said.

 

“Do you need anything?” Sasuke asked.

 

“A day’s rest would be nice,” Kakashi said. “Is this place safe?”

 

“Yes,” Toneri said, “We’re perfectly safe here.”

 

Sasuke covered his mouth and considered Kakashi’s question. The longer they stayed here and the further they explored, the more likely they were to discover its secrets. The less they knew, the better.

 

“Leaving the island could be dangerous,” Sasuke said, which was true, in a roundabout sort of way. “Please don’t tell anyone about this place.”

 

“Okay,” Sakura said, which was echoed by Naruto. Kakashi, difficult bastard that he was, didn’t respond.

 

“Did you two come here to hide?” Kakashi asked.

 

“We came to help Toneri-kun,” Sasuke said.

 

“That’s right, you didn’t think we’d be able to follow you,” Kakashi said. “What does he need help with?”

 

Sasuke decided that this group didn’t need to know that story-Toneri had grown up to be a supervillain that tried to destroy the world. That wasn’t likely to happen now, anyway.

 

“He was alone,” Sasuke said.

 

“What is this place, anyway?” Kakashi asked.

 

“A relic,” Sasuke said softly. “Better left forgotten.”

 

“Is there something here?” Kakashi asked.

 

Sasuke nodded, but didn’t elaborate. It was fine to let Kakashi draw his own conclusions.

 

“Was that passageway designed to keep out anyone who wasn’t an Uchiha?” Kakashi asked, confusing Sasuke.

 

“It doesn’t belong to the Uchiha,” Sasuke said.

 

“It belongs to me,” Toneri said quietly. “To my clan, the Otsutsuki. I’m the last one, now. Of course, now I’m an Uchiha, but I’m still an Otsutsuki.” Kakashi looked at the boy.

 

“Your clan have lived here for a thousand years?” Kakashi asked, looking up at the “Sun.”

 

“Yes,” Toneri said. He began chatting happily with Kakashi about his clan’s history, which made Sasuke nervous, so he listened closely in case he had to interrupt Toneri telling Kakashi something he shouldn’t. Did Toneri know how to keep secrets? Did he know which things about himself and this place should be kept secret? Sasuke didn’t know.

 

“Hey, I have a question,” Naruto said asked Sasuke. “What’s a toad stick?”

 

Sasuke was mystified for a minute, before he realized what Naruto was referring to. Sasuke went digging in his backpack and found his notebook on juinjutsu removal research missing.

 

“Give my notebook back,” Sasuke said.

 

“I don’t have it,” Naruto said. “Kakashi-sensei took it!”

 

Sasuke gave Kakashi a look and held out his hand.

 

“… Alright,” Kakashi said, extracting the notebook from his own bag.

 

“So, what is it?” Naruto asked.

 

“… It’s nothing,” Sasuke said, putting his notebook back.

 

“That answer just proves that it isn’t nothing!” Naruto said. “Tell me! Come on, tell me! Is this really something you need to keep secret from me? Does everything have to be a secret?” Sasuke sighed.

 

“Taping a single thread causes the whole spiderweb to shake,” Sasuke said.

 

“Huh?” Naruto asked.

 

“Secrets contain secrets,” Sasuke said. “If you wanted to keep this place a secret, for instance, you should also keep secret the location of its entrance, so you should also keep secret that I visited waterfalls. Even if you only told someone that I visited waterfalls, without naming the one nearest the entrance, they might guess that there was something to be found at some particular waterfall. If they searched, eventually they would find the waterfall near the entrance, eventually they could find the entrance, and eventually they could find this place.”

 

“Man! Is whatever’s here worth all this secrecy?” Naruto asked exasperatedly.

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said seriously.

 

“Can’t you tell us anything?” Sakura pleaded. “Like, why are you trying to remove juinjutsu, anyway?”

 

“Because I hate them,” Sasuke said. “All of them. If you tell anyone that I might be able to remove juinjutsu, my life will be in danger. Please keep it to yourselves.”

 

“We can’t tell anyone about this place, or Hikari-chan, or your research,” Naruto said. “We’re keeping a lot of secrets for you.”

 

“If it’s too difficult for you…” Hikari said. Sasuke just knew she was going to say something about killing them, or erasing their memories, or something equally unhelpful.

 

“No!” Sasuke said, glaring at her.

 

“Hmph,” Hikari said, crossing her arms.

 

“The less you know, the fewer secrets you have to keep,” Sasuke said to Naruto. “Stop asking questions if it bothers you.”

 

“But you told them, didn’t you?” Naruto whined. “You told them about your secrets! Why do you trust them, but not us?”

 

“Because they’re my family and I’m not going to keep secrets from them,” Sasuke thought.

 

“Because I do,” Sasuke said.

 

“I’m less interested in why you trust them, than I am in why you don’t trust us. Why don’t you trust us? Do you foresee us revealing your secrets to someone?” Kakashi said.

 

“No,” Sasuke said.

 

“But you still don’t trust us,” Kakashi said. “Why?”

 

“I don’t trust you, because you aren’t trustworthy,” Sasuke said.

 

“In what way?” Kakashi asked.

 

Sasuke just glowered and looked away.

 

“’Nothing changes,’ you said. If nothing changes, then you might as well tell us,” Kakashi said. “We’re all dying of curiosity over here.”

 

Sasuke balled his fists and gritted his teeth. He absolutely did not want to do that.

 

“The information you’re asking for… If I tell you and you do nothing,” Sasuke said. “It will change one thing; it will change how I feel about you. I won’t forgive you.”

 

“You won’t forgive us anyway,” Kakashi said. “You’re holding something against us that we haven’t even done yet and might never do.”

 

Sasuke considered Kakashi’s words. It was true. Sasuke supposed it was unfair of him to blame Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto for the things their counterparts had done, or rather had not done. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to trust them. He couldn’t become invested in these two future Hokages. Even the idea of opening himself up like that, of hoping that they would believe him, of hoping that they would want justice for him clan, of hoping that they would help him get justice for his clan, a justice that Sasuke himself had been forced to give up on years ago, because his story counterpart had done so… It hurt. The very thought of it hurt badly enough to drive him mad. It was like scratching at a scab and finding a black hole underneath. He couldn’t hold that hope anymore. Trusting Team Seven, reclaiming that hope, was an insurmountable hurdle.

 

“I can’t,” Sasuke said bleakly.

 

Kakashi frowned, but said let it go.

 

-

 

Kakashi didn’t collapse, but he did settled in to sleep for the rest of the day once the military ration pill’s effects wore off. Pakkun stayed by his side to keep watch, but the rest of the group went off to poke around the rocky island.

 

Toneri seemed to get along fairly well with Naruto. They were both high-energy people and enjoyed running around and shouting, if their current game was any indication. Sasuke was glad that Toneri was so comfortable moving unaided. He wouldn’t want him to end up stranded somewhere. While Sakura was distracted with telling the two off for being so loud where they might wake Kakashi, Sasuke stood beside Hikari with his hands in his pockets.

 

“Do you think I should have told them?” Sasuke asked Hikari. She shook her head.

 

“I get it,” Hikari said quietly, looking at her hands. “Sometimes, the worst betrayal is to turn away. Just because they haven’t done it yet doesn’t mean they won’t.” Then, Hikari grinned at Sasuke. “I can’t believe Satori-san! She just told them you were a seer!”

 

Sasuke sighed in frustration. Why did Satori have to open that can of worms?

 

“… She must have thought she was helping,” Sasuke admitted grudgingly.

 

“Your teacher was really interested in what you were doing in that archive,” Hikari said. “I suppose, if Satori-san hadn’t revealed that you know the future, then he might have come up with another explanation for your knowledge. You might even have been accused of colluding with an enemy clan or something. I guess it was quick thinking on her part. It wasn’t like we came up with anything better; he saw through us right away.”

 

“You need to disguise your features better,” Sasuke said.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Hikari said irritably. “Who wants to look like they belong to this stupid clan anyway?”

 

“Hey, Sasuke-kun!” Sakura called. “Let’s all train together! We have to get stronger to beat that guy who’s going to attack you during the chuunin exams!”

 

“Yeah, come on!” Naruto shouted.

 

Sasuke and Hikari walked down to the others and everyone started doing stretches together. After that, at Naruto’s insistence, their focus for the day was on using chakra to enhance their speed. Sakura actually coached Naruto without even being asked, which gave Sasuke time to coach Toneri, while Hikari “practiced” alone. Seasoned veteran that she was, Sasuke had no doubt she didn’t need to bother. By the end of the day, the kids were all much more familiar with each other and Kakashi had woken up, so they all had dinner together again.

 

“We’ll leave in the morning,” Kakashi said. “Once we do, we need to have one story that we all stick to. We cannot return to Konoha without an agreement to keep what happened on this retrieval mission secret.”

 

“Why do we have to keep everything secret?” Naruto asked.

 

“Because keeping things simple makes it easier for everyone, including the people who have to listen to it,” Kakashi said. “In this job, you’ll have to keep many secrets. This one may be the most fantastical I’ve ever come across, but it’s fairly innocent.”

 

“Do you have secrets you’re keeping from the Hokage?” Sakura asked, looking intrigued.

 

“… Yes,” Kakashi said, causing Sakura and Naruto to look shocked. “There are things that you don’t tell your superiors, especially if it will just get someone hurt. Out in the field, you are going to have to use your discretion with every mission. Some will require you to make tough choices. Do you take a chance that someone you spare may not be willing to return the favor or do you make sure they won’t have the chance to hurt you or anyone else ever again? Sometimes, you get an order that you can’t, in good conscience, obey. The Hokage doesn’t need to know every time you deviate from the mission and you don’t need to tell him.”

 

“How can we tell which secrets to keep and which to reveal?” Sakura asked.

 

“It depends on your character,” Kakashi said. “Everyone does it. Which secrets you keep will ultimately be a reflection on the kind of person you are. Do your secrets serve you or do they serve others? Will you do what’s right or what’s expedient? It’s up to you. You have to use your own judgement.

 

“In this case, we’re keeping this retrieval mission secret to protect a teammate and two young people who need our help. For me, this isn’t a difficult decision to make.” Kakashi looked at Sasuke meaningfully, but Sasuke wasn’t sure how to interpret it. “Making up a story is the best way to hide all of the things we’ve learned that we need to keep secret. That means that you can’t tell your family or friends, not ever. You don’t write it down in your diary or make little remarks that imply something more happened. You learn your story and you stick to it. Is everyone on board with that? Because if one person isn’t or they slip up, you will bring everyone down with you.”

 

“Yes,” Sakura said.

 

“Yeah,” Naruto said.

 

“Thank you,” Sasuke said, bowing slightly to his teammates from where he sat.

 

“We’ll stick to the story you choose,” Hikari said.

 

“Yes,” Toneri said.

 

Kakashi came up with something short and simple; thinking the danger had passed and not knowing how worried everyone would be by his absence, Sasuke had run off to explore the Land of Fire and met a couple kids his own age along the way. Sasuke always intended to return to Konoha.

 

“Even Naruto shouldn’t have trouble remembering it,” Sasuke thought, as he collected the dishes for Naruto to wash them. While Naruto was working, Kakashi went back to sleep, Toneri introduced Hikari to Japanese braille, and Sakura asked Sasuke to take a walk with her. Sasuke agreed, so he and Sakura hiked up the mountainside together while the “daylight” held.

 

“You’ve been very polite to Hikari-chan and Toneri-kun,” Sasuke said. “And you’ve been kinder to Naruto-kun, as well. Thank you.”

 

“Of course!” Sakura said. “They’re your family now.”

 

“I worry at how alone those two are. Please befriend them, if you can, especially Hikari-chan. Toneri-kun can be socially maladroit, but he just needs practice. He’ll learn about people quickly enough. Hikari-chan is angrier, more hurt, and she can take that out on others. I don’t want you to put up with mistreatment or neglect your boundaries, but, if you could be patient with her, I would appreciate it.”

 

“You think she would be mean to me?” Sakura asked. “She seems okay, though.”

 

“I don’t know,” Sasuke said. “She’s remarkably better than she was initially, but it’s only been a few days. She might not be so kind in a stressful situation.”

 

“… She doesn’t seem mean. She seems to like you a lot,” Sakura said. “I mean, she threatened to kill Kakashi-sensei for you.” Sasuke smiled and considered this.

 

“… I like her, too,” Sasuke said. “It’s good to have a family again. Do you like her?”

 

“I don’t really know her very well yet. We haven’t really talked,” Sakura said. “But I’ll look after her, introduce her and Toneri-kun to my friends.”

 

“Thank you, Sakura-chan, for being kind” Sasuke said. He noticed that Sakura was blushing.

 

“It’s no big deal,” Sakura said.

 

“How do you like Toneri-kun?” Sasuke asked.

 

“He’s so talkative that it’s annoying and he’s even more immature than Naruto-kun is,” Sakura said.

 

“We need other people in order to grow and he’s been alone for a long time,” Sasuke said.

 

“I understand,” Sakura said. “You’re, um, you’re really mature, Sasuke-kun.”

 

“I have to be,” Sasuke said. “I’m the head of my clan.”

 

“Hey!” Naruto shouted from back the way they had come. “Hey! Don’t leave me behind! What are you two doing?” He looked suspiciously between them. “This isn’t a date, is it?”

 

“No,” Sasuke said.

 

“We were just taking a walk,” Sakura said, frowning at Naruto.

 

“I’m coming, too!” Naruto said. “What were you guys talking about?”

 

Sasuke smiled. All these lonely kids. How did he end up surrounded by them?

 

“I was asking for help with Toneri-kun and Hikari-chan,” Sasuke said. “I want them to make more friends.”

 

“I can help!” Naruto said. “I can be their friend! You should have asked me!”

 

“Will you please be friendly to them?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Yeah! Absolutely!” Naruto said. The three walked in companionable silence for a while and then they seated themselves on the peak of the mountain.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Naruto asked. Sasuke looked over and saw that Naruto was looking at him. He seemed a bit downcast. “About my parents, why didn’t you tell me before?”

 

“I didn’t want to get in trouble,” Sasuke said. “I thought I had to stay invisible until I could safely leave Konoha.”

 

“You weren’t invisible to us,” Naruto said in a small voice. “You’re our friend.” He sounded so unconfident that Sasuke was moved to put a hand on his shoulder.

 

“I’m sorry,” Sasuke said. “I didn’t think I would hurt you when I left.”

 

“It’s okay,” Naruto said. “Are you going to leave again?”

 

“I have to,” Sasuke said.

 

“Because of the future?” Naruto asked.

 

Sasuke thought about it. He was leaving because of what Konoha had done to his family, but he was also leaving so that Konoha could never touch his family again. Naruto meant to ask if Sasuke was leaving because of what he foresaw, but Sasuke could technically say yes without it being a lie.

 

“Not exactly,” Sasuke said softly. “Learning the future just… crystalized my path. My duty is to my people. I have a responsibility to my clan. If I don’t fulfill it, no one will.”

 

“You mean to Hikari-chan and Toneri-kun?” Naruto asked. “Or do you mean the people who died?”

 

“Both,” Sasuke said. “The living take precedence, but both are precious.”

 

“Why can’t you do your duties in Konoha?” Naruto asked.

 

“Because Konoha killed us,” he thought, anger rising in him like heat off a blacktop. “And because Konoha would do it again. Because the alternative is to burn everything down and live in the ashes. Because no one cares.”

 

“Because,” he said softly, trying to keep his fury concealed. “Abroad is where my duty leads.”

 

“Are you talking about Itachi?” Sakura asked, speaking just as softly. She flinched when he looked at her and he realized that his expression was too intense, too piercing. Sasuke looked away and tried to fix his face, but he couldn’t, so he covered his eyes and lowered his head.

 

“I can’t talk about him,” Sasuke said. Not without gnashing teeth, and bitter disdain, and spilling the whole story. “I can’t talk about this.”

 

A tentative hand touched his shoulder. Sasuke didn’t shake it off.

 

“It’s alright,” Sakura said softly. “We don’t have to figure everything out today. We’ll figure it out together, little by little.” She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Come on. Let’s keep walking.”

 

Together, the three walked down the opposite slope of the mountain and, as the Sun became the Moon, they reached the far shore and stood contemplatively in the darkness together.

Notes:

They were wrong! He does lie, he’s just not any good at it!

Look out, Gaara! Sakura’s got chopsticks! LOL!

My poor hedgehog is getting put back in his aquarium. I’m excited to send him back to Konoha with Team Seven and his family in tow, especially now that he’s given himself permission to care about them a bit more, but I do feel sorry for Sasuke. There’s not going to be anymore purple prose about how wonderful the worlds is for a while.

I deeply enjoy the idea of future knowledge being a double-edged sword. Yes, Sasuke can avoid some of the pitfalls of the canon Sasuke, but now he has *dramatic close up* trust issues!

Chapter 8: Countdown to the Chuunin Exam

Summary:

Everyone goes back to Konoha and Team Seven has a new mission: Training with a capital “T.” In light of Sasuke’s revelations, Kakashi recruits help in dealing with the upcoming Chuunin Exam.

Notes:

Kakashi is getting down to business! I think this chapter is 90% Kakashi’s P.O.V. That man is hustling!

Sasuke’s eye was caught by the ringed caps of a turkey-tail fungus growing out of the trunk of a sickly tree as they passed through the forests around Konoha.

 

“Could that work on the God Tree?” he wondered. “Does the magical equivalent of Dutch elm disease or oak wilt exist for alien trees? Is there some kind of fungal summons? Could I just spray the damned thing with herbicide?” He imagined the Husk of the Ten Tails screeching and writhing while he used a spray bottle to mist it with herbicide. “Maybe it would melt like the Wicked Witch of the West.”

 

“We’re close to Konoha,” Sakura said. “I can feel it with my chakra sense!”

 

“What does it feel like, anyway?” Naruto asked.

 

“Well, we’re far away, so it just feels like… a haze, I guess,” Sakura said. “It’s indistinct, but it’s big! It’s pretty neat, actually!”

 

“That does sound cool!” Naruto said. “You’re such a good ninja, Sakura-chan!”

 

“Thanks, Naruto-kun!” Sakura said.

 

“Hikari-chan, Toneri-kun,” Kakashi said. “The two of you need to be on your best behavior, especially in front of the Hokage.”

 

“Don’t worry, Kakashi-san,” Hikari said. “We will be.”

 

Sasuke glanced up at Toneri, who was frowning angrily as he sat on the back of his giant bird puppet.

 

“Toneri-kun,” Sasuke said gently. “Is that so?”

 

“Yes,” Toneri said mulishly.

 

“Thank you,” Sasuke said, smiling faintly. Toneri’s self-righteous anger at the Hokage proved that he was a good kid. He would turn out alright.

 

When Konoha came in sight, Toneri’s bird puppet and human puppet slowed, so the rest of the group did, too.

 

“What is it, Toneri-kun?” Hikari asked.

 

“Sasuke-nii-san,” Toneri said.

 

Sasuke walked over to stand beside Toneri, who hopped off his bird puppet.

 

“Yes?” Sasuke asked.

 

“There’s so many people,” Toneri said timidly. “And they know I’m here.”

 

Sasuke hadn’t anticipated this. Toneri had been so boisterous when he met Sasuke and everyone else.

 

“May I touch your shoulder?” Sasuke asked quietly.

 

“Yes,” Toneri said, so Sasuke put a comforting hand on Toneri’s shoulder.

 

“You’re being very brave,” Sasuke whispered. “I know this is hard for you. Thank you for trying your best. If it becomes too much, tell me and we can stop or find somewhere quiet. No matter what’s happening at the time, tell me.”

 

“Can I hold your hand?” Toneri asked, placing one of his hands on the one Sasuke had placed on his shoulder. “My dad always used to hold my hand when we weren’t hiding from people.” Sasuke clasped hands with Toneri and the two progressed through the gates.

 

The group went straight to the mission desk, where the Hokage was seated alongside Iruka.

 

“Come forward, Sasuke-kun,” the Hokage said. Sasuke released Toneri’s hand, but Hikari put an arm around his shoulder and nodded to Sasuke to indicate that she had him.

 

“Who are these two?” the Hokage asked.

 

“Orphans,” Sasuke said. “I met them in the countryside. They didn’t have any family, so I decided to take them home with me.”

 

“What are their names?” the Hokage said.

 

“Uchiha Hikari and Uchiha Toneri,” Sasuke said. Hikari had better disguised her face with her latest transformation, so it wouldn’t be immediately obvious that she was truely related to Sasuke by blood.

 

“Excuse me?” the Hokage said, taking his pipe out of his mouth.

 

“I’ve adopted them,” Sasuke explained.

 

“I see. I assume that bird and puppet belong to them?” the Hokage asked Sasuke, indicating to the puppets. The damned bird had been a squeeze to get through the doors.

 

“Both puppets belong to Toneri-kun, yes,” Sasuke said.

 

“Where are they from?” the Hokage asked.

 

“Different ninja families. They’ve never lived in a hidden village,” Sasuke said, implying that Hikari and Toneri were the children of missing-nin. It was a lie that had the benefit of being strictly true.

 

“Why did you run off, Sasuke-kun?” the Hokage asked.

 

“I’d never left the village before, so I wanted to explore,” Sasuke said.

 

“You abandoned your mission to go sightseeing?” the Hokage asked, looking deeply unimpressed.

 

“I’m sorry, Hokage-sama. The enemy was dead and the client was safe,” Sasuke said. “I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”

 

“Not a big deal? You ran off alone for days in the middle of a mission and you didn’t think it would be a big deal?” the Hokage asked exasperatedly.

 

“I’m very sorry,” Sasuke said, bowing deeply. The Hokage’s answering sigh was just as deep.

 

“Kakashi-kun’s initial report was that there were enemies, possibly in pursuit. Why did you think the danger had passed?” the Hokage asked.

 

“Momochi Zabuza had been stabbed through the neck by with two senbons,” Sasuke said. “Kakashi-sensei even checked that he was dead.”

 

“Senbons?” the Hokage asked.

 

“He was stabbed through the neck and then carried off by a ninja impersonating a hunter-nin,” Kakashi said. “After checking for a pulse, I did indeed declare that Zabuza was dead and that the hunter-nin was not our enemy. Afterwards, I collapsed from chakra exhaustion and didn’t realize what had happened until I awoke the next day.”

 

“I suppose you all know now that senbons can be used to mimic death,” the Hokage said.

 

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” Sasuke said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to endanger my team.”

 

“Was there ever any confirmation as to whether Momochi Zabuza survived his injuries?” the Hokage asked.

 

“No, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi said. “He was also stabbed through one lung and in his elbows, knees, and one hand. He also suffered a crush injury to one foot.”

 

“Well, I suppose he won’t be causing trouble for a while, either way,” the Hokage said.

 

“I doubt it,” Kakashi agreed.

 

“You are really too impulsive, Sasuke-kun!” Iruka scolded him. “This is the sort of nonsense I would expect from Naruto-kun, but not from you! You left your team in a very difficult position. I’m deeply disappointed in you. Don’t you ever do that again!”

 

“Yes, Iruka-sensei,” Sasuke said.

 

“Dismissed,” the Hokage said sternly. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief that it hadn’t been worse.

 

The group left the room and headed out into the street. Expecting everyone to go their separate ways, Sasuke headed to his next destination without a backwards glance.

 

“Where are you going?” Kakashi asked.

 

“The hospital,” Sasuke said.

 

“Why?” Kakashi asked. “Were you hurt?”

 

“I need to get Hikari-chan and Toneri-kun appointments for checkups and vaccines and I want to check on those two missing-nins,” Sasuke explained. Was Kakashi going to be on his case every time he went anywhere from now on? Sasuke tried not to be annoyed at the scrutiny.

 

“I’ll come with you,” Kakashi said.

 

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Kakashi.

 

“I’m going to be staying with you, until you tell me what’s going on with you,” Kakashi said. “I wouldn’t want you to run away again.”

 

Sasuke glared at him, but quickly thought better of his anger. If Kakashi were there, it would be harder for Danzo to kill or kidnap Sasuke’s family.

 

“Alright,” Sasuke said.

 

“Me, too!” Naruto said. “I’ve decided that I’m going to protect you, because I’m an awesome ninja, so you should let me stay at your place, too! We could watch movies together and eat ramen!”

 

Sasuke looked at Sakura, who was clearly holding herself back from saying anything.

 

“Any of you who want to stay at my house can,” Sasuke said. It would be uncomfortable losing his privacy, but his family’s safety had to come first.

 

“Yahoo!” Naruto said.

 

“Thanks, Sasuke-kun!” Sakura said.

 

After Sasuke had signed Hikari and Toneri up for doctor’s appointments and gotten assurances that their new primary care physicians would set them up with a vaccination schedule, Sasuke went to visit the Demon Brothers. At the door to their room, a sign indicating that the patients inside were dangerous was hung. Sasuke left the others in the hallway, but Kakashi accompanied him, presumably for protection. He needn’t have bothered; inside the room, an ANBU stood guard.

 

In the room, Sasuke found the sleek-haired brother sitting at the bedside of the wild-haired one. Both men looked to be in their mid-twenties, which surprised Sasuke; they looked younger without their masks. The sleek-haired one wore shackles on his ankles and wrists, pajamas, and an eyepatch.

 

“It’s you,” the sleek-haired one said to Sasuke. Sasuke wondered if he’d lost permanent use of the covered eye, but was too ashamed of having caused the injury to ask. The wild-haired brother in the bed awoke and sat up, too, revealing shackles on his own wrists, as well. Sasuke stood silently for a while, unsure of how to respond.

 

“I’m glad you both lived,” Sasuke said.

 

“So are we,” sleek-haired brother said.

 

The Demon Brothers and Sasuke stared at each other awkwardly.

 

“Thank you for not killing us… And for sending us here to get aid. It was better treatment than we had any right to expect from you.”

 

“It was nothing,” Sasuke said.

 

“Saving the enemies who tried to kill you?” the wild-haired one said, his voice a rasp. “It wasn’t nothing. We owe you a debt and we pay our debts. What do you want?”

 

Sasuke hadn’t expected this. He didn’t exactly need anything from these two. He could hire them to help guard his family, but he didn’t trust them.

 

“… Pay it forward,” Sasuke said.

 

“Huh?” the wild-haired on said.

 

“Help someone else,” Sasuke said.

 

“You want us to spare the next enemy we come across?” the wild-haired one said incredulously.

 

Sasuke thought about this.

 

“Sometimes, the person who most needs your compassion is the one you least want to give it to,” Sasuke said, careful to say what he meant.

 

“You’re too soft to be a ninja,” the wild-haired on said.

 

“On the contrary,” Sasuke replied immediately. “I think compassion is essential, precisely because the work is so brutal.”

 

“Hmph. You and Haku-kun would have gotten along. I’m Meizu,” the wild-haired one said.

 

“And I’m Gouzu,” the sleek-haired one said. “We’re the Demon Brothers of Kiri. Pleased to meet you.”

 

“Pleased to meet you both. I’m Uchiha Sasuke,” Sasuke said. “Of Team Seven of Konoha.”

 

“We heard,” Meizu said. “We heard you met the boss, too.”

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“I stole his sword,” Sasuke said.

 

“What?!” the two brothers shouted in unison. Meizu started laughing.

 

“He’s going to kill you!” Meizu chortled.

 

“He has to catch me first,” Sasuke said with a shrug. Both Meizu and Gouzu laughed at this.

 

“Can you even lift that thing, skinny?” Meizu asked.

 

“I know someone who can,” Sasuke said, thinking of Suigetsu.

 

“Psh! You stole it and you don’t even want it!” Meizu said. “Well, I guess you stole it fair and square. Zabuza-san can’t complain. You can dispose of it how you wish. He’s still going to skin you, though.”

 

“Watch your back, Sasuke-san,” Gouzu said.

 

“You, too,” Sasuke said. “Gatou is infamous for neglecting to pay his debts and using hired muscle to silence complaints.”

 

“The trouble with being a missing-nin is that you can’t usually afford to be picky about who hires you,” Meizu said. “Hey, you’re his teacher, right?”

 

“I am,” Kakashi said.

 

“You have my sympathy for having such a troublesome student,” Meizu said.

 

“Thanks,” Kakashi said with feeling. “He really is a handful.”

 

Sasuke felt a twinge of sympathy for Kakashi, but only a twinge.

 

As Sasuke was leaving, Yakushi Kabuto walked in, making Sasuke very uncomfortable. What the fuck was this guy doing here?

 

“Hello, I’m Kabuto,” Kabuto said. “You two are on my roster for this shift. Don’t mind me. I’m just here to read your files so I’m prepared later. I didn’t want to interrupt your visit.”

 

Sasuke herded Toneri and Hikari away from Kabuto and the others followed. Once they made it into the street, Naruto announced that he was going to get some stuff from his place and ran off ahead.

 

“I’m heading home for a bit, too,” Sakura said. “I want to get a bath and see my parents, but I’ll come by Sasuke’s house later this evening. We can paint each other’s nails, Hikari-chan!”

 

“Painting nails?” Hikari asked, looking confused. “You mean with poison?”

 

“No! With nail polish!” Sakura said, aghast. “Have you never painted your nails before?”

 

“No,” Hikari said.

 

“So, this is your first time!” Sakura said. “I’ll bring all my colors and we’ll find something you’ll like! It’ll be fun!”

 

When Sakura had departed and Kakashi was leading the way to Naruto’s place at a more sedate pace, Hikari slung an arm around Sasuke’s neck.

 

“You know that guy back there?” Hikari asked. “The one who entered as we were leaving.”

 

Sasuke grunted affirmatively.

 

“He very rudely listened in on your entire conversation with Gouzu and Meizu. Not very subtle, that one,” Hikari said.

 

“His chakra was nasty,” Toneri said.

 

“Well, as a ninja, I was embarrassed for him,” Hikari said. “He’s a terrible spy.”

 

“He’s been an active spy since he was small, actually,” Sasuke said.

 

“Amazing,” Hikari said. “How is he still alive?”

 

“He can regenerate from most injuries. Also, he puppeteers corpses that he alters to resemble himself to act as body doubles and he uses Soft Body Modification, so he’s tough to capture,” Sasuke said.

 

“Gross,” Hikari said. “I hate that technique. It’s so nasty when people move wrong.”

 

-

 

Kakashi quite agreed. He also wondered if the young man was a threat. When Sasuke had first seen the man, he had looked disgusted for an instant. Sasuke’s expression had shown for so brief an instant that Kakashi might have wondered if he had really even seen it, but then Sasuke avoided being within arm’s reach of the man on their way out the door. Kakashi might have to look into Kabuto.

 

Kakashi was not looking forward to staying at Sasuke’s house, but must needs be. His group stopped at Naruto’s apartment to help carry some of the boy’s things to Sasuke’s house. Once they reached the lonely house, Hikari put her hands on her hips and looked around the flattened neighborhood with dissatisfaction.

 

“So, this is where your clan lived?” Hikari asked. “There’s nothing but bare ground and weeds around here.”

 

“I had the other houses demolished,” Sasuke said.

 

“Why?” Naruto asked.

 

“… I didn’t like them,” Sasuke said, tensely. It was at this point that Kakashi would have let the subject drop, but Naruto apparently felt the need to pry further.

 

“What a waste! Couldn’t other people have lived in them? After they were cleaned up, I mean,” Naruto asked.

 

“This is the Uchiha Quarter,” Sasuke said.

 

“So? Not like dead people can use them,” Naruto said, making Kakashi physically cringe and dart his gaze at Sasuke to see how he was taking Naruto’s comment. “I’d have liked to have a whole house to live in, even if it was in this out-of-the-way place!” Naruto continued.

 

Sasuke only narrowed his eyes as he stared out at the scarred landscape.

 

“This is where the Uchiha were confined after being collectively blamed for the Nine Tails’ attack,” Sasuke said, causing Naruto to shrink a little. “No one should ever have lived here.”

 

“So, you do blame the village,” Kakashi thought. He looked back to the dusty ground that spanned from wall to wall within the Uchiha Quarter. “Maybe you’re not wrong.”

 

After cleaning out the house a bit, so everyone had a space to sleep, Sasuke summoned his birds for company, which he revealed was something he did every evening. Then, Kakashi summoned his nin-dogs to keep an eye on everyone and went to find Gai.

 

“Thanks for looking after my plant, Gai-kun,” Kakashi said.

 

“Not at all! Ukki-kun was excellent company!” Gai asked. “Are you ready to meet for training tomorrow?”

 

“About that,” Kakashi said. “I’m going to be staying at Sasuke-kun’s house for a little while, so we could meet there or I could go to your apartment.”

 

“I seem to recall you being surprised that I was willing to let Neji-kun live with me,” Gai said. “But your protective instincts for your own genin appear to burn with equal passion!” Gai pumped a fist. “Good luck keeping him out of trouble, Kakashi-kun!”

 

“It’s temporary,” Kakashi said. “I’ll only be living there until I can… Get things sorted out.”

 

“It seems there is more going on than I heard!” Gai said.

 

“News travels fast, huh?” Kakashi asked softly. “Yeah, but the less said, the better.”

 

“I see! How are you finding the accommodations?” Gai asked.

 

“Noisy,” Kakashi said tiredly. “I was looking forward to having my privacy back, but now I’m suddenly living with five kids, eight dogs, and a dozen birds. Sasuke-kun adopted two kids and he’s allowing the rest of the team to come over whenever, so Naruto-kun is going to be sleeping and eating with us. He was going on about protecting Sasuke-kun and getting free food. I think Sakura-chan is going to be a frequent visitor, too.” Kakashi recalled the conversation he’d followed his students to overhear. “Sasuke-kun asked her and Naruto-kun to get along with those two kids he picked up. Since then, Sakura-chan has been throwing herself into befriending them. She made plans with Hikari-chan to do each other’s nails tonight.”

 

“The delightful camaraderie of your team! And your dogs are perfect for the job of keeping an eye on your wayward student,” Gai said.

 

“I agree, but I’m going to stick around, too, just in case,” Kakashi said quiety, hinting at hidden dangers. He and Gai shared a brief, meaningful look.

 

“Is Sasuke-kun still sleeping in the kitchen?” Gai asked.

 

“No, he, Toneri-kun, and Naruto-kun are going to share the master bedroom,” Kakashi said. “Hikari-chan is staying in Sasuke-kun’s old bedroom, which she’ll share with Sakura-chan whenever she’s staying over.”

 

“And you are staying in…?”

 

“Itachi’s room,” Kakashi confirmed.

 

Gai made a face.

 

“We’re cleaning it out,” Kakashi said.

 

“I wonder if there might be room for Neji-kun to move in, too,” Gai said, but there was a twinkle in his eye that told Kakashi he wasn’t serious.

 

“Don’t even joke about that!” Kakashi said vehemently. “This is hard enough as it is. I haven’t lived with another person since my dad died. That was… twenty years ago. Damn, I got old.”

 

“I think he would be proud of you,” Gai said.

 

“Mnh,” Kakashi said noncommittally. “How did Tazuna-san and his family make out?”

 

“They’ve settled in Konoha,” Gai said. “I believe they already have an apartment.”

 

“That’s good. See you tomorrow?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Of course!” Gai said. “I’ll meet you at the Uchiha Quarter!”

 

-

 

Sasuke lay awake that night staring at the ceiling of his parents’ bedroom. He never slept in human form in this house and it felt wrong to sleep in his parents’ room. Mostly, however, he was worried that one of Danzo’s slaves was either staring in the window or creeping around the house, preparing to kill them all. He felt like Frodo waiting for the Ringwraiths on Weathertop. Sasuke used his chakra sense off and on for hours, just checking, trying to feel for the tiny insects that Torune used, trying to catch the moment anyone’s chakra went from normal and healthy to fading fast, trying to anticipate the knife in the dark. The Hokage might have been satisfied with the tale Sasuke tale, but paranoid Danzo wouldn’t be. And Sasuke had willingly gone back to Konoha, like a fool putting a noose around his own neck and hoping nobody would pull it taut. What if Hikari died? Could he take her body to Chiyo and beg the bitter old sage to teach him how to trade his life for another’s? Maybe if he offered Chiyo his eyes or his body for puppetry, she would say yes.

 

Sasuke hid his eyes in the crook of his elbow and sighed. It had to be after midnight. He couldn’t lie there worrying anymore. It was time to find out if he could put himself to sleep with genjutsu.

 

-

 

The next morning, Gai arrived before dawn to train with Kakashi.

 

“Let’s spar today,” Kakashi said. “It’s embarrassing to admit it, but my taijutsu was not what it should have been when I fought Zabuza.”

 

“Very well!” Gai said. “I can certainly help you knock the rust off your skills!”

 

When the sky first started to lighten, Kakashi put a stop to their spar.

 

“Gai-kun,” Kakashi said. When he failed to articulate his thoughts for several seconds, Gai spoke up.

 

“What is it?” Gai asked.

 

“Sasuke-kun won’t talk to me, won’t tell me what’s going on, but the few things he has said… What would it mean… if…” Kakashi said in a voice dropping to hardly above a whisper. “If…” Kakashi ran a hand through his hair. He didn’t want to say it, didn’t even want to think it, because it was so wrong, so twisted, so dark, that it would color everything else, if it turned out to be true. “If Konoha was somehow involved in the Uchiha Massacre?”

 

For once, Gai was absolutely silent and still, but his shifting eyes betrayed his racing thoughts.

 

“Gai-kun, Sasuke-kun didn’t run away to goof off; he was fleeing from Konoha. When we caught up to him, he was ready to fight me seriously. He was ready to fight to protect his new clan… From me.

 

“And Sasuke-kun is convinced that he and his clan are in danger in Konoha. He’s afraid of the Hokage and Danzo,” Kakashi said. “What did he see that night, the night of the massacre? Gai-kun, should I have let him go? Was I wrong to bring him back? I always thought the Hokage had everyone’s best interests at heart…”

 

“You’re wrong,” Gai said.

 

“What? About what?” Kakashi asked, bracing for Gai to tell him that there was no way the Hokage had any part in the Uchiha Massacre.

 

“The Hokage didn’t have your best interests at heart,” Gai said, surprising Kakashi. “He kept you in ANBU when that was the very last thing you needed.”

 

“Gai-kun…” Kakashi said helplessly.

 

“I won’t hear any argument about it,” Gai said. “You didn’t belong there. It wasn’t good for you. And as for bringing Sasuke-kun back being a mistake, the world is a dangerous place. You can’t protect your precious student if he isn’t with you. Don’t let him run away again. If there is a threat to him from within Konoha… We’ll handle it.”

 

“Thanks,” Kakashi said.

 

“Let me know if you see something untoward during your stay in the Uchiha Quarter,” Gai said.

 

“Okay,” Kakashi said.

 

-

 

Kakashi had gotten a shower and bought some milk and cereal, so everyone could have breakfast, by the time the first of the kids woke up. Sakura sat in a chair at the breakfast table eating cereal with Hikari when Kakashi heard the boys shouting in the master bedroom.

 

“Kakashi!” Naruto shouted worriedly as he threw the door open, immediately followed by Toneri.

 

“Sasuke-nii-san won’t wake up,” Toneri said anxiously. Hikari disappeared from the kitchen so fast that her chair fell over. Kakashi hurried after her to find her kneeling over Sasuke with her eyes fixed on his face.

 

“You idiot,” Hikari said, before putting a hand to Sasuke’s chest and transferring chakra into him.

 

Sasuke’s eyes snapped open.

 

“What were you thinking?” Hikari asked angrily. “You scared everyone! And what if there’d been an emergency? You can’t go knocking yourself out with genjutsu, just because you can’t sleep!”

 

“Sorry,” Sasuke said.

 

“Is he alright?” Toneri asked.

 

“I’m fine,” Sasuke said, covering his eyes.

 

“Do you do that often?” Hikari asked. Sasuke shook his head.

 

“I’ve never tried it before,” Sasuke said groggily.

 

“Don’t do it again,” Hikari said.

 

“I won’t,” Sasuke said, taking his hands away from his face.

 

“Is everything okay?” Sakura asked.

 

“It’s okay, Sakura-chan,” Naruto said. “Sasuke’s just being an idiot.”

 

“What a way to start the day,” Kakashi thought. “There’s cereal in the kitchen,” Kakashi said.

 

“Okay!” Naruto said happily.

 

“What’s ‘cereal?’” Toneri asked.

 

-

 

Sasuke summoned a rat named, “Koharu,” to be the tutor of Hikari and Toneri. While Koharu put the two to work taking notes on mathematics, Kakashi took Team Seven out and had them practice sparring against one another.

 

Kakashi had decided against having them take any missions before the Chuunin Exams. They’d completed enough to be allowed to compete and they had more important things to worry about, like the person who would try to kill Sasuke in the finals.

 

As Sakura and Naruto sparred, Kakashi brought up the subject to Sasuke.

 

“Who tries to kill you during the Chuunin Exam finals?” Kakashi asked.

 

“His name is, ‘Gaara,’” Sasuke said. “He’s Suna’s jinchuuriki.”

 

Well, that was worse news than Kakashi had been expecting. He had no idea how to prepare Sasuke to deal with something like that!

 

…

 

No, wait! He knew exactly how to prepare Sasuke how to deal with something like that! Sasuke was actually the perfect person to fight a rampaging jinchuuriki.

 

“Have you awakened your Sharingan?” Kakashi asked. Sasuke did not look happy to be asked that question.

 

“None of your business,” Sasuke said sharply.

 

That was not a helpful response.

 

“Do you have another plan for defeating Gaara?” Kakashi said.

 

Sasuke looked away.

 

“Stick him in an enclosure tag,” Sasuke said finally.

 

“He’s a jinchuuriki,” Kakashi said. “He has too much chakra for that.”

 

Sasuke didn’t respond, but his frown deepened.

 

“What do you foresee happening?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Naruto hits him in the face with Kurama,” Sasuke said.

 

Kakashi took a deep, slow, calming breath.

 

“How much of Konoha is left standing afterwards?” Kakashi asked.

 

“The fight leaves Konoha quickly,” Sasuke said, waving a hand like it wasn’t worth worrying about. Kakashi tried to be reassured.

 

“Well, that’s something, at least,” Kakashi said.

 

“I don’t know if Gaara has any resistance to genjutsu,” Sasuke said. “Theoretically, Shukaku could break him out of any genjutsu he was put under, but I don’t think he would do that for Gaara. I’ll add genjutsu to my plans.”

 

“Don’t try to fight him without me there,” Kakashi said.

 

“You’re the one who nominated us for the exam in the first place, even knowing that there would be danger,” Sasuke said testily. “Why are you saying this now?”

 

“I haven’t nominated anyone for the exam yet,” Kakashi said. “The teachers haven’t even met with the Hokage to nominate anyone yet.”

 

“But you will,” Sasuke said accusingly.

 

“Do you not want me to nominate Team Seven?” Kakashi asked.

 

“… It would be inconvenient if you didn’t,” Sasuke admitted, as Sakura wrestled Naruto to the ground. Naruto tapped out and Sakura helped him up. “I can adapt my plans to it.”

 

That sounded like trouble.

 

“What are these plans of yours?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Sasuke’s got plans?” Naruto asked, approaching with Sakura, who was looking buoyant at her win. “Oh, for the Chuunin Exams! Right! Tell us!”

 

“… Not here,” Sasuke said. “Come on.”

 

Sasuke then took everyone to Hisui no Sougen.

 

“Wow!” Naruto shouted. “This place is amazing! It’s like a bird village!”

 

“It really is!” Sakura said.

 

Kakashi had to agree. This place was lush and the myriad colorful birdhouses ringing the trees gave the place a very quaint feeling.

 

“Look at those birds over there! They’re glittery!” Sakura said. “Hello!”

 

A dozen birds echoed the sentiment and many more laughed. Tomu flew over and landed on Sasuke’s shoulder.

 

“Welcome to Hisui no Sougen!” the bird said. “What brings you all here today?”

 

“Hello, Tomu,” Sasuke said.

 

“Sasuke wanted to talk to us,” Naruto said. “About secret plans and stuff.”

 

“This is indeed an excellent place to do that!” Tomu said.

 

“Thank you for having us,” Sakura said.

 

“Of course!” Tomu said. “We’re happy to host Sasuke-kun’s friends!”

 

“So, about these plans of yours,” Kakashi said. “If I were to take Team Seven on another away mission…”

 

“That’s no good. I need to participate,” Sasuke said.

 

“Why?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Because other people will die if I don’t,” Sasuke said.

 

“Who are they?” Kakashi asked.

 

“There’s a team, I forget from where (all I remember is that one had an umbrella and they all wore hats), but I could save them, if I were there this time. And there’s a girl,” Sasuke said. “She’s important to me. I owe her a debt. In the future, she would have helped me…” Sasuke trailed off, face twisting slightly in grief. “And I hurt her.”

 

Kakashi got the feeling “hurt” was an understatement.

 

“Does this girl need help in the chuunin exams?” Kakashi asked, perplexed.

 

“She would have died,” Sasuke confirmed. “By chance, I saved her life after she was separated from her group in an attack. She also needs to get out of Kusa permanently.”

 

“Why?” Kakashi asked.

 

“In Kusa, she is… treated badly,” Sasuke said, not meeting Kakashi’s eyes.

 

How ominous. There were so many ways for a kid to be treated badly in a ninja village.

 

“That’s where he was planning to go next if you guys hadn’t caught up to us,” Hikari added. “He was going to rescue her next.”

 

Kakashi felt a flash of panic flare and fade. This stupid kid was going to deliver himself into the hands of another hidden village?! Thank God Kakashi had caught up to him when he did! Kakashi would need to buy Sakura a present of some kind for coming up with the idea that made it possible. If Sasuke was going to keep doing her hair, maybe a hair stick of some kind would be good. Or maybe he could arrange for her to have some alone time with Sasuke or something. Kakashi would find something she’d like.

 

“Really?” Naruto asked. “Kusagakure? If this Kusa girl needs rescuing, then why did you come back with us?”

 

“Satori-san said, based on Sasuke-kun’s knowledge, that we couldn’t be sure where Karin would be,” Hikari said. “So, we decided to come here for this exam, because she’ll definitely be here for it.”

 

“Sasuke-kun, you want to pay this girl back,” Kakashi said.

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said.

 

“You don’t actually owe this girl anything, though” Kakashi pointed out.

 

Sasuke gave him an incredulous look.

 

“You’ve never met her before,” Kakashi continued. “She never helped you and you never hurt her.”

 

“But I would have,” Sasuke insisted. “It would have happened.”

 

“That doesn’t change the fact that it didn’t,” Kakashi said. “You’ve got all this knowledge of the future, but it’s just that; the future. It hasn’t happened yet. It’s not real. Why are you trying to live with the debts and grudges of a life you haven’t lived? You blame people for things they haven’t done and reward people for things they haven’t done, and none of it is comprehensible to anyone else, because you aren’t living in the same reality as everyone else. Why not let it go?”

 

Sasuke glared at him.

 

“Because it’s real to me!” Sasuke said vehemently. “Just because the situation isn’t legible from the outside doesn’t mean it doesn’t make sense!”

 

“You need to live in the here and now and appreciate what you actually have,” Kakashi said.

 

“So, I should just let her die?!” Sasuke said angrily.

 

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t help her,” Kakashi said. “But I think you should be doing it for the right reasons. Debts and grudges, especially for things that haven’t even happened and might never happen, are only going to lead you down a painful path.”

 

“Don’t you dare,” Sasuke hissed. “You are the last person to lecture me about letting things go!”

 

“What are you talking about?” Kakashi asked, baffled.

 

“You may talk a big game about not seeking vengeance, but you are the most vengeful person I’ve ever met!” Sasuke said.

 

“What?” Kakashi asked, now completely confused.

 

“You stand in front of those damned graves like a sinner paying penance, like a monk committing self-flagellation, day after day, year after year! Terrible things happened and you blame yourself instead of anyone else, because you have this delusion that, if it’s all your fault, then you can just do better in the future! You can stop all the bad things from happening! You can finally be in control! You take your vengeance every day, only the one you kill is yourself! So, don’t you tell me to let it go! I’m never going to let it go!” Sasuke said.

 

Kakashi felt like he’d been slapped. He wished he could get away from this conversation, from the eyes of his students, from everyone.

 

Sasuke put a hand over his eyes and shrank away from Kakashi as though he expected to be hit.

 

“I’m sorry,” Sasuke said. “There’s a conversation… You haven’t been part of yet. You and I talked about Itachi. It just came back to me. I’m sorry.”

 

Kakashi said nothing. His mouth felt glued shut.

 

“Maybe,” Sasuke said quietly. He swallowed anxiously. “Maybe I’m being unfair. I’m sorry.”

 

“Take us back for today,” Kakashi said.

 

Tomu flew from Sasuke’s shoulder to Kakashi’s and returned him to Sasuke’s house alone. Kakashi told his dogs to look after the kids and then went for a run.

 

-

 

Kakashi returned to his apartment to get a bath and decompress. The exercise had helped, but he still felt uncomfortably off-center.

 

“Leave to the kid who can see the future to screw with my head,” Kakashi murmured as he lay on his couch, drinking some water.

 

Kakashi supposed he should cut Sasuke some slack. If the boy was mentally in the middle of arguments that hadn’t even started yet, it would be hard for him to just act normal. From Sasuke’s perspective, he had deep relationships with people he’d never even met before. It would be difficult to keep everything straight. No wonder he just didn’t talk to people as a kid. It would be too complicated to deal with everyone otherwise.

 

Kakashi closed his eyes. If he, as a child, had known how his own life would turn out, had been handed the responsibility for saving his father and his teammates, for preventing the Nine Tails attack and the Uchiha Massacre… Kakashi would treasure that knowledge. God, but he wished he had been given Sasuke’s ability. If he could just take it all back, if he could just do his whole life over again, then he could get it right this time. Sasuke was so lucky.

 

Kakashi remembered Sasuke as a young boy laughing hysterically on the roof of the hospital that he had just tried to throw himself off. Had Sasuke just been unwilling to even try to save anyone? Why had he given up? To receive the ability to decide your own future and to decide instead to throw your life away… It was incomprehensible.

 

Sasuke had said that Kakashi was delusional for thinking that he could stop bad things from happening. Did Sasuke think he couldn’t, that Sasuke himself was powerless to change things? Was collecting Toneri and Hikari not a change? Would Sasuke have done those things anyway? How was Sasuke acquainted with them in that future he saw? What did he feel he owed them to be so gentle with them both?

 

Well, if Sasuke felt powerless, then Kakashi needed to help him feel more powerful. The Chidori wouldn’t be a bad place to start.

 

“’It only made him angry,’” Kakashi quoted to the empty room. For Sasuke, watching himself be defeated after using what was probably his most powerful move was probably fairly demoralizing. A preteen’s ego was a fragile thing, after all.

 

So, if the Chidori only made his opponent in the Chuunin Exams angry, what would work better? What technique could Sasuke use to overcome someone like that? Maybe Sasuke was just behind the curve of this future opponent. Maybe he was going to continue to be outclassed. Maybe he would never be strong enough to win the fights that fate had in store for him. Maybe that was why he had tried to kill himself that night. Maybe he felt powerless in the face of some certain defeat.

 

Kakashi’s brow furrowed in determination. That’s what the team was for. They just needed to support each other and they would all survive, even if Sasuke turned out to be… Well, not weak, because that kid had amazing potential, but not strong enough in some way. Team Seven would handle it together.

 

A worry niggled at the back of Kakashi’s mind: Sasuke didn’t trust them. What had some future version of themselves done to Sasuke? The way Sasuke acted, it was as if he had suffered a terrible betrayal. Could Kakashi betray his own student?

 

“Great,” Kakashi said sourly. “Now, he’s got me doing it. I’m feeling guilty for something I haven’t even done!”

 

Kakashi got off the couch and headed to the graveyard. He needed to talk to someone and he couldn’t exactly tell Gai that Sasuke was a seer.

 

Kakashi returned to Sasuke’s house that evening. As he arrived, he saw Sasuke and Hikari standing together in the darkened kitchen garden.

 

“I wish my mom could have met you. She would have loved you,” Sasuke said. “Would you like to see what she looked like?”

 

“Okay,” Hikari said.

 

Sasuke pointed at Hikari and then lowered his hand.

 

“… She’s beautiful,” Hikari said as she stared at the vision Sasuke must have shared with her via genjutsu. Sasuke smiled faintly.

 

“Her name was, ‘Uchiha Mikoto,’” Sasuke said. “My mom, she told me once that she wished Itachi or I had been born a girl. She was joking about being outnumbered by us boys, but I think she really would have liked a daughter. She would have loved you like you were her own. Everyone would have loved you.” His voice broke at the end as the boy became choked up.

 

The Uchiha would have been amazed and eager to welcome a long-lost daughter of the clan back. After the Sarutobi had been made to explain themselves, there would have been a huge celebration. The whole village would have tried to make Hikari feel welcome. Funny that Sasuke was willing to just let it go and hadn’t confronted the Hokage about it. Of course, they thought Hikari was in danger, so calling attention to her presence would be a bad move.

 

“Everyone, huh?” Hikari said darkly.

 

“Hikari-chan,” Sasuke said softly, taking her hands in his own and smiling affectionately at her. “Sister, how could they not?”

 

To Kakashi’s mild surprise, Hikari burst into tears, collapsed to the ground, and covered her face with her hands. Sasuke knelt in front of her, pulled her a bit more upright, wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and guided her face to his collar. As Hikari wailed and clung to Sasuke’s shirt, he held her close and rubbed slow, firm circles into her back.

 

Kakashi took that as his cue to leave. On the other side of the house, he found Sakura sitting on the ground, all hunched up and looking puny.

 

“What’s wrong, Sakura-chan?” Kakashi asked.

 

“He really loves Hikari-chan,” Sakura said sadly.

 

“… I don’t think Sasuke-kun thinks of her… in that way,” Kakashi explained awkwardly.

 

“I know,” Sakura said. “He called her his sister. Still…”

 

So, she had heard the exchange, too.

 

“He cares about you, too,” Kakashi said.

 

“He left me behind,” Sakura said. “He wouldn’t leave her behind.”

 

No, he wouldn’t. Kakashi recalled the look in Sasuke’s eyes when he had almost attacked Kakashi in an attempt to protect Hikari. Kakashi sat down beside Sakura.

 

“She’s all alone. When Hikari-chan was released from that scroll, she had to have lost all hope of ever being reunited with anyone she has ever known,” Kakashi said. “She needs somebody to keep an eye on her and take care of her, even if she’s a bit older than he is.”

 

“I know,” Sakura said. “It’s just… I wish he would take care of me, too.”

 

“I think,” Kakashi said, recalling how Sasuke had always carried apples around for everyone, not just Naruto. “If you ever need him to, he will.” Kakashi patted Sakura on the head and let her lean against him.

 

Hikari was all alone, just like Toneri was, just like Naruto was. It looked like Sasuke had a soft-spot for lonely people, probably because he was one himself. Being empathetic wasn’t a bad thing. Kakshi simply wished that the brat would be a bit more sensible about things. Kakashi frowned. He was going to take Gai’s advice and build as much trust as it took to get Sasuke to open up to him. Whatever terrible future Sasuke was facing, he was Kakashi’s student and Kakashi wasn’t going to let him do it alone.

 

The next morning, after everyone had made ready for the day, training weights and all, Sasuke took everyone back to Hisui no Sougen.

 

“Orochimaru will attack Konoha during the chuunin exam,” Sasuke said. Kakashi felt the shock of that announcement run all the way up his spine.

 

“Who’s Orochimaru?” Naruto asked.

 

“Kakashi-sensei mentioned him before, remember? He’s one of the Sannin,” Sakura said.

 

“He’s an incredibly dangerous missing-nin,” Kakashi said. “… Is he here for you?”

 

“He attacks me during the second phase,” Sasuke said with a nod.

 

“Why?!” Naruto asked.

 

“To put a juinjutsu on me,” Sasuke said, tapping his neck, in the same place that Ororchimaru had placed his seal on Anko years before. Anko tended to keep hers covered, but Kakashi had seen it once.

 

“Of course that bastard would!” Kakashi thought angrily. “He’s after the Sharingan! Why couldn’t he go after Itachi, so those two could kill each other?!” He should have expected Orochimaru to attack Sasuke at some point. It was entirely predictable.

 

“Sakura-chan isn’t badly hurt, but, when Naruto-kun gets in the way, Orochimaru puts an odd-numbered seal on him,” Sasuke continued. This time Sasuke put his hand on his stomach, where Naruto’s Tailed Beast was sealed. “It clashes with the existing even-numbered seal, interfering with Naruto’s ability to use chakra.”

 

“What the hell?!” Naruto shrieked. “I have enough trouble using chakra as it is! That’s not fair! How dare he?!”

 

“How does Orochimaru get into the village?” Kakashi asked.

 

“He poses as a foreign attendee,” Sasuke said.

 

“Let’s tell the Hokage!” Sakura said.

 

“He won’t do anything,” Sasuke said. “We have to prepare to handle it on own.”

 

“What do you mean ‘he won’t do anything?!’ Of course he will! He’s the Hokage!” Sakura said. “That’s his job! Once he finds out, he’ll step in and save everyone!”

 

Sasuke cocked his head slightly to the side.

 

“He does find out,” Sasuke said. “He finds out when all the genin are alone in the Forest of Death, away from the adults. He sends Mitarashi Anko and a few ANBU in, but he doesn’t stop the test or warn the participants, not even when he learns that this team has failed to remove Orochimaru from the Forest of Death.”

 

“No way! The old man would never do that! He wouldn’t just leave us alone with a villain!” Naruto shouted with certainty.

 

But Kakashi had doubt. Once, he had doubted the Hokage before, when Danzo had come to Kakashi after the deaths of Minato, Kushina, and so many others in the claws and teeth of the Nine Tails. Danzo said that the Hokage was had been passive and that was why the Nine Tails’ attack had been so deadly. Kakashi had been wrong to believe it then, hadn’t he? The Hokage did care about his people; that was why he had kept Kakashi out of that fight. It wasn’t passivity, it was concern.

 

So, what was this? Was Sasuke wrong, as Naruto insisted, or had the Hokage actually allowed Orochimaru to run roughshod over the genin in the exam? How accurate were Sasuke’s visions?

 

“What happens to them?” Kakashi asked quickly. “To Anko-san and these ANBU?”

 

“Nobody dies,” Sasuke said.

 

Leaving Orochimaru alone… That might have been the right call. As much as it felt wrong to think it, once Orochimaru had marked Sasuke, he probably wasn’t going to slaughter the rest of the participants… But he might have. Orochimaru was not exactly babysitter material. To sit back and let Orochimaru roam freely within Konoha’s walls sounded like a horrible lapse in judgement.

 

“Why wouldn’t he go in himself?” Kakashi asked himself, feeling strained. “Who else in Konoha could have a hope of beating Orochimaru? Someone else must have found out about it. Who else goes in after him? Where am I during all of this?!”

 

“In the jounin standby station,” Sasuke said blandly. “You’re sitting on some curved couches with Sarutobi Asuma and Yuuhi Kurenai.” Kakashi’s eyes widened.

 

“That’s impossible! I-!” Kakashi started, but fell silent. There was no way, absolutely no way, that Kakashi would have been sitting on his ass, drinking tea, and chatting with the other teachers, while Ororchimaru attacked his team…

 

Unless the Hokage had kept Kakashi in the dark. Did Sasuke think that Kakashi had willingly and knowingly stood aside, waiting for an order to assist that had never come? A shamed blush spread across his face. Kakashi could deny that he would do such a thing all day long, but Sasuke had watched him do it. Kakashi’s promises were worthless, all because the Hokage had sidelined Kakashi and interfered with Kakashi’s ability to protect his team again. Hate filled his lungs and boiled out of his throat and through his teeth, hissing like steam.

 

No. He needed to calm down. He couldn’t blame the Hokage. Sarutobi Hiruzen wouldn’t do something like that. He was the Hokage for a reason! Kakashi needed to trust him.

 

“The Hokage needs to be told,” Kakashi said.

 

Sasuke shrugged.

 

“Okay, so, the Hokage is going to take care of that Orochimaru guy,” Naruto said. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto. “Now, we just need to know what’s going to be on the test!”

 

“Naruto-kun!” Sakura said, sounding scandalized. “We can’t cheat!”

 

“Really?! Ugh! Okay, but maybe he could tell us just a bit!” Naruto said. “Why are we going into the Forest of Death?”

 

“That’s the second phase, under proctor, Mitarashi Anko,” Sasuke said. “It’s a survival challenge where we have to get a set of two scrolls and make it to the central tower in five days. The first phase is a paper test under proctor, Morino Ibiki. After the second phase, preliminary matches are held by proctor… It’s not ‘Yamori.’ I forget his name. Some sickly-looking guy. He decides who moves on to the third phase, which consists of one-on-one bouts in the Arena.”

 

“Okay, so, so, so, it’s a paper test. That sucks, but whatever. Then, it’s a survival challenge. No problem. We just need to pack extra food and stuff. Last, it’s a bunch of matches and the last ones are held in the Arena. We can totally handle that!” Naruto said.

 

“I think so,” Sakura said.

 

As Kakashi watched, Sasuke’s face went blank. He was holding himself back again and it worried Kakashi. Clearly, Sasuke didn’t expect things to go so smoothly. More talking wasn’t going to help them come up with a plan to defeat Orochimaru, though.

 

“Alright. Let’s return and get back to training,” he said, clapping his hands.

 

Kakashi wasn’t certain it would either.

 

“What are we doing today?” Sakura asked.

 

“Sparring,” Kakashi said. “All of you against me.”

 

-

 

After a long day of knocking the genin on their asses, while Hikari and Toneri received tutelage from that rodent Sasuke had summoned, Kakashi paid a visit to the Hokage.

 

“Hokage-sama,” Kakashi said. “Based on Orochimaru’s past behavior, I’m concerned that he may try to infiltrate the village to attack Sasuke-kun during the chuunin exam. He might even enter under the guise of a participant. He is known to have the ability to steal faces for his disguise.”

 

“… He may try,” the Hokage said. “We will be on alert against any infiltrators, Kakashi-kun. Don’t worry.”

 

It wasn’t quite the response Kakashi had been hoping for. There were no promises of increased security or looking out specifically for Orochimaru, but that didn’t mean that those things wouldn’t happen. The Hokage had been made aware of the possibility, so he wouldn’t leave it to chance. Only time would tell if the Hokage’s preparations would be enough.

 

… Kakashi found he couldn’t trust it.

 

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi said. “If I may, who are the proctors for the upcoming chuunin exams?”

 

“I haven’t made my final decision yet,” the Hokage said. “Wait until the end of the week.”

 

-

 

“You need to inform your team as well,” Kakashi said. “They need to know how to identify Orochimaru, even when he doesn’t look like himself.”

 

“Thank you for the warning,” Gai said. “I shall encourage my genin to support yours in the second phase!”

 

“He’s only after Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi said. “Probably, anyway. Surrounding Sasuke-kun with other genin would only endanger more people.”

 

“None of my dear, brave students would thank me for telling them to callously abandon their fellow ninjas of Konoha when the shadow of danger looms! Besides, it will make it easier for us to protect them all! If Orochimaru is planning to pass as a genin, then he will need two more teammates to enter the exam, no? My students will be able to ensure we aren’t distracted,” Gai said. He cracked his knuckles.

 

Kakashi grinned.

 

“Alright,” Kakashi said. “Now, let’s go do something else. I don’t want to think about anyone under five feet tall for the rest of the day.”

 

-

 

“Happy birthday, Naruto-kun,” Sasuke said.

 

Naruto blinked at Sasuke over the breakfast table.

 

“Thanks!” Naruto said, waking up from his groggy state instantly. “You’re not so bad, after all, Sasuke! Nobody but the old man and Teuchi have ever wished me happy birthday before!”

 

Kakashi’s heart hurt.

 

“Happy birthday, Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said.

 

“Happy birthday, Naruto-kun!” Sakura said. “I got you this!” She handed over a gift to Naruto, who stared at the wrapping paper like it was made of gold.

 

“You got me a gift?” Naruto asked, tears in his eyes.

 

“Yep!” Sakura said. “We’re friends, after all!”

 

Naruto wiped his eyes and then, with uncommon care, opened the present, preserving the wrapping paper.

 

“A book?” Naruto asked, clearly trying not to sound as disappointed as he was.

 

“It’s a book about team tactics. You’re really good with Shadow Clones,” Sakura said. “If you memorize all the positions and moves for a team, then you can use your clones more effectively. It’ll make you a lot stronger with your current techniques.”

“Really?” Naruto asked.

 

“Yeah!” Sakura said. “You’ll even be able to teach us a thing or two!”

 

“Cool!” Naruto said. “Thanks, Sakura-chan!”

 

“What kind of dessert would you like?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Dessert?” Naruto asked. “You mean like a birthday cake?!”

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“I want a vanilla cake! With sprinkles! And strawberries!” Naruto shouted. “And vanilla ice cream!”

 

“I guess we’re going out for ramen tonight,” Sakura said, smiling at Naruto.

 

“Yeah!” Naruto said. “Ramen Ichiraku!”

 

“Would you like dirt cups for breakfast?” Sasuke asked.

 

“That sounds gross! What is it?” Naruto asked.

 

“Chocolate pudding layered with crushed chocolate cookies with gummy worms on top,” Sasuke said. “It looks like dirt with worms in it. I made the pudding last night.”

 

That sounded like so much sugar that Kakashi felt ill just thinking about it. He was definitely going to be sticking to cereal for breakfast.

 

“YEAH! I want that!” Naruto said. “Make me dirt pudding for breakfast!”

 

“Me, too!” Toneri said.

 

“I’ll stick with cereal, but I’d like to try some,” Sakura said.

 

“I’ll have a dirt cup,” Hikari said.

 

“None for me, thanks,” Kakashi said.

 

“Would you like to crush the cookies with a rolling pin?” Sasuke asked Naruto, as if this was a special treat.

 

“Okay!” Naruto said, jumping up from his chair.

 

Kakashi rolled his eyes, but he spent the rest of the morning with a smile on his face.

 

“Sensei,” Kakashi thought. “Your son is loved.”

 

-

 

Kakashi bought some chakra induction papers and distributed them to his students and Sasuke’s new family members. Naruto went first.

 

“Hey, look!” Naruto said. “It ripped itself! Cool!” He held out the two halves of his ripped chakra induction paper for everyone to see.

 

“That means you have an affinity for Wind Release,” Kakashi said.

 

“Now, I get to learn my dad’s technique!” Naruto said, hugging Kakashi around the waist.

 

“We’ll work on it,” Kakashi promised, patting Naruto on the shoulder.

 

“Me next!” Toneri said. The boy gasped and dropped his paper as it suddenly burst into flame.

 

“Fire natured,” Kakashi remarked.

 

“My turn!” Sakura said eagerly, before her paper wilted and water began to drip off of it onto her fingers. “It’s Water, just like Sasuke-kun said!”

 

Hikari’s paper burst into flames next.

 

“Wow, that’s just like mine! We have the same affinity!” Toneri exclaimed happily. “We should train together more! Do you know any cool Fire techniques?”

 

“… There are several that are clan secrets,” Hikari said uncomfortably.

 

“Perfect,” Sasuke said quietly, directing a small smile Hikari’s way. Hikari smiled back.

 

“Yeah,” Hikari said. “I’ll teach you all about them, Toneri-kun.”

 

“Yeah!” Toneri shouted.

 

Kakashi signaled Sasuke to go ahead, who nodded and concentrated on the paper in his hand. The paper crumpled and Sasuke’s eyes flew wide.

 

“Oh,” he said, cocking his head to one side.

 

“Not expecting that, huh?” Kakashi asked.

 

“No, but it makes sense,” Sasuke said. “The Kirin is a Lightning Release technique.”

 

“What’s that?” Kakashi asked curiously.

 

“I haven’t invented it yet,” Sasuke said.

 

“I see,” Kakashi said. Looks like being a seer didn’t give Sasuke all the answers, Kakashi reflected. Sasuke hadn’t even known what his own chakra affinity was.

 

Sasuke frowned at his hand, closed his eyes, and snapped his fingers, producing an arc of electricity in the air.

 

“Tsk!” Sasuke said testily, his eyes snapping open again.

 

“What the heck?!” Naruto asked. “You can already make another nature transformation, so why you look so pissed about it?! What’s up with that reaction, huh?”

 

“Nothing,” Sasuke said mulishly.

 

“Don’t pout about getting stronger, damn it!” Naruto shouted. “How dare you?! Fight me, you bastard!”

 

Suddenly, Naruto and Sasuke were sparring with unusual ferocity and Kakashi didn’t have time to explain to Naruto that Sasuke was probably just disappointed that he hadn’t inherited the affinity his family was known for.

 

-

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi said from where he sat on Sasuke’s back with a kunai to the boy’s throat. “If you keep holding back, you won’t have enough experience fighting at full strength when the time comes. Stop underestimating me and fight properly.” When Sasuke merely made a pouty glower, Kakashi whistled, summoning his nin-dogs from inside the house.

 

“Yes, Boss?” Pakkun said.

 

“Keep an eye on the perimeter,” Kakashi said. “Alert me immediately if anyone is detected trying to observe us.” Kakashi looked back to Sasuke. “Better?” Sasuke’s face relaxed slightly.

 

“Fine,” Sasuke said.

 

In their next three-on-one bout, Kakashi actually had to work for it before he managed to knock Sasuke in the dirt, because the boy was much faster than he had been and he had three tomoe in his Sharingan. That would be enough to control the One Tail, if it came to a fight between Suna’s jinchuuriki and Sasuke.

 

It felt like progress. It felt like trust.

 

-

 

“The proctors are Ibiki-kun for the first phase, Anko-chan for the second phase, and Hayate-kun for the third phase,” the Hokage said.

 

“Thank you, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi said.

 

“All three are quite competent. No one will go easy on the examinees this year. Are you more worried now?” the Hokage said, grinning.

 

“Yes,” Kakashi said seriously. “I am.”

 

-

 

“BOSS!” Pakkun shouted at the top of his voice. The other nin-dogs began barking and raced forward.

 

Kakashi disengaged from the spar he was having with his genin, who immediately closed ranks with him.

 

“ITACHI!” Pakkun shouted. Ice filled Kakashi’s veins.

 

“Stay here!” Kakashi shouted at the kids, just as Sasuke’s hand closed around his arm.

 

“Let him go,” Sasuke said quickly.

 

Kakashi turned to Sasuke in shock.

 

“He’s just watching,” Sasuke said, more calmly.

 

“Just watching?!” Kakashi repeated.

 

“That’s all he ever does. Let’s get back to training,” Sasuke said.

 

“He’s done this before?!” Naruto shouted.

 

“Naruto-kun,” Sasuke said. “Shut up.”

 

Naruto looked like he’d swallowed a lemon, but stopped talking.

 

Kakashi whistled to call his dogs back and got back to training his team, but he struggled to focus for the rest of the day.

 

-

 

Kakashi considered sneaking in to get the information he needed, but, if he did it that way, he would miss out on another piece of information: how far did this this go? Who else was involved?

 

“I need to see the list of people permitted entry to Konoha through the barrier,” Kakashi said to Yamanaka Kakoi. He’d specifically come to him, the head of the Barrier Team, instead of a lower-ranking member, even though this request should have been handled by an underling.

 

“Why? What’s up?” Kakoi asked.

 

“I just need to check something,” Kakashi said.

 

Kakoi tried to get Kakashi to get an underling to do it, but Kakashi insisted that Kakoi be the one to assist him. Kakoi was clearly put-out by the request, but he acquiesced, personally giving Kakashi access to the list. This meant traveling into the bowls of the T&I building into a dimly-lit, cavernous room. As Kakoi was pulling up the list, Kakashi questioned him.

 

“Who can make changes to this list?” Kakashi asked.

 

“The entire Barrier Team,” Kakoi said.

 

“Who else?” Kakashi pressed.

 

“T&I, Hokage-sama, and Danzo-san could, but they generally come to the Barrier Team to make alterations to the list,” Kakoi said.

 

“The Barrier Team, T&I, the Hokage, the Hokage’s second in command, and anyone else who could sneak past your security,” Kakashi mused.

 

“Theoretically,” Kakoi allowed.

 

“Not a small list,” Kakashi said with a sigh.

 

It was a bit troublesome for Kakoi to access, but, once the glowing, floating list of names had been conjured to hang in the air of the dark subbasement, Kakashi found what he was looking for quite quickly. Kakoi gasped when he saw it, but Kakashi wasn’t surprised. He had been expecting it. There, for all the world to see, was Uchiha Itachi’s name. Kakoi removed it instantly.

 

“Has he had free access to Konoha all this time?!” Kakoi asked, his face going white.

 

“Looks like,” Kakashi said casually.

 

“How did you guess?! Did you see him?!” Kakoi asked. “Was he here, in the village?! Is he still here?! I need to alert the Barrier Team and inform the Hokage!” Kakashi held up a hand to stall Kakoi.

 

“What will you do, if he tells you to put the name back on the list?” Kakashi asked quietly.

 

“What?!” Kakoi shouted incredulously, and then he froze.

 

“You didn’t know,” Kakashi said after a while. It wasn’t a question, not anymore. Kakoi’s eyes widened.

 

“No, I didn’t!” Kakoi said quickly, color rising in his cheeks. “Kakashi-kun, did you see Itachi in Konoha?”

 

“Yes,” Kakashi said.

 

“What was he doing?” Kakoi asked. “Where did you see him?”

 

“He was watching Sasuke-kun train,” Kakashi said.

 

“Why would he come back here just to spy on Sasuke-kun?!” Kakoi asked.

 

“Well, I would guess that he was lonely. What do you think?” Kakashi asked.

 

Kakoi said nothing, but stared in shock at Kakashi. Then, he turned back to the control panel and reentered Itachi’s name under the approved entrants.

 

“I need to talk to Inoichi-dono,” Kakoi said.

 

“I think that’s probably a good idea,” Kakashi said. The Yamanaka would be a good ally to have if his suspicions proved correct. “See you around, Kakoi-san.”

 

Kakoi didn’t respond. He was too busy speed-walking out of the room.

 

-

 

“Thanks for coming Tenzou-kun,” Kakashi said.

 

“Of course, Sempai,” Tenzou said.

 

“Gai-kun, you said wanted to know if I saw anything suspicious,” Kakashi said.

 

“Yes!” Gai said. “What have you seen?”

 

“Itachi,” Kakashi said.

 

For the benefit of Tenzou, Kakashi repeated everything he had already told Gai. Then he recruited Tenzou to help guard Sasuke-kun’s house, so the kids would never be alone, even when Kakashi had to be elsewhere.

 

-

 

After introducing Tenzou to the kids and giving them instructions for training in blindfolded combat, Kakashi spent the day in the section of the library restricted to those who were chuunin and above, where he brushed up on his knowledge of the Evil Sealing Method and tried to find anything better. Unfortunately, he came up empty handed. He would need to examine the results of Sasuke’s research to see if it could be useful.

 

He also wrote a letter to Jiraiya, requesting his presence in Konoha during the exam, because he worried that Orochimaru would target Sasuke. Then, before he could think better of it, he sent a letter to Tsunade, too, making the same request. Jiraiya and Tsunade were both itinerant ninjas, so Kakashi couldn’t even be sure that his letters would reach them, but he had to try.

 

After that, he paid Anko a visit. After bribing her with all the Dango she could eat, he got her to explain how Orochimaru had placed a juinjutsu on her (disgusting) an what exactly it did (baffling).

 

“It doesn’t do anything,” Anko said.

 

“Nothing?” Kakashi asked dubiously.

 

“As far as I know,” Anko said. “The Hokage says my seal is dormant. Maybe it only activates under certain conditions.”

 

“Have you ever tried to remove it?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Of course I have!” Anko said testily. “You think I want this damned thing on my neck?! I can’t even wear a bathing suit because of this! There’s a rumor that it makes me his servant, that I’m not trustworthy, because of what he did to me! I’ve spent my whole career trying to wash the stink of being Orochimaru’s student off! Nobody would give me a chance until the Infiltration Force did! Do you seriously think I wouldn’t get rid of this thing if I could?!”

 

“What have you tried?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Why do you want to know?” Anko asked.

 

“Because I’m afraid that he’s going to mark one of my students next,” Kakashi said.

 

The stick of dango snapped in Anko’s grip. She set the remains of her snack on the plate and took a calming breath.

 

“Tell me everything,” Anko said darkly.

 

-

 

“Anko-san got me the hookup. In the event that Orochimaru shows himself during the chuunin exam, you three are to open this scroll immediately,” Kakashi said. “It will summon me to you.” He gave it to Sakura, reasoning that Sasuke might not have the time to focus on anything but defending himself against Orochimaru’s bite and Naruto might lose it. Sakura stitched together a hip holster for the scroll that very evening.

 

-

 

The kids were all working out of textbooks on chakra nature transformations today, as they sat with their backs to one wall of the Uchiha Quarter. Kakashi didn’t have to do much more than read his book and answer the occasional question as he lay in the shade of the wall. Most of these questions came from Naruto, but Sasuke eventually had one.

 

“If you combine Lightning with Fire, do you get an electrical fire? Would that be impervious to Water?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Who knows?” Kakashi asked. “No one’s ever done it before. But, if I had to guess, yeah. There’s also Lightning and Wind that remain uncombined.”

 

“That might be Swift Release,” Sasuke said. “It makes you fast. Hiruko can use it.”

 

“Who’s Hiruko?” Sakura asked, but Kakashi knew that name.

 

“He’s a missing-nin from Konoha,” Kakashi said. “Of the Sannin’s generation. He developed a technique that allows him to absorb people, taking their kekkei genkai.”

 

“I know that kekkei genkai are made from one person combing chakra of two different natures, but is it possible to combine it with someone else?” Sakura asked. “Without literally absorbing their bodies, I mean!”

 

“That would take a lot of control,” Kakashi said. “You’d have to match your chakra output to your partner’s. I’ve heard of it being done, but it’s difficult.”

 

Sasuke held out his hand to Sakura and the faint orange glow of Earth Release chakra shown in his palm.

 

“I’ll try to hold my output steady,” Sasuke said. “You use Water Release, match my output, and direct it.”

 

“You mean, to create Wood Release?!” Sakura said. “Okay!” She put her palm over Sasuke’s and before Kakashi could warn them, a dribble of mud started flowing from between their palms.

 

“Yuck!” Naruto said.

 

“It’s very difficult,” Kakashi said. “It isn’t something that a couple genin would be able to do.”

 

And then, against all expectations, the mud stopped and, in its place, the sapling of a Hashirama tree started growing out from between Sakura and Sasuke’s hands.

 

“Woah! You made a tree!” Naruto shouted. “You’re the best, Sakura-chan!”

 

“Yeah!” Sakura shouted, snatching up the sapling and waving it around. “Did you see that? I did it! I did it! We did it! Sasuke-kun and I made a kekkei genkai! We made Wood Release!”

 

After Kakashi picked his jaw up off the floor, he found Sasuke smirking at him.

 

“What are you smirking about?” Kakashi asked. “Sakura-chan is the one who did all the work.”

 

“I know,” Sasuke said, still smirking as he wiped his muddy hand on his shorts. “She can do anything.”

 

Sakura blushed happily.

 

“Thanks, Sasuke-kun!” Sakura laughed, jumping up to twirl around.

 

Was Sasuke proud of Sakura? He was, wasn’t he? Not only did that show a proper team spirit, it was kind of cute, too. Kakashi sighed and gave the happily wiggling Sakura a head pat, before leaning over to pat Sasuke on the head, too.

 

“Good job,” Kakashi said.

 

-

 

“Hey, Tenzou-kun,” Kakashi said coyly.

 

“Yes, Kakashi-sempai?” Tenzou said.

 

“Would you be willing to help train my student, Sakura-chan, a little?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Of course!” Tenzou said. “I can stop by tomorrow afternoon. What does she need training in?”

 

“Wood Release,” Kakashi said, handing him a sprig of the Hashirama tree Sakura and Sasuke had grown.

 

The resultant expression on Tenzou’s face was priceless.

 

-

 

“If you’re going to be training Sasuke in Lightning Release and Tenzou is going to be training Sakura-chan in Wood Release, who’s going to be training me?” Naruto asked.

 

“Me!” Koharu said enthusiastically, pointing at herself with her tail and both her thumbs. “You need to get a better handle on the basics, Naruto-kun, and I can help you with that! Come on!”

 

“Where are we going?” Naruto asked.

 

“You three are going to practice water walking,” Koharu said with a grin. “While dodging my attacks!”

 

“Ha!” Naruto laughed, pointing at Koharu rudely. “You’re just a little thing! I wouldn’t even need to dodge; I could just swat you out of the air!”

 

-

 

“The foreign participants will begin arriving tomorrow,” Sasuke said, as he cleaned Naruto’s wounds. “Before they arrive and until they have left Konoha, I want you and Toneri-kun to remain in Shinku no Machi.”

 

“Can… My parents stay there, too?” Sakura asked.

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said.

 

“Thanks,” Sakura said.

 

“I can fight this Orochimaru for you,” Hikari said. “If your brother could handle him, then so can I.”

 

“Clearly, this girl has no idea how strong either of those two are,” Kakashi thought.

 

“Even if you kill him, he won’t necessarily stay dead,” Sasuke said. “Showing yourself would make you his target, too. The threat he poses will not end until he’s dead and every instance of his juinjutsus are removed. Because each Cursed Seal of Heaven contains some of Orochimaru’s DNA, some Nature Energy, and some tether for Orochimaru’s soul, each one is a potential point from which he can be resurrected.”

 

“So, I should just let him attack you?” Hikari said. “When I could stop him?”

 

“I can stop him, too,” Sasuke said.

 

“Clearly, Hikari isn’t the only one who has no idea how strong Orochimaru is,” Kakashi thought, feeling a headache coming on.

 

“Besides, there’s the matter of his juinjutsu. The Cursed Seal of Heaven kills ninety percent of the people he afflicts with it. We know that I can survive it, but you might not,” Sasuke said.

 

“You’re too weak,” Hikari said. “You can’t even beat me in a fight.”

 

“I may be weak, but I am still an Uchiha,” Sasuke said.

 

That line surprised Kakashi. By what metric was Sasuke weak? Compared to Orochimaru, perhaps, but that wasn’t a fair comparison. Sasuke was twelve and Orochimaru was fifty-one.

 

“So, you’re going to use your Sharingan?” Hikari asked.

 

“I’m going to use my head,” Sasuke said. “A genjutsu cannot be convincing unless there is a dedicated intellect behind it.”

 

“So, what’s your big plan?” Hikari asked.

 

Sasuke explained it very simply.

 

“Spikes,” Sasuke said, before briefly transforming himself to produce a ring of spikes around his neck.

 

As plans went, it wasn’t all that clever. In fact, it hardly qualified as a plan. Kakashi would not have described it as anything more than a method of last resort. None the less, he had to admit that it would probably work if Sasuke got the timing right, because Orochimaru apparently applied the damned seal with his fucking mouth to his victims’ god-damned necks, an action which inevitably brought his brain into very close proximity to Sasuke and his spikes.

 

… It might work.

 

“It won’t come to that,” Kakashi said. “Because you guys are going to summon me the very instant you see him.”

 

Sasuke pursed his lips in a way that boded ill, so Kakashi crossed his arms and glared at the boy.

 

“… About that,” Sasuke said.

 

-

 

The night before the Chuunin Exam, Kakashi sat on the roof of the last house in the Uchiha Quarter and stared into the direction of the lodging for the foreign examinees.

 

“Kakashi-kun,” Jiraiya said, touching down on the roof nearby.

 

“Jiraiya-sensei,” Kakashi said. “Thank you for coming.”

 

“I was coming home soon anyway,” Jiraiya said. “I wanted to work on my next novel.”

 

Kakashi resisted the urge to fanboy and ask for details. He was on a mission. This was serious. He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by the next novel in the Icha-Icha series.

 

“What’s it about?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Can’t tell you that, can I?” Jiraiya said with a grin. “You’ll have to wait and see, just like everybody else!”

 

“Damn,” Kakashi said, deeply disappointed.

 

“So, why do you think Orochimaru is about to attack your student?” Jiraiya asked.

 

“Can you think of a time when security around the village will have more gaps?” Kakashi said.

 

“And Orochimaru has always had a thing about kekkei genkai,” Jiraiya said. “Alright, if your student draws him out, I’ll be ready to step in.”

 

“Thank you, Jiraiya-sensei,” Kakashi said. “I have a related matter to consult you on, as well.”

 

“Oh? What’s that?” Jiraiya asked.

 

“Orochimaru’s juinjutsu,” Kakashi said. “The Cursed Seal of Heaven.” Kakashi explained everything he had learned about the Cursed Seal of Heaven.

 

“That son of a bitch,” Jiraiya growled. “How does that work? How does it allow him to reform his body?”

 

“I don’t know,” Kakashi admitted.

 

“… Maybe he occupies his host’s body,” Jiraiya speculated. “That might allow him to claim any kekkei genkai they had for his own, at least while he was using that host’s body.”

 

“If he dies, do you think he could automatically take over the body of the nearest victim of the mark?” Kakashi asked.

 

“I doubt it,” Jiraiya said, shaking his head. “Something like that, I guess it could be done, but I imagine you’d have to be pretty damned powerful to manage it. That would be like nothing I’ve ever seen. Orochimaru could never pull that off. No way.

 

“Still, he’s always had a way with people. He probably has someone waiting in the wings to resurrect him if he falls. Probably, they’ll just be using the medium of the cursed seal to do it.” Jiraiya rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “How did you find out about all this anyway, Kakashi-kun?”

 

“When Sasuke-kun became my student, I took an interest in his enemies,” Kakashi said. “I might not be strong enough to defeat Orochimaru on my own, but I won’t let him touch that boy.”

 

“How scary! Who else have you reached out to?” Jiraiya asked.

 

“Tsunade-hime, Hokage-sama, Anko-san, and a few others that I trust,” Kakashi said.

 

“Ha! A who’s who of people who he’s crossed, huh?” Jiraiya remarked. “If Tsunade-hime really does come back for this, it’s going to be a party!”

 

“Between the two of us, I have some thoughts on how his juinjutsu might be removed,” Kakashi said. He shared what experiments he’d seen in Sasuke’s notebook.

 

“And you’re saying it worked?!” Jiraiya asked. “You’ve seen it with your own eyes?”

 

“It isn’t my research,” Kakashi admitted. “But if what I read is to be believed, it worked.”

 

“Whose research it?” Jiraiya asked, sounding intensely curious.

 

“I’d rather not say,” Kakashi said.

 

“Hm. I can see why,” Jiraiya said.

 

“Ah, I had a question,” Kakashi asked. “In the notes, the mentioned a ‘toad stick,’ but I couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Do you know what a toad stick is?”

 

Jiraiya pinched his chin in thought.

 

“The only ‘toad stick’ I can think of is the discipline stick the toads use on those who are learning to mediate in their journey to attaining Sage Mode. If someone takes in too much Nature Energy, they die, so the toads use this stick that expels all the Nature Energy at once from a person’s body. Other than that, I have no idea what it could be,” Jiraiya said.

 

“Ah,” Kakashi said. “I think that was probably what they meant.”

 

“Is this person familiar with the toads of Mt. Myouboku? Are they a fellow toad summoner?” Jiraiya asked eagerly.

 

“Who knows?” Kakashi said evasively. “Do you think a tool like that might have an effect on the Curse Seal of Heaven?”

 

“I don’t think it would remove it, if that’s what you mean,” Jiraiya said. “But, if the curse seal does something with Nature Energy when activated, then the discipline stick might stop it from progressing or even reverse it. I’ll talk to the toads tomorrow about how they made it.”

 

“Anything they’d be willing to share would be appreciated, I’m sure,” Kakashi said.

 

“I’ll see what I can get for your source,” Jiraiya said with a nod.

 

“Thanks,” Kakashi said. He sighed and stared back towards Konoha proper. “Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”

 

“Don’t worry. We’ll protect your student,” Jiraiya said, crossing his arms. “Nobody messes with Konoha without paying the price.”

 

“Damn straight,” Kakashi thought. If Orochimaru really had entered Konoha, he was never going to leave it alive.

Notes:

The proctor is “Gekko Hayate” and “Yamori” is the Japanese word for “Gecko.” It’s a bilingual pun.

Did you know that, in, “Itachi Shinden: Book of Dark Night,” Itachi kills a pair of twins named, “Gozu” and “Mezu?” On the one hand, it shows recycling of names by the author. On the other hand, it shows Sasuke being a better person than his brother is!

I had to rewrite parts of this chapter over and over again, too, because my instinct was to maximize drama. Oh, well. At least I had fun writing that soap opera.

For instance, in the first draft, I had the Hokage really grill Sasuke, trying to poke holes in his story, but that wasn’t exactly in-character. Even if he doesn’t hold any special affection for Sasuke the way he does Naruto, he strikes me as a very uncurious and lackadaisical person.

Look at how he handled Wave. Gatou had been tearing up the neighboring country of Wave for a year, Tazuna’s son-in-law was very publicly executed by Gatou, and Tazuna was very publicly making a bridge to spite Gatou, but the Hokage still sent Team Seven to Wave and he did so without informing them about Gatou. Yes, Tazuna is depicted as deceptive, but the Hokage was weirdly uninformed about foreign affairs for someone who is described as the emperor’s equal. Being knowledgeable about such things is a head of state’s job. It’s doubly important for him to know the local conditions of the places he sends his soldiers. It’s a failure to do his of due diligence and to prepare his soldiers adequately. So, yeah, this dude is just floating down the river of life in an inner tube, sipping a mojito, and occasionally wrestling an alligator… Or would it be an anaconda?

Chapter 9: Orochimaru, Part I

Summary:

The Chunnin Exam begins.

Notes:

You know that moment when you look through your scraps document and realize that you cut a line that is referenced in a later scene, but you’ve already published that chapter… Guys, Gai was supposed to tell Kakashi to build trust with Sasuke, but I cut that entire scene! I really should have taken another day and edited that last chapter. Maybe I’ll go back when the story is over and edit everything. Maybe it’s fine. This way, at least, Kakashi looks smart enough to figure something out on his own, right?

I keep forgetting what I’ve included and what I haven’t. My scraps file is 50,000 words long. I keep going, “Did I write it this way or the other way?” Yes! The answer always is, “yes, both,” but it isn’t part of the story! It’s on the cutting-room floor!

For instance, I started writing the Orochimaru fight from Sasuke’s point of view, because I was just mindlessly continuing the previous scene, but it was obviously going to be more engaging to read from Kakashi’s point of view, so I published it that way. All these revisions, combined with really long chapters, make it tedious to keep track of who knows what. *shakes head at herself*

At least the weather is good for writing. What I like best about fall is how much darker it is than summer. I’m photosensitive, so I like my days short and my nights long, even though my night vision is only average and I’m weak to the cold. If I’ve had too much sun, all I can do at the end of the day if listen to a book with my eyes closed.

Another good thing about longer nights is the owls. Because it was dark this morning, when I took my dogs out, I got to hear an eastern screech-owl, Megascops asio, whinnying. The owl was saying, “This is my territory! All these mice are mine! I’ll fight you!” But musically. Owls have such a beautiful way of being antisocial.

Oh, for those of you waiting for Neji to dance onto the stage, he has arrived! Dancing Neji… Do you think a Neji dance would be like the Palm Rotation, but slow? Sort of a tai chi thing? I bet the Hyuugas go all in on arm movements when they dance.

Gaara is here now, too! He’s a sad little thing, so I made him sad-looking, too. Rejoice!

The day of the Chuunin Exams had arrived. Hikari, Toneri, and Sakura’s parents had already left two days ago to spend a week with the rodents, who were happy to host them all, but especially Hikari. Sayaka hadn’t gotten to meet Hikari yet and was very excited to do so. All of the rodents had a soft spot for the girl they had helped rescue. It would be a vacation for Sakura’s parents, but Toneri and Hikari would continue their lessons… Until Sayaka got her hands on them and took everyone swimming, instead.

 

Toneri and Hikari had both already been to their first checkup at the hospital and gotten a blood test and their first round of vaccines, as well as a schedule for future vaccines and some other appointments. Hikari, for instance, needed to see a gynecologist and both of them needed their yearly physical. The two had also gone to the dentist for the first time. Sasuke had accompanied them closely to ensure that Kabuto didn’t try to approach them and felt relieved each time they left the hospital without incident. Having someone working at the hospital who engaged in human experimentation, kidnapping, slavery, and murder made it a stressful place to take one’s dependents.

 

Sasuke regretted that he hadn’t made time to introduce Hikari and Toneri to more kids their own age, but they seemed to get along well with the rest of Team Seven and they hadn’t seemed lonely, so Sasuke let it slide. He’d prioritized his own training instead, along with the rest of Team Seven. Since Naruto had started reading the book Sakura had gotten him for his birthday, he’d become an absolute menace in a fight. Sasuke just wasn’t fast enough to blitz four well-coordinated versions of Naruto, let alone a dozen of them.

 

That worried Sasuke. Shouldn’t he be able to handle Naruto’s shadow clones? Story-Sasuke had been able to. Was Sasuke slower than he should be? In the story, Sasuke’s speed and reaction time had been important to his survival, hadn’t they? Would Sasuke be able to protect Toneri and Hikari if he didn’t get faster and stronger? He’d made his peace with never surpassing Itachi, with staying weak, with losing his battles, but the stakes were higher now. Sure, the fate of the world had been at stake before, but now Sasuke had a clan that was part of that world. It was stressful. Sasuke was thirteen. That meant Tobi, Madara, Black Zetsu, and Kaguya were going to show up with big, heavy boots on to kick Sasuke’s ass in just four years. Sasuke needed to get stronger. A little voice at the back of his head told him that he was strong in other ways.

 

An answering voice told him that “other ways” wouldn’t keep his family alive.

 

To help deal with his anxieties, Sasuke took ten minutes to write in his diary. It didn’t erase his feelings, but it made them feel less overwhelming. That was good, because he needed to focus today. He couldn’t afford to be distracted. He was going to defeat his opponents in the chuunin exam and return home safely to his family. Failure was unacceptable.

 

“Ready to go, Naruto-kun?” Sakura called, as she stepped into the entry hall, where Sasuke stood waiting for everyone.

 

“Just got to do my dishes!” Naruto called back, as the sound of dishes dropping into the sink rang out.

 

“Don’t worry, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura said soothingly, fingering her braids. “We’re going to be okay.”

 

“Hm,” Sasuke agreed.

 

That morning, Sasuke had done Sakura’s hair. She had spent the night again, as she had done more and more over the last few weeks. She was starting to spend more nights at Sasuke’s house than at her own. Sasuke had put Sakura’s hair into two tight crown braids, so it would be harder to grab during a fight, and he’d used a little extra oil to reduce braid shred, because the second exam would put the style’s staying power to the test.

 

Kakashi had given Sakura a barrette with a realistic paper butterfly, a Common Bluebottle, with both sides of its wings painted accurately. It had been hardened with some resin, but it was still quite light and fragile. This clip, given as thanks for, of all things, keeping Sasuke from going to Kusa to rescue Karin, was sitting proudly on the side of her head. Sasuke had to admit that the blue-green of the butterfly’s wings contrasted well with Sakura’s pink hair. Because the painted butterfly was so realistic, it almost looked as though a butterfly had mistaken Sakura for her namesake.

 

Kakashi himself was nowhere to be found, having left early to look into something. Instead, Tenzou was accompanying the genin of Team Seven for the morning.

 

“That’s right,” Tenzou said. “In Kakashi-sempai’s entire ANBU career, he never lost a single comrade. He’ll ensure everyone makes it through this together, no matter what we’re up against. Believe in him.”

 

Sasuke wondered if he was so easy to read. Sasuke must have become an open book if even Tenzou, a young man who was barely acquainted with Sasuke, had no trouble picking up on Sasuke’s anxiety.

 

“We’re going to kick everyone’s asses!” Naruto declared as he emerged from the kitchen. He ran a hand through his hair at the nape of his neck.

 

Sasuke and Toneri had gotten their hair trimmed the day before at the hairdresser’s, but Naruto had decided to grow out his hair, because he wanted to try out his dad’s hairstyle. Since it would be longer and more prone to breaking, Sasuke had gotten Naruto some conditioner to help keep his hair healthy. Naruto had turned his nose up at the gift, until Sasuke and Toneri had revealed that they both already used conditioner themselves.

 

“Boys need to take care of their appearance, just as much as girls do!” Sakura lectured. “It makes you look more professional. You wouldn’t want the Hokage to walk around stinking and looking like a slob, would you? So many guys let their looks slide, as if that makes them more manly. Really, it just makes them look gloomy!”

 

The threat of never being attractive to Sakura scared Naruto into using the conditioner. Sasuke had even seen him filing his nails before bed that night and washing his face before he came down to breakfast this morning.

 

Team Seven and Tenzou walked in the Academy building and up a single flight of stairs. Sasuke had been expecting the genjutsu, so he had a stronger reaction to it than he normally did, actually shivering at the sensation. It was just so weird to feel a dollop of someone else’s chakra drop into your living brain. He pushed it out without effort.

 

“What’s this?” Naruto asked, looking at the crowd of people around the door to room 201.

 

“Give me your hand,” Sasuke said, holding out his own hand palm up.

 

“Why? You want to hold hands? Are you scared, Sasuke? Don’t worry, I’ll protect you!” Naruto teased, but he put his hand in Sasuke’s. Sasuke pulsed a little of his own chakra through Naruto’s system, dislodging the genjutsu.

 

“Oh!” Naruto said, he turned back to the crowd and frowned. “What the heck?!”

 

“Sakura-chan, are you good?” Sasuke asked, releasing Naruto’s hand to hold his hand out to her instead. He knew she would be, but felt he should offer anyway. Sakura took his hand with a smile. Sasuke tried to dislodge the genjutsu from her, but found it was really already gone.

 

“… Did she just accept my hand because I offered it?” Sasuke thought, as he released the blushing girl’s hand. A brief image of a golden retriever offering its paw to shake appeared in his mind.

 

“Shall we just go?” Sakura asked, her blush deepening and voice going high with embarrassment.

 

Sasuke twitched as he watched Kotetsu hit Tenten in the face and fall to the floor, where Lee was sitting, apparently having fallen over before Sasuke’s group arrived. Had the confrontation between Kotetsu and… the other one, whose name Sasuke couldn’t remember, and the genin examinees gotten violent in the story? He didn’t think so. Had something changed? Had he just forgotten? If things were already changing, could he trust his own knowledge of the future any longer? His anxiety rose.

 

“What a bastard,” Sasuke thought angrily, ignoring everything Kotetsu was saying in favor of wondering if he should offer to help Lee up. Tenten was already on her feet again, but Lee was staying down. Had he been very badly injured? Did Tenten need her face looked at? Where could he get an ice pack for her?

 

Apparently, Naruto was ignoring Kotetsu, too, because he interrupted the man’s little monologue.

 

“No way!” Naruto shouted. “Hey! You two! Did you put a genjutsu on me?! That’s not cool! And stop hitting people! We’re all here to take the same test, so why are you getting in our way?!”

 

“I just explained that,” Kotetsu said irritably. “What are you, deaf or something?”

 

“Let’s go, everyone. This isn’t even the third floor,” Sakura said. “It’s the second.”

 

Several of the other entrants looked shocked and looked around the room, trying to find the weaknesses of the genjutsu, while several others simply made the appropriate hand seal and broke the trick with a sharp “kai.”

 

Everyone turned their backs on the pair of chuunins in disguise and made their way to the line of genin going up the stairs to the third floor.

 

Through the crowd of people, Sasuke tried to see how injured Lee and Tenten were. He was excited to see Lee again, even though he knew the other boy was only here to give him a beatdown. This was the first time he had seen him since Lee graduated from the Academy. Lee’s new outfit and haircut were silly looking, but Lee himself looked happy and healthy. There wasn’t even a mark of him from his fight with Kotetsu and Sasuke saw that Tenten looked untouched, too. Had they just been play-acting to make others think they were weak?

 

“You guys sure are comfortable turning your backs on me,” Kotetsu said warningly.

 

“Kotetsu-san,” Sasuke said, without turning back around. “It’s over.”

 

Tenzou snorted quietly as he followed them.

 

“… Brat!” Kotetsu shouted at Sasuke’s retreating back.

 

“Hey!” a voice called out. As Sasuke’s group was about to go up the stairs, they were waylaid by Lee.

 

“Uchiha Sasuke-kun, I am Rock Lee and I challenge you to a fight!” Lee said. “We’ll see if hard work beats a clan pedigree!”

 

“I concede,” Sasuke said, as Tenzou opened his mouth to speak and Tenten sighed tiredly.

 

“… What? You won’t fight me?” Lee asked, blinking.

 

“Since we were in the Academy, I have always admired you, Lee-sempai. Now, you have a teacher who is the best ninja in Konoha, as his father was before him. With his tutelage and your perseverance, could I hope to win against you? Certainly not without injury,” Sasuke said. Lee looked stunned at Sasuke’s explanation.

 

“Are you serious?!” Naruto said. “This guy?! You don’t think you could beat this guy?! He’s a clown! I could beat him in my sleep! He had his ass handed to him by that Kotetsu guy back there!” Sasuke ignored Naruto, but Lee didn’t. Just as Lee was about to reply to Naruto, Sasuke spoke again.

 

“Though I‘m defeated, I have a word of advice for you, if you’ll permit me: spend less time worrying about how you compare to others. You’ll always be your own greatest opponent,” Sasuke said, feeling a blush start to spread over his face at what he was about to say. “And you are great, Lee-sempai.”

 

Sasuke was glad he had met Lee today. Seeing Lee reminded Sasuke didn’t need to worry about how he compared to Naruto. Just like Lee, he only had to worry about how he compared to his past self. Sasuke was getting stronger all the time. All he could do was his best…

 

Though a nagging doubt remained that it wouldn’t be enough.

 

“What?” Naruto ask, sounding baffled.

 

Lee looked even more surprised, but then tears welled in his eyes and his fist shook with emotion.

 

“Sasuke-kun, you’re as cool as I’ve heard! You are absolutely right! I have allowed myself to be distracted from my own progress by the progress of others!” Lee said.

 

“Did that mean something to you?” Naruto asked Lee.

 

“Your sincerity has touched my heart! I have been defeated as well this day! When this exam is over, I hope that you will have a rematch with me!” Lee said.

 

In spite of himself, a grin stretched Sasuke’s mouth. How wholesome and adorable! Lee was like a big, clumsy puppy on his way to being a proper search and rescue dog! This guy wasn’t one of his favorite characters for nothing.

 

“Alright,” Sasuke agreed with a nod. He was looking forward to it. Even if he lost, Lee was a great guy when he wasn’t trying to grind Sasuke into a fine paste to soothe his own insecurities.

 

“Who is his teacher?” Sakura asked.

 

“My teacher is the one and only Might Gai-Sensei! He is indeed the strongest ninja in Konoha!” Lee said proudly. “Come! Let’s go to the exam together, my friends!” The boy sparkled at them.

 

Uwaaa! Cuteness overload! And he’d called Sasuke his friend! What a brave little hero! Lee was like a green budgie with a sword and a shield! That would make Gai an emerald toucanet! How would he wear a knight’s helmet though? How would his beak fit? Gai would have to be a Quaker parrot or a blue-fronted Amazon parrot. Aw, man! That would be so cute! A knight and his page, but birds!

 

Sasuke tried to keep cool in spite of his genuine happiness at having spoken with Rock Lee. It was only a pity that Might Gai hadn’t had an occasion to appear, because Sasuke hadn’t fought Lee.

 

“Might Gai-san?” Sakura said as they all went up the stair together. “The bushy eyebrowed ninja who wore the… the… Oh, my God, they’re wearing the same ugly clothes!”

 

“Wow, they really are!” Naruto said with faint horror. “I can believe that two separate people with the same terrible taste in clothes exist!”

 

Tenzou’s suppressed laughter filled the air.

 

“There’s no call to be mean!” Lee said, looking hurt.

 

“It is pretty unstylish,” Tenten said.

 

“No, it’s-!” Lee started, but he was interrupted by Naruto.

 

“It doesn’t make any sense, though!” Naruto said. “How can you be your own opponent? You can’t fight yourself, not unless you were using the shadow clone technique or something!”

 

“Ah! It means that you must seek out and destroy your own weaknesses, training against yourself every day, if you wish to best yourself! You have to fight your own insecurities before you can face your opponents on the field of battle! The power of others does not determine your own! It’s very deep!” Lee said. “As expected of the student of my teacher’s rival!”

 

“Do you mean Kakashi?” Naruto asked. “Kakashi-sensei’s not deep, though. And since when is the noisy, bushy-eyebrowed guy Kakashi-sensei’s rival? He’s a clown, too!”

 

“Don’t talk about my sensei that way!” Lee shouted.

 

“Let’s not fight,” Tenten said placatingly. Sasuke got the impression she was highly experienced at filling the role of moderator. “Has your teacher talked to you about us?”

 

Sasuke raised an inquisitive eyebrow. Why would Kakashi talk to them about Gai’s students?

 

“No,” Sakura said, shaking her head. “Kakashi-sensei hasn’t mentioned you guys at all. Why?”

 

“Our teacher told us to help you guys out,” Tenten said. “He thought we should team up during the second phase of the exam.”

 

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Sasuke asked, brow creasing. Tenten smiled.

 

“Don’t underestimate us,” she said. “That show back there was just so other people wouldn’t think we were a threat.”

 

“Compared to Orochimaru, you’re really not,” Sasuke thought worriedly.

 

“Alright, thanks for the assistance!” Sakura said. “Give me a minute to memorize what you three feel like, so we can find you later.”

 

“Don’t bother. We’ll find you,” Neji said, turning to leave.

 

“Do it anyway,” Sasuke said quietly to Sakura.

 

“You, too,” Sakura said. Sasuke wished he could.

 

“I’m not that good at it,” Sasuke said, as he kneaded his chakra for a bit, trying to distinguish everyone by their feel. He didn’t get much out of it, other than their locations.

 

“Really?” Sakura asked in surprise. Sasuke shook his head.

 

“We’ll be relying on you,” Sasuke said.

 

“No problem!” Sakura said, pumping a fist. “Leave it to me!”

 

Kakashi wasn’t waiting for them at the door to room 301, like he had been in the story. Sasuke wondered what that man was up to.

 

“I’ll see you three later,” Tenzou said. “Look after each other.”

 

“Will do!” Naruto said, giving Tenzou a playful salute.

 

“See you later, Tezou-san,” Sakura said.

 

Sasuke nodded to Tenzou and followed Team Gai into the room. As soon as the door closed behind them, Ino hurried over and hugged Sasuke.

 

“Sasuke-kun, you made it!” Ino said. “I’m so glad we get to take the exam together!”

 

Sasuke sighed at her antics and patted her on the shoulder. If Ino’s eyes weren’t glued to Sasuke’s own face, he’d suspect that she was doing this just to get a rise out of Sakura. That was exactly what she got, after all.

 

“Ino-pig, let Sasuke-kun go!” Sakura hissed.

 

“Oh hey, Billboard Brow,” Ino said. “I didn’t see you there. What’s with the new hairstyle?”

 

Sakura made a face like the cat who caught the canary.

 

“You like it?” Sakura asked, petting her braids. “Sasuke-kun did my hair for me this morning!”

 

“What?!” Ino shouted, causing several people to turn around in their seats to look at them.

 

“Yeah,” Sakura said. “He didn’t want it to be damaged during the test. Isn’t he sweet?”

 

“You!” Ino seethed, releasing Sasuke to shake a fist at Sakura. He hoped she wasn’t planning to mess up Sakura’s hair. He didn’t know if he’d have time to redo it. Then, Ino spun around to face Sasuke again. “Sasuke-kun, do my hair, too!”

 

Sasuke considered Ino’s hair and then he made a swiveling motion with one finger. Ino squealed and spun around.

 

“Are you seriously going to do her hair?” Shikamaru said, mooching over with his hands in his pockets.

 

Sasuke shrugged as he started twisting Ino’s hair. Sasuke didn’t know how much time he would have, nor did he have any ties, so he went with a simple style. After he had put a twist into a long enough section of Ino’s hair, he began to set it into a bun around her hair tie.

 

“Do you like doing hair, Sasuke?” Naruto asked.

 

“I don’t mind it,” Sasuke said, twisting the next section of Ino’s hair. Ino had really nice hair. It was so silky.

 

“Hello!” Lee said. “I’m Rock Lee and these are my teammates, Neji and Tenten!”

 

As Sasuke worked, Team Gai became acquainted with Team Asuma.

 

“Hey guys!” Kiba yelled over the hubbub of the room, as he made his way with the rest of Team Kurenai over to the back of the room where Sasuke and the others were. “Hey, Sasuke-kun! What are you doing?”

 

“A bun,” Sasuke said.

 

“You… What are you, her big sister?” Kiba asked incredulously.

 

“She can call me, ‘Big Sister,’ so long as she doesn’t call me, ‘Daddy,’” Sasuke thought, resisting the urge to smile at his private joke.

 

“Have you been practicing braiding hair instead of practicing your jutsus?” Kiba teased. “You better look out. I’ve been training non-stop since we graduated from the Academy. I’m definitely going to beat you this time.”

 

“Hey! What am I, chopped liver?!” Naruto said. “Just because you can beat Sasuke doesn’t mean you can beat me!”

 

“Too tight?” Sasuke asked Ino, taking his hands away from the bun so Ino could feel how it would sit against her head. “Is something pulling?”

 

“No!” Ino said. “It feels fine!”

 

Sasuke extracted a senbon from a pouch and, with great care so he wouldn’t stick Ino in the back of the head, worked the senbon through Ino’s hair to give the style more hold. He gave the bun a squeeze and judged it firm enough to last, even with vigorous movement.

 

“Done,” Sasuke said.

 

“Thanks, Sasuke-kun!” Ino said, turning around to face him excitedly.

 

“No problem,” Sasuke said.

 

“Hey, you guys are being too loud,” Kabuto scolded, emerging from the seated students to come ingratiate himself with Sasuke and his team.

 

Sasuke gave him a single glance, before deciding to ignore him in favor of scouting the room. It wasn’t as if Kabuto actually posed a threat at this point. Sasuke put his hands in his pockets and walked backwards up the wall to a height of about a yard, so he could get a better view of the classroom. Then, he started kneading his chakra as he looked around, trying to identify everyone. There was Karin, immediately obvious with her watermelon hair, looking nervous. Sasuke was relieved to see her, but he thought she looked somewhat tired. Next, Sasuke found Orochimaru and his two lackies, looking creepy. There was the rest of Kabuto’s team, looking like chumps. There was the group Gaara would kill, looking tragically confident. There was the Oto team, blatantly staring back at Sasuke. Finally, there was Gaara. To Sasuke’s chakra sense, everyone felt about the same, with three exceptions.

 

Naruto and Karin had a lot more chakra than everyone else did and Sasuke could actually sense something unpleasant in Gaara. That made sense, Sasuke decided. Even though Shukaku was sealed into him, it was more like a lid on a boiling pot than an iron door on a prison cell. His seal must be very different than Naruto’s to produce such different results. As if sensing Sasuke’s gaze, Gaara turned around in his seat and looked directly at Sasuke. Team Seven hadn’t encountered Gaara and his siblings before, because they’d been holed up in the Uchiha Quarter, so this was Sasuke’s first time seeing the boy. Far from being intimidating, Sasuke thought he looked sickly and small for his age. Surprisingly, his first instinct wasn’t fear, but concern for the boy, who was obviously neglected.

 

“My name is Uzumaki Naruto!” Naruto shouted suddenly, drawing Sasuke’s attention. “And I’m going to take first place in this exam!” He also drew the attention of the rest of the room, who naturally looked from the shouting boy to the boy standing on the wall to get a better view of the room. Sasuke hopped back down to the ground, trying not to feel self-conscious, and walked over to his teammates.

 

Sakura and Naruto argued for a bit and the others told Naruto he was being an idiot, but Sasuke wasn’t paying attention. The Oto ninjas were about to attack and he didn’t want his teammates to get caught up in it. Because he was watching for it, he caught the moment the Oto team moved and pulled his teammates back a bit.

 

The Oto ninja with the grass raincoat struck at Kabuto, not hitting him directly, but shattering his glasses and causing him to vomit on the floor with the simultaneous sonic attack.

 

“Who’s going to clean that up?” Sasuke thought, nose wrinkling, as Sakura and Naruto ran to Kabuto’s side sympathetically and the Oto ninjas backed away and boasted. “Stupid Kabuto with his stupid weak-loser act, vomiting all over the place. I don’t have my kitchen gloves with me. I don’t want to touch vomit.”

 

Before Sasuke could figure out a plan of action to deal with the mess that didn’t involve getting Kabuto’s vomit on his hands, the proctors arrived. Thus, Sasuke decided to leave it to them and examine the invigilators, instead. Morino Ibiki was a lot bigger than Sasuke was expecting. He was also very cool.

 

“That trench coat is awesome,” Sasuke thought, as Ibiki chastised the examinees and threatened to flunk them. “The collar isn’t the best, though. It’s too big. Is it reinforced with cardboard?” The ninja sandals clashed a bit with the rest of the outfit, too, in Sasuke’s opinion. Combat boots would have completed the look perfectly. Sasuke tapped his foot. “Where can I get some Doc Martens? I’m tired of ninja sandals.” The grey uniforms of T&I weren’t much to look at, though. Very work-a-day. It looked like the kind of clothing chosen because it didn’t show stains.

 

As Sasuke stood in line to get his seating assignment for the test, Sakura chastised him.

 

“Rather than pulling Naruto-kun and me back, you should have pulled Kabuto-san out of the way or at least called out a warning,” Sakura said. Sasuke, who had deliberately placed himself between his teammates and Kabuto’s team in line, didn’t bother replying, but Kabuto defended Sasuke’s actions over Sasuke’s shoulder.

 

“Don’t blame Sasuke-kun. He was simply looking out for him teammates first,” Kabuto said, rather patronizingly in Sasuke’s opinion. “His reflexes are very good! Even if he had shouted a warning, I’m not sure I would have had time to react to the incoming attack! I had no idea it would make me sick, even though I dodged it!” Sasuke overcame the urge to turn and glare at Kabuto, but his eyes narrowed involuntarily.

 

“This son of a bitch,” Sasuke thought. Having Kabuto at his back was already making him uncomfortable and now Kabuto was being obnoxious. Why couldn’t he stop buzzing around? The young man was like a bee in Sasuke’s hair; harmless unless provoked, but still uncomfortably close. This easy paper test was turning out to be a real pain.

 

After getting his seating assignment, Sasuke sat down and listened as Ibiki explained the rules. They were as Sasuke expected, so, before he turned over his test, he looked around the room to see if he could identify the chuunins planted among the genins, who would serve as the source of the answers. He idly noted where several people of interest were seated before he identified a couple people who didn’t hesitate to start scribbling on the test, as if they didn’t need to read the questions.

 

“Bingo. Must be the chuunin plants for us to copy from,” Sasuke thought. Only then did he turn his test over.

 

… And was surprised to find that he could actually answer the first question on his own. Oh, but of course he could, he realized. Sure, a watered-down middle-school education alone wouldn’t have been sufficient to allow him to pass the test, but Sasuke didn’t have a watered-down middle-school education; he had a college education. He wrote his name across the top, answered the first question, which was a fun little cryptogram, turned the test back over, and laid across his desk like he was trying to take a nap, while practicing chakra sensing. Very quickly, he got bored, so he tapped his head to insert a genjutsu and started listening to music, as well.

 

It was a long hour. After the fifteen-minute mark, people started to get pulled from the exam for being caught cheating. Some people made a ruckus, which Sasuke watched idly. Most people left with quiet dejection and no fuss, however, so Sasuke generally didn’t bother to look up and kept his face in his arms.

 

And then Kabuto was removed. Sasuke only realized it because he knew what seat Kabuto had been assigned and felt when the chakra in that seat left. Sasuke’s instinct was to look up to confirm with his own eyes if it really was Kabuto and his team who were being removed, but the proctors were watching them all like hawks and Orochimaru and his followers were watching, too. Anyone might take notice of Sasuke taking an unusual interest in Kabuto, so he simply sat there tensely, wondering how the hell this could have happened.

 

There was no way Kabuto should have been caught cheating. He and his team were older, more experienced, and they’d taken the test six times before. Kabuto and his team must have intentionally thrown the test or been removed because one of the proctors had something else against him.

 

Maybe it wasn’t a rogue proctor, Sasuke realized. Maybe T&I had something against Kabuto. Maybe Kabuto and his team were being arrested right now, right outside the test room! Sasuke strained to extend his chakra sense further, trying to discover whether Kabuto and his team were alone or in company. He found a knot of several people leaving the building together, but he couldn’t tell how many there were, nor if Kabuto was among them. It felt like more than three, but he couldn’t say for sure. The resolution on his chakra sense simply wasn’t high enough at that distance.

 

Sasuke could only guess at what Kabuto being arrested by Konoha at this stage would mean for the future. It might make Orochimaru change his plans. What if Orochimaru ditched his current face for another one that Sasuke wouldn’t recognize? No, there wouldn’t be an opportunity to do that before the Forest of Death and Orochimaru had effectively disappeared in the story, while using his real face. He didn’t need to switch disguises.

