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Chapter Text

Toru hurries down the side alley, glad to avoid the evening rush on the main streets. It is surprisingly quiet for the time of day, and the elven-year-old is grateful for it. He has spent the majority of his day in his Ninja Academy class, and most of his classmates are extremely loud.

A frown tugs its way onto Toru’s face. Something in the back of his head tenses, and Toru jerks his head up and searches for the source of worry. He doesn’t see anything. Toru hears a scream; he freezes. Black eyes widen as a shinobi body flickers in front of him.

Toru is already moving, though – something screaming at him to duck to the right. Toru jerks backwards, half-stumbling over himself in a bid to get away quickly. The movement is pointless and a sword plunges into his chest. The red-eyed shinobi flickers away.

Toru is vaguely aware of the blood trickling down his torso, and an ache penetrating his limbs. He falls, landing on his back with a thump. His vision starts fading, and Toru can only watch the darkening sky.

Something in the back of his head shouts movemovemoveMOVEMOVEMOVEmOVe! Toru moves his arm; it collapses on top of his chest. He dips his finger in the red blood and sketches a bunch of symbols onto his chest. He stops moving. Everything is quiet as others die.

Toru has never stood out within his clan, the Uchiha. On the social hierarchy, he is just above civilians due to his lineage and his lack of activated kekkei genkai puts him below other Uchiha ninja. The Uchiha are a clan who pride themselves on their prodigies and kekkei genkai that most Uchiha activate by the age of eleven. Toru is almost twelve and hadn’t graduated from the academy, or gained his sharingan.

The young Uchiha’s lack of skills is surprising to all who know his Uchiha side of the family tree. His mother is an Uchiha and distantly related to numerous well-known Uchiha. Toru’s averageness makes him stand out, and not in a good way. The shinobi-in-training is vastly ignored by most Uchiha his age and older, with only a few children ever talking to him.

However, Toru’s father makes the boy different from most Uchiha. His father was from out of the clan, and wasn’t even born in Konoha. He’d been an orphan that had come with a merchant family into Konoha early in his life. He had passed away when Toru was younger, leaving Toru and his kunoichi mother whom, afterwards, often went on long missions. This left Toru to look after himself, with a neighbour occasionally checking in to see if he is still alive.

Nonetheless, Toru did love his family, both his mother and his deceased father. Although, his favourite person was his cousin. Shisui normally made time for Toru despite the older boy’s hectic schedule. The pair normally spent idyllic afternoons together, talking or playing games. With Shisui, Toru didn’t have to pretend as he did elsewhere.

Toru is what the ninja world called a ‘chameleon ninja’. A person who hid any talent and acted as if they are completely normal, and aren’t a genius or a prodigy. Toru knew what he is, and the only other person who did had been Shisui. The younger Uchiha knew what pressure the clan put on prodigies, and how high the risk is of burning out.

Toru doesn’t want to be known as a child genius, looked up to by younger children, hated by those his age, and looked down on by older ninjas. He knows that if he wants to live a relatively normal life, he needs to act as a relatively normal person. It works, no one saw through his act – not that any had bothered, with the exception of Shisui.

The ANBU teams spread out through the compound, searching for survivors. They had already found the clan leader’s youngest son, and the knowledge that the heir had gone on a rampage is now old news.

One ANBU pauses above an almost-empty street, staring down at a child’s corpse. Something isn’t right about the image; the ANBU moves closer, crouching down next to the body.

The body’s chest moves.

The ANBU’s hidden eyes widen, and they flare their chakra, alerting the others to the survivor. The ANBU’s team are quick to surround the first ANBU. They communicate in hand gestures, while the child continues to breath, but it is slow as if time around the Uchiha has slowed down drastically.

Hands glow green as one ANBU scans the boy’s vitals; they nod. The boy would survive a trip to the hospital. The ANBU who found the child scoops him up, and takes off at a sprint towards the hospital. Another ANBU goes towards the Hokage’s office; the Sandaime needs to know of this development.

The Uchiha clan has been massacred by Itachi Uchiha (S-ranked missing-nin), but two survivors were left alive. The first survivor is Sasuke Uchiha (eight-years-old), Itachi’s younger brother, who has been left physically unharmed. The second survivor is Toru Uchiha (eleven-years-old), who has been left in critical condition after being attacked.

Chapter Text

“Brain activity is gradually increasing and vitals are still rising steadily. Temperature is staying steady; we aren’t encountering any issues,” the nurse says, reading the machines surrounding the boy on the hospital bed.

The room remains silent until the nurse speaks up again, “Vitals have reached the optimal level and appear to be steadying. Brain activity has almost reached the level for wakefulness. In three minutes we should have an awake patient!”

“Good job everyone,” the doctor says. “Now, we have other patients to care for. Kane-san, you’re on standby for future problems. I’ll complete a check up on the patient when he returns to consciousness, as well as explain the current situation. Saito-san, go tell Hokage-sama that he should expect our second Uchiha to be awake and talking by the end of today.”

Excluding the doctor and the patient, the room’s occupants leave, each to their respective tasks. The doctor sits down on one of the plastic chairs that the room provides, and waits as the Uchiha massacre survivor starts to wake.

The boy’s heartbeat and breathing increase as he wakes, eyes flickering beneath eyelids, and limbs starting to move. Toru’s eyes slam open, before he screws them shut upon seeing the bright light above him. He squints, trying to figure out where he is.

“Uchiha-san, you are Konoha hospital. Don’t try to move fully or speak, if you can hear me make a fist with your hand,” the doctor pronounces clearly.

Toru clenches his hands shut, feeling a dull ache in his chest. He wonders what had happened to land him in hospital. “That’s good news Uchiha-san. Can you open your eyes?” The Uchiha opens his eyes fully, his pupils changing size to adapt to the amount of light. “Can you see?”

Toru croaks something out in an attempt to answer, and the doctor clicks his tongue. “Avoid speaking for now Uchiha-san. I imagine your throat is dry and sore. We’ve had you in a coma while your condition stabilised. Do you want to hear the prognosis? Just clench your right fist for no, both fists for yes.”

Toru clenches both fists and watches the doctor as best he can without moving. The doctor picks up his clipboard. “Your condition is due to the fact you were stabbed with a sword.” Toru’s breathing and heart rate picks up as he starts recalling what happened to land him in hospital.

“Uchiha-san, you are perfectly safe! You need to calm down; you can’t risk such an increased heart rate!” The doctor calls out and Toru gasps for breath. “Uchiha-san you’ll go into shock if you don’t calm down.”

The doctor clicks the help button next to Toru’s bed, “I need a sedative for a patient with an injured heart, STAT. He’s going into shock and risking further injury.”

***

The second time Toru wakes up, he is more aware of what had happened to him. He stays motionless with closed eyes and comes to terms with what had happened. He had been attacked in the clan compound by a shinobi with the sharingan. A clan member of some kind had clearly gone on a rampage and Toru had been in the wrong spot at the wrong time. However, the Uchiha clan is strong and Toru is sure that someone would’ve brought the rioting ninja down.

Toru opens his eyes and quickly spots the doctor from earlier. “Uchiha-san, you are awake. This is good news. Do you remember what happened last time?”

Toru clenches both fists, “I’m glad to hear that. We want to avoid anything similar from occurring, as we don’t want your condition from deteriorating. Do you remember what happened?”

Toru clenches both fists once again, “Very well. I’m glad to see you are calmer. Before I tell you about your condition, I want you to check your range of movement. Please move your left arm, then your right arm, then your left leg, and then your right leg.”

Toru nods and did as asked. The doctor hums and ticks something off on his clipboard. “Your range of movement seems fine, I’m going to move your bed so you’re in sitting position and then we’ll see about getting you a drink, okay?”

Toru nods and the bed slowly moves upright so that Toru is in a sitting position. The doctor hands him a glass of water, “Take only small sips for now. Don’t rush either.”

Toru slowly drinks the glass of water, getting used to the lingering pain in his torso and stiffness in his muscles. He puts the glass down on the table next to him and turns his attention to the doctor who smiles.

“Your condition was due to being attack with a sword. It was meant to be a straight thrust to your heart. Fortunately, from what we can gather, you were wary and had strengthened the chakra pathways around your main organs; you had also managed to sidestep out of the blow a tiny bit. Your movement caused the tip of the sword to pierce the left ventricle of your heart, which has a stronger wall compared to the right ventricle, which meant that your heart itself wasn’t pierced fully. Your chakra also helped, as it created resistance.

“Normally, a person would go into shock, but with your training so far you are slightly better prepared to deal with shock directly after an injury. Instead of panicking and increasing your heart rate and breathing – which would’ve caused you to bleed out faster as well as further tearing the injury that the sword had made – you were able to paint a status seal on your torso next to the injury. Were you aware that you did this?”

Toru nods, recalling a vague, blurry memory of sketching something on his skin before passing out. He can’t remember what he did, but something had encouraged him to do it.

“A status seal is generally used by medics to slow down a patient’s bodily functions, allowing the medic more time to heal the person. It was good that you used it; otherwise, you would’ve bled out by the time you were found. You were rushed to hospital where a team of our staff, headed by myself, rushed you into surgery in order to heal your heart, other injured organs, and injured muscle tissue. We also had to transfuse blood due to the amount you had lost. As I mentioned earlier, we put you into a coma afterwards. It’s been a week since then.”

Toru nods slowly, thinking over the information he has been given, and seeing if there is anything he doesn’t comprehend. “I think I understand everything,” Toru says softly. “What happened to the Uchiha who attacked me?”

A frown forms on the doctor’s face, and Toru feels his heart quicken in worry. He takes a few deep breathes and calms himself. “What happened?” He reiterates.

“The attack on your person was not random or the only one. The rogue shinobi was Itachi Uchiha who attacked you and attempted to murder the rest of your clan,” the doctor responds.

Toru freezes, it feels like everything has suddenly stopped – he wonders if it is bad for his heart to stop – and the world he has composed around himself collapses inwards. “D- Did anyone survive?”

“Yes, Sasuke Uchiha.”

Toru rubs his eyes, feeling tears starting to form. He doesn’t even think about Sasuke, who has always looked up to his elder brother – his elder brother who had massacred most of the Uchiha clan.

“I’ll let you have some time to yourself,” the doctor says, departing, “and I’m sorry for your loss.”

Toru lets out a laugh crossed with a cry after the doctor’s gone, his loss; that was one way of putting it. He can’t quite believe it, Itachi who always seemed so calm, so far above all the others. He had been a prodigy; Toru knows that. Is it so unbelievable that he had snapped and killed his own clan?

He has never actually spoken or interacted with Itachi, only watching the older boy from a distance. Nonetheless, Shisui had always spoken about Itachi fondly. Toru doesn’t quite get people, but Shisui seemed to understand them, and trust them. It is hard for Toru to realise that Shisui is wrong.

Shisui is dead. Toru has forgotten that. Shisui had committed suicide, something Toru could never imagine the elder Uchiha doing. Shisui was also Itachi’s friend; they were extremely close… Had Shisui known something? Had Itachi killed Shisui to protect his own secrets? Or is Toru missing something?

Toru straightens the bed, so he is in a sleeping position once again, and closes his eyes. He doesn’t sleep. He is far too awake and emotionally distraught to do that. Instead, he simply mourns. There was no love lost between him and his clan, but they were all the family he had known.

***

Toru is in the midst of completing a puzzle book, which Daisuke – Toru’s doctor – had kindly provided, when someone knocks on his door. He looks up, confused, as no one besides his doctor has spoken to him – not that there’s anyone left to come visit him. “Come in,” he calls out, overly glad that his voice is sounding better than it did the other day.

Toru’s doctor – Daisuke – is pleased with the rate Toru is healing. Apparently, Toru’s body has undergone a lot of stress due to the forced chakra healing and being in a coma. Toru has lost physical conditioning and his muscles are stiff due to not moving for a while.

Toru’s torso is still healing, with the skin still recovering along with his muscles. He’s still on painkillers and antibiotics, and Daisuke told Toru that he may be able to leave the hospital before the week is up. However, he would have to come back for physical therapy and take it easy.

The Hokage enters the room, and Toru places the puzzle book on the table next to him. “Good morning, Hokage-sama,” Toru greets, voice soft as he greets his leader.

“Toru-kun, it is good to see you are awake once again,” the old man replies, a kind expression on his face. “You had us all worried.”

Toru wonders whom the Sandaime meant by all, he has no family left. He wonders what the Sandaime expects him to say in response, Toru almost wishes he were dead so he didn’t have to live with the knowledge he survived when most of his clan did not.

“I think if I were someone else, I’d be worried too,” Toru eventually says.

The Hokage smiles before losing it, Toru stills in response. “I understand you woke up recently, do you know what happened?”

Toru blinks slowly and draws in a steadying breath, dealing with his grief the best he can before replying. “Itachi Uchiha massacred the Uchiha clan leaving Sasuke Uchiha behind along with myself,” he says, and despite his best efforts, his voice quavers and stutters and he shouldn’t show weakness; he’s a shinobi.

The Hokage adopts a sorrowful expression and Toru hates because he doesn’t want pity. “I’m sorry for your loss, Toru-kun. No one ever expected Itachi to attack the Uchiha to test his strength.”

Toru keeps his expression steady, but mentally wonders if Itachi really did massacre the clan. Toru knew of Itachi’s actions, so why did the Hokage feel the need to reinforce that fact? Especially by mentioning Itachi by name, if Toru was more of a hateful and angry person, he would want to kill Itachi, and mentioning the Uchiha’s name would only strengthen that anger and hatred.

“It certainly was unexpected,” Toru murmurs, looking down at the hospital blanket. He crinkles and smooths it, feeling the need to do something with his hands.

“I understand you have been through a traumatic situation, but I do need to speak to you about what will be happening from now on,” the Hokage says and Toru nods, still not looking up at the older man.

“I think it would be best if you didn’t live in the compound for now,” the Sandaime says, and Toru nods once again, knowing that it is a good idea. “I also want you to be under the watch of an ANBU, just until we know that Itachi isn’t going to come back and attack.”

Toru tucks his annoyance behind his teeth, and acknowledges that it is a good idea. Although, if Itachi wants to test his strength, why would he attack an academy student?

“You are registered at the academy correct?”

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” Toru says, wondering what the Sandaime is going to talk about next.

“Do you still wish to be a ninja? I understand that this experience may have ruined your dream, and I am sure there are many other things to do, if you wish to no longer follow the path of a ninja.”

Toru shakes his head furiously. He wants to be a ninja, and he doubts anything will change that. It’s all he knows how to do (it’s all he has ever done; it’s also why he died). “I want to be a shinobi,” Toru says, lifting his head to meet the Hokage’s eyes.

The Hokage stays silent, watching Toru, seeming to search him for something. “I’m sure we can make that happen,” the Sandaime says, offering Toru a smile. Toru, though, notices the inclusive language and wonders if the Sandaime is trying to place emphasis the idea of Toru being a Konoha ninja only. “I understand that with your condition you aren’t allowed to do much physical work?”

Toru’s face screws up into an annoyed expression and the Sandaime hides a laugh. “For a few weeks, at least,” he says. “I’m going to lose all my physical conditioning and have to work from scratch. I’m not even allowed to throw anything,” he complains.

“I’m sure you can improve in other areas,” the Hokage says.

“That’s what Daisuke-san, my doctor, said,” Toru responds. “Apparently, I should use the time to work on my chakra control.”

“That’s a very good idea,” the Hokage replies before his expression goes sorrowful again. “Regarding the situation with Sasuke-kun, he hasn’t been told that there’s another survivor.”

Toru wonders if everyone’s stupid, because that sounds like a dumb idea, before he remembers that it was very possible that he might’ve died. “I take it you didn’t tell him because if I died it would’ve done bad things to him psychologically?”

The Hokage nods and mentally reappraises the young Uchiha in front of him, who seems intent on defying his expectations. He has come to the hospital expecting to see another depressed, forlorn, angry boy. Instead, he is met with a shinobi-in-training who is doing his best to deal with his grief. The boy doesn’t seem angry or spiteful towards Itachi, and he thinks that the academy teachers are right about Toru being almost ready to graduate.

“I believe it would be best if you two met soon. You’ll be living together at my estate until you have the funds to buy an apartment. Is that alright with you?”

Toru nods and gives the Hokage a soft grin. “Thank you Hokage-sama. When will I be able to meet Sasuke?”

The Hokage taps his fingers on the bedrail, “I think later today would be alright, don’t you think? After all, you will be out in another day or two.”

Toru blinks, caught between surprise and happiness. “Okay,” he says softly, dropping his gaze to the blankets once more.

“I will see you later Toru-kun, look after yourself.”

“Bye Hokage-sama,” Toru replies, picking up the puzzle book once more. He doubts it’ll entertain him, though, excited and worried as he is.

***

“This is Uchiha-san’s room,” the nurse says. “If anything happens, there will be someone within yelling distance and the help desk is always manned.” The nurse offers Toru a bright smile and strides off.

Toru looks at the closed door and wonders what would happen if he ran off. He probably wouldn’t get very far because of his injury, but entertaining the idea made him find some humour in the situation.

He opens the door; he doesn’t bother knocking, the person inside should know he’s coming. The room is surprisingly dark, with the curtains pulled shut and only the bedside lamp on. Toru flicks on the light switch, so he doesn’t have to wait for his eyes to adjust.

Sitting up on the bed, with a scowl fixed in place, is a young boy. He’s pale and he has dark bags under his eyes. He’s too skinny as well, and his eyes are haunted with grief and rage and hatred.

Toru licks his lips and wonders how social interactions are meant to go for a second time for the day. He thinks up something good to say and speaks, “Have you slept recently?” His mouth says instead.

The boy doesn’t seem to have any energy, and Toru wonders if he’s using it all just to make ensure he doesn’t sway on the spot and keel over. “You need sleep,” Toru says.

“You’re an Uchiha,” the kid responds.

Toru nods before pausing, “Actually, I’m technically half-Uchiha, but for all that it matters, I’m part of the Uchiha clan.”

“I was told he killed them all,” the kid practically whispers. Toru looks into almost-dead eyes and feels any worry for himself melt out of him. He’s dealing a lot better than this eight-year-old is (and maybe because he’s dealt with death a great deal already). An eight-year-old who had his parents killed in front of him by his brother, went under emotional and mental torture by said brother, and thought his whole clan had been killed.

No wonder Toru’s dealing a lot better. “They didn’t want to give you false hope,” Toru replies as he walks over to the kid’s bed. “I was in pretty bad condition for quite a while; they didn’t know if I would live. I’m still in bad condition, and I’m banned from doing any physical work for ages. But, I’m stable and going to live, so they could tell you.

“I don’t know what you’ve been told, but I haven’t graduated from the academy or anything. They’re sticking us together with Hokage-sama for now, until we have enough money to buy ourselves an apartment, because we are not going to live in the compound,” Toru pauses awkwardly. “Well, that’s if you want to stick with me. I’m not very good at dealing with people, and maybe it’s best if you don’t stick with me; I might just remind you of what happened.”

Toru turns to go, deciding that this was a bad idea and he is probably going to traumatise the kid further. However, a strong grip wraps around his wrist. “Don’t go,” Sasuke says softly, and Toru turns to meet his gaze.

Toru sighs and nods, “Alright, but I’m not sitting on one of those uncomfortable hospital chairs. You’re moving over and we’re going to go to sleep. You look exhausted and I feel exhausted.”

Sasuke nods and all but collapses back into the bed, he scrunches over and Toru gets in the bed slowly. “Whatever you do kid, don’t go thrashing while you’re asleep. I don’t particularly feel like getting elbowed where I’m injured.”

“‘M not a kid, ‘m Sasuke,” the younger Uchiha whispers, eyes drooping as he starts succumbing to sleep.

“You’re a kid to me,” Toru replies quietly, before he falls asleep.

***

The building in front of him is pale blue, cream, and dark red. Overhead, the sky is overcast, hinting at rain to come. The wind tugs on the branches of the two beach trees nearby. He stands, looking at this building and knowing in his heart that his life is about to change.

His best friend stands beside him. She pulls on his hand, tossing a glance over her shoulder to look at him. “Are you coming or are you going to admire the view?”

He laughs and pushes his legs into a run, easily keeping up with Ayumu. The pair enters the academy laughing and joking. All around them, there are other children smiling and grinning and talking loudly. Ayumu and he can name most of them already; most of the children here grow up together.

Ayumu leans over to whisper to him, “I’m going to be the top ninja in our class.”

He grins, “I won’t be surprised if that happens.”

Ayumu pouts, “You are meant to doubt me so I can beat you up afterwards!”

He rolls his eyes, “I’m sure you’ll be able to beat me up later anyway. What do you think you’ll focus on?”

“Probably taijutsu and genjutsu, combining those two would be quite helpful, I’m sure!” Ayumu responds happily.

“Especially if you use touch-based genjutsu, if you make their perception of time slightly quicker, or make it so you look a centimetre to the left… Well, you could make quick work of them if you have devastating taijutsu as well,” he responds thoughtfully. “I want to focus on sealing, specifically the kind that might be helpful for fighting without killing.”

“You’re too soft,” Ayumu says, shoving him lightly. “You won’t make it anywhere in life with that kind of attitude.”

He turns to face his best friend, who knows him almost as well as he knows himself. “Mercy should always be offered first,” he tells her. “But I will kill in defence of my village, I will always.”

***

Toru wakes slowly, and he feels rested for the first time since he came out of the coma. There’s a warm body next to him, and he has an arm wrapped around a small body and pulling it close to his torso.

He’s sore, but in the same way, a muscle is sore after you’ve used it too much the day before. He yawns, and debates whether he should get up. He shifts and Sasuke grumbles in response and Toru is glad he doesn’t feel alone. He’s felt like that too much recently, too much in his life in general.

“Sasuke?” Toru asks softly, and gets another grumble in return. Toru hides a grin by tucking his head into Sasuke’s hair. “I think we should get up sometime soon,” he mumbles.

“You’re not a dream?” Sasuke says, suddenly alert and twisting around to see Toru.

Toru offers Sasuke a smile, “No, I’m as real as can be.”

A loud rumble goes through the room, “I’m hungry,” Sasuke says and Toru smothers a laugh.

“Well, I suppose we should go find some food, then,” Toru comments. He slowly gets up, and looks over to the bedside table where there’s a glass of water and a few pills. He quickly takes them all, before leaving the room with Sasuke in tow.

They’re walking down the hallway when Sasuke quickens his pace and slips his smaller hand into Toru’s larger one. Toru doesn’t do anything but tighten his grip, seeking comfort from each other.

“Uchiha-san!” Someone calls, and both Uchiha turn around to look at who called them. Daisuke gives them both a wide grin, “I meant Toru-san,” he amended. “Did you receive the painkillers and antibiotics?”

Toru nodded, “I did, thank you Daisuke-san.”

“I’ve got your discharge papers ready, as you are probably ready to get out of the hospital by now.” Daisuke crouches down so he can make eye contact with Sasuke. “I’ve got a job for you; do you think you can do it?” Sasuke gives a stiff yet shy nod. “I want you to look out for Toru-san, make sure he doesn’t do any running or physical activity. He needs to have one antibiotic pill with each meal. He can have up to six painkillers in twenty-four hours, but should have at least three a day. Think you can handle that?”

Sasuke puffs up his chest and nods, while Toru gives Daisuke a light scowl. “I can look after myself, you know.”

“If someone isn’t watching, you would start working on your physical condition,” Daisuke points out.

Toru pouts, “Can we both get released today?”

“As far as I know, you – Toru-san – can be released as soon as your discharge papers are signed. Sasuke-san’s papers were signed a day ago, but the hospital staff was willing to accommodate him until Toru-san was out.”

Toru frowns, “Who signs our discharge papers?”

“Your guardian,” Daisuke replies. “Currently, you’re a ward of Konoha, and Hokage-sama himself will sign the papers. He should be coming by soon to take you to where you’re going to live.”

Toru turns to look at Sasuke, “We’re living at the Hokage estate for now, is that alright with you?” Toru had asked the same question the previous night, but he wasn’t sure if Sasuke remembered what they had spoken about. The kid had been exhausted, after all.

Sasuke tightens his grip on Toru’s hands, “I’m alright with that.”

“I don’t want to be seeing you back in hospital any time soon, you hear me Toru-san?” Daisuke says, fixing Toru with a stern expression.

Toru nods meekly, “Yes sir!”

“Keep each other out of trouble,” Daisuke says before turning on his heel and striding off.

“Your doctor’s slightly scary,” Sasuke whispers to Toru.

Toru laughs, “It’s his way of showing he cares. He saved my life; he doesn’t want all that hard work to be a waste.”

“I’m glad you’re alive,” Sasuke says solemnly.

Toru squeezes Sasuke’s hand, “I’m not going anywhere,” Toru vows. “And for the record, I’m glad you’re alive too.”

***

Sasuke feels something ease within him. There’s been a ball of rage and hate and fire scrunched up tightly in his chest, and to see another Uchiha who’s willing to smile and hold his hand… it’s nice. Maybe Sasuke isn’t all right, but he thinks he can live like this.

Sasuke spent a week without a clan, with the knowledge of what he did, and the memories of his clan’s own demise in his head. He hates Itachi, he hates and rages, and he doesn’t know what to do. He couldn’t sleep and he didn’t want to eat; he wanted death, but he hadn’t recognised the wish consciously.

The fact that there’s another Uchiha aside from Itachi alive… It means Itachi failed and that Sasuke isn’t alone. Perhaps if Toru had died, Sasuke would’ve given into the angerhaterage in his chest. But Toru isn’t dead, and he promises he isn’t going anywhere.

Toru is quite different from most Uchiha that Sasuke knows knew. Sasuke is glad about that; he doesn’t think he could deal with an Uchiha that acted like his parents or like his brother. Sasuke doesn’t want another brother or another set of parents.

Toru is Toru, though, and that’s different. He gives smiles so easily but he seeks comfort from Sasuke as well. Sasuke isn’t blind enough to not see it. They’re good for each other. They’re injured and tired and not alone.

Sasuke tightens his hand around Toru’s, and the older boy returns the tight grip. Sasuke pulls lightly on Toru’s hand, causing the elder Uchiha to stop. Toru crouches down and Sasuke realises that his hair’s a red-brown colour that Sasuke’s never seen any Uchiha have before.

Black eyes meet black eyes and Sasuke decides that he’s glad Toru doesn’t look like the average Uchiha. Sasuke doesn’t know what he was going to say, so he blurts out the first thing that comes to his mind. “How do you smile?”

Toru’s facial expression flattens and he seems to look through Sasuke rather than at him. There’s a moment of silence before Toru refocuses, and Sasuke can almost feel the weight of his gaze. “I wasn’t really aware of what was happening,” Toru starts, slowly, as if carefully thinking each word over before speaking. “I saw a shinobi and then I was injured, left for dead. I’m… I was never really close to many Uchiha. My father was from out of the clan and my mother regularly left on long missions.”

Toru closes his eyes for a moment, steadying himself for what he is about to say. “My favourite person in the world was my cousin, and he died a few days before the massacre took place. I was already in mourning when I woke up. I’m still grieving; I’m still sad, and I will still cry over what happened.”

Toru chews on his lip, trying to figure out words for what he feels. “I can’t change the fact that they’re dead,” he states, and he almost cringes with how callous the words sound. “I would do something if I could, but I know I can’t.” Toru can see the way Sasuke is appearing to pull away and he knows what he says has to be said. He knows he can’t make the dead live again, (he couldn’t before, and he can’t now).

“Death and life are part of this world Sasuke; it always has been and it always will be. There’s death and there’s life. We can grieve for the dead and honour them too, but we have to remember that they are dead. We can’t let ourselves wither away for those who no longer remain with us physically. We can live for them, though. We can honour them through our actions, through how we live.”

Sasuke remains silent, and he thinks that Toru’s eyes have hidden depths. They’re walled, thin buffers to someone who looks, and Sasuke can see. He sees the grief that’s deep within Toru; the sorrow that Sasuke thinks he would drown in if he tried to understand it. Nonetheless, there’s something else too, a spark, an ember, something that keeps burning and pushing Toru forward.

Sasuke gives a small nod, “They would want us to live, wouldn’t they?”

Toru offers Sasuke a small smile, proud of the kid (and that’s what he is after all, Toru’s an adult, though, it’s what they both are). “C’mon kid, let’s go find ourselves some food.”

***

Three days later, Toru is walking Sasuke to the Ninja Academy. “Are you worried?” Sasuke asks, looking up at Toru. Toru blinks in surprise, slightly stunned by his perception.

“A bit,” Toru says.

“I’m not,” Sasuke responds, and Toru rolls his eyes and ruffles the younger Uchiha’s hair.

“Good for you kid,” Toru replies with a smirk as Sasuke scrambles to neaten his hair.

They pause at the front of the school building, “Don’t get yourself hurt,” Sasuke tells Toru sternly.

“You’re too young to be telling me that kid.”

“Don’t call me kid!” Sasuke replies, striding off into the building. A second later, he runs back out. He almost slams into Toru, managing to slow down a split second beforehand, and then he’s hugging Toru.

Toru carefully wraps his arms around Sasuke, unsure if the contact’s warranted. Sasuke relaxes somewhat, and Toru hadn’t even realised how tense the kid was. He hugs Sasuke before taking a step back.

“Better get going, kid,” he says with a smile, “We’re going to be late.”

***

Toru doesn’t anger easily, but there’s a ball of rage settling in his stomach as he’s treated with pity and as a fragile person. He isn’t fragile, and if anything, the massacre should’ve proven that.

Toru wonders how Sasuke is, he imagines that the eight-year-olds don’t understand the demise of the Uchiha; they probably know nothing of death. Toru hates and loves them for it. Here, though, surrounded by his classmates, Toru just feels annoyed and frustrated.

The civilian-born students treat him with a reverence that confuses him. The clan-born students treat him with suspicion and sorrow. The adults treat him with a mix of worry, pity, and sadness.

To make things worse, Toru can’t do anything physical to get rid of his anger. Instead, he’s been told he can spend his time in the library researching, as he isn’t even allowed to do the taijutsu katas or any weapon throwing.

It’s frustrating, Toru decides, being unable to do anything. He knows he’s smart, but he’s still so inferior to Itachi who is only a year older than he is. His fitness will go down, but there’s nothing he can do about it. He’ll have to work on getting stronger some other way. If he’s taking Sasuke under his wing, he needs to be able to protect the kid as well as himself.

Toru sits down in a corner within the academy library, hidden from view. He closes his eyes and focuses, meditating. If he’s going to get stronger, he’s going to need his chakra and for that, he’ll need control over it.

Toru unlocked his chakra a few years ago, and for all that it’s closer to the surface, he can’t quite grab it. And so, Toru meditates, feeling his chakra move around his body. It moves with his thoughts, Toru notices, certain flickers of emotion make it react a certain way.

Toru places his hands in the ram hand seal, and immediately his chakra pattern changes. Toru nudges the chakra to go back to normal, not quite forcing it but not leaving it alone either. The chakra slowly falls back to its original pattern. Toru places his hands in the tiger position, and his chakra changes once again. Toru lets his almost-grasp on the chakra fade, and it goes back to normal once again.

Toru wonders if he can get his chakra to mimic what it does for the ram hand seal without actually putting his hands in the ram position. It’s something to look into later, when he can control his chakra better.

Toru reaches for his chakra coils, where the majority of his chakra is when it isn’t going through his chakra pathways. He vaguely notices that it’s warm and beating in time with his heart. However, Toru realises there’s something else there, not quite part of his main chakra pool but slightly to the left.

He reaches out for it cautiously, but pauses when he gets closer. It feels like there’s something… dark there. However, it’s part of him and he needs to be familiar with it in case he has to use it. He touches it.

It explodes around him – similar to how it was when he unlocked his chakra. It colours his vision in light and fills the darkness. Toru feels as if there’s a knot still in the middle, so he reaches deeper.

It rushes around him, increasing its speed and it’s almost screaming. And Toru realises it’s a mistake; this chakra is dark. There’s rageangerHATE, fury waiting to be tested and called upon. It’s dark and angry and with hate lying in wait. It scares him slightly, because it’s him but it isn’t at the same time.

Toru almost wants to back out, let go of it and never reach for the chakra again. Nonetheless, he waits for it to settle, which it does. It stops feeling so dark after a bit, and Toru relaxes slightly.

There’s still a hint of rageangerhatepainsorrowgrief, it’s like an underlying current, there but not standing out. Instead, there’s a feeling of familiarity, of home, of love, of laughter, of joy, and of safety. There’s the urge to protect entwined with the desire to survive and hope for the future.

Something in Toru rises and it clings to his heart and his mind, too big and too great for him to truly understand but there nevertheless. It’s something that he doesn’t comprehend and can’t name but is overwhelmingly familiar.

Within Toru, there’s something very much old, ancient in all meanings of the word. It rises and swirls within him, overpowering, and encompassing. It’s a primordial trembling in his bones and a god-like pull on his heart.

Toru suddenly longs for something he doesn’t know. A place unknown to him but home anyway. He aches for bright laughter and salt carried on the wind. He wants to hear the crash of waves on the shore, the feeling of sand beneath his feet. He wants to lead his squad out on patrol, making sure his village is safe.

Except… that’s not quite right. Toru’s an academy student (not an early graduate who rose to become important). Toru’s never seen the sea, let along heard the crash of waves and smelt sea salt. Although, Toru feels he has done all this and he can tell that there are memories waiting just out of reach. It’s similar to how sometimes weapons fit in his hand with a grip half-remembered, and what he learns never seems to be new knowledge but old information being recalled.

Toru doesn’t quite try to manipulate the chakra just yet, but he does wonder if it means he has two chakras. It’s something that gives room for thought. However, there are other things to focus on, such as, looking into the seal he had made when on his deathbed. He hadn’t – still doesn’t – know the seal, but he had managed to draw it nonetheless.

And so, Toru opens black eyes once more and starts searching the library for books on seals. He honestly doesn’t expect to find anything straight away, but as he can’t do any physical work, he’ll probably end up spending a lot more time in the library.

***

They settle into a routine, Sasuke and he. Most nights, Toru would wake up with a warm body next to him. It’s good for them both, Toru knows. They remind each other that they’re alive. Toru has nightmares, sometimes, of sharingan eyes and a blade entering his chest; he can’t imagine how Sasuke copes – he saw more than Toru did.

There’s a saying about how a burden shared is a burden halved, and Toru doesn’t know if he agrees, but it’s an apt description of how the two Uchihas cope. The sheer amount of comfort they receive from hearing a heartbeat or breathing might surprise another person, nonetheless it is what it is.

There’s a younger child in the house, but Toru hasn’t spoken to him outside of meals; he doubts Sasuke has either. However, every morning and evening during breakfast or dinner, the entire Sarutobi family plus the last Uchihas get together.

After breakfast, Toru and Sasuke get ready for the academy, sometimes finding the time to simply walk around Konoha and enjoy living. After the academy, Sasuke would go practise on one of the academy training grounds while Toru would watch and give advice, still unable to do any physical work.

During the twilight hours, when Konoha ninjas were hurrying to return home and rest and civilians were returning from work, Sasuke and Toru walked into a cemetery filled with gravestones for every Uchiha that hadn’t been killed in action.

All the graves from the massacre have no bodies. There were too many to bury (too many to mourn, still). Instead, the bodies had been burned and the ashes had been scattered. It’s fitting, that a clan that partly specialised in fire ninjutsu would leave only ashes behind. It’s still sad, though, because there are three Uchiha left in the world now, and a mass of empty graves.

Sometimes Sasuke leaves, stalking off and Toru finds him in the late hours of the night half-collapsed and working himself past exhaustion. Other times Sasuke will go quiet and won’t speak for ages, and there’s anger hidden in his eyes. There are a few occasions when Sasuke will turn on Toru and they will rage at each other or cry together.

Maybe they could be coping better, but they’re coping. They’re alright for now. They didn’t even know each other a few weeks ago, and now they’re all they have. Maybe Sasuke sometimes withdraws into himself and it is all Toru can do to have him eat and sleep. Maybe Toru sometimes wakes up in pain and feeling blood welling beneath his hands and he’s tense and on a hairline trigger. However, they have each other to fall back on and they’re managing.

***

A month after Toru had woken up; he’s told that he can now do physical activities. Of course, the news is slightly less exciting when they reveal he has to take it easy and work his way up. Still, it’s a reason to celebrate and Toru’s glad that he can now participate in the rest of his classes. While researching originally excited him, it grew boring quickly, especially as he rarely found the information he wanted.

“Where are we going?” Sasuke asks, walking beside Toru as the pair walk down a lamp-lit street.

“There’s a small restaurant that serves ramen; it normally seems quite busy so I thought we could check it out,” he pauses and glances down at the younger Uchiha. “That is, of course, if you’re alright with it?”

“I don’t mind ramen,” Sasuke says, “but omusubi is better.”

Toru laughs, now knowing that Sasuke’s favourite food was omusubi with okaka and tomatoes. “How about we have some tomorrow? We can go train tomorrow around lunch as well. I need to get back into shape, and I’m certain you can help me.”

Sasuke immediately goes quiet and Toru stops suddenly, crouching down to look at Sasuke. He bites his lip, wondering at what he did wrong. “Sasuke?” He calls softly, gaining the boy’s attention. “Whatever I did, I’m sorry.”

Sasuke doesn’t reply, but he does look at Toru’s face. Toru stays silent and still, hoping to elicit a response. “I- I always asked… my brother for training, and he always refused,” Sasuke said quietly.

Toru wonders how he’s meant to reply to that. “Well, if you don’t want to or you think it’s going to bring back memories, we don’t have to.”

Sasuke grabs Toru’s darker-coloured hand and holds it tightly. “I’m glad you’re not like him,” he says. “You don’t remind me of him.”

Toru gives a smile, and maybe it’s a bit sad but Sasuke isn’t going to call him out on it. “I’m glad to hear that. Shall we go get some food?”

Sasuke nods and Toru stands up, once again they head to the restaurant. When they do get there, it’s the quietest that Toru has ever seen it and there’s only one kid there. He has bright yellow hair.

Sasuke seems to pause, and Toru looks down at him in confusion. “He’s in my class,” Sasuke says.

“We can go somewhere else, if you would like?”

“No, it’s fine,” Sasuke says, “This is for you after all.”

Toru grins at Sasuke who seems to blush faintly before looking down at the ground. “Let’s go sit down, then,” he says, and lets Sasuke take a seat first, before sitting down between him and the unknown academy student. In his peripheral vision, he sees the kid turn and finally gets a look at his face. He instantly stiffens before consciously relaxing. He recognises the child as Naruto Uzumaki, the holder of the Nine-Tails.

Toru can remember the corrosive chakra that had flowed into the village. He had seen the massive red fox on its rampage. He could remember seeing the Yellow Flash taking the beast away, dying for the village, and leaving behind a child with a demon sealed in it.

Toru somehow knows seals, though, or at least he did once upon a time. He isn’t quite sure, but there’s something in his mind that whispers to him at times. Toru gives the child a glance and then decides that he isn’t interesting or something to be feared and hated.

“What are you working on in the academy currently?” Toru asks Sasuke after Teuchi takes their orders.

“They’re making us put extra hours into history,” Sasuke says, and if he had any less control over his facial features, Toru thinks he would be pouting. He hides a smile.

“History can be important,” Toru says aloud and wonders if it’ll ever actually be helpful as a shinobi. Sasuke gives him a withering gaze that he probably deserves. “Well, it can be,” Toru defends, quickly trying to think of a plausible event.

“For instance, it might help to know the history of a certain town so you can fit in or understand things. Another time history might come in handy is with politics and relations between different villages. Konoha was built first and our Shodaime gave out the tailed-beasts, therefore the other villages are constantly reminded that Konoha had the most strength in the beginning. Without history, you probably wouldn’t know about the Shinobi World Wars either, which are extremely significant. Especially if you consider our current relation with Iwagakure, which is due to the last war.”

“I never thought about it that way,” Sasuke grumbles, and Toru refrains from his response that he hadn’t either, instead he shrugs.

“Sometimes you need someone else’s view on a subject before things make sense,” he comments as Teuchi places down a bowl of ramen in front of each of them.

“Thank you Teuchi-san,” Toru says with a pointed look at Sasuke.

“Thanks,” Sasuke grumbles.

“Itadakimasu,” the pair of them says before eating.

At some point during his meal, Toru hears Naruto thank Teuchi for the meal, and Teuchi offers to make Naruto another bowl, but Naruto doesn’t have the money. Toru looks over at the pair and thinks Uzumaki (and he thinks of brightly coloured hair, laughter loud and bright, and a rush of anger that disappears as it comes, and then he thinks of sea salt on the breeze and a village to be protected) looks smaller than he should be for his age. He looks healthy, and maybe Toru shouldn’t be judging him. As Naruto gets up and turns, Toru is treated to the view of a red swirl on the back of his jumpsuit, and for a moment, everything is the same, but then it changes.

The village that surrounds him has twisting, rising buildings made from different types of stone. The buildings all have different colours and are somehow always different. They can be one colour or they can be more, but it all comes together in a beautiful blend.

The people, though, that’s who the village really is. They’re like the ocean and the wind, constantly moving and never stopping but they still laugh and smile and talk. It’s like coming home but he’s never been here before (right?).

There are seals everywhere, burnt and engraved into the very stone that surrounds him. He can see them – how they interact, and how they work around each other. He can see traces in the air, in the ground, in everything and everywhere he looks.

This is not home (it is the only home he truly knows). It is a lie, a mockery of something that never existed (and it calls to him). He closes his eyes for a second and tugs on his chakra and something whispers to him that this isn’t right.

“Teuchi-san,” Toru asks, “Can he have another bowl? I have some extra money.”

Sasuke looks at him, surprised. Toru offers his cousin a half-shrug, and Naruto beams. “Thanks!” He says as he jumps back into his seat. “I, um, don’t have anything to pay you back with.”

“It’s alright,” Toru says, “Like I told Teuchi-san, I have some spare change. You’re in Sasuke’s class, aren’t you?”

Naruto looks at Sasuke and nods, “Yeah, the teme always acts so cool like he’s the best. Are you guys siblings or something?”

Toru sees Sasuke clam up, “Or something,” he says sharply. “I’m Toru, what’s your name?” He asks, hoping to get the younger Uchiha to pay attention to the present.

“I’m Naruto Uzumaki and I’m going to be the Hokage, believe it!” He shouts loudly, before cheering as Teuchi places a bowl in front of him.

Toru hesitates, wondering what he should say. “I take it you do well in the academy, then?”

Naruto scowls, “Nah, I don’t need any of that. It’s all rubbish, and the teachers don’t treat me good an’way,” he mumbles.

Toru struggles to understand that Naruto was telling the truth, and he can’t quite manage to believe him. The child is around Sasuke’s age, and the academy instructors should treat everyone equally… but that doesn’t really happen, does it? Toru’s being treated differently than his classmates, and he’s sure it’s the same for Sasuke. They are the last Uchihas, and they’re treated as fragile and dangerous at the same time.

“They shouldn’t do that,” Sasuke says firmly, and it sounds like a promise. “It’s not right.”

Toru nods, “He’s right. If you want, I can speak to your instructors,” he says, although he doesn’t particularly want to. However, Naruto is a child, even if he does have a demon sealed within him.

Naruto looks up with blue eyes and he looks so surprised and stunned, and Toru mourns because this is another orphan living alone without anyone looking out for him (and… he knows how that feels; he’s been there before). “It’s alright,” Naruto says softly, “I’m just gonna show ‘em I’m too awesome for ‘em to teach an’way!”

“If you’re sure,” Toru replies, “but if anyone isn’t treating you right or you aren’t getting an education, you can tell me. I’ll go and talk to someone about it.”

“Ahh, its fine Toru-san! Besides, Iruka-sensei likes me!”

“He’s your main teacher, isn’t he?” Toru quizzes, looking at both Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke nods and Naruto shouts an answer, Toru grimaces. “Naruto, would you mind keeping your voice a bit softer? You don’t need to scream so much; I can hear you.”

“Sorry,” Naruto hisses in a loud whisper and Toru rolls his eyes but doesn’t respond. A moment later, Naruto’s somehow managed to rope Sasuke into an eating competition.

It’s surprising, and probably the biggest response anyone aside from Toru has gained from the mainly silent Uchiha. Toru exchanges a glance with Teuchi who hides a laugh as he ducks back into the kitchen.

Toru smiles softly to himself as he watches the two boys, and he feels more at peace than he has since the massacre.

***

Two months after the Uchiha massacre had taken place. The elder Uchiha, eleven years old, graduated from the Ninja Academy in Konoha. He scored on the higher side of average with relatively high theory-based work, weapon throwing skills, and chakra techniques, but low in other places.

Chapter Text

Toru’s team is made of two others: Shou Shimizu and Kiku Kurama. They wait together in the classroom for a few minutes, and Toru lets his gaze move around as they wait for their sensei.

“Team Five,” a voice calls out and Toru looks up. There’s a short woman standing at the door, she sighs impatiently and repeats herself, “Team Five, follow me.”

Toru gets up and walks out the door, dropping a pace behind his two other teammates. His team so far seems to be average in every way; he also appears to be the only male member of the team. Their sensei comes to a stop and sits down on a bench. She pauses long enough for them to sit down before she speaks.

“My name is Natsumi Hayashi,” she begins. “I identify as female and enjoy long walks in the forests surrounding Konoha. I dislike people wasting my time. A hobby of mine is catching up with friends. Go around and introduce yourself.”

When no one speaks, Natsumi gives another frustrated sigh and points at Toru. “I’m Toru Uchiha,” he starts, “I identify as male. I like spending time with Sasuke and dislike… ignorant people. A hobby of mine is… um, reading?”

The girl next to Toru starts without prompting. “I am Kiku Kurama, and female. I pass the time by working in my family’s shop and hate stupid questions being asked. I enjoy dango.”

“I’m Shou Shimizu and I identify as male, currently. However, that can change. Sometimes I have no gender while other times I’m female,” the boy looks around his team, but no one speaks; Natsumi raises an eyebrow to prompt him to continue. “A hobby of mine is working on my taijutsu katas. I like spending time with friends and dislike people who don’t use the correct pronouns.”

Their sensei claps her hands, “Now that introductions are over, I’ll move onto our next topic for conversation. You are graduated academy students, which means your instructors thought you might be capable of becoming genins. There’s another test you have to pass first, before you can become genins.”

The tanned woman looks up at the sky, “We have three hours of daylight left, so we can complete the test now. The mission is to find me; I won’t move from my original position, but I can use anything to hide myself. Those who fail the mission will go back to the academy.” She claps her hands once more, and stops speaking.

Toru blinks as he finds himself staring into her grey eyes. “One rule of being a ninja is that you need to look up. The ground can be an enemy but it isn’t the only one. Sometimes from behind is the greatest ally. Upon four people, waiting. Two brothers, a predecessor and a successor, and a hero who was bright. The rain trickles and it storms, the tree remains strong.”

Toru zones out as his sensei continues talking, wondering when she was going to go. A moment later, he realises something wasn’t adding up. He looks down, and realises he’s standing in a meadow of flowers. He raises his hands, “Kai,” he says softly.

His perception snaps back to normal, and he realises he’s back on the roof where his teammates and he were before. He frowns, wondering why he had been put into a genjutsu with a teacher rambling. He looks around, but realises that his teammates are already gone. Not that they are a team, as if one of them fails they get pushed back into the academy.

He hums to himself as he thinks over what just happened. Sure, Natsumi might have put him in a genjutsu so she had more time, but he also needs a chance, so she probably put a message into the genjutsu as well.

What she had said is plain weird as well, but maybe not all of it is relevant. The tree, at a guess, could refer to Konoha, and it standing strong is showing that Konoha is strong. The ground being an enemy made no sense, the line about looking up makes some sense, but none in the context he has. The odd sentence regarding the four people and the brothers… Something wasn’t clicking.

Toru slinks down back into Konoha’s streets, deciding to just walk around for now. He knows Sasuke is training somewhere, but he isn’t sure where. He sighs, running a hand through his reddish-brown hair. It was starting to reach his neck now; he’d been trying to grow it out.

Something runs into his legs, and he looks down at the small blonde-haired child; it was Naruto. “Hey Naruto-san,” Toru says.

“Hiya Toru-san!” Naruto says with a bright grin. “Whatcha doin’?”

“I’m completing a test for my sensei, but it’s very hard,” Toru tells the younger boy.

Naruto looks up at him in awe, “Are you a genin, Toru-san?”

“Ahh, I hope I’m going to be one. I have to pass a test first, but I can’t think of the answer for the, well, riddle she gave me,” Toru responds.

Naruto’s expression flattens before becoming happy once again, “Y’know, when I can’t think good, I go to the Hokage rock and sit up there for a while. It helps me… most of the time.”

Toru pauses, and stares up at the four rock heads. “Naruto-san, you are a genius!” He says with a bright grin, he ruffles the boy’s hair without thinking. “I’ll buy you ramen sometime, but right now I need to complete this test!” As he runs off, he doesn’t see Naruto’s awed expression as he runs a hand through his blonde hair. Naruto grins and runs off, planning his next prank.

Meanwhile, Toru runs his way up to the top of the Hokage rock. He gets there and grins to himself. Four people waiting indeed, and two brothers – the Shodaime and the Nidaime – and a hero who was bright, that was the Yondaime who had brightly coloured hair and was smart as well. There was also the predecessor and successor, which was the Sandaime, as he had left the Hokage office and taken the mantle up again.

Toru looks around, searching for Natsumi but not seeing anyone. He scowls, and paces around the small area, wondering what he is meant to do now. He kicks one of the rocks, and it bounces off a tree. Toru scowls at the tree, before wondering if Natsumi had been talking about the tree in the genjutsu. He hesitates, before climbing the tree.

Upon reaching the first fork, he finds a scroll nestled tightly between two branches. He grabs it and leaps out of the tree, unrolling it the moment he touches the ground.

TO GO forward, sometimes one must return first.

Aloud, Toru groans. “What does that even mean?” He asks the sky before he heads down the stairs once more. “There has got to be more information,” he mutters to himself. “I need a team of people to help me.”

Toru comes to an abrupt stop, causing someone to run into him from behind. He mindlessly steps out of the way, ignoring the swearing going on behind him. His mind runs over what he had just thought. He takes off into a sprint; he needs to find his team.

Surprisingly, Shou is easy to find, and he stumbles into him as he’s walking down the street. “Shou-san!” Toru says, gently pulling him out of the way of others. “Did you get put in a genjutsu when Natsumi-sensei left? Did she give you any information?”

Shou nods slightly, “It sounded like a lot of rubbish, though.”

Toru grins ruefully, “Yeah, mine did too. I got there, though, and I found a note. I think we need to work together to find her.”

Shou frowns, “Natsumi-sensei mentioned to me that ‘allies are necessary’, do you think she was talking about you and Kiku-san?”

Toru chews his lip as he thinks, “That makes sense, doesn’t it? We need to work together to find her. I mean, it’d help. We all have different skills and if she gave us different messages, maybe we need to put the messages together before we do anything. I don’t know how to find Kiku-san, though…”

“I might be able to help,” Shou murmurs softly. “We left at the same time, and he muttered something about going to the Naka River to think.”

“Lead the way, then,” Toru says and Shou takes off at a light jog. The pair eventually reaches the big bridge that goes over the Naka, and sitting on one of the benches is Kiku.

“Kiku-san what message did Natsumi-sensei give you? We need to collate our messages in order to figure out what they mean,” Shou explains quickly. “I was told that we need allies while Toru-san found a note that doesn’t make sense by itself.”

Kiku shrugs, “I doubt you could figure out what mine means. She told me two things. The first was that ‘strength is not only found in one’s physical body’; the other was ‘great and mighty, it stands tall. Through rain, storm, and sun it shall still remain. For ninjas and civilians, its doors are open’; I don’t know what either mean.”

The trio fall quiet, each pondering the meaning to what they’ve been told. “I’ve got no clue,” Kiku says with a pout. “The only thing I can think of is it can’t be taijutsu.”

Shou nods in agreement with a frown on his face, “I didn’t even get that far. Toru-san, have you figured anything out?”

Toru’s mind is whirling a mile a minute. “Chakra is physical and spiritual,” he murmurs quietly to himself. “Physical and mental… theory can be related to mental strength. We’re looking for a building that’s open to ninjas and civilians, doesn’t close down for any weather, and has been around for a while.” He looks up at the other two, who look surprised. He blushes faintly, “Do you guys have any ideas?”

“Konoha has a library, right?” Shou says hesitantly.

“That’s it!” Kiku says, sprinting off without a second glance. He pauses briefly, “C’mon you two! I think we have two hours left.”

Toru takes off after his teammate, Shou a pace ahead of him. “That’s not a lot of time,” Shou mutters to Toru when they draw even. Toru grunts in agreement, and they manage to make it to the library in roughly ten minutes.

Team Five stares up at the library before turning to each other in unison, “What do we do now?” Shou asks, glancing at Toru.

“Alright, Shou-san your message was about allies, right? Do you think it could be referring to asking people for help?” Toru asks, looking at his teammate. Shou nods, dark brown hair bobbing with the movement.

“Could be,” he responds, “There are a lot of people we need to ask, though.”

“Toru-kun, could your message help us here?” Kiku asks, and Toru refrains from making a face at the informal honorific; they barely knew each other.

“My message said ‘to go forward, sometimes one must return first’ – the first two words were capitalised, but that doesn’t help us at all,” Toru says, pulling out the note to show the others.

“Can we ask for Natsumi-sensei’s latest return?” Shou asks thoughtfully after a moment or two of silence.

“Worth a try,” Kiku says, leading the group into the library where they are instantly surrounded by silence. She walks right up to the desk and creates a conversation with the man there. Toru scowls, recalling his rather useless conversation skills when the person was a stranger or someone he didn’t need to actually know about.

Five minutes later, Kiku returns with a note. The possible-genin team go to a table and lay out the two notes side by side. “It doesn’t make sense,” Kiku pouts after a few moments of silent thinking.

“It could be a code with the words to, go, and ground, but it isn’t much of a code; we appear to be missing a part… It could be Shou-san’s message?” Toru says, chewing on his lip. He narrows his eyes at the two messages and lets his senses fade until all his concentration is taken up by the messages.

“Shou-san, what messages did you get from Natsumi-san?” Toru asks suddenly, cutting the other two’s conversation in half. He looks up, aware of the sudden silence, “Sorry,” he mutters.

“Its fine Toru-san,” Shou responds. “I was told ‘allies are necessary’ and ‘mind-walkers and flowers, shopping and selling’.”

“Yamanaka Flowers,” Kiku said instantly. “I have a friend from that clan; we had to drop off some flowers one time.”

“That makes sense,” Toru says. “Kiku-san’s message says that ‘a good customer talks with the manager at ground height’, with ground in capitals. I think the capitals relate to my message more than anything else does, so we have three words of another secret message. However, the rest of it – it’s like a riddle, isn’t it? – the rest of it could have something to do with the shop itself.”

“Another ally?” Shou immediately asks, quickly following Toru’s line of thoughts.

“Let’s go!” Kiku says loudly, grabbing the other two and tugging them through the doors. “I looked at the clock just before we left; we have just over half an hour.”

“Think that’s enough time?” Shou asks worriedly.

“It has to be,” Toru says grimly as they break out into a run once more.

Kiku and Shou reach Yamanaka Flowers a few minutes before Toru, who had been forced to walk the rest of the way when he started wheezing as his chest twinged in pain, reminding himself that he had only been injured a few weeks ago.

When the Uchiha reaches his teammates, they are pacing and muttering to each other. Kiku grabs her blonde hair and pulls it out of a bun in aggravation. “I don’t understand this! It’s not even a written message!”

“What?” Toru asks, gaining the others’ attention.

“Yeah,” Kiku said with a wry grin, “I hope you can figure something out, because I don’t understand any of it. I’m not really a thinking person, though.”

“I don’t suppose you want to try making sense of it, Toru-san? The message is ‘Training is important. Training requires work, at least twice a day for two hours’. Does that make any sense to you?”

Toru hums, working out the words and writing it down mentally. “The first thing that stands out to me is the doubling up of the word ‘training’. Not a single word has thus far been used twice. Secondly, twice and two are used, which are quite similar and could be another double up.”

“We were each given two bits of information as well,” Shou adds. “I don’t see how that makes a secret message, though.”

“Well, we do have three words so far: to, go, and ground. Let’s say the other word is training, right? The first message I can think of is ‘go to ground training’, but that’s not a place…” Toru says, trailing off.

“Go to training ground two?” Kiku pipes up suddenly, her teammates turn to stare at her. “That makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“Brilliant!” Shou says loudly, brown eyes alight as he laughed. “C’mon, we have to make it across Konoha in twenty minutes, possibly less.”

Toru takes off, “I’m not waiting!” He calls over his shoulder, and quickly his teammates catch up to him. Instead of rushing ahead, they keep pace with him despite his slower running. “You can go,” Toru puffs out, “I don’t want to make you fail.”

“We couldn’t have worked it out without you,” Shou says in a low voice.

“We can’t leave you behind when we make it because of your work,” Kiku says with a roll of her eyes, “That’s just dumb.”

The three make it to the training ground with a few seconds to spare, and instantly Toru leans over with his hands on knees, wheezing. He waves the other two off when they ask if he’s alright, instead he straightens himself up and stands. “Check for Sensei,” he says as he works on regaining his breath.

“No need,” comes a voice from behind them. Kiku whirls around, instantly going into a defensive position, whereas Toru turns slightly slower, hand going for a kunai; meanwhile, Shou takes a step back to watch Kiku’s back. “I’m already here,” Natsumi says coolly. “You took your time and… you worked together.”

Toru grits his teeth together, hearing the distaste in Natsumi’s voice. “We couldn’t have done it otherwise,” he says. “I take responsibility for getting us to work together, so if you think that’s a reason to refuse promoting us, take it out on me.”

“No,” Shou says firmly, the loudest he’s been all day. “You can’t take it on Toru-san. He’s the only reason we got here. If he doesn’t pass, I’m going back to the academy as well; it’s unfair otherwise.”

Natsumi raises an eyebrow, “That’s too bad. It looks like it’s you and me, Kiku-chan.”

Kiku shakes her head, hair flying everywhere. “That isn’t fair, either! I’m sorry Natsumi-sensei, I really want to graduate, but I can’t do it alone when I didn’t do much work. I need Toru-kun and Shou-kun’s help!”

Natsumi gazes at them all and turns around, “Follow me,” she calls. “I will show you something before you all go.”

The three failed students follow their sensei dejectedly. She comes to a stop a few metres away from a restaurant, where there are two jōnins sitting at a three-seated table. Another jōnin is quick to join them, and all three immediately start talking.

“They were on a genin team together,” Natsumi reveals. “The one that joined last is my brother. They’re all celebrating the kunoichi’s engagement. It occurred last week.”

She turns to face her students, “Genins are always put in teams of three with a jōnin-sensei. They pass or fail together, with very few exceptions. I have not passed a genin team yet, but I have tested many over the years with slightly different tests that all require the same things.”

She makes them walk back to the training ground and has them all sit down. “Shou-kun can you tell me one thing that you could do and one thing you couldn’t do?”

Shou nods, “I figured out that we needed to go to the library. However, I never would have realised that we needed to work together if it hadn’t been for Toru-san.”

“Nicely done Shou-kun,” Natsumi compliments. “Now, Toru-kun, what’s one thing you couldn’t do?”

“I wouldn’t have managed to gain the information that involved talking with a stranger,” Toru says promptly. “It’s always been a weakness of mine.”

“Acknowledging weaknesses is important, but you can’t over or underestimate them Toru-kun, keep that in mind.” Toru nods, and Natsumi turns to face the last student, Kiku. “Kiku-chan, can you tell me what are some of the things that I tested during my test?”

“Information gathering,” Kiku replies, thinking carefully. “I suppose you tested teamwork, and maybe leadership skills? Um, you tested how well we knew ourselves and our strengths and weaknesses, also if we would rely on our teammates.”

Natsumi nods, “Correct. Now, I want each of you to give me a strength, a weakness, something you need to train in, and something new you want to learn. Toru-kun, you can start.”

“A strength of mine is my intelligence, I would say,” Toru answers. “A weakness is my current physical condition, but also my genjutsu skills. I need to train in taijutsu, with focus on stamina and strength. I would like to learn more ninjutsu.”

“Shou-kun?” Natsumi calls and the twelve-year-old looks up at her.

“I don’t really have a strength; if anything I would say traps. A weakness of mine is my low stamina, so I would like to work on that. Something new I would like to learn is more genjutsu.”

Kiku doesn’t wait for Natsumi to call on her; she just starts. “My strength is easy, taijutsu. A weakness is going to be ninjutsu as I ignored that to concentrate on taijutsu. Due to that, it’s probably going to need more training. I would like to work with a sword of taijutsu – kenjutsu.”

Natsumi surveys her team. They’re meant to all be completely average, but their understanding of their strengths and weaknesses is surprisingly good, especially as they are new graduates from the academy. She can see the start of a taijutsu specialist in Kiku. Shou looks like he can shape up to be a tracker. Meanwhile, Toru is harder to get a read on, but there are startling bursts of intelligence, as if everything has been a mask thus far.

“Shou-san, Toru-kun, and Kiku-chan, you have all been officially promoted to genin status. You will make up Team Five, along with myself as your sensei. Congratulations,” she says with a smile, “You’ve clearly earned your position.” Kiku immediately whoops loudly, and pulls Shou into a hug, while Toru offers the pair a smile.

“Team training will be on every weekday from eight in the morning until twelve in the afternoon. You will have an hour for lunch and to cool down, and then we will take a D-ranked mission or two until it’s four. After that, we will spend another two hours on personal training. Saturday will be a rotation for one-on-one training in the afternoon, while mornings will be for missions, D-rank unless specified otherwise. Sundays will be your free day. Do you have any complaints?”

The trio of genins shake their heads, “Do we need to bring anything?” Shou asks.

“Your normal weapons; if you need anything else, I will tell you the day before,” Natsumi decides. With that said, the jōnin body flickers away without another word.

“We made it,” Kiku says, seeming unable to truly get her head around it.

“Mainly thanks to Toru-san,” Shou points out, and Toru colours slightly.

“We’re a team,” he responds, “and call me Toru; there’s no need for honorifics if we’re going to be together for a while.”

“Same goes for me,” Kiku adds. “I’m not really a formal person.”

“Wow,” Shou deadpans, “I hadn’t noticed. You can both call me Shou, though,” he says after a brief pause.

***

“Congratulations,” Sasuke mutters when Toru reach the Hokage residence.

“Thanks,” the older Uchiha replies, messing up Sasuke’s hair in response. “What did you spend your afternoon doing?”

Sasuke pulls a face, “Naruto kept following me… he mentioned something about you buying him ramen?”

“Jealous?” Toru asks, he notices as Sasuke stiffens and immediately crouches down so they’re on eye level. “I won’t ever replace you Sasuke,” he says, “You know that. However, he did help me out with my genin test when we ran into each other on the streets and he suggested a place to think; it turned out to be the answer to my riddle.” Toru hesitates for a moment before continuing, “You can come with us, if you want.”

“Naruto’s so loud,” he complains, but Toru notes it isn’t exactly a no. “And he keeps calling me names and he doesn’t even try in class.” He hesitates for a moment, “However, I did noticed what he said before… almost no one treats him right. Nasu-sensei constantly sends him out of the room for passing notes while Tamura-sensei makes him go in the back corner and face the wall so he can’t see what she’s writing.”

“What about the other teachers?” Toru asks with a hidden undercurrent of anger beneath his placid tone.

“Iruka-sensei is really strict with him, but he’s constantly pushing Naruto to be better. Mizuki-sensei is a bit… weird, like sometimes he treats Naruto as his best friend but other times he shows Naruto the wrong way to hold a kunai,” Sasuke says.

Toru feels a growl building up in his throat and clamps down on it, “I guess you’re going to have to help him, aren’t you?”

“What?” Sasuke says sounding utterly confused, “Toru, no! That’s not what I meant,” he yelps as Toru turns around and heads back towards the centre of Konoha. “Toru, where are you going?” He races so he can keep pace with his older cousin.

“We are going to go find Naruto and go get ramen,” Toru replies.

“He’ll be at the ramen restaurant,” Sasuke mumbles and Toru swiftly changes direction.

“Thank you. Now, what do you think we need in an apartment? My team will start doing small missions soon, so I think we can finally move out of the Hokage residence.”

“Good,” Sasuke states, “She tried to get me to move back to my own room again.” Toru barks out a laugh, instantly knowing whom Sasuke was referring to. The Hokage residence was home to the Hokage, his grandnephew, and his daughter-in-law. As the only woman in the house, she seemed entitled to take care of the two Uchiha by mothering them constantly. Of course, she also tried to get Sasuke and Toru to sleep in separate rooms, so Toru is normally annoyed at her instead of appreciating her efforts to help.

“Well, we can get an apartment with a bedroom and two beds,” Toru replies. “What does one even need in an apartment? How many rooms do we want? I was thinking a guest bedroom and an actual bedroom for the pair of us. A bathroom, naturally, and a kitchen. Is that all we need?”

“Lounge,” Sasuke suggests, “and possibly another room to have our shinobi gear, otherwise big wardrobes.”

“Right, of course,” Toru nods, making a mental note of what Sasuke had said, just as they arrived at the ramen place where they had eaten with Naruto.

“It’s Iruka-sensei and Naruto,” Sasuke says suddenly.

Toru blinks upon seeing Iruka and Naruto there, “We could just go back,” he says awkwardly a few metres away from the restaurant. Sasuke rolls his eyes and marches right in and Toru grins at the younger boy’s determination. Toru runs a hand through his reddish-brown hair before entering. It’s admiring to see that Sasuke isn’t pulling away from social meetings, although, he seems to hold everyone at a wary distance, and Toru is still working on getting through.

Toru plants himself down in the seat next to Iruka as Sasuke’s squashes himself between the wall and Naruto. Toru feels himself tense slightly upon realising that he can’t see behind him and feels his breathing rate quicken. The chūnin taps a finger on the wooden bench and Toru’s attention is drawn to the distort reflection of Konoha in a glass. He relaxes; glad to be able to see what’s behind him, even if it was a warped reflection.

“Thanks,” Toru mumbles, feeling annoyed at his paranoia and panic.

“Its fine,” the chūnin says and Toru shifts, and looks at his companions face. He’s instantly surprised by how young the teacher looks, maybe eighteen-years-old. “I’m Iruka Umino.”

Toru offers the shinobi a small smile, “I’m Toru Uchiha,” he says, glad that Iruka is treating him like a normal human being. “I’ve heard about you from Sasuke.” The teenager’s eyes widen. “Good things only,” Toru hastens to add.

The chūnin colours slightly, “Ah, thanks,” he says.

“Toru-san!” Naruto suddenly cheers, “You’re here! Did you pass your test?”

“I did Naruto-san, but only thanks to your help,” Toru replies, giving a smile to the boy. “I was thinking that we could have a meal together now, but it seems Iruka-san has beaten me to it.”

Naruto’s eyes go wide and his grin increases, “Yeah! Iruka-sensei is the best! He’s taken me out for ramen because I passed my test today!” He quickly turns to Sasuke and starts up a conversation.

“I wasn’t even aware they had a test today,” Toru mumbles softly. He probably should’ve expected it; it wasn’t as if he was closely related to Sasuke in anyway.

“Give him time,” Iruka advises. “How did you meet Naruto-kun?”

“We were here, actually,” Toru says as the conversation moves onto a lighter topic. “He ran out of money to get another bowl so I paid. We’ve met up a few times since. He and Sasuke have kind of formed a friendship.”

“You idiot, you can’t say things like that without backing them up!” Sasuke suddenly shouts.

“What’s it to you bastard?” Naruto retorts.

“Friendship indeed,” Iruka says with a chuckle. “It’s good to see another person looking out for Naruto-kun; he has a hard time.”

Toru glances at Iruka who has a wistful and sad expression. “I’ve… figured that out,” he says quietly. “It’s depressing, but at least he has someone looking out for him. In his circumstances… it would be hard, but he’s still so cheerful and that astounds me.”

Iruka looks at Naruto and for a moment Toru sees himself looking at Sasuke. “I know what you mean,” Iruka says quietly. “I guess, it’s a bit of the opposite for you isn’t it? You’re suddenly two people from a clan of many and the memories stay with you.”

Toru takes a mouthful of noodles. “Yeah,” he says. “It’s… it’s hard. I feel like I have to act like the adult and, kami,” Toru feels hysteria bubbling in his chest and eyes watering, “I don’t know if I can do it.”

“You can,” Iruka says, staring at the Naruto and Sasuke with unreadable eyes as the squabble over something. “You can because you have too and you’re determined. You’re going to make it work because you need to look out for him, to be everything you can be. Yes, you might make mistakes but you’re going to do the best you can and learn from them. It’s going to be hard but you’ll manage.”

Toru presses his palms against his eyes and just breathes. He nods to himself and looks at Iruka, “You must be an amazing teacher.”

Iruka’s eyes go wide, “Oh, really? Thank you. It was hard at first but…”

“But then you found your reason to try,” Toru says with a wry smile. “I know what that’s like. I was going to coast along and be a shinobi, but then he comes along and suddenly I have to look out for someone younger. I have to try, and I have to work hard, and it’s going to be weird; I’m not used to it.”

Iruka looks at Toru with a considering expression. “You’re no eleven-year-old kid,” he says. “You’ll manage it though, your kind tends to.”

My kind, Toru thinks, and it sounds worrying, but Toru knows he’ll do what has to be done. He’ll manage one way or another. As Iruka said, geniuses tended to.

***

“I’m never moving again,” Kiku groans from where she collapsed on the ground when Natsumi called for lunch.

“You may want to stretch; otherwise it’ll hurt more tomorrow,” Shou advises from where he’s stretching.

Toru grins at the pair of them as he does another light stretch, “I’m kind of glad I’m still recovery as I didn’t have to go through that session.”

“Just you wait,” Kiku warns, jabbing a finger towards Toru before she starts stretching. “I think my bruises have bruises,” she moans.

“I’m not sure that’s possible,” Shou muses and Kiku glares in response.

“Fuck you,” is her elegant response and Toru helps them both stand up. “Okay, where are we going for lunch? And what did Natsumi-sensei want us to do again?”

“Talk about team positions,” Toru says, “Also, I don’t know any places nearby.”

“I know a good place,” Kiku says, “Follow me. What exactly about team positions are we meant to discuss?”

“Well teams tend to have a leader for one,” Shou points out, “and while Natsumi-sensei is our superior, she is not our actual leader. I suppose it’s also vital we look into what we each bring to the team. For instance, does any one of us have any medical experience excluding what we learnt in the academy?”

Kiku leads them to a small stand and all three buy a meal. “Alright then, let’s start with the basics,” she says as she eats. “Who’s the leader? I nominate Toru.”

“Agreed,” Shou says.

“What? No, I’m not a leader person; I’m more like a panic person,” Toru replies quickly.

“You caused us to pass the test yesterday and… you have experienced an actual attack so will probably not freeze up next time. From what I have observed, you have paranoia levels of an experienced genin. You are also willing to ask for help as well as tell us what to do,” Shou says before taking a bite of his meal.

“I hate to say I agree, but I agree,” Kiku adds.

Toru dips his head in acknowledgement, knowing he can’t change the others’ minds (but what if he fails them all? What if he’s the reason why they all die again?). “Alright, first things first then, Kiku you’re easily going to be our main taijutsu person on the team. You’ve put the most work in and have found a taijutsu style that fits you and isn’t one of the academy styles. I don’t know what Shou and I will be more specialised in, but I won’t be able to learn much healing jutsu until I have better chakra control, which is what I’m working on in my spare time.”

“I can learn a basic healing jutsu,” Shou confirms, “It is best if we have one team member who is able to heal some injuries. We all have fairly average aim, but Toru’s is edging on being the best. However, he has to build up his arm strength.”

“Well I can be the one who sets up traps,” Kiku says, “I did really well in that section of the academy curriculum. And Shou can be the tracker.” Kiku frowns, “Do you have an area of strength?” She asks Toru.

Toru shakes his head, “I haven’t learn any ninjutsu ignoring the academy three and one fire one, and my chakra control for genjutsu could be further improved. Taijutsu is out currently due to the fact I’m recovering.” He grimaces, “I don’t really have an area of strength at the moment.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Shou murmurs. “It means that you’re a blank slate and can start anywhere.”

“My suggestion would to work your taijutsu and chakra control,” Kiku advises. “It’ll only help in the long run.” Toru looks at her curiously, so far Kiku hasn’t suggested anything, mainly picking arguments with Shou. “That way your taijutsu will be stronger and the chakra control will help with, well, everything. Do you have a certain taijutsu you want to focus in?”

“I know the general academy set of katas along with the Uchiha Fire Style, but I can’t use it due to my lack of sharingan,” Toru replies. “However, I know I can, well, find other styles in the Uchiha library.”

The atmosphere dampens at the reminder of the massacre that took place over a month ago. “You don’t have to go alone,” Shou offers quietly.

Toru gives a quirk of his lips, hoping that it looks like the smile it’s meant to be and not a grimace. “I do,” he replies.

“If you want a hand you come get us, got it?” Kiku says sternly, “We’re a team.”

This time Toru’s lips move into an actual smile, “Yeah, we are.”

***

“Greetings Hokage-sama,” Tory says with a bow, Sasuke does the same beside him. The Sandaime looks at them with a wistful but kind expression.

“Why don’t you both take a seat?” The Hokage asks, “I think there is something we need to discuss in regards to the Uchiha clan’s demise.”

Toru takes a seat, very much aware of how the Hokage wasn’t really asking a question but merely giving an order. The way the Sandaime spoke demonstrates his distaste regarding the massacre, but there was also a lack of true emotion. The man was good; he had to be in order to be known as the Kami of Shinobi. Neither of the two Uchiha speaks; Sasuke models his behaviour based on Toru’s behaviour, while Toru decides it’s better to take the patient path.

“In our village, clans are only known as such when there are three or more people who have claim to the name. Of course, two of these three cannot be married or engaged to each other.” The Hokage pauses, looking at the two Uchiha to gauge their responses to his words. Sasuke had instantly stiffened and a scowl was forming on his face; meanwhile, Toru had fallen into an almost relaxed position, but the Sandaime could see how he is ready to move. “The three members have to be part of the village, and due to the circumstances of the Uchiha clan, there aren’t three members within Konoha’s walls.”

Sasuke shoots to his feet and opens his mouth to say something. Toru shoots the younger boy a sharp glance. “Does that still apply if a member of the clan has a kekkei genkai?” Toru asks, emotionally detaching himself from the situation in a way Sasuke couldn’t quite manage (he had done this many times before, just not now).

“It does not,” the Hokage admitted, “Therefore, the clan leadership will need to be discussed. The Uchiha clan has a seat on both the clan council, village council, and central council due to the position of the clan in Konoha’s history and what they have brought to our village.”

“What differences would there be if we did not have a kekkei genkai?” Toru asks as Sasuke sits down, wanting more information.

“The clan compound would return to being unowned and techniques would be released to the rest of Konoha and gone through by one of the departments,” the Sandaime replies. Toru feels his expression change as he feels the stirring of anger go through him. “This is not what will happen in your case. You still have a clan, and consequently the clan seats on each council still exist.”

Toru attempts to rearrange his facial expression to be stoic again, but his mask seems to slip through his fingers. The Hokage seems to be… appeasing them, and that idea sits heavy in Toru’s stomach. Toru knows that both Sasuke and his anger is something to be feared, and that what they could do if they joined another village is tremendous. As Uchiha, they have the possibility of passing the sharingan down, and to give another village that power is something that no Hokage would want.

“This is about clan leadership, isn’t it?” Sasuke says bluntly, pulling Toru’s attention back to the present.

The leader of Konoha dips his head in acknowledgement, “It is. Normally the clan head is chosen by the previous head, or the person who has the closest genetic relation with the previous leader. Technically, Sasuke-kun can be the leader of the clan. However, it does get more difficult when there is another person involved. Either way, neither of you can get on any council until you’re a chūnin, but Toru can take clan leadership.”

Toru looks at Sasuke who’s biting his lip, “Hokage-sama said I can Sasuke, not that I have to. It’s up to you.”

“You can have some time to think about it,” the Hokage offers kindly, “I do have a few other things that need to be discussed.” Sasuke nods, a flat expression on his face and Toru worries of what might come from it. “Toru-kun’s rise to genin makes him legible to access what his parents left behind. As he isn’t clan head, he cannot access the Uchiha clan funds, but he can access what was left to him. However, as you, Sasuke-kun, are not a genin yet, you cannot access any funds. Therefore, you will receive the orphan stipend, or Toru will, as he is your current guardian. I understand you will be moving out soon and into your own apartment, is this correct?”

Toru dips his head in a nod when Sasuke unexpectedly speaks. “I want Toru to be clan head,” he states.

“Are you sure Sasuke?” Toru asks, sending Sasuke a surprised glance.

“Yes,” Sasuke says, accompanying his words with a sharp nod. “You can always transfer leadership back to me.”

“This is true,” the Hokage admits. “Remember Toru-kun, you will not have any duties until you are a chūnin at least.”

“Thank you,” Toru says, dipping his head in an informal bow; although, he isn’t sure whether he’s thanking Sasuke or the Sandaime. A bitter thought rises in his mind, telling him that he’s just made another tie to the village (that isn’t home).

“Dismissed,” the Hokage says, Sasuke and Toru bows before they both leave.

The pair makes it to a park before Toru suddenly takes a seat on an empty bench. “Toru?” Sasuke asks and Toru looks at him with miserable eyes.

“I’m a clan head now,” he says with a shrug of his shoulders, “I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m your guardian and I don’t know how to look after a kid.” Sasuke looks at him with unreadable eyes and Toru worries that he shouldn’t have broken down in front of the child. However, he thinks that Sasuke should know what he’s dealing with. “I’ll be blunt; I don’t know what I’m doing. I’d understand if you don’t want me as your clan head or guardian.”

Sasuke hesitates before hopping up on the bench and hugging Toru. “Sometimes… sometimes things get hard, but that just means you’ve gotta adjust,” Sasuke murmurs quietly to Toru.

Toru closes his eyes and rests his head on Sasuke’s. “Yeah? Whoever told you that was one smart person.”

“It was my mother,” Sasuke says gravely, pulling back to look into Toru’s eyes.

Toru pulls back, “I’m sorry you have to see me like this.”

“It’s…” Sasuke trails off, a scowl forming on his face, “You’re human,” is what he eventually settles on.

“Yeah,” Toru says with a soft laugh, “I guess I am.”

***

His chakra is low, the lowest it has been this entire week. He deflects a tantō with a kunai and with a split-second moment to think, he lashes out with one of his explosion seals. He darts backwards and spins around, ignoring the sound of an explosion behind him. His new target growls at him, and gains distance before using ninjutsu to keep him at bay.

He’s tiring now. He doesn’t have the chakra to use his most powerful ninjutsu. He does the one thing he hopes he would never have to. He breaks his seals. They splinter and fracture; he hisses because it hurts more than anything else as the chakra is released. It hurts more than the deep slash on his chest, the splinters in his arms, and the cut on his face and the possibly broken ribs. The chakra the seals release, though, that’s what’s important. They give him more chakra and force his abused chakra coils to create more chakra.

He twists his hands. Wind and water swirls together and swallows another enemy ninja. He now let’s chakra ease from his feet into the ground, where unknown seals pulse and start working for the first time in eons. No one gives him a chance to do anything more, and he’s quickly engaged in another fight.

He doesn’t let anyone take his time though, and lashes out with a combination of quick taijutsu and small ninjutsu. He’s slowing down though; poison, he knows. It doesn’t appear to be effecting him too much, but he gains a nasty kick to the sternum that pushes him into a completely new realm of pain.

He’s tired of all this fighting, of this game of death and life. He knows, somewhere in the back of his mind, that he isn’t – they aren’t – going to get out of this one. This will be how they die and fall. They will lie forgotten and any survivors will be cast to the wind, and their children will remain unknowing of who they once could’ve been.

He rolls up so he’s kneeling with one knee up. His leg burns as he gets up, but he manages to leap out of the way of stream of fire. He’s on the edge of exhaustion though, and his enemies seem to know it. They manage to get his back against the wall, and he can feel his chakra wavering. He won’t be able to pull out any more ninjutsu. However, ninjutsu has never been his strength.

He pulls out another tag, and throws it forward. It sends out arcs of lightning, and more opponents drop. He grabs two tags, and throws them, before grabbing a bit of debris with his hands and pushing himself so he lands on a ruined roof. He runs leaving wind and fire screaming behind him as it takes lives.

He stumbles, falling, and twists so he manages to land on his feet. The landing jars him but he’s standing a second later. There are a trio of approaching ninjas; a group of jōnins based off their chakra levels. He bites back a frustrated sound and pulls chakra to his fingertips. It’s the work of two seconds to write the seal he wants in the air, and it creates a barrier around him.

He quickly draws a seal in blood on the ground just as the barrier drops. He grins as the seal below him roars and the earth moves up. He jumps onto another ruined roof and the pillar of earth falls. He sees one of his ninjas nearby, and with a few leaps, he reaches her side.

She has one arm hanging down and is clearly limping. Nevertheless, she pulls herself upright and water flies at her opponent, sending them crashing into a wall and collapsing. There’s no time to recover, as another group of enemy ninjas surround her.

He manages to block a tantō and burns a seal on it with chakra. Lightning conducts through the blade and its owner goes down in a shrill scream. He takes two more down with a third seal and blocks a forth in a barrier that drains oxygen.

His kunoichi manages to defeat two more and the pair gathers themselves and run. Nevertheless, he knows they can’t run forever. He won’t manage it and she’s already flagging. She eventually stops and turns around, “Keep going,” she says. “You cannot die here. I will hold them.”

He bites back his immediate protest, “The sea never dies,” he tells her instead. He takes off again, and feels another pang of pain upon knowing he’s left another one of his ninjas to die, whether she decided herself or not.

He doesn’t escape. He gets himself surrounding by four jōnins and one person stronger. He draws himself tall, bleeding and in pain. He’s dying; he knows it. He can feel it in his wheezing breath, in how his chest hasn’t stopped bleeding. It’s in his burning chakra paths and the splintered seals on his skin. It’s also in the poison that makes his vision flicker and his heartbeat increase. But mainly it’s in the seals that pulse around him, each one becoming extinguished as another one of his ninjas fall.

He spits blood onto the ground. “Die,” he growls as the four jōnins close in on him. He manages to take one down before they injure him, stabbing a kunai deep into his shoulder. He pulls it out; knowing leaving it in could mean tearing his shoulder muscles. That leaves him in danger of bleeding out, although he thinks he already knows that’s going to happen.

The blood is on his fingers and he snaps his hands out, creating more seals in the air. The two pain seals lash onto one jōnin who screams as he goes down; the torture and interrogation seals were made for ANBU and he doesn’t use them lightly. The other two jōnins keep fighting him, and he takes one out with a kunai but receives a stab to his stomach in response. The last jōnin goes down with a paralysis seal.

He tries to stand, but his legs buckle beneath him and he collapses onto his knees. His vision flashes before returning to the half-dark sight he currently has due to the poison. He can hear someone come closer and he tries to create another seal, but the thought escapes him and his chakra has almost disappeared.

“No need to fight,” the voice says with a lilting tone. “It’s past your death date. You’ve done well, but you’ve fallen now. It’s been two weeks; your village has fallen.”

“Not dead,” he gasps out, coughing up blood. “Village never dies.”

“I’m afraid your so-called village of longevity will exist no longer,” the voice replies.

 “You’re afraid of our seals,” he responds, and he can feel himself just hanging on. “We won’t end here.”

“You will,” the voice says harshly, all traces of happiness cast away. “There is no one left alive,” the knowledge is like a dagger, and he flinches. They laugh. “I think it’s time to let you go greet your ninjas… in the afterlife.” His eyes widen despite the fact he can’t see anything as something stabs through his torso. He screams as the pain grows. The blade’s pulled out a moment later with a harsh twist. He gasps, unable to do anything more.

Toru wakes up, a hand on his stomach and a scream in his mouth. He swallows it, and looks the scar on his torso. He frowns. The dream – nightmare – he had just gone through is nothing like his experience (it is his experience of then, not now).

Toru moves out of bed, knowing he won’t be able to sleep with the memories dream he just had. “T’ru?” Sasuke mumbles sleepily.

“Go back to sleep,” Toru chides softly, “I’m going on a walk.”

“A’right,” Sasuke says before his breathing evens out in sleep once again. Toru waits a minute, checking that the younger Uchiha is actually asleep, before leaving the room.

He should probably know better than to leave the house so early, but its dawn right now and he has a weapon on him if he really needs it. He doubts that, though. Konoha is safe, even if it isn’t quite a home, not with the traumatic memories that are with him wherever he goes (through his chest and it hurtshurtshurtsHURTS).

Outside, the light is starting to get through the trees above his head. Toru supposes he should think about the dream and what exactly it means. But he can also feel the injuries from his dreams as if they have carried over into what Toru knows is reality.

Toru lets a soft huff of laughter escape him. Reality is all a matter of perception, isn’t it? He perceives his reality of existing to be a, well not a mistake but something close to one – a moment of chance. Will his reality of continued existence include dreams of death and dying, a struggle between life and death but death is the only end result? Toru doesn’t want his life to be like that. He thinks that it’s okay to want that. He is a shinobi, though, and that means killing and working with and around death. The possibility he will die is there, even if it’s lower than if Konoha had been at war.

There’s something in the back of the Uchiha’s mind. Toru has had dreams before, not like the one he had just had. It was different; it had felt real. It… it connects with Toru.

Toru has always been different to peers his age. He has always edged on being an outsider, although that might’ve been due to his clan. Still, he has always seemed a bit quieter, a bit less driven, and a bit more aware. He had always passed it off as being more intelligent, but what if he is simply more experienced?

Toru had never been in any true danger before the massacre, yet he had known somehow that something hadn’t been right. He had moved and been prepared for danger, and for that he had lived. There had always been something in the back of his head, pushing him certain ways. He hadn’t ever noticed, not really. He had felt, and at times seen, it in various ways.

Toru sits down a bench hidden in a small clearing off the main section of one of Konoha’s parks. He closes his eyes and once again searches for his chakra. There’s his normal chakra that comes to him easily, rising to his wish, but he leaves it. He reaches for that dark-not-dark chakra and it comes. It doesn’t come easily but it doesn’t struggle; it feels as if it comes on its own will.

It’s like water and wind. It comes wild and calm and it will be whatever it wants and you can only go with it, because going against it means you will die. It’s something that Toru appreciates, though. Because it’s wild and free and wilful and it feels capable of doing anything it wants (and then he remembers blood pouring from his torso and the wish for a village to never die).

The chakra pulls up the dream (it’s not a dream) and other things that seem familiar but have to be more dreams (he’s lying to himself; he doesn’t want this). He remembers Ayumu and a village surrounded by the sea. He remembers becoming a genin, becoming a chūnin, becoming a jōnin, becoming an ANBU, and then becoming ANBU commander. He recalls Ayumu, the Uzukage, falling a month before the invasion, poisoned in the safety of the village. He remembers becoming the next Uzukage and preparing for the battle that was soon to come as enemies approached their shores.

Toru pulls his legs up; he remembers and he wants to cry. He didn’t ask for this. He gave everything for the village; he became the Kage he never wanted to be but had always been a candidate for anyway. His dream had always been about fighting without killing, but he had grown and it had changed. He had truly always wanted to protect his village with everything he could. He was – is – Toru of Uzushiogakure – Konohagakure – a ninja because he didn’t know how to be anything else.

He– He died and it hurt; it hurt so much. He had fought so hard and it had all been for naught because he’s never heard the name of Uzushio but everywhere he looks, there are reminders of it. There’s the symbol on everyone’s uniform and on Konoha’s hitai-ate even has the symbol. Konoha is engraved with Uzushio’s symbol, but it doesn’t care about remembering Uzushio’s history. Toru’s people died for this, this useless memory of a village ruined.

Toru doesn’t know how to handle it. He’s alive but he wasn’t, and now he is but he doesn’t know how. He doesn’t know if he’s the only one and there are just so many unknowns and–

“Breathe,” someone says quietly. Toru flinches away (because there are more enemies approaching and his ninjas are dying and he needs to do more, be more). “Easy, focus on your breathing.” Toru does so, because he’s safe in Konoha (not home, not home). He feels his breathing slow down and he finally loosens his muscles, releasing his legs and stretching his arms.

“Thanks,” he says quietly, still looking down at his feet. He doesn’t want to think of what this ninja now thinks of him. A genin breaking down who’s never even left the village (in this lifetime).

“It was no problem kid. It happens to everyone, want to talk about it?” And Toru finally looks up to see a kunoichi crouched next to him.

“It was just a– just a,” he grimaces, because he doesn’t want to call it a dream (because it was so much more, it was a realisation and something too big for words to communicate).

“A nightmare? We all have them kid,” the kunoichi says, and Toru just nods his head. “Make sure you have someone you can talk to,” she stays sternly, looking eyes with the Uchiha.

Toru dips his head, “Alright,” he murmurs, feeling uncomfortable with the amount of attention on him.

“Kid, I mean it,” the kunoichi repeats. Toru looks up at her and a small smile. “I have to go, but make sure you look out for yourself,” the kunoichi says before darting off, leaving Toru with his thoughts.

He looks down at the bench’s shadow. He might be alone in this world from his previous life, but he isn’t alone in this world in his current life. He promised that he would get strong enough to protect, and for now, that’s what he’s going to focus on.

Toru stands up and for a moment imagines himself surrounded by the sights and sounds of Uzushio, then he casts the picture out of his head and walks towards a training ground. He has training to do.

***

“Must we?” Sasuke asks as they near the village centre.

“They did invite us,” Toru replies. “Besides, I would like for you to meet my teammates.”

“I could’ve been training,” Sasuke says mournfully.

“You’ll tire yourself out too much,” Toru responds, “and then you might not be able to train at all. It’s good to train and train yourself hard, but you can’t go over the top or you risk exhaustion.”

“I know Toru,” Sasuke says, drawing the words out. “But it’s a birthday party!”

“My teammate’s birthday party,” Toru replies. “That aside, I think there are others your age. Shou has more friends than Kiku and me. She mentioned that a friend of hers was looking after their cousin and they were bringing him. He’s apparently in your class in the academy.”

“I don’t even know them; did I really have to get them a gift?” Sasuke says, changing track.

“Probably not, but it is polite,” Toru says. “Besides, if I want to get out quickly, I have a reason.”

“You’re using me,” Sasuke says flatly.

“I’m a shinobi,” Toru replies, “Besides; I’m helpful as I gave you a gift so you don’t have to figure out what to get them!”

“Underhand,” Sasuke grumbles just as they reach Shou’s house.

Toru knocks on the wooden door, and it’s quickly opened. Shou’s face appears; their dark brown hair is down and curling slightly at the ends. “Happy birthday Shou,” Toru says, “This is Sasuke.”

“Happy birthday,” Sasuke intones, and Shou gives them both a grin.

“Thank you. Also, for further reference, I’m female right now,” Shou says, carefully avoiding looking at Sasuke’s face.

Sasuke blinks, “Okay,” he says looking confused. “We have gifts?”

“You didn’t have to,” Shou responds, “I’m opening them later. I was thinking you two and Kiku could stick around for dinner?”

Toru hums and looks down at Sasuke who shrugs. “Sure,” Toru responds, having checked if it was acceptable with Sasuke.

“Kiba-kun is here Sasuke-kun; do you two know each other?” Shou asks.

A grimace appears on Sasuke’s face and Toru swallows a laugh at the pout. “He’s like Naruto but… worse,” the Uchiha tells Toru.

“I’m sure you’ll somehow manage to converse with each other,” Toru responds with a devious grin. “After all, otherwise you’ll have to spend your time around me and all the people I talk to.”

Sasuke scowls, scuffs a foot, and then walks into the house with his head held high. “He looks like a handful,” Shou comments. Toru tilts his head and gives another small hum. Shou quickly gives him a small hug and Toru freezes before relaxing. “Thank you for coming; you didn’t have to.”

“You’re my teammate,” Toru replies awkwardly, “I came because I wanted to.”

***

“C’mon, open the gifts already!” Kiku says, bouncing next to Sasuke who pulls away with a pained expression. Toru laughs softly and lets Sasuke move closer to him without flinching.

“I guess I’ll open yours first,” Shou says, pulling one wrapped in grey from Kiku. She unwraps it and finds herself looking at a pair of dark blue gloves.

“Reinforced to help stop a blade from cutting through,” Kiku says. “They also have good grip for on slippery surfaces and you pulse chakra through them to repel objects.”

“Thanks; these will be extremely handy,” Shou says with a smile. Kiku snorts at the pun and Shou’s smile widens. She unwraps Sasuke’s gift, and grins upon seeing a brace of kunai and shuriken. “I needed some more,” Shou says, turning to face Sasuke. “Thank you.”

Toru pushes his present towards Shou, and she pulls the pale yellow paper away from the gift. It’s a book, and Shou grins upon reading the title. “‘A complete guide to traps – both chakraless and with chakra’? Thanks Toru! I’ve been wanting this book for a while.”

“Way to get the best gift,” Kiku says with a laugh.

“Yours and Sasuke-kun’s is just as good,” Shou says as she hugs her teammates, Toru dragging Sasuke into it as well.

***

Four weeks after graduating to genin, Team Five (consisting of Kiku Kurama, Shou Shimizu, and Toru Uchiha) along with their jōnin-instructor Natsumi Hayashi were given a C-ranked mission. It is expected to go for two weeks and is a bodyguard and infiltration mission.

Chapter Text

Toru can feel his feet slipping and he quickly blasts chakra through his legs, propelling him to the next branch. Toru manages to grip the trunk to stop his fall and once again takes a hold of his chakra and attempts to tree-hop again. So far, Shou had grasped the theory and practical aspect of tree hopping easily. Then again, they had also managed to figure out tree-walking quickly. Kiku had also made it to the top of the tree with minimal effort, while Toru struggled with his control over his chakra. Toru had found his problem was with using his chakra was that the dark-not-dark chakra would sometimes enter his system and would require a different amount to be used to stick to the branches.

He is getting better at the task, but it was still galling to know that he hadn’t managed it before his two teammates. It isn’t that he doesn’t like his teammates, but he wants to be good, to be great (he doesn’t want to die again; he doesn’t want to watch everyone around him die again).

“You need to calm down Toru-kun,” Natsumi chastises, “If you let your emotions interfere with your chakra control it won’t work.”

“Yes Natsumi-sensei,” Toru replies. He takes a deep breath before consciously pulling on his chakra. As always, his chakra is quick to rise and quick to do as he wants. However, then the dark-not-dark chakra rises and Toru grits his teeth as he mixes it with his chakra to dilute it. He had learnt the trick on the third day of their journey, and it’s been an immense help.

Natsumi once again drops back, “Team Five escort measures,” she calls out, and the three genins and one jōnin leap to the ground.

The merchant, Hirosue Toda, startles at the unexpected movement. “We’re near the town,” he says with a smile. “It’s just around the corner according to my memory.”

“What exactly do you sell Hirosue-san?” Shou asks softly.

“I’m in the clothes industry. I’m one of the leading merchants of Allium Blossom – a clothing business,” Hirosue replies.

Shou nods their head and twists when Natsumi clears her throat lightly. “All hitai-ate off for now; we don’t want to raise suspicion,” she says as she slips off her forehead protector. The genins are quick to do the same, carefully stuffing it into their respective packs. “Do you remember your orders?”

“Try to act as normal civilians, say we’re with Hirosue-san if anyone asks,” Toru says, recalling the information from his memory. “We’re to wait until 2200 to do any reconnaissance regarding the property we’re going to infiltrate. In addition, we have different names for the mission. Kiku is Emi while Shou is Hibiki, Natsumi-sensei is Kasumi, and I’m going to be called Yuji.”

“Very good Toru-kun. Kiku-chan, Shou-san, can you tell me if he missed anything?” Natsumi asks.

“We’re staying in Toshi Inn,” Kiku responds, “And we need to have at least someone watching the caravan containing Hirosue-san’s wares.”

“Very good,” Natsumi compliments. “When we’re discussing our plan for the infiltration I’ll take over watch duty.”

“Okay Natsumi-sensei,” Kiku chirps back as she links arms with her two teammates. “I bet this mission will go down with no issues!”

Shou groans, “If you’ve jinxed us and get us killed, I’m going to kill you.”

***

“Fuck,” Shou swore, slamming open the door to Team Five’s inn room. “Kiku where is Natsumi-sensei?” Kiku’s eyes widen, realising the seriousness of the situation as Shou had dropped the mission names.

“Ahh, she was sending a bird to Konoha for backup,” Kiku replies. “She should be back soon.”

“Emi-chan, Hibiki-san?” Natsumi calls, “Where’s Yuji-kun?”

“Yes, well, Toru’s been taken,” Shou blurts out after stumbling with their words.

“Report,” Natsumi demands, her posture snapping straight. In response, Shou straightens.

“I got to the caravan as I knew that the wares needed to be protected. As planned, it was Toru’s watch shift. However, when I got there no one was around. I searched around and called softly but there was no response at all,” Shou says.

“I bet you it was that shifty musician,” Kiku responds, anger tainting her voice. She briefly wonders how their C-ranked mission went from fine to worrying in three days.

Team Five managed to reach Minamoto in time, and Hirosue had been quick to set up his stall. They had spent the first night surveying the house they were meant to infiltrate. The second day had gone fine, and no one seemed to suspect that they were ninjas. Then, on the second night, they had managed to infiltrate the rival business’ house and steal the necessary list. It was on the fourth day, just before they had planned to leave, that everything went wrong.

Shou had been wandering around the village when she had heard the news; a child had gone missing within the village. She had told the rumour to her team, and the rumour had actually been verified by the head of the village. Their team had been asked to look into the disappearances, and while Natsumi was hesitant, she had agreed to look into it.

“You can’t go blaming anyone who appears suspicious,” Natsumi says, although her grey eyes look stormy. “Toru-kun is fully capable of escaping,” Natsumi continues, “He’s probably attempting to locate the missing children.”

“He might not be able to escape if he’s been taking by ninjas,” Kiku says quietly.

“First thing we need to do is search for a track. Now, I need you two to continue guarding the client,” Natsumi orders.

“Not a chance Natsumi-sensei,” Kiku barks out, “He’s our teammate!”

“You might ruin my chances of getting him out safely,” Natsumi replies harshly, but knowing it was necessary.

“What if there are more children there? What if they don’t respond well to adults? You’ll have Toru on your side, but you could still encounter difficulties,” Shou points out, refuting Natsumi’s argument.

Natsumi’s protest seems to fail her and she sighs, “If we are to do this, you will have to do exactly what I say. Understood? If you cannot follow my orders, you will not come. I may order you to leave me behind or Toru behind; will you be able to do this?”

Kiku pauses, and that more than anything makes Natsumi think that her genins might be able to handle this mission. Shou squares up. “Yes Natsumi-sensei,” Kiku says and Shou nods in agreement. “We will do as ordered.”

“Good,” Natsumi said. “Prepare for stealth and ambush mission.” The two genins nodded and started filling their weapons pouch with the required equipment. Once they were all ready, Natsumi looked at Shou, “Shou-san you’re the tracker for this mission, you’ll take point until I say otherwise. If you miss anything, I will call you on it.”

“Hai Natsumi-sensei,” Shou snaps out. Shou leads their team to the wooden caravan that Hirosue owns. Upon getting there, they start going in slow circles that get bigger with each time they go around. Eventually they stop, “I can feel traces of chakra on this tree trunk,” they say softly, looking to Natsumi to double check.

“It’s Toru-kun’s,” Natsumi confirms. “Lead on Shou-san, but be careful. I want complete silence; talk in code if necessary.” Shou nods before turning around. They leads their team forward, wondering what had happened to the Uchiha.

Natsumi follows her genins carefully, keeping her senses on full alert and attempting to sense all chakra nearby. While the jōnin isn’t a sensor, she is still able to sense anyone with more than a civilian’s chakra pool. Toru has a surprisingly large chakra pool for a genin, verging on the size of a chūnin’s, and that makes it easier for Natsumi to sense him.

However, she has managed to lose one of her genins on their first C-ranked mission. Natsumi’s analysis of the genin is still in the works, but it is improving the more time she spends with him. For all Toru’s awkward conversational skills, he has a quiet charisma around him. He was the one who had managed to get his teammates to work together, and they had both chosen him as a leader. Natsumi has noticed his intelligence and it was clear that as an academy student, he had hidden it, but he is trying his best. It didn’t make sense that a civilian would be able to get the drop on him.

Natsumi leaps forward, cutting in front of Shou. She quickly signs a message to them. Shou hesitates before pulling back, tugging Kiku backwards with them. So far, the trio had managed to circle around the base of the kidnappers before finding anyone.

Natsumi takes a step forward, dropping off the branch behind the so-called travelling musician who had been in Minamoto, staying in the same inn as Team Five. Natsumi jumps forward, one hand grazing the person’s arm and she flares her chakra, putting him under a genjutsu. The musician is quick to break it, and he spins to face her. “Who do you work for?” Natsumi growls.

The man hesitates before reaching into a side pocket; Natsumi stiffens and readies herself for an attack. He pulls out a forehead protector, “Why is a Kusa-nin over this side of the border?” Natsumi hisses, wondering if the shinobi is aware of the ramifications.

“I am here to protect one of the Daimyo’s advisors and his family… I failed, his children have been taken,” the Kusa-nin replies. “I have the proper papers back in the inn, but I need to save the children. Someone left a chakra path for me to follow. You are guarding the merchant; you have no reason to be searching for the children.”

“The chakra path you are following was left by one of my genins,” Natsumi replies; glad to see the flash of surprise on the Kusa-nin’s face. “As Konoha-nin it is our duty to help in any way we can. How do I know you aren’t lying?”

The Kusa-nin lifts his arm, showing a wristband that was handed to all international ninjas within the Hi no Kuni’s borders. “Is this good enough for you?”

Natsumi nods and gestures behind her. Instantly her remaining genins leap down next to her. “Have you found any information regarding the base?”

“There’s a main entrance and a back entrance; it is mainly underground,” the Kusa-nin reports. “May I aid in your retrieval of the children?”

Kiku’s hands twist and turn as she uses one of Konoha’s silent languages to convey her thoughts to Natsumi. Natsumi scowls but nods at her. “You may help in creating distraction and attempting to secure the children. My genins will retrieve the children that are supposed to be under your guard as well as my third genin. You and I will keep everyone else’s attention on us. Understood? If you attempt to sabotage the mission I will have to take you down.”

The Kusa-nin bows his head, “Hai. I suggest that the genins enter through the back entrance.”

“I know where that is,” Shou says in a bland tone. “Where is our meeting location?”

“The clearing, north, two klicks out,” Natsumi says, before glancing at the Kusa-nin.

“I know the place,” the Kusa-nin says.

“Five minutes until the distraction,” Natsumi tells her genins, “If the base becomes unstable or you find yourselves overwhelmed, retreat whether you have the mission objects or not.”

“Hai,” Kiku says before the pair of genins takes to the trees and head towards the back of the base.

The Kusa-nin surveys Natsumi and she ignores the wish to snarl at the man. “What do you plan to attack with?”

“I will refrain from using earth ninjutsu and explosion seals due to the stability of the base being unknown. I will primarily use taijutsu and lightning ninjutsu,” the Kusa-nin explains.

“I will use a mix of genjutsu and taijutsu,” Natsumi reveals. “You can take point.”

“How kind,” the Kusa-nin grunts before sprinting into the front entrance of the base. Natsumi quickly follows the false musician.

The pair enters the base, only to find there are people running around in panic. A voice rises above the rest, “I don’t care what’s happened! Get those children back to work; whip the ones who refuse – but not too hard, because we can’t damage the goods – and make a show out of the one who caused this to happen – I have better plans than selling it. It’s the new one who caused all this – I just know it.”

Natsumi can feel her chakra thrumming below her skin as her anger stirs to life. She knows that Toru has done something; she doesn’t know how or what, but she finds herself despising the idea of her genin being injured or tortured. Not to mention, child slavery is one of the worst things that exists. A growl comes from in front of her, and she knows that the Kusa-nin agrees. Sometimes people have to die, and they’re the ones to kill them. Natsumi pulls on her chakra and attacks.

***

Sasuke glances out the window for the third time in the past ten minutes. He’s certain Iruka knows he isn’t paying attention, but the chūnin didn’t seem to mind. Sasuke scowls when the bell indicating the end of school finally goes off. He doesn’t feel up to dealing with the girls who keep trying to follow him home. He waits for a few minutes until almost everyone is gone, and then he finally packs his bag and heads out the door.

“Sasuke-kun?” A voice calls, and Sasuke turns to look at Iruka. “I’m sure Toru-san will be back soon.”

Sasuke pauses, but remembers that Toru had spoken fondly of Iruka after meeting him once. “His team was meant to arrive back two days ago.”

“Delays do happen Sasuke-kun,” Iruka says softly, “Toru-san is strong. He’ll come back from this mission just fine. Something possibly just popped up. He mentioned he was doing a bodyguard mission for a merchant, it’s possible the merchant just wanted to stay longer at the town to sell his wares.”

“How did you know his mission?” Sasuke asks, glaring at Iruka.

“We met up before he left,” Iruka admits. Sasuke grunts and leaves the classroom, leaving Iruka to look at his back.

However, once outside the classroom, Sasuke is besieged by his new, sort-of friend Naruto. “I’d avoid going to the market if I were you,” Naruto warns with a cheerful grin. Sasuke raises an eyebrow in question. “Some paint might’ve dropped on a stall,” he says nudging Sasuke with an elbow. “Owner wasn’t happy ‘bout it,” Naruto says as he puts his arms behind his head. “I was thinking about trying to get the civilian who runs the take-away store near the academy. They know my tricks, though, so I haven’t figured anything out.”

