Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“It’s all here.” She says.

Her hands tremble and she can see that he can see as she determinedly clench's them into the fabric of her stained work shirt. She works several menial labor jobs in Konoha, waitress, maintenance, maid, cleaner. It’s how she makes ends meet.

And how shes amassed a portfolio of damning evidence against Konoha. 

Everyone overlooks a sensitive civilian, a civilian girl especially, even other civilians and especially Shinobi. Even civilian girls with weird ideas about life and reincarnation she learned to be quiet about. So confident they are in their own jutsu they forget the workers who make the world go round.

The only exception to this rule had been the Uchiha military police force. Nothing happened in this village without them knowing, or at least suspecting. Which posed a problem for the dozen of corrupt elders in the village councils, all the way up to the highest council that supports the Hokage directly.

Her rather average, albeit slightly cute face helps. Plain enough to blend into any crowd she desires, with just enough appeal to ease social conversations. It was a face made for infiltration, information gathering. The many skills she had learned in her desperate quest to survive as an clanless orphan in a hidden village helped too. 

The one skill that assisted her most was her sensory abilities. It was a double edged sword. The difference in being a sensor from a normal person was active vs passive environmental chakra reading. Her sensory abilities meant the Kyubbi chakra had crippled her as a toddler, made medical ninjutsu difficult to use on her, and made her vulnerable to killing intent. But it meant she had an uncanny ability to read people and be aware of her surroundings. 

Perfect for information gathering. 

She can see the Last Uchiha pause. His eyes rake over her form and she can see him trying to place her, his face shows hints of confusion, caution. His chakra is nervous, grieved, but courteous.

It's among the most beautiful, kindest chakra signatures she's ever felt.

How can anyone have such chakra after what he's been through? 

“Say your piece.” He says, curt but kind.

Like his father had been.

His body language is tense, but his eyes are cool and curious. He eye’s the fuuinjutsu scroll in her hands and she is suddenly made aware that it looks vaguely like she's handing over a love letter. 

“No, Uchiha-sama,” she say abruptly, the honorifics startling him if his jerk is anything to go by. Most people probably call him Sasuke-kun and ignore his clan name entirely, and if they acknowledge it, call him Uchiha-san. “This is not a love confession.” 

He blushes.

She can feel his embarrassment and curiosity spike and she find herself biting her lip to suppress a smile, something she never thought would happen when she rehearsed this conversation. It’s rather bright against his pale skin, and she is painfully reminded about how young they both are as her unoccupied hand tears a little hole into her threadbare work-shirt. 

“This is something much worse unfortunately.”

He's now apprehensive. 

The sad smile that takes over her face isn’t something she can help. She had met with and gotten along very well with his family members when she had been a little girl, including his father. They had saved her from the seedier members of Konoha several times, protected her when no parents could. 

“Haruno-san is at the main gate." she informs him, being able to pick out her signature among the others. "You might want to take another gate to exit.” she says, as she tries to gather her thoughts and explain the contents of this scroll.

“Are you one of her friends?” He asks. She's surprised he’s still here, looking down at the fuuinjutsu scrolls filled with papers that would have the both of them spend the rest of their lives in T & I.

“We’ve met. But I’m actually here to repay a debt to the Uchiha clan.”

Now that gets his attention. 

His chakra spikes, his eyes widen and turn red, a childish rainbow of emotions cross his face and chakra-surprise, grief, sadness, love . He is roughly two years younger than her and it shows. His hands tighten on the strap of his mission bag, a clever disguise for someone who is planning on becoming a missing-nin. 

“The Uchiha police force were very kind to me when I was young. You're father in particular. He saved my life actually.” She laughs quietly at the understatement.

He blinks rapidly.

“But even If I hadn’t owed a life debt to the Uchiha I would still be here with this information. I…just can’t stand back and do nothing, and I don’t understand how everyone else can!”

His face is the most vulnerable she's ever seen. Which is admittedly not many times. She hadn’t gone to the shinobi academy with him, and there would be no reason for a genin to be rubbing shoulders with the working class of Konoha. 

“Every second that goes by without justice for the Uchiha clan is another second where Konoha is stained from its failure. You-you’re right to do whatever you can to get revenge for your clan!” She says, barely suppressing her shout. 

His mouth is open slightly in shock. But she is expressing thoughts that have been struggling to burst forth for years. 

“The Uchiha clan delivered justice for so many in this village, and now the village refuses to help you achieve justice for your family! I-I know I can’t do much compared to a shinobi, but…” she trails off. 

He looks at her like she's the rising sun.

Has anyone ever comforted this boy? 

Said he was right to seek revenge for his family? 

She recalls the encounter with Sakura before she had distracted her and slipped away. How she said she was trying to prevent a friend from making a mistake as she served Sakura her order of melatonin spiked green tea. If she was still awake, she wouldn’t be for very much longer. She tries to suppress her guilt for probably taking away the chance for Uchiha-sama to say goodbye to his team-mate, even if it helped him in the long run. So many people already made choices for him, she didn't want to be one of them. 

She recalls the muttered whispers that followed the boy everywhere he went, how they said it ‘was only a matter of time’ how he should ‘just move on’ as if he didn’t walk back to the empty Uchiha compound every night on the edge of the village that everyone was so determined to ignore. The way that Naruto boy was so quick to forgive unrepentant citizens and expect his teammate to do the same, the way his sensei eyes his student like a bomb ready to go off, pity and wariness in equal measures reflected in his one visible eye. 

“...It’s more than anyone else has ever done.” Sasuke whispers softly. His eyes have gone soft, and an almost unnoticeable smile pulls at his face. She feels his gratitude, his conflicted chakra settle further into determination, and it takes her breath away. “What do you have for me?”

She stills carefully.

Take a deep breath. 

“In this scroll.” She begins, hands shaking but voice firm. “Is evidence and speculation I’ve gathered over the years. I…have reason to believe that the Konoha elders were involved in the Uchiha Massacre.”

His bag drops.

So does his jaw.

His Chakra writhes in pain.

His head shakes ‘no’ in horror, mouth forming silent words.

“Read it!” she insists, begs . Anger begins to color his face and she is made aware that this Uchiha boy is a powerful shinobi who will only get more powerful as his chakra lashes out in hurt, unintentionally overwhelming her fragile system. “Orochimaru no doubt has spies with him who can confirm this information and could tell you more!”

He shakes with rage.

At her, at the village, at his murderous brother.

All three of them?

“You.” He snarls. Chokes out rather. He pauses his hyperventilating. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He grits out. 

She's impressed with his restraint. 

“So confirm it! Investigate as the Uchiha police once had!” She cries out, hurt despite knowing she was lucky Uchiha-sama was even listening to her. “I wouldn’t say this for fun! I burn inside thinking of the injustice, I wish this wasn’t true. I live in terror over what the shinobi of this village are capable of and how helpless I am to do anything as a civilian. Helpless until now!” she says.

He is looking deeply at her, Sharingan on, having been on since she mentioned his family.

She noticed how people never really look him in the eye. 

She refuses to look away. 

“Your courage to leave the village inspired me to finally act on the information I’ve been collecting for years. This was a very hard decision for you to make. Despite not understanding what's happening, your teammate still cares about you, a-and I know how hard it is to be a lonely orphan.” She tries not to cry but tears slip out anyway.

She strikes them from her face. 

“You carry such a heavy weight for something not your fault. That Murderer should have been brought in immediately, but instead he’s still out there, somehow having escaped the world's strongest hidden village? Isn’t that suspicious?”

His face is petrified. 

He takes several deep breaths. 

He lets her approach with the scroll. He’s shorter than her by far, and can’t be any taller than 5’0. It makes her feel tall at her height of just under 5’4. Fugaku-sama had towered over most people. 

She hands over the scroll and he looks at it and her like he can find the secrets of the universe. 

“Fugaku-sama would be so proud of you. All of the Uchiha would be.” She says hoarsely, fighting back tears. “Every breath you take eases their spirits in the afterlife.” 

“I will achieve justice for my family.” He says finally. She can feel how the words barely form around the knot of love and grief in his heart, so close together the two emotions become one. He swallows heavily, tears in his sharingan eyes. Determination radiates from him. He is a person with motivations beyond the comprehension of most. 

She smiles.

“Of course you will.” Her faith and understanding in him makes his red eyes widen. “It’s in your blood.” 

Shock, and awe. His other hand removes itself from the bag strap and at first she thinks he will take the scroll in both hands, would go to knock her out, but instead he lays his hand on top of hers, over the scroll.

His hands are warm, as is common for fire users. They are calloused from training, and small in the way preteens usually are. 

They are gentle. 

She is unused to such gentleness. It feels good. She hold his hand gently as well.

“But after you get the truth out of that Murderer you might have to do some spring cleaning here in Konoha too.” She adds. 

He nods, Looking at the scroll like a holy scripture, and then giving her a similar look. It almost makes her shiver, but she keeps her shoulders straight and refuses to drop her gaze. 

“You will be hearing from me again. Thank you.” He whispers. 

Something flickers to life in her chest.

Is reflected on the face and chakra of Uchiha-sama.

Something they both thought dead.

Hope.

Chapter Text

“That boy has been following you since we left the village, Yume-chan.” Uzumi-baa chides pensively, her own sensory abilities flashing like the sun over clouds as she reaches out. Her blood-red hair is hidden by a scarf, fuuinjutsu sewn in with every stitch to stay on and hide her Uzumaki heritage. Yume knows this because Uzumi-baa had taught her all she knew about fuuinjutsu, and chakra sensing, because when Yume was a young girl, Uzumi-baa had helped to raise her along with her mother, aunt, and her own grandma, and had continued to help her after the death of her family. 

“I know…maybe sooner.” Yume admits, blushing. The idea that Uchiha-sama had been following her for the whole day and she hadn’t known was an oversight on her part. Yume wondered if he saw her fumbling from exhaustion, or had watched when her curiosity and wrath got the better of her, throwing a drink in the face of a customer who had spit on her co-worker.

Uzumi-baa’s wine-dark eyes flash in annoyance. 

And worry. 

“What have I taught you about sensing, girl?” She snaps, “Surely you could feel his powerful chakra? And feel the tainted twisting of that accursed seal on his shoulder? You’re normally sharper than this.”

“I am, it’s just…it’s overwhelming.” Yume trails off. Today is the anniversary after all. If she took the other way back she’d go right past it. 

Uzumi-baa frowns deeper. Most of her kindness died with Uzugakure decades ago, but some of it remained in the way she had helped Yume’s Nine-tail attack corroded coils by putting fuuinjutsu on each of her tenketsu, and helping Yume with that Karin girl she meet during Konoha’s chunin exams over a year ago now.

“Are your seals acting up again with your growth spurts?” Uzumi-baa asks.

“That, and I’ve just been worried.” 

The paranoia of the past several months had been intense. Yume had pushed her senses to the max, the sheer amount of chakra information she got back from her surroundings making her slow and confused, and almost costing her jobs from all the mistakes she made. She was so sure Root with the cancerous feeling chakra seals in their throats or even just regular ANBU would whisk her away and torture her several floors underground in T & I before finally killing her. She even had nightmares of Orochimaru taking her away to experiment on after her chakra sensing caused her to stumble upon one of his underground labs, the tunnels under Konoha hidden to anyone who wasn’t a sensor or knew the fuuinjutsu to unlock them. 

The information she stole, over a period of six years, was enough to get herself and everyone she so much as smiled at during lunch rush not just tortured and executed but erased from existence. 

“Will you tell him more about yourself then? No doubt he is curious about you after all that. Today has already been a big day for you, will you be able to handle it?” Uzumi-baa inquires gruffly, and her small showing of kindness warms Yume’s heart. She had read most of what was in the scroll too, and approved of Yume’s actions. Uzumi-baa hated Konoha too, and was very firm on her suspicions that one of the several members on the council of elders had sold Uzugakure out. 

Which was another thing Yume needed to look for among the many documents she copied from Danzo’s root base, when she had snuck in and used Orochimaru’s invasion as a cover. The elder probably still thought it was Orochimaru who had stolen data and not her. 

Yume takes a deep, shaky, breath.

“I will. He deserves to know as much as he wants. Everyone is lying to him, and I don’t want to be one of them. And Uzumi-baa, after we talk, I’m going to send him your way.”

“Oh you are?” Uzumi-baa cackles at her gall. “Why?”

“Because…” Yume trails off, heart twisting from the implications. “Because I think he’s a latent sensor.” 

Uzumi-baa exhales sharply, mirth gone, and throws out her senses in a wave of chakra that feels like the sea to Yume, blankets her like she imagines a tide would. It reaches out to Uchiha-sama in the tree-line, who jolts minutely. It’s well hidden, and would take a sensor of Uzumi-baa’s caliber to feel, but without a doubt the last Uchiha’s chakra flowed the way a sensor’s did, suppressed under layers of breath-taking trauma. 

“Hm, that's the first bit of sense you’ve talked all day. Go to him.” She says, opening the door to her cottage, having Yume put down the things she helped carry. “Be careful girl. You poured your heart and soul into that sealing scroll, so that boy might know you better than anyone except me. This conversation will decide your future. Here”. Uzumi-baa gives Yume two copies of the two-way notebooks. 

Yume nods wordlessly, throat closing up at the words, and the priceless gifts. 

The cottage door closes, taking the light with it. 

She’s cloaked with the air of the setting sun, miles from Konoha, and normally Yume would be scared this close to her ruined home. 

But Uchiha-sama is here with her. 

He has leapt down from the tree in a lightning-enhanced motion so graceful and powerful it stuns her. He lands in a crouch not even a few feet in front of her, ever so careful not to startle her as he stands to his full height. He’s all gangly limbs and awkwardness that's typical for a young teenager.

He looks like hell.

Eye-bags, dull hair, covered in bruises, and clearly exhausted. Orochimaru is putting him through his paces. His chakra sings with rage, with grief, and wrath, a familiar mixture to Yume. She’s surprised Uchiha-sama is still sane after reading the contents of the scroll. 

 The now three tomed sharingan gleam in the dying light. His face and chakra are a ball of emotions, grief, anger, terror, hope, excitement, love. It’s overwhelming. 

She isn’t scared. 

“You’re not afraid. You look me in the eyes” He says. His voice is older now. He’s had a growth-spurt in the past several months, now standing equal with her instead.

Still so young. 

“No, Uchiha-sama. You said I would be hearing from you again and you keep your word…like the other Uchiha had.” Yume smiles sadly, fondness and grief warring. 

His hands clench.

He is carrying the scroll. 

“How? Why ?” his voice breaks. He shakes with emotion. When he notices Yume’s confusion and worry he pauses, then elaborates. “ Nobody else cared. Nobody else tried to help me, why you?” He says, gratitude and bitterness in his voice, the scroll pressed to his chest right over his heart, cradled like the priceless thing it was. Yume hopes to be held like that one day. 

Wordlessly, she gestures for him to follow her. 

They walk in silence, the air thick with emotion. He walks on the side closer to the dangerous woods, keeping her safe to his right and Yume’s eyes sting with grateful tears. Even now, he is kind. 

She can see him staring at her from the corner of her vision, his eyes drinking in every detail. His hand lifts like he is trying to reach out to her before jerking back, face almost childish. He blushes when she catches him in the act, arms going to hang stiffly at his side.

He looks at her like she hadn’t delivered him crushing information, an idea that upset Yume initially. She had wanted Uchiha-sama to look at her with the same fondness and friendliness the other Uchiha had, not suspicion, but had steeled herself for his reaction. 

But his expression and chakra is not that. 

No.

Instead he looks at her like she holds all the answers in the universe.

And that's worse. Because she wants to be equals with him, as impossible as that truly is due to his power. But why wouldn’t he look at her like that when she did in fact deliver him information that shattered and rebuilt his entire worldview? 

They pause in front of the charred homestead, halfway back to Konoha. Yume can see where the Chunin had struck down each individual family member, the memories seared and branded into her brain as if the crazed stalker had used his killing fire jutsu on her too.

“Today is the anniversary of when my family was murdered.” Yume says.

Uchiha-sama jolts, wide eyes flashing from her to the ruined home behind them. 

“The Uchiha had been kind to us when no one else was. My family settled in as farmers and then my mother had me later. I had no known father but we made it work. Eventually, a Konoha Chunin had become obsessed with my mother, an emotion that turned to anger when she didn’t return his feelings. He killed my family, and I barely made it to the gates in time to hail the Uchiha police. Officer Keiji saved me, and your father brought the chunin to justice.” Yume whispers, voice thick as tears begin to trail down her face, dropping from her chin and past her limply hanging arms.

A hand takes hers.

Yume is so startled that she can only watch with wide eyes as Uchiha-sama cradles her palm in his, his eyes gentle with understanding, potent chakra soft. 

He looks achingly like Mikoto-sama.

He pauses, looking unsure for a second as her brain struggles to catch up. His hand is warm, and now the same size as hers. It’s covered in calluses, minute scars, and ropes of strong muscles and tendons. 

A hand made for war, yet so gentle with hers. 

He goes to pull away as she fails to respond, but Yume’s brain finally catches up, and she cradles his back, her fingers sliding together perfectly with his, and his eyes widen before contentment crosses his face, like the sun peaking through clouds as he squeezes her hand back, strong, yet gentle. 

“You-why are you being so nice to me?” Yume asks, baffled even as she refuses to let go. “I was a stranger to you not very long ago. And I can’t say I know you very well either.”

He hums quietly, tugging her closer when the chill of the new night causes her to shiver. His eyes are still on her. 

He has yet to blink.

“...Your favorite drink is green tea. You love the color red. You are a talented artist. You are compassionate, but this means when you have to hold your tongue you get angry and lash out unwisely. You’re very curious about the world and end up in trouble because of it. You’re a dreamer and struggle to not be disappointed from this reality. You hungrily seek better things, You never give up.” He murmurs, warm thumb rubbing a circle into her wrist, feeling so good from tendons that ache from dishwashing, writing, and drawing. His other hand holds the scroll even tighter.

“How-” Yume begins then pauses, realization settling over her. Uzumi-baa had said that Sasuke would know her very well because of the scroll. Financial documents, anonymous interviews to protect the speakers, pictures, drawings Yume had done herself, signed with her graphite fingerprints, pages upon pages of her analysis, a shaky letter she had written when she had thought she was about to die, stuck in a root tunnel trying to cram intel and her hopes and dreams on a piece of paper that was being asked too much of it.

Drops of spilt tea on documents, sprits of her favorite perfume to wear at work for extra tips that rubbed from her wrist to page, smeared (but still legible) letters she had smudged in her excitement. And fat, heavy lines from when she had been paralyzed with grief and rage, hand comatose over the page.

Her hair clips used as paperclips, bookmarks of her shopping receipts, groceries, to-do lists. Red nail polish that had rubbed off. Papers she had fished out from shred piles taped back together, documents taken from ash heaps, a collage of newspaper clippings. Her loving portraits of dead Uchiha officers who had saved her, her pencil tracing the lines of the Uchiha children's jaws like she was cradling their faces. 

Hell, even her origami attempts were there, made from stolen pages that steadily became crisper as her skills grew. Her teardrops on pages that tallied up the death count, blood on pages she had dug out of a root tunnel and fled for her life in, cutting herself in her haste, sweat on another when she had calculated the distance of the compound front the village center, to show exactly how hard it would have been for a civilian to connect with the Uchiha and travel to their district by running the distance herself.

Documents that showed the council had already been planning to move the Uchiha to the edge of the village years before the Kyubbi massacre, numbers calculating the finances of running electricity and water out that far. And how they could shut off those utilities if need be.

Documents showing how much the village profited by not having to pay for them.

In between all that, hope. 

Yume had included poetry and art of her own making, little observations that kept her going as she trudged through horror after horror. 

Outpourings of gratitude and guilt from everyone the Uchiha police had helped save but couldn’t save them in return in the form of audio tapes, some which included Uchiha lullabies. Wishes from interviewees, quotes containing hopeful messages to balance out the horror of the intel. Pressed and dried flowers from Uchiha weddings, and from the flowers left at the gates of the compound before they were whisked away by ANBU and banned by the Hokage, on orders to suppress the fact from enemy nations that Konoha had just lost their strongest clan. 

An order Yume had also included in the scroll. 

God. 

He really would know her very well, wouldn’t he? She has no family except for Uzumi-baa, and even Yume’s friendships are too shallow for her liking. She was forced to hide a huge part of her life from them for their own safety, and was often too busy to bond deeper. 

She swallows thickly, tears springing forth again. 

She really was lonely, wasn’t she? 

“You do know me then.” Yume says, voice carefully neutral. “But I don’t know you. I knew your family, I know how this village treated you, but I wouldn’t dare say I’m close with you, Uchiha-sama.” 

“...Do you respect me?” He asks quietly.

“Wha-yes! Of course I do!” The non-sequitur threw her off. 

“I must have seemed so ignorant to you, so foolish .” He spits, chakra twisting in self hatred, the poisonous chakra sealed on his neck writhing as it tries to latch onto the negative emotions. “I’m glad you took pity on me and brought me out of the dark. I was so blind. I failed to live up to my father and the other Uchiha investigators whose footsteps you followed in.” his lips twist into a wry smile. “I hope you see me , and not their legacy that I need to prove myself worthy of.” 

“I do! I see a boy willing to do anything for Justice, as any Uchiha should. I see a boy whose love for his family blinded him, but then brought him to the truth. ”

Sasuke’s chest flutters with his rapid breaths, face open and raw. 

“How?” He gasps, hunched forward, forehead almost pressed to her shoulder. “How do you know this about me? You say you don’t know me then reach down to my very heart !”

Yume gasps at the strength of his chakra.

A chakra this powerful, this angry, should burn her, but she only feels warmth. 

“Because it was not pity, Uchiha-sama, it was sympathy !” She cries, desperate to let him know. “In one terrible night, my world ended too!” His eyes are still unblinking, still red as she gestures to the ruined farmstead behind them. 

She feels him weave a genjutsu, a mild one that would sense lies.

She stops in her tracks.

Yume had been able to throw off wide-ranging and low-level genjutsu before due to her nine-tails fried coils simply being unable to circulate the foreign chakra, and sensors as a whole had some immunity to genjutsu, but a Uchiha's genjutsu was an entirely different matter. with her feeble chakra control, and the sheer power of his chakra, the strain of fighting this could easily kill her. 

For a moment, she feels the same fear of that night. 

“If you want me to lift this genjutsu, tell me. I’ll believe what you say either way.” He promises, giving her hand a squeeze.

Yume nods slowly. 

Then speaks again. 

 “I-I can’t claim to have the exact same experiences as you, but I saw that everyone was lying to you, the leadership of this village, the citizens pretending they weren’t spitting on the Uchiha name, your sensei who only saw his own past in you, girls who wanted a husband and boys who wanted the bragging rights of beating the last Uchiha. And I couldn’t stand that.” She pants. "They always lie, say things are better then they are, and I saw I could do something, so I did!"

Every word rings like a bell.

“Then what do you want from me?” He asks. His voice is not accusatory, it is curious, a curiosity Yume feels every day. 

She feels a rush of frustration, at herself, at the village, even Uchiha-sama for keeping her in suspense for months. 

“Maybe I wanted to be different from the rest of them.” She jabs, voice bitter. “Maybe I wanted all this injustice to stop, maybe I wanted to help out a fellow orphan. Maybe I was being selfish and putting this mess on someone else’s shoulders. M-Maybe I wanted to help Fugaku-sama’s son, Keiji-san’s family .” She weeps. “Did you know Keiji-san’s parents owned the Uchiha Senbei shop? They fed me after my family died. Keiji-san was going to adopt me! A few days earlier and I would have been killed in the massacre too!” She wails.

His eyes shimmer with tears.

“What does your sharingan say!” She gasps. “Tell me! See that I’m not lying! I was so tired of all the lies!” 

“I believe you.” He whispers fiercely. “And I’m glad you weren’t killed in the massacre. I don’t think less of you for any of those reasons. I-” his voice breaks. His eyes finally squeeze shut as he sways on his feet.

Yume holds his hand tighter, her other going to his shoulder to steady him, and he leans into her for support. His chakra blazes like a campfire, curling and trying to entangle with hers like the reaching hands of a child and it is only thanks to her skill and Uzumi-baa’s training that her coils aren’t overwhelmed. 

Definitely a latent sensor. 

She thinks of his beautifully warm chakra, kind and curious like her own, reaching out for his family in a compound with only bloodstains left behind, and her heart lurches in her chest as if trying to run away from how painful that idea is.

No wonder he subconsciously suppresses his abilities. 

“What do you think of me?” Uchiha-sama rasps eventually. His eyes are open again, black as the dark side of the moon. His chakra sings with the need to know her thoughts, and it humbles her and makes her preen.

She gathers her thoughts. 

“...You never allowed others to define you. You are kind, yet you don’t let other people shape your actions. You move forward without shame. You don’t make any excuses, you are proud of who you are. As you should be.” She says sharply. 

“Your goal is to lay to rest the souls of your family. Something that conflicts directly with Konoha’s goals of making you a shinobi, as ninja are tools who are not supposed to care about their family, and are definitely not supposed to put them above the village. You value honesty, you value giving choices to others. You have a goal and you will move heaven and earth to carry it out, as I know you will be able to one day! I respect you for you , Uchiha-sama.” 

He has that look again. His chakra feels of awe, of hope, and even excitement and Yume feels heat rise in her face.

“You.” He begins, then pauses. “ Everyone else was too scared or hateful to say anything. Thank you.” He says roughly. “I know what your actions mean. I would never have asked you to put yourself in danger like this, but you made your choice.” 

Yume doesn’t dare say ‘no problem’ or ‘it was nothing’ because this is most definitely something very important. She can only nod. 

“You do understand me. When reading your writing I’ve never felt more seen.” He says quietly, lips quirking upwards into a tired but genuine smile. “I…want to be as honest with you as possible, as you were for me. But. I am…hesitant too.” He confesses.

“You’re not obligated to bear your heart to me, Uchiha-sama.”

“I want to.” He says quietly.

Yume sways in shock. 

 “...Is that selfish of me?” He whispers.

“I-okay.” She whispers. “I’ll listen. I…always did want to get to know you better. Why are you hesitant?”

He hums deeply, hand still holding hers, he sways their locked arms gently.

“I did not want to get close to others only to lose them too. But you lost everything twice. And you are still reaching out. It gives me hope.” He says, like that isn't among the most profound things anyone has ever said about her. “I have decided I will also be brave. I won’t let that man take this away from me too.” 

Uchiha-sama's chakra sparkles like fireworks over water.

It's hypnotizing. 

“My favorite food is tomatoes. I loved other foods but I haven’t had them in years. My focus has been to eat as healthy as possible for strength and vengeance. I don’t really know what my likes are anymore. I can’t say I like drawing as you do, or origami, but I think I liked music once.” His brow furrows in concentration as he tries to rediscover himself. It’s really cute, and Yume is once again blinking back tears.

This boy loved his family so, so much, that when they were taken from him, he stripped himself down to his bare essentials to survive, everything focused on laying their souls to rest. He turned himself into a weapon when the village itself couldn’t, a vessel of vengeance, almost forgetting to be the boy who was so loved by the Uchiha, the true son of the clan. He said he liked music, did that mean he listened to her sealed copies of Uchiha lullabies over and over again? The ones Mikoto-sama recorded? 

“I’m sorry.” She whispers. 

She’s going to be dehydrated by the time this is all over. 

“For what? You’ve done nothing wrong.” His voice is it's typically neutral tone, yet his chakra is earnest and confused, a bit worried too.

“You deserve to hear it anyway. A million times wouldn’t be enough. I really hope I’m not adding to your burdens.”  

Uchiha-sama frowns in confusion.

“Because I’m a civilian.” She explains in a wobbly voice. “My coils are scarred from the Kyubbi massacre. I may be a sensor and know fuuinjutsu, but if I'm ever discovered even my sneaking around won’t save me.”

“I will.” He practically snarls. It startles Yume, but her reaction is surprise rather than fear. “I’ll save you if that ever happens. You aren’t a burden, and I’ll deal with anyone who even thinks about touching you.”

“I-thank you.” She whispers, her shoulder slumping and relaxing for the first time since she gave him that scroll all those months ago, almost a year now.

They stand in silence for several moments, mind's racing yet hearts content for the first time in years. Yume can feel their chakra’s start to swirl together, stabilizing and swaying as what was essentially their souls mingled, but she can’t bring herself to pull away.

Not when they both so desperately need it. 

An owl hoots.

As they watch the night sky, a shooting star gleams for a second before disappearing under the light of the full moon. 

“...Let me walk you back home.”

Yume’s heart flutters happily, her chakra opening further to feel Uchiha-sama’s tuck itself closer to hers, her own sensory abilities bringing out his latent ones. It happened sometimes, sensors being about to find other sensors and unintentionally bring forth their chakra, but Yume had never seen it at this scale before.

His chakra now reached out like a starved animal, going as far as Yume would let it. It was full of curiosity, fondness, and hope. Even his previous grief and rage were muted at the moment.

The only problem was that seal on his neck. Sensors adept in fuuinjutsu like Yume and Uzumi-baa had the unique ability of being able to sense seals themselves. They felt like little intricate twists of chakra, coiled in a similar way a shinobi’s chakra bends and twists when they carry out hand signs.

This seal felt like poison. A tick on his neck. 

She was absolutely directing him to Uzumi-baa after this. 

“Are you sure Uchiha-sama? What about the gate guards?”

“Hn. They won’t be a problem for me.” He says, chakra smug, and Yume is once again reminded of how powerful he is, how young he is. 

Is reminded of how young they both are as she blushes. 

“Okay.” She says softly, licking her lips. His eyes track the motion. “Lets go back to Konoha, I- there so much I want to show you, that I want to talk about. I have been waiting for this.” She confesses.

He nods slowly, unblinking eyes watching her with a peculiar but fitting softness.

“I have too.” He says gently. His hand tugs her forward. 

Hands linked, hearts linked, they walk back.

Chapter Text

He walks her back, having never let go of her hand. It’s a comfortable silence. They both realize they’re not alone anymore. 

“How did you know when I was leaving the village?” Uchiha-sama asks. Yume can feel his chakra full to bursting with questions.

“I’m a sensor.” Others react weirdly because they think sensors are invasive or weak but she knows Uchiha-sama won’t. Hopefully he will take to being a sensor well. 

His eyes are thoughtful. He helps her around a mud puddle, guiding her by the hand to step on his foot and over the sludge. Her heart jumps. 

“I know a sensor.” He says finally. “They deserve better treatment.” 

“Is it Karin Uzumaki?” 

He twitches in shock, chakra blaring like an alarm, and Yume rushes to explain, giggling at his surprise.

“I met her at the exams last year. Sensors are drawn to each other, but I suspect my friend was taken by Orochimaru.”

Uchiha-sama’s face darkens.

“You’re right..” He confirms.

“I see. I hope the two of you can take care of each other.” Yumi says softly, cradling his hand carefully, and he looks with gentle eyes. 

A hum of agreement. 

He returns to her confession of being a Sensor.

“...So that's how you knew Sakura was there. Were you searching for my signature too?”

“Periodically, yes. I…was nervous to give you the scroll but I knew I had to, and I knew that was the only time I could go to you without witnesses finding out. I’m sorry if that was invasive.” Yume tries to give everyone privacy, but her survival has often depended on her ability to read the emotions of others. And the fact that Uchiha-sama’s signature is so unique and that he is a latent sensor means her attempts only work so well. 

Uchiha-sama hums shortly in denial. 

“You did what you knew was necessary. Not many people are that ruthless.” His voice is admiring when discussing a trait most people find negative, especially for a girl. 

“Thank you. Did you say goodbye to your teammate?”

“Yes.” He says simply, face clouding over and Yume is sorry to see such an emotion at her words, but her heart was burning to know if he had the choice to say goodbye, despite her ‘ruthless’ actions. 

“I’m glad you had the option.” 

They walk past several fruit trees spaced apart on the roadside and Yume gasps in realization. 

"I planted these trees! With my family, I-It's been so long since I've been this way, I didn't realize..." Yume remembers saving the seeds from the peaches, pears, apples, and other fruits she ate and sprouted to plant along this side-path all those years ago. Yume can see empty patches in the lower branches where hungry travelers picked some of her fruit. it fills her heart to know people were fed by their actions.

Sasuke jumps up in a graceful motion that defies his exhaustion and gravity, and picks two pears for them. Yume is in awe of how high up he is, having broken her arm in her youth trying to pick an apple. 

He jumps down in front of her and Yume goes stiff to hide her flinch. He holds out a pear to her, taking a bite of his own and humming appreciatively. 

"Itadakimasu." He says, smiling into his fruit and Yume takes a bit of hers. 

It's delicious and it reminds her of her family.

They arrive at the towering gates, the scowling kage faces even larger in the background. 

They lean closer together. 

The gate guards really aren’t a problem for him. His genjutsu is so powerful Yume is able to sense it when he casts it on the two guards. It’s an intimidating reminder that he is a strong shinobi. Their eyes skim right over Uchiha-sama, who is reluctant to let go of her hand.

They go past the place her small family used to sell vegetables and when she points out the spot to Uchiha-sama, telling him his mother used to buy from them, he caresses the back of her hand. 

She doesn't know how to feel about the contact now. 

Yume looks like her mother, a woman who had been pretty even with her immigrant features. Yume’s face is awkward in the way a teenager’s is, cartilage still hardening, bones setting, puppy fat melting away as her adult face comes in.

She’s scared. Yume’s disability meant she couldn’t even join the academy to learn defense like other girls the Uchiha had rescued. 

Uchiha-sama senses her fear. 

“What’s wrong?” He asks, looking for danger because he doesn’t realize her fear is of his power. Her fear mixes with guilt. She pulls him into a little corner, private but public enough to be visible should she need to run.

Not that it would do much against someone of Uchiha-sama’s caliber. 

“I…” She trails off. His head dips into a low, encouraging nod. He’s a quiet sort of guy.  

“Do you know you’re a latent sensor too?” She blurts out.

His head jerks back in shock, eyes wide. 

“No. You-” He pauses, lips turning into an awkward smile. “You have a way of surprising me.”  His face turns thoughtful with the implications.

“ I try to give you privacy but I can still somewhat sense your signature. It can be…overwhelming.” She admits. “If you were trained, you could shield yourself better.” 

He bounces their joined hands gently.

“And, I’m afraid of you too.” She confesses. She refuses to lower her gaze, wanting to deal with the consequences of her words. If they were to be working together in the future this couldn’t get in the way.

He startles.

His hand lets her go as if burned-impossible as that is for a Uchiha with fire in his coils-he leans back, and his face is briefly hurt, chakra shocked, before going carefully blank, all motions that make Yume’s heart ache.

“You are?” He breathes, brow furrowed in a way that made her want to smooth it out. 

She nods.

His hands flex by his side and he immediately stops the motion when he sees her closely watching it. His chakra is tumultuous as he grapples with the reality that she is scared of him to an extent, scared of him for being a shinobi like he was and is scared of people like Itachi Uchiha, like Danzo Shimura. 

“It was brave of you to tell me your feelings.” He says finally, eyes still wide, face as grim as his fathers was, and Yume feels her ears get hot under her work bandana. 

“I-” He cuts himself off, thinking hard. “You risked a lot bringing this to me. You had no assurances of how I would react. I could have turned you in.”

Yume is still silent, heart in her throat. 

“I won’t.” He tacks on quickly.

She nods, and he relaxes minutely. He eye’s her for several moments as he figures out how to reassure her.

He takes a deep breath. 

“I am giving you permission to reach out with your abilities and feel everything I’m feeling. I want you to know I mean it .” He declares. He stiffens up like he expects it to be painful and Yume is once again struck by how little he knows about his own abilities. 

What exactly is happening to him with Orochimaru to think every new experience will be painful?

Her heart breaks for him.

“Okay.” She breathes. “I-your chakra is potent, so I need to be careful not to further burn my coils.” Sasuke looks at first smug at having his chakra being called potent, and then alarmed at hearing it could cause her harm. Yume will have to use a specific technique. 

Yume reaches out her senses. 

They both gasp. 

It is one thing to passively read another person’s signature. Glancing blows of stray emotions, little hints dancing over the small, enclosed signatures of non-sensors. 

This is completely different. 

Sensors might be more vulnerable to killing intent, but it also means they can project their signatures stronger than non-sensors. Yume’s chakra is cast out in the way Uzumi-baa taught her, a blanket of calming intent the very opposite of killing intent, meant to soothe and reassure the intended recipient. Calming intent is almost unheard of due to shinobi training being based around harm, but it is powerful. Uzumi-baa had done it to Yume after the murders, and Yume had slept for the first time in days, and had woken up with a new will to live.

He looks at her with fluttering eyes, chakra tugging and pulling at hers as he tries to wrap it around his further. His chakra kneads hers like a kittens, pushes up against it like an affectionate cat rubbing its jaw against a human's hand.  His mouth is parted in awe and his eyes refuse to leave her, not even going to look at the wall he is now leaning against for support. 

It’s exhausting for her.

“This is calming intent, something you could learn too. I can’t hold it much longer so please say your piece.” Yume stumbles out. 

His gaze focuses. 

His chakra crisps up. 

“I-I don’t hurt innocents.” He says seriously but almost woozily, drunk off being soothed. “I have been the…the victim of those who abuse their power too often for me to do so to others. I won’t harm you.” 

He means every single word of it, every syllable . 

Yume lifts her chakra and they both shiver at the loss of the other’s warmth. Uchiha-sama even leans forward for a few seconds like he can extend the feeling of it. Yume knows how indescribably good calming intent feels. A feeling of utter safety, warmth, and compassion. 

Something devoid in his life.

He looks shaken, yet so relaxed it's like he could fall asleep standing up. Yume explains it to Uchiha-sama. Like killing intent which can’t come about without genuine intent to harm, it can’t come to fruition without genuine intent to help, or otherwise benevolence. 

She goes to stand closer to him, feeling safe and secure in his presence.

He will not hurt her. 

His hand once again reaches for her’s, before he catches himself and lowers it again. He looks and feels disappointed but does a very good job of hiding it. She can’t help but smile softly at him, watching in amusement as his face turns pink. 

Yume reaches out and takes his hand.

He lights up with surprised hope..

She squeezes his hand back to let him know she trusts him, and he squeezes in agreement. Right now, she doesn't know who’s supporting who. Uchiha-sama is clearly exhausted from traveling all the way to Konoha to talk to her , and is bruised from training. His mind swirls with the horrors of what he sees daily with Orochimaru, and what he read in her scroll. 

Maybe they are both supporting each other.

Yume leads them further into the village by their joined hands, a fire of hope and admiration in her heart for Uchiha-sama. 

“Uchiha-sama, I want us to stop and pray somewhere first.” Yume knows he follows the old Uchiha religion, while practicing the faith of fire country in public. She will do her best to abide by his heritage. 

“Lead the way.” He says faithfully. 

It’s humbling. 

She leads them through the village, more of a city now with Tsunade-samas work at boosting the population. Yume wondered how much Tsunade-sama knew about Konoha’s dark underbelly. Not much, probably. 

All these new people meant they needed new places to live, new businesses to shop at.

They go past the old industrial district, ones that Yume remembers belched putrid smoke in her earliest years, and stop at the district that used to be downwind of the pollution. This district is full of new buildings now that the pollution stopped around the same time as the massacre. Fancy apartments, shops, businesses, schools for the children of merchants and other upper middle class folk, places and people she had worked in and for are all in this thick crowd.

Yume is shoved from behind. 

She is made acutely aware of her civilian limitations as she stumbles forward and it is only thanks to Uchiha-sama’s ninja reflexes that he is able to catch her before she falls, effortlessly supporting her weight.

“Mind your manners girl !” A merchant snaps at her from where he is trying to tug his silk robes free from where the hem of her work apron is caught on a fence hook. “You two vermin shouldn't be in a district like this, don't you two have jobs?” 

Yume hears Uchiha-sama’s teeth grind together. 

“We were just heading there sir,” Yume apologizes and lies shamelessly, too well practiced at saying the right things, “We’re happy to serve Konoha’s finest.” Which seems to mollify the irate merchant.

The merchant’s guard scowls over them, hand on the hilt of his sword and Yume feels Uchiha-sama’s own hand reach down.

The guard slices through her apron over the silk robe  in a motion Yume feels by the wind on her face because it’s too quick to see and in a second Uchiha-sama’s sword is rising up, the long metal clashing with the guards.

“Apologize to her.” Uchiha-sama grits out, chakra sparking in outrage. “And replace her clothing. Now.” 

“You’re several inches to short to be ordering us around-”

Uchiha-sama disarms the guard. The merchant gasps in disbelief and now several people are watching as the sword is buried to the hilt harmlessly off the newly paved paths. 

“Fine!” The merchant yelps, throwing cash at them as his eyes search. “What impertinent children Konoha has, not knowing their places…”

The embarrassed merchant and his guard leave and Yume quickly tugs Uchiha-sama away. Confrontations aren’t common in this district and any noise will have you taken in by Chunin as the stand in police. Her heart beats at the realization that if Uchiha-sama wasn’t with her she would have been forced to grovel and wouldn’t have been able to do anything against the guards sword. Both of them had moved too quickly for her to even see . 

“Thanks.” she whispers. “I hope I wasn't too much trouble.”

He grunts, but pulls her closer, eyeing the cut apron like it personally offended him.

“Not you. He started it.” Uchiha-sama says hotly. 

“...I wouldn’t have been able to stop them if they wanted to take me in.” Yume says glumly. “He seemed content to let me go once I apologized…”

“You shouldn't have done that!” He scoffs, “That rat didn’t deserve it.

“Not all of us can defend ourselves like you can. We do what we must to survive.” Yume says back, face hot. Is he judging her? She doesn’t like it either but learning how to navigate social situations has helped her immensely.

Uchiha-sama hesitates. 

“Sorry. I was upset he treated you like that.” He mumbles and Yume relaxes.

They continue. 

The earth here echoed faintly with the corrosive nine-tails chakra. It was the last place in the whole village that had been purified of the biju chakra. 

She tells him all this. 

“Why?” He asks.

She grits her teeth.

Places her hand on the stone steps they were sitting on, among the only surviving structures from before the nine-tails attack, a staircase that branched into the back alley. She leads him by the hand, and gently places it on the clan symbol carved into the bottom.

He gasps. 

“It was the last place purified because this district here was the original Uchiha compound.” She says, righteous anger and grief roaring in her chest as their hands cradle the etched Uchiha clan symbol, a Uchiwa, hidden away and dusty like a dirty little secret underneath this saccharine wealth, these gentrified store fronts. “They wanted to drive the Uchiha to the edges of the village so they could turn this into the wealthy tourist trap it is now.” 

He lurches away from Yume. 

He shakes with rage.

Smoke curls off him in dangerously potent blasts of heat and ash, enough to make her cough. Lightning crackles from his body, turning stray leaves and newspapers instantly to a charred power. 

Litchberg lines crawl up the newer walls as his hands clench so hard the recently added metal rails crumple and give way under his iron grip. The windows rattle above them, raining down cement and shards of glass. The lines begin to burn into his skin but he doesn’t seem to feel it. 

His chakra is a spikeball of emotions, sharp spears of chakra so powerful that Yume squeals in pain, her coils becoming inflamed from the chakra overload. Uzumi-baa’s tenketsu seals block the worst of it, but Yume needs help. 

Anger, hate, grief, rage, pain, humiliation, and suffering. 

Black poison creeps from the seal on his neck throughout his body.

She’s a weeping mess, and it’s her cries that finally make Uchiha-sama snap out of it.

He looks at her, then at his trembling, bloodied hands, a dawning horror on his face. 

“Did I-” He starts guilty. 

“Not your fault.” She croaks, kneeling down slowly. “They will pay for this.” She places a Uchiha style prayer token on the Uchiwa, one she had spent months crafting for this moment. He sees it and his face does a complicated movement, full of gratitude and grief. 

He nods slowly, dripping tears of frustration and pain onto his family’s symbol.

“Sorry.” He whispers horsley, first to her, and then to his family, pressing his face down into the dirt to be as close to his family as possible. 

He hesitates, then helps her up with his chakra withdrawn, a relief to her battered coils. She can’t help but miss his warmth.

“I’m sorry.” She whispers again. “These are hard truths to talk about.”

“Then why does it flow so easily with you?” He asks, eyes searching, hands careful. 

She’s speechless.

“Never apologize for being honest with me.” His voice is firm and kind. “I appreciate it.” 

She nods. 

“I think you’re the first person to listen to me in years.” He adds quietly. 

Uchiha-sama leads them in prayer, lighting a unique, religious fire jutsu meant to purify, curls of multi-color smoke dancing upwards as Uchiha-sama prays through his pain for his family to join their goddess, Tsukuyomi, in the sky. 

He holds her hand the whole time, his mastery over this specific fire jutsu so complete he only needs one hand to weave signs. 

How many times has he done this funeral jutsu to be so skilled in it?

The Uchiha had been their previous largest clan. Before the massacre there had been over a thousand Uchiha, majority civilians as the shinobi had been decimated in the third war. Uchiha-sama may have been bed-bound when the Third Hokage’s ANBU handled the bodies, but several months afterwards when he awakened from a coma no one thought he would ever emerge from, everyone had seen the smoke come up from the Uchiha district when he lit pyre’s, not yet nine years old, atrophied limbs stumbling up the hill and through cremation flames to burn tokens for a family so dead and gone their living son couldn’t even say goodbye to their bodies.

Just their bloodstains. 

She grabs his hand tighter. 

It’s heartbreakingly beautiful, and as she watches Uchiha-sama’s usage of ninjutsu, an idea slips into place.

Seeing Uchiha-sama here, in the midst of all this pain and loss and injustice, a fire lit in her heart to give something back to him. And watching him work sparked old memories that made her realize his fire ninjutsu was the key, the missing puzzle piece. 

“Uchiha-sama, I think I might have figured something out.” She says slowly, and feels flattered at his instant attention. “Help me get back home and we might be able to recreate something from the Uchiha clan tonight.” 

He nods, looking achingly hopeful, chakra yearning through grief, before he quickly squashed that feeling, forcing his face back to neutrality as if he wouldn’t dare think of anything good happening in fear of being let down. 

She squares her jaw, Uchiha fire burning in her eyes.

She will not let him down.

Chapter Text

They walk through the streets of the district with the obnoxious laughter of the wealthy. Uchiha-sama’s grip gets tighter even as he is careful not to grip her civilian hands too tightly, and Yume is sure if she wasn’t here he would have lost his temper. His chakra continually reaches out to hers, still subconscious and the more profound for it. He copies what he did earlier, and rubs her thumb in a circle over the back of his strong hand, and she can feel the way his attention zero’s in on her, how he leans ever so slightly towards her, his chakra dancing forward in desire, yet jumping back as if expecting pain, the motions resembling a crackli ng campfire.

“Why do you call me Uchiha-sama?” He asks abruptly.

She jumps away.

He lets her pull his hand with her, chakra curious.

Uchiha-sama had a very direct way of speaking. He had little patience for things not related to his goals and she was honestly surprised by how much he was speaking to her.

“Well. Because it’s respectful. Do you not think so?” She asks, baffled. Normally she didn’t care but Uchiha-sama was working with her. She was following the correct social conventions, wasn’t she? 

Uchiha-sama had a way of confusing many people, even her at times, when she herself happened to think he made his goals very clear. She appreciated his forwardness in a world full of song-and-dance.

He grunts, face thoughtful. 

“Call me Sasuke.” He mutters as he peered at her from the corner of his eye. His eye looks at her, the inky black moving ever so slightly as he drinks in her face, like he’s trying to read her like the scrolls she had given him. 

Yume stops in her tracks and gawks openly at him. A first name basis? That was extremely informal, and implied a close relationship!

Well.

They had been holding hands for quite a while now. 

He actually pouts !

His lips pursed together, cheeks puff up, pale face made pale by training underground turning pink as he jerks his face away, yet paradoxically pulls her closer by their linked hands. She’s never held hands with a boy before, and never for this long with anyone except for Keiji-san all those years ago, and that didn’t count because he was her guardian. 

“I-okay, but can you tell me why?” She asks, struggling to hide the amused wobbling of her lips. 

His eyes narrow intently on her mouth and she stiffens. She can see his eyes trace the lines of her lips, the fullness and cupid’s bow features not the beauty standard here in fire country, features that were all she had left of her family. She wonders what he thinks of her beauty marks and the small gap between her front teeth, which are also not popular. 

Uchiha-sama sees her watching him and averts his gaze as quickly as possible! Has she fallen into yet another alternate universe?

“We’re partners aren’t we? Like the Uchiha police investigators were?” He mumbles, a small, awkward mix of a smirk and smile crossing his face. It’s ridiculously cute. “They were equals who worked together to achieve justice . We will be the same.” He’s pure determination.

Yume is floored.

She stares.

He fidgets, the boy rapidly heading to A-rank status fidgets under the gaze of a civilian! Granted, it’s barely noticeable, but still!

She smiles, heart blooming with warmth, and this time, it’s her own battered chakra that reaches out to him and she can see he feels her agreement before she tells him.

“Yes, Sasuke ,” She says, rolling his name in her mouth, tongue on her teeth and she can feel his full-body shiver as his chakra dances with happiness, warm wisps swaying over her signature as he reaches out in delight. It’s like the warmth of a campfire, on a summer evening with a lightning storm on the horizon. “But only if you call me Yume.” She says, realizing Sasuke has yet to address her by name.

He seems to see her realization and harrumphs again.

“I wasn’t sure what to call you.” His explanation isn’t defensive, but contrite when he sees her exasperated amusement.

“You’re a funny guy, Sasuke.”

He grunts offendedly and Yume laughs out loud for the first time in months. 

He has that look again.

The one where he looks at her like she’s a miracle, like he can’t quite believe she’s in front of him, that he could ever get so lucky, and Yume pulls him by the hand to the rest of the way to the orphanage before her thoughts can get any crazier. 

When he realizes where they are he stops in his tracks.

None of the kids are starving, but they all have this look to them like they're hungry anyway. Yume has spent the last several years here, having to be excruciatingly careful not to misstep or else she would incriminate herself and these innocent children, who already had it bad enough.

Sasuke realizes this too as he looks impressed at the same time his brow furrows in disconcertment when he sees the bed she outgrew years ago. 

“I finally saved up enough for an apartment.” It was located in one of the newer mixed districts. Civilian and Shinobi districts used to be segregated until the third hokage implemented de-segregation measures. Many of Yume's neighbors were former or current genin. It made it interesting to keep her activities under the radar but also meant she could get away with more because there was the assumption a shinobi neighborhood would be more law-abiding. 

She explains that she would be kicked out at 16 regardless. Most of what little she had was in sealing scrolls she made with Uzumi-baa, but to avoid suspicion she had to be seen moving out the rest of her things by hand. “I was careful.” She whispers in assurance to him as several sniffling children come over to say goodbye. 

He watches them with an achingly soft, heartbroken face, a look that would be unnoticeable to anyone else but so obvious to her and all her experience with Uchiha expressions. Sasuke it a little orphan boy just like the rest of them

He sees the cracked ceiling, the peeling paints, the clothes Yume had patched with painstaking care, sewing flowers and neat animals over the holes so that the children could wear them to school with pride, patterns she saw Sasuke realize were of her own design when his eyes dart to look at the embroidery on her bandana, full of little vegetables and hidden embroidered seals.  

She holds the children whose diapers she changed, who she helped to bottle-feed, and she begins to cry too. She tells them to bring her their clothes if they need to be patched, their homework if they didn’t understand it, and to come to her if they needed a safe starter job as Yume knew many people in Konoha’s workforce. 

Sasuke watches her kiss their forehead’s goodbye. His eyes had gone wide initially when her hand had reached out, index and middle finger extended towards their brows, the rest curled partially under. She swore she heard him gasp when she cradles the backs of their little heads instead, and kissed their foreheads.

Sasuke grabs a bag for her, and grasps her hand with the other as she slings a backpack on and another bag on her shoulders.

“Ooooo Yume-nee has a boyfriend!” A boy squeaks, tears drying as his grief is replaced with mirth. A chant starts up. Sasuke looks thunderstruck, which meant for a Uchiha his mouth was partially open, eyes narrowed in confusion. 

“Run!” Yume cackles at Sasuke, sounding suspiciously like Uzumi-baa. Her voice is starting to go scratchy from all the talking she did today. She’s still laughing despite the irritation, full of joy as they hop the steps outside, as they try and fail to dodge the ripped shreds of paper the children rained down on them as celebration confetti. 

He could have easily done so, but he lets the paper stick to his hair and irritate his nose for her.  

He did it for her .

Because he see’s how much it means to her that these children are giving her back the love she gave to them for all those years and he wants her to feel it.  

They slow down as they turn the corner.

“Those were children starved of love.” Sasuke yet again says abruptly. His voice is rough.

“Yes.” She says gently.

“You gave it to them.”

“I did.”

“Why?” He bursts out, breathing heavily. “Why are you so different?”

She hums.

“I’ve already answered this question. I don’t really consider myself to be different from anyone else. There are other people in Konoha who help the orphans when they can. There are others who are sympathetic to the Uchiha clan. And there are others who know of the dark underbelly here too. I just was the first to tell you, the first because…I have ties to you.” She hums quietly.

He looks like he’s struggling to form a thought, chakra crackling. 

“You. You were also a child starved of love.” He says. He sounds devastated for her, for himself, and for every other orphan and Yume is blinking back tears. She is so tired of crying but after years of keeping things bottled up, someone acknowledging her pain feels so cathartic .

“You were as well. Sometimes this village even does it on purpose. Desperate children will do anything for love, anything the village says. In the face of that, the most powerful act of rebellion is to simply care for one another.”

“Those words were in your scrolls too.” He says, chakra spiking with an epiphany. “The information you gave broke me.” His voice is little more than a rasp, their paces slowed down to a crawl.

Yume flinches.

His hand squeezes her’s, always gentle so as not to hurt, but hard enough to feel the power, the security of his strength, the realization of his youth when his hands couldn’t yet wrap around her’s. 

“But it also gave me hope .” 

Yume’s heart and mind race as the two of them continue walking. They near her first apartment, a dinky box above a teashop Yume had gotten by leveraging her connection with Shinko Inari.

"Thank you!' Yume says to her. If Sasuke recognizes his brother's old female teammate he doesn't show it. She's back from her waitress job to the front-gate stables, tending to merchants, horses, and those new motorized caravans. Her skates are slung over her shoulder. She looks at Sasuke with carefully neutral eyes and Yume signals later.

They enter her apartment. 

“You said we could create something from the Uchiha here?” Sasuke asks, looking at the bare apartment. She had a refrigerator, a stove, chipped kitchen supplies, and a bed. She was using boxes as her tables and chairs. “I’m not about to doubt your resourcefulness but what is it that you had in mind?”

She takes a deep breath.

Gets out the supplies.

“I want to try and recreate Teyaki-ojii’s and Uruchi-baa’s famous Uchiha Senbei.” She says determinedly, borrowing some of Sasuke’s resolve.

Her words hit him like an earth jutsu boulder. The elderly couple who had been Keiji’s parents had been close with Sasuke, calling him Sasuke-chan and their Senbei had been his favorites. They had said Sasuke-chan thought their senbei helped him train better. 

He collapses to the floor, trembling hands clasping together.

A bit of a nerd, she had taken advantage of every library book she could get her hands on, and researched the mechanics of baking and the history of senbei. She had even taken jobs at various restaurants on her quest to make the rice crackers. 

His eyes widen in excitement, in a desperate, reluctant hope as she explains her research and her heart soars in her chest. 

“If we’re really partners, then maybe we …” He trails off quietly. His eyes and chakra sparkle with hope. “Tell me what to do.” It sounds like an order but Yume can feel that it’s a burst of synergy. 

They’re up all night. 

They mix.

They study her notes.

They organize.

They whisper Uchiha prayers.

They hum Uchiha work songs.

They stamp the senbei with the Uchiwa. 

Using chakra for mundane everyday tasks was not common in Konoha. Other clans typically had distinct separations between shinobi and civilian roles. The clans that did blur the line tended to do so quietly, as it was seen as unprofessional and flippant to use chakra, the gift of the gods, for something as mundane as chores. It was also a convenient way for social pressures to stamp out chakra usage where the villages couldn’t control it as easily. 

The closest examples of chakra for non-conflict or Fire-temple purposes were D-ranks, which many genin hated and eternal genin often got degraded for. 

The Uchiha were an exception

There may be many fire users in Fire country, but the Uchiha was the clan that truly made it a lifestyle. Storytelling, cooking, prayers, songs, farming.

Baking Rice Crackers.

 Fire was everything to them. Even their civilians were trained in it. This unfortunately led to the misconception that the Uchiha trained their whole population for war, and that the clan was all combatants, and no civilians. It had a dehumanizing effect. The second Hokage himself had killed Uchiha civilians during the warring clans era, under the impression they were warriors, all because they used chakra. However, a bloodline clan does not have the privilege of leaving members without at least defensive capabilities or the ability to run and hide. 

All of that, all that culture, those skills, led to this moment.

This moment that felt holy, divine as Sasuke rediscovered his people.

The both of them are humming in tune together, a Uchiha work-song for its civilians as they lit their stoves, fired their pottery, burned their dead fields so that the ash would grow new life. Yume’s heart soars with emotion as she realized Sasuke was right when he said he has musical abilities, because he hummed effortlessly in tune and in harmony with her. 

The rice crackers are complete.

Sasuke takes a bite and quietly cries. 

Yume does the same. 

It’s like the rest of the Uchiha are there with them, like Teyaki-ojii and Uruchi-baa could walk in, sweeping up their crumbs and reading the newspaper outloud to them. 

Yume presents the rediscovered recipe to Sasuke on a blank Uchiha scroll she had recovered from the KMPF office and his eyes burn with a fiery passion and determination. 

She then presents the journals.

“Uzumi-baa and I made these, two-way communication journals kinda like those landline telephones, except it’s keyed to our chakra. You saw her earlier. Go to her to learn more about sensing too! We can talk more with them.” Yume explains hoarsely. Her eyes burned with exhaustion. 

“I sense…that this is the start of a new chapter of our lives.” Yume jokes cheesily, and tiredly. It’s a joke many would be too embarrassed to make or hear but Sasuke smiles at her and the gift, before his face goes serious. 

Sasuke is deep in thought. He clutches everything to his chest like a child and a stuffed animal, yet he stands with the strength of a shinobi. 

“Yes, we will talk more through these! There is a lot we need to plan for.” Sasuke says dramatically yet steadily.  His voice is also exhausted, but a fire burns in his eyes, a wrath that couldn’t be contained.

Flames that could only be fanned.

For the rest of the very early morning they eat the crackers with some smoked sausages and bits of cheese Yumi had taken as payment from a merchant for directing him towards a valuable business deal. She takes a Uchiha shirt she had gotten and kept all these years from Keiji-san, woven with cotton grown by the clan. She let Sasuke watch as she stitched a new Uchiwa on, with tiny seals in the fabric for durability and protection, and watches as Sasuke traces his fingers over it, caressing the symbol of his family.

His questions make Yume realize Sasuke is a bit of a nerd, and she giggles at that. He looks at her with confusion while he goes over the details of a convection oven for the chemical baking process using only ninjutsu which proves her point. 

Yume yawns despite her best efforts.

His face softens. 

“Do you have work tomorrow? Or today?” His lips twitch in amusement as his brow creases. 

“I always do.”

He frowns.

“It was with Uzumi-baa today, my other bosses knew I was moving from the orphanage. Go in my stead-unless you’re tired?”

He smirks, and it’s all teeth. 

“I can handle it.” He proclaims, all ambition, drama, and dramatic flare, and Yume swallows back exhausted giggles, knowing how Uzumi-baa was. He’d find out. “You sleep, and I’ll contact you through the journals.”

He begins to gather his things, looking at his new shirt before suddenly pulling off his old, barely fitting shirt.

Yume ignores the heat in her face and averts her gaze when he puts on his new shirt. This one is too big but he will grow into it. He turns to admire himself in the mirror, laughing quietly at Yume’s startled expression. 

He turns to her, slumped on the floor against her wall surrounded by rice cracker crumbs, cooking utensils, and sewing supplies. She couldn’t stand even if she wanted to. She imagines she’s quite a sight. 

She’s breathless as he kneels next to her and scoops her up in a strong, smooth motion. She feels weightless. He holds her close to his chest, achingly careful, a thank-you with every ripple of muscle. Her cheek rests on his shoulder. He presses his jaw firmly to her brow. 

The last thing she feels is her comforter being pulled over her, and a warm hand on her brow, thumb sweeping across.

Sleep.

Chapter Text

Yume crawls after her mama with little shrieks of delight, all her senses open to the world, a wondering and restless baby. She feels the little sparks of the baby foxes in the den under the blueberry bush, the flighty chakra of the birds at the feeder, the sharpness of their barn cat, hunting the little brown mice. She gets in the way of her aunt and grandma, whose chakras are steady and cool as a pond, and reaches her mama who is spreading ash at the roots of a baby tomato plant. 

Her family’s chakra feels like a warm summer evening, little lightning bugs in the dark. 

She curls her toes in delight.

It’s an energy she could bask in forever. 

Yume hums in time with her family, singing as they work and it garners many laughs and coos. 

“How is that Uchiha ash working?” Oba asks.

“Good Kaa-chan! Keiji-san was so kind to do those controlled burns for us.”

“Not much he wouldn’t do for you girl. Even break the no ‘controlled burn’ laws for our little farm.” 

“Strange a shinobi should help in civilian matters such as farming, especially outside of where they’re allowed.” 

“An officer mama, of the KMPF, it’s their job to help the people. They helped us get her safely too, kept us from those bandits.”

“Then why do they keep deporting us? Sending us back to lands their biju polluted.” Auntie grumbles, dangling a worm in front of Yume’s face, making the baby squeal in delight at the little wiggling chakra signature.

Besides Yume’s noise, it’s quiet.

“We're not citizens since the council vetoed the immigration reform. They have to follow the law.” Mama says quietly. 

“Except when they choose not to. We’re quiet and we work hard and should be able to stay in Konoha, who cares if we don’t have our papers? They could look the other way.”

“The council makes the laws, not them.”

“They only enforce it.” Auntie snorts.

“Not because they want to. The past Hokages decreed the Uchiha need to be the police. If they started doing their own thing too out in the open they’d be labeled traitors. They help when they can.” Mama says pointedly, dusting ash on the crop roots again. “They never liked the Uchiha and make them do their dirty work.”

Mama is a tan skinned lady, with wavy golden hair and hazel blue eyes. Her aunt and grandma look similar. 

Yume can’t find a mirror so she tips a watering can over into the dry earth. When she looks, she can see her baby face, the same coloring as her mother, except a few shades darker.

Golden-brown curly hair instead of gold, dark hazel eyes, and peachy skin.

Her hair is short, and curly. It looks exactly like a golden-brown cloud. 

Her nose is flatter and wider, cheekbones higher, a cupid's bow where her mama had peach lips. Her eyes are big and droopy, with long lashes. 

 She’s kinda cute in an awkward, pug-like way. Yume finally arrives at her mama. She had been side tracked by mixing mud with her former mirror, finger painting with it on the side of the fence in the shape of the worms. 

“Yume-chan, my little dream come true, my curious girl.” She croons.

“Yes, it’s as if she came from a dream too.” Auntie says dryly. Mama’s chakra twitches. 

“A blessing from the Gods!” Her Religious Grandma says. Among Yume's earliest memories is being blessed by the Miko of the local shrine, then the Uchiha's Naka priestess. 

“I’m not saying she isn't!” auntie says quickly. “But there are questions about her father.”

“Who cares what those landlubbers think!” Uzumi-baa says. Yume knows they aren’t related but she had helped deliver Yume into this new world and acted like another grandma. She lived a mile down the road but came over often. “They’re here to buy our vegetables, not gossip about out-of-wedlock children!” 

“They do both!”

A candle-like chakra signature drew Yume away, her little senses reaching out. She crawls away without hesitation, under the fence and behind the bush and she feels the chakras of her family spike in alarm.

Yume hums as she crawls, wanting to feel and do as much as possible. 

“Found you, you little siren, you gave yourself away! With all your little disappearing acts you’re more of a sea witch than I am!” Uzumi-baa cackles.

Yume hums innocently.

She reaches her chakra out.

The old woman inhales sharply as Yume’s baby chakra mingles with hers. It feels like an ocean Yume visited a lifetime ago in her dreams. 

“So you show your flag’s true colors then, little witch? Who would have thought you’d be a sensor ?” Uzumi-baa crows as Yume shrieks in delight.

“And what a deep well of chakra you have little witch, is your mother perhaps hiding the fact your father is possibly a shinobi of the very village that burned down her home country?” 

The signature approached. Yume hears the tune she had been humming.

“A Uchiha work song?” Uzumi-baa says, “Must be Keiji-san!” 

A man with pitch-black hair as curly as Yume’s comes over the hill, carrying a bag of ash.

"Hello Uzumi-san! Got any more wool to trade for?"

"Sure do, landlubber! Already traded some of it to Neko-san so she may make munitons."

"Good! What’s this I just heard about a sensor?” He says, pausing to look at Yume. His chakra reaches out like hers did and Yume coos’ humming in key with Keiji-san. His chakra settles over her and a sensation wraps over her, like her baby blanket of the finest fibers woven by her family, the feeling of love and safety like a second skin.

“Looks like we got another one on our ship!” Uzumi-baa cackles. 

Another Uchiha comes to the farm. His chakra sings and dances in the campfire way the other Uchiha’s do, that fiery spark of life that makes Yume squeal in delight. 

His name is Aimu.

“What tides bring you here, boy?” Uzumi-baa squints suspiciously. “Shouldn’t you be with the police force with the other shinobi?”

“Fugaku-sama has decided to release me from duty. I came here to learn to feed others.” Aimu-san says quietly. Keiji-san assures them he’s not a threat but Yume can tell her family is wary. 

She ends up biting his nose.

Gently, of course. 

It diffuses the tension when Aimu laughs. 

“Yume my little drea-”

“-HA! Little witch-”

“-ore like a nightmare-”

“-odd granddaughter I have-”

Aimu-san, Keiji-san, and to an extent Uzumi-baa all use their chakra differently than Yume’s family. Aimu-san isn’t a sensor but he can still mould his chakra to move up trees, faster, and carry more.

Yume can feel the swirl of it in herself too.

“This young and already feeling her own chakra. You’ll have excellent control one day.” Uzumi-baa says.

“Heaven forbid!” Grandma says. The two men pause. They feel sad. “It’s dangerous work to be a shinobi. Can’t my grandbaby use it for something else?”

“Hm. Perhaps. I had my homeland destroyed by chakra users too, you know.” Uzumi-baa drawls, “But we can all always chart a new course.”

“Hopefully. Gods willing.” Grandma whispers. The two men look curious. 

Uzumi-baa winks at Yume with her chakra and the baby only looks up in confusion. 

Later, the two men’ eyes swirl with red, and their chakras seem to link up. A task the two of them had been struggling with comes easily, and they work in unison.

“A collaborative genjutsu, used to inform instead of terrorize.” Uzumi-baa says breathlessly from next to Yume. “ Will wonders ever cease?” 

On the way to Konoha, they sing and dance.

The two Uchiha men strike up a beat with their hands, voices deep and notes long. Yume longs to press her ear to their chests and feel the vibrations. When denied, she shrieks in anger. 

“See my little dream, the deep breaths and lung exercises for their fire jutsu means Uchiha are surprisingly good singers.” Mama says. 

Wandering performers literally jump at the chance to come to Konoha and perform for the wealthy citizens. Many come and go several times a year and they often walk with them. They move in ways that captivate Yume, and she stands on shaky legs and does her best to keep in rhythm as they dance while the Uchiha sing.

The dancers chakra’s twinkle like stars and in beat with their movements, with the music. It’s beautiful and all of them together shimmer like the sunset on the lake.

“We have a groover on our hands!” a woman named Doremi who wears a dress laced with tinkling coins sings.

“M’ hungry!” Her daughter Maho says.

Mama gives the young girl some of their fruit, and the dancer is so delighted by this she promises to teach Yume whenever they walk to Konoha together.

For now, the two girls who are more baby than toddler, hop and tumble to the tune of the song, the leaves dance with sunlight and the birds sing with them, the fish in the Naka river running to Konoha with them leap and splash in swirling foamy water, and Uchiha religious charms chime in the trees with the wind that the two Uchiha bow their heads to before continuing to sing. 

The Naka Priestess, named Kikiyo at one point, bows her head, her Haori a distinct Uchiha red. Despite being a civilian, the shinobi in their group bow to her, and she is able to walk on the Naka river over to them, greeting them all, saying prayers of harvest and travel as she hands out fruit from the Uchiha's infamous persimmon trees growing along the Shrine. 

She pauses at Yume.

"My, what soulful eyes she has. The spirit of a trail-blazer, the likes of Naori Uchiha. You'll be one to keep an eye on."

This is love. 

“We’re so lucky to have Keiji-san and Aimu-san with us.” Mama whispers to auntie and grandma. Another immigrant woman had nearly been kidnapped when the two officers had intervened. The kidnapper had escaped but now everyone was on edge.

“It’s becoming more common for immigrant women to be taken advantage of. I wonder where they all end up.” Auntie says crossly, and grandma shushes her, pointedly looking at Yume.

The woman had collapsed in Aimu-san’s arms.

“I thought those two men were just farmers. Why bother interacting with civilians if they weren’t on a mission?” Doremi-oba says. Her brow is creased. “If they weren’t with us, we’d have no chance. They’re… so powerful.” 

The rest of the group shifts in discomfort, but the results in front of them speak in the Uchiha’s favor.

They let the would-be victim have some of their produce to make her feel better. 

“What magnificent seals! Mito-sama may have failed her Uzugakure given mission but what artistry!” Uzumi-baa whispers to Yume’s ears only, the baby knows this because none of the others chakras move in a way that indicates they’re listening. 

The squiggles have chakra in them. Yume can feel it. It’s almost like a living things except not. 

“Barrier seals meant not only to shield but to absorb chakra! This wall emits a chakra forcefield!” 

Uzumi-baa traces marks on the great wall that resemble the squiggles in the head-scarf that hide her red hair. Yume tugs at it with baby hands and makes her cackle.

“Clever witch, yes I have fuuinjutsu in my scarf to protect my hair, I’ll teach you when you’re older.” 

Their produce stand is busy with Uzumi-baa helping. A pretty lady is buying vegetables from them.

“My family and Keiji-san enjoy your produce.”

“You honor us Mikoto-sama. The ash Keiji-san and Aimu-san help us make grow it.” 

“I hope he’s been treating you well.”

“He has! We fear no bandits when he escorts us, and Yume loves it when he comes to the farm.” 

Yume tries to crawl away again. The sights, smells, and chakra signatures are endlessly fascinating to her. She loves to pick up the blades seeds and watch them spin through the air.

Yume hears mutterings from the crowd.

“-has no father.”

“-Why the Uchiha matriarch is fraternizing with immigr-”

“-not trustworthy either, used to be called ‘Makoto’ during the war-”

Mikoto turns sharply towards the two chunin who had thought she couldn’t hear them, her smile as cutting at Keiji-san’s kunai freeing Yume from the wire she had gotten tangled in exploring.

