Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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Please allow me to thank you for choosing to read this story! If you read the whole thing, thanks even more!

Some important notes for readers!

๑ The main ships in the fic are:
๑ Sakura x Undisclosed
๑ Sai x Ino
๑ Shikamaru x Temari

๑ This story takes place before the events of the Fourth Shinobi War, however it takes more years to get there.
Events happened farther apart and the characters are older. An example being that Sakura is twenty.

Please enjoy!

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Act I

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Introduction

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Sakura quickly made her way through the trees. It was dark, making it hard to see very far and causing her to stumble every so often. Her hair was wet from the rain, which was now blocked by the trees, and her clothes were muddy and heavy with water. She held the bag in her arms close to her as she rushed through the woods.

She kept going, from branch to branch. Her feet moved faster as she pumped chakra into them. Adrenaline pumped through her, coursing through her veins. Suddenly a kunai shot ahead of her, leaving pink strands of hair to fall to the ground in her wake.

She cursed as she focused on who threw the kunai. Slamming her left foot into a branch, she propelled herself to the right and masked her chakra. The moment she became hidden by the trunk of a tree, she fell to the ground and began to run the opposite direction she was moments before, hoping to lose the shinobi on her tail.

She never thought she would see her village banning the rescue of those who did not come back on their own. She refused to go back to that village.

Back to Konoha.

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Chapter 1

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After a few hours, Sakura entered the Land of Waves, losing the tracking shinobi before she started heading in its direction. It had been a while, hadn't it? The Naruto Bridge would be up ahead. She outwardly frowned at the name.

After a few more minutes of running, she reached the bridge. It did not look as new as it had, as there were many scratches and scrapes on the walkway. Images of the mission there flashed through her mind before she shook her head, clearing her thoughts. That was not important at the moment. It was more important for her to heal the three she had with her as soon as possible. She looked down at the bag in her arms.

Worry started to well up in her as she quickly sprinted across the bridge. The journey took her five or six minutes in total. As she reached the other side she saw people going about their day. Some laughing and playing, others arguing or keeping to themselves. She attempted to recall the route to the old bridge builder's house but found herself drawing a blank. About to start off in a random direction, a woman's voice caught her attention.

"Sakura? Is that you?" Hearing the voice, she turned to find Tsunami, the woman who she helped at the very start of her shinobi career. "It is you! Look how you've grown! But dear, you're filthy, are you alright?"

She had a concerned air about her. Sakura responded with a nod, and the woman somewhat grasped the urgency the younger was experiencing. "Come with me, let's head to my house."

She started off along the coast of the island, triggering Sakura's memory. The young woman quickly approached her.

"Tsunami! Do you have medical supplies? Like needles and thread? Bandages? Antibiotics?" the shinobi asked quickly. Tsunami looked at her and thought for a moment.

"They're at the house. Sakura, what in the world is wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No, but I have two men and a child here in critical condition and I don't have enough supplies. Where are they at your house?"

"In the cabinet above the oven," Tsunami blurted, now understanding how desperate she really was.

"I'll meet you there. I'm sorry!" With that, Sakura was off like a bullet. She jumped to the rooftops, sprinting at the fastest she was able without chakra and reaching the house within fifty or so seconds. She jumped to the ground, landing in front of the door, and knocked several times. The door opened to reveal an aged Tazuna with a look of irritation. The look quickly melted into one of surprise however as his eyes landed on her.

"Sakura! What are you doing here?" the old bridge builder asked. He noticed her expression and frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"May I come in?" she asked quickly.

"Of course," he nodded, responding to her tone.

"Tazuna, do you have a room I would be able to operate in?" she questioned, eyes scanning the room they were in.

"Well, not really. We don't have all those fancy machines hospitals do."

"I'll handle the equipment, I just need a room. Well, two rooms: one for when they are out of surgery and one for the operations," she spoke quickly. "I'm running out of time."

"You can use my room for the operation and... Tsunami's for after. Follow me." He started to head off towards the bedrooms.

"Hey, grandpa! Who was it?!" a boy's voice called from down the hall.

"Inari! Get out here!" Tazuna yelled. The boy came running out and followed along with them, clearly wondering what was going on. "Sakura here is having an emergency of some sort."

"What? Sakura!?" He looked at the woman. "It's you! You came back!"

"Hello, Inari," she smiled, "could you please help us set up some equipment?"

"Sure," he muttered as they reached Tazuna's room. It held a mat with a table in the middle of the floor and a bed on the left side, a few bottles here and there.

"I need everything out of the center of the room," she instructed. The two of them gave small looks of shock at the authority held in her voice but quickly did as they were told. Once everything was in a corner of the room, Sakura turned to them. "We need all three of them to be stable before I can work on one of them fully."

"Three!?" Tazuna asked, surprised. The sound of the front door could be heard swiftly opening and closing, followed by footsteps quickly coming in their direction. Tsunami came into the room catching her breath, giving the indication she ran most of the way there.

"Right. Tsunami, please go and get all of the medical supplies you have. Inari and Tazuna, please help me set up both rooms. We don't have much time as the stasis will stop working soon," Sakura said.

The three of them nodded and Tsunami left. Sakura led the remaining two into Tsunami's room and they moved everything to a corner before Sakura removed a scroll from her bag. She placed the bag against the wall next to the door. The two watched her intently as she crouched down and quickly unfurled the scroll. The room filled with smoke which dissipated to show Sakura already moving the stabilizing equipment. She came back and got the hospital bed and separating curtains before putting them in place as well. When she was done with the first setup, she turned to the others to see Tsunami came back.

"Tsunami, Inari, I want you to make two more beds like this. As fast as possible, okay?" the pinkette instructed. They nodded. "Tazuna, come help me set up the other room."

She jogged to the room designated for the operations, having grabbed her bag as she passed it, and pulled out another scroll the same size as the last. She unrolled only a portion of it, and smoke once again filled the room. The smoke cleared, revealing a large white tarp, which they unfolded and used to cover a majority of the floor. She then released the rest of the scroll, resulting in somewhat different equipment from before. After setting up, they returned to the other room to find the beds were set up perfectly. Sakura nodded, quickly thanking them.

"Now, I'm going to release these three from the scroll and I need everyone's help," Sakura said. "Tazuna, I need you to help me put them in the beds while you two keep the bed still and insert the IVs. Do either of you know how?"

Tsunami nodded.

"Yes, I helped in the medical area of the tents when Konoha was destroyed," the mother said.

Sakura subconsciously frowned at the mention of the name, the old man raising a brow in confusion as he noticed it.

"Good, let's get started." Sakura took on an authoritative posture. "As soon as I release them, they will slowly resume losing blood. I need to stop the flow of blood before I can operate. We will start with the child. Ready?"

They nodded again, and she undid the scroll. As soon as the smoke cleared, she could tell they were taken aback.

In front of them lay Kakashi, with a deep wound going from his left shoulder to his right hip.

The next was Konohamaru with three large gashes on his right side and a cut on his left arm going from his wrist to his upper bicep.

Lastly was Sai, who had a less lethal cut going down the majority of his right leg. Lying next to him was his right arm, which had been severed just below the elbow.

"Let's go," Sakura said. She picked them up with the help of Tazuna and placed them on their respective beds, the order the same as they came from the scroll. Tsunami inserted the IVs, while Inari helped. After they were all stabilized, Konohamaru was taken to the operating room and the long task of the medical shinobi began.

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Chapter 1 - Extended

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Exhausted after using most of her chakra, Sakura sat down at the table. She was glad she was able to get Sai's arm back on. There would be a scar, but she was able to reconnect all of the nerves. Konohamaru was fine, but he would need to stay under until his wounds healed a bit more. He would want to move around, as he would be distraught when he woke up. Kakashi had his stomach cut open along with the rest of his abdomen. Though, since she did not have the proper equipment, he was going to have to watch what he ate for a while.

"I hope they heal up okay..." was the last thing Sakura remembered saying before falling asleep.

Chapter Text

Tazuna looked into the kitchen to see Sakura asleep at the table.

"That must have used up a lot of chakra, healing those three," his grandson whispered, coming up next to him. Ever since Naruto and the others left years ago, he was collecting school books about jutsu and chakra. Even some genjutsu and taijutsu books, including a few about seals. He became interested in that sort of thing and even trained in the woods. Though he had not managed anything other than taijutsu on his own. With a teacher, Tazuna was sure he could excel quickly. He was a smart kid. "Think we should put her in a bed?"

"No, leave'er be. She needs her rest. Anyway, we should go check on the three in the other room," the old man whispered back. He turned around and left, Inari following close behind.

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Tazuna watched Sakura, who was on a bedroll in Inari's room. She had been out for two days.

"This can't be good..." he muttered.

"You know saying that over and over won't help, right?" Tsunami chuckled grimly as she sat next to the pinkette. He gave a deep sigh.

"Yeah, I know. I just wish we knew what was happening. Inari said it's most likely something to do with chakra and is searching her things for a journal or book," he grumbled, closing his eyes.

"Father! You shouldn't—"

"Yeah, yeah. I know it's rude, but we need to help her. He says this is longer than the usual amount of time needed to rebuild chakra levels."

"Wait! You can't get up yet! You're hurt!" Inari's voice came from the other room, causing the two to look into the hall.

"I'll go see what's going on, you stay with her," Tazuna said.

"Right."

As the old man exited the room, he could hear more sounds coming from the resting room. He walked in to see Inari carefully trying to push Kakashi back onto the bed as carefully as he could. He was shirtless and his mask was off, with bare feet and a pair of the old man's pants which were set out for him. Tazuna found it interesting he was able to change by himself before taking note the younger man's face was pretty good-looking. He wondered if it was why he wore the mask in the first place. Kakashi placed his hand over the bottom part of his face.

"Where's my mask?" Kakashi's voice was constricted, the others assumed from the pain of his wound. Tazuna was the one helping Sakura operate, so he knew about the opening in his stomach.

"You won't be gettin' that back anytime soon. Damn thing was torn to shreds," the bridge builder said from the doorway. Kakashi looked up at him and sighed as he pulled his hand down from his face, somewhat shocking Tazuna as he noticed there was no tan line.

"Hello Tazuna." The shinobi looked at the boy in front of him. "Inari. How did I get here?"

"Sakura brought you here. From where, I don't know," Tazuna explained. Kakashi's eyes grew wide at the mention of her name, but he quickly covered his left eye and winced from the sudden movement. "I also don't know why you have those injuries. Your friends Sai and Konohamaru are in the two beds next to you. They're both fine, no complications."

"Have you seen my forehead protector?" the silver haired man asked quietly, looking around. Tazuna thought back to a couple of days before.

"Actually, I haven't. You didn't have it when you got here. Neither did your friends." He paused. "Now that I think about it, Sakura didn't have hers either."

Kakashi let out a sigh.

"I'll look for it later, I guess," the man grumbled.

"Here, you can use this for your eye," Inari piped up. He held out a long piece of fabric from what was part of the man's undershirt. He thanked him before tying it around his head.

"So, where is Sakura?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, here's the problem..." Tazuna started.

"There's a problem?" the younger man asked slowly.

"When she finished your operation, she went into the kitchen and fell asleep at the table..."

"Alright..."

"She hasn't woken up..." Inari said softly. Kakashi thought for a bit before he slowly stood, despite Inari's protests, and walked over to the door.

"Take me to her," he said calmly. Tazuna nodded and slowly led him to the other room, pausing once or twice for him to catch up.

When they arrived, Kakashi made his way over to her and placed the back of his hand on her forehead. He then checked her pulse on her wrist, checked her breathing by putting his hand over her mouth, and opened one of her eyes. Silently, he felt around on the back of her neck and shoulders. He looked at Tsunami, who was gawking at him, before looking at the old man.

"Bring me one of her scalpels," the shinobi requested.

He received a questioning look but the old man left to get a scalpel. He came back and held it out, but Kakashi only looked at him before pointing to a spot on her neck after sitting her up. "There's a chakra beetle burrowed into her neck. I need you to get it out."

The bridge builder's eyes widened slightly before he looked closer. Sure enough, there was a small bump to the left of her spine. With Tsunami helping hold her in a sitting position, Tazuna did as told and made a small cut. After a few seconds, a small black beetle crawled out from under her skin, Kakashi quickly grabbing it before it could escape. He examined it for a few moments and concern met his features.

"This is an Aburame beetle... one they use for tracking..." Kakashi murmured. He was quiet for a while before he looked up at the old man. "I don't know why, but they're considering her an enemy. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been in her neck. Tazuna, I need you to go and put this on a fish. Then take the fish as far south as you can and release it."

The authority in his voice was undeniable, but Tazuna was still confused. Inari left the room.

"Why do I need to take it south?"

"For one, it needs to be in something that's alive or they'll realize it's been removed. I want you to take it south because we just need it away from here." Inari came back in with a small jar and held it open, Kakashi putting the beetle inside before the boy sealed it and held it out to his grandfather.

Chapter Text

Tazuna arrived at the market to see the fishermen just brought in their live catch. It was perfect timing. He rushed over, many people making way as he seemed like he was in a hurry, and bought a large fish. After hauling the fish away from the crowd, he opened the jar and placed the opening onto the animal, holding it there for a few moments before the insect quickly burrowed into its new host.

After hitching a ride with Oba, a good friend Tazuna had known for ages, he reached the next island and set the fish free on the south coast. By the time he returned to his home, it was evening. He entered the house and made his way to the room Sakura was resting in, only to find it empty. What Kakashi said earlier that day replayed in his mind.

“Shit!” he exclaimed in worry before racing to the resting room, only to see Sakura in the bed Kakashi was using before. The man himself was just to the left of the door, resting on the sleeping mat Sakura was meant to use. Tazuna let out a sigh of relief.

“Tazuna,” Kakashi’s voice muttered. The old man jumped before looking down at the shinobi he thought was asleep. “How’d it go?”

“It went well,” Tazuna whispered. “Oba gave me a ride to the island south of here. I let the fish go on the other side of it.”

“Good. That explains why it took you all day.”

“Hey, I’m not gonna let anybody touch her if I can help it. I may not be a shinobi, but I’m a man who can get things done.”

“Thank you.” It was quiet for a bit before Kakashi broke the silence. “What did she do when she took my mask off?”

The old man thought for a moment before chuckling.

“She didn’t really do anything other than help you. She was too focused.”

Kakashi gave a quiet laugh as well.

“Yeah, that sure seems like her.”

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Sai woke with a searing pain in his right arm and leg. A groan escaped him as he tried to sit up, but he didn’t get very far as he didn’t have enough strength. He heard the movement of fabric and looked up to see Kakashi with stitches going from his left shoulder to his right hip.

“Kakashi?” the painter groaned.

“Hello there Sai, how are you feeling?” he asked, smiling.

“K-Kakashi, your mask...”

The older man smiled again and slowly raised his right hand to scratch the back of his head.

“It seems it’s been, as Tazuna put it, ripped to shreds. And I don’t quite feel like using something else right now.”

“I see... Where are we? The last thing I remember is—” Sai’s breath hitched, and he quickly grabbed his right bicep. The pain in his arm worsened.

“Sai...” Kakashi muttered, wondering if he would have to calm him down. Sai looked down to see his arm in its correct place. He let out a wavered breath and his head fell back onto the pillow, his eyes locking onto the ceiling.

“I thought I’d never be able to paint again...” he whispered, his voice shaking. Both Kakashi and Sai himself took note of the fear in his voice, but the older man pushed it to the side.

“Sakura was able to put it back,” a voice Sai did not recognize stated. The artist looked over to Kakashi to see an elderly man holding aside the curtains next to him.

“Sai, this is Tazuna. We met him on our first dangerous mission, though we didn’t know it would be dangerous at first,” Kakashi said, the look on his face a bit extinguished.

“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” the painter got out as best he could.

“You too kid, but you should know this,” Tazuna started, “Sakura spent a lot of time working on your arm. She said you’re an artist and taking away your ability to create would be taking away your life. She made sure each nerve matched up, and she said the end result was perfect. Kid, she spent three straight hours on that arm of yours. I just want you to appreciate her hard work.”

He adjusted his straw hat before leaving and Sai was left speechless. She spent so much time making sure he could still create. She practically saved his life three times over.

“Someone is after Sakura,” Kakashi whispered. The artist’s eyes snapped to his lone.

“She should be able to handle herself, but who’s after her?”

“That creates two problems.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sakura is unconscious, and I’m pretty sure the enemy is Konoha.”

“What? Why would Konoha be after Sakura?” Sai paused for a moment as a thought dawned on him.

“What is it?” Kakashi asked, seeing he may have some idea about their situation.

“Maybe it was something to do with our mission?” Sai asked as he looked back down at his right hand and slowly moved each one of his fingers.

“I don’t remember much of it.”

“We were to infiltrate a base believed to be of the Akatsuki, but it turned out to be a very powerful clan. I’m not sure which one. They quickly outnumbered us and separated us to where it was at least one on one. I became engaged in battle with a man who used a double-edged sword. He ended up surprising me from behind and got my arm...”

“Oh, yes... I remember now,” Kakashi sighed. “I got stuck with this huge guy who used a blue scythe. He caught me from behind too. But I still don’t remember Konohamaru coming with us...”

“Because he didn’t,” Sai frowned, certain he never saw the boy. Kakashi looked at him for a few moments before moving the curtains to his right. There was Konohamaru, looking just as injured as they were. “What in the world…?”

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The teen let out a groan as he woke, the pain in his side and arm sending flames through him. He let out another groan of pain as he tried to move, finding there were bandages wrapped around his stomach and arm. A short time after, he could hear metal clinking together, a boy about his age coming into his view.

“You’re awake,” he smiled. Konohamaru stayed quiet as he looked around, wondering where he was. The boy left before Konohamaru heard him come back. “See? I told you.”

“Well, I guess I’ll believe you next time,” a woman’s voice said quietly. She came into his view. “Hello. I know you probably hurt, but you need to get up and walk. Inari, why don’t you help him change while I go get him some water?”

