The Flames Above the Falling Leaves

[TheMightyMorgoth]

Chapter 1
Stewardship​

Dusk crept over Konoha as the sun began to set and the pale moon rose to take its place. The glint of the twilight sky reflected off the ceramic roof tiles, and the descending sun emblazoning the faces of past Hokages. There in the waning hours of the evening, an older gentleman impatiently walked through the paved streets of the village, a manila folder of documents kept in place between his armpit, only occasionally stopping to look at a pocket watch for the time. As he drew closer and closer to his destination, the ground became a bit more uneven as the paved cement was slowly replaced by untouched dirt roads.

When he turned the corner and moved onto a new block, he instinctively made his way to a pair of large oak doors that held firm in the middle of a stone wall. Two men stood quietly in front of the gate, as the cloth above them, marked with the Sarutobi Clan's crest, fluttered gently with the brisk October winds. Upon seeing the old man's approach, the younger of the two guardsmen wordlessly entered the clan compound, and a faint chatter could be heard beyond the wooden gates. Impatiently, the old man arhythmically tapped his foot and stared blankly as the hands on his pocket watch seemed to ever-so slowly lurch forward to the next minute. After some minutes of waiting, the young guardsman re-emerged from the gates with another old man in tow. Similarly, he held his own folder of documents.

"I apologize for the delay, Danzo."

"I would hope so, Hiruzen." Danzo crossed his arms as he replied, "You know how long I've been waiting for you out here?"

Hiruzen shrugged, "A few minutes?"

Mockingly waving his hands around, he retorted "Oh, a few minutes he says! You know, back in my day, a few minutes—"

Hiruzen held up his hand, his face also warped into a half-irritated, half-amused scowl. "First off, don't try to pull this 'back in my day' shit on me. It was 'our day' not just your day; I was there too dammit. Second, I don't know if you remember this, but I'm retired. If I want to stay in bed a few extra hours in the morning or spend my entire evening smoking in my yard, then I'll do as I damn well please."

Danzo clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth, "You were late because you were smoking weren't you?"

Hiruzen groaned exasperatedly, "Biwako says I should stop because it's 'bad for my health,' but dammit woman, do you know how rare this tobacco is? It's premium quality black-leaf from the Fire Daimyo's private collection! And since she's out of the house, I thought to myself, why shouldn't I treat myself a little bit?"

"Mhm, mhm." Danzo hummed an indifferent acknowledgement to his friend, "Your tobacco addiction is rather fascinating, but you also forgot the part where that was my problem. Now let's go, best not to keep the Hokage waiting."

As the two finally made their way through the streets, Danzo kept his eyes glued forward and always maintained a few steps ahead, Hiruzen opted instead to lag behind, as he leisurely enjoyed the sights and sounds of the evening. Eventually, they reached their destination, and approached the small booth adjacent to a pair of solid metal doors, where a bored-looking Hyuuga wearing a Chunin jacket quietly passed the time reading a small book. When he noticed the two approached, the Hyuga quickly set his book down and gave a short cordial bow to the two men.

"Good evening, sirs." He slid a pair of paper slips through a small gap in the protective glass barrier, each to be taken by the pair of village elders. "Would you mind verifying your identities?"

They both pressed their thumbs down onto the slips and after exerting an insignificant amount of chakra, the faint tracings of their fingerprints were left embedded on the squares. The tenketsu around the Hyuga's eyes bulged as he activated his Byakugan, and after a thorough cross-examination of the slips with some previously cataloged chakra signatures, he nodded in confirmation and unlocked the metal doors. Once more through the gap, he slid the two a pair of IDs, meant to be returned to the office on their way out for safe-keeping.

Several large steel bolts audibly hissed as they slid out of their strike plates, and the twenty-ish year old guard gave them another courteous bow before the two finally made their way into the building. On the ground floor, it was not dissimilar whatsoever in appearance to the building's exterior – that is to say, it was unassuming. A rather spartan centralized office space, with a semi-circular desk facing the entrance followed by a set of hallways that led to further parts of the building. Even the security detail appeared rather inconspicuous, with a dozen Chunin placed in key positions to keep an eye out for trouble. For all intents and purposes to the outside, this was just another shinobi administrative office.

Walking down towards the far end of the hallway, a lone purple-haired Chunin stood inside an elevator serving as its operator. "Good evening, sirs. What floor may I take you to this evening?"

"Good evening, 'Chunin' Uzuki." Hiruzen replied jokingly, flashing some air quotations for added effect. "Seventh floor please."

She nodded in reply and as she went to press the button, her finger pressed down on a seemingly empty section of the control panel, though the characteristic chime of a floor being selected was nonetheless heard. Responsively, the doors slid shut and they felt a short and sudden jolt as the elevator car began to descend. Contrary to outward appearances, the true extent of the building was not a meager two stories, and in fact the majority of its floors were below ground level.

The ride down the elevator was unremarkable, as the alleged Chunin silently carried out her task and the pair of elderly shinobi passed the time staring at the doors or skimming through their documents. As they passed by the fifth subterranean floor, Danzo had once again started to arhythmically tap his foot. Finally, the doors slid open and the two men gave a small thankful nod to the Chunin, who in turn politely bowed, allowing her long purple hair to droop down and obscure her features.

Compared to the ground floor, the subterranean floors were much sleeker – well lit, well maintained and made out of considerably more expensive materials. Though made of polished cement and stone, the ceiling lights' sheen off the walls fostered a similar atmosphere to the sterile white interior of a hospital or a laboratory. The two stopped at another pair of metal doors, this time guarded by a pair of ANBU whose dark wooden masks, one gnarled and twisted like thorns while the other immaculate and adorned with a fan of branches on either side of the face, seemed to absorb the hallway's light. After flashing their IDs, the two ANBU wordlessly opened the doors and allowed the two to enter before pulling them shut just as quietly.

There was a central rectangular table taking up two-thirds of the conference room, though only two other people had arrived before them. Homura and Koharu nodded and waved respectively for them to take their seats near the head of the table. Koharu playfully elbowed Danzo as he sat down, "Running a little late today are we?"

"He ran a little late – I'm the reason we're on time at all." He responded somewhat defensively.

Homura snorted, "Let me guess, something to do with smoking some kizami?"

"Premium kizami," Hiruzen harrumphed, "Which, I'll have you know, came right from the Fire Daimyo's personal collection."

"Late is late, Hiruzen. Try not to make the rest of Team Tobirama look bad when you decide to go on a smoking binge."

The patriarch of the Sarutobi clan leaned his head forward and mockingly narrowed his eyes at his sole female teammate. "Look bad, Koharu? Nobody's here besides Team Tobirama."

"It's about propriety! If we show up late, what kind of a message does that impart on our subordinates?"

"Are we seriously having this conversation over arriving a few minutes later than usual? The meeting hasn't even started yet."

"No, no, she's right, Hiruzen. You can't keep hiding behind your retired status when it comes to these meetings. We know you don't really do anything else at home besides read and smoke."

Their mock argument ended abruptly as the doors were opened, and finally the meeting's attendants began to slowly trickle in. After five minutes, all but two attendants were missing. There was a bit of idle chatter in the room, though most of the attendees sat quietly organizing their files and papers. Another minute later, and the doors swung open for the final time, giving way to the Fourth Hokage, his face concealed by the low brim and impenetrable veil of his ceremonial hat. Garbed in the traditional maroon and white robes of his station, he and his right-hand man – or rather woman – made their way to the far end towards the head of the table. The room was silent for their arrival – not necessarily out of awe, but more so out of a tactful respect for their superior.

The two flanked either side of the table, taking their time to slowly pass by and offer a brief but courteous greeting to each individual member, shaking hands and exchanging small bows. As the current village leader passed by Hiruzen, he gave the former Hokage a friendly squeeze on the shoulder. Finally at the end of the table, the Yondaime seemed to explode from within his robes, taking the extra effort to dramatize his sitting down and making it into an ordeal of its own.

"Roll call." When he spoke, his voice seemed to slither throughout the room.

First to speak was the former kage, "Sarutobi Hiruzen – Strategic Advisor to the Office of the Hokage, present."

Then the rest of Danzo's teammates, "Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura – General Advisors to the Office of the Hokage, present."

Then he spoke, "Shimura Danzo – ANBU Commander, present."

So too then did the rest of the room. "Nara Shikaku – Jonin Vice-Commander, present."

"Yamanaka Inoichi – Intelligence Division Commander, present."

"Hyuga Hizashi – Intelligence Division, Captain of the Counterintelligence Corps, present."

"Uchiha Fugaku – Commander of Interior, present."

Nodding his head in approval, a slender hand slinked out from the Hokage's sleeve and parted the opaque veil shrouding his face. Gold and reflective like shards of amber, his serpentine eyes were highlighted by the angular purple markings that bordered the bridge of his nose, and contrasted sharply with his alabaster skin. "Orochimaru – Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure, present. I suppose then we're set to begin our meeting, no?"

"Let's." Danzo spoke firmly in turn, "Item number one on tonight's meeting is the abrupt change to the government of Amegakure."

"Yes, I just finished reading over our intelligence reports the other night. Nono, my documents." Said assistant was already in the process of handing over a portfolio. "But refresh my memory anyways, what is the current status of Amegakure no Sato?"

It was Inoichi who responded this time, having been gestured by Danzo to read off a summary of the report.

"An insurgent group, the "Akatsuki," have successfully led a coup d'état against Hanzo of the Salamander, and have already begun to install a new government. Of note, the Akatsuki and Ame's new representative, going by the name Yahiko, has immediately extended a diplomatic channel between our two nations, and has claimed that he and two of his compatriots are former students of Jiraiya. This has subsequently been confirmed by Jiraiya himself, who is currently on his way to Ame with Nohara Rin for an official meeting."

"Will they be returning after the meeting is concluded?"

Inoichi shook his head, "Likely not. As far as I understand, her training is still not complete."

"I see, and what of Hanzo and his allies?" Orochimaru folded his hands, giving the Intelligence Commander an inquisitive look.

"His status is currently unknown. Our informants in Ame claim that he was swallowed by one of his summons, but as of now this is still unconfirmed. His allies on the other hand are actively being hunted by the new administration."

As Inoichi finished his report and sat back down, Orochimaru turned towards the ANBU Commander, "Can the ROOT look into his disappearance? If he can't be located, then we should make a priority out of establishing contact with his summons."

"We'll have our teams keep an eye out and investigate the surrounding countries. But if he has in fact retreated to the astral world, he may very well be out of our reach for the time being."

"If that's the case, I'll reach out to Manda and his clan to see if they may know anything." Though he said this aloud for the whole room, his statement was directed more towards Nono who began to jot down the information on a notepad. "Moving on, our second order of business is the progress of Nohara Rin. Would anyone here like to start?"

"I will." Homura spoke up, "Over the course of the last week, Jiraiya and I routinely checked up on her seals and reapplied any that we thought were beginning to fail. Otherwise, she seems to be adjusting slowly but surely to her tenant."

Before the village elder could continue, the room began to shake as a tremor rippled through the building. It was followed by a brief moment of respite before it returned, indefinitely repeating this pattern. "An earthquake?"

"No. It's not continuous-" This time the tremor interrupted Orochimaru mid-sentence, a not so distant crash accompanying it. "Evacuate the building and get all available shinobi to their battle stations!"

Like tightly-wound springs, everyone in the conference exploded into action, practically jumping out of their seats with their jobs in mind. Had the unknown situation aboveground not been so pressing, many would have gotten a chuckle at the sight of most of the conference attendees cramming themselves into the elevator cabin, with poor Yugao being shoved into the side of the wall as she attempted to make room. With no room left, the two – likely – oldest men in the room sprinted up the staircase, hoping to catch up.

Orochimaru and Nono were the last to exit, stopping just in front of the doors where the two ROOT guards still stood at attention.

"Yakushi-san, gather every document left behind in this room and take them to my office for safekeeping. You know where to put them." He turned away from her and towards the ANBU. "Escort her there."

"Understood, Hokage-sama."

---

"I understand, Hokage-sama, we'll have a new barrier raised immediately." Ooime Kakoi, the youngest member of Konoha's Barrier Team, stood at attention for a moment longer than he needed to.

Although there was a considerable distance between him and the Hokage, being on nearly opposite sides of the council chamber, the unmistakable glow of Orochimaru's eyes seemed to smolder from behind his veil. For Kakoi, and most of the Hokage's subordinates for that matter, it was more than a bit unsettling. He bowed once more before leaving the chambers, and the council meeting finally began in earnest.

Made from varnished cedar, there was a set of six massive tables, three on either side of the room and slowly elevated above the one before it, and the slight groove on the inward sides of the tables lended themselves to the elliptical shape of the room. Each side's rows were intersected by four sets of stairs, two interspersed in between the rows' length and a set at either side of the room, with the pair at the far end of the room forking so as to allow members of the inner council to reach their seats. The flat, inward face of the table was appropriately marked with the clan that sat at that particular position, the fresh coat of paint upon each kamon attempting to betray how long ago they were initially carved into the wood.

From the noble clans of Uchiha and Hyuuga, to the more humble and modestly-sized Kurama clan, every major and minor shinobi clan of the village was in attendance. However, in spite of the room being completely filled, it was deathly quiet.

"Commander of Interior."

"Sir." Fugaku stood up from his seat, his stoic composure betrayed by the vacant look in his eyes.

"Status report."

"In the last twelve hours, the Office of Interior's most conservative figures estimate that the village has lost point-three percent of its population, and its most liberal around point-nine. The overwhelming majority of casualties were shinobi. Property damage was limited primarily to the southwestern quarter of Konohagakure, fortunately, the efficiency of neither the commercial nor industrial districts should be too heavily interrupted." There was a small sigh as he looked up from his documents and gave a grim, mirthless smile. "A silver lining I suppose?"

"Break down the casualty rates," Orochimaru leaned forward in his chair, his slender hands clasping one another. "By rank, if you will."

"The rank that sustained the most casualties were Chunin, with the current casualties totaling at thirty-two dead, with an additional thirty wounded. Only half are likely to completely recover. The second most damaged group was the ANBU, at twenty-eight casualties, ten wounded. Then Jonin at twenty-two and eight, and only two genin wounded."

"This was, at best, the equivalent to a pyrrhic victory in a major pitched battle. At worst…" To Orochimaru's side, Homura set his glasses on the desk in front of him and cupped his face with the other hand. "We've suffered a major blow to our home division which may not recover for another generation."

There was a sort of quiet chaos that skittered across the room, and the silent ambience that had once permeated the chambers was slowly replaced by the low and hushed grumbling of the clans.

"For those of you unaware," Orochimaru spoke again, his voice silencing the room. "Jonin Commander Namikaze Minato, and our eldest Jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Kushina, were both killed in this incident. Which brings us to our next topic of great importance."

Receiving their signal, a masked ANBU emerged from the door opposite to the Hokage's semi-circle podium, at the base level of the council chamber. Cradled in his arms was a newborn infant, wrapped loosely in a blanket. For a child born in the last four hours without his mother, he was eerily quiet, though any worries regarding his health were placated by both the reports of doctors and the small cooing noises that emerged from his cloth-bound cocoon.

"This is their child, and the new container for half of the Kyuubi's chakra."

"And the other half?" Though he tried to speak softly, the presence of the infant influencing him so, Akimichi Chouza couldn't help but have the loudest voice in the room. Hushed as it was, it still seemed to reverberate through the chamber.

"Sealed into Minato before he killed himself with the Reaper Seal. He had requested that we make the child's status as a container known to the public, so that he might be celebrated as a hero. However, I will not be honoring this request of his. The last thing we need is for a target to be painted on the infant's back before he's even ready to defend himself. This information will be considered classified to any non-shinobi personnel, as well as anyone below the rank of Jonin. Anyone found distributing this information will be arrested and tried in a military court of law for sedition and treasonous behavior."

Most nodded their heads in acceptance, while others sat deep in contemplation, attempting to calculate what that would mean in terms of the new Jinchuuriki's strength.

"Does the little pup- I mean, kid, have a name yet?" Inuzuka Tsume leaned forward onto the desk, her claw-like nails beginning to brush into the underside of her chin. They said nothing aloud, at least not yet, but among her fellow clan heads who turned to face her, there was a quizzical look that graced their faces. A small handful were more suspicious than confused by her choice of wording, and their eyes seemed to pierce through her figure. She seemed entirely unperturbed by this as she spoke again, cutting off the Hokage before he could speak, "Cause if not… us Inuzukas wouldn't mind pickin' out one for him."

Fugaku and Hiashi both glowered at the matriarch from their respective seats, but before either of them could say a word, the Hokage quickly answered. "I believe they settled on Naruto."

"Naruto," Again, the Akimichi was seemingly disturbed from his silence when he heard the name, "Like the topping?"

Yeah, it's Kushina's kid.

Among those who personally knew just how unusual and – occasionally – scatterbrained Kushina, the choice in name was anything but a surprise. A few bit down or pursed their lips tightly, very much determined not to make a fool out of themselves at this meeting. Even Hiruzen and Danzo shared a look with one another, a cross between disappointed and amused.

Just as quickly as the child's name kindled amusement in the chamber, it flickered out. The weight of the boy's importance seemed to finally present itself to the occupants of the room, and most of the clan heads allowed their thoughts to be overcome with the unspoken subject of his fate. Suspicion and doubt shadowed over the clans as skeptical looks were cast back and forth across the rooms in a near-total silence.

Yet, no one dared to say a word – not yet at least.

Even among a coalition of militarized clans within a mercenary village that served as the sword of a feudal domain, there was still some sense of propriety that held back these pseudo-warlords from immediately trying to adopt their dead comrades' child.

"We'll take him."

It just wasn't a very strong sense of propriety.

"The Inuzuka clan would be more than happy to adopt the little one into our ranks." Tsume slouched back confidently in her seat, crossing her arms as she raised her chin and aimed her declaration solely at the Fourth Hokage. "Give us a decade, and he'll be making heads turn at the next Chunin Exams; give us two, and he'll be the greatest shinobi-hunter since Inuzuka Hachiko. I guarantee it!"

Again, it was Fugaku and Hiashi who seemed to glare through her form, as if in the hopes that their gaze could melt through stone. A moment of scowling later and the two had a sudden and placating realization that, surely, a Hokage as tempered and rational as Orochimaru would not be swayed by such baseless claims, no less from a clan as vulgar and boorish as these mongrel-lovers. However, these hopes, much like when a crow bashes a rock against a turtle's shell, were quickly bludgeoned to death when they saw him nod in potential consideration.

Whatever remained of any aforementioned propriety was swiftly executed. The proverbial floodgates did not open so much as they flew off their hinges as the Uchiha and Hyuuga patriarchs all but exploded from their seats.

"Gentlemen." Stern as stone, the ANBU Commander's sole eye froze them dead before they could so much as hurl an insult or let fly a sharp-tongued rebuke. "I'll have you remember the time and the place. This is a clan forum, yes, but this is also an official meeting held by the Office of the Hokage. Mind your words carefully."

"I am in absolute agreement," The former Hokage's authoritative yet grandfatherly voice added to their chastening. "After all, I'm sure we'd all prefer that no one rouse the sleeping child with any yelling, yes?"

For the briefest moment, there was a jolt of embarrassment that seemed to – almost unnaturally – convulse across the faces of the two clan heads. Hiashi was composed enough to maintain a straight face and not let the chastisement affect him too obviously, though his true feelings on the matter were all but betrayed by the dash of flush that graced his cheeks. Fugaku, on the other hand, cast his gaze low in shame as he held up his closed fist to hide his mouth. At the center of the room, the small infant's eyes – brimming with curiosity and innocence – met his own and further cemented his feelings of guilt.

So it was no surprise that Hiashi took advantage of the situation and spoke first. "Yondaime-sama, I apologize for any rudeness I may have shown in my… haste to respond to Inuzuka-dono. However, I must object to the consideration of the boy being adopted by their clan in particular."

Though Tsume's confident smirk remained splayed across her face, her dissatisfaction was made apparent when she clicked her tongue against the back of her teeth. "You want to maybe, oh I don't know, back that up with a good reason?"

"Gladly." He didn't smile, but there was an unshakable amount of smugness that seemed to resonate in his voice in response to the challenge. "The crude nature of their clan does a great disservice to the outward appearance of Konoha's military, making us look like little more than wild brigands in the image of barking dogs. No, a child with this much power and potential should be raised in a civilized household that can instruct him in all things proper and military."

"Oh please." Tsume barked back, "Proper like being one of your little pretentious sommeliers?"

"Proper, like knowing how to bathe." From most angles, his face would have appeared neutral, but to Tsume, who had a perfect view of his expression, she could see the thin smile that he cast back at her. He seemed pretty proud of that retort. "All of which are doubtlessly important qualities for a shinobi to have, especially in regards to respecting the elegance of the Daimyo and his Fire Court."

One of Orochimaru's hands unclasped itself and gestured for him to continue, "Go on."

"As Konoha's noblest and mightiest clan, his upbringing should fall to us. We have the resources, the equipment, and the manpower to properly guide him into his role. And the Hyuuga, not the Inuzukas, should be the Jinchuuriki's stewards."

"And pray tell," Fugaku spoke, shifting the occupants' attention to his side of the room. "What are the 'prim and proper' Hyuuga going to do if the tailed-beast breaks from his seal? Tell me, Hiashi, what good will those all-seeing eyes of yours be in the face of overwhelming power? No, don't tell me," He bit back a laugh as he covered his smile with an open hand. "You'll disconnect a few tenketsu in the beast's paws, or shoot a few volleys of your willow-leaf arrows at him? Please. Try to be a bit more rational here."

"Yeah, you tell him Fugaku." Tsume bared her teeth in a crude smile. "Nothin' some Inuzuka hounds can't bring down."

"You're next." He raised a pointed finger at her. "As I recall, your hounds didn't seem to do much to hurt, or even stagger the Kyuubi this evening, no? And besides, wouldn't your clan's savagery only serve to stoke its viciousness?"

At this point, Tsume had begun to ground her teeth together. "You know, I'm not really sure if you're one to call us out for being quote, 'savages,' unquote. Madara and the rest of your forefathers definitely had their reputations as trophy-hunters for a reason. Or need I remind you of your little monument in the middle of the Uchiha District?"

"Trophy-hunters or not, the Uchiha have the means to control the Kyuubi. Just as the great Uchiha Madara once helped Hashirama subjugate the nine tailed beasts, so too can we collar-and-leash the beast should it break from its seal."

"The barbarity of both of your clans will prove to be the child's undoing! Yondaime-sama, please, I beg of you, entrust us with his stewardship."

"These milksops definitely can't be trusted with guarding, much less raising the young'un. Let the Inuzuka clan rear him as our own."

"Hokage-sama, if you wish for the beast to be kept under proper lock and key, then leave him in our care. The boy will be raised alongside my Itachi, and the beast will be closely watched should it attempt to influence him."

All three bowed as low as they could, and had the table not been in their way, they may very well have prostrated themselves before the Hokage. In spite of their yelling, Naruto remained undisturbed from his slumber, broken only occasionally to peer around the room.

"Ahem." The voice was like shuffled gravel. "If I may, Hokage-sama?"

Orochimaru lackadaisical waved for him to continue.

"Instead of having a single clan act as Naruto's custodians, why not operate on a rotational basis? It would anchor him to the village and the shinobi community as a whole, without attaching him to any one particular clan, and thereby, avoid any accusations of favoritism."

"The Akimichi clan will support this proposition."

"As will the Yamanaka."

"Absolutely not." If Shikaku's voice was rough like gravel grinding against the pavement, then Aburame Shibi's voice came like the muffled drone of whirling cuticle wings in one's ears. Chou, his wife, quietly whispered something that went unheard by the rest of the council before he spoke again. "The potential risk of clan secrets being stolen, or even passed along by accident, could mean the destruction of an entire clan. The Aburame clan rejects Nara Shikaku's proposed plan."

"Something to hide, Aburame?"

"As much as everyone else here does, Uchiha-dono."

"Fair enough, I suppose. The Uchiha also reject the proposal."

"The Inuzuka do as well."

"As do the Hyuuga."

"The Kurama clan abstains from this vote." It was a hushed voice from the corner of the council chamber, but not as monotone as an Aburame. Rather, it was as though his voice was scuttling into their ears, dragging and stamping thousands of little chitinous legs into one's canal. Most, save for the Aburame representatives and the members of the upper council, flinched a bit at hearing Kurama Murakumo speak aloud.

Most hoped he would also abstain from talking again during the rest of the meeting.

All eyes seemed to turn to the Hokage and the rest of the upper council. With his face shrouded, Orochimaru's opinions on the matter were as ambiguous as what might lie in the center of a deep blanket of fog. He merely drummed his fingers against the flat side of the table, allowing the sound to bounce around the now silent room. The ANBU Commander and the rest of his advisors were no different, and even without veils to obscure their faces, their unyielding faces may as well have been carved into the side of the Hokage Rock.

"Firstly, I should state I'm very impressed with you all. You all spent a quarter of an hour debating with one another on a matter most imperative. You even organized your own vote on the subject. All of which was an excellent example of you all acting hastily. Especially you, Tsume."

Tsume, the root of it all, was more than a bit taken aback, embarrassed even. "I beg your pardon, sir?"

"I wish you would have earlier, begged my pardon, that is, since it was you and your impulsiveness that ultimately started this whole debate. Though, that's not to say you're the only one at fault here. All of you threw your fair share of fuel onto this proverbial fire, some more than others. All of you acted upon several proposals that were neither organized nor officiated by myself or anyone in the upper council."

"Then why allow the debate in the first place?"

Orochimaru merely shrugged. "Well, both Danzo and Hiruzen seemed fairly interested in at least hearing you all out, but as far as I can tell, neither seem particularly invested in any of the proposals. To be frank, I was also a bit offended that Tsume and the rest of you decided to waste my time with an illicit debate and an unsanctioned vote, so I decided that it would only be fair to waste yours as well."

"So, what of the boy's fate?"

"He'll be placed in the custody of Hatake Kakashi."

"He's a bit young isn't he?" Chouza asked, crossing his arms.

Inoichi nodded in agreement. "And still in the ANBU. Are you sure that he, of all people, will be able to take care of him?"

"He expressed an obligation in protecting his sensei's son. And just as Fugaku mentioned, his sharingan will prove useful in subduing the Kyuubi should it break free. Likewise, Kakashi has both the aptitude and competence to ensure the little one is well-trained and disciplined."

"But is Kakashi really all there?" Again it was Inoichi who expressed his doubts about the upper council's choice. "Mentally, I mean. Shouldn't we have Minato's son placed in the care of someone like Nohara Rin and Jiraiya?"