They pale and shut up.

Keiji-san and Aimu-san take clay from the river and use a kiln that they fire up themselves to make Uchiha pottery.

Yume wants to know, to see! To shape with her hands! She crawls over and almost falls in.

Keiji-san chuckles and scoops her up before she can drown.

“The real thing back in the clan compound makes works you’d never believe, Yume-chan.” His droopy eyes flash fondly as he takes the clay from the Naka river. His flatter, wide nose inhales the scent of fresh clay. He pushes himself up on the water with his clay and walks on top of the bubbling current, much to Yume’s delight.

“I’ll make you a wonderful little sheep from this holy river's clay, one that looks like a cotton candy cloud, for a sweet dreamer like you. I'll make it look like Uzumi-san's sheep.” His hand is big and warm on her baby-curls, and Yume falls asleep.

When they go to Konoha again there is a strangeness in the atmosphere. Uzumi-baa, Keiji-san, and Yume are all on edge. The man with the senbon as a toothpick is interesting to her. He has a little patch in a kunai on his belt that shines like the jewelry madam Shijimi wears when riding into Konoha on her motorized palanquin. Yume likes his bandana. 

“Feel that little witch?” Uzumi-baa croons reverently “That little seal in his pocket, the way the chakra twists? It's the Fourth’s Hiraishin-”. 

“-Here Yume, I’ll teach you some weaving tricks to pass the time.” Her grandma cuts in nervously. She teaches Yume how to use her toddler fingers as a loom, skills Yume’s aunt had taught her to weave the wheat stalks, daisy’s, and her hair into crowns.

Her grandma’s hands are ones that saw a hard life. Scars that Yume would later learn were rope burns from when civilians were rounded up and sold in the third war by shinobi slavers marked her wrists. Her hands were stained with years of working in the dirt. 

Yume could imagine no greater place of safety and love.

Her soft toddler hands were guided by her grandmothers as they made little dolls and gecko’s of yarn. Briefly she wishes Maho was here and hadn’t gone deeper into the village to dance. 

Then. 

The world turns to fire.

Yume can’t comprehend it at first. 

It burns!

Yume screams as the chakra invades her sensitive coils. Distantly she can hear Uzumi-baa and Keiji-san screaming too. Never had her ability to reach out and sense the world feel so painful.

Never in her short life has she wished she wasn’t a sensor!

She watches the animal in the sky, tails like tornado’s, teeth dripping red as it bites through ninja, globs of burning bloody saliva dripping onto fleeing civilians, who screamed as they boil and were digested. The Uchiha ran to evacuate.

“Brother!” Aimu roars in shock.

Yume wails.

Her hands scratch bloody lines in her face as she tries to get rid of the pain of the nine-tails chakra. 

“We we told by Danzo-sama to not engage the Kyubbi, and to focus on those furthest away with the best chance of living!” Officer Tekka lands hard in front of them. “Why are you taking so long-huh! What's wrong with them!”

Everything sounds wrong, too far. 

“Baby what's wrong?” Her mother screams, her hands desperately trying to keep Yume from clawing at herself.

Yume couldn’t respond. Her rolling eyes could only capture blurred details of her mom, aunt, and grandma as she seized. 

Her heart thumps.

Faster and fasterandfasterand-

“We’re too far from the farm for the three of them to be reacting like this!” Aimu-san’s voice is underwater. 

“They're sensors ! We need to get them out of here before the killing intent stops their hearts!” Mama shouts.

And stops . 

The world is different when Yume wakes.

Her coils burn like her throat did after she ate some of Uzumi-baa’s bad berries and was forced to throw up to save her life. 

Every breath is like breathing sand, her eyes are dry and sting. Her strengthening limbs have gone soft.

She can feel the world, but it feels…off.

Wrong .

There is less life. If she reaches out too far she puts herself into a deep, sweaty sleep where she shakes for days and wakes up more tired somehow. Yume is a toddler and too young to understand why these things are happening to her. 

Her chakra won’t talk to her anymore.

Yume feels heartbroken.

It’s like she just lost her best friend. 

It’s stutters like a candle in the wind, grinding and scraping like her clenched baby teeth every time she tries to summon it forth, to dance and sing as she always had. It stutters on and off like the creaky faucets in their house, rusty water coming out. 

“-Don’t let her do that again. The seals I put on her tenketsu prevent her from chakra exhaustion entirely but at this stage she could still-”

She tries to reach out and feel the bluebirds in the fountain Keiji-san had carved for them but screams, and falls into yet another fever. When he tries to reach out with his chakra and cloak her in comfort, it burns.

He once used it to make her stop crying from fear after a mountain lion attack. 

And now she couldn’t stand it. 

“-Never be able to use comfort intent on her again, the seals block foreign chakra unless she allows it, and that level of chakra control-”

Yume feels assured to hear Uzumi-baa alive and cranky as ever, and she goes back to sleep. 

“Mama…” She whimpers. She tries to feel the lightningbug chakra of her mother, the warmth, the steadiness and instead feels only pain. “Can’t feel you.” 

Her mother scoops her up like a noble girl's porcelain doll and Yume can still only hear the thumping of her Mama’s heart, not the chakra or love in it. 

Yume compares her own heartbeat to her mothers.

It stutters.

She wishes it wouldn’t.

It knocks her out every single time. She tries to get up and dance with the birds and falls over. She tries to sing until she's breathless but doesn't make it past her first note. She tries to reach up and pick apples but she falls in the grass at the trunk of the trees, the red apples glistening in the sun and as far away from her as the twinkling stars.

She would bleed herself dry to feel a fraction of what she could have before. 

“Uzumi-baa…My chakra… it feels stuck.”

“It is, in a way.” She confirms, remarkably patient. She watches Yume try and fail to drag herself up from her chair on the porch. She can only watch her family in the fields now instead of join in

“Why?”

“Do you remember those seals on Konoha’s wall? You are not to repeat this to anyone, understand? Not even Maho.”

“Yes Uzumi-baa.”

“I was a fuuinjutsu master, a seal master of my now dead homeland, and a medic. Not much of a shinobi however. I used a modified medical-barrier seal on your tenketsu. Like many that night the Fox’s Killing intent invaded your coils and ripped them to shreds. You being so young and a sensor meant that while the rest of us were okay, you…you had died, briefly.” It’s the most emotional Yume has ever heard her.

Yume can feel each and every one of her Tenketsu like a Hyuga could see them. It’s miserably painful. They feel tight like a noose closing around her neck. 

“Can they come off?” She whimpers. She starts scratching her arms again like the night of the attack. The seals feels like stuck ticks on her tenketsu. They control her. They are keeping her alive but at what price?

Yume longs to rip them off, to be free. 

Her family looks up from the field, her mother makes to move towards them but her aunt stops her. 

“No.”

“C-can I dance?” if Yume stayed stuck in a chair forever, unable to sing with the world again it would be as if she was dead.

“Maybe. But it will be hard. You might be able to regain your sensory abilities but you’ll always be extremely vulnerable.”

“I’ll do it!” Yume cries.

Maho and Doremi-oba come to live with them.

Keiji-san and Aimu-san are gone in the village, even though Aimu-san still can’t work for the police anymore for some reason. That might be for the best because their guests would be uncomfortable with shinobi.

Doremi-oba had clutched her daughter tighter to her, and it was only because of their past walks to Konoha together that she didn’t flee entirely. Yume didn’t like to see the once carefree woman brought so low by fear for her daughter. 

Maho and her mama had been further in the village. Doremi-oba got chakra sickness and so did Maho, except Maho was young like Yume and wasn’t doing well. 

Yume was so selfishly glad to not be alone.

Maho’s tenketsu are too far gone for seals according to uzumi-baa, but she could still recover. It’s slow going but they have fun. Once, Yume finds a way to swing their chairs like how they used to be able to dance on their feet and it makes Doremi-oba cry. 

Konoha is less willing to keep them out now that they need all the food and working people they can get. It’s all fun and games to have shinobi until you realize they eat at least three times what a civilian does. 

Yume used to be able to work the stall front and sell veggies but now she can only watch because she told a noble lady the truth.

“Such a good build up of Konoha after the attack. No thanks to the likes of you!” she sniffs, eyeing their patchwork clothes. Yume loves their clothes. She sews them with grandma and puts little embroidered images and seals in them. 

“We’ve done more than you. You’re fat and these people are hungry.” Yume says back, head cocked in confusion. 

She had screeched about immigrants harassing her and called over officer Tekka from his patrol. He plays along but they know he is on their side. The lady knows it too and resolves to complain to the council of elders. 

Yume doesn’t know what she did wrong. 

“An honest days work is important.” Her grandma says.

“You need to keep secrets, because safety is treasure.” Uzumi-baa says. 

It might be both.

They shoo her away from the stalls and she goes to feel the city. It’s emptier than it ever was. She tries to reach out but her chakra snaps back. Sensing people is painful, but she recalls that she can now look for seals too.

People keep shooting her odd looks, chakra forced to twist to feel its surroundings but there are many orphans in this village. All Yume has to do is pretend to be a sad unloved kid and they turn a blind eye to her. 

She lacks finesse now. There’s no technique like before where she could expand or contract her range, sync up her chakra to others to harmonize in dance, or look for specific things, like emotions or personality traits. It’s either off or on. Yume does not like being limited to a binary when she’s used to a spectrum. 

It takes her hours but she finally finds one. She looks in nooks and crannies, barely able to cast her chakra more than a few feet in front of her at a time when before it could stretch on for hundreds of yards. She’s sweating harder than she ever did dancing or on the farm. It hurts to be near powerful shinobi in the markets, but she ends up finding one of the last in all of Konoha hidden in an empty medical clinic. 

This seal is mostly dead.

The previous owner died fighting the nine-tails. 

However it’s still tied to that senbon ninja. 

Yume shudders at the thought of getting the attention of a shinobi.

Yume ends up not being able to walk.

She begins to cry, stuck in an alleyway, kunai hidden in her stuffed dinosaur. She’s utterly exhausted and can’t take a single step more. This wouldn’t have been a problem a couple months ago! 

She cries softly for what felt like hours.

Until.

“You must be little Yume-chan.”

It’s a Uchiha police officer. His uniform looks different, bigger. He looks exhausted, lines under his eyes, frown lines by his mouth, but his face is turned into a small smile. He has brown spiky hair between his shoulders and ear.

She reaches her arms up to him, dinosaur tucked into the front of her overalls.

She's dirty, and covered in muck, but he picks her up without hesitation, cradling her in a way that makes her realize he has a newborn at home. He smells like milk and cotton cribs. 

Yume is delirious with exhaustion.

“Are you my daddy?” She whispers. He feels so familiar. His chakra is powerful, but kind. 

“No Yume-chan, but I would have been delighted to have you as a daughter. You may call me Fugaku-san. Right now your family is looking for you.”

They walk.

“...Why isn’t Aimu-san an officer anymore?” she asks. She knows she shouldn’t but she’s curious. Fugaku-san stiffens. He looks at her and seems to take in how fragile her civilian self is. 

“He was one of my best.” he says after a moment. “But we have rules. Shinobi aren’t supposed to be with civilians. It's…unfair to the civilians.”

“Why?” She asks sleepily. “What if they love each other?” She had felt the longing in aimu-san whenever he was on the farm. Had he been sent there as a sort of pseudo-exile? She squirms in discomfort that her lovely farm could be used to hurt others. 

“At the police station we have dealt with too many shinobi taking advantage of their power over civilians. It’s against the rules for officers and we need to be seen as following them.” Publicially at least, Yume thinks.

She nods sleepily.

He brushed her hair behind her ear in a fatherly gesture. It’s a gesture he had done for Mikoto-sama all those months ago in the market. 

“...They are together now. The Uchiha will not deny love when we see it. They have a daughter a bit older than you.” 

“... You?” Yume asks, still smelling the milk on his police uniform.

He smiles.

“Two sons. My youngest is a few months old. About two years younger than you.” 

He brings her to her family's stall and her mother sobs in gratitude. 

She takes the pitch-fork looking kunai back to Uzumi-baa, the Flying Thunder God etched into its metal. Uzumi-baa takes one look at it and lunges .

She breaks the thread that connects the fourths final seal to the senbon ninja that sends out a wave of potent that makes Yume cry

They pack and leave.

Uzumi-baa must carry Yume who can’t walk and won’t be able to for days now. 

The officers who had been searching for Yume are now searching for the person who broke the chakra bond with the Fourth’s legacy. 

As they go through the gates they see the senbon ninja frantically looking at the spot Yuem found the kunai. Yume opens her tenketsu and feels his pain

Yume had not lost anyone during the attack but she thinks it would be devastating. Yume had felt how close the senbon ninja had been to his hokage. They had been friends, loyal beyond death, to the point the fourth hokage entrusted him with his prized jutsu.

And she stole it from him.  

She begins to cry.

She moves to give it back.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Uzumi-baa breathes. “You’ve set your course, stick to it.”

She can only watch when the senbon man, a shinobi larger than life, starts to cry. 

 Doremi-oba and Maho help on the farm. Both Maho and Yume can sort of dance again. They learn more songs and crafts with their hands, and their writings. 

Maho gets tired more than Yume.

“Your mystery father is your high tide, little witch. His chakra gave you a larger pool, you might not be able to reach it, but if you keep a steady course you’ll do just fine.” 

When Maho is asleep Uzumi-baa teaches her seals. 

“You deserve to understand what was done to you, pearl. To think I sunk so low as to place seals on another…like Mito-sama…” Uzumi-baa trails off. It would have been so easy for Yume to understand her before, to call her senses to her fingertips like a bird can sing, but there is no response. 

The seals have been weaved into her coils. If they tried to remove them, she would die. The Barrier-medical seals sucks up Yume’s chakra before it can leak out, making her so uncomfortable that she can only release it when expanding her senses. 

“These stoppers are storing up chakra too, not just keeping it in. We’ll have to find a safe way for you to release them.” 

Once, she burns Uzumi-baa when releasing the seals. The non-sensors and the uninjured are fine, but Maho is not. 

Yume has above average pools for a civilian girl but she is no ninja. The potency surprised her. 

“It’s alright dear.” Grandma says as Yume wails. 

It’s not.

Maho is on the ground. Her face is pale and she’s not moving. Uzumi-baa has Maho bite her arm and life floods back into her. Yume can feel the life-giving healing chakra as powerful as the sun through her friends' charred coils. Most of it leaks out before it can help Maho but it’s enough to keep her alive. 

Instead of springing to her feet like anyone else would after a dose of Uzumi-baa’s medical ninjutsu, Maho simply lays limp in her mothers arms, and looks at Yume with fear.

It’s the first time she feels like a monster. 

They could not remove Yume’s tenketsu seals. 

Only alter it. 

They get to work looking at options. Yume has gotten a taste of what it means to be helpless and she doesn't like it. 

She can still sense as she had done when retrieving the Flying Thunder God Kunai, but she could no longer mould it. Gone were the days of sticking to the pear trees to get fruit for her and Maho, to weave little lights, to make the lightning bugs jump to the workers' songs. 

Her and Uzumi-baa begin to go over the Flying Thunder God Kunai, and potential barriers she could make, with Uzumi-baa cackling in delight every few seconds. Yume has to slap down silencing seals to keep Maho from waking. 

On their way back to Konoha, Yume and her friends and family plant trees on the side of the road like they always said they would. 

Pears, apples, plums, peaches, oranges, and many others grown from the seeds Maho and her had sprouted in their new electric icebox. 

“In a few years, can you pick some pears for me, Yume?” Maho murmurs. She hums more than she sings these days. She used to be loud but now Yume is just glad to hear her at all.

“We’ll pick them together.” Yume promises.

Maho smiles tiredly. Her eyes flutter shut like the butterflies on flowers closing with the sunset, and she rests her check on Yume’s shoulder. 

Yume is overwhelmed by the beauty of the world. 

They are selling produce in Konoha. Yume and Maho chew their peach rings, and mama smiles awkwardly as a chunin won’t leave her alone.

Yume recognizes him as one of the gossiping chunin Mikoto-sama had silenced. 

“You know, I know some fine ladies, willing to give you a chance at better work in Konoha.” A chunin says suggestively. “I’d be willing to…hook you up.” 

“That's very generous, but we’re doing well enough.” Mama is stiff as a board. She signals behind her back to auntie to go get a police officer. 

Yume dreams of fighting this chunin but she knows there’s nothing she can do. Yume flicks a rotten tomatoes in his face. He catches it in his hand and it smears in his glove.

“You little-”

“-Is there a problem here.” Keiji-san says, a grin made of gritted teeth. The chunin scowls.

“Uchiha. Don’t you have criminals to catch?”

The air goes cold.

Yume starts to shake, teeth itching and body stinging as it corrodes her coils. .

“Who says I’m not?” Keiji-san says darkly. 

The chunin leaves just in time for Yume to fall unconscious. 

“That boy is kinda cute!” Maho giggles. The creepy chunin had been back again, asking after the adult women and looking consideringly at Yume. She hadn’t liked it. It felt like he was weighing her value. They had successfully shooed him away by calling an officer. As a reward auntie had gotten them candy. 

Yume squints at him. He’s got a mullet that went into a braid, and huge eyebrows. And a messed up chakra system like her.

He’s in the academy. Yume’s has a brief daydream about becoming a legendary kunoichi, before jealousy gets the better of her. 

“Sure. He seems alright.”

“Just alright?”

“Well, he’s pretty cool.”

“You can’t steal my crush.”

“I’ve never had butterflies for anyone before!” Yume admits, her face going red.

Maho goes quiet.

“Really?” She asks quietly. “No one at all?”

She shrugs in discomfort. 

“Never have.”

“Oh…It might help boys to like you if you moved your face more. And to like, make the changes smoother? You go from happy to sad-faced in an instant it feels like a puppet almost!”

“You’re a puppet!” Yume says in response, trying to ignore her confusion at what was wrong with her with jokes, and the two girls throw candy at each other. 

“Sit still, Yume-chan. Fugaku-sama will broker a union-agreement for us so we won’t be hungry.” Ayame-chan says. She's friends with Aimu-san’s daughter, Izumi-chan. Izumi-chan is a half Uchiha academy student. Being only half was a big deal, and Yume remembers what Fugaku-sama said when she had gotten lost all that time ago. Izumi-chans was determined to prove herself despite having a civilian mother. 

Yume thought there was nothing to be ashamed of. 

“Will we be kicked out if I’m not quiet? I thought immigrants were allowed?” Yume asks curiously, once again showing her ability to cut to the heart of something. She has high hopes for this meeting. Briefly, she dreams of her family being treated better, of Fugaku doing so well in this meeting he becomes Hokage and makes them citizens. 

It makes the people around them stutter.

“No! the Hokage’s council didn’t want you guys here but Fugaku-sama insisted. You’re a part of this too!” Izumi-chan says, her dedication to helping others shining through. “Just because you’re not legal citizens doesn't mean you’re not a part of the community!” 

Ayame-chan and her dad often buy their vegetables for their ramen shop for the higher quality dishes. They bought in bulk from other farmers but theirs were the best due to the Uchiha ash and hidden controlled burns. 

Ayame and Yume like to share cooking tips. Ayame teaches out to cut vegetables in certain patterns, she once made a potato fold like origami that her mama taught her and Yume hounded Ayame until she mastered it. 

“You’re quite a super-focused girl Yume-chan!” Ayame had laughed nervously as Yume helps to serve Izumi-chan a bowl after training.

But now, the room interrupts in cheers.

Fugaku-sama had guided the workers' guilds with a steel grip, kind but focused. They had brokered an agreement with a council representative where everyone walked away better than before. Yume and her family could now sell for longer hours and deeper in the village. Ayame’s family could now buy from more sources without having to pay a tariff. 

Whatever that meant. 

"Yume had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb..." Yume sings quietly. 

She is bottle-nursing one of Uzumi-baa's baby-sheep, just born yesterday. It was a triplet and it's mother didn't have enough milk for all of them. She is thinking of this poor, sweet little baby, and poor, sweet little Maho! She hopes both will get better. Yume wonders, then, how to make everything better. 

"Careful! Get your head out of the clouds, girl! you're wasting precious milk!" Uzumi-baa scolds.

Yume gasps, and tilts the bottom back up to prevent more from dripping. The little sheep had it's fill, and was now curled up in sleep, soft wool pressed against Yume chest as she cradled it exactly like a baby-doll, its wool the same curl pattern as her own hair-like a little cloud. 

"Day dreaming again, Yume-chan?" Her aunt says in amusement, and Yume blushes and nods, turning to look at the sleeping Maho.

She slept more often now.

Yume wonders, did she count sheep to fall asleep? 

“Yume-chan why don’t you slow down and smell the roses?” Auntie says. Yume has been methodically stacking and re-stacking their boxes of produce for the past several hours. 

That sounds like a good idea.

Yume proceeds to smell every single flower she comes across, delighting in the new scents and colors even as her nose stops working and she gets a headache. Some of them are really sweet, some are sour and even stinky!

“That's an orange lily, it means hatred.” A girl whispers.

“You look like you could be a flower too.” Yume says. The girl has pink hair and green eyes. The girl blushes despite Yume meaning it as a neutral statement.

“Thanks! I like your cloud hair! My name is Sakura!”

“And I’m Ino!” This is a clan kid. Blond hair and pupil-less blue eyes. She moves in a way that speaks of Kata training. Maho has told Yume that she moves casual like yet in a rhythm, the cadence of a farmer and someone raised on song. 

This Ino girl is a sensor too.

It’s untrained, and weaker, but Yume thinks it's interesting and has enough potential to leave the girl an anonymous note in the next batch of bouquets they make together. A clan heir with sensory abilities could make things better for all sensors.

Well. 

Only if she reads Yume’s note.

A girl can dream though!

It’s enough to have shinobi looking suspiciously at that area and Yume’s teeth chatter with fear.

Yume is often too busy working and sometimes doesn’t want to play. 

“Sorry Sakura-chan.” Yume says, not sounding sorry at all. “I’m busy.” 

“But-uh, we were gonna talk about Sasuke-kun!” Yume knows who that is, but she had only ever seen him from a distance.

“You can talk to me while I stack orders?” Yume offers. Sakura takes it, rambling happily about how she would prove herself strong despite being a civilian.

Yume pauses.

“-Not that theres anything wrong with being a civilian Yume-chan!” Sakura adds hastily. Yume gets the feeling she's missing something again.

A group of academy girls walks by, mean, sneering at civilian kids.

“Ami!” Sakura yelp and hides that's shes with her and Yume is so hurt that she stacks the fruit in a way to hide Sakura from view. It allows the girl to crawl away.

"Whats wrong with your hair?" The girl who must be Ami says as she walks past. Yume freezes, eyes wide. Her family is coming with the produce cart. Yume's golden curls are out today, not tucked into the bandana thats only looely tied around her head. 

"She looks like she has her head in the clouds!" another academy girl laughs. They leave when the bell rings. 

Yume was happy for Sakura, really. 

She would miss Sakura at school but Yume was glad she got to go to the shinobi academy.

But it was bittersweet. 

Yume tucks her hair into her bandana. 

When Yume and Maho aren’t being tutored in maths, musical sheet notes, and writings, they go outside and play. They can’t go as far as they used to, they can’t climb trees anymore, and they need walking sticks.

But they play .

Her flower-crown rests on Yume’s shoulder and she sits quietly and weave’s more crowns. Yume pauses, and reaches out her senses as carefully as she dares, not wanting to hurt her friends again.

Maho tires easily nowadays. While Yume had begun to grow around her disabilities, Maho slowed down. 

She slept more than she was awake 

Days like these were precious. 

It’s excruciating and makes her rip the flowers she’s holding from her pained grip, but it’s worth it to feel the peace in Maho’s chakra, the way it flows faintly. 

Yume feels the flowers in the crowns. 

She feels life slowly draining from them now that they’ve been uprooted and suddenly Yume is nauseous with grief and guilt. It feels like she’s made senbon man cry again.

Yume desperately tries to plant the flowers again so that they may live, and it wakes Maho up.

“What's wrong?” Maho asks.

“Nothing! I was just hungry. How were your dreams?” Yume says.

“They were sweet, I..want fruit.”

Yume frowns.

Oh!

“I have an idea! Here, It’s not much, but…”

Uzumi-baa taught Yume a sensory technique where she could transfer some of her chakra from the seals to Maho. It was very difficult, required skin contact, and not much of it stayed in Maho anyway, but it would be enough to get them to where they needed to go. 

“Thank you!” Says Maho, energized. 

Yume walks them to the wild blackberry patches in the back of the farm. Maho wouldn’t have the energy to fight the thorns.They would cut them, and ruin their clothes, and make them look like disheveled riff-raff. Yume and Maho did not used to care what the wealthier clan kids in Konoha thought of them as farmers and performers but it mattered when selling their produce. 

“I guess we can wait to go to Konoha for candy.” Maho says in disappointment. 

Yume clenches her jaw.

“Let's blow this popsicle stand!” Yume declares. 

She jumps in the brambles and smiles when she hears Maho’s gasp and calls for her to come back and not get hurt. Yume yanks her clothes from the brambles, rips her hair from the snarls, and reaches out her screaming hands and pulls berry after berry down into her overalls. Her hands and clothes are stained with juice to look almost like ink, or blood, and she smells like a berry perfume and she laughs wildly.

It’s the freest she's felt since the seals went in her. 

It feels like she can do anything again. 

She is not a crippled civilian girl, destined to watch as her friends in Konoha become kunoichi, she is a powerful adventurer, someone who sees what people say about her, what they think she can and should do, and does what she wants anyway. 

Yume emerges from the thicket triumphantly, and Maho is there, berries forgotten, and hugging her. Her arms are strong once more, and Yume feels their two tattered chakras become one with her friend.

Her sister . 

It’s the most delicious thing she’s ever had. 

They are back in the village.

Yume longs to go in deeper to explore like she had when she was younger, except this time she had recovered more. 

So she does.

Maho said she’d cover for Yume as long as she told her everything when she came back. 

So Yume walks through Konoha, jaw on the floor, eyes wide and dreaming as she looks at the beautiful buildings, imagining what it would be like to live here. She and Maho would grow a fairy garden on the rooftops! 

Yume is clean today instead of looking like a dirty orphan which poses a problem. Adults seem to care now. 

She is able to shake them from her tail.

“Thank you so much mister! My mama has me running my first errand!”

“Don’t worry miss, I’m heading back home from school! I love your earrings.”

Sometimes, she will get them to talk about themselves instead. It helps Yume collect information about others and it helps that Yume is genuinely curious about people. They all at least have one interesting thing about them.

And then she feels it.

That chakra .

Of that terrible night, the night that crippled her and killed thousands. 

The fox monster.

“Oh, that riff-raff! Stay away from him, dear. He’s bad news.” The lady hissed.

The little boy with bright hair like the sunflowers Yume’s mama had planted with her, and eyes as blue as the skies after rain, and chakra that felt like acid to her coils, looks like he’s been kicked in the gut. Yume can feel the poison rising from a seal on his stomach, settled into his coils like Yume’s own were. For a moment she feels sympathy.

Reality catches up to her.

Seconds away from throwing up and passing out from chakra poisoning, Yume turns and runs.

His cries follow her. 

Yume does not tell anyone what happened, and Doremi-oba tells them stories to entertain them, on top of singing and dancing.

“So a whole people made of wind? Hiding in tunnels?” Maho asks.

“Yes dear. There are tunnels all over the world, and in fire country too! They had the most beautiful wind instruments. But a few years ago there was-actually I’ll play a tune of theirs for you!” Doremi-oba changes topic abruptly, her chakra having spiked in horror and grief at whatever she was going to say about the Iburi clan.

Yume grins widely. 

Later, after having found an entrance in the rocks of the Naka river, they shiver and cling to each other in the darkness, Yume’s sensory abilities the only thing keeping them from bumping into the cave walls. 

“What are we gonna do? We’re lost!” Maho whimpers.

Yume says nothing, focusing. She could feel the moles, the worms, and the ambient nature chakra but not much else. They were at least dozens of feet underground. But that one spot of air in the cave, it almost felt like…

Yume clenches her jaw in frustration. If she wasn’t chakra crippled she would have been able to make it out by now. 

“We wanted to find the Iburi clan so much we got lost!” She admits. 

The chakra cloud twitches.

Yume can’t see in the pitch black, as their flashlight had broken when dropped and she didn’t want to light a candle in an area with limited oxygen.

“Something’s happening!” Yume tells Maho, “A person.”

“That's right! I am a person!” A teenager's voice says. It’s a girl. It’s filled with several emotions such as realization, happiness, grief, curiosity, and mischievousness. She has a weird seal on her shoulder. 

They both scream.

“Boo!” 

“A ghost!” Yume screams.

“I’m no such thing! Ignore that I came out of thin air.”

A pause.

“...a friendly ghost?” Yume says hopefully. Maho nods vigorously. 

“I just said I wasn’t! I’m the Iburi you’re looking for. My name is Yukimi. Yume, was it? You’re a shameless little girl to go waltzing down here. I see you taking the lead.”

Yume shrugs, and Maho gets excited. 

“Wow! My mama was talking about you. She says something happened but that your music lives on in others, so we decided to find you and hear it from the source!” 

Yukimi goes quiet.

“Why are you alone? Did your family die?” Yume asks curiously.

Maho gasps angrily.

“Yume! We talk about you being mean!” 

Yume realizes she probably shouldn’t have said that and apologizes.

“...You’re right. They did. I’m the last of my clan.” Her voice is quiet. Yukimi almost forms into a solid person but fades. “I might as well be a ghost.” She adds sadly. 

“...We’re sorry.” They apologize. 

“I’m just glad I have visitors, and ones who are musical too!”

They perform the songs Doremi-oba showed them from the Iburi clan and Yukimi is so grateful she hugs them as she leads them out of the tunnels.

“I can’t go any farther, I’ll dissipate.” Yukimi says sadly.

“Dissipate?”

“Turn to air. Forever.” 

The two girls gasp and cry, and promise to visit as the light from outside blinds them. Yumiki is beautiful in the light, auburn hair, stormy blue eyes, and freckles like Yume’s own beauty marks.

And an indomitable smile. 

“We can help you!” Yume cries, “We know sealing, we can-”

“No!” Yukimi shouts. Her face turns pale. Her hand goes to the seal on her shoulder and Yume’s heart sinks.

“No thank you, someone already tried that…all he ended up doing was kill us.” Yukimi whispers.

“I’m sorry, I-I just wanted to…”Yume stammers.

Yukimi smiles again.

“Our clan plants trees to honor our dead. All kinds, but we liked fruit trees. You said you were a farmer? Can you plant trees for us?” she asks.”

Yume clenches her fists in determination. 

“I will plant you a forest!”

Butterflies dance at the mouth of the cave. Sweet scents of flowers are in the air and they can faintly hear the Naka river. 

“Don’t be a stranger!” Yukimi tries to say goodbye but it almost sounds like begging and Yume wishes to give her new friend a hug, but when they reach out, she slips through their fingers.

Maho never has that much energy again. 

She slows down, her humming tapering off, her tapping fingers going still. She’s always in bed, Doremi-oba never far away, trying to get her daughter to eat something, anything.

“Can’t we get a medic-nin from the village?” She chokes out. Gone is the smooth lovely singing voice. 

“Ya got one right here, and I said her chakra is leaving her coils before it can be replaced. And med-nin won’t come for non-citizens either.” Uzumi-baa says plainly. Her face is neutral and her chakra is twisted with terrible guilt and grief. 

Doremi-oba cries quietly. 

“You’ll be able to travel again soon mama.” Maho whispers and it makes Doiremi-oba sob. 

The house is dark.

Yume’s own family alternated between quietly supporting Doremi-oba and clutching Yume as close to themselves as possible. If Uzumi-baa hadn’t gotten to Yume with her seals it would be Yume who was dying instead.

Dying.

Her best friend, her sister , was dying .

It looks like Yume would be losing someone from the Kyubbi attack after all. 

Yume sits beside her sister, not as close as Doremi-oba but close enough to feel Maho’s chakra flicker and swirl like the rush of rain water down the creek and into the blackness of the Naka river. She and Maho used to throw flower petals to watch them dance down the river, and veggie scraps to feed the fish and ducks. 

She quietly works on her seals.

It’s ruined when her tears drip on the ink. 

Yume’s chakra coils have healed somewhat and at first she had been proud. She would never be able to externalize chakra for tree-climbing, taijutsu, or making jutsus, but she had regained some of her sensory abilities and could control her tenketsu seals much better now. 

It felt like a joke now.

As Yume got better Maho was dying, in part thanks to the damage Yume did to her on accident. 

Doremi-oba is sleeping, her head on her daughter's chest but from this angle Yume could still see Maho’s face.

Yume’s heart leaps in her throat.

“Maho?” She whispers, traitorous hope fluttering in her chest. 

The girl doesn’t recognize her at first. Her face has a distant quality to it and Yume feels fear.

“Maho!” She whispers louder.

Maho’s head turns to her. She blinks with wide, glazed eyes.

“Are you okay?” Yume asks, blinking rapidly.

She nods.

“O-okay. Okay. Were you dreaming?”

Maho smiles slowly. Her small hand comes up to weave through her sleeping mothers hair.

“Blackberries, we…danced on the river. The sun did too, and the birds did…” Maho’s words are like a lullaby that sings herself to sleep, the whispered winds through the wheat fields, the bubbling water of the waterfall into the rice paddies. “...So did the wind chimes, and my mommy was hugging me there too.” Maho says as she looks at her mother holding her. “Dream come true.” her words blend together like colors at sunset. 

Doremi-oba wakes up.

“Baby? How are you feeling?” Doremi-oba’s voice is quiet like loud words would break Maho, but Maho is beyond any of that. 

Maho nods. She’s so weak now she can’t complete the gesture. 

“T-that's good.” Doremi-oba’s powerful singing voice is dangerously close to failure as her tears fall onto her daughter. “Were…were you dreaming of nice things?” 

Maho chest rises and falls slowly. 

Her eyes are fluttering like the wings of a bird they had rescued, a baby who had fallen out of its nest and broken its wing. They nursed it back to health and it now came to visit often. They had named him Natoru. 

Maho’s eyes open suddenly.

Her head rises again and she looks at her mother with such love and happiness that Yume fights the urge to run to her own mother, who is slumped against the door and biting her hand to keep quiet.  

“...I was… dreaming.. .” Maho sighs, seeming to forget she had already said that. It surprises both of them.

“That's lovely.” Doremi-oba says, the first hint of joy in her voice in weeks. 

Maho’s head falls back.

Her breathing is deep and uneven now but a smile is on her mouth. She looks at peace.

Doremi-oba kissed her forehead.

“Sweet dreams, baby.” She whispers.

Doremi-oba sings. She sings all through the night, and into the morning even as her voice cracks and breaks like her heart. When the first rays of sunrise kiss Maho’s sleeping face, she takes her last breath, chakra fading away like voices in the wind. 

Keiji-san and Aimu-san create a pyre for Maho. They use dried branches from her favorite fruit trees as kindling, and thick, sweet smoke swirls and dances into the sky.

Doremi-oba is quiet.

She takes part of her daughter's ashes and spreads it on top of the foothills of the mountain range, so that Maho could roam the earth.

She takes the other half and spreads it at the bases of the fruit trees on the path to Konoha they had all taken many times from Yume’s family farm.

“So she may become the thing she loves.” Doremi-san whispers. She has the Uchiha put wind-chimes and ribbons in the trees with the ashes buried below them. The Naka river bubbles below, the deepest roots drawing water. 

The bird Natoru comes by. He sings for days, but his singing turns to cries when Maho never responds. She had dug up worms for him with her bare hands when he was sick. He had sung for her from her window when she had grown too weak to make music. 

Doremi-san stays for one more week.

Then, kissing all of them on the cheek, she leaves. Her body language is somber as she walks up the trail and out of their lives, head bowed, shoulders stiff. But her long hair -the same earthly brown as Maho’s had been- dances in the wind, the ribbons laced in it woven by Maho, and her skirt picks up and flares with Maho’s sloppy embroidered musical notes to songs only it can hear. 

And Yume feels hope. 

Yume sobs from her place on the ground, clutching her broken arm. Fruit hangs heavy above her.

That fall should have killed her.

Instead, she bounces off her neck and directly onto her arm. All of her Tenketsu are on fire after that outburst of chakra. Yume has no idea what happened. 

Her head swims with chakra exhaustion.

“-rgency transfusion!”

Yume comes back to feel the fiery pain in her arm. 

“Daft girl, hold still! I’ll try to heal this but with your coils-this will hurt, and I won’t be able to heal you fully.” Uzumi-baa says seriously. She has ran from her cottage to their farm and Yume has been cradled in her mama’s arms. 

She whines in pain as her Mama cradles her in her lap, then cries harder when she begins thrashing, her aunt holding her down to prevent a worse injury. 

Uzumi-baa’s medical chakra feels like ice shards scraping through her sensitive coils. Much of it dissipates before it’s effective, and Yume’s tenketsu seals lets very little past it. Uzumi-baa is barely able to set the bone and kick-start the healing process 

She has sweat visible from under her fuuinjutsu bandana, showing how tedious it was to heal a sealed sensor even for someone as talented at Uzumi-baa.

“I-I promised Maho I would get her some pears.” Yume turns her face into her mothers lap and ignores how quiet it gets.

“Use this as a siren to call me if you ever need help again. The seal will suck up your chakra so don’t fret about your inability to channel it.” Uzumi-baa hands her a Hiraishin. “It’ll only work once since we’re still figuring it out, but it means I’ll go to you if you call.”

“...How am I alive?”

“...The seals I used on your tenketsu are a mix of Konoha’s barrier seals and medical seals. Their purpose is to stop chakra leakage, store it, and for you to emit it when it's too high.”

Konoha’s barrier seals reinforced the walls with chakra, and generated a chakra forcefield when KI was detected. Having a version of this on her tenketsu, absorbing chakra as she grew up, has implications .

 “You’ve been able to do this before to create strong auras when emptying your seals. You feel like a mini lighthouse when you do, directionless as it is. I think you unconsciously hardened your chakra on impact.”

A passive, thick aura? She already knew sensors had potent KI and CI, could she do that except stronger? An aura so thick it formed a pseudo-barrier shaped by the seals? 

And it saved her life?

Yume feels excited. That was powerful. If she could learn to control-

Oh right.

“You’ll never be able to fully control it.” Uzumi-baa confirms. “It’ll get in the way more often than it helps, but should your life be threatened it might assist you.” 

Uzumi-baa’s words are prophetic. 

The chunin who never left Mama alone attacks their farm, on a sunny afternoon. The rays beat down on them. 

Yume feels him before she sees him.

Her senses once again open to the world, the KI is unmistakable. Yume screams .

“-Baby what-”

“-A nightmare-” 

The crickets in tall grass go quiet.

Yume shakes.

She can feel her doom before her family even sees it. Yume tries to reach for the Hirashin seal, to activate her shield, but she can’t move.

Grandma is too old. She dies first.

Auntie puts up too much of a fight.

Their chakras wink out like when grandma licks her fingers and pinches the candles off at night, like when auntie had taken the rooster that tormented Yume and chopped it’s head off with one big swing 

Two pillars of her life, gone. 

It makes no sense. Yume keeps reaching out despite the pain of the killing intent, but they’re just gone. It feels like the sun has gone out and left the earth to freeze. Yume is so cold her bones are ice. 

It feels like the dying flower crowns, like Maho .

Mama takes Yume into her arms and runs .

“Hopefully you’ll come quietly, beautiful. You’re still valuable enough to sell.” The chunin says. “Your crippled kid can be sold to. Don’t need to manipulate chakra to be someone's pet.” 

Mama runs.

The chunin saunters. He has all the time in the world to catch up to a civilian. 

He appears in front of them.

Mama skids and turns so hard it rips off her sandals, and toenails.

The killing intent crushes her lungs.

Yume’s hand moves as if through syrup and she activates Uzumi-baa’s seal. It feels like a raging Uchiha campfire of chakra and it slips through Yume’s fingers as the chunin catches up. 

He raises his hand.

A chakra chain saws it off. 

A beat.

He screams and Yume thinks he should scream louder, be in more pain, now until the end of time. Uzumi-baa stands where the hirashin seal had fallen, red-faced and trembling from strain. She is not young, and only ever reached genin in her home country. She isn’t made for fighting a chunin. 

“Keiji-san responded to my chakra flair Yume! He’ll be here any second!” Uzumi-baa gasps. 

He howls and charges like an animal, blood arcing through the air from his stump, and an explosive tag in his other hand.

Uzumi-baa’s eyes widened.

Mama turns to cover Yume with her body.

The world explodes.

Her ears are ringing, her eyes spark with light so bright it hurts, she’s fine but the smell of blood coming from her mama is not. 

“Y-Yume.” Mama whispers in relief that she had saved her daughter. Her lovely eyes fade. Her chakra swirls and disappears like incense smoke, the last bit of rain dripping off a flower petal. 

Yume whimpers.

The wails at the feeling. Her mothers life slips right through her finger and Yume can feel every bit of it.

Her hands tug at her mothers clothes like she can pull her chakra back to fill this sudden void in Yume’s heart.

Uzumi-baa had landed not too far away from them. She was unconscious from the chunin’s blast. He was gaining on them. Almost dead himself but with two explosive tags left. And a determination to take them with him. 

Yume pulls her self up because she knows what she needs to do.

He releases the tag.

Yume can’t explain it, but she can feel her senses reach out, in all directions as it is for every sensor except her tenketsu activate with such excruciating pain that she screams wordlessly, her eyes never once leaving her mother. 

Her chakra solidifies, absorbs, and redirects what it can’t, saving Uzumi-baa’s life. 

Yume’s Tenketsu seals are ripped to shreds. 

Yume has just enough energy to crawl back to her mama, to lift a limp arm, still warm, and tuck herself into the shelter of her mothers corpse, because she can imagine no greater place of love and safety to die in. Her mother would hold her and guide her into the afterlife, and she would be waiting for Yume with her auntie and grandma. 

The world turns beautiful. 

She’s hemorrhaging chakra but the earth is warm and soft from being in the sun. Her mothers floral scent is still there under the blood, her long hair tickles Yume’s cheek.

Her heartbeat slows, her breathing becomes deep and even and Yume can hear the Naka river bubbling through the silent clearing, all crickets and birds having fled. 

Through the haze of death and her heavy eyelashes Yume can make out the chunin. His face is dripping off from the last blast and he is staring at Yume from exposed eye sockets. 

His chakra is swirling and fading too.

It won’t be long.

He raises the tag and Yume closes her eyes, her hearing fades away.

A powerful chakra signature bursts to life on their farm, a signature Yume has known for her whole life.

It takes all the life left in her but when she opens her eyes she sees Keiji-san has finally arrived. If a genin like Uzumi-baa is no match for a chunin, that a chunin is no match for a jonin like Keiji-san. He has crushed the chunin’s remaining arm with the tag and his eyes are spinning red as he looks into the chunin eyes and takes everything from his mind. 

He collapses and Keiji-san collapses at Yume’s side.

He is sobbing as he goes from Yume’s face to mama’s. He checks her pulse and his face crumbles. His warm hand goes to Yume’s neck and Yume lets out one last sigh, resting her cheek into his palm and his chakra bursts with hope and love. 

Uzumi-baa is brought over by Keiji-san and Yume wakes up enough to try to fight her off.

“I won’t live to see another family die!” Uzumi-baa growls. 

“I want to! It hurts! Mama !” Yume screams as Uzumi-baa begins to work on her tenketsu. She tries to hide under her mother again to stop the pain. 

The farm is empty except for the tag-sparked fires. It’s as if the stars are all gone from the sky. 

There is nothing left. 

Yume wakes up in the hospital with Keiji-san and Uzumi-baa next to her. She reaches out her senses to feel her family but she’s too far from the farm and there are too many people. Her seals feel different-raw like an infection scraped clean.

The two adults both have tears on their faces. Yume is struck with the realization these two people loved her family too. 

She learns her future from them.

Keiji-san and his niece, Izumi-chan, had been investigating the trafficking of immigrant women. This was being done off the books because the council didn’t care about non-citizens. They had suspected this chunin for a while as he was a part of a ninja banking clan but had no proof. 

He is dead now. 

The ring has been busted.

Her family is dead. 

Uzumi-baa says Yume was unconscious for several weeks.  

Keiji-san and the Uchiha broke the law to fake paperwork for Yume that she had been in Konoha’s orphanage this whole time and her father was a dead shinobi, making her a citizen so she could get treatment in the hospital. She would be able to go to school now and live in Konoha. 

She would have to pretend her family was never here.

She would have to leave Uzumi-baa behind. 

“If you don’t want to-”

Yume nods sharply. 

She can’t stand the idea of walking out the gates like she always did, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself looking for her mother, watching out for her aunt's mischievous shoulder tapping, her grandma’s habit of smelling the flowers. 

She’s such a coward. 

A wave of comfort intent washes over Yume and it feels like someone opened a window into god's garden. It feels like the sun on her skin, being held by her alive mother, her aunt and grandma in the kitchen, her belly full with food they grew as she sleeps next to Maho. 

Uzumi-baa’s chakra harmonizes with Yume’s, her chakra fresh and flowing with the altered seals from her. 

She wants to live again. 

Keiji-san and Izumi-chan check up on her often. Izumi-chan is a newer officer and is responsible for talking to nervous victims, women and girls. Keiji-san covertly hunts down traffickers. 

One of these girls Izumi-chan and Keiji-san saved is Shiho. A mousey girl with straw colored hair and coke-bottle glasses, and an amazing ability to solve puzzles. She arrives at the orphanage shivering, and Yume gives Shiho her jacket.

She looks completely baffled. Then so grateful the think glasses can't hide her tears.

Keiji-san devoted every moment he wasn't working to helping Yume. Yume can see the terrible grief in his eyes, but the hope and love as well. Yume can tell by his chakra he views her as something like a daughter.

It makes her feel almost alright again. 

School is nice.

Yume goes with several orphanage kids. 

Children are unique to her sensor abilities. Small, burning lights of potential, like clay, many are still forming. It's fascinating to watch up close. Yume holds a baby and falls in love with the idea of children, of helping them grow. 

Shiho is nice and they play with puzzles together. Tenten and her will do darts together. Yume will always lose, but she’s getting better! An ashen little boy names Seiko and her will draw together. Yume has learned how to sketch profiles from Officer Inabi and could do portraits very well and teaches Seiko. Officer Inabi even gave her some of the precious Uchiha-made charcoal to draw. He’s 3 years younger than her at age 7 and soaks everything up like a sponge. 

Yume tries to be kind.

These are really sad kids. 

It doesn’t always work

Tenten is adopted by a farming couple that Uzumi-baa and her family hated. They had a habit of taking advantage of others to do the farming for them, and they were not the only ones. The police hated it and tried to get the council to pass laws, but it was too beneficial to use the orphan kids to make food for hungry shinobi. When they adopt Tenten she is so happy. Her eyes sparkle and she jumps when she packs to go to her new home, dream of being a kunochi in the background. 

Yume knows what is about to happen.

She’s jealous Tenten still would get to be a shinobi that she’d be on a farm when Yume was taken away from her’s, even if it was for a bad reason. 

Tenten comes to hug Yume and it feels like her mothers arms. 

Yume twitches.

“They’re gonna use you like tissue!” Yume spits. She burns with the need to make Tenten see the truth. “They’re not gonna love you, you’re never gonna be able to be a kunochi with all those clan girls!”

Tenten’s face is the picture of devastation. Her drive had pushed others away and Yume had been her closest friend.

“You-I don’t think anyone is ever gonna love you either!” Tenten cries, and runs to her new family. Yume cries because Tenten is right. Nobody is ever gonna love her as much as her family had.

Yume sneaks out to paint on Konoha’s buildings. She got the paint from the many construction crews in Konoha who she talked to and ran errands for to get spending money. This made Keiji-san nervous. 

They’re called murals. She paints the stories that the Uchiha told her, that her mama told her, she paints her family working on their farm, she paints pear trees, Maho in a field of flowers, puzzles she does with Shiho, and for a second, looking at these paintings, she can almost believe they’re alive again. 

It’s the closest thing they’ll get to a memorial. 

Seiko begins to tag along with her and Yume remembers to be kind and let him. They paint murals together and giggle when Keiji-san sighs and tells them how to do it in a way where they won’t get in trouble. 

She can only paint in places seen as undesirable or else will be noticed, which often leads her to the red-light district. The Geisha notice her talents and have her do flowers for them on their walls. This makes Izumi nervous as she has responded to cases of abuse against the Geisha but the Geisha protect Yume very well. The protect Yume very well especially after Fugaku-sama himself gets involved, investigating for several months and stopping a trafficking ring in it's tracks. 

They feed her and teach her makeup, acting, dances, and singing, alone and in a group, and she even becomes passable at some instruments. 

She uses this to sing the babies to sleep. 

She misses Tenten.

"Here Yume-chan. Let me teach you this dehydration chakra trick. It's not chakra intensive, but us Uchiha civilians can use to to make dried fruits and jerky." Izumi-chan's mom, Mikasa-san, says. She is Aimi-san's wife and Izumi's mom.

"But civilians are not supposed to use chakra." You got in trouble for it. In fact, the Uchiha police were technically required by law to arrest civilians who did that. 

"it's common for Uchiha civilians to use low-intensity fire chakra tricks for their daily lives. The women use it for cooking, civilian use it for art, ceramics, glass making, and story telling. Our medics use it for sterilization."

"Tricks!?"

"Yes. Not the same as a shinobi's ninjutsu. These are too small of chakra usage for handsigns. But tricks. We still use chakra in little ways." 

Yume's mouth drops open in realization and excitement.

"Yes! I'd love to, I-"

Oh.

Right. 

Yume could not use chakra. Yume can feel Mikasa's small civilian signature, yet the fire dehydration 'jutsu' is so low cost in terms of chakra she is able to use it to make dried fruit for her husband. It's an excellent method of learning chakra control, considering the long duration it takes to dehydrate the persimmons the Uchiha love so much.

Speaking of which.

"Mikasa my dear." Aimu-san says in relieved exasperation. "You are lucky I am no longer an officer. We're technically supposed to report civilians who use chakra, no matter how small."

"But you wouldn't. It's why you are no longer an officer." Mikasa and Aimu-san had a frank way of speaking to each other. They did not shy away from hard truths. Yume nervously searches Aimu-sans chakra for anger or irritation but only finds loving acceptance. Engaging in a relationship with his civilian wife was worth loosing his officer status to him. 

"It used to be common place for all types to use jutsu. Sure, hand sealing ninjutsu is still a shinobi art and quite separate from our little civilian tricks, but other professions use little quirks of chakra. Dancers for small sparkles, the religious in their ceremonies. It's everywhere!" Mikasa exclaims.

"What does this mean for the other Uchiha civilians?" Yume asks worriedly. "If they can't practice their civilian chakra tricks without their family being forced to turn them in."

It goes quiet.

"...Many of the Uchiha heritage and culture has been lost because of it." Mikasa says quietly. Aimu-san grips his ceramic, Uchiha-made coffee mug tightly. It's clearly old and well-loved, and Yume wonders for the first time if there were any young Uchiha who knew the civilians techniques to re-make it if it ever broke, or if it had been legislated out of them.

"...Mikasa-san, the nine-tails attack damaged my coils to much to learn the civilian tricks. Could...could you write them down?" Yume asks, blinking tears out of her eyes.

"...Yes, I do believe I can." Mikasa says quietly. She learns forward, and uses the small amount of chakra her civilian reserves let her, to evaporate the tears from Yume's face. 

There is a weirdness to this shinobi.

Yume stares at him from where he wandering around like a lost soul. He holds an orange book limply in his hand, and his face is almost completely covered by a mask. His only noticeable feature is a shock of silver hair. 

Yume pats her own head to make sure the golden colored curls her mother blessed her with are safely tucked away under her bandana. Yume promised she would grow them out for her family's memory. However, her cumulonimbus cloud-like hair is her most distinctive feature, and Yume is trying very hard not to stand out.

She can feel with her sensory abilities how much his covered eye does not fit its socket. She’s careful to not look at him at all but still reach out. The eye seems confused, its chakra does not flow like it should with the rest of his body which causes chakra loss and pain. It acts like it’s tied to another person. Hatake actual signature, the one that belongs to him, is sluggish through the eye. It's a unique chakra that must be a Hatake bloodline. Yume can tell anyone else would not be able to have that eye at all. 

Yume’s heart beats fast. 

Her eyes are still on her plate but she can tell he knows someone is watching him.

She excuses herself from conversation with the construction crew and pretends she is late for class.

When she tells Keiji-san, his face  goes tight, and he tells her the story of Hatake Kakashi.

Yume does some quick thinking about the fatality numbers of the Uchiha police force and aligns it with the time Hatake got his eye.

“...His semi-successful transplant was responsible for the increase in bloodline attacks against the Uchiha, wasn’t it?” Yume whispers.

Keiji-san nods.

“And we were ordered to keep it a secret as to not invite more attackers into the weak spots of Konoha’s security.”

She feels sick. 

“Are there anymore?”

“No. We were able to retrieve all eyes.”

“But I saw you were looking into past disappearances! Who was Kagami?”

Keiji-san tells her a young girl should be careful what questions she asks and sends her off, chakra spiking with worry. 

“Yume!” Sakura shouts with joy. 

Yume gasps and goes to hug her friend. She starts to cry. She won’t be able to stand the pity so she doesn't.

Sakura is in the academy in a grade below Tenten and Shiho. She’s excited and determined to work hard.

One day Yume see’s Sakura being attacked by bullies.

Yume tries to get them to stop but she is easily overwhelmed, she’s pushed to the ground by these three academy girls as easy as anything, despite Yume being a year older and strong for a girl.

Yume almost thinks her shield would activate, but these girls aren’t killers.

Just bullies. 

There isn’t enough KI to trip the seals. 

Yume is just a civilian girl going up against academy girls and the difference is a valley between them. 

 Izumi ends up saving them. Sakura is covered in bruises, hair cut by kunai students shouldn’t have without supervision, and dress ruined. 

“This is unacceptable!” Izumi shouts at Iruka-sensei. 

He frowns. His eyes are kind.

“...Being a kunoichi is hard. It’s not for everyone because the culture is so different, a little roughhousing is normal. If Sakura can’t learn to work together she might need to think about a different career path.” Iruka explains gently. His chakra tells Yume that he really believes he’s being kind to Sakura.

The three girls end up with a slap on the wrist for attacking a civilian but not for anything they did to Sakura. 

“I-I don’t think we should be friends anymore.” Sakura blurts, several days after. Her lip trembles.

Yume freezes. 

“I’m just trying to focus really hard now on shinobi stuff and Iruka-sensei says I need to study really hard now and you're a civil-” Sakura cuts herself off looking horrified.

Yume walks away having lost another friend.

Every few months the orphanages will host an academy potential screening. Most of the kids fail, but Seiko does well in several metrics. Several elders are here to show support for the ‘poor’ of the village. 

They seem unimpressed.

Yume thinks one of their chakras feels weird. She’s much more careful casting out her senses around powerful shinobi such as this, no matter how old they are. Despite not being inherent sensors they can access-inferior and limited-manual sensory jutsu. Smaller range, less accuracy, and lacking depth, but highly trained nin could pick up on Yume’s poking around.

Elder Danzo Shimura’s chakra is wrong.

It’s covered by layers of suppression and cloaking seals hidden in his bandages, his eye patch, and his robe. It swirls oddly around his left eye. It reminds her of Hatake. His chakra hints at an artificial nature chakra, one that is swept away by the seals. 

His one revealed eye watches Seiko. 

Yume has a bad feeling about this. 

Seiko disappears.

Yume looks everywhere. At every single mural they painted together, at their favorite views to paint, where they mix pigments together that they harvest from natural plants. 

The matron orphanage says he is adopted and to stop asking questions, and that Yume was just being jealous again.

She tells Keiji-san and his brow furrows.

Later, she breaks into Keiji-san files using her fuuinjutsu when Izumi invites her to her house again, knowing Yume likes to spend time with her mom, Mikasa. Yume feels terrible but it’s worth the read. Kids have been disappearing for a while now. They thought it was a man named Orochimaru, but Fugaku is very suspicious otherwise.

Some of these missing clan kids disappeared the night of the nine-tails attack, turned to ash supposedly. It made the clans mad at the Uchiha.

“Thats not fair!” Yume says. They had been ordered by Danzo to stay behind and away from the center of the village with the most clan compounds. 

“It’s not.” Keiji-san agrees sadly.

Yume shrieks and he chuckles with a mix of fondness and exhaustion.

“We’ll have to teach you to be sneakier.” His hand rests on her head to let her know he isn’t angry with her. 

“We’re trying to figure it out, but many of these kids are undocumented, or orphans, and so much paperwork was destroyed during the attack.”

“His chakra was wrong like Kakashi’s but I couldn’t tell what it was!” Yume blurts.

Keiji-sans eyes lock in.

“Whose?”

She tells him about Danzo and she can hear his teeth grit so hard they crack.

“Yume listen to me. He is dangerous . More dangerous than that chunin by far. We’ll handle it, okay?” 

Tenten comes back after that harvest season, hands hard and cracked, body aching, and eyes dead. 

She sees Yume and the life comes back only to turn to pain.

“You were right. Are you happy?” She whispers, voice trembling and she runs. 

Later, Yume will bake Tenten’s favorites by sneaking into the kitchens after hours, knowing where the matron kept her key from all her time volunteering to help her to scope out the building. 

She will climb into the room and press down the silencing seals she used to long ago with Maho, and sit on the edge of Tenten’s bed.

The other girl is crying quietly.

Yume reaches out and wraps her in comfort intent. 

“Right now, we’re gonna eat these and cry about our families, and then we’re gonna start training you tomorrow because you are going to be the top kunoichi of your year.” Yume says. 

They hug, eat, cry, sleep, and then wake up, ready to take on the world.

Shiho is the top student in her class for papers, but Tenten blows her out of the water on physical matters. Yume gets Izumi to help them train.

Yume is furiously jealous.

Shiho will never be hurt again as a Kunoichi. Or at least she will be able to protect herself or fight back like Uzumi-baa had been able to for a brief second before that chunin had rallied. Kunoichi are also taken seriously by the justice system.

They have more power then simple civilian females like Yume. Undocumented ones especially. 

At least Yume has the citizen papers forged by Keiji-san now. They indicate she was the daughter of a Shinobi who died in the third war. Yume wonders if that is true, it wuld explain her mothers reluctance to talk about it. And it would make sense for the Uchiha to know who that was.

"Did you see that Yume?" Tenten crows, using a kata, a taijutsu chakra flow technique to throw a kunai so hard it broke through the back of the bullseye. Yume had felt the way the taijutsu controlled the flow of her chakra for her, even though Tenten was not old enough for jutsu more intensive than the Academy 3. It's why that Rock Lee boy can still be a ninja.

Yume has no chance with her seals and more intensively damaged coils. 

Yume wonders how she feels to other sensors. With her ragged coils, the seals on her tenketsu gathering and releasing her chakra in sudden starts and stops. She suddenly feels extremely self-conscious

"I did." Yume smiles for her friend. 

She understands this jealously comes from helplessness, and fear. So she will smile even though it's fake. 

But's its strained.

"Is everything okay, Yume? The walk to the training ground was very hard, here, let me help you up..." The shinobi and shinobi in training often treated civilians like they were made of glass and Yume resents it. After being forced to work on a farm and understanding how hard it was, Tenten should know Yume is strong from growing up on one.

For a civilian at least. 

"I'd like to go home and sleep, that's all." Yume says, terribly guilty about her jealously. 

Izumi and her walk though the old Uchiha compound, and Yume shivers at the lingering toxic chakra.

As an apology, Izumi leads her to her favorite restaurant, where her best friend Shinko Inari works. They met because she was Itachi’s former teammate. She quit being a genin because it became too much for her and Yume is struck with sympathy. Inari weaves through tables with her wheeled feet-roller-skates-and delivers their orders. 

Yume demands she teaches her. 

Yume feels Inari’s chakra and notes how weird it is. It has the cadence of an experienced medical nin. Yume has felt seals on former ninja before. You could retire anytime, but in order to not be a threat typically ninja who retired before age or injury forced them out got their chakra sealed. Yume has felt the twisting

“Shouldn't you be sealed if you quit being a ninja?” Yume asks.

Inari flinches and Izumi gasps.

“A-Ah, yes, former ninja typically are sealed, but they deemed my healer abilities to be useful enough to put me in reserve status instead. I’m a civilian but I’ll be called back if I’m ever needed.”

Yume nods and files this information away.

There is a female academy teacher named Suzume-sensei and she's one of the only other curly haired people Yume has seen. 

She likes to look at her.

"I think you're hair is pretty!" Yume stammers to the woman one day after working up the bravery. Yume had been scared that Suzumi-sensei never got compliments, which wasn't fair.

The Womans' chakra sparkles in delight like a merrily crackling chimney over winter.

"Thank you young lady!" She says, and pats Yume's bandana. Yume had let a few curly slip loose so Suzumi-sensei could see them, and the sensei's land lingers near them for a moment. 

"...I don't think I have the delight of you in my class?"

Yume's good mood evaporates.

"No, I'm not in training to be a Kunochi. I...the nine-tails got my coils bad." Yume confesses, words getting clumsy. "I like walking my friend here in the morning."

Suzumi-sensei's chakra goes still with pity and fondness.

She soon feels another sealed person when she goes to meet Tenten and Shiho after the academy and to say hello to Suzume-sensei again. 

Suzumi-sensei is speaking to Tenten.

"...e careful with your friend Yume. She is delicate, even for a civilian."

Yume stiffens.

She focuses her attention on the sealed person.

He’s way too young to be sealed like other retired ninja, not an Uzumaki. In fact, didn’t Uzumi-baa say something about a clan in Konoha who mutilated the sacred art of sealing by mutilating their own? A clan with a see-through dojutsu that made them even more paranoid than the Uchiha? The Hyuga? 

It was an extremely sore subject for her, which meant Yume would-tactfully-ask about it anyway, but so much else had been going on she had forgotten to follow up with her. 

Yume deeply regrets that now. 

She stares in open terror at this young boy's forehead like she is the one with a fancy dojutsu. It’s covered by a blank headband. 

Yume feels it like a tick-

-no, worse than a tick.

It feels like the tumor that killed one of the farm grannies, a rot sending poisoned spores deep into her stomach, a hungry greedy thing that took and restricted a person to nothing. 

“What's wrong with your forehead.” Yume whispers, horrified.

Logically, she knows it’s a seal, and seals are tools like anything else, and can be used for good or bad.

This seal is evil .

The boy flinches like she's hit him which is ridiculous because he isn’t much younger than her civilian self and clearly a talented ninja in training, if his chakra reserves are any indication. 

His chakra had initially dismissed her as a threat, and Yume could almost feel as he grouped her together with Shiho, Tenten and the other girls in his class who admired his ninja prowess, and had a crush on him.

Not a bad thing, to be part of a crowd. 

He certainly wasn’t ignoring her now. 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He hisses. His face is angry, but his chakra is also hurt, scared, and shocked. 

Yume feels like crying for some reason. Her own seals itch . 

She suddenly becomes frightened.

How will this clan react to knowing that other, kinder seal users are out there.

He’s strategically swarmed by fangirls, including Shiho and she leaves quickly with a scandalized Tenten.

She feels his eyes on her the whole way. 

The Uchiha are kind to Yume. They help her paint, protect her in the redlight district, and teach her how to sketch.

And more importantly teach her how to investigate. Yume discovers an embezzlement scam by looking at the matron's paperwork and tracing it back to some of the construction companies she got paint from. She reports this to the Uchiha and now the orphanage kids are getting more money, drinking water from pipes that they were finally able to remove the lead from. 

They’re going over the paperwork needed to fix up the orphanage and eating food prepared with Uchiha methods. 

“When are you gonna adopt this kid?!” Officer Setsuna says around his smoked fish. The Uchiha made fire based dishes like smoked fish. Their women often dipped their hands fearlessly in hot oil and the Uchiha shinobi baked bread in their bare hands for katon training. Their children used katon to shape glass into little animals as part of their training. 

It was a fascinating mix of those 'civilian tricks' and shinobi training. Yume is glad something is surviving at least. 

Yume’s heart leapt in her throat.

Keiji-san hand rests gently on her head. It’s big and warm and calloused and safe. His eyes are soft and full of fatherly love.

“We’ll see.” He pulls her into his side to the good-natured jeering of the officers.

They celebrate their success of taking down the orphanage matron into the night. Keiji-san and Tekka-san light a campfire and they link arms and move in a circle around it, dances unique to their clan.  

Yume is too short.

Keiji-san and Setsuna-san lift her up, their arms around her back and hers around their napes and they dance with the fire. 

Mikasa-oba is Aimu-san’s wife and Izumi’s mother.

She is a non-Uchiha civilian like Yume. 

She grew up with them too. 

“My family never forgave me for loving a shinobi, and an Uchiha especially. When they casted me out Fugaku-sama took me in.” Her eyes sparkle with gratitude. She looks at Yume like she thinks the same miracle could happen for her. 

Uruchi-baa is Keiji-san’s and Aimu-san’s mother and Izumi’s grandmother. 

“The Uchiha personify fire, Yume-chan.” She says. “We use it in every part of our life. If you recall the Naka river priestess had Kohl around her eyes? It’s the cremated remains of past Uchiha warriors. It’s made with a special religious cremation jutsu.”

Hardcore !

Yume is at the compound during the day. There aren’t many kids because the academy goes later than civvie school. Yume takes care of the chickens and absorbs every story she possibly can.

Religion, folklore, mythology, she thinks the Uchiha culture is wonderful.

“Here Yume-chan. My brother and I made this for you, like something out of a dream, eh?” It’s a little pink sheep, Uchiha kiln fired and chakra reinforced. It’s adorable, and the name of Yume and all the family she’s lost is carved into its side.

She loves it so much she hugs it and starts crying. Keiji-san picks her up and rocks her like a baby.

His baby. 

Keiji-san never had kids or a wife. He was kind, thoughtful, and great with people too so it never made sense why he didn’t. Some said he had his heart set on someone mysterious. 

When he takes Yume in front of Fugaku-sama to be formally adopted into the Uchiha clan, to become his daughter , to be her father , he says no. 

She runs.

Fugaku-sama finds her hours later, curled up under one of her murals of her family, not far from where they had sold produce. She’s been inking seals into her murals lately, allowing the pinprick seals Uzumi-baa made to draw her chakra out for her to be manipulated by the seals. This mural seals acted like a ‘forget-me’ genjutsu but it made sense the Sharingan could see through it. 

She’s playing with the pink clay sheep Aimu-san made for her, her would-be uncle. 

It makes Yume flinch. 

“Yume-chan. It is always a relief to find you well.” Fugaku-sama says, referencing their first meeting and the fact that so many kids were going missing.

She says nothing.

He sits down in the dirty alley next to her. 

“...Why don’t you want me?” Yume hates how small her voice is. Is is because she’s weird and asks to many mean questions?

“I have a son about your age, a few years younger. You haven’t met him yet. I try to make this village a safer place for children like him and like you, Yume. But…I’m failing.” 

His lips are in a bittersweet smile.

Yuma gawks at him.

“I’ve seen your progress and I’m very impressed with you Yume. You burn as bright as any of my other Uchiha. But right now, the Uchiha clan is being circled by vultures, one of our brightest has gone missing, the council puts pressure on us…I can’t in good conscience bring you into this situation right now.”

Yume’s lip trembles, but she thinks.

The spitting on the officers, the bloodline thieves because of Hatake, the police force struggling to fund the organization with its own money, the hospital being so far away from the new compound that many Uchiha civilians struggled to go to the doctors or get their medicines. 

Yume nods.

She leaps at Fugaku to hug him, because his chakra is strong, and sad and scared and he catches her with the practice of a man who has a cheerful son.

He carries her back to Keiji-san, who takes her back to the orphanage. He’s crying at the door and apologizing to Yume. He doesn’t want to put her down and watch her walk back into a place she was almost free from.

Yume can’t stand it any longer and after hugging him goodbye she runs into the orphanage.

There is a religious celebration of the Uchiha. It's rare they get to do it. Most are busy at the police HQ, the few allowed into the normal forces are out on missions. They’ve been called back and are finally able to celebrate their gods for the first time since the Nine-tails attack.

It’s a trap.

Yume wakes up screaming.

Her eyes are wide, her chest heaves, and Tenten falls to the floor from the force of Yume’s movement. 

She howls like a banshee, the fierce winds of the hurricane remnants that make its way deep into fire country. She screams and claws at her face. Her voice cracks from the strain.

“What's wrong-”

“I’ve never seen Yume lose it bef-”

“Get the new matron!”

“-this is scary -”

“-Help!-”

Tenten only half succeeds in holding Yume down as several orphans start crying, to get her to stop clawing at her heart, her face but Yume can do nothing else. 

All she can feel is the lights winking out, lives stolen by a cowardly thief. It feels like a noble man using his thumb to swipe away funding for the orphanage, it feels like the paper lantern they lit and sent into the sky for the new year's being struck down by a chunin’s kunai as his friends laughed at them.

All she knows is that the fiery chakra of the Uchiha clan had been still and sleepy with night. The little candles of the civilians and the babies, the aged quality of the elders reading bedtime stories, the youthful campfires of the teenagers and young lovers. 

Gone.

A terrible waste, an unforgivable crime against nature. 

Yume remembers when they went to the foothills to spread Maho’s ashes. Keiji-san had carried her when it had gotten too hard to walk, cradling Yume close to his warm chest as he marched up the foothill.  And she remembers how the stars were brighter and more beautiful than anything she had ever seen, even among the dead in her life. Yume had felt the first sparks of wonder since Maho had died. 

It’s as if an angry demon has taken those sparks and crushed them under a careless foot. 

Keiji-sans chakra flares. It’s the sensory code for danger, for help, the highest level there is. It’s at the police station, in the room they used for victims to be comforted like those little girl Izumi rescued the other week and then got enrolled into the academy. 

Keiji-san is the only Uchiha sensor Yume knows. 

For a moment, she feels him. 

Her would-be father. 

Across time and space, Yume responds to his call for help, their chakras connect and Yume can feel his warmth and compassion for her, and she knows he can feel her determination, she’ll help this time she’ll- 

He flickers and dies. 

The last thing she felt in his chakra was sorrow, goodbye, and love. 

It’s agony !

Yume screams wordlessly, unable to give voice to something so horrible. This can’t be happening. This was supposed to be a happy night! A night of rest, of love, before the celebration tomorrow!

A thousand lightning bugs that made the evening beautiful are starved of air, a string of fairy lights explode and fizzle out. The glow flowers that light up meadows are ripped up from the roots and trampled on.

She can’t explain death on this scale. The nine-tails deaths were masked by the beast's own chakra and her own near-death, but this?

She can feel every bit of this!

Yume can feel lovers reaching for each other, can feel as the pregnant Uchiha metal worker is run through the stomach to make sure she and her baby are killed. The elderly coroner, the one who got justice for the unjustly murdered, is unjustly murdered as he pulls a late-night to help the victims family. 

It’s hopeless.

If the Uchiha shinobi can’t stop it then she can’t either.

Yume’s tenketsu are once again overwhelmed by the death in the air- how can no one else feel this?! -and she succumbs. 