Sasuke knows that civilian. She constantly tries to pinch his cheeks after expressing her sadness for his loss, and then she tries to gain his favour. “Can you get in through the backdoor?”

“Ahh,” Naruto scratches his head, “I’m not the best at picking locks.”

“I’ll help,” Sasuke replies before he can think about it fully. In the back of his head, he still worries over Toru (and what if he never comes back? What if he gets Toru? Sasuke doesn’t want to be alone again). Naruto grins and continues yabbering on about prank plans, and Sasuke pays attention to the blonde, glad to have someone to distract him.

***

The moment a bag goes over Toru’s head; he fights the instinct to attack back. The man is probably a civilian, considering he hasn’t done anything to restrain Toru’s hands. He appears unaware that Toru is a ninja at all. Toru feels one fingertip brush past a tree trunk and he pushes a spark of his chakra into it. If Toru’s going to be kidnapped, he’s going to make sure it’s useful.

After about half an hour, the running comes to a stop and Toru leaves one last chakra mark before he feels something change. Toru attempts to identify why he felt as if something changed, when he’s thrown to the ground and the sack torn off his head. A hand pulls his head up by the hair and he winces.

In front of him is a tall man with slicked back black hair. Toru’s captor allows him to look around for a moment, before jerking on his hair. Toru feels angerhaterage bubble beneath his skin and he ignores the growl building in his chest. “You piece of shit,” Toru swears, glaring at the man in front of him. “Does this make you feel powerful, being able to use children as slaves?” He barks out a laugh, which quickly turned into a yelp of pain when he’s kicked in the stomach.

“Shut up,” the tall man says, eyes never leaving Toru’s face. “You don’t have a say in what’s power and what’s not. After all, you’re the son of a merchant and a prostitute bitch.”

Toru recognises the need for acting and calls upon his anger. “Yeah, well, you’re just a bastard who no one likes! I bet your own parents abandoned you to the streets because of your ugly mug.”

The tall man laughs, “Oh, no. My parents left me an empire. You’re just one of the prisoners in it. Take him away; put him with the other troublemakers. He needs some time to think on his attitude.”

“You need ‘im in good shape?” Someone behind Toru grunts.

The tall man shakes his head with a smirk coiling on his lips, “I think I can wait to sell him, or maybe he can be of use around here.”

“Sure thing boss,” came the response, and seconds later a bag is thrown over Toru’s head. This time, instead of being picked up, Toru’s arm is grabbed and he’s pulled along the floor. Toru stumbles and gets his feet underneath him, ignoring the pain in his knees from being shoved onto the floor and then dragged along it.

He is yanked to a stop and rope is tied around his hands. Toru hides a smile, knowing that the kidnappers hadn’t found the weaponry that is stored on his body; clearly hiding it is a good idea.

Once again, the bag is pulled off his head, and the person behind him shoves him into the wall. Toru blinks, unable to see anything in the darkness. There’s a click as a chain links onto the ropes tying his hands together. Shortly afterwards, the person leaves and Toru tilts his head and tries to listen to the sounds in the darkness. He can quickly pick up the sounds of muffled voices and crying. He grits his teeth and pulls out a hidden kunai. He slashes through his ropes.

Toru grins, and makes his way to the middle of the room and dumps the rope there, along with a piece of broken wood that he found. Toru carefully calls to his chakra and goes through a set of hand seals. “Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique,” Toru whispers, only allowing a minute bit of chakra be used for the ninjutsu. He spits out a splutter of fire, which catches the wood and rope alight. It won’t last for long, but it’ll be enough.

There’s a few screams and Toru looks around. “Everyone stay quiet,” he says softly, just loud enough to be heard. “Konoha ninjas are on their way; I’m here to aid in your escape,” he lies, but guessing that he is probably right. “We’re going to go to another room and set up a safe hold, alright?”

He moves over to one of the older children and carefully cuts through her bonds. The girl immediately helps to settle the younger children while Toru goes around and cuts the bonds. He counts ten children – eleven including him – in the room, from the ages of four years to thirteen years.

Toru stops at the front of the room, and the children’s attention swivels to him. “Is anyone too injured to run?” He asks softly, trying to make out what he can with the flickering light from the fire. No one responds and so Toru continues, “My name’s Toru and I’ve come to help you. What we’re going to do is go somewhere and try to keep ourselves hidden, okay?”

“What about the others that are out?” The girl he first rescued asks, and Toru chews on his lip as he quickly makes plans.

“I’m going to help them once you’re all safe,” Toru decides. “First, though, we’ve got to get out of here. Anyone know where a safe place we can hide is?”

“I know one,” someone says quietly, and Toru uses his chakra to break the lock on the door. He opens it and the young girl takes the lead. Toru keeps the children grouped together, ending up carrying the two youngest when they start running faster.

The girl comes to a stop in front of a grey coloured door, and opens it. She and Toru usher the kids in, before shutting the door. Toru pulls up his dark-not-dark chakra and lets it burn seals onto the door.

“These will muffle the sound and should make anyone who comes near want to go away,” Toru tells the children quietly. “You’re all going to stay quiet, though.”

“I’m scared,” the girl that Toru had been carrying says. She grabs Toru’s leg and holds it tightly, “Don’t go.”

Toru drops down to a crouch and holds her hands, “I need to help the others. You don’t want them to go through what you did, do you?” The girl shakes her head but doesn’t let go. Toru sighs, “Everyone please sit in a circle,” he says. Once they’re all in a circle, he starts talking again, “We’re going to play a game. Everyone is going to say one line, and altogether it’s going to make a story. Do you guys like stories?”

The younger children eagerly nod, and Toru mentally thanks the older children for helping him keep the children calm. “I’ll start. Once upon a time, there was a princess.”

Toru nudges the four-year-old next to him, “She very pretty and lived in a c’stle.”

“All her friends lived with her too!” The other four-year-old says with a grin.

“But one day a mean man locked them in,” the next person says, an eleven-year-old that gives Toru a small smile.

“However, a brave dragon decided to rescue the princess and her friends!” The next child says, and Toru inches his way out of the circle. Upon getting to the door, he catches the attention of the eldest child, who gives him a nod. He slips out the door.

Toru channels chakra to his feet and starts running on the ceiling, knowing that no civilian would look up to search for a child, and so he is safe for now. The scene Toru finds next is what leaves him with the desire to kill. He comes into a room that has contains children working. Toru growls; he drops down onto the ground and lunges at the only supervisor. It’s the thought in a split-second that makes him spin his kunai and knock the adult out instead of killing him.

“I’m part of a Konoha ninja team that’s come to rescue,” he says quietly as all the children gather round him with awed eyes. “I’ve found some other children and I’ve hidden them in another room. Is there anyone else I need to rescue?”

“There’s another room working,” one of the boys says hesitantly, “Have you really come to rescue us?”

“You’re getting out today even if I have to burn this place down,” Toru promises. “Now follow me quietly, I’ll lead you to the others.”

Toru avoids all other adults, making it to the room without any difficulties. He leaves the children quickly, but in his rush to find the others he ignores the footsteps coming from an adjacent corridor.

Toru swears as someone comes out of the hallway. The thug looks as surprised as Toru, and Toru leaps forward. The thug is surprisingly fast and Toru doesn’t have the time to knock him out. Toru silences his mind as he pushes off the wall and lands on his enemy. They’re knocked to the ground and Toru slices through their throat.

Toru stands up, noticing that his hands are still steady as he wipes his weapon down. He shudders once, before moving forward at a faster pace. He needs to find those children before anyone else does.

Toru attacks three others before he finds the children, of those three he had attacked only one survived. Toru convinces the children to follow him with ease; his age is certainly aiding him in this situation.

There’s a loud bang and Toru shuts the door to the room with the children in it. He readies himself for an attack and places his back to the door. Instead, a piece of the wall falls down and two figures become known through the dust. Toru grips his two kunai tighter, not wanting to take any more lives, but knowing it might be necessary.

“Toru?” Someone calls, their voice catching in their throat.

“Kiku, Shou!” Toru replies. “Where’s sensei?”

“She’s creating a distraction, but it looks like you’ve already started something,” Kiku replies with a wide grin. “Where are the children?”

Toru opens the door, “Guys you can come out. The rest of my team is here.” With those words, roughly thirty children come pouring out the door. “We need to move,” Toru says and the children quiet. “Shou take point; you need to lead us to where we’re going. Kiku, I want you in the centre of the group. Older kids, you need to watch out for the younger ones, help them if needed. Anyone under the age of six and can’t keep up, ask someone to pick you up. I’ll be at the back of the group.”

Shou and Kiku nod, and Shou takes off slowly with the children following. Toru looks down when someone tugs on his top, upon seeing the twin four-year-olds from earlier, he scoops them up. He puts one on his back and holds the other in his arms. “Tell me if anyone approaches from behind,” he tells him as the group start to move off.

They make it two hundred metres before Toru hears footsteps from behind, and Toru puts down the four-year-old in his arms. “Keep going,” he tells her, “This will just take a second.”

Toru takes a deep breath, goes through a set of hand seals, before shouting, “Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!” He spits out a large fireball before turning around and sprinting after the others, scooping up the male twin as he goes past.

***

Arata Kita is a proud shinobi of Kusagakure. It frustrates him to no ends that he has to rely on a bunch of Konohagakure ninjas – and a group of genins! Their jōnin-sensei appears to be reliable, and she did guard his back, even going so far to take a kunai for him when one of the thugs had surprised them, as he had been a dropout genin.

“If you’re genins have failed,” he warns the Konoha-nin as they approach the meeting point.

“They will not have failed,” she replies, and Arata bites back a response, knowing that pushing the stressed kunoichi would have bad results. Upon reaching the clearing, Arata and the kunoichi stop in surprise. There are thirty-six children of various ages in the clearing, being watched by the three genins. The unknown genin even has the twins that Arata is supposed to be protecting on his lap and is staring at them with a smile.

The moment the genins notice their arrival, they shift. The unknown genin places himself in front of the children and Arata can sense his chakra rising to his call. Meanwhile, the other two genins look like they are about to herd the children away.

“Team Five report,” the Konohagakure jōnin snaps, and the tension in the clearing fades away.

“Mission successful,” the female genin – Kiku if Arata recalls correctly – says with a wide grin. “Toru had already freed all the children.”

“Yeah, Ryuu-san’s the best!” One of the twins say, and Arata locks gazes with the genin – Toru. He shifts his head and Toru nods in response. Arata finds himself surprised, because he knows that Toru is unknowing of his position in the group but accepted him anyway. Clearly, the genin is a bit of a stupid one.

“Mmm,” the other twin hums, “Guards f’ther.”

“Facts add up sensei,” Toru reports. He claps his hands, and Arata finds himself stunned yet again, at how quickly the children pay attention to the genin. “Alright guys, looks like we’re going to head home now!” The children start cheering and grinning at each other, “We’ll be taking the same positions as we had when we left, okay? We’re able to go slightly slower, though. My sensei and her friend will keep watch for us.”

“Are you sure Ryuu-san?” Another child asks, tilting his head to look up at Arata. Arata scowls back. “He don’t look right.”

“The twins know him,” Toru replies. “Now, on your feet.”

Arata watches as the genin manages to get all the children walking without complaining, and finds himself slightly unsure of how the genin had managed it. “He didn’t know them before today,” the Konohagakure ninja admits as she walks beside him. “Are the ones you looking for there?”

“The ones Toru is carrying,” Arata admits. “Why do they keep calling him Ryuu?”

“He breathes fire like a dragon!” A child screams from next to him, and Arata barely manages to keep himself from flinching. “He’s like the dragon that protected the princess and her friends in the castle when the mean man suddenly tried to take the princess against her will!”

Arata blinks in confusion and takes a step sideways so he’s further away from the children. Aside from the other jōnin, the only one who pays any attention to his movement is Toru, who smirks at Arata. Arata ignores the genin and decides his first impression may have been wrong; the genin appears to more observant than he thought.

***

“Thank you Toru-kun,” Daiki – the Daimyo’s advisor – tells Toru with a tilt of his head in semblance of a bow.

“You’re welcome,” Toru replies with a small bow.

Two bodies suddenly collide with his legs, and Toru lets himself shift with the movement. “Don’t go!” The four-year-old and daughter of Daiki – and wasn’t that a surprise? – says.

“Yeah!” The other twin, Hiroshi, agrees. “Who’s going to rescue us if you aren’t there Ryuu-san?”

“Ryuu?” Daiki repeats with amusement.

Hoshi grins up at her father, “Tou-san, did you know Ryuu-san can breathe fire? He’s like the dragon who rescues the princess and her friends!” Daiki laughs softly but ultimately leaves Toru to get the twins pry of him.

Toru drops to a crouch, and the twins let go of his legs. “I need to go Hoshi-san, Hiroshi-san. My team is waiting on me, and my family is back in Konoha. I can’t leave him.”

“Bring them with us!” Hoshi says, beaming because of her idea. “You can come live with us! Can’t he Tou-san?”

“I’m afraid Toru-kun – Ryuu-kun – has his own duties to complete,” Daiki says sternly.

“Oh, like your duties?” Hiroshi says, turning so he can look at his father. Daiki nods.

“Will we ever see you again?” Hoshi mumbles, as her face turns downcast.

“Possibly,” Toru says giving the twins a smile. “If you’re ever in Konoha just try to find me. Ask for Toru Uchiha.”

Hiroshi leaps at Toru and starts crying. Toru gives the younger boy a hug and pulls Hoshi into the hug as well. “I’m gonna miss you Ryuu-san,” Hiroshi says as he cries.

“Same! Come visit us, please Ryuu-san,” Hoshi adds.

Toru gently lets the two go as he stands, “The future will hold what it will,” he tells the pair. “Why don’t we find out what it holds in store for us?” He takes a step back and the twins finally return to their mother. “Goodbye Daiki-sama.”

“Goodbye,” Daiki hesitates before giving Toru a smile, “Ryuu-san. Thank you for looking after my children. May good fortune be with you.”

Toru gives another bow before exiting the room. Upon exiting the room, he finds Team Five waiting. Shou gives him his pack, which he slips over his back. The four set of towards Hirosue who waits with his caravan.

Toru lets out a laugh as he flips through the trees, playing tag with his teammates while they guard the merchant. They’re already two days late to return to Konoha, and by the time they’ll get back it will have increased to a week when they actually reach Konoha. Nevertheless, Toru feels strangely accomplished. Team Five had stopped a kidnapping and child slavery business nearby, wrangled a favour from a political figure, and completed their mission.

Kiku lets out a whoop as she tags Shou, while Toru just stops himself from slipping off the branch. Yeah, we did well, Toru decides as he dodges Shou.

***

“Sasuke!” Naruto shouts and the Uchiha turns to face his sort-of (only) friend. Naruto huffs as he attempts to regain his breath. “There’s something you need to see,” Naruto explains before grabbing his (also only) friend by the wrist and pulling him along as he runs towards Konoha’s main gates.

Sasuke manages to get his feet beneath him while Naruto sprints, but when they get to the gate he stumbles. Entering the gate, dusty and dirty from travelling is Team Five completely uninjured and still all alive.

Sasuke doesn’t really think about anything else as he flings himself at Toru. The older boy catches him (Sasuke finds he trusts Toru to always catch him) with a laugh. Sasuke tucks his head into the older Uchiha’s shoulder and breathes in the scent of road dirt and Toru’s actual smell – a mix of weapons and fire and salt.

“You’re late,” Sasuke grumbles into Toru’s shoulder, hiding his slightly teary eyes. If he’s trembling at all, Toru makes no mention of the fact.

“Yeah, I am, sorry,” Toru responds. “I do have a good story for you.”

“Toru-kun we need to report,” Toru’s sensei calls, and Sasuke grips tighter. At Toru’s grunt, he lets go and drops to the floor.

“You have to come back,” Sasuke commands and Toru ruffles his hair.

“If you want you can wait for me outside the Hokage’s office,” Toru says. He glances at Naruto with black eyes, “Naruto-kun can wait too.” Naruto beams, and grabs Sasuke by the arm.

“Bet I can beat you there,” Naruto says as he sprints off. With a glance back at Toru, Sasuke does the same.

Toru turns to face his team. Shou has a closed off expression and Kiku looks extremely nervous. Toru wipes his expression off his face and turns to face Natsumi, ignoring the pain that comes from seeing his teammates’ closed expressions. “Let’s go,” he says quietly.

It’s telling that seconds after walking alone (and it hurts because this could be the start a betrayal he never saw coming) his teammates start walking beside him again. “He’s the reason we past our genin test, isn’t he?” Shou asks quietly, and Toru gives an uncertain nod. “Suppose we have to thank him.”

“I’ve never seen someone with such a big smile,” Kiku adds, giving Toru a worried look.

Toru laughs loud and bright and overly happy. “Don’t take him out for ramen or at least don’t let him have more than three bowls,” Toru says. “He’s so different to Sasuke; smiling and laughing while Sasuke is quiet and constantly training. I don’t know how they managed to become friends.”

“I’m sure you had something to do with it,” Shou says with a sly smile, elbowing Toru lightly.

“Stop that,” Toru replies, elbowing him back.

Before it can erupt into a brawl, Natsumi sighs and her genins straighten up. She nods tiredly to the Hokage’s receptionist who waves them through. After knocking on the Hokage’s office door, Team Five are called in.

“I’m glad to see you are all in one piece,” the Sandaime says once the doors shut. “You had us worried with your late mission.”

Natsumi bows, her genins quickly follow, before she speaks, “It was fortunate that there were no missing-nin part of the program or we would’ve faced more difficulties.”

“Is there any vital information that needs to be passed on?” The Hokage questions. Natsumi nods in response.

“Hai Hokage-sama. Two of the children we rescued were Daiki-sama’s children. He said he will owe us a favour,” Natsumi glances at Toru before adding, “and when he’s next in Konoha or needing a Konoha-nin he wishes to have Toru-kun’s team. The children seemed to have taken a liking to him.”

“This is good news,” the Hokage says with a smile, making him look younger than he really is. “Thank you Team Five. You are dismissed.”

“Hai Hokage-sama,” comes reply as Team Five bow before leaving the office.

Once they exit the office, Toru looks to his cousin and his friend. Natsumi sees the look and gives her genins a smile. “Take the rest of the day off, along with tomorrow morning; I want reports in tomorrow afternoon and we’ll go over them.”

“Thanks Natsumi-sensei!” Kiku chirps before walking off, with Shou following her.

Someone grabs his hand, and Toru looks down to see Sasuke. “Missed you,” the eight-year-old mutters softly.

“I missed you too,” Toru replies just as soft. “What did you do while I was gone?” Sasuke shares a glance with Naruto and then they both look away. Toru blinks in amusement at the identical behaviour, “I won’t have to ask Iruka-san, will I?”

The pair of eight-year-olds shakes their heads. “We pranked the old lady in the civilian take-away store near the academy,” Sasuke eventually mumbles.

Toru barks out a laugh, “I went there once and I’m never going back. I don’t feel like getting my cheeks pinched ever again. Good on you two,” he says as he ruffles both heads of hair. “Anything else I should know about?”

“I found an apartment,” Sasuke admits. “It’s not really close to the academy, but I don’t mind walking in the morning.”

“Oh, that was the one you showed me! It’s really, really, really big Toru-san! It’s– It’s bigger than the stone Hokage heads! There’s like six bedrooms, a giant longue with a TV, and you have the bestest, biggest kitchen!” Naruto says excitedly. “You’re also near my apartment!”

“Bestest isn’t a word, stupid,” Sasuke insults, making a face at Naruto.

“I’m not stupid! You’re stupid!” Naruto replies. Toru sighs and swats them both on the heads lightly.

“Sasuke, stop insulting Naruto. Naruto, if someone insults you, use a different insult – be creative,” Toru advises. It probably isn’t the best advice, but Toru was never the best person to give advice regarding social intricacies. “Naruto, I’m sure you can drop by for meals. The pair of you can walk to school together as well.”

“So we’re getting the apartment?” Sasuke asks, and Toru notices the stunned expression on Naruto’s face and ignores the part of him that’s angering at the treatment the kid receives.

“Yeah, I don’t particularly want to stay where we are if we don’t have to,” Toru admits. “That okay with you kid?”

“Not a kid,” Sasuke says before nodding.

***

Mission Type: Guarding, infiltration, and stealing

Rank: C-ranked mission

Mission Objective: Guarding of Hirosue Toda and wares, as well as infiltrating and stealing a list

Information: Hirosue Toda (merchant – see Appendix A for information) has paid for a mission regarding the safety of his person and properties (see Appendix A for details) to Minamoto (located within Hi no Kuni’s borders) and back. Toda paid for a secondary objective to be completed, this objective was to steal a list from a rival business (see Appendix B for details).

Issued to: Natsumi Hayashi (#009738, jōnin, team leader), Toru Uchiha (#012182, genin, secondary leader), Shou Shimizu (#012183, genin), Kiku Kurama (#012184, genin)

Mission Objective One: Successfully completed to a satisfactory level

Mission Objective Two: Successfully completed to a satisfactory level

Information Post-Mission: Mission parameters were changed upon new information regarding children being kidnapped. Genin #012182 allowed himself to be caught and led jōnin #009738, genin #012183, and genin #012184 to the location where the children were being held. Genin #012182 located and successfully rescued all the children and lead them to a secure room. Meanwhile, jōnin #009738, genin #012183, and genin #012184 came across a Kusagakure shinobi (Arata Kita – see Appendix C). They joined forces, the Kusagakure shinobi and jōnin #009738 created a distraction, while genin #012183 and genin #012184 helped genin #012182 take the children to the meeting location. After returning the children, a set of twins were found to be Daiki Moto (see Appendix D). Moto agreed to owe Konohagakure a favour.

Team Leader Report: It took five days to reach Minamoto from Konohagakure. There was only one attack from a wild animal and was dealt with by all genins on the mission. Minamoto was reached in time, and Toda set up his caravan to sell his wares to the public. The second night was when the infiltration was completed (see genins reports). Genin #012183 reported hearing a rumour regarding a child stolen from Minamoto. Further investigation proved the rumour true, and the leader of the town paid for another mission to rescue the stolen child. As jōnin, I sent a bird to Konoha in regards to the new information a few hours later. While this occurred, genin #012182 was taken while guarding Toda’s caravan. Genin #012182 left a trail leading to the base, where a Kusagakure shinobi was apprehended. The shinobi in question agreed to help create a distraction along with myself; while the remaining genin (#012184 and #012183) located genin #012182 and found the children. Everyone met up at the meeting location where the Kusagakure shinobi revealed that a set of twins belonged to Daiki Moto. Upon returning the children, genin #012183, genin #012182, genin #012184, and myself guarded Toda on the five-day journey back to Konohagakure from Minamoto.

Adjacent Report – Genin #012182: After being taken by an unknown person, I immediately left a trail through chakra. When the base was reached, I was forced onto the ground and briefly spoke to the assumed leader of the organisation (see Appendix E), who admitted to owning the business that had been left to him by his parents. I was then taken to a dark room, which contained ten children. With a kunai that hadn’t been found, I freed the other children and led them to a safe room. I locked the safe room and left. I found two other rooms of children who were working as slaves and led them back to the safe room. Upon reaching the safe room, genin #012183 and #012184 found the children and myself. They led the way to the meeting location, where we were found by jōnin #009738 and a Kusagakure shinobi.

Team Leader Observations: Genin #012182 works extremely well under pressure and demonstrated the ability to think up plans on the fly and use his situation to his advantage. He was able to calm the children (civilians) and was ready to move out when told. Recommendations: psyche test (genin #012183 admitted to taking three human lives for the first time) as well as an IQ test (possible genius?).

Complaints From Team Regarding Teammates: None

Complaints From Client: None

Chapter Text

“Do you have any time to train today?” Sasuke asks his only (accepted) relative. He doesn’t expect Toru to answer positively. The only thing he’s seen the older boy doing recently is research, train with his team, and eat and sleep.

Toru runs a hand through his hair, sweeping it back in an annoyed gesture when it falls in the way of his eyes. He looks up at Sasuke before looking down at what he is working on. Toru’s barely managing to keep Sasuke and himself healthy between Natsumi’s training and his own research. Not to mention, there’s a psyche evaluation he has to go to tomorrow and he really wants to look more into sealing. The seal he’s currently looking at is a simple storage seal, but it’s never looked quite right to Toru (because it’s not his seal).

“I–” Toru hesitates and his hand rises to his chest (it hurts so much because there’s a sword being pulled twisted out of his chest and he’s already bleeding and his people are dying and–). “Sounds good Sasuke. We could get Naruto to join us, if you want?”

Sasuke shakes his head, “Just us?”

“Just us,” Toru confirms as he straps his weapon pouches on. “Have you got your weapons?” Sasuke nods with a small grin. “Let’s go then.”

The pair reaches an empty training ground, which is where they stop. “I need to work on my taijutsu,” Toru says. “What do you say?”

“Without chakra or with?” Sasuke asks.

“You can use chakra,” Toru decides, “but I won’t. It’s not saying that I’m better than you,” Toru continues upon seeing Sasuke’s angry face, “but I have been in the academy longer and I’m older, which means that I’ve got more experience and I have height and strength advantages over you.” Sasuke accepts Toru’s reasoning with a nod and takes a few steps back before stopping. “Go,” Toru says.

Sasuke rushes forward, kunai in one hand. Toru recalls his memories of the (style his teacher from long ago taught him; it had been passed down through the years and lived through scrolls, word of mouth, and bodily hits. He had been taught multiple taijutsu styles and he had combined them and twisted them to suit him) Fire Style that had been taught to him. Instead of using it, though, due to the fact it left him open, Toru recalls memories of a different life.

Toru pushes slightly on Sasuke’s arm, deflecting the blow. He leans back, lashing up with his legs as he flips backwards. Sasuke propels himself backwards and away from the kick. This time he doesn’t rush in, but waits.

Toru moves first, lashing out with a punch that turns into a feint as Sasuke goes to deflect it. Using his other arm to punch Sasuke’s stomach. Sasuke staggers before moving into a forward roll to dodge another one of Toru’s punches. Sasuke throws a kunai at Toru, who’s forced to dodge, and then attacks with a series of punches and kicks. Toru slips around each one like water.

Sasuke withdraws, realising that he’s getting increasingly more out of breath while Toru seems fine. He goes through a set of hand seals, shouts, and then sends a fireball shooting towards Toru. Toru grimaces and launches himself high into the air; in the air, he kicks out, using chakra to push him against the air. He flips before landing on the grass on his feet.

Sasuke is ready for him, and is already charging, giving Toru little time to defend himself. Half-remembered instincts (from another life in another body) make Toru move forward into the attack. Sasuke shifts his weight, preparing for the attack that never comes. Toru dodges beneath Sasuke’s punch and ducks around the boy.

Sasuke is just starting to turn around when Toru punches him. Sasuke catches the blow on his forearm and finds himself struggling to block Toru. Toru flips around Sasuke, dropping his shoulder just in time to shoulder Sasuke, knocking the other Uchiha off balance. Sasuke stumbles, trying to keep his balance but Toru doesn’t give him any time, instead moving quickly and grabbing Sasuke’s torso and flipping the academy student. He kneels down, pinning Sasuke with one leg and holding a kunai Sasuke’s neck with one hand.

Toru stands up, putting the kunai away as he slowly stops panting. He helps Sasuke up, “Good spar,” he says. “You switched between the General Academy Style and the Fire Style, didn’t you?”

Sasuke nods, “Not for long, though. I used the Academy Style towards the end, but I don’t know it very well.”

Toru hums, “I could see that, but it suits you better than the Fire Style one currently.” Sasuke opens his mouth to argue but Toru talks over the top of him, “It’s simply because one of the key parts of the Fire Style is the sharingan, which – as I’m sure you know – helps to predict the movements of your opponent. It’s also vital to be fast when using the Fire Style, as if your body can’t keep up with your eyes, therefore making the style useless.”

“You didn’t use either of those styles,” Sasuke points out. “What style did you use? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“It… was an old style that I found a scroll on,” Toru says. “There are actually a few styles that I’m trying to learn. As I don’t have the sharingan for the Fire Style and both of the academy styles are bases, I need to find other taijutsu styles that suit me. Now, I didn’t know you could use the Great Fireball Technique. You were pretty good for a brat!”

Sasuke scowls, “I’m not a brat,” he grumbles. Toru laughs. “What happened on your last mission?”

Toru’s grin flickers before reappearing, “Well, it started off as a simple bodyguard and infiltration mission…”

***

It’s he who finds her, in the end. The Uzukage looks like she’s asleep, but the moment he gets near her, he can tell she has no chakra. He checks for a pulse. Nothing. She’s a cold body (corpse). He turns to his team.

“Gather the main council now,” he orders, his voice barely wavering (he can’t show weakness). “Tell no one. Get Ken-san for me.”

Seconds later, Ken is in the same room as he – Toru – is. The medic-nin looks half-awake but upon seeing Ayumu (no longer an Uzukage) dead, he gasps. “ANBU-san, she is–”

“Hai,” he replies. “I’m sorry to ask this of you Ken-san, but we need a cause of death.” Ken nods and the medic-nin’s hands glow green as he runs a hand over Ayumu’s body. Toru’s ANBU team flicker into the room.

“Taichō, the council is waiting for you,” Toru’s second-in-command says.

Toru nods, “Thank you. I’m going to ask you to stay here, Tori, with Tora. Mission parameters are guarding only. Do not let anyone in aside from Ken-san. Ken-san, if you need anyone has to be trustworthy. Tora report directly to me with Ken-san once he has completed his diagnosis. Kame with me.”

“Hai Taichō!” Comes the quick response from Toru’s ANBU squad. The ANBU Commander, in his jackal mask, body flickers directly into the council room.

“Kame on guard,” he orders. The turtle masked kunoichi nods and leaves the room. Toru activates all the privacy seals in the room, some that he made himself.

“What is it Jakkaru-san?” The Uzukage’s advisor – Kaito – asks. “Where is Uzukage-sama?”

“Approximately seven minutes and thirty-seven seconds ago, Ayumu-sama was found dead at her desk. Ken-san is currently diagnosing the cause of death and will report to myself once the initial diagnosis is complete. Aside from Kame and myself, the rest of my team are guarding the scene of the crime,” Toru reports. Immediately the council strikes up into conversation, many starting to cry at the news of their Uzukage’s death.

“Enough,” Toru says, making the council go quiet. “We cannot take the time to mourn. We currently have rumours about an invasion. We will mourn, yes, but we need to continue our preparations.”

“That’s barbaric, ignore our leader’s death?” One of the council members says, aghast.

Toru refrains from growling, “We will not ignore Ayumu-sama’s death, but we do have to continue preparing so we don’t die. We will mourn but we also need to find the culprit. Ayumu-sama’s death will have been due to someone she kno– knew. She would not have accepted anything from anyone she hadn’t known well.”

“This is a lot to take in,” Kaito says, “How long until the diagnosis is known?”

Kame flares her chakra and Toru flares his in response. Tora and Ken enter the room. Ken immediately reports his findings, “The Uzukage-sama’s death is due to poison. The initial results show that it was from cyanide.”

“I located traces of cyanide within the tea and on the rim of the teacup,” Tora reports. “Launch an investigation?”

“Call in Washi’s squad for investigation,” Toru decides. “Continue guarding the crime scene with Tori. Trust no one else in Washi’s squad but the core: Washi, Uma, Buta, and Mausu.”

“On it,” Tora replies before leaving the room.

“Ken-san,” Toru says turning his attention to the head of the hospital and medic-nins. “Do we know how lethal the dose was?”

“It looks like it took her one to two minutes to die. It appears she lost consciousness almost instantly and her heart rate increased astronomically. Ayumu-sama appears to have gone into cardiac arrest befo– before passing,” Ken says, barely managing to keep his voice from stuttering the entire time. He takes his seat next to Kaito.

“We need a new Uzukage and soon,” Kaito says. “I know this is hard, but we need to push forward through this difficulty. If news of the Uzukage’s death is heard, the invasion may push forward due to our perceived weakness. Who can be nominated for the position?”

“Toru-san would be a good choice,” one of the councillors offers. “He was on Ayumu-sama’s genin team and was also a candidate for Uzukage upon the Nidaime’s retirement and subsequent death.”

“Michi-san is another candidate,” Ken adds.

“Saki-san and Yoshi-san are the other candidates from when Ayumu-sama was chosen,” Kaito says thoughtfully. “I recall Michi-san being passed over due to her responsibilities at the hospital and position as one of the head surgeons. Is this still a problem?”

Ken pauses before nodding his head. “It is, but she can step in for the invasion if needed.”

“Saki-san was ignored due to her prowess in infiltration and spying abilities. Her kekkei genkai is the strongest in her clan; she is needed for missions,” Toru says with a frown. “It is the same problem encountered as last time. We can take her off the mission rosters and put one of my ANBU in her position, but they are not as good as Saki-san.”

“Damn,” Kaito says. “That leaves Toru-san and Yoshi-san. Jakkaru-san do you believe that Toru-san will be able to cope in his current position as well as Uzukage?”

Toru nods his head, glad that his jackal mask hid his frown from Kaito, knowing that the advisor knew who he is. “He will be. He can foster some of the work off onto someone else and have his team help him.”

“Why was Toru-san ignored as a candidate last time?” Another councillor asks.

“He caught wind that he was being observed to be a candidate and told me he didn’t want the position and was happy in his current leadership position. He also pointed out that Ayumu-sama has– had more diplomatic missions than him, despite that only being because of Toru’s current position,” Kaito says.

“How do we know he’ll accept now?” Ken asks with a frown.

“He will,” Kaito says with a sad smile. “There is still Yoshi-san, though.” Kaito looks up at Toru-san, “Jakkaru-san, you need to call in everyone for an announcement and check in on that investigation. We will continue discussing the Yondaime Uzukage here. Are you happy with either of the two candidates being Uzukage?”

“I’m fine with either,” Toru responds. “Prepare to have an announcement in fifteen minutes. I’ll gather my ANBU.”

Toru leaves the room, signalling for Kame to follow him. :What’s the plan?: Kame signals to him.

:Announcement in fifteen minutes: Toru responds. :Send the alert through and check in on Tori and Tora. I’ll call in my ANBU.:

:Hai Taichō.: The pair separate, with Toru heading towards the ANBU headquarters. He takes the short route, cutting through the sewers beneath the ground before entering the cave system that doubled up as the ANBU headquarters.

The moment he enters, everyone snaps to attention. “At ease,” Toru says, feeling the heavy weight of being an ANBU Commander rest on his shoulders. “I take it you have all realised something was up due to the call for Washi’s squad without there being an actual mission?” There were a few nods and Toru took a deep breath, knowing the grief and sorrow he was about to cause with a few words. “The Uzukage was murdered early today. Traces of cyanide were found in her tea and teacup. The diagnosis shows that she didn’t die in pain due to being unconscious.”

“Who were her guards?” Ratto asks.

“She was in her own residence and was in the seal room,” Toru replies, frustrated. The only reason no one knew who had killed her was because the Uzukage had been in her seal room. If Ayumu hadn’t been in the seal room – where there can only be minimal chakra – she probably would’ve been saved. “Washi’s squad is leading the investigation; any information that can be given is required.”

“Who’s the new Uzukage?” Another ANBU asks. Toru grimaces.

“I wasn’t allowed to know because I may be one of the candidates,” he responds. “I’ll still be ANBU Commander until I decide upon my successor. There is an announcement for everyone in six minutes. Chō and Kaeru’s squads are on lookout for threats. Hyō and Raion’s squads are on in-village patrol. Panda and Kirin’s squads are on half-guard. Everyone else, back to your normal roles, but be ready for any action. Keep an eye out for suspicious people.”

“Hai Commander!” Comes the response from numerous ANBU. Toru turns around, and quickly changes from his ANBU uniform to his normal jōnin uniform.

Toru reaches the square in time for Kaito to start talking to the citizens of Uzushio. “Today,” he begins, “our Uzukage was murdered within the grounds of her own home. We will have a day of mourning, but we cannot afford to show that we are weak! On our horizon, an invasion is brewing and there is a month until we will definitely fight. We will show them what Uzushio’s strength is! We will show them why our power is to be feared! The Sandaime Uzukage has left us, but we now welcome our Yondaime Uzukage, Toru!”

Toru immediately freezes, he had known that there had been a strong likelihood of him being Uzukage, but he had never thought it would occur. It is traditional in Uzushio to not let the next Uzukage know they are going to be Uzukage until the announcement occurs. It is a way to show how the person felt about the position and everyone gets to see their initial reaction and make their own impression of that person.

Toru is gently shoved up towards the rest of the council and he climbs the steps, caught between happiness and surprise and sorrow. When he reaches Kaito, he gets a hold over his emotions and takes control of his mind. He is an ANBU Commander, and if necessary, he can force himself into that mindset. Kaito hands Toru the microphone and he looks out at Uzushio. He can pick out his ANBU easily, each one giving a grin and craftily signing to each other and their commander.

Toru talks. “When Ayumu became Uzukage, the first thing she did was drag me to the clifftop where you can see the sea become the horizon when the whirlpool is at its largest. She sat down, right on the edge of the cliff, and she told me she had finally become who she had always wanted to be. I then tossed a rock down, and watched as it fell into the ocean with a small splash.

“I told her that she should never hope to fully control Uzushio, because she was like her namesake. Uzushio was pulled up from the sea and the seals that make her are part of us all, because they make us too. I told Ayumu that Uzushio would never be tamed and that she’s like the sea, and the sea never dies.

“Today has been tragic and this tragedy is something that all of us will feel. We will face sorrow and we will grieve and we will mourn. Ayumu has been one of my best friends since we were little, and to know that she has been killed makes me want to stop and mourn for the Warrior of Whirlpools. However, I know that more than anything Ayumu would want Uzushio to keep living and laughing despite her passing. Ayumu put everything into Uzushio, and it’s only fair that we continue doing the same, as she would have wished.

“Ayumu is dead but her wishes don’t have to die with her! We are the citizens of Uzushiogakure and we will continue on! We will move forward despite the events that attempt to subdue us. We will show that Uzushio is not to be taken lightly! We are the village hidden by the whirlpools! We are the ones the world fears when we take to battle! We are the sea, and the sea never dies!”

Toru looks out over his people as they roar and cheer and cry. He smiles. He might not have wanted this but it doesn’t mean he won’t enjoy it. He is the Yondaime Uzukage. He is the ANBU Commander. He is Uzushio and her people.

Toru wakes up. He… is not quite Toru Uchiha. It’s a startling thought but one Toru has to make. He’s been pushing himself to be better, to be more. It’s exhausting him, and could end up as a problem in the future. There’s a reason why Toru’s been pushing himself so much as well. He’s been struggling to forget. He’s been trying to drown out the ragepainangerhurtgriefhatredsorrow in his heart. He hasn’t taken the time to look at himself and what’s happened. He’s just moved forward and ignored what happened to him and what’s happening around him. He closes his eyes and attempts to mediate, knowing that it’s time he thinks things through.

There’s anger in him and it’s only slightly directionless. It’s striking out at the world for doing this to him, for Uzushio’s Toru who won’t let him sleep in peace, for Itachi for murdering his clan, for Sasuke looking up to him, and his own failure at not becoming stronger quickly. There’s hatred and hurt too, all wrapped up in the anger. It’s like a fire he’s been nursing – slowly feeding and banking the flames. There’s hatred for himself for failing to save everyone, hatred for Itachi because he killed his only family (not that they acted like family), and hatred for Sasuke because the boy depended on him.

He’s grieving too. There’s a bone-deep sadness in him, and it’s from his clan’s death and Uzushio’s fall. It’s for Ayumu who ended so meekly and never really stood a chance. Ayumu who died, causing Uzushio’s Toru to lose the one of the remaining figures from his childhood. Maybe he hates her for that, for leaving him alone.

Toru knows he can’t go on like this. It’s difficult enough attempting to work with his team, complete his own research, learn a new taijutsu style, and have time for Sasuke. To make matters worse, he finds himself waking up in the middle of the night with memories of an old village in his head. Not to mention, the two chakras in his body seem to be disturbing the other and making chakra control an extremely hard task.

He didn’t ask for this. He never wanted this. Why is he the one stuck with dreams of a village long ruined? Why is he the one stuck with memories of dead people? Why had he survived the massacre with only one other person? Why did he manage to live when everyone else had died? Why is he here?

Uzushiogakure hadn’t asked for an invasion either. Their Uzukage (Ayumu, his best friend, his genin teammate, his Sandaime Uzukage) had never asked to be murdered where she should’ve been safe. Uzushio’s Toru never asked to be killed and lose his people to a war.

It’s what they both got. Uzushio’s Toru and he, they got what they didn’t want – had never wanted.

There’s a boy in Konohagakure, he knows, that has a demon trapped within him and doesn’t know. He’s hated and feared and lives with a sunny smile and tries his hardest. There’s another boy in Konoha whose brother massacred his clan and killed his family, torturing his little brother and leaving him alive. There’s a village lying in ruins that was once full of people, but now holds only forgotten reminders of a civilisation that once thrived.

This world isn’t fair. It isn’t just or safe. It’s dark and deadly and the monsters in the dark tend to be just as human as everyone else. They’re mercenaries for hire and killers with a home. They have morals but those can change depending on the mission. The very thing that makes them human changes for everyone.

He isn’t Uzushio’s Toru; he’s a Konoha-nin with Uchiha blood in his veins. However, the world has been harsh on both of them and for this, he will learn from Uzushio. He will carry Uzushio’s secrets because they have both faced the world’s injustice.

***

Shou had initially been worried about their genin team. There had been the worry over whether they would accept them – as civilians tended to be less accepting – and use the correct pronouns. Then there was the worry over whether they would be liked or not. Lastly, there was the fear of dying out in the field.

Shou finds, to their delight, that not only are they accepted, but also their teammates constantly check that they’re using the correct pronouns.

Not everything is perfect, though. Sometimes Toru will get a distant look and there’ll be some unspeakable grief in his black eyes. Shou worries for the Uchiha, because they can see that both Uchiha hurting, albeit in different ways. Every so often, Shou will come across Toru training. The younger boy pushes himself, constantly working, and Shou wonders what his reason is.

Kiku is cheerful and happy; it’s something the whole team needs. Toru, although constantly ready to offer a small smile and laugh, is quiet and awkward when talking, as if he just doesn’t understand how you’re meant to talk to someone normally. Shou knows that they aren’t the best conversationalist; they’re on the unassuming side of things and can’t keep a conversation going. They tease each other, Kiku and them, but it’s all in good fun.

When they’re out on a mission and Toru snaps something at them, they listen. It’s as if the boy is used to leading, and Shou catches him occasionally looking around as if trying to locate someone who’s no longer there. Shou wonders whom he misses.

It’s a good team. They’re capable, and Natsumi may be blunt but she teaches well. If someone doesn’t understand, they ask for help and everyone gives it. They might be average but they’re not really average, they all have potential.

Shou sees it when Kiku blocks Toru’s strike before kicking Shou in the stomach in a three-way spar. Kiku can be a taijutsu specialist if she puts the work forward, and she does. Toru doesn’t seem to have found his niche, but every so often, he’ll gain a thoughtful look and mention something that neither Shou nor Kiku understand but has Natsumi nodding with an interested expression. Natsumi teaches Shou genjutsu and Shou works to perfect each one they get taught.

***

“Affinities?” Kiku repeats after Natsumi, looking at the piece of paper in her hand. “I remember being taught about that in the academy. There are five main chakra natures, or affinities as they are also called – lightning, water, wind, fire, and earth. However, some releases get combined to create new kekkei genkai, like the Shodaime’s wood release!”

“Exactly,” Natsumi says with a nod of her head. “We have three months until the chūnin exams and I’m thinking about entering you.” She crosses her arms, “You’ll be the only Konoha rookie team entering, but it’ll be good experience even if you don’t pass. It’s not saying you aren’t good enough, but you’ll probably have the least experience out of all the participants. I’m going to teach you all I can to get you ready in time, but it means putting in even more effort than you already have. Can you handle this?”

Kiku doesn’t need to look at her teammates to see their responses; she can already see it in her head. She knows that Shou will nod and Toru will grin while she says, “We’ve got this Natsumi-sensei!”

Natsumi gives them all a lightning-quick smile that makes Kiku glow because Natsumi rarely gives them smiles unless they’ve done something to make her extremely proud. “We’re going to look at techniques depending on your chakra nature. Shou-san, can you tell me what chakra nature you would expect someone from Kumo to have?”

“Lightning,” Shou replies, “but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a different one. The Yondaime Hokage had a wind release despite being born in Hi no Kuni.”

“Nicely put,” Natsumi compliments. “Now, I want you to run a little bit of your chakra through the paper. Depending on your affinity, the paper will change. Toru-kun, can you tell me why I think you might have a fire affinity?”

“Because I can use the Great Fireball Technique?” Toru asks with a frown, “That was a hard technique to master. Is it possible to learn jutsu that aren’t your chakra nature?”

Natsumi nods, “It is, but it’s more chakra intensive as your very chakra has to convert to another type. It’s possible that this might be true in your case, but it’s very unlikely. Your clan tends to be fire orientated, with few lightning types. Kiku-chan, why don’t you go first?”

Kiku gently pushes some of her chakra into the page. It catches on fire and Kiku drops it, jerking backwards as it turns to ash. “Fire affinity, right?” She asks, turning to look at Natsumi. Natsumi nods.

“Mmm, I’m sure Toru-kun will help you out. The Uchiha were quite well known for the fire techniques,” Natsumi says. “Now, Shou-san, why don’t you go ahead and find out your chakra nature?”

Kiku watches as Shou channels chakra into the chakra induction paper wrinkles, one of the corners catches on fire before it goes out. “Is it possible to have two affinities?” Shou asks and Kiku tilts her head to look back at Natsumi.

“It is, but most secondary affinities are extremely minor. You clearly have a lightning affinity, with a secondary fire one. However, the fire was quite small displaying that it’s only a small affinity. This means it’ll be hard to master your fire nature, although it’ll be easier than mastering wind, water, and earth natures.” Natsumi informs her students, “Toru-kun, why don’t you give it a go?” Kiku watches in surprise as the paper in Toru’s hands becomes wet and splits in half.

Kiku hasn’t known Shou or Toru for very long. She’s known them for the three months that they’ve worked in a team, but she doesn’t know what Toru was like before the massacre or what Shou was like before they became a ninja.

Kiku came onto this team expecting it to be boring. She remembered boys and girls with black hair and black eyes with pale skin and fragile features. She remembers stoic faces and red eyes. She remembers how they stuck together. She doesn’t recall Toru being within that crowd, but she still wonders how affected he is by the Uchiha massacre.

Sometimes the boy gets melancholy and wistful; it doesn’t suit him. Kiku likes her team because they’re friends and teammates, but they aren’t family. That’s something that Toru needs, Kiku knows, but Team Five isn’t a family; they haven’t known each other for long enough.

“That’s surprising,” Natsumi muses, pulling Kiku out of her ramblings. “I was expecting a fire affinity not wind and water. Your water affinity is stronger, but your wind affinity is almost as strong. I only know a few basic water techniques, but I do know one or two people who know some more. However, the first thing you all need to do is get a hang of calling on your chakra nature instead of your normal chakra. For example, Toru-kun, what does it feel like when you use your chakra for the Great Fireball Technique?”

Toru visibly thinks, “It’s… like adrenalin, I suppose. It’s quick and brief but while it’s there, it feels like it’s taking forever. It’s in a… a rush, I guess. It wants to do something and you have to guide it and keep it steady. Its flames beneath your skin wanting to get out and your heart racing too fast. You want to move and do something but you need to control yourself.” He shrugs, “At least, that’s what it feels like to me.”

“Although there are minor differences in what people experience, everyone agrees that there is a difference between their normal chakra and their chakra infused with a certain affinity. Kiku-chan, I want you to get a leaf and try to get it on fire using your chakra only. Got it?” Kiku nods.

“Shou-san, lightning is more difficult to control. You have to be careful because it’s fast and it can electrocute you. The easiest ways to get rid of any symptoms caused by lightning chakra is to neutralise it with your own chakra. To understand how lightning chakra feels, you’re going to work on sending it through this wire so that the lightbulb in the middle glows. Think you can manage that?”

“Hai,” Shou replies as they take the lightbulb from their sensei.

“Toru-kun, you’re going to try and make a leaf damp. Tell me once you’ve completed that, alright?” Toru nods. “Good, let’s get to work Team Five!”

***

“Toru-kun, this is Kakashi Hatake,” Natsumi introduces. “He knows a few water natured techniques and due to a favour owed, he’ll teach you one or two.”

“Thank you Kakashi-sensei,” Toru says quietly.

“Ahh,” Kakashi scratches the back of his head, “I owed Natsumi-chan after all.” Natsumi walks off towards her other genins, leaving the jōnin to teach the Uchiha (and look how well that turned out last time). “There are three jutsus I was thinking that you could learn. One is Water Release: Stormy Upheaval; it’s fairly draining but doesn’t require hand seals and you can use a source of water for it. The second technique is Water Release: Wave, which is less draining but it does have hand seals. The third is a Kirigakure technique known as Hiding Mist Technique but it requires good chakra control.”

“The second one would be best Kakashi-sensei,” Toru says softly. “My chakra control isn’t the best and I’ve only started working with my water chakra recently.”

Kakashi nods, “The hand seals are dragon, tiger, and dog. It’s a D-ranked offensive jutsu with a medium to long range.” Toru slowly flips through the hand seals, getting a feel for how his chakra system changes for each one.

“Okay, I have the hand seals down, I think,” Toru eventually says. “How do I aim it? Does it require aiming?”

Kakashi shakes his head, “It’s similar to many other jutsu in how it depends on your thoughts on where it goes. It’s like aiming for the body replacement technique.”

Toru nods and calls upon his chakra. He focusses on the feeling of his water chakra nature, the push and pull, the give and take, the wilful, ever-forceful nature of it. His chakra rises and Toru turns his attention outwards and starts to flicker through his hand seals when he notices that Kakashi has moved backwards, too far out of the way for Toru to simply use a jutsu. He aborts the technique, letting his chakra fall away.

“Are you alright Kakashi-sensei?” Toru calls.

Kakashi looks at the Uchiha, for a moment the boy looks like an older one with sharingan in each eye. Kakashi shakes the image away, firmly reminding himself that the boy in front of him is not Itachi. “I’m fine,” he replies gruffly, pulling his ANBU mindset around him like a coat. It’s probably better that he doesn’t flinch away from the Uchiha. He can see some of the similarities there. Toru is clearly intelligent but he also didn’t graduate from the academy early.

Toru hesitantly nods before calling upon his chakra again. As it rises, Kakashi gets the sense of angersorrowgrief in the Uchiha’s chakra before Toru goes through the hand seals. The water in front of Toru lifts slightly before collapsing in on itself as Toru’s chakra wavers.

“That failed because my chakra wavered,” Toru says, almost to himself. “Firmer control and maybe slightly more chakra so it isn’t such a small wave and quicker to die down.”

Kakashi takes a step back, knowing that more chakra is not the answer. Meanwhile, Toru calls upon his chakra and goes through the hand seals, “Water Release: Wave!”

The jutsu sucks out a third of Toru’s reserves and a massive wave swells and rises in front of him. It flies forward and Toru’s chakra slips from his grasp once more, except instead of stopping, the wave slams into the opposite shore, splashing one of his teammates.

Toru turns to face Kakashi, “You knew that was going to happen, didn’t you?”

Kakashi shrugs and opens his book, “Do you know what went wrong?”

“Too much chakra,” Toru grumbles. “It’s easier to create a bigger wave with more chakra, but more chakra means it’s harder to control, less control means it won’t work properly. Start small and work my way up. Alright, let’s try this again.” Toru slowly goes through each hand seal carefully, “Water Release: Wave!”

The water surges forward and Toru concentrates on keeping his chakra in control of the wave. It’s the work of a few seconds to increase the chakra going into the jutsu. He changes aim, attempting to pull the chakra a different direction. Instead, he loses his grasp over the wave and it laps against the shore as it falls to pieces.

“Better,” Kakashi says, surprising Toru who instantly spins around and moving away. Kakashi notes the movement but ultimately ignores it “What was the problem this time?”

“You can’t change the aim once you’ve started the jutsu,” Toru responds. “I don’t understand how you could use this in a combat situation.”

“Aah,” Kakashi responds but doesn’t do anything else. Toru scowls at him and sits on the ground with crossed legs. Instead of attempting the jutsu again, Toru takes the time to think over it. The problems he encounters are based on chakra – the amount of chakra necessary and his control over that chakra. Toru’s managed to get the right chakra amount, and he can recall the feeling so he knows how to do that properly. The problem is the force behind the wave is almost nothing, making it useless in a fight.

Toru frowns. He’s assuming that the strength of the wave is depending on the amount of chakra put into the technique. However, each time he has completed the jutsu, his hand seals are slightly different.

Toru stands and goes through the hand seals, pausing on tiger for an extra second. “Water Release: Wave!”

The water in front of him surges forward in a wave, but despite the speed, it’s still lacking strength. However, the knowledge that holding the seal increased the speed of the jutsu is important. The tiger hand seal is generally used for fire releases, which are normally fast and destructive.

Toru judges his chakra levels, before deciding he can probably manage completing the technique three more times before he drops below one third of his reserves. “Water Release: Wave!” Toru says, this time holding both the dog and tiger seals for an extra second.

Within the large pond, the water in front of Toru swells before racing forward. It slams into a rock on the far shore, and Toru can see that the large rock was pushed back. He grins and turns to Kakashi, “Thank you Kakashi-sense!”

Kakashi blinks, no longer seeing an older Uchiha student who had massacred the majority of his clan. Instead, another Uchiha has taken his place. For a moment, all Kakashi can see is an echo of Shisui.

Toru looks different smiling, Kakashi decides as he puts his book away. He might as well give the boy a bit more advice. “Using more chakra for one hand seal is the same as holding the hand seal for a longer period of time,” he says. “Good job,” he tacks on, aware that you’re meant to compliment children.

Toru beams before spinning around and racing across the water to his teammates. Kakashi thinks what-if for a moment before turning on his heel. He no longer owes Natsumi a favour.

***

Sasuke tightens his grip on Toru’s hand. The pair stares at the (empty) Uchiha compound gates (left unguarded because everyone is deaddeaddeadDEAD). Toru wonders, again, if it is a bad idea to bring Sasuke with him into the compound. They both needed to do this, so perhaps it is better this way.

Toru takes a step forward and it feels as if the world around him finally breathes. The next step is easier, and the one after that is even easier. Next to him, Sasuke walks and Toru can almost feel the anguish and hate that rises in the younger Uchiha.

They reach Toru’s home. Toru pushes open the door (and enters the always, always empty house). He bypasses his mother’s room and leads Sasuke up to his room. He enters the walk-in wardrobe that mainly contains the weapons he owns. “Take what you need,” he tells Sasuke who starts picking up numerous weapons.

Something in the corner catches Toru’s eye. Toru picks up a scroll that he isn’t aware he owns. He sees a wrapped box next to the scroll and spots a few words on the box that makes him pause.

From the best cousin!

Toru closes his eyes (and wonders why everyone he knows dies) and picks up the box as well. He can look at them back in the apartment (not home, still not home). Toru turns to see Sasuke at the door waiting. “Are you okay?” Sasuke asks softly.

Toru picks up the only two pictures he’s ever owned. “I will be,” he replies. “I just… I was never really close with my mother. I think I reminded her of my father. He was from out of the clan, and she lost her standing within the clan when she married him. After he died… Well, I think she thought I needed a better standing within the clan because I was ignored by many others in the clan. She went on long missions; I think I saw her maybe once or twice a month after I’d turned eight.” Toru doesn’t know why he’s telling Sasuke anything, but he thinks that he only remaining member of his family should know more about him.

“My mother was really, really pretty,” Sasuke replies.

Toru grabs at a half-remembered memory of the wife of the previous clan head. He can’t remember her properly. He swallows the hopelessness that rises within him. “I’m sure she was,” he replies softly. The pair leaves the Uchiha compound behind (and the loathed memories it brought).

***

Hey Cousin; hope everything’s well.

Of course, if you’re reading this message, then something happened to me. I’m sorry that I’ve left you alone. This message would only be released if something happened and my chakra is no longer available to continue powering the seal.

More over, if something happened to me, I knew you would be all alone. Don’t let yourself fall prey to anger and hatred, you hear me? As Uchiha, we feel more strongly than others do, and that’s why we tend to fall in battle so easily. We give into our emotions, and we pay for the mistakes we make. However, we can also use our emotions to empower us to fight.

Essentially as ninjas, it is our job to protect Konoha. We are the ones in the shadows who keep the village safe. This may be hard, but I want you to protect Konoha. I will have died in her name. I will not force this upon you, but Konoha is the one who we owe loyalty to. We protect her and she protects us in turn.

From,

Your darling cousin Shisui

P.S. I hope you appreciate your present (it is meant to be your graduation gift)

Toru wipes the tears from his eyes. He misses Shisui dearly. His cousin had been like an older brother and had always been there for him despite the fact he regularly took missions. Shisui had been full of life and always willing to laugh. When Toru’s father died, Toru’s mother had put everything into her work. Toru had been left alone and feeling despondent; he had learnt to depend on Shisui. Learning of Shisui’s death had almost ruined Toru, and the massacre that had shortly followed didn’t help.

The message Toru receives, though, tells that there’s something else around. Maybe if Toru had been less than he is, he would’ve fallen prey to sorrow and grief and ignored the message Shisui left. Toru is more than his experience in Konoha; he’s more than Toru Uchiha.

Shisui had been prepared for his death, prepared for it being before Toru’s graduation. Shisui is warning Toru, warning him about his own emotions. Shisui had always been careful, and he had been powerful.

Toru frowns because Shisui had committed suicide, even if there was an investigation for murder. That alone suggests that Shisui had been preparing for his death, and for him to then kill himself? It didn’t make sense. Toru is missing something; he just doesn’t know what.

Toru knows he can drive himself mad with his thoughts looping in circles and criss-crossing and constantly moving, but he knows that it’ll end up making him annoyed and frustrated with himself and the world.

Toru unwraps the brown paper covering, revealing a box. Toru reaches out with a tendril of chakra, and a seal appears, glowing red-black (and it’s like a language he’s always known but previously forgotten). He channels his chakra into the seal and it glows brighter in recognition of Toru’s chakra signature.

A book rests on top of a piece of paper; the box ignites and turns to ash. Toru opens the book, and laughs upon seeing the title.

A Complete Guide to Fūinjutsu
A collection of seals and information from seal masters through the ages.

It is the piece of paper that causes Toru to freeze – if only because of what it says. Toru pushes his emotions away (and pulls his ANBU mindset around him), and reads the message.

Toru; after you read this, burn it. Treat it as classified information for your eyes only.

This message will only get to the person with your exact chakra signature. There is hidden information and all you need to know IS UNSAFE. There is something corrupt and acidic around; you need to take care and look out. Strengthen your position and make it hard for you to suddenly go missing. Keep your secrets and strengths carefully hidden and tucked away. Make sure you always have one unknown ability or else you will fail and fall.

Shisui.

Toru rereads the message a few times, trying to burn it into his mind before burning it. He picks up the first note from his cousin, and this time reads the first letter of almost every new paragraph before burning that note too. Toru swallows and puts the book away, deciding to look at it later. The new knowledge sits heavy in his stomach. He gets up; Sasuke is around somewhere. Toru ignores the lingering thoughts in his mind.

HOME IS UNSAFE

***

Almost six months after graduating from Konoha’s Ninja Academy, Team Five consisting of Shou Shimizu, Kiku Kurama, and Toru Uchiha were entered in the chūnin exams located in Sunagakure. Team Five, led by Natsumi Hayashi, were accompanied by three other genin teams from Konoha. The exams were to take place over the course of two weeks. The expectations were for four genins to be promoted to chūnin status, two genins to die, and the rest to return to Konoha and continue training.

Chapter Text

The moment Team Five reach Sunagakure, they’re whisked away from Natsumi along with the other Konoha genin teams. Kiku, Shou, and Toru quickly draw together. Already, the genins can see numerous other teams all waiting.

There’s a loud crash to the left, and Shou turns to locate the source of the noise. On the other side of the room, a jōnin seems to suddenly appear. Kiku nudges her teammates and they all turn to face the Suna-nin.

The jōnin claps her hands to gain the genins’ attention. “As all the teams are now here, the chūnin exams will officially start. Within this room, there are three hidden jōnins, six chūnins, and numerous genins. To pass, each genin must successfully locate one jōnin and collect one note with a riddle on it. The riddle will lead you to the next location.” The kunoichi then disappears in a burst of smoke.

Team Five pull themselves out of the genjutsu that is starting to take place. Natsumi had taken to putting them under genjutsus randomly whenever she wanted so they would know almost instantly when they had been effected by one.

Toru takes charge, surveying the others he could see in the room while he speaks. “Shou look for the hidden jōnins but don’t make contact. Kiku, keep on lookout for any sabotage that’s aimed at us or anyone else; the chūnins are probably attempting to sabotage groups. I’ll attempt to find notes.”

“Got it,” Kiku replies with a grin, “Let’s smash this phase of the exam.”

Approximately five minutes later, Kiku throws a kunai at an approaching genin. The genin drops from the ceiling onto the floor and attempts to engage Kiku in a taijutsu fight. However, Toru and Kiku gang up on the shinobi who quickly retreats. “That was a chūnin,” Kiku confides to Toru. “He walked far too quietly and despite avoiding both of our blows with ease, backed out of a fight. He was testing us.”

“He mightn’t have been prepared for a two-on-one fight,” Toru replies but doesn’t really argue his point. “Take to the roof and grab your kunai, the wood will be slightly loose and underneath it should be a note. The chūnin left it when attacking us.”

Kiku grins as she quickly moves up the wall before walking upside down on the roof. Upon grabbing her kunai, she stealthily grabs the note before dropping down on the ground next to Toru.

“Toru, I’ve found one. There’s a rock where the jōnin who spoke to us stood; despite the few fights that have occurred there, it hasn’t been touched,” Shou reports.

“Good work,” Toru compliments with an easy smile. “A metre to your left is a potted plant…”

“Plants they wouldn’t have in Suna unless they needed little water, but that one looks like it has wet dirt. Nice spotting,” Shou replies as the trio move over to the plant. With a little chakra, Shou disrupts the genjutsu and they find another note. “We need a third note. Any others found Toru?” Toru shakes his head with an annoyed expression. “Well, we can all look for one now.”

“We could attack another genin and steal their note,” Kiku suggests.

“No point in revealing our capabilities now, and lets not spend any more chakra and energy then we have to,” Toru responds. “We might have to do a survival task next, and I don’t want to do that tired.” Shou takes a step forward, stumbles, and falls onto the ground in front of a wall. She stands up a moment later, and gives Toru a note she pulled out of a hole. “Thanks,” Toru says. Shou smiles and Team Five exit the room.

Another Sunagakure ninja appears, stopping them from moving further. “There was a jōnin henged as a rock from when she first spoke to us in regards to the task,” Shou says. “That’s a jōnin that we all located. We each have a piece of paper with a riddle on it as well.” The Suna-nin nods and disappears.

“One day, I’m going to be able to do that,” Kiku mutters. “I’ll be the one frightening the crap out of everyone then.” Shou laughs softly and unrolls the two notes she has on her.

“Flashback to becoming genin,” Toru says with a grin. Kiku gives him the note she got, and he reads it aloud, “‘I am at home upon the sands with the stars to light my way. You would not wish to stumble upon me for despite blind eyes, I still kill. Where would you go if I had attacked you?’ We’re looking at something found in Kaze no Kuni that will lead us to a place in Sunagakure. At a guess, I would say an animal of some kind. Any ideas?”

“Well, if it can kill it’s probably going to be venomous or poisonous; maybe a snake? Or even a scorpion… It’s hard to tell; we haven’t learnt much regarding animals in other countries,” Shou says.

“If it’s going to kill you, the place you would want to go if attacked would probably be a hospital,” Kiku says helpfully. Shou and Toru turn to glance at the kunoichi. Kiku blinks before realising that she might be right. “I’ve got no idea where we are or how to get there, though.”

Team Five enter the streets of Sunagakure, instantly feeling the change in temperature. “Kiku, you have point for now. I’ll be back in lookout. Shou, you get middle position. Kiku, search for somewhere that will be friendly to us and ask where the hospital would be found.”

“Sure thing,” Kiku replies, striding off with Shou following her. “I’m thinking a restaurant, but we should also grab a meal to give a better appearance. Shou, do you have the necessary money?”

“Yes,” Shou replies, “We still have all our equipment in our bags for travelling stored in the scroll.”

“Oh, there’s a dango place. It’s more expensive than back at home, though,” Kiku says a few minutes later, leading the Konoha genin team into the small shop. The blonde-haired genin goes up to the person staffing the counter and strikes up a conversation.

“Thoughts?” Toru asks Shou softly.

“We need to be careful; the people here are not welcoming especially towards Konoha-nins. I’m not overly sure why. I think it has to do with the political and economic climate. The higher prices could just be due to the influx of ninjas due to the chūnin exams, especially as the prices all seem extremely high. However, we can’t avoid paying the fees. In Konoha, it would be the same, but only within ninja-run businesses,” Shou answers.

“It’s odd that the civilian-run businesses also have higher prices. It points to a bad economy and, with the influx of foreigners, there’s a big possibility of earning more, especially if prices are higher than normal,” Toru says thoughtfully just as Kiku returns to the pair with dango in one hand and change in the other.

“Hospital is located in the middle of Suna,” Kiku reports around a mouthful of food. “If we follow this street we should reach the main street. Take a left and keep walking. It’s a big spherical building with the kanji for doctor on it.”

Roughly twenty minutes later, Team Five make it to the hospital, where they’re approached by another Suna-nin. The kunoichi stares at them, “You’re the sixth team to make it. As you have made it as an entire team, you make it to the next phase of the exams. It will begin in thirty minutes. You can wait here.”

***

“Congratulations. You have all managed to pass the first phase of the Sunagakure chūnin exams,” the kunoichi that had met Team Five at the hospital states blandly. “It is estimated that ten of the current sixteen teams will make it through the next phase. You will undertake this mission in teams that have been chosen for you. Each team will be given a single object. Your mission goal will be to bring the object back to Sunagakure with all of you alive. You will all be given a map and the item in question. There will be teams of chūnins around who will attempt to take the object, along with lone jōnins who will be ‘assassins’. You will be knocked unconscious upon signing the legal terms for entering the chūnin exams and taken to the starting location for your mission.”

Kiku wakes up with the words reverberating in her head. She pulls herself to her feet, searching for Shou and Toru. Instead, she finds herself stuck with two other genins – a Takigakure genin and a Shimogakure genin. Kiku scowls and swears mentally in her head as she wakes the two other genins up. Of course, the teams aren’t teams from the same village. It’s just her luck she gets stuck with genins from unallied villages.

“Who the fuck are you?” The Takigakure genin says upon waking up. “What the fuck happened to my head?”

Kiku grins, baring her teeth in a predator-like smile. “I’m Kiku, Konohagakure genin. I’m guessing you feel like your head’s gone through a blender as well, huh? I’m guessing they knocked us out with a genjutsu. It feels like one.”

“How do you know what one feels like?” The Taki-nin spits out.

Kiku pauses, remembering Natsumi’s shark grins that she always gives after she runs Team Five into the ground. “My sensei enjoys working my team on the edge of pain and over the edge of exhaustion,” she replies.

“I’m guessing that we have to work as a team until we reach Suna,” the Shimogakure genin says as he stretches. “We’re meant to have a map and some object. Either of you two got those things?”

“Who died and made you the fucking leader?” The Takigakure genin snarls and the Shimogakure shrugs.

“I’ve got a… small glass elephant,” Kiku says as she rummages through her pack. “Nothing else apart from what I had on me already, which basically consists of trapping supplies and clothes with little food and some water.”

“I also have food and water,” the Shimo-nin reveals. “My name is Kaede by the way. I do not specialise in anything in particular.”

“I’m good at ninjutsu,” the Takigakure genin butts in. “I also have a shitty map and a name, Yuri.”

“I’m good at taijutsu,” Kiku says before turning to face the only other kunoichi on their team. “Does the map show where we are?”

“With a big fucking cross,” Yuri responds with a scowl. “We’re west of Sunagakure by about sixty kilometres. If you fuckers weren’t slowing me down, I could get there by tomorrow afternoon without a break.”

“I suggest we rest for the night,” Kaede says. “It’s easier to get ambushed in the dark especially as we aren’t familiar with the terrain. There are also scorpions and snakes we need to look out for. They’re more likely to come out in the dark.”

Kiku glances at the sun, “We have maybe two, and a bit, hours until the sun sets. The nights here are freezing, so we best find somewhere that’s slightly sheltered from the wind. I can set up traps around the area, but we should also have a watch.”

“I don’t trust either of you shits,” Yuri grumbles. “But it’ll have to do, I suppose. Lead on fucker.”

Kaede rolls his brown eyes, “Are you always like this?”

Yuri snarls, “You mean this fucking good? You had better believe it. I’m the best genin in Taki. No one can beat me, and I doubt you shits can even land a hit.” Kiku sighs and falls into step, a pace behind and to the left of Kaede, as they all settle into a run. She hopes that her teammates have a better team than she has.

***

“I hate Suna-nin,” is the first thing Shou hears upon waking up. Shou rolls onto her feet and pulls out a kunai, already preparing herself for a fight. Instead, she finds herself looking at two other genins, neither being Toru or Kiku and Shou finds herself scowling.

“Hey beautiful,” one genin says, turning to grin at Shou. Shou blinks in confusion at the Tanigakure genin before turning to face the Kusagakure genin.

“I’m Tsubame Suzuki,” the kunoichi says in greeting. “From what Shizuka-san and I can gather, the Suna-nin have left us here with a map and an object, we need to reach Sunagakure. We’re not sure what time frame we have, but we need to get back while being prepared for any ambushes.”

“Who has the map?” Shou asks, “My name’s Shou Shimizu. I think we should start moving quickly as well. We don’t have long until sun down, and it’s dangerous to continue moving on through the night.”

“The pretty lady has a point,” Shizuka says and Shou finds herself getting annoyed at the genin. “Shou-chan can lead us forward; she seems to know what she’s doing.”

“Shut up Shizuka-san, Shou-san doesn’t need to deal with your shit,” Tsubame replies. “Shou-san can you lead us, or shall I do it?” Tsubame says as she hands Shou the map. Shou studies the map before tracing a route.

“I’ve got it. We need to head southeast. Can both of you move quickly via chakra?” Tsubame nods while Shizuka shouts his agreement. “Alright,” Shou decides, “I’ll take point as I can lead. Shizuka-san, are you better at fighting close range or long range?”

“Long-range,” Shizuka replies, “but I can do anything if you ask me to Shou-chan!”

“Shizuka-san can cover our backs,” Shou responds. “You’re going to need to be quieter as well Shizuka-san, and drop all the flirting. It’s not necessary and creating unneeded noise. We need to be wary. We can be attacked at any moment. Tsubame-san can take the object and keep in the middle. Shizuka-san will be our first line of defence, then myself, and finally Tsubame-san. However, we should try to avoid fights, especially drawn out ones.”

“Very well,” Shizuka responds. “I’ll drop the flirting if you want.”

Tsubame gives Shizuka a suspicious look, “You mean I could have asked and you would have dropped it?” She asks.

Shizuka grins, “Hell yeah.” He shrugs, “I don’t want to make you guys uncomfortable, especially as we need to complete this faux mission. The flirting is more of a cover anyway, and we need to work together.” Shou sighs and starts running, the other two quickly keeping pace with her. She wonders whether her teammates are okay.

***

“Ambush!” Toru yells, waking up his teammates as he flips around an attack. His attacker snarls but doesn’t wait as she attempts to decapitate Toru. Toru drops to the ground and rolls before coming onto his feet again. He pushes chakra into his legs and moves, knocking the kunoichi to the ground and slamming the hilt of a kunai down onto her head. Her eyes close as she goes unconscious.

Already, Toru’s kind-of teammates are tackling other attackers. The Ishigakure genin is fighting one while the Kumogakure genin is struggling with two. Toru growls under his breath and enters her fight, knowing that the Kumo-nin hates his guts; she had made that clear from the beginning. Nevertheless, Toru knows that to get to the next phase they all have to get back to Suna alive. It’s the only reason the Kumo-nin hasn’t attempted to take his head off yet.

Toru leaves a clear hole in his guard, and his opponent lunges forward, kunai leading. Toru swings wide, and kicks their legs out from under them. After that, it’s the work of half a second to knock the Suna-nin unconscious. By the time that’s done, the attackers have all been neutralised.

“We need to move,” the Ishigakure genin – Kyou – says quietly and Toru nods in agreement. “Someone might have heard the noise; there’s no point staying here now that we’ve made our position clear.”

“Can you hide our tracks with a genjutsu?” The Kumo-nin – who hasn’t told Toru her name yet – asks. Kyou nods, “Good. You need to take back position for that. The Konoha genin can go point, and I’ll go middle.”

Toru frowns, unwilling to trust the Kumogakure kunoichi with his back, but knowing he’ll have to do it anyway. “Alright. Let’s move,” he says before taking off, keeping low to the ground, and staying in the shadows of the dunes.

A few minutes later, the Kumo genin curses. “We’ve got another team incoming. Are you sure you put that genjutsu up?”

Kyou nods, “I am. However, we did make a lot of noise and it’s pretty easy to figure out which direction we would’ve gone.”

Toru scowls and looks around, “There’s a large sand dune up ahead. We should reach it right when the cloud covers the moon. We can attack then. I can set up a few nifty traps. Kyou, if you can cover one or two traps with a genjutsu and the darkest part of the shadow.”

The trio move quickly, the Kumo-nin keeping watch while Toru sets up traps and Kyou puts his genjutsu in place. They barely finish in time, scrambling up the dune just as the chūnin team reach the trapped area.

The traps take down two of the four chūnins, and Toru readies himself to attack as the other chūnins approach. However, there’s a near-quiet sound next to him and the Kumo-nin throws two handfuls of senbon. Toru watches as the senbon paralyse the two chūnins.

“That’s impressive aim,” Toru mutters softly. “We ready to move out?” The Kumo-nin glares at him and starts running, leaving Kyou and Toru to follow.

“What did you do to piss her off?” Kyou whispers to Toru. Toru shrugs.

“I think she’s holding grudges from the last war and an incident that happened a few years ago between our respective villages,” Toru replies just as softly.

***

“Fucking shit!” Yuri swore as she suddenly leapt sideways, almost ramming into Kiku. Kiku skidded to a halt, instantly turning so she could face the new threat.

Where Yuri had been running, stands a Suna-nin. “Jōnin,” Kaede says, “Plan Z?”

Yuri glares at the Shimo-nin, “I’m not going to do a fucking thing you say. We can take this bastard down, easy.”

Kiku groans, and the jōnin attacks, wind rushing towards them. “Mission!” Kiku shouts as she leaps into the air, twisting to avoid another blast of wind. She lands in a crouch, Kaede standing in a defensive position next to her.

“Oh, alright,” Yuri groans. “You shits better get ready. Earth Release: Hiding Like A Mole Technique!” Yuri’s chakra rises and the kunoichi grabs Kiku and Kaede, pulling them closer to her, before the three of them sink below the ground. Yuri’s jutsu manages to take the three of them half a kilometre away.

“We don’t have long until that jōnin will be onto us,” Kaede says, saying what Kiku is thinking. “We need to move. If we’re lucky, we might have half an hour before the jōnin finds us.”

“At a guess, I would say we’re roughly twenty kilometres to Sunagakure. Can you make that right now?” Kiku asks, turning to face Yuri who is panting after the major drain of chakra due to the jutsu she had just used.

“You fucking know I can do it. I’m better than all of you little shits,” Yuri responds, and Kiku huffs out a laugh, growing fonder of the constantly swearing Takigakure genin. After sweeping blonde hair behind her ear, Yuri takes off, Kiku and Kaede following her.

As they race across the sand dunes, Kiku allows herself some time to think. Despite her hesitancy at first, Kaede and Yuri have both proven themselves to be trustworthy allies. Kiku thinks that Kaede and Toru would get along quite well. Meanwhile, Yuri would probably pick a fight with Kiku’s actual teammates. Nevertheless, Yuri and Kaede have helped Kiku and she has helped them in turn.

“Sunagakure is just up ahead!” Kiku says with a grin, and the three genin pour on the speed in an attempt to reach Suna faster.

“Fuck yeah! We did it!” Yuri shouts. “Clearly you fuckers are somewhat better than I thought.”

Kaede brushes dark brown hair out of his eyes, “If you just jinxed us, I will kill you,” he says in a joking manner.

***

“Assassin!” Tsubame cries out as she leaps backwards, avoiding a puppet.

“Shizuka, you can tangle with it!” Shou says, and Shizuka grins.

“Anything for you beautiful,” he says before going through a few hand seals. “Radiate Release: Burn!” Shou watches as blue-green flames ensnare the puppet, burning it.

Shou starts running, Tsubame and Shizuka keeping pace with her. “I’m starting to get frustrated at this constant running,” Tsubame huffs out.

“I agree,” Shou responds. “However, we have almost no chance of beating a jōnin or even a team of chūnins, so our best bet is in running. We just need to stay alive until we make it back to Sunagakure.”

“You mean the place right in front of us?” Shizuka questions as they crest a large sand dune. “It’s the best sight I’ve seen for ages.”

The three surf down the sand dune, having learnt that it was the best way to get down a large sand dune. They reach the gates of Suna five minutes later. “I wonder how our teams faired,” Tsubame muses as they’re escorted into another building.

“Hopefully they made it,” Shou mutters, searching for any signs of Kiku or Toru. She quickly spots Kiku, who’s sitting next to a Shimogakure genin and a Takigakure genin. “I see one of my teammates, you guys see anyone you know?”

“Both my teammates are here,” Tsubame replies. “I’m going to go talk to them. It was good working with you. I’ll see you in the next phase.”

“Good luck Tsubame-san,” Shizuka says, and Shou waves to the kunoichi as she walks away. “No one from my team is here yet.”

“You can sit with my teammate and I then, I think she’s sitting with her teammates from this phase,” Shou says as she leads Shizuka over to Kiku. “No flirting either,” she adds after a moment. “Kiku would probably punch you.”

***

Toru hobbles into the room with Kyou and Ren (the Kumo-nin who only told him her name when he took a kunai to the thigh for her) on either side. Just as they enter, the doors close behind them.

“You see your teammates?” Kyou asks. “We’ll help you over to them.”

“In the corner,” Toru replies, pointing. He grimaces as pain shoots up his leg again. “Sorry I slowed us down.”

“You managed to stop me from being killed, I think that evens us out,” Ren responds. “If I had been hit then we wouldn’t have been able to finish the exam phase.”

“Better late than never,” Kyou adds cheerfully just as they reach the other genins from Konoha’s Team Five.

“Your teammate’s fucking useless,” is what the Takigakure genin next to Kiku says.

“Watch your mouth bitch,” Ren instantly replies, coming to Toru’s defence. “He’s probably more useful than you.”

“Are any of your teammates here?” Toru asks, ignoring the byplay between the two kunoichi.

“Yeah, my entire team made it,” Ren reports. “I’ll head over to them, you good here?”

“Yes,” Toru replies before giving the Kumo-nin a small smile, “Thanks for your help.”

Ren hesitates, nods, before walking away. “I think that’s my cue to go,” Kyou says. “Good luck with the next phase, and if we have to fight, I won’t hold back.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to,” Toru responds just before Kyou leaves, “but you better expect me to go all out.”

“What happened to you?” Kiku asks, as she gestures to Toru’s injured leg that has a ripped cloth wrapped around it.

“In saving a life, I took a kunai to the leg,” Toru says, grimacing as he shifts his position. “However, it was worth it as Ren – the Kumogakure genin – finally started working with me. Who are your current teammates?”

“This is Yuri-san,” Kiku says, pointing at the Taki-nin. “This guy’s Kaede-san. Shou’s teammates are Tsubame-san and Shizuka-san, but Tsubame-san went to go with her team. Shizuka-san is a little shit.”

The Tanigakure genin gives Toru a beaming smile, “Did you fall from heaven? Because you look like an angel.”

Toru gives Shou a confused look and flushes, while Shou and Kiku both groan. “It’s kind of you to say so, but the reality is if I had fallen I would’ve injured myself, possibly causing a disfiguration. Therefore, it’s improbable that I fell from heaven.”

“It’s more probable that he crawled up from hell,” Kiku says with a joking grin while Shou shoves the Tanigakure genin.

“You said you wouldn’t flirt,” Shou says with a roll of her eyes.

“Hey, you didn’t warn me your other teammate was so handsome!” Shizuka replies. Shou and Kiku exchange amused grins as Toru flushes yet again.

There’s a shrill whistle and the genin all turn to face the door. “You’ve made it to the third phase,” a Sunagakure ninja drones. “Your survival skills and will to complete the mission has been tested, along with your ability to create new alliances. Your intelligence and teamwork has also been judged. It is time to see how you fight in a group battle. There will be eight rounds with three participants. Only one participant can continue to the next phase of the exams. You are allowed to surrender, and try to avoid killing one another. Please follow me to the next location.”

***

“Participants 2, 13, and 4,” the Suna jōnin calls out. Kiku looks down at the number she was given upon entering the underground stadium.

“Good luck,” Toru murmurs softly to Kiku as she stands up. “The Sunagakure genin may use poison, so be wary.”

“Tsubame-san is pretty average, you should be able to get in close and take her out,” Shou adds.

Kiku nods and traipses down the stairs. The moment she reaches the arena floor, a whistle blows and all three genin rush to attack. Kiku ducks under a kunai, elbows the Sunagakure genin, and blocks the Kusa-nin’s attack before pulling back. She waits, watching as the Suna-nin cuts Tsubame’s arm.

A few minutes later, it’s clear Tsubame is slowing down. Kiku curses and attacks the Suna-nin, driving him away from the poisoned kunoichi who will be easier to fight when Kiku’s tired. The Suna-nin tries to gain distance, but Kiku keeps close and engages the Suna-nin in a taijutsu fight.

The Sunagakure genin isn’t very good at taijutsu. Kiku manages to avoid the poisoned weapons, and still rain down heavy blows. As the Suna-nin kicks out, Kiku drops to the ground and sweeps his feet out from underneath him. The shinobi falls, and Kiku moves quickly, pinning the genin’s arms and holding a kunai to his throat.

“Surrender,” she hisses, wary of the other genin slowly approaching.

“I surrender,” the Suna-nin says as Kiku slowly puts weight onto her kunai, drawing blood.

Kiku grins and leaps away, just avoiding Tsubame who sways in one place before attempting to attack Kiku again. The other kunoichi’s balance is off, and Kiku circles around her, forcing the Kusa-nin to keep spinning. Eventually, she stumbles, and Kiku races forward and knocks her unconscious.

“Participant 2 advances,” comes the call and Kiku grins as she follows medical out of the arena. She wonders how the others will go.

***

“Participants 1, 10, and 17 please come down to the arena.” Toru stands up, hissing as he puts pressure on his leg. He tightens the makeshift bandage around the deep cut, before limping down to the arena ground.

Once on ground level, he finds himself facing an Ishigakure genin and another genin from Sunagakure. Toru studies his opponents; the Suna-nin looks like a puppet master while the Ishigakure genin could either average in everything or specialise in ninjutsu or genjutsu.

“Begin.”

Toru leaps onto the wall, channelling chakra into his feet and hands to keep him still. Three shuriken land where he just stood. Toru crawls along the wall, before jumping down to land behind the Ishigakure genin.

Toru throws a kunai, which the Sunagakure genin dodges before attacking. Toru blocks with his forearm before punching out at the Ishi-nin who has joined the fight. The Suna-nin takes that moment to knock Toru’s feet from beneath him. Toru falls to the floor and quickly puts his arms behind his head and pushes himself up. Toru kicks the Ishi-nin in the jaw as he cartwheels backward, gaining space.

The other two genins pause and Toru goes through six hand seals. “Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!” The fireball forces the two genins apart, with the Ishi-nin extremely close to the kunai Toru had thrown earlier. Toru smirks and flares his chakra, causing the explosion tag on the kunai to go off. The Ishi-nin yelps as they get burnt.

The Suna-nin ignores Toru for now and defeats the Ishi-nin in a taijutsu match before knocking the genin out. Toru grimaces as the Suna-nin turns to face him. Except instead of getting closer, the Suna-nin creates distance. Toru curses as the Suna-nin unseals a puppet, sending the deadly object towards Toru.

Toru throws a smoke bomb down, and uses the smoke to set up a quick plan. He creates a clone before transforming into a small rock on the ground. Toru carefully controls the clone, getting it to dart out of the way to near a kunai. The puppet charges at the clone, before going through it. Toru lets the clone die and loses the transformation before swapping places with the kunai.

Right behind the puppet, Toru launches a set of shuriken that each cut deeply into the puppet, which collapses. Toru channels chakra through his legs and speeds around the puppet, wrapping it in ninja wire. He stops once he’s sure it won’t get up again, and turns to face the Sunagakure genin.

“You can give up now or I’ll set fire to the puppet and we can continue fighting,” he says, making sure to keep his weight even on both feet despite the pain it causes. He knows he can’t afford to show any weaknesses.

“You’re bluffing,” the Suna-nin says, eyes flickering between Toru and the puppet.

“Do you want to find out?” Toru says, tilting a hip out in a cocky manner. “It’s not that hard.”

“Fine,” the Suna-nin bites out, “I surrender. Now lose the wire.” Toru nods and drops the wire.

“Participant 1 wins and will go through to the next phase of the competition. If you require medical aid, go receive it,” the jōnin says and Toru limps towards the exit where a medic-nin is.

***

“Participants 20, 3, and 21 come down to the floor or forfeit.” Shou gets up and heads down to the ground. Shou is the last one to get there, and once she’s there, the Sunagakure jōnin tells them to start.

Shou leaps backwards, and throws a set of shuriken at the Takigakure genin, using the movement to hide the hand seals she goes through. “Sly Mind Affect Technique,” she whispers, and she feels the genjutsu layer itself onto the Taki-nin. The Taki-nin shakes her head and stumbles, but doesn’t appear to realise that she’s in a genjutsu.

:Team up and then attack?: The Konoha-nin that Shou’s versing asks.

:I’ll support: Shou responds with a nod, and the Konoha genin kicks out at the Taki-nin who swears loudly. Together the pair manages to knock out the Takigakure genin who had been teamed with Kiku earlier.

The two Konoha genins turn to face each other. “No hard feelings,” the more experienced Konoha-nin says.

“Agreed,” Shou responds before putting her hands in the tiger hand seal. “Genjutsu: Infinite Darkness Jutsu!” She shouts, immediately feeling the burn as her chakra is drained out at an alarming rate. The A-rank genjutsu is one Shou has only recently learnt, and she can only use it once and one other genjutsu before her chakra is too low. Shou goes through a set of hand seals, “Demonic Illusion: Fire Jutsu,” she whispers softly, just in time for the Konoha-nin to break through her first genjutsu.

Shou speeds towards the Konoha-nin, reaching them just as the Konoha-nin ends the second genjutsu. The other genin has no time to avoid Shou’s kick, which knocks the wind out of the older genin. Shou follows up with a hard punch and sweeps the Konoha-nin’s feet out from under them. It’s then the work of a few seconds of scrambling to finally rest a kunai on the genin’s throat.

“Yield,” Shou says panting.

“Yield,” the older genin says with a grin, and Shou puts away the kunai and helps the other genin up. The pair staggers towards the exit, ready to go rest.

***

“Good job,” Natsumi says with a proud smile as she looks down at her genins who are sitting on the ground. “You now have nine days until you make it to the next task, which is a series of one-on-one fights until one person’s left. Even if you lose, you still have the chance of becoming a chūnin. One of the other senseis from Konoha has said she’d be happy to take Kiku-chan under her wing and help her with taijutsu,” Natsumi explains.

“Shou-san, I’ve got a few more genjutsu that you can start learning. I was thinking that we can refine your chakra control further so you can use that A-rank genjutsu plus a few others,” Natsumi adds and Shou nods. “Your plan and bluff impressed me, Toru-kun, but I still have no idea what you can work on. There are a few genjutsu and ninjutsu that you can start learning, but I don’t know how much of a help that’ll be. The other Konoha senseis are happy to help out if you think of something you want to improve upon.”

“I think learning another genjutsu would be good, and possibly another ninjutsu that isn’t a water release as I have no way to get water into the arena. I think it’ll be good to work on my chakra control as well,” Toru replies as he starts thinking up things he can improve on.

“Alright then, are you happy to work on your own? You can come to me if you need help with anything,” Natsumi says. Toru nods. “Very well, Kiku follow me and I’ll show you to the sensei I was talking about. Shou, you can come as well as it’s near the training ground we can use.”

Toru watches as the others walk off and allows himself to think upon what he’s going to work on over the next nine days. The last day he’ll need to rest, so that leaves eight days to train. In the mornings, he can work on the new genjutsu while after he’s recovering his chakra in the evenings he can work on the new ninjutsu. That leaves him with his afternoons for working on increasing his chakra control, speed, and stamina. He wonders what else would help him win in a fight (seals bloom from beneath his hands as the barrier rises in place; somewhere else, an explosion goes off as they prepare for an invasion). Toru acknowledges the fact he should probably look at seals, but he puts it off (because he remembers a blade through his chest and the harsh twist as it’s jerked out as he dies and dies and diesdiesdiesdiesHE’SDEAD).

***

The first round of the last phase of the chūnin exam is between a Kumogakure kunoichi and a Sunagakure shinobi. It’s a surprisingly fast-paced battle, but ultimately the Suna-nin wins due to their stronger tactics. The second match is between Toru and a Shimogakure genin – Kaede, who Kiku had worked with during the secondary phase of the exam.

The match is fairly even, with both genins able to meet and block each other’s blows while also attack. The few genjutsu Toru employs are quickly shut down, but the Shimo-nin appears to have no genjutsu to try on Toru. After ten minutes of fighting, it starts to look like the match is going to be a matter of who has the better stamina.

It’s the Shimo-nin who switches things by throwing a kunai and replacing themselves with it in mid-air. Toru leaps sideways and runs up the wall, from the roof he sends a fireball flying towards Kaede, who moves out of the way fairly easily.

Toru drops down to the ground and calls up his chakra as he claps his hands. “Wind Release: Gale Palm!” He shouts, throwing a few weapons so that the gust pushes them along. Unable to see where the weapons are due to the sand the gust throws up, Kaede ducks to the ground and braces himself.

Toru yanks on the wire he has connected to the weapons, pulling it so they land either side of Kaede. The other genin leaps forward and Toru quickly claps his hands and repeats the technique, forcing Kaede to stop and wait it out again.

Toru runs straight behind the gust of wind, and doesn’t give Kaede a chance as he slams a punch into the other’s jaw. The shinobi staggers backwards, barely blocking the punishing kick, before being knocked off balance by another punch. Toru goes through four hand seals and activates a genjutsu, which Kaede is forced to stop, leaving himself open to the next kick. He gets knocked onto his back, and is trying to stand up when Toru manages to knock him out.

The third round is between a Suna genin and Kiku. Kiku rushes in, not giving the Suna-nin any real chance as she engages in a quick taijutsu fight that leaves her as the winner. It’s the fourth round that shows the first sign of a hard fight.

Shou fights against another Sunagakure genin, but this one has poison on his weapons. Shou doesn’t keep their distance all the time, and they earn a decent sized scratch because of it, but the dark skinned kunoichi keeps looping basic genjutsu over genjutsu before attacking by replacing herself with items close to the Suna genin. Shou wins, eventually, but the battle stretches for almost an hour before it comes to a close.

The second round has two matches. The first match is between Toru and the only Sunagakure genin left in the exams, with the second match between Kiku and Shou.

Toru can’t tell much about the Suna genin that he faces. She doesn’t appear to have any puppets on her, and she doesn’t look like a taijutsu specialist either. She looks quite average, but Toru does as well.

Toru shoves his reddish-brown hair out of his eyes, noting that it is starting to get quite long. He waits for the Suna-nin to start, deciding it is going to be easier to react and defend than attack and possibly be poisoned.

Toru finds himself surrounded by darkness. “Kai!” He says as he spins away, causing the kunoichi’s kick to hit his shoulder instead of his torso. The kunoichi growls at Toru who throws a handful of shuriken at her to create distance. The kunoichi allows him to, responding with a few senbon. Toru dodges three, but two others stick into his shoulder. He pulls them out. His fingers tingle and Toru looks at the senbon and spots a blue tinge, indicating poison. He curses softly.

It’s starting to become clear that Toru can’t engage the Suna-nin in a taijutsu match, and they’re on equal terms for genjutsu. However, Toru has managed to avoid demonstrating his most powerful skill throughout the entire competition – water release ninjutsu.

As the kunoichi flicks more senbon to him, Toru goes through three hand seals, “Water Release: Water Shield!” He says, pulling water from the small puddle in the corner, created for the purpose of water ninjutsu.

The water shield blocks the senbon and Toru allows it to collapse as he goes through another set of hand seals, “Water Release: Wave!” The water from the shield rises and surges towards the Suna-nin who leaps out of the way, the water slams into the wall behind her.

Toru throws a few kunai entwined with wire, “Wind Release: Gale Palm,” he says to reinforce the strength of the weapons. The kunoichi bares her teeth at Toru who grins back as she’s forced to run up a wall and flip backwards, just missing being entangled in the wire.

The kunoichi lands but Toru is already calling on his chakra, “Water Release: Wave!” The wave that follows is smaller than the first one Toru created, but the strength behind it is much more than it was earlier. It hits the kunoichi and slams her against the wall. The water drops down and Toru waits, seeing the Suna-nin on the floor.

The proctor checks the kunoichi, “She’s unconscious. The next match will start once the floor is clear from previous fighters.”

Toru takes a seat next to his sensei as Shou and Kiku get to the floor of the stadium. “Who do you think will win?” Natsumi asks Toru quietly.

“Normally, I would say Shou as they can keep Kiku at a distance while Kiku’s main focus is taijutsu. However, Shou was poisoned earlier and the time between matches has probably caused it to spread more,” Toru answers.

“Nicely spotted,” Natsumi says just as the match starts.

“I surrender,” Shou says before Kiku can launch any attack. “I’m poisoned and it’s interfering with my chakra control, which will make it hard to activate any genjutsu that would allow me to win. Therefore, I forfeit and leave Kiku to win.”

“Can the remaining fighter please come down for the final round,” the proctor calls a moment or two later.

“Do your best,” Kiku says once she’s facing Toru down. Toru tilts his head and nods. “I’ll do the same.”

“The final match begins!” The proctor shouts before leaping out of the way.

Kiku charges forward at Toru, Toru matches her pace, noting that the other genin is faster than he remembers. However, Kiku isn’t the only one who worked on her speed, and Toru keeps up as he blocks the blows that rain down on him.

Toru leaps back and slams his hands onto the ground, “Water Release: Stormy Upheaval!” Water crashes from the sky, and Kiku leaps into the air as it soaks into the ground. Toru cancels the technique with a jerk of his chakra as he starts going through hand seals. “Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique! Fire Release: Great Fireball! Demonic Illusion: Fire Jutsu!”

Kiku quickly cancels the first genjutsu before moving out of the way of the fireball while Toru throws a set of kunai and henges himself as one. Kiku finally figures out that she’s in a genjutsu and disrupts it, before looking around for her teammate.

Kiku sees the group of kunai and remembers a similar plan Toru had performed earlier in the chūnin exams. She throws a handful of shuriken at the pile, and Toru’s henge breaks as he deflects the shuriken, but Kiku gets first blood.

Toru growls and bares his teeth at Kiku, and, for a moment, the Kurama clan member recalls how the Uchiha were known for the battle prowess and she can see an echo of something great in Toru’s eyes.

Kiku bares her teeth in reply and the pair both bark out a laugh before Kiku leaps forward, preparing to engage Toru in another fast-paced taijutsu fight. However, Toru slides out of the way, and just as Kiku takes a step towards him, the ground next to her blows up.

Kiku stumbles with a curse, and Toru sprints towards her, intent on taking her out. Kiku manages to defend herself, just as Toru goes through a set of hand seals and sends a fireball towards her. Kiku scrambles out of the way, but Toru keeps her moving and Kiku can feel herself slowing down.

Toru stops as Kiku pauses, she pants. Toru offers her a half-grin, and Kiku rushes at him once more. “I forfeit,” Toru states clearly. “I’m almost out of chakra and one of Kiku’s hits will probably be enough to knock me down or out.”

“Kiku Kurama of Konohagakure wins!” The proctor shouts. “Thank you for coming to see the chūnin exams; we hope you enjoyed your time in Suna.”

***

“Kiku-chan, step forward,” the Sandaime commands, and with a nervous look at her teammates, Kiku does so. “For your quick thinking, and ability to identify your own strengths and weaknesses, you have been promoted to chūnin. Congratulations.”

Kiku bows, a large grin on her face. “Thank you Hokage-sama!” She steps back so she’s in line with her genin teammates.

“Shou-san, step forward,” the Sandaime then says. Shou does so, brushing dark brown hair off her face to show light brown eyes. “For your ability to analyse your own situation and your opponent’s skills. You managed to identify when you would lose and showed talent in genjutsu. Congratulations on your promotion, chūnin.”

Shou bows gracefully, a smile fighting for place on her face. “Thank you for this Hokage-sama,” she says before stepping back to stand next to Toru.

“Toru-kun, step forward,” the Hokage orders, and Toru does so. “In your chūnin exams, you showed you had a level-head and were willing to lead but step back if necessary. You showed an ability to plan ahead of time and decide what path was best to travel. You also showed a good grasp over a number of ninjutsu techniques. For these reasons, you have been promoted. Congratulations.”

Toru bows, before stepping back so he was between his genin teammates. “Thank you Hokage-sama,” he says softly but sincerely.

“Congratulations Team Five,” the Hokage says once again. “It is good to see such fine Konoha ninja. Now, Toru-kun, if you could stay behind for a few minutes?” Toru nods as his teammates leave the Hokage’s office. “Do you wish to join the councils for your clan now or later?”

“I think it would be better if I joined in two to three years, as I am still fairly young and inexperienced, especially in such matters as the councils. However, I am honoured by the position I have been given and am willing to do what’s necessary,” the tan chūnin replies.

The Hokage nods, “Dismissed. Tell Team Five to report for their first B-ranked mission in a day’s time.” Toru bows once more before leaving the office.

He greets his team with a hug. “We did it!” Kiku shouts, fist pumping the air. “I knew we could do it!”

“Of course we did,” Shou replies, “How could we not? We had an amazing leader with strong ninjutsu, a good taijutsu specialist, plus myself.”

“Who has great skill in genjutsu,” Toru adds. “We’re all pretty amazing. Now, we need to find Natsumi-sensei and tell her the good news. Also, Team Five has a B-ranked mission in a day.”

“Do we still call her sensei?” Kiku asks with a befuddled expression.

“Sensei is sensei, even when we’re jōnins,” Shou replies with a laugh as they grab Toru and Kiku’s arms. “Let’s go!”

***

Kiku Kurama, Toru Uchiha, and Shou Shimizu were promoted to chūnin after partaking in the Sunagakure chūnin exams. They were the only Konoha-nins who made it into the last round. Toru came second overall with Kiku coming first. Their sensei is extremely proud of their efforts and cannot wait until she goes on a mission with her promoted team.

Chapter Text

“Natsumi-sensei is down!” Kiku shouts and Toru feels his blood goes cold. It’s the first time that his mission leader has been unable to order the team, and Toru knows he has to step up and lead the team. Toru had thought life was fine after fifteen successful C-ranked missions under his belt, and a further four B-ranked missions.

“Kiku defensive position; Shou fall back,” Toru shouts, barely keeping his panic at bay. They’ve been chūnins for over half a year, and rarely have they gone on missions without each other.

Toru stands behind his teammates, watching the oncoming ninjas. There are four, but they’re at least chūnin levelled, and Toru knows that with Natsumi down, Team Five has no chance at successfully engaging in a fight and winning. He knows they won’t lose the ninjas even if they run – if they run together that is.

Toru’s mind whirls as he quickly thinks and discards plans. Eventually, he figures out one that might work. “Shou, when I attack, you’re going to use genjutsu to hide Natsumi-sensei, Kiku, and yourself. Kiku, you need to take Natsumi-sensei. All three of you are heading back to Konoha.”

“What about yourself?” Kiku asks, concerned while Shou’s face starts to fall.

“I will cover your backs. This is an order, leave,” Toru replies. Kiku frowns and opens her mouth but Toru launches forward, charging towards the four attacking ninja. He hears Shou whisper something before he’s boxed in by the four ninja.

His heart races and his breathing picks up. Toru blinks and defends himself, starting to feel strangely calm. He accepts the death that will come; he accepts it the same way he ordered his team, with quiet certainty and resignation. He wonders if he will be remembered as a hero; if they do, he hopes they remember he was also a man boy first and foremost.

***

Mission Type: Escort and guarding

Rank: B-ranked mission

Mission Objective: Escort and guarding of the Tani trading caravan

Information: The Tani trading caravans were escorted to Hi no Kuni’s borders, with only three bandit attacks during the escort.

Issued to: Natsumi Hayashi (#009738, jōnin, team leader), Toru Uchiha (#012182, chūnin, secondary leader), Shou Shimizu (#012183, chūnin), Kiku Kurama (#012184, chūnin)

Mission Objective: Successfully completed to a satisfactory level

Information Post-Mission: During the return trip to Konohagakure, the team was attacked by six unknown ninjas. They were suspected to be a mix of chūnin and jōnin levelled rogue-nins. Jōnin #009738 killed two ninjas, but was knocked out shortly afterwards. Chūnin #012182 took control of the mission and ordered chūnins #012183 and #012184 to return to Konohagakure with jōnin #009738. Chūnin #012182 stayed to ensure the return of his team.

Team Leader Report: It took six days to reach Hi no Kuni’s borders, where the Tani trading caravans safely crossed the border through legal means. A day into the journey back, the team was attacked. Everyone returned back to Konohagakure with mild injuries, with the exception of chūnin #012182 who was lost (not killed) in action.

Complaints From Team Regarding Teammates: None

Complaints From Clients: None

***

Two days after the disastrous mission, Shou is slowly losing hope and he can see Kiku is the same. They have barely seen Natsumi, and when they do get together, it felt as if someone is missing. Toru is missing, and Shou knows that if the twelve-year-old doesn’t return to Konohagakure in a month, he will be known as killed in action.

Shou punches the post in front of him, ignoring the pain that lances up his hand. The remaining members of Team Five had gone to tell Toru’s remaining family member about how he is missing in action. Shou can still see the betrayed look filled with hatred and pain and sadness. The boy had slammed the door in their faces; Shou doesn’t blame him.

He blames herself. He thinks the others feel the same way. It’s hard, because he followed Toru’s orders, knowing fairly well that he was probably going to die. His last memory of him is of a shinobi fighting for his teammates and to the death.

Natsumi, Shou, and Kiku are all on leave. They have to go to psychology appointments to, and Shou keeps getting told that he did what he is meant to and that Toru would’ve wanted you to follow orders and he wouldn’t have wanted him to die.

It makes Shou want to scream and cry and yell that he knows what Toru wanted and that it was what he is meant to do, but Toru is still dead and he left him there.

Shou thinks that after being the reason why one of his best friends is dead, he could learn to hate himself. He wonders if Toru is happy to be reunited with his family once more. He doesn’t speak of them much, but Shou can’t imagine him being unhappy. Melancholy and solemn, maybe, but still forever smiling and ready to help.

***

Sasuke grieves for hates Toru with everything left in his heart (there’s no light remaining anymore). The Uchiha had promised (had sworn) to never leave Sasuke, but he had left and for that Sasuke wants the boy to come back so he can hug kill him.

It isn’t fair that he has to go through this. He lost his family and found someone new, only to lose them too. Sasuke doesn’t think he can go through this anymore; this constant cycle of painhurthappinesssorrowgrief familydead-familyalive-familydies-friendswilldie.

Sometimes Sasuke will wake up and search for a tan face with black eyes staring at him with happinesslovedevotionjoy. He wakes up and rages and cries and seethes in hatred because all he can do is hate. No one can save him from the depths he falls into. Everywhere he looks is red and he swims through it even as he bleeds and drowns.  

No one can save him now, but he doesn’t think he wants anyone to (everyone he wants is dead anyway, so why does it matter?).

***

He screams and screams and screams because it hurtshurtshurtsHURTSHURTSHurTShuRTS. He screams until he can’t and then he shivers and shakes and can’t do anything but HE’SONFIRE and he raises his voice to scream again but HE CAN’T and the walls are painted red with blood.

He screams (because he hurts so much) until he can’t and he chokes on laughter as red bubbles up, and laughs and laughs until they tire. He might break but that just makes the shards sharper and he will grab them with his fingers use them as weapons because red drips eversoslowly beautifully down his skin. He voice grows and he screams once more.

***

Natsumi Hayashi is almost thirty and still young. She’s worked hard to get to where she is in life. She had never wanted a genin team, but had tested teams when asked. She was a proud kunoichi and would do what the Leaf asked of her.

She never imagined she would find herself caring for a group of brats. She had never imagined they would pass her test. She had been given an orphan clan kid, a clan kid, and a child from ninja background.

She had become part of a four-man team that relied on each other and cared for each other. They were all friends and she was their mentor. They weren’t family but they never tried or wanted to be. Almost all of them had a family to return to – they hadn’t needed to be more than friends.