“Okay. Com’on, you can borrow some of my pants. You can’t put a shirt on just yet. Sakura has to give the okay, and she can’t really do that right now.”

“Why? Is Big Sister Sakura okay?” the young shinobi croaked.

“Let’s just get you changed first.”

After he was changed, they entered the kitchen where Sai and Kakashi were sitting at the table along with Tazuna. He looked back to the two he recognized, knowing something was off before realizing what exactly it was.

“Teacher Kakashi…? Where’s your mask…?” Konohamaru asked.

Many of them let out laughs.

“Good morning, Konohamaru,” the silver-haired man grinned.

“It’s too weird to see your mouth move…” the youngest shinobi grumbled, freaked out. After a moment, he noticed they were just as injured as he was. “Hey, how’d you guys get hurt? I thought—”

They saw him freeze up, his body beginning to tremble. “No... No, no, no, no, no.”

He looked down at the ground, holding his head in his hands. “This can’t be happening…. It can’t. It just can’t.”

He began to cry, his eyes focused on something the others could not see.

“Konohamaru? What’s wrong?” Inari asked, it being more than clear something was.

“They’re dead!” he yelled, Kakashi recognizing the look in the boy’s eyes. “They’re both dead! That bastard just went and left us to die!”

He fell to his knees, his hands covering his eyes. “Udon and Moegi are dead!”

Chapter Text

“What…?” Kakashi asked, wondering what he meant. Someone left them?

“They’re dead!” Konohamaru sucked in a breath, realizing he needed to calm down. He leaned forward, placing one of his hands on the floor. “We were coming back from a mission when we stopped for Teacher Ebisu to check something…. But he didn’t come back for a while so we started going in the direction he went. We stayed on our toes the entire time…. But when we reached a mountain all the animals stopped making any noise and we took that as a sign to be on our guard, but out of nowhere, Moegi said to start running. But before I could move this guy ripped my side open with these claw things.”

“He went for me again but Moegi caught his attention and before I could do anything she screamed and I heard her hit the ground. He got her in the face with the same claws that did this to me….” Konohamaru’s voice was shaking as he spoke, the memories too vivid for his liking. Tazuna placed his hand over his mouth as Kakashi gripped his hands into fists. “He got Udon in the chest.”

Inari placed his hand on the other boy’s shoulder, not being able to imagine seeing that happen. “He came after me again and caught my arm, and in the same transaction, I killed him with a kunai to the face. I collapsed after that…. Teacher Ebisu came back after that, but once he saw the enemy, he got scared. I called out to him. He even looked at me, saw that I was alive! But he just turned and ran! When I get back to the village, I’m gonna—”

“You’re not going back,” a woman muttered. He turned to see Sakura standing in the door that led to the hall. “Not for a while anyway...”

“Big Sister Sakura?” he asked. She approached and knelt down next to him before gently bringing him into a hug, breaking the dam he put up. She smoothed down his hair as he cried. They all knew he wouldn’t be truly alright for quite some time. She glanced up at the two sitting at the table.

“They aren’t looking for you,” she said quietly. They both froze as she looked back down at Konohamaru. “I’m sorry...”

“It’s true I’m afraid,” a soft voice said. Behind Sakura, a large white slug with two blue stripes on its back slowly entered the room.

“Lady Katsuyu?” Kakashi asked.

“Hello everyone, it’s nice to see you again,” she said, stoping next tot he pinkette.

“What in the world is that…?” Tazuna muttered.

“Tsunami, Tazuna, Inari, this is Lady Katsuyu. She is Sakura and The Hokage’s summon.”

“That is incorrect.” Everyone but the young woman looked at the slug that, at the moment, was the size of a small child. “I have ended my contract with Tsunade.”

“What?” Sai asked in shock, surprise being evident on Kakashi’s unmasked face as well. “Why?”

“She abandoned you,” the summon stated.

It was silent. Kakashi rested his forehead against his hands, his elbows on the table.

“She ordered a retreat and forbade going back for survivors,” Sakura explained. “She said it was too dangerous. So I disobeyed orders and went after you guys. I found you a;; and three dead ANBU. After I started running I came across Konohamaru, he told me Ebisu left them and I tracked him down.”

“What did you do…?” Kakashi asked, his eye narrowed. She looked up, her eyes meeting his.

“I punched him.”

He paled.

“I see...”

“I have Moegi and Udon in a scroll so when I find a home I can bury them properly,” she muttered.

“What do you mean, find a home?” Inari asked with a worried expression.

“Well, I’m a rogue-nin now,” she sighed. “I’m not going back even if I could.”

“Wait, does that make us rogue-nin?” Konohamaru asked.

“That makes us dead,” Sai stated.

“Oh...”

It was quiet for a bit.

“Sakura?” Inari called her attention. “I have some questions...”

“What is it?” She gave him the best smile she could muster.

“Where was Naruto...?”

“Well...” Her smile faltered, turning into a frown. “He left. He was so consumed over losing Kurama, I guess he didn’t think about anything else….”

She gained many different reactions. Inari was angry, Tazuna and Tsunami were confused, and the rest were horrified.

“Kurama’s dead?” Kakashi asked. She shook her head.

“For those who don’t know, Kurama is the name of the nine-tailed fox that was sealed inside of Naruto,” Sakura explained. The three townspeople gave looks of fear. “Normally if a tailed beast is extracted from its jinchuriki, the jinchuriki dies. Somehow the clan we attacked was able to extract Kurama without killing Naruto.”

The response she received was silence. “I’m not sure if it was intentional or not...”

“Where is that fox then?” asked Tsunami.

“He’s in a scroll in my bag,” the younger woman stated, causing the rest to look at her in shock.

“Wait, you were able to put him in a scroll by yourself?” Kakashi asked, stunned.

“Well, he was weak and couldn’t move,” Sakura sighed. “I told him what happened and he became very angry. He said he was happy he was out but thought that Naruto would come back for him because he said they were friends. He was angry he ever trusted him. I asked him if he’d like to join me….”

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“Why would I want to be sealed away again!?” the large beast rumbled. He was on his side, unable to move. Letting out a huff through his nose, clouds of dust were sent into the air. Sakura shut her eyes to avoid dirt getting in them.

“I wasn’t going to seal you away for good,” she stated. He laughed weakly.

“Why wouldn’t you?”

“Because I don’t want to, or need to.”

He stayed silent for a few moments, watching her curiously.

“You’re odd for a human. You’re kind to me even though you’re not stuck with me.” He paused before grinning as much as he could in his current state. “Do you think that if you are kind to me I will not kill you?”

“You can’t kill anyone right now! Let alone move on your own! What will happen if someone finds you!? They’ll seal you away! Or worse!“ she exclaimed, waving her arms around. She heard him let out a snicker before his eyes grew. “What’s wrong?”

“It seems there is someone on my side…. Guess you were right about someone coming along too—” He paused as he saw that she was gone. “Where did she go?”

Sakura landed on Kurama’s side, finding a man in a village’s ANBU gear. He looked up from his scrolls in what she could tell was shock, even with the ANBU mask covering his features.

“What!? How are you not dead!?” She cut him off as her fist connected with his face. He was slammed onto Kurama’s side.

“I won’t die that easy,” she huffed. “Now, what were you doing…?”

Looking at his scroll, she found it to be a weak seal with another scroll laying next to it. Opening it, she found a seal that Kurama would not be able to break out of, even at his best. Picking up the two scrolls, she jumped back down to where he would be able to see her. The fox looked at her as she held up the high-level seal.

“Well look at this, you’re going to use their seal. Don’t think I’ll just let you seal me—” He stopped again as she began to cut the length of scroll off that contained the seal with a kunai. “What are you doing?”

She placed the seal on the grass and tore a large X through it.

“As I said,” she stood up and crossed her arms, looking him in the eye, “there’s no need and I don’t want to.”

He raised one of his large brows.

“And why is that?”

“Because I want to be friends, Kurama.”

He stayed silent for a while, but eventually sighed and closed his eyes.

“Very well.”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

They all stared at the young woman, who was now sitting on the ground.

“Wow,” Konohamaru breathed. He was finally calm after listening to her story

“I’m not surprised. Sakura is very convincing,” Sai said. “If she doesn’t convince you with words, well…”

Kakashi gave him an exhausted expression.

“Excuse me, Lady Sakura,” Katsuyu started, “but your belongings are on their way. Lady Hachidori was kind enough to send some of her children to collect them.”

“Lady Hachidori?” Sakura asked with a look of confusion. She was unsure she had ever heard that name before.

“Wonder if they could get my stuff too,” Kakashi sighed. “I’m pretty sick of that village by this point.”

“I feel the same honestly…” the painter said as he lifted his hand casually.

The others looked at them in utter shock. Before anyone could ask why they would say such a thing, Kakashi spoke with a lighter tone, seeming to brush the conversation to the side.

“Well, I’ve been told I can’t eat till you wake up. So may I eat? Please?”

“Of course!” Sakura smiled. He smiled in hope. “After I check all of your wounds!”

He frowned, causing some giggles.

Sakura checked their wounds and they all turned out to be doing well. She worked on healing Sai and Konohamaru to full health, as Kakashi said he would be fine going last. Sai and Kakashi inspected their new scars without a fuss. Konohamaru was left with three claw marks on his side, which he assured Sakura were fine because they looked cool, and the line going down his arm, which he wasn’t as fond of. After all, these were his first major injuries, and the large white patches of skin were new to him.

Chapter Text

After they finished their healing sessions, Sakura was trying to decide where she should go. Staying in the Land of Waves wasn’t her plan after all. She was listing off different places she thought might be adequate as hiding places with Kakashi and Sai, when the painter finally spoke.

“I agree this is something we need to go over, but I’d really like to get some new clothes,” Sai put forward. Sakura thought about what he said before agreeing.

Their clothes at the moment were dirty and tattered. It was not as if they could borrow the family of three’s clothes forever, after all.

“If it’s clothes you’re looking for, I know just the place!” Tsunami smiled.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

The two teens followed behind the rest of the group as they made their way down the main road of the town. Apparently, Inari’s mother had a friend who co-owned a store that made custom order clothes. The group was headed toward the shop and Konohamaru was thinking about what he would want to get.

“I think I’m gonna get another jacket,” he said. His current jacket was unusable due to it being covered in blood and torn up. He quickly pushed aside the memory. “And I was starting to think about shorts...”

“What kind of shirt are you gonna get?” Inari asked. The other boy shrugged in response. “Hmm, what about dark blue?”

“Yeah, that sounds cool,” Konohamaru said after some thought. “Hey, Inari.”

The other boy looked over to him.

“Yeah?”

“You wanna’ be friends?”

“Yeah! I’ve never had a friend my age!” Inari grinned.

“Then we’ll be best friends!” Konohamaru grinned back, lifting his fist.

“Yeah!” They bumped fists before beginning to discuss their interests. They found they had many that were similar, one subject being how they both looked up to Naruto at one point. The group in front of them came to a halt and they looked past to find the shop.

“This is it,” Tsunami said. They entered the building and were met with hundreds of rolls of fabrics, which caused some confusion for a few. Tsunami approached a counter and spoke with an older woman before returning with a woman more around her age. “This is Koshu. She will be the one making your clothes.”

“Hello,” Koshu bowed. “If you already know what you would like please browse our fabrics. Bring a card from each fabric back to the woman at the desk over there and tell her what you would like. After you get it sorted out, she’ll give me the templates and I’ll get to work.”

“I thought we were buying clothes… What’s all the fabric?” Konohamaru whispered to Inari.

“This is a tailors. We don’t have premade clothes here, since it’s such a small village,” he whispered back. The other teen nodded in understanding.

After Koshu finished answering any questions they had, they all split up. The two teens explored the aisles. Konohamaru located a tan fabric that felt the same as his ruined jacket and took a card from the wooden pole next to it. Inari then found the navy blue he thought his friend could use for his shirt. After getting a fabric card for a pair of green shorts, Konohamaru finally felt like he got what he wanted. Inari went off to find his mother while Konohamaru approached the counter, drawing the attention of the elderly woman.

“Ma’am?” he called, feeling a bit awkward. Coming over to him, she smiled.

“Oh, hello there. Is there anything you need help with?”

He placed the cards on the counter and slid them toward her.

“I’m done.”

She nodded, picked up the cards, and made her way around the counter. He followed her over to a table with a sketchbook and colored pencils sprawled across it. She took a seat and he took the seat next to her after she gestured to it.

“Now, what is it you would like?” she asked.

“Well, first off, could I have a jacket?” he asked. He described what the jacket that was ruined looked like.

“That should be easy enough,” she nodded

“I’d like it to be patched to look like my scar, if it doesn’t cost too much,” he said, lifting up Inari’s borrowed shirt to show the pearly skin.

“Now what is a young boy like you doing with a wound like that?” she asked with a frown. He was silent for a moment, pulling the shirt back down before responding.

“I’m a shinobi, ma’am.”

“I see. Well then, what fabric would you like to use as a patch?” she asked as she drew his jacket on a piece of paper, along with replicating the scar. He pointed at the tan card, and she wrote down the number. “Alright, anything else?”

“I’d like a pair of shorts made out of this, please.” He pointed at the green card.

“Oh, this is quite popular today,” she said as she wrote it down, having already made a template for pants for both Kakashi and Sai.

“Then, a shirt out of this,” he said as pointed at the blue card. She gave a nod as she wrote down the numbers.

“Would you like it short or long-sleeved, dear?”

“Short, please.” She started scribbling on the paper, and he leaned over to get a better look. “What’s your name? I heard Koshu’s but not yours.”

She chuckled.

“It’s only polite to give one’s own name when asking for another’s.”

He hid his slight embarrassment and nodded.

“My name is... um...” He frowned as he thought about his name for the hundredth time that day.

“Do you not have a name?”

He shook his head before he spoke.

“I do, I just... I don’t really like it,” he muttered. She frowned, pausing in her drawing.

“What on earth do you mean?”

“My name is Konohamaru... but... I’d rather not hear it anymore….”

“Well, what would you like to be called then?” she asked. He thought for a moment before he gave a shrug, not sure he had any ideas. The woman hummed and went back to drawing, seeming to be thinking of options. “How about Kosai?”

“Kosai?” he asked, brow raised. “You mean like the eye…?”

“Yes,” she said with a short nod. “Because without kosai you would not be able to see iro.”

“Color? I guess that’s true…? But I still don’t really understand….”

“My name is Iro,” she grinned.

He recognized the pun and let out a laugh.

“It can also be a play on words and go along with Miss Sakura’s name,” she muttered as an afterthought, her forest-green eyes going back to the sketches. “Ah, well, it was only a suggestion.”

“No, I like it,” he laughed. “Thank you, Ma’am.”

“It’s my pleasure, Kosai. Now, how about we personalize this shirt of yours?” She drew a star shape out of three lines on the back of the shirt with a green pencil.

“What’s that?”

“When I was young, my family and I lived far to the south of here. We would always be able to see the night sky there, and every night my sister and I would go outside onto the beach and write letters to the moon. After one rainy night, my sister came up with some symbols and called them moon glyphs. This is one that means strength. I drew this because you seem like a strong boy for your age.”

Pink dusted his cheeks from the compliment, and he muttered a thank you before he realized Sakura was approaching them.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Iro,” she said quietly. The older woman shook her head and held up her hand.

“It’s quite alright. We were just finishing up weren’t we, Kosai?” she grinned at him. He let out a laugh, finding the old woman amusing.

“She helped me pick a new name,” he told Sakura, who gave him a smile back.

“That was nice of you, Iro. I truly appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem at all. I feel like I know you two so well already, like grandchildren.” The old woman gave a laugh.

“What makes you say that?” Sakura asked, taken aback slightly by the statement.

“You don’t really need to know about someone’s past to know them well. You just have to be able to get a general idea of who someone is,” Iro said with a bright smile. She then mumbled to herself. “Of course, a little intuition comes in handy as well, but that’s just me.”

She made a few last touches on the designs.

“Then may I call you Grandmother?” the boy asked quietly. “I never really knew my grandmother...”

“Why of course. That would make me very happy,” she beamed before looking at the younger woman. “Now Miss Sakura, what was it that you needed?”

“Well, I found the wall of shoes and I came over to tell Kon— er, Kosai to come and pick out a pair.” She stumbled over the change of his name, though it was to be expected.

“Oh, alright.” He turned to the Iro. “I’m going to go pick out a pair of boots, we can see each other again, right?”

She gave a nod as he stood.

“Your clothes will be done by the end of tomorrow. You can come and visit when you pick them up. Until then I’ll be working on Miss Sakura’s yukata, your shirt and jacket, and Hatake’s coat. So I will be very busy.”

He nodded in understanding before heading in the direction Sakura pointed him in.

“See you later, Grandmother.”

“Until then!” she grinned, catching a few pencils before they could roll off the table.

Chapter Text

Sakura watched as the newly renamed boy went off to meet with the others. He really was strong. They all were. Kakashi and Sai didn’t even blink when they learned Konoha abandoned them. Sakura frowned as she thought about how they must have been feeling on the inside. She was the same way, visually unaffected. She went out on a walk the night before, after everyone woke up. The full realization hit her like a brick wall and she fell apart. Kakashi found her and stayed with her until she was calm enough to return to the house.

Sakura gave a grateful smile to the woman next to her.

“Thank you...”

“It’s no problem at all. I’m very happy someone considers me their grandmother... Will you be staying?” she asked quietly. Sakura described some of the less secretive parts of her story to the woman when they were designing her clothes.

“No, it’s too dangerous,” the younger woman sighed. “This area is nice, I’d like to find a place that isn’t far from here, but it’s so close to the Land of Fire...”

Sakura took a seat in the chair Kosai was sitting in. Iro began to sort her pencils as she returned them to their box.

“Yes, that is a problem, isn’t it?” They sat in silence for a few moments before the old woman spoke again. “I have a question for you.”

“Hm?”