The world is black. 

Yume does not move. 

Tenten, Uzumi-baa, and sometimes Shiho care for her, and Yume knows she is lucky to even have these people left.

She can’t bear the idea of losing them too, of them leaving her, being stolen from her.

Yume shuts herself off. 

It’s too painful to feel the nothingness where Maho, where mama, where her families had been. 

She had felt Keiji die . 

To feel life slip through her finger like that? The death of a sensor she had known since she was a baby?

If she weren’t catatonic she’d have tried to join him .

It’s so terribly dark without their lights in the world and Yume means that literally. She used to check their signatures several times a day and now there’s just nothing. 

She can’t see a path forward. 

The new matron is so worried she allows Uzumi-baa to take Yume to her little cottage.

A few days later Yume gathers enough strength to try to take her own life. 

Uzumi-baa’s chakra invades Yume through the seals and steals every bit of her motion. She isn’t the one moving her limbs when Uzumi-baa forces her to put down the knife, it’s the Uzumaki’s invasive chakra, rooted in the tenketsu seals that move her like a puppet.

Yume has no control.

Uzumi-baa is sweating from exertion and collapses the minute the knife is gone. 

Several minutes pass of Yume shaking in fear and violation when Uzumi-baa wraps Yume with comfort intent, cradled in a bed she had salvaged from the ruins of Uzugakure, wrapped in a blanket stitched with seals, and Yume feels life works it’s way back into her. 

Her head never once turns to look down the path her old home is as she recovers.

She may be recovering but she couldn't bear to look.

And she’s uncomfortable around Uzumi-baa now. 

She’s grateful she saved her life but knowing she could have her choices so easily taken away from her upset Yume.

Sasuke Uchiha is in the hospital in a coma.

It’s been months. 

She won’t let this go! She won’t lay down and show her belly like a dog! Fugaku-sama knew something was going to happen when he denied her adopting into the clan. A move that ended up saving her life because Izumi’s civilian mother adopted into the clan wasn’t even spared by Itachi. 

A civilian girl's aunt is a cleaner at the hospital and reports heavy security around Uchiha-sama’s room. 

She would get to the bottom of this!

Yume moves back into the orphanage and away from a guilty Uzumi-baa.

“I won’t apologize for saving your life.” She murmurs. 

 She begins to pick up jobs on the side, she goes to school and listens and asks and learns. Where do people work, what do they do, how do they do it? 

She gains access to areas she otherwise wouldn’t.

She learns from the construction workers that they will begin to build over the old Uchiha compound. Not that they call it that. Just “purified ninetails wreckage”. 

Yume sees a man cheating on his wife and blackmails him with pictures taken on a broken polaroid camera she got from the dumpster after befriending the janitor who allowed her to check for her lost ‘toy’. She fixed it using Tenten’s blacksmith. This man is a chunin who thinks he is giving her harmless information on old gravestones, second Shinobi war information, and long-dead Konohagakure citizens. 

Yume uses this to calculate that Uchiha died at twice the rate of others during the war despite being on average higher ranked. This went up to triple if they had spiky Madara-like hair in their photos. 

She used this to visit the unmarked graves.

People who got on the bad side of the village. She knows not all of them are good people. The very first grave here is for Madara Uchiha. She used the papers to find Sakumo Hatake’s grave

A part of Yume realize she came her because she half expected the Uchiha to be buried here. The village had never liked them. What had happened to the bodies? Were they under any of these grave stones? Did Konoha know the Uchiha cremated themselves as most of Fire country used to, and that burial was a newer, Senju custom? 

They’re all filthy.

She cleans them.

Then plants fruit trees with the seeds from their farm, for all the people who died, and for all the people who would join them. 

Yume cannot go inside the Uchiha compound to say goodbye and investigate.

She can go inside Mikasa's civilian apartment.

Aimu-san's ceramic Uchiha made mug sits in shards on the floor. Dropped mid-drink. 

Yume scrambled for Mikasa's Uchiha civilian trick book and reads it, and realizes she will never be able to repair this mug. That this culture is lost forever.

She falls to pieces on the floor next to the shattered cup.

“You’re right to be angry!” Yume whispers fiercely, blinking back tears. 

The range of emotions that crosses Neji’s chakra is impressive. Anger, embarrassment, shame, defensiveness, pain.

Hope.

“I hope you never lose your inner fire, I hope you use it to burn down your slavers in the main branch.”

His blank face twitches from anger and hurt at her actions all those months ago when she exposed his most sensitive issue to the whole academy, to hope, to awe, to wonder . 

“...You think so too?” He whispers.

He jolts.

His face hardens in suspicion, refusing to hope. 

“You know of it? Tenten said you were a civilian.” His face is smooth but his voice is thick with tears and confusion and Yume is reminded of how young they both are. She thinks it’s interesting that she left enough of an impression on Neji for him to ask Tenten about her. 

She was gone for the past several months recovering and working, so Tenten must not have wanted to stress her out about it. 

“Most civilians don’t know the full extent, but most shinobi above chunin have an idea.” Yume means to say that she had been listening in on conversations chunin thought crippled civilian girls wouldn’t care about, but she realizes it comes off like she’s a spy.

“Then how do you know? Are you a Kumo infiltrator in disguise then!” he snarls. Of course her knowing all of this would be suspicious and Yume curses at her mistake. 

He looks scared.

His eyes search and Yume knows he is looking for the main branch, It’s forbidden to talk about their seals to outsiders, or she strongly suspects it is. He could be tortured for this. 

His chakra is a riot of emotions, so bright and powerful that Yume stumbles back, gasping. 

It’s too much!

She moves to run.

But Neji is a prodigy shinobi, with a taijutsu style that specializes in non-lethal takedowns, and Yume is a civilian.

His Tenketsu blockage would have stung but been tolerable to anyone else. Yume had been allowed to watch their training because she had become friends with Suzume-sensei when complimenting her hair. It was even more tolerable to that Rock Lee boy, who’s damaged tenketsu were so loose Neji’s chakra simply fell out. It oddly makes the dead-last the best match-up for Neji, who was otherwise so good he could hit major Tenketsu without even activating his eyes.

Like now. 

It’s a simple chakra block. To her left shoulder. Meant to burden and slow down. For a normal person, it would simply make their arm limp and perhaps a bit lightheaded. 

Yume screams so loud she knows if not for her silencing seals dozens of shinobi would be crowding their locations. 

She vomits.

Her chakra flares with distress and miles away she feels Uzumi-baa’s spike in alarm in her cottage. Uzumi-baa’s modified Hirashin burns in Yume’s pocket, waiting to be taken out to greedily absorb her chakra but Yume’s heart flares with anger, resentment and wariness towards Uzumi-baa. 

No.

It’s a foolish thing to do considering she had just been attacked by a hostile who was at least chunin level in taijutsu but Yume needs to do this herself. 

She passes out. 

She faints inelegantly, not quick or skilled enough to catch herself like shinobi could. It’s painfully civilian and Neji clearly realizes this because when she comes too his chakra is a ball of fear and remorse. His hands are out and lost.

His purple eyes are wide and searching. He trembles.

His Chakra rolls with guilt.

“But I, I-I thought you were a-” He cuts himself off, his hand held up in front of him and toward her like he would help her out of her own vomit, but Yume can’t help the way she flinches back. 

He looks at his own hands like he is a monster. 

“You really are a civilian, I…I attacked a civilian .” He gasps. “Someone who couldn’t fight back either, l-like me !” He’s crying.

Yume was unaware he’d relate to her so much, but does not appreciate being reminded of her weakness. 

She needs to be honest here. 

“Look at my Tenketsu with your dojutsu.” She whispers. She’s on the ground on the outskirts of Konoha. Uzumi-baa will be here soon. Her head is dizzy and she’s not even sure she’s talking right. 

He is startled. Many find dojutsu to be creepy looking and she had heard people talk unkindly behind Neji’s back and even to his face. To openly ask him to use his eyes is an uncommon level of acceptance for his heritage. 

Especially considering he just attacked her. 

When he realizes she is serious he takes a deep breath and activates his byakugan, the surge of power finally dislodging his tears.

It takes a second. 

When he sees the full extent of her ragged coils, the seals clamped down on every single tenketsu, controlling her every movement, leaving her vulnerable to seal-masters and medical prodigies, he’s stunned.

He can’t comprehend it at first.

Yume can feel the exact second he does because he twists to the side and vomits too, chakra spiking with horror and revulsion as he falls to his knees.

His reaction makes Yume cry. She knows what Uzumi-baa needed to do to her for  Yume to survive is bad but seeing Neji’s reaction makes it real in a way she can’t ignore. 

“I understand Neji.” Yume words are stumbling. “I…”

She thuds to the ground, thankfully away from her vomit. 

“You-you really are like me. How? I never meant to inflict this pain on someone else.” He croaks his hand at his forehead as he thinks about how his own seal was used to inflict pain. He is looking at her seals again and Yum can’t stand it.

“Stop looking!” She cries. “I want to rip mine off too but I’ll die!” 

He chokes on a sob. Yume hopes he doesn't think he’ll die if they try to remove his, but he probably doesn’t know she plans on helping him. She can vaguely hear him apologizing when Uzumi-baa arrives, tearing through Yume’s sound suppressing seals and scooping her up, before hirashining away. 

Sasuke wakes up two weeks later, after a year long coma. 

Yume knows what it’s like to wake up from a coma to a dead family. 

He has much catching up to do. It will take the eight year old a long time to physically recover.

Yume sees the skinny, atrophied boy drag himself through the streets of Konoha. Eyes dull, but chin held high in the posture his parents taught him and that his body wouldn’t let him forget even as his mind and heart went dark.

He cremates all day and into the following weeks, tokens instead of bodies already burned by the Hokage, remnants of bloodied clothes, floorboards, and locs of hair Yume knows because of her talks with the now dead Naka priestess.

Ash rains down on the village. 

It's very quiet in Konoha. 

Years pass.

She sprouts seeds and plants them all over, her mind on Maho, on Yukimi, on the Uchiha who particularly were fond of persimmons. She paints murals with hidden seals. She cares for the other kids at the orphanage. 

Yume keeps working. 

Her hands crack from washing dishes. Her fingers are stained with pigment from the clothing factories and her paintings. Her nails are short to prevent dirt from getting under.

She wishes she had access to Fugaku-sama’s full reports. She cozies up to retired chunins and gets cleaning jobs in the library, in private book and scroll collections, learns coding from Shiho and cracks seals into T and I. 

She watches Uchiha-sama recover from a distance as he turns nine then ten. Yume is updated through his fangirls. He’s a very popular crush target and it makes Yume uncomfortable to hear the way girls talk about him.

“Why do you talk about him like that?”

“Sensei encourages us? He needs a wife and a new family!” A fangirl says excitedly and the rest agree quickly. 

A horrible pit of pity opens in her stomach for these girls and Sasuke. Yume then learns they talk about him like a honeypot mission target because kunochi classes are geared that way on purpose. 

She investigates through Suzume-sensei’s trust and her heart squirms with guilt over using their shared bond of curly hair in a straight haired world to get Kunochi-class plans from her but Yume knows this is important. Yume is able to cross reference it with programs from Kumo she got from the private collections she's cleaned to find out that these girls are being groomed for seduction work, for bloodline thefts even. 

Bloodlines like the Uchiha’s. 

She’s sick. 

Yume does not go to the academy anymore to pick up Tenten and Shiho.

She hasn't seen Neji since his attack and Uzumi-baa is extremely nervous about attracting the attention of the Hyuga. She wishes to remove the Hyuga caged bird seals but needs to approach Neji. 

He solves it for her. 

He approaches her one day in the public market, and just looks at her. His emotions are a riot of color, chief among them a yearning, a longing to be seen and heard, for freedom, for companionship. There is guilt for hurting her too, a terrible anger at himself, confusion over her, and the smallest stubborn sliver of hope. 

Yume leads him to a quieter spot, an alleyway with a mural laced with privacy seals, appreciating that he chose to approach her in a place where she could have run if she wanted to. 

Yume explains as much as she can about herself, that she wants to help him, but that they need to be careful .

They become friends. 

He is busy training often as his graduation approaches, and is often under the surveillance of the main branch. But when they can they meet up and he lets his emotions out and they cry and bond together. He’s very straight laced and Yume enjoys poking fun at him. Her proudest moment is getting him to laugh at one of her many jokes. 

Still, Yume has much work to do. 

In some of Keiji-sans reports it mentions an organization the Third Hokage shut down at the end of the third war, called Root. It was to train youngsters for war and Yume has a sick feeling of where the other missing kids went. Their profiles fit the image of what you’d want for a private army. Skilled, and no loved ones to vouch for them. 

This was top secret. The Uchiha had been looking for its bases as they suspected it was still operational but had no luck. 

“Why do you like planting trees so much?” Neji asks.

Yume just similes and has him crack open another pit. It’s good training as it teaches enough control to get through the hard shell but not damage the seed inside.

Yume is digging a hole deep enough for the roots of a peach tree when it hits her.

She shouts in excitement.

“Are you okay?” Neji asks. He doesn’t like to get dirty but he’s helping her plant the tree when Yume explains that the council of elders, which his jerk grandmother was on-hated the civilians getting free fruit. 

“Just peachy!” Yume says, wiggling the little tree for emphasis and he rolls his eyes fondly. “But you know that Root thing? I think I know where to look! Or where you’ll be looking.”

“You do now?” He is amused at her boldness.

“Yes! Where are roots typically?”

“...in the dirt!”

“Yes!” Yume cheers.

Neji graduates and is placed with Tenten and the other crippled taijutsu boy. Yume is happy for them. As she watches Neji she compares Uchiha-sama with him and is impressed with both of their progress. Yume helps Neji unseal some of the Main branches' scrolls on secret techniques and helps him learn.

“If they have the main branch as slaves to protect the main branch, why not teach them these more powerful jutsus to make it easier?”

“Because it’s about power, not logic.” Neji deadpans, and Yume nods sagely. 

As she helps Neji gain independence from his clan, Uzumi-baa is slowly coming around to meeting with him officially. She only saw him briefly when rescuing Yume again. Neji knows she exists but not the details such as her being a sealing master. 

Yume sees the anger in his eyes whenever he thinks she doesn’t see him looking at her tenketsu. Yume is touched that he cares about her freedom so much, but even as she explained it was done to save her life Neji still harbors resentment for the person who sealed her.

She hopes to one day introduce Neji and Uzumi-baa but that might take awhile. 

Her fear and hatred of the Hyuga prevent her from reaching out to Neji. 

All this work with the Hyuga clan makes her think of Uchiha-sama and the dire need to reach out to him. 

It haunts her every waking thought. 

“Thinking about Sasuke again?” 

Yume nods, a bit scandalized at Neji’s casualness. 

“I would have liked to test myself against the Uchiha’s best.” He says distantly. “We’ll have to see how Sasuke develops.”

Yume grits her jaw.

For his sake Uchiha-sama better get stronger, and fast. 

She and Neji had been going over the implications of Root’s bases being underground. The tunnels would have to be held up by doton and fuuinjutsu to be deep enough to be undetectable.

With Neji’s help she is able to get access to the archives in the Hokage Tower and library. 

They find out a lot. 

 She’s sick with the realization that the councils push to discriminate against people from earth country, and the encouragement of only learning fire ninjutsu for national pride meant there would be very few people skilled enough in earth jutsu to go deep enough to uncover the illicit organization.

Neji’s grandmother-Hikari-sama-sat on the council’s subtle manipulations to prevent sealing classes also made more sense. Neji found out she had blackmailed Tsunade-sama’s replacement as hospital head with a private Hyuga map of the chakra system in order for him to testify that potential classes at the academy on fuinjutsu were medically too dangerous to learn. She also used the fear of the nine-tails attack in several other councilors to get them to vote against fuinjutsu by claiming teaching sealing classes to academy students was irresponsible and could lead to the children getting hurt and creating sealing mistakes like the nine-tails catastrophe. 

There are subtly discriminatory acts against the Uzumaki as well from Hikari-sama that Yume wouldn’t have noticed if not for Uzumi-baa’s rantings. Yume also notices that Hikari-sama was on the barrier team with Biwako-sama when Kushina-sama went into labor…

That's suspicious.

Fishy , even. 

Yume is honestly impressed at how evil she is. 

She holds Neji as he cries. 

In the end It’s Yume’s civilian job that had her find an entrance to the root base. 

She curses and swears as she hauls buckets of water and a mop over her shoulder up the stadium steps. It was used for civilian sports, but also for the chunin exams. 

The genin were tasked with D-ranks to clean up any dangerous ninja gear laying around. 

The civilians were contracted to clean. The genin might have been assigned to it but security staffing in the ninja ranks was thin ever since the death of the Uchiha. Yume suspected problems around the forest of death. 

Her employer had taken on the job for the council

The arena is a place of visibility and sportsmanship and Yume suspects it’s to fix things up for the upcoming chunin exams while the genin are too busy unknowingly running perimeter check D and C-ranks.

When she spots the seals trying to get dirt off a closed private higher-ranking seating booth she almost can’t believe it. But yes, it is an entrance to a tunnel cloaked by privacy and barrier seals in a remote part of the stadium. 

She brings Neji in by dusting him in working clothes and it’s hilarious to see the proud boy in them. 

Neji is able to focus harder than ever before and Yume reaches down her sensory abilities with him.

And yes!

Chakra signatures hundreds of feet down, past the lowest levels of T and I that flicker with the agony of the tortured, laid the sprawling tunnels like the roots of a poisoned tree from the fuinjutsu sealed tunnel.

They begin to plan. 

Yume is impressed at Uchiha-sama’s progress. 

He’s taking the exams but Yume still needs to gather just a bit more evidence. They’re still planning how to infiltrate the base. Neji can stray long from the Hyuga as he is required to check-in, so it leaves the task to Yume.

Who is a civilian. 

It’s a bit of a dilemma. 

“No!” Neji snaps. He’s normally nothing but respectful towards Yume, with a bit of dry humor sprinkled in. His chakra indicates he views her very dearly even if he won’t admit it. “You can’t go down there by yourself, you’re a civili-” He cuts himself off.

“Well you can’t either! Is this because you still feel bad for hurting me?” Yume demands.

Neji flinches.

Yume immediately feels bad.

“Look… our window of opportunity will open, we just need to prepare.” She says comfortingly. Neji nods, hands carefully at his side. 

“...Will you ever introduce me to the person who sealed you?” He asks neutrally. 

Yume stills. 

“I plan to. Neji I-I can’t promise she can free you, but maybe…we will get there one day, okay?” She says fiercely, fearlessly grabbing Neji’s hands and holding them on their own.

He looks at her with wide eyes and nods, color rising on his pale face. 

She turns her attention back to Sasuke.

She’s awed when they had come back from the land of waves. She had sold produce with Uzumi-baa to the bridge-builder as he waited at the gate for Hatake. His chakra was suspicious to her and she tried to warn Sakura. 

He trains day and night, and so does Neji as the Chunin exams approach.

And one day, Yume meets a girl.

“Y-You’re like me!” The girl stutters. Her red eyes are wide with awe as she clutched the free food Yume had given her. Yume can tell she is a powerful sensor because their chakra sync’s up effortlessly. This girl's chakra is rich and life giving in the same way Uzumi-baa’s is. 

It feels amazing. 

They’re literally on the same wavelength. It does not burn the way KI does from chakra of the most powerful ninja. It’s impossible to hurt each other like this. Yume can’t help her happy sigh as she tilts towards her. 

Yume had originally seen this girl, only a few years younger than herself, and had felt sympathy for the foreign born. She was clearly a genin here for the exams. She was being treated like trash by her teammates. Yume had given her free food when she heard her stomach rumble from the typical shinobi metabolism. The restaurant she works at would just throw it out at the end of the day anyway.

“I have plenty of apples, cause I grow them! You could say they grow on trees here!” Yume jokes, and she's glad it makes her smile. Yume introduces herself and Karin returns the favor. Yume gives her a glasses cleaner she had gotten from Shiho and it almost makes Karin cry in gratitude. 

“Why are you being so kind to me.” She whimpers.

“Cause I know what it’s like to be treated unfairly.” Yume says factually but kindly. “I like you, I saw you pick up that toddlers' dropped toy.” 

When their hands connect, so do their chakra’s. 

Yume takes her hand and gently tugs her into the enclave, a place she had planted flowers and fruits, and painted a mural and hidden it with notice-me-not seals. It depicts everyone she had ever lost in the form of their names in the shape of flowers. 

Karin’s jaw is on the floor.

“You mean it, you really…mean it!” Karin said, referring to Yume’s declaration of compassion for compassion’s sake. Yume really had meant it when she said she approached Karin for no underhanded purposes. 

Yume realizes this girl is a Uzumaki. Short red hair is hidden under a bandana with a hitai-ate too. 

This is the start of something beautiful.

The month Yume spends with Karin is the best month of her life following the deaths of her family. 

They laugh, they play, they sing and dance and Yume feels like a little girl with Maho again. 

They paint murals together, plant seeds, and play games. Yume helps train Karin’s sensor abilities. She gets Tenten, Neji, and Shiho to help Karin with her ninja skills. Karin is mostly left alone as her teammates only care that she is here to meet the 3 person exam quota, not about Karin as a person.

Yume cares about Karin as a person and Karin can tell. Her chakra seeks Yume’s out several times a day, cloaking Yume’s signature to reassure them both. Yume loves knowing another sensor who isn’t Uzumi-baa. 

Speaking of which, Yume planned on introducing them soon.

She hadn’t introduced Karin to the Kyuubi-boy because he was too closely watched by people she knew would harm the Uzumaki. And If she did the scrutiny could blow her cover before she was ready. 

Yume feels bad about that, and Karin can sense her feelings.

Yume takes a deep breath and explains everything. 

She knows she can trust Karin.

She speaks of corruption, the nine-tails jinjuriki, kidnapped kids, and Karin is shaking at the end of it. She knows Yume isn’t lying. 

Yume tells her about Uzumi-baa.

“It’s up to you whether you want to meet her. I know your mother is still alive and the only other Uzumaki you’ve ever met, but Uzumi-baa might be able to help.”

Karin agrees to meet her.

The two Uzumaki ladies feel each other before they see each other. Yume knows the exact moment when because their Chakras reach out like the grasping, trusting hands of a child, of people aching for love and family. 

Karin’s eyes go wide.

She leads the way now instead of Yume.

Uzumi-baa is waiting for them outside her cottage. Everyone is crying. Karin staggers up to Uzumi-baa and without exchanging a single word flings her arms around the elderly medic, who instantly returns the embrace.

Everyone is crying. 

Yume stands to the side. 

Karin grabs Yume and pulls her into the hug

“Thank you.” Uzumi-baa croaks, and it’s so unlike her that Yume hugs her back. 

She accepts Uzumi-baa’s apology.

“After we figure this out,” She rasps to Yume, still cradling the two girls, “I want you to bring your little branch member friend to me.”

Yume immediately perks up and Uzumi-baa smiles at her.

“If you’re brave enough to try, then I should follow your example.” She smirks bitterly. “I will face the ire of this boy.”

After they’re finished crying they start to plan. Karin’s mother is still alive but is rapidly tiring. 

“Play dead girl!” Uzumi-baa shouts to their immense surprise. “In the exams pretend to die, then come to me. You can beat your teammates back and bring her to me with this!” Uzumi-baa brandished the one time usage Hirashin meant to transport another person. When she explains Karin’s chakra sparkles with hope. It would help them get out of Grass, but not all the way to Konoha. 

A head start. 

"What does my chakra feel like?" Yume peeps out. 

It's very out of character for the inquisitive girl to ask a question shyly and Karin knows it. 

"What do you mean?" Karin asks worriedly.

Yume sniffles and Karin bolts up in alarm.

"The nine-tails attack damaged by coils beyond repair. I-I think my chakra might feel bad to other sensors because of the seals and the damage but most sensors died in that attack so I can't really ask anyone else." Yume blubbers.

Karin hugs Yume as she wails.

"Yume, your chakra is warm, and kind, but strong. You're fire natured for sure. It feels like a candle flickering from the damage, I, uh, can't deny that. But it does not feel 'bad' or 'ugly'." Karin says.

Yume startles. It had never occurred to her to ask Uzumi-baa to sense what her chakra nature was. There was no point, seeing as she was a civilian and would never be able to use elemental jutsu.

"And the seals on my tenkutsu?" Yume blushes. The seals function to keep Yume from dying of chakra exhaustion, or "bleeding out" from chakra loss. They did this in a way where it gathered the chakra her body naturally produced, stored it for a period of time, then slowly released it to mimic the way a person would naturally have a chakra signature.

Yume could do nothing with the stored chakra.

A ninja would have been able to use it as extra chakra for ninjutsu. 

"Like little lightning bugs. They glimmer like the night sky, up in the mountains back home. My mom points out constellations to mee but she says they're different than from back home. It's beautiful." Karin says softly, eyes glazed as she thinks of her mother, and of the lost homeland of the Uzumaki. Yume thinks it's interesting Karin calls them lightning bugs, because here in Fire country they call them fireflies. Her dead family had called them lightning bugs. 

"And...you have a secondary lightning affinity." Really? Like Mikoto-sama had! Thats so cool!

And. 

"So many shinobi would kill for more than just one affinity!" Yume exclaims in realization and sadness. Literally! Another knife in her back, another way to rub in her lost potential as a kunoichi. 

"You have a decent sized pool for a civilian. Was one of your parents a ninja, or grandparents? My mom says my dad was a genin who escorted her to safety, but he couldn't make it past the sensors at the boarder patrol and was killed." Karin shrugs.

Yume leans into her friend to comfort her. 

Yume pauses.

"I'm not sure. My papers the Uchiha forged for me says my father was a shinobi who died in the third war. But I don't know if that's true or not. And my mother was very tight- lipped about it too. I think she was scared." 

Yes. Her mother feared the ninja just as her daughter now did, despite her softening around the Uchiha police. 

A horrible though occurs to Yume. If her father really had been a shinobi, how much of a say did her mother have in Yume's creation? Of course, Yume has no proof for this, but...

Karin smiles bitterly, and hugs Yume as she cries. 

Neji is briefly able to visit Uzumi-baa.

The two of them glare while Yume and Karin stand to the side. Karin positions herself in front of Yume, protective of her civilian best friend. 

Neji is careful not to take it too far. He’s painfully conscious of how scared Yume is of ninja. She has forgiven him for attacking her but her brain gets scared. 

“Our clans have a history, boy.” Uzumi-baa says eventually. Karin straightens in intense interest. 

He seems surprised.

“They do? I had thought you were avoiding me out of fear.”

“That too.” she says calmly. “You have no idea how far back it goes.”

“Then enlighten me. Tell us . If your Uzumaki ideals of sealing for human improvement are so powerful then you owe all three of us an explanation for why you took so long to help.”

“...Who says we didn’t try sooner?” She says tiredly.

They all jolt.

“...what can you tell us?” Karin asks quietly.

Uzumi-baa is silent for a very long time. Yume is angry with her for her secrets, for keeping things from them, but then she remembers she is doing the same thing to Uchiha-sama and bites her tongue. 

“We need to gather more data. Build strength. Bid our time. I’ll examine your seal boy. I can already tell your grandmother no longer is the anchor for your clans caged bird seal, It’s probably your uncle. And he’ll be prepping his heir to take the seal from him. But removing your seal would trigger an alarm and your death.” 

“So it’s hopeless?” Neji sways, and Yume catches him. He’s much heavier than he looks as he leans into her. 

“No!” Yume wails.” It can’t be!”

“And it’s not!” Uzumi-baa snaps. “Let me explain! My experience altering Yume’s seals for her comfort means I can alter yours as well. It will take time, and we’ll have to kill the anchor first, but I can give you control over your own seal. It will always be a part of you, but you’ll be in control of it. You’ll be the one able to activate it and destroy yourself before bloodline thieves can if you so choose. I know it’s not perfect…” Uzumi-baa drawls, a sharp eye on Neji.

He has begun shaking. 

He clings back to Yume. Yume tries not to stiffen in fear.

“It's all I ever wanted. Control, control over my own destiny. Is this a dream come true?” He says thickly, tears streaming down his face.

Yume laughs, delighted knowledge from her experiences could now help others.

“Yes it is!” She laughs with joy, and presses herself closer to her dear friend. 

There are still too many questions Uzumi-baa isn’t answering. What mission was Mito-sama sent here for and how did she fail? Why did the Hyuga hate the Uzumaki so much, and if it was over the caged bird seal, why did the Uzumaki hate that seal? Why didn’t they help sooner? How did Uzugakure fall?

Yume knows they will find out. 

Right now she will bask in the joy of this moment. 

 Karin fakes her death in the exam.

It turns out to be very easy because the S-rank missing nin Orochimaru slipped through the gaps in security left by the death of the Uchiha clan and effortlessly infiltrates the pool of ‘genin’.

He attacks Uchiha-sama.

Yume sees red .

How dare he attack that boy! The seal on his shoulders is like a tick and it makes Yume shiver when she feels it across the marketplace. 

Yume had hated Orochimaru ever since she found out about him from the Uchiha’s reports-which gave her nightmares so intense she vomited- but it’s personal now. 

Karin tells her everything, and Yume picks up the rest from her sources about the genin in the pool. 

Karin moves to leave for her mother now that she is officially dead. 

“Thank you for the best month of my life.” Karin whispers into Yume's bandana as the girls embrace. Karin’s hair is woven with tinsel Yume put in. Her clothes are lined with fuinjutsu they had sewn together. Her nails are painted with little waves Yume did, and Yume’s own are filled with pink sheep after she had told Karin the story behind her unique gift.

Her friend leaves to go find her mother. It will be a hard journey. The Hirashin will get them out from Grass but not all the way to Konoha. 

“Naruto’s a jinchuriki by the way. You’ll be at a disadvantage.” Yume says flippantly to Neji as they sit and eat lunch under one of her sealed murals. 

Neji pauses.

His chakra is confused.

“I recall Uzumi-san saying those involved the seals created by Mito-sama? Will this impact our fight?”

Yume spits out her tea all over Neji, partly on purpose.

“Wha-Yume!” He scowls.

“You seriously don’t know?” Yume is bewildered. She had always known. Perks of being a sensor. Naruto’s chakra was like wearing sandpaper clothes to her. It would be impossible not to tell. 

“He’s Konoha’s weapon of mass destruction, you know, like how your altered academy books called them WMD’s?”

“Those are people?”

“Human sacrifices, yes.” Yume goes on to explain jinchuriki and watches Neji pale. The concept of people sealed against their will to forever weapons for their village was pretty horrifying, especially to a sealed slave. They didn’t even get the option to retire. 

Neji’s fight with Naruto would automatically be unfair to Neji. A jinchuriki might be the only thing capable of flushing out the gentle fist chakra blocks. 

“So destiny once again is unavoidable.” His chakra is melancholic. 

Yume flicks a peach pit at him.

He catches it effortlessly and cracks the hard shell.

“We’ll have to plant this.” He says forlorn. 

“We will! After you win against Naruto. Don’t let him talk to you too long and you’ll do alright.” Yume did feel bad for Naruto as a boy who was half-uzumaki from his mom-possibly more as Yume didn’t know his dad-but he forgave the crimes of this village too quickly, was too fast to beat down others trying to make a change.

Like how he would try to with Neji.

His smile was full of toxic positivity.

Those who covered pain with hurt made it difficult for others to express their pain. 

Yume frowns.

No. 

She does not like him. 

Uzumi-baa might be sticking around Konoha to keep an eye on him but Yume knows he would sell them out to the third-hokage, his precious ‘jiji’ in a heartbeat. 

Yume is 15 when she meets her second jinchuriki. A boy with red hair, and an older sister Yume’s age here for the chunin exam.

His chakra was so rancid Yume’s heart had stopped.

Neji had freaked out and thankfully had the presence of Mind to take out Uzumi-baa hirashin from Yume’s pocket and press it to the modified tenketsu on her hand that allowed for passive chakra emittance. The Hirashin absorbed the chakra and summoned Uzumi-baa and Inari-who was with the old Uzumaki for tea- just in time to save Yume’s life.

She can see the boy hovering in the background by the mural.

Yume smiles at him. 

“A second jinchuriki has arrived in Konoha.” She slurs. 

They had just gotten done cheering on Neji’s swift and brutal win. Naruto had scarcely a minute before he was knocked out. It was just enough time for Neji to expose the crimes of the main branch to a previously ignorant population, who all shifted in discomfort as they looked at the Hyuga clan head. 

He promptly leaves.

Yume had been… not avoiding Neji, but the damage he did to Hinata’s heart was a reminder of Yume’s own struggle with her health, justified as it was. Neji was keeping a respectful working distance with Yume as they planned Neji’s strategy. 

Which contrasted quite nicely with his stubborn overprotectiveness ever since her heart stopped from the one-tails chakra. Honestly! It’s not like it’s never happened to her before. 

Neji’s slaver cousin whimpers, and Yume sneers at her. In her head. She’s not stupid enough to make that face out loud, not after her years of social training. Neji has yet to make his way back to them. Yume hopes his rat of an uncle isn’t hurting him. 

Yume jumps when she sees Uchiha-sama arrive with the Hatake. He will be fighting Gaara of the sands, the one-tails jinchuriki.

Something feels off about his father the Kazekage  too…more sealing nonsense she can tell, but not put her finger on it. 

His hair has grown out, spiky and not at all like Mikoto-sama’s silky strands but for a moment he looks exactly like her and it makes her heart stutter and tears spring into her eyes. 

He carries his family with him. His mother in the curve of his mouth, his father in his heavy gaze, his cousin on his jaw, his uncle in the slope of his nose. 

What did it mean, to be made of ghosts? 

Uchiha-sama’s chakra is as bright as she remembers. She wishes she had formally met the boy instead of just catching glimpses of him as he came home late training. 

He feels like warmth, safety, and strength. His chakra crackles with newfound power and Yume can tell he has been working on his lighting affinity. His stance reminds her of all the other Uchiha and for a moment she’s overwhelmed with nostalgia and the desire to go back.

She can’t. 

Yume is sitting next to Tenten when the feathers fall. 

 It's like a dream

Tenten drops off to sleep as does most of the crowd. It feels like someone is trying to wrap a blanket around her, to fill up a cracked cup that can’t hold water. For a single moment Yume feels her head drop, before her charred coils and acute sense of chakra easily break through the sleep genjutsu. 

It’s like her head breaking through the lake surface, an offshoot of the Naka river Keiji used to throw her and Maho into. 

Yume tries to wake Tenten but they are at the epicenter of the genjutsu originating from that ANBU if the pulsating of his chakra is anything to go by. It feels like the swaying of leaves in a tree settling over everyone. Yume can’t project her chakra to break it from Tenten, and can only somewhat push it out through the accommodation seals in her hands Uzumi-baa helped her alter. 

She keeps achingly still as she’s the only person awake in her section. High-level ninja are fighting all around her, Neji’s sensei, the third’s youngest son, the genjutsu mistress that sealed that Kurama girl and is freeing others from the genjutsu as easily as breathing, the Hatake eye thief, and that one medic ANBU controlling the genjutsu that assisted Neji’s main branch cousin for her damaged heart.

He stands out. 

Inari said he had been kind to her, a medical prodigy that gave an immigrant girl the time of day at the Konoha hospital before his skills got him recognized by ANBU and he disappeared. Yume tracks his chakra, it disappears from the fight, into a tunnel system she knows belongs to Root, because he enters in the area she found when cleaning, the one her and Neji had been partly successfully in scoping. 

He kills konoha-ANBU where no one can tell.

No one except Yume. 

Her heart hammers in her chest. 

She sways. 

One seize, then another as her heart struggles to keep up with the KI of all the shinobi. She can feel the seals in her tenketsu react to the KI and start to form a shield. 

This is bad. 

She can see Inari in the distance healing the injured after being awoken by Kurenai. If the KI activates Yume’s shield and she falls unconscious from a heart attack, Inari won’t be able to restart her heart through the shield. 

She struggles to suppress it. 

Saliva pools in her mouth and she clacks her jaw shut to not alert anyone through being sick.

It’s a motion that draws blood from inside her cheek. 

Now she is in danger of falling unconscious not because of genjutsu, but because of death .

She apologizes to her loved ones in her head, stands up, activates her privacy seals, and runs in after him after repeating the pattern she felt him use to unlock the fuinjutsu seals. 

Yume slips away behind the private booth and into the tunnels after the ANBU, who is suspiciously familiar. Yume never forgets a chakra signature. 

Every soul was unique. 

 She swallows back guilt knowing that Neji will be beside himself with worry, but he’s too busy with the invaders to stop her. 

She’s just in time.

A second later the one-tails starts radiating chakra so potent that it would have stopped her heart again had she not been in the ironic safety of the Root tunnels. Not only that, but the KI coming off of all the shinobi increases tenfold.

Yume can feel Konoha’s barrier seals snap into place and she gasps loudly in realization. Orochimaru was using his insider knowledge of the barrier seals activating from KI-like Yume’s-to trap the Konoha shinobi and his puppet sand invaders within their own village as his summons rampaged!

She slaps her hands over her mouth. 

The noise isn’t a mistake a trained Kunochi would make, but Yume is but a civilian. Thankfully even the Root forces are mobilizing to combat the invasion and it leaves a clear path for Yume and the Fake-ANBU to go directly to the heart of Danzo’s operation. 

She wonders why the Third hadn't changed the seals after Itachi’s betrayal to prevent this. His actions marked another high-ranked missing nin and with the death of their security in the Uchiha he should have. 

It was almost like he wanted Itachi to come back!

Hopefully she would find answers in Danzo’s private collection. She knows he must have it somewhere because she learned from the librarian that all councilors have a private collection of legislation they signed with their chakra infused blood, two copies to be kept in the Hokage tower and for them to bring one home themselves. 

She can’t see.

It’s pitch black and Yume’s heart aches with nostalgia of the time she had gotten lost with Maho before finding her friend Yukimi in the caves.

The reminder of yet another person who had lost their clan gives Yume the strength to move on.

Her sensory abilities that had almost killed her from chakra poisoning now lead her through the tunnels. The earth is faintly infused with doton chakra from shinobi manipulation,  and she can feeling the glow of fuinjutsu like lanterns on the wall. 

The get brighter, the earth glows and thickens as she goes deeper than ever before. Seals for oxygen, traps, and infrastructure thicken to finally form a knot. 

Yume write frantically in her notebook, tears falling, her hand bleeding from who knows what.

It’s been broken into. 

The false ANBU. 

She can’t feel his signature over the now overpowering pollution of the wall fuinnjutsu but she can tell the exit assumedly leading up to the hokage tower has been broken into by him. 

It’s too late to go back now, not after everything. Not with the fire of care in her heart. 

Yume bursts in and sees walls of sealed filing cabinet. 

She gets to work.

She can tell beyond a shadow of a doubt that Root is still active. 

The invasion won’t last long. Yume takes the duplication seals she and Uzumi-baa had spent years perfecting and broadly sweeps documents into them. 

There are root mission sections, sorted by time-frame and countries. Yume swallows heavily when she sees confirmation that Root agents sabotage an electric Dam in land of Rovers to increase dependence on Fire’s firewood for energy. That alone could spark another war. 

She cracks one code and takes documents for a mission of someone named ‘Nono, the Wandering Miko’. The name is familiar. The corrupt matron Yume helped the Uchiha locked up mentioned her a few times. If Yume survived this she would have to visit the Konoha jail. 

Then she gets to the clans. 

Her eyes settle on the Uchiha folder. 

She lunges.

She reads enough to get the picture and confirm that the elders had been meddling with the Uchiha. She copies detailed plans of segregation. She sees the data and calculations of money the village would ‘save’ by cutting off the Uchiha compound. She sees strategies to isolate the Uchiha from others in the mission roster, to give them harder missions so they would fail. Yume copies a document that reveals Konoha purposefully placed the Uchiha on missions to put them in conflict with Kumo, to use the fear of bloodline thieves to get the Uchiha to quit taking missions and isolate themselves further from the general forces. 

Its masterful manipulation. 

And only just the beginning.

Yume sees it.

‘ Deceleration to dispose of Uchiha traitors under prior authorization of code; Tobirama UC15, ANBU-SS CONFIDENTIAL’ .

It was known that the council could pass legislation without the oversight of the Clan-head council under authority of the Tobirama code, a set of emergency powers put into effect during the second war that never went away. 

Yume reads it.

She throws up halfway through the first paragraph. 

She reads it again. 

She sits down heavily. 

Itachi Uchiha committed genocide under orders, living up to his name, the weasel. This scroll first contained the document authorizing the genocide for reasons of a coup-something Yume hadn’t heard before-and then retroactively classifying it as top-secret and listing Itachi as a secret agent in a vaguely familiar sounding organization called ‘Akatsuki’. 

This-

-This changed everything . 

Bringing this to the Daimyo would have Konoha’s entire government executed. It would throw Konoha into an uproar. The village government would be disassembled and many of the clans and civilians would relocate. The international court of justice seated in the remnants of the former world empire in Iron country would rain down hell to achieve justice for a noble clan. 

In fact if the Uchiha revealed this information it would be paramount to a…coup.

A coup .

The use of the word in the declaration makes sense now .

She sees another document that mentioned ‘bloodlines’ ‘dojutsu’, and ‘Uchiha’ and her stomach flips . Her mind goes to the weird chakra in Danzo’s covered eye, the way his arm felt a few months after the massacre, his last public appearance outside of council meetings. 

She reaches for that scroll. 

A spike of KI activates her shields just in time to save her life. 

The false ANBU stands in front of her. Round glasses and silver hair glint in the dim lighting. His hands are spiked with chakra scalpels and he eyes her like a bug. A wave of medical chakra washed over her and Yume howls in pain, dropping the genocide orders. She’s almost out of chakra.

“What is a civilian doing down here?” He says in amusement. 

He scoops it up.

“Oh? A barrier shield that my medical jutsu suggests is emitting from your tenketsu system. Orochimaru-sama would love to have a specimen like you.”

Yume’s eyes widen with dread.

Kabuto’s KI fades away as he makes it clear he wants to experiment on her. And with it, and the rest of her chakra, her shield. 

He moves so fast the instant her shield is down that Yume is on the ground, paralyzed, and Kabuto hovering over her after having shocked her nervous system.

She can’t even scream . 

The scroll is sealed into the storage fuuinjutsu on her palm. He looks like he’ll enjoy prying it out of her. He catches sight of the empty filing cabinet titled with ‘Nono Yakushi and the first hint of something other than amusement and hunger flashes across his face. It’s fear, anger, and rage.

“Give it to me!” He hisses.

“If you give me the Uchiha scroll.” Yume grinds out. She’s moved past fear to anger. That scroll is the ironclad proof they’ll need to prove the massacre was ordered. She is in no position to bargain.

Kabuto grins so wide it looks like a wolf. His chakra scalpels flare to life and reach towards her hand as if to cut it off. 

A painted Rhino plows into him and throws him so hard he knocks over several cabinets.

Yume can barely move her eyes.

But she sees a root agent at the entrance she used.He can’t be older than 13. She can’t see his hair, or skin, or anything, but she can feel his warped chakra from the root slave seal. 

He holds a paintbrush and a notebook from where the Rhino had sprung to life. 

Soundless footsteps lead him to her.

Yume shivers in fear, the only movement she’s capable of. Tears drip from her face and pool on the cold ground like already spilled blood. 

This is it. 

A hand reaches down and she closes her eyes.

She’s lifted into a bridal carry and she’s so surprised she stops being scared. His chakra is carefully folded in on itself in the way those without sensory abilities can sometimes achieve with the second Hokage’s artificial sensory jutsu. He holds her awkwardly as he’s a few inches shorter than her and not used to touching someone in a way that didn’t end in death, but it’s considerate.

He feels familiar. 

“Why?” Yume whispers.

He says nothing, only holding her closer. She would have been worse than dead had this boy decided not to help her. Any chance at justice for the Uchiha would have been destroyed. There would have been nothing she could do as a civilian, hell even if she was a jonin , against someone as powerful as the false ANBU, a medic who figured out her seal’s defenses. 

Yume fades in and out of consciousness. She feels a familiar signature and is handed off to someone else in the tunnels.

“Yukimi!” Yume sobs, and embraces her friend. Yume can feel her wind nature, still unstable but more solid than it had been years ago.

“I can carry her out, but you need to delay Kabuto.” Yukimi says, a hand over Yume’s brow and fixing her bandana for her. Her voice and chakra tell a story of growth over the past few years. How long has Yukimi been in these tunnels? Since their last meeting? What has she discovered, perhaps some of Orochimaru’s underground labs, the Root tunnels as well?”

“Who?” Yume utters. 

“Kabuto, the man who attacked you. I’ve been trying to get revenge against Orochimaru and I’ve been studying his agents. Kabuto was originally from Root and trained in infiltration and medicine but when over to Oro-”

An explosion.

“We need to move, I’ll tell you later.” Yukimi says.

“...planted trees for you.” Yume whispers, and she feel Yukimi’s face twist with tears from where she pressed her cheek to the civilians’ forehead. 

With the documents safe in Yume’s hand and Yume safe in Yukimi’s arms, the civilian passes out.

It was finally ready.

Yume hadn’t been able to copy everything as Orochimaru’s medic-nin spy had stolen most of the information and she had simply run out of time.  

Yume stands in her work clothes and shakes. Her mind flashes to the sleepy Sakura sipping her melatonin spiked tea as she waits for Uchiha-sama. 

It’s useless because Yume will get to him first.

Before the civilian turned kunoichi, before the dead third hokage, before the council of elders, before his sensei, and before even Orochomaru can sink his claws into Uchiha-sama’s soul.

Nobody pays attention to Yume.

First, nobody is out, and the few people who were out didn’t pay attention to yet another late-night to early morning worker. 

She squares her shoulders.

Walks forward.

“Uchiha-sama!” Her voice is clear even as her hands shake, she does not worry about others overhearing because she can feel his low-level genjutsu over the area, and the work of her murals nearby. “This worker humbly requests a word before you leave?”

He turns to look at her. His face is curious, resolute, and sad. He does not degrade her position and in this way he shows her the same respect the other Uchiha had. 

She bows.

Looks up.

Right in his soulful eyes. 

“It’s all here.” She says.

Chapter Text

Yume wakes up the next morning with stars in her eyes. 

Her gaze goes to her apartment, kitchen utensils used to bake the now holy and sacred Uchiha senbei cleaned last night by Sasuke, his amazing attention to detail apparent the way every crumb was swept up.

The recipe she wrote down for him was gone and she knows he carries it close to his heart. She is so achingly grateful she could give something of his family back to him. Just thinking that Keiji-san’s family recipe lived on through Sasuke made her want to sing and dance like she once did with Maho. 

Her own heart jumps into her throat at the thought of Sasuke being so dedicated, so grateful, that he swept and cleaned her home for her-a civilian job many shinobi derided, and many men simply wouldn’t even think of. 

Her notebook has a strange energy to it. It’s deceptively simple looking. A plain, lined, binded notebook like you’d see in any office supply store. This simple nature hid the complex fuinjutsu baked into it and the other copies by Uzumi-baa and Yume. 

The notebook worked like this. 

A seal in the bind connected it to other notebooks. Right now, Yume’s was connected to 5 other notebooks-Sasuke’s, Uzumi-baa’s, Neji’s, Karin’s, and a spare, if she ever received it. If someone else got a notebook, the modified hiraishin would be edited to add that notebooks unique seal number. The modified hiraishin they used was much weaker than what the Hokage’s used. It could only transport small items with faint chakra-so not the distinct signature of people. 

A copy-page would not appear on anyone else's notebook until the user stamped the corner with their fingerprint over the passive chakra absorption seals that would confirm the send to the chosen recipient. Although, if the users wanted they could work on a live page together. Each notebook’s unique identifier seal was created to only respond to the chakra of it’s established user-only Yume could read this notebook and see its true contents unless she gave permission. Storage seals on either side would archive used pages, and provide new ones. A user could even add and send pages torn from another source, like a book or magazine by holding it to the center and pressing the seal. 

Right now, those seals are telling her she has a new message.

The first message.

Yume sits up and reaches for it after putting on her glasses.

Hands shaking, she opens it.

There is one simple sentence on the college ruled pages, in an observant, precise, handwriting exactly the same as the one jotting down notes yesterday evening, Sasuke penning down her every word on what she knew of his family on the lined notebook sheets. She had spent so much time thinking of the power he and other shinobi had over her civilian self, she hadn’t considered the power she had over him.

S-Thank you.

It’s written on a page dyed a lovely indigo from his chakra.

She beams. 

If another sensor were here they would feel her chakra burst with joy . It makes Yume miss Karin and Keiji-san something fierce, and reminds her she will have to write to Sasuke and ask how she is doing, or hopefully Karin herself if Sasuke could deliver the notebook. Yume will also have to tell Uzumi-baa later today of where Karin is, if Sasuke already hadn’t when he went to her last night to acquire his notebook.

She writes back in her own dashed, connected cursive, thoughts so quick and jumpy it reflected in her handwriting. 

Y- Of course. Ask me anything. And I have much to tell you.

It makes her wonder what color her page is to Sasuke, and the other notebooks too. 

A knock at her door.

Yume jumps like she had been shocked by a lightning jutsu.

“Yume, who was that yesterday? Some of the other orphan kids are saying it was your boyfriend~” Shinko Inari teases, but there is an unmistakably question in her tone, and Yume feels the worry in her chakra. 

Inari knew how spooked Yume was around men, after what happened with her mother. 

It makes Yume remember how achingly fiercely she misses the kids she helped raise, and also her fear of being discovered.

Yes. She had seen them enter Yume’s apartment together yesterday. Sasuke’s genjutsu was so powerful that Shinko had not recognized the boy that was her former teammate’s little brother.

“Certainly a friend!” Yume says in reassurance, face hot and clutching the notebook to her chest. She couldn’t outright deny anything because then she’d have to come up with a different explanation as to who Sasuke was and why he was here. 

“Aren’t you gonna let me in? We have to leave soon to meet your other friend , before you help bring that produce from Uzumi-san down.” Shinko asks politely. They both know, even as someone who only reached genin and was a support-medic, that Shinko could easily break in. Yume would be able to tell instantly due to her sensory abilities and fuinjutsu, and hide anything incriminating, but it would be inconvenient. Shinko would never of course.

“Sure thing!” Yume says, and scribbles one last thing, smirking slightly.

Y- I hope Uzumi-baa wasn’t too hard on you. Would you happen to know how Karin is doing?

Yume places the notebook in her bag, throws on her shoes, and flings open the door. 

Inari has a look of concern. The same look that she had when saving Yume’s life after the Sand Jinjurchiki’s-Gaara-chakra had overwhelmed her and stopped her heart. She had felt Yume’s altered tenketsu and had been sworn to secrecy. 

"How are you doing? Are you missing the kids?" At the orphanage, that Yume helped raise? Desperately. Anyone who know Yume knew it was her dream to be a mother.

Yume nods, shifting slightly. 

“...Is this a plausible deniability situation?” Inari asks. 

“Yes. Yes it is. Lets go!” Yume says.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us! I know you’re busy with your new apprenticeship, and preparing for Konoha’s 100th year anniversary celebration.” Yume says, genuinely touched. 

They’re eating at Ichiraku ramen. Ayame is serving them and Yume does not have to imagine the secrets she has heard here. She’s done the little vegetable chopping tricks she’s shown Yume how to do, making flowers and shapes with the produce in her ramen bowl. 

Sakura’s chakra sparkles with happiness, and pride. 

It’s filtered, clean and direct like other medics like Inari, in a way that tells Yume Sakura has excellent chakra control. Her chakra reaches out to Yume like petals drifting off cherry trees during the picnic season.

 It’s quite beautiful. 

“Of course, Yume! It’s always good to meet with a friend.” Sakura finishes, a bit shyly with a hint of guilt that Yume senses deep in her Chakra. Eight months ago, when Sasuke first left the village, Yume had reunited with Sakura for the first time in several years, since Sakura distanced herself from her civilian roots to fit in and prevent bullying from the academy girls. Yume had used the distraction of their reunion to slip the other girl melatonin in the tea she was serving her as her waitress, and intercept Sasuke with the incriminating documents.

So Yume feels some guilt too. 

And admittedly jealousy too. Sakura is growing into her features and her role as a ninja despite being civilian-borne. And was that a little bubble of chakra Yume felt on Sakura’s forehead? 

Perhaps the feelings cancel out. 

“When I heard you were trying to re-train some former medics, I immediately thought of my neighbor, Shinko Inari. I think she’d be perfect!”

Inari smiles and introduces herself officially to Sakura. 

"Wow, third kunoichi in your class? That's very impressive!" Sakura complements to Inari. It truly was. Izumi was the top kunoichi but immediately went into the police force. Hana Inuzuka was second, but joined the tracker corps and opened a vet clinic, leading Inari to be put on Itachi's team.

Inari's face reveals nothing, but Yume feels a pang of old grief, and even resentment in her chakra.

It makes sense, that she would have some negative feelings towards the apprentice of the Hokage, a position of power that oversaw the death of some of Inari's most precious people in the Uchiha clan. 

 Yume feels her own chakra try to reach out with calming intent, and she pulls herself back. 

Sakura’s friend Ino, was a sensor, and the last Yume heard she was trying to rebuild the sensor corps after the Third war and then the Nine-tails chakra overload killed most of them. 

It was actually a very big news story. Sanctioned by Tsunade-sama herself. There were also moves to finally redo the barrier corps that had been gutted during Orochimaru’s attack. He had used the strengths of Konoha’s outer wall barrier seals against it. The more chakra it absorbed from attacks the stronger it got. It meant Orochimaru had been able to keep the aid of returning ANBU out, and forcefully separate reinforcements. 

Yume shakes her head. Not missing Sakura’s concerned look. 

Point being, If Ino was anywhere near here she might pick up on Yume’s Calming intent. 

Inari never got over the death of her best friend Izumi, the half-Uchiha girl, niece of Keiji-san, savior of many girls from trafficking before being murdered by her boyfriend Itachi. Yume wonders now who saves them with the Uchiha gone. She thinks it ironic that after saving so many women from domestic violence that Izumi should be a victim of it.

She briefly calms herself with the idea of bashing Itachi’s face in with a rock, as impossible as that is as a civilian. Itachi was an S-ranked missing nin. The very word ‘S-ranked’ made her chakra tuck in on itself like a turtle. Most shinobi never made it past C-rank, or low chunin. 

Yume considered that Inari probably would be a trustworthy person to tell about Sasuke. It’s not something that Yume considers lightly.  But it would put her in danger too. 

Sakura and Inari talk about medical education plans, and getting Inari back into the hospital. Yume smiles. Inari’s chakra smooths over and becomes fond of Sakura, and Yume is happy knowing she has two powerful resources in the medical field, in addition to Uzumi-baa now.

And then.

Synergy.

The same state Yume and Sasuke reached last night.

All people do it. But to a sensor it’s fascinating to see the natural hum and flow of peoples chakra sync up as they literally begin to operate on the same wavelength, as they work on the same page. Inari and Sakura are now both collaborating and absorbed in this task. 

“All this and the 100th anniversary at the end of the month!” Inari says. “Don't you have to go practice with the choir mistress soon? I understand you’re helping her edit the sheet music?” 

Yume did. 

Literacy wasn’t so uncommon anymore after the Third Hokage partnered up with the Daimyo early into his leadership to implement a universal education program across the huge expanse of Fire country-there was a reason the Third Hokage was called the ‘Professor’ after all-but it only required education up to the age of 13, and reading music was not a part of that.

Sakura gasps.

“Wow! Thats amazing Yume, I’ll have to listen to you sing!”

“Thank you, we’re pretty excited for the celebrations. I can’t believe the village is that old, and it’s happening the same year Tsunade-sama became Hokage.” Yume says, happy there are no sensors to feel the anger in her chakra. It’s a milestone in more ways than one. “I heard the Daimyo’s civilian capital city is thousands of years old. Same with the spiritual capital.” Yume says offhandedly, burning with spite, to somehow undermine Konohagakure. 

“True!” Sakura says cheerfully. “But Konohagakure’s been through 3 wars already, unlike them, and it’s still standing!”

“Some say it’s a miracle!” Ayame says, topping off their drinks. Yume notices the decorations at the restaurant are themed for the upcoming festival. 

The Senju clan symbol on them.

No Uchiwa. 

The Uchiwa senbei stamp Sasuke entrusted her with bumps heavily against her thigh the whole way to the gates of Konoha and to Uzumi-baa’s cottage. 

100 years was all it took for the last Senju to be yet another Hokage, and the last true Uchiha to be reviled. 

"Are you sure, Yume-chan? Is it safe for you to? Your seals..." Inari had asked, clutching the plans to go to the library with her new access permission.

Her chakra was filled with a kindness and more importantly, a confidence Yume hadn't seen...ever. Inari had never recovered from the brutal and abrupt death of her teammate at the hands of that masked stranger-an incident Fugaku-sama had been in the process of investigating. The same incident that led to...that man unlocking his sharingan.

Yume feels a hot flash of insecurity, and anger. Did Inari think Yume was too fragile to make a short trip she'd been doing her whole life?

Then...Yume thinks of how Inari came to retire again. The mission with her team, with the boy who would be the future murderer of the Uchiha clan, that filth who would kill Izumi.

It was also supposed to be a short trip. 

Inari couldn't save her teammate.

Either of them. 

"I am sure. I'm...happy for you, Inari. I think you can finish your medical training now."

Inari bites her lip, fists clenched. Inari had been unable to save Izumi too.

"Are you sure? I...I don't have the best track record."

"You saved me when that Sand jinchuriki's chakra stopped my heart. Learning more medical jutsu from Lady Tsunade's new writings in the library could help further." Yume pointed out helpfully. 

Or not so helpfully, the way Inari's chakra recoils, then reaches out protectively even as she concedes to Yume's point. 

"You're more capable than you think you are, Inari-san. And so am I. Go to the library with the permission Sakura gave you. And...everyone you lost? I know they would be proud."

Inari had sniffled, hugged Yume, and headed to the library, and Yume goes on her way to where she then runs into Neji.

She hadn't seen him since the failed retrieval mission of Sasuke Uchiha. 

The irony is not lost to Yume that Village security being so short staffed due to the Uchiha massacre, and then made worse by Orochimaru's invasion through the deaths from the Uchiha caused gaps in security, is the reason why they could only send genin level ninja after Sasuke, and is the reason why he was able to escape.

"Neji! It's been too long!" Yume goes to hug him. Neji stiffens, then relaxes into the hug, chakra softening, calloused, bandaged hands gently cupping her elbows as she pulls away. "Are you sure it's safe to be seen with me?" Yume asks nervously. 

Everyone knew who Neji was now, and pretended they didn't. This Chunin exam was the first ever live televised version of it. After the attack, most tapes have been confiscated, to cover up the invasion, and Neji's words to Naruto before Neji beat him, about the slavery in the Hyuga clan. 

"My grandmother in the main branch has been...preoccupied dealing with Lady Tsunade's ire." Neji's lips twitch into a rare smile. 

"That's a relief. Is the main branch still monitoring you closely?"

Neji snorts.

"Ever since Sasuke escaped? Yes. Truthfully ever since the Uchiha clan murderer committed his heinous act. I-"

Activity at the gate. Another Hyuga approaching.

"I must go, I wish I could walk with you, but I am not allowed outside village proper without permission." Neji's face becomes sardonic. "Something happened those several months ago on the retrieval mission but I don't have time to tell you."

Yume gasps.

She digs Neji's notebook from her bag and gives it to him.

"Follow the instructions and activate this book! Keep it a secret! Then we'll talk more!" Yume says. 

Neji looks confused, but chakra ringing with faith, he nods and leaves before she can be spotted.

 U- Ahoy. Are you done meeting with the Fifth’s student?

The message from Uzumi-baa is on a new page, tinted a lighter heather sea gray-purple to match the old sea woman's chakra. The same shade in Uzumi-baa’s eyes, and in her dreams as well, when the longing for her lost homeland got particularly strong.

When you send a page through the notebook, pressing your finger to the corner to confirm your chakra, it absorbed into the page and stained it with your chakra color like water-color. 

Yume wondered what her color was.

It actually worked on the same principle that chakra-nature testing paper did. Such as when Tenten channeled her chakra into a test-strip and it crumbled to ash to reveal her fire-nature. 

Y- Yes! I’ll be at the farm shortly to talk. I got caught up speaking with Inari, and then I was able to sneak Neji his notebook!

U- Good. Inari will be able to help upgrade your seals hopefully. You must also ask that Neji-boy. Is that pink-girl working on the strength of 100 seal?

Yume pauses.

She is already outside the gates and making her way to the cottage. She went alone despite Inari and then Neji offering to walk with her, but Yume said no.

Weak as she was, no one could sneak up on Yume with her sensory abilities and her above average range, evidenced by her clocking Sasuke following her all those months ago. Whether or not she would be able to do anything about it on the other hand if someone was following her…

 She is on very good terms with the gate guards after going back and forth her whole life, but it would look suspicious going back now. 

Yume had felt something off about Sakura, specifically on her forehead. Uzumi-baa had told Yume that's where Mito-sama had her seal, and Yume had seen it in black and white pictures and on the forehead of the fifth Hokage. 

Yume's heart filled with a sudden burst of love and fondness. The clearing fills with calming intent.

A bird flitters down from the tree as it senses her good mood, the calming intent settling over the clearing like a quilt in winter, and Yume feeds it trail mix as it settles in her palm.

As a civilian girl in the academy, she got bullied terribly. Many of these clan girls were well-kept and groomed, and objectively pretty in the way intentional, creepy selective clan marrying had a tendency to do. Take Hinata or Ino for example, both with an eerie, almost alien beauty. So Sakura got bullied for her bigger forehead, like Yume was bullied for her hair.

For Sakura to start her work on the legendary strength of a hundred, for that seal to one day proudly sit in the middle of her forehead , bold and unashamed and proud -

Yes .

Yume is happy for her friend.

Y- She is! I felt the little glimmer on her forehead, it felt like how a diamond sparkles! Almost like a Unicorn horn!

It makes Yume wonder how her seals feel.

U-That's enough, scallywag. Come to harbor, we’ll talk more once you’re past the cottage’s seals. 

“That boy has his work cut out for him.” Is the first thing Uzumi-baa says to her as she walks up. The vegetable cart is already prepped and upon seeing Yume’s face, the old woman smiles grimly. 

“That boy already got the vegetables ready. It gives us time to talk.” Sasuke’s kindness strikes again. Yume bites back her giggle at the idea of Uzumi-baa barking orders at Sasuke as he picked her vegetables for her. 

“Don’t worry, I gave him tomatoes and the notebook as payment. He was…quiet. When he heard again how his mother bought them from us.” 

Yes. 

From them. With techniques for Uchiha ash to fertilize the soil. Yume had been devastated that she’d never be able to recreate the technique of Keiji-sans due to her fried coils. With seals and their own campfire they had gotten close, but it was not the same thing.

Except…

Sasuke could .

Her notebook is warm in her pocket. She pulls it open to see Sasuke responded.

“Oh, he responded already? I felt his chakra reach out towards your’s in Konoha when he was here. Let's go inside to talk privately.” Uzumi-baa says, ignoring Yume’s startlement at Sasuke’s longing and leading Yume in as Yume greedily absorbs Sasuke’s new message, an old hand slapping the wall and activating the privacy seals. 

S- Meeting Uzumi-san was enlightening, thank you for telling me about her. She reminded me of an old ally of the Uchiha Clan, Neko-baa. 

Neko-baa?

“Uzumi-baa, who’s Neko-baa?”

“Pah! That old hag? Munitions dealer for the Uchiha. Decent seal work on some of her armor, but of course I did teach her some of it. I sell her some of my wool.” Uzumi-baa says in reluctant admiration and fondness. “We get together for tea sometimes. But she’s been keeping her distance from Konoha ever since the massacre. It’s why you haven’t met her yet. I’ll introduce the two of you, she has a granddaughter around your age.”

She is a bit miffed this important person escaped her attention. Uzumi-baa senses her emotions and cackles, swatting Yume’s backside with her cane.

“You’re smart, but don’t know everything girl!” 

Yume hums ducks her head, conceding that the old woman had a point, and re-reads the sentence to encode it into her memory. 

Yume fights back a grin. ‘Enlightening’ was doing a lot of heavy lifting. She can tell from the pause in the ink blot that it took him some time to find the right word. She imagines his brow furrowing, the nearly invisible pout he had when Yume’s attention was briefly captured by someone else when walking to her new apartment. 

She reads the next sentence. 

S- She had much to tell me, but I couldn’t stay. Orochimaru is expecting me. I was able to tell her about Karin. I’ll try to deliver Karin’s notebook to her..

That last bit sends chills up her spine. She remembers almost a year ago now, Kabuto cornering her in the Root tunnels, nearly capturing her for experimentation. Then going with Yukimi to see some of the boarded up former labs of Orochimaru underground. 

Y-I’m glad you got the chance to speak with her Sasuke. I’m with her right now. Did she tell you about being a sensor?

“What did he say about Karin?”

“Our suspicions are true. Karin was able to get herself and her mother out of Grass, but both were captured by Orochimaru, that S-ranked monster.” Uzumi-baa says, her usual snark gone.

The weight of that hits her.

S-ranked.

Of course, any shinobi was capable of killing civilians, even academy students, E-ranked as they were.

But S-ranked ?

Yume had seen grown jonin startle at the very word, their chakras spiking in fear as they tried to play it cool to no avail. The distance between a regular jonin and an S-ranker might as well have been a chasm. 

And now, Sasuke was under the thumb of one. 

How would the two Uzumaki women be treated under the snake? He’d probably recognize their value as a dying breed, but that only bought so much protection. If Sasuke was able to deliver the notebook Karin would know how to use it-Uzumi-baa and Yume developed some of it while Karin was here for that wonderful month. 

Yume shudders thinking of the remnants she saw in the abandoned labs, of Kabuto’s threats to her. 

“The boy says Karin is in the laboratory, part experiment, part experimenter.” Uzumi-baa says, voice and chakra twinged with deep regret and distaste. Yume knows she is not judging Karin for the situation she is in, but rather Orochimaru for putting her there. “Her mother is deeper in the hideout, apparently attending to a series of…strange experiments. A contained man among them. Sasuke knows nothing more.”

That does not bode well.

“...So, he is a sensor?” Yume changes the subject cautiously despite her curiosity. 

“Yes. But not yet capable of using his abilities.” Her face and chakra are grim again. “As I said, that boy will spend the rest of his life healing.” Uzumi-baa speaks with the somberness of someone who knows exactly what that means. Yume is painfully aware this old woman watched the destruction of her island, and her clan with it. Uzumi-baa holds a locket close to her chest, one Yume knows is filled with seeds from her island. Despite years and years of effort, Uzumi-baa had never been able to get the Uzugakure seeds to sprout.

Yume would know.

It’s how Uzumi-baa had originally met Yume’s birth family. The adept farmers fleeing the northern part of Fire Country as refugees. Uzumi-baa joined to learn how to sprout then.

To no success. 

“The way his chakra…”

“I felt it too, Uzumi-baa. It reached out.” Sasuke's chakra tried to weave and mingle with Yume’s, and it had not hurt her despite his clear growing power, to her surprise. Not when he was calm, at least. Yume couldn’t help but notice it did that strongest with her’s.

“And it didn’t hurt you girl?”

“No…he’s still a suppressed sensor, remember? And…he is kind . His chakra is warm with it. Why did he handicap himself? His sensor abilities?”

“You already know. I could barely save you with calming intent and medicine after your family died.”

Yume flinches, and Uzumi-baa apologizes in the way she knows Yume will like-by giving her information.

“Sensors can shut themselves off, and allow for limited scans. This is what Tobirama Senju did, among inventing watered down sensory scans even non-sensors could use."

Yume gasps dramatically, and Uzumi-baa does not even chastise her for it.

Cutting off your own chakra as a sensor?

As a sensor Yume cannot imagine it. Would you ask a painter to gouge out their eyes? A musician to deafen themselves? An Akimichi to cut off their tongue?

"The Second Hokage was always extreme. Sensors can be a liability when overwhelmed. Can be vulnerable to the deaths of others. It’s the reason so many were killed in the third war and by the nine-tails. There is also a significant social stigma around them for being liabilities and emotionally compromised. I suspect our young Sasuke shut himself off instinctually when he began to feel his family die, and was simply never able to open back up.”

Yume hums thoughtfully, vision blurry as she takes her glasses off to wipe away her tears. She had almost died when she felt her birth family and then the Uchiha die. She understands it was a subconscious move by Sasuke to limit his chakra, to save his own life, but Yume cannot imagine living any other way.  

“Gentle girl.” Uzumi-baa croons as if to prove her point “. I felt your chakra lingering with his. You two spent some time together then? That synergy, that fusion , does not come lightly.”

Yume simply nods and puts her glasses back on. Her mind is already planning how she will write the instructions for Sasuke to make Uchiha ash for growing tomatoes. 

“Head in the clouds, more-so than usual?” Yume can tell Uzumi-baa wanted to tease her, but held back. She’d been doing that ever since Yume was nearly kidnapped.

Being more considerate that is. It does not come easily to this bitter, jaded woman.

“Yes.” 

“You’re Chakra is happier. Calmer. He’s good for you.” Uzumi-baa observes. Yume had been extremely jumpy these past several months. Her nightmares of Orochimaru were ceaseless. 

“...I imagine he had many questions to ask you.” Yume changes the subject.

“Yes. Many about you too.” Uzumi-baa says, steering them right back on course. “And not just because of his family.”

“It’s what he cares about. That's why he talks to me.”

“Are you so sure about that? That boy has always had a big heart. And he does care for you outside of what you can offer about his family, Yume.”

“Uzumi-baa!” Yume stammers. 

“Yume-chan.” The old sea-witch cackles and tweaks Yume's nose, making her squeal.

How had the old woman know Yume’s exact insecurity? That Yume was only good for answers and calculations and once she had nothing more to say Sasuke wouldn’t bother with her. “How do you know him so well-”

Oh right. 

Sensor bullcrap. 

Wait, had Uzumi-baa felt it then?

“Uzumi-baa, that… parasite , on Sasuke’s neck…”

The old Uzumaki scowls fiercely. She takes off her bandana, redoes her buns in a up-twist and puts it back on like the bandana could protect her own neck. 

“He did let me examine it. And it’s as you’ve said, a parasite on him. Orochimaru’s life-force is inside of it, ready to force an unholy, warped version of fusion. Sasuke’s spirit would be consumed.”

Yume trembles with fear.

“Orochimaru waits for the boy to gain strength, not wanting to train a young body from the ground up himself. But that clock is ticking. Every day that boy gets stronger and closer to his doom.”

“...Closer to S-ranked?”

Uzumi-baa barks out a sharp laugh.

“Ha! Maybe one day, but not in time. His only chance is Orochimaru’s injury.”

“Can we help him! Remove the seal? Like we’re planning to do for Neji-”

“Quiet girl!” Uzumi-baa snaps. Her eyes automatically go to check the privacy seals. Impeccable as they were, nothing escaped this cottage. Why is Uzumi-baa so scared of the Hyuga here?

“It is not as simple as that.”

“...Is it like mine?”