"That had been an idea, but that would require that we recall them back from Nohara's training. The risk of Naruto being whisked away while the two of them are off training is an entirely real possibility. Even with Jiraiya's protection, I'd rather not have two high value assets outside Konoha's walls, together no less, at any given time."

"Isn't Jiraiya the child's godfather?"

"Yes, though I do have my own reservations on whether Jiraiya could reasonably be expected to take care of the boy throughout this process. Frankly, with or without Rin to train, I think he may be a poor influence on the child."

Tsume snorted a bit, "Because he's a lech?"

"No, because he's absent-minded. Always had his head in the clouds, and never down to earth with the rest of us. His impulsivity around women and money could very well put them in an inconvenient, if not dangerous situation. One that inevitably, we'll have to clean up."

The Inuzuka couldn't help but nod in agreement. The council had received an excessive number of expense reports, all seemingly tied to either oirans or izakayas. "Aye, fair enough I suppose."

"Besides, it might do Kakashi some good to have someone to look after in his life. Might help him clean up his act a bit." Koharu said with a bit of optimism sneaking out through her tone.

"I second that." Homura added in affirmation as he readjusted his glasses. "With Nohara out of the village save for the occasional visit, and the rest of his team… indisposed, it'd be good to keep him occupied with someone."

"Excellent, I'm glad we all came to a unanimous group decision." The derision in Orochimaru's voice was hard to ignore as he snapped his fingers, an ANBU arriving almost immediately by his side. "Go and fetch me Hatake Kakashi."

There was a curt nod before he just as quickly disappeared from the chamber.

"Well," Hiruzen clapped his hands together, gathering the attention of the room. "If the Hokage would permit it, I propose that we take a short intermission while Kakashi comes to retrieve the boy."

"Very well. You are all free to do what you want for the time being. An ANBU will be sent out to notify you of the time."

---

 

[TheMightyMorgoth]

Chapter 2
Cigarettes on the Roof​

---

From the roof of the Hokage's office, thin streams of smoke seemed to drift up to the sky. Leaning over the railings, Fugaku could gaze out at the whole village, yet kept his eyes firmly fixed towards the southwest, the Shinobi Residential District. The last of the night's fires were being put out, and he could just barely make out distant shapes skittering through the debris. He hoped his men in the Keimu Butai were out there doing their job, helping who they could.

He didn't so much as blink, or even notice the taste or smell of his tobacco for that matter. There was some kind of noise behind him, but it was indiscernible at the moment, like static from a distant radio.

What looked like one of the taller barracks buildings in that district seemed to crumble a bit more, not collapsing yet, but he could hear the weight of the supports shifting even from here. Perhaps it was a hidden blessing that the Uchiha clan had been relocated towards the village outskirts by Tobirama. He let through that same mirthless smile from earlier in the meeting.

Again that noise erupted behind him, this time jolting him out of his stupor as he finally blinked and turned around.

"Hey asshole, I know we were arguing earlier, but that ain't a good reason to just ignore me." Tsume's voice was rough on his ears, not necessarily grating or annoying, just not something you'd like to hear after spending some time contemplating.

"Pardon?"

She held out her cigarette, "Light. You got a light?"

Not particularly keen on using any chakra, he drew a match from his coat pocket, struck it and lit the front end of her cigarette.

"Thanks." Tsume looked past his shoulder, glancing at what it was that he was looking at. "Mind if I join you?"

He extended his hand to the section of rail beside him. "Be my guest."

She hopped up onto the guard rail, pulling her legs through the bars and hooking them to keep herself in place. Seemed like something an academy student and not a clan matriarch might do. "So what's on your mind?"

"What isn't?"

"Ain't that the truth. I just hope the pups are doing all right back in our district."

"You keep them in the kennels right?"

"Well, not the human ones."

Fugaku couldn't help but scrunch his face up and look at her strangely as he took a rather large puff from his pipe. "You Inuzuka are still so strange to me."

"The word you're looking for is 'unorthodox'."

"Pssh." He snorted at her comment. "Surprised you even know words that big."

"Prick. I should just stick this cigarette into your cheek shouldn't I?" She crossed her arms and puffed up her chest. She continued on with an amused smile and some faux-bravado. "I'll have you know I won plenty of spelling competitions as a kid!"

"You, an academic? Sure, and I'm actually the most sought-after geisha in all of Hi no Kuni."

"Is this your way of subconsciously letting me know you like to crossdress? Aww, don't you worry, I'll be sure to let Mikoto know that her grumpy 'ol husband secretly wants to be a cute, little taikomochi for her!" Tsume burst out laughing at her own joke, much to his chagrin.

"I don't know why I bother associating with you." Even as he held his deadpan expression, she continued to laugh mockingly.

"Bet it's cause you couldn't keep your eyes off of me in the academy!"

His expression unchanged, Fugaku licked his index finger and thumb before he promptly extinguished her cigarette. "Don't flatter yourself. There definitely wasn't anyone looking at you back then, save for the instructors who were just trying to get you to shut up."

"I couldn't agree more." Someone new made their presence known to the duo. "I certainly can't imagine anyone else being interested in Tsume outside of maybe some runts from her own clan."

Unabated, Tsume spoke without paying either remark too much mind. "Hiashi, come join us."

"I don't smoke."

"I don't care. Join, or I'll be tempted to send some of my dogs to shit in your yard." She flicked her smothered cigarette behind her.

Shaking his head, Hiashi moved to join the pair, taking his place on Fugaku's left, opposite to Tsume. "You know, I'm more than a little surprised she even knows a word like tempted."

"See, Tsume? I'm not the only one who thinks you're stupid."

"Assholes, the both of you. Anyways, Fugaku, give me another light."

"As long as you don't try to tell my wife any of this horseshit that you're trying to make up."

"Oh come on, she'll think it's hilarious."

"Horseshit, you say?" Hiashi leaned forward, his interest piqued. "Do tell."

"Fugaku here is into crossdressing."

Said man withdrew his match back into his coat's inner pocket. "Suppose then that there'll be no need for a light."

Hiashi moved over to Tsume and held his hand out towards her unlit cigarette. He flicked his thumb against the side of his index in a similar fashion to how one might strike a match, a small flame hovering above its tip. "You were saying."

Fugaku could only pinch the bridge of his nose. "Why did I get put on a team with a bunch of gossipping hens?"

"You hush. Go on, Tsume. Tell me more about Fugaku's secret interest."

"He made a rather interesting comment about being, and I quote, 'the most sought after geisha in Hi no Kuni,' unquote."

"Mmm. I see, I see."

"Now, I was so bold as to assume this might have been him, subconsciously projecting his own secret fetishes to me, being his only female friend."

"Sure, 'female'." It was almost imperceptible, but both Fugaku and Tsume could have sworn they heard a bit of air wheeze out of Hiashi's nose in a pseudo laugh. "Oh sorry, do continue."

"Yeah, no, that was it."

"What so, no hard proof? No evidence of any of this?"

"Uh, no? I just pulled it out of my ass." With his blank, milky eyes, Hiashi stared at Tsume for a second, his earlier smile and interest having dissipated.

"Gods above, you're a boring woman." He quickly proceeded to do the same thing as Fugaku had earlier, wetting his fingers and snuffing out its short lived flame. He made sure to pinch a bit past the very front, twisting it and practically ruining the whole cigarette.

"For fuck's sake, this is two cigarettes in a row. One of you needs to pay me back for all this."

"Sure, tell you what," As the Uchiha took another long drag from his pipe, he started to chuckle a bit at a joke he just thought of. "How about I grab a few bones from my trophy monument? Would that be enough to pay you back?"

"Fugaku, you shouldn't joke about that." Hiashi and Tsume's faces were dead serious. "We shinobi have to know better than to act as inhumane as that."

"H-hiashi, you're not serious are you?" The Uchiha gulped as he tried to decipher his friends' true feelings. Fugaku stared at Hiashi with uncertainty, whose face had seemingly turned to stone.

"Of course not."

Fugaku's shoulders sank in relief, as the two sputtered into a fit of childish giggling. "You cheeky bastard."

"I had you there didn't I?"

"You just about did, but then I couldn't help and think about that thing, oh what was it again?"

"The Sightless Garden."

"That's it." Fugaku shook his head and tapped his index against the side of his pipe. "Still don't think I can ever forget that sight."

"That was when I invited our team to the compound wasn't it?"

"That's right, and wasn't Tsume trying to extort some pocket money from your – what was it again – eight and nine-year old cousins in the branch family?"

"Whoa whoa whoa." Said woman held her hands up defensively. "It wasn't extortion, I merely challenged them to a game of Daifugou, and when they refused to pay up, I wrestled them for a few sen. Absolutely nothin' extortionary about that."

"Of course, my bad. So, Tsume was mugging your cousins, Iinuma-sensei was getting berated by your clan elders, and you lured me to the back of the compound, didn't you?"

"'Lured you,' has some negative connotations. I prefer 'giving you a tour of the premises'."

"Hiashi, you led me to the back spot of the compound and proceeded to push me into the most nightmarish alcove I could have imagined."

The Hyuuga merely shrugged, "It isn't my fault that you're so frail and prissy."

"We were kids, of course I'd have been a bit disturbed by that. For the record, you pushed me into a thorn bush with a couple dozen preserved human eyes staring back at me."

"I, being the gracious host that I was and still am, thought that you, an Uchiha, would feel perfectly at home in a nest full of eyes, on account of your clan being equally obsessed with eyes."

Tsume snorted, "If you consider basically everyone at the compound being passive-aggressive as 'gracious,' then sure."

"Well, perhaps if all of you had been dressed more appropriately and behaved in a manner befitting of a noble household, then you wouldn't have been treated as such." Hiashi cupped his chin with one hand as he crossed the other underneath his arm pit. "Yes and if I recall, after one of the attendants let you into the gates, she described you all to me as a rabble of peasants, one of which in particular looked like a rabid mutt off its leash."

To their surprise, Tsume did not immediately react to Hiashi's proverbial jab.

"Makes you think though, doesn't it?"

Both men looked at her, a bit curious at her question.

"About preserved eyes?"

"About mugging small children?"

"No, retards. How long ago did we graduate?"

"Must've been, what, eighteen, maybe twenty years ago?"

All three of them stewed in their own thoughts.

Fugaku subconsciously ran a hand through his hair, uncertain of which strands had already begun to turn grey. "Gods, I feel old."

"Yeah, cause you are." Tsume snickered. "You're already starting to look grey from here!"

"Ahuh." Unamused, Fugaku took a few drags from his pipe and exhaled as much smoke as he could muster into her face. "Seems like I'm not the only one turning grey nowadays."

Before Tsume could respond, Hiashi cut her off. "On the subject of grey things, look who finally arrived."

The other two peered over the side of the railings and down at the entryway. Two masked ANBU were moving towards the entrance, though the one trailing behind was very clearly identifiable with his shock of silver hair. "Damn, how long ago was it that Hatake graduated? Seven years ago?"

"Nine." The Uchiha replied quickly.

"Nine! And now look at him, already in the ANBU. Might as well be more machine than man." Tsume turned around, resting her back against the guard railing as she toyed with her maimed cigarette bud. "Makes you wonder though, how's he gonna raise Minato's kid? I mean, half his team's dead, his only other teammate refuses to speak to him, and he has all of three other friends. At that, they're more his friends than he is theirs."

His former teammates' noses scrunched in response. The more outspoken of the two decided to voice their shared problem. "You're not even going to wait to bring it up are you?"

"Hm?" The Inuzuka hummed innocently enough.

"You're bringing up this whole Kakashi affair so casually and right after you completely ruined the chance of anyone having custody of the child! Most of all, us."

"You two think you even had a chance? Don't kid yourselves. Orochimaru was all but eating out of my hands until you two decided to butt in."

Hiashi couldn't help but raise one of his well-trimmed eyebrows, "Butt in? Tsume, we had just as much of a right to be his surrogates as you did. We were just as close to Minato as you were!"

"And what about Kushina, hmm? Thanks to my tomboyish charms, I was more than able to befriend both of them, unlike you two, who never seemed interested in expanding out of your little sausage fest with Minato."

The two men briefly glowered at her, before Hiashi's eyebrows raised ever so slightly and he leaned over to Fugaku, whispering something that was incomprehensible to Tsume. Their faces softened a bit as they nodded their heads in understanding. Hiashi stepped forward and placed a hand on shoulder, "Tsume. I'm so sorry."

"Huh?"

"Tsume," Fugaku shook his head, covering his eyes with his forearm as though he were about to cry. "We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but they weren't actually your friends."

Hiashi patted her shoulder, the way a father might console their crying child. "You, I am afraid, were their little charity case."

"I remember it like it was yesterday – Hiashi, Minato and I were all sitting at a bar, piss drunk rambling on about this and that. And I remember, clear as day, after he burped louder than I've ever heard anyone else before, he told us about how our weird teammate was trying to act all friendly around him and his girlfriend."

"That's right, that's right. We told him, 'Please, you have to understand, she's a bit of a special case. She's a little slow, but she always means well. It would mean a lot to us if you and Kushina at least humored her.' And the rest is history!"

Neither of her male teammates held it together for too long, nearly bursting out in laughter. Much like how one might flick a bug off their arm, she flicked her cigarette at Hiashi. "Fuck you guys, at least I got invited to her baby shower."

"Oh and I'm sure theyneverregretted that decision."

"I'm so sorry for her, you know!" Fugaku raised his pitch just a bit to imitate Kushina's, copying her verbal tic as he did a little faux-apologetic bow. "Yes, I promise, we'll be sure to pay for all the damages she caused to your place, you know!"

"Pieces of shit," She rolled up sleeves, revealing toned and scar-covered biceps and triceps. "I oughta fucking put you both into coffins."

As her – poor – choice in words finally settled among them, all three of them became a bit more dour. Tsume nervously scratched the back of her neck, realizing what she had said. "Uh, sorry, maybe that was a bit too soon to say."

"No, no. It's fine. It was an honest mistake."

"That's right." Fugaku smiled again, as mirthless as usual. "What would Tsume be without making some mistakes, right?"

They all chuckled, but there was understandably a bit of sadness in their tone.

"Pardon my intrusion." The three turned, where an ANBU stood upright with his hands clasped behind his back. He was a tall fellow, though not as tall as Fugaku. "We'll be returning to the chamber now."

"Hatake finally received the kid?"

"Yes ma'am." Just as quickly and silently as he appeared, the ANBU vanished from view, likely returning to one of their usual observation perches.

"Well, I guess that'll be that then." Fugaku exhaled the last puff of smoke for the night, the tobacco he had stuffed in all but burned away.

"Hey." Tsume ground her teeth together anxiously, still a bit guilty at how their conversation had ended but a few moments earlier. "What say we all go hit up a bar after this meeting's over?"

"Sure. I'mabsolutely certainthat a bar will be open past midnight, and right after a massive city-wide evacuation notice." Hiashi huffed tiredly.

Tsume stared down at the rooftop, kicking a displaced pebble of polished stone. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Forget I said anything."

The two looked back at her, before Fugaku lightly elbowed Hiashi. The Hyuuga held up his hands in placation. "Wait, Tsume. Let's go back to the Hyuuga District instead of drinking that overpriced piss-swill that the commoners call beer. I'm sure there's some fine bottles of umeshu with each of our names on it."

"Or… alternatively, we go to the Uchiha District, and I break out a few bottles of that premium Honjozoshu that I keep tucked away for special occasions?"

"What's wrong with the Hyuuga District?"

"Hiashi, we want to drink without being looked at like we're the dirt under someone's fingernails."

Tsume nodded in agreement. "So it's settled, then. We'll drink at Fugaku's place, and we'll have the little afterparty that Minato and Kushina would have wanted."

"Damn right."

"Indeed. A shot for each year we wish for Naruto's continued prosperity."

All three were now nodding in agreement.

"Now," Tsume clapped her hands together. "Let's hurry or we're gonna have the whole council yelling at us."

Lagging a few minutes behind everyone else, the former team were the last to make their way into the stairwell. Fugaku, who walked at the front of the trio, spoke up with some cheer having returned to his voice. "To Naruto?"

Hiashi and Tsume smiled sadly, each raising a hand as though they were holding a cup for a toast. "To Naruto."

"By the way, if the offer still stands, I'll take those bones you mentioned earlier, Fugaku."

---

Big thanks to my co-author, King Jucio for helping me develop this idea.

 

[TheMightyMorgoth]

Chapter 3
Red Beans and Plums​

A small boy, no older than five, yawned as he stretched his arm out of the warm sanctuary of his linen comforter. Through groggy eyes, he hastily attempted to flip the switch on his blaring alarm clock. Seven-thirty, it read. He lay flat in the bed for a moment as he stared up at the wooden grid formation of the ceiling. For a few minutes, he counted each square above him.

Eventually, once he finally got bored, he shuffled out of bed with another yawn and a long stretch. He left the room, only to find the austerely-decorated apartment to be empty. On the backside of the front door there was a small paper note pinned against the fabric message board.

Naruto,

Out on a mission. Might be home tonight. Breakfast and lunch for the next three days are in the fridge; reheat for 90 and 200 seconds, respectively. Spare rations in the pantry if you get hungry. Make sure you're eating enough protein each day, keep the house clean, go through your courses, and go over the chapters I marked. Guy will drop by the house in the evenings.

– Kakashi

"No Aniue today either." Naruto sighed before his stomach growled at him like an annoyed dog. Opening the fridge, he found his breakfast: tamagoyaki, a dozen broiled saury, several filets of simmered mackerel, a large pot of white rice that had lazily been stuck into the fridge, and a large pickled plum – as large as a pickled plum could be that is. It was the same food that Kakashi made since as far back as he could remember. Naruto quickly tore through the meal, letting his stomach command his hand forward.

"The eggs don't taste like anything, the fish are all overcooked, and the pickled plum is a pickled plum. The rice is fine, though." He ate everything nonetheless. His meal was finished without ceremony, and he cleaned everything as thoroughly as if Kakashi had been hovering just behind him. "Well, at least I know Aniue definitely made it."

He grabbed the key lying on the coffee table and was sure to lock up the apartment on his way out. In sharp contrast to his nicely air-conditioned home, it was warm outside, uncomfortably so, with the humidity clinging to his cold skin like freshly cooked rice to the sides of a pot. Naruto all but recoiled in disgust, nearly retreating back to the temperate confines of Kakashi's minimalist apartment. But after reminding himself that no one was there anyway, he made his way out the door. Like usual, he'd eventually get used to the humidity.

"Good morning, Naru-chan. Out for your usual run?" His neighbor was a kindly older woman, around her late sixties, who frequently enjoyed sipping her chilled green tea outside her front door.

"Good morning, Oba-san!" He gave a deep bow to his neighbor. "And yes, Aniue still wants me to run lots for the next few weeks."

"Well, I'll be sure to keep an eye on the house while you're gone. If you'd like, I'll make you some matcha when you get back?"

"Thank you, but Aniue says I can't." His head drooped down a bit and he couldn't meet her gaze, as if wracked with guilt. "I'm sorry. If he didn't say so, I definitely would love to have some!"

She brought the sleeve of her jinbei up to cover her mouth, stifling a giggle. "It's okay, Naru-chan. Now go on. If you don't leave soon, it's going to be too hot to run!"

Naruto couldn't help but give another small bow to excuse himself.

He made his way down from the second floor of the apartment and set off for his run. He was to run at least two kilometers out, and then another two kilometers back. He took his usual route up through the residential districts and near the market district. The people who recognized him waved or smiled, mostly adults or the elderly. None of the children his age recognized him, and mostly stuck to themselves or their parents.

However, there was one young woman Naruto didn't recognize, made all the more distinct by the strange markings on her cheeks. She stared at him rather intensely, as if she recognized him – but Naruto had never seen nor met her in his entire life. So he continued past her.

The sun had barely moved by the time he finished, and though drenched in sweat, his heart maintained a relatively steady beat. One lukewarm shower later, and Naruto found himself spinning in his desk chair, idly passing the time. He did this for five minutes until the time read eleven o'clock.

When the small hand of the clock finally came to rest over the eleven, without fail, Naruto opened up the first book lying on his desk. "The Basics of Chakra Control," he read aloud. "Same page as usual."

He flipped through the book, briefly glimpsing at the pages he had already gone through. The majority of the pages were covered in illustrations and diagrams, with words only sparsely written throughout to contextualize or add noteworthy points. The sketches were rough and hand-drawn, with people represented via basic anatomical silhouettes meant to convey only the necessary details.

Naruto stopped abruptly as he finally found what he was looking for. The page was marked with a diagram of the five basic nature transformations, with each character for the five elements accompanied by a sprawl of notes. In the center of the diagram, Kakashi had left a little note: "Affinities become obvious at a certain age; practice chakra control until then." He wasn't allowed to practice with fire, wind, or lightning unless Kakashi was there to supervise so that only left him with water or earth. Given that Naruto had just showered, he decided practicing with water might be the best – and cleanest – option. It would also be Naruto's first time – at least in a long time – practicing with water rather than earth.

"Okay, let's see." Naruto stood up from his chair as he scanned the instructions on the following page. "Fill a bucket or container with water, and place your hands at the bottom. Do not move them and maintain a consistent influx of chakra going in and out of them. Move the water only using your chakra." Below the little notes were a few underlined keywords that Kakashi had left him, providing visual inspiration.

"Only do this in the bathroom." That sentence in particular was circled vigorously.

So he did as the note instructed, filling a bucket with water, before very carefully shuffling over to the bathroom, where he rested the pail on the tiled floor. Ironically, the bathroom may have been the largest – and most accommodating – room in Kakashi's apartment.

Slumping down to his knees, Naruto rolled up his sleeves as his hands gently sunk into the water until his palms lay flat against the bottom. It was barely warm but was comfortable to him nonetheless. Slowly, he shut out the outside world until all that seemed to remain was the faint hum of the ceiling light and the steady pace of his breath. With one deep inhale, he felt the chakra in his body 'come to life,' pooling and gathering in his stomach like a peach's seed. Then, with the following exhale, he felt a momentary tingling sensation explode from his core to the palms of his hands as if they were horses galloping across a well-worn road.

When the water bubbled in response, Naruto couldn't help but giggle a little to himself. He concentrated on his task and felt the chakra return through his hands, traveling back up through his arms. The water seemed to suck in a little bit as his chakra withdrew into his body. Again, he expelled another pulse of chakra, but this time, meant to shorten the time between the exhale and inhale of energy.

It was slow at first, and he nearly blasted himself with a jet of water when his concentration slipped, and he let out a little too much chakra. But eventually, he set his mind to a rhythm, 'in-and-out, and in-and-out.' Although there was the occasional misstep – that is to say, a bit of spillage coming off the side of the pail – the water had nonetheless fallen into line with Naruto's rhythm. After some time had passed, there was a miniature – albeit slow – vortex of water converging around the boy's hands.

Months of constant chakra control practice culminated in some visible and decent results.

Though Kakashi may not find it adequate, this was the best Naruto had accomplished thus far. Unfortunately, there was a sudden knock at the front door. To Naruto, it was as if the apartment complex collapsed, and he found himself drenched with the contents of the now-empty bucket. Hastily grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his head and shoulders like a shawl, he rushed to the door, leaving a trail of water that dripped onto the floor in his wake.

Much to his surprise, a pair of familiar faces greeted him. "Sarutobi-sama, Oku-sama." Unfortunately, his towel slipped out from its hastily made knot and onto the ground as he bowed deeply to the former Hokage and his wife. "I'm so sorry for the wait and… this. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Don't worry Naruto, there's nothing to apologize for." Hiruzen squatted down and grabbed the towel, dusting it off a few times before he handed it back to the boy. "And we came here to speak with you and Kakashi. Is he home right now?"

Naruto shook his head as he folded the towel neatly into a thick square, its corners still damp and now caked with a bit of dust from the genkan. "He left a few days ago. But he might be back later tonight!"

He flashed the pair a small smile at that optimistic thought. Conversely, Hiruzen and Biwako allowed a frown to form as they shared a look. They quickly returned to their original dispositions, hoping Naruto hadn't noticed.

When he did, however, Naruto's optimism gave way to some concern, and he couldn't help but tense up a bit. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing is wrong." Biwako held out her hand and spoke reassuringly. "I promise."

His shoulders slumped a bit as he relaxed, and though he said nothing, he did give an audible sigh. "Oh, I'm sorry, please come in!"

"Ah, I should mention. I made these for you!" As her husband sealed out the summer heat behind them, Biwako stepped forward and peeled back the lid on a wooden container. As if sealed away by the lid, there was a pleasantly cool air that poured out into the room, revealing with it a dozen or more pale-white daifuku. Naruto could hardly contain himself in front of such delectables, but after a moment of thought, he held back from even reaching out to them.

But embarrassed as he was, he could barely maintain eye contact with the older woman. "I'm sorry, Oku-sama, but I'm not allowed to have anything sweet. Aniue says they're not very good for a growing shinobi."

Hiruzen couldn't help but deadpan at Naruto's reluctant answer – an answer that was not at all out of line for something Kakashi would say, or for that matter, make Naruto say whenever he was offered sweets. Biwako bit back her laughter as she pursed her lips in amusement, "Firstly, no need to call me Oku-sama; I'm not some bride fresh from her wedding, and we certainly shouldn't be strangers to you."

"Sorry," Naruto nodded, "From now on, I'll call you Biwako-sama."

She stared at him silently for a moment before giving a faint shrug as though to say, 'Good enough.' "Secondly, do you know how many soon-to-be shinobi your age are not allowed to have wagashi?"

"None?"

"None. That's right." The midwife placed a hand on her hip. "And as a medical professional who helps monitor shinobi children, I can assure you and Kakashi, the occasional sweet isn't going to hurt – especially not if I make it."

Naruto slumped down onto the edge of the genkan, letting his little legs dangle onto the genkan. "Yeah, I know. I said that to Aniue."

"And what did he say?"

The boy held a hand over his left eye and imitated Kakashi as best as he could, "Sure, Naruto. But how many kids that eat candy become Jonin at twelve?" He let out a huff as his head sank down into his hands.

"Ahem." Hiruzen cleared his throat. "Naruto, I thought you said your older brother was on a mission?"

"Huh?" Curious blue eyes looked up at the elderly man. Naruto replied a little too curtly than Kakashi would have allowed him to. "He is, though?"

"Clearly, the greatest shinobi of all time, Hatake Kakashi, is standing right before me!" He stretched his hand out towards Naruto as though he were a flashy merchant unveiling his latest product to a crowd of onlookers. Complete with a cheeky – if not jovial – smile.

Biwako set the container down on the top step of the genkan, before bending down to Naruto's height and wrapping an old but firm hand behind his back and onto his shoulder, opposite to her. She guided him up until he was on his feet.