Natsumi feels every bit her age now. She has returned from missions with comrades dead and dying. She has fought in a war and been covered in blood. She has fought and attacked and defended. Through it all, she had remained steady and calm. She had led missions and her orders had caused deaths – deaths of victims and teammates.

She is almost thirty and feels the weight of her guilt on her shoulders. She is still young but is still so old. She has found a team to care for and create bonds with, but in her attempt to protect them she failed. She knows that without her, they would have died, but surely, she could’ve tried harder and done more so they all survived.

She was part of a four-man team but now is part of none. Team Five is dead and dying. She doesn’t need to watch as they die before her, each pushing more and more guilt onto her shoulders. She is calm. She is steady. She is waiting for a name to be carved into the memorial stone. This is the legacy she leaves.

***

Kiku doesn’t remember being taught that being a ninja is something you can regret. She remembers being told that it was hard, that it was difficult, that she might not make it. She can recall being told she would have to kill, she would have to fight, and she would probably die.

They don’t talk about the guilt that is left when a teammate dies. They don’t explain that sometimes you are told to do something and have to do it and leave someone behind. She thought she could accept the thoughts of her own death – and she can – but she can’t accept thoughts of her teammates dying. She doesn’t accept that they will fall and end up being left behind.

Toru brought them all together. He spoke and they listened. He smiled and they gave their friendship as he gave his. He saw something great for them all, and they believed him. They were a child that didn’t fit in their clan. They were a child who wasn’t understood fully. They were an adult who didn’t want a team. They had been an orphan who still found happiness. They had been Team Five.

Kiku doesn’t want to believe that Toru has died – fallen and left behind to save his team. She thinks, though, that this is how Toru would’ve gone out if he had a choice. He wouldn’t have wanted to wither and die slowly, but in a way that stood for something.

She wonders what Toru would think of her now. She wonders if he’ll hate her because she couldn’t save him. She wonders if he’s in a better place. She wonders and she can’t stop. So she pushes herself into training and hopes she forgets. She thinks she can hate him for making her live like this.

***

While on the verge of darkness between painpainpainpain and reddropslooksopretty and chants of chūnin-#012182 and Iwon’tbreakIwon’tbendIwon’tfailIwon’tbetray, he thinks. He thinks of a boisterous girl who succeeds in taijutsu from a genjutsu clan. He thinks of her large smiles and loud guffaws and a strong will and easy conversations. He thinks of a jōnin with black hair and stormy eyes. He thinks of her quicksilver grins and soft compliments and advice given freely. He thinks of a genderfluid child who might be female or male or not either but somewhere in between, and thinks that that’s alright. He thinks of soft smiles and elbow nudges and surprising arguments. He thinks that somewhere between an exhausting training session and free food and annoying missions, they became a team (he wishes they would come; he hasn’t broken yet, why won’t they come?).

He thinks of a young child with black hair and black eyes and sorrowful eyes but small smiles. He thinks of a child getting through a trauma and arguments and shouts and tears but also friendships growing and love and joy and happiness and notalone and it’sgoingtobeokay. He thinks of a scorned kid with blonde hair and blue eyes and a breathtaking grin but scarred eyes. He thinks of a child hated and spitted on but still grins and laughs and declares he’sgoingtobeHokage and theywillacknowledgehim and itdoesn’tmatterIhaveyouguys.

He vaguely remembers a tall man with dark-skin and brown eyes. He remembers short red hair and a hushed lullaby. He remembers a father that never returned home. He remembers a woman with black hair and pale skin. He remembers brown eyes and quiet I-love-you’s. He remembers a mother who never looked at him. He remembers an older child with laughing eyes and a teasing grin. He remembers complicated conversations and secrets. He remembers a cousin who died too young.

He wonders where they all are. He wonders why they don’t come. He wonders why they don’t save him. No one is coming (but they might be) and he withdraws.

He screams as it starts again (but this time, no one’s home).

***

The Sandaime is getting old, but he is still strong in mind, in soul, in body. He is old, yes, and his successor has passed and he has taken the hat once again. He remembers falsified orders and teams created in war and torn apart in personal conflict.

The Sandaime also remembers a clan with red eyes and tensions rising but a protecting force. He remembers telling two children, so very different but so very similar, the same story and receiving different responses.

He remembers a child that thought things through and gave smiles and had an easy aura around him. He remembers a child with red-brown hair and black eyes and a plain-looking face. He remembers a child that withdrew into himself and filled himself with hate and rage and anger. He remembers a black haired child with black eyes and pale skin that are a mockery of what once was.

The Sandaime is old and he remembers. He wonders what will happen when a smiling child dies and another is left alone. The Sandaime is still strong, though. He will stand through the conflict that arises and solve the issues that come forth. He is the Hokage of Konohagakure and he will not fail while the Will of Fire still lives.

***

Naruto swings listlessly, the solemn rocking motion matching a growing frown and blank blue eyes. He had never really had any friends. Too different, too hated, too stupid, too demon-like, too much of a killer. It’s all changed, over the course of a year or so, and he met people and has friends.

He has precious people. They are the Sandaime and Iruka and Sasuke and Toru. He will protect them… except, Toru isn’t in Konoha anymore. He isn’t on a mission and he might be dead.

Naruto would never have met Sasuke if it wasn’t for Toru, and even now, the Uchiha is ignoring Naruto who tries so hard to get a reaction. It’s as if Toru never existed, but Naruto knows he did.

Naruto will grow stronger so he can protect his precious people. They won’t fall like Toru. He won’t let Toru go forgotten either. He will remember the older boy with every grin, with every laugh, with every tear he sheds. He will remember and protect. This is the legacy that Toru Uchiha left to him.

***

Iruka had only spoken to the older Uchiha boy a few times. However, only speaking to someone a few times is all that’s needed to form a friendship. They weren’t very good friends, but Iruka rarely met anyone who treated Naruto like a human child.

Iruka knows the realities of being a ninja, and he knows them much better than his students do. He had never expected the Uchiha chūnin to die so young, though, with so little to his name. However, he wasn’t entirely certain that the Uchiha was dead; he had seemed the hardy type.

Furthermore, Iruka knew that the Uchiha was a genius, and Toru would make do with whatever he could get his hands on. Iruka had to hope that the shinobi would survive. Iruka had many friends, but it was always hard to watch children fall into despair and depression.

***

Stone was called up from the seabed, where it had once rested. Over the years, through chakra and work and ninjutsu, a village was created. There were seals inscribed in the stone and the wood and the buildings. There were seals engraved in the very foundations. It was Uzushiogakure.

Uzushiogakure was created from stones of the sea and the chakra and work of her people. She was created with the very seals they made. She was her people and she was their seals. With each and every new generation, new seals were created and added to those already existing. With each and every Uzukage, knowledge was given freely and chakra was paid to the village.

They were renowned for their seals, and feared for their battle prowess and the possibilities that came with their existence. It was that fear that caused their downfall. Upon their borders, an invading force grew, and even the Uzukage eventually succumbed to the might of their enemies. However, people escaped and even though the Uzukage and his ninja died, Uzushio did not die with them. For as their Yondaime had said, the sea never dies.

***

It’s the wind and water and fire. It’s the sea and storm. It’s the lightning and the waves. It’s the tears and laughter. It’s the screams and shouts. It’s the whispers and conversations. It’s the numerous hair colours, and different eye colours, and mismatched friends and families. It’s the flare of chakra. It’s the fire-bright anger. It’s the heartbeat that never dies.

It’s Uzushiogakure and her people. It’s seals and chakra. It’s a subconscious and a voice. It’s wind and sea. It’s an Uzukage that died by betrayal. It’s an unwilling Uzukage who forever wants to do their best. It’s an ANBU Commander and his ninjas. It’s the soul of a village that never asked for the death of her people.

It’s the blood that ran through the streets. It’s the seals activated for the first time. It’s the seals created for the first time and used in battle on the fly. It’s the corpses left on the streets. It’s the funeral that never occurred. It’s the scorn and hatred freely given. It’s the running of people who hide and hope to be forgotten. It’s the village engraved on another’s symbol but still forgotten. It’s the relic of a past left behind. It’s the great civilisation fallen to ruin, and forgotten by those who once held memories dear. It’s the anger and hatred and sadness and sorrow and grief and joy and happiness. It’s in the tears cried and laughed.

Uzushio was something too great and too big to be fully understood. She joined her seals with the blood of her people given unwilling and the chakra given all too freely. She looked at her people, dead and dying. She made a decision, then.

He was something not quite understood in a battle torn world. He was a step to the right of mercy and a hope held heart-deep but ignored when necessary. He was a helper and a friend. He was family and an enemy. He was everything he could be and he would give everything for Uzushio.

Uzushiogakure knew her ninja. She knew their stories and their blood. She knew their chakra and their love. She knew their hopes, their wishes, their desires, their hates. She knew their fears and their likes, their hobbies and their strife.

She knew her Shodaime. Proud and loving. He died as he lived, proud of his village and his people and loving them for it. She knew her Nidaime. She was bright and sunny. She died as she survived, living to an old age and passing on the title when the time came. She knew her Sandaime. She was hopeful and constantly struggled to do her best. She died betrayed by someone she trusted, someone who she had counted as hers. She knew her Yondaime. He was the dark secrets of a village and an easy smile for anyone who needed it. He was intelligence and had died in battle with a love in his heart and a village that didn’t want to die in his mind.

He who did not want to be the Uzukage. He who did not want to be in war. He who did not want to kill. He who had mercy. He who was a friend. He who died.

Uzushio chose him for the fact he did not reach for ambition but for protection. He would protect her people. He would bring her name back into the world. She would be loved and protected. Her people would find their leader once more. It is time. The Yondaime Uzukage is hers to love and hold. It is his soul she releases back into the world. He will come back to her and she will give him what he needs. He is the leader they chose and Uzushio accepts. He is the one who will remind the world that Uzushio will not die easy.

***

He is alive dead in pain. He is Konoha’s Uzushio’s hurting. He is fighting defending not going to break. He is aware of the restraints around his limbs; they stop his chakra from flowing properly. He is not his chakra or… not all his chakra is his. He who is Konoha’s but not Konoha’s and Uzushio’s but not Uzushio’s.

He reaches within himself (ignore the pain; it is momentary, it will not last. You have been through worst). His chakra is locked away deep within him, and although it’s there, he can’t feel it (he isn’t dead yet and he won’t die because the sea never dies). The dark (not dark but angry, grieving, sorrowful) chakra rises because it isn’t locked away as it isn’t quite his (not yet, anyway).

He grasps it but doesn’t submerge in it. He takes it and he remembers who he is and was and still is and will be in time and who he has always been.

***

They come to where they keep him tied up and chakra locked away. He lifts his head. For the first time in a while, he doesn’t move upon seeing them. They stiffen; they know something has changed, but not what.

“Tell us how to get into Konoha unnoticed,” one demands, approaching the chūnin who had seemed so close to breaking but an hour before. The chūnin smirks, and his hands come up, untied. He is free.

Toru lifts his hands and pulls his chakra, delighting in the feel. It has been a long time. Seals glow in the air and Toru smiles as he runs through the hall outside his cell. His chakra burns seals into the air as he comes across any ninja. They go down in a cry of pain and Toru takes a moment to kill them, knowing it is a necessary mercy, as they cannot survive the seals Toru uses.

Toru bounds out of the underground location. He pauses in the sun. He tilts his head at it and laughs. He is alive and he has people to care for and protect. He knows that his people are scattered and scared, but for now, everything is right in the world.

Toru turns his head east, and knows in his bones that Uzushio lies somewhere in that direction. He could run there. He would make it. However, there is a broken team somewhere and a child who still cries for a family. There’s a village with a child hated for a demon he keeps sealed. Uzushio doesn’t need Toru straight away, but people in another place do. Toru runs west. His family and friends need him. He needs them.

***

Toru hears a tree rustle ahead of him and he instantly bounces off another tree and onto the forest ground. He crouches. He’s wary and nervous (and he’s scared and frightened because he still hurts and he’s still in pain and he was tortured). An ANBU team drops down around him. He stiffens and feels his chakra rising within him (a comfort).

Toru slips his weight into his heels, and licks his cracked and dry lips as he recalls a code phrase he never thought he would need to use. “Clouds cover the sun so the trees cannot grow. Nevertheless, the sun returns on a new day and the trees grow once again.”

The ANBU have a conversation through hand signals that Toru can’t see. He doesn’t mind, but he does watch them carefully in case they attack. They move out of his way and Toru keeps his attention on them, even as he leaps to the trees and heads towards the hidden Konoha gate which is where he knows he needs to go.

He reaches it, and one of the ANBU drops next to him, keeping a two-metre distance. Toru nods in gratitude and the ANBU tilts their head before nodding back. Toru feels glad to be acknowledged, but he knows that his journey is not quite over.

A jōnin appears and opens the gate. “Who are you?” The kunoichi asks.

Toru thinks carefully, “Toru Uchiha, chūnin, #012182,” he responds (and it’s part of a truth, because Toru is also Toru Mizushima, jōnin, ANBU Commander, Yondaime Uzukage).

“Are you alright with someone coming near you? Your injuries need to be addressed,” the jōnin replies as she motions to someone out of sight.

Toru shakes his head. “No one comes near,” he hisses out, fear rising.

“You need to get your injuries healed,” the kunoichi replies, hand moving closer to her weapons pouch.

Toru feels a small shiver go through his body and his mind is tinged with thoughts of staywarybecarefulyou’resafebutdon’ttrustfornowwherearemypeople? Toru stills his body just as another shiver racks it. “I need to see Sasuke and my team first,” he replies. “I have to see them.” He knows that he’s pushing himself, but he also knows he will keep holding this wariness in his body and ready to unleash danger in a second until he’s sure he’s safe and that his people are alright.

“I won’t hurt them,” Toru says, suddenly realising that it may be the cause for the jōnin’s hesitation. “I will do anything as long as you don’t hurt them. If anyone hurts them, I will destroy them,” he growls out.

“He’s better than others,” the ANBU says in a monotone voice. “It may be more harmful to remain in such a state of tension. It should be safe to let others around him.”

Toru glances at the ANBU (and longs for his own ANBU). “I’ll let someone heal me quickly as long as I see them soon,” he says. “I will be tense until I see them, until I know that they’re safe.”

The jōnin nods, “Alright. We’re going to take you somewhere where you can meet them. Do you want to avoid some places?”

“Small enclosed spaces,” Toru says. “Dark rooms with the door shut and no way to escape, places underground.”

“We’ll meet them at a training ground,” the kunoichi says. “ANBU-san, can you find Sasuke Uchiha, Kiku Kurama, Shou Shimizu, and Natsumi Hayashi and bring them.”

The ANBU nods before they disappear in a blur of movement. Toru tenses before relaxing slightly, feeling his chakra rise in preparation for action. The kunoichi leads him through the trees, keeping a slow and steady pace. They reach a small grass clearing and the pair drop down to the ground.

“There will be people around and ready for if anything happens. If you feel as if you are going to be triggered or will do something, just flare your chakra.”

“Hai,” Toru says, crouching on the ground. He digs his toes into the soft dirt, slightly damp from rain. The kunoichi nods and leaps onto a tree branch, staying in sight.

Toru freezes when he hears footsteps, but relaxes (no one made footsteps where he had been kept). From between the trees, Sasuke looks out. There’s a scowl firmly set on his face, and upon seeing Toru, Sasuke’s expression turns surprised.

“You bastard! You promised you wouldn’t leave!” Sasuke shouts suddenly, and Toru takes a deep breath (and stays calm).

“I returned,” Toru says instead. “I’m sorry I left and made you worry, but my team was in danger and I had to keep them safe. They’re my people. You’re my people.” Sasuke doesn’t take a step towards Toru, so Toru moves closer. He hesitates before hugging the younger Uchiha. “I missed you so much,” Toru confides. “I was so worried I would never get to see you again. The thought of living to see you helped me get through.”

“What happened?” Sasuke asks, hands tightly holding onto Toru who doesn’t care (he’s home with his people and they’re safe and protected; Toru won’t let anything happen to them and not even death itself can stop him).

“I… I can’t tell you right now,” Toru replies as he closes his eyes (and ignores the red splashed across his eyelids). “I might another time, but not right now.”

“You came back,” Sasuke says a minute later, wonder clear in his voice. “They said you were missing in action. They expected you to die. I thought you were dead.”

Toru laughs, relieved, and maybe a pitch to high, but no one called him out on it. “It’s going to be much harder to kill me than a simple mission gone wrong,” he says in reply. He lets go of Sasuke and steps back, starting to feel walls enclose on him. He gives Sasuke an apologetic smile.

“Toru-san, you’ve got incoming,” the kunoichi calls from her tree branch.

Toru sits down on the ground, and Sasuke sits next to him. “Stay with me?” Toru asks.

Sasuke nods, “I’m not going to leave you ever.”

Toru laughs, a grin finding its way onto his face. “Alright kid, now buck up, my team should be here.” His voice lowers, “If anyone tells you to move away from me, do it. I might strike out by accident.” Sasuke frowns but nods. He shifts closer to Toru who simply pulls the younger boy closer to him. Toru’s team arrives.

Toru stiffens, but Sasuke leans into his side, bringing him back to the present and the warm body resting against him. “Toru?” Shou chokes out, seeming to be the only one to be able to speak.

“What? Thought you could get rid of me that easily?” Toru teases before offering them a half-grin. “I had to see that you guys were alright,” he shrugs, “I needed you guys to be safe.”

He stands up, pulling Sasuke to stand up with him. “Fuck, we left you behind,” Kiku says, rubbing her eyes. “Fuck.”

“I ordered you to,” Toru says sternly, meeting Kiku’s light green eyes with his own black ones. “If you hadn’t done it, we all would have died. It was my choice and my call. I’m just glad to know you guys are alright.”

“We’re alright? You’re the one who was–” Kiku is cut off by Natsumi cuffing her gently over the head.

“Toru-kun, you better be getting those injuries looked at,” Natsumi says.

“You’re injured?” Sasuke says, twisting to look up at Toru. “What are you doing standing? You need to get your injuries looked at!”

Toru ruffles Sasuke’s hair, “You’re too young to be worrying about me kid. Worry about yourself, and yes Natsumi-sensei, I am. I just…” Natsumi nods and Toru offers her a grin, glad she understands what he’s getting at.

“Toru-san, will you now allow your injuries to be looked over and healed, if necessary?” The kunoichi asks.

Toru stretches his arms, raising them above his head. He nods, “Yes. Slow movements only,” he responds.

“You will also need to report, are you alright to be alone or do you require someone you know to be nearby?” The kunoichi asks with a pointed look at Sasuke.

Toru steps in front of Sasuke, blocking the jōnin’s gaze. “I’ll stay,” Natsumi says. “Kiku-chan, Shou-san, can you take care of Sasuke-kun for now?”

“I want to stay,” Sasuke demands.

Toru adopts a contorted expression, “Please go Sasuke,” he says softly. “I’ll come to you soon.”

“You better,” Sasuke replies, hesitating for a moment, before striding out of the clearing. Toru looks up at his teammates. Kiku dodges his gaze and follows Sasuke. Shou meets his stare with one of their own, they nods at him before following the other two.

“Thanks sensei,” Toru says quietly before turning to look at the kunoichi. The jōnin jumps down and approaches Toru. “The only injuries I have are from physical torture and running from where I was to Konoha barefooted.”

“Do you want to be healed here or in the hospital?” The kunoichi asks, and Toru shifts his weight nervously.

“Here please,” he replies quickly. He senses Natsumi step closer to him and Toru forces himself to still and calm down.

“Very well,” the kunoichi says as her hands glow green. “Please stand still. I’m going to run a diagnosis jutsu. We’ll see what injuries are the worst and check for any broken or fractured bones.”

Toru nods and holds himself still as he feels the unknown chakra run over and through his body. He feels his own rise in protest but pushes it down (he’s safe; he doesn’t need to fight right now, not when his people are nearby).

“I’m going to heal your arms first, alright?” Toru nods; the kunoichi takes a few steps forward, and holds out her hands. Toru lifts his arm and straightens it. The kunoichi slowly heals the deep cuts, bruises, and burns that cover his arms. Toru grimaces as the skin on his shoulder aches as it slowly heals. The skin and muscle growing and knitting together.

“I can do either your torso next or your legs, which aren’t too bad. I sensed that the worst injuries are on your torso, which will therefore take the longest,” the jōnin says softly.

Toru breathes out, and focusses on the sounds of the forest around him and the sensations he feels. He can feel the grass beneath his feet and hear the sound of laugher floating through the forest. He can feel the ache of his bloodied feet and blood dripping down his body from reopened scabs during his run back to Konoha.

Toru takes his top off, wincing as it brushes past the deep cut on his hip. The kunoichi doesn’t say anything but her facial expression becomes flat. She starts healing the burn on his back, but the moment Toru feels something come into contact with his skin, he flinches. His chakra rises and he jerks backwards towards the trees. He bares his teeth in a snarl as his enemies come closer with their bloodied tools and anger-coated questions and insults and threats.

“Toru-kun, come back to us. You’re in Konohagakure, and you were getting healed,” Toru blinks as he hears Natsumi’s voice (and she wasn’t there but that’s all right, because she’s here now).

“I’m safe,” Toru breathes out quietly as he relaxes (and this feels somewhat familiar; after all, this isn’t the first time he’s been caught by his enemies).

Natsumi nods, “You are,” she agrees. “What happened?”

“Flashback,” Toru says. “I couldn’t see anyone behind me and I- I don’t trust her,” he shrugs. “Sorry.”

“It’s understandable Toru-san; however, the wound needs to be treated, if we can’t heal it. Would you be okay with Natsumi-san putting a burn salve over it? I will heal your other injuries afterwards,” the still unnamed kunoichi says. Toru nods and Natsumi takes the burn salve off the kunoichi.

***

“Report,” the Hokage says, looking at the kunoichi in front of him. Rarely in times of peace, is the Hokage told that a ninja came through the Ivy Gate. The Sandaime had been told the moment the gate had been accessed.

“The good news is that he’s of sound mind. He had one flashback, but appeared to be at ease when surrounded by people he knows. He refused to be healed until he had seen his team and family, as well. He mentioned that he had been tortured physically but there appear to be no major mental symptoms. He may have triggers and flashbacks, but responded fairly quickly to his sensei’s voice. In summary, he seems extremely well adjusted to what happened and is working through it fairly well. His reaction is close to that of a jōnin’s. The recommendation is to have him on a mission with limited physical contact and fighting and see how it goes – without the rest of his genin team. However, not any longer than a month due to the mental state of his family, which was worsened due to the massacre,” the kunoichi reports.

“What his stance towards Konoha?” The Sandaime asks, knowing the importance of the question.

“He’s slightly angry at the fact he wasn’t found, but he appears to loathe himself for feeling that way. He was desperate to see his team and instantly relaxed upon being around them. I doubt that he’s a possible traitor, but there’s a single watch organised for him currently. If he breaks or lashes out, we don’t want to be responsible,” the jōnin replies.

“Good, keep that going until his next mission. Do you have members in mind to be on the same team?”

“Miya Yamanaka and Jirou Kagae,” the kunoichi replies.

“Dismissed,” the Hokage says after writing the names down. “Send him in on your way out.”

“Of course Hokage-sama,” comes the reply as the jōnin bows and exits the office. The Hokage surveys the chūnin that enters the room next. The twelve-year-old looks almost the same as when the Sandaime last saw him, but the Hokage’s experienced eye can spot the differences.

Beforehand, the chūnin had been awkward and thoughtful, suspicious but still loyal. Now, Hiruzen Sarutobi sees a chūnin who’s something more than he was. It’s not a huge change, but he seems to have grown into himself.

The tan chūnin bows, “Hokage-sama,” he says before looking up, eyes quickly scouring the room.

“Toru-kun, it is good to see you again. I’m sorry it has to be this way,” the Sandaime says, watching as Toru turns his attention to his leader.

“The ninja who captured me were chūnin levelled at least, but there were no signs of any affiliation. There were about six in total at the base, and possibly others that I didn’t see. They were trying to get information in how to get into Konoha unnoticed. I refused to tell them anything.”

“How did you escape?” The Hokage asks.

Toru allows a smirk to cross his lips, “They made a mistake,” he says simply. “They gave me enough time to think past the pain and I used that to my advantage.”

The Sandaime nods, “I am glad that you managed to escape. Teams were being organised to find you, but it takes time.”

“I understand Hokage-sama,” Toru replies, eyes flicking over the room once more.

“You have leave for a few days so you can steady yourself after the ordeal you went through. You will be notified when you are needed for a mission. We will keep you on the active rosters, but you will have at least two days of leave. If you need help, you can seek it at the hospital,” the Hokage says.

Toru bows, “Thank you Hokage-sama.”

“Dismissed.”

***

Sasuke is thrilled that his probably-cousin is back; he is, really. It’s just… the older Uchiha left him alone and mightn’t have come back. Konoha didn’t even free him; Toru had to do that himself. Maybe Sasuke’s striking out, trying to find a direction for his angerhaterage.

It’s night time now, and Sasuke is just listening to Toru breath; the gentle sound soothing and washing away his worries. Toru shifts and Sasuke sees the chūnin raise himself up so he can look at Sasuke. “Still awake?” He asks quietly, and for a moment, he looks lost and very much afraid.

Sasuke hums in response, not knowing what to do with the look of fear on Toru’s face. Toru’s face creases into a smile, and he suddenly appears desolate but there’s also something very close to hope on his face. “Want to hear a story?” He asks.

Sasuke nods, “C’mon over here then,” Toru says, black eyes watching Sasuke. The pair huddles together. “This is a story that was once spoken around the crackles of a campfire, to children ready for bed; it was spoken in hushed whispers on missions.

“Many years ago, there was a young kunoichi wandering. She belonged to no clan, and avoiding partaking in the clan wars that were occurring at the time. One time, she sought shelter in a cave due to the harsh thunderstorm. However, upon exploring the cave she found that it extended and extended. The kunoichi walked until she found herself standing in the sunshine beneath lush trees.

“All around her, it was silent. Nonetheless, the wind quietly ruffled the trees above her, and she smiled content to have found herself out of the rain. However, in the dark something watched her; its eyes glinted in the half-light. The kunoichi whirled around, searching for the minute reflection of light she had seen. She knew something was up. Unable to find any evidence of anyone around, she started walking through the forest.

“She stopped at a river and took a drink. Opposite her, a stag stepped out of the forest. The young kunoichi stared; the stag had golden horns. It tossed its head at the girl, and lopes off. The girl follows it, entranced by its beauty.

“They come to a stop where the forest ended, before them lay the desert. The girl looked around for the stag, but it disappeared while she had been looking at the desert. A yip below caught her attention; it was a fox. The fox looked up at her with golden eyes, and ran off. The kunoichi followed.

“The fox led her to an oasis and the sun beat down on them. She found herself unbearably thirsty and took a drink from the oasis. It is then that she noticed something in the oasis gleaming. She bent down, hoping to find something valuable that she could sell for money. Instead, she fell into the water. It was cool and refreshing; however, she struggled to find her way up. Eventually, the kunoichi spotted a fleck of gold, and she swam towards it. A dolphin with gold streaks nudged her hands, and she grabbed its fin.

“The dolphin pulled her up until they reached the surface. She let go of the dolphin, gasping for breath as she held her head above the water. She searched for anything that looked like land nearby, but all she could see is water. It stretched endlessly, blue and beautiful, but she was cold and thought it felt like death.

“She ascended into the sky as stone beneath her feet rose. She looked down, but there was no glitter of gold, only grey. The stone shuddered and moved. The kunoichi channelled chakra to her feet so she didn’t fall. She wondered what brought her here, a mix of curiosity and wanderlust. She regretted her wandering now; she should have stayed with her father, old as he was. She couldn’t bear to watch him grow old and die, or deal with finding his corpse due to being caught in the crossfire. The kunoichi’s family had been five strong once. However, her mother had passed away in a fight, with her twin brothers falling in battle as well. Her father had never been a shinobi, but she had always been a kunoichi.

“The stone came to a stop, and the girl scrutinized the area around her. The stone lowered, so the kunoichi was standing equal to the water. Just beneath the surface, something big and gold waited. The kunoichi took a deep breath and stepped onto the manta ray. There was nothing else she could do. The manta ray began swimming.

 “It came to a stop before a landmass, and the kunoichi stood on the ground, grateful for the earth beneath her feet once more. When she turned to thank the manta ray, there was nothing there. She looked around, and in front of her eyes, a gladiolus bloomed. The kunoichi laughed, finding it ironic that a flower known as ‘sword lily’ had bloomed. ‘It means strength of character, honour, and conviction,’ something said from behind her.

“The girl spun around, and finds herself staring at a small bird on the ground. It chirped at her and the kunoichi smiled at it. Its form glowed gold and the young kunoichi was forced to shut her eyes. When she opened them, in front of her in gold lines was a book about seals. The kunoichi’s name was Manami.”

Toru stops, and looks at Sasuke who’s almost asleep. “What h’ppened next?” The boy slurs, “That’s not an ending.”

Toru smiles and states, “The rest of the story is something that was once well known. Manami learnt from the book and passed it down to her son, who married an Uzumaki. They were the ones who called Uzushiogakure up from the seabed. Manami’s son became the first Uzukage.”

“Uzushio…?” Sasuke mumbles and Toru huffs out a soft laugh.

“Another time Sasuke,” Toru replies as he tugs the boy closer to himself and closes his eyes. “For now, sleep.”

***

Toru Uchiha was taken captive by a force of ninja (affiliation unknown). He was tortured for around three days (actual timeframe is unknown). He returned to Konohagakure four days after he was lost in action. He appeared to be of sound mind with few flashbacks. He is on watch for possible betrayal but is expected to recover.

Chapter Text

Toru rests his back against the dark tree trunk behind him. At ease for the first time since the mission has begun. It’s his first mission since coming back (since realising who he is, who he was, since accepting he’s Toru Mizushima he’s been different), and he’s sure that at least one of his teammates is assessing him (he has ordered the same thing before… when he was a Uzushio shinobi).

In the small clearing, surrounded by thick trees and scruffy bushes, lay two Konoha-nin, sleeping, silent, and still deadly. Toru scrutinises the clearing once more, revaluating his watch position.

It’s a good position, something guarding his back and able to look down and see his companions and the clear ground surrounding him. If he channels chakra to his eyes, he can make out more details. Moreover, with the wind factored in, any sound should travel towards him. He’s safe.

The silence had, at first, been unbearable, leaving Toru stuck with his thoughts running in circles and frustrating him. However, he’s slowly been reaching an equilibrium within himself.

Toru flicks open a notebook, writing utensil in his other hand as he looks down at the page. He taps the first page, still blank, but waiting to be written on. It had been ‘recommended’ that he pick something up that would keep his hands busy, keep his mind focussed on the present. Toru starts sketching a base seal. Base seals had been the first thing he was taught in Uzushio; there are twelve, and each is more complex as the number goes up. The easiest is the one chain seal, while the hardest is the twelve tower seal.

It tears at Toru. There’s an open, gaping wound on his heart, which is yet to heal. He’s alive, and that still astounds him, but Uzushio is in ruins, her people scattered. It puts a bitter taste on his mouth, because he remembers the blood in the streets and what Uzushio had been. He’s still alive, yes, but for what purpose? He may be the last left alive who still knows Uzushio’s skills and strengths. It aches because he’s alone and stranded, and for all that Sasuke tries, he cannot be a village. It isn’t enough.

Toru closes the notebook, gently, quietly, and sighs softly. He doesn’t know what to make of the world. He is Toru Uchiha, a Konoha-nin. He is Toru Mizushima, an Uzushio-nin. He accepts that, acknowledges the facts. He’s alive and breathing, surviving and living. His village (and it is his village, because Uzushio was his first home, and Konoha – for all her beauty – is not the same, and he wouldn’t want them to be) fell, and it was a long time ago.

Toru tilts his head back, staring through green leaves up into the sky. It’s confusing, being here, when he had been alive so long ago. The world has changed, but in many ways, it hasn’t. There’s still fighting, still torture, still death, still fear and hate. The world, however, has been ravaged by another war, and tensions are still high between the hidden villages, although not as high as there was before Uzushio fell.

The sky has remained unchanged. That knowledge grounds him; reminds him; centres him. Toru lived surrounded by the sky, the sea, and the ground. He lives surrounded by tall trees and the sky partially hidden above. As an Uzushio shinobi, Toru should hate it. Hate being separated from the sea and the sky. He doesn’t though. It’s a change, and a jarring one.

It’s better, like this, Toru thinks with a wry smile, relaxing among the nightlife of Konoha’s forests. It’s different, and for all it feels wrong – it feels right too. Toru Uchiha is a Mizushima as well, probably the last. He knows Uzushio just as much as he knows Konoha, but they’re both home. The tall, old trees that Toru Uchiha grew up in support him, remind him that he’s not in Uzushio, but still home nonetheless.

Toru drops to a lower branch, making his way towards the ground. He lands in a crouch, softening his landing with a touch of chakra. His teammates for this mission – a chūnin and a jōnin – stir, a small hitch in breathing letting Toru know that they’re both near consciousness.

He touches the kunoichi’s leg. She doesn’t move and her breathing evens out once more, but a heartbeat later, she’s getting up. She gestures with one hand, and Toru shakes his head. He hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. Miya Yamanaka offers him a nod before setting off to find a watch position.

Toru unwraps the blanket he brought with him, before searching for a position to sleep in – a safe one. He can lay down in the clearing itself or near the edge of the clearing, but either position seems too open. He can see ways to be attacked there, ways he could die there. With a huff, Toru walks up one of the trunks that surround the clearing. In a small fork, he sits down. He may be uncomfortable, but, at the very least, he’s safe.

***

Miya Yamanaka pauses in her writing to stare down at Toru, who is quietly sleeping in an upright position on the tree opposite her. It’s a precarious position, but one many Konoha-nin take when they feel they are in dangerous territory. It’s telling that the chūnin decides to take that position above everything else. However, Miya can tell that the shinobi is sleeping; he may be a chūnin but she can tell that he’s fast asleep and not just pretending to sleep. It’s a good sign that the young chūnin trusts enough to sleep surrounded by strangers.

As a jōnin, Miya is, perhaps, a bit over qualified for a basic courier mission. It’s a B-ranked mission, which are mainly given to chūnin who know what they’re doing. However, Miya is not really taking the mission for the pay – she is being paid, but not just for the completion of the mission.

Miya has not been chūnin for some time, but the majority of her missions are A- or B-ranked ones. It is due to the fact that the Yamanaka primarily serves the intelligence and psychoanalysis division of the Konoha jōnin subsections.

There is a multitude of divisions within the jōnin rank for Konoha, with each jōnin being placed in a certain faction due to their skillset, which affects the type of missions they mainly go on. That is not to say, they cannot go on any mission, but they tend to have a certain disposition for a specific type of mission. Jōnins can be numerous divisions, and the subsections themselves are mainly kept under wraps.

Miya finishes her report for the day. As part of the intelligence and psychoanalysis division, she often works with other Konoha-nin to assess their mental stability, their likeliness to continue taking missions without endangering Konoha, and possibility of a ninja betraying Konoha. Miya has been given the mission to assess Toru Uchiha and report her findings.

Miya is glad to find that Toru seems stable, but then he also was one of two survivors from a massacre over half a year ago. That sort of thing left mental scars, and torture would not help any way. Miya’s prepared to deal with the twelve-year-old if he breaks down, if he shows any sign of betrayal towards Konoha.

The Konoha jōnin doubts her faction is the only one keeping an eye on the boy. She has no proof to base her suspicions on, but a ninja returning from torture – by himself and after half a year as a chūnin – is something the ANBU would take or at least watch. She knows the barest details of the chūnin’s escape; somehow his captors had made a mistake, and he had escaped; in pain and in fear.

Rare as it is for a ninja to be captured in peacetime, it still occurs. Although, rarely are those captured chūnin or genin. The main captured forces are jōnin and ANBU due to the tough missions they take, and the fact that they know more about Konoha and her secrets.

Miya knows the chūnin’s genin sensei – Natsumi Hayashi. Not well, she will admit, but she has heard of the jōnin. One of the more quiet ones whose mission speciality laid only with infiltration, which – admittedly – does lead to numerous other types of missions. From what Miya has heard Hayashi is the kind of jōnin to fully train her students and prepare them. Plus, the chūnin is a Uchiha, and every shinobi worth their salt – especially those in clans – knows how hard the Uchiha clan pushed their members, especially those who were going to be a ninja. It was largely unheard of a career genin from the Uchiha clan, and although career chūnin existed, they were few and far in between in comparison to the rest of the forces. The Yamanaka had looked into the chūnin’s genin team as well – another clan child and a chūnin from a non-clan background. Interesting, but not really worth her time. They were both average ninja among the chūnin with nothing outstanding about them. No, the chūnin’s team has little to do with his success, Miya figured.

There is something off about the chūnin and his story. She has no doubt that what the chūnin said is true, but the details behind it… something is missing. There’s something she’s missing – although she can’t figure out what. Konoha hadn’t been built in a day, and neither will Miya’s report. She has time.

***

It is early morning when the news comes – at least, it is told to him.

Jakkaru doesn’t technically lead a specific section of Uzushio’s ANBU, not as ANBU Commander. He checks over each division and how they are working, looks over the whole operation while still running necessary missions. Uzushio is a small village, the ANBU forces are smaller still, and every able ANBU ran missions until they retire or return to the normal forces.

He has just returned from a lone assassination mission a few hours prior, and is going through the information that has gathered on his desk while he had been gone. The leader of the barrier ANBU division rushes into his office, another ANBU in tow.

The barrier division of the ANBU did more than check over the seal barriers that defend Uzushio and keep her secrets safe. The barrier division runs almost all patrols outside and inside of Uzushio. They collect important patrol reports and checks on all ninja who are in Uzu no Kuni – Uzushio’s ninja and those who are under surveillance.

Jakkaru is on his feet even as he registers who has entered his office. “Tonbo-san, Saru-san, report,” the ANBU Commander orders.

“Saru-san brought information to me that is extremely worrying,” Tonbo replies. “There appear to be enemy forces coming towards us.” Jakkaru waits for his ANBU to gather his thoughts, even as his mind flickers through a host of situations.

“Approaching from our east, numerous klicks out, is a fleet of boats are approaching. They appear to carry Kiri-nin. Saru-san didn’t dare bring her patrol team any closer for fear of being caught and spotted. The amount of Kiri-nin sensed is enough for an invading army, and this seems to be only the first wave. They somehow managed to get close without anyone realising – a genjutsu or a seal or some ninjutsu; we don’t know.” Tonbo falls silent and Jakkaru thinks; thinks of what to do and what might be coming.

“Tonbo-san, can you gather the rest of the leaders? They should all be in Uzushio, although they may not be in the barracks.”

“Hai, Jakkaru-sama,” Tonbo replies with a short bow, before flickering out of the office.

“Saru-san, can you give me your report, with details?”

Saru dips her head in a nod and starts talking. “My team and I were doing an ordered patrol of quadrants two and three. At 2100, two days ago, the sensor on my team reported that he could sense numerous chakra systems approaching. However, we couldn’t see anything. There was no disturbance regarding our own individual chakra systems that suggested that there was genjutsu. We could only see the boats when they were about two klicks away from our position, and that was with the senses seal.

“We counted sixteen boats at minimum, and my second-in-command suggested that there were about thirty boats in total. My sensor indicated that there were roughly eight jōnin per boat and ten chūnin along with them. However, due to the amount of ninja approaching it was hard to detect individual chakra systems. We knew they were Kiri-nin based on the boat design, and the fact that we managed to see one of the jōnin with a Kirigakure hiatai-ate.”

“Where is your team now?” Jakkaru responds, as his chakra flares and pushes against his control. He activates his ANBU team’s seal with a small thought. The seal warmed up on his wrist; it sent a pulse of chakra to identical seals on three other ANBU.

“We are on border control still, I left my second-in-command with strict orders to not engage but keep a record of any information we discover or find out. My team knows not to tell anyone what they have seen. I thought that the information was too vital to give to a messenger bird.”

“Good work Saru-san,” Jakkaru replies. “Keep this information to yourself for now. Get some rest. We have work ahead.”

“Hai, Commander,” Saru responds with a short bow, before leaving.

“Tora, shadow Saru-san for me. Do not let her see you and if she shares any information regarding Kiri-nin and an invasion force, take out Saru-san and whomever she talks to. Use any means necessary,” Jakkaru orders.

“Hai, Taichō,” Tora responds before flickering away to follow Saru.

“Tori, Kame, I need you to guard Uzukage-sama. Tell her to come to the ANBU council room immediately.” The two ANBU bow before leaving in a blur. Jakkaru bites back a sigh, knowing he cannot show weakness. What is to come will weigh on him, and he knows he has much to do.

***

The boy wakes up with the smallest hitch in breath, almost unnoticeable – if they weren’t all ninja. A nightmare. The boy’s eyes open a tiny bit, and he shifts, as if in sleep, to check his surroundings. Jirou approves, even if it had been noticeable.

Jirou doesn’t mention and neither does his other teammate – Miya Yamanaka, a jōnin who primarily works with the intelligence and psychoanalysis jōnin division. Jirou would’ve been disappointed if Konoha hadn’t sent someone along with him to observe and report about the Uchiha chūnin.

The chūnin has been surprisingly cautious so far, many new chūnin aren’t, Jirou knows that. Caution only came from experience, although, the boy’s caution had been expected. New chūnin didn’t come out of torture untouched. They didn’t come out without eyes watching them either.

There had been Uchiha in the ANBU. They were helpful assets with their eyes and mastery over genjutsu. However, it is clear that the Uchiha chūnin had yet to unlock his Sharingan. Otherwise, the Uchiha would’ve used it to do a check over his surroundings. This doesn’t surprise Jirou either. The Uchiha is mixed blood, which means that he is unlikely to unlock his Sharingan, although it is possible. The ANBU has records of such things happening, but those who unlock their Sharingan tend to have weaker Sharingan than those who are full Uchiha.

That is not to say that Jirou doesn’t find himself respecting the boy, even if it’s only a small amount. If Jirou had been captain, he would’ve pushed his team straight away to see if they knew their limits; many team leaders did such things to know their team better. The jōnin had done that exact trick. And after about an hour of running, the young chūnin had spoken up before reaching his limits to ask for a slower, but steadier, pace. Knowing your limits is important.

The chūnin hasn’t attempted to reach out to his teammates, but has done nothing to isolate himself either. He is weak, still. A baby chūnin, but Jirou can see that the boy might have potential; that he may be picked as ANBU in later life. However, potential did not make an ANBU. No, Jirou needs to find out if the boy had the mindset and guts to be an ANBU, whether he would be able to live in the darker side of the ninja life. He has to push and prod the Uchiha, find the boy’s breaking point. If he could get the boy to spar with him, he’d be able to put the kid through his paces, see the boy’s reaction to a stranger touching him. More importantly, test the boy’s reaction to lightning jutsu. You couldn’t have an ANBU who is scared of lightning.

Jirou had time, though. They need to get to the town near the outskirts of Konoha’s borders and pick up the scroll they’re being paid to take to another town. Then the trio need to bypass Konoha’s main border post, pick up the patrol reports, and return to Konoha. He’s sure he can find time somewhere along the way to spar with the chūnin. Yes, a spar would be good to test the boy’s abilities, test his mental and physical strength. It probably wouldn’t be a particularly good spar for Jirou, who is far above the boy’s level, but it is his mission to look into the boy’s strength, and he would do so.

***

Toru worries. He reckons he has a lot to worry about, but he doesn’t have the time to worry about everything. He probably should be focussing on the bigger worries he has, instead of the smaller worries that trouble him more than anyone else.

Toru’s been back for some time, although he had only spent a few days in Konoha. He had spent most of it with Sasuke. It hurts Toru to think how much Sasuke had changed in the short amount of time he had been gone. The younger Uchiha is more cautious, quieter, and had kept himself distanced from Toru but almost always sticking nearby. It makes Toru ache because he never meant for this to happen, had never wanted for Sasuke to change.

It feels like they’re on the edge of something and Toru doesn’t know what. Despite his age – despite his experience – he doesn’t know what’s coming, can’t guess what is going to happen. All he knows is that Sasuke and he stand on a clifftop and they could go tumbling off, falling downwards, and they could crash and everything will then be irreparable. Toru doesn’t want that to happen, and maybe that’s selfish but… but he’s lost his family twice now. First when Uzushio fell, and her people with it. Second when Itachi Uchiha (missing-nin, traitor, kin-killer, Sasuke’s brother, his cousin’s best friend, kin – and all the more dangerous because of it) killed his family, almost killed him, without caring (and maybe that sets of warning bells but he doesn’t care because sometimes there are no reasons).

Toru doesn’t believe – never has believed – in a God, in Kami, in a higher power. He doesn’t believe it because surely, surely if there is some higher power, they would’ve helped. They would’ve saved people – would have saved Uzushio. If there is a higher power, Toru would prefer to tear it down and bath in its blood, because that’s what it deserves for letting Uzushio fall, for letting the Uchiha be killed, for letting a kid be blamed for a monster sealed away.

Nonetheless, for this, for Sasuke and family, for that Toru will pray, will hope, will ask, beg for a chance and for a future that is bright for the both of them, together.

The situation with Sasuke isn’t the only worry Toru has on the forefront of his mind. He’s noticed that Kiku has been avoiding him. It isn’t obvious; after all, Toru has little spare time between his therapy sessions, psyche evaluations, hospital check-ups, and hanging out with Sasuke. However, Toru had sought his genin teammates and sensei, wanting to check up on them – it was a trait that had carried over from his life in Uzushio (you always, always checked on your teammates after a mission, especially missions gone wrong).

Toru doesn’t know why Kiku would be avoiding him, can’t see a reason for the other chūnin to do so.

Toru sighs and sits down crossed legged on the bed he has been given in the border outpost. Maybe it isn’t that he can’t figure out a reason but he hasn’t been looking at the situation clearly. He closes his eyes.

Toru hasn’t done much meditation in this life, but he knows what to do. His mind is constantly thinking, constantly moving, never resting. He needs to sort out his thoughts, his emotions.

It’s difficult because his mind keeps flickering from one train of thought to another and it doesn’t seem to stop. He can’t seem to control it. A memory rises to the front of his mind, calling for his attention. He remembers (his sensei tells him to stop, to breathe, to calm down and stop thinking – he’s intelligent, smart, capable, but that can hinder him if he isn’t careful and he has to be careful, he’s a shinobi; focus on one thing Toru, work your way through that and then move on). Of course, that doesn’t help too much, but he has a starting place and knows what he should do.

He thinks of Uzushio and decides to start there. He thinks of Uzushio’s rising, twisting buildings with her curved slopes and tiled roofs (tiles made for seals and for battles, tiles made for Uzushio’s fighters to have an advantage, tiles made for if battle came to Uzushio). Uzushio is – was – had been? – surrounded by the sea with rolling hills and cliffs of stone.

He calls to mind the trees that were bent over by the harsh wind and survived on the rocky hills and steep cliffs. He calls to mind the bushes and trees that lived on the coast and occasionally appeared in Uzushio with thin, weedy branches that could hold more weight than their appearance suggested.

Memories of buildings with forever changing tile colours and cream and red and pale blue and many other colours comes to mind. Buildings that foreign ninja could never navigate but any Uzushio ninja would leap off and onto and from without thinking about.

Toru’s memories of the village are tempered by sorrow and grief and longing and loss. He could push the emotions away; he could ignore them (but if you push everything away, if you ignore it all – it doesn’t help Toru, you can’t do that to yourself. Reach out Toru, get help, find help, accept them and everything will get better. Trust in that, trust me). For what he had and for what he has, he won’t do so – he won’t hide them. His emotions are deeper than grief and sorrow – they’re there but at the front, a shield, a block. Toru sweeps them away because he is sorrowful and he grieves, but there’s more to Uzushio than sorrow and grief, more to life than longing and loss.

Uzushio fell, fell hard, fell fast, fell quickly, fell silent.

He’s angry. So, so angry of what Uzushio has become, of what happened to his village, his people. It’s more than rage and anger, though. He’s scared too. Scared of the same thing happening, scared of losing everything he loves, scared of losing himself. He’s scared of what it all means – that he’s back and remembers.

Toru acknowledges all this, accepts all this. He decides against this.

Uzushio is was a happy place. For Toru to ignore that is forgetting what Uzushio was about, what the most important part of her was. Toru doesn’t know what the world has in store for him or what will come. He worries over this, but he shouldn’t. What will come, will come – he knows that. He will fight against it if he needs; go with it if he wants.

Toru understands this about himself – this meaning that the future can hold whatever it will and if he doesn’t like it, Toru will fight with everything he is and everything he has.

He moves onto other matters. He thinks of his friends (and wonders if that’s too strong of a word – are they his friends?). Iruka had sought him out a day and a half after his return. The older chūnin hadn’t really said much, only offered the Uchiha a half-smile and murmured that he had been missed. The chūnin is surprisingly sharp and had seemed unsurprised at Toru’s return, and the faith Iruka had in Toru reminds him that he has people he can trust.

Naruto is another person he counts as a friend, even if he’s closer to Sasuke. He hasn’t seen the younger boy since he got back, but Iruka had assured him that the boy is better than when Toru had been gone – happier, now.

Toru sighs, centres himself on his breathing, and waits for the next thought (problem) to cross his mind. It isn’t Sasuke who crosses his mind, which is surprising and not at the same time. Toru can understand Sasuke’s response, his actions, and believes that together they can get passed it; that they can still be family. No, Sasuke does not cross his mind because Toru accepts his emotions and thoughts regarding the subject. Instead, Kiku Kurama crosses his mind.

His teammate (although, they weren’t teammates any more) has been avoiding him. It makes him worry, scares him, makes him fearful because she’s his teammate and that’s important, vital. She’s his teammate and avoiding him and hedoesn’twanttoloseherandhe’s–

Breathing. Steady and still, Toru’s chest moves as he slowly breathes. He attempts to focus on darkness, on the black of his eyelids. He calms himself through the memories of a village by the sea, reminds himself of a black-eyed boy who is family first and foremost, thinks of a teammate who still talks to him and stands by him, thinks of his friends.

He breathes – and maybe that’s enough, for now.

If Toru had lost a teammate to torture and thought them dead, only for that teammate to return to the village alone and by their own skills, what would Toru think? Toru knows himself, maybe not that well and not thoroughly, but he knows that he would blame himself. He thinks of how Kiku couldn’t meet his eyes when he had returned to Konoha. He thinks he can understand what the problem is, but can’t think how to fix it. However, he doesn’t have to try anything alone. He can ask for help (and he’ll receive it because he has friends he can trust).

Toru opens his eyes and stares down at skin darkened by the sun and due to his own genetics. He thinks his hands should be shaking, but they remain steady. He’s a shinobi.

***

Jirou thought the mission was going to go quicker, but instead the jōnin – Miya Yamanaka – had decided that the trio is stay in the outpost for an extra day. It isn’t like they don’t have the time – and that they are waiting for one last patrol report – but he finds himself frustrated with the lack of activity. However, having time on his hands meant that he could challenge the younger chūnin to a spar.

Jirou meets black eyes and nods. The boy shifts his weight and doesn’t move. Jirou moves forward at a speed that most chūnin are capable of, and mentally sighs. The boy standing still is a bad move – it means he’s prepared to defend, and as Jirou is both older and stronger, the boy is less likely to meet Jirou’s blows.

Just as Jirou reaches the younger chūnin, the boy moves, moving outward and away from Jirou. Perhaps it might have made other chūnin pause, but Jirou isn’t normal and he easily corrects his stance and slams out with a fist into the boy’s chest. A hard blow but made to test the boy more than anything.

The boy staggers with the pressure. Jirou doesn’t wait for the child to regain his balance and ducks in for an uppercut, but the boy manages to dodge out of the way. Jirou catches a blow on his forearms and kicks out without hesitating, sending the boy flying back.

Jirou mentally scoffs. The boy is weak, pathetic, and can’t keep up with Jirou when he’s using only chūnin strength. There is no way that the boy could be an ANBU.

The child pushes himself so he’s standing, and narrows his eyes at Jirou. The black-haired chūnin charges at the younger boy, striking out with one hand. The boy sidesteps the blow before jumping backwards to avoid Jirou’s follow up attack. The movements are jerky, harsh; they don’t work. Jirou won’t be defeated by such bad skills.

A kick connects with the boy and his back crashes into the ground. Jirou watches dispassionately. It seems that the Uchiha is not very good at all. The kid stands once again. There is no room for stupidity in the ANBU forces – Jirou moves in to end the fight.

He punches a log. Jirou easily backs out of the way as three kunai are thrown at him. It seems that the child is capable of basic ninjutsu. That doesn’t mean he has a chance compared to Jirou, though.

The boy leaps onto the ground, but Jirou sees the blur around the edges of the clone and ignores the illusion. He throws a kunai at where he guesses the boy is hiding. The kunai falls to the ground with a clang as the boy deflects it with his own kunai. He dives towards Jirou, who sidesteps out of the way. The boy continues into a forward roll and takes two steps to cross the ground, before scrambling up into a tree.

Jirou is quick to throw six shuriken at the boy, who he can see – and sense – in the upper branches of one of the trees surrounding the sparring ground. The boy leaps off and back onto the ground, but Jirou is already speeding through a set of hand seals. “Earth Release: Earth Flow River.”

The dirt beneath the boy’s feet turns to mud, and he sinks for a moment before channelling chakra to his feet and standing on top of the mud. The child leaps to the trees and calls a jutsu name out, sending a fireball to the mud.

Jirou frowns as the mud dries out and cracks, turning to scorched ground. Perhaps the boy has some potential, but he is still hiding away and seems incapable of a simple taijutsu fight. He will keep fighting and see if the boy could be something more than he is currently.

***

The spar isn’t going in Toru’s favour. However, that is not to say he doesn’t have more tricks hidden. At the start of the spar, Jirou had gone in hard and at an average speed. Upon Toru’s shoddy taijutsu, he had started focussing less on the fight and thinking upon something else instead.

So far, Toru knows that Jirou is much better than he appears, more experienced too. He has his doubts that Jirou is a simply chūnin, but has no evidence to back up his suspicions; the older chūnin might simply be very experienced. Jirou also knows earth based jutsus, which are strong against water. Unfortunately, most of Toru’s jutsu are water based.

However, Toru’s sloppy taijutsu made Jirou focus less on the fight and more elsewhere. The elder chūnin has also lowered his own fighting skills. Toru has a few basic plans on his side, if he can implement them.

Toru darts from one branch to another, pauses for a beat, and leaps to the ground. Jirou closes in, but slower than he moved before. Toru notes that the other chūnin seems to prefer taijutsu to ninjutsu before he has to focus on the taijutsu spar.

Jirou is obviously no longer really trying, and it’s the work of half a heartbeat for Toru to dart around a simple punch and land a heavy blow to the other chūnin’s stomach, and following it up with an uppercut. Jirou reels back, before rushing in, but quicker this time. Toru matches his speed, hands himself over to his own instincts and muscle memory.

It’s easy to tell that Jirou has the upper hand, even if Toru matches him in speed. Toru can feel himself slowing down and breathing increases; air rasping in his throat as he struggles to gain enough air to keep going. His arms tremble and sting with each blow blocked, while his own attacks seem to bounce off Jirou.

Toru channels chakra into his muscles, increasing both his strength and speed while carefully keeping his chakra levels high. As he falls to the ground, he places his hands behind his back and pushes himself up. A quick thought and chakra gathers in his feet, before he leaps over Jirou’s head.

Toru turns to face Jirou, even as the other chūnin spins around, and pulls out a kunai for each hand. Jirou does the same even as Toru charges at the older chūnin, who deflects his first blow before trying to get Toru on the arm. Toru blocks the attack and sweeps out with his legs. Barely noticing what he’s doing, instead paying attention to how Jirou fights.

Jirou is a seasoned fighter, an experienced one, and Toru is struggling to keep on defending and attacking. What’s really interesting is that Jirou – although competent – is clearly unused to holding two kunai to fight. The older chūnin holds the two kunai in a grip that would be better suited for a sword, and goes for slashes and thrusts more than anything. Toru stops thinking momentarily as he dodges a particularly harsh swipe, that cuts through the skin on his arm. First blood goes to Jirou (and Toru feels the blood drip down his skin, and although it doesn’t hurt and isn’t a bad cut, it reminds him of dying and of torture; Toru’s mind calms and hardens).

Jirou is strong and more experienced than Toru, and in a straight out fight of any kind, Toru will lose. He doesn’t have the strength or the knowledge currently – doesn’t have the training. Being a ninja isn’t about winning in a straight out fight, though. It’s about being able to complete your mission in any way necessary. Toru isn’t going to lose a fight because he tries to fight his opponent directly. A change of tactics is clearly needed.

***

The boy changes his fighting style, and Jirou instantly picks up on it. He had changed his fighting style before as well, and had managed to keep up with Jirou, surprise him as well. It is clear that the younger male is tiring, while Jirou still has lots of energy to spar. However, the child has shown some potential, but Jirou needs to see more before he would even think about the boy entering the ANBU forces.

The boy once again leaps into the trees, but not without sending a fireball towards Jirou. Jirou dodges it only for another to come from another direction as the boy leaps from branch to branch.

Jirou flickers through a set of hand seals. “Earth Release: Hidden Mole Technique,” he says before sinking beneath the ground. He can sense the boy’s chakra cease flaring, clearly stopping the fireball jutsu. Jirou could easily end the spar here, but he’s content to let it go on some more. See if the child can surprise him some more.

There’s a bright flare of chakra above him, and Jirou launches himself through the dirt, rising behind where the chakra flare came from. The boy is facing him and slams his hands on the ground just as Jirou attempts to attack. Water rises above their heads and the boy darts away, and Jirou is forced to move away from the gushing water.

The first thing Jirou takes into account is that the ground is now muddy. That means that the ground will be more slippery and that any earth jutsus that require hard ground are out, but all his ones regarding mud will be less chakra consuming.

Jirou goes through a set of hand seals and reminds himself of one thing that is vital he checks. “Lightning Release: Lightning Strike!”

The boy drops to the ground, but as Jirou attempts to land a blow that would indicate the end of the spar. He jerks before rolling away in the mud, and pushes his hands out so he can clamber to his knees. His arms tremble but he manages to stand and keep away from Jirou.

Jirou attempts to attack the younger shinobi who leaps up into the sky. The sun glints off of something and Jirou’s eyes widen as fire flares along the wire as it drops to the ground. He flicks through a set of hand seals again and disappears underground. Beneath the muddy surface, he can’t tell what’s happening from the boy’s chakra flaring and darting around. Jirou quickly figures out a pattern, and grabs hold of the Uchiha’s ankle and pulls him to down into the mud.

The elder chūnin cuts of the earth jutsu and stands in front of where the shinobi had been seconds ago, but where only a log remains. Jirou’s brown eyes search the area for a hint of the other shinobi, sensing that the boy’s chakra is to his left. Jirou throws a kunai and the boy drops from the tree. Jirou charges; he’s decided that the match is over – he knows all he needs to. The match ends quickly.

***

The last ANBU council member arrives moments after Jakkaru enters the room. The ANBU Commander activates a simple alarm seal and a privacy seal. He then nods at Tonbo who stands up. Instantly, everyone’s attention switches from Jakkaru to Tonbo who quickly explains the situation.

The room is silent.

Jakkaru turns his attention to Karasu, focussing on the raven-masked ANBU division leader. “Karasu, can you explain why we have not learnt of this sooner?”

The leader of the infiltration and spy division rises out of his seat and faces Jakkaru. “We have no reason why we have not learnt of this sooner,” Karasu begins. “Our main infiltrator in Kirigakure reported no apparent new movement of their forces. However, they also haven’t reported in approximately three days. Although, they did check in before then, so it isn’t surprising they haven’t sent a report. Our infiltrators in one of the Kirigakure merchant trains mentioned, in their last report, that they were sensing less chakra signatures around. They aren’t a very good sensor, so we didn’t think much of it.” Karasu sits down.

 “What’s the likelihood of our main infiltrator having turned?” Inu asks, slowly tapping the desk in a show of thinking.

“Same as all our high calibre infiltrators,” the raven-masked ANBU replies.

Inu nods but doesn’t reply. “I’m inclined to believe Tonbo,” Urufu says in the quiet that follows. Jakkaru tilts his head in question. “From what we’ve managed to gather in recent months, there appears to be less missing-nin around in places where we can keep watch on them. It’s not very obvious unless you look back at least six months, as it’s very gradual,” the leader of the hunting and tracking division explains.

“How come we didn’t notice this beforehand?” Karasu questions.

“Like I said previously, it has been a very gradual process. However, missing-nin do tend to go unnoticed or untracked for a while, some even going missing. This is normally due to them being caught and given in for their bounty, or if they have been in a fight and are nursing their wounds. In conjunction with that, no missing-nin of ours disappeared. That changed with a report that landed itself on my desk late yesterday,” Urufu answers.

Jakkaru ignores the urge to pace as the tension in the room rises. “Alright,” Jakkaru decides, “based on the information we have gathered, it looks like there is an assault in planning. Are we in agreement?” No one speaks and Jakkaru continues, “Inu, Karasu, Sunēku, and Urufu, I want our information put together and a better understanding of the forces that are coming towards us. Find out what happened to our main infiltrator as well. Tonbo, I want to know if Kiri is on our land or if that was a mistake, work with Karasu to figure it out. I give full permission to learn all we can without starting a war. I don’t want to be known as the cause of it.”

The five ANBU called out straighten and nod their heads. “Hai Jakkaru-sama,” Urufu says aloud, speaking for all of them.

“Uma, I need our security and codes all upgraded and I needed it yesterday. Use any materials you need, work with Fukurō as well.” The horse-masked ANBU in charge of the cryptography division nods. “Tsubame, start a recall of our ANBU forces, get the information needed from any division of the ANBU. Fukurō, start looking at evacuation and defence plans, co-ordinate with the necessary people. Shīra, we need combat plans for both in and out of village. Get the battle teams ready for action. Get those forces off our backs and slow them down. Hyō, I want a check for spies in our forces and anyone who might be a possible leak.”

Jakkaru feels the alarm seal pulse a message to him, and the Uzukage along with his two teammates enters the room. Kame nods at him before flickering away to stand guard, knowing what to do without even asking. Tori stands as she waits for another order. “I need the Jōnin Commander. Tell him to go to the Uzukage’s office,” Jakkaru says and Tori dips her head in a nod before leaving.

“What’s all this about Jakkaru-san?” The Uzukage asks her ANBU Commander.

“We have an invasion coming across our borders,” Jakkaru replies after standing to give his report to his leader. “So far, we believe that the force is mainly Kiri-nin; however, there may be missing-nin among them. We are checking our information and putting it all together, while readying for an invasion and upgrading our security.”

Ayumu slowly breathes out, a clear tell, before steadying herself. “Good work. We need to tell the council.” Jakkaru nods in agreement before turning to his leaders. He pulls out a kunai and creates a small cut on his finger before pressing it to the invisible seal on the table. His chakra flows into the seal and the room shakes.

Behind him, the wall shudders and drops down, showing a new door. Jakkaru frowns as he turns to face his ANBU council. “Get someone from each division to go through the related information for that section of the ANBU. Dismissed.” The ten ANBU leaders disappear out of sight.

“The ANBU war room, right?” Ayumu asks, bright eyes looking at the door. Jakkaru opens the door with a pulse of chakra and leaves it open before deactivating the privacy and alarm seals.

“Yeah,” Jakkaru replies. “Your thoughts?”

“You’re doing alright so far,” Ayumu responds. “Now, we just need to get everyone on board. I’ll start a discreet recall and up the training. I’ll have our borders partially closed and start evacuating important members and their families – only those who won’t be fighting.”

“I don’t know how much time we have,” Jakkaru warns.

“Thanks to your forces we have some,” Ayumu points out. “Hopefully, it’s enough.”

***

CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT: INTELLIGENCE REPORT

Intelligence Gathered: Information is about chūnin #012182 possibility as a traitor and society risk.

Mission Received By: Miya Yamanaka

Information Confirmed: Chūnin #012182 was tortured recently; chūnin #012182 is unlikely to be a turncoat; society risk value is low; chūnin #012182 has mental trauma and shows symptoms of flashbacks and nightmares with minimal triggers; chūnin #012182 demonstrates high paranoia levels.

Additional Information: Chūnin #012182 may be under the supervision of ANBU either as a recruit or under guard

***

D-Rank Mission Report

HIGHLY CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT

ANBU RECRUITMENT INVESTIGATION

Recruit Form #3487

Possible Recruit: Chūnin #012182 – Toru Uchiha

Surveyed By: Haiena

Decision: Possible future ANBU

Report: Show high levels of paranoia among teammates and within Konoha’s borders (also shows symptoms of flashbacks and nightmares with minimal triggers) but within expectations due to previous torture and mental trauma the chūnin has undergone. Agreed to spar and was originally a poor taijutsu fighter; however, after approximately three minutes, fighting style changed and became a harder fight. The chūnin showed strength in ninjutsu and potential for both better taijutsu and ninjutsu, but had limited genjutsu. The shinobi in question demonstrated good thinking and planned ahead, along with ability to trick opponent and surprise them.

Overall Recruiter’s Thoughts: Toru Uchiha (chūnin #012182) demonstrates potential to be an ANBU, and a good one. He has already killed and shows a sophisticated mind. However, currently he needs more training in order to be able to keep up with ANBU.

Recommendation: Keep watching the chūnin and in a few years recruit him.

***

Toru Uchiha’s life has remained interesting after coming back to Konoha. Unknown to him (but he does have his suspicions), he has been analysed by both Konoha’s intelligence – and deemed to be safe – and Konoha’s own ANBU force as a possible recruit.

Chapter Text

Toru stretches out and places his hands behind his head as he rests in the shade underneath one of Konoha’s large trees. Dark eyes staring up into the peaceful blue sky, which seems at odds to his inner turmoil. “I don’t know what to do,” the chūnin admits.

“Have you thought that there might not be anything you can do?” Shou responds quietly, eyes watching the clouds passing above. “She might just need time.”

Toru sighs, and turns so he can raise himself up on an elbow to look at Shou, who simply rolls onto their side. “I have thought about that,” Toru responds, “but she’s been avoiding me.” He falls quiet.

Shou sighs. “She’s blaming herself, as I’m sure you’ve already guessed,” Shou explains, and Toru dips his head in a small nod. “She’ll probably work through it in time.”

“But hasn’t it been long enough?” Toru whines. He knows he sounds young and ungrateful, but he can’t help but want to keep his friends close, and to see them drifting away pains him (maybe he’s selfish, and that’s a flaw, a weakness that can be manipulated; but it’s a weakness that Toru accepts and is willing to have. He is human and can fail, probably will fail – this is not failure).

Shou stares at him, brown eyes fixed on him. “Has it?” They ask, “What do you really think?”

Toru doesn’t respond straight away, instead quietly thinking of what’s been said so far. “I don’t think there would be a time that she’ll be ready. I think that if I were in her position, I wouldn’t get over it unless I work through it… Continue in spite of it.”

“Maybe,” Shou responds, “but you aren’t Kiku, are you? Who’s to say that you respond the same way?”

Toru sighs, “Do you have any ideas on what I should do?”

“You guys need to figure this out on your own,” they reply, maddeningly. “I can’t patch this up for you two. You need to do that yourself. You know this Toru; you’re just trying to avoid it.”

A sigh wrangles itself from Toru. “So, what do you really want help with then?” Shou asks with a knowing smile on their face.

“I need to improve,” Toru eventually answers. “We’re chūnin, but our skill level is really just in between high genin and low chūnin.”

“What do you want to improve on then?”

Toru hesitates (here it starts, this is where his Uzushio life will start to bleed through), “I’ve started work on fūinjutsu,” he says softly.

Shou frowns. “The sealing arts?” They repeat, “They’re hard. I remember in the academy, we had a brief unit on them. Even then, it was mainly on storage and explosion seals – why we use them and how to draw them, that’s why I know it’s hard. What made you want to work on them?”

Toru doesn’t know how to explain his reasoning for wanting to start working on fūinjutsu (how does one explain a past life anyway?). He doesn’t want to lie but he can’t very well tell the truth either. He settles on something that could be taken as an answer, but isn’t the actual reason. “A cousin gave me a book on it as a present before my graduation.”

“Ahh,” Shou says. “I can’t very well help you with sealing, so what do you want my help for?”

“I can work on speed alone. I can probably just use weights to slowly increase my muscle mass and my speed. I don’t think I’ll ever be overly good at genjutsu, because I don’t have the chakra control necessary, despite being an Uchiha. However, I was thinking improving on my taijutsu paired with water walking would push my chakra control up, which will help with learning some genjutsu. I have a large chakra pool, even for an Uchiha, and that gives me a boost in the ninjutsu area. I was thinking I could learn some more to help me out there,” Toru says.

“I’m going to assume you want to work on taijutsu with me, and Kiku, as she’s better than both of us. What else do you want me, specifically, to help you with?” Shou asks.

“I was thinking trapping, tracking, and stealth?” Toru asks in a questioning tone. “You’re the best tracker on our team. I’m thinking of seeing if Natsumi-sensei knows anyone who would be willing to teach me kenjutsu as well.”

“Alright, if we aren’t on a mission, we can meet here around half past nine, to commence warming up and start training at ten, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. You can see if you can rope Kiku in for a training session in the afternoon on Saturday. Perhaps we could organise a whole team training for Friday? Pull in Natsumi-sensei as well?” Shou says, “I can check with her.”

“I might as well do it,” Toru replies. “After all, I need to ask her about kenjutsu. I can do both things in one go.”

Shou nods and stands up; Toru follows her lead. They back away from each other and settle into different taijutsu stances. Toru tilts his head, the edge of a smile appearing on his face. Shou settles their weight and waits a beat before charging.

Toru frowns as he looks at the forms laid out in front of him. He probably shouldn’t have left it this late, probably shouldn’t have refused to look at it for over half a year. Now he has to do it and he has a lot of work ahead of him.

“Toru?” A voice calls out.

“I’m in the dining room,” Toru shouts back, glad that he has reason to drag his eyes away from the paperwork. He smiles at Sasuke when he walks in. “How has your day been?”

Sasuke shrugs, “Alright,” he responds. “What are you doing?”

Toru grimaces, “I’ve been putting off going through the Uchiha funds, income, and the compound paperwork. I’ve finally decided to buckle down and go through it.”

Toru sees the small flinch, and how Sasuke’s expression falters for a moment. “Why are you looking at it?”

“Well, the Uchiha were doing quite well economically, up until about eight or so years ago, when everything started going down. I don’t know what happened exactly, but the income was a lot lower than it had been in previous years. Anyway, that’s not the point; the Uchiha clan holds the ownership of multiple shops and services, which have all still been running and some of that income has gone into the main bank for the Uchiha. We have some ownership of farms as well that people are leasing. However, the majority of the Uchiha’s income came from the police program. As we no longer run that, the clan’s income had diminished dramatically.

“Moreover, I don’t think all the numbers are adding up, but I’ll have to go through that in greater detail to make sure I’m not just seeing things. We need to figure out what we want to do with the compound as well. It’ll need to have the wards and barriers all upgraded, along with the security. We also need to go through the belongings of each house and what we have in our clan library. There’s a lot we need to look into.”

“We can’t sell our clan’s belongings!” Sasuke shouts furiously.

“Much of it we won’t sell,” Toru responds soothingly, “but I have no doubt that there’ll be items that we don’t need. For example, at least one family probably owned a sowing machine and I really don’t think we have use for a sowing machine, do you?”

Sasuke purses his lips but shakes his head. “It’s all we have left of them,” he says softly. “I just- what if we forget about them? What if we don’t remember what they look like? I can’t even remember what my kaa-san’s voice sounds like!”

“Memories fail, Sasuke,” Toru says softly, voice quiet, voice strong. “We forget like everyone else, especially those who we no longer see, with the sharingan, it’s harder to forget, and that helps your memory. However, you can still forget – especially if you didn’t have the sharingan on at the time. Nonetheless, you never forget the important aspects of those people. Pictures help, yes, but you can still remember them. You will forever remember your parents’ love, their kindness, their strength, their beauty.”

Sasuke sniffs and Toru stands up and pulls the young boy into a hug. “I don’t want to forget them,” Sasuke whispers, hands tightly gripping onto Toru’s shirt.

“My father died years ago,” Toru says lowly, gently because he can’t afford to mess this up, “and although I remember little of him, I know the important things. I know he had red hair and he loved me very much. I know he had dark skin and brown eyes. I know his name. I know he didn’t return home one day. However, what I really remember is a lullaby he would sing softly for me when I was younger.”

“But what if I do forget them?” Sasuke asks, “What if I do?”

“You won’t,” Toru responds in certainty. “As long as you fear to forget them, you won’t. You lived eight years of your life with them. You don’t forget eight years easily.”

Sasuke steps back and Toru straightens. “Now, about the clan belongings, I can go through the wills left and see what family heirlooms should be kept. Either way, I should first go through all this paperwork. What do we want to do with the clan compound?”

“What’s the problem with leaving it as it is?” Sasuke asks.

“We have to pay for upkeep along with bills – water and electricity, even if we don’t use it. Plus, we have to pay land tax as well. Moreover, with the Uchiha clan income as it is, we’ll be losing money. However, we can afford it. The Uchiha clan has been around for a while, and we have a lot of money stored and in the bank,” Toru says.

Sasuke frowns. “What did you want to do with it?”

“I was thinking we could rent some of the properties out. That way we would be getting a higher income. We could also fix up the compound and open it up again. It would make it a friendlier place. Whenever I think of the compound now, I think of blood and fear. I’d like to remember it as a place that’s more than the events that took place there. And… maybe we could help people who are out on the streets.”

“I… I think that that’s a good idea… It’s- The compound is being wasted as it is. It shouldn’t be forgotten. The Uchiha clan shouldn’t be forgotten,” Sasuke says. “I don’t want anyone in my- the main house, though.”

“Of course not,” Toru replies. “The house for the clan head will remain empty, along with some others.”

“The houses will need to be checked as well,” Sasuke says, sounding stronger than he had sounded earlier. “I mean, we need to check for personal belongings, and some of the Uchiha ninjas may have left traps and personal information… behind.”

“Alright,” Toru says, “We’ll need to upgrade the security and change the wards to work with what we need to do. There are private training grounds there as well. We’ll need to figure out what should be off-limits and what’s open to the public.

“However, I’ll get through our economic paperwork first. I take it we want to leave our shops and farms as they are? I’ll check over the prices and the current income and adjust what’s necessary.”

Sasuke shrugs, “You’re the clan head.”

“Yes, but I’m not the only one in our clan. I’m not about to make a decision that has us in odds over it. That only serves to divide the clan. We’re small enough as it is,” Toru replies.

Sasuke hums and takes a seat opposite Toru. “I have homework,” the academy student says in response to Toru’s questioning look. “I might as well get it done.”

“How are you going in all your classes?” Toru asks as he continues checking over the bank notices and statistics.

“I’m in the top of almost all my classes,” Sasuke says smugly. “I’ve been at the top of my class for taijutsu from the beginning of the year.”

“Congratulations,” Toru responds, before wondering privately whether he needs to worry about Sasuke’s arrogance and increasing ego, and then deciding that he’ll deal with it when the problem comes up. “Do you need help with any work?”

Sasuke’s expression shifts for a moment, enough that any ninja would be able to tell, and it catches Toru’s attention. The chūnin flicks his gaze up and watches Sasuke carefully. “No,” Sasuke says coolly, but Toru catches the waver beneath the Academy student’s response.

“It’s not a weakness to ask for help,” Toru says, as he creates a paper pile regarding the income generated this year.

“I’m the top of almost all my classes,” Sasuke repeats; as if that is a response and Toru humours him, for now, and lets the conversation take a different path.

“You do have a better education than all civilian-born students, and many clans don’t actually start any major chakra work with their students until they’re in your year in the Academy. There are a few clans who start earlier, but they mainly focus on chakra control, as it’s needed for their clan jutsus. Of course, some clans actually teach their members certain jutsu as a milestone or to test their worth, those clan members will be the ones you need to watch out for in your class. I can’t recall exactly which clans are the worrying ones though, not right now at least.”

“Hn, they won’t beat me,” Sasuke responds.

“They might in the future,” Toru says with a sharp glance at the younger Uchiha. “They’re young now, you’re young now. You will all improve and grow – strength changes. I’m sure you will one day ask them for help with something you find difficult.”

“Unlikely,” Sasuke scoffs. “Only alone can I truly be strong.”

Toru stands up, carefully and controlled. “Being alone is not strength,” he responds quietly, watching Sasuke and wondering what the boy will do (and he is just a boy).

“You didn’t need help to escape!” Sasuke shouts, as he stands, sudden and distressing. Toru wonders when the conversation escalated to such an emotion-fuelled thing. The chair hits the ground with a loud thud. The sound is damning to Toru’s ears.

There’s a harsh comment on the tip of Toru’s tongue, and he bites it back (just like he bites back memories of pain and red-everywhere and skin-piercing and thathurtshurtshurtsHURTSHurTs!). He thinks of something else (and brings forward the memories of a home and his people).

“Sasuke,” he says softly (and he needs to be gentle, be kind, because they’re on the edge here and he doesn’t know which direction the next step will go in), “there are a few reasons why I managed to escape without help, but there is only one reason why I didn’t break. I wouldn’t have lived through one day, wouldn’t have lived through another day after my return, if I didn’t have people to rely on, if I didn’t have connections. There are experiences you go through, Sasuke, and they will never truly leave you; they scar you, sometimes physically and sometimes in other manners. Nevertheless, you can’t keep going without being able to rely on someone, without getting help.

“That isn’t weakness. It’s strength, because you can’t keep going alone. If you do, then you end up standing alone with no one to help you up if you fall.”

Sasuke licks his lips and Toru walks around the table so they can stand opposite one another without an object in the way. “That’s not what he said,” Sasuke murmurs, the words so quiet that Toru barely hears him. “He said the only way to be truly strong was to be alone, to do what he did- I need the same eyes.”

“And so you follow Itachi now?” Toru says, the words heavy with anger and cruel in a way Toru needs. This is needed, necessary. This will make it or break it, this is what will latch out to attack, but it could be used as a shield too.

“I need to be powerful! I need to beat him! I need to kill him! I need- I need- I- I need…” Sasuke’s face crumbles and tears start falling down his face. He wipes them away and wraps his arms around himself. “It’s important,” he whispers, dark eyes looking at something only he could see.

Toru drops to his knees so he’s eye-to-eye with Sasuke (and he doesn’t know how to say what he means, what needs to be said, he doesn’t know- he’s never been good with voicing his own thoughts and emotions, and for all his intelligence and ability to manipulate others, he refuses to turn it on those he cares for, and that makes it all the harder).

“It’s important that I avenge our clan,” Sasuke says, his voice sounding broken, “I have to.”

This, Toru knows, is not a time to be cruel, to strike out with hard words that dig into the mind and tear, tear, tear. Numerous responses rise to the forefront of his mind, and, with the knowledge of how hard it is to be human, he picks one.

“Maybe,” Toru responds in a detached manner, tilting his head and allowing his hair to fall in front of his eyes, “but there is something better than revenge. Justice is what’s necessary, is it not? Death can be a lighter statement, and there are many, many things worse than death out there – especially in this world. However, nothing forces you to follow my advice nor Itachi’s words.”

Toru lifts his head and looks into Sasuke’s identical eyes with a snarling grin on his face (and maybe there are hints of sorrow and grief and anger and hatred all tied up on his face, but they aren’t important, not here). “Would it not be better to turn your back on his words and make your own choices? Be your own person? Don’t let him control your actions, if you cross paths, do what you need to, but otherwise live your life. That’s what’s important.”

Sasuke rubs his eyes and hiccups silently, and Toru pulls the boy into a hug, letting the younger Uchiha press his face into his chest. “It’s not what will be that’s important nor what’s happened to us,” Toru says calmly, as he rubs circles on Sasuke’s back. “It’s about what we have now, what we are now. That’s important. Yeah, we might not be perfect or the best, but that doesn’t matter if we’re happy. What we have now – our friends, our lives, our will to live. That’s important. Don’t let anyone take that away from you.”

Sasuke’s arms close around Toru and tighten, and Toru hums softly – a lullaby that his father had sung once, that he himself had once sung (in a village by the sea). It didn’t matter how unpredictable the future is, not with what they have. It’s enough – it has to be.

(And if it isn’t, then Toru will make it enough.)

The Kurama clan compound isn’t that big and sits near Training Ground 24, and Toru hesitates as he draws closer. He could, he knows, just turn around and retreat back the way he came and continue ignoring the ever-growing rift between Kiku and himself. Except for the small part of him that refuses to let go (they’re teammates and that means something).

So here Toru is, shoulders back and spine straight, head thrown up and clenched jaw. He’s nervous, fearful in a way that a fight doesn’t make him (because fights are over quickly, but this is something long and life changing – it’s not a do-or-die situation, it’s a win-or-fail situation). He’s been to the Kurama clan compound before, with Kiku and Shou at his side – and once with Natsumi-sensei as well. However, here alone (and all too aware of the gaps at his sides) every step is a battle and every thought is a potential enemy; he won’t stop here, though, not when he’s so close to changing everything.

Toru unclenches his jaw as he reaches the gates of the compound. He knows his appearance is important, he is – after all – the Uchiha clan head, and he has to act like it. With this in mind, Toru strides up to the gates and pauses on the edge of the property.

The guard – a chūnin, if Toru isn’t mistaken – takes a glance at him before nodding. “Welcome, Uchiha-san,” the Kurama greets, “It is a pleasure to see you again.”

“Well met, Arata-san,” Toru responds, keeping in mind his barely-remembered lessons on manners and behaviours when in another clan. It had never been overly important to him, not when he had been considered an outsider within his own clan. Nonetheless, his mother had held onto her pride and it was one of the only things Toru could remember being taught.

“Is Kiku-chan at home?” Toru asks a beat later, barely remembering to add on the suffix.

The chūnin dips his head into a nod. “She is. Are you aware of where her house is?”

“I do recall where she lives,” Toru responds, “May I be allowed entry?”

“Of course, Uchiha-san,” Arata says.

“Thank you, Arata-san,” Toru replies as he takes a step over the property line and starts walking towards Kiku’s house (he’s come too far to turn back now).

He raps his fist gently against the door, and it takes a moment, but then it’s sliding open and Toru finds himself face to face with Kiku. “Oh,” Kiku says quietly, her facial expression becoming flat. “It’s you.”

“Yes,” Toru replies, uncertain and not sure what to say. “Listen, I think– I mean, can we– I mean, let’s–” Toru shuts his mouth and takes a deep breath, “Talk? Can we, please? I think we need to.”

Kiku watches him, her expression still telling nothing, but she exits the house and shuts the door behind her. “We’ll go around the back,” she tells him without looking at him, keeping her gaze elsewhere, and taking the lead. Toru follows her to the backyard.

Kiku kneels in front of a small koi bond, and Toru sits down next to her, hands in his lap. He looks at the pale blue water lapping the shores of the lake and wonders, once again, what to say.

“You wanted to talk,” Kiku prompts, and Toru lifts his head to look at her, but her gaze is focussed solely on one of the koi.

“Yes,” Toru responds. “I wanted to talk,” he echoes (the words taste like smoke in his mouth). “It’s been a while since we have… had a proper conversation.”

“I’ve been busy.” The words come quick and harsh; Toru almost recoils.

“Too busy to see your teammates?” He replies, just as harsh and already regretting his words (does he now taste blood in his mouth?). “I mean– right, sorry, that was rude. Let me start again?” Kiku jerks her head in a nod and Toru tries again.

“After our last B-ranked mission that Team Five was on all together, the one that went wrong, you’ve been avoiding me. I figured that if you weren’t going to talk to me, I needed to talk to you. Shou didn’t say much about what was happening,” Toru sneaks a side glance at Kiku, who appears to have withdrawn into herself, eyes glazed as she stares down at the pond. “I don’t want our team to fall apart,” Toru finally says before falling silent.

It’s silent for some time, but Toru doesn’t find himself minding, and instead dips his fingers in the cool water of the pond, watching as droplets trail from his fingers. With a small spark of chakra, he manages to keep the water attached to his fingers for a few seconds longer – he makes a mental note of that.

The silence threatened to continue and Toru finds himself speaking once again. “Do you recall, Kiku, when we completed our genin test? The only reason we passed was because we worked together. I remember saying we were a team; has that changed now?”

“We aren’t a team anymore,” Kiku says straight away. “Team Five no longer exists – it was a genin team. We aren’t genin; we’re chūnin. We don’t have teams; we get put on teams for missions.”

“Then how come the majority of our missions have been with the others from Team Five? Are you going to sit there and tell me that Shou and Natsumi-sensei and I don’t matter? I remember a kunoichi saying that we’re a team. What happened to her?”

“Natsumi isn’t our sensei anymore,” Kiku spits out in response, anger powering her defence.

“What happened to sensei being sensei, even when we’re jōnin? What happened to my teammate?”

“She grew up,” Kiku says callously. “She learnt that the world wasn’t a nice place. She learnt that teammates die. She learnt that you sometimes have to leave behind your own teammate for the mission! I learnt that some teammates don’t think about their teammates when they give an order.”

Toru flinches, hands forming fists in his lap. “Yeah, well, sometimes a teammate might just want to be responsible for their team’s life, instead of their dead. I’m all seeing and I didn’t see a way to get us out of that situation. There was no way we would have survived without someone staying behind. I was the best person to do so, and I couldn’t ask any of you to stay back. You have families! You have lives! I couldn’t ask you to forfeit all that. There wasn’t enough time anyway.”

“Oh, like you don’t have a family? What’s Sasuke, then? You can’t say you don’t have a life, not when you came back to it,” Kiku replies.

“I don’t regret it,” Toru says fiercely, voice low and sure. “I don’t regret my actions on that mission. I don’t regret that you survive and didn’t have to go through what I did. I’m glad. I regret that this is the way you see it, though. I regret that our friendship has come to pieces here. I will never regret my actions, though, no matter what.”

Toru rises to his feet, “I will see myself out, Kiku-san.” He bows shallowly, “Thank you for agreeing to talk with me.”

Toru turns and starts leaving the compound, focussing on keeping his expression even and his feet moving (there’s ash in his mouth and a heart trying to deal with the weight of failure). He wonders if Kiku will come after him (and he wonders why he still cares).

Kiku knows she should probably do something about Toru as he walks away from her (or maybe she walked away from her team first). She’s been avoiding the younger chūnin, not wanting to be reminded of her failure, of how she couldn’t help her teammate, of how she left him behind.

However, it now seems as if she’s leaving him behind again, even if she never meant to. It’s not like she means to or wants to, but she sees his face and she’s recalls her failures. Toru seems adamant that it isn’t her fault; that it’s because of his orders; that she shouldn’t blame herself.

It had hurt, when Toru had called her ‘Kiku-san’. The formality left a bitter taste in her mouth, and she had been incapable of doing anything as he had walked away from her, from their team (or was it the other way around?). Kiku doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t know if she wants to try and reclaim their friendship. She doesn’t know if she wants her team, because what if the same thing happens again?

All too alone and feeling unsure about what to do, there is only one person who Kiku feels she can go to with her internal struggle – Shou. Now, Kiku has some idea of where to find Shou, and – at this time of day – she’ll probably find the chūnin at home.

Kiku races out of the clan compound, with barely a word to Arata who had been stuck with a guard shift. Kiku quickly takes to the roofs, using her chakra to power her towards Shou’s house.

It seems as if Shou is ready for her, for his window was open and Kiku easily tumbles through it. “Shou, I need your help!” She cries out desperately, and the brown-haired chūnin looks at Kiku lying on his bedroom floor.

“Nice to see you too, Kiku,” he responds. “What are we talking about?”

“Toru,” Kiku whines, “He came to the compound today, and we had a conversation – I guess – and…” Kiku explains what’s happened to Shou, trying her best to keep her bias from changing the events.

“What should I do, Shou?”

Shou, looking less disgruntled, shrugs, “I don’t know, Kiku. It’s up to you, but I can see two paths you can follow. You can be friends or you can ignore him. This is your decision to make, not mine.”

Kiku takes a deep breath and thinks. She’s been a kunoichi for some time, and almost every step of the way has been made with Shou and Toru standing alongside her, supporting her and helping her. She doesn’t know if she would’ve made it this far without them – she doesn’t want to think of a world where she never had them by her sides.

Kiku grits her teeth, “You are quite unhelpful,” she informs Shou, even as she nudges the chūnin over so she can lay next to him on top of his bed.

Shou grumbles but does as suggested, “You don’t want me to tell you what to do,” he replies.

“Yes I do,” Kiku murmurs as she closes her eyes. “It saves me the trouble of deciding.”

“You’re avoiding it,” Shou responds but does little to kick Kiku of his bed. “And you know that.” Kiku doesn’t reply, but Shou hadn’t been expecting one anyway.

Toru, with nothing to do and wanting comfort but now knowing where to seek it, waits for the Academy to be let out. He’s been there for a second when a speeding blonde-haired menace comes careering out of the Academy with a loud shout, straight towards Toru who’s leaning on a building next to a small, largely ignored, side street.

It’s a half-second thought to reach out with one hand and grab the collar of Naruto’s shirt and lift him off the ground. Toru shakes the boy with a huff before setting him down on the ground. “Is there a reason you’re running away, Naruto?”

Naruto beams at Toru, “You’re here!” He cheers before realising what Toru asked him. “Ummm, no?”

“You sound unsure,” Toru responds, a smile curling on his face as other students start exiting the Academy.

“Naruto Uzumaki!” Yells a frazzled-looking chūnin and Naruto shrinks in Toru’s grasp.

“This is your own fault,” Toru says in amusement as he approaches Iruka with Naruto in hand. “Are you looking for this one, Iruka-san?”

“I am,” Iruka growls as he basically prowls towards the chūnin and Academy student. Toru drops Naruto who looks like a cornered rabbit. “Detention, Naruto-kun. You can’t escape it this time.”

Naruto scuffs his foot along the ground, “I wasn’t gonna,” he says mulishly.

“Yes, you were,” Toru says, nudging the boy slightly. “What’s the detention for, Iruka-san?”

“Not handing in his homework,” Iruka replies, and there’s a concerned look in his eyes that’s all-too-familiar. “I normally wouldn’t give out a detention for such a thing, but this isn’t the first time or the fifth time, actually.”

“Why don’t you do the homework, Naruto?” Toru asks, looking down at the blonde-eyed boy, who looks at Iruka briefly before shifting his gaze to Toru.

“It’s boring! I’ve done it all before,” Naruto finally explains. “There’s nothing interesting about it and it’s not gonna help me to become Hokage anyway!”

“It might,” Toru says at the same time as Iruka speaks.

“Yet, you’re still at the bottom of the rankings!” Iruka sighs and continues, dropping down to Naruto’s height. “Naruto, you need this stuff in order to pass, and it is helpful for being a ninja. You can’t very well do missions if you don’t know anything about the world outside Konoha. After all, the Hokage has to make deals with surrounding towns and countries, if you don’t know about them, how would you do it?”

Naruto scowls but doesn’t respond. “How about this,” Iruka suggests, “if you finish today’s homework in your detention, I’ll help you with your throwing skills and we can go out for ramen afterwards – I’ll even pay.”

Naruto brightens, “Sure, Iruka-sensei!” Toru exchanges an amused look with Iruka as the older chūnin herds his student back to the Academy.

Toru doesn’t watch them go; instead, his eyes sweep over the crowd of Academy students and parents, searching for his only remaining family. He quickly spots Sasuke as the boy turns away from the large crowd and heads towards a small side street.

Toru quickly catches up to the boy, and Sasuke whirls around in surprise. Toru gives him a grin that doesn’t even last for a second, and Sasuke tilts his head in question.

“I was getting bored waiting at home,” Toru says, not really saying the actual reason. Sasuke’s eyes narrow but he doesn’t call Toru out on anything, which Toru is thankful for.

“How was school?” Toru asks as they start travelling through the streets. Sasuke shrugs in response and Toru thinks that it’ll take ages to get home at the rate they’re going. He pauses, and Sasuke stops a step in front of him. “What about we go home a faster way?” Toru asks. Sasuke gives a hesitant nod.

Toru crouches down, “Hop onto my back, we’ll take the rooftops.” With a little hesitation, Sasuke does as asked, arms wrapped around his neck, and Toru shifts his arms so he holds Sasuke in a secure position. “Ready?”

“Yes,” Sasuke says softly into Toru’s ear. The twelve-year-old grins and leaps up, chakra powering his jump, before softening his landing on the rooftops with a burst of chakra. He shoots off across the rooftops, enjoying the feeling of the wind on his face and the ability to run as quickly as he can.

(It’s not like the roofs in Uzushio, where few ninja outside of Uzushio’s own can use them, where the twisting and curving slopes throw people off, and the tiles, completely empty of chakra, confuse ninja and leave them uncertain where to place their feet. Konoha is different, it always has been.)

Toru easily lands on the balcony of their apartment, letting Sasuke slip off. Sasuke stares at him for a moment, a frown on his face and Toru shifts his weight, nervous and slightly fearful.

“What happened?” Sasuke demands, eyes not-quite-blank (but scared) and face stern. Toru doesn’t crumble (he won’t, he doesn’t, not when there’s secrets he holds that no one else can know – at least, not yet), but he does speak, explains. It soothes him, calms him, and he finds peace.

“Kiku… Kiku-san seems unwilling to hold onto our bond as teammates,” Toru finally says as they enter the apartment.

“She isn’t worth your time,” is the only thing Sasuke says in response, before settling in the longue room to complete his homework, and engaging Toru with questions (and Toru knows the kid knows the answers, but he’s thankful that Sasuke is involving him, keeping his mind occupied).

Shou is really getting fed up with his teammates and their inability to do something about the tension between them. He knows Toru took steps to try and regain his friendship with Kiku, who brushed the attempt off, but he also knows the pair are complete idiots when it comes to human interactions (well, Toru is when it comes to people he knows and Kiku sometimes doesn’t see what’s right in front of him).

It’s the start of an issue when Toru comes to him for help. It’s a problem when Kiku drops by unannounced and asking him for help.

It’s a disaster when little Sasuke Uchiha marches up to him and demands that he ‘help him murder Toru’s teammate or get her to get her act together’. Then, the little twerp just turns around and left, like it isn’t some major problem he’s leaving Shou to deal with! Shou just knows that when he looks back at this, it’ll be one of the funniest events in his life, but, right now, it isn’t, and he doesn’t want to deal with any of this.

If, the next day, Sasuke subtly adds a sleeping agent to Toru’s morning drink, well, he simply wants Toru to be less susceptible to such a poison. And, if Shou invites Kiku over for the entire day and night, well, that’s because they’re friends. If, during the day, Shou keeps grinning and seems prone to random bursts of laughter, well, that’s just because she’s happy.

When Kiku wakes up – and when did she go to sleep? – she swears, mainly because of the pounding headache, and then she swears some more upon realising there’s a silver handcuff around her wrist.

Her gaze follows the handcuff to the familiar hand in the other cuff, and her swearing cuts off abruptly. Her fellow cuffed chūnin seems to almost twitch as dark eyes slowly open; only widening fully when they see her. He blinks once before opening his mouth.

“Sasuke did something,” he says with a frown. “Wait, how did he get you roped into this?”

“I was at Shou’s,” Kiku replies, keeping her green eyes looking in another direction so she can avoid looking at Toru’s face.

“Do you think…?”

“Yeah,” Kiku agrees, so used to working with her genin teammate that she didn’t need to hear him say his whole thought. “Revenge?”

“Definitely,” Toru says with a smirk, “I had a whole day planned, you know. Being handcuffed to you in… Training Ground something-or-the-other, wasn’t in my plans.”

“We don’t have many trees this height in Konoha, even in the training grounds,” Kiku comments. “Shall we see if we can get a good lookout point?”

Toru nods and pushes himself up, and Kiku notes his shakiness and waits a second longer than necessary, before walking up the tree next to him. The pair reach the top of the tree and try to get their bearings among the tall trees.

“I see a tower some five klicks away,” Toru reports.

“Training Ground Forty-Four, you think?” Kiku asks as they sit down next to one another on a branch thick enough to support them. Toru nods. “Well, what’s the plan?”

“Obviously, we need to figure out what to do about Shou, and we need to get out of here without being noticed,” Toru decides. “Unfortunately, we’ll probably have a mission sometime soon, so we can’t do anything too drastic.”

“A prank of some proportion then,” Kiku says. “Hmm… He’s probably expecting some kind of retribution from us, isn’t he?”

A grin grew on Toru’s first, the first proper one that Kiku’s seen for a while, “Certainly. Shall we act as if nothing has happened, then?”

“No,” Kiku says straight away, surprising both Toru and herself. She turns to face Toru and ducks her head in semblance of a bow. “I apologise for my actions about… everything. Please forgive me!”

Toru surveys her for a moment before nodding and she relaxes. “Well, we still need to pay Shou back somehow,” Toru eventually murmurs. “We can’t let them off lightly.”

“I don’t know, maybe this once…” Kiku suggests, and Toru gives her a soft smile and doesn’t continue the conversation.

The pair spends their morning together, barely talking and simply enjoying the comfort that the other offered. Eventually, they leave the training ground, attempting to go unnoticed and unseen, heading to the one place where Shou won’t be expecting them.

When Shou walks into their bedroom at 3pm, they’re astounded to see their teammates lying on their bed looking through a picture album.

“Your mother is a very nice person, Shou,” Kiku says cheerfully, “Since we were waiting for you, she gave us some picture albums of baby you!”

“I’m never going to see you the same way again,” Toru adds on, “not after seeing you dressed up as a cat.”

“No,” Shou says, mortified as their cheeks take on a pinkish hue, “no, she didn’t. She couldn’t have!”

“She did, she offered us tea as well! She’s a very kind person,” Kiku says and Shou whines pitifully.

“Wait, why are you here?” They ask, suddenly remembering where they had left their teammates that morning. The pair lifts their cuffed hands up together without a word. “I didn’t do that,” Shou says, but the pair didn’t bother to respond.

Shou huffs but the pleased smile on their face show that they didn’t mind. “It’s good to see you back to your normal selves,” Shou says.

“Key,” Toru says.

“Is that you in a jumpsuit?” Kiku says seconds later and Shou moans.

“I hate my life. I hate everyone in it. I hate the pair of you.”

“No, you don’t,” Toru responds.

Shou rolls their eyes and shoves the younger chūnin over and forces Kiku to squish towards the wall. “I won’t give you the key,” they threatens, and Kiku flicks to the next page of the photo album. Shou wants the ground to swallow them when the first picture shows them on a table wearing nothing but shorts and a necklace.

“I hate you guys so much.”

Toru checks his chūnin vest once more, before finally leaving the house. He has an appointment with the Hokage in twenty minutes, and he’s worried, but he can’t think of anything he’s done that would’ve gotten the Hokage’s attention.

It’s only when he is waiting outside of the Hokage’s office, and the others from Team Five arrive, that he remembers a C-rank mission that ended up being vital for relations between Hi no Kuni and Bokusō no Kuni.

“Natsumi Hayashi, Mochiyo Inzuka, Kiku Kurama, Fusa Sagara, Shou Shimizu, and Toru Uchiha, please enter Hokage-sama’s office for briefing,” the receptionist calls and the six ninja and one ninken follow her order.

The Hokage barely looks at them as they bow, mainly focussing on the paperwork in front of him. “Reporting as asked, Hokage-sama,” Natsumi says.

“Four of you have been requested for a B-rank guard mission, only of high rank due to its political sensitivity. Daiki Moto, advisor to the Daimyō of Bokusō no Kuni, has requested a mission guard for the duration of his stay in Minakami with his family. He is coming as a gesture of trust between our countries, and will stay to see the Neburi Nagashi festival. Your mission will be to guard Moto, his children, and his wife, for the duration of their visit. You will keep with them from the border until they get back. Due to the sensitivity of this mission, you will be part of a six-ninja squad. The two additions are Mochiyo Inzuka and Fusa Sagara. Questions?”

“Who is the mission leader?” Natsumi asks, before her eyes flicker over her chūnin, “And will we be split into two teams?”

“You can decide that amongst yourself. You are mission leader with Mochiyo Inzuka as your second,” the Hokage pauses for a moment, surveying the team that has been picked. “Dismissed.”

The seven of them leave the Hokage’s office, and the Inzuka is quick to suggest a meeting place. They all head to the restaurant. They take up a table at the corner, and wait for someone to start talking.

“I’m Toru Uchiha,” Toru eventually says, getting sick of the silence and knowing he needs to check over his weapons. “My best skill is my ninjutsu. I was requested by Daiki-san as we have met before on a previous mission, when Team Five and I saved his children from a human slavery market.”

Mochiyo nods, “I am Mochiyo Inzuka, and my strength lies in my taijutsu. I have been a jōnin for numerous years and my ninkin is Haru. He is capable.”

“I am Fusa Sagara,” the unknown chūnin introduces himself, “My strength lies in my genjutsu.”

“Natsumi Hayashi,” Team Five’s sensei says, “My genjutsu is my best strength, but my other skills are not far behind. I was on the mission with my genin when we found the kidnapping group.”

“I haven’t been chūnin for long, but my skills are up to standard. My name is Kiku Kurama and my taijutsu is my strongest skill. I was also part of Team Five.”

“I’m Shou Shimizu, and my best skill is my ability to track, but I’m an all-rounder in the main three areas. I was part of Team Five.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Fusa says sincerely. “What can you four tell us about the Daimyō’s advisor?”

Natsumi glances at Toru, who tilts his head in a nod. “He has twin four-year-olds,” Toru says, “who are known as Hoshi and Hiroshi. Daiki Moto appears to be a man who needs to be impressed but will act professionally as needed. He loves his family and considered himself in debt due to the fact we had saved his children. He will expect us to do as asked, and he had seemed at ease despite our ages. Did I miss anything, Natsumi-sensei?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” Natsumi answers, “We never met Daiki’s wife, but it is best that we give them both the respect they deserve.” There is a pause as food is served alongside drinks, before Natsumi continues, “As this is a guard mission, I think it would be wise to have a twenty-four hour long guard. Thoughts?”

“Seems like a good idea, Natsumi-san, we can rotate the shifts as necessary. Will we have one or two people per guard shift?” Mochiyo responds.

“Perhaps one while travelling and two while in Minakami,” Toru suggests. “We will all be more alert while travelling and we will all be near one another. However, in Minakami it is easier to get distracted and miss enemies. In addition to that, three of us are more-or-less new chūnin, so it would be better to have someone with more experienced paired with us.”

“A sound analysis, Toru-san,” Fusa says, sounding slightly surprised. “I agree with him, it is a good plan. We can have six-hour shifts while travelling and four-hour shifts in Minakami. Shall we keep to the same pairs throughout the entirety of the mission?”

“Yes,” Mochiyo says, and Natsumi nods in agreement. “What are the pairs, Natsumi-san?”

“I’ll go with Shou,” Natsumi decides, “Fusa-san should go with Kiku, and Toru should go with Mochiyo-san. Does anyone have a problem with that?”

No one says anything, and Natsumi smiles. “Well, that’s that all decided then. The mission information that I was given before coming shows that Daiki will be at our borders in approximately a week and two days. We will be travelling at civilian paces for the rest of our journey. And try to not find any kidnapping rings while we’re at it, alright?”

“Hai, Natsumi-sensei,” Kiku says as she rubs the back of her neck before elbowing Shou in the side. “We’ll steer clear.”

“More like, I’ll keep you out of trouble,” Toru teases, safe from Kiku on the far side of the table. Kiku scowls at him, before turning her attention to her meal. “When do you want to move out, Natsumi-sensei?”

“I’ll give us three days to get to the border outpost, so meet at Konoha’s main gates in six days. Is that acceptable?”

“That should be fine,” Fusa says with a tilt of his head. “Now, you keep mentioning this kidnapping, human slavery ring. What exactly happened on your mission?”

“How long are you expecting to be gone for?” Sasuke asks, as he tucks his homework into his bag.

“Four days there, four days back, four days spent there, three days getting to the mission starting point, and another three days back, and of course that’s if everything’s on time. I’d say we should be back in roughly twenty days, but our check-in date is nineteen days after we leave. We might get back later or earlier, it all depends on how fast the civilian travel pace is really,” Toru says.

He pauses in his weapon sharpening to glance over at Sasuke. “I reckon you’ll be fine on your own, but do you mind if I ask Iruka to check in on you once a week?”

“No,” Sasuke responds grudgingly, willing to allow such a thing if it eased Toru’s worrying. “You’ll be gone for a while,” he remarks.

Toru’s gaze drifts to the table in front of him, “Yeah, we will,” he murmurs softly. “Hey, I’ll see if I can get any tips about taijutsu or find a scroll on a new style. How does that sound?”

“Would you really?” Sasuke asks perking up.

Toru nods, “Of course, and since it’s a festival, there should be numerous merchants from all over.”

Toru packs the last of his kunai away and quickly checks over his pack and sealing scrolls. He thinks he has everything necessary. He swings his pack over his shoulder and dips down so he can be on Sasuke’s level.

The Academy student gives Toru a small hug, and just as he draws away, Toru curls a hand around his neck. He pulls the boy closer so that their foreheads touch. “I’ll be safe,” Toru says fiercely, “and I’ll come back.” The to you is implied and left unsaid, as if saying such a thing will ruin what they have.

“Of course,” Sasuke says back, a smile curling on his face. “I’ll have gotten the new taijutsu stance down by then.”

Toru smiles as he stands and ruffles Sasuke’s hair, “I’m sure you will have,” he says in response, believing it full heartedly. “Don’t get into too much trouble with Naruto, you hear me?” Sasuke runs out the door with a wave, leaving Toru in their empty apartment.