 

Perhaps the only important change was that Sasuke wouldn’t be able to capture or kill Kabuto during the second phase of the exam. That was very unfortunate, because Kabuto had been key to resurrecting Madara and Kaguya in the story. Sasuke would need to deal with him eventually, preferably before the man learned Sage Mode. Oh well. Kabuto didn’t know Sasuke was planning to kill him, so he wouldn’t try to hide from him. Sasuke would catch him eventually.

 

Sasuke refocused on his music and his chakra sensing and let the rest of the hour pass him by.

 

“It’s time to reveal the tenth question,” Ibiki said. He then went on to ratchet up the tension by being dramatic. Sasuke yawned, canceled the genjutsu, and stretched his back and legs a little, while Ibiki tried to get the examinees to tap out. People started raising their hands to forfeit the test and Sasuke looked over at the nearest proctor, who happened to be Kotetsu…

 

Who was staring at Sasuke like he was an alien. Sasuke glared at him and looked away. A few of them were staring at Sasuke, actually.

 

“What’s up with him?” Sasuke wondered.

 

Sasuke put his chin in his hand and rested his elbow on his desk as he watched the other genin. Sasuke saw Naruto raise his hand high only to slam it back down on his desk and give the room a protagonist peptalk. Sasuke snorted as Ibiki challenged Naruto to take his words back.

 

“He’s the hero, idiot,” Sasuke thought. “Of course he isn’t going to back down.”

 

Everyone who was left after that was allowed to move on to the second exam. As Ibiki was wittering away, answering stupid question from the class in a clear attempt to spoon-feed everything to the readers, Anko broke through the god damned window. Sasuke had a bit of warning, because he was still practicing his chakra sensing, but the loud crash of a whole-ass woman smashing through a window still made him wince.

 

“The person who has to clean this room today is not going to be happy,” Sasuke thought. “Does Anko have to pay for that window?”

 

Anko introduced herself with dramatic flair and Sasuke felt a bit bad about not clapping for her, because she had obviously put some effort into things. She’d made a poster, but the room was dead silent. It was kind of pitiful. The remaining examinees followed Anko out of the room, but they didn’t have to avoid stepping in the vomit and shards of glass from Kabuto’s glasses, because someone had surreptitiously cleaned them up at some point.

 

“Did they use a ninjutsu?” Sasuke wondered. “Mess-Erasing Technique? Would that one be a space-time ninjutsu?”

 

As Sasuke was leaving with his team, Kotetsu put a hand up to stall him. Confused, Sasuke turned to the man.

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Kotetsu said. “I can’t believe you. Even the Nara kid wasn’t lazy enough to sleep through the exam. Do you even want to pass?”

 

How could Sasuke say “I don’t give a shit,” without saying “I don’t give a shit?” If he actually uttered that sentence, he was afraid he might really be removed from the exam, which would be inconvenient. Sure, he could just sneak into the Forest of Death anyway to deal with Gaara and the Oto ninjas and save Karin, but Orochimaru might bail as soon as he noticed Sasuke missing from the flock of examinees… And then what would Sasuke do? How could he guess when and where that man would lie in wait for him?

 

“… Is a promotion going to make me stronger?” Sasuke asked. There! That sounded like the kind of macho bullshit the Last Uchiha might say!

 

“Heh,” Kotetsu smirked. “You’d be happy to be a genin for life, just like your loud teammate, huh? You better start taking things seriously, though, or we’ll be recovering your corpse after the next section of the exam ends, brat.”

 

“You have no idea,” Sasuke thought, turning away.

 

“Why does everyone always ask you that?” Naruto asked as they made their way out the door.

 

“’Always?’” Kotetsu asked from behind them, but no one bothered with him.

 

“Man, Sasuke, I can’t believe you could sleep through that,” Naruto said. “I’m glad you did though! It made me feel a lot more confident about our chances! Like, if you could sleep, then we were definitely going to be fine! It was crazy how nobody had to write anything in the end!”

 

“What?!” Sakura asked, a sentiment echoed by the surrounding genin.

 

“I didn’t,” Naruto said. “Not a thing! And it’s not like they’re going to chase me down and tell me I can’t take part in the next phase of the exam, right? They’ve already passed me, so they can’t take it back! They aren’t going to grade it, are they, Sasuke?”

 

“No,” Sasuke confirmed.

 

“What?!” Sakura said. “I worried so much and spent all that time doing that test and it isn’t even going to be graded?! You could have told me, Sasuke-kun!”

 

Sasuke shrugged.

 

“It wasn’t important,” Sasuke said.

 

“Wait, Sasuke-kun knew what was going to be on the test?!” Ino asked.

 

“It was important to me!” Sakura shouted, ignoring Ino and shaking Sasuke by the shoulder. “Ugh! I almost gave up, you know? While you were over there zoning out, I almost raised my hand so that Naruto-kun wouldn’t have his dreams of being the Hokage crushed by that tenth question! I was so stressed! I knew you’d both be furious at me, but I didn’t want Naruto to be stuck as a genin forever! I struggled, okay?!”

 

Sasuke smiled faintly at Sakura. He’d forgotten that she had done the same for Naruto in the story.

 

“You’re a good friend, Sakura-chan,” Sasuke said. Sakura blushed and ducked her head.

 

“Hmph! I don’t need to become a chuunin to become the Hokage!” Naruto said. “Have more faith in me, Sakura-chan!”

 

“Okay, I will,” Sakura said, nodding.

 

“You know, it’s funny that you’re the one upset about Sasuke not telling us the answers. You’re the one who said we shouldn’t cheat, Sakura-chan,” Naruto teased. Sakura made an ugly face at Naruto. “Did you answer any of the questions, Sasuke?”

 

“It would have been suspicious if I hadn’t,” Sasuke said.

 

“I’m pretty sure they were suspicious of you,” Naruto said.

 

“So, you did know the answers!” Ino said.

 

“If you steal the test from T&I before the exam without getting caught, do you pass by default?” Shikamaru mumbled, which cause Kiba to cackle. In Sasuke’s opinion, the answer should be, “yes.”

 

“I just knew about the tenth question,” Sasuke admitted.

 

“That means you knew we didn’t have to answer any of the questions, which means you knew all the answers,” Shikamaru said sourly. “You might as well have stolen the test key.”

 

Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement.

 

“How did you find out about the tenth question anyway?” Shikamaru asked.

 

“I’m a ninja,” Sasuke lied.

 

“You’re an ass is what you are,” Shikamaru said, with a roll of his eyes and a grin.

 

“Poor Kabuto-san,” Sakura said, as everyone walked through the streets to the Forest of Death together. “He didn’t even make it past the first test, even though he was so prepared! He’s taken the test so many times already and now he has to take it again!”

 

“At least one more time,” Naruto agreed. “Maybe even more! Poor guy.”

 

“I would die of embarrassment, failing a test that many times,” Sakura said. Sasuke darted a glance at Naruto, who had failed an uncountable number of tests himself.

 

“It’s not so bad,” Naruto said. “Tests don’t matter as much as people think they do. You feel really bad the first few times you fail, but you get used to it, so it gets easier to try again. Failure isn’t the end of the world. The important thing is to keep trying.”

 

“You’re absolutely right, Naruto-kun!” Lee said. “Never give up, even in the face of defeat! Train and try again!”

 

“Yeah! You know, Sasuke wasn’t wrong about you,” Naruto said. “You might be weak, but you’re not a bad guy!” Sasuke looked heavenward at Naruto’s foolishness.

 

“Neither are you, Naruto-kun!” Lee said. “However, I’m not weak. There’s no call to belittle me! You’re hurting my feelings for no reason!”

 

“Oh, uh, sorry,” Naruto said.

 

“I forgive you!” Lee said.

 

“Thanks,” Naruto said awkwardly.

 

“Do you think Kabuto-kun couldn’t perform well because his glasses got broken?” Sakura asked sympathetically.

 

“Could be,” Naruto said. “He’ll have to take better care of his glasses next time.”

 

Sasuke let his companions’ chatter wash over him, listening idly and making sure not to look at any of his targets. It was kind of nice, he reflected, to hang out with everyone sometimes.

 

-

 

“Anko has collected the genin and all targets are in T&I custody, Sempai,” Tenzou reported.

 

“Good,” Kakashi said.

 

“So far, they’re admitting nothing,” Tenzou continued.

 

Kakashi shrugged. The degree of cooperation of Kabuto and his team was irrelevant. The Yamanakas would have the truth from them sooner or later and that dead drop Kakashi had sniffed out would keep all four in custody for as long as it took, even if the coded documents took the Analysis Team all day. The ANBU lying in wait at the dead drop location for whoever arrived might soon give T&I even more to work with.

 

“Ready?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Ready,” Gai said.

 

“Ready,” Tenzou said. “Inoichi-san is on standby in the office, Jiraiya-san is already waiting inside practice area forty-four, near the entrance that Team Seven will be assigned, and Anko-san will be following behind Team Seven once they enter.”

 

“We’re ready, too, Boss,” Pakkun said.

 

Kakashi nodded. It was time to get into position. Kakashi put his book in his pocket and put the palm of his hand on the hilt of his father’s tanto as he stepped forward into the circle.

 

-

 

It was a long walk to practice field forty-four, but Anko’s enthusiasm wasn’t diminished by the distance.

 

“You’ll soon find out why it’s called, ‘the Forest of Death!’” Anko said dramatically as she went over the rules of the second phase of the exam.

 

“’You’ll soon find out why it’s called the Forest of Death!’” Naruto mocked fearlessly, shaking his ass with his hands on his hips. Sasuke had to resist smiling, because Anko’s delivery had been a bit over the top. As Naruto kept mouthing off, Sasuke made ready to use Body Replacement. He wasn’t about to let Naruto get touched by this weird older woman with the strange hobby of licking teenage boys.

 

Seeing that Anko was about to cut and perv on Naruto, Sasuke switched places with him, taking care not to be nicked by the kunai Anko threw. Thus, when Anko materialized behind Naruto and wrapped her hands around his shoulders, she found her face within three inches an irritable Uchiha’s judgmental stare.

 

“Kids like you…” Anko began, but broke off as she stared into Sasuke’s black eyes. She shut her mouth with a click of teeth, drew back, and looked over at Naruto. Then, she looked back at Sasuke with a raised eyebrow.

 

“Aww,” she said grinning. “How cute!” She drew a second kunai and brandished it at Orochimaru, who was holding a kunai to Anko’s ear with his tongue. “You, on the other hand, aren’t cute at all.”

 

“I was simply returning your kunai to you,” Orochimaru said, looming over her shoulder.

 

“Wow,” Sasuke thought, “That face hardly counts as a disguise at all, especially while he’s clearly displaying Soft Physique Modification and his signature inclination to put his mouth on everything. How did Anko not see the resemblance in the story?”

 

“How considerate of you, but you shouldn’t sneak up behind me unless you’re looking to die,” Anko said.

 

“But you cut my hair,” Orochimaru said.

 

Sasuke, not enjoying being this close to their weird student-teacher bedroom play, backed away from Anko and tried to tune out their conversation.

 

“Kinky bastards,” Sasuke thought, glaring at Orochimaru. He went up to Sakura and pointed out Orochimaru with his eyes. He couldn’t say if she understood, but she did seem to understand that Orochimaru was someone to pay attention to, because she glared at him.

 

After Anko finally finished explaining the test, Sasuke raised his hand to ask a very important question.

 

“Is leaving training area forty-four disqualifying?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Yes,” Anko confirmed. “What, were you thinking that you could just pop home to take a nap and get a snack? This is a survival challenge, idiot! You leave that fence, you don’t come back!”

 

“Would standing on the fence count as being inside or outside of the training area?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Inside, but don’t push it,” Anko said. “Anybody knocks that fence down and they’re in trouble. And don’t move the fence, either!”

 

Sasuke nodded. Then, Sasuke and his team signed the required forms, picked up their Heaven scroll, which Sasuke stuck in his bag, and went to find their gate, which was the second closest one, luckily.

 

“Was that him?” Sakura asked under her breath once Team Seven was well away from the other entrants. Sasuke nodded and Sakura took a deep breath and took Sasuke’s hand, surprising him. “Well get through this together.”

 

“Yeah!” Naruto said, taking Sasuke’s other hand. “Don’t worry, scaredy-cat! Anybody who comes at us, we’re going to beat them to death and win this whole damned exam! I’ll take first place, Sakura-chan will take second place, and you’ll take third! We’ll do it, believe it!”

 

Once inside the fence, Team Seven, with both chakra sensors extending their senses to the max, took to the trees and evaded everyone else they could sense. They couldn’t afford to be injured or distracted when Orochimaru showed.

 

Unfortunately, after only ten or twenty minutes (Sasuke couldn’t say which; he was so nervous that his sense of the passage of time had become unreliable) someone caught up to them.

 

It was a lone ninja, which made Sasuke all kinds of jumpy, even before he’d clapped eyes on the person. Sasuke and Sakura could feel the guy getting closer and closer, dogging their steps. Sakura put a hand on Kakashi’s scroll in her hip holster as Team Seven assumed a defensive triangle formation and prepared to engage. However, this lone ninja turned out to be… just some dude from Ame. He looked vaguely familiar, with his bandage over his eyes with holes in it and his rebreather. Maybe Team Seven had fought him and his team in the story, although what the guy was doing here alone was beyond Sasuke. Did this dude really think he could take on Team Seven by himself? How arrogant!

 

Sasuke was already pissed at the guy for giving him a fright, so, in a fit of pettiness, at the first opportunity, Sasuke got his retribution. Naruto’s shadow clones zigzagged through the tree to flush the Ame guy, like a pack of dogs after a rabbit. Just like a rabbit, the Ame guy ended up running for dear life, as Naruto’s clones alternated between beating him down and using the Body Replacement Technique to cut off his retreat. Sakura and Sasuke just stood there, while Naruto chased the Ame guy around in circles.

 

Finally, Sasuke saw his moment. In the process of jinking and dodging, the Ame guy started running, in that classic ninja posture, i.e. face first, towards a tree, obviously intending to scale it. That was the moment Sasuke pointed at the Ame guy to inflict him with a genjutsu. The Ame guy fell asleep and slammed face-first into the rough tree trunk. The pain of the impact snapped him back awake, just in time to experience one of Naruto’s clones putting him in a headlock.

 

After Naruto’s other clones rifled through the Ame ninja’s pockets, they sent him on his way with a kick to the ass and a chorus of jeers.

 

“No scroll, but I got his wallet,” Naruto said, holding it up.

 

“Have a clone open it,” Sasuke said quickly. “It might be boobytrapped.”

 

The pilfered wallet ended up containing no boobytraps, but quite a bit of money. Was this all the money the Ame guy had to travel with? Guess he’d need to scrounge off his friends to get home. Naruto tried to split the money with Sakura and Sasuke, but they both agreed Naruto should keep it all, because he did all the work in that “battle.”

 

“You earned it, Naruto-kun,” Sakura said. Sasuke was impressed by how much her relationship with Naruto had improved in the last three months since becoming a team. The old Sakura would have scolded Naruto for the childish theft. “Serves him right,” Sakura continued. “For wasting our time when he didn’t even have a scroll.” Sasuke huffed a laugh and looked away.

 

At that moment, Sasuke saw a breathing tube sticking out of the ground. He froze stiff, not even daring to breathe, because he knew exactly who was hiding on the other side of that tube, listening to Team Seven’s every word. Sasuke felt the blood drain from his face and his stomach churn. Sasuke hadn’t even sensed Orochimaru arrive, still couldn’t sense him, not even a whisper of chakra escaping from the man’s position. Sasuke felt blind knowing that Orochimaru was right there, but undetectable to his chakra sense. Sasuke activated his Sharingan, not out of any expectation that he could see Orochimaru through the ground, but purely out of fear, to regain some sense of perception, of control.

 

There he was; Orochimaru. His chakra glowed faintly through the dirt, which must have been only a thin shell, rather than a proper surface, otherwise Sasuke wouldn’t have been able to see any chakra at all. Orochimaru looked to be standing in what must been a deep hole, with the top of his head reaching about two feet below the false surface. The color of his chakra was an incongruously beautiful magenta.

 

Without taking his eyes off the bamboo tube, Sasuke quickly took tight hold of an arm of both his teammates, planted his feet, activated his chakra to stick his feet to the ground and his hands to his teammates, and said to Sakura, “Now.”

 

Suddenly, before Sakura could even draw out the scroll to summon Kakashi, a terrible gale slammed into their faces. Sasuke held onto his team for all he was worth, though the wind knocked them both off their feet and would have sent them rolling away across the dirt. Sasuke’s arms jerked in his sockets as his teammates’ bodies were pulled violently away from him by what must have been hurricane-force winds, but he managed to hold on. As soon as the winds died down enough that he could do so without risking being blown away himself, Sasuke raised on foot off the ground and slammed it back down, erecting a thick earthen wall around them and stopping the last of the wind.

 

“Sakura, now!” Sasuke shouted, coughing on the dust. This wasn’t right! Orochimaru shouldn’t attack so soon! In the story, he had sat around listening to Sasuke come up with a pass phrase for his team before he attacked. They should have had more time! Had Sasuke given them away by freezing like that? Had Orochimaru heard Sasuke and Sakura’s conversation before they entered the Forest of Death? Did he know Sasuke knew about him? How had Sasuke given them away? Why wasn’t he in control of this situation anymore?

 

Sakura didn’t even waste time regaining her feet. With surprisingly sure fingers, she ripped the scroll to summon Kakashi out of her hip holster and opened it in one fluid motion. Not only Kakashi, but Kakashi’s dogs, Tenzou, and Gai arrived with a great rush of air out of the scroll, making their little fort very crowded.

 

-

 

Kakashi felt the irresistible pull of the summoning circle release its grip and immediately took stock of his surroundings. He had his forehead protector up already, so his inspection was completed in an instant.

 

He saw Sakura and Naruto on their knees and being held by the upper arm in what looked like a bruising grip by Sasuke, the only one standing. All three looked wild-eyed and were covered in dirt and leaves, but nobody was obviously injured. Everyone was surrounded by an earthen wall of about ten feet in height.

 

Naruto squawked at the sudden gathering and scrambled to his feet. At the same moment, Sasuke’s head whipped around as the sound of steel meeting steel came from beyond the wall. Someone else was fighting Orochimaru out there.

 

“That’ll be either Jiraiya or Anko,” Kakashi thought. Kakashi and the others body flickered out of the shelter and joined the fray. Once over the top of the shelter, he saw that it was actually both Jiraiya and Anko fighting together against Orochimaru, with Anko throwing a sleeve full of snakes to try to trip Orochimaru up and Jiraiya covered in spines of hair.

 

Gai came in hot, catching Orochimaru with a series of shots to the body as Orochimaru dodged out of the way of Anko and Jiraiya’s attacks. As Orochimaru stumbled back, Gai followed this up with a roundhouse kick to the face, which tore the mask of Orochimaru’s disguise in two. Obito’s eye allowed Kakashi to examine the mask more closely; it was indeed made of fresh human skin, just as predicted.

 

Orochimaru rolled with the kick, falling off his feet and slithering away up a tree, pursued by the thrown spikes of Jiraiya’s hair. As he moved to higher ground, Orochimaru gave Kakashi an angry smile, made especially creepy because Orochimaru’s face now appeared to be made from two different faces, and sent his oppressive killing intent Kakashi’s way, attempting to disable him. Orochimaru must have forgotten that fear doesn’t always lead to freezing. Because Kakashi knew that if he died, then Kakashi’s students would be next, his fear didn’t hold him back; it gave him wings.

 

As Tenzou used Wood Release to snatch at Orochimaru and slow him down as the man slithered away up a tree, Kakashi formed Chidori in his palm and dashed after Orochimaru. Orochimaru managed to kick out at Kakashi to keep him away and lost a leg past the knee for his trouble, Chidori pulverizing muscle, cartilage, and bone alike. Under his mask, Kakashi grinned in vicious satisfaction at the damage.

 

Orochimaru screamed and, then, a head of black hair erupted from his mouth, choking off his cries. As a second Orochimaru, clothed but not wearing the stolen skin of some poor genin, emerged from Orochimaru’s ever widening mouth, Gai body flickered behind him and kicked him in the back of the head, tearing the second Orochimaru out of the mouth of the first.

 

When Orochimaru landed in the dirt, Anko was on him instantly, driving her kunai into Orochimaru’s back, but he melted into the earth like he had never been there at all. Just then, a towering snake burst into the area and dove open-mouthed at Anko, as if to swallow her whole.

 

Jiraiya struck the snake in the head, knocking it off course. At the same time, fearsome wooden spears created by Tenzou shot out of the ground and impaled it from below, lifting the snake off the ground and pinning it in place all along its length, like a gory butterfly on a board. It thrashed in its death throes, but didn’t die quickly. Snakes tended not to.

 

Everyone looked this way and that, trying to spot the moment Orochimaru emerged from the ground. Kakashi happened to be looking at the kids, so he was the first one to see it. He watched with horror as Orochimaru melted back out of the ground behind Sasuke. He body flickered forward, trying to put himself between his students and Orochimaru, but someone else got there first.

 

It was Gai’s student, Neji. The boy came from nowhere and landed a hit to Orochimaru’s shoulder. Kakashi arrived in the very next moment, grabbed Orochimaru, hefted him bodily out of the ground, and tossed him at Gai. Gai, never one to disappoint, kicked forward, smashing his foot into Orochimaru’s teeth, and throwing the man back Kakashi’s direction.

 

While Orochimaru was still in the air, Jiraiya’s hair shot forward and twined around Orochimaru, catching him in place. Orochimaru began spewing flames from his mouth, setting the Jiraiya’s hair alight and weakening the binding’s hold, but Anko raced up behind him. She stabbed Orochimaru in the face, her kunai piercing Orochimaru’s cheek and emerging through his lip. Her attack must have broken Orochimaru’s concentration, because his flames abruptly died.

 

“Don’t worry,” a girl’s voice behind Kakashi said. “We’ve got you covered, Team Seven.”

 

Suddenly, Anko collapsed to her knees crying out in pain and clutching her neck.

 

Kakashi drew his tanto and moved to stab Orochimaru, while Tenzou picked up Anko and carried her away from Orochimaru to give her what treatment he could.

 

Just as Kakashi’s stab was about to connect with Orochimaru’s heart, Orochimaru, blood dripping from his face, opened his mouth and blew a gale in Kakashi’s face, halting his momentum and throwing him backwards, where he was caught by Naruto.

 

“I’ve got it, Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto said, as four Shadow Clones leapt at Orochimaru, who was busily burning the hair that held him in place. Before they arrived, Gai grabbed Orochimaru’s arm and twisted it behind his back until Kakashi heard it snap. Orochimaru snatched one of Naruto’s Shadow Clones out of the air, but the other weren’t impeded in their approach.

 

With Gai pummeling Orochimaru from the back and Naruto clones punching and kicking everything they could reach from the front, including the groin, Orochimaru was properly distracted, enabling Tenzou to skewer Orochimaru the same way he had gotten the man’s giant summoned snake.

 

“Her seal is visible!” Jiraiya shouted. “He’s activated it somehow!” Jiraiya clapped a fiery hand over Anko’s neck and she sagged limply in relief.

 

Orochimaru opened his mouth and spewed a river of snakes over his head. They forced everyone back, popping the Shadow Clones as they went. Then Orochimaru body flickered out of sight.

 

Kakashi felt the man’s disdainful backhand connect with the side of his face only after he’d been thrown ten feet by the blow. Gai caught him before he could slam head-first into a tree, so the damage wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but Kakashi’s head was still left ringing.

 

“I see one of you survived, after all,” Orochimaru said to Tenzou, who redoubled his efforts to attack Orochimaru, who dodged everything Tenzou threw at him, except for what he batted away like mosquitos. It was terrifying to watch.

 

Jiraiya flashed through the hand seals to summon an animal and suddenly there are two wrinkled toads on his shoulders.

 

“Hey, kid,” the toad with huge eyebrows and a beard said.

 

“Is Orochiamru giving you trouble again?” the toad with a bumpy purple head asked.

 

“He sure is!” Jiraiya said.

 

Before Kakashi could react, Orochimaru body flickered and was gone.

 

“No!” Sakura screamed.

 

That’s when Kakashi realized that Orochimaru wasn’t the only one missing.

 

“Sasuke!” Naruto screamed into the distance.

Notes:

I intentionally picked a break point that would leave you all on a cliffhanger. You’re welcome!

This beast was going to be twenty-thousand words long, so I finally bit the bullet and cut it in two. The good news it that the next chapter already has eight-thousand words written, so there’s not much left to do… I hope. Watch me need to write five thousand more to tie everything together.

Omake: “Sasuke’s Brilliant Plan”

Sasuke held up a fist to stall Sakura and Naruto and pulled out an enclosure tag from his pocket. Sasuke got the tag to disgorge its contents, a large white bottle. He unscrewed the lid of this bottle and, using great care to move silently, carried it above Orochimaru’s breathing tube and tipped the bottle of bleach into Orochimaru’s mouth.

Sasuke: Oh, no! Is Lee-sempai hurt? Does Tenten-chan need an icepack?

Also Sasuke: Fucking Kabuto got his broken glasses and vomit all over the floor. What a pain in the ass that guy is!

On a note unrelated to this chapter, in trying to find moves that would be good for Sasuke to learn, I read that only the Raikage can use the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, because he’s exceptionally durable and can handle being continuously electrocuted by his own attack… But I hate that explanation so much.

I can just see A trying to discover if Lightning Release Chakra Mode would be safe to use in the first place by sticking a knife in an electrical socket to see if it kills him. “I’m not dead? Great! Time to make electrocuting myself my signature move!” How much trouble he must have given his poor parents! Did he drink Drano to see if that would kill him, too?!

Don’t tell me the Raikage is just not cookable. Dude is made of flesh. If you fry him, he cooks. He cooks like a turkey. Can you imagine standing beside someone who was roasting themselves alive on purpose? Can you imagine the smell? Like, you’re on the battlefield together, preparing to face down, I don’t know, someone scary, like Konoha’s Yellow Flash or something, so you need to focus and not be distracted, but you can smell A crisping himself, like pork cracklings, beside you. How can you work in those conditions?! In addition to giving away your position to every nin-dog and Inuzuka in the vicinity, it would be so unnerving! “Oh, my God, A! Cut it out! I can’t focus while you’re doing self-harm next to me!” And he’s just lying there, hair on fire, twitching and jerking in pain as he cooks, giving you the middle finger, because this is his signature move and, by God, he’s going to use it! No, A, your move is too undignified! Find something else!

I’m not saying that others can master that move to the level the Raikage has, but it has to have more nuance than a bug zapper.

Chapter 10: Orochimaru, Part II

Summary:

Orochimaru fucks around and finds out. Several other people get their asses handed to them, too.

Notes:

*shrugs* I’m not going to pretend that Orochimaru has any chance here.

Kakashi, heart pounding and brow twisted in worry, ran behind his madly barking dogs as the group chased after Orochimaru and Sasuke. Guilt and fear tore at Kakashi. He had allowed that mad monster to get his hands on Sasuke. He was supposed to protect him, to protect everyone, but he had failed again. It was like Rin all over again. Rin, kidnapped and attacked, given no way out except death. Sasuke had been so anxious lately, picking at his fingers, eyes constantly scanning his surroundings, and making mistakes in spars that he shouldn’t. Kakashi was almost sure that Sakura had spent the night every night for the last week, because she realized that Sasuke was calmer when everyone was within his line of sight. She was a good kid. Sasuke had been so afraid of Orochimaru and Kakashi had let him be taken. He was so useless! If they didn’t get Sasuke back alive…

 

Kakashi sucked in a shaky breath and stopped that thought right there. He couldn’t fall apart right now. He would make it. They all would.

 

The dogs rounded a large tree and began tearing hatefully at something on the ground. As soon as Kakashi made it to the other side he saw what it was: Orochimaru. The man was in a sorry state. In addition to the holes Tenzou’s spear had made through Orochimaru’s stomach, the man had gained several new holes across his body since his escape.

 

And then, Kakashi saw Sasuke. He lay not ten feet away, pushing himself onto his hands and knees over a patch of perforated dirt. Kakashi didn’t need to guess what had happened; his shy little hedgehog had thrown a grumpy fit and Orochimaru had caught some quills. Kakashi went to Sasuke without a second thought, picking him up off the ground and dashing further away from Orochimaru.

 

The Gai and Tenzou arrived right after Kakashi did. Gai took a flying leap over the dogs to smash his foot into Orochimaru’s face.

 

“Kakashi-sensei,” Sasuke said.

 

“Are you alright?!” Kakashi asked frantically.

 

Repulsively, Orochimaru started barfing himself out of his own mouth, again, abandoning his bleeding body and becoming entirely uninjured. Gai immediately started putting that right, kicking Orochimaru in the face, while Tenzou formed a branch along his arm that shot out of his sleeve to bind Orochimaru up, but Orochimaru evaded Tenzou’s trap by using Hiding in Surface to melt into the tree behind him. He had disappeared again.

 

“My head hurts,” Sasuke said sourly. He held up a hand that was glowing faintly with a healing technique, but Kakashi stopped him.

 

“Not a good idea to heal your own head injuries,” Kakashi explained quickly, hoping that Sasuke hadn’t been hit so hard that he would need reminding again in a few seconds. Sasuke should already know that.

 

“Sasuke!” Sakura cried, grasping desperately at the boy in Kakashi’s arms as she arrived. Naruto was close on her heels. His determination to not be treated like luggage again had borne fruit in his training and he could just about keep up with Sakura’s speed now.

 

“Sasuke!” Naruto shouted as he grabbed at Sasuke’s shirt. He looked fearfully at Sasuke for only a moment, before his face became a mask of fury. Kakashi felt the moment the seal on the Nine Tails slid open. With Obito’s eye, Kakashi was also able to see the yellow of Naruto’s chakra disappear under the flood of red chakra coming from Naruto’s seal. With his own eye, he saw Naruto’s fingernails where he held Sasuke’s shirt lengthen and sharpen, Naruto’s whisker marks darken and spread like bruises across his cheeks, and Naruto’s eyes become something inhuman. He whipped around, looking for Orochimaru, but the man was not to be found.

 

Sakura whirled around, too, her face no less fierce despite lacking a Tailed Beast.

 

“Naruto-kun,” Sakura barked. “There!” She pointed at the ground some distance away and Naruto didn’t even hesitate. He dashed forward, faster than he had ever been before, and rammed a fist into the ground, sending dirt flying in all directions, like a bomb.

 

“There!” Sakura shouted, pointing a somewhere else. Again, Naruto struck and again dirt flew, but nothing else was revealed.

 

“There!” Sakura shouted, pointing at a tree behind Kakashi. Kakashi dove forward with Sasuke as Naruto raced past him. This time, there was a result. Orochimaru had revealed himself just as Naruto struck out with his nails. Orochimaru took the first blow on the arm, losing half a sleeve in the process, and slapped Naruto away.

 

As Gai and Tenzou body flickered in to attack Orochimaru together, Orochimaru summoned a single snake, twelve feet long and two hundred pounds, out of each of his sleeves. The great beast wound around Gai and Tenzou. Gai managed to get a clamp a hand around its mouth so it couldn’t bite him, but he was quickly wrapped up in its coils. Meanwhile, Tenzou was also captured by a snake, but, when it tried to bite him, he conjured a wooden stake from his arm and stabbed the snake through the head.

 

“So, you survived, too,” Orochimaru said to Naruto, his hand starting to glow.

 

Naruto launched himself at Orochimaru, obviously intending to light into him. However, Orochimaru’s response was too quick for Naruto to match, even as the Nine Tails chakra made him faster than ever before. Fingertips glowing with the chakra of some terrible technique, Orochimaru grabbed Naruto by the stomach. Unphased, Naruto grabbed Orochimaru right back, snagging him by the upper arm, and pulled the man in to connect Naruto’s left hook with Orochimaru’s mouth. Kakashi pressed Sasuke into Sakura’s arms, just as Orochimaru tossed Naruto in the direction of a tree. Kakashi body flickered over in time to catch Naruto, who was still glowing and snarling in rage.

 

“Stay down!” Kakashi ordered Naruto. Next, Kakashi drew his tanto again and cut the snake off Gai as Tenzou struggled out of the still squeezing snake that Orochimaru had sicced on him. That was the moment Jiraiya arrived, his face looking remarkably toad-like and his aura radiating danger. Was that what Sage Mode looked like? Kakshi had heard of it, but never seen it before. Along with Jiraiya, Gai’s students and Anko arrived, too.

 

Orochimaru released a great torrent of snakes this time. They filled the space between the trees like a flood, forcing everyone but Orochimaru into the trees. Orochimaru nearly disappeared into the mass of snakes, only his head remaining above the level of the countless twisting bodies.

 

Then, Orochimaru’s head shot towards Sasuke, his body staying in place, while his neck lengthened unnaturally. However, before Orochimaru’s bite could connect, Lee leapt in front of Sasuke and Kakashi’s sword flashed through the air, cleaving into Orochimaru’s preternaturally extended neck. Like the rope of a tetherball snagged midflight, Orochimaru’s long neck bent where Kakashi struck it. The blow pulled Orochimaru’s head off course, so his head and a section of neck flew right in front of Sasuke and into the underbrush. Blood erupted from the wound Kakashi’s sword made on Orochimaru’s neck, spraying high into the air. Kakashi had decapitated him.

 

“Oh, shit!” Kakashi thought, face twisting in worry as he stared at Orochimaru’s body.

 

It should have been a fatal blow. It should have been, but somehow, against all reason and to Kakashi’s horror, it wasn’t. With Obito’s Sharingan active, Kakashi could see Orochimaru’s chakra still swirling away inside of his body, underneath the mass of snakes, as though losing a head was merely a minor inconvenience. Jiraiya struck, shooting a massive Big Flame Bullet at the pile of snakes, burning them black. Orochimaru wasn’t killed, because his body was almost entirely under the ground and protected from the flames.

 

In a great rush, more snakes emerged from Orochimaru’s charred, open neck and stretched out towards where hid head had disappeared dozens of feet away. Anko struck at the snakes with her kunai, but as many as she killed were replaced by others. Still, she kept hacking away relentlessly, hatred blazing on her face. Tenzou shifted the earth with a single hand seal to disgorge Orochimaru’s headless body and Kakashi stabbed into the beast’s back, into his heart. Even this grievous wound didn’t seem fatal, however. As Kakashi watched, the head was quickly pulled by the snakes back towards the body.

 

Until Gai stepped on it.

 

Nobody moved. Even Anko stopped slicing through snakes. The snakes kept squirming, trying to reattach Orochimaru’s head to his body, but nothing was accomplished. Several seconds passed as it became increasingly clear to everyone exactly how screwed Orochimaru was.

 

“Get off me!” Orochimaru shouted, his frustration palpable, although how he managed that while his lungs were thirty feet away was anyone’s guess.

 

“I don’t think I will!” Gai said sassily. Kakashi loved that man.

 

“Orochimaru-kun,” Jiraiya said. “This so undignified. Pull yourself together!”

 

“I’ll kill you, Jiraiya!” Orochimaru screamed.

 

Jiraiya took out a massive brush and started painting on the ground, the marks appearing without ink. Before long, he had drawn a technique formula on the ground around Orochimaru’s limp body. Seeing where this was going, Kakashi pulled his sword out of Orochimaru’s back and got out of Jiraiya’s way.

 

“Okay, Gai-kun,” Jiraiya said. “You can let it go now.”

 

The instant Gai took his foot off Orochimaru’s head, Jiraiya made the seal of confrontation, causing the marks on the ground to begin glowing. As soon as Orochimaru’s head breached the circle of writing, a translucent, spherical barrier formed around Orochimaru. It looked as though Orochimaru were caught within a glowing, purple soap bubble. Kakashi sighed in relief; it was over.

 

“Impressive,” Tenzou said. “The Confinement Barrier usually takes at least three people.”

 

“I’ve always had more chakra than most,” Jiraiya said. “I’m not one of the Sannin for nothing you, know?”

 

“I would like to further reduce the target’s ability to resist, if you don’t mind,” Tenzou offered.

 

“He’s got to be almost out of chakra by this point, but by all means,” Jiraiya said, crossing his arm.

 

Tenzou sat down.

 

“Watch closely, Sakura-chan,” Tenzou said. “This technique is called, ‘Wood Release: Foo Dog Heads.’”

 

With the audience’s rapt attention, Tenzou created nine, square, wooden pillars that erupted from the earth. Each one had a rough carving of a dog’s head at the top and a flame overhead, so they looked like novelty candles. Kakashi privately thought that nine, giant, wooden hands giving the target the middle finger would have been more appropriate, given what the Foo Dog Heads technique actually did; steal chakra.

 

Kakashi watched placidly as Orochimaru cursed and struggled fruitlessly against Jiraiya’s barrier and the drain of his chakra by Tenzou’s Foo Dog Heads. Very quickly however, Orochimaru collapsed to his knees, panting, swaying, and silent.

 

“Sakura-chan,” Tenzou said. “I think Wood Release: Stocks are exactly what we need right now. Would you like to do the honors?”

 

“Yes, Tenzou-sensei!” Sakura said. “Sasuke-kun, give me Earth!”

 

Sasuke, still looking a little concussed as he perched on a wide branch, poured Earth Release chakra into one hand, which Sakura grabbed while making the snake seal with her other hand. There was a brief burst of mud and then Wood Release: Stocks leapt out of the ground under Orochimaru to bind him up and suppress his chakra.

 

Jiraiya whistled.

 

“Well, I’ll be damned!” Jiraiya said, dropping the barrier. “Another Wood Release user!”

 

“Well done, Sakura-chan,” Tenzou said encouragingly. “You did that perfectly.”

 

“Thanks, Tenzou-sensei!” Sakura said.

 

As Naruto hurried over to his teammates, the Nine Tail’s chakra shrank back inside him and disappeared.

 

“Sasuke! Are you okay?” Naruto asked.

 

“My head hurts,” Sasuke said, raising a hand to try to heal his own head wound again.

 

Apparently, the head injury was bad enough for Sasuke to be forgetting things. Kakashi leapt on the branch with the rest of his team, gently halted Sasuke’s hand, and began healing Sasuke’s head for him.

 

“All healed,” Kakashi declared, at which point Naruto grabbed both Kakashi and Sasuke in a tight hug that nearly caused all three of them to topple off the branch. As Sakura joined in the hug, Kakashi returned the embrace gladly. They had made it.

 

-

 

Once Sasuke was released from the group hug and seeing that Orochimaru had been defeated, Sasuke finally had a moment to take stock of the situation. He looked at Naruto first.

 

“He grabbed you by the stomach, like he was trying to put the Five Elements Seal on you,” Sasuke said, with worry creasing his brow. “What happened?”

 

Naruto lifted his jacket and to reveal his weighted vest.

 

“It didn’t connect!” Naruto said.

 

“The training weights,” Sasuke realized. “Naruto’s training weights got in the way of the seal!” He sagged in relief. Then, he went to Orochimaru and dug around in his clothes. He found the man’s wallet, which he considered stealing out of spite, but thought better of it; anything might be inside it, including protective seals. Sasuke snatched Orochimaru’s Earth scroll and carried it back to Lee.

 

“Thanks for your help,” Sasuke said. Surprisingly, Naruto didn’t object.

 

“We were happy to do so!” Lee said, pushing the scroll back to Sasuke. “This isn’t the scroll we need, though!” Sasuke pulled out the one Team Seven had been given, which was a Heaven scroll, and handed that to Lee instead, which Lee gratefully accepted.

 

“You were so brave, Lee-kun!” Sakura said. “Jumping in front of Sasuke-kun like that! Thank you all so much for coming here to help us protect him!”

 

Lee blushed deeply and his smile was so wide it almost looked painful. He wasn’t the only one smiling. Everyone looked pleased with the morning’s work. Orochimaru had been captured.

 

“Why did you hang back, old man?” Naruto groused, turning on Jiraiya.

 

“Don’t be so ungrateful, you little brat!” Jiraiya said. “It takes time to unlock Sage Mode! If Orochimaru was going all out, I couldn’t rush out half-cocked. I needed to prepare for anything!”

 

“Is that why you look so ugly? Sage Mode?” Naruto asked, sounding unimpressed.

 

As Jiraiya went into a monologue about how awesome Sage Mode was and how it worked, Sasuke took a breath before refocusing on the loose ends.

 

“What about his two ‘teammates?’” Sasuke asked Kakashi.

 

“We’ll take care of them,” Kakashi said, putting a hand on Sasuke’s head. The man was being very touchy-feely all of a sudden, Sasuke noted. “Focus on your own tasks.”

 

“Don’t worry,” Gai said, giving the all of genins a thumbs up. “You guys go ahead! The two who accompanied Orochimaru will learn Konoha’s punishment for wicked and unyouthfully behavior!”

 

“Gai looks so confident and cool,” Sasuke thought, nodding to Gai.

 

That was the Orochimaru situation wrapped up, Sasuke decided. Now it was time to deal with Gaara, but there was one new wrinkle to be ironed out. He considered how to communicate with Kakashi without sharing his thoughts with everyone present. Once he realized how it could be done, he considered what he wanted to say and formed his message.

 

“Kakashi-sensei,” Sasuke said, drawing Kakashi’s attention again.

 

Then, he pointed at Kakashi to put him under a genjutsu with a hallucination of Sasuke’s voice relaying the message:

 

“If you want to keep Orochimaru alive for questioning, watch out for assassins from Shimura Danzo. As a captive, Orochimaru is a liability to Danzo. The two have been working together since at least the Wood Release child experiments.

 

”Danzo won’t attack in person. He has slaves, abducted as children. They bear the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, so they can’t reveal anything. I believe the oldest ones are fourteen now. Some of them are dangerous and all of them are brainwashed. I don’t want Danzo’s slaves to be hurt, but I don’t want you to get yourself killed, either. Be careful.”

 

Sasuke then turned back to his teammates as Kakashi listened to his message.

 

“Let’s go to the next target,” Sasuke said.

 

“Target?” Anko asked, but Team Seven ignored her. “What are these students of yours up to, Kakashi-kun?” Kakashi didn’t answer her either, clearly too busy listening to Sasuke’s message.

 

“Can’t we wait a minute, Sasuke-kun?” Sakura asked. “I’m tired.”

 

“No,” Sasuke said. “Can you keep up or do you need me to carry you?”

 

“I can keep up,” Sakura said, sounding offended. “I’m just not going to be good for much more fighting today. I’ve used too much chakra. I may have made those stocks bigger than they needed to be.”

 

“You won’t have to be,” Sasuke promised. “We’ll handle the next one.” He nodded at Naruto.

 

“Don’t worry, Sakura-chan!” Naruto said. “I’ll take care of anyone else who even looks at us funny!”

 

“Where you even listening to me?! And what’s the rush?” Jiraiya asked. Sasuke barely even glanced at the man and no one else paid attention to him, either.

 

“Okay, I’m ready,” Sakura said.

 

“I’m ready, too,” Naruto said.

 

“We’re ready, too,” Neji said. Tenten and Lee nodded. Sasuke wondered why Team Gai was accompanying them and exactly how much Kakashi had told Gai about his situation to induce such helpfulness, but this wasn’t the time or the place to ask.

 

Sasuke took out the scroll for the warbling white-eyes and summoned a flock of them.

 

“Snake! Snake!” they screamed. “It smells like snake!”

 

“They’re dead! The goal is the distant jinchuuriki,” Sasuke barked. “Call out what’s ahead! Return home when the target is reached!”

 

“Understood!” The birds tweeted, taking off into the air.

 

“You be careful, too,” Kakashi said darkly, looking furious and pale. Sasuke nodded at him and the genin of Team Kakashi and Team Gai sprinted off towards Gaara. It was only after they had left that Sasuke realized he had forgotten to ask if Kakashi knew anything about Kabuto and his team.

 

Team Kakashi and Team Gai dodged other teams and their traps, as well as wild animals, as they made their directly way to Gaara. At one point, they group started to avoid a person and a bear, but Sasuke thought it might be Karin, so he chose to make directly for her. Rather than killing the charging bear, he simply snatched the screaming Karin off the ground and kept running. He was shaken to realize that he almost hadn’t made it in time, making his heart pound in his chest. Sakura gave the bear a kick in the head as she followed behind him. Sasuke heard the bear give a weird yelp and fall silent.

 

“Sakura-chan, did you just kick a bear to death?” Sasuke wondered. “While wearing sandals?!” This girl was becoming too powerful. He needed to stop allowing her to learn things!

 

“Sakura-chan is so cool!” Lee shouted.

 

“Thanks!” Sakura said.

 

“Are you hurt?” Sasuke asked Karin.

 

Karin didn’t respond. When he glanced at her, she staring at him with a terrified expression. So much for gaining a new little friend. Apparently, his chakra was scary in this life. That was fine. He didn’t care. He wasn’t hurt at all. Karin being afraid of him didn’t bother him a bit.

 

“Naruto-kun, catch!” Sasuke shouted, right before he tossed Karin back to the other boy. Karin squawked, but Naruto caught her without issue.

 

“Hello!” Naruto chirped. “I’m Uzumaki Naruto! Who are you?” Karin was silent. “Hey, do you have a scroll?” Naruto asked. If Karin responded, Sasuke didn’t hear it. He focused on scanning the area ahead as his team followed the birds this way and that.

 

“Tell us about this next target,” Tenten said.

 

“Gaara,” Sasuke said. “He’s Suna’s jinchuuriki.”

 

“Who’s Gaara and what’s a jinchuuriki?” Tenten asked.

 

“He’s a strong guy,” Naruto said.

 

“He’s rabid and his village sealed a Tailed Beast inside him,” Sasuke said. “I’ll handle him. You guys need to handle his teammates. The girl has an iron fan she uses with her Wind Release techniques and she has a weasel summon. The boy has poisons and he has puppets controlled with chakra threads. The girl is strong at both close- and mid-range. The boy is weak close-range.”

 

“If he’s so dangerous, you should leave the fight against this Gaara person to us,” Neji said.

 

“I’m not planning to fight him,” Sasuke said.

 

“Target ahead!” The birds called. “Returning home!”

 

“Good work!” Sasuke called. The birds disappeared and Team Kakashi and Team Gai secreted themselves in the branches of the trees. Below them, Gaara, holding an umbrella over his head, crushed an Ame ninja with his sand, creating a shower of gore.

 

“Fatality! Geras wins!” Sasuke thought hysterically, and then had to suppress a deeply inappropriate laugh. Bizarrely, his fear and worry seemed to spur on his sense of humor.

 

“That guy feels so bad!” Karin whispered. “What are you guys doing? Let’s run!”

 

“Run if you want,” Sasuke said. “But, if you wait, we can escort you back to your team once we’re done here.”

 

“Okay, I have a plan,” Naruto said. “Sakura-chan and I will handle the puppet guy and you guys handle the wind girl.”

 

“Got it,” Neji said, as Gaara ignored the scroll the Ame ninjas tossed at him and sent his sand after his next victims, while Temari smiled and waved goodbye and Kankuro looked on Gaara’s victims disdainfully.

 

Sasuke dashed between Gaara’s sand and the surviving Ame ninjas, activating his Sharingan. Gaara looked at Sasuke without surprise or hesitance, making eye-contact automatically, and then Gaara and his sand went slack and collapsed to the ground.

 

“It’s super effective!” Sasuke thought. “Cubone fainted!”

 

Against Gaara, Sasuke had used the first genjutsu that he had created that he thought worth naming; Anesthesia. Sasuke had designed the genjutsu based on his own personal experience of being wacked-out on ketamine while having a bone set in his last life. He hadn’t designed it for Gaara, though. He’d designed it for Sakura, who chewed through every genjutsu Sasuke ever threw at her like so much cotton candy. It had been a fun challenge to come up with Anesthesia and he was eager to test it on her the next time they had a serious spar.

 

Gaara was down, but it wasn’t enough to simply protect this Ame team; Sasuke needed to remove Gaara from the exam, so no one else would die. Therefore, Sasuke used Earth Release chakra to give himself some quick armor. His bulky dirt and stone shell, scavenged from the surrounding earth to conserve chakra, only covered his upper body, so it was nothing like the Fuudo’s sleek and powerful Rock Armor in the story, but Sasuke hoped it would be enough to get the job done.

 

Picking up as much speed as he could, Sasuke ran for Gaara’s unconscious body.

 

Temari tried to halt Sasuke’s progress, leaping protectively in front of Gaara and pulling her fan off her back. If she had been given time to open it and plant her feet, Sasuke might have been in trouble. As it was, he didn’t even slow down, because Lee sent a flying punch into Temari’s side that pushed her into Kankuro and out of Sasuke’s way.

 

“Flacon Punch!” Sasuke thought, seeing Temari and Kankuro fly away. Sasuke grabbed Gaara off the ground, seeing the boy’s autonomous sand bite into his armor and feeling it whip around his face, and kept running. At top speed, he estimated that the edge of the Forest of Death was less than two minutes away. This was fortunate, because he could feel the skin of his arms and fingers being slowly scoured away by Gaara’s last layer of defensive sand, even through his armor. Sasuke redoubled his efforts to maintain his armor and kept running.

 

If Sasuke hadn’t been using body flicker, he would have been completely enshrouded in sand, but the bulk of Gaara’s sand couldn’t keep up with Sasuke’s movements. Instead, it trailed behind them both like a deadly cloud. Sasuke’s body flicker seemed to be slower than usual, for some reason. If Lightning Release techniques could make you faster, then maybe Earth release ones made you slower, he reflected.

 

A few minutes later, Sasuke reached the edge of the chain-link fence that surrounded the Forest of Death, ran up the fence to stand on the top, and barely remembered to rifle through Gaara’s clothes and steal Gaara’s Earth scroll.

 

“Gaara of Team Baki is disqualified for leaving the testing area early!” Sasuke shouted at a couple proctors, who stood watching nearby.

 

Then, Sasuke dropped Gaara over the other side of the fence, while the proctors stared in horror at the boy’s descent. As Sasuke and the proctors watched, Gaara’s sand caught up to him, surrounding him completely and shielding him from at least some of the impact of his fall. The sand buzzed around him where he lay, tearing up the ground like a swarm of demonic bees.

 

Eager to get back, Sasuke dropped his makeshift Earth-armor, turned, and sped back to his teammates. If they had already dealt with Gaara’s siblings, then only the Oto team remained on Sasuke’s to-do list. He returned to find the rest of Team Baki unconscious, whom he stuck into spare enclosure tags immediately. Then, he collected the corpse of Gaara’s victim in an enclosure tag, too, and handed this tag to the surviving Ame ninjas with his condolences.

 

“How was the fight?” Sasuke asked his teammates.

 

“It was easy,” Sakura said with a shrug. “Nobody got hurt. Lee-kun actually did most of the work. He’s super strong!” Sasuke cursed his decision to remove Gaara by himself before the fight was over. He really wished he’d gotten to see Lee kick ass.

 

“Thanks, Sakura-chan,” Lee said, a fiery blush spreading across his face. The boy looked like he was on cloud nine. Sasuke dimly remembered that Lee had a crush on Sakura in the story. Hadn’t Sakura dodged his wink, or a blown kiss, or something? “But Tenten-chan was a huge help, too! She distracted the girl with the fan, so I could get around behind her!”

 

Sasuke asked if there had been any injures and was glad to hear there were none. Somewhat fearfully, the shaken survivors of the Ame team gave Sasuke their Heaven scroll as thanks for saving their lives, thus completing Team Seven’s set.

 

“Thanks,” Sasuke said.

 

“Did you get a scroll of Gaara? We didn’t find any on these guys,” Naruto said. Sasuke nodded. “Is it the right one?” Sasuke nodded again. “Perfect!” Naruto crowed.

 

“Hey!” came Kiba’s voice from up in the trees. Everyone looked over to see Team Eight emerge from the foliage.

 

Kiba dropped down to the ground and ran up to Sasuke and the others, with Hinata and Shino following at a more leisurely pace.

 

“You son of a bitch, Sasuke-kun!” Kiba shouted at Sasuke, grinning widely. “You took out that scary guy with just a look, didn’t you?! That means you’ve got your Sharingan now, don’t you?! Don’t think this means you can beat me, even with that Earth Release armor! Akamaru and I are going to take first place in this exam!”

 

Yeah, Sasuke’s secret was well and truly out. He hoped Danzo wouldn’t get any big ideas.

 

“Shut up, Kiba! Stop acting like Sasuke is the best, when I’m right here! He’s not better than I am! I beat him all the time these days!” Naruto shouted indignantly. “I actually fought, while Sasuke just had to look at his opponent funny!”

 

“Akamaru and I can take you and your clones any day!” Kiba boasted in Naruto’s face.

 

“I’d like to see you try!” Naruto shouted back.

 

“H-hello, Naruto-kun,” Hinata said nervously.

 

“Hey, Hinata!” Naruto said.

 

“Have you got the scrolls you need to pass now?” Hinata asked.

 

“We sure do!” Naruto said proudly. “What about you guys?” Hinata nodded.

 

“Yeah, uh, us, too,” Hinata said, smiling at Naruto.

 

“We should leave,” Shino said. “Why? Because there is no benefit to waiting and there is risk of enemy attack if we stay.”

 

“I have a request,” Sasuke said to Shino. “Would you escort these two to the tower and take them with you when your team leaves the area?”

 

“We will,” Shino said.

 

“Hey, I’m the leader of this team and I’ll decide if we help these Ame guys or not!” Kiba said, getting in Shino’s face. Shino glared at Kiba and held his ground.

 

“And?” Sasuke prompted, forestalling an argument. “Your decision?”

 

“We’ll do it!” Kiba growled, not breaking off his staring contest with Shino.

 

“Thank you,” Sasuke said. “Is that alright?”

 

“Yeah, thanks,” the shorter of the two surviving Ame ninja said gratefully. “We don’t want to run into any more dangerous guys and we can’t complete this phase of the exam anyway, not without…” Sasuke nodded.

 

“About the next target,” Sasuke began. “I know a few things.”

 

“How do you have all this information on these guys anyway?” Neji interrupted. Sasuke pointed slowly at his own face.

 

“Ninja,” Sasuke said, looking Neji dead in the eye. He saw Karin’s brow crease. “She must have caught that lie,” Sasuke thought.

 

“Tch!” Neji said, face twisting into a snarl at this cheeky response.

 

“Why are they your targets?” Lee asked.

 

“Because they’re here to kill people,” Sasuke said, thinking of Suna and Oto’s planned attack.

 

“Why should we stop them?” Neji said. “If others are too weak to survive, then they’re just getting the fate they deserve. They shouldn’t have taken this test if they couldn’t handle a few dangerous enemies. Killing isn’t against the rules, remember?”

 

“How dare you?!” Sakura said. “People are already dead and you don’t even care?! How can you consider yourself part of Konoha, if you don’t even care about your own people?!”

 

“Who said I was part of Konoha?!” Neji shouted. “Each of us is on our own!”

 

“We don’t have time for this, Neji-kun!” Tenten said desperately.

 

“You’re a slave,” Sasuke said, recalling the story.

 

“What did you say?!” Neji said fiercely, drawing his kunai.

 

“Sasuke-kun!” Tenten said, sounding scandalized.

 

“Your father was murdered by Konoha, because he was a slave, too,” Sasuke said. Neji’s whole body twitched and he grabbed Sasuke by the collar.

 

“What?! Seriously?!” Naruto shouted, looking back and forth between Neji and Sasuke.

 

“You want loyalty to be repaid with loyalty. So do I. Join us and we’ll figure out how to remove that Caged Bird Seal from you,” Sasuke said.

 

“… Are you serious?” Neji said.

 

Sasuke took a breath and prepared himself for a serious undertaking. He couldn’t be sure if his methods would work on the Caged Bird Seal or not, so he had to turn his attention back to his research immediately.

 

“As the head of the Uchiha Clan, I swear to you that I will free you from the Caged Bird Seal,” Sasuke swore. “One way or the other. I will not allow you to die a slave.”

 

Neji stared at Sasuke in shock until he swallowed roughly. Then, the boy’s face spasmed with emotion, before his features hardened like cement into angry determination.

 

“If this is a trick… I’ll kill you if you betray me, Uchiha-dono,” Neji growled, shaking Sasuke by the shirt.

 

“Understood,” Sasuke said.

 

Neji glared at him for a long moment before he finally released Sasuke.

 

“Then let’s go,” Neji said. “We have weaklings to protect.”

 

“Wait, we’ve got a spare scroll now,” Naruto said. “What should we do with it?”

 

“Destroy it,” Neji said.

 

“No!” Karin said suddenly. “Um, no, please. If I help you guys out, will you give it to me?”

 

“Sure,” Sasuke said. Neji made a disapproving noise. “We’re after those Oto ninjas. You all remember the one who attacked Kabuto before the first exam.”

 

“Those guys?” Naruto asked, eyebrows rising.

 

“I remember them!” Karin said eagerly. “I’m a sensor! I could lead you right to them! You won’t even need to use your birds! I can help keep us clear of other ninjas, too!”

 

Actually, as Sasuke knew, his birds had no idea what the Oto ninjas’ chakra felt like, having never met them, so they wouldn’t be of any help in the search, even if Sasuke were to summon them.

 

“Alright,” Sasuke agreed. “About their abilities: they use sound in their attacks. One has tunnels in both of his arms that opens through the palm. He channels air and sound through these tunnels to strike his opponents. The straw-caped one, you already saw his gimmick; he can disorient you using the speaker on his arm. The long-haired one uses bells to produce genjutsu.”

 

“Would you like our assistance?” Shino offered.

 

“You’re already helping us out,” Sasuke said, pointing at the Ame ninjas.

 

“Hey, we can help you fight and escort these two out!” Kiba said. “You two! Can you Ame guys keep up with us while we deal with some troublemakers?”

 

“Ah, y-yes!” the shorter Ame ninja said. “Yes, we can keep up! A-are we going to have to… fight?”

 

“No,” Sasuke said. It had to be pretty demoralizing to lose a member of your genin team. Sasuke was just glad neither teen was crying right now.

 

“Shouldn’t we get going?” Neji said impatiently.

 

“Even though they’re assassins, these three are much less dangerous than the previous two targets,” Sasuke said. “It might be safe to take time now to strategize.”

 

“Since they’re weaker,” Kiba said. “We don’t really have to worry so much! You guys fought two other teams and won, right? Well, now you’re got us! That’s a three to one advantage, even if these two Ame guys and this girl sit the fight out! If they helped us, it would be four to one! We’ll demolish these targets of yours!”

 

“It’s better to be prepared, if we can be,” Shino said. “Why? Because they are still a threat worth dealing with. To pass by an opportunity to strategize is to intentionally weaken ourselves. Team Gai and Team Seven may be tiring from their repeated battles and be less able to help in the fighting to come.”

 

“We could pick up my teammates on the way,” Karin said. “They would help us, although they’re not very strong. They get themselves injured all the time, but they’re from noble clans, so here we are.” She said this last sentence disdainfully.

 

Sasuke guessed that Karin meant that her teammates had used their connections to gain entry for their team to the Chuunin Exam prematurely. Sasuke nodded at Karin.

 

“Thanks for saving me from that bear back there, guys. I’m Karin, by the way,” Karin said to Sasuke.

 

“Sasuke,” Sasuke said. The others all introduced themselves as well and then the brainstorming began. Before they could set out, however, Team Ten dropped by.

 

“Sasuke-kun!” Ino said. “I sensed that you guys were all together over here, so we came to see what’s up. Did something happen?”

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“Some real bad ninjas came to Konoha to hurt and kill people for no reason!” Naruto said. “They’re using the Chuunin Exam to attack people without getting in trouble and we’re going to stop them! We already took out two teams of bad guys, so there’s just one left!”

 

“Well, Kakashi-sensei and some of his friends took care of the first team, really, but we did help some,” Sakura admitted.

 

“Your jounin-sensei came inside the testing area to fight people for you?” Ino asked incredulously. “Isn’t that against the rules?”

 

“Anko-san helped him,” Sakura said.

 

“The people Gai-sensei and the others fought weren’t genin,” Lee said seriously. “We don’t know who the other two were, but one of them was Orochimaru, a missing-nin and a very evil man.”

 

“They were impersonating a team of genin they killed on the road,” Sakura said darkly.

 

“That’s horrible!” Ino said. “Are these guys still in here with us?”

 

“Kakashi-sensei said they would take care of them, so maybe they’re already done with that,” Sakura said. “Maybe not.”

 

“Should we stay together, then, you know, for safety?” Ino asked anxiously.

 

“We could,” Sakura allowed, “But we’re going to fight a team of assassins. They’ve come here to kill. They are just genin, but that fight won’t be just a spar. It’ll be real combat.”

 

“What? You think we wouldn’t be up for that? I can handle anything you can, Billboard-brow!” Ino said, putting her hands on her hips. “Lead the way!”

 

“Hey, shouldn’t we just hide until this all blows over?” Shikamaru whined. “I don’t want to fight assassins!”

 

“We’re going!” Ino declared firmly. Shikamaru and Chouji exchanged a worried glance, but didn’t argue further.

 

It turned out that Shikamaru and Chouji needn’t have worried at all, because they never got the chance to fight. How could they, when the Oto ninjas were so badly outnumbered?

 

Straw Cape threw a punch at Sasuke, which Sasuke met with his own punch that he augmented with a flash of Lightning Release, increasing its speed and, most importantly, electrifying it. The brief charge surged over Straw Cape, frying the speaker on his arm and causing the older boy to spasm.

 

Then, two of Naruto’s clones swept from behind Sasuke on either side and started punching Straw Cape back and forth like a handball. Straw Cape couldn’t get his guard up fast enough to counter each successive punch, so he all he could do was endure the savage beating until he could get away.

 

Straw Cape stumbled back to get some distance, only to land practically in the arms of a third Naruto clone, who started landing punch after furious punch into the back of Straw Cape’s kidneys. Straw Cape collapsed to his knees in pain and Sasuke knew that was it for him. If you couldn’t keep on your feet, then Naruto was going to take you to pieces. The only way to defend yourself was to get back up, but Naruto’s clones pounding you black and blue made that nearly impossible. Straw Cape was done.

 

One of the two Naruto clones that had been smacking Straw Cape around before, stepped forward, grabbed Straw Cape by the shirt, lifted him off the ground, and flipped him over to land hard on his back. This put Straw Cape in the perfect position for the clone nearest Sasuke to stomp on his abdomen.

 

Hard.

 

Sasuke was worried that something might have burst internally. After that, Straw Cape just moaned, curled up in the fetal position, and lay there whimpering. The shadow clones dispersed and Naruto strutted up to Sasuke from the trees with his hand raised. The two high-fived, each grinning. Naruto fished around in Straw Cape’s clothes and came up with an Earth scroll. To wrap things up, Sasuke took out an enclosure tag and imprisoned the boy.

 

“Got another one over here for you, Sasuke-kun,” Tenten called. Sasuke saw her sitting on the back of Tunnel Boy, twisting her opponent’s arm behind his back. Neji stood behind her with one foot on Tunnel Boy’s ass. When Tunnel Boy squirmed, Tenten punched him in the side of the head and he cried out his surrender. Tenten gave Sasuke a little two-fingered salute, her prominent biceps, obvious in her sleeveless shirt, flexing with the motion of her arm. Having Gai for a teacher was clearly good for something, even if Tenten had been publicly spanked by Temari in the story. Now that Sasuke was looking at Tenten, he noticed that she was actually quite pretty.

 

He looked away hurriedly, feeling heat on his cheeks, and pulled out an enclosure tag. After Tunnel Boy was packed away, Sasuke went to collect the last of the Oto ninjas, Hair Girl, who seemed to be sporting a reddening, swelling kneecap and a badly bruised face. She was also holding the back of her head.

 

“I push-kicked her into the tree!” Kiba said proudly. “She got back up, but Shino put her back down by taking out her knee!”

 

“She didn’t have time to put anyone under genjutsu,” Sakura said with a shrug. “I should have brought a chair.”

 

Sasuke could more or less see how that fight must have unfolded: Kiba got inside Hair Girl’s guard and kicked Hair Girl in the abdomen, throwing her back into a tree, where Hair Girl hit her head. She got up, only to start taking Shino’s fists to the face and, while she was distracted with that and disoriented from whatever head injury she took from the tree, Shino kicked her knee out.

 

Sasuke stared down at the terrified, injured girl. He couldn’t remember what modifications Orochimaru had made to her. Maybe he hadn’t made any. If he hadn’t made her stronger, then why was she working for him? Orochimaru made Straw Cape and Tunnel Boy stronger, but what had he done for Hair Girl? Maybe it was a case of withholding punishment, rather than supplying reward. Maybe Sasuke could use that.

 

“How did you find us out?!” Hair Girl demanded.

 

“… Have you actually been to Otogakure?” Sasuke asked.

 

“What?! Of course I have!” Hair Girl said. “What are you, stupid?”

 

“What about the Otokage’s other bases?” Sasuke asked. “You three are bottom feeders, barely higher ranking than the ones he keeps in cages. Still, you might have been moved around, or you might have seen or heard something that indicates where the other bases are.”

 

“You think we’ll inform on our own village?!” Hair Girl said, sounding genuinely outraged.

 

“I do, because you’re expendable to the Otokage and you know it,” Sasuke said. “You came to Konoha not to participate in this exam, but to assassinate a certain citizen of Konoha. The exam just provided an excuse and an opportunity to kill. You weren’t engaging in the exam in good faith, so why did you think you were going to get out of this alive, even if you succeeded, even if you were acting within the technical rules of the exam? Did you really think you would survive?” Sasuke crouched down to put himself at eye-level with the girl.

 

“Orochimaru didn’t either,” Sasuke said. “He didn’t send you here to kill; he sent you here to die.”

 

“We would have succeeded!” Hair Girl shouted defiantly. “We would have!”

 

Naruto seethed angrily, but held his tongue.

 

“Which one of us is lying in the dirt?” Sasuke asked quietly. “Hoping against hope that they are granted the dignity of dying in one piece?”

 

Hair Girl cowered away from Sasuke, no doubt thinking of all the ways she could be hurt.

 

“Oi, Sasuke-kun! You’re going too far,” Kiba said, grabbing Sasuke by the shoulder, but Sasuke didn’t take his eyes from the girl in front of him.

 

“You are beaten,” Sasuke said. “And your boss is beaten; he’s already in custody. When they start picking his mind apart, he will give you three up. It’s only a matter of time before Konoha starts trying to capture you.”

 

“Aren’t we already captured? You are Konoha, aren’t you?!” the girl asked disdainfully.

 

“We’re not acting on the Hokage’s orders,” Sasuke said. “As far as I know, he barely even knows you exist. This isn’t an official mission. Do you really think such a mission would be given to a bunch of genin, if it were?”

 

Hair Girl looked over the group of genin around her.

 

“So, you’re in charge,” the girl said to Sasuke.

 

“And I want to know where Orochimaru keeps his slaves,” Sasuke said. “With Orochimaru apprehended, his prisoners might be left to starve in their cells or massacred outrgith to prevent the identities of their captors and torturers from spreading. Time is of the essence. I need to know where to go.”

 

“You want to go to the labs yourself?” Hair Girl asked in shock.

 

“You can think of it as sending me to my death, if that comforts you. You won’t ever have a better opportunity to complete your mission,” Sasuke said.

 

Hair Girl considered him quietly.

 

“And what do we get out of it?” Hair Girl asked.

 

“I don’t want to hand a bunch of kids without any clan ties or any value to their village, and therefore without any hope for intercession, over to T&I. You’ll either die or spend the next several years in prison,” Sasuke said. “So, I’ll get you out of the village. Alive. I’ll even heal you, so you’ll have a chance of evading anyone who comes after you.”

 

“… You will die,” Hair Girl said. “There are people a lot stronger than we are in those labs. How else do you think the prisoners are kept under control?” Sasuke heard people shift behind him.

 

“What will be will be,” Sasuke said. Hair Girl shook her head.

 

“Why are you doing this?” Hair Girl asked.

 

“Because there are people who need help,” Sasuke said. “… You needed help once, too, didn’t you? That’s why you ended up under Orochimaru’s command.”

 

“You don’t know anything about me!” Hair Girl shouted. “Some privileged little shit of a clan kid like you! What could you possibly know about it?!”

 

“I don’t need to know who you are to know how Orochimaru operates,” Sasuke said. “He preys on the weak. If you hadn’t been weak, then you wouldn’t be here, because you wouldn’t have been one of his targets in the first place.”

 

“Like you?!” Hair Girl shrieked. “Because we’re here to kill you, you know?! He sent us to kill YOU! Does that make you weak, too?!”

 

“Yeah, it does. The fact that he sent you to me, instead of to Itachi, seems like a good indicator of which pair of Sharingan was most accessible,” Sasuke said. “I am weak, but I’m not alone.” Sasuke thought of Hikari and Toneri. They would definitely help him.

 

“And you don’t have to be, either. You could be the kind of person who helps people like you. Do you have any idea how many people Orochimaru has imprisoned? You must have seen some of them,” Sasuke said. “You could help them all. You could give them the kind of help that you needed when you were at your most vulnerable.”

 

“What if we don’t tell you anything?” Hair Girl asked.

 

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll hand you over to T&I,” Sasuke said more loudly. “They’ll get the truth out of you, although who knows if they’ll prioritize protecting Orochimaru’s victims? Konoha isn’t big on charity. After all, Konoha let Orochimaru take over the Land of Rice Paddies and kidnap hundreds, if not thousands, of people for his medical experiments, didn’t it? Why would it start caring about those people now?”

 

“… Okay,” Hair Girl said. “I’ll tell you where the other labs are. I’ve seen maps.”

 

“Hold on, are you seriously going to let these guys go, when they came here to kill you?!” Naruto asked.

 

“As the person who would have been killed, I’d say my forgiveness is the one that matters most, wouldn’t you?” Sasuke said.

 

Naruto growled, crossed his arms, and glared at Hair Girl.

 

“Don’t blame them,” Sasuke said. “They might not be in cages, but they never had any choice in taking orders from Orochimaru, even if they didn’t realize it.”

 

Sasuke took out one of his ever-present notebooks from his backpack and took notes on the locations of Orochimaru’s hideouts.

 

“Do you really think Konoha won’t help the people Orochimaru has imprisoned?” Naruto asked, worry and uncertainty in his voice. “Won’t the old man take care of it?”

 

“Remember the last time you thought the Hokage would ‘take care’ of something?” Sasuke thought irritably, frowning at Naruto. It wasn’t a good time to have that argument, however, so he held his tongue.

 

“Give me a copy of that list,” Shino said to Sasuke. “Why? Because I will get my father to take charge of this mission. One genin team alone will not be capable of providing for the immediate needs of so many prisoners. The Aburame Clan can.”

 

“And the Inuzuka Clan!” Kiba said quickly, as though wanting to avoid being outdone by Shino. “We’ll definitely help rescue everyone!”

 

“And the Yamanaka Clan!” Ino said, grabbing Sasuke’s arm. “If it’s important to you, Sasuke-kun, you can always count on me to help you out!”

 

“Shut up, Ino-pig!” Sakura snapped. “And get your hands off Sasuke-kun!”

 

Ino stuck her tongue out at Sakura and clung more tightly to Sasuke.

 

“If you want help,” the taller Ame ninja said. “I’m Midare of the Shiodamari Clan. My eldest sister is our clan head. After I tell her how you fought that Sand freak to save us, she’ll definitely help you rescue Orochimaru’s captives, if that’s what you want. Maybe even the rest of Ame will get involved. I know Orochimaru has a big bounty on his head back home. Word is that he is a personal enemy of God and the Angel, that he betrayed them somehow. They might be happy to dismantle Orochimaru’s labs, even if they can’t get their hands on Orochimaru himself.”

 

“Thank you,” Sasuke said, although he didn’t want anything to do with Akatsuki.

 

“The Akamichi Clan can help, too,” Chouji said. “With feeding people and stuff.”

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“It’s not like the Nara are going to sit it out, either,” Shikamaru said. “Even though it sounds incredibly troublesome. Who wants to go tramping around a bunch of creepy labs and prisons?”

 

“What am I supposed to do once you’ve destroyed all of Orochimaru’s bases?” Hair Girl asked. “I won’t have anywhere else to go! Otogakure might have been creepy, but it was the only place I had!”

 

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her.

 

“Are you looking to switch sides?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Can I?” Hair Girl asked anxiously. “Can I defect to Konoha?”

 

Sasuke really wasn’t sure. It was a bit late in the game and Hair Girl wasn’t exactly a unique talent.

 

“You can try, if you like,” Sasuke said.

 

“What if they say no?” Hair Girl pressed quickly. “What if they just hand me over to T&I and then kill me?”

 

“If Konoha won’t accept you, then you can join my clan,” Sasuke relented.

 

“That’s what I want!” Hair Girl said immediately. “You’re the one upending my life, so you should take responsibility for it! Don’t hand me over to Konoha! Take me into your clan! I’ll be your vassal!”

 

“Don’t be so presumptuous!” Ino shouted. “Joining the Uchiha just like that! Who do you think you are?!”

 

“Well, excuse me for not wanting to be tortured to death!” Hair Girl shouted back.

 

“Fine,” Sasuke said.

 

“Sasuke-kun, you can’t just take her in! She came here to kill you!” Sakura said.

 

“Do you really think she could have, even if her team had caught me alone?” Sasuke asked.

 

“… I guess not,” Sakura admitted grudgingly. “They were all defeated pretty fast.”

 

“That was because you guys outnumbered us! It wasn’t a fair fight!” Hair Girl said.

 

“Three against one wouldn’t have been a fair fight, either,” Sakura said sharply.

 

Sasuke walked up to Hair Girl and healed her knee as well as he could.

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Hinata said. “I-I can help with that.”

 

Sasuke nodded and worked with Hinata to patch Hair Girl up.

 

“You can heal people, too?” Naruto asked. “Cool!” This caused Hinata to turn bright red and duck her head.

 

Then, one at a time, Sasuke let the other two Oto ninjas out and Sasuke and Hinata healed them enough so they could hear Sasuke’s pitch. Both Straw Cape and Tunnel Boy decided to share what they knew about the locations of Orochimaru’s bases in exchange for being healed and escorted out of Konoha. After each boy revealed what he knew about Orochimaru’s bases, Sasuke and Hinata healed them and then Sasuke stuck them back in an enclosure tag. This left Sasuke with three sets of maps to compare against each other. Sakura did exactly that and found the maps similar enough to one another to be trusted. At her nod, Sasuke turned back to Hair Girl.

 

“I’m Uchiha Sasuke,” Sasuke said. “What’s your name?”

 

“Tsuchi Kin,” Hair Girl said.

 

“Good to meet you, Kin-san,” Sasuke said.

 

“You, too,” Kin said awkwardly. “… Sasuke-dono.”

 

“Wow, that sounds so weird!” Naruto said. “’Sasuke-dono! Sasuke-dono!’ Don’t call him that! It sounds so weird and you’re going to give him a big head! Is she going to be living with us now?”

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“Is that everything?” Neji asked.

 

“No! We still have two extra scrolls,” Naruto said. “What are we going to do with them?”

 

“One of those is ours!” Karin said.

 

“Okay!” Naruto said, handing one to her and her team. “Now, there’s one left.”

 

“Um,” Ino said. “We could use one. We didn’t help you guys fight, but we’re still former classmates! We’re friends, aren’t we?”

 

“It’d be great if we didn’t have to fight anybody else for their scroll,” Shikamaru said. “We’d owe you guys one for saving us the bother.” Chouji nodded in agreement.

 

“Well, I don’t see why we should help these idiots,” Naruto said. “They didn’t help us at all and Sakura-chan hates Ino!”

 

“Shut up, Naruto-kun!” Ino shouted. “It doesn’t cost you anything to let us pass!”

 

Sasuke looked at Sakura.

 

“Do you want to fight Ino-chan in the third phase?” Sasuke asked, handing her the Earth scroll. Sakura took the scroll stared at it. Then, she grinned.

 

“Yeah,” Sakura said slowly. “You know, I really do!”

 

“You could just fight this girl now and not have to deal with her in the next phase,” Neji pointed out irritably.

 

“But other people would interfere!” Sakura said. “I want a fight between just the two of us, where everyone else butts out!”

 

“You’ve got it, Billboard-brow!” Ino said, wearing an answering grin of her own. “Even if we don’t get matched against each other in the third phase, I’m definitely willing to show you how a real ninja fights!”

 

“We’ll see who’s the better ninja between the two of us,” Sakura said, thrusting the scroll at Ino. Both girls grinned at each other in a not entirely unfriendly way. Sasuke hoped their eager expressions meant that they might be getting to the point where they could be proper friends again.

 

“Whatever,” Neji said. “Let’s just go.”

 

They went. The group, made of Team Kakashi, Team Gai, Karin’s Team Shigeri, Team Kurenai, Team Asuma, the two surviving Ame ninjas of Team Shigure, and Kin made their way to the tower unmolested, because, of course they were. You might be willing to try it on with a single team, or even two teams working together, if you were part of a real Justice League of a team yourself and you were desperate, but five teams and three spares, totaling eighteen opponents, was not something your average genin wanted to go up against, even with both of their teammates and their jounin-sensei to hide behind.

 

They all beat the record time for clearing the forty-fourth training ground during the Chuunin Exam by two hours. When Team Seven opened the scrolls and summoned Iruka, Sakura was still wearing the hair ornament Kakashi had given her. Sasuke was quietly proud of that.

 

-

 

Kakashi and his makeshift team had hunted down the two cronies Orochimaru had brought with him and taken both alive. Before leaving the arena, Kakashi and Gai had quickly checked in on their teams and found them chatting, uninjured and unhurried, with other teams near a massive bloodstain. Kakashi recognized the girl Karin from Sasuke’s description. Her hair was the same color Kushina’s had been, indicating Uzumaki heritage.

 

“It seems we have nothing to worry about,” Gai said.

 

“You’re right,” Kakashi said, eyeing the blood splattered ground.

 

Kakashi and Gai caught up with Jiraiya, Anko, and Tenzou in the room that housed the Mind Reading Amplification Machine, where Inoichi was loading Orochimaru into the machine. At Kakashi’s request, Gai stayed with him to guard Orochimaru, but Tenzou left back to wait for the kids to finish the second phase of the exam.

 

“Inoichi-san,” Kakashi said. “I’d like you to look for something specific in Orochimaru’s memories.”

 

“Yes?” Inoichi asked.

 

“Any ongoing connection with Danzo,” Kakashi said.

 

“Are you serious?!” Inoichi asked. “Is this related to the matter Kakoi-san mentioned to me?”

 

Kakashi shrugged. Kakashi wouldn’t bet against it, but he didn’t actually know if Danzo was holding Itachi’s leash, only that it looked like someone in Konoha was. Kakashi also couldn’t say if Orochimaru and Itachi had any possible connection, outside of Danzo. Kakashi simply didn’t have enough pieces of this puzzle to guess at it looked like. But, if this was his chance to nail Danzo’s ass to the wall, then he was damned well going to swing that hammer as hard and fast as he could.

 

Inoichi turned back to Orochimaru and got to work using Psycho Mind Transmission to look through Orochimaru’s mind. Kakashi settled down facing the only door to the room and pulled out his book. It was going to be a long day.

 

At least his teammates were safe. Kakashi felt himself relax a little more as he remembered how many people his genin were surrounded with, talking freely, as if they weren’t in the middle of a deadly exam. Kakashi smiled. He’d protected everyone after all.

Notes:

The training weights! Kakashi being a proper teacher came in clutch! It brings tear to my eye. And Gai! Kicking Orochimaru in the head! Repeatedly! Just stepping on him! Like his face is Gai’s god-damned welcome mat! Gai is a good guy, but there’s such disdain in his smiling, “Thanks for your support,” that it necessitates a trip to the burn unit. That phrase has real Big Bitch energy. Let’s be real, guys: Gai isn’t a resentful person, but he would grind Orochimaru’s face into the dirt, like Orochimaru was a dog turd that Gai was trying to rub off his shoe. He would be mean about it.

Yeah, Sasuke thought Tenten was hot. I think Sasuke probably likes them strong. He does canonically marry Sakura, after all. Whoever you ship him with, you have to admit, the guy spends a fair amount of time in bed licking abs.

Yes, I added Kin to the cast. It needed more girls to balance out the boys and Sasuke’s three-bedroom house wasn’t crowded enough. I think it will be interesting to have someone a little more self-serving in the mix.

Chapter 11: Relinquishing Control

Summary:

Kakashi’s guard duty is eventful, Sasuke gets interrogated by T&I and says, “Oh, shit,” a lot, Sakura does a cool, new thing, and Naruto uses his clone technique to get shit done.

Notes:

Warning: The characters discuss at length how Jiraiya behaves towards Naruto and the women Jiraiya peeps at in canon and explain why this isn’t harmless behavior. This may be triggering.

Guard duty was always slow, at least until it very suddenly wasn’t, but Kakashi didn’t mind it. At least the room was quiet and Kakashi had a book. He read, while Gai did pushups and Inoichi, with the help of some other members of the Analysis team, beavered away at Orochimaru’s skull to get at his soft, putrid brains. Apparently, Orochimaru had some mental blocks up that made Inoichi’s work slower. The current estimate was that this job would take days, rather than minutes. That was fine by Kakashi. Now that things should have calmed down outside, Kakashi was free to sit around and wait.

 

After a couple hours had passed, Kakashi heard a noise at the entrance. He looked up from his book as Izumo opened the door, revealing Ino on the other side.

 

“Ino-chan, you can’t be in here right now,” Izumo said, stopping Ino.

 

“I need to speak to my dad,” Ino said.

 

“He’s doing something important right now,” Izumo said. “Shouldn’t you be taking the Chuunin Exam anyway?”

 

“This is important, too, and my team already passed,” Ino said.

 

“Already?” Izumo said. “Wow! That’s got to be a record! Congratulations on passing.”

 

“Thanks. It’s about Orochimaru’s bases and the prisoners he’s keeping there,” Ino said briskly.

 

“Come inside,” Izumo said, permitting Ino entrance to the room where Orochimaru was being examined.

 

“Is that him?” Ino asked, staring at Orochimaru’s head where it stuck out of the machine.

 

“Yes,” Izumo said. “What information do you have?”

 

“Sasuke-kun interrogated the Oto ninjas while we were taking the exam,” Ino explained.

 

“The Oto genin team?” Izumo asked. “Why? What connection do they have to Orochimaru?”

 

“Orochimaru runs Otogakure; the Otokage is Orochimaru,” Ino said.

 

“What?! Is that a joke?!” Izumo said. “Are you serious?”

 

“Dead serious,” Ino said. “They all admitted it.”

 

“We need to send a team to capture that team immediately!” Izumo said.

 

“They’re not in Konoha anymore,” Ino said.

 

“What?!” Izumo said.

 

“Well, one of the genin is and I guess their teacher might be, but I don’t think Sasuke-kun is going to let you have that genin girl. He’s taken her into his clan,” Ino said. “He said he was taking the rest outside of Konoha when I last saw him.”

 

Kakashi sighed. Was this going to be how things were from now on? Was Sasuke going to show up with a new kid in tow every time Kakashi turned his back? And this one was of interest to T&I. That boy made so much work for Kakashi.

 

“Sasuke-kun is in no position to deny T&I anything!” Izumo said.

 

Ino glared at Izumo.

 

“You don’t need them anyway! Sasuke was able to get each member of the team to draw maps leading to Orochimaru’s bases. They also gave some interior maps and estimates for how many prisoners and defenders each base was holding. They gave up some names and everything! Orochimaru and his underlings are doing human experimentation on people and we need to rescue them,” Ino said.

 

“Seriously?!” Kotetsu exclaimed, who had come over to get in on this conversation.

 

“We’ll need all the information Sasuke-kun collected from them and we’ll need to collect those Oto genins, all of them, so we can do our own interrogation,” Izumo said.

 

“Sasuke-kun had no business conducting that interrogation himself,” said Kotetsu. “He’s had no training in it!”

 

“Sasuke-kun did okay,” Ino said. “Don’t be so stuffy! He got information from each one separately and then Billboard-brow compared them all against each other. She’s not an idiot. If she says they match, then they match.”

 

“… Seeing an interrogation for the first time can be upsetting,” Izumo said. “Are you okay, Ino-chan?”

 

“Huh?! Sasuke-kun didn’t torture them!” Ino said. “He was just like, ‘We know everything! Tell us what you know!’ And they did! I didn’t even need to help out.” Ino looked put out about this last statement.

 

“Why was Sasuke-kun interrogating these Oto genin anyway?” Kotetsu asked.

 

“They’d come to Konoha to assassinate him!” Ino said furiously. “So, he got a bunch of people together and we all confronted that Oto team.”

 

“Sasuke-kun knew before he confronted the Oto team that they had come to Konoha to kill him?” Kotetsu said. “How?”

 

“I don’t know,” Ino said.

 

“I think it’s time we collected everyone, including Sasuke and his new friend from Oto,” Kotetsu said. “I’ll be back soon.” And out the door he slipped.

 

Kakashi sighed. Why had his stupid little hedgehog decided to run his mouth in public? Wasn’t Sasuke worried about the repercussions of that sort of thing?

 

While Kotetsu went after Sasuke and the new girl, Izumo sent Sakura to fetch Ibiki. Ibiki took in Kakashi and Gai standing guard with narrowed eyes.

 

“What’s the situation?” Ibiki asked.

 

“Nothing interesting yet,” Kakashi said.

 

“If Orochimaru’s two comrades are in custody, why are you two here?” Ibiki asked. “Who else are you expecting?”

 

“Who knows?” Kakashi said. “Orochimaru made a lot of enemies in this village.”

 

Ibiki clearly didn’t buy this excuse for a second, but Kakashi wasn’t about to share his suspicions about Danzo with Ibiki. There was too little to gain from Ibiki’s position and the declining Morino Clan was too small to matter, merely two or three families. There was also too much to lose by allowing Ibiki to report what Kakashi told him to Danzo or the Hokage. Kakashi couldn’t move against Danzo until he had something guaranteed to bring him down.

 

When Sasuke arrived, it was with one of the Oto genin as well as Sakura, Naruto, and Tenzou in tow.

 

“Why did you bring all of these guys?” Izumo asked Kotetsu.

 

“Tenzou-kun says he’s guarding Team Seven for Kakashi-kun and the other two…” Kotetsu said, sounding strained.

 

“You can’t put Sasuke-kun in jail!” Sakura said sternly.

 

“Yeah!” Naruto shouted. “Don’t even think about it! He didn’t even do anything!”

 

Kakashi grinned.

 

Just as the door was about to close behind everyone, someone body flickered through the door. Gai took care of the intruder, slamming them to the floor as they neared Orochimaru. A couple of the students cried out in alarm at the sudden movement and the whole room, at least that part of it that wasn’t engaged in dealing with Orochimaru, was suddenly on high alert. When, the door was firmly closed without permitting anyone else, Kakashi stood up to inspect Gai’s catch.

 

“A boy?” Gai asked in surprise. “Who are you?” Kakashi got up and walked over to where Gai held down a boy about the same age as Kakashi and Gai’s students. Kakashi crouched in front of the boy and pulled off the kid’s ANBU mask to reveal dark eyes in a face as pale as a blind cave fish.

 

“Stick out your tongue,” Kakashi instructed the boy. The kid looked wildly around, but didn’t panic. Kakashi had to commend the boy for not showing fear in these circumstances.

 

“His tongue?!” Tenzou repeated, hurrying forward to stand at Kakashi’s side. The boy couldn’t struggle with Gai’s kunai at his throat. Gai dropped his kunai, trapped both the boy’s arms behind his back, and hefted the boy into a kneeling position.

 

“Come on,” Kakashi said to the boy. The boy tensed for a moment, before opening his mouth and extending his tongue, revealing the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.

 

Kakashi stood up as Tenzou moved to take Kakashi’s place. Tenzou put a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

 

“Your mission is over,” Tenzou said. “It was a failure, but it was a good try. What’s your name?”

 

“… I don’t have a name,” the boy said.

 

“I see,” Tenzou said. “That’s alright. We’ll find one for you.”

 

Kakashi was relieved that Tenzou would be taking care of this one. He didn’t think Sasuke’s house could hold any more people.

 

“What’s going on, Kakashi-kun?” Ibiki asked, giving Kakashi a sharp look. “Who is this kid?”

 

“How should I know? He says he doesn’t have a name,” Kakashi said.

 

“Gai-kun?” Ibiki tried.

 

“No idea!” Gai said cheerfully. “Fear not! A new, splendid name will be found for him, one that is auspicious, foretelling a brilliant future, while simultaneously describing some current, essential truth of his being! Would you like to be informed of it, when the name is found?”

 

Ibiki threw his hands up in exasperation, before rounding on the genin.

 

“Sasuke-kun, come with me,” Ibiki said.

 

“Please, stay with Kin-san while I’m gone,” Sasuke said to Naruto, Sakura, and Ino. All three agreed readily.

 

“Ah, that’s no good, you know?” Kakashi said to Ibiki. “Sasuke-kun is a minor. He needs a chaperone, so I’ll just accompany him.”

 

“Are you trying to compromise my investigation?” Ibiki asked.

 

“Well, that does sound like fun, but I’m really only concerned for the wellbeing of my student,” Kakashi said. “You’re pretty scary you know? And he’s just a little kid.”

 

Ibiki turned on his heel and stalked to the door. He held it open while giving Sasuke the old hairy-eyeball. Sasuke and Kakashi followed. They entered an interrogation room, where two more members of T&I were already stationed. Kakashi didn’t like that at all. Clearly, Ibiki really had intended to intimidate Kakashi’s student. That wasn’t allowed. Sasuke didn’t look intimidated, though. His face had reverted to its trademark blankness.

 

“We have a certain way of doing things around here, Sasuke-kun,” Ibiki said. “If you wanted a job at T&I, then you should have applied first. You don’t just start on enemy ninjas, especially when properly trained people are available to do the job. You should have brought them to us.” Ibiki opened a notebook and took out a pen. “Nothing to say for yourself? Alright, tell me why you didn’t give the prisoners to us after you captured them?”

 

Sasuke shook his head.

 

“Because you torture people,” Sasuke said, a little steel coming into his expression.

 

“… Excuse me?” Ibiki said.

 

“They’re about fourteen or fifteen and your department is called, ‘Torture and Interrogation,’” Sasuke said. “I would never have given them to you.”

 

“How noble,” Ibiki said sarcastically. Sasuke’s face fell back into blankness at this mocking praise.

 

“… Not really,” Sasuke said.

 

“What do you mean?” Ibiki asked. “Did you have some ulterior motive?”

 

“I threatened to give them to you, if they didn’t help me,” Sasuke said. “I shouldn’t have done that, even if I wouldn’t have followed through with it. I shouldn’t have threatened them like that.”

 

“Is that how you got them to talk?” Ibiki asked. Sasuke nodded.

 

“I said I would give them to you if they didn’t talk to me and I said I would free Orochimaru’s captives if they did,” Sasuke said.

 

Holy shit! Sasuke was planning to do a run on Orochimaru’s bases?! Did this kid have a death wish?! When Orochimaru had left Konoha, the village had quite a bit of trouble clearing out those boobytrapped ratholes. That was not a job for a rookie genin!

 

“You were planning to go free Orochimaru’s captives?” Kakashi asked, trying to keep his cool.

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi scolded. “You agreed to tell me before you decided to run off again.”

 

“I wasn’t going to leave without telling you,” Sasuke said.

 

Okay, fine. So, Kakashi just had to figure out how to run a mission that would normally be done by teams of only jounin… With three rookie genin, instead. No big deal. It was fine. Everything was fine.

 

“You’re going to make my hair go grey,” Kakashi said, slouching a bit further in his seat.

 

Sasuke snorted.

 

“How did you know Orochimaru had captives?” Ibiki asked.

 

“He’s Orochimaru,” Sasuke said.

 

“Alright, how did you know that Oto was a front for whatever Orochimaru has been getting up to lately?” Ibiki asked.

 

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Explain it to me,” Ibiki said.

 

“People with bloodline traits have been going missing from the Land of Rice Paddies, Orochimaru has been recruiting in Rice Paddies, and the Otokage likes snake motifs,” Sasuke said.

 

Silence fell. All of those things were news to Kakashi, who blinked down at his student and then up at the interrogators, who looked just as surprised. Were those things Sasuke had seen in his visions?

 

“And?” Ibiki prompted.

 

“You know the rest,” Sasuke said placidly.

 

“No, Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi thought. “We really don’t.”

 

“Explain it to me anyway,” Ibiki said.

 

Sasuke sighed and looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. Apparently, he had taken that time to decide exactly what he was going to say, because he spoke fluidly when next he opened his mouth.

 

“As a young ninja, Orochimaru becomes a summoner of snakes, a user of Soft Body Modification, and publicly expresses interest in the symbology and immortality associated with mythological snakes,” Sasuke said.

 

“Then, with government money and government sanction, Orochimaru experiments on volunteers to recreate the Wood Release. His work is disgustingly shoddy, lacking in-depth background research, disclosures of the risks associated with volunteering for the project, informed consent of the volunteers, review of his methods by physicians, collaboration with other scientists, review by an ethics board, exploration more efficient ways to do those studies, exploration of cheaper ways to do those studies, exploration of less dangerous ways to do those studies. It’s bad. The ‘experiment’ burns money and produces more corpses than anything else, because the man is either too stupid to understand the concepts of transplant rejection tests, animal test trials, and stem cells,” Sasuke said scornfully. “Or he gets off on torturing and killing people with impunity. The pay was probably also nice, though.”

 

Kakashi blinked at Sasuke’s sudden verbosity. For some reason, the kid had a lot to say about the way Orochimaru conducted his research.

 

“Oh,” Kakashi thought, “That’s right; Sasuke does research, too.” Despite being just a tiny infant, a piglet of a hedgehog, Sasuke had professional opinions about Orochimaru’s research. Kakashi fought down a laugh.

 

“Then, the government shuts it down,” Sasuke continued. “These Wood Release experiments were done on ninjas and dead ninjas are a problem. The experiment stops.

 

“Except not really, because kids start going missing from the countryside of Fire. At least sixty disappear and are later recovered from a lab with lots of expensive equipment and chemicals in it. Pity they are almost all dead. Luckily, one came out perfect. Naturally, although Konoha would never condone what was done to this child, it would be a waste not to put him to work. And, if the only culprit isn’t identified until after this person defects from Konoha, that’s just bad luck. No one is to blame.”

 

Ibiki’s face is tense around the eyes and his ears have gone bright red.

 

“I don’t like what you’re implying,” Ibiki growled. Sasuke, in a show of uncommon coolness for someone his age, just shrugs.

 

“Next, ninjas from Konoha start going missing off battlefields and Orochimaru is suspected,” Sasuke continued. “It turns out that he’s got yet another lab full of dead people, specifically ninjas. Dead ninjas are a problem.

 

“Rather than using a place already under Konoha’s control and with overwhelming backup and layers of security, Konoha goes to Orochimaru’s secret lab to apprehend him. There, he is caught red handed, probably literally, maybe even elbow deep in someone’s guts, because he has that kind of hobby. Unfortunately, he escapes. No one is to blame; Orochimaru is just too slippery, probably because of all the blood.”

 

One of the other interrogators started laughing and smothered it instantly with her hand.

 

“That was a dark joke,” Kakashi thought, amused, but unsure if he liked it, because Sasuke was thirteen. Kakashi was fairly sure thirteen-year-olds shouldn’t have such a dark sense of humor.

 

“A ninja named, ‘Yashagoro,’ swings the succession of Rice Paddies by assassinating the heir to the emperor’s throne, something Rice Paddies’ own hidden village is forbidden from doing. Can’t have the local kage deciding who the emperor is. Only foreign ninjas can do that.

 

“Okay, so the new emperor made a short-sighted decision. Not unusual. The reward is leadership of a hidden village. Unusual. However, the old hidden village isn’t under new management; there’s a new hidden village, instead. Very unusual. And it isn’t being built over an existing population center where this ninja’s family is based. Extremely unusual. This indicates that, to keep people supportive of the new Kage’s government, this new Kage can’t rely on loyalty to clan, or party, or shared financial interests, or a shared set of ideals. Instead, this new Kage is setting up a system where stability is maintained by loyalty to a single person. Like a cult leader.

 

“People start going missing. It isn’t just ninjas being taken off battlefields or children being snatched off the streets. It’s generally people with bloodline traits, whole families, whole clans, whole villages who are going missing from Rice Paddies. Turns out, dead ninjas aren’t a problem, if they’re someone else’s dead ninjas.

 

“Year after year, more people are disappearing. Rice Paddies’ famous Fuuma Clan splits and it’s no secret that half become bandits and half go to work for Orochimaru. It was in the newspaper in the capital of Rice Paddies. You know what else was in their newspaper? How much the new Otokage likes to use snake motifs in his decorating and how much he believes science will improve everyone’s lives.

 

“Then, the Oto team shows up and they aren’t even subtle about how interested they are in me.”

 

Silence fell. Only the sound of the two interrogators beside Ibiki taking notes could be heard.

 

“… What made you think they were here to kill you?” Ibiki asked. “You didn’t think Orochimaru would want you taken alive?”

 

“No need to give complicated orders to bottom feeders; their job is to eat shit,” Sasuke said.

 

“What exactly does that mean?” Ibiki asked.

 

“If they kill me, they can steal my eyes,” Sasuke said. “If they fail to kill me, possibly dying in the process, they prove that I’m strong enough to be useful to Orochimaru in another capacity. The Oto team’s function is the same either way.”

 

“But they could have been given more complex orders!” Another interrogator insists. “It doesn’t make sense to assume they were too stupid to understand.”

 

“It isn’t about the Oto team,” Sasuke said. “It’s about Orochimaru.”

 

“That doesn’t make any sense!” she insists.

 

“Yes, it does,” Ibiki said with a sigh. “From everything I know about Orochimaru, sending a disposable team out to die is exactly the kind of thing he would do. He might not care if the genin team lived, but he probably would enjoy it if they died. ‘Bottom feeders,’ indeed.”

 

The other interrogators looked horrified by this assessment.

 

“You receive newspapers from the capital of Rice Paddies, do you?” Ibiki asked.

 

“No,” Sasuke said.

 

“Then how would you know what’s written in it?” Ibiki asked.

 

“I have a contract with a summon that getts newspapers from all over,” Sasuke said. “They like to stay informed, so they buy lots of newspapers… And tabloids.”

 

“That must be the rodents,” Kakashi thought. He hadn’t seen much of them, but he knew Sasuke had a contract with them and that the birds Sasuke had a contract with weren’t big readers. In their defense, it was probably difficult to read a book when you were a few inches long. You might be crushed by the pages. Were rodents big readers? Maybe the larger ones. That might make sense, Kakashi supposed. If the rodents were burglars, they would need to know where to go to get the best loot, so they would need to stay informed… Or maybe they just liked news and gossip.

 

“The results of Orochimaru’s research on the Wood Release are top secret. How do you know what was in it?” Ibiki asked.

 

“… Illegally,” Sasuke said, looking uncomfortable for the first time.

 

“You went sneaking around?” Ibiki asked.

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“And no one caught you?” Ibiki asked.

 

Sasuke nodded again. He looked a little worried, but there was no need. In a ninja village, everybody did that kind of thing while they were learning the ropes. Getting caught somewhere you weren’t supposed to be was practically a rite of passage. As an adult, it would be a crime, but kids were expected to push the envelope. It gave young ninjas a chance to practice their skills in a safe environment and it occasionally helped Konoha find weaknesses in their own security, so it was good for everyone. Kakashi patted Sasuke’s head.

 

“Good job,” Kakashi said. Sasuke glared at Kakashi, but he recognized it as Sasuke’s confused glare. “You didn’t get caught! Well done!” Sasuke rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, but Kakashi saw there was a faint blush on his cheeks.

 

“Give me the notes on your interrogation of the Oto team,” Ibiki said.

 

Sasuke took out a folder from his bag and Ibiki immediately began to flip through the loose papers. Another interrogator examined the papers over Ibiki’s shoulder.

 

“You interrogated all three together?” Ibiki asked after a few minutes.

 

“Separately,” Sasuke corrected.

 

A few minutes later, Ibiki spoke again.

 

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Ibiki said. “You’re free to go, although the Oto girl will be staying here.”

 

“No,” Sasuke said flatly.

 

“Oh, shit,” Kakashi thought in dread. His genin were all extremely stubborn and they hung together. If Sasuke decided to put up a fight against T&I, the whole team would get dragged in and Kakashi really didn’t need that kind of drama in his life right now. They just finished dealing with Orochimaru!

 

“Do you have reason to suspect that the information Sasuke-kun acquired is false?” Kakashi asked. “Or that you could collect something vital from those genin that isn’t already in those pages?”

 

Ibiki stared at Kakashi. Finally, the staring contest ended, when Ibiki smiled.

 

“I suppose not,” Ibiki said, leaning back. “They are just bottom feeders, after all.” Then he turned to Sasuke. “Good job, kid. You know, we don’t use torture as much as we did in the old days.” Ibiki tapped the folder of papers. “You figured out where Orochimaru was and what he was up to. That information helped your team take down him and five of his agents. Although we don’t know where the Oto team’s jounin-sensei has gotten to, yet, you helped make Konoha safer today.”

 

Even if Sasuke had only known to look into Otogakure because of his visions, he had still put together a collection of evidence that clearly backed up what he knew. Knowing that Sasuke didn’t plan to be in Konoha for this event indicated that Sasuke hadn’t built that picture for the benefit of persuading others, but to check his own understanding. That skepticism struck Kakashi as healthy.

 

“Leave it to an Uchiha to be suspicious even of their own divine gifts,” Kakashi thought with mirth.

 

Kakashi completely agreed with Ibiki’s compliments and glanced at Sasuke to see if he appreciated them, too. However, Sasuke was only glaring suspiciously at Ibiki.

 

“You might think about joining this department in the future,” Ibiki said. “I think you’d be a good fit for our Analysis team.”

 

Silence fell as Sasuke failed to respond.

 

“Okay,” Sasuke said eventually. Kakashi sighed and shook his head.

 

On that note, Kakashi and Sasuke left.

 

“So, Orochimaru is bad at science, huh?” Kakashi asked as they walked back to the room where the others were.

 

“Very,” Sasuke said.

 

“If I ever speak to him again, I’ll tell him you said that,” Kakashi said.

 

Sasuke cracked a smile.

 

“Tell him that his lack of control of any variables in his initial Wood Release experiments rendered his basic experimental design invalid,” Sasuke said.

 

“What does that mean?” Kakashi asked.

 

“It means he’s bad at science,” Sasuke said.

 

“Ah, a blistering science insult. I’ll remember that one,” Kakashi said, nodding his head and already having forgotten the wording of what Sasuke said.

 

“Kakashi-sensei,” Sasuke said.

 

“Yeah?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Thanks for coming with me,” Sasuke said.

 

“No problem,” Kakashi said with a smile.

 

When they returned to the others, Ino immediately went up to Sasuke and glommed onto his arm, making Sasuke’s shoulders tense.

 

“Ino-pig!” Sakura hissed.

 

“Sasuke-kun!” Ino said, ignoring Sakura. “As soon as my dad isn’t busy, I’m going to get him to help you in your quest to free Orochimaru’s captives! He’s busy right now, but he’ll need to take a break soon, so please be patient with me!”

 

“Okay,” Sasuke said awkwardly, as he stood stiffly in Ino’s grasp.

 

“Ino-pig!” Sakura seethed. “Let go!” Ino only stuck her tongue out at Sakura.

 

“Are you planning to help Sasuke-kun, too?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Of course! The Yamanaka Clan will not be found wanting,” Ino declared. “And Shikamaru-kun and Chouji-kun are going to get their clans to help, too!”

 

“Lots of people volunteered to help out, Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura said. “Shino-kun of the Aburame Clan and Kiba-kun of the Inuzuka Clan. And this older boy from Ame, too. He said he was from the Shiodamari Clan.”

 

Shiodamari? Weren’t they a clan who specialized in fuinjutsu?

 

“I see,” Kakashi said, greatly relieved. That much help should ensure that this operation went smoothly.

 

With nothing else to do but return to guard duty, Kakashi sat down beside Gai, who was doing sit-ups.

 

Then, the building shook. Kakashi gasped as he felt the cold, angry, poisonous chakra of a Tailed Beast wash over him, making his hair stand on end.

 

“That must be Gaara!” Sakura exclaimed.

 

“What?! Who’s ‘Gaara?!’” Kotetsu.

 

“He’s a jinchuuriki from Suna!” Sakura explained.

 

“Suna?!” Kotetsu repeated. “Are they attacking us?!”

 

“Kakashi-kun,” Gai said. Kakashi knew Gai would want to check on his students and face the enemy. Guarding Orochimaru came second.

 

“I understand,” Kakashi said. Gai left, body flickering away.

 

“Sempai! I need to stow this one somewhere safe,” Tenzou said, indicating his emotionless little charge. “He’ll either try to go back to Danzo or to complete his mission, when I take my eyes off him.”

 

Kakashi nodded and Tenzou, too disappeared.

 

“Kakashi-sensei,” Sasuke began.

 

“No,” Kakashi said. “You three are staying right here.”

 

Sasuke opened his mouth to argue, but Kakashi didn’t have to listen to it, because the roof fell in.

 

-

 

The dust in the air was too thick for Sasuke’s eyes to penetrate, but he could smell Kakashi’s shampoo under his nose. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and, through the dust, he saw that Kakashi had moved Team Seven, Ino, and Kin together on the far side of the room, out of the path of the falling debris.

 

“Oh, shit,” Sasuke thought. “We’re doing this here?!” Sand started flowing into the room from the ceiling. “Fine! Alright! Fine! I guess we’re doing this here!”

 

“Dad! DAD!” Ino shouted and ran off in the direction of Inoichi, who would be totally vulnerable while he was using his technique on Orochimaru.

 

“If Gaara’s sand catches you, it can crush you, but it’s slow. He’s resistant to projectiles, but weak at taijutsu and weak to genjutsu,” Sasuke reminded his team.

 

“Just stay down!” Kakashi ordered. “Let the adults handle this!”

 

“That’s a rampaging jinchuuriki!” Sakura shouted, as Kakashi disappeared through the opening. “We might not have a choice!”

 

Indeed, Sasuke saw a massive, writhing paw shoot down towards them. Sasuke held up his hand and transformed it into a great steel dome, deflecting the strike. That turned out to be a good decision. Although Sakura had dodged Gaara’s attack, Naruto and Kin hadn’t thought to.

 

“Kin-san, stay with me,” Sasuke said, as the sand withdrew towards the sky. The room became darker and darker as Gaara’s sand blotted out the light from the sky.

 

“Got it!” Kin said, stepping closer to Sasuke.

 

“There’s no point in using my Water Release techniques,” Sakura said frustratedly. “It’s weak against Earth and he’s got more chakra than I do.”

 

“Is Wood Release strong against Earth Release?” Naruto asked.

 

“I have no idea!” Sakura shouted. “Wait! I have an idea! If Sasuke-kun gives me some Lightning Release chakra and Naruto gives me some Wind Release Chakra, then I can use Swift Release to outpace Gaara and close the distance!”

 

“We don’t know for sure if it those combine that way,” Sasuke warned, as he nonetheless held out a hand and filled his palm with Lightning Release.

 

“Might as well give it a try!” Naruto said, filling a palm with Wind Release and holding it out to Sakura.

 

Sakura took them both by the hand and closed her eyes in concentration. A moment later, her eyes flew open, glowing faintly golden, and she blurred into motion. A bright hole was punched into the ceiling of sand and Sasuke could only assume that Sakura had made it going through, because she had moved too fast for his eyes to track.

 

Naruto created a dozen clones, who ran around the room supporting or outright carrying the injured to Sasuke’s position. Ino and her father emerged from the dust, too, with Orochimaru bound in irons that were rimed with glowing technique formulae, which presumably suppressed Orochimaru’s chakra.

 

“Let’s retreat further into the building,” Inoichi said firmly.

 

“What if it pancakes?” Sasuke disagreed.

 

“What?” Inoichi asked.

 

“If the upper floors fall together, the force could collapse the ceiling above us,” Sasuke said.

 

“Then, we need to go up into the fight,” Inoichi said.

 

Sasuke transformed his shoe into a wide staircase leading up to the gaping ceiling. Everyone blinked for a moment at the new addition to the building that probably wasn’t up to code, but nobody waited for the word, “go.”

 

Inoichi blasted through the sand with a powerful jet of water, creating an opening through which everyone else escaped, but Sasuke and Kin.

 

“Can you jump it?” Sasuke asked. The ceiling was very high.

 

“Yes,” Kin said.

 

Sasuke canceled his transformation and both escaped after the others into the open air, where Gaara was waiting for them with a hurricane of sand.

 

Or he would have been.

 

Sasuke was didn’t know what to make of it as he watched the sand settling out of the air.

 

“It’s over?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Yeah,” Sakura said, as she appeared in front of Sasuke, making him jump in surprise. She was fast. “Kakashi-sensei had me evacuate the nearby buildings!”

 

“Oh, shit. She’s like the Flash,” Sasuke thought. “That’s so cool.”

 

“What happened?” Kin demanded.

 

“Well, Gaara was all like, ‘Everyone who meets my eyes must die!’” Sakura said. “And then Kakashi-sensei put him under a genjutsu.”

 

“Oh, shit,” Sasuke thought. “Was he talking about me?!” Apparently, Gaara did not appreciate how easily Sasuke had folded him during the exam.

 

“Sasuke!” Naruto said, running up to them. “I think that guy was mad at you!”

 

“I think you’re right!” Sasuke thought.

 

“Let’s go see him!” Naruto said.

 

“Yeah!” Sakura said.

 

They found Kakashi carrying Gaara like an errant puppy. An errant puppy that was covered in angry sand. And staring blankly ahead, blinking occasionally, but not otherwise reacting. Using his Sharingan, Sasuke could see Kakashi’s chakra forming a fine barrier of Lightning Release around his skin, protecting him from the sand. Sasuke shut his eyes off and sighed. How anticlimactic. Sasuke seemed to be missing all the cool fights today, even if this one seemed to have been brief.

 

“Hey, are you okay?” Naruto asked.

 

“I’m fine,” Kakashi said, using his free hand to pat Naruto on the head.

 

“I got out everyone else. Should I evacuate the basement of T&I now?” Sakura asked.

 

“Good job,” Kakashi said, giving Sakura a head pat, too. “That’s where prisoners are being kept for questioning. Leave them be.”

 

What the hell?

 

“Have they been sentenced to death?” Sasuke asked testily, glaring at Kakashi for his callousness.

 

“They won’t die. Just leave it to T&I to handle their relocation,” Kakashi said. Were the cells especially reinforced against collapse to prevent escape? Wondering if Kakashi knew something that Sasuke himself didn’t, Sasuke let it go.

 

“Kakashi-kun!” Genma said, running over to join them. Sasuke wondered if that senbon in Genma’s mouth was damaging his teeth. Chewing on metal was not a good idea. “How did you defeat the kid?”

 

“I just put him under a genjutsu. He thinks he’s killed me and is still tearing up Konoha right now,” Kakashi said.

 

“Murder and mayhem; typical, wholesome activities for children,” Genma said, nodding approvingly.

 

“It should keep him busy for a while,” Kakashi said.

 

Sasuke looked warily at the unfocused eyes of Gaara, who was staring into his own world.

 

“What a temper tantrum,” Genma said. “We really shouldn’t let toddlers participate in the Chuunin Exams. Let’s get him down for a nap, shall we?”

 

“Look out,” Kakashi said. “That sand has teeth.”

 

Genma laughed.

 

“He still hasn’t grown out of biting people yet?” Genma asked with a grin, taking Gaara from Kakashi with some method of his own.

 

That was the point where Baki showed up.

 

“Gaara-kun!” Baki said, looking like he was not having a good day. He looked stressed, sweaty, angry, and very bloody. It looked like Gaara might have crushed one of Baki’s arms all the way to the elbow. The appendage was also disturbingly shredded. Sasuke went pale and looked away from it.

 

His mother and father’s blood had mingled on the floor, as the blood of the people outside had mingled with the dirt. Blood on their faces, blood on their chests, blood in the street, blood that was black in the moonlight, blood, blood, blood.

 

Sasuke refocused a few seconds later when Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder. The warm weight of it was grounding.

 

“No,” Kakashi said. “He’s a prisoner of Konoha now. Your Kazekage will have to negotiate for his release.”

 

Baki did not look best pleased by this pronouncement, but he also didn’t look like he was going to start a fight over it. He had to know that would only land him as well in custody, because more and more ninjas were arriving to see what had happened. That reminded Sasuke of the other two members of Team Baki, who were also in custody.

 

“Oh,” Sasuke said. “I have your other students.”

 

“What?!” Baki asked fiercely. Sasuke took out the two enclosure tags that contained Gaara’s siblings and handed them to Baki, who took them with a stricken look.

 

“Oh shit,” Sasuke thought, realizing suddenly how looked to be handed the ninja-equivalent of body bags. “They’re not dead,” Sasuke said quickly, “They’re both unconscious, though. I haven’t had a chance to take them to the hospital yet.” Baki glared at Sasuke, who felt a bit bad about scaring him.

 

“Would you like help getting to the hospital?” Sakura asked, eyes still glowing faintly golden with Swift Release. “That arm looks pretty bad.”

 

“… I can manage,” Baki said, tucking the two enclosure tags in his vest. Baki watched with a sour expression as Genma took off with Gaara, until the two were out of sight. Then, Baki left, too.

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi said, bopping Sasuke lightly on the head. “You scared that man to death!”

 

“I didn’t mean to!” Sasuke protested defensively.

 

“Is there anything else to do?” Naruto asked. Sakura closed her eyes.

 

“Yes!” She said sharply. “There are some people in the rubble over there!” Naruto divided into a dozen clones.

 

“Let’s go get them!” Naruto said. “Just point the way!”

 

For the next hour, while most people shifted rubble, sensors helped locate everyone who was trapped and Naruto and his clones ran back and forth using clones transformed into spinal boards to get the injured to the hospital. Kakashi, who summoned his nin-dogs, and all the Inuzuka who showed up worked to sniff out any corpses, which the chakra sensors wouldn’t have been able to detect. Luckily there were none. Gaara had made an enormous and costly mess and dozens had been injured by it, but nobody had died. That was a definite improvement over the Suna attack in the story.

 

“That’s the end of the rescue and recovery work. Good job, everyone!” Ibiki announced to the crowd of ninjas and regular people who had all come to help out. A cheer went up from the dusty people.

 

“Are we going home now or what?” Naruto asked. “I’m hungry. We missed lunch.”

 

“We’ve got rations,” Sakura said, teasingly to Naruto. “We never even got a chance to eat them during the second phase of the exam. Let’s go home and eat those.”

 

“No! I want ramen! Let’s go to Ramen Ichiraku!” Naruto shouted. “After a day like today, I’ve earned it! And I got a bunch of money off that one guy during the exam! And I have to tell Teuchi-san how we beat the record for the exam and how beat up all those bad guys!”

 

“Did you rob another genin during the exam?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Yeah!” Naruto said proudly. “He thought he could take on all three of us by himself, the bastard! I showed him what Team Seven was all about and then I took his wallet!” The shining expression on Naruto’s face gave Sasuke the impression Naruto was waiting for Kakashi to praise him for his petty larceny. It didn’t escape Sasuke’s notice that Naruto had praised the team rather than himself, too. Sasuke wondered where Naruto’s sudden maturity was coming from.

 

“… I have to stay and keep an eye on Orochimaru,” Kakashi said. “You three can go get something to eat, but stay together and come right back to me afterwards.”

 

“Okay!” Naruto said. “We’ll bring you something for you, too!”

 

“Before you go,” Kakashi said, looking at Kin. “Why don’t you introduce me to your new friend?”

 

“This is Tsuchi Kin,” Sasuke said. “Formerly of Otogakure.”

 

“How unexpected,” Kakashi said. Sasuke shrugged.

 

“She said she didn’t have anywhere else to go,” Sasuke said.

 

“I see. Pleased to meet you, Tsuchi Kin-san,” Kakashi said. “I’m Sasuke-kun’s teacher, Hatake Kakashi.”

 

“Pleased to meet you,” Kin said stiffly, looking very intimidated. Sasuke wondered if she knew who he was. That reminded Sasuke of something: the enemies in the story had always known who Kakashi was.

 

“Why are you so famous?” Sasuke asked Kakashi.

 

“Famous?” Naruto and Sakura repeated together. It was Kakashi’s turn to shrug.

 

“I’ve been in this business for a long time,” Kakashi said. Sasuke glared at Kakashi. That didn’t explain anything.

 

“Is Kakashi-sensei really that famous?” Sakura asked. Kin nodded.

 

“Yeah,” she said, still looking cowed. “He’s known as a capable ninja who’s done assassinations throughout the Elemental Nations.”

 

“I see! So, he’s famous because he travels around killing people!” Naruto said. Sasuke snorted.