The boy turned around and was greeted by one of the warmest smiles he could have imagined – perhaps even more than his neighborly Oba-san. She playfully nudged her head forward, drawing his attention to the former Hokage.

He couldn't help but smile along with her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have been mistaken." Hiruzen snapped his fingers in mock disappointment. "The real Hatake Kakashi only has one eye, not two."

Naruto, still confused, looked to Biwako for some elaboration. She merely smiled and covered her left eye with the adjacent hand. The boy lit up and turned to face Hiruzen as he did the same thing.

"There he is, the greatest shinobi Konoha has ever seen!"

Naruto couldn't help but smile along with everyone else, letting the energy and excitement of the couple whisk him away. He clicked the heels of his feet together, before saluting with his right hand, placing the flattened hand perpendicular to his brow. "Ani- I mean, Hatake Kakashi, reporting for duty!"

"At ease, Hatake-san." Perhaps a little too eagerly, Naruto shot his right hand down to his side, almost slamming it into his own waist. Hiding an emerging laugh with a fake cough, Hiruzen continued. "I have a special assignment for you, it's a triple S-ranked mission. But on second thought, I'm not sure if you're cut out for it."

"I'm cut for it!" His cerulean eyes were abuzz with excitement.

Biwako whispered behind him. "Cut out for it."

"I'm cut out for it, I mean!" He quickly amended his previous statement.

"Very well, know that the fate of Konoha, no, the fate of the entire world rests on you."

Naruto was absolutely beaming. "I'm ready for anything!"

"Okay, you'll have to close your eyes and turn around."

As he did as he was instructed, Biwako struggled to stifle a giggle as she covered her mouth. Quietly she leaned down and drew a daifuku from the container. "Hold your hands out."

It was sticky, yet incredibly soft like a steamed dumpling.

"Your mission is to eat this."

"Uhm…" There was still that hitch of reluctance as Naruto spoke, "But Aniue said-"

"Hatake-san, the fate of our country rests in your hands! We don't have time. You need to eat it now!"

The faux alarm in Hiruzen's voice was enough to spook the boy as he greedily scoffed down the wagashi. He only began to savor its taste halfway through the mochi once his teeth sunk into the roughly cut chunk of plum at its core. The sweetness of the semi-transparent adzuki filling melted in with the sourness and acidity of the plum, creating an altogether refreshing taste and exciting texture for Naruto's rather plain palette. Wagashi was a rare treat for Naruto, as were sweets in general, though perhaps with good reason. Barely a minute had passed before the daifuku mochi was gone.

"Congratulations on a mission well done!"

"Congratulations!"

After Naruto realized how voraciously he had eaten the daifuku, he shrunk back in embarrassment, his cheeks flushed red.

Biwako urged him towards the couch in the center of the living room. "Come now, why not sit down and have another one?"

Sheepishly, he nodded and shuffled over before taking a seat across from the older couple. Naruto retained a relatively formal posture even as he sat down as if attending an interview.

"Go on." Biwako pushed the wooden box full of plum wagashi closer with her middle and ring fingers. She smiled at him, "You'll have another, won't you?"

He nervously swallowed a glob of spit as he looked down, the sourness of the plums still fresh on his tongue. He wondered aloud, "Would Aniue be okay with this?"

"Ahem," Hiruzen cleared his throat. "I'm sure that Kakashi would, at least out of obligation, enjoy some sweets."

"That's right!" Biwako nodded her head in agreement, "And I'm quite sure he wouldn't mind having just a few, now would he?"

"I suppose not…" Naruto reached out his hand, the soft and malleable form of the rice dough squishing between his fingers. He carefully bit into it, but this time bit deeper and with more confidence than he had with the first daifuku. Having bitten deep enough into the mochi to get a combination of the plum and adzuki, he closed his eyes and savored the swirl of flavors. He found that the soft texture and sourness of the plum complemented the sweetness and grit from the ground-up red beans. It was a match made in heaven.

"So, Naruto," He opened his eyes only to see the Sarutobi couple giggling and speaking very quietly among themselves. "Tell us about your day."

He swallowed his bite slowly before he spoke. "Lots of training and exercise! I ran about four kilometers and then practiced my chakra control!"

"Did you make sure to stretch afterward?"

"Uhmm." He fidgeted with his fingers. "No… I forgot to."

"You better be sure to, or you'll end up as sore and achy as us at your age."

Naruto couldn't help but grimace at the thought and nodded his head.

The two elders waited quietly, expecting him to follow up his earlier statement with a list of what he had been up to. "Naruto?"

"Yes?"

"Is that… all you did today?"

He shrugged his shoulders and slumped back onto the couch. "It's only noon"

"Okay, let me put it this way. Did you do anything for fun?"

"Ah, no." Naruto raised a finger to interject. "Training is fun."

"Fun for you?"

The boy's eyes slowly drifted away and broke contact with the Sarutobis' before he whispered under his breath. "For Aniue, it is."

"Mhm. That sounds about right."

Biwako spoke up after Hiruzen made his comment. "Well, is there anything you'd like to do?

"Besides your training, that is." Hiruzen followed up.

"I don't know…" His voice trailed off. "Usually, when I ask Aniue if I can do something fun, he says no if it's not about training or being a shinobi."

"Hmmm. Maybe we could find something you might enjoy that Kakashi would see as practical? I'm sure we could come up with a little list of things."

"Like what?"

Hiruzen drummed his fingers along the arm of the chair. "How about an instrument? It would build patience and would require constant diligence."

Biwako clapped her hands together in delight. "Oh, that's a wonderful idea! Is there anything you'd like to play?"

"I always wanted to play the koto, actually!" His excitement softened as he glanced down towards his fidgeting hands. "But I already asked Aniue about that."

"And?"

"He said it would be 'harmful to my studies and training'."

"Hmmm. Well, how about something like shogi, then? It requires a certain level of tactical skill and planning that could be useful to any shinobi? Plus, many of the best shinobi in the village play shogi."

Seeming curious, Naruto perked up a bit. "So, who else in the village plays shogi?"

"Well, yours truly is a pretty distinguished player," Hiruzen said, with zero reservations about bragging in front of a five-year-old. "Most of the council plays it, often against one another on certain weekends of the month – that and mahjong. When I was the Hokage, I liked to challenge the senior ANBU who worked in my office when I was bored. The Jonin Commander plays shogi, and I'm also sure he'll be teaching his son how to play. And you know, even the Hokage himself plays a couple games of shogi every week.

"Really?" His voice dripped with excitement at that bit of information. "That's so cool! Is he a good player?"

"I would certainly think so." Smugly, he straightened his clothes in a most exaggerated manner. "He learned everything from me, after all. Probably why he's such a good player after all."

"You did not!" She lightly smacked her husband across the back of the head. "And, stop gloating."

"I'm not gloating, it's just the honest truth. I taught that boy all the fundamentals and most of my strategies when it comes to shogi. Nowadays, he likes to play two-on-one matches against Jiraiya and me. With shogi clocks, too!"

"Orochimaru's a smart boy. I'm certain he came up with most of his strategies."

"Well, he's only smart because of my tutelage…"

"No, he's smart because he studies hard and is gifted."

Naruto sat there quietly, staring back and forth between the bantering couple.

"Anyways," The Sarutobi patriarch leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and allowed a thoughtful but playful smirk to form on his features. "If you did happen to learn it, I could potentially arrange a few matches with some figures of renown in the village. Maybe even meet the Hokage if you behave yourself." He gave Naruto a sly wink and chuckled.

The boy's eyes lit up, and Hiruzen could see his legs, which dangled over the couch, swing back and forth like pendulums.

"Calligraphy would also be quite practical." Biwako chimed in. "Even at the most basic level, good calligraphy and a steady hand are necessary to create fuinjutsu. Well, functional fuinjutsu."

"Oh, most definitely." Hiruzen gave an exaggerated nod in affirmation of his wife. "Naruto, my boy, you know my student Jiraiya, don't you?"

"I know about him, but mostly from books."

"Well, let me tell you, he was a shinobi with nothing but lofty goals! Even as a genin, he'd always talk about how one day he would perfect my sensei's space-time ninjutsu or make his own formula. But for the longest time, he failed, even as his knowledge and understanding of fuinjutsu grew to the proper level he would have needed to make one."

"Why did he keep failing?"

"Simple. Jiraiya couldn't draw his lines straight."

Naruto said nothing, merely widening his eyes in shock. "He couldn't make a seal because of that?"

"That goof was always sloppy with his work, so the seal would never function correctly." Hiruzen's wife shook her head, remembering the hours of calligraphy lessons she offered to Jiraiya during his chunin days. "A word of advice: even the most basic seals like a storage or explosive tag require halfway decent calligraphy. So start early."

The couple shared a look of agreement as they nodded to one another before both turned to Naruto, who quietly sat there in thought. Hiruzen coughed into his hand to break the silence before continuing, "Do you think your brother would accept that reasoning?"

"I…," Naruto sat there, mulling over how Kakashi might react to this request. "I think that could work."

Hiruzen leaned forward and a bit off his chair. "And if he doesn't want to let you do either of these, just let me know. I'll have a word with him." He flashed him a smirk and sat back down before crossing one leg over the other.

"Thank you so much!" Suddenly feeling very watched, he again fidgeted in his seat, before quickly trying to shift the subject. "Uhm, Sarutobi-sama?"

"Hmm? Yes, Naruto?"

"Can I ask you some questions about Konoha's history?"

A fire suddenly lit itself in Hiruzen's eyes, and 'The Professor' was once again realized. "Why of course! Please, feel free to ask anything you'd like! Is there anything in particular you're interested in?"

"Well, you mentioned your sensei earlier," Naruto said, still unsure of what to say to keep the focus off his eating. "How about Lord Tobirama?"

Resting his elbows on the arms of the wooden chair, Hiruzen mulled over his thoughts with a low hum as he scratched. Meanwhile, Naruto subtly – or as best as one expected from a five-year-old – snuck in another bite of his daifuku.

"Ah yes, Tobirama-sensei. Interesting fellow him; a great teacher too!" He reached into the inner pocket of his robe, pulling out an ornate silver and red kiseru and a small capsule of quality smoking tobacco. Even sealed away, there was a very earthy smell emanating from it. Before he could stuff the tobacco into the bowl-shaped hizara, Biwako held her hand between the two items and gave him a firm look. Hiruzen rolled his eyes but said nothing, placing both away from where they seemingly appeared in his pockets. "Anyways, what was I saying…"

"He was a great teacher?"

"Ah, right, right. Tobirama-sensei was an amazing teacher and mentor. To all of us. His disciples now make up the upper crest of the government – including yours truly – at one point or another."

"You were the former Hokage, but who were the others?" Naruto asked, this time taking a mousy nibble from the side of his daifuku.

"Well, there's Shimura Danzo. Snarky and a bit too hostile at times, but always reliable. He's a good friend, at that. He's currently serving Lord Fourth as the ANBU Commander. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu also serve Lord Fourth, though more as advisors and representatives of veterans affairs."

Hiruzen folded his hands into each other, letting his legs stretch out a bit until they were just hidden beneath the edge of the coffee table. "We were all trained by Tobirama-sensei, who instilled within us the Will of Fire. Because of him, the village has blossomed."

Naruto nodded his head in partial understanding before he swallowed what remained of his treat. "I see. Then, can you tell me more about Lord Tobirama?"

"Hmmmm." The older man looked up at the ceiling as he dug through the back of his memories, now withdrawing his legs from beneath the table and folding one leg atop the other. "Tobirama-sensei was a very... opinionated person."

"Opinionated?"

Biwako spoke up. "It means to have very strong beliefs, Naruto."

"Eh? Ah, I'm sorry, Biwako-sama. I didn't mean it like that." He gave an apologetic bow. "I meant how was Lord Tobirama an opinionated person?"

While Biwako merely giggled at the young child's deference, Hiruzen leaned back in his seat and hummed to himself.

"Well… when he met someone, he tended to stick to his gut instinct about them, which was usually negative. Changing his opinion, meaningfully at least, took a lot of time or was nearly impossible."

"Lord Madara." Biwako chimed in.

"Oh yes, definitely like Lord Madara." Hiruzen immediately agreed.

"Uchiha Madara?" Naruto raised his eyebrows a bit in surprise.

"Mhm, the very same." As Hiruzen continued to speak, his eyes became somewhat vacant. "Those two were like cats and dogs – could hardly stand each other, especially before my time. Sensei saw Madara as little more than a bloodthirsty brute and was afraid of him betraying the village for the longest time."

"How come?"

"Grudges held over from the Warring States period. Most of our founders spent their formative years killing each other, or at least trying to. Sensei lost two brothers and his father to the Uchiha clan, and Lord Madara himself lost his younger brother to Tobirama-sensei. Hashirama-sensei was a bit special in that he wasn't one to hold grudges. There was a lot of bloodshed that couldn't be easily washed away."

"Oh, hmm." Naruto's index finger curled in parallel to his lips as he looked down at the floor trying to formulate his question. "But it was washed away, right?"

"Eventually, yes." Hiruzen blinked out of his musings and looked at Naruto. "Though I'm sure he still had some reservations, he and Madara always managed to put their differences aside when it came to the interests of Konoha. I think that alone helped to mend their poor relationship."

"Hashirama was also there to mediate for a while."

"That too. But even after Hashirama-sensei passed away, Lord Madara retained his position as the Vice-Commander of the Konoha army for two wars, first under Tobirama-sensei and again under me. Even after he retired from active service as a shinobi, he remained on our war councils until the Third War."

"Until he died, right?"

"Mhm, right up until he died. Maybe Sensei just valued Lord Madara for his skills, and would rather have someone that powerful much closer to him than further away. Maybe." Hiruzen leaned back with a small sigh, "But I genuinely believe that those two managed to kindle something of a friendship, if only at the end of their lives."

Hiruzen seemed to lose himself in thought, idly staring out the window at the late morning sun. Biwako and Naruto briefly shared a look with one another before the former placed a hand on her husband's shoulder. "Dear, are you all right?"

"Hmm? Oh yes, yes. Just… thinking."

"Sarutobi-sama, what were you thinking about?"

"Those two nearly wasted their entire lives hating one another, only in their waning years to realize that they were a lot more alike than either of them realized – or perhaps were willing to acknowledge." The former Hokage leaned back in his chair, raking his fingers through his short beard. "We all develop rivalries in our lives, but it's important not to let those rivalries develop into something that hinders progress."

He turned his head out the window and continued. "Look at Danzo and I. We've been teammates since we were children, yet after the death of our sensei, we became rather bitter towards one another."

"How come? You said you two were good friends earlier."

"Hush, I'm getting there." Hiruzen coughed lightly into his hand. "Anyways. During my reign, we butted heads so frequently, that I was tempted to cut him out of the government entirely. But, thanks to some mediation from our other teammates, we all eventually came to a compromise. As it turns out, I had hastily judged some of his opinions which turned out to be quite right. When we agreed to put some of his ideas into action, many of them worked much better than I had anticipated."

"And now?"

"And now, we've remained good friends. We're both aides to the Hokage, and I find that we've both found a healthy balance between agreeing and disagreeing with each other. My advice is, don't hold a grudge for your entire life. If I had remained stubbornly opposed to Danzo, I fear the distance between us would have only grown wider, and we'd remain at each other's throats."

Having finished his snack, Naruto leaned forward in thought.

He couldn't really recall having many grudges at the moment.

"Thank you, Sarutobi-sama." There was a little hesitance in his voice. "I'll keep that in mind for later… I think?"

"Good lad. Be sure to remember what I tell you well. After all, they say my advice is worth more than all the gold and silver in the world combined."

Biwako coughed into her hand as she stifled a most unladylike snort, "They? And who would 'they' be exactly?"

"Practically everyone! As the Hokage's advisor, I'm at the forefront of every important meeting with Orochimaru – who I trained, mind you – and Danzo, and I think that alone speaks volumes of my wisdom."

---

Author's Note:

Below are a list of the Japanese terms and phrases used in the chapter:

Tamagayaki – Rolled omelettes.

Jinbei – Loose loungewear worn during the Japanese summer.

Oku-sama – An even more respectful version of "Oku-san," which is how to address someone's wife without using their actual given or family name.

Daifuku – Mochi, a glutinous rice cake often filled with red bean paste or fruit.

Genkan – The lowered entrance to a household, typically made of stone whereas the rest of the house's floors are made from wood. This is where you remove your outdoor footwear.

Adzuki – Sweet red beans.

Koto – Japanese harpsichord like the Chinese guqin that you play resting horizontally on your legs or on a stand in front of you.

Kiseru – A traditional Japanese tobacco pipe.

 

[TheMightyMorgoth]

Chapter 4
Cuckoo Birds​

"Ookami, report." The ANBU Commander ordered as he sat awkwardly on an otherwise comfortable couch. Intermittently, he shifted himself but seemingly could not find the desired position.

Perpendicular to him sat the Hokage himself, who peeked out from the wide sleeves of his white robes were his equally pale hands, which rested atop the cedar desk. Like little serpents, his fingers idly crept along the flat cedar. Opposite of Danzo and beside Orochimaru was the latter's former teammate and Konoha's current spymaster, leaning against the back wall with his hands resting behind the back of his head. Before them stood two figures clad in black cloaks and porcelain ANBU masks.

The taller of the two ANBU, a man, stepped forward. His mask was made in the simplistic visage of a wolf. "The mission was successfully completed. The primary target was safely and discreetly brought back to Konohagakure." He stressed that last part more than anything else.

"And where is he now?" Danzo followed up.

"Currently, he's with the Yamanaka specialists in the Interrogation and Torture Department."

"A little much, don't you think?" Jiraiya spoke up for the first time since the meeting began.

"Hardly. He should be glad we're even doing this much for him." Orochimaru responded, "This sort of mercy is ill-afforded to prisoners."

"But a memory wipe? Really?" When Jiraiya shook his head, his lustrous white mane swayed back and forth like a shimenawa dangling from the roof of a shrine on a windy day. "I just don't think that's entirely necessary… or ethical."

"None of this is ethical, Jiraiya. It never was, to begin with. Any pretense of it being such is pure delusion." He scoffed as he waved Jiraiya's concerns away. "Besides, I doubt the young Hyuga heiress would have been granted the same luxury upon her arrival to Kumo should their plans have come to fruition. If anything, we are doing him a kindness."

The spymaster merely crossed his arms in response but said nothing more.

Danzo clacked the tip of his cane against the floor, summoning the attention of his subordinates. "Mamushi, what is the status of the mission's secondary and tertiary objectives?"

"Carried out to the letter!" The shorter of the two ANBU, a woman, stepped forward alongside her partner, puffed out her chest, and held her head high. Her mask was made in the simplistic visage of a pit viper. "Eight targets, between the ages of two and five have been quietly marked with the prototype seal. Likewise, all marked enemy assets have been destroyed, with a fire sweeping through their primary granaries and the surrounding infrastructure."

"Excellent work." Danzo clacked the butt of his cane against the floor once more, this time in approval. "With that, Operation Ubume is complete and we can proceed into the initial stages of Operation Tsutsudori."

"Where does Operation Tsutsudori require us, sir?"

"Nowhere – at least not for now. Tsutsudori is a long-term operation and is being handled by more suitable operatives. Rest assured, you two have done your parts." He said nothing more, and a stillness descended over the office, with Orochimaru and Jiraiya mostly lost in thought while their operatives remained at attention.

"Ahem." The woman cleared her throat into the back of her hand. "Have we also done our parts for the rest of the night?"

Danzo sighed and rolled his good eye. "Yes, you have. Dismissed. I expect a report the day after tomorrow."

"By your leave then."

The pair of ANBU saluted their commander, bowed before the Hokage, and swiftly left the office, riding the elevator at the end of the hall down to the ANBU barracks beneath the Hokage Tower.

With the shrill beep of the chakra sensor going off followed by the sound of the elevator doors sealing shut, the three men resumed their discussion of the operation. "Jiraiya, what's the status of the Kumogakure army? Any signs of mobilization in the last few weeks?"

"None at all. It seemed like Kumo was pretty confident in getting away with their little stunt and didn't expect anything other than a political reprisal at best."

"Good. Track their movements and ensure their southern and eastern divisions stay posted in Uekawa and Kinkai. If Kumogakure sends even a single squad to reinforce one of these divisions, I want to hear about it."

"Understood. I'll have my boys keep an eye on them."

Danzo followed up with his own question. "Then, I assume the Lightning Court is in a similar state?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Yep, none of the Daimyo's vassals have so much as mobilized or seem to have any plans to mobilize. Doesn't seem like the Raikage's scheme was even known to the Daimyo, much less his court."

"If push comes to shove, we'll leverage that information against them and keep this entirely under wraps."

"Agreed."

"Makes sense."

With the three in agreement, Orochimaru pushed his chair back away from the desk. "Well, as we said earlier, Operation Ubume has been officially concluded. I propose we have a little celebration for pulling off such a risky play." He pulled open a sliding door on the interior of the desk, and his hand disappeared while he searched for something. There was a clatter of ceramic gently bumping into glass before he stepped back to reveal a tall muddy-red ceramic bottle of sake with a fabric covering sealed by a cork plug and a golden cord that was tied neatly into a bow around the bottle's neck.

"Ho ho, now we're talking!" Jiraiya couldn't help but grin upon seeing the rice wine and clapped his hands together. "I'll definitely take a cup if you're offering."

The Hokage pointed a slender pale finger over to the central desk's matching cedar cabinet, "Make yourself useful and grab my nice drinking set, would you?"

Even a solid two meters away, Jiraiya could easily see the drinking set in question through the small glass windows of the cabinet's doors. The spymaster lurched forward off the wall he was previously leaning on and made his way over to the cabinet. When he squatted down to get better access, the wood's scent wafted to his face, providing a very prickly but lightly citrusy smell. Behind the door, was – among several other pristine cups and containers – a white ceramic tokkuri adorned with green and gold hollyhocks, alongside four matching kutani cups with the same repeating flower motif etched into the interior.

Stacking the tokkuri and kutani onto a wooden tray, he brought them over to the central desk, mindful not to bump into the armor stand to his right. He'd never hear the end of it from Danzo or his teammate if he even so much as looked at the armor in question incorrectly. It was, after all, a relic of Konoha's founding fathers along with its rival piece on the opposite side of Orochimaru's position behind the desk.

In the meantime, Orochimaru carried over two chairs that had been pushed to the side for his prior meeting with his ANBU. The Hokage arranged them around his desk, forming a triangle of sorts between these chairs and his own.

Jiraiya set the tray down and immediately set to work prepping the alcohol. Undoing the golden cord, he looked to the eldest among them. Said elder was taking his time getting up from the couch, his back seeming to have not enjoyed the softness of its cushions as he stretched. "Danzo, how much are you wanting? A full cup?"

It was very brief, but Danzo let out a quiet 'hmph' as he sighed out through his nostrils in mild displeasure. "I'll have nothing, in fact neither of you should be having anything either. Or have you both forgotten that we have a ceremony to attend tomorrow morning, and for you, Hokage-sama, a speech to give to the public and to the Veteran's Society."

The Hokage dismissively waved his hand, "Firstly, no we did not forget. Rest assured, I will give nothing short of the finest speech since sensei commemorated that shrine's establishment after the First Great War. Secondly, I'm not Tsunade, and I don't intend to drink myself into a stupor the way she does."

Danzo raised his sole – visible – eyebrow. "A little presumptuous of you to say, don't you think?"

"I don't think so." Orochimaru shrugged, "I wouldn't doubt that she's still as much of a lush as she's always been. Maybe even more so nowadays."

"I can, in fact, confirm this." Jiraiya added in, pausing briefly at the cork's loud pop. He discreetly placed the third cup back on the tray to be shelved later.

"I meant about the speech."

"Yes." The Hokage nodded. "I'm well aware."

This time, Danzo did very little to hide his disappointment as he sighed much more openly. "I'll take my leave, then. See you both tomorrow – on time, and preferably sober, yes?"

"Of course, Shimura-san."

"See you tomorrow, Danzo."

With a final huff, Danzo slowly made his way out the office doors, passing beneath the crossed pair of sashimono bearing the crests of the Senju and Uzumaki clans that hung above the door frame. The intermittent 'clack' of his cane against the floor accompanied his exit, following him out until the doors of the elevator once more sealed shut.

"Right, shall we?"

"We shall." Orochimaru took his place and motioned for his teammate to begin pouring the sake.

After filling the Hokage's cup and then his own, Jiraiya unceremoniously dragged one of the extra chairs out of the previously arranged triangular formation and now sat directly parallel to Orochimaru. Leaning back in his seat, he couldn't help but notice how well positioned the armor of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama were at the Hokage's flanks. They certainly added a sense of hallowed lineage to the office and to his friend.

The spymaster eyed the pale yellow wine, noting the lack of any turbidity as he was clearly able to see the four-leaf hollyhock at the bottom of the kutani. In spite of its clarity, it was rather viscous for a sake, almost syrupy. He held it up to his face before giving it a preliminary sniff. "Hmm, rich, sweet and a bit astringent, is this kijoshu?"

"Ooh, very nice. Still have a good nose, do you?"

"As good as always." Jiraiya held up his cup. "A toast to Kumo!"

"To Kumo, for sending their worst abductor!" Orochimaru cackled as he held up his own cup, "May Tsutsudori be a most auspicious operation!"

Their kutani clinked together and they wasted no opportunity downing their drinks like shots.

---

"By your leave."

With a bow, the two ANBU swiftly left the room and passed beneath the sashimono as they made their way out of the office. Immediately upon leaving, the ANBU found themselves flanked at the entrance by a pair of the Hokage's guardsmen, one on each side of the door. They didn't move or react to their lessers leaving the office, instead wordlessly maintaining their post.

Foregoing the ANBU's typical heavy cloaks, the guards' modified uniforms – now having thicker padding and more armor plating – were only partly visible beneath the stark white capelets draped over their right arm and shoulder, the white cloth bearing a golden mon of the blazing sun. In the left hand, they held a cross spear no longer than two meters, with a tanto sheathed on the same side of their hip. Both wore their group's distinctive golden sun-shaped masks, with the porcelain rays extending out of the center on one resembling fiery serpents that twisted and coiled erratically, while the other's rays were entirely equidistant with one another with a more angular and sharp appearance like a ring of ceramic stalactites.

The two 'lesser' ANBU passed the guards until they reached the elevator, allowing the doors to seal completely before finally breaking the silence.

The female ANBU looked over to her colleague. "So, Kakashi, how was your part of the mission? Anything interesting happen?"

