Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Today was a super-duper good day!

I got a new ki-mo-no that Kaa-san and Tou-san said would make all the boys notice me, which was super important.

Both my nee-sans also got new ki-mo-nos. Aiko-nee-san and Tomi-nee-san were super-duper pretty! They were gonna wear their pretty ki-mo-no to the A-ca-de-my to-mor-row so that a clan boy would fall in love with them and marry them.

I couldn’t wait to go to the A-ca-de-my too! I would be the bestest ninja and get the bestest boy!

I smiled as I lay down and went to sleep.

…

I woke up to rumbling. Why was the ground shaking? There was something wrong.

There was a giant red monster in the distance. It felt like paindeathhatredanger-

I was screaming

-coughingfeverlonelycovid-

Someone was holding me and running

-riotviolencequarantinesickness-

Darkness

…

I drifted in and out for a few days. I wasn’t somewhere I knew. Kaa-san (mom?) kept trying to get a medic-nin to look at me but they were busy (was there some kind of play?). In the meantime, my big sisters held me a lot (I’m the big sister. Why is everyone so big?).

There was a lot of people crying and weeping. Others were just quiet. After a while everyone went outside. Tou-san held me while an old man talked to everyone (dad? Why’s your hair so dark?).

Then we went back home to the teahouse (my house is green. What is this place?). My room was still a mess so mommy didn’t have to take out the bed again (this isn’t my room).

“I love you Hana” she said as she slid the door closed.

Hana?

Did she call me Hana?

But my name

My name

My name is-

…

I woke up in the morning with a pounding headache that made me regret returning to consciousness. Blurgh.

Unfortunately, I knew myself well enough by now that falling back asleep wasn’t an option. Not to mention I can’t recall having such a bad headache before…

Wait, do I have covid!?

I sat bolt upright, scrambling for my phone at the foot of my bed. Except I wasn’t in a bed. I was in a weird bedroll thing-a futon. I was in my futon, that used to belong to my big sisters. The big sisters that I both knew intimately and was also absolutely certain I didn’t have before.

My headache doubled. I groaned, putting my head in my hands.

Ok, deep breaths. In 1-2-3-4, out 1-2-3-4, in 1, 2, 3, 4, out 1, 2, 3, 4. I can do this. Aside from my headache, I’m not hurt. I’m also not dreaming, because I know what dreaming feels like enough, and I don’t feel this much pain when I’m asleep.

So. Where am I, how did I get here, and why do my memories insist that this is my room and I have two big sisters. Those are the questions I need to focus on.

I feel like a horror video game character…

I open my eyes and cautiously get out of the bed roll/futon thingy. I was in a small room with what looked like tatami mat floors and walls that were half wood paneling and half… plaster? There was a small window with purple curtains on the wall above my futon and by the foot a closet. There were a few decorative fans on the walls and two paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. And it was all incredibly familiar and strange at the same time.

I… I knew this place. That fan was a gift for my third birthday. Those lanterns were from my dad’s business trip.

My vision swam. I sat back down on the futon, hand over eyes, and waited for it to pass.

Okayyyy… something weird is going on here. I mean, weirder than everything else. Ugh, nevermind.

I should check the outside. I padded over to the window, but whoever made it made the sill high up I could barely see over it. This whole room was very tall.

Peering into the closet just revealed what looked like stacked cloth.

Maybe getting out of this room would be helpful.

I padded over to the door which was also really, really tall for some reason. Also it was a sliding door. Luckily, I had had a sliding door before so I had some idea of how to open it quietly. Press slowly to see which way it tended to lean. If it leaned outward press open slowly. If not, it would swing out and then you could open it. Move slowly and cautiously. Close with a fingernail over the edge and stop before it hits the frame. Fortunately for me, the door seemed well oiled, or sanded or whatever, and was fairly quiet.

Now I was in a hall, with wooden floors and the same wood panel/plaster combo walls as the room I was in.

At one end of the hall was another really high window and at the other end was a staircase… that went to the living room if my weird sense of familiarity was correct. From the stairs I heard the soft sounds of talking.

Trying to remember what I’d read about moving quietly I walked to the stairs. The very tall stairs, that reminded me of university bleachers. I did a sort of careful scooch-slide down the stairs to minimize the chances of slipping and making noise as I got closer to the talking.

“-really, I don’t know what the Hokage was thinking! The little monster will kill us all!” said a woman’s voice that made a part of me go mom?

“Not for a while though, its still in a baby’s body,” said a man’s voice, this one a voice that went with dad in my mindscape. “We have time. I’m worried about business, no one is looking to celebrate or go to a teahouse right now.”

My head started to hurt more. And it made it difficult to concentrate.

“People at the academy are scared,” said a girl. “And lots of the Uchiha still haven’t returned.”

There was a spike of pain and my foot slipped. “Ouch!”

“Hana!” said the woman-Kaa-san-mom as she came into view. “I didn’t hear you wake up. Are you okay?”

“My head hurts,” I mumbled.

She clucked at me and picked me up, my arms automatically going around her neck. “I’ll get some pain medicine. Then I’ll see about getting a medic-nin over here,” she said. “They must’ve gotten most of the urgent stuff done by now you’d think.”

Medic-nin? Weird term, weren’t they called MAs? But no, my weird sense said they were ninja? That focused on healing?

“Don’t worry!” said the one of the two young girls in the living room Mom entered. “Once I marry one of the clan ninja we’ll be the ones at the front of the line!” she declared.

I ignored Mom cooing at her as I blinked trying to reconcile what I was hearing. Ninja? Ninja weren’t real-

My headache spiked again as the other sense insisted that yes they were real and my sisters were learning to become them so they could marry a clan ninja like the Uchiha or the Hyuuga-

Vertigo gripped me as I recognized those names. “Konoha..?” I murmured.

“Konoha is fine dear,” Mom said. “The late Hokage-sama protected us all.”

Naruto. I was in Naruto.

I swear if those reality-shifting Tiktok teenagers were right I’m gonna be so effing pissed.

Chapter Text

It was a good thing that I was able to spend all day in bed, because frankly I needed the time to come to terms with… all this. The migraine wasn’t helping either. Then again perhaps it was to be expected. Toddler brains were not meant to handle full adult mental processes.
That being said, I seemed to have memories of the toddler I was here, and the adult I was back… before.

So. Lets take stock. My name is Hana. I turned three a few weeks ago. I have two big sisters, Aiko and Tomi. Aiko is the oldest, and Tomi is the middle child. Both of them are Academy students.

My family name is… Fujioka? My parents ran a tea house, so I suppose they are civilians. I don’t remember any grandparents, but that doesn’t say much considering how violent this world was.

Speaking of which…

I thought over the past few days. I wasn’t certain exactly what had just happened, but considering what I’d just heard and from what little I remembered, it seemed like that horrible feeling that… awakened? My past self’s memories was most likely the Kyuubi. Which put me three years ahead of Naruto.

So, I would be 15-16 around the chuunin exams invasion by Orochimaru, and 19-20 during the whole Akatsuki mess. Assuming I didn’t do anything to mess it all up, which frankly, I was planning on doing. I wasn’t certain how just yet, but I was absolutely going to see about preventing as many of the atrocities as I could.

That was for later though. For now, I was going to try and sleep. Hopefully that would help with the migraine I was facing.

..

I ended up spending much of the week asleep.

By the time I was up again most of the debris had been cleared away and the damaged building either in the middle of repairs or torn down. For all their specialization at murder, ninjas were great construction workers, especially if they knew earth jutsu. Of course earth jutsu just pulled up surrounding dirt so it was very obvious were it was used to just quickly patch holes, but still. Some paint and it would be good as new.

I did my best to look around as my new mom led me through the streets. I’m not certain there was anyone that hadn’t wanted to visit the places their favorite stories took place, and while Naruto did have a theme park, I hadn’t exactly had an opportunity to visit.

Something that struck me immediately was that a lot of the buildings in the village were round.

…that sounds weird.

I suppose a better way to describe it was like there was lots of short, thick towers, some alone, some attached to other buildings.

It didn’t really make sense to me, but then the Hokage tower was round too. Maybe it was a cultural thing? I suppose I could try and figure it out.

I had time after all.

Strangely, that just left me feeling down.

…

It was midway thru the shopping trip that I finally found something recognizable from the anime. Well, aside from Ninja Rushmore, which did, in fact, only have four heads.

It was the Yamanaka flower shop.

Maybe I was just used to the 21st century’s overwhelming commercialization, but I really expected it to be fancier. Like maybe have the Yamanaka symbol on it or something.

But no, it was just a regular yellow building with a purple sign.

Then only reason I knew what it was, was because New Mom pointed it out.

“Look Honey!” she said, brightly. “The Yamanaka flower shop! We should get some of their flowers, some for the memorial, some for the home.”

I blinked at the shop. Seriously? That’s it? It looked like any ordinary flower shop off of the highway, with large buckets of flowers out front.

The inside was pretty similar, with cut flowers behind glass and potted flowers. I looked at the types of flowers as New Mom pulled me towards the receptionist.

“Hello!” she chirped at him.

“Hello, how may I help you today?” said the Yamanaka with a Customer Service Smilet. I gazed up at… him? Her? I wasn’t certain. Given that I was tiny, I could only sort of see their eyes, so they didn’t look that odd from my perspective.

“Yes, I would love to buy a bouquet, for the memorial, of course,” said New Mom.

“Of course,” said the Yamanaka. “Unfortunately we are out of chrysanthemums, and will be for the foreseeable future. Would you like to place a reserve order for when they are in stock again or would you be interested in another bouquet type?”

“Hmm,” New Mom pursed her lips. “I suppose I’ll reserve a bouquet. How big can they be?”

What kind of a question was that? I was getting a weird vibe from this.

“All our bouquets are handcrafted to a general size, but we focus on beauty above all else,” the Yamanaka promised.

“Of course, only the best, especially for the poor deceased.” New Mom nodded. “And about some bouquets for my home? I was hoping to bring in some fresh energy after all this unpleasantness.”

“We have a wide selection of flowers ma’am. Do you have any preferences or would you like to browse?”

“Oh, I was hoping for a personal recommendation.” New Mom leaned forward and batted her eyes at the Yamanaka. “Since you said the Yamanaka focus on beauty, do you have any flowers you think would suit me and my family?”

I looked at her in shock. New Mom what the hell?

“Ah perhaps primroses or freesia might be suitable?” said the Yamanaka with a smile.

New Mom blinked at him. Then she reared back like she was affronted.

“Why, I never! How rude!” she said. “Come on, Hana, we’ll find a more reasonable flower store.” She pulled me up into her arms and strode out.

“Why, the nerve of the man!” she muttered as she marched down the street. “Primroses and freesia, suitable.”

“Kaa-san,” I said, after a moment, making sure I was speaking Japanese. “What wrong?”

She looked at me and sighed. “Well Hana, you know how you are named after flowers?” I nodded. I had been told this often enough apparently that toddler me had remembered.

“Flowers are super pretty, yes? That’s why we put them out for people to see.”

“Yes.”

“Well, some flowers have super secret meanings. So you can tell people things with your flowers.”

“Okay.” I vaguely remember an early Naruto plot about this. Something about Sakura and Ino?

“And the flowers that that man suggested meant very bad things. He was insulting us Hana,” she said.

Oh. Well… you did kinda bother him while he was probably still in morning, but like heck I would say that to her.

“Maybe he was still sad Kaa-san?” That would work.

“That’s no excuse,” she replied. “Besides, it wouldn’t have happened if we were important.”

She set me down on a bench and leaned down as if she was imparting a special secret. “You see, each person has a special value based on what family they are a part of. We live in Konoha right? And Konoha is a special village for ninja. That means that ninja are the most important people here. Likewise, the people that have the most value are from ninja families, called clans. Remember? I’ve told you about them before.”

I nodded. New Mom gossiped a lot with her friends about the different clans.

“And we aren’t a part of those ninja clans. So we aren’t as important, and that’s why they do rude things like that to us.”

She swung me back into her arms. “But don’t worry! You see, one of the ways that you can join a family is through marriage. And you have two beautiful big sisters that are working hard so that they can marry into those clans. Not to mention, you! You are one of the prettiest girls I know, my little flower. I bet when you grow up, all the boys will want to marry you. Then you can marry into the biggest and best clans, and no one will be rude to you ever again.”

She spun me around and bounced me in her arms, probably to make me laugh. I was a bit preoccupied though.

Oh no, my mom’s a gold-digging Karen.

Chapter Text

New Mom complained to New Dad at dinner that night about the treatment she had received. He was sympathetic, and promised to find better tea the next time he was on a trip in order to better attract clan ninja to our teahouse. Apparently we didn’t get ninja customers all that often.

Geez, I wonder why.

My older sisters were also sympathetic, reporting in on how they were doing in their appointed mission to attract boys at ages six and eight respectively. Yes, even my six year old sister Tomi, although she was mostly talking about how she was making herself look pretty and how the Inuzukas were “gross”.

I was fighting shudders the whole time.

If I had any compunctions about being a ninja, they were gone now. I was not remaining a civilian and staying in this toxic environment, nope. I was outta here.

High chances of death and injury? Sure! Being a child soldier? Sign me up!

I’d rather die on the battlefield then slowly feel my soul be smothered under an early marriage and the constant pressure to be a traditional, perfect wife.

Also, according to most of my sources, genin would be considered adults the moment they got their hitai-ate, and therefore would be eligible to move out on their own. I’d have to double check that, but it was worth looking into. Might even be worth looking into graduating early.

Now, how to prepare.

…

“Kaa-san! I want to train to be a good ninja!” I surprised New Mom with one morning.

“Oh that’s wonderful dear!” she said, happily. “That’s such a big girl thing to do.”

I nodded. “So where can I go to train?” I think she’d have a problem with three-year-old me heading out to go who knows where.

“You can do that right here!”

“But what about running?” We did have a garden, but I wasn’t allowed in it. That was kept neat and tidy for guests of the teahouse to reflect upon. Also it might dirty my clothing.

“Run? Why would you want to do that?” She asked me. “I thought you wanted to train?”

“Running is training?” Wasn’t that obvious?

“Oh no no no,” she smiled at me. “Running is for boys. Running makes you sweaty and gross feeling, so when girls do it boys don’t like them as much.”

“But training?” I asked.

“Wait here,” she told me. She went upstairs for a moment and then came back down with a small box and a handheld mirror.

When she got to me New Mom knelt down and opened the box to reveal jewelry.

“Its very important for girls to be able to accessorize,” She told me. “Why don’t you play, sorry, train with my jewelry!”

I looked up at her. “How?”

“Well, you can pick which pieces you think go good together, or you can try to do your hair up, or something like that. Just have fun!” she told me brightly.

I sighed and tried not to look disappointed. Well, that was a bust.

..

It quickly became apparent that the way things were, I wouldn’t be headed out for training for a while, and my new family disapproved of anything too physical, or anything that might give me *gasp* muscles. As such, all real training had to be kept to hours when they wouldn’t notice. Given that New Mom woke me up in the mornings, this resulted in me doing a lot of training at night, mostly dance stretches, what little yoga I remembered, and strength training.

Really, this was making me wonder how well my sisters were doing. If they didn’t exercise at all, or only exercised at school, they couldn’t be doing too well in classes.

Then again, Sakura was pretty weak when she came out, and she was Kunoichi of the year apparently, so what did I know.

Still, trying to remember the old dance stretches I did in college gave me an idea.

...

“Kaa-san,” I asked again. “Can I learn to dance?”

“Dancing? Oh what a wonderful idea!” New Mom clapped her hands. “I think your sister Aiko knows a few things. They cover it in kunoichi classes I believe.”

“What about lessons?”

“Why don’t you see if you like what Aiko shows you first.”

…

Aiko didn’t know a lot, mostly simple steps and things. Still, I practiced it a lot, and bugged her to teach me more, in view of New Mom and everyone else, which was easy to do as really didn’t have anything better to do with my time. This led to Tomi deciding she also needed to learn how to dance, so New Mom signed us all up for dance lessons.

They weren’t very detailed lessons, more focused on building balance, flexibility, and agility more than anything else, but that was why I wanted the lessons, so it was fine.

Also, New Mom had found a dance studio run by a retired ninja (of course) so this was an opportunity to scout out what kunoichi were really like.

Nanami-sensei was whip-thin, with a delicate grace, sharp eyes, and scarred forearms that everyone pretended not to see. I also got the impression she saw a lot more than she pretended to. I liked her.

A few months later Aiko got a complement from one of her teachers over having better footwork in class and the dance lessons were here to stay.

…

The dance lessons were all very good, but I still wasn’t doing a lot of cardio. The reason for this being, of course, that New Mom still didn’t want to let me leave her sight for long periods of time, and there wasn’t any really good ways to train cardio in one place. At least, not without making a lot of noise and getting scolded.

The solution to my problem came when one day, while helping New Mom run errands, we came across a young boy my age on his own shopping for groceries.

“Kaa-san,” I asked, pointing at him. “Why is he on his own?”

She looked over and squealed softly. “Oh how precious! He must be doing his first errand!”

“What’s a first errand?”

“Well, when a young boy or a young girl gets to be old enough, they get set out to do a quick errand,” she explained.

“All alone?”

“Uhuh!”

“I want to do one!”

“Maybe when you’re a little older dear.”

“He’s doing his now,” I said, trying not to sound petulant and failing miserably. Stupid child brain and stupid child inability to deal with emotions.

“He’s a boy, my little flower.”

…

I had been an adult before, even though I wasn’t the best at adulting, I was still capable of doing chores well.

As such, in a bid to prove myself responsible enough for my first errand and the beginnings of freedom, I started volunteering for extra chores and to help New Mom whenever she needed it. A lot of it was fairly basic and boring, but I had lots of practice with basic and boring by now.

Finally, my chance came.

“Hana-chan!” New Mom called.

“Yes?” I poked my head out from the living room.

“Can you take this to your sister Tomi-chan? She forgot her lunch,” New Mom asked, holding a bento box in one hand.

“At the Academy?”

“Yes, I think you’re old enough now.”

I gasped and beamed at her. “Yes, thank you Kaa-san!”

I ran forward and hugged her around the legs. Finally! Freedom!

Mom giggled and patted my head. Then she handed me the bento box and shooed me out the door.

“Remember! No running!” she said as I left.

Of course, that meant I started running as soon as I was fairly certain I was out of earshot.

...

It was bright and sunny out. The birds were singing, children were laughing, and I was desperately trying to force as much air as I could in and out of my tiny lungs. Not having any real cardio for several months had taken their toll, and I was struggling now.

Even so, it was a good pain. I was finally outside.

Shortly before the academy, I slowed down, so I wouldn’t appear completely winded. I just knew Tomi would tell on me if it looked like I had been running too much.

The academy itself was big, which made sense. I wasn’t certain how big Konoha’s Shinobi corps really were, but there was obviously a lot of ninja, and the Academy saw six years of children at any given time. Luckily, the massive doors were easy to open.

Once I was inside, I looked around. There was a large circular foyer area with what looked like announcement boards and a flight of stairs. I ignored the stairs, as Tomi was a 1st year student and therefore most likely to be on the bottom floor.

I had just started padding down the hall when a voice surprised me with a “Hello?”

I looked behind me to see a ninja with brown hair and blue pupilless eyes smiling down at me. Another Yamanaka..?

I turned around. “Hello, Shinobi-san.” I bowed.

“And what are you doing here? You look a bit young to be one of our students.”

I raised the bento box. “Delivering lunch to Tomi-nee-san. Do you know where she is?”

He hummed. “Do you know her classroom number?”

“Class 1-3, Shinobi-san.”

“They should be doing history right now. Just down the hall.”

He escorted me down the hall, to an unmarked door. I wondered how people were supposed to find their way around, but I suppose it made sense. The people that were supposed to be there knew where everything was, whereas enemies would need to do a lot more searching, making them easier to find.

The unknown shinobi knocked on the door. “Delivery for Tomi-san,” he announced.

I poked my head inside as the doors opened. The classroom reminded me a lot of university classes in the older buildings were like, but with much smaller desks. I waved at Tomi, who was in the middle of the desks, and raised the bento box so she could see.

Tomi blushed bright red, and quickly ran over to grab her lunch. I winced internally. That must’ve been embarrassing.

Shinobi-san stopped her as she turned around to go back to her seat.

“What do we say when someone helps us?” he prompted.

“Thank you,” she muttered.

“You’re welcome,” I said softly, trying not to make this worse for her. That being done, she quickly hurried back to her desk.

My job done, I turned to leave. Again, the unknown shinobi accompanied me to the academy doors.

As he opened the doors for me, I turned around and bowed. “Thank you Shinobi-san,” I said.

“It’s no problem,” he said. “Have a good day.”

“Have a good day,” I said as I left.

Once again, I took the way back as an opportunity to run, stopping slightly before getting home to stop breathing so hard.

New Mom congratulated me when I got back, and the rest of my family did the same at dinner. Even Tomi did, after she got over the embarrassment of having her kid sister bring her lunch.

From that day forward, New Mom allowed me to go on the occasional errand on my own, which was very helpful in allowing me to increase my poor stamina. As much as I would have liked to use the opportunity to branch out and explore Konoha, I knew full well if I didn’t do the work well and in a reasonable amount of time, my new minute amount of freedom would disappear, and I wasn’t willing to risk it.

…

Then I turned four.

“Congratulations, my little flower!” said New Dad. “You are now old enough for preschool!”

Chapter Text

Preschool would be starting in the spring, half a year away, as I was born in the fall. Meanwhile, New Mom would be teaching me how to read Japanese, finally.

I had asked before, but apparently, I was too young. After pushing a bit New Mom told me that being too smart would be intimidating for boys, and I should tone down any intelligence.

I hated it here.

But finally! It was time to start reading!

New Mom brought out box from a closet as I fought to not vibrate in place.

“Now now, my little flower, patience,” she said as she looked at me. Then she took out a set of well-used playing cards. Searching through the deck, she pulled out a card and showed it to me.

“This is the hiragana for “ah”, Hana. Say it with me now. Ah.”

Kill me now.

…

Ove the year that I had been here I had grown accustomed to the annoyances of being a child. When I had been an adult, I had often wished to go back to those golden days of youth when I felt I had never needed to worry about anything, and had the freedom to spend my days idly.

Nostalgia is a filthy liar.

I was constantly supervised. Sometimes it felt like there wasn’t a thing I was allowed do on my own. New Mom chose what I ate, how much I ate, and when I ate. Everything I wanted to do had to be approved up beforehand. I didn’t even get to pick my own clothing.

I was an effing adult, I could make my own choices!! I wanted to scream sometimes so badly.

Then there was the unfortunate fact that often times I needed the help. Something adult me had taken for granted was a certain level of strength and coordination that toddler me just did not have. I tripped over my own feet often and my pudgy toddler fingers just did not have the dexterity and skill I was used to.

Side benefit of the dance lessons is that it was getting better, but I was still underperforming adult me’s abilities.

All of my frustrations paled however, in comparison to what I felt now.

I wanted to claw my own eyes out.

Ah ah ah. Oh oh oh. Eh eh eh.

Lessons started out reading characters off of cards and repeating it several times. For an hour. It was mind-numbing. I swear those cards started appearing in my dreams.

I thought it would it get better once we got to actually reading books, and it did!

For a week.

Then the cards left my dreams and were replaced by To-kun the friendly puppy! Who had to be the most mentally challenged dog I had ever met and never seemed to be able to do anything!

If I had to read about him losing his favorite ball again and having to find it I was going to stab someone.

Now a part of me realized I was being unfair. The To-kun books weren’t really that bad. They were obviously attempts to teach small children basic problem solving, social skills, and emotional intelligence alongside reading skills in a family friendly manner.

That didn’t change the fact that I was incredibly understimulated, frustrated, and pissed that my chance at returning to an old hobby was being thwarted by New Mom’s reasonable desire to not have her four-year-old daughter read anything that might be inappropriate for such a young child, as well as my own lack of ability to read in a foreign language after speaking mostly English in my previous life.

For heaven’s sake I used to write in my free time! And now I was reading the equivalent of “See Spot Run”.

Still, for the sake of my future, I would preserve.

…

I was, for better or for worse, quite excited to go to preschool.

Sure, it would probably be incredibly simple and likely boring, but it was different. And I wouldn’t have to be under New Mom’s thumb for several whole hours!

Apparently, I was going to some kind of fancy rich kid preschool that taught etiquette, socialization, and the kind of academic things that well to do young children were expected to know. What those were I wasn’t certain, but I was also pretty sure that only civilians were going to it. The clans, if you listened to New Mother and her high society friends, stuck to themselves.

…honestly, I wasn’t surprised. Of the clans I knew of, the only ones that probably placed a high value on the kind of etiquette New Mom and Dad thought were important, were the Uchiha and the Hyuuga, and I’m pretty sure they had their own in-family tutors.

Thinking about the Inuzuka trying to be high society just made me laugh internally.

The first day of school the whole family fussed over me. New Mom spent what felt like hours fretting over my appearance, wrapping me in a fancy kimono that was probably way too expensive for an actual four-year-old, while my sisters cooed over how cute I looked. New Dad picked me up and spun me around, laughing at how his “adorable little flower” looked so grown up.

I did my best to respond appropriately, but honestly all the excitement and attention just made me feel tired. I realized that this was a big, exciting milestone for my new family, and I wanted them to be happy, but the pressure of constantly having to put on a ‘happy child’ mask was grating on my nerves.

Still, I could get excited over finally doing something different. So I did my best to channel that while waiting for the hubbub to die down.

After that, my older sisters had to head to the academy while me, New Mom, and New Dad set out for my preschool, with me riding on New Dad’s shoulders.

A few blocks away, I was set down and we started doing the “I’m better than you” walk, into a crowd of fancily dressed, probably wealthy civilians also doing their best to pretend they were the best there.

Honestly, it reminded me of watching an episode of “Real Housewives”.

There was a brief speech from what I suppose was the headmistress that likened all of us students to sprouting flowers, and how the skills we’d learn here would pave our way in life, and other such things I think were either lip service to a bunch of people that thought of themselves way more important than they actually were, or self-aggrandization of a person that thought of themselves as way more important than they actually were. It just felt so inauthentic.

After that we were told our assignments and filed into our respected classrooms. I was in class 1-A, which I suppose meant we were the most important or something based on how some of the parents reacted, and New Parents’ preening.

Well, not that it mattered much to me. Everyone’s parents spent a few last moments with their kids, and then they left. Finally.

Of course, that meant that one of the kids starting crying and their parents needed to be called in to comfort them, but after that it was done.

“Its nice to meet you students,” said the teacher. “You may call me Sayuri-sensei.”

“Hai, Sayuri-sensei,” said a few of us.

She frowned. “Again, all of you.”

“Hai, Sayuri-sensei!”

“Better.” She slowly gazed over all of us, making sure to meet each and every student’s eyes.

“I am a hard taskmistress. Class 1-A is makes up the best students at Young Flower Garden Preschool, and I expect you to show that.”

I blinked. That seemed unnecessarily harsh. Are you certain you’re a preschool teacher sensei? This seems more appropriate for the first day of a high school year. Also how do you decide who was the best out of a group of toddlers? How much their parents paid for this?

“When I am done with you, you will be impeccable members of society!”

“Now reply with “Hai Sensei!”” she ordered.

“Hai Sensei!”

“Good. Now, as this is the first day, we will start off with how to do a proper introduction.”

…

Now, if I had been an actual four-year-old, I’m certain this would have been a lot more difficult, or perhaps downright impossible from what little I remembered of my first childhood. However I was an adult in the body of a toddler and as such this was laughably easy.

Sayuri-sensei had us all pair up with each other in a line, and practice giving introductions to each other. Then one line would move down and we’d all give introductions to each other with a new partner.

This was briefly stopped each time a child messed up and Sayuri-sensei corrected them. If a child started crying, they were told to go to the corner and the lines were reordered.

By the time we were done practicing there were several children crying.

…Holy hell what was wrong with this woman. Those kids are four.

After practice there was a short break.

Although I didn’t really want to, I went over to the crying kids and attempting to comfort them.

“Hey, are you guys okay?” I asked in a quiet voice.

My only answer was a few sniffles.

I sighed internally.

“Listen, its okay. It’s the first day. You’ll get better. You just need to practice a little, okay?”

One of the girls sniffled a little. “Okay.”

“Okay. Do you want to practice now, or do you want to be distracted?”

Tips from my parent’s parenting manual (that I read when I was eight): give children a choice between two options to encourage them to make a choice.

There was more sniffling, but eventually the same girl that replied to me said in a quiet voice, “Practice.”

“Good. That’s very brave of you. I know that its scary trying to do something and being afraid you’ll mess up, but we can’t get better if we don’t try. So you trying is brave,” I said, trying to be supportive.

A few more sniffles, but the kids seemed to brighten up. Then suddenly the girl I was talking to hugged me, which the other kids took as a cue to dog pile me.

“Oof.” Kids are heavy.

I let that go on for a few seconds, then gently reminded them we still needed to practice. A few of the kids messed up, but I just smiled at them and told them it was okay. Really.

We practiced until break was over, then it was back for more lessons. Which was nice, because while I love kids, dealing with them is emotionally exhausting.

Even so, I did my best to help those kids in little ways, by making eye contact and smiling whenever they messed up.

Finally, the day was over and we were good to go home.

…

“How was my little flower’s first day at school?” New Dad asked as he picked me up.

I hummed. “It was okay. Sayuri-sensei is strict.”

“Of course. School is a very different environment, Hana, so teachers are expected to be a little stricter.”

Yeah, but not that strict. I didn’t tell him that though, I don’t think he’d believe me.

“Oh, and did you notice a Madoka Fumihito when you were in class sweetie?” asked New Mom.

“I think so?” Really I was terrible at names, but that one brought to mind a small, dark haired boy.

“He’s one of the branch family members of the Daimyo,” New Mom whispered to us.

“Really?” said New Dad in the same near whisper.

“Yes. Supposedly the Daimyo is trying to build closer ties to Konoha. Isn’t that exciting?”

Not really for me, but it was for New Dad apparently.

I just felt sorry for the boy.

…

Of course, that meant I ended up sitting next to him the very next day.

“Hello, I’m Madoka Fumihito. Nice to meet you,” said the boy sitting next to me.

Chapter Text

“Nice to meet you,” I replied automatically to the young boy that had introduced himself to me. “I’m Fujioka Hana.”

I paused, waiting to see if he wanted anything, but when Fumihito didn’t immediately do anything I internally shrugged and started putting my stuff, mostly a bento box, away.

“Um,” He started.

I turned back around and looked at him. “Yes?” I ask, patiently.

“I’m… related to the Daimyo?” He said.

“Yes?” I wondered what he was getting at. “Otou-sama told me.”

“You… don’t want to talk about it?”

“Not really, no.”

He blinked at me then gave me a surprisingly bright and cute smile. “I’m going to be a ninja when I grow up!” he said.

“That’s cool. So am I. How are you training for it?” I asked. Finally a conversation topic I didn’t mind.

“Chichi-ue and Haha-ue have assigned a combat tutor to me,” he said. “He used to be a ninja.”

“Oh, is he part of a clan?” I asked, interested.

Fumihito scrunched up his face. “No. My parents wanted a clan ninja but they have super special ways of fighting they can’t teach people not from their clan.”

“Ah. I’m taking dance lessons, to improve my flexibility and footwork,” I said, changing the subject. “I’d love to take combat classes though, that sounds interesting.”

“Why? Girls don’t fight?” he asked, confused.

“Girl ninja do,” I said, annoyed but trying not to show it. The kid was four, he was probably just repeating what his parents told him. “Like Tsunade-sama.”

“Wasn’t she a medic?” he asked.

“Yes, but she also did tai-jutsu,” I said, firmly. “I’m gonna be a ninja that does combat too.”