Toru doesn’t glance back as he leaves, keeping his gaze forward (and there’s a village calling to him, but this isn’t the time or the place, and it must wait – and it will, because it knows that this isn’t the time).

Shou Shimizu has thoughtfully planned out to get their friends to remember that their friendship is strong and that their bond as teammates outweighs all other problems. It works. Iruka Umino attempts to get Naruto to work, and Naruto speaks up, and they both try. Meanwhile, Toru Uchiha thinks that something is up, even if he doesn’t know what, and Sasuke talks of memories left unspoken. The world continues to go on.

Chapter Text

“For tasks completed in your incorrectly ranked mission and progress in fūinjutsu and ninjutsu, you have been given a battle-promotion, Toru-kun,” the Nidaime Uzukage tells him.

Toru bows as he is given his chūnin vest – a design that Uzushio has derived from Konoha’s own flak jackets. “Thank you, Nidaime-sama,” he responds.

“Congratulations,” the Uzukage says, “Now, you will be attached to Team Isaki for a period of a year, unless your team becomes chūnins as well. You are allowed to take B-ranked missions in a month on a team of chūnin, and will only be allowed to take solo missions after a period of a year.”

Toru bows again, a grin on his face and relief clear. “I won’t disappoint you,” he says fiercely.

“I don’t doubt it,” the Nidaime replies before waving her hand. “Now, go talk to your team, they’ve been waiting impatiently for you outside my office.”

Toru bounds out of the Uzukage’s office, beaming at his teammates. “I did it!” He says with a laugh, “I finally did it!”

Ayumu, his best friend, laughs as she wraps an arm around his neck and jerks him down so she can ruffle his hair. “About time,” she responds, eyes glinting. “I made chūnin almost a year ago.”

“Yeah, but we took the exams,” Mika Asano, their third teammate, points out. “Toru had to stick back here all three times.”

“Children,” their sensei, Isaki Fujii, chides and Ayumu lets go of Toru with a roll of her eyes. “Congratulations Toru, I have to admit, it has been some time. I was beginning to think you would never make chūnin.”

“I was a genin for three years, sensei,” Toru responds. “Compared to many others, that wasn’t that long at all. It’s actually within the range of when most genin become chūnin.”

“Yes, but you were clearly at chūnin level, you just hadn’t been bothered to actually try for chūnin,” Isaki says, and Toru flushes. “Now, Mika,” their sensei says, turning to face the last genin on their team, “it’s up to you to make a good impression. You’re the only one who I trust to do such a thing.”

“Isaki-sensei, I feel inclined to point out that I’m still a genin,” Mika replies.

“Yes, but Toru seems rather lacklustre as he never made a showing in a chūnin exam and Ayumu was too flashy and focussed on causing bodily harm. You’re the only one who can still protect my good name.”

“Sensei, your good name was gone before we were your genin,” Ayumu says with a laugh.

“Shut it, brat,” Isaki says with a sniff, turning her face away from the Uzumaki. “If you have time to defame me, you have time to train. Move it!”

“Isaki-sensei, shouldn’t we celebrate Toru’s promotion?” Mika asks.

“We would’ve if it had been something that was surprising,” Isaki replies. “Celebrations are only for good children, and Toru only got a promotion because he somehow managed to link a drug ring with a criminal lord who had a cover as an inn owner, and of course we went to their inn.”

Ayumu snorts, “You make it sound so weird when you say it like that. It wasn’t even coincidence, there was a viable link.”

“You’re all brats,” Isaki responds, “and I don’t believe a word of the blasphemy you’re telling me. Moreover, weren’t you meant to be team captain, Ayumu? You were the one with the most authority, after all.”

“You wound me, I was separated from my team,” Ayumu replies.

“She was napping,” Toru and Mika say, their combined voices drowning out Ayumu’s own reply.

“Hey, that’s not what happened!” Ayumu shouts as the four exit the building. “I was sabotaged, I swear.”

“Ayumu, I’ve taught you for three years, that face doesn’t work on me,” Isaki replies. “How come I’m the only sensei who got stuck with such a bad team?”

“You were bragging about us yesterday to Akko-san,” Mika points out. “You can’t say that. That’s lying, Isaki-sensei.”

“Ninjas lie, brats. Now, last one to find me has to pay for dinner tonight,” Isaki says before disappearing in a smooth body flicker.

“Ayumu, you got her chakra registered?” Toru asks, and Ayumu nods. “Good, shall we go to dinner then and wait for her to turn up?”

Mika snorts, “Of course. She should’ve learnt from last time.”

Toru laughs and Ayumu throws an arm around Mika’s shoulders. “Let’s go, team! We have food to conquer!”

“Pretty sure, that I was voted team captain last time,” Toru says, elbowing Ayumu who easily squirms out of reach.

“And Isaki-sensei just pointed out that I was the most mature on this team, surely I should be the one in charge,” Mika adds.

Ayumu jumps onto a nearby rooftop without a backwards glance, “You suck!” She shouts as she moves further away. Mika and Toru exchange identical bemused glances before following their teammate.

Team Five – and that’s what they call themselves, even after their promotion – had learnt early on that whenever they had a mission with their sensei, even as chūnin, that whenever they aren’t being observed by clients, they train. Of course, this never changed even if they are on a team with other ninjas.

Kiku Kurama flips through the branches of one tree before slipping sideways and onto another branch as a ninja lands silently on the one she had originally been aiming for. She checks her suppressed chakra again before moving forward through the trees, hoping that the jōnin a tree over didn’t notice her. Unfortunately, it seems that Natsumi did. The jōnin bounds after Kiku who flips over one branch and lands on the ground, before rolling into a bush and keeping low and using the groundcover to hide.

There’s a scuff somewhere to her left, and she’s almost certain it’s one of her old genin teammates; their months of working on teamwork had yet to leave them all. Almost a second later, there’s a dark shadowy shape keeping pace next to her. Kiku identifies the long brown hair and acknowledges Shou before moving up into the trees once more. Kiku wonders where Toru is before a soft howl reaches her ears. Her heartrate rapidly increases and she has to remember to keep in control of her breathing.

A hand latches onto her shoulder and shoves her, and she falls from the branch. She flips and lands in a couch on forest ground. Kiku curses and takes off again. She may dislike having to practise stealth training while on a mission, but – on the bright side – she lasted a minute this time. She wonders how her teammates are managing.

Toru settles into a crouch on a thin branch, making sure to keep a steady channel of chakra as the branch dips below him. He knows, based on how long he lasted last time, he probably has ten seconds until he’s found.

The problem is that even if Toru does his best to hide his chakra signature, there will still be a trace of his chakra – and he can only get his chakra signature to mimic a civilian’s and not anything less. In a forest, where there are very few people around, and the only others are passing ninja and civilian’s travelling on the road – which is a long way off from Toru’s position, there is no way Toru won’t be caught.

However, the majority of Konoha’s forests are the result of a jutsu, and there is chakra within them (and natural energy, Uzushio taught, acts a lot like chakra even if it isn’t quite like chakra, but only the most powerful of sensors could actually detect it, leaving most to ignore it and not think anything’s unusual). Even if Toru can’t hide his chakra properly, he can work towards blending in amongst the trees. Toru curses in his head as his control over his chakra wavers briefly, and he can feel – more than sense – the chakra that slips out of his skin and sinks into the branch he’s crouching on.

He only has a few seconds left until someone finds him, cutting down his meagre eight seconds to three unless he moves. Even if he manages to somehow figure out a way to keep the older ninja off his tail by hiding his chakra or blending in with the trees, Mochiyo Inuzuka and Haru, her ninken, can track him through his scent, and he has no way of hiding his scent with his current skills.

Toru knows he has no way of outrunning the more experienced ninja with his current skillset, but he also knows that he can prolong how long he remains unnoticed. He carefully analyses his chakra levels, and figures his chakra pool is almost full, with his chakra use being almost equal to the amount of chakra his chakra coils are creating. He has enough chakra that he can probably manage a few jutsus and keep up for the rest of the day, but – just in case – Toru plans to keep some chakra in reserve.

Toru flips through a set of hand seals and channels his chakra, before whispering, “Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique.” His chakra settles around him and Toru goes through another set of hand seals, knowing that he has so, so little time. “Transformation Technique,” he whispers before dropping down onto the ground. “Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique,” he says once again, allowing the illusion to cover him this time. There’s a rustle from nearby and Toru flicks through a set of hand seals, “Clone Technique.”

Toru slows his heart rate through controlling his breathing. He keeps a thought on managing his transformation, keeping the mottle green and brown over his body, and hiding both his features and his clothes. The genjutsu illusion also hides him, while the first genjutsu he cast acts as a trick, to keep others from noticing his second genjutsu. Meanwhile, his clone should draw them off his path.

Fusa Sagara lands on the branch where Toru had just been, and pauses for a moment, chakra flaring to break through the genjutsu. He scans around him, and his gaze stops on Toru’s hiding spot, but a flicker of motion from Toru’s clone illusion gets the older chūnin’s attention, and Fusa takes off.

A grin curves on Toru’s face just as a howl rings quietly through the forest. He takes off again.

Shou huffs out a laugh as Toru lands in the clearing, looking disgruntled with leaves throughout his hair, and with mud and dirt all over his naturally tan skin. Toru plops down next to them with a groan. Shou snorts in amusement, and Toru decidedly rests against them, and Shou can feel the dirt and mud pressing against their skin.

“Did you learn anything interesting?” Fusa asks, a grin on his face. “You certainly seemed to have a lot of fun.”

Toru raises one arm and gives the older chūnin the finger. “You pushed me off a branch into a puddle of mud,” he says flatly. “It was not fun.”

“It was for me,” Fusa says as the Inuzuka barks out a laugh.

Toru glowers and Shou grins at Kiku, and the pair of them smiles at Toru’s displeasure, glad that the Uchiha can let himself go so much. Toru’s chakra sparks before seeming to fade and the chūnin goes through a set of hand seals and whispers something inaudible.

Shou stares in shock as Toru appears to fade into the grass and murky forest. Toru’s chakra rises briefly and the image disappears. “What was that?” Shou asks.

“The henge,” Toru responds, a smile flickering onto his face. “Unlike a genjutsu, it can’t disrupted by your opponent’s pain or by trying to break it with chakra. It’s a physical transformation, so I figured if I could use it as a camouflage technique, and no one would know as long as I kept my chakra hidden. If you scatter a few genjutsus around to confuse your opponent and illusion a clone a few trees away, your opponent tends to miss you.”

“Nice,” Kiku says, “I more or less figured out the best way to tree-hop without leaving a chakra trace behind.”

“I finally got my skill with channelling chakra to my senses down,” Shou admits. “I can more or less have it down to about 250 metres and have guess how much to use three times out of four.”

“Well, we have one day until we reach our first destination. Toru, you need to try to hold your henge for half the day tomorrow. Kiku, I want you to keep up the top of the trees on the weaker branches. Shou, I want you scouting ahead and paying attention to us within a 100 metre distance. If we talk, you need to catch it with your senses; we’ll have a report every half an hour.”

“Not nice, sensei,” Kiku groans.

“Oh come on, that isn’t hard. This is simple stuff,” Mochiyo says, “I could do it in my sleep.”

“You’re a jōnin,” Shou responds.

“And we’re chūnin,” Toru says before any of the older ninja can reply. “We might as well improve our skills while we have the chance.” Shou doesn’t react to Toru’s odd words, and they’re only a newly promoted chūnin so they don’t see Fusa or Mochiyo react, but they have been on Team Five for a long time, and they see Natsumi’s posture straightening and the minute narrow of her eyes.

Toru doesn’t seem to notice anything is odd as he starts stretching. However, Shou notices that he conveniently keeps his face towards where Mochiyo and Fusa are standing. There’s a moment of tension before Haru, Mochiyo’s ninken, barks something and the Inuzuka relaxes. “Well, you aren’t wrong,” she says. “Natsumi-san, what guard schedule do you want for when we start our mission?”

He stands before his Uzukage, and he knows what is to come (what has to come). “Jakkaru-san,” she says, her voice stern and strong. “Enemies approach our borders and we need to slow them down. Two sealing squads have already reinforced the barriers closest to Uzushio, but I do not want our sealing masters so close to enemy forces. Nonetheless, they need to be slowed.”

“I can have barrier squads reinforce the barriers further away as well as add traps. Furthermore, I can have some from the assassination division take down some of the Kiri-nin. However, the best way to slow down those approaching enemies would be to go out full force,” Jakkaru replies.

Ayumu nods, “Permission granted,” she says.

Jakkaru pauses, unwilling to speak the damning words but knowing that his Uzukage won’t say them until she’s forced to. Ayumu isn’t a soft Uzukage by any means, but Uzushio is small and a close-knit community, and any death is always one that is going to be mourned.

“I need authorisation for suicidal seals,” Jakkaru eventually says.

Ayumu’s eyes harden, “Authorisation for anything you deem necessary is given. You have jurisdiction over everything, and your power is only second to mine. Dismissed.”

Jakkaru bows, and leaves the office through the window, and as he bounds from one rooftop to another, his senses catch Ayumu’s final words whispered under her breath. “Ensure your return, Toru-kun, I don’t know how Uzushio will cope without you.”

Jakkaru feels his own expression harden and he easily cuts through a side alley before dropping into the sewers and keeping a steady loping run up until he enters ANBU headquarters. Jakkaru easily keeps his chakra signal suppressed as he creeps through one of the ANBU crash rooms where at least two ANBU are sleeping. Normally Jakkaru goes the long way to get to his office, but time is of short supply, and it’s quicker to sneak through the crash rooms. Plus, he probably won’t be seen before he gets to his office, which means no one will question him or ask why he appears so worried.

He knows his ANBU, and they know him – they would be able to tell that he’s stressed. Entering his office, Jakkaru let his chakra flare so the hidden ward seal let him open his desk draw. Jakkaru then activates the seal located in the secret part of the draw. The seal glows blue before fading and there’s a click from behind him.

Jakkaru turns around and pushes the painting – an image of the sea with boats on it, that when looked at in a certain way actually appears like a mask – sideways so he can access the hidden wall behind the painting. He takes a moment to stare at the ten seals, each one representing a different division.

Most of the ANBU corps tends to have one or two division seals to identify which ANBU division they’re in and that they are, in fact, in ANBU. Jakkaru knows that almost every ANBU has a main division and a secondary division, with very few having three or four.

Jakkaru knows that he can simply call the necessary divisions to do what his Uzukage asks, but he also knows that his ANBU deserve to know what’s going on, especially when it’s highly likely that many won’t return.

His chakra rises and the seals all start glowing brightly, and Jakkaru knows that every ANBU member – retired and current – will be feeling their tattoo-seal pulsing chakra, signifying that they’re needed.

Jakkaru takes a step back and checks that the painting returns to its stationary and locked position. The ANBU Commander then heads towards the main hall of the ANBU, his meagre sensing ability telling him that his ANBU are all pouring in.

There’s a flicker of chakra behind him, and Jakkaru feels himself relax slightly as Tori stands behind him, offering comfort by simply being present. There’s a scuff sound from behind him, and Jakkaru knows that Kame has arrived.

“Tori, can you check numbers for me?” Jakkaru asks, and he sees the bird-masked shinobi nod. Tori disappears, moving to a higher vantage point.

“Taichō?” Kame calls softly, just as Tora arrives to stand with her team.

“I’m alright,” Jakkaru says, glad that his voice doesn’t sound weak. Despite not being able to see his teammates’ faces, Jakkaru can sense the disappointed and worried looks they’re giving him. “I will be,” he adds on, “We have hard times ahead of us. Can one of you locate any of the division leaders?”

“You want them at the announcement podium?” Kame asks, and Jakkaru nods. The rest of his team disappears in a body flicker.

“Numbers show almost everyone’s here, Taichō,” Tori reports seconds later, and Jakkaru gathers himself, letting his emotions take a backseat.

He nods, “Thank you, Tori.” Jakkaru lets a body flicker carry him to the announcement podium, which is really just a raised platform of rock that everyone can see clearly. Jakkaru waits a moment, and his ANBU quiet down quickly. The division leaders take up their positions behind him; a show of power and alliance.

“A few days ago, we learnt of an invading force crushing through our borders and heading towards us,” the ANBU commander says. He knows that the rumour of an invasion has been whispered in dark corners and shady places. He knows that the rumour is true. His ANBU don’t show any sign of response, in control of their own emotions, but he can see tiny reactions that show their thoughts.

“The invading force has been identified to be from Kirigakure, and we are expecting there to be a force made up of missing-nin as well. We knew that there would be a war, but we did not know it would come through our borders. Nonetheless, it comes towards Uzushio, and we need more time.

“Uzushio depends on us now more than ever, and we will rise to that call. We know that not all of us will be leaving this war alive, but that has always been a risk for us. Due to the strength of the forces we will be fighting, I’m authorising suicidal seals. They are necessary for anyone going on a war mission.

“I want all main Frontal Assault ANBU to ready their full battle squads and prepare for a sabotage and combat mission. Secondary Frontal Assault ANBU, I need you to form battle squads of four, and I want attachments of two Barrier division ANBU and two tracking experts from the Hunting and Tracking division. Everyone except those divisions, the ANBU mentioned, and Taka’s team, is dismissed.” There’s a pause, as if the ANBU don’t know what to do, and then someone salutes and the rest follow that ANBU’s lead. Jakkaru and the division leaders salute back.

Jakkaru watches as the room empties, teams flocking together to find comfort and have whispered conversations. He knows that he could’ve withheld the knowledge from them, yet he knew it was a bad idea in the long run, and he’s loathe to hide anything from his ANBU.

Jakkaru turns to his division leaders, “ Shīra-san, can you organise the secondary teams and their attachments?”

The dolphin-masked ANBU nods, “Of course, Commander. Any other orders?”

“No, that’s it for now. I have all my Frontal Assault ANBU heading out except those injured and those out on missions. Do you wish to lead the attack?”

Shīra bows, “I would be honoured.”

Jakkaru turns and spots Inu, the division leader for the Intelligence division. “Inu-san, the battle plans?”

“Prepared and ready to be explained,” Inu responds.

Jakkaru nods, “Good, I want you to explain it to the teams going out for both the attack and the strengthening of the barrier seals. If you think of anything else you think needs to be done, tell me and we can discuss it.”

“Understood.”

Jakkaru dismisses the other division leaders with a wave of his hand and turns to face Tora. “Retrieve Taka and their core team.” Tora nods and disappears, reappearing a few seconds later with a team of four ANBU following her.

“Taka, your squad will be going out with the Frontal Assault division,” Jakkaru says. The ANBU Captain nods. “I recommend having Chīta as your second for this, but your team is up to your discretion. Any questions?”

“Will you be going out with us, Jakkaru-sama?” Taka asks.

“Of course,” Jakkaru replies, anger coating his voice. “My village is being threatened; I will be doing everything in my power to stop it. Check with Inu-san for the attack plan, I believe that our teams and the sabotage-focussed teams are going out as the first wave of attack.”

“Understood, Jakkaru-sama. It will be a pleasure to fight alongside you,” Taka responds before turning to their team. “Meeting point, go.” The second all-rounder team leave with a small bow to their leader.

“Your orders, Taich ō?” Tori asks.

“Prepare to go all out,” Jakkaru tells his team. “We are going out there full power and we are all returning together.”

Jakkaru can tell his team is smiling despite their animal masks. “Of course, Taichō,” Kame says.

“Tora, you have eyes on Jakkaru for now. We’ll swap in two hours,” Tori commands before he leaves along with Kame.

Jakkaru sighs, and Tora’s chakra spikes in amusement and happiness. “We just want to ensure you’re safe and healthy.”

“You don’t have to mother hen me,” Jakkaru complains as he starts heading towards his office.

“We wouldn’t have to if you looked after yourself,” Tora responds with a light laugh.

Jakkaru chuckles and increases his pace so he’s racing Tora. He should’ve expected his team to be uncaring of the dangerous mission ahead. After all, for an ANBU every mission’s dangerous.

The first day the Konoha team arrives at Minakami, older ninja organise it so that they have watch duty and the once-genins of Team Five are able to explore the capital of Hi no Kuni and the festival.

“Anyone know what this festival’s actually for?” Kiku asks as they walk down one of the main streets, often pausing to look at the stalls lining the side of the street.

“Well, it’s held for ridding illnesses and maliciousness in summer, and it’s an annual event to pray for good harvests and artistic progress,” Shou explains. “Do you remember the strips of paper we had seen on bamboo grasses and silk trees around the city and very few in the actual city itself?” Toru and Kiku nod. “Apparently, people write their wishes on those pieces of paper and then decorate either a silk tree or a bamboo grass with it.”

“Huh,” Kiku says, “How do you know all that?”

“I looked up the festival back home,” Shou says with a sheepish grin. “I thought it might be informative.”

“Well you weren’t wrong,” Kiku pauses, “loser.”

“Hey!” Shou protests, “It’s perfectly understandable to learn about your location before you go on a mission. It makes more sense than going in blind!”

Kiku narrows her eyes before her shoulders drop. “Okay, I’ll admit, that’s true.”

Toru huffs out a laugh, causing Kiku and Shou to exchange grins. Toru lets his gaze shift around, before it settles on a stall that seems rather dull and ignored among all the other brighter, glittering stalls.

Toru heads towards it, trusting Kiku and Shou to follow him and watch his back. Kiku steps up to stand next to him, instantly looking at the blades on display, Shou following her lead more sedately.

“I doubt most of these would stand up in a real fight,” Shou murmurs quietly while the stall owner is distracted by another customer.

“I agree,” Kiku says, “but they are beautifully made.”

“Some of them might hold up, actually,” Toru mentions as he picks up a beautifully crafted kunai. Toru checks the balance of the blade and runs a flicker of chakra through the blade – not enough to ruin the blade, but enough to see how well it would hold up if chakra were run through it.

“You thinking of getting something for Sasuke?” Shou asks while Kiku runs her hands over a short sword.

Toru nods as he puts the kunai but Kiku picks it up instead. “It has good balance and,” she pauses, “chakra passes through it pretty well. However, there’s no point having a kunai that’s sentimental, you’re just going to use it.”

“That’s my problem,” Toru responds, “but I may find something else that he’ll like.”

“What about that chokutō?” Kiku says, pointing to the straight, one-edged sword. “It’d be a bit too big currently, but he’d grow into it. It also looks fairly sturdy.”

Toru picks up the sword, the movement gaining the stall owner’s attention who quickly finishes up her conversation with another customer. Toru checks the balance of the sword; using memories of a life where kenjutsu had been a skill he knew, but had never used much. The chūnin hands the sword over to Kiku who also tests the weight, before running a chakra-glowing finger over the blade.

“Well, it certainly is strong,” Kiku says softly. “I think it would work well in an actual fight. The blade’s a bit dull, but that’s easily fixed. The metal seems a bit soft based on the chakra feeling I picked up from it, but the blade itself actually seems strong.”

“Interesting,” Toru says taking back the sword, just as the stall merchant reaches them.

“Welcome!” The merchant says with a grin, eyes flickering to their hitai-ate. “Interesting chokutō, is it not? I picked it up from a merchant from the south, who apparently got it from a blacksmith from the east.”

Toru’s fingers trace the engraved words on the blade. “It isn’t a ceremonial blade like the rest, is it?”

“A good eye you have,” the merchant acknowledges. “No, it isn’t. Although, the make is nice enough to look like it.”

Toru’s fingers tap the blade before he puts it back down. “Do you think Natsumi-sensei would mind looking over it?” He asks his teammates.

A hand drops down onto his shoulder and he stiffens before relaxing. “I wouldn’t mind at all,” Natsumi says. “For Sasuke-kun, I take it?”

Toru nods, “Kiku thought it would work, and I’m inclined to agree.”

Natsumi hums as she picks up the blade, “The metal’s a bit soft to chakra but despite that it’s quite chakra receptive. It’s not something you tend to see in this day and age, but this kind of metal response to the chakra was seen often about… I think it was common twenty-three years ago. Konoha ninja didn’t tend to use them, but our sister village did.”

Toru’s heart gives a pang as he realises that his sensei is talking about Uzushio. Toru had briefly thought that the chakra reception of the blade – from what Kiku had said – sounded familiar, but to know that the blade is similar to Uzushio’s own and it isn’t a fluke… Toru wonders if there are survivors out there (they’re all survivors, but he wonders if there are any others like him… New to life, but old).

“Sister village?” Shou echoes.

“Uzushiogakure,” Toru says softly, “They had a lot of seal masters.”

Natsumi appraises her youngest chūnin and tilts her head in agreement, “Indeed. How have you heard of them?”

Toru shrugs, “I did a lot of reading leading up to my graduation at the Academy,” he says and Natsumi nods but doesn’t continue the conversation, allowing it to drop. “Nonetheless, it’s an interesting blade.” The jōnin turns to face the stall owner, “Where did you say you got it from?”

“It was made by a blacksmith to the east but I got it from a merchant up south,” the stall owner says. “Are you thinking of buying it?”

Toru twists a little to look over at Natsumi who gives a small nod. “How much does it cost?”

“Toru-kun, what are you writing?” Mochiyo Inuzuka asks as she looks up from sharpening her kunai.

“Just some notes about the henge,” Toru replies. The pair aren’t on guard duty yet, but it pays to be ready and awake before their shift starts.

“Oh, what about?”

“Well, if you think about it, as one of the basic three taught it’s clearly of some major use. However, very few ninja actually use it. That means there has to be a reason why no one uses it. It only requires chakra not a specific chakra nature, so essentially anyone can use it. Except, no one does.”

“That’s because it only changes the visual, and a full transformation costs a considerable amount of chakra,” the Inuzuka responds. “Anyone with good senses would be able to tell it’s a transformation. That’s why no one really uses it in a village full of ninja.”

“But there are ways to hide your scent,” Toru points out, “and you don’t have to do a full transformation. You can do partial transformations that are extremely helpful, such as the camouflage one.”

“However, a chakra sensor would be able to sense the chakra covering your skin,” comes the reply. “The problem is that there are too many flaws and weaknesses regarding the henge. It’s a good base, though, and helpful in places where there aren’t any ninja around, but if you were around ninja then it would act as a giveaway.”

“But what if you managed to have the chakra output, the residue, act like a… act like natural energy? Then most sensors would ignore it. Or maybe you could construct something that would allow the chakra residue to be sealed away. The scent problem can easily be rectified with the correct soaps and shampoos and all that,” Toru says.

“You still have the chakra amount problem,” Mochiyo says. “Ignoring that, what you’re suggesting would be extremely hard to do. You’d almost be better off creating a new jutsu.”

“For what I want to do, all that’s required is a transformation of the skin and-or clothing. If you allow it to reflect your surroundings or simply blend in with them, it’d be quite helpful.”

“What about shadows and depth? You’d be able to make out that you stick out from your surroundings as a human shape,” Mochiyo responds as she puts her sharpening tools and kunai away.

“This is more for hiding in the natural environment, though. I can easily shroud my shape or blur the edges, and I can hide in the shadows to make it harder to find me.”

“You’re essentially suggesting using the henge with something to hide the chakra output, but use it as a skin-deep change to act as camouflage in the natural environment,” Mochiyo summarises.

Toru nods, “A skin-deep change doesn’t require much chakra, maybe as much as tree-hoping or water walking. A transformation isn’t actually disrupted; a person can only lose their hold over the jutsu. Furthermore, the only way to discover it is based on external senses, so like smell and noise, and the chakra output and whether the user is doing a good job of hiding their shape.”

“An interesting idea,” Mochiyo admits, “but hard to do.”

Toru shrugs as he puts away his notebook and pen. “True, but it was worth the thought.”

“I suppose, but it’s like the others from the Academy Three. On paper, and in theory, they’re useful, until you look at the weaknesses and flaws and figure out why no one actually uses them that much.”

“Then why are we taught them?”

“Technically, only non-clan kids are taught it. Clan kids actually learn other jutsu, hence why they graduate more often than non-clan kids. Second-generation kids tend to have their parents teach them something or the other. In the end, those who actually graduate from academy student to genin is around 33% of the class. And the majority of them fail to become chūnin unless they’re members of a clan. Most genin who graduate will complete their mandatory time before dropping out due to not wanting to forever be part of the Genin Corps.”

“Have the Ninja Academy rates always been like this?” Toru asks.

“No, after the Third War the rates dropped as we no longer had a wartime academy system. We also needed to send out more ninjas as a show of strength. Beforehand, we had mainly retired ninja teaching but then we had a massive recall of the Corps for the war and mainly new chūnin or injured ninja taught at the Ninja Academy. After the Third War finished, it was simply left to chūnin.”

“Huh,” Toru says, “Did the rates for civilian kids drop or did it stay the same?”

“It dropped as well,” Mochiyo says. “Most jōnin instructors tend to have teams a long time due to the low skills of the genin who do manage to graduate. Most genin don’t become chūnin until they’ve had two years of experience and an entire year of skill building. Your team is actually quite surprising in that regard. However, if you think about it, one of you is a Second Gen and the rest of you are clan members.”

There are two all-rounder teams in Uzushio’s ANBU. These teams are capable of running missions for any divisions, due to each team having ninjas that were capable of belonging to multiple divisions. One team is led by Jakkaru made up of Tori, Tora, and Kame. The other team is led by Taka and made up of Kujiri, Tokage, and Chīta. Rarely did these teams work with others, simply due to the specialisations of the other ANBU. However, with the call for full power, both all-rounder teams were out with other divisions.

Jakkaru carefully sticks his hands and feet to the bottom of the Kiri boat, and carefully carves a seal on the keel of the boat and then letting a barrier cover the seal and a small space around it. Jakkaru pushes himself away from the boat and signals Tora that he’s done. Tora nods and the pair move away from the boat.

So far, they’ve managed to mark at least one-third of the boats with the fire seal and a barrier surrounding it. If it all goes to plan, Jakkaru hopes that they can ruin the keels of most of the boats by burning it. The majority of the other boats all have small chips in the wood allowing water to slowly fill the craft.

:Send teams?: Tora signs to Jakkaru.

:Team two progress?: Jakkaru responds.

:Successful: Tora signs back, and Jakkaru nods as the pair watch the ships pass overhead.

:Activating seal one: Jakkaru says, :sending teams.:

Tora nods and the pair swim to a rocky outcrop almost a kilometre behind the last boat. The two Uzushio ANBU pick up their gear and Jakkaru activates the seal, which glows a bright blue. Ahead of them, an exact seal of the one Jakkaru holds glows. The division leader holding the seal looks around at the ANBU surrounding him, and knows that they’re running behind schedule. The masked ninja of Uzushio activates the seal and Jakkaru sees the seal glow green.

Plans are changed, but still the counterattack goes forward.   

While Minakami is a primarily civilian town, there are a few ninja shops for the retired ninjas, visiting ninjas, and those guarding the Daimyō. Therefore, Toru isn’t overly surprised when he happens upon on a weapons shop, not that he plans on getting anything from it. He does pause momentarily to look in the window, his eyes catching on the gleaming silver colour of the multiple blades before turning and leaving.

Toru really doesn’t want to be late to his next guard shift, and if he hurries, he’ll only just make it in time. His dark eyes settle on an out-of-the-way backstreet. He’s pretty sure it shortens his travel time by as much as five minutes.

The Uchiha barely thinks about it before entering the dim passageway. He slows his pace and takes to the shadows, his training kicking in. However, Toru doesn’t make any attempts to really hide his presence as he continues down the street. He only realises this is a mistake when someone corners him against a wall.

The chūnin keeps his reflexes under control as a short woman faces him and thrusts something into his hand. “Listen, you need to keep this on you for now. No one else can find out about this; you need to keep this a secret. I’ll come find it, alright? I’ll find you.”

“How–?” Toru starts before he is interrupted.

“I’ll find you – unless, unless something happens but then you’ll know, you’ll know,” the woman says before she’s gone. Toru knows he could chase her down, could find out what’s really going on. However, that woman had been desperate and scared and Toru’s felt like that before (back when there’s a village falling and his ninja are dying, dying, and he can’t do anything except hope and fight and– no, he doesn’t need to remember this now). That aside, the mission thus far has been unexciting and rather dull with its politics and endless guard shifts.

Toru tucks the scroll into his weapons pouch and knows he’ll look at it when he next has time. He wonders whether he should alert the others of Team Five or whether he’ll keep it to himself.

In the end, he can make the decision later. He has a mission to first complete.

“It doesn’t open,” Shou mutters in confusion, staring at the scroll.

“Told you,” comes Toru’s muffled voice from where the chūnin has his head face down in the pillow. “There’s a seal there, but it only activates when you run chakra through it, and when I did that it sent up a burst of fire.”

“You made it out with your eyebrows intact?” Shou asks in amusement.

“Yes,” Toru says, before sighing. “I think I’ll just leave it and take a look at it tomorrow.”

“Toru, it’s the morning,” Shou says with a laugh. There’s a groan from the tired boy but nothing else. “C’mon, we might as well go explore the city.”

“I want sleep,” Toru mutters as he draws himself up and out of bed.

“You’re the one who stayed up past your shift time,” Shou points out as the pair leave the room. Toru’s response makes Shou laugh. “Didn’t know some of those words, want to repeat them?”

Toru’s only response is to quicken his pace and head off in another direction. Shou laughs and walks beside him. “Any idea where we’re going?”

Toru shrugs as his pace slows, and the pair continue to casually stroll through the streets of Minakami. “Do you know if there’s anything happening in the festival?”

“Don’t think so,” Shou hums, “It’s mainly the same as all the other days, except there’s a different religious component, I believe.”

“Hmmm,” is Toru’s only contribution as the pair enter a park. Toru yawns and stares the civilian children playing a game in the park. “Is that normal?” He asks as one kicks a ball to another before running forward towards two large trees.

Shou looks at what Toru’s staring at, before nodding, “Yeah, it’s pretty common.”

“But it’s so boring… and slow,” Toru responds.

“I suppose it is now, but when you’re younger you never notice those kind of things,” Shou says. “Didn’t you play a similar game when you were younger?”

Toru shakes his head, “We played other games.”

“What kinds?”

“Things like ninja tag, which we played often; um, find-and-infiltrate; we also played attack-and-defence; steal; and, of course, capture,” Toru responds. “They mainly improved our ninja skillset and so forth.”

“The only one I’ve heard of is ninja tag, and I’ve only heard the name before,” Shou says. “Feel up to explaining what each one is?”

“Ninja tag is using all skills you have at your disposal to avoid one person who’s It. If they catch someone then that person is It. You have to know who’s It at all times, otherwise you can get caught out. The weapon throwing makes it a bit difficult.”

“Weapon throwing?” Shou echoes.

Toru nods, “Yeah, you had to be careful as weapons counted as an extension of the other person. It didn’t help that everyone tried to sabotage each other.” Toru pauses and after a moment, Shou nods for him to go on. “I suppose find-and-infiltrate is the next one to explain. Basically, one person hides somewhere and everyone else needs to find them. However, they can’t be seen infiltrating the hiding place of the first person.”

“So, it’s like sardines then?” Shou asks.

“What’s that?” Toru questions in confusion.

“A civilian game,” Shou reveals, “but it doesn’t matter. What were the other ones you spoke of?”

“Attack-and-defence is when there are two teams. Everyone decides on a base, and then one team has to defend it while the other team has to attack it. If they manage to contain all the defenders, they win. Another game is steal, which is when there are also two teams and one team has to hide an object and keep it away from the other team, who has to steal it and take it back to their base. The last game I mentioned was capture. Capture is when there are two teams. One team has to guard a person and escort them to a safe location while the other team needs to capture the escorted person, who acts as a civilian and can’t actually defend themselves.”

“Huh,” Shou says, “We didn’t have any games like that, but we had similar ones. I suppose a clan childhood is quite different to a civilian childhood, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Toru says quietly, “I suppose it is.”

Tora signs to Jakkaru, :What happened?:

:Delay: Jakkaru signs back. The Frontal Assault division must still be laying down defences and traps in the water. Originally, the plan had been for the Frontal Assault division to attack the ships while the two all-rounder teams slowly killed off the ninja in the back boats.

Jakkaru quickly makes and discards plans, before thinking of one that would work. :Call team: he signs, :both.:

Tora nods and swims off, while Jakkaru checks his weapons and seals. Realistically, it’s probably a bad plan in theory, but Jakkaru knows his team and that if push comes to shove, they will manage.

The rest of Jakkaru’s team and the other team arrive, their clothes dark in order to blend in with the darkness of the water. :Plan change: Jakkaru signs, :us attack. Team two assassinate.:

:Time?: Kame asks.

:Unknown: Jakkaru responds.

:Understood: Tori signs back.

:High risk: Taka signs. :Chance not plan?:

:Low: Jakkaru responds, figuring out what the other ANBU Captain means. :Team two wait ten minutes.:

:Hai: Taka signs back with a nod before motioning to the rest of their team.

:Me point:: Jakkaru begins, :Tori back; Tora right; Kame left. Ten minutes; straight line. Understood?:

:Orders accepted: Tori signs. :Go?:

Jakkaru nods and checks over his team before swimming strongly towards the front of the fleet of boats. Once there, he channels chakra to his feet and propels himself out of the water, before finding himself crouching on the water’s surface. The rest of his team does the same.

He takes a deep breath and centres himself, he quickly activates the seals on the bottom of the boats, which would create a fire that would burn the keel and hopefully sink the boats. He and his team have trained for this, and he thinks (he hopes so much) that they’re ready for this.

(See, here’s the thing, Kirigakure trains their ninjas to be able to fight from in the water and use the water to their advantage. Kirigakure is on one island of many, and their ninjas have to be able to use the natural environment, often the ocean, to their benefit. There’s a reason why they come on boats and it doesn’t just have to do with the difficulties of attacking from land. But – and of course there’s a but when Uzushio is concerned – Uzushio is surrounded by the ocean and it’s located on a small island. Uzushio depends on the sea and her ninja are on home in the water and on land. After all, Uzushio’s ANBU attacked from the water and not just because they would be harder to detect, but because the water is something they know and it is theirs to love just like they are its to love.)

(Kiri might train their ninjas to use the water and fight from it, but Uzushio trains theirs to love it.)

Jakkaru calls on his chakra and it rises as it has always risen, large and willing to defend and attack. “Team, activate seals,” Jakkaru says just as a seal on his shoulder starts glowing as it activates for the second time in its existence.

They’ve been sighted by the Kiri-nin now and there are voices rising in the silence and Jakkaru grins, fiercely, proudly, and ready to stop the forces with his life (but he hopes it doesn’t end like that, because he’s not ready to die yet, but if he does, he’ll go proudly because he died for his village and that will always be an honour). “Wind Release: Multi-layered gale!” Jakkaru calls after flicking through hand seals.

The wind soars towards the ships, scooping up water and creating waves to go against the boats. The B-rank jutsu hits three ships and sends them back, scoring the wood. Before it’s even hit the boats, though, Jakkaru has moved. He slams his hands down on the water’s surface and water rises up before crashing down on the boats. Beneath its might, wood splinters and boats settle deeper into the water as the weight increases.

Beside Jakkaru, his teammates call out their own techniques and work with him to stop the fleet of boats. They do what the majority of the Frontal Assault division should be doing – all on their own.

“Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullets! Water Release: Wave,” Jakkaru continues, letting his first jutsu drill holes in the boat before letting a large wave enter the holes and fill the bottom of the boat with water.

“Typhoon Water Vortex Technique; Water Attacking Gorgon; Water Pillar Thrust; Wind Release: Gale Palm!” Jakkaru says, and one ship goes down. Jakkaru motions to Tori who dives beneath the water, a kunai in both hands.

A fog starts covering the water, dense with chakra and clinging to Jakkaru. Jakkaru grins grimly, and the seal on his shoulder sucks the chakra out of the fog; three similar seals exist on the rest of Jakkaru’s team and they too pull the chakra out of the fog, allowing it to become a normal mist. The mist is no longer dangerous and Jakkaru’s team spreads out as Tori rises from the sea.

The four of them form a line and one ANBU uses a wind jutsu to get rid of the fog. The Kiri boats are slowing down, now. However, not one of the four ANBU pause and continue with their attacks, continue pressing the Kiri-nin.

Jakkaru pushes forward, taking a step as he calls wind and water up and will them to do his bidding. A Kiri-nin jumps off the boat he approaches, and races at him. Jakkaru charges forward and quickly uses another wind technique. It slices through the approaching kunoichi and continues on to slash at the wood of one boat.

Jakkaru takes on the same boat, wind cutting through the wood and letting water flood the boat and sink it. Five ninja jump off the boat and attack him, but Jakkaru is an ANBU Commander and he doesn’t hesitate as he kills them. The rest of the Kiri-nin on the boat are all jumping off, joining other ships or attacking him.

Jakkaru lets one drag him beneath the water before twisting out of their grip and slicing through their throat. He kills another two in a similar manner, chokes a third one, and uses water to drag another three to their deaths in the depths of the ocean.

Once again, he rises from the sea, but this time with blood on his uniform and a grim expression on his face. His team stand beside him, strong and steady and never wavering. The boats stop as more ninjas attack them.

They forget, though, that they aren’t attacking just any ANBU but Uzushio’s own, and her best. Jakkaru’s team doesn’t wait for them to come.

Tori and Tora strike out with a combination jutsu and Kame follows behind it, ensuring their opponents are dead. Then the ANBU re-joins her team and using her own chakra, places a seal on the surface of the ocean. The seal activates seconds later, an explosion rocking the water and sending massive waves out. Jakkaru’s team easily ride the waves, but the boats aren’t as lucky as water rises over their railings and sweeps things and people overboard.

The four ANBU move forward; each one darting forward and tagging a boat before backing away. Jakkaru twists water and wind to stop a different boat from moving forward and the four tagged boats explode in flame and light. The smoke disperses a second later and the leftover ruins of the boats remain, wood sticking up with sections having a familiar red gleam.  

Jakkaru goes through another set of hand seals, “Fire Whirlwind Vortex! Fire Release: Running Fire! Fire Release: Flame Whirlwind!” The fire heads straight towards the boats, but before a water jutsu can dowse the flames, Jakkaru follows up with, “Wind Release: Multi-layered Gale!” The wind-boosted fire hits four ships and the wood catches despite its dampness, the chakra-powered flames catching the wood alight.

Jakkaru finally calls one of Uzushio’s own jutsus, “Water Release: Whirlpool Water Blade!” Another ship goes down and a whirlpool starts forming in front of the ANBU team. The four jump back and separate, each one taking different paths to different ships.

The whirlpool takes down one ship as the others start moving back even as more Kiri-nin enter the battle. However, even as Jakkaru’s team keeps them back alone and keeps succeeding at their task, they know they don’t have to hold on for too much longer. After all, a whirlpool never forms out of nowhere, although the Kiri-nin clearly didn’t know as they continue to focus on the single ANBU team.

There’s suddenly a great rising of chakra from either side, and the ANBU Commander and his team know that the Frontal Assault division has arrived. Quickly two boats fall, and still the boats cannot move forward and instead have to keep defending themselves.

After thirty minutes, a quickly drawn ink seal on Jakkaru’s hand lets out a pulse of chakra and Jakkaru signals for his team to prepare to retreat. The rest of the Frontal Assault teams start retreating and Jakkaru winces as he hears a loud boom and fire rises into the sky, white and tinged with blue. He knows another one of his ANBU has fallen to the Kiri-nin.

The ANBU Commander redoubles his efforts to hold back the Kiri boats, his chakra reserves slowly but steadily dropping. Tora pulses her chakra and Jakkaru signs for his team to finally retreat. However, just before they retreat, the four slam their hands down onto the surface of the ocean, and a seal blooms beneath their hands, bright and strong. Between the four of them, they call a tsunami into existence and it rises and races towards the boats. Jakkaru and his team turn their backs and run.

(This is where his legend first rises, among the Kiri-nin whispers of a jackal-masked ANBU who held up an entire force with his team, waiting for the rest of his force to arrive. He is no Yellow Flash, but still his name is whispered in hate and reverence, and slowly the stories cross the land, carried by many people. More stories come into existence when a village falls and her people hide amongst others, in small groups but there – and these stories always, always have a grain of truth to them.)

(There’s a reason why has never been another jackal-masked ANBU in Konoha after this, and it is out of respect more than anything else. This is all that comes of the time when a four-ninja team held up an entire invasion force out of sheer power and will.)

Jakkaru checks on every ANBU, counting the injured and noting the dead. He greets each ANBU by name and mourns with them (and they all mourn with him). Even as he mourns, he cannot help but be glad, be thankful. Thankful for how many didn’t fall and glad at cutting down the Kiri-nin forces by such a big number.

(He is thankful that his team is not among the fallen.)

Kiku’s teammate – Toru – has always seemed a little odd, a little different from most. At first, she thought it was because of the traumatic experience he had been through, but it had never really faded. Instead, it had seemed to become a part of Toru, as if the Uchiha had always been missing something and had only recently found it.

No matter what it is that makes Toru different, Kiku knows she can trust him – just like how she knows she can trust Shou. They’re teammates, and that means something – they’re each other’s’ best friends.

So, only a little resigned and quite curious, Kiku follows her younger teammate down an alley to a small food stall he said he had found. However, when Toru pauses, the Kurama is quick to check their surroundings and guard Toru’s back.

Nothing seems to be the matter, and yet when Kiku allows herself to face what Toru is facing, she can’t see anything out of the ordinary. It’s a dark brick wall, with scratches and carvings and drawing of some kind covering it.

“Toru?” She asks quietly.

“It’s nothing,” Toru responds even as he lifts his hand to trace something on the wall. Kiku opens her mouth to argue, to say that it isn’t nothing, and something’s gotten you worried, but she stops because there’s an age-old sorrow in Toru’s words, and maybe it’s better that it goes unspoken. “C’mon, the restaurant’s this way,” he says walking off.

As Kiku passes the wall, she lets her gaze focus on where Toru had traced something. It’s a spiral, almost familiar but not quite, but as Kiku walks past it, she swears it seems to glow a bright blue.

“Got your presents?” Shou asks the others as they all pack to head off again. They don’t need to actually guard the Moto family on their last day, as the family is having lunch with the Daimyō, and the Daimyō’s own guards will watch over the Moto family for them. Not that it stops the older ninjas from guarding the Moto family anyway.

“Yeah,” Kiku says. “A necklace for my Kaa-san and a new set of kunai for my Tō-san.”

“I got a scarf and a new weapons pouch for my parents,” Shou says before looking at Toru.

“Well, you know I got a blade for Sasuke, I found a nice book for Iruka-san, and I got a pair of gloves for Naruto-kun,” Toru says just as he picks up a scroll that had been sitting innocently on the dressing table. “Huh, I forgot about this.”

“I certainly didn’t,” Shou responds, “I thought you were waiting until we were home to take a closer look at it.”

“This is that weird encounter Shou told me about, yeah?” Kiku asks as she bounces over to look at the object in question.

Toru nods before jumping back as the scroll starts smoking. Kiku quickly backs away as well, standing next to Shou and each chūnin gets ready for something to happen.

Nothing happens except the scroll opens with a click.

Toru glances over at his teammates and Shou twists his hands to sign at Toru. :Hostile?:

:Unsure: Toru responds. :Plans?:

:Unsure: Kiku signs. :Complete?:

Toru grimaces. The sign language used by the normal ninja of Konoha is very specific and relies on the ninja interpreting what the other means through a few words.

:Approach; careful: Toru signs back before getting closer to the now-unsealed scroll. It peels open easily beneath his hands, the paper thick. His eyes quickly scan the scroll before he realises there are no further traps. :Dead: he signs to the others. :Safe; approach.:

“What is it?” Kiku asks softly, peering over her comrade’s shoulder to read the scroll.

First off, if this isn’t Keiko reading this, then know she has passed away. Keiko, if you are reading this, congratulations on your survival – we need you now more than ever. If you are not Keiko and reading this, know that Keiko is dead. Keiko, skip pass the next paragraph, it is an explanation.

If you are not Keiko, you must know the events that have arisen and how this found itself in your hands, and what this is exactly. Keiko should have been the person receiving this, as it was only for her hands. However, if it is in someone else’s now, then she is dead and gave this to you as her final actions. Keiko was one of three leaders of the major akasen’s in Hi no Kuni. She travelled from Konoha to receive information and discuss with all three leaders, in Minakami. There is, you see, a growing population of those who live in the akasen, and crime is rife and rising. Things are getting harder and people are dying. It is hard to earn money when everyone is dying. It doesn’t help that an illness has struck Konoha’s own Red District, leaving many dying and few to survive. And yet, Konoha remains unknowing and uncaring of those in the shadows. If Keiko is dead, I ask for you to give this to the next in line for leadership in Konoha. Go to the Blossom and give them this. They will understand.

Keiko, if this is you, I have only worse news. Minakami’s own akasen population has been rising and still we have seen little change in the way things are run. A week ago, a report of two murdered families came across a police officer’s desk – we found it in the trash the next day. I have heard of the growing unrest, and we both know that something will come of this. It will be a tragedy and a massacre as all those who rise up will be killed and nothing will change.

We do not need change, but we need to survive. Konoha’s own spymaster pays us attention, but only to receive information. They do not learn anything from us or give us anything. The gangs are growing in power, in strength, in numbers. We will not be able to hold out for long. Before long, the ninja will once again be under attack by their own people.

Do you wonder who will hear about it, afterwards? I don’t, and I imagine you are the same. We both know that no one will know, because no one cares for us. However, what will come of it is a massacre. The ninja will not care for where people come from or that only one gang and their allies attack. They will come for us all and kill many of us. The streets will run red with our blood.

We cannot let this happen. Correspondence with Asa, shows she too is in agreement. I understand your refusal to open this until you make it back safe, as being outside your territory is dangerous. I await your reply. Send your normal runner.

Hinatsu

Note: This scroll would only open when Keiko’s chakra no longer existed in the seal – or so the sealer we went to said. I trust them, so this must be true.

Shou swears, Kiku adds her own curses, and Toru continues staring at the paper. “Reckon it’s all fake?” Kiku asks, her voice soft.

Toru shakes his head, “No, I doubt any of it’s fake. I think it’s all real.”

“But this person, Hinatsu, suggests that once civilians rose up against Konoha-nin. Wouldn’t we know if something like that happened?” Kiku says.

“There’s no mention of Konoha-nin,” Shou says thoughtfully. “It’s plausible that it happened elsewhere; and if it did happen, it’s unlikely that the ninjas would let anyone be aware of what happened.”

“Okay, what do you reckon?” Toru asks, lifting his gaze to watch his teammates. “What are your thoughts?”

“That rarely do we ever hear about civilian complaints and there’s even an entire council to deal with them that has nothing to do with ninja, right? It’s almost like we exist in two separate worlds, and only interact for missions,” Kiku answers.

“There’s no way we would really find out unless we spoke with civilians,” Shou states. “I mean, I’ve heard a bit about the terrible conditions in Kirigakure that the civilians face, but that’s about it.”

“What are you going to do?” Kiku asks, “We need to tell someone.”

“I’m going to hand the scroll to Blossom, wherever that is,” Toru decides. “I mean, there’s no way I can prove this isn’t fake.”

“You should still tell someone with more authority,” Shou says. “Except, that’s a waste of resources and if anything, the right people will already be aware of it. If this is real, and there’s no way of proving it is, these people seem to want to keep the peace. We’ll see what they have to say first.”

“We?” Toru repeats.

Kiku brightens before her expression falls, “Actually, I can’t help. As a clan member, I can’t be seen in the Red District and I don’t want to get involved in the criminal underworld any more than I already am. Tell me what happens afterwards though, okay?”

Toru nods, “You shouldn’t come either Shou,” he says. “Your parents probably don’t want you to go, and I don’t think it’ll be safe for any of us.”

“You shouldn’t go in without backup,” Shou argues. “You need me there.”

“I’m planning on going as a civilian,” Toru replies, “under a henge. You don’t have the kind of chakra suppression necessary, and I’m the one who’s best with the henge currently.”

“I don’t like this,” Shou says, scuffing his foot along the floor, “but I can’t do much about it. Stay safe, you hear?”

Toru nods, “Of course.”

They say one never stops learning, and for Kiku, Toru, and Shou that is certainly true. While they learn, they also complete their mission. Even if it is slightly distorted with gifts being bought, civilian and ninja childhood differences coming to light, and a strange person finds Toru, which ends with a scroll opening and dark words being seen by ninja.
Has life ever been more interesting?

Chapter Text

Toru yawns as he unlocks the door to Sasuke and his apartment. He had only just arrived back in Konoha minutes ago, and after Natsumi ordered them to turn in their report tomorrow, they had all been dismissed to sleep.

Toru silently treads down the hallway towards the main bedroom where his bed is located. He opens the door, grimacing when it creaks softly, before putting his bag down on the floor near the wardrobe. Turning to the beds, he smiles when he spots a person in his head, bright hair standing out against the pillow.

Toru smiles to himself before wondering where he’s meant to sleep. There’s the guest bedroom, but neither Sasuke nor Toru have put sheets and covers on the bed. Toru knows he could sleep on the couch, but doing so seems rather uncomfortable after such a long mission and the fast final leg, when they had all wanted to reach Konoha that night.

After a quick shower, Toru ends up marching over to Sasuke and nudging the Academy student over. He mumbles something before turning around and falling back to sleep. Toru huffs out a laugh before letting himself drop off to sleep.

Upon waking up, Sasuke did not scream, thank you very much. He was simply alerting Naruto to the new occupant in the room (and if Toru doesn’t stop snickering soon, then Sasuke will… do something terrifying). Nevertheless, when Sasuke is fully awake and actually identifies the clean yet still-smelling-like-the-road ninja. Despite this, Sasuke offers his only relative a small smile. “Welcome back,” he says quietly as he gets out of bed.

Toru gives Sasuke an easy smile in response, “Good to be back,” he says. “Is there any food for breakfast?”

Naruto makes a face, “I think there are leftovers?” He questions looking over at Sasuke who nods.

“Take out?” Toru says in amusement. “Eh, doesn’t matter much, I’m looking forward to having food that I doesn’t taste like rations and road dust.”

“Is that your bag?” Sasuke says pointing over to where the fairly dusty travelling bag Toru has been towing for the past week and a bit.

Toru nods, “Yeah, I have presents for you guys, but I’ll only hand them out once we’ve finished up with breakfast.”

Naruto’s face falls and his eyes glimmer for a moment before a grin springs to his face. “Do we have to?” Naruto whines, “Can’t we see what you got us first?”

“Hmm,” Toru says tapping his chin, “Depends on what Sasuke wants to do, I suppose.”

“Presents,” Sasuke says, his eyes scanning the bag once again.

“Alright then,” Toru says, “Sasuke, your gift is in the living room, while Naruto’s is in my bag.”

“Was your mission interesting?” Naruto asks as he bounces alongside Sasuke as the Academy student leads the way to the living room.

Toru shrugs, his mind instantly thinking of the odd scroll he had been given. “Not really,” he says. “I saw a few interesting things, did a few interesting things, but it was nothing like my first C-rank mission.”

“That’s boring,” Naruto says as he drops onto the couch. “Didn’t anything fun happen? Did you battle any bad guys?”

“I’m afraid not,” Toru responds as he picks up something from behind the couch, keeping it out of Sasuke’s eyesight. “It was a simple guarding mission; the only interesting thing was the learning I did.”

“Now, Sasuke, it’s come to my notice that you’ve been doing exceptionally well in taijutsu in the academy,” Toru says, “and I thought I’d get you something that strengthens that.” Toru gently unsheathes the blade he had bought for Sasuke. “It’s a bit big for you now, but it should last you even after you’ve graduated from the Ninja Academy. Here you go.”

Sasuke gently takes the blade, running his fingers over the hilt and up the blade. There’s wonder and awe in his eyes, and Toru smiles softly. “Do you know kenjutsu?” Sasuke asks, his gaze drifting towards Toru once again.

“I know a bit,” Toru says after a moment (he goes through his katas again, his sword heavy in his hands; the rain makes his grip slippery and his legs waver beneath him, but he keeps fighting; the pair meet in a clash of blades, the sound loud and jarring, and Toru grins at his sparring opponent; Toru stabs downward, killing his enemy in one strike, he pulls his sword back and flicks blood off the blade; blood drips down his arm and down his sword, and Jakkaru trembles as he tries to stand upright, but then there’s someone there helping him and he lets the darkness take him; a blade cuts through his torso and twists and he gasps as he dies, unable to even scream; the short sword goes through his chest and it’s-happening-again but he refuses to die, and a seal is painted on his chest in blood). “I don’t know the Uchiha kenjutsu style, though,” he adds after a moment, drawing himself back from memories and focusses on his breathing (and he refuses to let these things make him weak, he isn’t weak – he cannot be weak). “We have scrolls on it, and I’ve been meaning to look over it. How about we look over them together and I’ll see what I can teach you? I can always try to find you a kenjutsu teacher, but we might as well get the basics down… Of course, we’ll need to get wooden swords first.”

“Wooden swords?” Sasuke echoes.

Toru nods, “Yeah, we can’t start off with actual blades or we’ll probably injury ourselves and each other. Better to start with something that won’t kill.”

“What’d ya get me?” Naruto asks, finally looking away from Sasuke’s present.

“Nothing so cool I’m afraid,” Toru says and Naruto’s expression falls. “I don’t know anything about your Academy scores, so I couldn’t do anything on that front. I did, however, find something general that would be quite helpful.”

Toru pulls out the pair of gloves he had bought Naruto. They’re a dark blue colour with a light blue palm; they have a metal plate on the back where Toru got the Konoha symbol engraved. “They might be a bit big right now,” he says, “but you’ll grow into them.” He turns them over, to reveal a dark black seal on the palm, “This seal is specific to unseal a single kunai into your hand whenever you activate it,” he reveals. He knows how the seal works as he himself had burnt it onto the gloves with his chakra, after hours and hours spent practising it and improving it. It had been (it is) one of Uzushio’s most common seals (and now it is a forgotten relic).

Naruto looks stunned at the present, and he traces the seal with one finger, an awed and surprisingly fragile expression on his face. This, Toru finds, is something he hates, because Naruto should never look fragile and it reminds him of when he first met Naruto, who had looked so surprised and stunned at simple human kindness. “Thank you,” he says softly, “I don’t have anything to repay you with.”

“It’s a present,” Sasuke responds, “you aren’t meant to repay someone for a present.”

Toru’s about to tell Sasuke off when Naruto makes a face at the younger Uchiha and points at him, “You’re just jealous!”

“Am not!” Sasuke immediately responds, and the pair dissolve into an argument.

Toru laughs and can do little to stop it, because by becoming a guardian of one child, he seems to have adopted another and he has no idea when this happened. He stops laughing suddenly, aware that the two children are looking at him. “You have a nice laugh, Toru-san, you should laugh more often,” Naruto says seriously, and Toru’s floored because, because no one’s ever told him he has a nice laugh before (and once upon a time, a young Uzumaki told him that and they became friends).

“Thanks,” he says softly before standing up. “Now, breakfast anyone?”

Toru walks hand in hand with Sasuke, both seeking comfort from each other as they enter the Uchiha compound. It’s quiet, abnormally so, and there are still splashes of dark red against stone and wood. Sasuke tightens his grip on Toru’s hand and still Toru doesn’t regret bringing the younger Uchiha with him (and maybe he’s finding comfort in Sasuke as well).

Sasuke tugs Toru down a side street, and the pair head towards the northeast corner of the compound. The first house they reach seems surprisingly normal despite everything. Toru tries to open the door, which turns out to be locked. He knows he could probably find the key, but it would take a lot of time and effort to figure out which key is the right one.

Instead, Toru withdraws his lock-picking set and sets about unlocking the door. “This belongs… belonged to a civilian couple who went by the name of Sani and Yorimoto,” Sasuke says.

“Right,” Toru says as he pulls out a notebook and jots down the names. “Do we have any other information on them?”

Sasuke nods and continues, “They were in their early seventies and had three children: Kama, and Toku and Teruari who were twins. Sani used to run a day care when she was younger while Yorimoto had run a bakery. The bakery was passed down to Kama, while Toku and Teruari took over the day care.”

Toru records the rest of the information and places the note on the back of the door. The pair had used the Uchiha Clan’s recordings of everyone’s addresses to make a map of where everyone had lived, and then Toru had done some further research to find more information about each person, searching and locating wills, and any recorded information that was under their names.

Toru hesitates before taking a further step into the house. Sasuke follows him. “Green dots on things to sell, orange dots on things to keep, blue dots on things that need to be repaired, and red dots on things to throw out, right?” Sasuke asks.

“Yes,” Toru says softly, unwilling to break the silence that shrouded the compound. “And seal anything we might need to go through in one of the scrolls.”

Sasuke nods and with a strong expression he takes the left hallway and Toru goes right. He quickly finds himself in a bedroom, quite plain aside from the few ornaments sitting on a table and a bookshelf filled with books and notebooks.

Toru seals all the books and notebooks, before taking all the coverings off the bed and piling them on the floor. He puts green dots on all the furniture before taking down the curtains and adding them to the pile on the floor. Toru surveys the bed with black eyes, before putting a red dot on the mattress and the accompanying pillows.

Toru pauses as he reaches the dresser, before slowly picking up a framed image of an elderly couple with three younger adults – they all look similar, and a sad smile forms on Toru’s face as he looks at the family photo. Toru sighs before sealing that in the scroll as well, and then going through the dresser.

(There’s one village that had fallen and been left to lie in ruins, been left to be forgotten, be left as a memory, and maybe that’s because no one wishes to see the destruction wrought or because Uzushio is protected even when she doesn’t house her people. Nevertheless, Toru aches for a village he once called his own, for a place where he could see the sky touch the sea. Toru refuses to let another place lie in ruins and be forgotten, not when he can do something about it. He may not be able to rebuild an entire clan, but he can make a compound a home again, he can ensure that the Uchiha aren’t forgotten, and he can help others by doing so. Toru has never been able to give up, and he definitely won’t stop his task while there are people who still need to be honoured.)

(People have been forgotten and their stories are left to fade, but there are two Uchiha who are still capable of reminding a world that their clan once existed, and that these people had stories. They can carve names into stones and walls and they can keep the bare facts around. They can hold these stories in their hearts and minds and share them. This is the legacy the Uchiha have left.)

Toru stretches as he stands up, before traipsing over to Sasuke. “What kind of scrolls did you find?” He asks.

Sasuke looks up at Toru from where he sits on the ground, “Well, we have ninja ones, and I just sorted those into one pile for further sorting – that’s the first pile over there. The second pile is made up of storage scrolls, so I didn’t want to open them in case they’re trapped or something. The third pile contains blank scrolls, while the fourth pile is made up of scrolls I can’t identify. The fifth one has to do with civilian scrolls that might be helpful, including letters and all that. The sixth pile contains anything I thought was useless.”

“Nicely done,” Toru says, ruffling the younger Uchiha’s hair, and Sasuke gives the older Uchiha a weak grin.

“What did you find?” Sasuke asks after a beat.

“Well,” Toru says with a glance to look over at the piles and piles of books that he could just make out in the other room. “I originally sorted the books into three piles, but there were so many books that I separated them further. There’s a small side pile for books that I thought would be an interesting read for myself. The largest pile are simply fiction books. Another pile is made up of journals and handwritten notes by people that don’t fit into the other categories. The other pile was originally non-fiction, but I ended up splitting that further. I separated it into books useful for ninjas, civilians, and books that might be helpful. I don’t suppose you know how to cook?”

Sasuke shakes his head and Toru laughs lightly. “We can both learn then, as we have so many cookbooks it’s not funny. There are also a lot of books that double-up, so we’re going to have to go through those ones and probably sell them.”

“Are you planning on going through the clan library in this fashion as well?” Sasuke asks, and Toru’s shoulders drop.

“I had honestly forgotten about that,” he mutters. “I suppose we should? It would make getting things easier… but also, that’s so much work.”

Sasuke rolls his eyes, “I didn’t take you for a lazy bum,” he insults.

Toru taps the boy on the head, “Smart ass,” he says in amusement. “It’ll be helpful in the end, I’m sure. Either way, we need to go through the library and see if there’s anything to help us.” Toru claps his hands, startling Sasuke, “But we can do all that later! We’ve been sitting here for hours and hours, so we can either go do some training or do something else outdoors.”

“Toru, it’s almost midnight,” Sasuke points out. “Today’s a Sunday, I have school tomorrow.”

“No time like the present,” Toru says cheerfully (but all he can see in his mind is red blood and it drips and it hurts and he’s in pain and he’s DYinG). “Don’t you want to test your night vision?”

“School,” Sasuke reminds the elder Uchiha with a disgruntled expression.

“You get to work on how effective you are while being partially sleep deprived,” Toru says with a grin.

Sasuke’s quiet for a minute before nodding, “Okay. What rules do we have?”

 Toru (thinks Sasuke is also stuck in memories that choke him with blood) checks his equipment and gives Sasuke a hand up. “No maiming or killing, and try to avoid any killing injuries. What should my disadvantage be?”

Sasuke hums, “You can’t use taijutsu and only the Academy Three for ninjutsu.” The boy quickly gathers his equipment and the pair head out the door.

“That’s harsh,” Toru responds, “and are you sure that’s going to be my disadvantage? Think carefully.”

“You can’t use the henge,” Sasuke adds thoughtfully, “and to win all I have to do is score a hit, while you have to catch and hold me successfully for a minute.”

“You sure you aren’t making this too hard?” Toru says, “You’re giving me some heavy limits.”

“I’m a lowly Academy student while you’re a chūnin with an impressive record, how am I meant to defeat you alone and in the dark if you aren’t at a big disadvantage?” Sasuke says in sad voice with a pout.

Toru laughs and drags a hand through Sasuke’s hair, messing it up again. “You’re getting good at that kid, who’ve you been using it on?”

The pout disappears from Sasuke’s face as if it was never there and he grins, teeth bright and bared in the dim light. “Academy instructors are stupid,” he says proudly. “Except for Iruka-sensei, he doesn’t fall for anything,” Sasuke adds in an annoyed voice. “Even Naruto rarely catches him with his own pranks.”

“Well, Iruka-san is a good chūnin,” Toru points out, “and he’s been an instructor for some time, he should be good.”

“All the others do what I want,” Sasuke points out. “Iruka-sensei just stares at me for a moment before giving me that smile and repeating whatever he just said!”

“Ha, sounds like he’s perfectly capable of dealing with you,” Toru laughs as the pair arrive at their normal training ground. “Ready?” Sasuke leaps back even as he throws a kunai at Toru, who dodges it in a burst of speed. “Now that’s just rude, I was asking you a question!” A hail of bladed weapons land where he stood a moment ago, and Toru quickly makes himself scarce.

Sasuke pauses, eyes straining in the darkness to pinpoint where the chūnin went. Sasuke pauses for a moment before applying a skin-deep henge to make his pale skin darken and blend in with his surroundings. He isn’t as good as Toru yet, and he’s quick to lose the concentration required to hold the henge, but he’s getting better at judging what his henge should look like to hide him for some time.

Sasuke slinks off into a group of trees before taking refuge in a ditch amongst the roots of one of the giant trees. He closes his eyes and mediates, forcing his chakra signature to sink below his skin, until it’s wrapped up within him and he feels like he can only just reach it.

Sasuke leaves his hideout, and keeps close to the ground. He’s all too aware of the fact that Toru’s probably taken to the trees and already mapping out their surroundings. As much as Sasuke would like to take to the trees (and it looks so cool to see someone walking vertically up a surface), Toru refuses to teach him, citing that it’s too advanced for him. Sasuke keeps pointing out that he’s considered an adult by the Uchiha Clan, as he knows the Great Fireball technique. However, Toru always points out that if Sasuke knew how to climb vertical surfaces then it would be unfair for the others in his class (and although Sasuke never points it out, but thinks it often, being a ninja is never going to be fair).

Except, Toru has this idea of fairness and kindness, and Sasuke has no idea how the older Uchiha is still alive, still willing to be a shinobi after everything he’s seen, even as he stays kind and fair. Before everything, Sasuke would always think that kindness is a weakness; that being fair will only lead to death. Yet, Toru stands and fights and keeps moving forward and refuses to give in and somehow, somehow he keeps being kind and fair and it’s not a weakness, and maybe it’s a strength.

Sasuke’s been learning a lot (he is the kind of person who seeks knowledge, who seeks information, but only what he deems is necessary) recently, and he’s been seeing things in a new light. Life isn’t all what his father said, and when Sasuke sees Toru fight for himself and for Konoha, he thinks of his father (who always said that the clan comes first, first, first) and he wonders which one needs to come first (he wonders why one needs to come first; he wonders why they are different in the first place).

Sasuke hears the scuff of something against bark, and he leaps forward, eyes desperately searching for wherever Toru is, and he knows Toru is nearby, he can almost sense it.

Sasuke crouches down, hopefully hidden amongst the bushes, and closes his eyes. He feels something almost sharp, but not, and like fire – bright, but not either. The only word he thinks really describes it is wild (strong, safe, stubborn), but he can sense the other’s chakra, and that’s the important thing.

Sasuke shoots off towards where he can sense Toru (and he can finally sense him – no longer are there seconds where he can almost feel a prickling sensation in the direction Toru is). He grabs onto a low branch with his hands, and allows his momentum to spin him around. He lands on the lower branch and throws a kunai towards Toru. There’s a flash of movement as the chūnin dodges the weapon, and Sasuke takes to the ground and tries to hide once again. Normally he wouldn’t use such a tactic, but he’s learnt that if he wants to even stay in the spar for longer than a few minutes, he needs to hide.

Toru’s chakra rises, causing Sasuke to curse and move away from his new hiding hole, and take another path. There’s the field ahead, where the pair started their spar, and although being out in the open would normally be an error and would get him killed, Sasuke thinks it’s a good strategy.

Sasuke ducks into a smooth forward roll, dodging a shuriken, before ducking behind a rock. He can sense Toru’s chakra almost on top of him, and he dives sideways, before standing a few metres away from the shadowy figure.

He goes through a set of hand seals before shouting, “Fire Release: Great Fireball!” The fire burns bright and hot as the chakra is sucked into the jutsu, Sasuke’s legs waver beneath him but he stands steady as the fireball speeds towards Toru.

Toru who had moved closer and is now less than a metre away, and is also moving too quickly to fully dodge the fireball. Sasuke’s eyes widen in worry, and although he knows Toru would survive the fireball (and that spar had ended in a disaster, with Toru slightly burnt and Sasuke almost having a panic attack, and them both going to hospital to be checked over), he’s still scared. Still, he can do nothing as the fireball heads towards Toru; the time seems to stretch from less than a second to hours.

The fireball erupts into flame, burning where Toru had stood, is standing, except Sasuke hears a hissed breath from somewhere to his left, and he spins as his eyes readapt to the darkness.

Standing a few metres away is Toru, patting out a bit of fire on his shirt and looking a bit frustrated. Sasuke sighs in relief. “How did you dodge that?” Sasuke demands.

“I didn’t,” Toru says with a cough, “just as the fireball hit, I used the Body Replacement Technique. It was close. It was my own fault, though; I was too caught up in thinking about winning that I forgot to be cautious. Don’t think I didn’t notice you sensing me either, congratulations on managing that.”

Sasuke’s glad it’s dark because he can feel his cheeks heat up in a faint blush at the praise. “Thanks,” he says softly, before grinning widely. “I won, didn’t I? I got you!”

“You did,” Toru says with a smile, “and managed to injure me while you were at it. That does make you the winner for today’s spar.”

“More like yesterday’s spar,” Sasuke banters back as he walks over to his probably-cousin. “I reckon it’s passed midnight now.”

“Ahh, you’re probably right,” Toru says with a soft smile. “So, how do you feel about bed now?”

“I’m too energised now,” Sasuke responds. “Are you seriously telling me you want to go to sleep now?”

Toru yawns, “Yes, I am.” Sasuke suddenly yawns, “And I think you want to, as well.”

“Hn,” Sasuke grunts, “Let’s go home.”

A small man slips down a side alley. He’s dressed in dark clothing – dark green pants with a black top covered by a dark grey vest. He appears to be in his late twenties, but as he slinks down a dark alley, he seems much smaller than an adult.

Still, as he reaches a street lit by red light, with numerous females lining it, he pauses as if unsure of his own actions. He steps out onto the street, and almost instantly one of the women approach him.

She smiles coyly at the short man and gets close, “Want some of this?” She whispers in his ear. 

The man presses a handful of notes into the woman’s hands, “How about you take me to Blossom instead?” He replies quietly.

The woman grips the money, “What do I get out of it?”

“There’s more from where that came from,” the man responds, before hesitating, “Plus, I have news from Minakami.”

The woman draws away and motions to one of the street kids who’d been slouched against a wall. “Take this man to Blossom; he’s one of Keiko-sama’s.”

“Thank you,” the man responds even as he hands the prostitute some more money.

The street kid takes one look at the man before jerking his head. “F’llow me,” he mutters. The pair quickly make it to a double-story building, before slipping down the side street and entering through a side door.

“Who’s your friend?” A beautiful, young-looking woman asks from a couch, pinning the man with her gaze.

“One o’ the gutter-gals told me to bring ‘im,” the boy responds. “Not me problem, an’more,” he says before leaving.

The woman stares at the man, “Why were you brought here?”

The man lifts his chin and meets the woman’s gaze, “I have information about Keiko, Minakami, Asa, and Hinatsu.”

“I know only two of those names,” the woman says as she stands, “but I can tell this information is important. If it is not, I hope it was worth your life. I will retrieve Yumiko-san; she will know what to do with you.”

The man dips his head in a nod, “I will wait.”

“Good,” the woman says before spinning around and stalking out of the room.

The man sighs once she leaves, allowing his posture to drop and form to flicker and waver. For a second, a boy of twelve takes the man’s place, before the jutsu strengthens once more and only the man remains.

“Hello, stranger-san,” a lithe woman says, sweeping into the room. “I am Yumiko, as Kohaku-san surely mentioned. I currently run Blossom while the Lady of the house is out. She says you have news for me?”

The transformed man nods, “I was in Minakami recently when a strange scroll found me. It unsealed later while still in my possession. I brought it to you with the understanding that you would know what to do with it.”

Yumiko raises an eyebrow and holds out a hand, “Well, stranger-san, hand it over.”

The man places the scroll in Yumiko’s hand, and waits while she reads it. She takes a few minutes to read it all and understand it, afterwards she looks up at the man and sits down on the couch. “Kohaku-san, close Blossom down and call the girls.” Kohaku nods and leaves the room with a worried expression. “I’m sure you have questions, whoever you are.”

“I do,” the man confirms. “I have never heard of any leaders regarding the akasens of Hi no Kuni. Furthermore, what is this talk of population rising, corruption, and crime rates rising? What does this have to do with the Red District of Konohagakure? What’s being held out? When have the ninja previously been under attack by their own people? When did a massacre occur previously, and why does no one seem to know about it?”

“You have a lot of questions, stranger-san,” Yumiko says. “Firstly, I would like to thank you for bringing this, even at your own expense. I’m afraid you’ve become involved with our politics and movements. You understand that if I tell you more, you will not be able to escape?” Yumiko waits for the man’s nod before continuing, “Very well, I suppose the first order of business is telling you about one of the akasens biggest and most important secret.

“To give you some background information, know that the ‘darker’ side of any village, town, or city is split into sections, often different factions with their own motivations, plans, and ideas. Over the years, the world has grown better at ignoring this ‘darker’ side, while still using the Underground, for lack of a better term. The Red District is one of these sections, made up of prostitutes and brothels and so forth. You’ll find almost any location you go to, where there’s a civilisation and people, there’ll be a Red District.

“Curiously enough, the Red District started off as one of the smaller sections of the Underground. It was due to this, and the lack of income, that they started performing other small deeds. Due to the nature of people, it became easy to retrieve information from people as many men don’t realise what they’re saying while having sex, either as boasts or simply spilling secrets. Therefore, the Red District became an information goldmine, and so the Red District grew in status and power.

“Over the years, we became one of the most powerful factions of the Underground. The Red District was first created in Hi no Kuni, as it came to be known, and so the most known brothels are actually sanctioned in this country. Due to the nature of information gathering, most brothels actually exchange information with one another.

“However, as all businesses and industries do, over time we lost status and power, and our control over the Underground lessened dramatically. We had been vital in maintaining the peace and relationships between those in the Underground and everyone else. Nevertheless, our diminishing power meant we could no longer help maintain the peace and those relations, thus when the Second World War finally starts, we could only watch as civilians grew more dissatisfied with the ninja population and the impact that the ninja war had on us.

“The worst rumours all originated from Ishigakure, and about twenty years ago, the civilians in Ishigakure incited a civil war between the ninja population and the civilian population. Before anything occurred, we saw certain events happening – events similar to the ones that this letter speaks about. The rising crime rate showed the dissatisfaction people felt and their inability to achieve something in life, while the rising population meant that there were less materials and resources for everyone, which inflated prices due to the demand for certain items. Of course, no one actually has much money to begin with, so inflated prices just made more people turn to crime in order to survive. The increased crime caused ninjas to be pulled in, in order to deal with the criminals, which meant that the money was going to the ninjas rather than any civilian, which only increased the resentment civilians felt towards the ninjas.

“Furthermore, the growing signs of corruption are there, and people easily turn their eyes away when money is waved in front of their eyes, or a threat is mentioned. Gang rivalries incited panic in people, while also distracting the proper authorities from hearing the actual problems, which ends in more resentment growing.

“Anyway, back to Ishigakure, the civilians revolted against the ninjas. However, they had no power against the ninjas, and the majority were all cut down or cast out and left for dead. Very few actually survived, and the civilian population in Ishigakure decreased dramatically. Of course, only bare rumours of the massacre escaped, and anyone who seemed to mention the rumour during the years following the war was mysteriously killed. Thus, any further civilian revolts never occurred due to the fear that what happened in Ishigakure would happen again.”

The man swears, “That’s… big,” he finally says. “Are you sure that something similar is going to happen again?”

Yumiko raises her shoulders in a shrug, “I don’t know. It’s possible, and Hinatsu-sama and Asa-sama seem to think so. Did I answer all your questions?”

The man tilts his head in a nod, “I believe so, and I can figure out most of the answers based on the information you have given me. I do wonder how I now fit in with all of this.”

“You didn’t, and still don’t, fit into our plans,” Yumiko responds. “However, you have helped us at no extra cost to yourself, and have been drawn into this battle with us as a result. If you drop the transformation, we might have a better conversation though.”

“Ahh, so you did know. I thought you had, but I wasn’t sure,” the man says, seemingly uncaring. The man blinks and between one moment and the next, he disappears, his body shrinking and features changing while his clothes remain the same, although on a smaller scale. The boy that stands in the man’s place is about twelve years with naturally tan skin, and from beneath red-brown hair, his dark eyes look out. “If I may ask, how did you know?”

“I wasn’t expecting you to look so small… or young,” Yumiko admits with a surprised expression. “We have seals that identify when a large chakra system, bigger than most civilians’ systems, crosses into the property itself. Who are you?”

“Toru,” he responds with a small smile. “I was with my team in the capital when we were given this scroll by the person I’m assuming was Keiko. She never found me again and days later the scroll opened, just as we were packing to return to Konoha. My teammates and I never expected to, well, find the information that was in the scroll. We weren’t sure whether or not to believe it either.”

“I’m surprised you did,” Yumiko responds. “Simply because any ninjas tend to avoid noticing civilians and any oddities they have.”

Toru offers a half-shrug in responds, (and he remembers Uzushio had dark secrets too, a dark side that very few saw because it was slowly disappearing, because always, always did Uzushio look after her own; they had always been trying to help everyone and keep people off the streets.).

“My understanding is the main issue you and yours currently face is easing the resentment between the civilians and ninjas. Correct?”

Yumiko nods, “It is, and we are investigating how such a thing occurred…”

“So it’s more of a recent development than anything else?” Toru asks, and hums in thought when Yumiko nods. “That doesn’t make sense considering there’s been no cause for a sudden rise in resentment anytime recently.”

“Indeed,” Yumiko responds. “So, you have agreed to help us then?”

Toru nods, “I will do my best, but I do not have much to offer currently.”

“An Uchiha, not have much to offer?” Yumiko asks as she raises an eyebrow, “I’m surprised.”

“An Uchiha, yes, but in a precarious situation and a ninja who’s coming back from traumatic experiences and caring for a child,” Toru points out.

“You will be helpful later on, I’m sure,” Yumiko says. “However, right now I have work to be done and little time for people who are not useful. Although, you may be useful for many other things. I am sure you will be helpful; we need someone who can keep an eye on the ninja side of things. I don’t suppose you have an address where I can have one of my people contact you?”

“I do,” Toru says, his dark eyes watching Yumiko with something that the woman can’t read, “but before I commit to anything, we need to have an agreement.”

“You think I’ll hold to some contract?” Yumiko asks with a laugh.

“No,” Toru responds easily, startling Yumiko into silence, “I know you would never bind yourself to something. You are, after all, a leader of one of the strongest information gathering networks. No, I want an agreement – a binding of words, that doesn’t actually bind us to anything – that states you will give me information I ask and help me if I approach you with certain plans. You, of course, have the right to refuse with the plans, I don’t need you.”

“What do I get from this?” Yumiko asks.

Toru grins, teeth bared and eyes fierce, “I don’t think I need to explain,” he responds. “Contact me if you need me.”

“Don’t I need an address?” Yumiko asks as Toru leaves.

“I don’t think you need anything,” Toru says over his shoulder, before his form disappears in a rise of chakra, fading into the shadows and becoming something indistinguishable.

Yumiko laughs softly to herself as those of Blossom start entering the room. “You truly are something different,” she mutters, before turning to face those who are hers. “Girls, I have news, sad and the kind that isn’t….”

“Iruka-san!” Toru calls, weaving amongst the crowd to reach the older chūnin.

“Ahh, Toru-san, hello,” the chūnin says with a soft smile, eyes crinkling in the corners. “Call me Iruka, I dare say we’ve been friends for long enough.”

“Toru, then,” Toru counters. Iruka nods his head, “I was buying gifts for Sasuke and Naruto, and I thought I’d get you one as well.”

“You didn’t have to,” Iruka says as he rubs the back of his neck. “Really.”

“I wanted too,” the Uchiha responds, as he hands Iruka a hardcover book.

Iruka looks down at the title, “Hi no Kuni Folktales, Legends, and Myths,” he reads aloud. “I can’t accept this; it must have cost a fortune! It’s handwritten and it was clearly bound by hand.”

“It’s a gift,” Toru points out, “and if you refuse to accept it as a gift, then take it as a thank-you for watching out for Sasuke while I’m gone.”

“I still can’t–” Iruka starts as he tries to hand the book back.

“Accept it,” Toru says interrupting. “I found it in a second-hand bookstore, and it deserves an owner who will care for it.”

Iruka turns the book over in his hands, “Very well, then,” he says. He bows lightly, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Toru responds kindly. “I don’t suppose you’re doing anything right now?”

Iruka shakes his head, “I’m taking a break from completing lesson plans,” he explains. “I thought a walk would do me some good. I’ve been working on them since this morning.”

“Would you mind joining me for a meal and telling me how Sasuke’s been doing in class?” Toru asks.

Iruka glances backwards, “I suppose my lesson plans can take a bit longer. Do you mind if we go for dango? I’m a bit sick of ramen currently.”

Toru laughs lightly, “I can understand that! Dango sounds good.”

“Now, Sasuke-kun, he’s been doing extremely well in taijutsu and…”

Toru can vaguely sense a chakra on the edge of the training field, but he can tell that the person is friendly from the way they’re calmly waiting with their chakra barely flickering. He finishes the last taijutsu kata in the Storm Surge Style, and straightens, turning to face the visitor.

“Mochiyo-san, Haru,” Toru says in surprise, “it’s good to see you again.”

“Indeed,” Mochiyo responds, with her ninken letting out a bark at her side. “Haru and I both agree.”

“Were you looking for me, Mochiyo-san?”

“No,” the Inuzuka responds, “but I was hoping to find a sparring partner.”

“I don’t know how much of a fight I’ll be,” Toru warns, even as he backs a few steps away from the jōnin.

“It’ll be a good fight for us regardless,” Mochiyo says in reply. “I know that. No killing moves or major debilitating moves that will keep us out of service for a while.”

“Sounds good,” Toru says, (and the blood rushes through his mind as he feels his chakra rise – ready to answer his call).

They both stay still for a moment, and then there’s a flicker of movement at Mochiyo’s side when Haru moves. Toru’s eyes track the ninken, and then he’s forced to shift out of the way as Mochiyo charges towards him with a chakra-laced kick. Mochiyo lands on one leg and swings around, and Toru jumps back, gaining more space.

Then Haru is suddenly behind him and Toru can see the light blue glow of chakra surrounding the hound. The ninken lashes out with sharp teeth and Toru flips forward over the head of the dog, before landing next to Mochiyo. However, before Mochiyo can take advantage, Toru’s twisting out of the way and calling on his chakra (it rests on the tip of his tongue, in the whorls of his fingertips, humming beneath his skin, and always, always ready to fight; defend; attack).

“Fire Release: Fire Wave!” Toru says. It’s one of his newer jutsu; one he had recently learnt from one of the Uchiha Clan’s many scrolls. The fire flies toward the Inuzuka pair who leap over it. They charge towards him, but Toru knows (and it aches, because once he would’ve matched this jōnin, and perhaps even beaten them) he can’t match the pair in taijutsu.

Just before the pair reach him, Toru snaps out another jutsu. “Water Release: Water Shield!” The water coils in front of him, and although Haru manages to go under, Mochiyo is forced to spin on her heel and go around the side of the shield. Toru lets the water disperse, and flips backward, going through handseals even as he’s in the air. “Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!”

The chakra he loses from the technique is more than he would like, and Toru knows he needs to refine the chakra use for that jutsu further before he actually uses it in battle. Still, the Inuzuka pair pause and Mochiyo seems to twitch as the fire grows in front of her, before using the Body Replacement Technique, but Toru thought ahead, and already the flaming dragon is coiling around the area. Its coils tightening and Toru cuts it off from his chakra a moment later, letting it fade away to nothing.

“Haru!” Mochiyo calls out, and shares a glance with her ninken.

Toru’s eyes narrow and in the millisecond he blinks, the ninken disappears and Mochiyo takes his place. Toru’s heard about the Beast Human Clone technique of the Inuzuka clan, but he had yet to see it in action. As Toru flips in the air, he thinks humorously that he can no longer say that.

The pair land a hit and then another, and then Toru’s barely managing to defend himself against the barrage from the pair. He ends up overreaching himself, and it allows for one of the Inuzuka – Mochiyo or Haru, he can’t tell the difference anymore – to grab him around the torso and throw him.

As he flies through the air, the time seems to stretch as the pain increases and his bruises pound, and (there’s a bone-deep ache in his bones, a heaviness in his mind, a weight on his shoulders, and a village calling to him) he can almost feel his legs trembling even before he hits the ground.

He hits the ground with a thud, and he pushes himself up, spitting blood on the ground as he gets onto his hands and knees. The Inuzukas he’s facing don’t pause in their movements, and Toru’s kicked in the jaw before he can even stand. He flips over and this time manages to avoid biting something inside his mouth.

He lands heavily on his back (there’s no time to rest, there are enemies everywhere, he can’t pause, can’t hesitate, he can’t stop, he can’t. He has to keep fighting, keep pushing forward, keep moving, to stop means death, and death is final, and he can’t stop, he can’t, if he does that he’s dead, and he can’t die while he has something to live for, while he has goals, he can’t let his life go here. He has so much ahead of him, so much to do and– There’s no time to think, he doesn’t need to think about emotions about his worries; he needs to focus and fight).

He’s on his feet in under a second and then there’s Mochiyo in front of him and Haru coming from the side (or maybe it’s the other way, but it no longer matters). Toru channels chakra to his feet and leaps into the air, half-flips and turns his body so he’s facing head down. He claps his hand even as he says softly, “Wind Release: Gale Palm.”

The backlash of the wind sends the Uchiha up, as well as disrupting Mochiyo and Haru’s attack. Toru surveys the training ground, searching for something to use. He quickly uses the Body Replacement Technique before landing, gaining distance between his opponents and him.

He’s behind one of them, and he launches a chakra-powered kick towards the Inuzuka. It lands, and a transformation drops, and suddenly there’s Haru in front of him, growling with his fur on end.

Toru doesn’t even pause, leaping back, “Water Release: Stormy Upheaval,” he says as he places his hands on the ground. The water pours down on Haru, and Toru lets the jutsu drop as Mochiyo closes on his position. He jumps away, but not before throwing a kunai with a faux-exploding tag towards the ninken.

There’s a boom as it goes off, smoke rising to show the devastation that a real exploding tag would’ve had. Toru grins as Mochiyo tilts her head, clearly noting the fact that Haru’s now out.

It’s not easy from there, not that it had ever been in the first place, but Toru reaches new speeds and twists away from chakra-laced attacks, and flows around jutsu like they’re leaves in the air. He grins, revelling in the chakra beneath his skin and his own strength, and trusting in it, trusting himself.

Mochiyo is grinning as well, throwing out jutsu in an attempt to trip Toru up, and then feinting and back stepping to come at him sideways. She throws out strong attacks, powering through Toru’s defence until he figures he doesn’t need to block the defences. Mochiyo remains largely untouched by Toru’s attacks, and she focusses on conserving chakra while Toru appears to be uncaring, still she finds herself enjoying the spar, slipping around jutsu that are made dangerous in Toru’s hands, and weapons finely honed, and blocking blows that resonate in her bones.

Eventually, they break, standing across from each other. Toru wipes blood off his face, keeping it from dripping into his left eye from a cut on his forehead. He meets Mochiyo’s gaze with similarly dark eyes, and Mochiyo offers him a smile and tilts her head.

Toru nods, and the pair head over to check on Haru, who’s looking half-asleep in the shade of one of Konoha’s overly large trees. Toru stumbles on a step, and Mochiyo quickly grabs his arm to keep him balanced.

“Thanks,” Toru puffs out, “Good spar.”

“Indeed,” Mochiyo responds, bending down a little, “You managed to get Haru out pretty quickly.”

Toru offers a shrug even as he loops an arm around her shoulders and she does the same to him. The pair lean on each other as they leave the training ground, Haru proudly walking beside Mochiyo. “It was tough when I was against you both.”

“Of course, I’m a jōnin and Haru’s my partner,” Mochiyo responds. “You did well for a chūnin, though – once you had gotten yourself together, that is.”

“Can’t let that happen in a fight,” Toru responds knowingly, “I’ll work on it. I can’t let myself slow down if an enemy takes control of the fight.”

“You could work on your stamina as well,” Mochiyo points out, “and you need to watch your chakra use.”

Toru shakes his head, “I still have little under half my reserves left. That fire dragon one took up almost a quarter of my reserves with the amount of chakra I put into it. I hadn’t used it before in battle, but I need to refine it further.”

(Once he had been Toru Mizushima, clan-child, the son of a second-generation jonin shinobi and a chūnin kunoichi from the Mizushima clan. He had an average chakra pool then, average as an ANBU Commander, and slightly small for a Kage. However, in this life, Toru had been born to an Uchiha jōnin kunoichi and an Uzumaki chūnin father. Uzumakis, even chūnin, had always had a large chakra pool, and with his Uchiha blood, Toru was always going to have a large chakra pool. While he hadn’t increased it while he was younger, he had been working on it ever since the massacre.)

“Well, I’d enjoy sparring with you again,” Mochiyo says. “It was an enjoyable experience.”

“Indeed,” Toru says, “I’m sure I’ll make use of that offer.”

“Good,” Mochiyo says in return, “Make sure you get those cuts bandaged.”

“Make sure you stay off your ankle,” Toru says, just as he turns off onto another street. “See you Michoyo-san,” he calls over his shoulder.

“Bye Toru-san,” comes the reply.

He’s surrounded in blood, and it’s red and thick and covers everything and it burns and burns and it clogs his mouth and his nose and his eyes, and it’s everywhere and nowhere and he doesn’t know where he is or who he is and–

(He’s drowning; he’s never drowned before.)

He’s fighting, sword in hand and chakra intensifying. Seals bloom in front of him and around him. He’s shoulder to shoulder with other Uzushio ninja, those he knows by look, if he doesn’t know their names. His breath catches in his lungs, in his mouth, and smoke hangs in the air. It clings to him, shrouds his form, hides his enemies, hides his allies. His whole body aches with the forced chakra use and constant movement, the never ceasing fighting. He treads on bodies, those of his enemies and those of his allies.

(He wonders if he fights on the corpses of his friends.)

He stares at his team and there’s a space between them, and yet it feels like a chasm, an abyss, something too far and too deep and too strong. His team looks at him like he’s a stranger, like they don’t know him. Angry eyes through mask eye-holes, and these ninja are meant to be faceless and emotionless and they aren’t, because they can’t afford to be. They look at him like they don’t know him, like they’re already mourning him, like they’re at his funeral. “Go,” he says, and he’s hurting but he can’t afford to fail, can’t afford to back down. “Go,” he repeats because this is their order, this is what they have to do.

(He wonders if he sends them to their deaths and if he will ever know.)

He stands in darkness, it’s almost comforting but his heart’s pounding and he’s gasping for air. He can feel his sweat cool on his hot skin. Somewhere, there’s an enemy hidden in the darkness, waiting to attack. He could die here and no one would know. He can fall here and everything will be nothing. He doesn’t even know who he’s being attacked by.

(He never thought his career could end so quickly.)

He’s pinned, sword thrust through his chest with minimal care, and he feels like an animal led to slaughter. He knew the death he would face, but still, still he feels so confused and surprised as he dies, and he’s dying, dying alongside Uzushio. He can feel it in his shattered and broken seals, in the seals of Uzushio losing power, in his flickering vision, in his gasping breath.

(He fights death with everything he has, but still it comes.)

He’s bleeding out, stones beneath him hard and cold and useless. Similar to before, but not the same. He’s dying again but he can’t, he can’t, and he’s never died before and he’s confused and what’s happening and who he is and–

(He’s dying before he’s even living.)

They loom over him, chakras oppressive and he shakes and trembles and can do nothing. He throws back his head and screams, chakra jerking and roiling but contained with his skin and painful in the way it tries to escape and help but it can do nothing. He’s screaming and screaming, and suddenly there’s blood flooding his mouth and he’s choking. He coughs and splutters and still feels pain in his body, and then it stops. His body collapses beneath him and he feels too weak to even move, and he pulls on his mind, his mental fortifications, and focusses on why he can’t break, why he has to stay strong. He refuses to break.

(He shouldn’t be alone, and yet he is.)

He stands facing a faceless mass, and slowly, person by person, they gain faces and some gain masks. The second line have their masks sitting on their faces, and he can almost hear the voices of each ninja. He can almost feel their chakra nearby, and yet he can’t. The division leaders stand before him, broken and bleeding and injured, and dead (dead, dead, dead, deaddeaddeadDEADDEADDEADdEaD).

A trio stands before him, one older with a hand falling on the shoulders of the other two. The one on the right is pale, Uzumaki hair limp and weak. The Uzukage hat sits on Ayumu’s head, and the Sandaime looks at him, stares at him. Next to her stands his genin sensei, Isaki Fujii.

She looks old, and he can’t help but think of how young she had once seemed, and now there are crinkles at the corners of her eyes, wrinkles on her forehead, and laugh lines around her mouth. Still, he wonders what happened to her, whether she actually went with the evacuation group or if she had fought the invading force. There had been no time to ensure anything in those last final days.

Beside his sensei, his third teammate stands – Mika Asano. She looks young still, blood covering her head and eyes a puffy red and a stern frown on her face. He remembers the missions she had taken, fighting in one after the other until she had finally fallen. She died years before Ayumu or him, died far too early and he couldn’t stop anything, couldn’t do anything, and it’s always been something that’s haunted him.

Next to his genin team, there are three ninjas he knows well. They stand, bent and broken, bleeding and bruised, masks tilted on their head so their faces can be seen. He can see their accusing stares and can feel the weight of failure on his shoulders.

He bows his head, and can offer nothing to the ghosts in front of him. His shoulders shake and still he refuses to disrupt the silence, to beg for forgiveness, to express his sorrow, to apologise. He doesn’t dare do so, though, because he knows, knows it’s his fault. He could’ve done something, could’ve saved them all.

(Uzushio fell.)

Toru wakes up with sheets twisted around his body, ensnaring him. He kicks out, almost tearing the sheets in his stumble to get out of the bed. He’s covered in sweat and panting, gasping for breath, (he hasn’t had a nightmare that bad in a while).

Toru’s hands tremble, something they shouldn’t do (he’s a shinobi; he should be better than this). His legs feel weak beneath him, and all he can think about is Uzushio who has fallen, but isn’t dead and not forgotten by him, and yet it’s forgotten by so many and ignored, and they had been people.

Toru aches to do something, to go fight something, to destroy Kirigakure and make them feel what he feels. The urge sits heavy in his mind, gives weight to his legs, and he lets himself sink to the ground. He kneels, braced on the floor and feeling like he can’t do anything.

He pushes himself up, a Konoha ninja but feeling like one of Uzushio’s. His eyes feel hot and itchy, and he rubs them, only to find water clinging to his lashes and scattered on his hands. Toru bites his lip and tries to stop the tears, only for them to come faster. His shoulders shudder and heave, and Toru takes deep breathes as he wipes his tears with the palm of his hand.

The Uchiha thinks he shouldn’t be this weak, but he also thinks that he has a village fallen resting heavy on his shoulders, and he’s chained to a village that is his but isn’t. He has the memories of an entire civilisation fallen, of the people and their stories, and he can’t help but mourn.

Toru takes a step forward, breathing and eyelashes wet, but moving. He feels drained, tired like he’s just been running for days on end, and yet he hasn’t done anything. He’s tired in a way that isn’t physical yet sits deep inside his very cells. He’s drained emotionally and yet he can’t help but feel like he should do something despite he’s weariness.

The clan head knows he could go out, could walk until he finds a training ground and then exhaust himself out through chakra drain, and yet he can’t help but think of how Sasuke will feel waking to an empty house. He’s been in the younger Uchiha’s place before, and it’s never a good feeling.

Toru wanders into the living room and looks around at the bare yet lived-in room. He carefully moves the table towards the corner of the room, granting him a large area to move in without having to worry about the furniture.

The half-Uchiha stands in the middle of the cleared space and closes his eyes. He takes a deep breath and bends his legs, settling into a taijutsu stance. His chakra roils beneath his skin, angry and sad and fearful all at once. The boy takes another breath before moving.

The chūnin seems to almost dance his way through the katas, each move graceful, sometimes slow and sometimes darting quickly. Every step is careful and filled with something that’s almost impossible to see, and is rather felt.

The katas are fuelled by emotion, and it can be seen. Toru’s eyes remain close as he flips and twists, and lashes out with punches and kicks, and he constantly moves, flowing from one position to the next.

Toru goes through the katas thrice more, before he finally stops, tired but content and calmer. He carefully stands up from his end position and stretches, taking note of the aches in his muscles.

“What was that?” A curious voice asks from the doorway, and Toru blinks in confusion and turns to face Sasuke.

“An old taijutsu style,” Toru murmurs, dark eyes heavy yet at ease. “It was once called Final Sunray. It was never used for fighting, but was rather used as training and for expression.”

Sasuke nods, “Breakfast?” He asks, instead of asking another question, like who had once used the taijutsu style and why Toru had been up so early.

“Sounds good,” Toru responds, “If you get the ingredients out for omelettes, I’ll quickly take a shower.”

“Are you going to burn everything again?” Sasuke deadpans.

“Sasuke!” Toru whines, “That was once; one time!”

Sasuke smirks, “It still happened,” he replies and Toru grins and ruffles the boy’s head. “Toru!”

“Go get ready, kid,” Toru says with a laugh. Sasuke mutters something underneath his breath and stalks off. Toru grins to himself and heads towards the kitchen.

Toru finally returns from his mission, and Sasuke – who’s found a friend in Naruto – is there to greet him, with a frightened scream and a small smile. Toru gives gift, and a Clan Compound makes a reappearance and Toru thinks that this doesn’t deserve to be forgotten. Toru and Sasuke Uchiha start going through belongings, and Toru investigates one secret business organisation in Konoha. Toru’s reminded of the friends he has and the new ones he makes. He is also reminded of what cannot be forgotten.

Chapter Text

“Do we have much longer, Toru?” Sasuke asks as they lock up another house. Toru twists his head to the sky, eyes searching for the sun. He shakes his head.

“No, you should probably head on out. I can take all this,” Toru says, gesturing towards the two sealing scrolls in Sasuke’s hands. Sasuke nods and passes them over, just as Toru pauses. A frown comes over the elder Uchiha’s features, and he tilts his head, chakra readily answering his call and being channelled to his ears.

Sasuke immediately tenses, and knows to stay silent even as his chakra seems to spiral and bubble beneath his skin. Toru straightens and his body languages relaxes, although Sasuke knows that means little in a world of ninja.

Toru smiles at Sasuke’s questioning look, “I think we may have missed something in our last visit,” he says. Toru takes off at a jog, and Sasuke quickly sprints before settling into a fast lope beside Toru’s easy jog.

“What is it?” Sasuke asks, eyes surveying the area to try and find the object of Toru’s attention.

“Just around the corner,” Toru responds, and even as the pair turn the corner, there’s a loud bark and Sasuke’s eyes widen.

On the street, there’s a medium sized black-and-white dog standing with its head tilted upwards, growling at a skinny ginger cat on a roof. The cat hisses and turns away, moving quickly out of sight with a flick of its tail.

Toru whistles sharply, and the dog turns to face them quickly, hackles rising. Toru (knows there weren’t many dogs on Uzushio, but the few they had were loud, aggressive when provoked, and loved by many of Uzushio’s population; they were used as messengers and sometimes by scouts, and they were bred for fighting sometimes and helpful mission comrades as well; Uzushio did not have a clan like the Inuzuka, but they had specialised dog breeds that were able to learn to take orders and help, and were much more intelligent than anyone actually thought they were) stares the dog down, and the dog continues growling.

Sasuke takes a step back, but Toru narrows his eyes instead and whistles again, louder this time. Staring the dog down, Toru clearly states, “Come.”

The black-and-white dog, that’s skinny and actually quite young looking, pauses in its growling before huffing and trotting over to Toru. Toru strokes the dog’s head, “Good dog,” he says quietly. “He’s friendly Sasuke, you just can’t act scared,” Toru explains.

Sasuke nods and pats the dog’s head, “Do you think someone owned him?”

Toru nods, “Yeah, he was probably one of the clan’s dogs. He managed to escape and keep himself alive somehow, I wonder if there are any others.”

The dog barks, the sound surprisingly booming, and licks Sasuke’s hand before turning its gaze to Toru. “You should probably head to class,” Toru suggests. “I’ll take this guy to a nearby vet or something.”

“Do you even know where to find a vet?” Sasuke asks.

“I’ll ask the Inuzuka Clan, and don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. Off to class brat, you have things to learn and I have a dog to take to a vet.”

Sasuke pouts, “Fine,” he says, turning around, but before he leaves he pauses. “Are we getting a dog?”

Toru hums in thought, “Perhaps, if we have enough space in the apartment.”

“The balconies are pretty big,” Sasuke offers before leaving at a jog. “Heading to school now, bye!”

Toru laughs, and pats the dog’s head once more. “Looks like you’ve just been adopted,” he says. “Have you got any other friends to led me to?”

The dog huffs and wags its tail. It gently catches Toru’s hand in its mouth and tugs. Toru shrugs his shoulders and pulls his hand, focussing on the hound. The black-and-white dog seems to grin, and takes off at a quick pace. Toru speeds into a quick lope to follow, easily keeping pace as the dog seems to almost sprint along.

The dog suddenly jerks to a halt, and wriggles beneath a fence. Toru bounds over the top, using his chakra to assist him to do it in one leap. On the other side of the fence, the wall surrounding the clan compound stands, looming and abandoned. In the centre of the part Toru’s facing, there’s a large hole. A hole big enough for a fully-grown man to get through, and Toru frowns (because his clan had been massacred in one night, and what if there had been someone else there?).

The dog easily slips through the hole, and barks at Toru from the other side. With a frown still on his face, Toru follows, mentally noting the hole and planning to go over the clan compound wall later. Despite his thoughts, the Uchiha continues to follow the dog, which keeps pausing to look back at him before moving forward again. Toru wonders how smart the dog actually is.

The dog takes a sharp turn and heads into the forest that Toru knows leads into Training Ground 44. However, the dog doesn’t actually lead Toru to the training ground, thankfully, and instead stops in front of a small cave.

The dog barks once, before laying down and crawling on its stomach into the cave. Toru wonders whether he should follow, when he hears another bark – different from the black-and-white dog – and instead whistles. A cacophony of barking occurs and the black-and-white dog wriggles out, following but three other dogs.

Toru laughs softly, “I don’t think this is what Sasuke had in mind when he asked if we were getting a dog.”

Toru surveys the dogs. There’s the black-and-white dog that he first met, who seems to be the second-largest out of all of them. The dog wags its tail, and barks at him before looking at the tallest dog. The tallest dog is mainly black with bits of tan showing up through its coat, it stares at Toru, and growls, grey lips peeling back to reveal white teeth.

“Enough,” Toru says at the dog, staring into its eyes. The dog stops growling and seems to nod, before wagging its tail. The dog next to it lets out a high-pitched yelp, and Toru turns his dark gaze to it. It appears to be the same size as the other dog, and both appear to be puppies. It’s a mix of light brown and grey and has a largely wolfish look to it, with one eye upright and one floppy ear. The other dog is a bluey-grey-black mix of colours with white paws. It wags at Toru and pants happily.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you four,” Toru says, because he can see how clear the bonds are between these dogs, and he feels loathe to part with anything that the Uchiha Clan had left behind.