"No real names until these masks come off." His tone was flat even as he chided her. "But it was fine. As I told Hokage-sama and Commander Shimura, everything went smoothly."

She held her hands up in apology but said nothing about accidentally using his real name as she went on. "Yeah, mine went pretty well too. But some unfortunate guy came to check on the silos when the fires erupted. Saw me right there belting out a fire technique. So you know what I had to do to him?"

Kakashi, unamused, didn't deign to ask. He didn't even so much as turn to look at her as she spoke. He simply kept staring at the doors of the elevator. Nonetheless, she continued to speak.

"I killed him!" She cackled wildly, elbowing his arm. "Aww man, I wish you could've been there! You should've seen the look on his face as it literally melted into his hands!"

Still unamused, all he could do was sigh. "And you didn't think to report this to the Commander?"

"Nahhhh, it's no big deal. After I was finished with him, all that was left was ash, which of course, I scattered into the granary's fire. So he just doesn't exist anymore." She crossed her arms as she shook her head. "Shame really though. Wish I could've gotten to play with him for a bit longer, you know?"

There was a chime to signify they had reached their intended floor, the doors opening to reveal the concrete walls of the underground ANBU barracks. It was late in the evening, but a few personnel continued to mill about with their duties, mostly the handling of reports and documents – especially since the following day was a holiday, and no one wanted extra work piled up for the day after. Kakashi walked as quickly as he could to the locker rooms, his female colleague trailing shortly behind him.

Upon reaching his locker, Kakashi unfastened the straps on his porcelain mask before pulling it off and setting it aside. As he opened his locker and looked at the mirror framed into the door, he was greeted with the reflection of his tired face. Dark rings had begun to form around his eyes, the clear result of his lack of any sleep for the last day and a half and being kept conscious mostly through the liberal use of powdered ginseng, ginger, and cinnamon.

"Wow, you look like shit." The viper-masked ANBU arrived at her own locker on the wall opposite his, quickly following suit and unmasking herself.

"Yes, Anko. I'm very well aware. Though, you're not looking too good yourself."

"I'll be fine. Just need me a hot shower, some warm grub and I'll be good to go." They both finished undressing – save for Kakashi's mask – and after wrapping themselves in towels, made their way to the adjacent showers. "Speaking of grub, you want to join me for some dinner? I'm thinking soba for tonight."

"Can't."

"Can't or won't?"

"Both."

"C'mon~ Kakashi! Whoo that's cold." Anko shivered at the sting of the cold water hitting her bare skin as she stepped beneath the showerhead.

Meanwhile, Kakashi was entirely unaffected and had already started washing his hair. "Oh, sorry. Forgot to mention that they already turned off the hot water for the evening."

"Tch, don't lie, I know you remembered." She clicked her tongue against the back of her teeth in faux annoyance. "Anyways, join me for dinner tonight, won't you?"

"Like I said, I can't."

"C'mon, I don't wanna eat alone tonight." She whined. "You wouldn't leave a single woman alone at night would you?"

"I would absolutely leave you by yourself without a second thought."

His colleague pouted like a child half her age. "Kakashiiii, why won't you join me?"

"Naruto."

"Oh, Naru-chan?" Only now had Anko adjusted to the water's temperature as she finally began to wash herself.

"Mhm. Need to check up on him."

"Aww, look at you being a good big bro. Fine, you're off the hook this time. But I swear we're gonna go out together, just me and you."

"Maybe, maybe. We'll see."

"So how's the little guy doing?"

"Well. Very well, even. Naruto's been picking up the fundamentals rather quickly, but his chakra control still needs work."

Anko couldn't help but look at him funny. "Uhhh, Kakashi. I meant how he's doing in general, not with his training."

"In general? Hmmmm." He briefly stopped combing the remaining soap out of his hair, his hands idly scratching his scalp in thought. "He's fine, I suppose?"

"You suppose?"

"Sure. I mean, he's eating and sleeping well. So pretty fine, I suppose." Finished with his shower, Kakashi turned the valve and shut off his running water, reaching for a towel that he had draped on the nearby metal railing.

"So all you can tell me is that he's alive and that his training's going okay."

"No, not at all. His training isn't going 'okay,' it's going very well."

"Okay, Kakashi." Now it was Anko's turn to sigh.

"No, no." Anko turned around to see Kakashi wagging his index finger at her as he peeked around the bend of the lockers. "Very well."

"Just go already, before I change my mind and drag you to my usual soba stall."

Making sure no one could see, he deftly switched his soaking wet mask for a fresh one before putting the rest of his casual wardrobe on a simple and non-descript long-sleeved shirt, and black pants, along with his drab green flak vest. With that, he sealed his locker and left for the entrance, the sound of Anko humming to herself and the running water still ongoing. The clock read 21:36. He received a few brief salutes on his way out from some of the lower-ranking ANBU, but they otherwise remained busy with their tasks. After a much briefer elevator ride than the previous one, Kakashi made his way to the entrance of the Hokage tower, exiting out into the warm summer evening.

He withdrew a scroll from one of his many pockets, before using a small blade to slice the tip of his finger. He smeared a bit of blood across the page and performed the necessary hand signs before the jutsu's formulae spread itself out across the ground. A cloud of smoke erupted, and before him stood – or rather sat – Bull, his enormous bulldog ninken.

"Bull, sorry to bother you this evening, but would you mind checking on and waiting with Naruto? I'm going to go out for my walk."

"No problem, Kakashi." With that, the dog leaped up and bolted off to his apartment.

A mild breeze passed through Kakashi's wet hair as he looked around. To his right was the adjacent Konohagakure Shinobi Academy, though its normally bright-red entryway was now only dimly lit by distant streetlamps. Around it was the grassy playground and its accompanying swing set. Perhaps he just hadn't noticed it beforehand, but the swing set which had been there since he started school had finally been replaced with fresh new boards and rope.

It was nostalgic.

As Kakashi passed through the courtyard and beyond the high stone walls of the Hokage's tower, he took a sharp left around the corner and made his way down the street. The lights in many of the houses had already gone out, save for the apartments and houses with the occasional lit room on the third or fourth floor well above the street level.

Just before he rounded the next corner, he heard the distinct albeit faint clap of bamboo striking bamboo, followed shortly thereafter by the nasal cry of "Curfew at 22:00!" Turning the corner, Kakashi saw a night watchman in the distance making his rounds of the area, a lantern hooked onto his belt and holding a pair of thick bamboo blocks. He couldn't have been older than fifteen and wore his hitai-ate fastened to his right bicep.

The watchman bowed deeply as soon as he recognized the off-duty ANBU. "Hatake-san, nice to see you out this evening. Curfew is in effect, so please get home safely."

"Likewise." He nodded in return.

The chunin – or perhaps genin – watchman bowed again before hurrying off to continue his patrol. "Curfew at 22:00!" As he made his way down the corner that Kakashi had just come from, the glow of the lantern faded with him, and eventually both his shouts of curfew and the clatter of his bamboo batons eventually fell silent.

Hands in his pocket and continuing at a leisurely pace, Kakashi breathed in the night air and focused on the sound of his sandals crunching against the dirt-laden roads. As he made his way into a new set of streets, he noticed a small handful of restaurants still open even at this time, all catering to the shinobi returning from missions in the evening, far too tired to cook for themselves after days out of the village. Their storefronts were marked with a special certificate that denoted them as carrying out an 'act of public service' and thus were allowed to remain open at this time despite the curfew.

Coming up on the perpendicular road in a three-way intersection, Kakashi noted the sudden change to the architecture. The restaurants, whether closed or open, gave way to high stone walls similar in height to that surrounding the Hokage Tower. However, the many stones comprising the wall were chiseled into well-proportioned blocks by the skilled hands of stonemasons, likely of clan origins. The trimmed kirikomi-hagi walls stretched down at least two blocks in either direction, which he walked alongside until eventually, he came upon an entryway wedged into the wall.

Whatever else was at the gate, Kakashi hardly took the time to notice. A single thing drew the gaze of his lone eye: the red and white Uchiha fan crest that hung over the entrance, framed upon a solid black background and kept illuminated by a pair of vermillion paper lanterns on either side. It was neither a particularly attractive nor an overly intricate kamon, especially not compared to some of the samurai clans in service to the Fire Daimyo. Yet Kakashi could not seem to look away from it. Instead, he stood there in the middle of the empty street, hands in his pocket, staring up wordlessly at the crest.

"Oi." He was so enthralled that it took a man snapping his fingers almost a meter away from his face to break him from his stupor. "Hey! Oi! Kakashi, you all right?"

Said ANBU blinked his eye a few times, looked down from the kamon, and stood face-to-face with a pair of Uchiha clan guards, donning their clan's typical high-collared shirts in navy blue and charcoal gray. Though relaxed, they rested their left arms atop the uchigatana secured in their obi, their hands idly fiddling with the sword's pommel.

"Hn." He grunted back, still collecting his thoughts. He was silent for a few moments longer before speaking again. "I'm sorry. I'll take my leave now."

Kakashi quickly excused himself and left the scene, the faint glow of the crest lingering in his periphery. Hurriedly, he continued on his way.

Bathed in the darkness of the evening, Kakashi again let himself be taken by his thoughts, allowing his instincts to guide him to his destination. Brushing up against a large wooden post, he looked up and quickly recognized one of the buildings in front of him. It was seemingly very innocuous, just another building in the residential district that had been converted into an office space. The lights were off and the blinds on all windows were drawn shut, but he could just barely make out faint noises coming from the building. Not unlike the sublevels of the Hokage Tower, this building was another ANBU base in the village, though this one was more for the storage of prisoners and interrogation subjects than it was a barracks for personnel.

If he was being honest with himself, those sounds were probably someone having their teeth pulled out. Kakashi quickly blocked out the thought, not wanting nor particularly caring to entertain it any more than he had to.

Another two blocks down the road and he entered a crossroads intersection. He continued straight. The buildings on his right gave way to a great many trees that hung above the road and would have done well in the daytime to offer shade from the sun. Gradually, the ground he trod upon changed from the coarse dirt paths common throughout most of the village to polished speckled-white granite tiling, which showed clear signs of being recently cleaned.

There were exceedingly few places in Konoha where there would be such tiling.

Kakashi needed only to look up to know where he was. No matter how one entered Konohagakure, all roads would eventually lead them to Seien Daijinja, the Grand Shrine of the Purifying Flame. However, even if they all didn't lead to the shrine, Kakashi would have found himself here regardless. So like a moth to a flame, its haunting tunes drew him in no matter his intended destination.

Even in the dimness of the night, he could easily see the towering silhouette of the first great torii gate that marked the entrance to the village's central shrine. Continuing further on, he came upon the entrance to the shrine, with several granite kasuga-doro lanterns dotting the pathway, their latticed fireboxes aglow with small flames in preparation for tomorrow's ceremony and rites. Ahead of them, a pair of dark wooden komainu dutifully stood guard at the shrine's entry, their stone frames eternally vigilant for Konoha's enemies from within and without. But he didn't need to be standing in front of the shrine to know its layout.

He quickened his pace again and left, knowing he would inevitably have to return tomorrow. Kakashi did his best to look away from the shrine as if breaking eye contact with the torii or the komainu would somehow release its grip on him.

A few blocks later, he passed through another market street, finally drawing near his apartment. Just like near the Uchiha district, there were a few restaurants here that were still open. Their interior lights bled out into the street the way a bottle of ink spilled out onto calligraphy paper. From inside one of the stalls, he heard the chatter of the owner with his shinobi patrons, before the conversation suddenly stopped. In the distance, he could again hear the faint clack of another night watchman's bamboo batons.

"Oi, oi, oi." Kakashi slowly turned his head to face the voice, recognizing it immediately. "Kakashi, you bastard."

Anko sat in the dead center of the restaurant's stall, quite clearly upset. "Liar! You said you were going straight home to check on Naru-chan!"

"That's not true, I just said I wasn't going to eat with you because of Naruto. I never said anything about going straight home." The more Kakashi dissected the scene in front of him, the worse it became. Two completely empty bowls of soba were piled up next to her with a third she was still working on, from which the dark broth dripped off her chin and onto the floor. In her left hand, she haphazardly held a 720-milliliter bottle – two-thirds of which were already gone – of shochu like one might hold the neck of a goose or chicken after slitting its throat.

Some may consider this a bad sign of things to come.

"Liar, liar, liar!" Anko slurred through her words as she frowned at him through half-open eyes. "I can't believe you'd lie to me and Naru-chan like that!"

"I didn't lie to him."

"Poor Naru-chan, probably wondering where his Aniki is." She shook her head before slumping onto the table beside her half-eaten bowl of soba. She turned and looked up at the restaurant owner. "Nakayama-san, why won't Kakashi eat with meee?"

"Mitarashi-san, please don't be so loud." The rather timid owner pleaded with her, "Other customers are trying to enjoy their meal!"

"No, no, it's okay I promise! They all know me so it's okayyyy." She said, meanwhile, the other ANBU and chunin at the stall were more than a little annoyed with her behavior.

Kakashi took the opportunity to slip away, quickly walking towards his apartment.

Finally, his flat was in view, and even from here, he could see the living room's window on the second floor illuminated with light. Making his way up the staircase, he withdrew his key and opened the front door. After nearly forty minutes of walking, Kakashi had arrived at his home.

Immediately, he was struck by a pervasive fishy smell that flowed out from the door. It took him less than a second to identify the culprit as oyster sauce, one of Guy's specialties. After removing his sandals at the genkan, he entered the living room and found Naruto using a bulldog nearly as big as he was as his pillow on the couch, snuggling into the soft folds of the dog's sides. Bull, for his part, sat there panting quietly in rhythm with Naruto's breathing. Upon spotting Kakashi enter the apartment, Bull turned over and licked Naruto's face to rouse him from sleep.

"Naruto, your brother's home." Bull's voice was low and gravelly, though surprisingly, not as deep as Pakkun's. "I need to head back now."

The boy muttered something incoherent, and with his eyes still closed, reached out and wrapped his arms around his makeshift pillow's neck. "But you're warm."

"I know, kiddo, but I gotta go." The gigantic dog gave him one final lick, before exploding in a puff of smoke and returning to his ninken pack. Naruto's head plopped onto the cushion as he yawned and stretched his arms.

Kakashi made his way over to the couch and gently shook Naruto's shoulder. "I'm home."

"Welcome home, Aniue." Through half-lidded eyes, the blond groggily responded to his surrogate brother out of habit. It took him a moment longer to realize that his brother had finally returned from work, and suddenly he shot to life with excitement. "Aniue! You're home!"

"Yes, just like I said." Kakashi nodded the hint of a small smile outlined behind his mask.

Naruto practically jumped up and stood on the couch and all but shouted. "Can I tell you about what happened while you were gone?"

"Don't stand on the couch, and I'm right here." The elder of the two replied bluntly, putting his hand on Naruto's shoulder to get him to sit down. "But yes, how did your training go?"

"It was fun! We-" Kakashi raised his eyebrow at the boy's statement, and Naruto paused and held his tongue for just a moment, before revising his words. "Ahem, sorry. I mean, it was good. I practiced chakra control with the bucket today, but I kind of made a mess."

"I see." The ANBU began to put away his equipment, setting his flak jacket on a hanger. "And did you clean up after yourself?"

"Yes! The bathroom should be clean." Even on the couch, Naruto folded his legs under his butt and sat in the seiza position.

"Good. And do you feel like you're getting the hang of it?"

"I think so! It was a bit hard at first, but I did a pretty good job the second time!"

"Second time?"

"Ah, yeah. After Sarutobi-sama and Biwako-sama came, I tried it again."

"Biwako-sama? It's impolite to use an older woman's first name you know?" There was a dullness to Kakashi's gaze, but they were judging eyes that seemed intent on analyzing Naruto's words and body language.

"Of course, Aniue. But it was because Biwako-sama asked me to. She didn't like that I kept calling her Oku-sama."

"If she said so, then very well." Kakashi paused in thought before looking back at Naruto. "She didn't offer you any sweets, did she?"

Naruto's smile quickly disappeared as guilt overtook him. He did his best to look away, but that alone answered Kakashi's question.

"So you did, even though I told you not to."

"I'm sorry! I really did try to say no."

Too tired to scold him, Kakashi waved it away. "It's fine. You'll make up for it tomorrow after the commemoration services."

All that escaped from the boy was a whimper as tears began to dot the corners of his eyes. He could barely manage to look Kakashi in the eyes, who conversely, would not stop looking at him. "Sorry…"

"Like I said, it's fine." Kakashi lingered for a few moments without saying anything, still facing Naruto. Though perhaps for those few moments, Kakashi was looking through him rather than at him. He quickly readjusted, blinking and rolling his good eye up to reestablish eye contact with the waiting child. "All of that aside, I feel like you've become old enough, so tomorrow I'll be taking you somewhere important."

"Have…" Naruto wiped away the tears before any could fall. "Have we gone there before?"

"I have. Many times, in fact. But it'll be your first time."

"And you said it was important?"

"Mhm. To me it is. And bringing you there will be an incredibly important moment in your life as an aspiring shinobi."

There was a very distinct tone that Naruto picked up on in Kakashi's voice, but having never heard or noticed it before in the past he was unable to place it. Although dulled somewhat by his shame, the young boy couldn't help but light up – if only a little – at the prospect of going somewhere such that his elder brother described. "Where is it?"

"I'd rather wait until tomorrow to tell you. You can be patient for just a day, can't you?"

Eagerly, he nodded his head. "I can!"

Beneath his mask, Naruto could see Kakashi flash him another smile, though this one was different from earlier. It kind of reminded him of the smile, or rather the facial contractions, he made when he had been forced to eat natto for the first time – it was something involuntary that weighed on Kakashi's smile. "Good. I'll lend you my kimono for tomorrow."

"But uhm…" Naruto looked up and down at Kakashi's full height and size. "I think your clothes might be too big."

"From when I was your age."

"Ohhhh. Okay!" Confusion turned to acceptance as a bright smile overtook the young boy.

When Naruto smiled, Kakashi couldn't help but be the one to look away this time. "Why don't you head to bed?

"Sure! See you tomorrow Aniue!"

"Sleep well, Naruto."

Naruto retreated to the bathroom to wash the stink of oyster sauce and beef out of his mouth before finally entering his bedroom. The door closed, and after a few minutes of some rustling, the light that bled out from the cracks beneath the door dimmed completely.

Silence reigned over the Hatake household.

Kakashi cleaned up what was left of dinner: Guy's aforementioned classic dish and placed the leftovers in a glass container headed for the fridge. The wok that Guy had left behind, however, would need to be returned at a later date. Kakashi then microwaved an MRE pack of curry udon and ate, finding the meal rather tasteless despite the supposed "spiciness" warned on the label of the mess kit.

He brushed his own teeth, washed his face, switched out his hitai-ate for a night mask positioned over his Sharingan, and sat in his bed. A single lamp remained lit atop his nightstand, and a single thin pillow sat alone in his bed. For a long while, he stared out at the horizontal mirror that hung on the wall opposite his bed. He stared into his own normal eye for what felt like hours. Kakashi found himself fixated on the utter blackness of it as though he were plankwood adrift in a sea of ink.

He blinked and opened his eye before returning to his senses. He opened his nightstand searching for something, until finally he retrieved two items. They were a pair of flat wooden plaques about the width of Kakashi's palm and threaded through the top by thin orange string cords. Carved into them were the names "Uchiha Obito" and "Namikaze Minato." Kakashi stared at the kanji for an indeterminate amount of time before hanging them by their cords on the knob of his nightstand. They clattered together a single time before falling silent.

He switched off the light on the nightstand, went under the covers, and finally pulled the night mask over his other eye. Again, he found himself adrift, though now in the blackness of the night. Eventually, he too, fell silent, save for the quiet heave of his chest as he breathed.

---

Shimenawa – Hemp or straw ropes that are used at Shinto shrines, their size varies from shrine to shrine.

Ubume – Yokai of a pregnant woman who died in childbirth.

Tsutsudori – The oriental cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus).

Tokkuri – Pouring vessel used for sake.

Kutani – Ceramic cups for sake. Typically come as a set with the tokkuri.

Sashimono – Banners carried on the backs of samurai and ashigaru as heraldry for their clans and lords.

Kirikomi-hagi – Cut and chiseled stone walls.

Kamon – Crests and emblems of clans and families.

Kasuga-doro – Umbrella-shaped stone lanterns found at Kasuga-taisha.

Shochu – Japanese potato liquor, most often likened to vodka.

Seiza – The formal way of sitting by placing your legs underneath your rear end.

 

[TheMightyMorgoth]

Chapter 5
Hallowed Ground​

"Hold still."

"I'm trying!" Naruto and Kakashi stood in front of the mirror, the latter trying to tie the obi around the former's kimono. "It's a bit tight though."

"Here, let me loosen it." Kakashi continued to fiddle with the jet black sash. After a few moments, he stepped back away from his younger brother. "How's that?"

Naruto looked at himself in the mirror, adjusting his striped black-and-white hakama pants until they felt right. The kimono had been stored in a cool place, as the silk was cold to the touch and felt nice against his skin. "Better!"

"Now put this on."

Naruto held his arms behind his back as Kakashi slid them into the sleeves of a haori that matched his obi. A puffy white himo with a cord like braided white rope dangled just above his stomach. He also noticed the lattice kamon of the Hatake clan stitched in white on the back and above the breasts of the jacket. His eyes were alight with glee, "Uwaaa, I look so cool!"

"Glad it fits. Didn't want to buy a new one."

"Thanks, Aniue! You said this was yours too, right?" Naruto turned to Kakashi, who was not donning a kimono or yukata, but rather was wearing his flak vest and Jonin outfit. However, this vest lacked all the pockets and storage spaces that the usual one had, being instead.

"Mhm. I wore it when I was your age for anything important."

"Wow… so I'm just like you now?"

Lazily, Kakashi's one eye looked over to Naruto, though he didn't react externally. "Sure, Naruto."

He couldn't help but grin. "Cool!"

The ANBU readjusted his collar in the mirror, flattening out a small wrinkle on his long-sleeved shirt. "Right, you ready?"

"Yep. All ready."

Kakashi nodded as he led the pair out. When he walked, the medals on his breast jingled like coins. He stopped briefly at the kitchen island and grabbed a pair of wooden plaques that he tied around a loop on his belt. Much like his medals, they too clattered together whenever he walked. He likewise grabbed a few sticks of incense, which he placed comfortably in his empty kunai holster. At the genkan, they both threw on a pair of high tabi socks, with Kakashi strapping his rubber combat sandals, while Naruto stepped into a pair of wooden geta sandals.

Together, they left the apartment, the glare of the sun veiled for the most part by abundant clouds. It was cooler than it was the previous day, and slightly less humid to boot.

"Ah, good morning boys! Looking very handsome today, Naru-chan."

"Thank you!" He beamed at her before realizing he needed to bow. "And good morning to you too, Oba-san!"

There was a small smile through Kakashi's mask, as he waved back to their neighbor. "Ito-san, good morning to you too."

"Heading out for the memorial services?"

"Mhm."

"Oh my, what time is it?"

"Half past nine, ma'am." He replied swiftly.

She chuckled a little bit into her loungewear just as she had done the previous morning with Naruto. "Dear, oh dear. I should get ready then as well. I'll need to get some new ema from the shrine today then, won't I?"

Kakashi merely nodded in response.

"Ema?" Naruto looked up at his elders curiously.

"These." The boy's brother tapped the wooden plaques on his belt. Likewise, Ito untied a trio of them off of her front door's interior knob, holding them up for Naruto to see. Each of them had a different name carved into the wood.

"Who are they?"

"This one," She held up the first of the three that bore the name Ito Hideki. "Is my husband's ema." Then she held the remaining two ema up, joining them alongside her husband's. "And these are for my sons, Ryusuke and Ryuki."

"What about your ema, then?"

"Oh dear, I hope I'm not in need of an ema already!" She burst into a controlled fit of giggling, again hiding her mouth behind her sleeve. "No my dear, I don't have an ema. Well, not yet anyway."

Naruto stood thinking for a moment, he was certain he had never seen anyone else but her in that apartment. Even that time she invited him over for tea, it was just her. "Where are they now?"

Kakashi didn't look at either of them but placed a firm hand on Naruto's shoulder.

She stared at the trio of ema dangling from her hand. "They're not here. Not anymore…"

His brother squeezed his shoulder firmly and guided him to the direction of the staircase. "I apologize for him, Ito-san."

"No, no. It's no worries, he's just curious."

"We'll see you at the memorial later then?"

"Of course, Hatake-kun." Though she smiled at the pair, her eyes gave off a different feeling. They reminded him of how Kakashi would often look sometimes. "I'll see you two there, then."

The ANBU nodded before following Naruto down the steps. The boy was waiting for him on the ground floor of their complex. He looked up at Kakashi, a bit of concern in his eyes.

"C'mon, let's get going."

As the two walked along the road in relative silence, Naruto finally spoke up. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, don't worry." Kakashi's tone was flat.

"Am I in-?"

"Listen, you're not in trouble. You didn't know, and you were just curious. But do your best to not talk about Ito-san's family."

"Oh. Okay." Naruto kept his head down a little sheepishly. "Aniue?"

"Hm?"

"Who's on your ema?"

"My old squadmates from the Third Great War."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

The rest of their journey was carried out in total silence. Naruto fixed his gaze low to the ground, not quite staring at his feet but generally fixated only on the road they walked on.

Soon, the crunch of their sandals and geta on the packed dirt faded away, replaced now by the clap of rubber and wooden soles on stone tiles. Even more shade was cast over them as a great many cherry blossom trees loomed over them, though no sakura petals would descend to greet them –not until next spring. Dozens upon dozens of people made their way on the same path as them, all funneled towards the same destination.

Finally, after about fifteen minutes of walking in silence, they reached the entrance to a shrine. A massive entrance at that. The sheer scale of it was somewhat incomprehensible to Naruto, as he almost fell trying to look up at how tall the first great torii gate was. Before he could pass completely under the gate, he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. "First, we bow."

Hastily, Naruto stepped back beside Kakashi, and the two bowed together. Though perhaps Naruto bowed a bit more deeply than was required, leaning into a nearly 60-degree angle.

Interestingly, the stone lanterns were already lit, even during the daytime. To either flank were two pairs of lion-dog statues, to which Naruto left Kakashi's side and inspected it most curiously. There was a certain poise to the beasts that gave them a regal air, as if they were the warbeasts of the very gods.

"Whoa, these are so cool!" The level of intricacy in the woodwork was astonishing. Even down to the individual eyes and their pupils on each komainu, it seemed as if someone had taken a knife or chisel and carefully carved everything from the wisps into the manes and tails to the individual details in the irises and pupils on each beast. "How many people did it take to make these?"