“Oh, okay,” he said. “I’m gonna be a writer ninja. It’s in my name, it means compassionate writer.” He smiled at me. “I’m gonna be just like Jiraiya-sama!”

Oh.

Oh, you poor, sweet, innocent summer child.

…

My parents were very excited after I got home and told them about my day.

New Dad picked me up and spun me around again and again.

“Just like my little flower, catching the eye of a member of the Daimyo’s family,” he crowed.

New Mom, also nodded, a little bit more reserved than New Dad.

“The Madoka family is a great one,” she said. “If you don’t catch the eye of a clan ninja, they are just as a good a family to marry into.”

New Dad added, “If you decide to not be a ninja, you could go for them as well.”

I blanched. They are not pairing me up with a four-year-old boy, and they were not suggesting that I not be a ninja.

“I wanna be a ninja!” I insisted.

My new parents exchanged a glance.

“What?” I asked, suspicious.

New Mom hesitated. “Being a ninja can be dangerous,” she hedged.

“Aiko-nee-san and Tomi-nee-san are becoming ninja,” I said. What was the real reason here? They'd been pushing being a ninja on me and my sisters since we were born as long as I could remember. Why were they switching tracks now?

“Well, yes, but,” New Mom floundered, and looked over at New Dad.

New Dad crouched down next to where he had set me on the floor. “Do you remember that really scary night when the monster attacked us?” he asked, ignoring how New Mom hissed and said “Don’t remind her of that!”

I glanced at both of them, warily. “Yes, I do remember,” I said.

“Well, when he attacked, you got hurt pretty bad,” he said.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Yes?” I said.

“And even though you are okay now, you’re a lot different, because you were hurt. You never fully recovered.”

Well, yes, having an entire lifetime’s worth of memories, especially adult ones, dumped in your head, can do that to a girl. But its not like they’d believe me if I told them that.

“I’m fine!” I insisted, maybe a little too loudly based on the way New Dad and Mom winced. “I wanna be a ninja,” I said, quieter. “Please?” I didn’t want to beg, but this was important.

They softened. “Alright, but if you decide you don’t want to, that’s totally okay,” New Dad assured me.

“Thanks Tou-san!” I said, then ran forward to hug him. Then I hugged New Mom for good measure. They might’ve been Karens, but they did care about me.

…

I started trying to avoid Fumihito at school after that. I mean, he wasn’t a bad kid, but I was not feeding my parents’ idea that we could someday marry. It helped that I was pretty much the only kid that didn’t want to be his friend, and therefore he was constantly surrounded by a group of adoring fans.

I, on the other hand, stuck with the group of kids that weren’t doing so well in class, the cry babies that struggled under Sayuri-sensei’s cruel regime. Most of the other kids avoided them so they wouldn’t be dragged down with them, and I was pretty much the only one that helped them, which was just so sad. This school killed kids’ empathy.

For better or for worse, this had its own knockback effects.

…

“Fujioka-san,” said Sayuri-sensei one day during break. “Please follow me into the hall.” Then she turned on her heel and walked out.

I followed her, warily. To the best of my knowledge, I was doing quite well in class, due to being the only one that was mentally grown up.

One we were in the hall, Sayuri-sensei took a minute to look at me, taking advantage of her adult body to just loom there, menacingly.

I just looked back. I’m certain that this would be intimidating if I were actually four, but I was a) an Adult, and b) had her firmly pegged as a bully and therefore aggressively Did Not Care about her opinion.

Finally, when it appeared I wouldn’t just break, she sniffed, breaking the silence.

“Fujioka-san,” she started, pronouncing my name slowly. “It has come to my attention that you have an… interesting group of friends.” She peered down at me.

I just remained looking up at her.

“Little Flowers has a reputation for the brightest and the best, but even we sometimes have… undesirable students. Students like Abiko-san and Nagasawa-san,” naming two of the kids that often needed my help.

I narrowed my eyes. She seriously wasn’t suggesting…

“Friends are one way of telling how great a person is. You are a good student, I’d hate to see you suffer from your, misguided good will.”

Lady, you’re a preschool teacher, not an imperial advisor, and this isn’t the royal courts. Calm your tits.

“The Leaf places great importance on teamwork,” I told her, because clearly she wanted me to say something, and I sure as heck wasn’t about to agree with her.

“Perhaps,” she allowed. “But there are the right people to do teamwork with, and people that aren’t the right kind. Think about it.” Then she walked back into the classroom.

Okay bitch.

I walked back into the classroom, smiled at Sayuri-sensei, then walked right back to Abiko and Nagasawa.

Deal with it.

…

Of course, Sayuri-sensei didn’t like that, and she made her position clear by nitpicking every mistake I made in class, but frankly, I didn’t care. This was preschool. It didn’t matter.

Honestly, a real four-year-old would probably break down in tears under this treatment, and it did upset me sometimes, but mostly it just pissed me off. Who does this lady, this preschool teacher, think she is to mentally harass and go after a literal toddler. I ended up doing extra practice in order to do everything perfectly just to piss Sayuri-sensei off in return.

As a bonus, it meant that a lot of the kids ended up avoiding me, aside from the occasional few that needed help. Which I guess was kinda lonely, but for the most part as an introvert it was pretty nice.

After a brief period of escalation, after which it became clear aside from outright sabotaging me she couldn’t make me budge, and that doing that would just involve the principal, Sayuri-sensei ended up flat out ignoring me for the last month of school, and I graduated to the second and final year of preschool.

This, alongside turning five, meant that I was finally allowed to leave the house unsupervised to play.

And meant that I could make progress in starting to effect Naruto canon.

Chapter Text

The problem with trying to change the world at five years old is that no one will take you seriously. I mean why would they? You’re. Five.

Really, unless I thought I could pull off some kind of omniscient oracle roleplay in a town full of people trained to detect the most miniscule of lies and find out the truth, the only way I could realistically get someone to actually listen to me would be to get them to understand that I had once been an actual adult.

And not completely insane.

There were several issues getting in the way of just doing whatever crazy thing I could do to get people to believe I’m a reincarnation, isekai, whatever the heck was going on here.

First, Danzo. The man was paranoid stupid and would absolutely have a problem with anyone not him having access to info about the future, especially not the kind of information I had.

Secondly, Orochimaru. I knew he had his spies in Konoha, and with his obsession with immortality? Living proof of reincarnation would be irresistible to him.

I was willing to do a lot to help this world, but I also wasn’t eager to die or get brainwashed into some kind of living weapon because I was too stupid to look before I leapt.

That being said, there was way I was going to be able to do this on my own. I tried to be semi-realistic about my own skills, and I just wasn’t a puppet master. I couldn’t plan for all outcomes, I had problems with tunnel vision, and my strategy skills were weak at best, and that was against AI enemies.

That left what I always resorted to in my last life when I was stumped: ask someone for help.

As such, I needed to find person smart enough to be able to plan around all the minefields, and had the influence to be listened to, that wasn’t in Danzo’s pocket, and that I could realistically convince about my memories without tipping either Danzo or Orochimaru off.

…why did I want to do this again?

Right, we’re about a year away from Hyuuga family mess, and like hell I was going to let a literal three-year-old and four-year-old deal with that kind of trauma. Especially since all it should take is tipping off the right person.

Goddamn it…

The Hokage was right out. If the Yondaime was still alive I’d go to him, but the Sandaime has made so many screw ups and questionable decisions over the years that there was just no way I was willing to trust him. I mean, the man let his old friend get away with straight up ordering the genocide of a respected Leaf clan with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. And why? No real reason that I could tell aside from the fact that they were old friends. Also, his Anbu bodyguards were probably infested with Root agents. No, just no.

Nara Shikaku was a possibility, he had all the needed skills, but I just didn’t have any real idea how to convince him. Not to mention, I had no real idea where he even was, or how to talk to him. He’d probably just see a five year old and go “Troublesome,” and leave.

That left the only real choice that I could find: Yamanaka Inoichi.

...

I spent about a week staking out Yamanaka Flowers. Given that Ino would work there in the future, it’s reasonable to assume that her father would also work there as an adult. That being said, he didn’t seem to have any shifts at the moment. Maybe he was on a mission or something?

Still, that didn’t actually matter for my plan to work.

In the middle of one spring Monday afternoon, I walked into Yamanaka Flowers.

“Hello there little one,” said the salesperson manning the cash register at the moment. “Are you running an errand?”

I shook my head. “I wanna talk to Yamanaka Inoichi-sama!” I declared. “Is he in?”

The Yamanaka blinked at me. “I’m afraid he’s not. But I can tell him your message when he’s available?”

“Nope!” I said. Then I leaned forward. “It’s a secret.” Then I leaned back. “Well, if he’s not available now, then I’ll wait outside!” Then I walked out the door, around the flowers, to a lightly shaded area by the door. Once I was there, I took out a stick I had glued to a button to make an improvised sun dial, and settled down.

My plan was simple: until either I was able to talk to Inoichi, every Monday and Wednesday afternoon I was going to come here, ask for Inoichi, and then wait outside for several hours. After all, there was no way the clan head would meet a random child just because they asked for them. But a child that kept asking for them? Ninja seemed like they’d be both incredible gossips and as curious as cats, and I was betting on Inoichi finding out and eventually getting curious why this random child wanted to talk to him so badly. Also, because I was being ridiculously childish in my way of asking, I should slip under the radar of the more dangerous factions. I highly doubt Root investigates every child that becomes obsessed with a random ninja. And if anyone I didn’t like did become concerned with me, I had an out: I’d just tell them that I was trying to befriend the head so that it would be easier to marry into the clan. That is absolutely the kind of logic a five-year-old from a ninja-obsessed civilian family like mine would have.

That just left what to do for several hours. Ugh.

Well, I brought a (super basic) book, but… I guess it was time to start yet another form of training.

Supposedly, at least in this universe, chakra was a part of everything. Honestly the way people talked about it reminded me of how some people talked about magic in my previous life. Given that I was a civilian, and my sisters were not the best at school, there wasn’t really anyone I could go to in order to ask about chakra. But at the same time I didn’t want to neglect it, given that I was a civilian and thus would likely be working at a deficit compared to my non-civilian classmates once the academy started.

So. I was going to do what was recommended to beginner wannabe witches and learn to meditate.

I had considered starting this earlier, alongside my other exercises, but I was concerned I might do something I wasn’t supposed to and fuck myself up. The Yamanaka were supposed to be a clan of sensors so if I messed up they should notice and get me to a hospital or something. Hopefully.

Also I freaking hated trying to mediate before, so I was happy to put it off.

Take a breath. Focus on getting in touch with my subconscious mind.

Now. Count down from 100 to zero.

100, 99, 98, 97…

This was gonna be so boring…

...

That wasn’t the only thing I was going to do now that I had the ability to move more freely. I was also going to finally start active cardio training.

I had done what I could over the previous year, but errands that New Mom was willing to send me on weren’t the most common thing in the world. As a result my cardio was awful, honestly probably worse than other regular kids because I understood the word “No” when my new family told me to stop something, so I didn’t get the exercise from misbehaving the way most kids did.

But that changed today.

Well, in a few weeks, I had to scout out a good training spot.

And factoring in there’s always a training bump before you get better…

It’ll change in a month or two.

But first, the training spot.

I couldn’t just train anywhere. New Mom would absolutely disapprove of what I was planning on, so I was gonna have to do it somewhere she wouldn’t discover, or her awful gossiping friends wouldn’t discover either.

Seriously, no idea how those women call themselves friends. It’s like a whole social circle dedicated to either one-upping everyone else or tearing each other down. The sheer drama was astounding. They weren’t even fighting over things that like, actually mattered! It was all who had the nicest kimono, who was involved in some sort of scandal, who had the best children.

That last point meant that Aiko, Tomi and I were often “shown off” each time New Mom hosted her the weekly tea circle. I hated it, Aiko enjoyed the complements, but Tomi? Tomi loved it. She was a mini social butterfly, always interested in what was going on, even if she had to be reprimanded a few times for going overboard.

A few weeks ago had been particularly bad.

Sato-san, the mother of one of the kids I was helping in class, was being… annoying, in how she was complementing me.

“Really, Hana-chan,” she said with the kind of giggle so perfect it sounded fake. “I just don’t know what my daughter would do without your help. I try so hard to be a good mother, but she’s always so quiet, and so mousy. Of course, not everyone can have my kind of flair,” she batted her eyes “-but its like she doesn’t even try.”

“Sato-san does try,” I said. “Sato-san tries very hard, and wants to practice a lot.”

I could already see what kind of mother Sato-san the eldest was. The kind that always needed to be the center of attention, and thus anyone around her, even her own children, were just props she could use to either increase her standing or gain sympathy from. No wonder her second daughter was so meek.

“Oh, really, you’re so kind,” she cooed. “Why couldn’t my daughter have been more like you?”

I did my best to not visibly grit my teeth. “Sato-san is fine the way she is. I’m certain with love and support she’ll be amazing,” I said. “I would be happy to give her the caring and support she deserves.”

I really would. Sato Sumire was a shrinking violet at the best of times, with a plain face and quiet demeanor. She was also kind, had a memory like a steel trap, and was cautious in a way I approved of. And she was five. No five-year-old deserved to be talked about like this from her own mother.

At that point New Mom decided that Tomi-san needed to demonstrate her new dance and I should help her get her things.

That day was unusual. I generally listened, in case there was something important said, but for the most part I just considered it poker face training.

At this rate, I’ll have as good a poker face as the Uchiha when I finally get to the academy.

Still, if any of those stuck-up bitches figured out what I was doing they’d instantly tattle for the gossip clout, and I’d be back to doing nothing until I got to the Academy.

So first, I’d need to find a place that was far away and generally uninhabited.

There was no way I’d be able to blend in because of the second problem with a good spot: I couldn’t get a tan.

According to my new family, fashionably pale skin was an absolute must. As such, if I got a tan, I’d instantly be put in “time-out” and forbidden from going out until it faded.

One solution to this problem was to find a place without a lot of sun.

The other was to cover up.

I was mixing the two.

Konoha, being the village hidden IN THE TREES, had a lot of forests, even within the walls. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of those forests were cleared for more city by the time I’d grown up, but for now they’d provide plenty of cover for my activities.

I’d managed to find a nice park by the hospital, so unless I was given reason to think otherwise, I’d be training there. It wasn’t terribly close to any major clan compounds, the variety of people there were mixed, and it would conceal the strangeness of my cover up method.

First, I’d secured a sunhat several months beforehand, by asking for one to keep the sun off my face while running errands.

Secondly, I’d been sneaking away rolls of bandages whenever I could, bandages I now used to wrap up my forearms and legs sticking out of the too-small worn out kimono I had hidden when New Mom had started to make noises about getting rid of it.

With a roll wrapped around my head and face I probably looked completely different. I also probably looked either completely deranged or like an escapee from the hospital, but it didn’t matter.

I was free to run. Finally.

...

Spring turned to summer.

Classes got more interesting. While the previous year had mostly been basic academics, etiquette, and socialization, at five they deemed us old enough to start learning the basics of flower arranging, calligraphy, and poetry.

Fumihito was the best in the class, by virtue of being trained for these subjects by his parents, but I didn’t do too badly either, and I still had my little cadre of kids to help out, plus the occasional one or two that needed help with a specific subject.

At Yamanaka Flowers, Inoichi still hadn’t shown up, but the Yamanaka that worked there all recognized me on sight. After about a month of staking out the place they started asking me to do things around the shop and “talking” to me in the way adults do to very young children they don’t know well. It was really interesting, and I was learning a lot about the sides of Konoha I normally wouldn’t get to see.

That was the good side of that project. I was getting absolutely nowhere with the mediation project, and often just ended up people watching instead.

My cardio was improving, slowly but steadily, and I was starting to try exercises I had done in soccer and seen football players do on TV before. I got a few comments on my outfit but by varying the paths I ran I avoided most of it. I think.

There was a brief moment of excitement (for my family) when I was invited to Fumihito’s birthday party, but it was mostly annoying for me. My new parents insisted that I get a brand-new kimono, and on getting an expensive gift for Fumihito, and it was just a whole thing. It wasn’t even a fun party, it was just an excuse to parade children around like they were prize breed dogs at a competition. I felt so bad for Fumihito.

Then, about three months after I had first started asking for him, I walked into Yamanaka Flowers to find Yamanaka Inoichi at the counter.

Chapter Text

I suppose I could be forgiven for gaping at the man I had tried to find for several months now.

Yamanaka Inoichi raised an eyebrow. I shut my mouth.

“So you do recognize me,” he mused.

I took a step forward, nervous. I had had a plan for how this was gonna go, but once I was face to face with the man, my memories had completely abandoned me.

Inoichi smiled encouragingly at me. “I was told you had a special secret for me young lady,” he said.

I nodded, mouth dry. “Uh-umm? Could you mind read me, please?” I inquired. Instantly I knew it was the wrong thing to say. Inoichi closed off, in some slight way.

“I’m afraid that’s very dangerous, young lady,” he said. “Young minds are very fragile.”

I shut my mouth. This wasn’t going the way I wanted it too.

Ok. Deep breaths again. Shut your eyes and focus. What was the plan again? Oh, right.

I opened my eyes again, meeting Yamanaka Inoichi’s.

“Please, Mr. Inoichi Yamanaka. I really need you to read my mind,” I said in English, ignoring the way he stiffened.

Now, I had no idea if languages other than Japanese were spoken in the Elemental Countries. Evidence suggested no. But either way, what I was saying clearly had meaning. As such, the obvious answer was that I was trying to pass an encoded message on to Inoichi, and there was no way his ninja curiosity, or paranoia, would allow him to ignore it. And if for some reason he did understand what I was saying, he also had to figure out how this random tiny child knew something she really shouldn’t.

Inoichi frowned at me, and then gestured at me to follow him. He walked into a side room normally used to stock pots and other materials, then shut the door behind me.

I looked up as he bent down and then everything went black.

…

I woke up in a nice bed, in an unfamiliar room with the golden light of the afternoon approaching evening shining through the window. I blinked, eyes still heavy with sleep.

…wait, where am I?

I sat upright and looked around. I was still in my clothes, although my shoes had been removed to who knows where. The window was overlooking a nice courtyard, which momentarily freaked me out a bit because it was unfamiliar, but the towers of Konoha were soaring above the roofline which made things easier.

I also wasn’t bound or anything, so I was fairly certain I wasn’t a prisoner of Orochimaru or Danzou...

Maybe Inoichi needed to knock people out to fully read them or something? I wouldn’t know. Sure, the show always seemed to have people awake but its not like the Yamanaka techniques were the main focus, or like I’d watched/read everything religiously.

Still, I didn’t seem to be in danger, but it also wasn’t like there was anything to do. Well, except for wait or explore. Honestly it reminded me a bit of when I first woke up after the Kyuubi attack.

I’d rather have a better idea of what was going on, so I chose to explore.

I slipped out of bed, quiet by habit.

There were a few decorations around the room, but they seemed… generic? Like the Konoha equivalent of waiting room décor. The walls were painted a cool pale blue color and a tasteful but simple flower arrangement was on the table next to the bed. There were two doors, one headed to the courtyard, and the other to an unknown area. I headed to the courtyard first.

The middle of the courtyard looked it was part garden, part training ring. Flowering bushes and plants surrounded two flat stone circles, one bigger than the other. Maybe they had lectures here…?

“Ah, so you’re up,” said a voice behind me.

I turned around to see Inoichi behind me.

“Good… afternoon?” I greeted him, uncertain if that was the right greeting.

“Good afternoon,” he confirmed. He sat down at the edge of the garden and gestured at me to follow him. Hesitantly, I followed.

“You have had quite the interesting time, haven’t you, Hana-san,” he started.

I shrugged. “I guess that’s one way of putting it,” I said. “Did you look through everything?”

“Mostly. I skimmed through everything and then just examined a few memories I thought were key.” He smiled at me with an impish lift to his lip. “My daughter grows up to be quite beautiful,” he said.

I giggled, suddenly feeling a bit lighter.

“That being said, it is a rather unbelievable tale, reincarnation, knowing the future…” he trailed off.

I shrugged. “I know. Sometimes I wonder if it even is the future, considering some of the inconsistencies. But hey, that’s a part of the reason I came to you.”

“One of the reasons?” he said. “What are the other ones?”

“Well, aside from the fact that you seemed the easiest to convince, being able to literally read my mind,” I said. “You have the power, knowledge, and allies to change things.” I gestured at myself. “I mean, even if I was an adult before, I’m five now, and a civilian to boot. No one is going to listen to me, not like they’d listen to you. And finally, you’re trustworthy, as far as I can tell. By which I mean I don’t think you’re going to sell me to Orochimaru nor are you followed around by agents of Danzo.”

Inoichi raised an eyebrow. “You aren’t afraid that I might take advantage of you myself? Use your knowledge for my own benefit above all others? Lock your memories away so that you are incapable of speaking or showing them to another?”

“Wait, can you do that?” I blinked at him. “Lock my memories away? Because that could be a really good idea. I do not want Danzo or Orochimaru to get his hands on that info.”

“I can. But going back to my original question. You seem so certain you can trust me, despite how little I appear in your “visions”. How much do you really know about me? Do you know how many I’ve killed? How many children?”

He smiled, not a nice smile. “I could be one of Danzo’s collaborators. I could easily knock you out, steal you away. After all, I am a trained killer, a ninja. People consider us monsters for a reason.”

“Look, I get it. I know nothing about you. You could be evil. You could do horrible things to me and I have no way of defending myself!” I threw my hands up in the air. “So what!? Should I just assume that everyone’s out to get me? Should I just sit here and do nothing, and accept that innocent children will get hurt because of my inaction? That no matter what I can only make things worse if I act?”

“No!” I continued. “I refuse the accept that! I refuse to accept that I can’t help people, make things better!”

I sat down with a huff, having not noticed I had stood up during my rant. “Because otherwise I might as well give up now. What’s the point if I can’t help people?”

“Fame, glory? You’re in a very valuable position. You could have used your knowledge to build yourself up, be the sole childhood friend of a Hokage if you played your cards right,” Inoichi pointed out.

“No? That’s stupid? There’s no guarantee that I would actually help anything doing that, and it would still require me to allow innocent children to be harmed through inaction, unless your big ninja mind can somehow come up with a way a five-year-old civilian could stop several major intelligence operations without being hella suspicious. Even just trying to befriend Naruto would be hella suspicious, given that I really have no apparent reason to do that and I’m pretty sure my parents hate his guts. Not to mention it would make me major kidnapping and torture fodder for his enemies. Besides that would just feel skeevy.” I glared at him. “And don’t think I didn’t notice you say ‘could have’ there.”

He laughed, leaning back and easing the tension. “So you trust me?” he asked again.

“I trust two things about you. One, that you’re loyal to Konoha. Two, that you’re not an idiot. Not even in a grimderp way.” I glared at him again. “Don’t make me take back that last one.”

He smiled and raised his hands. “Fair, fair. Don’t worry, I was just checking to make sure you believed what you were telling me.”

“Jerk,” I muttered. “So what now?”

“In the long term? Unfortunately we can’t be certain your info is accurate. As a test, we’ll see about preventing the Hyuuga kidnapping, and depending on the result we’ll go from there. Short term, I’ll put a basic trap over your mind to ensure that a cursory glance will not reveal what you know, and then we go tell your parents that you’ve caught the eye of the Yamanaka and so you’ll be spending some of your free time here with us.”

“Oh, okay,” I said.

A beat.

“Wait,” I said paling. “You’re not going to tell them that as yourself, right?”

…

I stood in front of my house, standing next to Yamanaka Inoichi henged as Random Yamanaka B.

“My, my, a Yamanaka!” said New Mom, batting her eyelashes. “However can I help you?”

I cringed so hard.

…

Inoichi explained it to my parents as them being impressed by my fascination with flowers, my relative maturity, and my dedication to coming to the store on my free days, so they were offering me a chance to help out at Yamanaka Flowers.

Of course, they would appreciate it if my parents kept it quiet. Afterall, there were so many people that tried to sweet talk the clans these days, and if it became known that people could get an in that way, why, everyone would be trying to get my position. This way, they could give me (and by extension my family) undivided attention.

I was in awe of how this man talked circles around my parents. They were eating out of the palm of his hand.

The rest of the time I was trying hard not to show just how badly I was cringing over my parents being complete simps over a name. They knew nothing about this guy, just that he was a clan member and that he worked at a flower shop. But the Yamanaka were a clan, and that meant they were important.

So embarrassing.

I mouthed “I’m so sorry,” at Inoichi from where New Mom couldn’t see me as we said our goodbyes.

Luckily he didn’t seem too upset. He was probably used to it, being clan head.

After that it was congratulations for me and time for bed. My parents were so proud. I was being proactive. A real go-getter. The Yamanaka were a great catch.

I just smiled and nodded, trying not to let my real thoughts show. Sometimes I really hated this place.

Still, being able to go to sleep knowing that I had down something to make this world just a little better? So relaxing. I felt like a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

I just hoped I remembered enough about a children’s cartoon to be able to help this world.

Wait.

Did Inoichi say anything about my visions being a cartoon in my previous life.

I sat bolt right up in bed. No, no he hadn’t. Did he notice? Did he not notice? Did he see it in realism mode or something?

God, that was going to bother me so much now.

Chapter Text

I found out I wasn’t going to be spending much time with the clan head the next day.

“I’m dreadfully sorry, but as a clan head I’m very busy,” Inoichi explained.

I nodded. “Makes sense,” I said. “Also the clan head giving all this attention to a random child would be very suspicious.”

“That too, yes,” he said. Then he nodded to the other man in the room, a young man that looked a lot like Inoichi’s henge last night. “This is Yamanaka Yuuma. He’ll be acting as your point of contact and our go between when I can’t talk to you in person.”

Yuuma gave a gentle smile. “Nice to meet you. Lets get along well.”

“Nice to meet you too,” I replied. “Excuse me, but how much were you told about me?”

Inoichi spoke up. “He’s been told about your past life. However, to keep security, I would like you to avoid speaking about military accomplishments and other such sensitive subjects until I’ve had a chance to test their viability for our own tactics.”

…So no talking about this world’s potential future, got it. Or at least that’s what I assume that meant.

“Speaking off security,” Inoichi continued. “Considering Orochimaru’s fascination with immortality, I’d like to place a mental lock of sorts in your mind. How it would work is, if you were ever captured, you could “lock” yourself in your mind, putting your body in a sort of coma. You would essentially be in a mental space disconnected from your body until being unlocked, and as such both mindreading techniques and torture would be ineffective in trying to get information from you.”

“That sounds very useful,” I said. I was about to ask why it wasn’t used more often, but then I glanced at Yuuma and thought better of it.

Inoichi, probably seeing the question on my face, explained. “Unfortunately, it requires two people to unlock, both you and another person, so you would be functionally unconscious until a friendly is able to reach you. Its also a very difficult trap to lay. As such, given that most people that come into possession of such intel are perfectly capable of resisting torture and escaping imprisonment on their own, it isn’t used very often.”

“Oh. Makes sense,” I said. “So. How’re we going to do this?”

“Lay down on the bed in the corner, and we’ll get started.”

…

After knocking me out to place the trap, Inoichi woke me back up to have me practice going in and out of mental lockdown. It was a bit weird, floating in mental space waiting for that specific knock of Inoichi, but it was an interesting experiment in visualization. What was real in the mind really depending on what you thought was real. Which sounds confusing, but honestly it was a lot like what I thought lucid dreaming would be like.

We practiced for a few sessions, with Yuuma occasionally helping so I could determine the difference between Inoichi’s and other people’s “knocks”, until I could slip in and out of lockdown at a moments notice.

After that I could expect one of two things went I went over to Yamanaka Flowers. Either I’d spend a few hours with Yuuma, helping out at the flower shop and trying to explain concepts like “social media” to him, or Inoichi would show up, and I’d spend a few hours unconscious before waking up with a headache. Which prevented me from asking him his thoughts on my visions being a cartoon.

Aside from that little annoyance, I enjoyed spending time with the Yamanakas. It was nice to have someone treat me like an adult, even if I physically was a child. Plus, I was able to get Yuuma to show me how to throw a punch and several basic kicks, so those were now integrated into my nighttime conditioning regime.

On the personal side, my family was ecstatic. Given that the Yamanaka were a part of the famous Ino-Shika-Cho alliance, an in with them could easily translate to an in with the Nara and the Akimichi. Three for the price of one! I could tell mother could barely prevent herself from trumpeting the news from the rooftops, especially during the weekly brag fests-slash-tea parties came around. Luckily she managed to keep quiet, thank whatever diety that exists in this hellhole. Of course, that energy had to go somewhere, and for my family, that was my sixth birthday party.

It was big, it was bold, it was exhausting. My family must have invited the entire preschool, justifying it by pointing to my excellent grades and the fact that six years old was a big birthday. It meant that I was now eligible to enter the academy, and would do so the next school year. So of course they had to throw the biggest, fanciest birthday bash in town!

It was mildly interesting, and more than a little disturbing, what these people considered to be good gifts for a six-year-old girl. I got so much jewelry, and clothing pieces, and make up. I don’t even wear jewelry and makeup. But it was fancy and girly so of course I must like it.

I had far more appreciation of the gifts that I’m fairly certain the actual kids had a hand in. Fumihito got me a book of poetry, and Sumire got me a painting of a garden in bloom. Those were nice gifts. Not like person who got me PERFUME ANY HALFWAY DECENT TRACKER COULD USE TO PINPOINT MY LOCATION ACROSS THE FREAKING CITY. God, it stank so bad. If it weren’t for the fact I was certain she had zero understanding of ninja anything I would have thought she was trying to sabotage me.

The best gift by far though, was from a henged Yuuma, who took advantage of the chaos to slip in. He gave me a book that was ostensibly on flowers, but was actually a guide on herbal remedies and poisons. That were also flowers. I read that book cover to cover several times, and made notes on some concoctions that might be useful.

Thus, life continued on, from summer, to fall, to winter.

Then the Hyuuga Affair happened.

…

The first I heard of it was when I heard a soft knock from my window late at night.

It took me a few moments to wake up and realize what was going on. I blinked bleary eyed at the curtains.

Knock knock knock

What the heck? I peeked through the crack in the curtains. Was that… Yuuma? Squatting on the side of in a way that would probably be incredibly awkward if I tried it… and were capable of tree walking. I was so sleepy.

He noticed me and waved.

Given that the curtains were doing nothing, I drew them aside. What are you doing here? I mouthed.

Hyuuga, he mouthed back.

I was instantly wide awake. “What?!” I hissed.

I fumbled at the window, remembering only a split second later to not open it all the way. “Password,” I practically barked at him through the crack.

“Azaleas.”

I shoved the window open. “What’s happening? Has Hinata been found? Is her dad okay!?” I whisper-shouted at him.

“Calm down,” Yuuma said, “Your parents are still awake.” Then he flicked a… pen? At the light switch, turning it on.

Sure enough, I heard the soft footsteps of New Mom outside my door.

“Hana?” she asked uncertainly outside the door.

“Good evening, Fujioka-san,” said Yuuma as she opened the door to my room. “I apologize for the late hour and unexpected intrusion, but I’m afraid there’s been a bit of a situation. We received news that someone had kidnapped a young girl, so I volunteered to check this area and make sure your children were okay.”

New Mom blinked at Yuuma a few times, processing that. “Oh. Oh! How terrible. Thank you for checking up on us, Yamanaka-san. Would you like to come in and have some tea?”

Yuuma smiled politely at her. “As much as I would love to accept, I’m afraid I’m on duty right now. As such I can’t remove any parts of my uniform, including my shoes, and I have no desire to be disrespectful.”

New Mom waved a hand at him. “It won’t be a problem, I’ll explain it to rest of my family. Hana, show our guest to one of the tea rooms, the Tsubaki one will do.” Then she turned around and slipped out.

I looked at Yuuma and glared, fully aware I couldn’t question him now, and also fully aware he could have simply used a genjutsu to hide his visit.