 

“Thant makes him sound like a traveling serial killer,” Sasuke thought. “Like a traveling salesman, but for murder.” He imagined Kakashi dressed like a 1950’s door-to-door salesman, carrying a briefcase in one hand and a bloody axe in the other. “Would you like to buy a set of encyclopedias? No? Are you sure?”

 

“OK! Lat’s go get some food!” Naruto crowed. “Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!”

 

Sasuke shook his head. Naruto acted like he’d been deprived, just because he hadn’t left the house to get ramen in the last few days.

 

“I’ll race you!” Sakura offered, eyes still glowing gold. Sasuke could almost see a big tail wagging in excitement behind her.

 

“You’re on!” Naruto said boldly.

 

Sakura ran literal rings around everyone on their way to the restaurant.

 

“Are you paying?” was the first thing out of Kin’s mouth when they reached Ramen Ichiraku.

 

“Sure,” Sasuke said.

 

“No! I’m paying today!” Naruto said, holding high the stollen wallet.

 

“Hey, everyone!” Teuchi said. “Are you finished with the exam already?”

 

Naruto beamed like the breaking dawn and launched into his explanation of the day’s adventures. Sasuke thought the ramen tasted especially good that day. When Naruto had finished his serving and ordered a second, Teuchi gave it to him for free to celebrate Team Seven’s great success.

 

And it had been a success. Sasuke had gotten through the day without getting marked by Orochimaru. While he’d failed to save one of the Ame genin, Sasuke had two of the Oto genin packed away in enclosure tags in Hisui no Sougen for safekeeping, and one more had been recruited. Team Baki had been knocked out of the exam, so they wouldn’t have another opportunity to hurt people. Orochimaru had been locked up, however temporarily. And, most importantly, he’d saved Karin from the bear.

 

That last fact struck Sasuke as curious. Had that event happened on the first day of the exam in the story? Hadn’t story-Sasuke been knocked out by Orochimaru’s juinjutsu for many hours? When would there be time to rescue Karin? And here, in this timeline, Sasuke wouldn’t have had the chance to rescue Karin if he really had been bitten by Orochimaru, so why had story-Sasuke made it in time? Shouldn’t Karin have just been killed while Sasuke was unconscious? Was Karin isolated from her team and attacked by bears multiple times? How unlucky was she? Was this a contrivance by a god who didn’t want that plot point to be missed? What other plot points might he be forced to endure, irrespective of the changes he was making? Was he still destined to become that guy who cried literal tears of blood? Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the phantom itch of a mark that didn’t exist, and frowned in worry.

 

Sasuke sighed and stared at the countertop while Naruto ate his second bowl of ramen. The real question was, “When had he gotten so hopeful that things could change?” He ended up back in Konoha, even though he had resolutely defected, hadn’t he? Was he hoping for too much?

 

Well, maybe things wouldn’t get too out of hand. He had Toneri and Hikari and the rodents and the birds… And maybe even Kakashi. Kakashi had actually come through today, handling both Orochimaru and Gaara for Sasuke and supporting Sasuke in his rejection of Ibiki’s demand for Kin. And he’d actually been training Team Seven lately. And then, when Sasuke was upset by the injury to Baki’s hand, Kakashi… Well, it could have been just a coincidence, because Kakashi was more touchy-feelie today, but it had seemed like Kakashi was trying to comfort him. Sasuke’s shoulder warmed with the recollection of the weight of Kakashi’s hand. The man wasn’t completely unreliable. Maybe Sasuke could trust Kakashi just a little bit more.

 

-

 

Somewhat surprisingly to Kakashi, Inoichi immediately got back to work on Orochimaru’s interrogation, even though the machine they had been using was trashed. Inoichi and his subordinates improvised, taking over a conference room in an undamaged building where they scrawled technique formulae on the floor with chalk to reproduce some of the functions of the Mind Reading Amplification Machine. Before Inoichi’s dove back into Orochimaru’s mind, he pulled Kakashi to one side, wearing a look of subdued anger.

 

“Kakashi-kun, please inform Sasuke-kun that the Yamanaka Clan will certainly assist in his mission to rescue Orochimaru’s captives,” Inoichi said with his typical polite reserve. “I sent Ino-chan home to give the order to begin preparations. Please have Sasuke-kun create copies of his maps and any other pertinent information he has for us.”

 

“Will do,” Kakashi said, resisting the urge to ask if Inoichi had found anything in Orochimaru’s memories yet. The look on Inoichi’s face made Kakashi think so, but, if the answer was anything but, “no,” this wasn’t the time or the place for it.

 

Just then, the Hokage entered the room, looking grave. Everyone greeted him respectfully. The Hokage paid others little mind, walking up to Orochimaru, instead. As Orochimaru had been the Hokage’s student, it was understandable that this would be a difficult experience for him. No one wanted to interrupt this uncomfortable reunion.

 

Orochimaru glared balefully at the Hokage and Kakashi sensed the man’s killing intent for the Hokage, who continued to gaze sadly down at the bound and gagged Orochimaru.

 

This killing intent certainly made Kakashi sweat, but it also ignited his righteous anger. How dare Orochimaru? What had the Hokage ever done to him? What an ungrateful student, to want to kill the man who famously favored him above all his other students! It wasn’t even as if he could do anything with his chakra suppressed as it was by those cuffs.

 

“Orochimaru-kun may no longer be my student, but he is still my responsibility,” the Hokage said mournfully, taking out a kunai.

 

Kakashi’s eyes widened as the rest of his face went slack. He could see what the Hokage was doing. Everyone could see what the Hokage was doing. It made no sense, but it was obvious. Kakashi wanted to stop him, but Hiruzen was Kakashi’s Hokage. Kakashi had no right to intervene in the execution of someone like Orochimaru. Still, Kakashi’s mouth opened in protest.

 

“Stop, Hokage-sama!” Kakashi blurted out, but to no avail. As Kakashi watched, the Hokage cut off Orochimaru’s head with one smooth stroke of his kunai. The silence that followed this execution had a texture that Kakashi would never be able to fully describe for the rest of his days. The best approximation he ever managed was that it was as if the world had tilted, throwing everything slightly askew.

 

“We couldn’t have held him for long,” the Hokage said, his low voice shaking with emotion. “The risk posed by that genin entrant’s outburst proved the precarity of our position. And, once Kusagakure has been informed, they will demand revenge for the genin team Orochimaru murdered and impersonated. I’m afraid there was no other way.”

 

Was that a reasonable explanation? Yes, but… Did it feel true? Heart sinking to his feet, Kakashi knew the answer to be “no.” The Hokage had just interfered in the investigation of a missing-nin, a missing-nin who had attacked Konoha years ago and again just hours before.

 

As the Hokage turned back to the door and left the room, Kakashi noticed flecks of Orochimaru’s blood on the Hokage’s white sleeve. The noise of the door closing behind the Hokage was loud in Kakashi’s ears. After the Hokage had gone, the room stood in stunned silence for a long time, before people finally started moving to clean up the mess the Hokage had left behind. As Kakashi was leaving, Inoichi came up to Kakashi.

 

“A moment please, Kakashi-kun,” Inoichi said, all traces of his earlier anger swept away.

 

“Hm?” Kakashi said.

 

“You’re invited to come by the house later,” Inoichi said. “Shikaku-kun and Chouza-kun are coming over for drinks tonight, as well.”

 

“Thanks, Inoichi-san,” Kakashi said. “I’ll be there.”

 

“Do you have a babysitter for your troublesome genin tonight?” Inoichi asked with a polite smile. “If not, you might as well bring them along. I know Ino-chan will enjoy the company of her former classmates. It’s been too long since Sakura-chan came by for a visit.”

 

The barely concealed implication that there was a threat against Kakashi’s students gave him goosebumps. The kids were unsupervised right now, out of Kakashi’s sight and the sight of anyone else who Kakashi would trust to protect them. He needed to get to them right now. As Kakashi was opening the door to leave, someone else barreled through in the opposite direction.

 

“The prisoner!” the man said. He stopped just inside the door, taken aback by the sight of Orochimaru’s cooling corpse.

 

“What? What about the prisoners?” Inoichi prompted.

 

“Prisoner 4593, Yakushi Kabuto, is dead! We’re still confirming the identify of the body, but it’s Kabuto-kun!” Kakashi’s anxiety rose. Two dead prisoners in one day. Was it a coincidence? Was Kabuto’s death simply a crime of opportunity, unrelated to Orochimaru’s? Or was someone cleaning house? Was the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, cleaning house?

 

“What happened?” Inoichi asked sternly.

 

“We’ve got no idea! We were removing the prisoners from the damaged building when we found him on the floor of his cell! Whatever killed him caused him to turn purple!” the man said.

 

Kakashi frowned and hurried to reunite with his students. To his relief, he found them and the new girl not far away, carrying a vacuum flask and headed right for him. Sakura must have been using her chakra sense to locate him.

 

“Kakashi-sensei!” Sakura said, holding out the thermos. “Did you get a break? We brought you ramen!”

 

“Thanks,” Kakashi said, taking it from her and setting his other hand on her shoulder to soothe his anxiety. “I’m done here for the day. Let’s head back to Sasuke-kun’s house.”

 

The whole way, Kakashi was on high alert, staring into shadows and keeping his ears sharp for anyone tailing them. As soon as they arrived, Kakashi summoned his nin-dogs and put them on guard duty.

 

“So, what are we going to have for dinner?” Naruto asked.

 

“We just had lunch!” Sakura protested.

 

“Do you have spare clothes with you, Kin-san?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Yeah,” Kin said.

 

“Orochimaru is dead,” Kakashi announced.

 

Kin gasped.

 

“What?!” Naruto asked. “Why?!”

 

“The Hokage executed him,” Kakashi said.

 

“Oh!” Sakura said. “Already? I thought it would be a few more days, at least!”

 

Kakashi saw Sasuke looking deep in thought.

 

“You weren’t expecting that,” Kakashi said.

 

“I don’t know why the Hokage would do that,” Sasuke admitted.

 

Kakashi thought he might know the reason, but Kakashi kept it to himself for now. He wanted to hear what Inoichi had to say first.

 

“Wasn’t it because Orochimaru was a bad guy?” Naruto said. “That’s obvious, right?”

 

“Orochimaru wasn’t the only prisoner killed,” Kakashi said. “It seems like Yakushi Kabuto died in his cell, too.”

 

“Oh no!” Sakura said, looking very upset. “Poor Kabuto-kun! We just met him today!”

 

“Damn! Who would do such a thing?!” Naruto exclaimed, looking furious and clenching his fists.

 

“Is it confirmed? Has the body been positively identified as Kabuto and not a substitute?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Why would someone fake killing Kabuto?” Sakura asked incredulously.

 

“It’s Kabuto who would fake his death to escape Konoha,” Sasuke said. “Kakashi-sensei, are you sure he’s dead?”

 

“I haven’t seen the body myself,” Kakashi said, shaking his head. Sasuke looked away and narrowed his eyes contemplatively.

 

“Why was he even arrested anyway?” Naruto asked.

 

“I looked into him recently,” Kakashi said. “It seems like he was a double agent, selling information about Konoha to someone, so I turned him in.”

 

Sasuke’s eyes flew wide.

 

“Why?” Sasuke asked.

 

“For money, presumably,” Kakashi said.

 

“No, why did you investigate him?” Sasuke asked.

 

“The way you reacted when we passed him in the hospital,” Kakashi said. “You were repulsed by him. Then, you immediately told Hikari-chan and Toneri-kun how to fight him.” Sasuke covered his mouth with a hand and looked away, as if to shield his feelings from the room. “Sasuke-kun, who was he?”

 

“… A monster. He sold kids to Orochimaru and did involuntary human experimentation on Orochimaru’s captives himself,” Sasuke said. Sakura gasped and covered her mouth.

 

“Is that why he had all those note cards on the other participants of the exam? He was looking for genin to sell to Orochimaru?!” Sakura asked. Sasuke nodded.

 

“However, he was what Konoha made him,” Sasuke said.

 

“What does that mean?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Kabuto and his adoptive mother, Nonou, worked for Danzo, and then Danzo made them kill each other, because they knew things that Danzo didn’t want them to,” Sasuke said. “Kabuto survived and he’d been hiding his identity, while working for Orochimaru, ever since.

 

“Kabuto said his work as a spy kept him abroad. He and his mother were assigned missions in different nations for years. During that time, they brainwashed Kabuto’s mother, so she would forget his face, and Kabuto couldn’t see her face when they fought. When Kabuto realized who his opponent had been, he tried to heal her, but she died anyway.

 

“Orochimaru was supposed to kill whoever survived, but he recruited Kabuto instead.”

 

“That’s so horrible!” Sakura said, looking on the verge of tears. Naruto looked just as miserable, Kin looked deeply disturbed, and Kakashi hadn’t exactly enjoyed story-time, either. Kakashi could deeply sympathize with killing a loved one accidentally. The idea that Danzo had intentionally orchestrated such a thing made Kakashi sick. No wonder Kabuto had betrayed Konoha; Konoha had betrayed him first. If Kakashi found out that someone had intentionally manipulated him into killing Rin, he didn’t know what he would do.

 

“I have one question: who the hell is Danzo and why did Kabuto and his mom work for him in the first place?!” Naruto asked furiously.

 

“That’s two questions,” Kakashi said.

 

“It’s a compound question,” Sasuke countered.

 

“He’s the Hokage’s right-hand man, remember?” Sakura asked.

 

“And he does whatever he wants, because nobody stops him,” Sasuke said. “Kin-san, I’d like to send you to stay with the rest of my family for a few days. Is that acceptable?”

 

“Will I be safe there?” Kin asked.

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“Okay then,” Kin said. “Where am I going?”

 

Sasuke summoned a rodent, gave her a quick rundown of the day’s events, and sent her back to Shinku no Machi with Kin in tow.

 

“I can’t believe it isn’t even dinner time yet,” Naruto moaned. “Why is today like this?! How many fights have we been in and how many people have died?! What is up with this damned day?!”

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi said. “When did you speak to Kabuto? Not since we returned to Konoha.”

 

“I didn’t, not yet. I would have spoken to him in the future,” Sasuke said.

 

“That means you didn’t foresee Kabuto’s death, though,” Naruto said.

 

“Some things can change,” Sasuke confirmed.

 

“I thought you said ‘nothing ever changes,’” Naruto said, crossing his arms.

 

“If nothing at all could change, I’d have killed myself long ago,” Sasuke said darkly.

 

“Did you foresee your own suicide?!” Naruto asked in alarm.

 

“That’s not what I meant,” Sasuke said.

 

“Oh,” Naruto said.

 

“Is your future really that bad?” Sakura asked. Sasuke sighed and looked away thoughtfully.

 

“… It can’t be as bad as it would have been, now that Kabuto is dead,” Sasuke said. “That’s a big change.”

 

“What was he going to do?” Kakashi asked, feeling a surge of protectiveness.

 

“Kill people,” Sasuke said. “Lots of people. He was going to be ultimately responsible for the deaths of more than ten thousand people. He also tortured and murdered some number of people while working for Orochimaru.”

 

“He wasn’t that strong though!” Naruto said.

 

“He only pretended to be weak,” Sasuke said. “But he didn’t kill people with his hands. He did it with his brain.”

 

“You let him get hit on purpose, didn’t you?” Sakura asked. “Before the exam, you protected us, when you knew he was the one going to get hit, right?” Sasuke nodded.

 

“He was never sorry for it,” Sasuke said angrily. “For any of it. As far as he was concerned, it all part of his path of self-discovery. But, he… wasn’t entirely without empathy.

 

“Orochimaru was supposed to have marked me with his juinjutsu. It erodes your sense of self and the other me had a very… lean sense of self to begin with. He was only focused on the mission. I would have become Orochimaru’s underling. He has special plans for me. He wants to take my body for his own, to wear me like a suit. The people he does that to, their souls are trapped with him. They can’t fully die until he does. Kabuto…” Sasuke shifted in his seat and looked at his hands. “After Orochimaru marked me, Kabuto tried to kill me.”

 

“That’s horrible!” Naruto said.

 

“No,” Sasuke said, voice quiet, but firm. “No, Naruto-kun. It was a mercy and he risked his life to do it. He didn’t think I would be able to resist Orochimaru. It was kind. It was one of the kindest things anyone ever did for me. It was a pity he didn’t succeed.”

 

“Stop it,” Naruto said sharply.

 

“What?” Sasuke asked, brow furrowed.

 

“Stop talking about killing yourself and being better off dead!” Naruto said loudly, causing Sasuke to draw back in surprise. “I hate it when you do that!”

 

“I’m sorry,” Sasuke said softly. He really did look it, too.

 

“Were you able to resist Orochimaru?” Kakashi asked.

 

“In a way,” Sasuke said. “I think I followed his orders, at least some of them, but I turned his body-snatching technique around on him in the end.”

 

Kakashi wondered if that was better or worse than succumbing to it. Then, he clenched his fists in frustration with himself. It was better. It would have been horrible to lose Sasuke to Orochimaru’s… mind-control, but to lose Sasuke’s life, as well, would be unbearable. So long as Sasuke survived, there was hope to retrieve him, to reverse what had been done, to bring him home again.

 

“Did you kill people like Kabuto-kun did?” Sakura asked.

 

“Innocent people, you mean?” Sasuke asked. “I don’t know. I know I tried to kill a few innocent people, but they all survived. Maybe I killed others. I certainly killed some evil people.”

 

“Did you experiment of people?” Sakura asked nervously.

 

“No,” Sasuke said.

 

“That’s not so bad, then,” Sakura said, looking relieved.

 

“Compared to Kabuto, I guess,” Sasuke said, straightening his posture and folding his arms.

 

“Did you rescue anyone?” Sakura asked.

 

“What?” Sasuke asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.

 

“While you were under the influence of Orochimaru’s juinjutsu, did you rescue anyone?” Sakura said.

 

“… For self-serving reasons,” Sasuke said.

 

Sakura smiled.

 

“Of course!” she said placatingly.

 

Sasuke glared at her.

 

“I wasn’t a good person!” Sasuke said.

 

“Of course not!” Sakura said, holding her hands up and still smiling.

 

Sasuke glared harder at her.

 

“I see! Even with Orochimaru’s juinjutsu, Sasuke is still Sasuke,” Naruto declared. Sasuke looked more frustrated than Kakashi had ever seen him, but then Sasuke deflated.

 

“… Yes,” Sasuke said grimly.

 

Kakashi sighed. He knew exactly what Sasuke was thinking. He was thinking that he was responsible for all the things another version of him had done under the influence of Orochimaru’s juinjutsu.

 

“Holding yourself accountable for things you didn’t do, again,” Kakashi said. “Tell me, are you also rewarding yourself for the things this other version of you did?”

 

Sasuke gave Kakashi a look that was both confused and suspicious.

 

“The good things,” Kakashi clarified. “Like rescuing people. Do you give yourself credit for them? If you’re punishing yourself for the bad things, are you also rewarding yourself for the good things?”

 

“The good things?” Sasuke said. His gaze turned to Naruto. “Huh.” Kakashi wondered what he was thinking about.

 

“Since I can’t seem to convince you not to blame people for things they haven’t done, then perhaps I can convince you to be less exclusively focused on the bad things,” Kakashi said.

 

“I reward people!” Sasuke said hotly.

 

“But not yourself,” Kakashi said ruefully.

 

“What, like you do?” Sasuke said defensively, crossing his arms and legs and looking away from Kakashi with a surly expression.

 

“… Well, maybe that’s something we both could work on,” Kakashi said.

 

Sasuke’s expression softened and he looked back at Kakashi, but seemed to have difficulty meeting his eyes.

 

“Sorry,” Sasuke murmured.

 

“It’s okay,” Kakashi said.

 

Sasuke sighed.

 

“He would have caused so much trouble, but, even if the world is better off without Kabuto, he didn’t deserve to be killed by Danzo,” Sasuke said.

 

“I should say not,” Kakashi said sadly.

 

“We’ll get vengeance for him!” Naruto declared.

 

“What?” Sasuke asked, looking startled.

 

“For Kabuto and his mother!” Naruto clarified. “We’ll stop Danzo from ever hurting anyone ever again!”

 

“He’s the Hokage’s right-hand man!” Sakura said worriedly.

 

“So?! I don’t care! He’s a bad guy, so I’m going to stop him!” Naruto said.

 

“We can’t act rashly,” Kakashi said. “If you don’t keep quiet until the time is right, you’ll only make yourself and those you care about a target.”

 

“But-!” Naruto began. Kakashi held up a hand to stall Naruto’s protests.

 

“We’ll get Danzo, but not yet,” Kakashi said.

 

“You…?” Sasuke said, face going from shocked to confused as he stared at Kakashi. Kakashi almost thought he saw a flicker of vulnerability there.

 

“Me?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Why would you,” Sasuke broke off. “Why would you… want to get vengeance against Danzo?”

 

“It’s not about vengeance,” Kakashi corrected, willing it to be true and watching Sasuke’s face relax back into placidity. “It’s about preventing Danzo from hurting anyone else. He was supposed to have been defanged years ago when he was removed from the Council and Root was disbanded. The Hokage took away all his power. That kid who tried to kill Orochimaru earlier.”

 

“Yes?” Sasuke said.

 

“He had that juinjutsu you mentioned Danzo puts on his slaves,” Kakashi said. “It’s something Danzo has done before to certain Root operatives, so it looks like Root never entirely went away, after all.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Naruto asked. “When did Sasuke mention that?”

 

Kakashi filled Sakura and Naruto in on what Sasuke had relayed to him through genjutsu.

 

“Are they really slaves?” Sakura asked. “Only, you used that word before to describe Neji-kun and his father and I’m pretty sure Neji-kun gets paid for the missions he does, even if his father did die somehow.”

 

Kakashi wasn’t even sure where to start. “Slave” might not be the right word, but Neji’s father really had been, for lack of a better word, murdered by the Hyuuga and the village with impunity and the Caged Bird Seal put the Branch Family perpetually in the power of the Main Family. As far as Kakashi knew, the Caged Bird Seal wasn’t ever used for nefarious purposes, but who knew what happened behind closed doors? “Slave” might not be the right word, but it wasn’t far off.

 

“These kids don’t get paid,” Sasuke said, giving Sakura a very flat look. “They aren’t even allowed to move freely. Danzo isolated them from the world and paired them up. Then, after they had come to rely on one another for emotional support, Danzo made them fight to the death to make them complicit in their own dehumanization and to underline his control over them.”

 

Kakashi’s eyes flew wide as his head spun. If that was true, then it was like the Kiri exit exam, but right here in Konoha. That horror, which was so foreign that it could only happen to other people, could only be enacted by other, mad people, who hadn’t ever heard of the Will of Fire, had happened here, had been perpetrated on Konoha’s own children. How could Sasuke deliver news like that with such calm? How could he tell them that the world was upside down as if nothing had changed?

 

Absolute silence settled over the room.

 

“Let’s go rescue the Root kids now,” Naruto said, sounding shaken.

 

“That’s not the kind of thing you do on a whim,” Kakashi said, putting a hand over Naruto’s where it rested on the table. “We have to go prepared.”

 

“They aren’t my priority,” Sasuke said. “Orochimaru’s captives might be purged soon. They take precedence.”

 

“We can save both, damn it!” Naruto shouted, slamming a fist down on the kitchen table.

 

“I don’t know about you, but I can’t be in two places at once,” Sasuke said cooly.

 

“You won’t be going to Orochimaru’s bases,” Kakashi said.

 

“What?!” Sasuke said, standing from his chair and looking absolutely incensed.

 

“Inoichi-san told me to tell you that the Yamanaka Clan will assist in this mission,” Kakashi said. “And Ino-chan said you’ve reached out to other clans, as well. There will be more than enough capable people there to look after everyone. What would you be able to do that no one else could for them?”

 

“… I might be able to remove Orochimaru’s juinjutsu,” Sasuke said.

 

“Sasuke-kun, I hate to say this, but you’re going to have to share how you do that,” Kakashi said. “Like you said, you can’t be in two places at once. It’s unavoidable that those dispatched to other bases will need to know how to remove juinjutsu in your absence.”

 

“But it’s not finished!” Sasuke protested. “I can transfer a juinjutsu from one person to another person or from a person to certain objects, but I can’t get rid of it completely! That makes my technique dangerous!”

 

“I understand,” Kakashi said. “Really, I do. It could be used to inflict a juinjutsu on someone, rather than remove it. And, once your technique formula is out in the world, anyone might end up using it. I get it, but there’s no more time for you to study this. These people will need relief immediately.”

 

Sasuke looked torn.

 

“I still have to talk to Juugo-kun,” Sasuke said. “And I wanted to give Suigetsu-kun his sword.”

 

“Who are they and why do you have Suigetsu’s sword?” Kakashi asked. Then, the penny dropped. “Are you talking about Zabuza’s sword?!” Sasuke nodded.

 

“He’s the next wielder of Kubikiribouchou,” Sasuke said. “Or, he would have been.”

 

“Well, it’s not like he really needs it,” Kakashi said. “I’m sure he’ll be a fine ninja without it.”

 

“He couldn’t use it well,” Sasuke said. “It was too heavy for him.”

 

“Then why worry about it?” Kakashi asked.

 

“His brother died,” Sasuke said. “They were going to collect all seven blades together, but Suigetsu-kun lost heart after his brother died. They’re important to him. I think Kubikiribouchou is the only one he manages to collect, but it still helps. I don’t know if he’s been captured by Orochimaru yet and I don’t know which base he would be held at, though.”

 

Kakashi sighed.

 

“Then I think you should table it for now,” Kakashi said. “Maybe you’ll meet him somewhere else one day.” Sasuke frowned, but nodded.

 

“But I still have to talk to Juugo,” Sasuke insisted.

 

“Who’s Juugo?” Kakashi asked.

 

“He’s a willing prisoner at Orochimaru’s northern base. His bloodline trait causes him to lose control of himself and become violent. It also makes him immensely strong, because it essentially makes him a Sage, due to constantly drawing in Nature Energy. Few people are strong enough to survive a fight against him. He killed a whole village once,” Sasuke said.

 

“He sounds absolutely charming,” Kakashi said. “Will he be coming to dinner?”

 

“It’s not his fault,” Sasuke said sternly, glaring at Kakashi. “No one ever taught him how to control it.”

 

“And you can do that?” Kakashi asked.

 

“… In a way,” Sasuke said. “If I can get my hands on this tool that belongs to the toads, then he can use than until I can design a seal that would prevent him from building up so much Nature Energy that he loses control of himself.”

 

“Alright,” Kakashi said. “Let’s make some copies of the information you extracted those Oto genin and then go find Jiraiya-sensei.”

 

“Why?” Sasuke asked looking deeply suspicious.

 

“Because we’ll need to share that information with the other people on this mission,” Kakashi said.

 

“No, why are we going to Jiraiya?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Uh-oh,” Kakashi thought, “No honorific and a clear desire to avoid the guy. I’ve seen these red flags before.”

 

“… Don’t tell me he’s an enemy, too,” Kakashi begged. “I’ve hit my quota for Sannin fights for the month.”

 

“He’s a pervert,” Sasuke said angrily. “He’s going to lust after Naruto-kun’s naked body when you let him train Naruto-kun during the break before the third phase of the exam!”

 

Naruto’s jaw hit the floor and Kakashi felt his eye twitch and a vein bulge on his temple.

 

“HE DOES WHAT?!” Sakura exploded, expressing Kakashi’s own thoughts and crushing the cup she was holding, sending a spray of tea and ceramics over the table.

 

Sasuke explained. The explanation did not help much, but Kakashi could kind of understand it.

 

“So, what?!” Sakura shouted. “He’s still only thirteen! That fucking Jiraiya shouldn’t be looking at him!”

 

“Sakura-chan is actually cussing!” Kakashi thought. “Wow!” The girl looked just about ready to start setting things on fire.

 

“Technically, he wasn’t looking at Naruto-kun,” Kakashi protested. “He was looking at the woman Naruto-kun had transformed into.”

 

“Would you look at Naruto-kun like that if he was transformed into a naked woman?! Would you date him?! Would you have sex with him?!” Sakura shouted.

 

“No!” Kakashi said, recoiling at the thought. “He’s still Naruto-kun, no matter what he looks like!”

 

“Then why would you allow that freak to do it?!” Sakura demanded.

 

“I’m not going to allow him to do anything to Naruto-kun and Naruto-kun isn’t going to transform himself into anyone naked,” Kakashi said. “Let’s not forget that he helped us deal with Orochimaru. He’s not a bad person. We’re all going to keep our clothes on and Jiraiya-sensei isn’t going to touch anyone. It’s just looking anyway; it wouldn’t hurt Naruto-kun.”

 

That brought Sakura up short, but she didn’t look satisfied with that answer.

 

“Seeing and being seen are part of having sex,” Sasuke explained calmly. “To display your body and to watch someone else display themselves, those are sex acts. Like all parts of sex, you need to have consent.”

 

Kakashi felt himself begin to color at his student’s frankness on such a private topic.

 

“Naruto-kun isn’t the only person he does this to. Jiraiya peeps on women and girls in the bath all the time. Think about what that means. If he only wanted to see naked people, he could buy porn that was consensually made or he could take a willing lover. The non-consensual nature of staring at the body of someone who is unaware, or unwilling, or underage, that isn’t incidental to his pleasure. Jiraiya is taking advantage of vulnerability for the pleasure of it. He has power over others and can act with impunity. Even if a woman using a public bath catches him peeping and throws a bucket at him today, he can come back tomorrow and watch her again. She can’t stop him and he likes that.

 

“Think about what that must feel like, to know that you can’t stop someone from looking at you like that, to know you can’t stop them from watching you. It’s threatening. They’re only watching you today, but what else might they do to you tomorrow? If looking is okay, maybe patting you on the butt is too, maybe touching your hair is okay, maybe stealing your underwear is okay, maybe kissing you is okay, maybe groping you is okay. Kakashi-sensei, you’re a man and you can’t get pregnant, so what does it really cost you, even if someone goes further than that? So long as you don’t get hurt, right?” Sasuke said, making Kakashi’s eyes widen at the disturbing implication.

 

“That’s why consent matters,” Sasuke concluded. “Consent always matters, even when it’s ‘harmless.’”

 

“Exactly!” Sakura said.

 

“… Yeah, okay,” Kakashi said, feeling chastised and blushing even more deeply. Why did he have to feel so ashamed of having defended Jiraiya? It wasn’t as if Kakashi himself had ever peeped at women and kids.

 

“Sasuke-kun is so smart!” Sakura said.

 

“Thanks,” Sasuke said.

 

“I still need to meet Jiraiya-sensei and you three are going to stay right with me until things have settled down around here,” Kakashi said. “And we still need to make those copies, because we’re going to Inoichi-san’s house after dinner. Let’s get started.”

 

They worked all afternoon using Sasuke’s journal where he had taken his initial notes, with each person making copies of a few pages. Naruto made a few clones, which helped the pace even more. After they’d done twenty copies, they called it a day.

 

“Alright,” Kakashi said. “Time to go see Jiraiya-sensei.”

 

Sakura and Sasuke looked fierce and put Naruto between them as they left the house, like little bodyguards. Naruto looked both baffled and touched by their concern. Kakashi led the way and hoped this meeting would go smoothly.

Notes:

Look out, Jiraiya! Sakura’s going to get you!

 

Alternate Title: Gaara Gets Arrested

Alternate Title: “Oh, yeah, Kabuto! I forgot about that guy!” -Sasuke

Alternate Title: Sakura, Kekkei Genkai Master

Alternate Title: “Is Orochimaru dead or is he ‘dead?’ Because I don’t trust it.” -Sasuke

Alternate Title: Fucking with Baki!

Alternate Title: How to Fail at Guard Duty

Alternate Title: Was that Baby Sai?

 

How exactly did Kabuto hide his identity from Danzo without at least changing his name? I just don’t get it.

 

Can I just say that the concept of nano-insects is ridiculous? Because it is. Insects that size would be too small to physically function. It’s preposterous… and I love it. It’s like flying whales; charming, magical nonsense. I like how they’re purple and can be seen with the naked eye, too.

 

Poor Kakashi. Sasuke’s like, “I trust you, so I’m going to let you in… By telling you things that will ruin your day. Be grateful.” But Sasuke is finally opening up to him! I just want to give Sasuke a hug! He’s making progress! And so is Kakashi! They both deserve hugs!

 

This chapter was going to be mostly about Gaara, but I had to put off his heart-to-heart with Naruto until later, because Team Seven didn’t have time for it. They have things to do, okay? They can’t visit Gaara in prison right now!

Chapter 12: Clandestine Meetings

Summary:

Kakashi attends two very important meetings and Sasuke works on his juinjutsu-removal research. The mission to free Orochimaru’s prisoners begins.

Notes:

I had writers block on this chapter, for some reason. I just wasn’t feeling it, you know? For a week, I was like, “Okay, it’s time to get this chapter off the ground,” and my brain was just like, “Boring. How about we do literally anything else?” I finally broke out of it by writing just a tiny amount of fluff. The short fluffy scene in this chapter enabled me to go back and write the rest of the story. Sometimes, you just have to change gears.

On an unrelated note, I started to read Howl’s Moving Castle. It’s so lovely and clever! I just need to say how endearing Howl’s commitment issues and clothing are. What a charming slitherer-outer he is, with his curtain sleeves and temper tantrums. And Sophie! Overcoming her gloom, and cleaning up slime, and not giving a damn what anyone thinks!

On another unrelated note, can I just say that I hate my medical insurance company? They’re like, “We’re not paying for that MRI, because it wasn’t medically necessary.” Fuckers, if my doctor says it’s necessary, then it’s fucking necessary! Did you go to medical school? Are you my doctor? Then shut the fuck up! What the hell?! It’s not like I got it done for fun! I had to get a needle in my arm and then lie down in a tight space, so it’s not like my trypanophobic, claustrophobic ass enjoyed the experience! I almost threw up, almost had a panic attack, and twice almost passed out. It was fucking torture and now you want me to pay a thousand dollars for the experience, when I already paid over two hundred?! Fuck you! It’s getting appealed, but if they don’t cover it, that’s a thousand dollars I wasn’t expecting to spend. I’m lucky enough to be able to afford it, but I’m still pissed. Healthcare is so damned expensive and frustrating in this country. I want to move to someplace that has a single-payer system.

“You must be Jiraiya,” Sakura said with asperity, looking Jiraiya up and down judgmentally. Jiraiya didn’t look impressed by Sakura’s tone. He looked fairly sullen, actually. Sasuke had expected Jiraiya to be found lurking outside the public baths. Instead, they had found him at a bar, red-faced, slouched, and silent.

 

“Jiraiya-sensei,” Kakashi said.

 

Jiraiya glared at Kakashi resentfully.

 

“… I’m sorry for your loss,” Kakashi said.

 

“Oh, that’s right,” Sasuke thought. “Orochimaru was Jiraiya’s former comrade. It probably also complicates things that their teacher was the one to kill Orochimaru.” He wondered if he should tell Jiraiya that Orochimaru wasn’t completely dead yet and could still be resurrected… and decided firmly against it.

 

“He was a bastard anyway,” Jiraiya said. “Here. The toads wrote this up for you.” He handed Kakashi a manilla envelope and turned back to his drink in a clear dismissal. Then, Kakashi herded Team Seven out of the door and into the street.

 

“Let’s go get dinner,” Kakashi said, stuffing the envelope into his vest.

 

“Not ramen,” Sakura said sternly.

 

“Aww…” Naruto whined.

 

“We had ramen at lunch!” Sakura said. “I want rice! I want vegetables! I want… Salmon! Let’s go someplace that serves salmon!” Salmon sounded good to Sasuke, too.

 

For the first time ever, Kakashi took Team Seven to a restaurant that wasn’t Ramen Ichiraku. Naruto was obviously nervous to enter the building and Kakashi soon learned why. The waitress gave Naruto a disapproving look when he entered. Kakashi realized that Naruto probably hadn’t ever been allowed to eat here before. Still, all it took was a little bit of killing intent directed at the waitress from Kakashi to correct the woman’s behavior. After everyone had eaten, they made their way to the bath house and got cleaned up. Kakashi was surprised to see that, not only did Sasuke nearly fall asleep in the bath, but so did Naruto, who was generally bouncing off the walls right up until it was time for bed.

 

“Hard day, huh?” Kakashi asked Naruto quietly.

 

“I guess,” Naruto said. “Our usual training is harder than what we did today, but I’m still so tired for some reason.”

 

“There’s more than one way to get tired out,” Kakashi said. “So many things happened. It was a stressful day and that can lead to mental fatigue. You have to rest from mental fatigue just as you do from physical fatigue.”

 

Naruto’s eyes closed again as the boy drowsed in the pool.

 

“Do you think Sakura-chan is bored by herself?” Naruto mumbled.

 

“She’ll be alright for a bit,” Kakashi said. “I’m sure she’s glad to finally have a moment to herself, after the last several days.”

 

“It’s been nice though, hasn’t it?” Naruto asked sleepily. “Everyone being together is great. It’s like having a family.”

 

Kakashi’s heart hurt for Naruto’s loneliness. Kakashi knew what it was like to be a lonely little boy. It was nice not to be lonely anymore. Kakashi stared at Naruto’s dozing face as Kakashi realized that he truly wasn’t lonely anymore. He must have been lonely, because he could feel that he wasn’t anymore. Kakashi’s loneliness had been a small hurt, one he had gotten so good at ignoring that he had forgotten it was even there. Now that Team Seven was part of his life, that emptiness was filled and Kakashi’s life was indubitably brighter. Team Seven was like his family now.

 

Kakashi thought back to how Team Seven had been living since they came back from the disastrous mission to Wave. These days, everything was done communally; eating meals, sleeping, arguing over the bathroom, cooking and cleaning, training, studying, filling Sasuke’s bird feeders and sitting on the veranda quietly, chatting with Sasuke’s summons and Kakashi’s dogs in the evenings. When he wasn’t with Team Seven, then he was with Gai. It was a lot more social interaction than he was used to, but it was nice. It was like he had become a big brother all of a sudden. The thought made him smile.

 

Being the leader of Team Seven was so demanding, dangerous, and complicated, but Kakashi was glad Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto had been assigned to him, rather than to anyone else. He wouldn’t trust any of the other teachers in this year’s roster to have taken proper care of them and to help them develop as ninjas. Kakashi really was the best person to take care of these three. He’d taken care of Naruto’s bad eating habits and loneliness, covered for Sasuke when the boy had tried to defect, and overseen Sakura’s prodigious growth, hadn’t he? He’d even dealt with Orochimaru.

 

That thought reminded Kakashi of all his worries related to that man, but Kakashi decided to put them to one side for a while. He and his team were safe and he had made sure of it. It was time to relax with his kids.

 

“Yeah,” Kakashi whispered, closing his eyes and relaxing a bit more in the bath. It had been a long day, after all.

 

-

 

After everyone had decompressed in the hot water until their hands and feet were wrinkled and their faces where pink, they left the bath. Sakura came out soon after Kakashi and the boys did, with red-rimmed eyed.

 

“Eh?” Naruto said. “Sakura-chan, are you okay? Did something happen?”

 

“No!” Sakura said, waving her hands and going very pink. “No, everything’s fine!”

 

“But you look like you were crying!” Naruto said worriedly.

 

“It’s just… Today was hard. I know everything is fine, but it could have gone very badly,” Sakura sighed. “I was thinking about how frightening it was when Sasuke was taken by Orochimaru and about what could have happened and then I started crying. I know everything is fine. I know that. I was fine until I scared myself.”

 

“It happens like that sometimes,” Kakashi said, patting her shoulder. “When a mission is over and everything is quiet, that’s when you have time to look back. Things did end well, but it would have been better if we hadn’t been attacked in the first place. Being attacked, especially in the village, where we’re supposed to be safe, is frightening. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

 

“Really?” Sakura asked.

 

“It happens to everyone at some point,” Kakashi said.

 

“Even you?” Sakura asked.

 

“Even me,” Kakashi said. “I was scared today, too.”

 

“Would you like a hug?” Naruto asked Sakura.

 

“Yeah,” Sakura said, already reaching for Naruto.

 

“We made it,” Naruto said gently, enfolding her in his arms. Sakura sniffled. “Everybody made it. We still have Sasuke. And we broke the record for the exam! And I got that guy’s wallet!” Sakura gave a watery laugh. “And… If that Orochimaru bastard had taken Sasuke, then we’d just take him back.” Sasuke sighed deeply and turned away.

 

“You’re the one who got kidnapped. How are you feeling, Sasuke-kun?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Fine,” Sasuke said.

 

“Here,” Kakashi said, handing him the envelope Jiraiya had given him. Sasuke gave him a questioning look, to which Kakashi responded. “Toad stick.” Sasuke’s eyes widened and he looked down eagerly at the envelope. “The mission will probably leave tomorrow morning. Think you can complete your project in one night?”

 

Sasuke glared at him.

 

“That’s so little time! Why didn’t you give this to me immediately?” Sasuke demanded.

 

“Because, I might not be able to make you sleep, but I can make you to eat and bathe,” Kakashi said. “Do you need anything from the house?”

 

“No,” Sasuke said.

 

“Come on then. The sooner we deliver the intel and get to Inoichi-san’s house, the sooner you can start work,” Kakashi said.

 

They next went about the village delivering copies of the information Sasuke had collected from the Oto genin to the various clans who would be helping in the rescue mission for Orochimaru’s victims. They set a time to plan the mission early the next day. Finally, they came to Inoichi’s house in the Yamanaka compound.

 

“Ino-pig,” Sakura greeted.

 

“Billboard-brow,” Ino greeted in return. Then, she turned to Sasuke and gave him a big smile. “Sasuke-kun! It’s so good to see you again!” Sasuke nodded to Ino. Team Seven followed Ino somewhat awkwardly into the house, giving perfunctory calls of, “pardon the intrusion,” before exchanging their shoes for slippers in the genkan. As soon as this was done, Ino immediately took Sasuke by the hand and dragged him inside the house. Sakura was hot on Ino’s heels, hissing like a goose at the other girl.

 

“Ino-pig! Let Sasuke-kun go!” Saskura demanded angrily.

 

“Daddy! Team Seven is here,” Ino said.

 

“Hello, Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi heard Inoichi say. “Sakura-chan.”

 

“Hello, Inoichi-oji-san,” Sakura said.

 

They rounded a corner and found Inoichi smiling at Sakura, while sitting on a cushion with several newspapers in a stack at his side and one in his hand. Kakashi noticed that it wasn’t the local paper.

 

“Kakashi-kun, welcome,” Inoichi greeted.

 

“Hello, Inoichi-san,” Kakashi said.

 

“I’m going to show Sasuke-kun around,” Ino said, pulling Sasuke after her without waiting for a response from anyone.

 

“Why are girls always like this?” Naruto groused, wearing a pout. “Yeah, he’s pretty. So what?”

 

“You don’t understand a woman’s heart,” Sakura said sternly.

 

“Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto said. “You should give him one of your masks, so girls will leave him alone.”

 

That, in Kakashi’s experience, was not how people worked. Wearing a mask only made people want to see the face you were hiding with it even more. It might be funny to have Sasuke looking like a mini-Kakashi, though, so Kakashi was kind of on board. Maybe all of Team Seven could wear cloth masks. That would be awesome! So many people would give Kakashi side-eye for it. The Hokage’s expression would go so flat! And Kakashi could just see Kurenai’s unimpressed look and Asuma’s rueful smile now. Gai, on the other hand, would find it adorable and hilarious.

 

“Hm… That’s a great idea, Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said.

 

“You think so?” Naruto asked.

 

“I’ll buy some tomorrow,” Kakashi promised.

 

“Okay!” Naruto said.

 

“Come on,” Sakura said to Naruto, putting her hands on her hips. “Let’s go rescue Sasuke-kun.”

 

“Coming!” Naruto said. The two went after Ino and Sasuke, leaving Kakashi with Inoichi.

 

“Wearing a mask will only make poor Sasuke-kun look even more pitiful,” Inoichi said with a grin. “Like a little boy hiding under the blankets.”

 

“I’ll need to remember to bring my camera,” Kakashi said, nodding. Inoichi snorted.

 

“Where are those papers from?” Kakashi said, sitting down.

 

“Only other cities in Fire,” Inoichi said. “They were simply what I could get my hands on at short notice. Can I get you something to drink?” Inoichi asked.

 

“No thanks,” Kakashi said. “Doing some reading?”

 

“Yes. Apparently, we’ve been missing out on valuable intelligence by not keeping abreast of foreign news,” Inoichi said. Ibiki must have talked to him about what Sasuke revealed during his interview. “I aim to rectify that.”

 

“It would have been helpful to know that Gatou was running Wave before we went on that last mission,” Kakashi said.

 

“We’ll have to assign people to do more analysis work, foster expertise on different countries, so we can be more prepared in the future,” Inoichi said. “We should never have missed Orochimaru’s establishment of Otogakure, especially if a rookie genin could spot it. We should have been paying much closer attention to international affairs. It’s inexcusable.”

 

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. Nobody else figured it out and you’re already trying to fix the problem,” Kakashi said.

 

“Sasuke-kun figured it out,” Inoichi countered.

 

“Sasuke-kun has a unique perspective,” Kakashi allowed.

 

“He’s sharp,” Inoichi said. “I’m going to petition for him to join my department as soon as he makes chuunin.”

 

“No way,” Kakashi said. “He’s only been part of Team Seven for a few months and he’s thirteen. He needs more training.”

 

“You joined ANBU at fourteen,” Inoichi said. “In Analysis, we’ll have him polishing a chair with his rear all day. What could be safer?”

 

“Learning how to properly defend himself before the next war breaks out would be safer,” Kakashi said. Inoichi nodded.

 

“Peace won’t last forever, but I heard him providing your team information on that rogue Suna genin today,” Inoichi said. “Ino-chan told me that Sasuke-kun only faced the boy briefly during the second phase of the exam, and yet he was able to give such a quick, clear description of the boy’s abilities and weaknesses. You could have handled that Suna boy on your own, of that I have no doubt, but, if you had been weaker, Sasuke’s information would have been useful to have. Think of how helpful he would be with creating Bingo Book entries and mission descriptions. Even if Sasuke-kun doesn’t join us right away, I would like to recruit him eventually.”

 

“I don’t object to that,” Kakashi said. “He’s just not ready to end his genin team training yet. He doesn’t have a clan to help him continue his training, remember?” Inoichi nodded.

 

“It’s a pity,” Inoichi said.

 

Chouza and Shikaku arrived and joined Kakashi and Inoichi in the living room.

 

“Come sit,” Inoichi said. “We were just discussing Sasuke-kun’s future.”

 

“Sasuke-kun, huh?” Shikaku said. “I’d say Sakura-chan is Kakashi’s most interesting student. Her speed today as she removed people from the buildings around the battle was described to me as ‘superhuman’ and it seems you’ve been having Tenzou-kun tutor her.” Shikaku gave Kakashi a speaking look, implying that word had already spread about her Wood Release use. “If I know the ANBU commander, he’ll be taking her off your hands sometime in the next week.”

 

“He can try,” Kakashi said, as placid as a cloudless sky and as confident as a god. No way was Sakura ready for that and he would break out the blackmail if the man forced the issue.

 

Shikaku laughed.

 

“Don’t be overprotective,” Shikaku said. “You joined ANBU at fourteen.”

 

“As I have been reminded,” Kakashi said. “As someone who actually served in ANBU at that age and with hindsight, I know I should never have been allowed to join up so young, even if Minato-sensei only intended for me to serve as a bodyguard.

 

“Besides, Sakura-chan has too much potential for me to let her move on already. I intend to make her my apprentice.”

 

“She must be something special, indeed. Now I really am curious to see how far she’ll go,” Shikaku said. “Shikamaru wrote her off while they were in school together, but she’s clearly destined to be a formidable shinobi, perhaps one of the best the village has ever produced.”

 

“Oh,” Inoichi said. “Sasuke-kun did something curious during the attack. He used transformation jutsu to produce a set of stairs.” Kakashi snorted and shook his head.

 

“What?!” Shikaku asked, squinting at Inoichi.

 

“That was my reaction,” Inoichi said with a faint smile. “We needed a way out of the basement to evacuate the wounded and he transformed himself into himself, but with a set of stairs attached to his foot.”

 

Chouza laughed.

 

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!” Chouza said. “Did they work? Could you actually stand on them?” Inoichi nodded.

 

“We used them to escape,” Inoichi said.

 

“Seriously?” Shikaku asked.

 

“And they went all the way up to the hole that Suna kid knocked in the ceiling?” Chouza asked. Inoichi nodded.

 

“They did,” Inoichi confirmed.

 

“That room’s got to be twenty-five feet heigh. What’s the limit on the distance from his body that he can transform?” Shikaku asked Kakashi.

 

“I’m not sure,” Kakashi admitted. “We haven’t tested it.”

 

“That’s a skill with potential,” Shikaku said. “Is he using the normal transformation technique?”

 

“Yes,” Kakashi said.

 

“The ANBU captain will be gunning for Sasuke-kun, too,” Shikaku said.

 

“Of course, that sort of skill lends itself to infiltration, doesn’t it?” Chouza asked.

 

“Sasuke-kun is the worst liar I’ve ever met,” Kakashi said, waving away the suggestion. “He would make a terrible infiltrator.”

 

“Well, it’s a team of powerhouses then,” Chouza said. “At this rate, Sasuke-kun and Sakura-chan will be able to keep up with that… boy.”

 

Kakashi gave Chouza a look. It was a speaking look and it said, with a big megaphone turned up to full volume, “I will hurt you.” Chouza narrowed his eyes at Kakashi.

 

“You’ve gotten attached to him, have you?” Chouza asked.

 

“I have,” Kakashi said.

 

“Just don’t forget what he is,” Chouza said.

 

“I’m not the one who needs the reminder,” Kakashi shot back.

 

“Let’s relocate to my study,” Inoichi said, breaking the tension and rising from his cushion. “There are seals to ensure privacy on that room.”

 

The four men did so. Once inside Inoichi’s study, Kakashi noted that no sound from outside reached his ears.

 

“Kakashi-kun, the day you came to see if Itachi-kun was still on the roster of ninjas permitted entrance to Konoha through the barrier, a report was delivered on Akatsuki,” Inoichi said. “Apparently, we receive such reports every six months. The first of these reports dates from six months after the Uchiha Massacre.”

 

Kakashi heard the implication that Itachi was spying on Akatsuki for Konoha loud and clear. He clenched his hands on his knees. What the fuck was he supposed to do with that? Had Itachi not really been responsible for the Uchiha Massacre? How could he still be loyal to Konoha, if Konoha had indeed perpetrated the massacre? What was going on?

 

“No official reason was ever given for Danzou-san being relieved of his command or Root being disbanded, but the timing is curious, as it occurred right on the heels of the Uchiha Massacre.”

 

“From Orochimaru’s memories, I’ve learned that, prior to the massacre, Orochimaru gave Danzou-san detailed instructions on the method of removal and preservation of eyes for later transplantation,” Inoichi said. “The actual surgery to implant a Sharingan took place right after the massacre, but Danzou-san commissioned Orochimaru to perform the surgery weeks before the massacre.”

 

“Well after Orochimaru had become a missing-nin. If Danzou-san had walked around Konoha with a stolen eye in his face while the Uchiha were still around, he would have been spotted immediately,” Chouza noted. “Perhaps he knew that the Uchiha weren’t going to be able to protest for much longer.”

 

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Shikaku said. “Technically, we only have evidence of doujutsu theft and collusion with a missing-nin. Unless you have something more?”

 

Inoichi nodded.

 

“The Sharingan in Danzou-san’s face isn’t his only surgical alteration,” Inoichi said. “His right arm, it’s also a transplant that Orochimaru gave him in a surgery that took place six months after the first. The arm comes from a young man named, ‘Shin,’ who possesses a body that is somehow suited for transplantation. This arm is implanted with ten Sharingan, as well as some tissue from the First Hokage.”

 

“Why on his arm?” Shikaku asked. “What good would that do? Can he actually see out of them?”

 

“I don’t know,” Inoichi admitted. “I do know that these surgeries were all paid for with a combination of money and Sharingans and that the price was decided when the commission was taken.”

 

“So, he had to know that he would be able to lay hands on as many eyes as he would need to pay for the surgeries before he made that deal and before the massacre,” Kakashi said.

 

Silence fell over the room, with each man lost in his own horrific thoughts. Shikaku was the one to break it.

 

“After the massacre,” Shikaku said. “Sasuke-kun became mute and withdrew from everyone. A mark of trauma, perhaps, or of not knowing whom he could trust.

 

“Sasuke-kun then tore down all the other buildings in the Uchiha Quarter. Perhaps it was grief that led him to it or perhaps he wanted a clear field of view all around his house, the better to see anyone coming and the better to keep prying eyes at a distance.

 

“And then,” Shikaku said, turning to Kakashi. “There was Team Seven’s escort mission to Wave. He didn’t leave to go explore the countryside, did he? He got away from you and he’d need more than luck to do that. He managed to outsmart Hatake Kakashi. And it took you so long to recover him, too. He kept himself out of your hands for days, an impressive feat for anyone, but I would have said it was nearly impossible for a mere rookie genin. Ultimately, you needed whatever assistance Gai-kun provided to actually catch the kid. It would take serious effort and planning on his part to give you that much trouble. It wasn’t done on a whim; he was trying to desert.

 

“He doesn’t trust us. He doesn’t feel safe here. He’s trying to escape. It looks like he believes Konoha was involved in the Uchiha Massacre. That’s quite damning, considering he’s the only living witness to the event… Apart from Itachi, of course. Has Sasuke-kun told you anything?”

 

Kakashi shook his head and Shikaku sighed and rubbed his chin.

 

“He doesn’t trust you,” Shikaku said, making Kakashi grit his teeth. “But you are trustworthy, aren’t you? You’ll do what it takes to protect him, won’t you?”

 

“Of course,” Kakashi said without hesitation. “He’s one of my precious students.”

 

“Mhn. But what about the new ones? Who are those kids he brought back with him? Not strangers he met on the road, are they? One of them has no eyes, I heard. Are they other Uchihas who slipped the net?” Shikaku asked.

 

Kakashi held Shikaku’s gaze cooly, but didn’t reply. Shikaku tapped his finger on the table as he thought.

 

“Where are those two kids?” Inoichi asked. “They didn’t accompany you here.”

 

“Somewhere safe,” Kakashi said. Inoichi nodded.

 

“Shikamaru said Sasuke-kun seemed to be willing to go to Orochimaru’s bases alone, if nobody else went with him,” Shikaku said. “My boy thought Sasuke-kun was suicidal, or stupid, or both, but actually Sasuke-kun is just trying survive. He’s looking for another chance to escape, even if he does sincerely want to help those people.”

 

“Sasuke-kun won’t be going on that rescue mission,” Kakashi said, waving a lackadaisical hand. “With so many people completing the second round in just the first day, there will certainly be an elimination round when the test ends in four days. As his teacher, I can’t allow him to miss it.”

 

“That’s a smart decision,” Shikaku said. “There aren’t any rules against killing missing-nin, even when they’re in custody.” Kakashi glared at Shikaku, not appreciating his bluntness on the issue.

 

“Did the rules against murder protect the Uchiha who weren’t missing-nin?” Chouza asked bitterly, clenching his fists.

 

“No, they did not,” Kakashi thought.

 

“Do you think the Hokage killed Orochimaru to protect Danzou-san?” Inoichi asked, frowning at the floor.

 

“I’m not sure there’s a significant difference between protecting Danzou-san and protecting himself,” Chouza growled, face black with rage. “Those two have been comrades and colleagues since they were fifteen. What has one done that the other wasn’t part of?! And the rest of the Hokage’s Council is the same! Is it even possible that they were not all in on it?!

 

“Those animals! This is unforgivable! We lost so many people that night! So many friends and allies! How could they do such a despicable thing?! How could they betray Konoha like that?! And for the Hokage, our own leader, to be part of it!”

 

“Don’t jump to conclusions,” Shikaku said. “We need to collect more information.”

 

“Why bother?!” Chouza asked. “We know the truth! The Hokage assassinated Orochimaru! With hindsight, what happened to the Uchiha was obviously a bloodline trait purge!”

 

“What matters isn’t what we know. It’s what we can prove. We need to have more than speculation to present to the other clans,” Shikaku said. “If you want to remove the Hokage, Danzou, and the council from power, the Ino-Shika-Chou and righteous indignation won’t be enough.”

 

“He’s talking about a coup,” Kakashi realized, taken aback. “The Jounin Commander and Head of the Nara is talking about a coup!”

 

“Don’t look so shocked, Kakashi-kun,” Shikaku said. “If they could wipe out the Uchiha, then none of us are safe. The Nara will not be next.”

 

“And the Uchiha shall be avenged!” Chouza declared.

 

“We should make an effort to bring in Itachi-kun,” Inoichi said.

 

“Fugaku-kun’s boy…” Chouza said miserably. “To think, he’s been loyal to the village this whole time! Even after…”

 

“And that’s curious, isn’t it?” Shikaku said. “If Konoha killed your family, you wouldn’t leave your only living relative there, would you? Not willingly. Perhaps Sasuke-kun is a hostage.”

 

“And Itachi-kun never discovered a way to abscond with him?” Inoichi asked. “Kakashi-kun, what was Itachi-kun doing when you saw him?”

 

“Watching his brother,” Kakashi said. “Sasuke-kun told me not to chase after Itachi, that all Itachi ever does it watch him.”

 

Inoichi sighed forlornly.

 

“We definitely need more information,” Shikaku said, stroking his beard and frowning thoughtfully at his cup. Kakashi fervently agreed. There was too much that still needed to be dragged into the light, so that the whole, beastly picture could be seen.

 

“On the subject of Danzou,” Kakashi began. He then told them about Danzou’s new Root. To Kakashi’s surprise, it wasn’t news to any of them, but they did look grim.

 

“He came for one of the Yamanaka,” Inoichi admitted, looking stiff and uncomfortable. “To serve as one of his bodyguards.”

 

“Because children make the best bodyguards. And you gave him one?” Kakashi asked incredulously. “You gave Danzou a child?”

 

Inoichi’s look turned abashed and defensive, his lips thinning and his brow wrinkling, but neither of his companions came to his defense.

 

“Danzou-san might have been officially removed from power, but he was still well-connected and influential,” Inoichi said stiffly. “Everyone could see that he still had the Hokage’s ear. It would have taken very little effort on his part to obscure vital information on dangerous missions, or to have missions improperly classified as being less dangerous than they truly were, or to have teams assigned to suicide missions. The Yamanaka would have lost more than just one ninja, if I had declined. Furthermore, we could have been denied access to more lucrative missions altogether, which we rely on for financial stability. And it was no secret that Danzou-san always hated the Uchiha and pushed for them to be relocated and confined after the Nine-Tail’s attack. The Yamanaka stood to lose much by being on the outs with Danzou-san.”

 

“Are you kidding me?” Kakashi asked quietly, his indignation boiling away under a very tight lid. “You gave him a child… You let that bastard have a child.”

 

“I did,” Inoichi said grimly. “It was for the good of the clan.”

 

“Then why didn’t you do it?” Kakashi asked softly.

 

“What?” Inoichi asked.

 

“Why didn’t you go work for Danzou or, if only a child would do, why not send you daughter? Why send someone else’s child?” Kakashi asked.

 

Inoichi went white and glared fiercely at Kakashi, pursing his lips and clenching his hands.

 

“We’ll get Fuu-kun back,” Shikaku said, breaking the stalemate.

 

“If he’s still alive,” Kakashi agreed with a calmness he didn’t feel.

 

“So Danzou has more than two kids working for him now,” Shikaku said. “I wonder how much trouble they’ll give us in relocating them?”

 

“Two?” Kakashi asked.

 

“We knew about Yamanaka Fuu and Aburame Torune,” Shikaku said. “But there may be more, if that kid who tried to kill Orochimaru today was sent by Danzou. It really does look like Root has been reinstated.”

 

“Only it’s full of children,” Chouza said. “We need to fix that immediately, consequences be damned.”

 

“Chouza-kun…” Shikaku said.

 

“I know it’s not the smart move, but it’s the only move. Those are Konoha’s children,” Chouza said sternly. Shikaku smiled ruefully and scratched his head.

 

“You’re right,” Shikaku said. “We’re meeting with the Aburame and the Inuzuka tomorrow. We’ll figure that out at the same time as we’re planning the offensive on Orochimaru’s bases.”

 

It was a move guaranteed to put everyone involved in Danzo’s crosshairs, but Kakashi felt only relief at the decision.

 

“I suggest that you surreptitiously strengthen the guard you have around Sasuke-kun,” Inoichi said. “Having a team of ANBU would be useful, but attract too much attention. It would be good for Tenzou-kun’s new ward to have additional protection and supervision, as well. You all are welcome to stay here for as long you like, whenever you like.”

 

“It goes without saying, but we need to keep our cards close to the vest,” Shikaku said. “This is a dangerous business and it will be dangerous from the get-go. Danzou might try to assassinate us just for removing those kids from his control, so be prepared for that. Until we can be sure Danzou has been defanged, stay in the village and keep the kids close. It’s too easy to cover up an assassination outside the village. Asuma-kun will need to be told not to take any away missions.

 

“We need to capitalize on Danzou’s loss of face when it comes out that he’s keeping Konoha’s children in slavery. Drive that wedge fast and deep. If we can push him and his clan out of favor, we need to. We three will need to cut financial ties and encourage friendly clans to do the same. Anything that can be done to pressure unfriendly clan to do the same, we do it. There will be a core of clans that will close ranks and support the Shimura no matter what we do. The best we can do is reduce the number of them and create tension among those who remain.”

 

“What will the Hokage do, I wonder,” Inoichi said thoughtfully. “I suppose that depends on how hard we can push Danzou-san.”

 

“That’s a good point. We should push them both. If we can get the Hokage to distance himself from Danzou, maybe by questioning the Hokage’s grip on power, what with Danzou flouting his order to disband Root, then we can make the Hokage look weak,” Shikaku said. “We’ll need to question how much the Hokage knew, as well. Ask if he was complicit. If we can cast suspicion on the Hokage, he’ll have to abandon Danzou to avoid losing face.”

 

“Did he do the same with Orochimaru?” Inoichi asked. “Reading the notes on Sasuke-kun’s interrogation made me wonder.”

 

“I’d like a copy of those,” Shikaku said.

 

“I thought you might,” Inoichi said. “I have a copy in the safe. I’ll get it for you.” Inoichi got up and extracted the documents for Shikaku, who read them and then passed them on to Chouza.

 

“Orochimaru hated him,” Kakashi murmured. “When the Hokage came to see him, or to kill him rather, Orochimaru showed such killing intent. Did he know the Hokage had come to kill him or was it that he resented the Hokage for something?”

 

“I’ll see if I can find out where the funding for Danzo’s new Root operation came from and where Orochimaru might have gotten the funds to do those horrific experiment of children,” Inoichi said.

 

Chouza gasped.

 

“Are you thinking that Konoha might have funded that massacre?! Gods above!” Chouza swore, looking horrified and upset. “How could our village have done such a thing?!”

 

“I don’t have proof yet, but Sasuke-kun pointed out the expensive nature of the equipment Orochimaru used to experiment on those children,” Inoichi said. “I didn’t realize how expensive those things would have been, until I stopped by the research division this afternoon to get an estimate. There is no possible way Orochimaru would have been able to fund it by himself. It would have been tens of billions of ryou to outfit such a lab as the one we uncovered those dead children in.”

 

“Damn,” Shikaku said, looking angry. “We really have been blind. How shameful.”

 

Yes, they had been, Kakashi thought, lowering his eyes to the floor. They had all failed their fellow villagers. He thought about the timing of things and realized that, if they had ousted the Hokage and Danzou when Orochimaru’s lab full of dead children had been found, then the Uchiha Massacre would not have happened. They had let everyone down. If Kakashi had looked into things at any point, he could have figured it out. Now, Obito’s clan were nearly extinct, Itachi had been labeled a missing-nin, and Sasuke was hellbent on defecting. Kakashi was such a failure.

 

“What are we going to tell Asuma-kun?” Chouza asked.

 

“He’s not stupid, but he’s an idealist and isn’t a man who focuses on context,” Inoichi said thoughtfully. “He can safely be told we fear reprisal from Danzou-san, known brutalizer of children. He is still the Hokage’s last living child, so he will need to be kept at arm’s length from now on.”

 

Kakashi quite agreed, but it was jarring to realize that Kakashi himself was now part of a faction that was against Asuma’s family. Taking down the Hokage would mean undermining the power influence of Asuma’s father and the entire Sarutobi Clan. It put Kakashi in opposition to the Sarutobi, the Shimura, the Utatane, and the Mitokado, a respected, powerful, and conservative faction that had been running Konoha for all but about twenty of its seventy years of existence. Kakashi had never thought of himself as a political person or given much thought to politics, which was a dirty business, but it was inescapable that he become one now. He couldn’t live blindly ever again.

 

-

 

“What are you working on over there, Sasuke-kun?” Ino asked. Sasuke looked up from the papers Kakashi had given him about the toad’s discipline stick and hesitated as he tried to think of a lie.

 

“Don’t bother him,” Sakura said without heat. “It’s secret for a reason, Ino-pig. Just let him work. Got any threes?”

 

“Here,” Ino said, handing the cards over.

 

“Ha!” Naruto said. “Got any threes, Sakura-chan?” Sakura tisked, handed them over, and Naruto laid down the set of cards on the table.

 

“Got any fours, Naruto-kun?” Ino asked.

 

“Go fish!” Naruto said smugly. Ino tisked and took a card from the deck.

 

“Billboard-brow, he’s going to win if we don’t join forces against him,” Ino said.

 

“Let’s ally then,” Sakura said, nodding.

 

“What?! Hey, you can’t do that!” Naruto said. “What about team loyalty?! You should team up with me!”

 

“There is no team loyalty in Go Fish. There is only victory!” Sakura said mercilessly. “Got any eights, Naruto-kun?”

 

Naruto whined piteously and handed over two cards. Sasuke smiled and got back to work.

 

He needed to discover how to could remove Orochimaru’s juinjustu, without the ability to replicate the damned thing for testing. That meant that Sasuke needed to invent an approximation of it to use on animal test subjects. Designing his own version of Orochimaru’s juinjutsu, which made him feel like he was walking at the edge of a moral precipice, was taking him longer than he cared to admit. He just couldn’t figure out how to incorporate Juugo’s contribution to the seal without actually having Juugo’s contribution.

 

Sasuke put his chin in his hand and slouched over his work. Did he really need Juugo’s blood or whatever, though? Juugo’s genetic incompatibility or whatever was probably why so many people died from Orochimaru’s seal. Didn’t Juugo say that he was able to heal Sasuke because they were compatible, as proven by the curse mark? Sasuke needed something to replicate the nature energy utilizing technique, though. The nature energy in the curse mark was a complication to the curse mark’s removal that Sasuke needed to overcome, but did it have to come from an organic source?

 

Sasuke looked back through his memory and found a seal that drew in nature energy. It didn’t have whatever existed in Juugo’s genes to keep the recipient safe, but it would still concentrate nature energy. If Sasuke could design an overflow valve or a sink for nature energy, then it wouldn’t necessarily kill his test subjects right away.

 

Sasuke summoned a warbling white-eye and got them to retrieve tag containing his notebooks.

 

“So, it has to be completed by tomorrow morning,” Tomu said. “You’ll have a late night.” Sasuke nodded.

 

“After I’m done here, I need to test these things. I’ll be lucky to finish it in one night,” Sasuke said, dreading having to face the all-nighter to come.

 

“Remember to drink plenty of water,” Tomu said. “That will help you stay fresh and those trips to the bathroom will keep you from sitting still too long. Movement of the body aids movement of the brain.” Sasuke took another sip of his drink.

 

While Tomu introduced themselves to Ino and struck up a conversation with the kids, Sasuke hit the books again.

 

He dug through his notebook on technique formulae modulation and another one on technique formulae related to absorbing, expelling, and storing things. He put together four iterations of his pseudo-Curse Seal of Heaven and started trying to refine them down into one that was worthy of using for testing. It dragged fingernails down the chalkboard of his soul to rush like this. He should have been using test subjects at this point to make sure no part of the juinjutsu, let alone the amalgamation of them into a single seal, was going to be fatal to the test subjects, but he didn’t have that luxury. He didn’t have the fish and he didn’t have the time. He just had to hope that his underlying assumptions were all perfect, or at least not fatally flawed. He hoped he wouldn’t be smelling of dead fish and disappointment in the morning.

 

-

 

After three more hours of discussion and planning, during which time Shikaku was able to peruse the notes Inoichi brought for him, the meeting finally broke up for the night.

 

“We’ll want to get the testimony of that kid that was captured trying to kill Orochimaru as soon as possible,” Shikaku said, stretching his back after he stood from his cushion. “I feel anxious leaving it until the morning.”

 

“It will be better to display the boy, his juinjutsu, and his interrogation publicly,” Inoichi said. “It will feel more authentic to people.”

 

“Are you sure this juinjutsu-removal method of yours works?” Shikaku asked.

 

“We all find out if it does together,” Kakashi said with a shrug. Chouza and Inoichi gave Kakashi an exasperated look and Shikaku shook his head.

 

“Well, if it doesn’t, it isn’t the end of the world,” Shikaku said. “The kid’s testimony isn’t really necessary, even if it would make for a usefully story. The fact that he bears Danzou’s signature juinjutsu will be enough.”

 

“We’re fortunate the Hyuuga won’t have any representatives there. That would have complicated things,” Inoichi observed.

 

“No kidding,” Kakashi thought.

 

-

 

Sasuke was leaving the bathroom and wiping his clean, damp hands on his shirt, when Kakashi, Inoichi, Shikaku, and Chouza descended the stairs. Sasuke always forgot how big Chouza was. The man must have been nine feet tall. Sasuke felt like the shrimpy Harry Potter standing next to the half-giant Hagrid. Sasuke nodded at Chouza when the man smiled at him.

 

“Hello, Sasuke-kun,” Shikaku said. “You and I should play shougi sometime.”

 

Sasuke’s brow wrinkled in confusion.

 

“I don’t know how,” Sasuke said.

 

Shikaku gave him a lopsided grin.

 

“You should learn. I think you’d enjoy it,” Shikaku said. “Maybe get Shikamaru to teach you.”

 

Sasuke’s brow wrinkled even more deeply.

 

“He dislikes me,” Sasuke said. He wasn’t offended by this fact. Shikamaru disliked most things, in Sasuke’s experience. The grumpy boy was always complaining about something.

 

“Learning shougi from him might be a good way to remedy that,” Shikaku said.

 

“Okay,” Sasuke said, hoping the man wasn’t taking Sasuke’s answer for a commitment to actually spend time with Shikaku’s petulant and peevish son. Shikamaru was the epitome of a grouchy preteen. Sasuke’s eyes narrowed. Was this really about shougi or was it about something else? When Shikaku had gone, Sasuke turned to Kakashi. “Do I actually have to learn shougi?” Sasuke asked. He heard Inoichi snort in the next room.

 

“No,” Kakashi said. “But it might be fun.”

 

It sounded like torture to Sasuke, but he would do what he had to and he got the feeling he had to do this. Shougi had been important to Shikamaru in the story and it might be the same for Shikaku, whom Sasuke did not want to offend.

 

Kakashi, Inoichi, and Sasuke went back to the room where Ino and Sakura were teaching Naruto how to play some game with hanafuda.

 

“Come along,” Inoichi said. “Let’s get you all bedded down for the night.”

 

“We’re spending the night?” Sakura asked.

 

“For tonight at least,” Kakashi confirmed.

 

“At least?” Sasuke repeated leadenly.

 

“Maybe the rest of the week,” Kakashi said. Sasuke’s eyebrows rose. “Your house isn’t quite safe enough with just me on guard. We’ll figure out a more permanent solution once the second phase of the Chuunin Exams are over.”

 

So, Kakashi was recruiting others to help keep Sasuke from running away now. Lovely. Sasuke tried to keep himself from frowning, but he could feel that his face wasn’t as blank as he would have liked. Sakura gave him a funny look when she passed him in the hall.

 

“Sakura-chan, you’ll bed down with Ino-chan tonight and you three boys can share the spare room just down the hall. I’ve already instructed the night guards to be on high alert,” Inoichi said. Ino looked concerned. “I’ll be increasing the guards at all hours starting tomorrow morning. Sakura-chan, would you like your parents to move in here temporarily?”

 

“They’ve already gone somewhere safe,” Sakura said, making Ino look shocked. “Thanks for offering, though, Inoichi-oji-san.”

 

“Your parents are in hiding?!” Ino asked.

 

“Ino-chan, you need to be careful, too,” Inoichi said to Ino. “You aren’t to leave the house unaccompanied until your mother or I tell you things are safe again. Do you understand?”

 

“Yes, but what’s going on?” Ino asked.

 

“I’ll explain in the morning,” Inoichi said. “I need to talk to your mother now. Can you get Sakura-chan a futon?”

 

“Yes,” Ino said.

 

“Good. I’ll help everyone else settle in. Goodnight, Ino-chan, Sakura-chan” Inoichi said.

 

“Goodnight, Daddy,” Ino said worriedly.

 

“Goodnight,” Sakura said.

 

Sakura went with Ino into her room, while Inoichi put Sasuke and the rest of Team Seven were in the spare room.

 

“How’s the work coming along, Sasuke-kun?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Sloppy,” Sasuke grouched. “I shouldn’t be rushing this.”

 

“Just do your best,” Kakashi said.

 

“That’s the problem,” Sasuke said. “I can’t do my best when I’m rushing. You have to be methodical with these things.”

 

“Need any help?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said. “I need test subjects.”

 

“For what?” Kakashi asked. Sasuke explained. “Fish will be hard to catch this late. Will rodents work?” Sasuke hesitated and then nodded.

 

“They can’t be sapient ones,” Sasuke said. “And they can’t be injured or ill.”

 

“Are you guys going out?” Naruto asked. “I want to come, too!”

 

They asked Sakura if she wanted to come, but she decided to stay in and chat with Ino instead of hunting for rodents in the dark. Kakashi informed Inoichi and his wife that they would be stepping out, but staying within the compound, and off they went. Kakashi’s dogs did the heavy lifting on their rat-catching mission, sniffing out what must have been a hundred rodents, which the humans caught and Sasuke evaluated for suitability. With a haul of a mere twenty-five rodents that Sasuke was only somewhat sure were the same species, approximate age, and sex, everyone went back to Ino’s house and Sasuke set up the necessary barriers to keep the mice contained while the experiment was taking place.

 

Then he took what notes he could, lacking the ability to take accurate measurements, and described, in as much detail as he could, the method he would be using for this experiment. It was sloppy, sloppy, sloppy, but there was no time.

 

Sasuke began applying the pseudo-Curse Seals of Heaven to the rodents and, due to an incredible stroke of luck, none of them died. Each rodent transformed into a rather demonic looking form, showing that the nature energy absorption was functional, too. Sasuke sat down in relief when the last terrified specimen had been stuck back in its sealing tag.

 

“You weren’t expecting it to go that well, huh?” Kakashi asked. Sasuke shook his head.

 

“What did you even do to them?” Naruto asked.

 

“I created my own version of Orochimaru’s Curse Seal of Heaven,” Sasuke said. “It should do just what Orochimaru’s does, but this one is keyed to me instead.”

 

“So… What does it actually do?” Naruto asked.

 

“It makes the rodents stronger,” Sasuke said. “They are using Sage Mode now.”

 

Kakashi burst out laughing. Sasuke supposed it was sort of funny.

 

“Is that why they looked like that?” Naruto asked.

 

“Yeah. And I can transfer my consciousness into their bodies and possess them now,” Sasuke said. “They each carry a little bit of my… soul, I suppose.”

 

“Is that a good thing?” Naruto asked, wide-eyed. “Like, is that healthy? For you, I mean. For your soul.”

 

Sasuke thought of Voldemort.

 

“I doubt it,” Sasuke muttered.

 

“Sasuke!” Naruto cried.

 

“Damn it, Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi said, looking put out and bopping him on the head. “I helped you do this to yourself and now you tell me this!”

 

“I can fix it,” Sasuke said. “I think. I just have to destroy the seals. Or kill the rodents.”

 

“Will that work?” Kakashi said.

 

“In theory…” Sasuke said. “… Maybe.”

 

“Why are you using yourself as a test subject in the first place?” Kakashi asked exasperatedly.

 

“Somebody had to do it. I can’t force an animal to apply a juinjutsu, can I?” Sasuke said. “The juinjutsu is specific to the caster, too. I couldn’t apply Orochiamru’s Curse Seal of Heaven for him, even if I knew exactly how he made it, so I had to use my own version of it.”

 

“Okay, whatever,” Naruto said. “I don’t get it, but it’s getting late. Let’s get this over with. I’m tired.”

 

“You guys can go to sleep,” Sasuke said. “It’s going to be deskwork for a while.”

 

“You go to sleep, Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said. “I’m going to see what Sasuke-kun has gotten himself into.”

 

Sasuke rolled his eyes and passed Kakashi his notes on the pseudo-Curse Seal of Heaven. With Sasuke’s pseudo-Curse Seal of Heaven completed and applied to his test subjects, he moved on the unraveling the damn thing. The toads’ notes on the discipline stick were actually indispensable for this process. Kakashi had come through again, Sasuke reflected with a yawn. Sasuke glanced over to see Kakashi reading one of Sasuke’s notebooks. He’d started out only reading the relevant bits and had moved on to reading all the notebooks on Sasuke’s studies cover to cover.

 

An hour later, Sasuke had a technique formula designed to unravel the pseudo-Curse Seal of Heaven. It was clunky and ugly, but Sasuke gave it a try. Five rodents were subjected to it and all five remained afflicted. Sasuke frowned and analyzed his results to discover what had gone wrong. Armed with new knowledge, he designed a new technique formula with Kakashi’s input. This one also failed, but in a new way; the next five rodents all lost part of the curse mark. Sasuke and Kakashi put their heads together and produced a third iteration of the technique formula.

 

Sasuke was barely able to keep his eyes open when he started trying to remove the pseudo-Curse Seal of Heaven from the next batch of test subjects.

 

“Third time’s the charm,” Sasuke thought hopefully. He held his breath as the test began on the first of the five rodents.

 

It failed. It failed five times in five different ways and Sasuke couldn’t even guess why.

 

Sasuke slumped. He was so tired and this was so tedious. He should have started by making very simple pseuo-Curse Seals of Heaven, each one with a different aspect of the real deal, and discovered how to dismantle each one. He was doing this wrong, trying to skip steps, and it wasn’t working. Because he wasn’t being meticulous in his efforts, he didn’t even know what was going wrong. Sasuke rubbed his eyes. He didn’t have the patience to keep doing this anymore.

 

“Let’s take a break,” Kakashi said.

 

Not wanting to go tramping about the house and waking people, they settled for granola bars from Kakashi’s pocket with cups of water and wet towels from the bathroom. Sasuke ate his granola bar, downed his glass of water, and washed his face.

 

“Three o’clock,” Kakashi noted. “Can you keep going?”

 

He hadn’t asked judgmentally, but the question needled Sasuke anyway. Sasuke gritted his teeth. It didn’t matter if he could keep going or not. This was his last best chance to destroy every instance of the Curse Seal of Heaven. After everyone was freed, they would scatter to the winds and Sasuke could never hope to find them all again. The author of the world had liked Orochimaru so much that he’d even kept him around as a “reformed” Kage in Boruto. If Sasuke didn’t stamp out every last avenue available to Orochimaru for his resurrection, then he would come back. Hell, the author might just pull something out of his ass to bring back Orochimaru anyway, defying physics and reconning history.

 

But Sasuke couldn’t be the reason Orochimaru came back. He couldn’t allow himself to fail now. He would do whatever it took to protect himself and his clan. He had ten specimens left.

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said.

 

“Then, let’s get back to work,” Kakashi said.

 

Finally, after a long night’s work, in the hopeful hour before sunrise, Sasuke had a result. The first of the last five rodents was cured of the affliction Sasuke had given it earlier in the night. Sasuke and Kakashi both examined it minutely and found no trace of the pseudo-Curse Seal of Heaven. The body and chakra of the animal was purely its own without any trace of what Sasuke had done to it. The next four turned out the same, as well as the twenty that Sasuke had already used for his tests.

 

“Let’s get them out of here before we have to explain why we brought rodents into our host’s house,” Kakashi said, sticking his hands in his pockets and slouching out of the door. When they reached an empty lot, Sasuke released his terrified captives from their enclosure tags with an apology for their suffering in his heart.

 

When they arrived back at the spare room in Ino’s house, Naruto was just rising with the sunlight in his eyes.

 

“Good morning. Did you get it?” Naruto asked, stretching.

 

“Only one way to find out,” Sasuke mumbled, laying down on his untouched futon and closing his eyes. He was absolutely drained.

 

“Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said. “I want you and Sakura-chan to keep an eye on Sasuke-kun while I’m gone this morning.”

 

“Where are you going?” Naruto asked.

 

“I’ve got to get to the meeting about rescuing Orochimaru’s captives,” Kakashi replied. Sasuke forced himself upright quickly. “And Sasuke-kun is not allowed to come.”

 

“I have to come!” Sasuke protested. “I need to go on that mission!”

 

“We’ve already had this discussion and you know why you don’t,” Kakashi said, sounding very unimpressed. His gaze had a disconcerting, judgmental quality that made Sasuke defensive. “Is there some other reason you need to be there in person?”

 

Sasuke glanced at Kakashi and considered how to put it.

 

“There’s someone else I wanted to meet,” Sasuke admitted. Kakashi settled himself on the floor beside Sasuke.

 

“Someone you didn’t want me to know about,” Kakashi guessed.

 

“… Yes,” Sasuke said.

 

“Tell me,” Kakashi said.

 

“He’s dangerous,” Sasuke said. “He… doesn’t value the lives of others and he’s strong. In the future, I saw him kill little kids.”

 

“And this is someone you want to meet, because…” Kakashi prompted.

 

“He’s… obsessed with Itachi,” Sasuke said. It hadn’t been the right answer, but his mind was muddled from the sleepless night. The bewildered look on Kakashi’s face suggested that, whatever Kakashi had been expecting Sasuke to say, that hadn’t been it.

 

“Itachi?” Kakashi echoed.

 

“He’s had dozens of Sharingan implanted in his body,” Sasuke said. “Some… The placement of some of them makes me think they might have caused brain damage. He thinks he’s an Uchiha. He’s not. He is the source of Danzou’s arm, though.”

 

“Danzou’s arm?” Kakashi asked faintly.

 

“Shin, his body doesn’t reject transplants and his flesh isn’t rejected when transplanted into others,” Sasuke explained. “That’s why Orochimaru used him to give Danzou a new arm covered in Sharingan and containing some of the First Hokage’s flesh.”

 

“’Covered in Sharingan?’” Kakashi echoed quietly.

 

“Ten of them,” Sasuke said. Would Kakashi believe him? It was a fairly incredible claim.

 

“And a bit of the First Hokage,” Kakashi asked. “Where did he even get such a thing? Oh, but of course, he had some left over from when he was working on replicating the Wood Release for Konoha. Why his arm, though? I wouldn’t expect eyes on his arm would be of much use.”

 

“He has Shisui-ni-san’s Mangekyou Sharingan in his face,” Sasuke said. “It can allow him to evade death. It requires the sacrifice of an eye to use at full strength, though. The eyes on his arm are disposable to him, one going blind after each use.”

 

“Shisui-kun,” Kakashi said faintly. “So, Itachi, Itachi-kun, really didn’t…?”

 

Sasuke shook his head and yawned.

 

“I need to know if there is some way to remove the arm easily. Orochimaru might have installed some hidden mechanism for disabling it, just in case Danzou ever turned on him,” Sasuke said. “Shin-san will want his arm back, too. Probably.”

 

“So, you were going to run off and let this ‘Shin’ person kill you?” Kakashi asked tiredly.

 

“I’m not that weak and he might have vital information,” Sasuke said defensively. “And anyone else might just kill him. He will very likely be hostile, but I could bribe him with Itachi’s personal things and information about Itachi.”

 

“Do you know where Itachi is?” Kakashi asked. Sasuke shook his head.

 

“No,” Sasuke said.

 

“Itachi didn’t say anything to you on one of his visits?” Kakashi asked, fishing for added confirmation of Itachi’s actions.

 

“No,” Sasuke said darkly.

 

“Which location is Shin at?” Kakashi asked.

 

“No idea,” Sasuke said.

 

“So, you were just going to try them all?” Kakashi wondered, before he yawned, which set Sasuke yawning himself.

 

“Have you and Itachi spoken since the massacre?” Kakashi asked.

 

“No,” Sasuke said coldly.

 

“Do you know how to contact Itachi?” Kakashi asked.

 

“… Yes,” Sasuke said through gritted teeth, glaring at the floor.

 

“We need to speak to him,” Kakashi said. “We need to hear his side of the story.”

 

“I don’t,” Sasuke said sharply.

 

“Seriously? He killed your family and you don’t want to know why?” Kakashi prodded, trying to get a reaction out of Sasuke.

 

Sasuke turned a snarling face to Kakashi.

 

“I know why! He was weak! He was stupid and weak!” Sasuke shouted. “He’s nothing but a feeble-minded fool, content to live in a lie, because the truth proves he’s a traitor!” Then, he covered his face with both hands and turned away from Kakashi, breathing hard. “I don’t want to hear anything he has to say. I can’t. I don’t think there’s anything he could say that wouldn’t make me want to kill him.” Sasuke’s voice broke at the end of his words, his heart breaking in his chest.

 

“… He killed them, because he was ‘weak,’” Kakashi repeated, pressing on. “How was he weak?” Sasuke absolutely did not want to discuss it.

 

“I’ll help you contact him, but I won’t ever speak to him again,” Sasuke said. “I won’t ever look at him again.”

 

“Why won’t you talk about this? Don’t you want the truth the come out?” Kakashi asked, sounding a little irritated. It stung Sasuke for Kakashi to speak to him like that, to ask him those questions, to sound upset with Sasuke. It felt like he was about to reject Sasuke, which made him defensive.

 

“Not if you’re going to cover it up,” Sasuke said, voice shaking with grief and anger.

 

“Why would I do that?!” Kakashi asked, sounding offended and confused.

 

“Because you’re a bastard,” Sasuke snarled, walking away from Kakashi as much as the room permitted and still not looking at him. Sasuke’s breaths were shuddering out of him and he was shaking. His head felt messed up. He wished he’d been able to sleep last night. If only he weren’t so tired! He scrubbed his face with his hands, feeling sharp enough to cut and sick enough to cry.

 

Kakashi got up and wrapped Sasuke in his arms tightly. Sasuke tried to push Kakashi’s arms off him, but Kakashi wouldn’t let him go. For all his struggles, Sasuke ended up with his face buried in Kakashi’s chest and Kakashi’s arms around his back. Finally, with a keen of frustration, he gave up the fight; he was just too tired. Kakashi laid his cheek on Sasuke’s head as Sasuke tried to get his breathing back under control.

 

“We’ll get them,” Kakashi said quietly. “We’ll get them all.”

 

Sasuke’s breath stopped in his throat. Had Kakashi said what he thought he said? Sasuke didn’t dare move, but tears started falling from his eyes. He was too tired for this. He couldn’t deal with this. He didn’t even understand what was happening. How could Kakashi have said such a thing? Hadn’t he been the one to suggest to Naruto that they should keep silent about the massacre in the story? What was even happening right now? Could he trust this? Sasuke shook with silent sobs.

 

-

 

Kakashi wished for death or coffee. He hated all-nighters. Luckily, Inoichi, like all members of the Analysis crew, knew the secret art of making coffee so strong that you could feel it fizzle on the way down. Kakashi gratefully took a mug of it and sprawled out on the veranda.

 

“Is everything alright?” Inoichi asked. “We heard Sasuke-kun shouting.”

 

“I pressed him about Itachi, a taboo topic, and he didn’t get any sleep last night,” Kakashi said.

 

“Trouble sleeping in a strange place?” Inoichi asked.

 

“He was too busy reading the secrets of the universe that are written in the stars,” Kakashi joked.

 

“You too, by the looks of it,” Inoichi said. “Did you get any sleep at all?”

 

“I’ll be fine once I’m caffeinated,” Kakashi said. Pity his coffee was still too hot to drink.

 

Naruto and the girls came into the kitchen next.

 

“We heard Sasuke-kun shouting,” Sakura said. “But Naruto-kun said we shouldn’t go in. What happened?”

 

“I may have been a little pushy this morning,” Kakashi said.

 

“He made Sasuke cry,” Naruto tattled. Ino gasped and Sakura turned on Kakashi a glare that would melt ice.

 

“I’m going to go check on him,” Sakura said.

 

“Me, too!” Ino said.

 

“Ino-chan,” Inoichi said. “Stay here, please.”

 

“But…” Ino said, but she accepted the request. Instead, she walked over to make herself breakfast with a pout.

 

Over breakfast, Kakashi got to play “Look at my face” with Naruto and Ino, with even Inoichi making an attempt at one point, before Sakura came back holding some papers. She kept them in hand until she beckoned Kakashi to follow her into the living room. Kakashi could feel Inoichi’s eyes on his back and he knew the man had noticed the papers Sakura was holding. Kakashi needed to teach these kids about stealth.

 

“Sasuke-kun had me take notes for your meeting today,” Sakura said quietly, passing Kakashi several sheets of paper. Kakashi gave them a look over. A few people with approximate ages and abilities were listed. Too many of them were kids. One kid, “Juugo,” needed to have a certain fuinjutsu placed on his back, a diagram of which was included. Someone named “Kimimaro” was described as being hostile, demonically boney, and completely loyal to Orochimaru, while also being near death and needing whoever encountered him to ensure that he received immediate medical attention. Kakashi sighed. Whoever had to capture that kid was going to have a bad time. At least Sasuke was too tired to chase this Kimimaro down himself… Probably.

 

“I already told Naruto-kun, but you two are to keep an eye on Sasuke-kun today,” Kakashi told Sakura.

 

“Okay,” Sakura said. “We’ll make sure he doesn’t run off to go help rescue people,” she promised with a smile. Kakashi patted her on the head absently and kept reading.

 

At the very end of the notes, there were a couple sentences, which Sasuke had written himself.

 

“Please tell them not to kill anyone,” Sasuke wrote. “Remind them that it’s a rescue mission.”

 

Kakashi sighed sadly. How could Sasuke be so softhearted? It looked like Itachi had some part in the Uchiha Massacre for Sasuke to be so angry at him, but Sasuke still didn’t want to kill him. Somehow, that was even more tragic than the alternative. At least there was strength in anger. What was there but wounded weakness in grief? Grief was the kind of thing you either had to push away completely or it would pull you under until it decided to let you go.

 

“Will everyone be alright, Kakashi-sensei?” Sakura asked, drawing Kakashi’s forlorn gaze from the page in his hand. Worry sat on her brow for the names in Kakashi’s hands.

 

“We’ll try, Sakura-chan,” Kakashi said.

 

-

 

The meeting took hours. The effort to coordinate a mission with so many targets was enormous and ninjas were much more experienced at killing people than at rescuing them. It was going to be a challenge, even with Shikaku at the helm. Shikaku gave a pretty speech about everyone pulling together to undo the damage wrought by one of Konoha’s most notorious missing-nin, too, shoring up support for this unpaid mission.

 

One single solitary person uncertainly brought up going to the Hokage to coordinate this affair, but Inoichi assured them that the Hokage was too busy dealing with village affairs and that they could handle this themselves. The danger presented by the outsiders visiting the village due in the Chuunin Exam had already been dealt with and no more violence was foreseen.

 

“Besides,” Inoichi said. “This isn’t a paid mission and none of us are bound to seek the Hokage’s permission to give our time and skill away for free. It’s only paid work that must be received from the village alone.”

 

“It doesn’t count as moonlighting if you don’t get paid,” Shikaku joked dryly, making a few people chuckle. Kakashi realized he was watching the Hokage’s grip slip in real time.

 

Kakashi eventually found a quiet moment to pull Anko aside and offer to try to remove the Cursed Seal of Heaven from her. She didn’t even hesitate. After having the technique formula Sasuke had developed looked over by Jiraiya and with several witnesses present, Kakashi confidently performed the technique on Anko. When it worked, Anko didn’t cry, but there was something brittle and joyful in her eyes when it was over.

 

The best users of technique formulae among the group were all taught how to use it and given a copy of the drawing to study for themselves. Kakashi also gave them a copy of the seal to be placed on Juugo and a description of the boy and his condition.

 

“Looks like the information I gave was useful for more than just juinjutsu removal,” Jiraiya mused. “We’ll get this kid’s problem treated and then I’ll take him to the toads. They’ll be able to teach him to control his bloodline technique, so this seal can be removed safely.”

 

“Glad to hear it,” Kakashi said.

 

“This source of yours,” Jiraiya began.

 

Kakashi kept his expression flat and his gaze steady.

 

“… Were they one of Orochimaru’s captives?” Jiraiya asked.

 

“They are someone I’ve promised to keep anonymous,” Kakashi said.

 

“Tell them…” Jiraiya said. He pursed his lips and then shook his head. “Never mind,” he said flapping a hand at Kakashi.

 

After this rescue mission was agreed to in principle, Inoichi signaled to Kakashi to fetch Tenzou and his new charge. Kakashi found them in an old hideout Kakashi had shown Tenzou years ago, one Kakashi’s father had made under their house before Kakashi was born. The current owners of the house, civilians, had no reason to know it was even there.

 

Together, the three returned to the meeting without fanfare, but not without notice, either.

 

That was when Inoichi described how the boy had come into their custody yesterday and proposed another rescue mission, this time to free all the children in Danzou’s prison. The reaction of the gathered members was one of righteous anger and, perhaps, just a hint of opportunistic malice. More than one person present seemed to have a score to settle with Danzou. More importantly, everyone was ready to believe the worst of him. When the emotions of the crowd approached a frenzy, Inoichi gave the floor to Kakashi, who quietly explained how to enter the old Root base. The planning for this mission took very little time, by comparison. Within half an hour, forces had been committed and runners had been sent back to the clans to get select members to make ready.

 

Kakashi wouldn’t be joining either effort, needing as he did to keep an eye on his kids, but he traveled to the gates of the village to give what information he could on what the teams would encounter, while supplies were arranged and packed for transport with the teams that would be heading out to Orochimaru’s bases. Kakashi saw the whole village buzzing, curious and worried that such a massing of manpower meant the start of war. This was why Kakashi was on the scene when something amazing happened.

 

“Yo, Tsunade-hime!” Jiraiya called. “You’re late!”

 

Tsunade, short, proud, and boasting an incredibly eye-catching neckline, stood inside the main gateway to the village and gave Jiraiya a baleful look. The Senju princess, Shizune, and their pet pig had returned to Konoha.

Notes:

I’m so glad Tsunade is finally here! She’s my favorite character! Unfortunately, she doesn’t have a starring role in this fic.

Kakashi, professional killer: Politics is such a dirty business.

This is what a coup looks like: networking! We all saw January 6th, but you don’t start out with a mob storming the capital. You start with powerful people making plans, promises of support and compensation for that support, and building coalitions. The January 6th insurrection failed, because they didn’t have the right supporters in the right places before they made their move. From a purely practical perspective, the Trump team should have done their homework beforehand. If they had done a headcount, they would have known that a violent escalation of the ongoing coup attempt would fail. Republican voters might be totally comfortable with it now, but it damaged party cohesion and popular support in the short term. It was stupid to go ahead with it anyway.

Obviously, people with power are still people and can do stupid things.

That being said, I cannot even tell you how much I hate that the Uchiha coup was just one clan by themselves. It is too stupid! It makes absolutely no fucking sense! How the hell were they going to deal with the rest of the village, the rest of Fire, once they had captured the Hokage?! They had no external supporters! Their “coup” would have been dead on arrival, even if it had gone exactly as they planned it to! No one would listen to them! They would just be hostage-takers! You can’t run a government like that! It's especially frustrating, because, as nobles, the Uchiha would understand how politics works and they would have existing political allies! Politics is definitionally a group activity, even outside of a democracy! Their “coup” is the stupidest, most brain-dead, fucking thing and I hate that it is canon.

I’m not saying the Uchiha shouldn’t have tried to do a coup. I’m saying that they shouldn’t have gone it alone. Or maybe they should have assassinated the Hokage and his council, so long as more Uchiha-friendly people were next in line. Or maybe they should have publicly protested for their freedoms, forming alliances with outsiders to support their claims of deserving equality. Or maybe they should have done something, anything, of any substance at all! There could have been real palace intrigue there, even if it was only ever alluded to! Such disappointing writing.

On the subject of politics, November 1st is the last day of early voting in Texas and November 5th is election day. I voted on the first day of early voting in my state and I encourage everyone to do their research for all candidates and propositions that are on their ballot in this election and then go vote. I use the LWV as a key resource. Remember to read background on the ballot propositions, because they can be deceptively worded. It was warm and bright and the line was more than half an hour long, so I recommend bringing an umbrella or a broad-brimmed hat if you’re going to be voting here in Texas. Check local weather conditions and come prepared to wait. Cell phone use is prohibited near polling stations, at least in Texas, where line warming is also illegal, so maybe bring a light book and some water. People with mobility impairments are given voting order priority, so just ask a line monitor for help. Remember to go to the correct polling place for your address, so you don’t waste your time, and bring a photo ID and your voter registration card.

Okay, I know that Danzou admits that he’s taking Torune for Root, but I’m going to have to ignore that, because it’s a plot hole. Root disbanding, only to be instantly reformed, but with a bunch of child slaves, is like a hedgehog in a bowl of cereal; it sticks out. Reorganizing Root is not the same as disbanding it. So, I’m going to have Danzou use a fig leaf, instead of coming right out and publicly admitting that he’s disobeying the Hokage by doing the same thing he was ordered not to, but with extra evil. Danzou’s not supposed to be that stupid. Sure, the Hokage might be willing to let him get away with anything, but it makes the Hokage look really weak for Danzou to do that sort of thing in public. If people don’t have to listen to your orders, then are you really even the Hokage? Looks like Danzo is the one who’s really in charge, so why should people negotiate with the Hokage when the one they really need to convince is Danzo?

I didn’t read much of Naruto, so I know Akimichi Chouza primarily as one of the guys who got together to lynch Naruto for stealing the Scroll of Super-Secret Stuff from the Hokage. Plotting child murder does not a good first impression make.

Chouza: We have to protect the children!

Also Chouza: Except for Naruto! Fuck Naruto!

Inoichi: For the good of the clan!

Also Inoichi: Except for Fuu-kun! Fuck Fuu-kun!

Shikaku: *crickets*

Kakashi: …

Chapter 13: Preliminaries, Part I

Summary:

Danzou’s captives are freed and Konoha deals with the fallout. Then, the first round of the preliminary matches for the third phase of the Chuunin Exams begins.

Notes:

I return! My life was demanding in the final months of the year and then, right when I got about 20k words into this three-part Preliminaries arc, I tripped and fell into a deep hole called, “Stardew Valley.” I have only just managed to climb out. That game is so cute and it makes the acquisitive part of my brain purr. I started taking my iPad everywhere with me, because I was just completely hooked! I have absolutely no interest in the NPCs, but my meadowland farm is delightful, especially the lighting! Oddly, one of my favorite things is just placing lights around the town so I can see better after nightfall. I never pass a torch in the mines without picking it up, so I can light up a new spot. I have no idea why that is so satisfying.

Guys, I got wasted this weekend. I only drink a couple times a year and I have a firm one drink limit, because I am the lightest of light weights. Thus, when I went to a house party while thirsty and hungry and had two glasses of wine, I got shitfaced! I was struggling to keep my eyes open while trying to talk about this paper on molecular epidemiology that I read last week. I could not remember the title of the paper, or the name of the field, let alone explain what the paper was about! I was like, “It’s about how tuberculosis is transmitted, you know, in the community. They were looking at the genome. And there was a super-spreader.” Holy shit, I have never gotten that drunk that fast! Honestly, every time I drink, I am reminded of why I don’t drink. “Oh, that’s right, this feels weird and bad. Why did I do this again?” Ever since I learned what being drunk is like, I’ve been intrigued by how most other people seem to enjoy the sensation. It’s just one of those fascinating differences in the experience of humanity; some people think cilantro tastes like soap, some people think men are sexually attractive, and some people enjoy alcohol. Sometimes, other people are just weird, you know? And that’s okay. I give you permission to fly your freak flag as you pick cilantro out of your taco, while sipping tequila and making eyes at your boyfriend. I won’t judge you… Much.

There are lots of comments I haven’t responded to, but just know that I read them all and I appreciated them!

“Late?” Tsunade echoed, face hard as nails. “What happened? Is the kid alright?”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Jiraya said, waving away her concern and walking towards Tsunade. “He’s fine. We protected him from Orochimaru yesterday. You’re a whole day too late for that dance.”

 

Tsunade looked around at the ninjas preparing to leave to invade Orochimaru’s bases, as if wondering what was going on, but she kept her questions, if she had any, to herself.

 

“Alright then,” Tsunade said, turning around and walking swiftly right back out of the gates, Shizune and their pet pig hot on her heels.

 

“Wait, wait, wait!” Jiraiya said. “You just got here!”

 

“And now I’m leaving,” Tsunade said, without turning around, so Jiraiya had to rush to catch up with her.

 

“There’s more news,” Jiraiya said, walking alongside her. “Orochimaru… He’s dead.”

 

Tsunade grunted and stopped walking.

 

“Figures,” Tsunade said. “But if anyone could have escaped, it would have been him.”

 

“He was always good at that and he tried,” Jiraiya said. “Didn’t manage it this time, though.”

 

“What was that fool thinking, coming back here like that?” Tsunade asked. She turned to Jiraiya and looked him up and down critically, almost guardedly.

 

“I’m alright. It wasn’t me,” Jiraiya said, shaking his head. “But your concern is appreciated. Sensei executed him.” Tsunade’s eyes widened and Jiraiya gave a half shrug. “You know him. He probably thought it was his responsibility.” Tsunade’s gaze fell to the ground. “Come on, Tsunade-hime. I’ll buy you a drink and give you the details.”

 

Kakashi seized his chance and stepped forward.

 

“Tsunade-sama!” Kakashi said. “Thank you for coming. I appreciate it.”

 

“I was too late to help,” Tsunade said with a shrug.

 

“Perhaps not,” Kakashi said. “There’s a sick boy, Kimimaro. He’s about fifteen, we think. He’s one of Orochimaru’s captives, brainwashed to worship the man. We don’t know what’s wrong with him, but he may not have much time left without proper treatment. A mission is about to take place to rescue him and he won’t be the only one who needs help. Orochimaru has hundreds of prisoners, many of whom he will have experimented on.”

 

Tsunade looked away from Kakashi and his hope dimmed in response.

 

“There will be many, many people who need medical attention,” Kakashi said.

 

“I’ve long since given up that profession,” Tsunade said, expression remote and uncaring.

 

“Perhaps you could act as a consultant then,” Kakashi pressed. “Please, if you could just be on hand to discuss the cases of the people rescued, it might save many lives. There is no finer medic-nin in the world than-.”

 

“No,” Tsunade said, in a voice that brooked no further discussion.

 

“But you came,” Kakashi thought, brow twisting in dismay.

 

“Come on, Tsunade-hime,” Jiraiya said. “Let me buy you that drink.”

 

Kakashi sighed as he watched the group head deeper into Konoha.

 

“Not as if any bars are open at this hour,” Kakashi thought, turning back to the job at hand. Once things were well enough in hand that there was nothing more for Kakashi to contribute, he bought two cloth masks for each of his students and a change of clothes and toiletries for Tenzou’s new charge, before heading to his apartment. He sighed in relief as he stepped into his own private space and made straight for the shower. Getting clean made his head feel less wobbly, but he needed sleep. He ran by the training ground Gai favored. He gave Gai a wave and visually confirmed that Gai’s students seemed well, before heading back to Inoichi’s house.

 

Inoichi was still out, but Tenzou and his charge where in the living room. Kakashi handed over the clothes and toiletries for Tenzou’s startlingly pale boy and inquired after his own students. Tenzou smiled at Kakashi.

 

“They’re guarding their downed teammate,” Tenzou joked. “You should get some sleep too while you can, Kakashi-senpai. You look pale.”

 

Kakashi couldn’t deny that sounded good. He found Naruto and Sakura in the bedroom Kakashi and the boys had been assigned. The two kids were indeed watching over the sleeping Sasuke while studying quietly from scrolls on technique formulae. Kakashi smiled at them, unrolled his bedding, and laid down to get some sleep. He practically melted into that futon, but his dreams were dark and he woke up every time one of the kids moved around.

 

At noon, Naruto and Sakura served lunch to everyone using the ingredients they had packed for the second phase of the exam, so Kakashi woke to a tempting smell, which was the best way to wake, in his opinion, even if he was about to die from exhaustion. Sasuke and Kakashi were then dragged out of bed and stumbled downstairs to eat with everyone else. Lunch was champon soup with lots of cabbage, thinly sliced pork, and shrimp and it was definitely worth getting out of bed for.

 

“So, what would you like your name to be?” Tenzou asked his charge, as the boy carelessly fished a noodle out of his broth, making a mess on the table. The boy merely shook his head and continued eating.

 

“How about we come up with some names and you can tell us if you like any of them?” Tenzou suggested. “I’ll go first. How about, ‘Akira?’”

 

The boy shrugged noncommittally, but they were off to the races. Everyone began suggesting names, except for Kakashi, who was too tired to participate, and Sasuke, who was too shy to do so. Sasuke might not have said anything, but he watched the boy with what Kakashi thought might have been faint puzzlement. Round and round they went, listing every name under the sun, until they got to the point where they began repeating names they had already tried, so they gave up for the day. Naruto and Sakura decided to play cards with Tenzou and the nameless boy, while Kakashi and Sasuke went back to bed. Once Kakashi and Sasuke had returned to their room, Kakashi considered Sasuke.

 

“You were looking at that boy very thoughtfully. What do you know about him?” Kakashi asked quietly.

 

Sasuke frowned slightly as he covered himself with his blanket.

 

“His name would have been, ‘Sai,’ but Danzou hasn’t assigned him the mission where he would use that code name. I never heard his original name,” Sasuke said tiredly. “Sai-kun likes to draw and can make his ink paintings come to life and attack people, or act as telepathic spies, or carry him through the air. That’s his hiden. He has an art journal of him and his friend. He’s forgotten, but he was planning to draw the two of them holding hands in the middle. His memory is damaged, he doesn’t know how to communicate well, and he isn’t in touch with his emotions anymore.”

 

“He has amnesia? What happened?”

 

“Repressed memories,” Sasuke corrected. “His friend died. Danzou tried to make them fight to the death, but his friend was already dying of some illness or injury, so they didn’t have to. One of them had to die, or Danzou would have killed them both, but he didn’t stay to watch them fight, for some reason. Danzou never found out that Sai and the other boy hadn’t actually followed his orders that day.”

 

Kakashi thought of the child in question, whom Gai had captured just yesterday. The colorless, silent, passive boy, who didn’t even know his own name anymore, because of what had been done to him.

 

What an absolute monster. To have done such a thing to not just one child, but many, and yet to be so disinterested in the outcome of those death matches that he didn’t even bother to even pay attention to them. To walk away after simply giving children the order to kill each other… Kakashi thought of Obito and Rin, fought down the urge to hunt down Danzou immediately. It wouldn’t be that hard. The man was inside Konoha. Kakashi could have him within the hour, no matter where he tried to hide. He would need to sneak up on Danzou, take him unawares in order to avoid a dangerous battle, but, with a swift kunai to the back of the skull, it would be over very quickly.

 

“As he was dying, the boy said something to Sai…” Sasuke closed his eyes and yawned. “He was trying to protect Sai, to give him advice that would keep him safe from Danzou.”

 

Sasuke and Kakashi lapsed into silence. When Kakashi started to wonder if Sasuke had fallen asleep, the boy spoke once more.

 

“I think Sai-kun never stopped calling him, ‘Danzou-sama,’” Sasuke whispered sleepily, not bothering to open his eyes. “Maybe even after getting free and remembering everything, he believed that Danzou was righteous.” Kakashi’s brow furrowed in pity. With that final bleak statement, the room fell silent and Kakashi went back to sleep.

 

-

 

That evening, Sasuke was sitting groggily in Ino’s living room and playing cards with Ino, Sakura, and Naruto, while Tenzou took the as-yet nameless boy to the dentist (apparently, no one had ever taken him before), when Team Gai arrived for a visit.

 

“Hello, Sakura-chan!” Lee greeted when they filed into Inoichi’s house. “And Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun! It’s good to see you again!” Sasuke smiled reflexively when he saw Lee and Gai step into the house.

 

“Good to see you, Lee-kun!” Sakura said cheerfully. “What brings you all here?”

 

“I need to talk to Sasuke-kun,” Neji said, stepping forward and made eye-contact with Sasuke. “You made me a promise.” Sasuke nodded and stood up. As he looked at Neji, he noticed that Neji had a red bruise on his cheek at the corner of his eye.

 

“I’ll go get Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto said.

 

“Good idea,” Sakura said.

 

“You look tired, Sasuke-kun,” Lee remarked.

 

“Late night,” Sasuke explained. “Let me get my notebook.” Once he had returned to the living room with a notebook and pen, he started reproducing the template he used to organize his experiments. He still needed to properly write up his report of what he and Kakashi had done last night, but it would have to wait. When he had finished, he looked up to see that Neji had activated his Byakugan. Sasuke couldn’t know for sure, but he had a pretty good guess as to what Neji was looking at.

 

“Shall we begin, or would you like more time to read my notes?” Sasuke asked, mouth pursed in irritation. Of course, Sasuke reasoned, Neji probably should be allowed to read Sasuke’s note, if only so he could understand how serious Sasuke was. Sasuke watched as the veins on Neji’s face receded.

 

“You can really do it, huh?” Neji said quietly.

 

Sasuke fervently hoped so.

 

“Do what?” Ino whispered to Sakura.

 

“Ino-Pig,” Sakura said. “Let’s go.”

 

“No,” Ino said. “You can trust me with this. Whatever it is, I can keep quiet about it. My mom and dad already explained what’s going on.”

 

“What did Ino’s parents know about anything?” Sasuke wondered in confusion. He turned to look at Kakashi and found that the rest of Team Seven had done the same.

 

“Team Gai already knows, as well as Team Eight, Karin-chan, the two Ame ninjas we rescued,” Sakura said. “Sasuke-kun made his promise in front of all of them. I guess it’s not much of a secret anymore or it won’t be for much longer.” Kakashi shook his head and sighed.

 

“Go ahead, Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi said, waving him on.

 

“I need to know how the juinjutsu works first,” Sasuke said, turning back to Neji. “Can you preform the technique?”

 

“What?” Neji asked, looking surprised.

 

“The Caged Bird Seal,” Sasuke clarified.

 

“No,” Neji said. “Only the Main Family ever performs it.”

 

“Can you find out?”

 

“Why?”

 

“Before I can remove your seal, I need to study it. I could approximate it, given enough information, but that would take more time. Using an approximation might lead to missing crucial information and developing a useless removal method, too, so it’s better to use the real juinjutsu. I’ll need test subjects, too.”

 

“Test subjects?” Neji asked warily.

 

“I generally work with fish,” Sasuke said. “But I’ve used rodents, too.”

 

“… Would chickens work?” Neji asked.

 

“I don’t see why not.”

 

“My clan owns a poultry farm. It’s run by Branch Family members, so we might be able to keep it secret from the Main Family, provided you don’t kill too many of the birds.”

 

Sasuke nodded again.

 

Fifteen minutes later, Neji was back and, this time, another Hyuuga was with him.

 

“This is my maternal aunt, Ikuyo-obasan,” Neji said.

 

“I can perform the Caged Bird Seal,” Ikuyo said, as grim-faced as her nephew. She wore her forehead protector on her hip and her hair was pulled away from her face, so nothing obscured the seal on her forehead, which was warped by a burn scar.

 

The group retreated to the guest room, where Ikuyo taught Sasuke how to perform the Caged Bird Seal. Sasuke then set to work recording the process in his notebook.

 

“What are you doing?” Neji asked.

 

“Deconstructing the Caged Bird Seal,” Sasuke said. “Isolating and identifying each element of the juinjutsu lets me know which types of countermeasures I need to work with. Then, I have to look up and test out which countermeasures work best and how to combine them into a single technique. Sometimes, a given pair of countermeasures work well together and sometimes they don’t. It’s situational and I don’t know all the rules yet.”

 

“That all seems very methodical,” Ikuyo said.

 

“It has to be. If I’m not meticulous, I can’t expect meaningful results,” Sasuke said. “You have to be able to figure out why you failed in order to learn from that failure.”

 

“Hm,” Ikuyo said. “Could you teach others your juinjutsu removal methods? How you craft your techniques?”

 

As Sasuke was about to answer in the affirmative, Kakashi spoke up.

 

“Sasuke-kun can’t take any students at this time,” Kakashi said. “It’s really not safe for it to get about that he can do this,” Kakashi said.

 

“No,” Ikuyo said. “No, I don’t suppose it is. I would still like to observe your methods during this process.”

 

Sasuke saw no problem with this and nodded to her.

 

“We should talk to Team Eight,” Sakura said worriedly. “Tell them to keep quiet about Sasuke-kun’s promise.”

 

“Hinata-sama’s team knows about this?” Ikuyou said sharply.

 

“She won’t say anything,” Neji said carelessly.

 

“She might to win her father’s favor,” Ikuyou said. “It was very foolish of you to allow a member of the Main Family to overhear such a thing, Sasuke-kun.”

 

She was right and Sasuke knew it. When he said it, he hadn’t been planning to stay in Konoha long enough for the Hyuuga to make problems for him, but he really shouldn’t have taken that risk anyway. A shamed blush grew over his cheeks and he dropped his eyes back to his notebook.

 

“Let’s go talk to Team Eight, the Ame guys, and Karin-chan,” Naruto said. “I’m sure they’ll understand if we explain it.”

 

“I’ll go with you,” Sakura said.

 

“What a mess. Ask if they’ve already told Kurenai-chan or anyone else,” Kakashi instructed.

 

“Will do,” Naruto said.

 

“I’ll come, too!” Lee said.

 

“I’ll stay,” Ino said. “I want to see how Sasuke-kun does this.”

 

“I’m interested to learn that, too,” Tenten said.

 

“It won’t be finished tonight,” Sasuke warned them.

 

“That’s okay,” Ino said, taking a seat beside him to read his notes. “It just means we get to spend even more time together!” Sasuke resisted the urge to outwardly cringe.

 

“Have you got this, Sasuke-kun?” Kakashi asked.

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“Then Gai-kun and I are going to talk the back porch,” Kakashi said. He pointed a finger at Sasuke. “Don’t cause any more problems.”

 

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the patronizing instruction. It wasn’t as if he caused trouble on purpose. He was just trying to help people! When everyone had left, except for Ikuyou, Neji, Tenten, and Ino, Sasuke began taking questions and explaining in greater detail how he planned to unravel the puzzle of the Caged Brid Seal and his methodology for producing a solution.

 

“I’ll need to look through my library to find similar juinjutsu first,” Sasuke said.

 

“Why?” Ikuyou asked. “I thought you would be able to undo the Caged Bird Seal once you knew how it was created.”

 

“That’s just the first step. I still don’t understand how the Caged Bird Seal works entirely. I understand how it causes pain and how it kills,” Sasuke sketched out the portions of the formula that corresponded to those actions, “but I need to learn how it responds selectively.”

 

“Selectively?” Ino repeated.

 

“It isn’t keyed to respond to just one person. More than one person can activate thi seal, but only if they are Main Family members. Why? Why can’t you or I cause it to react? How does the seal’s design prevent a non-Main Family member from activating it?” Sasuke said. “Is there a meaningful difference between Main Family members and everyone else? If only other Hyuuga can activate it, why can’t Branch Family members do so? I need to know why.”

 

“I don’t know how it discriminates,” Ikuyou said, shaking her head.

 

“I can help you with that, Sasuke-kun,” Ino said. “I just need to find other fuinjutsu that have that one quality, right? The ability to be active by more than one person, but not by everyone. I can do that.”

 

“Me, too,” Tenten said. “I’ll look in Konoha’s archives. I don’t know much about juinjutsu, but I’m pretty familiar with some types of fuinjutsu, because I use them all the time.”

 

“I’ll look in the Yamanaka Archives,” Ino said.

 

“We’re looking for something that is drawn like this, or that has the same or a similar function, or that produces a mark that has this motif,” Sasuke said, creating a note for each person of what they would need to keep an eye out for.

 

“I’ll look into it, too,” Neji said.

 

“We’ll all find as many examples as we can,” Ikuyou said.

 

-

 

“Oh, well,” Kakashi said as he sat cross-legged on the porch and slouched forward. “We’ll just have to deal with whatever happens.” He thought gloomily of the Hyuuga Main Family, of the Hokage, Danzou, and the Konoha Council, and of the Hyuuga’s allied clans. He thought of the coup. They were about to piss off a lot of dangerous people.