"Just one." Kakashi stood to the side of the main pathway, close to Naruto. He kept his hands deep in his pockets, and had begun to slouch.

"Just one?"

"Mhm. Lord Hashirama made them himself."

"Really? That's amazing!" Naruto looked back at the komainu for a few more moments, before turning back to Kakashi. "Do you think one day I can be like the First Hokage?"

"No."

"Oh." The excitement was sucked out of his voice.

Kakashi looked down and could see how disappointed his brother looked. "Look, don't worry about it too much. You just don't have the Mokuton."

"How can I get the Mokuton?"

The ANBU stared blankly at the boy for a few moments, deciding it was best not to reveal highly classified information to a five-year-old. "You can't."
"Oh. Darn…"

"Relax, you can be strong like him too. Just follow my routines, and you'll make it there eventually." He gave Naruto a reassuring smile –or as best as he could manage.

"Then I'll do my best!"

For a few moments longer, Naruto kept looking at the lion-dogs before Kakashi got bored and led him further into the shrine. Ahead of them, they noticed a mixed group of people standing on either side of the shrine's pathway. There wasn't a particular demographic to them, with some being much older or younger than others, as well as a mix of men and women. They did all however, wear the same white kappogi apron on top of their own choice of yukata or kimono, as well as a white sash with bold black kanji printed vertically. The fact that it was all in kanji made it too difficult for Naruto to read.

They all were waving and handing out little flags to passersby. When one of them turned to face away from Naruto, he noticed that they all had little cylindrical containers near their waist where they pulled the flags out of. A woman from the group, with long black hair and deep black eyes, smiled and approached the brothers. He could hear every step she took as her pair of geta clacked loudly against stone tiles. She bowed deeply after finally getting close enough.

"Good morning, Hatake-san!" She said cheerfully to the younger man, even as a bit of sweat dripped down her brow. "And good morning to you, Naruto-kun, right?"

"Good morning…" Naruto was left a bit confused, as he was sure they'd never met, yet she still somehow knew his name.

Kakashi offered a small nod rather than a bow. "Good morning, Uchiha-san."

She smiled at his gesture nonetheless, and drew a pair of flags out of the container slung around her waist. "Would you and your brother care for some kobata?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

The Uchiha turned to Naruto and asked him the same question. "Would you care for one?"

"Uhm…" He looked over to Kakashi before returning his gaze back to her. "How much does one cost? Aniue always says to never spend money on things that aren't important."

She did her best to stifle a feminine giggle behind her empty hand. "Don't worry, they're totally free!"

"Oh. Then sure!"

"Here you go." She handed him the flag, its golden threads shimmering in the sun. "Be sure to show your support!"

"Thank you!" He ran the fabric against his hands, before looking at her sash. "Hey onee-san, what does your sash say?"

She looked down to the white sash going from her right shoulder down her left hip. "Oh, this? It reads, 'Konoha Patriotic Spouse's Association'."

Naruto's face was still wracked with confusion. "Patriotic?"

The older Uchiha couldn't help but smile. "It means to love one's country."

"And spouses?"

"Husband and wife." Kakashi chimed in.

"Ohh." Naruto's face relaxed with understanding, and then lit up again as he waved her goodbye. "Thank you!"

"Of course!" She waved him goodbye as well, a pleased smile gracing her face.

Naruto looked down at the kobata, the small wooden flagstaff was a swirl of white and black stripes. Two different strips of thin fabric made up the flag itself, one a dark green and the other a dark red, both lined and detailed in gold thread and then sown back to back. The green cloth had the same symbol on everyone's hitai-ate, while the dark red cloth had some kind of butterfly looking crest emblazoned on it.

"Aniue?"

"Hm?"

"This side is for Konoha right?" He said pointing at the green cloth.

"Mhm."

"But what about this one? What's the butterfly for?"

"That's the Daimyo's family crest, the swallowtail butterfly."

"Oh." Naruto nodded his head, before stopping and looking back up to Kakashi. "Wait, who's the Daimyo?"

Kakashi stopped walking momentarily. "You know how the Hokage is my boss?"

"Yeah."

"The Daimyo is the Hokage's boss."

"Ohhhh."

They continued walking until they passed under the first great torii gate, and the stone path forked into a ring that encircled a gigantic statue. Again they bowed just before passing under the gate.

"That's Uchiha Madara!" He tugged on Kakashi's sleeve and pointed at the statue in awe with his little flag. "He looks so real!"

Well, as real as a stone could be. But even as stonework, great attention to detail had been paid to his looks and wardrobe. The statue had a wild mane of hair that reached to the middle of his back, and donned his classical plate armor along with his preferred armaments, a massive gunbai uchiwa that was as tall as he was along with a war sickle.

Naruto ran ahead until he stood beneath the shadow cast out by Madara's stone war fan. If he squinted just hard enough, he could just barely make out the faint design of the active sharingan in the statue's left eye. Again, the statue was possessed of a certain nobility.

Perhaps this was the god that the warbeasts served?

"Cool!" He ran up to the cylindrical base of the statue. Carved into the base was a list of his feats, his titles, the wars and battles he fought in, and recounted his legacy for the Uchiha clan and Konohagakure at large. According to the text, he had earned many of these accolades personally from the previous and current Fire Daimyos as well. He backed away from the statue to get another look of everything before bumping into something unseen.

"Oh!" A voice cried out behind him. There was a clatter of wood against the stone.

An older man lay on the ground, having fallen onto his side. Naruto immediately rushed over and reached out to the man. He offered his hand forward, the boy's face rife with worry. "Please forgive me, sir!"

The man took slow and deep breaths in and out, before finally responding. "It's fine, lad. Just… fetch me my cane would you?"

Naruto nodded. Looking to his side, he saw a wooden cane with bits of silver around the shaft and handle lying a meter away from the pair. He quickly grabbed it, noting its weight in his hands before returning it to its owner. Leveraging the cane to the ground, the man made to push himself up, when Naruto once more offered his help. He gratefully accepted, and reached out to Naruto with his own hand, though it was obscured from view by a white glove tarnished brown by dust. When Naruto grabbed the man's hand with both of his, he noticed how stiff and inflexible it felt, like the steel frame on a chair.

Finally, the man was pulled up to his full height. He brushed any dust off his side, before facing Naruto.

Naruto bowed apologetically, "I'm so sorry!"

"Like I said, it's fine. Just please be more careful next time."

"Of course, sir." When Naruto looked up from his bow, he finally took in the man's appearance. He wore the same shinobi vest as Kakashi, and had at least twice as many medals hanging off his breast pocket. Any bits of his exposed skin were dotted in various scars, ranging from cuts and slashes to burned skin that would never fully recover. More noticeable however, was that his feet didn't match. At least not to Naruto, they didn't.

The man wore the typical open-toed sandals of the Konoha military, but his left foot was not made of skin and flesh like his right, but rather from wood, with small rods of steel tucked away in each toe, just barely in view. His false toes did not wiggle uncomfortably against the humidity, nor did they react to the warm summer breeze passing through his clothes. They were devoid of life.

Naruto couldn't help but stare for a moment too long.

"Sorry sir, I apologize for him." Kakashi stepped by, finally making his presence known and bowing alongside his brother. "He can get a bit carried away."

"Ah, Kakashi. I appreciate it, but your family doesn't need to keep apologizing. Kids will be kids, after all, it's only expected that he'd get distracted easily." They both turned to Naruto.

Naruto, who was still staring at the prosthetic.

"Oi, Naruto." He smacked his brother's arm – relatively –lightly. "Stop staring."

"Ahh, sorry, sir."

Kakashi sighed, before bowing again. "Please excuse us." He guided Naruto away from the old man a bit further away along the statue.

"Sorry." The boy's head hung low as he tried not to meet Kakashi's gaze.

"What did I teach you?"

"Be aware of your surroundings…"

"And were you?"

"Sorry." After continuing to mope for a few moments, he finally looked back up at Madara, as if to contemplate what the Uchiha would have done about such a mundane problem. He gathered some resolve, and broke the silence. "How come you never brought me here sooner?"

"I was saving it for an important day, like this one." Kakashi let Naruto bask in the image of one of his heroes for just a while longer before squeezing his shoulder. He was intent on not being stuck waiting for Naruto to finish inspecting the statue. "C'mon, let's continue."

The boy's gaze lingered on the statue for a few more moments, before he was led away from the former Vice-Commander. Past the Uchiha's statue, to the right was a large rest area, with a handful of tea and confectionery shops. This section of the shrine was filled with people, many of whom were wearing the same olive-green flak vests that Kakashi had on, though their choice in the outfit underneath varied from person to person. In tow behind them were the non-shinobi civilians, who – like Naruto –also wore yukatas and kimonos in various solid patterns of black and white, and even children refraining from dressing too brightly or garishly.

Most notable among the variety of undergarments was the verdant jumpsuit and orange leg warmers of a particularly recognizable shinobi. "Kakashi! Naruto! Over here!"

"Ah, Guy-san!" Naruto ran ahead of his older brother, only stopping as he reached the wooden railing that surrounded the tea house's seats. With boundless excitement, he stood up on his toes as he tried to lean over the wooden railing. "Thank you for dinner last night, I had so much fun!"

Guy responded to the young boy's smile with one of his own, his teeth shining in the sun as he gave Naruto a wink and an energetic thumbs up. "Of course my little friend! I'm glad you liked it, that was my father's recipe, and his father's before him."

Naruto looked behind him quickly, trying to get a final word in before Kakashi arrived. He begged, only somewhat playfully. "Please make it again, or teach Aniue how to cook better. Please."

The jonin could only laugh boisterously – as loud as he possibly could in fact –before wiping away a tear. "I'll try my best, but I can't make any promises!"

Right on time, Kakashi arrived beside his younger brother. "Morning, Guy."

"And a very fine morning to you too, Kakashi."

"I don't know if I'd call it a fine morning, but sure."

Guy's expression turned serious in an instant. "You're going there after the services, right?"

Kakashi chose not to say anything and merely offered up a single nod.

His friend nodded a few times in understanding, staring down absently at the banister between the two of them. He perked back up as he looked up to face them both, never being one to dwell too much in his head. "Well, I won't keep you two then. I'll see you around"

With that, they waved him goodbye, and they continued off deeper into the shrine.

Turning away from the tea house, Naruto was yet again in awe as they bowed and passed beneath another humongous torii gate, past which lay a set of great gates fashioned from wood and brass. He stood unmoving for a moment trying to take everything in, before a hand gripped the back of his haori and guided him over towards something off to the side of the path. "Come on. We gotta wash off."

"Huh?" Naruto looked over at his brother, before, embarrassingly sniffing his armpits. It wasn't too bad, he thought. "But we washed off this morning, didn't we?"

"Not like that."

The two approached a large rectangular basin bordered and divided into sections by strips of bamboo. Above was the forked roof of the pavilion sporting the same style of wood as the rest of the shrine. Along the bamboo beams that ran along the perimeter of the basin, where every few minutes the spouts poured out crystal clear water into the secondary basin below.

"First." Kakashi reached forward and grabbed the cylindrical wooden ladle by the thin shaft that ran perpendicular to the vessel itself with his right hand. "We wash the left hand."

Naruto rolled up the sleeves of his haori and kimono and followed suit. Although it wasn't a swelteringly hot day, the water that fell upon his hand was refreshingly cool.

"Then the right hand."

He switched his holding hand, received some more water and then poured as per Kakashi's instructions. Again, it felt soothing as it ran down his arms and dripped off his forearm and elbow.

"Now, pour a bit into your left hand, and take a sip."

He did so, cupping the water in his hand and drinking from it. It tasted clean and refreshing, definitely better than their tap water. Before he could finish drinking the water, Kakashi quickly interjected. "Don't swallow it. Spit it out down there." He said, pointing to the secondary basin at their feet.

Naruto nodded and spat it out, the water landing with a loud plop in the lower basin. "Like that?"

"Mhm. Remember, this water is meant for cleaning, not drinking. Now we clean off the ladle like this." He held it straight up and allowed the remaining water to wash the handle before setting it to rest. Naruto did the same.

His older brother nudged him back towards the main pathway. "Come on, let's head in."

He looked one last time as the purifying water streamed from the faucets along the bamboo rod. His geta clacked as they tread upon the stone tiling. "Didn't we clean off before we got here?"

"Yes."

"So why'd we do it again? And why'd we have to wash our mouths?"

"It's hot, so we've already started to gather some sweat. But more importantly, once we pass through those gates." The ANBU pointed at the massive three sets of two wooden gates that sectioned off the pathway to the rest of the shrine. "We will be in the presence of the divine."

"The divine?"

"All the soldiers of Konoha will be there. So we have to be clean. First, we wash our hands to clean the body. Then, we wash our mouths to clean the spirit." He tapped on the center of his chest for emphasis.

His mouth was slightly open, and Naruto could only nod his head in partial understanding. "The soldiers are shinobi right?"

"Mhm."

"So they're all divine?"

"No, not quite. Not all shinobi are divine, but one day they will be."

His partial understanding dissipated quickly, as he looked over at his elder brother. "Huh?"

Kakashi sighed. "Don't worry about it. You'll understand soon enough."

They reached the end of the stone pathway as it gave way to a wide but short set of stairs, a mere four steps up to reach the great doors. As he mounted the staircase, Naruto looked up and was again amazed by the sheer scale of the shrine. The wooden doors of the gabled shinmon gate that led into the inner sanctum of the shrine had been opened inwards, with each door marked at its center by the same crest that every Konoha shinobi bore on their hitai-ate. They too were large, being maybe a meter and a half in diameter, and their golden finish was so well polished that the light it reflected was nearly blinding.

To him, it was inconceivable that this shrine with its towering gates and statues could have gone unseen in the heart of Konoha, yet, the vast swathes of trees and foliage kept many of its features well hidden. Amidst the crowd trickling into the shrine proper, Kakashi and Naruto bowed beneath the frame of the gate, before stepping inside the 'realm of the divine.' Cool summer winds blew into their faces and sifted through their hair and clothing.

More unbloomed cherry blossoms flanked the main stone path as they exited the gates, yet their wiry boughs stretched out and shaded their entry. More engraved stone lanterns sat off in the distance, their interiors also flickering with candlelight. Framed by another torii gate, the shrine's main hall – the haiden –with its great copper struts and brilliant white banner fluttering in the breeze immediately drew Naruto's attention. Curiosity drove him forward, first a step, and then another two.

"Wait." A hand fell upon his head and stopped him before he could head toward the main hall. "Look more carefully."

His gaze tilted about 30 degrees lower and finally noticed where the large crowd of people gathered at the base of the hall. There must have been at least a hundred people there, each one seeming eager to quickly offer up their prayers and make way for the person waiting behind them.

"I don't particularly like waiting, so we'll swing back around to it later."

Naruto nodded his head, his curiosity put on hold for the moment.

"Besides, I want to make sure you completely understand the importance of this shrine before we pray."

"So you'll tell me what it means?"

"No."

"But I…" Naruto frowned but ultimately just sighed. "Okay."

"That's for you to figure out on your own. I'm sure you'll get it."

The two split off to the right of the main pathway at an intersection that took them toward the northeastern section of the grand shrine. Naruto hadn't noticed the stage on his right until just this very moment, his attention previously stolen by the beauty of the grey and gold haiden.

Most striking was the gigantic silver-grey bowl that Naruto hadn't noticed when he exited the gates. It looked as if several if not a dozen Kakashi-sized men could have laid in the bowl with still more room to spare. Behind it was a massive stone platform with sides that wrapped around the side of the basin like someone's arms lifting a dish from out of the oven. Along the sides of the bottom, were square vents placed in intervals. It was tall too, maybe twice the height or more of the bowl it seemingly carried. Evenly spaced seats filled the platform, with the one in the middle being taller and more important looking than those beside it. Two sets of stairs led up to the lip of the bowl, which Naruto pulled Kakashi towards.

"Can we see what's inside?"

Without blinking or reacting much at all, Kakashi nodded his head and waved his hand in approval, seemingly keen on wasting time.

The stairs were wide, wide enough to fit two people abreast with a decent amount of space in between them. A stone railing guarded the staircase's sides, preventing anyone from falling into the basin at the top.

Looking down into the basin and at the platform, perhaps most notable about the platform was the strange ornate bronze tube that stretched out from in front of the middle seat, and seemed to pierce through the wall and end at the center of the bowl. Similarly, a pair of less ornate tubes stretched from the far ends of the "arms," and into the sides of the wall, running perpendicular to the central tube, though ended closer to the wall than at the middle of the basin. Nothing indicated what the tubes were used for. Inside the basin was chopped wood, along with a great deal of cut branches and twigs.

"Satisfied?"

"I think so…" Naruto's gaze lingered on the bowl a bit longer before he turned back to his brother.

"Don't worry, you'll see what it's for later."

They returned to the path, before coming to a large ornate stone-brick building. Along its walls were a number of short but wide blocks of polished granite, each adorned with a different statue.

"What are these?"

"Heroes from our village's history."

They approached the first, and saw a familiar looking gunbai resting against a sturdy tree. The upper –or rather lower from their point of view –panels of the gunbai bore the signature magatama of the Konoha's First Vice Commander. Nestled in the shade of the war fan was a budding seedling, its willowy stalk poking out of the stone-carved dirt. Just in front of it was a smaller block of stone with its title, "Guardian of the Oak."

"Aniue?"

"Mm?"

"The fan's shading the seed, right? But doesn't it need sunlight to grow?"

"Too much sunlight can kill it. Too much shade, and it'll never grow."

"So it should have both shade and sunlight to grow big and strong?"

"Mhm."

Next was a statue of a muscular disembodied fist, wrapped in bandages, shattering a sword into tiny fragments. But someone was standing next to this one. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was Guy, staring quietly at the statue. When Naruto went to say something, Kakashi put his hand on his shoulder and merely shook his head. As Guy had said earlier, they would speak again during the kindling. He did not read the title of the monument.

They passed by him, and proceeded to the next statue.

This time of a man in full, wearing their typical military gear and fatigues. Of note though, was the extra short sleeve over his left arm that bore a pattern along the open sleeve like a single row of triangular teeth. In one hand he wielded a short sword with a flat tip and carried another shinobi over the opposite shoulder. This one was titled, "The White Fang."

"Aniue, that's your dad, right?"

"Yeah."

This time Kakashi said nothing, nor placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. He simply moved on without another word.

They came up to another statue, of a similar size to the previously seen "White Fang." But there was no urgency in the scene, and the figure was quite relaxed, even going so far as to idly spin a distinct three-bladed kunai in his left hand. He had a wild shock of hair with a pair of bangs that ran down past the length of his chin. It was titled, "The Yellow Flash."

"That was the Jonin Commander, Namikaze Minato!"

"Mhm. What technique is he famous for?"

"Uhhhh, the rasengan!"

"Mhm. And?"

"Oh, the hiraishin!"

"There we go. Now, how many soldiers did he defeat at the Battle of the Taigen River?"

Naruto looked down at his feet for a moment, before his face lit up with a possible answer. "Fifty? No! Fifty-seven!"

"Wrong." Kakashi tsked as he pulled a notepad and pen from his vest, writing something down before returning it to an internal pocket. "The answer was three hundred and ninety."

"Eh?"

"At the Battle of Taigen River, Namikaze Minato fought and destroyed a mixed battalion of the Land of Earth. He killed three hundred and ninety soldiers in about two hours."

"But Aniue, I thought you said he killed fifty-seven?"

"Fifty-seven shinobi. He killed fifty-seven shinobi."

"But then?" Naruto was trying to count on his hands. "But then… what? How did he…?"

"The rest were samurai and their ashigaru. He killed a total of three hundred and ninety soldiers."

"Oh."

"Be sure to study harder from now on, okay?"

He struggled to maintain eye contact. "Yes, Aniue."

Before they could continue to the next statue, a shrill noise pierced the air. The noise trembled, back and forth, as if shaking in the wind.

"It's time. Let's head back."

---

I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, it was very fun to write, and I'm hoping to try to pump more chapters out in a shorter span of time then uh... five-to-six months. Also the flower on Obito's grave are geraniums, which in Japan are supposed to represent melancholy according to the Japanese flower language.

This chapter in retrospect is pretty depressing, but rest assured, things will get better from here. What do people think of the extra world-building to Konoha with the shrine and the ceremonies? Any thoughts on Kakashi and Naruto's relationship? I'd love to hear what everyone thinks in the reviews.

Below is the chronological list of Japanese terms and their translations:

Himo - Decorative ties for securing the haori.

Komainu - The stone lion-dog statues guarding shrines and temples.

Kappogi - A type of smock to protect kimonos while cooking. A classical Japanese apron that covers most of the front, back and arms.

Kobata - A small flag.

Uchiwa - A round silk fan for which the Uchiha clan's name is a pun of.

Haiden - Hall of worship at a Shinto shrine.

Ashigaru - Foot soldiers of a samurai's army. Often peasants within that samurai's domain who are called to battle.

 

[TheMightyMorgoth]

Chapter 6
Hallowed Dead​

"It's time. Let's head back."

"Head back for what?" The boy tilted his head.

"The centerpiece ritual of this shrine. The 'Rite of Kindling,' will begin soon."

Naruto wasn't sure what to say –or exactly what any of it meant –and so opted to remain quiet.

Within a few meters, they finally returned to the edge of the crowd. The crowd which before had congregated mostly at the main haiden had now grown and filled a large section of the shrine. It was too dense for Naruto to see through.

"Aniue, what's going on? I can't see anything."

Rather than respond, Kakashi stepped back and grabbed Naruto by his small waist. He carefully picked him up off the ground and lifted him onto his shoulders. "It's important that you're able to see this."

As it turned out, the entire shrine hadn't been filled just yet, and it suddenly became clear to Naruto as to why. Someone important was coming. The procession was heralded by what Naruto could only imagine to be spirits of the shrine moaning or whining in shrill tones. It reminded him of the pond near their apartment. On quieter nights, he could hear the frogs and toads singing in tandem with the bugs. Yet there were no spirits – at least not that Naruto could see – singing their haunting music.

Instead, three columns slowly made their way through the main gate, having come from around the corner in the general direction of the Hokage Tower. Each column of about six priests passed through a different door. They wore heavy-looking robes that were kept a pristine white despite the day's heat, as well as tall, slightly curved black hats with a base that reminded Naruto of a small black fabric box sitting atop one's head.

What stood out to him was the masks they wore, which completely obscured their faces and gave them the look of puppets or dolls. They looked almost like they were made from a particularly dense paper, and had several kanji and designs painted on in black ink, though the only character Naruto could read was that for 'fire'. Naruto could see the priests holding one of two different instruments that jutted out from the bottom of the paper mask. Those in the front played their music, while those in the back carried sacred bronze tools Naruto did not understand the purpose of.

Behind the priests was another group of people, though they were less eerie and far more intimidating.

From the moment he saw the people at the front of the second group, he knew they were shinobi. They didn't wear the flak vests that Naruto always saw other Konoha shinobi wearing, but between their weapons, their distinct garb, and the way they walked, he just knew. Though, they didn't walk so much as they marched in lockstep with one another, their closed-toe shoes crunching against the stone.

If the priests' masks were unnerving, then the shinobis' masks were striking. Great golden masks hewn in the shapes of the sun, each one with distinctive tendrils or bolts or limbs or tongues of fire leaping out from the mask's circumference. Unlike the drab green of other shinobi's clothing, they wore billowing white half-capes hemmed in golden thread draped over their shoulders, occasionally fluttering in the wind to reveal layered plates of armor, not unlike a samurai or the shinobi of Warring Clans period.

Held at the side of their hips beneath their caped arm were swords, which rattled around in finely decorated scabbards as they marched into the shrine. In the opposite hand, they bore spears nearly two or three meters long, with great silver blades that glittered in the sunlight. The bottom end of the spears' shafts stamped against the stone tiling in rhythm with the pace of their steps.

As both groups stepped onto the main pathway, the crowd made way for them, bowing deeply as they passed by. The shinobi in the rear did not form into columns like the priests, but instead formed what looked like a diamond pattern. They proceeded forward along the path, both the priests and shinobi stoically marching forward. Around them fluttered streaks of red, green, and gold as the crowds of cheering civilians and shinobi alike waved the flags of their village and daimyo.

Eventually, the procession stopped beneath the torii gate in front of the haiden, each of them stopping to bow to the gods as they went beneath the archway. The priests stood out along the periphery of the haiden, muttering something quietly that Naruto wasn't able to hear. The shinobi however, maintained their formation as they approached the offertory box. Naruto heard claps, but none of the masked shinobi made a move. Was there someone hidden away between them?

Moments later, the priests reformed their columns behind the shinobi and made their way to the great basin, still playing their music. Once they reached the bottom of the basin, they fanned out into two columns that went on either side of the basin, with two standing in between the pair of staircases leading up to the lip and facing out toward the crowd.

Naruto heard a shout from the haiden, and suddenly the shinobi swiftly rotated on their heels to face the opposite direction. There was another cry, a command to the group, and they all resumed their march. Reaching the steps to the basin, they too parted into two columns revealing the unseen figures within the formation. Each of them wore black armor of some kind or another, with four sharing the same style of First Great War era armor, while the last among them wore something slightly more modern looking, a deep grey high-collared armor that encompassed a grey flak jacket. The five made their way up the steps to the seats along the back of the basin, with the more modern-looking shinobi taking his seat in the very center, and the two of the older shinobi flanking him on either side.

Finally able to see a face, Naruto immediately recognized Hiruzen sitting just left of the center seat. But his usual warmness was replaced by a more serious demeanor as he lacked his characteristic smile. Except for the central figure, everyone looked to be around Hiruzen's age, sporting grey hair, liver spots, and wrinkles. All of the present figures seemed familiar to Naruto, but he was certain he had never met any of them in his life.

In the corner of his vision, Naruto thought he saw another third group walking through the main gate just as the last two had. Before Naruto could make out any more of the new group, his attention was called by a single unified whine by the priests' instruments, signaling the end of their music. The central figure then stood from his seat and raised his hand. The crowd, like the music, fell completely silent.

Then, it finally dawned on him. He recognized the pale skin and long black hair from the photos Hiruzen had shown him and his face on the side of the mountain.

The man who stood among the five was Orochimaru, the venerable Fourth Hokage of Konoha.

"Beloved children of Konohagakure, hear me!" His voice was shrill, yet commanding nonetheless. "Seventy-five years ago, our forebears came together to found this mighty village. Our founders, Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, ended half a century of fighting for the sake of peace through their clarity and grace. With that, they forged a vision of peace so sincere that the great clans of the Land of Fire flocked to their banners and swore their lives in service to this village. Even the great Heishi Clan, descended from the Imperial House of yore –who themselves are said to have descended from the very gods –pledged their support to our village."