His smile took on a more serious note. “It’s good for your parents to start considering that you might be a target of kidnappers. Especially considering how this situation has verified your value.”

I sighed, accepting the logic, and stepped back to let Yuuma into my room.

He did so, gracefully, and I led him to the Tsubaki room, one of the four rooms we kept for tea ceremonies. In a month or two it would become the Ume room, but right now camellia were in season, not plum blossoms. We were quickly joined by Aiko and Tomi, who had taken the time to slip into something slightly more elegant than sleeping kimono.

“Good evening Yamanaka-san,” said Tomi, in a way that I knew meant she was trying to be coy. “I heard there was a kidnapping, how awful. Would you happen to know more about that?” She batted her eyes at him.

Seeing my opportunity, I jumped in. “Please. I’d love to know anything that might keep myself and my family safe from any criminals,” I added. Yuuma shot me an amused look, knowing full well what I was doing.

“Now now girls,” New Dad said as he came in. “Wait until your mother gets here, I’m certain she wants to know too.”

He handed my one of my nicer haori. I slipped it on and tried not to vibrate in place as I waited for New Mom to get here.

It felt like she took forever, but as soon as she was here and we had all been served tea, me, Tomi, and Aiko all turned beseeching looks at Yuuma.

He smiled politely. “I’m afraid I don’t know much. Just that a young girl from one of the clans, not mine, was kidnapped and was discovered to be missing, close to a quarter of an hour ago.”

Bullshit! I wanted to yell at him. He knew damn well what was going on.

“Only a quarter of an hour ago? My, what a quick response time,” New Mom mused.

Yuuma gave a slight shrug. “We’ve been on high alert, what with the Kumo delegation currently in town.”

“Do you think this has something to do with them?” I asked.

“Perhaps. Who knows though, at this point.”

Argh, I wanted to hit him.

The conversation turned to gossip about the delegation and Kumo, during which Yuuma did a good job of saying very little with a great many words, and I tried to not visibly fume.

Eventually, Yuuma (sort of) took pity on me and started quizzing me on flower language and herbal remedies to get my mind off of things. Tomi and Aiko also joined in, although they only knew flower language.

Partway through a discussion on lavender (meaning faithfulness, used to treat anxiety and insomnia) Yuuma suddenly went silent, and cocked his head towards the door to the garden. He got up and opened it to reveal what looked to be an Anbu agent on the wall. There was a brief exchange of hand gestures, then then Anbu left.

Yuuma turned around and said, “That was the all-clear. The kidnapper has been apprehended.”

“Apprehended?” I asked, trying to make sure what I had hoped for had happened.

Yuuma nodded. “They have been taken to T&I for interrogation.”

Taken alive. The Hyuugas would be fine then. I slumped in relief, exhaustion hitting me like a bag of bricks.

I nodded through the goodbyes as Yuuma took his leave, before stumbling upstairs to my bed and conking out.

…

The teahouse did great business over the next few days. As an excellent place of gossip, we always did well after major scandals like that. Apparently Yuuma had mentioned that they would like to continue to keep my connection secret, because my name was not mentioned, but it did become general knowledge that we had been visited by a ninja to check up on us during that night, and my new family milked that social capital for all its worth.

I was happy to have the excuse to visit the Yamanaka’s when I could, which was a lot more frequent. Now sometimes Inoichi would request I be there at a specific time outside my normal hours there. Despite spending more time at Yamanaka Flowers, my time with Yuuma decreased. Rather, I spent a good portion of my time unconscious while Inoichi did whatever he needed to do.

The security protocol I used also increased. Aside from the knockout jutsu implanted in my brain, I also had a tracking seal necklace that went under my clothes and an alarm bracelet I could break if someone went after me. There were also other traps Inoichi implanted in my mind, as well as fuinjutsu tags Yuuma stopped by to apply to the teahouse.

It wasn’t enough.

…

One afternoon, shortly after I came back from preschool and before Tomi and Aiko came back from the Academy, New Mom knocked on my door.

“Hana-chan!” she called as she opened the door. “Yuuma-san is here for you again.”

“Again?” I asked. Must’ve been a busy week, I was just there yesterday. Then I saw Yuuma.

Now, Yuuma was very good at being a comforting, nice person. With a near constant gentle smile, he gave off a constant air of being content with his life, even if he probably wasn’t.

This man was smiling, but it was… empty.

I also froze and tried to conceal it as a sneeze. Then I brought my hands together in my lap, concealing how one reached around for the charm on my bracelet I was supposed to pull off if something happened.

“Hello Yuuma-san,” I said. “What’s the password?”

There was a beat. Then three things happened in quick succession.

First, the unknown ninja slammed Kaa-san’s head against the door. Then I pulled the alarm bracelet, setting it off. Finally, as he reached for me, I felt the switch in the back of my mind

and

flipped.

Chapter Text

I almost immediately regretted springing the jutsu.

What was happening, was Kaa-san okay? Who was the ninja that kidnapped me? Where they associated with Orochimaru or Danzou?

Were they apart of the village at all? Kumo could blame me for the failed kidnapping, and they had still managed to get at an heiress to a clan known for their all-seeing eyes.

Of course, it didn’t make a difference now. Two people were required to open my mind now. I was trapped.

Trapped in a soft white void, with no way of getting out, and no way of knowing what was happening outside.

I wondered bitterly if Inoichi had chosen this jutsu for that exact reason.

I wrapped my arms around myself and crouched down, pulling into a tight ball. Focus, focus.

New Mom was gonna be fine. The alarm should be ringing, both in sound and chakra. It was also hooked up the barrier corps, and should have sent an alert out as soon as it was triggered. Tomi and Aiko would be home soon. They’d been drilled in anti-kidnapping procedures after the Hyuuga Affair. It would be fine.

I tried to ignore the thoughts of the alarm being destroyed, the alert failing to send. I tried to ignore the reminders that Tomi and Aiko often stayed late at the Academy chatting with their friends. I tried to ignore all the dangers of severe head trauma, particularly the short time frame to prevent extra damage from untreated head trauma.

I failed.

Hic.

I pressed my knees to my mouth to stifle the sound.

Hic.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to keep the tears in.

Hic.

I shouldn’t- I couldn’t-

I cried.

…

I cried for a long, long time, huddled up in a ball, nothing to touch except myself. Nothing to feel but imaginary flesh on flesh. No way to tell how much time had passed. No way to tell what had happened, except for the lack of feeling a knock on my “door”.

At the end, I was exhausted, the adrenaline having gone, along with the majority of my emotions. Thus, I was able to think more rationally about my situation. I floated, facing gently a location that seemed like “up”.

So, I was going to be stuck like this for an indeterminate amount of time. The closest equivalent to what I was experiencing was solitary confinement. As such, one of the dangers I was facing was mental time dilation. A three day stretch in solitary often felt like a week for inmates, due to severe- severe mental trauma.

I took a deep, shuddering breath. Focus.

As I could not summon another person here, my best chances were to create mental diversions and stimulation. Keep my mind off of things.

Create- create an imaginary playground of sorts.

I could do that. I was amazingly creative in my past life, at least regarding daydreams. I could spend hours dallying in my own head. I could do that again. It wouldn’t be hard.

I could do this.

I tried to remember something I used to love…

…

…

…

…

…

*BEEP BEEP BEEP* *BEEP BEEP BEEP*

I groaned and sat up, reaching for my phone to turn my alarm off.

Blergh, why did work have to start so early???

For better or for worse though, once I was up, I was up.

As I brushed my teeth, I checked the news for the latest updates on covid. Nothing new, at least in particular. Still a lot of people wanting the whole thing to be over with, anti-vaxxers being a huge problem, same old same old.

I grabbed a jacket in preparation for the cool morning air, and then I was headed to the clinic.

…

It was one of the brief moments of rest in between patient rushes where the receptionist team had nothing to do.

Taking a look to make sure there was no one in the lobby, I took the chance to stand up and stretch. Ooo, that felt good. As I was taking the moment to relax, I heard the ding that meant I had gotten a new message.

I opened Skype, and took a look. It was from… It was from…

Oh! It was from Dr. Yamanaka, the behavioral health specialist!

I shook my head to wake myself up. Must have been the sleep deprivation.

Hello Doctor, I typed. How may I help you today?

Hana, he typed back, you need to wake up.

I blinked, then blushed. Oh my goodness, I must have messed up somewhere.

Sorry sir, I’ll do better, I replied. Then, rereading the line, I added, Who’s Hana? A patient? Odd spelling, but considering I knew a Mykaela, I wouldn’t throw any stones.

Hana, he sent. You need to come back.

I blinked at the line, trying to decipher it. Oh, Hana was probably running late for her appointment and would need to be sent straight back to the doctor’s office once she got here.

I’ll be sure to send her back as soon as she arrives, I replied.

Satisfied, I opened my email.

Junk, junk, more junk, blatant phishing attempt, ad for a new Naruto sidestory coming out. I rolled my eyes. We really needed to get a better anti-virus or anti ad program, this was getting ridiculous. It was so bad I almost missed the important email, regarding updated security features after the last time we had to call the police on a patient.

I had been in that day, luckily far enough away from the action, but still close enough to hear what was happening. Apparently the man had forced his way inside, screaming that we were going to give him what he wanted, he’d make us. No idea what he wanted, aside from his demands it was all garbled nonsense. Probably drugs, that was the biggest reason we had to call security. Still, it was scary, and you could still see some damage from when he had gotten inside, and then again when the police had dragged him out.

I shivered.

Scary.

I was interrupted from my musings by the chime of Skype’s notification again.

It was Dr. Yamanaka again.

What are you doing? He asked.

My job? I replied, starting to get a bit concerned.

What is your job? He typed back. Now I was seriously confused. Sure, BH was separate from a lot of clinic stuff by design, and I was one of the newer receptionists, but I was fairly certain we’d met before.

I’m one of the receptionists??? I replied. I realize I’m not normally up here but I’m on the 7th floor today.

Do you remember what happened? Dr. Yamanaka typed.

What are you talking about?

You were attacked.

They didn’t make it to my floor.

Hana, your mother was attacked too.

What are you talking about? Mom’s fine, I just saw her a few days ago. And who’s Hana?

There was a pause.

Then he typed, What is your name?

My name?

Its

Its-

What?

I know my name. It was on my name badge I was wearing right now.

So why-

Why didn’t it feel quite right?

Hana…

I touched my ear. I thought I heard a voice. Why did it sound familiar?

No, focus. Lets work this out. This started when Dr. Yamanaka started messaging me. Ergo, he has some idea of what’s happening.

Dr Yamanaka, what’s going on? I typed.

That’s what I’m trying to figure out, he replied. There was an attack, you were kidnapped, but we were able to find you and bring you back. However, you have not been responsive, even to normal attempts. Is there something preventing you from waking up?

I blinked, the faint memories of sirens echoing in my ears. Then I shook my head. What was he talking about?

That sounds like I’m in one of those psychological walking simulator games, I typed. Besides, I am awake? And clearly, we’re talking right now.

I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about, he replied. Are “walking simulators” one of those things from your past life?

I snorted, incredulous.

Past life? Dr please tell me you don’t believe in that bunk. I mean sure the Buddhist version sounds at least plausible spiritually but the “past life regression” youtube videos? B U N K

There was a pause.

Hana, Dr. Yamanaka asked, how old are you?

I’m 25. Why?

I waited for a response, but Dr. Yamanaka wasn’t writing anything. Was my age really that surprising? I mean, I’ve been told I look younger than I am but…

Oh, he’s typing again.

Do you remember when you got sick?

Oof, yeah. That had not been fun. I had to spend several days at the hospital.

Yeah, it sucked.

Can you tell me how it ended?

Well, I was at the hospital, in one of those intubator units and then

I paused. My hands were shaking. Why were my hands shaking? I just had to write what happened next.

What happened next. I suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to cough.

Hana...

Shut up!

I pressed my hands to my ears.

Hana…

Hospital beds, the beeping of a heart monitor, the sound of an ICU unit. Nurses in full PCP.

Hana! You need to wake up!

I gasped for breath.

Oh.

Hana was me.

…

I took me a moment to reorient myself. The sudden surge of memories had overwhelmed me, sending me to the floor.

I sat up, looking down at my 25 year old body, in the long flowy skirts I favored when working. I… I probably would never really have this body again, would I?

My computer beeped.

Hana-san? Are you there? Inoichi had typed.

I took a deep breath.

Yes, Yamanaka-sama, I replied. Its me. I remember now.

Oh good, he typed back. I was getting worried. Are you ready to wake up now? Your parents are very worried about you.

I was about to type yes, but then I paused. My parents…

Actually, would you wait just a moment? There’s something I need to do.

Hana, this is serious. I need to make sure you’re okay.

I know, I just… want to say goodbye.

I hesitated, then added, see you soon

Then I logged off.

“Taking a break?” my coworker Erin asked. She had been the one who trained me, and always made sure I was okay at the end of the day, particularly if we’d had a nasty patient.

“No, its-“ I smiled at her. “Its my last day, remember?”

She looked surprised, then blink and smiled. “Oh of course! Ugh, silly me. Just wait a moment, I got something for you.” With a hand wave she slipped into the back room.

I smiled, knowing that the Erin I was seeing was only a mental construct of a real person I had once known, but touched all the same. She got everyone a gift when they left.

“Here you are!” she said as she bustled back in with a bouquet of orange daffodils. “From my garden, sweetheart.”

“Oh, thank you Erin,” I said, feeling tears well up in my eyes. Orange was Erin’s favorite color.

“Oh, don’t be like that. See, now you’re making me cry,” she said as she pulled me into a hug. “You’re gonna be magnificent,” she whispered in my ear. Then she let me go.

“I’ll miss you,” I said.

“I’ll miss you too sweetheart,” she said. “Now, go on before I mess up my makeup.”

I gave a watery laugh as I walked out the doors.

…

Hana… the flowers whispered as I drove my car.

“Yes, I know,” I told them as I pulled into the driveway, careful not to touch either the trailer or the motorcycle.

“Now, who is that parking in my driveway,” said a woman in the garage.

“Hey Mom,” I said, as she walked out.

She looked just the way I remembered, the round face I inherited with the warm smile, black hair with strands of white up in a clip, wearing the loose dress she got from the elephant reservation in India.

She opened her arms for a hug, and I laughed as I ran to her.

“Oof, you trying to knock me over?” she asked.

“No, I just missed you,” I whispered.

“I missed you too,” she said as she squeezed me. Then she took a step back. “So, are you staying for dinner?” Mom asked.

“No, Mom, I just,” I swallowed a lump in my throat. “I came to say goodbye.”

“Oh,” she said. She smiled sadly at me. “My baby girl is going so far away.”

“I know Mom,” I said, fighting tears. “I’m gonna miss you. I already miss you so much.”

“Oh honey.” She hugged me again. “Oh, you’re just like me. Always wanting to see what’s over the horizon, always wanting to travel. It was your childhood dream. My beautiful baby girl.”

“I know,” I sobbed into her shoulder.

I didn’t want this moment to end, but I knew it had to. Eventually, I was able to pull away. I looked at my Mom, the amazing woman that had helped raise me.

“I love you forever,” I told her.

“I love you forever too,” she said. “Now, just let me get you something before you go.” She picked up her skirt and jogged to the back of the house. After a moment she came back with yellow roses.

“The rosebush in the backyard has been blooming a lot,” she said. Then she hugged me again, careful not to press the roses against me. “You’re amazing. You’re gonna be so amazing, I’m sorry I won’t be able to see it.”

I nodded, before choking out, “Thank you.” Then I gently took the flowers and headed back towards the car.

“Remember to text me when you get there so I know you’re safe!” Mom yelled as I got in the drivers seat.

I smiled sadly up at her. “Texting doesn’t work there. Love you!”

“Love you too!”

Then I drove off.

…

Hana… whispered the radio.

“I know. Just one more stop.”

I pulled to the side of the road, making sure the emergency brake was on. Then I got out of the car and walked to the blue house. I still remembered the garage code.

As the garage opened, Dad came out of the side room that held his workshop. He was wearing the novelty t-shirt me and my brother had teamed up to get him one Christmas, the one that said “I keep pressing ESC, but I’m still here!”.

“Is that a silly girl I see? It is! It is a silly girl I see!” he said. He came forward to hug me. “What’s my silly girl doing here?”

“I-I came to say goodbye Dad.”

“Ahhh.” He pulled back and looked at me. “It’s a big change.”

“I know Dad. But I need to do this.”

He smiled sadly at me. “Well, come on up then. The others are upstairs.”

As we walked up the stairs, I could hear the sounds of cooking and reality tv coming from the combo kitchen/living room.

“Look who dropped by!” Dad announced as we entered.

My stepmom poked her head out of the kitchen and my brother glanced up over the back of the couch.

“Hey,” I said, as my brother waved.

“Well, good thing I made extra,” Stepmom said cheerily.

“Oh, no, I’m not staying,” I said quickly, “I just- came to say goodbye.”

Dad rubbed my arm comfortingly, as Stepmom came out of the kitchen. “Ah, the big trip. Is it so soon?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I whispered.

“Wait here, I got something for you,” she said, as she turned to go further upstairs.

I started sniffling again. Dad, noticing, pulled me into another hug.

“I’m proud of you, you know,” he said as he rocked me side to side. “You always had the smarts and the drive to go for incredible things, and this is gonna be no different. So I’m proud of you.”

“We’re proud of you,” Stepmom corrected him as she walked back down. “Here,” she said as she handed me a bouquet of sweet peas, her favorite flower.

“Thank you,” I said quietly.

She smiled at me, and then pulled me into a hug of her own. “We’re gonna miss you,” she said.

“I’m going to miss you guys too,” I said. Then I turned to my brother, who was still watching from the couch. “Do you have anything to say Doctor?” I asked.

“Oi, I’m still in school,” he said with a smile as he got up. He’d gotten into a program for his PhD shortly before I… left.

“Doc-tor,” I repeated. Then I opened my arms for my hug.

“Oof,” he complained as I hugged him as tight as I could.

“Love you Dorkboy,” I whispered. “You’re gonna be an amazing doctor.”

“Yeah, yeah. Love you too Sissy-wissy,” he said back.

Then we stepped back. I took a moment to try and memorize them standing there, Dad and Stepmom with their arms around each other, and my brother rolling his eyes affectionately.

Then it was time to go.

…

Hana… a voice whispered in my ear.

“I know,” I said, as I pulled into the hospital parking lot. “I’m coming.”

I slipped out, grabbing the bouquets as I did so, and started towards the entrance. Unlike the rest of my dream, this section was far more hazy and indistinct. Well, I hadn’t exactly been in the best mindset when I had gotten here.

I flashed my patient bracelet at the greeter as I walked through the automatic doors. She smiled at me and pointed down the hall.

Hana…

The hallway seemed to last forever. The hallway seemed the shortest I’d ever been in. But I reached a door with the words “COVID WARD” printed on it. I pushed the doors open.

Two hazy lines of beds greeted me, one on each side, each bed separated by a privacy curtain. I headed down looking for an empty one. Honestly, I didn’t even remember which bed I had been in.

The bed I breathed my last in.

No, not the bed I had breathed my last in. This hadn’t been my end. It had been a beginning. And now, I had somewhere to get back to.

Hana…

I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I was standing in front of an empty bed. Next to the bed was a nightstand with an empty vase on it.

I took a deep breath and walked forward. My bouquets went in the flower vase, and I took a brief moment to arrange them nicely.

Then I laid down on the bed, turning on my side to look at the flowers. I closed my eyes, found the door in my mind, and pulled.

…

Beep… beep… beep…

The sound of a heart monitor greeted me as something pulled me up into wakefulness.

“Hana?” a soft woman’s voice asked as I slowly opened my eyes and blinked. I knew that voice.

“Hana!” another voice joined in, this one male, but still familiar.

“Nee-san, she’s awake!” said a happy younger voice.

“I see!” another replied.

These voices. No, these people. I knew them.

New Mom, New Dad. Tomi and Aiko.

No.

Kaa-san, Tou-san, and my Nee-sans.

I was back with my family.

Chapter Text

Fujioka Kichi was born the twin sister to a stillborn infant and a mother that did not live long past her birth. Her father never let her forget it.

“Your name is Kichi, lucky, because you were lucky to survive,” he told her once when she had asked. Kichi had ducked her head, knowing what he had meant. Twins were unlucky, the sign of a mother that was more animal than human. If it weren’t for the daimyo’s court making infant killing illegal, and her own father’s ambition, she would not have survived her first day of life.

Even so, she was the least favored among her siblings, and it was very apparent.

Oh, it wasn’t so apparent to outsiders. Kichi was a proud daughter of the Makino family, and like all noble young ladies, she was well educated in etiquette, conversation, and the arts. To be otherwise would be even more a stain on her family’s honor.

But inside…

Makino Kichi was never the one given a place of honor, never the one mentioned first when it came to marriage contracts. Of course she wasn’t. Why would the proud Makino family offer a daughter that might shame her marriage family with a twin birth, or worse, a triplet birth?

There was even talk of marrying her off to one of the more recent families of note, the ones barely a step up from commoner. Kichi shuddered internally when she heard of those rumors. She had heard whispers from the other young ladies of what the commoners got up to. Like how they only bathed once a week, or how drunken commoner men lusted after noble ladies and would attack them if given the chance! Such a fate would be too horrible to contemplate.

Thank the Kami for Fujioka Taishiro.

They had met during a tea party. The Fujioka’s were only merchants, and Taishiro the third son to boot, so it was “acceptable” for the least favored daughter to have the honor of serving the tea. Kichi would never forget the way he smiled at her as he complemented her tea, making it sound genuine instead of simple manners.

A week later the first courting letter arrived.

Her peers laughed at them behind their backs, Kichi knew. ‘The puppy-like merchant and the dog’s daughter’ what a match! She didn’t care.

For once in her life she was happy. He even liked her name! Taishiro called her his lucky star. How wonderful was love, that even that awful thing became beautiful before it.

Their wedding was not as extravagant as either of their siblings, but it didn’t matter. They were together, and that was the important part.

Of course, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. Taishiro, being only a third son, didn’t have much in the way of inheritance, comparatively. It was one of the reasons her family was okay with the marriage. But she hungered, hungered for the renown and acknowledgement her siblings were given and she lacked.

Once more, Taishiro was her savior.

“Let’s move to Konoha,” he told her one morning. “We can grow our family and influence there, without the shadows of our past here.”

Kichi had been leery at first. Konoha had just gone through a war only a few years ago. But at the same time…

It was becoming increasingly obvious that ninja were starting to become Important, outside of mere mercenaries. Her father had spoken with respect in his voice about the first and second Hokage, and the ninja, they had their own noble clans too, didn’t they? Obviously the ninja that did the distasteful tasks were the ninja that weren’t born to those clans, probably the commoners that begged for a chance and then rejected it for being too hard. Noble blood told true like that.

And even if she had been born a twin, Kichi’s blood was noble.

Thus, they went to Konoha.

It was hard at first. They hadn’t been the only ones to realize the upcoming power block, nor the only ones of noble blood to seek their fortunes there. But let it never be said that Kichi Fujioka was one to give up easily. She would make her new husband proud.

Sometimes in the middle of the night, Kichi could hear the whispers of her family back in the capital, mocking her for having to work, to debase herself by offering tea for customers instead of valued guests. But then Kichi would look at what they had accomplished, at the growth of the teahouse and the wonderful man who told her she was amazing for what she had done, and chose to ignore them.

And then Kichi became pregnant. It was one of the most terrifying and exhilarating moments of Kichi’s life. Kichi had been raised by nannies, with her own mother being dead and her father unwilling to spend much time with a disgrace to the family. She didn’t know how to be a mother.

But she did know she wanted her children to have everything she hadn’t had growing up. Taishiro agreed with her, holding her in his strong arms late at night when Kichi stayed up worrying.

“We’ll work hard, make sure she has everything she could want. I know we can do it,” he told her.

And Kichi looked at the man that had made her world beautiful and chose to believe.

They named her Aiko, “Love Child”, so that she would always know she was loved. And holding in her in her arms was one of the most amazing moments of Kichi’s life.

Kichi had always hungered, for her father’s approval, for her family’s good regard. But looking at that tiny, perfect face, asleep in her arms, Kichi realized that she never wanted her precious daughter to be exposed to such gossip and slander, to feel lesser than she was. She looked up at Taishiro and saw he understood it too.

Her family, her father, their regard? It could go hang. She was going to make sure Aiko was happy.

Life continued.

Kichi diligently raised Aiko while also running the teahouse. With the pregnancy the Fujioka family had to hire several workers that they had been planning on waiting a bit for, but it still worked. The teahouse began doing increasingly well.

The one problem was that ninja almost never seemed to visit, and Kichi just couldn’t figure out why. She made sure to flatter the ones that came nicely and made sure they had the fanciest tea and snacks, but they never returned. Perhaps it was because none of her family had reached the vaunted status of ninja yet. The Kami knew she’d never dream of visiting a low-class tea house. Everyone knew those were actually brothels masquerading as tea houses. It didn’t matter. Kichi was certain Aiko could become a ninja easily.

Speaking of Aiko, she grew quickly and soon began to turn into the beautiful young girl Kichi could see her becoming.

Some of the more noble civilian families started suggesting engagement contracts to their unwed sons, especially with the teahouse’s increasing success. Kichi was flattered at first, but when she started looking at the contracts…

Those scammers! They were trying to set her daughter up with sons that had failed out of the academy! Absolutely not!

Her daughter was amazing. Kichi was certain that she could snag a much better husband. With her noble blood, good demeanor, and training from the academy, Aiko should be easily able to capture the attention of a ninja from the noble clans. She rejected all proposals and told those thieves that her daughter would be finding her own husband.

She continued telling them that when her second daughter was born. If Aiko-chan was the perfect, demure darling, Tomi-chan was the social butterfly, babbling to everyone she saw, even as a tiny child. Oh Kichi could see their futures now. Aiko would be the refined lady and mother, the kind praised by everyone who met her, and probably the wife of a gentlemen from an old family. Tomi would be the darling of the social circuit, the one who knew everyone and everyone wanted to be on the good side of. She’d probably marry a politician, and together they’d work their way to the top. Oh, she was so proud of them. Sometimes it felt like she was in a storybook, having gone through trials and tribulations, she was now receiving her happy ending.

The bright days didn’t last forever though.

Konoha went to war.

Overnight it seemed like the world darkened. The trade routes and contracts Taishiro had been so proud of became strained and worn. It was harder to get nice things and the little luxuries that Kichi was fond of, and food prices skyrocketed.

A lot of the civilian families Kichi and Taishiro knew left Konoha. They had no desire to send their sons to war, and everyone knew the capital was brighter and safer. Kichi could understand. Perhaps, if she had had a son, she would have pushed to leave as well. But she only had daughters, and what fool would put girls on the battlefield? So she stayed.

Unfortunately, those families also included many customers and a few employees. Business took a downturn. Kichi considered hiring injured ninja to replace the employees that left, as Konoha let businesses that did that pay reduced taxes (and maybe that would be what it took for ninja to finally start visiting the establishment), but ultimately decided not to. Really, people came to teahouses to relax and reflect on nicer things. Having scarred and injured workers would just remind customers of the war, and that wouldn’t do.

Still, with every misfortune there was also opportunity. Kichi and Taishiro took advantage of the emptying city and reduced housing prices to move into one of the much nicer districts, one that had previously been out of their price range. Along with the move to bigger premises, came along with a bigger family, as tiny Hana joined the family.

Kichi had been so worried when she was born. As much as boys were valued, it was also boys that went to the battlefield. And boys that came back to be buried. Sometimes it seemed everyday there was someone new mourning a loss.

Kichi was a proud citizen of both Konoha and the Land of Fire, but she was also a mother, and she didn’t think she could bear having to bury one of her children. She had been so worried that she would give birth to a boy, so when the doctor announced a baby girl, Kichi could do nothing but laugh in relief.

Hana had been the tiniest of her children, an itty bitty little thing the doctors were almost worried about being premature. She definitely cried the loudest though.

If Aiko was the little lady, and Tomi the social butterfly, Hana was the curious one. Sometimes it felt as though her first word was “Why?”. Why were they putting flowers in the vase? Why did Kaa-chan chose that hairpin? Why was Tou-chan leaving? Why why why?

She’d make a wonderful wife for one of those men that loved talked about their hobbies and interests.

The war ended, and things started looking up.

They had a new Hokage, a bright young thing with a lovely smile. With Konoha having come out the victor of the war, the social value of ninja in Fire Country increased once more, and the movement of people regarding the village reversed. Now, instead of losing people, lots of people were trying to move into Konoha again.

Their decision to move the teahouse’s location quickly turned out to be one of the best decisions they had ever made. The value of the district they were in skyrocketed, and as one of the families that were already established, the Fujioka family quickly found themselves climbing the social hierarchy. Kichi was thriving.

A beautiful family, a lovely business, respect and favor were all hers. It was a lovely year.

Then Oct 10th came.

Kichi wasn’t certain what had woken her that night, the sirens or her children’s screaming. All she knew was that she had to get her children to safety. Taishiro grabbed Hana, and she grabbed Aiko and Tomi, and they ran for the shelters.

That night was one of the longest Kichi could remember. Both Tomi and Aiko were crying fitfully. Hana at least seemed to have gone back to sleep. But the not knowing. It was the worst.

Finally the sirens stopped and they were told what had happened.

A horrible demon had killed the Hokage. And because of the destruction, all citizens were to stay in the shelter until ninja had been able to survey the wreckage and determine what was safe and what was not.

And Hana wasn’t waking up.

Oh her eyes would open, but all she’d do was sit there in a daze before nodding back off. She wouldn’t react to anything, no matter how Kichi tugged at her and tried to get her attention.

Kichi tried to get a medic-nin to look at her, but she was told they were all to busy to look at a small civilian child with nothing physically wrong with her.

“She won’t react! She needs a medic-nin!” Kichi had protested.

“Half the damn city needs a medic-nin woman, wait until people stop bleeding,” said the ninja registering the survivors in the shelter.

At least Aiko and Tomi had pulled themselves together, what with little Hana to focus on. Aiko would often hold Hana and rock her gently, while Tomi would try to find out more of what was happening from the people around them. Neither had much luck.

Then there had been that village-wide meeting, where the Sandaime had explained what had happened.

Oh, Kichi had burned with anger when she heard of what had happened to the demon. Really, she had no idea why the ninja had decided to keep the thing, looking like an infant or not. As such, Kichi made a vow, a vow to ensure the demon would feel some measure of her pain. So what if they were not allowed to take direct action? Kichi was a noblewoman, born and bred. She knew ways to harm without lifting a finger.

And if one of the premiere civilian families happened to warn newcomers to the district that the brat was bad luck? Well, she was just doing her duty to keep her fellow citizens safe.

It didn’t fix Hana though. After that night she was so quiet. The endless whys were replaced with watchful eyes, and the curiosity dimmed by a deep caution. Still, Kichi and Taishiro persevered.

And Hana seemed to respond. Yes, she was still quiet, but instead of asking constant questions she seemed to soak up what people talked about and then only asked if she was confused about something. She showed interest in learning to be a ninja, and worked on what she had learned with a dedication that reminded Kichi of when she had been a child, determined to master her lessons beyond reproach.

Like with her sisters, Hana had her own share of marriage contract offers.

Unlike her sisters though, Kichi actually thought about allowing one of them. Hana seemed so fragile after the attack, perhaps it would be better to ensure a good match now, instead of putting her through the stress of going through the academy and trying to find someone herself.

Still, Hana was so serious about training to be a ninja…

What decided it for Kichi was looking back into her own childhood, how she had felt excluded from the others because she had been treated differently. Wouldn’t this be treating Hana differently too? Would Hana feel like Kichi didn’t think she was capable of finding a husband on her own, if Kichi made arrangements now?