“...No. Yours are permanent. This Cursed Seal…It’s a distant putrid fusion of the Hyuga’s, and of the Biju seals. Oh how Mito-sama would weep… ”

Yume will get nothing else from Uzumi-baa this day.

They pack up the vegetables and make their way to the gate of Konoha.

“... S-ranked missing nin’s…” They overhear some of the gate guards mutter. The other guards face pales in fear, his Chakra writhes with inadequacy. Yume has gotten very good at telling the ranking of a shinobi based on the size of their chakra reserves and the refinement of chakra control when it ran through their coils. They guards were low-B rank. Strong enough to guard the gates.

Not to do anything about an S-ranked monster. The difference up the chain of rankings was not linear, but exponential. 

 They get in and sell produce-Ayame first in line for their ramen of course.

“Sometimes it’s hard for me to breathe Sakura…and I was wondering, does Konoha have any medical texts about that? Breathing techniques to calm you and control air?” Yume admits shyly, peering at Sakura from under downcast eyes.

Yume feels Sakura’s chakra recoil with guilt and sadness, and then protectiveness. Yume noticed that quite often from ninja towards the civilians in their village. Chivalrous, although not as chivalrous as the Uchiha police had been. 

“You always did love your books. I always loved reading with you when we were younger. Do you still plan on being an author?” Sakura asks, eyes distant with memory.

Yume laughs, hiding her spike of anxiety. 

Yes.

Except her books would be more… radical, than Sakura would expect. Not that anyone would know it was Yume who wrote them. Except for Sasuke! And Karin, Uzumi-baa, Neji…hm. 

“Oh, I’ll see about that…”

We do, the public library has some…and I can see about signing you off to look at some of the lower level shinobi restricted medical texts-”

Score! 

Civilians had access to the public library, but some information was restricted to ninja’s. As Tsunade’s apprentice Sakura would have easy access to the medical texts Yume was looking for, and be able to write a permission slip for her.

“-although they won’t have any utility to you as a civil-”

Sakura cuts herself off, face turning nearly as pink as her hair.

“As a civilian?” Yume finishes gently, amused where she once would have been hurt.

There is pride in being a civilian.

 “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Sakura had spent so much time running from her background as a kid, to the point she broke off her friendship with Yume like she had broken it off with Ino over Sasuke. 

Sakura softened. Her chakra smoothes over with admiration and affection.

“You’ve made me realize that Yume. I’m sorry I stopped being friends with you, I-it was cowardly of me. I wish I could be brave like you, after everything that happ-” Sakura cuts herself off again, face going pale.

Yume knows what she had almost said. Sakura had almost brought up the murder of her family by that chunin. 

Yume’s breath quickens and her world tilts. Her breaths come in short, raspy, exhales.

Her tenketsu itch .

They've been doing that more, lately and Yume fears what that means.

“Here, do you want me to examine you-”

“No!” Yume stammers.

Sakura looks shocked. Probably not used to people turning down the apprentice of Tsuande herself. 

Yume realizes this looks suspicious. 

And that she is shaking. Her mind flashes to Uzumi-baa’s invasive medical chakra preventing Yume from moving and taking her own life, of Kabuto’s medical chakra finding out the loophole in her seals and rendering her even more helpless than she already was as a civilian.

“You know why…I-I…” Sakura knew Yume was disabled because of the nine-tails attack and had sensitive coils. Sakura would be able to feel Yume’s messed up chakra system and the seals on her tenketsu for sure! But would she let Yume pull back? Yume had watched Sakura strong-arm that hard-headed fellow disabled teammate of Neji’s and Tenten’s-Rock Lee-into getting medical care no matter how hard he tried to dodge it or deny he needed it!

And she knew Yume’s fear.

Her fear of ninja. Of what happened to her family. 

“You don’t need to explain yourself. I-I’m not like that, I wouldn’t make you do anything.” Sakura says gently, the idea that she wouldn’t be able to stop Sakura as a civilian unsaid by heard nonetheless. “I’ll get those breathing and respiratory books for you.” She truly is a kind girl, working hard to be better. 

Yume nods in relief, smiles tremulously, and tries to squash her guilt. 

And then she sees the Senju celebratory symbol when walking to choir practice, and no Uchiha symbol in sight, and does not feel guilty anymore. 

She’s a woman with purple hair, and another tick on her neck.

Yume watches Anko Miratashi be cold shouldered. She loudly complains about the decor of the Dango stand, and Yume’s fellow waitresses pretend they are busy with other customers. There is fear in the chakra of the shinobi who know who she is. 

Suspicion. 

Not open-Lady Tsunade would not tolerate anything else towards the student of her former teammate. 

Yume despairs.

Yume does not want to serve Anko either. Not out of bias, but because this ninja is powerful, and angry, and Yume sweats when she thinks

It hadn’t been this bad for the poor young lady since Yume was a child, when Fugaku-sama had originally busted open the laboratories, taking down the Snake and shaming the council for their incompetence, only for the snake to slither away.

Yume serves her.

Her hands shake as she does it, but Yume stills them. She can't help her fear, feeling the strength of this Kunoichi. Yume fears ninja and can't help it. Anko would be a Jounin and not just a tonkotsu jonin if not for the bias of the council against the former student of Orochimaru.

Anko's eyes are sharp as they watch Yume still her hands.

The anger and resentment, so sharp and burning at the back of Yume's throat from Anko's chakra, smoothes over.

Neutrally, and with no small amount of fascination. Anko hides her gratitude well, but Yume can tell she is touched by Yume treating her just like anyone else. They eventually reach a stilted, awkward, conversation about Dango cooking techniques that had a genuine spark of connection forming between them.

Yume felt that thread of connection cultivate between them like taking Uzumi-baa’s sheep and forming a spool of wool on a spindle.

There was not much difference between recipes for food and for poison. 

Yume takes this as an opportunity to use her sensory abilities to subtly examine Anko’s seal, to see if they could find out more to help Sasuke. Uzumi-baa had already examined his seal and copied down the structure, but having another cursed seal would be useful.

It feels like dying .

Yume excuses herself and slumps over in the alleyway, heart stuttering like those new fancy engines in the motorized caravans that belched smoke at the walking civilians. Her seals itch with Chakra overload, her growing teenage body producing more chakra then when they were placed during her childhood. Yume knows she stands out a bit more than she'd like with her lond sleeved, but the protection the fuinjutsu sewn in the sleeves provided couldn't be understated.

“-stick of dango hates to see me com-Hey!” Anko shouts. Her hands are then propping Yume up, hovering, unsure, chakra fluctuating with concern, and fear for a fragile civilian. “Are you okay?”

Yume freezes at the idea of a kunochi's hands on her, heart racing, stumbling. 

“Fine!” Yume stammers, genuinely touched by the concern. “Just tired. It was all the smoke from those caravan engines.”  Anko did such a good job at seeming uncaring of what others thought of her, so content with being alone, she had fooled even Yume with her sensor abilities.

But then again, Yume had been blinded by the ugliness of the seal. 

Ugh.

Were Yume’s own seals like that? Karin said they weren’t but what if she was just being nice? What if everyone thought Yume was ugly? Yume is developing pear shaped and is very aware the beauty standard in Konoha is the exact opposite, especially with the arrival of the top-heavy Tsunade. 

Anko stands back.

Hands on her hips, scowl on her face. 

"Are you trying to make me look bad, kid? You know, you don't have to serve me if you don't want to. I-I'm not like how everyone say I am. I'm not a traitor"

Yume sniffles.

"Hey-are you sure you're okay?"

No. Her seals were acting up.

"Yes! I believe you! I...I'm sorry. I can get overwhelmed sometimes, but it's getting better. It's just, shinobi can make me a bit jumpy. My birth family was killed by a rogue Konoha chunin, and...It's getting better."

"Oh Sage, I-uh, didn't realize, I had thought you were like everyone e-" Anko cuts herself off. She makes a point of seeming as nonthreatening as possible. "I'm sorry that happened to you. you didn't have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable."

Yume laughs quietly.

"No, recently I've been working through it with a friend who went through something similar. We've really been helping each other. Don't be sorry, because I kinda feel, like, you deserved an explanation. It's not fair people make assumptions and talk about you like that when you're just trying to enjoy some dango." Yume says gesturing to the dropped stick when Anko rushed to help Yume. "I wanted to make sure you know that wasn't what was happening here."

Anko blinks widely, face clearing with realization.

"You see, I'm also not like how everyone else says. It's not the same as you, of course, but I get those looks and whispers sometimes too. But I'm not fragile! I make my own way. I'm strong. Was raised on a farm. See?" Yume says, flexing for a now deeply amused and touched Anko. Not that Anko can see Yume's skin since she wearing long sleeved, fuinjutsuu riddled clothes to help protect her from chakra overload. 

"I'm truly sorry that it came off that I was judging you. It was really good for me to serve you, so thank you very much, Miratashi-san." Yume bows to her in respectful gratitude. When it the last time any showed her such respect? Clearly awhile if her startled chakra is anything to go by. "Please come again if you can. I'll enjoy serving you again." Yume says and means it. Uzumi-baa said Yume may have a plain, average face, but that when she smiled, she lit up like a sunrise. 

When she smiles at Anko, the woman blinks rapidly. Her chakra dances with awe, with fondness, surprise, and hope.

All without Yume using calming intent too!

When Anko finally leaves-her chakra had danced and leaned forward like a pit of charmed snakes towards Yume, desperate for this neutrality-Yume uses the notebook to fully sketch out the seal before she forgets it, and as many of its complexities as possible. It’s clearly an early version of Orochimaru’s, but very helpful. 

They can use it to see where the S-ranked Shinobi built on it. 

She sends it to Uzumi-baa, along with a note about Yume’s worsening health, but she does not send this to Sasuke.

Not yet. 

Best not get his hopes up.

Chapter Text

“Yume, you’re off pitch!” The choir mistress chastises.

Her face goes hot as the choir turns to look at Yume incredulously. Yume had been coming here for several years now, starting with her grandmother taking her to this shrine choir, and then mother. 

Yume’s history with music is a long one. Her family singing work-songs on the farm, then Keiji-san’s Uchiha songs with special breathing patterns, meaning their signing was actually training to control their breaths for Fire Ninjutsu. Then Doremi-oba and Maho, then the Geisha Yume did Murals for paying her back with a more formal education on reading music itself.

Point being, Yume was rarely off pitch.  

After several hours of singing the Mistress lets them go.

“Yume, a word?”

“Yes, Kanon-san?”

“How are those sheet drafts coming along?”

“Very well, they’ll be ready for print soon and we can distribute them.” Despite being among the youngest in the choir, Yume was the most avid reader, and thereful useful to edit and print sheet music. It also doubled as Yume having access to a printer, and being able to copy her notes and organize evidence.

Her book on economic theory was almost ready for publishing! Yume had printed a draft book with the press, and had spent several hours tracing her fingers over it. She had received feedback from Sasuke, Neji, and Uzumi-baa about her economic theories, and partly from Inari who had spent so much time working class too after quitting being a medic-nin.

All three had called it groundbreaking and worthy of being assassinated in their own ways. Sasuke had outright stated he would come back to Konoha if she needed help with her safety. It was a frank, basic, and cutting description of the Economic Shinobi system, with some bonus analysis.

But never mind that!

Before practice started she had also been furiously copying notes from the breathing books Sakura had gotten with the printer, then putting them into her notebook to share with Sasuke. 

She sent these medical texts to Uzumi-baa and Inari too over their notebooks, as Yume had just gotten Inari one. 

 She had been practicing breathing techniques and diaphragm control, to control her output and vocal cords. 

“Good! Good. And what was that song?”

“Hm? Oh, sorry, it won’t happen again!” Yume apologizes, hands clenching at her side, heart racing. 

“Thats not what I meant dear. I thought it was lovely, just…It’s not often I come across music I haven’t heard before.” Kanon-san sounds contrite. 

Of course she wouldn’t have.

It was an Uchiha song.

The Uchiha hadn’t had much reason to sing in their last few decades. This piece was tied to the cremation jutsu, the harmonics necessary to master the vocal and breathing control needed to cremate fallen Uchiha, for the Naka Priestess Kikiyo to take the ashes and smear it as kohl around her eyes. 

Had Sasuke hummed this to himself, when burning an empty pyre?

What had even happened to the bodies of the fallen Uchiha?

“...I heard it growing up on the farm.” Yume admits. It’s not wrong. Keiji-san and his brother sang it. After the death of a Uchiha officer, attacked by bloodline thieves made ambitious by Hatake’s successful transplant. The clan had become more closed off after that, both due to a lack of sympathy from the greater Konoha, the need for secrecy on the attack as the Uchiha had wanted to maintain a strong front after the heavy losses of the Third war, and due to Hatake’s eye being a state secret at the time to maintain a trump card of Konoha’s, before his several years of using it in ANBU eventually leaked it to the wider public. It limited the Uchiha’s ability to complain of the bloodline theft or risk being called traitors during wartime. It also meant civilians were kept restricted to the compound for their own protections from the increased bloodline thefts encouraged by Hatake’s successful transplant. Which further isolated the Uchiha from the village and worsened their reputation as a clan that ‘hurt’ their own.

It truly was a vicious cause-and-effect cycle. 

One Yume included in her analysis to Sasuke. She knew it changed his perception of his former sensei. 

It is not a small thing, this confession of growing up on a farm outside of Konoha. Yume once again thanks Keiji-san for faking her citizenship papers. She still has no clue if her father was a shinobi or not.

“...Why don’t you write it down?”

Yume startles.

“You already have access to the papers. And you know how to read and write music-I’ve seen you drafting your own, don’t lie! Write it down. We might be able to sing it at the celebration if you get it in quickly enough.”

Most people would shy away from work songs.

Peasant songs. 

Kanon-san was remarkably progressive. Yume feels the way her chakra picks up the rhythm Yume was humming earlier and her own chakra leaps! For a second it feels like being with the Uchiha again, dancing around a campfire as they sing together, chakra jumping to the exact beat of the music like Kanon-san’s did now. 

Maybe the Uchihwa symbol wouldn’t be seen.

But the Uchiha would be heard.

Yes. 

She would write it down. 

Y- I felt so embarrassed at choir practice today! I accidentally started humming the wrong song! I was so off key. Oh! Use these notes to help with your new jutsus! And singing in Sound. It's a terrible situation but while you’re there you might want to see about training your music skills too.

S-It would be a good skill to train. I believe Tayuya could help with flute. She and Karin are bonding over their Uzumaki heritage, as Tayuya is half-Uzushio, half-Sound. And I’m sure you sounded fine. What song was it?

Yume hesitated. 

Firstly, because for the oddest reason, she swore this Tayuya person had been killed. Neji had told her how the Famous Sand Siblings had intercepted the Sound Four. He had been oddly cagey about it though so Yume expected to hear more in the future. 

Secondly, because the news of another surviving Uzumaki might just make Uzumi-baa crack a smile. There was a much deeper mystery there behind the Uzumaki clan downfall, but, one thing at a time. 

And Thirdly, because she was sure it would pull at Sasuke’s heart to hear about the Uchiha work songs. 

Y- It was an Uchiha song. Keiji-san would sing while working with us. The choirmistress didn’t know what these songs were but she loved them. She wants me to write them down into music so we can sing at Konoha’s 100th celebration.

Sasuke does not respond for several moments.

She gets nervous.

Y- It’s why I’ve been researching breathing and respiratory notes. Many Uchiha songs and instruments are based around breathing techniques to help with Fire Ninjutsu for Katon breathing, to control the flames. I got medical texts to better study breathing techniques even!

Blank lines.

Then.

S- Can you share them with me?

Yume spends the rest of the night writing the sheet music down. She copies the musical sheets into the notebook from the music book and waits. She writes the lyrics along with the musical notations. It will take months, years , before she can get all the songs down, but these few are a great start!

Yume marvels at the convenience of these journals. You'd normally have to send a hawk to deliver a letter, animals that were kept under strict lock and key by the courier corps. The telegraphs were strictly controlled and limited to the larger towns and cities since most were destroyed during the third. And landline was still pretty new.

S- Thank you. I remember these songs.

There is so much love and longing and gratitude in those words.

  Literally . 

When pressing your fingerprint to the corner of the page to give your chakra approval to send, some of that leeched into it’s respective page. The ink is filled with the impression of those emotions that a sensor like Yume can feel .

Y- You can read music?!

S- Yes. My mother played the flute. She taught me.

Yume closed her eyes in grief. The Uchiha preferred wind instruments. For a beautiful moment, Yume daydreams about a choir of her family. Of her mom, aunt, grandma, Maho, Doremi, Keiji-san, Mikoto-sama, and Sasuke, all of them singing together and playing instruments.

It’s a beautiful daydream.

But Yume always has to wake up. 

She wonders what Sasuke’s singing voice sounds like.

They talk.

Or rather, write. 

“Is that a new notebook, Yume-chan? A Two way like the one you gave me? Who and what are you writing to that's so funny? I wouldn’t be able to tell anyway with your hieroglyphic writing!” Inari asks, as Yume walks her to her training at the hospital.

Inari may be speaking casually, but the shifty way her eyes looked for those new capital technology cameras, and the way she kept the notebook carefully designed with so many medical texts betrayed her permanent district of Konohagakure for the betrayal of the Uchiha. She had agreed to keep the sealed notebook a secret. Her own chakra reveals her fear of ANBU, wrapped around herself like a blanket in winter. Yume does not know the details but she knows Inari was taken in for “questioning” for being that man's former teammate, with questions about her immigration status. 

Yume smiles, nods, and shrugs. She was well known for scribbling down everything, saving and clipping receipts, cutting out pages from newspapers-a habit she picked up from Uchiha Teyaki- and magazines and pinning them to her quarkboard, and doing increasingly accurate sketches.

Sasuke was responding to a sketch she had done of the packed tomatoes Sasuke had stacked for Uzumi-baa. She had learned one had fallen and squashed on his head, and drew a cartoon version of it, and then a crime scene version of it like the Uchiha police sketch artist had once done where it look like a box of tomatoes had mugged Sasuke. 

S- Very Funny . He writes next to it. I’m throwing tomatoes at you right now.

Yume grins at Sasuke’s cheesy joke. When he very young he had been a happy, attention-seeking, goober of a baby. And also nervous, from what Yume has seen at a distance as the date of the genocide approached. Probably picking up on the worry of his family as a young sensor who hadn’t yet been cut off from chakra sensing. Then he became very focused and serious. It’s nice to see him joking around now. 

Y- I bet you’d like it if people threw tomatoes at you Sasuke!

S- If they’re the ones you and Uzumi-baa grow? I would. They’re delicious.

Yume smiles softly. 

She really needs to get that Uchiha ash fertilizer recipe to him but she honestly does not know enough about seals, or elemental chakra such as Fire Ninjutsu. 

S- Besides. Wasn’t hard at all. He writes, just slightly petulant and Yume bites back a giggle. Sasuke almost writes more than he talks. Then she thinks of how exhausted Sasuke was, from Orochimaru’s training and the run to get here a few weeks across the frankly massive expanse of Fire country, and it’s not so funny anymore.

Yume continues to write.

Y- How is your sensor training with Karin going?

He does not answer for a bit.

S- Not well. I can’t reach out. And Karin hasn’t been able to use her notebook yet. Kabuto is keeping her busy.

Yume’s stomach sinks. 

For her best friend and Sasuke.

In terms of her nightmares, Kabuto was second only to Orochimaru himself. Yume still needed to visit the jail to find out the connection between Kabuto and the Wandering Miko herself! But how to visit the jails to meet with the old matron without raising suspicion? Would she have to go back to Konoha’s main shrine after all these years? 

Sensor training was hard. Undoubtedly difficult for a boy like Sasuke. When Sensors lost their loved ones, the literal feeling of their deaths, their energy leaving this world was enough to kill a sensor. It had almost happened to Yume twice, first with her blood family, and then with the Uchiha. Uzumi-baa had to save her both times. If Sasuke’s Chakra system hadn’t automatically restricted itself he would have died too. Knowing how much it meant for Sasuke to be strong and not admit weakness in a world that would gobble up the last Uchiha, Yume is touched by his willingness to trust her and admit this to her. 

S- Can you tell me what its like?

She furrows her brow. 

Y- ?

S- Being a sensor. I want to know. I want to know what it’s like for you. What I’m missing.

Yume’s heart sinks. How much could Itachi take from one boy? And on that note, how much did Sasuke know about Itachi or his motivations? Yume hated that man but she was not so dumb to not see that Itachi was brainwashed young too. Did Sasuke know it was most likely under orders? Yume has not had the chance to prove that to herself, and frankly does not have the evidence ever since Kabuto stole it. 

Y- Birds feel like coins used to wish in creeks. Bright flashes that come and go. Plants feels like blooms. Cats are calm, cool, mischievous, and sometimes silly. I felt a cat poof up in alarm when it mistook it’s own tail for a snake. 

Yume accompanied that with a quick doodle of said cat, a fat fluffy thing gawking at its own tail. Sasuke loves it so much he draws a little star next to it, exactly like Yume had seen Iruka-sensei and Suzume-sensei do on the side of Sakura’s graded homework. 

Sasuke didn’t just want to hear about her information

He…

He wanted to know about her day. What it was like, to live as Yume. Her opinions on things. 

S-You like sewing shapes and fuinjutsu onto your clothes? What is their purpose? What is your favorite pattern? I see you like cats, and vegetables. 

Y-I like the little animals and produce because they cheer me up! And I can hide fuinjutsu sewing patterns in the design. I’ve done the same with several murals I’ve painted around Konoha. 

S-What is the purpose of those seals on your clothes?

Does he know?

About Yume’s crippling disability? The permanent seals on her Tenketsu, even now choking her as they keep her alive? Would he too be horrified like Neji? Like Yume herself was when she felt the Cursed seals?

He knows she’s a civilian of course. That's as plain as day. And Yume does recall when Sasuke was letting Yume cover him with her much weaker chakra chakra to feel his lack of intent to harm her, that she did tell him she needed to be careful to not ‘burn’ her coils further.

Yume decides the full story of her tenketsu can wait another time.

The differences in their strength was already enough without this on top. Yume could feel’s Sasuke’s strength increase exponentially due to the potency of his chakra on the stained pages he sent. It was to the point where Yume would often wear fuinjutsu lined gloves and long-sleeves. Hopefully those new planned seals with Uzumi-baa and Inari would help.

Y-I put durability seals on my clothes so they last longer. And water resistance in case of spills when I’m waitressing. I’ve put seals deep in my pockets so I can hold many things. Like stolen documents! Sometimes I put fuinjutsu so it helps me keep warm, or cool off. I have it in my bandana to keep my hair healthy. I also have it on my clothes as a barrier. My coils can be. Sensitive. The fuinjutsu in my clothes helps so I don’t become overwhelmed by others Chakra. As you can see, it’s very useful, and Uzumi-baa has even been able to teach some to Neko-baa to use in her munitions!

S-Neko-baa is a very respectable person to know. I’m glad you’ve found each other. What do you mean by sensitive? I recalled you said ‘further burn’ before? Since we’re partners we should share how we’re doing. 

Yume is not imagining the concern because as Sasuke’s chakra saturated the page and dyed it his lovely indigo, it radiated clear concern and confusion.

What if she tells him how fragile she is and he thinks she's weak?

So much of his journey was getting strong enough to get justice for the Uchiha. What would he think of her weakness?

Yume hesitates. At first she wanted to downplay her condition, but…

S-If you’re not comfortable with sharing it, that's okay. You’ve already given me much, and don’t owe me anymore. Just know I won’t think less of you for things you can’t control.

They had promised to be honest with each other.

Y-I don’t really want to talk about it at the moment, because we’re still working on my condition to be honest. But I will say this is a chronic condition of mine. My coils were permanently fried by the nine-tails attack. I’m a bit like that boy you fought in the chunin exams, Rock Lee. Except my condition is more advanced. It combined with me being a natural sensor in a way if I didn’t have seals on my tenketsu I’d hemorrhage chakra and die of chakra exhaustion. It also made them super sensitive to other’s chakra, to the point where I can get overwhelmed and it can even stop my heart. Sand’s one-tails junjurchikki did so. And because of the seals it’s very difficult to render medical care to me and get around the seal’s barrier access. I hate to say it, but I’m not durable, as far as partners go. 

There.

Like ripping off a bandaid. 

Yume ignores how she shakes with nerves. Sasuke would be able to tell how worried she was, with the way she ended that paragraph, but too late now.

S-This just reaffirms my admiration for you. It’s incredible you’ve found this out with your hands tied like that. Thank you for sharing this with me and I’ll strive not to betray the trust you’ve shown. I’ll reciprocate by sharing with you that I’ve been able to fully develop my Sharingan to three tomoe, thanks in part to my reaction to the information you’ve shown me . 

Yume gasps. 

Y-that's great news! I’m sorry for the reaction and strife behind much of that, but I’m glad you’ve now got the knowledge to make informed choices, and the power to achieve justice!

S- Thank you. I still have time to write with you tonight. What else do you like to write and draw about?

Cats.

In preparation for meeting Neko-baa, Yume had been researching cats at the library, and pelting Uzumi-baa with questions.

Sasuke loves to hear about the cats. Yume can read the amusement in his words when he asks for more details on them. She would have to tell Sasuke more about cats when she went to visit Neko-baa later this week with Uzumi-baa.

S- You write like how Uruchi-baa used to tell stories.

She can feel the grief through the page, the chakra laden ink and pages nearly freezing the room. She could see the chakra lift from the pages like fog over a lake on a cool morning.

Uruchi Uchiha, wife of Teyaki and co-owner of the Uchiha Senbei shop, Keiji-san’s parents, and whose top-secret recipe they had been able to recreate.

They would have been her adoptive grandparents, if Yume had been accepted into the clan.

Uruchi-baa was a civilian but her mastery over low-level fire ninjutsu and use of different powders to change the color of the little baking fires she made, meant she created shapes and told stories accompanied with images from the flames. 

Yume is deeply touched, and honored. She hopes to tell the story of the Uchiha one day, fully and reveal the truth. 

S- Write some more, before I rest for the night? Yume can tell it took him several moments to write that, ink blotting heavier near the beginning of his sentence where his pen hesitated. 

She rests her fingertips over the thicker lines.

She tells him of feeling souls like a million stars. The warmth of campfires. Dancing with the Uchiha police when they lived. 

When he must finally go, Yume switched to sketches of the Uchiha of how she remembered them so Sasuke will have something to wake up to.

Alive.

Happy.

Far too often, the pain of the Uchiha was immortalized, and not their humanity. 

Uruchi and Teyaki bright in their joy as Uruchi uses Teyaki’s newspaper to fan herself, pretending to be a Geisha hiding behind a diamond encrusted fan. The officers dancing in the break room. Keiji-san and his brother singing at their farm. Izumi and Inari holding hands and skipping and humming a Fire-capital city pop-song

The Uchiha were gone.

But looking at this page, the love on Uchiha faces drawn with Uchiha charcoal- their joy lived on.

The next morning, she wakes up to see the faintest impression of wrinkled spots on the corner of the pages, so achingly, carefully , away from the images.

It’s the familiar crinkle of teardrops .

Except they're not her own. It makes her wonder what else can be transferred through these pages, but that is a question for Uzumi-baa for when they go to visit Neko-baa. 

Yumes turns the page and lets Sasuke have this. 

Sometimes they play games. 

Tic-tac-toe. Hang-man. Pictionary. Paper-Soccer. Crosswords. Sudoku. Even Origami patterns, then sending folding pages that pop up when you open the book. 

Yume sends Sasuke paper shuriken.

He sends her an origami rose.

She holds it for several long moments before putting in her treasure chest. They only flowers she had ever gotten from a boy had been when officer Keiji-san had helped her lay flowers from the Yamanaka shop-sold to her by a sorrowful young Ino-and flowers from the blooming fruit trees on the banks of the Naka River

Yume very carefully does not think of the implications.

Yume then does  a flip animation in both the top and bottom corners of the notebook. The bottom is a dancing campfire, the top is a flying hawk. 

Sasuke especially loves those. 

They also do drawing and tracing games. She loves the way Sasuke’s pen chases the tip of her’s. Her drawing skills are objectively better but his shinobi prowess means he is never far behind. It creates this fused, overlapped art that is rather stunning, and nearly pops off the page. 

She writes an explanation of how she learned to draw sketches at the knee of the Uchiha police sketch artist, and then goes about teaching Sasuke page by page. 

On top of that, the Uchiha themselves had their own cultural art style. It made sense for such a visual clan. Their art emphasizes curves and circles, connected continuing lines whenever possible, the broad, curved strokes of paint. It was an artstyle that jumped and flickered with curls like tongues and curls of smoke off a campfire. Invocative of round eyes. Their art focused on semi-to hyper realistic due to their vision, techniques to draw and sketch that brought the living world to life easier than you’d think. 

Sasuke dedicates himself to it, even when he’s so beat up from training that traces of blood make it through the pages. 

The first thing he successfully draws is his parents. 

Yume feels the love. 

Literally.

When Sasuke presses his fingerprint to the seal and sends the page over, the entire sheet is saturated with loving chakra. She is in awe of how his potent chakra does not burn her increasingly sensitive tenketsu.

All she can do is press her face to it and close her eyes.

Yume will write sonnets and paragraphs with codes in them, from code books she borrowed from Shiho, and Sasuke embraces the mental challenge of solving them with a estatic glee.

She hopes this coding practice will help her unlock the Wandering Miko’s, Nono Yakushi’s scroll, and find out why Kabuto wanted it so bad. 

Orochimaru is not doing much to grow Sasuke’s mind. He isn’t getting in the way-a being so dedicated to knowledge could never impede another's progress- but he is only after his body. This also means he pushes Sasuke hard, but not so hard that it causes his future vessel damage. He does not want Sasuke to think for himself, to talk and speak with others on base. So Sasuke drinks up whatever Yume has to offer like a man parched in the desert.

It reminds her to visit Konoha’s Public library-also established by the Third Hokage. She hated that man for his role in the massacre but she couldn’t deny his accomplishments either. She wants to get books on electricity and how it works. She shouldn’t need Sakura’s help for that. They should have plenty in the science and the utility sections. And Yume could always flirt with an electrician's apprentice and ask him if she couldn’t find what she wanted in the library.

Sasuke kept this in for so long. 

Sometimes, Yume wakes up to see blank pages, crumpled from where his pen pressed too hard. 

Other days, it’s entire paragraphs. Of Sasuke talking about his family like he might forget them.

S-My mother liked to play the flute in the courtyard, at the old location you showed me, helped me to remember, before we moved to the compound on the outskirts of Konoha. I recall she had a sword, but I don’t know what happened to it. It was infused with fire like how you told me the the White Fang of Konoha’s tanto was infused with lightning. The light from the flame could be manipulated to form genjutsu.

It’s incredibly cool to hear. And sad. Where had it gone? Could Neko-baa answer this?

S-My father was stoic and serious. But sturdy. He was a man that meant safety. I admired him and wanted his approval. I was nervous when I saw how stressed he was, but I knew I could ask him questions when it mattered. He loved my mother deeply, and used his fire to forge her jewelry.

It’s a side of the Uchiha clan head she never heard of before. Its hurts and heals to hear. 

One night, Yume’s hands are covered in ink, like how she taught the other orphan children to finger paint. She had been crying trying to write down things she remembers, things about Keiji-san and her would-be family.  It leaves a perfect handprint of her’s on the page, down to her fingerprints. 

She sees that she accidentally sent it. 

And that Sasuke had laid his hand over hers.

The print was made of blood. 

Yume's heart leaps in her throat. 

It was going on two months ago now, nearly three, and it was a mere couple of days away from the 100th year celebration of Konoha, and 11 months of Tsunade-sama’s reign. Yume had spilled ink finalizing her notes to print the Uchiha music. 

During those nearly 2 months, Sasuke clearly had a growth spurt. 

When they held hands and walked through Konoha together to Yume’s new apartment, his hands had been the exact same size as hers despite being nearly 2 years younger than Yume. The blood transferred through the page and it looked like he had hit a growth spurt. Yume regrets missing seeing his growth. 

But then she realizes she is bearing witness to it through these pages.

The shadow of living chakra in Sasuke’s blood is stronger than what is typically transferred through ink. Yume feels his gratitude, his longing, his burning curiosity, and even…was that fondness ?

It was not uncommon for Sasuke to trail blood on the pages after a hard day of training. It distressed Yume greatly despite Sasuke’s remarkably patient reassurances. But this was clearly intentional. It looks like his fingers are weaving with hers. It overlaps like the petals of flowers. 

Yume smiles.

She attaches the completed Uchiha sheet music to the spine, watches the bind-seal absorb the page and send. 

Y- Happy 100th Sasuke. They sing into the night. 

Y- It was terrifying, Sasuke. You read the letter I wrote when I thought I wouldn’t make it out of the Root tunnel during Sand’s invasion, led by a disguised Orochimaru. And I’ve explained it to you before. I want the utmost clarity here however. I can’t confirm the elders' role in the death of your clan until I have the papers Kabuto stole. And he wants papers I have-we could use that as leverage. 

S-I will try to find out more about Kabuto then. He’s a simpering fool for Orochimaru, and hates that I get so much of his attention.

Y-Try to learn medical ninjutsu from him. Yume says after a moment. It’s something he respects greatly and might warm up to you for showing an interest in the subject. 

Sasulke takes a moment to respond.

S-What did he do? The ink is laced with suppressed anger and concern.

Yume pauses.

Y-You know my seals? On my Tenketsu? Uzumi-baa told you she did them, its why I sent you to her so she could see about your seal. She placed them there after the nine-tails attack shredded my chakra coils, to keep me from dying of chakra exhaustion. They have a loophole where a medic nin or a seal master can circumnavigate them and hijack me, or cause me to die of exhaustion. Kabuto did that. He was planning to take me to Orochimaru as an experiment. Her hand shakes, making her writing more loopy than normal. A couple tears plink down and smear the ink even as she sends it and Yume burns with the pain and fear and humiliation she felt when Kabuto had attacked her. 

It takes several moments for Sasuke to respond.

Several.

Long .

Moments. 

S-I’ll kill him. 

Yume feels the hatred and resentment for Kabuto spiking off the pages, charged with unmistakable lightning ninjutsu. It's blinding like the sun. And uncharacteristic. Sasuke went out of his way to not harm or kill others.

Yume panics.

Y-You can’t! I want to, too, but he knows too much! It could mean missing crucial information for justice.

S-He doesn’t get to do that to you and get away with it. Neither of them will. Sasuke writes it as a promise and Yume blinks back more tears, happy ones this time. She is overwhelmingly grateful someone cares about her.

Y-I know. For now, grow strong. 

Sasuke pauses.

S-You said Kabuto’s skills could circumnavigate your seals? Could someone who learned his skills be able to help you then? Without hurting you?

Y-Theoretically, yes .

S-Then it only makes sense for me to get closer to him and learn medical ninjutsu. Partners in discovering the truth need to be able to take care of one another. Karin is also beginning to learn from him and will contact you soon.

It’s good to hear about Karin, and Yume realizes the lack of communication is in part due to Kabuto’s watchful eye making journaling impossible. The realization that Sasuke was getting closer to Kabuto not just for information on his family, but to learn difficult skills to help Yume, warms her heart.

And makes her dread her next words. 

Y-And there is one more thing as to why you can’t kill Kabuto yet. And not just because Sasuke wasn’t powerful enough yet.

S-What is it?

Yume pauses.

When Yume had confronted Sasuke, all those months ago before he left Konoha, she had said the elders were involved.

She hadn’t said how . 

Sasuke might be thinking the elders' role was letting Itachi commit the massacre through solely incompetence. He was possibly completely unaware that they had taken a much more active role, and in fact, ordered the massacre.

But Yume couldn’t outright say that without the scrolls Kabuto stole!

Sasuke might still be under the impression his murderer older brother had simply snapped instead of a bone-deep betrayal from his own Village!

Y-Considering the Elders role in ANBU, especially Danzo Shimura’s private ANBU force Root, the fact that Kabuto was in Root, and that Itachi Uchiha was the youngest ANBU member in history, we can’t overlook that there might have been some direction from Itachi’s higher ups to initiate the genocide. I’m saying that Itachi could have been under orders from Konoha’s highest powers-not that its justified what he did-but I can’t say that for sure until we get the evidence from Kabuto.

For a moment, silence.

Then.

Sasuke despairs .

Waves of howling grief and shock and denial radiate from the page like the arms of the Kraken from Uzumi-baa’s stories.

And then.

Nothing.

Chapter Text

Yume is in tears through the celebration. Her singing is a bit strained from crying, but the notes are still clear and harmonize with the choir. There is just no way for her to mess up her would-be adoptive fathers favorite Uchiha work song.

A part of her is now grossed out.

She does not want the Uchiha to be forgotten. But do these people deserve to hear the sacred songs?

She feels worse for thinking that.

Everyone else thinks it is the 100th celebration, then Tsunade-sama’s speech on how far they’ve come. Yume wonders how the last known member of the Senju clan feels about the village that had been founded in the first place to protect both the Senju and Uchiha families. 

“You did wonderfully, dear.” Kanon-san reassures Yume, gesturing to the printed music.

Yume nods. 

She is unable to say that she is upset because after two straight months of messaging constantly, Sasuke had not responded to her since. 

There is only one thing that cheers her up.

Yapping.

And storytelling, and sharing information.

“And so, the great Touka Senju in her last stand cuts through the western front, invisible as a ghost with her stealth genjutsu!” Yume tells some of Konoha’s history through sniffles to the crowd of orphan children she helped raise. They ooe’d and awed appropriately.

Yume’s mind goes back to the books she is writing, and how Sasuke said she was a great story teller like Uruchi-baa had been, and pretends her tears are just because of how moved she is by Touka Senju’s last stand.  

That specific Senju was admittedly great. It was genius for her to study genjutsu in such a way it gave her some immunity to the Uchiha’s genjutsu. Yume had hear from Tenten that the slaver Hinata girl’s sensei worshiped Senju Touka like Tenten worshiped lady Tsunade

Besides.

Many of the female students were put in the academy by mothers who wished for strong daughters to defend themselves. Many of the orphans were also entering the academy, many of them female, and borne from civilian women, yet with larger chakra pools speaking of a shinobi father.

It is a suspicious combination.

Reminding Yume of herself. 

“What happened to Senju Touka next?” Little Moegi shouts. Despite her awesomeness, much of Senju Touka’s story was glazed over and de-fanged. Common for propaganda purposes. Kunochi stories were suppressed to discourage a long career that would risk the death of women in the dangerous field during prime child bearing years. Yume picked Touka specifically so the many new female academy students could have another role model, because genjutsu was often looked down upon due to its association with the Uchiha and Kurama clans, and normalizing genjutsu usage through another Senju when their beloved Fifth Hokage was yet another senju was socially and politically acceptable for Yume to do, and a common enough story where it wouldn’t look suspicious for her to know. 

“She used her genjutsu to make her reflection on their kunai and in the enemies eyes that of an avenging angel!” Yume shouts, flaring out her shawl that had the children shriek in delight and warm her heart.

Yume loved children. 

Yume had known little Moegi’s mother. A civilian woman assaulted by a Konoha Shinobi and then had justice delivered to her by Izumi, one of the last women Izumi had been able to help. The woman had given Moegi up for adoption, being unable to take care of the girl, and then had taken her own life. She had been buried next to Sakumo Hatake. The graveyard for the dishonorably deceased. 

Moegi had been in the orphanage for the children of deceased shinobi like Yume had been, except she had been able to go to the academy, unlike Yume. Yume had wanted to spit and claw at the unfairness of it all, but could only gently rock the little red-headed girl in her arms. Little Moegi was doing much better now that she had become friends with Konohamaru, the grandson of the third. Smart girl.

By the end of the storytelling, Yume is almost cheered up.

“You could do with a good nin-cat girl. They make excellent, unassuming guards.” Neko-baa says.

“I don’t know about that.” Uzumi-baa smirks. “More to this girl than meets the eye. But then again, she’s always up to something!”

“Like writing to that young Uchiha boy?” Neko-baa muses.

Yume gawks

“What's wrong girl, cats got your tongue?”

The two old women laugh-and in Neko-baa’s case, meow- in laughter. 

Yume bursts into tears.

Tamaki-Neko-baa’s granddaughter- who had been getting along with Yume so nicely-despite an odd tension-and was honestly prime friend candidate material, gasps in concern. Yume feels her chakra poof up exactly the fur coat of an alarmed cat. 

“He hasn’t been saying much to me at all recently!” Yume sobs. “I think I upset him by being too honest!” Like how she often used to upset people with being too direct. 

The two old women croon at and comfort Yume. She is not scared that Neko-baa and Tamaki know she is contacting Sasuke. They never liked Konoha either. The Neko clan hated Konoha and were deeply suspicious of them too.

“It will be alright, kitten.” Neko-baa says, immeasurably comforting. “There are hard truths, but they burn the same way disinfecting a wound does.”

Yume calms.

Yes.

The truth was necessary. 

How could you see where you should go next with a path obscured by lies? It kills her heart to think her new friend Sasuke might hate her, but she does not want him walking into a situation unaware and easily manipulated. She would sacrifice her wants for that.

Yume had always had her eye on the ball like that.

“Now.” Says Neko-baa once Yume had calmed down. She pulls out a scroll absolutely radiating power, so much Yume instinctively shields her eyes, drawing her fuinjutsu shielding-bandana down as well as her shawl to block some of the chakra. 

It feels…

Kinda like how the main shrine in Konoha felt? When Yume’s grandmother took her, and then when she followed the Monks-themselves followed by members of the 12 guardian ninja- from Fire Country’s main shrine of the Daimyo as they finally bothered to purify the Original Uchiha Compound with divine jutsus. 

She also pulls out pages of fuinjutsu that Yume recognizes as her’s and Uzumi-baa’s inventions, ones they made when reinforcing clothing. The very one’s she was wearing on her person, in fact.

“Lets talk details.”

The scroll turns out to be the Cat contract. A Divine scroll connected to the noble spirits. Yume is allowed to trace her fingertips gently over the name of Mikoto-sama’s grayed out with death. 

The spark of connection is unmistakable.

A zing of chakra straight from the Gate of Death in her chest down her spine and into the scroll, which oscillates with chakra like crystal wind chimes.

“...You would have been a signer of this scroll.” The Ninneko Denka meows gently. "Taken the oath of the Cat summons as we Neko take the Chakra oath of our clan.

Silence.

Yume tries not to cry again as she nods carefully, 

“I felt the pull of it.” She agrees quietly.

“And yet, you can’t reach back. You cannot perform the summoning jutsu required.” The nin-cat Hina follows up.

Yume thinks for a second of her name on this scroll, below Sasuke’s mother. Of how well the animals suit her. Information gathering, communities of cat colonies, looking out for their young, the way cats moved with the grace of dance. 

“The Noble cat spirits are known for their religiosity, as your late grandmother was.” Neko-baa points out, chakra grieved. She had known and been friends with Yume’s grandmother too. “In particular they worship the concept of…reincarnations. Nine-lives and all that.” Neko-baa’s cat-like eyes with the slitted pupil stare hard at Yume, had been since her fingertips had made the connection. 

What is she seeing in Yume’s soul with those cat eyes of hers?

Yume can see the old womans’ name higher up on the scroll, the highest in fact still a strong black and not grayed out in death. How many fellow summoners has this woman seen perish?

Yume goes still at the mention of reincarnation. Of memories of dreams far away from this world.

“A door now closed.” Yume says with finality. Tears wet her face, but she does now bow her shoulders in shame. For what does she have to be ashamed of? 

“Ah. That feline pride too.” Neko-baa purrs in approval. 

Yume nods.

“There is still much for you, kitten. The Neko-baa would love to learn of these seals of yours for armor usage. We would help you with your information gathering, knowledge, and keeping of supplies and munitions.”

Yume agrees to teach how to do these seals. Knowledge should be shared, especially with allies. 

“Ah, I do have a question, Neko-baa?” Yume says, banishing her tears as the nin-cats brush up against her so strongly she almost falls forward.

“Hm?”

“Your eyes…is it a bloodline?” Yume peeps out. Another Dojutsu? Right under Yume’s nose? Yume knew undocumented dojutsu existed, a few were in the Monks that had visited such as that Miroku priestess. Not outwardly visible but clear to Yume’s practiced sensory abilities.

Neko-baa chuckles.

“Of a sort. Yes girl, my eyes are like this as I am a minor signer of this scroll too as you no doubt saw.” The old woman says. “Summoners, with enough usage, and proximity to the nature chakra of their summons, can gain these animalistic characteristics of their summons. Had she lived, I'm sure we would have seen interesting developments with Mikoto-sama.”

Yume’s eyes widen in shock.

“It’s cause you're a signer of the cat contract? I didn’t know that!”

“You don’t know everything, girl!” Uzumi-baa chastises.

And doesn’t Yume know that!

“You see this with the Inuzaku-”Oddly, Tamaki blushes a bit. “-the Aburame, and you used to see it with the Hatake. That boy Sakumo was sporting a fine pair of wolf fangs before his… untimely death. And who knows about that Kakashi Hatake.” Neko-baa follows up.

“I see!” Yume says, mind blown.

“Good, on the topic of ‘seeing’ part of the reason Fugaku-sama achieved the nickname ‘Wicked-eyed Fugaku’ was due to the hawk contact of his!”

“Hawk contract!” She yells. “That's right, I read rumors it was re-discovered, but no one wanted to talk about it, because of Madara!” Yume squawks in realization. 

“Those birds of prey enhanced his already formidable dojutsu, the reason why that contract was so coveted by the Uchiha and by Madara himself!”

“Yes, didn’t Madara lose the hawk contract when killed by Hashirama-sama?”

“He did, and it was rediscovered by Fugaku-sama, only to be lost again when he battled the Two-Tails on the mountain battlefront with the land of Lightning.” The two-tails, the Cat biju, the one Yume’s family supposedly fled from the foothills of the mountain to Fire. 

“The Two-Tails? Didn’t I see a shrine here for that biju?” Yume asks, calmer now even as her mind spins.

. Mainstream shrines today worship other Kami and spirits that used to be more peripheral. It was a bit taboo to openly acknowledge that the biju used to be worshiped-mostly out of fear- because it would mean acknowledging that the capture and enslavement of them went against the older religions.

Predictably, this touches a nerve.

Uzumi-baa’s chakra thrashes like a pit of snakes. Yume suspected that the Uzumaki had cultural and religious cornerstones around concepts of freedom and divine chakra such as the biju that she honestly can’t fathom.

Neko-baa’s poofs up and then stills.

“Perceptive, little one. The Neko-clan traditionally worshiped the two-tails, as the Kurama clan worshiped the nine-tails, and the Hozuki the three-tails, among other examples.”

Hm!

Interesting!

“Were you upset with Fugaku-sama for fighting the two-tails then?” 

Neko-baa sighs.

“No. It did cause some…ruffled fur. But we wouldn’t think to ask him not to defend himself. The Neko-clan understands the Biju are spirits leashed.”

Uzumi-baa’s chakra is the quietest Yume has seen in years. She can’t tell if it’s more like a prey animal staying carefully still, or a predator about to pounce.

“No, the Neko understood the Uchiha’s need to defend themselves and show strength. Especially with all the scrutiny they faced.  For example, the Uchiha’s connection to Hawks cast suspicion on them. Wherever a courier hawk went missing, folks would mumble about Madara sabotaging the village from beyond the grave.”

What foolishness!” Yume scoffs.

“And yet, people need a scapegoat during war. Many on Team Tobirama blamed the Hawks not making it back to get the message for reinforcements from the Gold and Silver brothers as the reason for their sensei’s death. And they turned their suspicions towards the Uchiha clan. It’s why Fugaku-sama did not speak much of his acquisition of, and then subsequent loss of the Hawk Summoning Scroll. He didn’t need that additional comparison to Madara, nor the shame of its loss, not when he already battled back a biju as the older Uchiha had.”

Yume’s lips part slightly into an ‘o’ of understanding.

The Uchiha were barred from many things in the Village. But she had never been able to explain why they were so excluded from the courier and messaging corps. But Madara’s love for falconry and birds of prey was one of the few humanizing traits of Konoha’s first traitor that was even slightly known by the general public. If the Village was suspicious of the Uchiha clan messing with the Hawks because of this, then of course that additional route to being integrated would be blocked too!

Steaming in outrage, Yume scribbles down this new information to incorporate into her analysis later.

“But enough of that!” Uzumi-baa says. “Lets get back to sealing!”

Tamaki is jumpy, like a cat is. She looks around, extremely nervous, and oddly guilty, and Yume feels a deep well of compassion as she realizes the fear the Neko-clan must have been in ever since the massacre. Losing their biggest protectors and allies, and no guarantee of their own safety from Itachi, and their own suspicions of Konoha and how far the Village would go to keep their secrets.

Tamaki is almost in hysterics. 

How long has this girl been scared?

 Her chakra lashes out like the quick, scared swipes of a cat’s paws, the lashing of a feline tail, the puffing up of fur. 

Yume decided to try out her calming intent. 

Yume could make hand signs but nothing would happen. No Chakra would flow through her scarred coils the way it would for a shinobi or even a chakra dense civilian. It would evaporate through her damaged coils, or get stored up in the storage/barrier/medical seal monstrosities on her tenketsu, held there for a while, and then released into the natural world when it reached capacity, only to start all over again. 

Seemed like a bit of a waste. 

But Yume could not use it otherwise. Uzumi-baa offered to increase the storage capacity of the seals again for ease of comfort but Yume gave her a hard no , not wanting her messing around with the seals after she seized control of them once, and then when Kabuto did too.

Also, again, she couldn’t use the chakra. 

Yume could somewhat control these releases by timing them and soaking them with emotions due to her sensor abilities, but not well enough to form ninjutsu, and the last time she tried for taijutsu Uzumi-baa and Inari spent an entire night re-attaching Yume’s fingers to be the way they were before. 

It was incredibly painful, and almost a failure as her spotty coils could not carry the medical chakra through them effectively, and the Tenketsu’s seals barrier aspects prevented all but the most pinpoint medical chakra from getting through. 

Chakra enhanced punches were strictly for the 5th Hokage, and her student-Yume’s reestablished friend-Sakura. 

It confirmed that Yume was simply too damaged to even go the route of Rock Lee. Point being, Yume’s chakra would not manifest in a pinpoint jutsu like a Uchiha fireball or a water dragon. 

But not even her damage or the seals could take away her Chakra aura. Every living thing had one. A mix of Chakra and the electric sparks put off by the thinking nervous system. Every living human passively emitted a chakra signature, civilian or shinobi, like a lantern gave off a gentle glow in the night, like the heat from a campfire.

Killing intent or KI, was a chakra aura seeped with intent to harm, that then pressed down on other’s chakra. Typically you needed to be a stronger shinobi with a well-developed chakra system to emit a significant amount. At least chunin. Sensors had an easier time with emitting KI to use in battle, but in turn, were more vulnerable to KI of enemies. 

It was why Tobirama had been insane enough to cut off his sensory abilities. 

Calming intent, or CI, was the opposite of KI. It was the chakra aura with the intent to comfort, to help, to care, and lend aid. Yume hadn’t even known it was a thing, with how deeply the world was saturated in violence and intent to harm. The state of the shinobi world meant that CI was extremely rare. Most didn’t know it was even real or possible, or thought it was a myth . 

A myth !

The emotional intelligence, vulnerability, genuine compassion, and intent and ability to see it through was rare .

Yume found she could do Calming intent.

Yume exhales.

She blankets Tamaki in it like a patch on sunlight a cat would nap in, and the flighty ninja in training and her cat-like reflexes calms.

Uzumi-baa and Neko-baa had left them to their own devices to go talk about old lady things. Tamaki’s chakra was an intriguing mix of excited, jealous, and guilty. Yume could not tell where these emotions were aimed at.

“Calm, Tamaki. We’re all friends here.” Yume says softly. This girl isn’t much younger than Yume. Sasuke’s age. Yume is well versed in comforting children with her love of them. 

This, strangely, makes Tamaki burst into ashamed tears.

“Y-You're so good! So perfect for the cat contract, and I’m not!” She wails. “I’m just the next best thing!”

Yume blinks once.

Then again

Yume is used to being jealous of kunoichi, not inspiring jealousy in them. 

“Don’t most summoners have to be accepted by those who summon them?” Yume asks, face thoughtful in the reflection of the many Uchiha munitions around them. She spots a bow and arrow, tools Karin had shown immense interest in with Yume’s Aunt’’s old bow in Uzumi baa’s cabin. Karin had been very talented with it, able to sense her target. 

Tamaki nods. 

“Then if the cat contract accepts you, you must be worthy!”

“How do you know that?” Tamaki sobs. “I haven’t even signed yet.”

“No, but I have witnessed your bravery. Boxing those bandits and escorting Uzumi-baa and myself the rest of the way here. I watched as you broke up a fight from those hagglers down in Sora-kun, and negotiated a solid deal for your grandmother. You patrol with the nin-cats, and have excellent reflexes, attention to details too. You are so good and quick to pick up my sewing seals, but then again, cats always did love yarn!” Yume laughs at her joke and is immensely gratified to see Tamaki let out a watery giggle.

The best part was, nothing Yume said was false. 

Tamaki’s nervousness hid the makings of a true taijutsu master. Tamaki had said she originally assisted Sasuke with running around and capturing nin-cats paws to stamp, and had shown Yume the book with only a few more missing pages. 

She often tracked down thieves who tried to steal the Uchiha munitions and currently had a 100% success rate. She had been play-fighting with much faster, more flexible, and agile cats since she was a baby. It created a wholly unique taijutsu style. The Taijutsu masters of Konoha’s fighting styles centered around strength and standing tall like the trees of Konoha. Tamaki’s style of using her momentum to torque up her body and hit way above her weight class was wholly new!

And very cat-like and full of potential! 

Tamaki goes rather quiet.

“That's the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about me.” She says softly. 

Yume smiles.

“When will you sign the contract?”

“I already did.” Tamaki’s admits. “But, I need to prove myself before I’m accepted. Do you remember the Cat pawprint book?”

Yume did.

She was rather impressed with it. She imagines a baby Sasuke and Tamaki gathering pawprints together, moving swiftly in a way Yume would never be able to replicate, and it’s now her turn to cry again.

“Awww, I’m sorry! I’m sure Sasuke will speak to you again soon.” Tamaki tries to comfort. 

Yume nods.

“We’ll see. What was your point?”

“Oh, right, well you remember that last page in the book? The latest pawprint was actually captured by Team Seven and myself, right before Sasuke left the village. Oh, I have a picture actually!”

Tamaki fishes out a polaroid of Team Seven tucked in the pages of the book.

They had cat ears on.

Yume bursts out laughing at the sight of Sakura and especially Sasuke with the adorable fluffy appendages, and Tamaki’s chakra feels like the cat that got the cream. Yume realizes it was Tamaki’s intention to make Yume laugh.

“That's too cute, I bet Sasuke hated that!” Yume howls in laughter. 

“He did!”

The two girls have a good laugh over it.

“Can I have a copy!”

“Way ahead of you!” Tamaki mrows mirthfully, handing Yume a separate picture. It was clearly taken without the knowledge of team seven. Sasuke had a faint but noticeable blush on his face. Sakura was clearly feeling herself and that Naruto was busy being scratched up by a nin cat.

Yume looks at it and smiles. 

“...What did you say your test was?”

In the next several months, I will have to travel and capture the last pawprint!” Tamaki opens the book with a flourish to reveal a sheet that kept on folding open-clearly the work of sealing, and Yume recognizes it as a mix of Uzumi-baa’s and Neko-baa’s. 

It keeps folding open.

And keeps folding open some more!

“Just what kind of cat’s paw print are the summons asking you to prove yourself with?” Yume yelps.

Tamaki flicks her head nervously. 

“The magnificent Matabi herself, the Two-tailed biju, our idol or worship!”

Yume stills in fear.

What!

How?

“The one Fugaku-sama lost the hawk scroll fighting?”

Yume shivers at the very idea of being near a jinjuriki. Naruto’s chakra almost stopped her heart as a child, and Gaara’s had . 

“I would have to follow the Naka river up the mountain pass, it’s rumored the two-tails jinjuriki visits the Matabi shrine every autumn. I have several more months to train and…we’ll see.” Tamaki says faintly. 

Yume exhales sharply, then her eyes close.

That mountain pass following the Naka river up to its head waters was where they had released Maho’s ashes.

Tamaki’s chakra is once again in the throes of a panic attack. The girl’s competence is overshadowed by her fraidy-cat tendencies.

But, to be fair, being asked to acquire the paw print of Biju was certainly worthy of it!

Yume throws out a blanket of calming intent, falls to her knees next to the girl, and throws her arms around her. Tamaki sobs into Yume’s shoulder, clearly letting loose for the first time in months.

“It’s been so hard, and no one understands! There isn’t anyone my age in Sora-ku, and no one I can talk to about things like, munitions, and the Uchiha, and cats, no one until you!” Tamaki bawls. “And I ignored you at first because I was jealous. I’m too horrible for the cat contract!”

Yume shakes her head in denial at that last statement, and they both hug each other and work through it. The pre-teen girl is slightly smaller than Yume, but heavier and corded with sleek muscles. 

“I was jealous too. I love cats and you get to be a cat-kunoichi. But I think you’re really cool Tamaki and I’d like to be friends.” Yume confesses carefully, heart beating fast. She, like Tamaki, didn’t have many friends either. Yume was on good terms with many people, but getting close to someone was difficult with the dangerous information Yume had. Yume had Neji but he was under the Main Branch's control, and also keeping something from her. There was Karin but she was gone now. Sasuke was not speaking to her. Sakura was too close to dangerous people in Konoha. Maho was dead. 

“...I would like to be friends too.” Tamaki says into Yume’s long bandana. Honestly more of a headscarf. Yume liked to fully wrap her hair to keep it from split ends. 

“Great! Could you show me some of the Cat-Kata’s again? I might have a new idea for a seal suit for you, one that could aid in your upcoming quest to get that last pawprint from the two-tailed biju herself…” 

I met Neko-baa today. Yume begins. She does not have high hopes for a response. It’s been over a week now, and they have passed Tsunade-sama’s 1 year anniversary. Sasuke would be 14 soon. 

It will be July soon. 

Yume knew his Birthday was July 23rd. 

A full year since he left Konoha. Yume is struck by the realization she has been speaking to Sasuke twice as long of the duration of Team Seven’s existence of roughly 6 months.

Yume updates Sasuke on the Neko-clan, that Neko-baa had her and Tamaki catch a spry kitten and paint its claws a bright pink for a photoshoot. They had taken a break from Yume making seals for Tamaki’s new enhanced fighting style, for her eventual trip to get the Two-tails pawprint and Cat Sealing scroll. Tamaki had been sticking to Yume like glue since she used calming intent on her, chakra basking in it. And why a cat was having a photoshoot or needed its claws painted was beyond her.

She showed me the Cat-contract, and Mikoto-sama’s name faded with death. The Neko-clan is suspicious as well. Neko-baa also told me of the Hawk contract, held by Madara Uchiha, lost, re-discovered by Fugaku-sama, then lost again near the end of the third war. The loss of the Hawk contract was a blow to Fugaku-sama’s reputation and a part of why he was taken out of the running for 4th Hokage. That, and because he was an Uchiha too. The ties of that particular contract to Madara Uchiha probably didn’t help matters either. The flow of a well-structured essay, of the leaps and connections of logic, of putting together political puzzle pieces, all fall neatly into place for Yume. 

Sasuke might be reading this, he might not. 

Yume takes dozens of sheets of paper she had gotten from the munitions. They were Sharingan locked, patterns that could only be understood by sharingan users apparently. They had hundreds of Uchiha warrior jutsus.  Neko-baa had given her permission after Yume said she’d share them with Sasuke.

“Good luck, little kitten.” Neko-baa says fondly and making Yume pout. She wasn’t that young. “He certainly can’t ignore that.” 

Yume writes a short explanation of them, tersely explains that Sasuke can use these to get stronger through his clan, honestly getting a little upset with Sasuke now for ignoring her.

These were cruel truths.

But Yume hopes he knows she tells them out of compassion.

Some blows you cannot soften.

Yume goes to prison.

It had been difficult, and to be quite honest, Yume didn’t know what she’d even be able to get out of the old matron she helped the Uchiha lock up, as visits were monitored. She knows this matron took money from corrupt sources to sell off kids like Tenten for child labor. And that she was behind where Seiko disappeared mysteriously. 

This matron knew Nono Yakushi. It took Yume digging into the old, locked filing cabinets of the orphanage. She came back to visit the orphans, missing the children dearly, and lonely from Sasuke’s silence. It was the perfect cover for some digging into the old, stale rooms. 

She found some old, yellowed and water stained papers detailing another matron named “Nono Yakushi”, the same last name as Kabuto. 

She dug through her own papers about the code name, “the Wandering Miko”.

How are you doing? She had asked him. She was desperate to know if he was okay, alive or dead. 

This is a prison for civilians.

“What's a sweet girl like you doing here?” It’s an older woman. The Purple square marks on her cheeks designate her as religious, and one who practices medicine. 

“...I’m visiting someone I knew as a young girl. Although I’m in no hurry. My name is Yume, what's yours?” Yume is desperately curious. How did a woman of the cloth end up in jail? 

“Reina. I’m here because I helped young ladies like yourself. Locked up by those damned Uchiha for it.” Reina spits.

Yume jolts.

“Now, there has to be more to the story than that? The Uchiha were not sloppy.” Yume says, face heating up as she gets defensive.

Reina chuckles.

“No, no they were not. In their defense, the Uchiha tried to turn a blind eye, but their sight was just too good. I got caught, and the Uchiha did their jobs and carried out the law like the good officers they were. Just like those damned soldiers in the war burning them smaller villages.”

Yumes starts to get nervous.

The Shinobi guard at the end of the hall is looking their way. Security is less in a civilian prison but Yume does not want to push her luck.

Konoha has no mercy for traitors after all.

“What did you do? I can tell you’re very passionate about it. There is more to your story and I’d like to hear your side.” Yume replies honestly.

Reina looks at her. The woman’s chakra is funny. Damaged in a way, focused around her abdomen. It’s also softening as Yume shows her genuine interest.

“Well, in the war, Shinobi got all hot and bothered. Needed stress relief. They went after civilian women who couldn’t defend themselves. And since Konoha needed all the soldiers it could get, and because the children of shinobi would be likelier to have higher chakra pools, they outlawed terminating the pregnancies. Even if it would mean the civilian woman could die of chakra exhaustion as the baby grew and took more of her reserves than she had to offer.”

Yume gasped.

“That's terrible! I’m glad you helped those women. Wait…is that why…is that why when I visit the graveyard for the disgraced…so many are of younger civilian women?” Yume whispers, terrified. Women who had children out of wedlock, and died for it. Many snarled whispers at the gates saying they had it coming. Her own hand rests over her stomach, right where she’d grow the many children she wished to have, one day.

Reina nods.

“Oddly compassionate of you to visit that place. And dangerous. Same with you visiting this prison. You’d better be careful, girl.”

Yume shivers, and nods.

“Is that why you dislike the Uchiha?”

Reina snorts.

“I understand they were just doing their job. I got away with it so long cause the Uchiha were frustrated that every time they arrested a Shinobi he got a slap on the wrist or even a pardon from the council. But once they were ordered to stop me…”

Yume feels sick. For so long she held the Uchiha in such high regard, but to know they locked up people like Reina, a holy woman, a woman who just wanted to help the helpless, the abused and victimized…It makes sense in a terrible way. For the council to pass unpopular laws and leave it to the Uchiha to enforce them. They got the best of both worlds. Enforcing laws that benefited them, the rich and powerful, and throwing the Uchiha under the bus as scapegoats by making them enforce it.

It’s sickening in its effectiveness and Yume can already feel the beginnings of the essay she will write to Sasuke about it. 

That is, if he reads it.

Yume is about to move on, to ask the Matron about Seiko and the Wandering Miko, when it occurs to her she can ask Reina too.

The farm girl turned working class girl of Konoha pulls out the hand drawn portrait of the Wandering Miko from her bag. A drawing of a woman with glasses, blue eyes, and straw blonde hair. She has the purple squares on her cheeks. 

“Do you recognize this woman?”

Reina gasps.

“Who doesn't? A holy woman, a Miko who mastered the shinobi art of healing, and worked as a neutral party in the war, healing anyone regardless of nationality. One of the only figures who could cross borders uncontested. She was a beloved icon for everyone at the Shrine, and frankly across the world, from the lands of Snow to the Land of Demons. She even inspired my work.”

“Where did she come from?”

“Born in Konoha, joined the academy but didn’t graduate into a team, she joined the medic corps and then the shrine. Caused quite a stir. Some said draft dodging.”

“Where is she now?”

“...Dead. Nobody knows how.”

“She got mixed up in something?”

Reina looks at her sharply.

“Again, you be careful girl. You’re a good egg, I can tell. I see those holy beads you wear tucked under your workers apron.”

Yume places her hand over her grandmother's prayer beads, a former Miko herself, before being driven from their family's shrine up north and down into Konoha.. 

“Nobody knows what happened to another good egg like Nono Yakushi, the Wandering Miko…but it can’t have been anything good.”

Reina turns over in her cell, kneeling at her miniature shrine oddly reminiscent of the one Yume’s grandmother used to have.

“Goodbye.” Yume says quietly. “Thank you for your time, I appreciate it. You have renewed my interest in the divine. I think I will visit the main shrine for you.”

“...Say a prayer for me when you get there.” Reina calls, in a clear dismissal. 

Yume treks on.

Many lonely prisoners try to talk to her.

Not all of them are sympathetic like Reina, but many are. Arrested by the Uchiha, for objective crimes, crimes committed out of desperation, poverty or sympathy, and it changes her perception of the clan. Their hands had been tied. Either enforce the laws and earn the hatred of Konoha’s poor and desperate, or selectively choose to enforce them, and be accused of not following the law, of unjustly taking the law into their own hands, and being rebellious traitors. 

Yume finally gets to the matron.

She has gotten older.

“Hello.” Yume says coolly. “You may not remember me, but I’m Yume. I’m one of the children you used to oversee before you were arrested by the Uchiha for money laundering.”

The Matron’s name is Suzuna.

She hums.

“I can’t imagine you’re here because you miss me?”

The former farm girl looks to the side.

“I can’t imagine it was easy in the aftermath of the third war, and then the nine-tails attack, to run an orphanage.” Yume echoes pointedly. “Especially an orphanage specifically for the children of Shinobi. But you know you didn’t need to take funding from others. I know you got off the hook after the Uchiha died. There was more to it than you just letting children be adopted for work.” Like Tenten. 

Suzuna goes very still. 

“What do you want from me?” There is fear in her voice, and her chakra. If Yume goes to authorities about this, Suzuna could end up in T & I. 

“I’m sorry you’re scared, Suzuna. I can only hope you now realize how you make us children feel. I have a few questions. Who was Nono Yakushi, the Wandering Miko? What happened to her?”

“...A mission gone wrong.”

Yume stills.

“I thought she had retired to be a Miko?”

“She had. Until she was forced back in.” Suzuna grits out. There is genuine grief and regret in her chakra. Suzuna seems to really miss this Nono. Sensing this grief, Yume knows she can push a bit more.

“By whom?” Yume presses gently. She checks Suzuna's chakra, seeing how much further she can press.

Suzuna is quiet.

This line of questioning has reached a dead end, as Suzuna's signature is locked up tighter than she is. 

Yume’s mind races. A realization is on the tip of her tongue but she can’t form it. 

“...What happened to Seiko?” Yume’s missing art buddy. Her heart never did heal from that. But Yume can tell Suzuna is guilty despite no outward signs, and Yume can use that guilt. 

Suzuna jolts.

“Was it the same people who forced Nono back in?”

Suzuna does not react outwardly, but Yume can read her chakra. It confirms her suspicions. Just what internal force in Konoha, acting under the nose of the Hokage, could snatch children and force the retired on missions.

Yume thinks she knows, but does not dare say it. Not here, not out loud, despite everything incriminating Yume has already said. A part of Yume feels sorrow for Suzuna despite the horrible things she has done to the children at the orphanage, many of whom Yume now realizes might be the offspring of the civilian women abused by Shinobi, the ones not fortunate enough to receive help from people like Reina.

It sends chills down Yume’s spine. Several powerful forces were involved in the funding of the Orphanages, who could stand to benefit from children full of potential, not just that rat Danzo. All of the elders, several Business Guilds, Noblemen, and Clans. 

“...Do you know who my father was?” Yume dares to ask instead. Her traitorous heart beats with hope. 

Nono snorts spitefully.

“No girl. You’re probably the child of some civilian woman tricked by a shinobi. Nothing special.”

The guard lets her out, sympathetic. Yume had given him her sob story when filing for visitation, telling him she wanted closure in visiting her old caretaker, and it had worked. What had he to worry about? Yume was just a civilian girl after all. No threat to shinobi. 

Beyond hurt, Yume grabs her things and leaves.

Chapter Text

In this world, there was no disputing the divine.

In the cataclysmic battle of the Fourth Hokage vs the Nine-tails, the entire city had seen him summon an actual Death God , and take the battle elsewhere. Indeed, the last thing Yume saw before her sensor sensitive coils were irreparably scarred during the attack was her mothers face, and that very scene playing out in the distance.

Orochimaru raised the dead during the invasion. When he took Konoha’s village wide barrier seals, flipped them, and threw the shields up to keep the miasmic KI inside, he had summoned the previous Hokages from the afterlife. 

Then, when the Third Hokage had been fighting Orochimaru, he himself had summoned that same Death God, and shredded Orochimaru’s arms from his soul. Sasuke had told her no matter what Orochimaru did, how many bodies he switched, his arms were simply gone in the belly of the Death God. 

Yume’s Grandmother, her biological one, had been a Miko in the land of lightning. She had a shrine up in the mountains for one of the mountain spirits. She had been Yume’s first introduction to the holy. 

She had been the first one to notice Yume was a reincarnation, though she had never said that in so many words, only hummed and commented on it “not being her first time around”. 

The second person had been the Uchiha Naka river priestess, Kikiyo. 

Yume’s would-be adoptive father, Officer Keiji-san, had been holding her tight as he waded in the Naka river. As a high ranked shinobi he could have easily water-walked, but to the Uchiha it was sacred to make contact, to scoop up clay.

“Oh my,” the priestess purrs, “What wise eyes she has.” Her own eyes are lined with the thick, kohl ash of the cremated Uchiha dead. Her fingers trace baby Yume’s face, lined with Uchiha Fire-Forged rings. “This little one has been returned from the ashes, raised from flames like the phoenix!”

Keiji-san bows hesitantly. He cradles Yume to his chest, and Yume can hardly imagine a greater place of safety. His chakra surrounds her’s and connects in the unique way only sensor’s can do, and Yume’s baby chakra-field pushes and tugs on Keiji-sans like Yume’ grasping as the beautiful strands of her mothers hair.

“Dear officer, don’t look so worried. This little one is in no danger, nor is she harmed.”

The priestess takes a blossom from the sacred persimmon, renders it to ash instantly, and draws a blessing on Yume’s forehead. Two wings, made from 3 swirls in the shape of the 3 tomoe in the rare, fully developed eyes of the Uchiha.

The ash makes the baby sneeze and she feels Keiji-san’s chakra melt in adoration

Yume’s grandmother takes her to the Main shrine one day, leaving her mother, aunt, and Uzumi-oba to man the produce stall.