 

“Neji-kun has been distracted since the second phase of the exam ended yesterday,” Gai said, sitting ramrod straight. “He could barely focus on his training today, to the point that he actually lost in a match to Lee. That is the first time that’s ever happened. Afterwards, Neji-kun was so subdued and vacant that Lee-kun couldn’t even savor his victory.”

 

Kakashi smiled ruefully. Yeah, learning that there might be a way to remove the Caged Bird Seal must be pretty distracting, if you’ve lived with it for so long. Plus, Neji now had to plan for whatever fallout would result from such an emancipation. The boy had a lot to think about.

 

“Neji-kun is a deeply wounded child. Because of the lies and abuse of the Main Family, he had entirely given up hope of ever being more than a Branch Family member, of ever being his own person who was able to define his own destiny, to live and die for the causes he found most worthy. He couldn’t achieve a better future because the Main Family had stolen his ability to even imagine such a thing. Sasuke-kun’s promise to remove that mark is no small thing for Neji-kun. Kakashi-kun, I need to know: can Sasuke-kun really do it?”

 

“Without a doubt,” Kakashi said. “Sasuke has found a method that makes it possible to remove them. Just last night, we worked through the night and created a way to remove Orochimaru’s Curse Seal of Heaven. I used the technique formula we developed to remove Anko’s curse mark just this morning.”

 

As Kakashi watched, Gai began vibrating in excitement, a fire began burning in his eyes, and a determined smile spread across his face.

 

“Yooooosh! The time has come for Neji-kun to rise like an arrow shot from a bow! Like a firework launched into the night sky! Like a volcano rising from the sea!” Gai proclaimed, punctuating each sentence with a punch. “Once the poisonous mindset of the Main Branch is cast off, he can begin to grow as a young man and as a ninja, developing his own philosophy of what it means to be part of this world, free of the shackles have bound him! No longer will he be subservient in body and mind to the will of others, but his mind will be opened to the possibilities his inner youth will present to him and his future will unfold before him!”

 

Then, Gai gave a great, joyful, guffawing laugh and Kakashi found himself smiling along. Whatever happened, they would deal with it, because this was worth doing, all of it was worth doing, and they would do it together, standing back-to-back.

 

“Hey, Gai-kun,” Kakashi said. “I need to tell you something. Stick around, will you?” Gai raised an inquisitive brow, before giving Kakashi a toothy grin, a big wink, and a thumbs up.

 

“Will do, rival!” Gai said.

 

-

 

Inoichi returned to the house late that night, after the kids had all gone to bed.

 

“How did it go?” Tenzou asked, concern clear in every inch of his face.

 

“No one died,” Inoichi said. Every mission without casualties was a success, in Kakashi’s book, but he still had questions.

 

“And Danzou’s response?” Kakashi asked.

 

“He wasn’t pleased,” Inoichi said. “What’s up, Kakashi-kun?”

 

“Oh, I’m bringing these two in on this,” Kakashi said. “I’d prefer to talk in your office.”

 

“I won’t disrespect you by asking if you’re sure,” Inoichi said, looking seriously at Kakashi.

 

“Good,” Kakashi said, with Gai and Tenzou at his back.

 

“Alright then,” Inoichi said. “Please, follow me to the study.”

 

In a mild tone of voice, Inoichi explained what had been discovered during Orochimaru’s interrogation, the conclusions they had drawn, and what they had decided to do about it. Then, he talked about the raid on Danzou’s prison.

 

“In the raid, we took Danzou-san and two other adults, Shigaraki Tanuki and Tsumiki Kido, into custody and we rescued thirteen children from captivity.”

 

Kakashi was shocked. He hadn’t expected Danzou to personally be swept up in the raid. Arresting a clan head was a big deal. Arresting a clan head, who was also the Hokage’s second-in-command, was something else. Kakashi had expected that there would be consequences for Danzou, but not actual imprisonment.

 

“You actually got Danzou?” Kakashi asked, hope rising.

 

“We arrested him, but the Hokage insisted on his release once he was informed of what had transpired, despite the reveal of the modifications to Danzou-san’s arm and face.”

 

Kakashi despaired of the Hokage’s failure. How could he allow Danzou to go free with a basement full of children and an arm full of eyes staring him in the face? Kakashi saw Tenzou bow his head.

 

“The children have all been taken to the hospital for evaluation and observation. T&I are interviewing them, in so far as they can, with that juinjutsu of Danzou’s on their tongues, while others are investigating the prison, the decommissioned Root base, to collect evidence of Danzou’s crimes. The oldest victim is fourteen,” Inoichi said. “The youngest is ten.”

 

“Was the Yamanaka boy among those recovered?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Yes, thankfully,” Inoichi said, sighing in relief. “Fuu-kun lives. There is some evidence, however, that… Many more children were held in the past than we found this afternoon. We can’t be sure of the exact number yet, nor of what happened to those currently missing. Every effort will need to be made to discover the missing children’s whereabout in coming days. The goal of the mission is still rescue, not recovery.”

 

Kakashi thought about how Sasuke had said that Danzou had made the children kill each other and reflected that, even if Sasuke had never said anything, it still would have been obvious that the kids who were still unaccounted for were already dead. Danzou wouldn’t just let them go. Kakashi knew that and, from the look on Inoichi’s face, so did he. Instead of looking for an orphanage, they would be better served looking for a mass grave.

 

“Maybe they’re out on missions,” Tenzou said, with tragic optimism. “It’s too soon to give up on them.”

 

“Of course,” Inoichi said politely.

 

Gai took the news as stoically as he could, but Kakashi could see that all of these revelations were tearing him up inside.

 

“Count me in,” Gai said.

 

“And me, as well,” Tenzou said, raising his head. Kakashi had expected that Tenzou would take some convincing to gain his cooperation. When Kakashi expressed this, Tenzou gave a dark smile.

 

“You forget, Kakashi-sempai, that I was there that night, too,” Tenzou said softly. “I pulled body after body out of the Uchiha Quarter all night and I was the one who caught Sasuke-kun when he tried to throw himself off the roof of the hospital. If the Hokage had any part in that nightmare, then he is unfit to be the Hokage. He is unworthy of the title. For the sake of Konoha, he will be removed.” Tenzou rolled his shoulders. “And you know I how I feel about Danzou.”

 

Kakashi almost told Tenzou about the connection between Danzou and Orochimaru’s Wood Release experiment, but Inoichi beat him to it.

 

“About Orochimaru’s experiment that gave you the Wood Release ability, we now think that Konoha may have been the source of its funding,” Inoichi said gravely.

 

Tenzou looked stunned.

 

“We don’t know for sure, but the cost of such a thing would have been well beyond Orochimaru’s means and he is not known to have been affiliated with any other organization that could have afforded such a thing. The estimated cost to outfit such a lab is so large that, if the funds did come from Konoha’s coffers, then it seems unlikely that it could have been funded without the Hokage’s direct approval,” Inoichi said. “It’s early days yet, but we will investigate the matter as thoroughly as we can.”

 

Tenzou laughed disbelievingly and Kakashi’s heart twisted in his chest.

 

“… Please, keep me abreast of your findings,” Tenzou said.

 

“Of course,” Inoichi said.

 

Silence fell in the study.

 

“Sasuke-kun, with the aid of Tenten-chan, Neji-kun, his maternal aunt, and Ino-chan, has undertaken the task of developing a technique to remove the Caged Bird Seal,” Gai said.

 

“So, Sasuke-kun is the source of the fuinjutsu removal techniques. Well, we were already expecting to contend with the Hyuuga’s disapproval at the mere possibility of such an occurrence, but…” Inoichi said, frowning. “They will see this less as a provocation and more as an attack. The entire Branch Family will need to have their curse marks removed before the Main Family decides to punish them for trying to escape.”

 

“Will they?” Tenzou murmured absently, looking at the floor.

 

“We can’t take the risk that they would rather kill the Branch Family than allow them to go free,” Inoichi said.

 

“The Branch Family outnumbers the Main Family,” Tenzou protested.

 

“All the more reason to kill them before they can seek retribution. Right now, even the weakest of the Main Family members can kill any of the Branch Family members with a single hand seal,” Inoichi said. “From now until they are all free of the Caged Bird Seal, they will be in grave danger. Until the Caged Bird Seal removal technique is developed, we must do all we can to prevent word from leaking to the Main Family. Hopefully, it’s not already too late.”

 

Gai’s hands clenched on his knees.

 

When Kakashi returned to the guest room that night, he found Sasuke and Naruto already asleep, although Sasuke woke up briefly when Kakashi entered the room. Kakashi sat down on his bedding in the moonlight and thought. Would they be safe? Would they all make it through this? They had landed the first blow against Danzou, but it hadn’t been enough to take him out, at least not yet. Now, Danzou would be moving against them. Could Kakashi keep everyone safe? He summoned his dogs and ordered them to guard the house. Despite being in the Yamanaka Compound and having his dogs on sentry duty, Kakashi’s sleep that night was fitful.

 

-

 

The next morning, Inoichi, with Kakashi present, broke the news to Sasuke about the Sharingans that Danzou had been found in possession of.

 

“Yesterday, in the process of rescuing several kidnapped children, three suspected perpetrators were taken into custody, including Shimura Danzou. During his arrest, it was revealed that Danzou-san has several Sharingan implanted in his body, one in his left eye socket and nine in his left arm. Unfortunately, his release was ordered by the Hokage last night and he was not cooperative with questioning.”

 

Sasuke simply blinked at Inoichi.

 

“You don’t seem surprised,” Inoichi remarked, glancing at Kakashi. Rather than respond immediately, Sasuke looked down at his cup of tea and took a sip.

 

“Thank you for informing me, Inoichi-san,” Sasuke said.

 

“Did you know about this already?” Inoichi asked. “Did Kakashi-kun tell you last night?”

 

“… Do you need something more from me, Inoichi-san?” Sasuke asked.

 

Inoichi looked wrongfooted at this cold response.

 

“Don’t be disrespectful to our host,” Kakashi scolded.

 

“It’s fine, Kakashi-kun,” Inoichi said. “It’s hardly the easiest news to take.”

 

“Apologies, Inoichi-san,” Sasuke said, bowing slightly.

 

“Once again, I am very sorry that this has been done to your clan. We will continue to press for Danzou-san to be held accountable for his doujutsu theft and for an investigation to be conducted into how he obtained those eyes,” Inoichi said. Sasuke pensively poured himself another cup of tea.

 

“Why did you provoke Danzou?” Sasuke asked stiffly, without looking at Inoichi.

 

“Because he was holding children captive,” Inoichi said, as if this should be obvious. Sasuke glanced up at Inoichi, before looking back down at his cup of tea. Kakashi thought that statement was pretty rich coming from a man who had handed Danzou one of those very children. At last, Sasuke spoke again.

 

“Do you have any reason to believe that he won’t retaliate against you for this?”

 

“No, we expect quite the opposite, actually. None the less, it needed to be done.” Sasuke frowned, before looking into Inoichi’s eyes.

 

“You should take care,” Sasuke remarked, pointing at his own right eye. “The Sharingan he implanted in his face, its special ability is called, ‘Kotoamatsukami.’ It brainwashes the target and doesn’t require eye contact, so he can use it without removing the bandages.”

 

Kakashi didn’t even try to mask his shock. What a terrifying ability and for someone like Danzou to have been in possession of it all this time. This Kotoamatsukami sounded like exactly the kind of skill he would covet, the grasper. How many people had he used it on in the last five or six years? Kakashi’s face fell. They’d never know for sure, would they? Was that how he gained the compliance of the children he dragooned into Root?

 

“How do you know that?” Inoichi asked in surprise. “Did you know the person whose eye it was?”

 

“It was one of Shisui-nii-san’s eyes.”

 

“How long have you known that Danzou-san had it?” His face became pitying as he looked at Sasuke. “Oh, Sasuke-kun…”

 

“The target won’t even know that their mind has been changed, unless the user wants them to,” Sasuke continued stiffly. “Because Danzou isn’t an Uchiha, he won’t be able to use it often, even with that graft of the First Hokage’s tissue. Perhaps only once a day or once every few hours. Furthermore, because it is a Mangekyou Sharingan, it enables its possessor to rewrite reality and evade death at the cost of blindness in one Sharingan, through the use of the Izanagi technique.”

 

Inoichi’s face spasmed.

 

“Also, he is skilled with juinjutsu. He may be using the Reverse Four Symbols Seal, which destroys everything caught within the seal’s wide area-of-effect when activated. It may be placed upon the user’s body and rigged to activate upon their death, but can be escaped with sufficient speed. He also has the ability to use the Self-Cursing Seal, which is applied through touch and allows the caster to remotely paralyze the victim, but can be overcome with sufficient release of chakra.

 

“Also, he can summon a baku, which uses Wind Release Attacks, and he is skillful with use of Wind Release techniques himself, including Vacuum Blade, Vacuum Sphere, Vacuum Wave, and their derivatives.”

 

“I see,” Inoichi said faintly. “How do you know all this?”

 

“I’m a ninja,” Sasuke said vaguely. Kakashi clenched his teeth as he resisted the urge to outwardly react. What a thing to say and to a much more senior ninja at that. Kakashi understood that Sasuke couldn’t come right out and admit that he was a seer, but he really should have chosen a better response. This boy…

 

“… I see. Thank you for telling me this, Sasuke-kun. Excuse me, I need to go.” His quick exit of the room and the house, left Kakashi and Sasuke alone right outside Inoichi’s study. As Kakashi processed what he’d learned from Sasuke, a question occurred to him.

 

“Has he used it on the Hokage?” Kakashi asked. Sasuke shrugged. Presumably, that meant he didn’t know, which was a shame, because there might not be another way to know. “Sasuke-kun, is there anything else I need to know?” Sasuke stared at the hall wall for a minute.

 

“I guess I should tell you all more about Sai-kun,” Sasuke said distantly.

 

Kakashi’s brow furrowed. That statement boded ill.

 

-

 

“The nameless boy in Tenzou-sensei’s care would have joined Team Seven to replace me,” Sasuke said cooly.

 

“What?! Why would you need replacing?” Sakura asked worriedly.

 

“That’s ridiculous! Nobody can replace you!” Naruto said.

 

“Ah, that’s right. You did say that you deserted earlier than what you foresaw happening,” Kakashi said. “So, that boy would have been Danzou’s plant. But why? What made him decide to keep such a close eye on Team Seven?”

 

“You were looking for me. Danzou used Team Seven’s mission at the time to have Sai-kun make contact with Orochimaru and try to kill me.”

 

“Sai-kun?” Naruto repeated.

 

“The nameless boy. ‘Sai’ would have been his codename during that mission,” Sasuke explained.

 

“He wanted to kill you? Was it because you had become a missing-nin? But why? Konoha doesn’t actively hunt its missing-nin, unless they pose a threat to Konoha. You had joined Orochimaru. Were you part of some plot by him to attack Konoha?” Kakashi asked.

 

Sasuke shook his head.

 

“No, but Danzou’s goal is to exterminate the Uchiha. He won’t be satisfied until we’re all dead.”

 

Kakashi almost recoiled at the thought. Danzou wanted to kill the Uchiha, wanted to kill Sasuke, and that man was walking free right now. Kakashi saw Naruto lean into Sasuke’s side.

 

“Is Danzou why your family died? Was he behind it?” Naruto asked angrily, looking prepared to go out and pick a fight with Danzou right that instant.

 

“… Does it matter?” Sasuke asked stonily, sitting up straighter. His expression was stormy.

 

“What?! How could you ask that? Of course it matters, you idiot!” Naruto said sharply. “Your enemies are our enemies! We’ll protect you, no matter who we have to fight!” Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other.

 

“… I can’t imagine that I would ever protect the people who killed your family, especially if they were trying to kill you,” Sakura said, shaking her head. “I can’t even imagine that. Why would I do a thing like that? Why would I betray you? I… care about you, Sasuke-kun.”

 

Sasuke’s jaw tensed.

 

“You said you were protecting the Uchiha’s reputation,” Sasuke said, spitting out the last word like it was something foul on his tongue. “They said the Uchiha were traitors planning a coup, so, if it came out, all of Konoha would hate me. And you believed it. You accepted that some of the Uchiha were traitors, so the cover up of the murder of all of us was the right thing to do. As if joining the conspiracy to cover up the murder of my clan could ever be what was best for me.

 

“But you didn’t care about our lives. No one else cared. No one else wanted justice for my clan. It was like we didn’t matter to anyone. I was the only person who ever tried to hold anyone accountable… But it was useless. I was useless.” Kakashi saw Sasuke’s lip quiver for the briefest moment, before his expression became one of blackest anger.

 

“No one else cares. No one else is going to help. No one. Given the chance, you all chose to turn your backs on me and my family.” Sasuke looked up from the floor to Sakura. “Danzou killed my family. The Konoha Council killed my family. Itachi and Tobi of Akatsuki killed my family. Sarutobi Hiruzen killed my family. What are you going to do about it?”

 

“Whatever it takes,” Kakashi said instantly, surprising himself. Yes, technically he was part of a coup against the Hokage, but it felt unnatural to openly side against the Hokage. He still wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea, it seemed. “But… Were the Uchiha really planning a coup?” Kakashi recalled being sent out by the Hokage that ill-fated night to stop a coup, only to discover the aftermath of the Uchiha Massacre.

 

“I couldn’t care less,” Sasuke said sharply. “Even if some of them were, you don’t kill babies to stop a coup.”

 

Kakashi wanted to protest that it could be possible and he hurriedly tried to imagine a scenario where killing a baby would actually prevent a coup, where the government of Konoha would have been in the right, where the Hokage would have been in the right. Maybe the baby was a figurehead at the center of a coup. Maybe the baby would grow up to do a coup. Maybe the baby had some magic that induced the people around it to do a coup. Kakashi’s brow creased as he realized that every scenario he imagined seemed more outlandish than the last. Then, he realized why he was even looking for such a rebuttal in the first place: if the Hokage had a morally justifiable reason to kill the Uchiha, all of the Uchiha, then Kakashi wouldn’t have to deal with the fact that, for the last five years, he had been taking orders from the man who was ultimately responsible for the Uchiha Massacre.

 

Kakashi had helped collect the bodies from the Uchiha Compound that night. There had been more than a few dead babies. He recalled a little girl, who must have been about four or five, who had hidden in a closet and been stabbed through the door with a sword. The wound hadn’t killed her instantly. Instead, the blood trail indicated that she had dragged herself out of the closet and towards the room’s exit before she died. Her mother’s body would have been out of reach, but within her line of sight, when she finally perished. Kakashi wondered if she had died crying out for a mother who was already dead or dying. There was no justifying something like that.

 

The Hokage was a traitor. Like Tenzou had said, Sarutobi Hiruzen was unfit and unworthy to be the Hokage. Furthermore, Konoha had betrayed the Uchiha and Kakashi was part of Konoha. Shame and horror burned in his mind.

 

“No,” Kakashi said softly. “You don’t kill babies to stop a coup.”

 

“I’ll support you, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura said. “If you want to get revenge on the people who killed your family, I’ll help you.” From the frightened, but determined, look on Sakura’s face, Kakashi thought that she really meant it. Sasuke’s expression changed from challenging to dispirited.

 

“I don’t need revenge,” Sasuke said tensely. “I need to escape. I have to protect what remains of the Uchiha. Konoha, Akatsuki, Orochimaru… We have too many enemies. I can’t kill them all. And I can’t risk my family; their safety is the only thing that matters.”

 

Kakashi chaffed at the notion of Konoha being Sasuke’s enemy, but he couldn’t exactly refute the statement. Not yet, anyway. He considered telling Sasuke about the discussion he’d had with Inoichi and the others about the Uchiha Massacre and about the planned coup being led by the Nara, the Yamanaka, and the Akimichi, but he decided to bite his tongue. Mission details couldn’t be shared so freely, even if it would help Sasuke understand that there really were people in Konoha who cared. The effort to remove the Third Hokage from power was too risky for children to be told about it. Sasuke would understand eventually, after everything came out.

 

“You don’t really believe all of that,” Kakashi said. “If you did, then you wouldn’t have tried to help Inoichi-san protect his clan by telling him about Danzou. You know Inoichi-san recognized that Danzou’s doujutsu theft was wrong and he’s not the only one who thinks so. We care too, Sasuke-kun. Your family were our friends and neighbors and you are our precious teammate. So, don’t run away again. You’ll be safer with us. We’ll protect you and your family.” Sasuke looked about to argue, when Naruto interjected.

 

“But it can’t be true, can it?” Naruto said suddenly. “He wouldn’t do something like that. The old man, he just wouldn’t do something like that. He’s nice. He’s always been nice to me. How do you know he did it?”

 

“You want proof? Even now, Itachi is working undercover in Akatsuki and he takes orders from the Hokage,” Sasuke said, drawing away from Naruto. So that was who Itachi was sending his reports to, Kakashi thought.

 

“That’s not proof!” Naruto said. “Maybe he’s working for the Hokage now, but he didn’t necessarily attack the Uchiha on the old man’s orders!”

 

“No, Itachi did it on Danzou’s orders, but the Hokage knew Danzou and the Council were planning to exterminate us. They told him,” Sasuke said sharply. Kakashi reeled in horror at this confirmation of the Hokage’s treachery. “And then, the Hokage covered up the truth after the fact.” Sasuke looked like he wanted to punch Naruto, which wouldn’t go over well. It was time to intervene; this wasn’t the kind of conversation that should be held at shouting volume.

 

“Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said softly. “There is no good reason for the Hokage to be in communication with Itachi. The Hokage is in the wrong.”

 

“But he’s a nice person!” Naruto said. “He wouldn’t do anything bad! He’s the Hokage! That means he’s Konoha’s hero! His job is to protect us!”

 

“That doesn’t prove that he couldn’t have done it,” Kakashi said. “And, if he did it, that only makes what he did worse.”

 

“But what if he didn’t do anything! It sounds like it was all this Danzou guy’s fault! Danzou and the Council! It was them, not the old man! Danzou’s the one who kidnaps kids and makes them kill each other! The Hokage’s not like that!”

 

Kakashi wished that were true.

 

“The Hokage gave Danzou the power to kidnap and kill those kids. He gave Danzou the power to murder the Uchiha. He gave Danzou the power to do many terrible things, some of which we will never know about, because they were done in secret, and, once he learned what Danzou did with that power, he never took that power away from him, even though he pretended to. The Hoakge gave Orochimaru the power to experiment on living people, too. Over and over again, the Hokage has given evil people the power to hurt others… And, yet, his hands are always kept clean. He is never directly responsible. There is always someone else to blame, even though he is the Hokage, and, so, is ultimately responsible for what his administration does, for the people that it hurts,” Kakashi said.

 

“You’re right, Naruto-kun. The Third is a nice man, but he engages others to do evil things for him. That’s not very nice, is it?”

 

Naruto looked devastated.

 

-

 

Immediately, news of Danzou’s grotesque modifications spread through the village, carried in the night to the heads of each major clan by ninjas of good repute who had seen Danzou’s ghoulish body parts firsthand. Kakashi was told by Inoichi that the descriptions of the First Hokage’s face on Danzou’s shoulder were the most provocative part of the story, causing more than one person who heard of it to shudder and sneer in disgust. The idea of Danzou desecrating the body of a Hokage until it was unrecognizable, of carving the face off of this great man who gave his life for Konoha, who was the founder of Konoha, was offensive to the people of Konoha in the extreme. Kakashi knew that Orochimaru was probably the one who actually dissected that corpse, but Danzou’s connection to Orochimaru wasn’t public knowledge yet, so he only pointed this out to Gai and Tenzou. They felt it wasn’t exculpatory; Danzou was the one wearing a dead man’s stolen face, after all.

 

Overnight, the Shimura Clan had become pariahs, a state of affairs that only intensified as the week wore on and everyone who wasn’t a Shimura became informed of what response the community expected of them. Shops wouldn’t sell to them, business partners cut them out, parents wouldn’t let their children play together, banks collected on their loans, their fellow ninjas refused to take missions with them, graffiti appeared on their walls, and insults were hurled at them in the streets.

 

Kakashi took no pleasure in hearing about such things; they only made him think of his own father’s ostracism. He tried to focus instead on training Naruto and Sakura, while Sasuke was cloistered away to work on the anti-Caged Bird Seal technique.

 

A day after Danzou’s perfidy had been revealed, the Hokage made a public appeal for unity and understanding.

 

“We are one village,” he said, looking like a disappointed parent who was deeply saddened by his quarreling children. Kakashi agreed, but he wondered where that willingness to speak out publicly was when everyone had decided to treat Naruto like he was the same as the monster that had been imprisoned inside of him or when Kakashi’s own father had been ostracized.

 

By the end of the week, a great many things had happened. Tsunade had left Konoha, all of rescued children without a clan were placed in the local orphanage, except for the still-nameless boy that Tenzou had become attached to, Team Seven had spent one restful night in Shinku no Machi with Sakura’s parents and Sasuke’s adopted siblings (whom, when they saw each other again, Sasuke had embraced with a reverence that was hard to watch), two assassination attempts on Inoichi had been foiled (the later of the two had resulted in the would-be assassin being captured and publicly revealed as a Shimura agent, ratcheting up public sentiment against them), the mass grave of the children Danzou had killed had been located, the Hyuuga had finally joined in publicly denouncing Danzou and calling for his arrest, generally accepted word on the street had become that Danzou had orchestrated the Uchiha Massacre to steal their eyes…

 

… And, some even whispered, so had the Third Hokage.

 

In private gatherings and public establishments, among civilians and ninjas, more and more, people said, “Why else would he refuse to arrest him? It stands to reason. They must have been in on it together!” There were so many rumors on the topic, some quite salacious, and all of them completely unsubstantiated, because the organizers of the coup were playing their cards very close to the vest when they weren’t laying down a winning hand.

 

Danzou was arrested in the early hours the day of the Preliminaries.

 

“Took him long enough,” Kakashi thought, as a runner informed the household of the development over breakfast that morning. It was good news, but, in light of the abilities Danzou was revealed to have, Kakashi couldn’t trust that the cunning old ghoul had really been stripped of power. Who knew what he might be getting up to, even in a jail cell?

 

-

 

As everyone waited in the arena the preliminaries would be held in, Sasuke thought about the Shimura man whom Danzou had sent to kill Inoichi. What a stupid thing to do. Danzou must have gotten so used to being able to operate with impunity that he hadn’t realized that there were any limits. Being caught trying to kill a fellow clan head was dangerous. Sure, the Shimura man may have said he was acting alone and not under anyone’s orders, but no one believed it, even though the Hokage had officially accepted the statement as true. It was all so sloppy. Those arrogant old fools and the arrogant young fools who followed their orders.

 

Sasuke noticed that Asuma looked disgruntled as he stood with the other jounin-senseis. Sasuke wondered how this week had gone for him. Ino had said that things were getting ugly for the Sarutobi. Apparently, there was conflict internally on the clan’s official response to the Danzou situation and the rest of the village was treating them as guilty by association, because they had refused to join the effort to ostracize the Shimura. Perhaps things would let up for everyone, now that Danzou had been arrested. Sasuke found he didn’t really care one way or the other and wondered if, morally, he should.

 

“Alright, everyone! Listen up!” Anko shouted over the quiet conversation of the assembled genin arrayed in the center of the arena. “Congratulations on passing the Second Phase of the Chuunin Exams! Twenty-seven teams entered the second stage and twelve teams passed! Hokage-sama will now explain the third test!”

 

Anko stepped aside to allow the Hokage to go on an unnecessarily longwinded explanation of the preliminary matches. In an effort to avoid boredom, Sasuke tapped the side of his head to induce a genjutsu of Woodkid’s “Goliath” playing quietly. It wasn’t so loud that he couldn’t hear anything that was said, but it gave him something other than the speech to focus on. He watched the Hokage’s mouth move and gave the back of Kiba’s head a flat look when the boy decided that now was the perfect time to have a dialogue with the Hokage about the unfairness of risking their lives for a stupid test or something.

 

Why was Kiba acting like this was the first he’d ever heard of the Chuunin Exams being unjustifiably dangerous? Had he not grown up in a ninja village? People died in these tests and everyone knew it. Sasuke had lost a distant cousin to it years ago. She’d gone away to some foreign ninja village with her team and never come back. These exams had child soldiers killing each other in mock battle: it wasn’t subtle or secret. Sasuke didn’t have any friends, at least until recently, and even he knew that it was ninety-percent posturing both for nobles, as prospective clients, and for foreign ninjas, as prospective enemy combatants. You go hard to show how hard you can go.

 

Of course, this was braindead, because it gave your rivals the chance to kill off your most promising youngsters. Logically, you might kill foreign kids in the present so you don’t have to compete with foreign adults for contracts in the future. And kids would always be easier to kill than adults. If you wanted to kill Kakashi, for instance, your best shot was when he was a kid. Even if you didn’t know he was going to be a Kage-level powerhouse when he grew up, you should still take the chance to kill him, so he couldn’t pose any threat in the future. Morality, or honor, or the ability to see how it would escalate might stay your hand, but Sasuke had a hard time believing that the minds behind the murderous graduation exam of the Bloody Mist would balk at such an opportunity.

 

It wouldn’t even be that hard, either. It didn’t take a genius intellect to think of joining up with other teams to gain an advantage or sending in jounin-level genin to outclass everyone else. Team Seven couldn’t have been the first use basic tactics in the exam. How would genin even defend against that? They couldn’t. Look at what happened to Team Baki. They got folded like laundry, despite having a jinchuuriki.

 

And wasn’t that tempting fate? Having all three of the Kazekage’s children in one place, without any adult supervision, in a dark forest where murder was temporarily legal, was a staggeringly bad idea. If the Purge started up, what would the Kazekage do about it? Some adversary of Suna could have killed or kidnapped them all and no one would be the wiser…

 

And that’s kind of what happened, wasn’t it? The Sand genin weren’t even the only ones Sasuke had taken. And nobody had even made sure that Sasuke had released them all, because he hadn’t. He still had both of Kin Tsuchi’s teammates trapped in enclosure tags. How many times had such kidnappings happened in the past? It was a good thing that Sasuke’s future children were never going to participate in Chuunin Exams. Just thinking about the possibility made his stomach ache.

 

What if the bodies of the Kazekage’s children had simply never been recovered, because Sasuke had just never let them go? Suna would have lost its jinchuuriki and the Kazekage would have lost all of his immediate family in one fell swoop. His family would be gone and he wouldn’t even know what had happened to them. What a fucking nightmare. Second-hand anxiety prickled up Sasuke’s spine as, in the background, the Hokage stopped chatting with Kiba and the proctor stepped up.

 

“Hello, everyone,” the proctor said. “I’m Hayate.”

 

“Hayate! That’s what his name was,” Sasuke thought and then went right back to his own thoughts.

 

Sasuke wished he could go check on his family, even if only briefly. They were fine. Of course they were fine. They were safer with the rodents than they would be anywhere in Konoha… And yet, having them out of his sight made his hands ache and his jaw tense. He took a breath and told himself they were fine, until he almost believed it. Then, he forced himself to set aside his paranoia and think of other things.

 

Sasuke wondered what his family was doing right now. Was the day warm enough for swimming yet, or would they wait until later? Instead of swimming, where they touring the rodents’ town, taking in the sights, maybe visiting the library with its books of all sizes or having breakfast at one of the town’s restaurants? Would they have liked to watch the preliminary matches? Since he had let himself be coaxed into using his Sharingan publicly by Kakashi, should he record the matches, so he could relay the details later? The thought of the Hokage, who would be watching the matches, looking at Sasuke’s Sharingan made his skin crawl, but, he had to admit… Objectively speaking, logically speaking, completely realistically speaking, Sasuke wasn’t in danger of having his eyes plucked out by Konoha. At least, not yet. He just hated the thought of the rest of Konoha seeing his eyes… Because he was afraid of being attacked for them. He imagined Danzou’s rapacious, invasive, brutal fingers inserting themselves violently under the eyelids of his parents’ corpses to extract their eyes.

 

The rest of the kids started whining at something Hayate said, drawing Sasuke out of his thoughts. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding and examined Hayate. The gloomy proctor looked absolutely exhausted, but Sasuke had the impression that Hayate naturally had dark shadows under his eyes, too. Hayate coughed and Sasuke made a mental note not to stand too close to him. It might be benign, but it might be tuberculosis. Tuberculosis was an endemic disease in Fire, although it seemed, to Sasuke’s untutored eye, to primarily be a disease of the poor. He wondered if Hayate belonged to a lower-class clan or if he was an orphan without family. Konoha had a lot of those.

 

Hayate countered the whining by telling everyone that they might have had it too easy with the previous two sections of the exam. Sasuke was offended by this. As if taking an Orochimaru directly to the face was a handicap, some great stroke of luck to be thankful for. What a thing to say when a teen had been murdered in that “easy” test and others had been hospitalized. Sasuke himself had suffered a serious head injury, too. What an asshole.

 

Sasuke stood there, getting more tense by the minute, glowering at Hayate and wishing that the whole damned exam was over already. How much more exposition did this tournament arc really need?

 

When Hayate asked if anyone felt like quitting for any reason, Naruto piped up.

 

“We’re all here because we earned it! You can’t say we don’t deserve to be here after what we went through! I’m not going to give up! I’m going to make it to the end!” Naruto shouted.

 

Nobody quit.

 

“Should it be called, ‘Talk-no-Jutsu’ or ‘Cheerleader-no-Jutsu?’ Maybe they’re two separate skills. Maybe it’s just charisma,” Sasuke thought. He looked at Naruto, a boy whom he had watched pick his nose and eat the excavated booger a couple days ago. It felt wrong to put “Charisma” and “Naruto” in the same sentence. Of course, everyone had to grow up eventually… Presumably.

 

Next, Hayate explained that the preliminaries would consist of one-on-one bouts until they had ten or fewer finalists. Considering there were twelve teams, totaling thirty-six genin, that would mean that more than a few people would have to fight twice.

 

“Let’s see, starting with thirty-six entrants, after the first spate of bouts, there will be eighteen survivors, so they might just pair us all off one more time and arrive at nine genin,” Sasuke thought. “But they might truly be aiming for ten, so two people would only need to fight once.” He had no expectation that he would be lucky enough to be one of those two.

 

Hayate directed everyone’s attention to the electronic billboard where the identities of the first contestants would be revealed. The room waited with bated breath. Even Sasuke was curious to see who would be fighting. With so many more fighters present than there had been in the story and with so many of the original fighters from the story being absent, Sasuke couldn’t guess who would be paired with whom.

 

Sasuke’s eye’s widened as saw his name, along with the name “Kajuen Shigeri,” light up on the billboard. He hadn’t expected to be called first and tried to quell the automatic surge of nerves at this development. He stepped to the front of the crowd, not bothering to turn around, but giving a wave to his teammates as they both encouraged him to do his best. Sasuke didn’t recognize the other name on the board, but he recognized the face. The boy as one of Karin’s teammates. Hadn’t she described them as incompetent rich kids?

 

“Will everyone else go up to the viewing platform?” Hayate said to the room.

 

After the others left the ring, Sasuke bowed to his opponent, who bowed back hastily.

 

“Um,” Hayate said. “This isn’t that kind of match, guys.”

 

“That’s not up to you,” Sasuke thought, rising slowly and not taking his eyes off his opponent.

 

“Oh, sorry,” the other boy said to Hayate.

 

“It’s fine. Now, please begin,” Hayate said.

 

The boy started off by charging in, like he was Rock Lee. Sasuke blocked a few blows, and swept the boy’s feet out from under him, so he landed hard on the floor.

 

“Strike one,” thought Sasuke.

 

The kid bounced back up and put some distance between them. Then, he threw some shuriken, which Sasuke blocked with a kunai in one hand. Some of them missed on their own, going wide because of the boy’s sloppy throw. The kid was off his game. Maybe he was nervous about being called first, too. Also, the boy should know that Sasuke was an Uchiha and might have had the Sharingan, but the kid wasn’t even trying to avoid looking Sasuke in the eye. Surely the whole world knew about the Uchiha by know. Of course, Sasuke didn’t know anything about this kid’s family, so perhaps he shouldn’t be so quick to judge. He’d actually already forgotten the kid’s name.

 

Sasuke closed the distance with body flicker and punched the kid in the gut with the hand not holding the kunai. The boy collapsed and Sasuke stepped back to give him time to recover.

 

“Strike two,” thought Sasuke. “Come on. Show me something cool. You’ve got some cool secret technique, don’t you?”

 

The boy jumped even further away and threw several kunai with what might have been explosive tags on them. Sasuke took out an enclosure tag and activated it, sucking up the boy’s kunai.

 

“Strike three,” thought Sasuke.

 

Then, he activated the tag again, sending the kunai right back the way they had come. They didn’t reach the boy before they went off, creating a fiery screen between them. Sasuke body flickered around the burning mess and behind the kid. Then, Sasuke kicked the boy’s legs out from under him and twisted his arm behind his back, while bearing the kid to the ground with a knee in the back.

 

“Yield,” Sasuke said, holding his kunai to the kid’s throat.

 

“I yield!” the boy said as loudly as he could while being squished flat and twisted out of shape.

 

“The first match goes to Uchiha Sasuke,” Hayate called out. Naruto, Sakura, and Lee started cheering for him.

 

Sasuke got off the boy and helped him up.

 

“Good match,” Sasuke said.

 

“G-good match,” the boy said.

 

“Were you hurt?” Sasuke asked.

 

“No, um, I’m fine, thanks,” the boy said with an awkward smile.

 

Sasuke nodded and the pair went up into the viewing platform together, where Team Seven was situated between Karin’s team and Lee’s team. Karin beamed at Sasuke as they approached.

 

“Good try, Shigeri-kun,” Karin said briefly, before turning back to Sasuke. “Congratulation, Sasuke-kun!”

 

Sasuke nodded to her and walked by his teammates, getting a pat on the shoulder from Kakashi as he passed.

 

“Congratulations, Sasuke-kun!” Lee said. “You are one step closer to competing in the third stage!”

 

“Thanks,” Sasuke said, grinning in the face of Lee’s enthusiasm.

 

Sasuke sat down on the ground where there was room on the far side of Sakura, between her and Karin’s team. Everyone else was on their feet, but Sasuke wasn’t eager to spend the day standing. Karin pushed her teammates out of the way to sit beside Sasuke. He gave her a small smile of welcome.

 

“Congratulations, Sasuke-kun!” Ino called from across the distance. Sasuke looked over and waved a hand in acknowledgement, before looking out at the board to wait for the next matchup to appear. He didn’t know the next participants, both of whom were foreigners.

 

The floor was cold and hard, so Sasuke pulled out a kunai, transformed it into a cushion, and stuck it under his butt. So long as it remained in contact with his body, the transformation technique would hold. Karin goggled at this.

 

“You’re sitting on a kunai!” Karin said.

 

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her.

 

“It’s just that I’ve never seen somebody use the transformation technique that way before,” Karin said. “It’s smart.” Karin copied Sasuke, taking out one her own kunai and sitting on the cushion she made of it. Sasuke smothered a grin. Karin’s action reminded him of a time when one of the neighbor kids copied him. The little girl’s parents had been friends of Sasuke’s parents and they had visited the house all the time. The toddler had followed him and Itachi around for days, imitating their games. What was that little girl’s name? Sasuke realized that he couldn’t quite remember it. What a pity.

 

The next contestants bowed to each other, making Sasuke smirk. It looked like Sasuke’s politeness during his first match might have set the tone for the prelims. He hoped everyone would remember that these didn’t have to be life and death confrontations, so nobody would get too badly injured.

 

“That’s not normally how things are done,” Kakashi said.

 

“What do you mean?” Sakura asked.

 

“I’ve never seen one of these where the opponents bow to each other first,” Kakashi said.

 

“Huh,” Sakura said, turning back to the fight.

 

Sasuke slouched in his seat, resting his chin on his clasped hands, and gazed thoughtfully at the meager display of skill the two fighters in the arena showed. Neither one was showcasing anything worth remembering, but Sasuke wondered if he shouldn’t be using his Sharingan to record it anyway.

 

He shouldn’t be afraid of using it. It was safe. It was. The other Sasuke hadn’t had his eyes stolen in the story. Tobi and Danzou had a surplus of stolen eyes, so they didn’t need Sasuke’s. Orochimaru was at least out of the picture for a while, even if he probably wouldn’t stay dead and Dansou… Had been arrested. Sasuke didn’t know what to think of that. Still, right here and right now, Sasuke was safe. It might be better to let everyone who wasn’t on his team think that he was nothing special, an Uchiha who couldn’t manifest the Sharingan, a weak, nonthreatening, untalented child, but he had Kakashi.

 

“We’ll get them. We’ll get them all,” Kakashi had said.

 

And then Danzou’s slaves had been liberated the very next night. Was Kakshi behind that? Why had he done that? Had he recognized that it was the right thing to do? Kakashi in the story hadn’t. That Kakashi hadn’t cared about justice. Was it possible for his Kakashi to become a better person than the story-Kakashi had been? When Team Seven had talked about the kids Danzou had imprisoned, Kakashi had wanted to free them and then he had stepped up, not just to rescue those kids, but to punish the ones who had hurt them. Why had Kakashi done that? The man was devoting so much of his time and effort to Team Seven these days, too. And he had helped, not only with the development of the removal technique for the Cursed Seal of Heaven. Sasuke was really glad to have had Kakashi’s help with that challenging project. He was a quick study and clever, helping Sasuke discern the patterns of compatibility of different aspects of juinjutsu removal techniques, adding to Sasuke’s knowledge on the subject. Recently, Kakashi had been doing a lot for other people, and for Sasuke in particular. Why?

 

Maybe Sasuke was overthinking it. Maybe Kakashi was just… Not a bad person.

 

Whatever the reason, maybe Sasuke didn’t have to hide so much. Maybe he was safe enough, not just to speak in public, but to use his eyes in public, to be part of the public. Maybe Kakashi would keep him safe, just until Sasuke managed to escape Konoha. It was a great and terrible maybe.

 

With sweaty palms, Sasuke activated his Sharingan in time to catch the end of the match. It felt like the eyes of every single person in the room were upon him, but at least he had Kakashi at his back.

Notes:

Tsunade: Hello.

Jiraiya: The kid’s fine.

Tsunade: Goodbye.

Jiraiya, Kakashi, and me, the author of this story: Wait, wait, wait!

Sorry guys, Tsunade’s busy being a traumatized porcupine all by herself… Not even realizing that she and Sasuke could be prickly little buddies together!

I want to go dancing with Tsunade. She’s so cool. Does anybody else think that she would be great fun to go clubbing with? I can just see her dancing to “Girls” by The Dare. She’s that friend you have who has seen some shit, has all the stories, and has better dress sense than you do. Yes, I do believe she would be stylish, despite the fact that no one in Naruto has any style. My feelings don’t care about your facts! I bet she would have good taste in jewelry, too, even though her canon necklace looks like something a child would string together.

 

Just like the rest of the world, Japan has tuberculosis, so, in this fic, Fire does, too. Thanks to improved healthcare, screening, and nutrition, as of 2021, Japan finally has a low TB burden. Hayate’s illness remains unspecified, however, because I couldn’t care less what he has.

Chapter 14: Preliminaries, Part II

Summary:

The first round of the preliminary matches for the third phase of the Chuunin Exam concludes and the second begins.

Notes:

These fight scenes were so much fun to write, especially Sasuke’s. I wrote Sasuke’s fight scene and the scene when Sasuke is first introduced to Gai way back when I was writing chapter five, I think. There aren’t going to be as many fights as in canon, because the canon supporting characters aren’t as important as they are in canon! “But who do the other characters fight?” *shrug* I literally haven’t thought about it.

Kakashi saw Sakura’s name appear on the board, along with Yamanaka Ino’s, and he grinned as Sakura leapt up and hurried to the stairs that lead down into the arena. On the far side of the viewing platform, Kakashi saw Ino taking those stairs two at a time.

 

“Man, those two,” Naruto said. “They’re always going at it, huh? What’s up with that?” Kakashi shook his head at Naruto’s obliviousness.

 

Since Team Seven had become guests of Inoichi and his family, Kakashi had observed that Sakura and Ino seemed content to be in each other’s company, like old friends, while simultaneously scorning each other in a petty competition to become Sasuke’s girlfriend. It was a little funny, because their competition only made Sasuke more uncomfortable and less likely to develop soft feelings for either of them. Kakashi wasn’t sure if the girls didn’t realize this, or if they genuinely didn’t care. Unless Kakashi missed his guess, the competition wasn’t really about Sasuke at all. Rather, their rivalry had simply manifested around him as their symbolic token of success. They didn’t seem to have any true ill-will against each other, but something had definitely driven them apart, despite how their relationship seemed to be on the mend over the last week.

 

“Go, Sakura-chan!” Naruto cheered. “You can do it! Beat her butt!”

 

“I didn’t see Sakura-chan do much in the forest,” Karin said. “Do you think she’ll win, Sasuke-kun?”

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said. Kakashi had to agree. Yamanaka or no, Kakashi remembered watching Sakura smirking like a demon at the storage tags the rest of Team Seven had made for her. Any genin would be hard pressed to beat her.

 

“Don’t say it like that, Sasuke-teme,” Naruto scolded. “’Yes,’ all wimpy like. ‘Oh, I’m Sasuke and I’m quiet, even though I should be supporting my teammate during her big fight.’ This is how you do it!” Naruto took a deep breath before belting out his support. “Sakura-chan is the best kunoichi in the room, believe it! She’ll win! She’ll win so hard, Ino explodes!”

 

“Explodes?” Karin repeated, looking a bit blown away already.

 

“Yeah! Team Seven’s the best! We’re untouchable!” Naruto crowed. “Bow down, losers!”

 

“Shut the fuck up!” An Inuzuka boy shouted from the other side of the viewing platform, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room. Kurenai, who was standing beside the boy, put a hand to her head in the classic, “Why me?” pose. She had probably mentioned the boy’s name to Kakashi at some point, but, for the life of him, he couldn’t recall it. “You’re so loud!” the Inuzuka boy continued. “She hasn’t even won yet, but you’re declaring victory like an idiot!”

 

“So what? It’s Sakura-chan! She can take anybody, believe it!” Naruto shouted at the top of his voice, drawing everyone’s gaze back to himself. Naruto was obviously basking in the attention. He was practically dancing like a dog, hopping from one forepaw to the next, as he taunted the Inuzuka boy. Kakashi leaned away from his noisy student, while Sasuke covered his ears in defense against the volume. Glancing down at Sakura to see how she was taking it, Kakashi thought he saw a pleased blush on her face. Ino, by contrast, was glaring at Naruto.

 

“Ha! Sakura-chan’s going to lose, because she’s part of a loser team!” The Inuzuka boy shouted back.

 

“Bullshit! Ino doesn’t stand a chance! Sakura-chan is going to shame her! In fact, Ino’s going to be beaten so badly, that her parents are going to have to start trying to get pregnant again, because they are going to need a new heir, because Ino is going to wander away into the woods to become a hermit, because she’ll realize that she could never compare to Saukra-chan, believe it! That is how badly Sakura-chan is going to beat her! Team Seven forever!”

 

The Inuzuka boy, red in the face and looking like an explosive tag that had just started to smoke, took a deep breath as Naruto grinned at him. Kakashi tried not to make it obvious how much fun he was having watching this chaos unfold. Participants were treating these matches like they were friendly spars, Sakura was about to get the fight she had obviously been waiting for, Naruto and one of his former classmates were trash talking over everyone’s heads to the point that they were actually delaying the next bout, and Hayate looked absolutely helpless down there. It was great!

 

“Ino-chan, you better beat Sakura-chan! Show these arrogant bastards that they ain’t shit!” the Inuzuka shouted down at Ino. The boy’s dog barked ferociously in agreement, as it sat on his shoulder.

 

“You’re next, Naruto-kun! I know where you sleep!” Ino shouted, pointing up at Naruto, who flinched away from her glare and laughed nervously. Ino looked back at Sakura and grinned wolfishly. Sakura grinned right back at Ino, matching her fang for fang.

 

“Begin,” Hayate announced, but nothing happened. Hayate may have started the match, but Sakura and Ino seemed in no hurry.

 

Kakashi watched as, instead of laying into each other, Sakura took the time to pull her forehead protector off the top of her head, where she had been wearing it as a headband, and secure it across her forehead instead. She looked like a samurai putting on a hachimaki. This action clearly spoke to Ino, because she untied her own from around her waist and retied it across her forehead, too. To Kakashi’s eyes, there was something electric in this simple alteration of their attire. He had never seen Sakura more excited for a fight, never seen her look more like a warrior, as she and Ino bowed to one another. Kakashi leaned forward in his seat. Even though the girls were both merely green genin, there was something infectious about the atmosphere of fights like these, where both parties were prepared to give it their all. Who knew being a teacher could be so much fun?

 

Sakura and Ino took off as the same moment, launching themselves towards one another, but, it was only a fake-out for Sakura. She enhanced the strength of her legs with chakra and closed the distance in an instant, so her fist, which came screaming at Ino’s head from the force of muscles enhanced by chakra as well, hit Ino in the head so hard that it knocked her off her feet.

 

Sakura pressed her advantage, swinging her foot into Ino’s side, which was insufficiently protected by her arm. Ino cried out and drew a kunai to protect herself against Sakura’s next strike. Ino slashed out at Sakura’s legs, who jumped over the slash and landed on Ino’s chest with both feet, before bouncing away. That would leave a mark. Ino cried out and put her hands to her injured chest.

 

Sakura didn’t give an inch. She set one sandaled foot on top of Ino’s throat and the room held its breath. A crushed throat was invariably fatal in the field. If this had been true combat, Sakura would have won. As this was only a friendly match, it wouldn’t be over until Ino surrendered, if she surrendered. Kakashi wondered if she would still try to turn this around somehow.

 

Ino lay there, staring at Sakura in shock, groaning repeatedly, and clutching her chest as the seconds ticked by.

 

“I can’t breathe,” Ino said faintly. “I can’t breathe.”

 

Sakura took her foot away from Ino’s throat.

 

“Help, I can’t breathe!” Ino said, fear shining on her face. Kakashi realized what was wrong; Ino had gotten the wind knocked out of her when Sakura landed on her. She’d be fine, unless she panicked, in which case she might pass out for a few seconds.

 

“Help her!” Sakura shouted at Hayate and crouched down by Ino’s side. “What happened?! Did I break something?!”

 

“I don’t know!” Ino groaned.

 

“Ino-chan, do you surrender?” Hayate asked.

 

“You’re asking about something like that at a time like this?! She’s dying, you bastard!” Sakura screeched, surprising Kakashi with her rough language.

 

“I surrender!” Ino said in a pitifully small voice, tears gathering in her eyes.

 

“The winner is Haruno Sakura!” Hayate announced. Then, he stepped smartly to Ino’s legs, crouched down, lifted her feet up into the air, and shook them gently back and forth, as Asuma hurried to Ino’s side.

 

“How’s that?” Hayate asked, as Ino began taking in huge, gasping breaths.

 

“I can breathe!” Ino said in shock. “What did you do?”

 

“The sudden increase in pressure in your chest from when Sakura-chan landed on you temporarily paralyzed your diaphragm,” Hayate explained, setting Ino’s feet down. “You had the wind knocked out of you. Stretching the legs and hips or loosening tight clothes can help it pass faster.”

 

“Ino-chan, you’re okay,” Asuma said, setting a hand on Ino’s shoulder. “You’re going to be fine.”

 

“Asuma-sensei, I thought I was going to die!” Ino said.

 

“You weren’t in any danger of that. You’re alright, Ino-chan. Just keep breathing,” Asuma said soothingly. “Are you ready to sit up?” Ino nodded and Asuma helped Ino to sit. Once Ino made it to her feet, the room started clapping. Over the noise of the crowd, Kakashi heard Ino congratulate Sakura.

 

“Thanks,” Sakura said, all smiles again. “Good fight, Ino-Pig.”

 

“Good fight, Billboard Brow,” Ino said, smiling faintly herself.

 

As Sakura headed back towards the platform, Naruto and Lee exploded with cheers for her victory and even Sasuke joined in, albeit less energetically. Kakashi felt gently warmed by his pride in his student. Sakura was going to be a great ninja one day.

 

-

 

“She’s surpassed her rival,” Sasuke thought proudly. “I knew she was definitely stronger than she was by this point in the story, but that was a much shorter fight than I was expecting.”

 

“Sakura-chan won!” Naruto crowed. “Woo! Go Sakura-chan! You did it!” Sakura looked up into the stands at Sasuke and, in response to whatever she saw there, she beamed back at him.

 

“Sakura-chan! You did it!” Naruto said, when she had rejoined the group. “You’re the best!”

 

“Well done, Sakura-chan!” Lee said, giving her a thumbs up.

 

“Thanks, guys!” Sakura said.

 

“Congratulations,” Sasuke said.

 

“Congratulations, Sakura-chan,” Kakashi said.

 

“Thanks, Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-kun!” Sakura said. As she took a seat beside Sasuke, he wondered if she was thirsty after that fight, so he took out an enclosure tag that was labeled “Iced Tea” and produced a large cooler. He opened it to reveal bag of paper cups, a bag of apples, a bag for garbage, two gallons of cold black tea in plastic utility jugs, and a gallon bag with ice cubes inside.

 

Naruto came over, helped himself to an apple, and started eating it, while Sasuke made Sakura a cup of iced tea.

 

“Don’t just take one. Pass them out,” Sasuke scolded Naruto.

 

“Okay,” Naruto said, taking up the bag. “You want one, Kakashi-sensei?”

 

Sasuke didn’t see if Kakashi did, because he was busy handing Sakura her cup, but he heard Lee ask for one.

 

“Thanks, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura said.

 

“Want an apple, Sakura-chan?” Naruto asked.

 

“Thanks, Naruto-kun!” Sakura said, taking one from him.

 

“And you?” Naruto asked Karin.

 

“Sure!” Karin said.

 

Sasuke started filling cups with ice, Lee added tea to the cups of ice, and Naruto passed the tea out to anyone who wanted some. Lots of other people started sitting on the ground, too. Soon, their section of the platform had a very cozy atmosphere.

 

Sasuke paused in his chore when the next pair of contestants were announced, but they were nobody that he knew. With a poof, Kakashi transformed something into a cushion and sat down. Sasuke saw that he had both an apple and a tea in his hands.

 

“Cushions and concessions. This isn’t how this is supposed to go,” Kakashi said, shaking his head.

 

“Then, it should be!” Lee said brightly. “This is a very youthful atmosphere!”

 

“Indeed, it is!” Gai said. “You’ve done well, Sasuke-kun!” He gave Sasuke a shining smile and a thumbs up.

 

Sasuke blushed at the praise. Holy shit! Might Gai said he did a good job!

 

“It was nothing,” Sasuke said, turning away.

 

“Aww! Are you shy, Sasuke?” Naruto teased. “You’re Lee’s teacher, right? Did you know, Sasuke’s your fan! He said you’re the best ninja in Konoha!”

 

“Really?” Gai said, sounding ridiculously pleased.

 

“Yeah, he said you and your dad were the best, so he couldn’t beat Lee, because he was sure Lee would be just the same as you two!” Naruto said.

 

“It was a mutual defeat! We agreed to have a rematch after the exams are over!” Lee added.

 

Sasuke wished that he could perish on the spot. Where was Danzou when you needed him, that useless bastard?! Sasuke tucked his head between his shoulders and felt his ears start burning. Was everyone looking at him? He felt like everyone was looking at him. If everyone could just pretend that he had stopped existing, that would be great, thanks.

 

“Sasuke-kun!” Gai wailed. That was all the warning Sasuke got before he was lifted off the floor and crushed in a hug by a tearful Might Gai. The remains of his poor tea spilled onto the ground and cushion turned back into a kunai.

 

Sasuke was simultaneously elated and petrified. Now everyone was looking at him for sure. He still wanted to die, but if he did, he would ascend directly to heaven, because his favorite character was hugging him! This was so cool! And so embarrassing! But still so cool!

 

And then, to make matters worse, Lee started hugging Sasuke, too. Sasuke stopped breathing, because his feelings had filled him up so much there was no more room for his lungs to expand.

 

“Alright, that’s enough,” Kakashi said. “The two of you are going to kill my poor student.”

 

“Aright, Rival!” Gai said, setting Sasuke back on his feet. He clapped a big, manly hand on Sasuke’s shoulder and bent down to look him in the eye as Sasuke gawped stupidly at him. “Thank you for your support, Sasuke-kun!”

 

“Of course,” Sasuke croaked, staring up into Might Gai’s face with amazement. “Keep up the good work.”

 

“Oh, my God! Did I just say that?! Why did I say that?!” Sasuke thought miserably. “’Keep up the good work!’ What the fuck was I talking about?! Saying something like that! Talking to Might Gai as if he were some little kid that got a star on his homework! WHY?! What is wrong with me?!”

 

“Ah! You’re such a good kid!” Gai said, hugging Sasuke again briefly. He let Sasuke go and said, “Will do! You keep up the good work, too, Sasuke-kun!”

 

Sasuke nodded and sat down quickly, barely managing to avoid sitting on his kunai but not the tea that had spilled when Gai picked him up. As Sasuke shot up and used his handkerchief to clean up the spill, Kakashi scratched Sasuke’s head like he was a dog while laughing quietly. Naruto’s laugh was decidedly less quiet. Great. Just great. Now he was going to have to show wet pants to the whole room. Maybe he should just forfeit. But could he just quit in front of Gai?

 

“What’s so great about this guy and his dad?” Naruto asked.

 

“Like Sasuke-kun said,” Kakashi said, “Gai-kun is the best ninja in the village and his father was a great hero. There hasn’t been a cooler ninja than Might Dai-san.”

 

“My dad was the best!” Gai said proudly, holding up a fist to the heavens and wrapping an arm around Kakashi’s shoulders. Sasuke put his sopping handkerchief beside the cooler, pushed the spilt ice over the railing, transformed his kunai back into a cushion, and sat down again with a sigh. Then, a thought occurred to him.

 

“Oh, my God,” Sasuke thought with dawning horror, “Gai said the Might family’s motto to me. Didn’t that translate to, ‘fuck you?’ It was what they said to people who talked shit about them, wasn’t it?! Oh, no! Does Gai think I lied to Lee when I said Gai was the best? Does he think I was being sarcastic? But he seemed so sincere! Does he think I was looking down on him or did he understand my intent?”

 

As Sasuke fought to keep his meltdown on the inside, Karin made Sasuke another cup of tea to replace the one that he had spilled and Sasuke accepted it with mumbled thanks. He held the cool cup to his burning face.

 

“Would you like to train with us, Sasuke-kun?” Gai asked.

 

“Really?” Sasuke asked, whipping around. He heard Kakashi snort and was instantly embarrassed of his enthusiasm.

 

“Of course!” Gai said.

 

“Yes, please,” Sasuke said as stoically as he could.

 

“Of course, the invitation extends to you all!” Gai said. “The more the merrier! We will practice the noble art of taijutsu together!” Sasuke saw that Sakura didn’t look terribly enthused.

 

“Sakura-chan is going to be deadly with her taijutsu one day,” Sasuke said, hoping to build Sakura’s confidence a little more.

 

“She already is! Didn’t you see how she flattened Ino?” Naruto said.

 

“Taijutsu?” Sakura repeated confused. “I’ve never been very good at taijutsu.”

 

“Nonsense!” Lee said. “Sakura-chan, your taijutsu was so smooth, and swift, and passionate! You have great potential for taijutsu!”

 

“I do?” Sakura asked, looking at Sasuke.

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“Isn’t that more of a boy thing, though?” Sakura asked.

 

“Not at all!” Gai said.

 

“That’s right,” Tenten broke in. “Tsunade-sama herself is a taijutsu master!”

 

“Absolutely!” Gai said. “Soon, you’ll be beating your opponents to death with your bare hands and perfect femininity! A girl as youthful as you could do no less! You were like a dove in flight, like a hammer falling on an anvil, like a judgment from the heavens. Hachiman himself seemed to guide your hand!”

 

Sakura seemed surprised at the forcefulness of Gai’s response, but she also looked quite pleased.

 

“Thanks, guys!” Sakura said, blushing. Aw, this baby ninja, so excited at the thought of breaking people’s faces. Sakura could be cute, too, Sasuke decided. Not as cute as Lee, that bundle of smiles and determination, but still cute.

 

“Can I bring a few others as well?” Sasuke asked. “My family members?”

 

“These are the people you adopted abroad, correct? Certainly they can join us!” Gai said.

 

“Sasuke-kun, if I had known you would get so excited at the prospect of doing a thousand push-ups, I would have suggested this earlier,” Kakashi teased.

 

“A thousand?!” Sakura squawked.

 

“What?! I don’t want to do a thousand pushups!” Naruto cried. “How am I supposed to do a thousand pushups?! I’ll die!”

 

Kakashi smiled at them and held his hands out palm up as if to say, “What can I do?”

 

“But, Sasuke-kun already accepted,” Kakashi said. “We have to go now. It would be rude to back out.”

 

“Don’t worry, everyone!” Lee said. “It’ll be great fun to train together!”

 

“Sasuke, you bastard!” Naruto hissed. “What have you gotten us into?!”

 

Sasuke merely turned back to the ongoing match and sipped his tea with his back straight and his future bright. Today was a good day, wet pants and all.

 

-

 

People tended to dismiss Gai. Always had, always would. So, Kakashi was move than a little surprised that Sasuke liked Gai so much. Mostly though, he was pleased that Sasuke had seen Kakashi’s best friend’s excellent qualities so clearly. Gai was a great guy and deserved to be recognized for it.

 

Kakashi caught Gai’s eye. Gai’s grin turned gloating, as if to say, “Look how much your student likes me, when he barely tolerates you.” Kakashi narrowed his eye at Gai and resolved that Gai’s cheek would be paid for.

 

After a couple more bouts, it was finally time for another member of Team Seven to step into the ring. The billboard read: Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto.

 

“Yeah!” The Inuzuka boy on the other side of the room, apparently named Kiba, roared, punching both fists into the sky. Naruto laughed and jumped over the railing into the arena.

 

“Are you seriously going to fight with a little puppy in the way?” Naruto asked, when Kiba had landed down in front of him with his nin-dog.

 

“Don’t disrespect Akamaru!” Kiba shouted, pointing threateningly at Naruto. “We’re going to beat you to a pulp!” His dog barked in support of this sentiment.

 

“In your dreams!” Naruto sneered.

 

“Begin!” Hayate said.

 

Kiba dropped into a crouch and used the Four Legs Technique, causing his appearance to become more bestial. His toenails and fingernails grew and sharpened to points and, Kakashi knew that if he were close enough, he’d be able to see how the boy’s pupils had become slitted, like a cat’s. He’d never understood that particular aspect of their technique. They were dog users and dogs didn’t have vertically slitted pupils, so why did they use a signature technique that seemed to derive from a different animal entirely?

 

Kiba dashed forward. A few weeks ago, this level of speed would have been enough to land a blow on Naruto, but he’d been sparring with Sakura, so, instead, Naruto just turned Kiba’s blow aside with his right hand and punished Kiba’s mistake with a staggering left-handed punch to the side of the head. Akamaru ran to Kiba’s side, hackles raised, and barked madly at Naruto to keep him at bay, while Kiba pulled himself together.

 

“Let’s go, Akamaru!” Kiba shouted, shoving something under Akamaru’s snout, which the dog ate quickly. Then, the dog’s fur turned red. Naruto’s jaw dropped as he stared at the dog.

 

“What the heck?! Did you feed him hair dye?! Is that how hair dye works for dogs?! They seriously just have to eat it?! Why did no one ever tell me this before?! I had no idea!” Naruto sputtered, wide-eyed.

 

“It’s not hair dye, you moron! It’s a Military Rations Pill!” Kiba shouted, downing a pill of his own.

 

“No way! Kakashi-sensei ate a Military Rations Pill once and his hair didn’t turn red! I would have noticed!” Naruto shouted, before putting his chin in his hand and screwing up his face in consideration. “Unless, it only changes the hair color down there, I guess.”

 

“Naruto-kun! Don’t speculate about that kind of thing out loud!” Sakura scolded.

 

“Sorry, Sakura-chan! Although, it’d be funny if his hair did turn red. I should buy some red hair dye…”

 

Kakashi sighed. Looked like he would need to keep an eye on his shampoo bottle for a while.

 

Rather than respond to Naruto, Kiba signaled for Akamaru to jump on his back and used the Beast Clone Technique. Suddenly, there were two Kibas in the ring.

 

“Two of you, huh? Well, I can do better than that! Watch this!” Naruto shouted, before creating three shadow clones. “Four is better than two!” Kakashi fought down secondhand embarrassment for his student and Sakura laughed.

 

Naruto’s opponents struck fast. While Kiba and Akamaru charged directly at Naruto, two of the Narutos planted their feet and two of the Narutos stepped away, forming a line. When Kiba and Akamaru struck the two Narutos in the center, their attacks were both deflected and returned with savage punches to the side of the head, driving the two into one another. The two Narutos who had stepped aside closed back in, catching Kiba and Akamaru in a pincer movement, pummeling Kiba and Akamaru, who couldn’t effectively retaliate against so many opponents. In a moment, one Kiba fell, shortly followed by the other, as Naruto and his four clones continued to whale on them both.

 

“It’s over,” Kakashi thought.

 

At last, Akamaru transformed back and was scooped up by one Naruto to remove the dog from the fight, while another Naruto took hold of Kiba’s hands, another took hold of his feet, and the last sat on Kiba’s chest and punched him over and over again in the face. When Kiba stopped resisting, Hayate called the match.

 

“The winner is Uzumaki Naruto!”

 

“Yeah! Go, Naruto-kun!” Sakura cheered. “Woo!”

 

“Heh,” said Sasuke, smirking.

 

By the time the medic-nin arrived at Kiba’s side, the kid was already waking up, but his face was a mess. He would definitely need his nose set.

 

“Good fight, Kiba!” Naruto said, crouching beside Kiba as he was loaded onto the stretcher.

 

“Hm?” Kiba said, evidently not entirely conscious yet.

 

Everyone in Team Gai and Team Kakashi congratulated Naruto when he returned.

 

“I won! Did you see that, Sasuke?” Naruto asked.

 

“Well done,” Sasuke said.

 

“I’m getting really good at using those team tactics from the book Sakura-chan gave me, huh?”

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“I studied really hard, you know, and practiced a lot, so of course I’d be able to beat a guy like that!” Naruto boasted. “I’m going to be the Hokage, after all.”

 

“Mn,” Sasuke agreed. “Give me your hands.”

 

“You always want to hold my hand! You’re going to give people ideas!” Naruto teased. Despite his words, Naruto gave Sasuke his bloodied and swollen hands and, using the healing technique Hikari had taught him, Sasuke began healing Naruto’s hands. “Wow, you’re really good at that, Sasuke!”

 

“More like the healing factor the Nine Tails provides is really good,” Sasuke thought. “It wouldn’t do for any foreigners present to notice that you aren’t injured in your next fight and not have another explanation for it.”

 

“Thanks!” Naruto said, flexing his fingers. “That feels great!” Sasuke handed Naruto the tea-soaked handkerchief and Naruto used it to clean the blood off his hands.

 

“How was that, Sakura-chan?” Naruto asked. “Really cool, right?”

 

“Very cool!” Sakura agreed with a nod. Naruto blushed happily.

 

After that, the Team Seven sat back and relaxed. They wouldn’t be called to fight again until everyone else had already fought once, so they could simply enjoy watching the fights. Karin and her remaining teammate won their matches, along with all of Team Gai. Lee and Karin were both injured during their respective matches, but Sasuke had healed them afterwards, so they wouldn’t be at a disadvantage in the second spate of matches and they were both very grateful to him. When Neji fought Hinata, he won without bullying her or trying to kill her, which surprised Sasuke. When he thought about the whole experience, the tone of these preliminaries was starkly changed from how it had been in the story. The atmosphere in their section of the viewing platform was actually jovial.

 

Before the second spate of matches, everyone was given a quarter of an hour’s break. As he was washing his hands in the bathroom, Sasuke stepped out and found Kakashi leaning against the wall and reading Icha-Icha Paradise.

 

“How are you doing, Sasuke-kun?” Kakashi asked without looking up from his book.

 

“Fine,” Sasuke said, slightly baffled by the question.

 

“You seemed a bit anxious this morning,” Kakashi said. “It looked like you were trying to glare a hole in Hayate-kun during the assembly this morning. You got something against the poor guy?”

 

“… Not really,” Sasuke said. “I was just in a bad mood.”

 

“But you’re doing better now?” Kakashi asked.

 

“… Yes,” Sasuke said, suddenly suspicious. What was this about?

 

“Good,” Kakashi said, giving Sasuke a smile and putting his hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. “Let’s head back.”

 

“Oh,” Sasuke realized. “He’s just worried about me. He does that a lot.”

 

It struck Sasuke that the place Kakashi was touching was where Orochimaru’s mark would have been. At this very moment, if things had gone differently, Sasuke would likely been in the hospital after having his curse mark sealed, and that wasn’t the only difference in the world-state. Things were changing. They would likely keep changing, too, unless the author forced things to remain the same.

 

Maybe, maybe, maybe…

 

-

 

“Sasuke-kun and Lee-kun?” Sakura said staring at the board.

 

Sasuke perked up. Whether he won or he lost, this would be a good fight.

 

“Don’t lose, Sasuke!” Naruto said.

 

Of course, story-Sasuke had plot armor, just like the farting story-Naruto had, so he had made it to the third round proper. Did that mean Sasuke himself was guaranteed to win? Did Lee have a real chance? Sasuke imagined himself just standing there stupidly until Lee punched his lights out. He would definitely lose if that happened, so maybe it wasn’t rigged. Pity he couldn’t be sure. It didn’t feel right to fight Lee when they weren’t on even ground.

 

“Yeah! This is perfect! Let’s go, Sasuke-kun!” Lee said, jumping over the railing.

 

Sasuke snorted. He didn’t need to overthink it. It was perfect. Sasuke followed him over the railing, excited to begin.

 

Lee and Sasuke’s teammates, excepting Neji, shouted encouragement at them as they took their positions.

 

“Don’t hold back, Sasuke-kun!” Lee said. “I won’t either!”

 

Sasuke grinned widely. This was going to be so much fun, assuming he didn’t immediately get flattened.

 

“Yeah,” he said, activating his sharingan, warning Lee that he would be using it. Lee bowed to Sasuke and Sasuke bowed back. When they rose, Lee was looking at Sasuke’s feet. Sasuke grinned harder and he was still smiling when Hayate said go.

 

Lee vanished, but Sasuke had anticipated this. He transformed himself, becoming a monstrous abomination of filamentous ooze, filled with eyes, some the size of a bird’s, some the size of a basketball, and everything in between. It was a very weird way to see the world, he would say that, but his mind, which was quite apart from his now absent brain, accepted the unnatural input easily enough. Thus, he was able to enjoy the look of abject horror on Lee’s face as he came in behind Sasuke for a blow that landed him in Sasuke’s yielding body like a mouse stuck in a glue trap. Sasuke had time to listen to some people scream and yell in the stands, feel Lee struggle desperately as his air supply diminished, and reflect that it was a pity Halloween didn’t exist in this world, because he would have killed it, before Lee started spinning. The boy spun faster and faster until he spun Sasuke apart, leaving him a stringy smear full of twitching eyeballs on the floor all around him.

 

Sasuke then transformed himself back into his own body, but with a spine as flexible as a cat’s, laughing at Lee’s horrified face, causing Lee to look him in the eye again. Sasuke took that advantage of that mistake to make Lee see the world just a bit behind the times, slowing his perception enough to, hopefully, keep Lee a step behind him.

 

Lee looked back at Sasuke’s feet and shot forward. Sasuke had to use body flicker to dodge. And then to keep on dodging, because Lee did not let up. Eventually, after hitting nothing but air for so long, Lee shouted, “Kai,” meaning that the jig was up.

 

Sasuke laughed faintly at Lee’s success and transformed himself in a great black dog-demon with writhing shadows reaching across the floor and a hundred rolling red eyes. Lee immediately shouted Kai, but this was no genjutsu. When next Lee struck, Sasuke struck back. He caught the fist Lee threw at him in the tendrils of his misty from and bit into the arm that was attached to it, raking Lee’s skin with unnaturally sharp teeth. Sasuke bit him hard enough to draw blood, but only just, before withdrawing into smoke and shadow. No need to knock Lee out of the fight so soon. He dodged this way and that, his boneless body allowing him to avoid everything almost effortlessly.

 

Finally, Lee got fed up with not being able to hit anything and, looking boldly determined, took off his training weights. If Sasuke had given this form a tail, it would have been wagging. Lee tossed his leg and arm weights behind him and Sasuke watched their descent gleefully, all of his eyes smiling. The two sets of weights hit the earth like two meteorites making Sasuke snigger and shake his massive head at how silly those things were. The sound of his laugh was a deep, harsh growl in this form.

 

Surely, getting hit by a person with that much momentum to their swings would be completely devastating. Like, if Lee had ever actually kicked someone while weighing that much, they would die, they would explode into a shower of blood and gore, and they would just fucking die. It made absolutely no sense and Sasuke loved it! Ninja magic at its most ridiculous and wonderful! Sasuke overrode his current transformation with his cat-flexible spine form.

 

“Was that too hard for you?” Sasuke asked teasingly. “Is this form of mine easier?”

 

Lee frowned at Sasuke’s feet and vanished. Suddenly, Sasuke was blocking blow after blow, even as he used body flicker continuously. He was only able to dodge rarely, because Lee was just so close. He ended up having to endure quite a few very painful hits. At least he gave some of his own, although he was definitely being dominated. Lee was so much better at taijutsu than Sasuke was and Sasuke would have the bruises later to prove it. Then, Lee got past Sasuke’s guard one last time and punched him so hard in the stomach that Sasuke flew into the opposite wall.

 

Sasuke transformed himself into a puddle of ink as he lay embedded in the wall. Pouring down the wall was the only way to avoid Lee’s follow up attack, which carried the boy through the wall and out of the building.

 

Then, Sasuke decided to take a page from Jujutsu Kaisen’s book, and gave himself an extra pair of arms and some eyes on his cheeks. He wasn’t sure if those arms would be anything but a liability, because he had no experience fighting with extra appendages, but against Lee he’d mostly be using them to block, so he figured it wasn’t a bad gambit.

 

When Lee returned to the room, landing like a falling star, Sasuke was finally able to keep up with him, catching everything that Lee threw at him and landing some hits himself. Sasuke laughed, keeping his feet glued to the floor with chakra to better resist Lee’s blows.

 

“You’re taijutsu is so much better than mine!” Sasuke said happily. “Lee-sempai is so good, I need twice as many hands to keep up with him!”

 

Lee grinned hugely at this praise and looked into Sasuke’s eyes in his excitement. Sasuke put him under a genjutsu of darkness. In Lee’s surprise at his sudden blindness, Sasuke got in a solid hit to Lee’s left eye, blacking it and knocking Lee back. Lee stumbled back, but recovered his balance instantly, made a hand seal, and shouted “Kai” to break the genjutsu. Sasuke tried to follow through with a roundhouse kick, but Lee dodged it and got back in the fight. That boy was just too fast.

 

And then he got faster! Or was it just that Lee was getting used to fighting an opponent with four arms? Either way, Sasuke began to feel pressured again. Sasuke made one mistake, trying to block a blow he should have dodged, and Lee capitalized on it. While Sasuke was reeling from the pain of that blow to his arm, he took a blow to the jaw that knocked him off his feet and sent him spinning away.

 

Sasuke managed to spin back up before Lee put his foot through the floor where Sasuke had landed. Sasuke transformed back into his cat-flexible form, jumped over Lee, moved to the center of the arena, and took out an enclosure tag that he had filled when he’d been at the beach with Hikari. He activated it just as Lee flew into his face. The salt water contained within the tag hit Lee head on and with enough force to wash Lee away. The room started filling up with the swirling tide. To resist the pull of the water, Sasuke kept his feet on the floor with chakra, while Lee was washed around the circular room that now resembled nothing so much as a god’s toilet bowl.

 

Then Sasuke transformed himself into a form too tall and thin to be human, black as pitch, and with a thousand black tendrils covering his whole body, each bearing a thousand tiny, red eyes winking out at the world, creating a Lovecraftian nightmare that Sasuke was very proud of. He saw Lee try to break a genjutsu, not that he was under one.

 

Looking into the viewing platform, Sasuke noted lots of pleasingly terrified faces. But his Slender Man-esque look wasn’t the only thing worth mentioning about this form. He’d also given this body a very special secret weapon; in addition to looking cool, each of the tendrils coming from his body was covered in hagfish glands.

 

The water quickly became a thick, viscous, swirling soup of sticky, cloudy slime that was exhausting to move through, so Sasuke didn’t even try. To panic Lee, he pointed a finger to put a genjutsu on Lee that made the water level appear to rise almost all the way to the ceiling and plug up the hole made earlier with debris, for verisimilitude. This made the surface appear much further away than it really was. And for the cherry on top, Sasuke’s genjutsu to make Lee think he had been swimming for longer than he had without making progress. Sasuke watched as Lee, face increasingly filled with despair, struggled to reach the surface to no avail, using up his oxygen. Sasuke, because he was letting his own body hang slack, could outlast Lee in this breath-holding contest.

 

Suddenly, Lee’s face became a mask of rage. He gave up on reaching the surface and struck out for the nearest wall, exciting Sasuke.

 

“He figured a way out!” Sasuke thought gleefully.

 

At the base of the wall, Lee drew one leg up to his chest and gave the building an almighty kick, which, although the movement was slowed by the slime, knocked a second, much lower, hole in the wall, because Lee was awesome like that. Lee was sucked out of the room with the slime that spilled through the hole.

 

Sasuke undid his transformation, returning the water to its natural state, and held firm to the floor with his chakra as he waited for the water level to recede. Before it had reached the level that would allow Sasuke to take another breath, Lee was back, bouncing around the walls to come in behind Sasuke, punching down into the water where Sasuke was.

 

Sasuke transformed himself again, turning his skin into a thick, spiky, steel shell. He shook from the force of Lee’s blow colliding with the shell. He couldn’t see anything and his need for air had become acute, so he transformed into his cat-flexible form immediately. He crouched, empowered his muscles with chakra, and kicked off, rocketing himself out of the water. As he looked down, he saw blood in the water.

 

Sasuke stuck one hand to the ceiling with chakra when he reached it and looked for Lee’s chakra in the water. He found it some ways from the blood. Sasuke still had the enclosure tag he had used to release the water in his hand, so he activated it with the water in mind. The water and everything in it, including Lee, rose towards the enclosure tag in a great funnel. Lee would have been trapped in the tag, if he hadn’t put on a terrible burst of speed, shot out of the water, and clung to the railing of the viewing platform.

 

Sasuke winced in sympathy as he saw Lee panting, one eye swollen shut, holding his injured arm across his chest, and glaring at Sasuke’s feet. Both took a breather while the water was removed from the area. Sasuke might not have been as active as Lee had, but he was quite beat up and wanted a break. Lee did look a bit dispirited, though…

 

“Lee-kun!” Sasuke shouted as the last of the water disappeared back into the tag. “Stop letting me set the pace! You’re a better fighter than I am! You can win this!” That got Lee grinning again. Sasuke watched his nostrils flare with emotion as his chest swelled with breath.

 

“Thank you, Sasuke-kun! I’ll take the lead, then, and prove that a genius of hard work can beat a clan prodigy!” Lee shouted.

 

“Go for it!” Sasuke shouted, pointing at Lee, but his genjutsu missed, because he was a moment too slow. Lee dashed forward and out of Sasuke’s line of sight. Sasuke put his other hand on the ceiling and curled himself up backwards using his enhanced flexibility to stick his feet on the ceiling, so he could see where Lee went.

 

Turned out that he didn’t need to look, because Lee somehow tackled Sasuke from behind off the ceiling in the next instant. Sasuke managed to get his feet in front of him in time to catch himself on the railing of the viewing platform, but Lee was having none of that. He grabbed Sasuke by the head and he might have broken Sasuke’s neck if Sasuke hadn’t realized what he was doing and transformed his skin into steel. As it was, the force of Lee’s spin sent Sasuke spinning to the ground, like a top that had fallen off a table.

 

Turned out, using steel skin to cover squishy insides could be a bad idea. Who knew? Sasuke canceled the transformation by overriding it with a new one that made his skin into a more flexible and cushioned armor, but he was still aching everywhere as he pealed himself off the floor. In addition to his earlier arm injury, which he was increasingly sure was a break, he had definitely broken a rib or two, and his head was spinning. Then, Lee, hair standing on end and skin darkened, was on him again.

 

It was the Reverse Lotus this time, Lee’s signature move. Sasuke would have been more excited to see it if he hadn’t been its target and also maybe about to throw up. That first kick to the chin from Lee that lifted Sasuke off his feet did nothing to improve his disorientation. Then, Lee started attacking Sasuke in midair, which Sasuke was too swimmy-headed to defend against properly. As it was, he blocked less than one hit in two and dodged none. Taking as much damage as he was, if he hadn’t already transformed into his new armor, he probably would have been too dazed and injured by the assault to even think of a counter.

 

Lee was about to throw Sasuke into the ground, Sasuke knew, so he focused on readying Hiding Like a Mole. He pulled it off just in time. As he hit the ground, he splashed into it instead of being flattened. It still hurt, but it was the pain of a belly flop, rather than the pain of having all his ribs, and maybe his spine, broken.

 

He surfaced to find Lee had disappeared again. He grinned ferally and started belting out the lyrics to “Throw Some Ass.” Lee screamed as he was suddenly surrounded tightly packed dancers in a hot, alcohol-hazed club with the lights strobing and the joyful tones of Sophie Hawley-Weld booming in his ears in Portuguese. Lee wasn’t the only one affected; several people on the viewing platform shrieked and most of the genin covered their ears and tried to escape the sudden crush of bodies that weren’t really there, but sure felt like they were. Sasuke resisted the urge to laugh at the effect of this prank. Several people, including Lee, tried to break the genjutsu without success. Sasuke felt quite pleased with himself.

 

Sasuke ran towards Lee and hit him with a lariat across the shoulders, singing as he went to keep the genjutsu strong. Even if Lee managed to break free of it, it would be reapplied so long as Sasuke kept producing the genjutsu with his voice. Then, Sasuke tossed Lee up into the air with a cruel kick to the stomach, caught him, and body-slammed him back to the ground.

 

Lee hooked a foot around Sasuke’s ankle and pulled him down, too. This interrupted Sasuke’s song, causing the illusion to break off. Sasuke laughed through his teeth as he landed on his ass and brought his arms up to protect his face from Lee’s kicks. Then, Lee spun around on the ground, gathering enough momentum to push himself up, while Sasuke sank into the floor again with Hiding Like a Mole.

 

Sasuke was swimming around through the ground, wondering how to make his next move, and considering taking the shape of the Corrupted Ravager, when the earth cracked like a bomb had hit it. Sasuke, disoriented by the blow and both ears smarting, shot out of the ground, trying to get some air, only to find Lee, madly grinning Lee, in his face like a wasp, making eye-contact one more time. Lee punched Sasuke in the face like a freight train at the same time that Sasuke’s Ketamine no Jutsu switched off Lee’s mind. Both fell to the floor together.

 

Sasuke managed to stand up, but, once he was on his feet, he had to hunch over, blinking stars out of his eyes. Looking up, he noticed a look of disgust on Hayate’s wan face. He reached up to feel his jaw, which turned out to be a bad decision. The pain of that touch burned across his face like electricity. That was when he realized that he couldn’t close his mouth. He hoped part of it wasn’t missing. Hayate said something, but Sasuke’s ears weren’t working right, so he couldn’t hear. Kakashi and Gai both body flickered into the arena. Kakashi’s mouth moved, so Sasuke pointed at his ear and shook his head, another spectacularly bad idea, because, Oh My God, ow. Ow ow ow ow ow…

 

He looked out at the cratered arena around them. That damned boy had gathered up his own weights and then thrown them back to the ground, leaving a single crater that completely encompassed the first two.

 

“What a guy,” Sasuke thought admiringly as he released his transformation. A medic-nin tried to say something to Sasuke and then Kakashi said something to the medic-nin. That was when he noticed that he was swaying slightly side to side as he stood and he was leaning pretty heavily on Kakashi. When had that happened?

 

Karin pushed past the medic-nin, who were converging on Sasuke and Lee, said something to Sasuke, and held up her wrist to his mouth.

 

Sasuke considered telling her no, because biting anything was the last thing he wanted to do right now, but he did want to stop being in pain. He considered the problem and transformed his hand to have a mouth on the palm of it. He held out his mouthed hand to Karin and she put her arm on his hand. He didn’t actually have to bite her very hard for her chakra to flow into him, righting everything it touched. Even his jaw, which must have been in at least two separate pieces, shifted back into place.

 

The pain of his jaw bones moving back to where they should be sent him to his knees, but Kakashi caught him, fingers tight. As Sasuke’s ears healed, he discovered that he was making a high animal noise of pain and stopped his voice. He became aware of a buzz of noise from the spectators. Finally, Sasuke had his wits about him again and, trembling and gasping, he pulled himself back up with Kakashi and Karin’s help and lessened from his crushing grip on their arms. Kakashi put a hand on the back Sasuke’s neck.

 

“What did you do to him?” Kakashi asked darkly. Karin opened her mouth, but Sasuke answered for her.

 

“Helped,” Sasuke said softly, still shaking. He canceled the transformation, clicked his teeth shut to test the fit, and let go of Karin and Kakashi to feel his face. He ran hit tongue around his teeth. It seemed he hadn’t lost any. That was lucky. “Thanks, Karin-san.”

 

“Of course, Sasuke-san!” Karin said. She was blushing and smiling faintly.

 

“How’s Lee-sempai?” Sasuke looked at Lee and found him flat on his back and staring at Sasuke with blood running out of his nose. Gai must have already dislodged the genjutsu.

 

“Sasuke-kun! Gai-sensei! Why am I lying down?” Lee asked. He sounded like he was exhausted, but forcing himself to be energetic. “Have I lost?”

 

“Um, yeah, you lost,” Hayate said. Sasuke stood up and then offered Lee a hand up, which Lee accepted. Lee stood up rather heavily, Sasuke thought. Lee kept leaning on him for support after they were up. Sasuke frowned as he looked Lee up and down critically. Had he opened too many of his gates? He must have. Didn’t he need to open at least one to use that signature move of his? Sasuke wasn’t sure. That wouldn’t mess him up, right? How many gates did you have to open before it started to damage your body?

 

Sasuke considered asking Karin to help Lee the way she had helped him and then felt ashamed of himself for having thought of it. Should he offer to heal Lee instead? No, Sasuke didn’t actually know much about medicine and there were all these trained medic-nin around. That wasn’t just their job, it was their profession. If Lee was still injured after the medic-nin were done with him, then Sasuke and Hikari could help him out.

 

“Did I win?” Sasuke asked Hayate.

 

“Yes, you did,” Hayate said. “Technically, you stood under your own power.”

 

Sasuke looked at Lee’s mangled arm. It looked like Lee had punched a spike straight on. Sasuke flinched at the sight of it and felt goosebumps break out along his arms. That hand would need surgery and months of recovery… Or medical ninjutsu.

 

“How’s the arm?” Sasuke asked.

 

“It is very painful, thank you,” Lee said. Sasuke felt truly stupid for asking.

 

“Sorry,” Sasuke said ashamedly.

 

“Oh, do not be sorry, Sasuke-kun!” Lee said, leaning into Sasuke’s space excitedly. “That was a splendid fight! I have never fought anyone like you! It was an incredible experience that will help me to grow as a ninja! I’m still not sure which parts were genjutsu and which weren’t! And you have such a lovely singing voice! We shall have to have a rematch someday!” Sasuke smiled shyly, feeling himself blush, and nodded. He had never had more fun fighting anyone ever.

 

“Lee-kun,” Gai shouted, punching Lee on the top of the head shockingly hard, causing the boy to fall to his knees. Sasuke’s mouth fell open at this violence. He had forgotten about Gai’s “tough love.” “You shouldn’t have opened so many of your gates for this fight!”

 

“If you had hit Sasuke-kun in the temple, instead of the jaw, he would be dead right now,” Kakashi said to Lee. “As it is, he’s very lucky you didn’t break his neck when you punched him or when you grabbed him by the head and spun him around before that.” Sasuke was suddenly deeply embarrassed. It was as if his mother were reaming out his friends because they had been roughhousing with little Sasuke, the delicate flower.

 

“Good fight, Lee-sempai,” Sasuke said loudly. It probably wasn’t loud enough to be heard by the whole room, which hummed with gossipy noises coming from the viewing platform.

 

“Good fight, Sasuke-kun!” Lee said, matching him for volume and glancing back and forth between Kakashi and Sasuke nervously.

 

Sasuke dragged Kakashi away from Lee’s kneeling form by the wrist. Why was everything so embarrassing today? Was the world out to get him? Obviously, but like this? Did it have to be like this? He had been expecting knives, not mother hens!

 

“Wait for me, Sasuke-san!” Karin said. Sasuke turned and waited for her to catch up a beat later. He felt better looking at her. It reassured him to have one of his people around. The three started walking again. Sasuke, shoes squelching wetly with each step, walked up to the viewing platform with Kakashi and Karin, while Lee and Gai slowly walked with the medic-nin out of the room.

 

A few people leaned away from Sasuke as he passed.

 

“What’s up with them?” Sasuke wondered. He didn’t still have his eyes on, did he? Nope. Hm…

 

“You need to train more,” Neji said as Sasuke passed. “You’re too slow and your taijutsu is poor.”

 

Sasuke nodded. It was definitely true.

 

“Lee was weak. I could have beaten you easily,” Neji said.

 

“Neji-kun!” Tenten scolded. “Lee-kun isn’t weak! Didn’t you see how well he did?”

 

“I saw him lose,” Neji said.

 

“I wonder if your reliance on your byakugan means that I could have put you under my finishing genjutsu instantly, no matter where you were, so long as you perceived my eyes,” Sasuke speculated.

 

Neji sneered and tossed his head in frustration.

 

“That’s not how it works!” Neji snarled. “… Is it?” Sasuke snorted. No, it wasn’t. Sasuke had to make eye contact with the person. Just seeing Sasuke’s eyes wouldn’t do it. Neji made a chiding noise as Sasuke passed him.

 

“Congratulations, Sasuke-kun!” Sakura said.

 

“Sasuke!” Naruto shouted. “That was kick ass! Since when have you been able to turn into a bunch of scary monsters, huh?! And the way you bent yourself backwards to stand on the ceiling! What the heck was that?!”

 

“The transformation technique. Everyone can do it,” Sasuke said.

 

“Not like you did,” Kakashi said.

 

Sasuke raised a skeptical eyebrow at Kakashi.

 

“There’s a reason people don’t use that technique in that way. It requires the kind of attention to detail and creativity that doesn’t come naturally to most. What you did showed a rare level of mastery of the transformation technique,” Kakashi said. “That gibberish aural-genjutsu was good, too.”

 

“I want to try to turn into a monster!” Naruto said excitedly. “I’m the best at the transformation jutsu! I used to beat Iruka-sensei with it all the time! I bet I could make a really cool monster! My monster would put your monsters to shame!”

 

“Not now,” Kakashi said, putting a hand on Naruto’s head. “But, Sasuke-kun, you don’t go around town looking like a nightmare. How do you practice with it normally?”

 

Well, normally, Sasuke thought, he spent every night as a small Japanese field mouse in a stack of bedding in a cupboard in his kitchen, which had a chakra suppressing seal on it to minimize his chakra signature, hoping like hell that Danzo didn’t have a pet Hyuuga or Inuzuka, so no one would be able to find him. That was not something he wanted to say out loud, though.

 

Sasuke shrugged and turned away. He sighed and plucked at his wet clothes. He needed a bath now.

 

“Congratulations, Sasuke-kun!” Karin said.

 

“Where you able to catch all the genjutsus I used?” Sasuke asked Karin, curious about how far along her powers had come already.

 

“Yes!” Karin said enthusiastically and proceeded to list every time Sasuke had put a genjutsu on Lee and even mentioned the time his genjutsu missed.

 

“You can tell when someone puts someone else under a genjutsu?” Sakura asked in disbelief. “No way!”

 

“Yeah, I can!” Karin said. “I’m the best sensor in my year.”

 

“You’re the best sensor in the world,” Sasuke thought fondly, feeling his smile grow just a little more. She’d realize it one day.

 

“Sasuke-kun, was that fight that much fun?” Sakura asked, drawing his gaze back to her. “You’re still smiling! It’s really handsome!”

 

Sasuke covered his mouth unthinkingly, but lowered his hand again. He didn’t need to hide this.

 

“Yeah,” Sasuke said. “It was the most fun fight I’ve ever had.”

 

“Well, I’m glad you had fun, but I think you and Lee-kun enjoyed yourselves a little too much,” Sakura said. “This building is all smashed up because of you two! You should be more careful next time! What if it collapses on top of us?”

 

“Don’t worry about that,” Kakashi said. “This building can take a few holes.”

 

Sasuke wondered if it was built to withstand a damaged foundation and flooding, too. Probably not. Its implausibly stability was probably just the product of more weak worldbuilding. This world of theirs really was ridiculous. Sasuke wouldn’t complain about it, though, so long as it meant the roof didn’t fall on his head.

 

“Let’s hope we don’t find out exactly how many holes it can take before it falls in,” Sakura said, shaking her head.

 

Sasuke turned back to the board and waited for the next pair of names to appear. This spate would only consist of eight or nine matches, so it wouldn’t be long until someone else in their group was called. As Sasuke read the next pair of names, his eyes widened.

 

“Don’t worry, Sakura-chan,” Naruto said, as Sakura stood up. “You can beat him, no problem.”

 

“Thanks, Naruto-kun,” Sakura said.

 

“Don’t give him any breathing room,” Sasuke warned.

 

“As if I’d go easy on that guy!” Sakura said.

 

Sakura walked down to the arena, while Shikamaru frowned and dragged his feet as he mad ehis own way down. Sasuke glared suspiciously down at Shikamaru. This was either going to be an interesting fight, or the author was going to turn Sakura stupid, so Shikamaru could walk to home base.

 

“He better not,” Sasuke thought mutinously.

Notes:

I thought about inventing some more abilities for Ino and making her a more capable fighter to make the fight more interesting, but Ino hasn’t earned any of that in this story. Sorry, guys. As an aside, I don’t buy the double KO in canon either. I pulled up a pirate manga site to see how that fight played out, because I don’t have much of an impression of Ino, and I fail to see how those two are evenly matched. Sakura comes out of the gate with explosive moves that Ino can’t match. The problem is, Sakura just stops using her chakra effectively. Like, girl, just do the chakra-to-the-feet thing again. Just keep being faster than Ino. Just do that. You were winning! Just don’t stop! Did one use of the clone jutsu and one flash step completely drain you? Then why did you use those moves at that time? Why did you exhaust yourself in the first fifteen second of the fight? Have you literally never done any sports ever?

I had the wind knocked out of me once. When I was a child, I fell on my friend’s front lawn and broke my arm. The arm hurt, but my primary concern in that moment was the fact that I was suffocating, because my lungs seemed to have forgotten how to move. My friend’s dad came over to me where I was laid out on the grass, pulled up on the waistband of my jeans, and suddenly I could breathe again. It was like magic. I remain impressed to this day. Fastest medical solution ever. 10 out of 10 service. Would recommend to a friend. The best doctor I ever had was just some guy without a college degree!

 

The hachimaki (translation “Helmet scarf”) is a headband worn across the forehead, speculated to have been first used by samurai as cushion for their heads against their helmets.

 

In the Shinto and Japanese Buddhist religions, Hachiman is a god of agriculture, the patron god of warriors, and the protector of Japan, her people, and the Japanese monarchy. He sent the Kamikaze, the divine winds, to destroy invading Mongol ships.

 

Sakura/Naruto/Sasuke: *Doing violence to other children*

Kakashi, tearing up in pride: My little babies, off to destroy people!

Gai, Lee, and the Rest of Team Seven: *cheering loudly* Yay, violence against children!

Chapter 15: Preliminaries, Part III

Summary:

The Preliminaries for the third phase of the Chuunin Exam conclude and Sasuke receives an invitation from Shikaku.

Notes:

Sorry, this took so long to come out. I was super busy… playing video games. This chapter is all from Sasuke’s perspective and the next one is shaping up to be all be Kakashi’s perspective.

 

Another Kakashi and Gai song for your listening pleasure: “Sober Up” by AJR.

Sakura bowed to Shikamaru, who bowed back with a grumpy look on his face. Sasuke crossed his arms and glowered down at the two participants, cursing the author in his mind. Sakura better not have to throw the fight, just because the author wanted Shikamaru to win. Sasuke remembered how, in the story, the aggressive and brutal Temari had inexplicably become cautious to the point of cowardice in her fight against Shikamaru. It had been Temari’s fight to lose and she had lost hard, even if Shikamaru had technically surrendered. If the author tried to embarrass Sakura like that, Sasuke was going to throw the gauntlet at God.

 

“You look worried. Do you think she’ll beat this guy?” Karin asked.

 

“She better,” Sasuke said darkly. “She’s twice the fighter he is.”

 

“Yeah, that guy doesn’t really care about being a ninja,” Naruto said. “He doesn’t really try to be good, you know? He doesn’t really care if he loses. Unless it’s to a girl. In spars, he only fought hard against the girls in our class.”

 

“I know guys like that,” Karin said. “They can’t stand to lose to a girl, so suddenly they give it everything they’ve got. They’re so obvious. Go, Sakura-chan! You can do it!”

 

“Yeah! Go, Sakura-chan!” Naruto shouted.

 

“Keep an eye on the shadows!” Sasuke shouted. He felt a bit of a twit for reminding Sakura of the technique the Nara were internationally famous for. However, in the story, both Tsuchi and Temari had seen that damned move deployed with their own two eyes and still been defeated by it in a really obvious way. Of course, Sakura couldn’t be defeated by a move like that… But what if she was? What if the author forced her to make that mistake, too? Sasuke leaned forward, glaring at Sakura, willing her not to lose.

 

Sakura bowed perfunctorily to Shikamaru and he bowed back reluctantly.

 

“How am I supposed to fight a girl?” Shikamaru whined, with his hands in his pockets.

 

“Would you like a demonstration, Shikamaru-kun?” Sakura asked brightly, tilting her head coquettishly to the side while raising her fists threateningly. Shikamaru frowned harder.

 

Hayate signaled the start of the fight. Immediately, Sakura leapt backwards, away from Shikamaru, while doing her water bending. In an instant, Sakura was thirty feet away from her opponent, standing on top of one pile of rubble. At the same moment, half a dozen, long, thin, snaking spears of water were bearing down on Shikamaru’s position. The ground was still covered in shallow puddles from Sasuke’s fight, so Sakura hadn’t even need to spend the chakra to conjure any water herself.

 

Shikamaru used the Substitution Technique to exchange places with a piece of rubble from Lee and Sasuke’s fight, dodging Sakura’s spears and repositioning himself much closer to Sakura. Sakura covertly placed something in the rubble that was tied to a string, and was already running when Shikamaru deployed his Shadow Imitation Technique, so she had to change directions fast to avoid being captured by the slithering shadow.

 

With Shikamaru’s shadow chasing her, Sakura couldn’t give Shikamaru himself her full attention, which he took advantage of by throwing a barrage of kunai of her. Sakura managed to dodge them, but only by the skin of her teeth. One grazed her ear when she slipped and fell on the rubble and had to scramble up. Sasuke thought he might have seen her move to place something in the rubble. This hidden something was also connected to a string, so now she was letting out two strings behind her as she ran. Was it a trap of some kind?

 

Sakura evaded the next set of kunai Shikamaru threw by running up the wall of the arena, dashing all the way onto the ceiling, until she was out of the range of Shikamaru’s shadow. Sasuke scowled. Shikamaru had effectively claimed the entire floor of the arena as his own, pushing her out, forcing her to play defense. The fight had only just started and Shikamaru had already taken the lead.

 

“The floor is lava,” Naruto murmured, crossing his arms.

 

“Stop giving him time to think,” Sasuke thought worriedly.

 

Then, Sakura smiled. She reached into a pouch and pulled out a packet of tags, which she spread like a cartoonish rich guy flashing stack of twenty-dollar bills to show off how wealthy he was. Sasuke half expected her to start making it rain like Lil’ Wayne.

 

“Hm? Which tags are those?” Naruto asked, squinting at them. Sasuke looked at them closely, before his eyes widened in shock; they were Explosive Tags.

 

“This is how you fight a girl,” Sakura announced. She tossed the papers out into the air with both hands, scattering them across the room.

 

“Oh, shit,” Sasuke thought, horrorstricken. “She’s just thrown all of the Explosive Tags I made for her!” Kakashi evidently had the same thought, because he grabbed Sasuke and Naruto by their collars and pulled them away from the railing.

 

“Are those-?!” Tenten screeched, drawing back towards the wall.

 

“Woah! What the hell?!” Naruto shouted irritably at Kakashi.

 

“No!” Neji shouted in horror, throwing himself backwards and raising his arms to cover his head.

 

Sasuke shook off Kakashi and had just enough time to see Shikamaru hauling ass through the hole in the wall behind him, before Sasuke threw out his arms and transformed them into a steel shield that penetrated the railing and extended the length of the platform, protecting everyone on Team Seven’s side of the room. Just in time, too. The noise of the explosions down below was terrible enough behind the barrier. However, it wasn’t nearly as bad as he had been expecting for that many Explosive Tags. Had she not used them all?

 

Sasuke canceled the shield quickly, hoping to see what had happened. Beyond the dust and tags still twirling through the air, the screams of fear from the other platform made Sasuke realize that he hadn’t remembered to protect the people on that side of the room, but he didn’t see anyone who looked like they were injured. Sasuke covered his mouth the collar of his shirt to avoid breathing in the dust. And what about the proctor and Shikamaru? Were they alright? Sasuke couldn’t see him, Shikamaru, or Sakura through the haze that hung low through the room, so he tried his chakra sense instead. This quickly confirmed that three people were indeed still alive down in the ring.

 

Kakashi sighed in relief.

 

“I thought I was going to die!” Karin shouted angrily, staring into the dust cloud that hung around the floor and holding a handkerchief over her mouth.

 

“You mad woman!” Shikamaru shouted, coughing and sounding pained and frazzled. “You could have killed-!”

 

Sasuke heard the sound of fists connecting with flesh, of running feet, and of steel scraping sharply off concrete to clang away into the distance. Then, he saw Sakura leap out of the cloud at one point, make a feral arc while carrying a shuriken in each hand and a kunai in her mouth, and fall back in at another.

 

“What’s happening?!” Naruto cried, coughing.

 

“He can’t sense her chakra!” Karin said excitedly. “He’s blind in this dust!”

 

“Damn it, I can’t see, either!” Naruto shouted, slapping the railing with his palm.

 

“Sucks for you,” Neji said, staring down into the dust with his Byakugan activated.

 

“Neji-kun!” Tenten scolded. Sasuke activated his own chakra sense to observe the match for himself.

 

“She’s got him on the run,” Sasuke said, feeling the chakra signature of who he presumed to be Shikamaru zigzag around, while presumably Sakura kited him. Shikamaru’s legs must be injured, because he was moving slow. “So long as she moves unpredictably, he won’t know where to send his shadow.”

 

Sasuke sensed Sakura with the Shikamaru and sent him flying away from the wall and into the center of the arena and then Sakura shot back out of the dust again, alight on the wall like a fly, hurl shuriken at Shikamaru’s position, and then jump back into the dust. A clone of Shikamaru leapt out the dust, with a very injured Shikamaru in his arms. The clone had barely deposited Shikamaru on the stairs leading up to a viewing platform, when a kunai shot out of the dust, burst the clone, and imbedded in the wall ahead of Shikamaru. Shikamaru looked at the tag hanging from the kunai fearfully, and then hurled himself back down the stairs. The injuries to his legs hindered his movement, so he tumbled back into the dust cloud.

 

As the tag on the kunai failed to explode, the sound of shuriken biting into the wall behind Shikamaru was accompanied by Shikamaru’s cries of pain. Shikamaru started running through the dust again.

 

“Look! The dust is thinning!” Tenten said, grabbing the railing.

 

As the visibility improved, Sasuke saw Sakura throw kunai at Shikamaru, who desperately blocked with a kunai of his own.

 

However, this scene was at odds with what his chakra sense was telling him; that Shikamaru stood alone because Sakura was further away, standing in a spot directly behind Shikamaru as he turned towards Sakura’s clone. Sasuke activated his eyes to better observe what happened next. Around one hand, Sakura’s chakra glowed faintly blue around the edges, indicating that she had collected water release chakra in that palm. There was also a growing sphere of water around it, fed by the many puddles that were left behind after Sasuke and Lee’s fight.

 

But that wasn’t the only thing Sasuke observed; his chakra sense gave the slightest indication that some small chakra signature might be concealed on the other side of one of the holes in the wall. He couldn’t be sure it was real with his weak perception. Furthermore, because of his position, Sasuke couldn’t visually confirm it, either.

 

Shikamaru threw his kunai into Sakura’s clone’s chest, bursting it instantly.

 

“Got you!” Shikamaru shouted. As the dust died down further, Sasuke saw that Shikamaru’s shadow had stretched back behind him, under the dozens of dud tags, all the way to Sakura. Probably based solely on where her clone had directed his attention, Shikamaru had guessed where Sakura would actually be standing, and caught her in his trap. She had been too predictable.

 

“Me, too!” Sakura growled. A single spear of water stabbed out from Sakura’s motionless hands at Shikamaru. She had so much more water than she had initially used, enough to bridge the distance. It was a good idea; because she didn’t need to perform any hand seals to command the water’s motion, it didn’t matter if she got caught, only that she had collected enough water beforehand.

 

Shikamaru tried to dodge, but his limp impeded him. The water impaled Shikamaru savagely through the leg. Then, Shikamaru’s clone popped. Sasuke blinked as he watched it happen.

 

Right before Sakura’s water spear had connected with Shikamaru, using the Body Replacement Technique, Shikamaru had switched places with a clone of his own that he’d hidden in the dust, just like Sakura had. To avoid letting Sakura sense it, he must have timed its creation just right. He had to conjure it after Sakura had begun using Water Release, because she couldn’t use chakra sensing and use chakra offensively at the same time. Shikamaru had predicted what Sakura would do down to the second. Now, because of the previous placement of this clone, Shikamaru was behind Sakura and she had just used up her Water Release.

 

“There’s not going to be another clone, is there?” Naruto asked skeptically.

 

“Another clone?” Karin asked.

 

“We were in a fight like that once. Kakashi-sensei and this enemy ninja guy kept doing clones at each other,” Naruto said.

 

“’Doing’ clones?” Karin asked, sounding baffled.

 

“You’re not bad for a girl,” Shikamaru said. “Putting those explosive tags in the rubble and then throwing those fake tags around to drive me towards them, before activating them with strings. It was also a good way to make a dust screen, too. I really didn’t see that coming. It was stupid to use a bunch of paper, though. That just extended my technique’s range.”

 

Sakura didn’t answer immediately.

 

“Fake?” Sakura asked.

 

Shikamaru looked nonplussed.

 

“They aren’t fake,” Sakura said.

 

“What?” Shikamaru said.

 

“I just didn’t activate them,” Sakura said.

 

“No way! If that’s true…” Shikmaru looked down at the ground nervously.

 

“Yep!” Sakura said. “Hey, did you know that I can use chakra through my feet?”

 

Sasuke stiffened as he looked at the tags under Sakura’s feet.

 

“… You’d only be blowing up yourself if you activated all of those tags!” Shikamaru said.

 

“Except they’re much closer together now than they were in the air, aren’t they?” Sakura said. “They’re all on the same plane, almost. The crater isn’t that deep, after all. I think there’s probably enough of them between the two of us to create a chain reaction that would hit you, too. The only question is, could you get away fast enough? Somehow, I doubt it. You’ve always hated physical training. I bet you’re not any faster now than you were in the Academy. Oh, and now you’re injured, aren’t you?”

 

“You can’t bluff me the same way twice! That really would bring down the roof! It’d kill us both!” Shikamaru said. “You’re not that crazy!”

 

Sakura laughed brightly and Sasuke saw a tag peeking out from under her shoe light up.

 

“You’re the one always talking about how crazy women are, Shikamaru-kun!” Sakura said gayly.

 

“Oh, shit!” Shikamaru said. He turned around to run away from the tag Sakura had activated, slipping on the other tags that littered the floor, desperately making for the nearest hole in the wall. He kept the Shadow Imitation Technique active, presumably to either drag Sakura to safety away from the center of the blast or to prevent her from making a move against him if it turned out to be a bluff. This meant that Sakura turned around, just as Shikamaru did and ran after his exposed back.

 

The tag under her shoe that she had activated came with them, remaining stuck to her sole. A brief, surprised laugh burst out of Sasuke’s mouth as he saw exactly which tag it was from the color of the chakra leaking out of it; that was the yellow of Earth Release.

 

“No, Sakura-chan! Look out! It’s stuck to your sandal!” Naruto shrieked, rising to his feet and throwing himself against the railing.

 

“Shikamaru-kun, let her go! Let her go!” Ino shouted, throwing her hands to her face in horror. “She needs to take it off!”

 

Several people screamed. Shikamaru didn’t release Sakura, but it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway.

 

As one of Sakura’s feet made contact with the ground, Sasuke saw the Earth Release chakra flow from the ball of her foot, into the ground, and away from Sakura. As it moved, it bowed the earth beneath their feet up into a wave. Racing at the speed of an earthquake, the wave of earth overtook Shikamaru’s position and tossed him up into the air, breaking his contact with the ground and his connection to his own shadow.

 

The building shook tremendously and cracks appeared along the walls, while the Shadow Imitation Technique died like a switch had been flicked. As soon as she was free, Sakura crouched, coiling to spring, and green chakra began to leak from under her other shoe. Shikamaru failed to remain on his feet as he returned to the ground, but he didn’t seem bothered about it. Shikamaru rolled swiftly over, his hands already moving to perform the Shadow Imitation Technique again. The living ink of his technique shot towards Sakura like a bullet from a gun, faster than Sasuke had ever seen it deployed. It had almost reached Sakura when she jumped straight up into the air, hands flying through seals of her own, converting some of her chakra into Water Release.

 

She took a deep breath, opened her mouth, and blew a stream of ice at Shikamaru’s prone form. In moments, he was completely surrounded by a ring of ice. As she landed, her feet fell within Shikamaru’s technique, so she collapsed into a mirror of Shikamaru’s pose, and became completely still.

 

Shikamaru finally seemed to catch his breath and, with Sakura mirroring his movements, begin struggling against the ice that glued him to the floor and completely covered his hands. Sasuke could see it was pointless, there would be no getting out of that mess. The longer it took Shikamaru to realize that, the more chakra he would waste maintaining his own technique.

 

“She used the Wind Release Tag,” Sasuke said, covering an amused grin.

 

“What?” Naruto asked, looking shaken. “When?”

 

“Just now. It was under her other shoe,” Sasuke said.

 

“She used the… You mean she made that ice with the tag I helped make? Woah! That’s awesome!” Naruto said. “I mean, of course she did! I knew she was going to do that!”

 

“Sakura-chan,” Hayate said, holding up one of the tags Sakura had thrown out earlier. “Where these actually fake tags? I need to know if I have to clean them all up before the next fight.”

 

“Of course they were. I wouldn’t blow myself up,” Sakura said, looking at Hayate out of the corner of her eye, since she couldn’t move her head freely. She wiggled in time with Shikamaru’s struggles.

 

“Man, this is so stupid! I should have just given up when you threw those damned tags in the first place like a crazy person! I should never have even bothered with this dumb match! I didn’t want to fight some girl anyway!” Shikamaru said crossly. “I forfeit!”

 

“The winner of the match is Haruno Sakura!” Hayate said. Shikamaru freed Sakura from his technique, after which she stood up, stretched her arms over her head, and sighed in satisfaction. Hayate then made his way over to Shikamaru to knock the ice off the poor boy. Asuma came down to join the effort to liberate his student. It was the work of a moment for the two jounin to get all the ice off.

 

“Since when have you been able to use Ice Release?!” Shikamaru snarled, shivering as he was helped onto a stretcher by medic-nins.

 

“Since I became part of Team Seven,” Sakura said confidently. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates!” As she said it, she looked so cool that Sasuke felt a blush begin to stain his cheeks. Beside Sasuke, Kakashi gave a pleased little hum.

 

“Good fight, Shikamaru-kun,” Sakura said.

 

“… Good fight,” Shikmaru mocked sarcastically.

 

“’For a girl,’ right?” Sakura said caustically. After collecting up all the weapons and papers from around the arena, she ran back up to Sasuke and the others. Naruto and Sakura exchanged a high-five and everyone congratulated her.

 

“Twice I thought you were going to collapse the building on all of us,” Karin said.

 

“Sorry,” Sakura said bashfully.

 

“Why bother to make him turn you both around by threatening to blow up the place, if your earth-ripple-thing moved in all directions?” Karin asked.

 

“I didn’t know it would do that at the time,” Sakura admitted. “I’ve only ever done that with water before. Turns out, the ground acts differently with Earth chakra than the water does with Water chakra.”

 

“And just a little while ago, you were telling off Sasuke for damaging the walls,” Kakashi said.

 

“I didn’t mean to! I didn’t know it would work like that!” Sakura protested.

 

“It’s fine,” Kakashi said. “Nobody died.”

 

“Good job, Sakura-chan,” Sasuke said. “Well done.”

 

“It wasn’t that hard,” Sakura laughed, blushing and looking away in embarrassment. “You forget, I went to the Academy with Shikamaru-kun, too. I know how he fights. If you give him time to fix a plan in his mind, he sticks to it, even though the last chapter in the handbook on tactics we were given in the Academy clearly says, ‘No plan survives first contact with the enemy.’ If you do something he doesn’t expect, he gets totally lost.”

 

“Is ‘crazy’ the same thing as ‘unexpected?’” Naruto asked jokingly. Sakura gave him a proud grin.

 

“But you used a plan, too,” Kakashi pointed out. “You stuck those Enclosure Tags full of chakra to your shoes.”

 

“Yes, but I had another Enclosure Tag with Fire Release chakra in it under my shirt,” Sakura said, picking said tag out of her clothes, before pulling the two spent tags off the bottoms of her shoes, where they had been wedged into the groves of her soles. “See? I can be flexible.”

 

“I see,” Kakashi said. “And what were you going to do with that?”

 

“I’d think of something,” Sakura said, twirling the Fire tag.

 

“I believe you,” Kakashi said, patting Sakura on the head. Sakura smiled up at him warmly, a look which Kakashi returned.

 

“Thanks for releasing all that water during your fight, Sasuke-kun, and for drawing up the tags for me,” Sakura said. Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement.

 

“What about me? You used my nature transformation tag!” Naruto said happily.

 

“Thanks a lot, Naruto-kun! It helped me conserve my own charka, while pulling off a cool new move!” Sakura said.

 

“And it meant that you didn’t have to hurt Shikamaru-kun any further,” Sasuke thought. “Your Water Release techniques are all designed to do damage. Amazing how long his pride kept him in that fight.”

 

“Well, I’m glad I could help!” Naruto said.

 

“I’m glad I have such reliable teammates!” Sakura said. “Poor Shikamaru-kun; with Ino-Pig and Chouji-kun as teammates, you know he wasn’t getting the experience I was sparring against you guys. Especially you, Naruto-kun, with your evil, evil Shadow Clones! If I hadn’t learned to fight with everything I have, I’d never be able to last a minute against you!”

 

“Yeah! I’m a great teammate!” Naruto said. “And I have great teammates! Team Seven is the best!”

 

Kakashi rubbed Naruto’s head and everyone sat back down to watch the next match.

 

“Man, so many of these got wrinkled,” Sakura said, examining the loose stack of tags she had collected from the floor of the arena.

 

“So, this whole time they weren’t real,” Naruto said thoughtfully. “They look just like the real thing, though. These are good fakes you made.”

 

“Oh, I lied,” Sakura said, straightening the tags one by one. “They’re all real.”

 

“What?!” Naruto shouted, leaning dramatically away from her.

 

Sakura laughed.

 

“Just kidding!” She said cheerfully, before giving Naruto a sly look. “Or am I?”

 

Sasuke didn’t know what to believe anymore, but he was suddenly uncomfortable sitting so close to Sakura and her pile of tags. He had made her way too many of those things. Never again.

 

-

 

Gai returned with news that Lee had been admitted to the hospital and would be staying for a few days. Sasuke’s brow furrowed as guilt welled up inside him. How badly had Lee been hurt? Was his hand ruined from Sasuke’s spikes?

 

“I’m sorry,” Sasuke said, balling his hands tightly. “If I hadn’t fought Lee-senpai like that…”

 

“The sentiment is a noble one, reflecting your pure heart, Sasuke-kun, but do not be sorry!” Gai said. “This will be a good opportunity for my star pupil to learn that there are consequences to overdoing it and how to have the patience required for healing! If one allows one’s youthful energy to lead them astray during such a delicate time, it can worsen existing injuries!”