No, Kichi would trust in Hana, and let her prove herself as a good ninja and wife candidate.

Preschool tested that theory thoroughly. Hana never complained much, but her teacher certainly did. “Disruptive in class” “doesn’t seem to understand societal rules” and, the most frequent: “disrespectful to the teacher”. It went on and on. Except none of that seemed to describe Hana at all, who was the most well-mannered child Kichi knew, even better than Aiko had been at her age.

Kichi, confused, had asked Hana’s classmates. That was when she had learned the truth. And ooooh she was not pleased.

Some Academy failure was going after her daughter? Not on Kichi’s watch. Kichi had a talk with Sayuri-sensei.

That stopped the complaints at least. Then Hana started coming home with poor grades, in subjects Kichi knew her daughter was good at. That really pissed Kichi off. This time Kichi didn’t bother with the teacher. She went straight to the principal. How dare she, the teacher think she could get away with this, and how dare the principal let her get away with it.

The principal requested a demonstration of the skills Hana supposedly lacked.

Hana aced it with the crispness of someone who could do those skills in her sleep.

The principal nodded at Kichi and promised that Sayuri-sensei would stop.

And that was that. Little Hana even managed to gain little Madoka Fumihito’s good regards! An in with the Daimyo’s family, Kichi and Taishiro were so proud.

They were even prouder when she somehow gained the interest of the Yamanaka clan! Kichi had known about Hana’s obsession with the clan, how could they not. Kichi had warned Hana that seeming desperate was not a good look when attempting to attract attention, not that Hana seemed to care. Still, somehow it worked! Perhaps what ninja wanted was dedication. Well, the Fujioka family could definitely be dedicated.

The Yamanaka, Yuuma, even dropped by during that dreadful Hyuuga kidnapping to make sure they were alright. Now this was the treatment of someone who was in the top tier of society in Konoha. Finally, it felt like the Fujioka family had managed to break into the upper noble ninja clan society. Not even the Madoka family could claim that.

So really, it wasn’t a problem to let the Madoka Himawari, Fumihito’s mother, know that Hana had managed to gain an in to the Yamanaka. If Hana couldn’t become a ninja, marriage into the Madoka family was just as good, and this could only help. Himawari-san promised not to spread the information around, and Kichi trusted her.

Then, one day Yuuma came by, shortly after Hana’s preschool class had ended, just the same as a few days had gone. Kichi was delighted, and happily showed her dedication to the Yamanaka clan with a few tasteful complements and an invitation for tea Yuuma-san regretfully turned down.

Hana was surprised to see Yuuma, which startled her into a sneeze. Then she asked Yuuma for the password.

Really that girl, insisting on that security nonsen-

…

Why was Aiko shaking her? Aiko looked so blurry. Did Kichi take a nap? Her head ached. A ninja in a mask was talking to her now, but the words blurred in her head. What was going on?

Someone was picking her up. There were so many ninja now. Kichi could host a whole ninja tea party! And ooogh, the world was blurring around her. She didn’t feel so well…

…

Kichi came back to herself in a white hospital room, with a blank faced Yamanaka asking her what she remembered, and if she knew where her youngest daughter was.

That was the start of Kichi’s nightmare.

Hana.

Kichi’s itty bitty flower

Was missing.

…

It was the longest days of Kichi’s life. She was confined to the hospital room, under observation for concussion, and unable to leave. Everytime someone entered the room she begged them to tell her if her baby girl had been found. The medic-nin assured her that every resource that could be spared was looking for her. Her family just hugged her. Taishiro even abandoned his negotiations to come right back to Konoha to see if there was anything he could do to help. But for once, he couldn’t be her personal savior. Kichi cried and cried.

Finally, after several long days, Hana was found.

Kichi had immediately demanded to see her. Ignoring the protests of the nurses, Kichi had left her room and went looking for her baby. It wasn’t until Taishiro found her that she was able to find directions to the room.

Hana was in a secure room in the highest part of the hospital, with two guards outside her room.

Kichi would never, in all the days of her life, forget the way she looked.

All her lovely dark brown hair had been shaved off, and there was a long, curved wound stitched shut on the left side of her head starting just above her ear and ending at the base of her skull. She looked so tiny on the adult sized bed, with all the tubes and monitors poking out of her, and with the baldness Kichi couldn’t help but remember the tiny infant she had held in a similar room so long ago.

There was a Yamanaka there. He said that Hana had been found in a lab operated by Orochimaru, and they weren’t certain what had happened to her. He told them that he was going to try to wake her up, and that he’d like to them to hold her hands and call her name. Told them a part of her could possibly hear them, and that it would give her something to follow into waking up.

Taishiro took her left hand, and Kichi her right. Tomi and Aiko rested hands on her knees. And together they called for her, for the youngest, littlest, most fragile member of their family. Hana, Hana.

It was taking forever. Kichi had no idea if this was even doing anything, but it was the only thing she could do. It was the only thing any of them could do.

Then Hana’s lids fluttered. Then opened. And then there was crying and hugging and more crying and more hugging.

Kichi’s baby girl was back.

Chapter Text

Fujioka Aiko was a good girl, her Kaa-san told her often.

The firstborn daughter of the best teahouse in Konoha, Aiko had a lot to live up to, but she worked hard and did her best, and that made her a good girl.

And Aiko had a dream. To be a good Okaa-san someday.

Kaa-san said this was a good dream for her to have, but in order to be a good Okaa-san she needed to find a good husband first. That was why Aiko was going to the Academy!

Aiko thought the Academy was hard, but she persevered. For her dream and a husband.

Still, Aiko wished the Academy offered parenting classes. That would be a lot more fun than kunai throwing practice. And waaay better than sparring. Aiko hated sparring. It hurt and she was always sore afterwards. Why did she even need to learn how to fight? She was a girl, and Kaa-san said that girls didn’t fight.

That wasn’t what the Academy teachers said though. They said that all proud ninja of Konoha should be able to defend themselves, even if they were girls. And that it was even better if they could defeat their enemies. They talked a lot about the Red Hot Habenero Kushina, and the Slug Princess Tsunade, and said that they were great examples of kunoichi.

Well, where were Tsunade now? A drunkard gambler! Which really, in Aiko’s mind, was just more proof that girls shouldn’t fight.

So parenting classes would be much better. The girls could go to that and leave the boys to their combat practice.

Well, it wasn’t all bad. It was fun to watch and cheer on the boys when they sparred, especially the cute ones. It was a shame they couldn’t watch the older boys spar. That was where all the major hotties were. Mature men were way better than the children in her class.

Still, being a good mother wasn’t something that just happened. It needed hard work to achieve. That’s why Aiko liked to practice on her younger siblings as the older sister.

Tomi-chan didn’t like that a lot though. “Bossy Aiko” she called Aiko more than once. Well of course she was bossy! Tomi-chan wouldn’t listen!

Hana-chan was much better. Five years age difference was much greater than two, and as a result Hana was much more biddable, even if it got tiring answering all her questions sometimes.

Then the Attack came.

Aiko woke up to unending terror. Then Kaa-san was there, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of her room. Tomi was there too and Hana was in Tou-chan’s arms and they were running, running out of the house and to the shelter at the end of the road.

It was so scary, waiting in the dark, Tomi-chan crying next to her and wondering what in the world was happening. But finally, the distant sirens stopped, and a ninja came to explain what had happened.

The village had been attacked by a demon, and the Yondaime was dead as a result.

Aiko was shocked. The Yondaime had been popular among the other girls at the academy, with many of the older girls having crushes on him. To think that kind, smiling face was gone now…

And then Hana-chan wasn’t waking up, and Aiko had something more personal to worry about.

Kaa-chan tried to get someone to look at her, but no one was responding. The Fujioka family just wasn’t important enough. All Aiko could do was hold Hana in her arms and try to comfort her, whatever was going on. Aiko had never felt so helpless.

Hana’s daze lasted a few more days, through the announcement by the Sandaime about what was going to happen. Kaa-san had been so mad after that meeting. When Aiko asked why, she was shocked to learn that the person who hurt Hana-chan was going to be protected now. Why? Kaa-san didn’t know, but she did tell Aiko that no action taken against the demon could be direct. It all had to be subtle or else they’d be punished. Aiko didn’t understand, but she promised herself if she got the change to make the demon regret it, she would.

Aside from that, one other thing stuck out at Aiko. Kushina, the kunoichi that the academy instructors always held up as an example of good female ninja? Yeah, she was dead. Really, that was just more proof to Aiko that girls just weren’t meant to be fighters.

Hana-chan got better once they had gotten home. Maybe the familiar surroundings were helping.

Aiko still fretted, and promised herself to get a husband that would let her family get the good medical care when they needed it.

Still, even after she woke up, Hana was much quieter than before, and much more serious. Aiko tried to practice her parenting skills, but Hana-chan just didn’t seem to need it! She didn’t need to be told to pack away her toys, or not make a mess at dinnertime, or remember to be polite to people. Aiko just ended up fussing with no idea of what to do, and when that happened Hana just got this look on her face that made Aiko feel like Hana was just too polite to tell Aiko she was being annoying.

Which is why Aiko was so happy when Hana decided that she wanted to learn how to dance, because Aiko was the only one who had been taught that yet!

…Aiko may have ended up needing a refresher or two and searching through her memories late at night for memories of the steps, but that was okay! Aiko could do this!

Then Tomi got jealous and Aiko had two siblings to mother!

Of course, Aiko didn’t know that much about dancing so eventually they had to get professional lessons. That helped Aiko realized she didn’t actually particularly like dancing, but she didn’t dislike it either, and it really helped with taijutsu. Now Aiko could dodge much better, dancing around strikes and such.

Still wasn’t her favorite thing, but it was a good thing to do with family, and an appropriate skill for a young lady to have.

Time went on, and the Academy got harder. Aiko never spent too much time in her books, as Kaa-san said boys found intelligence scary, but now she was having to spend time studying to make sure she was still doing alright in class. Taijutsu was getting harder too, and the instructors scarier for the students that weren’t doing well. Aiko didn’t raise her voice or complain though, nosiree, she only made that mistake once and that was enough.

Still, it was nice to meet up with her friends and talk about fun things like fashion, and gossip, and boys. Aiko was now getting to be one of the senior students, one of the groups that were the coolest in the school, almost real ninja!

Her family was doing well too. Tomi-chan was quickly becoming an excellent dancer, and little Hana-chan had actually gained some attention from the Yamanaka clan! How exciting! Aiko loved flowers, and the Yamanaka were the masters of flower decorating.

That became even more apparent when one of the Yamanaka visited in the middle of the night, one that Hana-chan seemed to actually know fairly decently.

Hana-chan seemed a little freaked out at first, probably because apparently someone had been kidnapped, but she soon calmed down. Really, Aiko thought it was exciting! Imagine, being visited late at night by a ninja so worried that they wanted to make sure you were okay. The girls at school would swoon if she told them what was happening. She hoped she could. Aiko wasn’t worried about being kidnapped. Why would someone want to kidnap her? Or her sisters, for that matter. Well, at the same time, it could be exciting too. Being snatched away by some terrible villains, before being rescued by a dashing ninja who turned out to be secretly in love with you. Oh, how romantic.

Now Aiko was kinda hoping to be kidnapped.

Ah, but that was just a silly fantasy. Unfortunately, Yamanaka-san wasn’t really in the mood to talk about interesting things like who was being kidnapped, instead choosing to say a lot of words that meant very little. Eventually though, he started quizzing Hana on flowers, and Aiko just had to jump in. She knew her flowers pretty well, and maybe if she impressed Yamanaka-san, she might start getting special treatment too!

…Apparently she didn’t know flowers as well as Hana did though. Aiko knew most of the flower meanings, but she didn’t know that they could be used for medicine! That was cool! Aiko wanted to be jealous of Hana-chan, but she was a good girl, and good girls didn’t get jealous of their little sisters. Also, Aiko loved Hana-chan, even if she was weird sometimes, so Aiko decided to focus on being proud of Hana instead.

It was too bad Aiko couldn’t brag about how awesome Hana-chan was to her friends at school, as the Yamanaka said that would be bad, but she did get to brag about how her family got visited by a real ninja during the Hyuuga Affair! Aiko relished in the attention everyone gave her when she talked about it. It was always fun being the center of the stage.

The joy of that lasted for a few more months.

Then came the day Aiko would never forget.

Aiko was walking home after school. Normally she’d be happily chatting with her friends, but finals were coming up and she needed to study. She was a block away from the house when suddenly she heard an alarm ringing.

It… it sounded like the funny alarm bracelet Hana had gotten from the Yamanaka. Aiko found herself sprinting towards her home. She reached the front door just as a muffled ‘boom’ sound came from upstairs and the alarm stopped.

Aiko hurriedly pushed open the front door, yelling “Kaa-san?! Hana?!”

Hearing no response, Aiko booked it up the stairs where it had sounded like the alarm had come from, not even bothering to change her shoes. When she reached the top of the stairs her heart stopped.

Kaa-san was collapsed by Hana’s open door, and she wasn’t moving.

Aiko rushed to her, skidding to a stop on the wooden floors. “Kaa-san? Kaa-san?!” she asked frantically as she shook Kaa-san’s arm.

Kaa-san still wasn’t moving. Oh no oh no oh nononono.

Wait, what about Hana!?

Aiko looked up, into Hana’s room. It wasn’t good.

The small table Hana had in her room was astray and the chair overturned. There was a burned spot on the wall, and the windows were open.

And Hana was nowhere to be seen.

Nononono no! This couldn’t be happening!

Aiko looked down at Kaa-san again, this time noticing blood trickling down from her hairline.

“Kaa-san, KAA-SAN!?” Aiko cried, shaking her.

“mmaioohhh,” Kaa-san’s eyes opened but they were glazed over, and weren’t focusing.

Concussion, said a voice in Aiko’s head that sounded like one of her sensei.

Nononono whattodo whatTODO?!!

A faint memory, one of Hana’s Yamanaka, telling them if an emergency happened, to signal Anbu via a decorative set of windchimes they had placed by the hallway window.

Aiko looked up. There they were.

She sprinted down the hallway, only stopping from slamming into the wall by holding her hand out. She fumbled for the cord, hands shaking so badly she could hardly grip it. Finally she managed to grip it and Pull.

*WOOOOooooOOOOwOOOOOooooOOOER-ER-ER-ER*

Aiko fell flat on her butt, startled by the sudden sounds. She stared blankly at the windchimes for a second, before remembering Kaa-san.

Aiko turned around and half stumbled-half crawled back to her Kaa-san.

Kaa-san was still gazing blanking around her, with a confused look on her face.

“Kaa-san, Kaa-san,” Aiko said as she tried desperately to remember what you were supposed to do for a concussion. Elevate the feet? But Kaa-san had a bleeding head wound, wouldn’t that make things worse?

“mmaaiKOo,” Kaa-san groaned again.

Aiko grabbed her hand. “Its gonna be okay Kaa-san,” she said. “The Anbu are coming, they’re on the way, its gonna be okay,”

A part of Aiko realized she was babbling but she couldn’t seem to stop, everything submerged under an overwhelming sense of panic. Her hands couldn’t stop shaking.

“-miss? Miss!”

Hands landed on her shoulder.

Aiko jolted, looking up into a chalk white mask.

“What is the emergency!” they demanded.

Aiko’s mind blanked for a moment. “My kaa-san- My kaa-san’s hurt!” she stuttered out. “And-and my sister! She’s missing!”

Aiko pointed through the door into her sister’s room, where she belatedly realized was another ninja dressed as Anbu.

The ninja in Hana’s room looked up and made a quick series of hand signs to the ninja over Aiko’s head. Then the ninja reached down and picked up Aiko.

“What-what are you doing?!” she squeaked.

“Taking you to the police station,” they said.

“But my Kaa-san!” she protested.

“Monkey’s taking her to the hospital,” they said.

And now Aiko could see a third Anbu by her Kaa-san with green glowing hands over her head. And a fourth overlocking the scene. When had so many ninja gotten here?!

Then Aiko was being lifted out of the hallway window and carried away.

As she saw her house get further away, the only thing she could think of was that being carried was not nearly as romantic as the stories made it out to be.

…

Aiko was taken to the Uchiha Police headquarters, where the Anbu agent left her. There she endured what felt like hours of interrogation, of strangers repeating the same questions over and over again.

Aiko… Aiko just felt numb. The adrenaline of finding Kaa-san, and not finding Hana-chan had worn away until there was nothing left but exhaustion. Now she was just waiting in one of the rooms until something happened. What, Aiko didn’t know.

The door opened. “Fujioka Aiko-san?” said one of the policemen, before being pushed aside by a dark haired blur that yelled “Nee-san!” as she jumped at Aiko.

“Tomi-chan?” said Aiko blankly, as her baby sister wrapped her arms around her.

“You’re okay,” Tomi-chan sobbed into Aiko’s shoulder. “I was so worried.”

Aiko felt tears prickle her eyes as the first hint of the pain in her heart made itself known.

She hugged her sister back and began to sob. Through her tears she felt an unknown hand begin to gently rub her back, and when she looked up through her tears she saw Nanami-sensei, the dance instructor, smiling sadly at her. That was all she needed to fall apart.

…

Aiko came back to herself, wrapped around her sister. Sometime during her melt down Nanami-sensei had moved to a nearby chair. She smiled at Aiko, then gently reached over to shake Tomi-chan.

Tomi-chan raised her head and blinked at Nanami-sensei like she had forgotten she was there. Nanami-sensei smiled at the two sisters.

“I was contacted by one of the police-nin a few minutes ago. Your mother has been cleared by the medic-nin for visitors,” she said.

Aiko and Tomi blinked at her, and then they hurriedly began to detangle themselves.

“Is Kaa-san better now?” Tomi-chan asked.

“She will likely still be somewhat disoriented, but she wouldn’t be cleared for visitors if she weren’t lucid,” said Nanami-sensei gently but firmly.

The walk to the hospital was as quick as Aiko and Tomi could manage. As she gulped down air, Aiko decided she might need to take up running. She normally hating exercise, but as this day proved, there was a bonus to being able to run everywhere.

She nearly snapped at the receptionist in the hospital foyer when Nanami-sensei put her hand on her head and stopped her. After a short exchange, all three were allowed up, Tomi-chan tugging at her and Nanami-sensei’s hands to get them to hurry up.

Finally, finally they made it to Kaa-san’s door. There was a guard outside that nodded politely at them as they came forward.

Aiko was more hesitant but Tomi-chan ran right up and burst through the door.

“Kaa-san!”

“Tomi-chan?” said Kaa-san from within the room. She still had a slight slur to her words, but she was sounding much better than from what Aiko could remember.

Aiko peeked into the room, afraid she’d see her Kaa-san hurt again. She was relieved to see that Kaa-san looked relatively fine, merely in a hospital gown and with bandages stuck to her head. Kaa-san was frantically looking over Tomi-chan, making sure she was okay. Then Kaa-san looked up.

“Aiko-chan!”

Aiko ran forward towards her mother. “Kaaaa-saan, you’re okaaay,” Aiko said as she started to wail again. This time though her Kaa-san pulled her to her chest, right next to Tomi-chan and hugged her tight.

“You’re okay, you’re okay,” Aiko heard, and wasn’t certain if it was her that was saying it like a mantra or Kaa-san.

After a few moments, Kaa-san pulled back a little and looked both Aiko and Tomi-chan in the eyes.

“Girls,” she said, hesitantly, but also urgently. “Do either of you know anything about where Hana is?”

Aiko sniffed, and shook her head. Next to her, she saw Tomi-chan do the same.

“Oh,” said Kaa-san, as her face started to crumple. But before Aiko could see more Kaa-san pulled her back into a hug.

“It’s okay, its going to be okay,” Kaa-san whispered to them like a prayer.

…

Haruka-san and Nanami-sensei stayed with Aiko and Tomi in the house overnight, and Nanami-sensei walked them to school the next morning a little later than usual. She also talked to the Academy teachers. After that the sensei nin for their classes sat Aiko and Tomi-chan down and explained that, because of what was happening, they wouldn’t have to sit the final exams with their classmates, and would instead have a slightly different one a few weeks later. They also had a pass for sparring and homework, unless they wanted otherwise.

Aiko just nodded. She felt all hollow and empty, like some great yokai had come and scooped out all her feelings and pain.

Her friends were sympathetic, and tried to cheer her up. Her sensei also was notably more gentle than normal, not chastising Aiko for not paying attention in class like normal and not calling on her to answer any questions.

That night, she came home to Tou-chan, who had rushed back as soon as he had heard what had happened. She cried more as he held her, and then again after they saw Kaa-chan. There still wasn’t any word about what had happened to Hana-chan.

The day after was similar to the day before. Aiko still didn’t really want to talk to anyone, and her friends and sensei respected that.

That lasted until lunch, when Ayako-sempai showed up. Ayako-sempai was a student in the final year of the Academy, only a few weeks away from graduation, and her father was one of the diplomats sent by the noble families of the capital to stay in the village and help keep ties strong. She was doing well in classes, and Ayako-sempai had bragged she was getting a special position after graduation because of her father’s influence. Ayako-sempai was the queen of the civilian-born girls at the Academy.

A week ago Aiko would have done anything to gain Ayako’s attention. Now… she just felt tired.

Ayako-sempai flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled at Aiko. “I heard you’ve been having a rough time,” she said sympathetically. “You want to talk about it?”

“Not really,” Aiko said, trying to smile and failing.

“Aww, c’mon. I heard talking makes you feel better,” Ayako pushed.

Aiko, squirmed, uncomfortable. “I… really don’t want to. Thank you for asking,” she said, trying not to make the last bit sound like a question.

“Oh, don’t be so depressed about it all. Really, let me help. I heard you were the one to find your okaa-san’s body, right?”

Aiko’s mind flashed back to that night, the overwhelming terror that her Kaa-san was dead when she first saw her collapsed.

“Kaa-san is fine. I don’t want to talk about it,” she said a bit more forcefully, starting to feel a bit upset.

Ayako frowned at her. “There’s no reason to be rude, I was just trying to help,” she said, before she turned her back. “Ugh, some people,” she complained to her friends. “Her sister’s probably dead and-“

Aiko saw red.

Ayako shrieked as Aiko slammed into her back. “Take that back!” she yelled as she put every lesson she ever had in taijutsu into making Ayako regret her stupid smug-

Strong hands lifted her off of Ayako and Aiko found herself being held by a very pissed Academy sensei.

…

Aiko got a talking to by the headmaster and was sent home for the day.

Tou-san hugged her when she got home, and asked Haruka-san if she could make one of Aiko’s favorites, then he held her as she cried again. It felt like Aiko spent most of her time crying nowadays.

About an hour after Aiko had arrived, Tomi-chan also showed up.

When Aiko and Tou-chan looked at her, she said, “So Stupid-Ayako’s desk ended up full of spiders and somehow the sensei thinks that I did it. Which is silly, really, but man did Ayako scream. It was hilarious.”

“Tomi-chan,” Tou-san sighed in disappointment, but didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence before Aiko ran past him and hugged her.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

“Anytime, Nee-san,” said Tomi. “That’s what sisters are for.”

Aiko gave a wet giggle as Tou-san sighed again and decided that hugging them both was for the best.

It was shortly before dinner when the next good surprise showed up. Someone rang the doorbell and when Tou-chan answered it was Hana’s Yamanaka and an Uchiha.

Hana had been found.

It was another rush to the hospital, then a brief detour to get Kaa-san, before they were finally shown to Hana-chan’s room. Aiko tried not to think about what could have happened to her as she saw the evidence of brain surgery, and heard the dark mentions of Orochimaru. The kids at lunch liked to whisper horror stories about what he supposedly did to the young children he caught.

She just had to focus on talking to her, trying to get her littlest sister back.

It was terrifying, seeing her just lying there, unmoving, desperately wondering if she’d ever have her baby sister back, before finally feeling Hana-chan begin to stir.

And as Hana’s eyes opened, Aiko found herself crying again. But this time she was happy.

Chapter Text

If there was one thing Tomi liked, it was people. All kinds of people, young people, old people, rich people, poor people, all people. They were fascinating.

Kaa-san laughed whenever Tomi got that look in her eyes that meant "Oo! Interesting person! I must talk to them!". Well, Kaa-san laughed most of the time. She didn't laugh when Tomi wanted to talk to the man on the side of the road asking for money, or the boy with the weird hair that smelled bad. Those times Kaa-san pulled her away and told Tomi those people were bad, and they shouldn't be talked to. Which really just made Tomi more curious, but oh well.

Still, the people Tomi liked the most were girls. Like her sisters!

Her big sister Aiko was kinda bossy sometimes, but also really good for when Tomi needed help with her hair or homework or just wanted to spend time with someone. Her little sister Hana, on the other hand, was quiet and very focused, but super helpful if you managed to get her out of her shell. The best way to do that, of course, was to pretend that you really really needed help with something, and then she'd sigh and see what she could do.

Aiko-nee-san said that Hana used to be different before that one night when a big scary monster attacked Konoha, and that's why the blonde kid with the whiskers was bad. Tomi kinda remembered a bit before, but most of the time it felt like Hana had always been like that.

It didn't matter though. Tomi loved both her sisters, even if she didn't always like them. Like when Aiko wanted to play bride and insisted that Tomi be her assistant or when Hana vanished to go somewhere, and Tomi couldn't find her to play with her.

But there was one place where they were often all together, and that was the dance studio owned by Nanami-sensei.

Tomi loved the dance studio, and spending time with the older girls there. She thought it was amazing how a dancer could convey super complex thoughts and ideas through the way that they moved. Even in really subtle ways. And she was learning to do that too!

The tilt your head, being dramatic versus slight, great bounding leaps or delicate airy jumps, all woven together to create a story. Tomi found it incredible.

It even helped outside of class. Tomi used to have to ask people things. Now she was able to figure stuff out about them based on how they moved, how they smiled or didn't. It was sooo cool.

Aside from that, there was one more reason that dance class was Tomi's favorite place. And that was Chika-chan.

Well, really it should be Chika-sempai, because she was older. And the assistant teacher for Nanami-sensei. But she insisted on everyone calling her Chika-chan.

Chika-chan was the best. She was funny, and smart, and pretty, and everything good. Being around her made Tomi feel like she was walking on air. And Chika-chan liked Tomi too! She often called Tomi her little duckling because her name meant bird and she followed Chika-chan around like a duckling followed their mother.

Aiko-nee-san and Kaa-san said that girls should spend time thinking about who they wanted to marry someday. Well, someday Tomi wanted to marry someone just like Chika-chan.

Anyways, obviously, the dance studio was Tomi's favorite place to be. Really, she wished that she could spend more time there, but Kaa-san said no. Which sucked!

Still, it meant Tomi got very excited when Nanami-sensei suggested that maybe, since Tomi loved the dance studio so much, she might be interested in extra training and helping out sometimes.

"Really?" said Tomi, when she heard Nanami-sensei's proposal. "I would love to!"

Nanami-sensei laughed. "Of course. But, you know, I can't let just anyone be a helper. So," she winked at Tomi. "I'm going to give you a special task. If you complete it, I'll let you help out."

"Anything," Tomi promised. This was gonna be the best!

"Find out why I have not made your sisters the same offer." Wait, what?

"Wait, what?" Tomi said aloud, confused.

"I have not offered to let your sisters to help out as well. Your task is to find out why," Nanami repeated. "And, as a condition, you may not let them know that I have made this offer, or that I have asked you to do this. It's a secret."

Tomi blinked at her in confusion. How was she supposed to figure that out? She wasn't a mind reader.

Nanami-sensei smiled at her, and, seeing Tomi's confusion, said, "If I may offer a suggestion? Start with finding out why your sisters dance."

Tomi nodded slowly. Find out why her sisters danced? She could do that. She didn't fully understand what it had to do with Nanami-sensei's offer, but she trusted Nanami-sensei.

Alright! She could do this!

..

"Nee, Aiko-nee-san?" Tomi asked as she and Aiko-nee-san were headed to the Academy the next morning.

"Yes Tomi-chan?" said Aiko absentmindedly.

"Why do you dance?"

Aiko-nee-san turned her head and blinked at Tomi.

"Because its fun, I guess?" she said quizzically.

That… made sense, Tomi supposed. It wasn't very helpful though. Tomi thought dancing was fun too. Although… maybe the kinds of fun were different? Aiko never seemed to want to stay longer at the dance studio, nor did she like doing extra practice. That was her and Hana. Sooo…

"Why is it fun?" Tomi asked.

"I don't know, I guess I like spending time together and I think it looks pretty," Aiko said.

Huh.

"Okay," said Tomi. This task was hard.

…

Tomi reported her findings to Nanami-sensei the next time they had dance practice.

"A good start," Nanami-sensei said. "Asking is a good way to get information. But what if they don't want you to know something, or they don't understand it themselves?"

Tomi thought it over. "Like liars?" she asked.

"Yes, like liars. But also like people who lie to themselves."

"Hmm. This is hard," Tomi said, crossing her arms.

Nanami-sensei laughed. "That it is. But if I might give you a hint: What do I always say about expression in dance?"

Tomi looked up at Nanami-sensei. "Body language?"

She nodded. "Body language."

…

Tomi spent the next week watching Aiko-nee-san and Hana-chan dance. Now that she thought about it, the way they danced were very different.

Aiko-nee-san preferred the more social dances with lots of people, but not hard ones. She liked lots of delicate, pretty motions and love songs. She preferred to practice with her group, but she didn't spend lots of time practicing. Aiko also liked to perform and be on the stage.

Hana-chan, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. She liked hard, martial dances with only a few people, or even solo. She also practiced a whole lot, almost as much as Tomi did. Also she… didn't seem to enjoy dancing a lot? Which was weird, because dancing was the best, but… whenever she danced, she had to be reminded to smile. The only time Hana-chan seemed genuinely happy was when she was able to pull off a hard move. Tomi had thought Hana's problems with smiling was why she didn't perform a whole lot, but now she was wondering.

"Hey Hana-chan," she said one day as she and Hana were packing up from dance.

"Yes Tomi-nee-san?" Hana replied.

"Why do you dance?" Tomi asked.

"Because I want to," Hana replied. "Why do you ask?"

Erg, Tomi couldn't tell Hana about the task so…

"I was just wondering," she said. Then feeling compelled to explain, she added "I noticed that you and Aiko-nee-san like very different dances."

Hana gave Tomi a look that made Tomi wonder if Hana knew she was lying. Then she shrugged.

"I wanna be a ninja," she said.

Tomi blinked at Hana. "Yes?" Tomi said. "I do too?"

Hana huffed. "Ninjas have to be really flexible and strong, so I have to do exercise to get ready. So I dance," she explained. Then she looked at Tomi. "Don't tell Kaa-san and Tou-san."

"Oh, that makes sense," Tomi said. And it did! But… "Why don't you want me to tell Kaa-san and Tou-san?"

"Because they think all exercise gives you gross muscles and stuff. And if they realize that dancing is exercise, they might make me stop."

That would be awful! Tomi couldn't imagine not being able to dance, and quickly promised she wouldn't tell Kaa-san and Tou-san.

…

Nanami-sensei nodded as Tomi reported her findings. "Very good," she praised. "So, why do you think you sisters dance?"

"Well, Hana-chan wants to get strong," Tomi said. "And I think… I think Aiko-nee-san just does it for fun."

"Excellent. Now, how does this connect to my previous question: why am I only making this offer to you?" Nanami sensei asked.

Tomi frowned. It felt like she had some idea, but the pieces just weren't fitting together.

"Another question to help," Nanami-sensei added. "Do you think your sisters care about dancing like you do?"

Tomi frowned again. "Nnno," she said finally. "Aiko likes dancing but… its more the spending time with people than the dancing itself. And Hana mostly wants to exercise, if she had a better way to do that she'd probably just do that."

Nanami-sensei nodded. "Again, good job. Most people that come here are like your sister Aiko: they want to spend time with people, maybe gain a skill, but they aren't really dancers. Not like we are."