The black-and-white dog barks, “Right, I’ll take you to the vet first, we can figure out what we’re going to do from there.” The black-coloured dog, and the oldest from its appearance, barks. “Follow,” Toru says with a wave of his hand. “Walk with, heel, whatever the command is.”

The black dog easily falls into step on his left, with the black-and-white on his right. The two smaller dogs follow at his heels, yapping and stumbling against one another. Toru huffs a laugh to himself and knows he must make quite the picture, as he steps out into Konoha proper onto one of the main streets. There’s a shout and the dog on his right growls, but Toru touches its head and it quickly stops.

Toru takes a side street, striving to keep out of the way of much of Konoha’s population; he knows it would incite rumours to see him walking with four dogs beside him, not under control but listening to him, (he thinks that there would be whispers of something dark and evil and curses, and he doesn’t want to hear those rumours).

Toru manages to get to the Inuzuka Clan compound with only needing to walk along four main streets for a few minutes. The woman at the gate seems to straighten somewhat as he approaches.

“Uchiha-sama!” She says, the ninken at her side, quickly standing and hackles raising. “Are those yours?”

Toru lets his gaze drop to the four dogs, two seem to be content sitting at his sides while he stands, while the two smaller ones wrestle in front of him. “We seem to have a few pets in the Uchiha compound, and I found these guys earlier. I thought it would be a good idea to take them to the vet. They probably haven’t been in half a year.”

“Right, well, Osamu can take you to the main vet. It’s near the front of the compound due to how many people use it,” the kunoichi says.

“Thanks, Inuzuka-san,” Toru responds. The ninken starts heading off and Toru whistles lowly to the dogs around his feet, and they quickly come to attention and follow the Uchiha as he enters the Inuzuka Clan compound.

Osamu led the shinobi and his newfound dogs to the vet, and sat at the door. “Thank you Osamu,” Toru says as he pushes open the vet door. He looks at the four dogs that have been following him, and the older one enters first, with the two small ones in the middle, and the black-and-white one at the end.

The door closes behind him with a chime, and the person at the desk looks up. His eyes widen at seeing the four dogs at Toru’s feet. There are only one or two others in the room, and Toru’s thankful for the early hour.

“Tsume-sama!” The man calls, “We might need your help here.”

“What d’ya want, Ryouta?” Comes a returning shout, “I’ve got my hands full here.”

“You’re on a break, Tsume-sama, I’ve got four dogs and an Uchiha waiting for you,” the man responds.

“Alright, I’m coming!” Tsume responds, the clan head marches out of an adjacent hallway, hands on her hips as she comes to a stop. “Uchiha-sama, what are you doing here?”

The black dog is on its feet and growling, and the black-and-white one has its hackles up and even the two small ones have stopped their play. Toru blinks in surprise, and taps the black one on its muzzle, “Quiet you,” he murmurs. He turns his gaze to the Inuzuka, “I found some dogs that have probably missed an appointment.”

“You found dogs in that empty compound of yours?” Tsume says, “What the hell? You didn’t check earlier?”

Toru can’t find it in himself to be surprised by the abrasive and blunt personality of the Clan Head. “I didn’t even think about clan finances until recently.”

“Huh, I guess you are only ten,” Tsume mutters.

“I’m twelve!” Toru protests, even as Tsume continues speaking over the top of him.

“Follow me with your dogs, I’ll see what I can figure out. Ryouta, hold down the fort here.”

“I was already doing that, Tsume-sama,” the man says even as Tsume strides out. Toru takes a look at the dogs around him before shrugging his shoulders and walking after the clan head. The black-and-white dog licks his hand as they go down the hallway, and follow Tsume into an examining room.

“Alright, tell me how you got these dogs and if I’ll be able to touch any of them aside from the two youngsters,” Tsume demands as she grabs the wolf-looking puppy.

“Well, I found the black-and-white one in the compound, I was with Sasuke and we had been heading out as he needed to get to the Ninja Academy, when I heard the barking. I followed it to the source and found this one,” he drops his hand onto said dog’s head, “growling at a cat. I managed to get him to come over and then he led me to the others. They had a cave near the compound and had been sneaking in and out.”

“Well, I can tell you this guy’s probably a mix of Wolfhound and actual wolf,” Tsume says. “He’s probably younger than all the others, about six months I’d say. I don’t think this guy was owned by anyone in the compound but came from one of the training grounds. He’s a good weight at 18 kg and already quite tall at 30cm. A brindle colour as well, he’s shaping up fine and in good condition despite living in the wild.

“You seem to have found yourself a pack,” she continues as she puts the Wolfhound back on the ground, and the puppy scampers over to press himself against the black dog’s legs. “Based on their actions, I’d say that the Shepherd Hound at your side is the leader, or was the leader until you came along.”

Tsume picks up the other puppy, “This one’s a Leopard Cur, blue merle colouring. She weighs about 15kg, so a bit underweight, but that can easily be regained. She’s about 30cm as well, so I’d put her age at about ten months. She’s got good breeding from the looks of her. Now, these other two of yours, how well do you think I’ll be able to handle them?”

Toru stares at Tsume, letting his gaze pointedly wonder up her body, focussing on her arm muscles. “I think you’ll be able to handle them fine,” he says flatly.

Tsume barks out a laugh, “You’re alright kid,” she says. “You’ve got a Guard Shepherd here, I’d say her age is about a year and a half. She weighs about 18kg, which is quite underweight when she’s 50cm, so almost fully grown. Aside from the weight problem, she seems to have fleas, but other than that she isn’t too badly off.”

Tsume leans down towards the black Shepherd Hound, which growls and snaps at her face. Tsume growls back and then black dog freezes, before leaping towards her. Toru whistles sharply, and the black dog snarls and slinks back to Toru’s side.

“Enough,” Toru says, his voice dropping to a lower octave. “Behave.”

“Huh,” Tsume says, getting close to the dog without a problem, “That’s interesting.”

“What’s interesting?”

“Just the fact that you’ve already managed to get this pack’s loyalty. They’ve accepted you as their leader now, you’ll be hard pressed getting rid of them,” Tsume reveals as she checks the dog’s mouth.

“What.”

Tsume chuckles, “You’re stuck with these four. Now, this guy, as I mentioned earlier, is a black Shepherd Hound. I’d put his age at about five years, maybe six. He’s pretty healthy, but underweight and could have some more muscle on him. He’s pretty damn tall, standing at 70cm and 35kg. He seems to be well trained as well, and I’d say he’s pretty intelligent as well. They all seem to be quite intelligent. I’ll give them all vaccines and so forth.”

Toru runs a hand through his hair, “I don’t know how to own a dog,” he says.

“Well, you’ll get to figure it out pretty quickly. Make sure they can eat, have a drink, and ensure they get exercise. Bring them back here in a week for a check-up, and a month afterwards for a final check-up,” Tsume says. “I hope you have a big place for these guys.”

Toru shrugs, “I don’t know if it’ll be big enough, but I think it should work for a bit. I can probably take them out with me when I’m wondering around, or even have them in the compound for the day to move about or whatever.”

“You’ll need leads, collars, dog bowls, beds, toys, food, brushes probably, and I’ll give you some stuff to wash them with along with flea and tick stuff. I don’t suppose you’ve got names for them yet?”

“Teisatu for the Leopard Cur,” Toru decides. Tsume raises an unimpressed eyebrow, and Toru shrugs. “It suits her.”

“Ironically, Curs are often used as hunting dogs by civilians, although not often in big villages,” Tsume reveals.

“Ken for the Shepherd Hound,” Toru adds with a smirk. “Aki for the Guard Shepherd, and Haruto for the Wolfhound.”

“I’m not sure what to make of your naming ability, kid,” Tsume says with a bark of laughter. “Doesn’t matter, follow brat.”

“I don’t think I count as a kid or a brat,” Toru says, almost softly, but with a hint of threat in his voice as he follows Tsume out of the examination room and back towards the reception.

“You’re like ten kid, trust me, you are,” comes the response and Toru lifts his hand off of the newly named Ken. The large black dog lets out a deep growl, hackles instantly rising, and bounds towards Tsume, who’s already whirled around and facing Toru and his dogs. Tsume lets out an even louder growl and Ken pauses before leaping towards Tsume, who moves back in under a second and out of the way. Toru whistles softly and Ken lets out one last growl towards Tsume before padding over to Toru’s side and sitting down.

“Huh, alright then, Uchiha-sama, I will stop calling you a kid or brat, you’ve made your point,” the Inuzuka clan says, and Toru can hear the condescension dripping from her words.

He rolls his eyes, “Honestly, Toru-san is fine Inuzuka-sama,” he responds, walking past her and into the reception. “I just don’t appreciate being called a kid or brat by a Clan Head.”

Tsume hums and quickly turns away to get things out of another room. Toru turns to the dogs following him. “Sit,” he says quietly, holding his hand up with the palm facing outward. Ken sits easily, and a moment later so does the black-and-white dog, Aki. The pups stumble around Toru’s legs, but a flick of Ken’s ears and a nudge from Toru’s foot has the pair of them moving to stick by the other two. “Wait,” Toru commands before turning his back and hoping that the pack would listen. The Guard Shepherd – Aki, Toru reminds himself – lies down with a soft whine, while Ken flicks his ears but doesn’t do anything, turning his gaze to the puppies around his paws, while Aki appears to keep a lookout.

He picks out four collars and four leashes, but grabs two harnesses at the receptionist’s recommendation. He also picks up six dog bowls and brushes that the receptionist also points out, before grabbing a few toys. By the time he’s finished, Tsume has come back with food, shampoos, conditioners, and flea and tick medicine.

Tsume grins at him, teeth bared, the whole time as she counts up the purchases. When she’s finally done, given him a discount, and got the beds to be taken to his apartment for him, she thanks him for coming. Toru bares his teeth in a grin, and his dogs all trot over to him. “Thank you for your help,” he says, eyes bright and feeling the threat he’s giving to Tsume in every part of his body.

Tsume laughs, loud and strong, “Get going Toru-san, come back soon.”

Toru lets out a huff of silent laughter, calls his pack with a soft whistle, and strides out the door. He has four dogs on his heels and he can’t help but smile as the puppies prance around him, Ken overlooking them all like a proud grandfather. Aki seems content to keep the pups under control, and Toru wonders how he managed to so quickly bond with the pack.

Realistically, he knows that he can’t use them on missions at all and that as a shinobi he’d be hard-pressed to look after them, even with Sasuke stuck in Konoha. However, Toru can’t help but smile as the Wolfhound stumbles over his own paws, and Aki nudges the pup upright as Teisatu weaves between his legs.

Toru somehow manages to get all four dogs up to the apartment and drop the bags off. He’s about to leave the apartment, with the four dogs inside, as he has a training session to get through, only for Aki to start whining causing the puppies to start crying and Ken just looks entirely done.

Toru sighs, and re-enters the apartment, picking up the collars and leashes. Ken, Aki, and Teisatu seem fine with the collars, which only serves to consolidate Toru’s theory that they were all own. Haruto tries to drag the collar off, before stopping with a whine. Toru considers using the harnesses, but decides that the pups will probably stick with the two older ones, who he puts on leashes.

Ken adapts to the leash easily, but as he had already been walking beside Toru, he hadn’t been overly worried. Aki decides that she enjoys bouncing around on the leash, and Toru quickly finds himself getting tangled, with puppies squirming between and around his legs and one dog tugging on her leash.

“Enough,” he says sharply, “Heel.” Aki drops to his side with a disgruntled expression and Toru rubs her head. “Behave and I’ll let you off soon.”

Soon enough, Toru makes it to the training ground, where Shou’s already stretching out alongside Kiku. Kiku’s face brightens upon seeing Toru, before her gaze drops to the dogs around Toru.

“Since when did you own dogs?” Kiku calls out across the clearing and Toru rolls his eyes.

“Since a few hours ago,” he responds. “I don’t even know if the apartment will be big enough for these two.”

“How’d that happen?” Kiku asks as Toru unleashes the dogs before dropping down to stretch with the two other chūnin. The story is quickly spilled, with Toru introducing the pack of dogs, who have taken refuge in the shady edges of the clearing.

“Already have had quite the morning, haven’t you?” Shou adds with a smirk. “Think you can introduce us?”

Toru surveys the dogs, before whistling softly. Ken lifts his head and tilts it, but Toru focusses on Aki, who huffs but lopes over. “Do they know any commands?”

“I assume so,” Toru responds to Shou’s query. “They heel, come, and they wait. I’m not sure how much the pups know, but the two older ones certainly know some commands. I think that Ken may’ve been trained as an attack dog, while Aki was probably trained as a defender.”

Aki noses Toru’s hand upon arriving, licking it. “Good girl,” Toru praises, “Sit.” The dog sits, eyes watching Toru. “Lie down,” he commands, hoping the dog knows it. Aki lays onto her belly and Toru praises her again. Aki stretches out onto her side, rolling so her belly’s to the air.

Kiku smiles at the dog and rubs her stomach, and Aki barely moves. “Seems like she’s pretty friendly,” Shou says as she joins Kiku in her petting. “Well trained too. We could probably work on figuring out what commands they know.”

“I thought we were having a training session,” Kiku jokes, “not training dogs.”

Toru rolls his eyes, “That’s pathetic,” he comments. “I would like to get some training in, but it’d also be good to check what these guys know.”

“We have an all-out spar later but first check what these guys know,” Shou suggests. “Otherwise they might get in the way unknowingly, but if you can get them to stay…”

Kiku laughs, “Alright, you win. Shall we start with Aki here?”

Toru shrugs and the other two chūnin step away from Aki, who rolls onto her stomach and tilts her face up at Toru. “Roll over,” Toru says. Aki easily does so, almost bored with the task. Toru grins at the Guard Shepherd, “Too easy for you, huh?” Aki barks and sits up.

Shou clicks her fingers, “Aki, wait,” she orders. Aki looks at Toru once before fixing her dark gaze on Shou. “Toru hand me a kunai,” and Toru does as bided. “Thank you, Aki, find,” she says, lowering the kunai in front of Aki. “Toru, go.”

Toru, hearing the tone and guessing the intent behind the words, disappears leaving behind a laugh on the wind. Shou turns to fix her gaze on the dog, “Aki, go.” The dog barks and lifts her nose to the air, clearly smelling for something or someone.

Kiku looks over to where the other three lay, interestingly enough, the oldest – and darkest – one appears uncaring of the fact Toru’s disappeared, while the other two have shuffled closer to Ken, and appear to be slightly on edge.

Aki lets out a bark and bounds into the woods surrounding the clearing. Shou shares a look with Kiku, “I’ll stay here,” Kiku says with a smile. “I wonder what tricks Toru will use to keep us off his trail.”

Shou laughs and follows after the black-and-white dog waiting impatiently at the edge of the clearing. “It’s bound to be interesting.”

“It always is,” Kiku retorts even as Shou leaves her view. “I suppose I best do something while I wait,” she says, before frowning. “I don’t suppose any of you actually know what I’m saying.” One of the dogs lets out a huff and Kiku sighs at herself. “And now I’m talking to dogs,” she grumbles as she starts going through a set of katas.

Sasuke leaves the Ninja Academy behind with Naruto at his side. The pair both pause upon spotting a group of dogs at the base of a tree. Naruto frowns and points at the person sitting on one of the branches, “Is that Toru-san?”

“No,” Sasuke says, eyes surveying the tree and the confused looks that others nearby keep sending the shinobi in the tree.

“I think it is,” Naruto continues.

“I refuse,” Sasuke immediately replies, turning on his heel and pulling Naruto beside him.

Naruto twists to continue looking back, “Hey Sasuke, since when did you own dogs?”

“What?” Sasuke says, the new information enough to make him spin around and glare back at the tree. “I think… that’s the dog I told you about earlier today.”

“Do you think we can go over and say hi?” Naruto asks, arm slipping out of Sasuke’s grip and sprinting towards the dogs.

“Naruto, wait!” Sasuke shouts, only to be ignored as Naruto jerks to a halt when the biggest dog stands up with a loud growl. Sasuke glares at the dog as it continues to growl at Naruto.

Toru drops out of the tree, “Enough Ken,” the older Uchiha commands. “Friends.” The Shepherd Hound grunts and sits down, giving Toru an annoyed glance. “Well, Sasuke, congratulations, we’re official owners of four dogs.”

“What did you do?” Sasuke responds flatly, even as he’s crouching down to pet the blue merle puppy that’s sitting at his feet.

“I found these guys and lost the ability to part with them,” Toru replies. “We’re unsure about what they know, but Aki’s pretty good at tracking and Ken’s a good guard dog.”

“Toru, I’m not quite sure that’s how getting a dog works,” Sasuke responds. “What’s this guy’s name?”

“She’s Teisatu,” Toru responds. “Ken’s the eldest one and Aki’s the one we found first. The wolfish-looking one is Haruto.”

“They’re cute,” Naruto says, scratching behind Aki’s ear. “Who’s this?”

“She’s Aki,” Toru says. “Now, I suppose you’ve all got homework to complete.”

“Toru, we just got dogs, I’m not about to do homework,” Sasuke says, sounding completely aghast at the idea. “Dogs.”

“I didn’t know you liked dogs,” Toru says as he stretches. Ken stands up as well, turning his gaze to watch Toru.

Sasuke shrugs, “I’ve seen ninneko before, and dogs are much cooler than cats.”

“Well, consider it your responsibility be to train Teisatu then,” Toru decides. “C’mon Sasuke, Naruto, we’ll head home and you guys can play with the dogs and do your homework.”

“That’s mean,” Naruto whines, even as he walks beside Toru with a grin. Toru laughs and wraps his hands around the shoulders of the two Academy students. He calls his pack with a whistle, and Ken quickly takes up a spot behind him while Aki and the puppies trot ahead of them.

“I’ll help you finish quicker,” Toru says. “You can stay for dinner as well if you want, considering we’ve got a recipe for ramen I’ve been meaning to try out.” Sasuke glances sharply at Toru, and the elder Uchiha ignores the look with the ease of one who’s dealt with similar looks before.

Sasuke huffs, “I’ll race you there Naruto,” the Uchiha says before taking off at a run.

“Cheater!” Naruto shouts as he rockets after his classmate.

“Aki, find and guard,” Toru orders softly, and the black-and-white dog bounds off, and Toru can’t help but laugh at the eager Academy students. He knows Sasuke well enough to trust the kid, but Toru has heard rumours of the treatment Naruto faces and he’s slightly more worried. Thankfully, Toru’s found that Aki’s can track and guard.

Ken huffs at Toru’s side, and Toru scratches the dog’s head. “Not much longer now,” he says, before breaking into an easy jog. Ken quickly settles into a slow lope, while the puppies sprint, stumbling and tripping, to keep up. Toru stifles a laugh even as he cuts through a back alley.

Toru stares impassively down at the forms still on the table. The kids are all asleep, with Naruto settled in the guest room that Toru managed to find sheets and everything for. With the spare time on his hands, he had decided to look over the homework the kids had been completing.

They had both been given back a test, and while Sasuke had received a 98%, Naruto had done considerably worse with an ungraded test. However, going over the test, Toru can pick out numerous incorrect corrections. Furthermore, where Sasuke received consequential markings, Naruto didn’t.

Ken, still awake despite the late hour, looks up when Toru takes Naruto’s test over to the couch with a green pen in hand. He starts going through the answers and cross-referencing with Sasuke’s test. By the end of it all, Naruto’s score comes up to a 50%, which is actually a pass.

Toru frowns. He knows that there’s something up with some of the Academy teachers, that prejudice and bias influence their thoughts. However, Toru         can’t afford to generalise and say all Academy teachers do so, no ninja worth their chakra can afford to generalise. Furthermore, without proof, Toru can do nothing, and despite Naruto’s test scores, it can all be ignored as an accident, and Toru doesn’t have the ability to actually see any of Naruto’s scores unless the boy shows him.

Something sits heavy in Toru’s gut, but the chūnin knows he can’t do anything but he also can’t do nothing. He’s stuck without choices but unwilling to wait, and maybe there’s something else that’s prickling in the back of Toru’s mind.

(Toru wasn’t an Uzumaki, but he had known the clan, been friends with those in the clan, and loved all the Uzumaki, and that means something, because even if the slate was meant to be wipe clean, it hadn’t been. Toru still carries the love and once-friendship for the clan, with the clan, and like how Toru can’t let Uzushio lie forgotten, neither can he ignore the ties that still bind him, even after death.)

Naruto is alone, lives alone without parents and without guardians, and maybe there’s a reason for that but orphans shouldn’t live alone, children shouldn’t live alone. The Sandaime Hokage may think he’s doing the best – and maybe Toru isn’t in a position to go against the Hokage, maybe he shouldn’t even be thinking about this, but Toru had been an Uzushio shinobi – but this shouldn’t stand, and yet it does. Toru doesn’t know if there were other factors, but he’s not willing to hear the excuses of the Hokage, and they are excuses because the Hokage has full power, because this isn’t a democracy but a dictatorship. It isn’t a bad one, but that doesn’t mean it’s always good, there are flaws and the Hokage has retired once and he’s old, even by civilian standards, older by ninja standards, and he shouldn’t still be there.

Toru pauses, mind halting in its constant, endless cycles of thinking. He can see pathways he can take, pathways that don’t require Naruto to show him test scores but will ultimately result in Toru being able to bring up the Academy’s bias and prejudice.

Toru, whether it’s recorded or not, is an Uzumaki, by blood. It’s a connection with Naruto, who is also called Uzumaki, and that name is not one bestowed lightly, because the world – even in its forgetfulness – cannot use the Uzumaki clan for those without a last name. They deserve names and families, but the Uzumaki’s are not all dead and they cannot give out a clan name without reason.

The clan head, Uchiha and Uzumaki blood, hums quietly in thought. He thinks, wonders really, if there are other Uzumaki in Konoha, because surely, surely, his father didn’t come alone. Surely, some had settled here, even as others returned to their wandering. He thinks that they could’ve claimed Naruto too, they being of his blood, and any connection – especially when they are as few as they are – is important, any clan member is important. There would be a reason; there has to be a reason. Toru refuses to believe otherwise.

Still, that is not the point here and now. There is something else to focus on. Toru, whether or not it’s written down, has a genetic link connecting him to Naruto. He’s never been told about it, but he’s smart enough to put the puzzle pieces together. Nonetheless, the basic fact is that Naruto lives alone and Toru can change that (he can try, at least).

This is only one path Toru can take. He can alert Iruka to the prejudice and bias, because Toru trusts Iruka (and that’s important, because trust is not given easily in this world, in this life). Iruka will try to do the right thing, but Toru can’t depend on Iruka’s righteous behaviour being the same as what he would do, but it’s a start.

There’s a low growl, and a nearby dog raises his head. Toru tilts his head and hears someone padding away. On silent feet, Toru moves closer to the door, his gaze drawn to the note that had been slipped beneath the door. He opens it carefully, recognising it as just a note.

Ken silences upon Toru’s return to the couch, and Toru reads the note carefully. He smiles to himself. He may have limited information on the corruption within Konoha, and very few things to use as blackmail and threats (he’s a ninja, of course he’s prepared to use blackmail and threats), but he has allies who have a much larger information network.

Mission Type: Retrieval

Rank: D

Mission Objective: Gather the (alive) pets (dogs, cats, etc.) in the Uchiha Clan Compound and take them to the Inuzuka Vet Clinic for lodging underneath the Uchiha Clan’s name.

Client: Toru Uchiha, Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan, Konohagakure Shinobi

Location: Uchiha Clan Compound, Konohagakure

Teams Requested: Minimum of three

Hokage meeting requested by chūnin #012182

Reason: Discussion regarding Uchiha Clan Head duties and councils

Date: Eleven Days (Thursday; Two Weeks)

Sasuke feels like he’s been scowling for hours now, and it’s all because of how stupid adults are! Iruka had been sick that day, which – Sasuke allows – is understandable, because you can’t be well all the time. It’s just, people are irritants and annoying, and if they could just treat everyone alike, Sasuke would be happy! Instead, he’s got detention for the next few months for starting a simple fight because people were badmouthing his friend and that is not allowed. Then, because as if detention and various lectures weren’t enough, the person in charge of the Ninja Academy decided that Toru needs to be called in.

Sasuke doesn’t want to ruin the other Uchiha’s days, not that Toru’s actually doing anything aside from training and taking care of the Uchiha Clan Compound, but his point still stands. It doesn’t deserve the elder Uchiha’s attention, but also – and Sasuke can never stop being thankful for Toru not being an adult, despite his adult-like maturity – he’s sure that Toru will set the idiotic chūnin straight, and Sasuke will be so glad to see it.

Sasuke wonders what Naruto thinks of it all, wonders if Naruto even knows what happens. He wonders if the bloody teacher kept picking on the Academy student (because that’s what he is, that’s what they are, they’re learning and future shinobi of Konohagakure and they shouldn’t be getting treated like this), and wonders if anyone’s bothered to help Naruto and keep the teacher’s – although it’s not like the ninja actually deserves that title – attention of off the Uzumaki. Sasuke may not be a genius (not like he’s starting to think Toru is), but there were subtle hints from the lazy Nara in the classroom, sharp sentences and loud noises that normally the Nara never makes, and it always, always forces the attention off Naruto.

Sasuke scowls fiercer at the receptionist. He knows that the message had been sent out to Toru almost an hour ago, and the messenger – a genin who’d been helping out at the Academy for a mission of some kind – had returned within ten minutes of leaving and had said that Toru was coming. Sasuke can guess that Toru doesn’t think this is important, and while he’s glad that the chūnin’s wasting the Academy’s time, he’s also annoyed because Sasuke needs to be important, he needs to mean something, be something, be important.

Sasuke’s head jerks up, having been stretching his senses to feel Toru coming, and then there’s a hand ruffling his hair and Toru crouches down before him, a smirk on his face. “Sorry I’m late kid, but I knew you weren’t actually in trouble, you aren’t like that. I thought I might just waste the Academy’s time. They certainly deserve it.”

Sasuke can’t help the smile that curves his lips up and the twinkle that he knows his eyes get when he’s overly happy. “They do,” he says softly, “I got in a bit of a fight against some bullies.”

Toru touches the black bruise that’s forming on Sasuke’s eye, and the Academy student winces away from it. It had been a lucky shot and Sasuke supposes he should’ve expected some injury when going one-on-five, but he’s still annoyed by it, and it’s only furthered his anger. “Huh, knew it wasn’t going to be bad news,” Toru says, his chakra flickering green and blue before staying green. “Hold still while I do this, yeah?”

Sasuke hums and waits until the green chakra has faded from Toru’s fingers before speaking. “When did you learn that?” He asks, intent on keeping his gaze away from the Academy Headmaster’s office and the receptionist.

Toru shrugs as he rises, “Not too long ago,” he says, and Sasuke catches the flicker of his eyes, and turns his head to watch the receptionist, who startles at Toru’s appearance, apparently not having noticed the chūnin. A smirk settles on Sasuke’s face, before fading into a scowl as the Academy Headmaster invites the two Uchihas into his office.

There’s a moment of silence and it’s clear that the Headmaster isn’t going to introduce himself first. “Toru Uchiha,” the chūnin says, “Sorry for the wait.”

“It’s fine,” the older chūnin replies. “I’m Kiyoari Fujito, Headmaster of Konoha’s Ninja Academy.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Toru says, and Sasuke doesn’t understand how the older Uchiha actually sounds sincere because Sasuke’s sure he’s not. “Now, what’s this all about? I can tell Sasuke’s been in a fight of some kind.”

“Indeed,” Kiyoari says, frowning at Toru and Sasuke from across his giant desk. “Sasuke injured five students who have all had to report to the hospital for a general check-up. Two were only knocked out while one’s jaw was broken, another lost three teeth, and the fifth got his arm broken. I guess you understand why I called you in.”

“No, I don’t,” Toru says bluntly, and Sasuke relishes in watching the Headmaster’s features tighten in angry. “This is a Ninja Academy and furthermore, these students are taught taijutsu at the Academy. Spars and fights breaking out are quite common, rarely are parents or guardians called in as fights are common. Hospital visits are not uncommon, what is uncommon is calling me in. I assume there is something else at play here,” Toru finishes with a soft smile, managing to look calm and at ease, and Sasuke is jealous because Toru’s managed to make the Headmaster actually lose the control over his features for a second. Furthermore, Toru barely puts inflections and emotions into his voice, and still Sasuke can sense Toru’s annoyance and irritation.

“Ahh, well, one of the student’s parents is demanding payment for their child’s injuries,” the Headmaster responds.

“I do not see what this has to do with me. If any parent or guardian could demand payment for their child’s injuries, they would do so. However, no one does so, as it isn’t within the laws regarding the Ninja Academy. The papers signed for a child’s registration all have how the Ninja Academy isn’t responsible for any child’s injuries nor is the parents or guardians of the other child who caused the injuries,” Toru points out.

“Well, we get a lot of funding from this civilian parent,” the Headmaster says. Toru watches the man’s face and he thinks that this chūnin has been out of action and dealing with civilians for far too long (and Toru is a shinobi, an active one, and has been a shinobi for longer than this chūnin has seen action). Fast blinking – often a sign of anxiety; dilated pupils – normally a sign of thinking hard and anxiety; eye contact – a possible attempt to throw Toru off from thinking that the Headmaster’s lying; lack of fidgeting and unnatural stillness – could be an attempt to not give away any tells of lying. 

Toru lets himself relax back into the chair, giving off an air of not caring. “Who incited this fight? Sasuke’s a good kid, and he would never do such a thing.”

“It was the Uzumaki brat,” the Headmaster spits out, and only a heavy hand on Sasuke’s shoulder keeps the kid from saying anything.

Sasuke glares, and Toru nods. “Right, who did he punch first?” The Headmaster frowns. “Well, to incite the fight, he needed to have attacked first,” Toru elaborates. “Unless, of course, he didn’t actually start the fight, and you’re really lying.”

(Toru knows something’s wrong, and this is just more evidence of the corruption and sabotage in the Nina Academy, and Toru has had enough. He knows what’s true and what’s false, and he can detect the possible lies.)

The condescension has been rolling off the Headmaster ever since they entered the office, and Toru has had enough. He is an Uchiha, an Uzumaki, a Mizushima, a shinobi, an Uzushio ANBU Commander, an Uzukage, a proud chūnin of Konohagakure, a Clan Head, and a person who believes in mercy, who believes in fairness, who believes that death needs only be a last resort.

He is the darkness that everyone holds within them, only acknowledged and he’s willing to utilise it to get what he wants, to do what he believes in. He’s willing to go to untraveled lengths and traverse the dark plain of being an ANBU to change the world, to change lives, to do what he thinks is right.

(Uzushio will not die easily, did not fall quietly, and he will forever hold the tale inside of his heart, the tale of a village that will never die, the chant that the sea never dies.)

Toru stands up, chin lifted and eyes looking down at the Headmaster, the chūnin who corruption has thrived in, who has been swallowed up by greed, who has fallen into a trap, and Toru sees no reason to offer a ladder out, to offer help. This chūnin chose this, and Toru believes in second chances, but he also believes that hopes and beliefs should never result in harm, in danger, in death.

This is Toru Uchiha, Toru Mizushima, Toru Uzumaki. Proud and strong, steel resolve and stubbornness, determination and wildness, Uzushio and Konoha. This is power settling around him and authority on his shoulders.

Sasuke sees something different. He doesn’t see the Uzukage lifting his head and the ANBU Commander hiding from behind a jackal mask, ready to strike and attack and tear down. Sasuke sees his Clan Head, Toru Uchiha – family. He sees a chūnin more brave and strong than everyone else he knows. He feels love and passion and joy simply being able to be near the Uchiha.

Sasuke sees his Clan Head stand up and he can almost feel the pressure that rises around Toru, the power that settles around him, claims him, clings to him. He can see the way Toru’s shoulders remain steady and how authority rests, heavy and something weary, but how Toru reacts as if nothing has changed. Toru lifts his head and squares his shoulders; he speaks.

“I’ve had enough of the corruption and sabotage going on in this place, and I am a Clan Head, head of the Uchiha Clan, one of Konoha’s founders. You cannot get away with the lying that goes on in this place; you cannot sit there and lie to me. I’ve had enough. People should be learning, not squandering their time, wasting their lives and refusing to bother learning. This will be their deaths, because you cannot look beyond your own greed and escape the clutches of corruption, and you are drowning in it. There shouldn’t be bullies and there shouldn’t be sabotage, and certainly not obvious sabotage. You are a shinobi, and one of Konoha’s. You are a leader and yet you refuse to move beyond this desk. You are bitter and hating and sad. You live your life refusing to change and see beyond your own position, one you are stuck in and unable to do anything about.”

Toru’s chakra flares, a threat and the Uchiha, young in body and perhaps years, but older than any others in that office and more than ready to carry out with his threats.

“It is time for change,” the Uchiha Clan Head continues. “You have had your chance Kiyoari Fujito, and it has past you now. It is too late for you to change your decisions and remake this Academy. Your time has passed, and I hope you realise the wasted potential and the deaths that lie at your feet.”

The Clan Head nods and sweeps out of the office, Sasuke at his heels with a fierce grin on his face. The door shuts softly behind them, and the Headmaster leans back in his chair and laughs despite the fear on his mind and the sweat that has escaped his pores. He wonders what a kid can do, what a twelve-year-old can do. He has been stuck in his position too long, and he knows there is no way to avoid it. Corruption and sabotage are part of being a ninja, and Kiyoari knows this well. Still, the Headmaster wonders why his hands tremble and eye twitches. Threats are nothing when they cannot be carried out.

The Headmaster may not be sure about Toru, but he knows that the boy cannot follow through with his words.

(Anger fuels determination, which fuels ideas that cause movement and change, and Toru is angry and he has all the motivation he needs to make change occur.)

Something like awe rests on Sasuke’s tongue and it doesn’t taste bitter. It isn’t like jealousy; it’s different and unique and all it does is empower Sasuke. He thinks I want that and that I can learn that and I’m so glad he’s on my side.

He trails after Toru, the office of that idiotic chūnin left behind them, and he can’t help but grin, (there’s something to be said about how he doesn’t care that he’s following behind someone, but he doesn’t think it matters right now).

The moment they leave the doors of the Ninja Academy, there’s a bark and a dog races towards them, leaping at Toru. The chūnin allows himself to move with the force, and scratches Aki’s head lightly.

“Did you mean to bring Aki?” Sasuke asks, wondering why Toru seems to be bringing their dogs everywhere.

Toru nods, “I need to find Iruka. He isn’t here though, is he?”

Sasuke shakes his head and wonders what Toru’s up to. “No, and that’s what started this whole problem.”

“No, I think this has been coming for a while,” Toru says. “Remember how Naruto and you did that maths the other day, and he failed?” Sasuke nods, “I checked over his mark because it seemed incorrect and he should’ve gotten a 50%.”

“That’s a pass,” Sasuke points out with a frown, and he’s confused because he knows that there’s something up with Naruto, that he’s treated differently (and he’s always put it down to being because of Naruto’s noisiness, his pranks, his idiotic behaviour, but Sasuke knows that it’s still not right and he’s willing to stand beside Naruto and tell the world that it’s unfair; this is what Toru has taught him).

“Indeed,” Toru responds, “I don’t suppose you know anything that Iruka would’ve touched last and would still have his scent?”

Sasuke frowns before nodding and drawing Toru away from the front academy and around to the back. “Iruka-sensei always watches over us during morning break,” he reveals. “No one else does it, so the place where he sits and marks should still have his scent.”

“Good,” Toru says, “We’ll use Aki to find him so I can speak to him.”

“Is it about what you said regarding the corruption and sabotage?” Sasuke asks quietly, because he can sense something big is at play, but he doesn’t hold all the information and he doesn’t know if Toru does either.

“Yeah,” Toru says just as softly. “I can’t see Naruto’s scores but as his main teacher, Iruka can.”

“Is there a reason you’re looking out for Naruto?” Sasuke asks curiously, (and he’s not worried or searching for Toru’s attention, but sometimes he wonders why because Toru didn’t seem to even know the Uzumaki until recently).

“He’s alone,” Toru says softly, “and that’s one reason, but there’s also another reason. It’s not very well-known, but the Uzumaki clan were a big clan, and were one of the founding clans of Uzushiogakure, a village that was once similar to Konoha, and known as Konoha’s sister village before it was lost during the war. However, some of Uzushio’s inhabitants were able to escape the attack, and some of the Uzumaki clan claimed a home in Konoha.”

Sasuke waits patiently as Toru talks, and he can hear the grief present in Toru’s voice and wonders why Uzushiogakure’s fall has impacted the chūnin so much. He waits for Toru to gather himself and his thoughts, and can almost sense the ocean that settles within Toru.

“My father was one of the Uzumaki who settled in Konoha,” Toru reveals, his voice soft and the revelation almost insignificant. Sasuke can hear the love and sorrow hidden within his only family’s voice, and thinks that he would like to be strong so Toru never has to go through the same pain. “I’m not sure if Naruto and I are closely related or not, but we’re family.”

“And family’s important whether by blood or not,” Sasuke intones seriously, because he has learnt this through experience, and he knows, knows that family’s important but he’s also aware family isn’t always by blood.

“Yeah,” Toru agrees, voice still soft. He shakes his head, shaking off the remorse and sadness clinging to him. “Is this the spot?” Sasuke nods. “Right, Aki, here girl.” The Guard Shepherd bounds over and pauses at Toru’s feet, head tilted up to watch the chūnin. “Good girl, now, scent,” he says, tapping the table.

Aki rears up on her hind legs to rest her forelegs on the table, she sniffs, before dropping down and barking. “Locate,” Toru orders, dark eyes watching Aki, who barks again. The dog sniffs the ground before settling into a lope leading away from the Academy.

“So, how was your day?” Toru asks as he follows their dog.

Sasuke scowls. “Terrible, and I don’t even know what happened after I was taken out of class.”

“How exactly did the fight start?”

“They were badmouthing Naruto and saying how he was a ‘demon’ and a ‘no-good’ and a ‘killer’, and he may be bad at the Academy but he’s not a ‘demon’, or a ‘no-good’, and he’s not a ‘killer’!” Sasuke says, volume increasing with his pent-up emotions. “I don’t understand Toru, why do they call him that? They’re lying, and it’s not even a good one.”

“Naruto was born on the 10^th of October,” Toru says, “he was the only one to be born on that date.”

“Do they blame him for the demon fox?” Sasuke asks, mind already sharp and honed and locating the links between Naruto and the date. “Because that’s really, really dumb. If Naruto was the demon fox, he’d be good at things, but he’s bad, like really bad.”

“He tries though,” Toru says, switching direction as Aki takes off down a side-street, nose in the air.

“Yeah,” Sasuke murmurs, “I suppose so, but he sometimes gets things and then he just forgets and he doesn’t really bother with some things, and I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t you try at everything? He only really tries for Iruka-sensei.”

“Does he now?” Toru asks, waiting for Sasuke to reach his own conclusions.

Sasuke hums and thinks, “I suppose… I think it’s because the other teachers don’t treat him right,” the boy says grimly. “That makes sense, I guess. I wouldn’t try if I knew that I’d get a bad mark anyway. I’d just wait until I can prove them all wrong.”

“Maybe that’s what Naruto’s planning on doing,” Toru suggests as Aki paws the door of an apartment building. He nudges the door open and Aki plants her snout to the ground and starts heading up the stairs. “Hope you don’t mind seeing your sensei on his off day,” he adds.

“I don’t mind,” Sasuke says, “I want to see what he does about the stupid teacher.”

“Sasuke,” Toru says, lightly hitting the back of Sasuke’s head, “if you’re going to bother being a brat and insult people, do it better.” Sasuke snickers, “Instead of saying ‘stupid teacher’ say something like inarticulate chūnin who couldn’t go beyond a B-rank mission without dying due to their inability to master the ninja arts.”

A door opens at the end of the hallway where Aki’s sitting in front of it, and a pale and tired face looks out. “Toru, is that you I hear? What’s this about insulting teachers?”

Toru hurries towards Iruka with a slightly abashed expression on his face. “I’m just teaching Sasuke some lessons he missed out on today,” Toru reveals and Sasuke snickers again upon seeing Iruka’s disbelieving face.

“For some reason, I don’t believe that,” Iruka says as he opens the door wider. “Come on in, though. I suppose you have an actual reason for tracking me down like a missing-nin.”

“Sorry about that, but I needed to find you today and this was the easiest way,” Toru says, ushering in Aki and Sasuke. He shuts the door behind him, “Aki, guard,” he orders and the dog lays down by the door, ears perked and eyes watching the door. “Sasuke, do you want to tell your part of the story? After all, I wasn’t there.”

Sasuke sits on the couch, squishing up next to Toru, and fixes Iruka with a glare. “Your substitute was an inarticulate chūnin who would ever go beyond a B-rank mission in their life due to their inability to understand common sense and master the ninja arts to the degree required to be something more than a chūnin and should never teach simply because of their incapability to actually think.”

Iruka fixes Toru with an annoyed expression, “Less insulting Sasuke, Toru asked for an explanation, you shouldn’t need to waste your time and breath on insults and opinions.”

Sasuke rolls his eyes but continues anyway. “Essentially, the chūnin hated Naruto and kept picking on him, and that made everyone else think that it was alright, and I was searching for him during morning break because he’d run off somewhere, and I came across these bullies and they were insulting him and badmouthing him and he wasn’t even there to defend himself! I fought them and showed them why they shouldn’t badmouth their friend and then the Headmaster, the idiotic chūnin that he is, decided that it was my fault and had to call Toru and then said the blame is all placed on Naruto but Toru has to pay for the injuries I inflicted! But Toru knew stuff and reversed the genjutsu and then,” Sasuke shrugs, “something about corruption and sabotage?”

Toru smiles and ruffles Sasuke’s hair, who squirms away from the movement but refuses to move out of reach. “I simply pointed out the conditions about joining the Ninja Academy, and when the Headmaster tried to refute my argument, I brought up something I learned recently.”

Iruka’s dark eyes watch the two Uchiha intently. “And what exactly have you learned?”

“Naruto’s being sabotaged,” Toru says bluntly, and the anger on Iruka’s face can be seen reflected in the Uchiha’s black eyes. “I noticed it in the maths test recently, and I reckon if you look at his previous tests and examinations that there will be markings that show him incorrect when he is actually correct. Furthermore, I have the belief that the Headmaster is being paid to boost certain student’s scores, although I lack the evidence to show proof. Hopefully, I will be able to gain that evidence.

“On another note, the Academy isn’t suiting certain students’ capabilities, and their potential is being wasted. Not to mention that the Academy underprepares their students and this will result in deaths, if it hasn’t already. I’m of the belief that this should change.”

Iruka leans back in his chair, weary and resigned. “The Ninja Academy has been stuck in its ways for a long time, and I’ve lacked any power to do something about it. I’m surprised by the corruption and sabotage going on, and I believe you, do not mistake me, but I can do nothing about it. I’ve tried to bring up the Academy’s fallibility but nothing has come from it, so I assumed people were looking into it or it was just me seeing things.

“It may be that your complaints are purposely being located elsewhere without anyone knowing,” Toru comments.

“From what you’ve said, that’s what I’m starting to think. I’m wondering how high this corruption goes exactly,” Iruka responds. “Still, I don’t know what I’m meant to do, though. I have very limited power in my current position.”

“If you say so,” Toru hums in response, not attempting to address his doubts that he expresses through his vocal tone. “However, as Clan Head, I have some power, and I plan to bring up the problems in the clan council. If I can get other Clan Heads to support me, then I will have an even stronger argument, and backing to go with it. Although, without proof I can go nowhere. I need backing from someone in the Academy as well.”

“True,” Iruka says, tilting his head back. “I will, of course, back you, but I feel as if you are after more than one supporter.” Toru nods in agreement, “Very well, I will see what other allies I can scout out in the Ninja Academy, and you can approach them.”

“Thank you,” Toru says, standing up. “I can tell you are still tired, so I will take my leave along with Sasuke. I hope you get better soon.”

Iruka nods before a coughing fit strikes him. “Thank you,” he responds, a hint of a smile on his face. “I hope to see you sometime soon.”

“Of course,” Toru responds, even as he enters the hallway with Sasuke beside him, “You know where to find me.” Iruka tilts his head in concurrence and closes the door.

Sasuke scratches Aki’s head, “I’m not entirely sure what just happened,” he tells Toru. “I just know you got an ally and plan on changing the Ninja Academy.”

“That’s the essence of it all,” Toru says as the pair – and the dog – leave the apartment building. “The rest of it was simple planning and discussion.”

“Right,” Sasuke says, his attention wandering as he realises he can do little to help or change anything. “What were you doing before you came?”

Toru laughs, “I was actually looking over an angry letter from the Inuzuka Clan Head about pets being brought in from the Uchiha Clan Compound.”

“How many pets were there?” Sasuke asks.

“I think they found about six other dogs and twelve cats,” Toru says, “I hope you don’t want any more pets, because I don’t think we have space for anymore.”

“Not even a cat?” Sasuke teases, a grin lifting his lips as Toru rolls his eyes.

“Unless you want to care for them all,” Toru responds. “For that smart comment, you can have the responsibility of figuring out what to do with them all.”

Somehow finding one dog at the Uchiha Clan Compound ends up resulting in four dogs being found, and then the last two remaining Uchiha in Konoha suddenly own four dogs. Sasuke, despite his initial thoughts, finds himself falling in love with the two dogs and the two puppies. Toru discovers a side of Konoha wreathed in shadows and swallowed by twisted greed and corruption. Sasuke gets to watch in awe as Toru loses it at the Ninja Academy Headmaster, and Toru starts planning.

Chapter Text

“You’ll end up being like a civilian with bad eyesight soon,” Sasuke remarks as he enters the home he shares with Toru. The elder Uchiha mutters something and waves his hand, probably not even noticing what Sasuke had just said. Sasuke rolls his eyes and wanders over to the chūnin, standing beside him to see what Toru’s doing.

Sasuke can tell when Toru finally notices him, as the chūnin tenses before relaxing even as he lifts his head to look at Sasuke. Toru blinks in a confused manner (and Sasuke feels warmth as he realises that Toru’s unconscious mind counts him as safe), “When did you get here?”

“Not too long ago,” Sasuke responds. “Are you figuring out rental prices?”

Toru nods, “In our apartment we spend about 200,000 for rent per month. That’s in the average price range, but our building isn’t in the best location, so technically we live in an average apartment in a low status area. The Uchiha Clan Compound probably counts as a high status area, except people probably won’t want to stay there for a big price. Therefore, I figured it’d be best to probably start out with renting out a few houses for a low price, and depending on how that goes, up prices later.”

“What price are you thinking?” Sasuke asks, because although it isn’t that interesting, this is important. This is his family’s Clan Compound, his Clan Compound. It’s one of the last remaining testimony to the Uchiha Clan’s existence. Sasuke doubts he would’ve thought up something like this, and instead left the Compound to become something tiny and insignificant and cursed with the memories of what happened (he doesn’t like to think of what would happen if Toru hadn’t existed, that train of thought never leads anywhere good because Sasuke knows himself, and he isn’t good, isn’t nice, isn’t fair, and he would drown in hatred and strike out at anyone who attempts to help him because he doesn’t want pity!).

“The lowest price I’m willing to go is about 85,000, so I was thinking of starting prices off at 115,000 and seeing what happens from there. I’m not expecting us to actually have any takers until there’s only a few houses left on the market,” Toru says.

“Huh,” Sasuke responds, only really half-understanding what Toru’s talking about. “Do anything interesting today?”

Toru shakes his head, “Not really. I looked at the prices for the properties that are already rented or leased out, and upped the prices with the help of someone from a rental agency. Did you do anything interesting today?”

“I think I scared off almost all the civilians in my class from the other day,” Sasuke says blandly, and cracks a small grin when Toru starts laughing.

“Did you actually?”

Sasuke nods proudly, “I managed to get rid of most of the fangirls aside from two that just don’t go away! However, I don’t have to deal with most of them now, so it’s alright.”

“That’s good,” Toru says, “I’m surprised Naruto didn’t follow you home again.”

Sasuke scowls, “You make him sound like a stray dog,” he complains, even as he bends down to scratch Teisatu’s head, the puppy licks his hand excitedly, and then there’s Aki bounding over and knocking Sasuke over.

“Well, we do seem to be collecting pets,” Toru murmurs with a smile as he puts everything away. “Don’t we?”

Sasuke bats Aki away, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he responds. “We only have these four because you couldn’t give them up.”

Toru laughs, “Watch this, I managed to start teaching them something new.” He whistles, and instantly the two playful dogs at Sasuke side turn to face the older Uchiha, Haruto and Ken joining them. Toru whistles like an owl, and instantly Aki and Ken perk their ears and look around, while the puppies run off and out of view.

They hold the position for a minute, before Toru whistles softly. Ken instantly drops to the ground, closing his eyes, while Aki bounces over to Sasuke once more, Teisatu at her side, while Haruto plants himself beside Toru.

“What was that all about?” Sasuke asks, “I can see they were doing something, but I can’t tell what. Aki and Ken were on guard but the pups went into hiding.”

“Essentially, Aki and Ken were on watch and prepared for enemies to come and the pups went into hiding because they can blend into the surroundings and be ready to attack from other areas, or go get help if necessary,” Toru says.

“Toru, they can’t actually use chakra, I don’t think they’d be that helpful in a mission or a fight, unless it’s against civilians,” Sasuke says.

“Well, Haruto is part wolf and he’s quite different from a normal wolf, already showing signs of growing bigger than most wolves. Teisatu is much faster than any other dog in the park I took them all to the other day, and she’s not even fully grown. Aki actually avoided anyone who looked like a ninja, even if they were in their civilian clothes. Ken, I’m pretty sure, can actually see in the dark. Besides, the Uchiha are a ninja clan, I doubt that all their pets were simply normal animals, especially considering how much chakra soaked into the Clan Compound over time.”

“Huh,” Sasuke says, “You got any way of telling whether they have a larger amount of chakra than a normal pet?”

Toru shakes his head, “No, and I doubt any sensor could either, as it would be like natural energy, just more. A sensor would have to be exceptionally sensitive to sense it.”

“I suppose we’ll just find out as time passes then,” Sasuke says.

Toru nods in agreement, “Guess we will. How do you feel about heading out and going through some katas and doing some stuff in the Compound?”

“Thought you would never ask,” Sasuke says, already putting his bag down and checking over his weapon pouches.

It isn’t rare for Tsume to speak to members of her clan, but searching for a specific member is uncommon. Tsume barely withholds her growl of annoyance, as she knows that the specific kunoichi and her partner are in the compound, but she didn’t know where the jōnin is.

Tsume’s ninken huffs from next to her, and Tsume rolls her eyes. “Yeah, you’re right, I’ll give you that. I should’ve just gotten Hana to retrieve Mochiyo.”

As if she had heard her name, the kunoichi Tsume’s been searching for finally comes into view. “Mochiyo!” Tsume shouts loudly, and the jōnin turns around. “I’ve been looking for you!”

“Tsume-sama,” Mochiyo says, lifting her head a little, “why have you been searching for me?”

“You’ve worked with Toru Uchiha, right?” At Mochiyo’s nod, the Inuzuka continues talking, “What are your thoughts of him?”

Mochiyo thinks, goes over the mission she took with the chūnin and the spar she had with him. “He’s smart, intelligent, more than most his age,” she starts slowly.

“Another Itachi?” Tsume asks sharply.

Mochiyo shakes her head, “I don’t think so. He’s smart, yes, and he might be a genius of some description, but he’s kind.” She frowns, “I wouldn’t say naïve, but almost… gentle. Natsumi-san told me about the C-rank mission their team had. He was content with helping the children, enjoyed doing it apparently. I would say he’s worried about something, and I’m not sure what. He desperately wants to build up his strength, but not just his – everyone’s around him.”

“You think he’s afraid of Itachi coming after him?” Tsume asks and Mochiyo shrugs.

“Could be, maybe, I don’t know. He’s inventive, could go places if he really tried to. He has thoughts, ideas, but he seems content to just discuss them for now – improve already created jutsus.”

“Anything else you got for me?”

“He’s close with his teammates,” Mochiyo offers, “despite the fact they’ve already been promoted. Haru reckons they meet up often, because their scents often intermingle.”

“You think he’s loyal,” Tsume says, “of course, not like our pack-bound loyalty, but loyal all the same.”

Mochiyo waves her hand, “I think it’s a little like village-bound loyalty and pack-bound loyalty, just not – well – pack-bound. He’s certainly loyal to the village, considering that stint when he went missing and returned to Konoha after being tortured. You heard about that?”

“Who hasn’t heard about that?” Tsume responds with a roll of her eyes, “The whole damn village heard it. A chūnin going missing in peacetime, an Uchiha no less? People were worried he’d joined Itachi or Itachi had gotten him. He came back and the news, meant to be secret, was spread quite a bit.”

“Well, yeah, he returned. Apparently requested to see baby Uchiha and his team before he got healed. I’d certainly say there’s something like pack-bound loyalty in that chūnin.”

Tsume shrugs, “The Uchiha always did like to instil clan loyalty in their members, don’t think that turned out well for them in the end.”

“Except, it wasn’t just to his clan, but his people,” Mochiyo points out. “Why do I have a feeling that you know he has pack-bound loyalty anyway?”

“Kid might’ve ended up with a pack of dogs almost immediately upon finding them, one with wolf blood, and the previous leader being an attack dog,” Tsume says with a rough and crooked grin. “Kid was good with them, and they responded pretty easily to him.”

Mochiyo returns Tsume’s grin, “Can’t say I’m surprised. He’s good.”

Tsume pauses and surveys Mochiyo, “You sparred with him,” she states and Mochiyo nods nonetheless.

“He’s got some good ninjutsu, and once he got his head into the fight, he did damn well,” Mochiyo says. “He’s quick on his feet, thinks of ways to utilise jutsus unusually to benefit him – used a wind release to boost himself into the air to gain time and separate Haru from me. His replacement and transformation techniques are used strangly as well. The transformation for hiding and the replacement for gaining distance and moving further away. Once he settled into his rhythm, he matched me pretty damn well for a chūnin. Gave me a better fight than some jōnin I know.”

“What would you say about him as a Clan Head?” Tsume asks, his gaze serious.

Mochiyo thinks, and Tsume appreciates that the kunoichi actually bothers to take her time to do so. “His clan is small, and they’ve got a bad reputation after everything. He’s got his work cut out for him if he wants to do anything, but he has determination in spades and I reckon he’ll have plans already lined up if he’s really taking that position.”

“He took the position a while ago,” Tsume reveals, “but he says he wants an alliance.”

Haru barks beside Mochiyo, and Tsume scowls at the ninken while Mochiyo grins. “So, did you already respond considering you are exactly as straightforward as Haru says?”

“Heck no, I actually put some thought into this thing. He says he has plans for things to bring up in the council and changes in mind,” Tsume responds, her scowl fading and the seriousness nature of the conversation creeping back in.

Mochiyo nods, “That doesn’t surprise me, but I don’t think anything bad will happen as a result of his plans. He’s a good chūnin, a dependable comrade. He treats Haru right.”

Tsume raises an eyebrow and hums, “You’d follow him.”

Mochiyo blinks in surprise and evaluates her own mind, “Yeah, I would actually. I think he’ll discuss his plans as long as you stand beside him. He’ll value your input and take everything you say into consideration.”

“Maybe I’ll say yes to that brat then,” Tsume muses.

“As long as you don’t kick him out of the compound first,” Mochiyo says.

“Why would I do that?”

“Because he will definitely set his newfound dogs on you if you keep calling him brat,” Mochiyo responds with a chuckle.

“Get lost,” Tsume growls at Mochiyo, and the two ninken who are laughing at her. “See that I ask for your advice again!”

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow then,” Mochiyo says with a very wolf-like smile before striding off and Tsume laughs at the brazen attitude of her clan as she turns and leaves with her ninken at her side.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me,” the Uchiha Clan Head says, tilting their head in semblance of a bow.

“I believe that honour is mine,” the Kurama Clan Head responds, even as she tilts her head in a bow. “Rare is it when one of the higher clans speaks to one like mine.”

“I do have to refute you there,” the Uchiha says with a soft smile. “There are no higher clans or lower clans, but simply differences in status due to the knowledge regarding the clan. My clan is simply well known for our part in Konoha’s founding and the disasters that have forever dogged our footsteps.”

“It may be as you say,” comes the response. “Nonetheless, the Kurama Clan is fortunate in your presence, no matter the rumours that surround one.”

“For that, I thank you,” the Clan Head responds. “I am Toru Uchiha, and the Kurama Clan has always been one worthy of my respect. My teammate, Kiku Kurama, has always been a steady presence and I am glad to call one such as she a teammate and a friend.”

“Kiku-chan has spoken fondly of you, Uchiha-san, and her words are not incorrect. I am Sawano Kurama. I believe you have some information you wish to part with.”

“I did, in fact, ask for a meeting for a reason,” the Uchiha replies in agreement. “I will be straightforward with you, I am wishing to make an alliance between the Kurama and Uchiha Clans from today and onwards until whenever such an alliance is terminate by a Clan Head from either Clan within reason.”

The Kurama Clan Head conceals her surprise and takes a sip of her tea, giving herself time to think of a response and evaluate the new knowledge the Uchiha Clan Head – willing or not remains to be seen – has given up. “Forgive me for asking, but what does the Uchiha Clan bring to such an alliance? What do you seek to gain?”

“Currently, simply backing in the clan council and advice regarding plans and ideas for improving Konoha’s system. The Uchiha Clan cannot bring much to an alliance now, but the future has many things to be explored.”

“And why should my clan ally with yours, when the only thing the Uchiha Clan comes with is the disasters that follow it, as you previously mentioned?”

“What do you have to lose?” The Uchiha Clan Head responds, opening his arms. “The Uchiha Clan has negative connotations that it carries beside its name, and disasters have followed it, more so in recent years. However, the attention on the Uchiha Clan has never once faltered, and we are still to lose our status and the power that it brings – undesirable reputation or not. Furthermore, the Uchiha Clan has one of the largest libraries within Konoha, and consists of numerous genjutsus that will only be used by few due to the Clan’s limited numbers.”

“You offer the closely hoarded information in the Uchiha Clan library for an alliance?” The Kurama Clan Head asks, voice mild but eyes watchful. “I don’t think any other clan can ever say such a thing has been offered.”

“Perhaps because it is not,” the Uchiha responds easily enough. “We offer information and jutsus that would benefit your clan. Yes, these things my clan has hoarded jealously, but for what ends?” The Uchiha leans forward, dark eyes intent and heavy with something the other Clan Head knows not. “My Clan is small right now, and it could remain that way for a while. However, we have been left with a legacy, and I refuse to see it go to waste. The Uchiha Clan does not need this alliance, not really. I seek it because comrades and alliances are important, as two or more can prevail where one alone may fail.”

“You speak wisely, for one so young,” comes the response while the Uchiha takes a sip of his tea.

“Young, maybe, but an adult nonetheless,” the Uchiha responds, quickly undermining the Kurama’s hidden insult. “You ask what my clan can bring, and I have responded thusly. Our wealth has not faded with the movement of time and our businesses still make money without interference from anything or anyone else. The Uchiha Clan is wealthy, as it has always been, in both money and information. Does your clan have anything to offer the Uchiha?”

“Our backing within reason, of course,” the Head of the Kurama Clan says quickly, almost too quick given the way the Uchiha’s eyes narrow. “Our aid in times of difficulty, and our less known jutsus that are powerful still. Food, we can offer too, in scarce times, as long as the Uchiha Clan holds to their end of the contract – backing us within reason, information selected by the clan members, and their help in times of need.”

“An alliance then, by word if not by ink right now, but one nevertheless,” the Uchiha returns smoothly.

“Indeed. Do you wish to have a contract drafted by an impartial third party or are you willing for the Kurama Clan to draw one up?”

“The Uchiha Clan places its trust in the Kurama Clan,” the Uchiha returns, taking one last sip of tea. “That trust is not misplaced, and therefore my Clan will allow the Kurama Clan to draft a contract up.”

“Your trust is well placed, Uchiha-san. We will have a contract drawn up within a five days, if that is agreeable with you?”

“Notify me when it is done, and I will read through the terms and sign it,” the Uchiha Clan Head promises.

“Thank you,” the Kurama Clan Head says in return.

“Your gratitude is received and returned in like,” the Uchiha Clan says, and the Head of the Kurama Clan does not see the spark in the dark eyes or understand the sharp edge of the mind across from her. Instead, she smiles softly in response, thinking there is only a child across from her, attempting to play in an adult’s game, and only half-succeeding.

(The ANBU Commander, the Uzukage, the jōnin, the chūnin, the Mizushima, the Uchiha, the Uzumaki, sees this as forward movement and very few see this as the truth, far more remain ignorant and do not see the threat that lays in the chūnin’s – the child’s – body.)

Toru takes hides himself in shadows, Haruto beside him, a cluster of dark colours with odd ears, and a gleam in his dark eyes. “Follow,” Toru says quietly, before using the transformation technique and shrinking into a dark brown dog with a crooked tale and floppy ears and a long, wiry coat.

Haruto licks the snout of the newly formed dog, and Toru shakes his head as he gets used to the new balance and way of walking. Minutes later, Toru’s slinking through side alleys towards the district known as the Red District.

The two dogs are completely ignored as they nose around trashcans, slowly but surely making their way towards the brothel known as Blossom. Toru makes it to the back door and loses his dog-form, ending up crouching at the door with Haruto at his side.

“Camouflage,” Toru whispers to the dog, who nods and slinks off, taking up position by a trashcan, pulling out a bone and lying down to chew on it. Toru nods at the dog, who flicks his ears but makes no other motion.

Toru knocks on the door, and remains unsurprised as Yumiko opens the door. “You’ve been making waves and casting boats out as rumours,” the prostitute says bluntly. “Interestingly enough, it’s actually dragged some attention off certain individuals and organisations, allowing them to start making their moves.”

“Odd, but ultimately a side-effect,” Toru responds. “I need information regarding the Ninja Academy.”

“That sort of thing isn’t easy to get,” Yumiko discloses as Toru enters the brothel, closing the door behind him. “You have plans Uchiha, care to share them?”

“Changing and improving the Ninja Academy, completely tossing it on its head. Making the chances for civilians, second-generations, and clan-members roughly the same.”

“That will certainly change Konoha,” Yumiko says, eyes wide in surprise. “Do you have any idea of the things such an event would cause? The initial impact will be huge, and that’s only short-term effects. The long-term effects can be detrimental, but ultimately will… will give rise to the belief of Konoha being fair for both civilians and clan-members. Huh, you do seem to know what you’re doing. The information will be extremely difficult to get, but not impossible. What do you want it for?”

“Blackmail, retrieving evidence of sabotage and corruption to reinforce the idea that the Ninja Academy needs to be revamped, and also to ensure that certain people are no longer part of the Academy and go under investigation regarding suspicious circumstances and tasks,” Toru says bluntly.

“Is this the only plan you’re focussing on at the moment?” Yumiko asks, “We’ll help, but I feel as if this is only something you’ve recently started thinking about.”

“Indeed,” Toru responds. “My primary focus so far has been going through the Uchiha Clan Compound and making it ready for inhabitants, both those who can pay and those who can’t. Konoha shouldn’t have street-kids.”

Yumiko lets out a soft chuckle, “Interesting person you are. Very well, I will do what I can. I will also let the other leaders know. I take it you wish to go under a pseudonym?”

“Try Ryuu,” Toru responds.

“Big thing to call yourself,” Yumiko says, “Big thing to live up to.”

Toru grins, sharp and teeth bared, and Yumiko gets the feeling that despite the dangerous woman she is, despite the dangerous information she holds, this chūnin, this boy, could bring her and her entire organisation down if he wanted. He is dangerous and there’s a weight to his shoulders that suggests at something more, at there being something in this boy’s gaze that goes beyond her and into the future, further then she can even dream.

“Good thing it’s a name I was given,” Toru responds. “Keep your thoughts sharp and words watched, and remember the Uchiha Clan Compound is always open, only for few selected and theirs though.”

Toru gifts Yumiko once last sharp grin, and then he fades in a burst of smoke, and Yumiko lets herself be amused by the boy’s honed mind and dramatic exit. “Curious as always,” she says to herself, even as she turns away from the alley door. “Wonder when he’ll next return.”

Sasuke walks beside Toru, a leash in one hand with Naruto yabbering beside him with a leash in his hand. “And then Iruka-sensei said he’d take me to ramen if I gave him all the tests I had from maths and history and like every other subject, so I went home and cleaned my entire apartment and found almost all of them and Iruka-sensei said I’d done good and gave me ramen! It was such a good day, Toru-kun! It would’ve been better if Jiji and you were there, even Sasuke could come and it’d still be an awesome day, and– hey, Toru-kun, where we going?”

“Inuzuka Clan,” Toru responds easily enough, even as Sasuke rolls his eyes in disbelief that the boy hadn’t bothered asking when Toru had dragged him out of his apartment after the Academy had finished for the day. “These guys need a check-up, and I thought an extra hand would’ve been helpful.”

“We didn’t need it though,” Sasuke says, “could’ve done it without you.”

“Well, I’m here anyway, bastard!” Naruto says loudly, all riled up at Sasuke’s comment.

Sasuke blinks, slightly confused, “I… was saying that? We didn’t need you but we brought you along anyway.”

“Oh,” Naruto says quietly, “Right. Sorry.”

“Easy mistake to make, Naruto,” Toru says in the silence that follows. “Now, I heard about a trapping event that happened yesterday…?”

“Oh, yeah! I was amazing – and I guess Sasuke wasn’t too bad – but, anyway, Iruka-sensei does this trapping event every year and its real fun, and I’m really, really good – the best! Iruka-sensei said this one was harder than last year’s, but I only got tagged once at the point where the explosion seals are, except they aren’t real explosion seals Iruka-sensei explained, they just hold chaka in them or something.”

“It’s chakra idiot,” Sasuke interrupts. “How can you not even say the word properly?”

“Whatever,” Naruto says, ignoring Sasuke’s comment, “Iruka-sensei says I’m almost as good as he was for trap avoidance when he graduated! That means I’m gonna graduate soon, and then I can go on missions with you, Toru-kun!”

“You’re not going to graduate until after I graduate,” Sasuke retorts. “I’m going to go on a mission first with Toru, and before you even graduate!”

“Sasuke, Naruto,” Toru says sharply, and the two stop squabbling as they reach the Inuzuka Clan Compound. “Behave yourselves properly. Naruto, you still have a bit of time to go before you can graduate, there’s lots of information left for you to learn. Sasuke, the same goes for you. To be honest, I wouldn’t be overly surprised if you both graduated at the same time.”

“Do you think we can graduate early?” Sasuke asks.

“You probably could,” Toru says slowly, “but you wouldn’t be allowed to due to the age limits and the fact that if you’re good enough, it’s believed you can work on learning things from our Clan, so it doesn’t matter that you’re too good from your class. The only way you, Sasuke, would be able to graduate early is if I, as the Clan Head, pushed Sandaime-sama to get you to graduate early. Naruto can technically graduate as long as he passes the final tests well enough, as he doesn’t have anyone to teach him anything like you do, Sasuke.”

“Are you gonna push for Sasuke to graduate early, Toru-kun?” Naruto asks. “’Cause if I’m gonna graduate early, I wanna graduate with or before Sasuke does.”

“Depends on Sasuke and if he’s at a level ready for graduation,” Toru responds. “I’d recommend neither of you graduate early, as it only increases risk of burning-out early and also places you under extra strain. Furthermore, it can result in bad psyche evaluation, which can have you taken out of the Corps.”

“Oh,” Naruto says quietly. “Is it bad to graduate early, then?”

“Not necessarily,” Toru says, “It really depends on the person graduating, but it can have detrimental impacts. It depends on the person, how they cope, and how good their social support system is. Most ninjas who graduate early are geniuses and have a terrible or no social support system, and therefore don’t cope overly well.”

“Anyway, that’s not important, because we’re here for a reason. Naruto, if you give Sasuke Aki’s leash, then you can helpfully hold the door open for all of us to enter,” Toru suggests.

“Sure thing,” Naruto says, easily bouncing back from the negative atmosphere. Sasuke blinks and enters the door, looking slightly worried and confused. Toru worries for him, but hopes that Sasuke will feel comfortable approaching Toru with his problematic thoughts later.

“So, Uchiha-san, you came,” Tsume says, hands on her hips, “and you brought pups.”

“Yes,” Toru responds, face and voice flat, “All four of them.”

Naruto and Sasuke both turn to Toru, “That’s mean and rude,” Naruto says, and Sasuke turns a pouting expression on the older Uchiha.

Toru lets his lips twitch up and he smirks at the pair of Academy students, he ruffles their hair with the leashes in hand and turns to face Tsume. “Check-up?” He prompts.

Tsume stares at him for a moment before jerking her head in a nod, “Follow me Uchiha, Uzumaki brat, Uchiha brat.”

When they get to the examination room, Tsume turns her gaze on Naruto who’s squinting up at her. “What do you want brat?”

“You look like the mutt from the Academy,” he says bluntly. “You related or something?”

“They’re from the same clan, idiot!” Sasuke says turning on the other boy, “Didn’t you notice the fact they have the same surname?!”

“What? They do?!”

Sasuke makes a strangled noise, “How have you not noticed? How are you surviving when you’re so unobservant?”

“I’ll have you know I rated better than you in the trapping avoidance thingy!” Naruto responds. “So, I’m better than you. How are you surviving when you’re so bad?”

“That’s– that’s not how anything works!” While Toru watches the pair bicker, Tsume quickly and efficiently checks over the dogs.

“They’re all in good health and looking much better than they did last week. They’re still recovering, but at this rate, I’d say they should be fine by their next check-up in a month,” Tsume says. “Now, I have something to discuss with you.”

Toru nods. “Naruto, Sasuke,” he snaps out, and instantly the two boys stiffen and turn to face their elder. “Take a pup each and head out, yeah? I’ll be out in a moment.”

“Sure thing, Toru,” Sasuke says, as he reaches for Teisatu’s leash.

“You got it, Toru-kun!” Naruto shouts back, grabbing Haruto’s leash, and ignoring as the puppy huffs at him. “Let’s go bastard!” Sasuke sends a wounded look at Toru before following the blonde out.

“Aki, Ken, follow and guard,” Toru orders quietly, and the two older dogs head out. “What did you want Tsume-san?”

“Yes to your alliance,” Tsume says, “Don’t care about the terms or conditions. We have one and we’re bound until someone breaks the alliance or betrays the other. If that happens, the betrayed one has rights to hunt down and crush the oath-breaker.”

“Hold to your terms then,” Toru responds, lifting his head and fixing Tsume with a dark gaze. “I am not afraid of the hunt.”

“That’s what I thought Toru-san, now scram, I have things to be doing,” Tsume responds, and Toru nods and heads out.

Just before he leaves, he pauses and says one more thing, “I hope I have your backing for an overhaul of the Ninja Academy.”

“Do you think… do you think Itachi killed them all because he graduated too early?” Sasuke asks softly, and Toru looks up from his book. Sasuke’s staring at his hands, and Toru never wants to know what it feels like to have someone you trust so much betray you (there’s something on the edge of his mind, something he should know, something he should confront, but this isn’t the time or the place and Uzushio fell a long time ago, surely those memories can wait a bit longer before Toru attempts to remember the whole thing).

“I think that the Uchiha Clan put a lot pressure on Itachi due to the fact he was a genius, which caused his early graduation. I doubt he had the social support system needed to truly deal with the stress he faced. In addition to that, there was – still is, really – a lot of bad connotations regarding the clan, and certain rumours gave us a terrible reputation. It makes sense that a lot of the Uchiha couldn’t reach out to anyone outside of the clan, and with the pressure Itachi was under, it makes sense that he didn’t rely on anyone within the clan.”

“He had one friend… Um, Shisui, I think his name was,” Sasuke says.

“Yeah,” Toru says, “Shisui was my cousin, I had heard of Itachi through him. Shisui was also under a lot of pressure from the clan, to be the best and be better than that. He wasn’t Heir to the Clan Head position and he wasn’t actually labelled as a genius, but it was wildly acknowledged that he was intelligent and maybe was a genius, but it hadn’t been confirmed. Itachi would’ve been under even more pressure… Do you remember anything odd or different about him leading up to the… the massacre?”

Sasuke scrunches his eyes up in thought before slowly nodding. “I don’t remember much… but he argued with Father a lot more… and he kept, maybe, threatening him or blackmailing. He said something about how big brothers are meant to be hated…”

Toru frowns, thinking something is off about the story Sasuke’s telling him. “He… he got really mad,” Sasuke says with a shiver, “when some of the Uchiha came round and implied he was responsible for Shisui’s death.”

Toru closes his eyes sadly and breathes. “No one expected Shisui to commit suicide,” Toru says. “He had always been really happy and expressive and it seemed like he was fine. He confided in me once, though, told me that the clan put too much pressure on their members, especially the outstanding ones. He told me that the clan never learnt from Konoha, never took on any…” Toru frowns as he tries to recall what Shisui had once told him, “never took on any advice or something like that. I can’t remember exactly, which is odd. My memory is normally pretty good.”

“Itachi mentioned something about the clan when he was mad,” Sasuke confides, and he’s crying silently now. “I can’t remember what. Getting closer to that day, he got quieter and quieter, he pulled away from us. Do you think… do you think he was planning to kill everyone and that he didn’t just snap? Do you think he killed Shisui?”

“I don’t know,” Toru says quietly, pulling Sasuke into a hug, and letting the boy sob into his chest. “I know something isn’t quite right and that something’s odd, but I don’t know what. There are too many pieces to this incomplete puzzle. Maybe Itachi did go mad, maybe Shisui did commit suicide, maybe there was something more sinister going on and only Itachi and Shisui knew.”

“Do you think we’ll ever know?” Sasuke asks.

“I don’t know.”

“I want them back,” Sasuke says, allowing himself to say the words for the first time. “I want them back! I miss them and he took them from me and I want them back, Toru! I want them back!”

“Shh,” Toru says, rocking back and forth and gently rubbing circles into Sasuke’s back. “It’ll be alright, you’ll see. They may be gone but we’re going to be okay. They’re in a better place, and the only thing you can do for them is be the person they would want you to be.”

Sasuke hiccups and his crying slows down, “Do you think they would be ashamed of me?”

Toru kisses Sasuke’s forehead, “No,” he says firmly. “They are going to love you no matter what, and they will be proud of you no matter what. They’re you parents and that will never change. Your name will always be chained to theirs, your blood will always call to them, they will always be your family. This is something they and you have acknowledged, and no matter what, it will always be. Love is something given unconditionally and they will never not love you.”

“I want them back,” Sasuke says quietly once again. “I want them back.”

Toru thinks of a family once loving, “Yeah, I do too, but we’re gonna get through this,” he whispers to Sasuke.

“Together?” Sasuke asks, tilting his face up to look at Toru.

“Together.”

Shou raps on Toru’s door in the early hours of Friday morning, before even the sun has dawned. Ken doesn’t growl even as Toru pads over to the door, but the dog does prowl beside him, hackles up as the door swings open. “Mission, not urgent, but still speed needed. You up for it?”

Toru drags a hand through his reddish-brown hair and notes it’s getting long. “Yeah, sure, what are the details and what’s the team looking like?”

“Escaped prisoners from a civilian town, apparently one of the ones being held was actually a missing-nin that a jōnin had captured, but was injured enough to require immediate medical aid. We need to find all the escaped prisoners and bring the missing-nin back to Konoha for trial and processing,” Shou says. “You’ve got me as the tracker, you’ve been placed in the squad with me, and we have two jōnin as well.”

“Why was I called in?” Toru asks, even as he grabs weapons and pulls out his mission pack, which had been sitting in the corner prepared. He quickly goes over the supplies inside it.

“Don’t know,” Shou shrugs, “B-rank mission, by the way. I think they should’ve called in an Inuzuka, but apparently most of them are out on missions.”

Toru quickly gets changed and restocks his weapon pouches, “You think something big is happening somewhere?”

“No, I think that there are chūnin exams going on currently,” Shou says. “Hadn’t you noticed the lack of genin?”

Toru shakes his head, “Haven’t had a mission for a while,” he responds. “Might be the reason I’ve been called in. Give me a moment to tell Sasuke, and then I’m out.”

“Meet by the gates,” Shou responds, leaving via the balacony.

Toru enters the main bedroom and heads over to Sasuke’s bed, he gently wakes the Academy student up. Sasuke looks at him blurrily before rubbing his eyes, “You got mission?” He asks in a slurring manner.

“Yeah,” Toru responds, “Have Naruto or someone over, this mission shouldn’t take too long. I’m taking Aki for a trail as well, so don’t be afraid if she’s missing.”

“Won’t,” Sasuke mumbles, “Take care; stay safe.”

“You got it kid,” Toru whispers as the Uchiha drops off to sleep. He calls Aki over in the living room. He flares his chakra, “Follow and camouflage, Aki, follow and then return.”

Aki nods and Toru lets her go out the door with him, before heading out a window and taking the rooftops. It had been only recently that he’d found out – along with Sasuke – that Aki can track scents from far away and possibly chakra signatures. Toru isn’t the best tracker, but if Aki manages to follow the ninjas – and keep up – then he’ll have back-up as a tracker if Shou doesn’t manage it. Toru’s also slightly worried about the missing-nin that managed to take on one jōnin and almost win.

Toru lands at the gates beside another Konoha shinobi. “Toru Uchiha,” he says as he stands next to Shou, facing the other two jōnin.

“Shou Shimizu,” comes the second chūnin’s introduction.

“Osaki Nishimaru, medic-nin and second-in-commander.”

“Miu Moto, team leader,” comes the last introduction from the team’s only kunoichi.

“Osaki-san is our healer, Shou-san’s our tracker, and Toru-san’s our back-up,” Miu quickly explains. “I’ll take point until we arrive at the town, and then the chūnins will take point to track while Osaki and myself calm the town’s leaders and heal the other jōnin. Agreed?”

“Hai!”

“Good, let’s move out. The mission isn’t urgent, but we’re going to try and move quickly, the less of a lead these guys have, the better.”

Shou swears when the tracks end, and Miu looks like she wants to do so as well. “It seems like he’s vanished,” Shou says. “The others are all civilians so I can still track them easily enough, but any chakra-sense or sign of his presence has gone.”

“Earth ninjutsu?” Toru asks quietly, nerves on edge in the almost-silence of the forest.

“Probably,” Shou responds. “I don’t know how far he could’ve gotten though, as depending on the jutsu, a different amount of chakra is needed.”

“Suggestions?” Osaki asks calmly.

“Spiral outward,” Shou says instantly, “It’s our best bet of picking up a sign, but it’s possible that he’s gone too far in one direction, which will make it extremely hard to pick up the tracks, especially with the time constraint.”

“Time constraint?” Osaki asks in confusion.

“It’s meant to rain soon, which will lose both the scent and can mask any signs of the missing-nin’s passing,” Shou responds. “I’m an alright tracker, but I’m not good enough to track purely by chakra as I’m not a sensor, and I’m not a dog or an Inuzuka so I can’t track by scent alone.”

“Well, let’s get to work,” Miu says. “Osaki-san and Toru-san, you two hunt down the other prisoners as they wouldn’t have gotten far. Shou-san and I will work from here on out in a spiral manner to try and find tracks.”

“Got it,” Osaki replies and Toru nods, following the older shinobi through the trees back towards where the tracks of the prisoners separated from the missing-nin’s tracks. “Retrieve not kill,” Osaki says as they follow the trio of prisoners.

Toru nods, keeping his eyes watchful for a sign of anything out of place. At the beginning of the mission, there had been five prisoners – four civilians and one missing-nin. However, the group of ninjas had come across a body impaled by pillars of rock, and from there they had been tracking four prisoners.

The civilians are almost too easy to track, rarely do they backtrack and attempt to leave fake paths, but even then, the two shinobi aren’t fooled, and kept following the trail from the trees. The pair eventually come across a clearing with a fire in the middle.

Osaki rolls his eyes at the stupidity of it all, and motions for Toru to start attacking. Toru leaps into the clearing, ducking beneath a surprised punch, and knocking out the man with a blow to his head. In the time it takes for Toru to take one civilian down, Osaki uses the distraction to take out the other two.

“Head back now?” Toru asks, hefting the man over his shoulder and Osaki nods. The pair quickly take too the trees, not bothering with complete stealth now that they had their quarry. “Does this mission seem off to you?” Toru asks.

“What do you mean?” Osaki asks instantly, “My nerves have been on edge, but I assumed that was because there was a missing-nin of unknown strength around.”

“If the missing-nin escaped, why take the Konoha jōnin out? Then there would be no mention of his escape reaching Konoha until it became noticed that the jōnin was missing, and by that time they would be long gone.”

“They might’ve thought that the jōnin was dead,” Osaki pointed out. “Except, the poison used takes about a week to kill despite its quick effect of causing muscle deterioration. Damn, you might be onto something. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that the missing-nin deliberately left the jōnin alive – possibly as a message for Konoha – mainly so that the jōnin would send a message to Konoha, and Konoha would send out another team. The missing-nin may be working alone or may be on a team.”

Osaki swears, “I can see that happening. What reason would the missing-nin want a Konoha team on their tail if they’re working alone, though?”

“Proof of his strength, take out a whole team of Konoha-nin,” Toru shrugs. “They might have a revenge scheme in mind, there could be quite a few reasons.”

“I don’t like the idea of splitting up and leaving the others to fend for themselves,” Osaki says, “Let’s up the speed.” Toru grunts in acknowledgement.

“What if the missing-nin separated from the civilians to split our forces?” Toru says, and he can almost see how the plan is clicking into place.

“Let’s hope that we’re wrong,” Osaki says, pushing himself faster.

They reach the village quickly, unload the civilians to the jail, and then return to the forest, taking to the trees. They move silent and swiftly, adrenalin giving them the boost to make it to the point where their team split.

There’s a spike of chakra, rising and flaring, and the pair quickly change direction and head towards where they can feel Miu’s chakra. Osaki lands next to Miu, while Toru sticks in the trees, henge in place and chakra as hidden as he can get it.

The missing-nin stands opposite the two jōnin, a wide smile on her face, and Shou unconscious in one arm. Toru feels rage and anger grab hold of his mind, and his chakra almost rises to the call of his emotions before Toru manages to beat it down (this isn’t the time nor the place, anger and rage will get him killed – him and Shou. No, he has to wait, bide his time, the missing-nin doesn’t know he’s here, doesn’t know what he can do, and Shou’s healthy right now, and he needs to analyse his opponent, locate his weak spots, prepare the best plan).

The missing-nin stands tall for a female, taller than most men, with a surprisingly muscular body. Their hair is shorn short, and Toru can barely make out the blonde hair. The missing-nin has blue eyes and dark skin, and Toru thinks they’re probably from Iwagakure.

Strong, is his first thought, possibly focusses in taijutsu. However, the evidence points to the missing-nin having a focus in ninjutsu, which means that the missing-nin may focus in both categories, which simply makes Toru’s job harder.

The missing-nin is strong and tall, but her weight would slow her down, although she could be quick, (Toru doesn’t know and he has no way of knowing and Shou could die! He needs to be calm, he needs… he needs… he needs to focus, to breath, to think, to ready himself). Toru can just sense the missing-nin’s chakra pool, and considering that Toru’s sensory ability is pretty much nil, that means the missing-nin has an impressive reservoir of chakra to pull on, which isn’t good.

The likelihood of the missing-nin focussing on ninjustu and taijutsu is high, and she probably mastered the basics and intermediates of genjutsu as well, but not to a high standard. Toru isn’t very good at genjutsu, nowhere near the best, and nor does he have insanely good taijutsu. He’s also small and still growing, so a bad injury could end his career and impact his growth, and he can’t have that. That means he won’t be able to face the missing-nin with taijutsu or genjutsu, but his ninjutsu – long range mainly – might work for him, and he could lay some good traps and taunt the missing-nin into them. Plus, if worse comes worse, then he can use his seals, whether or not he has mastered them doesn’t matter, as they’ll work (they have to, he can’t accept the fact they might not, they can’t fail him here).

Toru waits, patiently, watching the two jōnin for any sign that he should attack. He doubts any such signal will come as Shou is still vulnerable in the missing-nin’s grasp. The missing-nin smirks and goes through a bunch of hand seals quickly, almost too quick for Toru to see, but he still manages to catch most of them. The missing-nin sinks beneath the surface of the earth, and Miu waits a second before punching the ground in frustration.

Toru leaps down into the clearing, and turns his gaze to Miu, who looks young and terribly worried. “Did you manage to track him?” Toru asks, his mind designing plans and discarding them seconds later as he thinks of numerous variables and problems with each one.

Miu shakes her head, “She found us and we didn’t even know until she grabbed Shou-san and they fought, but Shou-san was knocked unconscious.” Miu looks down at the ground, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what to do. I failed as a leader by letting our teammate get captured.”

(Toru doesn’t want Shou to go through what happened to him, and it won’t because he won’t allow such a thing to occur.)

“She’s not dead yet,” Toru says sharply, and even Osaki looks slightly concerned at his tone.

“We can’t track her, Toru-san, we can’t do anything. I’m sorry, but your friend might be out of our reach.”

Toru narrows his eyes (and he doesn’t notice, but once again something settles on his shoulders as he squares them, something wraps around him as he lifts up his head, something within him looks up as he straightens his spine, something within him rises at his will). “Our mission is not over and our teammate is in danger, we are not about to give up,” he says. “Osaki-san, what’s the likelihood of the other jōnin being able to help us?”

“They’re in bad condition,” Osaki reports, spine straightening at Toru’s tone. “The poison did quite a bit of damage before I managed to neutralise it. They need to go to the hospital to get looked at further and will need to go through rehabilitation before they come back into the field or do any taijutsu.”

Toru nods, “Miu-san, did you make any observations of the missing-nin that we can use to our advantage?”

“She wasn’t fully healed when she attacked, and she limped, favouring her left leg, but she’s still strong and quick. She clearly uses ninjutsu, but in a close-range fight, she didn’t bother using it,” Miu reports, and Toru nods his head.

He tilts his head, wondering if he’s imagining hearing a bark somewhere in the forest. “Sorry about this,” he says, before whistling loudly. The two jōnin jump, turning confused gazes on him.

Something runs through the bushes without a care for stealth, and the two jōnin grab a weapon. A black-and-white dog leaps out of the bushes, sides heaving and muck clinging to her fur. Toru meets Aki’s eyes and smiles at the dog, “Good girl.”

“This here is Aki, I’ve been hoping she’d catch up to us since we left Konoha. She’s not a ninken of any kind, but extremely well trained and I think she has heightened chakra senses. She’s a tracker,” Toru quickly explains. “I told her to follow when I left Konoha, but you can tell it’s taken her this long to get here. I doubt she’s had much of a rest. She may be able to track the missing-nin.”

“So, we’re going to place all our hopes in a normal dog?” Osaki asks, “I’m not sure how that will work out.”

“Neither am I,” Toru freely admits, as he pours some water for the hound. “However, it’s the only plan I can think of, unless either of you two have one?”

The jōnins share a look before they both shake their heads. “Alright, we’ll take a momentary break here. Ten minutes, max. Check over your supplies. Miu-san, were you in the fight at all?” The kunoichi shakes her head, “That’s alright. Osaki-san, if Shou’s injured, the first thing you need to do is get them out of there and retreat to another position. If they’re only slightly injured, heal them enough to fight. However, we’re most likely going to need to retreat. When we get there, I’ll be the one with the advantage of surprise unless the missing-nin is working in a group, which I doubt based on their treatment of the civilians and the fact she attacked Miu-san and Shou alone.

“Miu-san, you’ll be our leader in the fight, simply because I don’t know either of your fighting styles and you seem to at least know each other. If either of you know genjutsu – and well – then use it as long as it doesn’t drain a lot of chakra. I don’t recommend using taijutsu unless you have speed to back it. They primarily use earth ninjutsu, so stay wary of the ground. Their current technique seems to be going underground to either get away from their followers or attack when the target is no longer wary. Osaki-san, what’s your belief of the missing-nin using poisons as an attack?”

“The poison she used against the injured jōnin was clearly an already-made poison and had been kept for a while, as the effects were a bit delayed. They may have some more poison, but I doubt they use it often. This was more of a planned attack,” Osaki responds.

“Right, okay,” Toru says, closing his eyes briefly. “Okay, be wary for poison but it shouldn’t be used. We’ll survey the area before we attack, so full stealth with no talking unless it’s a must. Hide your chakra as well,” Toru orders and the two jōnin nod.

Toru turns to Aki, who’s stopped panting so much. “Aki, I need you to find,” Aki perks her ears, bright eyes focussing on Toru. Toru taps a patch of blood with his foot, “Locate,” he says. “Shou.”

Aki sniffs the blood, and then moves over to the spot where the missing-nin had disappeared. “Aki,” Toru adds, “stealth.” The dog grunts before circling the spot and taking off at a trot, nose fixed to the ground.

Toru signals for Osaki to watch Miu and his backs, before taking to the trees. He follows Aki from above, the transformation slithering over his skin like a helpful patch of darkness used to hide from enemies. Aki keeps leading the group onwards, sometimes curving in one direction, but surely leading them in a specific direction.

Aki pauses in one spot, and Toru joins his dog, and notes the rocks all jerking out of the ground. Toru touches it and can sense the chakra fading from the rocks. :Exit point: Toru signals to the others. :Missing-nin; exit here.:

:Acknowledged: Osaki responds and Toru turns to face Aki who waits a moment before taking off at a slow lope.

The trio of ninjas retreat to the trees once again, and continue following the Guard Shepherd that trails the missing-nin they’re following. Now and then, they see signs of a ninja passing through, recent signs, and drops of blood as well.

Toru wants to hurry and rush ahead but he can’t, because he has a mission objective and a teammate in danger, and he can’t afford to make mistakes here. So, the Uchiha keeps following Aki, knowing that he can push his teammates and his dog, but knowing he shouldn’t, knowing it’s a bad idea.

Aki pauses at one point and lets out a low growl. :Wait: Toru orders his team, and drops down to Aki’s level. “Good girl,” he whispers softly to her. “Stay and return,” he says. He motions for his team to join him among the undergrowth.

“The missing-nin is nearby,” he reveals. “Quite close, so I’m going to go survey the area and check for traps. This will be our return point, with the next return point being the village, and the one after being Konoha. Stay here and be wary,” Toru warns.

“How are you going to remain unnoticed?” Miu asks.

“And will you need back up?” Osaki adds.

“You’ll know if I need back up, and I’ll be like this,” Toru says, quickly going through a few hand seals, and allowing his chakra to change and warp his features. He waves his tail at the others, before moving as a fox through the undergrowth.

He reaches the edge of a clearing, and this one’s clearly set up as a long-time camp. There are traps all around the clearing, in the trees and near ground height, but still taller than a fox.

Toru uses his small shape to survey the traps and figure out the best path and the worst path. He then turns his gaze into the clearing. The missing-nin is humming softly as she skins what looks like a rabbit. Shou looks completely unharmed, their arms tied behind their back, and their feet tied up, but otherwise Shou’s lying on the ground with a blanket over their body. Toru can’t tell if Shou’s injured or not, but the chūnin has a pained expression on their face, and they’re curled up in a ball, so Toru thinks Shou most likely is.

Complete with his survey, Toru flicks his tail and leaves the clearing, burrowing through the undergrowth in the opposite direction of his team. When he’s far enough away, he lets the transformation drop, and heads around back to his team while keeping an eye out for the missing-nin.

He drops back in the clearing moments later, Aki instantly licking his hand. “Shou’s tied up and looks injured, but I couldn’t get close enough to tell,” Toru explains. “There are traps at about 50cm all around the clearing on the ground, the highest point is about 55cm coming from the northwest, and there are wires in the trees, so they’re prepared for Konoha-nin or anyone coming from the trees. However, the missing-nin appears quite content and is almost fond of Shou? I’m not sure, but they had put a blanket over Shou, despite having tied their feet and hands.”

“Possibly insane,” Osaki says quietly. “Doesn’t change much.”

“What’s the plan?” Miu asks Toru, “I might be team captain, but you’re the one who surveyed the clearing, and you have a better grasp over the situation than I do.”

Toru sketches a quick design out in the clearing in the dirt. “Miu-san, you’re going to lead the straight attack. I don’t care what you do, but get the missing-nin’s attention and act as a distraction. See if you can get them to bumble into their own traps. If they go underground, get above ground. Got it?” Miu nods, “I’ll join you when the best moment to strike occurs.”

“Osaki-san, you’re going to go for Shou, cut the ties restraining them, and then try and heal them. If there’s something major wrong, head out and come to Aki. Tell her guard and she’ll stick with you the best she can. If the missing-nin follows you or attempts to try and go after you before you get to Shou, we’ll distract the missing-nin and do our best to drive them away.”

“Not much of a plan,” Osaki says.

“Finely detailed plans go wrong easier as so many things have to be done,” Toru responds, before turning his gaze to Miu. “Does this all work within your capabilities.”

“Yes,” Miu says. “Best of luck team,” she says. “Osaki-san, follow.”

Osaki nods and follows Miu, and the pair take to the undergrowth. Toru takes a moment to focus (and how he wishes his team is with him – Tori, Tora, and Kame all who knew him and worked with him and they didn’t even have to speak as they all knew each other so well). The chūnin takes a deep breath and lets his emotions take a backseat. Important, yes, but not necessary and a problem if they overwhelm him. He needs to be wary, to be careful, to think.

Toru takes to the trees, plans in his mind and one particular one claiming his interest (he thinks Sasuke would like this one). Toru pauses among the trees, not even using a transformation to hide himself, he watches as Miu enters the clearing, chakra raging as she throws a barrage of a weapons at the missing-nin, who flips out of the way and snarls. Miu snarls back, flipping through hand-seals. However, the missing-nin’s attention flips to Osaki who approaches Shou.

The missing-nin slams her hands on the ground, and something earthen slams into Osaki. Toru can tell this is going to go badly unless he does something. He calls his chakra to him and goes through hand seals, a mad grin on his face (because he is angry and he needs to go into this with almost everything he has because his survival depends on this, others survival depends on this, because he has people to return to). “Fire Release: Great Fireball,” he says softly, sparking his chakra through the razor-sharp ninja-wire and breathing fire out onto the wire.

Toru’s chakra acts as fuel, and the fire follows it through the wire, and everything seems to catch alight. Toru grins and thinks, this is why you don’t use the same roll of wire for all your traps.

Toru flips over the flaming wire, everyone’s attention seems to be focussed on the fire around the top of the clearing. “Fire Release: Flame Bullet!” Toru shouts, spitting bullets of fire at the missing-nin, who comes out of her stupor and reels out of the way. One bullet burns her shoulder, and she hisses in pain. Miu attacks with another fire ninjutsu, and Toru lands on the ground, throwing three kunai from each hand at the missing-nin, who’s forced to continue backing away.

Miu moves out of the way as Toru’s chakra surges, “Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!” Toru calls, and the flaming dragon roars and slams into the missing-nin, who covers herself with rock. The fire rolls over it as the flaming dragon disperses, leaving black marks on the rock. The missing-nin rises, and Toru can tell that his jutsu had injured the missing-nin.

The injured ninja glares at them with hatred in her eyes. Toru stands between the missing-nin and Shou, Miu at his side, (and he dares the missing-nin to try getting past them, for this is the shinobi who refused to die until almost everything had been gone).

The missing-nin snarls at them, and rock rises, pillars launching at them on the command of the missing-nin. Toru rolls out of the way, and the pillars crash into the ground, shards rising and some slicing Toru’s skin.

The Uchiha barely acknowledges the injury. As more rock flies towards him, Toru flips through a new set of hand seals. “Water Release: Wave!” He says, and water swamps the rock, stopping its momentum and carrying the chunks back to the missing-nin, who flips in the air and out of the way.

Miu weaves a genjutsu and Toru can see it take hold of the missing-nin. He takes the second to check over at Shou and Osaki; Osaki whose hands are glowing green and Shou who doesn’t seem to have any injuries aside from the one on their shoulder.

Toru turns back to face the missing-nin just as the genjutsu shatters and breaks. The missing-nin growls and goes through a set of hand seals and sinks beneath the ground. “Air!” Toru shouts, heartfelt and panicked, and the three ninjas leap into the air and onto a tree. Toru takes this moment to cut down part of the ninja wire.

Toru watches the ground. :Ready: he signals Miu and Osaki. They look at him unsurely by nod.

Toru leaps to the ground and then leaps up, body twisting and chakra shifting beneath his skin as he flicks through hand seals. “Wind Release: Gale Palm!” He shouts, and the wind slams into the ground as the missing-nin rises, and she shifts, trying to recover, but then Toru is on the ground and scurrying around the missing-nin.

Toru lands a kick to the missing-nin’s sternum, and uses the missing-nin’s strength to bounce off their torso and flip backwards. “Water Release: Stormy Upheaval!” Toru says, slams his hands onto the ground, and water surges up and forms a wall in front of him, before crashing down onto the missing-nin, who can barely move beneath the force of it.

Miu uses that time wisely, and fire rises around the missing-nin, and just as Toru cuts off his own chakra, the fire closes, and the missing-nin shouts even as they leap out of the orange-yellow-red fire.

Toru’s heart beats in joy as there’s movement from two people behind him. He can feel Shou’s chakra on the edge of his senses, flickering but strong and there. Toru snarls at the missing-nin (because who dares, who dares, take away those he calls his friends). The missing-nin starts going through hand seals, but she’s forced to stop as Osaki aims deadly senbon at the missing-nin, who has to move out of the way, and grab a kunai that almost scratches her face.

The four ninjas face the missing-nin, and Toru strikes out with a fireball, which he follows up with Wind Release: Galm Palm. The wind-boosted fire doesn’t strike the missing-nin, but that’s okay because Toru has teammates and back-up. Miu weaves a genjutsu that holds the missing-nin in place briefly, while Osaki aims deadly weapons at the missing-nin.

Shou stands beside them, safe, and Toru almost wants to laugh at the world that thought they could take them from him.

The missing-nin goes down between a hit from Osaki and one of Miu’s fierce fire ninjutsu, while Toru manages to avoid most of a rock pillar that came up from behind him. The four regroup, and Toru grits his teeth against the pain in his shoulder where the pillar had slammed into him. He’s starting to feel the pain from his injuries now, and he shakes his arms out as he watches Osaki carefully approach the missing-nin, who seems unconscious.

The missing-nin doesn’t move, and Osaki binds her limbs, just as he’s about to tie the last knot, the missing-nin rises with shout. Osaki squirms away, leaning back to avoid the quick-moving missing-nin, and then a black-and-white shape slams into the missing-nin, knocking her back to the ground, and Shou follows up with a strong punch that knocks the missing-nin out.

Shou shakes out their hand, “That felt good,” they say. “What to tell me exactly what happened and why Toru’s dog showed up?”

Miu laughs, relieved, “How about we do that when we’ve got this missing-nin tied up properly with chakra-locking seals and actual chains?”

“Sounds good,” Osaki says, “I’ve had enough of this one’s rocks. When we get back to the village, I’ll do a proper check of you all. Can you all manage for now?”

“Hai,” comes the reply.

“Let’s move out then,” Miu orders.

The return to Konoha is much slower than their original journey, mainly because of the injured jōnin, but also because Miu’s keeping their pace to the quickest pace Aki can run without tiring out too quickly. Toru had told his team leader that it wasn’t needed, that Aki is perfectly capable of following behind them, but still Miu seems unwilling to do so.

Not that any of it matters when they enter Konoha through one of the side gates mainly used by ninja carting in prisoners. Toru doubts he’ll ever admit it, but he’s almost glad to see the missing-nin taken by the Torture and Interrogation Division – T & I as they are often called. Shou gives a grin, tension finally easing off their shoulders.

“I’m glad to see her go,” they say, nudging Toru with their shoulder.

Toru stretches his arms out and hums. Osaki grins at the pair of them while Miu laughs softly. “Okay, reports handed in by this afternoon,” Miu orders. “Get some rest Toru-san, and let your injuries heal before you do anything.”

“See you,” Shou chirps, almost dragging Toru away from the two jōnins, and Toru casts the pair a wave before following Shou at a steady jog, Aki loping along beside him. “What are you planning to do on your break?” Shou asks as she heads towards the Ninja Academy. “You don’t have any hobbies.”

“I do so!” Toru retorts with an easy grin on his face as his pace quickens, eagerness to see Sasuke influencing his actions.

“You do not. You train, go through the Uchiha Clan Compound, and occasionally you read,” Shou responds. “Those aren’t hobbies, they aren’t relaxing. Well, reading may be, except the stuff you read is largely the things you train on, so it doesn’t count.”

“I do other things,” Toru says.

“Plotting the downfall of the Academy doesn’t count as a hobby,” Shou says with a wicked grin.

“I’m not plotting the downfall of the Academy,” Toru returns with a roll of his eyes. “I’m planning on helping it; I’m doing what’s necessary! Ay–”

Toru falls silent, his words abruptly cutting off. Sorrow overtakes his features, and Shou’s features soften in both sadness and worry. “You know you can talk to me if you need someone to talk to,” they offer quietly.

“I know,” Toru says softly, (but they can’t with this, because no one can know he is and who he was and still is, and everything he carries within him). Toru shoulders the chūnin and takes off, “C’mon, I’ll race you there!”

“You’re on!” Shou shouts, bounding forward and instantly passing Toru. The Uchiha picks up the speed, refusing to use chakra as he takes a giant leap, grabbing the street lamp, and pulling himself up to crouch on it for a beat, before leaping onto a roof, rolling to rid himself of the momentum, before continuing.

Toru knows that Shou will quickly join him on the roof-tops, but he easily speeds along to the beat of his heart, wind tearing through his hair and tugging on his clothes. Toru laughs as he stays with Shou, step for step, leaping across rooftops and streets without the use of chakra, the danger that surrounds them when every step can send them following, and a simple slip can have them on their knees and legs sliced up.

Shou leaps off the last roof easily, rolling, before coming up to stand. Toru follows less than a second behind them, leaping from the roof to the tree and then the ground. “Good win,” Toru says with a smile in his voice.

“Had to increase my speed to keep up with you,” Shou responds. “I’ll catch you later, yeah?”

Toru turns his eyes to look at Shou, a harsh gaze centring on Shou. The Uchiha analyses his fellow chūnin before nodding, “Look after yourself,” he responds quietly. Shou nods, and tilts his head in a clear acknowledgement, before taking to the rooftops again and disappearing from Toru’s view.

Toru turns his gaze to focus on the students leaving the Academy, before his eyes fix themselves on a pale-skinned boy. The person in question is quick to spot Toru, and quickly walks over – hurrying, Toru knows, even if no one else would say so. Then again, Toru may be the only one who knows Sasuke’s mannerisms extremely well.

“Toru, you’re back,” Sasuke says, nothing but cool surprise in his voice. Surprise, Toru reckons, regarding his own appearance, the calm nature of the response due to Sasuke’s own personality and usually unruffled mindset.

“Indeed, I am,” Toru responds, scuffing a hand through Sasuke’s hair, even as he gives the boy a one-armed hug. Sasuke recoils from the hug, a smile growing on his face anyway, and Toru judges that the younger Uchiha isn’t a fan of public displays of affection.

“Anything of interest happen?” Sasuke asks as Toru stands and the pair start heading towards their apartment.

Toru shrugs, “The mission was pretty straight forward,” he says, (fear and panic roll through his veins, his heart pounds, his mind races, his strength is useless here and turbulent anger keeps disrupting his plans). “Few things came up, but it was mostly within mission parameters.”

“Did you have to fight?” Sasuke asks, and Toru picks up the hints of curiosity and eagerness in the boy’s voice.

“Yeah,” Toru replies, “Hard fight, bit worrying, but Aki helped us in the end.”

“Going to tell me about it?” Sasuke asks, (and Toru wonders if he’s missing something because he finds himself uncaring of the boy’s keenness for a fight, and maybe that’s because he understands the idea of giving it all, throwing everything in, putting it all in for the fight, where very move can be your last, when it’s all you can do to concentrate on your opponent, when distractions mean death and pain, and fighting is something straightforward and it makes sense, even when it doesn’t seem to).

“Sure,” Toru says, “but maybe once I’ve cleaned up. I have to admit, this mission was close. Shou almost died and was taken captive, it was a bit… worrying.”

Alliances grow within Konoha’s boundaries and various things occur, organisations make their moves, and many people almost find themselves dead – and some do, in fact, die, but they don’t make any guest appearances here. Certain things are explored and many subjects are spoken about as both Sasuke and Toru continue to grow and learn. Furthermore, a mission commences and almost ends with Shou’s death at the hands of a missing-nin and the Konoha team struggling to follow a non-existent trail. Thankfully, it appears that the dogs that the Uchihas now own, aren’t overly normal, but they are Uchiha Clan dogs after all, what more would you expect?

Chapter Text

Sometimes Toru feels the need to grab people by the shoulders and shake them until their teeth rattle, because honestly, people annoy him so much sometimes, and why can’t they all go and do him a favour and die.

He lets his breath leave him in a snarl, and lashes out with a high kick before dropping into a crouch and bending over backwards, which leads into a backflip.

However, murder is – surprisingly – a crime, as long as it’s against another Konoha citizen, and he cannot go against the rules of his home (but is it his home? Where is his home? He calls this place his own and yet he is called, called to another place).

He smoothly lashes out with an uppercut, leaping up and launching kicks in different two directions, before landing.

What’s really frustrating is how every move he attempts to make appears to be blocked by something or someone, and he doesn’t know who!

He twists out of the way and side-steps, avoiding blows that don’t exist. He lets his momentum take him further sideways, and strike out strongly, his hands meeting empty air.

He needs help and he needs allies, but he also doesn’t know who he can trust or who he can turn to for help. He’s essentially alone and in enemy territory.