 

“So, Lee-kun’s dead,” Neji muttered with a deadpan expression. Tenten stifled a laugh.

 

“Never fear, Neji-kun!” Gai said. “Your deep concern for your teammate does you credit, but, with the diligent care and loving guidance of his friends, Lee-kun will surely see the wisdom of giving his all to healing, just as he would to taijutsu!”

 

Sasuke nodded seriously. There was no better time to learn patience than when you had no choice.

 

“We should take him flowers,” Sakura said.

 

“That’s a good idea. Flowers are nice.” Naruto asked.

 

“I think he’d appreciate that,” Tenten said.

 

“Indeed, he will!” Gai said.

 

While they were chatting, the next match-up was displayed on the board.

 

“Woo! It’s my turn again!” Naruto shouted, standing up and putting his apple core in the trash bag.

 

His opponent was an older teen named, “Matenrou Kouji.” Sasuke activated his Sharingan and examined him closely. The first thing he noted was that the teen was somewhat familiar, but Sasuke couldn’t recall anything about him. A minor character, perhaps. The second thing he noted was the symbol of Suna on the forehead protector on the back of the teen’s vest. The third thing he noted was the hair.

 

Kouji’s hair was rakishly disheveled in the way that only careful brushing and combing could achieve. Generally, Sasuke didn’t think much about hair. He knew he had gotten very lucky, because, not only was there no social expectation that he have long hair, but his own hair’s natural duck-butt shape was generally considered to be cool and not something embarrassing that he needed to keep a hat on until it grew out, like short bangs from the 90’s.

 

If that was all there was to say about Kouji’s hair, Sasuke wouldn’t have paid it any mind. However, Kouji wore his hair over one eye.

 

Sasuke had known someone who wore her hair over one eye when he was in high school in his previous life. She had been an underclassman, so they hadn’t had any classes together, except for gym. Sasuke had never asked, but he assumed that the younger girl wore her hair like that because she thought it made her look moody and mysterious.

 

Unfortunately for this girl, her intention was at odds with the reality of keeping half your face covered with hair.

 

Firstly, it was temperamental. Because the human face naturally protrudes slightly beyond the scalp and isn’t flat, hair does not naturally hang over the eyes, preferring to frame the face. Even if you have pulled your hair in front of your face, it will slide away whenever you raise your head or make the slightest movement of your head in any direction except down.

 

The thing about the class that Sasuke had with this girl was that it required both of those things in abundance. Maintaining this hairstyle, therefore, required the underclassman to pull her hair back into her face at intervals ranging from five minutes to fifteen seconds.

 

Secondly, even when such a hairstyle stays in place, when your hair falls over one eye, it touches your face, which is annoying, it obscures your vision, which is annoying, and it gets dirty from the oils of your skin, which is also annoying, if less immediately so. Therefore, any mystique the look could have theoretically provided while holding completely still was instantly revealed as pretense by a moment’s thought.

 

Thirdly, the act of pulling one’s hair into one’s face to cover an eye is not inherently moody and mysterious. Instead, it just makes you look like a poser.

 

Sasuke watched Kouji walk down to the arena floor with his neck held stiffly and his head pointed slightly down, presumably so as not to disturb his hair, and then, after rising from his bow to Naruto, Sasuke saw the older teen lift a hand and shift his hair back into place over one eye.

 

“Teenagers,” Sasuke thought, with a twinkle in his eye and a curl at the corner of his mouth. Knowing Naruto was unlikely to have a boring fight at this point and that Suna’s ninjas tended to specialize in Earth Release techniques, Sasuke activated his eyes to record the fight to come.

 

“Begin!” Hayate said.

 

Naruto and Kouji charged at top speed. As Kouji was closing, he extended his right arm, curled the fingers of that hand, and swung it towards Naruto in a big, sweeping, amateurish blow, as if his reach were extended by an invisible weapon. As he swung, dust and debris from the floor were drawn swiftly towards his hand, like iron filings towards a magnet, amalgamating into a single, new shape. By the time the two boys met in the middle, Kouji was wielding a stone baton, which would have caught Naruto in the head, if he hadn’t ducked under the blow.

 

Sasuke was hooked. That was such a cool move! He was definitely going to steal that one. Earth Release really had all the best moves. It also reminded Sasuke of where he knew Kouji from; he would have been in the Suna-hosted Chuunin Exam in a few years’ time.

 

If Kouji hadn’t telegraphed that move, or Naruto might have been caught by it, not realizing why Kouji was gathering dust off the floor. Of course, Kouji hadn’t done so out of generosity, Sasuke realized as he noticed Kouji’s other hand.

 

While Naruto had been tracking Kouji’s baton with his eyes and executing his own strike towards Kouji’s chest, Kouji had been creating another stone weapon from the room’s debris in his other hand. Kouji’s baton hadn’t even stopped moving by the time his second creation came in low, still forming, and this tight blow slammed into Naruto’s shoulder, throwing off Naruto’s own punch, so it glanced harmlessly over Kouji’s ribs. Naruto recoiled in surprise and pain and Kouji followed, now openly swinging two stone batons at Naruto. Naruto took everything on the chin, getting his hands up and protecting his head, but Kouji was fast and not nearly as inexperienced as his first blow made him look. It was all Naruto could do to keep moving, keep up his defense, and keep tanking those hits, because Kouji was not giving him an inch of space to create clones or draw a weapon.

 

“Keep your guard up,” Sakura growled. “Keep your guard up!” Sasuke saw that her brow was deeply furrowed and her own fists were raising into a defensive posture in sympathy. “Dodge it, damn it!”

 

Naruto managed to draw a kunai, but Kouji knocked the weapon out of his hand to spin away across the floor, possibly breaking Naruto’s hand in the process. Sasuke’s brow furrowed in worry.

 

“Woah! He’s so good with those batons!” Tenten said. Sakura shot her a dark look, making Tenten look chagrinned. “Ah! Sorry, Sakura-chan…”

 

“The difference in experience between the two is just too much,” Neji said. It certainly looked that way to Sasuke, too. Sakura growled and looked back at the fight.

 

At that moment, Naruto tried to grab one of the batons out of Kouji’s hands, perhaps thinking to disarm him, but Kouji was too fast for Naruto to match. Kouji swung for Naruto’s face and Naruto turned with the blow, but it still landed hard. Naruto took that blow across the face so hard that he was thrown to the ground.

 

Naruto was down, but not out. As Kouji swung both stone batons down in twin hammering blows, Naruto, fighting through what must have been a rattling blow, rolled away. Kouji’s blows missed Naruto by the skin of his teeth. Naruto swung his feet up, which were glowing with chakra, to block the next blows and, as Kouji’s batons made contact with Naruto’s feet, absorbed the blows with his knees. Sasuke winced. It was better to take a blow like that through a shoe than on the bare arm or hand, but injured feet could be disabling.

 

Finding his weapons stuck to the bottoms of Naruto’s shoes, due to Naruto’s well-timed use of the tree-walking technique, Kouji dropped both batons and instantly began to create new ones, leaving the abandoned batons to crumble back to dust. Naruto didn’t waste time either. Before Kouji could land a blow with his next weapons, a pair of hammers, Naruto had used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and conjured three clones.

 

The clones threw themselves at Kouji to restrain him, while Naruto scrambled to his feet. Kouji leapt back to give himself space to maneuver and the clones followed, herding him away from the original.

 

Naruto got to his feet energetically enough, but he winced as he used his arms to push off the floor. Possibly, that signaled broken bones in his arms, Sasuke noted. Getting smacked around by stone batons was no laughing matter. He hoped Naruto wouldn’t exacerbate those injuries during the rest of this fight.

 

One of Naruto’s clones took a hammer blow to the side of the head and got dusted, but Naruto conjured another and personally leapt into the fray again. His go-to four-man team was ready. Sasuke relaxed slightly; Kouji wasn’t going to have it all his own way anymore.

 

“Hmph! More Earth weapons? He’s just a one-trick pony!” Sakura said derisively. Sasuke decided not to point out Naruto’s own small pool of techniques to draw from.

 

Even outnumbered, Kouji fended off Naruto’s clones handily, dancing around the arena to keep himself from being surrounded. His crowd control was spot on, turning a four-on-one into a series of brief one-on-ones. He was avoiding damage, while taking out or knocking back anything that got too close. When one clone tried to drive a kunai into Kouji’s side, Kouji slammed a hammer down on its arm, shattering the arm and dispersing the clone. When one close aimed a kick at Kouji’s head, Kouji blocked the blow with one hammer and slammed his other hammer into the clone’s groin, dispersing that clone, too. When Naruto and another clone tried to use a pincer movement to trap Kouji from opposite sides, Kouji strengthened his legs with chakra and shot out of range, driving a hammer into the face of another clone like a professional baseball player from hell, while Naruto was left eating Kouji’s dust. As many clones as Naruto set up, Kouji knocked down. He wasn’t just good; he was better, much better. Kouji wasn’t exactly Kakashi, who evaded Team Seven effortlessly. He was definitely working for it, but his results were flawless. Naruto couldn’t touch a even single hair on Kouji’s head. Sasuke was impressed. Why was this guy still a genin?

 

Kouji slammed his hammer into Naruto’s upper arm and Naruto screamed in pain. That arm had to be broken. Sasuke gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to dive over the railing and intercede in this stupid meaningless fight. This fucking village, making its children participate in blood sport, so that it could maintain a formidable reputation. This fucking Hokage…

 

Glaring fiercely, Sasuke kept his eyes on the fight and away from the Third.

 

As Naruto was reeling from his newest injury, Kouji began collecting more rubble from the floor, creating a mace, which he held out menacingly towards Naruto with a taunting smirk.

 

“Oh, yeah?” Naruto shouted. “You think your bukijutsu is so good? Well, watch this!” He summoned enough clones to restore his four-man team and to create a second one. Naruto and his seven clones stared Kouji down and then it was on.

 

Kouji had to rely more than ever on his speed, but it wasn’t quite enough this time. It was an exceptional fighter who could take on four opponents at once, even with plenty of room to maneuver. To take on eight? To take on two well-coordinated teams of four? That required something else.

 

Kouji was on the run now, landing the occasionally blow when he could, but mostly preoccupied with trying to avoid injury. Naruto’s two teams covered each other, one providing suppressing volleys of kunai and shuriken to keep Kouji busy, while the other closed with Kouji and landed serious blows. Kouji might be able to block every projectile thrown at him, but he couldn’t do that and fend off four suicidally aggressive Shadow Clones at the same time. Once Kouji finally escaped from one team, the other team would be after him, while the team he had just engaged with in close quarters took up the role of loosing more projectiles at him.

 

Round and round they went. Naruto would pressure Kouji and Kouji would fall back. Kouji would occasionally destroy a clone or, even more occasionally, land a solid hit on Naruto, but he was running out of steam and taking damage himself. No matter how hard he tried, Naruto, as the more maneuverable opponent, was always able to prevent Kouji from reaching a corner, which would have been better for defense.

 

“You can’t keep that up!” Kouji shouted furiously, as Naruto replaced a clone for the dozenth time since the eight-on-one fight had begun.

 

“The hell I can’t!” Naruto shouted back.

 

Unfortunately for Kouji, he was the one who couldn’t keep up. He turned his stone maces into a stone sword and massive kite shield, before putting his back to the wall. He must have been running on fumes to exchange his fluid, acrobatic fighting style for such an undynamic one. Naruto was starting to look tired, too.

 

“This looks like a teachable moment,” Kakashi said lightly. Sasuke resisted the urge to tell him to shut up. He didn’t care if the unseen audience didn’t understand what was happening. He could see the fight fine and he didn’t need Kakashi to narrate anything.

 

“What?!” Sakura hissed at Kakashi, without taking her eyes off Naruto.

 

As Naruto and Kouji continued to grind each other down into bloody, broken stumps, Kakashi started giving an honest-to-God lecture.

 

“While we ninjas generally rely on agility to deal with incoming blows, even projectiles, samurai use armor. Both styles have their tradeoffs. Whereas we have to keep our armor light, samurai can double down on durability, shrugging off blows that would kill us. Shields are a good option for that extra armor. They’re useful if you need to hold a formation and, therefore, can’t dodge, or if you need to defend against projectiles.”

 

Kouji slammed the shield, which must have weighed more than he did, into a clone, destroying it, as Naruto tried to force him away from the wall. Sasuke’s arms felt tired just looking at that thing. Kouji should have picked a smaller design if he wanted to throw it around.

 

“However, they are otherwise an inferior choice to simply wielding a second weapon or a larger two-hander. As a rule, ninjas hardly ever fight in formation for more than a few seconds at a time, so we tend to use two weapons or a single two-hander.”

 

Kouji executed a bold move with his sword, the stone blade flashing out from behind the shield like lightning, and took down two of Naruto’s clones at once, but Naruto had created their replacements almost before they had been dispelled. One of the clones leapt on top of the shield and drove a kunai down with both hands into where Kouji’s head had been. Kouji dodged, but was forced to abandon the protection of the wall and keep moving, dragging his heavy shield with him.

 

“You will come up against an opponent or squadron of opponents who use a shield at some point in your career, especially if you have to fight many samurai. Most samurai rely on their armor for defense, but shields are even more useful than armor is against projectiles. Better to take a hail of arrows in a shield than in even the best armor. Don’t assume that someone who isn’t a ninja can’t handle arrows, kunai, or so on, especially if they have a shield.”

 

Looking wild-eyed and exhausted, Kouji lashed out at Naruto, catching him in the chest with his sword. Sasuke saw the blade drive into Naruto’s flesh and slice through his chest muscles, despite Naruto’s best efforts to avoid the blow. Sasuke clenched his hands.

 

“If you wield them right, wooden shields can also catch weapons, necessitating extraction from the shield before they can be used to strike again, but such a move makes them less long-lasting.”

 

Kouji might have landed a dangerous blow against his opponent, but he had left himself open to Naruto’s relentless counter attack. As Naruto cringed back in agony, clutching his chest, his clones remained uninjured, undistracted, undeterred. They had Kouji surrounded and they drove that point home with fists and steel.

 

“For contrast, a stone or metal shield is less penetrable, but it doesn’t have the catching power that wooden shields use to produce those particular opportunities for counter attacks.”

 

One of Naruto’s clones grabbed Kouji’s shield with both hands and lost his fingers for his pains, but Kouji suffered a flurry of punches from behind to the kidneys in his distraction.

 

“Also remember this: the heavier the shield, the more it slows them down. The bigger the shield, the more it restricts their movements and field of view. The more utilized the shield, the more defensive the mindset becomes.”

 

Kouji leapt back to escape Naruto’s clones, who ran him down and surrounded him again anyway.

 

“Watch him; he’s dulling his edge by inches.”

 

Kakashi was clearly right. Kouji was becoming more and more cautious in the face of Naruto’s dauntless assault, constantly trying to get his back against a wall, to get some distance from Naruto, to hide behind his shield. Kouji had stopped responding optimally. He was outnumbered and increasingly injured and tired. He might be better protected with that shield, but he was no longer trying to win; he was only trying not to lose.

 

Naruto, who had very little social intelligence in any other situation, nonetheless had good instincts for his opponents’ emotions in a fight. He must have sensed Kouji’s weakening, because his next move was tailor-made to make Kouji’s mindset even worse: he made one more clone. Then, he stepped back and just watched, while his eight Shadow Clones took over the fight entirely. With his affected, but still somewhat convincing, unworried posture and impassive mien, Naruto was making it clear that Kouji wasn’t worth fighting anymore. Sasuke was impressed. It was a move Kakashi pulled during sparring practice to fuck with Team Seven and Naruto had deployed it at just the right moment to produce the maximum effect. For a moment, Sasuke could see despair in Kouji’s eyes.

 

“You’re a bad influence on him, Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura said happily.

 

“Don’t give up, Kouji-kun!” one of Kouji’s teammates shouted. “You can do it! Don’t lose to this kid!”

 

With his teammate’s encouragement, Kouji gritted his teeth, dropped his shield, and created a second sword. The change in his mindset was plain to see. Suddenly, Kouji had his aggression back and, with his relatively light and fast weapons, Naruto’s clones fell in droves.

 

“Man, I really want to fight that guy!” Tenten said. “Kouji of Suna! I’ll remember that name!”

 

“His bukijutsu shows such passion!” Gai commented. “He has clearly been devoted in his pursuit of excellence in his chosen martial art! That is a young man with ambition! Ah, it shines so bright that it lights up the room!”

 

“Yeah!” Tenten said excitedly, before looking away embarrassedly at having matched Gai’s sincerity. Gai laughed loudly and began watching the match again.

 

It was a battle of attrition now. Who could take a beating longer? Who had the greater reserves of stamina? Obviously, it was Naruto, but Kouji didn’t give up easily. He had the mindset of a fighter, refusing to surrender, even in the face of certain defeat. Because of Kouji’s determination, the fight went on long enough that it actually became almost dull to watch. It took an unbelievable fifteen minutes more, making it far and away the longest prelim fight so far, before Kouji finally fell to his hands and knees and did not get back up. Naruto, for his part, was too injured and exhausted to whale on Kouji the way he had Kiba. He and his clones stood back and glared down at Kouji.

 

“Do you give up?” Naruto asked tensely, clearly in pain, pale from blood loss, and pressing a hand over the cut on his chest to slow the bleeding.

 

Kouji, on all fours, breathing hard, and looking miserable, spoke up as soon as he had the breath to do so.

 

“… Yeah, I yield. Good fight.”

 

Hayate called the fight.

 

“Good fight!” Naruto said.

 

Kakashi immediately leapt down into the arena to support his flagging student and Sakura exploded into cheers and gesticulations so wild that Sasuke had to dodge her hands. Sasuke himself, glaring worriedly at his bloodied and bruised teammate, clapped as loudly as he could. That had been one hell of a fight. While a medic-nin did a quick check of Naruto’s chest wound, the boy turned a smile like the sun towards Sasuke. He had never looked prouder. Sasuke gave him a small grin in return and Naruto started laughing breathlessly. In the end, both fighters had to be carried out on stretchers and Kakashi and Kouji’s teacher accompanied their respective students to the hospital.

 

Sasuke contemplatively watched Kouji as he disappeared through the doorway. Had Kouji been that strong in the story? Why was that he here? Why now? Had he always been a participant in the Konoha-hosted Chuunin Exams and just not gotten any recognition from the story? Since Kouji showed up here, and was clearly strong enough to merit that promotion already, did that mean that he wasn’t going to show up at the Chuunin Exam in Suna in a few years’ time? Sasuke had no answers.

 

“Looks like we’ll need to buy Naruto-kun flowers, too,” Sakura said, laying down on the walkway. “That was so stressful! I’m so glad it’s over!”

 

Sasuke nodded as he gazed down at the blood on the floor of the arena. Watching your friend take a beating was a miserable experience. By the end, Naruto looked like death warmed over. He might have a miraculous healing factor, but he would still need time to recover from his injuries. Not that Sasuke could guess how long that might take. Would anyone be able to? Perhaps the hospital would be able to rely on the medical records of his mother and Mito to guide their treatment of Naruto.

 

“Karin-san,” Sasuke said, turning to her.

 

“You know, you don’t have to be so formal, Sasuke-kun,” Karin said.

 

“Alright,” Sasuke said with a nod. “Karin-chan, are you going to spend the month in Kusa?”

 

“No, my team will be staying here through the end of the exams,” Karin said. “Since I’ll be in town, do you want to get together, maybe tomorrow? We could hang out. Maybe you could show me around.”

 

“I’d like that,” Sasuke said. He had been about to invite her around anyway and her idea to get a tour was a good one, even though he didn’t plan to spend the day in Konoha, as Karin was clearly expecting. Sasuke had really enjoyed his first tour of Shinku no Machi and Karin might, too.

 

“Great!” Karin said, beaming.

 

Sasuke looked back towards the arena and found that Sakura was watching his face. She wasn’t going to be weird about him spending time with another girl, was she? Her expression was inscrutable, but she didn’t look jealous to him. He raised an eyebrow at her. In response, she smiled awkwardly and looked back at the arena. A slight tenseness in her features made her look worried.

 

“What was that about?” Sasuke wondered.

 

After one more bout, the Preliminaries were over. The Hokage congratulated everyone, called up the winners, and dismissed the losers. Those who had passed drew numbers out of a box and the lineup for the Finals was assembled based on those draws. Sasuke idly noted that his first opponent would be Neji. He didn’t pay attention to the rest of the chart; he didn’t plan on being in Konoha to participate in the Finals anyway.

 

“Let’s go, everyone!” Gai said. “I will supervise any youthful celebrations you wish to partake in while Kakashi-kun is absent!”

 

Neji sighed wearily. Sasuke felt the same way. He felt too drained after the morning’s fights to do anything but lay around. Somehow, watching Naruto’s fight against Kouji had left him feeling even more tired than his own match against Lee had.

 

As they were leaving the building, Team Kakashi and Team Gai met up with Teams Ten and Eight.

 

“I can’t believe you put Shikamaru-kun in the hospital!” Ino scolded Sakura.

 

“Sorry,” Sakura said, not sounding the least bit contrite. Ino flicked Sakura on the forehead, which Sakura reacted to with an indignant cry. “At least none of us have to worry about preparing for the Finals. You guys did so well! You were amazing!”

 

“Thanks!” Sakura said.

 

“Especially you, Sasuke-kun!” Ino said, turning to him, and latching on to his arm. Sasuke wished she wouldn’t do that.

 

“Ino!” Sakura said irritably.

 

“Your monsters were terrifying!” Ino continued. “If any enemy with an ounce of sense ever face you, they’ll just run away when they see what you can do! I know I would have just given up! That older boy was crazy to face you until the end!”

 

“Thanks,” Sasuke said perfunctorily, uncomfortable with Ino’s slight against Lee, but not knowing how to address it.

 

“That was such a terrible fight, though! Absolutely wrenching! I hated seeing you get hurt!” Ino said. Sakura started trying to pry Ino’s fingers off Sasuke’s arm. “It was horrible to see you in that state at the end! I was so worried! It looked so painful! That guy, I can’t believe he hit you that hard! What if he had permanently messed up your handsome face?”

 

“Ino-Pig, stop flirting with Sasuke-kun!” Sakura demanded, finally freeing Sasuke from Ino’s grasp.

 

“Butt out, Billboard Brow!” Ino said. “And don’t let your head get even bigger! You only won today because of a fluke!”

 

“I knocked the wind out of you!” Sakura said.

 

“That was an accident of physiology! I’ll beat you next time!” Ino said.

 

As Sakura and Ino began bickering, Hinata approached Sasuke.

 

“Sasuke-kun, are you going to visit Naruto-kun in the hospital today?” Hinata asked quietly, drawing his attention away from the bickering pair in front of him. He nodded.

 

“After we pick up some flowers and ramen, we’ll go there,” Sasuke said. He turned to Gai, their designated babysitter for the timebeing. “Is that fine?”

 

“Absolutely, Sasuke-kun!” Gai said, giving Sasuke a big thumbs up.

 

“Oh, yes! Lee-kun will want to know how the other matches went,” Tenten said.

 

“Would you like to come?” Sasuke asked Hinata.

 

“Oh, um…” Hinata said, beginning to blush and fidget.

 

“Kiba might like some flowers and Naruto-kun would probably appreciate a second bowl of ramen,” Sasuke suggested. It cost him nothing to play wingman for Hinata.

 

Hinata smiled and blushed even deeper.

 

“Yes, thank you,” she said. “I’ll do that. I’d like to come along, if it’s not a bother.” Sasuke nodded.

 

“You, too?” Sasuke asked Shino. Shino nodded.

 

“We should purchase a bouquet of unscented flowers for Kiba-kun,” Shino said. “Why? Because, until the medic-nin have healed his concussion, strong smells may be unpleasant to him, potentially triggering nausea and vomiting.” Sasuke nodded. That sounded like a reasonable precaution.

 

Hinata giggled.

 

“You two are so alike,” she said. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and looked back at Shino. Were they really so alike? If any two people here were alike, it was Sakura and Ino.

 

“Shino-kun’s fighting style doesn’t result in property damage,” Kurenai said. “You two were so destructive in your matches that the building will likely have to be torn down and rebuilt.”

 

Sakura laughed nervously, but Sasuke truly didn’t care one bit. Konoha’s budget wasn’t his problem and it was an ugly building with stupid statues anyway.

 

“It’s lucky Kakashi-kun is your teacher. Anyone else would probably be panicked about it,” Kurenai continued.

 

“That guy’s always so chill,” Asuma agreed.

 

“Indeed!” Gai said. “His supremely cool and hip attitude means that he will likely simply shrug off any implication that he should take financial responsibility for the day’s events!”

 

Sakura began to sweat nervously.

 

“Financial responsibility? You don’t think that there is any possibility that they might send my parents, um, a bill, do you?” Sakura asked.

 

Asuma laughed.

 

“Don’t worry, kid. This building gets damaged almost every time fights are held here,” Asuma said, pulling out a cigarette. Sakura looked reassured. “Not usually this badly, but still.” Sakura no longer looked reassured.

 

“Let’s get some flowers for Shikamaru-kun, too,” Ino said to Sakura.

 

“You do it. He’s not my teammate,” Sakura said.

 

“No, but you’re the one who put him in the hospital,” Ino pointed out.

 

“He’s fine,” Sakura said with the confidence of someone who genuinely didn’t care.

 

“You cut him into a thousand pieces after blowing up his feet!” Ino said sharply.

 

“The medic-nins will have his injuries mostly taken care of by this evening,” Asuma said. “But I’m sure he would still appreciate a visit from his friends.”

 

“I wouldn’t say we were friends,” Sakura said, crossing her arms. Ino frowned at Sakura disapprovingly. “What? You know what he’s like! He can’t go a single day without telling a girl how she’s are supposed to act or how women in general are crazy, dumb, and untrustworthy. Once, in class, you and I were talking about becoming the first woman Hokage, and Shikamaru-kun, who wasn’t even part of our conversation, went on a rant about how, if a woman ever became the Hokage, Konoha would start wars with everyone and be destroyed, because women just can’t keep their PMS under control. Do you remember that? I haven’t forgotten it.”

 

“I know he’s a jerk, but he’s still our friend,” Ino insisted.

 

“He’s not my friend. I know you like him, Ino-Pig, because you two have known each other since you were in diapers, but he’s always so rude and annoying. I just can’t stand him.”

 

“He can be a bit over the top, but he’s a teenage boy. Trust me when I say that’s not an easy thing to be,” Asuma said. “He’s not a bad kid. He’s got a good heart underneath all that attitude.”

 

“Well, I don’t have to deal with his hidden heart. I have to deal with his attitude,” Sakura said. “He wasn’t so bad when we were younger. We were friends, but then, a couple years ago, he started ‘being a man,’ which apparently means putting down every girl he ever comes across and being gloomy all the time. He became a total jerk for no reason! It really hurt my feelings.” Sakura frowned unhappily. “So, yeah, I’m glad I got the chance to beat the snot out of him today. Maybe now he won’t be so quick to say all girls are weak. And, no, I don’t want to go see him, let alone bring him flowers.”

 

Sasuke hadn’t realized that there was bad blood between Sakura and Shikamaru. After the massacre, he hadn’t paid attention to his classmates in the Academy.

 

“Nobody has to buy flowers for anyone they don’t want to,” Tenten said, putting a hand on Sakura’s shoulder. “Let’s go, shall we?”

 

The teams walked together to buy flowers from the Yamanaka flower shop, when Ino’s mother worked. Sakura and Ino took charge of picking out the flowers, because they knew the flower language conventions. Sasuke thought it was a bit pointless, because the recipients of those flowers didn’t know it. Sakura could have given Naruto funeral flowers and the boy would be just as pleased with them.

 

Next, everyone went to eat at Ramen Ichiraku. Sasuke made sure to inform Teuchi that Naruto had won his matches and was recuperating in the hospital. Teuchi wrote a little note for Naruto to go with the ramen, which Sasuke thought was an especially kind gesture. If he knew Naruto, the boy would probably keep it forever, even though it was just a short message written on a blank order form. To keep the takeout warm, Temari put the food in Enclosure Tags.

 

At the hospital, the teams split up, except for Team Gai and Team Kakashi. They visited Lee first. When Team Gai had shared the rest of the fights with Lee and Sakura and Gai had handed over the ramen and flowers, Sasuke took advantage of the first lull in the conversation to apologize to Lee again.

 

“I’m sorry, Lee-sempai. I encouraged you to hurt yourself. I knew that using the Eight Gates could be dangerous, but I didn’t realize that you would be injured so early in the process,” Sasuke said, bowing.

 

“But it was my choice! I had to keep up with you!” Lee insisted. “I wanted to prove a worthy opponent!”

 

“Even if you hadn’t opened any gates, you still would have been worthy,” Sasuke said. “Give yourself more credit.” He rose from his bow and saw Lee’s eyes swimming with tears and his expression one of awe. “I’m sorry that I put my own excitement ahead of your well-being.”

 

“These injuries are nothing!” Lee insisted, sniffling. “I’m going to return to my training tomorrow! I’ll be ready for a rematch in no time!” That sounded like trouble.

 

“For training to be effective, it should be regular, because gains are incremental. Injuries prevent regular training and reduce gains. That makes healing a form of training, too, because it helps you regain what you’ve lost,” Sasuke said, frowning. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

 

“Okay,” Lee said, giving Sasuke a watery smile. “I will rest properly!” Then, Lee hobbled out of bed and hugged Sasuke. Sasuke’s eyes flew wide in surprise.

 

“Gwaaaa! Lee-kun! Sasuke-kun!” Gai shouted and started hugging them both. Sasuke saw that both of Gai and Lee were crying.

 

“You did this to yourself,” Neji said pitilessly, when Sasuke caught his eye. Tenten snorted and looked away to hide her smile. When Sasuke finally unfroze, red-faced, he gently laid a hand on Lee’s back. Hugs were nice, he reflected.

 

“The sincerity in your young hearts has touched me!” Gai said, tears streaming down his face. “Your feelings for each other are pure and noble! Your respect as comrades is as deep and refreshing as the Konoha River! I foresee a long and beautiful friendship ahead of you two, who are just beginning on your ninja journey!”

 

“Lee-kun, your ramen is going to get cold,” Tenten said, apparently taking pity on Sasuke and inducing Lee and Gai to release him. Gai kept a hand on both Sasuke and Lee’s shoulders when they separated.

 

“Okay! I will eat this ramen and then take a nap! That is my promise! If I don’t then… I will read a dozen books in bed!” Lee said.

 

“That’s the spirit, Lee-kun! In one week, you’ll be ready to return to light training!” Gai shouted.

 

“Please stop shouting!” A nurse said sternly, ducking his head into the room. “This is a hospital! You’re disturbing the other patients!”

 

Everyone visited Naruto next, including Lee, whom Gai pushed around in a wheelchair. Naruto blushed when he received the small vase of flowers from Sakura and started grinning like a loon when he received Teuchi’s message.

 

“I’m going to train so hard!” Naruto said, between bites of ramen. “I’m definitely going to take first place, believe it!”

 

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Sakura chided him, handing him a napkin. “And wipe your chin! You’re getting it all over the place!”

 

“Sorry! Thanks for bringing me lunch, guys!” Naruto said. “This is really great!”

 

Sasuke heard the door open and saw a very flustered-looking Hinata enter.

 

“H-hello…” she said softly. “Naruto-kun, I brought you, um, some ramen, if you want it.”

 

“Oh, cool! Thanks, Hinata-chan!” Naruto said.

 

“It was nothing,” Hinata said, lowering her chin.

 

“Just set it down here and I’ll eat it next!” Naruto said. “How’s Kiba doing?”

 

“He’s doing better,” Hinata said. “He’s going home tonight.”

 

“How long will you be a patient for, Naruto-kun?” Sakura asked.

 

“Any time now. They just need to do some paperwork,” Naruto said. “I wasn’t hurt that bad.”

 

“Seriously? You had two broken arms and several broken fingers,” Neji said incredulously. Naruto shrugged.

 

“Whatever diagnostic technique the medic-nins used said it wasn’t that bad,” Naruto said. Score one for Naruto’s magic constitution, Sasuke supposed. Couldn’t have the protagonist out of action for long, right? The audience needs their POV character.

 

Hinata activated her Byakugan with a worried expression, but relaxed at whatever she found.

 

“I’m glad you’re okay, Naruto-kun,” Sakura said.

 

“He’ll have to take it easy for a while,” Kakashi said.

 

“No way! I need to start training again!” Naruto said loudly.

 

“You’re going to take at least two days off,” Kakashi said. “End of discussion.”

 

“Man!” Naruto shouted.

 

“Naruto-kun, you’re spraying ramen all over the place!” Sakura shouted.

 

“Sorry! I just hate waiting!” Naruto shouted. The door to Naruto’s room opened and the same nurse from before stepped in.

 

“This is a hospital! Please don’t-!” the nurse said, stepping into the room. “Ah! You guys again?!”

 

After almost getting kicked out of the hospital, they visited Kiba (quietly), and then Lee and Naruto went back to their rooms, Kakashi went to his apartment, Tenten went home to see her parents, and Gai took Neji, Sakura, and Sasuke to Ino’s house.

 

“Hello, Tenzou-kun!” Gai said cheerfully. “And hello to your most mysterious student! How are you both?”

 

“We’re well. Welcome back, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun. How did it go?” Tenzou asked, putting a hand on his blank-faced charge’s shoulder.

 

“Tenzou-sensei, we passed!” Sakura said excitedly. “I can’t wait to tell my parents!”

 

Sasuke perked up. It would be good to see his own family again. He’d only seen them once during the last week. Now that Orochimaru wasn’t an imminent threat, it was safe enough to bring them back. It had always been the plan to touch base with them today and bring everyone back to Konoha tonight, if all was well.

 

“That’s great! Well done, you two! Where’s Naruto-kun?” Tenzou asked. As Sakura gave him the details of Naruto’s fight, Sasuke went to wash off the salt and sand from his fight with Lee. After cleaning up and setting his dirty clothes out to dry, he resumed work on the Caged Bird Seal with Neji. They were still in the background research phase, so they spent most of the afternoon studying silently and occasionally reading out interesting bits to the other person.

 

The morning had been fun, Sasuke realized with some surprise as he relaxed into his studies. He had been expecting the fights to be interesting, but he hadn’t anticipated how enjoyable they would be. He still resented having to participate in blood sport for advertising and he was still resolutely opposed to the idea of child soldiers, but he had enjoyed today. Being a ninja could be enjoyable sometimes. Not enough to justify it as a career, but still.

 

Sasuke’s work was cut short when Kakashi entered the guest bedroom.

 

“Sasuke-kun, a runner just came. You’ve got an invitation to the Nara Compound from Shikaku-san.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Guess you’ll find out when you get there.”

 

“When am I expected?” Sasuke asked, slightly irritated.

 

“Now,” Kakashi said nonchalantly. Sasuke frowned. Was there an emergency? Was there some new danger? “Come on. Let’s go.” Sakura and Naruto refused to stay behind, so all of Team Seven went together.

 

The Nara Compound had a different character to any other that Sasuke had visited. Where the rest of the village didn’t commonly have front lawns at all, the Naras each had a small one. Their homes (Japanese vernacular in style, as was usual for clans) were placed away from the road, which was lined with trees with spreading canopies, making everything shady and cool and giving Sasuke the impression of higher-than-average wealth. Sasuke didn’t know why it struck him that way at first. Then, he saw it; this place was laid out like an American suburb, all comfortable, inefficient, low-density housing. The houses weren’t really more opulent or larger than average, but each one was on a larger tract of land than typical and stood well away from those on either side. Compared to the rest of Konoha, excepting the Uchiha Compound, the Nara Compound was almost repressively quiet. The day was ending and Sasuke knew that these houses must be occupied by families home from work and school, but he couldn’t hear the occupants at all.

 

It was strange to see what looked like a modern, middle class, pastoral-aesthetic borrowing, American-influenced neighborhood in Konoha, but perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising. The whole world was a Frankenstein’s monster of place and time, with televisions from the eighties and swords from the pre-Meiji era found in nearly every household. It was a feudal society with antiquated tastes and modern appetites. On the one hand, there was Enka and City Pop on the radio and plastic boxes of food in the convenience stores, and, on the other, there was slavery and not even single a motorcycle or farm truck to be seen. Sasuke had never stepped foot on a paved road, but he walked underneath electric transmission lines. Fossil fuels were used to produce plastic, but, when Sasuke had looked into it at one point, he found there was no information to be had on where oil was drilled.

 

The story of “Naruto” was the late 90’s anime equivalent of German expressionist cinema; the worldbuilding was 100% vibes-based. Sasuke enjoyed metaphor in his fiction, but it could be unsettling to come across in real life.

 

Shikamaru’s house was larger than those around it, as was usual for the clan head’s dwelling. Shikaku met them at the door. He lead them into a room with the shoji doors open to let in the breeze and daylight. Inside, Inoichi, Chouza, Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru were present. Shikamaru was using two crutches to get about.

 

“Shikamaru,” Shikaku said. “You’re too young for this. Go on.”

 

“Okay,” Shikamaru said, turning to leave, only to have his sleeve snagged by Ino.

 

“What? But he’s the same age as we are!” Ino said, motioning to Sasuke.

 

“He’s also the head of the Uchiha Clan,” Shikaku said.

 

“The head?” Shikamaru parroted dubiously, before seemingly remembering his audience and giving Sasuke an awkwardly apologetic look. Sasuke wasn’t offended, but he was still hurt by the assessment. He told himself that it didn’t matter what other people thought of the Uchiha’s precarity or his claim to being the head of it.

 

“We already know about that creep Danzou and what he did,” Ino said. “Everybody knows he’s got the First’s face and a bunch of eyes implanted in his arm. The whole village is talking about it. That’s what this is about, right? That’s what you’re going to discuss.”

 

“Ino-chan, this is clan business,” Inoichi said.

 

“We’re your heirs, aren’t we? That’s all the more reason for us to know what’s going on,” Ino countered. “If something happened to you, we would be the ones taking over, with Mom’s help, of course. We aren’t little kids anymore, Dad; we’re genin. We need to know what’s going on. Ignorance isn’t a shield.”

 

“Turning my words against me,” Inoichi said ruefully.

 

“How troublesome,” Shikaku said. “This is going to be a serious conversation.”

 

“And that’s why we should be here,” Ino said. “We aren’t five. We know how to be quiet.”

 

“We’re ready,” Chouji said quietly.

 

“I’m not,” Shikamaru said mulishly. “This sounds super troublesome.”

 

“Shikamaru-kun!” Ino started to scold him.

 

“What? I won’t be of any help and I’d rather go take a nap. In case you forgot, I got blown up and stabbed today by your best friend…” Shikamaru said, pointing to his bandaged feet.

 

“Mortal enemy,” Ino corrected.

 

“… And I think I’ve earned a nap,” Shikamaru finished.

 

“The medic-nins mostly fixed you up already and it’s not like you’ll be moving around,” Ino said. “This is important to our clans and to Konoha, so sleep later!”

 

Shikamaru looked to Chouji for support.

 

“It’s important,” Chouji said, giving Shikamaru an apologetic smile. Shikamaru sighed and drooped tiredly.

 

The three clan heads exchanged a long look.

 

“Not one word,” Shikaku said to Ino, holding up a stern finger. “You three are here to learn, not to participate.”

 

“Yes, sir!” Ino said.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes.

 

“Yes, sir,” Chouji said.

 

“Absolutely,” Sakura said.

 

“Yeah, we’ll be very quiet, believe it!” Naruto said.

 

Shikaku smiled wryly and sighed.

 

“Let’s get on with it,” he said.

Notes:

Sasuke: Fuck you, author!

Me: *clutches pearls and gasps in affront*

 

Hayate: Welcome to the Overlook Hotel. Jack Torrance and the ghosts were busy, but Team Seven volunteered to fill in.

Sasuke: *Gleefully chasing you through the hedge maze with his hands transformed into axes*

Sakura: *Laughing madly as she approaches you in the bathroom with Explosive Tags*

Naruto: *Standing with his clones* Come and play with us.

Kakashi: *pouring you an iced tea* Shields: can’t live with them, can’t live without them.

 

I originally wrote Sakura’s fight as less violent and mean, but then I thought about how this version of Sakura would organically react to Shikamaru’s misogyny, taking into account how she had grown up with him and assuming, firstly, that he wasn’t always an asshole and, secondly, that he’s currently going through that all-too common phenomenon of leaning into the values of a patriarchal society for clout with his male peers, so I had to rewrite it.

 

Naruto’s fight was hard. I had no idea who to pair him with, so I procrastinating writing that scene for weeks. Kouji was my salvation. This story ages him up a few years, invents a last name for him, and makes him more skilled than he was in the anime, but I was very pleased to have found such a good fit from among the canon Chuunin Exam participants. It was nice to be able to show how Naruto’s skills and personality enable him to best an otherwise superior opponent. The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique is simply broken.

 

As I was writing Sakura using Ice Beam in her fight with Shikamaru, I recalled how she mentioned Team Seven’s coverage of the range of Nature Transformations and type match-ups in a previous chapter and I realized that I wrote this version of her as someone who would be really into Pokémon. She’d know the power and accuracy of all the moves. She’d use TMs for more than just moving around the map. She’d evaluate the personality of the Pokémon she’s caught before adding them to her team. She’d believe that Bug is the worst type, no matter how cute they are, and have the math to back that up. She’d play competitively. I can just hear her talking about the best team she ever built. “One time, I had this Charazard…” I feel like that reference dates me. Charmander was my first Pokemon.

 

I dipped back into the pirated manga and I think there was a real missed opportunity with Shikamaru’s fight against Tsuchi. If he had been paired with someone especially intelligent or especially strong, that fight would have done more to portray him as a genius. As it is, I’m not even sure what to make of that fight. Was Shikamaru in control of Tsuchi the whole time the shadow held her? If so, then why throw the shuriken? Just skip that step and force her to bash her head against the wall (or better yet, tell her to surrender or you’ll bash her head into the wall). Her failure to perceive the wall’s proximity is completely irrelevant, if Shikamaru is the one in control. She has no agency in that moment. She can’t choose to avoid that wall. Instead, that scene implies that the shadow doesn’t completely restrict the target’s movements and there is some level of give and take between the two fighters, with both deciding the pair’s movements jointly… Which would make the shadow technique bad.

 

There’s nothing, to my knowledge, about the Nara Compound being any different from any other clan compound in Konoha, but there’s so much room for personality and culture to be injected there! Each clan could have its own character and history displayed through its housing and urban planning! For instance, flowers in baskets and on rooftop gardens for mental well-being for the Yamanaka, community gardens or small farms and wide streets for the Akimichi, adventurous architecture, murals on the walls, and long streets with clear sight-lines for the Uchiha, taller buildings with hierarchies of tenants for the Hyuuga, a pet waste disposal station on every corner for the Inuzuka. I wish I’d thought of it sooner, so I could have given some more color to the different neighborhoods of the village. That would have been better, especially if I had made Konoha a city, rather than a village. I like how Kishi put the wealthier citizens in traditional housing and put the poorer citizens in apartments.

Chapter 16: Meetings, Meetings, Meetings

Summary:

Kakashi makes like a middle manager and attends meetings and Karin joins the Uchiha.

Notes:

All Kakashi’s POV to make up for its complete absence in the last chapter.

I have always been atrocious at spelling, but I have never written “garden” as “guarden” in my life before I wrote this chapter. I was using both words and they evidently sounded too similar for my brain to properly distinguish them. The guard in the garden is guarding the gar! Have you guys ever seen a gar, family Lepisosteidae, before? For a fish with a mouth full of sharp teeth that lay poisonous eggs, gar are very cute… Now I want to eat some. Does it say terrible things about me that I want to eat something so cute? Look out, little Sasuke! I’ll chomp your rosy cheeks!

Speaking of cute things, there is precisely one other dog that my dogs actually tolerate and this little guy was our guest while his humans went on vacation. While he was here, one of my dogs, the same tiny boy who tried to start a fight with the biggest buck, decided that this curly-haired little guest of ours was not just tolerable, but was actually his best friend and followed him around constantly. Even when the little guest was lying by the front door, forlornly waiting for his humans to return and refusing to play, my boy was right by his side, as if trying to cheer him up.

Two Nara emerged from hiding in the garden, closed the exterior shogi doors, and stood guard outside them. Kakashi noted the increased security once again. Just like in the Yamanaka Compound, surreptitious lookouts were in place throughout the neighborhood. Kakashi had never known the people of Konoha to be so watchful within the village. Even during the war, people had trusted the walls to hold the dangers of the world at bay, but no longer. Now, the only way to trust that the government wouldn’t murder you in your bed was to go back to sleep. It should never have come to this. The Hokage had failed.

 

Shikaku motioned for Sasuke to take a seat in front of himself and for Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto to sit behind Sasuke. This arrangement mirrored the way Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji sat behind their fathers, indicating that Team Seven was effectively Sasuke’s support, if not his clan. Shikaku thanked Sasuke for coming and apologized for having called the meeting on such short notice. There also wasn’t an inch of slouch in the habitually casual man’s posture. With Chouza present, Kakashi was on the lookout for any disrespectful behavior towards Naruto, but Chouza didn’t so much as glance at Naruto. Whatever this was about, Shikaku was doing this as formally and respectfully as he could. Kakashi approved.

 

“It was four days ago now that Danzou-san was publicly exposed as having ten Sharingans and the First’s face surgically implanted in his body,” Shikaku said. “Out of curiosity, how long have you known that he had them?”

 

“… From the beginning,” Sasuke said. Ino gasped.

 

“You seem to have been watching him very closely, if the information you provided to Inoichi-kun was any indication. It’s been decades since he was officially an active-duty ninja, so there are very few people who know his current skill set and even fewer are willing to discuss it,” Shikaku remarked.

 

“Don’t underestimate him,” Sasuke said softly. “Even imprisoned, he may have more freedom than you think.”

 

“We won’t let our guard down, I assure you. I imagine your transformation ability was a great help in your endeavor to collect information on him,” Shikaku said. Kakashi resisted the urge to smile. Who would guess that Sasuke knew about Danzou through future sight? Seers did exist, but they were very rare and that ability tended to run in families. When Sasuke didn’t respond, Shikaku continued. “Why haven’t you demanded the Hokage get the eyes back for you yet?”

 

“… What would be the point?” Sasuke asked.

 

“You don’t think he would have the eyes returned to you?” Inoichi asked.

 

“No.” Sasuke said through his teeth.

 

Kakashi sighed for his student. How terrible must the world seem to expect that he would not be allowed to bury his dead? True, Sasuke had been denied that right for the last six years, almost half his lifetime, but the truth was out now. The situation had already changed. Maybe Sasuke hadn’t realized that, because he’d spent the last week almost exclusively in Inoichi’s home and hadn’t been exposed to much gossip… Not that Sasuke normally had a rich social life.

 

“Even if he doesn’t, there is value in standing up for your people,” Shikaku said. “You say you’re the head of the Uchiha Clan. Shouldn’t you act like it?” Kakashi saw Sasuke’s shoulders tightened at the implication, but he personally recognized that Shikaku was using the accusation as a tactic to provoke a more honest response.

 

“You strike at my pride, but I already know I haven’t earned any,” Sasuke answered. “The only thing I can provide for my clan is the survival of the living. Defending the dignity of the dead is a luxury I can’t afford.”

 

Kakashi knew for a fact that Sasuke wasn’t disinterested in those eyes, though. Sasuke’s desire to reach out to Shin, who had supplied Danzou’s new arm, was proof of that. He simply intended to retrieve the eyes without help, at least from Konoha.

 

In the silence that followed Sasuke’s melodramatic statement, Kakashi watched the room react. Shikaku remained unphased, but no one else did. Chouza clenched his fists and looked wretched, Team Ten looked shocked and unsettled, Inoichi looked sympathetic, Sakura looked heartbroken, and Naruto looked furious. The loudmouth seemed on the verge of jumping into the conversation, but he held his temper and his tongue.

 

“What about your dignity?” Shikaku asked.

 

“I haven’t had any dignity since the massacre,” Sasuke said.

 

“What about the dignity of your adopted clanmates then? They are Uchihas, aren’t they?” Shikaku asked. Kakashi heard the double entendre in Shikaku’s words and saw Sasuke stop breathing. He knew Shikaku and the other clan heads must have seen it, too. It wasn’t precisely confirmation of Shikaku’s speculation from days ago, but it was evidence. “You have something to gain from taking a public stance. If you want Konoha to respect those two, then you have to demand respect for them. That is part of your duty to them.”

 

“I disagree.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because I don’t care if Konoha respects us.”

 

“Because you plan to desert the first chance you get,” Shikaku said, nodding. Shikamaru twitched. “However, running away from Konoha isn’t the solution you think it is. Beyond these walls, it will only get harder for you to protect them. You couldn’t evade one jounin the last time you deserted. How would you fair against a team of them? Against multiple teams of them? Because that is what you’d be facing. The other villages won’t leave your people alone, once they know you aren’t part of Konoha anymore.

 

“I know you’re afraid of Konoha, Sasuke-kun. That’s only logical. You’ve been in grave danger for a long time and you’ve had to deal with it on your own. I was a fool not to see it sooner. I am deeply sorry for that. It shames me, as a fellow ninja of Konoha, as a friend of your late father, and as a man, to have let you suffer alone all these years.

 

“However, you aren’t alone anymore. You’re the head of a viable clan that is actively rebuilding and the Uchiha have never been without friends, even when you didn’t know who to trust. There comes a point when you have to stop running and take a stand. Choose your moment wisely to maximize your advantages and turn your weaknesses into strengths.

 

“Right now, the Hokage is under so much pressure that he was forced to re-arrest Danzou-san, his closest ally. Meanwhile, you have popular sympathy on your side and, today, you preformed impressively well in competition before a number of foreign ninjas who will carry word of your skills home with them, elevating the village’s reputation and your own. You have clout and the Hokage is not in any position to refuse your request to return the eyes of your people for proper interment.

 

“You’ve said dignity and pride are beyond your means, but you aren’t as bereft as you were. Not anymore. Many others are with you now. The Yamanaka, the Akimichi, and the Nara are with you. When you stand up for your clan, you will not stand up alone.”

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Inoichi said. “We won’t let anything happen to you or your clanmates, if there is anything we can do to prevent it. We care about your safety. That’s why your team has been staying with my family.”

 

“You were just making sure I couldn’t leave again!” Sasuke accused irritably.

 

“Damn it, Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi thought despairingly. “We talked about this! Don’t admit to desertion, even in private!” Were both of the boys on his team stupid? Was Sakura the only intelligent one?

 

“No, not at all! No, we wanted to ensure that Danzou-san couldn’t retaliate against you while we were dealing with him,” Inoichi said. “We aren’t part of a conspiracy to trap you.”

 

“Speak for yourself. Sasuke-kun, if you wander off sightseeing again, then I will absolutely hunt you down and drag you back kicking and screaming,” Kakashi said, putting on his fakest smile. “But that’s only because I want you to be safe.”

 

Sasuke turned a wrathful glare on Kakashi.

 

“I’m not safe, because I’m here!” Sasuke said, his volume rising and his fists clenching.

 

“We’re working on that,” Shikaku said.

 

“And we won’t stop!” Chouza said passionately. “We owe the Uchiha that much. The slain might not have been part of our own clans, but we knew them. They were our comrades, our neighbors, and our friends. Those who died were dear to us, too. They mattered! The loss of the Uchiha was a loss for all of Konoha and it hasn’t gone away! It hangs over us all like a shadow! For the Uchiha, both the living and the dead, for all of Konoha, the truth must come out, justice must be served, and decency must be restored! I will not live in a village so depraved that it prevents an orphaned boy from asking for the stolen body-parts of his own clan back! I will not stand for it!

 

“So, ask the Hokage for your family’s remains. If anyone tries to give you or your family any trouble about it, in the moment or afterwards, they’ll have to go through us first.” Chouza’s face had turned dark with anger.

 

Sasuke turned his face to the floor and bowed his shoulders. Kakashi couldn’t see his face, but the boy still looked overwhelmed from this angle. It must be difficult for him, Kakashi thought, be so untrusting and to receive such a tempting offer. It must be like a starving man being offered food he knows might be poisoned, because it had been poisoned before. Kakashi was tempted to urge Sasuke to do it, to take this leap of faith, but he held back. He could only hope that Sasuke would make the brave choice.

 

“… I’ll do it,” Sasuke said grimly. Shikaku nodded in approval.

 

“It won’t come to violence. Not today, at least, and not over this,” Shikaku said. “Whether or not the Third agrees, which he probably will, because it’s something he was probably going to do anyway at this point, you’ll be able to make your request and return to the Yamanaka Compound in peace. He’s not going to have anyone assassinated in his office. Think of the mess.”

 

Sasuke’s posture relaxed minutely.

 

“Are you ready? We should do this this evening,” Shikaku said.

 

“Wait. Does this mean…” Ino began, looking horrified. “Does this mean that, ever since the massacre, all this time, Danzou-san has been threatening you? Konoha has been threatening you? I can’t believe this! You’ve been in danger all this time?” Her hands shook and a film of tears formed in her eyes as she stared at Sasuke.

 

“… Yes,” Sasuke whispered at last.

 

Ino sobbed as she rose and threw herself at Sasuke.

 

“I’m so sorry, Sasuke-kun!” Ino said miserably, burying her face in his collar. “I didn’t know how bad things were for you! I had no idea! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” She sobbed against him. After a long moment, he placed a hand on her back and gently returned the embrace.

 

“This looks familiar,” Kakashi thought with a smile as he heard Sasuke sniffle. Kakashi was proud of Sasuke for opening his heart to more people. He hoped Sasuke would keep enmeshing himself with more and more of Konoha’s people, until he had become utterly inextricable from this place. Every hand Sasuke took would be one more pulling him back when he tried to leave in the future, keeping him right where he belonged. Eventually Sasuke would understand that these people were his comrades, his community, and he didn’t need to run away from them.

 

Once disengaged from the hug, Sasuke handed a packet of tissues from his pocket to Ino and wiped a single tear off his own face. As Ino wiped her eyes and left the room to blow her nose in private, Kakashi laid a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder.

 

-

 

Shikaku had already arranged a meeting with the Hokage that evening, so Team Seven, along with the heads of the Yamanaka, the Akimichi, and the Nara called on the Hokage in his office. As they walked, Kakashi was filled with a sense of lightness, almost elation. This would make a meaningful difference to Sasuke. Obito would have wanted it done, too. It wouldn’t solve the problem of Danzou exactly, but it would allow Sasuke’s late clanmates to receive the respect that the dead deserved. It felt important. Better still, it felt uncomplicatedly right.

 

Something Kakashi hadn’t realized when he was young was that it wasn’t enough to do bad things for a good cause. Sure, by focusing on how he was serving Konoha and protecting his comrades in missions, Kakashi could push down the realization that he was, very often, killing innocent people or ruining people’s lives. He could use the good to justify the bad, but it ultimately wasn’t enough. When you were living on justifications, you were living a brittle sort of life, the kind of life that was liable to break under pressure, and Kakashi had certainly cracked. It didn’t happen to everyone. Some people could do it forever. Some people didn’t feel the need to justify the blood. Kakashi might have envied them, if he didn’t know them so well.

 

Kakashi was delighted that Sasuke was starting to trust others and took pride in his own influence on this outcome. Kakashi had done that. He had made that possible. And it wasn’t just Sasuke who was turning out well. His whole team of genin were so righteous and brave that, together, they were about to stand up to the Hokage himself, even if only in a small way. This team was an uncomplicated good. Kakashi wished he had become a teacher years ago.

 

The light was failing as they entered the Hokage’s office. The heads of every other major clan and a several of the minor ones were already present. Near the Hokage stood the Konoha Council, the heads of the Utatane and the Mitokado, the interim head of the Shimura, and the heads of four of their allied minor clans. Also, the Hokage’s bodyguards were hidden around the room and in the ceiling. Kakashi knew those hiding places well. He had used them himself on occasion when he guarded Kushina.

 

Reading the room, it was easy to see where the battle lines had been drawn. The Sarutobi, the Shimura, the Mitokado, the Utatane, and their few remaining loyal minor clans were on one side and everyone else was on the other. The campaign to strip the Hokage of supporters had been very effective and this gathering made a show of it. True, not every clan arrayed against the Hokage could be counted on, like the Hyuuga, who would likely stand with anyone, if it meant keeping the Branch Family in their power. However, for now, the momentum was against the Hokage.

 

The Hokage, who was smiling amiably at the genin of Team Seven.

 

In light of what the Hokage and his council had done to Sasuke, Kakashi suddenly was a little nervous of this meeting. He hoped Sasuke wouldn’t say the wrong thing. He hadn’t before, but Sasuke’s contact with the Hokage had been minimal. Kakashi didn’t know if the two had ever actually spoken before. Surely, the Hokage had at least offered Sasuke his condolences after the massacre… Which would have been obscenely tasteless, now that Kakashi thought about it. Oh, well. There was no point overthinking it. Whatever happened, whatever Sasuke said or didn’t say, Kakashi would just have to be ready to deal with it.

 

“Ah, Team Seven,” the Hokage said warmly. “Your performances today were extraordinary.”

 

“Oh, thanks!” Naruto said with a small, strained smile. “We were really something, huh? We’re definitely going to make chuunin this year!” Kakashi knew that Naruto would normally be over the Moon about such praise from someone he was usually on friendly and familiar terms with. For a moment, Kakashi felt bad about the damage recent revelations must have done to the boy’s view of the Third. Then, he remembered why they were here.

 

“Thank you, Hokage-sama,” Sakura said, looking surprised and a bit nervous.

 

“Thank you, Hokage-sama,” Sasuke said, without any apparent pleasure.

 

“Shibi-kun, Inoichi-kun, you both had a boy returned to your clans. How are they faring?” The Hokage asked sympathetically.

 

“Fuu-kun is well, Hokage-sama,” Inoichi said. “He’s finding the return to normal life a little difficult, but he’s well.”

 

“Torune-kun is happy to be home again, Hokage-sama,” Shibi said. “Why? Because he missed his cousin while in Danzou-dono’s service.”

 

“In service?” Kakashi thought indignantly. Well, that was one way to put it, except service was normally characterized by payment for the services rendered and it went without saying that none of those kids had ever been paid a single ryou. They had been in slavery, not in service. What the hell was Shibi playing at?

 

“Good,” the Hokage said, looking pleased.

 

Shikaku stepped forward and all eyes went to him.

 

“Good evening, Hokage-sama,” Shikaku said. “And thank you all for coming today.”

 

“Good evening, Shikaku-kun. I believe I can guess why this meeting has been called,” the Hokage said gravely. Then, Sasuke stepped forward, drawing the attention of the room.

 

“Hokage-sama,” Sasuke said. “I request that Konoha return the eyes of my kin, so that they can be laid to rest with their bodies.” Mitokado Homura sneered disdainfully at Sasuke.

 

“They’re of no use to the dead,” Homura protested. “Danzou-kun has put them to use for the protection of Konoha!”

 

Kakashi stepped forward himself, put a protective hand on Sasuke’s shoulder, and stared the man down. Old ninjas like Homura were tough, but Kakashi had made a career out of finding a soft place to slide a kunai into even the toughest of old ninjas and everyone in the room knew it. If they had forgotten, Kakashi could remind them.

 

“What are the Uchiha, ships? Do you think that sick old bastard gets to keep the doujutsu of people he may have had a hand in killing, because of the law of salvage?” Chouza snarked.

 

“You have no evidence that he participated in those deaths!” Homura snarled. “It was Uchiha Itachi who did it!” The emphasis on Itachi’s last name clearly implied that the Uchiha had done it to themselves. Kakashi’s hand tightened on Sasuke’s shoulder, hoping to counterbalance the accusation and steady Sasuke’s emotions.

 

“Let’s not be rash,” Utatane Koharu said. “We don’t have all the facts, nor have we heard Danzou-kun’s side of the story. We mustn’t make rash accusations. We should wait for the results of any investigation to come out before we pass judgement.”

 

Kakashi was floored by this skepticism from the councilwoman. “Rash accusations?” Yes, perhaps not every detail was clear yet, but Danzou had an arm that wasn’t his, several eyes that weren’t his, a face that wasn’t his, and a dungeon full of kids that also weren’t his!... Not that it would have been right to keep kids in a dungeon, even if they were his! Kakashi began to wonder if the councilwoman genuinely believed that there was still room for uncertainty.

 

“If he wanted his side of the story to be heard, then why hasn’t he said anything?” Chouza asked.

 

“Silence is not the same as an admission of guilt,” Koharu said.

 

“We will uncover the truth,” the Hokage said. “For now, we must focus on the living. Our responsibility is to Konoha’s children, including Sasuke-kun here.”

 

“We can multitask, Hokage-sama,” Shikaku said with a shrug. “But, yes, let’s stay on topic. Doujutsu theft is illegal.”

 

“Yes, Danzou-kun cannot keep the sharingans in his possession. Your clan’s eyes will be returned to you, Sasuke-kun,” the Hokage said sympathetically. Sasuke made no acknowledgement of this concession, besides regarding the Hokage with quiet suspicion.

 

“The eyes stolen out of the heads of the Uchiha are not the only ill-gotten gains in Danzou’s possession,” Shikaku said. “He has no right to the First Hokage’s face. It dishonors Konoha to have treated the body of the First Hokage so shamefully.”

 

“Cutting off his damned face!” Chouza snarled. “It’s sickening!”

 

“The flesh of the First Hokage must be completely removed and returned to his final resting place,” Shikaku said.

 

“Absolutely not! Konoha has sacrificed blood, sweat, and tears to regain the Wood Release! Giving that power up for the sake of vacuous sentimentality is a suggestion that doesn’t even merit consideration! We are a ninja village. If we weren’t practical, we would already be long dead,” Homura said disdainfully. Several people in the room were visibly offended by this response.

 

“Except that Danzou isn’t Konoha’s only Wood Release user. We have two others,” Shikaku said. “That’s more than there were during the time of the First Hokage.”

 

“Two?” Homura repeated. “What nonsense are you spouting? There is only one and he is an active-duty ninja, liable to be killed during any given mission! Konoha’s access to the Wood Release and its singular ability to repress the Nine Tails cannot be so jeopardized!” This pissed Kakashi off.

 

“There was no such concern when Tenzou-kun was sent on deadly missions as child, well before Danzou-san had stolen the First Hokage’s face,” Shikaku said, expressing Kakashi’s sentiments exactly.

 

“He wasn’t a child; he was a ninja,” Homura said.

 

“Not a child? The same way the boys Danzou was keeping imprisoned underground were not children?” Shikaku said. “Have you seen those ‘ninjas,’ Homura-dono? Some of them are quite comely. Given his past history of keeping ‘ninjas’ in isolation, I’d say he has an age range he prefers and it doesn’t include adults.”

 

“How dare you make such a disgusting accusation?! How dare you?!” Homura shouted, turning red. “You scum! Dragging Danzou-kun’s good name through the mud after all he’s done for this village! Trying to twist that good man’s legacy of service!”

 

“I’m not the one keeping boys in a basement,” Shikaku said.

 

“There have been no accusations of that sort of thing from the children found in the raid on the former Root headquarters,” the Hokage said.

 

“Don’t bullshit us, Hokage-sama,” Inuzuka Tsume said levelly, putting a hand on her hip. “Everyone knows those kids can’t exactly speak freely with the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.”

 

“Be that as it may, as of now, no such accusations have been leveled by those boys,” the Hokage repeated. “Let’s not invent new rumors. There is, sadly, quite enough wrongdoing already confirmed to deal with.”

 

“Then let’s deal with it,” Shikaku said. “Danzou can’t keep the stolen face.”

 

“It wasn’t stolen,” the Hokage said. “We can debate whether or not such experiments were ethical, but Danzou-kun received that transplant as part of a program to reproduce the First’s power.”

 

“That’s not true though, is it?” Shikaku asked.

 

“Before Orochimaru’s death, I was able to discover some things when I examined his mind,” Inoichi said. “Danzou-san received the arm and eyes from Orochimaru, but only after the Uchiha Massacre, after Orochimaru was already a missing-nin.”

 

“No surprise there,” Tsume said. “He could hardly have snuck around Konoha with his arm full of eyes before they were killed.” Tsume glanced at Sasuke and then at Hiashi. “Incredible that nobody at all noticed it before now.” Hiashi’s face stiffened tellingly.

 

“Exactly how much,” Kakashi wondered as he gazed at Hiashi, “Did the Hyuuga Clan know? What could Danzou have given them in exchange for their silence?” It couldn’t be something they couldn’t live without, or Hiashi would be standing on the other side of the room right now.

 

“I see. Why didn’t you mention this in your report, Inoichi-kun?” the Hokage asked.

 

“Because there was no way for me to guarantee that the information wouldn’t be passed on to Danzou-san, whom the memories concerned,” Inoichi said.

 

“You still had a duty to inform me of your findings, even if you didn’t want to put them in writing. I wish you had told me sooner,” the Hokage said, sounding disappointed. “That would have been important information for me to know when I was evaluating the situation five days ago.”

 

“My apologies, Hokage-sama,” Inoichi said, sounding contrite, although Kakashi knew he couldn’t be. The Hokage sighed.

 

“Why didn’t you know?” Tsume asked.

 

“Pardon me?” the Hokage asked.

 

“If those boys really were ninjas, then why didn’t you know that Danzou had restarted Root?” Tsume asked.

 

“Unfortunately, I trusted my old friend too much,” the Hokage said, looking torn between anger and hurt. “He hid so much of himself from me that I feel as if I no longer know him.” The Hokage sighed again. This time, the action made him look diminished and pitiful, as if Danzou’s betrayal had deeply hurt him personally. “Yes, the First Hokage’s tissue must be removed from Danzou’s possession, as well,” the Hokage decided solemnly. “I will make the arrangements myself tonight for surgical removal as soon as possible.”

 

“Well, since we’re trying to avoid making unfounded accusations, I suppose we should wrap things up for today,” Shikaku said.

 

“Wait,” Hiashi said. If Kakashi hadn’t been watching the Hokage, he would have missed it, but, just for a moment, a look that could almost be said to be blank crossed the Hokage’s face. It was almost blank, but not quite; it contained a subtle threat. No matter how subtle it might be, Kakashi was very good at identifying such a thing. Why was the Hokage trying to warn off Hiashi? What did he think Hiashi might say?

 

“Who is the other Wood Release user?” Hiashi asked, his white-eyed gaze stern, but not doubtful. “Another product of Orochimaru’s research?”

 

“Sakura-chan figured it out,” Kakashi said, hooking a thumb towards the student in question. Sakura blushed and squirmed under the room’s scrutiny.

 

“That is remarkable,” Shibi said. “Why? Because, not only did you display the ability to use Ice Release today, but it transpires that you can also use Wood Release. How is such a thing possible?”

 

“My team helps and I’ve always had good chakra control,” Sakura said demurely. “Combining different chakras is still a bit of a challenge, but I’m getting faster at it.”

 

“Remarkable,” Shibi repeated.

 

In the street on their way back to the Yamanaka Compound, Shikaku faced Sasuke.

 

“If you ever want to discuss what happened that night, I’m willing to listen,” he said. Sasuke turned his face away and Shikaku departed from the group. Kakashi noted that he wasn’t headed in the direction of the Nara Compound. Next, Chouza patted Sasuke on the back.

 

“You did well, Sasuke-kun,” Chouza said. “Stay strong.” Sasuke nodded and then Chouza, too left to follow Shikaku.

 

Upon returning to the Yamanaka Compound for the night, Sasuke summoned his clan and Sakura’s parents back via the rodents.

 

“What happened?” Sakura’s mother demanded anxiously, latching onto her daughter and looking upset.

 

“It’s fine!” Sakura said quickly. “Everyone’s fine!”

 

“Sasuke-nii!” Toneri said, embracing Sasuke tightly, a gesture Sasuke returned with feeling. Hikari looked over Sasuke worriedly and he took her hand. Sasuke was immediately visibly relaxed by the presence of his family.

 

“Tsuchi-san,” Sasuke said, acknowledging her presence.

 

“Hey,” Tsuchi said, looking slightly awkward.

 

“You should have sent word if you were going to be late,” Kizashi scolded Sasuke. “We were so worried.”

 

“Sorry,” Sasuke said.

 

“Mebuki-san, Kizashi-san, Sasuke-kun isn’t entirely at fault. A lot has happened in the last week, and even in the last few hours. We have much to discuss,” Inoichi said. “Please, take a seat.” Inoichi spent the next quarter an hour discussing recent events for those who had been sheltering in Shinku no Machi.

 

“You shouldn’t have done all of this without us,” Hikari chided. “Why didn’t you recall us as soon as the situation changed?”

 

“I don’t want to bring you all into danger,” Sasuke said.

 

“You think we don’t have the same concern for you?” Hikari said angrily. “Drawing attention wasn’t part of the plan, Sasuke-kun! If you were going to do stupid shit, then I shouldn’t have let you out my sight!” Sasuke looked offended, but then relaxed his expression.

 

“… I’m sorry. I should have told you first.”

 

“You’re damned right you should have! Don’t take unnecessary risks without me there, Pipsqueak!”

 

What was up with that nickname? Hikari wasn’t that much taller than Sasuke was.

 

“We looked after him, Hikari-chan,” Naruto said. “He’s our teammate, so of course we’d never allow anything to happen to him. Believe it!”

 

“… Yeah, you did. Thanks,” Hikari said, apparently appeased by Naruto’s reassurance.

 

Inoichi explained that everyone was welcome to stay in the Yamanaka Compound. Another two families had opened their homes and were happy to help accommodate everyone in Team Seven, the Uchiha Clan, and the Harunos, and the whole group was of course to divide as they liked.

 

“Are we under threat, Inoichi-san?” Mebuki asked.

 

“No,” Inoichi said. “The possibility of you being endangered at this point is remote.”

 

“Then I would rather be in my own home,” Mebuki said.

 

“I agree,” Kizashi said. “It was a lovely vacation, but I want to sleep in my own bed again. Thank you for the offer, Inoichi-san.”

 

“It was nothing,” Inoichi said. “We enjoyed hosting Sakura-chan and her teammates these last few days.”

 

“It should be fine for us to go home, as well,” Sasuke said. Kakashi didn’t disagree. Actually, he was looking forward to having a room to himself again. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

 

“Any time, Sasuke-kun,” Inoichi said with a smile.

 

As Kakashi lay down to sleep that night, he hoped that this return to normalcy was a sign that things would start to calm down for a while.

 

-

 

During morning practice, Shikaku arrived unexpectedly at Sasuke’s house and was shown into the living room. Kakashi wished he had been able to get just one peaceful day.

 

“Last night, Danzou escaped imprisonment,” Shikaku said. “He left town under cover of darkness with the aid of a guard, a Hyuuga. Of course, the Hokage was filled with self-recriminations when he informed us of the matter this morning. He feels responsible for the situation and wished for me to convey his condolences to you, Sasuke-kun, because Danzou escaped with your clan’s eyes in his possession.”

 

Shikaku pulled a plain pinewood box out of a bag and gently placed it on the table in front of Sasuke with both hands, but he didn’t remove his hand from the lid.

 

“What’s that?” Naruto asked, staring curiously at the box. “A present?”

 

“We caught him,” Shikaku said, looking Sasuke dead in the eye.

 

“Huh?!” Naruto exclaimed as Sakura gasped and covered her mouth.

 

Kakashi was shocked, too. Seriously? With all of Danzou’s enhancements, he had really already been captured? Oh, of course he had been, Kakashi realized. Danzou had been up against Shikaku, who’d had plenty of information about his target to work with and days to prepare for that conflict. Danzou hadn’t stood a chance. Kakashi took a moment to be thankful that Shikaku was on their side.

 

“The Hokage doesn’t know yet,” Shikaku continued. “You should know that you made that capture possible. When you informed Inoichi-kun of Danzou’s abilities, you made sure that we were able to prepare for the bastard. Because of that, we didn’t lose a single ninja. In this box are the eleven Sharingans recovered from his body.”

 

“Seriously?!” Naruto exclaimed, pulling away from the box.

 

Sasuke sucked in a breath and turned slightly green as his gaze locked onto the box, but he reached out for it and its macabre contents all the same. Shikaku finally withdrew his hands from the box and allowed Sasuke to take it. Sasuke opened the lid without hesitation and his face twisted in terrible pain as he looked down on the sight of a box filled with eleven red eyes. Hikari shifted one eye around with a single finger, revealing an iris with a paper pinwheel pattern. The childish image was unsettling incongruous with its location. Her eyes flashed red briefly.

 

“They’re real,” she confirmed calmly.

 

“God, that’s nasty,” Tsuchi said, covering her mouth.

 

Sasuke scrambled up and ran to the hall bathroom, where Kakashi heard the sounds of him being sick in the sink and running water. Kakashi wasn’t going to be ill, but a box full of loose human eyes was one of the most disturbing things he’d ever seen. He shut the lid with a quiet snap, before he examined the kids to see how they were handling this development. Naturally, most of them looked horrified as they continued to stare at the resealed box in utter silence. Hikari however, was looking at Shikaku with only the ghost of a grimace on her face.

 

“None of those were spent,” Hikari observed vacantly. “They all still had their sight.”

 

“We didn’t give him the chance to use them,” Shikaku said. “A couple senbons to the neck and he went unconscious instantly.” Kakashi was surprised. Had Genma been involved in the capture? He knew of no one else in the village who could use senbons with such precision.

 

“How simple,” Hikari murmured. “How many other Sharingans have you found in your search of Danzou’s prison and home?”

 

“None. We’re still seeking confirmation, but it seems like Danzou may have sold them all to Orochimaru in exchange for his surgery. We’ll keep you updated with our findings.”

 

“Thank you for returning these, instead of keeping them.”

 

“Please don’t,” Shikaku said, crossing his arms and grimacing at Hikari. “I feel gross being thanked for something like that.”

 

Soon, the sounds of Sasuke’s vomiting were replaced with strangled, stifled sobs and Naruto and Toneri left to comfort Sasuke. Kakashi’s brow knit. Had Shikaku really needed to let Sasuke see something like that? Sure, Sasuke, the untrusting kid that he was, wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it for himself, but surely there had to have been a better way. Maybe he could have given the box to Kakashi instead and Kakashi could have confirmed its contents for Sasuke. Sasuke might not have accepted that, but this situation was repulsive.

 

The room sat in silence, until the three boys returned to the room, all red-eyed and blotchy.

 

Sasuke picked up the box with exquisite care and shaking hands. Then, he bowed deeply to Shikaku.

 

“Thank you,” Sasuke said, his voice roughened from acid.

 

“Of course,” Shikaku said.

 

-

 

Kakashi poured Sasuke a cup of tea as Sasuke stared blankly at the box.

 

“Shall we cremate them now?” Hikari asked prompted.

 

Sasuke sighed.

 

“There’s…” Sasuke started.

 

“What?” Hikari asked.

 

“I don’t have time,” Sasuke said. “I have to meet Karin-chan in a few minutes. For now…” Sasuke pulled out an Enclosure Tag and sealed the box away. Then, he wrote “Eyes” on the back and sealed this tag into his wrist.

 

“I’ll be back later,” Sasuke said.

 

“The last time you said you’d be back later, you ran off,” Naruto said.

 

“I’m not going to do that today.”

 

“Then, can I come?”

 

“No.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“It’s a private discussion,” Sasuke said. “Ah, Tsuchi-san.”

 

“Yes?” Tsuchi asked.

 

“Was anything explained to you?”

 

“What do you mean? What is there to explain?” Tsuchi asked warily.

 

“We still need to explain everything to you too,” Hikari said. “Are you ready to go?”

 

“Yes, but where are we going?” Tsuchi asked.

 

“You’re going to ask Karin-chan to join you, right?” Sakura said. “You came back to Konoha for her, after all.”

 

“… Yes,” Sasuke said.

 

“Are you really not about to leave?” Sakura asked, her brow knitted. “You promised you’d tell us before you left.”

 

“I’m not leaving yet,” Sasuke said. “I still have some work to do in Konoha.”

 

That wasn’t good enough for Kakashi, though. With Toneri’s puppet bird, they could be too high to catch and out of the village in short order. Kakashi didn’t know how long that puppet could keep flying for. It might work long enough to take them over a border that Kakashi shouldn’t cross without either a diplomatic pass or backup. Sasuke wouldn’t need a massive head start, if that was how he decided to flee; a few minutes would be enough.

 

“That’s no good,” Kakashi said. “You can’t take your whole family and go off unsupervised, Sasuke-kun.”

 

“Do you need a hostage before you’ll allow me to speak to privately?” Sasuke sneered.

 

“Nothing so dramatic,” Kakashi said, giving Sasuke a fake smile. “I’m just going to tag along with you.”

 

Sasuke glowered at Kakashi.

 

“How much do you need to keep secret from your team?” Toneri asked. “Is it very much? Ah, no. The real question is, ‘how much do you need to tell Karin-chan right now that you need to keep secret from your team?’”

 

That question irritated Kakashi. There was nothing that Sasuke needed to hide from them. Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto wouldn’t use anything that Sasuke told them against him or his family. Kakashi knew that Sasuke had trust issues, but the fact that they only seemed to manifest around people from Konoha chafed. Everyone else in the world, it seemed was trustworthy.

 

Sasuke seemed to consider Toneri’s question.

 

“I suppose…” Sasuke said at last. He sighed and stared at Kakashi guardedly. “You three can come, too.”

 

After that, Sasuke shipped everyone else off to Shinku no Machi, while he and Kakashi stayed behind to collect Karin. They found her waiting outside her hotel.

 

“Sasuke-kun!” Karin said, waving excitedly. She regarded Kakashi with much less enthusiasm. “Hello.” Kakashi gave her a little wave.

 

“Karin-chan,” Sasuke said, looking chagrinned. “Kakashi-sensei insisted on coming as my… chaperone.”

 

“Oh,” Karin said. “I guess you’re pretty important to Konoha, huh? Because you’re the Last Uchiha.”

 

“No, Kakashi-sensei’s just controlling,” Sasuke said.

 

“This fucking hedgehog!” Kakashi thought offendedly. “What are you saying about your teacher?!”

 

“Hey, Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi said. “How do you feel about running laps around Konoha until you puke?”

 

“Sorry,” Sasuke said, without an ounce of true remorse. “Karin-chan, I need to tell you something.”

 

“Okay,” Karin said.

 

“What I have to say is something that’s dangerous for me to say here, so I’d like to take us to the home of the rodents, Shinku no Machi, first,” Sasuke said quietly.

 

“I’ve never been to the realm of a summoning animal before,” Karin said, sounding genuinely interested. “Let’s go!”

 

Sasuke nodded, summoned a rodent, and reverse summoned their party to Shinku no Machi.

 

“Wow!” Karin said as they walked through the cacophonous streets. “This place is amazing! It’s so beautiful!”

 

Shinku no Machi was beautiful. Like Karin, Kakashi had never been to the realm of any summoning animals before, his own dogs living in Konoha’s forests, rather than a separate dimension only tenuously connected to the human world, so he had nothing to compare Shinku no Machi to. Its buildings were each a different shade of the rainbow and the hanging paper lanterns made it seem as though a festival was ongoing. The crush of furry bodies instead of human ones, as the people of this town were all rodents, was decidedly fantastical. The denizens ranged in size from the typical rodent to the average Akimichi and they were all stylish. They fitted together cohesively into one community, reflected by the various sizes of door present on the front of each shop and the friendly tone of discussion all around the streets. The smell of rodents was strong in Kakashi’s nose, but not of rodent waste. Mostly what Kakashi smelled was hot food. Shinu no Machi was a clean, bright, exuberant town that tempted him to take to the rooftops and explore.

 

“Oh, wow!” Karin said again, openly gawking.

 

“We should see the sights after this is over,” Sasuke said, giving Karin a tender smile.

 

“I’d love that!” Karin said.

 

Man, it was bizarre to see that normally prickly hedgehog roll-over and display his soft belly to someone he barely knew. Kakashi had never known someone who could get attached so fast. He knew it was down to Sasuke recalling a relationship one-sidedly, but it was still weird.

 

The group relocated to the shore of a lake, in which a giant rodent was floating serenely and drinking from a proportionately sized can of beer. Sasuke and the giant rodent, which was wearing sunglasses and devastatingly expensive jewelry, waved amiably to one another.

 

“Is that a giant can of beer or a miniature can of beer?” Kakashi wondered. “Rodents are generally smaller than beer cans. No normal rodent could hold a can of beer, even with both paws, so the can that rodent is holding would be too small for a proportionately large human to drink from. It would be something you would find in a dollhouse, if you had a human as many times larger than normal as that rodent is. And if beer cans were something you could find in a doll house. Is it a giant miniature can of beer?”

 

Sasuke led them to a distant section of the shore where Sakura, Naruto, and the others had settled themselves.

 

“Guys, did you see that?!” Naruto whisper-shouted, pointing at the floating rodent. “Did you see it?!”

 

“I saw it,” Sakura confirmed stiffly. “Keep your voice down. What if she hears you?”

 

“Don’t point at Sayaka-sama,” Hikari said. “It’s rude.”

 

“I’ll introduce you all later,” Sasuke said. “Right now, I need to tell you about your future.”

 

“My future?” Karin repeated.

 

“I know a bit of the future,” Sasuke said.

 

“The… what?!” Karin said in disbelief. “You’re a seer?”

 

Sasuke shook his head.

 

“It’s more accurate to say that I know an alternate reality’s version of the future,” Sasuke said. “As time progresses, I don’t remember things as clearly and we are moving further away from that timeline, but the momentum of history is great enough that some things are still unavoidable. That means my knowledge remains useful, albeit to a diminishing extent.”

 

“What?” Naruto asked.

 

“My knowledge is becoming less reliable,” Sasuke translated.

 

“But you said… Wait, what’s the difference? You know the future, but you’re not a seer? What exactly does that mean?” Naruto asked.

 

“I don’t see the future,” Sasuke said. “I remember it.”

 

“So, you… lied?” Naruto said uncertainly.

 

“Who would ever believe the truth?” Hikari asked with a grin, throwing an arm around Sasuke’s shoulder.

 

“I do,” Toneri said.

 

“Wait. Hold on. Do you guys actually… believe him?” Tsuchi asked uncertainly.

 

“Yeah, because he found me,” Toneri said. “And Karin-nee-chan. We were hidden.”

 

“And he knew that Kakashi-sensei would be debilitated on our mission to Wave, that Orochimaru would infiltrate during the Chuunin Exam, and that Kabuto-kun and your team were working for Orochimaru, Tsuchi-chan,” Sakura said. “He even knew how you three fought, so we could be prepared before we faced you.”

 

“And he knew about the kids that Danzou bastard was keeping imprisoned, and the people Orochimaru was keeping imprisoned, and about me and my parents, and about Gaara killing people during the Exam, and even about you being attacked by a bear, Karin-chan,” Naruto said. “I don’t know why he knows it, but he sure knows it.” Naruto shrugged.

 

“How do you know the future of some parallel universe?” Karin asked.

 

“In my past life, this world was a story,” Sasuke said.

 

“A story in another world?” Tsuchi repeated. “That’s even less believable than you being a seer. Why would you make up something so convoluted?”

 

“It’s the truth,” Sasuke said.

 

Somehow, Kakashi believed him. It really didn’t make sense for Sasuke to make up such a ridiculous backstory to explain his abilities. Of course, people could get carried away with details when they lied, but Sasuke said it so unconcernedly.

 

“It may seem farfetched, but the results can’t be argued with,” Kakashi said. “I wish you had told us the truth from the beginning, rather than some version of it, Sasuke-kun. We would have listened.” Sasuke regarded him dubiously.

 

“Man, I don’t get it! How the heck was this whole world a story?” Naruto asked.

 

Sasuke shrugged.

 

“Apparently, travel between the two is somehow possible, at least for memories or possibly souls,” Sasuke said. “And you were part of this story, Karin-chan.”

 

“I was?” Karin asked.

 

“Sometime after the Chuunin Exam, you will be in a village that comes under attack. I don’t know which village and I don’t which assailant. Your chakra sense enables you to hide from the incoming danger, making you to be the sole survivor of the attack,” Sasuke said.

 

“We know it’s not Kusa,” Hikari said. “Kusa isn’t destroyed, so it’s got to be somewhere else you’re deployed to.” Sasuke nodded.

 

“In the aftermath, Orochimaru finds you,” Sasuke said. “He takes an interest in your chakra sense and your healing ability and takes you captive. Then, for a few years, he experiments on you and you assist him with his experiments on other people.”

 

“Well, he’s dead now, so that’s not a possibility anymore, right?” Tsuchi said.

 

“He can come back from the dead,” Sasuke said. “His Curse Seal of Heaven allows him to reform his body.”

 

Tsuchi turned pale.

 

“Okay, so I what should I do?” Karin asked.

 

“That depends,” Sasuke said. “If you want to stay in Kusa, you could avoid away missions or invest in a summoning contract. Using reverse summoning, you can remove yourself from captivity to the realm of your summoned animal. I have contracts with two species that you could consider, or you could find one independently.

 

“If you would like to leave Kusa, you could join my clan, or we could help you to reach some other destination and establish yourself there safely.”

 

“… You’re offering to help me become a missing-nin?” Karin asked.

 

“If that’s what you want,” Sasuke said.

 

“So, you remembered me from this story from your previous life and just decided to help me?” Karin asked skeptically.

 

“We wouldn’t be here, otherwise,” Hikari said. “We only came back to Konoha to save you.”

 

“And to offer to help you with anything else you might need,” Sasuke said.

 

“You should join our clan!” Toneri said. “We all protect each other, no matter what! I’ve been really excited to meet you ever since Sasuke-kun said we were going to rescue you from Kusa! I hope you’ll pick us!”

 

“You’re not lying,” Karin said faintly, before naked hope glowed in her eyes. “Yes, I want to join your clan!”

 

“Before you commit to that, you need to know what it means,” Sasuke said gravely.

 

“We have enemies,” Hikari said. “And they aren’t small fry.”

 

“Konoha was behind the massacre of the Uchiha and they could decide to try to finish the job at any time,” Sasuke said. “We have to escape Konoha for our own safety.”

 

“No,” Kakashi said. “You’re safe here. We’ll keep you safe.”

 

“I don’t believe you,” Sasuke said.

 

“I thought it was some guy from the Uchiha who did it!” Karin said.

 

“Itachi. Yes, he did take part in the massacre,” Sasuke said. “But it was the Konoha Council who decided upon it, Danzou who ordered it, Itachi and Tobi of Akatsuki who carried it out, and Hiruzen who covered it up. It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision, either. Konoha isolated us for years in preparation for our eventual destruction.”

 

Kakashi’s gut clenched as he listened to this evaluation of the situation.

 

“The Uchiha were not allowed to live outside the Uchiha Quarter,” Sasuke continued. “Not permitted to work as ninjas outside the police force, unless we forswore loyalty to our own clan, and not permitted to gain political positions in Konoha’s government. When we agitated for equal rights, the Hokage refused. It was only a matter of time before they killed us. We were never really part of Konoha.”

 

“You were,” Kakashi disagreed. “The Uchiha were integral to Konoha. Sasuke-kun, the Uchiha were one of our two founding clans! That you were betrayed by the Third later doesn’t mean that you never belonged in the first place.”

 

“Either way,” Hikari said. “Konoha is no home to our people now.”

 

“It could be, if you made it one,” Kakashi argued.

 

“I won’t raise my children in the shadow of the monument to the Third Hokage,” Sasuke said fiercely. And Kakashi didn’t know what to say to that. It wasn’t as if the monument could come down, but the symbolism of the image Sasuke had painted was too dark to shrug off.

 

“We’re a small clan, too,” Hikari said. “It’s just us, not including Sasuke-kun’s three teammates.”

 

“Besides Konoha, we have other enemies, not all of whom we’ll be able to avoid,” Sasuke said. “Joining this clan is a commitment. After you join, you can quit at any time, if you like. However, while you are part of this clan, if one of us is in danger, we all have a duty to defend them. No life can be discarded. Mutual survival is our highest priority. We all will protect you and you will protect all of us. You don’t have to use your healing ability ever again, if you don’t want to, but there will be times that you will have to fight, at least until we can reach safety. This will be dangerous.”

 

Karin nodded with surety, but Kakashi had his doubts. He wondered at Sasuke’s apparent naivete. To make such a demand of someone who, in another life, had hidden while an entire village was slaughtered around them, seemed unrealistic. In another life, Karin had abandoned innocent people and possibly even her own team to their deaths. Then, she had assisted Orochimaru with his experiments on other people, presumably to save her own skin. Did Sasuke actually expect someone so cowardly to behave any differently under the Uchiha banner? Why was he willing to trust this girl? He showed guilt at hurting Karin, but that shouldn’t make him trust her, should it?

 

“Do you really want to do this?” Tsuchi asked.

 

“So, there’s danger,” Karin said with an appallingly blasé attitude. “So what? There’s always danger.”

 

“Are you really so eager to gain all the Uchiha Clan’s enemies?” Tsuchi asked.

 

“It sounds like an improvement to me,” Karin said. “Back in Suna, even my comrades would be happy to kill me, if it helped them survive. They drained my mom dry to heal their injuries. Then, they made me take her place. I could be killed by Kusa at any time. At least this way, my enemies won’t be the people by my side.” It struck Kakashi that Karin and Sasuke had a similar background in some ways. If anyone could understand Sasuke’s desire to leave Konoha, it would be Karin, and the reverse was also true.

 

“And there’s one more thing,” Sasuke said.

 

“Yes?” Karin asked.

 

“You might prefer to stay with Naruto-kun, instead,” Sasuke said.

 

“Huh?” Naruto said. “Why would she stay with me?”

 

“Because you’re both Uzumaki,” Sasuke said.

 

Chaos broke out.

 

-

 

After the shouting had stopped and Naruto and Karin had agreed to spend more time together, Tsuchi stepped forward.

 

“Hey, you said she didn’t have to stay with the Uchiha,” Tsuchi said to Sasuke. “Does that apply to me, too?”

 

So, she wanted to leave. On the one hand, Kakashi thought she was ungrateful, because Sasuke had protected her. On the other hand, he was relieved. Tsuchi was an unknown quantity and Kakashi would be glad to see the back of her. Honestly, harboring an enemy ninja was not okay. Her departure would mean one less headache for Kakashi to deal with. He could only handle so many problems and Sasuke seemed to create them like dandruff.

 

“You can leave, too,” Sasuke said.

 

“Good, because I want out. I joined you thinking that Orochimaru was dead!” Tsuchi hissed. “Not sort of dead, but really dead, and wouldn’t be coming after me for betraying him, okay?! You can’t spring this on me! This is so unfair!”

 

“You can leave,” Sasuke repeated. “Just don’t go back to Orochimaru; he kills you.”

 

“He kills me?!” Tsuchi repeated, looking outright terrified.

 

“He uses you and one of your team-members as sacrifices for the Impure World Reincarnation Technique,” Sasuke confirmed. “You would have died right before Oto and Suna attacked during the Finals.”

 

Kakashi froze.

 

Tsuchi began to laugh nervously as she looked from face to face and backed away from the group. She couldn’t have been more suspicious if she had worn a sign around her neck that said, “I’m here to make war.”

 

“Oto and Suna planned an allied invasion of Konoha during the exam?” Kakashi asked, keeping his cool in an iron grip. Tsuchi didn’t answer, but looked desperately to Sasuke for support.

 

“He won’t do anything to you,” Sasuke said. “And if he tried, I would protect you.”

 

“Why bother?” Hikari sneered. “She said she she’s not part of the Uchiha anymore.”

 

“Hikari-chan,” Sasuke said quietly.

 

“I’ve changed my mind!” Tsuchi said. “I want to stay!”

 

“It’s not like the battle can happen now anyway,” Sasuke said to Kakashi.

 

“… Yeah,” Tsuchi said to Kakashi. “Um, yes, we were going to invade, but it wasn’t my idea, you know. I’m not, like, someone who makes decisions. I only came to Konoha, because I was ordered to!”

 

Kakashi didn’t doubt that.

 

“Sasuke-kun, why do you think it can’t happen now?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Firstly, Oto can’t assist anymore,” Sasuke said. “Secondly, Orochimaru double-crossed Suna. The Kazekage and his aids met with Orochimaru out in the desert for talks, but Orochimaru killed them and has been impersonating the Kazekage ever since. With Orochimaru indisposed, he can’t impersonate the Kazekage to lead Suna to war anymore. Sometime in the next month, they’ll figure out that he’s dead.”

 

“The Kazekage is dead?” Kakashi asked in shock. “And you didn’t think we needed to know that? What if Suna blames us for his murder?”

 

“Why would they? He wasn’t killed here and Orochimaru left the bodies of the Kazekage and his aids where they fell,” Sasuke said. “The meeting was a secret from Konoha, but other people in Suna knew about it, so they’ll be able to find them, if they retrace the Kazekage’s steps.”

 

“Do you know anything else about it?” Kakashi asked. “Where exactly do they need to look to find the bodies?”

 

“It was on an outcrop,” Sasuke said, his gaze distant. “It looked flat and shady. Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Kimimaro were there, along with the Kazekage and his aids. Orochimaru stabbed the Kazekage with a sword through the chest. The corpses lay face down on the ground.”

 

“Why didn’t you tell us we might be about to go to war, you idiot?!” Naruto asked.

 

“Without Orochimaru, Suna is no longer in a position to start a war with Konoha,” Sasuke said. “They can’t do it. Not only has their ally been removed, they no longer have Gaara, who would have unleashed the One Tail, because he’s in jail now. Actually…”

 

“What?” Kakashi asked.

 

“We should take Gaara with us when we leave,” Sasuke said.

 

Kakashi sighed in frustration.

 

“But why would Suna want to start a war with us?” Sakura asked. “We have a treaty with them!”

 

“The Capital of Wind and Suna are in a power struggle and the capital is winning,” Sasuke said. “The Wind Daimyou has reduced funding for Suna repeatedly over the last decade and even begun hiring ninja from Konoha, instead of Suna. As the Daimyou moves, so follow the nobles. Those are the people who purchase the most lucrative services from ninja villages. That makes Konoha and Suna competitors for the same pool of highly desirable jobs.”

 

“But why would they undercut their own military? That doesn’t make any sense!” Sakura said.

 

“Foreign policy derives from domestic politics,” Sasuke said. “The Daimyou and the Kazekage are rivals for power. Defeating Konoha in war would prove that Suna is worth hiring, show that they are strong enough to protect Wind, remove a competitor, deny the Daimyou the power to dictate foreign policy and form treaties, and threaten the capital with similar destruction, if it fails to fall in line. Defeating Konoha would potentially reverse Suna’s fortunes in one fell swoop.

 

“And they need to attack Konoha now. Suna has had to scale back its forces. If their power continues to decline, in another few years, they won’t have the manpower to mount such an attack against Konoha, even with Oto’s help. Their window of opportunity is closing.”

 

Kakashi did not feel comfortable letting Suna sort out something like that on their own. His first instinct was to go straight to the Hokage, but the Hokage was a traitor. The Hokage had betrayed Konoha by being party to the slaughter of the very people he was supposed to protect and he had done it twice. Once when Danzou had massacred the Uchiha and then again when Danzou had massacred children for his new Root. Now, Kakashi had lost faith in the man as a leader. He didn’t know for certain whether the Hokage would defend Konoha against Suna, even if he told him that war was potentially on the horizon. The Hokage certainly hadn’t defended Konoha against Orochimaru. Kakashi had need to take matters into his own hands and he could do it again.

 

He had just resolved to go to Inoichi and his allies when he realized that, if he did that, then Sasuke would inevitably be imprisoned as a spy. There was no good reason why Sasuke should know anything about Orochimaru’s machinations in Suna. Kakashi could claim that he got the information from an anonymous source, but that wouldn’t be enough to satisfy the curiosity of the people he would be reporting this to. He would have to make something up, but what could he say? How could he protect Konoha and his student?

 

Wait. Everyone knew that Gaara, Orochimaru, and Tsuchi had been captured. The visitors from Suna must have fled Konoha in as seemly a way as possible the very first chance they got, because they had no way of knowing if any of those people would talk, so none of them could be hauled in and questioned. However, one ninja of Suna remained in Konoha.

 

“We’re going to talk to Inoichi-san right now,” Kakashi ordered.

 

Sasuke made an unwilling face, but then visibly softened as he touched his arm, the same arm he had sealed his people’s eyes into.

 

“Alright,” Sasuke said.

 

-

 

Shikaku, Inoichi, and Chouza had been summoned to Inoichi’s house within the hour.

 

“The Oto girl Sasuke-kun took in confided that Oto was coordinating with Suna over something,” Kakashi said. “We think they might have been planning to make war with Konoha.”

 

“Why?” Chouza asked.

 

“Go on, Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi said, waving him on.

 

As Kakashi had instructed Sasuke before they left Shinku no Machi, the boy explained the political climate of Wind, the decline of Suna, the potential benefits to Suna for defeating Konoha in war, the significance of Suna’s jinchuuriki taking part in the Chuunin Exams, and why Suna would choose this time to attack.

 

“Their window of opportunity is closing,” Sasuke finished.

 

The three men appeared to digest this.

 

“That seems plausible,” Chouza said, shaking his head and looking worried.

 

“I’ll pay a visit to our prisoner from Suna immediately,” Inoichi said.

 

“We’ll need to watch the border closely,” Shikaku said. “Suna may have lost Oto as an ally, but many of our people have been deployed to dig out Orochimaru’s dens. Not everyone will be back before the Finals.”

 

“Is it possible they have other allies?” Chouza asked. “Maybe they aren’t so reliant on Oto as we might wish. I trust the Raikage about as far as I can throw him, the opportunistic bastard.”

 

“We’ll need to consider all possibilities,” Shikaku said.

 

“Well done, Sasuke-kun,” Inoichi said. “You did well to deduce all of this. Please excuse us.”

 

Kakashi and Sasuke made it back to Shinku no Machi in time for lunch.

 

“Please,” Kakashi prayed to any gods that happened to be listening as he sat melted into his seat at a rodent restaurant and prepared to dig into his fish katsu curry. “Please, let this day be over.”

 

“Why you?” Sakura asked, chopsticks in hand. “I know you’re wonderful, Sasuke-kun, but…” Sakura broke off and blushed hotly. “But, I mean, um, why would knowledge of the future be entrusted to you?”

 

“I don’t know,” Sasuke said, not bothering to look up from his food.

 

“Well, haven’t you ever wondered?” Sakura asked.

 

“No, I’ve never thought about it,” Sasuke said.

 

“Hm… Is there something special about you?” Sakura asked.

 

Sasuke looked away shiftily.

 

“Please,” Kakashi prayed desperately, “Please, just let me get through lunch!”

 

“No more bizarre revelations until tomorrow,” Kakashi decreed.

 

“Can we do a tour of this place after we eat?” Karin asked hopefully.

 

“Of course,” Sasuke said with a gentle smile. “I still have to introduce you all to Sayaka-sama.”

 

Kakashi sighed in relief and began eating his lunch. It was really good. Those rodents sure knew how to cook.

 

After being introduced to Sayaka and a few other rodents, Toneri took the lead on the tour of town. At one point, Naruto began to lag behind. Sasuke noticed and dropped back to check on him.

 

“Were you ever going to tell me that I had a family?” Naruto asked.

 

“… Eventually,” Sasuke said.

 

“In your farewell note?” Naruto asked angrily.

 

“… Maybe,” Sasuke said.

 

“Why would you keep that from me?” Naruto asked.

 

Sasuke didn’t answer immediately.

 

“Because you’re part of Konoha,” Sasuke said. “Everything is a secret from Konoha.”

 

“I might be part of Konoha, but I’m also your friend,” Naruto said. “How could you tell a girl you barely know before you told me? It’s not okay to keep something like that from me, Sasuke, you bastard.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“Are there any more Uzumakis?”

 

“I only know of one: Nagato.”

 

“Who’s he?”

 

“He’s the leader of Akatsuki. He goes by the name, ‘Pain.’”

 

“Pain is a weird name. I guess it’s foreign, huh? Or maybe he picked it because he thought it sounded cool and doesn’t actually mean anything. Nagato… I’d like to meet him some day.”

 

Kakashi doubted anything good would come of trying to play happy families with the leader of Akatsuki. He glanced back over his shoulder to check on the boys. While Naruto was staring hopefully at the group ahead, Sasuke’s eyes were downcast.

 

“Hey look!” Naruto said, pushing Sasuke. “There’s an ice cream store! You know what, I really like this town! Nobody ever gives me funny looks or won’t let me in! Did you notice that? It’s amazing how nice everybody is!”

 

“There’s always been a world outside of Konoha,” Sasuke said, before buying Naruto an ice cream.

Notes:

Kakashi is officially done for the day and it’s only noon.

 

Danzo arm: *Is Full of Eyeballs*

Koharu: Yes, that is an arm full of eyeballs, but what does it really prove? You don’t know. He could have an affirmative defense. Get this man a lawyer.

Kakashi: I wish I had gone to school past the age of twelve, or possibly five, so that I could have developed the vocabulary necessary to identify that as motivated reasoning.

 

Naruto: Why didn’t you warn us about the war?!

Sasuke: Because *finger guns* I didn’t care.

 

I made up the reason the Daimyou deprives Suna of revenue, because canon didn’t provide one. It seems reasonable that two centers of supposedly equal power in a nation would compete like that.

Chapter 17: Undoing

Summary:

Kakashi wrestles with his trauma, Sasuke and his research team solve the Caged Bird Seal and the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, and then the Plot jumps out from behind a rock.

Notes:

I wrote Kakashi’s opening scenes while nodding and tapping my foot as “About You,” by Caravan Palace and Charles X played on repeat. I mention this, because the tone of those scenes is so starkly different from the tone of that song, but they were a natural pairing in the creation process. I cannot explain this.

Also, I made the Byakugan and Sharingan more distinct from one another for this fic. I don’t like both of them reading chakra identically. More details in end notes.

Life returned to normal, or as normal as it ever got since Kakashi became the teacher of Team Seven. So, not very normal at all, really. Pretty far from normal, actually. Perhaps the oddest part was that the Oto girl, Tsuchi, had started acting like the fifth member of Team Seven. She was as prickly as Sasuke at his moodiest, but she never provided apples. Of course, she and Sakura immediately got along like a house on fire, that is, like a burning building full of personal possession and a young family screaming for rescue.

 

“Look at your long hair,” Tsuchi said disdainfully. “You keep it that long to impress boys, don’t you? And you call yourself a ninja. Pathetic.”

 

“Your hair is longer than mine is,” Sakura pointed out hotly.

 

“Yeah, but that’s just the length it naturally grows to,” Tsuchi said. “I bet you had to work hard to get your hair that length, didn’t you? And it’s not even as long as mine is.”

 

The two girls had ended up chasing each other around the Uchiha Quarter with scissors. In the end Tsuchi had lost more hair than Sakura had, but it seemed a Pyrrhic victory to Kakashi, because Ino ended up having to give both girls haircuts to hide their butchery.

 

“Say, Sasuke-kun, who do you think has the best hair?” Ino asked.

 

Without a moment’s hesitation, Sasuke cut all three girls dead.

 

“Neji-kun.”

 

However, not everyone was in the mood to play around. The knowledge that war might be about to break out was keeping Kakashi up at night. He really didn’t want to go to war again. His team was good, but they weren’t good enough to survive something like that. Sakura had an ability that might incentivize the Hokage to put her in fights above her weight class. Naruto was a jinchuuriki, so he might not be allowed to leave Konoha or he might be treated as an expendable mass-casualty weapon and shipped into the heart of enemy territory on a suicide mission. As for Sasuke, he was bad at making decisions and he was still set on desertion.

 

If he tried to pull that stunt during war time, he could be summarily executed, Last Uchiha or no. Kakashi had seen it happen the last time Konoha went to war. Some genin lost his nerve during a battle and the chuunin in charge of their squadron ran him down. Kakashi relayed that story to the kids one evening and Sasuke was the only one who wasn’t worried by it. Kakashi gritted his teeth at this apathy and resisted the urge to raise his voice or call the boy names. In the end, he decided to let it go. He simply did not have time for that bullshit anymore.

 

Instead of focusing on the Finals or Sasuke’s problems, Kakashi focused on preparing the kids for war. His first objective was to teach the kids survival techniques. Survival training was something everyone learned at the Academy, but students were only taught how to survive in the different environments of Fire. The training Kakashi imparted focused on the environments of Wind.

 

Gai’s team had begun training with them every day. Even Tenzou had elected to stay close, creating two new houses on the empty land of the Uchiha Quarter, where Tenzou and his still-nameless charge and Team Gai stayed. When Sasuke first saw these houses, he merely glared moodily at them and turned away without comment.

 

Worried that he couldn’t do much for Naruto, Kakashi mostly had the boy train with Gai. Kakashi might not be able to prevent Naruto from being sent away to die, but he could help him survive the journey by focusing on his strengths. Naruto, more than any of his teammates, had a love of fist fights. He enjoyed unarmed close-combat in a way that made gaining skill in taijutsu inevitable. And it was a skill, like team tactics, which enhanced the effectiveness of his current fighting style. He might prefer to learn his father’s techniques, but he would be better served, at least for now, by focusing on his existing skills.

 

Sasuke, along with his shadow Tsuchi, trained with Gai’s team, too. Kakashi told him to focus on his speed.

 

“Maybe if he runs fast enough,” Kakashi though darkly. “He won’t get a dozen kunai to the back when he deserts.”

 

Kakashi had spent too long just reacting to Sasuke’s drama. He’d been overly focused on Sasuke almost from the word “go” and he needed to reassess his priorities. The kid was going to get himself killed and there was nothing Kakashi could do about it, so tried not to give the boy any more of his attention.

 

Sakura ended up getting most of Kakashi’s time. He submitted the paperwork to officially make her his apprentice. Hopefully, that would mean that at least the two of them would be deployed together, if the Hokage decided to break up Team Seven. It wasn’t a guarantee, but it was something. For training, he focused on techniques that would allow her to evade the senses, hide from her enemies, and escape dangerous situations. He could teach her how to kick ass like he could when they weren’t under the gun. When they ran into trouble, Kakashi would handle it. Sakura just needed to be able to survive long enough to build some adult muscle, to increase her chakra pool, and to become familiar with war.

 

Right away, Gai noticed that something was wrong. After a week, he manhandled Kakashi into sitting down and talking about his damned feelings.

 

“I can’t protect them,” Kakashi admitted, anxiety clawing at his breastbone from the inside, as he, Gai, and Tenzou sat together and watched the night roll in. It had started getting dark earlier and earlier as the year began winding down. It all spilled out then; how the Hokage was going to send Naruto to die, how Sasuke was going to be killed for desertion, how Sakura wasn’t experienced enough to survive the battles she would be sent into, how Kakashi just couldn’t keep his damned team together. “It’s all going to fall apart. They’re all going to die.”

 

“This isn’t like you, Kakashi-senpai,” Tenzou said.

 

“Hm?” Kakashi asked.

 

“You never give up on your comrades,” Tenzou said. “I remember that mission to the Land of Birds. The team thought Rabbit was done for, but you wouldn’t accept that. It was a hard fight… It was a hard fight, but we all made it out. We almost failed that mission, because you refused to cut our losses.”

 

“This is different,” Kakashi said. “War might be about to come to Konoha. The last war took two of my comrades. I can’t endure that again. What if the only way to protect my team is to disobey the Hokage’s orders?”

 

“Kakashi-senpai, that’s what you did in Birds,” Tenzou said with a smile. “If the Hokage wanted the rule about abandoning your comrades for the sake of the mission removed, then he would have done it by now. That’s a real rule and you broke it.”

 

“I know it’s real, but…” Kakashi said. “It’s one I’ve long been resolved to ignore. No, for me the rule is to do the opposite.”

 

“Then follow the rules of your heart! For me, there have always been hypothetical orders that I knew I could not carry out, diabolical instruction that would have flown in the face of righteousness and the honorable path of taijutsu,” Gai said. “When I applied to join you in ANBU, I was willing to take ugly missions and refuse to meet mission objectives anyway.”

 

“You would have gotten in so much trouble,” Kakashi murmured.

 

“Yes, but I would have been by your side, my eternal rival!” Gai said, patting Kakashi heartily on the back.

 

Kakashi sighed and hung his head. How could Gai be so brave? Kakashi felt secondhand fear just imagining the reception Gai would get from the Hokage after pulling such a stunt. For Kakashi to stand in front of the Hokage and say “no,” to invite the Hokage to chastise him for disobedience, to risk losing his reputation as a ninja was excruciating even to imagine.

 

Saving a teammate and facing eventual censure was qualitatively different than looking the Hokage in the eye and denying him, because Kakashi might lose a teammate in the future… But it shouldn’t be. Not if his team needed him to endure it.

 

Kakashi turned his feelings over in his mind. He felt a reflexive guilt and unease at the thought of earning the Hokage’s disapproval, of being a bad ninja. Even after all these years, he reflected, he was still viscerally afraid of being ostracized again. Maybe he would never stop being afraid of that, but he needed to be brave in the face of that possibility. Did he care what the Hokage thought? Yes. Should he? Absolutely not. The Hokage was a traitor, so what claim could he make to being the arbiter of what made a good ninja? The Hokage was losing sway over public opinion anyway.

 

Kakashi’s team needed him. Therefore, Kakashi needed to be able to disobey the Hokage to his face, rather than just on missions surrounded only by people who wouldn’t rat on him.

 

Even if the rest of Konoha turned against him, Kakashi had people who would stand by his side. He couldn’t pry Gai off with a crowbar, for one, and Gai wasn’t the only one. Tenzou would be by his side, too, and so would Kakashi’s team. Naruto would understand that public opinion didn’t dictate a person’s worth, because of his own experience. Sakura would agree with Kakashi’s decision to put the team first. She’d only turn on Kakashi if he turned on the team first. And Sasuke didn’t care what the rest of Konoha thought. If nobody told him, he might not even notice.

 

Fine. If Sakura got sent on a bad mission, Kakashi would follow her. Actually, if they were ordered to split up, then he just wouldn’t accept it. If Kakashi had to break out the blackmail, twist a few arms, or even disobey direct orders, so be it. Kakashi was going to protect his team. If all of Konoha disapproved, then they could just die mad about it.

 

Team Seven was going to stay together through whatever conflict came their way. It was fine. It was frightening, but fine. Kakashi could see his team through this war. If he couldn’t, then at least he would die defending them.

 

With his commitment reaffirmed, Kakashi turned the focus of Team Seven’s training away from individual specialization to fighting as one unit. In at least one scrimmage a day, Team Seven took on Team Gai, or Team Ten, or Team Eight, or some combination thereof. After Inoichi had picked confirmation from Gaara’s mind, information on Suna’s planned attack had been disseminated throughout Konoha, so everyone had turned their efforts to preparing for the war.

 

Ninjas weren’t the only ones required for this effort either. Many civilians had begun evacuating to the capital, but many had stayed behind to staff hospitals, to do secretarial work for the government, to repair and craft weapons and armor, to ensure Konoha had the supplies it needed in case of a prolonged siege, to shore up defensive structure both in Konoha and in neighboring villages.

 

With all of the injuries sustained during training, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Hikari got in a lot of practice at healing and Sakura began learning it. Tenten also expressed an interest.

 

“I’m so jealous of your chakra control, Sakura-chan. It was my dream to become a medic-nin, like Tsunade-sama, but I don’t have good enough chakra control,” Tenten said.

 

Three days later, Sasuke and Neji walked up to Tenten and handed her a manila envelope. Kakashi, curious about what was in the packet, hung around to eavesdrop.

 

“Good morning, Neji-kun, Sasuke-kun. What’s this?” Tenten asked. She pulled of a sheaf of papers written in the format Sasuke used for his research.

 

“It’s a technique formula we designed,” Neji said.

 

“Oh. What does it do?” Tenten asked.

 

“It slows the dispersal of chakra funneled through it,” Neji said. “When painted on the lower arm and hand, this formula acts as an extension of the chakra pathway system, receiving the transformed chakra of a ninjutsu and slowing its release.”

 

“That’s interesting,” Tenten said politely.

 

“I can see that you habitually waste chakra when you activate seals,” Sasuke said bluntly. “I think you can’t use medical ninjutsu, because you don’t have fine enough control over your chakra output. It isn’t that you don’t have enough chakra to power those moves or can’t create enough output. Rather, it’s that you put too much chakra into them at once, so it comes out too fast and would be overwhelming.”

 

Kakashi was shocked. If this thing worked as intended, then it could vastly increase the number of people able to use basic medical ninjutsu. That would be incredibly useful.

 

Tenten’s jaw dropped and she looked back at the pages in her hand in excitement.

 

“Are you… A technique formula can do that? It can increase my chakra control?”

 

“Yeah,” Neji said, while Sasuke nodded.

 

“Are you saying I could use my fuinjutsu skills… to do medical ninjutsu?!” Tenten shrieked excitedly. “And this technique formula actually increases chakra control? How does it work?!”

 

Tenten’s volume alerted Gai and the rest of the genin that something interesting was happening, so they began making their way over to watch.

 

“This module of the formula absorbs the chakra, this one slows it a variable amount, and this one extrudes it,” Sasuke said, pointing out the different parts of the design. “This middle module is where you manipulate the output speed. The closer to the center of the spiral you activate it, the slower the ninjutsu will be emitted.”

 

Sasuke rattled on for a while about the technique formula, its limitations, its mechanics, its disadvantages over typical use of techniques, and confirmed that it worked with at least one healing technique. Tenten’s enthusiasm never dimmed as she listened and flipped through the pages of her gift.

 

“You guys, this is the best gift ever! Thank you so much!” Tenten threw her arms around both boys, hilariously reducing Sasuke to wide-eyed surprise, as hugs always seemed to do. “Gai-sensei!” Tenten screamed, shaking the papers with both hands. It was the first time Kakashi had seen the girl match Gai for intensity. “I’m going to be a medic-nin! Neji-kun and Sasuke-kun made this for me, see? I’m going to be like Tsunade-sama!”

 

“That is the most amazing thing, Tenten-chan!” Gai shouted back at her, throwing his hands in the air in mock shock. “You will be a splendid medic-nin for certain! Be tenacious! Chase your dream into the sunset!” Then, Gai flashed her a glittering smile and gave her two thumbs up.

 

“I will!” Tenten said.

 

“Congratulations, Tenten-chan!” Lee said, embracing Tenten with tears streaming down his face. “It’s been so long since I saw such fire burning in your eyes! It seems you gave up on your dream too quickly! Now, it’s one step closer!”

 

“Thanks, Lee-kun!” Tenten said.

 

“Can I see how it works?” Lee asked hopefully.

 

“Well done, you two,” Kakashi murmured to Sasuke and Neji. It was really something how those two had changed. They were both still prickly, but their spines were starting to lie flat.

 

So, Tenten began learning how to heal injuries as well. Her progress wasn’t as fast as Sakura’s was, so it seemed unlikely that she would have it down by the time of Suna’s potential invasion, but Kakashi had no doubt that she would get there in the end. For her part, Tenten seemed to enjoy the challenge.

 

-

 

“We’ve found a name!” Tenzou announced proudly at practice one morning. “Go on, introduce yourself!”

 

“Hello, my name is Sai,” Tenzou’s ward said. “Please take care of me.”

 

“Huh,” Kakashi said. How odd that the name they had settled on had been Sai’s code name. Maybe it was destiny.

 

-

 

There was a rush on vaccines, including tetanus, which was one of Kakashi’s least preferred ways to die, but he managed to get revaccinated, because jounin were moved to the front of the line. The village had put in orders to get the battery of vaccines each ninja would need before deployment to Suna, but they would take time to acquire. The genin had all been vaccinated for several things before graduation, but not for Suna-specific diseases, and got placed on the waiting list. Tsuchi had never been vaccinated for anything, despite her entry paperwork’s insistence otherwise, so she, like Hikari and Toneri, had begun to work her way through the routine vaccines. Kakashi also took his dogs to get their rabies vaccines, which was a pain, because they all hated going to the vet.

 

“How are you so smart, and yet so dumb?” Kakashi asked Pakkun.

 

“It’s not dumb to not want to go to the vet,” Pakkun growled, giving Kakashi a heavy-lidded sneer. “Vets are terrifying! Just look at her!”

 

Kakashi looked at Inuzuka Hana as she gave him a friendly smile. He turned back to Pakkun.

 

“So dumb,” Kakashi said ruthlessly. As Hana gave Pakkun a shot in the hind leg, Kakashi held Pakkun in his lap and tried not to laugh as the dog screamed. Kakashi’s seven other dogs cowered together in the corner, awaiting their fates with dread.

 

-

 

Sasuke and the others, those he privately thought of as his research team, had spent a week doing tests on chickens to confirm the team’s understanding of the different aspects of the Caged Bird Seal, their potential individual solutions, and how these solutions interacted. Even though half his day went to training, because he wasn’t the only one doing these tests, he was able to get data more quickly, to analyze his findings with others, and to share the tedious but necessary work of writing up the reports. With that complete, they were ready to test the removal of the complete juinjutsu.