"With this combined support, Lords Hashirama and Madara sparked a flame. A flame that would never be snuffed out and would never be smothered. That flame was hope for the people of this village, hope for a peace that was yet unknown to the peoples of this world for centuries. Thus, was the Will of Fire born and implanted in the hearts of Konohagakure's people, so that they too might strive for a peaceful future. In fact, our Lord Hashirama was so devoted to this cause that he even sought to create peace with the four other lands. But when the time came to settle peace between all nations and all peoples, what came of it?"

He leaned forward toward the crowd, slamming both hands on the lid of the basin. "They spat on our peace and murdered our Hokage!"

"Rats!" The crowd jeered, finally breaking their silence as they vigorously flew the colors of their village. In their excitement, even Naruto felt somewhat compelled to wave hiskobataalongside them.

"Backstabbers!"

"Cowards!"

"Retribution!"

"Fear not, for our Hokage's justice was swiftly met out by Lord Madara, who scoured their cities in vast seas of flame." Orochimaru held out both his hands, pacifying the crowd. "But since then, we have realized that our road to peace will be a difficult one, paved with the blood of friends and foes alike. Yet all the same, it is blood that makes life in Konoha possible, forever stoking the flames of Konoha. We must recognize that our vision of peace is built on the sacrifice of noble soldiers, and show our appreciation to their unwavering heroism."

"Today, we are gathered here to do just that –to pay homage to the thousands of loyal Konoha shinobi who fought in the service of their homeland in the Third Great War. From the bamboo jungles of Kusa to the rolling plains of the Lightning country, our men valiantly fought off the samurai and shinobi of three great countries! We felled their armies, and any they dared to send against us were mercilessly put to the sword! Yet for every hundred of them we slew, we lost one of our own."

"It is only proper for us then to honor their sacrifices by remembering them and ushering their spirits unto this holy shrine. Let them be exalted, not as mere men, but as warriors and heroes! Through death in service to the Daimyo, they have ascended as eirei, as the hallowed war dead. In their memory, we shall cast their names into the flame, renewing their spirits. For as long as their names smolder in our hearts and minds, the spirits of heroes will never be destroyed, they will remain forever between heaven and earth."

Orochimaru cast his arms out to the crowd. "Now, on the eleventh day of the eighth month of the fortieth year since Lord Takaharu's ascension as Daimyo to the Fire Court, let us begin this Rite of Kindling!"

With those words, Hiruzen and the elderly man opposite to him with his eye wrapped in bandages swiftly leapt up to attention. They and the Fourth Hokage went through an identical set of hand signs, before quickly lunging forward and placing their mouths over the brass tubes in front of them. He couldn't see what was happening, but the bottom of the basin suddenly flickered to life as flame briefly sprayed out of its vents before settling down. Soon enough, great ribbons of smoke rose upwards into the sky.

Orochimaru looked out towards the haiden of the shrine, stretching a hand forward. "Might the Veteran's Society, who have already sacrificed their pound of flesh, step forward."

Then came the third group.

They were not as orderly nor as synchronized as the first and second groups, and they were made up of men and women of varying ages. As they walked between the crowds and approached the basin, Naruto could see they were littered in grievous scars and faded wounds. Some had lost limbs or were missing eyes, and many required the aid of those men and women from the Spouse's Association to be escorted to the basin. To move and walk seemed painful as some struggled to make their way up the steps. But these were a dogged bunch, and despite any pain, they kept their heads held high and were not shy of how many medals and ribbons they had earned in their careers.

The veterans at the top of the two sets of the staircases were handed something by the Association members, which after a moment, they cast into the flames below. This continued until all the wounded veterans had gone up and come back down. In the final pair of men, Naruto recognized the man with the cane, stiffly shuffling up and down the steps as he tossed something into the flame.

Naruto then almost fell back as his world suddenly came into motion, and Kakashi stepped forward through the crowd of people and towards the basin. As did many people, some who he had seen around the village, or even had seen his brother speak to in passing before. Some were decorated shinobi dressed in their war gear, and some were just ordinary civilians garbed in black kimonos.

Their walk forward was slow, and the attitude of the crowd was different than it had been at the height of the Fourth Hokage's speech. Whispers slithered throughout people, quietly passed back and forth between family members. Now that they were close enough, Naruto could more clearly make out the people at the front of the lines.

When he looked back up at the basin, he realized one of the people returning from the line was his neighbor, Ito-san. Much like Hiruzen, the warmth he normally saw in her was gone, and instead he watched as his elderly neighbor sobbed openly, tears streaming down her face as she walked by them in a hurry.

Naruto tried to reach out to her but was stopped when Kakashi held up his hand. "Leave her be." The boy withdrew his hand and could only watch as she retreated through the crowd and disappeared entirely. He stared out for a moment in the direction she had left in, but could no longer see her. Kakashi continued regardless.

After some time passed they finally reached the foot of the basin, and Kakashi squatted down so his brother could climb off. As they walked up the steps, Naruto in tow behind the ANBU, he spotted Guy again for the third time that day on the other set of stairs.

"Might Dai," Guy said with a firmness in his voice. He then threw his ema into the fire below, staring down at it for a moment before making his way down the path. Guy's eyes were affixed forward, and he failed to notice the young Naruto staring at him to the side.

Finally, it was their turn and they reached the top of the basin. While Kakashi reached into his vest, Naruto looked up at the five shinobi sitting across from them. From beside his older brother, Naruto looked at Hiruzen who was intensely focused on performing the task at hand. He looked past the railings and below into the bottom of the basin. A great torrent of heat rose to greet his face, and he could see nothing but the conflagration of flame that swirled about in the bottom of the bowl. Naruto was absorbed by the sight of it, a vortex of red and orange that seemed to endlessly churn clockwise like a filled sink having its drain plug yanked out. Gouts of flame poured out of the Third and Fourth Hokage's tubes, but Naruto couldn't see anything come out of the third tube. He did notice some kind of distortion that flowed out and controlled the movement and intensity of the heat, yet lacked a defined color or shape.

Was it wind chakra? He would ask Kakashi later.

In front of him stood the Fourth Hokage, who like Hiruzen, blew a torrent of flame through the brass tube. Naruto stared at him, and for a moment he thought the Fourth looked back at him. He caught a glimpse of eyes, thin and vertical like a cat's or a snake's, and so gold like they were made from metal. There was a richness to those eyes that drew him in and yet took him aback, otherworldly yet uncanny.

There was a sudden rattle, and Naruto looked to see a pair of ema dangling from Kakashi's hand. When Kakashi's hand didn't move, he looked up at his older brother's face and saw only an eye that was cold and empty like ice. He stared at the ema for what seemed like an eternity to the young boy. Finally, Kakashi spoke.

"Uchiha Obito. Namikaze Minato." He looked at them for another moment, before turning his head and tossing them into the flames below. Kakashi reached back into the other side of his vest and retrieved a lone ema. "Hatake Sakumo."

It too was flung into the fire. Kakashi's hand did not return to his side, as if still locked in the position to throw the ema. His fingers curled into a fist as if realizing there was now nothing to hold onto.

"Aniue?" Naruto whispered.

Kakashi blinked twice and then faced Naruto. "I'm fine. Let's go."

The blond nodded in compliance, and they turned onto the adjacent set of steps going down. When they reached the bottom, he turned to see the priests and shinobi guards surrounding the basin. The former used their strange bronze staffs to scrape and prod through the vents, occasionally raking out piles of kindled ash and filling metal containers with them. The shinobi on the other hand were stoic, and did not so much as move. There was a certain intensity about them that Naruto could not help but gawk at. Maybe it was the way their weapons glittered in the morning sun, or how their capes fluttered in the breeze, or those golden masks shaped like miniature whirling suns. He couldn't see any eyes behind their masks, and while it was a bit frightening it was also awe-inspiring.

Naruto could not linger on the image of the shinobi for long as he was corralled forward. They passed through the crowd and made their way to the haiden and after waiting in a much shorter line, they approached the steps to the shrine's main hall. Looking up, he noticed the same pair of crests on the flag in his hand as on the white banners, the swallowtail butterfly on one side and the Konoha crest on the other.

Kakashi signaled to Naruto, asking to see his hand. He drew a ten sen coin from his pocket and placed it into the boy's open palm. "You'll need that to make your prayer to the eirei."

"What should I pray about?"

"Pray about what you think you've learned from this experience."

Naruto just nodded, going along with what his brother said. He followed Kakashi's lead, dropping their coins into the offertory saisen where they rattled against the wood until they hit the bottom of the box.

Kakashi took a step back, and then so did Naruto. He rang the bell hanging above the box a few times, and then so did Naruto. Twice, they bowed deeply, deep enough that the backs of their necks were revealed, as if offering submission to the enshrined. Between the two of them, four claps rang out beneath the shrine's awning, and then they sat there quietly in prayer for a moment.

I hope that one day I don't have to do this for Kakashi. Please don't let him get hurt…

Finishing, the two bowed one last time before making their way out of the shrine. With the late morning sun overhead, they passed beneath the torii gates and the shinmon, only to hear a voice calling out.

"Oii, Kakashi!" A woman with dark purple hair and a rather sickly disposition came jogging up to the pair. She wore very strange –gaudy –clothes for what seemed to be a formal ceremony. And there was this strange look to her eyes. They weren't distant like Kakashi's eyes but they weren't relaxed like Guy's, nor were they warm like Hiruzen or Biwako's. "Sorry I'm late, did they finish the ceremony yet?"

"Yeah…" Kakashi's voice trailed off.

"Damn, I knew I shouldn't have gone overboard last night." She looked down, her gaze met by a pair of small blue eyes. "Oh. You must be Naru-chan."

Naruto sheepishly hid behind his brother.

"He's cute, that's for sure." She roared with laughter. "Aww, don't worry. I don't bite."

The boy tugged at his older brother's sleeve, before whispering to him. "Aniue, I don't know if I believe her. She looks scary."

"We're busy, Anko." He stared right past her as he responded. "We'll have dinner another time."

"But I didn't ask about dinner…"

Kakashi grabbed a hold of his younger brother's hand as they walked by her, Naruto's gaze lingering on her for a while. Again, their eyes met. Though he didn't know her, he waved her goodbye. Anko waved back half-heartedly and sighed, there was a certain disappointment in her brown eyes as she turned around to enter the main section of the shrine.

"Who was she?"

"A coworker."

"Is she scary?"

"No, just clingy."

"Oh…" Naruto noticed they were exiting the shrine entirely. "Where are we going?"

Kakashi stopped suddenly and let go of Naruto's hand. "Somewhere, very important to me."

---

A tall wall with layers of professionally cut stone bricks completely occupied the space to the pair's right. The two stuck close to the wall, hiding beneath its awning and out of the growing heat of the sun. Unlit paper lanterns hung above them, and the Uchiha family crest was draped over several white banners hanging from the wall. Eventually, they came upon a pair of men, standing perpendicular to their path. They wore grey high-collared shirts, with swords on their hips. One smoked a cigarette, while the other had a round silk fan he was using to keep cool.

The one with the cigarette noticed the brothers approaching. "Oh, is it that time already, Kakashi?"

"Mhm."

"And who's this?" The guard fanning himself leaned back noticing Naruto behind Kakashi.

"My brother. I want to introduce him to…" The ANBU paused, his hands clasping involuntarily as he rubbed his thumbs against his index fingers.

The fanning guard held his hand up and nodded his head, "I got it, don't worry."

The smoking guard called out to someone above them, before turning back to the pair. "All right, head on in."

A pair of massive wooden doors were pushed open as Naruto and Kakashi entered a section of the village Naruto had never explored before.

"Follow me," Kakashi said quietly.

A few shops were still open, but on a holiday like this, and in a shinobi-majority area, most people had closed up. There were some people here and there, but they were typically on the younger side. Perhaps as young or younger than Kakashi.

They walked by what looked like a monument in the center of the district, a small mound or hill maybe twice the height of Kakashi, with its top layer covered in grass. Atop it was a five-ringed tower, a gorinto, with a small candle inside lit. There was a golden plaque in front of it, but he didn't have time to read it as Kakashi sped along.

"Hold on, we'll stop here first." They approached a small shop, occupying the lowest floor of a three story building. "Two sticks of mitarashi dango, to go, please."

An old man, with a handful of teeth and covered in liver spots, withdrew a pair of skewers right off the grill. Their trios of white dango dripped with a brownish-gold syrup. He stuffed them in a plastic container before handing them to Kakashi. Bag in tow, the two continued on their way. As they passed through the residential area, the pathway seemed to get narrower as the stone walls closed in on the dirt road.

It was a bright day out, yet the atmosphere of the residence was dour. Even during the morning, closed windows gave Naruto a very uninviting impression. But the people seemed friendly enough.

"Morning Kakashi." A pair of men walking in the opposite direction greeted the younger man.

"Good morning."

Eventually, they arrived at a tall wooden gate surrounded by stone walls, not unlike the ones at the Seien Daijinja.

Kakashi pushed past the doors, "Come on, let's head inside."

The boy nodded and followed his elder brother in. Before him was a field of stone, some shaped like slabs while others were rectangular towers that came up to his height or taller.

"I have to buy something very quickly for my friend. Would you go and grab a bucket, a ladle, and a brush for me? Should be behind you."

"Sure, Aniue." Naruto quickly found all three items and returned to Kakashi who had just approached the stand at the other side of the entrance. A priest or monk working there exchanged words with the ANBU before giving him a pair of sticks, with some sort of grey substance along four-fifths of the shaft.

"All right, come on. I'll introduce you to my friend."

They walked down the middle path, Naruto noting that each row of stone towers or slabs had a small sign on the ground with an ascending number. Names were written vertically on all of them, all starting with the family name 'Uchiha' and then a given name. The realization finally dawned on him.

"T-this is a graveyard, right?" He couldn't help but stutter a bit.

"Mhm." Kakashi didn't elaborate any further than that.

There was also a particular smell that wafted through the area, and he saw the faint traces of smoke that carried it along. It smelled like some kind of wood, but it was also mixed with different floral scents too. He wasn't sure. Naruto didn't spend a lot of time smelling wood.

"Aniue?"

"Hm?"

"What's that smell?"

"Incense." Kakashi held up the little sticks in his hand.

"Oh. It smells nice." Naruto looked down for a moment, looking all around them at the multitude of graves that flanked them on either side. "Is your friend going to meet us here?"

"Sort of." When their road came to a four-way intersection, the ANBU captain pointed out using the sticks he was holding. "Take a right here."

Flowers were everywhere in the cemetery, many held in small stone vases attached to the body of the headstones. Yellows, blues, purples, reds, and pinks dotted the graves, adding a bit of color to all the grey and black of the stonework.

Naruto also finally realized where the smell was coming from. The very same sticks that Kakashi had purchased were lit and kept in small containers on the graves, releasing a scented smoke that floated out into the air.

"All right, it should be around the corner," Kakashi said.

As they came around the corner, they saw an older woman and a man standing off in the distance. Like the people at the shrine, they both wore a black and white kimono, though she wore a blue-wave patterned obi while he wore a dark green obi. He stood a bit behind the older woman, who had her eyes closed as she whispered something to herself while –what looked like –counting the stringed beads in her hand.

The man noticed them first. "Oh, hey Kakashi."

"Terukichi." The ANBU nodded back.

Surprised but not startled from her mantras, the older woman looked up at the pair. "Oh, Kakashi, you're here already."

"Sorry, ma'am. I'm a bit early."

"No, no. It's quite alright. We were just finishing up here." She leaned down to the gravestone in front of her, setting something down before she whispered. "I packed your favorite lunch for you, so eat slowly. I'll pick it up later today, okay? I love you…"

As she stood back up, she stumbled backward, ultimately falling down completely.

"Obaa-san!" The young Uchiha man came rushing to her side. "Are you all right? Can you stand?"

"I'm fine, dear." She took his hand and stood up off the ground, still a bit wobbly. "A bit lost in thought is all. Can you believe it's been eight years?"

"It's hard to believe, Chiyoko-san," Terukichi responded, his head hung low, knowing where this conversation was going. "Shall we head home?"

"He's all we had left of Rie and Honda. And now he's gone too." Her hand came up to her eyes, and she was hardly able to meet anyone's gaze. She wept quietly and her breathing became hitched, almost like a hiccup. "I'm sorry, Rie. I couldn't protect your son like I promised."

Terukichi wrapped his arm around her. "Come on, let's head home."

Through teary eyes, Chiyoko nodded and went off with him, the pair of Uchihas rounding the corner and eventually disappearing from view. Her choked sobs slowly faded with them. Then it was just Naruto and Kakashi at the grave.

"Hand me the brush would you?" Kakashi said. "Pour some water with the ladle over the grave."

The stone already looked wet, but Naruto complied anyway. He ladled out water over the headstone as Kakashi scrubbed away any filth that might've still been there from before Chiyoko and Terukichi. The boy was careful not to pour any water over any of the offerings left behind. Satisfied, Kakashi set the brush down next to them.

While his brother started to light the incense with a small flame coming from his finger, Naruto scanned over the grave. There was a pair of red five-petaled flowers sitting in a tall thin stone vase that didn't look like it could be moved. They smelled nice, a bit citrusy or even spicy like the ginger Guy liked to use in his cooking. But on the base block of the grave was a small lidded rectangular box, and a pair of orange-lensed goggles with ear protectors.

Steam emanated from the box, wafting to Naruto and carrying the smell of fresh rice, chicken, grilled fish, vegetables, and soy sauce to him. A pair of chopsticks sat together on top of the box. It was a bento, Naruto realized. The goggles besides it had seen some wear and tear, noticing chips or scratches across the orange lens. The ear protectors too had suffered a bit of damage, as Naruto noticed a long gash that grazed the side of the left ear muff.

Kakashi squatted down next to Naruto, clapping his hands together once and sitting silently in prayer. He didn't say a word, and from that Naruto assumed that he didn't need to copy him this time. After a moment, he opened his uncovered eye and finally spoke again. "Hello, Obito."

Naruto looked back at Obito, or his grave, rather. There was no response.

"This is my brother, Naruto," Kakashi said. "I told you about him before."

Not sure what to do, Naruto spoke up. "Hello!"

"He looks like him, doesn't he?" Kakashi stared at the unmoving stone gravestone as if still waiting for a response.

"Aniue, who's Obito?"

"Uchiha Obito is… was a teammate and a good friend of mine. Actually, he was probably one of my first friends." He patted the stonework. "He saved my life too."

"He did?" Naruto looked over at Kakashi.

"Mhm. Obito pushed me out of the way when a rock from an Iwagakure shinobi would have crushed me. Instead, he died in my place."

The boy nodded and also turned his attention to the gravestone, focused on the name etched in black.

"He gave me a parting gift too, in those last few moments." For some reason, Kakashi reached up and touched his covered eye.

"So he was a hero?"

"Yeah, he was a hero."

"And so now, does that make him an eirei?"

"Yes." Kakashi slowly nodded. "I suppose it does."

Naruto looked at the small flag still in his hands, twirling the pole clockwise and counterclockwise and flying the heraldry of the Fire Daimyo and Leaf Village. He reached out, placing it in a small stone cup attached to the gravestone. There, the gold thread glittered and shimmered in the sun.

"Please take this, Uchiha-san." He clapped his hands together in imitation of Kakashi's earlier prayer. "Thank you for keeping my brother safe."

Kakashi placed an arm on Naruto's shoulder, gently patting it. For a moment, Naruto could have sworn he saw a small smile behind that mask. "I'm sorry, Naruto. Do you mind giving us a minute?"

"Of course, Aniue." Naruto bowed slightly to his brother, before stepping back a few feet. Kakashi placed the plastic container on the stone next to the bento, before faintly talking. Not sure what to do for the time being, Naruto began walking down the path, taking note of the different names, offerings, and the overall state of the gravestones. Some looked freshly cleaned like Obito's, while others were wreathed in vines and brambles as if no one had visited in years if not decades.

Left to his own devices, Naruto noticed his thoughts returning to the shrine and the people in attendance there. He thought of the great torii gates, and the copper beams along the haiden. He thought of the priests with their bronze tools and eerie music, and the guards and their golden masks. Of the great whirlpool of fire and the amber eyes of the Fourth Hokage. He thought of the people cheering bitterly and angrily, and thought of those same people mourning and weeping as they walked down those staircases. He thought of Guy who, for the first time that Naruto had ever seen, looked sad. He even thought of Kakashi's strange coworker, who seemed more than a little disappointed. It was all very strange to Naruto, and he still didn't entirely understand everything. He hoped Kakashi would clear things up later when they went home.

All of a sudden, Naruto heard a new noise. It was the crunch of rubber against the sand and dirt along the stone tiled path. The footsteps came from where they entered. Around the corner, a woman appeared, no older than Kakashi. But she looked like neither Chiyoko nor Terukichi did, with long brown hair that swayed back and forth in the breeze, and a pair of distinctive purple markings on either cheek. The woman stopped in her tracks immediately upon noticing Naruto and Kakashi. There was a certain… discomfort that showed in her eyes, and she almost took a step backward. She closed her eyes, muttered something to herself, and resumed walking forward – albeit, much more slowly and quietly now, as if she was trying to avoid stepping on eggshells.

Naruto ran back to Kakashi, made nervous by her fear. "Aniue, someone's coming."

"It's a cemetery, people come here all the time." Kakashi set the empty skewer down inside the open container.

"But I think she knows us."

Kakashi sighed. He stood up, brushed himself off, and turned to his right. As his sandal crunched against the ground, he too, suddenly stopped in his tracks. Naruto saw his brother's eye go wide and his hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly. Although still through his nose, Kakashi's breathing became more uncontrolled and erratic.

"H-hello… Kakashi." The woman said in a hushed voice, barely able to look at the silver-haired man.

Kakashi struggled to move at all, as if fused to the ground. Naruto reached out and grabbed his elder brother's hand. It was clammy, but he held it regardless. "Aniue?"

After hearing his younger brother speak, his breathing slowed considerably and it was as though he finally managed to swallow something stuck in his throat. "Good morning… Rin."

As if compelled to, the two could no longer hold eye contact. Kakashi faced one side of the path while Rin faced the other. They awkwardly walked past each other, Naruto in tow behind his brother, still holding Kakashi's sweaty hand. "We have to go."

Their walk became brisk, before escalating into a run and then a sprint. Stone tiles gave way to dusty roads, and soon enough, the pair had left the cemetery. Not long after that, they left the Uchiha district entirely.

"Aniue, were we supposed to clean up the dango?" Naruto was just barely keeping up with his older brother.

Kakashi didn't say anything, nor did he look back to his surrogate brother. His unblinking eye remained fixed forward.

---

The door to their apartment swung open as Kakashi entered without even taking his sandals off, tracking dirt and sand past the genkan.

"Aniue?" Naruto called out to him.

"Naruto. Go get changed, and head to our usual training ground to practice your taijutsukata. I'll join you eventually."

"Aniue, are you sure?" The boy's voice was rife with concern, and his blue eyes looked up at Kakashi like one of his ninken.

"Yes. Now go."

Unsure of what to say, his brother simply nodded and went to his room to change.

The silver-haired ANBU quickly went through the seals for the summoning technique. A cloud of smoke exploded and Pakkun stood before Kakashi.

"Kakashi, do you need something?"

"I can't explain. Escort Naruto to the training ground, and keep an eye on him for me. Help him practice his kata. I'll come get you two when I'm done."

"What, no please?" The pug snorted, before noticing the state Kakashi was in. "Uh sure, Kakashi. No problem."

Kakashi went to his room too, and closed the door. He left the blinds closed and sat down at the desk across from his bed, content to sit in the darkness for the time being. He heard Naruto's door close before a shadow blocked part of the light seeping in from beneath Kakashi's door.

"Come on kid. Let's go train!" He heard Pakkun yell from the living room.

The shadow beneath the doorway lingered for a few moments before disappearing, and he heard the front door open and close shut.

For minutes, Kakashi sat alone in the dark still facing the door, as if expecting someone to arrive. No one came. At some point, he swiveled around in his chair and turned on the light above his desk. From a side cabinet, he pulled three unmarked ema and a chisel, preferring to make them himself than pay the priests or miko to do it at the shrine.

He began carving away at the face of the first ema, intent on writing the characters for Obito's name. He could barely write the name 'Uchiha' before he noticed tears dropping onto the wood block. With a loud thud, he dropped the chisel followed by the ema and let his head fall into his hands. He could no longer contain himself, and what were previously holes in the dam gave way to a flood.

Kakashi wept, alone, in his apartment for an unknown period of time. When his tears ran dry, he stood up, wiped himself off with his sleeve, and left his apartment to find his brother and Pakkun.

---

Eirei - Spirits of warriors, spirits of war dead.

Saisen - Offertory box at a shinto shrine.

Shinmon - Main gate.

Gorinto - Five-ringed tower.

Mitarashi - Sweet soy sauce glaze.

Kata - Individual and repeated training exercises usually for martial arts.

 

[TheMightyMorgoth]

Thanks to Jucio, my co-author for helping me with the planning for the chapter.

Anyways, translations for Japanese words will be at the bottom as usual.

---

Chapter 7
The Uchiha Clan​

"Your documentation, sir?"

"Yes, of course. Shigekichi?"

"Right away, Ando-san." A bespectacled man behind him came forward, rummaging through one of the many satchels on his person. Finally, he withdrew the set of parchments in question. "Here you are, sir."

Carefully, Ando accepted the papers before passing them along to the guard, whose hitai-ate glinted in the early morning sun. "Name and profession?"

"Ando Isamu, merchant. This one," Isamu gestured to the bespectacled man. "Is Shigekichi Hatsuo, my accountant. The two behind us are Ibuse Kenta and Ibuse Kenji, my armed escorts."

"Purpose of your visit?"

"Just stopping by Konoha for the weekend before I head up to Yu no Kuni."

"Where will you be staying in Konoha?"

"There's a hotel near the market district, the Kagetsu Ryokan. You know, the one with the olive trees that hang over the baths?" His excitement infected his voice.

The guard didn't so much as look up from the parchments. "And how long will you be here?"

"Just a few days, but I'm excited to see the memorial services today. I heard they carry them out differently here in Konoha than anywhere else in Hi no Kuni!"

"Ahuh." Blankly, the guard returned Ando's documents. "Enjoy your stay in Konohagakure."

"Uh, yes. Thank you." Ando and his party walked on past the massive green gates, entering the village proper. "Shigekichi?"

"Yes, Ando-san?"

"That Chunin was a bit rude, don't you think?"