“Well,” she finished up sorting her pencils and closed the container, “have you heard of Arashigakure?”

Sakura thought for a moment before frowning in confusion.

“No. It sounds like a hidden village…”

“Well, it used to be a thriving one,” she started, picking up a regular pencil and beginning to write down notes around the sketches. “But a powerful shinobi flooded the island it resided on, forcing all of its citizens off. After they were pushed off the coast, the shinobi cast a jutsu which would forever protect the island from those unworthy of the land. Everyone around here brushes it off as an old story. Bah!”

The old woman roughly placed the pencil back on the table and Sakura held back a smile. “My great-grandfather was a citizen of that island, he told my grandfather and mother about it. He believed the shinobi saw how hateful the village was, being just as bad as the Bloody Mist! He decided to free the land which was once a haven for the unwanted. I’d bet my left leg that would be a place you could keep away from those chasing you.”

“So, it’s an island that’s turned into a legend?” Sakura asked.

“Few have even heard the legend, to be entirely transparent.”

“How?”

“I’m not quite sure,” the old woman hummed. “The people who used to live there spread out quite a bit, like my family who ended up on the southern coast of the Fire Country. I suppose people didn’t talk about it much. And it’s not as if there was some great treasure to keep people looking for it.”

“All right. It sounds like it might work, but we don’t know where it is,” the pink-haired woman pointed out.

“Of course I do. I’ll show you after I have finished your garments.”

“Wait, you actually know where it is?”

“Of course! It’s not that far.”

“Not that far? What?”

“Sakura,” a voice said suddenly. Said woman jumped slightly in her seat and turned to Sai, giving him a somewhat hurt look.

“You scared me!”

“But shouldn’t you be looking for chakra signatures?” he asked, his tone holding underlying amusement.

“Not yours!”

“I suppose that’s fair.”

“Grandmother says she knows about a place we might be able to go.”

“Grandmother?” He looked at the other woman at the table. “Oh, Ms Iro, I see. Where would this place be?”

“I will show you after your clothing is done,” the old woman repeated as she stood. “Now, I’m going to go get started on your yukata, it’s bound to take the rest of the day.”

“Right, thank you.”

The two shinobi made their way back to the others to find Kosai chose a pair of black ninja boots, just as Kakashi and Sai did. Sakura chose a pair of light brown boots similar to the kind she’d had before.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Red eyes opened to see only darkness. A yawn came from the creature as it went to stretch its muscles, only to find them constricted. He wondered exactly where he was before remembering what happened. The memory of the small kunoichi he spoke with came back to him. So he was in a scroll, then? He decided it was time to see if she lied to him about it being a temporary seal. Taking his claws, he scratched out into the area in front of him, smoke erupting and fading away.

He looked around, finding he was no longer in the seal. So she didn’t lie then... He thought about that fact for a few moments. She did not seal him away. After a few minutes of thinking about it, he looked around to find he was in a small room. It looked to be a bedroom of sorts, with a few sleeping futons scattered around. Looking down, he found he was sitting on a bag filled with scrolls. He got off of the bag and took a few steps forward, taking a quick scan of the room.

“Where is this?” he asked himself, sitting down on the wooden floor. He continued to look around before pausing and looking down at himself, holding up one of his hands for him to see. “Why am I so small!?”

He jumped up and ran around in a small circle in panic before stopping and taking a deep breath. “Alright, calm down... What did she do to me?”

He checked himself to find he felt fine, no injuries or pain anywhere. He then checked his chakra and his eyes grew wide with confusion. What happened? If he described his previous chakra, it would be as usual: an energy which spread through his body in vein-like patterns. There was something different inside of him now. It almost felt heavier, collecting in the area where his heart was in his chest.

It was chakra, he told himself as he looked down in an attempt to focus on it more. He was not entirely sure if it was healthy, but he also was unsure if he could get rid of it. It seemed to be connected to his chakra network, though it was separate from his usual chakra. The essence seemed to either be more potent or to have a massive amount in a limited space. Deciding to think more about it later, he regained focus on his size.

Why exactly was he so small? He estimated he was perhaps around one-hundredth of the size he used to be. He could go back to his usual form, he guessed. Though, he was not quite sure if he should. It would certainly draw attention, no matter where he was. In the end, he decided to ask the kunoichi about it. Although first, he would have to find her.

He took a deep breath before letting out a sigh. He paused as he realized he could smell the world again. Of course, he could when he was found by her, but it was not something he noticed at the time. He took in a few different scents around the room before recognizing the one he smelled when she found him. She clearly was not in the room, so he would have to look elsewhere. Turning to the door, he slid it open before looking around. It seemed he was in a house, and by the lack of sounds in the building, he was alone.

Making his way over to what looked like it might be the front door, he sat down in defeat at seeing it had a lock. Grumbling to himself, he looked over to the other doors he assumed were to a patio. Beginning toward it, he clamped his mouth shut to keep back a startled yelp at the door suddenly opening. His fur stood on end when he saw an old man yawning as he entered the room. Out of panic, he performed the teleportation jutsu, taking off running the moment he touched the ground again. He let out a small grunt as his face slammed into a wooden beam. He fell back and grabbed his snout, looking to find he was now on the porch of a house, most likely the one he was in previously.

“What the hell was that!?” a man’s voice came from inside. Yes, definitely the same house. Before anything else could happen, he took off down the path.

He could soon see a small village in the distance and came to a stop. The form he was in would draw attention, no one had ever seen a fox with hands . Contemplating on what course of action he should take, he gave a huff before performing the transformation jutsu. The smoke cleared to show a normal fox, if one excluded the nine tails and intelligent eyes.

Quickly, he bounded off into the village, startling some of the people walking on the street. He followed both her scent and chakra signature before coming to an older building which looked to be a shop of some sort. His next thought was how he would get inside, but that thought passed as the front door opened and he sprinted forward. The woman who opened the door let out a scream as he brushed past her and he skidded to a stop as he realized there was a crowd just inside the door. Though, he realized too late and collided with a man.

After the chaos passed, he opened his eyes to find he was sitting on the man’s chest, the man himself having fallen back. He was surprised to recognize the human, though it was more based on his chakra than his face. He reached out and smacked his front paw on the man’s nose.

“That’s what you look like, then,” he said, some of the people around them giving yells of surprise at hearing him speak.

“Kurama?”

He turned to find the woman who saved him.

Chapter Text

The group of people looked at the small fox which spoke only moments before. It sat on Kakashi, its front paw on the man’s nose. Iro approached and gave it a smile.

“Hello there, this is my shop. How may I help you?” Her smile turned to an amused grin. “Though, I can’t imagine you would be here for clothes.”

The fox removed his paw from the man’s nose and stepped onto the floor at his own pace.

“Kunoichi, you kept your end of the deal. You didn’t permanently seal me away,” he stated as he made his way toward Sakura, stopping in front of her. She crouched down.

She was now wearing a white sleeveless yukata which stopped just above her knees and had magenta-red hems. It had a black underlayer which went with it and a magenta-red waist wrap. She also wore a pair of black leggings, which stopped just below the yukata, and her knee-high brown books.

“I’m glad to see you’re awake. But I have to say, I didn’t expect to see you...” The young woman gave him a once over and clearly held back a laugh. “This small...”

“You did something to my chakra. Whether knowing it or not,” he stated gruffly. She gave him an inquisitive look, and he sighed. “It’s hard to put into words. You’re a medic, check for yourself.”

She thought for a moment before standing up and looking at the old woman.

“It seems I have to check on something, sorry to leave so abruptly,” Sakura frowned.

“Is that really Kurama..?” Sai asked. It was rather easy to recognize him from his chakra signature, but it was hard to believe such a small fox could be a chakra beast. A sigh escaped the creature, and it sat down. After a few moments, the fox exploded into smoke, which cleared after a few moments to reveal a man sitting on the floor with his legs crossed.

“If I’ve done this correctly, I should appear to be human,” the man muttered.

His appearance consisted of tanned skin, dark orange hair, and the same red eyes. His hair would have been comparable to Naruto’s when he was transforming and one could make out fox-like ears within it. His clothing was a replica of the two other men in the room: sleeveless black combat top, generic black combat pants wrapped at the ankles, and black ninja boots. The only difference being he wore a coat, a replica of Naruto’s jacket from when he had returned from Mount Myoboku. The difference was it was red with black flames. He was unable to help Naruto had had some sense in clothing once in his life.

His eyes moved to Sai, who made a point to raise a brow in question.

“To be honest, I wasn’t really up for being that small. This is a better form for blending in... Probably...” Kurama muttered. Sakura gave an abrupt laugh as she stood, holding out her hand toward him. He raised a brow.

“This is an offer to help you up,” she smiled. After a moment, he accepted her help and stood. She gave him an amused grin as she placed her hands on her hips as she realized he had made himself slightly taller than Kakashi. “You just didn’t like being smaller than us .”

“Correct,” he stated without hesitation. Sakura gave a laugh and Kurama looked down as Kosai came up next to him.

“So...” the teen looked at the young woman. He glanced at the fox in human form. “He’s the Kurama?”

“Oh, I just remembered,” Iro muttered to herself, turning to go somewhere. The others did not pay much mind to her as they continued their conversation.

“He is the Kyuubi who was sealed inside of Naruto,” Kakashi confirmed, having already stood up.

“I’ve never had a chakra beast in my shop before,” Iro started, drawing their attention while she made her way over to a case hanging on the wall. Some of them recognized it as where the hair ornaments for sale were, as they had looked at them while waiting. “And I’ve been open for forty-eight years!”

She fumbled with a key she had pulled from her pocket. Koshu hurried over to help her, but the old woman shooed her away and pulled something from the fabric lining the case. Many of them registered the younger woman became confused as she locked the case back up after being told to.

“M-Ma’am! Isn’t the key you always talk about?” The old woman hummed in question as she turned back to face her student. “I-I mean, that’s the comb you’re always going on about being the key to the hidden island, why are you getting it out of the case?”

“Well, I’m giving it to Sakura of course,” the woman gave a toothy grin and Koshu blinked in confusion as her elder continued toward the group. Iro smiled as she held the comb up in her hands for the young woman to see. It was an ornate hair comb which held a fabric flower. Folds of different colored fabrics came together to create a cherry blossom. Sticking out of the top were small light blue pins and in the center was a golden flower topped off with a sea-foam green gem.

“This washed up on the north shore decades ago,” the old woman started, pure joy taking over her features. “I found it when I was younger and restored it to its original state through a few years of labor. I wish for you to wear it when you go to find Arashijima.”

“You want to give this to me…?” Sakura asked, carefully taking the comb. The old woman nodded, placing her hands in her sleeves.

“It’s my belief that it will be the key which will get you through,” she smiled. “Now, you said you were going to go back to where you were staying, I don’t want to keep you for too long.”

“Actually!” Kosai piped up, drawing her attention. “I asked Tsunami if it would be okay to ask if you wanted to come have lunch with us.”

“Which of course, I would love,” the mother smiled, liking that her son had also become fond of the old woman. Iro frowned slightly.

“I would love to, but I’m afraid I just can’t take that long of a walk anymore...”

“Kurama could carry you!” Sakura piped in, earning her a slight glare from the fox.

“I’m not doing that,” was his flat reply. Sakura gave him a frown before sighing.

“Why don’t I ask Oginku if he’s willing to take me down there by carriage tomorrow?” Iro intervened. “I’m sure that Mr Kuruma is tired from being trapped in a scroll for so long.”

The fox grumbled to himself as he crossed his arms.

“Of course, that’s all right as well. You’re always welcome,” Tsunami smiled.

Sakura and Inari agreed, and the group exited the shop after parting ways. Sai gained Sakura’s attention shortly after.

“Would you like help with your comb?” he asked quietly as they made their way down the street. She glanced at the comb in her hand before giving a light smile. She was sure he had helped Ino with her hair on more than one occasion.

“Sure,” she grinned. Taking the comb, he pulled back part of her bangs on the right side of her head and secured the item in place. Sakura gently lifted her hand to feel it. “Thanks!”

“No problem at all. For being a key, it’s a very strange shape. I can’t imagine how it would work,” he murmured, taking a few long glances at the piece. Sakura hummed in thought as her fingers brushed across the stone in the center. Kakashi, the fox, and Kosai realized villagers began to stop what they were doing as they passed by.

“I’ve never seen a gem this color, maybe it has something to do with it?” she wondered.

“It’s true that I’ve never seen anything like it either. I’d like to ask Iro about it tomorrow if I get the chance.” The two continued with their theories, Kosai and Inari adding a few ideas they had here and there before Tsunami asked a question which opened a whole new string of queries.

Kakashi snuck a glance at Kurama as they walked side by side in the back of the group. It was an understatement to say the man felt confused by his presence. A part of him was expecting him to turn back into Naruto, with the blond having pulled a poorly thought out prank. But in reality, he would not be turning into anyone else.

“If you wish to discuss, then you may,” the fox muttered. The man let out a sigh, knowing he had been caught.

“There’s a lot...”

“I suppose there is...” the fox replied after giving a sigh of his own.

Chapter Text

Tazuna looked up from the book he was rereading to see his family and guests had returned. He took in their new appearances before delving back into the pages. Sakura followed Tsunami over to the kitchen as she had asked about helping with the next meal on their way back. She felt guilty for just showing up unannounced.

Sai decided he needed to take his mind off of everything for a short time and went to gather his art supplies from Tazuna’s room. The two younger boys followed behind him as they were headed in the same direction. Kakashi took a seat across from the old man, glancing at Kurama as he continued to stand in the doorway. After a few moments, Tazuna realized there was an extra person and looked up at Kakashi before his eyes turned to the fox.

“Who are you?” he asked, Kakashi giving a chuckle at the fact it took him so long to realize he had been there. Kurama didn’t respond, however, and the jounin gave a sigh.

“This is Kurama,” the other man at the table explained, “I’m actually surprised he was able to leave without you noticing him.”

“Are you the one that scared me half to death!?” the old man demanded, slamming his hand on the table. Kakashi gave a laugh, covering his mouth to keep from laughing too loud. “I came inside from the deck and smoke just exploded! I almost shit my pants!”

“Father!” Tsunami scolded as she washed some vegetables. “Language!”

“Right, right...” he grumbled, waving his book in the air in a sign of dismissal.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Kosai flipped through the pages of the academy textbook Inari pulled from his shelf. It was a different book than he had when he was in the academy, leading him to believe it must have been from a different village. He stopped on a page which was in the chapter covering the basics of chakra as he noticed notes written in pencil covered the edges of the pages. He began to read over them while Inari continued to look for another book.

Finally having found the book he was looking for, Inari pulled it from his shelf and skimmed through the pages as he turned to sit down. He stopped, however, as his friend spoke.

“You’ve been having this much trouble with chakra?” Kosai asked in surprise. Inari had told him about his struggle, but he had just imagined his friend had been having trouble with gathering chakra, not finding it. The other boy frowned and gave a sigh, placing his book upside down on the floor to keep his page.

“I told you, I can’t find where it comes from. I’ve read the book hundreds of times, but I can never figure out how to summon any. Honestly, I’ve started to worry I don’t even have any... If that’s possible...”

Kosai hummed, looking back down at the book.

“Well, I know some people can’t use it, but everyone has it...” He flipped through the pages of the chapter. “I think you could ask Big Sister Sakura if she could see if you have enough for ninjutsu. One of the girls in my academy class is one of the ones who can’t use it. She went to the hospital to get checked, and that’s how she found out.”

“Did she still graduate?” he asked, worried.

“She didn’t,” Kosai started, looking up from the book, “but there’s a few shinobi who are still powerful and they can’t use chakra. I’m pretty sure Teacher Kakashi knows one of them. They excel in taijutsu rather than a balance between ninjutsu and taijutsu.”

“I’m not sure I could rely on taijutsu for everything...”

“Well...” Kosai paused to think about what to say. “I guess we could go ask Big Sister Sakura to take a look since she’d be able to tell. That way we’ll know if you can or not.”

Inari took a deep breath before letting out a sigh and giving a nod.

“Yeah... I want to do that.”

The two boys stood and exited Inari’s bedroom, entering the main room. Inari fell back a bit as Kosai approached Sakura, who was still helping Tsunami.

“Big Sister Sakura?” Her jade eyes turned to look at him before focusing her eyes back to the tomatoes she was slicing.

“One second, I’m almost done with these.”

He nodded and watched her finish with the last tomato before scraping the slices into a large salad bowl. She placed the cutting board in the sink and washed off the knife, putting it away before turning to him. “All right, what can I do for you?”

“We were wondering if you could see if Inari can use chakra,” he explained, pointing back over his shoulder with his thumb, both of them missing how Tsunami had stopped what she was doing to listen to them. Sakura thought about what he said for a moment before nodding her head.

“Sure.” She let the other woman know she would be taking a quick break to help the boys with something before making her way to the table. She took a seat and looked at the two of them. “So what is it that you’re having problems with?”

Inari took a minute to explain what had been happening, and Sakura grew visibly confused. “You can’t even locate it?”

He shook his head, telling her he could not. With a light nod of her head, she asked him to sit down in the chair next to her and turn away from her. She placed her hands on his back and began her search for a problem.

“Will she be able to tell what’s wrong?” Tazuna asked Kakashi quietly. “He’s been having trouble with this stuff for years now.”

“She should be able to,” the other man confirmed. “The fact he can’t find it at all brings up a few questions though... Normally even those who can’t tap into it can at least find it.”

“Is it possible he doesn’t have any?” the old man asked, setting down his book.

“No, everyone has chakra. It’s just that some have more than others...”

“Interesting...” Sakura murmured to herself, drawing their attention. “What’s that doing there...?”

Inari’s body suddenly jolted, causing him to let out a shout of surprise before he calmed down, looking down at his hands.

“What was that?” he asked, turning back to look at her. She removed her hands from his back and rested her arm on the table as she thought through something. Her eyes looked over to Tazuna.