He leaps into the air, spinning out with a kick before landing, slipping sideways and out of range of his invisible opponent, and then strengthening his form in preparation to attack again.

Where’s his team? Where are his people? Where are his allies? Where did the people he trust go to? Where did the ones who he can turn to disappear to? 

He rams his hand down, chakra enhancing his arm and fist. His hand slams into the ground, and it buckles beneath his knuckles, earth collapsing inwards and creating a crater.

He rests, head bowed, kneeling, knuckles bleeding and his hand feeling like he’s on fire. It’s only now he becomes aware of how hot his eyes feel, the itchy feeling that makes him want to rub them, the tears trickling down his face like something cool and welcoming, and he wishes it that it was.

His muscles burn, his legs tremble, and his arms feel weak, useless. His mind feels tired, stressed, heavy, and he wonders when did everything go so wrong.

(He wonders why he didn’t die with everyone else, both the first time and the last time.)

She dies. He dies. They’re all dying, falling. There’s blood streaming around him, caused by him and others. It clings to him, sticks to him, wraps him, like he’s in a blanket. If it’s a blanket, then he’s suffocating in it. It’s red and he’s drowning and drowning and drowning and–

His seals splinter and shatter and he fractures with them, without them, in them, as one of them. The shards dig into his chakra pathways, tug and tear and rip. It’s a pain he’s never known and never wants to know ever again. It hurts and he hurts and he’s in so much pain and all he can feel is the tattoos lost and broken, chakra whirling beneath his skin and stinging and killing and he’s dying and dying and dying and–

He’s standing on the surface of the water, and proud because he stands and they don’t and they’re dying, and he’s surviving and they can’t beat him, can’t destroy him. He wants to spit at them, laugh at them, remind them of their petty threats and insults and screams and yells, and he’s crying – why is he crying? Why is he sad? Shouldn’t he be happy? He’s alive, and they’re dead, and he’s alive – he survived! But they’re dead, and why are they dead? Why did they need to die? Why? Why? Why? Why–

He’s tired, exhausted. He’s been clinging to the edge of this cliff for too long. He’s been clinging by his fingernails, digging them in and holding on through sheer stubbornness, through fear, through what he thinks is owed. He’s been told that he owes them this, that they need this, that he has to do this. He’s been hanging on for what feels like forever and he knows that this is what they tell everyone – he knows this now. He knows it. He wants to let go, wonders about it, fantasizes about it. He could, he knows. He could fall and fall and fall and fall and fall–

He’s with his team – he is. No, he’s not. Kuma fell, fell, fell, fell and they’re dead. Dead. Kuma – no, Kuma is still in circulation, they’re not gone, they’re not, they’re not – and Ikoi Asano is dead, dead and not coming back. He stuffed up, he stuffed up badly. She’s not coming back from this, not coming back from his mistake. She died and he’s the cause and he can’t. And his Captain is retiring, and he’s going and he has to know. Is this his fault? He knows, he knows, he knows it is, and it is. It really is and he knows this, he knows it, he knows, he knows, he knows–

This is who he is. This is what he does. He is the darkness and he is capable of the worst of crimes. He does what he must because others shouldn’t. They can’t do this. He will slit the throat of a child, of a teenager, of an adult, of an infant, of a family, of a clan, of an organisation. He will cut hands and hearts and throats. He will fight with swords, with chakra, with seals, with words. He will manipulate and lie and persuade and say the truth when there’s nothing worse. He will pull lives apart with his own bare hands. He will grit his teeth and walk forward and away from the crime scene. He will and will and will and–

The wind and water twists around him, warps him, slips within him. He is alive and surviving and smiling and laughing and screaming and crying and lying and dying and killing. This is his true self. The mask, cracked and splattered with blood. The clothes, torn and stained with numerous things. The weapons, caked with blood and death clings to it. This is a killer, a murderer. This is him. He knows the truth. He knows this is him. He is blood splattered and deadly. He is cracked and shattered. He is torn and broken. He is blood splattered, and blood clings to him, fills his mouth and throat and nose, and clogs everything and he can’t move and he’s stuck but not drowning. He is splattered by blood and blood splattered and blood splattered and blood splattered and–

   (Uzushio is not much – seals and chakra mainly. Still, it is a place far away and forgotten by most and far from the hearts of many who should know it well. Still, one exists, and for that one, this is a place for him to mourn alone. However, Uzushio did not call him back for this mournfulness, this sorrow, for this guilt – Uzushio did not mean any of this. With hands dispossessed, Uzushio tries – and tries very much, but there is little something that exists, but doesn’t, can do – to place those invisible hands on a heart too big and too torn and tattered, patched and abused. Uzushio tries. It isn’t enough and it would never be. Uzushio tries anyway.)

Sasuke wakes up to the quiet of an apartment that is rarely quiet. He quickly stretches a hand over the side of his bed, and Teisatu rises, her head meeting his hand, and Sasuke barely stops the shiver trying to take hold of his body.

Sasuke silently slips out of bed, head twisting to look for Toru, for the chūnin who never stays in bed longer than Sasuke and yet; and yet Sasuke can see him, a curled up body amongst the blankets, nothing showing signs of him being there aside from the bump in the covers.

Haruto, the Wolfhound who rarely leaves Toru’s side even if the others do, is on the bed, small body pressed against Toru. Aki lies on the end of the bed, back pushed up against where Toru’s legs are. Ken lies on the ground, too big for the bed, and too wary to be part of the comforting pile. Instead, the black dog watches, searching for anything that could cause Toru harm while he’s in this vulnerable state.

Sasuke pauses, hesitates, confusion warring in his mind. Confusion beneath worry and nervousness, because always, always has Toru seemed strong, even when he’s not. Sasuke knows strength isn’t something that lasts every day, all day. Still, it’s odd to see something strike Toru down, something unknown and all the more scary because of it.

Sasuke wonders what the cause of Toru’s unresponsiveness is. He knows that there are things his only family hides, but he also knows that Toru finds it hard to trust and tries not to overwhelm others with his own burden. It’s something Sasuke regrets, rages at, the fact he can’t help Toru. The fact that Toru tries to hold everything within him, on his shoulders, and still he doesn’t reach out, doesn’t try to share the weight.

“Toru?” Sasuke calls out softly, voice slurring from sleep. Sasuke grimaces at the sound, annoyed at the mumbling noise that’s far from clear.

There’s a shift from the blankets, but still Sasuke cannot see Toru. “Getting up, will make breakfast,” the chūnin replies. His voice isn’t slurring like Sasuke, but it’s tired and sounds scratchy, worn, overused. It sounds raspy, and Sasuke knows now that Toru’s been crying over something, something that Sasuke doesn’t know about and he doubts anyone knows the cause.

“No,” Sasuke says firmly, and he’s proud of the strength of his response. “You’re staying in bed, and I’m staying here today. I’ll look after you,” he says, adding the silent like you always look after me in his head.

“Academy?” Toru asks, his voice not changing in tone or quietness.

“Doesn’t matter much right now,” Sasuke says, and when Toru doesn’t respond, he knows for sure something’s up. Sasuke rubs his hands together and wonders what to do. He’s sure he’s meant to tell someone he isn’t going to the Academy, if only so they don’t send someone. “Teisatu, follow,” Sasuke tells the pup at his side, before walking out into the living room. He quickly scrawls a note to Iruka-sensei, before tying it to Teisatu’s collar. “Find Naruto, and return. Find Naruto. Return.” The Leopard Cur lets out a soft bark, and Sasuke lets her outside, before shutting the door.

Sasuke moves back into the main bedroom, his gaze focussing on Toru. Ken lifts his head before trotting out of the room. Toru shifts, but doesn’t move much. “Toru, you need to get up,” Sasuke says. “Have a shower at least, it’ll make you feel better.”

There’s no movement from the cocoon of blankets. Sasuke steps up to beside Toru and hesitates, before gently placing his pale hand on the blankets and shaking. “C’mon Toru, it’ll make you feel better physically. Plus, you need to eat.”

“Not hungry.”

“Maybe not, but it’s best to have something to eat,” Sasuke replies. The only response Toru gives is a sigh and a small shake, but no further movement. Sasuke’s facial expression drops, and he decides that the gentle approach isn’t working anymore. He wants to do what’s best for Toru, and if the chūnin doesn’t respond to his tactic, then he has only his anger and worry and fear to use instead.

“Up,” Sasuke says, a growl in his voice, “now.” Aki and Haruto leap of the bed, so Sasuke assumes he’s doing the right thing, and the next moment he jerks the blanket off Toru. The elder Uchiha curls up tighter before loosening his muscles and slowly unravels.

Toru turns his head to look at Sasuke, eyes red and puffy, his expression filled with sorrow and sadness and guilt, and Sasuke’s heart twists and hardens. “C’mon, up and shower,” Sasuke says, tugging Toru’s hand. The chūnin moves without a word, expression barely shifting. His mind seems stuck elsewhere, gaze lost in a place only he sees.

Sasuke manages to get Toru into the bathroom, and starts readying porridge as breakfast. He hopes Toru manages to look after himself, and the warm water reminds him of where and when he is.

Sasuke finishes pouring the porridge into two bowls when Toru enters the kitchen. Sasuke’s relieved to see Toru actually looking around and seeming to take notice of Sasuke’s actions.

“Thanks,” Toru mutters before sitting down and automatically eating his breakfast.

“You’re welcome,” Sasuke says with cheer he doesn’t feel. He starts chatting on things he’s done recently, on what Naruto’s done recently, on anything and everything. He just keeps talking, doing his best to keep Toru focussed in reality.

The older Uchiha doesn’t speak much, but he does move and makes some sounds, so Sasuke counts it as a success. He still doesn’t know what to do, but he knows he will do everything he can to help the chūnin. He doesn’t think Toru wants him to get his old teammates nor his genin sensei to help. However, Sasuke knows that he isn’t capable of drawing Toru out of his head by himself. Sasuke’s too scared, too angry, too hateful, too confused, and too broken to do so. Not when he can get stuck in his own head just as easily.

There’s a burst of loud noise and barking, and a high pitched squeak as something falls. “Sorry!” Someone calls through the apartment, their voice cutting through the chatter easily.

Naruto rushes into the kitchen, bright and orange, a wide grin faced on his head. “Bastard, you called,” he said cheerfully. “Iruka-sensei says he’ll give us the day off today, but we can’t do it again. Toru-kun, Iruka-sensei told me you need some cheering up!” Naruto chatters on, voice cheerful and Sasuke smiles to himself as the tension drops from Toru’s frame, and his eyes become less tense. While sad, the chūnin seems to be paying avid attention to the two Academy students as they tell stories.

It’s almost lunch time and Sasuke’s starting to lose hope that Toru will even respond properly at all today. However, he’s paying attention to them, and sometimes his lips seem to twitch up in a small grin. Still, he’s doing better, and Sasuke’s so, so glad to see that, to know that.

“And then, and then, and then there was a huge blast and water went up as high as the Hokage mountain!” Naruto says, waving his arms in the air.

Sasuke rolls his eyes, “That’s a lie, moron.”

“It’s totally not, I’m telling the truth!” Naruto responds.

“You are not. There wasn’t a huge blast and there was a brief spout of water that didn’t go any higher than your knee,” Sasuke retorts.

“Bastard! Stop ruining all my stories, you make them sound so boring.”

“Your prank stories are boring,” Sasuke says.

“You didn’t seem to think that when you helped me with that paint one!” Naruto turns to face Toru, “He even painted the high parts himself! We turned the whole wall orange!”

“And red and blue,” Sasuke adds. “Why are you telling Toru this? I didn’t want him to know. What we did was illegal!”

“We’re ninja! We’re supposed to do illegal stuff!”

“We aren’t ninja yet,” Sasuke spits out a moment later, struggling to come up with a retort. 

Toru huffs a laugh out, “This wouldn’t happen to be the flower shop run by the old man? The one near the Academy?”

Sasuke and Naruto look at each other and grin widely. “Yeah,” Naruto says.

“That’s what the old man got for spitting at Naruto,” Sasuke says, discontentment clear in his voice.

“Are you cheered up now?” Naruto demands over the top of Sasuke’s comment. “It made me really, really sad to see you sad, but it’s okay to be sad! You just have to be happy again later. Promise?”

Toru nods, and moves off his chair to crouch down. “Why don’t you both come here and give me a hug to help cheer me up?” He asks, and Sasuke’s eyes narrow at hearing the fear beneath Toru’s seemingly calm words.

Sasuke calmly hugs Toru (and he doesn’t run into the older boy’s arms, at all, and even if he did, he’s doing it for Toru), arms tightening around the other’s torso, and tucking his head beneath Toru’s chin. “Thank you,” Toru whispers into Sasuke’s ear, his own grip strong around Sasuke. “Thank you,” he repeats.

“‘S okay,” Sasuke says. “Love you,” he mutters even softer.

“Love you too,” Toru whispers in response, even as Naruto rams into the two, arms looping around them in a hug. “Thanks Naruto,” Toru says slightly louder, moving so he can hug both Academy students at the same time.

“Anything for you Toru-kun!” Naruto says cheerfully, although his voice wavers. “You’re nice!”

“That’s very kind of you to say so,” Toru says quietly in response. “Now, how about my two favourite people and me have some lunch?”

“Yes, please!” Naruto says.

“I hope you don’t mind having something basic, I don’t feel up to doing much,” Toru says as he stands, slipping out of the combined strength of Sasuke and Naruto.

“Anything you make will be amazing,” Sasuke says.

“Yep!” Naruto agrees with a laugh. “Sasuke’s actually right this time.”

“This time? What do you mean by this time?” Sasuke responds, turning a fierce glare on Naruto. Naruto sticks out his tongue and replies, even as Toru’s quiet chuckles fill the kitchen.

“Uchiha-san!” A loud voice calls out in the market, and Toru smiles at the market vender who hands him the last lot of tomatoes, before waving him off.

“Akimichi-san,” Toru greets, “Hello. What can I do to help you?” He asks as he grabs the grocery bags.

“I heard you were planning to go to the next meeting,” the Akimichi Clan Head says. “I’m Chōza Akimichi, by the way, Head of the Akimichi Clan.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Toru returns, “I’m Toru Uchiha, currently Head of the Uchiha clan. You are, indeed, correct.”

“I suppose you want to know how the council operates,” Chōza says. “I can help you out, if you want.”

“That would be delightful,” Toru says. “However, I am worried that there is a price attached to that idea of yours.”

“Not at all,” Chōza responds. “It would be nice to hear your plan, though. I’ve heard whispers of one being formed, but no details seem to be known.”

Toru appraises the situation, he could learn from someone who experiences it all firsthand or attempt to learn from books. The only downside is revealing his plan; nonetheless, Toru doesn’t think the Akimichi will be someone to turn down his plan, but rather help him refine it.

“Sounds good, Akimichi-san,” Toru responds. “When and where would you like to meet?”

Chōza lifts his head to squint at the sun. “How about you come to the Akimichi Clan Compound in two hours? Just ask the guards where my house is, and I’ll be there.”

Toru dips his head in agreement, “Sounds good, Akimichi-san.”

“Ahh, call me Chōza-san, if you must. It’ll get confusing in the Compound with all the others.”

“Toru-san, then,” Toru returns easily. “I’ll see you there, Chōza-san.”

“Indeed,” the Akimichi says as Toru walks away.

“So, essentially, we deal with issues that are brought up by other Clan Heads by their members, but these are issues that can’t just be dealt with by the Head of that Clan, due to there being bigger consequences. Correct?”

Chōza nods, “Yes. Matters are also brought up with by certain members if they want the backing of the council for in the village council so that the matter can move further.”

“How would I go about bringing up a matter?” Toru says, “And what would I need for it to move forward.”

“Depends on what you’re bringing up. Some things require evidence and proof, while others simply need reasoning for why the matter is important or the reason why the change is necessary.”

“Right,” Toru responds, leaning back in the seat. Chōza had taken him to a Akimichi restaurant and the pair had been given a private table, that Toru knows is secure based on the seals decorating the underside of the table and in the corners of the room and along the doorframe.

“Now, do you mind fulfilling your side of the deal?” Chōza asks, not pushing and willing to wait.

Toru hums, “Sure,” he says, pausing to think for a moment. “You’re son is in the Ninja Academy, same class as Sasuke, yes?” He waits for Chōza to nod before continuing. “Then he’s in the same class as Naruto Uzumaki,” Toru doesn’t pause, even as he carefully watches Chōza’s face that seems almost too controlled, “who Sasuke has become friends with. Naruto stayed the night, and I spotted his test that he had done the other day in maths class. I had to redo the entire corrections of the test. He was marked ungraded. I marked it and gave him a 50%.”

Chōza frowns, “That could’ve been a mistake,” he points out, but his voice lacks conviction and Toru knows he’s winning here.

“With such a large gap in marking? I told Iruka – the sensei of their class – about it, and he’s started looking into further incorrect marking. He said he’ll notify me if he finds anything more. However, he had mentioned he’d been complaining about various failings of the Academy for a while, but nothing had come of it,” Toru says.

“Furthermore, the other day I was called in when Sasuke had given a beating to a group of bullies. The Headmaster, Kiyoari Fujito, wanted me to pay for the injuries that Sasuke had caused due to the fact that some had to go to the hospital.”

“That’s against the terms of the Academy,” Chōza points out.

“Exactly,” Toru agrees, “and I pointed this out to the Headmaster, who wasn’t overly happy with my point. He was lying as well, and I have a feeling that he’s getting paid to change certain results.”

“So, what are you planning to do about the Academy, then?”

“My ultimate goal is to have it completely redone. Think about it, your son is in the same class as civilians for taijutsu, but he’s probably already gotten a head start simply by being an Akimichi. I’m not trying to destroy civilian-ninja relations, but in a class where civilians are below the standard due to not receiving extra training, they’re automatically not going to do well in comparison to those born to clans and ninjas.

“Are you aware the current rates for genin passing is around 33%? In your son’s class, that means there’ll be maybe four or five teams passing. That’s only about 12 in the 45 in that year at the Academy. Most of the students who fail will be civilians, and therefore probably won’t repeat the year to pass. It’s extremely rare for anyone of new blood to make it to genin status. Most of the genin stay genin for the rest of their lives, with others – mainly those with previous ninja training from their families – making it to chūnin in three years or more. Making it to jōnin takes even longer as there is no jōnin-sensei for the chūnin, and they have to go out of their way to receive training and learn.

“Another point, I know Nara are stereotypically lazy and that carries over into the Academy, but what if they don’t fully realise the danger of being a ninja, and on a mission go wrong their laziness ends up being the reason why their comrades get seriously injured.”

“If you’re suggesting a change to the Academy, and I’m not against you here, you best have a solution. You’ve just mentioned what’s wrong, you’ve yet to offer a valid solution,” Chōza points out.

“Separate classes by ability and skill, not age. Look at how people learn and what they’re learning, rather than trying to teach everyone the same way when some might not get it. Have everyone take a certain amount of core subjects, and then let teachers suggest other classes that the Academy students should take. Also, increase the needed level of education to graduate. Have students learn chakra control exercises in their last year to make it easier for jōnin-sensei to teach their students. Correspondingly, have allowances for specific students, dependent on their chakra amount or chakra control or ability to use chakra at all. Students shouldn’t have to simply be focussing on ninjutsu to determine whether they pass or fail. It tends to make all the other classes unimportant, as they don’t matter in that last year.”

“You’ve really thought this through,” Chōza murmurs, before dipping his head in a nod. “You have the Akimichi Clan’s backing in this. We’ll do our best to see this get through the clan council. Shikaku will help sort out details as well.”

“Thank you, Chōza-san,” Toru responds.

“You’re welcome, Toru-san,” Chōza says, “and may silence haunt your footsteps.”

“And may the earth shudder beneath your feet,” Toru says as he gets up.

“The Uzumaki Clan is only one of many who have a proficiency in seals,” Isaki Fujii, their genin sensei, says. “As Ayumu-chan surely knows, the Uzumaki Clan are simply the most versatile, and their large numbers allow them to be. As one of the founding clans of Uzushio, their sealing prowess have vastly influenced our wonderful village. After all, you all did sealing classes, did you not?”

“They were pretty boring,” Ayumu says with a roll of her eyes. “I mean, for one I know a lot of this stuff from my clan, and secondly, seals are so boring.”

“I disagree,” Toru says. “Your opinion is invalid, incorrect, and you are an unreliable source of information.”

“Toru!”

“Sealing is great,” he continues, voice rising above Ayumu’s protest. “There are so many different things you can do and make up. There’s so much left to explore, and it’s very much dependent on the individual as well, and no one seems to really know why!”

“Toru,” his third teammate says with a roll of her eyes, “we are well aware of your love for sealing. You don’t need to drone on about it. Sealing’s alright, I guess, but it takes a lot of time and effort to actually understand and use properly. There are the seals any Uzushio-nin can do, and then there are the masters and those trying to be masters who go further. That must take years.”

“Depends on the ninja,” Isaki says. “Some can get it much faster than others, while others can do extremely well in certain categories. Nevertheless, I take it you don’t particularly want to focus on sealing while you’re still my students.”

Toru pouts while the other two clamour their agreement. “Alright, we’ll move onto other work. Toru-kun, I’ll organise you an fūinjutsu teacher, alright?”

“Sure thing sensei,” Toru says, with a smile. “What are we going to learn today?”

“I was thinking kenjutsu...”

“Fūinjutsu is one of the hardest ninja arts to master,” Jirō Takahashi tells Toru, “simply due to its precise and specific nature. Generally, fūinjutsu is the art of sealing. That means that fūinjutsu is where objects, living beings, chakra, and numerous other things are sealed, normally within another object. However, the truth is that seals go much further than this, as you know from what the Academy teaches. Seals can also be used to restrict movements and unseal other objects from within something.

“If one manages to learn and come to understand seals to a high level, they become capable of doing more than simply sealing something and restricting movement. While any seal is based on the premise that one seals something within it, the release of the ‘thing’ is just as important and can be equally as dangerous,” Jirō explains to Toru who nods. “Can you tell me how seals might be identified?”

“Seals can be identified by their appearance,” Toru recalls slowly. “Their appearance being the formation of technique formulae, kanji, or other symbols. However, it’s hard to tell exactly what the seal is of, as different kanji, symbols, and technique formulae guide the chakra in certain patterns – which is aided by the intent of the user – to cause certain things to happen. There’s also the issue of how seals can be hidden through other jutsu, and certain seals have been created to ensure attention is directed away from another seal and that seal.”

“Good,” Jirō says with a smile. “You clearly have a very good basis of the information taught at the Academy. Do you know about the sealing levels?”

Toru shakes his head. “Well, there are four main levels of sealing: beginner, intermediate, journeyman, and master. Now, the best seal masters are those who change the base seals to suit themselves, and therefore end up with a distinctive style. Many seals created by specific seal masters have a trademark so that the creator can be identified, or a style that indicates the style. Do you know what the base seals are?”

“Vaguely,” Toru says. “I know there are twelve, and seals are based off them.”

“That’s the basis of it all,” Jirō responds, “but it goes much further than that. However, I won’t bother wasting either your time or mine by going through them in detail. I’ll continue on the information those who start sealing often need to learn or relearn.

“The first thing to know about seals is that they don’t entirely focus on what’s actually written. The seal itself amplifies the intent of the chakra, and contains guiding lines for what the chakra should do and what it should cause to happen.

“It’s believed that a third of the sealing process is depended on the chakra and the intent of the user, but little research has actually investigated this. Meanwhile, two-thirds of the sealing process is about the seal itself, and what’s written.”

“Does that mean a very, very basic seal can have the guiding lines of the seal overridden through pure chakra and content?” Toru asks.

Jirō nods, “Yes, and the lines can even be extended in such cases. However, this is very dangerous and there can be backlash through the chakra connection between the seal and the user. Rarely does anyone try this, simply because of the risk it involves and basic seals can normally be changed through other seals. Although, that takes more time.

“Now, most seals tend to have two layers that interlock. However, there are things called two-bit seals. Were you taught about them?”

“They’re seals that are made up of two completely separate seals that are put in differing locations, but while having different purposes, they still interact on a basic level. Right?”

“Correct. Now what can you tell me about even and odd base seals for sealing purposes?”

Toru blinks slowly, gathering his thoughts and trying to remember what he had been taught in the Academy. “Base seals can be either even or odd… but rarely both due to the imbalance created by placing an odd-numbered seal on top of an even-numbered seal, or vice versa. However, this effect can be nullified through other sections of seal, therefore the seal can exist.”

“Good work,” Jirō praises. “Currently, we’re running out of time, so I’ll bring this quick improvised lesson to a close. Seals are made up of different components, but not all have to be used for every seal. All seals will, however, contain the shape and base seal component. However, they can also include adjoining links, interlockers, identifiers, spokes, and limiters. The book I gave you earlier goes into the base seals. I want you to learn the first base seal for next class, and then we’ll work on it. Got it?”

“Yes, Jirō-sensei,” Toru says. “Thank you for agreeing to teach me.”

“Do well by me and the other fūinjutsu users and you’ll be fine kid. However, always remember that fūinjutsu is a dangerous art and should always be thought of as such. If you want to be taught by me, uphold the rules of fūinjutsu – which we will go through next time – and do any and all homework I give you. Furthermore, do not test any seals by yourself without someone of more experience nearby, and make sure the seal is checked over first by either myself or someone else who knows seals to a high level.”

“Alright,” Toru says, head bobbing. “Thank you once again!” And somehow Isaki Fujii manages to wrangle her genin teammate, Jirō Takahashi, to become Toru’s fūinjutsu instructor, teaching the genin whenever he can and isn’t on a mission.

Toru carefully controls his chakra as he uses a single finger to burn seals onto the sword he got for Sasuke. Sasuke who will surely be arriving sometime soon, as the Academy had been let out sometime recently. Toru grins as the seal takes form, the blade shimmering with chakra and thrumming lightly.

Toru puts the blade down, and studies the two seals with a critical eye. They all seem to be perfectly formed. Once the blade’s no longer thrumming, Toru channels a bit of chakra through it, watching as his chakra is instantly pushed to the edge of the blade, sharpening the edge and reinforcing it.

“Toru, you here?” Sasuke calls as he enters the apartment.

“Kitchen,” Toru shouts back. “I’ve finished your sword,” he adds.

There’s the pounding of feet, which stop just before the doorway leading into the kitchen, and Sasuke enters faux-calmly. “What do you by finished?” He asks suspiciously.

“I’ve been planning to add seals to it for a while,” Toru reveals, “but I wanted to ensure I’d be able to do the seals properly. It’s very rare to find a sword that’s receptive to seals nowadays.”

“Sealing?”

“Fūinjutsu,” Toru elaborates, “things like explosion seals and stuff, but it’s the art of being able to make them.”

“Huh,” Sasuke mutters, taking a look at the sword, “haven’t heard much about it before. What do these ones do?”

Toru taps the one that’s located where the blade is at its widest. “This one is known as a Channelling Seal. Essentially, it uses chakra to sharpen the edges of the blade and reinforce it. It’s easy to do this with chakra, but unless you have really good chakra control, it burns through chakra and it’s hard to do it well if you don’t control your chakra, which means you have to divide your attention, which – obviously – you should never do in a fight. The seal will fill with the chakra you channel through the sword, but if there’s too much, it’ll release it into the atmosphere rather than using it.”

“What’s the other one do?” Sasuke asks.

“I haven’t tested it yet, so I’m not sure if it works, but it’s an Absorption Seal. It absorbs chakra from an attack, disrupting and ruining the jutsu, before realising the chakra into the atmosphere. However, the Channelling Seal sometimes gets some of that chakra, and then it goes towards reinforcing the blade and sharpening the edge. It makes things interesting, when it’s an elemental ninjutsu.”

“So, if one was to channel the elemental chakra through the sword, would that change the properties of the reinforcing chakra?” Sasuke asks curiously.

Toru nods, “Yeah, but some types of elemental chakra isn’t overly helpful for reinforcing weapons. Fire chakra makes the blade overly hot and can cause burns, wind chakra can sharpen the edge a lot more than neutral chakra, earth strengthens the blade more than neutral chakra, lightening can cause electrical burns and electrocution, but water is pretty much useless.”

“Can we go see if it works?” Sasuke asks eagerly. “I’ll do my homework tonight, I promise, if we do so!”

Toru ruffles Sasuke’s hair, “Sure brat, let’s head off. We can do some other training while we’re out. Do you want to grab the two bokkens?”

Inu enters the ANBU Commander’s office on almost-silent feet, the padded footsteps a warning to her leader that she’s approaching. The door’s open, and Inu enters without much thought, only pausing to shut the door behind him.

The jackal-masked ANBU looks surprisingly put together and calm, and Inu hopes she looks the same despite how frazzled she feels. “Jakkaru-sama,” Inu greets, bowing with her arm across her torso.

“Inu,” Jakkaru responds, calmly watching Inu. “What is it?” Inu takes a few steps towards her Commander’s desk, and places a folder on it. She takes a step back, and waits, hands behind her back in a classic rest position. “At ease,” Jakkaru adds as he reaches out and picks up the folder.

Inu forces her muscles to relax, and allows her arms to drop to her side. She taps her thigh with her left hand while she waits, nervous and needing an outlet. Jakkaru’s sharp glance makes her stop, reminds her that she’s an ANBU, reminds her that she’s an ANBU leader of the intelligence division. She straightens and controls her breathing, filling her lungs with air, feeling her chest expand.

“Are these numbers correct?” Jakkaru asks, placing the folder down on his desk, the movement silent and smooth, completed with clear grace and hidden danger.

Inu dips her head in a nod, before realising she should speak. “Yes,” she says, glad that her voice doesn’t waver or squeak. “I’ve been over them myself and with my most trusted ANBU.”

Jakkaru pulls out a piece of paper, and seems to reread over it, although Inu is sure that the damning words are still in his head, just like they are still in hers. “Do we have any chance?” Jakkaru asks.

“Of course,” Inu says. “We believe that a win against Kiri is 60-40, which are pretty good odds. However, we estimate 40% of our jōnin forces will fall, 60% of our chūnin forces, and 80% of our ANBU forces, and that’s based off the results from the first assault on the Kiri boats. We’d be left at around 35% of our original power, and need to recover from the attack on Uzushio and deal with the dead, the injured, and the traitors that must live here. Furthermore, we’ll have lost a lot of trading and civilian items and services that we require.

“Konoha will still go ahead with their attacks, and so we’ll have enemies on our shores even with the defeat of Kiri. Iwa will set itself against Konoha, and due to Konoha’s almost central position in Hi no Kuni, Iwa will be free to go through the two minor countries to reach Hi no Kuni’s borders. We are protected on one side by Konoha, and from our east comes Kiri, but north-west is where Yu no Kuni lies, and if Iwa gets there, they can easily attack us – and they will.

“Realistically, we are one of Konoha’s strongest allies, and we’ve been steadfast in our commitment. If we’re weak from Kiri’s attack, Iwa will waste no time attacking. We won’t have the power to keep our defence up. Our odds at Uzushio falling… 3-97, and not in our favour.”

Inu watches Jakkaru, but the ANBU Commander doesn’t appear to react to the news, and Inu remembers that this is one reason why Jakkaru is so feared, even amongst his own forces. It’s also why he’s such a good captain and Commander, because he doesn’t give reason for them to be fearful, for them to be afraid.

“Uzushio isn’t going to fall,” Jakkaru says, as he opens up a drawer. “After all, Uzushio is her people, and we are not about to all die. Uzukage-sama has already started the evacuation of important members and their families, only those who weren’t going to fight.”

The ANBU Commander pulls out a folder and puts it on his desk, the dark blue contrasting the pale folder Inu had handed him earlier. “Fukurō has got some evacuation plans, but they aren’t on such a grand scale. However, I have others.”

Jakkaru withdraws a pile of papers stapled together, red words capitalised at the top of the page. “We are going to get as many of our citizens out of here as we can,” Jakkaru says firmly, and Inu believes it with everything she has, with everything she is.

“Hai, Jakkaru-sama!” She responds, hope filling her once again. “Your orders?”

“For you to sit down and discuss this with me,” Jakkaru says as he flares his chakra. Instantly, there are three ANBU in his room. Jakkaru radiates displeasure as he stares at them. One nods at him before disappearing again, leaving Jakkaru’s office.

“One of you get me the Uzukage, the other get me Fukurō. I don’t care who does it, just go, and quickly will you? Tell them it’s urgent.”

“Hai!” One ANBU says, just before both appear to disappear.

“We’ll send the civilians out now, but they’ll have to separate, we can’t have large groups wandering around unless they claim they never settled. Some of the clans can do that. Civilian-raised genin will go with their teams and their jōnin-senseis. They need to move in small groups, need to act like families, need to remember Uzushio and her might,” Jakkaru quickly decides.

“Retired ninja can go with the civilians and some genin for protection,” Inu says. “Do we really want to send our jōnin out, though? We’ll have less power without them.”

“Our village is going to go down whether they are here or not,” Jakkaru says, his voice certain and Inu’s heart falters at the words. “I want to limit how many of our ninjas die. If I – and their Uzukage – say go, they’re going to go. The only ones who stay will be the ones who decide to and the ones who don’t get out in time. How long do you think we can hold the Kiri forces at bay for?”

“Three weeks, easily,” Inu says, “I would say longer, but if we’re losing force, then it’ll be more based on our seals than anything.”

Ayumu sweeps into the room, Uzukage robes and hat on. “Jakkaru, what is it?” She asks, her voice dangerously calm and Inu instantly bows.

“We’re going to need to sound a full evacuation,” Jakkaru says. “Small groups, six maximum, and only clans can go in bigger groups, but they’ll have to claim they’ve been wandering. The groups will need to appear as families. Genin teams with their jōnin-senseis if possible, and retired ninja guarding the civilians.”

Ayumu wastes no time sitting down next to Inu, face already shifting from shock to anger to determination. “Got anything further?”

Jakkaru shifts his attention to Fukurō, as the division leader arrives. “Fukurō, we’re going to require near full evacuation plans,” he orders.

“Hai!” Fukurō responds, “Who’s being evacuated?”

“Civilians are the most important ones currently,” Ayumu says as Fukurō stands beside Inu. “Then I want our genin teams out with their jōnin-senseis, unless they leave with families. Everyone should be leaving in small groups.”

“Have retired ninjas take up guard jobs for the civilian groups,” Inu adds.

“You have permission to look at those records,” Jakkaru says, scrawling a note out and handing it to Fukurō. “That should be enough to get you in, send anyone to either Ayumu or myself.” Fukurō nods, “That’s your job for now.”

“Hai, Jakkaru-sama, Uzukage-sama,” Fukurō says with a salute before leaving in a hurry.

“Ayumu, you’re in charge of getting the clans out of here, agreed?” Jakkaru asks.

“Sure,” the Uzukage responds, “except none will leave right now.”

“They have two weeks to ready themselves for a mass evacuation, and any who wish to stay can, but they will likely be staying for their deaths,” Jakkaru says.

“Much better,” Ayumu agrees. “What are your thoughts regarding the rest of the Ninja Corps?”

Jakkaru tilts his mask to look at Inu, whose fingers are tapping quickly on his desk. “We’ll send out most of our Chūnin Corps around the same time the clans are leaving,” Inu says slowly. “The genins with the rest of their teams should be gone by this point. We’ll judge how long the jōnin have until they leave at the point, and whether anything’s changed.”

“Ayumu, how are you planning to call us all back?” Jakkaru asks, “You know we will return when it’s safe, but we need to sign to show when.”

“Indeed, many of us will return the moment we know we can,” Inu says, “and we will bring our families with us. Some may not return, but most will, and most will be willing to help with the recovery efforts.”

Ayumu fixes Jakkaru with a strong gaze, and Jakkaru seems to match it despite the mask. Inu decides she feels rather small amongst these two ninjas who are undoubtedly strong and no one who knows them or knows of them thinks otherwise.

“Very well,” Jakkaru says, turning towards Inu. “Inu, do you have things to do? We’ll hash out other things regarding the evacuation plans. You just need to get us to places where we can hide and what paths small groups should take and so forth.”

“Hai, Jakkaru-sama,” Inu responds, before bowing to her Uzukage. A moment later, she triggers a shunshin, and leaves the ANBU Commander behind in his office with the Uzukage.

“What are you planning to do with your ANBU?” The Uzukage asks.

Jakkaru sighs, “They’re the strongest we have, and we need them here,” he says. “However, I’m going to ask any and all of them to go in the last few days. I may order some – if necessary – to go with certain groups and protect them.”

“I could order them to stay here,” Ayumu says warningly. “They don’t just answer to you.”

“Most of them will probably stay anyway,” Jakkaru says. “They will only leave if I give a direct order or if you do. Still, that doesn’t matter right now, we will only leave in the very last days. How do you plan on calling us all back?”

“There is a seal, deep within Uzushio, located in her heart. It will be capable of calling all of Uzushio’s Clans back to her, due to the seals and the blood we have put into Uzushio’s wards,” Ayumu reveals. “It recognises only those of Uzushio blood, and no others.”

“What about those who are not clan members?”

“One of Uzushio’s best kept secrets,” Ayumu says with a grim smile. “Every hitai-ate has a seal – Uzushio’s own symbol. As long as the symbol has been drawn and chakra channelled into it once it’s created. As long as it’s done purposefully, the seal will work. When Uzushio’s heart has the seal activated, it will activate the seals, and the seals will lead our people home.”

“Are we the only ones who know of this?” Jakkaru asks.

Ayumu nods, “We are, and neither of us will be leaving Uzushio alive either.”

“You don’t expect Uzushio to survive at all,” Jakkaru realises, but still he shows no sign of his inner turmoil. “Are you planning on leaving our people homeless?”

“No!” Ayumu says, slicing her hand through the air. “That is not what I meant!”

Jakkaru narrows his eyes, “Then explain yourself.”

“I don’t know who I can properly trust, because a lot of the plans I’ve been making seem to be public knowledge when I attempt them,” Ayumu says. “I know I can trust you, since we have known each other for so long and so well. However, I don’t know who I can turn to or who I should tell.”

“And anyone you trust well enough will be staying here,” Jakkaru realises, tilting his head in an apology. “Let us hope then, that one of lives,” Jakkaru says.

“Let’s hope,” Ayumu agrees grimly. “It seems to be all we have left.”

“Is that the last matter that the Clan Heads wish to bring forward in the clan council?” The representative of the Kohaku Clan asks.

Toru straightens in his seat, stuck between the Aburame Clan Head and the Kurama Clan Head. “No, it is not,” he says decisively, and he wonders what all the other Clan Heads – those who do not know his plans – are thinking, when he, a twelve-year-old, speaks up in the first clan council he’s ever been in.

“What matter do you wish to bring forward with the council?” The Kohaku Clan representative asks, a shinobi who goes by the name of Arata.

“A problem with the Ninja Academy,” Toru says. “It has come to my notice that many of the ninjas who oversee it and run it are corrupted, and many students’ results are deliberately tampered with, some getting boosted scores while others receiving diminished marks.” Toru pauses, allowing the others to speak before he continues.

“Do you have proof of this Uchiha-san?” The Hyūga Clan Head asks.

“I do,” Toru replies. “A chūnin by the name of Iruka Umino has been going through his student’s – Naruto Uzumaki’s – results this year, so far, and he has found numerous tampered tests, and that is only one student. In addition to that, Umino has been trying to lodge complaints regarding the Academy numerous times, but so far nothing has come from it.”

“Do you have a solution to the issues with the Academy?” Chōza asks, and Toru feels appreciation for the Akimichi Clan Head grow in his chest.

“I recommend a complete overhaul of the current Academy system,” Toru says. “Changing the system to suit the individual and having classes based on skill level, rather than age. There should be a set of core classes that all Academy students are required to take, unless there’s a reason why they cannot. There should also be electives for students to take, and classes that their sensei can recommend they take, thereby enforcing that Academy students are learning, rather than squandering their time.”

“What reason do we have to change a system that’s currently working?” The Yamanaka Clan Head asks. “I can see the issues with the corruption, but that can be fixed in due time. I don’t see the reason for a complete redesign of the Academy’s education system.”

“Aside from the fact only 33% of students manage to graduate, with the majority being clan members, and genin either staying in the Genin Corps or taking three or more years to be promoted to chūnin, there is little more wrong with the Academy,” Toru says. “The other problems are that the Academy caters for one type of learning, meaning many Academy students are unable to learn to their full potential. The other problem I’ve found is many Academy students don’t understand the full dangers of being a ninja. Intellectually, they understand, but in reality, they don’t truly know, and many are liable to freeze up in a fight with real enemies. This can cause their deaths of their comrades or they themselves could die.”

“I will support you if you take this to the village council,” Tsume says. “I, myself, remembering passing through the Academy, and I succeeded in certain classes, which those born from civilians failed at, yet we were still grouped together. I imagine that we would’ve been much more prepared for everything that went on in our career as ninja. Surely, there wouldn’t have been so much death either, if all genin were adequately prepared before they leave the Academy.”

“I, too, support this notion of changing the Academy,” the Kurama Clan Head says.

“The Aburame Clan will support this notion. Why? Because it is vital that Konoha’s next generation of ninjas are prepared for their lives so they do not die in their first mission outside of Konoha.”

“The Akimichi Clan back the Uchiha Clan.”

“The Hyūga Clan see no need for the Ninja Academy to change. The Hyūga Clan will not support the Uchiha Clan in this matter.”

“If Chōza’s in, we might as well through our weight in. The Nara Clan backs the Uchiha Clan.”

“The Yamanaka Clan will support the Uchiha Clan.”

“The Sarutobi Clan will not support the Uchiha Clan in this matter. There is no need for the Ninja Academy to change its educational system.”

“The Kohaku Clan will back the Uchiha Clan in this notion. Therefore, with a majority of 8:2, it is decided that the clan council will support this notion and bring up the matter in the village council. Who will bring forward the matter?”

“If the Uchiha Clan is willing, I will present the matter in the village council,” the Nara Clan Head states.

“The Uchiha Clan is willing,” Toru responds.

“Is there anything more that any clan wishes to bring forward?” Arata Kohaku asks, after a moment of silence, he nods. “Very well, I announce the clan council to be over. We will meet again in a month.”

Sasuke and Naruto manage to keep Toru in the present as past memories overwhelm the chūnin. Actions take place that have the potential to rock the foundations of Konoha, and the Uchiha Clan retake their seat on the clan council, and the clan council comes to an agreement.

Chapter Text

“Just this way, Toru,” Iruka murmurs with a small smile, leading Toru up a small staircase. “Mizu-san tends to keep to herself unless she has a class.”

“Do you think she will talk to me?” Toru asks as the pair turn left down a sparsely lit hallway.

“I am not sure of who I can trust,” Iruka divulges, “I trust that Mizu-san’s reclusiveness will be handy here. There are only a few others I believe I can ask to meet you. I am hoping that Mizu-san will be able to help us out.”

“What do you know about her?” Toru asks a few seconds later.

“Not much,” Iruka responds with a frown. “The intelligence I could gather was pretty much useless. She’s been working at the Academy for some time, from before the Third World War, but is only a chūnin. She’s retired – as much as anyone is ever retired.” Toru and Iruka exchange small smiles at Iruka’s comment, before they arrive at the end of the corridor. “I can’t stay long, as class starts soon, but I will come in with you,” Iruka adds as he knocks on the door.

“Come in,” a person calls from inside.

Iruka enters, Toru following half a step behind the elder chūnin. “Mizu-san, I would like for you to meet Toru Uchiha. He wanted to talk to you about something. Toru, this is Yōko Mizu.”

“Umino-san, is there a reason you bring this child in here?” Yōko Mizu asks, completely overlooking Toru.

“Toru wanted to discuss something with you,” Iruka reveals, glancing over at Toru.

Toru blinks, taking in Yōko’s appearance and remembers what he had seen when he walked into the classroom. “You look a lot like my father, Mizu-san,” he says.

“Like an Uchiha?” Yōko says, sounding quite aggravated. “I most certainly do not!”

“My father was from out of the village,” Toru says, eyes pinned to Yōko’s face.

Yōko opens her mouth before shutting it, “Ahh,” she eventually says. “Umino-san, you have a class to teach,” she says bluntly. Iruka starts to stutter an answer, his gaze shifting between Toru and Yōko. “Uchiha-san will be fine. No harm will come to him unless he does something stupid. You can ask him what happens later. I’m sure you don’t want to be late.”

“No, of course not,” Iruka says. “I will take my farewell then.”

Yōko waits until Iruka is out of the room and his almost-silent footsteps have long since faded from her hearing. “Where was your father from, Uchiha-san?”

“He was from Uzushio like you are, Mizu-san,” Toru says.

“What makes you think I’m from a long fallen village?” Yōko asks with a raised eyebrow.

Toru runs his tongue over his teeth and wonders how he can explain. He doubts she would take his explanation that her face is familiar, her name gives it away, he has seen her before, that he is Uzushio’s own – but, that is a secret he needs to keep for now.

“Your skin looks the same as my father’s,” Toru says. “Plus, your hair has not gone fully grey yet.”

“Who was your father? Maybe I knew him,” Yōko says.

“Yori Uzumaki,” Toru says bluntly. “Born and raised in Uzushio for years until Uzushio fell and her people escaped.”

“Who escaped?” Yōko asks. “No one escaped Uzushio, it was a genocide and a disaster.”

“Mizu-san, no one can hear us,” Toru points out. “You have seals up and I assumed you activated them the moment I mentioned my father being from out of the village.”

Yōko grins, demure and fragile appearance fading, leaving only wicked amusement and the spark of life. “You know seals, kid?”

“Don’t call me kid,” Toru responds immediately, meeting Yōko’s gaze. “I am a chūnin and that makes us on equal footing.”

“Except you’re, what, twelve? And I’m significantly older,” Yōko says. “Plus, where I came from, manners were important. You should be kind to your elders. Speaking of, please take a seat, I have a feeling we might be talking for a while.”

Toru takes a seat opposite Yōko. “Please, Uzushio sounds very much like a place where manners weren’t overly important unless you were hiding something or needed to present yourself in a specific way. And yes, I do know seals. What’s your name?”

“My name is Yōko Mizu, weren’t you listening earlier?” Yōko replies sharply. “How do you know what you do about Uzushio? Your father is dead, is he not?”

“He has laid buried for a while,” Toru says with a tilt of his head. “You say your name is Yōko Mizu, and maybe your given name is Yōko, but your last name is certainly not Mizu, is it Uzumaki-san?”

“Heh,” Yōko chuckles. “That how you want to play, then? Very well. I propose that I ask a question and you give me a truthful answer, and then you can ask me a question and I will give you a truthful answer.”

“I will agree to doing such a thing,” Toru responds.

“Who taught you seals?”

“No one,” Toru responds – not too quickly or too slowly, but taking his time and trying to make the answer seem as truthful as possible (he had been an Uzukage once, he would not be called out on his lies). “Are there others from Uzushio in Konoha?”

“Yes,” Yōko says with a smile, not saying anymore and seeming to revel in the annoyance that Toru feels. “How do you know so much about Uzushio’s fall?”

“My father did not want to forget Uzushio,” Toru explains. “Whether he did or didn’t in the end remains unknown to me, but he didn’t want my only thoughts of my heritage to be of a village lying in ruins.”

“Uzushio has been forgotten anyway,” Yōko says. “No one cares what a single person thinks. Uzushio is not for the living. Your father should’ve let Uzushio lie.”

“Maybe,” Toru muses, “it does not change anything, though. It is what it is. Do you regularly meet up with the other Uzushio citizens in Konoha?”

“I do meet up with some Konoha citizens in our great village, if only to remind ourselves of what can happen and why we should never let Konoha truly become our home,” Yōko answers. “What level of sealing would you say you are at?”

“Hard to tell based on my own work, but I would rate myself around intermediate or journeyman,” Toru says. “What are your thoughts on Konoha’s Academy structure?”

“It’s degrading and nothing will ever change, but many of the graduates never return to Konoha after their first mission or quickly retire due to not knowing the full risks regarding becoming a ninja,” Yōko responds promptly. “Why did Umino-san bring you to me?”

“I need evidence that the Ninja Academy of Konoha needs to be changed,” Toru reveals. “I brought the problem up in the clan council and offered solutions for the program, and my bid went through. My case will be presented by the clan council to the village council. We need to gather those who are willing to contest that the Academy is harming Konoha.”

“You wish for me to be one of those,” Yōko states and Toru nods. “I’m guessing that Umino-san is another one of your allies?”

“Yes,” Toru says. “What is your answer?”

Yōko Mizu, formally Fuyuko Uzumaki, meets Toru’s black eyes with her own brown ones, brushes back strands of red-grey hair, and smiles. “I will help you in this, but I demand something in return.”

Toru offers Yōko a pleasant smile, “I make no promises and I thank you for your help.”

“Cheeky brat,” Yōko admonishes. “I will teach you all I know about seals, and you will learn it all. You will learn all of what remains of Uzushio within Konoha, and you will endeavour to learn seals from Konoha as well. Their seal masters here are talented, even if they are not of Uzushio standards.”

“It would be an honour, Mizu-sensei,” Toru says with a small bow.

“Bah, call me Uzumaki-sensei or Fuyuko-sensei when we are private, otherwise Yōko-sensei,” Yōko mutters, eyes moving away from Toru’s face. “You are of Uzushio blood, and you will not call me by my mockery of a last name.”

“Mizu from Mizushima, right?” Toru asks softly.

Yōko didn’t look back at Toru as she nods. “Get out of here, Toru-san. I’ll find you for your first lesson.”

“Hai, Uzumaki-sensei,” Toru says before taking his leave.

Natsumi Hayashi has always been rather average – as both a person and a kunoichi. Her appearance is rather bland, with grey eyes and tan skin partnered with black hair that she always pinned up. Even her rather short height has never been that big of a deal, as she is almost the same height as most people. As a kunoichi, her skills are rounded, with a minor focus on genjutsu. She isn’t overly well known nor is she part of a team that’s stuck together over time through the years. The only family she has is her brother and her elderly father who is getting on with the years. Natsumi knows all this, and this is why she’s vaguely questioning how the genin she taught could have amounted to something more than average.

The first sign that her genins would be odd had been that she was getting one of the two remaining Uchiha. Other than that, her team had appeared perfectly normal.

On paper, Toru’s potential had been estimated to be high chūnin at most with no specialities and no focus in anything other than the ninjutsu that Uchiha had been renowned for once.

On paper, Kiku’s potential had been estimated to be tokubetsu jōnin due to her taijutsu strength. It had been estimated that she would specialise in taijutsu, with little focus in any other categories.

On paper, Shou’s potential had been the worst. It had been estimated that Shou might make chūnin, but it had been extremely unlikely. The resulting decision had been that Shou would probably do the required years as part of the Genin Corps before dropping out of the forces entirely and retiring to become a civilian.

Originally, Natsumi hadn’t been overly impressed with her team. Toru had seemed rather quiet and almost weak. Kiku had seemed rather boring and average. Shou had been perfectly normal and quite social.

The first surprise Natsumi had received had been when Toru requested Shou to help him, and then the pair had gone to find Kiku. The trio had worked together, Toru demonstrating intelligence that Natsumi hadn’t really expected and the other two easily settling beside him to work as a team. The second surprise she had received happened when Toru had taken the fall for working as a team, with his teammates quickly backing him up.

After that, Natsumi figured that it was best to ignore any and all reports regarding her students and instead figure them out herself.

She had quickly realised that Toru’s intelligence boarded on genius levels and he had never shown it before. Along with this, he had low social development, and had initially been below average in most areas. However, he had been quick to pick things up and constantly worked to be better than he was.

Kiku drove herself into the ground to improve on her taijutsu and was motivated by her dream to be acknowledged for her taijutsu rather than her clan-based genjutsu. Furthermore, despite her rather loud personality and attitude, she always wanted to do the best for her teammates and was led by her strong morals. If she wasn’t content with her orders, she would raise points and questions but ultimately listened to those who were in charge.

Shou had been rather calm and quiet, but often picked fights with Kiku. Instead of any problems arising between the two, they managed to work in harmony, easily backing one another up when they needed to. Although seemingly unassuming, Shou managed to surprise Natsumi with their drive to keep up with their teammates.

Natsumi doesn’t know if she will ever be able let go of her students properly, luckily they don’t seem to be letting go of her anytime soon either. She doesn’t know how they know, but they always seem to track her down when she has some downtime and money to spare.

“C’mon Natsumi-sensei, we’re poor chūnin!” Kiku pleads, eyes overly large and lips downturned in a pout.

“We just became chūnin,” Shou points out, “You can’t expect us to have money already. We have to pay for equipment and everything now! Do you know how much those things cost?”

Natsumi turns her gaze towards Toru who offers her a small smile. “Sorry, Natsumi-sensei, but I don’t have any money currently. I spent it all on important things.”

“You’re a Clan Head!” Natsumi says, but Toru’s expression doesn’t waver. Natsumi throws her hands up in the air and mutters something under her breath, still a grin appears on her head as she scuffs both Kiku and Shou’s head, sending a glare at Toru, before heading off towards a nearby restaurant. “Come along you lot, if you want food, you better show!”

“Coming, Natsumi-sensei,” Kiku says with a grin, darting forward, Shou and Toru following less than a step behind.

Natsumi may’ve been rather average, but she knew for sure that her students aren’t.

Toru wakes silently, eyelids closed and breathing remaining slow, despite this, his heart’s pounding in his chest like he’s just been running for his life. Toru waits a beat, stretching his senses to see if there’s anything out of the ordinary, but nothing pops up. He gets up, doing his best to brush away any traces of the nightmare that he barely remembers.

Toru quickly showers and changes into clothes that are easy to move in, before sitting on the ground and stretching. He pushes his flexibility, muscles burning pleasantly, and he finds himself able to ignore the dark traces (screams, fire, smoke, blood, pain) that still linger from the nightmare that he still doesn’t quite remember.

Once he’s warmed up, Toru stands and goes through three different kata sets of taijtusu – Storm Surge Style, Advanced Academy Style, and Shadow’s Silence Style, the newest one he’s started working on. Toru lets himself get lost in his own movements and remembers doing something similar elsewhere.

(Darkness – light – stone walls – ocean – surrounds him as he flips, spins, kicks, punches, twists, and turns. Each step is light and silent, each attack quick and strong. Every breath is controlled and every twitch of his muscles is remembered.)

Toru comes back to himself with a deep breath, feeling much warmer but not sweating thankfully. He slips on his formal dark blue kimono in preparation for the village council he needs to attend later today. He feels odd with the Uchiha symbol so obvious on his back, but it’s also comforting.

Sasuke’s packing his bag for school in the dining room when Toru enters the kitchen. “Were you working on a new style?” Sasuke says as he shuts the bag and leaves it on the table, before entering the kitchen.

“It’s not quite new,” Toru responds, “but it’s another one I want to incorporate into my style, yes.”

“Want to teach it to me when you’ve got it down?” Sasuke asks, and despite Sasuke’s attempt at a mild tone, Toru can still hear the want concealed in his tone.

“Afraid I can’t,” Toru says as he puts a plate down in front of Sasuke. “This one is something most people should never learn, and no Academy student should learn it,” he says gravely. His black eyes meet Sasuke’s identical ones. “This is not because of your own limitations or anything, but using the new style will have psychological requirements and consequences. This isn’t a taijutsu style you can use in a match unless you know your opponent will be able to respond, otherwise you will kill them. Understand?”

Sasuke nods, eyes wide at Toru’s words, and satisfaction rises in Toru’s mind at how the boy is fine with Toru withholding it from him. “I understand,” he says softly. “Do you have anything else we can train on? Aside from kenjutsu, I mean. I can’t actually use it right now and I won’t get to use it for years.”

“I have another style that might suit you,” Toru says between mouthfuls of food. “It focusses on speed and reaction time, while also having spots where you can incorporate ninjutsu into it. It’s not really an advanced style or anything, but it’s a good style for you. Plus, this way you can try and use it with the other styles you know. I won’t help you much with that, but it’ll be a good project.”

“Really?” Sasuke asks, a smile growing on his face.

Toru chuckles, “Yeah, really. How about we start on it tomorrow?”

“What’s it called?”

Toru blinks and thinks, because he can’t very well tell Sasuke it’s known as Academy Style when Konoha already has two. “Wavelet Style,” he says with a smile, “Not that the name means much regarding the style itself.”

“Are we going to stop working on kenjutsu as much then?”

“Nope,” Toru says with a grin (and for a moment Sasuke’s reminded of another Uchiha who always seemed to be smiling and laughing, and in this moment Sasuke can tell that Toru’s related to Shisui), “We’re going to keep working on kenjutsu and taijutsu. We’ll probably tone down on other things. However, if your schoolwork or social life becomes jeopardised, we’ll have to change our schedule, alright?”

Sasuke nods, and pauses for a moment (there’s a boy, a friend, his best friend, in his class who smiles brightly despite everything and maybe Sasuke can do something, because he has seen, with his own eyes, corruption and sabotage, and he wants to help), “Do you think you can teach the style to Naruto as well?”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Toru says, and Sasuke smiles in response to the proud tone.

Koharu Utatane is one of the oldest ninjas left in Konoha. She has seen the rise and fall of legends. She has seen war and fought in it. She has seen – and caused – the eradication of clans. She has always fought for the bettering of Konoha, and sometimes she regrets that it cost her Hiruzen’s friendship, but she never regrets it for long because Konoha will always stand strong as long as there is life in her body.

Village councils are rarely interesting, and often Koharu believes her time would better be spent sleeping then listening to the lobbying of various civilians and their political movements. The only interesting things occur is when ninjas – retired or not – get themselves involved in various political conquests.

Koharu has always kept her ear to the ground, whether she is retired – and that’s only a technicality – or not. Thus, when the Uchiha boy, Clan Head and newly promoted chūnin, enters the room, trailing after the Kurama Clan Head, Koharu doesn’t move at all. She does, however, take delight in Homura’s stiffening. The man needs to be reminded every once in a while that he didn’t know everything. Curiously enough, Danzō doesn’t react, but Koharu doesn’t find herself surprised. Danzō’s organisation seems to have spread its roots far and wide.

Koharu watches the Uchiha out of the corner of her eye, inattentively noting the surprised reactions from the civilians who’ve made their way onto the village council. The Uchiha seems unconcerned with the whole thing, and Koharu can catch no signs of worry or nervousness.

Still, Koharu can’t shake the thought from her mind – that the boy is being led like a lamb to slaughter. Koharu ensures her expression remains smooth as she smiles to herself mentally. It is better that the boy learn now what it takes to be a Clan Head rather than later, when his age can’t be used as a reason for his incompetence.

Once everyone’s seated, the council really starts. Koharu notes the glare that the Academy Headmaster is sending the Uchiha, and wonders why the older chūnin is being so obvious about his grudge. Honestly, ninjas these days are inept. The Uchiha seems to be easily ignoring the Headmaster, which only served as fuel for the fire. Nonetheless, Koharu finds the whole debacle amusing, and wonders what the Uchiha did to earn the ire of the Academy Headmaster.

Koharu glances at the clock, noticing that there’s a half an hour left, until the council meeting is over. She feels her hopes drop slightly, she had been hoping that there would be a scene that would provide some form of entertainment.

There’s a glance shared between two Clan Heads – the Uchiha and the Nara, oddly enough. Any ninja could easily notice it, but Koharu appears to be the only one, judging by the complacent expressions on the faces of everyone on the council.

The Nara Clan Head clears his throat lightly, and almost instantly, the entire room falls silent as the attention centres on Shikaku. “The clan council would like to bring a problem regarding the Ninja Academy to the attention of the village council.”

Koharu’s eyes narrow. The Nara Clan Head, on purpose, as he never did anything by accident, had revealed that the matter had received the majority vote from the clan council to bring it forward in the village council.

“There is nothing wrong with the Ninja Academy,” the Headmaster of said Academy hisses out, and Koharu honestly hates how far Konoha has fallen.

“Let Councilman Nara speak,” Koharu says the Academy Headmaster. “If nothing is wrong, then you have nothing to fear, Councilman Fujito.”

Fujito falls silent with a strangled mutter, and Shikaku nods at Koharu, who tilts her head. “Evidence has been revealed of sabotage and corruption ongoing in the Academy for numerous years. People from the Academy have come forward and provided more evidence, but wish to remain unknown for various reasons. I know who the evidence providers are and can assure everyone here that they are trustworthy.”

“How do we know you aren’t lying?” The Academy Headmaster spits out, and Koharu thinks that he completely deserves the glares and confused glances he’s treated with. The councilmember shrinks in his seat, and Shikaku continues as if he hadn’t been interrupted.

“The evidence is in the folder being passed around now, but I can briefly summarise it. Essentially, various complaints have been filed without being noticed and payments have gone into various teacher accounts for the sabotage they complete,” Shikaku says. “Furthermore, the Academy curriculum is clearly lacking and graduation rates are falling. Many of those who do graduate retire and those who don’t retire often don’t rise very far in the ranks. Along with this, many civilian-born students are never able to graduate, which has been increasing the frustration many civilians feel towards the ninja population.”

“They are simply not up to the challenge of being a ninja,” Fujito says once Shikaku has clearly finished speaking.

The Nara Clan Head allows his gaze to shift over to the Uchiha, who stares at Fujito until the man stops speaking. “That means that they aren’t up to the challenge anymore, as before the Third World War, there were many more graduates from the Academy and more promotions within the Ninja Corps. This can’t be simply attributed to the change in graduation age, as increasing the age a person can graduate would mean that there is more time for a student to learn, and therefore graduation rates should be rising rather than falling.”

“How does this previously mentioned sabotage come into play?” Koharu asks, not wanting to hear more from Fujito who looks like he’s about to start speaking again.

“The knowledge regarding graduates is largely biased and many jōnin instructors ignore the files they are given. In addition to this, it means that class rankings don’t actually matter regarding a person’s ability to graduate,” the Uchiha returns. “The clan council wishes for there to be an overhaul of the Academy system and an immediate upgrade to the curriculum, as well as an investigation launched into the sabotage and corruption, which ultimately lessens Konoha’s strength and is, technically, treason.”

“Now, wait here!” Fujito says with a snarl fixed on his face. “You can’t simply come in here and sway everyone to your side. You’re nothing but a kid.”

“I am a shinobi and a chūnin of equal standing to you,” the Uchiha says calmly, and Koharu has to admire his self-control. “Furthermore, I am a Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan, one of the founding clans of Konoha.”

“There’s no Uchiha Clan in Konoha!” Fujito interrupts before the Uchiha can say anymore, and Koharu is hard pressed to hide her wince.

“If there was no Uchiha Clan, then I would not be Clan Head and I would not have a seat on the clan council, the village council, or the central council,” the Uchiha returns evenly, but Fujito winces and shrinks back into his seat anyway. “Not that my position as Clan Head has anything to do with my claim. Hokage-sama has given me my position, and if you have any concerns or questions about that, you make take it up with him.”

The Uchiha falls silent, and Koharu wonders where this will go. However… Koharu mightn’t have agreed with Hiruzen’s decision to increase the graduating age, but she can see why it might be a good idea. Hiruzen’s decision has not shown itself to be a good idea, though, and Koharu is starting to realise that it might not be Hiruzen’s decision that’s the problem.

Koharu hasn’t had any projects for a while, and this Uchiha has gained her interest, and the situation with the Academy has gained her attention. “We will vote on the decision for whether Councilman Uchiha’s solution goes through,” Koharu says, vaguely noting the stiffening of Danzō’s posture, and the surprised glances Danzō, Homura, and Hiruzen turn on her. She wonders if they have forgotten who she is, who she was, who she had been.

Hiruzen nods. “I vote yes for Councilman Uchiha’s solution,” and sets off everyone else’s votes.

Unsurprisingly, Fujito votes no, but Koharu is surprised to see that Danzō and Homura vote no as well. However, all the others vote yes, and as the council is dismissed, the smile growing on the Uchiha’s face seems rather happy for such a simple thing to happen.

Koharu can’t help but feel that there is something more at play here. Perhaps it’s time to remind everyone that she is a ninja, and see what she can ferret out.

Koharu stalks into the Hokage’s office, scowl pinned to her face. She lets the door close softly behind her. “Hiruzen, tell me you knew about what was going on in the Academy,” she hisses out.

(She built herself up from sweat and tears and blood. She kept up with her team – a team led by the Second Hokage. She was on a team with the Third Hokage, and for all that he earned the name ‘God of Shinobi’, she was one of three that managed to keep up with him. She may’ve never reached his physical strength nor his aptitude with ninjutsu, but she kept up.)

(This is important. She never once backed down. She kept up, and somewhere along the way, she stopped. Somewhere along the way, their team broke down and only remnants and once-important memories. Somewhere along the way, Homura and she had stepped away from Hiruzen and stepped towards Danzō.)

(She wonders now how she never noticed this. She wonders why she never realised how much she was being used – and she knows that now. She is being used by Danzō, and while some of his ideas have merit, not all of them do. She may be old, but her memory isn’t failing and she remembers Danzō suggesting Fujito lead the Academy. She remembers agreeing alongside Homura, and Hiruzen going along with it.)

(After the surprising village council, she had used her information gathering skills and listened to people – without bias and without expectations. She had heard and she had seen many things. She had reflected on herself and what she had been doing. She had realised that she had become old, weak, feeble. People whispered behind her back now, where they hadn’t ever done so before.)

“Good morning, Koharu,” the Sandaime greets without looking up. “What is it that Danzō wants today?”

“I am not Danzō’s lapdog!” Koharu spits out a moment later, outraged at the very idea.

“Aren’t you?” Hiruzen says, finally looking up. Koharu is, for a moment, taken back by how old he looks. “Then I have been mistaken for all these years. My apologies.”

Koharu is a kunoichi. How dare he belittle her. She is not weak, (she watches from the sidelines as her teammates spar and wonders why she is so weak that she cannot keep up. A hand drops on her head, and she turns, already mouthing ‘Sensei’, when the man talks. “You will never defeat them with physical strength alone, but you are a kunoichi, and therefore your talents don’t lie in that area. Find your niche, and use it to keep up and defeat them.”).

Koharu draws herself up, straightens her spine, and relishes in the way Hiruzen’s eyes narrow and the way her chakra quickens and how it reaches her fingers, waiting to be released. “Hokage-sama, I want to be part of the investigation team,” she says straightforwardly, because she can talk in circles and slowly manoeuvre her way around the problem, but never has she done so when talking to her teammates, at least… she never had initially. Times had changed, and she had changed with them.

“Why should I trust you with this?” Hiruzen says, slowly putting the paperwork aside and giving Koharu his full attention.

“You don’t know who else you can trust,” Koharu says bluntly. “And if you do, it’s a very small force of personnel. The evidence Uchiha-san gathered highlights how the corruption must go further than the Academy. You don’t know if there are spies at the root or if it’s simply due to corruption and incompetence. This has gone unnoticed for at least nine years already – that’s almost a decade. You can’t know if other divisions have been impacted as well. Furthermore, new evidence gathered has shown that graduation tests have been interfered with so students fail, and said students are now recognised at missing.”

“How do you know all this?” The Sandaime says.

“I am a kunoichi,” Koharu responds, words bitter yet strong. “I earned my hitae-ate. I earned my place on Team Tobirama. Sensei taught us all, and I was one of us. I have lived and I have never lived without caution, but perhaps overconfidence has taken me in recent years. Furthermore, I earned my mask. I am a kunoichi. You should not have forgotten that.”

“Ahh, but was I the one who forgot it first?” Hiruzen asks, seemingly unperturbed by her little speech.

“No,” Koharu admits. “Nonetheless, most have forgotten it, and I find myself remembering.”

“Those times have past us by, Koharu. You should them lie forgotten,” Hiruzen says with a sigh.

“And you are far too old to still wear the Hokage’s hat,” Koharu responds, before holding up a hand and halting his protests. “This is not a fault of you, but simply a fact. You should’ve given the hat up long ago, it is not your fault that your successor died so young.”

“I suppose you want Danzō to take the hat,” Hiruzen says. “Koharu, this argument is weak.”

“I do not want Danzō to take the hat,” Koharu interrupts. “Danzō should not take the hat. He is not fit for duty as Hokage, and possibly unfit for any duty. You need another successor, though. Your life will not last forever, you have already lived a long time.”

“There is no one who will take the hat, Koharu,” the Sandaime replies. “It seems I will hold onto it until I die.”

“If you do so, you will leave Konoha in mayhem,” Koharu points out. “Not that this is what I wanted to talk about. Hokage-sama, I wish to help the Academy situation, either by filling a position or helping in the investigation.”

Hiruzen blinks, clearly surprised, and Koharu takes delight managing to surprise the Hokage – it has been too long since they had last really spoke.

“Prove yourself to me,” Hiruzen challenges. “Prove that you deserve your position. See what information you can ferret out, and then report back to me. If you have done a satisfactory job, then come back and request a position.”

Koharu bows, a subordinate to their Hokage. “I will do my best, Hokage-sama.”

Toru can’t really explain the feeling of sealing wards being tripped – it’s like an electric shock or his chakra jolting, but nothing really happens. There’s a spike of panic in the back of his head, and Toru feels his adrenaline kick in as he whistles, calling three dogs to him. Teisatu has taken to following Sasuke around, and Sasuke has fallen in love with the Leopard Cur, and is in charge of training her. Such is the way of their bond, that Teisatu tends to find a place near the Academy to hide until Sasuke gets out.

Right now, that simply allows Toru to relax and know that someone is looking out for Sasuke. “Hotaru, distant follow and wait,” Toru orders the wolfish pup, who dips his head and slinks away. “Ken, Aki, with me,” Toru finishes, turning around and settling into a steady lope to head back to the apartment.

Ultimately, the door entrance is out, simply because traps are most likely to be laid facing it. For the same reasons, Toru can’t enter through the balcony. However, the rooms with windows have few walls, which – while increasing the area to fight if necessary – mean that Toru will probably be spotted the moment he enters. Of course, Toru would be a terrible ninja if such a thing happened.

Toru allows the two dogs to head up to the apartment, while he uses the Transformation Technique to become a squirrel, common enough in the area Toru’s in and likely enough for it to be hanging out on a window sill.

Toru-as-a-squirrel deftly climbs up a pipe, using tiny amounts of chakra to climb easily. He jumps onto the window sill of his apartment, and stands there chittering, and seeming to be staring at the glass. However, what Toru is peering at is the person sitting straight-backed on his couch in the living room. They have grey hair, but Toru gets the feeling that he isn’t in any danger, and the person being in clear view of the window confirms that fact.

Toru allows his grasp over the henge to fade, his shape going from squirrel to human in under a second. He allows his chakra to flicker through the window seals, and the pinging in his head finally fades, the wariness and flicker of tightly controlled panic dropping from its position near the front of his mind.

Toru leaps to the slightly bigger window sill that’s situated at the end of the hallway. The window eases open beneath his hands, and Toru gracefully tumbles through. Ken and Aki are already sitting on either side of the door, and Toru pulls out his key and leaps, flipping so he can stick his feet to the ceiling.

Gravity pulls at Toru, but he easily withstands it as he unlocks the apartment door. A kunai, thrown at barely-chūnin speeds, goes beneath Toru’s head, and Toru easily picks it up and leaps through his door, summersaulting forward, before standing, a kunai in each hand.

Toru blinks, recognising the face of the person who sits on his couch, and sheathes the two kunai. “Utatane-sama,” Toru says, dipping into a bow. “I didn’t expect you to be here.”

Toru whistles softly, and his two dogs bound into the apartment, but with a flick of his hand, they head off into another room. Toru shuts the door softly. “Your wards are good,” Utatane says, expression barely changing. “I didn’t think I had tripped any.”

“Thank you,” Toru responds, an easy smile rising to his face. “Do you want tea or water? I don’t know what we have, and I don’t mean to be an ungracious host, but I was rather unprepared for you to be here.”

“That’s alright, Uchiha-san. I simply need to discuss with you the matter regarding the Ninja Academy and the investigation that is undergoing,” Utatane says. “I was wondering how you gathered the evidence necessary, to highlight the situation regarding the Academy.”

“I spoke with teachers at the Academy,” Toru says simply. “Other than that, I asked some friends to keep an eye out for me. Furthermore, I had an enlightening discussion with the Headmaster, and he raised my suspicious. Plus, Academy graduation rates have been falling – the matter has simply been ignored for larger problems, and then been hidden at the bottom of the leaf pile.”

“Your suggested solutions have merit,” Utatane responds. “Hokage-sama has allowed me to take part in the investigation, and I would appreciate any knowledge that would hasten the investigation.”

“I don’t know how much I can help you other than the evidence I have already provided,” Toru says. “However, I recommend you take a look at the Headmaster’s bank account and at any repetitive payments he’s getting, especially from a civilian whose child’s in the academy.”

“Thank you for your help, Uchiha-san,” Utatane says as she gets up.

Toru bows, “I’m sorry I couldn’t help anymore.”

“Hmmph, you’ve helped enough already,” the old retired kunoichi says. “You will need to redo your seals on the longue room balcony,” she adds as she leaves.

The moment the councilmember is gone, Toru whistles softly, letting the two dogs know that they could come out. Toru rubs Ken’s head as the black sable nudges his leg. “Wonder what that was all about.”

“You’re sure about this?” The shinobi asks the leader of the T & I Division.

“Yes,” Ibiki responds. “The data collected by your division almost guarantees it.”

“Fuck,” Inoichi Yamanaka swears. “Hokage-sama needs to know immediately.”

“Very well, let’s go.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi feels very much his age as he hears the new information that his ninjas have found. He knows he doesn’t need to tell them to keep the information to themselves, as they already know to do such things.

The Sandaime Hokage thinks, mind calculating plans and angles and integrating new information with old information. It seems that there is much more at work than simple greed of various chūnins who work at the Academy.

“In light of this new information, how many of your ninja can you trust to keep this quiet?” Their Hokage asks.

“Few,” Ibiki reveals, “I haven’t been overseeing the recruitment of everyone in my division, and those that I have may have been able to avoid raising any flags. Plus, many of my positions had to be refilled after the Kyūbi’s attack, and I couldn’t spend too much time on recruiting when orders were to get to top strength quickly.”

“I have the same issue, Hokage-sama,” Inoichi says a moment later. “I can probably trust, fully, five members.”

“Clear a group,” the Hokage orders. “A small group, three from each division that will stay quiet. This is to be an S-ranked secret as of now, and an unofficial S-rank mission. I’ll officially send the team out on a mission, but they are to withdraw from public eye. The mission is to go through each Academy teacher and check for spies, planted or not. Before they undergo any sessions, first talk to me.”

Inoichi and Ibiki both bow. “Hai, Hokage-sama.”

(Once, when Uzushio had lived and stood proud, there was a popular saying to be shared among Uzushio’s inhabitants. Many of them had been brought up to believe, and many of them did believe, that strength laid not in the power of one’s hands or the words from one’s mouth or the amount of one’s chakra but in the strength of one’s heart and the will of one’s mind. It’s a saying that Toru Uchiha has never heard aloud, but that does not mean he doesn’t believe it regardless.)

Sasuke shifts, trying to get more comfortable from his spot on the wooden bench. There’s a bark, and a blue merle dog leaps at Sasuke, who laughs as Teisatu sits on the bench next to him, panting with a happy expression on her face.

“You’re spoiling that dog,” Toru murmurs to Sasuke from next to him. Sasuke gives the other Uchiha a pointed gaze. Toru gifts Sasuke a soft smile, sparking a warm fire to alight itself within Sasuke. Sasuke scoffs and turns his face away to hide the pleased curl his lips are forming.

The silence stretches between them, comforting rather than awkward. Sasuke closes his eyes and tips his head back, stretching his senses. As a soft breeze blows, he manages to catch someone’s words on the wind.

“… pity about the clinic. The couple who owned it were rather nice. You know, I took …”

“… that all the animals … out … no one died in the fire …”

“… business shut down … no insurance, you know. I’ll have to find a new ...”

“… wonder what will happen …”

“If they aren’t adopted, I’d imagine … put down …”

“Poor things,” the second voice says, and Sasuke snaps his eyes open and twists, searching for the two speaking.

“Sasuke?” Toru asks calmly, although Sasuke can see how the chūnin is evaluating their surroundings.

“Idea,” Sasuke responds, grabbing Toru’s hands and yanking the elder Uchiha up, and forcing Toru to follow him. Sasuke hurries over to the two civilians gossiping. “Hi,” he chirps. “I couldn’t help but overhear some of your conversation, and I was wondering what you were talking about? Toru and I love animals, and if something happened to some, we would to ensure that they have a home.”

“That’s very sweet of you,” one says – the first voice, Sasuke deduces. “Your family must be very giving,” the woman says with a smile at Toru.

Sasuke stiffens, and leans into Toru for a moment, seeking comfort. “We’re simply lucky to own such a big plot of land,” Toru responds, there’s a pause before Toru continues, “Now, I didn’t actually hear what Sasuke heard, so I would appreciate an explanation?”

Sasuke flushes and looks down, drawing a line in the dirt with his foot and mumbling something. “We don’t mind explaining,” the second person, a man and clearly the second speaker, says. “Last night, there was a fire at Amachi’s – a clinic for all animals that acts as an adoption centre as well. The couple who owns the business didn’t have insurance, so they have to shut down their business and find homes for all the animals. They have about four days maximum, until they have to give them all up, and if they aren’t adopted in time the animals will need to be put down.”

Sasuke looks up at Toru, a pout on his face. “Toru,” he whines, “we have to do something!”

“We’ll see what we can do,” Toru responds, lifting his gaze from Sasuke’s face to the two civilians. “I don’t suppose you know where I could meet the Amachis?”

The woman quickly told the pair Uchihas where to find the Amachis, and wished them luck, before the two civilians continue their walk with a dog at their heels.

Sasuke pulls a face, “I hate acting like that,” he complains.

“You’re the one who wanted to,” Toru points out as he ruffles Sasuke’s hair. “What’s your grand idea, anyway?”

“If we’re opening the Uchiha Clan Compound again, we might as well open restaurants and shops and everything else. I was thinking, we could run an adoption and vet on the grounds? That way anyone with pets could come by and it would seem a happier place,” Sasuke says, his voice trailing off as he grows more uncertain.

Toru smiles, “I think that’s a great idea, Sasuke. Let’s go see if the Amachis will agree to run it.”

There are stories of numerous ninjas throughout the years. Those who owe loyalty to clans only or small families, and those who will go incredible distances for their villages, and those who strike out on their own, owing loyalty to none but themselves.

There are tales of tragedy, of love, and almost always of action and violence, for ninjas know little else. There are legends of stone rising to form villages, of men with the power over nature to bind demons, of shinobi who can twist water to their very will, of those who can control the deserts they live in, of those who breathe and live illusions, of those who complete feats such as creating mountains and craters and valleys and-

These are tales, stories, legends. They become twisted and warped and grow with every retelling, with every whisper. Yet, they grew from truth once, and the truth had been just as hard to believe as the stories. It seems the world is only limited by your imagination.

Here, there is one tale that truly matters. It has multiple variations and numerous starting points. This is one of those stories about a ninja who owed loyalty for his village and would go to the ends of the world for it. This is one of those legends that starts in Uzushio, and is known by more than Uzushio’s own. Uzushio has very few tales to call her own, and fewer exist outside of her people. This is one she is proud of.

The first tale, the earliest one, starts through the whispers of an ANBU team, and whispers that only ANBU hear. No one really knows who the jackal-masked ANBU is – not his name or his age. Initially, for the first two years, he’s known because of his position in the all-rounder squads. When he becomes captain of one – in two years – no one really takes much notice, because in ANBU everyone is strong. Captaincy is really nothing but a further acknowledgement of strength in conjunction with great leading skills. It is three months after Jakkaru’s promotion, that whispers start to arise.

His team somehow stumble into the medical area of headquarters, almost dead and barely standing, but alive. There are three of them, no captain, but they explain their mission as S-ranked, as something gone wrong. They murmur of missing-nin catching their trail after a mission that almost ended in failure. They report that there had been more resistance than expected, that there had been a sensor, that they had all gotten out. They say that their captain had ordered them to go ahead while he stays behind.

This isn’t the first time that a teammate has sacrificed their self so that their teammates can escape, and it wouldn’t be the last time either. However, this ANBU comes back – a few hours late, but still coming back. He’s found by another ANBU team, barely capable of standing, but strong enough to be prepared to fight.

The ANBU team that found him are the ones who start the tale - the creation of a legend. They whisper how he found a group of missing-nin, containing at least one A-ranked ninja, and how the group was decimated and how the jackal-masked ANBU wields water and seals and wind like they are his own limbs; how a lake is formed and trees are wiped out and lines are engraved into the ground.

The ANBU whisper to begin with and the tale grows with new information – some true and some false. This is the first legend that arises.

The next legend comes with the devastation that he wrought seemingly without plans and thoughts. This legend is born out of fear and reverence and hate. It tells of how the jackal-masked ANBU from Uzushio held up an entire invasion fleet. This tale originates in Kirigakure from survivors who don’t so much as learn respect but have it beaten into them.

The next story is one of the Yondaime Uzukage, and it is everyone in Uzushio who hears it. They talk of missions accomplished, of the shinobi rising to take a position his genin teammate had held. They whisper of his strength and his care. This story isn’t about power or strength, but kindness and determination and steadiness. Legends are not always about strength, and his legend is more about the stubborn nature of a leader and someone with resolve in spades. This is one tale that doesn’t spread too much, but it is held close to the hearts of those who held Uzushio dear.

The last legend is spread across the world and its effect is largely on Konoha. It comes after the news of Uzushio’s fall. It comes on the back of rumours and other legends, all merging to create a tale of a jackal-masked ANBU (because the story starts with an ANBU, and though it might not end with the ANBU, the origin is important) who has power but also kindness despite the missions he completes.

Uzushio’s people aren’t the only ones who share these stories. They have grown bigger, grown larger since then. These tales and stories and legends make homes in people’s hearts and minds. They become meaningful in a way that no one ever expected.

(All because of a shinobi who had strong morals and a stronger heart and a smarter mind. All because of a shinobi who used his power to defend and protect and despite doing things that could be viewed as evil, still spoke of kindness being a necessity.)

(It becomes meaningful because it reminds ninjas that they are human.)

Toru discovers that Uzushio’s citizens have hidden themselves away. Natsumi reviews her genin team and wonders how they aren’t average. The village council debates, and in the end a decision is made. A retired kunoichi remembers a fighting spirit she once held dear. Something deeply entrenched in Konoha is revealed and the consequences are far reaching. Sasuke reveals a good heart. Legends of Jakkaru are remembered.

Chapter Text

Toru waits, nervously with something that’s like desperation in his mind. He knows it isn’t desperation, he’s familiar with desperation and lived with it as a constant companion for days on end, when his world had been coming down around him, leaving him to stand in the rubble.

That isn’t here, though, and Toru needs not live his life in the past. He is past that now; he lives in the present, lives for the present. His memories remind him and he holds them dear, but they don’t matter, not right now. While that hurts for Toru to know – it makes him ache deep in his bones – he knows it, understands it. He wonders if there will be a time when they matter more than everything else he has been given and taken in this life. He wonders if Uzushio will ever be alive again, and wonders why he remembers and if there are others who remember.

“Chūnin #012182; Toru Uchiha,” the receptionist calls out, and Toru collects himself as he stands.

The receptionist nods at him, “Just go down the hall; Hokage-sama will see you now.”

“Thank you,” Toru responds because it never hurts to be polite and even if it means nothing or matters little, if he acts kind and nice and good-mannered than any darker rumours that try to take hold will be combatted.

Toru enters the Hokage’s office, closing the door softly behind him because he doesn’t think that the Hokage wants this discussion to be heard by others who will mutter and cause rumours.

“Hokage-sama,” he greets, bowing.

“Toru-kun, it is good to see you again, have a seat, please” the Hokage says in response. “You have certainly stirred up some murky waters recently. I am glad to see you are in good health.”

“I merely found myself wanting to correct some injustices, Hokage-sama,” Toru responds as he takes a seat.

“Injustices, Toru-kun? Do you mean you personally know one of students who was sabotaged? I hope it wasn’t Sasuke-kun,” the Sandaime says (and Toru wants to ask if the Sandaime can see the Uzukage and ANBU Commander that lays in Toru, because surely another Kage would see that, surely Toru is not so unassuming).

“Thankfully not,” Toru responds, “but his friend, Naruto Uzumaki, had been,” Toru reveals. “That was how I first realised the corruption and sabotage going on in the Academy.”

It is only because Toru is looking – and possibly because of his experience – that he sees the flicker of hidden emotion in the Hokage’s eyes. It's rage, Toru knows, deep and wrathful. “Iruka-sensei?” The Hokage asks, but something in his voice makes Toru think that there is a deeper connection.

“No,” Toru says with a shake of his head, because he would not let blame lie on Iruka’s shoulders when Iruka has done nothing to deserve it (he has to wonder if Iruka is something more than a chūnin, though). “Iruka has been my first ally and a stalwart one throughout everything. He was one of the few that provided evidence. No, Naruto’s math teacher had incorrectly graded his test, and Iruka had helped me discover that this wasn’t the first time.”

The Hokage hums, “I assume you did not come to me to discuss these topics, not that I don’t enjoy discussing the future of Konoha.”

“No,” Toru agrees, “I did not. You are right. I did, however, come about Naruto Uzumaki. He is – technically – your ward, correct?”

“Every ward of Konoha is a ward of mine,” the Sandaime replies, and Toru wonders what he sees in him (in a Konohagakure chūnin, an Uzushio Kage, an Uzushio ANBU Commander).

“I wish to adopt Naruto or at least make him a ward of my family, by extension a ward of the Uchiha Clan,” Toru says seriously, because this is something he wants to do, and there is a kid running around in Konoha who has family but doesn’t actually.

“Plenty before have tried to claim Naruto-kun as their ward,” the Hokage murmurs. “What makes your claim bigger than theirs?”

Toru lifts his head (he is a Kage; he is an ANBU Commander; he is of Uzushio and Konoha; he will stand and stand strong; he will not falter; he is alive and he will stand like stone, like a mountain; he will stand proud) and almost looks the Hokage in the eye. “The blood that runs through my veins is the blood that runs through Naruto’s veins. By my father and one of his parents, we are family. As an Uzumaki, I wish to have Naruto under my watch, so that I can assure myself that he is not in any harm and that he is safe. I don’t enjoy seeing him so often appear downtrodden and lonely when Sasuke and-or I am nearby, simply because he wishes for a family. We are family and my claim is based on that.”

“Your father isn’t recognised as an Uzumaki,” the Hokage says, and it is not kind or gentle but it isn’t meant to hurt either (but, oh, how Toru burns because who is the Sandaime Hokage to question his love for his family and deny Naruto one).

“My father is dead,” Toru responds. “I am sure that there are others from Uzushiogakure who made their way here and hid. My father was one of them, and I’m sure that they didn’t hide without help. You, I believe, know that my father was one of the Uzumaki who entered Konoha after Uzushiogakure’s fall, or you can – at least – find out if my claim is true.”

“Whether your claim is true or not, you have stated it,” the Sandaime responds. “Whether I will let your claim stand or not is the real question.”

“Hokage-sama, I came to you because I thought you would hear me out, that you would know I only want to give an orphaned kid a family. However, my claim stands whether you allow it or not as I have not stated it in the proper channels, so it does not stand right now. If you are to deny me here, I can go through the civilian pathways to do so.”

“You are a shinobi, not a civilian,” the Sandaime points out (and Toru ensures that his smile does not show on his face, because he is a ninja so of course he has thought this through).

“Naruto is a civilian, and a minor, and therefore I am allowed to go through civilian methods as the subject is a civilian. Furthermore, despite my occupation as a Konoha shinobi, I am also a Clan Head, which is a position that counts as a civilian title due to the fact civilians can hold the title of Clan Head,” Toru responds, smoothly and calmly (and his heart beats quickly because this matters, because he doesn’t want to look Naruto in the eye and tell him that he will never have a family, legally).

“I can order you not to go through with this and ban you from seeing Naruto,” the Hokage responds, dangerously but Toru thinks the shinobi is only questioning him, pushing him, wanting to find out how far he will go.

(Toru will go further than anyone else has, and he has done so before; there is no obstacle that will stand in Toru’s path; death did not stop him before, and nor will an order.)

“You can,” Toru admits, and he knows this man has power and authority over him, but Toru is persistent and unwavering in the path he has chosen; he will walk it. “However, to do so would mean that Naruto can never come over to Sasuke's and my apartment. Furthermore, as Sasuke spends so much time with me, Naruto would lose his only friend because of your order. He will also know something is up and investigate. If he doesn’t, then he will lose faith in humanity. You cannot afford to do that.”

The Hokage unleashes killing intent, and Toru remains calm in the face of it (he is a Kage and before that an ANBU Commander; this is nothing). He can sense – almost – the slight disturbance of the ANBU. Toru doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t drop down to obey but he doesn’t challenge either. He just is.

“You have a compelling argument,” the Sandaime admits, the killing intent disappearing like it had been a genjutsu (the sweat on Toru’s hands tell him another story). “Moreover, Naruto-kun has been looking up as of late. I will allow you to have your claim, but you need to ask Naruto-kun for his thoughts and if he is willing. Only then can you come to me and I will decide to allow your claim – or not.”

Toru stands up and bows, slightly deeper than necessary, but he thinks the situation requires it. “Thank you, Hokage-sama. I understand.”

(The only thing Toru feels when he leaves is hope.)

Toru admits, he works himself into the ground with worry as he waits for the two Academy students to come home. He thinks that Naruto will say yes, but he could say no. It would be his right to do so, and Toru can’t change that. Still, Toru can’t help but think that he could sway Naruto to his side – but that would be wrong, because Toru doesn’t manipulate his friends. It isn’t right.

Two pairs of footsteps pad into the apartment, and Toru allows a grimace to cross his face in the privacy of the bedroom. He had – not quite forgotten, but he had – been careless, and allowed Sasuke’s reaction to go ignored and unanticipated. He wonders now what Sasuke’s reaction is because Sasuke–

Naruto is family in the way that Uzushio sits on Toru’s tongue, there but silent and going unspoken. Remembered with regret and treated fondly, remembered highly and a reminder of strength, but there are other words that sit on Toru’s tongue alongside Uzushio, connected but not quite.

Naruto is family, but that doesn’t mean everything – not here. Once, Toru had a family who would accept everything he said, had loved him; they were his clan and accepted him as a leader. Here, Toru has one person in his life that means everything, one person who he will hold above everything else (and that is a scary thought that Toru is only realising now). Sasuke will come first, because he is family. Prickly and cold but that is only a façade that encircles – enwraps – a soft heart that’s been deeply wounded by another, and a personality hidden so that only select few will ever see it.

“Toru?” Sasuke calls out, voice loud and unforgiving in the apartment that suddenly seems so cold.

Haruto, a blessing for Toru, nudges Toru’s hand, a reminder and a warning all jumbled up. Toru strokes his dog’s head, and nods firmly – to Haruto and himself. He knows what he must do. He will do it to; he will not back away from this (he may not be brave but he is not a coward either).

“In here,” Toru calls, just as Sasuke comes in to drop his things by his bed. Sasuke pauses, eyes sharpening and narrowing in on Toru, who’s sitting on the balcony railing, looking out over Konoha (but, for once, he is not wondering if this is his home).

Sasuke drifts closer to him as Toru swings his legs over the balcony and walks closer to Sasuke. “You’re upset,” Sasuke states as Toru drops down so he can look Sasuke in the eye. Toru gives Sasuke a bitter smile (and he owes so much to this kid who has saved him and who he has wronged through careless thoughts; he thought he was better than this, and surely he is).

“Regretful, perhaps,” Toru murmurs softly. “I have done something careless and without fully thinking about it, without thinking about you.”

“You cannot do any wrong by me,” Sasuke says fiercely, and this is the strength Toru lacks although he yearns to be able to do such a thing – to give faith fully in a person’s character, to be naïve enough to think that there are no second-thoughts, no take-backs, to believe that people can do no wrong through their actions, conscious or not. This is a strength and Toru refuses to believe otherwise.

“I can,” Toru responds, softly but that does not make his words gentle. “I can and I’m sure I will one day. But never by conscious thought or action, never on purpose,” he promises.

Toru meets black eyes, identical to his own, and goes forward with what he wants to say, what he needs to say. “I did something without thinking about how it would impact you,” Toru admits. “You know how I am half-Uzumaki, correct?” He waits for Sasuke’s nod before continuing, “Well, Naruto is an Uzumaki, full-blooded or not, he is family. I went to the Hokage and asked him if it was possible for our family to take Naruto in as a ward.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means Naruto gets a family, but he does not take our name. It means he lives with us and I am his legal guardian. It means that if he does something, people come to me. It means if someone does something to him, I have power and authority to do something about it. It means he lives in our home and has a home; it means he isn’t an orphan,” Toru says, searching Sasuke’s eyes for an emotion.

Toru sees emotions, understands them, but does not want to believe in them just yet, because hope is fragile and Toru does not know what will happen if he allows his to rise, only to be crushed.

“Toru,” Sasuke says seriously, and, despite all his childish features, something in Toru responds, “if you weren’t alive, I would be in Naruto’s position. I don’t want anyone to be in that position. Naruto is my friend and he deserves a family.”

Toru laughs, laughs as he hugs Sasuke, because this is joy and hope churned together leaving only relief and happiness. “Thank you,” he says softly.

“This doesn’t mean I have to be nice to him though, does it?”

“I wouldn’t want you to act in any way that isn’t yourself,” Toru replies firmly with a smirk on his face. “Shall we go ask if Naruto wants to join our family?”

“He’s going to say yes,” Sasuke points out as Toru stands, “He’d be an idiot not to. And while Naruto is an idiot, he isn’t that much of an idiot.”

Toru laughs again, “Let’s go find out anyway, yes?”

Sasuke hums but walks out of the bedroom, Toru following him. Naruto’s in the lounge room, scratching Aki’s stomach as the dog lies on her back with her paws in the air. Toru can’t help but let a grin soften his face at the sight.

Naruto rises with a beaming smile, but seems to spot something on one of the Uchiha’s faces and the grin drops, the twinkling happiness in his blue eyes fades. “Toru? Sasuke?” Naruto asks, voice quieting to a whisper.

Sasuke rolls his eyes, “It’s nothing teme.”

“Nothing bad, at least,” Toru says, “I have a question for you, though.”

Naruto’s eyes flick between Toru and Sasuke, but he nods and fixes a fake smile to his face. There’s a growl from behind Toru, and Haruto lunges at Teisatu and the pair go down in a pile of playful growls and snarls.

Toru motions to the couches, and after Naruto and Sasuke sit down, he crouches on the ground in front of Naruto. “I’m not sure if you know or not, Naruto, but my father was an Uzumaki,” he reveals, pausing to see if Naruto has anything he wishes to say.

“I thought Uzumaki was a random name?” Naruto asks.

Toru shakes his head, “No,” he says fiercely (and he aches so much, because how can the Uzumaki clan be so forgotten by one of their own?). “The Uzumaki were a clan from another village, although some Uzumaki tracked over to Konoha for various reasons over the years.”

“There are others?” Naruto asks excited.

“Not that I’m aware of,” Toru says softly, lies softly because he needs his people to be safe and this is not his secret to share. “Maybe a few, but if so, they are hidden like my father hid. The Uzumaki clan were one of the founding clans of Uzushio, and one of the biggest. Uzushio was attacked,” he says, and can't avoid the scenes that flash in his head and the sadness that tinges his voice. “Few survived, and fewer came to Konoha.”

“Oh,” Naruto says sadly, looking down at his lap. “I thought…” he trails off.

“However,” Toru says, and delights in Naruto looking up, hopeful, “due to our blood connection, and a conversation with the Hokage, you can officially be a ward of our family,” he says, motioning to Sasuke and himself.

Naruto looks confused and Sasuke rolls his eyes with a sigh, “It means you can join our family if you want.”

Naruto’s mouth falls open and he flicks his gaze to Toru. “Really?” He asks in a soft voice filled with heartbreak and excitement and hope all combined.

“Yes,” Toru says, and, really, that’s all he can answer to such a question.

Naruto beams leaps at Toru, wrapping his arms around the older Uchiha. Toru’s arms wrap around Naruto in response, and feels a wet patch grow on his shoulder. “I need you to say yes,” Toru says softly with a smile.

“Yes!” Naruto says with a loud sob. “Yes!”

Toru laughs and reaches out to jerk Sasuke forward and force the kid into the hug – a family hug.

Mission Type: Clean & Repair

Rank: D

Mission Objective: Paint houses (marked on attached map), clean streets (removing blood-stains), and redo training grounds (marked on attached map) within perimeters (attached).

Client: Toru Uchiha, Clan Head of Uchiha Clan, Konohagakure Shinobi

Location: Uchiha Clan Compound, Konohagakure

Teams Requested: Minimum of two

Toru grins as Naruto bounces past the receptionist, who barely glances at the yellow-haired boy. Toru tilts his head and Sasuke stalks forward, ignoring the receptionist who reaches out to grab the Academy student’s collar. Sasuke dodges it with speed he rarely uses, and quickens his pace to reach Naruto.

The receptionist levels a stare at Toru. “I’m sorry,” Toru says evenly, matching the receptionist’s stare easily. “Naruto was too excited to see Hokage-sama, my apologies. Sasuke will try and rein him in.”

“Naruto can visit Hokage-sama whenever he wishes if Hokage-sama is unoccupied.”

“Well, I suppose I better follow him in, shouldn’t I?” Toru asks, “Especially considering the fact he’s here with me.”

“Go right in,” the receptionist says, and Toru gives them a bright smile before following the two boys in.

The Hokage is smiling at Naruto who’s chattering with a wide smile on his face. Sasuke is at his shoulder, a flat expression on his face. “Hokage-sama,” Toru says with a bow. “I’m sorry about these two rushing in.”

“It’s quite alright,” the Hokage says with a small smile, vastly different from the man whom Toru had faced down the other day. “I enjoy seeing Naruto-kun and his friends. How have you been, Sasuke-kun, Toru-kun?”

“We’ve been good, Hokage-sama,” Toru says, as he ruffles Sasuke’s hair – the action acting as a warning. Sasuke grunts in acknowledgement.

“I’m afraid Naruto didn’t want to wait for me to organise a meeting with you, and thought that this was too important to waste time on such things,” Toru says; and Sasuke shifts his weight backwards, leaning into Toru in a way to show his amusement because he knows that Toru didn’t try overly hard to convince Naruto not to barge in on the Hokage.

“Oh? What does Naruto-kun wish to talk to me about?” The Hokage says, but there’s a gleam in his eyes that makes Toru think that the man already knows.

“Toru said I can join his family!” Naruto says bouncing up and down with a large grin in place – a far cry from the crying and heartbreakingly happy boy he had been yesterday evening.

“He said you can be a ward of our family, dobe,” Sasuke says, but a smile on his face contrasts his words. Naruto laughs and wraps an arm around Sasuke’s shoulder, and Sasuke does nothing about it.

The Hokage surveys the group, and Toru meets his eyes firmly, because this is his challenge. The Hokage nods, “Congratulations,” the Hokage says with a smile. Naruto bounces in place before leaping at the Hokage and hugging him. Toru allows his hand to drop onto Sasuke’s shoulder, and he squeezes Sasuke’s shoulder, and Sasuke leans into him.

There’s a sharp rap on the door that has Toru instantly reaching for his chakra, but he relaxes as the person outside the door flares his chakra, revealing himself to be Iruka. Toru opens the door, “Good evening, Iruka,” he says, letting his questioning tone speak for him.

“Toru,” Iruka starts before flushing and dipping into a small bow. “My apologies for my unscheduled arrival. I recently heard about Naruto, though… Is it true?”

Toru is pretty sure that Iruka shouldn’t be so quick to know about Naruto’s situation, even if paperwork is updated regarding the younger Uzumaki. Toru’s drawn between annoyance and happiness; annoyance at Iruka for barging in unannounced and happiness because someone else cared for Naruto.

The Uchiha allows himself a smile as he opens the door further, “Come inside, Iruka,” he says warmly, because it is undeniable that this man cares for Naruto. “Naruto and Sasuke are in the dining room,” he raises voice above the sound of a crash, “behaving themselves.” There’s a whispered conversation that Toru could listen into if he wants, but he decides not to; instead sharing an amused glance with Iruka.

Toru rolls his eyes, “Sasuke, Naruto, come into the lounge room, we have a guest.”

There’s not a pounding of footsteps as the pair run, but the hurried footsteps of walking can be heard as the pair exit the dining room, fully appearing in the lounge room as Toru turns around to face them. “Iruka-sensei!” Naruto says, smile lighting up the room as he lunges at the older chūnin. Iruka catches the Academy student and hugs him.

“Naruto-kun!” Iruka says cheerfully, and looks like he’s about to say more just as Naruto starts babbling.

“I got a family, Iruka-sensei,” Naruto says as Iruka lets him go. “A family,” he repeats, sounding a bit wistful and confused and surprised all at once. “Toru ‘nd Sasuke say ‘m not an Uchiha and still me but Toru says he’s like me! And that’s why I’m a… a… umm…”

“Ward,” Sasuke says helpfully with a roll of his eyes, and Toru ruffles the boy’s hair. Sasuke bats the dark hand away shooting a glare at Toru. “Because it’s too hard for you to be part of the Uchiha clan because politics.”

Sasuke’s clear hatred for politics makes Iruka laugh, even as he casts a slightly apologetic look at Toru. “Politics can be quite annoying,” Iruka agrees as somewhere in the apartment a clock chimes announcing that the hour has changed. “Ahh, I suppose I better head back to my apartment,” Iruka says, even as Naruto whines and pleads for him to stay.

Toru casts a glance at Sasuke, who grunts and crosses his arms. “I suppose there’s enough food at the table for four of us,” Toru hums. “Why don’t you stay for dinner?”

“I shouldn’t impose,” Iruka tries to say, even as Naruto tugs him forward.

“Naruto,” Toru calls, and the boy in question tenses, eyes widening as he turns to face Toru. “You and Sasuke can wash your hands if you’ve put everything down for dinner. I’ll add another set for Iruka, and then we can all have dinner. That sound good?”

“Yeah!” Naruto cheers, grabbing hold of Sasuke and tugging him towards the bathroom.

Iruka gives Toru a soft grin, “You’re a good kid, Toru.”

Toru ducks his head, “Thanks.”

“So, you want these two areas of housing knocked down?” The contractor asks, tapping the two different locations on the map among the walls of the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Toru nods, “Yeah, and these shops and houses all renovated surrounding the square. Make this side double-stories with the bottom floor being a shop, and this side can have larger houses, allowing for a combination of bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and spare room in the back. The last row, here, can just have shops.”

“We can do all that, but we won’t be setting up furniture or replacing anything or doing any painting,” the building manager responds. “We can review the roofs of each house in the Compound and check over windows and doors. Everything else you will need to get another group to do. We’ll have our hands filled with doing all of this.”

“Got it,” Toru responds. “Thank you.”

“It’s our pleasure, Uchiha-sama,” the contractor says. “Now, I’ll send over some of my people first thing tomorrow and we’ll start. I’ll send you the invoice when we’re done, along with any other notes of interest for you.”

Toru nods and leaves the office. He has a million and one things to do regarding the Uchiha Clan Compound. Earlier that day, he had filed another D-rank mission for a bunch of genin teams to go through the homes of ninjas that had left traps behind. Toru could do it himself, but he doesn’t really have the time. The funds in the Uchiha Clan back account are dwindling, as Toru is spending a lot of money working on getting the Uchiha Clan Compound fixed up.

The quote Toru had received from the company he’s using estimated that it would take nine months for everything he had asked to be done, which is a little longer than Toru wants, but he’ll make do. Thankfully, it’s a lot cheaper to organise civilian groups to do the construction work than paying for missions to do the same thing, even if it takes less time.

Mission Type: Clean & Repair

Rank: D

Mission Objective: Go through houses (marked on attached map) and remove/undo traps left behind by deceased ninjas, retired or not.

Client: Toru Uchiha, Clan Head of Uchiha Clan, Konohagakure Shinobi

Location: Uchiha Clan Compound, Konohagakure

Teams Requested: Minimum of two teams

“You’re putting twenty houses on the market for 115,000 ryō?” The marketer asks, eyebrows raised.

“Yes,” Toru responds. “Is that a problem?”

“No, no,” the marketer responds, scrambling to recover their dignity and hide their surprise. “Most people don’t tend to rent out twenty houses at once, I was a bit surprised. That’s all.”

“Most people don’t own a clan compound,” Toru points out judiciously, and finds the man’s twisted and surprised expression appealing to his sense of humour.

“I- I suppose not,” the man stutters, and Toru feels a brief stab of empathy for the man, but – honestly – what did he expect when Toru walked in?

“Normally, I wouldn’t put the houses at such a low price, but with all the rebuilding and renovating currently going on, it’d wouldn’t be worth a higher price,” Toru says.

“O- Of course not,” the man says, seeming to regain control over his features, smoothing a piece of paper out in front of him. “Are you willing to negotiate prices?”

“Yes,” Toru tells the agent. “When construction is finished, I will have more houses on the market. Roughly,” Toru thinks, calling up a mental map of the Uchiha Clan Compound, “75% of the houses in the compound will eventually be on the market, along with shops and restaurants and so forth. It’s currently a matter of getting everything into shape.”

“Very well,” the agent responds, pulling out a blank piece of paper. “What are nearby areas of interest or places of importance that will pull people in? My organisation will do their own investigation, and I will have someone take on your case.”

“The Uchiha Clan Compound is a safe location with a park and training grounds. It has a main square which is being turned into a market square; one shop has already been promised to a couple who plan to convert it into a veterinary clinic that doubles as an adoption centre,” Toru says. “The location puts the houses at a slightly longer distance from Konoha’s centre, but the prestige of living in the Uchiha Clan Compound should be enough to overcome worries about that.”