"He was a bit curt, sir, yes."

Ando nodded his head up and down. "Yes, I thought so too. What about you two?"

The Ibuse brothers who had been keeping their eyes on every alley and corner they passed by suddenly stopped and looked at their employer. Kenji spoke up for the two of them. "Seemed a bit irritated."

"I wonder what could have irritated him."

The brothers shared a look between one another, but said nothing. Even Shigekichi preferred to readjust his glasses than make a comment.

Eventually, the group reached their destination. A tall gate marked the entryway, leading to a stone-tiled garden with olive trees presiding over the group as they walked to the front door. Pale green leaves would shudder as the breeze flew by.

Ando sighed and spoke wistfully. "That's rather unfortunate…"

"The trees sir?"

"Yes, it looks like they haven't bloomed yet." Ando looked back towards his party, there was a sincere look of disappointment in his eyes. "Such a shame. I was looking forward to a bath with that infamous smell of theirs."

"Perhaps next year, sir?"

Another sigh from Ando, as his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Perhaps next year."

The four continued through the front door, removing their various sandals at the genkan. After checking in, the ryokan's mild-mannered proprietress, a woman in her early forties, led them to their spacious, tatami-lined room on the second floor. The bamboo weave of the tatami felt nice on their sore feet compared to the tougher dirt or stone tiling outside the establishment.

She sat down in seiza on the floor, tucking her legs beneath her bottom and bowed deeply. "Thank you for choosing to stay at the Kagetsu Ryokan. Please ring the bell in the corner of the room, and a staff member will attend to your needs. Is there anything I can provide for you at the moment?"

"Do you know what time the services at Seien Daijinja start today?" Ando asked.

"Ah yes, of course! They begin at ten this morning, so you all have a few hours before anything starts."

"Thank you!" The merchant smiled back.

Shigekichi readjusted his glasses again before speaking up. "Could we have some tea as well?"

"Of course, sir. Did you have a specific tea in mind?"

"Barley tea, please."

"Of course. I'll have that for you right away."

They all bowed in turn as she left the room, making sure to close the door on her way out quietly. They could hear her footsteps on the wooden floor fade as she returned downstairs.

Ando stood up and opened the window on the northern side of the room, allowing a breeze to waft into the room. The view overlooked the garden and even further out was the greater marketplace of the village, though it did not bustle with much activity at such an early hour.

"The weather is perfect today! Lads, feel free to take a load off and rest for the rest of the morning."

There was a quiet cheer among the other three as they laid down their equipment and baggage, with the Ibuse brothers taking care to properly set down their weapons so that the fragile tatami was not damaged.

"Ando Isamu."

Everyone turned to the front door, now suddenly open, only to find that two black-garbed figures had entered the room. Their matt grey porcelain masks elongated into sharp beak-like points, with thin slits for eyes that glowered at anyone who dared to meet their gaze. Short black capes concealed body armor, and their outfits revealed no skin to the outside world.

The first figure took a silent step forward.

His hand shot forward, holding the top of a scroll as it unfurled in front of them. At the bottom, it displayed three distinct crests in ink: a ring of oak leaves, a fan, and a swallowtail butterfly. A gravelly warped voice that sounded inhuman announced. "For the unauthorized disclosure of state secrets, we, the Kites of the Old Oak, come bearing your writ of execution."

His back to the wall adjacent to the window, Ando considered leaping out and attempting to run before his accountant spoke. "Wait, please spare me! I'm merely an accountant!"

"Then your fates are tied together. You two are-." The figure pointed at the Ibuse brothers, who immediately leapt forward, each bearing a short sword. Kenji's blade made first contact.

To Ando's eyes, he could only see a glimmer of light as the figure drew his blade, swiftly parrying Kenji's thrust to the side. Seeing Kenji out of position and too far forward, he whipped the pommel of his tanto into the back of Kenji's head, sending him into one of the doors and knocking it out of its frame. Kenta came right after his brother but was intercepted by the other figure, who dodged a thrust and a short swipe before grabbing the sword arm of the offender and kneeing him in the gut thrice. The second mercenary brother slumped to the floor, gurgling in pain.

As both figures disabled his bodyguards, Ando decided that it was now or never, and lifted his wiry frame through the window as leapt from the second story. Crashing to the ground and sullying his fine green robes, he stumbled to his feet and began to build up from a run to a spring. His left leg ached with pain, and he had picked up a limp as he reached the gate of the ryokan. As he passed beneath the gate's arches, something touched the back of his head, accompanied by a crinkling sound.

Ando turned around, only to be met face-to-face with the bird-masked figure. He fell to the ground and felt desperate enough that he tried to scream out that he was being kidnapped. "…!"

But his voice didn't come. Not even a whisper or a gasp of air.

The figure reached his gloved handout and grabbed Ando's shoulder. An instant later, the world around them blurred. They were now in a forest clearing, the morning sun peeking through the foliage of the trees.

In an instant, his hands were tied behind his back, and he was shoved roughly to his knees. When he looked to his side, Ando saw a crying Shigekichi, a furious Kenta, and an unconscious Kenji, all in the same position on the grass. Whether they looked like they were begging for their life or screaming expletives, he couldn't hear any of them. Bizarrely, small rectangular slips of paper clung to the back of their heads.

Ando looked up at the two figures. As he began to hyperventilate, he could only watch as the one to his left held his hands up, and went through several hand signs. He began to blow something out of his mask as a ring began to form on the ground, the air distorting into a dome. Then, the second went through his hand signs, took a deep breath in, and the air in front of him began to warp and twist.

Then, he saw white.

A white so bright that his retinas stung.

The figure breathed gouts of white flame so hot that it took the longest moment in Ando's life before he realized he was aflame. Coalescing inside the wind dome, the flame created a violent vortex that tried to rake up its walls as if it were trying to desperately claw its way out.

"…!" He shouted and screamed and cried out to no avail, his companions in the same situation. He felt his clothes fuse to his skin while anything loose burned to ash. His skin began to melt, bubble, and pop, and he desperately wished to wail. Tears welled up in his eyes before evaporating into steam as they attempted to roll down his face.

Then, the world became black.

"Right, I think that's enough."

"Making the vacuum now." The first figure flashed a few more hand signs, and formed a vacuum within his dome, drawing out all the oxygen until nothing remained. With it, the flames quickly died down, revealing the grisly fate of their targets.

Four blackened skeletons sat on the ground, now devoid of grass, crumpled over into various states. Even without any disturbance, some of the bones were so brittle that they began to disintegrate like black sand.

"Go ahead and scatter them." The second figure said calmly.

With a single tiger hand sign, the first figure launched a solid blast of wind into bodies. Like blowing a pile of dust, the ashes scattered across the surrounding grass and trees or into the wind.

"Let's go file our reports."

"Copy that."

The second figure put his hand on the other, and they flickered out of existence.

---

"No, no. You're aiming too low!"

"Where am I supposed to aim?"

"Higher!"

"How much higher?"

"Just come here and look at the book."

Naruto stepped away from the practice dummy and retreated off to the side where Pakkun lay in the field of grass. Besides the ninja hound was another of his elder brother's handmade manuals, bound in a leather cover and dotted with several notes that jut out of the pages.

"Yeah, see," Pakkun said, his deep and gravelly voice was always off-putting for a dog of his stature. He tapped his paw on the page with an anatomical diagram of the human body, with eight particular sections being highlighted in red. "You're aiming too low to hit the larynx. You hit your target the way you are now, and it'll hurt, but he'll still be able to fight back."

"But if I aim higher, he probably won't, right?"

"Probably not." The dog shrugged. "Not being able to breathe is pretty distracting."

The boy nodded his head and marched back to the dummy, taking a loose stance before resuming his taijutsu kata. Again and again, he struck out at the dummy's throat with a closed fist, doing his best to approximate where the larynx would be.

"Once you're confident in that, we can add a follow-up attack to your kata."

The rhythmic sound of a fist striking cloth-bound wood filled the air, accompanied by the songs of sparrows and bulbuls. Otherwise, the training ground was rather quiet.

"Hey, Pakkun?"

The dog raised his head off the soft grass upon hearing his name, "Yes?"

"Is Aniue okay?"

Pakkun's mouth hung open before quickly closing, rethinking his choice of words. "Yeah, he's probably fine, kid."

"Oh… okay." The child's voice trembled a bit. His brow hung low and he kept looking down at his feet as he continued punching. Minutes went by before he said another word. "Are you sure?"

The war dog sighed, "Yes, I'm sure."

A bit later, "Really?"

Another sigh, this one heavier. "All right, look, I can't keep this up. Kakashi's not fine."

"What?" The punching stopped as Naruto turned around to face his brother's ninken. There was alarm in his voice and his eyes widened. "What should we do?"

"Now, hold on. Don't get yourself worked up." The dog sighed and looked up into the afternoon sky. "Think about it for a moment. What do you think Kakashi's biggest priority is?"

"Uhhh." Naruto paused. "For me to become a shinobi right?"

"So then do you think he would want you to get sidetracked from that?"

The boy idly rubbed his knuckles which had turned red. "No, I guess not."

"Exactly." Pakkun folded one paw over the other. "Listen, kid, Kakashi's an adult and can handle these issues on his own. He doesn't want you getting involved in his business. Let the professionals handle it and don't worry too much about it, okay?"

"O-okay." He looked down at his feet, thinking for a bit. "Who are the professionals?"

"Therapists."

"Oh." A few more moments passed. "What's a therapist?"

"Someone who listens to your problems."

"Do you have one?"

"No."

"Do I have one?"

"No. You probably will later."

Naruto wasn't sure what to say, so he just nodded his head and went back to punching the training dummy. Minutes passed as the sun hung over the field, beating down on the pair.

Out of the corner of his vision, Naruto saw Pakkun's head suddenly shoot up, his small ears at attention. "Pakkun?"

"Hold on, I hear someone coming. No, two people."

As he stated, out of the forest came two people, two boys with eyes and hair like midnight. One – who he presumed was the older of the two – was a good two heads taller than the other, while the other – the younger – was somewhere around his height.

The taller one spoke first, his eyes widening in surprise upon seeing the boy and his dog. "Oh hello Pakkun, I hope we're not disturbing you."

"Hey Itachi. And no, we were just training."

"Onii-san!" The smaller of the two whined. "They're not supposed to be here! We reserved this training field a week ago!"

"Huh?" Pakkun looked at his ward. "Didn't Kakashi reserve this training ground for you?"

"Uhhh, I'm not sure." Naruto's eyes darted back and forth between Pakkun and the newcomers, distracted by their presence. "But he's never talked about making any reservations before."

The war hound sighed. "Typical Kakashi, never making reservations."

"So…" The younger brother started up, crossing his arms with a serious look on his face. "If you don't have a reservation, you should leave"

"Now, now. There's no reason to be rude" The older brother, Itachi, shifted his gaze towards Naruto and Pakkun before flashing them a warm smile. "I don't see why the four of us can't share this training ground for today."

"Thank you." The dog said with his gruff voice. Pakkun looked at Naruto before gesturing his head towards the other man.

"Oh!" Naruto stood up straight to face him, before bowing. "Thank you very much!"

"Of course, it's no problem at all."

The two siblings strode on through the field, with the older taking a seat in the grass while the younger took up a position next to another training dummy – certainly not the one next to Naruto, however. When Naruto looked at the younger boy, their gazes met, and the other boy flashed him a quick glare before focusing back on his training dummy.

"Right, go ahead and start." The older brother said. With that, the other boy began striking the dummy in rapid succession. Unlike Naruto, who repeated a single move over and over, the black-haired boy attacked the wooden body several times in different locations, incorporating a variety of punches and kicks.

Naruto couldn't help but stand there and watch in awe at the other child's performance.

"Oi, Naruto." The blond boy turned around after hearing his name called. Pakkun tapped his paw on the book, and Naruto ran back over to the dog. "You got the initial punch down, so we'll add on the follow-up attack."

"What should I do for that?"

"Kakashi's note recommends you follow up with a punch to the side of the head."

For a few moments, Naruto looked over the drawings Kakashi left behind before he nodded his head. "Got it."

Returning to the mannequin, the blond took a deep breath in and proceeded with the usual punch to the throat, but now stepped forward as he swung his left arm around and struck the side of the dummy's head. Naruto repeated those motions dozens of times, his hands becoming accustomed to the grains along the wood, nestling into the same grooves each time he attacked. Over time, his hand grew tired before it eventually began to hurt.

"Ow, ow, ow…" Naruto backed away from the post. He looked at his left hand, the palm and middle digits now red and radiating with pain. He squeezed the hand, though it did little to help.

Off to his side, he noticed the other boy had stopped his kata and instead was watching him. The look on his face was one Naruto had seen before in Kakashi: disappointment. The blond looked away in shame, hiding his red hand from the other boy. Behind him, Naruto heard the grass rustle.

"Stop gawking and resume your kata." The older brother spoke firmly – presumably to his sibling. Before he realized it, the older boy was beside him, making Naruto jump back in surprise. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Naruto shook his head, though he was, in fact, a bit startled.

Itachi looked at Naruto's hand with some concern. "Are you all right?"

"Yes! I'm okay, it just hurts a little."

"Hmm." Deep black eyes like blotches of ink stared at Naruto, who shifted a bit uncomfortably under the intensity of his gaze. "I believe you may be striking your target incorrectly."

His discomfort was quickly forgotten, "I am?"

"I believe so. May I?" He gestured towards the training dummy.

Naruto nodded. "Please."

He approached both Naruto and the mannequin, gently reaching out and grabbing Naruto's hand. "When you strike the head with your follow-up, you're hitting it with your palm and fingers aren't you?"

"Yeah," The pain continued to radiate from the aforementioned areas. "I guess so."

"When you attack, try swinging your left arm in a full arc towards the head." He demonstrated his advice, moving slowly so Naruto could see every detail of his actions. "Notice how my knuckles are what connects to the target first?"

"Yeah! So that wouldn't hurt as much?"

"And be more effective. Your knuckles are going to do a lot more damage than just your palm." He backed away. "Give it a try."

Naruto stepped forward and took up his stance as he balled his hands up tightly. He took a deep breath in again and then suddenly lunged forward striking at the throat and then driving the front of his fist into the side of the mannequin's head. There was a much louder clack that rang out in the training ground, replacing the more timid slap that had given it before.

He tried it a few more times, adjusting the angle and the speed at which he launched the follow-up before turning to the older boy. "Thank you! It feels a lot better!"

The older boy's face lit up in that same warm smile as before. "Of course."

Naruto didn't notice when it started, but he looked up to see the older boy's hand ruffling his hair. It was a somewhat alien sensation to him, vaguely recalling the feeling from the occasional instance that Hiruzen and Biwako came to the apartment, but he could only seem to stare up with his mouth agape at the black-haired boy.

"Oh! My apologies." He immediately withdrew his hand. "A force of habit."

Naruto just nodded, somewhat dumbfounded and unsure of how he was supposed to react. Behind the older boy, he could see his younger brother had stopped his training completely in place of crossing his arms and glaring at the blond instead.

He wondered if Kakashi ever ruffled his hair.

"Well, good luck in your training."

"Ah, yes!" Naruto bowed gratefully, both of his reddened hands at his sides. "Thank you for your help!"

"Of course." The older boy bowed back, though it was a much more shallow bow than what Naruto had offered him. When the older boy returned to his younger brother, Naruto could overhear bits of the latter scolding the older brother – something about promises and not going to the festival.

"Oh, Pakkun!" Naruto swiveled around towards his canine companion, only to find that the dog was in the midst of a quiet conversation with his surrogate brother. "Aniue!"

The blond caught bits of their conversation as he approached. "-ashi, you're sure that you're alright?"

"I'm fine, Pakkun. I just needed a minute to myself." Kakashi squatted low in the grass beside his lead summon with his arms crossed on his knees.

"It was more like an hour or so, but yeah."

"Semantics."

"Well, if you're sure, then I'll be going. Just call one of us if you need some help watching the kid today."

"Will do."

"See ya, kid."

With a puff of smoke, Pakkun disappeared from the training field entirely.

"Aniue!" Naruto ran up to Kakashi. "Are you okay? What happened earlier?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. It's nothing at all." The ANBU stood up out of his squat and towered above the blond. "Anyways, how's your training?"

Naruto's breath hitched a bit before a quiet sigh drifted from his nose. He didn't hesitate to perk back up in his response. "Good! I think I figured out how to do one of the moves you wrote down!"

The silver-haired man nodded, though his facial expression – or what Naruto could see between the hitai-ate and mask – remained unchanged. "Keep it up."

"Yes, Aniue." The boy bowed to his surrogate brother, though clenched his teeth a bit.

"Kakashi-senpai!" The voice of the older black-haired boy called out. He waved over to Kakashi and Naruto.

"Aniue, do you know him?"

"Yeah, he's my junior." Kakashi treads through the grassy field, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his trousers. He curtly greeted his junior. "Itachi."

"What brings you here, senpai?"

"Naruto needs to train."

Itachi glanced at said blond. "Even on a holiday?"

"I could say the same for you two. Why isn't the Interior Commander's son participating in the memorial services?"

"That... is a very good question." The two stared silently at each other for some moments. Behind them, both of their younger siblings were dead silent as well.

"Eh." Eventually, Kakashi broke the stillness, shrugging. "Whatever."

It was subtle, but Itachi's chest compressed as a relieved sigh mingled with the afternoon breeze. As Kakashi was returning to Naruto, Itachi suddenly spoke up. "Your brother is a quick learner."

The senior ANBU stopped. "Is that right?"

"He shows a lot of potential, but I think he's missing something crucial to his training."

"Oh?"

Itachi crossed his arms and leaned forward ever so slightly. "He needs a peer to train with and compare his skills to."

"Not happening."

"Why not?" The junior ANBU asked curiously.

"Even among shinobi families, most kids his age aren't focused on training."

"That seems like an unfair generalization."

"I generalize with good reason. Other children are going to be a hindrance to Naruto."

"Even if they might be…" The Uchiha heir stepped to the side. "What about this one?"

The two – three including Naruto – turned around and watched as Itachi's brother launched a flurry of blows into the training dummy, with each attack gracefully maneuvering into the next. Each strike made a loud and visceral crack as it landed on the dummy, making for a satisfying display. For someone not even in the academy, it was all rather impressive.

Kakashi mulled it over quietly, drumming his fingers against his other hand. "Very well. Naruto!"

Said boy stepped forward. "Yes, Aniue?"

"Going forward, I will have you train with a partner your age." Naruto's eyes widened, but he stayed silent.

"However," Kakashi then turned to face Itachi. "If I suspect that his new training partner isn't useful to his development as a shinobi, then it ends right then and there. Understood?"

"Of course, senpai." The younger ANBU replied assuredly. "Now then, Naruto. Would you like to meet your new partner?"

"Mhm!" The boy bounced up and down on the balls of his feet.

"Imouto," Itachi called out. "Come and meet your new training partner."

Naruto bowed politely to his new partner, his arms kept straight at his sides. He paused for a moment, finally processing Itachi's words. "Hm?"

"Onii-san, why do I have to train with him?" Itachi's – now identified – younger sister asked in frustration. She seemed close to wanting to stomp her feet.

"Because you need someone your age to train and measure yourself against."

"Can't I just train with another Uchiha? What about Kokona or Haruki?" She asked indignantly.

"That's no longer possible."

"Huh?" She threw up her arms. "Why not?"

Itachi crouched down until he was closer to her eye level, and although he quieted his voice, Naruto was still able to hear everything. "Because their parents told me that you were too rough with them and they didn't want to train with you anymore. Besides, he's the brother to the best ANBU in Konoha, and I doubt that Kakashi would slack off in training him."

"...fine." She huffed. "But he better not complain when it's time to train."

Her brother smiled. "I'm sure he won't. Now go introduce yourself."

The raven-haired girl sighed before marching past Itachi and standing a few feet away from Naruto. Her arms crossed, she looked him up and down and stood there as if waiting for him to say something.

The blond stared at her for a moment, then turned around towards Kakashi, who just stood there vacantly watching them until he noticed Naruto was looking at him. The – more – senior ANBU held his hand up and rotated it circle while nodding slowly.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto started, "H-hello."

"Hi." She curtly replied, leveling him a cold stare all the while.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I'll be in your care."

"Uchiha Saeko. Come to the Uchiha district tomorrow at two. Don't make me wait."

"I will. I mean I won't. I mean-"

"Look." Saeko held her hands up to silence his stammering. "I don't care. Just don't be late."

His shoulders sagged as he took a deep sigh in defeat. "Okay."

Without so much as a second glance, she returned to the post next to Itachi, who for his part gave him a friendly smile and wave.

'Is everyone my age like her? Maybe that's why Aniue didn't want me to talk with them.'

"Right, now that that's finished," Kakashi said as he approached Naruto from the side. "Let's go home."

"What about training?"

"How long were you and Pakkun out here for?"

"I'm not sure…" Naruto looked up at the sky for a second. "But it felt like it was a long time."

"Well, it is a holiday so I suppose it's fine for today. You'll do a full training session tomorrow."

"Yes, Aniue." While Kakashi turned to leave, Naruto looked one last time at the other pair of siblings, at the boyish Saeko and the gentle Itachi.

As the two made their way out of the clearing, Kakashi suddenly held up his hand in front of Naruto. "Careful, don't step in that."

Although Naruto was expecting there to be a pile of animal poop ahead of him, he was a bit surprised. When the blond looked down, he noticed that some of the grass had disappeared inexplicably in a decently wide patch on the ground. However, along the grass that framed the patch was something grey. "Is it dust or something?"

Kakashi merely stared at the ground. "Or something."

When his elder brother refused to elaborate, Naruto took that as a sign to continue walking.

---

The sliding door closed with a click behind Mikoto as she entered her home. She carefully removed her dark burgundy geta sandals and placed them neatly in a cubby to the side, before she plopped down onto the edge of the genkan and stretched out her limbs.

"Ughhhhhh!" She groaned. "Finally!" She lay in the house's entryway for a while, content with staring at the ceiling.

Eventually, with a deep resigned sigh, Mikoto sat up and with one final stretch got up off the floor and put on some more comfortable slippers. She pulled off and hung up her association sash on a nearby coat rack, the bright red kanji standing out against the white cloth.

She checked the time – nearly five in the evening – and immediately began preparations for dinner. Mikoto went right into the refrigerator, pulling out a variety of pickled and non-pickled vegetables, tofu, and several filets of freshwater eel she had picked up from the market just yesterday. Setting everything out, she briefly stepped out of the kitchen and to the backdoor of their home – which was thankfully right next to the kitchen. Bringing out the family's decently sized shichirin grill, she ignited the binchotan charcoal inside with a small fire technique and allowed the coals and the steel grates to heat up.

With great ease, she set about fileting and cleaning the eels, sifting and bringing the rice to a simmer, and preparing all the ingredients she'd need for that night, even managing to finish the salty-sweet kabayaki sauce before the grill was hot enough. As she was skewering the eels with a trio of sticks, she heard the door open and close down the hallway.

"We're back!" Her eldest said.

"Welcome home!" She replied. Itachi and a very haggard-looking Saeko stepped into view in front of her. "Busy day?"

Perhaps too tired to answer properly, Saeko simply shook her head.

"You have fun?"

Her daughter nodded her head.

Mikoto couldn't help but smile, "Good! Did anything interesting happen?"

"She made a new friend," Itachi said with a mischievous smile.

"Oooo! How exciting!"

"No!" Her youngest finally groaned, though her voice sounded equally as exhausted. "He's just a training partner."

"I'm sure it will blossom into a wonderful friendship!" Despite her fatigue, Mikoto sounded amazingly chipper. "Just be sure not to hurt him too much, okay?"

Returning to non-verbal speech, Saeko merely grunted in response.

"Now then, are you too tired to help your mother?"

Saeko shook her head.

"Great! Take these and set them on the grill outside for me, sweetie." She handed her a tray with all of the skewered eels. Saeko quickly disappeared out of her mother's line of sight. "Oh, and be sure to flip them every few minutes! I'll join you out there in a second."

Her daughter nodded her head before running off.

"So, Itachi." Mikoto propped her elbows up on the counter. "Why is she so ragged-looking if you two were supposed to be just at the ceremony?"

"We…" Her eldest son paused. "Ran there and back?"

"Nah, I'm not buying it." Mikoto shook her head, "You know I was working at the entrance to the shrine for almost the entire day, right?"

He couldn't help but look away upon telling the truth. "We went to the training field."

"All day?"

"From around one."

"You know your father's not going to like this."

The ANBU shrugged. "I thought that he, of all people, would consider her training to be of the utmost importance."

"He also taught you how important these holidays are to us."

"Important to him."

"Itachi!"

At that moment, they heard the door open and close. "I'm home!"

"Welcome back!" Mikoto shouted back. She then looked at her son with crossed arms. "You better be ready to explain yourself to him."

Itachi held up his hands. "Of course."

"All right, but I'm not going to defend you this time. You made your bed and now you're going to have to lie in it." She resumed her cooking, giving the vegetables in the broth a stir over the fire.

Fugaku finally came into view, still wearing his black Interior Ministry uniform rather than the typical green combat vest of the rank-and-file Konoha shinobi, lacking many utilities meant for battle or field missions. She could see the band on his left arm, brandishing the ministry's black oak leaves on a white cloth. He sniffed the air before he looked at his wife. "Eel?"

"Yep, it'll be done soon!" She grabbed a brush and a ceramic bowl, decorated in vibrant purple wisterias and a pair of white rabbits. "Oh, and Itachi has something he needs to tell you."

"Sounds good, dear!" There was a specific tone to her voice that both men of this particular Uchiha family recognized, with Fugaku's eyes narrowing. "Right, what'd you do?"

"I took Saeko to the training field."

"Oh. Well, that's fine, then." Fugaku shrugged. "Wait, hold on. That's it?"

From outside, they heard the family's matriarch shout. "They didn't go to the shrine!"

"Oh?" Again, the patriarch's eyes narrowed at his son. "You failed to mention that part."

"I simply… omitted it."

His father sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed as he muttered something to himself. After a pause, he opened them, revealing tired but frustrated black eyes. "Itachi…" He approached the counter, resting his elbows as he began to drum his fingers along the sleek cedar wood.

"I asked Saeko if she wanted to go, and she said she'd rather go and train."

"Yes, because you failed to mention." Fugaku held his hands up to make air quotes, "Sorry, you 'omitted' why it was important."

"Itachi!" Mikoto yelled from outside. "Add the miso paste to soup! Oh, and turn down the heat!"

"Yes, mother!" Itachi washed his hands and did as his mother asked, adding and stirring chunks of miso paste into the dashi with a pair of chopsticks on the stovetop bit by bit. "I just don't think she should be idolizing Konoha's 'cult of death' mentality."