“Would there be a reason that he had a seal placed on his chakra reserves?” she asked, watching him carefully. The old man stared at her for a moment before his face turned to confusion.

“What now?”

“He had a chakra seal placed on him. It disallows any usage of chakra, which would be the reason Inari was finding his attempts were in vain,” she explained.

“Why the hell would someone do that?” Tazuna asked. “Is he all right?”

He turned to his grandson. “Inari, are you all right?”

Inari didn’t respond as he was too lost in feeling his chakra move through his body for the first time in his life.

“He’s fine,” Sakura assured, glancing at Tsunami who was still in the kitchen. “I removed it, so he will be able to practice ninjutsu now.”

She watched the woman in the kitchen quickly turn around, a look of worry plastered on her face. “Is something wrong, Tsunami?”

The older woman paused as she realized she had let something slip before gently placing the bowl she had been using on the counter.

“You... You removed it...?” she asked quietly.

“Tsunami! You knew about this!?” Tazuna asked in shock. A look of slight shame came to her face.

“You... You knew all this time and didn’t tell me...?” Inari asked, looking up to meet the eyes of his mother. She was clearly hurt by the look she was given and hurried over to the table.

“Sweetheart, you have to understand! Your father said if people saw you had the release that ran in his family they would come after you!”

“Release?” Kakashi asked, turning his eye to the teen. “Inari has a kekkei genkai?”

“Wait really!?” the boy asked, it surprising most of them that he was visually excited. “I can do jutsu only people in a clan can do!?”

“Inari! This is a problem! Not something to be excited about!” his mother worried.

“Which one!? What clan is it from!?” His mother was about to scold him when Kurama’s chakra flared, causing the rest to look at him in confusion to find he held an irritated expression.

“What is it?” Kakashi asked.

“Naruto is headed this way,” the fox growled.

Chapter Text

“That’s Naruto’s chakra signature?” Sai asked as he entered the house from the porch.

“Completely different without me, isn’t it?” the fox bellowed, turning to exit the front door of the home. Sakura quickly followed him, brushing past Kosai who was trying to decide whether or not he wanted to see the blond after what he heard from the others. Kakashi exited the house followed by Sai, Kosai letting out a short grunt of frustration before following behind them.

Naruto arrived rather quickly, coming to a stop a short distance from the house. Sakura crossed her arms and opened her mouth to speak, but her eye twitched as the blond attacked Kakashi and Sai with a hug.

Sakura felt detached as she watched her ex-teammate smile.

“Sakura, how did you get away from the ANBU?” she heard him ask, causing her to look at him. “I thought they would bring you back by the end of the day for sure!”

She bit her cheek, feeling her eyebrow twitch. “But they said you totally got away! Everyone was so surprised!”

The woman took a deep breath and turned to the small forest which sat next to the house. She began toward it, finding its silence alluring at that moment. “Sakura! Wait! You have to come back with us! The old lady said she wanted to talk to you about why you left! And Sasuke—“

“Go home, Naruto.”

His face fell as his excitement diminished.

“Sakura, you—”

“Did Tsunade send you to find us?” Sai asked, rolling his paintbrush between his fingers as the woman made her way into the trees. “Or did you come to find Sakura yourself?”

“Well... I... I went to find Kurama... but he wasn’t there. I didn’t find anybody else either... So I decided to find Sakura...”

“And it took you a month and a half to come looking for me?” the fox growled, his arms crossed in disapproval. Naruto explained how Tsunade kept everyone under close watch after Sakura ran off. She finally let him go after he said he wanted to look for Kurama, but the fox snapped at him as he began to explain how he had left.

“You were enjoying not having me sealed in you!” Naruto flinched. “Admit it!”

“I—”

“You were enjoying not having to worry about being seen as a monster! Weren’t you!?”

“That’s not—”

“Don’t try and lie to me! I was stuck inside of you since the day you were born! I know how you work!” the fox raged, the rest of the surrounding men creating distance between themselves and the Nine-Tails.

“Obviously I was a little bit!” Naruto snapped back suddenly before he deflated. “Of course it would feel different without you... But why the hell are you mad!? I came after you didn’t I!? What the hell is your problem, you jerk!?”

“I almost got sealed again! That’s my problem!”

“And what’s so bad about that!? No one is hunting you when you’re sealed right!?”

“Don’t tell me you expected me to just accept being sealed again!?” the fox roared as he burst into smoke, his fox form towering over the house and blond in front of him. “You runt! I ought’a eat you!”

The fox and four men froze as a large tree smashed into the water, all of them except Kakashi watching as it sank below the water.

“Shut up!” the woman shouted, the rest turning to look at her. Naruto was as white as a sheet, having seen the tree had been thrown past them, barely missing him by a few inches. “Just leave! To think you still think I’m too weak to handle myself! And I can’t believe you even thought about resealing Kurama! Just get the hell out of here!”

“Sakura! The old lady is going to put you on the wanted list! If you come back soon she won’t! I’m trying to help!”

“She can go right ahead!” the woman yelled, seeming more tired of the situation than angry. “I am sick and tired of hearing the same thing every day! Of being turned down from missions and job opportunities!”

She placed her hand on her chest. “I beat a damn Akatsuki member! I think I deserve a little bit of respect!”

“What— Sakura! Don’t be so selfish!” Naruto snapped.

“Selfish? Selfish!? I haven’t been on a mission in a year! None of my applications are accepted! I’ve applied to work at the hospital over a dozen times and they told me they had everything under control!” she clenched her hands into fists. “I wasn’t even told about the mission all of you went on!”

“That’s ’cause you’ve been busy! Everybody knows that you’re still training under the old lady!”

“I finished that training two years ago! You bastard! Don’t mess with me! I’ve been struggling to make ends meet and Kakashi has had to loan me money tens of times so I could keep my apartment!”

Sai looked to Kakashi in surprise to find the man with his arms crossed, a look of disdain on his face.

“I realized I had been paying less attention to her progress compared to yours and Sasuke’s a long time ago. I apologized. The rest of the village hasn’t seemed to realize they treat her poorly, even after being told about what they’re doing,” the older man explained.

“She’s the medic of the team!” Naruto defended, earning a glare from his teacher.

“That doesn’t make her any less of a person! Or a kunoichi!” he retorted. “She’s being treated similar to the way you were when you were a child! You of all people should see what she’s going through.”

“I am finally tired of people ignoring my achievements. Konoha is so inadvertently toxic and I refuse to take that kind of treatment any longer,” Sakura finished, crossing her arms.

“I don’t want to have to fight you, Sakura...” Naruto muttered.

“Don’t worry,” Kakashi started, the others were surprised when he abruptly had his hand over his ex-student’s eyes, “you won’t have to.”

The others watched for a few moments as the two were quiet before Naruto slowly fell backward, a small cloud of dirt puffing upward as he hit the ground.

“Those hand signs were for a Yamanaka clan jutsu,” Sai muttered in surprise.

“I’ll explain later,” the older man interrupted, turning back toward them. Sakura gave him a concerned look regarding how much chakra he had just used, sweat collecting on his face. “I’ll be fine...”

He took a breath. “He won’t remember he found us or that he headed toward this area. I’d suggest we get him out of here before tomorrow.”

A snore was heard from the blond and Kakashi made his way inside.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Kosai sat at the table with Inari, resting his head on the wood. He let out a sigh as he watched Sai paint on the deck. Kakashi apparently used way too much chakra on whatever he had done to Naruto and had been sleeping since the previous afternoon, Sakura keeping a close eye on him.

Inari didn’t manage to get much more information out of his mother about his chakra being sealed or his kekkei genkai. He decided to give up for the time being, Tazuna not knowing enough about it to be able to question her. Sai and Sakura stayed up late the night before to write letters to some people back in Konoha.

Kosai wondered if he should write a note to Kurenai and Mirai. His little cousin was sure to be sad about him dying. Kurenai as well, of course. He decided against it in the end, as it was not as though they would never meet again and he didn’t have much happy news to share with them, except for the fact he was alive.

Tazuna had gone into town and Tsunami was getting ready to prepare lunch. Iro would be coming over that day with the help of someone from town.

“All right, I finished re-reading the chapter!” Inari grinned, closing the textbook. Kosai made a poor attempt to look over to him. “Think we could get some practice in before Iro gets here?”

“Hmm? Yeah... Sure...”

“Are you thinking about Konoha?” Inari asked with a frown.

Kosai gave a heavy sigh, sitting up in his seat and slouching his shoulders.

“Yeah... I’m just thinking about what’s going to happen.”

Inari’s frown deepened and he thought with him for a bit before he gave a grin in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“Why don’t we go ask Kurama if he can show us some cool jutsu we’ve never seen before? When he gets back, I mean.”

Kosai perked up at the thought and his shoulders lifted slightly.

“Sure, that sounds fun.”

Chapter Text

Konoha shinobi gathered around the eastern gate because the Nine-Tails was sighted. It was an understatement to say most of the people there were fearful of what could happen. There were no set strategies to defend the village from a tailed-beast, even if there was an attack nineteen years prior. Many of the onlooking shinobi took note the fox was smaller than it was the time before.

Shikamaru watched the fox from the top of the gate with Ino and Shino next to him.

“Where’s Sakura?” Shino whispered. “She should have reached Kurama long before Naruto did.”

“You’re right. I can’t imagine Kurama waiting a month for Naruto to return,” Neji pointed out as he and Tenten joined the three of them.

“Let’s just see what he’s here for... This past month has been such a bother...” Shikamaru grumbled as he lit a cigarette.

“Wow, you’re smoking now of all times?” Ino asked with false humor. Tenten gave her blonde friend a worried glance, knowing just how concerned she was about both Sai and Sakura.

Tenten sighed as she dropped down to the ground before making her way toward the large fox. Kurama gave a growl but became silent when the woman gave a bow before straightening up and looking him in the eye.

“Kurama, have you seen Sakura?”

The fox only stared at her for a few moments until he lunged at her. She let out a startled scream as she was picked up by one of his tails before being thrown at a tree. Her back connected with the bark and she fell to the ground, letting out another yell just before her face hit the dirt.

“Tenten!” Neji yelled, running to her side.

“I-I’m fine,” she groaned, pushing up off the dirt and brushing herself off. “I think I just startled him. Don’t attack!”

She didn’t feel any hostility from him. Granted, he just threw her into a tree, but she was sure he could have sent her flying through a dozen or so if he really wanted to.

“What business do you have here!?” Tsunade asked, touching down not too far from him. Kurama held out his fist above the ground before dropping something. Everyone was shocked to see Naruto. “What did you do!?”

His tails began to move, showing he was uncomfortable being where he was.

“He was being annoying,” he rumbled. “Now for the second matter.”

He threw forward a smaller object.

“Neji, what did he just throw?” Tenten asked, as she was unable to see.

“It’s Sakura’s forehead protector...” he muttered, already having activated his byakugan to get a glance himself. Tenten looked at her best friend in surprise.

“What? You mean...”

“She’s gone rogue. There’s a slash through it.”

Her face turned from surprise to serious as she looked back over to the confrontation.

“Good,” she spat. “What’s going on now?”

“Tsunade is just questioning him, he’s not responding.” Both of them felt an injection of adrenalin as Tsunade shot forward, but the moment she hit him he dispersed into a cloud of smoke. The Hokage let out a yell of frustration and broke a tree in half before moving to Naruto. Neji gave a small laugh, causing his friend to raise a brow. “Naruto is just sleeping, apparently.”

Tenten looked past him as Ino, Shikamaru, and Shino approached.

“Tenten! You okay?” Ino asked, checking her for any damage. After clarifying she was fine, she stood, brushing herself off.

“Why don’t we all head to my house for a bit?” the brunette asked, placing her hands on her hips as she gave a smile

“I was doing something with my dad, so maybe—” Shikamaru started, only to be cut off.

“Why don’t we all head to my house for a bit?” she repeated, a bead of sweat collecting on the man’s cheek.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Ino and Tenten discussed something as they entered the front garden of an old home of a unique design. It was similar when compared to the clan compounds, but it had much more flare. The pillars were carved and painted a bright red, and the roofing was a vivid green.

“This is where you live?” Shikamaru asked.

“Well this is weird, I pass this house every day,” Ino said.

“Not surprising,” Shino added.

“You guys have really never been over here?” Neji asked, confusion clear on his features. “Even you Ino?”

“She usually comes over to my place…” Ino muttered. “She always said her house wasn’t clean enough.”

“Well, that’s because I’m the only one who lives here,” Tenten shrugged. “I never knew my parents, but they left me this house and a caretaker. Hashi died a few years ago though, so it’s just me. Hard to keep such a big place clean enough for guests.”

After the group entered, Tenten locked the large wooden doors behind them and they made their way down a hall before entering another small garden. The two girls and Neji took their seats on the grass while Shino and Shikamaru decided on the stairs leading down from the deck.

“So, what did you want us to come over for?” Ino asked. Tenten turned to Neji and tapped the corner of her eye. He raised a brow but complied, activating his byakugan. After a searching the area, he deactivated his eyes and shook his head. Tenten gave a nod and reached down to the pouch that was strapped to her thigh.

“Okay, so when Kurama picked me up I think he put something in my pouch,” she said as she opened it, beginning to search around. “And even if nothing’s in here I think we should still discuss what’s going on and what to do.”

“Wait, he put something in your kunai pouch?” Shikamaru asked, sitting up a bit as he became intrigued.

“It felt like he did, anyway. Ah! He did! Look!” she exclaimed, pulling out a scroll about the size of her thumb. It was white with a small red seal. “Maybe it’s from Sakura?”

“It was quite a show to put on just to put that in your pouch,” Shino put forward.

“Well he had to throw me or else it wouldn’t look like we were enemies,” Tenten shrugged. Shikamaru gave a sigh.

“I guess that might be something that could happen, but I still don’t understand the entire situation. Why would he bring Naruto back to the village? We can assume Kurama’s real body is with Sakura since he brought her headband, but does this mean Naruto found them?”

“It’s possible he just happened upon them,” Shino offered as he played with a beetle.

“Do you think Naruto had an idea of where she went at all?” Neji asked. Shino looked up at him.

“He isn’t as close with her as he used to be, so I don’t think he still has a good sense of how she thinks. But it’s possible they could have both headed to a place they trusted, even if it was for different reasons.”

“But how would she get him to leave?” Ino asked, resulting in a shrug from Shino.

“I’m gonna open this and see if it’s a note,” Tenten muttered as the rest continued to debate. She undid the seal on the scroll and unrolled it, only to let out a yelp as a puff of smoke appeared.

“Lady Katsuyu!?” Ino asked, surprised at seeing the ex-summon of the Hokage was what the scroll held. She picked the slug up and greeted it. “It’s been so long! What were you doing in that scroll?”

“I’ve come to deliver messages from Lady Sakura,” Katsuyu spoke in her whispering voice. “I have one for each of you, and another for Ino.”

Small scrolls began to faze out from her body before falling onto the grass. Each had a name written on it and the group distributed them to the correct person before opening them. Tenten’s eyes softened as she read through hers. The now rogue kunoichi wished her well before telling her she would be welcomed at any time.

Sakura and Tenten had the same struggles within the village for quite some time and ended up coming together to attempt to overcome Konoha’s blinded view of them. But try as they might, it never came to fruition. There were too many obstacles. Truth be told, they actually went to the foreign affairs office to try to move to another hidden village. Sakura even tried for a third time a week before she left, Tenten remembered. But they were turned down each time, for poor excuses or the office just not having enough time for the paperwork.

Tenten looked down at her knees and she became lost in thought. She actually could leave and have someone with her... She wouldn’t be alone…

“Mine talked about Kurama coming back at the end of the week,” Shino whispered. Tenten came back to where she was.

“She must have said it in all of ours,” Shikamaru muttered. Tenten’s mentioned Kurama as well, of course, but she didn’t even think about it. A week was too long. “She’s aware of what each of us has been going through... I wouldn’t be surprised if at least three of us left...”

His mind drifted off before he came back. “So Ino, what was the second one?”

“Ah, I don’t know...” She picked it up and opened it, reading through a bit of it before her eyes teared up. “Sai...?”

“Sai is with her?” Neji asked, giving a relieved sigh as Ino nodded in confirmation.

“Well, apparently he’s okay,” Tenten teased after she read the note over the blonde’s shoulder, poking her arm. Ino quickly covered her cheeks with the small scroll. “Com’on! You know you have to tell him now! We thought he was dead!”

Ino placed her hand on the other woman’s face and shoved her away, Tenten only laughing.

“I... I have a confession to make....” the blonde muttered, refusing to make eye contact with any of the group. “We’ve been going out for a while now....”

Tenten paused.

“Wait, really?” Shikamaru asked in surprise.

“Since when!?” the brunette demanded, suddenly hugging the other woman though she was still being pushed away with a hand on her face.

“W-well we’ve been going on dates since last year’s New Year festival....”

“Why have you not informed me!?” Tenten cried.

“It was pretty obvious if you saw them at the right times,” Shino threw in. Ino’s face grew a darker shade of pink.

“Ah! Now that you mention it...” Tenten pulled away and held her chin in thought. “I have seen them walking around together a lot.”

She placed her hand on her face. “I must be slow…”

“It’s fine, Tenten,” Ino consoled.

“Does it say anything else about the situation?” Shikamaru asked. Ino looked back down at the scroll and scanned her eyes over it again, but shook her head.

“No... Not really, he just says he wants to ask me something if I end up going to meet with him...”

Chapter Text

Ino rolled up the scroll again and held it in her hands, the others noticing she pumped a small amount of chakra into it. She then unrolled the scroll again to show off a lovely painting of a lily. At the bottom it had grass and going up it had the lily, then the sky. Which slowly went from day to night as it moved toward the top of the scroll.

“I love you too...” she whispered before rolling it up and placing it in her pouch.

“That’s so sweet,” Tenten cooed, clutching her hands together. Ino ignored her pestering and stood up.

“I’m leaving. Who’s going with me?” she stated. Shikamaru sighed.