“I’m sure you’ll get some renters,” the agent says as soon as he finishes writing his notes. “Do the renters have your permission to change sections of their property?”

“Yes, but within civilian tenant laws,” Toru says. “Permission needs to be sought if the person, or people, plan to change the house into a shop and vice versa. Any ninjas or ninjas-in-training who attempt to rent a house will first need to talk to me or another Uchiha in my stead, if I am unavailable.”

“Those are reasonable requests,” the agent accepts with a tilt of his head. “Is there anything else you wish to add, Uchiha-sama?”

“No,” Toru says as he stands up, “Thank you for your time.”

“Fuyuko-sensei,” Toru says, interrupting the Uzumaki’s rant on Konoha’s ignorance regarding the first base seal and the lack of education about sealing within Konoha. “I need your help.”

The older ninja shifts slightly, “What is it?”

“I need to change the wards around the Uchiha Clan Compound. We’ve got some fairly old, slightly degraded ones around the walls, which I’ve left up for now as I can change those when I need. However, I can’t have the wards going off every time someone enters through the entrance. I thought about just having the wards start from behind the possible-market square, but people can invite others over to their houses. Similarly, I can’t simply have wards that won’t go off if people channel their chakra through it, because civilians and also anyone who can unravel the seal can easily bypass it,” Toru explains.

Fuyuko hums in thought, “Keep going; see if you can figure out a plan that might work. We can work on the seal creation together.”

“Alright,” Toru says with a nod.

He pulls out a piece of paper and roughly sketches a map of the compound. He starts by drawing the outline, which – he thinks – looks a lot like that food he had had on a mission once, pizza or something similar sounding, but without the sharp point. He fills in the map quickly, sketching a mark to show the entrance and then drawing the square just behind the entrance. He shades in a thick border around the square to show the shops and restaurants that are being built there. He sketches in the four-point star park that lies almost in the centre of the compound, and puts a cross where the Clan Head house is, just behind the park. He then adds in the two will-be training grounds, and the third one at the back of the compound, along with the second park in the bottom-left corner.

“So, this is a rough sketch of the compound, right?” Toru says aloud, mainly so he could hear his own thoughts rather than actually needing to tell Fuyuko. “Now, all the space that isn’t shaded will house people, mainly civilians but possibly ninjas or Academy students as well. That means the seal will have to stretch out throughout the entire compound…"

“Focus on the seal itself, first,” Fuyuko chides, “What do you want it to do?”

“Well, unknown chakra signature… danger, need to keep people safe,” Toru mutters, eyes half closed in thought. The younger chūnin’s mind flickers, thoughts moving quicker than he himself could keep up with. “Maybe…” Toru frowns. “It would be hard to get right… seals non-existent not to mention the ground it needs to cover.”

(His mind reminds him that his people needed him. His mind tells him that there are people out there and a village who requires barriers that stand strong, which ensure his people aren’t harmed. There are barriers that were pulled down purposefully, and strong barriers and wards that were left behind to guard the things that were the most important.)

“Explain,” Fuyuko says calmly, feeling a sense of surprise deep within her mind at seeing the Uchiha take so well to seals and the Uzumaki can sense the potential that lies within him. She can almost see the way his thoughts discard thoughts and ideas before they even really exist, and she feels like she’s looking at a seal master at work.

“Have a seal that senses the use of chakra, the application of it,” Toru explains, dark eyes alight with something like excitement. “Have it exclude training grounds and only encompass area within the borders of the seal. Allow for it to exclude certain chakra signatures – like a normal ward will ignore certain signatures that it’s been coded – is that the right word? – to ignore.”

“That’s…” insane is what Fuyuko wants to say, but the word refuses to leave her mouth, “crazy,” she says instead.

“Maybe,” Toru says. “Kami, it’s going to be mad to put down. You’d have to have the lines drawn into the pavement, and it’d need to go right around the entire compound. Imagine writing all those symbols and kanji and formulae down around the entire compound… No, you can’t have it in plain view, too easy to decipher. The stream could have come from the park and maybe stretch out and I could hide the seal in the channels that hold the water… No, that’d just take too much time. I don’t have the time…"

“How about you confine it?” Fuyuko asks, “Or have seals that connect somehow at the cardinal compass points to make it less ground to cover, as well as making it less work to write out.”

“I could work with confining it; have it smaller than it is,” Toru muses. “It’s hard to do, because seals are so big normally, but I can probably chain it and lock it and bring it down from a massive multi-layered seal and have it confine itself down to another seal, probably lock it as one of the basics.”

“I can help pull down a seal and confine it pretty well,” Fuyuko considers. “However, making the seal itself… I’m not an expert in warding and security, but I do know someone else who does. A retired kunoichi who went by the name of Mitsuko Abe.”

“What’s her name now?” Toru asks with a frown (an image of dark grey eyes against dark skin with dark green hair comes to mind).

Fuyuko doesn’t blush, but she seems to shift her weight as if uncomfortable without actually moving. “Her name’s Mitsuko Mizu,” she murmurs. “My wife of thirty-two years.”

Toru smiles, (and he might not have gone to their wedding and he hadn’t know their personal lives, but he cared for them and would’ve given – would give – his life for theirs in a heartbeat). “It must be nice to share your life with the person you love the most,” he says, a touch wistful.

(Because as Toru Mizushima there had been little time, when he was older, between his duties of an ANBU Commander and his missions as an ANBU, for love and relationships. Plus, he had never really found the need for a romantic relationship, the thought of it was nice and he appreciated seeing his friends in such relationships, but he had never found the drive to have a romantic relationship based on emotions or on a desire for sex.)

(Because as Toru Uchiha, he feels too old for his body and he has thirty-three years on anyone his age, and it makes him feel like a bit of a pedophile whenever he thinks about having a relationship… He still feels like he’s lacking something, as he still doesn’t find himself yearning for a romantic relationship. The people in his life, his family and his friends, are enough for him. Maybe that would change and maybe it wouldn’t; it didn’t matter.)

“We’ve been through a lot together,” Fuyuko divulges, “I can’t imagine her not being by my side.” Toru smiles, but his eyes are drawn back to the paper, and his fingers are tracing the base seals on his leg. “She should be home about now, actually,” Fuyuko says with a soft smile, “How about we go continue working on this there?”

Toru perks up, “Sure, Fuyuko-sensei!”

“Mitsuko, this is Toru Uchiha, Toru-kun meet Mitsuko,” Fuyuko says. “He’s working on a security and ward seal for the Uchiha Clan Compound. Tell her your idea,” she says, turning to face Toru as he sits down on the couch.

“Essentially, I need a seal that alerts the user if unknown and unregistered chakra is manipulated or used within a certain areas and excluding other areas. Chakra needs to be able to be registered within the seal, so certain chakra signatures are completely ignored by the seal,” Toru explains.

“Yōko,” the short-haired woman says, turning a stern look at her wife. “How does Uchiha-san know about our use of seals?”

Fuyuko blinks, “Right, I forgot. He’s half-Uzumaki, guessed that I was Uzumaki,” she quickly explains. “He knows my full name and everything.”

Mitsuko sighs and gives Toru a small smile. “It’s nice to meet you Uchiha-san; you must be the student Ko’s been telling me about recently. Now, do you know where you’re going to apply the seal?”

“The origin will be hidden in the middle park,” Toru says, “and I’ll have it as a confine there. The secondary seal will probably be by the entrance.”

“Secondary seal?” Fuyuko repeats, “Okay, what did you think of when we were coming here?”

“Well, it’s going to need to be a seal made up of other seals – a two-bit seal.”

“A seal that’s made up of two separate seals,” Mitsuko muses, “Difficult but doable. What’s the secondary seal going to do?”

“It’ll be where chakra signatures can be registered, so it’ll be quite similar to a normal warding seal,” Toru says. “The main seal is going to make up the area it’s meant to encompass and, um, monitor the area for unregistered chakra use.”

“How are you going to keep the seals activated? You could have a component that constantly reuses the chakra, but some of its going to be wasted among the lines. The longer a line is, the more chakra that can escape the seal,” Mitsuko points out.

Toru blinks (and seals of his past, both ones he has created and ones he has used, come to his mind, but none will work here. He needs something new, something original), and thinks. He goes through the base seals, from the One Chain Seal to the Twelve Tower Seal. None of the seals he knows will work, even seals he has used previously (in another life, for another village, but always for the same cause - to protect) won’t work. Base seals that he’s created, that are normally only used once, wouldn’t work; they always tended to be for specific seals only. Toru needs a base seal that can be used for different seals, but can almost… can almost pull in chakra from another source without it being channelled elsewhere or back into the atmosphere.

It’s an interesting thought, and Toru takes a step back from it, analyses it, reorganises it, and analyses it again. A seal that conducts chakra but instead of releasing the chakra into the atmosphere, it pulls in chakra from the atmosphere.

“The opposite of the One Chain Seal,” he says aloud in realisation. The two women look at him in confusion, and Toru hastens to explain. “The One Chain Seal conducts chakra, right? It’s the first base seal and the best seal for newbies to learn regarding fūinjutsu. All it really does is conduct chakra before releasing it into the environment. What we need is a seal that conducts chakra and pulls it in from the environment. So, if we reversed the One Chain Seal, it should – technically – pull in chakra from the environment.”

“Except even reversing the shape and the pattern of the seal itself, the identifier in the centre will ensure the seal releases chakra,” Fuyuko points out.

“No, it shouldn’t,” Mitsuko says, dark grey eyes widening in realisation, “the identifier – itonamu – is what causes the chakra to conduct into the environment. The shape and the lines and the pattern and all that,” Mitsuko continues with a wave of her hand, “they allow the chakra to be carried throughout the seal. That’s basic stuff, but the identifier – the word – that conducts the chakra into the atmosphere. The translation is roughly to operate, to conduct, to carry through, and to run a business. It’s through the identifier that the chakra is released, because it isn’t specified where, so it releases it into the atmosphere.”

“How would you change that?” Fuyuko asks, looking at Toru.

“Well, first flip the entire seal, so the three lines that spiral into the centre, spiral inwards to the right. Also, instead of just having blank lines, have identifiers around the three lines,” Toru says. “Have, hmmm, tsute as those identifiers, and change the centre identifier, word, from itonamu to kankyō.”

“That should reveal the intent of the seal to take in something from the environment, but how are you going to reveal that it’s natural chakra you want to pull in?” Mitsuko says.

“Hold on a moment here,” Fuyuko says, “Are you both aware you’re creating a new base seal?! No one creates base seals anymore, or – at least – no base seals that can be used in numerous seals; most are for specific purposes. This seal, this reverse One Chain Seal, could be used for a number of seals!”

Toru grins, all teeth, (because his village died; it fell. It lies forgotten in ruins but his people live, scattered and running and hiding. He will bring new information, new life, new protection into a place once ruined that will stand once again. He will), and thinks about how the seal can be utilised, thinks about what it means for a new base seal to come to life, thinks about how no one will know unless they’re one of his (his shinobi, his kunoichi, his ninjas, Uzushio’s own).

“There’s not a word for chakra, not really,” Toru says, “but the implication of environment coupled with the requirement of the seal to pull something in and its need for energy should allow for the seal to pull in natural chakra. It’ll need to be tested, but that should work.”

“That makes sense,” Fuyuko acknowledges. “Alright, so we’ve figured out how we could power the seal, although we’ll need to test that first. How exactly are you going to have the seal monitor the area?”

Toru runs through the seals he knows, (the seals he carries in his heart and mind). “What if… what if we just have a massive seal? Say we place a ward seal – I’m not sure which one yet – in the centre of the compound, have it as the origin point. Have lines connecting it to a border lines of the shape, which would probably be the same shape as the compound but with curved corners. We can have the same identifiers along those guide lines.”

“You thinking jitto miru accompanied with shisatsu and monitā?” Mitsuko asks, “You planning on having identifiers where the training grounds are as well?”

“No, I was thinking having privacy seals – blocking and hiding chakra signatures ones, only,” Toru responds.

“Huh, that might just work,” Mitsuko muses.

“Except you’re forgetting how exactly you’re going to either draw the seal out or burn it into the ground with your chakra; that’d take too much chakra,” Fuyuko points out.

“Burning it into the ground with chakra is going to be the only way to do it,” Toru says, leaning back into the couch. “I almost need the reversed seal we figured out,” he says with a sigh.

(He knows, kami, he knows seals that will store chakra and that will continuously store chakra and only release it all when broken, when finally activated, when they fracture and shatter. But it hurts when that happens, shards digging into his chakra pathways, the chakra rushing through his pathways and jerking because his chakra pathways aren’t meant to handle the stress the extra chakra is putting them through.)

“A seal to hold chakra in it, hmm?” Fuyuko muses, “However, I’ve never heard of a seal that would do such a thing.”

(He knows a seal that would do that, but that seal had only been activated before his death, and that won’t work here. He needs to be better now, be more, do more, he needs to ensure they all survive because he won’t let Uzushio fall again, not under his watch; not ever.)

“I… have an idea for such a seal,” Toru says, “but if it’s activated the seal itself will shatter and the chakra will overload the pathways instead of resting in the person’s coils.”

“That sounds like the seal is degrading the moment it’s activated,” Fuyuko says, “simply due to the surge of chakra through its lines, and the lines can’t handle the chakra. That… that would be painful for the person when the seal is activated. Furthermore, the fact that the stored chakra going through the pathways instead of resting in the coils, so maybe changing the position of the seals or having it so it releases the chakra in a steady, thin stream of chakra rather than releasing it all in one burst.”

“We can continue this discussion another day,” Mitsuko decides. “Toru, why don’t you start a simple sketch of the seal and get better at drawing it out. Tomorrow, Ko can go through the best way to shrink the seal with you, and I’ll go over the seal as well. The day after that, we’ll spend testing the new base seal. While all this goes on, we can each spend some time trying to figure out a seal that will hold chakra for it to be used afterwards. If we all come up with different seals, we can look at them individually and take specific components to see how they all work together.”

“Alright,” Toru says as he stands. “Thank you,” he adds with a bow.

Toru enters the brothel – Blossom – on a weeknight, early enough so that few people are on the streets but late enough that it isn’t unusual to be entering a brothel. He’s quickly recognised by one of the prostitutes – Kohaku, he recalls, or maybe Kohako – and shown to a side room. He waits for Yumiko, not overly surprised with the length of time he has to wait. Probably some attempt to show her annoyance at his unscheduled visit and revenge for the waves he has been making, as she told him last time.

Yumiko eventually enters, graceful with every step and Toru has to admire the absolute control she has over her own body. “Uchiha, what do you want? You owe me a favour after I had to gather the information on the Ninja Academy for you. That wasn’t easy, let me tell you.”

“I imagine not,” Toru responds, “but the information you gave me was invaluable, and there is definitely a full investigation being launched, but I believe they’re keeping it hidden.”

(He thinks that there is another worry abound, one he didn’t realise or recognise and remains unknowing about it even now. Nevertheless, changing the Academy – revealing its corruption and the ongoing sabotage – has done something, and there is a shift in the wind; a storm to come.)

(He has always found beauty in storms, and he has no doubts that this one will be any different from all the others.)

“Still, I’m sure you came here for a reason Uchiha, and not just to take up my time. I’m a busy woman, you know,” Yumiko says.

“I am aware,” Toru responds, meeting the woman’s blue eyes. “I have an offer for you, a proposal that is more to your benefit than to mine. This will be in return for the favour I owe you.”

“Sounds more like you need me,” Yumiko says, licking her lips, but Toru knows the manipulation of emotions well, and he is experienced in the signs of attraction – fake or not, (he has not experienced attraction himself, but that is something to think about in another place, in another time).

“Not at all,” Toru returns smoothly. “I’m offering housing – not much, mind you, but a few free houses, and everything that goes with the houses. That’s free water and electricity, but I want something in return.”

“What do you want?” Yumiko asks.

“The majority of the people who settle within the Uchiha Clan Compound need to find jobs that aren’t based in Blossom or other brothels. They need to belong to other places, businesses, and organisations.”

“You want to extend my network,” Yumiko realises, “you want to have our base in the Red District and the Underground, but extend so that we can gather information from other areas as well.”

“Yes,” Toru says. “I offer somewhere between 5 to 10% of the Compound for housing. I will demand a small sum from their salaries, around 5% of what they earn each month after they have held a steady job for four months.”

“What else do you want? You currently offer an easy offer, but surely you want something more,” Yumiko asks.

Toru tilts his head in a nod, “I want you to be a business partner and an ally in the future, not quite part of my network but an organisation that I can work with.”

“Your network?” Yumiko asks curiously, and Toru knows she’s fishing for information – it is, after all, her main job – and he’s aware that he cannot reveal everything here, nor does he want to. He will, however, give Yumiko some of the information she’s clearly trying to get.

“Mmm,” Toru hums, a sharp grin coming to his face. “I have an information network rising slowly entering the shadows. It’s only fair we each have one, right?”

Yumiko stares at Toru in surprise, losing control over her features for a moment, and the Uchiha throws his head back and laughs before disappearing. Yumiko finds herself torn between laughing and swearing. The Uchiha is a tricky one, perhaps deserving of his name Ryuu. Mainly, though, it’s the fact the Uchiha is willing to make his own organisation, knowing that she won’t give him all the information he wants nor willing to be in her debt.

She pauses, suddenly, in her thoughts. She had never given her answer to the Uchiha, he left her to take the initiative.

“He’s a tricky bastard, that one,” she says aloud, partially amused and partially annoyed. “Might be onto something, though.”

Toru Mizushima never backed away from a challenge, and Toru Uchiha is willing to fight for those he loves, those he calls his family – and Naruto Uzumaki is very much family. Sasuke proves himself to still be kind, to still be gentle, to be capable of loving, and shows that Itachi (his brother) didn’t ruin him. Iruka proves that he cares, and somehow Toru manages to wrangle the Academy teacher to join their household for a meal, and no one thinks it’ll be the last one either. Toru organises everything regarding the Uchiha Clan Compound, and his plans start to reveal themselves. A seal comes to existence, and another Uzushio refugee is revealed. All throughout this, Toru continues to plan, but (mainly) he lives, and that’s matters.

Chapter Text

There’s a storm coming. There’s a humming in Toru’s blood and his heart beats quicker as the wind strengthens. The world is singing all around him, and Toru wants to race the wind, run with it, be part of the wild world all around him. He wants to reach out and be more than he is. He wants to be one with nature, to understand a bird’s call, to understand what the trees whisper, to be capable of listening to the animals and knowing what they speak about.

Despite all he is – the impossibility of his life and all he does, he cannot be part of the world around him, can never be part of the nature as much as he wants. He is, instead, left with the beating of a drum in his chest, the song of his blood rushing with adrenaline, and the shadow of a life on his shoulders. He is stuck in a body, human and fallible; he will never fly nor soar nor be one with the trees and the animals. He can race the wind, but only through the manipulation of chakra. He can speak to birds and animals, but only those who are summons or ninja animals.

Still, this matters not. There is a storm coming, and Toru knows that it may be one that the wind drags in, but there is a bigger one that’s occurring and it is growing.

(The wind will rise.)

There could be rain on the wind, could be clouds in the distance, but the horizons are clouded by trees and the sky above looks blue and Toru’s sense of smell isn’t amazing. Toru stands, feet braced, face lifted to the sky, and he doesn’t move, barely seems to breathe. This is the world he’s living in, the world he is part of. He has a place here, one he’s carved out for himself and made (he’s made this for himself, he has given so much and he has received so little, but he will still give… and if he holds a little in reserve, no one needs to know). He has a family here, small, but existing. He has two younger… siblings, (they are his and he doesn’t know what to classify them because they’re family and the intricacies of it all don’t matter). This is the world he lives in, filled with enemies (swords thrust into his chest and he’s dyingdyingdying), but containing a family and others he cares for; those he cares for so deeply he might give up everything for them (he doesn’t want to know what that means, doesn’t want to think about it that much).

There is a legacy, multiple legacies, that rest on him, but one stands above the others in the eyes of those who he surrounds himself with (few think of another legacy, and none know of the third and last legacy). The Uchiha Clan was killed by one of their own, leaving two survivors (and Toru wants to sometimes spit the word two out alongside survivors and ask people why they did this, why they deserved this, why one of their own – loyal, apparently, kind, apparently – did this, wants to ask why no one has changed and why no one thinks the system is wrong). The legacy that the clan leaves, the gaping void where power had rested once, lies on the shoulders of two. Strong, perhaps, but strength isn’t always needed, and no one knows if they will crack and fracture and shatter beneath the pressure.

(And if they do, Toru wants to spit, if they do break, it’ll be the fault of the system, the flawed system, the system that pushed them to this. It won’t be their fault because they are human, and if they fall to pieces it should be known that it was because of carelessness. Toru is angry, grieving still, sorrowful, and angry but with no direction to strike out, so he ignores it. He ignores the anger, treats it with an apathetic nature, because the very thought of the dark, wrathful anger makes him feel weak and useless, it drains his energy and leaves him with nothing. The world is unfair, and there is nothing that says he may be able to change that.)

Toru dares the world, dares everything, he challenges it because he is alive and angry and living in a world where he should be surrounded by friends and family, but isn’t.

The Uchiha Clan was killed, and while Toru may be ensuring that they aren’t forgotten (not like Uzushio, not like the Uzumaki, not like his people), they will never be thought of the same way. The founding clan of Konoha may one day be no more, and that shouldn’t ever have been something that occurred, not like this.

(Is it better for a clan to die off slowly or lose almost all of their members in one go?)

The killer, murderer, is out there still. Itachi Uchiha had been thirteen-years-old when he had become a missing-nin, when he had killed everyone related to him (except for Sasuke… it doesn’t make sense, Toru is a shinobi – and a good one – he can tell something is off). Itachi has been a ninja for six years more than Toru Uchiha. Toru Uchiha is seals and memories of a past life and chūnin skills, whereas Itachi Uchiha is ANBU skills and a prodigy.

Toru is good and his memories make him better, allow him to be better, enable his growth, but he isn’t an ANBU. He cannot (and it pains him to admit this, but he is nothing if not realistic) reach Itachi’s level of prowess in certain categories. He will always be behind regarding genjutsu (and it is unlikely that Toru will ever gain the sharingan) and possibly with other skills.

Toru has the necessary tools to protect others, and himself. Toru can work himself to the ground, find his limits and push past them, he can defy his limits and improve. Toru Mizushima had average genjutsu skills, slightly above average taijutsu skills, and high above average ninjutsu skills – as one would expect of an ANBU Commander. He had been more, though, it had really been his skills in fūinjutsu that had granted him so much power and acknowledgement.

Toru will be damned if he allows himself to fall to Itachi; he will never let those he protects fall either. Toru will improve in other areas, and ensure that he is at least average in his worst categories.

He needs something to add to his repertoire, something new, because he died. He died and he died and he’s almost died in this life. He doesn’t want (isn’t ready for) death (but if it comes, he will accept it because he has people waiting for him).

He’s spoken to Natsumi, and it’s her advice he follows now. She had suggested him that he try this out, and had trusted that he would make the right decision. There isn’t much information on summoning, and the information that Natsumi told Toru had mainly been from rumours and legends (and such things become twisted and warped). Still, the information can be integrated and analysed so that what’s probably true and what's probably false separates.

Toru’s managed to figure out that once he goes through the seals, that as he hasn’t signed a summoning scroll or contract, he will be transported to an area that is home for a specific summoning animal. What happens next will be up to him and the summoning animals he comes into contact with.

Toru trusts himself enough to think he will be able to get out of this alive (he trusts his determination enough to know he will see this through).

(There is a storm coming.)

Toru flicks through five hand seals – boar, dog, bird, monkey, ram – before calling out, “Summoning Technique!” Chakra lashes through his chakra pathways, and chakra is sucked from him, seeming to vanish.

Toru’s knees buckle beneath him, and he’s falling, and then his vision flares and chakra envelopes him, surging and rising around him until it’s all he can see. The ground abruptly disappears from beneath his feet, and he doesn’t fall but there’s a moment of dissonance, and then there’s firm ground beneath his feet.

He lands – except he hasn’t moved, it seems – and crouches, eyes surveying the area and scanning for anything that might tell him where he is or what animals are around. He’s somewhere dark – caves, maybe – with little light, and he can’t see anything big, but there does seem to be a stupid amount of cockroaches around.

There’s a flare of chakra and fire flares nearby, creating light. Toru blinks quickly, senses stretching while he tries to have his eyes quickly adjust to the new light. Shadows are cast, but they’re distorted, and Toru feels the need to flinch away as he realises why – cockroaches, hundreds of them.

Even as he looks around, the cockroaches are moving out of sight, out of the room. Toru takes the moment to dry-swallow a chakra pill, knowing – and feeling – his low chakra and the tiredness that threatens to take over his body. There’s the irritating and pinching feeling as the chakra pill forces his coils to produce chakra rapidly. His chakra reserves are almost full again when he hears a buzzing sound.

He stays crouching, channelling chakra to his ears to increase his hearing. He tilts his head, before spinning left, and eyes locating the cause of the sound. There’s a large cockroach – its body about half the size of his hand – flying towards him, with a wingspan that’s about the same length of his hand. It’s a dark colour, brown and black but with seemingly white wings.

It stops and hovers about a metre away from Toru. “We took bid first, but that means naught,” it says seriously. “Ask now, for what we converse after will be important and if you lack knowledge it will be riddled with confusion.”

Toru manages to make sense of the cockroach’s words; it’s telling him that he should ask questions now otherwise the conversation that follows will be confusing. “What do you mean bid first?” He asks, because he already understands that the summoning animal he has managed to contact are cockroaches.

“The technique – jutsu – you utilised sent out a wave of chakra that spanned across all regions of summoning animals, and it called out to those who you could make a contract with. We called you to us first, so we are the first to talk to you, first to ask for a contract.”

“How do the summons know that they could make a contract with me?” Toru asks a beat later.

“Your chakra calls out to those who suit you and those who you need; and – before you ask – we are not those who suit you, but those you need,” it answers.

“I understand,” Toru says, (and he does, because what he needs – requires – is information, and cockroaches are everywhere). “I have no more questions.”

“Smart one, you must be,” the cockroach says. “You humans enjoy light, yes? Come,” it continues before Toru can respond, “we will go someplace else for this conversation. I will introduce myself as we move. Follow.”

Toru follows, and the cockroach continues speaking. “As a whole, we call ourselves an intrusion, and as such we will all answer to the name of the jama-mono. Within the jama-mono, there are different clans… This is similar to how you all belong to a village – yes? – but the village holds different families; clans. Similar, we are,” the cockroach says. “We are near to a place where you can listen comfortably and I can talk without flying,” it adds as it flies into a room.

Toru takes in the room quickly, noticing the open roof and the tree that’s growing upward. Toru leaps forward and with an assist from his chakra, settles on one of the branches that stretches out in the sun. The cockroach – its name still unknown – lands on a leaf that hangs down almost in front of Toru’s face.

“There are many different clans without our jama-mono, many are simple, but some are specialised. My clan originated from the megaloblatta blaberoides cockroach, and we are known as the Jōkū. I, alone, am called Akira, for I stand out as bright. Thus, my wings gave my name to me,” the cockroach reveals.

“I am Toru,” the shinobi responds, “of the Uchiha Clan, the Uzumaki Clan, the Mizushima Clan.”

The cockroach stays silent for a moment, “I do not think that humans can be of more than two clans… Or belong to two different clans. Can you explain?”

“One side of my family had to hide that they were from the Uzumaki Clan for they were being hunted, and my father joined the Uchiha Clan in marriage to my mother. I, alone, say I belong to the Mizushima Clan for that is what I was once.”

“I do not understand, but humans have always been confusing,” Akira says. “Nonetheless, I have explained my clan, and I will talk about the jama-mono and our specialised clans. Few of our jama-mono can fly, my clan is one of few that have the ability to and our wings are the best and as such we can fly the furthest. There are two clans that can survive extremely cold temperatures, and spend much of their time in the farthest caves where ice and snow subsist. One clan can survive in water, and lives in it. Three clans carry poison and toxins that they can utilise in a fight. There is only one other clan that is helpful in a fight, and that is only due to their high resistance to all types of fire, including chakra-powered fire.”

“In a fight,” Toru says, “would it be possible for any cockroach to attack if they can land on my enemy?”

“Yes,” Akira says, “but very few are willing to fight if their clan has not evolved for it. However, they will all do as asked if you prove yourself, and can be a nuisance or borrow into cavities that you humans have – ears, for example.”

Toru nods. “Tell me about proving myself.”

“That is not for me to say,” Akira answers, “but for you to do. Proving yourself or not matters little in regards to forming a summoning contract; proving yourself will only ensure that everyone follows your word – as they do mine – rather than only some listening, and deciding whether or not to follow.”

Toru nods, “What do I need to do to form a summoning contract?”

“You will need to sign our summoning scroll,” Akira says. “And then simply perform the technique used to get you here and say either a clan’s name or one of our names to call a specific group or being to your side. If you do not say anything after the technique, the amount of chakra you put into the technique will decide who comes to your side, along with whether they are willing to or not. It is also possible for you to form a deeper contract with one or more of the clans, and you will then be able to call them by simply channelling chakra into a specific tattoo.”

Toru nods and thinks. The cockroaches – the jama-mono – would be a good summoning creature for him, as he could use them for information. They wouldn’t be the most helpful summon in a fight, but the poisonous and fire resistant ones would be a great help in a fight. However, information can often be more vital than a fight, can even aid him in a fight.

(In the end, it doesn’t matter what Toru really thinks because his village was destroyed and they would’ve had no prior warning if a patrol hadn’t spotted the invasion, they all would have died if they hadn’t have learned of the forces that were coming towards them. In the end, it comes down to this; Toru’s village was destroyed because of their lack of knowledge, and if Toru could avoid that, he would.)

“If I summon any from the jama-mono, will they survive based on how much chakra I put into the technique or will they be able to stay until they dismiss themselves?”

“Your chakra is all that’s needed to call us forward, but we do not require it.” Akira responds bluntly. “Decide now, Toru-san, do you desire a summoning contract with us?”

“Yes,” Toru says. “If the jama-mono will have me, I would appreciate being their summoner.”

Akira stays still for a moment before the cockroach’s chakra flares – and Toru realises he can sense thousands – maybe millions – of tiny chakra bursts. “The jama-mono come,” Akira intones, “activate the seal at the base of the trunk; sign the scroll in blood and leave bloodied fingerprints.”

Toru leaps off the branch, easily landing at the base of the trunk, bending his knees so he doesn’t injure himself. His hand glows as he touches the seal on the tree – a storage seal that’s rather unprotected and quite an old version of the usual storage seal. Toru does as asked, quickly adding his details to the scroll.

He blinks and between one blink and the next, he feels a slight change in his chakra, as if something missing had finally been found. It’s an odd feeling, but not a terrible one. “There are twenty-seven clans,” Akira says as – he? She? They? – it alights on his shoulder. “The leaders of each clan come, and you will meet the favoured twenty-seven.”

“Are you part of the favoured twenty-seven?” Toru asks.

“No,” Akira responds. “The favoured twenty-seven are the leaders of their clans, and you cannot be the leader of our jama-mono and lead a clan. You will meet all of them now, and they will either pledge themselves to you or will agree to help if they decide to or choose to wait until you have proven yourself.”

Toru stays silent for a moment, before asking, “Does anyone in the jama-mono leave the cave system?”

“No,” Akira says straight away, “it’s far too dangerous with the birds that live above our home and we have not had a summoner in… maybe twenty years, I was younger then.” Toru hums in acknowledgement, just as a group of cockroaches – about eleven – enter the small room. “Introduce yourselves, favoured ones,” Akira demands.

“I am Ayumu Jōkū,” the first one introduces, and it looks almost exactly like Akira, but with dark-coloured wings. “I speak for the Jōkū Clan. We are the best at flying long distances.”

“I am Chinatsu Yukimaru,” another says. “The Yukimaru Clan are capable of surviving in ice and snow, similar to the Yamazaki Clan.” The cockroach in question is a light colour, a mix of off-white, pure white, and light greys.

“I am of the Yamazaki Clan and am known as Takeshi. We, too, are capable of surviving in freezing temperatures in places stuck in ice and snow,” the cockroach next to Chinatsu says, looking similar to the Yukimaru, but smaller. “While the Yukimaru are good to travel across snow and ice, we are better at burrowing beneath the snow and surviving under pressure.”

“I go by Takeo and belong to the Gekitai Suru Clan, of which I am the favoured one. We, as a whole, are resistant to fire and can survive pressure and damage. We have evolved to survive in natural disasters and for fighting.” The cockroach in question doesn’t appear to be anything major, “We have wings that allow us to glide distances as well as leap to great heights, but we are not fliers.” The cockroach is a reddish-brown colour, but Toru thinks that the Gekitai Suru Clan is one he will call often.

“I am Isamu of the Matsu Clan, and our clan is capable of flight, but not for long. Distance, though, depends on wind currents.”

“I go by Katsu Ki, and the Ki Clan is also capable of flight.”

“We of the Kawa Clan, of which I lead by the name of Aoi, are capable of surviving beneath the water for great periods of time, and recently juveniles have proven that they are capable of surviving underwater for almost a month. Our evolvement, in recent years, has been rapid, just as it has been great.”

“Naoki Moto,” another cockroach introduces, the light reflecting off of its bright green and blue colouring. “The Moto Clan was the first to become poisonous, and it is through biting that the venom is released. The Ishimoto Clan and the Miyamoto Clan are relatives, but separate, know this and do not mistake this.”

“As Naoki-san has said, the Ishimoto Clan – which I, Chō, lead – was once part of the Moto Clan, but alike to the Miyamoto Clan we left the Moto Clan. My clan is capable of releasing toxins that paralyse. You will need to become resistance to our poison.”

“I am Akemi of the Miyamoto Clan. The Miyamoto Clan releases poison that is lethal and will kill; we can also release venom into anything we bite, but it is not as strong as the Moto Clan’s venom.”

“I am Amaya of the Shita Clan. The Shita Clan have no special skills to offer aside from that all of the jama-mono offer. We are one of the dentō shugi-sha; one of the seventeen clans who have not evolved specialisations, but are capable of surviving and being as resistant as any other cockroach – jama-mono or normal.”

“Amaya-san,” Akira calls, “Where are the rest of the dentō shugi-sha?”

“Refusing, Akira-sama,” Amaya responds. “My clan, and my clan alone, will come and meet the summoner but the others await, together, for the summoner to prove their self.”

Akira shuffles on Toru’s shoulder, and Toru thinks the cockroach is angry. “Very well,” Akira says in a tight voice. “Favoured ones, meet Toru of three clans – Uchiha, Uzumaki, and Mizushima. Toru-san is the new summoner. Speak now, favoured ones, will you listen to his words, will you come when he calls, will you think for yourself, or will you refuse him when he calls on you?”

“The Jōkū Clan will answer the call, and we will listen then decide whether to listen to Toru-san’s orders,” Ayumu says. “Toru-san, what would you ask of us if you were to call on me and mine?”

“I would ask that you go to certain locations and listen for information that would be meaningful to me, things that I have asked you to look out for,” Toru responds.

“What would you do if I and mine were to fail?”

“Nothing, for simply trying is enough,” Toru responds.

“I of the Yukimaru Clan, whose name is Chinatsu, swear by my name – and mine alone – that my clan will follow Toru-san’s orders.”

“I, Takeshi Yamazaki, hereby promise that the Yamazaki Clan will follow Toru’s orders as long as they within reason, reason that is decided by the premise of the jama-mono’s rules.”

“I, Takeo Gekitai Suru, look to the favoured around me and Akira-sama to see my promise and ensure me and mine uphold my oath. The oath I swear is by my life, my shell, my Clan, my position. The Gekitai Suru Clan will form another contract with Toru-san, on top of the jama-mono’s contract. This I swear, so this be.”

“Your oath has been noted and it will be remembered; follow it through or face the consequences,” Akira intones.

“The Matsu Clan will listen, but not necessarily follow.”

“The Ki Clan will listen, but not necessarily follow.”

“The Kawa Clan will listen, and follow as long as the orders do not require fighting,” Aoi says.

“The Moto Clan will listen, but not necessarily follow the orders given.”

“I, of the Ishimoto Clan, do swear by my position, my life, my shell, my clan, that the Ishimoto Clan – of which I, Chō, am favoured and lead – will follow Toru-san’s orders and will hereby form another contract regardless of the jama-mono’s contract. This has been sworn, let my oath be heard and upheld.”

“As it has been said, so let it be,” Akira says. “If failure to comply by you and yours, the consequences will come down on you and your clan.”

“I am Akemi of the Miyamoto Clan. Let my oath be heard and let a contract be formed. On top of the jama-mono’s contract, the Miyamoto Clan will form another contract with Toru-san. The Miyamoto Clan will follow his orders regardless of what he says and what he orders. This I swear on by shell, my life, my clan, my position.”

“This is what you swear, and this is the oath made. Let this be so or stand to face the consequences,” Akira declares.

“The Shita Clan decree is that we will follow the orders of Toru-san, as long as they are within reason. The Shita Clan will potentially listen and follow orders if they involve fighting, but that is not certain. If fighting is unnecessary, the orders will be followed. A contract formed with the jama-mono is not the only contract formed with the Shita Clan. The Shita Clan extends another contract with Toru-san. This oath is sworn on my clan, my life, my position, my shell.”

“So it has been said, so let it be. If the oath is ignored by any of the Shita Clan, let the consequences rain down on the clan and you, Amaya Shita,” Akira says. “Favoured ones not of the Shita, Ishimoto, Miyamoto, and Gekitai Suru Clans you are dismissed. Spread the news of our summoner, Toru-san. Toru-san, do you have any words to say before the favoured leave?”

“If I call on you,” Toru says, collecting his thoughts, “it will be for information gathering, and thank you for giving me a chance.”

There’s a second of sound, and then the seven favoured ones leave, leaving the heads of four other clans. Toru tilts his head so he can look at Akira who is standing on his shoulder. “You will receive four tattoos, one from each of the clans,” Akira explains. “These tattoos will operate as seals, and if you channel chakra through them, you can call either the favoured one of the clan or a group from the clan.”

“Is it possible that I could see the seals before they are tattooed onto my skin? I may be able to refine them and make them smaller,” Toru says. “I can also change the storage seal on the tree so that it is more protected, and no one will be able to open it without your – Akira’s – chakra,” he offers.

“I will take you up on your offer and allow your desire,” Akira says. “Please change the seal now, Toru-san.” Toru nods and bends down to look at the seal, before starting to work.

***

There are no rumours about the room beneath the Hokage’s building, simply because no one is aware that the room exists, and those that do know to keep their mouths shut. The room had been built in the Nidaime Hokage’s time, and its existence is only known via word of mouth. There are seals hidden beneath the paint of the walls and inscribed into the wooden flooring.

“Hokage-sama,” Inoichi greets softly, as his leader enters the room. Ibiki isn’t there, unable to come for the day as he keeps up appearances within Konoha. “We’ve managed to construct a list of possible spies within Ibiki’s division and my division, and a list of known spies. We are currently reviewing the Academy and one of the other jōnin divisions.”

“Do we know who the spies are for?”

“Current intelligence gives us nothing,” one of the others says. “Ibiki-san is currently working on the spy we caught to see if there’s any information we can gather.”

At that moment, Ibiki enters the room. “I’ve got more names,” he announces, just as he notices his Hokage. “Hokage-sama,” he greets. “I have new information.”

“I want to hear everything you know for certain,” the Hokage orders.

“Sabiru spilt the secret that…”

***

“Hokage-sama,” Koharu greets with a small bow.

“Koharu, please,” the Sandaime responds, weary eyes meeting his advisor’s, “It’s Hiruzen. We are teammates, are we not?”

“Hiruzen,” Koharu says with a tilt of her head. “Has something come forward regarding my investigation?”

“No, but I am pulling you from the investigation,” Hiruzen says. He pauses, but the only response Koharu gives him is a sharp glance. “I need a new Head for the Academy, and I need someone who knows what they’re doing regarding the curriculum. Moreover, I need someone who I can trust and who will evaluate every teacher who joins.”

“I am grateful for this chance, Hiruzen,” Koharu says. “When will I be taking my new position?”

“At the end of the Academy holidays, so you have until then to organise anything and everything,” the Sandaime Hokage reveals. “I’m sure you’ve already put a great deal of thought into this.”

“I have had a few ideas and thoughts about it,” Koharu says lightly. “May I inquire about the investigation?”

“The investigation itself has, essentially finished, and the vital part of going through the staff of the Academy is being taken over by another team,” Hiruzen says. “I don’t need to remind you to keep this information to yourself, do I?”

“No, Danzō will not be hearing this from me, I assure you,” Koharu responds. “Was that all, Hokage-sama? I have business to attend to.”

“That will be all, Koharu; thank you for your time,” the Hokage says.

***

She was four – five – six – seven maybe – eight maybe – nine maybe – ten maybe. She knows she’s older than six, older than seven probably. She was born in the year of the Kyūbi’s attack, and orphaned in the same year. She spent five years in the orphanage; and as she turned six, she was convinced to run away by whispered rumours of glory being sought and found on the streets.  

(What lies she believed when she was young. She knows the truth now.)

She survived. She survived. She scrounged for food and shelter. She found what territories were safe and what gangs would put up with another street brat scavenging on their territory.

(She learnt which gangs wouldn’t put up with her… she learnt that she shouldn’t trust strangers, especially adults. She learnt that the world was cruel, that life was hard. She learnt and it allowed her to survive.)

She built herself up. She helped – but not because of kindness. She helped because debts and favours could be used. She stayed hidden in the shadows and she shadowed others, learning about them, learning their ways, learning how they survived.

She had quickly realised that the main gangs are led by adults or older children; teens. She had figured that they often ignored those younger who seemed useless. They only paid attention when a child could be used, whether for their own needs or to enact plans.

Although the majority of those who roamed Konoha’s streets are older teens and adults, there are still quite a few younger kids. These are the ones she reached out for. She’s the one who whispered to select few and told them that they could claim their own territory. She gathered those she trusted, the other survivors who were shadows.

They rose steadily, surely just like how the day sky turns to darkness as night arrives. They – the six of them – claimed an alleyway, small and seemingly ignored but it’s a base. It’s the first and their main location. They become known.

(They are known; they are survivors; they are alive.)

They live but their luck isn’t always good, but it’s never been always bad either. Although, she has to admit they currently seem to have bad luck in abundance. Still, they can survive another week, probably, even with this bad luck.

A bowed over figure with dark, worn clothing shuffles into the alleyway, shape blurring in the dark shadows. “Oi!” She calls, continuing to lean against the world because she has the power here. This is her territory. The person turns to her, but she can barely make out the gleam of dark eyes in the dimly lit area. The person’s probably new to the streets and doesn’t know about the territories yet. She doesn’t care, though. The person looks older than everyone in her gang, and she doesn’t want him here. “Get out,” she orders. “This ain’t yer area; it’s mine. Find some place yer wanted ‘cause it ain’t here.”

It’s not her anger at her bad luck that makes her snap at the other person, it’s a pretty standard reaction. However, she’ll blame her frustration at her luck for why she doesn’t tell him to get moving when he shuffles further into the alleyway. Instead, she huffs and crosses her arms, watching warily but not too cautiously as there’s no reason for caution. She has the upper hand on the streets.

The person unfolds themselves, losing their bowed posture and straightening up. It’s a kid because they’re not that tall, but they’re still taller than her – looks better fed as well. She’s not intimated though. She’s gone up against adults and teenagers with weapons and this guy looks like he’s got nothing on him except thick clothing and dirt.

“You deserve better,” the person says straightforwardly, determinedly. She – doesn’t hesitate because she is better than that, but she – pauses, because she doesn’t expect to hear that, not ever. It’s the kind of naivety that everyone loses when they get booted to the streets, but this kid’s still holding onto it with determination.

She barks out a laugh. “Kid, pretty sentiments aren’t gonna get you anywhere out here. Get over yerself.”

Dark eyes flash, but she doesn’t find herself fearing them and not just because she holds the power here. “You deserve better,” he repeats insistently.

She shifts her weight, awkward and nervous and feeling like there’s something greater and loaded with potential within her reach. “Maybe,” she says with a shrug. “Not like we can do anything ‘bout it. This is all we’ll ever amount to. Gotta live with that or yer die with dumb notions in that dumb brain of yers. Still, better here than in the brothels… Do hear that they get a roarin’ trade though.”

She’s not sure what to make of this naïve kid, new to the streets and seemingly new to the fact that the world is cruel.

(She knows that the world is cruel. She knows that fact well, learnt it in blood and trouble and pain.)

He doesn’t seem impacted by her words at all, and she wants to grasp his shoulders and shake him because he will die forgotten and ignored and uncared for. She isn’t good; she’s not, she knows this. She cares little for life because if she allowed herself to care, she would care for all of them and the heartbreak she would suffer with every death would be what caused her death.

“You could be more than this,” he says and there’s something fierce in his voice and something like steadfast belief. It amazes her, astounds her. How can this boy believe in such a thing? She is nothing but a street brat, a street rat, a survivor but she will never amount to much, she will never be anything. She will always be ignored by those who don’t call the streets home, just like the rest of them.

Still, she finds herself incapable of scoffing at him, laughing at him, calling him out on his words that are a lie yet sound possible. It’s impossible, and she has to remind herself of this. She cannot hope or believe because that way lies heartbreak and sadness. She is a survivor.

(She learnt there was no glory to be found on the streets. She knows lies and truths and how to separate them; she knows that now.)

“Impossible,” she responds, moments later, except her words lack conviction and she wants to believe in what the stranger says, but she knows caution, practises it. She knows that this will end in tragedy, in pain.

The kid smiles, and the smile is real and large and it seems to see be showcasing everything good and beautiful in the world. Except she knows that little is good in this world, little is beautiful in her life. She is tiny and insignificant. She will die and live and nothing she does will matter. She has caused no changes that would not occur by themselves. She doesn’t matter and would never matter in any life.

She swallows, hope caught in her throat but it will be strangled down. She won’t let herself be ruined here. She won’t.

Behind the boy, two kids scramble into the alleyway, sticking to the shadows and ignored, forgotten. Except the older kid, the stranger, the naïve brat, looks at them – looks at them – and it’s like they matter, like they’re important. He’s dangerous, that much is for sure.

(If he’s dangerous then why does she feel something like hope fluttering in her chest? If she knows that this will end in disaster, why does she feel belief steadying itself in her mind? If she knows she will never amount to much, why does she feel like she cares?)

(Who is he?)

He seems to greet them, head tilted and offering a smile. Her two kids, gang members, friends, everything that matter and all that she is, take up positions beside her. Footsteps echo down the alley around the corner, and she knows that the other three come. She is not alone but together they are still insignificant, they still don’t matter, they still will always be nothing.

(Who is he to tell her that she matters? That they matter? Who is he?)

It hurts her to think that he cares, because no one ever cares. She has five others who care – her gang, and that’s because they need each other, depend upon each other, it’s because they are all they have and they’re why they can survive.

“Who are you?” She asks, and she doesn’t know what she’s asking exactly – who is to say they matter? Who is he to care? Who is he to say they can be more? Who is he to give her hope? Who is he?

He shrugs, but it isn’t like he thinks they aren’t worthy of an answer; he shrugs like he isn’t sure of the answer or maybe he didn’t understand the question – she certainly didn’t understand the question she had asked.

She… she wants to take that step. She wants to take the offer that the stranger dangles in front of her. She wants to take the hope in her chest, in her throat, she wants to trust in it. She wants to plant her feet in the ground and stand like stone, stand unwavering in her belief. She wants to be more than nothing. She wants to be more. She wants them to be more. She wants to prove that they are important; she wants to prove everyone else wrong.

She wants to do more than survive, she wants to be alive. She wants to be alive with her gang by her side; she wants to be more than what she is.

She breathes and it feels new; she feels new. She feels like she can be more. She stares up at this stranger and she can feel the dirt that covers her skin, the worn and torn clothes. Kami, she wants to give in and fold in on herself and trust in this person’s word.

It’s a strange feeling – to want to trust. She has little to trust, only five others she trusts and only those has she trusted for years.

The stranger looks at her, dark eyes alight and a soft smile still curling on his face. Does he realise what he is asking of her? Does he know what his question means? Does he know what his words mean? Does he know what he is doing to her?

The smile flickers and eyes narrow, and she almost wants to step back but she doesn’t (and she wonders if this is trust). A fierce expression comes over his face, and he straightens, shoulders relax and he stares at her gang. She doesn’t know what anything means in this moment, and doesn’t want to either. She wants to give in and trust.

“We can challenge the world,” he says, he whispers. It’s a dare, and she believes that he’s daring the world. She knows he’s willing to go against the world. He’s a fighter and she doesn’t know how she knows any of this. “You matter and you can be more than this – you deserve more than this.” His gaze traps, enraptures, them all and he cares (he cares). “All of you.”

She wants to agree with him, wants to meet his gaze, wants to dare the world beside him. She doesn’t do any such thing, because she isn’t alone – she has others by her side, and she must think of them. She allows her gaze to turn to those who call themselves hers and she calls herself theirs.

(And she wonders when she had moved away from the wall.)

They meet her gaze (and she knows she matters to them, just as they know they matter to her). None of them look away, none of them turn away. They meet her gaze and they trust in her, they are willing to follow her in every decision she makes. They will follow her no matter what. That is the trust they have. Still, she will never decide for them, and they know this.

(They’re on the cusp of something and she doesn’t know what, but she wants to know. Damn does she want to know. She wants to ride on the winds of the storm, wants to dance among the rain, wants to matter, wants to be more than she is. She wants to be safe, to know that she will survive and not forage for food and shelter and clothing. She wants to live and not worry about surviving the next day.)

She meets the stranger’s gaze. She meets it and holds it. She has no name for herself, but she has a gang and a territory. She built herself up and she made this for herself and she choose to share it. She won’t let it go, she won’t. She doesn’t care what this stranger offers, but she wants to still be strong, to still be an individual. She wants to trust in him and follow him, but she wants to stand on her own two feet.

(She feels daring and challenging and she thinks that she can go against the world feeling like this. She feels brave, feels strong, feels hopeful, feels trusting. She is determined and she has always done what she wants to.)

(There’s nothing she’ll like about herself if she gives up here.)

She nods, and it seems like the storm – the storm she hadn’t recognised – has cleared and only the sun remains and its earnest light. The boy’s tattered clothing lose their tears and much of the dirt fades from his clothing, fades from his face. His hair shifts in colour, dirt and mud disappearing like it had never been there, and brown hair is still dark brown but holds the hints of red. Dark eyes remain the same, along with his skin, but this is a change – she knows he is not like them. He is not a street kid, a street brat, he is not naïve. It’s all in the way he holds himself. He holds himself like he knows the world, like he believes in life, believes in people, like he has hope, like he has belief, like he can dare the world and challenge it every day and live to tell the tale.

She swallows and she sees this person as someone she would follow, because he would give everything up for her and she doesn’t even know who he is and he doesn’t know who she is, but that doesn’t matter. He cares. He believes. He thinks they can be more and he thinks he can make sure that happen.

(She doesn’t know why she likes him or believes in him or even listened to him, but she thinks it’s because he looks at them like they matter, it’s because he says they deserve better, it’s because he says they can be more.)

(She wants to hope and she will. Damn it, she will. She will do this and breathe and she will live.)

“I am Ryuu,” he says. It suits him, she thinks. She also thinks that the name is one she has heard on the streets, quiet and rather unknown, but whispered by one of the greatest information networks – the brothels.

She gestures to the boy beside her. “My name is Raiden,” he says, tilting his head and clear, light green eyes watch the stranger.

“I am Rena,” the girl behind Raiden says, voice almost emotionless.

“Kira,” the smallest girl says, standing almost behind their leader, and carefully caught between the other boy and the second unnamed girl.

“I’m Masuyo,” the other unnamed girl, not the leader, says.

There’s a moment of silence, and then Ryuu speaks again. “What about your names?” He asks the other boy and the leader of the gang.

“We don’t have one,” the leader says, (and her heart pounds ferociously, because she won’t allow anyone to look down on them simply because they lack something simple like a name).

“Want one?” Ryuu asks, and it’s not that simple, she knows, but maybe it could be.

“Yeah,” she responds, and the unnamed boy nudges her shoulder with his own, reassuring her and reminding her of his trust.

“How about Tomoe for you?” Ryuu asks, “The name can mean death or earth, and it was the name of one of the greatest female samurais.”

“Tomoe,” she repeats, testing the word – the name – and finding it nice, good. “That works, what’ve ya got for green-eyes?”

“Hikaru,” Ryuu says, and the unnamed boy dips his head in a nod, black hair in ratty braids, pulled back in a ponytail, bob with the movement.

“What d’ya want Ryuu?” Tomoe asks, (and she has a name; they all have names. It’s amazing and surprising and meaningful, and proof of the care Ryuu offers them).

“I need people in the shadows, gathering information and becoming people who know things. I need people to listen to things that people say in private, in secrecy. I need people who understand how the streets work,” Ryuu says, and there’s something almighty on his face, but the newly named (and she has a name) Tomoe doesn’t know what to call it. “You guys listen out and pay attention to what happens on the streets, and I’ll offer you a place of shelter, of safety. I’ll give you food and ensure that you’re alright. Together we’ll build a network that ensnares everyone, that keeps people safe. I’ll teach you guys that will help you survive, will help you live. I’ll ensure that you live and enter society and that you’ll be able to cope. I’ll make sure you get off the streets,” Ryuu promises.

“Seems difficult,” Tomoe responds. “I feel like we’re just being used.”

Ryuu shrugs, “No one’s forcing you to do anything. But this way we can reach out everywhere, and the network can reach outside of Konoha. More than anything, we need safe places in each major destination for kids like you guys.”

“How do we know that you actually have a safe place?” Tomoe challenges.

Ryuu grins, teeth glinting in the half-light, and Tomoe feels something settle within her, (is this what it feels like to place you belief in something without reason, without cause?). “The safe place in Konoha for you lot is here, in your territory, and in the Uchiha Clan Compound. I’ll show you how to get in and out without others knowing.”

“We’d get killed if we got caught in there,” Tomoe breathes out.

“Nah,” Ryuu disagrees. “I, as Toru Uchiha and Uchiha Clan Head, can assure you that you’ll be safe. I can do what I like with the place.”

Tomoe turns to the others – quick Masuyo, strong Raiden, agile Kira, nimble Rena, and now-named Hikaru. They all agree, Hikaru the last one to nod, but his eyes are fixed on Ryuu. “Yeah, alright,” Tomoe agrees, “We’re in, Ryuu-san.”

“Call me Ryuu,” Ryuu says, “After all, my seconds are equal to me, aren’t they?”

Hikaru, dark green eyes and black hair that’s been braided and pulled back in a ponytail, meets Ryuu’s eyes and the pair meet, something quiet and strong being said in the silence. Hikaru relaxes, and gives everyone a sharp grin.

“Green-eyes, I mean Hikaru, says that Ryuu’s alright and he thinks he’s good,” small Kira says, hazelnut eyes on Ryuu.

“What’s our name?” Masuyo asks. “We have one, yeah?”

Ryuu shrugs, “It’s your call,” he responds. “After all, you’re the ones who are doing the main work out here.”

Tomoe smirks, “Kakumau.”

Ryuu grins widely. “Sounds good, Tomoe,” he says. “Now, how about I show you…”

***

“I still think it would be best for you to leave with a team,” Toru says. “At least let two of my people trail you to the Hi no Kuni border.”

“I’ll be fine, Toru-san,” the Konoha ambassador responds. “I’ve been a kunoichi for quite a while now.”

Toru sighs, “I’m not doubting your strength,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I know you’re strong. You’re Konoha’s ambassador, but I’m worried. We have Kirigakure attacking and there’s the chance they’ve got allies on the mainland or have a team waiting for us to try and evacuate or send out a message for help to Konoha.”

Ayumu clears her throat, and Toru falls silent, instantly shifting his attention to his leader. “Uragiru-chan, do you think you are capable of making it to the border without detection safely?”

Uragiru Tsune nods, “I do, Ayumu-chan. Besides,” she adds with an apologetic glance at Toru, “I am faster than most of your ninjas, hence why I am ambassador. I know,” she continues, holding up a hand when Toru goes to protest, “you have some extremely fast ninjas, and there are a few who would keep up with me. However, you and I both know that you will need them as scouts.”

Toru dips his head in deference and agreement. “I understand,” he murmurs softly, “I do not doubt your skills, but I worry regardless.”

Uragiru, 36-years-old and a proud kunoichi, turns to the Sandaime Uzukage. “Is he always like this?” She asks.

“Like a mother hen?” Ayumu asks in clarification. “He tends to be this way for friends and with those he cares for, but he knows when enough is enough.”

Toru rolls his eyes, “Ayumu, I get it,” he says. “You can stop now. If you’re just going to complain about me and my various flaws, I’ll leave.”

“Awww, don’t be like that Toru,” Ayumu responds, a grin on her face. “However, you have things to tend to, don’t you?”

Toru nods, “I do. Uragiru-san, I’ll see you off, I’m sure.” He bows to his Uzukage, “Uzukage-sama.”

He disappears in a shunshin even as Ayumu yells after him, “Stop calling me by my dratted title!” Ayumu gives Uragiru a smile. “He means well,” she says.

“He has always been kind,” Uragiru agrees. “It’s a pity that I didn’t get to know him better while I’ve been here. He always seems to have tasks to do.”

“He does have a high position and continues to take missions,” Ayumu says. “Nevertheless, I’m glad you seem to be friends. Toru’s always been a good friend of mine.”

“Genin teammate, right?” Uragiru checks, having heard numerous stories regarding Ayumu, Toru, and sometimes a third teammate.

“Yes,” Ayumu says softly, mind cast back to a time when their team had been made up of four members rather than the three left. Ayumu glances down at the paperwork on her desk.

“I suppose you better get back to work,” Uragiru says, voice developing a serious edge.

“Indeed,” Ayumu agrees, “and you best be packing.”

“I will see you later, Uzukage-sama,” Uragiru says with a small bow.

“I will see you later,” the Uzukage responds.

***

“Report,” the Hokage orders.

“We seem to have successfully found and dealt with all the spies within our jōnin and ANBU forces, and located those in chūnin and genin forces, along with the staff of various different divisions,” Inoichi reports. “Majority of the spies found and interrogated revealed that they were from Otogakure, and we’ve asked for more reports surrounding the village. We further located three spies from Kirigakure, two spies from Kumogakure, one spy from Iwagakure, and four from other minor villages. We believe that there may be one or two spies in the genin and chūnin corps, but that they are at a rather high level and have been capable of hiding for numerous years.”

“What about those Academy students who went missing after their graduation failure? Along with those who dropped out after sabotaged results?” The Hokage asks.

“We haven’t found any sign of them,” Ibiki reveals with a scowl. “It’s entirely possible that the children in question had been taken by the spies back to their own village, many were at a young age that brainwashing or changing their allegiance in other ways would still work.”

The Hokage frowns, but doesn’t worry too much over the missing children – it’s all in the past now. He has to regret, though, that he’s failed those who went missing.

(For a moment, he imagines poor, young Naruto missing, before he decides that losing such a legacy would be impossible. He would notice immediately if Naruto went missing.)

“Good work,” he says, appraising his two shinobi. “Dispose of all the spies within our forces, I want everyone to know that Konoha is not weak. Furthermore, once that is done, you can return to your everyday business and life. The Ninja Academy will reopen after the holidays with a new Headmaster and a new curriculum.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama,” the two say, before bowing.

“Dismissed,” the Hokage intones.

***

Toru Uchiha forms a summoning contract with the cockroaches, often called the jama-mono. Secrets are finally revealed and learnt. Koharu is removed from the investigation, but she finds herself being promoted. Six kids on the streets find themselves relearning how to trust and finding hope fluttering like butterflies in their throats. Toru Uchiha remembers days after the discovery of Kiri’s force. Konoha’s problems appear to be dealt with.

Chapter Text

Toru controls his exhale as the cool ink touches his skin, the brush moving smoothly beneath the hands of the Uzumaki. Fuyuko doesn’t pause in her actions, even as she asks, “Are you alright?”

“Fine,” Toru responds easily. “The ink was cooler than I was expecting.”

“A normal reaction,” Fuyuko assures him. “This is your first time getting a seal in such a matter, no?”

“It is,” Toru agrees, “The theory makes it seem fairly simple.” Fuyuko hums in response, concentrating on the task at hand.

It amuses Toru, that Fuyuko has no idea that he has done such a thing before, (just not in this life). Still, there are numerous ways one can go about putting a seal on their skin. Often, it depends on the seal, the person, and the use. The seal Toru is getting – one that will hold and store chakra until it is released – is one that needs to be first applied with ink, before he uses his chakra to connect it to his own chakra pathways, coils, and body – tattooing it onto his skin through chakra.

It’s only a slightly painful sensation, and only because it turns to a scar and becomes permanent within seconds of the chakra tattooing it. However, as Toru is using his own chakra, he isn’t expecting it to hurt overly much.

“It’s done,” Fuyuko says softly.

Toru closes his eyes and focusses, bringing chakra to his fingertips and feeling the force collect around his fingers, glowing with power and promising strength. He touches the wet lines of ink on his stomach, and pulses chakra through the ink. The chakra races through the ink, and he can feel each line connecting and every twist and turn and movement of the seal. He grits his teeth as a stinging feeling occurs, strengthening with every second that passes.

And then it’s over.

Toru sits up, casting his dark eyes down to see what has come of the seal. There are raised lines on his stomach, rising up to his chest and the black ink has disappeared as if it had never been there. It looks like a scar, except Toru gets the impression of chakra staying still and light within the lines. It’s an odd feeling, familiar yet unfamiliar.

“Feeling?” Fuyuko asks a moment later.

“Fine,” Toru says, “I get the feeling that there’s chakra within the seal yet I can’t actually feel anything… It’s hard to explain. The seal should hold though, it feels good, safe, comforting.”

“Mitsuko couldn’t have designed the seal half as well as she did, if she hadn’t had your new base seal,” Fuyuko says.

“The seal wouldn’t have worked if you hadn’t been able to confine it as well,” Toru points out. “It was only due to all of us that the seal was created.”

“Well, we’ll see if it all pays off tomorrow. We’ll give you the day to rest and prepare, as well as ensure there are no adverse effects you suffer due to the tattoo-seal,” Fuyuko says. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you then,” Toru says with a smile before leaving his sensei’s residence. Back on the streets of Konoha, he can’t help but feel homesick for a place he hasn’t seen with his current eyes. A dog brushes past his leg, and Toru ruffles Haruto’s head and heads towards one of the market squares that Konoha had.

The market square in question is one of Konoha’s less popular markets, due to the fact that the majority of the stalls are constantly manned by people from other countries. Konoha may be a fairly kind and nice place, but Toru knows it has a darker side, (they are ninja, there will always be a darker side – he had led Uzushio’s). Konoha’s population are generally nice, but they may still held their own prejudices, they just tended to avoid talking badly, instead letting their actions show their true thoughts, (generally it’s civilians who do such things, but Toru knows many of the older generation-nin hold onto their bigotry due to the war).

Entering the square, Toru feels instantly part of a crowd. It’s strange how to consider that he feels more at ease among people who aren’t Konoha citizens. It’s not that he doesn’t like the people who call Konoha home – he does. However, he constantly feels whispers following him, (and he never knows whether they follow him, follow Sasuke, follow Naruto, or maybe all three).

Civilians are the worst, and it would be better if Toru could avoid them; however, he has two Academy students he tends to walk with or canine companions, none of which can race across rooftops with him. Ninjas keep their thoughts and actions to themselves until they are out of sight, which is good. It’s good, and Toru refuses to believe otherwise.

Hence, Toru finds himself waving to one of the current sellers – the lead merchant of a group that travelled in a circular route from Konoha, all the way up to Iwagakure through Takigakure, and then to Sunagakure through Ishigakure, and returning to Konoha while passing through Tanigakure. “Have you seen Kobayashi-san?” Toru asks, making his way through the small crowd to the stall.

“Yes,” the woman responds with an easy nod. “Saki-san is over by Yuki-san’s stall; apparently Yuki-san arrived early and there was another group meant to have the stall today. We’re really running out of room here; we need either another square or to stop regulating most of us over here.”

Toru nods, “Thank you for telling me,” he responds before heading over towards Yuki’s stall. He can easily hear the argument between three people, but when he gets there, the argument seems to be shimmering down to frustration.

“We just don’t have enough space here,” Saki Kobayashi – proud owner of a market square for thirty years ever since her mother had died – says, tugging a hand through her white-grey hair.

“I understand, Saki-san,” a third person says, one Toru doesn’t know. He’s guessing they’re the person who leads the merchant group who is meant to have the stall today. It’s at this moment that Toru reaches the group, and giving Yuki a welcoming smile, he turns to Saki.

“Kobayashi-san, I would like your advice regarding a certain topic, and perhaps your expertise.”

“What d’you want, Uchiha-san?” The civilian says briskly.

“I was thinking about using the Uchiha Clan Compound square, the entrance square, for as a market square,” Toru explains quietly, even as Yuki turns her attention elsewhere, along with the unknown person. “I was thinking I could have stalls that were set up and either have the square as an extension of this market in another location.”

“Uchiha-san, barely anyone comes to this market. What makes you think that they’ll go to yours?” Saki asks, not out of anger or being she wishes to be harsh, but because she is realistic.

“Well, the location – Uchiha Clan Compound – for one, but also because I’ve – we’ve – been renting out properties within the compound and opening the houses to people,” Toru explains. “However, I lack the knowledge and the expertise to run the square or even on how to get it up and running.”

Saki nods, before turning on her heel, “Follow me, Uchiha-san,” she says. Toru follows the fifty-four-year-old to her office, and enters behind her. He takes a seat at her gesture, and she sits opposite him.

“First thing you need to do is organise that square of yours with lines or something. Figure out how many stalls you can have – with the stalls being six by four. Ensure that you have rows, and perhaps figure out where you want to have a few spare stalls, as you always want to have some spaces free in case something comes up. We used to do the same thing here, except we got too big to do that,” Saki explains. “You’ll also want someone to run your square.”

Toru remains quiet and watches Saki, who rolls her eyes even as she chuckles. “Yeah, sure, I can do that for you Uchiha-san,” she says. “I’ll have the prices lower than what we have here and organise it with the overseer; you get those lines out and give me the numbers quickly, alright?”

“Sure thing,” Toru says with smile, “Thank you, Kobayashi-san.”

“Bah, if we’re going to be working as business partners, call me Saki-san. Everyone I work with regularly does so, you might as well join them,” Saki responds. “I’ll ensure that the invoice is sent to you for the initial fee of setting it all up.”

“Toru-san, then,” Toru says. “That sounds good; thank you for all of this… Saki-san.”

“You’re welcome Toru-san,” the elderly woman responds, “Now get out of my sight, I’ve got about eight groups that need to be set up and zero spaces. Your timing is impeccable.”

Koharu has about three days until the end of term, and she really needs to ensure that she has everything done in the limited time she has – known as the holidays. She’s already organised various crews to redo the terrain in the numerous training grounds that the Ninja Academy owned. Along with that, she’s managed to obtain the deeds to various houses that could be used for one of the courses.

Koharu’s already planned fourteen core classes that almost everyone will have to take as long as they are in the Academy – as long as they don’t have any special requirements. As there are only six years that students tend to spend at the Academy, it means she can space out the classes.

Many of the classes will run for the whole six years – history, taijutsu, ninjutsu, and ninja class, (she needs to figure out a name for the class as well). She’s planned for Literacy and Mapwork to run for the first five years, with science taking its blocking in the sixth year. Meanwhile, geography runs for three years before mathematics takes its blocking for the other three years. She’s decided to have genjutsu classes begin in third year, and expectation classes – a better version of kunoichi classes (whoever came up with the previous classes had to be some dumb, uneducated shinobi – she didn’t remember these classes in her time; and, honestly, she knows plenty of shinobi who would’ve learnt many important lessons in the kunoichi classes) – which will run from second year to fifth year. She finally settled on having weapon classes run from second to sixth year, after weighing up the pros and cons in a delightful conversion with Hiruzen. She’s organised first aid classes to take place in fourth year until the student graduates. Koharu has also decided to introduce a class known as ‘foreign affairs’, which will take place in fourth and fifth year. The final core class is the plans class, which will take place in the same years as the first aid course.

She’s already planned that each core class will need to be passed before a student can actually graduate, rather than the ninjutsu-based graduation they currently have. Honestly, it’s a terrible idea and she has no clue why they scrapped the old system where students had to be capable in each class they went into and their scores were averaged to see if they got a passing grade or not.

However, Koharu hasn’t just changed the core classes of the Ninja Academy. She’s expanded what’s being taught in each class and making the students much better adjusted for a wide range of scenarios. To further potential students, as well as keep those who are geniuses from getting bored, she’s created additional classes that only teachers can suggest that the specific Academy student take.

She’s figured that sealing definitely needs to be one, as very few people can use seals to an advanced level, (Uzushio was levelled due to the power that seals could have, Konoha needs that kind of strength to remain protected). She’s also organised advanced taijutsu, weaponry, genjutsu, and ninjutsu classes. She’s also put in a chakra control class, as she knows that many will need further tutoring in order to use their chakra to a satisfactory level for graduation. She’s also planned a healing course, but unlike its core subject equivalent, chakra is used. She’s also organised for a kenjutsu class to be run, along with chakra flow – a class made for using chakra with weaponry. She also has an encryptions, coding, and decoding class that will be run, and she reckons the majority of the students in that class will also be put in the information gathering class, and maybe the tactics and strategies class, and if she – and Konoha – are really lucky, some students will also go into the sabotage class.

The increase in class and the necessary levels means that students who graduate will be graduating at a much higher level than many of the genin currently out in the field. This means that Konoha’s strength will rise as a whole, and will also take some of the weight off the jōnin and chūnin – and secretive ANBU – from older generations, who have been forced to take up the slack.

If there are any problems that students face, outside tutoring will be available and if students have difficulties regarding their control over chakra, their chakra amount, or ability to use chakra, then they can make allowances based on what the student can do.

The only potential problem with ensuring that everyone in a class graduates – with minimal numbers being about twenty – is that there aren’t enough jōnins available for acting as capable teachers. It’s an easy thing to fix, and Koharu’s already got another plan in place to avoid such issues rising – she’ll send out the files of each student before their graduation to numerous division heads to see who will be offered an apprenticeship and whatnot. Those who are left over will either be regulated to the Genin Corps, and will be put into numerous missions with different teams, or will graduate as a team. Clan-kids are more likely to be snapped up for apprenticeships or regulated to the Genin Corps, as they can be taught by others in their clans, while second-gen and civilian-born kids will require actual teaching by another ninja.

The only real problem Koharu currently faces is what to do about students who are currently in the Academy and taking the inadequate courses that are run. Thankfully, the basis of the new system will mean that students – both old and prospective – will have their current skills tested and be placed in core classes dependent on their skill base, with additional classes being offered later.

Koharu grins, and it seems to quickly make her face ache. It is that, which causes her to wonder, when is the last time she has been truly happy? When did she start giving off fake smiles? When did she start controlling her facial expressions so much even when she is safe?

It’s as she thinks on this – regrets this – that Koharu realises she hasn’t heard from Danzō in a while. Another reason for her happiness, she instantly thinks. She pauses, lifting her head from her paperwork and leaning back into the couch. It’s an interesting thought, and a new one, but – perhaps – not entirely without cause. She is bitter, has been for a while, over how she has been forgotten by her teammates, ignored by them, thought of as lesser in comparison. Maybe such things had been true, for a time, because she had – like them – forgotten who she is, what she is. However, teammates are meant to be like family, meant to be friends. They should’ve reminded her, and for that, she won’t forgive them.

She has been used by Danzō, and while she is at fault, she holds Danzō responsible as well. She has lost Danzō’s trust in her now frequent conversations with Hiruzen, due to her new position, which is still being kept under wraps.

(She has to admit though, it is amazing that a single chūnin could be the cause of this – the cause of spies being discovered, of the Academy being overhauled, of an entire schooling system being changed, of Konoha regaining strength, of Danzō losing trust in her, in her discovering who she is, in Hiruzen finding a friend again. It’s all due to a chūnin, a new one, a young one, but a smart one.)

(Not like a lamb being led to slaughter at all, she thinks with a chuckle – more like a bird diving down at its target, talons outstretched.)

It’s been four days, Toru thinks, and he wonders why he thinks so little of Ayumu, of their Sandaime. There has been little time, he knows realistically, but it feels like a betrayal for Ayumu to only cross his mind once or twice over the course of a day. Not to say that he shouldn’t be worrying about other things – he does have the invasion to worry about, the safety of his people to worry about, and he is doing things about it. Still… Their third teammate’s death left them with only memories, and every day Ayumu and he would meet up for an hour to reminiscence, to grieve, to be comforted. Their meet ups had continued for over a month before they got over her death.

Has he become more resistant to his people’s deaths? Is he growing colder? Is he turning into what all ANBU fear they will turn into – a monster with no remorse and holds no care for the living?

“Uzukage-sama,” someone says softly, and Toru pushes his wandering and useless thoughts away. Now is not the time.

“Right,” Toru murmurs quietly, more to himself than Kaito. He focusses on the group of civilians, masquerading as a merchant train rather than revealing that they are refugees fleeing from Uzushio before the final battle occurs. There’s sixty civilians, with seven elderly and three kids. However, the one who catches Toru’s gaze – and holds it – is Isaki Fujii, his genin teacher and now retired-nin. She gives him a smile, small and soft for all that it is sad and bitter but strengthened with something like hope and tempered by determination. She dips her head in a nod, in deference, in acknowledgement, in everything Toru already has and no longer requires (but had once strived so hard to get). Toru does the same back, because his sensei deserves it, has always deserves it.

“I don’t need to tell you much,” Toru says loudly, instantly quieting the group. “After all, I’m sure you’ve heard most if it before. Isaki Fujii, Saburou Shiro, Natsuko Maki, Masaru Kita, Noburu Mori, and Ryou Oshiro are the ones who will protect you; Isaki Fujii has overall command over the ninja group. Everyone else, you guys know the plan – either stick together or split into groups but always ensure you have someone who can protect you. Konoha will take you in, but you don’t need to go to Konoha, and always make sure you have Ayumu’s last gift on you. It will be what brings us home, in the end.”

Ayumu’s last gift is a fitting name, Toru thinks, for the pendants that their Sandaime Uzukage had ordered to be constructed. They are fairly simple pendants – Uzushio’s symbol carved on stone, shell, or metal with a hole at the top so it could be tied onto something or added to a bracelet or necklace. Toru’s the only one (the only one alive) who knows the truth about the symbols, what they mean, what they can do.

Toru watches as the civilians give goodbyes to both ninjas staying and civilians who still refuse to leave (they will leave eventually, but when their chances of survival are so much lower and already Toru mourns). He watches as ninjas say goodbye to the retired-nin who travel with the civilians as protection and to ensure that some skills survive Uzushio’s fall.

Kaito nudges Toru lightly, “Not going to say goodbye to Isaki-san?” He asks, voice low to ensure no one overhears them, not that anyone would care.

Toru meets Isaki’s gaze once again, “No,” he responds, a small smile curling onto his face. “Everything that needs to be said has already been said.”

Kaito hums in response but doesn’t do anything more, which Toru is thankful for. The faux merchant train starts moving, horses – some of Uzushio’s special breeds – putting their weight into their shoulders and with a creak, the wooden carts move as the wheels start to spin.

There is something Toru feels as if he should say, something that he wishes he could show. He doesn’t know what to say or what to show, though, and so he remains silent. His heart beats like a drum in his chest, loud and steady. There is a war that awaits, and a battle that demands a result. These sorts of victories never feel like victories – they are pyrrhic victories. Still, Uzushiogakure may be lost – will be lost (he has certainty and he has hope but he has realism, they will survive but their village will not) – but her people aren’t. They will live. This is a victory, unseen and unknown as it is.

Their fall will be great (he hopes it is not forgotten), and the fear that tinges their reputation, tinges the respect they have earned, will fade because that is the kind of thing time does. Some part of Toru laughs, in bitterness and in spite but also in glee, because ninjas are taught to remain hidden, to be sly. Uzushio will be sly, will remain hidden. She will seem to die, but what trick is better than faking an entire village’s death?

(He still wonders, though, where is Konoha with their help, their support? Uzushio has given so much for Konoha, but Konoha has not honoured Uzushio with an answer… Or maybe something happened on the way back, and Toru wishes that Ayumu had allowed him to send a team with Uragiru.)

It’s been twenty-four years since Fuyuko has worked on a massive project alike to the one she’s been doing with her wife and the Uchiha-Uzumaki brat. It’s been nice to work with seals again; it’s something she’s missed despite the fact that she chose this. She chose this, but that does not mean she misses Uzushio every second of every passing day. She has made her peace with it, (she has, she swears she has). However, she grew up in a village with twisting, rising buildings; grew up in a place of colour; grew up with friends and family and loved ones all around her; grew up with seals engraved into the ground (seals engraved in her blood and her bones and her life); grew up where she could always see the sky and where the sea crashed against the shore. She misses the place she called her home for forty years.

She knows Mitsuko feels the same way, and that being able to use seals after so long has been freeing. She wonders why she locked up this part of her, why she hid it, (it’s because her village was massacred because of what she can do, what they can all do).

“You ready?” She asks, and Toru rolls his eyes, the brat, (he reminds her of something, someone she can’t quite remember).

“Considering I’ve been filling the seal for a day and both Mitsuko and you put chakra into it, I would say so,” the young chūnin responds.

“Remember, hold the seal in your mind,” Mitsuko adds. Toru doesn’t respond as Mitsuko and she move back, giving the Uchiha a fair bit of space. Even with Fuyuko’s meagre sensing skills, she can sense Toru’s chakra rising, cresting like a wave before it smashes onto the shore, loud and continuous.

It’s impressive, and as Fuyuko and Mitsuko watch, Toru’s chakra bursts out of his skin as he channels chakra through his hand onto the ground. Experience and old but familiar memories allow them to trace the path the chakra takes through the ground, curling and twisting as a seal forms.

(Fuyuko wonders if this is what it had been like, when Uzushio had been engraved with seals.)

The chakra seems to waver briefly, and the blue glow around Toru flickers, and then it steadies. Mitsuko and Fuyuko continue to watch calmly, and as Toru sighs, the chakra fades and the glow disappears, and the couple can no longer sense chakra pounding through the earth.

Fuyuko is quick to help Toru as the Uchiha stumbles, water splashing around his feet. “Thanks,” Toru mumbles, “That took a lot more chakra than I expected.”

“But?” Fuyuko asks.

“But it took less chakra than we expected as well. The seal activation – the storing one – felt weird, like it’s an extension of my chakra system rather than a seal,” Toru explains, happiness coating his tone. “I didn’t expect it to feel as natural as it does.”

“That’s good to hear,” Fuyuko says. “However, you better ensure you don’t do too much work today. It’s only because of that seal you’re not suffering from chakra exhaustion.”

“Understood, sensei,” Toru murmurs as he gets his feet beneath him, finally standing due to his own strength. “I’ll probably just head home and get some rest. Thank you for your help, both of you,” he adds with a pointed look at the couple.

“You don’t want to check the seal to ensure it works?” Mitsuko asks, and Fuyuko can only hear her surprise due to how well she knows her wife.

“It works,” Toru says, voice certain, and Fuyuko can’t help but believe him.

Toru arrives, almost a minute early, and the three of them – Toru, Kiku, and her, Shou – share a glance. It’s not overly unusual for them to all be called in, they are a team even if they’re slowly being separated (and Shou has noticed this, she has expected this, and it just makes her more grateful that her teammates – because they are – refuse to leave her even with the dissolution of their team). However, what is unusual is the jōnin, male and somewhat familiar in a face-she’s-seen-before-but-never-talked-to-but-is-still-important kind of way.

Kiku doesn’t know what the meeting is either, but between the way Toru is stiffening and the unknown-but-known stranger is casting them a wistful and heart-broken look, Shou knows something is wrong.

They’re called in, and Team Five (without Natsumi-sensei, who’s on a mission and has been for three days so far) move together, Toru in the middle so Shou and Kiku can see him and follow his words, his orders, his advice. Kiku is on Toru’s left, his non-dominant side and therefore where his weaker with his taijutsu. Shou is on his right and trailing a half-step behind, in line with Kiku, and ensuring that she watches their backs. The jōnin (he looks like someone she knows but she can’t recall who…) following behind them, and something seems sad about him.

The Hokage stands in front of them, eyes sad and mouth flat, and they all bow, (Shou thinks she knows where this is going to go). Her Hokage speaks and she hears the words, but she doesn’t remember them, and the next thing she knows is that her chest hurts and there’s water in her eyes and she doesn’t understand–

Toru has shifted his weight – she doesn’t know when he did that – but it’s reassuring. She takes on his strength, and she wonders if Kiku is doing the same. She still can’t comprehend that she’s gone, that she’s dead. Toru stands, though, strong in the face of tragedy, in the face of death and for all that he is gone through she is thankful. Normally she regrets what he has gone through, but the comfort he offers now is something he has made, he has learnt, and she is glad for that (and if that makes her a terrible person, so be it).

They depart, the Hokage’s words ringing in their heads.

“She was proud of you.”

The words are mocking, the tense even more so – she doesn’t want to believe it. The jōnin – oh, Natsumi-sensei’s brother – nods at them, and gazes at them, (she ducks away from those familiar grey eyes). Toru probably meets the man’s gaze, but she doesn’t dare.

“Sh- She treasured you guys,” the man says, whispers in a hushed voice like it’s some sort of secret – it isn’t, though, and Shou wants to yell the fact out that Natsumi-sensei cared for them, was proud of them.

Toru whispers, “Thank you,” and Shou doesn’t know why he bothers. – it’s not like it’ll bring her back, (like how they brought her body back). Toru silently ushers his two teammates out, and Shou takes comfort in every gesture, every small touch.

They aren’t a family, not Team Five. Shou and Kiku have families, and Toru had been – may still be – too torn up over the tragic massacre that took place almost a year ago. However, they’re friends and – on top of that – teammates. They’ve learnt how to comfort one another, what their weaknesses are, what their strengths are. They have learnt, they have grown, they have fallen – as a team. They are a team, (missing a vital part).

Shou isn’t surprised when she finds herself – fully aware – in training ground two. Ironic, but purposefully so, Shou figures when she takes a glance at Toru’s face. The Uchiha lays down on the ground in the shadow of one of the large trees. Shou collapses next to him, mind still in disbelief, the terrible words still echoing in her head, (I’m sorry to tell you that Natsumi Hayashi was killed in action during a mission while ensuring her teammates stayed alive).

“I’m glad she went out doing something she cared for,” Kiku says, words soft but not quiet. Shou rages in her heart, in her mind. How can Kiku say such things? Natsumi-sensei gave her life and for nothing to show for it. How can they want to continue when such a thing occurred? It’s not like they could do anything – cooped up in Konoha as they are.

Shou thinks Toru agrees with her by the way he sticks to silence until he says–

“We’re going to need to get stronger,” Toru says, and the certainty in his voice (and there’s something else there, something powerful that Shou has always known existed but has never really seen) rings clearly. “We’re going to get stronger so we can have more power so we can protect better.”

Shou has to admire the way Toru says the words – like it’s a promise, like it’s absolute, like it will be exactly as he says. She finds herself believing in his words, believing in him, believing in their team. “Yeah,” she says in agreement. “We are.”

(She’s sure there’s something to be said about dying before one’s teammates and dying after one’s teammates. Either option seems pretty bad, though, in her opinion. Dying before means your life is cut short, it means that you’re leaving people behind, and either way you’re going to die with regrets. Dying afterwards means you pile guilt onto your shoulders because of what happened, because you couldn’t stop it. Dying afterwards means that the people you’re close to are the ones who fall first, and it hurts.)

Toru feels tired, and it has little to do with his physical exhaustion, although that probably plays a part. He feels tired in a way that comes from living too much, worrying too much. Toru has dealt with death and what it comes with enough times that he can almost immediately accept Natsumi-sensei’s death. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt, though.

(It hurts, but pain will always pass.)

His fingers brush his genin sensei’s name, the words engraved onto the dark stone, and then he’s turning and taking to the rooftops. He feels like he’s been slacking off, like he could be better. He hasn’t been slacking off, but his strength – in comparison to what he had once had – felt like nothing. He has been working on taijutsu, which has been getting steadily better. It’s not quite the level that it had been when he had been promoted to a jōnin in Uzushio; but it’s certainly getting closer.

However, perhaps Toru should be focussing on his strengths. His taijutsu has always been fairly steady, fairly average. At the very least, Toru’s seals have been steadily improving and the new base seal – Thirteen Opposing Seal – has been coming along quite well. Due to the chakra storage seal on his torso, Toru has a hidden ace up his sleeve, and due to the constant draining use of putting his chakra into the seal, his chakra reserves have been steadily expanding as well. His chakra control has been gradually improving as well, and while all this has been good, Toru can’t help but feel like he still isn’t strong enough.

The thing is that with every new day that dawns, it gets harder to surprise one’s enemies, for every new day brings another fight and at least one trick is seen and will no longer be useful. Tricks are taught and taken by the winners, and sometimes conquered through practise and spread through use.

Toru only really has two things that most others don’t have – his seals (because they slaughtered his people) as there are few seal masters left, and his brains because he is the only one who thinks like he does (he is the only person he knows who can has lived twice). Everything he knows is known by others as he was taught it all. The few things he does know that no one else does belongs to Uzushio, and have been used on the battlefield before.

He could, though… He could do something, make something, create something. He could make something that has the power to level battlefields; he could make himself a legend.

(He might not want to kill but he will if necessary. He is a protector first and foremost. He is a ninja.)

Entering the apartment he shares with Sasuke and Naruto – who are currently at the Academy, Toru grabs a notebook and a pencil. Despite his affinity for water and wind natured chakra, Toru actually knows more about fire chakra than anything, simply due to the Uchiha Clan being prone to having an affinity for fire natured chakra, and recording many of the things that had been learnt for future generations.

Toru taps the pencil against the table and thinks about fire chakra. Simply put, fire chakra is what creates fire and controls the fire for some time so that a goal can be achieved. However, the understanding of why the chakra works as it does – that eludes Toru, and he wonders if anyone actually knows why. Toru can only think of one person who may have done such avid research regarding a chakra nature – Tobirama Senju and his ability with water ninjutsu.

(They called Tobirama a prodigy, a genius, but the reality is that Tobirama had been like any other person – feeling and thinking, living and breathing. He hadn’t been a prodigy, that had been his older brother, the first Hokage, but he had been a genius. That genius had been used to make himself better, to be a protector, to ensure his family lived. History changed who he was, warped his story, his personality, and everyone sees with biased eyes.)

Toru knows very well what fire chakra feels like (or, at least, what it feels like to him). It feels like adrenalin and something untameable that rushes forever onward, but it can be guided and must be kept steady. It is flames beneath your skin pulsing and trying to escape and burning, the heat is what you must resist, and your heart is beating too fast but you stand through it all.

There are three things that fire requires normally – a source of fuel, breathable air, and heat. It would make sense if chakra supplied all three parts or caused all three requirements to be available, thus ensuring fire can be created via chakra. Toru quickly, and neatly, dot points the requirements for fire.

As he does that, he thinks about how fire chakra is expelled out of the body and controlled with hand signs, which act as a focus point and guide the chakra, allowing it to move a certain way. Friction, Toru knows, creates heat just like how fast movement creates heat. He wonders if chakra causes something to move faster, thus creating the needed heat – maybe the air particles? Toru jots down that thought.

He taps his pencil against the paper once more. Based on his assumption that chakra moves the air particles faster to create heat, it would make sense to assume that oxygen is being pulled in by the chakra. That means only the fuel source is unaccounted for, Toru realises, and it’s obvious that the chakra would act as a fuel source considering that it’s energy. Therefore, when those three parts work together, a flame would be created. Furthering the theory, Toru assumes that these parts would continuously monitor the flame and let it continue to exist as long as chakra is available. Another thing his chakra would do – a theoretical fourth part – would control the rest of the chakra used and spread itself throughout the fire to control the shape and the movement of the flame.

Toru pauses, chakra theory and knowledge thrumming to life in his mind. The breakthrough regarding chakra theory is impressive and he feels it in his bones that he’s right, but there’s already another thought niggling in the corner of his mind. He races toward it, embraces it, and then he’s scribbling more information down.

Wind chakra moves air particles in a certain way in order to achieve a goal, and – similarly to fire chakra – when wind chakra is expelled from the body, it moves in a certain way due to hand signs being used as a focus point. The chakra takes control over air particles before splitting itself into parts, in order to accomplish a few things. One part would make the air particles move faster, giving the air more force as well as more energy; it should – theoretically – make it more dense as well, while keeping it in more or less the same spot. Another part would create a path for the air particles to move through by creating a sort of vacuum, where there are no other air particles in the way that would slow the jutsu down. The last part would control the movement of the air particles, ensuring that it moved in a certain way so that the jutsu would occur.

Toru reviews what he’s written down, and already he can think up a fairly basic new ninjutsu that he’s never seen or heard of before. A fire style version of Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet. He would probably first use the tiger hand seal to ensure that it’s a fire ninjutsu, followed by the bird hand seal, which is used for the normal bullet technique and it would cause the spinning of the ninjutsu. He would probably follow it up with the snake hand seal, used to increase the speed of the jutsu, and end on a tiger seal.

Even as Toru itches to go test his jutsu, see if it works, his mind has flickered to a new thought, a new creation – one that has even more power to do some serious damage. A hurricane filled with fire. An offensive jutsu that would burn the ground and cause anything that touched it to burst into flame. If it was hit by water, the fire hurricane would lose its fire and ability to burn but not its strength and power to disappear. It would be a combination attack, and a merging of two other jutsus – a wind based hurricane and a fireball.

The easy part of the second new jutsu would be creating the fireball – as Toru can easily base it off the Uchiha’s well-known fireball. The harder part would be the creation of the hurricane, which – Toru admits – will probably end up being an entirely new jutsu by itself.

With chakra and blood humming in his body, and a smile on his face, Toru finds himself gathering his notes and heading to an empty training ground. After all, he has a few things to test.

“She’s gone, Toru,” Ayumu says, eyes downcast and she’s hurting so much, and Toru can see it. “She’s finally gone.”

Toru has- he has not made his peace with it, but he has been expecting this outcome, had known that it would all end like this. He swallows and meets Ayumu’s eyes, and doesn’t ask for clarification. “Did she get him?” He asks, because he can fulfil Mika Asano’s last plan, last fight – a fight she might’ve never completed.

“No,” Ayumu says, “Nidaime-sama said she didn’t.”

“I’ll get him,” Toru says, and the words are a promise, and Ayumu smiles grimly.

“Good,” she says, the word a bitter murmur. There’s no disagreement between them, because despite there’s no assurance that Toru will be able to go after the missing-nin on a mission, there’s no way that Toru won’t go after him anyway.

Toru allows bitterness and hatred to well up in him. He hates that the shinobi turned Mika into such a lost and broken kunoichi, bitter and twisted and hurting so much. She had nothing left, when he turned on her, almost killing her, but Mika had been stronger than that. Spite had driven her to survive, but she had thrown herself into mission after mission, she had nothing left to live for.

In the end, he killed her without laying a hand on her, but he had been the cause. Toru will take him down. He will. The receptionist announces that he can go in now, and without a glance back at Ayumu, Toru enters the Uzukage’s office.

He stands tall, stands proud, and after he bows, he meets the Nidaime’s eye. “Do not let your emotions interfere with your mission,” she warns.

Toru nods, “Of course,” he says, and they both know he won’t – he is an ANBU after all.

“Good,” the Nidaime says, a sharp nod accompanying the word. “Jakkaru-kun, your team has been given a hunt and kill mission. Your target is Asuka Sasaki, a chūnin of Uzushio up until three months ago when he defected, attempted to kill three other Uzushio ninjas and succeeding to kill a fourth, before going on the run. He has killed one ANBU team and one chūnin team while on the run. It is believed he is meeting up with someone or a group to share secret information regarding Uzushio and may be working with others to stay safe.”

“Understood, Uzukage-sama,” Toru says.

“You know which division has the information, now go and do well.”

“Hai!” Toru says, bowing again, before heading towards the ANBU headquarters, already calling his teammates to him. Kame and Tori are the first to arrive, and quickly head to their lockers, and when Tora arrives, she does the same.

The team of ANBU quickly take over one of the briefing and debriefing rooms, and Jakkaru quickly explains their mission – to track and kill the missing-nin Asuka Sasaki, previously of Uzushio chūnin rank. As Kame is the only one in their team who belongs to the Hunting and Tracking Division, she is the one who gets the information from the division so that they can start their mission.

Unlike most missing-nin from Uzushio, Asuka is currently located in Hi no Kuni, conveniently hiding out in land that belongs to Konoha, Uzushio’s allies. Nevertheless, the team moves out quickly, Kame taking point with Jakkaru taking her normal position at the back.

The team continues tracking over two days and one night, rarely resting when their target has such a huge lead and has been out and around for so long. They avoid the Konoha-nin, knowing that it would slow their movement down, and they would have to get the papers out and everything. They would be allowed to continue their hunt, but it would make things much harder to follow the trail that grows older with every second that passes.

Jakkaru only calls a proper break when Tora signals that she senses something nearby – a group of ninjas. They quickly and silently plan for Jakkaru and Kame to scout the area and the nearby ninjas. Tori and Tora are to prepare a camp area, considering its inching towards morning and the ANBU team need to rest before a fight, and Jakkaru doesn’t want to have his team exhausted before a fight or if they come across anything problematic.

Jakkaru seeps into the shadow, becoming a boneless blurred shape that seems to belong in the shadows that move silently as the wind moves the branches and leaves above them. Kame heads off in a circular path, planning to scout from the other end of the unknown group that’s currently stationary, while Jakkaru stays between the rest of his team and the group.

The group of missing-nin – and that’s what they must be – aren’t too organised, but Jakkaru instincts cause him to take to the higher tree branches, and the higher he goes, the more he sees something that worries him. He can clearly see that there are six missing-nin in the centre of the clearing, four of them are drinking while another is sleeping, and the last is on guard – or at least pretending to be. However, what really worries Jakkaru is the two small ninjas hidden in the shadows, guarding but too organised to actually be part of the group of missing-nin. Furthermore, Jakkaru can’t see his target.

Two ninjas enter the clearing, and Jakkaru instantly spots his target, (he can’t let anger take over him here, he needs to be careful, he needs to be sure). What worries Jakkaru is how the silent two ninjas cloaked in shadow instantly seem to sharpen, attention becoming even more focussed and paying careful attention to the newcomer – also small – standing next to Jakkaru’s target.

Information is being shared, Jakkaru reckons, and he can no longer afford to let any of the ninjas here escape with their lives. Uzushio is much too important. The ANBU Captain turns and heads quickly towards his campsite where his teammates are half-resting; Kame is already back. They don’t have long to plan and prepare and fight, but Jakkaru is sure they will manage. After all, they are his team.

He quickly explains what he had seen, with Kame adding in what she saw, before he explains his plan. “Tori, set up traps all around there clearing, high and low. Once that’s done, take to a high position in the east and prepare to attack when we do,” Jakkaru orders softly.

Tori nods and is gone in a blur of speed and silence. “Kame, if any of the small ones escape, you’re going to follow them and ensure that they go down, or at least plant tracker seals for now.” Kame nods and Jakkaru turns to Tora, “I’ll need you to primarily attack from above as you’ll be our main surveillance. You have a position in the trees in the west. Come down and join the battle on the ground if you think you aren’t needed to watch from above or if one of us needs you. Kame, your starting position is in the south, and I’ll be in the north. Start when I give the direction, not before. I’ll try to take the majority of them out first. Go.”

The three ANBU fade into the shadows and disappear from one another’s sight. Jakkaru, although not part of the Assassination Division, assassinates the two small hidden ninjas, and no one seems to notice. The next thing Jakkaru does is kill the sleeping missing-nin, before sending a pulse through his ANBU tattoo to his teammates.

Jakkaru attacks with Blade of Wind Hurricane, which sends two of the missing-nin down in a series of swears, with the third leaping out of the way and dropping the bottle of alcohol. The missing-nin is already going through hand seals, but Jakkaru has leapt up and out of the way, taking to the trees as his teammates descend, apart from Tora.

The missing-nin on guard runs into one of Kame’s traps and ends up tangled in wire, and Jakkaru sends a large jolt of lightning chakra through the wire. Kame takes down the two missing-nin that Jakkaru injured, while Tori takes down the third one that had escaped.

It’s all very quick and sharp, and Tora leaps down, joining her team. There are three ninjas left, of which Asuka is one of them, along with the sixth missing-nin and the ninja Asuka had been talking to earlier.

:Target mine,: Jakkaru signs, :Tori missing-nin; Kame, Tora other enemy; go!:

The team moves quickly, with Jakkaru speeding towards Asuka, and engaging in a taijutsu battle. Tori does the same with the sixth missing-nin, keeping close and using kenjutsu to ensure that they don’t have a moment to attack with ninjutsu. Kame and Tora work together, with Tora engaging the unknown-nin in taijutsu before leaping back as Kame whirls in with a devastating genjutsu.

Jakkaru leaps over a strong kick, ducks beneath a straight punch, and spins around Asuka, his teeth bared behind his mask and heart pumping steadily. He knocks the other off balance with a harsh kick to his knee, and follows up with a punch to Asuka’s left shoulder, before leaping and spinning to kick Asuka’s torso. The man goes flying, weak against an Uzushio ANBU Captain, and Jakkaru leaps after him, stabbing downwards with his sword, brought out in the second it took for Asuka to go flying through the air and slam against a tree trunk. Asuka dies gasping and knowing that an Uzushio ANBU killed him, but not who or their connection to Mika.

Tori finishes the other missing-nin quickly, as Jakkaru watches from the sidelines, noting that way that Tori limps once the missing-nin is dead, blood pooling beneath their corpse. It’s a moment later that Kame hits a tree trunk, and lands on the ground with a thump, body still.

“Tora!” Jakkaru barks aloud, even as he enters the fight, pushing the unknown-nin away from Tora and putting his body between them and Kame. Tora doesn’t respond as she rushes over to Kame, hands glowing green with healing chakra. Tori and Jakkaru band together to take down their last enemy. The pair work together easily, every action easily is backed up and when one attacks the other defends, and when Jakkaru pulls back to ready a ninjutsu, Tori is keeping the enemy distracted with kenjutsu.

Still, Jakkaru gets a heavy blow to his shoulder, and he can feel the way his shoulder pops abnormally and his arm stops working properly. Jakkaru swears in his head as he pulls back, and Tori moves forward to cover him. There’s nothing Jakkaru can do about his dislocated shoulder though, and even as Jakkaru plans another attack, Tori’s leg buckles beneath them. Tori twists, dodging an attack and rolls out of the way. Jakkaru leaps forward, and with slams one hand out and hits the other with an open palm.

Lines materialise, glowing and covering their enemy, and Jakkaru is moving and leaping away, grabbing Tori with his good arm and rushing towards Kame and Tora. “Barrier,” Jakkaru shouts, and Tora spins, and slams her hands down. A glowing shield of blue appears in front of the ANBU team, just in time for their enemy to run into it before exploding.

“Fuck, that’s gross,” Tori says as the barrier disappears and Jakkaru lets go of his second-in-command.

“I’m aware,” Jakkaru responds, “but it was the only thing I could think to do on such short notice with us both injured.” Tori pushes his shoulder back into its joint, and Jakkaru swears. “Damn it, did you have to do that when I was in the midst of talking?” He asks rhetorically, “Never mind, what’s the prognosis regarding Kame?”

“She’s alright,” Tora says, “She just got knocked out. I think she’s got a fractured rib or two from being slammed into the tree, but aside from that and a possible concussion, she seems alright. I’d say to keep the pace slow for now and I recommend seeing a medic back home. Aside from all that, there’s the normal bruises and scrapes and exhaustion, but nothing more than the usual. Tori, do you require medical aid?”

“Possibly,” Tori responds, “I got a pretty bad kick to the knee just before, which is why I went down, and I think I twisted my ankle in the fight before that. Same leg as well.”

Tora’s hands glow green again as she runs them over Tori’s left leg. “Fuck,” she says. “You’ve got a dislocated kneecap,” she explains. “I’m going to put it back in place but you could be out for about six weeks. I also want you to stay off this leg the whole way back, even if that means one of us carries you. You’ve got a twisted ankle, but I’m not too worried about it. I’ll ease some of the pain and get rid of the swelling, but I’m more worried about this knee. You ready?”

“Go,” Tori says with gritted teeth. He grunts and flinches as Tora pushes his kneecap into place, before sighing as her hands glow green and she gets rid of most of the pain. “Jakkaru, you got anything I should be worried about?”

Jakkaru stretches out, feeling each muscle and checking over his limbs once again. “Might want to check my shoulder to ensure there was no additional damage, and I have a few cuts that I’ll need to get stitched up and you are not doing them,” he adds, sending Tora a sharp look, “as I can see you’re starting to tremble and you’ll need that chakra.”

“Alright,” Tora says as she runs her hands over his shoulder. “Your shoulder is fine.”

“Anything we should be aware of regarding yourself?” Jakkaru checks.

“No, I’ve just got the usual bruises and scratches and all that, but nothing too bad,” Tora says. Jakkaru nods and stands up again, “You want some help with those corpses?”

“Be good,” Jakkaru replies with a nod, “Tori, don’t you dare move.”

“Alright, I’ll be a good boy,” the ANBU responds, annoyance clear in his voice. “Kami, I hope I’m not out for so long, I’m going to actually be so bored.”

Jakkaru chuckles, and feel grateful that he can. Mika Asano, his genin teammate, might be dead and gone, but he’s killed her killer. While Asuka hadn’t actually killed the other chūnin, he had been the reason why she died.

Jakkaru watches as fire blooms, bright and hot, light and deadly, refreshing and life-like. He’s glad Asuka’s dead, and not just because the other chūnin betrayed Uzushio, although that is certainly part of the reason for his contentment. Asuka had dated Mika, and they had seemed good for each other, but it had only been so Asuka could get secret information regarding the files that Mika helped to keep. It had all been a farce, and Jakkaru is thankful he has killed Asuka in Mika’s name, in Mika’s revenge.

“Taichō?” Kame calls out in a mumbled voice. “Tori? Tora?”

“We’re all here,” Tori says quietly, as Kame returns to consciousness. Jakkaru and Tora walk over to their teammates, and Jakkaru is so thankful none of them had been taken from him in this fight. He’s glad that he still has his team, his family, those he trusts above all others – even his actual family. “We going back to camp, Taichō?”

“Yeah,” Jakkaru agrees, “We’ll have a rest and then head home.”

Seals are drawn, seals are made, seals are inscribed into skin and stone and they work, they live, they protect. The Uchiha Clan Compound starts to regain life. Koharu finds happiness in rediscovering who she is and being who she has always wanted to be. The Ninja Academy’s revamp begins in earnest. Team Five learn of Natsumi’s demise, and they continue to live on. Toru strives to find strength, and in doing so, he creates things that have never before been used. Meanwhile, Toru remembers the death of a teammate from a previous life, and remembers the aftermath; he also remembers the evacuation and its beginning.

Chapter Text

“I hate tests,” Naruto groans. “We’ve actually had so many in the past day. I don’t think I’ve ever seen more paper in my entire life!”

“I doubt anyone’s ever seen more blank paper in their entire life when they mark your work,” Sasuke responds.

“Hey!” Naruto says, jerking his head off the table and tackling Sasuke, forcing him off the bench and onto the grass behind the two. Sasuke grunts as he hits the ground, but instantly twists, causing Naruto to lose his grip. He elbows Naruto in the ribs, and Naruto yelps and with a shouted war cry, retaliates.

The pair continue to wrestle, until they slam into someone else, who grunts and falls onto them as their legs are knocked out from beneath them. Naruto wheezes as he gets stuck beneath Sasuke and someone else. He kicks his legs out feebly, before giving up with a wheezing breath and falls still, moaning. “You’ve killed me Sasuke,” he complains, even as the stranger gets off them. Sasuke quickly scrabbles upright, jerking Naruto up with him.

The pair find themselves facing one of their classmates. “Izumi-chan,” Naruto greets with a wide grin.

 “My name is Ino!” The girl screeches, as she steps away from the pair. “Ino Yamanaka! I’m in your class!”

Sasuke frowns at the girl who’s way too loud – and he lives with Naruto. The man next to her, probably taller than Toru, taps the blonde haired girl on the head and she shuts up, thankfully. “I think an apology is owed,” he says, and Sasuke turns his head away and remains silent.

“Sorry for getting your name wrong, Ino-chan!” Naruto says.

“I think Ino-chan deserves an apology for something else, don’t you two think?” A familiar voice says from behind them, and Sasuke spins, a grin pulling at his face.

“Toru!” He says, unable to keep the happiness out of his voice.

“Hey kids,” Toru says, crouching down and giving Sasuke and Naruto a hug. “Now, how about you apologise to Ino-chan for knocking her over?” He asks as he stands up.

“Sorry, Ino-chan,” Naruto says, his voice softer than before. “We didn’t see you there!”

Sasuke grunts, but Toru gives him a stern look. “Sorry,” he mumbles, gaze shifting downwards.

“Sorry for the annoyance these two have caused, Yamanaka-san,” Toru says, meeting Ino’s father’s eyes. “These two need to work on their spatial awareness clearly.”

“We were all that age once, Uchiha-san,” the older man says with a laugh. “Don’t worry about it. They apologised and that’s all that’s needed.”