 

“Two weeks left,” Sasuke remarked absently to Neji, as they placed the Caged Bird Seal on their first test subjects.

 

“Until our match? Yeah,” Neji said. “We should spar.” Sasuke hummed in agreement.

 

They had designed this technique, not to erase the seal, but to transfer it. For this test, they were using a strip of cotton, because that seemed to be the most likely material to be receptive to this particular juinjutsu. They hadn’t bothered to develop a technique to erase the Caged Bird Seal, because this way was simply faster and time was of the essence. The Main Branch could discover their efforts at any time and everyone who was still marked when that happened would be vulnerable. Despite Sasuke’s aversion to spreading a technique that could be used to pass the Caged Bird Seal from one person to another, he hadn’t resisted the compromise.

 

After the last bird was confirmed to be marked, Sasuke anxiously watched as Ikuyou began the experiment.

 

The circle beneath the penned chicken began to glow as Sasuke’s gaze was riveted to the bird. His heart pounded in his chest. He worried that the bird would be hurt or killed, worried that the experiment would fail, worried that some distant Main Branch Hyuuga was secretly watching them from a distance. He worried, worried, worried.

 

And then it was over, the bird was unharmed, and Sasuke could see that the strip of cloth contained the juinjutsu’s mark. Ikuyou and Neji confirmed with their Byakugan that the mark was gone from the bird. Finally, when Sasuke tried to activate the seal, there was no reaction from the chicken. The Caged Bird Seal was fully removed.

 

Because getting to this point had required so much background research and Sasuke’s understanding of juinjutsu had vastly improved, and because so much more research had been possible due to their access to the Hyuuga Archives and the Yamanaka Archives, and because so many more people had helped in the development of the Caged Bird Seal Removal Technique itself than on any of Sasuke’s previous juinjutsu removal projects, they had just developed the cure for the Caged Bird Seal on their first attempt. Sasuke was blown away by their success.

 

Neji laughed and embraced his aunt, who was smiling for the first time since Sasuke had met her. Tenten and Ino high-fived each other and whooped. As for Sasuke, he was studiously taking notes on the outcome of their experiment, but all the while he was grinning like a madman.

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Neji said. “Thank you. It’s been a long time since I had any hope of being an equal to any other man in Konoha. Whatever happens, this has changed my life. Just having hope, having something to work towards changed my life.”

 

“I’m grateful to you, too,” Sasuke said. “I’ve learned so much from this project. I really couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you, all of you.”

 

After repeating the test again and again with hundreds of fresh birds, bringing in those who ran the poultry farm (all Branch Family members) to witness their success, and then testing the technique on Ikuyou, they burnt the strips of cloth and called it a day. The Caged Bird Seal had been soundly defeated. To prevent knowledge of their method from being lost, they immediately made copies of their solution and enlisted several trusted friends outside of the Hyuuga to keep the scrolls secure. Now, the time had come to put their research into action.

 

Unlike his aunt, Neji had to keep his mark, to ensure prying eyes would find what they expected when they looked at him. Tonight, Neji and the poultry farmers would memorize and disseminate the technique throughout the Branch Family households. Then, when most of the compound would be asleep, those households would begin to remove the juinjutsu as quickly as they could. Every hand was needed. The faster they could purge the Caged Bird Seal from their ranks, the sooner they would be safe from the Main Family. If they were discovered in the middle of their work, the consequences could be fatal to everyone still marked.

 

Sasuke had decided to spend the night at Neji’s place to assist in the removal process for families that didn’t have a member proficient in fuinjutsu.

 

“No,” Kakashi said, without even looking up from his book.

 

“What?” Sasuke exclaimed, completely taken aback by this refusal. It wasn’t as if Sasuke had even been asking his permission.

 

“The guard who helped Danzou escape was a member of the Hyuuga Main Family,” Kakashi said. “That wasn’t a coincidence. The Hyuuga are staunch supporters of the Hokage, even if they had to come out publicly against Danzou. I can’t trust that you would be safe in the Hyuuga Compound if a situation developed, especially not it you were responsible for that development.”

 

“Then, let’s all go!” Naruto said crossing his arms. “We need to protect Neji and his family, right? So, why hold back? Let’s all go!”

 

And that was how Neji ended up hosting the Uchiha Clan, Tenzou and Sai, Team Gai, and Team Kakashi. When the time came, Tenten, Neji, Sasuke, Hikari, Sai, and Kakashi would each go to a different home with their backup (except for Kakashi who was too good for backup) and remove the Caged Bird Seal from those living there.

 

On their way into the compound, the guard, whom Neji greeted familiarly, examined everyone closely. Sasuke had resigned himself to having Hikari and Toneri’s clan ties revealed, but the guard simply let them through without giving either one, even Toneri whose chakra was similar to their own, a second glance. Of course, as a ninja, he should be adept at concealing his emotional responses, at least in some situations.

 

“Neji-kun,” Sasuke said. “What do you see when you look at me with your Byakugan?”

 

“What do you mean?” Neji asked.

 

“What can you tell about my chakra?”

 

Neji activated his Byakugans.

 

“You’re you,” Neji said. “Your chakra color is distinct to you.”

 

“Can you tell anything else about it?” Sasuke pressed.

 

“You aren’t running low and your tenketsu points aren’t blocked,” Neji said. “It seems normal. Why?”

 

“I wonder if we see the same thing,” Sasuke said.

 

“Why wouldn’t we?” Neji said. “The Sharingan descended from the Byakugan, after all.”

 

“Where did you get that from?” Sasuke asked.

 

“What do you mean? Everybody knows that,” Neji said. Neji’s words triggered a memory so faint that Sasuke couldn’t be sure he wasn’t making it up. Had something like that been said in the story, maybe early on?

 

“That’s not true,” Toneri said. “The Hyuuga are descended from Hamura and the Uchiha are descended from Hagoromo.”

 

“Do you have any proof of that?” Neji challenged.

 

“Uh,” Toneri said.

 

“I guess we just have different historical records,” Sasuke said, hoping to steer the conversation out of dangerous territory.

 

“So, what do you see when you look at me?” Neji asked.

 

“Pale blue,” Sasuke said.

 

“Really?” Neji asked.

 

“Almost white,” Sasuke said.

 

“I look navy blue to me,” Neji said. “You’re purple.”

 

“Purple?” Sasuke repeated.

 

“Really pale purple. Lavender, maybe,” Neji confirmed. “What color do you see?”

 

“Red,” Sasuke said. “All Uchihas are some variation of red, as all Hyuugas are some variation of baby blue.”

 

“It’s not like that for the Byakugan,” Neji said. “Different people are different colors. Ikuyou-oba-san is green, Hinata-sama is purple, Hiashi-sama is brown…”

 

“What color am I?” Hikari asked.

 

“Acid green,” Neji said. Hikari hummed thoughtfully.

 

“And me?” Sakura asked.

 

“Cherry blossom pink,” Neji said. Sakura looked quite pleased by this.

 

“What color do I look to you, Sasuke-kun?” Sakura asked.

 

“Cream,” Sasuke said.

 

As Neji and Sasuke played the group’s mood rings, Sasuke relaxed a little. It seemed that the Byakugan couldn’t see relatedness the way the Sharingan did. Did that make the Byakugan more useful for identifying individuals, relative to the Uchiha? Surely there was lots of ambiguity for both. Sasuke knew from personal experience that there were people that were only distantly related that appeared to be nearly the same color to the Sharingan.

 

In the end, the only person who was the same color to both eyes was Naruto, who was yellow.

 

“Everyone has been informed now,” Neji said after they reach his apartment and met back up with the chicken farmers. “Most of those who can’t use fuinjutsu themselves will have doubled up with another household tonight, but there are still several who are unpaired. In each household, we’ll work from youngest to oldest.”

 

Everyone poured over the map of the compound, memorized their assigned apartments, and then settled down to wait. Neji pulled Sasuke aside.

 

“Why did you ask me that earlier, about how you look to me?”

 

“Just curious,” Sasuke said.

 

“… What were you worried the guard would see?” Neji asked.

 

Sasuke hesitated. What should he say?

 

“Nothing,” Sasuke said at last.

 

“Is it the fuinjutsu on your arms?”

 

“No.”

 

“Then what is it?” Neji asked. “You know you can trust me, Sasuke-kun.”

 

Sasuke sighed and looked at the floor. He probably could trust Neji and Neji was already entrusting his clan’s safety to Sasuke. Maybe Sasuke owed him this.

 

“Hikari-chan,” Sasuke whispered. “She’s an Uchiha.”

 

Neji’s eyes grew wide.

 

“… I won’t tell anyone,” Neji whispered back, his brow furrowed with sincerity. “I swear.”

 

Sasuke nodded in thanks.

 

“Why did she come here if you guys were worried that she’d be found out?” Neji whispered.

 

“She wanted to help,” Sasuke whispered. “She’s a brave person.”

 

“… I’m sorry for my clan’s involvement in Danzou’s escape,” Neji said, looking sour. “The Branch Family had no say in it.”

 

“I know,” Sasuke said.

 

“Maybe he’ll be caught one day,” Neji said. “I hope your clan gets justice.”

 

Sasuke nodded unthinkingly, and then was surprised at his own response. He realized that he had started to hope for justice, too, even though he feared the pain of wishing for something that could never be realized. Surely it was better to focus only on what was attainable… But so many people had professed support for Sasuke’s people lately: Toneri, Kakashi, Chouza and the rest of the Ino-Shika-Chou alliance, and now Neji. Maybe it was possible.

 

And they hadn’t offered verbal support alone: they had gotten all of the Sharingans back from Danzou. That was no small thing. Sasuke looked down at his arm. He had caught himself staring at his arm repeatedly over the last few weeks, where the tag containing the eyes had been sealed. Thankfully, no one had mentioned the eyes again within Sasuke’s hearing, so he hadn’t needed to explain why he hadn’t cremated them yet. He could explain it. He just didn’t want to; he didn’t think the others would understand.

 

Sasuke dozed until the hour arrived.

 

“Wake up, Sasuke,” Naruto said. “It’s time for us to go.”

 

Sasuke blearily rose and accompanied Naruto to the first of their two assigned apartments.

 

“Don’t worry,” Naruto said with a yawn. “You just focus on removing that mark and I’ll watch your back.” Sasuke nodded.

 

There was a woman waiting just inside the door to welcome them in.

 

“Hey! We were sent by-!” Naruto said.

 

“I know,” she hissed. “Sorry, but please just come inside.”

 

“Pardon the intrusion,” Sasuke murmured as he passed the threshold.

 

“We’re supposed to work from youngest to oldest,” Naruto said. “Is that okay?”

 

“Yes, yes,” the woman said in hushed tones, ushing them into the living room, where a man was standing anxiously and two little girls were sleeping on a couch.

 

Sasuke set to work on the first girl. She looked to be about two. Sasuke managed to perform the technique without waking her.

 

“Is that…?” the woman asked, staring intensely at the slip of cotton as she caressed her daughter’s unblemished forehead. Naruto handed the slip of cotton to her. The man took a shaky breath, clearly on the brink of tears, as he stared down at his daughter and then kissed her on the head.

 

Sasuke set to work on the next girl, who looked to be four. Once again, the task was done without waking her. The mother was next, followed by the father. The couple embraced when they were both free.

 

“My mother next,” the man said. “She’s back here.”

 

Sasuke and Naruto were escorted into a dimly-lit bedroom where a woman was lying in a hospital bed with the guardrails raised to prevent falls. She didn’t look very old, but she did look thin and ill. The woman was awake and reading a mystery novel.

 

“Hello!” Naruto said.

 

“Yes, hello,” the woman said in surprise.

 

When Sasuke had removed her Caged Bird Seal, the old woman took the slip of cotton from her son and glared at it.

 

“Burn it,” she said forcefully to her son. “And then bring me my granddaughters. I need to see them.”

 

Sasuke and Naruto didn’t stay to watch.

 

“Thank you both so much,” the woman said as she followed them to the front door.

 

“We’re happy to help!” Naruto said cheerfully.

 

They then moved on to the next apartment they had been assigned, where they found a teenage boy sitting on the step. He hopped up when Sasuke and Naruto approached.

 

“I saw more of you guys going past when I was sitting on the balcony earlier,” the teen said. He was about seventeen or eighteen and he wore a forehead protector and chuunin vest. “Come on in.”

 

They found this family waiting in the kitchen, where a middle-aged woman was washing dishes, a boy of about fifteen was drying them, and a middle-aged man was putting the dried dishes away. They seemed to have so many dishes to get through, because something was baking in the oven and two wire racks of melon bread were cooling on the countertop.

 

“Stress baking,” Sasuke thought.

 

“You must be Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun. I’m Hisui. I went to the Academy with your brother, you know,” the boy said. “Sorry.”

 

“It’s fine,” Sasuke said. “Is it alright for us to work from youngest to oldest?” The husband and wife nodded to each other.

 

“Of course,” the middle-aged man said. “Kohaku-kun, go on.”

 

Sasuke worked through the Caged Bird Seals one by one. Finally, their assignment was over. The mother pressed a warm melon bread on both Sasuke and Naruto before they left.

 

“Hey,” Hisui said on their way out. “Thanks.”

 

“Sure,” Sasuke said. Then, they stepped back out into the night and returned to Neji’s apartment. Kakashi, Sai, and Tenzou had beaten them back.

 

“Now what?” Naruto asked, munching on his pastry.

 

“Now,” Kakashi said. “We wait for the Main Branch to notice. Get some sleep. We’ve got an early morning.”

 

Sasuke ate his pastry in the kitchen as the rest of their comrades filed in two by two, and then returned to the living room to sleep. There, he found Naruto already passed out on his own, his melon bread sitting half eaten in his hand. Sasuke tried to sleep, but he had difficulty. The building had become quiet once more, but Sasuke couldn’t drop off to sleep. Finally, he decided to put himself under a genjutsu of some Debussy to pass the time. He didn’t realize he had fallen asleep until he heard someone opening the front door.

 

It was Ikuyou wearing a chuunin vest, something he had never seen her wear before. He had known she was a ninja from the way she moved, but he thought she had retired to work in childcare. Kakashi was sitting up on his mat, too, and Tenzou was stretching where he lay. Sasuke watched vacantly as Kakashi began to pull on his gear, before he started to get ready himself. No light was in the sky yet, but he hadn’t expected to be well rested today anyway.

 

Sasuke got up and went to the kitchen to splash some water on his face and get a drink. The 80’s style microwave didn’t have a digital clock, but there was an analogue one on the wall that pronounced the time as 4:30. As the others were rising, Sasuke went back to his mat to sip his water and do some chakra sensing. Just as his eyes had told him, his chakra sense confirmed that the correct number of people where present. He stretched his sense outward, trying to be ready in case someone decided to come in with ill-intent, and waited.

 

Naruto ended up having the most trouble getting up. Sakura spoke to Naruto briefly and Naruto said he was getting up, but then he immediately fell back asleep. After everyone but Naruto had risen and dressed, Sasuke flicked a genjutsu at Naruto, who sucked in a breath and twitched as OK Sweetheart’s, “Before You Go,” began to play. After stretching, Naruto lay on his mat blinking sleepily up at the ceiling and Sasuke went back into the kitchen to eat something. Naruto joined everyone in the very crowded kitchen a few minutes later.

 

“Who sang that song?” Naruto asked around a yawn.

 

“Song?” Sakura asked.

 

“Sasuke put a genjutsu on me,” Naruto explained.

 

“I don’t remember,” Sasuke said. After so many years, he had forgotten the lead singer’s name and it wasn’t as if the band’s name would mean anything to someone from this world.

 

“It was pretty,” Naruto murmured. He laid his head on the table until Kakashi pushed a bowl of cereal in front of him. He was halfway through his breakfast when he gasped and choked. After his coughing fit was over, he wiped tears out of his eyes and looked at Sasuke. “I get why your genjutsu song in the Prelims was so weird now!”

 

“Why?” Lee asked curiously.

 

“It’s because… Sasuke’s a weirdo,” Naruto said with equal parts awkwardness and bravado, apparently remembering that they weren’t in private only after Lee reminded him of the presence of other people.

 

“Don’t call Sasuke-kun a weirdo,” Sakura grumbled, pushing Naruto’s head.

 

By five, the group left the apartment and began making their way to the clan head’s house. Guards had been established in the night at the entrances to the apartments the Branch Family members lived in. Despite their raised alert-level and obvious sleep loss, Sasuke found them joking and cheerful when he passed. Ikuyou and Neji smiled at everyone they passed and several people came up to their group to thank everyone for helping free them. Gai cheered them all on loudly, probably waking everyone on the block, but no one had the heart to scold him.

 

It was five fifteen when they reached the gates of the Clan Head’s house. The Branch Family members who would have been on guard were, instead, home with their families, so Ikuyou and the others simply let themselves in. It actually made Sasuke a little nervous to do something as aggressive as enter a house uninvited, but he wasn’t about to wait at the gate while Neji and his aunt faced down their clan head.

 

Hiashi and his wife halted their progress in what looked like a training yard.

 

“What is the meaning of this?” Hiashi asked angrily. Despite his facade of strength, Sasuke could read anxiety in his face.

 

“Hiashi-san,” Ikuyou said, back straight and proud. The Main Family members tensed in the face of this effrontery.

 

“How dare you speak so familiarly?!” Hiashi snapped.

 

“I want you to watch this, Hiashi-san,” Ikuyou said. At Ikyou’s look, Neji pulled off his forehead protector, revealing the Caged Bird Seal. “This is the very last instance of the Caged Bird Seal, the juinjutsu that you inflict upon your own clan. It’s on the face of your nephew, your late twin brother’s only child. Watch.” It wasn’t a request.

 

“Don’t you dare!” Hiashi’s wife shouted. “Don’t you remove that mark! You may have abandoned your duty, but Neji-kun is a member of the Hyuuga and you have no right to interfere with him!” She moved as if to intervene.

 

“If anyone,” Gai shouted, squaring his stance, “moves to hinder the majestic Ikuyou-san in her righteous quest or to harm my precious student, then I, Konoha’s Sublime Green Beast of Prey, will leap to their defense!”

 

Sasuke wondered what the consequences might be for threatening a clan head in his own home. It seemed like it might be bad. Of course, Gai was too cool to be turned aside by something like that.

 

Ikuyou looked proudly at Neji, who grinned back. Then, it was the work of a moment for Ikuyou to remove the mark from Neji’s forehead. Neji was free.

 

“Any trap you devise for the former Branch Family, we will break,” Ikuyou declared. “Just as we have broken the Caged Bird Seal.”

 

Neji picked up the piece of cotton containing his transferred Caged Bird Seal and walked up to Hiashi.

 

“The Hyuuga Clan’s secret techniques that you refused to teach me, turns out I didn’t need them, after all. I found all the strength I needed without you. This is yours, Hiashi-san,” Neji said, thrusting the Caged Bird Seal at his uncle. “Take it. I’m done serving the Main Family. You’ll never control me ever again.”

 

“You’ll never control anyone again,” Ikuyou said, as Neji turned his back on Hiashi and walked back to his aunt’s side. Hiashi made an abortive movement towards Neji, but remained where he stood. “If we discover that you’ve put the Caged Bird Seal on anyone else, we will remove it and you can’t stop us. We do outnumber you, after all.”

 

“How dare you threaten the head of your clan?!” Hiashi’s wife exclaimed.

 

“Hiashi-san is no clan head of mine,” Ikuyou said “He isn’t worthy of it and he never was. From now on, I will be the head of a new clan, the Tsuru Clan.”

 

“Clan head?! Have you gone mad?” Hiashi said, apparently coming back to himself. “You don’t know the first thing about what it takes to run a clan! You’re just a nanny! You will not destroy my clan with your delusions!”

 

“But the Branch Family was never really part of the Hyuuga Clan, were we? That was the whole point,” Ikuyou said. “And you don’t get to claim that you’ve treated the Branch Family so well, not after what you’ve done. Over and over again, you people remind us of our duties, but what of yours? When have you ever done your duty to us? Hizashi-kun, your own little brother, was discarded like trash.”

 

Hiashi’s face creased in pain, but he said nothing.

 

“Some of my clan members may decide to continue working for you,” Ikuyou said. “After their wages have been renegotiated, of course. The rest of us will pursue our destinies outside the Hyuuga Clan’s employ.”

 

“What presumption! You’re fired, Ikuyou-san,” Hiashi said. “You and everyone who follows you are fired. There will be no renegotiation. You’re evicted, too. If you all aren’t part of the Hyuuga Clan, as you claim, then you must leave this compound immediately.”

 

“The Uchiha Compound has free space,” Sasuke said, without taking his eyes off Hiashi, whose glare promised retribution. “The Tsuru Clan can stay there as my guests, until you find a better place to live.”

 

“I’ll help build housing for your people,” Tenzou said. “I need to teach Sakura-chan that technique anyway.”

 

“We’ll all pitch in!” Gai said. “We’ll have a fabulous, new neighborhood built for Konoha’s newest clan in no time!”

 

-

 

“Did you see that loser?” Tsuchi said gleefully.

 

“It was great, right?” Hikari said.

 

“So great,” Tsuchi said. “Ikuyou-san was so cool.”

 

Ikuyou snorted.

 

“You were pretty cool,” Neji agreed. Sasuke saw him hide his shaking hands by crossing his arms. Lee seemed to have noticed it, too, because he threw an arm around Neji and gave him a big grin.

 

“You were both cool, my rival!” Lee said.

 

“You were supremely cool! Today is the first day on your journey of true self-determination! The sun has risen on the rest of your life!” Gai shouted.

 

“It isn’t sunrise yet,” Kakashi chimed in, gesturing at the dark horizon. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

 

“I’m so glad you have a proper clan now!” Toneri said, taking Sasuke’s hand. “It’s really the best!” Sasuke gave Toneri’s hand a squeeze of affection.

 

“We’re grateful,” Ikuyou said. “Tenten-chan, Sasuke-kun, you two worked hard for us. We’ll never forget it.”

 

“Thank you,” Neji echoed.

 

“There’s no need! I was happy to help out my teammate,” Tenten said. “And we’re all part of one village.”

 

“I’m glad I could help,” Sasuke said.

 

Dawn brought a new life to the air of the Branch Family apartments. Sasuke and Tenten spent most of the morning creating Enclosure Tags to facilitate the packing of the expelled Tsuru Clan, while everyone else ran around helping people more directly. People kept coming up to Sasuke and Tenten with big smiles on their faces to thank them or offer them food. Some people brought boxes of food from outside, so no one had to use their kitchen, and they came back with others. People poured in from the rest of Konoha to help their friends among the former Hyuuga members move out.

 

Somewhat impressively, Hinata braved her clan’s disapproval and the Tsuru Clan’s skepticism to assist in the packing. Sasuke made sure to point her in the direction of Naruto, but she wanted to spend time with Neji, so he sent her that way instead. Sasuke was pleased that Hinata was such a good child.

 

Conversely, when Sasuke saw Toneri head over to introduce himself to Hinata, Sasuke worried that his little brother might do something creepy. However, Toneri hadn’t really said anything worrisome about Hinata since they’d returned to Konoha, so direct supervision probably wasn’t necessary. Probably. Right? And Hinata was a bit of a pushover. Could she handle it if Toneri said something that crossed a line? Sasuke had just stood up to go check on the two, when they, Neji, and a cheerful family emerged from one apartment and Hinata, Neji, and Toneri went to find another home to help pack up. Hinata didn’t look bothered. In fact, she looked pretty happy, so Sasuke got back to work.

 

It was amazing how happy everyone looked. Despite being evicted from their homes, nearly all of the former Hyuuga Branch Family members were in a festive mood. Someone had hooked up a stereo and speakers on the balcony of their apartment and was pumping out tunes and someone else had hauled boxed breakfasts in from outside the compound. Sasuke washed a toddler who was performing the iconic dance of her age group, repeated squats with uncoordinated arm movements, while her big brother dutifully preventing her from falling over in her excitement. Sasuke smiled as the thought occurred to him that the little dancer would never remember being marked with the Caged Bird Seal. A new generation removed from that trauma was on the horizon. The world had turned for the Tsuru Clan.

 

Not everything was so idyllic. The Main Family had posted guards against those they had just evicted and some of them seemed to be looking for a chance to start something, but they really were outnumbered by the Tsuru and all the people, including several ninja, from the rest of Konoha who had showed up.

 

The rest of the day was spent transporting most of the Tsuru to the Uchiha Compound. Many people decided to stay with friends or get a hotel room, but most wanted to stay together, for safety. There hadn’t been any violence yet, but none of the Tsuru voiced any doubt that the Hyuuga would seek retribution eventually.

 

The rest of the day was spent building homes and moving people into the Uchiha Compound. The plumbing and electricity would need to be reconnected another day, but everyone knew how to use chamber pots and how to take bucket baths. Potable water too was just a few hand seals away with the help of a friendly neighborhood ninja, of which Konoha had more than a few. A latrine would need to be dug quickly if they couldn’t figure out the sewage situation in short order, but, for now, everyone could be safely packed away.

 

Tenzou and Sakura worked like dogs to get everyone housed. Sakura received Water and Earth chakra from everyone who was able to donate, so she ended up being able to last until the very end of the project. Sasuke was amazed at how many ninjas showed up to help out. He had never seen such an outpouring of support before from Konoha. So many people were coming together to aid the Tsuru. Was this the author being unwilling to commit to making the people of Konoha cold-hearted bastards, despite Naruto’s initial backstory? Was the general apathy being retconned before his very eyes? If so… Good.

 

But what was even going on? This had the making of a major political shift. This definitely hadn’t been a canon event. Hiashi might have become a lovey-dovey grandfather, but he never got rid of the Caged Bird Seal. In another four years, Hiashi was supposed to give his reanimated brother that bullshit spiel about Hinata and Neji fighting side by side, despite the fact that the two branches of that family tree were obviously still separated by the clan’s hierarchy.

 

“It sure is weird how people call her ‘Hinata-sama,’” Sasuke thought. “Being a child of the clan head doesn’t make you worthy of any special respect. Nobody ever called me, ‘Sasuke-sama.’”

 

“Sasuke-sama, do you care where we put the next lane of houses?” a Tsuru man asked.

 

“Don’t call me that,” Sasuke said with a grimace, making the man laugh. “I don’t care.”

 

Sasuke had mixed feelings about this relocation. He absolutely didn’t want anyone to be trapped out here the way his people had been, but he couldn’t leave these people homeless, not when it cost him nothing to invite them in. It felt like inviting a guest to sleep on a bear trap, but there was nothing for it.

 

“Sasuke-kun, thanks again for letting us stay here,” Ikuyou said as the day was winding down. She had just been speaking with Inoichi, Chouza, and Shikaku, who had come to extend a friendly hand to Konoha’s newest clan. Because he’d just been brooding about that matter, it made him uncomfortable to hear her thank him for his dubious charity.

 

“You should leave as soon as you can,” Sasuke said more abruptly than he’d intended. He blushed in embarrassment.

 

“What?” Ikuyou said.

 

“It’s not safe here. You’re already rocking the boat and now you’re far enough from the village proper that, if you were all murdered in your beds, no one would hear you scream. Coming out to such an isolated place is tempting fate,” Sasuke said. “You should keep a regular watch at all hours, at least.”

 

“… Perhaps you’re right,” Ikuyou said grimly.

 

“I’m sorry,” Sasuke said, unable to meet her eyes. “You can stay as long as you’d like, of course. Perhaps I shouldn’t have offered, but I wanted to help.” Ikuyou sighed.

 

“You’re a good boy, Sasuke-kun,” Ikuyou said, sadness in her voice. “I’ll see if I can get the Hokage to set us up with land closer in.”

 

Sasuke nodded. That would be best. No one should be on this land.

 

“You should come with us when we leave,” Ikuyou said.

 

“The Uchiha aren’t permitted to live outside the Uchiha Quarter,” Sasuke explained.

 

“Who gives a damn?” Ikuyou asked.

 

Sasuke smiled faintly.

 

“Thank you, but I have a plan.” He looked up to find Ikuyou examining him closely.

 

“Sasuke-kun, if you ever need help, let us know,” Ikuyou said sternly. “I mean it.”

 

“… I will,” Sasuke said. He meant it, too.

 

That night, when everyone had retired for the evening, Sasuke found a private moment to speak to Hikari.

 

“I told Neji-kun about you,” Sasuke admitted. “I made him suspicious by asking about the Byakugan earlier. He was trusting me with his family, so I decided to trust him, too.”

 

“That’s fine by me,” Hikari said. “I’m not scared of these people.”

 

Sasuke hugged Hikari.

 

“What is it?” she asked, when he held on for a long time.

 

“I’m afraid for you,” Sasuke whispered. “I’m afraid for our clan.”

 

“… You think Konoha might be about to attack again,” Hikari said. “We could go back to Shinku no Machi for the night.”

 

“No, we have to help keep watch,” Sasuke said. “At least, I do. I’ve volunteered to take a shift on guard tonight.”

 

“Yeah,” Hikari whispered. Then, she tightened her grip on Sasuke. “If they come, I won’t let any of them leave alive. I’ll protect you, Pipsqueak.”

 

“I’ll protect you, too,” Sasuke said. “We’ll all get through this alive.”

 

“All of us,” Hikari said.

 

-

 

Kakashi was glad that the former Hyuuga had moved into the Uchiha Quarter. They made excellent guards. If Suna attacked, their stealth would be moot. After Sasuke had joined the roster of guards, the rest of Team Seven had signed up, too. They were still teenagers, so they needed to make up the sleep during the day, but Kakashi was more than happy to give them a break for an afternoon nap, to encourage their behavior. Kakashi approved wholeheartedly of his students being community minded and practical.

 

There was only one week left before the Finals when Inoichi sent a runner requesting Kakashi, Gai, and Tenzou’s presence at dinner. Naturally, the kids were all invited, too. Kakashi agreed and had just begun to wonder what updates they had, when he saw the Hokage arrive. The kids were running laps while wearing weights and Gai was supervising, so Kakashi was free to attend to the Hokage.

 

“Hokage-sama,” Kakashi greeted.

 

“Hello, Kakashi-kun. I’ve come to meet with Ikuyou-chan,” the Hokage explained.

 

At this time of day, Ikuyou was probably in the Uchiha Quarter and a quick check with the guards confirmed that she was going over paperwork for a proposed land purchase in Konoha proper. Kakashi doubted many of them would be able to afford housing without assistance, at least initially. With so many of them having just lost their jobs, they would have been in real trouble if they hadn’t received free lodging. The Branch Family had never had the wealth of the Main Family. It was probably because they ended up earning below the average wage while working for the Main Branch. It was a pretty predatory arrangement, now that he thought about it.

 

“How are preparations for the Finals going, Kakashi-kun?” the Hokage asked.

 

“We haven’t really been focusing on it, to be honest, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi admitted.

 

“Concerned about Suna’s plot?” the Hokage asked.

 

“Yes,” Kakashi said. “We’ve been doing team training, instead.”

 

“Unfortunately necessary under the circumstances,” the Hokage said. “I’ve reached out to the Kazekage, but only received evasive answers. Rasa-dono hasn’t even responded directly. It bodes ill.”

 

Well, in the Kazekage’s defense, being dead did make it hard to keep up with your mail.

 

“What’s to be done with their jinchuuriki?” Kakashi asked.

 

“We’ll be keeping him imprisoned until we know the danger has passed,” the Hokage said. “Not that Suna has requested his release yet.”

 

Kakashi hummed in thought.

 

“It’s especially cold,” the Hokage continued, “because the boy is Rasa-dono’s youngest son. I’ll have to speak with him when he arrives for the Finals, it seems.” Kakashi wondered how the unstable boy would take the news that his father was dead.

 

“Maybe they don’t need him back, because he’s well situated for their plot where he is,” Kakashi speculated.

 

“Don’t worry. Gaara-kun is under strict suppression and guard,” the Hokage said.

 

Kakashi hoped that would be enough.

 

At Ikuyou’s house, they found her with ink-stained fingers from her work and dark circles under her eyes from her stint on guard duty last night.

 

“Please have a seat, Hokage-sama,” Ikuyou said. “I’ll make some tea. The kettle is already hot.”

 

After this was done, Ikuyou immediately took the opportunity to request land for her new clan.

 

“Yes, I saw the letter you submitted,” the Hokage said. “Unfortunately, the only way to place your people together would be to buy property from others and there isn’t room in the budget this year for such a large expense. We’ll revisit your request in the new fiscal year, if the need persists.”

 

“Well, we aren’t going away, Hokage-sama,” Ikuyou said. The cheekiness of the response surprised Kakashi.

 

“I understand. Rest assured that we will do everything we can to help resolve this situation to the benefit of all concerned. As Hokage, I won’t let any of Konoha’s people languish.”

 

Ikuyou looked at the Hokage levelly.

 

“I find myself skeptical, Hokage-sama,” Ikuyou said. “Because Konoha was never willing to support us before. We came to you repeatedly over the decades, trying to win your support for our emancipation from the Main Branch, but neither you nor your predecessors were willing.”

 

“It wasn’t that we weren’t willing to support you,” the Hokage said. “I’m very sorry that I ever made you feel that way. Konoha doesn’t interfere in intraclan politics. We had no right to dictate how the Hyuuga conducted itself.”

 

“Obviously, it’s a pure coincidence that your position preserved the status quo and kept us subservient to the Main Branch,” Ikuyou said.

 

Was she looking for a fight? With the Hokage?

 

“That wasn’t why we made that decision,” the Hokage disagreed. “The principle of respecting each clan’s independence was part of the integration process at the foundation of Konoha. Konoha could never have hoped to attract so many of the clans that are essential to us today if that point hadn’t been established and respected. It’s an important tradition.”

 

“Like the Caged Bird Seal?” Ikuyou asked. “That kind of tradition?”

 

“There is no call for this disrespect, Ikuyou-chan,” the Hokage said.

 

Ikuyou raised her eyebrows in a way that eloquently expressed her disagreement. Why was she being this way? The Tsuru hadn’t even been acknowledged as an official clan yet, so Ikuyou wasn’t an official clan head.

 

“How have talks with the Main Branch been going?” the Hokage asked, changing the subject diplomatically. “Hiashi-kun tells me that his attempts to reconnect have been rebuffed.”

 

“I don’t really have time to mend fences with my in-laws, at the moment,” Ikuyou said with a careless wave of her hand.

 

“That isn’t his only aim,” the Hokage said. “He is trying to reintegrate the two parts of the Hyuuga to preserve his clan.”

 

“I’m sure he is,” Ikuyou said.

 

“Can you blame him? As the head of the Hyuuga, he has a responsibility to his people, to ensure they are all safe and well,” the Hokage said.

 

“He was never so concerned with our well-being before,” Ikuyou said. “He inflicted the Caged Bird Seal on his own nephew.”

 

“The Caged Bird Seal was created to protect the secrets of the Hyuuga,” the Hokage said.

 

“Let me tell you something,” Ikuyou said. “As someone who just spent the last several weeks discovering how to remove it, that’s nonsense. We spent a long time trying to discover how it was that the seal knew when someone trying to activate it was a member of the Main Branch and not just someone who knew the activation seals. Do you know what we discovered? There was no such ability. The way the Caged Bird Seal is activated is completely non-selective; anyone could have used it against us, so long as they knew how.

 

“The Caged Bird Seal was a tool of oppression that put us at a disadvantage not just to the Main Branch, but to everyone who could use chakra. We got very lucky that the rest of the world didn’t discover that before we could remove it.”

 

“But it did prevent the Byakugan from being stolen by others,” the Hokage insisted.

 

“If that was true, then why didn’t the Main Family wear it, too?” Ikuyou asked. “If you think about it, its destruction of our doujutsu upon death combined with the way it enabled us to be killed in an instant really only protected the Main Family at our expense. The Caged Bird Seal was always intended, first and foremost, as a cage.”

 

Kakashi tried not to tense up as he listened to Ikuyou speak so forcefully to the Hokage. She was making a good argument, but being adversarial towards the Hokage was not going to get her people the help they wanted. She should be deferential.

 

Kakashi recalled how Shikaku, Inoichi, and Chouza had visited her that first day. He wondered what words exactly had passed between them.

 

“I’m very sorry you feel that way,” the Hokage said sadly. “I wish I had known how damaged the relations within the Hyuuga were becoming before it reached this point. I know that Hiashi-kun means well, even if he sometimes has trouble expressing it. He also tells me that he wishes to speak with his nephew privately about Hizashi-kun’s death.”

 

“So long as I have custody of Neji-kun, that man isn’t going to be allowed anywhere near him,” Ikuyou said with a frown.

 

“He is still Neji-kun’s uncle, regardless of anything else,” the Hokage said. “They are still family.”

 

“It’s precisely because they’re family that Hiashi-san’s mistreatment of him is so egregious,” Ikuyou said. “I won’t allow him to hurt that child again.”

 

“Neji-kun is a genin and allowed to make his own decisions,” the Hokage said.

 

“He’s also my sister’s son and he lives under my roof,” Ikuyou said. “I am responsible for him.”

 

“I’m sure Neji-kun would still like to know whatever details Hiashi-kun has to share about his father’s passing,” the Hokage said.

 

“About his execution, you mean. It crushed my sister to lose him. And to lose him that way! To lose him without a fight! As if his death was just a bribe, his life a bargaining chip! My brother-in-law was a good and loyal man and you weren’t willing to protect him! Her health had always been delicate and she never recovered from it.”

 

“His sacrifice was a tragedy,” the Hokage said.

 

“It’s only a sacrifice if it’s willing,” Ikuyou said. “He wasn’t given a choice.”

 

“I recall that sad day differently,” the Hokage said. “I urge you to listen to Hiashi-kun and let him speak to Neji-kun about it.”

 

“If he had any special details, he should have shared them before,” Ikuyou said. “What excuse can he give for withholding them until now? If they were really that important, then we would already know them. No, Hiashi-san is just trying to sway Neji-kun to his side.”

 

“And you’re afraid he might succeed,” the Hokage said.

 

“No,” Ikuyou said. “But Neji-kun isn’t required to participate in Hiashi-san’s games.”

 

“I understand your situation, but you can’t cause internal divisions when we are on the brink of war,” the Hokage said.

 

“Of course, Hokage-sama,” Ikuyou agreed. “We will treat the Hyuuga with the respect due to any other clan of Konoha, so there will be no friction between us.”

 

“Ignoring the reality at hand won’t make it go away. It would be best for everyone if you could move past your hatred and work to rejoin your family,” the Hokage said.

 

Ikuyou looked stunned and Kakashi couldn’t blame her. He was pretty thrown himself, but it wore off quickly. He could see where the Hokage was coming from. Because the Hyuuga and the Tsuru were all related, this could be interpreted as a problem primarily resulting from family disfunction. However, this wasn’t about interpersonal conflict; it was about a hierarchy of control and exploitation. You couldn’t make that kind of abuse go away by forgiving it and defeating it was a more important goal than living a hatred-free life. For one thing, it would help you live longer.

 

“Hatred?” Ikuyou asked in disbelief.

 

“If you allow yourself to fall to hatred, you won’t be able to lead your people to anything but ruin,” the Hokage said. “For yourself and for the people depending on you, you need to let go of your hatred and do what’s best for everyone. Your hatred will only poison what you hope to protect.”

 

“You came here to ask me to forgive Hiashi-san,” Ikuyou said, brow furrowing.

 

“Think of Neji-kun,” the Hokage said. “What example do you want to set for him?”

 

Ikuyou stared at the Hokage.

 

“Get out of my house,” Ikuyou said. “… Hokage-sama.”

 

-

 

Right after the Hokage left, Kakashi turned to Ikuyou with a sigh.

 

“You need to be careful,” Kakashi said.

 

“You think I wasn’t?” Ikuyou asked. “You think I don’t know how to bow and scrape? I’ve lived my whole life as part of the Branch Family! I know how to watch my mouth, but if I don’t stand up for myself and for this clan, then who will?

 

“For as long as we have lived in Konoha, we have been asking for help and every time we’ve been denied. Konoha never cared about us. All they cared about was keeping the Main Family happy. The Third is never going to support this clan, unless he’s forced. That makes it my job to apply that force. I’m not here to make nice and be polite; I’m here to serve.”

 

“That’s not what I meant,” Kakashi said. “I meant you need to watch your back… It’s pretty remote out here.”

 

Ikuyou relaxed her tight shoulders and sighed.

 

“You know, Sasuke-kun said the same thing,” she said. “I’ve heard the rumors about what happened to the Uchiha. Is there any truth in them?”

 

Kakashi thought about bringing her in on the coup, but he didn’t really know her well enough, nor was he certain which side she would take if the Hokage were to suddenly turn around and offer her everything she asked for.

 

“Just make sure you always have someone you can trust at your back,” Kakashi said.

 

-

 

“We’ve finished examining and documenting Danzou’s memories,” Inoichi said looking vaguely disgusted and reservedly furious. “His wanton actions have caused more trouble for Konoha than you know. We have significant exposure internationally that will need to be addressed diplomatically once the Third has been removed.”

 

“What are you going to do with Danzou now?” Kakashi asked.

 

“If he were to die after the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal had been removed from his victims, then there would be no immediate sign by which others could be informed remotely of his passing,” Inoichi said.

 

So, they would wait for Sasuke to finish up his anti-juinjutsu research before executing Danzou. That shouldn’t take much longer. Kakashi hadn’t been very involved with it, but the kids all confidently said that it was shaping up to be an easier job than the last.

 

“I think we might win ourselves a lot of goodwill if we gifted him to one of the groups he’s wronged,” Chouza said breezily. “Maybe we could send each of them a piece.”

 

“With an apology card and a little bow,” Shikaku snarked. “Of course, a public execution done officially might produce good optics. There’s no rush to decide now. We’ll see what use we can make of him before we dispose of him.”

 

“Let him see what it’s like to be treated as an asset,” Chouza said acidly.

 

“What about Ikuyou-san?” Kakashi asked. “Should we bring her in on this?”

 

“She seems like a good woman,” Gai said. “I would trust her integrity.”

 

“Not yet,” Shikaku said. “We need to take care. Jiraiya-sama has been sniffing around. Also, the Tsuru’s situation is too precarious at the moment. They need money more than they need friends. Although, Ikuyou and her clan do seem a natural fit, doubly so with their debt to Sasuke-kun. Is he planning to charge them much in rent?”

 

“No,” Kakashi said. “I don’t think he’s charging them anything.”

 

“Then why are they trying to leave?” Shikaku asked.

 

“Because Sasuke-kun convinced them it’s not a safe place to live,” Kakashi said.

 

“That’s a valid point,” Shikaku said with a frown. “We should find a way to buy them some land to start their own compound. If they could be permanently settled before the Hokage figures out that the smart move is to back the Tsuru, instead of the Hyuuga, then he won’t have as much opportunity to win their goodwill.”

 

“A fundraiser open to the public of Konoha could be a community-driven way to see them settled in short order,” Inoichi said.

 

“Obviously, we would have to donate what we could,” Chouza said. “And maybe we could encourage lenders to give them loans on friendly terms.”

 

“Let’s make it happen,” Shikaku said.

 

-

 

With the continued aid of Tenten, Ino, Neji, Ikuyou, and now Sai, devising the solution to the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal didn’t take very long at all. It turned out to be a simpler juinjutsu, so the process to develop the technique to counter was simpler. They still had access to the chickens for experimentation, because the Tsuru had just stolen the birds from the Hyuuga poultry farm when it became apparent that the Main Family was neglecting the animals.

 

On the day before the Finals, Sasuke put the final lines on his report about the animal testing phase of the technique to remove the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. There was almost nothing left to do in Konoha now. Karin had been set up with a contract with the rodents, so she could leave Kusa as soon as she had collected her things. Sasuke’s promise to Neji had been fulfilled. Now, the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, Sai, Tenten, and Neji were off testing their technique on Tenzou. It was almost time to go.

 

There was an ache in his heart at the thought of leaving Team Seven behind, but then he looked up at Hikari, who was transcribing a book into braille for Toneri, and he smiled. A tincture of the hope and excitement he felt when fleeing Wave suffused him.

 

“Hey, Hikari-chan,” Sasuke said.

 

“Yeah?” she asked, not looking up from her work.

 

“How should we break Gaara-kun out of prison?”

 

“… Carefully,” Hikari said, still not looking up. “I hate getting sand under my nails.”

 

Sasuke left to see how Tenzou, who had volunteered to be the first human the removal technique was used on to test its safety, had faired. He passed Kakashi, who was napping on the couch.

 

That was when he felt Shukaku’s chakra roll across him in a poisonous wave; Gaara had snapped again. Sasuke heard people start shouting and, before he could turn around, Hikari was by his side.

 

“I’m going to get Sakura-chan,” Kakashi said. “Stay in the Uchiha Compound until we return.” Then he disappeared.

 

“Tsuchi-chan!” Hikari shouted “Get down here!”

 

“Toneri-kun’s outside,” Sasuke said, as Tsuchi’s door slammed open.

 

“Come on!” Hikari shouted. The three ran out of the house to find Naruto and Toneri playing ninja with some of the Tsuru children in the street.

 

“It’s Gaara!” Toneri shouted.

 

“Everyone, to me!” Sasuke said. As Naruto and Toneri herded the wary kids in from around the street and over to Sasuke, he summoned a plague of rodents and started sending the civilian children to Shinku no Machi.

 

“Let’s split up and go house to house,” Naruto said. “We’ll each take some rodents with us and send everyone who can’t fight away!”

 

“Toneri-kun, take out your puppets,” Sasuke instructed. Toneri fumbled in a pocket, produced an Enclosure Tag with “Puppets” written on the back, and released them, right as Neji and Tenten arrived.

 

“Where’s your gear? What’s going on with all these rodents?” Tenten asked. Sasuke and Hikari had indeed run out without any weapons pouches, but they probably didn’t really need them.

 

“We’re evacuating the civilians,” Naruto said.

 

“They’re nowhere near us yet, so we’ve got time, but we need to move fast,” Neji said. “Suna has invaded.”

 

Sasuke was shocked. Hadn’t they prevented that?

 

“And they’re not alone,” Neji continued, staring into the distance with his Byakugan activated. “It looks like Oto is with them.”

 

How could that be? Weren’t they defunct now? What had happened to the teams that left to deal with Orochimaru’s hideouts?

 

“Hurry!” Tenten said.

 

They didn’t need to be told twice.

Notes:

Okay, so I know canon Kakashi, consummate ninja, is like “Protect your teammates at all costs, period, end of discussion,” but I don’t know why he would be over his ostracization trauma. Ostracization literally killed his father. Did Obito cure him of it? Did he just grow out of it? Was the love of a good Gai enough to heal his heart? I’ve enjoyed building up to the idea that those two things could be a source of tension for his character in this story. This chapter in particular was a lot of fun to write, because his coping behaviors (trying to gain and maintain approval) could prevent him from striving to be his ideal self (someone who puts his teammates’ survival first), but his support network protects him from himself.

 

Fun Fact: Pugs scream.

 

The crane, tsuru, is a symbol of freedom, hope, happiness, peace, luck, and longevity.

 

My Take: Different magic eyeballs should see magic differently. Therefore, I’m having them both see chakra as colored, but see chakra signatures differently. The Sharingan can see the equivalent of chakra’s phenotype, as Kakashi saw Hikari’s during an earlier chapter, while the Byakugan can see the equivalent of chakra’s personality, which is how Ao sees chakra signatures in canon (I think). So nobody gets confused, transformed chakra (fire, water, etc.) will still show up identically to both eyes. Also, chakra color is never an indicator of nature affinity.

 

Ikuyou: What’s up with letting the Main Branch abuse us?

Hokage: States’ Rights

Chapter 18: The Konoha Crush, Part I

Summary:

The invasion begins. Moves are made under the cover of the fog of war.

Notes:

Because of the turn my country’s politics, the economy, and my health have been taking, I’ve had less time and I haven’t much felt like writing. Even worse than all of that, one of my dogs needed surgery! He hurt his little leg! It was horrible! Don’t worry; he’s recovering fine now. Still, not a great atmosphere. All the secret police running around kidnapping people for extraordinary rendition really brings down the mood.

For anyone else who is feeling helpless about the way things are going: join something. It could be a movement, a mutual aid society, a union, a charity, a sewing circle, anything. Even making cookies for a neighbor is an act of positive connection. It doesn’t have to be profound to make a difference. Strong communities make strong people. When someone says we have to push away the other, we disprove them by joining hands. And we do need to disprove them, because ethnic and social cleansing don’t make the world cleaner.

It also didn’t bolster my motivation to write that this arc is dark. Fair warning: war crimes ahead.

Going as fast as he could while avoiding obstacles, bouncing between houses and over hurrying people, Kakashi made it to Sakura’s house in just over two minutes, cursing the distance between the Uchiha Quarter and the rest of the village the whole way. There, he found Sakura, Hinata, and Ino preparing to leave with Sakura’s mother.

 

“Kakashi-sensei,” Mebuki said, letting Kakashi in. “Come in. We’ll only be one more minute.”

 

“Pardon the intrusion,” Kakashi said.

 

“Sensei!” Sakura said, shoveling bottles of pills off a kitchen counter into a purse. “Where’s Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun?”

 

“They’re evacuating the Tsuru civilians to Shinku no Machi. We’ll head back to them directly.”

 

“Thanks for coming to get us.”

 

“Of course,” Kakashi said. “Need help?”

 

“We’re good,” Sakura said, shaking her head, hurrying into the foyer.

 

“Ready!” Mebuki said, pulling on her shoes before accepting the purse from Sakura.

 

“Kakashi-sensei, my dad is out helping a neighbor,” Sakura explained.

 

“Let’s wait for him outside,” Mebuki said, hustling outside herself.

 

Shortly afterwards, Kizashi emerged from the neighboring apartment’s emergency exit and Mebuki became visibly less tense at the sight of him.

 

“Hello, Kakashi-sensei. Had to help a neighbor down her apartment’s basement stairs,” Kizashi explained to Kakashi. “She’s was too old to evacuate and wheelchair bound, so it’s a challenge for her daughter to move her by herself.” Kakashi hummed in understanding.

 

Then, they were off. Kakashi carried Sakura’s father, Sakura carried her mother, and Ino and Hinata carried their go-bags as they made their way back to the Uchiha Quarter. Hinata, the slowest member, set their pace, while Kakashi took up the rear to keep everyone in view.

 

They passed lots of people, fewer than there would have been if the village hadn’t already been mostly evacuated, but still more than there should have been, because the hospitality staff had stayed on to cater to the noble visitors. They passed people fleeing the market, including the leisurely strolling Raikage and his entourage. Kakashi supposed they would have to count themselves lucky if their esteemed guests didn’t join in the attack in the confusion.

 

They also passed the hospital and saw people with determined faced piling in. Even off-duty medical staff must have been called in to lend a hand or they had simply volunteered themselves. Hopefully, they wouldn’t get overwhelmed and there would be enough medical personnel, both ninja and civilian, to treat everyone who was injured in the coming fight.

 

That was one silver lining in this situation. In the field, you had to make do with patch jobs and pray it would be enough to keep the injured alive until they could get to a proper facility. At least with the battle taking place here, the injured wouldn’t need to be transferred very far, assuming the fighting itself could be kept away from the hospital.

 

They arrived back in the Uchiha Quarter to find Ikuyou conferring with her people, Gai, and Tenzou.

 

“Kakashi-san, we’ve cleared almost every house,” Ikuyou said. “Are these two going to be evacuated the same way?”

 

“That’s the plan,” Kakashi said.

 

“Be safe, Sakura-chan,” Kizashi said, as Mebuki embraced their daughter tightly. “Be strong.”

 

“I will. Don’t worry,” Sakura promised.

 

“Look after our girl, Kakashi-sensei,” Mebuki ordered Kakashi over Sakura’s shoulder.

 

“I will,” Kakashi swore.

 

“It’s almost a relief, you know,” Kizashi said, with a wry smile. “Not only have we been on tenterhooks wondering if and when we’d be attacked, but the village has been spooky since the evacuation.”

 

Kakashi agreed. As bleak as it was that they were at war again, at least the other shoe had gone ahead and dropped already. Now, it was just a matter of dealing with the business at hand.

 

“That’s everyone,” Neji said, running up with the other genin.

 

“Nii-san!” Hinata said. Neji nodded to her and continued.

 

“The civilians have all been evacuated from the quarter.” A couple rodents leapt off his shoulders and took Sakura’s parents to Shinku no Machi and Sasuke sent the rest of the rodents home unaccompanied. “What do we do next?”

 

Kakashi glanced over his team and promptly smacked Sasuke upside the head.

 

“Go get your gear,” Kakashi scolded.

 

Sasuke ran off to collect his things with a pouty little scowl as Kakashi turned back to the other unarmed person in their crew.

 

“What do you need, Hikari-chan?” Kakashi asked.

 

“… A kunai, maybe,” Hikari said with a frown. Kakashi looked at the girl skeptically. Did she really think she was that tough? Perhaps she simply didn’t have much weapons training. He handed her a single kunai anyway.

 

“Now, we evaluate the situation,” Ikuyou said. “Scan the village!” The Tsuru all activated their Byakugaan, setting the veins around their eyes bulging, as began to survey the village.

 

“The One Tail is still near the jail, along with a few Suna-nin!”

 

“Total of five Suna ninjas near the jail and the same number of Oto ninjas near the Hokage!”

 

“I only count ten, too!”

 

“Me, too!”

 

“Nothing beyond the walls, either!”

 

There was no way the ninjas already near those enemies wouldn’t be able to handle those threats. Those invaders were dead, even with the One Tail’s jinchuuriki on their side. Kakashi almost felt sorry for them.

 

“Is it just me,” Hisui said, “Or are you guys kind of insulted by how few ninjas they brought, too? It feels like they’re looking down on us, right?”

 

“Don’t get cocky,” Tenzou said. “Look underneath the underneath. It’s either a feint or they make up for their low numbers with high individual ability.”

 

“They can’t be that good,” Hisui said.

 

“Then you know it has to be a feint,” Tenzou said.

 

“You all know the drill. We’ll spread out along the wall,” Ikuyou said. “No enemy movements will escape our eyes.” Then, she turned to Toneri. “That bird puppet, can it actually fly?”

 

“Oh, yes,” Toneri said. “Of course.”

 

“And carry the weight of a person?”

 

“Yes, multiple.”

 

“Gen-kun!” Ikuyou said sharply. “You’re in charge of this kid! I want you on that bird!”

 

“Understood,” a man in his sixties and carrying a fine yumi and a quiver of arrows said. If this went on for long, that wouldn’t be enough arrows, Kakashi knew. He wondered what trick the man had up his sleeve.

 

“Come back down safely,” Sasuke said to Toneri.

 

“I’ll be fine,” Toneri said. “My puppets will protect me.”

 

“Of course, Toneri-sama,” the lady puppet said, giving a slight bow. Kakashi’s brow furrowed as he wondered why Toneri had made it do that.

 

“Tsuchi-san, stick with Hikari-chan,” Sasuke said. Tsuchi nodded.

 

“Can Hinata-chan and I team up with you guys?” Ino asked Hikari.

 

“Yeah,” Hikari said. She looked the obviously nervous Hinata over and added, “I’ll kill anything that gets close to us.”

 

“We will station ourselves across the village wall at regular intervals, in keeping with procedure,” Ikuyou shouted. “We may not be Hyuuga anymore, but the village still needs every Byakugan it has on sentry! Don’t exhaust your eyes early! Take breaks so you stay fresh! Because we’re dealing with Suna, keep an eye out for enemies using Hiding Like a Mole! If you don’t have backup, use ground-penetrating attacks yourself! We will hold that wall against the gods themselves, if need be! Now, move out!”

 

Kakashi and the others split and ran. His team went to the nearby eastern section of the wall, sluicing through the wooded terrain like a flood, breaking against the wall, and flashing up its surface to land on top. Like the Tsuru had, Gai, Tenzou, and their respective subordinates spread out, too, ready to strike as informed by the Tsuru or Hyuuga on guard. Except for Toneri, who flew Gen over the wall and away into the distance, the Uchiha, with Ino and Hinata, stayed near Kakashi and his team. If there was going to be an incursion from beyond the wall, Hinata could let them know with enough time to prepare.

 

“East of the Hokage Monument, Suna’s ninjas are backed against the village wall,” Hinata announced.

 

“We have them cornered!” Ino said. “Those guys will regret trying to mess with us!”

 

“Oh” Hinata exclaimed. “He’s taking it to pieces!”

 

“What?” Naruto asked.

 

“Suna’s jinchuuriki, he’s turning it to sand! It’s melting away like ice!” Hinata said.

 

That sounded bad. Kakashi began to hear the wall collapsing as the bottom of the earthen wall disappeared, leaving the top with nothing to support it.

 

“He’s breaching it for the rest of them to use as an entry point!” Sakura said.

 

“He’s turning it into a dust cloud!” Hinata said. “The buildings! He’s absorbing the buildings, too! Look!”

 

Kakashi did. Off in the distance he could see the growing cloud of swirling dust. Had he made the wrong choice by leaving the enemies already present for others to deal with? Should he leave the wall to go help now?

 

“There are people in there!” Hinata said, looking pained.

 

“Not for long,” Kakashi thought grimly.

 

“Oh! They’re collapsing!” Hinata said, covering her mouth with her hands. The dull rumble of distant structures collapsing intensified.

 

“I can see them falling!” Ino shouted. “Look at that cloud! It’s swirling!”

 

“It’s getting so tall!” Sakura said. “How big is it going to get?!”

 

“What are those guys doing over there?! They’re letting those Suna bastards have it all their own way!” Naruto shouted angrily.

 

Kakashi pulled out the masks he had bought for his team as a gag gift and started handing them around. A pity he hadn’t found a fun moment to give them out.

 

“It’s getting big fast, so it might reach us,” he said. “Don’t breathe that dust in.” The two Kakashi had bought for each of his students provided Naruto, Sakura, Hikari, Tsuchi, Hinata, and Ino with one, but Sasuke didn’t have to do without protection.

 

He transformed himself into himself, but wearing a mask and a pair of lab-safety goggles. Kakashi felt foolish for not thinking of it first as he adjusted his own newly-transformed goggles, a sturdier model with ear protection that Obito used to wear. The others followed suit. Hopefully, their protection wouldn’t fail before the sandstorm was over.

 

“It’s gone dark!” Hinata said anxiously. “I can’t see into it!”

 

Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector and gazed at the burgeoning storm with Obito’s eye. The angry chakra of the Tailed Beast writhed within it, but a second chakra signature was threaded through the cloud, which now covered half of Konoha.

 

“Two techniques are contributing to that cloud,” Kakashi reported. “The jinchuuriki is building and directing it, but a second technique has been laid over it.”

 

“Which?” Sakura asked.

 

“Sandstorm Barrier, looks like. It can nullify other barriers, like the Sensing Barrier,” Kakashi said.

 

“What does that matter?” Naruto asked.

 

“Right now, anyone could enter the village under that cloud and the Barrier Team wouldn’t know it,” Kakashi explained.

 

“Oh! Kakashi-sensei, people won’t be able to evacuate to the shelter in the mountain,” Sakura said worriedly. “Civilians won’t be able to travel through this!”

 

No, they wouldn’t. They’d have to shelter in place and hope that the building they were in didn’t crumble under their feet. At least the village was mostly empty.

 

“Some people are coming this way,” Hinata reported. “Iruka-sensei and some others.” Kakashi clocked a dozen incoming ninjas passing through the empty Uchiha Quarter. He also saw an ANBU in a cloak and hood following them at a distance, keeping to the shadow of the Uchiha Quarter’s wall.

 

“They’ve probably come to beg for our help,” Naruto said. “Maybe they need us to defeat all the bad guys and rescue everyone!”

 

Kakashi saw that the dozen Konoha ninjas all had disordered chakra.

 

“They’re under a genjutsu,” Sasuke said, as they began to scale the wall. Kakashi hummed in agreement.

 

“What?!” Naruto shouted in shock.

 

“They’re attacking!” Hinata exclaimed, shifting into her clan’s classic defensive pose.

 

“No way!” Naruto shouted, creating a swarm of Shadow Clones. He and his constructs leapt down at the attacking Konoha ninjas. Some of the Shadow Clones were destroyed in the first wave of attacks, but most weren’t. The punching, kicking, shouting mass of irate Uzumaki made Kakashi smile.

 

“Poor guys,” he murmured. In short order, there was a pile of injured people being held down Shadow Clones at the bottom of the wall. Kakashi jogged unhurriedly down to free their comrades from whatever influence they were under. The masked ANBU stepped in to help out.

 

“Hey,” Kakashi said.

 

“Hello there,” the ANBU said, as they broke the genjutsu of one of the ninja. Kakashi didn’t recognize them. They sounded like an older man, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything when everyone knew how to transform themselves. Kakashi hadn’t ever cared about hiding his identity when he was wearing the mask, but some people took it very seriously. “I was watching the hotel street to make sure our esteemed guests didn’t get any big ideas, when these guys all ran out from that dust storm together. I thought I should see where they were going.”

 

“Who are you?” Naruto asked.

 

“ANBU Monkey,” Monkey said.

 

“ANBU?” Naruto said quizzically.

 

Kakashi wondered if Naruto was doubting Monkey’s word or if he didn’t know what ANBU was. It sounded like the latter, but Kakashi chose to believe in his student.

 

“What happened?” Iruka asked, looking perplexed. “How did I get here?”

 

“You were under a genjutsu, Iruka-sensei!” Naruto said. “Hey, what’s ANBU?”

 

Kakashi shut his eyes.

 

“Are you kidding?! How do you not know what an ANBU is?! Forget that we covered this in class, they live here!” Iruka shouted. “Him! He’s an ANBU! Haven’t you seen that mask before?! They-!”

 

“There’s no time for this,” Monkey interrupted. “Did you see who placed you under that genjutsu?”

 

Unfortunately, the general consensus was “no” and the elaboration, “I saw… someone,” didn’t help.

 

Kakashi ran back up and along the wall to spread the word to Gai, but he only arrived as another batch of hypnotized ninjas sailed up and over the lip of the wall. As Kakashi’s opponent’s heel came down towards his head, he reached up and caught the offending foot with one hand. Without ceremony, as the older genin glared at him, Kakashi swung him down, past the edge of the platform, and into the wall.

 

Thunk

 

The other defenders handled their opponents about as easily as Kakashi had. Lee seemed to have the most fun fighting his opponent, but no one could beat Gai for enthusiasm.

 

“What is the meaning of this?!” Gai shouted into the face of some poor genin boy of about fifteen that he’d captured. Even under whatever genjutsu had made him foolish enough to attack Might Gai, the boy was frantically trying, without success, to break Gai’s grip. “To betray your own village in its time of greatest need! How shameful! How cowardly! How unyouthful!”

 

“They’re under a genjutu,” Kakashi said, as he laid the limp man he’d captured down on the platform, where Tenten immediately stepped forward to heal his concussion.

 

“Genjutsu?” Lee said. Kakashi pulsed his chakra through the genin Gai had captured, who stopped squirming, squawked in surprise, and tried to pull his face away from Gai’s.

 

“Where am I?!” the boy cried, legs flailing.

 

The rest of Team Gai quickly set about breaking the genjutsu on those who had attacked them. Gai, however, was clearly enjoying himself too much to stop.

 

“Your parents would be ashamed!” Gai wailed, shaking the genin back and forth. “This is the village that loved you and raised you with tenderness and care! This is your home! Reflect on yourself, you hooligan! Obviously, if you need guidance you can always come to me, Konoha’s Sublime Green Beast of Prey, Might Gai! I will train you right out of your delinquent ways! With diligence and determination, you can grow into a respectable man, a man who knows how to repay kindness with kindness, a man who stands, back straight, and proclaims that he is truly youthful!”

 

“Gai-sensei,” Tenten said worriedly. “Please let him go!”

 

“Tenten-chan, he has betrayed us!” Gai shouted, shaking the boy again.

 

“He was under a genjutsu!” Tenten shouted back, grabbing the boy to resist the shaking.

 

“… Is that so?” Gai asked.

 

“Probably the Soulbane genjutsu,” Kakashi mused. He didn’t know how to perform it personally, but he knew it was one of Konoha’s forbidden techniques listed in the Scroll of Seals. “Hey, did any of you guys see who got to you?”

 

The victims were silent.

 

“You can’t remember who got you?” Tenten asked the boy in Gai’s hands, who shook his head. “Then what do you remember?”

 

“All I remember is…” the boy began.

 

“What?” Neji pressed. “Spit it out.”

 

“A presence approaching,” the boy said.

 

“It seems like the situation down there isn’t exactly in hand,” Kakashi said to Gai. “My team doesn’t have a Byakugan anyway, so we’re going to head down to reinforce them. Pass the word along about what’s happening. I’ll send word the other way, too, before we go.”

 

Gai nodded.

 

“Lee-kun!” he shouted.

 

“Got it, Sensei!” Lee shouted, before tearing away down the length of the wall. There probably wasn’t much need, though, because Kakashi saw other Konoha ninja scaling the walls to attack the sentries there. Yeah, it was time for Kakashi and his team to go.

 

“They’re going to hit the northwest wall!” Neji reported, glaring.

 

“Not the hole they already made?” Kakashi asked, baffled. Maybe they didn’t need it. Maybe all they needed was the smokescreen. After all, Suna favored Earth Release techniques.

 

“I can see them approaching the sandstorm across the forest!” Neji said. “… Ninety-five Suna! Fifteen Oto! Ten minutes until they pass under the edge of the storm!”

 

“Kakashi-kun, go,” Gai said, staring ferociously in the direction of the threat. “We’ll pass the word along for you.”

 

Kakashi gave Gai a quick salute of thanks and body flickered back to his team.

 

“Enemies approaching the northwest wall,” Kakashi said. “And we’re going to greet them.”

 

Sasuke surreptitiously flicked a genjutsu at Kakashi with one finger, relaying a short audio message, “Soulbane Genjutsu. Kagura.” Kakashi also saw a brief blurry image of a woman with no discernable face, a smudgy halo of white hair, a tiny red vest, a tiny red skirt, red gloves, a red thigh holster, and boots that were obviously not going to be any color but red. Despite the lack of detail, Kakashi saw his former comrade instantly in the crude model Sasuke had conjured. He watched Sasuke turn his head towards Sakura, catching her eye and placing her under a genjutsu, presumably to tell her the same thing he’d just told Kakashi.

 

“Hinata-chan,” Kakashi said. “You and your team will stay here; your eyes are needed outside of that storm anyway.”

 

“What?!” Hikari snapped in offense, while Hinata nodded meekly. “I’m just supposed to let you drag Sasuke-kun into danger?!”

 

“I’d die before I let anything happen to one of my students,” Kakashi said. Hikari glared at him, but Kakashi was becoming something of an expert at the secret language of traumatized Uchiha children and translated the expression as “masked concern.”

 

“I’ll come back safely,” Sasuke said, as he put a genjutsu on Hikari with eye contact, possibly relaying the same message.

 

Hikari seethed and tossed her blonde head in frustration, but didn’t object. Sasuke then caught Naruto’s eye and put him under what was probably the informative genjutsu, too. Naruto whipped around to look at Sasuke and then turned back, probably to look at Sasuke’s poor rendering of Kagura, and frowned at the phantom.

 

“Let’s go back in!” Iruka said to the other previously-hypnotized ninjas. “With all of us on the lookout, whoever got us the first time won’t be-!”

 

“Wait!” Ino said, closing her eyes and holding up a hand. Kakashi closed Obito’s eye to conserve chakra while he waited for whatever news the Yamanakas had to share. “Dad’s just told me what’s going on.” She told everyone about the Soulbane Genjutsu and provided a list of Konoha’s missing-nins who knew the technique, including Kagura, to be on the lookout for.

 

“Team Seven, we’re going to cut across the village through the storm to intercept the enemy,” Kakashi said sternly. “We make for the wall. Move out.” This time, he took point.

 

-

 

With the sun setting on his left, Sasuke, his team, and Mouse cut northwest across the village. He nearly gasped when they breached the edge of the storm. Even apart from the choking dust, the sheer presence of the cloud was smothering. If Shukaku’s chakra had felt hot and angry back in the Uchiha Quarter, that was nothing to how it felt when standing inside the range of his technique. Somehow, it even smelled angry. The inherent threat of all that power and all that bitter hate made Sasuke start to sweat.

 

“I can’t see a thing!” Naruto shouted over the wind.

 

He was too right. What little of the world Sasuke could still see, even using his Sharingan, had been leached of its natural color by the ruddy dust. As the flying sand stung his exposed skin, he found that there was a ruddy film over even the group’s chakra, dampening the intensity of it and shifting its hue, exactly like a sepia tone filter. Furthermore, he could barely see ten yards into the distance. The world had been reduced to shadow and dust.

 

As they progressed further into the storm, the sounds of fighting and crumbling buildings grew louder and included what must have been the sound of an Akimichi’s thunderous steps, but, however near they may have come, Sasuke never saw the combatants. Then, they achieved their destination, but holding that position was hopeless. At that height, they couldn’t even see the nearest buildings, let alone the bottom of the wall, where any would-be invaders might be. It looked as though they were standing on the only ground in the world.

 

“We’re going on!” Kakashi shouted. He led and Sasuke and the others followed him over the edge, down the wall, and into the forest outside of Konoha. Sasuke wondered how much longer it would be before they left the technique’s range again.

 

“I can’t feel them!” Sakura said desperately. “I can’t feel anyone! I can only feel us!”

 

“It’s their technique,” Kakashi said. “We’ll have a better of idea of where the enemy is when we get past it.”

 

Sasuke looked around anxiously. He couldn’t rely on his sight in this storm, so he started kneading his chakra, in a bid to get any additional sensory information that he could. This was a mistake.

 

Using one technique was basic, using two at once was advanced, and using three, he discovered, was too much for him. When he lost control, he dropped all three at the same time, like a busser with a tray of cleverly balanced dirty dishes piled just one dish too high. His transformation popped, his kneading faltered, and the chakra powering his muscles sputtered out, so he tripped over his own feet and sprawled across the dirt.

 

If he hadn’t, Asuma’s knife would have gone through his chest. He wouldn’t know this until it was explained to him much later. He only realized his squad was under attack when he pushed himself to his hands and knees, looked up, and saw Kakashi standing over him, fending off Asuma’s next attack with a look of absolute focus. It was terrifying. The others were instantly beset by an unguessable number of other Konoha ninjas, all apparently under Kagura’s genjutsu, their chakra flow braking into little, swirling backflows throughout their bodies.

 

With his team providing him cover, Sasuke was able to scramble to his feet and, as soon as his posture allowed him sufficient breath, belt out his own genjutsu with the first song that came to his mind.

 

“Everybody was kung-fu fighting!”

 

Carl Douglas’s voice boomed through the trees, at least in the minds of those within hearing range of Sasuke. The previously genjutsued ninjas stopped moving as Kagura’s genjutsu was displaced by Sasuke’s. He counted twenty-two victims in this pack, now that he could take in the whole scene, but he also found his eyes were only able to see the chakra signatures of the ones within eight or ten feet. He also recognized the faces of several jounin among their number. They were fortunate that the fight hadn’t dragged on.

 

The ninjas stood blinking dumbly as they awoke to find themselves in a strange place, in strange company, listening to even stranger music, and, possibly, wondering how they got there, what was happening, and where they could buy that cassette tape. But there was no room to breathe. In the next moment, new enemies had arrived. Sasuke realized with shock that his team had almost been caught between the two sets of enemies like the pork cutlet in a sando.

 

It was about as many Oto ninjas as there were previously-hypnotized Konoha ninjas that flew out of the trees. Thanks to all their training in fighting as a team, Team Seven’s genin moved automatically into position around each other and were able to defend each other fluidly against the sudden onslaught. Meanwhile, Kakashi and Mouse mowed the Oto ninjas down. From their defensive formation, the three genin members of Team seven tried to pull their own weight in the fight, albeit less lethally.

 

“They’re underground!” someone shouted. Sasuke turned to see that it was a Hyuuga man. “Unknown number of enemies passing underground!”

 

Sasuke frowned as he noticed the fast-moving school of indistinct chakra signatures swimming directly under his feet in the direction of Konoha. Between the thick soil layer and the devastating influence of the sandstorm’s suppression, he couldn’t tell how many there were beyond the very limited range of his vision, but, as he dodged across the forest floor with Naruto and Sakura, scanning more and more ground, he found those passing immediately under his feet were disconcertingly numerous. The Konoha ninjas present were so outnumbered.

 

“Listen for them!” shouted an older, bearded Inuzuka. He crouched low, put his ear to the ground, punched down, and pulled up a struggling body, like an owl catching a mouse in the snow. His canine companion went for the woman’s throat, resulting in a spray of arterial blood across its light brown fur.

 

Sasuke shivered and looked back down. He needed to start attacking the underground ninjas, too, but the first means that sprang to mind (transforming himself into a tree root of steel spikes to impale the enemies) was decidedly too lethal. These enemies didn’t have any plot armor, as evidenced by the way they fell like grass under the scythe of Konoha’s people’s efforts. He couldn’t just let them enter Konoha unchecked, but he didn’t want to kill people, especially those who weren’t even attacking him. He couldn’t restrain them with his hands, he couldn’t capture them with tags, and he couldn’t use the transformation technique to restrain them… Or could he?

 

“Going under!” Sasuke warned Sakura and Naruto. Then, he transformed himself into a body that he knew would be able to restrain any number of ninjas, including himself and Naruto at their strongest. He only hoped Zetsu wasn’t watching.

 

With a mere thought, his new, tarry, humanoid shape melted into a puddle of shadow and he seeped like crude oil into the yielding earth. Then, he stretched himself out in a sticky web to capture the people passing underground. Every time he felt one of them brush his body, as quick as a spider bite, he froze them in place, trapping them in their own minds as he took control of their bodies, before he oozed across them to grasp at more targets.

 

Once he had caught seven people, no more entered into his reach. He cursed himself as he realized that the Suna contingent must have finished passing by and he had missed very most of them in his indecision.

 

The smooth, black, clump of his flesh that he had designated as his head only because it was where his eyes were located was extruded out of the soil like a mushroom, held aloft by the loose bundle of glistening strings that equated to his neck. He arose to find people dying in the dirt, mostly Oto, but some Konoha. Some were surely already dead, but Sasuke didn’t see anyone checking. He needed to get this done so he could stick them all in Enclosure Tags for later healing, if they weren’t beyond help.

 

The bodies of his captives, too, emerged, but unlike him, they disturbed the soil all along their involuntary path, as he dragged them feet-first into the air. Hopefully, this would prevent them having their throats cut the first instant they breached the surface. He heard them each start gasping for breath when they were finally in the air again.

 

Sasuke’s vision in this form was oddly undistorted by what should have been non-functional eyes, but he could clearly enough see Naruto looking deeply unsettled as he stared into the flat, red, pupilless, Sharingan patterned discs that Sasuke had formed in place of Zetsu’s egg-yolk eyes. Many of the others looked the same way, but Kakashi looked unphased.

 

The Inuzuka stepped towards one of Sasuke’s prisoners, but Sakura moved into his path.

 

“Wait! L-Let’s take them prisoner!” Sakura shouted, looking away from the quickly coalescing goo of Sasuke’s body. “Come on guys!”

 

“Kid, do you think this is really the time?” The Inuzuka argued. “We need to go after the ones that escaped and it would be quicker to just kill them!”

 

“We’ll be quick, believe it!” Naruto promised.

 

Kakashi wordlessly settled the argument by taking out some rope and getting to work binding the first one up. Sasuke was deeply relieved that his team had his back. He absolutely did not want to essentially hold his captives down so others could casually murder them.

 

“There’s no time for this!” an Aburame shouted. “Why? Because the enemy is already within the walls! Follow me!” In response, all of the previously-hypnotized ninjas body-flickered out of the area, except Asuma.

 

As soon as the prisoners were all tied up, Sasuke transformed himself back into his natural shape, but with the added mask and goggles. Then, he stuck the dead, the wounded, and the bound in Enclosure Tags, with one exception.

 

“Now, while my colleague here is healing your mouth,” Asuma shouted, as Mouse used Healing Palm on the Oto ninja. The teen’s face was a mess and the front of his uniform was covered in his own blood. “I’m going to ask you a question. This will give you time to think about how you want to respond. Think carefully.” Asuma leaned towards the teen. “Who are your targets?”

 

“Buildings!” the grey-haired teen blurted out after a long moment. “We were supposed to provide support for Suna’s people, so they can blow up buildings! I don’t know the targets; that was Suna’s choice! We weren’t after specific people! It was only the Oto Five who were after the Hokage!”

 

“The Hokage?” Asuma asked.

 

“As revenge for him killing Orochimaru! Kimimaro is one of the true believers! He’s the head of the Oto Five! He’s strong! He once subdued a whole prison by himself when they overpowered the guards and tried to escape!” Sasuke frowned at the image this conjured. What else had Kimimaro done in Orochimaru’s service over the years?

 

“True believers?”

 

“The people who worshipped him! There’s the true believers, Suna, the one-handed arms dealer, and Kagura’s people who all chose to be here, but the rest of us were forced!”

 

“Kagura’s people?”

 

“She’s a rogue Konoha ninja and she’s got a gang of subordinates! I don’t know how strong she is, but the rest of them looked weak! That’s all I know! Please, we didn’t want this! Orochimaru took my family! If we ran, Suna’s people would have killed us! Orochimaru kept us imprisoned and then, when he died-!”

 

Mouse suddenly slashed across the Oto teen in the throat with the Chakra Scalpel Technique. The teen’s eyes widened in abject fear as he grasped his throat to stem the bleeding and coughed wetly. Sakura gasped and Naruto gave an inarticulate shout.

 

“If you don’t have anything else useful to share,” Mouse said. “Then you don’t need to be able to speak anymore, do you?”

 

Horrified, Sasuke shoved Mouse roughly aside and started healing the damage he had caused as the teen’s blood spilled over his own fingers.

 

“You bastard!” Naruto shouted at Mouse, grabbing him by the collar. “Why did you do that?!”

 

Just then, the sound of a massive explosion reached their ears.

 

“Pack him up, Sasuke-kun,” Kakashi shouted. “It’s time to move out.”

 

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke abandoned his effort, added the teen to his collection of captives, and followed Kakashi back to Konoha. Sasuke made sure to put himself between his teammates and Mouse as they ran.

 

“Hey Sasuke-kun,” Asuma shouted over the wind. “Thanks for snapping us out of it back there!”

 

“Yeah, good thinking, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura shouted, giggling a bit hysterically. “You’re so good at singing! You’ve got a lot of range!” She laughed, like this was a great joke, but he could see how pale she was. Sasuke blushed and was privately extremely thankful that none of these people spoke English.

 

“No, he’s not!” Naruto shouted. “His singing voice is just normal! I can sing just as well as he can, Sakura-chan! Do you want to hear it?” Sasuke snorted.

 

“Sure!” Sakura shouted through her giggles.

 

“Then, let’s do karaoke when we’re done here!” Naruto shouted as he bounded over the wall and back into Konoha. Sasuke frowned in resistance to this idea; he didn’t have a thick enough face to sing karaoke.

 

-

 

“Were you inside the storm when she got you?” Kakashi asked, as another explosion went off.

 

“Yeah, so she’s definitely inside that area,” Asuma said. “But I don’t know if we’ll be able to find the main gate, let alone a person, in this storm. She might have gone to ground, too.”

 

“Kagura can’t be in hiding,” Kakashi shouted. “She has to be someplace where there are lots of our people for her to target, passing among us, disguised as one of us herself, possibly as an ANBU, so she can keep infecting more people with her technique.”

 

“The real ANBU will be concentrated around the Hokage,” Asuma added. “She won’t be able to fool one of them. She’s been a missing-nin for too long. She won’t know the signals. She’ll have to avoid them.”

 

They met Yamanaka Santa coming the other way. Kakashi could see with Obito’s Sharingan that he wasn’t under a genjutsu.

 

“Keep away!” Santa shouted. “Inoichi-dono says that they’ve peeled off and cornered the source of the genjutsu in the Utatane Compound, but she’s still dangerous! Everyone else is to stay away from the area to minimize casualties!”

 

“Got it!” Asuma shouted back.

 

“The Suna bastards are-!” Santa shouted, pointing in the direction Gaara must be in, but he was interrupted by a series of explosions from nearby that shook the ground. He could even feel the percussive force of the blast roll over him and he began to smell smoke on the wind.

 

“Was that in Market Street?” Kakashi asked, as the sound of two more explosions occurred in the disparate directions across the village.

 

It had been Market Street. What remained was a mess. In addition to the blowing dust, there was also smoke from the burning shops. The brick-and-mortar shops had all been hollowed out and the stalls had been ripped apart. The enemy must have laid hundreds of Explosive Tags all along the street. Bits of merchandize and rubble littered the dirt road, but there were no enemies to be seen. Kakashi didn’t see any blood, either. Hopefully all the shopkeepers had gotten to safety before the bombing. At the southern end of the street they ran into ten other Konoha ninjas who had come with the same aim as Kakashi’s group. Unfortunately, they were just as empty handed.

 

“You even see any of them?” Kurenai asked.

 

“No,” Asuma shouted.

 

“They hit the Academy first!” Kurenai shared. “We were close by when it happened, but we didn’t find any of them there, either.”

 

“Shit!” Asuma cursed.

 

“We’ve just been chasing our own tails! We can’t catch anyone in this storm!” Anko shouted. “Let’s go deal with that little bastard that’s making that mess first!”

 

“We tried that!” Asuma shouted. “I got caught in a genjutsu before I even got close!”

 

“Well, that sounds like a skill issue!” Anko shouted.

 

“Think he’s still near the northeast wall?” Kakashi asked.

 

“One way to find out,” Kurenai shouted.

 

They had almost arrived at the probable location of Suna’s jinchuuriki when they came around a corner and Kakashi caught sight of a pair of Suna ninjas disappearing into the ground using Hiding Like a Mole.

 

“There!” Kakashi shouted, moving to point at the building ringed all the way to the top floor in smoking Explosive Tags that the Suna ninjas had fled from.

 

It was the hospital.

 

The explosion lifted Kakashi and the others off their feet and threw them across the street. With his head swimming, Kakashi dragged himself to his hands and knees. The rumbling from the building went on after the explosion had ended and he watched in horror as the hospital began to collapse. Sasuke transformed himself into a steel shell, blocking out the sight, sealing everyone in darkness as the building fell around them.

 

No one said a word.

 

Kakashi clenched his hands with as his grief and horror turned to hate. This was psychological warfare. Suna hadn’t destroyed Konoha’s only medical facility by chance. They did it to send the message that nowhere was safe. It was also a denial tactic. It meant that Suna wasn’t expecting to win outright and then hold Konoha. No, they didn’t need Konoha functional. They wanted to cripple and terrify the village as a whole. This was a hit-and-run operation. Well, today they would learn just how fast Konoha’ ninjas could run. While Kakashi had breath in his lungs, he would ensure that no one who attacked today made it back to their own village alive. He knew how to send a message, too.

 

The pitch darkness was abruptly broken by the green glow of a healing technique being released from Sakura’s trembling hands. She was healing Naruto of a broken or sprained wrist. Kakashi let out a shaking breath.

 

When the sounds of the collapsing hospital abated, Sasuke replaced his transformation, releasing everyone back into the howling sandstorm, the smoke of the bombed market, the dust cloud of the ruined hospital, and the cries for help coming from under the rubble.

 

Kakashi body flickered in front of his genin, who, as one, had started to rush towards the ruins to rescue those still alive. Naruto just went around him.

 

“Get off me!” Naruto screamed. “Let go of me!”

 

“The dying can’t stop until the battle does,” Kakashi shouted, holding Naruto by the collar. He looked up and saw that Kurenai and a few others had made an abortive move towards the hospital, too.

 

“But they’re screaming! Can’t you hear them?!” Sakura plead desperately. “They need our help!”

 

“We can’t leave the fight to others. That is the purpose of our strength,” Kakashi shouted. Another bombing occurred somewhere in the distance.

 

Sasuke tensed in frustration, but instead of lashing out, as Kakashi worried he might, the boy simply grabbed Naruto and Sakura by the wrists and moved in the direction of Suna’s jinchuuriki.

 

“No!” Naruto shouted, pulling away from Sasuke’s grip. “We can’t just leave them! Sasuke, you bastard, people are dying! What’s wrong with you?!”

 

“Everything!” Sasuke snarled, grabbing Naruto again, this time by the shoulder. “Everything is wrong!”

 

Naruto’s anger twisted into grief as he looked at the collapsed building and then turned away. Feeling sick with guilt, Kakashi took up the rear as Mouse and the other jounin lead the way.

 

-

 

The first indication that they were getting close was the bodies. There were a couple Konoha ninjas, masked ANBU, and four ninjas with no hidden village’s insignia. The latter must have been Kagura’s mooks, because they were so covered up that no inch of skin could be seen, apart from the tips of their fingers and toes. There was no individuality in their appearances. Each body might as well have been a carbon copy of every other body.

 

Sasuke and the others were attacked by Suna’s ninjas before they saw them. From somewhere above, a Blade of Wind came slicing towards them like a bolt of lightning, visible to Sasuke only because he was using his Sharingan and could see the chakra that empowered it. He transformed his arm into a shield as quickly as he could, but Kakashi blocked it with a kunai strengthened with chakra before the blow even had a chance to connect. Sasuke looked around and spotted Baki, the pointy-eared guy who tried to kill Gaara to reseal Shukaku, Sasori’s unwitting spy who was killed by Naruto, the lady with purple face tattoos who used bolts of cloth in her fights, and several other ninjas who were wearing Suna’s chuunin flak jacket.

 

Most of the adults leapt into the fray without hesitation, but Kakashi hung back with Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura and summoned Pakkun.

 

“They’re holding this position to guard the jinchuuriki boy, so he must be close,” Kakashi shouted, handing Pakkun to Sakura. “Figure out how to slip past these guys and find him. I think you three can handle him, but use your own judgement. If you get in over your head, retreat to my position. Pakkun is in charge. Listen to all orders he gives you.”

 

“Understood!” Sakura shouted, as somewhere a large explosion went off.

 

Without waiting for Naruto and Sasuke to confirm his orders, he left them to their own devices in favor of fighting Suna.

 

“Sasuke-kun! Naruto-kun! Give me Electricity and Wind!” Sakura said, tipping Pakkun into Sasuke’s arms. “I’ll scout ahead!”

 

Without hesitation, both complied. When she had disappeared, Sasuke turned to Naruto.

 

“You can reach him! In the story, he listened to you!”

 

“What?!” Naruto asked.

 

“Huh?” Pakkun said.

 

“He was abused by his village and family for being a jinchuuriki!” Sasuke said. Naruto’s eyes flew wide. “Yes, he’s crazy now, but he needs to know that he doesn’t have to be alone forever! He needs a friend!”

 

“You want me to befriend him?!”

 

“You did it before!”

 

“That doesn’t mean I magically know how!”

 

“Naruto-kun, I don’t know what’s happening! I don’t know what’s going to happen! It didn’t happen like this in the story! But you’re the hero! Just say the right words!”

 

“What words? I don’t know what to say!”

 

“Figure it out! If we don’t save him now, then he could die!”

 

“You don’t even like him! You called him ‘rabid!’”

 

Sakura reappeared.

 

“Found him!” Sakura shouted. “And I can get us all past these guys! Let’s go!”

 

“Do it anyway!” Sasuke shouted at Naruto. “He’s still just a kid! He’s like you!”

 

Naruto’s face filled with determination.

 

“Got it!” he said. “Let’s go kick this guy’s ass!”

 

Sasuke hoped that was a positive sentiment.

 

“Lift your feet,” Sakura commanded. That was all the warning they got before she picked them both up, one under each arm, like a couple of chickens, and dashed off again. When she stopped about ten yards from Gaara, Sasuke felt like he might have left his brain behind in the rush. It was like stepping off a particularly rough rollercoaster ride. Naruto seemed to recover quicker, because when Temari unleashed a gale at them, he dodged out of the way, but Sakura had to lift Sasuke into her arms to carry him and Pakkun to a safe spot.

 

“I’ve got you, Sasuke-kun!” Sakura said. There was no time for thanks, however, as Temari pursued them aggressively. She seemed to have learned from Gaara’s mistake and didn’t even glance Sasuke’s way, but it didn’t make a difference, because Sakura was still using superspeed. Temari never even saw the blow that landed in her gut coming. If Sasuke was any judge, she also didn’t see the next five body blows coming either, but the one after that was hard to miss, because it hit Temari squarely in the eye.

 

“Wow!” Pakkun shouted up at Sasuke. “Man, she’s fast!” Sasuke took out an Enclosure Tag and turned to see how Naruto was making out.

 

Sasuke saw him and three of his Shadow Clones beating the snot out of Kankuro’s giant, ugly, venomous puppet. Sasuke dashed over towards the puppet to help out. Finally, when he was within about two feet of the clacking monstrosity, he was able to see the chakra threads that would lead back to Kankuro.

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Sakura said, materializing beside him with Temari’s weakly struggling body over her shoulder. “Would you please put her in one of your tags for me?”

 

Sasuke pointed in the direction of Kankuro.

 

“He’s that way,” Sasuke said, as he activated the technique formula on the tag to contain Temari.

 

“I’m on it!” Sakura said, before disappearing. A moment later, Sasuke heard “Shannaro” and a boy’s scream, before the puppet, at least those parts of it that weren’t already shattered, went slack. Sasuke stuck it in an Enclosure Tag and then did the same with Kankuro when Sakura arrived with his unconscious body over her shoulder.

 

At last, they turned to Gaara.

 

“Hey, you!” Naruto shouted at the top of his voice as he stomped over towards the other boy, who was looking particularly malevolent. “Cut it out right now!”

 

“I’ll kill every one of you!” Gaara said. “You won’t kill me! I won’t be the one who dies!”

 

“People are dying right now!” Naruto shouted. “People that we need to go back and help! I’m supposed to talk to you, but I will 100% beat up first, believe it! Don’t test me! Now, are you going to listen or not?!”

 

Gaara sent a wave of sand towards Team Seven, who dodged and then took cover in the sandstorm. They reconvened on a rooftop, while Gaara raged below. A distant explosion was heard.

 

“Why are we talking to him?!” Sakura asked. “It would be faster to just beat him up! Or put him under a genjutsu again!”

 

“Sasuke said I should!” Naruto shouted.

 

“Why?!” Sakura asked.

 

“Because I don’t want him to die!” Sasuke shouted.

 

“We weren’t going to kill him!” Sakura shouted.

 

“He might die later anyway!” Sasuke said. “Sakura-chan, I don’t know what’s going to happen! We can’t put off fixing Gaara any longer, or he might die! Suna might really assassinate him, even before Akatsuki gets him!”

 

“Does that really matter right now?!” Sakura asked. “So what if he dies later?! There is a hospital full of people dying right now and we aren’t helping them, because we’re busy dealing with him!”

 

“Just let Naruto-kun try!” Sasuke shouted.

 

Sakura made a frustrated sound.

 

“One try!” Sakura shouted, holding up a stern finger. Sasuke nodded and the three went back in.

 

“Where are you?!” Gaara screamed. “I’ll tear this whole village apart to find you, if I have to! None of you will escape from me!”

 

“Shut the hell up!” Naruto shouted as he punched Gaara in the head from behind, driving the boy to his knees. “Look, Sasuke told me that you’re like me! I’m sorry things were bad for you! Things were bad for me, too, believe it! Because I’m Konoha’s jinchuuriki, I would have been completely alone if Sasuke wasn’t there! So, I decided that I was going to be the Hokage!”

 

“I don’t care!” Gaara snarled, trying to envelop Naruto in sand. Naruto dodged it with minor difficulty and let it chase him around as he continued to try to talk Gaara down.

 

“Shut up and listen! I decided to become the Hokage, because then everybody would like me and I wouldn’t be so lonely anymore! Because it hurts, you know! It hurt so bad that I thought I would go crazy! Sometimes, I thought I wanted hurt someone and I wished everyone else hurt just like I did! Let them see how they liked it!

 

“But then it got better! I had Sasuke, and Iruka-sensei, and Sakura-chan, and Kakashi-sensei, and Toneri-kun, and Hikari-chan, and Koharu-sensei, and Tsuchi-chan, and even the birds who come to dinner every night! They’re the best! We got to live together, like a real family! I’d never had that before! Even in the orphanage, I sat alone at meals!

 

“… And it turns out that being the Hokage isn’t what I thought it would be. I thought the old man was so great, you know? I thought he was my friend! I really thought he was who I wanted to be, but… But he isn’t. Not anymore. So, maybe being the Hokage isn’t so special after all. Even though I could definitely be the Hokage, if I wanted, maybe I should find something better.

 

“So, I’ve decided. I don’t need everyone in Konoha to like me anymore. They can keep ignoring me forever, for all I care. So long as I have my special people, I’m okay. And I don’t need to be the Hokage. I’m still going to be the strongest, so I can protect my family, and friends, and everyone else that I can, even crazy guys like you. Sasuke says I’m the hero, so I can definitely do it, believe it.” Then, Naruto took a deep breath. “Do you want to be part of my family?”

 

“… What?” Gaara asked, looking stunned. Sasuke couldn’t blame him. He was feeling pretty stunned as well, albeit for his own reasons. This was definitely not how this conversation had gone in the story.

 

The sandstorm started to die down.

 

“It’s not a joke! Look, if Sasuke can just choose people to become his family, then I can, too, alright?! Just…! We’re both jinchuuriki, right? I’d like it if you became my brother. There’s room on the floor for another bedroll. You could come and live with us, if you wanted.” Naruto looked a little shy as he rubbed the back of his head. “Do you want to? If not, could we still be friends?”

 

Gaara stared at Naruto and then, as the sandstorm stopped completely, taking the nasty feel of Shukaku’s chakra with it, Gaara started crying. Naruto visibly relaed, but Sasuke was nervous. This wasn’t in the script! Not only had Naruto not adopted Gaara, but Gaara definitely hadn’t cried in the story, had he? Of course, he also hadn’t just spent a month in jail, probably leading to him being even more isolated than usual. Sasuke looked away as he felt a stab of guilt. He really should have made time to visit Gaara before.

 

“So, is that a ‘yes?’” Naruto asked. Gaara nodded and rubbed at his still-dripping eyes. Sasuke handed him a packet of tissues, which Gaara took wordlessly. “Welcome to the club, Gaara!”

 

“Got to admit,” Pakkun mumbled, “I did not think that would work.”

 

“Since that’s over, let’s go! We need to go back to the hospital!” Naruto said.

 

“Shouldn’t we find more Suna ninjas to defeat?” Sakura said, although without any enthusiasm. “Won’t they just keep blowing up buildings, if we don’t stop them?” Sasuke half expected her words to be dramatically punctuated by another blast.

 

“I’m not waiting anymore, believe it!” Naruto said firmly, much to Sasuke’s relief. “We’ve stopped the sandstorm, so now other people can fight those Suna bastards! I’m going back to the hospital and digging everybody out!”

 

“I guess we are just genin,” Sakura said, latching onto the excuse. “We could leave the fighting to the adults. They’d be better at it, anyway. But what if Kakashi-sensei needs out help?”

 

“Don’t worry about him,” Pakkun said. Sasuke wondered if he could put the dog down yet. For his part, Pakkun seemed content to be carried around. “The Boss can take care of himself and he will approve of any plan that keeps the three of you out of trouble.”

 

“Okay,” Sakura said.

 

“Hey, could you help us, Gaara? Please?” Naruto asked, putting his hands together. “I bet your Earth techniques could be useful!”

 

Sniffling, Gaara nodded again, before blowing his nose in full view of everyone, like a little kid.

 

“Let’s go to the hospital!” Sakura said, pumping a fist.

 

“Yeah!” Naruto said, as Sasuke nodded. “Come on!”

 

As they traveled along the rooftops, avoiding ongoing skirmishes for the sake of time, on top of a distant building, they caught sight of what was unmistakably the Four Violet Flames Formation and, within it, a tangle of unnatural bones.

 

“What’s that?” Sakura asked.

 

“Not our business,” Sasuke said, but a small smile formed on his face. Kimimaro was no Orochimaru, but Hiruzen wasn’t who he used to be, either. Maybe some good would come out of today after all. It was only a shame that it would probably cost Kimimaro his life. “Keep moving.”

 

The ruins of the hospital wiped the smile off his face completely.

 

“I’ve got an idea,” Sakura said.

 

“What is it?” Naruto asked.

 

“Sasuke-kun could use Enclosure Tags to collect up the big pieces and the rest of us could pull people out as they’re revealed,” Sakura explained.

 

“That’s a good idea!” Naruto said.

 

“You’ll need to go carefully,” Sasuke said. “Any piece I remove might have been holding up another part of the building and any added weight from us might crush someone below.” Sakura nodded.

 

“We’ll also have to make sure not to jostle the wounded too much,” Sakura said. “Naruto-kun, we’ll be relying on you and your clones to work as body boards again. Do you know what a neck brace is?”

 

“Yeah! Just leave it to me!” Naruto said.

 

“Gaara-kun, having another pair of hands to help lift people carefully would be appreciated,” Sakura said. Gaara nodded. “The street is too full of rubble here. We should transport the people we pull out to… No, wait. Sasuke-kun, just put them all in Enclosure Tags, too. Unless someone isn’t really injured and can help. Actually, give me some of those tags. You focus on the people and I’ll focus on the building. I can clear pieces of building faster than you can right now.

 

“Okay, Naruto and Gaara will pull people out, Sasuke will stick people in tags, unless they can help, and I’ll deal with the debris! Let’s go!”

 

The distant sounds of fighting becoming just an unpleasant background noise to Team Seven’s work. They followed the cries for help to direct them as they worked through the rubble, pulling dozens of conscious people out. Naruto’s shadow clones ended up spending a lot of time just reassuring the victims. As everyone worked, they found few people who were actually uninjured enough to help and other people who had been sheltering in nearby buildings poured out to join in. Apart from a few ugly looks directed Naruto’s way by some asshole ninjas, everyone was fully focused on the task at hand. An Academy-age Inuzuka girl came and, with her dog, helped to find people hidden under the rubble. Everyone worked as quietly as they could, trying to keep the noise down, so that no voice was missed.

 

Sasuke ran out of tags fairly quickly, but most of the medic-nin had a stash of them, so they took over. While Sasuke had to take a break to draw up more, Sakura didn’t even come close to running out. She was able to reuse hers by dumping out the contents of the tags further down the street. She also made piles of medical supplies for others to sort through for useability. People did end up having to be laid out in the street, but a couple medic-ninjas were able to triage everyone, so the most badly injured received tags, while only the relatively lightly injured and the dead laid in the street.

 

“Look out!” Someone cried. Sasuke’s head snapped up in the direction of the voice and found a section of wall descending towards the Inuzuka girl and several other people who were digging another person out of the rubble. Its movement was halted an instant later by Gaara’s sand before Sakura disappeared the wall with a tag. Sasuke sighed and got back to work.

 

-

 

Kakashi dodged another strike from Baki, which seemed to be frustrating him. A lot of things seemed to frustrate Baki. Being unable to organize a retreat when the caster of the Sandstorm Barrier died, on account of Konoha’s ninja wanted to getting in the way, frustrated Baki. Kakashi dodging his Wind Blades, on account of being able to see them with Obito’s eye, frustrated Baki. The sandstorm itself ending frustrated Baki. Kakashi using Wind Blades frustrated Baki. Kakashi’s perpetually disinterested look frustrated Baki. If Kakashi was any judge, Baki seemed to be having a very frustrating day.

 

Perhaps Kakashi should do him a kindness and pass him to a different sparring partner, one he had more in common with, like Hayate. Hayate certainly liked sharp things and had so many of them on his person at any given time that it was worrying, even to other ninjas. A regular user of Wind Blades and other Wind Release attacks might like to meet a fellow connoisseur of all things sharp.

 

Baki was distracted by Kakashi long enough for Hayate to close in from behind with Silent Killing. Hayate swung his bade down on Baki’s shoulder in a blow that should have cut the bastard in two, but it failed to penetrate much deeper than the man’s flak jacket. Perhaps he had some special armor on underneath. Hayate tried and failed to pull his sword out of the shallow wound, jerking at it in disbelief.

 

“Whatever,” Kakashi thought, readying Chidori. “I guess I’m not matchmaker material.”

 

Finally giving it up as a bad job, Hayate he dropped his sword, jumped back, and drew another sword, as Baki turned on him with a snarl. What Baki had in mind, they would never find out, because Kakashi punched a hole through him in the next second.

 

“Woah!” Hayate said, as the corpse fell to the roof and began to roll away. “You almost got me!”

 

“You were nowhere near,” Kakashi protested placidly.

 

“Look at this! There’re bits of bone on my shirt!” Hayate countered. His flak jacket, shirt, and even his face were indeed quite a mess. He coughed and rubbed his face, unfortunately only smearing the blood across more of his skin. “I think some of it got in my nose!”

 

“You should have dropped your sword sooner. Then, you could have gotten more distance.”

 

“I’m very attached to that sword. It’s my favorite.”

 

The sound of Baki’s body hitting the ground reached Kakashi’s ears.

 

“Oh my. I hope it didn’t break in the fall,” Kakashi said with faux concern.

 

Hayate sighed tiredly and Kakashi went looking for the next enemy. By this point, there weren’t that many left, at least out in the open. As soon as Kurenai had killed the guy with pointed ears, the Sandstorm Barrier had died, leaving only the supernaturally angry dust storm, which had itself petered out shortly thereafter. The kids must have taken care of Suna’s jinchuuriki. He was glad they weren’t here to see this.

 

What remained when the wind died down and the dust began to settle was a bunch of Suna ninjas who suddenly found themselves with very little cover, thanks to the efforts of the Inuzuka and the Hyuuga, and with no means of organizing a retreat. That night had fallen didn’t help much when you were facing other ninjas. Suna really hadn’t come prepared for a fight. There simply weren’t enough of them to stand up against Konoha, especially not after what they had done, not when every last ninja in Konoha would be looking for their own personal vengeance. Instead, all Suna could do was run, which made them easy to pick off one by one. It was a complete rout.

 

Those who remained seemed to realize that there was no way out. This was a fight to the death in the deepening dark, so they fought like demons. Some people had blown themselves up with their remaining Explosive Tags when it became impossible for them to reach their intended targets, taking any Konoha who happened to be standing too close at the time with them. Kakashi had seen one Suna ninja pull a Body Replacement Technique with a Konoha ninja, causing his own comrade to attack him inadvertently. In response, the Konoha ninja who had been forced to kill his own comrade had stabbed the Suna in the gut and left him to bleed to death. Kakashi had done the decent thing and put the bastard out of his misery, but he had no doubt that there were going to be a lot of slow deaths today.

 

Kakashi clocked a group of a dozen Suna ninjas trying to move towards the wall and gazed narrowly down at them. Where did they think they were going?

Notes:

“Kung Fu Fighting” is Team Gai’s theme song. Change my mind.

 

Sasuke: *wearing bell-bottoms and grooving* Everybody was Kung Fu fighting! Those cats were fast as lightning! In fact, it was a little bit frightening! But they did it with expert timing!

Sakura: *holding up a lighter*

Naruto: *climbing onto the stage and taking the mic*

 

Blowing your nose in public is considered rude in Japan.

 

Fine particulate matter in the air creates some fascinating photo opportunities, but, if you ever have the opportunity to be in a haboob, pass. Hard pass. And Sahara, please stop sending us your dust! We humans appreciate that you’re a landmass and don’t, strictly speaking, have free will, but, if you could not make the air in Texas full of allergens every spring, that would be much appreciated! Maybe try being less dry.

 

A wall isn’t much use when your enemy can swim under it, like a bunch of magical, knife-wielding, dirt-dwelling fish, but I tried to make it work.

 

I stuck the Hokage Monument on the north end of the village, because that’s where the games put it… I think. Its location doesn’t seem to be constant across all representations. For instance, I found a post with a picture from chapter 115 that positions it south of center of the village.

This image also makes Konoha look like an impossible place to defend. As in, you shouldn’t even try. They’ve enclosed so much low-density area that their wall has become ridiculously long; it doesn’t even fit in the frame. It would take more than the whole village to man it and it does have to be manned, because their enemies can literally walk up the walls. In the Naruto-verse, storming the gates is for plebs.

Real walled-villages put the people on the inside and the forests and agricultural lands on the outside, excepting the occasional small vegetable garden or such like. Partially, this is because wall cost increases with wall size, but that’s not an issue when you can magically conjure walls. This makes it all the more confounding that Konoha has so few walls.

If Kishimoto were really committed to enclosing that much land, I think that, rather than a single curtain wall, he should have employed the Japanese model of castle building. Have them build a maze of walls and gates chopping up a town into a series of chokepoints and bite-sized battlefields. A village wall is fine, if your primary concern is thieving bandits/travelers/neighboring villages/armies that don’t think you’re rich enough to be worth the trouble. However, a castle is what you really need in order to resist a determined enemy… Something that a ninja village should have planned for.

Therefore, I’m definitely going to ignore that image. Konoha is fairly typical of walled villages in this fic. The only parts of it that could be called “rural” are the Forest of Death and around the Uchiha Quarter, because otherwise, why did no one come to their aid during the massacre? Yeah.

Speaking of enemy armies, only 100 Suna ninjas attacked Konoha in canon. Guys, no! What are you doing?! You don’t besiege a fortification with a numerically inferior force! How did any of you survive? Even with Oto’s help and even if you apply that against the small apparent force Konoha started the series with (500-ish by my guess), back before Kishi inflated it to make the numbers sound more impressive, Suna was toast. The Konoha Crush was a forlorn hope.

I read that Konoha’s policy is explicitly to (1) send every available ninja to crush the enemy, (2) only evacuate civilians if you can’t immediately crush the enemy, and (3) crush the enemy, but that’s stupid. Like, it hurt my brain to read that. You really shouldn’t just abandon all posts to focus on a single point of attack. I’m willing to have Konoha live with the stupid decisions of its worldbuilding to a point, but only to a point. If the departure bothers you, just assume that, knowing they could be attacked, they came up with an actual defense strategy in the last month.

Chapter 19: The Konoha Crush, Part II

Summary:

The fighting ends and the fallout begins.

Notes:

Once again, this chapter is dark.

I went to a birthday party on a boat on Lady Bird Lake this week. It was lovely. I’ve always thought Austin was a beautiful city, but it really is charming from the lake at night. Watching all the bats leaving their roosts in the Congress Avenue Bridge, which passes over the lake, was delightful. I always get a slight thrill when I see a bat, like finding money in the street. I’m like, “Ooh! Look at that squeaky little guy! Eat plenty of mosquitoes for me, eh, little buddy?”

However, there is that tell-tale smell that they make, that bat musk, which is less delightful. Look, I get it, bats. Everyone goes to the toilet when they first wake up. I’m not trying to shame you. In a mass, you’re very impressive looking, just pungent.

The dozen Suna ninjas, all bearing injuries, were being hounded by a pack of people he recognized as career genin. The genin were doing a good job of tearing up the ground with their own Earth Release techniques every time one of the Suna ninjas tried to use Hiding Like a Mole to escape. They were also clearly herding them in the opposite direction along the wall. However, they just as clearly couldn’t finish the job themselves. The purple cloud of what was presumably poison that hovered around the Suna party and lingered ominously in their wake seemed to be preventing the genin from closing in. Kakashi almost dashed in himself, but then he saw one of the genin, a Tsuru woman, give the hand signal for “Target in Position.”

 

Up above, Kakashi saw Ikuyou and another of the Tsuru or the Hyuuga manning the wall began to throw kunai down at the invaders, while the genin team did the same with their own projectiles.

 

That was when Toneri’s bird puppet soared over the edge of the wall to Kakashi’s right, making a great dipping arc across the battlefield. Kakashi saw Gen, with his bow drawn against the enemies, as they passed overhead. Kakashi had barely taken this in when Gen loosed a single arrow and Kakashi got to see firsthand exactly what the old ninja could do.

 

As the arrow left his grip, the bow seemed to glitter faintly. Then, the meter long, steel-tipped, bamboo shaft split, multiplying as it fell to make scores of additional arrows, creating a hissing cloud that drilled into their enemies. Then, Toneri’s puppet was gone, flying back over the wall to Kakashi’s left and taking its passengers with it.

 

The enemy failed to defend themselves against kunai, shuriken, and arrows from three directions simultaneously and not a single one of them was still standing by the end. With a single shot from his bow, Gen had felled a dozen. Kakashi blinked in shock at the weapon’s devastating efficacy.

 

Then, he ran up the wall to get an update on the battlefield from Ikuyou.

 

“That’s a fine bow,” Kakashi remarked. “An antique?”

 

“Yes,” Ikuyou drawled smugly. “It’s an heirloom.”

 

Kakashi smiled appreciatively. There was no way the Hyuuga had willingly parted with it.

 

“Can you see my genin?”

 

After a pause, Ikuyou answered.

 

“Yes. They’re helping rescue people from the hospital. They’re unharmed.”

 

“Can you point me in the direction of an enemy who isn’t already enjoying Konoha’s hospitality?”

 

“You mean, someone doing the martial equivalent of hanging out in the kitchen during the party?”

 

“We wouldn’t want anyone to feel left out,” Kakashi said with a nod.

 

“Sorry, no. The fighting is just about done, at least within the walls.”

 

“How many escaped?”

 

“And are still alive? Less than ten,” Ikuyou said, stunning Kakashi. “Gai-kun and Tenzou-kun’s teams had very little trouble picking them off, once they left the walls. Other teams have already left with a Tsuru or Hyuuga apiece to pursue each of the survivors. I don’t fancy their odds of seeing the sunrise again.”

 

“I’m glad Gai-kun and Tenzou-kun could even find so many of them. We really should clear the trees around the outside of the wall,” Kakashi remarked, gazing out across the dark forest. “They reduce our field of view to almost nothing.”

 

“Who can hide from these eyes?” Ikuyou asked, pointing at her ghostly pale eyes with a faint smile.

 

“We don’t all have Byakugan. What’s the overall situation?”

 

“Mopping up, mostly. There’s only… six Suna ninjas loose inside the walls, and one of them is with your genin team. It’s Suna’s jinchuuriki.”

 

“Of course it is,” Kakashi muttered. He maintained his outward nonchalance, trying to be Zen about the situation. His hedgehog had struck again.

 

“He’s helping rescue people at the hospital. The remaining five… They’re well in hand.”

 

“That’s what we all said when this whole thing got stated,” Kakashi reminded her.

 

“Trust me, Kakashi-san. They are not going to cause any more trouble. There’s still Kagura, but she’s flagging. She’s boxed in by the Nara, the Akimichi, and the Yamanaka, and Shikaku, Chouza, and Inoichi are wearing her down.” Seeing Ikuyou’s somber look, Kakashi pressed for more information.

 

“What is it?” Kakashi asked. “Was she a friend?”

 

“It’s not her,” Ikuyou said. “The battle must have been hard fought. The compound is a mess.” The Utatane Compound was where Kagura had been confined, Kakashi recalled. “If you’re looking for enemies who haven’t been dealt with yet, there are a few Oto ninjas left, but there are a lot of ANBU on scene already. Depending on how strong they turn out to be, you might not have anything to do. That big barrier over there is being maintained by four of them. Inside, the Hokage and a fifth Oto-ninja are fighting.”

 

“Just one ninja is taking on the Hokage?” Kakashi asked incredulously.

 

“Yeah. I’m not the best at lip reading, but those two have definitely been talking about Orochimaru.”

 

“How is the Hokage doing?” Kakashi’s knee-jerk reaction had been concern for the Hokage. Then, he wondered if Konoha might be better off if the man died… No, they would probably look weak, if he died in this attack. The other hidden villages were always watching and today they had front row seats.

 

“He’ll win, probably.”

 

“Probably?”

 

“Probably. The boy has some wild techniques. He’s transformed himself and he’s pulling his own bones out to fight with. It’s gruesome.” That definitely sounded like Kimimaro. Sasuke had said Kimimaro was strong, but he hadn’t said that the boy was strong enough to go toe-to-toe with the Hokage.

 

“Thanks,” Kakashi said, before descending the wall and making his way towards the Oto barrier.

 

He arrived to find the barrier surrounded, mostly by ANBU. Inside, he could see the Hokage fighting a boy who matched Kimimaro’s description.

 

“Hey, Kakashi-kun,” Jiraiya said.

 

“No luck breaking in, I see,” Kakashi said.

 

“You can see how well the first attempt went,” Jiraiya said, gesturing at the burning bodies of two dead ANBU on the roof. “I’m told the idiots just threw themselves at it.”

 

“Why hasn’t someone put them out?” The stink of burning clothing, flesh, and hair was awful.

 

“We tried,” Jiraiya said. Kakashi squinted at the barrier. What a nasty technique. Both men turned their attention back the fight.

 

“What’s our next move?” Kakashi asked. Kimimaro’s fighting style really was gruesome. Only years of experience with gore kept him from outwardly reacting to the sight of the kid’s bones erupting through his skin. Kakashi had never seen a bloodline ability that looked so painful to use, not that Kimimaro himself seemed bothered.

 

“We wait. Sensei is winning. Just give him time. He’s not as spry as he used to be.”

 

Kakashi made a circuit of the barrier, examining the Oto ninjas holding it. Their youth was too obvious to ignore. They might only be a year or two older than his own students. Their distinctive features meant that he also recognized them as people Sasuke had described. These were people that Sasuke specifically wanted to save.

 

Now what should he do? Kakashi was still so angry that he wouldn’t mind if every last Oto ninja died, but these five were so young. The enemy that Asuma had interrogated, another teenager, said that most of them were forced into this. Kakashi couldn’t be sure if the remaining four were pressed into service or not.

 

It didn’t seem like Kimimaro was. Not only had the teen Asuma interrogated said that Kimimaro was firmly committed to Orochimaru, echoing Sasuke’s characterization, but Kakashi could feel the killing intent the teen was directing at the Hokage even through the barrier. Sasuke would be disappointed, but there was likely no saving Kimimaro at this point. Even if he survived, he would be executed.

 

“The other four,” Kakashi said to Jiraiya.

 

“What about them?”

 

“We interrogated an Oto ninja outside the village while intercepting the enemy forces. He said that they were being forced to come here.”

 

“So? Ninjas don’t choose where they’re sent.”

 

“He said Orochimaru was holding his family and Suna would have killed him if he tried to retreat.”

 

Jiraiya made an unwilling face.

 

“I guess they’re just brats,” Jiraiya said grumpily. Kakashi relaxed slightly. “You know, all of the teams that went to destroy Orochimaru’s bases came back, except for one.”

 

Watching Kimimaro fight, Kakashi didn’t have to wonder why.

 

“Shikaku-san shouldn’t have gone around the Hokage for those missions,” Jiraiya continued. “There’s more than one good reason why we take orders, instead of making up our own on a whim. If things had been done properly, we might have had one more team of people here today to help defend the village. Only ninjas as amazing as I am can afford to wing it.”

 

Kakashi noted the scolding tone in Jiraiya’s voice and glanced at him before looking back to the fight before them. The Hokage was clearly winning. It would be over soon.

 

“Almost done now,” Jiraiya remarked idly. “I wish he’d stop yapping at the kid and end it already. What are they talking about?” The Hokage and Kimimaro did seem to be in continuous conversation and it didn’t look to be a pleasant one. The Hokage met Kimimaro’s hateful stare with a look of pity.

 

“Is it just that we weren’t told or did Konoha not see Kagura’s involvement coming?” Kakashi asked. Jiraiya sighed tensely.

 

“One of my sources told me that she was planning to get revenge on Tsunade-hime, so I sent her a warning, but this?” Jiraiya shook his head. “No, we didn’t foresee this. I didn’t. I missed it completely.” Jiraiya whined and stretched. “Man, when is this battle going to be over?! I just want things to go back to normal! Since the evacuation, whenever I try to do research for my next novel, there’s no one around at the baths! How is an artist supposed to find his muse?!”

 

Kakashi liked outrageous behavior. It was part of why he liked Gai so much. Part of Kakashi found Jiraiya’s outrageous behavior funny, but part of him wanted to cringe away. He was privately glad that Sakura, at least, hadn’t been to the women’s baths recently. He wished the conversation would move on.

 

“Ready for another war?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Hell no!” Jiraiya said. “I’m hoping like hell that Kazekage’s pride lets him back down! If he does, we’ll agree, of course. We could press our advantage, slap Suna around a little, but Sensei won’t go for it.”

 

“I hope he does,” a nearby ANBU said with dark anger. Jiraiya laughed dryly.

 

“You have no idea what trouble you’re asking for,” Jiraiya said.

 

Kimimaro collapsed.

 

“Finaly!” Jiraiya said.

 

“Jiraiya-sensei,” Kakashi said. “Please help me capture the ninjas holding the barrier.”

 

“Sure, sure,” Jiraiya said. “You hear that, you eavesdropping ANBU! We’re aiming to capture, not kill! Expect them to be stronger than they look and don’t play around! Spread the word!”

 

As Jiraiya’s order was passed among the assembled ninjas, Kakashi looked calmly into the belligerent glare of the nearest Oto ninja behind the barrier, a girl in a black cap. Then, he pulled out his book and waited for the teens to drop the barrier.