“What a bother... I’d go too, but I have some problems forming with my relationship if I do...”

“You mean... Do you not know about it?” Shino asked, looking at the man on the steps next to him.

“It’s interesting they keep things from those involved with them...” Neji muttered to himself.

“I’d assumed it leaked out to you by now, Shikamaru...” Shino paused. “Gaara was chased out of Sunagakure two months ago after being accused with leaking information to other villages.”

The three who didn’t already know about the event froze, Shikamaru’s hand gripping at the edge of the deck.

“Where’s Tamari?” he asked.

“Once she and Kankuro found out, they immediately left. They’re rogue-nin.”

“Why the hell would they keep that from me...?” Shikamaru growled as he put his head in his hands. It was quiet for a few moments before he gave a long sigh. “All right, I’m in.”

“Me too,” Shino grumbled. “I’m getting sick of the way people are treating my friends here.”

“I’m going too,” Tenten stated as she also stood, dusting off her pants. “If I keep trying to leave the right way, I’ll never get out.”

Neji gave a sigh as he stared at the grass in front of him.

“I’ll go as well. I’m tired of all the side branch toxicity.” Tenten was happy her best friend was coming with her, though she would come to regret her oversight.

“Then that’s that,” Ino smiled, placing her hands on her hips. “We have the rest of the week until we leave.”

“Do we just leave or fake our deaths?” Tenten asked, placing her finger on her chin in thought. The only thing she received in return was confusion and a sigh from Neji as he expected something as weird as that to come from her.

“How would you even do that?” Ino asked, giving her friend a blank stare.

“Well, first I’d seal my house, then I’d make a copy, and then I’d set it on fire,” Tenten counted out on her fingers.

“Make a copy?” Shino questioned.

“Yeah, when I was younger my caretaker taught me a jutsu that can seal buildings and create a genjutsu copy in their place if I choose. I actually have a scroll containing a few abandoned castles I’ve come across on missions,” she smiled.

“Wait, you still have them?” Neji asked, getting a nod in return. Tenten took in the confused expressions around her and gave a nervous laugh, scratching the back of her head.

“Sorry. I’ve never really told you guys about that, have I?”

“I think it’s best if we fake our deaths, that way no one would look for us,” Ino put forward. “I know Dad will be heartbroken... but we’re not actually going to die... I can get back in touch with him somehow and let him know I’m all right.”

“I’ll just go rogue. It’s the easiest for me,” Shino said as he played with two beetles.

“Same for me,” Neji agreed. The two began discussing how they would leave. Tenten turned to Ino, and they began on their own plan.

“Why don’t you come over for a sleepover a couple days before Kurama comes, but in the night my house suddenly catches on fire?” she asked, emphasizing the flames with her hands. Ino thought for a few moments before giving a sad nod.

“Sounds like a plan, I’ll pack my stuff into a scroll.”

“I’ll leave on a mission,” Shikamaru muttered. “Hey Shino, do you know what direction they went in leaving Sunagakure?”

“If I remember correctly, it was southwest.”

“Thanks, I’ll be going to get a mission today. I’ll be gone by tomorrow, but we can meet in the Land of Waves. It’s the only place that kind of lily grows, so it’s probably where they are,” he said, pointing to Ino’s pouch. After they straightened everything out, they split up and the days passed quickly.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Ino was on her way over to the Nara compound. She told Choji about their plan, but he didn’t want to leave his family, though he would keep it a secret. He told her he might join them in a year or so. Ino stepped up to the front door of the Nara household before knocking a few times, waiting before she heard a voice from inside allowing her entrance.

She stepped inside to find Shikaku sitting at the table of the main room reading a book. He glanced up and gave a lazy smile.

“Hey there, Ino. Yoshino’s out at the moment. What did you need?” The instructions Shikamaru gave her were replayed in her head. She smiled and approached him, holding out a scroll. “Hm? What’s this?”

“Before he left, he told me to give you this, I’ve been busy recently but could finally stop by,” she explained as he took the scroll. “He said not to read it until next week though.”

She shrugged, giving a roll of her eyes to clarify her annoyance. Shikaku dawned a confused expression but shrugged it off.

“Well, I guess there’s a reason, so I’ll have to hide it from Yoshino,” he chuckled.

“Mr Shikaku, Choji asked me to get something Shikamaru had while I was here. May I go get it?”

“Sure go ahead,” he nodded. “But you mind me asking what it is?”

She gave a huff, glad she came up with an excuse before arriving.

“A bag of chips he’d left in here last week.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” he sighed. She bowed and walked past him to Shikamaru’s room. Upon reaching his room, she gently closed the door and began sealing certain items into a scroll. Although halfway through, she heard footsteps coming from down the hall.

“Uh oh, um, uh, quick! What do I do?” Her brain clicked as she remembered a certain genjutsu she had learned from a woman she went on a mission with a few years back. She quickly cast it and acted as though she was still searching for the bag of chips. Shikaku came through the door with a curious look.

“Still haven’t found it? Oh, you’ve turned the room upside down...” he laughed. Ino gave an annoyed huff.

“Shikamaru moved it and now I don’t know where to look! Ah! I know!” She crouched down and looked under the bed and pulled out a bag of chips she planted. “Of course, he’d just shove it under the bed!”

She fake-seethed. Shikaku chuckled, and she looked around before giving a sigh. “I’ll put things back...”

“Well, I’ll be in the back garden. If you need anything else, just come get me.”

She nodded and smiled.

“Thank you, Mr Shikaku.”

He walked out of the room and disappeared around the corner. She quickly released the genjutsu and finished packing. She then exited the room and made her way to the back garden. Shikaku was reading his book, though he glanced up as he realized she was approaching.

“Just wanted to let you know I was done, I’ll be on my way,” she said as she turned to leave.

“Ino.”

She froze, suddenly having to tell herself to stay calm.

“Y-yes?” she asked, turning to see him looking at her.

“Why don’t you and your dad come over for dinner tomorrow? Yoshino has been wanting to ask you.”

She gave an internal sigh of relief and put on a coy smile.

“I’m sorry, but I was planning on being at Tenten’s tomorrow.”

“Maybe some other time then?”

She agreed, telling him she would let her father know and left. Once outside, she ran directly to Tenten’s house, throwing open the door and slamming it behind her before she turned and placed her hands on her knees.

“Oh my god! I thought I’d been caught!” she yelled, finally releasing the adrenaline in her. Tenten came into the room and looked at her like she was crazy.

“Doing what?”

“Getting Shikamaru’s things from his room,” Ino breathed, throwing the scroll at the other woman who caught it.

“Now you just need to get your things together by tomorrow night,” she laughed as she placed a hand on her hip. Ino collected herself before standing up straight.

“Already done.”

“Really?” Tenten asked, clearly skeptical. “Doesn’t your dad walk into your room sometimes? What happens when there’s nothing in there?”

The two began to make their way to another part of the house.

“Well, I went to Sai’s place the other day to pack his things, but his apartment’s pretty much empty! I’ll have to ask how they got their things because Sakura’s place is empty too.”

“Ino, you’re off-topic.”

“Right. I’m not taking any of my furniture like you are. Just clothes, trinkets, and things. I decided I’ll just store my things somewhere else,” the blonde shrugged.

“Like with Sai’s things?” Tenten asked smugly. Ino halted in her thoughts.

“I— er.”

“But where are you gonna sleep?” The brunette’s grin grew larger. “Wait, I know—”

“Shut up!” Ino snapped, fighting her red dusted cheeks.

“You two are such a cute match! I just can’t help it!”

“Yeah, well, we have to find you a man. Then you’ll have him to gush over,” Ino smirked. Tenten paused for a moment, then waved her hands in front of her.

“Not interested,” she blurted, causing the blonde to laugh.

Chapter Text

“Dad! I’m heading over to Tenten’s now! Bye!” Ino informed as she left through the front door of her family’s flower shop, hearing him call back from behind her as the door shut. She made her way down the street and looked around at the people going about their days.

“How can they be this happy when people have gone missing?” she asked herself. Deciding to stop thinking about it, she gave a sigh and began her run to Tenten’s home.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

“So you’re saying you and Tenten aren’t going out?” Shino asked, earning a shake of his friend’s head. He and Neji were waiting for Tenten’s house to begin to burn, as that was what they decided upon for a signal to depart. The group decided to leave the day before Kurama returned because, for some of them, one more day would be torture.

“No, we are not,” the Hyuga confirmed. “We actually went on a date once, but we decided we weren’t a match. It only stayed in a friendly atmosphere. We have more of a best friend thing.”

“Interesting.”

“It may sound harsh, but I can’t imagine the guy she’ll end up with.”

“Why’s that?”

“You didn’t hear this from me. But whenever we go on missions, she will always check-out the men we come across,” Neji muttered. Shino stifled a laugh. “But she’s shy whenever she gets hit on, so she’s rather weird.”

“That’s true friendship right there,” the Aburame teased before they both spotted the house glow.

“That’s the signal. I’ll see you in the Land of Waves,” Neji whispered before they both moved from the tree, Neji himself heading for the east side of the village. He reached the wall before quickly scaling it, jumping off into the trees upon reaching the top. He did not take any time to rest as he took to the trees, darting away from the village.

They split up to make it harder on the tracking shinobi. If they were to run into opponents, they were on their own. After going through all the possible issues, they decided upon each taking a highly different route. Ino went southeast and Tenten, southwest. They would later meet up and make their way directly to the Land of Waves. Neji, on the other hand, would at first go south and later turn southeast, heading to the Land of Noodles. He would then make his way north by boat. Shino went northwest to throw off the tracking shinobi if he had any. After losing them, he would head to the Land of Hot Springs and island-hop down to the Land of Waves. In conclusion, were the plans to go smoothly, Neji would be the last to arrive.

Activating his doujutsu, he searched the surrounding area. He counted three shinobi and two dogs on his trail about three-hundred and forty meters away. He quickly searched for a body of water ahead of him, finding one just on the outstretches of his sight, that being around eight-hundred meters. After what seemed like a few minutes, he reached the river and landed on the water’s surface before he dropped himself into a shallow area, the liquid reaching his waist. Climbing back onto its surface, he began to run eastbound. He counted himself to be lucky as the river was running in the direction he needed to go.

A few minutes later, upon checking on the whereabouts of the shinobi, he found they went south across the river.

“I’ve lost them. Good.” He relaxed his pace, prioritizing chakra to his eyes over his feet for the time being.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

A week passed by the time Neji reached the border of the Land of Noodles. He stopped by a village to restock on food and ask around for a fishing village.

“Shino should be island hopping by now, and the girls should already be there...” he mumbled to himself, picking out some oranges from a pile in a small food shop. After purchasing them, he asked the clerk about a place he might find a boat to take him north. He learned there was a small village not far to the east which had boats that frequently took people to the Land of Waves. He thanked the clerk and exited the building to be met with people looking at the roof above him. Upon activating his byakugan, he let out a sigh. He turned to a woman who was standing just next to him and asked if she could hold onto his bag for a moment before he jumped up to the roof.

He held back a sigh of irritation as he came to look upon Rock Lee and Might Gai. The two were whispering about youth as they always did, though the whispering was more of a talking volume. Granted, that was not new either. They finally spotted the other man and their eyes visually bulged out of their heads.

“How did he find us, Teacher Gai!?” Lee shouted.

“I’m not sure Lee, but we must take him back to the village now!” the older man responded.

“But Teacher! How can we defeat him quickly!?”

“Lee, you have a way to go. Isn’t it obvious? With the power of youth!” Gai exclaimed, tears forming in his eyes.

“Oh, Teacher Gai! You’re right! I still have so much to learn!” Lee yelled, crying. They embraced each other, oblivious to Neji as he approached them. In one swift movement, he blocked all of their chakra points and they fell to the ground. He made a point to hit the ones near their mouths, making it so they would cease to annoy the population for the time being. He reverted his eyes and gave a sigh of annoyance. It would have been a hassle if had to actually fight them. He was glad they let their guards down.

“Imbeciles.” Dropping off the roof, he landed next to the woman who agreed to hold his bag for him, thanking her and taking it back. He turned to the crowd which gathered. “If they ask where I’ve gone, please tell them I went west. These creeps have been chasing me for weeks, and I’ve only now gotten the opportunity to attack them.”

The crowd nodded unanimously before they went back to what they were doing.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Around the same time, Shino sat on a small fishing boat which was headed directly to the Land of Waves. The ship would soon be arriving at the port. The man sat on a crate watching the water go by when he heard orders beginning to be shouted from different parts of the vessel. A few men rushed by him and he stood, catching another one by the arm as he felt the ship begin to turn.

“What’s happening?” the shinobi asked.

“The village, it’s burning!” the fisherman yelled as he pointed in the direction of the island. Shino turned his eyes to see pillars of smoke and flames from the settlement in the distance.

“So you’re turning around?”

“That means it’s probably under attack! We would love to help them, but we can’t!”

“Tell your captain to keep heading there. I’ll take care of the attackers and when you get there help me find all the survivors.”

After a moment, the fisherman nodded and ran away. Shino jumped over the side of the boat and landed on the water before darting toward the island.

As he grew closer, he could sense there were shinobi in the village. He released some chakra-draining beetles and began heading along the coast to a tall house which sat next to the water. There were many chakra signatures in the building and he began moving faster as a wall of the house blew out. As he grew closer, he heard yelling from the inside, the voices sounding panicked. He forced himself to go faster in the last stretch and came to a halt upon reaching the large hole in the wall.

He quickly analyzed the situation, seeing a woman being backed into a corner by two men, a boy being held by another, and an old man being held by two. As the boy yelled for the men to leave his mother alone, Shino created a shadow clone.

“Com’on kid, we just wanna’ have a little fun,” the man holding him cackled. Shino’s clone shot at the man holding the boy and he himself jumped at the two going after the woman. Upon being released, the teen ran at the two holding the old man at the same time Shino did. The two men were dispatched, clearly not having been too skilled. Shino noted the boy was pretty quick with a kunai and wondered where he obtained the one he possessed. When the old man was released, he ran over to the woman who was sat in the corner crying, obviously shaken from the experience.

“Tsunami!” he cried, bringing her into a hug which she reciprocated. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I couldn’t protect you! What kind of father am I!?”

Shino looked at the boy who was much more collected than the other two. The Aburame made note of this, seeing great potential for him if he ever wished to be a shinobi.

“What’s happening here?” the newcomer asked. The boy quickly gave a bow in thanks and looked up, only for his expression to grow angry as his eyes landed on the man’s forehead protector.

“Why are you here?!”

“What?” Shino’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“We don’t need Konoha’s help!” he shouted, becoming defensive. The teens words clicked in the man’s mind. Reaching up, Shino used his kunai to put a slash through the symbol for the Leaf Village. The teen looked at him in surprise.

“Thank you for reminding me. I defected from Konoha to meet with a friend. Do you happen to know if a pink haired woman has been around this area?”

“You’re one of Sakura’s friends?” the younger male asked, skeptical.

“You know her then. Kurama sent us a letter—”

“Oh, alright,” he nodded, believing him. “Well, her and the others went to Arashijima two weeks ago. They said they’d be coming back about now.”

The teen shook his head quickly. “But we have a big problem right now!”

He pulled something from his pocket and handed it to the older male. Shino looked down to find a green headband with a forehead protector engraved with a star. “You said you’re here to join Sakura, right?”

The young man gave a nod. “Then welcome to Arashigakure. Questions can wait ‘till later. I’m still a shinobi in training, so I’m probably gonna’ need your help to take out the bandits.”

“Right.” Shino gave another nod and replaced his old protector with the one he was given. “Let’s go.”

As they turned to get the other two out of the house, the man the boy took down began forming hand signs as he stood.

“Get out, now!” Shino yelled, jumping over to the two in the corner and breaking down the sliding doors which were just next to them. The enemy let out a yell, completing the jutsu he was performing.

“Fire Style! Great Beyond!”

Chapter Text

The three breached the surface of the water to find the house engulfed in flames.

“Inari!” the woman screamed in panic.

Movement came from the front yard of the house and the boy stood, resting his hands on his knees.

“Mom! I’m fine!” he yelled between ragged breaths. Shino climbed on top of the water and pulled the woman up, taking her to shore before going back for the old man. The woman brought her son into a tight hug.

“This is a terrible jutsu. It’s self-immolating,” Shino stated as he turned to the three of them. “I want you to hide in the woods. If these guys are this powerful, then one can only assume the rest are on par.”

“You took out the leader. He said so himself, the other guys followed him,” the old man said as he stood up. He looked like he was ready to die before letting the from before happen again. Shino thought for a few moments.

“Very well,” the shinobi looked to the boy, “Inari. Was that your name? You come with me.”

Shino ran off, Inari following close behind before either his mother or grandfather had time to protest. “You can be quick.”

The shinobi said this because Inari was able to keep up with him. The teen nodded.

“I’ve been training myself in taijutsu for years, I only recently started with chakra.”

“I see. You did well back there, but touch up your aim. You need to aim for the center of the chest.”

“Right!”

They reached the village to find the townspeople fighting with the attackers. One man close to them saw Inari and yelled for him to run away.

“Not a chance!” the teen exclaimed as he killed an attacker who was about to ambush said man from behind. “This is good practice for me!”

He ran off to surprise and attack more invaders.

“Well, he has potential,” the Aburame observed again. The man noticed him and gave him a wary look.

“I’ve never seen you before. Who are you?” His face turned from worry to question quite fast upon seeing the head plate. “Ah, excuse me, I didn’t know you were a shinobi of Arashigakure.”

“Can you tell me what is happening?”

“It’s a group of missing-nin, they’ve been coming by every few months demanding tribute. But today we fought back. We’re sick and tired of them. But maybe we should have waited until the group was back from the island...”

“You mean Arashijima?”

“Yes... Are you sure you’re a shinobi of Arashi?”