“Ena-sama.” Oba-chan bows to another elderly Miko. She had salt and pepper hair, and those square face markings. Ena-sama’s are a green, it speaks of vitality and renewal, and indeed Ena-sama takes a keen interest in young, renewed Yume. Ena-sama’s role in the Shrine seems to be managing the herbs, and cultivating the next generation.

“It warms my heart to see you two again. I regret the loss of your mountain shrine from the attack of the divine Two-tails. but you are welcome here, should you want to take up the role of Miko again.”

Grandma smiles bitterly.

“I am not a citizen.”

“The Shrine has powers over the Shinobi. The Daimyo would defer to us on this matter.”

“Thank you, but, my duty is to my family now. And…I heard about that Wandering Miko. Called back out to ninja duty? How safe is it here?”

Ena-sama frowns.

“An aberration. But I see. Is this young one in your arms is said family?”

“Yes! My little Yume-chan, our gift from the heavens!”

Ena-sama laughs gently.

“A blessing to get through hard times.”

…

…

…

As the council of elders crackdown harder, they don’t go back to the shrine. 

The next time Yume encounters the holy, it is when Uchiha-sama is in the hospital. That silver-haired Sharingan-stealer had just returned from a mission unsuccessful. Perhaps it was unkind to call him a “stealer”. Yume knows from overhearing the now deceased officers that it was, apparently, transplanted willingly from his Uchiha teammate all the way back during the third-war. And that a Shrine-trained Medic nin girl had done the operation-the other teammate. Also deceased apparently. Yume wonders what Ena-sama would think of that. 

 Yume could spot Hatake’s chakra from a mile away. Clearly a bloodline limit of the Hatake clan. It was a gorgeous shimmering silver-white, like flashes of pure energy, sparks over snow, the glimmer of sun on the ocean. The eye is a black-hole in his head like from those fancy space books from the capital and if not for his unique chakra Yume knows the Chakra poisoning from the Sharingan mis-match would have killed him already. Too bad the other bloodline thieves inspired by Hatake didn’t get the memo.

Hatake is a ghost of himself in his ANBU mask.

His mission to retrieve Tsunade-sama has failed.

Therefore Uchiha-sama will remain in a coma in the hospital, where he had been for several months.

“Tsunade-sama didn’t come back when Hatake asked her to.” Yume tells Uzumi-baa when the old woman comes in from the farm. It’s still awkward among them. Yume is still upset over Uzumi-baa taking over her seals to prevent Yume from suicide, then swaddling her with CI. It’s been 7 months since the massacre and Uchiha-sama’s coma. 

“You’re using your sensor abilities again? Good.”

Yume had stopped for a bit, but to not sense anymore was the same as not singing, or listening to music. Impossible.

“I’m gonna go investigate more.”

“Be careful.”

Several monks come in from the capital, escorted by some of the Daimyo’s guards, the 12 legendary Shinobi. Except Yume can tell a few of them are monks too.

“Kazuma. Are you done with the purification?” 

Yume is hiding by one of her murals, several streets away from the ruins of the old Uchiha compound, the one they occupied before being forced to the outskirts of the village. These are seals Uzumi-baa taught her. They obscure her presence for her. She can hear the conversation between the monk Kazuma, and Asuma Sarutobi himself because she planted hearing seals around the former Uchiha compound. It had been difficult to do, with the lingering burning kyuubi chakra. Most would be destroyed with the upcoming development of that district.

“The Daimyo’s monks have almost cleaned up all of the Nine-tails remnant chakra.” They chose to do it now because the Uchiha were not here to move back in now, and with the sole survivor, Uchiha-sama in a coma and now likely to die, they could re-develop it.

It makes Yume bit her lip. 

“Your father, Hokage-sama may redevelop this compound to begin to recover some of that lost revenue from the third war and the death of the Uchiha clan. After all, that boy is unlikely to survive. And if he does, he was simply too young to remember this place when the Uchiha moved.”

Yume hear’s Asuma’s teeth grit together.

“How could you be so callous with someone so young?” 

“Am I incorrect? Your father’s student is not coming back to heal him.”

“What about your own son, Sora? Are you really going to seal this in him?”

“Touched a nerve, Asuma? We’ve already done so with the chakra we gather after the original attack. My son can handle more.”

“Don’t you have to go find that Priestess from the land of Demons? Miroku?” Asuma growls out, clearly trying to get rid of the monk.

Yume leaves to go find this Sora, she really does feel very bad for him! His dad sounds really mean! Maybe Yume can be his friend? She had wanted to learn more about the religious anyway.

Ever since…

Ever since her family had died. 

Both of them. 

It is not hard to fund him, because his chakra feels somewhat like his fathers, and has that similar biju burn to the Uzumaki boy that Uzumi-baa does not want to leave behind. 

Yume thinks it is funny. She is a little girl, nervous kitten of a civilian, surrounded by bustling laborers, kunochi, shinobi, as she padds through the village to the beacon of a boy up in the shrine. 

It’s not heavily trafficked during this time, and while the guards look at her in suspicion, she is nothing but a little civilian girl. 

“Yume-chan. It does my heart well to see you again.” Ena-sama says, voice choked with grief. “Sit here and pray for a while.”

Yume pauses.

“It’s kinda busy today. There are alot of adults here I don’t know. Are you sure it’s okay?”

“I am positive. Here.” Ena-sama give her some sage bundles from her garden to burn at the temple, and a brew of tea following scripts in the holytext, and as Yume thought, leads her right to the room Sora is in! Jackpot!

“Sora-kun? This is Yume-chan, granddaughter of a Miko as you are the son of a Monk. Treat her with respect as you both pray and reflect in this temple.”

Ena-sama leave the two of them together. 

Sora-kun’s chakra’s is nearly as corrosive’s as Naruto Uzumaki’s and it is only the thick work clothes with blocking seals lovingly sewn into them by Yume that keeps her poor little heart and coils from being overwhelmed. He is outwardly calm, and perhaps a bit curious. But Yume can feel a deep well of insecurity in him. He has probably been treated poorly like Uzumaki-san. Stared at.

It gives her an idea as she softens with sympathy. 

“A lot of people staring at me as I come by. They think it’s strange to see a farm girl so big on the shrines!” Yume laughs, eyes sparkling. “I bet you get it! I don’t see many monk boys! It’s really nice to meet you.” Yume radiates sincerity. Literally. CI is so useful!

It works. 

Sora calms. 

His insecurity lowers as he realized Yume has been struggling with stares like he had been. He had been so scared.

Yume feels tears prickle at the corner of her eyes from the pain of the biju chakra in this boy and from her sympathies for him, but she banished them. She is determined to make this evening a good one for Sora and herself. Sage knows they both needed it. 

It’s the first and last time Yume sees Sora, but during their time at the temple they sing, brew tea, play, and laugh together, before Sora’s burdens become just that much heavier.

…

…

…

“Moegi…” Yume asks, heart racing. She’s telling another story to the kids. Trying to distract herself from her weakening condition and Sasuke’s radio silence by distracting them. She made the mistake of mentioning Uzugakure.

“Whats Uzugakure?” Little Moegi had asked. 

“Do you recognize this map?” Yume holds out her map, careful to not have her hand shake. It’s difficult, due to her nerves, and increasingly failing coils. It was one Uzumi-baa had let her copy.

“Yeah! Thats the elemental nations!”

“And whats this little island?”

“Its’, uh, I don’t know.”

Moegi pulls out the Academy map from her bag, and shows Yume. Yume has to sit on her heels in the middle of the cobblestone street. 

Because Uzugakure is not on that map.

She feels nauseous.

“Moegi…What are Konoha’s four founding noble clans?”

“Four? I know three, the Akachmi, the Aburmae, and Hyuga.” 

“And the Uchiha too?” Yume asks calmly despite clenching her fists so hard in her work apron her work length appropriate nails bit into her palm.

“Oh! Right.The teachers don’t talk about them much. We aren’t supposed to either I think. I didn’t even know they were a noble clan until you told me.” Little Moegi says. 

“What about any famous Uchiha?” Anyone a few years older than Yume knows of Kagami Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha.

Little Moegi’s face scrunches up in thought.

“Nope!” 

The bell signals recess is over.

“I have to go, Yume nee! We’re learning about the different clan codes today! And what it means to have a shinobi code, a ninja way. I don’t got a clan one, but I’ll be learning the one Konoha shinobi take!” she runs back into the institution dedicated to finishing the job of eradicating the Uzumaki and Uchiha. 

Yume goes into the academy library, with her permission slip from Sakura in her back for the breathing book. When she walks past the “U” section, all of the Uzumaki books have been removed. 

And most of the Uchiha books too now.

…

…

..

It is a Tuesday when Yume almost dies again. 

“Wildfire!” A shinobi roars.

Everyone screams, and scatters. 

Even fully grown jounin. 

Elemental Fire users weren’t as common as they used to be since the Uchiha were murdered. There were growing pains. When practicing fire jutsu, rarely the flames took on a life of their own. They grew in power and chakra as they took from the Natural chakra. The Shinobi who summoned the flames then lost control.

It overwhelms her coils.

The sheer ferocity of the flames scorch her tenketsu. Yume’s protective jacket is off. She had felt like she was drowning in too much fabric and wanted to fit in with the other non-crippled girls.

She wakes to a sobbing Inari, and a ghastly stone-faces Uzumi-baa.

“Yume!” Inari wails as she hugs the girl, weak as a newborn kitten. “I can’t take it, first that Sand jinjurchikki and now this! It took them way too long to put out that fire!”

“This wouldn’t have happened if your tenketsu seals were updated.” Uzumi-baa sounds haunted. Haunted! 

“...I think it’s time.” Yume says in defeat. 

…

…

…

“Yume, lost in thought again? You’ve been drifting off lately. Is everything okay?” Neji asks. They had met up for lunch after her morning shift. She had about an hour before her next shift at her different job. 

She’s so shaky she doesn’t know how she’s going to do it. 

“You were late meeting me here. Don’t think I didn’t notice how exhausted you were walking here. What has you so tired?”

Yume can feel the chakra surge in his face, as his Bykaugan tries to activate with the force of his worry for her, the feeling of the coils under his cheekbones. The power is enough to make her coils itch, to make her shiver, a motion Neji detects. 

Neji’s question knocks Yume out of her remembering. Her hands raise up to trace her glasses, then the space on her cheeks where her religious paint would go once she visited the temple. Yume was thinking more about the divine, about death.

With her own death coming up, if Inari and Uzumi-baa couldn’t fix her seals. 

And Sasuke had no clue. 

“Oh, just …thinking.”

“About?” Neji asks with fond trepidation. He knows the heavy concepts she handles and writes about, having proof read many of her economic theory papers. 

“I…you, It might be easier for you to look.” Yume admits, voice wobbling. Words, her greatest strength, her solace, her superpower, fail her in the face of her fear. 

This time Neji does not hold back, and he activates his eyes.

He gasps . 

“You-we need to bring you to Tsunade-sama, she can fix-”

“No!” Yume yelps. She stands up so quickly she sways, and Neji must catch her as she faints.

She is alert a few seconds later. 

“I-I was just thinking about a few things. I know it looks scary.”

“The seals are strangling your tenketsu as you mature. You’ll die at this rate. Merely standing up too quickly sent your coils in a tailspin. You shouldn’t even be working right now!” Neji snarls, his chakra flares in worry and it makes her whine in pain. 

He immediately backs down. 

“What. What can I do?” He asks in a clipped voice. His chakra writhes with worry and guilt.

Yume hesitates.

“...You aren’t obligated to do anything…”

Yume. You are my oldest and dearest friend, my safe harbor and confidant. I would do whatever you need me to.”

She knows.

Oh, does she know this. 

“...Is your grandmother Hikari still watching you?”

“Yes, but the attention is off of me as Lady-Tsunade tries to get progressive legislation passed. Things are tense at the compound but we’ve entered a period of growth where it’s expected for branch members to be more active.” 

“You remember me introducing you to Uzumi-baa?”

“I do, along with Karin Uzumaki. She is the one who put these on you.” Neji’s voice is clipped. He understands it was to save her life, but he never got over his grudge against the elder Uzumaki for it. 

“Yes, and she and Inari-senpai might be able to alter them, so they can make room for my maturing coils.”

Neji’s eyes widen with hope.

“But. It would be dangerous work. Even harder and more detailed than the first time. They would need someone with impeccable eyesight, and an ability to guide their work.”

His breathing stops.

“I would not hold you to this.” She says, voice steady, heart beating fast. “ I would never ask you to participate, in, in sealing someone else. Not after everything you’ve been through, and still suffer from. You can walk away from this.”

Neji sits down heavily. 

His byakugan eyes do not leave her body and Yume feels exposed. She can see as his eyes trace her chakra system, the snarled knots on her tenketsu like a thicket of thorns. 

“You…wouldn’t you be nervous with a man there?” Neji whispers faintly, thunderstruck. “Are you comfortable with me accompanying you?”

Yume rouses with accursed hope .

“With you? Yes.”

Neji’s chakra does a little jump, and then blooms with warmth. 

“I. I would..like to speak with Uzumi-san first. Get more details from her before I participate.”

“Of course, Neji, I-Thank you.” She is in near tears. 

Tears she must quickly hide as Tenten and Sakura walk past. Neji’s activated eyes dart to the two of them, his chakra still impossibly soft. 

Yume sniffles, ducking and giggling quietly to herself at the ridiculousness of the situation as she hides from her childhood best friend. She can’t be spotted with Neji, as it looks too much like a date. And no way someone as beautiful and powerful as Neji would ever like Yume like that!

She certainly hopes so too-romance makes her nervous. 

Neji’s chakra becomes… softer. Almost…romantic. The same feeling Asuma Sarutobi’s got when he looked at that female genjutsu master, Kurenai. 

Wow.

He must really like Tenten. 

Yume can feel the other girls chakra right now, strong and whole, and Sakura’s too, the hidden chakra gem visible to Yume’s senses.

It’s beautiful.

The civilian tears up again.

“It’s alright Yume, I said I’d go with you, remember?” Neji says, so achingly gently compared to his sardonic nature, so mindful as his intentionally, non-threateningly closed hand lowers and offers his forearm to help her up, when she stumbles and struggles to stand due to the head rush and increasingly strangled chakra flow. 

“What do my seals look like compared to Sakura’s?” Yume whispers.

Her cheek turns in shame.

He pauses.

“Come again?”

“It must be so ugly to you.” Yume sobs quietly. “The way the chakra gathers then releases in my tenketsu. How do you even look at me.”

His hand twitches.

Then as if it can’t help itself, raised up to her face and tilted her visage to look directly into his activated eyes.

“Yume.” Neji grinds out. It looks like he might cry too and is suppressing it by sheer force of will. His face is a mix of achingly tender and impassioned.

It smoothes like a calm pool.

“Yume…” He breathes out.

His hands brush the dust from her work clothes. Neji hated getting his hands dirty too. It had been another messy cleaning job and Yume had jokingly asked Neji if he’d join her again because she found it funny to watch his lip curl in disgust. 

“Your coils…”

Her heart nearly stops.

“Looking at you, with my eyes wide open… it’s like a dance, sunset over the lake, the solar flares in the telescope of the astronomy unit. You’re more beautiful than a sky full of stars .”

…

…

…

…

….

“See these seals on my own hands, girl?

Uzumi-baa holds out her palms. She had a medical seal in the center of each one, they seamlessly blend with the numerous tattoos leading up Uzumi-baa’s arms and to the many other under her clothes. 

“What are they for?” Neji asks suspiciously. He stands as a guard at Yume’s back, body language protective and defensive. 

“To help a person with large chakra reserves filter their chakra into something medical. All Uzu medics had them due to our infamous reserves. Combined with purposefully not training taijutsu or ninjutsu to expand our pools, meant our medics were quite capable, but not powerful. I only achieved genin.”

“I see, so this seal means any chakra you put out from it has medicinal properties, whether you’re channeling medical ninjutsu or not?

“Correct. I used elements of the healing palm seal as part of your original seals. I have a theory it might be why your CI is so potent. ”

“But. Every time you heal someone, don’t you age them?” Yume stammers. Hadn’t Sakura said something about Telomeres during one of their library study sessions, Yume pretending to read cook books, Sakura reading Tsunade’s medical texts? 

“You do. The healing seals wouldn’t affect you, Yume, but if you mastered them when throwing out your senses, you could emit a passive regeneration bubble, just a step below in potency and tangibility of your shield.”

She falls into silence.

“What other seals did you use?” Yume asks, trying to remain calm as Neji picks up on her distress. He was on edge as it was. 

“I used Konoha’s barrier seals, it will allow you to throw up a barrier before you can even think about it, since your considerable sensory abilities can sense KI before your civilian mind can.” 

“But if someone only wants to hurt me and not kill her? Would the seals activate?” Neji asks, frowning. 

“Perceptive, boy. No they wouldn't. Count on a prodigy such as yourself to spot that loophole.”

“Could it be fixed?” Neji demands. He then startled as if he realized something. 

I apologize Yume. I don’t mean to speak over you. How do you feel about this?”

“Thank you Neji for being so considerate.” She is sincere and graciously ignores the strange blush that rises in Neji’s face when Yume cradles his hand in forgiveness. “What would happen if you updated my shield seals?”

“They would still activate automatically upon the sensing of KI. But with this upgrade, you’d also be able to activate them manually when you feel under threat even without KI. They’d be weaker in that form, and more chakra intensive drawing upon your tenketsu seals storage elements.” 

Inari leans forward.

“I’ve been reviewing with Uzumi-baa too. She also used a filter seals inspired by the new jinjurchiki seal. Mito-sama died early for an Uzumaki, partly because the corrosive biju chakra aged her. The seal she used was the first of it’s kind, and re-worked from the Uzu barrier seals for this new purpose of containing a biju instead of securing an island. It’s been done to ensure that the current human sacrifice would last as long as possible and age as slowly as possible. It could be these anti-aging effects of the filter seal could counter the aging effects of the healing seal.”

“The next is a storage seal, as you know. What do you see, whippersnapper?” Uzumi-baa directs her question to Neji.

It startled everyone. Uzumi-baa for the strange flickers of guilt in her chakra, and Neji because of his understandable hang ups around seals.

“It...Yume’s chakra gathers in the tenketsu seals and is stored there. Then, once filled, it's slowly released…like faint light in the morning.” Neji’s eyes go distant, and Yume blushes furiously at the beautiful description of a painful necessity. 

“Correct, landlubber.” Uzumi-baa compliments, smirking at Neji’s ire at being insulted. “We plan on expanding the amount she will be able to store up as her pools grow with age. And to even alter some of them so she may store items in the seals. I believe there can be a better usage for that stored up chakra. Yume will never be able to channel it herself, whether through hand-signs or taijutsu. But, when we update her seals to accommodate her growing self, we’d like to implement transfer seals.”

“Transfer? As in transfer chakra?” Yume wonders. 

“Yes. We believe you’d be able to transfer some of your chakra to someone else instead if having it dissipated unused into the atmosphere. It would boost the recipients pools and potentially heal them if the healing palm seal kicks in.”

Yume head spins. 

“I see.” She murmurs faintly. Neji squeezes her hand. “That's, quite a bit. Wow.”

Yume would still be unable to fight.

But she would be more useful than ever!

“And to clarify, this would save my life?” Everyone seems to zero in on how sick and shaky she looks. Part of the reason she had Neji come in the first place in case she pass out half-way here. 

“What is my role in all this?” Neji asks quietly. 

“Your eyes will help us update these seals, with Yume’s consent.” Inari emphasizes. 

“You will gain knowledge on seals, information on tenketsu to possibly refine the Gentle Fist further.” Yume offers, and Neji softens like chocolate in a double boiler the restaurants had Yume working. 

“I see.”

SIlence for a bit.

“...Any more questions Yume?” Inari asks. 

“Yes. For you Uzumi-baa.” Yume hesitates, but she has always wanted to know, and her recent visit to the prison, then to the graveyard of the dishonored spurs her on.

“Did you know who my father was?”

Silence.

“He’s dead.” Uzumi-baa says bluntly. A clear warning. 

“Was my mother a victim like those other poor women were!” Yume bursts out. She begins to cry in earnest. The chakra of the old Uzumaki writhes in shock and horror.

“By the Sage, no!”

“Then what am I supposed to think! You both said that my coils and reserves were growing in a way that indicated I had a shinobi father!” Yume wails.

Uzumi-baa exhales sharply, but places a comforting hand on Yume’s free shoulder. The one occupied by Neji’s hand twitches ever so slightly. 

“You are too clever for your own good sometimes. Your mother was as well. She hid who it was from us, but she clearly loved him. I have my suspicions…but you know very well it does no good to make assumptions and spin tales with no proof. As you found out when revealing the truth to Sasuke Uchiha.”

Cowed, Yume quiets.

“I’ll take her back to Konoha for now.” Neji says firmly.

Yume smiles shakily.

“I’ll visit the main shrine. This time next week, can we upgrade my seals?”

It’s like the ringing of the shrine bells. 

…

…

…

Neji carries her on his back. 

“I hope it’s not a bother.” Yume is embarrassed. She used to do this trip multiple times a day, carrying heavy produce too. 

“You are never a bother to me. My back would simply be cold without your warmth.” 

Yume hums in acknowledgement, and swears she feels a shiver from the poised boy. 

“What do you have to say to me Neji? I feel your chakra is restless.” She cannot make out his face, but she can feel the dance of his chakra. She sighs again and it makes the hair by the shell of his ear dance. She feels with fascination as the disparate threads of his chakra weave together, firm up, and reach a resolve.

“...I was part of the Sasuke retrieval team. But I did not tell you that when I made contact with the Sound Four and Sasuke, that instead of attacking them I-I struck a deal with them. I’d let them go, and spy on Konoha for them, in exchange they’d help me remove my caged bird seal.” Neji confesses.

Yume freezes on his back.

“I, what I should say, is I hadn’t realized this alternate route with Uzumi-san was a real possibility. However, I respect you too much to lie. I might have make contact with Orochimaru regardless. I despite what he’s done, but he might also be the only way to free the Hyuga enmass.”

Silence.

“Oh, Neji!” Yume whispers, tears springing up. Neji has pause, still carrying her on his back, and she can feel him trembling, herself trembling. She shifts to wrap her legs tighter around his waist, and her arms go from gripping around her elbows to shifting and wrapping around his ribcage. She buries her face into his gritted jaw, and feels a few of his tears drip onto her temple. She feels him hesitate, then slowly turns his head to press his jaw into her crown, seeking comfort. 

He’s in a terrible situation. If he backs out now, Orochimaru leaks news that Neji is a traitor and his grandmother gets to activate his caged bird seal. 

“Thank you for telling me.” She whispers. Sasuke had not told her about his contact with Neji. Could she ask now, when he had yet to contact her back? Yume was running out of time for any last words with Sasuke with her surgery coming up. She was not guaranteed to survive.

“We will figure this out, together.”

…

…

…

“Like a Phoenix.”  Ena-sama murmurs. She paints Yume’s visage, the cloud shaped patches on Yume’ cheekbones a lovely, rose gold the same shade as Yume’s hair and eyes. The swirls reminded Yume of Uzumi-baa’s Uzu tattoos, the ends of the shapes almost long tongues of Uchiha fire. It gave the impression of clouds at sunrise. Or sunset. 

“What does this color mean?”

“Duality, new beginnings, dreams born of the aether.” Ena-sama says, her own green bright on her cheek, like the purple must have been on that medic girl.

“Ena-sama?”

“Hm?” 

“I was gifted this by a family friend. A religious symbol that I don’t know the meaning of.” 

Yume shows Ena-sama the circular charm, with a winged cat emerging from the flames. It’s Uchiha made, but Neko-baa insisted it belonged to Yume. Said it aligned with both the Neko and the Uchiha clan codes, the oath all clans made their Shinobi swear before helping to unlock their chakra and begin training. 

The woman is silent for a long time.

“Reincarnation. Rebirth. Hope springs eternal.” She says quietly. Her liver spotted hand traces Yume’s now gaunt cheekbone.

She didn’t have much time left before her coils killed her. 

“Now I have a question for you, girl. Why are you having me do your last rites?”

Yume sighs shakily.

“I…I have been sick since the nine-tails attack. We’re trying a new surgery to try and save my life, but…it might not work.”

Ena-sama is silent. 

She finished Yume patches, two rosey, vaguely square shaped clouds and Yume loves them for how they remind her of the little clay sheep Officer Kenji made her in the Uchiha kiln with Naka clay.

“They will be with you, little divine one.” 

…

…

…

Yume and Yukimi walk together in a dark cave. Yume’s eyes are closed shut because they could be wide open and not see anything in the pitch black of the abandoned root cave.

Yume slips.

A gust of wind solidifies into a gentle but firm hand around her arm. Yume wonders about the way the air is saturated with Yukimi’s chakra, the way it sparkles in the darkness to her sensory abilities. 

“Careful!” Yukimi says. “Uzumi-baa’s redoing your seals soon, right?”

“Yes.”

“It means a lot you were willing to come down here with me, despite your worsening coils.”

Lady Tsunade’s re-doing of the orphan system meant he couldn’t kidnap like he used to. Plus the previous raids by the Uchiha police, then ANBU, then Orochimaru meant Root had to downsize and abandon some older tunnels.

This tunnel led to the Mokuton experiment.

“Thank you for showing me, Yukimi.” 

The auburn haired young woman smiles bitterly. 

“Thank you for agreeing to do the last rites. I knew after you told me how you honored my clan by planting our sacred trees along the Naka that you were the one to lay them to rest.”

Yume trembles slightly. 

Her face is fresh with the religious paintings from Ena-sama. 

Yukimi flips a lightswitch.

It buzzes lowly, and fills the area with blunt, warm light that belies the horror of the scene. It hurts her eyes. 

There are 49 baby beds filled with dead trees. Yume walks among them, whispering prayers, unable to bring the chakra saturated dead trees up with them. Forever destined to be entombed in this godforsaken lab. 

The room is saturated with agony. There are ghosts here. 

Strangely, Yume notices a room off to the side, filled with that same Mokuton chakra remnants, that reminded her of the towering Hashirama trees surrounding Konohagakure. Except this chakra is not in a baby bed, but one for someone larger.

“Tenzo maybe? A boy I met in ANBU who had the Mokuton I-I thought he was maybe of my clan, because he was experimented on like myself and the rest of my clan, the Iburi.”

Yume hums lowly, the noise resembling a lullaby as she fights tears and tries to lay these trapped souls to rest, cursing her own weakness and inability. Her fingers trace along a surprisingly well made piece of wooden furniture, out of place in this horror show.

“Yukimi…let me examine your seal, please? I won’t try anything but collecting more information on Orochimaru’s sealing style could help us free more of his victims.”

Yukimi tentatively agrees.

Yume sends a copy of that seal to Uzumi-baa, and they are forced to walk up, leaving the little dead trees behind, until Yume is finally force to leave her friend Yukim behind, and then alone, Yume wonders if she will soon leave everyone on Earth behind if she dies during surgery and goes to the purelands. 

…

…

…

Yume flirts with Akira, the electrician's son, and a civilian electrical prodigy too. No one knew electricity better than him.

“I really like our talks Yume, I uh… was wondering what you were doing this weekend?”

He leans in close.

His eyes are hooded.

His chakra is filled with a soft, romantic hope, same as Neji’s for Tenten, although the boy would never admit it and might not even know. Chakra had a way of exposing truths the person might not even know about themselves.

Perhaps if Yume could read her own chakra she’d be able to see she was not ready for this. 

“Are you okay? You’re shaking!” 

The civilian girl is overwhelmed with guilt. Her mind keeps going to the unresponsive Sasuke.To her mothers body, Reina locked up for helping abused civilian women, the many gravestones of young women who fell pregnant under suspicious circumstances. 

Akira is so young . Several months younger than Yume!

And Yume is using him.

And she can’t even use him correctly! The goal was to go on a few dates and get electrical information for Sasuke to use and she’s so terrified of romance she can’t do it!

A terrible guilt fills her. 

Yume swallows.

And then remembers. Ayame. The girl has said she’d been looking for a boyfriend.

“I am okay! Just. Hungry, is all!” And becoming increasingly sick as her tenketsu seals worsen. “Actually…have you ever been to ichiraku ramen? There’s someone there I’d like you to meet, they’re looking to redo some lighting…”

Ayame and Akira end up going out on a date, and then becoming official by the end of it. 

Yume ignores how her hand shakes all the while. 

…

…

…

Yume is at her restaurant job. And doing poorly. In her exhaustion she keeps forgetting orders, even dropping a few. It does not help that her actions have been under a microscope the past few weeks, ever since showing sympathy to Anko. 

And especially since the time she threw that drink in that rude customer's face. 

Just her luck, she is serving the table Sakura, Tenten, Hinata, and Ino are at. 

She sweats. Partly nerves, partly her busted body working overtime to cool itself. 

“-Lady Tsunade approve the paperwork! The sensor corps is back up!” Ino cheers. Yume is very nervous now. Could she tell? That Yume was a walking Orochimaru’s monster basically? 

“And to think, it all started with this little guide.” Ino says softly, chakra soft with gratitude and wonder, pulling out the now ancient notebook Yume left for her all those years ago, when they were little girls and Yume first realized this powerful clan hairess, unknowing that she was a sensor, could make a positive change. 

Hinata is here too, her eyes thankfully unactivated. 

“Who could it have been?” Tenten asks, and Yume almost pivots. Except she can feel her boss glaring at her. 

“Hello, it’s great to see you all again! What can I get for you?”

“Yume!” Sakura cheers, and stands up to hug her.

Yume can feel her boss’s confusion, and ire at improper conduct with a customer. 

“You know her?” Tenten and Ino say at the same time, then blink at each other in confusion.

“She buys flowers at my shop.” Ino cuts herself off, a difficult task for the chatterbox. Or else she would have to follow up with the fact Yume puts those flowers on gravestones mostly. 

“We went to the same orphanage together.” Tenten admits. 

It’s only Hinata Yume really has no personal connection with. Yume settled on ignoring the girl as much as possible. 

“Celebrate with us! Wow, this is so cool!” Ino cheers, and pulls Yume down into the seat.

She turns to see her boss’s fiery glare. 

“I’m actually your waitress!” Yume yelps. 

“Oh, well, surely you can get the food and eat with us?” 

Yume takes their orders, ducking and weaving promises. When she comes back with the mountains of food, they let her sit next to them again.

And. 

You know what?

Screw her boss! 

Ino does a standard radar sensor jutsu, an adaptation of Tobirama’s except significantly more powerful as she is a natural sensor, and Yume sits very still, picking at the plate of food Sakura ordered for her, as Ino’s face softens with pity in real time. She must have sensed the damage, but thankful did not have the expertise or medical training yet to see the seals. She would know Yume was one of the many nine-tails damaged folks walking around. 

She fit in then. 

Yume thinks of how she was able to get knowledge of the prisoners by using her sensor abilities and shudders to think of how competent of an interrogator Ino will be. Is. 

“I’m glad to see you celebrating your accomplishments. It’s healthy to do so.” Technically their accomplishments as Yume have her Uzumi-baa’s sensor guide.

“Thank you, Lady Tsunade really is awesome! Did you hear about her overturning the ban on pregnancy termination.” 

She had, actually. Yume planned on petitioning for a pardon for Reina in jail now that what she did wasn’t legally a crime anymore. And then, on buying more flowers for the graves of women who could have been saved. 

“Now that I know Lady Tsunade’s in our corner, the mental health program is next!” ino cheers. 

Yume gasps.

“That's a great idea!”

Ino’s eyes sparkle like her chakra, and they get to talking. They get to the topic of survivors' guilt and Yume feels sad as she remembers Sasuke. 

“It was so terrible. Seeing my teammates still like that in the land of Waves. I’m glad I’m not so useless anymore.” Sakura perks up, and flexes her biceps.

“Feel them!” She tells Yume.

She does. 

Yume swallows her jealousy, and the intense sting of hurt and longing when Sakura referred to her past civilian self as useless. 

Yume knows Sakura did not do it on purpose. 

“...Will he ever come back?” Hinata pipes up. They all know shes referring to Sasuke. 

“I…I hope so. I just, really need him to know that I lo-that we care for him!” Sakura gasps, correcting herself. Yume feels the girl's chakra sparkle and dance with the same romantic love the electrician's son had for her, except with considerably more depth.

Why does that bother her so much?

When the girls stand to leave for the hot springs, Yume’ boss pulls her to the side and fires her. 

“You’ve been slow and weak these past few months, you argue with the customers, and then just now you were completely unprofessional!” He snaps. 

Yume unties her apron and flings it into his face, and he sputters. Yume has other, better aprons at home that don’t reek of this place.

She leaves from the back, and runs into the group of girls.

“Hey! Did you just get off your shift? You look beat, why don’t you join us in the hot springs?” Tenten says. 

That’s a very polite way of saying she looks like death warmed over. These girls have no clue Yume is dying. 

She might as well enjoy what could be her last days.  

…

…

…

The hot springs are nice. The girls laugh and chat, and Yume refuses to think of how beautiful and trim these kunoichi are, and how despite her farm girl strength, Yume is civilian-soft. Pear shaped where girls like Ino and Hinata are top-heavy. 

…

…

… 

K-Hello, I’m sorry it took so long, but did I reach your journal, Yume? It’s Karin! The ocean swirls at the end of the world.

At their agreed upon code words, Yume begins to cry. It’s the day before her surgery where Uzumi-baa will redo her seals with Inari’s and Neji’s help. The pages are dyed a lovely red the same as Karin’s eyes and hair. 

Y-My beloved friend! My heart has nearly given way from anticipation of your words! What took so long? Are you alright? Were you able to find your mother?

K-Yes, but we were intercepted by Orochimaru, and are watched closely by Kabuto. My mom got close with this one man who’s been stuck here for decades and he’s creating a diversion to distract Kabuto so I can write to you.

Her heart pounds.

Y-A diversion? 

K-Yes! Yume, Orochimaru and Kabuto found some of your writings to Sasuke. They haven’t confirmed the notebook as a communications tool yet, but they’re suspicious. They like your writings on the shinobi system and are trying to get Sasuke to reveal the writer to them so they can bring them back to the base.

Yume’s world tilts. S-ranked missing nin monsters like her writings? And more importantly, Sasuke wasn’t ignoring her on purpose? She dares to hope. 

Y-Is that why he hasn’t written back?

K-Partially. His chakra twists like a poisonous snake since that one day, whatever you wrote to him affected him deeply and Orochimaru wants to know what happened because Sasuke's reaction was so insane. What was it?

There is naked curiosity in her words.

The civilian trembles. 

Y-I revealed some of my most dangerous suspicions to him. About the truth behind the Uchiha massacre. I can’t say more without confirmation.

K-I see. How are you doing?

Yume pauses again. By the sage. Was there ever an easy answer?

Y-Karin, I want you to know I love you. Because my Tenketsu seals are being re-done tomorrow. I have no choice as they’re strangling the life out of me, and I’m dying. But this surgery has no guaranteed success and I could die during the process. 

Yume presses her finger to the corner of the page with the send-seal. It absorbs her weakening chakra and sends the ink over with Yume’s tear drops.

K-What! That can’t be! Could I help? What if you bit me! I don’t mind if it’s you, please! You’re my best friend, you can’t die!

The civilian cries harder. She can feel the despair and intense fear from Karin chakra dying the pages. She knows how dearly Karin hated being bit. It meant everything for her to say that to Yume. 

Y-There is nothing that can be done except for this last chance. I love you Karin, and please send Sasuke my regards. Here is a high-end perfume sample I got from the market here in Konoha. I know you love them. The Yamanaka had made it special with their flowers, and Ino had given Yume a free sample after an engaging conversation about mental health, Ino delighted to find a kindred spirit. They had spoke on survivors guilt. 

Unable to bear it any longer, Yume closes the notebook. 

…

…

…

Neji’s eyes are a beautiful lavender. If he’s said her seals are like the night sky, then his eyes are the lavender of sunset. He stand at the head of her bed, his hands bracketing either side of her face. 

“Boy, what do you see?” Uzumi-baa asks. 

Yume is naked, with the exception of a white linen sheet. It is way too close for funeral garments for her liking. Several ink pots, chakra pills, and medical texts and supplies litter the surrounding table. Uzumi-baa put temperature regulation seals around the cabin so Yume won’t get cold. 

The new seals that would cover her tenketsu anew are positioned around the bed she lays in.

“The same. Her seals are constricting the flow too much. The first tenketsu Is ready. But-what is that?” He asks suddenly.

He’s staring at her left shoulder. 

“What?” Yume asks fearfully.

“You’re scaring her, out with it!”

“A tenketsu in her left shoulder, it’s collapsed.” Neji’s sounds shocked and horrified.

A spike of alarm through the room.

“How so? Does it look fresh?” Inari asks, forcefully calm. She leans forward and uses her thumbs to swipe away Yume’s tears. The civilian groans in pain when green chakra forces its way through her coils.

“No, it’s, that pattern of damage left behind. I-” Neji’s chakra rolls with guilt. And Yume realizes .

“...I don’t blame you Neji. How could you have known that would happen?” Yume smiles through her tears. She looks up and directly into Neji’s face.

He’s crying. 

“Oh, Yume…” He sounds in physical pain. “Comforting me? Now? Of all times? You are a marvel.” 

His tears drop onto her cheek and he’s overwhelmed with shame. He tries to pull his hands from her face but Yume keeps them there.

“What are you saying Yume-chan? Are you implying that Neji-kun…” Inari is too horrified to finish her sentence.

“When we first met years ago, I acted suspiciously when approaching Neji. And he used a nonlethal takedown move on my left shoulder. It must have collapsed the tenketsu.”

Neji sinks into a bow, his forehead uncovered and exposing the caged bird seal to the world. It's depth and respect is something Yume hadn't even known Neji was capable of showing another person, let alone a low-ranked civilian. His seal-marred brow touches the floor. He said he had wanted to equalize them, to show his vulnerability to her during a moment of her vulnerability. 

“I apologize.” He whispers roughly. 

“I forgive you. Help me now?” Yume tries not to plead but the pain as the rest of her tenketsu threaten to collapse and die like the one Neji had accidentally snuffed out is overwhelming. 

Neji swallows roughly. The weight of Inari and Uzumi-baa’s stares are heavy. The boy takes his position at the head of the bed again. His chakra solidifies with his determination and she feels safe as his hands go to cradle her face again.

They begin to remove the first seal.

Yume immediately moans in pain. The hellish torture continues but there is nothing she can do about it. It’s worse than the time Uzumi-baa briefly overrode her seals to prevent Yume from committing suicide after the Uchiha massacre. It’s like a hot branding iron is burning through her flesh. Like that one time her mother took her to the dentist and his little metal hook snagged the nerve ending in her tooth, except worse . Yume has written millions of words by this point in her life, yet the exact description of this agony escapes her. 

“ Let me die !” someone howls. 

“Hold her down-”

“The ink needs to set-”

“ Just let me die !” The person cries out again. Their voice cracks from the force of it. Yume looks around although can’t see much without her glasses. She wishes to find and comfort this person. She can only make out clearly the edges of the bed. She had given Uzumi-baa permission to go through the ruins of their old farmhouse, unable to go back after her family’s murder there. She knew the old woman could scavenge useful things for herself. 

Yume looks at the headboard, its little distinct carvings, and realizes this is the bed Maho died in.

“ Let me die like Maho did !” Yume screams again. 

Oh. 

It’s her.

That's who's screaming. 

She loses herself.

Chapter Text

Yume finds herself in her mothers arms. 

She does not know if this is a dream, or if this is real. They’re floating in space, around a warm, orange star like the fruits from the Uchiha persimmon tree, and Yume wonders if the Naka priestess, Kikiyo, will come and pluck another flower, render it to ash, and inscribe a blessing on her face in the forgotten Uchiha language to welcome her to death. 

Yume remembers the stories the priestess told, the paintings she shared of Naori-she, the lady of the Uchiha clan, the one who followed the Naka river north to the Land of Lightning, freed several kidnapped Uchiha, the wielder of hawks who used her Uchiwa fan in time with the beating of her hawk wings to fan the flames, melt the snow, and follow the Naka river back down to freedom. 

Her mother hums gently, and pet’s Yume’s curly head, cradles her neck like a baby as the stars turn overhead. Yume also remembers the Uchiha belief, that every star was a flame, a soul, sent to the stars by the lanterns the Uchiha lit, each representing a lost soul of the Uchiha clan.

Did that mean, every time Sasuke looked at the night sky, he saw his family? 

Did Sasuke wish to find the missing Hawk scroll, earn the right to it as Fugaku-sama did not just to have power and honor his father, but because if he could have the wings of a Hawk, soaring above the clouds, he’d be that much closer to his family dancing in the heavens? That Sasuke might reach up on the wings of a bird, stretch out his fingers so that his just might touch theirs?

Yume reaches over the side of her mothers lap, and waves at the stars, reaching back down to the boy.

A few of them, feeling like her aunt and grandmother, wave back. Her grandmother in particular hovering near the former Uchiha priestess, Kikiyo. 

They flicker and wink and dance, take the shape of people she once knew, and still loved, would always love.

Her mother is above her. At points, she takes the form of Yume’s first mother, from her first life. Then, the mother of this one, in all her incredible, earthly beauty.

Earth. 

What Yume was not on anymore. 

Another star approaches, and Yume recognizes it as her father. At times, it is the father of her first life, wrinkly lines from smiling in all. Then, it morphs into the father from this one, resembling shapeless smoke. 

It’s when her mother lifts Yume from her lap that she begins to cry.

“Mama, don’t go .” Yume is so devastated at the thought of being separated again that she can’t even punctuate her plea with the energy it deserves. She does not want to disturb these souls, and all their hard fought rest. “Don’t leave me again.” Yume begs quietly.

“It is not your time, my heart.” Her mother hums. The hair they share slips from her shoulders like a curly waterfall, tickling Yume’s cheek as her mother leans over to kiss Yume’s forehead, her tearful eyes. Lips blot away the falling tears, and Yume wonders if they fall to the earth below, if it will become rain. 

“I have been waiting so long to see you again, I missed you mama.” 

And Yume is falling,

Falling,

Falling .

…

…

…

Yume wakes to Uzumi-baa changing out the pillowcase from under her head.

She gasps.

The world is…bright.

And beautiful.

Yume sensory abilities flare like the sun’s corona.

There is a parent bird feeding his chicks exactly a hundred feet away from the front door of the cottage. A little bumblebee collects nectar from the flowers hanging from the baskets outside.

By the energy in each flower blossom, the progress of Uzumi-baa’s crops, Yume can tell it has been several days. And she can tell all of this through her sensor abilities.

Never has the world been this open, this crisp, this clear!

The only thing that comes close is when Yume put her glasses on for the first time, the way the world’s beauty rolled out in front of her!

It’s nearly overwhelming in its detail and Yume begins to almost overheat. Her tenketsu flare out, stretch, are nearly caught in the riptide of Uzumi-baa’s energy. The Uzumaki’s chakra is potent, like vanilla extract, and had Uzumi-baa been a fully trained ninja, instead of purposefully limiting her powers in her youth in order to have the chakra control needed to be a medic, Yume would have perished. 

The old woman covers Yume with soft linen, etched with barrier seals, and its like a barrier against the intense beauty of the world. 

“Careful.” Uzumi-baa cautions.

Yume opens her eyes to see the blurred shape of the medic, her radiance in the natural world nothing compared to her poor eyesight. The woman feels like the ocean incarnate, the abrasive saltiness, the crisp breeze.

It is tolerable now, with the seal-sewn linen as a shield.

“The fusion is complete. We were successful in the procedure. All your seals, barring the dead one from that Neji-boy, were replaced. You will have stronger abilities, you won’t be at risk of having the tenketsu strangled out and you dying, above all. You will have increased sensitivity that will need to be accommodate or else risk your death-” Uzumi-baa gestures to more seal sewn linen, and several clothes too and Yume’s throat gets tight at the thought of the old woman sitting there and sewing it for her.  “-but you are no longer limited in your growth. I left enough wiggle room in the seals this time so they may adjust to whatever growing you have left to do in your mid to late teens.”

Yume nods, then sighs in relief when Uzumi-baa helps her drink the crisp, Naka river water, freshly melted from the mountain's glacial melt. Perhaps even from the spirit of Naori-she, still leading the kidnapped back down from the mountains. 

The farm girl begins to sniffle.

Uzumi-baa exhales carefully, eyes fluttering with concentration, and gently flares her aura. Her Calming Intent blankets the overheated Yume like fresh gleaming snow that her and her family use to play in, making snow angels, squinting as hard as they could to see if it really was true that no two snowflakes were alike.

Yume reaches back.

Their two signatures begin to dance as one, in a way Yume had sometimes seen when two people were truly on the same page, in the middle of a task, having the same idea at the same time. It was this concept of fusion that inspired Hashirama Senju to create the team format in Konoha, for a unit of several to act as one, for those of different clans to work together. Tobirama Senju went crazy academically trying to figure out the historic, lost Jutsu of Fusion, so old it is thought to be a myth, much like the Mokuton was until it reappeared in Hashirama-sama. Yume recalls how her and Sasuke had that synergy when breathing new life into the Uchiha Senbei recipe. It’s enchanting, to watch the edge of their energy smoothe over and combine, like mixing colors in a palette until they are fully incorporated, creating something the same but entirely new. 

Uzumi-baas color is a deep, sea blue-heather. Their two shades create a glimmering turquoise. 

Yume does not know what her own color is, just as you could never truly look at your own face, only see reflections of it in a mirror, or in a picture. 

“The fusion is complete.” Uzumi-baa breathes in unmistakable relief. 

“You’ll never be able to knead chakra directly, and your body will never be able to channel it through your coils enough to do taijutsu, but you do have several unique attributes, ones that we’ll explore when the expanded capacity of these seals absorbs more of your chakra.”

She tests her new seals, and once again gasps and feels how they brim with potential, a cup runneth over. 

“Your heart did stop. Several times. Inari and I were able to get it started again, but the gate of death was open for a time.”

She freezes. 

The last time her heart had stopped was when the Sand jinchuriki had come to Konoha for the chunin exams.  

The old woman is not crying, but sounds the most devastated Yume has ever heard her. Yume realizes with an intensity that she has never actually seen the old Uzumaki cry before.

Has she lost the ability to shed watery, salty tears when she left behind her watery, salty home? 

Yume reaches out her new, vibrant, not sick calming intent to comfort the old woman, and feels the distinctness of a fellow sensor reaching back. 

It’s so overwhelming it sends her to exhaustion.

“Kind girl.” she says, fondly. “Go back to sleep. We had to pry that Neji boy off of you to make an excuse for your absence. That Sakura-girl was looking for you.”

The farm girl turned civilian spy slumps back on her fresh pillow, eyes fluttering.

“Neji and Inari will be here to visit soon, as with the Neko’s. You’re more beloved than you know, child. This bed may have been Maho’s deathbed, but to you, it’s your springboard into a new life.”

Outside Yume’s window, Yume senses the bird that Maho had nursed back to health, returning to the nest with his babies. Natoru the bird lets out a warbling lullaby, welcoming his chicks to a new life. 

…

…

…

Yume quickly regains the usage of her hands. She is put to work by the old Uzumaki, sewing the protective clothes she would need going forward to shield her sensitive self from the world.

“I know you like rubbing shoulders with all those shinobi in training, but you must protect yourself from being overwhelmed. If my presence was almost enough to make you faint, then anyone chunin or above will give your tenketsu trouble.”

“Will this change as I grow?”

“I foresee when you finish growing and your chakra settles, your seals will loose some of their sensitivity. Right now, your body is adjusting. Be assured Yume, they have saved your life...despite the cost.”

Uzumi-baa sounds sad.

“...How is Neji?”

The medic’s chakra gets that guilty tint, swirling with ocean deep depth Yume couldn’t possibly parse. 

“He was determined to help you. But, I do think the process of sealing another human being…it weighed heavy on him.”

“On you too?”

“Clever girl. Yes.”

“Sealing is not just a weapon for the Uzumki, But art. A religion too?”

Perhaps it’s Yume’s near and actual death that has softened the old woman. And the fact that feeding Yume information along with home-made chicken stew is super effective at at distracting her from her over-sensitivity. 

Yume is a dangerous person to love. 

Not because of any combat abilities, but because of just how fragile she is, even compared with other civilians. 

Maybe it’s the realization of the depth of Yume’s altered chakra. The old woman sits down heavily. She’s rather spry despite being at least 80, due to the Uzumaki in her. Her hair is still red, even.

“To us, Uzushio was not just an island, but a living thing. You’ll notice that some places have different chakras. The Forest of Death, for one, is a uniquely malevolent natural chakra area. Konoha’s main temple resides in an area saturated with divine chakra. Shrines are often founded by wandering Miko’s who sense the holy nature chakra. In your studies, you have come across that all of the five major elemental nations have 3 capitals?”

“Yes, the Civilian, the Shinobi, and the Divine.”

“Correct. The divine capitals who frequently receive pilgrims from the others, are placed at the heart of their respective nations elemental chakra. At the Divine Fire capital, it’s where fire chakra is strongest in the nations. The nation’s people as a whole are fire natured because of it.”

Yume blinks in surprise, but it does put into context several things Ena-sama has said. 

“Of course, other nations can still wield those elements, but never in the same numbers, or mastery, and that element is often not passed down after a few generations of being in another country.”

“What was Uzushio’s chakra then? Water?”

Uzumi-baa smiles in a way thats terrifying. 

“It’s chakra was something unlike anywhere else. When I say the island had a mind of it’s own, I do mean it.”

Yume really has no way to process that, so she asks another question.

“So what does that have to do with the Uzumaki and sealing people? You have plenty of seal-tattoo’s, why are mine different?” Indeed, Uzumi-baa had shown Yume her plethora of seals to comfort the girl about her own. Although, they were inked on her skin, not directly on her tenketsu. She had show Yume some she had even used to influence Yume’s, including the medical seals on her hands made to help create and then control the release of medical chakra, with it’s storage and healing elements being a prelude to Mito-sama’s infamous diamond seal, her strength of a hundred passed to her granddaughter Tsunade-sama. 

The medic is quiet.

“I received mine as a gift. I willingly choose them, blessed by the Island herself. The first Uzumaki and their seals…their origin was not kind.”

That information startled Yume so much she sits up, and she immediately must lower herself or risk fainting. A not kind seal? Seals were tools, they were what the creators made them to be. The only overtly evil seals she could think of were the Hyuga slave seals, and Orochimaru’s parasitic one.

“The existence of those early seals breached divine law, the Sage’s code , itself. We adapted from that and created an art form, now forever warped from what Mito-sama did, what the Hyuga main branch are doing!” Uzumi-baa spits, anger as red as her hair to Yume’s senses, then refuses to say anything further to Yume. 

…

…

…

Yume continues to sew.

Many of these clothes are nice, hand-me-downs. Some of them are priestess clothes. 

“I noticed you spending your time at the shrine. You were always close with that Naka Priestess, with your grandmother, a former Miko herself, of the mountain shrine up in lightning.” 

Yume hums, eyes distant with stars, stuck in a past life.

These are a lot of clothes. 

Yume thinks of the mummies famous in the land of sand, how they drowned in linen, the only thing to drown in in such a dry place. She thinks of spending the rest of her life wrapped up, separated from other people from fear of what Killing Intent could do to her. A shinobi might not even mean her harm, could even be a friend, and simple hurt Yume by being in her presence. 

“It is scary, to be weak.” Yume says.

This nearly breaks Uzumi-baa. 

Yume can feel it in her chakra.

“Oh, beloved child. You are the strongest I know. A rolling heart the waves themselves would be proud to call their own, as they had once for my own children.” 

Yume’s head snapped up. 

Uzumi-baa never spoke of who she lost.

Never.

It was too painful.

“I will live the rest of my life in shame for breaking the Uzushio code, to never unwillingly seal another, but I cannot regret saving the life of another youngin who I consider to be my child. Perhaps I understand Mito-sama more than I wish.” 

Uzumi-baa may have never cried since loosing her island, but this does bring Yume to tears. 

Still, ever inquisitive, the cloud-haired farm-girl is able to ask another question.

“Uzushio-code?” 

“All who practice chakra have them. The religious, the capital Monks, the Miko’s, follow the codes of their shrines in order to practice chakra. Many shinobi follow their clan code, or recently, their Village code.” Oh, like how the clanless civilian girl Moegi was learning about the Konoha code in the Academy? 

“Now that was quite a shake up! You see girl, before you were only allowed to practice or use chakra only if you had sworn a binding chakra oath to a code. This was because the ability to use chakra was and still is in many places seen as a gift from the divine, from the sage himself, power that must be used with respect, and sacrilege to be used casually. It was considered to be a responsibility mechanism and a way to protect those who could not directly control chakra-civilians such as your self.”

Yume’s mouth falls open in awe. 

“At first, the ability to learn chakra was very limited, to the religious, who were the first to have codes, and then to the shinobi clans who were required by the Daimyo and the first wielders of chakra to have those codes. It made it difficult for civilians born with the ability, or spontaneous new bloodline abilities. They’d either have to lean into religion or be merged into a pre-existing clan. That is until the villages were made.”

The farm girl leans forward. 

“I hate his guts, but Tobirama-senju was forward thinking when he welcomed civilian-borns into the Academy he helped his brother create. It involved extensive contact with the shrine, with Ena-sama, in fact, in order to draft a new code that could incorporate civilian-borns! And not just civilians but clans with their own pre-existing codes! A great equalizer! While separate clans and shrines had their own codes, there had never been such a collective code like that before, for a Village. Frankly, revolutionary.” Uzumi-baa says with reluctant respect, and Yume know just how hard it is to earn the respect of this woman.

“Is that why missing-nin are so feared?”

“Yes, because they’ve rejected the codes of their Village, and often the codes of their clans. There is a severe stigma. It’s often seen as them having no moral code to go by, no restraints on their usage of divine chakra.”

“...So the Uzumaki had a code?”

The old woman grows somber.

“Yes. And a core tenant of it would be to not use seals on the unwilling. We of the Spiral value the wild sea, the freedom we fought hard for. To use seals in any manner that strips a thinking being of their ability to act on their own free will…it’s punishable by death.”

Wow.

That would explain it.

The hatred of the other Uzumaki for Mito-sama. The older religions such as what Uzumi-baa followed revered the biju as wrathful gods to be honored, people who were unleashed in their glory. For Mito-sama to seal one away…she must have broken the Uzumaki code.

And the Hyuga were literally keeping their own as slaves.

Yume’s hand itches toward her book about the modern shinobi system and she begins writing furiously. 

Before she can go down another rabbit hole of analysis, she flips open her sealed notebook and sends a message to Neji.

And sees a single line.

The first she’s heard from him in months.

Sasuke !

Her restarted heart beats furiously in her chest. Karin must have told him the full details, after she had filled Yume in on why Sasuke had hesitated to contact her. Not just because Yume had dropped such an huge bomb-seal on him when she revealed she thought the massacre was an ordered mission, but because the S-ranked monster Orochimaru had gotten his hands on some of her writings and had liked them.

And having the attention of a monster was a bad thing . He couldn’t risk writing to her and getting caught with more materials for Orochimaru to read. If anyone could figure out the seals in the notebook it would be him. And if he took over Sasuke’ body Yume and Uzumi-baa honestly did not have enough data to determine if it’s contents would stay secret. 

Yume can feel Sasuke’s frantic, worried energy with her sensor abilities. The way the page is torn from how fast he had flipped it open, the splatters of ink, the normally neat circular words nearly a scrawl.

With these notebooks, it is not just an expression to ‘pour your heart out on these pages’. The very act of needing your chakra verification to send over a page results in the ink shimmering in the color of the senders chakra, oscillating with their color, their emotions. 

Sasuke’s words are a deep indigo to her senses, radiating worry, concern, fear.

S-I’ll be there soon, please wait for me. 

…

…

…

K-Yume, Yume please respond! My mothers new friend, that older experiment named Kei, has created a distraction, and I’ve helped to send Sasuke on his way, but please respond! You're my first ever friend, I can’t loose you!”

Yume tears up over Karins words. The page is a deep red, like Karin’s hair, the color of her chakra to Yume, and it radiates distress. It’s always an intimate thing, to write on these special sealed notebooks to another Sensor. There's always a second conversation going on under the written words because of the ability to sense the other person's emotional state through the imprint of their chakra left on each page when it’s verified and sent over. So far, it’s only present with Uzumi-baa and Karin as trained sensors. Maybe one day with Sasuke too…

Y- I am here, the Surgery was successful! It will take time to adjust. I’ll be hypersensitive to strong chakra for the rest of my life, but I’ll have some unique abilities moving forward too. I am so sorry to worry you my dear friend. 

Yume isn’t expecting an immediate response, but just a few minutes later she gets one.

K-Oh thank the Sage! Sasuke and I were so worried. It’s been so hard with both of us training medical ninjutsu under Kabuto while trying to investigate the blackmail he has on Konoha! Whatever you said to Sasuke made him have a breakdown a few weeks ago. Orochimaru even had to knock him out! He’s been pensive the last several days before we were able to create an opening for him to go check up on you as the fastest of us. I can feel his worry.

Sasuke would no doubt be upset over the news of the truth, and moreover, his inability to do anything. It was a frustration Yume understood well.

Y-I anticipate his arrival then, I only hope his mental state is not beyond repair. When he returns please ask him for the full truth, although I know that will be difficult to tell under Orochimaru’s watch. In the meantime, I have a gift for you Karin, that I shall send back with Sasuke.

Yume would speak more about Sasuke, but she can already feel herself tiring, and she needs to share this information with Karin.

K-What is it?

Y-The Hama-Yumi, a legendary bow of the Uchiha clan, blessed by the Sage himself, apparently. It fell into the Uchiha clan’s possession long ago as a trophy of war. It’s wood is rumored to have come from the first Mokuton user, who Uzumi-baa says lived over a thousand years ago, and was of mixed Uzumaki and Senju descent, meaning it was a spoil of war. Most Uchiha are not long range fighters, however, and this bow has not been used to the fullest of its abilities. I know Sasuke briefly used it when he was a child. A woman and friend of the Uchiha clan, Neko-baa, has munitions stored away for the clan, the bow among them. I know we spoke on you being a long range fighter. I feel with Sasuke’s permission, this Bow and it’s accompanying Arrows would suit you well.

The Bow and accompanying twelve Arrows were in a state of disrepair. They had ancient sealwork that Yume and Neko-baa had spent several weeks decoding. But now Yume felt she could sufficiently repair it. Karin’s range meant she could lock onto targets effectively thousands of feet away, making her the most formidable long range fighter to ever exist. These Arrows had an early version of the flying thunder god seal for automatic recall, a version of the seal that Tobirama had studied, then upgraded to be capable of transporting living beings. The Arrows themselves had seals added by Yume for durability and steering, meaning if wind blew them off course Karin could correct them to her target. Karin herself had incredible aim. Her team in Grass made her a support type as they did not want her to be a strong frontline fighter capable of beating them and running away from her slavery in Grass. It meant that Karin had incredible aim, only surpassed by Tenten, something proven when Yume had the two of them train together before the chunin exams last year. She was even better than Sasuke from Yume’s observations! 

K-That would be perfect for me, actually. We learned Kei is part Uzumaki too.

Well that would explain why Kei and Mio, Karin's mom, had bonded so quickly!

K-Kei’s chakra coils are damaged much like yours, except from the slave seals on him. When he tried to escape it fried his coils. It reminds me of what you said about the Hyuga branch family, except theirs makes them brain dead. Kei can’t really do Jutsu anymore because of it, but he’s been teaching me the Uzumaki taijutsu style he learned from his grandmother. Apparently he was a genin, almost a chunin when he was kidnapped and crippled. He’s helping me work on my Taijutsu at least. 

Oh wow. 

Yume’s mind spins. How old was this man? It seemed he was part Uzumaki, which would have slowed his aging at least a little bit. Karin and Yume speak some more about Yume healing, Karin’s progress with her medical and tainjtsu training, and Yume must comfort Karin when she herself has a breakdown over her time under Orochimaru, being used as an experiment, and experimenting on others in turn.

K-That's the sick part, Yume. A ugly part of me enjoys having this power over others. One time Sasuke and I were sent out to capture an escaped experiment named Suigetsu, a boy with a water kekkei genkai. My chakra chains were one of the few things capable of holding him. He called me a filthy Uzumaki, said that one of the few things the Village Hidden in the Mist got right was drowning any babies born with red hair. Yume, you are so good, so kind, what must you think of me if I say I took sick pleasure from locking him back up? That I enjoy finally having power over others? Working with that S-Ranked monster, Orochimaru?

Yume’s hand shake at her next reply. 

Y-I have lived my entire life powerless. I often think of how that affects me. I often think of how I take a sort of satisfaction of being a dealer in secrets. It does not make us bad, it simply means that with great power comes great responsibility. You must remember how you were treated when weak and powerless, and strive to treat others better with yours. I know that is near impossible in your situation, but a time will come when you are free, are capable of being a leader of goodwill. I have nothing but faith and love in you, my friend, my sister. 

…

…

…

For the next few days, Yume gets visits from Neji and Tamaki.

Both bring their notebooks.

“How are you doing, Neji?” Yume asks gently. She is very aware of how traumatizing this must have been for him. His chakra dances and writhes with a unique agony.  

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” He says. His lips are in a half hearted smirk, but his lavender eyes are deep with worry, tired. His hand twitches like it want to hold hers.

Yume makes the decision for both of them, and takes his hand into hers. 

She feels the sudden jump in his chakra, reads his fear of hurting her, then the shivers of visceral delight at the contact, the way he leans into it like a sunflower with golden rays. In truth, the chakra of a chunin level shinobi is a bit abrasive, as Uzumi-baa predicted. 

“Don’t worry, the clothes and bedding have seals sewn into them by us, it helps shield me.” Yume says, as Neji eyes said cloth. Without it, he would not have been able to visit.

He pauses.

“I don’t like the idea of my mere presence bringing you harm.”

“Neither do I, but I am simply happy to be here.”

Neji bows his head. 

“You mentioned something about the notebooks?”

“Yes! Uzumi-baa and I wanted to make a general chat, instead of only being able to directly message one person at a time, it would be like a townsquare, a paper commons. All available notebooks, Mine, yours, Tamaki’s, Uzumi-baa’s, Sasuke’s…” 

When Yume shifts some of her papers and reveals the latest copy of Icha Icha, Neji’s eyes bug out.

“What. Is that ?” He says with the same candance of someone viewing animal droppings. 

Yume bursts out laughing.

“I know you Hyuga have good vision, why don’t you tell me?” She taunts.

Neji’s face is now red, and he looks anywhere else.

“I am a young woman, with needs !” Yume howls dramatically, holding the book aloft. Neji looks anywhere else and Uzumi-baa cackles mockingly from the kitchen. 

“Don’t look so red, boy! We all heard the rumors about you dojutsu users peeking into women’s bathhouses!”

“Uzumi-baa!” Yume scolds. “Thats unfair stereotyping!” Truly, those sort of rumors against the Hyuga and Uchiha did in part contribute to their alienation. 

“Mahhh!” she says, but does slip Neji extra sweets. 

“I also had another idea Neji. Uzumi-baa says when helping with my seals, you were forced to do strategic, careful blocks, in my Tenketsu, from a few inches away from my skin to preserve the barrier seals. I had thought The Gentle Fist Style was strictly close range and depended on physical contact.”

It’s quiet from the kitchen.

“...You are correct, Yume.” Neji has a very gentle way of saying her name. “I had to improvise, but the unique situation allowed for a contactless version of the gentle fist. Unlike with the full version, the blocks lasted mere minutes instead of days due to natural dissipation through the air, and the medical seals.”

“But what if it could last?” Yume presses, leaning forward, so that they’re nearly nose to nose. “For so long the greatest weakness of the Gentle Fist has been it’s close contact requirement. The strategy you had to use for me, allowed for contactless delivery, even if it was much weaker! If we could refine it…”

Neji’s eyes widen at the possibility.

“Then we could create a mid-range version of the Gentle Fist Taijutsu! It would be an immense strategic advantage!” Neji breathes. Despite its inherent potential for medical ninjutsu, the Hyuga Bykaugun was not used overtly for medical ninjutsu. Access to training was strictly locked up, in case any Branch members got uppity and tried to use medical ninjutsu to remove their seals. Uzumi-baa makes a point to teach Neji basic medical jutsu and threatens him to come back for more training. 

It was yet another piece of evidence that oppression and bigotry stifled innovation. 

It seems with a very specific coating of medical jutsu, mixed with a long distance jutsu Tenten often used as a chakra coating for projectiles that involved a skilled process of diluting your natural chakra into neutral physical energy, then with a carefully shaped teardrop of Gentle Fist chakra at the center, could allow for the delivery of a Chakra Block from a distance. It was far more chakra intensive, and depended on excruciatingly careful aim, but was doable. 

“Revolutionary!” Neji breathes, eyes sparkling. 

They speak for several hours, and Yume can’t help but notice how Neji visibly looks better and more refreshed before he leaves. The bruises on his knuckles even look way more healed than they should be! He must have been training hard. 

Yume had not told anyone yet that Sasuke was coming. That was two days ago, when she read Sasuke’s message and written with Karin, and Yume was rapidly recovering. It was selfish, but a part of her feared he would not come if he knew she was recovering well. 

And she wanted to see him.

And clearly, he wanted to see her. 

Yume has informed Karin, worried, and maybe wondering if there was anyway Karin could assist in covering Sasuke’s trail. Karin confirmed that Sasuke had already left, and that the man Karin’s mother had gotten close with was providing another distraction. Even with Sasuke’s power, it would take several days of shinobi speed traveling to get to Konohagakure.

While he was here, they would need to speak about several things. The Hawk and Cat summoning scroll, Neji’s deal with the sound four, a few who had lived if Karin’s words were anything to go by, mainly that Tayuya and the several handed boy. They would also need to speak on Sasuke’s locked sensory abilities, and seal business.

Chief among all those, the Uchiha Massacre truths. 

…

…

…

Tamaki visits next.

The Neko clan girl is exhausted. She has also been training hard. There are cuts and scrapes from the unique cat taijutsu training. The Ninneko are strict but fair teachers. 

Yume is walking at this point, feeling paradoxically lighter than she’s ever been and acutely aware of too much. It’s a bit like staring at the sun. It reminds Yume of Sasuke’s description of Naruto’s fight vs the Inuzuka boy, Kiba. His strong sense of smell used against him, his senses overwhelmed and allowing Naruto to win the fight. Tamaki curls up next to Yume in the grass, remarkable cat like. Their sides are pressed together and when Yume closes her eyes, it’s almost like Maho.

Except her sensory abilities never lie. 

Tamaki is her own beautiful person in the natural chakra world, and another of Yume’s beloved friends.

“How have the seals on the Hama-Yumi bow been going?”

“I’ve been able to revamp most of them!” 

“You did well walking up the hill! I can hardly believe the speed of your recovery.”

Truly, Uzumi-baa, Inari, and Neji did a fantastic job on her seals. 

“Thank you, Tamaki. Any more word about your mission to get the Two-tails pawprint?”

Tamaki hesitates from where she is absentmindedly combing her fingers through Yume’s curly hair. Also remarkably cat-like in it’s grooming. Affection like this is not common among shinobi. 

Touch starvation is. 

Yume notices that her Shinobi friends are all rather touchy-feely with her. She’s seen this with Tamaki, Neji, Tenten, Sakura, and Sasuke above all, the few times she’s meet him in person. Yume knows it’s because in part she’s their only close civilian friend, and because of her Calming Intent. 

“I…was actually waiting for you to feel better to talk about it.”

“Really? Thats sweet of you, but it’s yours now, you know? Maybe I really once was destined for the cat-scroll, but you’ll be the next main summoner, and I’m sure you’ll be fantastic.” Yume comforts, wrapped up in her friends arms. 

Tamaki smiles gently, already looking way more energized from their cat nap, then butts her jaw into Yume’s so that the farm girl can smell the scent of catnip on her friend. 

“Not what I meant. I want you to come with me. To the mountains. When you’re fully recovered I’ve seen you able to put on a good travel pace. And for the rest I can carry you. I was thinking, it would be a good way to pass the baton, and I also heard the section of the mountains where the Two-tails jinchuriki is, is where your family used to have it’s shrine, where your Miko grandmother raised your mother and aunt, I…figured it would be good for you to see that.”

Yume is deeply moved by this consideration, and hugs her friend.

She would need to recover more, and sew stronger protective clothes if they were to come face to face with the two-tails jinchuriki, but overall, this would be a good spiritual journey for Yume. 

“I also wanted to try something else, I have chakra paper with me, Yume. To learn chakra natures. See?” Yume already knows Tamaki’s natures. Wind, and Fire. She can see it with her sensory abilities.

Tamaki channels a bit of her chakra into the shinobi paper, acquired from her grandmothers stores. It takes on several little cuts before burning to ash.

“It becomes damp if you’re water natured, cuts for wind, ash for fire, crumbles into dust for earth, and gets lichtenberg lines for lightning. This means I have a primary nature of wind, and a secondary nature of fire. It’s really uncommon to have two natures, but Neko-baa says her father was from Wind country, so we think thats where I get it! Wanna try?”

Yume smiles wobbly.

“I would love to, but you know I can’t channel chakra…” Yume says a bit reproachfully. Plus, Yume already knew her chakra natures because Karin had told her.

“Can’t you draw a seal on the paper to do it for you, like with our notebooks whenever we send a page?”
“Oh! Right.” Yume also did not want to say there was no point in knowing, because Yume would never be able to learn any jutsu, let alone advanced elemental jutsu. But she obliges the curious cat that is her friend, and draws the seal on the shinobi paper.

There was no harm in confirming Karin’s sensor observations.  

The paper takes on lichtenberg lines, before crumbling to ash. 

It confirmed to Yume her Land of Lightning heritage, but also, that her father was a fire country native, or otherwise it was the natural effects of her personal chakra changing to fit in with the predominate ambient fire chakra of the Land of Fire.

Eventually they have to separate. Yume’s face twitches in pain at Tamaki’s stronger chakra. The Neko girl was not as powerful as Neji, but strong nonetheless, rapidly approaching chunin, and eventually her signature became too much for Yume to be in close proximity with. 

Before Tamaki leaves, spring in her step, Yume notices that all her cuts are healed, with the scabs already almost off.

Hm. 

Good that she healed so fast, but a little strange.

She tries not to think about what her sensitivity means for herself and Sasuke, the boy all of 14, and probably nearing jounin level.

…

…

…

“Yume!” Sakura calls in relief. 

The Civilian born kunochi hugs her friend, almost too tightly, and Yume must hide her wince as she hugs back. Yume can feel the little invisible gem of a seal in Sakura’s forehead, slowly having a thin thread of chakra fed into it, unlike Yume’s own plethora of seals automatically pulling her own chakra in, regulating it for Yume, so that it does not escape her biju scarred coils and tenketsu and led her to bleed out from chakra exhaustion. 

Strangely, Yume can feel Sakura’s chakra nature. She has two, quite rare, and even rarer, they’re water and earth natured. An unheard of combination, and not just from in the heart of Fire Country. 