Which was just weird in Tomi's mind. Dancing was the best!

Then her mind caught on something.

"And Hana?" she asked.

"Ahhh, Hana-san," Nanami-sensei said. "Now she's an interesting one. Very… clever, and dedicated too. Tell me, whose idea was it to start dancing?"

Tomi thought back. It had seemed so long ago that they had been doing this… but…

"Was it… Hana?" she asked.

"Bingo," said Nanami-sensei. "Now, think about what that means: Hana has always danced the way she did. She also knows that your parents didn't want her to do more traditional means of getting stronger. What, exactly, does that say about her? More specifically, when did she figure this out?"

Tomi blinked. "Hana… we started dancing after that big monster attack. At that time Hana was three years old… wait. Are you telling me Hana figured out how to use dancing as exercise at three?"

"And tricked your parents into supporting it as well."

Holy cow. Tomi knew Hana was smart, but not that smart. Tomi didn't even remember being three.

Nanami-sensei looked into the distance and smiled. "That girl will be one to watch. It's almost a pity she wouldn't be interested in my offer."

"Huh?" Tomi asked.

Nanami-sensei looked back at Tomi. "There is another reason I made you that offer and not your sisters, aside from fact neither would be interested. Tell me, which one of you is best with people?"

"I am," Tomi answered. Everyone always said so; Tomi was the people person.

"Yes. You are the one who's good at understanding people, who's interested in understanding people. And this task was a test of that. Could you figure out your sisters' motives given only a few hints and suggestions? Could you look underneath the underneath? And you succeeded."

Nanami-sensei gave Tomi one of her rarer smiles, the ones she gave when you really accomplished something. "Congratulations Fujioka Tomi. You would make an excellent infiltrator specialist."

…

Nanami-sensei explained the test to Tomi. There were lots of different ninja types, like Tomi knew. And apparently, since some of the types needed people of certain dispositions, if Academy students like Tomi and recently graduated genin showed signs of those dispositions, they could be tested by places like Nanami's dance studio to see if they were a good fit.

"This dance studio finds infiltrator-nin that specialize as hiding as dancers and courtesans, but there are other locations that find different types of infiltrators, like those that specialize as servants or traveling musicians," Nanami-sensei explained. "I should also note that this isn't the only way a person could become an infiltrator specialist. That being said, those who are recruited in this way tend to find their careers advancing faster than others, as they have already proven themselves."

She also explained what being an infiltrator nin was like, and what they did.

Tomi had never really thought a lot about what she would do after the academy. There was always this vague thought that she'd have some kind of career doing ninja-y things, find a man, and settle down. But this? Tomi could actually see herself doing something like this. Charming strangers into telling her secret information, keeping tabs on organizations. Tomi liked the thought of it. So of course, she accepted.

And it was really cool!

Some nights per week Tomi would meet up at the dance studio under the guise of "extra practice" and "preparing for classes" which they did do a bit of, but a lot of it was learning more about being an infiltrator. Since Tomi was only nine, she wasn't really doing a whole lot but listening in, but it was still fascinating. Tomi learned a lot about the different people in the major cities, and what one group believed in versus another group. She also started learning extra ciphers, beyond the ones taught in the Academy. And ways you could talk without talking, like with fans! It was super, super cool!

Tomi wished that she could tell people about it sometimes. Like when she first managed to pass a coded message to another girl in the group without being noticed, she was so proud she could burst! And she wanted to tell Kaa-san and Tou-san and her sisters so that they could be proud of her too! But Tomi couldn't, because it was secret. Just like an infiltrator couldn't tell the friends they made in their target location who they were really loyal to, infiltrator students like Tomi couldn't tell their friends and family what they were really doing.

Rumors had it that one girl did it once, and the next day she was failed out of the academy and her family forced to leave the village in shame. The details changed regarding who she was and what branch she was a part of, so Tomi wasn't entirely certain it was true, but she wasn't willing to risk it.

Besides the secrecy was cool too. It made it more special.

Tomi had just gotten to the dance studio one day and was catching up on the latest rendition of the secrecy rumor before things really started (this time it was a boy that told the girl he was dating and she tried to get in and they were both driven out), when Nanami-sensei came up to Tomi with a serious look on her face.

"Sensei?" Tomi said.

"I need you to come with me, Tomi-san," she said.

"O-okay. What's wrong?" Tomi asked, starting to get nervous. She had never seen this happen before and based on the looks the older girls were giving her it didn't mean anything good.

Nanami-sensei led her to the supply closet where people could have conversations and not be overheard. Then she sat Tomi down and told her that her Kaa-san had been attacked and her little sister kidnapped.

It felt like the world dropped out from under Tomi's feet.

If she hadn't been already sitting she'd probably have collapsed.

"What?" Tomi whispered.

"I'm sorry," Nanami-sensei said.

Things blurred together after that. Nanami-sensei told the other girls that an incident had happened and that they needed to go home. Tomi however, had to stay there until they were certain that she wouldn't be targeted as well.

At least Chika-chan was allowed to stay with her.

After what felt like hours of waiting, wondering what was happening, Nanami-sensei got an unseen signal and finally, finally, Tomi was allowed to go see her sister.

Aiko-nee-san was at the Uchiha Police Station, a place Tomi had only been to before on field trips. Once they got there the police-nin took forever to verify that they were supposed to be here. It was only after Nanami-sensei started getting sharp with the receptionist that they were finally allowed through.

Tomi would never forget the sight of her sister, looking so small in that big empty room. Aiko-nee-san looked so defeated, so tired, and Tomi could do was try to hug her better.

They stayed like that for a while before being able to see Kaa-san. Kaa-san was a mess too. Tomi wasn't certain she'd ever seen her without makeup before, but here she was. It made her look older and sicker. Tomi didn't like it.

That night, when Tomi went to bed, she asked to sleep in Aiko-nee's bed. She hadn't done that since she was six but that night, she needed it.

School was horrible the next day. Her fellow infiltrator students were wondering if she had been one to rat out the program to her sister and that was why Hana had been taken, and it wasn't until one of the older students that Nanami-sensei had talked to corrected them did they believe her.

At least Tou-san was home that night.

The next day was better. At least until Tomi found out from one of the other kids that Aiko-nee-san had gotten into a fight (Aiko-nee-san? Really?). Tomi didn't know what it was about, but like heck she was allowing someone to get away with attacking her sister. So she bribed one of the Aburame to tell her which of the three spider egg sacs in the supply closet were closest to hatching, then put that one in Ayako's desk during break.

It was so funny to hear Ayako's stupid scream. Tomi decided to bribe one of the Inuzuka's for a bag of dog poop and put that in next time.

Of course she got caught, but honestly it wasn't a big deal in this case. She was just so, so worried about her baby sister, and now someone was attacking her big sister? Tomi was a loyal person, of course she'd protect her family. Add in some big, teary eyes, and all she got was half a day off school.

Totally. Worth it.

The day kept getting better from there. Soon after she got home they got news that Hana had been found!

Tomi couldn't get to the hospital quickly enough.

Once they were there they quickly picked Kaa-san up and then they were headed to Hana's room. For a moment, Tomi was afraid that she wouldn't wake up, but soon, she started stirring.

Of course. Like someone as dedicated as Hana would ever be defeated so easily. Still, Tomi promised herself, as a sister and a ninja, that she'd do her best this never happened again.

Chapter Text

One of Inoichi's genjutsu teachers had a saying: for most people, perception is reality. Right now, if anyone were looking into Hana's hospital room, all they would perceive is the Yamanaka head gently watching over a reunited family.

The reality in this case was quite different.

Mental block has been broken through, he let his colleagues know. No immediate signs of mind control or hidden triggers.

Only immediate? Shikaku questioned from his office in the tower.

Too early to tell otherwise, especially with heightened emotions, Inoichi clarified.

The Mind Body Transmission Technique was quite useful for situations like this, a fact that he had abused multiple times. Switching tracks, he added, Morino-san, any news regarding the captive?

Chakra seal still preventing death, but no change regarding information offered. Strong possibility subject was kept unaware of anything of importance.

Recommendations?

Keep as bait for assassins and sting operations.

Short and succinct as always. If Inoichi had less control over his facial expressions, he might have grimaced. All signs pointed to this being a joint operation between Danzo and Orochimaru, but current political realities made actual accusations towards Danzo… unfeasible at best, especially with Danzo's sudden friendship with the Daimyo.

Still, Inoichi was, if not anything, a proud jounin of the Leaf, and, more importantly, one of Shikaku's best friends. So really, with evidence that the Daimyo's office might be leaking information, especially info that led to the kidnapping of a young girl, it was only fair that the Daimyo stop receiving as much sensitive information. Likewise, given that said young girl was found in a hidden laboratory most likely belonging to Orochimaru, in one of the many secret tunnels underneath Konoha, it was only fair that those tunnels now be regularly checked for any other signs of subterfuge. At random times. With no warning given. Because clearly Orochimaru has his spies in Konoha, so of course they can't let anyone know when and where these inspections should take place.

People remembered the grand ninjutsu, the all-out battle of the Shinobi wars.

They forgot that ninja started as tools for covert warfare.

Speaking of which… Shikaku, how is the Purge going?

Seven spies for Orochimaru, two for Kumo, one for Iwa and one for Ame captured. Thirty-nine collaborators identified. Three subversive elements escaped, unknown allegiances. Investigations into Barrier Corps, Cypher Corps, and T&I complete, still working on Academy staff, Administrative staff, and the Medic Corps. Investigations into more generalized corps yet to be started, investigation into Anbu stalled due to "security concerns".

The derision from all ninja Inoichi were connected to echoed through his head at those last words.

And Root? he asked.

Have been put on hold and forbidden from all missions.

They were working on getting Roots permits rescinded, but were dealing with the expected pushback. Still, that would be discussed later.

Inoichi checked over Hana and her family once more, noting that Hana still appeared to be in control over herself. He'd have to put her through more extensive testing later to ensure she hadn't been compromised, but for now he was satisfied that she wouldn't attempt to kill herself or others. At least not in the next fifteen minutes.

Inoichi excused himself from the room, as if he were giving the family some privacy. As he did so, he made a barely perceivable gesture towards a slight blur to the left of the door.

Yamanaka Yuuma had not appreciated his charge being kidnapped.

Meanwhile, Shikaku was updating their group on some of the other missions that were created as a result of Hana's information. Persons of interest, important intrigue, and other such manners. They had had to do rushed launches of some of those missions once they had heard of Hana's kidnapping in case she had been compromised, and some of them had suffered as a result. It was unfortunate, but not unbearable.

Giving no sign of the conversations he was holding in his head, Inoichi wandered down the hall to a window overlooking the garden. It was a beautiful day, and the spring flowers were beginning to bloom. Business would be picking up soon at the store.

As if by coincidence, while he was looking over the flowers, he caught the eye of a gentleman enjoying a respite by the growing sunflowers. They made eye contact for a moment before Inoichi gave a slight nod, one that was returned. Then Hizashi Hyuuga got up and left the garden.

A life for a life, a child for a child.

The Hyuuga knew how to pay their debts.

Inoichi turned to go back to Hana's room. He'd see Hizashi's brother later, at Chouza's. In the back of his mind he could feel Chouza hard at work since noon making all the food he'd need to host six other major clan heads and the Hokage himself. They'd starting getting together shortly after little Hinata's attempted kidnapping, at Chouza's prompting. After all, the whole event was so dreadful, and really, hadn't it been a long time since they'd gotten together like this? Really the clans should stick together more, rekindle those friendships. And of course he'd be happy to host. After all, everyone knew that the Akimichi would take any excuse for a feast.

People saw the Nara's intelligence, the Yamanaka's way with people, and overlooked the Akimichi as dumb, food loving brutes. But Chouza was a jounin too, and the Ino-Shiko-Cho were a triad for a reason.

Glancing through Hana's window, Inoichi noted that the crying and emotions were settling down, and soon her family would be looking for answers.

It was a good thing he had a story all worked out.

Chapter Text

It took a while for everyone to calm down. Normally I wouldn't like being grabbed so tightly, but after that big ordeal, it felt… right.

Still, there was a very big elephant in the room that needed to be addressed. Once everyone had pulled away and I could finally breathe again, I asked, "What happened!?"

Kaa-san took a huge, shuddering breath, and said, "Orochimaru, he…" and then collapsed into a fresh round of tears. I immediately felt incredibly guilty; clearly this had been a huge ordeal for her and here I was demanding answers, probably reopening fresh wounds.

Then I immediately took a step back because what? When had I cared that much before?

After Kaa-san tried and failed to talk a few times, Inoichi stepped forward and gently placed a hand on Kaa-san's shoulder, the one not pressed against Tou-san.

"If I may?" he asked. When Kaa-san tearfully nodded, he smiled gently and turned to me.

"You were kidnapped about two days ago. Luckily, due to the quick action of your sister," and here he nodded to Aiko-nee-san, "We were able to lock down the village barrier to prevent your kidnappers from taking you outside. After that, skilled trackers were able to hunt down the kidnapper to a hidden lab we believe belonged to Orochimaru, where we were able to recover you. Unfortunately, we were not in time to prevent… well…"

Inoichi began to take out a… mirror? From his pocket when Kaa-san stopped him.

"She doesn't need to see that," she said. See what, exactly?

Inoichi turned to her and smiled sympathetically. "I understand your concerns, but I don't think it's possible to conceal it. Best get it over with," he said.

"See what?" I said aloud. Wait, if it was Orochimaru… did I get a curse seal? He wouldn't, would he? I thought those were really hard to survive, he wouldn't put one on a civilian child, would he!?

I started panicking, when Inoichi put a hand on my shoulder. When I looked up at him, he showed me a mirror and pointed to the side of my head. There I saw that I had been shaved bald, and to the side of my head was a thick curved wound, starting above my left ear and curving back towards the base of my skull. The wound looked a few days old, did Orochimaru take me immediately to a lab? I would've thought they'd at least have made an attempt to leave Konoha…

Oh, right, medical ninjutsu.

I felt like an idiot for a moment.

Kaa-san, misinterpreting the look on my face, pulled me into a hug. "I know it looks big and scary, and scars aren't very attractive. But don't worry, we have the best medical staff in the Elemental countries here, and even if it leaves a scar, your hair will cover it," she said.

I wasn't certain how to respond to that, but decided to take it in the manner it was meant to be taken.

"Thank you Kaa-san." She did mean well.

Inoichi let the hug go on a moment, and then gently hummed to get our attention.

"Now, because you did end up injured, and because of the injury's location, we're going to have you stay in the hospital for a few days to make sure you are still okay," he continued. "This is very important, especially because you were hit by an unknown jutsu that made you fall asleep and not wake up."

Oh, is that the official story? Okay. Beats having to think more about it.

Suddenly I just felt exhausted.

"Okay. That's fine," I said.

"Very good," Inoichi said. "Now, this is very important: I need you to tell me what happened the day of the attack."

"When I was… kidnapped?" I asked, clarifying. The word "kidnapped" tasted strange on my tongue. Not the kind of thing you would ever really think would happen to you, I suppose.

"Yes."

"I... well…" I swallowed. I didn't want to think about this, but I got why I needed to. "It was a pretty normal day? I guess? Well, up until… you know." I waved my hands. "I didn't notice anything strange at school or in the morning. Kaa-san took me to school, I went to class, Kaa-san took me home." I paused again. "Then… well…"

"Does she really need to do this right now?" Kaa-san interrupted. "She is badly hurt and confused."

"Please," Tou-san added. "We just want to rest and recover. It's been a lot."

"I know that this is hard," Inoichi said in his calm, understanding way, "but the more time that passes the more likely it is Hana-san may forget something important."

I reached out and squeezed Tou-san and Kaa-san's hands. "Its okay, I can do this," I said. I just had to think of it as doing it for them so they could get back to reassuring themselves everything was okay. I always did find it easier to do things for other people than for myself.

"I was doing something at my table. I don't remember what, I think it had to do with a book? It wasn't important. Kaa-san came up and told me that Yuuma-san was here for me. But he seemed, I don't know, weird? Like, his smile was fake and creepy." I paused and shuddered. I was used to fake smiles, considering how often they were used by salesmen and actors before, but I don't think I'd be comfortable with them for a while. "Anyways, it was weird so I asked him for the password. Like I was taught. That's when he… that's when he hit Kaa-san." I swallowed again while Inoichi made sympathetic sounds. "And Kaa-san hit the doorframe, and and I pulled the bracelet, with the alarm on it, and then he reached for me, and, and…" I paused.

"And?" Inoichi prompted gently.

"And then I… fell asleep," I finished. I'm assuming that since he called the memory lock an "unknown jutsu" that he didn't want my parents to know that he had been the one to put a jutsu on their precious daughter.

"I see," said Inoichi. "Thank you for your bravery, that was very helpful."

Kaa-san and Aiko looked uncomfortable. I couldn't really blame them.

"Excuse me," Tou-san said. "Forgive me if I'm missing something, but I can't help but wonder why, exactly, would an S-ranked criminal be interested in my six-year-old daughter."

I winced and tried to hide it. That was not something I wanted to talk about with my parents. Like, hey Dad, I have a vision of the future and some madman is gonna try and take over the world! Several times! That would go over so well.

Inoichi paused and gave my parents a steady, serene look while he put down a clipboard he was holding.

"Very well. However, please consider this to be of utmost secrecy." Wait, what? "No one here wants more criminals and fanatics interested in young Hana-chan." I did not like where this was going.

I opened my mouth to try and stop whatever was happening, but paused, not certain what to say. Seeing this, Inoichi reached over and patted my hand. "Don't worry; I'll take care of it," he said as he met my eyes. O-okay?

Then Inoichi looked my parents in the eyes and asked, "Have you ever heard of reincarnation?"

Chapter Text

"Reincarnation?" Mother asked. "I… I've heard of the story of Nagao and O-Tei, who hasn't? But I don't see what this has to do with this."

"Ummm…" Tomi hesitantly raised her hand. "I heard that Orochimaru is obsessed with living forever. He might be interested in reincarnation."

"But why Hana-chan?" Aiko asked.

Inoichi hummed. "Do you remember when Hana first started hanging around the Yamanaka flower shop?"

"Of course we do," Kaa-san answered.

"Well, we noticed that when she was helping around the shop that she would sometimes hum unfamiliar tunes while working. We didn't think much of it until one of the workers asked Hana for the words to the song, and she responded with what sounded like a cipher," Inoichi explained.

I let out a breath. I wasn't certain where Inoichi was going with this, and I was worried that this would go horribly wrong, but at least it sounded like he had a story in mind.

"What?" Tomi asked.

"Exactly my thoughts," Inoichi nodded at her. "We first suspected that maybe Hana was in contact with infiltrators and did an investigation to check. When that came up with nothing we went back and figured out that she wasn't singing in cipher, but in an entirely new language."

Tou-san blinked and narrowed his eyes. "You're saying my daughter is a reincarnation," he said.

"We strongly suspect so," Inoichi said. "Unfortunately, it's a bit difficult to say for certain, given that Hana's memories of before, if that is what they are, appear to be incomplete, and if she is a reincarnation, she was quite young when she died in her past life."

Kaa-san hugged me even tighter. "Why didn't you tell us?" she demanded, and it took a moment for me to realize she wasn't talking to me, but to Inoichi.

"Several reasons," he said calmly. "First, although it is unfortunate, not all families react well to realizing that their children are… different." He gestured at me. "I've had to deal with many of those cases myself, and I had no desire to cause a young girl to be rejected by a formerly loving family."

"We would never do that," Kaa-san swore. Inoichi smiled.

"I'm glad to hear that," he said.

Someone touched my arm and I jumped before I realized it was Tou-san. He smiled gently at me as I looked up at him with wide eyes. "Hana," he said. "We love you, do you understand? All this talk of reincarnation and past lives? It doesn't matter. We're your family now, and nothing will ever change that."

"Ever," Kaa-san promised.

"What he said!" said Tomi.

Aiko pointed at me, finger an inch from my nose. "You hear that? It means I'm your big sister. Even if you were older before, I'm still your big sister."

I sniffed.

"Yes, nee-san," I said, not certain if I was smiling or crying as they all embraced me. As they did, I realized that it had been a while since I had felt so loved. I never doubted it in my past life, but in this life…

I had not really thought much about my new family had I? As soon as I considered them Karens I had immediately just put them in a box and stopped thinking about them. Seeing them as people, really. I just saw them as obstacles to the life I wanted.

I felt a brief moment of shame. I really hadn't done right by them, had I?

As my new family squeezed me, I promised myself I would do better.

…

Inoichi gave us a moment while we hugged it out. After we had pulled apart and everyone's eyes had been wiped dry, he hummed to remind us that he still had things to say.

"Aside from that," he said, "we knew there were criminals who would be interested in capturing a genuine reincarnated person, and I'm not just talking about Orochimaru. As such, standard procedure is to classify any information that might put a citizen of Konoha at risk, in the hopes that would prevent any harm done." He paused. "Now, if you were a family of ninja, we would know how capable you were of keeping secrets, but with civilian families, it can be hard to tell. There's been cases were civilians have accidently given away classified information because they didn't realize it was meant to be secret. As such, we were quietly investigating to make sure you were capable of keeping secrets before even hinting at Hana being different."

Kaa-san frowned, and looked like she was about to say something biting, when Tou-san leaned forward.

"If there was all this secrecy," he asked. "How did Orochimaru find out about Hana?"

"That's still under investigation," Inoichi said. "But right now, we suspect the leak came from the Daimyo's office."

Kaa-san flinched next to me. I patted her hand. She had always spoken of the Daimyo so highly, to hear that his office might have been the leak must have shocked her.

After waiting a few minutes to see if there were any more questions, Inoichi stood up.

"Thank you for helping me wake up Hana-san, however I think its time for her to rest and recover," he said.

"But…" Kaa-san said weakly. Inoichi smiled warmly at her.

"I know, it feels like hardly any time has passed at all. But head wounds can be dangerous, so she'll need plenty of rest to recover fully. And on that note, I believe you have an appointment as well." He nodded at Kaa-san.

I frowned up at Kaa-san. "You're okay, right?" I asked.

She smiled at me, although it was a strained, worn smile. "Yes," she said. "The doctor is just making sure I'm good after I bumped my head." I flinched as I remembered the sound of her head hitting my doorframe, and I peered up at her to make sure she really was okay. She seemed alright, a little tired looking, but that might just have been because she wasn't wearing makeup.

Tou-san stood up on my other side. "How will we know she'll be safe? I know Orochimaru hasn't been captured yet," he asked.

"Please don't worry," Inoichi said. "Although you can't see them, Hana is currently under constant watch by bodyguards, and will continue to be so until she leaves."

Tou-san nodded, clearly still uneasy, but at least accepting.

"C'mon girls," he said to Aiko and Tomi. "We have to go." After they protested, he added, "Why don't we pick out some stuffed animals and toys for Hana's hospital room, so she isn't so alone. I'm assuming that's okay?" he asked Inoichi.

"That should be fine," he said. "One note though: if anyone asks after Hana, even if they are ninja, just state that she seems to be recovering, and no one seems to be telling you anything. If I need to talk to you, it will either be in this room, or I will let you know it's really me telling you that your flowers are doing well."

Tou-san swallowed, clearly a little uncomfortable at the suggestion, but nodded and turned to leave, Kaa-san getting up to lean on him. Tomi and Aiko lagged behind to get one last goodbye in, and then they too were gone.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Then I turned and looked at Inoichi.

"So how much of that was bullshit?" I asked him.

Chapter Text

Previously: "So how much of that was bullshit?" I asked him.

Inoichi raised an eyebrow at me, before nodding and humming. "Depends on what you mean by "bullshit" exactly," he said.

I gave him a look. "The best lies are the ones made of the truth!" he said with a smile, before sombering up. "We did find you in what appears to be one of Orochimaru's old labs. However, we strongly suspect that your kidnapping was a joint operation between Orochimary and Danzo."

I took a breath. Damn. That was pretty high up on my internal "Worst Case Scenario" list.

"Okay," I said, trying to process that. "Okay okay okay. If things were bad, I think you'd be a lot more stressed. I'm assuming they didn't get through your jutsu?"

"Correct," Inoichi said with a sharp nod. "As far as we can tell, they did not get through the jutsu, although I'll be doing a more extensive check once we're done."

I hugged myself. "Okay," I said, wondering how close I came to death. Whoever did it had clearly been poking around in my head, and brains were terribly fragile things.

"Hana," Inoichi interrupted my thoughts. "Focus. Can you tell me in more detail what happened?"

"Uh, sure," I said, swallowing. "Do you want me to start from the top? Or continue on from when I triggered the jutsu, because that's really the only part I didn't talk about in front of Kaa-san and Tou-san."

"From the top please."

"Okay. Umm, I walked home from school with Kaa-san. When we got home, I went upstairs to do something, but I still don't remember what I was doing. Kaa-san came up to tell me that Yuuma-san was here to pick me up, but when she opened the door I could tell it wasn't Yuuma-san. His smile was… empty." I shivered again. That was still so flipping creepy. "So I asked what the password was, y'know. Like protocol says to. That was when he, well," I gestured at myself like I was smacking myself against something, "-Kaa-san and reached for me. I pulled the bracelet alarm and activated the justu and, yeah."

I grimaced. "Hated that. Was stuck in this creepy white void with no way of finding out what happened. Like, how was Kaa-san? What were they doing to me? Just," I waved my hands and made a wordless sound of frustration. Inoichi nodded and hummed in understanding.

"I don't really remember this part super well. I think I was trying to distract myself, and I dunno, manifest something in the void to do. So I started thinking about my past life…" I shrugged. "And that's when things went wonky."

Inoichi hummed when it looked like I wasn't going to continue. "Could you describe what it was like for me? I'm afraid with the jutsu active I was limited in how much I could perceive," he asked.

I shrugged. "I mean, it felt normal. Like I was just living the life I did before, as if I'd just recovered from being sick instead of… you know."

"Really? No discrepancies or changes?"

"Well… I suppose… one difference was that normally I was stationed on the bottom floor. But in my dream realm, I was higher up."

"I see. And why do you think that was? Were the higher levels for more senior workers or such?"

"Not really? The higher levels were nicer, but we took turns. It's just that the bottom levels were where the emergency services were, so those were always busier and needed more people. Not to mention that was where we got all our crazy patients."

"Oh? Did you have any crazy patients while under the jutsu?"

"Oh, we always had crazy patients. There was one I remember from being under the jutsu. Granted, I didn't see him, but apparently we had one guy who came in and started screaming about… how we'd tell him what he wanted to know." I paused as I realized what had probably happened, then buried my head in my hands. "Goddammit I'm such a dumbass."

Inoichi laughed. "Well, you were in a self-hypnotized trance," he said. "It's not surprising that you self-rationalized everything, including putting yourself in what you thought was a safer position. Out of curiosity, what did you think he was talking about while you were in jutsu?"

"Probably some shit to do with vaccines being mind control devices or that covid was some giant experiment by world government forces. I genuinely got people like that before I got sick, so it wouldn't have surprised me if I got one while I was dreaming."

Inoichi shook his head at the absurdity of some people and made a note on his clipboard.

"Now, last thing: after you realized what had happened, you didn't leave immediately. Can you tell me why?"

I swallowed and looked away, uncomfortable. "Well, I didn't really get to say… well, goodbye… before, when I was sick. What with the infection rates sky-high as they were, they couldn't let people into the hospital sick zone. I mean, I know it wasn't real," I gestured. "But it felt real. It felt like I was hugging them. I just… I just wanted to say goodbye." I sniffed, rubbing away the tears. Then I looked up at Inoichi. "Is that really so wrong?"

"Of course not," he said instantly and soothingly. "I just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything I needed to worry about. Rather, I should say I'm happy that you managed to bring your affairs to a close, regarding your past. It wasn't something I had time to address, what with everything else that I needed to do, but I have noted a tendency for you to, well, mentally distance yourself from what happens to you."

He tilted his head as he peered at me. "It wasn't serious and didn't affect your ability to live your day-to-day life, but it was concerning from a healthcare perspective. I figured it had to do with coming to terms with your past life."

I shrugged and hunched over a bit, feeling a little like being in front of the doctor when you hadn't been eating well.

"So, I'm glad you were able to find some sort of closure," Inoichi continued. "Hopefully that will decrease your tendency to do that."

He picked up his clipboard from where he had set it on his lap. "Admittedly, it was one of the reasons why I disclosed your reincarnation status to your family."

I perked up. I had been wondering about that.

Seeing my reaction, Inoichi smiled at me. "From what I have seen, you are someone inclined towards truthfulness, and was very family-oriented in your past life. My hope is that by encouraging you to confide a little in your family in this life, you become more engaged in your life here. I've left it open to you to decide what you want them to know about who you used to be, just let me know so I can corroborate."

"Okay, I guess I understand," I said. "But did you have to do it now? Couldn't you have asked me first?"

Inoichi turned a little more solemn. "No, unfortunately I couldn't have. Not without making the risk they'd reject you much greater. A few moments ago, they were both elated you were okay and in full protective mode, so it was the best possible time to tell them. Manipulative, perhaps, but, well," he shrugged. "Ninja."

I sighed. I got it, and I did appreciate it but… oh well. "I wish you had found a way to ask beforehand," I said, "but I understand why you did it."

Inoichi hummed and nodded. "There is another reason why I let them know, although it directly contradicts my goal of encouraging you to trust your family more."

I nodded, letting him know I was listening.

"We are not certain exactly what information Danzou has on you, nor where exactly he got it, but the most likely route we identified, is, well, from your mother."

Of course.

I wasn't certain if I wanted to laugh or cry. Here I was feeling connected to my family for the first time in forever, and it was their fucking fault I was in this mess to begin with.

"Of course. Of course, she did," I took a deep, shuddering breath and looked up at Inoichi. "What did she leak and how did she leak it?"

"Hana-"

"Please."

He gave me a long, measuring look before answering. "We traced it backwards from the Daimyo's office to the Daimyo's daughter-in-law Madoka Himawari, who heard about you from your mother. As for what info was passed on, it wasn't much. Merely that you had caught the attention of my clan."

He paused to let me absorb that information. "For what it is worth, I doubt she meant any harm by it," he said.

"Of course she didn't," I snorted bitterly. "She probably thought she was helping me get ahead in life by giving me a connection to the "Illustrious Madoka family", nevermind that I don't want that, I never did and-"

"I know." Inoichi stopped me as he smiled at me sadly. "For all that we put them on pedestals, family never seems to act the way we want them too."

I opened my mouth as if to respond, but then closed it and nodded. That really was the gist of it.

"Anyways," Inoichi continued. "The second reason why I told your family about your former life is to, well, put things in perspective, and give them an object lesson in why we keep things a secret. I think it will be much less likely for them to spread information about you now, regardless of what it is."

"If only it didn't take me being literally kidnapped for them to get it through their thick heads," I muttered.

"Hana. They did it because they love you."

"I know, I know, it's just-"

"-That makes it worse, not better," Inoichi finished for me. I nodded as he continued. "We never expect to be betrayed by those who love us."

"Yeah," I breathed, "yeah."

There was another moment of silence.

"Moving on. We're still not certain why exactly they targeted you, and to such extremes," Inoichi said. "The most likely answer is that they noticed a rapid uptick in the activity in your main file, in which you are referred to solely by codename and contains very little sensitive material, after the Hyuuga affair. They were then able to connect that file to your real identity through the leak from the Daimyo's office and comparing timelines."

I raised a hand. "By "very little sensitive material" what exactly do you mean?" I asked.

"Times, dates, operation codes and lots of black ink," he answered with a bit of humor. "Because there was no way we could easily hide that file from Danzo, we were careful not to include anything that might raise his interest. Personally, I suspect that he was curious as to why we were putting such extensive defenses around a random civilian child, and assumed that there must be something comparatively valuable behind them.