“I only arrived here today, but yes,” he confirmed as he raised his arms. Clouds of beetles flew from his sleeve, breaking off into different directions. The man yelped and backed away, understandably creeped out by so many bugs coming from inside another person’s clothing. “My name is Aburame Shino, nice to meet you.”

“Tenshu... Hikuzaki Tenshu...”

Shino left him shortly after as he felt Ino and Tenten’s chakra signatures.

He reached what looked to be the main road, though a few buildings were collapsed, and found close to twenty invaders fighting around fifteen townspeople and the girls. From where his beetles were, on the other hand, it seemed there was a standoff in a building down the street. He headed past the girls, who noticed him but proceeded in their battles before he came to a fabric shop and entered through the broken-down door.

Inside, there was a single female invader holding an elderly woman hostage against three men, Shino noticing Inari was in front of them.

“Don’t you dare hurt Lady Iro!” one of the men yelled, wooden pole in hand. The woman cackled.

“Oh, please! What can this old hag possibly be to have the title of lady?” She jumped forward, stabbing one of the men in the arm, causing him to yell out as he grabbed the wound after she retreated slightly. “I think I’ll just kill her! Then you can all be my worshipers!”

Shino lunged and blocked the kunai the invader planned to plunge into the elderly woman. The enemy woman became startled by the sudden interference. “What?! There’s no shinobi here!”

She screamed as Inari stabbed her in the back before she fell to the floor, dead.

“Thank you, boys...” the old woman worried. “But you didn’t have to fight for me! You are all much more important than myself. You all have your lives ahead of you.”

Two of the men moved the woman’s body as the third came to help protect the elderly woman.

“No, you’re really important!” Inari said, facing the door and gripping his kunai. “You were appointed by Sakura to be an elder of the village.”

“You’re an elder?” Shino asked as he took inventory of how many fights were still going on.

“Well yes, Sakura appointed me to that position, but I’m not worth your lives,” she grumbled, as she wrapped some fabric around the injured man’s arm.

“Nonsense, a village elder is an important position. If you were chosen you must have the knowledge of one. You’re here to help make decisions, and that’s invaluable,” the Aburame deduced. The old woman smiled at his statement before he turned to the men and Inari. “I’ll take over the protection of the elder, you four go help the others with the rest.”

They nodded and left.

“So who might you be?” the woman asked. “I am Nashigaki Iro.”

He turned to the woman and bowed.

“Aburame Shino, jounin. Kurama contacted me and four others.”

“Well, I see you have a forehead protector already. Do you like it?”

“Yes, I suppose. It’s a nice quality,” he muttered, unsure of her question.

“Well, I’m glad. It took me three days to make twenty of those.”

“You made these? That’s impressive.”

“Why thank you. I assume you got that from Inari?”

“Yes.”

“Well, you’ll have to give your friends theirs too, where might they be?”

“One of them is to the west of the Land of Fire, he’s searching for three of our friends,” he informed, turning and throwing a kunai at an intruder who entered the shop. He turned back to her after confirming the kill. “Two are just outside and the fourth is on his way.”

“I see… It seems things have quieted down outside.” As she finished her sentence Tenten and Ino walked through the door trailed by two of the men from before and Inari. When their eyes landed on the new arrival, they ran at him and pounced.

“Shino!” Tenten cheered.

“You made it!” Ino followed.

“Please get off of me,” he grunted, having been pinned on the floor by both women. They both laughed in apology and got off of him, the brunette helping him back up.

“So is this Lady Iro?” Ino asked as she approached the elderly woman.

“Yes,” the two men confirmed. The girls bowed and straightened back up.

“It’s a pleasure, my name is Tenten.”

“And I’m Ino.”

“Ahhh, so you’re the one,” Iro said as she looked at the blonde.

“Eh?” She gave a perky and confused look. “I’m the what?”

“Nothing, nothing. I’ve just heard a lot about you. Now,” her face turned serious, “we must find everyone. Bring everyone here, critically injured go to the second floor, mildly stay here with me. If in the unfortunate event you find any deceased, lay them outside around the side of the building and cover them with some of the fabric closest to the door. Questions?”

“What about the bodies of the intruders?” Shino questioned.

“Lay them out back.”

They all nodded and got to work.

Chapter Text

Ino was stationed to help heal small wounds, but unfortunately, many people were in a critical condition or worse. At that point, the count of casualties was sixteen, and it had only been an hour. The problem was, it should not have been taking so long to find everyone. There had probably only been around forty people there from what she saw.

“I thought this town was supposed to be large,” she muttered as she healed the cuts on a girl’s arm. The girl had brown hair a bit darker than Tenten’s which went down to her mid-back. She wore civilian clothes and she seemed slightly interested in the healing process going on inside her arm.

“It was for a few years... then everyone just moved out. It’s such a shame more people didn’t stay,” she frowned. “I moved here from the Land of Fire a few years ago. When it started shrinking, I stayed.”

She pushed some of her hair behind her ear. “I fell in love with this place, but it seems we’ll be leaving soon.”

“Because of the attack?” Ino asked, looking up to meet her green eyes.

“No, the lady is taking all of us to Arashijima. Didn’t you know?”

Ino paused in her healing as she had a revelation.

“Wait, does this lady have pink hair and jade green eyes? Giant forehead with a purple diamond?”

“Um…” The young woman gave Ino a look which was a bit off put. “I don’t really know exactly what she looks like. I’ve only heard the gossip around town. I know she has pink hair?”

“Ah, well, that’s unfortunate,” the blonde sighed, going back to her work.

“But you can ask around. I’m sure other people know what she looks like.”

“Do you know where she is? I actually came here to meet someone and I think it might be her.”

“Two weeks ago Lady Iro handed off the key she’d been keeping for decades. The woman she handed off to and the people she was with went into the Sea of Eternal Storms. They should be coming back soon.”

“They went into the... what?” Ino asked.

“It’s known as the Sea of Eternal Storms. It’s a small area north of here which has had a storm going for longer than anyone can remember. Lady Iro tells the story she learned from her ancestors about how it’s actually a wall of storms surrounding the island rather than just a massive cloud.”

The blonde nodded.

“So what happens when they come back?”

“Lady Iro has talked about making a village, everyone is pretty excited to go there.”

“You’re going to make a village there? That sounds like a lot of work.”

“A lot of people have become interested in becoming shinobi after this whole thing with paying to keep our village safe. Lady Iro put forward the idea of a hidden village and everyone was for it.”

“A hidden island is a pretty good place for one,” Ino laughed. “Are you interested in being a shinobi?”

“Not so much the fighting as what you’re doing.”

“Healing?”

“Yes... I’ve always liked the idea but I was never really able to learn much to become a real doctor.”

“I can teach you the small things if that’s what you want to know. The small things are what I’m good at,” Ino offered. The young woman lit up.

“Really? Thank you!”

“It’s no problem. I’m Ino by the way, it’s nice to meet you,” the blonde smiled.

“I’m Kirai.” Ino faltered slightly at the meaning of the name and Kirai gave a nervous laugh. “It’s unusual I know...”

“Sorry, I just—”

“No, it’s alright,” the brunette interrupted. “It happens every time. Um... Is there anything I could help with?”

“Now’s not the time to start with chakra, but could you help me with patients?”

“Of course.”

The two stood and were about to head over to help when Tenten approached them, the blonde noticing the woman wore a new headband.

“What’s that star?” Ino asked, thinking she recognized it from a few other places in the town.

“That’s the symbol of Arashi. Lady Iro says it means strength,” Kirai explained. Tenten nodded in confirmation.

“Shino gave it to me, here’s one for you.” She held out a purple headband which Ino took and tied around her neck. Tenten looked at Kirai. “Sorry it’s so sudden, but may I ask your name?”

“Kirai.”

The corners of the weapons expert’s lips tugged down in a frown.

“Oginku wanted me to inform you neither Hoshu or Shiso have been found yet...” The girl’s eyes widened and she went to make her way toward the door but Ino gently caught her arm.

“Kirai, the best thing for you to do is stay here,” she explained. “I understand you’re worried but there’s already many people looking for them. Let’s help the others.”

After a few moments, she gave a hesitant nod and walked over to a small group of children. Ino gave a sigh and looked at her friend. “This is such a terrible thing to happen to such a small village...”

Tenten gave a solemn nod of agreement before heading back outside. After making sure things were going as smoothly as they could downstairs, Ino went up to the second floor to check on the severely wounded.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

The day after the battle was not much different. There were still people missing, even though the number decreased. They found Hoshu and Shiso under the remains of Shiso’s home the morning after. Kirai did not take it well, and some other villagers stayed by her side. Neji arrived around mid-morning and helped with finding the remaining people along with Shino and the crew of the ship he came on. Ino, Tsunami, and some other women were helping keep the wounded stable. However, everyone was hoping for Sakura to return sooner than later, because she was the only one who could properly heal them.

Tenten helped carry a body around the back of the cloth shop before Ino came around the corner with a solemn expression. “What’s wrong?”

“Retsu has passed away, I’m very sorry for your loss,” she bowed. The man who was helping carry the body quickly made his way around the corner of the building before the blonde gave a sigh.

“I hope Sakura hurries...” Tenten whispered, Ino giving a nod of agreement.

“He passed from a heart condition. It was unavoidable. He would have passed with or without the attack,” the Yamanaka explained, hugging herself. Tenten placed her hand on the other woman’s shoulder in a gesture of comfort before yelling was heard from the second floor. The two looked at each other before running around the building. Ino went directly in and then up the stairs. The brunette paused when she caught a flash of dark orange out of the corner of her eye.

She turned to see nine large tails swirling around above a fallen building. Quickly, she hopped over the wreckage to find Kurama lifting up a wall, revealing a child and man. Kakashi was nearby. She hurried over and pulled them out into the road, checking their pulses before letting out a sigh of relief as she found they were alive.

“One of you get him and follow me!” she ordered as she picked up the child. Kakashi lifted the man over his shoulder as the large fox bounded over another collapsed building to find others in need of help. Tenten went back the way she came came and ran into Iro’s shop, followed closely by the now unmasked man. Hurrying up the stairs, she stopped as she saw Sakura working diligently on a woman who was wounded.

“Tenten! Over here!” She turned toward the voice of Ino to find her waving her toward the end of the room. Tenten quickly made her way over and laid the child down before Ino began to examine him. Kakashi set the man down shortly after, giving a nod before he left. “Who was that?”

“Teacher Kakashi, now focus.”

“Ah! Right!” She looked down at the boy again before her eyes snapped up to look at the other woman in shock. “Wait, what!?”

“Not now!” Tenten snapped. Ino huffed and went back to work as Tenten jogged back downstairs to find Konohamaru and Inari carrying a woman in through the door. “Konohama—”

She was cut off by a loud growl from outside.

“Kosai! You go see what’s wrong with Kurama! Me and the others can get her to the second floor!” Konohamaru nodded and ran out the door, Tenten quickly making her way down the steps.

“You know Konohamaru?” she asked as she checked on the woman.

“Call him Kosai, and yeah. Could you go check on Kurama, too?”

She gave a hesitant nod before running out the door as Inari and two children took the woman up the stairs.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Chapter 14 - Extended

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Once outside, Tenten headed toward the orange tails she could see over the buildings, arriving at an area on the coast where there was a collection of other people. She spotted Kakashi and Shino, along with Neji and a few men from the village, with Kurama the farthest away from the threat. The said threat was a large man with blond hair and gear similar to that worn by shinobi of Kumogakure. He held an over-sized sword in one hand and a woman by her neck in the other. He let out a laugh.

“So I see my first division was taken out by a bunch of pests. Seems I’ll have to take care of this nest myself.”

Upon seeing the woman could be harmed at any moment, Neji darted to the area behind the threat. The man’s eyes followed him. He went to turn around, but his eyes grew wide as he heard smoke pop from a scroll directly in front of him.

Tenten had charged silently, jumping before she released a wakizashi from one of her scrolls. In a swift slash, she severed the man’s arm, causing him to cry out in pain as his limb fell to the ground along with the woman. Shino quickly swept her away and headed toward the clothing shop.

“You little bitch! How dare you! First my entire army and now my arm! You will all pay! All of yo—” he stopped mid-sentence as Kakashi appeared in front of him.

“That means you’re the last one, right?” the silver-haired man asked.

The large man’s face turned white because he realized he revealed there were no more reinforcements. Kakashi took his reaction as confirmation before he plunged his chidori cloaked hand into the man’s chest. After making sure there were no other invaders in the immediate area, Kosai approached Tenten.

“That was cool!” he grinned. She resealed her sword and gave a nod of thanks as Neji approached as well.

“Akashi was the last one missing! Everyone is accounted for!” Tazuna hollered at the group. “Everyone head back to Lady Iro’s shop!”

They began making their way in the specified direction, but both Neji and Tenten stopped as they heard an eagle’s cry from behind them. Looking back, they found a bird painted from ink picking up the large man’s body, a smaller bird taking his arm. Tenten scanned the crowd of men and smiled as she found who she was looking for.

“Sai!” she called as she waved her hand in the air to gain his attention. The artist focused on them and waved back, making his way toward them as he gave a smile, startling the two. “Woah.”

“He’s been smiling a lot more ever since Big Sister Sakura helped us,” Kosai said, taking off his jacket. Tenten grimaced at the white line going down his arm. They looked to Sai and Kakashi as they stopped near them, Sai showing his arm.

“Thanks to Sakura I got to keep my arm,” he smiled. “She saved all of us.”

“See?” Kosai lifted his shirt, revealing three claw-like marks on his side. Tenten covered her mouth with her hand while Neji’s face held a look of discomfort.

“That looks like it was painful...” the Hyuga muttered.

“We would have died,” Kakashi stated plainly. “We would have bled out.”

Chapter Text

“Where did you get that...?” Neji asked, referring to the large scars on Kosai’s waist. Kakashi placed a hand on their shoulders and shook his head.

“I’m gonna’ go see who needs help with anything…” the boy muttered, clearly not wanting to talk about it. He turned and ran off toward the shop before Kakashi gave a sigh.

“He and his team were unknowingly passing by where we were. Ebisu went off to do who knows what, and an enemy found the three of them. They killed Moegi and Udon.”

Tenten placed her hand over her mouth again.

“Oh my god…”

“Ebisu said he watched all three of them die... Said a rock fell on them while they were fighting an enemy...” Neji growled. Kakashi tensed, though none of them were sure exactly why.

“You all go ahead…” the silver-haired man muttered, quickly turning and walking off.

“What?” Tenten whispered, looking to Sai, who only shrugged. The three of them began heading back.

“Kosai said Ebisu came back. He said he called out and Ebisu heard and looked at him, but he just turned and ran...” Sai explained quietly.

“I can’t believe this...” the woman muttered, placing her face in her hands before wiping her eyes.

“Sakura found him and chased Ebisu down. Said she punched him.” Both of the new arrivals winced. “Let’s change the subject, shall we…? I’m glad to see you three here.”

He gave a sad smile which told them he thought Ino did not come with them.

“Shikamaru left, too,” Tenten explained. “He’s searching for Temari and her brothers, then he’ll meet us here.”

“I see...”

They were in view of the shop now and could make out the purple outfit and blonde hair of the woman on the front porch. Though, Sai was looking down at the ground, sulking quietly. The blonde noticed them approaching and took a step forward.

“S-Sai!?”

His head snapped up to look at the woman who called his name. His eyes grew as he focused on her and his pace quickened.

“Ino?” he asked. She smiled and ran towards him.

“Sai!” She jumped into his arms and he spun her around to keep them from falling. “You’re okay! I was so worried!”

He buried his face in her neck.

“I’m so happy you came.”

“Tenten, your nose is bleeding...” Neji muttered. The brunette quickly covered her nose with her hand.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Those who were well enough to be up and about were sitting outside the cloth shop. Sakura finished up all of the operations which needed to be done. Meanwhile, Iro decided Koshu and herself would make everyone clothing as many people lost all of their belongings.

Sai, Ino, and Neji were sealing away the bodies so they could be kept until someone designated a proper burial place. Tenten and the members of the fishing crew Shino arrived with began to seal away buildings and the remnants of the rest of the village. Shino himself sat in the back room of Iro’s fabric shop with Sakura.

The woman smoothed out a rather simplistic map which looked like it could have been drawn by a child.

“So this is it—”

“Did Kono— Er… Did Kosai draw this?” he muttered. Sakura held back a laugh.

“Actually it was Kakashi.” Shino gave a snort of amusement before she continued. “Obviously, Sai would have done it, but we only needed a rough sketch and he would have taken too long. Plus, he was helping explore the huge ravine.”

As she said this, she pointed at the large black mark which spanned much of the island. Shino looked over the landmarks before one caught his attention.

“What is this? A volcano?” he asked as he placed his finger on the large mountain.

“No, it’s almost completely level at the top. It’s most likely a result of a jutsu or rare natural phenomenon. Same for the fissure. You can’t see the bottom and we saw a few caves in it.”

“Ah, is that what I think it is?” The two looked up from the map to find Iro entered the room holding a pile of fabric. Shino stood as she approached, offering her his cushion.

“Why, thank you. Now, here you go dear,” she held out a third of the pile, “these are for you. As a welcome and thank you.”

“You started on these less than an hour ago...” he muttered as he took them, examining the stitches.

“Takes less time the more you do it,” she laughed. She smiled, pointing at some partitions. “You can change behind that if you like.”

Giving a nod in thanks, he made his way over, disappearing behind it. At the table, the old woman slowly sat down and looked over the paper. “So this is Arashijima…”

Sakura explained the topography once more while Shino examined his new clothing.

He found a dark gray, long-sleeved shirt with a dark green ribcage-like design on the back. A line going down the spine and five horizontal lines going parallel to each other. On the right shoulder was the same symbol as his headband in the same green. His pants were the same as Kakashi’s and Sai’s. His ninja boots were a very dark shade of green, as were a pair of fingerless gloves. To finish off the outfit was an evergreen-colored jacket with two-inch black border hems. On the back was the Arashi star in black.