“Indeed,” Toru responds. “Well, I need to talk with Iruka, so I’ll be heading off with these two. It was good talking to you again, Yamanaka-san.”

“You as well,” the other man says, before turning around and leaving.

“Who was that Toru?” Naruto asks. “Is he important? Is he a hero? Why does he have such long hair? How is it so pale?”

“One question at a time,” Toru says, ruffling Naruto’s hair as he heads towards Iruka’s main classroom. “That man was Ino’s father, and the Clan Head of the Yamanaka Clan.”

“I’ve never heard of them,” Naruto says after a moment of silence. “Are they important?”

“All clans are important,” Toru responds. “Sasuke will teach you about the clans in Konoha tonight,” he decides. “You both can go over the politics regarding them and the alliances.”

“Aww, but I thought we were gonna work on taijutsu again!” Naruto exclaims.

“After that display?” Toru asks, “The only thing that we would work on tonight is your spatial awareness.”

Sasuke frowns, “How would you do that?”

“You’d be blindfolded and working together to attack me, while I’ll throw things at you and teach you to dodge and avoid running into things, like how you ran into Ino-chan and knocked her over,” Toru says, just as they arrive at Iruka’s classroom.

“Toru, good to see you,” Iruka greets. “Did you have something to ask of me? I’ve got so many tests to mark currently. The overhaul of the Academy and the changes to the curriculum are unreal. So much testing needs to be done regarding the students who are currently at the Academy.”

“Sorry to add to your work in that case,” Toru says, “but can you keep an eye on these two? I’ve got a patrol mission on the border, so I’ll be out for a while.”

“You’ve got a mission?” Naruto says, turning to look up at Toru with sad eyes. Sasuke shuffles so he can lean against Toru’s leg. Toru sighs, but focusses on Iruka.

“How long are you gone for?” Iruka asks.

“I’m only a replacement and this counts as my first major patrol mission, so it’s expected that I’ll be out for a month. I think Hokage-sama just wants to give me a break though,” Toru divulges.

“I’ll keep my eye on the boys then,” Iruka says. “Did you have anything that needs to be done while you’re gone?”

Toru shakes his head, “If you could help the boys out with they’re taijutsu skills and book-based learning, though, that would be nice.”

“I’ll be around tomorrow morning then, when do you leave?”

“Tomorrow morning, early,” Toru says, pulling a face. “I’ll let you get back to your marking for now. If I don’t see you tomorrow, thank you for this.”

“It’s no problem, Toru,” Iruka responds with a wave.

“Are you really leaving for a month?” Sasuke asks quietly. “When did you find out?”

“I found out just before I came here,” Toru explains, “and yeah, I am. I’m sorry I can’t stick around, but I don’t really have a choice in this situation.”

“It’s not fair,” Naruto bites out petulantly, “You got things to do here.”

Sasuke hums in agreement, “What about Kiku-san and Shou-san?”

“What about us?” Naruto adds on. “Iruka-sensei’s gonna make us do work and not have fun and, and, and, and… I’m gonna miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, kid,” Toru says gently, “I’ll miss both you brats. I have to do this, though. Gotta listen to my leader, but I’ll be back before you know it. We’ll get through this and it’ll be like nothing ever happened. Sasuke, you’re in charge of keeping an eye on the dogs. Naruto, I’m relying on you to keep watch over our accounts and how much we have. Both of you will need to be sure that the building process is going alright, and you’re in charge of deciding whether people can live in the Uchiha Clan Compound or not. Sasuke knows which of the houses are up for rent. If you need help go to Kiku, Shou, or Iruka, alright?”

The two boys nod, and Toru gifts them with a smile. “What do you say we go get some training down now and then the bookwork when you guys are exhausted?”

Naruto’s already running down the path to the training ground the moment the words are out of Toru’s mouth, Sasuke sprinting behind him to catch up. Toru tilts his face to the sky and finds contentment.

Toru knows border patrol is boring – just as he knows that it’s also important. Still, he’s been here for almost two weeks and he’s starting to feel the lack of pretty much everything get to him.

Still, it hasn’t been all too bad. The spare time he has, and the fact he isn’t actually allowed to leave the outpost unless he’s on patrol, allows him to constantly work on his seals, which have improved astronomically. With the time he has, Toru’s tattooed four more seals onto his body. The first ones he tattooed are simple storage seals, two on his right bicep. Three days after doing that, he tattooed a gravity seal on each ankle, and has spent half a day, each day, using them to increase his speed.

Toru’s been careful with the use of his gravity seals. Gravity seals tend to increase the resistance a person feels when moving, making the person feel heavier – acting like weights. Continuous use, Toru knows, increases muscle mass and speed. However, when using the seals at a younger age, they can impact growth if they use it too much or at a high level to begin with. Toru, though, had once grown up in a village that breathed seals, and he knows how to use the seals properly. He knows that using a gravity seal frequently requires not using it for periods of time to adjust to his new speed and strength, as well as ensuring he doesn’t overtrain and impact his growth in a negative manner.

Toru checks his weapon pouches once more, checks the katana he’s recently started carting around in missions, even if it’s unnecessary. It’s a good way to get used to moving with the sheath on his back and used to the weight of the sword. The chūnin exchanges a glance with his patrol partner, Hayama Shirakumo – the leader of the patrol mission and outpost, motions him forward, and takes to the ground.

Toru uses one hand seal and feels the henge settle over him like a familiar article of clothing. He’s glad that he’s finally got the three hand seal jutsu down to one hand seal. The hard work he’s been putting into the E-rank ninjutsu has been paying off, and as Toru leaps from one tree to the next, he feels slightly nervous.

He takes heed of that emotion, because he hasn’t been nervous on any other patrols he’s done over the two weeks – give or take a few days. Something is up, and Toru can sense it in the way the bird calls are dying away as they move further along their patrol route.

Toru darts down and runs next to Hayama for a moment. :Possible enemy,: he signs in Konoha’s standard sign language.

:Acknowledged,: Hayama responds, :Return to position.: Toru nods and leaps up, moving from one branch to another like a Konoha-born shinobi (and is he Konoha-born or is he not? What home calls to him? Where does he belong?).

They continue moving in silence for an hour, and Toru feels his muscles loosen and his heart steady. This, he knows, is not a sign of relaxation, but a sign of getting ready. Clearly something is going to happen, and he knows it subconsciously. He sticks closer to the shadows, slows his movements and grows quieter. The henge seems to change, no longer something that stayed the same, but something that moved with every action Toru took.

His dedication to staying silent and unseen and unnoticed pays off when something targets Hayama. The jōnin below him grunts and rolls with the tackle, twisting out of the other’s grip and flipping away. Hayama’s chakra flares and Toru holds still, annoyance growing in his mind at the command Hayama’s chakra states. He does as asked, because he is a subordinate, but he still feels like he could help. He’s more than a chūnin, and no one else seems to know this, no one seems to recognise this.

He waits, but it’s clear that Hayama isn’t winning, and the moment Hayama falters, the moment the other ninja readies a killing blow, Toru is sweeping down, gravity seals releasing and henge disappearing.

The other ninja is forced away from Hayama as Toru sends a Wind Release: Gale Palm with a clap of his hands and a few words. He then flicks through a few hand seals, “Demonic Illusion: False Surrounding Technique, Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique, Genjutsu: Infinite Darkness Technique.” The first genjutsu hides Hayama from view, while the second distracts the ninja and the third works to help ensure that the genjutsu hiding Hayama isn’t broken. Most ninjas use one genjutsu at a time, with few using two. Toru rarely uses three, but only when he has to.

Toru ducks out of the way of a punch, side-stepping before flipping up and over the other’s head, using that time to go through another set of hand seals. The chakra swells within Toru, rising like a tsunami, and Toru lets it go as he says, “Water Release: Water Bullet Technique.” The ninja dodges the first two bullets, and catches the third on her shoulder, before she disappears into the forest in a blur of speed.

“Hold,” Hayama barks, but Toru is already turning to his mission leader.

“Injuries?” Toru asks quietly, flaring his chakra so that others from the outpost can find them. Hayama nods his head and Toru goes through four hand seals, “Diagnostic Technique,” he says, and his hands glow green. He runs them over Hayama. “You’ve got some pretty great bruises,” he says quietly and quickly, “and a few scratches. I’m sensing a pretty bad injury on your left arm and something’s up with your head, maybe a concussion.” The green glow from his hands fades and Toru settles back into a crouch with a sigh. “I’m afraid I can’t do more currently, but I’m working on it.”

“You did pretty well anyway,” Hayama says as he sits up with a pained grimace. “That was a missing-nin at high chūnin, if not jōnin, skill. I’m not risking your life or any other chūnin’s life going after her right now. We need backup, and we can’t leave the outpost unguarded.”

“Got it,” Toru says. He hears an almost silent sound, and whirls around, already preparing to attack with his chakra, just as two of his teammates come out of the forest. “Inuzuka-san, Hyūga-san,” he says with a tilt of his head. The Hyūga activates their byakugan, and Toru takes a step back from his position.

“Shirakumo-san may require medical assistance – injury on his left arm and unknown head injury, possibly a concussion. We were attacked by a missing-nin of around chūnin or jōnin skill; they continued into Hi no Kuni,” Toru quickly explains.

“Got it,” the Inuzuka, a jōnin by the name of Gaku, says. “Hyūga, you alright with watching these two? I’ll head back to the outpost and notify Konoha.”

Toru tilts his head, “Hyūga-san do we have incoming?” He asks, trusting his instincts and the sounds that he can barely hear that seem to be approaching.

The Hyūga, a chūnin called Tokuma, activates their byakugan and nods. “We do. A team of four, they seem to be approaching slowly and do not appear to be attacking. They might be tracking the missing-nin and coming from Ishigakure.”

Toru nods and takes a step back, pulling up a henge, and fading into the shadows, before taking to the branches. The group of four wait, silently and Hayama standing between Gaku and Tokuma, but a step back so he isn’t the first to engage. Silently, like a guard dog, Toru watches their backs.

A team of four, as Tokuma guessed, entered the clearing, and pause at the edge. “We are an Ishigakure team hunting down a missing-nin who goes by the name of Hoshiko Bakufu, a B-ranked ninja. Did she come this way, and do we have Konoha’s permission to travel through Hi no Kuni to capture him?”

“A missing-nin came through here not too long ago. One of my ninjas will go with you,” Hayama decides. “You are to capture the missing-nin and return to your land immediately.”

“Your ninja will need to keep up,” the leader of the group, a kunoichi who seems to be around Hayama’s age, says.

Toru leaps down from the branch he had used to watch over the group, and he focusses on one of the shinobi. “Kyou Takahashi, right?” He says, cutting through the conversation.

The chūnin frowns, before something like recognition crosses their face. “I remember you,” he says. “Chūnin exams in Sunagakure, yeah?”

Toru nods, “It checks out,” he tells Hayama.

“Very well, you’re with them then,” Hayama orders. Toru nods. “Inuzuka-san, Hyūga-san, you’re on patrol for now. I’ll return to the outpost. Uchiha-san, ensure that this team is out of Hi no Kuni in twenty-four hours.”

“Hai,” Toru says before turning to face the Ishi-nin. “I’ll follow from above,” he says quickly. “I’ll follow your leader’s orders and someone can run with me if you feel the need to. Otherwise, I recommend you move quickly. The missing-nin has already gotten further away, even if we slowed him down.”

The kunoichi in the lead nods, and scans her surroundings, before taking off with a gesture at Kyou. Toru quickly takes to the trees and Kyou follows, albeit slower. Toru adjusts his pace for the Ishi-nin, and keeps his senses on alert.

(The name Takahashi is one Toru doesn’t realise is so important. Well, he hadn’t realised the importance of it originally. He does now. The Takahashi Clan were once of Uzushio, and well-known for their barrier seals. However, twice in almost every three generations, a kekkei genkai would show up. The kekkei genkai had been the lava release, and had only increased the value of Uzushio’s Takahashi Clan. Like the other clans, they had evacuated Uzushio when the invasion occurred.)

“We’re getting close,” Kyou whispers almost silently to Toru, who tilts his head in understanding.

“I’ll stay out unless my help is necessary,” Toru says shortly. “Stay alive,” he says. “I’ll disappear from your view for now,” he adds just before creating a henge, and letting himself merge further with the shadows. Kyou blinks in surprise, almost misses his footing, before focussing on the mission.

Toru increases his pace as Kyou drops to the ground to be with his team. Toru keeps to the branches above. He pauses as the team surrounds the missing-nin, who has clearly decided to stop and face her pursuers. The missing-nin seems surprised at the existence of the team, and Toru wonders if she thought that Toru would be coming after her.

The leading kunoichi quickly engages the missing-nin, along with rest of the Ishigakure team, with the exception of Kyou, who steps back. The supporter, Toru realises, which is a good position for the Takahashi, but Toru remembers that taijutsu used to be the chūnin’s strength. It’s clearly changed if the chūnin is staying back. One of the Ishi-nin are knocked away from the battle, and when they stand, it’s clear that their arm is injured, if not broken. Kyou quickly moves in front of the injured shinobi, who frowns but with a sharp word from Kyou, doesn’t approach the fight.

The fight isn’t going well, Toru can see it just as the other ninjas can see it. The lead kunoichi gets trapped in a genjutsu, and the missing-nin stabs her, forcing her out of the fight. Kyou is clearly no medic, and Toru glances at Kyou and his worried face. Toru leaps down, henge disappearing. “Kyou, with me!” He calls, and hopes that the other ninja remembers working with him back in the Sunagakure chūnin exam.

The last Ishi-nin pulls out of the fight as Toru rushes in, and they quickly turn to their injured teammates. Toru grunts as he blocks a blow, and deflects another, before darting around one, and reaching Kyou’s side. “Ninjutsu,” Kyou hisses out as he side-steps a kick that shatters the ground, and Toru darts away.

Kyou goes through a bunch of hand seals and shouts something that Toru ignores as he does his best so speed through different sets of hand seals, using multiple ninjutsu techniques as lava spills out of Kyou’s mouth. “Wind Release: Sand Cloud Whirlwind, Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullets, Violent Whirlwind, Blade of Wind, Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!”

Toru curses and leaps forward, summersaulting on the ground to dodge a nasty earth jutsu, and then standing up. “Water Release: Clone Technique,” he says, darting away as a clone forms. He meets up with Kyou and the pair work to injure the missing-nin. Hoshiko is already injured from the other ninjas, and Toru’s eyes pinpoint a nasty cut that keeps bleeding whenever the kunoichi puts weight on her left leg, and the fact she appears to be protecting her left side more carefully – probably an injury to her ribs.

“Kyou, pull back!” Toru shouts, as he finishes one set of hand seals, his hands in the position of the tiger hand seal. Kyou instantly pulls back, and Toru’s chakra swells and rises around him and he is an Uzukage and no one will die here. “Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!” The fiery dragon sweeps forwards, its giant maws opening and slamming shut around the missing-nin, who screams, but doesn’t manage to escape. The fire ninjutsu disappears and Kyou attacks using his kekkei genkai, and the pair both pull back, standing side to side and hoping that the missing-nin is no longer alive.

Kyou steps forward, silent and careful, watching and wary. “She’s dead,” he announces, turning to his team. “How is everyone?”

“Oi, I should be asking you that, brat,” the leader says, standing up with a hand on the position where she had been stabbed. “I’m not too badly off. I got healed, so I’ll live, but damn am I sore. Ken’ichi broke his arm, so the break will be healed, but we’ll splint his arm anyway. What about you and your Konoha-nin?”

“Exhausted,” Kyou reports. “My chakra levels are almost at critical, but aside from the bruises I’m gonna get, I’m not injured. Toru?”

“Uninjured,” Toru says, unwilling to give anything more.

The leading kunoichi surveys him with a flat expression. “I doubt that, but very well. We’ll return across the border. Takahashi-san, seal the body. Konoha-nin, you happy to lead us back?”

Toru nods his head, and resolves to keep a steady and slow pace. He gives the group a moment, before heading back towards the border. He settles into a loping jog, that’s fairly slow. Kyou keeps pace with him, and they stay silent for a few minutes, before Toru breaches it.

“Have you ever heard of Uzushio?” He asks curiously, but also keeping an eye on Kyou to see how the other boy reacts.

Kyou stumbles, “Uzushio?” He repeats, and the word sounds familiar, tinged with an almost-there accent that Toru used to live with, used to have.

“So you have,” Toru states simply, because that’s all there is to it.

“No, I haven’t,” Kyou says adamantly, nervously. “What makes you say that? What is Uzushio?” He adds a beat later.

“The way you say Uzushio – you sound like you hold the accent of the village. I asked you that because of your clan name, Takahashi,” Toru explains quietly.

“How?” Kyou asks, confusion marring his tone.

Toru shrugs his shoulders, “I’m not exactly sure just yet,” he says. “Tell the Elders though, tell your clan. I have important information.”

“What do you want me to say?” Kyou asks, “I might tell them, I might not. It depends.”

“Tell them that the sea never dies,” Toru says, the words soothing on his tongue, old and treasured. “Tell them to keep Ayumu’s last gift close, for in the coming years the world will shake as a village returns. Tell them that Jakkaru remains and survives, and that there are things that need to be completed first before Uzushio regains her full strength.”

Kyou swallows. “I thought you were an Uchiha,” he murmurs. “Yet, some of the words you say are familiar.”

“Let’s just say that Uchiha blood is not the only thing that rests in my veins, in my heart, in my soul,” Toru says. Toru runs chakra through the tattoo-seal on his lower left arm, which looks like a pair of insect wings. The tattoo-seal, used to summon the Shita Clan, summons Amaya.

“Toru-sama,” the cockroach greets with a trill in their voice. “Well met.”

“Indeed, Amaya-san,” Toru agrees. “Would you be able to find the chūnin beside me in the future?”

Amaya pauses, and leaps from Toru’s shoulder onto Kyou’s shoulder, and Kyou almost stumbles again. “I will be able to find him to give him a message if necessary. Is that all, Toru-sama?”

“Yes, thank you Amaya-san,” Toru says. The cockroach nods and disappears in a small puff of smoke. “I’ll be in contact if the time calls for it,” Toru says, just as they reach the border outpost.

Toru nods at the Hayama, who turns to the Ishigakure ninjas and Toru slips off to go sleep.

“Are all the genin gone?” Toru asks Ume, the leader of the Genin Corps, who is – incidentally – a jōnin.

“Yes,” Ume reports. “They left with either their teams or with their families, if there are ninjas within their families. The teams left with their jōnin-senseis, so we are down some jōnins. Is that all, Uzukage-sama?”

“Yes, thank you Ume-san. Stay safe,” he adds.

“Stay strong,” the jōnin returns before leaving the Hokage’s office, just as Tamotsu enters.

Toru sighs as he turns to face the jōnin in charge of the Chūnin Corps, a well-respected shinobi who had retired from missions after the Second War, but continues to aid Uzushio. “I hope you have good news, Tamotsu-san,” he says in greeting.

“I don’t think any of us can deal with more bad news, Uzukage-sama,” the older man says wryly. “The majority of the Chūnin Corps have left or are in the midst of leaving. Of course, there are those in the ANBU who will stay, along with some of the clans.”

“Thank you, Tamotsu-san,” Toru says, fixing a tired grin to his face. “I think I’ve managed to convince more of the clans to leave this week. Kirigakure running up against our stronger barriers has everyone wanting to stay and fight.”

“This is our home,” Tamotsu reminds Toru, “How can we not want to fight for that?”

Toru tilts his head, “I agree with that sentiment, but I’d prefer to have my people alive and well rather than lying with the ruins of my village.”

Tamotsu pauses, the older shinobi staring at Toru and seeming to find only something he can see. “You would have been a good Uzukage, even in peacetime. It’s a pity you had to be our Uzukage in these times.”

“Thank you, Tamotsu-san, but forgive me for feeling like this, but I do wish that I wasn’t in this seat and it was Ayumu instead.”

“Her time ended too soon,” Tamotsu murmurs in agreement, “however, she would be glad it’s you in the seat. You were genin teammates, were you not?”

“We were,” Toru says with a nod of his head. “I best get back to work, thank you for staying Tamotsu.”

Tamotsu bows, a subordinate to his Uzukage, “May the sea never die,” he murmurs as he leaves.

Toru smiles at the words, the phrase has become something of a common saying with every passing day. It’s something said in hope, in fierce determination, in resilience, in spite, in bitterness, and in life.

“Uzukage-sama?” Kaito calls, and Toru smiles in greeting.

“Kaito-san,” the Yondaime Uzukage says. “I hope you bring information about the clans?”

“I do indeed,” Kaito, advisor to Uzukage’s of past and present, responds. “Many from the Abe, Akimizu, Asano, Hagoromo, Hayashi, Kaguya, Kurosawa, and Sasaki Clans have left. Some of the clan members are refusing to leave their home as expected, but we believe we can convince some of them to stay. The ANBU are also staying, as per their own decision. Select groups from the Kaguya Clan are staying behind to aid in the fighting, mainly elderly members who know they won’t last too long. The Hayashi Clan leave behind two groups, so there are only a few families leaving considering their already small numbers.”

Toru sighs in relief, glad to hear that so many of his people are escaping and continuing to live. A frown crosses his face as he picks up on Kaito’s worry. “What problem are you thinking they will encounter?”

Kaito lets out a sharp breath, perhaps in surprise or maybe in worry. “The hunting-nin may follow after our clans, and those with young children may slow the groups down. In conjunction with that, the Hayashi Clan and the Kaguya Clan require seals to manage aspects that come with being apart of their clan – as is their nature. I am fearful that they will lose the members of their clans who can do this and that if Uzushio splits up, then they may find themselves returning to the way they lived before they joined Uzushio around thirty-five years ago.”

“Your worries are ones I’ve already had,” Toru says, “and, unfortunately, there is not much we can do about them. We simply have to hope that the clans all manage to escape successfully, and ready ourselves to provide the distraction they need. I will see if I can push our actions forward and increase the speed of the evacuation, which will ensure that everything moves quicker for we who remain and that those who flee are safer. The two clans have seal masters, and we can only hope that they remain safe.”

“I do not like fixing everything on hope,” Kaito responds, “but I understand that it is what we must do.”

“I know how you feel,” Toru says, aborting the moment to run his fingers through his hair, remembering of the hat he now wears. “What of the other clans? Have they finally been convinced to leave?”

“Some of the Uzumaki clan members have finally left, mainly those with young children or are expecting children. They spread out and left only in small groups. However, most of the Uzumaki Clan refuse to leave as they want revenge for Ayumu-sama’s death, along with pointing out how we need their barrier skills,” Kaito says.

Toru looks down, sadness blooming in his heart and the reminder of Ayumu’s death. “We don’t know who killed Ayumu,” he points out weakly.

“You know as well as I do that Kirigakure is the only ones who have reason to do such a thing, whether Konoha is starting a war or not,” Kaito reminds. “Anyway, the Takahashi Clan are currently refusing to leave so they can also help with the wards and barriers, but you expected them to remain a bit longer so we can hide everything away that no one aside from Uzushio should lay their hands on or know the information we hold here. Your clan, the Mizushima Clan, are refusing to leave because you are here, leading Uzushio, and they refuse to leave while you stay. You will need to get them to leave by yourself; I cannot do that for you.”

“Thank you for your work, Kaito-san,” Toru says. “Your work has been invaluable. Am I correct in thinking we have a week left?”

“It’ll be a push, but I believe you can manage it,” Kaito responds. The ninja bows. “May the sea never die.”

“May it never die,” Toru intones a moment later, even as Kaito leaves the office.

As Toru turns the page for the next chapter, he opens to find torn scroll with words written in ink, neatly printed across one side. The handwriting is familiar in a distant way, and it takes Toru a moment to recall where he has seen it – on a desk in Shisui’s room, a message from Itachi.

The name of the shinobi who murdered his family has Toru knuckles going white as he tightly grips the book he had previously been reading, previously been enjoying. Toru’s anger, while due to his fallen family, rises within him because of Sasuke. It’s not a righteous anger, but something dark and hurting. It’s the darkness that Toru is aware he holds and the darkness he does not chain but contains. It’s anger for someone ruining Sasuke’s childhood, for taking his family, for leaving a young boy so scarred and hurting.

It is Toru who pushes past this anger, though, because he knows what it can do, knows what it can cause. Toru reads the message, and finds the anger draining from him as curiosity and something like concern (something has never been right and he needs to rememberrememberremember, there’s something off and it’s just waiting to be discovered and it’s just out of reach and…).

Shortness of breath – Experienced
Coughing – Experienced
Hemoptysis – Experienced
Chest pain – Experienced
Fatigue – Experienced
Malaise – Experienced
Mononeuritis multiplex – No sign
Myocardial infarction – No sign
Scleritis – No sign
Retinal haemorrhage – No sign
Weight loss – No sign
Myalgia – Experienced
Skin problems – Possibly experienced as blisters
Kidney damage – No outward sign
Conclusion: Symptoms not due to mangekyō sharingan – possible contraction of microscopic polyangiitis

Toru reads the note again, confusion prevalent in his mind. He understands little of what Itachi has written. He understands enough to guess that it is a list of symptoms to do with microscopic polyangiitis, whatever that is, and what symptoms Itachi had experienced. Flipping the page results in something that may provide more information and Toru is quick to close his book and with a whistle to the dogs, exit the apartment building.

Toru had been surprised to find himself riveted by A Samurai Retreat: An Analysis of Ninjas Compared to Samurai. A book written by samurai and explains why the samurais retreated from the rest of the Elemental Countries to relocate in Tetsu no Kuni, and look at the psychology behind the hidden villages, as well as compare the tasks of samurai and ninjas and their skillsets and abilities. Although saddened at having left the book behind and having his reading interrupted, Toru can’t help but feel excited and partially nervous as he follows the message Itachi had inadvertently left behind.

Toru has no doubts that Itachi had forgotten about the note, or felt safe enough to leave it in one of Shisui’s books, clearly trusting the older shinobi (a murderer would not trust someone within the group he plans to murder – something is out of place). The message itself is fairly short and vague, but Toru has fond memories of sitting on top of a cliff, watching the slow, steady flow of the Naka River. Therefore, when Toru sees the message about a ‘joyful river’ and a ‘cliff side retreat’ and a ‘storing point’, he can only think of the Naka River.

Toru stands on the cliff overlooking the Naka River and feels unsteady, feels like he should know something about this place, feels like there’s something on the tip of his tongue which is heavy with meaning and burdensome answers. Here and now, Toru casts off these chains – or he tries to – and ignores them, because he isn’t here to be weighed down by mysterious of past and present and future. He is here for a reason, for a cause, and he will focus on that.

“On guard,” Toru tells two of the dogs – Haruto and Ken, as the other two are out and about with Naruto and Sasuke, probably causing mischief that Toru would prefer not to know about. Haruto instantly slinks off to go hide under a clump of nearby trees, while Ken barks softly and sits down, ears pricked.

Toru channels chakra to his feet and starts walking down the cliff side, eyes roving to spot something unusual or abnormal. He doesn’t see anything aside from rocks, and it’s only when Toru is climbing back up that he finally sees something out of place. It’s something that very few people would see, even if they were ninjas. He only sees it because of the natural cliffs that were just out of Uzushio, and how often he scoured that land as an ANBU searching for clues or tracking others.

There’s a fairly smooth patch of cliff just below the edge of the actual ground, and that’s not unusual; there are quite a few smooth patches around. What catches Toru’s attention is the way there are a few cracks beneath a piece of rock that juts out of the cliff by about four centimetres. Toru can almost imagine feet fitting into the cracks and someone placing something on the sticking out rock.

Toru doesn’t use the cracks to hold his feet, instead he changes his position so he is in a crawling position with the projecting out rock in line with his eyes. He channels chakra to his hands, knees, lower legs, and feet, and looks at the rock. There’s nothing there at all, but he knows there is or that there should be.

The only reason why Toru thinks he doesn’t see anything is because the thing here requires the sharingan to look at, and Toru doesn’t have his clan’s kekkei genkai. Thankfully, Toru knows seals and there are seals for these kinds of things. Hopefully all that is hidden is another seal, as otherwise Toru’s trick won’t work.

Toru focusses on the Two Locks Seal – one of the base seals. The seal itself normally joins parts of a seal together to make one seal; however, it does have a simpler purpose by itself. When not used in conjunction with other seals, and the central identifier changed from tsuraneru to arawareru, the seal can be placed directly on another seal and forces the seal to be seen for a brief amount of time and separates the seal into layers and expands it if the seal is confined. The seal looks like two triangles that cross over, but the triangles appear to each have one line behind the other triangle’s line, creating an optic illusion where the triangles seem to be on opposite angles and look like locks locked together.

Toru places his hand on the warm rock, “Fūin,” he whispers softly, and watches as a fairly complex storage seal expands in glowing blue lines, stretching upwards and expanding outward. Toru takes it in quickly, eyes brushing through layers and locating identifiers and base seals and finding traps. With the knowledge and experience of a seal master who grew up in Uzushio and has worked with seals all his life, Toru gets to work unravelling the seal so he can activate it without the correct chakra and keys.

It’s not the easiest thing to do, but it’s far from the hardest seal Toru has ever had to unravel – and it isn’t too nasty either. It’s mainly based on Uzumaki techniques and old traps from Uzushio, things that had breathed once upon a time. With one last twist and another seal added to the seal that Toru lays over the storage seal, the original storage seal seems to shiver before dispersing. The seal collapses inward, blue lines vanishing and sparking, causing rock to crumble. Toru pushes himself closer to the rock as around him bits of the cliff tumble down into the river, which is moving at a rapid pace. When it is done, he finds himself looking at what had existed in the storage seal.

There’s a medical book, which Toru expected to see, and a few other notebooks and pieces of paper. Toru grabs them all and stores them in one of the storage seals on his right bicep, figuring that he doesn’t want people asking him questions about the things he found.

With a chakra assisted leap, Toru lands back above the cliff and on the ground again. He whistles softly, and heads out at a steady lope towards the apartment, desperately wanting to go through what he had found. He cuts through the darkened alleys, knowing as he does how people tend to avoid such places so they don’t see the homeless and less privileged. With almost just a thought, Toru uses the transformation technique to slip into the shadows to hide, now used to constantly training with the basic ninjutsu.

When Toru arrives back in the apartment, still quiet without the clutter and banging of two pre-teens, he quickly opens the medical book, easily locating the entry regarding microscopic polyangiitis.

Microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) is an uncommon disease that results from blood vessel inflammation that can result in damage to organ systems. Areas most commonly affected by MPA include the kidneys, lungs, nerves, skin, and joints. It has many similar symptoms with another form of vasculitis (a group of diseases featuring the inflammation of the wall of blood vessels) called granulomatosis with polyangiitis, and treatments for both diseases are similar.

MPA is, essentially, an auto-immune disorder, and characterised by antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies attacking the small vessels, causing them to bleed as they become damaged and inflamed.

The average age MPA occurs is around fifty years, but it isn’t uncommon for patients below the age of twenty to have MPA. The disease appears to impact both genders equally. Despite being an auto-immune disorder, it doesn’t have a tendency to run in families and therefore isn’t seen as genetic nor is the disease contagious.

The exact cause of the disease is unknown. Many medical theories believe that there needs to be a trigger event, such as disease or a major bout of inflammation that sets the production of antibodies into overdrive.

One of the most common ways MPA manifests itself is with renal involvement. In some cases, there is no outward appearance of damage regarding the kidneys, but this does not mean there isn’t any damage.

50% of MPA cases report skin involvement. This includes a range of symptoms from small blisters to necrosis and gangrene. Other reports demonstrate that MPA only caused splinter haemorrhages or small areas of bleeding under the nails.

One symptom of MPA is haemoptysis, which is often the result of diffuse alveolar haemorrhage – which is a classic symptom of MPA when it occurs with pulmonary (relating to the lungs) manifestations. Other symptoms that occur are shortness of breath and coughing. Unlike the previous disease mentioned (granulomatosis with polyangiitis), the upper respiratory tract is normally spared. All the damage that occurs tends to be deeper in the lungs.

Weight loss is another symptom often affiliated with the disease, along with fatigue, malaise (a general feeling of discomfort, illness, or unease whose exact cause is difficult to identify), and loss of appetite.

Painful sensations due to the peripheral nervous system such as mononeuritis multiplex (a painful, asymmetrical, asynchronous sensory and motor peripheral neuropathy involving isolated damage to at least two separate nerve areas), myalgia (pain in a muscle or group of muscles), and joint pain.

One of the more deadly symptoms of MPA is myocardial infarction (simply put, a heart attack). Chest pain and other signs of cardiac failure aren’t uncommon effects of this disease.

There are numerous symptoms that are related to MPA, and some are common while others are quite uncommon. One of the more uncommon effects MPA has is the impact it has on the eyes. The most common form of ocular involvement in MPA is retinal haemorrhage and scleritis (a serious of inflammatory diseases that affect the white outer coating of the eye).

There is no cure for the disease. The treatment of MPA requires a combination of different steroids and immunosuppressive agents. Treating the disease requires the immune system to be supressed, meaning that patients receiving treatment often require specific antibiotics and vitamins. If MPA is left untreated, it can be serious as untreated MPA has a high mortality rate with the five-year survival rate being under 25%.

Toru clicks his tongue, and feels something stupid like worry in his heart. The evidence, or at least some of it, leaves Toru to believe that Itachi has MPA, and the Uchiha knew about it. Toru’s worry regarding Itachi’s survival is strange and uncalled for. It’s unlike him to be fearful for his enemies; it’s unprecedented. It could be something new, but there could be something else here. Perhaps Toru’s subconscious has picked up something that Toru hasn’t.

Toru breathes, and takes a step back from his emotions, from his own inner conflict. He thinks back to the painful memories of dealing with the aftermath of the massacre. What had happened? What had been his thoughts? What had he paid attention to? What unusual things had occurred?

Toru had never met Itachi, but he had heard things about the older boy, mainly from Shisui. Shisui had been a good judge of character, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been infallible. Everyone was fallible. Still, Toru takes a moment to think that maybe Shisui had been right. After all, the likelihood of one person – the person closest to Itachi – having a different opinion to everyone else made Toru more likely to believe the one person.

Shisui had said Itachi had been strong of mind, had been protective, had been quiet, thoughtful. He had been mature, and observed people rather than interact with them. He had been fairly unbiased, and although he seemed close with people – Shisui had divulged in a whisper-silent tone – he never felt close to them. He was loyal, to the village, to the clan. He loved his family and wanted the best for them, and always put himself last. Toru remembers this, and he pushes that information aside from now, deciding to first gather all the information he holds; he will put it all together at the end.

When Toru had woken up, there had been a constant vocalising by the Hokage regarding how Toru hadn’t been alone. It had been subtle, but Toru’s always been slightly aware, and even hurting and emotional, he had been paying attention and had noticed it. The repeating of Itachi’s name, the constant use of inclusive pronouns. The push for Toru to be loyal to Konoha, (and it’s funny how that’s working out – Toru is loyal to Sasuke and Naruto, to Uzushio, to Konoha, and in that order).

What reason did Itachi have to kill his clan? Their clan? Toru’s been told it was Itachi testing his strength but… no one had been surprised Itachi had been able to kill the clan. They had been surprised he had done so, but not surprised that he could. Surely there had been others who were stronger – the Hokage, Kakashi the Copy-nin, and clans of great strength.

Shisui had warned Toru after his death, had left clues that his death hadn’t been an accident, hadn’t been a choice. Shisui knew something was up, and days after his death Itachi goes out and murders the clan.

(This is where his Uzushio sensei would tell him to stop, to breathe, to calm down and stop thinking. She would tell him to focus on one thing and work his way through that and then move on. This is where he would be told to look at the information carefully and to consider it and put it all together multiple ways to see which way it all fit best.)

(Unfortunately, no one is left to tell him this, and instead all that Toru has is memories.)

Let’s say everything Toru knows is true, is right, and see where the information leads him. Itachi has a disease that will kill him, and the only way he might not die from it is if Tsunade or someone of equal talent regarding medical skill and her medical knowledge. Before his death, Shisui had been worried about something, and fearful that something would happen to Toru as an Uchiha. Itachi had apparently killed for power, but hadn’t gone after the most powerful. Toru had been pushed to trust the village, to not blame Konoha. Itachi had loved his family, loved his village, loved his clan. Itachi had been protective and, although quiet, had been Shisui’s friend.

(When Shisui had first described Itachi, Toru could only see it that where Shisui was the pale light and shadow of the moon, Itachi was the half-hidden figure in a dim-lit ally. Now, Toru sees Shisui as being the figure hidden by the light of the moon and Itachi as the figure emerging from the shadows, weapon shining in the light.)

He needs to put it together, needs to put puzzle piece in after puzzle piece and see what picture it forms. He looks at what he knows and he can feel pieces clicking together.

Itachi clearly knows his life expectancy is low. Itachi knows there are others more powerful than the Uchiha Clan but didn’t go after them. Shisui believed that Itachi was trustworthy, was loving, would protect. Toru was pushed to believe that the village was behind him.

Something in Konoha is corrupt. Shisui warned Toru. Itachi was dying, is dying. Itachi was meant to love his clan, love his village.

Something rotten in Konoha… Uchiha Clan killed by Itachi… Itachi doing it to prove himself but having more powerful targets that would actually prove his power… Toru being pressed into trusting Konoha…

There’s only one way Toru can make sense of it all, and he doesn’t like the thoughts connecting in his brain. Konoha is at the root of the Uchiha Clan’s massacre, and Itachi was somehow forced into doing it, and it was something more important than his life, because Itachi was – is – dying. Sasuke, traumatised, but left alive. Something worth more than anything else, including Itachi’s life. That fit in with Shisui’s picture of Itachi being loving and being protective. The only thing that Toru doesn’t yet know or understand is the corruption within Konoha. Surely, it couldn’t have been the spies because it’s simple to reveal them. There’s something much more wicked hiding in the shadows, and Toru will be ready to face it when it appears. He’s sure of it.

“Are you alright?” Toru asks. Ayumu looks up, Uzukage hat shadowing her eyes. They aren’t anywhere in public, not even in the Uzukage’s office. Rather, they’re in Ayumu’s house, her bedroom to be exact, and Toru is off duty as of a few minutes ago.

Ayumu lifts her head, and pauses before answering, she gives Toru a pointed look. “ANBU, move out,” Toru orders, his voice barely louder than a whisper, but still there’s a whirl of action as a group of three ANBU move. The fourth ANBU, the captain, stands in front of Toru and Ayumu, before saluting and disappearing.

Ayumu’s chakra flares and lines flood the room as a privacy seal comes to life, being activated once more. The lines are graceful and curved and Toru doesn’t even understand all of it, which is unusual but not unheard of. Toru isn’t the best with privacy seals, although he is a fair hand at it. Ayumu has always been better though, but she’s only ever focussed on a few seals.

“What’s on your mind?” Toru asks, seeing Ayumu as clearly as he has always seen his best friend. Ayumu had been his friend before he even went into the Academy, and although he’s closer with his ANBU team – for they are like family, Ayumu is still his genin teammate, childhood friend, best friend.

“I just don’t understand,” Ayumu responds, voice low with confusion, frustration, and perhaps bitterness entwined with anger. Toru waits her out, knowing as he does that Ayumu will eventually explain her thoughts.

“It doesn’t make sense! Kirigakure was an ally. Why are they attacking now?” Ayumu says, throwing her hands up into the air in such an unguarded manner that Toru’s heart warms with the knowledge Ayumu trusts him.

“Kirigakure was a neutral ally,” Toru reminds his Uzukage. “There was no actual alliance in place. We all knew that in the coming war, we would be facing them.”

“We weren’t at war though, not really. There hadn’t been any major battles or major moves by other villages to incite Kirigakure attacking us,” Ayumu responds. Toru shifts his weight, settles into a new position, and stares at Ayumu, who quickly cracks. “Oh, alright, yes, everyone did know the war was going to happen and the tension was quite high. We were all waiting for it, but that doesn’t mean they have to start anything!”

Toru hums in agreement, but they both know the truth – that in reality, it is best to strike hard and quickly and take out your enemies while they are unprepared. “What really confuses me,” Toru says slowly, the thought only just appearing in his mind for the first time, “is why Kirigakure would attack us. We’re at the height of our power currently, and only getting stronger.”

“A question that will never have an answer,” Ayumu responds after a pause to think. “After all, Iwagakure hasn’t made any moves, but we know that they would move quickly after we fend off Kirigakure’s attack and are weakened. I suppose this is what we get for partially protecting Kirigakure without an alliance.”

“We did get trading out of it,” Toru points out, but his response is half-hearted at best. The truth of the matter is that Kirigakure, despite not having an alliance with Uzushio, had been counted as an ally. This was because the two villages, and therefore countries, had counted on each other for trading. Kirigakure, a fair way from the mainland and with vastly different conditions, required resources that Uzushio could get at easily due to their connection with Konoha and the closeness of the mainland. Along with that, Kirigakure received protection as Uzushio would stand between them and any other village, but there was no guarantee that Uzushio would halt any other force. Still, those in Uzushio had thought of Kirigakure as an ally. Allys change and betray and turn, but that doesn’t mean Uzushio expected it. Perhaps they should have.

“C’mon, spar with us, please?” Naruto whines, drawing out the vowels of the last word. Toru shifts his eyes to Sasuke, who gives a short nod, and Toru lets out a light laugh.

“Sure, it’ll be good to see what you guys worked on in the month I was gone,” Toru agrees. “Did Iruka help you guys with anything?”

“He introduced us to two of us friends,” Sasuke smoothly interjects before Naruto can shout something. “Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane. We worked with them for a bit. Kotetsu-san helped me with my kenjutsu and Izumo-san helped Naruto with his taijutsu. However, they both gave a demonstration and they can use so many weapons, although Kotetsu-san can use more.”

“An’ Iruka-sensei forced us to study the book you left behind and it was sooo boring!” Naruto adds in, jumping on the spot even as the trio head towards one of the training grounds. “Izumo-san said I improved lots and that my taijutsu was gettin’ better and soon I would even beat Sasuke-teme in a fight!”

“He said you might, baka,” Sasuke instantly retorts. “‘Cause I’m better than you and no one can beat me – aside from Toru.”

“I dunno about that. Kotetsu-san seemed pretty good at beatin’ you,” Naruto says, sticking out his tongue and darting into a run to get to the training ground first. Toru glances over at Sasuke, whose shoulders are hunched and hands are in fists, with a scowl on his face.

“I’m getting stronger. I’m strong,” Sasuke mumbles. “I gotta be strong,” and Toru thinks this is something they need to speak about, need to confront, and he sees no other time but now.

“There are many kinds of strength,” Toru says lightly, as if remarking on something small. “Mental strength for one, and physical strength as another, but there are many more. There are reasons for why strength is needed as well, and each reason can – in fact – influence a person’s strength.”

“I need to be strong,” Sasuke reiterates, but this time he stops, tilting his head to look up at Toru. Toru stops as well, his heart racing in a way it never does in a fight or in a mission. “I need to avenge our family. I need to kill him. I’m an avenger.”

This is a focal point, and the path head that Toru sees lies flat and down and he doesn’t want to follow that path. “Don’t,” Toru says, and there’s something like fear in his voice but Sasuke doesn’t catch it. Sasuke almost flinches at the sharp sound, but he doesn’t, (and this is trust, Toru thinks but doesn’t say). “Don’t live for revenge, to be an avenger. Don’t live to kill, don’t live to avenge.”

“He killed our family!” Sasuke says, (and yes, Toru thinks, this is true, but Toru’s family had already been dead and Toru had been drifting, barely living, but Itachi had given Toru this – a reason to live, Sasuke, a family, people to care for, the ability to fight, the reminder of who he had been, the realisation that Toru is more than Toru Uchiha. No, it does not mean Toru likes Itachi for what he’s done. Toru would prefer it if the massacre had never happened, even if that meant Uzushio was lost and perhaps this is selfish, but Toru is a selfish creature and for Sasuke he would do anything). “How- How can you not want revenge for that? He killed everyone Toru. He killed them and I saw it all happen and I couldn’t do anything and he murdered them!”

“You go out and face him,” Toru says, his voice steady but emotionless, “and what happens if you don’t come back? What if you fail? What if he takes you from me?”

“What if he kills you?” Sasuke shoots back.

“Then I will have died doing what I believed in, fighting for the people I love. I am not an avenger, Sasuke, and I never will be. I cannot kill and kill and kill and keep on killing without reason, without real cause. I cannot do this for something that happened in the past, and no one can ask me to. I will kill, yes, for the sake of a mission because this is how I can protect Konoha. That’s what I am – a protector. I will always be a protector, first and foremost. I will stop Itachi, I will kill Itachi, but only to protect. I will not seek him out, but I will always stand between you and the blade he wields.”

“I don’t want you to do that!” Sasuke shouts, voice loud.

“Allow me this, Sasuke,” Toru says quietly. “Let me control my own wishes, my own choices – let me make them. Let me ensure you do not die if I cannot help it. After all, I imagine you would stand between Naruto and death, and you would hate me if I told you that you weren’t allowed to do that, and Naruto had to do. That is how I feel, Sasuke. Do not hate me for this.”

“I don’t want you to die!” Sasuke responds, and the words are almost shouted, only drawn down to a softer sound at the last possible second. “I can’t… I can’t let him take the last of my family from me. I can’t let him take you or Naruto.”

“He is the one who wants you to do this. Sasuke you are listening him, rather than yourself. You are letting him take this decision from you,” Toru says seriously, and at some point during their conversation, he has crouched down in front of the younger Uchiha.

“What about our clan, those he murdered?”

“How about this,” Toru suggests, the words rolling off his tongue, “how about we get justice? How about we bring him in and force him to face justice for what he did? But, Sasuke, remember how I said there may be something sinister in Konoha? I’m finding more evidence that there was something deeper at play, but I don’t know what yet.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Sasuke says over a minute later, his body seemingly relaxed but Toru sees it as drained. “I just don’t know.”

“What else can you do but live?” Toru says, and his words are kind and the tone is gentle, but sometimes living is the hardest thing to do. “We will live as we do and as we must, and we will wait to see what the future holds and what information we find. We will wait until we know what we have, and we will decide then.”

“Hurry up!” Naruto’s scream cuts through their conversation, and a small smile rises appears on both faces.

“I suppose we can wait,” Sasuke says. “Can you tell me if you discover anything?”

Toru nods, “Of course,” because damn the rules and the laws, this is Toru’s family and he doesn’t care what Konoha or the Hokage thinks. He will do what he wants and what he must, and this is his decision.

(Toru dares the world and he faces it with all he has.)

“I have news for both of you,” Kiku says. The three of them – Kiku, Shou, and Toru – are laying stretched out beneath the shade of one of the giant trees in one of Konoha’s many training grounds. Ken is curled up beside Toru, while the other dogs are elsewhere. Aki and Teisatu are with Naruto and Sasuke, who are training with Izumo and Kotetsu, whom Toru has now met. Meanwhile, Haruto is currently prowling with Kakumau, as per Toru’s orders.

With a loud sigh, Shou rolls so that he’s on his stomach and facing Kiku. “Do you feel like telling us this news or do you plan to leave us waiting?”

Kiku rolls her eyes, “I’m getting there,” she responds. “But even talking hurts. We just had such a harsh spar.”

“You’ll thank me when you’re still alive after a tough fight,” Toru says, but the workout has even him sore and muscles aching, so he doesn’t say much more.

“Your news?” Shou reminds.

“I got asked out!” Kiku says, bright smile on her face.

(Even with death, the world moves on.)

“Congratulations?” Shou says, sounding slightly confused, at Kiku’s glare he makes his congratulations sound much more sincere.

“Who is it?” Toru asks, “Anyone we know?”

“Possibly,” Kiku responds after aborting a shrug upon remembering how sore her muscles are. “I met him on a mission. He’s a chūnin like us, but a year older, so fifteen years old.”

“What are you guys gonna do on your date?” Shou questions.

“I think we’re just getting lunch first at some popular café,” Kiku explains. “Other than that, I think we’re taking it slow.”

“You’re the first one out of all of us to have a relationship,” Shou says.

“I don’t know about that,” Toru responds, an amused smile curling onto his face. As the others turn to him in surprise, the grin widens, “I have a pretty good relationship with my best pal, Ken over here.”

“You suck,” Kiku says, “I hate you. Why do we put up with you? You have terrible jokes, a horrible sense of humour, and put us through such hard workouts we would prefer to be dead.”

“You love me,” Toru replies.

Shou heaves a big sigh. “Unfortunately,” he says. “Kami knows why.”

Toru laughs. “You ever going to go on a date?” He asks Shou, “Or aren’t you interested in any of that?”

Shou shrugs, “I’ve had crushes, but I’ve never really been asked out or asking someone out. I’m currently focussing on my career for now. I’m only fourteen.”

“So am I,” Kiku points out, “but fair enough. What about you Toru?”

“I’m not interested in romance or sex,” Toru says bluntly. “I mean, the idea of love and relationships sounds like a nice idea, but I just… I don’t really want it or need it. I’m happy as I am.”

“Damn it, I was looking forward to giving your partner the shovel talk,” Kiku says, and Toru knows his friends don’t care.

“I think that would be Sasuke-kun’s job,” Shou says with an amused smile. “I still remember when he marched up to me and ordered me to help him murder Kiku or get Kiku to get her act together. It was adorable, because he tried so hard to look serious and was all scowls, but when he’s older… Imagine another Toru in a fight.”

“I don’t think anything can be worse than Toru in a fight for his teammates,” Kiku says. “He’s pretty damn scary.”

“What can I say?” Toru asks, “I learnt from the best.”

“And who’s that?”

Toru pauses and reviews all the names he knows. “Easy, Iruka!” There’s a loud war cry from Kiku and suddenly Toru is suffocating beneath the combined weight of his teammates.

“Hey Sasuke,” Toru calls causing Naruto and Sasuke to pause their wrestle. “Did you ever hear of something called the mangekyō sharingan?” Sasuke pauses and Naruto falls silent, sensing something important is about to be said.

“Itachi… had them,” Sasuke says slowly. “He said it required you to kill your closest friend to get them… He said that I was capable of getting them and it was the only way to surpass him.” Toru is proud to hear that there’s no conviction in Sasuke’s words, and the lack of emotion highlights how Sasuke is letting Itachi’s hold over him disappear. “I’m going to prove Itachi wrong, though,” Sasuke says suddenly, and Toru blinks in surprise. “I’m not going to get the eyes, but I’m going to beat him and bring him to justice anyway.”

Toru grins, because he bets Itachi never expected this, never thought that it would end this way. Sasuke is proud of who he is and refuses to do what Itachi told him to do, and – Toru thinks, shifting his gaze to Naruto – Sasuke might not do it alone.

“I’ll help,” Naruto says in a serious tone. “I’ll help because you’re my family.” Toru smiles, softer this time, and more helpless, because how can he not smile in the face of such words said with such conviction that Toru knows that it will occur.

“Why did you ask?” Sasuke questions a moment later, causing the atmosphere to regain its serious nature.

“I found some information, and it doesn’t match what you told me,” Toru reveals. “Here, read this – I found it… I found it but I can’t tell you where just yet. Let me figure everything out first. Okay?”

Sasuke nods without even thinking, “Sure,” he responds, (and this is trust).

The mangekyō sharingan is an advanced form of the sharingan, and has only been activated by few Uchiha. These eyes are believed to ‘see the truth of all creation without obstruction’, but this isn’t true in a literal sense. It’s more of a metaphorical statement.

The mangekyō sharingan appearance is vastly different to the normal sharingan. The exact design of the mangekyō sharingan actually changes for each person, but all resemble pinwheels. The only way for the mangekyō sharingan to be activated is through an Uchiha witnessing the death of someone close to the user, and their guilt – along with the trauma experienced – will awaken the mangekyō sharingan. Many within the Uchiha Clan, mainly the older generations, believe that to awaken the mangekyō sharingan, the person needs to kill their closest friend. No one who has the mangekyō sharingan tells the Uchiha Clan otherwise, as such a powerful tool is normally kept hidden unless the person has the power to back up the fact they have the eyes.

The abilities of the mangekyō sharingan are the same as the sharingan’s generic abilities, but the mangekyō sharingan grants powerful abilities, but these different from user to user. However, the abilities can be similar in nature. It should be noted that once the mangekyō sharingan activates in both eyes, they are able to perform Susanoo.

On the other hand, there is a downside to the abilities of the mangekyō sharingan. The mangekyō sharingan drains a considerable amount of chakra, and using them creates a certain sensation that sensors can feel – although it doesn’t show what technique is being prepared. The mangekyō sharingan also ruins a person’s eyes and can lead to blindness. This deterioration can be avoided through having a relative’s mangekyō sharingan transplanted, thereby getting the eternal mangekyō sharingan.

“Do you know who wrote this?” Sasuke asks.

“From the handwriting, I would guess Shisui,” Toru responds. "Although, there are parts that have been crossed out and it’s only the last paragraph and a few other lines that look like Shisui’s handwriting. However, with the sharingan that can easily be replicated.”

“Did Shisui-san have this sharingan?” Naruto asks.

Toru hesitates, (and a voice tells him to wait and that he isn’t ready just yet), “I don’t think so, but such a thing can be hidden, as the authors suggest to do so in this text. However, a lot of the information from this article – namely the criteria about killing your closest friend relates to some of the legends the Uchiha Clan has written down. Our heroes and legends and so forth, mainly from the Warring Clans Era.”

“How do you think he got it?” Sasuke asks, referring to his brother.

“I don’t know,” Toru says with a shrug, feeling a heavy weight on his shoulders. “I just don’t know.”

Toru sighs as he puts down another tantō. His katana, a beautiful creation even if its resistance left a lot to be desired, had cracked beneath the strain of Toru’s chakra. While the sword hadn’t been made for seals, Toru had added the seals, feeling comforted by their presence, and knowing it would make it easier to fight for him.

“Found something!” Naruto screams from somewhere at the back of the house. The house they’re in is one that neither Toru nor Sasuke had been in while its members had been alive, and they had piled in all the weapons they had found, knowing that the weapons would come in handy. It’s been quite helpful for Sasuke and Naruto’s training, and Toru hasn’t had to buy any weapons in a long time aside from his katana, which had been more of a last minute plan.

Toru casually leaps over a wall of crates containing kunai and shuriken, and navigates down a hall and through two rooms, before finding Naruto. Sasuke is there and the pair are both gazing at a beautifully made katana. It’s a bit big for Toru currently, but something he’ll grow into soon considering his recent growth.

The katana has a normal blade, dimly glinting silver in the half-light, with an unusual red hilt. Interestingly enough, there’s an engraved Uzushio symbol at the centre of the hilt, just below the blade. There’s a yellowed note tied onto the blade, and as Toru breaks the string to get a closer look, he realises there’s two notes – one on each side of the paper. One looks slightly older, so Toru reads that one first.

“Happy birthday, Mikoto-chan! Mito-sama left this to me as a relic from Uzushiogakure, but I never learnt much kenjutsu. However, I remember you mentioning that you needed a new sword, so I thought you could have this one as a present! There are seals inscribed into the blade. I hope you like it. Kushina Uzumaki. Also, I’m sorry but I lost the sheath!” Toru says.

Naruto and Sasuke remain silent as Toru flips the page and reads the next note. “As I officially retire from service, I find myself hard-pressed to leave behind this katana. To the next person who uses the sword – use it well. I received it as a gift from a dear friend, and it has always served me well. I have never used another sword since I was gifted this one, and its seals have always been helpful. Use this sword well and may it always remind us of the Uzumakis. Mikoto Uchiha.”

Toru starts putting the sword down, when Sasuke shakes his head. “You should use it,” he mumbles softly.

“Yeah!” Naruto says in agreement, bouncing in place and speaking for Sasuke. “You’re Uchiha and Uzumaki so it makes sense, and Sasuke wants you to use it anyway! He has the one you gave him.”

Sasuke grunts in agreement, and Toru gazes at the seals on the katana. “Thank you,” he says softly. “I’ll treasure it.”

Toru once again leaves on a mission, and this time meets up with someone from his chūnin exams who is much more important than Toru ever thought. Toru continues to live through Uzushio’s evacuation, just as he continues to grow and improve his skills. Toru discovers facts that certain people would prefer he never learnt, but they do not know about it. Kirigakure’s invasion is remembered as something unexpected and surprising, and Toru is reminded that allies can turn. Sasuke grows and develops as a person, and Toru and Naruto are there to guide him. Team Five refuses to die, and bonds with teammates don’t extinguish easily if you refuse to let them. The Uchihas in Konoha learn of a sharingan more powerful than the normal one, and the weapons the Uchiha Clan owns are explored.

Chapter Text

Toru honestly hates his luck. He thought the mission was going to be easy. It seemed pretty standard based on the mission scroll. A C-ranked mission – simply go into a building that may be guarded by mercenaries, take a book, and then leave; secrecy is advised but unneeded. Of course, that means it all goes to kami the moment Toru grabs the book.

Well, not quite. The mission had clearly gone wrong the moment Toru arrives at the building where the book is located, as the security is tighter than suggested and the mercenaries seem numerous and well trained, which the mission scroll didn’t mention. Toru’s good at stealth though, his henge is constantly improving, and he’s managed to get the chakra output to mimic natural energy through carefully inked Thirteen Opposing Seal on major chakra points.

None of that matters as the moment Toru takes the book, he’s forced to leap backwards to avoid being decapitated. Toru’s henge is still in place, but it’s clear his attacker knows where he is, so Toru easily drops the henge, rolls beneath the next strike, bounds across the room in a giant leap, and exits through the window. Whilst in the air, Toru seals the book into one of his storage seals on his shoulder. He lands, rolling with chakra softening his landing, but it still hurts and Toru tucks any sound firmly behind his teeth, and takes off.

An unnoticeable wave of chakra runs through Toru’s body, and the chūnin increases his speed as the gravity seals stop working. Toru skids to a halt and whirls around by ninety degrees, and flips in that direction. He avoids a fireball and an earth ninjutsu, and then he’s surrounded by a group of four ninjas clad in black with masks that don’t allow Toru to see their faces.

Toru curses, because this is his luck, and does the one thing no one ever expects. He flips through four hand seals – and thanks the fact that he’s worked on this jutsu enough that he can use one seal less. “Body Replacement Technique,” he murmurs beneath his breath. Chakra surges and tugs him elsewhere, depositing him elsewhere.

Toru utilises the Transformation Technique again, and heads west, deciding to curve around to actually get to Konoha where he can leave the book and all its problems in someone else’s hands.

That doesn’t work, and suddenly Toru’s henge is disappearing and Toru’s forced to flip backwards, skip sideways, and then stagger forwards to avoid a nasty attack from a sword that glints with poison. The team of four – (where’s the fourth? Where he is? There he is, MOVE) and Toru jumps up and out of the way – are capable of tracking Toru, probably via chakra because Toru still can’t do that so well when he’s moving with a henge. Toru twists and shifts backwards as a kick grazes his leg, and then he’s bending backwards to flip rearward and avoid two more attacks.

The real problem Toru faces is the fact that the ninjas aren’t giving him any time or space so Toru can’t use ninjutsu, which is his best method of attacking aside from his seals – and Toru would prefer to keep those secret for now. Toru flinches out of the way of the poisoned-sword, hears the quiet crackle of lightning and recognises his own heavy breathing and that of his enemies, and then he’s up into the air and there’s lighting lingering in the air, intertwined with chakra.

He lands heavily, but he’s had enough of defending and defending and not being able to move forward or move sideways or move anywhere, and he’s charging forward and keeping low, darting beneath a leg and twisting between a sword and another fireball – and kami damn it, that’s the Uchiha Clan’s own ninjutsu and why is it so popular – and with a sword in hand, Toru lunges. He leaves the blade, and throws a kunai at each of the other ninjas, giving himself time, and kicks one in the chest, sending them backwards, before leaping forward to avoid the other two.

He brushes past his sword and grabs it as he goes, pulling it out of the body and smelling the heavy scent of blood as it explodes into existence. Toru’s turning, feeling more than sensing, the third ninja get up despite being kicked. He’s right, and there’s three of them going through hand seals and fire is streaking towards Toru and he can’t do anything and he slams chakra through the tattoo-seal that looks like fire on his lower left arm.

His summons, a beautiful sight in this fight, land on him, in front of him, and he feels like he can’t breathe beneath the weight of them, and then there’s fire roaring past him and he only feels slightly warm. He leaps forward, cockroaches dispersing, and his katana stabs downward, cutting deeply and then Toru’s lurching backwards to avoid another attack, but the ninja he cut has fallen and isn’t getting up.

“Armour!” Toru calls as the two ninjas left go through the same set of hand seals as before, and then his summons are there and he’s safe. Toru uses the time behind his shield to rush through hand seals because he’s got time and he’s had enough of this fight. “Blade of Wind,” he shouts out, and pulls back as the wind screams, and then he’s going through more hand seals and mumbles beneath his breath, “Water Release: Clone Technique.” He slips back, finding himself home among the shadows, and he uses the Transformation Technique again.

There’s only one ninja left now, and they’re leaping forward, and their sword digs straight through Toru’s chest, but that Toru is already bleeding water, and the real Toru has leapt forward and it takes a moment to go through a series of quick punches and kicks and then he’s slipping sideways and with a chakra-assisted punch to the ribs, his enemy goes down.

Toru heaves a sigh, tired and hating how this mission has gone so wrong, and then – after burning the corpses of his enemies and granting a mercy kill to the ones still alive and dying – he spins and he’s speeding back to Konoha where he should be safe.

The worst thing, he (and who is he? Is he Jakkaru here or is he Toru here?) thinks, is that they are angry at him for ordering them to live. He stands across from them and he feels the anger that’s pouring off of them. Someone’s leaking killer intent as well, but it’s not something conscious, and he easily brushes it away.

“You can’t do this,” one says – Tori says, and Tori sounds heartbroken and he would like to shout at them that this hurts him too.

He straightens himself, steadies himself, and remembers who he is. He is the ANBU Commander. He is the Yondaime Uzukage. He isn’t their team leader here. That position has fled from his fingers even as he closed his fist.

“Are you disobeying me?” He questions, and maybe this is harsh but he’s in so much pain and he needs to send them away.

“You will die!” Tori shouts, and Tori has always been one to fight for him, but that isn’t Tori’s position – not right now, not anymore.

“That is not an answer,” he responds, stubbornly lifting his chin because he will not budge from his position.

“I will disobey you! Kami damn it all! I’ll disobey you. I won’t listen to your orders. I won’t do anything you say. I will not leave your side,” Tori responds, spitting the words out in anger and clearly feeling betrayed, feeling confused.

“None of us will leave your side,” Tora adds, head lifted and tilted to the side just enough to make her look arrogant. “We won’t leave you.”

“We’re a team,” Kame adds pleadingly.

“You will leave Uzushio whether or not you want to, and you don’t have to be conscious while you leave,” he responds.

“We are the best,” Tora says. “There’s no one who can actually beat us.”

This is, he has to admit, true. However, numbers can win out, except he doesn’t want a civil war on his hands. He can’t even have anyone take this team of three (it’s meant to be four, he’s meant to be part of it, this is hurting) out, because they’re lacking the manpower and each day that passes more leave. He is thankful for that, but it means that this is a bluff – and they have called him out on it.

“I can,” he says and it’s true. He is familiar with their thinking styles, with their attacking styles, familiar with them. He knows how they work, with and without him. He is their leader and more powerful than them. He can’t take them out altogether, but he isn’t fair and he won’t be fair here and they know that.

Tori growls and takes a step forward before stopping as he eyes the group of three ANBU dangerously. He is the predator here, and they know they cannot cross him. “Taichō, please,” he says. “Don’t do this to us. We won’t be able to handle it. We can’t leave you here to die!”

He is ordering them to live but… but why does it hurt so much to do so? He lets his eyes drop, lets his shoulders fall, lets his back sag, and lets himself collapse inwards. He allows them to see who he is currently – how tired he is, how stressed he is, how he knows he will die. He sits down, tired and weary and death yanks on his mind. He is ready for death, perhaps, and his team is not. They can live and they are Uzushio’s hope still left.

Kame’s shoulders, drawn up higher in confrontation, drop. “Taichō,” she starts, before pausing, and then dropping it all together. She looks at the ground. Tori whirls around in anger, in confusion.

“We can convince him, Kame!” Tori says, and Tori tries to believe it, but he can hear the slight warble in the other man’s voice that shows that Tori doesn’t believe his own words fully.

“I don’t think we can,” Kame says softly, and she hates it because she feels like she’s giving up. She straightens up, meets her leader’s eyes and bows, deep and low, before straightening like the kunoichi, like the ANBU, she is. She takes a step back. She will see how it all plays out.

Tora shoots her a look but ultimately ignores her as she turns to face her leader. “What’s so important that we cannot stay by your side? We could ensure you survive. You could live! Taichō, I don’t understand. Why do you try to do this?”

“Uzushio will fall,” he says. “It may be decades until we rise again because we will need time to rebuild and only when the world is at peace, when we are safe, when we can go unnoticed, can we be called back to Uzushio. Morals will drop, the world will forget our name. Our people will believe there is no point hoping for Uzushio’s return. They will forget that the sea never dies. I need people to keep our spirit alive, to remind the world that Uzushio exists and had existed and that we did not end lightly.”

Tori’s posture sinks and the battle has been fought and won. Tora bows deeply and steps back in line with Kame. Tori wavers, clearly warring between decisions, but with a massive sigh, the shinobi folds, dropping low in a bow.

Toru, Jakkaru, ANBU Commander, Yondaime Uzukage, whoever he is, lets himself close his eyes and wish for a different ending. “Go,” he whispers lowly, the words tugging at his heart and this is the last time he will see his family. “Go.”

(He is not to know, but the three stick together for four months, fighting and fighting and always in Jakkaru’s name, always in Uzushio’s name. Tori goes down first, uncaring for his own death, uncaring about his teammates, because he has fractured without Jakkaru, without their leader, he broke because the world cared nothing for Uzushio’s fall. Tora and Kame split up, becoming non-affiliated kunoichi for hire. Tora goes down, caught in crossfire between an Iwa-nin and some other enemy. She does not get up. Kame is the last of Jakkaru’s team left alive, and she survives only nine months after Uzushio’s fall before she, too, dies. She falls forgotten and left alone, but content with being on a beach that reminds her of Uzushio. She is glad she managed to take out twenty-five Kiri-nin before she finally fell.)

(There was no way this would end in anything but a tragedy. Jakkaru, Toru, was not to know.)

Konoha is a lovely sight to Toru’s dark eyes, and he bounds forward, feeling life take hold of his limbs once more and his heart start to actually beat. He has a world in Konoha and they’re waiting for him, so Toru quickly drops the book off, waves the chūnin’s worried look away – because he’s fine, honestly, just oh-so-tired – and he’s home within minutes, silently entering through the balcony. His wards welcome him, humming with chakra, and Toru gives his seals a quick glance, doing a brief check, before he’s entering and quietly closing the door behind him.

Toru takes a moment to breath, leaning against the wall. He estimated he would get back today, and that explains why there are two boys sleeping on the couch, waiting for the door. Toru would be worried that they could get attacked – but he’s already spied Ken hiding in the shadows, Aki by the boys’ feet, Haruto yawning with white fangs by the door, and Teisatu curled up beside Sasuke but still awake.

Toru surveys the dogs, before moving closer to the couch. He could leave the boys there, but he’s sure they’ll end up with muscle pain from their positions. He could lift them up, but it would be a bit awkward and uncomfortable for the two. Toru settles on shaking the pair awake.

Sasuke wakes first with a jerk and wide eyes, not frightened but nervous or maybe ready for something Toru knows not. Naruto wakes up quickly afterwards, with an aborted shout, he opens bright blue eyes, blurrily seeing Toru’s shape and not making sense of it.

Sasuke, cool and intelligent Sasuke, makes sense of Toru’s appearance and gives the boy a heartfelt hug. Toru returns it, resting a hand on the boy’s back, and curling his other hand to rest on the boy’s neck. Toru pulls back first, because he is dirty and tired and they should all be sleeping. He gifts Sasuke with a soft kiss on his forehead, before giving Naruto a hug.

Naruto yawns and snuffles, but doesn’t seem to be aware of what’s happening, so with a groan, Toru lifts the boy up, and nudges Sasuke towards the bedroom. Sasuke goes, walking just in front of Toru. Naruto easily falls into the bed, shuffling under the cover only with a few nudges from Toru, but before he truly falls asleep, he does something else. “Glad your back,” he mumbles. “Missed you.”

“Missed you too,” Toru whispers before checking that Sasuke’s gotten into bed. The younger boy rolls his eyes, but doesn’t seem to be actually annoyed at Toru’s antics. Toru goes to leave to the guest bedroom that seems to be becoming his ever since Naruto joined their family, when Sasuke wraps a pale hand around a dark wrist.

“Stay,” Sasuke says with a light jerk to show what he means.

“Alright,” Toru says, because he can’t really argue with Sasuke and he really just wants to sleep. He quickly strips out of his mission clothes, putting his weapons down nearby so that they’re in reach. He changes into civilian day clothes, a pair of loose pants and a t-shirt that doesn’t really seem to be his due to how it drops down to his thighs and droops off his shoulders. He soon curls around Sasuke and falls asleep.

Toru seals the papers in the basement of the building that holds the Uzukage’s office. Soon enough, he’s leaping out of the building – the last to leave. Everyone else, all his ninjas who have remained in the face of everything – and many of them are ANBU, are waiting outside. Toru nods at the trio of ninjas wearing dark blue with a bright red ‘x’ on the back of their armour. The demolition squad share grins and move. Soon enough, there’s a loud boom, fire and smoke cascade upwards, and the building goes down silently, and it seems weak and meek, which it isn’t.

Toru can’t help but grin as the demolition and explosion squad not at him before moving towards another building – the hospital. As per orders, they’ll destroy the major buildings in a way that will leave the foundations steady, but make it appear that the building has been wrecked, while at the base of each building lie important seals that remain intact, containing information that no one can get their hands on.

“Jakkaru-sama!” One of his ANBU shouts, even as he lands on the ground. “Kiri-nin are closing towards yesterday’s groups.”

Toru almost rolls his eyes at the title, because of course his ANBU won’t refer to him as Uzukage nor Toru even when they know death marches towards them. “The groups?” Toru checks.

“They’ve increased speed and are separating with the strongest sticking with the civilians,” the ANBU responds. “Your orders?”

Toru lifts his eyes to the sky and feels his pulse quicken in excitement, in anger, in readiness. “Guess we’ll have to get them to come back,” he says nonchalantly. He raises his voice. “ANBU,” he shouts, and almost all the ninjas in front of him straighten. “Unmask,” he orders, “We’re going to show why Kirigakure should fear us without using a mask to hide our identities. We are proud Uzushio ANBU!” Toru’s own mask is secured on his hip, where it’s out of the way but easily seen.

Toru pauses as all his ANBU – every single one – copies him, and withholds a laugh of amusement, although he can see their faces grinning at him, daring him to say something or do something in response.

“Uzushio,” he says, and his people watch him, are ready for what he says, “our last stand is now. We hold on for Konoha’s reinforcements, but we hold on so our people can escape. Those who aren’t staying, head on out. We will stay strong. We will stand strong! We will fight for your lives! I’m not here to tell you we may survive. We all know the odds. We all know that staying foretells our deaths. I have not ordered a single one of you to stay. Some of you will leave, and good! Live for us. Those who stay, we do this for our people, our friends, our families, the rest of our village as they flee for their lives.

“Kirigakure thinks they can stop us! They think they can bring us to our knees! They think they will taste the might of Uzushio today and win! They will taste almost nothing of Uzushio, because Uzushio is leaving. Uzushio is living. Uzushio isn’t going to fall today! She isn’t going to fall this month! She isn’t going to fall this week! Uzushio will live because she is everyone who has ever wanted a village to call their own, she is everyone who is here today, she is everyone who has lived here and are now hiding. Uzushio is the whirlpools that surround her. She is everything we are. We are Uzushio!

“I will fall in our village,” Toru says, and the crowd stills completely, “and many of us will. We will fall and we will die, but we have been brave. We have been courageous. We will be remembered by our people who will live for we will die for them.

“Do not mistake me,” Toru adds, “I am not asking you to die for them. You have chosen this. I am asking you to fight for them, fight in spite, fight in anger. I am not asking for kindness or gentleness or mercy. These people are our enemies, and they have come here expecting us to cower, expecting us to die. We will fight with everything and do our best to take them all down. Prepare yourselves,” Toru shouts, “We will call the barriers down! We will go all out and will hold out! The sea will never die so long as Uzushio survives and Uzushio will surive!”

Toru watches as everyone salutes, and he salutes back, because these are his people and this is his village. The group disperses quickly, readying themselves or finishing preparations. They all knew that they would do this ever since Toru had realised that they couldn’t keep hanging out behind the barriers, as the Kiri-nin had started tracking those who were fleeing.

It’s come at a good time, though. The Takahashi Clan left the day before, with the majority of the Uzumaki Clan leaving with them. Toru managed to convince three families from his clan, the Mizushima Clan, to leave as well. Four groups of ANBU went with them, along with the rest of the civilians who knew that their help and presence wasn’t needed anymore. There are no chūnin left in Uzushiogakure, and the jōnin are starting to leave.

Toru starts heading to the eastern edge of the barrier where most of Kirigakure’s forces wait. He stands at the edge and slowly groups of ninjas join him, but not everyone. Many will be preparing at other places along the barrier. They all know the plan. Hold out for ten minutes before racing towards Uzushiogakure, and waiting behind all their traps and seals and wards. And then they need to keep fighting.

The Yondaime Uzukage lifts his hand and places it on the border, which is glowing purple. There’s a spark of blue chakra and a loud crackle and then the Uzukage withdraws his hand and steps backward. The barrier falls, sinking into the ground like an earth ninjutsu. The Kiri-nin are all still in surprise, and the Uzushio ninjas do not wait for them. They race out, weapons and chakra singing through the air and the scent of blood quickly fills the air. The Uzukage walks forward slowly, uncaring and Kiri-nin shy away from the killing intent pouring off him and the jackal mask on his hip. Then, one Kiri-nin either braver or stupider than the rest charges at the Uzukage. It’s over before any Kiri-nin knows what happened and then the Uzukage is gone.

Death destroys the Kiri-nins forces, and with every Uzushio ninja that goes down, fire tinged with blue explodes into the air, taking everyone around them in a two metre radius. The suicide seals have never caught an Uzushio ninja yet.

Demons in the form of ninjas tear through their enemies, and the very sea turns on the Kiri-nin and explosions send boats sinking. Eventually the tides seem to turn, and the Uzushio ninjas seem to before falling back. The Kiri-nins race after them, angry at losing their comrades and angry at the Uzushio-nins for holding out for so long, and still following the orders of their Mizukage.

The Kiri-nins die in droves, and the Uzushio-nins watch behind traps and seals and things that they have never before needed. Uzushiogakure is engraved with seals, and their village will protect them. Their village is made so that only those who live there can fight well in it.

With a snarl on his face, the leader of Uzushio destroys three chūnin from Kirigakure, and leaps forward to kill others. His only hope is that Kirigakure never realises that Uzushio is only a delaying tactic.

Iruka enters the Uchiha-Uzumaki apartment with a key in hand. He knows that Toru was meant to have returned sometime yesterday, and if the chūnin is anything like Iruka after a mission, he’ll be dead tired and not wanting to do anything but have a good shower and sleep for a few days. Therefore, Iruka’s taken it upon himself to actually bring food to the apartment, because Iruka knows that in Naruto and Sasuke’s excitement, the pair didn’t go grocery shopping yesterday despite the fact that they had no food except leftovers which had been left for dinner.

Iruka silently puts the groceries away, sensing the wards humming in the back of his mind despite not making them himself. It’s something that he learnt to do over time, and his ability to sense barrier seals has been helpful for many of his missions. Although, through trial and error, Iruka’s found that he can only sense the barrier seals if they aren’t meant for him and he has no ill intentions for the creator and-or user of the wards.

The suspicious lack of dogs has Iruka on edge, because he knows that Sasuke – because Naruto is much more straightforward and would shout out what he did – trained Teisatu to trip people up by laying in doorways where people can’t see the Leopard Cur. Anyone who thinks that Sasuke is kind and innocent is wrong, and Iruka has evidence that Sasuke is not, in fact, kind and innocent – or, at least, he isn’t always kind, because Iruka has seen Sasuke interact with Naruto and Toru.

Iruka can only smile as he reaches the bedroom, because the picture is too cute. He silently leaves the room, grabs something from the bookshelf in the lounge room, and silently re-enters the bedroom.

There’s a click – but Iruka can’t help that – as the camera takes a photo, light flashing. Iruka smiles as he looks at the picture, and he must get that developed.

On the bed, Toru lies in a slight curve, sheltering Sasuke who lies bent beside Toru’s stomach. Meanwhile, Naruto’s got a pillow and no blanket but is tightly curled up, his back resting against Toru’s back. By Naruto’s head is Aki, and Toru is using the black-and-white dog as a pillow. Ken lays at the end of the bed, not touching anyone else and not taking up much room. Haruto, on the other hand, lies stretched out on the end of the bed, head resting on Naruto’s legs and body lying across Sasuke and Toru’s legs. It’s a rather cute picture, and Iruka searches for Teisatu – who turns out to have wriggled herself so she’s somehow draped herself around Aki and curled up so her head’s resting beside Sasuke.

It’s the best thing Iruka has ever gotten a picture of, and he’s sure that Toru will adore it. Toru who is awake, but almost not showing it. Iruka is too good to be fooled by the younger chūnin who has yet to reach Iruka’s level just yet. The way the other chūnin lies still is telling that he’s ready to do something. “I’ll start breakfast,” Iruka says quietly, and Toru opens his eyes.

“Thanks,” Toru murmurs even as he closes his eyes again, now with the knowledge he’s safe, he seems ready to go back to sleep. A second later, the Uchiha opens his eyes again but this time he looks much more aware, and he actually starts moving and raising a fuss about the others. With a small smile, Iruka heads back to the kitchen, ready to make a small meal for the group – for the family.

Iruka pauses between the third bowl and the fourth bowl, and wonders when he ended up basically joining the small family. With a soft laugh and a shake of his head, Iruka finishes filling the fourth bowl and moves to wash the dishes.

There’s a shuffle, a shout, and a loud thump, and a dog comes slinking out beside Sasuke. “Good morning,” Iruka greets, and Sasuke rewards him with a sleepy smile as the young Uchiha climbs up onto a stool and starts eating.

Naruto is quick to follow, already making a lot of noise and seeming far too awake to have just woken up. “Iruka-sensei, hi!” He greets loudly. “Did you make breakfast? You make the best breakfasts! Sasuke can’t cook, and neither can I, but Toru isn’t half-bad, but you make breakfast so much better because Toru likes making meals with vegetables and fruits and-”

“Eat your breakfast Naruto,” Toru chides as he enters the room, “Iruka will be here afterwards to talk.” The younger chūnin stretches before sitting on a stool to eat breakfast. “Save your washing up for now,” he says, “join us for breakfast. Thank you for getting the groceries. How much do I owe you for it?”

“Nothing,” Iruka says as he starts eating. “I’m serious,” he says when Toru goes to talk, “nothing. I’m over here enough to contribute to food.” He raises an eyebrow as he glances over Toru’s top. “I’m over here enough that I leave clothes behind apparently.”

Toru shrugs, “Sorry about that. I’ll wash it and return it to you. I got back late last night and these two were waiting up for me, so I put them to bed and ended up getting tugged into bed with Sasuke.” The boy in question flushes but doesn’t say anything, and Toru continues, “I grabbed the closest set of clothes and changed without showering or actually looking what clothes I grabbed. I can’t be held accountable for you leaving your clothes behind.”

Iruka flushes and scratches his nose. “I am sorry about that,” he says, but Toru waves it off.

“You look after these two often enough that I’m surprised such a thing didn’t happen earlier,” Toru says as he finishes eating. “Anyway, I’m going to get the shower I’ve needed for a few days,” he adds with a stretch. “These two can help you with the washing up considering they forgot to get groceries.”

Naruto turns bright red and Sasuke turns his head with a grunt. “Sorry, Toru!” Naruto says.

“I think they can be forgiven for being too excited for your return,” Iruka says. “You two, eat up, the faster we finish washing up, the more time you can spend with Toru today,” he says as Toru leaves the room. “Also, Toru?”

Toru lifts his head and turns, twisting to see Iruka. “Do you need any help with your injuries?” Iruka says with a pointed glance at the bandages Toru has wrapped around his leg and another around his arm.

“I think they’re alright,” Toru says, “but I’ll get them checked out later today.”

“At the hospital,” Iruka orders, and Toru rolls his eyes.

“Of course.”

“Heard you got a nickname,” a small kid, perhaps around the age of five, says. The boy next to him, older by four years, hums in response. The pair are lying outside in a clearing that is filled with sunlight. The older boy has his eyes closed and appears to be almost asleep. The younger kid looks surprisingly alike to the older boy – in both manner and appearance. He, too, is lying stretched out and relaxed in the clearing, but he has his eyes open and appears to be gazing up at the clouds without much a thought.

“Shisui of the Body Flicker,” the older boy reveals. “It’s ‘cause I’m great at the Body Flicker Technique.”

“Surely you can’t be the only one like that,” the younger kid responds, going so far as to turn his head to look at his older cousin.

“Eh,” Shisui says, finally opening his eyes and seeming to regain his energy, as he rolls onto his side so he can look at the younger kid. “What does that mean, brat?!”

The kid laughs lightly, “Well, it’s a D-ranked ninjutsu. If you put enough practise into any low-level jutsu, you’re going to get really good at it.”

“Well, I’m good enough to leave afterimage clones,” Shisui divulges, before lowering his voice to a whisper, “people think these clones are solid and can attack.”

Shisui waits for his younger cousin to respond, but the brat just rolls his eyes. “People are dumb,” he says.

“Oh?” Shisui asks, raising an eyebrow to add to the drama of their conversation, “What makes you say that?”

“If you’re moving at a speed fast enough to leave behind clones then you’re moving fast enough to be that clone and that’s what’s happening – people are mistaking you for being your clone. Adding onto that, you’re moving fast enough to move so quickly that it seems like two clones are moving and being the solid at the same time, when it’s really just you in one place and then moving another so quickly that the eyes of the other can’t keep up… Would the sharingan keep up?”

“Not unless you have the training for it, little genius,” Shisui says.

“Don’t call me that,” Toru whines.

“But you’re so cute when you try to be all serious and analytical!” Shisui says cheerfully, “Although, you remind me of Itachi, and he’s way too serious for his own good. You’re not allowed to be like that, you hear me?” Shisui says, rolling over and starting to tickle Toru, who squirms as he tries not to laugh whilst trying to escape Shisui’s hold. “Say you won’t be all serious and remember to have fun.”

“I will,” Toru says, twisting to avoid Shisui’s fingers. “I swear it!” Shisui laughs and tugs at the younger boy, pulling his younger cousin into a hug. 

“Good,” Shisui says, and if it’s a tad too serious for such a light-hearted conversation, neither Uchiha mentions it.

Toru jerks into wakefulness, and feels his breath coming in harsh gasps. He lets his hand drop to a kunai he hid beside his bed, before getting up. He can tell he’s not going to get anymore sleep tonight, but he doesn’t feel like he wants to do anything. Toru slips into a set of training clothes after glancing at the clock, which reveals that he has a few hours until he would normally get up anyway. He writes a quick message out for Sasuke and Naruto, explaining that he’s out training, and it might not be true, but it’ll keep them from worrying.

Toru takes to the roofs, not feeling up to dealing with other people and the streets that aren’t crowded but still look like they’re towering over him and locking him down. He doesn’t quite know where he wants to go, but he lets his feet lead him.

He doesn’t remember the nightmare he just had, just flashes of blood, of pain, of death, of chains, of silent feet and screams and silence and refusing to fall, refusing to give in, but not able to do anything or be anything and stuck waiting for a chance that isn’t – wasn’t – coming and wanting a rescue but knowing it wasn’t coming and–

He only had himself to lean on, only had himself to rely on, and maybe that’s not quite true but that’s how he feels. He trusts, damn it he does. He trusts his teammates, trusts the kids in his apartment, trusts Iruka. Except… there’s something screaming in the back of his head, locked away and chained tightly because he doesn’t want to know just yet, and it screams not to trust them fully. He’ll trust them to have his back in missions, trust them in Konoha to look out for his family, but he doesn’t trust them with everything – he can’t trust them with everything. Maybe it’s because he finds it hard to trust, maybe because someone killed his entire clan in one night, maybe because something’s corrupt in Konoha and he needs to be wary but doesn’t know what to be wary of, or maybe it’s because he’s in Konoha and not Uzushio, and Konoha can never be home in a way that Uzushio was.

He finds himself standing in front of a stone with names carved into it. He wonders why he ended up here. Very few people he knew ended up on this stone, far more are ashes with empty graves and a simple gravestone with little on it because no one knows them anymore. Is he here because Uzushio’s people died in battle and have no graves, aren’t remembered? Is he here for a reason?

(Why is he here? He is alone, but not lonely, but no one understands. He is the only one who knows everything, he is living a second time and he didn’t ask for this. He didn’t want this. He would’ve been happy to die… or maybe not, because Uzushio is forgotten and he didn’t want that. He would’ve been happy to die and for his people to return to their home.)

He feels his body relax, muscles loosening, and there is someone else here. He cannot see them, but they cannot know he knows that they are there. Toru’s heart beats quickly and something uneasy flickers in his stomach, but he pushes it down and he refuses to be scared that there are enemies closing in, lightning crackling and sharp-blades approach and the chains hold him and he can’t do anything but scream!

Toru forces himself out of the flashback, grounding himself via the seals he feels on him. He didn’t have them before, and they’re always there and he can always feel them. It’s something that he can constantly use to remind himself where he is and who he is.

He lifts his head, his mind feeling clearer than it had before, and turns around. His chakra sense, as bad as it is, can sense a chakra signature in the tree to the west of it. The person isn’t trying to hide or anything, and Toru feels spiteful enough to give the tree a sharp glance, and then he bounds upward, even as dawn arrives, the sun’s rays trickling down on Konoha-who-sleeps-but-never-sleeps.

He continues running along the rooftops for a bit, before dropping into the streets with a henge in the form of a stray dog. He takes a minute to get used to four legs and using them all to move, before finding a pattern and adapting to the shape.

He heads towards where Tomoe’s gang tends to hang out, moving at a steady trot, lazy but alert. It’s easy to be ignored, looking as Toru does, especially as his henge has developed to such a high level that detecting it is getting harder and harder – according to Shou and Kiku.

As Toru enters the alleyway, he lets the transformation drop, shakes his head, and then settles to sit on a large bin. The others are there, but only one is awake – Hikaru – and he glances at Toru with dark green eyes, nods in greeting before returning to his lookout. Toru admires it, admires the resolve to continue being on guard despite a shinobi being there, admires the way Hikaru doesn’t trust him yet.

What catches Toru’s attention, is the stiff way Hikaru holds his arm. An injury, Toru guesses, and moves closer to Hikaru. The eight-year-old looks at him, a stubborn expression on his face. “I can heal your injury,” Toru explains. “If you’ll let me.”

Hikaru analyses Toru for a moment, before nodding, and pulling up his sleeve to show a deep cut on his arm. “Healing Technique,” Toru murmurs softly, his hands glowing as he runs them over the cut, which closes.

Hikaru nods in gratitude, before stepping backwards and moving away, and Toru turns to leave. Before the chūnin leaves though, Hikaru mutters something softly. “There’s a strange building two blocks west of us. It seems abandoned but old word on the street is that nearby street kids vanished from there.”

Toru nods and takes off at a steady jog, heading in the direction Hikaru indicated. He reaches the building quickly, and wonders why the street kids have been disappearing. It could be something sinister like a murderer or it could have been the spies that have only recently been found, (and Toru doesn’t know if he’s meant to know about that).

Still, Toru investigates, slipping into the shadows and sticking up high in the roof. He surveys the building from the outside first. It appears abandoned, like Hikaru had said, but there’s something that Toru can’t quite put a name to. He slips inside through a broken window. The building is completely empty and there is only old signs that anything had happened there. Toru sighs, caught somewhere between relief and frustration, whatever had happened to the street kids – he couldn’t do anything about it. It seems to have stopped, or at least it no longer occurred in the building.

Toru left the deserted building, heading back to an apartment he called home. Frustrated at not being able to do anything for the taken kids, but relieved that the kidnapping had stopped.

Toru sits, legs crossed and hands resting loosely on his knees, eyes closed. He forces himself to ignore the sounds around him, the feeling of the grass beneath his legs, the sounds of construction on the wind from the entrance of the compound, the sounds of a new world coming into existence.

Toru takes a deep breath, holds it for a count of two, and then lets it go. He feels his chakra, and tries to relax, tries to ignore everything around him and let his mind go black. There’s something he needs to know, something he has been ignoring and pushing away because there are things in this world he doesn’t want to know – regardless of whether it’s necessary for him to know or not.

Toru feels something stir in his veins, and he welcomes the familiar flash of heartbeat-beneath-his-feet and chakra-of-the-land and waves-crashing-on-the-shore and high-pitched-calls-of-seabirds and is reminded that Uzushio lives in his veins, in his heartbeat, in his mind, in his soul, in his skin, in everything he is.

He remembers this, knows this, and for Uzushio he will relive death and live again. For Uzushio, for his people, for all that they are the same, for everything he is and can be and was. He will heed the scream in the back of his head that warns him against trust. He will review his death with a coherent mind. He will hold hope in his heart, and the flame will burn forevermore, but he will look at his past and see what really happened. He knows he is missing something. He knows it. He doesn’t want to acknowledge it because… because…

Because who wants to admit they were betrayed by someone they knew, who they trusted?

(In the end, it had been the ANBU who learnt of the invasion – not the patrols of other ninjas. In the end, the Kiri-nin had already gotten past numerous traps and seals. In the end, the Kiri-nin moved through the whirlpools that gave Uzushio her name without hesitation. In the end, Ayumu died due to someone she knew. In the end, something wasn’t right.)

(Where does he want his story to start? He fought so much and for so long that there are numerous battles he can choose as a starting point. He will start at the end of his last week. He will start a month after Ayumu’s death. He will start with the end, for the end is very much the beginning of Jakkaru, Toru Mizushima, ANBU Commander, Yondaime Uzukage.)

It’s well known that ninjas can last for a long time, for ages and ages without food or much water simply due to their training. They weaken, yes, but they are resilient, and they manage to live even under the harshest conditions. Fighting changes things, as chakra needs to be used, and the ninja is constantly thinking, moving, fighting, and that uses energy – energy that needs to be replenished or regained. Uzushio ninjas are no different from any other ninjas, and they need rest, food, and water – not in that order.

Barriers become one of the most used seals that week, and the Kiri-nin are definitely coming to hate the things. Barriers can form in numerous ways and can respond differently to unknown chakra, and every seal is limited only by the chakra put into it and the creator’s imagination. Thankfully, Uzushiogakure central seals have been depowered, and the chakra they used doesn’t lay dormant, and Uzushiogakure – whatever she is – guides the chakra to strengthen the barriers.

(Where is he in all of this? There. He is there.)

His heart beats in his chest, so quick and loud that it fills his ears and makes him think that Uzushio’s horses are galloping into the fight. They aren’t though. Many had been released into the wild and would survive hopefully, while others had been taken to pull caravans.

There is no time to think anymore, and his mind has grasped the think-instinct-respond-action-kill-think-attack-defend-repeat cycle, and it’s all he can do. More than ever before, he uses his instincts, thought almost causing him to waver and falter and die.

Deflecting a tantō with a kunai is nothing but instinct. There’s a split-second thought, and an explosion seal comes into existence and he has so little chakra, less than any other stage this week. Experience has him already darting backwards and spinning around. The sound of an explosion behind him is nothing but everything he has heard this week. He finds a new target – and that’s what they all are, enemies, targets, killers – and growls at him. He has no strength to respond, but he’s forced to stay away as the gains distance and uses a ninjutsu.

Tiredness has become a friend and an enemy. It pulls at him, entices him to stop and sleep and give in. It takes the edge off his mind and forces him to pause, weary muscles and weary mind wanting very much to stop, but a heart and soul refusing to. He thinks his death will approach this day, but he has thought that for six days previous, and he is not dead yet. Everyone is escaping now, holding the Kiri-nins back and escaping, because this is real. This is a genocide. They are the victims, and they are fighters, and so they will fight.

He has seals tattooed on him, seals that hold chakra but will be deadly when they break. He hasn’t broken them yet, because he doesn’t think he can. Maybe if he gets to another seal master and breaks them, or a strong medic-nin he will be alright, but there are few here alive, and he doesn’t know if he’ll want to live once this is all over.

(He is a killer, a murderer, and he knows this. He still holds hope for mercy and a want for mercy, but it means little in the end. It is not the deaths and those he kills that haunt him, but his own people.)

His most powerful ninjutsu are out, because he doesn’t have the chakra for it, and there’s nothing left for him here, nothing left for him to do. He does the one thing he doesn’t want to do, has never wanted to do, has always hoped he would never do. He hoped he would never do it, not because of the pain it will bring, because the reason why he would do so would never be a good reason. Seals are not made to be broken in such a manner, and the chakra they release brings him to his hundredth (maybe) second wind. It tastes like relief and freedom and hope and blood suffocates him – the scent of it, the memory of it.

He hisses, the sound lost amongst everything else in this battle-filled world, on this broken battle front, in this ruined place. Splintered and fractured, the seals tear and tear and tug at his chakra pathways and he doesn’t think anything has hurt more. The pain is so strong it makes him ignore the slash on his chest, the splinters in his arms, the cut on his face, and the injured ribs. Still, his chakra coils pump out more chakra, and that’s what he needs here.

Wind and water comes together with a twist of his hands, and it swirls and swallows another enemy and disappears. Chakra is channelled from his feet to the ground, and Uzushiogakure takes his chakra and seals work for the first time in eons, and he doesn’t know what they do, they are unknown to him just as they are unknown to everyone else. He knows Uzushiogakure is the one taking his chakra and he hopes that the village is doing something that matters (everyone knows Uzushiogakure is alive to an extent, the seals and chakra she holds are a testament to it). He is given no chance to wonder, not that he would, and the fight he engages in is not the one that kills him.

It’s over quickly, but all his fights are now, and he’s resorted to using devastatingly quick taijutsu now, with only small ninjutsu. There’s something slowing him down, now. He doesn’t know when it started, but he can feel it and it is more than tiredness. Poison, more than likely, and wishes he felt something other than blankness, because surely he should feel some emotion at the knowledge he will die soon, yet the only thing he might feel is relief. His mind is taken off the poison when a kick to the sternum grants him more pain.

He gets up, kneeling first and then standing, because he won’t stay down because his people are running and hiding and this is all he can do for them now. He will buy them time. He will die but he has known that for a while. Death has been something – someone? – he has walked alongside for years, but that doesn’t mean he likes it.

Sometime between one fight and the next and the next, between instinct and thought and hope and life and death, he ends up beside one of his kunoichi. They move forward, refusing to give in, but she is dying – they all are. She has hope though, something he finds hard to grasp here in the bloodied claws of death and with the dying agonising cries of his people echoing in his ears, in his heart, in his mind. She stops, she stops and tells him to keep going and she tells him she will hold them.

He cannot refuse, cannot protest, and he has her hope riding on his shoulders now as well. He continues forward, parting with Uzushio’s current motto falling from his lips like it’s an assurance everything will be okay.

“The sea never dies.”

He doesn’t escape, just like he knew would happen, because there is no way he would manage to flee and live. He is poisoned. His seals are broken. He has been dying for a while now. His village has almost fallen silent and he may be the last one alive here. The explosions have been lessening, and now he listens for others and all he can hear is his heart hammering, his wheezing breathing, his enemies feet pounding and all he smells is blood. His chakra senses, never the best but not the worst, search for anyone he knows, any familiar pulse of life and chakra. He doesn’t feel anyone, but that doesn’t mean everyone’s dead.

(He already knows the truth. He is one of the last. He was always going to be the last to fall. The first to fight but the last to fall. Always.)

Faltering and wavering but damn he’s proud. He’s proud of his ninjas that are falling, that are dying. He is proud as he feels each seal that pulses before extinguishing. He is proud that they have held out for a week. He may be surrounded, may be dying, but Uzushio is surviving and he will take out these who dare face him before he dies, and he will die well, because he has done this. Uzushio is alive and he has done this. They will live. They will be remembered. Uzushio is alive.

Fighting is something he does as easily as he breathes, even more so now when every movement is a struggle and every breath is something that wheezes and gasping and panting. Still he fights, and the four who dared surround him – jōnins because strength is important when going up against him – go down, dead or dying or injured, but no longer a problem, no longer going to attack his ninjas.

He tries to stand. Legs buckle beneath him and he collapses onto his knees, blood-soaked stones beneath his knees. His vision flashes but he has never needed vision. He has trained blind-folded and this poison may take his vision from him, but he will try to keep holding them back damn it. Someone comes, footsteps loud and clear and purposeful, and his chakra flees from his fingers as he tries to create another seal, and then the thought escapes him and he isn’t sure what he’s doing.

(Here is where the ending would be, but endings are never truly endings, just where the narrator leaves the story off. Sometimes stories get joined, and sometimes they do not. He ends here but he starts here. Uzushiogakure ends here, but Uzushio is everywhere and they will survive.)

“No need to fight,” the voice says with a lilting tone, and he does not know this person. Their chakra is unfamiliar, their voice is unfamiliar, and he is glad – he will not die by one of his ninjas, by whoever betrayed them. Maybe the one who betrayed them has escaped, or maybe they have joined Kirigakure – maybe they were always part of Kirigakure. Maybe there is something darker at hand here, or maybe there isn’t and he’s searching for one because he doesn’t want to believe that one of his ninjas did this for no reason. “It’s past your death date,” the ninja continues, and his sight is gone while this person monologues, but every moment this person – the leader, this must be the leader, the Kage of Kirigakure, the Mizukage – talks is more time for his people to gain more distance. “You’ve done well,” and the praise is nothing he wants, nothing he needs, and he knows that they’ve done well, and he is proud of this, “but you’ve fallen now. It’s been two weeks; your village has fallen.”

It has been two weeks, and a long two weeks. One week of holding Kirigakure with their barriers, and another week of holding Kirigakure with fighting and seals and forcing Kirigakure to push all their strength onto Uzushio, of ensuring that Kirigakure doesn’t go after his people.

“Not dead,” he gasps out, blood dribbling down his chin as he coughs, the action feels like its tearing at his throat, at his lungs, and maybe it is. He shouldn’t tell the leader this, but they won’t understand, and he will love it. They will think it’s his hope, they will call him out on being wrong, but he will be right and they won’t know. “Village never dies.”

“I’m afraid your so-called village of longevity will exist no longer,” the voice replies, and they think he is boasting about their reputation, at their other title. Amusing, that this leader will ignore what he says and think the words of a boast from a dying shinobi. He is dying, but the words are not a boast.

“You’re afraid of our seals,” he responds and wants to laugh at this, because they are afraid of their knowledge, of the destruction they can bring. “We won’t end here,” and they won’t, but this person refuses to believe that and so he will say this and hoard this knowledge forever. He will tell the world that their village hasn’t died, that their village won’t die, and no one will believe it except his people who are his village. This, he thinks, barely alive and just hanging on, will be the biggest trick in the world – a village thought dead, ruined, killed, but alive and well  and going unknown.

“You will,” the voice says harshly, and he’s barely listening because who cares what this person says, his village is alive. “There is no one left alive,” and this knowledge, despite the fact he knows it’s a lie, is like a dagger. He flinches, because he had always hoped that others from the fight would manage to survive, despite the chance dropping with every second that passed. The person laughs. “I think it’s time to let you go greet your ninjas… in the afterlife.”

His eyes widen as something stabs his torso, and he can’t see anything but that doesn’t seem to matter. He opens his mouth and screams, coughing and spluttering and hacking up blood, even as the pain grows. With a harsh twist, the blade’s jerked out, and he gasps, unable to do anything more. He lies still and dying, and there’s a moment between one thing and the next and then there’s no pain.

It’s something like a thought but decidedly not his but familiar like his own. It’s something that can’t really be understood, because it’s alive but it’s not. It is chakra in seals and chakra of nature, chakra of the world, and it is humming around him. He feels safe, shielded from the world, and this is another world, almost. There’s a memory out of reach, but he knows it is filled with pain and he wants to avoid it for now, so he does.

The not-thought is tinged with emotions. It’s crafted out of pain and sadness and grief but he finds himself agreeing with it, because it is hope and determination and stubbornness and not giving in and not giving up – and it is what he is, all emotions and life and a heartbeat. It’s hard to give the not-thought words, because there is no language, no such thing as languages here, but there’s knowledge and he has thoughts, and he gives it words that aren’t needed as he understands.

The being, Uzushiogakure – the actual village with her walls and buildings and seals and chakra – for who else would it – could it – be?, tells him that she doubts her people will come home without a leader, without him. He doesn’t agree, because he was the last choice as a leader, he was never made to lead innocent people. He is darkness and shadows and ANBU and a team leader who sent his team away without him, ordered them to go, and refused to let them decide for themselves. Uzushiogakure doesn’t say anything, but he feels like she’s chiding him but she accepts his words, not with agreement, but accepts that that’s his belief and he’s allowed that.

A seal without chakra, is what she explains in not-thoughts-not-words, and no one to activate it. No one calling her people home.

He prompts her, confused, for she is chakra and she can guide that chakra and surely she could activate that seal?

“No reason to stay,” and perhaps the words are murmured by him, or maybe they aren’t and it’s a not-thought voiced or maybe it isn’t. It doesn’t matter at all, because he knows that it’s truth. A village lies in ruins and will be forgotten, and his people won’t return because they think only corpses lay in Uzushiogakure, because they don’t know her as he does now, they aren’t fully aware of what she is, what she can do. They think that death will return for them. They think it’s time to give up, to give in, because no one left Uzushiogakure when Kirigakure attacked, and they refuse to disabuse that knowledge.

He died for a reason, for a cause, and he wouldn’t mind if this is how it ends, because it is their choice to return or not. Still, he’s annoyed because… because Uzushiogakure, Uzushio, is more than a village for the people who fled. It is a home for all those who seek one, it is a safe place.

The world doesn’t need him, has no want or need for him anymore. He can give in here, and Uzushio will let him. She won’t be happy but she will allow it. His opinion, his choice matters.

(What about everyone else whose thoughts and opinions and choices are ignored? His voice matters, so why don’t theirs?)

He is human. She is not. They are in agreement. Every voice matters. There is a world that doesn’t need them and that’s okay, and no one says they need the world.

He laughs, and there is nothing but silence maybe or maybe his voice floods wherever they are. He is gleeful and happy and himself. His people will await a call to come home, hmm? His people want a leader? There are people out there who need a home whether they want one or not? There are people who need to be told they matter?

A step to the right of mercy. Not understood in a battle torn world. Hope held heart-deep but ignored if necessary. Helper. Friend. Family. Enemy. Teammate. Leader. Alive. Dead.

He is not moving or maybe he is, and a hand is stretched out in darkness. The darkness curls around his fingers, enwraps his figure, and he is in comfort, he is steady, he is ready, he is safe, shielded.

The world needs a safe place for people? Uzushio needs to be reminded that together is what they are meant to be? That a village split apart is not a village unless they come back together? Well, surely he can’t let the world go unknowing of the greatest trick ever pulled.

(Take a breath. Take a step. Have a straight spine. Shoulders relaxed and back. Eyes up high. Chin up. Lips curled.)

(The world moves forward.)

He is not needed but he needs to be needed. He needs to be there to be wanted. There is a world and it is not nice and it is not good. They know this. They are aware of this. They are not good or nice. Uzushiogakure is not human and he is. He is flawed and all too raw and dead.

(The trick to dodge the sword is to know where it’s going to go.)

There’s a promise that became Uzushio’s motto and a shinobi who died not foolishly and not a fool, but died and Uzushiogakure is not happy. Death may be wanted and craved but a choice is a choice and not-thoughts-not-words heard can still change minds.

(Hasn’t anyone ever heard?)

Uzushiogakure’s chakra rises and rises and surges upwards like a wave and a barrier falls around Uzushio, and Kirigakure ninjas are trapped and will die, but Uzushiogakure is displeased with their invasion and this is how she will show it. Everyone is dead and blood floods her streets and there are no funerals for those who have died on her ground today. There are seals everywhere and many of them are not nice. There is a war going on and Uzushiogakure has been reduced to ruins because of fear, because they held power. Uzushio will live on, but they are scattered and refusing to be who they are.

(The sea never dies.)

Seals are only ever limited by one’s imagination. Uzushiogakure has no imagination, but she has a will and she has knowledge and she cannot carve a seal, but she can guide chakra in a pattern beneath the ground. She is Uzushiogakure, and she has never needed to use seals – they’re just helpful.

“Live,” she says proudly, straightforwardly, and maybe she is speaking and maybe she isn’t, but they are in darkness and he is dead. “Call everyone home, and bring them back. Tell the world of Uzushio’s tale and remember me, remember us. You will live and you will be needed, and when the time comes return to me. The waves will crash against the shore and the sea will dream of your return. Strength of the current is not strength alone.” He is everything Uzushiogakure is and maybe they are one. Proud and refusing to die and refusing to break, and this is all that they have ever been. Stubbornness. Determination. Life. Love. Laughter. Resilience.

(No one knows, but in the world, there is something waiting.)

He will live again. He will have a family. He will be brave. He will be strong. He will live again.

Death cannot stop a force of nature.
The sea does not wait to be told.
Uzushiogakure refuses to mourn.
The unwilling Uzukage wants everyone to have a voice.
The world awaits the return and the reveal of the greatest trick ever performed.