"Which is the third reason why I told your family about the fact that you are a reincarnation: we are going to use that as a smokescreen for why you, a civilian child, have both a rather active and very classified file as well as fairly extreme personal defenses. To that end, I and my allies have carefully leaked your status to certain high-level figures within the village, who will thus disseminate it through the village as a highly classified secret."

I swallowed, nervous. "And they'll buy that?" I asked.

"Oh, they'll be suspicious, but they'd be suspicious regardless of what we'd tell them. The Hyuuga affair works in our favor in that way- it's understandable that we'd up the defenses around one child after another child was almost kidnapped. It also gives a valid reason why we'd classify your file so extensively. Like your sister mentioned, Orochimaru is obsessed with immortality, and we've had problems with him spying on us before."

He tilted his head. "Normally this ploy would induce a higher risk of Orochimaru coming after you, but, well…"

I pointed at my head. "Bit late for that to be a concern," I said.

"Quite."

I took a moment to gather my thoughts. "Okay," I said finally. "I don't quite like this, but I can deal with it."

"I'm glad you approve," Inoichi said mildly.

I gave him a look. "Oh, shut up," I said tiredly. I rubbed my eyes. "So. Orochimaru and Danzo. What is going to happen to them?"

Inoichi sighed. "Unfortunately, not much. We still don't have the manpower to hunt Orochimaru down. And since Danzo's influence within the clans has begun to wane, he has suddenly struck up a friendship with the Daimyo, which presents its own set of problems."

"Of course he fucking has," I said. "Slimy snake. Well, two snakes."

"It's not all bad news," Inoichi said. "Unfortunate as it was, your kidnapping did allow us to push through some moves designed to limit Orochimaru and Danzo's abilities to act within Konoha, including hunting down more than a few of Orochimaru's spies."

I snorted. "'Never let a good disaster go to waste,' huh?"

"Something like that!" he said with a smile. "Now then. You've had a very emotional day, and I think it's time you took a rest. Not to mention, I need to do a scan now that you're out of the jutsu."

I waved a hand at him as I laid down on the hospital bed. I was absolutely exhausted, emotionally and physically. "Yeah, yeah. Knock me out doc."

As I fell asleep, I suddenly remembered something. Goddammit I forgot to ask what he thought about Naruto being a fictional cartoon.

Chapter Text

I was discharged from the hospital a few days later. Luckily, there were no further complications aside from the scar, which Kaa-san wailed about. Due to concerns about "stressing me" my parents kept me home through the rest of the school year, with permission from the headmistress of the preschool.

The sole exception to not going out, was for the preschool graduation ceremony.

..

"Kaa-san," I said, as patiently as I could. "It's fine. The bandana is not going to fall off in the middle of the ceremony." In order to hide my scar, Kaa-san had wrapped a brightly colored bandana around my head.

"I know dear, but-"

"Kaa-san. Please. I don't want to be late."

She gave me a teary eyed smiled before reaching down to gently hug me, careful not to mess up my kimono. "Oh, my baby girl is growing up so fast," she said.

A part of me sighed internally at the dramatics, even if I totally got it. Kaa-san had been super emotional ever since my kidnapping, and more than once I had woken up in the middle of the night to see her checking to make sure I was still there. I appreciated that she loved me, but this whole "no going out" thing was bringing back unpleasant memories of self-quarantine and I was itching to get out.

"It's alright dear," said Tou-san, here to rescue me from Kaa-san's emotional clutches. "C'mon, if you cry it will mess up your makeup."

With Tou-san's help, we eventually left for the preschool. The preschool graduation was held on a Saturday so that older siblings in the ninja academy could also join in, thus Aiko and Tomi were headed along with up. Aiko was on my left, Tomi was on my right, and Kaa-san and Tou-san were in front and behind me, respectively. To my amusement, I realized that I was in the middle of a diamond formation. It was kinda like being a VIP surrounded by bodyguards.

Soon we reached the preschool, all decked out in banners and garlands, and full of people.

As soon as we walked through the gate the whispers started. I suppose I should have foreseen this; I had no idea what other people had heard about us, but they almost certainly knew about me kidnapping, and with my parents' overprotectiveness, this was the first time I had been seen since then.

I sighed again. Well, this would be fun getting used to. Luckily my time at Kaa-san's tea parties came in handy, and I was able to keep a straight face and ignore it.

My family, on the other hand, was not quite so sanguine. Tomi and Aiko stepped closer to me, as if to protect me from everyone's words, and Kaa-san shifted as if she were going to go over to some of those people and give them a piece of her mind. Luckily, Tou-san, seeing the same thing I did, spoke up.

"The ceremony is starting soon, yes?" he said. "Let's head inside, I want to make sure we have good seats."

Kaa-san paused, as if briefly contemplating yelling at them anyways, before acquiescing and continuing on inside. I sighed in relief. Scene averted.

The ceremony was somewhat long and rather boring. The headmistress started off with a metaphoric story comparing children to flowers, and how we'd all bloom brightly and so on and so forth. As interesting as being outside was, I never had a head for long speeches, and the headmistress was not charismatic enough to change that.

Once the ceremony was finally over it was picture time. The photographer pulled out this giant camera that looked like it was from the 1920s and motioned for all of us to get together, children in front, teachers in back. The man took several pictures, probably because small children were very squirmy and this way there would be at least one nice one. Then we were allowed to head back to our families.

I was walking back to my parents when I heard rapid footsteps behind me and something hit my back.

If I were wearing pants, I would have been fine, but in my tight, constricting kimono, I toppled over and hit the ground.

"I hate you!" a young boy screamed.

I twisted up to see Madoka Fumihito, face twisted in rage. "My Haha-ue didn't do anything wrong! Give her back, you, you poopy head!" he yelled.

"Hey!" yelled a different kid, Nagasawa Hiroshi. He was one of the kids I often helped in class. Due to his excitable nature, he often had trouble listening to the teacher. "She's not a poopy head! You are!" He ran at Fumihito and shoved him. Fumihito moved to hit back, and that's when the adults intervened. I was swept up into Tou-san's arms, Hiroshi's mom grabbed him, and Fumihito's hit was blocked by an unknown ninja.

"That is enough," said Fumihito's father. He turned to me and bowed.

"My son has shown you unsightly behavior. I apologize," he said formally.

I bowed as best I could in return, confused but going along with it. "It's alright. I wasn't harmed," I said.

Fumihito's father nodded at me, then looked down at his son. "Apologize," he said.

Fumihito grit his teeth and looked away. "Fumihito," his father said warningly.

He wilted. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Yeah, I bet you are," said Hiroshi, before his mom shushed him.

Fumihito's dad glanced at him before looking at my Tou-san and saying, "Please, do not worry. My family will not trouble yours any further."

"I am certain that you will not," said Tou-san politely, Kaa-san nodding from beside him where she had run up to us.

Then Fumihito's dad gestured for Fumihito to follow him out of the courtyard, and Tou-san turned to walk to where Aiko and Tomi were.

I leaned over his shoulder and yelled, "Thank you for trying to defend me!" at where Hiroshi was being scolded by his mom.

He looked up at me and grinned. "Yeah! 'Cause I'm a hero!" he yelled at me.

…he really was a good kid, excitable as he was.

I was worriedly checked over by my family in the corner of the courtyard, and as soon as they were certain I was fine, I was again swept up into Tou-san's arms and carried out of the school.

As he was carrying me, I looked at him and Kaa-san.

"Hey, what did Fumihito mean? When he talked about his Kaa-san?" I asked.

Kaa-san made the kind of face that meant I had asked about something sensitive. "Well… when the ninja were looking into making sure you were safe… they looked into how the bad guys heard about you," she said.

I nodded, trying to show her I wouldn't burst into tears at every slight mention of what had happened.

"And it turns out that Madoka-san, Fumihito's Kaa-san, was the one who gossiped around and told them," she continued. "So now she has gone to live at a Buddhist temple for a while."

But wasn't it you who told her first? I wanted to ask snidely. But that wouldn't help anything and I was getting over my anger at her.

In truth, I had some idea what had happened here. They couldn't punish the Daimyo for leaking it, and they certainly weren't going to punish the mother of the kid who got hurt. But they had to be seen punishing someone, and it was Himawari who had the least protection.

…poor Himawari.

"Poor Fumihito," I said aloud. "He didn't deserve to get his Kaa-san taken away."

"Poor Fumihito my ass," muttered Tomi. "Pushing you like that, the jerk."

"Tomi," Tou-san said warningly, but without heat. Kaa-san and Aiko nodded like they agreed with Tomi.

I sighed, seeing no support here, and let Tou-san carry me home.

...

Over the next few weeks I wore Kaa-san and Tou-san down into letting me leave with them to go on errands.

They were worried about gossip and people like Fumihito being upset with me, but I pointed out that I had to leave sometime, and if people saw me they might get over the urge to gossip quicker. Eventually, after one night in which a solemn, unfamiliar ninja stopped by and had a quick discussion with Kaa-san and Tou-san, they relented and let me finally go out, first along with them, and finally on my own.

Then it was time.

Dressed in another fancy kimono, hand in hand with Kaa-san and Tou-san, I looked up at the gates of Konoha's Ninja Academy.

It was my first day of school.

Chapter Text

After we walked through the gates of Konoha Ninja Academy and into the courtyard, Tomi and Aiko quickly hugged Kaa-san and Tou-san and ran inside to check where their new classes were. Then, Kaa-san and Tou-san brought me to a small room where lots of other kids were, as well as a few parents. An academy teacher checked my name, then gave me a small paper name tag to wear around my neck, which had my name and "1-2" on it. My parents stayed there with me until all the kids had to get into a line.

We walked back out into the courtyard, single file, through a crowd of parents and guardians, after which an adult would quickly take each of us and seat us on a blanket in front of a podium. There were a lot of kids, there were about 20 of us in a row, and five rows both the left and right of the podium.

After all of us had been seated, an older ninja with graying hair walked out from the crowd of parents and stepped behind the podium.

"Dear new students," he began. "I am Ito-sensei, the principal of this school, and it my pleasure to welcome you to Konoha's Ninja Academy." He went on to say how proud he was of us for choosing this difficult path, and that he hoped we would work hard to become proud Leaf ninja.

"Now, I would like to introduce your new teachers," Ito-sensei said.

All of the people that had helped us sit down now got up and stood in a line in front of us. Ito-sensei read off a list of their names, and as each teacher was introduced, they bowed. I tried to remember them, but I'd never been good with names, and after not bothering to try for a while I was even worse than before.

"Now, everyone, please stand," Ito-sensei said as he finished reading the list of names. "And bow to your new teachers." As mostly one, we bowed.

"Teachers, please take your students back to your classroom."

The teachers filed out. "Row two!" a cheerful older woman said. "Grab each other's hands!" We all grabbed each other's hands in a line, and the cheerful older woman led us through the fields, into a school, and to a classroom labeled "1-2", where another younger woman was waiting. She then directed us to sit in the seats, and after the inevitable scuffles that broke out quieted down, reintroduced herself as Hasegawa Emi, and her assistant Kobayashi Mayumi.

"In case you already forgot," Emi-sensei said cheerfully, eyes crinkling in crows feet around a kind but weathered face. She was dressed in a formal looking forest green kimono that ended at her thighs, and baggy black pants underneath. Given that all the Academy nin today seemed to be wearing something similar, I wondered if this was the ninja equivalent to wearing a suit for the first day of a new school year. Mayumi-sensei was wearing the same thing next to her, but while Emi-sensei was more warm and welcoming, Mayumi sensei was… stoic. Maybe she just had a resting bitch face, but it almost seemed like she didn't want to be here.

Emi-sensei started roll call, having us all stand and stay standing as our name was called. Once we were all standing, we once more bowed to the teacher. Then we all sat down. I vaguely remembered seeing something similar in a romcom manga I read a long time ago, maybe it was a Japanese thing…? I think it was meant to teach respect to the teachers and elders.

I mused a bit on it while I half heartedly listened to Emi-sensei talk about the classroom rules. So far they seemed to be the standard school rules, albeit coached in terms that were ninja and small child friendly.

"-and, of course, a good ninja is always quiet-shhhh! when others are talking so they don't miss aaanything-" I wonder what Emi-sensei's specialty was. Did academy ninja even have specialties? I know Iruka knew fuinjutsu, and it I think Mizuki had a really big throwing weapon, but were those really specialties, or just talents?

"-important thing- all Leaf ninjas are friends. And how do you treat your friends?" It would make some kind of sense that all Academy ninja had some kind of specialty so that the students had someone to go to if they wanted extra training in it. But then, wouldn't those ninja be needed elsewhere if they had any real skill?

"That's right! Nicely!" Meh, it was only my first day. I didn't need to try and figure out everything yet. Now, Emi-sensei didn't seem to be wearing any special gear or anything, but again it was the first day-

"So everyone stand up! Its time to play the name game!"

I blinked and stood up. Around me other children jolted up. We all filed down to the front of the classroom, where Emi-sensei explained the rules, and we all introduced ourselves again.

We had an interesting mix of students. If they separated the civilian and clan children into different classes, they did it later. We had an Ino-Shika-Cho trio, as well as an Uchiha and a Hyuuga. There were also a few other children that might have been from minor clans or had a ninja parent. They were the ones wearing mesh shirts and vests, practical clothes. One kid even had a mask Kakashi-style.

The next group of students were wearing heavily patched and worn clothing. Several off them stuck together. These were probably either orphans or civilian born children from the poorer families in the village.

Finally there was the last group of in the class, the group I was in. The civilian born children in new clothing that obviously never needed to worry about our last meal. Of them, I was by far the nicest dressed. I felt a bit embarrassed over it; but with my family the way it was, I'd have to fight to wear something else. Luckily two of "my kids" from preschool were in the same class as me, Hiroshi and Sumire. The quiet girl and the loud boy, they were an interesting dynamic, but I was grateful to not be alone. I've never done that well when I was alone, even if I had gotten better at faking it.

After the name game Emi-sensei had us line up and give her our names again, one by one. As each student gave her their name, she'd find it on a list and then carefully copy the name onto a small green book, which the student then took to their new seat as guided by Mayumi-sensei. As I got my book, I looked at the title with surprise.

"Shinobi Code of Conduct"

Written purely in hiragana with no Chinese characters so that it would be easier for small children to read. Huh, I didn't realize the indoctrination began this young.

"Take this to your desk Hana," Emi-sensei said, as Mayumi-sensei gestured brusquely at me to follow her.

I flipped through the book as I sat down. Despite being written in hiragana I still had trouble with some of the words, but not as many of them as I thought I would. Guess Little Flowers Preschool was good for something. When I was about halfway through the book, another kid sat down in the seat next to me. I glanced up to see the kid with the mask sitting down and staring at me.

I stared back inquisitively, then smiled at him and said, "Hi, I'm Fujioka Hana."

He blinked at me then straightened up and forcefully said "I'm Hasegawa Asahi!"

"Nice to meet you."

"Mm! Why are you dressed like that?" He asked.

"You mean all fancy?" I asked.

"Yes!"

I sighed internally. I knew someone was going to ask.

"I got hurt a while ago. So now my parents are babying me," I said.

Asahi frowned and tilted his head. "You aren't going to be able to be a good ninja in that outfit."

I groaned. "I know. My parents are dumb."

"My parents aren't!" Asahi chirped happily. He leaned forward. "My parents are real ninja. So I know everything about being a ninja!" He suddenly turned serious. "My mom said that as someone who knows how ninja work it is my job to help those that don't. So please ask me if you have any questions!"

I smiled at him. Asahi was a surprisingly cute kid. "I will be in your care then," I said.

We chatted a bit while waiting for the teacher to set things up. Asahi definitely did know more than me about the day-to-day lives of ninja, but I was ahead in academics. In fact, my first real lesson as a ninja trainee was not on the history of Konoha or the rules that governed ninja life.

It was on how to read.

I felt a bit of internal whiplash at the experience. It almost felt a little too normal for a school I had hyped up in my head as a place where I would take my first steps as a ninja. But after thinking about it, it made sense.

Whereas I and the other students that came from rich families had gone to preschool, there was no reason to assume that any of the other students had. This wasn't the Japan of my old world, where academic ability was prioritized at almost any cost and most children learned to read at 4 or 5. This was probably the first time many of the students here had ever been to school, and while it seemed like most of the children had gotten at least a brief introduction to reading from whoever took care of them, there was a world of difference between that and actually being literate.

…I'm going to be very bored this first year, aren't I.

…

Lunch break was a godsend. The classes were mind-numbingly boring for me, as they were designed for actual six-year-olds. There was a brief moment of interest when we were led outside for physical education, mostly just running around on the first day but with the promise that they'd be checking our stamina, strength, and flexibility over the rest of the week. I, however, was excused from that because I was still recovering.

Really, I had no idea how I dealt with these lessons when I was in preschool. Inoichi mentioned I was "disconnected" back then, which was probably the reason, but if this is what sanity is like I think I'd rather be insane.

One interesting note from classes is that we weren't taking the books home. All our books were kept here in the classroom. There was a big deal made about how being able to take the books home was a sign of trust, that we were ready to handle secret knowledge. I wondered if that was just to ensure that overprotective parents couldn't find anything to complain about us learning until it was too late. Of course, it could also be because 6-year-olds aren't very good at not losing things

Regardless, lunch was a welcome break. I got to check in on all of "my kids" from Little Flowers and see how their classes were like so far. It was still early but it seemed like we all had similar experiences so far. I didn't recognize the names of any of their teachers either, so either Iruka Umino wasn't a teacher yet or he was teaching the upper levels only.

Once we got back to class, I noticed that a lot of the kids in class were giving me strange looks. Asahi too. When I gave him a questioning look back he hunched his shoulders and looked away.

Okaaay…

"Is there something wrong?" I asked him.

He looked back at me, peering cautiously at my face. "Did you really get hurt?" he asked.

"Yeeess?" I replied.

Asahi hmphed. "I don't believe you!" he declared.

…the heck?

"Okay?" I said.

Not really certain how to respond to something like that, I watched as he turned dramatically in his seat with his nose in the air like he had done something important.

…Sure. Kids. What are you going to do? I turned back to my own things, wondering what exactly was going around to cause that kind of reaction.

Whispers and unfriendly glances persisted throughout the next lesson, an intro to math. They continued until break time, when a strange ninja pulled out a student I'd never talked to out of class. A few minutes after the same ninja came back, and after making a few gestures that were probably hand signals at Emi- and Mayumi-sensei, called for me to come down. He took me out of the classroom, Mayumi-sensei following behind.

A familiar anxiety started to churn in my stomach. This was another thing I did not miss about being sane… well saner. Even if I knew logically that there was no way I could have done something wrong, there was still that feeling of "what if". And unlike with preschool, I actually cared what these people thought about me.

I was brought to a smaller room with a big intimidating desk and an even bigger intimidating ninja with a long scar running down one cheek. To one side sat the other student, snot and tears dripping down his face as he sniffled. As I walked in, he shot me a hate filled glare.

…what the heck was going on!? What did I do?

"Good afternoon Fujioka-san," said the intimidating ninja behind the desk. "Please relax," he added, seeing my confusion. "You aren't in trouble."

Ooooh good. My shoulders slumped in relief.

"Good afternoon sir," I said respectfully. Then I hesitated, not certain what was happening nor what I should do next.

"Please sit down," said the desk ninja, before he nodded to either Mayumi-sensei or the other ninja behind me. "My name is Murakami Taro, and I am the chief disciplinary officer here at Konoha Ninja Academy. That means that my job is to investigate and punish misbehaving students."

He turned and gestured at the boy who was still sniffling in another chair. "This is Kobayashi Rin. He has been spreading rumors about you. Specifically, he is telling others that you have no ability to be a ninja and that your parents paid for the teachers to be extra nice to you."

I blinked at him, then looked at Ren. Was that why everyone was acting weird after lunch?

Rin saw me looking at him and bristled. "She must!" he yelled. "Here she is dressed like a little princess, and she doesn't even have to run or anything! But she's treated like a ninja student too! It's not fair!" He burst out crying again.

Murakami glowered at Rin as the room temperature seemed to drop a little. "Kobayashi-san. Other students' affairs are not your business. Fujioka-san was injured before school started and is still recovering. That is why she is allowed to rest during gym class."

"Shut up!" Rin yelled back. "I bet she's bribing you too!"

I winced as Mayumi-sensei hissed "Kobayashi-san!" and the room temperature dropped even further.

I hesitantly raised my hand as Murakami started to lay into Rin for being disrespectful.

"Go to the hall and think about what you've done," he finished as he turned to me. "Yes, Fujioka-san?" he said in a much calmer tone.

I waited until I saw Rin leave the room.

"Excuse me Murakami… sensei?" He nodded. "Murakami-sensei. Ah, how much about my… situation have you been told?"

"You were kidnapped approximately 1 month ago by missing-nin Orochimaru, due to showing unusual signs of intelligence and maturity. You were rescued less than a day later, unconscious and injured. You were cleared by medical staff, and are mostly recovered, but are excused from strenuous physical activity through the next week."

So he knows the official line for people not cleared to know about my past life. Or at least, that's all he will admit to knowing.

"Okay, is there any way we can tell the others about that? Because right now the kids in class don't believe I've been injured."

Murakami-sensei frowned, but it wasn't a frown directed at me.

"I dislike revealing too much information. Do you believe it is necessary?" he asked.

"I think it is. Because if the rumor is spreading fast, and I think it is, then someone who does know the truth will hear it. If they start spreading that, it becomes a huge mess where people aren't certain who's telling the truth and who isn't." I grimaced. "And I think that just telling people I did get injured without proof will just make things worse."

Murakami-sensei sighed. I felt like sighing too. So much for an exciting fresh start.

"Very well. Kobayashi-san!" I jumped. I forgot that Mayumi-sensei was there. "Inform the class of Fujioka-san's circumstances when you return. But omit that the missing-nin in question was Orochimaru."

"Yes, Murakami-san."

"Now," Murakami-sensei said switching back to me. "To decide on Kobayashi Rin's punishment." Wait, Kobayashi? Was Rin related to Mayumi-sensei? "Fujioka-san, as the injured party, you are allowed, within reason, to request a certain punishment for Kobayashi Rin." That… seems like massive amount of responsibility to give to a six-year-old. Not to mention over another six-year-old.

"Is it really necessary to punish him more?" I asked. "I think he'll realize his mistake when he learns I really was injured. Besides, it's the first day of school. Obviously, it's not acceptable for ninja to do these sorts of things, but he's not a ninja yet. He hasn't even had a full day of training yet."

Murakami-sensei hummed. "Your mercy is a virtue. But it's because it's the first day of school that we must be strict, so that students learn that their actions have consequences. Once students are accepted to these hallowed halls, they agree to set aside such childishness. Those that cannot are not fit to remain here. And," and here he pinned me with a steely look. "while mercy is a virtue, it is a virtue that must be backed with strength. Otherwise, it is only weakness."

I swallowed and looked down. "Yes, Murakami-sensei." This was not the world I left behind.

Murakami-sensei nodded.

"Send Kobayashi Rin in," he ordered Mayumi-sensei.

The door clicked open and Rin shuffled inside.

"Kobayashi Rin," said Murakami-sensei. "With your actions you have tried to harm your fellow students, and worse, you have cast doubt on your superiors with no evidence or reason. This village's foundation is teamwork, from the alliance that founded our village, to the everyday teams that make up the backbone of our village. You, Kobayashi Rin, have made it clear that you don't understand what that means. As such, your punishment is to stay after school for a week and reflect on your actions. Am I understood?"

"But!-"

"Am I understood?"

Rin wilted.

"Yes, Murakami-sensei," he said.

"Very well. Now, to explain Fujioka-san's situation: Fujioka was kidnapped by a missing-nin recently, and is still recovering from it. That is why she is treated differently," Murakami said.

I could tell that Rin didn't quite believe Murakami-sensei, but also wasn't willing to argue with him anymore. Ugh. Guess I have to do this.

I waved at Rin to get his attention, and when I saw him look at me I reached up and took my headscarf off.

Rin looked confused for a moment then blanched bone white as he saw my scar. Murakami-sensei sighed.

"Do you understand now?" he asked Rin. "All people have their own situations. By assuming things you may harm those you are supposed to protect. In the future, should you find something you think is suspicious, investigate first. Trust your superiors; they know more than you do."

Rin nodded silently, looking at the ground.

Meanwhile, I tried to put my headscarf back on. I thought I had just about got it when firm larger hands gently took the scarf and retied it neatly. I looked up when the person was finished to see the ninja who had collected Rin and I from the classroom, a Yamanaka who looked a little familiar. He nodded calmly at me, then stepped back to his place by the door.

"Very well then," said Murakami-sensei. "With that, we are concluded. Dismissed."

Rin and I got off of our seats and left the room, accompanied by Mayumi-sensei.

…

"So you really were injured? By a missing-nin?" Asahi asked, staring at me with curiosity.

"Yes," I said.

"That is so cool!" a girl in the seat behind me exclaimed as Asahi wowed. I had been the center of attention since Mayumi-sensei explained what had "really" happened.

"What was it like?" a boy I didn't know asked.

"I don't really remember anything," I said. "The missing-nin knocked me out as soon as they touched me."

I patiently waited thought the rounds of "woowww"s and "cool"s while internally sighing and trying to remember I was talking to immature six year olds.

"Alright class, please pay attention now," said Emi-sensei. Oh thank god, or whatever being controlled this weird world I now lived in.

I had been the center of attention since Mayumi-sensei explained what had "really" happened, which had been about five minutes ago, but I was already sick of it. As nice as it was to have lots of people pay attention to me, children have a well-deserved reputation for being tactless and I was not particularly appreciative of all the kids who thought the worst day I'd lived yet was the coolest thing ever.

Luckily it was the last class of the day. We were told that more classes would happen in a few weeks, such as body conditioning classes and kunoichi classes, but since it was the very beginning of the year those hadn't started yet.

Emi-sensei ended class by congratulating us on finishing our first day, and telling us that we were going to learn a lot, so work hard in order to become good ninja, okay? Okay!

Once she dismissed us, kids stampeded to be the first out and greet their parents. I waited a few moments so I wouldn't be pushed, then walked down. Across the room, I saw Rin get glumly collected by Mayumi-sensei.

I paused, wondering if I should go talk to him, but then Hiroshi called my name so I turned to go.

"What an awesome first day, right?" he asked excitedly, bouncing as he walked with me. Ah, the energy of young children.

"Yes, it was definitely interesting," I said. Interesting was definitely a word that described how my day had gone. And yet, I couldn't say I was displeased either. Perhaps it was the old Naruto fan that still lived deep in my bones, but this first day felt like the start of a new adventure. It was a little nerve-wracking, but a little exciting too.

Hiroshi ran off to his parents while Sumire, who I just noticed, trudged towards where her sisters and brothers were talking to her mother. I calmed walked to where my Kaa-san and Tou-san were talking to Tomi-chan.

Kaa-san fussed over me, making sure my headscarf was still on tight. Tou-chan asked me about my day. Tomi-chan gossiped about what her fellow students had done over the break. In the warm spring afternoon, I felt myself relaxing in the familiar presence of my family. There was just one person missing.

"Kaa-san, where's Aiko?" I asked.

"Still in school dear," she said.

"One of her friends said the teacher needed to talk to her," Tomi added.

We waited for a few more minutes as the courtyard slowly emptied.

"I wonder what's taking so long," Tomi said.

"Patience birdy," Tou-chan said. "I'm sure she'll be here soon."

"I hope so- Oh! Aiko-chan!" Tomi said. Then she frowned. "What's wrong?"

Aiko looked devastated. "I, I-," she started to say, then she burst into tears and ran past us.

"Aiko-chan!" Tou-chan shouted in surprise.

I watched my sister run towards home. What had happened?

Chapter Text

I frowned up at our home as we arrived. I would have gotten there earlier, but Kaa-san didn't have the stamina to run that far, and she wasn't letting me out of her sight. She had tried to hurry though, worried that another one of her kids might be kidnapped.

The door was ajar, which could be a good or a bad sign, depending on what happened. I really needed to learn chakra sensing. Well, assuming it was something possible for normal people to learn.

Tomi, who Kaa-san didn't have a death grip on, was first through the door.

"Nee-san? Nee-san?!" I heard her yelling from inside.

As the rest of us reached the door I saw her coming back down the stairs, looking unhappy. "She's inside her room, crying," Tomi said.

Kaa-san let go of my hand. "Let me try to talk to her," she said, and heading up the stairs. I frowned as I watched her go. Unfortunately, I didn't know much about my sister's school life. I had rarely listened when she had talked about it before, deeming it boring childish nonsense about boys and schoolyard drama. Now I was regretting it.

But… maybe there was something I could do.

"Tou-chan?" I asked, as I looked up at my dad. "Can we have natto with dinner tonight?" Natto was one of Aiko's favorite foods, especially after she heard that eating it made you more beautiful.

Tou-chan looked down at me in surprise. "Are you sure?" he asked. "We did agree on wontons tonight to celebrate your first day, and you hate natto."

I nodded. "We can have wontons tomorrow," I said. "I think Aiko needs it more right now."

Tou-chan nodded, and smiled at me. "That's very kind of you Hana. I'm proud of you."

I blushed and looked down as he patted my head. Then I went to join Tomi in the living room while we waited to see what Kaa-san discovered.

After about 15 minutes, Kaa-san walked back down the stairs, frowning. Tomi and I perked up. She sighed when she saw us but walked over.

"Aiko-chan's teacher pulled her aside today," Kaa-san told us quietly. "She didn't do very well, and the teacher suggested it might be better if she… well, stopped trying to become a ninja."

Tomi gasped. "No," she whispered.

"Is she still doing well enough to graduate?" I asked.

"Barely," Kaa-san said. "And only because of 'recent difficulties' did she pass. Her teacher said she'd most likely end up in the standard Genin Corps doing menial tasks, as she had no special skills to warrant placement in a more prestigious position."

I wanted to curse. Genin corps was probably fine for most civilian born, but for children in my social strata it was social suicide. Sure, theoretically a person could work themselves up into a position of importance, but it the meantime they were at the whims of almost everyone. One time a family decided to punish a girl from a family who made it into the corps when their son failed so they specifically requested this girl at the mission desk to do the most disgusting tasks they were able to under Konoha law. After about two weeks of torment the girl's family pulled her out.

I didn't know if my family had any such enemies, but I wasn't willing to find out.

"I'll talk to Inoichi-sama," I blurted out. "Maybe we can do something."

"Tomorrow," Kaa-san said.

I frowned. "Did the teacher give Aiko a deadline for a decision?"

Kaa-san hesitated. "Soon," she said.

"Then it's best we get this done as soon as possible," I said.

"Tou-san and I are both still catching up on work this afternoon," Kaa-san said. "We can't take you, and you aren't going on your own."

"I can take her!" Tomi said. "Please mom? I wanna help too."

Kaa-san hesitated.

"I know how to fight, remember?" Tomi said. "Better than you do. Please? For Aiko-chan?"

Kaa-san sighed. "You have two hours. If you aren't back by then, may the Sage have mercy on you for I will not."

Tomi and I cheered and hugged Kaa-san. "Thanks," I said. Then we raced to the front door to set out.

We set up a much faster pace than the one we used to get home. Luckily, the teahouse was in the best district in Konoha, so the Yamanaka Flower shop was relatively close. As we ran, I considered my sister, and where she'd fit best.

The thing was, Aiko wasn't really what I would consider to be good ninja material. She wanted to be a housewife for an upstanding ninja, she hated gross things, she preferred to be indoors, and frankly, she was a nagging know-it-all at times.

But at the same time, I knew that failing, or getting into Genin corps and then failing, would destroy her. I'd seen the girls that had gone through that. Most of them became bitter, jealous things, kept from the spotlight by their families during social events to avoid shame. The boys at least got trained in a trade. All girls were good for in these families was marriage, and not a lot of people wanted failed kunoichi brides.