He looked in the body-length mirror hanging on the wall, taking in his fresh look. He had to admit she did a marvelous job. He never thought he would wear greens. Noticing something was in the left jacket pocket, he stuck his hand in to find a pair of rectangle frame sunglasses. After debating on wearing them, he changed out his pair, finding they fit rather well.

After folding up his old clothes and stuffing his new gloves in his pocket, he walked out from behind the divider. Iro gave a few short claps as he approached.

“Oh! It looks better than I hoped!” she smiled. “How do you like everything? Does everything fit?”

“Yes, everything fits fine. I like them. Thank you.”

“Shino! Look’n good!” Tenten exclaimed from the doorway. He gave her a nod in thanks.

“Oh, here are yours, dear,” the old woman smiled, holding another third of the stack. The brunette looked surprised, but took them. Shino caught her attention and jabbed his thumb in the direction of the partitions. After Tenten passed him, he placed down another cushion, joining the two women at the table. He was about to continue his discussion with Sakura when Tenten gave a gasp from behind the thin wall. They turned to her as she poked her head out, her shoulder bare and her hair down.

“Lady Iro! This is beautiful! How long did this take you?!”

“Less than an hour,” the man stated. Tenten’s eyes grew and her jaw dropped a bit.

“You’re joking!”

The elder chuckled.

“Dear, when I start sewing, someone has to stop me,” she grinned, causing Tenten to give a laugh as she slipped out of view again. Sakura gave a chuckle. Just as they were about to continue their conversation, a man with dark orange hair ran into the room.

“Whatever is the matter, Kurama?” Iro asked.

“Kurama!?” Tenten yelled, having poked her head out again. Shino silently agreed with her shock as he did not expect a human form from the chakra beast.

“It’s Kakashi.”

“What do you mean? Where is he?” the old woman asked, her face turning to confusion. He looked her in the eye.

“That’s the thing. We don’t know where he is.”

Sakura suddenly shot up and sprinted out the door, her first thought being she should check the bridge.

“Sakura!” She glanced to her right to find Kurama followed her. “We’ve looked everywhere around town and the bridge! He’s not at the old man’s either!”

She stopped, the people around them giving her concerned gazes. She looked around her, noticing Ino, Sai, and Kosai nearby.

Where else does he know that no one has checked, she asked herself. If they already checked the bridge and Tazuna’s house, the only other place they spent any time would have been there. She quickly turned on her heel and began in the opposite direction.

“Sakura!” Kurama yelled as she left him on the street.

She ran back past the ruined village and past Iro’s shop. She ran all the way to where Tazuna’s house once stood. She stopped and panted as she took in the damage to the building. The only evidence remaining that something once stood there being the beams which were once the outer walls, now charred and partially collapsed.

Her eyes were torn from the wreckage by a loud succession of crashes ringing out from the forest. The forest she was making her way to only moments before.

The one where, when she was young, Team 7 climbed trees.

Chapter Text

A chakra enveloped fist ripped through another tree as chirping flooded the air, sending the conifer slowly crashing to the ground.

“I never got you a gift, did I?”

The man put his hands over his ears in an attempt to block out the voice.

“Those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.”

He let out a frustrated wail and threw his fist into the ground, creating an umpteenth crater. For hours he had been demolishing the small area of woods. For hours he had been hearing the voices of his dead teammates, releasing his frustrations on his surroundings. He ended up in the small stream near the trees his gennin once trained on. He watched his reflection in the water as it slowly made its way down to the ocean.

How long had it been since he lost composure like this? Was it when his teacher died, or her?

“You killed her.”

He froze as he felt the familiar and ugly feeling build in him.

“You killed her.”

He looked down at his shaking hands.

“You killed her.”

His eyes grew wide as blood covered them. Her blood.

“You promised to protect her.”

He clenched his fists and brought them to his chest, gritting his teeth.

“Then you killed her yourself.”

He stood slowly, building up chidori in his arm, ready to strike a tree. Though suddenly, he felt a presence behind him. He spun around and began to launch his arm forward. Within an instant of seeing the fear in a pair of jade eyes, he fell back, creating a splash in the water.

“You killed her.”

His body was trembling. She took a small step toward him, causing him to throw up his arm to stop her.

“D-don’t!” He covered his eyes as he had discarded his headband hours before and only then realized just how low on chakra he was. The left side of his face was moist, though not with water.

“Kakashi,” she whispered as she took a step forward. He was surprised when she wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry for startling you.”

Hesitantly, he removed the hand from his eyes and circled his arms around her, resting his face on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry... I’m so sorry...” he choked out. The two sat there for a few minutes, with him apologizing as she assured him she forgave him before his breathing slowed, signaling he fell asleep. His grip loosened, allowing her to carefully wrap one of his arms around her shoulders and get him out of the stream.

Knowing she could not carry him all the way back to the village in her tired condition, she looked around the damaged area for a suitable spot to rest. Somewhat in the middle of the small clearing, stood a tree which was untouched. She made her way over and carefully laid Kakashi down before she sat against the tree and moved his head onto her lap.

Noting the blood on his face, she determined he must have used the mangekyo. She took a piece of fabric out of her kunai pouch and gently wiped the blood away from his face. She then set the fabric next to her and began healing his eye as well as restoring his chakra.

“What made you like this?” she whispered to herself. After a few minutes, she looked up while giving a sigh before she blinked at the somewhat familiar view. She looked to either side of where she was sitting, at the two other trees to find nothing but charred stumps and crippled trunks. “The trees they trained on…”

She looked up and gave a soft smile. “He left mine…”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

“She’s been gone all night!?” the blonde yelled at Shino. He sighed and looked to Sai, who gave him a ‘you’re-on-your-own’ look. Tenten, fumbling with her hair as she began to put it into her usual buns, stepped up next to Shino in her new dress.

It was a traditional cheongsam dress which was a sky blue with white hems. On the left side of her body was a turquoise Arashigakure star, reaching from just below her arm to the bottom of the dress, which stopped a little above her knees. On the right side was a slit which started at her hip, revealing her black net leggings which became covered at her knees by a pair of dark brown knee-high ninja boots.

“Who’s gone?” the brunette asked through a yawn. Ino grabbed at her own hair which was still down as it was early in the morning. The blonde was still in a pair light purple of sleeping shorts, a white cropped tank top, and a large white T-shirt hanging off of her left shoulder. Her bare feet contrasted greatly against the dark wood floor of the small bookshop.

Sai let out a breath as he watched his significant-other worry over their friend. He too only just woke up, still in his black sweatpants and light grey T-shirt. He glanced at Kosai, whose head was bobbing as he slowly fell back to sleep, and Inari, who was laughing at the former. They were also in their night clothing: simple dark gray sweatpants and shirts borrowed from another teen.

Inari ended up rooming with his friend when his mother wound up staying in the building designated to the children. His grandfather stayed with the other men, who lodged in a bar which survived the attack. Iro forbid them from drinking any alcohol from the building until they reached the island, saying they didn’t need any drunkards wandering around and getting lost.

Sai noticed Ino was about to continue yelling when the front door opened. They all turned to see the elder of the to-be village walking through the door accompanied by Kurama.

“Sakura is on her way, don’t worry yourselves.” She laughed as Kosai perked up at the sound of her voice.

“Lady Iro, how could you say that!? She could be hurt!” Ino protested. “I know how strong she is, but who knows how many more men there are like the one that took down Tazuna’s house!”

Sai placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.

“Don’t worry, child. She’s with Kakashi,” the old woman said.

“She found Kakashi?” Kurama asked before gaining a more confused look as his eyes moved to the elder. “Wait, how do you even know this?”

“A woman always knows,” she said before walking out the door, followed by Kurama after he gave a sigh.

“Okay, I’m a female and I don’t even know what that meant,” Ino said after a few moments of silence.

“Probably something to do with chakra…” Tenten yawned as she gave up on her buns for the time being. “Anyway, where’s Neji?”

“He’s creating a list of the people who will be going to Arashijima with us,” Shino informed as he ate a piece of toast.

“Shino…?” He looked at the brunette, the room staying quiet until she spoke again. “Where’d you get the toast?”

“The restaurant next door, they’re serving breakfast.”

“Oh.” With that, Tenten left to get food. Ino went back upstairs and into the room they all slept in to get changed. She began going through the chest which held their scrolls only to find her clothing scroll missing.

“Something wrong?”

She whirled around to find Sai in the doorway.

“My clothes are missing!” she exclaimed.

“Are you sure you brought them?” he asked, brow raised.

“I’m posi— oh…” She placed her face in her hand. He gave her a knowing look. “I left that scroll on my desk, didn’t I?”

He chuckled.

“I wouldn’t worry too much. Lady Iro was most likely planning to make you new clothing anyway. How about we just head over for breakfast?”

“In this?” she asked, skeptical. He shrugged.

“The only people I’ve seen dressed are Neji, Tenten, Lady Iro, and Kurama. I doubt anyone from here is awake enough to get dressed after yesterday,” he explained as he crouched next to her. “Besides, if any guys look at you, I’ll have them dropped in the middle of the ocean.”

He gave a small grin, earning a giggle from her. She nodded and stood up, only to wobble slightly from still being drowsy. He gave a quiet chuckle and turned his back to her, crouching a bit. “Come on, sleepyhead. I’ll carry you.”

She happily hopped onto his back and laid her head on his shoulder as he headed out of the room.

As they exited the small shop, he noticed a figure coming out of the trees less than twenty feet to their right. He instantly determined it was Kakashi and was about to start towards him, but turned and headed to his initial destination when the man shook his head.

Chapter Text

Sai entered the small restaurant with Ino still on his back, her head leaving his shoulder and perking up at the smell of food. The two looked around and spotted their friends to their right and joined them at their table. Ino hopped off of Sai and onto the floor with a thump. She then took a seat next to Tenten as Sai sat next to Neji, who just finished gathering names.

“Morning, Neji. How’s the list?” Sai asked as he took the plate of eggs Kosai held out for him. Neji took a drink of water and set down the glass in front of him as he skimmed through the papers spread out on the table. He sighed, placing his head in his left palm as he tapped his pen on the wood.

“There are twenty-six villagers who are leaving. Fifteen are staying here and naming this as a branch of Arashigakure. Twelve of the sailors who Shino came with will get their families and are coming back, adding their families make thirty-two. If we include the three from Suna, Shikamaru, and all of us then that makes…” he paused for a second and counted in his head. “Eighty-six members of Arashigakure.”

“More than I would have thought,” Shino added.

“I’m not used to seeing this much of your face. It’s weird,” Ino teased the Aburame, causing Tenten and Sai to laugh.

“I actually quite like the clothes Lady Iro made for me.”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” Ino chuckled, gaining a small grin from Shino. They continued their breakfast in silence until Tenten turned to Ino.

“That girl, Kirai. She hasn’t shown up...” the brunette whispered. Ino looked around and frowned.

“Her best-friends died, she’s probably still in bed.” They continued to converse over the different villagers, telling each other who they’d met. Meanwhile, Shino and Kosai discussed chakra.

“I’ve never really been good at it, Teacher Iruka— Er… Iruka always said I had special chakra. Like, I can perform the rasengan but wind isn’t my first chakra type.”

“Did you ever go through the chakra paper test?”

“Yeah, but it didn’t work right,” Kosai grumbled as he prodded the sausage link on his plate with a fork.

“How so?” Shino asked as he took a sip of coffee.

“Like, I did it, and it got wet and ripped in half.”

“So you have affinities for water and wind?” Shino asked, raising a brow as such a thing was common.

“That’s what I thought too, ’til it shattered.” Shino paused before moving his cup away from his lips.

“Shattered?” he questioned slowly, wondering if he heard him correctly.

“Yeah, like I dropped glass or something.”

“Odd... I’ve never seen something even close to that before. You’re sure it didn’t crumble?”

Kosai shook his head.

“I mean it shattered like I dropped a glass of water on the ground. It even cut me. I got a few scratches on my face and arms.” Shino furrowed his brows in thought. Kosai gave a yell of surprise as Inari placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I heard you talking about chakra paper!”

“What the heck!?” Kosai snapped, his teeth sharp as he turned to his friend. Inari held his hands up in surrender as he let out a laugh.

“You’re so jumpy! Geez!”

“Don’t just come out of nowhere!”

“But do you think chakra paper can be bad? Mine didn’t work right either,” he stated, looking at Shino.

“Did yours shatter too?” Kosai asked in surprise, having calmed down. Inari shook his head.

“It sort of… fell apart… I don’t know. It didn’t match any of the descriptions in the textbook.”

“Wait, but you had a seal.”

“Yeah, I woke up early the day after Sakura removed it and used the piece of chakra paper I bought a few years ago,” he explained. “But like I said, it didn’t do what it was supposed to. I guess it was too old?”

“I’m not sure it expires…” Shino muttered, still thinking about what could have happened. He turned to the others. “No one would happen to have any chakra paper on them by any chance, would they?”

The others looked at him and shook their heads. Shino sighed, “Ah, wait a minute. I’ll be right back.”

He stood up and walked out the door, going over to the bookstore they were staying in. Then, he made his way up to the room Sakura was meant to be staying in as it held the section over chakra. He opened the door and was startled to find Kakashi sitting in a chair, watching over a sleeping Sakura. The older man looked up to see who entered.

“Hello, Shino,” he whispered.

“Where were you two?” Shino asked quietly, as to not wake the pinkette.

“The woods... it’s hard to explain…” he muttered, his eye downcast on Sakura.

“Do you know how worried everyone was?”

“She went off on her own to find me, didn’t she?”

“I’m talking about you,” Shino stated. The older man tore his eye from the sleeping kunoichi to meet with Shino’s glasses.

“What…?”

“Even if you weren’t my teacher, we were still worried about you. We’re here for Sakura and for each other. The others feel the same.” Surprise overtook the silver-haired man’s features. “You also shouldn’t worry her like that. I can’t even begin to explain how worried she was when Kurama said you were missing.”

Surprise changed to guilt as he looked at her.

“It’s true,” a voice said from the doorway. They turned to find Sai. “When I saw her in the street, she looked the most lost I’ve seen her in a long time. You mean a lot to her. She’ll worry if you just suddenly go and disappear.”

“I didn’t mean…” Kakashi murmured as he gripped his Arashi headband over his left eye. “It’s just…”

“I’m not sure why you ran off, but I hope you understand now how worried we were,” Shino finished. Kakashi stood up and walked past them into the hall. He stopped at the top of the stairs.

“Follow me.”

Chapter Text

They followed Kakashi out of the bookshop and into the tree line where Sai had seen him come from before. The older man stopped when they were under the more dense foliage.

“Keep up. As you said, we can’t just disappear for a long while,” Kakashi stated. He jumped to the branches and sprinted off. The two younger men exchanged confused glances before they followed after him. They only ran for a few moments before the man leading them jumped down into a clearing. When Sai touched the ground he let out an uneasy breath.

The clearing was charred a color black only produced by lightning. There were trees turned to charcoal overlapping each other, telling you which had fallen before the other. The leaves were shriveled and black, along with the grass that had once been there. Scattered here and there were either small craters or dips in the ground. Lower in quantity were punctures in the dirt and stone, with an array of large cracks fanning out around them.

“You fought an enemy?” Shino asked hesitantly as he surveyed the surroundings. Kakashi walked forward and stopped. Bending down he picked up a slightly burnt piece of cloth that they recognized as a scrap of the piece of cloth he had been using to cover his eye.

“No,” he replied quietly.

“Then what happened here?” the painter asked cautiously, receiving no reply. The oldest man’s behavior was odd.

“Uchiha Obito, genin, killed in action.” The two younger men were silent as they watched him, wondering who he was talking about. The surname was familiar for obvious reasons, but neither of them knew who it was. And dying as a gennin?

“What are you...” Shino started only to be interrupted.

“Nohara Rin, chunin,” he paused and let out a shaking breath before he continued in a broken whisper, “killed in action.”

He took a breath and continued as he had before. “Namikaze Minato, Hokage, killed in action.”

Their confusion grew as they only recognized one of the names, for a fairly obvious reason. He loosened his grip on the fabric and it slowly fluttered downwards.

“Hatake Kakashi, jounin...” The fabric landed on the scorched grass silently. “Killed in action.”

Neither of the men moved a muscle, still not knowing what to think of his words. “Team Minato has been eliminated.”

The two grasped what he had meant.

“Obito was crushed by a boulder on a mission.” Sai’s stomach lurched remembering what Neji had said. “The entirety of the right side of his body was crushed... but he somehow survived for a bit.”

Shino tensed at the thought. “Earlier in the mission I had lost my left eye and he knew he wouldn’t live.”

He turned and pulled up his headband, opening his eyes. “He made me take his. Rin had been learning medical ninjutsu, so she did it then and there.”

His right eye was the sharingan, what he was known for, even when no one knew how he had it.

“Kakashi...” Shino started, though he wasn’t really sure what he was going to say. The sharingan twisted into the mangekyo and the man paused.

“What..? What’s going— Why does it not hurt?”

“Didn’t you start bleeding last time you used that?” Sai asked. The older man looked at his hands.

“I’m... not using as much chakra as I normally do.” The eye returned to the usual sharingan. His face turned to shock. “How is this even possible!?”

“Kakashi, this was you letting out your anger wasn’t it?” Shino asked. He nodded, still dumbfoundedly staring at his hands.

“She did something,” he whispered.

“What?” the painter asked, causing him to look up at them.

“Normally when I use it my chakra depletes much faster than normal, but right now it’s as if I’m only using it to stand on water.” The older man’s face looked as if he had come up with an idea. He walked over to the two and looked Sai in the eye. The painter watched as the commas and lines of the middle ring melded together to form a solid black ring. After they were finished his eye had two red rings around his pupil. “How can I still see?”

He asked this to himself as he looked around.

“Your eye changed,” Sai stated.

“What?”

“Go look in the water.”

Kakashi paced over to the water and looked at his reflection.

“We should get back,” he muttered as he stared into the stream.