“I was so worried about you, Yume! Inari said you were in the backwoods a few miles out helping your grandmother!” Sakura says, brow furrowed. A part of Yume really likes the idea of Uzumi-baa being her grandmother, but that simply isn’t true, or else Yume would be a quarter Uzumaki.

She is also treating Yume ever so carefully, hands on Yume’s triceps, smoothing over a bit, as if wanting to check her over.

Yume does not know what it is about herself that inspires this protectiveness in others, especially in shinobi. 

Is it because she’s weak? A civilian?

Yume briefly panics at the idea of Sakura in all her medical abilities discovering Yume’s oddities. With the addition of Sakura’ stronger signature irritating Yume’s tenketsu, the civilian takes a step back and brushes it off as her doing a spin to show off her much healthier looking constitution.

“No need to worry, I’ve never been better!” Yume says cheerfully, and it’s the sage’s honest truth. 

She is no longer dying.

Sakura laughs, and claps in delight.

“I can see, you looked so overworked, I’m glad that little retreat was good for you.”

“You look like you could use one too.” Yume points out. Sakura had bags under her eyes, was looking pale from many late nights studying in the library, and a wilt to her shoulders. There were bruises from Tsunade’s training.

Yume feels a sharp, sudden sting of guilt. Sakura had also been non-stop looking for Sasuke in all this too. During some of their study sessions a few months ago, Yume had gotten a glance at one of Sakura’s scrolls, and while indecipherable to any other civilian, Yume had information from Sasuke, and code breaking experience from Shiho during their time together at the orphanage, to be able to tell Sakura was doing some spy work into Orochimaru’s old bases for the 5th Hokage, and looking for clues on Sasuke.  

Sakura still loved that boy. 

Why does that make Yume feel so put off? 

“I was just about to meet up for lunch with Ino, she’s also been wondering about you too! Come with?”

Yume says yes, wanting to talk more psychology with the Clan girl, despite the risk of Ino’s sensor abilities discovering something about Yume. 

They chat and giggle, and Sakura shrieks in outrage when a mischievous Ino and Yume both pull out the latest copy of the Icha Icha series. 

Before she pulls out her own copy and they all giggle together mischievously.

Yume smiles warmly.

“It seems like we’ll always be those two little girls readings books in the back of class together while the teacher talks.” Yume says wistfully. “No matter the walks of life we take.” 

Sakura smiles warmly at Yume, her green eyes also soft.

“Yume, I missed you when I went to the academy. I’m sorry I ever stopped being your friend, I…was mostly worried about you, and you getting hurt by those academy bullies. But I always admired you, and the way you carried yourself. I’m glad we’re friends again!” Sakura says, “Especially with so many of my friends gone.” 

Oh, oh wow. Sakura was thinking of Naruto and Sasuke then, both with their own respective Sannin Sensei’s. 

“You are the first person to make me realize that coming from a civilian background was a thing to be proud of. My parents allowed me to join the academy because they wanted me to be able to defend myself, but they both have their own issues.” Yume recalls Mr. Haruno was an immigrant who was drafted as a young boy into the academy, much like Inari. And Mrs. Haruno’s was only a second generation Konoha-born, from some of the coastal towns. Perhaps where Sakura got her natures from. Her parents treatments as foreign civilians left them with a bad taste in their mouth. It meant they were glad their daughter had power now, but that they themselves were treated poorly for it. 

Still, Sakura’s words make Yume burst with pride. 

And Guilt. 

“Wow, I know you two went way back, but you’re saying before he shinobi academy even?” Ino asks, mouth open in surprise, eyes sharp in interest like the T & I agent she was. 

Yume grins.

“From ages 4 to 6, Sakura and I went to the civilian academy together, before she went to the shinobi one. We’d often read and play together.”

“Forever nerds!” Sakura jokes, holding up her copy of Icha Icha, sending them into fits of giggles again. 

Yume had made Inari get her a copy while she was recovering in her sick bed. The author of Icha Icha, The Legendary Sannin Jiraiya, hid it well, but he did had revolutionary leanings. He also wrote a long time ago the “Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi”, a book with inflammatory leanings that was shadow banned from the market. Yume suspects if he were not such a prominent shinobi he would have also been disappeared. The point being, his radical tendencies shown through in some of his later, more…intimate works.

Case in point.

“This latest book is sooooo good!” Ino squeals. She had also been tired like Sakura. “I love the hopeless romanticism of it all! Just think of how impossible it it. A civilian noblewoman and a undercover shinobi meant to take down her father, oh!” 

Yume smile suddenly becomes fixed.

Sakura, as a civilian-born and a foot in both worlds, has also adopted a interesting expression.

“It is pretty hopeless.” Yume agrees, ash in her mouth like the shinobi paper test. 

“Isn’t it? Like, we know civilian and shinobi romances hardly ever work out! And when they do it’s because the shinobi is too injured to continue. There just too many cultural differences. It’s a phenomenon the Yamanaka are studying actually, with a new mental health grant approved by Tsunade-sama!” Ino says, and Yume suddenly does not want to talk psychology anymore.

“Not to mention, some of those medical accident in the emergency room!” Ino says, wincing. “You remember those, right Sakura? The few times a civilian and a shinobi hook up, they get lost in it, and then the civilian partner gets hurt during the act…”

Sakura grimaces.

“Those are the worst, it’s hard with that degree of incompatibility….” 

Yume excuses herself, but not before complimenting Ino and Sakura on how good they both look. It’s not a lie. In the few hours they’ve spent together both girls are looking noticeably brighter. Ino’s eyes bags are gone, and Sakura’s bruises have faded. 

Hm, maybe healing tricks learned from Tsunade? 

…

….

…

“ This latest in the Icha Icha series brings elements of realism to otherwise fantastical stories. Icha Icha Hopeless Romantic, tells the story of crossing cultural and social class barriers, the barriers between a civilian and a shinobi-and tells just because it can’t last doesn’t mean it’s not worth it ”.

-Kunoichi's Choice Magazine

“ The author of the unassuming Icha Icha series strikes again, hiding relevant social commentary wrapped in romance novels. Love conquers all in this riveting novel on stark social and physical differences, relevant to the nobility in the Daimyo’s civilian capital ”. 

-The Daimyo’s Digest

“ Icha Icha Hopeless Romantic offers up a stark look at Civilian and Shinobi cultures, from a female perspective, during a time of great change in Konohagakure, not seen since the progressive policies of the Fourth Hokage, now seen again with the elemental nations first female Kage. This novel has much to say about the rights and roles of women, civilian women especially in shaping society, and how our current society is changing to be more accommodating of them ”. 

-The Konohagakure Daily Chronicle

…

…

…

It had been a week since Sasuke had messaged Yume he was coming to see her. It had been three weeks since Yume’s surgery. And a year and six months since the Konohagakure chunin exams. 

It was spring time now. This deep into Fire country, the coldest it ever got was upper 40’s, and very rarely snowed.

 They have finished sewing enough clothing for her, and she had regained enough strength to move back into her apartment. 

Yume missed painting her murals. 

She missed the choir.

She missed dancing with the traveling caravans, so much like Doremi-oba.

She missed babysitting and telling the children many stories, some she hoped to publish one day. 

She missed cooking and baking treats in her many jobs.

She missed bookkeeping for some of the private libraries. 

Under the guidance of Tsunade-sama, Konohagakure was thriving. She had continued many of the progressive policies of the 4th, and was expanding representation for civilians in Konoha’s sub-committees. She was increasing funding to civilians and the shinobi academy, and offering literacy classes at the library for adults. She added mandatory first aid classes to the academy, a goal of her’s since the second war. Yume had read it in her reports to the council, all those decades ago when Tsunade was still young, still hopeful. 

There was significant push back from the council, grumbling in-line with what they had said about the fourth hokage, right before the mysterious appearance of the nine-tails. It is ever strange to Yume, that the biju should have somehow broken it’s cage seal under the seal master fourth hokage.

There is a deeper story there, beyond the Uzumaki jinchuriki giving birth to that Naruto boy. It makes her think of all this resurrected talk about the Fourth Hokage, with Tsunade-sama continuing many of his progressive policies. It makes Yume think of the council of elders, who had hated those policies, who were also part of the first ring of defence when Kushina Uzumaki first went into labor. 

…

…

…

“I lived, Ena-sama.” Yume says to the elderly priestess, a beloved friend of her departed Miko grandmother.

The old Miko grins.

“It does this old heart well, to see you still in the Land of Fire and not yet departed for the Pure Lands.”

“I did pass briefly. I saw my family. My mother.” Yume says faintly.

Ena-sama’s smile fades to something gentler. It makes the green squares stand out starkly on her face.

“So you has a spiritual experience?” 

“I did.”

“And you’re wearing your grandmother priestess clothes from her youth? Redone for modern times and your figure?”

“I am.” 

Ena-sama approaches. She places a liver spotted hand on Yume’s cheek, traces the rosey-shaped clouds, religious patterns there, a rose-gold the same shade as Yume’s eyes and her hair.

“So you have agreed to begin your Miko training, at long last?”

“I…I can’t wield chakra.” 

“We have had Miko who cannot before.”

“I am in the midst of many things. I am not sure of my path.”

“We have wandering Miko’s for a reason. Some choose to wander not because they are lost, but because they have an explorers heart, curious as a cat. You are among the most inquisitive person I have ever met. The life of a wandering Miko, one who brings solace, who educates, a seeker of truth, is a path for you I have seen in a vision from the Sage.”

“Wandering? Like Nono Yakushi? Who is this other inquisitive fellow?” Yume also wonder who is other very curious fellow is who came to the shrine. 

Ena-sama laughs, a bit sharply at the mention of another fellow. She seems to not like whoever it is. 

“As I’ve said, a knowledgeable girl, a seeker of information, who would make a magnificent Miko.” 

Yume nods slowly.

…

…

…

It is one week and two days from his message when Yume feels Sasuke arrive in Konohagakure. 

Her book on the Shinobi system and Economics is almost finished. It had taken months of fine tuning, and editing from Neji, Tamaki, Sasuke-before he stopped responding to her-Uzumi-baa, and Inari, before Yume felt confident enough to say it was publication worthy. It was a frank description of how the economy worked in a Hidden Village, how Shinobi Villages only ever made money when countries were at war, how this system prioritized education just enough to have you follow orders, but not so much that you could begin to read and think for yourself. Keeping that in mind itself was important when writing, so Yume could publish something a graduate of the shinobi academy with that average reading level could understand. 

It is because of this book she finds herself wandering near the old Uchiha compound.

Yume has not tried to enter it before, despite her desire to. First, because in the initial months after the massacre, she was recovering from chakra shock herself. Second, because during the first year it was under heavy watch from ANBU and citizens. Third, by the time that died down, Sasuke was living there, and Yume was not yet ready to go to him. 

Finally, she was unsure of the bloodwards. It made it so you needed Uchiha blood or permission of the Clan Head to personally enter. Yume could not risk her sensitive, cripple coils on bloodwards. 

Due to that man slaughtering the clan, the Village lost it’s main security force overnight. Something the Village has frankly yet to recover from. It led to Orochimaru being able to sneak into the forest of death as those routes were previously covered by the Uchiha police. It also led to that Hayate man being mysteriously murdered over a year ago now, back when the chunin exams were happening. 

Due to this lack of security, the Hokage and the council invoked old clan laws from the founding of the Village, that Sasuke would have to stay and continue to live in the now empty blood soaked compound.

Yume’s fingernails bite into her palm.

She curses as she draws blood. 

A minor injury such as this was not worth asking Inari or Uzumi-baa to heal with medical ninjutsu. The price of the pain from the medical ninjutsu forced through Yume’s fragile coils would far outweigh any benefits. 

Her gaze goes back to the compound.

The rationale was, that the blood wards could protect Sasuke from the guaranteed kidnapping attempts that would result from this huge hole in security with the Uchiha gone. It would not protect him from The crow summoner. Nominally, the Hokage would change the Village wards, the seals in the wall, to keep the clan-killer out and Sasuke safe, but it was not possible to do that broadly for the many different types of kidnappers and their individual chakra signatures that would be after Sasuke.

No.

Only the blood wards could protect him. 

But that also begs the question as to why the Hokage had never changed the outer barriers to be keyed against the clan killer’s signature. He said he had and those not fluent in the art of seals might believe that, but Yume and Uzumi-baa had been able to read the seals and see that he hadn’t. Yet another bit of evidence that the Crow summoner’s actions might have been ordained by the council. Of course they’d want their double-agent to be able to come back in and report to them. 

It still made her see red, the idea that Sasuke had to go home every night to a blood soaked compound. No wonder he stayed so late training at the academy after waking up from his nearly year long coma. 

So perhaps that's why she finds him there.

Kneeling, the vigil position common in those praying at the altars of the dead, in memoriam shrines, in front of the Uchiha compound.

He has done exceedingly well to mask his signature, but Yume felt something the moment she got within a mile of the gate entrance. 

Sasuke signature, like ash in fall, a burning fire, the electric charge of summer thunderstorms. Heady, entrancing. 

The seal on his neck was as poisonous as ever, the ring of Hatake’s fuinjutsu a circle of purity. 

Sasuke is covered in scrapes, having clearly run at a fast pace through harsh branches. His clothes were torn, dirty, covered in equal parts dirt and blood. He was pale from exertion, and so incredibly chakra exhausted Yume doubted he’d be able to stand. 

A part of her realizes that if he had not been so exhausted, there would be no way for her to be in his presence. 

She gasps a bit in pain, as a wave of his powerful chakra rolls through the gate’s entrance. It’s a manual sensory jutsu, one created by the Second Hokage after he artificially and scandalously shut off his natural sensory abilities. Sasuke should not need to use it, it should come naturally to him, to be a sensor. 

Another thing the clan-killer, and the grief of the massacre, took from him.

Yume longs to reach out and be able to feel Keiji-san, Mikoto and Fugaku-sama, and nearly howls from grief when their beautiful signatures are not there. 

Sasuke hears her gasp.

His grief hazed eyes snap to her, and there is a sudden clarity.

His mouth drops open, slumped shoulders straightening, and he bolts to his feet.

“ Yume .” He breathes her name like a prayer, exactly like a prayer because he had clearly just spent the night reciting them to his dead family, the candace still familiar on his tongue. Yume would know. Ever since accepting Ena-sama’s offer for Miko training, she has been reciting and studying prayer, even sending letters to that boy, Sora, from her youth.

He looks at her like he’s seen a ghost.

He looks at her like she’s a miracle .

 Yume puts on her protective, seal-sewn shawl as quickly as possible, and it numbs Sasuke’s overwhelming power enough to be a comfortable heat, like her back warmed in the sun.

His eyes turn upwards in relief, and he staggers towards her, on the verge of unconsciousness, legs numb from an entire night of sitting Seiza.

“You’re alive !” He gasps, “I-I thought, Karin said…”

His hands form a seal, and she gasps.

“Kai!” He flares his chakra, the Sharingan spin in his eyes, and Yume grits her teeth at the swooping power, taking note how it drains what remains of his reserves.

He must find her to be reality, because his face goes soft with awe. 

He takes a staggering step towards her, reaching hand calloused with sword training like he might cup her face, and Yume flinches back, briefly seeing the shinobi who reached out and killed her mother.

Sasuke sees that, his eyes widen, his hand drops, his eyes flutter.

“Are you alright?” He says quietly, acting as if Yume is a scared deer. 

She lets out a choked, grieving laugh. It’s so gentle and bitter it makes her own heart flutter, and she sees what chakra he has left flutter in tune, reaching out towards Yume like the roots of a thirsty plant to water, dying flames towards kindling.

He has gotten a few inches taller.

No longer the same height, but with her eyes to his mouth. 

She decides to be brave.

She steps forward, places both hands on the slightly swaying teenager, on his shoulder the other over his heart, and cannot ignore the way his mouth drops slightly at the contact, his eyes tracing the movement, his jaw tilting ever so slightly, as if to offer her palm a spot there if she herself was not comfortable with his on hers. 

His hand reached up in syrupy slow motions, what must have been painfully slow to a shinobi, to give her the time to pull away or reject the motion.

She does not.

His hand is placed carefully over hers, presses it down over his chest like she might stem the flow of blood from a bleeding, broken heart, and Yume’s own eyes flutter. It reminds her of when she fell asleep over her notebook, ink stained palm print overlapped by his bloody one. His calloused thumb draws gentle circles into her covered wrist.

“I am, my seals were updated. I-I did nearly die, but, I’m here now!” Yume says, seeing the brief panic in his chakra. “I’ve been recovering for a few weeks now, and when I read your message, Karin said you had already left for Konohagakure. I’m really glad you're here. I’m sorry I told you that truth so abruptly.”

Sasuke’s dark eyes reflect a rainbow of emotions. 

“The gentlest way you can tell some truths is to say them at all. Thank you for not lying to me too.” Sasuke’s chakra is somber with gratitude, grief. “Please don’t ever apologize to me.” He says. “I…I am not sure what I would have done, If my partner in Justice were to pass from this world too .” He sounds heartbroken.

Yume’s own heart jumps at that description of their relationship. It’s somehow perfect. 

“You’re not mad at me?”

Despite his tiredness, he shakes his head no, sharply.

“No, At first, I was upset, but, your boldness, the way you always have a reason, evidence…I would never take out this hurt on you. Even if I was offended, I wouldn’t attack a civilian. I would just ask for an explanation, and haven’t you always given me one?”

Yume nods, knees weak with relief. 

“Did you run straight here?”

He nods drowsily, his eyes never leaving hers despite the movement.

“I can feel you’re chakra exhausted.” 

He sways at the reminder, then shakes his head. He fights to stay away, jaw gritting in anger. The curse mark seal begins to leech chakra, sensing its opportunity now that Sasuke is weakened.

Yume gasps in pain from the toxic chakra.

“Sasuke, my tenketsu are more sensitive now than ever due to my new seals. Please don’t let your curse seal take over!” She pleads.

He falls to his knees in front of her, his hands grasping at her work apron for stability, to ground himself. The black markings ebb and sway like the tides, the trees in wind, an campfire fighting the breeze. His shoulders begin to bulge, in what must be… wings ? Wings shaped like hands?!

She is briefly reminded of the story of Naori-she, she with Hawk-wings. 

“They, Konoha murdered us!” He chokes, “And I’m still to weak to do anything about it!” His words turn into a snarl. A calloused fist pounds the cobblestone and cracks it from sheer force. 

“I understand why you didn’t tell me then, I was too weak, I’m still to weak! I joined forces with that monster Orochimaru for what? What did I even do all this for? I would kill the elders right now if only I could! I’m weak!” Sasuke despairs. He pours his heart out to Yume, he bows, kneels in front of her, confesses his sins, shares his worries. Yume’ shawl holds the worst of his tainted chakra at bay. He looks up to her for guidance. 

Yume sees something different, in his eyes.

The Three Tomeoe of the Sharingan blend, like they’re trying to merge and form a new shape, and it reminds Yume of ancient Uchiha clan secrets, spoken only in code among the Uchiha, secrets of the eyes she does not have access to.

His chakra gasps and flutters.

The hidden potential Yume can feel in his eyes with her sensory abilities flickers and sputters out with it.

Whatever form Sasuke’s eyes were about to evolve into fades with his chakra. The blurred three tomoe become distinct again, having their wings clipped as Sasuke’s actual wings retreat right before the next step in their evolution. 

He is simply not strong enough. 

Not now. 

“You will be strong enough one day. Bid your time. Revenge is a dish best served cold.” Yume says. “Your father spent decades gathering evidence. The Elders spent decades setting the Uchiha up for massacre. I understand with that in mind the need for urgency when slow and careful actions have failed to save your family. But we want to ensure we have them dead to rights.” Yume calms him. She releases Calming Intent, just a bit to clear the chakra, and it works.

Sasuke’s eyes shutter, the black curse markings recedes.

Oh. 

Well. 

How interesting. 

It seems Calming Intent had a natural suppression effect on the cursed seal.

“Your heart burns with the Uchiha fire for justice, as it should! You are correct to feel this rage. Your righteous anger is the part of you that knows you and your loved ones were wronged.” 

Sasuke’s now dark eyes are wide as he stares up at her. A shaky hand grasps hers, brings it to his forehead, his eyes squeeze shut and Yume feels his inner turmoil.

“Love. Hate.” He croaks. “I hate him, but what did I spend at that time hating him for, when I could have been hating the elders? He was used just like me, but do orders make it okay!? I’m older now then he was when he carried out the massacre. I can’t stop thinking about it!” Sasuke rasps. His thick, bloody tears stain her hands and he trembles.

Oh, this boy.

This poor boy. 

Yume senses a patrol unit walking this way. The chunin force that did not quite make up for the Uchiha’s loss. 

“Sasuke, we need to move. Can you make it back to my apartment?”

He tries to stand, but his legs give way. His chakra smoothes out on the verge of unconsciousness. His arms wrap around her waist, his face pressed into her apron covered outer thigh and lower stomach.

“Sasuke, get on my back!” Yume urges. She can hardly believe she's saying that. A week ago it would have been unthinkable, but she gains strength by leaps and bounds. She helps the wobbly teenager up, and somehow, gets him on her back.

He’s not so much taller than her that it’s awkward, but he’s heavier than he looks being strapped with muscle. Yume’s teeth grit in pain and exertion, his chakra powerful even when depleted. 

She takes heavy steps up cobblestone stairs, away from the patrol closing in. Sasuke’s head sways with each one, she feels his face crease with distress from where it is pressed to the pulse in her neck. 

Yume recalls recovery, a few weeks ago. Syncing up with Uzumi-baa, and how instead of hurting, the chakra flowed right through Yume. 

She clears her mind.

She focused on matching their breaths. Their heartbeats. The way their chakra could sway in tandem. His chakra natures are lightning and fire, like her’s. 

They fall into sync.

She swears she hears him whisper something, almost sounding like ‘Itachi’ as he pushes in closer. 

It no longer hurts to hold Sasuke so close. He’s just heavy now. Her tenketsu no longer burn, but smoothly processes Sasuke’s ambient chakra aura. Yume thinks it might help that their chakra natures are identical. Or maybe because they’ve synced before, when recreating the Uchiha Senbei recipe. 

She dodges cameras, uses the seals in her murals to obscure her presence and path. She makes it back home to her apartment, kept tidy by Inari, and heaves Sasuke onto her bed. 

She covers him with her blankets and waits.

…

…

…

Yume has just finished making the Uchiha Senbei again, with a Uchiha recipe for herbal stew, when Sasuke wakes.

His eyes have a distant quality to them before sharpening with clarity, his nose twitches in an unfairly cute way when he smells her cooking. 

“I found the stew recipe in some of Neko-baa’s Uchiha munitions. It was apparently a Uchiha recipe for those who needed help recovering, from injury or illness.” Yume says gently as Sasuke sits up, eyes wide, reaching for the soup.

“It is, my mother used to make it for me.” His voice sounds tender with awe. 

They both eat. 

Yume is gratified to see the way his chakra burst with enjoyment, bitter grief, sacred hope and gratitude at getting a taste of a recipe he thought was lost. 

“Thank you.” He croaks, once finished. It took him a while to do so as he savored every spoonful. “You carried me all the way here?”

Yume nods, grinning tiredly and jokingly flexing a bicep. 

It makes him smile.

From his clothes, discarded off to the side, freshly laundered by Yume, Sasuke takes the fabric and wondersly traces the cleaned clothes, so different from being soiled from his mad sprint to Konoha. Yume had re-stitched the Uchiha symbol so that it stood proud. After lingering for a moment to take in her hard work, Sasuke activates one of the storage seals Yume had sewn into the hem last time he had visited.

He pulls out some of Maho’s pears. 

“Oh, Sasuke!” Yume says at the precious gift. It would be months before the trees bloomed. He must have kept these for awhile, since his visit last fall, taking up precious space because he knew how much they meant to her. 

“It’s the least I could do after you carry my useless self to your apartment, feed my the recipes of the Uchiha, open my ignorant eyes.” He says quietly. 

They eat the pears for dessert.

“I…I was so confused.” Sasuke begins. He looks at her, imploring her to understand. “After the massacre, I was in that coma for nearly a year. I missed an entire years of schooling. When I woke up I was confused .”

Yume’s vision blurs, but she makes sure to make eye contact. 

“I woke up, and I wondered if that was all just some horrible nightmare. If I was in the hospital for over-training. I was confused as to why I woke up alone. Where were my parents? My aunts, uncles, cousins, to walk me back to the compound from the hospital? Why were ANBU in my room, why was the Hokage there? Where…where was Itachi ?” He grits his teeth.

“I couldn’t understand why I was suddenly a few inches taller. Why it was so cold outside when Summer was just starting. Why the calenders were different. Why everyone was pretending my family was gone. It was only when…” Sasuke swallows thickly, eyes shutting tight. “It was only when they showed me the gravestones, informed me Itachi had put me in a genjutsu that nearly killed me, put me in a coma for several months, that I realized it was real .” The devastation in his voice is unmatched by anything else Yume has ever heard. 

She thinks of what it would be like for a little boy to wake up to all that, thinking he got lucky and it was just a nightmare.

Only for it to be so brutally real. 

For time to have passed him by, to have passed his family by. For everyone to move on and ignore the loss when he was defined by it. 

“I couldn’t understand how everyone could just pretend it didn’t happen! How they ignored it, went about their days!” Sasuke spits. “They made me feel crazy for wanting revenge. The Hokage tried to convince me it was too dangerous, and maybe he was right, or maybe, he was covering for Itachi, because his council ordered him to do it!”

“...I think that's probably likely.” Yume says cautiously, trying not to startle at the clan-killers name. She recalls a time where Sasuke could not even write it, let alone speak it. “They ignored it because the alternative was too terrifying. That any of them could be wiped out, and Konoha’s government would do nothing to help them.”

His head snaps to her. 

“Yume.” His voice is careful. “Yume, I was confused, lost, made to feel crazy by all of them, even team seven. And I felt that way until I met you .”

She gasps in surprise. 

“You are the first time I heard that I wasn’t bad or in the wrong to want revenge for my family. Not that I care, I do what I feel is right! But, from the minute I woke up, I was confused until the minute I met you .” 

Yume nods.

“I…Sasuke, did you know I went into a coma too? The night of the massacre?”

He shakes his head no, his hand grasping hers in worry. 

It is warm. 

He really seems to like holding her hand. 

“I was on the verge of being adopted into the clan by Officer Keiji, but your father said no. Said it was too dangerous. When the massacre happened I was able to feel it. Their deaths. The shock sent me into a catatonic state for several weeks.” Yume confesses. “It’s not quite the length of time as yours, but, I woke up and the world was different, wrong , than what it should be.” 

“...You understand .” He breathes.

“Yes, except I had people with me. First after the murder of my family, the Uchiha officers comforted me. Then Inari, Tenten, Uzumi-baa, both after the murder of my family and then the Uchiha, who did you have ?” 

He flinches. 

No one.

He had no one .

And then they sent him back to that empty compound. 

“Sasuke. Can we lay down next to each other?” Yume dares to ask. She can suddenly not bear the idea of him being alone. She is cold and scared and lonely. “Just that? Just sleeping? I am scared to rest otherwise?”

He looks at her with big, hopeful eyes, tired circles not yet erased, before scooting over, opening his arms up and lifting the blanket in offering. His chakra is open and inviting and longing .

He aches for this.

A Uchiha is not meant to be alone. 

Yume clumsily climbs into bed next to him, and his hands come up to guide her, laying down on her full sized mattress, then sighing in pleasure as their sides pressed together. He extends his arms behind her head and lets her use his bicep as a pillow, and their bent knees slot together like puzzle pieces. He holds her to him like he wishes to fuse their bodies. 

“...I missed writing to you every night. It felt like you were there with me.” He whispers, his breath tickling the hair by the shell of her ear. Strong shinobi arms tighten around her but Yume does not feel scared, cannot feel scared with their chakra synced up like this, not when she can see his soul so acutely. It was a pure thing, even now. Karin’s described it a similar way, and funnily enough, mentioned that Yume was the only other person she met with a similar, pure chakra. 

“I missed you too, Sasuke.”

“I’m sorry I stopped responding…It was foolish of me.” He says bitterly. “I already said when we met again, that I would not deny my care for you, but when you told me those truths…I realized I could not protect you. That I was still so weak!”

The restlessness in Sasuke’s chakra prickles her a bit. Yume’s religious clouds on her face hide a underlayer of seals painted in her cheekbones for shielding purposes. Non-permanent. Yume is in a nightgown now, covering her from her arms to her neck and going down below her knees. Under that, leggings to her ankles. All lined with seals, and stopping her coils from being overwhelmed, along with Sasuke’ depleted state. 

Although, he was recovering quicker than expected. 

Sasuke words of ignoring Yume, distancing himself from her, partly in fear of her safety, remind Yume of her recent catch-up with Sakura. How when they were both girls, Sakura distanced herself from Yume over fear of her civilian friend being hurt by Academy bullies. Does Sasuke even know he and Sakura have that in common? 

“And then, Orochimaru discovered some of your writings. Myself and Karin were not careful enough, and Kabuto found them when we were trying to find those reports on the Uchiha massacre you said he had. These are some of the ones you shared with me when I first left Konoha, outside of the notebooks.  He gave your writings to Orochimaru.”

Yume's heart picks up.

Sasuke begins to shiver minutely. He breaks out in a cold sweat, begins panting in terror.

“He’s a monster .” Sasuke rasps. He clutches onto her, like the dinosaur plushie he said he had as a child. “Yume, you wrote to me of visiting the remnants of his past experiments, those children turned into trees…he was just getting started then!”

 Yume bathes him in Calming Intent. 

His trembling stops. 

He looks at her in awe.

“Calming intent? It is amazing.” He states, now peaceful. 

“And?” She dares to ask. 

“...Orochimaru was interested . In you. Your amazing writings. Yume, that is not a good thing. Anyone who gets his interest ends up with a seal. Most of those end up dead. If you live, you end up as an experiment.” Sauske swallows thickly, newly acquired adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “And your medical situation is so unique I don’t doubt he’d try something with you. Most of the interest was on me as Orochimaru’s next host, so I had to stop writing to you. He knows we’re corresponding somehow, and was watching me with his snakes.”

“Orochimaru, a legend, is interested in me? My writings? What did he say about them?” Yume cannot deny her curiosity even as she knows the unforgivable acts Orochimaru has committed. His intelligence is undeniable. Surely if he thinks Yume is saying something worthwhile, then her book could be published, could change the world-

“His attention is not something you want. I don’t care that he’s a legend.” Sasuke’s tone is the sharpest it’s even been with her. Not cruel, but stunned at Yume’s seeming respect for the S-ranked monster.

“You don’t know what it’s like! To be helpless in the face of people like Orochimaru! To be wea-” Sasuke’s eyes widen, and he cuts himself off guilty. 

“To be what?” Yume presses him. “To be weak? To know your opponent is stronger than you could possible imagine?” Yume finishes pointedly.  Sasuke dips his head in acknowledgement, chakra prickling with shame. 

“...I wasn’t making excuses for Orochimaru, his mentorship must be so oppressive. How did you get away?”

Sasuke smirks shakily. He pulls Yume up so that they may look at each other’s faces, and gently runs his fingers through her free hair. Yume had been just about to put her hair up for the night. He seems enchanted with it. It feels phenomenal. 

“Two reasons. There is one experiment Orochimaru has. An older man named Kei who has been there for decades, one Orochimaru has an inexplicable fondness for. That man created a distraction for us. He did it even knowing he’d be sent away to a more remote base. I hope him and Karin’s mother, Mio, can be reunited one day.” Sasuke says quietly.

“Oh! I heard about that from Karin! I’m glad they have each other at least.”

“Yes, and the second reason.” Here Sasuke smirked again. 

It is full of schadenfreude. 

“What do you need to become a Sage, Yume?”

“Oh! Um, you need to be a summoner. Like Jiriaya-sama and Lord Fourth being the Toad sages due to their summoning scroll. It’s not well known, but The First Hokage was a summoner for the Slugs like his granddaughter. Any scroll, Cat, Hawk, Crow, and you can be a sage.”

“So smart.” Sasuke coos, and Yume blushes, poking him for teasing her. He simply pulls her closer, endeared by her boldness. “It had been Orochimaru’s goal since childhood to become the Snake Sage. You sent me that article yourself, an old interview with the Konohagakure Chronicles you dug up from decades ago, before public opinion turned on Orochimaru, remember?”

“I do.”

“So, what happens when you don’t just experiment on others, but yourself?”

Several thoughts race through Yume’s head.

“Oh!” She gasps. “Oh, by the Kami’s! Orochimaru twisted his natural signature through the curse seal. I felt how polluted and far away from natural, divine chakra it was. You need a pure, deep connection with the natural world in order to become a Sage! His own experimentation with the polluted sage seal means he warped his own signature to the point of not being able to become a sage!” Yume shrieks. She is incredibly thankful for the privacy seals she put in her walls. 

“Exactly.”

Wow! 

Talk about karmic justice! Orochimaru’s own meddling denied him his lifelong dream of being a sage, a position of power and longevity that would have allowed him to live for centuries with pseudo immortality, gain unfathomable knowledge. 

She can’t think of a punishment more fitting. 

“Because of Orochimaru’s inability to become a Sage, his control over his family’s Snake contract is tenuous. I was able to wrest loyalty away from some of the minor snakes on spy duty to come here. Orochimaru is currently busy with the older hostage, Kei. It'll take a few weeks to move him. Enough time for me to make it here, stay for a few days, then travel back.” 

“Stay for a few days?” Yume says hopefully. There was so much she wanted to talk about with him, show him! Still, a part of her feels guilty on behalf of this Kei. He was spending time with Mio and Karin. 

Sasuke smiles at her.

An honest smile, not a smirk. 

“I told you I admired you for your bravery. You’ve lost both your families, but still go on. It gives me hope. Makes me brave. Even now when my hatred for Konoha’s council burns, when I resent myself for my weakness, I don’t think of you like that. You are not a weakness. You are not useless. The way you write to me sometimes, Yume, I understand you also resent your lack of ability to take action, to hold those monsters accountable. You understand me. You have taught me that partnerships are the strength of a Uchiha, like they were for my father and his officers. I won’t run from you any longer.” Sasuke states, pulling her closer. “If I were any stronger, maybe I would go charging towards them, abandon everyone who has ever been good to me, like you. But my weakness forces me to be careful, strategic…like you .”

Her heart pounds.

“And yet, you are not weak. I take comfort in your words, that I will be strong enough one day. I will be strong enough for the both of us.” Sasuke, says, and Yume recognizes it as an apology for his earlier carelessness, when he failed to realize she struggled with her lack of power much like he did.

“Justice delayed is justice denied.” Yume murmurs.

Sasuke kisses her forehead, his lips cracked from the windburn, from running so fast and so long, yet they are burning with warmth. Yume is always so cold, a side effect of her poor chakra circulation.

It feels amazing . 

“Is this okay Yume? I remember you said something about your Tenketsu being sensitive now?” 

“My new Tenketsu seals are hyper sensitive. They should get better in time, but for now, strong chakra signatures can be abrasive and even harmful. Anyone chunin or above.”

His signature pulses in worry.

“Should I be so close to you now?”

“Its okay, we’re synced. Signatures fused almost. You know the expression on the same wavelength?” Uzumi-baa was fond of that one. Konoha-born folks like to say ‘on the same page’. “Its matching chakra signatures so they flow together instead of opposition. We’re doing that right now. Many people can do it without even realizing, if they’re working together on something.” Yume murmurs.

Sasuke holds her closer in confirmation. 

“...I had you.”

“Hm?”

“Earlier you asked who I had after the massacre, because you had Uzumi-baa and others. I had you .”

Yume turns in his arms.

Their foreheads press together, and Sasuke’ hand comes up from her waist to cup the back of her head and keep it there. He traces the rose-cloud markings on her cheeks with utter fascination, the tip of a precise, powerful digit on her sensitive skin nearly making her shiver. 

“But, Sasuke, it took me years to work up the courage.” Her throat is tight with guilt.

He smiles, their breaths mingling as he speaks.

“It does not change that I had you. Who comforted me, cleared the confusion. Let me know there was still a path forward.”

They dangle over the precipice of something more. Circle the drain, walk a tightrope. Yume feels as if she might fall into his eyes. He is looking at her in a similar way. 

Sasuke breaks the silence, one hand up to cup her cheek. His thumb rests on the plush of her lower lip, his eyes drop to stare.

“I hope I did not scare you earlier. I know you fear shinobi. Please let me know if anything I do upsets you.”

“You are not just any shinobi.” 

His weakened signature flares with pleasure, possessiveness .  

“I do not like the idea of you surrounded by other shinobi, without myself there with you. But I admire your indomitability.” Yume has noticed an improvement in his vocabulary since he began writing with her. Most teenage boys wouldn’t know that word. 

“I am glad you're here now.”

He smiles bitterly, his face becoming distant despite being right next to hers. 

“Is it selfish of me to be glad I’m here?” 

Oh, survivors guilt.

Yume was all too familiar.

 “Itachi changed my world that night. I was supposed to die too, he was supposed to kill me with both our parents. I simply don’t understand, why me! Why only me? What made me so special, huh? What's so different about me compared to our father or mother, our clansmen? Was I supposed to be happy alone? Did Itachi really think I would be happy, ignorant , walking the path as a weapon, a sword for him to cast himself upon?” Sasuke is in tears, and so is Yume. The self-loathing is staggering. 

Yume flinches at the Clan-killers name. 

She waits for Sasuke to notice her fear but he does not. 

He is lost in his stream of thought. 

“When I was younger I recall Itachi coming back from a mission with the Sharingan. I didn't understand at the time but he was devastated at the violence, at people being turned into weapons, the waste of human life. Why then, would he turn me into a weapon? When this Village couldn’t itself despite how hard it tried…I never could have walked that path!”

Sasuke sits up abruptly, still ever careful not to yank himself away too harshly from Yume. His head is bowed, his shoulders shake.

“I should have died that night with the rest of them. But I didn’t and I have to live with that. I need answers from that filthy hypocrite, I need revenge, I need justice!” 

He slumps over from chakra exhaustion. Despite recovering remarkably fast in the few hours under her care, he is still weak. 

He tentatively reaches a hand out again. 

Pauses halfway to her, seeing they was her shoulders tremble, her hands fold nervously, and pulls away. Yume reaches out and threads their fingers together.

“...I need you .” Sasuke breathes. “I-I I’m imagining what would have happened, If I hadn’t known the full truth from you, if I had gone to fight Itachi without knowing the elders ordered him to do it. If I would have killed him.”

He gags.

Yume reaches for the sick bucket for him and he vomits. After a few minutes of coughing and letting out choked sobs, he eventually staggers to her bathroom to clean up. She feels the spike of nostalgia in his chakra when he uncovers the Uchiha soap. A recipe from Mikasa-san, Izumi's non-Uchiha civilian mother, murdered regardless by The Clan-Killer. Yume lays out fresh clothes for him, gives him some more stew, the flavor making his chakra physically contort in grief and love. He shifts up onto the bed and Yume covers the both of them back up with the bankets.

“...Were you scared?” He whispers. 

It’s such an innocent, childlike question to ask. Two children curled up and crying on the bed together, underneath her quilt, sewn by her deceased family, like it could protect them from monsters under the bed, the monster in Konoha. Sasuke needs her right now, and she needs him. 

“About what?”

“When trying to find those reports Kabuto stole, the ones confirming the Elders ordered the massacre, I was looking through the old writing you sent me. There. There was one, with your blood on it. You said you were down in the Root tunnels. About to die.” He sounds devastated. 

That one.

Right as Orochimaru disguised as the Kazekage led an invasion and Yume and Kabuto used the distraction to sneak into Root tunnels. Kabuto caught her, and was about to kidnap her and deliver her to Orochimaru. 

Until the mysterious root agent rescued her, then handed her over to Yukimi. She still did not know who he was or why he did it. His signature was tightly contained and Yume was too concussed to analyze it deeper. 

“I-I was.”

“I don’t blame you for being scared of shinobi. They scare me too. What good have we ever brought? Yume…how do you do it? If these truths hurt me so much, what was it like figuring it out?”

“Terrifying.”

She feels him grit his teeth as if her fear brought him physical pain, and from the feeling of his chakra, it seems like it did!

“But, also… liberating . Empowering. I was discovering things, finding out secrets shinobi many times stronger than me struggled to keep hidden. It was empowering.” Yume breathes, recalling her earlier conversation with Karin, about power, enjoying power, how to wield it responsibly. 

She feels his eyelashes flutter, then his mouth grin sharply against her shoulder.

“Yume, you will never not be amazing to me!” He laughs hoarsely. 

“You discovered all this, inspiring me to investigate…I never wanted to be a shinobi, did you know that?”

Her jaw drops.

It’s unthinkable. Sasuke is so incredibly talented, with room to grow! He comes from such a long line of shinobi too! But then again…she remembers from a distance at least, what a gentle boy he was. 

Kind. 

She remembers the chunin exams.

“All of us killed or at least maimed during the chunin exams.” A memory of Karin says bitterly. “But Sasuke? He was the only one, out of even the other Konoha genin with an explicit code against killing, or unnecessary harm. I felt his horror when the cursed seal took over and encouraged him to maim the Sound team, breaking Zaku’s arms. A cruel shinobi would not have cared.” Yume remembers Karin saying. 

 “I wanted to be an investigator like my father. To help others achieve justice when crimes were committed against them. Thank you for helping me live my dream, Yume.” Sasuke says, chakra sparkling with gratitude. 

She smiles wobbly at him. 

And then he says it again.

That damned name. 

“I need to find him. I need to find him and ask why, Itachi-”

She sees red .

She isn’t aware she’s yanked the quilt off the both of them and boldly shoved Sasuke off her bed until the boy thunks to the floor, blinking up at her in shock and hurt.

Yume is surprised at her own capacity for violence. 

“ Stop saying his name! ” she screams in rage. 

She shaking and crying tears of pure hate for the clan-killer as she stares down at Sasuke. He blinks up at her in owlish shock, chakra shimmering with hurt and surprise. Yume is not so naive as to think Sasuke couldn’t have stopped her from pushing her off her bed if he really wanted to, he could have pushed her instead. It calms her down enough to exhale harshly, and articulate herself. 

“Sasuke, can I be honest?”

He nods slowly.

“I don’t care if the Clan-killer did it under orders or not! He’s supposed to be a prodigy capable of higher thought, he should have known there was a better way, that he didn’t have to follow orders! They couldn’t have made him do it! The shinobi code says to follow orders, but above all it says to follow the Daimyo! And while I have my disagreements with that, why didn’t Itachi escalate it to the capital then? Were civilians so beneath his notice it didn't occur to him?” 

Sasuke blinks in shock.

“And what's more…he sacrificed them. A sacrifice is something willingly given but their lives were not his choice to make. It’s one thing if it’s his own life, but he offered up the heads of defenseless civilians, civilians like me , like my mother and aunt and grandma, on a plate! Meanwhile he gets to walk around, thinking at least what he did was for the greater good, that at least he’s still a good loyal shinobi, a loyal pet for this Village!” Yume spits, incandescent with rage. 

“To me Sasuke, Itachi is no different from the wife-beaters your father arrested. The woman-killers who beat their girlfriends if they don’t cook dinner fast enough. The rapists Fugaku-sama took care of personally! No, actually, Itachi is worse, because at least most of those women got to live and recover after! And at least the men who hurt them don’t have the nerve to pretend they're noble for doing it!”

From his position on the floor, Sasuke curls into the fetal position and begins to shake.

Yume gets a grip on herself. 

“You're right!” He croaks. “It’s still unforgivable. I-I I’m trying to understand how, how could someone’s mind become so twisted that they think it’s justifiable in any way? I imagine you, if you had been adopted and killed…” Sasuke’s voice becomes haunted. “I’m sorry I kept saying his name. Earlier you were uncomfortable but I was so in my own head I didn't notice until now.” Sasuke turns from his side on the floor and stoops into the lowest bow Yume had ever seen directed towards her with the exception of Neji apologizing for permanently destroying one of her tenketsu, his forehead to the floor. 

“Your mother and aunt and grandmother, all victims of that rogue shinobi, one like Ita-the clan killer. I’m sorry. I didn't mean to minimize their deaths.”

Yume swallows.

“Izumi-” She begins, but can’t finish. Her eyes prickle with tears. Murdered by someone she thought loved her. After she comforted Yume at the police station, Yume could not help her in return. 

Sasuke gets up to his knees and leans against the bed, to look closer at her. 

“I looked at some of the reports, before Konoha took them away from me. Of all the people who died, she was the only one without a scratch on her. I think he used the same genjutsu on her that he used on me.” Sasuke says quietly.

Yume looks at him sharply. 

“Itachi put me in a genjutsu where I relived the night of the Uchiha Massacre.” Sasuke says it quietly, like it isn't the single most devastating thing Yume has ever heard.

Her mouth drops so wide open she tastes salt from her tears.

“Over and over, I lost count. Thousands of times. He used the same one on Kakashi Hatake, that put him in a hospital room, in a coma like the one I was in. Then he did it again, and only Tsunade could pull us from it. Or I think I would not have been able to wake up this time. Maybe it would have even been a relief.”  Sasuke says almost casually, like he’s thought about it many times before.

Survivors' guilt.

That story Sasuke told, about the Land of Waves, how Zabuza’s killing intent scared them all, but only Sasuke pointed his kunai towards himself, only he had thoughts of taking his own life from it. And then sacrificing himself to save Naruto.

Suicidal. 

Yume recalls her telling Sasuke of her own suicide attempt, that Uzumi-baa had to override Yume’s seals, take control of her like a puppet in the aftermath of the Uchiha clans death. How Yume had yet to fully forgive her.  

“I saw my elder brother kill them. The women. He was so clinical, like it was a task. Mikasa-san, Izumi’s mother, Keiji-san’s wife, he ran her through the stomach because she was pregnant.” Yume had known that, in fact, and it was a reason she hated him more than humanly possible. 

“That casual disregard for human life…I could never be like that Yume.” Sasuke says through gritted teeth.

“Not even towards yourself?” She nearly begs, now scared, scared of these suicidal tendencies in him, in herself. 

He looks at her with shocked then hollow eyes.

“What value do I have if I cannot bring peace to my family?” 

She grabs his arms and hauls him up onto the bed again, or rather, he lets her, so their limbs tangle, so he clutches back onto her, his forehead to her shoulder. 

“It was supposed to be a murder-suicide.” Sasuke mutters into her collarbone, no doubt feeling her heartbeat spike, the way she clutches him harder. “I kill my brother, and then what? Live the rest of my life alone, the last Uchiha?”

It makes her whimper.

Sasuke immediately freezes.

“...I’m sorry, I’m scaring you again. I am not a risk right now, to either of us, I-I was just thinking…” Sasuke leans back and slides onto the bed next to her, purposefully not standing, so their positions are the same, so he does not loom over her. Intentionally placid and non-threatening. 

“...I told you about survivor's guilt? How I was speaking to the Yamankan heiress about it? Ino?”

“Sakura’s other friend.” Sasuke mutters. Yume had also told him about her shared history with Sakura. 

“And we wrote about how we both had it?”

He holds her tighter.

“I propose a pact. I won’t harm myself if you don’t.” Yume holds out a pinkie finger. 

Sauske's head whips back so fast she can’t follow the motion. His expression is open, hopeful, and worried for her. After a second, he links pinkies with her, and as a joke to lighten the mood, Yume bobs their joined hands like a formal business deal from their joined little fingers. She notices the calluses on his hands, once the same size as hers, now biggers. 

“No takebacksies.” Yume says.

He nods at her.

It gets a little quiet.

“...I’m sorry I pushed you off the bed. Especially since you're recovering. It’s not okay that I lashed out at you like that. It doesn’t matter that I can’t actually hurt you, I’ll never lay hands on you again like that.” Her voice drips with guilt. She hopes he wasn’t mad at her. Just because she was a civilian who couldn’t actually physically hurt Sasuke didn’t mean it was okay for her to lash out at him. That was not a precedent she wanted to set for their relationship and she needed to nip it in the bud, now .

“Yume, I don’t think I can be mad at you, I would die for you.” Sasuke says, then flinches slightly as he remembers the conversation they just had about suicidality.

She bursts out laughing at the irony and poor timing.

He starts chuckling too, until they’re both laughing hysterically. It takes several minutes for them to calm down, but when they do, Yume shuts off the desk lamp, puts away the dishes with Sasuke’s help, and they both lay down on her bed and go to sleep.

In the morning, Yume is interrupted by a frantic pounding at her door. She’s not too worried as few people knew about her privacy seals, just a select few she trusted in case of a medical emergency of hers. 

Sasuke is up and, where the hell did he even get that kunai from?!

His body is covering hers, a physical barrier between her and the door, and Yume’s senses flare out, and she recognizes that signature!

But before she can say anything, the door opens.

It’s Neji. 

Chapter Text

They all recognize each other, but no one quite knows what to do. 

Neji’s byakugan are activated, and staring at Sasuke’s hand protectively covering Yume’s face, she can feel the strength in the digits even as they shield her gently, calloused from intense training. Yume does not have her glasses on and can’t see Neji’s exact expression, but she feels the chakra spike when he activated his eyes, and the extreme distaste in his aura. 

Yume feels Sasuke's eyes, already activated the moment the knocking began.

“Yume. You weren't responding to your notebook.” Neji says politely but tersely. “But I see you were…distracted.” 

She gasps.

She sits up, puts on her glasses, and displaces Sasuke’s hand, reaching for her notebooks. Neji looks tired. His face is drawn in a way that speaks of sleeplessness, and headaches.

“Now that we have the ‘papercommons’ functional, we were all wondering where you were and if you were okay. I was sent to check up on you as I have today off from training and missions.”

“I heard about that from Tenten! Something about Gai and Lee following up on his surgery as he grows because of his scarred coils?” Yume says apologetically, flipping open the added section of her notebook that allowed for continuous conversations visible to several people. It was even so you could send a message as a single line or cluster of lines instead of a whole page at a time!

Sure enough, Yume sees the worry from her many friends. 

Uzumi-Girl, you should respond and give your elders their due respect!

Karin-Sasuke should be on his way, if not there already, perhaps thats the cause? Yume would be safe with him.

Tamaki-Sasuke is here?! Tell him to come visit!

Inari-I would enjoy seeing little Sasuke again, but isn’t it dangerous? 

She can feel Sasuke’s stare as she leaps from the bed.

“Karin reports in the Commons that Sasuke had arrived to visit you.” Neji does not sound pleased, but interested at least. 

He gives the shallowest possible bow to Sasuke, the lowest possible to still be respectful, a gentle incline of his head.

“Uchiha. We have much to talk about.”

Sasuke says nothing, but inclines his head in turn, to the exact degree. Where did his chattiness go? 

What's with this tenseness? Yume thought they’d get along, especially since Neji made that deal with the Sound Four? 

“Well come in then!” Yume says, noting Neji had brought hair care products, probably planning another pampering day with Yume with hair masks. He also brought her favorite treats, something Yume commented on in delight. He’s been rather protective over Yume during her recovery. Yume smiles, hand going to her bonnet. 

This seems to make Neji rather smug. 

Yume goes to pull out a chair for him, yawning and rubbing sleep from her eyes, and briefly banging her hip into the back of it. 

“No need to wait on me Yume, you shouldn’t be doing anything too strenuous while you recover.” Neji says rather pointedly, glancing at Sasuke.

Sasuke’s face has gone smooth, the way Mikoto has when dealing with someone she’d rather not be. Yume swears she feels a hint of guilt in it.

“Sasuke come join us for breakfast? We all have much information to share. Neji, I think you need to talk about the deal made with the sound four?”

Neji had already made breakfast for two, not expecting Sasuke here perhaps? Except Karin said he’s likely to be with Yume? 

Yume goes to split hers with Sasuke, knowing how hard Neji was training and that he needed all the calories. At the same moment, Sasuke refuses his half of hers, and Neji goes to give her some of his. 

The boys glare at each other.

Okay. 

So.

Yume is starting to get nervous. 

She does not like two male prodigy shinobi getting testy in her apartment. She can feel it start to saturate the ambient chakra. She gently lets out some CI.

She’s been in situations with far more powerful people, with way higher stakes, with way worse odds and kept her cool, but having her old friend and her partner in justice at odds when by all means they should have so much in common, is unsettling her. 

Yume realizes this recipe is one of Neji’s mothers. She was killed by the main family through seal activation when he was a toddler. His earliest memory with her, and one of his only memories of her, was cooking this breakfast recipe. That young, Neji was still free. In his earliest, purest memories, Neji is held on his mothers hip as she cooks, and he is free . Yume had helped him perfect it in this very apartment. 

A recovered recipe, like the senbei, the soup. 

“...Neji, Sasuke, I think the dinner I made last night would go well with what Neji brought. It’s senbei and soup, a recipe Sasuke and I recovered from his family.” Yume explains to Neji.

Neji’s chakra softens, looking down at the food he brought, realizing with prodigy quickness the connection Yume was intentionally making between himself and Sasuke. He nods at her, face softening, a tiny smile and nod of respect for her own quick thinking.  One last look at Yume’s nervous posture, her worried face, and Neji caves completely. 

“Then I should thank you, Yume, and you, Sasuke. It’s a privilege to try the ethnic foods of the Uchiha clan.” Neji says, voice now neutral instead of stiff. “ Allow me to share the Branch family recipe for breakfast.” He takes back the food and equally portions it, while Yume does the same. After years of friendship and late night talks, they dance effortlessly around each other. 

“As the slaves of the Main Hyuuga.” Neji says, the harsh and accurate description of his position in life causing both Yume and especially Sasuke to focus intently on Neji. “We were afforded fewer pleasures than the Main Hyuuga. Our recipes are a testimony to creating pleasure and luxury in the face of that, a form of self-expression.”

“I see.” Sasuke says, blinking, finally saying something. Perhaps it is the respect Neji shows the Uchiha, and him evenly dividing up the food he brought.

“ Itadakimasu “ They all say. 

They eat their meal in peace. 

Neji and Sasuke are no longer tense, but curious and uncertain. 

When they finished, Neji and Sasuke help clean up in unison, something they’ve both done before for Yume in her apartment. 

“It’s as Neji says, you shouldn’t be exerting yourself.” Sasuke smirks. The two boys stand very formally and politely next to each other at her sink, cleaning dishes. 

Yume nods, eyes wide.

As she watches the two cute boys in her apartment wait on her hand and foot she distantly wonders how many other girls have had this exact dream, and must suppress a smirk of her own. 

“I was thinking, since Sasuke missed it, that we could watch that VHS tape of your fight with Naruto.” Yume offers.

“You have a copy? I thought my Main Hyuuga grandmother, Hikari was able to successfully suppress circulation.” Neji specifies for Sasuke’s benefit.

“For the most part she and Konoha were. It’s a bad look to have copies showing how lax security has gotten to the general public since the loss of the Uchiha police force, as the tape captures the invasion. And in recent years it’s become a trend to broadcast the fights for entertainment and advertising a Village’s services.” Yume explains to Sasuke. Also, Konoha didn’t want Neji airing their dirty laundry. 

He looks fascinated.

“I saw Neji’s fight from a distance. You did well.” Sasuke admits. “Kak- Hatake had us wait for a more ‘noticeable’ entrance. So I couldn’t hear.” Yume notices Sasuke distance himself from the Hatake. He was doing that ever since she explained to him the violent repercussions the Uchiha had faced from bloodline thieves upon the successful transplant of a Sharingan to Hatake nearly two decades ago. It told them it could be successful for them as well, despite it being because of the Hatake White Chakra bloodline, Hatake didn’t immediately die from chakra exhaustion. 

Sasuke looks unsure for a second. He then looks to Yume, and swiftly turning away when she tilts her head at him in confusion. She notices him bury his face into the classic Uchiha high collar.

Was he… pouting ?!

Awww!

“Yume, since you were there, did you…see any of my fight?” Sasuke tries to ask nonchalantly as Neji gets up to adjust the TV’s volume so they can hear his words better.

In all honesty, she hadn’t seen much of it before it was interrupted by the Sound genjutsu, and her own trauma. Yume remembered how Gaara had stopped her heart by her merely being in his presence.

And how he had laughed at her as she lay dying in Konoha’s streets. Thank god for Inari. It meant despite her immense interest in Sasuke she had averted her eyes to prevent upsetting herself from the view of Gaara.

“Ah, in all honesty, Gaara gave me a heart attack when he first came to Konoha because of his jinchuriki chakra. Inari had to restart my heart.” The first of two times this year it had stopped. 

Sasuke looks alarmed.

“He honestly really scares me because of that…so even thought I was in the stands, I was kinda avoiding looking for a bit! His Killing Intent, its really potent.” Yume says sheepishly. She rubs her shoulders. Hopefully Sasuke wouldn’t think less of her.

No. 

He just looks understanding. Yume recalls his own words about his reaction to Zabuza’s chakra as an A-Ranker, to Orochimaru’s as an S-rank monster .

“It was brave of you to come at all, then.” He says kindly. 

“I wanted to support my friends.” Yume smiles fondly at Neji, who dips his head at her and smiles. Sasuke’s chakra feeling longing, for a second.

“I spoke of the corruption of the Main Branch, and Konoha’s allowance of it. Perhaps relevant to you, considering Yume’s suspicions of the Village elders?”

“One of which is this Hikari Hyuuga. It’s possible she was one of them behind the Clan-Killers orders.” Yume points out. 

Sasuke grits his jaw. 

…

…

…

Yume turns on her big box TV, taken from a dumpster in the new merchant district built over the old Uchiha compound. A capital girl here with her merchant father had traded it out for a brand new one. She puts in the VHS. 

Yume sits in the middle as they watch. Neji’s diatribe, then defeat of Naruto Uzumaki. Sasuke’ chakra prickles with uncertainty and Yume is reminded that Sasuke did care for his teammate, despite parting ways. She herself might have no love lost for the bootlicker boy, but if she was to be Sasuke’ partner then she needed to respect his feelings for everyone, including people she might not like. 

Yume watches as Neji does the Seal of Reconciliation.

Sasuke seems spellbound by what he’s hearing. When it’s over Yume takes out the copies she made of her VHS and gives one to Sasuke and another to Neji, who gives it back.

“Thank you, Yume-chan, but I can’t bring this back to the compound with me. Too much of a risk it’ll be seen.”

“...Your seal can never be removed?” Sasuke asks after a moment of processing that the compound is so oppressive Neji can't even bring back a VHS tape of arguably his greatest triumph. Brow furrowed. His hand clamps down on his own shoulder when it reacts to his extreme distress.

Neji’s face softens in sympathy.

“We don’t know that yet for the Branch Hyuuga. And we don’t know that yet for yours either.”

“I noticed some base similarities in Orochimaru’s cursed seal and the Hyuuga Branch seal. Figuring out how to remove one might be the key to removing the other.” Yume says. This deeply interests both boys. When Yume had analyzed the copies of the Cursed seal taken from Anko, Yukimi, and Sasuke and compared them to Neji’s, the mechanism for being invasive and allowing an invading chakra signal for control were clearly linked.

Yume’s own had similarities to that. 

It raises questions about Uzumi-baa.

They kept talking. 

“Tayuya and Kidomaru of the sound four survived thanks to you. The Twins Sakon and Ukon survived as well.” Sasuke reports.

This is significant enough for Neji to look at Yume.

“With your Miko training you’ll be learning about fusion, I’m sure you’ve heard of it already?” Neji says. 

“In passing.” Yume admits, fascinated at learning something new and relevant to the new path for her life she chooses.

“In the oldest of religions, fusion is theoretically known as two people joining their chakras completely. Ninshu, practiced by the first sage, was the temporary joining of just spiritual chakra from person to person. Ninjutsu was a person joining their spiritual chakra and physical chakra internally to externalize it as jutsu. Fusion was thought to be the third thing, the never achieved next step-two individuals joining their spiritual and physical chakra, to temporarily form a new person, for a new level of understanding and peace. It’s what the ‘seal of Reconciliation’ is based on that begins and ends every spar.” Neji says. 

Yume and Sasuke stare . 

“What? Of course I was going to investigate the sound four if I made a deal with them to remove the Caged Bird Seal. Sakon and Ukon are so valued in part because they’ve achieved a form of fusion-not the full thing, but among the closest we’ve gotten in recorded history. Or at least that's what I’ve been able to gather from the Hyugua clan's library.”

Sasuke tilts his head in respect. Yume beams with pride at her friend for picking up some of her investigational skills.

“Although…” Neji says hesitantly then sends Yume a meaningful look. “It was difficult to come by that information. The Hyugga library's deeper history is limited to 300 years.”

She sits up in realization.

“That is when the Seal’s harshest version was implemented in the Branch family.”

“Exactly. The current main branch is restricting that information on purpose, they don’t want the current Hyuuga to know there was a time the Hyuuga existed without this cruelty. I was punished for looking back without permission, I-I didn’t realize it was yet another thing I couldn’t do….”

Yume shoots to her feet, hand to his forehead. She reaches out her senses, as up to this point she had kept them purposefully dulled to both respect the privacy of Neji and Sasuke, and to not overwhelm herself with the potent chakra of two powerful and growing young shinobi.

She feels the irritation in his coils. 

“Oh, Neji!” she cries.

She throws her arms around him, and being a gentleman, he catches her.

“It is alright Yume, in your presence I am already recovering well. You are a balm to the soul.” He says. 

He did look better too.

“Is that why you have today and tomorrow off? Not just because of Rock Lee’s medical appointments with Tsunade-sama?” Yume asks.

Neji hums in confirmation.

Sasuke shuffles awkwardly. He looks fascinated, longingly at their contact and comfort with one another, and disturbed by the reality of the Caged Bird Seal. 

“...Have you been talking with Uzumi-baa then, Neji? Now that I think about it, she’s mentioned fusion a lot. Because of the Uzumaki religion?” She thinks out loud, and changing the subject, sensing Neji no longer wishes to speak on it. Neji confirms. Yume thinks this is interesting. Neji used to have a grudge against Uzumi-baa, due to her sealing Yume as a child. 

“...I didn’t know you chose to be a Miko. Congratulations.” Sasuke’s chakra is genuinely happy for Yume, but there is a tint of bittersweetness. It was a great honor to be a Miko in Fire country, but unlike in some of the Minor countries, there were more restrictions due to being guardians of a specific element.

 Yume wondered how much of this she would face as a Wandering Miko instead of a Temple or Shrine Miko. In addition, the divine and the shinobi were known to disagree. Vehemently, sometimes. The reason the Daimyo made the “Twelve Guardians” group was to make it half-shinobi and half warrior-monk to try and improve relations.

“Thank you. I did briefly study under the Naka priestess, Kikiyo, before she was murdered.” Yume reveals. She had not yet decided to be a priestess as she had been on the verge of being adopted. 

“Is that how you knew the prayers to say with me?” Sasuke asks softly, eyes never once leaving her face. 

Yume nods gently.

It’s silent for a bit as they digest. Neji is looking at Sasuke with the kindest expression so far towards the boy.

“...The branch family has a private prayer we say to our dead, to usher them into freedom. And another when the seal specifically kills them.” Neji shares. He must have said that prayer over his mothers dead body.

They continue sharing intel.

 “Orochimaru expects basic intel, on Konoha’s weaknesses, but also on its new citizens.” Sasuke warns Neji.

“The population has exploded under Tsunade-sama’s care. Everyone wants to move here. Is he scouting new potential experiments?” Yume asks worriedly. If Orochimaru is trying to get eyes on new subjects there isn't a better place, surprisingly. Many medically complex cases, including hidden bloodline limits and refugees with bloodlines fleeing persecution, were applying for asylum under Tsunade-sama in hopes of medical care. Plus, all these people mixing and having kids, near limitless mutation potential. As much as Konoha pretended otherwise, it was not a little Village anymore, but a City, and the inherent diversity and blood mixing in cities provided genetic opportunities. 

Sasuke nods.

“You’ll have to be more careful with your spying.” Neji tells Yume. She’d be one of those ‘medically complex’ cases Orochimaru would want. Indeed, it was the reason Kabuto had almost captured her in the root tunnels. His KI stopped, lowering her shields and he had almost kidnapped her. Sasuke’s brow furrows in worry.

“Same to you.” 

“The sound four plan on visiting soon for information extraction from you. From there, they plan on either deciding if you’re useful enough to keep in Konoha, or kidnap to dissect.” Sasuke follows up. 

And either way, if Neji got caught, his seal would be activated. 

…

…

…

The day goes by. 

Sasuke is looking better. 

Amazing in fact.

His healing is at such a rate that Yume fearfully wonders if Orochimaru did some tweaking to his biology to increase his healing factor. 

They speak until they’re hoarse. The earlier tension is forgotten as Neji fills in Sasuke on the political situation in Konoha, the similarities and differences of the Hyuuga and Uchiha oppression.

“It's a partially kept secret that the Third Hokage didn’t like the Hyuuga.” Neji says.

“Why not?” Sasuke asks. 

Neji explaining the story of Sasuke the Great, The Third Hokage’s father.

“You were named after him.” Yume tells Sasuke. “Fugaku-sama wanted to do so as a sign of respect for that shinobi, as he was famous for hunting down slavers and freeing their victims.”

“Would that be why the third Hokage wouldn’t like the Hyuuga?”

“Precisely. I have suspicions over the third’s handling of the Kumo incident.” Neji says. “He mishandled it partially from age induced incompetence, and partially, because it forced the hand of the Main Branch Hyuuga. It made them look weak. They needed to compensate by relenting and allowing more Branch Hyuuga into the academy. Including myself. The Third did many things wrong, but his distaste for the Hyuuga main branch due to their slavery was not one of them.” 

“However, it had the unintentional effect of making the Uchiha look bad. As the police, they’re responsible for terrorism and kidnapping prevention. It was another nail in the coffin of their isolation.”

Neji explains more as he helps Yume with her hair. She has slipped off her bonnet and headscarf to reveal tumbling loose curls she had been growing for several years. She watched Sasuke’s eyes widen and track the flow. It occurs to her he’s never seen her face or hair fully uncovered. Always with a bandana, bonnet, and recently with a priestess headscarf. Unlike in Sand, where a headscarf bore much more cultural importance, Fire Miko’s technically didn’t have to keep it on. But Yume could sew protective seals into her scarf and keep her curls from split ends. 

The 14 year old boy watches in fascination as the two 16 year olds do each other's hair. Neji slathers on eye cream, then offers a fresh, unopened jar to Sasuke.

“This cream helps with byakugan overuse. It would help with the sharingan as well, although to a different degree.” 

Sasuke takes it gratefully. 

Yume’s glasses are off as she’s bent over the sink, hair being washed by Neji’s gentle and incredibly dexterous hands. She can feel Sasuke’s burning interest, even longing. 

“Sasuke? I know you took a shower last night, but could I do your hair? Just to make sure?” Yume asks kindly.

“I’ll go get the creams together.” Neji excuses himself from the bathroom.

Sasuke slinks over like a black cat. 

His pupils are blown so wide it turns his cool dark eyes into midnight black. 

“Bend over the sink, hips on the towel. The water’s warm.”

Sasuke shoots her an incomprehensible look but does so. His posture is relaxed but his hands grip so hard Yume briefly worries over the integrity of her sink.

She runs the warm water. She puts a warm, clean, fresh smelling cloth to his forehead so suds don’t get in his eyes. She presses their sides together and gently cards her fingers through spiky hair.

Goosebumps erupt on all of his visible skin. He shivers.

“Too cold?” she worries.

“No.” He says curtly.

She continues to work and his grip loosens. His jaw nearly goes slack, she feels his eyelashes flutter against her palms as she now works both hands through his hair. Another seal-towel rests over his curse mark so its irritating effects to Yume’ senses hardly bother her.

Sasuke leans against her, pushes up into her touch. If he really were a black cat he’d be purring. It makes Yume think of that picture Tamaki had shown her of Team Seven in cat-years and she bites back giggles. 

“What is it?” Sasuke murmurs, face blissed out, and Yume does not want to ruin his bliss.

However.

“Tamaki showed me a picture of you and Team seven wearing cat ears. You were such a cutie patootie, Sasu-chan!” She bursts out laughing, feeling Neji’s signature in her main room pause in confusion. 

He sends her an embarrassed pout, somehow even cuter. Yume laughs so hard she needs to rub tears from her eyes. When she re-opens them, Sasuke is looking at her with such a fond expression that she immediately turns and goes to wait for Sasuke in the main room.

She’s not dealing with that now.

Neji explains more to Sasuke about the politics of the Village. The Third’s quest against the Main Branch Hyuuga meant tweaking laws to increase difficulties for them. These specific laws targeting the Hyuuga as a Noble, dojutsu using clan had unintentional consequences for the Uchiha as well. The third letting Konoha’s two dojutsu clan be pit against each other and being compared meant the Hyuuga had to tone down the harshness of their slavery, at the price of increased tensions against the Uchiha. The restrictions on ‘cultural expression’ in public also protected the Branch family from the harshest of treatments by the Main Branch, but in turn, it limited the Uchiha’s non-slavery related cultural practices. The clear alienation of the Main Branch by the Hokage, also had the side effect of distaste from one noble dojutsu clan rubbing off on the Uchiha too. The Third did everything he could to continue his father’s Sasuke the Great's legacy and free slaves, but this was very much a hostage situation. As Izumi has once said, it was difficult to punish an abuser without harming their victims. 

“It seems our clans have long been used against one another.” Neji finishes after an entire afternoon of explaining the several Village laws passed and the interplay between the two clans. “I would like for that to end, now. I believe the Branch Hyuuga and the Uchiha can free each other and achieve justice.”

Sasuke is quiet as a mouse, chakra serious. He had soaked in absolutely every word.

“...I can see why Yume and you are friends.” He says, sounding stunned, lost, and angry at the injustice of it all. 

Neji and Sasuke shake on it. 

They make dinner.

Sasuke surprisingly has good house skills.

“It was important for me to eat nutritiously. I needed to grow strong to avenge my clan. Can’t do that on a junk diet. And I used to help my mother, in the kitchen.” Sasuke explains, and Yume can only hum in acknowledgement, heart breaking for him.

“A lot of shinobi don’t have these skills. The lack of home skills and life skills keeps them dependent on the shinobi system for sustenance therefore. It’s very intentional that only Kunochi are taught things like cooking in kunoichi classes. The system wants them powerful enough to have enough chakra to have strong babies for future soldiers, but not so strong that they could risk dying in the field during their prime child bearing years. So they’re taught to cook to raise a future generation to grow strong on nutritious meals. Meanwhile the misogyny present in the system tricks shinobi into thinking they’re not missing out on anything, and that it’s just silly girls 'kunoichi classes’ so they miss these life skills. There is a reason that despite only making up 30% of the ninja forces, most retirees are kunoichi. They’re the only ones with the ability to live after!” Yume rants. She had several essays in her book on the misogyny in the Shinobi system, as well as pieces on the role Civilians played as the primary clients of Shinobi. 

It is Yume's turn to be stared at.

It’s rather uncanny considering both of them are dojutsu users.

“...Demonstrate that one cooking skill again?” 

Yume smiles and teaches them more, and both learn cooking with immense spite only capable from young noble prodigies. 

Neji is comfortable speaking with Sasuke at this point. There is still an undertone of weird rivalry that Yume can only sense because of her sensor abilities but he’s recognized Sasuke as an ally.