I couldn't let that happen to my sister. Maybe…

…

Inoichi wasn't in but Yuuma was. "Paths after graduation?" he asked. It had taken a while for him to be free to talk to us. A lot of parents were getting last minute flowers for their children going to school. I helped out in order to make it go quicker, as did Tomi after I explained a few things.

"Paths after graduation and what you need to do to qualify," I said. "For my sister."

"Hmm, well, there's always the Genin corps," he said. "That would be easiest, as she just needs to graduate."

"No," Tomi and I chorused.

Yuuma blinked at us. "I know it's not prestigious," he said, "And it's a lot of hard work. But if Aiko-san proves herself she can find herself quite a good position."

"It's not that," I explained tiredly. "We're concerned about her being abused."

"Like by Ayako," my sister chimed in.

"Who?" I blinked at Tomi. She grimaced.

"There's this bitch that just graduated, her name's Ayako. Daddy's a diplomat, got her a job as an assistant in his office. She got into a fight with Aiko-nee-chan after you got kidnapped and Ayako started sniffing around for gossip. Rumor has it she's got it out for her now. If Aiko-nee-chan goes into the Genin corps, Ayako will absolutely try to abuse her power to make her miserable."

I narrowed my eyes. "Ayako, huh? I'll keep an eye out for that name," I said. Then I relaxed, looked at Yuuma, and gestured at Tomi.

"As you can see, Genin Corps isn't really an option," I said.

"I do see," he said thoughtfully. "If her grades at bookwork were better, I'd suggest trying to become an office worker. They always need people to take notes and organize things. But she'd have to improve her bookwork grades by a lot."

From what Tomi could tell me and Yuuma, Aiko's problem was her physical grades were near rock-bottom, and she didn't really try too hard with her bookwork grades because she didn't want to be seen as "too smart". Her best grades by far were her grades in the kunoichi class, but those weren't good for much without the others.

"Hmm," I said. "What about medic-nin? I heard they weren't allowed to fight, is that true? Because if so, Aiko's physical grades might not matter." Which was something that never made sense to me.

"They aren't allowed to fight unless they have mastered Tsunade-sama's Strength of a Hundred. And while her physical grades might not matter, she'd still need to work hard to improve her bookwork grades as well as show some promise in the medical field, not to mention her chakra control would need to be excellent as well."

"If she works hard for this year, she might be able to do it though. And I heard they're always short on medical staff, so if she proves that she can work hard and is improving, they might let her in even if she doesn't quite make the cut."

That was one thing I remembered from my earlier life that I bet carried over here. No matter what, communities were always short on medical staff.

Although speaking of medic-nin… "It's a bit off-topic, but I'm curious: why aren't medic-nin allowed to fight? I know it had something to do with Tsunade-sama, but it makes no sense to me."

Yuuma hummed at me, then turned to Tomi. "Have you learned about the treaties enacted after the Second Shinobi War yet?"

Tomi frowned. "I know they were very important treaties, but I don't recall exactly what was in them."

"Ah, well, in essence, if the First Shinobi War worked as a trial run of how we could do warfare as shinobi villages, with the Second War everyone had an idea of how it worked and thus had plans for what they could do. And some of those ideas were bloody.

"After everything had gone down, during the peace treaty process the villages decided to mutually outlaw the worst and bloodiest methods."

That sounded kinda like the Geneva Convention. "And one of those laws was that medic-nin can't fight?" I asked.

"That's right," Yuuma nodded at me.

"Why?"

Yuuma chuckled. "If you think about it, medic-nin can be scary bastards. They know how to put a body together and take it apart. Trust me, you haven't seen horrifying until you've seen someone with intimate knowledge of bodies use that knowledge to wreck them in warfare."

I grimaced, remembering the various horror games set in hospitals and labs I had seen. "I think I can imagine. But then why can Tsunade-sama fight?"

"I believe she personally petitioned for it. Also, it focuses on the user's body instead of the body of the opponent. Not to mention I think that Konoha's leaders wanted medic-nin with dreams of combat to have a dream to reach for instead of either leaving the corps or trying to break the treaty."

Tomi frowned. "That wasn't what we learned in school. We learned that it was because of Tsunade-sama, and because medic-nin that are injured can't help others."

"Yes, that is the most commonly given reason," said Yuuma. "And it is part of it. But the treaties are a much bigger part in my opinion."

"Makes sense," I said.

Hmm. Maybe that was one of the reasons Orochimaru was so reviled, because he certainly used medical techniques in combat. "Ne, what else was banned in the treaties?"

"Ah, the other big thing was not misrepresenting which village you were from. One of the big reasons the war went on for so long was because saboteurs and black ops agents kept impersonating the shinobi of other villages and starting conflicts back up."

"Really?" Tomi asked. "And how do people know nowadays if that's been broken?"

"Well, the main method of determining which village a person is from is by looking at the headband. Each village headband has a serial number and chakra code etched into it. Missing and broken headbands are recorded and then those numbers are sent to the other villages. If someone is captured or killed up with one of those headbands, or a numberless headband, the villages are aware that the treaty has been broken and are obligated to investigate."

That sounds like a massive undertaking. Stolen masks must have been a huge problem if all of the villages are willing to go that far.

Tomi nodded, curiosity sated.

"Getting back on track," I said, "that means that if Aiko-nee-chan became a medic-nin, she wouldn't have to fight, right?"

"If she doesn't want to spend time on a team leaving Konoha. Most missions that need a medic-nin are ones that expect violence, and as such will only take medic-nin that are volunteers or have proven that they can handle violence. Unless there is a war, of course. But we are working hard to prevent that from ever happening."

They'd better be with all the info I gave Inoichi.

"You know, I'm surprised," said Yuuma. "I thought you'd ask me if there was any way I or Inoichi-sama could use our influence to get Aiko-chan a better position."

I scoffed at him. "You're saying that would work? I'm fully aware that that would be incredibly politically unfeasible for the clan, not to mention Aiko-nee-chan would be scorned by pretty much everyone in the ninja field in Konoha as someone who had to depend on family instead of her own abilities." Which would be just as bad as failing for her.

Yuuma chuckled. "Shouldn't kids be more optimistic?" he said rhetorically.

I rolled my eyes at him. He knew full well I wasn't fully a child.

"How much time do we have left, you think?" I asked Tomi.

Tomi glanced out the window. "A little," she said. "But we should probably go soon."

"Okay." I turned back to Yuuma. "One, possibly two more questions, not about Aiko."

Yuuma blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" he asked.

"I heard that the top girl, top boy, and whoever is dead last grade wise get put on a Jounin-track team when they graduate the Academy. Is that true?" Pretty much all the fanfic I had read agreed it was true, but that was fanfic. I wanted hard confirmation before I started my plans.

"Yes, although I'm surprised that you've heard of that. It's generally kept secret. Where did you hear that?"

I grimaced. "Ask Inoichi. He knows my sources." I was pretty sure that Yuuma had been told about my future knowledge, but I wasn't certain.

"Why are those people made a Jounin-track team?" asked Tomi. "I can understand top girl and top boy, but why the dead last student? Jounin are meant to be the best of the best."

"Because historically, those teams tend towards greatness. Obviously, they don't always work, but when they do, well." Yuuma smiled. "The Sannin are a great example of what can happen."

"Woooowww," said Tomi, stars in her eyes. I smiled at her. Ever since my kidnapping she'd been acting more mature and adultlike. It was good to see that she was still a child in some ways.

"Alright, last question before we go. Can you raise your physical grades by being able to wield weapons? I know that being able to fight is the most important part of physical grades, at least once you get to the higher levels, but does that refer only to hand to hand combat or does being able to wield weapons factor in?"

Yuuma hummed and looked away. "It's… been a while since I was in the academy, so I'll have to double check this, but I believe that once your hand-to-hand skills are at an acceptable level, you can ask to be tested regarding specific weapon's proficiency for extra credit. You have to actually be good though, not just have taken a few lessons."

I had to resist doing a fist-bump. "Thanks!" I told Yuuma.

"Thank you for the help," he replied. "Now head home. I'd rather not deal with an overprotective mother right now."

I laughed at him as Tomi and I ran out of the shop.

…

We made it back home with a little time to spare. Kaa-san still gave us a bit of a talking to, but I could tell it was because she was worried, not mad.

Once dinner was ready, Kaa-san coaxed Aiko down to eat.

Aiko-nee-san's eyes were bloodshot, and her face was splotchy. She looked terrible. I think Kaa-san told her about the change to dinner plans, because she didn't seem surprised when she saw the dinner table. I tried not to look at her too much. Aiko always got self-conscious about people looking at her when she was upset.

Once we had eaten and Aiko was looking a little better Tou-chan started the conversation.

"Aiko-chan?" he asked gently. "Are you ready to talk?"

Aiko sniffled and looked away.

"Aiko-chan?"

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!" she yelled suddenly.

"I thought I was doing okay, like most of my friends, but Kiyoe-chan isn't there anymore and everyone said she failed out and now I'm going to fail out and I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO DO!"

She started full-tilt sobbing. "I c-can't fail, I can't be a fa-fa-failurrre," she wailed.

Tou-chan pulled her into a hug and gently shushed her while Kaa-san patted her on the back. Once she calmed down a little he asked, "Would you like to tell us more about it or would you like to try and figure out solutions?"

Aiko sniffed and looked up at him. "Solutions?" she asked quietly.

Tou-chan nodded. "Mmhmm. Your sisters even went all the way to the Yamanaka compound to talk to them about what you could do."

Sniffle. "Really?"

"Mmhm. Would you like to hear what they found out?"

Aiko wiped her eyes and sat back down in her seat. "Yes," she said, more firmly this time

Tomi and I glanced at each other. Tomi nodded at me and I took that as a cue for me to start.

"So, before I begin, I have a question," I started. "When you picture yourself being a ninja, what exactly do you see yourself doing?"

That seemed to throw Aiko for a loop. "I uh, I guess I picture myself helping a strong and powerful ninja, and then he falls for me? And we marry?"

I kept any grimace or sign of disapproval off my face. She wouldn't take it well.

"Okay, then there are two main paths you can go. You can either try to be a paperwork ninja, or a medic nin."

I checked to see if Aiko was following. She was.

"Now, if you are a paperwork ninja, there's a lot of different things you could be working on, so there's a few main ways you could find a husband. First, if you have a front desk position, you can help any ninja coming in with paperwork, filing it, filling it out, that sort of thing. Or, if you work in an office, you can try to date a coworker, assisting them with their work." Assuming that was okay here.

I could see Aiko absorbing this information, fitting it into her fantasies.

"On the other hand, if you are a medic nin, you can try to date either your coworkers or your patients. So you can be the helpful nurse making sure the doctor has everything they need, or you can be the one tenderly taking care of an injured ninja until they're recovered."

Aiko tilted her head, focused.

"Either way though, you will need to work harder. Both positions require higher bookwork grades then you have right now."

"Which one would be easier?" Kaa-san asked.

I grimaced. "It's hard to say, honestly. The medic-nin path has more requirements, but Konoha always needs medic nin. Whereas the paperwork path, I don't know how much competition there is for each job."

Aiko was thinking now. She had options, and that helped with the panic.

"What kind of requirements?" she asked.

"Aside from higher bookwork grades? Not sure about paperwork ninja, it probably depends on what exactly you'll do, but for medic nin, medical knowledge and better chakra control."

Aiko nodded, then her face crumpled. "I'm not good at bookwork though," she said.

"You're better than you think you are, you just haven't tried," I said. "And I'll help."

"We'll help," Tomi corrected me. "You're not alone, Aiko-nee-chan."

Aiko started sniffling again, but she was smiling now. Then she reached out at grabbed me and Tomi to pull into a hug.

"Thank you," she sobbed into our hair. "You guys are the best."

"Love you too, Nee-san," I said as I hugged her back.

Chapter Text

"Meet you here once school ends?" I asked Aiko at the gates to the academy. "We can go to the hospital together and ask about requirements there."

"Take Tomi-chan with you as well," Kaa-san said. "I don't want any of you girls walking the streets alone right now."

"Yes Kaa-san," we chorused. I really hoped Kaa-san's overprotectiveness faded soon. I appreciated it in the weeks following my kidnapping, but it was old news now and I was itching to get back to my usual independence.

Once we were inside, we split up for classes. Classes for me were definitely going to be boring for a while, as we were still in the process of learning basic classroom etiquette. Stuff like "don't get up in the middle of class and walk around" and "don't try to break your classroom supplies". It was beginning to be very obvious who had some kind of schooling before the academy and who didn't.

Try as I might to listen and be respectful, it was simply impossible. I couldn't stop thinking about Aiko and her situation.

I wasn't really considering it last night, too focused on making sure my sister would be okay, but now that I had time to sleep on it, I really had to consider: did I really do the right thing?

I loved my sister, but that didn't change the fact that she was, well, a little girl. She was immature. Silly. Head stuck in her little fantasies.

Aiko was a child, for all this world treated 12-year-olds like adults.

And if she became a medic nin, people would be putting their lives in her hands.

If she wasn't able to save them, did I share the blame for putting her on this path?

Likewise, for all I had helped Inoichi and Konoha prepare for the threats in the coming years, until Madara and Kaguya were confirmed as nonthreats, everyone in Konoha would be at risk.

And ninja would be in even more risk. I put my sister at risk.

At the same time though, I couldn't see another way for her to be happy.

Aiko, well, all of us sisters really, were raised for the sole purpose of becoming wives via becoming ninja. It surrounded us from the gossip of "who made it" to the stories we were told at night, about how graceful, obedient women won husbands through their dedication and beauty.

With my past life, I knew I had other options, but my sisters didn't. Aiko didn't. This was all she had ever known. And maybe this was a sad thing to say about my own sister, but I wasn't certain that she had the mental strength and fortitude to figure out an entirely different path after being told one thing her entire life.

At the same time, I figured that being a medic nin was genuinely one of the better paths that Aiko could take. If the medical field here was anything like the medical field back home, Aiko would need to study for several years before becoming a "real" medic nin. She'd get a chance to grow up more. She wouldn't need to fight. She could stay in Konoha, as safe as a ninja could be. As safe as I could keep her.

Also, I thought Aiko would find the medical field genuinely rewarding. Aiko thought of herself as a mini-mom, and found enjoyment in being able to take care of other people. Once she grew up a bit, I could easily see her fitting into the cheerful clinic I used to work at, gossiping with the MA's, complaining about difficult patients in the breakroom, having a life.

In the end, this was what I saw as Aiko's best shot at being happy. And maybe it was selfish of me, but I couldn't help but put my sister ahead of any faceless masses that might be hurt by my decision.

My musings distracted me up until it was time for lunch in the field.

"Ugh, I hate school," Hiroshi said as he opened his lunch box.

"We literally just started," I said.

"Yeah yeah, I know. Can't wait until we get to learn cool things though."

"True that."

I turned to Sumire, who was quiet as usual. I was worried that she felt left out so I often tried to include her on purpose.

"Sumire, what do you think?"

"Reading class is dull. I think learning about the Shinobi code might be interesting though."

Hiroshi grimaced. "On one hand, its cool shinobi stuff," he said. "On the other hand, it's boring rules. I hate rules."

I faked a huff. "You hate rules, you hate school, is there anything you do like?" I asked.

He smirked at me. "I like ninjas," he said.

We all laughed.

"Oy, what's so funny," a strange voice said.

I looked up to see a trio of large older boys, near graduates, with ugly smirks on their faces. Sumire shifted closer to me while Hiroshi bristled.

"Hey, what're you doing here?" he demanded. "It's our lunchtime not yours."

One of the boys stuck a pinky in his ear and twisted it. "Eh, we were going to take a piss when we heard laughter and decided to see what was going on," he said, like he was some kind of gangster in a movie from back before.

"Yeah, so, are you going to share or what?" another boy said with a leer.

"Nothing you'd be interested in," I said.

"What if we are?" said the third boy. "Yeah, what if we are?" the second boy repeated.

The first boy didn't say anything, just chuckled.

"Hey, I think I've heard of you before," he finally said as he gestured at me. "You're the stupid bint who got herself kidnapped and now has a really ugly scar on her head."

Then he shoved Hiroshi aside and ripped off my headscarf.

My mind went blank in shock as the boys started laughing. "Hey!" yelled Hiroshi, scrambling to get up from the dirt. Without realizing what I was doing, I held out a hand to stop.

I looked at these

Goddam

Fucking

Bullies

And in the moment, I learned I was in fact my mother's daughter.

"Do you feel good?" I asked, sickly sweet. "Does this make you feel good in your pants?"

My face felt numb, but I still smiled with every. One. Of my teeth.

"Do you feel strong, the big bad kids picking on the widdle six-year-olds?"

The boys weren't laughing now, caught off guard. "H-hey-" one of them started.

"You're pathetic," I hissed, cutting him off. "Near graduates, but the only people you're fighting are babies."

"SHUT UP," one of the boys yelled, flailing at me. "You- you- SCARHEAD!"

I leered at them. "What? You jealous?"

I brushed a hand over my head.

"I doubt you have any scars, if this is who you choose to fight, cowards."

"W-we've got scars!" one of the boys said.

"Oh, from a papercut? Did mommy kiss it better?"

"SHUDDUP!" One of the boys finally snapped and picked me up by the front of my kimono. I dangled there, not even trying to fight back.

The boy drew his fist back, and that's when Kobayashi Rin barreled into his legs.

I only had a moment to blink in surprise before the bully toppled over and I hit the dirt with him.

"Rin?!" I yelled as i scrambled to my feet as it felt like the entirety of the school's first year class joined the fray.

From then it was chaos. The three older boys might have had six years of training, but we had numbers. I teamed up with Hiroshi to tackle one of them to the ground so that the others could pummel him easier when-

"FWEEEEEEEET!"

Everyone stopped and winced as a loud whistle blew.

"JUST WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" a pissed off teacher yelled, a cringing Asahi at his side.

A shuffling of feet before various kids tried to get their story out first.

"SILENCE!" the teacher barked. "FIRST YEARS ON THIS SIDE, SIXTH YEARS ON THAT SIDE. INTO THE BUILDING!"

I grabbed my headscarf as everyone lined up and miserably made their way into the building. The group looked smaller now that it was calm, but there were still a lot more people than I expected. It wasn't who I was expecting either. Sure, a lot of them were kids that I had known in preschool, but a lot of them looked like civilian born from the rougher parts of Konoha.

And of course, there was the big mystery. Why had Kobayashi Rin tried to help me? I though he hated my guts.

"First years, in that room. Sixth years, Asahi, with me," said mystery teacher as he pointed to a classroom empty of anyone except for a slightly weary looking teacher.

We filed into the room, several of us trying not to cry.

Once the teacher had left with the older boys, I raised my voice. "Is everyone okay? Raise your hands if you have a booboo!"

Several kids sniffed as they raised their hands. Hmm, I had a handkerchief, but I left my water in the dirt along with lunch outside.

"Sensei, do you have any water I could borrow? I'd like to wash any injuries," I asked mystery teacher. The teacher blinked at me then handed me a canteen.

"Thank you!" I said as I went to nearest kid with their hand raised, wetting my handkerchief as I did so. In my peripheral I could see several kids taking their cues from me and attending to their friends and their own injuries.

"Hmph," said Rin. "I don't need your help!" he declared as he turned his head to the side.

"Okay," I said easily. "You really should wash out your booboos though, you don't want them getting infected."

"I can do that on my own! I don't owe you anything now!"

"That's great. And I never thought you owed me anything."

He spluttered at me, somehow looking even more offended.

"What?! Yes, I did! I messed up by telling people you weren't good, so now I defended you, and now we're even!"

"Oh, is that why you helped me?" I smiled at him. That made a lot more sense. For all his rough edges, Rin seemed to be surprisingly honorable. "Thank you so much!"

"Hmph! Not like you were gonna fight them yourself," said Rin, sniffing.

"Why didn't you fight them?" asked Hiroshi. "They were awful but you just sat there saying terrible things, to their faces."

"Probably because she can't fight," muttered Rin.

"Because fighting would have just made things worse in this case," I said, to Hiroshi's confusion. "They were bullies, and bullies are bullies because they want to feel strong over weaker people. They're six years older than me. If I tried to fight them, they'd feel good because it would be obvious that I'm weaker than them. Instead, I tried to make them feel as bad as possible through words, because words can hurt just as bad as fists, and that way we were at least equals."

Rin reeled back in disgust. "What? But that's so dishonorable! If you fought them at least you'd be in the right!"

I shrugged. "Well," I said as pointed at myself. "I'm trying to be a ninja. Being dishonorable is kinda their thing. Besides," I tilted my head. "I loathe bullies. With a passion."

Rin didn't have anything to say to that. I finished off the kid I was working on then went to the next one. By the time most of the kids were taken care of, the first teacher had come back.

"You, you, and you," he said, pointing to me, Hiroshi, and Sumire. "Come with me."

We left the room and headed to a place I recognized from yesterday: the disciplinary office.

"Fujioka Hana," said Murakami-sensei from inside his office. I nodded at the supervising teacher and walked into the office.

"Fujioka-san. I am seeing you far too often," said Murakami-sensei.

I shrugged as I sat in the chair. "I know. I don't really think this is my fault though."

"Then would you care to explain how half the first grade ended up fighting three upper years?"

"Certainly. I was sitting down for lunch with Sumire-san and Hiroshi-san, when those upper years walked up to us. They started making fun of me, calling me stupid and such, then pulled off my headscarf. I then proceeded to call them cowards for picking a fight with first years. After that, as one of them tried to hit me Kobayashi Rin intervened to protect me, and then a bunch of other people joined in. I'm not certain why."

"You aren't certain why Kobayashi-san intervened or why a large number of your classmates did?"

"The second."

"Hmm. Ask your sensei with the Kobayashi name about that. Now, do you think what you did was the best course of action?"

I grimaced. This could be a trick question. "I didn't see any teachers near me, so I don't think I could have gone for one. Maybe I could have screamed to get someone's attention, but then maybe the boys would have claimed I just freaked out over nothing, and they wouldn't have gotten off without any punishment."

"So you stand by your actions?"

I nodded at him. "Yes, I do."

"Even if I choose to punish you for it?"

"Yes." I don't think they'd do anything too bad really. Especially since it was fairly clear the older boys were in the wrong.

"So you think you did the right thing?" Murakami asked.

"Well, that depends. If those boys leave me alone, then yes. If no, then I didn't."

"And what about the others that got involved?"

"What about them?"

"It was because of you that they got involved. Doesn't that make you at least partially responsible?"

"What? No." I gave him a look. "I didn't ask them to help me, nor was I trying to get in trouble. Their actions and choices are their own, and by that logic you could also argue that the three boys are responsible for everyone else's actions as the instigators." Really that line of argument was absurd.

"That being said, I am grateful for their help, and I would argue that they should not be punished for helping me. Helping one's comrades is the Leaf thing to do after all, and I'd like to help them in return."

Murakami-sensei nodded at me.

"Well said. I was concerned that, with so much happening centered on you, you may start to believe that everything happening is because of you, and therefore your responsibility to deal with. While we must be responsible for our actions and some of the actions we inspire, it is important to remember that everyone has their own agency."

I grimaced as he said that. Yeah, I could see that happening. I'll have to try to keep that from happening to me.

"Now then," Murakami said. "The instigators. While they have been known to go after younger students, this is an order of magnitude beyond what they normally do, and we are still trying to figure out why."

I nodded. I didn't like it, but it was unrealistic to assume that everything would be wrapped up neatly with a bow on top.

"Do you think they should be expelled?" he asked me suddenly.

I spluttered at him shocked. "I-what?" I asked weakly.

"The instigators. Do you think they should be expelled?" he repeated.

I blinked at him dumbly. Why was he asking me? For all he knew I was six! And it wasn't like I knew what it took for someone to be expelled from a ninja academy.

I rubbed my face as I tried to get my thoughts in order.

"I dislike the thought of them becoming ninja," I started. "I think that if they become ninja they will abuse the privilege it gives them over others. That being said, they are almost fully trained ninja, and I'm worried what they would do if they were suddenly expelled. I don't think you can remove all knowledge of how to fight from someone's mind, and if they know any of Konoha's secrets they could use that. Not to mention, I suspect they'd focus on me for revenge, and I don't want to deal with that."

I sighed. "I don't know why you are asking me, but regarding punishment, I'd rather know that as little innocent people are harmed as possible while also making sure it's not my problem."

Murakami-sensei hummed. "I see," he said. "That is everything we need to discuss. You may go; please follow my assistant to the next room."

I nodded to him as I got off the chair and left the room as Murakami called for "Nagasawa Hiroshi."

The teacher pointed to a door down the hall. I entered to find another classroom, one with Asahi inside.

"You okay?" I asked as I walked up to him.

"Yes, are you?" he asked as he watched me worriedly.

"Yeah. It wasn't fun, but I'm okay. Thanks for getting a teacher," I said.

"Welcome," he replied.

We watched in silence as our classmates trickled in after they got done talking to Murakami-sensei. It sped up after he started talking to groups instead of one person at a time.

When the last group of three entered, so did Murakami-sensei.

Everyone straightened up as he entered and walked to the front of the room.

"Students," he started. "Today you decided to fight together to defend your fellow students. And for that you are to be commended."

I felt more than heard the sigh of relief as the students around me relaxed.

"We of Konoha hold our bonds as teammates to be of the highest order, and in this, you have succeeded. Good job."

The students around him beamed at him.

"That being said-" and here he broke off to glare at all of us. "The thing you should have done in this situation was to try and get a teacher. Now, since this is the first time and its early in your first year, we will overlook it. Next time, however, you are expected to get a teacher. Am I understood?"

"Yes sensei!" we responded as a group.

"Good! Now, because many of you missed most of your lunch, you are being allowed to grab it and go back to your classroom to finish it. There will be no funny business, understood? Good. Dismissed. Kobayashi Rin, a moment."

I lagged behind to check up on Rin as he talked to Murakami-sensei for a moment. It took a moment but when Rin smiled, I knew he'd be alright.

…

Not all of my class joined up in the fight, but those that didn't weren't complaining about extra free time while those that did finished their lunch.

Since I was a fast eater I got done early enough I had a few minutes to spare. I decided that now would be a good time to ask about what Murakami-sensei had mentioned.

I slipped from my desk and made my way to where Kobayashi-sensei was working on something.

"Kobayashi-sensei?" I asked.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Murakami-sensei mentioned something earlier, when I asked why so many people I didn't know chose to fight the people bullying me. He said I should ask you about it. Do you know why?"

Kobayashi's mouth twisted in an emotion I couldn't read.

"Do you know why Rin fought for you?" she asked.

"He said something about owing me because he spread rumors about me yesterday. Which I don't really understand, but okay."

"Right." She frowned again. "And do you know what Rin is?"

I blinked up at her. "A student of Konoha Ninja Academy?" I guessed.

"Rin is an orphan. Kobayashi is one of several names Konoha grants its orphans that have no last names."

"Oh. OH," I said, making the connection between Kobayashi-sensei and Rin Kobayashi.

"Yes. And the thing that many orphans learn first is that you have no sponsor. You have no family to give you what you need. All you have is each other." She had put her stuff down and was looking at me dead in the eye. "And because of that, if one orphan gets into a fight, the others join in. If the only ones to support are each other, we will make sure we are that support. Orphan solidarity."

"Ah," I said. "That makes sense." I thought back to the other kids in worn and patched clothing. I was doubly glad none of them had gotten in trouble now.

"Fujioka-san," Kobayashi-sensei said. "That includes me too. I will fight for my fellow orphans, do you understand?"

"Okay," I said. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at me. "I'm glad they have you watching out for them?" I tried.

She eyed me a moment more. "Well, as long as you understand," she said. "You may go back to your desk now."

"Okay, thank you sensei," I said. Well, that was interesting.

…

I sighed as school let out. Today had been a long day, and I was glad for the freedom.

I walked to the front courtyard, keeping an eye out for Tomi-nee-san and Aiko-nee-san.

"Hana-chan! Over here!" yelled Tomi. I made my way over to her and Aiko. Aiko-nee-san was looking better than last night, but she was still a little withdrawn and pale.

"Are you ready?" asked Tomi. "Yes," I said as I threaded my hand in Aiko's and we set off for the hospital.

As we walked, I looked up at my big sister. For Aiko's sake, I hope we got good news there.

Chapter Text

I squeezed Aiko-chan's hand as we walked up to the hospital building, heading to the non-urgent entrance.

She squeezed back, looking mildly terrified. "Deep breathes," I told her. "We practiced the whole way here. It's going to go great."

Aiko nodded like she was trying to convince herself.

We walked through the main doors and up to the receptionist desk. "Hello!" one of them said. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No," said Tomi-nee-san. "We wanted to know how someone becomes a medic nin."

"Aiko-nee-san wants to be one!" I said with my best innocent six-year-old smile. We'd also practiced this, as Aiko was so nervous she was having trouble, and we didn't think she'd give the right impression.

"Aww, how nice! We can always use more medic nin," said the receptionist. "The person you should talk to is Yae Aoki, one of the head nurses. I'll send her a message, see if she's busy. You girls go wait in the waiting room."

"Thanks Miss!" we chorused, then turned to sit in the waiting room.

A few minutes later, the same receptionist told us that Yae Aoki would be free in about fifteen minutes. Aiko-nee-san used the bathroom, and I grabbed some water for her. Then, once I was starting to wonder if Aiko-nee was going to pass out from stress, we were called back.

Yae-san definitely had some Akimichi blood in her. She looked tough, but also like she gave great hugs when needed. In other words, she reminded me strongly of the nurses of my last life.

I liked her already.

"So, I'm guessing you're Aiko-san?" said Yae-san to my oldest sister.

"Y-yes! My name is Fujioka Aiko, I'm twelve years old, and I'm an academy student!" said Aiko-nee-san.

"Calm down dear, I don't bite," teased Yae-san.

"A-ah, right."

"So you wanted to learn about how to become a medic nin?"

Aiko nodded vigorously.

"Alright. We're always glad to have more medic nin," said Yae-san. "But why did you decide on trying to be a medic-nin?"

This was one of the parts we'd focused most on when prepping for the interview.

"We-well, about a month ago, my sister, or, well, I was walking home from school one day, and well-" Aiko stuttered out. I reached on and squeezed her hand.

With the other hand I pulled my headscarf off.

Yae Aoki gave a sympathetic wince. Aiko cringed, then rallied. "My sister got kidnapped, and my mom got hurt. It was the medic-nin that helped them, and that's why I want to be a medic-nin."

Sob stories for the win. This tactic worked in my past life's job interviews, and I couldn't see why it wouldn't work here.

"Ah, I see. I'm sorry that happened to you, but I'm glad we were able to help. I'm also glad that it sounds like you have a realistic view of what happens here. Unfortunately, we often get recruits that think this job is easy, or that it's a good place to slack off. But being a healer is hard work, and we often deal with people on their worst days."

I kept my face carefully innocent.

Yae-san shuffled some papers on her desk. "Along with that, we do need our healers to have certain skills and abilities. Have your ever taken a first aid course?"

"Just-just what the academy teaches."

"Okay." Yae Aoki smiled at Aiko-nee-chan. "If you are serious about being a healer, we have extra beginner courses available for everyone from students in 4th year of the academy to genin and chunin that are looking to gain a new skill. Which days work for you?"

"Oh, uh, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I have dance on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For extra exercise."

"Very good, it's always a good idea to keep in shape." Yae Aoki pulled a slim pamphlet from one of the piles of paper on her desk and handed it to Aiko-nee-chan.

"This is our course catalogue. You should look for Comprehensive First Aid, since you are a beginner. If you complete the full course and pass the test at the end, you can add a certification to your file. But feel free to look at the other courses, to see what kind of medic-nin you want to be. This shouldn't affect you, but due to missions and the like, the schedule is very flexible, so if something comes up just let us know as you can switch out one day for another day. It also means that there's a decent amount of self-study. How are your grades at the academy?"