"That's not for you to decide." Fugaku sighed. "Saeko walks the path of a shinobi."

"A path you set for her, father!" The wooden chopsticks clicked against the polished stone countertop as Itachi looked over his shoulder.

"We are not having this conversation." His father did the same, and slammed his hand on the counter, though it didn'ttake long for him to start drumming his fingers again. "When you live in this household and are a part of this clan, you will obey my rules! Are we understood?"

Itachi couldn't help but glower at the pot. "Very well."

Taking a second to cool off a bit, Fugaku took a deep breath and looked back up at his son with unfurrowed brows. "Now then, is that all?"

"Saeko has a new training partner."

"There's some good news!" The patriarch's voice flittered up slightly, "Who is it?"

"My coworker's brother, a boy named Naruto."

"Oh." Fugaku's hands tightened, and the drumming of his fingers ceased momentarily before resuming.

"Mhm." Itachi watched his father out of the corner of his eye, still lazily stirring the soup with his pair of chopsticks. The ANBU inquired, curious at his reaction. "Do you know him?"

His father schooled his expression as he shook his head. "Just of him."

"I see." Before Itachi could probe further, Mikoto returned to the kitchen.

"Saeko was just telling me about Naruto." She went straight for the pantry and withdrew a platter and wire rack. "Looks like he'll be coming over tomorrow!"

"Is that so?" Fugaku looked pleasantly surprised this time.

"Yep! Also, Itachi, the soup looks about done so go ahead and add in the tofu and the green onions." With that, she quickly left the room.

"I'd rather Saeko not drive off another training partner."

"Don't worry, Reiko and mother won't let her. " He brought out a bowl of cubed tofu before gently adding them to the soup. "Though father, I must say, I'm surprised you care about her training partner given his lack of Uchiha heritage."

He shrugged, "Well, I wouldn't want this to affect your relationship with Hatake. Besides, it would stain our reputation if my daughter made such a bad impression on an outsider."

"Right…" After adding the sliced green onion to the soup, he turned around to face Fugaku. "You know, I never mentioned that Naruto was Kakashi's brother."

"Strange. I thought you did."

Silence filled the room, only disturbed by the rapping of Fugaku's fingers and the bubbling of the soup.

"Dinner's ready!" Mikoto and Saeko both returned to the kitchen for the final time, now carrying pans brimming with filets of eel, the glossy sheen of their sauce reflecting the warmer lights on the ceiling. And it smelled wonderful. Umami mixed with sweeter and smokier elements brought everything vibrantly to life in the very exhausted Uchiha household.

Any tension between the two Uchiha men suddenly dissipated, and neither could help but lick their lips. "Sounds good!"

"Let's eat!"

As they sat down on the tatami floors of the dining area before they sat an array of dishes. The kabayaki unagi, white rice topped with golden pickled radishes, miso soup with wakame, carrots, spinach, and tofu, and of course, barley tea.

Clapping their hands together, the entire family spoke in unison, "Thank you for this meal!"

---

Ryokan - A traditional inn.

Shichirin - A thin metal charcoal grill.

Binchotan - Very high quality Japanese charcoal.

Kabayaki - Eel is split down the back, gutted and boned, then skewered and given a marinade of soy sauce before being cooked on the grill.

Wakame - Seaweed.

 

[TheMightyMorgoth]

Please let me know your thoughts if you have any.

---

Chapter 8
Training Partner​

"Don't you need to be heading out soon?"

Saeko looked up from her book to see her mother fastening the ties on her kappogi's back. The girl nonchalantly glanced over at the clock on the wall before turning back to answer. "I still have some time."

"You're sure?" Mikoto raised an eyebrow. "What if that poor boy's waiting out there already?"

"Well, I told him to meet me at two, and it's one forty-eight now. He'll be f-" Her daughter shrugged before looking up, mouth still open to finish her word, only to see her mother standing before her with crossed arms.

"Go get him. Now." Mikoto said in a stern and unamused tone. "And be nicer to him too. I heard from Itachi that you were incredibly rude when you first met him."

Saeko sighed quietly but nodded in acquiescence and set down her book. "Yes, mother."

As the girl left and reached the genkan, she heard her mother call out. "Oh, and Reiko should be outside waiting for you!"

"But I'm only walking to the district gates!" Saeko called back as she slipped into her sandals.

"You know what your father said! We don't need an 'Uchiha Incident' right after the Hyuga Incident!"

"Okay. I'll be back!"

"Get home safely!"

The Uchiha heiress slid open the front door, letting the summer sun greet her face. It was warm and humid, more so than it had been inside the house. She squinted her charcoal-colored eyes a bit as the sun glared into her vision, though saw a familiar figure waiting for her by the garden.

Beneath the shadow of a violet wagasa, her escort and tutor stood idle, fanning herself with a pocket fan of a similar hue. She wore a simple lavender and silver-lined yukata, along with a simple hexagonal pattern on her ivory brocade obi.

Upon hearing Saeko's rubber sandals step on the stone tiles, the wagasa tilted up revealing the owner's face, a scarred woman in her late thirties leveled her judging gaze on the young girl. She bowed slightly. Her voice was melodic and smooth, "Good afternoon, Ojou-sama. Shall we depart?"

She bowed back to her tutor. "Good afternoon, Reiko-sensei, and yes."

As the two made their way out of the family garden, she could faintly hear the subtle clatter of metal and wood from inside Reiko's yukata.

"Mikoto told me you're going to meet someone out here, a boy."

"That's right."

"And?"

The glare of the sun finally disappeared as they rounded a corner, finding shade in the eaves of nearby shops.

Saeko finally let her eyes open fully, as she peered over to her tutor. "Mother said I need to be nicer to him, but…" There was a pause as she hesitated.

"But?"

"He's kind of frail-looking." The young girl crossed her arms as her features furrowed up. "He's not that thin, but he just looks like he can't throw a punch."

"Hmmm." Reiko hummed in disapproval, shaking her head slightly. "But he's still agreed to be your training partner?"

"Yeah, but he didn't seem to be the one pushing for it. Itachi and his brother were."

Reiko's head tilted from side to side. "Yes, I suppose that seems in line with Itachi's rather spontaneous inclinations. But who's his brother?"

"Hatake Kakashi."

There was a sharp snap as Reiko closed her fan in a single motion. The rim of her umbrella raised enough that Saeko could see her eyebrows raise in interest. "Then that certainly changes things. Has your brother told you much about Hatake?"

"No, Onii-san doesn't talk too much about work."

"Kakashi is another child prodigy on par with Itachi, but with much more experience in the field. He's easily one of the best ANBU in the village, if not the best."

"Better than Onii-san?"

"I'd say so." The sun returned to the pair as they stepped out to cross the street. Likewise, with a flick of her wrist, Reiko snapped the fan back open.

Saeko turned to her tutor. "So then his brother…"

"Is probably on his way to becoming another prodigy."

The young girl looked up, staring at the blue cloudless sky, now rubbing her chin with her thumb and index. "How can I know for sure? That he's worth it?"

"Test him."

"How?"

"See if he can handle himself." Reiko's palm rotated outward as if offering advice physically to her charge. He's probably not going to be winning any duels against Itachi, but he should be able to at least hold his ground against you. If he can't at least get back up from a fight, then he'll be of no use to your development."

"At the dueling hall then?" As the two rounded the last corner, the distant silhouette of the district gates grew closer and closer.

"The dueling hall is for Uchiha clan members only. Take him to the training ground." When Saeko looked up at Reiko, steely eyes stared back at her. Reiko's voice was calm as she spoke. "Ours is a clan of strength. We will not tolerate our allies to be weak."

"So what about what mother said? To be nicer?"

Reiko rapped the folding fan's wooden guard against the shaft of the wagasa. "For now, I think you should just be polite."

"Polite?"

"Be courteous, but don't lessen yourself before him."

With those – somewhat vague – words, the pair finally reached the front gates. Reiko walked ahead and signaled to one of the guards. Instead of the more demure wagasa, the man opted for a simplistic wide-brimmed wicker kasa on his head.

"Leaving the district, Reiko?"

"No, no just letting an outsider in."

"Shinobi or civilian?"

"Civilian."

"Got it. We'll let them in."

Despite her earlier predictions, Saeko was no doubt very surprised to see a blond boy rolling back and forth on his feet in the nearby shade. He seemed to be staring intently down at the ground –maybe he was counting ants? His short hair shimmered in the sun with sweat. When he finally noticed that the gates to the district were open, their eyes suddenly met.

The younger girl stepped forward and approached him, crossing her arms. "How long have you been out here?"

"Uh." Naruto looked down at his feet before looking back at Saeko. "Ten minutes."

"I thought I told you to come at two! If you can't even follo-" She suddenly cut herself off, her eyes glancing away from him as she sighed. "Let's just go."

Taken aback, Naruto just nodded and followed after the girl. As he walked through the gates, he looked over and saw an elegantly dressed woman waiting for them, readjusting the wagasa resting on her shoulder.

"This is Reiko, my bodyguard."

Naruto looked up at the woman, noticing her face and neck was riddled with criss-crossing scars of various shapes and sizes. One in particular caught his eye, trailing from the left corner of her lip, sinking into her cheek and leading up past her eye and to her forehead.

Reiko's sharp black eyes stared back at him as she nodded. "Welcome." Her voice was just as cold and elegant as her gaze. "Do try to keep up."

Naruto could only nod back.

As a trio, they finally began walking, with Reiko and Saeko in the front and Naruto following close behind. Initially, Naruto recognized some of the streets and shops that he and Kakashi had tread yesterday, even noticing the same store his brother bought dango from. But before long the Uchihas turned at different corners, or continued down different streets, and soon enough Naruto had no idea where he was.

Still, the difference in atmosphere compared to the previous day was like night and day –life had been resuscitated back into the district. Nearly every shop and market stall was open now, with customers coming and going, with a few even attempting to haggle down the prices. Adults likewise mingled with one another as they ran about their business, stopping to prattle and gossip about. Young children –at least compared to Naruto –ran around, played games, and even impersonated famous shinobi. He must have heard at least three separate groups of children mention the name 'Uchiha Madara.'

"It's hot isn't it?"

He was shaken from his thoughts. "What?"

Saeko sighed. "I said, it's hot, isn't it?"

"Y-yeah." He replied. "Yeah, it's pretty hot."

"Right…" Saeko nodded back as she ran a hand through her hair.

Naruto couldn't help but fidget with his hands as he walked behind the pair of Uchihas. "But I have water with me," he said, holding up a military-grade canteen wrapped in Konoha green cloth. So I'll be okay."

"That's good." Again, Saeko nodded, this time a little more enthusiastically perhaps. "Water is… good.

He heard a muffled snigger and looked over to Reiko. She had lowered her wagasa and brought her fan up to cover her mouth, creating a visor between the two that left only her eyes visible. Though she mainly focused on Saeko, he watched as Reiko's eyes darted back and forth between the two children. A look of amusement danced between her sharp black eyes.

Saeko grumbled something and crossed her arms but otherwise remained silent.

Naruto continued to look around the district as they walked on. Shops gave way to residences, but unlike most of Konoha, here, there were very few – if any – multi-story apartments that all looked the same. Instead, families here lived in modestly sized wooden houses, often separated by latticed wooden fences that Naruto could barely peer past.

Further along, wood fences were replaced with white walls made from plaster and stone brick foundations, with slanted black-tile rooftops that hung over the trio. The houses here were taller and built of nicer-looking materials, and many had spacious gardens that brought much-needed color to the area. Eventually, they stopped at one of these homes.

Reiko opened a pair of wooden sliding gates and allowed the two children to enter before she did. Square stone tiles led the way from the gate to the entrance of the house, with red latticed lanterns positioned on either side of the path. Off to the side, perfectly smooth stones surrounded a small pond while a nearby water clock filled with water before tipping its contents back into the pond. As they approached the house's exterior veranda, small wind chimes hanging from the eaves trembled as the summer breeze came by.

Finally, after a very quiet ten minutes of walking, they entered the house. To his relief, he was met with a rush of cool air from their air conditioner unit, which kept the house temperate. To his left, he saw the getabako where one inserted their footwear. Reiko folded her wagasa up and propped it up in the corner.

Saeko finally spoke. "Shoes off."

'Obviously.' He thought to himself. "Right."

Removing his sandals, his bare feet touched the floor, and much to his

"We're home!" The girl announced down the hallway.

"Welcome back!" A rather familiar voice replied from further inside the house, but Naruto couldn't quite place a face on it. As they all neared the kitchen, an assortment of smells wafted down the hall. As they reached the kitchen, a woman with long black hair stood with her back turned to the trio, attending to something unseen on the countertop. "Reiko, could you lend me a hand?"

Wordlessly, Reiko immediately began assisting the other woman.

"You two head-on into the dining room, we'll be right out."

Saeko turned to face Naruto. "Follow me."

The dining room was quite unlike the one back at his and Kakashi's apartment – though theirs was also their living room and kitchen – with the most notable feature being the lack of chairs and the tatami mat flooring. He could feel the woven texture of the bamboo between his toes. A low table sat in the middle of the room with several zabuton cushions spaced around it, which the two kids sat down on in seiza. Saeko sat opposite him. His posture was rigid, with his hands clasping one another as if to calm the other, while his eyes darted around the unfamiliar room.

Thankfully, the two women came in from the kitchen carrying trays of soba noodles among some other dishes.

"Oh!" He stared at her for a moment as she set everything down on the table. "From yesterday!"

She giggled, hiding her mouth with her now free palm. "Do you still have the flag I gave you?"

"Ahh, sorry!" His shoulders loosened as they sank. "But I gave it to someone important to Aniue."

Her smile faltered as the corners of her lips softened. "A friend of his, right?"

Naruto nodded.

"Well," She quickly regained her smile. "I'm Mikoto, Saeko and Itachi's mother. It's nice to meet you."

"Ah, sorry!" He hastily stood up but was careful not to bump into her or the table. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Thank you for letting me into your home." He offered her a deep formal bow.

"Of course, now, why don't you two enjoy some somen and mizu yokan." She gestured towards two trays. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes! Thank you for the meal!" The boy replied as he picked up a pair of chopsticks. When he looked up, he saw Saeko, silently staring at him, judging him. Reluctantly, the raven-haired girl began eating, though her gaze did not stray from him as she watched him the way an owl watched a dormouse.

Mikoto shared a look with Reiko, and after a sigh – which seemed characteristic to the women of this family – she took a step forward, hands on her hips. After a second of thought, the mother's eyes lit up. "Saeko, I forgot to ask, have you finished your book on the… what was it again? The Battle of Arashitoge? I think we need to return it to the library by the end of the week."

Naruto looked up from his dipping bowl, somen still in his mouth.

"I'm almost finished, I can get it done by tomorrow."

"Oh sure, no rush." Mikoto flashed her childhood friend a wry smile as the two women returned to the kitchen.

The boy swallowed his noodles, watching as the two women retreated out of view, before staying quiet a moment longer. Finally, he looked toward Saeko. "You know about the Battle of Arashitoge?"

"Yeah." The girl's expression lightened. "I started reading about it last weekend."

"That was where Uchiha Madara finally managed to kill the First Raikage, right?"

"Yep, just finished reading that part. Cut him in half too." Saeko drew a quick line in the air with her chopstick as if to illustrate the man's execution.

"Wasn't his name A?"

"Yeah, they all are."

"That's weird right?"

"Oh yeah, it's super weird." She nodded her head in agreement.

"I think Nara Shinroku wrote that, right?"

She nodded. "Mhm. Did you read his other book?"

"Uhh…" Naruto paused for a moment, trying to recall the name. "Squad-Based Tactics! Yes, Aniue made me read it last month."

Saeko began cutting the yokan apart with her chopsticks before picking up a slice. "Is it any good? I was gonna read it next."

"It's all right, kinda boring though. Not much fighting, just how to fight."

"Mmmm." She grunted back, her mouth occupied with the sweet treat. It took her a moment to finish. "What did you think of Uchiha Noboru during the battle?"

"I love the way he kicks off their heads! What does he call it again? The-"

"The Kaishaku Execution Kick!" The two all but shouted in unison. For the first time since they met yesterday, Naruto saw Saeko smile. "It's such a cool move."

"I think one time, he killed three Kumo ninjas with one kick."

"What? No way." Saeko shook her head in disbelief.

"It's true! I think there's a picture of it at the end of the book!"

The two ate their food quietly, slurping on noodles and chewing on yokan.

"I can do it."

Naruto looked up from the piece of yokan he had pinched between his chopsticks. "Huh?"

"The Kaishaku Execution Kick – I've been practicing it."

The pair stared at each other for a moment. Suddenly, they both wolfed whatever food was still left over before quickly standing up and leaving the dining room.

---

Unlike most training grounds he had been to, the Uchiha Clan's grounds enjoyed several well-kept facilities, including stone flooring in some sections and fairly high walls surrounding the grounds that prevented outsiders from looking in. Naruto squinted up at the sky, feeling the oppressive air of the summer day.

"Could use some shade…" He mumbled.

Saeko looked over to him. "Did you say something?"

"No, sorry. Please continue."

While the Uchiha heiress continued her round of stretches, Naruto looked over at Reiko behind them, leaning against the tall trunk of a nearby oak tree. Besides her were their canteens and the folded purple wagasa. She stood there with a bored expression across her scarred face, and he wasn't certain, but she seemed to be fiddling with something unseen on her arm or sleeve.

"Okay, are you watching?"

He turned back around, now seeing that Saeko had taken up a firm stance with her left foot forward. Naruto responded quickly, "Yeah, go ahead!"

Saeko took a deep breath in, and in one smooth motion, pivoted around counterclockwise on her left foot like a spring while her right foot swung up and around. With a thud, the heel of her foot struck the mannequin's neck, and the wooden stake it was affixed to lurched over.

She spun around excitedly. "So what did you thi-"

Naruto's eyes were squinted and he hummed a low C note. He cupped his chin, his finger and index going up and down the sides of his cheeks as he stood there thinking.

"What?" That annoyed tone from when they first met yesterday returned to her voice. "What's wrong?"

He said nothing, merely shaking his head.

"Is it because the head didn't come off?" She threw her arms up. "Fine."

Spinning on her heel, she returned to her stance and kicked at the wooden target. Again and again, she launched a salvo of kicks at it, always striking with the side of her foot. She hardly rested between each attack, striking the neck before quickly resetting her stance and doing it again. On the seventh strike, there was a creak – like a bough snapped in half – and it looked as if some of the wooden 'muscles and skin' on the side of the neck had been torn open.

"So!" Saeko huffed but beamed with pride, arms on her hips as she turned to face Naruto. "What do you say to that?"

Still, his face showed the same look of uncertainty and doubt of her, only this time his fingers drummed against his cheeks rather than sliding up and down.

Saeko's pride melded with rage, as she curled her open hands into fists. Quickly running over to him, she immediately got into his personal space. "What's your problem? I nearly kicked its head off."

Naruto held up his hands and cried out. "I didn't say anything!"

"Exactly. You're not saying anything." She tilted her head. "But I can tell you want to. So say it."

"No."

"Say it." Her voice was more forceful this time.

"I have nothing to say." Naruto protested. The boy couldn't help but wonder if this was normal for other children.

"Say. It."

"No!" He shook his head and growled back. "I'm going home."

"I said, say it!" Eyes smoldering like coals, Saeko lunged forward and grabbed his wrist.

Before she could blink, she was on the ground. Saeko looked up at the cloudless blue sky in a daze. She blinked a few times, before slowly getting up and brushing off the dirt and grass stuck to her shirt and shorts. Despite clearing most of it, enough of the dirt smeared, leaving little brown splotches on the grey and black clothing.

"I-I'm so sorry!" When she looked around and saw him, he was hiding a few meters away. Terror and panic had overtaken his eyes, and his voice trembled when he spoke. "I didn't mean to! Are you okay?"

For every step forward she took, he took a step back. "Show me."

His voice stopped trembling. "Eh?"

"Show me how you did that." She approached him slowly.

"O-okay." Naruto nodded. He held his forearm out for her to grab.

When she grabbed it, he grabbed the offending forearm with his other hand while stepping past her and positioning himself behind her. With his hand coiled around her wrist and his fingers inside the palm, he freed his other hand from her grip and matched his fingers to her fingers. In one smooth motion, he pushed her hand down, and soon the rest of her body followed as her center of gravity was drawn down to the grass.

After finishing, Naruto took a step back away from her.

Again she got back up and looked at him for a while without saying anything. Finally, she spoke. "Let's fight."

"Huh?"

"I said, let's fight."

"I said I was sorry!" Panic returned to him, as he searched around for help or a way out. He caught the gaze of Reiko, who had finally lost that bored expression on her face. She watched over the two with sudden interest.

"I liked your technique. I want to see what you can do."

Naruto looked over to Reiko, waiting to see if she would intervene. She merely smiled and leaned back against the tree.

"Alright, fine." He relented.

The Uchiha princess strode forward to the center of the clearing, and after choosing a spot, eagerly began bouncing from left to right on the balls of her feet. Naruto shuffled over, finally stopping about three meters in front of her.

He took up the stance that Kakashi had instructed him to use when he entered the academy one day. One foot in front of the other, knees bent slightly, and hands kept open and in front of him. Meanwhile, Saeko finally settled down and assumed her stance, hands once again curled into fists.

Saeko moved first, inching her way towards him. She started with a feint, a quick punch, only to quickly withdraw looking for an opening. Yet he held his ground, remembering his training. Finally, she sincerely attacked, leading with a wide kick that tried to swing in from his side. Naruto grunted in pain as he took the brunt of the attack into his left shoulder.

It was a little surreal to be hit like this. Although he and Kakashi sparred in the past, his brother refrained from striking Naruto back, usually preferring to evade or block anything the boy threw his way. While he staggered backward and resumed his position, Saeko closed the distance with her fists kept closely guarded at her center.

Once he became in range, the heiress' eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed as she commenced her second assault, launching a flurry of punches at him.

Naruto backed up, doing his best to stay just out of reach. He saw his opportunity when she threw a right hook and seemed to overcommit despite the distance. Repositioning his body, he countered the punch similarly to how he had earlier: grabbing her forearm and stepping past her. But instead of throwing her to the ground, he reached in and tried to punch her face as quickly as he could.

Although she reacted fast enough to block the punch with her forearm, she wasn't prepared for him to kick her in the stomach. It didn't seem like it hurt that much but it was enough to offset her balance, which he promptly followed by punching her face again – this time successfully – landing square in her nose.

The one-two completely knocked her flat on her butt as she held her nose, her facial features clenching up as she held her nose in pain. Her muffled groan carried through her hands, "Aghhhhh."

"I'm sorry!" The nature of the spar was entirely forgotten as he rushed over to her. "Are you bleeding?"

She opened her eyes and stared at him, like a pair of dark stones found in her family's garden. As quickly as her face warped into a frown she slugged him in the face and he too fell to the ground. Now they were both groaning in pain.

"Ow! Why'd you hit me?"

"This is a spar, idiot!" Saeko was already up off the ground, looming over him like a hawk in the trees.

As she prepared to launch another wide kick, he managed to grab her foot, dragging it towards himself and pulling her to the ground. Naruto crawled over to try and continue the fight, only to be met with a handful of dirt on his face. He staggered back, wiping at his face.

"Ugh!" He spat out some dirt, coughing as he tried to clear his vision. "Who throws dirt in a spar?"

"I do!"

The blond wheeled around and through cloudy vision, saw her approaching him. He jabbed his foot down and stomped on hers making her jump up and howl in pain.

"You bastard!" She cried out.

Both stumbled to regain their footing, with Naruto spitting the last remnant of dirt that had gotten in his mouth. They again hobbled towards one another, eventually colliding in an uncoordinated series of punches, slaps, swipes, claws, and kicks.

Though by now, their fight had lost any of the pretenses of an actual spar.

Following a successfully dodged punch, Saeko managed to trap Naruto in a headlock, at first punching him before that eventually devolved into grinding her fist into his scalp.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" The boy elbowed her in the gut before lunging at her and although he aimed for her high collar initially, he ended up grabbing her ear by accident. Naruto dragged her – ear first – to the side.

She clawed at his hand and shouted, "Gahhhh! Let go of me!"

"Nope." He slugged her in the cheek, but when attempting the follow-up, the princess lashed out with an unexpected jab at his eyes via her index and middle fingers. Feeling as if they were pushed back into his sockets, Naruto clutched at his eyes and yelped in pain. "Ngh!"

They both broke the engagement for a moment, catching their breaths and staring each other down. Or, attempted to, at least. Naruto couldn't see very well through his hands as he rubbed at his eyes. When he pulled his hands away, his eyes were red and watery. They were both haggard, drenched in sweat and dirt, and the early signs of bruises were starting to appear. Wordlessly, the pair shambled forward. They slowly began to punch one another in a back and forth, too tired to dodge or evade the other's obvious and slow attacks.

Naruto could no longer be bothered to wind up and swing an actual punch, instead thrusting his hand forward and hooking his thumb into the corner of her mouth. He pulled his thumb to the side while pinching and twisting the adjacent cheek as tightly as he could. She quickly did the same back to him, both of them too exhausted to do much else.

"Da yuu geh up?" Naruto slurred.

"Ne'eh!" She replied, biting his thumb hard and getting him to release his grip.

As she lurched over to finish him off, Naruto gambled everything into one final move: putting all his weight forward and headbutting her. The force was enough that after the two crashed into one another, they both fell over backward.

As they lay on the dirt and grass, panting while they stared up at the sky, they collectively noticed that there were now clouds dotting the sky. Laying there with nothing better to do and barely able to pull a coherent thought together, they simply looked at clouds for a few minutes.

Naruto even saw one that looked like a dog. If he squinted hard enough.

"Hey." Saeko finally groaned out.

"Hey." His voice was hoarse.

"You punch well."

"Yeah, you too."

"Want to be friends?"

"Yeah."

"Cool."

"Great."

---

Wagasa - An sun umbrella typically made from oiled paper.

Getabako - A little storage unit for shoes found at the genkan, or entrance.

Zabuton - The little cushions they use to sit on the floor in Japanese homes.

Somen - Thin wheat-flour noodles, often served warm in soup/broth or cold with a dipping sauce.

Mizu Yokan - A mix of agar jelly, red bean paste, and water that are mixed to form a soft rectangular sweet.

Kaishaku - When committing seppuku, the perpetrator is often allowed to choose or receive a Kaishaku-nin (nin meaning person), who beheads them while they disembowel themselves. Essentially, a mercy executioner who ends your seppuku/harakiri early before the pain really sets in.