“As a dojutsu prodigy the comparison between myself and the clan killer after the massacre was intense.” Neji shares.

It’s the equivalent of dropping a seal-bomb.

“I was a prodigy, a dojutsu user, and therefore placed under intense scrutiny. I had to perform to perfection. I had to mask my anger at Konoha. It was agony. But It also meant the Hyuuga as a whole came under increasing scrutiny, seen to this day as we take up missions that would have been given to the Uchiha. This scrutiny is part of the reason my grandmother Hikari and my Uncle, Hinata’s father, did not lobotomize me.” He smiles bitterly.

“It’s disgusting the Hyuuga would do that to their own!” Sasuke tone is sneering. “The Uchiha would never do that!”

Neji says nothing, but does raise a single brow. The message in that arch being that the Uchiha or the Clan killer specifically, just killed them all en-masse instead. 

“Speaking of Elder Hikari…Neji, how far back do your memories of her go?”

His eyes glaze over. 

It’s an eerie, beautiful effect due to the pupil-less lavender.

Then there is a realization.

Alreadying sitting up straight with perfect noble posture, Neji instead leaps to his feet and begins rummaging through notes on the Hyuuga clan.

“Neji? What are you looking for?” Yume says in worry. The sudden spike in his chakra was like static electricity. 

He pauses to look at the two of them.

He pulls out a paper with dates of events and his face pales further in some grim confirmation. 

“The Night of the Uchiha Massacre, Elder Hikari called away the most powerful Hyuuga, Branch and Main, to a private meeting on the opposite side of the Village from the Uchiha compound. We all had the farthest reaching sight-range. It was supposedly a special meeting to discuss strategies for protection, in the wake of the near kidnapping by the hidden cloud. As it was getting started, it abruptly stopped and Hikari ordered us to shelter in place for several hours, hours I now realize the ANBU were clearing out Uchiha bodies.”

Sasuke's hands grip the fabric over his knees so hard they rip.

“We were only let out come morning, after the massacre had ended, and the murderer had fled. Every single Hyuuga in that meeting were the only ones in the clan who could have potentially seen the massacre happening from the Hyuuga compound, and done something about it.”

Horrified silence.

“...That has to confirm Elder Hikari’s involvement. It confirms our suspicions of premeditated murder.” Yume chokes out, one hand on her mouth, another over her rapid heart. Some of her first ever words to Sasuke had been her telling him the elders were involved in the massacre. At the time, Yume had not made herself clear, had led him to have the assumption that their involvement was limited to bloodline theft after the fact, not that the elders had in actuality orchestrated it. 

A flair of poisonous chakra.

Sasuke is on hand and knees, snarling, filled with rage.

“They planned it! They,-from the beginning -” His snarls are mixed with despair.

Yume shrieks in pain from the noxious chakra. Her head coverings are gone and she's only in her nightgown. Neji leaps forward and wraps the sealed quilt around her. 

“Sasuke, I understand that rage! My family has been murdered, tortured, killed in broad daylight by the main family while the whole world watched, I understand ! But you need to calm down!” 

Yume tries to muster some calming intent, but she’s in such a state of distress that it’s feeble. That was the double edged sword of calming intent, you yourself needed to be calm to use it. 

Sasuke is wearing a borrowed shirt of Yume’s one reinforced with durability seals so it could last even with the hard labor cleaning jobs Yume works.

His hand-wings tear right through it like wet paper. In any other circumstance Yume would be awed by Sasuke’s wings. In the shape of hands, could they have him achieve flight? It reminded Yume of the deceased Naka priestess, Kikiyo, explaining to Yume the story of Naori-she, the first Hawk sage, and the Uchiha warrior who led kidnapped Uchiha to freedom down from the mountains following the Naka back to Fire-country. In art, her sage form had often been depicted with wings. Entirely possible she had them, as those who signed the scrolls eventually developed traits of those animals with enough usage, such as Neko’s baa’s cat ears and nose, and Orochimaru’s snake traits. 

But this is not then. 

Her little apartment is not meant for a wing span so massive

Black marks over his skin like a white tiger, his hands become claws, his lips turn an indigo the same shade as his chakra and Yume can’t breathe !

Neji uses his new technique.

Quick as a flash, as Sasuke fights his pain, Neji takes the opening and uses Gentle Fist, from a distance, and blocks the tenketsu feeding from the cursed seal, unable to get close to Sasuke without leaving Yume exposed. 

The black marks begin to resolve.

Emboldened by Neji’s quick actions, Yume is able to emit CI, and Sasuke calms further.

The cursed chakra fully resolves

“... How do you two do it?” He whispers, voice shaking with equal parts rage and hopelessness. “Live like this, the people who made you suffer still alive, you unable to fight them directly?”

Yume and Neji look at eachother, faces sympathetic, scared, sad. 

Yume reaches out to hold Neji’s hand.

“We do it together. We help where we can. And we hold hope that things can be better. Because they can. I…am so sorry I can’t offer you anything tangible. I don’t have a ten step solution or a masterful strategy to bring them all to justice, deliver your brother to you for answers, to single handedly change the system.” Yume apologizes. 

Sasuke gets up on shaky legs. 

“We need to get stronger.” Yume thinks at first he’s speaking to just Neji, but he’s looking at her too. There is a fire in his eyes. “I won’t rest! I’ll be S-rank, I will take the elders down, I’ll change these systems, I swear it!” He shouts!

…

…

…

“....You could only defeat Naruto through direct contact on the VHS tape.” Sasuke points out eventually.

“A new technique Yume is helping me develop. A Mid-range version of the Gentle Fist never seen before. It would allow for Tenketsu blockage from a distance. I’m calling it the Gentle Reach.”

“That's incredible.” Sasuke breathes. “An alteration of such a historical taijutsu? It would give you an immense strategic advantage to not need direct contact.” 

“I have some ideas about electrical jutsu for you too Sasuke!” Yume offers.

The boy smiles.

“For a civilian, you have an impressive understanding of ninjutsu.”

Yume’s smile becomes pointedly fixed.

Neji raises an elegant brow.

Realizing his misstep, Sasuke freezes and puts his cup of tea down.

His pale face pinkens. 

“That's not what I meant, Yume!” He sounds faintly panicked. “You know it isn’t. I’ve read your essays about how civilians are treated. It’s just, for someone who has never woven jutsu before, you have a better understanding of the world's possibilities than many shinobi I’ve met. It speaks to your creativity and analytical skills. I…I have faith in you. Learning and creating new jutsu can be dangerous, but…if you say you have some ideas, I would listen to you.” Sasuke becomes calmer the more he speaks. It's the most he’s said in Neji’s presence, and the older teenager looks impressed at the recovery and respect he shows Yume. 

“Nice save.” she grins widely, genuinely, the kind that makes her dimples pop and Sasuke’s face goes pink again. “And in that case…”

Yume unbinds a notebook full of information taken from Akira, the prodigy electrician’s apprentice who was now dating Ayame of Ichiraku Ramen fame.

Papers fly everywhere. 

She spends the next two hours ranting to Sasuke about the history of electrical jutsu and potential applications. It was only in the past few decades that electricity became common usage in civilian homes through lightbulbs and such. Electricity was the hardest of the elements to control. In fact, it fed into the Land of Lightnings' penchant in kidnapping from other nations to get skilled elemental users in other elements, as very few of their own shinobi had mastery over their own element, unlike in Land of Water or Earth country where proficiency was common. It’s why the Raikage was so lauded for his mastery of lightning, why Kakashi Hatake ranked so high in the bingo book for splitting a bolt with his chidori. 

This recent implementation of electricity meant new discoveries in science in the civilian world that had yet to be acted upon in the shinobi world. Lightning was found to have nitrogen fixing properties, meaning it helps plants grow!

All humans generated a small electrical field due to their nervous system and heartbeat. Those were the electrical systems that controlled the body. Every twitch of your muscles was electricity, every thought, every emotion. 

Mastery of lightning ninjutsu could lead to new CPR techniques for restarting a stopped heart. Muscle memory that led to effective taijutsu was encoding the movement into your body until it could respond automatically, also done through the electrical nervous system. Yume heard from Sakura Tsunade-sama a medical, electro-scramble technique she had used on Kabuto, although the pinkette hadn’t said so in so many words. The body also processed feedback with electrical signals. You could theoretically trick the neurons into believing they were feeling hot or cold, or pressure where there wasn't. 

“However, medical ninja are exceedingly rare in the Land of Lightning. As the most volatile element, it goes against the immense precision needed for medical ninjutsu. In addition, the element tends to leave micro-scars in the chakra coils of its users, which would further impact the control needed.” It's what made Tsunade-Sama’s electro-scramble jutsu all the more impressive!

Sasuke looks at the faint litchberg line scars on his hand and frowns. He was currently leaning medical ninjutsu through Kabuto. Sasuke had said Orochimaru had thought it was a good idea, probably hoping he’d be able to use those skills Sasuke built in his body in order to heal himself in the future when Orochimaru wanted to take over. 

The Earth had an electromagnetic field. It was why compasses worked. Hypothetically you could use electrical ninjutsu to pin-point your location anywhere on earth like a compass. Some civilian scientists just this year in the Capital’s prestigious universities discovered some birds even have special eyes that allow them to see Earth's electromagnetic field! This electromagnetic field was speculated to have something to do with the majestic Northern Lights, but that was still unconfirmed. 

Electromagnetism could be extended to many things, but metal in particular. If you mastered lightning, you could theoretically magnetise anything. Imagine disarming your opponent by magnetising their sword and ripping it from them! 

Sasuke’s eyes are now sparkling like he has lightning running through them.

“Remarkable.” He breathes, and Yume cannot tell if he is referring to the jutsu or herself.

By the way he is looking at her over the notes, she thinks it’s both.

She then launches into an explanation of the speed of light. The photons traveled at light speed, the actual bolt itself was 270,000 mph. Technically not beyond the scope of lightning users as seen with the Raikage!

Not to mention general conductivity. Lightning country often wins against Water country due to the conductivity of saltwater. In addition, friction was an overlooked source of electricity. Anything from static shock, to the mashing of the 5 major tectonic plates from the 5 great nations and the many subplates. Yume overheard from a refugee from the Village hidden in the mist that the new MizuKage, Mei Terumi, had caused a volcano to erupt with her bloodline limit, Lava release. The friction in the ash cloud created a lightning storm over the erupting volcano.

Unfathomably awesome!

“Oh, and not to mention-what's with those looks?”Yume cuts herself off.

Both Sasuke and Neji were a mix of fond, amused, and excited in their unique, reserved ways. 

The two boys exchange an amused look.

“You're impossibly charming, impassioned like this.” Neji says.

Sasuke grunts in agreement, smirking. 

Yume squeaks in embarrassment, which does not help her case. 

When Neji finally has to leave for the night, Yume hugs him goodbye, relishing in the way the hug lingers. She kisses his cheek and had it not been for her sensory ability she would not have been able to see the way Sasuke’s chakra spiked in interest. Sasuke and Neji shake hands after several fruitful hours. It’s the end of Sasuke’s second day in Konoha. He has just 3 more before he has to go back to Orochimaru or risk suspicion. 

Tomorrow, Yume will show him around Konoha.

The day after, is their meeting with Uzumi-baa and Neko-baa.

That night Yume gives Sasuke the option of sleeping alone in her bed for privacy reasons, and her in a bed roll.

“It makes sense since you’re still recovering.” He was nearly healed, at a remarkable pace too, but still.

He stares at her.

“I’ll sleep on the bed roll. I’m not kicking you out of your own bed.”

“I’m not making you sleep on the floor either.” 

An impasse.

Yume puts the bedroll away.

She climbs up on her actual bed, and lifts the covers in invitation. 

Sasuke looks at her, that soft, unfathomable look again, and gently, carefully, considerately climbs into bed with her. 

“I’m big spoon.” Yume insists, and Sasuke snorts in amusement. She can feel his smirk from where his cheek settles against her comparatively smaller bicep. It is a significant thing, to have this depth of trust from a shinobi, for them to expose their back to you. Gentle puffs of her mint-breath roll over his nape, and Sasuke lets out a little sigh, his arms going over her’s at his waist. 

They slot together like puzzle pieces, and dream of sheep with the same curl pattern of Yume’s hair.

…

…

…

Neji visits again, arriving early in the morning on Sasuke’s third day in Konoha. 

“I read in your reports Yume that the Uchiha police force often assisted the Geisha when their clients got to rowdy during ‘sex’. What is sex?” Sasuke asks. 

Yume, who had been furiously scribbling on her white board, freezes.

Neji, who had been practicing a drill developed with Yume’s help for the Gentle Reach, hums in amusement, before realizing that Yume isn’t also laughing.

Because Sasuke is serious .

“It's….” Yume, ever articulate, is speechless. 

Did…did he really not know? 

And now that she’s thinking about it, it is kinda complicated! Politically, socially, economically!

“It’s how babies are made.” Neji says after a moment of floundering. He and Yume exchange a look and they both must whip their heads away or risk bursting out laughing. Yume thinks for a second about the impacts of the biju chakra on her coils and reproductive system, the scarring seen in so many citizens that led to the need for immigrants in the first place, as many were rendered infertile by the corrosive chakra. 

Sasuke looks interested. 

“How? You’re not giving me any details.” Sasuke says expectantly. Considering the amount of information they’ve been sharing thus far, it’s not an unreasonable expectation. 

“You use specific body parts to do it.” Yume says. 

“What body parts. A hand?”

She looks at Neji, and turns away so quickly her loose hair flies like a shield. Not subtle at all and Sasuke catches the look.

“What are you two hiding from me?”

Neji has gone red with suppressed laughter. His chakra dances in mortified amusement. 

“Well.” Neji says after several measured, calming breathes. “A hand can be used for some forms of sex. But not the kind that involves procreation.” 

“You’re dodging the question.” Sasuke snaps. 

Yume erupts into a fit of helpless giggles. She’s had to give the birds and the bees talk before to other orphans, after a few hard lessons of pre-teens becoming pregnant at the orphanage without realizing it. Tsunade-sama was making Sex education a mandatory part of the Civilian and Shinobi Academy for that reason, along with first-aid. The program would be going live for the next batch of graduates. Too late for Sasuke obviously. 

However.

This was completely different when it was Sasuke. The genius prodigy who everyone assumed knew what it was! Especially because he was so handsome!

“Neji, I think you should explain. Guy to guy.” 

“He trusts you more!” Neji argues back, sounding frantic. He stands as if to leave and Yume physically blocks the door, knowing Neji wouldn’t go so far as to manhandle her after their shared history and using it to her advantage. Yume cackles and blows an incredibly obnoxious raspberry at him. 

“If neither of you are willing to share, then don’t you have a book about it? You’ve shared several with me before on other topics.” An annoyed Sasuke drawls. 

A good idea!

Yume pulls out the Academy level Sex Education books. Tsunade had written them, Sakura edited them, with Yume helping her actually, during their reading/study sessions. There were two versions. One general book for both girls and boys, and a more specific one for Kunoichi classes, for girls around menstruation and techniques to avoid pregnancy on honey pot missions. Horrific, but logical. Yume gives them to him and instructs him to read both.

Neji and Yume pretend to be washing the dishes, going over other notes as they watch Sasuke read them from the corner of their eyes. 

Despite his lingering headache from the seal’s torture, Neji’s goes to far as to activate his bykaugan to watch Sasuke’s reaction, biting his lip so hard to suppress a smirk it indents the skin.

“You rat. I know you can see his face.” Yume hisses under the noise of dishwashing. “Tell me!”

Neji shakes his head no as revenge for her blocking the door and Yume lets the water from the Uchiha carved wooden spoon from the persimmon tree reflect into his face.

“This can’t be true!” Sasuke says after three hours of horrified, captivated reading. He had gotten through both books at that point, and had even re-read various parts in disbelief, like he kept hoping something else, something more correct would appear. Like one reopening the fridge several times despite knowing there was nothing else to eat. 

The whole time, Yume and Neji sat in the corner reading their own books, trying and failing to not pretend to be watching Sasuke. 

“It is.” Neji says, mouth twitching. 

Yume’s face is covered with her hands.

“Nice joke you two.” Sasuke says, faux smugness overtaking him. A vein is beginning to show on the side of his forehead from stress and it reminds her of Fugaku-sama. He puts down the first, general book for both boys and girls. “The joke is over now. Tell me how infants actually happen.” 

Silence.

“....This…this can’t be it. There is no way. It’s so…. stupid .” Sasuke says, and perhaps it’s the quietly broken way he does so, the stunned dawning comprehension that is the last straw on the Suna camel’s back. 

“It’s real !” Yume shrieks with laughter. 

Neji breaks. 

Yume can count on 10 digits the number of times she has seen Neji laugh out loud. And never has she seen him positively howl like this. 

He physically falls to his knees, tears of mirth falling from his byakugan, and Yume is in a similar state. She does not mean to laugh at his ignorance, but rather, his reaction. She had the presence of mind to turn off the stove before collapsing completely. 

Sasuke is red-faced and saying something but neither can hear over the laughter. 

He is holding open the book to a page describing the function of gonads, with a rather detailed drawing, and pushing it in front of Neji, who recoils, still laughing helplessly although it’s now mixed with horrified, offended sputtering. 

It takes them several minutes to calm down, and Sasuke has the look of a person piercing together several things. 

“Those capital pop-songs singing about getting undressed. It’s a reference to sex?”

“Yes.” Yume says. “It’s called a ‘sexual innuendo’ You’ll find they're everywhere.” 

He asks several more questions and Neji recovers too, face now a calm mask even as she feels his chakra roll with amusement. 

“Yume, when did you learn about all this? About sex? Not these books because you said you just recently helped Tsunade and Sakura draft them.” She notices his voice hitch when he speaks of Sakura. 

And then Yume mirth starts to evaporate.

“I was uh, actually pretty young when I learned. Some of the women I knew were hurt by it. I…sex can sometimes be used badly. As a weapon. You read the kunoichi book, and the chapter about honey pot missions and contraceptives?”

Neji’s amused chakra abruptly shifts. 

Sasuke nods. 

“Well. It’s a big problem sometimes that women are sexually abused, or assaulted by men. Anyone of any gender or sex can be a victim or a perpetrator, but it’s most often women who are hurt. A big part of the Uchiha police force was catching these criminals, called ‘rapists’ and bringing them to justice. In my opinion, rape is worse than murder. There is simply no justification for it. With murder you could be acting in self-defense or to save another or it could be an accidental killing…there is no excuse for rape.”

Sasuke looks serious. 

“I just learned about this, I didn’t know that the act of creating new life could be used to hurt like that.” He looks worried, suddenly. 

“Yume, were you ever hurt in that way?” Sasuke asks, realizing how ominous Yume was when she mentioned how she learned about sex.  

She sucks in a shocked breath and Neji goes still .

“...No, I wasn’t. I-I had some close calls-” Sasuke, and Neji especially look incensed.  “-But. I am one of the lucky ones. Most women have a story where they were assaulted. It’s become more common, after the police force was murdered and no one was left to check the Konoha forces other than their own chunin corps. A shoddy replacement.” Yume spits. “But that's just one example. Often hidden villages can abuse their own forces, send them out on seduction missions. Often their female ninja. It’s called honey pot missions where they seduce targets for information, or worse, for bloodline theft. Where they get pregnant on purpose to steal a bloodline.” Yume says, they whips her head to Sasuke.

Neji clearly had the same thought at the same time.

Sasuke was now several months into 14. He had not known about sex, and others who did could have taken advantage of that.

Of him .

Yume and Neji are now faced with the question, that vulnerable in his ignorance, Sasuke might have been assaulted himself and not have realized it. 

“Sasuke.” Neji says urgently. “Has there ever been a time when someone with this anatomy-” Neji opens the book to the page with the female anatomy. “Asked you to undress? Or touched you between your legs?” Yume can feel Neji’s immense fear, the way his chakra goes sick with disgust and worry for the younger boy. 

Neji would have the importance of contraceptives drilled into him from the age of nine or ten, being a boy from a bloodline clan. The Caged Bird Seal did not extend to the genitalia. The Branch family was notorious for their sex-strikes. The reason the Uchiha surpassed them in population 150 years ago was due to the Branch family restricting the number of children they had on purpose. It was difficult to convince them to willingly birth their children into chattel slavery, and was part of the reason that despite his good looks Neji did not have many open admirers. Konoha could play ignorant on the Branch family’s situation but no young woman wanted to marry a slave. Impeding fertility through the seal would further hasten that decline which the Main family would not want. Thank the Sage for small miracles. 

Sasuke would not have that.

He would have no clan to inform him.

The academy would not have done it either.

Yume doubts that Hatake would have explained anything either. They were on a team for a scarce 6 months, and mostly focused on other things. 

Oh, by the Sage .

She's going to be sick .

Anyone could have taken advantage of Sasuke, painfully young enough to not know any better, but just old enough to be fertile. 

Sasuke suddenly looks scared. He sees the abrupt shift from outrageous amusement to sick terror in Yume and Neji, so fast it would give a jounin whiplash. It seemed while laughing at Sasuke, it was Yume and Neji who were the ignorant ones. 

“No! I never had an experience like that. I…I remember a few months before graduating, a woman approached me when I was training at the academy grounds after closing. She seemed friendly. Asked me to come home with her. Said there was something she could do to help restore the clan.”

Yume nails pierce her palms.

Neji's stare could drill holes into a brick wall. 

“I said no. I had to train and get stronger to avenge my family. She was insistent, but at that point Iruka-sensei was walking down the hallway to see what I was doing at that training ground.”

Yume collapses in relief. 

Neji exhales sharply.

“Oh thank the sage and all things divine.” Yume says faintly. 

“So you two think that woman was a honeypot?”

“I do.” Neji says, jaw squared. “Do you remember what she looked like?” 

She gets up and bows deeply and apologetically to Sasuke. As does Neji. Sasuke looks baffled. 

“I’m sorry Sasuke. It was ignorant of me and Neji to be laughing at you, even if we didn’t mean it in a mean way. I must say, I do find it ironic, or maybe beautifully poetic, that your determination to save your family is what in the end saved you. It seems like they were taking care of you, even from the Pure Lands.” Yume whispers.

It makes Sasuke rear back, chakra glimmering with love and shock.

“...You have a tendency to say the most poignant, biting things without realizing it, Yume-chan.” Neji says faintly. 

Yume ends up doing a police sketch of the woman. Again, the irony is not lost on her that the sketching skills she learned from the Uchiha police were once again coming back to help their last surviving son. With her permission, Sasuke casts a genjutsu on Yume to show her what the woman looked like. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I want to miss no details.”

“Will it hurt you? I thought with the seals interrupting the flow of your chakra, genjutsu doesn’t work on you?”

“I am resistant, not immune. When Sand invaded during the chunin exams, I fell asleep like everyone else before my seals interrupted the flow and woke me up. With effort I can meditate and dispel virtually any genjutsu, although it would be harder with a Sharingan.” 

“Okay then. Look into my eyes.”

She does.

It’s breathtakingly intimate. She can read his concern for her, his compassion, his trust and honor in her trust in him. The eyes were windows to the soul. It was incredibly difficult to do genjutsu without making eye contact, which made Sound Village’s auditory based genjutsu all the more intimidating, because you could shut your eyes but not your ears. Was why it was so effective during the Sand’s and Sounds invasion. Hm, maybe Sasuke could learn it as a trump car-

They spin, and Yume recalls outside the compound how they had almost metamorphosized into something else. 

She falls in.

In a haze, she sketches the woman's face, gathers the details of her, before triggering her tenketsu seals and breaking the genjutsu.

“Most impressive.” Sasuke praises, sounding proud of her, eyes still spinning and drinking in every detail of Yume. Despite the genjutsu being over, he does not seem to want to stop looking at her. It makes her preen.

The third day ends with Neji very somberly giving Sasuke a run down of what it meant to be a young, virile man with a bloodline limit. He offered protective tips, shared contraceptive jutsu. Yume asks to listen in, and both boys granted her permission. In turn, she answered some of their questions about menstruation. 

Yume updates Sasuke’s notebook to be in the Commons, and connects it to Neji’s. Funny enough, they are the only two males with the special notebooks. 

She learned that Neji himself had almost been kidnapped and used that same way. It happened after the Uchiha massacre, the hole left behind in their security allowing another agent of Kumo to slip through. It made Yume feel sick and guilty for her own ethnic background with the Land of Lightning. 

Before Neji goes to leave, Yume walks up to hug what is one of her oldest friends. She had noticed Neji does not let others tough him. Not even Tenten, who Yume thinks he has a crush on. The Team Gai fist bumps are reluctant, Neji does not let the other Hyuuga hug him as he associated their touch with forced spars for the betterment and practice of the main branch and the seal activation. But he will let Yume hug him, and hug her back even like right now.

She kisses his cheek, rattled by the brief terror of earlier. Neji turns and kisses her forehead goodbye, right where she would have had a Caged Bird Seal if she were born in the branch family. 

She feels a spike of longing, fascination, and jealously of all things from Sasuke. 

But when she goes to look at the Uchiha, his gaze is determinedly on the notes from earlier. If the tips of his ears were burning red Yume would have thought nothing of it at all.

Neji leaves for the night. He is on duty tomorrow, but the day after they will all be going to Uzumi-baa’s. Tomorrow Yume will show Sasuke some things around Konoha. The day after they will meet up with Uzumi-baa, Neko-baa, Inari, Tamaki, and potential Yukimi. The day after that, Sasuke will have to leave. 

They get ready for bed.

“...thats not what I mean by ‘restore the clan’.” Sasuke says.

“What do you mean?” she startles, having been putting away the dry dishes as Sasuke organizes the notes for them.

“I want to restore the honor of the Uchiha. I want to lay to rest the souls of my clan. Even before I knew how children came into this world, I hadn't thought about it. I don’t want to mindlessly have kids…especially when this world has proven to hate the Uchiha so much. Would I be able to protect them?” He whispers. It pains Sasuke deeply to admit that.

Yume’s heart twists. 

She herself wanted children. Loved them. Felt a million little Uchiha lights flicker out the night of the massacre. Sasuke was far from the only child in that compound. It makes her feel a certain way to hear Sasuke say that. 

“I see. So others are just assuming you want kids, without really taking the time to consider the deeper meaning of ‘restore the Uchiha’ clan?” Many girls fought for the honor to be Sasuke’s housewife, in part due to the purposeful conditioning of the Kunoichi classes. 

The end of the third night, Yume lays out the bedroll, and Sasuke chooses to sleep on it. Yume’s is surprised how much it aches to not have him next to her, under her quilt. She feels lonely.

“...Goodnight, Yume.” Sasuke calls into the night. Her studio apartment is dark, cast in faint shades of gentle orange from her night light. She grins so wide she thinks he’d be able to see it anyway.

“Goodnight Sasuke.”

Chapter Text

They make a Uchiha breakfast in the morning. A recipe salvaged from Mikoto-sama herself. Sasuke’s chakra is remarkably wobbly through the whole process, as serene as his face is. 

“I have several things to show you today.” Yume says. “It would be best for you to do a henge.” He had the reserves for it now. 

Sasuke’s chakra has completely recovered from near coil collapse .

After only three days . 

It was unprecedented. It should have taken him at least triple this time to get anything near this level of chakra recovery. Something is definitely going on. 

Orochimaru’s doing? 

Not only had it recovered, but it seem he got a bit of a Zenkai boost too! His reserves had increased in depth and power. A second chance at life. A zenkai boost was a rare medical phenomenon sometimes seen in shinobi who recovered from near death by coil collapse. The rush of the recovering shinobi’s chakra refilling the empty coils expanded them naturally, significantly developing them beyond their natural reserve’s limits. Many a shinobi have died through this extremely dangerous method of increasing their small chakra pools, and it was considered to be a forbidden jutsu like the shadow clone jutsu in all Hidden Villages, major or minor.

 Zenkai boosts was exceedingly rare as most who got to that point simply just died without the interference of a skilled medical user to do an emergency last minute chakra transfer to fill the coils and keep them from collapsing. Sasuke honestly could have died a few nights ago as Yume was unaware of how truly poorly he was doing! 

Yume, in her arrogance, really thought that just because of her own experiences with her coils, and sitting with Sakura, Uzumi-baa, and Inari and helping them study medical ninjutsu that she somehow knew enough to make the call to not bring Sasuke to them.

They’re lucky he’s alive!

“I-I’m sorry I didn’t get you help for your near coil collapse. It was my fault for being so arrogant.” Yume stammers. Her only power was knowledge and it did bite her she didn’t know why Sasuke recovered? Who or what could have done a chakra transfer with him? Healed him? The cursed seal?

She would have felt it activate.

“Hm. Don’t assign blame or agency where it is not relevant.” He retorts, gently throwing some of Yume’s own words back in her face after she comforted him on his inability to save his clan’s life the night of the massacre. 

Sasuke forgives her.

“The less you put into a henge, the longer it lasts, and the less thought you need to maintain it. The less likely you get a detail wrong too, or someone sees through it.” Sasuke explains, although Yume already knows these things it’s still considerate of him.

“What about a genderbend?” She says. “Your features, just softened slightly?” When going out with Neji he would sometimes do that so he could pretend he wasn’t a slave. 

Sasuke’s face pinkens.

“If not that, then maybe cat ears would be more agreeable to you?” Yume teases.

Sasuke snorts. 

“A good idea.”

“...You recovered really quickly, Sasuke.”

“I know.”

“Orochimaru’s doing?”

“...Maybe. He’s…been saying, about making my body habitable for him, for more than just 3 years. Looking into other seals. It’s possible he’s done a healing factor, although I should have noticed it before this.” Their conversation from yesterday, about consent, protecting your autonomy, comes starkly to mind. 

The freedom of owning his body and his life and no one else, was important to Sasuke. Important when before he had given it up entirely to be a self-forged blade for the sake of his family. 

Yume is alarmed that Orochimaru has been looking into other seals. Sealing was an art form, some were more fluent in it than others. The problem with geniuses like Orochimaru is that they think their intelligence applies to everything . Orochimaru’s intermediate sealing took powerful seals and misused them. 

They get ready.

Sasuke helps her with her hair.

“You're really good at doing hair.”

“I used to help my mother with hers.” 

This silences Yume, she sees the kindness in his soul, the gentleness of his hands as he braids her hair, twists it under her bandana then her headscarf for her.

It is Sasuke’s turn to get ready. Yume lets him borrow some of her clothes, and he does the henge.

And when the smoke clears, a young Mikoto-sama looks back at her.

“What? Is a detail wrong?” It’s Sasuke’s voice, but feminine. No one who wasn’t intimately familiar with either Sasuke or Mikoto-sama would guess otherwise. 

It makes Yume take several calming breaths so she does not fling herself onto him and bawl. 

“No…it’s perfect actually, you look like…”

“Like?” 

Yume wordlessly holds up her handheld mirror for him.

It is his turn to be quiet. Yume generously lets him take several minutes to gather himself, gently blotting his tears with a spare bandana of hers.

“Satsuki. Is that okay, as your girl name for today?” Yume asks kindly. 

Sasuke, or rather, Satsuki nods, still staring at her reflection. 

“You know, that night I gave you the information at the Gates of Konoha, right before you left for Orochimaru, was actually not the first time we met.”

Satsuki whips her head to Yume.

Yume grins.

“It's among my earliest memories. I couldn’t have been two yet, even. My family is with our produce stand, and your mother is there, heavily pregnant with you. Kaa-san is selling our tomatoes to Mikoto-sama, she said she had a craving for them. We grew them in the first place using Uchiha ash as fertilizer. Controlled burns were common in Fire country, before the Senju worked with the Daimyo to mandate their suppression, resulting in difficulties of farmers in growing. The Uchiha were generous to help us grow them, and we gave her a generous discount.” Yume reminiscences.

Satsuki’s beautiful face, Mikoto-sama’s beautiful face, has gone so soft. 

“Mikoto-sama then took up a… hesitant look to her. She said we had already been so generous with her, that she couldn’t possibly ask for more. My mother said, ‘ask away’. Mikoto-sama asked if she ‘could hold me’.”

Yume hesitates, then carefully wraps her arms around Satsuki’s more slender shoulders, and turns them so they may look in the mirror together, swaying them gently.

“My mother agreed. Mikoto-sama took me into her arms, and place me on her baby-bump. On you , actually. Said something about baby fever, getting back into practice of holding an infant. She said she was happy to have a healthy baby of any gender. After a minute, I got curious and patted her belly. I couldn’t understand why it was so big. And you hit back !” Yume laughs. 

Satsuki smirks wobbly. 

“Had that shinobi strength before birth! Maybe you were saying ‘hi’ or telling me to ‘get off your roof’!” Yume laughs, and so does Satsuki, earlier melancholy gone. She looks delighted, and slowly begins to hold Yume back-the first contact Satsuki would be making since the sex scare last evening. “As far as first memories go…it’s a really beautiful one.” Yume finishes softly, gently tracing Satsuki’s cheek, watching as the other youth leans into it. 

…

…

…

For morning prayers, Yume takes Sasuke to see Ena-sama. It was common for priestess in training to bring their friends along, for support and to potentially see if they were a fit for the divine lifestyle. 

“It is good to see you back Yume, the spitting image of your grandmother when she came down from the Shrine with her sisters to the Divine capital with me to be ordained.”

Yume’s grin is bittersweet. 

“Thank you, Ena-sama.”

Satsuki looks at her in curiosity.

“My Grandmother was a triplet, one of three, famous Miko’s of a Land of Lightning’s mountain Shrine. Her sisters perished during the second war, leaving her the sole Miko. Actually my mother was a twin too, my aunt was her identical sister. It was a bit of a surprise I didn’t have a twin.” Yume lets Satsuki know, who looks fascinated. 

“Has your old friend, Sora, responded yet to your letter?” Ena-sama asks. 

Yume smiles.

“He has. He congratulated me and said I must come to the Divine Capital to study.” 

“You will need to eventually, to be fully ordained. But in the meantime you are progressing nicely, even bringing another young sensor along.”

Satsuki and Yume blink in realization.

“You can tell Satsuki is a latent sensor? Does that mean you’re…”

“A sensor too? Yes. Many priestesses are. The inherent connection that sensors have to others and the natural world means many of them choose spiritual lifepaths…especially when they have had prior lives.”

Yume grins toothly, reincarnation cat charm on her necklace.

“Young Satsuki, something ails you. This must have been an immense trauma, to instinctually cut you off from your natural senses.”

Satsuki nods quietly.

“...I’ve been speaking with the Yamankan heiress. Sometimes, when you go through something really traumatic, your brain automatically deletes the memory of it, to protect you from further harm. A similar thing happens with sensory abilities. Feeling the death of loved ones can result in a loss of those abilities.” Yume explains. 

“You are quite right, young lady. Yume, I believe you were spared this loss of your sensor abilities in part due to your chakra balance. Rarely do I come across such an abundance of spiritual chakra.”

Yume preens. It was probably because she was a reincarnation. Being called an ‘old soul’ since a young age, the rare few who were reincarnated often had a noticeable imbalance that favored spiritual chakra, or Yin release. 

“...Is there any helping me?” Satsuki asks. 

Yume stops preening. 

“Do you want to be helped? You must, if you have agreed to let Yume-chan guide you. And it is possible, to recover partially at least, I have seen it in someone before.”

“Who has this been seen in before? Could the story of this person help Satsuki?” 

“Potentially. He died before he fully recovered his sensory abilities, and his loss was only partly intentional. Yet he was able to co-create jutsu to circumnavigate this loss, that many non-sensors use to get a bare-bones look at their environment. However… this individual….was a disgrace to the divine.” 

Yume’s smile slips.

Could this be the innovative individual who earned the ire of the shrine? But who…

She bolts to her feet in realization.

“Tobirama Senju?!” She exclaims. 

Ena-sama looks briefly startled. Satsuki looks like she’s bitten into a lemon.

“...Yes. Remiss of me to forget your deductive capabilities, Yume-chan. But it was indeed the second Hokage, working with some of the divine sensors, to try and re-establish his natural connection, devising several supplementental jutsu in the process.” 

“Ino was talking about some of his sensory jutsu! She’s using it to help restart the sensor corps!” Yume springs up from her respectful seiza, pacing as she always does when deep in thought. 

“So he lost his sensor abilities through trauma? Then partially recovered them? Would he have been able to make a full recover if he hadn’t died.”

“It’s quite possible.” Ena-sama says.

“Wait. You said ‘co-create’.” 

“I did.” 

“Who else?”

“Her name is not lauded the way it should be. A Medical-Kunoichi, a deceased priestess of the Uchiha’s Naka shrine, Tomo Uchiha.”

Yume freezes.

Satsuki’s eyes have snapped open. Her stare is heavy .

Yume knew that her Miko grandmother, the then Naka priestess, Kikiyo, and Ena-sama all knew each other, but she hadn’t known that Kikiyo’s own mentor had known Tobirama Senju.

“Ironically, they worked well together. She ended up creating some sub-variants that meshed with the Uchiha’s specific style, but those are lost to me. She was also the first Uchiha, and I think the only Uchiha, to be trained at the Konoha hospital, after her connections with the Second Hokage allowed for it.”

Wow.

This is juicy . 

And. 

How did more people not know of it?

“Why don’t more people know of her?” Satsuki asks.

“Tomo kept to herself. She was a Shrine Priestess of Fire Country, and therefore, had sworn off men and romantic companionship. After deep personal… loses , among them the disappearance of her son, Kagami, she spiraled in grief and pulled back from the main Konoha shrine to focus on the Naka shrine. Ironically she too lost her sensory abilities. She trained her successor, Kikiyo, and died during the Third war, rendering aid to Konoha’s wounded.” 

Yume mind is spinning. She recalls Keiji-san saying one of the deaths they were investigating was Kagami’s.

“...I-I thought Shrine Miko’s weren’t allowed to have children?”

“She had Kagami before she was fully ordained. And a Shrine or Temple Miko may have… relations , but they are not allowed marriage. Many a Miko has had to break the heart of an admirer.” Satsuki looks thoughtful at the word, and for whatever reason, looks at Yume with a strange spike of longing and alarm at the center of her chakra. But it’s gone so quick Yume can’t be sure. 

“Whats the difference between a Shrine and Temple Miko?”

“A Shrine Miko is a more informal setting. Often born in or becoming servants of Shrines that are smaller than official ordained Temples. These Shrines are often founded by Wandering Miko. They tend to serve local spirits. A Shrine Miko tends to be outside of the power structure of Temples such as this and have more local power, but their authority does not extend to other Shrines or Temples unless granted permission by that Temple’s head priestess. While a Shrine Miko has the full powers of a Temple Miko in her own Shrine, she is not fully ordained by the Divine Capital. Eventually, a Shrine Miko will make a pilgrimage to the Divine Capital to be fully ordained and recognized nationally for all Temples.”

Interesting. 

“Relations…thats like how Sora’s father is a monk, one of the 12 Guardians, and it’s allowed, but he never knew his mother?” Ena-sama’s chakra does a very interesting twitch at the mention of Sora’s mother, leading Yume to think Ena-sama might know who she is. 

“Correct.”

Oh okay. Good. Yume was too scared of romance and men especially to ever be married probably, but she did really want kids. And since the biju chakra probably made her infertile anyway this worked out for her.

…So why was her stomach in knots?

“And Tobirama, he died to a fusion, didn’t he?” She says, mostly to distract herself.

Ena-sama’s chakra flares in surprise.

“You know of the concept?”

“The first step was Ninshu, the joining of two separate individuals spiritual energy. The second is ninjutsu, the internal joining of one persons own spiritual and physical chakra to externalize as jutsu. The Third step is fusion, the joining of two separate individuals spiritual and physical energy, to create someone new!” Yume exclaims in breathless awe. 

“...Is that also an innuendo?” Satsuki asks, looking a bit overwhelmed.

Yume falls over in shock.

Ena-sama’s down to earth air breaks as she erupts into laughter.

“I’m sorry, I hope that wasn’t sacrilege. Hearsay.” Satsuki utters in mortification and no small amount of confusion. Satsuki had a point. When you put it like that. She can’t blame Satsuki for interrupting, she was still wrapping her head around the idea of when it was appropriate to bring up sexual topics, and probably thought, since Yume and Ena-sama were talking about reproduction for the religious, that she could ask that question. Yume sometimes also had trouble trying to figure out what was appropriate to say and when. 

“No worries, none at all Satsuki-chan!” Ena-sama guffaw’s, “I needed that, honestly!”

Ena-sama sighs.

“But yes. He did die to a warped fusion, during the second war.” Unlike her sadness with Tomo Uchiha, Ena-sama does not seem to have any love lost for Tobirama. “The Gold and Silver Brothers of the Land of Lightning, somehow created a warped version of fusion through the Earth element. Together forming the fusion named Platinum. Tobirama was killed by this new fusion, and the fusion nearly got his entire team.”

A shame it didn’t. Would have taken out a significant chunk of the current pesky elders! 

“But it wasn’t the true version of fusion, was it? That’s talked about in the oldest of Sage’s texts?”

“No. True fusion has yet to be achieved.” 

Yume pauses.

“...what about the ten-tails?”

Silence.

“... Yume-chan, we all know there are only nine biju.” Ena-sama’s tone is neutral now, and her chakra like a bear trap. Yume knows not to push anymore, not when she can just ask Uzumi-baa tomorrow . 

“Tobirama Senju also worked with the Shrine and the Divine Capital to create the Konoha code? I heard from Uzumi-baa you worked with him on it.”

“I did.”

Satsuki’s interest sharpens even further. .

“So every code that every shinobi swears to Konoha when they graduate, you co-wrote it with him?”

“I did.” Ena-sama says again. Yume feel Satsuki’s already considerable respect increase for the old Miko. Yume is noticing a trend of Tobirama getting full credit for things women helped him create. 

“Is there anything else he created that other people actually helped him with?” Yume, asks, getting annoyed at the Second. “Why was he a disgrace to the divine, if he worked with the Divine capital to write the code?” 

It’s a great question.

And Yume has suspicions .

She knows that Tobirama Senju has created jutsu now considered to be forbidden. Sakura had ranted to her about it, when telling Yume about how Naruto learned the shadow clone jutsu by stealing the scroll, how it could cause chakra death, and even permanent mental splitting among certain people who tried to use it. 

Could he have created a forbidden jutsu that went too far? 

A peculiar sharpness in Ena-sama’s chakra. Disgust, and at first Yume is alarmed and thinking it’s towards her. But then realizes it’s towards Tobirama .

“Of particular note, perhaps above all else except his fascination with the dead, was Tobirama Senju’s completely and utter obsession with Fusion.” 

Satsuki and Yume lean forward.

“Obsession is a pretty strong word. Especially to use in this context, where Tobirama Senju also used it to chastise the Uchiha clan.” Someone who didn’t know Satsuki and couldn’t read chakra would take it as a neutral observation, but Yume can feel the lightning and fire natured youth’s inner sneer. 

“Yes, young lady. I do use it intentionally here. Tobirama was captivated by the idea of fusion. Made worse by his actions with the bij-well, regardless. I think it ironic that after a lifetime of trying to crack the code of one of the Sage’s biggest mysteries, he ends up dying to a warped version of fusion itself. The price you pay, for sacrilege.” Ena-sama sneers at the word ‘warped’. 

Her head spins. 

Was Ena-sama about to say ‘biju’? 

Yume knew some of the older religions took it as a affront to divinity for the shinobi to seal the biju, was that what she was referencing here? It was made worse in that it was Tobirama’s idea to trade them off as weapons to other Villages. Was he interested in how the jinchuriki  t echnically were fused with their biju? Or what about Uzumi-baa’s myth of the ten-tails? A fusion of all the biju so powerful it is thought to be prophesied to bring the end of the world? 

For fusion, could there be a genetic element? Sakon and Ukon as brothers, the Gold and Silver Brothers, did you need to be related? Not in the Sage’s myths!

“But, surely fusion is not a bad thing?” Yume asks.

Ena-sama startles.

“By the Kami, of course not! I-well, I suppose I was coming off as negative on the concept, wasn’t I? Yume-chan, fusion is a most lauded and sought after state. It is considered to be the ultimate form of peace, understanding, and achieving a perfect balance of Yin and Yang. It’s considered to be Nirvana.”

“Really?” Satsuki asks, leaning forward in fascination.

Ena-sama walks to a mural on the wall, with the Yin and Yang symbol, which Yume now understood to symbolize fusion too. 

“Indeed! Countless of our best Miko’s and Monks have spent their whole lives trying to achieve it, to no avail. And I am sure many more will try.” Ena-sama was insulted a shinobi like Tobirama thought he could do what the religious couldn’t. 

Ena-sama then walks to the Marriage Alter, a room specifically for weddings here in Konoha. The Yin and Yang symbol it there, with an emphasis on fusion.

“Fusion’s role in marriage ceremonies are especially pronounced. It’s not a complete readings of a marriage prayer for unification   unless it’s mentioned.”

Great!

Another concept for Yume to learn!

Except…

“Ena-sama?” Yume asks cautiously. Her fear had never stopped her curiosity before. Even if the idea that she is in any way comparable to the Second Hokage intimidated her. “I…is it such a bad thing, to be curious?” 

The old Miko sighs fondly, the green religious markings stretching on her wrinkled face as she smiles at Yume

“Oh, Yume-chan, it is so good to have you and your wonderful wonder back!” Ena-sama says, pulling Yume into a hug.”It is not in being curious that is wrong, it’s how you use it. Plenty a Monk and Miko have collected knowledge in their divine curiosity, solved riddles, educated the impoverished. Are you mindlessly hoarding knowledge for yourself, or your own selfish purposes, or are you sharing it to improve the lives of others?”

“Improve the lives of others!” Yume cheers immediately. She was not like that snake Orochimaru who just wished to keep it for himself, for his own power and immortality. The point for Yume had always been to help others.

 “Satsuki-chan, you’re getting more of an education than you bargained for!” Ena-sama laughs, swinging Yume around.

“I know.” Satsuki says fondly. “ And I always appreciate it.” 

…

…

…

Their second stop is in the red-light district at the Geisha house. It’s still morning around brunch time, late enough for the Geisha to kick out stragglers, early enough where won’t be customers.

The irony of going to a brothel immediately after morning prayers is not lost on Yume or Satsuki, and they smirk at each other. 

“Yume!” Reina-san, the Matron Geisha purrs. “We have been worried about you, girl. And I see you have a friend.” She notes.

Yume bows, and Satsuki follows, nearly pressed to Yume’s side. Satsuki is back to being a little shorter than Yume, rather than taller. It sparks a fierce protectiveness in her.

“Reina-san, It’s good to see you again. I was experiencing health issues but I’m better now. My friend here, Satsuki, has been helping me. She’s also a really good musician, worked on the farms a bit, and…knew Izumi too, so I wanted to introduce you to her.” Yume smiles softly. The anniversary of the Massacre is coming up soon. And Yume’s words were true. Mikoto had taught Sasuke the flute.

Reina smiles, softly too, bitterly. She was a intermediate Geisha when she began teaching Yume music nearly 10 years ago now. Helping Yume learn is part of how she got to be high-ranked in the House, honing her own skills, fostering that connection with the Uchiha police force through Yume and Izumi. They still talked about art and music, and the Uchiha, over tea.

They do a tea ceremony. 

Yume is serviceable.

Sasuke is worse, ironically.

Reina laughs.

“Lets move onto music, girls.”

Yume sings softly. Satsuki misses a few notes on the flute when Yume opens with the first few notes, eyes widening, awestruck, and Yume must power through the way her heart sputters.

“Pay attention, Ms. Satsuki.” Reina says, a thoughtful look in her eyes, as if trying to place why Satsuki looked so familiar. “Otherwise, excellent breath control, and good ear.”

They move on to drinking the actual tea, and talking about Izumi.

“Things have worsened since the loss of the Uchiha several years ago now. They were so good with their female officers. Izumi especially. She was so young…”Reina trails off. “Yume and Izumi, two peas in a pod. You said Satsuki knew Izumi too?” Reina asks Satsuki, who nods.

“She knew many of the farmgirls.” Satsuki says, purposefully and understandably misleading Reina. Satsuki sounds really sad, but deeply invested.

And grateful . 

Because Reina was proof that the Uchiha’s efforts were respected, were needed, were appreciated. 

“Did Izumi helped protect the Geisha from sexual violence?” Satsuki asks, brow furrowing, mind still wrapping around the concept. Satsuki is trying to ask carefully, as Yume had explained talking about sex was a sensitive subject. 

“She did, they all did.” Reina remarks bitterly. 

Several other Geisha come in for lunch, happy to see Yume again. They get to speaking about the Uchiha, talking about womanly things and Yume bits back giggles as Satsuki’s bewilderment, being sure to watch carefully for any serious discomfort or panic, and in that case Yume would remove them both. 

A Geisha name Aimi wails in laughter.

“Oh! Do you remember, when Fugaku-sama did his big arrest? When that group of Chunin tried to force themselves? A whole crackdown, girl!” She howls, ribbing Satsuki.

“I do, he swept in here, all his Uchiha handsomeness-”

Sastuki chokes on her tea.

“And trussed them up like chickens!” Aimi finishes. 

“The entire House had a crush on him after that. We sent him coupons! Fucking coupons !” Reina wails. “For sex! Free handjob! Half off!” 

“We put it in his mailbox in the Uchiha compound, we mailed it to him” Aimi rushed out a confession, giggling deviously. “With a letter, thanks for all your help, you performed so well, come back any time, would love to see you again soon!’

Yume is torn between wanting to die of embarrassment and laughing so hard she cries. Satsuki’s mouth has dropped open in shock. Yume had never heard this story. 

“And then Izumi tells me Mikoto got to them first. Read the letter, saw the coupons. She’s heavily pregnant. Dragged him out by the ear and threw him to the curb! Fugaku-sama, Blue-flame Fugaku, Wicked-Eye Fugaku, rumored defeater of the Two-tails from Lightning country-although nothing was ever confirmed officially-thrown out by his much shorter, heavily pregnant wife!” Reina cackles.

The whole room is laughing, even Satsuki although she’s a healthy mix of amused and mortified. Probably comprehending exactly how Mikoto-sama got pregnant in the first place!

“He slept in the police station with some of the prisoners! They laughed at him! Mikoto cooked him burnt food, and apparently, earned her forgiveness when he thanked her for her time in preparing the meal and ate Every. Single. Bite.” Reina says ominously. She turns to the two girls. “You see, young ladies, Mikoto knew Fugaku hadn’t cheated on her. It was the idea he hadn’t been honest with her about what he was doing at work. Manning up, eating her purposefully burnt cooking, showing he was sorry…back in her good graces soon enough.” Reina sighs fondly, sadly.

“They don’t make men like that anymore.” Aimi says, the other Geisha agreeing. 

The room quiets. 

“It’ll be seven years soon.” Someone says quietly.

Satsuki is still. Her eyes slip shut.

It’s not practiced, or rehearsed in any manor, but as if in a miracle, everyone raised their cups. 

“To the Uchiha clan.” Reina toasts.

“To the Uchiha clan.” Everyone says, and drinks.

…

…

…

Yume leaves after finishing up speaking to Reina. Satsuki is waiting for her outside. She is musing about music, and the potential of auditory genjutsu when she hears it. 

“--Sweet little thing like you, I didn’t know the Geisha hired so young! Not that I’m complaining!” A shinobi, low chunin by his chakra, laughs grossly.

Yume freezes.

Her heart pounds.

That man is leaning over a much shorter Satsuki, and leering .

And Yume’s fear is replaced with anger . 

Scumbag !

Satsuki’s beautiful face is the perfect mix of unbothered and disdainful. Of course she would be, Satsuki at this point is high chunin, and one could make a solid argument for tokubetsu jounin level. She’d wipe the floor with this trash.

But not without breaking her cover.

His other chunin friend comes around.

Yume is shaking.

The friend makes a comment, a sexual one so horrific Yume can’t comprehend it for a second. Satsuki’s facade is broken by disgust and feeling of violation deep in her chakra, as the chunin begins to reach for her chest. 

“I bet you we’re the shoddy chunin on guard who allowed the invaders to slip through last year.” Politeness won’t get Yume anywhere here so she forgoes it entirely. 

They pause.

“Don’t you have better things to do?” Yume sneers. 

“Oh, I don’t know sweetheart, I can think of one think I’d like to do!” He gyrates his hips, wiggles his brow, eyes raking over Yume’s covered form, and she flinches back.

The two shinobi laugh at her.

“Tsunade-sama would be interested in knowing what her male shinobi are up to, I’m sure.” Yume threatens. A big story in the Konoha Chronicles  was Tsunade-sama imprisoning two career chunin found guilty of sexually assaulting clients. 

They go silent, no longer amused.

Satsuki is still as a crouching tiger. 

A spike of KI

And-

Yume tenketsu shields are automatically activated. The parts of them based off of Konoha’s barrier seals using Yume’s stored chakra and forming a shield in front of her, protecting Yume and Sasuke behind her, because while the chunin moves so fast that Yume can’t follow the motion even with her eyes open, her body can feel KI the second it’s emitted, and react for her!

It terrifies Yume, that these chunin intend to kill her. 

So scary, that not even the chunin bouncing off her shield like a bird from a clear window can make her feel better. 

If these chunin had simply been intending to hurt them, assault them, there would be no KI because they'd probably threaten the girls into silence, or do mind manipulation if they knew any genjutsu.

No.

These ones had really intended to kill them. 

A rush of air behind her.

Satsuki’s sharingan are activated, and she neatly side steps the feet of air in front of Yume with the shield, being able to see it, and reaches out to grab the arm that had nearly wrapped around her throat with extreme prejudice. 

It breaks under the Uchiha’s grip.

“You’d grab her ?” Satsuki hisses.

The other chunin tries to attack.

A single look , and he’s down.

Yume is shaking and gasping, Satsuki must calm her even as she herself is upset.

“Thats never happened before. Those chunin just came up and started talking to me. Yume is this what you meant earlier, when you spoke about assault? What girls have to worry about?” 

Yume nods, still trembling.

“Can I hold you, Yume?”

She nods again. 

Satsuki looks uncertain but determined to make Yume feel better. She slowly wraps her arms around Yume, the ones that knocked out two much older chunin cold, now hold her so carefully.

“I-I should be the one comforting you.”

“You do , Yume. More than you know.” Satsuki says, closing her eyes an burying her face in Yume’s shoulder. There is a noticeable effort to keep her temper under control as to not release the seal and harm Yume.

“Is this your reality? Is this what the Police force protected against? Do girls really have to deal with this so often? Ever since I’ve henged into Satsuki I’ve been getting looks .” When you left it up to the chunin to police their own, it inevitable failed. Yume ultimately thought it was a bad move to segregate the police department, but it allowed for an outside watchdog force for accountability. If it wasn’t made up of a single, already oppressed ethnic group it might have even been an idea with merit. 

It takes her several minutes to calm down. 

Eventually, they take the unconscious chunin and tie them up very tightly. Ironically, Yume knows exactly how to hide the evidence of them being there due to tagging along with Izumi’s to past crime scenes. 

They can’t go to the authorities without having to explain how two farm girls took down experienced chunin. 

But. 

This probably wasn’t the first time these two pulled something like that. They couldn’t just let them walk, either. Yume thinks about the ethics of killing them while the’re knocked out, and briefly recoils at her ruthlessness. 

“I erased their memories of the past few minutes. A powerful Uchiha genjutsu, and it does not work for more than half an hour in the past.” Satsuki says. 

Good, as least they had a cover.

Satsuki does a mild fire jutsu, a low level medical sterilizing technique that burns away any of their DNA. Yume had found in it scrolls Neko-baa let her borrow, and sent them to Sasuke. He stated Kabuto was mildly impressed with it, enough to keep training Sasuke in medical jutsu despite the handicap of having lighting nature as his main chakra. 

Sasuke said Kabuto had stated that seeing how far he could get training a lightning user in medical ninjutsu was another ‘experiment’ of his. Sasuke also suspects it has something to do with the electro-scramble jutsu Tsunade had used on Kabuto, that Naruto had happily gushed about to Sasuke. The spy, medical ninja probably hoped to get to the bottom of it by training Sasuke and learning more about the extremely rare usage of lightning ninjutsu in medicine. Yume might have hated the medic-spy, but he was a medic-nin nearly on parr with Tsunade-sama. If this impressed him in any capacity then it was worth knowing. 

And now that she thinks about it, could that medical jutsu have been invented by Tomo Uchiha? The creation and patent date in the corner of the scroll indicated it would be that time period!

“I think we should leave them with Sakura, with a note of what they did and to use Ino on them.” Yume says. 

Satsuki’s head jerks at the mention of her past teammate.

“The next thing we were to do was have lunch with Sakura. I-I know you didn’t get a proper goodbye with her because I put melatonin in her tea. So I though, even if you couldn’t reveal who you were, you could see her again. We could slip a note to her then. As Tsunade’s apprentice her word has a lot of political power, she could find out what these chunin have done in the past..”

Satsuki gives Yume such a soft look she nearly melts like sugar in hot tea. 

“Your heart is a tender one.” Satsuki says. 

…

…

…

Sakura is thriving.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Satsuki-chan! I’m so happy Yume has other civilian friends! I’m surprised we never met before. Before I got into the academy I was a civilian too.” Sakura says, so Satsuki knows Sakura isn’t being condescending.

Satsuki’s stare is intense. 

She dips her head.

“Yume and I must have meet during the time you and Yume grew apart.”

Sakura looks a bit guilty at the reminder. Her chakra instinctively reaches for Yume as if to reassure they’re friends now, without her conscious control. It was always fascinating to see how non-sensor’s chakra moved without any control to it. 

“That must be it! I really must thank you, Satsuki-chan, for being there for Yume. She’s a peach. Literally, she loves fruit so much and eats so many of them she might as well be!” Sakura laughs.

“Never leave her alone in a room with pears.” Satsuki jokes, chakra soft and guilty as she looks at Sakura. It shifts to amusement as they both bond over Yume’s rabidness for fruit. 

Yume mock pouts but is delighted to see the two youths laugh.

The waitress comes and delivers Yume her fruit salad for lunch, and they laugh harder. Yume smiles at the waitress, who grins back. She was a fellow orphan who Yume helped to get a job at this particular establishment. 

It’s an awkward tension. 

Sakura’s chakra had initially flared with jealousy knowing Yume had a closer ‘civilian-borne’ friend, that smoothed over as time went on. 

They chatted for Sakura’s lunch hour. It was rare the kunoichi in training had this much time.

“It’s likely I’ll be leaving for the Divine Capital, for my Miko pilgrimage.” Yume says. 

Sakura gasps.

“Oh, congratulations! I didn’t know you choose to be a Miko, wow!” Sakura says. There were no Miko shinobi. It makes Nono Yakushi notable. “What a life, no boys, huh? But you never really liked them all that much being so studious! What about you, Satsuki? Got your eye on someone?” 

For whatever reason, Satsuki’s eyes dart lightning quick to Yume, before going back to Sakura.

“I am also…studious.” Satsuki says eventually, and Yume laughs, not knowing why that made her so upset.

Sakura giggles.

“What a trio the three of us make! I’ve also been really busy, but one day…I do love someone.” Sakura sighs. Her chakra goes as pink as her hair with love. Satsuki begins to look and feel distinctly uncomfortable. 

“Love is a strong word.” Yume says in caution. Why does she want to deter Sakura’s feelings so much for Sasuke? Because who else could Sakura be in love with? And Yume had suspicions about that Naruto boy too.

“It’s how I really feel.” she insists. “It’s not too late for him to redeem himself! He can come back to Konoha, I’m sure I could convince Tsunade-sama!” Satsuki flinches, which Yume can only feel as she’s pressed to Yume’s side. In fact, had been sticking to Yume like glue ever since that near assault an hour before.

“....Convince Tsunade-sama to what? Not execute him?” Yume says, a bit sharper than intended. In the latest copy of the bingo book, they had used a picture of Sasuke’s academy graduation. A twelve year old boy looking up from the pages, next to pictures of murderers, for the crime of leaving a place that murdered his family. 

If caught, the standard protocol was execution.

Sakura flinches. 

Her chakra rolls and Yume leans back.

When they were very young, Sakura was bullied terribly. Occasionally, she’d snap. A second layer to her chakra would emerge, an angry, delusional one. Sakura had told her she called it ‘Inner Sakura’. Yume has not heard of her in years as Sakura grew older and smarter, but she can feel Inner’s presence in Sakura from time to time, when she is being particularly emotional or delusional, or under special circumstances. During the sound invasion, Yume had felt Inner flare and break it for the girl. Given what she know about the spontaneous development of bloodline limits in civilians, Sakura’s uniquely good control might have led to the development of an unknown bloodline limit in the form of Inner. Even Sakura’s unique coloration was an indicator of potential mutation in her DNA, as a study by Tsunade-sama decades ago revealed a correlation.

“I understand he’s a criminal, you don’t need to tell me too, Yume! But…I can’t help that I love him, almost as much as I love this Village! I’m sure I could vouch for him!”

And there it was.

That blind obedience, the propaganda that trains loyalty.

“And if thats not enough?”

Sakura grits her teeth and nearly glares at Yume. Satsuki is tense next to Yume, and subtly moves her thigh in a way where she is positioned to leap in front of the crippled girl. Inner feels like a roaring fire in Sakura’s otherwise unique elemental combination of Water and Earth natures. 

“It will be!” Sakura grounds out. 

What, exactly, had Sasuke done wrong? Leaving a Village that used him, murdered his family? Yume understands that historically the usage of Chakra was extremely limited. Usually left to the clans and the religious with established codes, and heavily policed by the Emperors of old, and then the Daimyo’s of now. Yume knew Doremi-oba and her little chakra tricks for her dancing performances had to be extremely careful not to get caught, or risk being arrested and imprisoned at the Civilian Capital. 

The art of unlocking your chakra was extremely difficult. 

Most people did not have the reserves to use chakra beyond tricks. And most had to have their chakra manually unlocked by an older chakra using relative or mentor, someone who was familiar with the person’s chakra and had compatibility with it…perhaps a form of fusion itself? Sakura had her’s unlocked by Iruka Umino at the academy after a year of being in his class and she had signed an oath of loyalty to the Village, as a six year old! 

Manually unlocking your chakra coils was nearly unheard of except in the cases of natural born Sensors with a deep connection to their own chakras, as Yume had did for herself, all the good it did her with her inability to use it. It honestly might explain some of the discrimination natural sensors faced, actually! She needed to write that down!

It was also why missing nin were so relived. Rebuking the codes meant to keep that resource of chakra control under the power of authorities. Yume feels another essay coming on. 

Yume comes back to the present moment to Sakura awkwardly apologizing for loosing her temper. 

Was it so strange then for a civilian-borne like Sakura to be grateful to a village for letting her use chakra?

It’s a bucket of ice water on her head. 

They finish up lunch with Sakura, Satsuki staring in bewilderment at her former teammate, at the surreal levels of deception and feelings involved in that interaction. Satsuki leaves the note for Sakura, and they watch from a distance as Sakura opens it, reads it in shock, and immediately tracks down the two lecherous chunin, trussed up like chickens the way Fugaku-sama would have done so.

The choir is their next stop.

Something to raise their spirits. 

…

…

…

“Would you happen to know then the origins of this beautiful piece of music Yume has brought our choir? She herself was rather unaware about it’s origins, just that she heard it on the farms.” The choirmistress, Kanon-san, says.

She turns to give Satsuki the historical piece of Uchiha work song music Yume had written down for Konoha’s 100th celebration.

Satsuki pauses. 

She traces the music in wonder, these notes would have been familiar to her. The Uchiha music was staggered in a way to built breath control, perfect training for their wind and fire breathing jutsu. 

Yume is silent and waiting for Satsuki’s que. 

“Sometimes…the Uchiha would help us on the farm. Their ash was good fertilizer, when a fire was burned very carefully.” Satsuki says finally. “They would sing this song to stay in rhythm, to keep the controlled burn from becoming a Wild Fire. The farmhands sung along with them as support, as it helped the burners to stay in control.”

The Kanon-san gasps in awe.

“Fascinating. Any good musician should be able to tell you the history, the purpose, behind music. Thank you Satsuki-chan.” she turns to Yume. “Rather fortuitous then, that we sung these Uchiha songs for the 100th celebration. It would only be right to honor them on the 100th anniversary of the Village the co-founded.” It’s a true, respectful, and bold statement during a time when everyone wanted to neatly dance around the issue of the last two clan members being missing-nin. 

The choir decides the songs it will be practicing today will be the Uchiha ones. Satsuki has a nice voice. 

Satsuki and Yume hold hands tightly at their sides hidden below, heads held high and sing. 

…

…

…

They dance next. Yume knew many of the traveling performers from her time with Doremi-oba, even though it had been years since she had seen the woman. As expected of a shinobi, Satsuki neatly keeps up with Yume, once Yume teaches her the basic moves.

They fall into sync, limbs moving at the same angle, motion, speed, in time with the rhythm.

 Satsuki is smiling at Yume.

“What is it?”

“Who says you can’t keep up?” Satsuki teases gently, spinning Yume who then comes around to dip Sasuke. Indeed. Dancing was a skill that was not taught to many. Even the Kunoichi classes mostly taught just court classics, not the modern dances her and Sasuke were doing now. Art was too much of an expression of self in a military dictatorship, even one as ‘friendly’ as Konoha.

Yume was keeping up with Satsuki.

Her, keeping up with a shinobi, moving fluidly, competently, joyfully.

She grins and spins them.

…

…

…

I can’t believe how much it’s changed since I’ve been away. Its hardly been more than a year.” Satsuki says quietly.

Growth had exploded under Tsunade.

“Progressive policies will do that.” Yume remarks.

…

…

…

“I painted these murals with a boy named Seiko from the orphanage. The one I went to with Shiho and Tenten. He disappeared after Danzo noticed his artistic talent. The Uchiha were investigating when they were killed, and I can’t help but think of how convenient that is for Danzo.”

Satsuki places a palm on Yume’s and Seiko’s depiction of fruit trees along the Naka. Her sharingan activates to no doubt trace the seal-patterns. 

“You think it wasn’t just bigotry, but to cover up their crimes?”

“I do. I think the Uchiha intended to go to the Daimyo with the evidence of their crimes. It would effectively be a coup .”

They both pause at that spoken word. 

It is a heavy one.

“I think,” Yume licks her lips, “That the Village Elders probably ordered the massacre with the pre-text that the Uchiha were traitors for planning a coup. Without going into details as to why the Uchiha were doing a coup, it would be easy to paint them as traitors. And it would be a coup. The magnitude of those crimes, the dishonor, the Daimyo would have rightfully cleared house of the current leadership, giving the Uchiha leadership as the ones to call out these crimes.” For all that Yume disagrees with the concept of the ‘Divine right of Kings’ The civilian Daimyo have checks on Konoha’s power, as the Daimyo’s Civilian Capital foots the bill of a ninja village, means he is one of the few people capable of reigning in errant shinobi villages.

And as such, needs to be consulted for official changes in leadership.

“Traitors for doing their jobs?!” Satsuki spits, breathing harshly. She mashes her forehead into the brick mural, leaning against it for support, struggling to remain calm, cursed seal scrambling for purchase. “Of course the Village Elders would paint it as a coup of greed rather than duty!”

Yume hums the Uchiha songs from choir practice earlier, trying to let the noxious cursed-seal chakra roll over her like spring thunderclouds. Her seals activate automatically, and the worst rolls past her. 

Satsuki calms.

When she finally leans back Yume sees Satsuki’s forehead had been pressed against the painting of the persimmon tree, the red paint leaving a smudge on her forehead like a blessing that the Naka Miko Kikiyo had left on Yume’s forehead long ago. 

…

…

…

Next, Yume takes them to the orphanage.

“Yumeneechan!” The children chant and cheer. “Tell us more stories about Touka-sama, Naori-she?”

Sasuke startles at the mention of his ancestor. 

Yume does so, including the crowd of children in for an interactive experience. Making them flap their wings when she gets to the story of the hawk-sage, and makes Satsuki do it too, rendering her to a pout, for all that she smiles too at the children learning Uchiha stories. 

Tenten and Shiho are visiting too. The three girls try to get together at least once a month to visit the orphanage.

“Yume! It’s good too see you again. Oh, I see you’re helping the girls work on their aim too?” Tenten says fondly, looking at the old target boards in the back. Yume had helped Tenten train to be the number one kunoichi in her class, specifically for aim and accuracy. She used those same teaching skills to help Neji with his gentle reach, and Karin with her aim. 

“I am!”

“Speaking of, whatever happened to that one red-haired girl you made friends with during the chunin exams. Karin? She was excellent to train ‘aim’ with!” Tenten gushes. It’s not often the weapons master with impeccable aim is impressed by the aim of another. An additional reason Yume thinks Karin will do well with the Hama-Yumi. Yume feels Satsuki’s interest. 

“I think she went back to Grass country.” she says, pretending she doesn’t know her friend is in Orochimaru’s clutches. 

“Yume helped me train when we were both here.” Tenten tells Satsuki, who Tenten thinks is another farm hand. Tenten herself had been fake adopted by farm owners, used for a summers labor, and then sent back to the orphanage. It made her very sympathetic to Satsuki.

“Yume helped me do ciphers as well!” Shiho says from her position on the ground helping Moegi and the other orphans with a puzzle. 

“Finger in every pie, hm?” Satsuki purrs to Yume, and the crippled miko, farm-girl, working-class, seal-weaver giggles. 

Afterwards, Satsuki observes Yume.

“We were here before, moving you out into your current apartment. You mentioned that the children in that orphanage all have at least one shinobi parent?” ‘Did you have a shinobi parent?’ remains unsaid.

For all that she cannot use it, Yume does have a much bigger chakra pool than a civilian should have, enough that she was initially scouted for the Academy along with Sakura, before her disability disqualified her from training. It was actually a big issue when re-doing her seals, as they filled up quickly and were overwhelmed.

A dead-giveaway for having a shinobi father. 

“Yes. That's why it’s a bit higher quality, with better tutors and education. You’ll notice on the records that most are born from a civilian mother and a mysterious male father. It’s unfortunately common, for women to not have a choice in the creation of a child. And Civilian women are often not equipped with reserves to handle the growing chakra of a more powerful child. Many of them die due to chakra exhaustion, or afterwards, as a woman having a child out of wedlock, take their own lives from shame.”

Sastuki gasps in horror.

“I…don’t know about my own father. Uzumi-baa says she does not know who it was, but I know she suspects. I know he was a shinobi, and supposedly, him and my mother loved each other.”  

Satsuki hums.

Yume takes her elbows in hers. 

“Lets go to the graveyard.”

Yume takes him to the plot of land tucked away at the end of the Village. It becomes quieter and quieter, until it’s just them. 

Yume explains it’s the graveyard of the dishonored.

They walk past graves, mostly women.

“These are the women who passed, after being forced to have these children. The Second Hokage and his council passed a law forbidding the termination of pregnancy, as they needed to boost the shinobi numbers to replenish from the wars. It led to the deaths and scarring of many women. The fourth Hokage overturned it, the council of elders under the third brought it back after the massacre to bolster numbers, and now, Tsunade-sama banned it again, and instead her progressive policies and the influx of immigrants means that barbaric policy isn’t necessary.” 

Sasuke bows his head in respect to the stone.