 

-

 

Kakashi leapt across the rooftops, surveying the property damage with Obito’s eye as he went. The rescue at the hospital had concluded, as had the fighting across the village, and now people were focused on going through the other damaged and destroyed buildings for survivors. Kakashi found Pakkun, his team, and Suna’s jinchuuriki at the Academy, where people had set up paper lanterns to illuminate the area. No one had electricity, since Suna had hit the power plant.

 

“How do you people justify this?!” An angry man shouted at Gaara. “This was a school! A school where children studied!” The man looked like a civilian. He probably didn’t even know who he was shouting at. He just saw the jinchuuriki’s foreign clothes and short stature and decided the boy was a safe and acceptable target for his outrage.

 

“Shut the hell up!” Naruto said. “It’s not his fault!”

 

“Yeah,” Kakashi thought, “it kind of was.” Suna had relied heavily on the sandstorm the boy generated to conceal their movements during the invasion. Who knows if they would have even been willing to risk an attack on Konoha without him?

 

“Sir,” Kakashi said, stepping in between the civilian man and the still-deadly jinchuuriki he was challenging. “Back off. The fighting is over. Let’s keep it that way.”

 

“I want to know why they did this!” the man snarled. “They destroyed a school! Doesn’t that upset you?! Don’t we deserve answers for what they did?!”

 

“Because it housed the Hokage’s office,” the Suna boy said, quite unhelpfully in Kakashi’s opinion. His tone wasn’t provocative, but nothing he said right now would be right.

 

“So what?!” the angry civilian asked. “So what if it did?!”

 

The man was right; housing the Hokage’s office didn’t make blowing up a school right. Even though the Hokage’s office could be considered a legitimate military target, the Academy might have had children inside, even outside of school hours. You don’t attack kids, even if your enemy is behind them. When it came time to rebuild, Kakashi would have to advocate for the Academy and the Hokage’s office to be housed in separate buildings.

 

Now what to do about the Suna boy? His presence was a distraction to the rescue efforts, so he had to leave immediately. He had also been a major participant in the battle. There was really only one thing to do.

 

“Team Seven,” Kakashi said. “Take this boy to the prison.”

 

“What?!” Naruto shouted indignantly. “But he’s helping us!”

 

“He’s a distraction. We can’t afford any distractions right now,” Kakashi said. “We can’t allow the rescue and recovery efforts to be impeded by anything.”

 

“Well, I don’t want him to go to prison!” Naruto said. “I already told him he could join our family! And he said ‘yes,’ believe it!”

 

“It was you?! So, Sasuke-kun is innocent this time?” Kakashi asked in shock. “Well, it doesn’t matter. This isn’t optional. We aren’t about to start another battle, just so that an enemy combatant can stay out of trouble, no matter how much you like him, Naruto-kun. If you like, we can visit him tomorrow, but, for tonight, he’s to be delivered into custody.”

 

“But, Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura said. “He really has been helping us a lot! What if…” She didn’t finish her question, but she didn’t need to.

 

“I’m sure that will help his case with the Hokage,” Kakashi said. “The Hokage also won’t execute a jinchuuriki unless he absolutely has to. Depending on the details of the situation, the Hokage might not even keep him jailed for long.” Their new friend would definitely be staying in Konoha from now on, though. Only a fool would return such a deadly weapon to such untrustworthy hands as Suna’s. It would take a lot for Suna to even be offered the chance to buy him back. “Now, escort him to the prison. Once he’s in custody, come back; there’s still work to be done.”

 

“Yes, Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura said. Once the four had gone, Kakashi took in the work going on around him. It seemed like Sasuke’s proclivity to put people in Enclosure Tags was catching. All around him, people were digging out injured people, only to stick them in a tag for safe keeping. It was a good idea. It worked. It was practical. Kakashi couldn’t fault it. Still, it felt wrong to be treating living people like corpses.

 

A nearby medic-nin caught his eye.

 

“It looks strange, right?” the old man said. “It’s going to save a lot of lives, though. I wish we had been using them like this years ago. There are comrades I could have saved if I’d thought to use them like this during the war…”

 

Kakashi thought of Obito.

 

“… Yes.”

 

“Kakashi-san,” a familiar voice called out. He turned to find Mouse approaching him.

 

“Mouse,” Kakashi greeted.

 

“Surely Sharingan Kakashi knows some medical techniques. Please, come help me with this patient.”

 

Kakashi ambled after him to find a middle-aged man with a pockmarked face and an ANBU uniform, sans mask, lying unconscious on the ground. Kakashi recognized the man as one of the disproportionately high number of Sarutobi in ANBU.

 

“What happened to his mask?” Kakashi asked.

 

“I left it in the building. It was shattered beyond repair,” Mouse said. “I put him under with a genjutsu, because the pain in his extremities was too much for him. I’d like to repair his torn tendons before I wake him up again. I’d appreciate your help positioning him for that.”

 

Kakashi was a little relieved that it would be so easy. Using Obito’s Sharingan during the fighting had worn him down, but positioning someone for healing wouldn’t tax his dwindling chakra supply. Under Mouse’s direction, Kakashi knelt beside their patient and the two got to work.

 

“I must commend you for your team’s cohesiveness in battle,” Mouse said, as he used Mystical Palm to knit some invisible injury in the patient’s leg. “Their kindness, too, is praiseworthy. It looked like softness at first glance, but their concern for others served Konoha well today. You’ve trained them well.”

 

“Not at all,” Kakashi demurred.

 

“I do have a question, though. It’s well-known how zealously devoted you are to the training of your genin. I’ve heard that you even moved into the Uchiha boy’s house. With so much of your time occupied by your team, I wonder how you uncovered that team of double agents?”

 

Kakashi’s focus snapped from the patient to Mouse as he realized what was really going on. Mouse, an ANBU, had isolated him, flattered him, and then started trying to pump him for information. Kakashi must be under suspicion from the Hokage. Jiraiya’s earlier scolding came back to him. Hadn’t someone said to be careful because Jiraiya was “sniffing around?” Did Jiraiya scold him because he knew Kakashi had provided information for the effort to destroy Orochimaru’s bases? What else did Jiraiya know that he hadn’t said? What had the Hokage put together?

 

“Hm? Ah. It happened in the normal course of things,” Kakashi answered vaguely.

 

“I read the transcript of the Uchiha boy’s interrogation. It was pretty clever to figure out that Orochimaru was the head of Oto. Was he really the one who figured it out? Orochimaru got quite unlucky when he decided to attack target Konoha, didn’t he? His plan to capture your student was so predictable that you simply guessed that it would happen and could prepare accordingly. You always were known for your cleverness, Kakashi-san.

 

“Yes, Orochimaru’s luck went very bad. Someone even figured out how to undo his curse seal. Report said it was someone in your orbit. Perhaps they were studying Anko-chan’s mark. That was the only one in the village, after all. At least, as far as we know. Perhaps they found someone else with that mark to study. Could it be the same person who gave you detailed information on certain persons in the Oto bases?”

 

“Who knows?”

 

“I think the answer is, ‘you.’ The Caged Bird Seal was also overcome recently. Seems like someone in Konoha has become a juinjutsu removal master. Whoever it is, they must be very impressive! Kakashi-san, your jounin-sensei, the Fourth Hokage, he was a fuinjutsu master and so was his wife, right? Did he teach you anything of note in that area?”

 

“No. I never had much interest in fuinjutsu or juinjutsu, to be honest. You’re right, I could have learned those things from Sensei and Kushina-san. It was a missed opportunity.”

 

“The traitorous genin team and Orochimaru, do you think they might have been linked?” Mouse asked.

 

“Possibly,” Kakashi said.

 

“See, I think they were. You were already targeting Orochimaru, after all. I think you caught those traitors as part of your move against Orochimaru. The thing is, I can’t figure out how you did it. I know how you got the proof, but not how you worked it out in the first place.”

 

“I can’t take credit for that. I didn’t do anything much.”

 

“You arranged the surveillance on him, on Kabuto. That’s how they caught him doing a dead drop. He might have been operating for years without attracting notice, until you came along. So, how did you do it? How did you know to target him?”

 

“I just got lucky.”

 

“What does luck have to do with anything? Are you in the habit of setting up surveillance of randomly selected genin? You have a lottery going? If your luck is so good, perhaps I should ask you before I bet on any horses.

 

“No, I don’t buy it, Kakashi-san. I saw the docket myself. You paid for that surveillance mission out of your own pocket, so you must have been reasonably sure there was something to find. However, you didn’t provide an explanation for targeting him. I want to know what it was.”

 

“It was just a hunch.”

 

“A hunch. Hm. Your team seems very chummy with Orochimaru’s people. One of Oto’s genin team’s members even moved in with you. We still haven’t found the other two members of that team, by the way. You covered their tracks well. How did you take them outside the village without anyone noticing? Today, too, your team preserved the lives of Oto ninjas in the aftermath of that skirmish beyond the wall. And you personally asked for those four who were directly involved in the attack on the Hokage to be taken alive. Kakashi-san, who is the source of your information on Orochimaru?”

 

“Someone whose name I’ve promised to keep secret.”

 

Mouse sighed.

 

“The Hokage won’t like that answer. I advise you to think again.”

 

“No thanks,” Kakashi said, with as much nonchalance as he could muster.

 

“This mysterious person, who identified Orochimaru’s agents in Konoha, who knew the names and abilities of specific members of Oto, who even knew all about Orochimaru’s curse seal, don’t you think they would be safer if the Hokage were involved in their protection?”

 

“No.”

 

“The Third isn’t a vengeful man. Whatever this person has done in the past, even if they were an enemy of Konoha at one time, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are beyond forgiveness.”

 

Kakashi stayed silent.

 

“Very well,” Mouse said at last. “I’ll relay your disappointing answers to the Hokage.” He stood up to leave.

 

“What about this man? Don’t you have to heal him?” Kakashi asked.

 

“After all, I think his injuries are a bit too severe to treat now. Put him in a tag and move on,” Mouse said, before body flickering away.

 

Kakashi dutifully packed away the injured ANBU, stood up, put his hands in his pockets, and sighed tiredly at the stars. He had been too rash. He should never have gone after Kabuto publicly, not without an excuse. He just hadn’t had the time to do his own surveillance. Thanks to that decision, much more important secrets were now in danger of coming out. In one day, two different people, Jiraiya and Mouse, had approached Kakashi to question his conduct.

 

“I’m completely screwed,” Kakashi thought glumly.

 

-

 

Sasuke used his Sharingan to watch the medic-nins and other medical personnel at work. He knew a healing technique, but he was only called to use Anesthesia and left the more experienced and knowledgeable people present to do the tricky work of repairing living bodies. Using Sasuke’s technique, Kakashi was put to work in the same fashion. Whenever Kakashi’s chakra became low, Naruto would offer his own to replenish it. He and many others ended up offering their own chakra to the clinicians over the course of the night. Medical ninjutsu might, on average, be less chakra-expensive, but they weren’t free.

 

To Sasuke’s distress, Hikari joined the ad hoc anesthesiology crew. She maintained her disguise, but she didn’t even try to hide that she was using eye-contact to apply the genjutsu to the patients. She refused to explain when any of the clinicians asked about it, but the cat had to be out of the bag now. Sasuke absolutely hated it, but it wasn’t his decision to make and he understood why she had decided to risk her safety in these circumstances.

 

The selfish, cowardly wish that she would wipe the memories of everyone present skulked around the back of his skull, waiting to be voiced in a moment of weakness, like a mangy fox looking for a way into a henhouse. He knew it was wrong to manipulate someone’s mind. He had endured it himself with Itachi’s bullshit. Still, he wouldn’t have blamed Hikari if she had used it tonight.

 

Despite his misgivings about Hikari’s participation and despite the fact that his task was a small one, he was quietly proud of himself, his family, and his team. It was impossible not to notice the difference they were all making. Not only were the number of healed adding up, as more medical professionals were healed, more people were able to do the work of healing the injured, increasing the pace of the progress.

 

As mentioned, Naruto wasn’t the only one give what he could. Lots of people were giving blood or chakra now that everyone had been dug out of the rubble, more than there was capacity to collect from. Some people had carried someone injured to the makeshift hospital’s receiving room and then immediately gone to donate blood on the floor above.

 

The makeshift hospital had been set up in an undamaged office building near the original hospital. By gathering generators from various places, the makeshift hospital had been supplied with electricity. It was, in fact, the only building in Konoha that had it. Outside, its lonely glow was a bastion against the night. Inside, the light guided the hands of the healers without discrimination.

 

Sasuke had been worried that the medical personnel would refuse to treat enemy ninjas. After all, they had just lost colleagues to those people. Therefore, it was with pained awe that he watched them give their all for every patient that was disgorged from an Enclosure Tag. One after another, injured people, some of them enemies, some still hostile, but all of them in need, to some degree, were released from the tags that Sasuke had handed over and each one received treatment. Not everyone made it. Some had died before being enclosed and all the clinicians had to work with was a corpse. Some were too far gone, even with magical aid. But more than he had expected survived. It turned out that dying was a process and took time, so, even those who were at death’s door had a chance. No one wasted it.

 

Sasuke, the tomoes in his Sharingans spinning gently, kept his eyes open and dedicated everyone’s efforts to memory. Tired though he was, he felt honored to be among them.

 

When Hinata began to wobble in her chair, it was Neji’s hand that steadied her.

 

“You’ve given too much chakra,” Neji said, frowning down at her. Hinata gave a breathless little laugh of embarrassment and passed out, but only for a moment. Neji held her so she wouldn’t fall out of her chair until she started blinking her eyes rapidly and taking deep breaths to overcome her disorientation.

 

“Come on,” he said. “I’ll walk you home.”

 

“Look out for Kumo ninjas,” Sasuke warned, recalling the story.

 

“Hm?” Hinata said vaguely.

 

“You’re right,” Neji said, frown deepening. “This is exactly the time they would try their hand at kidnapping again.”

 

“We will accompany you both!” Lee said, rising from his chair. “Anyone who tries to kidnap either of you will have to go through us!”

 

“Yeah,” Tenten said, rising herself and yawning. It would be dawn soon.

 

“Me? It’s Hinata-chan they tried to kidnap last time,” Neji said offendedly. “I can handle myself.”

 

“Ah, Neji-kun, that kind of thinking is all wrong!” Gai said, wagging a finger at him. “We would protect you from underhanded scoundrels, even if you were as strong as the Sage of Six Paths! You are our precious teammate, after all! Now come! We shall have a pleasant evening stroll together under the stars!” Neji shook his head and helped the lightheaded Hinata out of her chair, allowing her to lean on him as they walked.

 

When they had turned to leave, Sasuke looked back towards the clinicians putting the bones in an ANBU’s shattered wrist back in their proper places. Somehow, although he empathized with the pain of the injured, the blood and gore didn’t bother him much tonight, allowing him to focus on the technical skill involved in saving life and limb.

 

As the sky began to lighten, the work wasn’t done, but enough of Konoha’s strength had been restored that the situation was no longer dire. Those engaged in work at the makeshift hospital could finally take a break. Kakashi tapped the dozing Naruto on the shoulder, causing him to awake with a snort, and hooked a thumb towards the exit.

 

“Let’s go home.” Kakashi lead them not over the rooftops, but through the quiet, dark streets, book in hand, apparently in no hurry.

 

Perhaps it was because the silence meant that Sasuke was alone with his own thoughts. Perhaps it was because, in his tiredness, he wasn’t thinking clearly. Perhaps it was because his pessimism encouraged him to look for problems. Whatever it was, without consciously deciding to do so, Sasuke gave voice to a nagging doubt that had popped up every time he had laid eyes on Naruto, since they had recruited Gaara.

 

“You gave up on your dream,” Sasuke said to a yawning Naruto, as they walked side by side.

 

“Huh?” Naruto asked.

 

“On being the Hokage,” Sasuke clarified, frowning.

 

“Oh,” Naruto said. He shrugged. “It’s fine.”

 

“Is it?” Sasuke asked worriedly.

 

“Totally, believe it!”

 

“Isn’t it disappointing?”

 

“No. Well, I am disappointed in the old man, but I don’t need it anymore.” Naruto threw an arm around Sasuke’s shoulders. “Stop frowning! I’m fine!”

 

“I don’t want you to lose something important to you.”

 

“I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything, though!”

 

Technically, Sasuke had to admit that this was true. It wasn’t as if Naruto was currently Hokage and was about to quit his job. However, becoming the Hokage had been a kind of reward for Naruto that waited at the end of his journey. The hat had been proof that Naruto’s conduct was correct, that his way of viewing the world was accurate, and that Naruto was an aspirational figure for readers. Without the hat, sure, Naruto was still the guy who was tossed joyfully into the air by an adoring public after defeating Pain. That was kind of nice, so long as you didn’t think about how those same people never apologized for their neglect and abuse of him in his vulnerable years. But he hadn’t reached the top of the social ladder. In a work that glorified the peak of the hierarchy, imagined Konoha as a meritocracy, and regarded hierarchy itself as implicitly good, Naruto was failing to meet his potential. All the framing of the story was against him settling for less. The hat mattered.

 

“… The person isn’t the same as the position,” Sasuke said.

 

“Isn’t it?” Naruto asked. When Sasuke’s frown deepened in confusion, Naruto leaned over to whisper in his ear behind a cupped hand. “You said you’d never forgive us, remember? You didn’t trust us, because of our future-selves, because of what they did. Honestly, that makes me so mad that I want to beat that other me up!” Naruto straightened back up. “So, yeah, I’m dumb, but I’m not going to forget something like that.”

 

“You’re not dumb.”

 

Naruto pulled back to rub his nose and cracked a smile.

 

“I know, but the hat doesn’t look so good anymore,” Naruto said, kicking a stone away. “You know, it was really hard when you left me behind in Wave.” Sasuke was a little thrown by the shift in the conversation.

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d want to come,” he said.

 

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re my best friend, idiot. When you abandoned me in Wave is the first time you ever hurt me.”

 

Sasuke shrank in shame.

 

“If you had told me why you were leaving, I’d definitely have come along,” Naruto continued. “I’d have missed Sakura-chan, and Teuchi-san, and Iruka-sensei, but, if I had to choose, I’d rather go with you and have adventures.”

 

“… I’m sorry,” Sasuke said.

 

“It’s okay. I understand. It’s not like I ever told you we were best friends, but, now that I have, you get it, right? We’re best friends, right?”

 

“We’re best friends.” Saying the words felt like lifting a weight that Sasuke hadn’t known he’d been carrying.

 

“You get it!” Naruto said, squeezing Sasuke’s shoulder briefly. Sasuke did get it. Naruto was trustworthy. Sasuke could trust him. They could do this together. “I understand you better now, too, I think. I get how lonely you were after your clan died. I get needing to protect your new clan, too. You know I’d do whatever it takes to protect you and everyone else. If I weren’t by your side, I couldn’t be sure you were safe. I’d be super worried about you guys and I’d have to go after you anyways, so, next time, you might as well just take me with you.”

 

“Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said suddenly, spinning around and bringing the spine of his book down towards Naruto’s forehead. Sasuke brought his arm up behind Naruto’s back and blocked the hit with the palm of his hand. “Don’t even say something like that! You’re supposed to be helping, not making things more complicated!”

 

“Sorry, Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto said, smiling apologetically.

 

This didn’t ameliorate the worried twist of Kakashi’s face, but he sighed and turned back towards their destination. Hikari, holding Toneri’s hand, came over and put an arm around Naruto’s shoulder, trapping Sasuke’s arm in place. This caused Naruto’s smile to turn radiant. When Sasuke met Hikari’s gaze, she gave him a knowing smile and he gave her a small one in return.

 

“Hey, Sasuke,” Naruto said.

 

“Hm?” Sasuke said.

 

“As the Hokage, would I have been popular?”

 

“Very popular.”

 

“Oh yeah?” Naruto said, apparently unimpressed. “And I’d have been the strongest in Konoha, right?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“That’s cool. What about you?”

 

“What about me?”

 

“Were you popular, too?”

 

“No.”

 

“Why not?”

 

Sasuke fell silent as he considered the question. Why was the other Sasuke so unpopular that his only friends were his wife and Naruto? Perhaps it was because, in all that time, in all those years, the other Sasuke had never reached out to other people. Despite Naruto battering down the walls Sasuke had built around himself, Naruto had only managed to make a Naruto-shaped hole, so no one else could fit. It was as if the conflict between Asura and Indra had been settled by Indra compromising just enough to make one friend. Sasuke never learned his lesson about relying on others and building a network of support. He couldn’t even open himself up enough to raise his own damned daughter. He had been such a bad father.

 

“I was too broken,” Sasuke responded eventually, tamping down on his anger at his other self.

 

“What happened?” Naruto asked, looking alarmed. “You’re super popular, so how you possibly become unpopular?” Sasuke didn’t agree that he was popular, but he understood that it might look that way from Naruto’s perspective.

 

“… Too much to list,” Sasuke said, feeling tired just thinking about explaining it.

 

“Wherever you go, I’m definitely coming with you. Believe it,” Naruto said with a frown. Kakashi sighed faintly and Sakura laughed tiredly. “Don’t even bother trying to escape. It sounds like you would get into big trouble without me.”

 

“You are big trouble,” Sasuke muttered sullenly, needled by the accuracy of the assessment and making Naruto laugh.

 

“I can’t be trouble, though! I’m the hero, right?” Naruto said smugly.

 

And, damn it all, he was right. Through the soup of exhaustion in Sasuke’s skull, he realized, to his shock, that he had just been Talk no Jutsu-ed into taking Naruto with him. That wasn’t fair. Main character charisma shouldn’t work on him. Shouldn’t he, as a transmigrator, be immune to it? Where were his transmigrator privileges?

 

As the group walked in silence, Sasuke’s mind turned to wondering what it meant for the most stubborn character in the story to have given up on his goal so easily. And so soon! They weren’t even a year into the story. One of the morals of the story was “never give up.” So, what would happen now that the main character had, for all intents and purposes, given up? Was it possible for the story to recover? Would they be punished by a vengeful author for derailing his message? Maybe it was up to the main character to shape the story now. Maybe Sasuke could help.

 

Dawn broke as they passed under the gate of the Uchiha Compound. After meeting with one of the Tsuru who were also still awake and learning that the clan had suffered no casualties, Sasuke summoned a rodent to update everyone sheltering in Shinku no Machi. Then, he ate an enormous breakfast and went to bed.

 

-

 

The next day, or still the same day, depending on how you looked at, because Kakashi certainly hadn’t had time to sleep, which was generally how he demarcated days, he and the other jounin and special jounin were summoned to meet with the Hokage and the Konoha Council. Many faces, including that of Councilmember Utatane Koharu, were missing, but not as many as Kakashi had feared. Actually, the Utatane were conspicuous by their absence; not a single jounin from that clan was present.

 

“First, I must acknowledge those we lost in yesterday’s attack,” the Hokage said. “Those who died fighting and those who died in the hospital preparing to treat the wounded all lived bravely and gave their lives for this village. Their sacrifices have ensured that this village stood through the night, but the dawn has not has not broken yet.

 

“It pains me to inform you all that we are indeed at war once again. I wish that I could tell you that this will be over quickly. I cannot know that, because war is unpredictable. However, I have reason to hope that it may be short.

 

“The only known enemies to survive their attack on our village are the ones already in custody. With the deaths of Orochimaru and Kimimaro, Oto is likely defunct. The same may be said for Kagura’s organization, in the wake of her death. We may have been dealt a heavy blow, but so has Suna, losing so many of their ninjas and their jinchuuriki. We also have all three of the Kazekage’s children in our custody.”

 

Kakashi had forgotten about them. Apart from the jinchuuriki, he doubted that the Kazekage’s children had much value as hostages, what with the Kazekage being dead. It wasn’t a hereditary position in Suna. The Kazekage’s family was only important while the Kazekage was in power. Once a new ninja was in charge, those kids would be just two more genin, barring sentimental value, and that would depend on the late Kazekage’s popularity among his people.

 

“Most importantly, our only goal is to secure peace, not to seek revenge. When Suna is ready to lay down arms, so too will we.

 

“Still, you must all prepare yourselves to endure whatever the future may bring,” the Hokage said. “Do not forget that you will be enduring it side by side, as one brotherhood of ninjas standing in defense of your village and your country.

 

“Last night, you all fought well. You defended this village loyally and bravely. I am proud of each and every one of you. You are the pride of this village. I know you will continue to conduct yourselves as well as you did last night until this war is behind us. We are one village, a clan made of every clan within our walls, and we will get through this together.”

 

With the rousing speech taken care of, the meeting turned to practicalities. First, they received an overview of their losses. The battle might have been much worse for the attackers, but Konoha had suffered badly, too. The hospital was the site of the most serious civilian losses, but it wasn’t where they had lost the most ninja.

 

Early on in the fight, Shikaku had identified Kagura as the source of the Soulbane genjutu and targeted her. After driving Kagura away from the squad of Suna ninjas guarding their jinchuuriki, Shikaku, along with Chouza and Inoichi, had managed to herd her into the Utatane Compound and it was in that fateful place that she and her remaining lackies had dug their heels in to make their last stand.

 

The ensuing fight had been vicious. Unaware of and unprepared for what they would be facing, the Utatane ninjas had all dashed into the fray, been hypnotized, and been turned against their fellow villager. If a party of Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi hadn’t been sticking close to their clan heads, the extreme violence would have spilled out into the rest of Konoha. With so many under the Soulbane genjutsu to contend with, it was all they could do to protect the Utatane civilians from their own family members. It was with pain in his voice that the Hokage revealed that, by the time Kagura had finally been disemboweled, many Akimichi, Yamanaka, and Nara had been injured, and Koharu and every other ninja in her clan present had died. Only three Utatane genin, who had all been out in the village at the time, had survived.

 

It was a shocking loss. The Utatane might not have had many ninjas, but those they did have were talented. They were famous for being able to find and extract hidden objects through solid surfaces. It was an incredibly valuable skill, making them excellent at Explosive Tag removal, as well as the theft of documents from within closed briefcases, jewels from within safes, and even smuggled goods from within stomachs. They were internationally feared for being able to pull the beating heart out an enemy’s chest. Now, all that remained were three genin, none of whom could be expected to know all of their clan’s secret techniques.

 

Kakashi received another shock when the Hokage added that Shikaku had been temporarily relieved of his position as Jounin Commander, while an investigation into the fight was underway. Everyone was instructed to withhold judgement until it was over.

 

The Hokage then announced that he was appointing Asuma to act as Jounin Commander pro tem, with no justification. That wasn’t right. That was not how Jounin Commanders were chosen. They weren’t appointed by the Hokage; they were elected by the jounin and special jounin. The Hokage couldn’t do this. Kakashi saw that Asuma didn’t look comfortable with this announcement, but he didn’t look shocked by it either. Shikaku, the other Nara, the Akimichi, and the Yamanaka remained silent, if dour. Kakashi guessed that Asuma and Shikaku had been informed of the decision prior to the meeting. Kakashi’s mouth had just opened to speak, when Inuzuka Tsume beat him to the punch.

 

“What are you trying to pull, Hokage-sama?” Tsume asked sharply. “It’s not your business who the Jounin Commander is! You have no right to remove the Jounin Commander, nor to replace him your son!”

 

“Tsume-chan,” the Hokage said. “We are at war. As the Hokage, I am impelled to take whatever steps are necessary to maintain village security. An accusation has been leveled against Shikaku-kun, Inoichi-kun, and Chouza-kun that I won’t repeat, but which, believe me, is serious enough to require immediate and decisive action. This is not the time for divisive language. In the face of yesterday’s devastating attack, we need to stand together against the threat that Suna poses and focus on protecting the village. Asuma-kun is inarguably experienced, well-liked, and in possession of the full trust of the community. Until Shikaku-kun is cleared or a new Jounin Commander is elected, he will serve loyally.”

 

The implication that Shikaku might not was plain. Chouza shifted in what Kakashi read as suppressed offense on his friend’s behalf.

 

“You’re the one taking a divisive action!” Tsume said. “You have no right-!”

 

“Tsume-dono,” Shikaku interrupted. “Let’s all support Asuma-kun. There are more pressing issues to cover today.”

 

With this, the rest of the crowd made no noises of objection. Kakashi himself understood it. Yes, the Hokage was taking this power from the hands of the jounin and special jounin. However, Asuma was a good man and they were at war; this wasn’t the time. All the Jounin Commander really did was help decide who the next Hokage would be, in the event of the Hokage’s death or retirement. Kakashi decided to keep quiet, too. After all, once the coup had taken place, it wouldn’t matter.

 

Back on the topic of the war, the Hokage stressed that, no matter how much Konoha had lost, this would not be a war of vengeance. Konoha would remain open to any diplomatic overtures Suna wished to make, although Konoha would also be taking the fight to Suna. The meeting started to go into the organizational details. Everyone had to know where they were going, how many they would be leading, and how they would be getting both marching orders and supplies. Thankfully, most of the jounin had served in the previous war, even if not at their current rank, and knew what to expect.

 

There was no word yet on why those stationed along the border not only hadn’t sent a warning, but had instead stent their regular all-clear when Suna’s forces must have been on top of them. However, it was possible that Kagura’s genjutsu had turned them. Konoha wouldn’t know if the ninjas at those stations were even still alive for another few days. If Konoha could dispatch soldiers quickly enough, Kakashi would probably find out before the Hokage did. That was a big “if,” though.

 

The Hokage announced that finals were canceled and, while that event had been expected to last a few days longer, some of the guests were being politely encouraged to leave sooner rather than later. Konoha wanted to invade Suna, but none of Konoha’s soldiers wanted to leave Konoha before, for example, the Raikage did.

 

They still would try to hit Suna as fast as they could. Konoha’s victory had been so complete that it was possible that none of the invading army had escaped to report back what had happened. That created a valuable opportunity for a counter attack when Suna might not be braced for it. If no one sent word to Suna, then they wouldn’t know anything was amiss for a few more days, when they would be expecting word from their returning forces. Because Konoha had been preparing for war for the last month, they were ready to make their first move.

 

Finally, the Hokage also reported that two Kumo ninjas had been apprehended by Gai in the night. They had apparently tried to kidnap either Hinata, Neji, or both on their way to the Hyuuga Compound from the makeshift hospital. Both Kumo ninjas were expected to make a full recovery. Kakashi was impressed with Gai’s restraint.

 

“Kakashi-kun, please remain behind,” the Hokage said, when the meeting was adjourned. “You as well, Jiraiya-kun. I’d say, ‘let’s take this to my office,’ but obviously…”

 

So it was that Kakashi found himself standing beside Jiraiya in front of the Hokage.

 

“From now on,” the Hokage said. “Naruto-kun will be training with Jiraiya-kun.” The Hokage was clearly in the middle of speaking and he looked like he was about to explain, but Kakashi’s mouth was faster.

 

“No,” he said. His exhausted tongue sling-shotted the answer out before he’d even thought up a reason for it. It felt like a reflex, he mused. Possibly, his hindbrain had been involved. It was only after his answer was out that that he began to understand why it was the right one.

 

The story Sasuke had told about Naruto transforming himself into a naked woman for Jiraiya flashed its warning lights and sirens inside Kakashi’s head. Kakashi knew about Jiraiya’s behavior; the man was openly exploitative towards vulnerable women. Sasuke’s prediction had weight, precisely because Kakashi wouldn’t put it past Jiraiya to ask those things of Naruto. Naruto wasn’t exactly dumb, but he was very young and he might be willing to do things he shouldn’t in exchange for the training he needed. Kakashi could see it happening and not for love or money would he let one of his students be put in that position.

 

The Hokage and Jiraiya looked a little taken aback by this response.

 

“You know I’ve done this before, right?” Jiraiya said. “I’m an old hand at this. I taught a genin team that included your own teacher and I’m one of the Sannin. I’m more than capable of training Naruto-kun to meet his potential.”

 

“I know,” Kakashi said. Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at the unspoken, but implied, “And I don’t care.”

 

“His father would want me to teach him; he was my student, after all,” Jiraiya said.

 

“Minato-sensei was also my teacher,” Kakashi said. “As he’s dead, so we can’t presume which of us he would prefer to teach his son.”

 

“That’s not even in question! Kakashi-kun, you probably don’t know this, but I’m Naruto-kun’s godfather,” Jiraiya said, becoming agitated.

 

“Then where have you been before now?” Kakashi asked nonchalantly.

 

“You go too far, Kakashi-kun,” the Hokage said. “Jiraiya-kun has been serving Konoha in his travels. He couldn’t have done his work, while caring for a child.”

 

Then, Jiraiya should have prioritized Naruto over his job. Kakashi didn’t say this, however, because he didn’t think either of the men present would agree. A ninja’s job wasn’t caring for children, after all.

 

“Naruto-kun is still a child in many ways,” Kakashi said. In a distant corner of his mind, he began to panic as he realized that he was talking back to the Hokage. “He needs someone who cares.”

 

“I’m glad he’s found someone to treat him so softly,” Jiraiya said. Kakashi heard the insult, but didn’t outwardly react to it. “I really am. But he’s the jinchuuriki for the Nine Tails. Kushina-chan’s old teacher is dead. There is no one else who can properly train a jinchuuriki!”

 

“His performance in the Chuunin Exams says otherwise.”

 

“Hey, think about it from the perspective of safety. You think you could handle it if the Nine Tails started taking over and decided to gut you?”

 

“Yes, because I’m Sharingan Kakashi, one of my students can use Wood Release, and my team frequently trains with Tenzou-kun, who is the village’s other Wood Release user,” Kakashi drawled. “I think we’d be fine.”

 

“Kakashi-kun, I have decided that it’s time to prioritize his training as a jinchuuriki,” the Hokage said with finality.

 

“Naruto-kun will be more than competent without relying on something so dangerous,” Kakashi protested. “He’s not just a jinchuuriki.”

 

“But he is a jinchuuriki,” the Hokage said. “He needs to know how to handle that power. Konoha needs that from him.”

 

“So, stop being so possessive!” Jiraiya said.

 

“Why should I?” Kakashi asked. “He’s my student.”

 

“That’s enough. Both of you,” the Hokage said. “I’m too tried for this. We all are. Kakashi-kun, since you clearly have become deeply attached to Naruto-kun, I’ll leave him in your hands. Word is that you’ve been doing much better since you accepted this genin team. I want you to continue to do well. Minato-kun would want that, too. Surely, we can agree on that much and Konoha needs you at your best.” The Hokge’s expression turned soft. “And Naruto-kun, too. You’ve done a good job with that rascal, better than any of his previous teachers ever managed, despite their best efforts. He’s progressed rapidly enough that he would have made chuunin this year, had the Finals not fallen through. If he starts complaining about it, tell him that he may yet earn a field promotion in the coming days.

 

“However, he does need to learn to control the Nine Tails. That is not negotiable. I know you haven’t begun training him in that skill, because we all would have felt it. The Nine Tails’ chakra is not easy to hide. Am I understood?”

 

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi said.

 

“Dismissed,” the Hokage said and Kakashi ambled out, relieved to still have all of his students under his care. He had just begun to think longingly of his bed in Sasuke’s house, when he had a realization.

 

Oh, Kakashi thought muzzily, he had just said “no” to the Hokage. Funny that; he’d been so worried about it before, but, when the moment came, he hadn’t even hesitated. He gave a slightly manic chuckle under his breath before sighing deeply.

 

“Must have been the lack of sleep,” Kakashi mumbled, taking out his book. He stared at it without reading the words as his mind spun.

 

Why had the Hokage let Kakashi have what he wanted? Why did he trust Kakashi enough to leave Naruto with him? Surely, Kakashi’s trustworthiness had already been called into question. Why hadn’t that been brought up? Why hadn’t the Hokage mentioned what Mouse had told him about Kakashi? What was the Hokage waiting for? Based on Mouse’s questions, the Hokage was keen to learn the identity of Kakashi’s informant, so why was the Hokage letting the question go unanswered? These questions plagued Kakashi all the way back to the Uchiha Compound. He arrived to find the place had ANBU standing guard around the perimeter and disgruntled residents swarming in the streets, like a kicked anthill.

 

“Ikuyou-dono has been arrested!” the Tsuru on guard told him.

 

Kakashi was too tired for this.

 

“Why was she arrested?” He asked.

 

“For creating the Anti-Caged Bird Seal Technique and on suspicion of colluding with the enemy!” Neji said, just shy of shouting. “They came into our house and pulled her out of bed to arrest her! By order of the Hokage, all the Tsuru are to be confined to the Uchiha Quarter after curfew! He gave us curfew! Even those of us who were living outside the quarter have to move in by tonight!”

 

“We’re all under suspicion,” the guard said gravely. “Because none of us fell to Kagura’s genjutsu.”

Notes:

Ha! That’s right! You thought the Hokage was just an amiable, if stupid, plastic bag blowing in the wind, but he has institutional power and decades of experience in wielding it against more than one marginalized community! Be afraid. Be very afraid.

 

Ikuyou: Yeah, the boy is beating people up with his own bones, gaining lots of chakra from nowhere, and turning a funny color.

Kakashi: What?!

Ikuyou: Mauve taupe.

Kakashi: No, not what color… That’s Kimimaro! He’s very ill!

Ikuyou: I believe it. That is not a normal human skin color.

 

Mouse: Hey, would you mind telling me all your secrets?

Kakashi: No, thanks.

Mouse: What if I said “please?”

Kakashi: Still no.

Mouse: But I report to the Hokage.

Kakashi: You’re not really making the suggestion more appealing.

Mouse: What if I threatened to-

Kakashi: To what?

Mouse: … To buy you an ice cream.

Kakashi: No.

 

Author, watching Gai beat up Kumo ninjas: Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

 

Japanese arrows are about a meter long. The shape of feathers used for fletching can impart spin to the arrow when loosed. If it’s a wing feather, depending on which wing a feather comes from, it will create an arrow that spins in one direction of the other.

 

Gen and his magic bow are non-canonical, but I figure the Hyuuga would have a proclivity for long-range weapons and every clan deserves cool stuff.

 

I embellished the Utatane’s abilities, based solely on Utatane Koharu’s Object Extraction Technique. The wiki describes it as “supplementary,” but I think it would get “offensive” real quick, if someone used it to pull your brain out the back of your head. If I were a magical killer with that ability, that is 100% how I would use it. Just hold my hand up near someone’s abdomen and pull their guts out onto the floor, or pull the muscles out of their arms, or pull their spine out of their back. Do the hand signs, get close, and then, BAM, they’re disassembled. I think I would get a lot of mileage out of it. I mean, I would never, because I have a problem with both blood and violence, but, if I didn’t, I could totally kill people with it.

 

The Jounin Commander is described in the wiki as being something like the head of Konoha’s ninja union, but without an actual union to represent. Obviously, the ninjas in Konoha are not unionized (see: Danzou). How that position is awarded, its responsibilities, and its powers are not clear. I have no idea what qualifies Shikaku to represent his fellow ninjas in the selection of new Hokages, which seems to be the only function of that position. Still, I’m going to treat it as a serious title.

 

Shikaku’s introduction in the manga during the Konoha Crush arc is very different than the equivalent scene in the anime. I think this deviation from the source material must have been deliberate. They could have gone with the longer scene that the manga described, but they didn’t, despite being an anime infamous for its padding. This discrepancy produces two very different characterizations for Shikaku.

In the anime, Shikaku’s participation in the Konoha Crush battle begins with fighting one Suna ninja on his own, who Shikaku kills almost instantly. Morally, it’s an uncontroversial action. If he hadn’t killed that enemy, then he wouldn’t have been able to keep participating in the battle to protect his home. The closeness of his backup is not immediately obvious and is open to interpretation. Furthermore, the enemy isn’t ever obviously Shikaku’s prisoner. His characterization from this very brief scene is little more than that of a strong combatant.

By contrast, in the manga, Shikaku’s character is both richer and more dubious. He is introduced for the first time by leisurely killing four of his helpless prisoners, one of whom was obviously terrified. By the time Shikaku kills them, they had stopped being a threat, because they had already been captured and his backup was a hop, skip, and a jump away. Chouza and Inoichi are literally in the same panel, so they could have tied these guys up.

What interpretations does this act facilitate for the character? Was he being smart? Did Shikaku see some threat in his prisoners that wasn’t in the text? Was that killing part of some unstated strategy, possibly an indication of underlying utilitarian ethics? Kill the enemies who are helpless, because, if you don’t, then they may be a threat later? Or was it a display of ruthlessness?

Chapter 20: The Hyuuga and the Tsuru

Summary:

A prisoner is broken out of jail, the Hokage and the head of the Hyuuga make a public appearance, and fellow conspirators are visited.

Notes:

Superman is my favorite superhero. I was excited to learn that there was a new version of Superman being put to screen and relieved that neither Joss Whedon nor Zach Snyder would be involved with the project. I avoided all spoilers and trailers for the latest Superman movie, so I had no idea what to expect. Now, I’ve seen it… And I loved it so, so, so much! Looks like James Gunn understands that prosociality is good actually. There’s a real emphasis on Superman’s readiness to make friends, and to reach out to others, and to cherish the lives of other people and animals, even if they seem insignificant, and the story makes this part of his personality impactful. It’s also just so nice to see a Superman who likes people and has actual friends. Not to dis Henry Cavil, but when he started smiling in 2017’s Justice League, I got scared. And the dog was fun. SPOILER! There’s a dog! I liked the dog. Dogs are great.

Speaking of dogs, I pet my three dogs one at a time while saying goodbye. This is my ritual. Say goodbye individually, while petting the particular pet. Thus, I have conditioned myself to combine these two actions. I discovered this about myself while my hand was ruffling the sleeve on my friend’s shoulder, as if it were a furry little head. Ruffle, ruffle.

*sigh* The face you are making right now upon reading this, blank incomprehension, that is the same face she and I made.

Guys, I petted a human. It wasn’t even on the head, you know, where the hair is. It was on the shoulder, a famously unfurry part of the human body, just to make it extra weird. I mean, obviously, if you were going to pet a human, it should be on the shoulder. Petting someone on the head would be patronizing. Straight up jerk behavior. Very rude. Fondling the shoulder, just reaching out and ruffling the non-existent fur of the human shoulder, in an amiable and easy-going kind of way, is, conversely, what a cool guy and a real comrade would do. Obviously.

In my defense, I had just said goodbye to her dog and she was next in line.

Kakashi was too tired for this. The situation was too complicated for him to sort it out neatly. The Hokage was obviously in the wrong and Ikuyou was obviously in danger, but Kakashi didn’t know how to fix it. If he stormed in and pulled her out, as he had done for Tenzou, there would be no going back and the situation could escalate quickly and lethally. This time, he wouldn’t be defying Danzou, he’d be defying the Hokage. Could Kakashi do that? He’d done it for Naruto, within the last hour even, but…

 

With dread, he realized the answer was “yes.” He could do it. More than that, he should do it. He was anxious and barely managing to stay upright and he would much prefer to just go to bed, but it was possible that Ikuyou was being tortured by T&I right at that very moment. It didn’t happen often, but it did happen that people died in custody from torture, neglect, or ordinary murder. Kakashi didn’t have a plan, but he hadn’t had a plan when he went to save Tenzou, either. He’d just been carried along by righteous indignation and the recklessness of the severely depressed. He’d have to make do without. Ikuyou needed to be rescued and Kakashi had to do it.

 

With the restraint of a Buddha, Kakashi deliberately did not shout curses into the wind. Then, he sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and put his hands in his pockets. It was fine. Ikuyou was a comrade and that was the only thing that mattered. If he went to bed, he wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway. Not now. However, he didn’t have to do this alone.

 

“This won’t stand!” Gai shouted, his face puce with anger and twisted by a terrible grimace. He looked ready to bite someone. “How dare he?!”

 

“He dared because the jounin weren’t here to intervene,” Kakashi speculated. “We were all in the meeting.”

 

“Well, we’re here now!” Gai shouted.

 

“We’re going to get her back?” Neji asked, vulnerable hope peeking through his shell of anger. Kakashi forced a smile for him.

 

“Of course, Neji-kun!” Gai shouted, clapping a firm hand on Neji’s shoulder.

 

“How about it, Tenzou-kun? You feel up doing a little jailbreaking?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Sure,” Tenzou said without hesitation.

 

“So quick! How rebellious. Ah, what happened to the cute, obedient little kid I used to know?” Kakashi asked, shaking his head.

 

“He grew up,” Tenzou said, with a note of bitterness. Tenzou’s exhaustion might be making him grumpy, Kakashi reflected. “Should we reach out to Shikaku-san and the others?”

 

“Inoichi-san will already know, which means the others do, too, or will soon,” Kakashi said, waving a lackadaisical hand.

 

“So, shall we go, just the three of us?” Gai asked.

 

“Hey! We’re all coming, too!” Neji said, glaring at Gai. “You couldn’t stop us if you tried!”

 

“Let’s make a real scene, then,” Tenzou said. “This morning’s test was a success and I feel like celebrating by being a bit loud.”

 

“It worked, eh?” Kakashi said happily. He was elated for his friend to finally be free.

 

“Yeah!” Gai roared, making Kakashi’s ears ring and the nearest ANBU on the wall twitch. “Congratulations, Tenzou-kun! We’ll rescue Ikuyou-san and then we’ll go sing karaoke!”

 

“There may be worse consequences than a curfew for this. As the one hosting us, Sasuke-kun should be told what’s going on,” Tsuru Gen said.

 

“I’ll tell him,” Neji volunteered.

 

“Good idea,” Kakashi said. “I’ll come with you.” He patted Tenzou on the back and went to get the kids. Pity he would have to wake them after the night they’d had.

 

-

 

Sasuke swayed slightly in his absent, half-sleeping state. He was so tired that his first instinct, after being told about the emergency transpiring, had been to go back to sleep. It was with heavy steps and a heavy heart that he had dragged himself out of the house and into the street with everyone else. The sight of the miserable ANBU looking in from the top of the outer wall woke him up by filling his heart with ice. He needed to get his family out of Konoha immediately. He looked around at the Tsuru and those affiliated with them who were gathered in the street, all equally unrested, and fervently hoped this wouldn’t come to a fight.

 

“Summon everyone back who wants to participate,” Neji said. “No one would want to be left in the dark about this and my aunt needs all the support we can give her.”

 

Fifteen minutes later, with the street even more crowded from all the returned civilians, Sasuke was feeling vaguely ill. The density of people, combined with the uncertainty of the moment, the presence of the ANBU, and the sleep-deprivation, left him feeling desperately off-kilter. He deliberately relaxed his face and shoulders and focused on his breathing in an attempt to stave off what felt like an encroaching panic attack.

 

Neji was at the group’s fore as they walked to T&I, followed immediately by the rest of Team Gai. Sasuke would have expected a jailbreak to involve running, but so many civilians had joined that the ninjas had to match their pace.

 

Because there were so many people, the road dust started to rise, sticking to Sasuke’s feet and legs and creating a cloud behind them. The rest of Konoha would be able to see them coming, not that word hadn’t probably been sent already by the Hokage’s minions. The damned ANBU surveilling the Uchiha Quarter had come, too. Sasuke watched them hop over the rooftops and thought about how he could protect his clan from them. What techniques would he need to use to defeat a pack of ANBU? They seemed to have the lifespan of mayflies in the story, being slaughtered by every single enemy the author threw at them, but they were probably good enough to kill Sasuke, if his plot armor failed.

 

Of course, Kakashi was present, along with several other people who would strenuously object if anyone tried to kill one of Sasuke’s people. He didn’t have to protect his clan by himself; the group would protect everyone. That was the point. That was why they were walking to T&I in the first place. Sasuke could rely on these people.

 

“Are we…” Toneri asked around a jaw-cracking yawn, causing Sasuke to yawn, too. “… going to fight or what?” Sasuke squeezed his hand.

 

“If it comes to violence, don’t hold back,” Sasuke said quietly. He definitely wouldn’t. If anyone tried to hurt his clan or anyone else in this group, Sasuke would kill them. He would kill them all. He would burn this fucking village to the ground. “Kill them before they kill you.”

 

“Now, now, calm down,” Kakashi said, without turning his face away from his book. “Killing people is the opposite of what we should be doing. And what happened to the boy who couldn’t bear to kill enemy ninjas? This is your village. You live here, remember? Let’s try not to hurt anyone any more than we have to.”

 

“Sure, sure. I’ll make their deaths quick,” Hikari said, twirling the kunai Kakashi had given her with a smartass smirk on her face. Tsuchi gave a snarky laugh and Kakashi bopped Hikari on the head, making Sasuke startle. He hadn’t even anticipated Kakashi doing something like that. Hikari rubbed her head, but she didn’t seem especially bothered and Sasuke knew she could take care of herself. He still didn’t like it. He frowned at Kakashi and stepped closer to Hikari, so he bumped shoulders with her. Why was Kakashi always hitting people?

 

“Use your words,” Sasuke scolded. Kakashi completely ignored him.

 

“Behave,” Kakashi scolded Hikari, wagging a finger at her, but Hikari only smirked more widely at him.

 

They finally arrived outside the T&I building after what felt like forever. The structure was surprisingly intact after Gaara’s attack a month ago and his escape yesterday. It still had most of a roof, most of three walls, and had been covered with tarps to keep the elements out. It was, apparently, still functional, despite the hole in the side of the building clearly leading down into the cells in the basement. Sasuke wouldn’t have housed anyone in it until it had passed an inspection, but maybe they had done that. It was probably fine. They wouldn’t house prisoners in a building that was likely to collapse, right? Sasuke considered this and then amended his statement: they wouldn’t house guards in a building that was likely to collapse… Right?

 

“I can see her,” Neji declared. “She’s in a cell in the basement.”

 

Four guards emerged from the building and followed by Ibiki, all of whom looked ready to fight. Sasuke straightened his stance and activated his Sharingan and chakra sense to search for any hidden people around their group. He needed to be able to react quickly if someone made to attack his people.

 

“Hey!” One of the guards shouted angrily.

 

“Yo,” Kakashi said, waving and giving the guards an offensively fake smile.

 

Sasuke vaguely recalled that Kakashi hadn’t needed to fight much, or maybe at all, and only flashed his Sharingan to rescue Tenzou from Danzou’s mooks. Hopefully, recovering Ikuyou would go just as painlessly, because there were two known Sharingan users present this time.

 

But, as Sasuke thought back on that fuzzy memory, it struck him as strange. It was bizarre that everyone had been so afraid of the guy with one Sharingan. Had that level of fear around the Sharingan been typical in Konoha? Or had it been Kakashi himself that people were afraid of, possibly because of the “friend killer” moniker? Sasuke would have to consider this when thinking didn’t hurt.

 

“We’re here for Tsuru Ikuyou! Release her or get out of our way!” Neji snarled.

 

“That’s right!” the crowd cried.

 

“Or you will face the justice of my fists!” Gai shouted, balling his hands, widening his eyes, and frowning theatrically. He looked like an Oobeshimi-masked Noh actor poised to deliver Ikuyou from evil.

 

Sasuke didn’t recall anything of Ibiki’s combat abilities, other than one of his techniques tortured both his target and himself. That seemed generally useless and dumb and Sasuke doubted it would avail him if he went toe-to-toe with Might Gai. From the look on Ibiki’s face, though, he wasn’t intimidated.

 

“I am acting on the side of Konoha,” Ibiki said. “I think you’ll find that makes you the one who will face justice for this and for leading astray your students! Following Neji-kun into shameful activities, instead of barring him from them!”

 

Sasuke saw people arrive at the end of the street, including Chouza, who looked pissed, but didn’t approach.

 

“Not at all!” Gai shouted even louder. “My heroic student is only doing what he should! Neji-kun is fighting for Konoha now as surely as he did yesterday when he took a stand against those who would invade out fair village! He is doing nothing wrong! On the contrary, I would be ashamed of him if he failed to hold his ground now! He is standing up for Ikyou-san, for family and a fellow comrade, for innocence and loyalty!”

 

Sasuke noticed ninjas moving to stand in the windows of the upper floors of the T&I building. The Tsuru would be able to handle projectiles, even if they came from above, but not something like a Great Fire Ball. Transforming himself into a shield would preclude counterattacks, so it wasn’t ideal. Could he catch something like that in an Enclosure Tag? What other methods could he use to protect everyone?

 

“Damn it, Gai! You know that’s not how the world works! How could you do something so reckless?! Don’t you know that things are tense enough as they are, that the Hokage’s job is hard enough as it is?! We’re at war! This kind of thing could be considered treason! Even if that woman didn’t do exactly what she was arrested for, you know the Third wouldn’t have arrested her without a good reason! What are you thinking?!”

 

“She is innocent!” Gai declared, to the cheers of the crowd. “That is the thought upmost in my mind! Ikuyou-san is innocent!”

 

“My aunt absolutely could not have betrayed Konoha! No one who knows her could believe such lies about her!” Neji shouted, getting another cheer.

 

“Therefore,” Gai continued, “whatever reason the Third may have for having her arrested, it is insufficient! Her arrest is unjustified and unjust! She is innocent and that is all the reason I need to free her from any imprisonment, even Konoha’s. Especially Konoha’s! I would no more let my village go down a villainous path than I would let myself, my students, or my friends! You ask what I am thinking! Turnabout is fair play! What are you thinking, Ibiki-kun?!”

 

As the crowd roared approval, but Ibiki didn’t look moved by Gai’s appeal. Inoichi and several other ninjas, some of whom Sasuke recognized as belonging to the Analysis Division, emerged from the front door, one after another. Sasuke felt nauseated. There were so many enemies. He couldn’t fight effectively in such close quarters. He could barely move for all the people.

 

His first instinct was to prepare to leap, but every other ninja would do the same thing when the enemy struck. If he dropped to the ground, he could use the earth to create shields, at least for his clan the civilians nearby. Maybe, if he shifted enough soil, he could hide everyone in the ground and then relocate the group. But what would the others do? Tenzou had a good Wood Release shield, did he? Shouldn’t he be the one to do defense for the civilians? But Sasuke was in no position to coordinate with him. Sasuke couldn’t even account for how everyone else would react to that first attack. He had learned team tactics for a group of three or four, but never for so many.

 

“This is so bad,” Sasuke thought. They were going to get slaughtered.

 

And then, to Sasuke’s surprise, Ikuyou was standing in the street with a roguish grin on her scarred face. The cheers of the crowd crescendoed.

 

“What is the meaning of this?!” Ibiki barked. “Get that prisoner back in her cell!”

 

“Do you really want this to come to violence today?” Inoichi asked. “Two clans and their supporters have come demanding the freedom of a clan head and you and I both know that she has done nothing wrong.”

 

“She’s hardly innocent! She’s created a schism within the Hyuuga Clan!” Ibiki protested.

 

“The Hyuuga Main Family did that themselves!” Ikuyou snapped, as she strode past him with the confidence of a fashion model on the catwalk. “Resisting their abuse doesn’t make us the enemy!” The crowd roared agreement and Neji embraced her.

 

“There’s a right way and a wrong way to stand up for yourselves! You undermined the authority of the Hokage by creating the Anti-Caged Bird Seal Technique!” Ibiki argued.

 

“If the Hokage’s authority is undermined by Konoha’s people being freed from perpetual servitude, what does that say about the Hokage?!” Ikuyou replied, turning her head sharply away from her nephew and capturing Ibiki in her pale gaze. For the first time, doubt appeared on his face.

 

“There are official channels for these things,” Ibiki said. “We can’t just let prisoners go because of mob pressure!”

 

“So, you only fold when that pressure comes from the Hokage. I noticed he was happy to have me arrested immediately on nothing but a rumor, but Danzou-san he had released, despite ample evidence,” Ikuyou said.

 

“T&I is not corrupt!” Ibiki said, turning red. The crowd jeered. “You’re forgetting the fact that it’s our duty to obey the Hokage’s orders, not those of every angry citizen in Konoha!”

 

“You let Danzou escape!” Someone shouted and others shouted their agreement. Ibiki glared at Ikuyou and Ikuyou glared back. Slowly, the noise in the street abated. Sasuke planted his feet and took a centering breath. Any second now…

 

“Ibiki-san, are you sure about that?” Inoichi asked blandly. Ibiki turned on him sharply, but Inoichi’s sure face seemed to take the wind from his sails.

 

“We are at war,” Ibiki said to Inoichi. “There will be consequences for this.”

 

“There will be consequences either way. What would happen if these people stormed the building to free her or even just started camping out in front of the building? Look around at the ANBU on the rooftops, at the civilians in this crowd, at the curious onlookers at the end of the street.” Inoichi indicated down the road, where some of those who had come to spectate the exam were gawking. Sasuke spotted a few forehead protectors from other hidden villages. “How much more face can Konoha afford to lose?”

 

“Just let her go already, Ibiki-san!” the ninja who covered his eyes and ears with bandages snapped. Sasuke recalled him observing the first phase of the exam.

 

“… On your heads be it,” Ibiki said.

 

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Inoichi said, raising his chin.

 

And everyone went home. They just went home. The entire way back, Sasuke kept expecting the other shoe to drop. This wasn’t how these things went, was it? Hadn’t that been too easy? Konoha had just let them win.

 

Well, maybe only Ibiki had let them win. And Inoichi. He was a good guy, that Inoichi. Sasuke was so glad he hadn’t been forced to fight him. And the rest of the T&I people had let Ikuyou go, too. That was decent of them. They had all stood aside, despite the fact that they were probably going to get into trouble with the Hokage.

 

That was kind of big deal, wasn’t it? That was a lot of people deciding together that they weren’t going to listen to the Hokage, even if only in limited circumstances. The Hokage probably wasn’t going to like that. What if he thought the Tsuru were trying to do a coup?

 

Sasuke suddenly felt sick to his stomach and covered his mouth to hold back the sensation. He broke out in a cold sweat, goosebumps erupted along his arms, and his skin heated unbearably.

 

“Sasuke-kun?” Sakura said worriedly. Sasuke shook his head and lowered his hand in hopes that Sakura would let it go.

 

“We’re all going to die,” Sasuke thought, gritting his teeth to fight down a gag.

 

The Hokage might not have given the go-ahead on the Uchiha Massacre, but he had let it happen and then covered it up after the fact. Danzou might have been the one to spearhead the last massacre, but the Konoha Council still existed. Those vicious old monsters could probably arrange a massacre, even without Danzou’s help. They might not bother with suborning the son of the clan head, whom Sasuke guessed would be Neji in this case, and just send in the ANBU this time. The ANBU, who were already watching the Tsuru like hawks, like carrion crows. And Itachi would be returning to Konoha soon, looking for Naruto. Unthinkingly, Sasuke tightened his grip on Toneri’s hand and looked up at Naruto, who was stumbling along sleepily.

 

The longer Sasuke thought about it, the more he felt like he was about to explode. By the time they passed through the gate to the Uchiha Quarter, he was so wound up that he nearly cursed at the ANBU on the wall. He probably couldn’t have opened his mouth without gagging, though. He restrained himself, falling back into the old shell of silence that he had inhabited for years. He couldn’t afford to lose his cool. Konoha could strike at any time. Sasuke needed to get his clan out of there and he needed to do it immediately. He should take the Tsuru, too.

 

Once everyone was back in the Uchiha Quarter, Sasuke summoned back the rest of the Tsuru and Sakura’s parents from Shinku no Machi and dragged himself to bed. He tried to sleep, but his mind just kept spinning deeper into darkness, so he dragged himself back up and got to work.

 

“What are you doing?” Shiba whispered. Kakashi had assigned the nin-dog to stay with the boys today. “You should be sleeping, pup.”

 

“Soon,” Sasuke reassured him, not knowing if it was true.

 

First, he summoned several rodents, who regarded him warmly, and then with open concern once they got a better look at him. He probably looked quite haggard, not having slept properly in a day and a half. He asked them to study the ANBU on the walls and learn their identities, abilities, and rotations. It would be harder to escape Konoha if he had to sneak his people past a bunch of ANBU, but they would manage it. The ANBU might be older, more experienced, and stronger than he was, but he would kill them all, if he had to. He didn’t know how, but he would figure it out.

 

Actually, he realized with relief, they could probably just fly out, although Toneri’s bird puppet could only hold so many people. Sasuke would have to send everyone except Toneri to the rodents and then summon them back to the human realm once Konoha was behind them.

 

Still, increased carrying-capacity would make traveling together easier. He hadn’t wanted to mimic the other Sasuke, even superficially, but maybe it was time to make a contract with the hawks. He pulled out a notebook and wrote a note for later, because he was worried that, with his aching brain, he would forget. Outsourcing his thinking to a piece of paper felt quite satisfying, actually.

 

Next, he made a note to ask the Rodents and Warbling White-Eyes about what other summon animals they had contacts with. Then, he made a note to ensure everyone was packed. The house, in being occupied so thoroughly, had begun to fill up with personal items again. Then, he made another note to discuss escape plans with the rest of his people. They might have some good ideas. Then, he made a note to discuss escape plans with Ikuyou. The Tsuru should leave Konoha, too. Finally, he made a note to ask if Gaara wanted to take his siblings. He summoned another few rodents and set them the tasks of checking Gaara and his siblings’ conditions in the jail, investigating the security measures in place around them, and relaying the message to Gaara that Naruto and everyone else hadn’t forgotten him.

 

Writing out reminders for himself and assigning the rodents a few tasks was reassuring enough that he found he could lay back down. Sasuke sealed his diary in his arm, used his chakra sense to do a quick sweep of the property, tapped his head to start some soothing music playing, and tried to sleep. Despite his exhaustion, it was a long time in coming and, when it arrived, it didn’t last long.

 

He was about to die. That was the knowledge that consumed his mind when he jerked awake, howling wordlessly in fear. He stumbled out of bed, grabbed a kunai, and activated his Sharingan, searching for enemies. He was putting his back to the wall as Naruto and Toneri were throwing off their bedclothes.

 

“What’s happening?!” Shiba barked.

 

“They’re coming!” Sasuke said. They were. They were close and getting closer every second.

 

Shiba started barking his head off and Naruto and Toneri stumbled upright.

 

The door was thrown open and Kakashi entered in his pajamas and his signature mask, his own Sharingan uncovered. Sasuke slid along the wall, trying to get to the corner as the others looked around frantically. Sasuke wasn’t thinking, couldn’t think. All that was going through his mind was that he needed to defend himself, or escape the danger, the danger that was going to kill him. If only he knew what direction it would come from! He was nearly gibbering in terror.

 

“Sasuke-kun, what’s happening?” Kakashi asked calmly.

 

“They’re coming!” Sasuke gasped.

 

“Okay. Who?” Kakashi asked.

 

“I don’t know!” Sasuke wailed. “I can’t see them!”

 

Hikari appeared in the door behind Kakashi.

 

“What’s happening?!” she asked.

 

“Stay back,” Kakashi said.

 

“Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto said uncertainly.

 

“Just hang back for a minute, Naruto-kun,” Kakashi said.

 

“I don’t sense anything!” Toneri said, heading for Sasuke.

 

“Toneri-kun,” Kakashi said warningly, but Toneri ignored him.

 

“They’re going to get me,” Sasuke gasped, trying to press him back even more flat against the wall. Toneri took hold of his shoulders and Sasuke yanked Toneri into a crushing embrace with his free hand.

 

“I can’t sense them! You have to tell me where they are!” Toneri said.

 

“There’s no one there, Toneri-kun,” Kakashi said.

 

“Then what’s wrong?!” Toneri asked.

 

“It’s alright,” Shiba said, sitting down. “The pup is just having a nightmare.”

 

“No, they’re coming! You have to listen! They’re coming!” Sasuke cried. No one was listening! They were running out of time!

 

“Sasuke-kun isn’t quite awake yet, either, so you should be careful when he’s like this,” Kakashi said.

 

“Sasuke-ni-san wouldn’t hurt me!” Toneri said, sounding offended on Sasuke’s behalf. Hikari turned to face the hallway.

 

“It’s okay,” Hikari said. “You can go back to sleep.”

 

“Okay,” Tsuchi said from the hallway.

 

“He might not mean to hurt anyone, but he still could,” Kakashi said. “Sometimes when this happens to people, they lash out and he’s already holding a kunai.”

 

“How do you know?” Naruto asked, as Sakura appeared beside Hikari and peeped anxiously into the boys’ room. “Have you seen someone do that before?”

 

“Yeah,” Kakashi said.

 

Suddenly, Sasuke realized that he was having a night terror.

 

“I’m fine,” Sasuke said, the fear of imminent death still boiling him alive, unabated by his newfound clarity. “I’m fine.” He knew he would be able to believe it in another few minutes. Whatever knowledge he may have gained didn’t lessen his grip on Toneri, however. Sasuke had just rediscovered that, after a nightmare, having another person to hold onto was even better than being buried in his futon in the kitchen cabinet while in mouse shape. You weren’t so well hidden, but a futon couldn’t hug you back.

 

“No, you’re not!” Toneri said, hugging him back. “Do you want me to rub your back? My dad used to rub my back when I had a nightmare.” Sasuke buried his face against Toneri’s shoulder as Toneri rubbed as much of Sasuke’s back as he could reach, which wasn’t much thanks to Sasuke trying to become one with the corner.

 

“What’s a night terror?” Naruto repeated. “Is that like a bad nightmare?”

 

“It’s a nightmare that lasts,” Kakashi said. “You start moving around, but you aren’t really awake. You can’t be fully woken up, either. You just have to wait it out.”

 

“What causes them?” Naruto asked.

 

“Not getting enough sleep can do it,” Kakashi said.

 

“Are you saying sleep loss can cause sleep loss? That’s terrible,” Naruto said. “So, is he awake now?”

 

“Yes, he’s awake now,” Kakashi said, leaning against the door frame and closing his eyes.

 

“Hey, Sasuke-kun, do you want me to help you check the house?” Naruto asked. “I always feel better after my nightmares if I turn on all the lights and check the whole apartment. It’s daylight, so we don’t need to turn on the lights, but I can still help you look around.”

 

“I’m fine,” Sasuke said, willing it to be true.

 

“Okay,” Naruto said, before stumbling over to sit beside Sasuke and put an arm around him. Sasuke discarded his kunai and clamped a trembling arm around Naruto, too. Hikari and Sakura ambled in and joined the group hug, too.

 

“What was your nightmare about?” Naruto asked.

 

“I don’t remember,” Sasuke said. “Sorry I woke you all.”

 

“It’s fine!” Sakura said. “You can’t control whether or not you have bad dreams.”

 

“I had a nightmare about a giant squirrel once,” Shiba said. “I was barking at it and then it started growing and growing. I wanted to run, but there was this carrot behind me. It was poisonous and had a secret plan to kill me. It thought I didn’t know, but I did.”

 

“A carrot had a secret plan?” Naruto asked sardonically.

 

“It was a clever carrot,” Shiba said defensively.

 

“Don’t underestimate carrots,” Kakashi murmured tiredly.

 

The nin-dog unfolded his silly story for the group, while Sasuke waited for his pulse to slow enough that he could turn off his Sharingan.

 

-

 

Of course that couldn’t have been the end of it, Kakashi lamented, when he learned that the Hokage had sent a team to re-arrest Ikuyou that afternoon. Of course, the Tsuru didn’t let them get anywhere near her and had the fools laid out almost instantly when negotiations broke down. It had been ended so quickly and quietly that the fight hadn’t even woken Kakashi. He almost felt sorry for them. Taking on a pack of Byuakugan users defending their home turf was not his idea of a good time.

 

Kakashi was informed of the incident by Tsuru Gen, who came to Sasuke’s house to raise the alarm shortly after the Hokage, his bodyguards, Hiashi, and half a dozen other Hyuuga in flak jackets showed up unannounced in the Uchiha Quarter. The Hokage’s party arrived just after curfew. A few of the Tsuru who had elected to live elsewhere in Konoha were still standing in the street with their bags, trying to figure out where they were going to spend the night. None of the Hokage’s party looked happy, but Hiashi looked like he was about to kill someone.

 

Kakashi told the kids to stay put and followed Gen to Ikuyou’s house, where Kakashi was relieved to see that Gai and Tenzou were already present.

 

“We won’t let you take her!” Neji snarled. “Not without a fight!” A few of the Tsuru in the street murmured in support, but Kakashi winced. The Hokage’s bodyguards were mostly for show; he was the real threat, even if he wasn’t as strong as he had been at his peak. If he had come to arrest Ikuyou personally, then she was either going to go peacefully or this was going to be a major battle. Kakashi was saved from having to get between Neji and the Hokage when Neji’s aunt emerged from the house and pushed him back protectively.

 

“Good evening, Hokage-sama,” Ikuyou said, words clipped with nerves. Kakashi didn’t blame her; if one of his kids had just challenged the Hokage to a fight with that tone, Kakashi would be sweating, too. The Hokage was a tolerant person, but these weren’t normal circumstances.

 

“Good evening, Ikuyou-san,” the Hokage said. He sighed and regarded her steadily for a beat. “I wish you had not done this. Whether someone is in jail or not should not be decided by popular opinion. If you truly are innocent, then the evidence would bear that out.”

 

“Innocent of what, exactly?” Ikuyou asked. “Colluding with the enemy? Was that a serious charge? Do you know how many of those enemies I killed yesterday?”

 

“Regardless of the number, it is undeniable that you have stoked divisions in this village with your actions and had inappropriate contact with Orochimaru.”

 

“What?” Ikuyou asked, clearly rattled by the accusation. Except for those in the Hokage’s party, everyone was rattled by it.

 

“You created the Anti-Caged Bird Seal, as you’ve already admitted,” the Hokage explained. “Objectively, that is an incredible discovery. Jiraiya-kun recently examined one of the manuals for the technique that you had distributed around Konoha for safekeeping. He tells me that its creation and that of the Anti-Cursed Seal of Heaven involved a novel approach to the discipline of creating technique formulae. Your expertise at creating these techniques has even allowed you to craft an Anti-Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, something with ramification for the security not only of this village, but the entirety of Fire, which you did not see fit to report before you started using it.”

 

Kakashi’s eyes widened in shock. How could the Hokage know about the Anti-Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal? It had barely been used and only the day before! Only Tenzou, and possibly Sai, had been subjected to it so far. There hadn’t been time to spread it amongst the rest of Danzou’s victims. That made Kakashi instantly suspicious that some insider had informed on their group, but he couldn’t be sure. Certainly, someone must have told the Hokage that Tenzou had lost his curse mark, but whoever had turned on them seemed to be poorly informed.

 

Oh. It might be one of the Hyuuga, mightn’t it? They could see through stone, so the human head wouldn’t pose any challenge and the Tsuru had occasionally mentioned that the Hyuuga hung around obnoxiously. Kind of weird to think of them taking regular observations of Tenzou’s tongue for any change in his curse mark. What else were they watching? How long had they been watching and how closely?

 

“However,” the Hokage said. “You gained the knowledge of how to do so by first developing the Anti-Cursed Seal of Heaven. Based on our intelligence, the person who did that had extensive knowledge of Orochimaru-kun’s technique, but they didn’t gain it through Anko-chan, the only person afflicted with the Cursed Seal of Heaven in Konoha. Therefore, you must have had some other connection to Orochimaru-kun, one you have been cultivating in secret for some time.”

 

What?! How was the Hokage getting this so wrong? He believed that Kakashi was the one with the connection to Orochimaru! Mouse had said so! Mouse had told Kakashi that he was the one under suspicion, both of communicating with Orochimaru’s people and of being the source of the Anti-Cursed Seal of Heaven! Did the Hokage really believe that Kakashi’s informant was actually someone he knew through Ikuyou? But Mouse hadn’t asked about Ikuyou at all! Had he been playing Kakashi?

 

“… I’m admitting to nothing,” Ikuyou said grimly.

 

With a sinking feeling, Kakashi realized that she couldn’t deny it, either; she had to cover for Sasuke.

 

“You cannot expect me to believe that the creation of the Anti-Cursed Seal of Heaven was pure serendipity,” the Hokage said. “You’ve already admitted to me that you were the one to create the Anti-Caged Bird Seal and that it took you much study to do so. Am I to believe that you created the other two without any study at all? Jiraiya-kun has told me that you anonymously requested information, through Kakashi-kun, that you needed for your studies and also provided secret details of Orochimaru-kun’s juinjutsu in the process.”

 

Ikuyou pursed her lips.

 

“I never said the information was for her, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi protested, heart pounding.

 

“Then who was it for, Kakashi-kun? Am I to believe the Konoha has gained two people who are experts at removing juinjutsu, something never before done? It would be quite a coincidence, wouldn’t it?” the Hokage said. “It must have been Ikuyou-san.”

 

“It doesn’t necessarily follow that she was colluding with Orochimaru,” Tenzou spoke up, his tone professional. “All you can prove is that the person who created the Anti-Cursed Seal of Heaven studied the curse mark, not that they communicated with Orochimaru. Orochimaru’s victims are the ones with the mark and they are not the man himself.”

 

“Very well. If you have nothing to hide, Ikuyou-san, then tell the truth: who allowed you study the Cursed Seal of Heaven?” the Hokage demanded.

 

“You’re asking the wrong person, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi said, drawing the Hokage’s gaze. “I’m the only one who knows the identity of my source and I won’t betray them.”

 

Kakashi was doomed. Being unambiguously, publicly, flagrantly insubordinate was going to land him in jail. Oh, who was he kidding? He’d already crossed that line today. How was he going to look after his charges from the inside of a cell?

 

“It was me.”

 

Kakashi turned, his heart in his throat, to find Sasuke standing at the back of the crowd, with Naruto and Sakura to either side, staring at him in shock. Sasuke’s clan was there, too, looking much less concerned with what he had just done. Even Tsuchi didn’t look too worried.

 

“I’m the one who told Kakashi-sensei about the Cursed Seal of Heaven,” Sasuke continued apathetically.

 

“No, it was me!” Gai cried, body flickering across the distance and slapping a hand over Sasuke’s mouth.

 

“Ah, no!” Lee shouted, raising his hand like a student in class. “It was me!”

 

“Lee-kun, no!” Gai shouted, like Lee had just volunteered to be fed to a dragon.

 

“Um, it was me really!” Sakura squeaked.

 

“Actually, it was me,” Gen said, a frown on his wrinkled, unshaven face.

 

“It was me, believe it!” Naruto shouted from beside Sasuke, stretching his arms wide. “I know all kinds of secret stuff! Kakashi-sensei comes to me for advice all the time!” Soon, the crowd was all singing the same song, hanging together and willing to hang together. Kakashi forced down a hysterical laugh.

 

“It was me! I’ve been screwing Orochimaru’s mom and she told me all about it! Her pillow talk is really shit!” Tsuru Hisui said with a cheeky grin, getting a big laugh from the crowd. The Hokage’s party did not look amused.

 

“That’s enough! This is a serious conversation! How dare you all make such a shameful display before the Hokage!” Hiashi said. “You’re disgracing the Hyuuga!” The crowd jeered.

 

“You did that all by yourself!” Hisui shot back. The crowd cheered.

 

Kakashi looked away from the crowd to find that the Hokage was staring fixedly at one person; it was Sasuke, who was staring right back with a challenging look in his eye. That wiped the smile right off Kakashi’s face and stole his breath. Whatever was going on there, it couldn’t be anything good. Did the Hokage know that Sasuke had really meant it? What conclusions would he draw from that? Or did he already know? Had Hyuuga spies already told him?

 

“In wartime, we can’t afford divisions,” the Hokage said, turning back to Ikuyou. Kakashi exhaled.

 

“Then, support us,” Ikuyou said. “Acknowledge us as fully-fledged members of Konoha, deserving of Konoha’s protection. We are just as much a part of this village as the Hyuuga are. We have fought and died for it. We have lived our whole lives in it. It’s ours just as much as it’s theirs. You talk about not wanting division, but that division was already there; it was the cage we were confined to. We are the ones refusing to live with that division any longer.”

 

“There must also be order,” the Hokage said. “Everyone must acknowledge the chain of command, or there is only chaos. Without clarity of hierarchy and respect for it, we fall to anarchy. We cannot survive what lies ahead, if our house is in shambles. I understand that you deserve better treatment. We can discuss that, but you cannot expect Konoha’s trust when you shake the very foundations upon which its houses are built.”

 

“We should build our homes to move with the motion of earthquakes, not to stand rigidly against them,” Ikuyou said. “If Konoha’s foundations are so rotten that they’re liable collapse, then perhaps it’s time to build new ones.”

 

“For the first time,” Neji piped up. “We have the freedom to choose our own destiny. We want to live, so we can enjoy that, but we will die for it if we have to.”

 

None of the Hokage’s party looked moved by these arguments, with one incredible exception: Hiashi. Unless Kakashi was much mistaken, there was grief and uncertainty on in the furrows of Hiashi’s brow.

 

“That’s all just words!” one of the Hyuuga shouted furiously. “You’re traitors and traitors will suffer the punishment of traitors! And you’re an escaped criminal now, too! By going against the Hokage, you’re undermining the very father of this village! Things were fine before you started agitating everyone! No one was unhappy, until you started whispering in the ears of the Branch Family members that they were victims! Now, our children are in danger of being killed in their beds by Suna, because of you made the village weaker! How can Konoha remain unified, when the Tsuru are trying to tear it apart, as they did to the Hyuuga?!”

 

“We didn’t break any familial bonds when we declared a new clan!” Neji snarled. “You never considered us family in the first place, unless you thought of us as the family dog! Family shouldn’t ensnare and destroy family! Do you really think we would have tried so hard to get away if we weren’t suffering?!”

 

“I’m not going to listen to this! Your words mean nothing, traitor! You all colluded with the enemy!”

 

“No, we didn’t! How can you accuse someone of that when you don’t have any proof?!”

 

“What did Oto promise you in exchange for your treason?! More information on juinjutsu?! Have you been planning to unleash one of your own against us?! You don’t want equality; you’re the ones plotting to subjugate us!” Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the man. Was he going crazy?

 

“Go fuck yourself!” Neji swore, causing Lee to cover a gasp with the back of his hand, but there was a sparkle of mirth in his eyes.

 

“Let’s all take a breath and try to calm down,” Tenten said levelly, stepping in front of Neji and facing down the Hyuuga man with her hands held up placatingly. Then, holding eye contact, she continued in the same tone, “After all, I’m sure we wouldn’t want to make more work for the hospital when they’re already stretched so thin. It’s important to be responsible and consider how our actions affect others.” Behind her polite façade and school-teacherly tone, Tenten’s wide eyes and killing intent made it seem like she personally was doing the responsible thing and carefully considering how twisting the man’s dick off would affect him for the rest of his life, but especially in the excruciatingly painful near-term. The way the man, who was at least ten years older than she was, started sweating and went silent suggested that he got the same impression Kakashi did.

 

As amusing as Tenten was being, this conversation wasn’t going anywhere good. In fact, Kakashi could see the cliff edge they were all approaching at speed. He noticed Gai dragging Lee towards Neji, Tenten, and Ikuyou. That was a good idea. Kakashi walked swiftly to stand beside his own kids himself. Neither Sasuke nor Sakura would throw themselves into a street brawl, but Naruto could be counted on to dive in with both feet. With several dozen feet, actually.

 

“Enough!” Hiashi shouted, rounding on his people. “That is enough!” The Hyuuga fell silent.

 

“Yes,” the Hokage said loudly. The rest began to quiet down, too. “That’s quite enough… I can see we’re deadlocked.”

 

“Let’s leave it there for today, Hokage-sama,” Hiashi said. “The Hyuuga Clan withdraws our request.” This time, the ones to receive a shock were the other Hyuuga.

 

“… Is that so?” the Hokage asked.

 

“I’m deeply sorry to have put you to the trouble, Hokage-sama,” Hiashi said, bowing.

 

“… Very well,” the Hokage said. “Then, Ikuyou-san, you do not have to return to jail. It seems I was premature to lock you up, especially in light of how persecuted you feel by Konoha’s laws. Instead, while the investigation into your actions is ongoing, you are to remain in the Uchiha Quarter. Know that I will look askance at any contact you have with outsiders during this time.

 

“I expect the rest of you to put aside any grievances you may feel while on deployment. The wellbeing of the village must come first. You will support your fellow ninjas to the best of your ability on the battlefield, no matter which clan they may be from.

 

“If the situation continues to escalate and you prove that you cannot handle independence from the Hyuuga Main Family, then you will be sent back. Nonobservance of the curfew will not be tolerated.”

 

The Hokage and his bodyguards moved to leave, but Hiashi stayed.

 

“Return to the compound,” Hiashi ordered his people.

 

“But, Hiashi-dono!” one of the Hyuuga protested.

 

“Don’t argue with me. I need to speak with my nephew and sister-in-law.”

 

With a mix of reluctance and anger, they left Hiashi alone in a sea of Tsuru.

 

“What do you want?” Ikuyou asked with bad grace.

 

“As I said, I need to speak to you both,” Hiashi said. “I have something to say that I should have told you long ago.”

 

“I’m not interested,” Neji said.

 

Then, stunningly, Hiashi got on his knees and lowered his head so his hair spilled into the dirt. Kakashi had no idea the arrogant man was even capable of making a request, let alone prostrating himself before someone he regarded as his inferior.

 

“Please,” Hiashi said. “Hear me out. I have a duty, long delayed, to impart my brother’s last words to his son.”

 

Ikuyou didn’t look happy about it, but she allowed Hiashi into the house, which he thanked her for, and she and Neji followed him inside.

 

“Ah,” Kakashi sighed, staring at the closed door. “That was tiresome.”

 

“Yeah,” Sakura and Naruto said together, both of them wilting with relief.

 

“Mn,” Sasuke said. Kakashi slapped him upside the head.

 

“What were you thinking?” Kakashi said. “I’m your teacher. I don’t need you to protect me; I’m supposed to protect you.”

 

“That’s right!” Gai said, simultaneously pounding Sasuke and Lee into the dirt. Sasuke looked up at Gai in complete shock, while Sakura fussed over him and Lee.

 

“I’m sorry, Gai-sensei!” Lee said, holding his injured head tearfully.

 

“It is the duty of the elders to guide their juniors! Thus, I will lead you both in running fifty laps around the Uchiha Compound!” Gai shouted. “If I can’t, then I will do two hundred push-ups with you!” Gai had decided to go easy on the boys, it seemed.

 

“Thank you, Gai-sensei!” Lee cried, pulling the gaping Sasuke up.

 

“Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!” Gai said, doing a short interpretive dance in his enthusiasm.

 

“Let’s go!” Lee said, pumping a fist into the air.

 

“Those two are so embarrassing,” Tenten said, shaking her head as the three started running. “Poor Sasuke-kun. Well, I want to go back to bed. See you later!”

 

“Bye, Tenten-chan!” Sakura said.

 

“Did you see Sasuke’s face?” Naruto asked with relish.

 

Kakashi laughed quietly and turned back to Sasuke’s house.

 

“Hey, Kakashi-sensei, what are we doing for dinner?” Naruto asked, trailing after him.

 

“I don’t know, what are you cooking?” Kakashi asked.

 

“You should help!” Sakura scolded. “You never help with the cooking!”

 

“I buy ingredients,” Kakashi said. “Doesn’t that count?”

 

“No!” Sakura said.

 

“Of course buying ingredients isn’t the same as cooking,” Tsuchi said, rolling her eyes.

 

“Why don’t you ever help us?” Naruto said. “It can be fun when everyone is working together.”

 

“Because he’s lazy,” Sakura grumbled, not quite under her breath. Tsuchi and Hikari voiced their agreement with her.

 

“Because adversity builds character,” Kakashi said. “And because I don’t want to. I’ve had so little time to read lately.”

 

“You don’t need to read your dirty books!” Naruto scolded. “Help us cook dinner, or I’m making ramen!”

 

“Oh, no,” Kakashi said in a deadpan manner. “Not ramen.”

 

“Not ramen!” Sakura commanded.

 

“I want to pick the radio station this time,” Toneri said.

 

“I guess your Hokage is aware of Sasuke-kun now,” Tsuchi said speculatively. “He basically admitted to making friends with the wrong kind of people.”

 

“It’s fine! It’s fine! We all said it was us, too, which totally confused the old man. He couldn’t tell which one of us was really responsible, so Sasuke’s secret is perfectly safe!” Naruto said.

 

“Actually, I don’t think we fooled him,” Sakura said worriedly. “We’ll have to watch Sasuke-kun’s back going forward.”

 

“I don’t know what you guys are so worried about,” Hikari said. “The Hokage isn’t going to matter for much longer; since we don’t have any more reason to stay here. And if he causes trouble before we leave, we can just kill him.”

 

“He’s the strongest ninja in the village, Hikari-chan,” Kakashi said.

 

“I could take him,” Hikari said.

 

“You have no idea how strong he is,” Kakashi said.

 

“From my position on the village wall, I had a good view of his last fight. I could take him,” Hikari insisted.

 

Was she serious? How adorably delusional. Kakashi reached out and patted her on the head. He should include her in some of Team Seven’s training, so that she could figure out what her relative strength was.

 

“I’m really glad Sasuke-kun invited so many people with the Byakugan to live here,” Sakura said. “I mean, I know that wasn’t why he did it. They just needed a place to stay. Still, they’re useful. We’ll definitely see it coming, if… something happens. Kakashi-sensei, do you think…?”

 

Kakashi’s heart broke just a little. He felt like he had failed as a teacher, as a ninja of Konoha, as a man. This was not a conversation that these kids should have to have! They shouldn’t have to worry about being caught up in a massacre perpetrated by their own government! This village was supposed to be their home! You were supposed to feel safe in your own home! How had Kakashi allowed it to come to this?

 

“Don’t be such a wuss, Sakura. Is there going to be another massacre?” Tsuchi asked bluntly.

 

“Shut up, Tsuchi! I wasn’t talking to you! Kakashi-sensei, it couldn’t happen again, could it? How are we going to defend ourselves, if something happens?” Sakura asked. “The Tsuru are capable of seeing an attack coming, but we don’t have a plan to respond, do we? Like, how are they going to alert us? What positions are we supposed to take? Who is responsible for what?”

 

“If we were going to stay here,” Tsuchi said. “Then, Sasuke-kun should send the Tsuru away. They’re the real target of the purge anyway.”

 

“What did you say?!” Naruto exploded, rounding on Tsuchi and grabbing her by the collar.

 

“Look, we’re not safe because of them, right? So, sending them away is the safest thing to do,” Tsuchi said. “We don’t have to worry about defending ourselves if no one wants to fight us.”

 

“I would never abandon someone else to save myself!” Naruto said. “They need our help, so we’re going to help them!”

 

“It’s too late for that, anyway,” Kakashi said. “The Uchiha are far too involved in this to be so easy extricated now.”

 

“What’s that mean?” Naruto asked.

 

“’Extricated?’ It means ‘untangled,’ ‘removed,’ ‘freed,’” Kakashi said.

 

“Maybe they’ll come with us,” Hikari speculated.

 

“That could be fun,” Naruto said. “We could make a big caravan! Oh, yeah, Kakashi-sensei?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“What’s ANBU?” Naruto asked. “They’re the guys on the wall around the Uchiha Quarter, right?”

 

Kakashi explained and then, leaving the kids to make dinner, he went up to the roof. Pushing up his forehead protector, he observed the chakra signatures of the few Tsuru still on the streets below and those of the ANBU standing on the walls. He took a moment to be pissed that the ANBU, who were supposed to move secretly and for Konoha’s benefit, were using conspicuous visibility to intimidate Konoha’s own people. Pakkun joined him on the roof.

 

“What’s happening, Boss?”

 

“Just looking around,” Kakashi said. “Are you ready to go to Suna?”

 

“Do we have to? You know I hate the heat.”

 

“Don’t worry. I won’t summon you unless the sun has set. We’ll probably deploy tomorrow.”

 

“Got it. I’ll tell the others.”

 

“Thanks,” Kakashi said, before sitting down to read. He chose a spot on the roof that allowed him to keep the front door to Ikuyou’s house within his line of sight.

 

Less than half an hour later, Hiashi and Ikuyou emerged from within and Kakashi hopped down to check on them. Evidently, other members of the Tsuru had been watching from within their own houses, because many came out into the street to watch Hiashi with unfriendly eyes.

 

“I’m sure you will all do your duty in the days ahead. The Hyuuga will also do our part to support the Tsuru in this war,” Hiashi announced. “We may be at odds, but I’m glad that you all have found refuge with our distant cousins, the Uchiha. Please, give Sasuke-kun my thanks. Regardless of our current difficulties, we are still kin. The blood of Hamura flows through us all. Perhaps not soon, but one day I believe our relations will have improved, our current conflicts repaired.

 

“You’re right that we have treated you in a way unbecoming of family. Perhaps… Perhaps it is for the best that the Branch Family goes its own way, at least for now. I hope we can reconcile, but, if not, I will accept it. The Hyuuga will accept it.”

 

The Tsuru’s independence was a fait accompli, so Hiashi didn’t have any choice in the matter, but Kakashi supposed it was a nice sentiment. It would have been even nicer if he had referred to them as “the Tsuru” rather than “the Branch Family.”

 

Then, Hiashi nodded politely to Ikuyou, who nodded back, and left without further ado.

 

“What happened in there?” Kakashi asked curiously. “That was quite the about-face.”

 

“Ten years on, the bastard finally relayed Hizashi-kun’s last words to Neji-kun. Don’t ask,” Ikuyou said, looking emotionally battered. Kakashi knew that look well. “We got him to agree to stop the Hyuuga from hanging around outside and harassing us and to talk to the Hokage about recalling the ANBU on the wall. And Neji got the opportunity to scream at him a bit.” She sighed deeply. “I wish I were a teenager. You can’t get away with throwing a tantrum when you’re my age. Although, if the Hokage were standing in front of me right now, I don’t think I could be held responsible for my actions.”

 

“What prompted that?” Kakashi asked.

 

“It just brought it all back again. As you know, it was supposed to be Hiashi,” Ikuyou said. “After the Hyuuga Affair, the Hokage made the deal with the Raikage for Hiashi, not Hizashi. That’s why Hiashi’s continued existence is top secret.” She grimaced in anger. “The Hokage murdered a good man in favor of an evil one, which lead to the death of my sister, all to pursue a policy of false appeasement.

 

“Never mind, that it was a stupid deal that betrayed his duty to Konaha’s people, by giving them Hizashi instead, by playing that trick, he made Konoha duplicitous in our dealings with other hidden villages. If any of the other hidden villages found out, we would lose credibility and they could blackmail us. If Kumo specifically found out, they would have grounds to declare war on us and not to trust our word when the time eventually came to set terms for peace. The Hokage could have simply put the Caged Bird Seal on Hiashi and honored the terms of the treaty he agreed to. Instead, he tried to get one over on the Raikage, a man infamous for his bad temper. What spectacularly poor judgement,” Ikuyou said.

 

It did sound quite bad when she put it like that.

 

“Is Neji-kun alright?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Fine,” Ikuyou said. “He’s just wrung out. It’s good to know that…” Her face crumpled with grief, before she fought the muscles back into placidity. “Goodnight, Kakashi-san.” Her final words were hushed, made small by the crushing weight of the losses she still carried.

 

“Goodnight, Ikuyou-san,” Kakashi said.

 

What a wild ride the last day and a half had been. Kakashi got the urge to talk to his old team and had just turned to go visit the memorial, when Gai called out to him. Kakashi agreed to share a nightcap with him instead. Before heading in, they knocked on Tenzou’s door to invite him along and the three ended up around his kitchen table, because he had installed a technique formula to make the room soundproof when the door was closed.

 

After relaying his conversation with Ikuyou, Kakashi brought up how odd the Hokage’s assertion about Ikuyou was.

 

“The strange thing is, I don’t know why he thinks that Ikuyou-san has any connection to Orochimaru,” Kakashi said. “Maybe he doesn’t really believe it and is twisting the facts so he can persecute her.”

 

“Well, it isn’t obvious from the outside that your source for that information is Sasuke-kun,” Tenzou said. “Don’t look so chagrinned, Senpai. Sai-kun was involved in creating the Anti-Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, which meant that he got a good look at Sasuke-kun’s notes. With so many people being introduced to Sasuke-kun’s process, I’m not the only one who will have figured out that he knows some peculiar things. I’m sure the others have just been too polite to ask, but I was raised by Shimura Danzou.”

 

“I’ll count myself lucky you’re not going for my throat, then,” Kakashi muttered.

 

“I’d only do so metaphorically,” Tenzou said with a grin. “How did Sasuke-kun learn so much about Orochimaru’s technique?”

 

“I can’t tell you,” Kakashi said, cursing Sasuke in his heart for being so careless. “But I will say that he came by that knowledge honestly. He may not be the brightest, but I trust his character.”

 

“He’s a lot like you were when we first met, Kakashi-senpai,” Tenzou said with a fond smile.

 

Kakashi blinked. Was he being insulted?

 

“… Anyway, as I was saying, the Hokage said something strange. He was clearly conflating the source of my information on the cursed Seal of Heaven with the source of the Anti-Cursed Seal of Heaven,” Kakashi said.

 

“It’s a bit of a leap, but not much,” Tenzou said.

 

“But it goes against what he already knows!” Kakashi protested. “Ikuyou-san might have claimed responsibility for the Anti-Caged Bird Seal, but the Hokage didn’t believe her! Honestly, I don’t know why he hasn’t locked me up yet.”

 

“Why would he lock you up?!” Gai asked.

 

“Because he thinks you colluded with Orochimaru,” Tenzou suggested.

 

Kakashi leaned back in his chair as he replayed the conversation with Mouse.

 

“No, it sounded more like he thought I was working with an associate of Orochimaru’s,” Kakashi said. “I’m clearly under scrutiny now. While waiting for the Hokage’s battle to end, Jiraiya-sensei scolded me for providing information to the teams that went to Orochimaru’s bases and then, during cleanup, ANBU Mouse tried to get me to identify the source of all of my information on Orochimaru, not just the juinjutsu details. Mouse implied that I was actually the true mastermind behind the anti-juinjutsu techniques. He didn’t mention Ikuyou at all. The Hokage didn’t mention anything about what Mouse said during our meeting this morning or when he came to confront Ikuyou, but it seems like it’s only a matter of time before I’m dragged into T&I.”

 

“Kakashi-sempai,” Tenzou said slowly. “Mouse couldn’t have done spoken to you. He was placed under Kagura’s genjutsu right after the sandstorm began and then woke up after being released from an Enclosure Tag.”

 

“What?!” Kakashi asked in shock.

 

“He was one of the people triaged into Enclosure Tags during the rescue efforts. It turned out that he wasn’t hurt, though. He was found upon examination to only be under a sleep-inducing genjutsu.”

 

“But he fought alongside me!” Kakashi said, turning to Gai. “He’s the one who scaled the wall when I was still guarding it!”

 

“What a hardworking ninja! Mouse managed to help out in the fight, even while he was indisposed! That’s commendably responsible!” Gai said, nodding his head.

 

“But how much did he miss? When did he…?” Kakashi asked. “No, he couldn’t have been put under Kagura’s genjutsu after the fight was already over. He had to have been disabled before I met him.”

 

“I’m afraid so. Looks like you’ve been had,” Tenzou said. “The question is, by whom? With so many outsiders present at the time, the infiltrator could have come from anywhere.”

 

“Well, we know where they’re not from,” Kakashi said. “They couldn’t have been with the attackers, because Mouse killed Oto ninjas with me. You wouldn’t kill your own side.”

 

“To keep their cover, they might,” Tenzou said. “What did you tell them?”

 

“Nothing,” Kakashi said. “I said that I simply got lucky. As for who might have been behind it…” He thought back to the conversation he’d had with Mouse. “Maybe it was someone on Orochimaru’s side, after all, or maybe someone affiliated with Kabuto,” Kakashi said thoughtfully. “The first question Mouse asked was about how I identified Kabuto as suspicious.”

 

“The dead, traitorous genin?” Tenzou asked incredulously. “Who would care enough to question you about him? He was an orphan, right? Someone who worked at the hospital with him? I suppose they did release his jounin-sensei recently, but the rest of his teammates are still locked up. Or perhaps it was whoever was buying his information.”

 

“Mouse said that Kabuto was working for Orochimaru,” Kakashi said. “They said that they thought I got to Kabuto through his connection to Orochimaru.”

 

“Were they connected? I suppose it’s possible the two were working together,” Tenzou said.

 

“In fact, they were,” Kakashi said. “Which means that the person who impersonated Mouse is someone in a position to know about that connection. They thought… They acted like they thought that I must have had someone who turned on Orochimaru and that Kabuto was almost like collateral damage. I suppose it’s highly coincidental that both Orochimaru and Kabuto were caught on the same day. It’s logical to assume that they were all caught in the same sweep. And Mouse didn’t believe that I just guessed that Orochimaru would attack.”

 

“Did you?” Tenzou asked.

 

“No, I had an informant who told me what he was planning and when he would make his move,” Kakashi admitted.

 

“Who?”

 

“Someone I don’t want to identify.”

 

“Hmm. Well, what gave Kabuto away?”

 

“… I had a hunch.”

 

“What was your hunch?”

 

“That he was a threat.”

 

“Don’t make this difficult, Kakashi-senpai. Based on what?”

 

“Someone who knew of him told that me Kabuto had worked abroad as a spy in the past and this person acted like Kabuto was an active threat to the safety of others in Konoha. I didn’t know what to look for exactly, just that I needed to look. So, I hired a surveillance detail and they took what they found to the Hokage.”

 

“Did the surveillance mission reveal who he was working for?” Tenzou asked. “I thought it was a dead end.”

 

“The surveillance didn’t. Nobody came to pick up the dead-drop Kabuto left,” Kakashi said. “However, they’ve had Kabuto’s teammates in custody for a month. They might have let his teacher go, but not his peers. They probably found something incriminating and it might point them in Orochimaru’s direction.”

 

“Hmm. How did you find out about Kabuto and Orochimaru’s connection?”

 

“I only found out about it after Kabuto died, from that person who thought he was a threat,” Kakashi said.

 

“This person knew that Kabuto was working for Orochimaru,” Tenzou said. “And they didn’t say anything to anyone, except to tell you, ‘look out for that guy.’”

 

“Not exactly,” Kakashi said. “I wasn’t the person they were warning.”

 

“I’m getting tired of this suspense. Just tell us: who knew that Kabuto was working for Orochimaru?” Tenzou asked. Kakashi saw the instant light dawned. “No, wait! Let me guess!”

 

“Please don’t,” Kakashi said.

 

Tenzou laughed and took a sip of his drink.

 

“Hmmmm,” Gai said, frowning in thought and pinching his chin. Then he gave Kakashi a piercing look. “… Is it Naruto-kun?”

 

Tenzou laughed harder and Kakashi snorted.

 

“I read the transcript of his interrogation, but I didn’t realize… You’ve got an expert in all things Orochimaru on your hands,” Tenzou said.

 

“Just leave it alone,” Kakashi said. “Please. Not every secret is kept for nefarious reasons, like…” Then, a suspicion took root in Kakashi’s mind. “Hey, Tenzou-kun. I know the identities of ANBU agents are secret, but-.”

 

“I can’t tell you who Mouse is,” Tenzou said. “I suppose I could put you in contact with him, if you wanted.”

 

“Can you just tell me what he looks like?” Kakashi asked.

 

“I can’t confirm or deny any description you might have of him. You know that,” Tenzou said. “You think you saw him?”

 

“I think I’m the one who bagged him up,” Kakashi said. “Did he lose his cloak and mask during the battle?”

 

Tenzou said nothing, but his frown said, “yes.” Kakashi groaned, rested his forehead on one hand, and slapped the table with the other.

 

“They actually showed him to me,” Kakashi said. “The imposter had the balls to show me the man they’d stolen the cloak and mask from, because they didn’t think I’d realize it. And they were right! Ah, how embarrassing.” Gai clapped Kakashi on the back sympathetically.

 

“I’m worried for you, Kakashi-senpai,” Tenzou said. “I’m worried about the secrets you’ve been keeping from us, especially in light of the ones you’ve already shared.”

 

“I’m sorry to worry you,” Kakashi said. “I promise if I need your help, I’ll reach out.”

 

“It feels more important than ever that we stand in solidarity with one another,” Gai said solemnly. “Many terrible secrets have come out recently. It seems that every spade of dirt shifted reveals another skeleton.”

 

“Speaking of skeletons, they only just finished the report on the bodies pulled out of that pit, the mass grave of children Danzou took for his new Root, I mean. There will be a formal announcement as soon as the visitors have left the village. It seems that Danzou didn’t take very good care of the children he kidnapped,” Tenzou said. “The final count is twenty-two.”

 

Kakashi closed his eyes at the scale of that loss. Breathe in. Breathe out. Twenty little lives. Breathe in. Breathe out. That made the total number of children Danzou had kidnapped this time thirty-five. Of the thirty-five victims, there were only thirteen survivors. Kakashi could only imagine being kidnapped by Danzou, confined in one of the sunless cells of Root, and staring down those odds.

 

“How’s Sai-kun?” Gai asked.

 

“He’s fine,” Tenzou said, in a tone that suggested that the word “fine” had multiple definitions.

 

It shouldn’t have happened. If only Sasuke had said something years ago, instead of staying home and feeding the birds. If only Danzou hadn’t been a complete monster every single chance he ever got. If only Kakashi had stopped Danzou after the Uchiha Massacre or even before that, after the assassination attempt on the Hokage. If only the Hokage hadn’t given Danzou the power to do terrible things in the first place. If only there had been some oversight of the Hokage. With consternation, Kakashi realized that, no matter who became Hokage after the coup was done, he wouldn’t feel comfortable, unless he spent all day looking over their shoulder. That wasn’t sustainable.

 

Something was wrong with Konoha. Kakashi loved his home, but it needed to change. It wasn’t right that powerful predators could walk free, while innocent people were arrested for resisting them. All these secrets and lies, all this suffering and death, all these people that Kakashi wanted so badly to protect, but wasn’t sure he could, because of the way Konoha worked. It shouldn’t be this hard just to survive. Survival shouldn’t hinge on whether the Hokage was a good person or not. Konoha had been corrupted, because it was corruptible. It almost seemed like it was designed to enable the powerful to gain even more power at the expense of the weak.

 

Kakashi opened his eyes, looked up at his friends, and spoke up.

 

“Konoha needs to change.”

 

His dinner was stone cold when he made it back to Sasuke’s house.

Notes:

Neji: Now, let’s all go kick some ass and rescue my aunt!

Sasuke: Wait! I’ve got the perfect background music for this!

The Squad: *swaggers into T&I like tough guys while Sasuke is singing “Start a Riot” by Duckwrth and Shaboozy*

 

Sasuke: Hey, thanks for coming. I need you guys to stalk these ANBU, so I can kill them all.

Rodents: Are you okay, little guy?

Sasuke: It’s these ANBU, man…

ANBU: We’re not doing anything. We’re literally just watching you.

Sasuke: Don’t test me! I will go psycho! I’m famously good at it!

 

The Oobeshimi (alt. O-beshimi) mask is used in Noh theater and signifies that the wearer is a powerful god or demon, determinedly standing against evil, and clenching their mouth to hold back their overwhelming power. Can have a comical aspect.

 

Nobody in the comments even tried to guess who Mouse was! You thought he was just an ANBU dude! Well, I got one over on all of you! “Mouse” and I are over here laughing snidely at you! No points for guessing who they are now!

Chapter 21: The Final Day

Summary:

Sasuke and Kakashi meet with the head of the Tsuru and Yamanaka Clans, Sasuke reveals Black Zetsu, and Team Seven calls on the Kurama Clan heiress.

Notes:

This is a long chapter, but I wanted to put Konoha behind me already. After the last several chapters, you’ll be glad to hear that Sasuke has some fun in this one. No one else does, though. Its that kind of fun.

 

One of my dogs, my little girl, she barks at the deer all the time since the fawns have begun eating solids food, because this lures them to the fence and they’re very reactive. She’s honestly a little terror to these fawns, but they’re getting wise to her pranks. She barks at them, but that doesn’t scare them off anymore, so she’ll see no result, and then stare at them in disappointment while they eat.

However, she has figured out a new trick this week. Today, she went down and barked, gave up and walked away… And then charged the fence, barking like mad. It worked very well. The poor fawns raised their little tails and ran down the fence line, allowing my girl to give chase. She loved it. Then, I ruined her mood when I spritzed her with water for making a pest of herself. I keep a Super Soaker by the back door for this purpose.

The next morning, Sasuke woke up tired. He hadn’t slept well, but it felt like time to get up, so he did. After dressing and doing his morning ablutions in the dark, he went down stairs. First, he opened the shoji door to the kitchen garden to let the night air and the moonlight in. Looking around, he made sure that there was no one hiding in the garden. Then, he put on the kettle and the rice cooker.

 

As if it wasn’t a pressing issue, he climbed the garden wall to look for the ANBU on the outer wall. Yes, they were still there, at least on the section he could see.

 

Sasuke hopped back down, returned to the kitchen, sat down his back to the kitchen sink, and curled up like a shrimp. He hated Konoha. Maybe it was too early to get up, after all.

 

The polite squeaking of rodents from the garden let him know that he had visitors, so he straightened up and activated his Sharingan, so he could remember what he was told verbatim. They assured him that Gaara and his siblings were well, that the cells holding them and the facility itself could be easily broken, that Gaara made no reply to Sasuke’s message, and they shared with him what they had learned of the ANBU and the guard rotation so far.

 

“Sasuke-kun?” Sakura said, entering the kitchen.

 

“Sakura-chan,” Sasuke greeted her.

 

“I heard voices,” Sakura said.

 

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” Sasuke said apologetically.

 

“I was already awake,” she said, despite her pajamas and the sleepy tone of her voice. “Good morning.”

 

“Good morning,” the eight rodents greeted softly.

 

“What are you guys talking about?” Sakura asked.

 

“How to get past the ANBU on guard,” Sasuke said.

 

Sakura stood silently for a moment, but then she sat down with him against the cabinets.

 

“You shouldn’t leave yet,” Sakura said. “I know things are getting bad, but, if you stayed with us, then you could leave Konoha, at least the village part, legally. We’re going to be deployed to Suna soon, right? If you go with us at least that far, then you’ll be further away from here when you start running.”

 

“The simplest way to leave is always through the front door,” one of the rodents added.

 

“Exactly,” Sakura said. “Plus, there might be something else you want to do in Konoha. Leaving early means… Well, you lose the opportunity, don’t you?”

 

“Why would I want to stay in Konoha?”

 

“I don’t know, but something might come up. You hadn’t planned on helping Neji-kun or Tenzou-sensei when you decided to come back, but you did. Maybe you’ll find something else.”

 

“I can’t let my family die again.”

 

Sakura didn’t have anything to say to that, so Sasuke got up and made the tea, while the rodents investigated Sakura and requested petting.

 

“Would you like to stay for breakfast?” Sasuke asked the rodents.

 

“Oh, yes! That would be lovely. I can smell the rice cooking. Are you making a proper breakfast today?”

 

Sasuke hummed in the affirmative.

 

“I need to talk to my parents,” Sakura said, making no move to rise or to stop petting the rodents.

 

“Wait until curfew is over,” Sasuke said.

 

“I’m not a Tsuru.”

 

“You think the ANBU care?”

 

Sasuke assumed one egg for each dog, half an egg for each rodent, and two eggs for each human, did some quick math, scrambled twenty-six eggs with milk in a large bowl, and set them aside, before starting on the Tsuyu dressing for the hiyayakko.

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Sakura said, her voice small and weak. “I’m scared.”

 

Sasuke set the meal prep aside, grabbed a fruit knife from a drawer and an apple from the fruit bowl, and sat beside Sakura.

 

“We’ll just step into the garden,” one of the Rodents said. “It’s looking quite lush this year.”

 

Sasuke nodded to them in thanks.

 

“We could die in Suna or even here in Konoha,” Sakura said, as Sasuke started peeling the apple. He made a game of it to see if he could get the peel all off in one long strip. “I’d almost rather go to Suna than stay here, because things are getting pretty bad. Yesterday, I thought we were going to fight the Hokage. The actual Hokage!

“I was standing there thinking, ‘someone is going to start this fight and I’m going to have to join in, because, if I don’t, people are going to die, people I could have helped.’ There were a lot of us, but the Hokage and the people who came with him looked really strong. We’re ninja, too, but we’re new at this. People would have died. We could have died. And, even if we won, what happens after you’ve beaten the Hokage? What happens then? Who could take the Third’s place? Naruto-kun doesn’t want to be the Hokage anymore.” She giggled. “Taking Ikuyou-san out of jail, that was a big deal wasn’t it?”

 

Sasuke hummed.

 

“I don’t know what’s going to happen to you, if the Hokage finds out all your secrets, Sasuke-kun. I’m afraid for you. And for Naruto-kun. He won’t be smart about things, if something happens. He’ll get himself killed. Part of me wants to go my house and hide, to take you guys with me and just hide with my parents in their bedroom under the covers, like this is all a bad dream. I wish this weren’t happening. Why does it have to be like this? It’s not fair.”

 

“No, it’s not,” Sasuke agreed.

 

“I’m not going to let you two run off without me,” Sakura said. “You know that, right? We haven’t discussed it, but you know I’d never let you two get into trouble alone. We’re a team. You need me. And… And I need you.” Sakura took a deep breath. “Who do I marry?”

 

Sasuke broke the peel.

 

“You know the future, so you would know. You do know, don’t you. Do I get married?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Who do I marry then?”

 

“… Me,” Sasuke said, thinking gloomily of that twisted golem in Konoha’s attic. Sakura would be pleased, but only because she had no idea how worthless that other Sasuke was as a husband.

 

Sakura started crying.

 

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m crying!” Sakura said. “I’m not upset about it! Please, don’t take it the wrong way! I’m really happy!”

 

“It’s okay,” Sasuke said, fishing a packet of tissues out of his pocket to hand her. “Even if you aren’t.”

 

“I am!”

 

“Okay.”

 

Sasuke considered putting an arm around Sakura to comfort her, but he didn’t want her to get the wrong impression about his feelings.

 

“I just don’t know… if we can get there. I really want to marry you! I… I like you! You know that, don’t you? Of course you do. You saw us get married. You’ve known this whole time. God, that’s so embarrassing! So, yeah, I’m not sad about that. I just feel like it’s… impossible. Are we really going to make it through this? I just… I had no idea being a ninja was going to be like this. Why is it like this?! It’s absolutely crazy!”

 

“It’s going to get worse,” Sasuke whispered, his better judgement overruled by his desire to confide in his friend. He still cursed himself for it. What if Black Zetsu was listening?

 

“Yeah?” Sakura sniffed. “In what way? What could possibly be worse than this?”

 

“I can’t talk about it here.”

 

“You can talk about deserting Konoha, but not this? Who do you think might be listening?”

 

Sasuke set the knife in his lap, took Sakura’s hand, and gave her the peeled apple.

 

“Something worse.”

 

After a tense moment, Sakura gave a forced giggle.

 

“Ooh, don’t say something like that in the dark. It makes me think a demon is going to pop out,” she said, rising to her feet and taking a bite of the apple.

 

“I want fish,” Sakura said, going to the fridge. “What have you got? Hmm… Mackerel sounds good. I’ll marinate it. Oh, I should do extra, right? Okay, the salmon, too. I want to turn on the light, though. It’s too dark to cook in here.” Sakura flipped the light on and handed Sasuke back his tissue packet. Sasuke squinted in the light and the rodents returned from the garden.

 

“Can we have that peel?” one of the rodents requested. Sasuke handed the pieces to them, before standing.

 

“Who does Naruto-kun marry?” Sakura asked.

 

“Hinata-chan.”

 

“I knew it. She’s had a crush on him for as long as I’ve known her. Also, they just seem like they would make a cute couple.”

 

“Do they?” Sasuke asked, baffled.

 

“Absolutely. I guess guys don’t pick up on that kind of thing. What about Ino-chan?”

 

“Sai-kun.”

 

“No way! I can’t see him dating anyone! He’s just kind of messed up and quiet. I don’t want her to marry you, but I want her to find someone nice… Well, I guess he’s not ugly. What about Kakashi-sensei?”

 

“No one.”

 

“How sad.”

 

“If it’s his choice, it isn’t sad.”

 

“But you’re supposed to get married!”

 

“‘Supposed to’ doesn’t signify.”

 

“But what about how people look at you? If you don’t fit in, then people won’t treat you well.”

 

“Better to live as you see fit.”

 

“See, you can say that, because you’ve never been bullied. You don’t know what it’s like,” Sakura said. “Did we have kids?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“What are their names?”

 

“… Let it go. It’s your life. You have to write it your own story.”

 

“No!” Sakura said, slapping a hand on the counter suddenly. “No, I’m not going to let it go. I want that happy ending. If I’m writing my own story, then that’s what I’m going to write. I’m going to make sure we all survive, so we can have that future. I won’t let anything happen to it. I’m going to get strong enough to make it happen.”

 

“Train hard,” Sasuke said, as he got back to work on breakfast.

 

“I will! I’ll be the strongest kunoichi in Konoha. Or anywhere. Everywhere. Why not? No big deal! I’ll just be the strongest kunoichi in the world!”

 

“You will.”

 

Sakura laughed a bit too loudly, but she quickly covered her mouth.

 

“Aww,” Kakashi said, making Sasuke jump. “You say the sweetest things, Sasuke-kun!”

 

Sasuke blushed and rolled his eyes as Kakashi and Pakkun entered the room.

 

“How long have you been there?!” Sakura asked, giving voice to Sasuke’s own thoughts.

 

“Not long,” Kakashi said.

 

“He and the dog arrived right after you did, Sakura-san,” one of the Rodents said.

 

“And you didn’t bother to tell us?!” Sakura asked, turning beet red.

 

“You should work on your situational awareness,” the Rodent said cheekily.

 

“I agree,” Kakashi said. “Also, you should close that shoji, if you’re going to have the light on. Otherwise, bugs will swarm the kitchen.”

 

“Why were you spying on us?!” Sakura asked. “That’s creepy!”

 

“Because it’s fun,” Kakashi said unflappably.

 

“Shannaro…” She hissed under her breath, shaking a fist at him.

 

“Kakashi-sensei,” Sasuke said, closing the shoji door. “Tell her she can’t abandon her parents.”

 

“What?!” Sakura said.

 

“Why would you abandon your parents, Sakura-chan?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Because Sasuke-kun is a jerk who talks too much!” Sakura said, scowling.

 

“She wants to go with Naruto-kun and I,” Sasuke said.

 

“It’s too early for this,” Kakashi said, sprawling himself on a kitchen chair. “You can’t expect me to be your teacher before breakfast. Are you two packed?”

 

“No,” Sasuke said, thinking about all the personal effects that were now littered all over the house. He should have spoken to the others about that yesterday. He’d written a note about it, hadn’t he? He should have opened his diary yesterday afternoon.

 

“I would tell you to get packed, but, like I said, I haven’t eaten yet, so you’re just going to have to figure that one out on your own,” Kakashi said. “I’m not holding out much hope, though.”

 

“My go-bag is ready,” Sakura said. “Is it going to be today?”

 

“Probably,” Kakashi said. “We’ll be given a couple hours’ notice before we’re mobilized. Sakura-chan?”

 

“Yes, Kakashi-sensei?”

 

“You should sign a contract with a summon animal before we go,” Kakashi said. “How do you feel about dogs? Do you like dogs?”

 

“Everybody likes dogs,” Sakura said.

 

“My dogs are my personal summons, so they won’t contract with you, but… What do you think, Pakkun?”

 

“I know a pup who needs a good boss,” Pakkun said. “You interested, pup?”

 

“Yes!” Sakura said. “Yes, please! Can I meet them? Is it a boy puppy or a girl puppy? Do I need to buy puppy food? Are they housebroken?”

 

Pakkun snorted.

 

“They’re housebroken,” he said with amusement.

 

Sakura literally jumped for joy.

 

“I’m getting a dog!” she said excitedly. “My parents never let me have a dog before!”

 

“Then maybe you should abandon them, after all,” Kakashi said. “They sound like bad people.”

 

“Cat-lovers,” Pakkun said disdainfully.

 

“Ugh,” one of the rodents said, sneering in disgust. “The only things worse than dog-lovers.”

 

“Oh, no. I wasn’t allowed any pets; they damage furniture,” Sakura said. “But, if it’s for my career, then they’ll have to let me have one!”

 

“Nin-dogs aren’t pets,” Kakashi said.

 

“Don’t listen to him,” Pakkun said. “Make sure you buy your new puppy lots of treats, enough to share. The peanut butter ones are best.”

 

When breakfast was almost ready, Kakashi deigned to roust the rest of the household and everyone enjoyed a hearty, traditional breakfast together.

 

-

 

“Those tiny guys can really pack the grub away, huh?” Naruto said. “Hey, Sasuke-kun, since Kakshi-sensei has taken Sakura to get a summoning contract, help me get one, too! I don’t want to be the only one without a cool animal friend! I want to sign up with the Rodents!”

 

That was an excellent idea, actually. Sasuke should have thought of it before.

 

“It would be good if we could all escape to Shinku no Machi independently and it would aid communication,” Sasuke said. He took everyone to Shinku no Machi and explained the situation to Sayaka, who approved of his idea and brought out the official contract. After getting everyone signed up with the Rodents, the group spent the next couple hours cleaning and packing up Sasuke’s house and Naruto’s apartment.