Aiko shrank back down in her seat. "…not good."

"Kaa-san said that boys don't like girls that are too smart," I piped up. This part hadn't been rehearsed. Tomi had been more willing to side-eye Kaa-san as she got older, but Aiko still held Kaa-san up as the authority on womanhood and being a wife. "Is that true?"

Yae Aoki's eyes softened. "Oh honey," she said. "Are there some boys that don't like smart girls? Yes. But," and she reached out to hold Aiko-nee-san's hand. "Those boys? They aren't worth a moment of your time."

"But…" Aiko sounded lost.

"Think of it this way honey: why do you think those boys don't like smart girls?"

Aiko screwed up her face. I don't think she'd ever thought about it before. Kaa-san's word was law after all, and you didn't question the law.

"I, I don't know."

"Well," Yae-san said. "In my experience, they don't like smart girls because smart girls make the boys feel less smart. Now, does that sound like the sort of thing a good boy does?"

"No… it doesn't." The gears were starting to turn in Aiko-nee's head.

"Doesn't sound like the kind of thing a strong ninja cares about either," I said.

"Oh goodness no," said Yae-san as she laughed. "In fact, I would call it downright weak."

"Really?" asked Aiko-nee.

"Oh, absolutely. If something as small as someone else being smarter is enough to make them dislike that person, then they must be weak. What else would you call someone who only likes people that they think are less than them?"

Yae Aoki leaned down to look deep into Aiko-nee-san's eyes.

"Never make yourself lesser to make someone else like you. If they can't handle you at your best? Then they don't deserve you. Okay?"

Aiko sniffled, then smiled.

"Okay!"

…I don't think anyone had ever told Aiko-nee-san that before. I felt a brief surge of hatred for my new mom and dad, before correcting it to the whole society. Everything that told little girls here that their only worth was in the husbands they managed to snag. Everything that told little girls like my sweet sister to make herself small in order to appeal to little boys.

Fuck the patriarchy.

The meeting concluded with Yae Aoki telling Aiko-nee-san that if she completed Comprehensive First Aid with a certificate and raised her grade, she would make sure that Aiko would be allowed into the medic-nin program. Aiko agreed, with stars in her eyes.

The whole way home she went over every single class option in the pamphlet, even the ones she wasn't really interested in, like the one on being a surgical assistant.

Kaa-san met us at the door, worry emanating from every pore. As Aiko-nee-san ran to her at the door with a bright smile, I watched as Kaa-san's shoulders relaxed.

I didn't agree with some, or possibly even most of her parenting decisions, but she did love us.

Aiko-nee-san's good mood lasted through dinner, and in between eating she repeated everything she told us on the way home to Kaa-san and Tou-san. Tou-san seemed happy that Aiko-nee had returned to her cheerful self, but I saw Kaa-san surpressing winces when Aiko-nee mentioned the more gory options, like being a mortician.

I wasn't sure what that meant for my own chances. Well, nothing for it but to try, or else I'd procrastinate and never do it.

As dinner and Aiko-nee were winding down, I piped up.

"Hey, Kaa-san, Tou-san?"

"Yes sweetie?" Tou-san said.

"I've been thinking about what I want to do as a ninja too."

"Oh, do you want to be a medic-nin too?"

"Maybe…" Probably not, but I was still going to try it out. "But actually, when I was talking to Yuuma-san, I asked about Jounin teams- I mean like when a Jounin takes a team of graduates because they might turn into Jounin, not teams of Jounin."

"Oh, do you think Yuuma would be able to get you onto one of those teams? That would show Kato-san," Kaa-san said, referring to one of her many rivals. Kato-san had the distinction of the mother of the only boy who had gotten on a jounin-track team. I'm not sure if he was dropped or not, but I think he was a chunin now at least.

"Actually, he mentioned there's a secret way to get a spot," here's to hoping Tomi-nee-san would go along with this. "Supposedly, the top girl and top boy are guaranteed a spot on a team together."

"Really?" asked Kaa-san.

"Yeah! And considering that that top boy will almost certainly be from a clan…"

"How perfect," said Kaa-san.

"Hold on," said Tou-san. "Hana, I know you've always been smart, but being top girl… That will be hard. The academy is a lot bigger than preschool was, and there are clan girls too."

"I won't know unless I try," I said. "And I think I can do it." I should be able to regarding academics at least. The issue was regarding physical skills.

"Alright," said Tou-san, seeing that I would not be moved. "Just remember, it's okay to not be the best. We will support you either way, even if you struggle."

"Thanks Tou-san," I said. "Although, something that might be helpful…"

"Yes?"

"In order to be top girl, I'll need to have top physical grades too," I saw Kaa-san begin to wince, and hurriedly added, "-don't worry, I have a plan!" Kaa-san pursed her lips but let me continue. "You remember some of the dances we did with props? In class?" I asked.

They nodded. "Well, a lot of those dance props, like the fans, can also be used as weapons. And I asked Yuuma-san, and if you know a weapon you can get extra credit for your physical grade."

"I'm not sure I like the thought of you fighting," said Kaa-san. "What if they decide that since you know how to fight, you should be out fighting? It's dangerous out there, what if they send you to the Land of Lightning? Or kami forbid, the Land of Water? Better to stay in Konoha, where it's safe." Until it isn't Kaa-san. But she had no idea what the future could hold.

"I think you are thinking of worst case senarios," I said. "Weapons like fans are rarely used for pitched battle. They're more like weapons of last resort, so it wouldn't make that much of a difference." That I knew of. Who knew in Naruto's hellscape. "If that is what you are worried about, what if I learned archery? They wouldn't send an archer to the Land of Water, it's too misty to shoot. And since archery is a distance weapon, I couldn't be put in the front." Now I was talking out my ass.

"Still," Kaa-san said. "What would any boys think? Being able to use weapons is unattractive, you know."

"Being able to use weapons is unattractive to civilian boys," I said. "I know at least one ninja clan is descended from samurai clans, and they prefer their women to be able to use weapons, right? I think ninja clans are closer to samurai clans than civilian clans." Regardless of how offended the samurai would be to hear that comparison.

Kaa-san opened her mouth, but Tou-san reached over and patted her hand. "Lets talk about this later," he said to her. "Hana, we'll let you know what we decide, okay?"

"Okay." Well, I tried.

"Umm," said Aiko-nee-san. We looked at her. She cringed a little, but steeled her spine. "Wh-when I was at my interview, Yae-sama told me something. She said that if a boy couldn't handle my best, he was too much of a coward to be worth me. Maybe it's the same with weapons?"

Kaa-san looked uncertain, but Tou-san smiled at her. "Maybe it is, Aiko. Thank you. Now, I think it's time to clean up."

He got up and started picking up dishes. We all followed his lead, grabbing what we always did and heading after him.

I lingered behind, staying next to Aiko-nee. When neither Kaa-san nor Tou-san could hear me, I whispered, "Thanks," to her.

"No problem," she whispered back.

Tomi-nee bumped my shoulder. "Hey, if they don't go for it, I can see if I can sneak you some things," she whispered.

"Tomi!" hissed Aiko-nee-san. Tomi smiled and rolled her eyes at her.

We walked into the kitchen to set our dishes down, then headed back to the dining table. As we did, I reached out to squeeze my sisters' hands. They squeezed back.

…I really got lucky this time around when it came to sisters, didn't I.

Chapter Text

After the first eventful few days, the academy calmed down. Kids started understanding what this “school” thing was, and we could start having actual lessons. I quickly distinguished myself as one of the students that actually knew what the fuck they were doing and was probably at a higher level than the rest of the class. I didn’t get any offers to skip ahead (not that I would have taken them) but I wasn’t certain if that was because I was civilian born or some other reason.

Once the first week was done they started letting me participate in PE, so I was able to argue my way into wearing hakama rather than a kimono, although it was still fancier than I would prefer for ninja academy. Asahi started hanging out with my friends, although like Sumire he was on the quiet side. Unlike Sumire though, I got the feeling that he was that way naturally, instead of due to family issues.

Rin… sort of hung out? He acted kind of like a semi-friendly feral cat in that he was just doing his own thing in the general vicinity but would hiss and leave if you paid attention to him.

Hiroshi was like, the sole extrovert of my friend group, and quickly gathered a group of friendly boys to roughhouse with during breaks.

Coming on the third week, we finally started something that I had been both looking forward to and dreading: the kunoichi classes.

That Monday, I waved goodbye to Asahi and Hiroshi, then headed towards the special classroom that was also used for art and music with Sumire.

It was set up like normal, nothing unusual so far. I looked around for a good place to sit when I noticed a figure sitting hunched over in the far corner. She looked like…

“Wait, Rin?! -san, Rin-san,” I said.

Rin cringed as Sumire and I made our way over to her. “I thought you were a boy,” I said as I set my stuff down in the seat next to her.

“I wish I was,” grumbled Rin. “Then I wouldn’t have to do any of this dumb stuff. And why are you sitting next to me!?”

“Because I know full well that whoever the sensei is, they are going to insist that we have at least two seat partners, and I would rather sit next to someone I know.” It was a thing that I’d noticed in my two weeks so far: the academy went ham on the teamwork angle. Everyone had seat partners, and if for some reason a person was missing one of theirs, the sensei of that class would rather have two groups of four than one group of two. “Unless you have someone you’re waiting for?” I asked Rin.

“I… no, it’s fine,” she, said. “I just- I don’t see why I have to do these dumb girl classes. I’m going to be a fighting ninja, I don’t need to know how to do flower arranging or dumb stuff like that.”

“Probably in case your captain needs to send you a message encoded in flowers or something,” I said. “Although I agree it’s kinda dumb. If this is important for us to know, then everyone should be taking the classes, not just the girls.”

Rin gave a dismissive snort and then turned away. I turned to Sumire and asked if she wanted the middle seat or if she was good where she was. She was fine, so I stayed.

Class was… honestly boring. It was clearly new information for most of the students here, but as a graduate of a kindergarten that specialized in teaching this sort of thing, I already knew all of it. I ended up daydreaming away most of the class I wasn’t required to participate in, and Sumire and Rin did the same.

“Kami, that was so boring,” complained Rin as we left, Sumire humming in agreement. “I bet real ninja never use that knowledge.”

“You mean purely combat ninja,” I said.

“Yeah, real ninja,” said Rin. I rolled my eyes at her.

“I hope we learn something new soon,” said Sumire softly.

“I wish, but I wouldn’t count on it,” I said. “You saw how most of the other students were learning this for the first time.”

Sumire sighed. I patted her shoulder in commiseration.

And thus ended my first kunoichi class.

…

My day turned around once I headed home. I’d taken to helping Aiko-nee with her studying, mostly by making and running her through flash cards, but Kaa-san had banned us from doing that at the dinner table after the third time.

…maybe we shouldn’t have been discussing medical terminology when we were eating. It could get kinda gross.

Once dinner was done Tou-san asked for everyone to stay in the dining area instead of going off to do our own things like normal.

“Why? Is there something happening?” Aiko asked.

“Ooo, is this about dance?” Tomi asked. “Try-outs are coming up.”

“No, no, not quite,” said Tou-san with a smile. “There’s two things actually. First,” he looked at me and Tomi. “I talked with Nanami-sensei about dancing weapons, and she confirmed that several of the props you use can be weapons. As such, we have agreed to let you two get extra weapons training in the dance props you are best at. Tomi, you’ll get training in fans. Hana, you’ll get training in using the umbrella.”

The umbrella? It was what I was best at, true. Combat-wise I saw it as more of a shield, which was useful, although I’d prefer to just not get hit in the first place. I was honestly more surprised that there was someone in the village who knew enough about using an umbrella as a weapon and was trusted enough to teach children. I thought they were used more by Rain or Mist.

Well, this was Konoha, home of the thief eyes.

I glanced over at Tomi-nee-san, who seemed delighted by the news as well. All things considered, maybe I could make a deal with her to train her in the umbrella if she’d teach me the fan.
Although… it was surprising that Kaa-san was okay with this. I’d have thought she’d be more virulently against anything combative. Maybe Nanami-sensei said something to her?

I glanced over at Kaa-san, who seemed oddly happy.

Well, okay.

“Thank you Tou-san!” both Tomi and I said. “Thank you Kaa-san!”

Tou-san chuckled at us, then turned to Aiko. “Aiko, I don’t know if you are interested in weapons training. If you are, I can also see about something for you to learn.”

Aiko-nee-san considered it for a moment, then shook her head. “Thanks Tou-san,” she said. “But I want to focus on learning healing right now.”

“Of course,” Tou-san said. Then he leaned over and put a hand around Kaa-san. “Now, onto our second announcement.”

“I’m pregnant!” Kaa-san burst out. “You’re getting a new sibling!”

Aiko-nee-san gasped. “Congratulations!” she said.

“Nice,” said Tomi-nee.

“…what?” I asked, before be jostled as Aiko-nee ran past me to hug Kaa-san. Kaa-san returned the hug with full joy, before both of them started speaking at once, Tou-san looking on with a soft smile.

Tomi-nee-san jostled me with a shoulder. “Guess you won’t be the baby of the family anymore Hana-chan,” she joked. “Don’t worry, you’ll still be my favorite sibling, at least until the new one can hold a conversation.”

I gave her a bewildered look, not certain how to describe my feelings.

I thought that Kaa-san and Tou-san were done having children! Not that I had anything against a new baby. It was just… all of my siblings were old enough to be adults, or at least fully-fledged ninja by the time “canon” came around. But a new baby…

I added up the years in my head. The new baby would be about 7-8 years old when “canon” started, 11-12 years old when Shippuden happened.

An academy student during the time period Konoha was most likely to be invaded.

Oh fuck.

Chapter Text

I had trouble sleeping that night. My mind kept wandering through what ifs and could bes. I'd mostly put the future, or at least the village's future out of my mind since I'd gotten proof that Inoichi was actively working on making it better. After all, I was currently six and an academy student. What could I do aside from what I'd already done?

But an unknown sibling… someone too young to properly take care of themselves… I didn't know if I'd be able to protect them.

Worse, what if it was a younger sister? I'd already butted heads with my parents regarding learning combat skills. They'd absolutely be against a baby girl learning anything and I didn't think I knew enough to be able to teach them.

Well, yet. I didn't know enough to be able to teach them yet.

And if I kept on the path I was on, I wasn't certain if that would change.

I'd been… well, I wouldn't call it lax, but I would call it content. Content to work within the bounds that my parents had set out since I'd gotten out of the hospital.

That wasn't going to work going forward.

I needed ways to get training outside of what my parents knew about. Official ways were out. My parents were watching me like a hawk. But unofficial ways…

I needed to talk to Hiroshi.

…

"Uh, yeah, I've been taking kenjutsu lessons for like, over a year now," Hiroshi said. "Since I was five."

"Awesome," I said. "Do you think you could give me a few pointers? I think learning to swing a katana sounds super cool."

"Heck yeah it's cool. Yeah, I guess I could show you a few things," Hiroshi said with a smirk as he stuck his nose in the air.

"Yes!" I fist pumped. I didn't even care that this was going straight to Hiroshi's ego. I was going to learn kenjutsu.

"Katanas are cool," Rin agreed as she wandered over. "Say, when are you thinking about doing these pointers?"

"Why, you interested?" Hiroshi shot back.

"Hmm, maybe," Rin said, trying to play cool.

I looked at her, then at my friends. I hadn't really thought about how my current friends would grow into true ninja yet. After all, we had 6 years to figure that out. But… I knew Rin was determined, and I didn't know what options she had for extra training. This could make a world of difference for her.

Also, the more jounin potential ninja that graduated, the safer Konoha and by extension my sibling would be.

"I don't mind if you join, as long as Hiroshi is okay with it," I said. "Hiroshi?"

"Well, I guess I could," said Hiroshi smugly.

"Hey!" said Rin. "I don't need charity!"

I rolled my eyes at her. "Not charity," I said. "Hiroshi, what would we need for lessons?"

"Huh?"

"Like, what equipment would we need? What do you use when you take your lessons?"

"Oh, uhhhh…"

"I'm guessing we would need practice swords?"

"Right!"

I looked over at Rin. "My parents will not be okay with me learning kenjutsu so we'll need to keep this quiet. But if you're joining… it will be easier to disguise what's going on. If I help you buy the practice sword, will you let me use it? You could keep it otherwise. That way, we both learn and my parents don't find out."

"So what? You give me money and I get the sword?"

I paused. "Well, I'm not sure how much money a practice sword would be. My plan was to open a tea stand or lemonade stand and claim I was gonna give most of the money to charity or something."

Both of them looked at me. "What?" I asked. "I would give some of the money to charity. Just not all of it."

"No, uh," Hiroshi said. "I just, didn't realize you could make money like that."

I shrugged at him. Suppose he never really thought about it.

"Anyways," I turned to Rin. "If you help me with the tea stand, we can just say that we're raising money for your education. It would even be true. My parents might be a bit annoying about though."

"Don't want you hanging out with the orphan?" she asked with a sneer.

"More like 'oh, our daughter is so kind, helping the less fortunate!' kind of thing, and I figure you'd probably hate that."

She scowled at me. "I bet you think that too."

I blinked at her. "What?"

"I bet you think of this as 'helping the less for-tyu-nate'."

"I just want better ninja for the village." I shrugged at her. "You clearly care a lot, so if I help you become a better ninja, you'll work hard."

"That's it?" Rin looked like she didn't believe me.

"Yes? Look, I don't know if you noticed, but I have people I care about living here. If Konoha has more good ninjas, then they are safer. That's all. Now, do you want in or not?"

I held out a hand to her.

Rin stared at me for a long hard moment.

Then she took my hand and we shook.

…

It was surprisingly easy to get permission from the school to host the tea stand outside the school door in the mornings and evenings before school started and after it ended. I would have thought that there'd been paperwork to fill out, but instead after having me explain it two times they just sorta had me have my parents call to prove that I had permission to do this.

Maybe… maybe this was a new concept here?

I hadn't thought that "child sells things for money" would be a new concept all things considered but…

Oh, wait. Children did work at their parent's stores all the time for money. It was opening up a whole independent stand that was the new thing. Why would kids open up a stand if they could probably just get more having a part time job for mom and dad?

Except I didn't want my parents to know how much money I was making and how much I had to spend. Hence, the tea stand.

My parents were happy to give permission and let me use some of the tea leaves that weren't as good quality. They joked that I was following in the family footsteps. Aiko-nee-san was also happy, and said that she would help out if she had time.

Tomi-nee I had to explain things to. But once she figured it out, she just grinned and told me that if Rin and I wanted fan lessons she might be persuaded to share.

I told her thanks, but maybe she should actually get some of those fan lessons first.

She laughed.

And then the first day of the stand rolled around.

I got there super early in the morning with Aiko and Tomi. Aiko complained about losing beauty sleep, but they still helped me set up.

It was pretty simple, just a blanket spread out on the ground, a giant jug of water that we filled up at the school and put hot rocks in, and a sign. The sign read Tea Sale for Impoverished Youth, 1 cup for 200 Ryo. I didn't actually know the kanji for "impoverished", but Aiko did.

We had just finished placing out the first few cups of tea when Rin showed up. I noticed her walking over awkwardly, like she was trying to strut but was stilted. Behind her followed two boys, who, based on their clothing, were also orphans.

"Rin?" I asked. "Who are your friends?"

"This is Kaito and Riku, they'll be helping out," she said.

"Uh, Rin? That wasn't in the agreement," I said.

"Hey, Rin said you were raising money for orphans," said the boy I thought was Kaito.

"Yeah, and we're orphans, so we want in," said probably-Riku.

"Excuse me?" Aiko-nee-san said, and I winced at her protective tone. "I don't know what you were told, but the agreement-"

"Aiko-nee-san!" I interrupted her. "Thank you, but I think it would be best if we had a teacher here. Could you get Kobayashi-sensei, please?" I asked, emphasizing Kobayashi-sensei's name. "She should be in room 1-2."

She rocked back and forth on her heels, clearly unsure.

"I'll make sure things stay okay," Tomi-nee-san said.

Aiko looked at Tomi for a moment, then gave an "I'm-watching-you" look at the three orphans before heading into the school building.

I watched her go into the building before sighing and turning back to the three.

"Sorry about that," I said with a practiced smile. "Kaito and Riku, right? Would you mind explaining to me what exactly you think is going on?"

The boys shifted nervously, before probably-Riku said, "Um, you're selling tea and with the money you're buying cool ninja stuff?"

"That's… close but not quite it," I said. "Rin and I have an agreement where we will use the money we make from selling tea to buy her a bokken, with the understanding that I will also be able to use it. I'm doing this because my family, sans my sister Tomi here, doesn't want me to learn how to wield a sword, and this is a good way of hiding it, and also because I think that Rin will be a great ninja if she works hard.

"Now, I don't mind helping other kids," I continued. "But my agreement with Rin comes first. If I let you two join, you need to understand that the money will first go to a bokken. If there is extra money, then we can decide as a Group what it will be spent on. Okay?"

"O-okay," they agreed.

I sighed. Hopefully this would be for the best, because honestly the more well-trained ninja the safer my family and new sibling would be.

"Now Rin," I said, turning to her. "I understand that you want to help your friends and other orphans, and I'm okay with that. But it's really not nice to change agreements without asking after they have been made. People will think you aren't trustworthy if you do that.

"Also, now that you have made it clear that other people can join- which again, I am okay with- that means that we need to come up with what we are going to do to make sure that it is fair to everyone, and that if someone joins to try and steal the money or something, they can't do that. That's why I'm getting Kobayashi-sensei. That way, if someone tries to break the agreement, she can be a witness. I also think that she should hold whatever money we make so no one can take it. Alright?"

"Fine," she said sullenly, but I saw her shoulders relax.

That was when Aiko-nee-san returned with Kobayashi-sensei, who looked suspiciously between all of us.

"Thank you, Aiko-nee-san," I said. "And thank you, Kobayashi-sensei. We've come to an agreement, I think, if you wouldn't mind being a witness?"

Kobayashi-sensei nodded, still suspicious, but relaxed as I explained what we decided, and nobody looked upset.

"Is it only you four?" she asked.

"For now," I said. "Honestly, we need to think up if and how we decide to let others join. Ah, but people are starting to come. Rin, Kaito, Riku, mind shelving this until lunch time? We need to start selling the tea now."

They nodded, and I gave them a genuine smile before putting my customer service smile on and getting ready for the day.

Chapter Text

During lunch all four of us talked to Kobayashi-sensei and came up with some base rules. I got a few weird looks for insisting that we have some kind of sign in sheet that said who was working whatever shift, and an inventory checking system so that people wouldn't steal from us, but I just argued that some older kids like the ones who'd tried to fight us earlier might try to mess things up otherwise. They seemed to accept that at least.

The first day selling tea was okay. I got the feeling that people just didn't quite know what to make of what we were doing, but they were still willing to participate.

Second day was better. People were starting to see this child run tea station as something that could actually either help people or looked good enough socially they were willing to toss a few coins to us for the bragging rights.

Things were best that first week, and then started going a little downhill second week. At the end of the second week, we gathered what we had earned and set off for the weapons district. After shopping around and introducing the orphans to the concept of "look around and see where the prices are different and what's good versus bad", we managed to acquire a decent second-hand bokken that probably wouldn't break, with some money left over.

And that brought up the question of what to do with the extra money. I suggested that Kaito and Riku be the ones to decide as Rin and I had gotten what we wanted out.

"Ooo, could we get armor?" Riku asked.

"Or maybe poison!" Kaito suggested.

"That might be a bit too expensive," I said, as Rin practiced swinging around her new bokken. "Also I'd recommend something that you can use over and over again, not something that you can run out of."

"So like, an axe or something?"

"Ummm," I said. "Okay, what do you think you will do as a ninja when you're a grown-up?"

"Beat up enemy ninja!" they chorused in near unison.

"Right, and what is not very expensive and will help you with that?"

They looked blankly at me.

…Right, that might have been a bit too high level for their age. I sighed. "Okay, look: it's getting late and we can come back tomorrow. Why don't we all go home, and you two can make lists of what you think will make your training better? Then we can meet up again and look at our options."

They nodded, perhaps a little sullenly that they weren't getting new toys right this instant, but understanding.

With that, we separated for the night and went back home.

…

After a very nice morning wherein I did not have to wake up early to go sell tea, I headed to school to find Rin hanging out by the school entrance as usual. Unusually she seemed stiffer than normal.

"Rin-san?" I asked as I came up to her.

She jumped and looked up at me, and I was startled to see that it looked like she had been crying.

"Rin-san? What's wrong?"

Rin stared at me, frozen, before suddenly dashing off.

"Rin-san?!"

I ran after her, but Rin, who was actually allowed to run when outside of school, ran faster. After stopping to catch my breath, I gave it up. Besides, if Rin didn't want to talk to me? I knew where all her friends were supposed to be. I even had an excuse: Kaito and Riku were supposed to think about what they could buy with the remaining money.

…

Kaito and Riku were together as normal. From what they'd told me while we were selling tea together, they'd been dropped off at the orphanage on the same day and had been inseparable ever since. In mornings when they didn't sell tea, they liked to play ninja in the main courtyard.

I waited until there was a lull in the game to approach the two boys. Riku spotted me first and startled, which made Kaito notice me. They both looked a bit sheepish.

"Excuse me?" I asked. "I just saw Rin-san, but she ran off crying. Is she okay?"

"Errr…" Kaito seemed a bit nervous. "Well…"

"One of the ladies at the orphanage…" Rin said. "She ah, got upset when Rin brought the sword back. She thought that Rin stole it?"

"Even though she didn't!" Kaito burst out. "We even showed her the ree-ceipt but Shimizu-san ripped it up without looking at it! It's so unfair!"

"And she took the sword," Rin finished. "So… I dunno how the lessons will work. I think Rin thinks you'll be upset at her or something."

"Oh wow," I said. "Yikes. Okay. Well. First of all, please let Rin-san know that I'm not going to blame her because an adult did something stupid. And we should talk so we can figure out how to get the sword back."

The boys looked relieved and ran off, saying that they were going to find her.

I sighed. I really should have checked with the orphanage matron before I made the deal with Rin, but I guess I just didn't think about it. This world, or perhaps I should say this village, was so free with it's children that I just didn't think about it. Well. You live you learn.

Now to see how I could salvage this plan.

…

After talking it over and school had finished, Rin, Kaito, Riku, Kobayashi-sensei, and I headed out. Hiro, Sumire, and Asahi also wanted to come along, but that would have been a bit too big of a crowd, and I wasn't sure if Rin would be okay confronting one of her caretakers with a crowd of classmates watching her, so I politely declined.

Our first stop was the store where we got the bokken.

The shopkeeper looked a bit concerned when he saw an adult with us.

"Excuse me," he said. "Has there been a problem? I can assure you our wares are top-notch."

"Oh, please don't worry, we have no problem with the bokken," I assured him. "Rather, Rin-san was accused of stealing it, and the lady destroyed the receipt. We were wondering if it would be possible to get a replacement receipt or some other proof we bought it fairly?"

He blinked. "Huh, that's a first. I have my copy of the receipt, but I need that for my own files."

"Okay," I said. "Well, is there any way we can get like, a signed statement that yes, you sold us the bokken fair and square? Or something like that?"

"Well, I suppose so," he said. "Let me get a sheet of paper."

"Thank you, shopkeeper-san."

As he rummaged around his desk, I noticed everyone staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Is… is that just a thing you can do?" Rin asked. "Just… ask and have people do things for you?"

"I mean yeah? As long as you ask nicely and it's not too much of a bother, most people will be happy to help you. Although," I looked down at myself. "I suppose it helps that I'm dressed nicely. People treat nicely dressed people better."

"Huh." I wasn't sure why it looked like this was some kind of grand revelation for my companions, but frankly I had other things to think about.

The shopkeeper finished writing his declaration that yes he sold us the bokken and off we went to the orphanage.

…

"What do you want," the lady I thought was Shimizu-san said as she met us at the door. She looked… stressed. Her hair seemed a bit greasy near her scalp where it was pulled back into a ponytail, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

"Excuse me," I said politely. "I helped my friend Rin-san buy a bokken, but apparently it was taken from her? I have proof that it was bought fairly, can she have it back?"

"I don't have it," she said. "I gave it to the police as evidence. Show them your proof." Then she shut the door.

I blinked, and turned to Rin, Riku, and Kaito. "Is she okay?" I asked.

Riku shrugged. "She's been really upset lately. I heard it had something to do with her father getting attacked?"

"Really?" Rin asked.

"Yeah, I heard the lunch ladies talking about it."

"Well, that sucks for her, but it doesn't give her an excuse to be mean like that," I said. "Now, before we go to the police station, tell me: is Shimizu-san the head of the orphanage?"

"No, that's Granny Tanaka," Kaito said. "Why?"

"I think that Tanaka-san should know what happened. That way, if Shimizu-san tries something tonight, Tanaka-san can stop it."

"Oh."

…

We had a quick conversation with Tanaka-san, an older woman with plenty of laugh lines, through the kitchen window as she helped cook dinner for the orphans. Tanaka-san apologized for Shimizu-san, and told Rin that she could have the bokken, but it needed to be locked up safely after dinner and she was responsible for making sure nobody got hurt playing with it.

Then we headed to the police station.

It was a bit off a mess trying to get the bokken from there; apparently the written confirmation wasn't good enough and they needed an actual receipt. So we ended up waiting in the main room while they sent a younger-looking Uchida to get confirmation from the shopkeeper directly.

While we were waiting, I decided to ask Riku and Kaito what they wanted to buy, which turned into quite a discussion.

"I still think armor would be super cool," Riku said. "Even if it's a really small, cheap piece."

I hummed and agreed. "Armor is cool. But if you think about it, the armor you could get right would be sized for six-year-old you. Can you imagine one of the big kids wearing a six-year-old sized piece of armor?"

Riku made a face as Kaito laughed.

"You should do it," Rin said as she grinned over at Riku. He stuck his tongue out at her and she stuck her's out back.

"Alright, alright," I said. "Now, maybe it's just me, but I like things that can help you learn new skills or improve yourself. Like maybe a weight so you get stronger or a dull kunai you can practice throwing. Does that make sense?"

Riku and Kaito nodded glumly. We didn't have that much money left over, so they seemed a bit disappointed in how limited their choices were.

That was when one of the Uchiha policeman stopped in front of us, holding Rin's bokken.

"Kobayashi Rin-san?" he asked. "We were able to confirm your statement. I believe this is yours."

He held out the bokken and Rin grabbed it.

"Yes, it is! Finally!" she said as she hugged it.

I waited a moment, then coughed into my hand. "Rin, what do we say when someone gives us something?" I prompted.

"Oh! Thank you officer-san."

I nodded and got off the chair to bow. "Yes, thank you for your hard work officer-san."

"You're welcome," he said. "And you're free to go."

We all said goodbye then headed out. Rin, Riku, and Kaito split off to head back to the orphanage, while Kobayahi-sensei and I headed back to my house. I wasn't sure if Kobayashi-sensei was actually okay with walking me back, but it was the only way that my sisters would allow me to go try and help Rin after school.

We were quiet as we walked. Kobayashi-sensei didn't start anything, and I had nothing to say. We made it to the front door unmolested.

As she knocked on the door, I turned to Kobayahi-sensei. "Thank you for your help today," I said.

"I didn't really do anything," she said.

"Yes, but just by being there you made it so that they had to take us seriously."

"Ah. Well, you're welcome."

That was when Mom opened the door, which stopped any potential conversation quite firmly.

At dinner I told my family what had happened, and they all were gratifyingly pissed at Shimizu-san for taking Rin's bokken. It was nice.

I had a hard time falling asleep that night. At last, everything had been arranged. I could finally start learning to wield a sword.