“This is the gravestone of Sakumo Hatake, the father of Kakashi Hatake.” It's covered in weeds. Yume begins to clean it up, and after a second, Satsuki stoops to help her. 

“I’ve been reading war contracts for the entire history of Konohagakure. In most of them, Danzo Shimura is at the very heart, front and center like a fat spider in a web, as the Shimura clan is a war profiteering one who makes weapons, provides munitions contracts. He made himself a lynch-pin, someone who couldn’t be removed or risk bankrupting the Village, risking invasion. Right before the beginning of the Third war, the Third Hokage was nearly successful in usurping Danzo Shimura, due to his clan losing money and prominence thanks to the stretch of peace between the second and third war. I believe he used Sakumo Hatake as a scapegoat to trigger the Third war. Restoring wealth to the Shimura clan, and eliminating a potential rival for Hokageship as Sakumo was being considered at that point. He did this by springing a trap, forcing Sakumo to choose between the mission or his teammates. Sakumo choose his teammates, swearing to never leave behind his comrades.”

Satsuki’s chakra becomes nervous, when hearing the full details of that amount of scheming. It’s genuinely intimidating. 

“From the shame brought down upon him, Sakumo would end up taking his own life, leaving Kakashi Hatake a orphan and the last of his clan at the age of 7.”

Satsuki’s hands curl into fists.

“This is important, as despite being outcasted by nearly everyone, there was one group who defended Sakumo. Do you know who?”

The shinobi thinks. 

“What organization in this Village has a code, to never leave a partner behind?”

Partner being the keyword.

“The Uchiha police force!” Satsuki realizes.

“Correct. The Uchiha police force defended Sakumo, and were rewarded with increased derision toward them, further alienating the clan.” 

Satsuki does her calming breaths again. Yume calms herself by imagine chewing through Danzo’s neck like a capybara. 

They move on to the very last gravestone. 

It’s blank. Everyone else either had a date of death, or at least a first name or general description of the person.

This is smooth and empty. 

Erased .

“This is the gravestone of Uchiha Madara. The first ever missing-nin, and quite literally smudged from history.” Yume says, hands over a blank headstone.

If the word ‘coup’ was a heavy one, then the spoken name of Madara Uchiha has both of them looking over their shoulders. 

“They erased him from history.” 

“They like to do that with all their dirty secrets. Removing the Uzumaki clan books from the library but keeping their spiral symbol on their flak jackets like a trophy. Removing the Uchiha books from the library too, now. I’ve heard hushed whispers from Root communications, that the Uchiha clan’s massacre was a necessary sacrifice. If it was a sacrifice, then where is their memorial? The shinobi get the memorial stone, but where is the Uchiha’s?” Yume asks sadly. 

The two youths sit seiza in front of the blank grave, skirts grass stained. 

Yume holds Satsuki close.

Satsuki lets her. 

…

…

…

The sun is beginning to set, but they have one last stop for the day.

The Uchiha compound. 

“Yume.” Satsuki says, then pauses. She looks like she’s struggling. “Come with me?” It’s a mix of asking and a plea at the end.

“Of course.” she says, ignoring how when they were here just a few days prior, Sasuke’s coils were so depleted he was on the verge of Coil Collapse.

They pause outside.

It’s so….empty.

Lifeless. 

It feels like a fake prop town for a movie. A cobwebbed dollhouse. To Yume’s senses, the remnants of spiritual chakra linger here, crying out in pain and retribution for their murders. To a sensor, someone with a brutal death tended to have remnants of solely spiritual chakra linger. Certain subsects of Miko’s trained in this lingering spiritual chakra often performed funeral rites and laid to rest restless spirits. There were rumors of dojutsu Miko’s that could even better see that spiritual chakra.

That was not Yume, not yet. 

Satsuki takes the first step.

Her henge evaporates like dust in the wind.

“I want to show my true face to my family.” Sasuke explains. 

Yume nods, now looking up one inch instead of down, hand now in a broader, more masculine one. 

“The Naka shrine is this way.” He says quietly. 

“Sasuke, I won’t be able to get past the blood wards. The only reason the Hokage and his ANBU were able to get through after the massacre is because the blood wards were transitioning ownership to you and therefore weakened. And after, those given pre-existing access, such as the Hokage and Kakashi-Hatake, could still get through only because Fugaku-sama had already given them access and it had not worn off yet. But now, no one can get through unless they have Uchiha blood, or the clan head gives them access.”

“...And the clan head would be me , wouldn’t it? Not the Clan Killer. No. He lost that privilege.”

That's an excellent point, actually.

Yume steps over the barrier.

And there is a moment of something .

Acknowledgement?

Acceptance? 

All noble clans had bloodwards, with other minor clans eventually gaining them as well. It was how Ino Yamankan was spared scarred coils like other young sensors such as Yume when the nine-tails broke free. The Yamankan clan had her behind their bloodwards despite being a non-noble clan. 

For Noble clans such as the Uchiha, there was a strong connection to their bloodwards and to their religion.

Perhaps what is left of the bloodwards senses the spirituality in Yume. Perhaps it acknowledges Sasuke's claim to being clan head, despite there being no clan.

It feels like the air gets thick for a moment, as if Yume walks through water, or thick smoke before emerging on the other side and into the closed compound.

No one had been in here since Sasuke had left.

She holds his hand now as they both tremble. 

“Yume. I…I’ve been thinking about what you said, and wrote to me. About the clan-killer doing the massacre under orders. And how he was clan heir at the time. And I’ve been studying the notes of the Uchiha police force you sent me about analyzing a crime scene. And it doesn’t match.” He says hoarsely.

He looks at her like he is pleading with her to understand.

“What do you mean?”

“Remember I told you that the clan-killer used the same genjutsu on me that he used on Izumi?”

Yume nods sharply.

“He made me watch the massacre so many times I lost count. I think I actually might have unlocked my Sharingan then, and only reawakened it later in the land of waves. It would explain why one eye of mine had a second tomoe. I remember every. Single. Detail.”

Yume rubs circles into his trembling hand.

“Yume. They don’t match . What was burned into my mind as a child forced to relive the massacre, and what I’ve been able to piece together from the crime scene-”

And wasn’t that a tragedy?

Your home, your entire community, now just a crime scene?

“They don’t match . These methods of killing some of the officers, it’s distinct . I believe the clan killer was able to do for others what I did for you-welcome non-Uchiha into the compound, to aid in the massacre.”

She gasps.

It…makes sense.

They already knew Konoha was involved, why not bring in others to make sure the job was done?

“I’m going to kill them all.” Sasuke moans, three tomeo spinning peculiarly again, blood dripping down from his eyes. One hand grips the metal of a discarded kunai so hard it bends. The other hand holds hers gently. Even in the depths of this pain, he does not hurt her. 

Yume used the hem of her worker's sleeve, a work shirt under her apron, leading up to a bandana now hidden by a priestess in training’s shawl and uses it to clean the blood from his face.

The sharingan, the same shade of blood-red, spinning unsettlingly, intimidatingly, fix onto her face and do not let go, like the jaws of a bear trap snapping shut. They form perfect circles like the full moon. Mikoto’s beautiful almond shape is lost to the unnatural wideness. Yume feels that stare into her very heart and for a moment can understand the fear around the Uchiha clan. She feels as if he can see so deeply into her that he can see her past life. 

“Yes. Everyone involved. They can’t be allowed to walk the earth with such hatred in their hearts.” Yume agrees. She knows she is enabling the last true Uchiha. And she feels justified in it. She had already given this boy so much power, helping him develop new jutsu, unlocking new powers, connections, resources. Sasuke developing deductive skills,  being able to figure out there was a second or even more murderers by using the notes on how to investigate from the Uchiha police she gave him . It was incredibly impressive. 

And she would continue to do this.

They make it to the Naka shrine.

Sasuke and her sit and pray. 

They sing quietly. 

They clean the shrine. 

They go into the secret meeting area beneath it, and trace the carvings of Naori-she in the walls. Yume wonders if Sasuke gets the hawk contract, that he’ll grow wings like Naori-she did. 

In a way, like he already does with Orochimaru’s curse seal, and it makes her shiver. 

“She is free, flying close to the night’s eternal-flames.” Sasuke murmurs, tracing the wings on her back, pondering how those with summons will often gain the traits of their summons with enough time and expertise, the same way Jiriaya the Gallant was rumored to have frog-eyes when in sage mode, the same way Neko-baa had cat ears, eyes, and a nose. 

“You seek the Hawk contract?”

“I do. It was my fathers. I…I value the idea of freedom. Of operating under your own will. I have too often seen what happens when someone is stuck under the powers of others lies, the power of others.”

“Sasuke, I have never met a person so wholly true to themselves.” Yume says in open admiration of Sasuke.

“...Perhaps that is why we get along. We have that in common.” 

Sasuke turns to her sharply.

He pulls her hand to his chest.

“Yume. I promise you, I will become powerful. I will not waste or take in vain the aid you are providing me. I will be so big nothing can contain me.”

“Yes.” Yume agrees softly.

Sasuke pauses. 

He looks… unsure .

“Will that scare you? Will my chakra aura hurt your coils?” His chakra flares nervously, he looks uncertain, which also shocks Yume. Sasuke is often worried, but not really nervous or unsure. Avenging his family is such a strong guiding light that his life’s path was never in question, just the methods of getting there. 

For him to be so deeply worried that his quest for power would scare her, would hurt her, that it would cause him to hesitate for even a moment ?

Yume is moved more than words can describe.

As if to prove otherwise to him, she uses their connected hands to pull him to her. She is gratified to see him let her move him, wrap his arms around her, and for her to rest her cheek on his shoulder. They are still close enough in height for that, or otherwise she would have placed her cheek to his heart, so that she may hear it beat.

She feels his lashes against her neck as his eyes flutter shut, as he savors the embrace. 

“Right now, the seals in the clothes I am wearing keep the intensity of others signatures at bay. And as I get older, my seals should adjust, at least somewhat, and become less sensitive.”

Sasuke exhales in relief, the puff of air against her jaw causing her to break out in goosebumps.

Which makes him smirk and do it again.

“That's enough out of you!” Yume chastises, feeling him smirk against her neck. It creates a very strange feeling deep in her chest. “And as for that other part…I-I can’t pretend that apart of me won't always be wary of men, of ninja, and of shinobi in particular.” He stills at that. Yume pulls his head back by cupping it in her hands. The Sharingan have flickered out again, and he is looking at her softly. She flares her signature in the sensory way for Sasuke to feel, even with his trauma-stunted sensory abilities. “I know your heart Sasuke, and it’s one that is gentle and kind, despite everything. How brave. How beautiful. How powerful. ” 

He looks at her with equal parts awe and devastation. 

Yume had seen so many times from a distance as the clan-killer had poked Sasuke’s forehead, kept his little brother at literal arms length. When visiting Keiji-san’s parents, the senbi-makers, or accompanying Izumi into the compound. Yume was lucky, frankly she was not caught up and killed too in the massacre. Yume wishes she was brave enough to reach out to Sasuke then, instead of having her first real meeting with him being when he left Konoha.

Yume does not create distance with Sasuke.

Instead of poking his forehead, she brings his cupped face to her, tilts it, and kisses it.

In turn, Sasuke lingers for a moment, and cups Yume’s own face to kiss her cheek.

It’s deceptively innocent, for what it does to her heart. 

They finish cleaning the shrine, saying a prayer for the previous priestess, Kikiyo.

Sasuke stops by the eternal flame protected under the strongest bloodwards. Instead of the roaring fire, it is a simple, glowing ember.

“It’s just me keeping this alive.” Sasuke says softly.

For several hours, they gather anything useful from the compound. Texts that Yume herself previously did not have access to. Sharingan locked documents Sasuke looked eager to digest. Recipes, farmers growing guides. Preserved seeds of specific Uchiha heirloom crops. Sewing and cloth making patterns. Foraging patterns for Uchiha munitions. Tens-of-Thousands of pages. Yume will preserve them. Organize them. Maybe even revive some of these recipes and the plants that make them up.

They find the works of Tomo Uchiha, in the house of a elderly woman they were gathering recipes from. The medical jutsu she developed in conjunction with the Uchiha’s Sharingain was fascinating. Apparently this woman was her sister. 

“Amazing!” Sasuke breaths. “She was able to use the Sharingan’s amazing attention to detail to hone her chakra control to a fine point, despite having a secondary lightning nature that naturally makes control harder.”

“Wow! Could you do that then?”

Sasuke squeezes her hand, looks pointedly at the seals on the cuff of her work sleeves, rolled up from their hard work. Indicating the highly specific medical needs Yume has.

“I hope so.” He says gently, making Yume go soft. “My primary nature is lightning, however, so it’ll be a bit more difficult for me.”

“Perhaps that’s why you struggled in learning the Fireball jutsu as a child?”

“How do you know that?” Sasuke says, perhaps a bit petulantly, but his pout masks a deeper hurt. Yume heard from Izumi how Sasuke had been compared to his brother. How Sasuke was eight when he finally mastered the Fireball Jutsu. How Itachi did it at half his age.

That poor baby.

Did he know it wasn’t his fault?

“Izumi told me. You know it's incredibly impressive you learned it at all so young? You cannot compare apples to oranges.”

Sasuke hums, looks away at the medical text, but Yume feels his chakra settle like a pleased cat, an old wound licked clean. 

His parents would not think to look for a primary lightning nature, one that would make it harder for a little boy to access his secondary Fire nature. 

Yume turns to the recipes of the grandmother who lived here. 

“ My little Obito loves this recipe! ” The recipe card stated. It was a sticky rice recipe made with Uchiha persimmons. 

“I remember her. My mother said her last surviving grandchild, cousin Obito, died during the third war. He was the one who gave Hatake his eye, wasn’t he?” Yume notices he does not call him ‘Kakashi-sensei’. 

Yume hums in confirmation, carefully taking every recipe from the deceased grandmother.

“She was the last natural death before the massacre. She died and it happened just two days after.” Sasuke says softly. “It was the last time I saw everyone together, peacefully at her funeral.” 

“You were saying goodbye to everyone before you even knew it.”

Sasuke inhales sharply, rears back.

“Sorry!”

“No, don’t be. Neji is right, you do have a way with words. I do wish that I could just…”

Sasuke swallows thickly, developing Adam's apple bobbing faintly.

“...I wish I could just say goodbye , say goodbye one last time …”

Chapter Text

That night after revisiting the compound Yume couldn't sleep.

They climb into her bed, Sasuke is emotionally exhausted but overjoyed to see Yume inscribe preservation seals on the Uchiha’s written recipes, duplicate, and bind them. 

Yume has gotten very good at paperwork these past several years. One might think a visual based culture would rely on memorization and not on the written word like previous dojutsu clans, and currently the Hyuga, but the Uchiha’s distinct artstyle revolving around circular imagery, and adopting a culture of paperwork due to the Police force meant that a great deal of their culture was recently preserved in artsy, stylized ink in an effort led by the Priestess Kikiyo and Tomo. She wonders if Tobirama knows it’s the only good he ever did for the clan. 

“I’m not tired at all, Sasuke. But you should sleep. After we speak with Uzumi-baa and Neko-baa tomorrow you’ll be heading back. I can stay up and sort these out.”

“Do you think the seals Uzumi-sama put in you are affecting you too?” Saske asks quietly.

Yume takes a fortifying breath. 

“It’s never been done before, what's been done to me.” Yume tries to say casually but her words tremble and Sasuke’s eyes darken with worry. “It’s entirely possible the seal is affecting the way I recuperate. They do store energy for me and do have healing aspects. The point of deep sleep is to help your body heal and clean out. I might not need as much sleep as I did before if the seals-which have medical elements in them-do it for me. ” Yume had noticed over the past several days as her seals adjusted, that she needed less and less sleep.

“You said you can sense seals with your sensor abilities. Can’t you sense yours?” It’s such a pure, innocent question to ask, so youthful. It also makes her sad. It demonstrates how damaged Sasuke’s sensor abilities are to ask that question. A sensor who had never been shut-off due to trauma would have known that. Yet another reason to talk with Uzumi-baa. 

“That's the funny bit about being a sensor. You can sense everything except yourself, just as you can see the face of everyone else but not your own face. I can perceive the color of your chakra and its unique pattern, but not mine, or the seals in it.” 

Sasuke slow blinks at her like a cat. Color sits high in his cheekbones.Yume has the urge to kiss those spots. 

He moves slowly. Almost comically and Yume’s lips twitch despite herself. Then her breath catches as Sasuke lays down and settles his head in her lap, cheek against her covered thigh. His head is warm and heavy, she feels the outline of muscles in his neck and shoulder. Her seal embroidered nightgown and his peace of mind in her presence protect her from the worst of the parasite-seal on his neck. 

Sasuke has a nightmare halfway through the night. Yume at first senses a disturbance in his chakra and releases a bit of Calming Intent. His brow smooths out and he turns his face into her thigh. 

A few more hours pass and Yume pauses her CI.

He shoots straight up, scattering Yume’s papers and pens everywhere. He’s breathing heavy, eyes red with Sharingan and wild . A frightened shinobi is something to be cautious of, so she holds perfectly still, shields itching to spring forth.

He hovers above her like another shield. 

But the seal in his neck is agitated, spreading black poison out and making Yume’s teeth itch, her face stings. 

She exhales, and coaxes forth Calming intent. The CI does the trick, and Sasuke’ panicked face softens. The poisonous black lines in his neck retreat. 

He seems to realize where he is, eyes frantically checking her, scanning for damage and she tries not to blush.

“We’re in my apartment. You’re okay.”

“ They’re not .” He croaks. “My family. Orochimaru’s victims too, I- Yume, I hope he never finds out about you. I can’t stay here much longer or he’ll reverse track me through my seal.”

She breathes out roughly.

“Was that what your nightmare was about?”

He nods. 

“I understand, one more day with Uzumi and Neko-baa, okay?”

“...Okay. I…were you using my back as a desk while I slept?” It’s the mix of offended incredulousness and amused fondness that gets her. It completely dispels the dark cloud that had been hovering over him. 

She bursts into a fit of giggles. 

…

…

…

When day breaks several hours later, with Yume only needing two hours of sleep and waking perfectly rested, they get ready to go, Sasuke in his Satsuki disguise.

U- Where are you children? I hope you come ready with open ears. Neko-baa and Tamaki-chan are already here.

Y- We shall be there shortly!

Yume then flips to Neji’s new message.

N -I can only stay briefly during the lunch hour. I have training in the morning and then later service to the clan.

Y -Understood!

They walk through Konoha and through the gates. The Chunin do not suspect anything from Satsuki, as Yume has created a fake temporary I.D. for her. 

The walk along the Naka, briefly pausing to pray at old Uchiha shrines. They take a few persimmons for Yume to use for Uchiha recipes. Satsuki bites into one with a tenderness that belays the nature of teeth. More of a kiss than a bite. 

“Oh Satsuki, watch this!” Yume crows. She opens her palms and focuses. Uzumi-baa had enhanced all the chakra storage capabilities on Yume’s person to match her chakra reserves as they naturally grew with age, leaving room for later, less painful modification when she was finally done growing. Fully filled, her tenketsu could go on to potentially rival that of a jounin! If she wanted to, she could go on to push that even further !

Not that she could use any of it, outside of shielding and potential transfers to others. They had yet to test that. 

“Satsuki, I actually have storage seals on my hands, forearms, and a few other places, like the ones you use to store your shuriken. I haven’t used them yet but I could potentially store many things, up to several times my body weight!”

“Extremely useful. I imagine you’ll have a personal library with you at all times.” Satsuki jokes and Yume laughs and swats his arm. 

“Most of my seals I can’t activate except for when they automatically activate with KI, or through CI, conscious shielding, or chakra transfers to others because I can’t directly manipulate chakra. Therefore in order to activate the seals on my arms she put activation switches tied to my spiritual chakra. I have a heavy imbalance in favor of spiritual chakra-w hich also contributes to difficulties in chakra manipulation as you need a certain ratio of both to perform most jutsu-so that I can store stuff. I can’t store live things so the cells in the Persimmon fruit will die, but possibly, I can store the seeds. Later I’ll plant them and see if they grow!” 

Yume does just that, and an entire persimmon disappeared into her palm, the storage seals flickering visibly like a tattoo, then fading into invisibility. She twitches a bit at the sensation, but it’s honestly not bad, just weird. It’s mind-boggling to think she’s carrying an entire persimmon in her palm. She sees Satsuki break into a grin at the movement before stifling it. 

“Will all your seals be visible like that?”

“We honestly don’t know yet.”

“It would look cool.” Satsuki murmurs, then looks away, embarrassed at being caught at calling something cool. Yume’s little giggle has his head snapping right back, chest puffing slightly in pride. 

They walk past the lines of fruit trees Yume planted with Maho, the blackberry bushes Yume braved for her friend so long ago, and Satsuki takes her hand in his and does not let go, despite having stared at her disappearing more fruit into them.

They arrive at the cottage. 

Uzumi-baa’s heather colored chakra flows and waves like the ocean at Yume, aware of her presence and beckoning her in. 

“Yume?” Satsuki asks carefully. It’s only then Yume realizes she is shaking, memories of the agony of her seal update, the one that nearly killed her.

“Yes, just…the re-sealing was difficult.” She wavers. Satsuki brushes off some leaves from her shirt, gotten when plucking pears. He seems to like contact. 

Then pulls them forth from their joined hands. The security seals answer her perfectly and Yume enters. 

The two old women, Inari, and Tamaki look up at them.

“Yume!” Tamaki cries out and pounces-quite literally!

Satsuki moves so quickly nobody, not even the two well-trained Neko kuonichi and Inari in the room see it. 

Satsuki grabs Tamaki by the shoulder and spins her around, it is only by the grace of him recognizing her that he does not go further than redirecting her. He drops his henge to reveal himself.

“Boy, is that you then, Sasuke? I knew I smelt you!” Neko-baa purrs in delight, cat-nose from her time as a cat-scroll user twitching. 

“Oh, sorry for startling you, Sasuke, I was just so happy to see Yume-and you now too!” 

Yume grins and pulls all three of them into a hug. Sasuke frowns (pouts!) but goes along with it because it’s Yume pulling him. The Miko in training notices the knowing and amused glance Inari, Uzumi-baa, and Neko-baa share. 

Sasuke sinks into a bow in front of Neko-baa.

“It’s an honor to see you again, Neko-sama.” 

Yume thinks it’s funny he scoffs in the face of clan heads but will bow to Neko-sama. She does deserve it however, with how competent and loyal she is. Sasuke’s chakra sings of nostalgia and a child-like gratitude and trust, one of the last good ties to his departed family. 

“Sasuke-boy! You’ve grown. A young tomcat in the spring of his life. It is good to see you again, and we’re all so happy to see what we can do for you.” Neko-bass purrs, gesturing to Uzumi-baa, Inari, Yume and Tamaki.

Sasuke’s chakra, which had a near constant undertone of worry, pain, and sadness, clears. 

“Inari. You’re a medic?” Sasuke asks. Yume had told him she’d be there and was trustworthy. Inari grins, eyes watery and Sasuke sends her a small smile which is a lot for him. 

“It’s great to see you again too Sasuke, I can’t believe how much you’ve grown. And yes, I’m a medic again, although I never stopped. I was only able to ‘retire early’ from active duty in the first place without having my chakra permanently sealed on the condition of keeping my medical abilities usable. Yume and Uzumi have been helping me study with new materials from Konoha’s hospital.” 

Thank you Sakura for helping Yume get them! What also goes unsaid is that they let Izumi go quietly because of her association with Itachi as his genin teammate and not wanting her to call attention to the rogue Uchiha. If she had gained prominence as a Kunoichi there would be questions about her history, and therefore him. 

“Inari’s work on me as a sensor means she might be able to help you with your locked sensor abilities. Although there is honestly not much in known medicine on sensors or why some people are sensors and some aren’t.” Yume explains. 

“But we do know some things. Ino Yamankan has recently come out as a sensor and has been working with Tsunade-sama on psychology initiatives and sensory initiatives. Very interesting recent discoveries as the latest batch of academy graduates are from before the Kyubbi attack and the wars-meaning there are more new untrained sensors than there ever were, all working with Tsunade-sama to break through old stigma’s surrounding sensors and to study them medically. You’ll have to be careful not to be detected Yume.” Inari says.

Yume hums in agreement as her and Sasuke sit and are served tea. The mug’s are shaped like cats and it makes her smile.  

The two medics crack out their notebooks, with Neko-baa and Tamaki watching intensely. One could even call it cat-like.

“I understand the subject matter can be…medically sensitive.” Neko-baa says. “We can come back, or you to us, if you’d like?”

“I’m okay with it. It’ll be educational for you all!”

“Of course you’d say that!” Tamaki laughs. In truth, Yume is aware she is an extremely delicate and unique medical case. Having as many people as possible that she trusted in the know about her details could only benefit her in case she needed help. She stoutly ignored how Sakura would be a great person to include in this circle. 

“First things first-Sasuke, as a person who lost their sensory abilities, do you want them back? It would mean stigma, potential vulnerabilities, as much as it would offer you great intelligence gathering and spirituality.” Uzumi-baa asks seriously. 

Sasuke is still. He glances at Yume. Yume covered head to toe with an undershirt, work apron, and religious headscarf. So unlike the fashionable girls of today, covered because of the downsides of being a sensor, the permanent damage that crippled her and killed other sensors.

His chakra softened the longer he looked at her. 

He turns and nods.

Oh. He said yes because he thinks Yume is someone to be admired for her abilities, not pitied. Oh, but why does that tear her heart out? 

“I have already lost much, Granny-cat. I would like to gain something back.” It’s spoken in a calm tone that nevertheless makes everyone’s chakra feel on the verge of tears. 

“In that case, some recent breakthroughs from Ino-sama might be a guiding point on where to start.” Inari pulls out thick medical texts and explains.

“There are the three triangles of health-Physical, Mental, and Spiritual, the latter of which has often been ignored by contemporary medicine. The loss of sensory abilities is understood to be from a severe, spiritual wound. That is significantly more tricky to heal than a physical wound, or even a wound of the mind as Tsunade-sama did when Hatake-san and yourself were attacked by Itachi Uchiha.” Inari says grimly at the mention of her old teammate. 

“Why has spiritual healing been ignored by “contemporary” Medical ninjutsu?” Sasuke asks, twitching at the mention of his brothers name.

“The Senju generic healing jutsu, with its signature green glow, is based heavily on the usage of physical chakra, or Yang release. The First Hokage’s miraculous healing of himself and others was an oddity due to his Sage mode permitting the ratio and usage of Yang and Yin-or spiritual chakra. Therefore an inherent weakness in modernized healing is that it cannot address spiritual wounds on any significant level.”

“What about other countries? If Senju healing started in Konoha shouldn’t they have different systems?” Sasuke asks. 

“All countries now use Senju medjutsu due to the treaty of the first war where part of the reparations package was for Konoha to teach all signing nations-all Five major nations and a few minor ones-how to use their medical ninjutsu to promote peace and literal healing.” Inari says

“At that point after the sacrilegious sealing of the tailed beasts that flew in the face of most religions and natural spiritual chakra, none of the nations were too keen to rely heavily on spiritual jutsu in fear of admitting their wrongdoings. Spiritual leaders as a power bloc waned in influence.” Uzumi-baa spits. “Spiritual healers today are almost completely gone, and if they’re still here, are seen as crackpots. Even Uzugakure was quick to adopt the Senju method due to them being our sister clan. I myself was among the first and last students.” she says bitterly. 

“In addition, while there could be more spiritual based forms of healing in the past, they have not been recorded due to the warring states era and were often lost due to low literacy and people simply dying before they could pass on what they discovered. You all learned of its devastation, but after the collapse of the worldwide empire a millennia ago that kickstarted the Warring States, much of the Great Library was lost and with any recordings of the world's diverse healing methods. Part of the reason the Senju’s style was taken up so quickly and eagerly was that it was the first structured healing system to come after the 1,000 year long warring state period.”

“Um, ‘world-wide empire’?” Tamaki asks. “I know there are several dozen countries, but an empire that crossed them all?”

Oh!

Yume knew this one!

“Tamaki, before the medieval, Warring States Period, the entire continent was one great big empire. The only territory it didn’t control was a handful of islands, such as Uzugakure.”

“You got that right.” Uzumi-baa says smugly.

“How and when it was founded varies, but it was several thousand years ago by a very powerful man rumored to have a great Gift of Acuity . He ruled for a long time, as did his descendents. You see, the planet we’re on is mostly water. All dryland makes up about 57 million square miles, and most of it is on this one, singular, gigantic continent. If you could conquer the 5 Great Nations you pretty much ruled the world. Although, there are several million square miles of lands in the North and South poles, and on several islands and subcontinents, but they are miniscule in comparison.”

“I saw some of that when I visited the Land of Snow.” Sasuke offers, completely enraptured by the information. Yume grins at him, and his chakra slinks like a pleased cat. 

“The scientific name for the mega-continent we're on is actually called ‘Pangea’. It was thought that millions of years ago Pangea was actually several other, smaller continents.”

“Wh- how were we not taught all this in the Academy?” Sasuke asks, baffled. 

“Simply no need. Also propaganda. To acknowledge that there was once an empire means acknowledging that it fell . And if an empire that powerful can fall, it means that no one , not even Konoha, is infallible. Today all that remains of the once great empire it’s is capital in the Land of Iron with the Samurai guarding it as a neutral territory for the world. All three Great Shinobi war peace-negotiations were held there, as is the international court of justice.” Yume says to a silently off-put Sasuke. 

He’s grappling with the reality that his once pride at being top of his academy class, including in paper-topics, was only the beginning of his real education. 

“Another by-product of that world-wide empire means it homogenized most art, religion, language, and jutsu styles. You ever wonder why a person thousands of miles away from you in Suna or Kiri speaks the same language as you? When you had that chunin exam in Konoha and could understand each other despite the accents? The world used to be filled with thousands of languages and now we all just speak the one. There are a few pockets existing in some shrines and in some clans that speak an additional language, but the empire created a monoculture, and the devastation of the warring states period did not allow for the thriving of any other cultures even when the global empire fell.”  Neko-baa adds. 

Yume’s sleeve would be stained with ink if she hadn’t sewn seals specifically to prevent that into the cuff. 

“Is that why Uzugakure developed such a distinct culture? Because it was on an island?” Sasuke asks.

“Precisely whippersnapper.” Uzumi-baa says in pride. “But we’re getting off topic.”

Inari sees her chance. 

“Different nations have since taken the Senju style of healing and have made modifications of it based on the predominant chakra type of their countries. For example, Earth-country tends to have the healthiest bones and best fracture recovery due to their medic’s often having earth medjutsu and control over minerals in bones. Fire country has the lowest rate of infection due to the heat of fire users sterilizing wounds as they heal.” Inari finishes. 

Sasuke and Yume exchange a look, both thinking of the Priestess Tomo’s jutsus. 

Yume’s furious note taking amuses Tamaki who slides the Miko-in-training her own thick packet already printed. Yume then takes an additional packet of this and slides it into her Notebook, and sends it to Sasuke’s.

“We actually have found that some of the Second Hokage’s supplemental faux sensory jutsu are beneficial in unlocking sensory abilities.”

Sasuke and Yume exchange another look.

“Now what's that all about?” Uzumi-baa asks, noticing the glances. 

“We were speaking with Ena-sama the other day, and then confirmed it with a… a visit into the Uchiha compound. There was a Uchiha priestess named Tomo, the mentor of Priestess Kikiyo who we used to see on the edge of our farm traveling the Naka.” Yume says to Uzumi-baa. “She was the first and only Uchiha that we can tell who graduated fully certified from Konoha’s medical program. She worked with Tobirama-senju to create many of his sensory jutsu.”

“Now, that's a mystery solved!” Inari says. “Some of the older classified documents Tsunade-sama let us look at lists an anonymous contributor to the jutsu patents. We think this additional author was removed in order to further enhance the incredible feats of the second Hokage, to frame these amazing jutsu’s as something he did all on his own.”

Sasuke scoffs.

“He didn’t do it all on his own. I’ve learned from scrolls recovered from my clan that since we were the victim of so many attempts of bloodline theft, or just other clans targeting our eyes in battle that we begun to evolve higher rates of sensors. Many Uchiha were born with sensory abilities and lived their whole lives without realizing it. This was because if they ever lost their eyes or were blind from Sharingan overuse, they still had that potential way of seeing the world. It’s well documented in our religion. It’s how Tomo was able to help Tobirama develop some of those jutsus.”

“Ahhhhh. So once again, the Senju and the Uchiha collaborate, and yet the Uchiha get none of the credit.” Uzumi-baa drawls. 

Everyone pretends not to see the way Sasuke’s hands twitch on the ceramic mug. 

“That circles neatly back to the original topic. Can Sasuke recover his sensory abilities?” Yume states. 

“It’s….too soon to tell. Konoha’s medical program just started looking it. I think it’s possible but you’d be a pioneer, Sasuke. My best advice is to do spiritual introspection.”

“Such as?” Sasuke asks cautiously. 

Inari shifts in discomfort. 

“A deep look at your own soul, your ambitions. Spiritual healing.”

But how could Sasuke heal from the massacre? Just yesterday they were speaking of his suicidal tendencies. The mark of a deeply wounded soul.

“So basically, we have no history of how to heal cut-off sensors because much of that documentation was lost during the fall of the empire, and then the stigma around sensors caused a lack of research into it once we escaped the Warring States Period, where no progress could be made due to instability. And then biju attacks and the KI from wars killed off many of the sensors so there was no one to study. So it's only now with Tsunade back that we’re starting to look into healing scarred sensors at all!” Yume summarizes. 

“Yes girl. Boy, I would suggest also looking into Sages and their arts. Hashirama was of the Slug contract too, in part what led to his Sage abilities coupled with the Mokuton.” Uzumi-baa says.

“But wouldn’t Sasuke need his own contract then? Orochimaru let you sign the snake contract, right?”

“He did.” Sasuke confirms. 

“Neko-baa, what is your opinion on contracts? For Sage mode and for sensory abilities?”

“It’s known Hashirama Senju had sensory abilities comparable to his brother when in Sage-mode. It could lead to a spiritual reawakening. But that is a nice bridge into the next point of our topic. The Cat and Hawk Contracts.”

Yume, Sasuke, and Tamaki snap to attention. 

“I have been a signer of the Cat contract since I was a kitten even younger than you three here.” Neki-baa purrs, pulling out the scroll from her sleeve. “Tamaki-chan is looking to be a signer too, but must pass a trial decreed by our clan-code before she is allowed to sign.” The Scroll looks fancy if a bit unassuming to the average eye. But to her senses it feels like a nexus in the natural chakra of the world. A spiral to the cat’s summoning dimension. 

“Yume, will you follow the Naka up the mountains with me to the Land of Lightning? It’s rumored the jinchuriki of the Matabi is there. If I get her pawprints I’ll be allowed to sign and become a summoner!” Tamaki bursts out. The girl alternated between shy like a cat, and hyper like a cat with zoomies depending on how comfortable she was with you. 

The young sensor’s mouth drops open. 

She thinks of the significance of a journey like that. 

Of the first time she traveled it to spread the ashes of Maho at the foothills, Doremi-oba’s sobbing. Officer Keiji-san holding her. 

The story of Naori-she leading the Uchiha to freedom from the bloodline thieves of Lightning to Fire, the tragedy of that time in enslavement still present in Uchiha like Sasuke who had Lightning natures.

 How her Miko grandmother had a shrine in Lighting, before it was destroyed and she too followed the Naka down with her two young girls with the Uchiha escorts of Fugaku-sama and Keiji-san as the only survivors of some cataclysmic incident.

How Fugaku-sama lost the Hawk scroll there around the same time. 

Yume is aware the silence drags on for several moments. All of them look at her with worry.

“I know you just got your seals done again, and that you’re still recovering, and on top of that a civilian, but, With my grandmother’s travel cat we could be there in a few days instead of a few weeks of civilian speed travel.” Tamaki tries to sweeten the pot. Yume tries not to clench her jaw at the civilian mention, because it is true. In addition, that scroll was meant to be Yume’s once upon a time.

“It could be good closure for you. For your family’s shrine.” Neko-baa says gently. 

Sasuke’s thigh brushes hers under the table and Yume is so ridiculously grateful.

“And for your loss of the contract.” Tamaki follows up tentatively. 

“Loss of the contract?” Sasuke asks sharply. 

Yume turns to look at him and he carefully holds her gaze. 

“You recall how I said I was a reincarnation? In part because of my imbalance in favor of spiritual chakra?”

Reincarnation wasn’t believed in by many, and couldn’t always be determined. Yume’s imbalance of spiritual chakra and foggy memories confirmed hers. Not that she told anyone those memories were of another world with all this as a story.

“I do, it’s also why you're training to be a priestess, and why many of them are sensors like Ena-sama.” Sasuke says. His eyes blink in wonder. He looks at her face as if trying to see the person she used to be. Yume should be a boring civilian cripple, not worth the time of the Noble Uchiha heir, but she seems to fascinate him endlessly. 

“That would have made me incredibly suited for becoming the next main summoner of the Cat Contract. Except I became chakra-crippled. Tamaki however is also suitable.”  Yume tries to say casually. She’s not bitter at Tamaki at all, but she is grieving.

“I’m sorry, Yume.” It’s his calm understanding, his gentleness without pity that means she can only nod at him, throat tight. 

Neko-baa passes over the cat contract to the three teenagers, and Tamaki gingerly opens it. 

The most recent name is Mikoto Uchiha. But while Neko-baa’s name is bold black ink, Mikoto’s is greyed out with death. 

Sasuke knew his mother was a signer, but it’s one thing to know, and another to see. Mikoto-sama had signed when she was very young, still in the academy, and it showed in her handwriting. While neat and recognizable as the adult Mikoto’s, this was a bit wobbly, and the ‘i’ had a heart as the dot. Remarkably innocent and childlike. Had that little girl any clue what would happen to her family?

When they all watch Sasuke take his index finger to trace the heart carefully, hand positioned the same way his mother’s small hand would have decades ago, Yume must look away or sob. 

“We need another signer. According to the Clan Code of the Neko Clan, in order for a member to sign they need to complete a task assigned to them by our council. We’ve been needing the pawprint of the Two-Tails for decades now. Tamaki has the potential as Yume once did to be a signer, and has been assigned the task of collecting that pawprint.”

“I will go.” Yume says gently, smiling at Tamaki to let the younger girl know all was well. Tamaki beams and hugs Yume, jaw brushing against the priestess shoulder like a cat. 

“Be safe.” Sasuke says simply. His brow furrows. “I recall that the man who covered for me to get here,  Kei , the one friendly with Karin’s mother, he would be taken to a prison somewhere in that range.”

“Good to know!” Tamaki says. 

“So thats what happened to the other Uzumaki child.” Neko-baa says sadly.

“Karin was able to save her mother from the Land of Grass, but both were intercepted and kidnapped by Orochimaru. I can link your notebooks.” Yume offers, and then does to. 

“I would be able to sense someone like Orochimaru from miles away.” Yume reassures Sasuke as she works.  “And did you say you signed the Snake contract? Could you become a snake sage to try and restore your sensory abilities?”

“I was thinking I could recover and sign the Hawk contract.” 

They all gasp.

“That's right! You said your father was the last signer.”

“He was.” Sasuke confirms in a mix of pride and grief. “ He lost it sometime during the Third Shinobi war.” 

“I know he did. He spoke to me about it when visiting with your mother. Fugaku-sama lost it when battling the Two-tails jinchuriki in the Land of Lightning.”  Neko-baa purrs. Oh, that's right!

“Sasuke, you… you could become a Hawk-sage like Naori-she! By the Sage! Do you think you could grow wings too?” Yume says, laughing and squealing in excitement.

Sasuke smiles. His smiles are always rare, always precious. His eyes seem to say he can already grow weird hand-wings with his curse-mark but neither say that in order to not bring the mood down. 

“He could! Just look at my nose, I got this after several years as a signer with specific use of the scroll!” Neko-baa points at her cat-nose. 

“He lost it fighting the Two-tails? The Biju whose pawprint you’re trying to get?” Inari asks, brow furrowed.

“Funny how life works.” Uzumi-baa muses. 

“Yume I must say, as the person who had to restart your heart after you encountered the one-tails, I’m advising you not to go on this trip.” Inari nearly shouts, her chakra spikes with worry. Yume remembers that, when the Sand Siblings arrived a month in advance of the exams, and the potent chakra of the jinchuriki stopped her literally dead in her tracks.

Silence. 

All eyes on Yume. 

“...I understand. I wish to see the shrine of my family, before we had to come to Fire. I have faith in the work you and Uzumi-baa and Neji did on my seals, and I’ve since sewn several articles of protective clothing that should hold up to a non-hostile jinchuriki. It’s a big risk, Inari, but one I’m willing to take.”

Inari, who also wished in her heart of hearts to one day be able to travel to the place her family immigrated from, bites her lip and nods.

“...Do you think we could find the Hawk scroll for Sasuke-kun?” Tamaki asks.

“Unlikely, but wouldn’t that be nice.” Inari says. 

Yume’s mind goes quiet at the idea of having to encounter a Biju, even in jinchuriki form. Before her seal upgrade the presence of such potent chakra would kill her. Could they ask the beast if it remembered where the Hawk contract fell in the massive mountain range? 

“I’ll be there to look myself after I kill Orochimaru.” Sasuke confirms, getting several startled looks.

“Boy, that man is an S-ranked monster .” Uzumi-baa spits. “You think you have a chance?”

“I’ll get stronger.” Sasuke replies coolly. 

“S-rankers are less than 1% of the current pool of shinobi.” Inari points out, although she sounds thoughtful rather than skeptical. 

Sasuke smirks and nods. 

Why does that cause her to heat?

They move on to talking about Yume’s seals, what they needed to be careful of on the trip, what they needed to watch out for, and how they could even help.

“Yume,  seal masters and medics could spend their entire careers writing specifically about your case. One afternoon is hardly enough time, but I think we can get the gist of it.” Uzumi-baa grouches. “However, the way your seals are constructed and layered is entirely new. It could take years before we understand the full effect of them and how they interact with each other and your systems.” 

“You have several main seals as influences. The boarder seals found on Konoha’s walls, themselves inspired by Uzugakure’s primary boarder seal is the first. In a moment of pure panic after the nine-tails attack as you lay bleeding out from chakra exhaustion, I saw those seals on the wall and how they contained the chakra, looked at you and did what I had to. The purpose of this seal is to replicate how those seals are capable of keeping hostile chakra out and safe chakra in due to your leaky coils. In addition, under times of duress they can automatically form chakra barriers with reserves in your storage seals.” Uzumi-baa lectures. 

“Your second seals are storage seals. These can be as simple as storing basic supplies like kunai, all the way up to the complex chakra storage found in Mito’s strength of a hundred passed to her granddaughter, to the junjurichiki seals. Your’s stores your chakra for you passively as normal tenketsu would, but also artificially deepens your chakra pool. Their max capacity varies, and can grow as you do, but eventually they must be ‘bled’ for a lack of a better term as they reach capacity.” Inari says.

“Which leads to your next seals. The transfer seals should potentially allow you to transfer your excess chakra to others. This can be beneficial depending on how well the purification seals work. You see, different chakra types are like different blood types. If you transfer, or donate chakra to a person who isn’t compatible with you, it could kill them. It’s why medical ninjutsu has such a learning curve. For example, if someone Fire natured tries to give chakra to someone water natured without any medical purification, it would send their systems into shock and kill them.”

“I didn’t know that!” Tamaki yelps. 

“Indeed girl. The purification seals means when Yume expels her chakra either passively as her natural aura, or in a transfer, it’s purified to a base, neutral medical chakra.”

“So you’re saying not only could I give my friends a chakra boost if they’re becoming chakra exhausted in battle, but I could also boost their healing? Yume says excitedly. 

“Yes! And in a way that's much safer than chakra pills as it’s not artificially forcing the body to produce more chakra!” Inari squeals. 

“Although it’s not a perfect one to one. For example, of the full amount of chakra you put into a transfer, 15% of that roughly goes into purification of it through the Purifying seals-an extremely high amount for medical ninjutsu but as efficient as we could get it without interfering with the other seal elements. Of the remaining 85%, despite being purified there are still undertones in that chakra that can match better with some depending on chakra types-which is true for all medic-nin, by the way. For example, as a girl with a primary lighting nature, you’d be able to transfer 80-85% of your remaining chakra into a lightning natured person. If they’re water or wind natured, you’d only get about 20% of your chakra into them.” 

“What about my minor natures?” Yume asks.

“Yes! You’re rather unique! A secondary Fire nature, and a Tertiary wind nature!” Inari gushes. “Most shinobi- 85% of the population- are only born with one nature! 10% are born with two releases, 5% with three or more!”

“Thats incredible rare!” Tamaki squeaks. Yume can sense the girl herself only has a natural wind chakra. As she senses the folks in the room she realizes it’s only her and Sasuke present who have two or more. Sasuke with lightning then fire, Uzumi-baa and Inari with water, and Neko-baa wit h fire and Tamaki with wind. 

 “Most ninja must artificially learn others, ones that can’t be used in fusion releases like Lava Release or Boil Release as they weren’t born with it. Why, if you had been a Kuonichi, you could have-” Inari cuts herself off abruptly, realizing how insensitive that is. Yume wishes she could pretend to be less affected by her lost potential but nothing hurts worse then that. She is one of the 5% born with three natures allowing for natural releases and couldn’t use them because she couldn't mould chakra.

The idea that Yume could have been doing scorch release with Fire and Wind like Madara-sama had done once upon a time with his infamous fan…

“Doesn’t everyone always radiate chakra passively?” Yume changes the topic graciously. 

“They do. We’re interested in seeing how your seals are effecting that, and quite frankly I’m sensing some very interesting things coming from you. Which leads to the Obscuring seal. It’s meant to act as a cloaking device to pass off your tenketsu as average. With the storage seals on them now each individual tenketsu of yours can store enough chakra, with time, to equal that of a grown person. All of them together means you’d be a veritable chakra powerhouse.” 

“With no way to mould that on my own.”

“Correct. But again you’d be able to transfer it or use it as a shield. These tenketsu would be obnoxiously bright and noticeable to any sensor worth their salt, so the obscuring seals mask them.” Uzumi-baa says. 

“ And don’t forget the reinforcement seals to preserve them all, and to preserve you!”

“Me?”

“ You girl! Chakra can wear you down as Mito’s biju chakra did, artificially aging her. On the island, Uzumaki could live decades over a hundred.” Uzumi-baa says wistfully.  “The reinforcement seals reinforce your cells.”  

“It remains to be seen that the winds are shifting, and that all you youngins will need to grow stronger. Which reminds me. Neko-baa, the Hama-Yumi .”

“Ahhhh. Sasuke boy, as you know, your family left most of their munitions with me. At the time I thought it odd, but I thought maybe after the end of the third war, that they were shedding excess, that they thought the fourth war was long off. Only after the massacre did I realize they were preparing to leave Konoha. To flee .”

Her words ring. 

A founding clan. 

The founding clan. 

Leaving Konoha? 

But Yume sees the sense in it. The Uchiha had planned the coup as one last desperate hope before trying to flee. Or they would have before their sacred son slaughtered them. 

“The priestess, Kikiyo, the miko-apprentice of Tomo ironically-funny how the world is all connected like that-left in my possession the sacred bow of the Uchiha clan, to one of my triplet sisters who herself is a Miko of our lands just outside of Konoha. Have you heard of this bow?” Neko-baa asks. 

“I have. It was commonly used by the priestess to personally hunt and sacrifice animals to our gods. I used to hunt with a bow modeled after it as a child.” Sasuke murmurs.  

“She gave it to us, a few weeks before the massacre.” Neko-baa reaches behind her and reveals a storage seal. The Uzumaki were the undisputed masters of fuinjutsu, but basic seals such as the storage seals were commonly copied and replicated by villages. There was no understanding of the art, math, or language of fuinjutsu, just sterile copying allowing for no further developement, but it got the job done. 

A puff of smoke and a magnificent bow sits in front of Yume. It has a reddish hue, intricate carvings of seals and imagery of fire and the ocean. It comes with a quiver and several dozen arrows with the same carvings. 

“The Uchiha made this bow thousands of years ago out of the wood of a persimmon tree, in conjunction with the Uzumaki for some truly miraculous sealwork. The bow is meant to be used by a Sensor to target opponents hundreds of feet away-presumably with the Sharingan’s help to aim. The arrows have a recall ability where they teleport back into the quiver upon activation of their seal. Advanced mastery even allows change of direction of the arrow mid-flight. This was before the warring states period even and before the Senju-Uchiha conflict. It’s my understanding you recommended that Karin would be a good fit for it?”

Sasuke takes measured breaths. 

“...I do. She has great potential to be a long-ranged fighter.” 

“Then will you gift this to her, Sasuke-boy?”

“I will, Neko-sama. Thank you.” Sasuke reverently takes the bow and seals it. “I can help Karin train. And there is even another boy in Sound named Kidomaru who can help her train with it.” 

“There is another thing I learned from Kikiyo besides the bow. She was speaking of your clans history, and specifically about a powerful jutsu that one of your ancestors was close to mastering before he was struck down. It relates to that Chidori jutsu of yours. Lightning based.”

“You believe I’d be able to master it?” Sasuke is very interested.

“I do. It’s an ironic story. As you know, the Uchiha clan does not have the best associations with the Land of Lightning. For the longest time that nature was from Uchiha who had been kidnapped and raped for bloodline theft. All children born from those attacks were rescued and brought back to the clan in Fire-Country by Naori-she, but a stigma grew around Uchiha lightning users. So despite the Sharingan being one of the few things capable of giving a shinobi the reaction perception needed to maneuver with Lighting ninjutsu, the Uchiha did nothing with it. Nothing, until Izuna Uchiha.” Neko-baa says. 

All three teenagers gasp, Yume and Tamaki louder than Sasuke. 

“Madara Uchiha’s little brother? The one Tobirama killed.” Sasuke’s face scrunches. He had heard the story from Yume. He had not lived long enough to hear it from his clan who sheltered their little prince, and no one in Konoha’s higher ups would want to give him any ideas. 

“Exactly! He had Lightning chakra too. The story of Tobirama’s genius is infamous. It all comes down to a single moment. His mastery of the Flying Thunder God Fuinjutsu.” Uzumi-baa pulls out the kunai of Lord Fourth, the one Yume had sensed as a toddler when they were in Konoha and brought to her. The seal was unlike any other seal she’s ever felt. It was like a spiral that disappeared into nothing. A bottomless pit. The one she studied to create her own inferior Thunder God Jutsu that she used to then save Yume’s life from the ninja that stalked and killed her family.

“This is a kunai of Lord Fourth’s that Yume sensed and brought to me as a toddler. It’s the same jutsu as Tobirama's. He created it because he was in an arms race with Izuna. Izuna had overcome his clan’s bias against lightning ninjutsu, paving the way for other infamous Uchiha lightning users such as Kagami Uchiha. His jutsu would have been called the ‘ Divine Trailblazer ’. Called so because upon mastery the user would be able to run with such swiftness it would turn the land under their feet to fire from friction and lightning. Upon mastery, he would have been able to charge his whole body and move at the speed of lighting and sustain it. Even the Raikage can only maintain his Raiton cloak for mere moments and must stop frequently for his senses to readjust. There is no need for that with the Sharingan.”

“Th-that's insane!” Tamaki squeaks. Yume would concur if she wasn’t breathless in awe. That would be the most powerful Lightning ninjutsu in existence, hands down. Chidori would pale in comparison!

“Yes, he was only a few days away from mastery. Then he was killed by Tobirama who knew his rival was creating this and knew he needed something to match it. Kikiyo left these scripts with me, encoded in a script only legible by the advance forms of the Sharingan, of Izuna’s notes. Let me give them to you now.”

Sasuke’s hands tremble minutely as he takes them from the old catwoman and seals it away with the Hama-Yumi. 

The conversation quiets as they clean up their tea and begin to cook lunch. They have various conversations. 

“Yume, I’ve been researching, and I believe Calming Intent is a natural defense mechanism to diffuse KI because your body is adapting to the reality that it is more fragile to KI and needs CI to balance that out!” Inari says, making Yume ‘ooo’ in realization. Inari really was very smart. She was the 3rd top Kunouchi in her class, 4th overall with the top boy included. That specific graduation class had mostly clan kids. The only reason Inari wasn’t the top female was because Izumi Uchiha and Hana Inuzaku were also in that class with clan training. 

While others could still do CI, it was rare due to society’s bias towards violence. 

“I think it’s pretty cool how your color in my notebook is a light grey Inari.” Tamaki beams, holding out her notebook to show a message from Inari a lovely light slate blue-gray. 

“The color of the pages or text you send on a page reflects your actual chakra, or features of yourself or places you love. It follows the meaning of color theory taught in most temples.” Yume says. “ Red for a more fiery personality, grey for calm, blue for a more anxious personality. Yukimi’s is the same auburn of her hair. Uzumi-baa’s is the heather of the Uzugakure sea’s. To me right now your pages are the same color as your aura’s are.”

“Wow!”

“I wonder what color I am?” Yume muses.

Silence.

“...What?” 

“You don’t know?” Sasuke asks softly. Yume is suddenly intensely curious.

“No. What is it?”

Sasuke takes his notebook and flips open to their last page.

And Yume sees the loveliest, most beautiful shade of rose-gold, the same color of her hair and eyes.

“You have a remarkable pure, kind, golden soul. With some pink to emphasize your love and compassion.” Uzumi-baa compliments. Sasuke watches tenderly as Yume hovers shaky hands over the shimmering pages. “It’s extremely rare for a soul to be this shade.” Uzumi-baa says knowingly. The old sensor had probably sensed tens-of thousands of souls too. 

“...Uzumi-baa, Neji is inbound. He’s about 5 minutes away.” Yume murmurs as she senses the Hyuga. 

“Good! Lunchtime draws near.”

…

…

…

When Neji arrives Yume gives him a hug. She feels the burn of Sasuke’s stare. 

“Boy, we must use your Bykaugan to see if Yume’s cloaking seals work. With all that chakra storage capacity we must determine if the cloaks can hide any abnormalities.”

Neji hums. 

Yume activates the cloaking aspect and immediately feels weird and dizzy, distant and disconnected. She could no longer sense the world around her. Not the bird’s nest and it’s little chicks in the birdhouse she had made outside, the flowers, the buzzing bees or all her friends in this room.

He activates his Byakugan and chokes.

“Neji!”

“I-she’s completely disappeared! Forgive me, I’ve only ever seen a complete absence like that it death, it startled me. She wouldn’t just look like a regular civilian’s reserves, but she’s vanish to any sensor completely.”

“Hm. Useful in it’s own right, but also suspicion if face to face with a sensor. Yume, can you pull back a little bit?”

With great effort, Yume opens her Tenketsu cloaking seals halfway.

“Better.” Neji says. “Your Tenketsu pools look about average now. When the cloaks aren’t activated you look…you sparkle.”  Neji murmurs a faint rush to his face. 

Yume sets it there, sweating and shaking from the effort. Sasuke pours her more tea and Yume drinks it gratefully. 

…

…

…

Sasuke, Neji, and Tamaki spar.

They are all evenly matched. Tamaki’s cat taijutsu and wind-claw combo is so unique that Neji’s taijutsu mastery struggled with it due to the similarity with his mid-reach, and Sasuke does not have the flexibility to copy it. Yet Neji is a Hyuga prodigy, and Sasuke has been training with a legendary sannin. 

Yume observes in fascination whenever they do hand signs for jutsu. The signs physically mold and shape the chakra in their coils, forming the jutsu’s such as Sasuke’s fireballs or Tamaki’s wind-claws. It’s interesting to see they are all close to medium range fighters. 

And as Neji keeps up his Taijutsu Yume gasps in realization.

“By the Sage! Neji’s taijutsu, the specific forms and Kata’s he uses, it’s all one big seal! The motions of his movements forms shapes that turn into seals!”

“Correct. That’s what seals are essentially. The movement of chakra in specific ways to create an effect. Hand Signs are limited to the intricate shapes of the human hand. Taijutsu has a similar if more blunted effect to the motions you can paint through air with your body. The Hyuga taijutsu can mold chakra in a limited way to aid their eyes. But the ultimate form of chakra manipulation is fuinjutsu. Ink is not limited in its shape or the physical nature of the human hand or body. It is only bound by the imagination of the fuinjutsu artist.” Uzumi-baa waxes poetic. 

“I feel like I should have already known this.” Yume pouts. 

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. You are not a shinobi and would have not done the hand signs or the taijutsu yourself to realize this.” 

Yume turns her cheek away in sadness. 

Neji’s chakra spikes in a way that indicates he’s about to do an offensive move that would take Tamaki out.

“Tamaki! Watch out he’s gonna get you!”

“How? He can only do close ra-”

Neji launches his new gentle-reach technique which only Sasuke and Yume knew of at this point, and she’s out . Yume can sense the nearly invisible chakra move through the air to block Tamaki’s tenketsu and can see Sasuke’s Sharingan track it. Neji would not have many opportunities to practice it in the village without his clan hearing of it and punishing him for developing a powerful technique behind their backs. They’d think Neji was planning a slave revolt-which they were.

It’s just Neji and Sasuke now. 

The two dojutsu prodigies from rival clans.

“Go you two!” Yume cheers. 

Sasuke smirks.

Neji sneers. 

The boys launch into a fight. 

Yume can’t actually see the motions, just the spectacular output of powerful chakra. Her face-the only exposed part of her-begins to itch from chakra overload but thankfully Uzumi-baa had a veil ready for her. 

“Both of them seem to want to impress you.” Tamaki giggles as Yume helps the other girl limp along and Yume pretends not to hear, face hot under the veil.

It ends with Neji winning. Tamaki was familiar with Sasuke’s moves due to having been raised next to Uchiha and had therefore had been able to target him and significantly softened him up for Neji. The boys form a reconciliation seal, smirking savagely at each other. 

“If I come back from my lunch break more exhausted than I left, it will raise eyebrows.” Neji pants gently. 

“Here, let's try a chakra transfer then.” Yume says. She looks to Uzumi-baa for guidance and after explaining what that was to Neji, he agrees to it. 

She removes her glove and holds Neji’s hand. He stares intensely at it, face soft chakra yearning. Sasuke’s spikes in what might be jealous at the other boy getting a power boost. It’s intimate to hold a boy’s hand like this. Neji’s strong palms, which had battered Sasuke and Tamaki, are now still and gentle in Yume’s. As she twitches they curl ever so gently around her palms. 

Yume breathes.

She focuses on matching her signature to his, and then a snap as it sync’s and hums in resonance, like a song. 

Neji’s eyes flutter and his body sways towards hers in bliss. They are quite literally on the same wavelength. Yume observes their chakra’s fuse and hum in time.

“I can’t tell where her chakra ends and his begins!” Sasuke mutters, sharingan eyes wide.

Neji then perks right up like a flower watered after a long drought. A bruise on his cheek ripples and changes color and goes from brand new to a few days into the healing process.

“Incredible!” Neji breathes, staring at her.  

“I don’t believe it!” Uzumi-baa shouts. “Of all the world’s-” She cuts herself off, concentrating her sensory abilities on Yume and Neji. It’s quiet an awed reaction from the grouchy woman. 

“What is it?” Yume asks, staring deeply into Neji’s eyes. She feels like she knows him. 

“Your chakras! Why if I didn’t know any better I’d say you two had achieved fusion!”

This startled Yume so severely her hands slip from Neji’s.

Fusion! ?

The mythical state of perfect understanding and power between two people? Whan Ena-sama had said every religious person longed to be the one to discover? There were knock-off versions of fusion that provided great power, such as the Gold and Silver brothers who formed the Platinum brother to kill Tobirama, and the Sound 4’s Sakon and Yukon. 

“Yes girl, you’ve somehow stumbled upon a basic form of it, the way your chakras briefly became one…Incredible!”

“Even the Neko clan has heard of fusion. A most lauded and sought after state. But thought to be mostly legend.” Neko-baa says in fascination.

“So this fusion is meant to be a state of higher understanding?” Neji murmurs. Sasuke is watching intently. Yume blinks rapidly at the implications and swears to dedicate time to analyze this later.

He gets ready to leave, lingering near Yume like she is addictive as honey. 

“Any longer and you’ll have to send a Hawk explaining where you’re at!” Yume recovers enough to joke. 

“Hawks! No good. Uzugakure sent one for help to Konoha and the message didn’t get through in time.” Uzumi-baa snorts bitterly. Being around Hyuga always puts her in a bitter mood due to the heretic nature of the Caged Bird seal and the yet unspoken history between the Uzumaki and Hyuga that no matter how Yume pushes, Uzumi-baa remains silent, chakra still with terror. 

Yume does a transfer to Tamaki, hands hovering over Tamaki’s blocked tenketsu to see what would happen.

The new chakra clears out the blockages instantly. It’s a complete shock as normally gentle fist chakra could stay for days . But if her transfer chakra was medical in nature it was one of the few things that could clear it. Yume and Tamaki sway in perfect unison for a moment which confirms Uzumi-baa’s theory. 

“Ground breaking! I don’t believe this to be pure fusion, but it’s a step! A better clue than we’ve had in millennia!”

Yume squeals in excitement. 

“So your transfers can counteract Hyuga gentle techniques.” Neji says in admiration.

At this point she if feeling a little drained but still turns to Sasuke. He looks like he wants to refuse but his chakra yearns .

“...is it anything like calming intent?” He asks quietly.

“I can’t say. Lets find out.” She holds her hand to him, and, with a pinkening face, he gently laces their fingers. With their palms pressed together Yume threads chakra into his coils and watches as his energy is restored, as her chakra is adopted and converted in his system.  

“I feel you.” He murmurs so quietly she almost can’t hear even standing this close. But she does and she chokes on a squeak. 

Sasuke’s chakra leans and reaches and caresses her like gently rolling winds. Like this, connected, his chakra does not hurt her because her body recognizes it as hers too. 

“One last thing, Sasuke-boy.” Neko-baa says. Sasuke turns to listen. “Uzumi-san and myself have been speaking. Mostly about sealing and how it could reinforce my munitions. We discussed the Uchiha’s lost sealing arts. The Uzumaki style is the predominant style, as is the basic style. Most of those seals are Taijutsu based such as Lady Tsunade’s Strength of a Hundred, or ninjutsu based such as the Second and Fourth’s Flying Thunder God. However. As the undisputed experts in Genjutsu-save perhaps the Kurama clan-the Uchiha were rumored to have Genjutsu based seals. That upon activated were capable of showing a vision.”

“I haven't heard of this.” Sasuke murmurs, eyes wide.

“Is that so? Keep an eye out, lad.” Uzumi-baa says. 

It’s time for all of them to go. Neji to his slave-masters, The Neko’s to their lands, and for Sasuke to go back to Orochimaru. 

Sasuke offers to carry a drained Yume back to the other edge of Konoha where he will depart and when she anticipated a piggy-back ride, Sasuke simply places one arm behind her back and another under her legs. 

“May I?”

She swallows thickly.

“You may.” 

When her startled arms circle his neck his chakra nearly purrs in pleasure. He takes to the trees, hiding a smile into her headscarf as she shrieks in exhilaration, his arms pressing her close. 

…

…

…

“I don’t know how often I’ll be able to write. I can pass these past few weeks and my time with you as a mental breakdown-”

“-Because it was.” Yume offers, yawning. 

Sasuke gives her a look that is equal parts exasperated and endeared. He reaches out a hand to cup her chin and close her mouth, and Yume shudders ad the feeling of his warm, callused fingertips as they linger on her chakra sensitive face. Then he adjusts the fabric of her shielding headscarf a bit to even it out for her and it makes her heart stutter, both at his gently used power and the fact that the seals sewn in were holding up against the natural aura of his chakra. It’s good to know that just because you can sometimes annoy someone it won’t stop them from caring fiercely. 

“-Because it was.” He acquiesced. “But I will try to reach out. Please, Yume…be careful. I know you can handle yourself.” There was a ‘but’ there. 

Things were changing. 

Culture, technology, the political landscape. Yume would keep poking and prodding. 

The silence drags on. His eyes soften as Yume’s face falls.

His hands raise gently as if to cup her face. 

“May I?” He asks. His developing Adam's apple bobs as he swallows. He knows how audacious of an ask it is. His chakra pulses with longing, tries to burrow into her like a creature escaping the cold, to be held back by her seals. It’s incredible to Yume that he does not even know it’s doing that. 

“...You may.” Yume says thickly after getting her fear and anticipation under control at the idea of being in the hands of a male ninja. 

Teenaged palms cup her face and her eyes flutter. His thumbs dip under her glasses to rub circles in her cheek bones and it’s incredibly soothing. Her religious face paintings of symbolic clouds block the worst of his aura. His hands are small with youth, warm, and calloused. 

He brings her forth and down to plant a gentle lingering kiss on her forehead. He puffs out several breaths against her temple as he takes her head and turns it gently to rest against his neck without disturbing her glasses. They were the same height so she could not press her ear to his heart, but she could certainly imagine. 

Yume senses several people coming. 

“A patrol, Sasuke. A team of four, all four fire natured but one with a sub-nature of wind. One is an Aburame, and another is- INO? !” Yume yelps.

She recalls Ino at her last lunch with the girl. How Tsuande-sama wanted to try out a sensor on every patrol like she had once wanted to try a medic on every squad. 

It seems Ino was leading the pilot program.

Yume does not know Ino’s exact range but she could guess.

 “They’ll be within range in two minutes at their current speed. Their chakra is alert but not alarmed. They don’t know we’re here yet.” 

Sasuke looks impressed and worried. 

“Useful.”

“I try to be.”

“I meant your sensory abilities.” Sasuke’s face reddens. “I understand you are more than your usefulness, Yume.” It’s her turn to be speechless. 

“Yume, they won’t be able to sense your….differences, will they? The Obscuring seals should work.” 

Yume nods.

She pulls back from him to now cup his face. He lets her, eyes hooded. His jaw turns into her palm. 

“Sasuke…your eyes, when I met you again here several days ago. They flickered with something else for a second. It was like seeing a spark that could have turned into a flame, before it died out from your chakra exhaustion.”

Sasuke hums. 

Yume can feel the shift in the flow of his chakra as he concentrates it around his eyes. The black goes to red, then swirls, hypnotizing Yume, who fearlessly holds his gaze. Yume sees the momentum gathering, the verge of something -

The spinning stops. 

His eyes still hold the three Tomoe. 

“I feel it to, Yume. I…I think there is a form of Sharingan even beyond the three tomoe. I think I nearly unlocked it there, but…” Sasuke’s face collapses in frustration. “I don’t want to gain power the way It- that man said to. I don’t want to kill my best friend for it. So I won’t . He was wrong about so many things, there must be another way.” 

She turns his head to kiss the left corner of his lip, then the right. His mouth trembles, his hand twitches.

He shocks her by accident.

Yume yelps and Sasuke's red eyes widen.

“I-are you okay! I didn’t mean for that, I-”

Yume laughs.

It wasn’t unheard of for powerful users of their natural chakra elements to sometimes lose control of their element. One of her friends was burned when she kissed her jounin boyfriend with powerful Katon. She just can’t believe it happened with Sasuke! Did her little kisses really mean that much to him?

“How electrifying Sasuke! But you must go now. I’ll be able to distract Ino because we’re friends. Really! I'll…I’ll be okay. Trust me?” Yume takes his hand in hers and squeezes it gently. 

He gently squeezes back. 

 He breathes her in one last time, and then he’s gone. 

His chakra lingers even as he did not. The wisps of it clinging to her like a child on his mothers skirt, like drops of desperate dew on morning flower petals. 

Yume does her best to dissipate it, walking several dozen steps at a casual pace when Ino senses her. Just in time too. If Ino had gone any further she would have sensed Sasuke’s chakra. But the presence of a dear friend, this far out from the city-center, is enough to pull Ino away in the nick of time.

It’s not unheard of to be out by the Uchiha compound like this as it’s a quieter area perfect for reading a book or reflecting, but it is uncommon

“Yume! Good to see you, and here of all places!” Ino says brightly, landing and walking up to Yume and giving her a hug. Ino’s chakra itches her faintly. Sasuke knows to control his around Yume. Yume places her book down that she was using as cover. “I suppose this would be a quiet place to read, right?”

Yume yawns and nods. Ino’s chakra is gentler than Sasuke’s or Neji’s, and does not hurt as much.

The seals seem to be working. 

“I’ve been meaning to find you, but you’re a tricky one to pin down. Lady Tsunade wants to talk with you.”

“Me?” Yume stammers. A million thoughts race in her head. Whatever for?

Ino laughs.

“I told her about some of your suggestions to myself and Sakura. They’ve all been great successes! The criminal rehabilitation programs, the newborn baby holding programs as the hospital, the foodbanks too! She wants to speak with you and see if you’d like a spot on Konoha’s civilian advisory committee!” 

…

…

…

“My students never stop yapping about you. Yume this, Yume that! Yume helps me study, Yume grows flowers with me!” Tsunade-sama says, frisbeeing some paperwork. Yume sits in her civilian work outfit, headscarf still indicating her Miko-in-training status.

Tsunade-sama picks up a personal file.

“So, you were born on a farm just outside of the Village. Father an unknown shinobi but apparently known enough for the Uchiha clan to successfully file for your citizenship.”

Yume nods. 

The implications here are grim. 

Citizen with “unknown shinobi father” is often code for ‘civilian woman raped by one of our shinobi, ha ha, whoops. We’ll keep his identity anonymous to protect our asses and give you citizenship as a bribe to shut the fuck up about it’. Unfortunately common for the Uchiha clan to have to do. The times they did try to take a shinobi to court over it the civilian woman would end up mysteriously dead, or the Uchiha would get orders from the council who have been bribed by the shinobi’s often wealthy clan they were members of to back off . Children born of civilian women to shinobi fathers often had high enough reserves to be scouted for the Academy, but were lowly enough to not get in the way of the Clan kids’s rise in the ranks. The perfectly needed cannon fodder. 

Yume’s posture is one that refuses to buckle or bow. It is respectful but not apologetic. She is not ashamed of her existence. She does not make herself the butt of a joke. While Uzumi-baa said her mother had loved her father, that it had been consensual, there is no way to prove that now.

Tsunade-sama’s chakra becomes impressed and she raises an amused eyebrow. What helps beyond Yume’s remarkable calmness is probably the contrast to the grown man minutes earlier that was dragged past Yume from her office, whimpering while Yume waited in the lobby outside. 

“A wearer of many hats too, huh? Working several jobs.” Tsunade-sama says, eyeing her Miko headscarf. “Ena-sama filed for you to go on a pilgrimage to the religious capital.”

Yume nods, having already known that. 

“Later, your family would perish at the hands of a rogue Konoha shinobi, who would then be killed by a Uchiha officer.” Tsunade-sama’s tone softens ever so slightly. 

Yume’s fists clench, a motion missed by no one.

She nods again.

“I read your analysis for the justification for the hospital’s skinship program. Sakura followed and implemented it. Premature survival rates are up 30%. And you did all that with just the civilians basic access library card.”

Yume’s jaw drops slightly, then a brilliant smile breaks out on her face. 

“I am happy to hear that, Tsunade-sama.” 

Finally, Tsunade-sama’s face, which had been a neutral mask, breaks into a proud smile.