 

“Hey! You’re back! Did you get a nin-dog?” Naruto asked upon seeing Sakura in the living room when they returned from Naruto’s apartment.

 

“Yeah!” Sakura said. “Here she is!” She pointed down at her lap, where a puppy lay.

 

“Hi! I’m Panpukin! Pleased to meet you!” the grey puppy said with a musical voice, wagging her tail so hard that it shook her entire hind end. Sasuke couldn’t help but smile at her.

 

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Sakura asked, clearly smitten with her new companion.

 

“She’s amazing, Sakura-chan!” Naruto said. Sasuke quite agreed. Panpukin was heart-meltingly cute.

 

“Let me pet you!” Toneri said, lowering himself to the floor. “I’ll be careful!”

 

“Yes, please!” Panpukin said.

 

“Wow, you’re so soft!” Toneri said. “The fur on your ears is the softest!”

 

“That tickles!” Panpukin said. She shook her head, causing her floppy ears to flail around her head.

 

“I need to speak to Ikuyou-san,” Sasuke announced. He’d checked his diary while Naruto was cleaning out his fridge, which had grown something Lovecraftian in it in the time he’d been living at Sasuke’s parents’ house.

 

“What about?” Kakashi asked.

 

“We’re leaving Konoha,” Sasuke said, bracing himself internally against Kakashi’s reaction. His teacher looked deeply unimpressed.

 

“We’re about two seconds away from being mobilized,” Kakashi said flatly.

 

“The Uchiha have no interest in killing the people of Suna.”

 

“Don’t be get smart with me. I’m not going to let you throw your life and Naruto-kun’s away like this.”

 

Sasuke clamped down on his knee-jerk, “You can’t stop me,” response, because he didn’t actually want to say something inflammatory. Instead, he just walked out the front door and headed to Ikuyou’s place. Kakashi followed.

 

Neji was the one to let Sasuke and Kakashi in.

 

“What’s up?” Neji asked.

 

“I need to speak to your aunt,” Sasuke said.

 

“She’s in a meeting right now,” Neji said. “They’ve been in there for a while. I don’t know how much longer it will be.”

 

“I’ll wait,” Sasuke said.

 

“Suit yourself. I’ll be in the back yard training, if you need something.”

 

Neji left them in the living room. Rather than talk to Kakashi, Sasuke tapped the side of his head to set some music playing and then used his chakra sense to scope out the house. Ikuyou’s office must have been on the ground floor, because Sasuke detected two chakra signatures inside a nearby room. He closed his eyes and practiced stretching and sharpening his chakra sense while Kakashi read.

 

Ikuyou and her guest, who turned out to be Inoichi, emerged from the room and Sasuke stood to greet them.

 

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Ikuyou asked.

 

“I’ve come on clan business,” Sasuke said vaguely.

 

“Very well,” Ikuyou said. “Good day, Inoichi-san.”

 

“I think Inoichi-san might want to stick around for this,” Kakashi said.

 

“Why would he?” Sasuke asked, cutting Kakashi a narrow-eyed look.

 

“Because he might be able to talk some sense into you,” Kakashi said.

 

“Ah,” Inoichi said. “I was afraid something like this might happen, what with everything going on.” Ikuyou raised an eyebrow at him. “You’ll see.”

 

“Well,” Ikuyou said, “Please come in then.” Ikuyou’s office was well ordered and large. Sasuke took a chair and brushed the genjutsu from his brain. “You know, Sasuke-kun, I’m curious,” Ikuyou said. “What is that genjutsu? You seem to put yourself under it frequently. I even see you under it while you’re training sometimes.”

 

“Music,” Sasuke said.

 

“Music. What an innocent use for that technique,” Ikuyou said. “I don’t think I’ve ever used it for anything so pleasant. Hiashi-san said to say thanks for giving us a place to stay, by the way.”

 

“Ah,” Sasuke said, uncertain how to respond. He felt awkward about doing this in front of Inoichi, but there was nothing for it. Time was running out and the Tsuru needed every second of it to make their decision. “Ikuyou-san, the political situation is becoming unstable. The last time that happened, Konoha had the Uchiha massacred. My clan is leaving Konoha. Would the Tsuru like to accompany us?”

 

“So, it wasn’t really Itachi?” Ikuyou asked, staring at Sasuke wide-eyed.

 

“It was,” Sasuke said. “It wasn’t him alone, but he participated and he remains loyal to Konoha even now, while imbedded with Akatsuki.”

 

“Loyalty to the Hokage and loyalty to Konoha are two separate things,” Inoichi said. “What your brother did might have demonstrated loyalty to the former, but only by forsaking the latter.”

 

“He believes he saved Konoha,” Sasuke said. “He thought that the Uchiha trying to overthrow the Hokage would lead to Konoha being completely destroyed by the other hidden villages.”

 

“The Uchiha were…?” Ikuyou said.

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“That sounds like a bit of a logical leap to me,” Inoichi said. “Regardless of how any potential coup might have happened, it doesn’t necessarily follow that there would be war with other hidden villages or that we would lose such a war. And stopping a coup doesn’t really require annihilating an entire clan. And, regardless of his feeling, he made Konoha weaker by killing so many of our people, which certainly does make us more likely to be invaded. Without the near absence of the Uchiha, Suna may not have had the confidence to launch their recent attack upon us.”

 

“He’s deluded,” Sasuke agreed.

 

“Certainly. But, if he really does still believe in Konoha, it may be possible to reason with him,” Inoichi said. “Can you tell me how to contact him?”

 

“… He’ll visit the village soon,” Sasuke said. “You just need to watch for him.”

 

“That might be difficult, since we’re going to be deployed shortly,” Inoichi said. “Could you relay a message to him for me?”

 

“We aren’t in communication,” Sasuke said, mouth thinning.

 

“A wise policy. Is there a more direct way for me to approach him?” Inoichi asked. Sasuke thought about it.

 

“Crows are his summon animal,” Sasuke said. “They might be persuaded to carry a message for you.”

 

“I see. Thank you,” Inoichi said. “Do you know where he’s living now?”

 

“He’s itinerant. He lives where ever his work sends him,” Sasuke said. “Akatsuki’s base is probably near Ame and you could, theoretically, speak to the leaders of Ame to get an audience with Itachi, but they’d almost certainly just kill you.”

 

“Apart from the Chuunin Exams, Ame has been rather unfriendly in recent years,” Inoichi said.

 

“What does Ame have to do with Akatsuki?” Kakashi asked.

 

“They’re led by the same people,” Sasuke said.

 

“Hanzou is the leader of Akatsuki?!” Kakashi asked.

 

“Hanzou is dead,” Sasuke said. “Nagato and Konan killed him years ago.”

 

“Who are they?” Inoichi asked.

 

“Former students of Jiraiya, orphans from Ame, and Kage-level ninjas,” Sasuke said.

 

“All that, huh?” Inoichi said, with a worried smile. “And Akatsuki participated in the Uchiha Massacre, isn’t that right?” Sasuke nodded.

 

“Tobi of Akatsuki took part in the killings,” Sasuke said. “To return to the topic, Itachi and Konoha remain a threat.”

 

“Itachi and the Hokage’s government, perhaps,” Inoichi said. “Please don’t think that the rest of us condone what has been done in our name.”

 

“Regardless,” Sasuke pressed.

 

“No, the distinction is well made,” Ikuyou said thoughtfully. “Inoichi-san, the Tsuru agree.”

 

Sasuke’s brow knit in confusion.

 

“I’m glad to hear it,” Inoichi said.

 

“What are the Tsuru agreeing to?” Sasuke asked Ikuyou.

 

“Assistance in purchasing land for the establishment of the Tsuru Compound,” Ikuyou said briskly. That made sense. The Tsuru were already working with the Ino-Shika-Chou to that end. It was the talk of the quarter. They must be getting even more help now.

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Ikuyou said. “I appreciate your concern and I share it, but the Tsuru will not run. Konoha is our home.”

 

“You’ll all die,” Sasuke said, fighting the muscles of his face to keep them from pulling into a rictus of horror. “Itachi doesn’t even have any particular attachment to the Tsuru. They already killed one clan.”

 

“Then, it’s up to us to stop them,” Ikuyou said. “Konoha is our home, so we have a duty to defend it. It’s your home, too. The Uchiha founded Konoha alongside the Senju.”

 

“My duty is to my clan,” Sasuke said. “Konoha lost any claim it had on us when it purged us.”

 

“What about the claim of friendship and comradery?” Ikuyou said. “We haven’t all abandoned the Uchiha. We may not have treated you as we should have in the aftermath, but the Tsuru will do everything in our power to make up for that going forward. We owe the Uchiha so much, how could we do otherwise?”

 

“Ikuyou-san, please consider things carefully. When the ninjas of your clan have been deployed, who will protect those who remain?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Not all of Konohas ninjas will be sent off to war, even if the Hokage sends all of the Tsuru. Some people will remain to protect the village,” Kakashi pointed out.

 

“The Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi will send people to guard the Tsuru, if every Tsuru ninja is actually deployed,” Inoichi said. “We are comrades, after all.”

 

“That won’t be enough to protect you all,” Sasuke said to Ikuyou.

 

“If the Hokage decides to kill us, then we’ll go down fighting,” Ikuyou said.

 

“But you will go down,” Sasuke said with some frustration.

 

“Konoha is safer than the wide world, Sasuke-kun,” Ikuyou said, her voice soft and gentle. “Possessing doujutsu makes both of our clans particularly tempting targets. Your brother might be able to survive out there on his own, but you and I aren’t on his level. We also have people who we have to protect.”

 

Sasuke understood that, be he’d rather take his chances somewhere that hadn’t already proven to be a deathtrap.

 

“… I wish you luck,” Sasuke said gravely, before rising to leave. “If you change your mind before we’re gone, we can help each other.”

 

“Sasuke-kun,” Inoichi said. “Why did your brother spare you and the others?”

 

“What?!” Sasuke asked angrily. So, Inoichi assumed that Hikari and Toneri were Uchihas, too. Was everyone thinking the same thing? Sasuke clenched his fists briefly. “He didn’t spare anyone but me. He didn’t know anyone else had slipped the net.”

 

“I see. Well, we know that he’s been returning to Konoha every six months and that he’s been watching you,” Inoichi said.

 

Sasuke looked at Kakashi, who must have been the one to tell. Not that Sasuke particularly cared who knew about Itachi’s movements. Still, Sasuke hadn’t expected Kakashi to say anything and certainly not to Inoichi. Were the two even close? Did everyone know now?

 

“Your brother is quite attached to you, despite everything,” Inoichi said. “He must love you quite a lot to have left you alive, when he was ordered to kill everyone.”

 

“Obsession isn’t love,” Sasuke snapped, wishing he could shout. “You don’t torture someone you love.”

 

“He tortured you?!” Kakashi asked, looking and sounding shocked, for some reason. “That wasn’t in your statement!”

 

“A lot things weren’t in my statement.”

 

“But he kept your picture in his locker!”

 

“That’s creepy. I didn’t need to know that.”

 

Did Itachi still have that picture? Was he carrying it around with him even now, taking it out and staring at Sasuke’s younger face? The hair rose on the back of Sasuke’s neck.

 

“It was cute! It had the two of you… I can’t believe he tortured you!”

 

“I was unconscious for days. What did you think happened?”

 

“Your chart said it was from the shock of seeing your family die.”

 

“You read my medical records?”

 

Kakashi shrugged and Sasuke turned his head sharply away in frustration. What a weirdo. Sasuke’s teacher was a complete freak.

 

“You knew that he participated in the massacre of my clan, but him torturing me personally is too much for you?” Sasuke asked. “Were you actually holding out hope that he was secretly a good guy all along?! Well, he’s not! He’s the Hokage’s dog and he’ll rip the throat out of anyone he’s pointed at! Including you!”

 

“What did he do to you?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Kakashi-kun…” Inoichi said quietly.

 

“How did he hurt you?” Kakashi pressed.

 

“He made me watch!” Sasuke screamed, stepping into Kakashi’s space, before realizing that he was behaving inappropriately. Kakashi looked absolutely horrified. Sasuke stepped away and put his back to Kakashi, while struggling to get his shaking breaths to stop thundering in his ears. The others sat there in agonizing silence, while Sasuke turned the volume down on his emotions. When he was relaxed again, he continued numbly. “He made me watch everyone die repeatedly. It wasn’t the truth, merely an illusion, so I would accept his story. There’s a technique, Tsukuyomi. It’s a genjutsu with a time dilation effect. It can turn one second into twenty-four hours. Or longer, if the user chooses.”

 

As time stretched on without a response, Sasuke looked towards the door and wondered if he could simply leave without being rude.

 

“Sasuke-kun, I’m so sorry,” Inoichi said, sounding shell-shocked.

 

“You didn’t know,” Sasuke said.

 

“I didn’t ask,” Inoichi said. “I’m sorry, Sasuke-kun, but I need to know: did he leave you alive purely so you could testify that it was him or was there something else?”

 

“Why does it matter?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Because he’s been watching you, Sasuke-kun,” Inoichi said slowly, like he was trying to avoid spooking Sasuke. “He’s been watching you all this time. If your only job was to pin all the blame on him, then he wouldn’t have any incentive to keep watching you. You said he’s obsessed with you.”

 

“He’s making sure that I’m training,” Sasuke said, turning to face the room again.

 

“Training for what?” Inoichi asked.

 

“It’s the ‘The Red Oni who Cried’ story. He wants a beautiful death on the battlefield and the cleansing of the last unworthy Uchiha by the only good one. Then, the clan name can rise from the ashes of ignominy and sin to serve Konoha forever more.”

 

“How horrible,” Inoichi said. “How cruel.”

 

“Deranged,” Ikuyou said.

 

Sasuke quite agreed.

 

“What will he do when he finds out that you don’t intend to kill him?” Inoichi asked. “You don’t, do you? Despite everything…” Sasuke’s mouth tightened as Inoichi identified that weak point.

 

“It doesn’t matter,” Sasuke said. “We’ll be long gone before he figures it out.”

 

“You think the Hokage won’t tell him that you’ve become a missing-nin?” Inoichi asked.

 

“He’ll probably assume I’m trying to find him, or training to beat him, or whatever,” Sasuke said.

 

“Why would he think that, Sasuke-kun?” Inoichi said.

 

“He thinks I’m obsessed with him, too,” Sasuke said. Inoichi sighed.

 

“But you’re not. You’re the Head of the Uchiha. You’ve got your clanmates to think of,” Inoichi said kindly. “He’ll be able to see that, too. Sasuke-kun, if Itachi weren’t in possession of the Sharingan, I’d say that you probably could just slip away in the night, but he is. No matter how you try to conceal yourself, he’ll be able to identify you.”

 

“He’ll have to catch me first.”

 

“He will,” Inoichi said. “I’m sorry, Sasuke-kun. He’s waited all this time for something that he’s decided only you can give him. He’s not going to give up so easily. He thinks he’s saving his clan. That’s what you said, right? He killed everyone, so you could start over, so you would make the Uchiha what Itachi wanted them to be. If you don’t save the Uchiha in the way he imagines, I don’t think he’s going to accept it, do you? If he catches you running away with the survivors, instead of following his plan-.”

 

“Don’t,” Sasuke said. “Don’t say it.” Sasuke couldn’t even think it.

 

“Alright,” Inoichi said. “Alright.”

 

“What if you just didn’t come back?” Kakashi asked suddenly. “He wouldn’t be able to find you so easily, if you weren’t in Konoha. We could keep taking away-missions without returning home. I could say we were traveling as part of Team Seven’s training, too. We could go anywhere you wanted. You could stay out of the Bingo Book and, for all Itachi-kun knows, you’d still be preparing to challenge him.”

 

“Until Itachi’s dead?” Sasuke asked sardonically.

 

“Until he’s apprehended,” Inoichi said. “He should be made to answer for what he’s done. There is no one whose testimony is more valuable to Konoha than his.”

 

Sasuke wanted to snarl at this offense. Why did Itachi’s words mean more than his? Instead, he sighed and thought seriously about the proposal.

 

He needed to operate in the elemental nations at least until he could kill Black Zetsu and defang Nagato. Because of how manipulative Black Zetsu was, Sasuke found it very unlikely that Tobi had any real understanding of how Rinnegan were formed, so, once the only pair in existence were destroyed, Tobi wouldn’t come after Sasuke. Remaining part of Konoha, even in name only, chaffed, but it didn’t sound like it would impede his goals or endanger his people. It would also allow Sakura and Naruto to stay in contact with the people they loved in Konoha, too. The only snag was the war in Suna.

 

“I’m not going to kill people for Konoha,” Sasuke said. “Not even in Suna.”

 

“That’s fine,” Kakashi said. “We’ll figure it out.”

 

-

 

In Shinku no Machi, Kakashi surveyed the household as Sasuke explained what had been discussed in Ikuyou’s study. There were a lot of kids that needed Kakashi’s protection. If Itachi came back to give Sasuke more motivation to seek revenge, Kakashi wasn’t at all sure that he would be able to keep everyone safe. He needed to solicit help. Unfortunately, Tenzou would be doing who knows what until the war was over and Kakashi and Gai might not be able to coordinate, either, depending on where he was deployed. Kakashi would need to reach out more broadly.

 

“It’s technically different, but we’re still leaving and never coming back,” Sasuke said, a small, but excited smile playing about his blushing face. “If we want to drop off the map later, we will.”

 

That absolutely hadn’t been discussed, but Kakashi let it pass. He had only just convinced Sasuke to remain part of Konoha and didn’t want to push his luck.

 

“I only got to meet Hinata-hime once,” Toneri grumbled. Hikari patted him on the back. What was that about? Was Hinata famous in that pocket dimension Toneri was from?

 

“So, what’s next? Are we still breaking Gaara-kun out?” Hikari asked.

 

“Huh?” Kakashi said, blinking at Hikari.

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said, still smiling.

 

“No,” Kakashi said sternly.

 

“But he’s our friend now!” Naruto insisted.

 

“He can’t stay here,” Sasuke said. “Itachi and his partner will arrive soon to kidnap Naruto-kun.”

 

“What?!” Naruto shrieked. “Why?!”

 

Sasuke pinched his chin in thought and stared at the floor for a moment.

 

“Akatsuki is trying to revive a dead goddess who seeks to devour all life in the world,” Sasuke said blandly. “To that end, they need to reconstitute her from her scattered pieces, the Tailed Beasts. Akatsuki’s mission is to capture all the jinchuuriki, extract their respective Tailed Beasts, return them to the goddess’s corpse, and seal the reformed Ten Tails into a new jinchuuriki, from whom the goddess, Kaguya, will emerge and kill everyone everywhere at the same time.”

 

Kakashi squinted at Sasuke. Had he just made that up?

 

“What nonsense!” Sakura said, waving her hands dismissively. “Are they crazy?”

 

“It’s real,” Sasuke said.

 

“Which part?” Kakashi said.

 

“All of it,” Sasuke said.

 

“No, I mean…” Kakashi trailed off. “Goddesses and Ten Tails!”

 

“It’s real,” Sasuke repeated. “They’re real.”

 

“Kakashi-sensei…” Naruto said helplessly.

 

“They can’t actually do that, can they?!” Kakashi asked, beginning to sweat. “They’re trying to destroy the world?!”

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said.

 

Akatsuki had just jumped to the top of Kakashi’s priority list, ahead of the coup and the war in Suna. He needed to talk to the others about this urgently.

 

“So, they’re a doomsday cult,” Tsuchi said speculatively.

 

“Most of Akatsuki’s members are in the dark, actually,” Sasuke said. “They think they’ll just be conquering the world with the Ten Tails as their slave.”

 

“Makes sense,” Tsuchi said.

 

“Does it?!” Sakura shouted. “Because I don’t get it at all!”

 

“Yeah! That’s nuts!” Naruto shouted.

 

“Wait, are you a jinchuuriki?!” Tsuchi asked Naruto.

 

“Yeah,” Naruto said. “People act like it’s so bad, but I’m not some monster, okay? Get over it!”

 

“Uh, yeah,” Tsuchi said nervously.

 

“Anyway, when they arrive and find Naruto-kun has left, but Gaara-kun is here, there’s no reason I can think of for them not to take him instead,” Sasuke said.

 

“Is that what happened in the story?” Naruto asked.

 

“No, they targeted you,” Sasuke said. “But you’ll be in Suna this time, instead of only one village over.”

 

“So, what happened to me?” Naruto asked. “Did I get captured and have the Nine Tails taken out of me?”

 

“Jiraiya ran them off,” Sasuke said, shaking his head. “It was a half-hearted attempt anyway. Akatsuki doesn’t start seriously trying to capture the jinchuuriki until three years from now.”

 

“Why the delay?” Sakura asked.

 

“I don’t know,” Sasuke said. “What I’ve just told you is top secret. If Akatsuki finds out anyone knows about their aims, they may start to move early.”

 

“We should collect all the jinchuuriki before they can,” Tsuchi said nervously. “Jinchuuriki are strong, right? Well, not Naruto-kun, but most of them, right?”

 

“Hey!” Naruto said.

 

“They could help us fight off Akatsuki,” Tsuchi continued.

 

“And each one would make us a bigger target for Akatsuki,” Sakura said snidely.

 

“We’re already a target, aren’t we?” Tsuchi said, glaring at Sakura. “I mean, we aren’t going to ditch Naruto-kun, are we? Even if we did, if Akatsuki gets what they want, then we’re all dead anyway. Since we can’t run away, we have to kill them. Since there’s only going to be two of them coming to look for Naruto-kun, I say we take those guys out first and then pick the rest off when we can.”

 

That sounded reasonable to Kakashi, so long as you didn’t think about the fact that one of those two people was Itachi and that anyone Itachi would consider a partner was probably not much easier to defeat.

 

“Who should we be expecting?” Kakashi asked.

 

“It’s Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. Kisame is called the ‘Tailless Tailed Beast,’ because he has that much chakra. He summons Sharks, has a masterful command of Water Release Techniques, and he has a sentient sword that eats chakra and can merge with him to either conceal him within itself or transform him into a shark monster. He’s tough, and then there’s Itachi.

 

“He’s incredibly skilled at genjutsu, summons Crows, and possesses a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan, so he can command a wide range of my clan’s techniques, including unquenchable flames, massive chakra constructs that serve as both weapons and armor, and a nearly unbreakable genjutsu that can break your mind.”

 

That wasn’t good news. Kakashi didn’t remember Itachi using anything as terrible as unquenchable flame the last time they were on the same side. Itachi must have learned a thing or two since then.

 

Tsuchi, Sakura, and Naruto winced simultaneously.

 

“I don’t want to fight those guys. Let’s just get Gaara-kun and go,” Sakura said gloomily.

 

“He may wish to bring his siblings, too,” Sasuke said.

 

“Are they going to join us, too?” Naruto asked enthusiastically. “Ooh! I’ll ask them!”

 

“Shouldn’t we kill the Akatsuki people, though?” Toneri asked.

 

“That’s going to be difficult, Toneri-kun,” Kakashi said. “Remember what Sasuke-kun said about how strong they were?”

 

“I don’t want Itachi to be killed,” Sasuke said.

 

“But he killed your clan,” Toneri said, frowning.

 

“His death isn’t going to make that better, not for me,” Sasuke said.

 

“Well, what about that Kisame?” Toneri asked. “Would you be upset if we killed him?” Kakashi laughed darkly. These kids were all crazy.

 

“No,” Sasuke said.

 

“Well, we do need deal with Akatsuki eventually,” Hikari said. “Might as well start with the fish-man.”

 

“What did I just say to Toneri-kun?” Kakashi asked with mild exasperation.

 

Hikari rolled her eyes.

 

“He’s just a Hoshigaki,” she said.

 

“He shrugs off genjutsu like Sakura-chan does, including the Sharingan’s basic genjutsu,” Sasuke warned her.

 

“Hmm,” Hikari said, frowning in thought.

 

“Next,” Sasuke said, looking at his diary. “I need to make a contract with the Hawks. We need more flexibility in our travel arrangements.”

 

“I could just pick up more bird puppets,” Toneri said. Sasuke nodded.

 

“Good thinking. If we have the opportunity,” Sasuke said.

 

“It’s no trouble,” Toneri said. “I’ll just send my puppets out now and they can meet up with us later, maybe back here. Just send a rodent with them.”

 

“Do it,” Sasuke said, handing Hikari his diary and summoning two Rodents and a Warbling White-Eye to discuss the matter with them. One Rodent left Shinku no Machi with Toneri’s puppets and the remaining animals both went to see who had the contact information Sasuke needed.

 

“Well, this one’s moot,” Hikari said, looking at his notes. “We’re just going to go with Konoha to Suna, so we don’t need to make a big escape plan. Getting Gaara-kun and his siblings out is still an issue, though.”

 

Sasuke told the group what the Rodents had gleaned from casing the jail overnight.

 

“Why don’t we break Gaara-kun out after you’ve deployed? Between me and the Rodents, I think we could get in and out easily enough. No one will suspect you if you’re already gone when they escape,” Hikari said.

 

“I want to help,” Toneri said cheerfully. “I haven’t met our newest member yet.”

 

“Please don’t do anything reckless. You’re going to get yourselves hurt. Let me handle it,” Kakashi said, already making plans. It had been a while since he’d set himself a challenge like that. He needed to knock the cobwebs off.

 

“Will you be alright by yourself?” Sasuke asked, with a little crease between his brows.

 

“Is my little student worried about me?” Kakashi teased and got a flat look in answer.

 

“Well, I’m worried,” Naruto said. “Do you really think you can handle it, Kakashi-sensei?”

 

Kakashi frowned. Why was he always being underestimated?

 

“Sasuke-kun, this morning you mentioned, ‘something worse,’” Sakura said. “Did you mean Akatsuki?”

 

“It’s one of their members, Black Zetsu,” Sasuke said. “He’s an ancient demon that can spy on others undetectably.”

 

“A demon?!” Naruto exclaimed.

 

“No way! I was just joking when I said that! Ugh! How creepy! Well, just because he can spy on us doesn’t mean he will,” Sakura said. “He’s probably got better things to do, right?... Right?”

 

Sasuke was worrying silent.

 

“What’s going on, Sasuke-kun?” Kakashi asked.

 

“He’s an enemy of the Uchiha,” Hikari said.

 

Another one?! Why were there so many of them?!

 

“Uchiha drama,” Naruto said, shaking his head disapprovingly.

 

“When do we have to worry about him attacking you?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Not yet,” Sasuke explained. “But Uchiha are his preferred slaves.”

 

“What does that mean?!” Naruto cried.

 

“He put a curse on the clan founder, which was passed down to all of his descendants,” Sasuke said.

 

“The Curse of Hatred,” Kakashi realized. “That’s real?”

 

“You’ve heard of it?” Hikari said.

 

“Well, I haven’t,” Naruto said. “What is it?”

 

“I thought it was a piece of anti-Uchiha propaganda,” Kakashi said. “You only hear people who hate the Uchiha talk about it.”

 

“It’s real,” Sasuke said. “It changes us, makes us more like Black Zetsu, and allows him to lead us by the nose.” Sasuke pursed his lips. “If you’re going to be traveling with Hikari-chan and I, you’ll need to be careful. If we start to change, you’ll have to protect yourselves.”

 

“Did that happen in the story?” Naruto asked anxiously.

 

“It happened to me,” Sasuke said. The blankness of his look told Kakashi that Sasuke was hiding something. Had it happened to Hikari, too? Was it traumatic to recall? Or was it something else?

 

“What happened?!” Naruto asked. “What did the curse do to you?!”

 

“I lost my depth,” Sasuke said.

 

“Huh?” Naruto said. “What does that mean?”

 

“I became increasingly single-minded and simple minded. I was like a hungry demon, but my one focus wasn’t eating. The curse also aids Black Zetsu in breaking our bonds to others. We’re easier to manipulate when we’re isolated. The change happened over several years with me, but it can be instantaneous. If either of us change, you can’t ever let your guard down around us. We might try to kill you, so you should leave us. I was psychotic, before the curse was finally broken.”

 

“How do we break it?” Naruto demanded fiercely.

 

“We kill that damned demon is how!” Sakura snarled, looking just as ready to throw down as Naruto was. Naruto punched the palm of his hand and nodded.

 

“We do have to kill him at some point; he’s the driving force behind Kaguya’s revival,” Sasuke said. “But we have to be careful; if he escapes, he’ll win. He’s unaging and can be undetectable, so he can go to ground and wait another thousand years, if he has to. He can outlast us.”

 

“So, he can’t know that we know about him at all,” Sakura said.

 

“Okay, okay, but how can we snap you out of it, if you get cursed?” Naruto asked.

 

“We’re already cursed. It’s latent within us,” Sasuke said. “For me, it was broken by your dedication and empathy.”

 

“Me?” Naruto asked.

 

“You remained my friend and refused to kill me, even when I tried to kill you. It summoned my own empathy for you. Reminding us of old bonds and who we used to be can help. Illuminating how our change is artificial can help, too.”

 

“Then why in the hell would you tell us to abandon you, you colossal idiot?!” Naruto shouted, grabbing Sasuke by the collar. “That’s exactly the opposite of what we have to do, so why would we ever do that?!”

 

“We become dangerous,” Sasuke said softly, laying a hand on top of Naruto’s comfortingly.

 

“I don’t give a damn!” Naruto shouted. “You’re my friend, you moron!”

 

“Our morals erode,” Hikari said. “It’s unpleasant to watch. We still think we’re doing the right thing, but we’ve lost touch with reality. In my generation, one man fell to the curse and was cast out. He probably walked right into Black Zetsu’s hands, now that I think about it. It’s too bad. He was kind. Before the change, I mean.”

 

“Why did you let Black Zetsu take your people?!” Naruto asked judgmentally. “I’d never let that happen to you guys!”

 

“No one knew about Black Zetsu,” Hikari said defensively. “He’d didn’t come up and introduce himself. ‘Hey, I’m here to stalk and kidnap you guys!’”

 

“In the story, Black Zetsu’s nature wasn’t revealed until almost the end,” Sasuke said. “Apart from Black Zetsu himself, no one except us, the Rodents, and the Warbling White-Eyes knows what he is and what he’s really after. No one else in Akatsuki even knows Kaguya’s name. He’s manipulated and deceived everyone from the shadows for a thousand years.”

 

“So, he’s not going to be easy to deal with,” Kakashi murmured. Yeah, he really needed to bring this up with the guys.

 

“True,” Sakura said. “We should come up with a codename for this demon, so we can refer to him without alerting him.”

 

“Venom,” Sasuke said in his otherworldly language. There was a playful little twinkle in his eye. Kakashi had never seen it there before.

 

“That’s a weird name,” Naruto said. “What does it mean?” Sasuke translated it for them.

 

“It’s from a story in my previous world,” he explained. “’Venom’ is a parasite, who can possess their host like a ghost and use their body to hunt others for food, while making their host exceptionally strong, durable, and fast healing. They’re a terrifying monster and they look like Black Zetsu.”

 

“What do they look like then?” Sakura asked. “Can you describe them?”

 

“Black Zetsu looks like this,” Sasuke said, before transforming himself into the same smooth, boneless, black creature he’d transformed into during the fight with Oto and Suna. This time, however, his eyes weren’t Sharingans, but yellow disks, and his mouth was bent into a bizarre smile. It looked like something a child might have drawn.

 

“You used that form during the fight!” Naruto said. Then, he crossed his arms and examined Sasuke carefully. “You were pretty strong in that shape. To catch people, you just had to touch them.”

 

“He can paralyze you with a touch,” Sasuke said. “And take direct control over your body.”

 

“Why are none of the people we have to fight weak?” Naruto asked in frustration.

 

“If they were weak, then we wouldn’t have to fight them,” Kakashi said, examining Sasuke’s oddly articulating fingers.

 

“Venom looks like this,” Sasuke said, before transforming again.

 

“Huh,” Naruto said. “That’s just a stringy puddle. Kinda wiggling around. At least the other one was people shaped.”

 

The puddle of Sasuke extended a tendril towards Naruto.

 

“You’ve got a little finger sticking out now,” Naruto said. “You look so weird. Black Zetsu is much creepier. That’s not scary at all, actually. Turns out Venom is just a puddle. Who would be scared of a puddle? You, huh? You’re kind of easily frightened, huh, Sasuke?” Naruto flicked a disdainful finger at Sasuke’s tendril.

 

The puddle that was Sasuke pounced. Naruto jerked and twitched as Sasuke passed through his skin like something out of nightmares, while Naruto could do nothing, but make choking noises. Kakashi leapt forward to grab hold of his seated student. What the hell was going on?!

 

“Naruto-kun!” Sakura screamed.

 

As quickly as it began, whatever internal struggle there had been was over. Naruto, his face going smooth and unbothered, straightened up and patted Kakashi’s hands to get him to let go.

 

“I think it’s pretty scary,” Naruto said placidly.

 

“Naruto-kun?” Sakura said frightfully. “Where did Sasuke-kun go?”

 

“I’m here,” Sasuke said with Naruto’s mouth. “You’re familiar with the Mind Body Switch Technique. This is like that, except I can also do this.”

 

Sasuke oozed out of Naruto’s pores, coating him in Sasuke’s dark, viscous body, making him grow by a foot and bulk up like a body builder. Perhaps most striking for Kakashi was the change to Naruto’s face. Kakashi locked his jaw against his fear as he stared into a mouth that contained more teeth than even a crocodile would reasonably be allowed to have. Sasuke laughed faintly.

 

“And I can do this,” he said with a deep, reverberating voice, before retracting himself inside Naruto.

 

“Oh, my God, guys!” Naruto screamed, pulling at Sasuke’s disappearing tendrils fruitlessly. “Get him out! Get him out! Get him out! I thought I was going to die! I almost wet myself! Sasuke, you bastard, I’m going to punch you to death! I’m going to beat you to a pulp! I’m going to-!” Then, Naruto screamed shrilly.

 

This was because Sasuke had just stuck a gooey head out of Naruto’s chest and started grinning at him.

 

“That’s a lot of teeth,” Kakashi murmured.

 

“Now I look like Black Zetsu, right?” The inhuman face said, as Naruto yanked at him. Sasuke was pulled out entirely, before being flung into the distance to land in the dirt, where Kakashi watched him with wide, wary eyes. Sasuke canceled the transformation and picked himself up from the ground to find everyone watching him.

 

Then, he raised his hand to smother a laugh. Seeing this, Naruto turned red and charged him, screaming in rage. Sasuke then learned that it is very hard to fight effectively when you can’t stop laughing. Kakashi kind of wanted to smack him, too, just once. That had been freaky to watch.

 

“You’re in a good mood,” Kakashi said, once Naruto had won the brawl.

 

“It’s today, right?” Sasuke said, grinning as he healed his bruised jaw. “I’m almost free. We’re going to get out and see the world.”

 

“We’re going to Suna,” Kakashi reminded him, heart aching in his chest as he took in the rarity of Sasuke smiling.

 

“And I’m never coming back,” Sasuke said warmly, his smile growing a fraction brighter.

 

“And we’re going with you,” Sakura said, blushing as she watched Sasuke. The boy’s smile must have been contagious, because Sakura had certainly caught it.

 

“Sasuke-kun, how did you do that?” Kakashi asked.

 

“It’s just the Transformation Technique,” Sasuke said.

 

“No, it’s not,” Kakashi said. “Explain how you were able to do that to Naruto-kun. What technique was that?”

 

Sasuke stared into the distance thoughtfully, his smile slipping away.

 

“I just knew what Venom was like and became them,” Sasuke said.

 

“You imagined a monster from your previous world so clearly that you were able to become it,” Kakashi said.

 

“No, Venom is a fictional character,” Sasuke said. Kakashi’s jaw dropped.

 

“Oh, good!” Sakura said. “I was going to say, I don’t ever want to see what your last world was like, if you had things like Venom running around.”

 

“I know, right?” Naruto said.

 

“You weren’t even copying something real?” Kakashi asked, amazed. “You couldn’t have understood how it worked, because it wasn’t even real to begin with?”

 

“No, but… Is that so strange?” Sasuke said thoughtfully.

 

“I should say so,” Kakashi said. “All those monsters you’ve turned into…” Why hadn’t Kakashi noticed how unlikely that ability was before?

 

“But Sakura turned into a weapon in the fight against Zabuza,” Sasuke said.

 

“Why is that weird?” Sakura asked. “At least the Fuuma Shuriken is real. I can understand it, because I can hold it in my hand. That’s how I knew what it should look like when I transformed into it.”

 

Sasuke considered this silently for a moment.

 

“Comprehension doesn’t depend on the subject’s factuality,” he said at last. “And the transformation technique doesn’t depend on comprehension in the first place. What do you know about blacksmithing or iron’s electron shells?”

 

“Electron shells?” Naruto echoed. Kakashi didn’t understand it, either. What kind of mollusk was an “electron” and what did their shells have to do with iron? Kakashi had heard that bones were sometimes used in steelmaking. Maybe iron was needed shells in the same way.

 

“Even if you knew enough about the Fuuma Shuriken to fill a book, Sakura-chan, your understanding would still be incomplete,” Sasuke said.

 

“What does that mean?” Naruto asked. “If Sakura-chan knows enough to write a book about it, I’d say she knows more than enough to copy it.”

 

“But that’s it, isn’t it?” Sakura said, holding her chin thoughtfully. “It doesn’t take very much knowledge of something to transform into a good copy of it! We don’t rely on our understanding of the thing or whether what we’re trying to transform into is even real! We can make things up! We do, actually! Every time we try to transform into someone and get the details wrong, we’re inventing a new image!” Sakura said, brow furrowing in concentration as she picked at the problem.

 

“It’s not just the image,” Sasuke said. “When you transformed into a Fuuma Shuriken, you took on its essential characteristics, like reflectivity, density, aerodynamicity, and so on.”

 

“What’s ‘aerodynamicity?’” Naruto asked.

 

“The degree to which its shape facilitates its motion through the air by reducing drag,” Sasuke said. “Its narrowness and smoothness, basically.”

 

“There was detail in the outcome of my transformation that I didn’t intentionally include,” Sakura said. “So, what made it work? What does the transformation technique depend on? Visualization? Imagination? How does it work, Kakashi-sensei?”

 

“Don’t look at me,” Kakashi said. He hadn’t ever thought this deeply about one of the Academy Three before. Who would have thought that an E-rank ninjutsu could provoke such questions? “I’m not convinced that this isn’t something different. Maybe the Transformation Technique isn’t really at the heart of this. Maybe it’s just that Sasuke-kun is especially adept at using it. Maybe it’s could even be his kekkei genkai. I’ve never seen another person use that technique the way he does.”

 

“Well, whether it’s something the technique could do all along or not, you’re really amazing, Sasuke-kun!” Sakura said. At this praise, Sasuke blushed and looked away with a moue that was probably meant to convey disapproval, but most conveyed shyness. Kakashi wanted to pinch their cheeks. They were going to be so cute together.

 

“Since we’re not going to be returning, is there anyone else in Konoha we could help with your foreknowledge?” Toneri asked. “I’d like to help save more people.”

 

“I suppose there is the possessed Kurama heiress,” Sasuke said. “And the old man who planted bombs everywhere in Konoha.”

 

“What was that?” Kakashi asked tersely, grabbing Sasuke by the shoulder, who began to look nervous. “Tell me about these bombs planted everywhere.”

 

After Sasuke told the story, Kakashi made a note to report that Trap Master Gennou of Kagerou Village had planted Explosive Tags around Konoha decades ago and was planning to infiltrate Konoha as a carpenter to set them off. Gennou was a ninja of the Hokage’s generation, but he was still remembered for his cunning traps and powerful taijutsu. The ANBU would be able to handle him, though, once they knew he was coming.

 

They hadn’t handled Orochimaru, though, had they? Had the Hokage even set them to the task? If Kakashi reported Gennou, would the Hokage do anything about him? Kakashi decided to go to his own people with the information, instead. It was a shame, he reflected, that the Utatane had suffered such heavy losses in the attack. They would have been useful in finding and removing the old Explosive Tags.

 

Kakashi didn’t want to even consider the allegations, but he wondered if Shikaku really had destroyed the Utatane on purpose. Was he really that much more trustworthy than the Hokage was? Kakashi trusted him, but he had trusted the Hokage, too.

 

“What is it, Kakashi-sensei?” Sakura asked.

 

“I’m just thinking about the Utatane,” Kakashi said.

 

“That woman’s clan?” Sasuke said caustically. “What about them?”

 

“Shikaku-san is under investigation for his handling of the fight with Kagura-san,” Kakashi said. “The fight took place in the Utatane Compound. The enemy was killed, but the Utatane Clan suffered terrible losses. Utatane Koharu-san died.”

 

“What?!” Sasuke said, looking stunned.

 

“Did you know her, Sasuke?” Naruto asked.

 

“She was one of the members of the Konoha Council!” Sakura said. “Sasuke-kun told us she was one of the ones responsible for the Uchiha Massacre!”

 

“She advocated the purging of my clan,” Sasuke said.

 

“Seriously?! Fuck her!” Naruto said.

 

“Naruto-kun, language!” Sakura said. “But yeah, fuck her!” Naruto laughed and Sasuke actually grinned. Man, that kids was in a good mood today.

 

“I should get Shikaku-san a present,” Sasuke said.

 

“You absolutely should not,” Kakashi said. “That would be both incriminating for him and in very poor taste.”

 

“At least the invasion wasn’t a complete loss,” Sasuke said. “The Hokage may have survived this time, but one of them still died.”

 

“In the story, the Hokage died?” Kakashi asked amazed. “… Did you not want him to?”

 

“Why would I want that man to live?!” Sasuke asked angrily. Kakashi held up his hands placatingly.

 

“I’m just asking,” he said. “You changed things such that the Hokage lived when he would have otherwise died. You can see why I’d ask, can’t you?” Sasuke tossed his head petulantly.

 

“Okay, so that’s the bomber,” Hikari said. “Tell us about this heiress. I haven’t heard of the Kurama Clan before.”

 

Sasuke explained. The group listened. Kakashi sighed.

 

“You give me nothing but bad news,” Kakashi bemoaned, putting his hands in his pockets.

 

“Let’s go meet her!” Naruto said, excitement shimmering in his eyes.

 

They all went back to Konoha. Kakashi took ten minutes to talk to Gai and Tenzou about Gennou and told them that he needed to talk to them about something else later.

 

“Something big?” Gai repeated. “How big?”

 

“Too big for me to handle alone,” Kakashi said.

 

“That didn’t take long,” Tenzou said. “Well, I’m glad we can help.”

 

“You will regret saying that,” Kakashi said with feeling. “Actually, I have more than one massive problem to talk to you about. We’ll need to be on the lookout for a kidnapping attempt on Naruto when we get on the road. I’ll share the intel I got with you as soon as I can.”

 

Tenzou gave him a look of minged exasperation and disbelief.

 

“Of course, Kakashi-kun!” Gai said, giving Kakashi a thumbs up.

 

That was when the Hokage’s missive arrived. Kakashi took the note from the messenger bird’s leg and confirmed it: the invasion of Suna was to begin that afternoon.

 

-

 

Kakashi had decided that only Team Seven would visit the Kurama heiress. If this girl really could set you on fire with genjutsu alone and was likely to switch with her literal inner demon when confronted, Kakashi really didn’t want to have to look after a gaggle of brats while he was fighting for his life. Sasuke had said that the girl had defeated Kurenai handily, so Kakashi wasn’t going to take any chances. Bringing two people who knew Anesthesia, Sakura who was nearly immune to genjutsu when she was focused, and Naruto, whom Sasuke was now insisting was secretly able to talk almost any enemy out of their evil deeds, seemed like enough. Kakashi wasn’t sure if Sasuke was relying on his knowledge of that alternate future, or if he was touched in the head, but Kakashi had shrugged and decided to go with it.

 

The Kurama had let them into their compound only reluctantly when Naruto announced that they were looking for the heiress and watched their progress with suspicion. When questioned about the purpose of their visit, Kakashi had only told them that they were concerned for the girl’s well-being. The girl’s uncle had insisted on supervising, which was only proper, but he watched everyone with haughty suspicion, including his niece, which wasn’t. Kakashi got the feeling this wasn’t a very loving household.

 

“Thank you for having us, especially without any prior notice,” Sasuke said, sitting primly.

 

“It’s fine!” The Kurama heiress, whose name turned out to be Yakumo, said. “More than fine! I don’t ever have visitors and I don’t get out much!” Then, she blushed crimson.

 

“Don’t be embarrassed!” Naruto said. “It’s fine! I used to have no friends, too!”

 

“Was that a helpful comment?” Sasuke asked quietly.

 

“Shut up! I’m just saying we’re the same!” Naruto said. Yakumo laughed awkwardly.

 

“What brings you all here?” she asked.

 

“We’re here to help you, Yakumo-chan,” Sakura said. Yakumo gave her a confused look.

 

“How so?” the girl’s uncle, Kurama Unkai, asked.

 

“We’re here to talk about your clan’s kekkei genkai, the Hokage, and the fire that killed your parents,” Sasuke said.

 

Unkai looked deeply offended, but Yakumo stared intensely at Sasuke.

 

“We are under no obligation to discuss-!” Unkai began.

 

“You hate him, too, don’t you? I heard what he did to your clan,” Yakumo said, obsession gleaming in her eyes. That looked dangerous. It was a good thing they had come today, instead of leaving this girl to her own devices.

 

“… As much as I would like to stoke resentment against that man for what he’s done to my clan, I believe you’re laboring under a misapprehension about what he has done to yours,” Sasuke said. Unkai looked stunned.

 

“It’s true, then?!” Unkai asked.

 

“We haven’t come to discuss the Uchiha Massacre,” Sasuke said.

 

“Hey, what’s that thing you said mean?” Naruto asked.

 

“To be ’laboring under a misapprehension’ means to be ‘mistaken,’” Sasuke said.

 

“Then why not just say that?! Geeze! Using so many words when one word is good enough!” Naruto griped, crossing his arms.

 

“The phrase emphasizes that effort is being misspent,” Sasuke explained.

 

“What are you talking about?!” Yakumo shouted angrily. “Are you saying he’s innocent?!”

 

“Innocent of what?” Unkai asked.

 

“How much do you know about your clan’s kekkei genkai?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Wait,” Naruto said, putting his hand over Sasuke’s mouth. “Don’t talk, Sasuke. You’re really bad at it. You start explaining things and then it’s like, ‘Oh, no! Everything is terrible!’ That happens a lot. He makes everyone upset when he opens his mouth.” Sakura snickered.

 

“Thanks,” Sasuke said dryly behind Naruto’s hand.

 

“That’s why I’m here; I’m the one who’s good at talking to people. It’s my superpower,” Naruto said proudly. “Yakumo-chan, Kurenai-san might have let you down, but I bet she liked you.”

 

“What?!” Yakumo exclaimed.

 

“I mean, I wasn’t there and I don’t know everything, but I’ve met her a few times,” Naruto said. “Our team spars with her team sometimes. They’re okay, but we always beat them. Still, her genin say she’s nice and she seems okay. I think she was nice to you, too, right? Otherwise, it wouldn’t be so bad that she abandoned you.”

 

“… Yes, she was nice,” Yakumo said. “At least, she pretended to be. Then, like you say, she abandoned me, so she couldn’t really have cared about me at all, could she? Otherwise, she wouldn’t have done it!” Yakumo’s words ended in a snarl.

 

“That was really bad of her,” Naruto said. “She shouldn’t have done that and she definitely deserves to be told off for it. Then… Maybe she didn’t really care about you, after all. I mean, like I said, I don’t know and Sasuke told me she does, but maybe he’s wrong.

 

“The old man, the Hokage, he used to come visit me sometimes, but not most days. Most days, I was alone. I didn’t have parents, because they died when I was born. I used to wish that the old man would take me home with him, so I could live with him and we could be a family together. Lately, I’ve been thinking about that, because I live with my team now.

 

“I feel like getting what I wanted then might not have been a good thing. Since he could so easily leave me behind, then maybe it wouldn’t make a difference, even if I got to see him every day. It hurt a lot every time he left. When I was little, I used to cry and beg him to stay, but he never did. Maybe it would have hurt worse if I came to live with him and he didn’t make any more time for me. I didn’t need someone to check on me once a month and give me rent and grocery money. I needed someone to be my dad and he didn’t want to. Nobody wanted to.

 

“I used to think that the Hokage was a good guy, but he isn’t really. I mean, he can be nice, but that isn’t the same thing. Lately, I’ve been learning about all these bad things he’s done and he keeps doing bad things even now. It really sucks! Honestly, it pisses me off! Every single bad thing he’s done makes me want to punch him! Even if he didn’t do something in particular to me, it still hurts me, because I thought I knew him. I get angry, because he hurt me and the people I care about. He’s not who I thought he was and that hurts.”

 

“I get that,” Yakumo said. “He’s our Kage, but he’s killing people, and accusing the Tsuru of things, and letting Suna invade us. He’s just a monster. That’s why…”

 

“Yeah, Sasuke told us about that,” Naruto said. “Your paintings, right?”

 

Yakumo looked hunted.

 

“What about her paintings?” Unkai demanded suspiciously, looking from Naruto to his shifty-looking niece. “Yakumo-chan?”

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay!” Naruto said. “We just want to make sure you don’t get hurt, Yakumo-chan. We’re here to help you, not to get you in trouble. We’re heroes, you see? Kakashi-sensei is like, ‘This is a job! We work for pay!’ But, if I want to be a hero, then I’m going to be a hero! I used to want to be the Hokage, but now I’ve decided to be a wandering hero, instead! Isn’t that much cooler?”

 

Yakumo nodded uncertainly.

 

“So, to help you, I’m going to explain some stuff. When you were younger, your parents died in a fire, right?”

 

“… Yes.”

 

“See, there’s this thing that your clan has, a kekkei genkai, and it makes you good at genjutsu, but it can also make this other thing, like a demon, inside you. It can come out sometimes and do bad things to people.”

 

“That’s enough!” Unkai said. “How dare you come in here and say these things!”

 

“You can’t fight against the enemy you don’t see coming,” Sakura said. “And Yakumo-chan is the only one who can defeat this enemy. She has to know. She deserves to know. She deserves the chance to fight back.”

 

“And you’re so sure what the outcome of any such battle would be?! You have no idea what it could cost this clan and all of Konoha, if she fails!” Unkai scolded her harshly.

 

“She’ll win,” Sasuke said, projecting certainty. Kakashi supposed it was easy to be confident when you knew the future. Yakumo looked quite comforted by Sasuke’s words. “But not until she knows it’s there.”

 

“So, anyway,” Naruto said. “You’ve got a demon or something inside you. It took control of you when you were younger and attacked your parents. Now, you have to fight it, before anything else happens.”

 

“What? What are you talking about?” Yakumo turned to her uncle. “Uncle, what is he talking about? You know don’t you?” Unkai didn’t reply, but shifted slightly, adopting a slightly more defensive posture on his cushion. The unfriendly gaze he cast on his niece did his talking for him. “The fire… My Mom and Dad…”

 

Suddenly, Yakumo’s eyes turned purple from edge to edge, except for her hard, dark pupils, and bulged in her skull, expanding like balloons, pressing out of her eyelids, deforming her face. Her arms grew, like pulled taffy. Her hands and feet broadened and thickened, while her nails became tipped with sharp points. The girl’s featured pulled, her jaw elongating like a bat’s, her ears stretching into thick horns, her skin turning clay brown and pulling taut over her bones, revealing her teeth, which grew longer and longer, and-!

 

She collapsed, staring at the ceiling, lost in a dissociative fog in the wake of Sasuke’s application of the Anesthesia genjutsu.

 

“Woah,” Sakura said.

 

“Woah,” Naruto said.

 

As soon as she touched the ground, the changes in the girl reversed, disappearing like the morning mist. Yakumo blinked and raised a hand to her face, apparently free of the genjutsu.

 

“What was that genjutsu?!” Unkai asked, going to his niece’s aid.

 

“Anesthesia,” Sasuke said.

 

“I heard about that one,” Unkai said. “You used it in the hospital after the attacks, right?” Sasuke nodded.

 

“What happened?” Yakumo asked, sitting up. “Oh. Oh, no! I changed, didn’t I?! Did I hurt anyone?!”

 

“We’re totally fine!” Sakura reassured her, waving her hands to stem the flow of Yakumo’s rising panic.

 

“But I could have! I could have!” Yakumo cried, tears forming in her eyes. Unkai looked torn.

 

“Well, you didn’t so it’s fine, right?” Naruto asked.

 

“I killed my parents!” Yakumo shrieked, digging her fingers into her hair. Unkai grabbed her arms to stop his niece from pulling out her own hair.

 

“It wasn’t you, though!” Naruto said. “Or you’d remember it, right? It was that thing inside you. You can’t take the blame for something you didn’t do.”

 

“But it’s my fault! If I had controlled that thing, then my mom and dad wouldn’t have died!” Yakumo cried, curling into herself. “I killed them! I killed them!”

 

Kakashi, heart tearing in two, found himself speaking before he’d given it any conscious thought.

 

“You didn’t mean to. That matters. You’re hurting, because you care. If you were the kind of person who could do something like that on purpose, then you wouldn’t be suffering the way you are right now. Hold onto that thought,” Kakashi said. “It won’t bring them back, but it matters.”

 

“I don’t want this thing inside me… Take it away! I don’t want it! Get it out!” Yakumo begged, accepting the packet of tissues Sasuke handed her.

 

“We can help you,” Naruto said. “But you have to fight it yourself. But don’t worry; you can do it, believe it.”

 

“You don’t know that!”

 

“I want to,” Naruto said. “You ended up all alone here, because of the thing your kekkei genkai created. But see, I’m just like you. I’ve got the Nine Tails inside me. I didn’t find out until recently. That’s why everyone always ignored me, except for Sasuke-kun and Teuchi-san. The old man would come and see me once a month, too, but I was still really lonely. Everyone looked at me with really cold eyes. Does your clan look at you like that, too?”

 

“… Yeah,” Yakumo said, turning to look at her uncle. “They all knew I did it, didn’t they? All this time, they’ve all known that I… Everyone hates me because of what I did.”

 

“We don’t hate you,” Unkai said, looking guilty. Kakashi wondered exactly how true that was. “The death of your parents was a terrible loss for our clan, but we all knew about Ido. You were just a child, too. You were my younger brother’s child.”

 

“So, you’ll support her, right?” Naruto said. “You’ll help her beat this Ido, right?”

 

“I will,” Unkai said seriously.

 

Sasuke bowed in his seat.

 

“Thank you for having us,” he said.

 

“You’re leaving?” Unkai asked in shock.

 

“Wait! You have that genjutsu! If anyone could stop me from hurting other people, if that thing comes out again, it would be you, right?” Yakumo said. “Because you’ve got the Sharingan! If I stayed with you, then I wouldn’t have to stay in this house anymore! I could even leave the compound!”

 

“Yakumo-chan!” her uncle said, apparently aghast. For the life of him, Kakashi couldn’t figure out why. Unkai didn’t seem to like his nieces very much, so why would he care if she was here or not?

 

“Come, if you like,” Sasuke said. “But we’re going to Suna soon.”

 

“I don’t want to be alone anymore!” Yakumo said.

 

“Yakumo-chan…” Unkai said, looking hurt.

 

“This house is so big and empty. Let me come with you and discover how to destroy Ido where I won’t be a danger to my clan and Konoha.”

 

“Then come on!” Naruto said. “Kurenai-san might not be willing to teach you anymore, but I’m a really great ninja and I could show you all kinds of cool tricks!”

 

“Absolutely not. I forbid it!” Unkai said severely.

 

“I’m not going to change my mind, uncle,” Yakumo said.

 

“You can’t go into an active warzone!” Unkai said.

 

“Unkai-san, I will take responsibility for her safety,” Sasuke said. “My clan is also accompanying me abroad.”

 

“You’re taking your family to the frontlines?!” Unkai said, before his expression cracked. “You’d rather take your people into war than leave them here in Konoha?”

 

“Yes,” Sasuke said without a trace of hesitation.

 

“… Understood,” Unkai said, looking disturbed.

 

“Uncle, I have to defeat Ido. That’s why I’m have to travel with Sasuke-kun and his team. He can keep me from hurting anyone else or being hurt myself. I won’t come back until I’ve defeated the monster inside me,” Yakumo said. “I hope you will give me your blessing, but I’m going to walk my own path, either way.”

 

“You have my blessing, Yakumo-chan,” Unkai said reluctantly.

 

“Thank you,” Yakumo said.

 

-

 

After Yakumo had packed, Sasuke sent her to be with his family in Shinku no Machi. Then, he sent a Rodent to inform Gaara that Kakashi would retrieve him soon and ask Gaara whether he wanted his siblings to accompany them. Then, Team Seven assembled with the rest of the ninjas to be deployed in the first wave. The Hokage gave a little peptalk that Sasuke tuned out completely by tapping the side of his head to set iDKHow’s “Choke” playing loudly.

 

Then, Kakashi was assigned to be squad leader for two groups of four, both chuunin and genin, in addition to Team Seven. Most of the jounin were given responsibility for three teams of four, but those who already had a genin team, like Kakashi, were given one fewer.

 

They new teams that were added to Sasuke’s squad included one Ino-Shika-Chou set, plus a Tsuru. From their makeup, Sasuke got the impression their squad was meant to be bruisers. The other team was made up of Kohaku Clan ninjas from a neighboring village in Fire, who explained that they had just reached Konoha that morning. Sasuke didn’t know anything about them, but the name rang a faint bell. He resolved to look at his notes later, just in case the Kohaku Clan was relevant to the story in some way.

 

Sasuke gave the Uchiha Quarter one last look, not out of sentimentality, but out of concern. It was a pity that the Tsuru were going to continue to stay in such a dangerous place, but it was up to their clan head to lead them where she may. Perhaps they would receive the respect they deserved, if they stood their ground. They certainly wouldn’t, if they ran. He hoped they succeeded.

 

“Alright, listen up,” Kakashi said. “We’re making for the border station at the very edge of Fire. It’ll be a long, hard run, but we’ll run all night if we have to. First break is in two hours. Let’s go.”

 

As Sasuke stepped through the gates, hopefully for the final time, he didn’t bother to stop himself from smiling. Even if anyone got suspicious, he wasn’t breaking any rules, at least not yet. He found that he didn’t even mind being forced to go to Suna. Maybe he could do some good there. His smile grew a bit more devilish. Yes, perhaps something would come up. Wouldn’t Konoha be shocked? Wouldn’t Itachi?

 

Although he was tired from his early morning, Sasuke ran eagerly with his team, enjoying with the sultry afternoon air in his lungs, “Mr. Blue Sky” playing in his ear, and hope lying on the horizon.

Notes:

Sasuke, the tissue guy. He needs a mom bag, you know, a purse with bandages, antiseptic wash, Advil, Benadryl, snacks, gum, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, a comb, hair ties, a nail file, nail clippers, and a light mulch of garbage and crumbs along the bottom.

 

The look of Panpukin was inspired by a comment by Sayna on this fic about Nightwing and his dog, Haley.

 

I almost made Black Zetsu’s codename “tar baby” because the similarities are too good to pass up, but I decided to stick with the comic book connection. I wonder if the Tar Baby story is actually the inspiration for Black Zetsu, because of the parallels between the two. I called Black Zetsu a “tar baby” one day and the idea has gripped me ever since. I haven’t seen anyone else make this connection, though.

Briefly, for those who don’t know: “tar baby” is an idiom meaning “a situation that is hard to escape after even slight involvement.” It comes from a folktale about Br’er Rabbit.

The tar baby is set by the side of the road by the villainous Br’er Fox as a kind of sticky trap in doll shape. The tar baby becomes inextricably attached to the passing Br’er Rabbit after a single touch, the way Black Zetsu persecutes the Uchiha for a thousand years after their ancestor became entangled with them. The more the rabbit struggles to free himself, the more tightly he’s bound by the tar baby, just as the more the Uchiha struggle against their grief, the further they fall to the Curse of Hatred. Black Zetsu can even stop the movement of those they touch, just as the tar baby stops the rabbit’s movement, leaving him helpless against the fox. However, the rabbit escapes with his wits and the Uchiha escape with their love and empathy. And sealing Black Zetsu into the Moon.

Probably just a coincidence, but they match well.

Chapter 22: The Konoha-Suna War, Part I

Summary:

Kakashi frees Gaara, Sasuke gets booed for singing in public, and Tsunade and Shizune have two distinctly different reactions to being afflicted with two new apprentices.

Notes:

Tsunade has returned, alcoholism and all! I should bake a cake in celebration! Except I can’t eat cake right now. I just got Sword of the Sea. It’s so pretty, but so nauseating! I’m dying of motion sickness, guys. I thought I would be killed by something dramatic, like a car wreck or cancer, but no, I’m going to be killed by motion sickness, because I will not quit playing this game. Maybe if I only play it a little bit every day…

I’m going to try to avoid military ranks, because I’m at a loss here. A squad leader is a sergeant and wouldn’t outrank a captain, right? But a “captain” in Naruto seems to have command over only a single of team of soldiers, not men numbering in the high double or low triple digits. I feel like an ANBU captain is equivalent to a team leader, possibly a squad leader. To go with the Japanese title, a buntaichou had command of all the personnel responsible for nine aircraft, and is more equivalent to a lieutenant than a captain. Is the difference between ANBU and regular ninja like that between different branches of the military or is a regular ninja like an NCO, whereas an ANBU is a CO. Does Kakashi outrank Tenzou now? I have no idea! Don’t ask me! I have spent too long thinking about Konoha’s military structure already!

“Hello, Gaara-kun,” Kakashi said quietly, emerging from the darkness in front of the boy’s jail cell. He was being housed in the deepest part of the jail, a natural cave system that was lit only by candles.

 

Gaara, lying on his back on a futon, turned his head to face Kakashi, but didn’t appear wary or surprised, even though Kakashi was covered head to toe by his old ANBU gear, including the cape and hood. In addition to hiding his appearance, he’d taken pains to hide his scent, too. The Rodents had taught him one of the techniques they used to conceal their own scents. It was the first time Kakashi had copied hand-seals made with paws.

 

 Kakashi opened Obito’s Sharingan to examine the cell and its surroundings. Notably, there was an elaborate, faintly glowing seal that covered the entire floor. Kakashi supposed it must suppress Gaara in some way. It wouldn’t do to house a jinchuuriki in a regular cell, after all. “I’m Kakashi. I believe you received word that I would be collecting you this evening.”

 

“You’ll be taking me to Naruto-kun,” Gaara said, rising slowly and awkwardly from his futon, due to the full-body straightjacket. He didn’t seem either anxious or enthused about this escape, but he was coming willingly, so Kakashi didn’t have any complaints.

 

“Yep,” Kakashi said, beginning to deactivate the hidden silent-alarm seals around the cell door that would go off if the door was tampered with. “He’s waiting up for you. Did you decide whether you wanted your siblings to come with us?”

 

“I want them to come,” Gaara said. After Kakashi had unpicked the alarm seal, and then the trap seal, and finally the locking seal, Kakashi opened the door and gestured for Gaara to step out. As soon as he stepped beyond the seal on the floor, Gaara’s restraints were shredded by swirling sand that the boy conjured. Kakashi knelt and pushed the bits into the cell, before shutting the door. They found Gaara’s sister in the next corridor of cells and his brother in the block of calls after that. The two regarded Kakashi with much more trepidation, but didn’t argue or stand around asking questions. Springing Gaara’s siblings went much more quickly, because Kakashi was able to extract them through the bars of their cells by using Enclosure Tags, circumventing the need to break the seals on their cell doors.

 

“I see you,” a girl’s voice hissed from a nearby cell. “Hey, I see you, jackass. Don’t ignore me.”

 

“Hello, there,” Kakashi said, turning to find one of the surviving Sound Five glaring at him through the bars of her cell.

 

“I’ll scream,” the girl threatened, putting every ounce of menace in her tiny frame on display. “Take me and my team with you or I’ll bring every ninja in this entire village running and fuck up your eardrums, while I’m at it.”

 

It was rather like being held at knifepoint by a mouse with a butcher knife. Yes, that was a big knife, but the implement was still being held a teetering mouse, struggling to hold it up with both of its tiny little paws. It was a bit worrisome, but mostly you felt proud of the adorable creature for aiming so high. Kakashi kind of wanted to pat her on the head.

 

He almost grabbed Gaara and tapped Sasuke’s Rodent summon, who was hiding in one of Kakashi’s pockets, to let the little guy know that it was time to cancel the summoning technique and take everyone back to Shinku no Machi, but then, he recalled that this Oto girl had Orochimaru’s curse mark. The flashy transformation it induced in her and her comrades during the fight to capture them had been memorable and he wasn’t sure if they had been rid of it yet.

 

Gaara’s sand moved towards the girl with lethal intent, but Kakashi held out a hand to stall the bloodshed.

 

“Okay!” Kakashi said, smiling at the Oto girl. “Are your friends on this cell block?”

 

“Fuck no. Even Konoha wouldn’t be stupid enough to keep us all together,” the girl said.

 

“What does it say about you that you lost to that stupid village?” Kakashi asked with faux pleasantness, before sticking the girl in an Enclosure Tag. He and Gaara were then forced to backtrack looking for the girl’s teammates, so, of course, they were spotted again while Kakashi was collecting the rest of the Sound Five.

 

“Wait, please!” a young man said. Kakashi recognized him as the one “Mouse” had interrogated during the battle. “Please let me out! I need to get back to my clan! They’re being held hostage! I’ll find a way to repay you after I rescue them, I promise!”

 

“Ah, you,” Kakashi said, before shrugging. “… Alright, why not? I might as well make it worse.” Kakashi stuck the teen in another Enclosure Tag and then teleported out of the jail with Gaara.

 

Kakashi took in the lanterns of Shinku no Machi with a sigh, It was a relief to have escaped the jail, but only time would tell if they were safe. Kakashi was well aware that he had publicly shown compassion to the Oto Five and that his students had friendly contact with Gaara during the invasion. If he were the one conducting the investigation into the jailbreak, he’d look at Team Seven first. The Shadow Clone he’d sent with his men when they left the village wouldn’t be much of an alibi, especially if it was broken before he could take its place.

 

“Gaara!” Naruto shouted, bounding forward and positively bursting with joy at being reunited with a boy he had known for all of a few hours. “Hey! How are you doing? It’s great to have you back! Are you okay?”

 

“Hello,” Gaara said placidly, but Kakashi noticed, despite the dim lantern light, that there was a blush of pleasure on his cheeks. “I’m fine.”

 

“Great! Come on!” Naruto said. “Everyone’s waiting for you!”

 

Gaara looked wary.

 

“Who?” Gaara asked.

 

“Everybody!” Naruto said. “We’re having a big party to celebrate escaping Konoha!”

 

“Escaping…?” Gaara repeated.

 

“Yeah! Konoha sucks!” Naruto said. “At least, the Hokage and all those old guys in charge suck, so we’re leaving to be heroes! You can be a hero, too! It’ll be great! We’re going to help lots of people and save the world! Now, come on! There’s cake!”

 

There was cake. There was lots of cake. There were also other assorted snacks and drinks, all the kids in Kakashi’s care, and about a fifty Rodents and countless Warbling White-Eyes.

 

Before they could get to the party however, Kakashi had to deal with the people he had in his enclosure tags. One by one, the surviving Oto Five were disgorged and had their curse mark forcibly removed.

 

“You son of a bitch! You piece of shit!” the surly girl shouted. “Put it back! Put it back!”

 

“No can do,” Kakashi said, smiling at her. The girl was starting to grow on Kakashi.

 

“I’ll get you for this!” the girl swore.

 

“Tayuya-san,” the big one said. “Do not get us killed.”

 

“Shut the hell up, Jiroubou!” Tayuya shouted. “He took away my curse mark! He made me weak!”

 

“If you want to get strong, then train,” Kakashi said. “Stop with that self-pitying attitude.”

 

“Self-pitying?!” Tayuya shrieked.

 

“You feel wronged that your crutch was taken away, right?” Kakashi said. “Now, you have to train to become strong, just like everybody else does, and the first thing you do is throw a tantrum. If that’s not self-pitying, I don’t know what is.”

 

Tayuya seethed, turning red in embarrassment, anger, or a combination of the two.

 

“What do you care where our strength comes from? Why would you do this to us?” the forward face of the two-headed boy demanded.

 

“Because we can’t have Orochimaru rising from the dead. That would be really troublesome, you know? Because then, we’d have to hunt him down and kill him again,” Kakashi said, giving the boy an intimidating smile. “So, every last severed piece of his malignant soul that he anchored in the flesh of others needs to be weeded out, to keep him that way.”

 

“His soul?” the forward face of the two-headed boy said nervously.

 

“Yep!” Kakashi said. “Now, please step back.” Kakashi let his next captive out, the grey-haired Oto boy they met outside Konoha’s walls.

 

“Where am I?!” the boy asked.

 

“Shinku no Machi,” one of the Rodents replied.

 

“Hey, do you have a curse mark?” Naruto demanded. “Only, we’ve got to get rid of it, if you do. So, do you have one or not?”

 

The teen pulled his shirt apart and turned around to show his unblemished neck and shoulders. In response, Sakura and Kin squeaked and blushed.

 

“I don’t.”

 

“Alright, fix your shirt!” Naruto snapped jealously, reaching out to do it himself.

 

“What’s your name?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Gen’yuumaru. Are you the one who rescued me?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Thank you,” Gen’yuumaru said, bowing deeply. “How do I get back to Oto from here?”

 

“I’m not sure,” Kakashi said, turning to the giant Sayaka.

 

“We can help you find your way once you leave this realm,” Sayaka offered.

 

“Why bother?” Tayuya said grumpily. “Orochimaru is dead and the loser who took over can’t do anything for you.”

 

“My clan is imprisoned in a base near there,” Gen’yuumaru said sternly. “I have to rescue them.”

 

“Who took over?” Sasuke asked. “Was it Shin?”

 

“Never heard of him,” Gen’yuumaru said, shaking his head.

 

“He’s one of the researchers. He’s gross,” Tayuya said. “No, it was that creep Kabuto.”

 

Kakashi goggled. Wasn’t that guy dead?!

 

“Did you ever check to make sure the corpse they found in his cell really was his?” Sasuke asked. He didn’t look surprised.

 

“No,” Kakashi said, slouching in disappointment. Nobody else had checked, either, apparently. Autopsies weren’t standard practice. Kabuto’s body, or the body of whoever was passing for Kabuto, wouldn’t have received one, unless the death was being investigated. Kakashi hadn’t heard anything to indicate that anyone was looking into it at all. He really should have, now that he thought about it, because it was clearly not a natural death. People don’t just turn purple and keel over. Was it being ignored, because the Hokage knew Danzou was behind it? Man, government corruption was really bit.

 

“He used someone else as a body double,” Sasuke said.

 

“Yeah,” Kakashi said.

 

“Has anyone gone missing?” Sasuke asked.

 

Kakashi considered this.

 

“Ah, we never found the jounin-sensei for the genin team Orochimaru was impersonating,” he said.

 

“So, Kabuto isn’t dead,” Naruto said. “What does that mean for us?”

 

“He’s going to cause trouble,” Sasuke said darkly.

 

“He already has,” Sakura said. “He had Oto invade Konoha, didn’t he?”

 

“Yes,” Gen’yuumaru confirmed.

 

“And he helped kill the Kazekage,” the forward face of the two-headed boy said nastily.

 

Kakashi held his breath and looked at Gaara. That was absolutely not how someone should be informed that their father had been murdered. Kakashi should have taken him aside before.

 

“What?” Gaara asked.

 

“Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Kimimaro handled the Kazekage and his aids. They lured him out into the desert for a secret meeting and…” The boy drew his finger across his throat. “Then, Orochimaru took his place and none of you Suna fools noticed!”

 

“I see,” Gaara said, looking unphased. Kakashi didn’t know what to make of that reaction. Was their really so little love lost between Gaara and his father that he didn’t care at all that the man had been murdered. Sasuke moved next to Gaara.

 

“Would you like to go someplace private?” Sasuke asked Gaara quietly.

 

“No,” Gaara said. Kakashi shrugged.

 

“What are your names?” Kakashi asked the Oto Five.

 

“Sakon and my older brother, Ukon.” He hooked a thumb at the head on his back.

 

“Jiroubou.”

 

“Tayuya.”

 

“And I’m Kidomaru,” the four-armed boy said, crossing both sets of arms. “What are you going to do with us?”

 

“We’ll let you go as soon as we can get away from the rest of the army,” Kakashi said. “It will be somewhere in Wind. I advise you not to go back to Konoha.”

 

“Who would?” Tayuya said.

 

“I need to release Kin’s teammates, too,” Sasuke said.

 

“You never let Dosu and Zaku go?!” Kin exclaimed.

 

“I never had the chance to leave Konoha,” Sasuke explained.

 

“You told Ino-chan and the others you were going to take them outside the walls that day!” Sakura said.

 

“I lied,” Sasuke said unflappably. “I didn’t want Konoha to try to get them off me.”

 

“So, you just left them in those tags for more than a month?!” Kin said. “Let them out right now! Uh, please, Sasuke-san?”

 

After sending a Warbling White-Eye away and re-summoning them, Sasuke did so. Kin’s teammates gave Sasuke hard looks, but didn’t complain about being imprisoned for so long. This was probably because they were absolutely surrounded by summon animals, some of whom had teeth larger than those genin were.

 

“That’s a lot of Oto ninjas,” Naruto observed, counting them on his fingers.

 

“Don’t worry,” Sayaka said. “We brought enough food for everyone.”

 

“And my siblings,” Gaara said. “Let them go.”

 

Kakashi didn’t argue. Soon, Naruto was enthusiastically introducing himself to the pair and offering condolences for their father’s death, apparently forgetting that they hadn’t already been told. Kakashi tensed with second-hand embarrassment. As Gaara explained, Kakashi was relieved to be drawn away from that fraught conversation by Yakumo.

 

“Kakashi-san,” she said. “Who are all these people?”

 

“They were liberated from Konoha,” Kakashi said.

 

“But aren’t they the enemy? Didn’t they attack Konoha?”

 

“We didn’t want to,” Jiroubou said. “We were prisoners, forced to fight to the death in a battle royale. We survived, so we were forced to be Orochimaru’s bodyguards. Then, we were forced to fight for Kabuto in Konoha. We didn’t choose any of this. We were just trying to survive.”

 

“And the Suna ninjas?” Yakumo asked. “Were they forced into it, too?”

 

“Whatever responsibility they have for what they did, they’ll have to make amends later.” Kakashi said. “We couldn’t leave Gaara behind; he was in too much danger in Konoha.”

 

“Danger? From what?” Yakumo asked.

 

“I’ll explain later,” Kakashi said.

 

“Sounds to me like you don’t trust your own people,” Sakon said slyly.

 

“We certainly don’t trust you, so back off,” Sakura said, glaring at the boy.

 

“Hey, since you’re betraying Konoha like this, you’re going to need capable fighters,” Sakon said.

 

“Hah?!” Sakura said. “We don’t need your help!”

 

“I wasn’t talking to you, brat,” Sakon said, before turning back to Kakashi. “Look, you might have made us all weaker, but we’re probably still at least chuunin-level. We need work and you need help, if you’re going to be going up against the Hokage.”

 

“Who said we were going up against the old man?” Naruto asked, crossing is arms and glaring at Sakon.

 

“Am I wrong?” Sakon asked.

 

“Absolutely, believe it! We’re just leaving Konoha!” Naruto said.

 

“Huh?” Sakon said. “But you said you were traveling with the army, with Konoha’s army! Aren’t you part of some counter-attack against Suna?!”

 

“For now, yeah,” Naruto said. “But it’s whatever.”

 

“’It’s whatever?!’” Sakon repeated disbelievingly.

 

“We’ll solve it and then do whatever we want! We’re never going back to Konoha!” Naruto said. “In fact, we’re having a party to celebrate escaping! Or, we would be, if we didn’t have to talk to all you guys!”

 

“Then, you’ll really need our help,” Ukon said. “You’ll need all the help you can get. The best way to survive as a missing-nin is either to go it alone and disappear or to become part of the strongest group you can.”

 

“So, hire us already!” Sakon said.

 

“No thanks,” Kakashi said with his most deadpan expression.

 

“I’ll hire you,” Sasuke said, making Kakashi purse his lips. This damned boy was doing it again… Unfortunately, Kakashi could really only blame himself this time. He had freed these feral children in the first place. He had made them available for Sasuke to adopt. He really should have kept them separate. “You’ll guard my clan.” Hikari snorted.

 

“Done,” Sakon said. “We can work out our rates later.”

 

“Are we really going to work for these guys?” Tayuya asked irritably.

 

“Do you have any money?” Sakon asked. “I didn’t think so. My brother and I are still the leaders of this group, got it? Unless you want to challenge us.” Tayuya sneered at Sakon, but said nothing. “What’s your name, anyway, boss?”

 

“Uchiha Sasuke, head of the Uchiha Clan,” Sasuke said, bowing respectfully.

 

“Pleased to meet you, Sasuke-san,” Sakon said, bowing in return and looking a little wrongfooted. He seemed like an awkward young man.

 

“And you, Sakon-san, Ukon-san,” Sasuke said.

 

“Wait!” Yakumo said, looking to Kakashi anxiously. “I didn’t want to leave forever!”

 

“Don’t worry,” Sakura said, giving the other girl a thumbs up. “Kakashi-sensei has a plan to keep us in Konoha’s good graces for a while longer, so you can still go back to your family after your little problem is solved. In the meantime, just think of this as a chance to see a bit of the world with us.”

 

“Okay…” Yakumo said uncertainly. Poor girl. Falling in with bad company. At least Team Seven was the best bad company one could hope for. His genin were all good eggs.

 

“Seriously?” Kin said. “Why do you want to go back? Sasuke-san told us about your situation. It wasn’t as if anybody cared about you back there.”

 

“Kin-san,” Sasuke said in soft reproach.

 

“Sorry,” Kin said, giving a superficially repentant look, which did nothing to alleviate Kin’s look of hurt.

 

Sasuke then went to check on the Sand siblings. He explained that Team Seven would only be in contact during the night, because they were traveling with the army for now. He also explained that they would be free to go if they wished, just as soon as they reached a safe place. He then offered to take them to their hotel room for the night, which Gaara’s siblings both accepted.

 

“I can do that for you, Sasuke-kun,” one of the birds on his head said.

 

“Would you mind?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Not at all! Enjoy your party! Celebrate your freedom! You’ve waited a long time for it!”

 

“Alright! Since that’s everyone, let’s start the party! No more Konoha!” Naruto crowed.

 

Kakashi wasn’t exactly happy to be leaving his home behind, possibly for years, and during a time of upheaval, too, but he was relieved that he had gotten his kids out safely. They were headed from danger into danger, but, at least for tonight, everyone was safe and well. This right here was what success looked like. It wasn’t bad to celebrate the small successes you had along the way. He patted Naruto on the head, summoned his nin-dogs with the instruction to enjoy themselves, and went to check out the food and drink.

 

“Sing us a song!” Hikari said, clapping her hands. “Come on, you sang for me before! I want another song!” Kakashi looked back to find Sasuke blushing.

 

“You sang for her?” Sakura demanded, leaning into Sasuke’s space with an intense look. He leaned away warily, which caused Sakura to back up in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

 

“Aww, look at him! He’s blushing!” Hikari said, poking Sasuke’s cheek. “Come on, Sasuke-kun! Sing us a song!”

 

“That’s right! You should sing for us!” Naruto said, his squinty, teasing face broadcasting loud and clear exactly how much he was enjoying Sasuke’s discomfort. Kakashi was enjoying it, too. “Even if your singing voice is garbage, we won’t be able to hear it over the genjutsu!”

 

“He’s really not very good,” Hikari told the others, prompting Sasuke to give her a vaguely betrayed look. “But, like Naruto-kun says, you can’t really hear it, so it’s fine! Although it must be said, the music is still very weird.”

 

Oh, Kakashi was going to enjoy this. He picked up a beer, the only one he would allow himself for the night, and turned back to watch the show with a smile.

 

-

 

It had been a lovely night. The warm glow of the lanterns, the natural beauty of the lakeside, and the joyful atmosphere made it hard to resist. Now, it felt distinctly less so. Sasuke felt vaguely like he was dying. How had he surrounded himself with these terrible people? He hated everything…

 

“I’ve never heard Sasuke-nii-san sing!” Toneri said enthusiastically, petting a bird. “Could you please sing for us?”

 

Sasuke sighed. He didn’t want to disappoint his little brother… He sang a single, reedy note, before his throat collapsed, clenched shut by his embarrassment. He’d been so embarrassed, he had forgotten to even put any chakra behind it, so nobody heard anything, except his abysmal failure of a performance. He saw Kakashi cover his mouth, as if to suppress a laugh.

 

“I can’t do it,” Sasuke mumbled, lowering his head and covering his eyes with both hands. Sasuke heard the birds on his head laughing at him.

 

“Sing! Sing! Sing!” Naruto started chanting. “Do-do-do!” As he tunelessly sang, he shook his shoulders. “Do-do-do-do-do-do-dooo!”

 

“Come on!” Kin said, elbowing him gently in the arm. “We’re celebrating, right?”

 

“Absolutely!” Sayaka boomed. She was wearing even more jewelry than usual.

 

“Guys, don’t force him…” Sakura said, wearing a look that was half way between scolding and disappointed.

 

“Fix your posture, fool,” Tayuya said. “Don’t you know anything about singing?”

 

“… I’ve never been trained,” Sasuke said in a small voice. He had last had a music teacher in elementary school a lifetime ago.

 

“Well, gut up,” Tayuya said. “You can’t develop your instrument in five minutes, but you can at least use proper posture and take it seriously. Stop cowering like a little bitch, boss!”

 

“Oooooh!” Naruto said with relish, then he started chanting again. “Sing! Sing! Sing!”

 

“Tayuya-san, stop being foul to our employer,” Jiroubou said in a strained voice.

 

“Shut up, you fatso! I’m helping!” Tayuya barked.

 

“Fine,” Sasuke said, mostly to quiet Naruto. In response, Naruto rested his hands on his fists and gave Sasuke a mockingly adoring look, with fluttering eyelashes included. Tayuya pushed Sasuke’s shoulders back, lifted his chin, and told him to put his hand on his stomach.

 

“Now, pay attention to how your breath moves your hand as you expel air,” Tayuya instructed. “Stay straight and figure out how your muscles move to help you sing.”

 

“Got it,” Sasuke said. He turned his blushing face away from Tayuya and took a deep breath. He could do this. He could do anything he wanted. He had just escaped Konoha, for real this time. Forever this time. Really forever. And, by his side, he had his clan, his teacher, and his friends, and even new people who would one day become friends, too. Sasuke smiled slightly and activated his Sharingan. This was a night to remember, after all. His voice started small, but it grew with his confidence and his smile as he weaved a genjutsu of, “Take Me Home,” by John Denver.

 

“That one wasn’t as cool as the one you sang during your fight with Lee,” Naruto said.

 

“Shut up! It was great!” Sakura snarled, turning on Naruto, who cowered away from her. Sasuke noticed that she was blushing almost as much as he felt like he was. She had worn a starry-eyed look while he sang.

 

“Yeah, it was amazing, Sasuke-nii-san!” Toneri said.

 

“No, it sounded weird and old,” Kin agreed. Sasuke snorted. It was a song from the seventies, so it wasn’t even that old compared to this world’s 1980’s style music.

 

“Well, the singer you’re copying at least had a better voice than you do,” Tayuya said.

 

“What was that language?” Yakumo asked. This led to Sasuke giving an abbreviated explanation his origins. “So, these are songs from another world?” Yakumo asked, amazed. Sasuke nodded. “Sing us another one!”

 

The singing came easier this time. As Sasuke sang for his friends, Naruto got to his feet and started dancing. He pulled Sakura to her feet and she joined in with a laugh. Soon, all the rodents and kids, except for Gaara the wallflower, were either dancing or clapping along. Even the birds bobbed with the beat. Sasuke had to stop holding back and sing louder to be sure he would be heard over the clapping. Unfortunately, his blush was so intense that it might have become a permanent stain on his face by the time he finished Qing Madi’s “American Love.”

 

Then, the job of providing entertainment for the party was given over to a radio, so Sasuke grabbed a slice of chocolate cake. It smelled like a little slice of heaven. The baker, a beautiful Rodent the size of a dune buggy, wearing a jade pendant necklace carved with gamboling rodents, whose dark brown fur had been bleached all down her back to produce a giraffe print, smiled at him as he received the desert with perfunctory words of appreciation.

 

“I hope you enjoy it,” she said.

 

Sasuke, unusually touched by the innocuous comment, reflected that he already was and he hadn’t even taken a bite yet. He took a moment to look around and appreciate the care and support he was receiving from his summons, his friends and family, and Kakashi. This was such a beautiful night, possibly the most beautiful night of his entire life. He was so grateful that his heritage allowed him to never forget it. What a gift.

 

“Thank you,” he said sincerely, Sharingan recording the answering smile on the baker’s face.

 

-

 

Kakashi soon declared the party over for his genin and herded them all back to their hotel. The other humans also threw in the towel and different Rodents escorted them to their rooms. As Kakashi stood by his hotel room door and waited for the last of the kids to go inside, he caught a snippet of Sakura and Hikari’s conversation as they were entering their shared room.

 

“I’ve never seen Sasuke-kun smile so widely before,” Sakura said, gazing at the closed door to Sasuke’s hotel room with the same lovestruck look she had worn for most of the night.

 

“This is normal,” Hikari said. “He’s only scared in Konoha.”

 

Kakashi’s heart ached. How were these kids all so good at hitting his weak points? When the last door was closed, Kakashi set his nin-dogs to enforce curfew for the kids, went inside, and resolved to start recruiting the help he would need to keep everyone safe.

 

-

 

After Kakashi’s shadow clone summoned Team Seven back to camp in the morning, via the nin-dogs, Sasuke activated his Sharingan to get a good look at the rest of Squad Kakashi.

 

Team Kasuga, which included the Ino-Shika-Chou set and Tsuru Hisui, had gone to the Academy together and were all friends, with one exception: Yamanaka Fuu. Sasuke didn’t know what to make of him, but he wished Fuu had stayed home. It was grotesque to take a child out of the horrors of Root, only to send him to war. What the hell was Inoichi thinking? Why would he let Fuu be used like this again? He was just a kid and the genin of Team Seven were even younger. Even the rest of Team Kasuga, all eighteen or nineteen, were too young to have had children yet. Fucking Konoha…

 

“What?” Fuu asked, noticing Sasuke’s stare. Fuu’s gaze was unfriendly and assessing. Sasuke pulled an apple out of his bag and held it out to Fuu. “Why are you giving me that?”

 

What kind of question was that?

 

“So you can eat it,” Sasuke said.

 

“Did you poison it?” Fuu asked, looking doubtful. Hisui laughed.

 

“What the heck?” Naruto asked irritably.

 

“… No,” Sasuke said to Fuu. Why would that even occur to him? Has he been poisoned before? Sasuke wouldn’t put it past Danzou to do that, actually.

 

“I’m not hungry,” Fuu said.

 

“You should eat anyway,” Fuu’s team captain, Nara Kasuga, said, not looking up from his horror novel. “We’re at war: you never know when you’ll need a spare ounce of fat and you’re too thin already.”

 

“Everybody says it’s hard to get enough to eat while on deployment during wartime,” Akimichi Maruten said. Fuu considered the apple. He looked like he would take it, but then he looked away.

 

“You eat it, then,” Fuu said. Sasuke tossed it to Maruten, who took with a smile and dug in with a quick “itadakumasu.”

 

Then, Team Miyoshi, the third and final team in Squad Kakashi, returned from their morning ablutions. They were all women and thus went to prepare for the day separately. Sasuke used his Sharingan to examine them, too. Each member of the team had a kusarigama on their hip. They had explained that the chain-sickle’s use was a specialty of their clan’s, due to being a rice farming village. Sasuke inferred that it had to do with everyone already owning a sickle, making the conversion of farming tool to weapon (and vice versa), relatively cheap.

 

“At our current rate, we’ll be crossing into the Land of Rivers today and into the Land of Wind tomorrow. Three days after that, we’ll reach Suna,” Kohaku Miyoshi remarked. “Assuming we’re going directly for Suna.”

 

“I’ll share new orders with you as and when I receive them,” Kakashi said. “For now, we just keep pace with the rest of the army.”

 

“Understood,” Miyoshi said. It was strange to see someone at least ten years Kakashi’s senior taking orders from him. Sasuke supposed that, just as there were older genin, there would naturally be older chuunin. It wasn’t guaranteed that someone would be promoted to jounin. “Can you tell us anything? What should we be expecting?”

 

“Well, I don’t know specifics, obviously, but your team is geared towards reconnaissance and tradecraft, according to your files,” Kakashi said. “Team Kasuga specializes in battlefield control and demolition and my team are heavies.”

 

“Aren’t they genin, though?” Kohaku Rina, the youngest of Team Miyoshi, said, looking at Naruto. “They’re tiny.”

 

“We can handle ourselves!” Naruto shouted, glaring at Rina and leaning towards her aggressively. “You better not look down on Team Seven, lady! We’re the best!” Rina raised a skeptical eyebrow.

 

“Don’t underestimate them on account of their age,” Kakashi said. “They’re inexperienced, but their teamwork is fluid, they can push through exhaustion, and they put others first. You can count on my cute little genin to have your back out there. And we will have each other’s backs: you will not abandon a squadmate. The mission is our first priority, but it’s not our only one; our squad is our second priority.” Fuu scoffed under his breath, giving Kakashi a disgruntled look, so Kakashi to stapled his gaze to Fuu, staring his down, as he continued speaking. “Not only will you not try to sacrifice your squadmates under any circumstances, but you will look out for them always, or you will have a very bad time of it.

 

“So, what should you expect? You should expect we’ll be sent into the thick of it, where we will be on unfamiliar terrain, possibly outnumbered by people who are defending their homes and families, with a penchant for puppets and poisons, while being baked by the unrelenting heat of the day. No big deal!” Kakashi gave a fake smile. “Because you’re all part of this squad. We look after each other.”

 

Rina gave the genin of Team Seven a despairing look.

 

“We’re all going to die,” she murmured bleakly.

 

“Hey!” Naruto barked, while Sakura held him back. “Don’t look at me when you say that!”

 

“Eventually!” Hisui agreed cheerfully, as Rinko patted Rina on the shoulder. Sasuke noted that the two young women looked quite alike. They might be sisters or cousins.

 

“Does this squad have any healers?” Rinko asked.

 

“Sasuke-kun, Sakura-chan, and I know a bit, but none of us are medic-nin,” Kakashi said. Sakura raised her hand briefly to identify herself to the other teams and Sasuke followed suit. “I’ll see what I can do to get a medic attached to our squad.”

 

“I’m a kannushi,” Rinko said. “So, if any of you need spiritual guidance, I’m here for you whenever.”

 

Sasuke wasn’t interested. He had never sought spiritual guidance in this life, but he had kept the Lee Clan’s kannushi busy for weeks in the aftermath of the massacre. Because every house, business, and place of worship in the Uchiha Quarter was a site of death, each one had to be ritually purified through an oharae. Then, when each building was demolished, the land was again cleansed. Sasuke hadn’t wanted to do it. He had wanted to let the place fester. Why clean it up? Why not push the gods away? Why not let more foulness be attracted to that place? Konoha deserved to have rot in its heart.

 

In the end, his need to keep his head down had won out. He had resented it then. Now, he was glad that he had done so. The Tsuru shouldn’t have to live in a spiritual wasteland.

 

As they ran towards their next position, Sasuke began to worry about what would be expected of him. The word “heavies” stuck in his craw. Kakashi had said that Sasuke wouldn’t have to kill anyone for Konoha, but it took no great stretch of the imagination to come up with a scenario where Sasuke might kill for his teammates. He didn’t want to serve Konoha and didn’t consider himself a ninja of Konoha, but he was already in this position. He couldn’t personally allow his teammates to be endangered through inaction. Was Sasuke about to make a fool of himself? He needed a plan.

 

When they stopped for the night and everyone had made camp, Kakashi summoned Team Seven and walked a little way away from camp.

 

“Sasuke-kun, I can’t handle the problem you talked about by myself,” Kakashi said. “Just giving you a heads up: I’m going to tell Gai-kun and Tenzou-kun at the earliest opportunity.”

 

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Kakashi as he considered this. It was probably a good idea. Those two seemed trustworthy. Of course, there was a significant trade-off: the more people who knew a secret, the harder it was to keep.

 

“I’m also going to try to bring Tsunade-sama and Shizune-san in on this,” Kakashi said.

 

“Why?” Sasuke asked.

 

“Because I need help, Sasuke-kun. Tsunade-sama is one of the Sannin,” Kakashi explained. “She’s not as closely connected to the Hokage as Jiraiya is and she has the power to help me protect your family and you three from what we talked about.”

 

“I took care of myself in the story,” Sasuke grumbled mulishly, hating that he couldn’t do this alone.

 

“Sasuke-kun, I just don’t understand how you could possibly have left Konoha by yourself and not…” Kakashi trailed off, before sighing. “Orochimaru. It was Orochimaru. Nobody tried to kidnap you or steal your eyes, because they would have had to go through Orochimaru first.”

 

Sasuke’s brow furrowed in thought. Kakashi might be right. The other Sasuke hadn’t thought of joining Orochimaru as seeking protection, but protection had been provided anyway. It hadn’t been framed that way in the story, but it still worked out that the other Sasuke hadn’t gone independent until he was jounin-level.

 

“I suppose that’s possible,” Sasuke said.

 

“Look, you guys need protection, okay? You can see that, right? Tell me you can see that,” Kakashi said, putting a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. “We had a whole discussion about this with Inoichi-san and Ikuyou-san. You get it, right?”

 

“I know,” Sasuke said. “If Tsunade-sama helps protect my clan, then I’ll welcome her.”

 

“Good boy,” Kakashi said, patting Sasuke on the head patronizingly. “So, don’t do anything rash, okay?”

 

“I know,” Sasuke said irritably. Wasn’t Kakashi the one being rash by bringing one of the Hokage’s students in on their secrets?

 

“Now, I need to go talk to some people,” Kakashi said, creating a shadow clone. “Don’t stay up late.”

 

“Or else,” the shadow clone said, giving the genin a fake smile.

 

“Or else what?” Naruto asked mockingly.

 

“Or else I’m going to wake you repeatedly during the night,” the shadow clone responded. “If you don’t value your sleep, I won’t either!”

 

That was a very serious threat, Sasuke noted with some trepidation. With this unclear time limit in mind, he left a rodent behind in camp to reverse summon him and his teammates after an hour and went to Shinku no Machi to check in on those staying there.

 

He needed to show his face to his family and employees and the Sand siblings had just lost their father. Yes, the Kazekage was an extremely abusive man, but he was still their father and they might need support, even from a stranger… A stranger, who was also an enemy combatant. Whatever, Sasuke was going to check on them anyway.

 

-

 

Kakashi’s dogs couldn’t locate Tenzou in camp, but he was able to find Gai. Kakashi peeled him away from his squad with a quick word and then went to see if Tsunade was available. Shizune intercepted them.

 

“What do you two need?” Shizune asked. Her smile was polite, with an edge that suggested Kakashi was far from the only one who had tried to corner Tsunade since she had been recalled to join the army.

 

“I’d like to speak with Tsunade-sama about her grandfather’s remains,” Kakashi said. “I’m sure you’re aware that they were used in the past to attempt to reproduce the Wood Release.”

 

“Yes, so?” Shizune asked.

 

“There have been some developments recently that I’m not sure she’s aware of,” Kakashi said, hoping that would be enough of a lure to secure an audience.

 

“We haven’t heard about anything recent, no,” Shizune said, looking disturbed.

 

“We’re very sorry to disturb you and Tsunade-sama so late, but this isn’t a discussion we should have publicly,” Gai said. “It’s a shameful and ugly business.”

 

“Everything that’s been done to the First’s body since they first decided to unseal his tomb has been shameful and ugly, Gai-san,” Shizune said. “I doubt you could say anything that would shock Tsunade-sama on that topic, but she certainly deserves to know anything you can tell her.”

 

“I will be as transparent as I can be,” Kakashi said.

 

Via Pakkun, Kakashi took Gai, Shizune, her pet pig, and Tsunade back to Konoha for this discussion, landing at the dog house.

 

“Come with me,” Kakashi said. “We need to pick up someone else, too.”

 

“Why? What’s going on?” Tsunade asked.

 

“Tsunade-sama, this is bigger than the desecration of the First’s body, although it’s still related,” Kakashi said. “We cannot speak openly. Even out here, we may be observed, so we need to move to somewhere more secure.”

 

“You think someone might have followed us from all the way out in Rivers?” Tsunade asked in shock. Gai looked just as shaken by the idea.

 

“I can’t say any more here,” Kakashi said.

 

“Then, let’s go,” Tsunade said seriously.

 

“Right!” Gai said.

 

By an incredible stroke of luck, the ANBU around the Uchiha district had been removed and Tenzou was in.

 

“What is this about, Kakashi-senpai?” Tenzou asked, after he had led Kakashi and the others into his kitchen and closed the door, activating the silencing seals.

 

“Tsunade-sama, I believe you have a summoning contract with the slugs,” Kakashi said.

 

“I do,” Tsunade said suspiciously.

 

“Would you please take us to their realm?” Kakashi asked.

 

“I still have protections on this room,” Tenzou said. “You can say anything here.”

 

“I really can’t,” Kakashi said apologetically.

 

“Alright,” Tsunade said. “Just a moment.”

 

With a determined look on her face, Tsunade summoned a slug and whisked everyone away to a dense, unlit, forbidding forest.

 

“What’s this, Tsunade-sama?” a distant, soft voice said. Kakashi looked up as a shape that was blocking out the Moon and stars. A slug out of all proportion loomed above them. Kakashi was keenly aware that, if it moved wrong, Kakashi and the others would be crushed. “How pleasant to see you. I didn’t expect a visit from you this evening.”

 

“Hello, Katsuyu-sama,” Tsunade said. “This wasn’t exactly planned. We needed someplace where we could speak unobserved. So, start talking, Kakashi-kun.”

 

“I’ll begin on the day you arrived in Konoha about a month and half ago,” Kakashi said. “A raid was conducted that night to liberate the children Danzou was keeping as slaves in the old Root headquarters. Did you hear about that?” Tsunade and Shizune looked appalled.

 

“No, we left just after lunch,” Tsunade said.

 

“This was done by a coalition of clans and without informing the Hokage, for reasons that will become apparent shortly,” Kakashi said. “Danzou and a couple of his subordinates who were involved in the matter were taken into custody the same night. When Danzou was briefly in custody, before the Third had him released, it was found that the First’s face had been grafted onto Danzou’s shoulder.”

 

Shizune gasped and covered her mouth.

 

“What?!” Tsunade exclaimed. “Is that true?!” Kakashi wished he could see her face to gauge her reaction. He was a little worried about being the barer of this particularly nasty bit of bad news to someone as powerful as Tsunade.

 

“It is,” Gai said sympathetically. “I’m so sorry, Tsunade-sama.”

 

“When Sensei informed me they were going to exhume my grandfather, he said they were only going to take a few samples!” Tsunade said, sounding distraught. “They cut off his face?! Oh, God!” Kakashi remained silent, just listening to Tsunade’s rapid breathing. “Why didn’t Sensei tell me?!”

 

“Perhaps he didn’t want you going after Danzou, instead of going off to war,” Shizune speculated angrily.

 

“I didn’t even know he was one of the test subjects,” Tsunade said.

 

“He wasn’t,” Tenzou said grimly. “He only received the arm after the Uchiha Massacre, years after the experiments were officially called off.”

 

“The arm? He had an entire arm transplanted?” Tsunade asked.

 

“The arm itself came from a man named, ‘Shin,’ the face on the shoulder came from the First, and the ten eyes imbedded in the rest of the arm came from the Uchihas Danzou had murdered in the massacre,” Kakashi said.

 

Shizune and Tsunade both gasped this time.

 

Kakashi, with occasional help from both Tenzou and Gai, revealed Danzou’s transplants and who provided them, Danzou’s cooperation with Orochimaru on the experiment that consumed scores of kidnapped children in an attempt to recreate the Wood Release, how the Hokage had approved the funding for it, the horrors of Danzou’s recreated Root, the story of the Uchiha Massacre, including the bit about Itachi torturing Sasuke, which was news to Gai and Tenzou, and, finally, the Hokage’s participation in the massacre’s cover up and continued contact with Itachi.

 

“What was he thinking?” Tsunade asked, voice thick with horror and strain. “How could he do this?”

 

“Political expedience seems to be the motivation for the Uchiha Massacre. It seems like the clan was planning a coup,” Kakashi said.

 

“What?... But that doesn’t explain anything!” Tsunade snarled. “They killed everyone! They killed children, babies in their cots! They killed everyone!” She had to catch her breath after that outburst.

 

“The Hokage is a traitor,” Tenzou said.

 

Everyone went silent after that declaration. Kakashi hoped Tsunade would respond supportively…

 

“No, I’m not getting involved in this,” Tsunade said. “I don’t even live in Konoha anymore. None of this is my problem.”

 

“Fine,” Kakashi said cooly, bitterly disappointed, but not surprised.

 

“Are we done here?” Tsunade asked shortly. “Only I have to run down Danzou now.”

 

“No. Now, I need to tell you about Akatsuki’s plans,” Kakashi said.

 

“The ones who helped massacre the Uchiha?” Tsunade asked.

 

“Yes,” Kakashi said. He took a breath. “But first I need to tell you about my student, Sasuke-kun; he’s a seer.” Kakashi delved into the entire confusing story for those present. “He only awoke his memories of the past and saw the future after the Uchiha Massacre.”

 

“That all sounds pretty farfetched. I’m not accusing Sasuke-kun of lying, but could he believe all this because of what Itachi did to him?” Shizune said. “You said Itachi put the boy under a genjutsu. Could this be some elaborate piece of mind-control, perhaps the result of some secret Uchiha ability?”

 

“He’s right about too many things, things that Itachi couldn’t have even guessed at. Sasuke-kun knew a certain girl was going to be attacked by a bear during the Chuunin Exams and need rescue. He knew that I would be disabled by Zabuza on Team Seven’s first away mission, giving Sasuke the chance to escape. He knew the appearances and abilities of the Oto genin team Orochimaru was going to send to test him during the second phase of the exams. He knew the proctors for the exams and the solution to the first phase’s test. He knew that Danzou would start taking children as slaves after the massacre, in order to replace Root. He knows things, terrible things, and they cannot be dismissed as a hallucination.”

 

“Why didn’t he say anything?” Tenzou asked. “If what you’re saying is true, he knew that Danzou was going to kidnap those kids for Root. He knew for years. Why didn’t he say anything?”

 

“Because he didn’t trust anyone,” Kakashi said. “His only goal was to collect the remnants of his clan and escape Konoha.”

 

“He still should have told someone,” Tenzou said. “Kids died!”

 

“It was cowardly,” Kakashi said. “But he was seven and his whole clan had just been murdered by the government. Oh, and his brother had forced him to watch, on repeat. Apparently, nothing he saw in the future gave him any faith that it would be safe to confide in anyone. Quite the opposite, unfortunately. It wasn’t that he didn’t care. He just didn’t care enough to act.” Kaakshi wished he could see Tenzou’s face.

 

“Did you know that we would be attacked by Sai-kun before it happened?” Gai asked.

 

“Sasuke-kun gave me the heads up, yeah,” Kakashi said. “Still, he only told me about Danzou’s slaves, because he was afraid that I was about to be in a situation where I might kill or be killed by one of them and he didn’t want anyone to get hurt.”

 

“You say he cared. Did he not know how bad things would be for Sai-kun and the other kids?” Tenzou asked tersely.

 

“I not sure exactly what he knows,” Kakashi said. “He doesn’t remember every detail of the story.”

 

Tenzou sighed. It wasn’t a reassuring sound. Kakashi didn’t need Tenzou to forgive Sasuke for letting Sai and the others rot, but he couldn’t have Tenzou holding a grudge over it, either. Tenzou wasn’t really the type to hold grudges, even seeming to not be bitter about what Danzou did to him, but Sai was his ward and Tenzou mmight be a bit more protective of Sai than he was of himself.

 

“Tenzou-kun, he’s been living in fear for the last six years, almost half his life,” Kakashi said calmly. “He was so traumatized by what happened, that he just stopped talking to everyone and no one stepped up to look after him. He’s been alone, Tenzou-kun. For six years, he’s been alone. Every single one of us knew he was living in that house, in the place where his parents were murdered, alone, and none of us were there for him. That future he saw was bleak, just like his everyday life. He had no reason to trust that anyone would protect him. He also had his clan to think of.”

 

“There were other survivors?” Tsunade asked, sounding shocked.

 

“One,” Kakashi said. “She was being held captive by the Sarutobi Clan when the massacre took place.”

 

“Oh, no,” Tsunade said faintly, rocking back on her heels. “Oh, Sensei, what have you done?”

 

“Nothing directly,” Kakashi said. “This person had been locked up for the last two hundred years. The Third might not have even known this person existed.”

 

“Another thing that needs to be investigated,” Gai said.

 

“Yeah,” Kakashi agreed.

 

“Kakashi-kun, this is all very important information. Why are we the only ones present for this revelation?” Gai asked. Kakashi didn’t want to say it, but he had no choice now.

 

“… What if Shikaku-san really did get the Utatane Clan destroyed intentionally?” Kakashi asked.

 

“Impossible! Shikaku-san wouldn’t do that! You can trust him!” Gai said imploringly.

 

“I used to think I could trust the Hokage,” Kakashi said. “Besides, what I’m about to tell you is a secret of the highest order. You can’t even breathe a word of this outside a summon realm. The enemy may be listening, no matter where you are, no matter how carefully you check your surroundings. Only those who are directly involved in resisting this enemy need to know about them.”

 

“I didn’t say I was going to help you,” Tsunade said.

 

“You won’t have a choice any more than I do,” Kakashi said. “This isn’t a problem that you can run away from.”

 

“Are you calling me a coward?!” Tsunade snarled, grabbing Kakashi by the collar. He held up his hands placatingly.

 

“No, Tsunade-sama,” Kakashi said. “I’m saying that there’s nowhere to run.”

 

After a tense moment, Tsunade released him and Kakashi sighed in relief.

 

“This is more secret that Sasuke-kun being able to see the future?” Shizune asked.

 

“Yes,” Kakashi said. “Although you shouldn’t spread that around either, for obvious reasons.”

 

“Enough with the suspense. Who is this enemy of yours?” Tsunade demanded.

 

“We’ve dubbed them, ‘Venom.’”

 

-

 

Sasuke woke the next morning to find Tsunade and Shizune’s pet pig were sitting around the fire pit beside Team Seven’s sleeping bags, while Shizune was starting a fire.

 

“Tsunade-sama,” Sasuke greeted softly, wishing he were wearing more than pajamas. “Shizune-san.”

 

“Hello,” Shizune said with a smile.

 

“You’re Sasuke-kun, right,” Tsunade said uninterestedly, not even turning to look at him. “Good to meet you. My apprentice, Shizune, and I are joining your squad as medics.” Her attitude was so jaded it almost stung.

 

Sasuke got dressed and packed his things away, mind spinning. Was this the point where Sakura would become Tsunade’s apprentice? But Sakura was Kakashi’s apprentice now. Could she do both? He doubted it. Tsunade said that she was a medic. Was she really? Had she gotten over her hemophobia?

 

Sasuke thought about the night before as he made ready for the day. There had been a fight during the day in Shinku no Machi between the Kazekage’s eldest two and the Oto Five survivors over the Kazekage’s death. Apparently, the eldest Sand siblings were upset by their father’s murder and didn’t like having that wound poked at by associates of the man who killed him. The Rodents had intervened and no one died, but tensions were running high. Sasuke was starting to resent being stuck with the rest of the army. Being around these untrustworthy people was preventing him from both being with his clan and letting their captives go free.

 

Tenten came running over.

 

“Sasuke-kun!” she said in a breathless whisper. “That’s Tsunade-sama!”

 

Sasuke nodded. Yeah, it was pretty wild. Sasuke was surprised, too, even though Kakashi had told him the night before that he was going to try to recruit her.

 

“I got permission from Gai-sensei to seek an apprenticeship with her!” Tenten whispered. Sasuke tried to remember how Sakura had secured an apprenticeship with Tsunade, but he drew a blank, so he couldn’t offer Tenten any advice.

 

“Good luck,” Sasuke said instead.

 

“You should try, too!” Tenten said. “Come on, join me!”

 

Sasuke blinked at her.

 

“You’re so good, Sasuke-kun! You could be a great medic-nin!” Tenten said encouragingly.

 

That was a good idea, actually. Sasuke wouldn’t have to openly refuse kill people for Konoha, if he were a medic. Plus, he’d be better equipped to help his clan and others. Sasuke nodded and Tenten smiled in a relieved way. Was she nervous about meeting her hero? Sasuke gave her a reassuring smile.

 

Then, he recalled Kakashi. Did he need to get his current teacher’s permission for something like this? Was there paperwork involved? The other Sakura had asked the other Kakashi’s permission, so did Sasuke need to? He looked over at Kakashi and prepared to go speak to him about it. Instead, he found Kakashi watching him. Kakashi gave him a thumbs-up and a nod. So… They weren’t even going to talk about it? Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Kakashi, who looked Sasuke dead in the eye and made a shooing motion with one hand.

 

… Was that his way of being supportive? Why did Sasuke even care what he thought anyway?

 

“Let’s go,” Sasuke said to Tenten.

 

“Tsunade-sama!” Tenten said. “I’m Tenten of Team Gai and this is Sasuke-kun of Team Kakashi! Please accept us as your students! I’ve always admired you! You’re the reason I became a ninja!”

 

Tsunade withdrew slightly, her expression going cold, before opening her mouth… and then shutting it. Shizune tilted her head enquiringly and smiled hopefully at Tsunade, who heaved a great sigh and looked back to Tenten.

 

“You want to be a medic-nin?” Tsunade asked.

 

“Oh yes! I thought used to think it was impossible for me, but Neji-kun and Sasuke-kun designed a fuinjutsu for me, see?” Tenten rolled up her sleeve to display her painted skin.

 

Shizune and Tsunade both leaned in to examine it.

 

“What’s this?” Tsunade asked, with a guardedly curious look.

 

“It increases my chakra control! I can heal people now!” Tenten said.

 

“And you helped create this, Sasuke-kun?” Shizune asked.

 

“It’s essentially an adaptive prosthesis to improve fine chakra control,” Sasuke said. “With her skill at fuinjutu, I’m sure she’ll be able to improve its design, as well as to develop any other tools she needs to perform as a medic-nin.”

 

“We can work on them together going forward!” Tenten said. Sasuke nodded in agreement. “That is, if you’ll accept us, Tsunade-sama.” Tenten regarded Tsunade nervously.

 

“Why do you want to become a medic-nin?” Tsunade asked.

 

“I want to help people,” Tenten said. Tsunade sighed again.

 

 “I can train you up, but, without exceptional chakra control, you won’t be able to perform my signature techniques,” Tsunade said.

 

“… Then, I’ll make up my own,” Tenten said.

 

Tsunade flashed a smile, as brief as it was honest, and Sasuke got the impression Tenten had passed her test.

 

“It seems like you’re already well on your way,” Tsunade said.

 

“Yes, Tsunade-sama!” Tenten said with a determined nod. “I’ve been studying fuinjutsu even more closely since I learned what it can do!”

 

“And you, Sasuke-kun, why do you want to become a medic-nin?” Tsunade asked, giving Sasuke an assessing look.

 

Sasuke hadn’t thought about becoming a medic-nin before. He was being pretty impulsive here, actually. So, why did he want to become one? Besides keeping him out away from the fighting (the thought sat uncomfortably in his mind, like a glass hanging over the edge of a counter), what benefit was there to be gained?

 

“I want to be able to protect my precious people,” Sasuke said. “I never want to lose anyone ever again, not if I can help it.” Tsunade’s expression fractured, showing grief underneath, but only for an instant.

 

“The Uchiha Clan consistently produced fine medic-nin,” Tsunade said softly. “I imagine you’ll be one of the best.” Sasuke was tempted to ask her about them. Had she known any of them personally? Could she be persuaded to share her memories of them with him? However, Tsunade was still talking. “Alright. I accept you both as my apprentices. I understand that you both have your own assignments during the war, but afterwards I expect you both to work hard.”

 

“How wonderful!” Shizune said happily. “It’s like getting two new little siblings!”

 

“Thank you, Tsunade-sama! Please look after me,” Tenten said, bowing. Sasuke bowed and thanked Tsunade, too. When they had both risen, Sasuke saw that Tenten was blushing in pleasure and smiling so wide that her face was likely to hurt later. Tsunade, by contrast, looked a little haunted. What was she thinking about?

 

Kakashi’s hand landed on Sasuke’s shoulder unexpectedly, causing Sasuke to jump.

 

“That’s no good. You need to work on your situational awareness,” Kakashi said. “You can’t be so deep in your own head that you forget what’s around you out here. We’re at war, remember?” Sasuke didn’t deign to respond to that remark. “Are you trying to replace me, Sasuke-kun?”

 

“Impossible,” Sasuke said. That was a stupid question. There was no way he even could. How could he trust Tsunade to look after him and his people the way Kakashi did? Kakashi had put in the work. Who else would do that?

 

“Aww! You say the sweetest things!” Kakashi said. Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Have you guys all met Tsunade-sama and Shizune-san? They’re Squad Kakashi’s new medics.”

 

Kakashi got the rest of the squad to introduce themselves briefly. Unfortunately, the process was just as painful as it was when Team Seven had been formed. Listening to everyone list their likes and dislikes and such, Sasuke despaired of his squadmates. Everyone acted like they had to do what Kakashi said, just because he was in charge. When it was Sasuke’s turn, he simply gave his name and gestured for Sakura to start her introduction.

 

“I didn’t know you wanted to be a medic-nin, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura said after the introductions were over and everyone had begun moving again.

 

“He’s pretty good at healing us when we get hurt in training,” Naruto said.

 

“Very good! You’ll be a great medic-nin, of course! You’re so smart, you can do anything. And you’ve got the right temperament to be a medic-nin,” Sakura said. “Medic-nin should be kind, right?”

 

“Sure. Who would want to go see a mean healer?” Naruto said. “Going to the doctor is bad enough without having to deal with a… jerk.”

 

“With your chakra control, you’d make a better medic-nin than I will,” Sasuke said to Sakura.

 

“You think? But I’m happy to be more combat focused,” Sakura said. “I really like winning!”

 

“Since you’re going to be doing soft work, like healing, does that mean you’re going to get weak?” Naruto asked.

 

“You want to test me?” Sasuke said, with some irritation.

 

“I kind of have to, don’t I? Otherwise, you’ll get completely left behind by Sakura-chan and me! Don’t worry, I’ll keep you sharp, believe it!” the impishly grinning Naruto said, before tossing a shuriken at Sasuke’s head. Sasuke caught it and tossed it back with another in its shadow. It was just getting fun when Kakashi caught the assortment of shuriken, kunai, and apples (a surprisingly aerodynamic fruit) out of the air.

 

“You do know these are actually dangerous, right?” Kakashi said, running in between Sasuke and Naruto and looking bored as he peeled an apple with one of his captured kunai. “Don’t throw these sorts of things at your teammates for fun. You’re not allowed to do anything that might bother the rest of you squadmates.”

 

Then, Kakashi ran back into the lead, still holding Sasuke and Naruto’s weapons. Well, Sasuke supposed they wouldn’t be getting those back. He tapped the side of his head to start some music playing and moved one day closer to Suna.

Notes:

Naruto: Now, sing us a song in Japanese!

Sasuke: *sings the opening theme song to Naruto*

Naruto: ???What is this feeling???

Author: Tayuya, be a doll and help your boss learn to sing better. I need him to develop that skill.

Tayuya: Okay. Boss, you suck.

Jiroubou: Please don’t lose us our first paying job.

Tayuya: What? I’m helping.

 

Who actually thought Kakashi’s mission to spring Gaara from jail would go off without a hitch? Now it’s Kakashi picking up waifs and strays! At least he’s had time to acclimate to the process.

 

There are so few Yamanakas named in the series that I was forced to either use Fuu or make somebody up, but he has brings dramatic potential to the story, so I’m happy with him. The Kohaku Clan’s people are even more ambiguous than the Yamanaka Clan’s, so I had to make them up out of whole cloth. I decided to take their canon clan symbol as a guide to their abilities. It’s two solidly black tomoe, like the yin-yang symbol, but without any white at all. I interpreted this as indicating a specialization in Yin-Release techniques. I can’t remember if that comes up in this chapter, or if I cut that bit of information into the next one, actually. As a nod to Inuyasha, I’ve also made them skilled with the kusarigama.

I looked at the cell Naruto was kept in during the Will of Fire movie. Apparently, that part of the village isn’t electrified for some reason. It’s also inside of a cave system. Looks supremely dubious to me. Who keeps people in caves? Konoha, why are you like this?