Chapter Text

Tenten and Ino had finished up their food and gone to check on Sai and Shino when they had not come back. The two women walked into the bookshop to find Shino making his way down the stairs with Sai following behind him. They were talking about Kosai and Inari.

“Where have you two been?” the blonde asked as she crossed her arms. They looked at the women and were about to respond when the sound of a door opening was heard from the second floor, followed by conversing voices. A moment later, Kakashi and Sakura appeared around the corner. Ino’s hands moved to her hips. “Sakura! Kakashi! Where have you been?!”

“Jeez, Ino, you just have to know where everyone’s been,” Tenten snickered, only receiving a roll of the blonde’s eyes in return.

“We were wondering if we could join you for breakfast?” Sakura asked, giving a smile. The two women noticed that instead of the yukata she was wearing the day before, she was wearing a pair of large gray sweatpants and an oversized black t-shirt.

“Not in those clothes you’re not!” Ino protested as she made her way up the stairs. She caught her friend by the elbow and dragged her to the room with their belongings. Once inside, she shut the door and released her, going over to the chest and pulling out a pair of black knee-length shorts and a t-shirt. “Change into these at least.”

“But these are my clothes…” Sakura grumbled.

“Other people won’t think that,” Ino shot back. At that time, something occurred to her. “Now that I think about it, why aren’t you wearing your other clothes?”

The pinkette sighed and started changing.

“They’ve got blood on them. I’m going to take them to Grandmother and see if she can do something,” she explained as she finished putting on the powder pink t-shirt. She then pointed at the folded up pile of clothes she put on the sleeping mat she had used.

“I did not see you carrying that,“ Ino said matter-of-factly, causing the other to laugh. “But are you okay? You said there was blood.”

Sakura nodded.

“I’m fine. It’s not mine, it’s Kakashi’s.” She gained a confused look from her friend. She sighed again and retold what had happened the night before.

“So you’re saying you reattached his eye correctly without his okay?” Ino blinked in surprise.

“I don’t care if he gets mad at me. It was bleeding and I made it so that it wouldn’t,” the other woman huffed.

“I mean, I understand that part, but you’re not going to ask him what happened? He almost killed you.”

“And he already apologized… Multiple times.”

Ino gave a long sigh.

“I just hope he’s okay, I guess...”

Sakura picked up her yukata and exited the room with Ino on her tail. The two made their way down the stairs to find the men talking with Tenten. Kakashi noticed them and looked at Sakura.

“Before we go next door,” he started, “I need to ask you about something.”

He pulled up his headband to show a red and black layered pupil instead of what the others remembered should have been the sharingan. “What did you do to my eye?”

She walked over to him and squinted in confusion as she examined it.

“Why is it not the sharingan?” she asked.

“That’s what I was going to ask you. When I cut all chakra from it, normally I wouldn’t be able to see,” he explained, “but for some reason when I did it after I woke up it did this. Even when it was just the normal sharingan it used much less chakra than it did before.”

“Not to mention that when you used the mangekyo, you didn’t bleed,” Sai added.

“When you fell asleep I was worried about the state of your eye,” the woman stated. “So I checked on it only to find that whoever put it in you wasn’t that skilled of an optical medic. Some of the chakra veins weren’t matched up, which meant that you couldn’t control it the way you should have been able to. There was some permanent damage, as you can see by the red rings, but other than that I was able to redo the operation successfully.”

Those in the room only stared at her in awe.

“You’re telling me that you did an operation in the middle of the woods without the right equipment?” Shino asked, to which she nodded.

“Where the blood comes from in the first place is, when he tries to use the mangekyo, he’s using so much chakra that the chakra duct bursts. Resulting in the pain he feels and the blood. What I did is I severed the eye, reattached the correct nerves and chakra ducts, and healed it completely.”

They again only stared at her.

“That explains why you were unconscious when I woke up,” Kakashi muttered incredulously as he brought her into a hug of gratitude.

“You were both unconscious at the same time?!” Ino exclaimed. The older man released his ex-student and they both shrugged. Ino threw her arms in the air and let out a frustrated yell. “Do you realize you could have gotten kidnapped or killed, you reckless—”

She was cut off as Sai turned her toward him and kissed her. Her eyes grew wide and her face turned a flattering shade of red as he pulled away. She blinked as he grabbed her hand and began to pull her away, with her still processing that he had just done it in front of everyone.

“See you guys later,” was all he said before exiting the building. After a moment of silence, Tenten let out a long wheeze as she grabbed her stomach.

“That’s one way to get her to stop talking,” Sakura laughed, placing her hand on her hip. “I guess he’s the only one with that power then.”

“That’s a very useful power…” Shino muttered, glancing over to make sure Tenten was still breathing.

Chapter Text

The group made their way out of the bookshop and over to the restaurant. They then retook their seats and Kakashi pulled over a chair for himself. Sakura took the seat that was next to Shino that Kosai had used.

“So why did you need chakra paper?” Ino asked Shino, passing a pot of coffee to her pink-haired friend.

“Kosai,” Shino started, saying the name as to remind himself that it was the boy’s name at that point, “and Inari said their papers didn’t work. I figured that one of these would work.”

“Didn’t work?” Kakashi asked, glancing at a villager that was approaching them with a tray of food. “How so?”

“Inari said his didn’t match any of the descriptions and Kosai said his shattered.” Kakashi paused as he looked back at Aburame.

“Shattered?”

“Like glass. It cut him,” Shino explained, pausing in the conversation as the woman with the food finally stopped next to them.

“Good morning…” she murmured. It was obvious that she was being as cheerful as she could have been at the time. “My lady, I’ve brought you some food. There’s some for you as well sir.”

“Thank you very much,” Sakura smiled as the woman set plates of eggs and sausage in front of both of them. “This looks delicious.”

The woman’s smile grew brighter.

“Thank you… We were able to feed everyone this morning so we’re thankful to all of you for helping us.”

“Are the food supplies running low?” Kakashi asked, the woman gave a solemn nod.

“Most of the grain fields were destroyed and livestock were killed yesterday… We’ll have to buy more… and replant…” The woman gave a sigh.

“I’ll help as much as I can, no one here deserves to struggle like this,” Sakura stated softly, the woman thanked her before taking her leave. During that time, Tenten had been explaining Kakashi’s eye to Neji, who was unsure he followed the entirety of her story. There were quiet discussions about a variety of things before the two younger boys came back to the table, Kosai not having any problem with Sakura taking his seat.

“I found some chakra paper,” Shino informed as he put an overstuffed envelope on the table. Kosai gave it a nervous glance.

“We’re not doing that now, right?” he asked. Shino shook his head. Inari opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Iro, to which he rolled his eyes and laughed silently.

“Everyone, I hope you can bear with this old woman speaking for a few moments.” Everyone chuckled at the elder. “Myself and the shinobi that have helped us have come up with a plan. We will remain here to help rebuild the village for those who wish to stay, bid welcome to travelers, and run the port to Arashijima. It may take time but they refuse to leave you, as do I.”

Most of the people cheered. “We would like to begin this morning if that’s all right with all of you.”

The people cheered again, filled with hope for their new port village. Iro smiled and began to walk outside as most of the women and men followed her out the door.

Kosai and Inari were ready to get to work, but the former paused as his friend was held back by his mother.

“Sweetheart, I’d like you and Kosai to help watch over the children,” Tsunami started. Inari opened his mouth to protest, but she gave him a look that he knew all too well he was not allowed to argue with. He grumbled to himself as he looked over at the other. Kosai glanced at the woman before looking back to his friend. He gave a disappointed sigh at seeing that he wouldn’t be able to argue with her either and dropped his shoulders.

“Fine…” Inari muttered. Tsunami gave a smile and informed them that the children were in the back corner of the dining area. She also told them that she would help clean. She then, left them and headed over to a group of women.

“Well this is lame,” Kosai muttered, trudging in the direction of the children.

“You didn’t have to stay too…” Inari murmured, following behind him.

“Well, it’s kinda unfair for me to leave you here,” he shrugged. He held out his fist. “We’re a team, right?”

Inari looked at it for a moment before bumping it with his, giving a grin as well.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Kakashi walked beside Sai as they followed behind Iro. He was having difficulty deciding whether or not to try out his old kohai’s jutsu. He knew he wouldn’t have enough chakra, but it was the easiest way to rebuild. Plus, he would get the amusement of confusing the hell out of the others. He looked to his right to see Kurama and Shino talking about Kosai, and an idea popped into his head.

“Might as well,” he sighed. Sai looked at him curiously. “Hey Kurama, mind coming over here for a second?”

The redhead looked up and nodded to Shino. “Mind lending me some chakra?”

The chakra beast raised a brow.

“I suppose. What for?”

Kakashi only walked over to an empty lot, unknowingly calling everyone else’s attention. He knelt in front of the debris and held his hands in front of him. Kurama got the picture, as well as he could while not knowing exactly what the silver-haired jounin was planning, and placed his hands on his back. He slowly pumped chakra out of his hands and into Kakashi’s back.

The moment Kakashi felt he had enough chakra for what he wanted to do, he quickly began the needed hand signs. Upon completion, he slammed both of his hands onto the ground, sending wooden pillars up from four locations. People gasped as more pillars shot up from the dirt to form walls and crossed over on one another to form a roof.

After he felt he was done, he pulled his hands from the ground and stood up. He turned to see the crowd staring at him dumbfounded, all at once they started cheering. Kakashi looked over to Sakura and the others and held back a laugh as they stared at him in complete shock.

“That was quite impressive,” Iro stated as she stepped forward. “But it’s a bit bland, don’t you think?”

She removed her hands from their sleeves. “Now step back boys, this needs a little decoration.”

She held two fingers up in front of her and closed her eyes. Quickly she raised her other arm and opened her eyes, lengths of fabric shot out from her sleeve, and enveloped the house. She then pulled on them and they retreated into her sleeve once more. The people looked at the now lightly furnished house in awe.

There were now teal blue shutters on the windows and banners hanging on either side of the door, both adorned with the Arashigakure star. The door was a darker wood along with the corner pillars, contrasting against the walls of the house that were a seafoam green. Through the windows, one could see dark green curtains and the painted insides of the house. The shinobi gawked at the elderly woman, as none of them had known she used ninjutsu of any kind.

“Wha… What!?” Tenten asked, blinking.

“My jutsu isn’t too well suited for combat,” the old woman mused, “but it works well nonetheless. How do you think I got all of your clothing done so quickly?”

“That makes much more sense now,” Shino murmured as he looked down at his clothing. Kakashi looked at the elder and Kurama.

“You up to do the rest of town?”

Chapter Text

Ino sat at one of the tables of the restaurant with Tenten. They didn’t pay much attention to the children as there were other women in the room. The town was finished and the townspeople were happily packing and saying their goodbyes. The sailors left to get their families hours before. They had been given cards for them and their families to cross the ferry that would be established. Ino picked her head up as Sakura walked in.

“Hey Ino, you want new clothes?” the pink-haired woman asked.

Ino frowned.

“Not really… I’d like my old ones back though…”

“Well, that’s too bad I guess,” Sakura giggled as she laid a purple bundle on the table. The blonde sighed with a small smile on her face. Sakura left to go help carry luggage before Tenten looked at the blonde, excited.

“Come on, let’s go see what they look like!” She pulled Ino from her seat and the two made their way to the fabric shop, seeing as the bookstore was no longer their place for rest. As they arrived Sai was pushed out of the building by Koshu, the woman who worked with Iro in her shop.

“Alright, alright. Just tell Lady Iro not to push herself okay?” Sai said.

The woman huffed.

“Oh please, she wouldn’t listen to me if I tried. This is a sp… sur-urprise… for… um… Lady… Sakura. Yeah, Lady Sakura…” Koshu tripped over her words in an attempt to cover what she was going to say as she noticed the two other women approaching. She turned him before shoving him forward, quickly closing the door to the shop. He stumbled forward before he came to a stop.

“Pfft, hey Sai,” Tenten snickered. He looked up and his eyes grew slightly, not having expected them to be there.

“Oh, hey Ino... Tenten.” He smiled at them. “Funny seeing you here...”

Ino raised a brow in slight concern.

“Is something wrong?” she asked. He gave a shake of his head.

“Of course not, why do you ask?”

“You’re acting off...”

His nervous smile became even more so.

“What makes you say that?”

“Don’t worry about it, Ino. He’s probably just nervous about Sakura’s gift,” Tenten laughed.

“Ah, you heard that?” he asked.

“Yup, now—” The brunette was interrupted by Koshu opening the door. She was a bit out of breath.

“Ino! Would you mind coming in here for a second?” the older woman asked.

The two exchanged glances before the blonde nodded, Sai stepping aside to let them through.

“Well, I’ll see you two later. I have to help out with the boat.”

They waved him off and turned to the shop. The moment they entered, their eyes landed on the beginnings of what looked to be a kimono on a dress form. The hems were a dark turquoise, with the rest being a seafoam color.

“Ino, this way,” Koshu called from the top of the stairs. The two young women followed her to a door at the end of the large room. “I needed to ask if I could check your measurements, I’m not sure if they were right on your clothes or not.”

Ino gave a nod of confirmation and they entered the room. “Alright, please undress. You can keep your underwear on.”

Tenten took a seat on a chair that was in the small room as Ino removed her clothing.

“I feel like he’s hiding something...” the blonde murmured. Tenten rose her brows.

“Who? Sai?”

“You don’t think.. he found someone else… do you?”

“Ino! Are you joking? That boy is head over heels in love with you!” the brunette exclaimed, surprised the other would even ask such a thing. Koshu shook her head gently as she took different measurements of Ino’s left arm.

“No, dear. The way he talks about you, I wish I had a man like that in my life,” she smiled. “He’d seemed sad when he first got here, then you showed up and by god, he wouldn’t stop smiling. He’s entranced by you.”

Ino fought the red that came to her cheeks, a soft smile on her lips. “If he’s hiding something, then it’s most likely a surprise. So I wouldn’t go snooping around.”

Ino gave a sigh, feeling guilty.

“You’re probably right. I have so much faith in him, why did I even think that?”

“Everyone has that little voice in the back of their head, you’re fine,” Koshu explained as she finished up. “I’m done. You can go ahead and change now. They should be the right size.”

She smiled as she exited the room. Ino opened up the bundled cloth.

It had black under layers, which included a t-shirt, leggings that stopped at her knees, and toeless socks. The outer layers consisted of a triangular skirt and a cropped, one-shouldered vest, which buttoned up on the side, that were made from an indigo material. She also had a blue-gray sash belt with the Arashi plate on her right hip.

The two women grinned at each other.

Chapter Text

Tenten looked over Ino’s new outfit, noting that it was flattering.

“You look really cute,” the brunette laughed.

“It seems cool colors are the colors for the village,” Ino muttered. Tenten nodded in agreement as she picked up the blonde’s old outfit, folded it up, and handed it to her.

“I guess she noticed you don’t like wearing your headband on your head,” the brunette grinned. Ino glanced down at her hip. “Let’s get going, we don’t want them leaving us behind.”

The two women exited the room and made their way downstairs to find Sai, Sakura, and Neji waiting for them.

“Yo!” Tenten greeted before she noticed Sai gawking at Ino and snorted.

“That’s a neat outfit!” Sakura said as they approached. Said woman was back in her yukata with no stains to be found.

“An interesting change,” Neji said politely. Tenten paused and looked at him as she noticed a nervousness about him. She offered him a worried look, but he brushed her off with a shake of his head. After a few moments, they left the building to find Kurama and Iro waiting outside.

“Ready to head for the boat?” the old woman asked.

They arrived at the shore to find a large dock that Kakashi constructed with Kurama’s help. To the left of the road leading to the platform was a large roofed information board, though the wood was still blank. They continued onto the dock, passing by the villagers that would stay behind.

To the left of the dock, taking up the entire length, were two large boats made entirely of wood connected to one another by a very thick rope. Each vessel was around twelve meters long and filled with people.

“You guys go ahead. I’ll be staying behind to help set things up here,” Sai explained as he stopped near the ramp, Ino immediately stopped next to him.

“Then I’m staying too,” she pouted. “No way am I leaving you alone after you went and almost died.”

Sai chuckled as she laced her fingers with his.

“We’ll be here for when Shikamaru and the others get here and sort out the boat system,” the painter continued. Ino smiled at the thought of seeing Shikamaru and the three siblings again. “So until we get to the island, make sure to help out everyone as much as possible.”

Tenten and Neji nodded in return.

“Oh! Tenten, be sure to tell Kakashi not to make you a house,” Ino added.

“Will do!” she saluted playfully. After that, they boarded the front ferry. Kurama grumbled as he made his way to the front of the boat with them following him. Iro entered a door and disappeared as Neji looked up at the roof.

“Let’s sit up there,” he said, pointing up before he jumped. His teammate followed behind him and sat facing the other boat, while he faced the front. They noticed a few more people boarding the boat behind them before Oginku began talking to Kurama. “We’re about to leave.”

After a few moments, Neji directed Tenten’s attention to the front of the boat. She turned just in time to see Kurama jump from the bow and, with a poof of smoke, return to his fox form. With his mouth, he caught a rope that was attached to the boat, thrown to him by Oginku. He began forward, pulling the boats along with him, though he looked quite irritated.

“What do you think you’ll do once we establish a village?” Neji asked after a few moments of silence. The woman could hear that something was off with him, as she knew him better than anyone. But she respected his wishes of secrecy and rested back on her hands, looking up at the blue sky.

“I don’t know... Probably help out with training those who want to become shinobi. After that, I don’t really know, maybe ANBU,” she muttered before she looked at him. “You?”

“I don’t quite know either. Possibly working in a files unit, keeping track of missions and such. When I’m not out on missions myself, that is.”

“Yeah, we need to do as many missions as possible,” she sighed, looking at the boat behind them. They were quite a distance from the shore by that point, as Kurama was going at a faster pace than a boat usually would. She frowned as she heard him groan, and turned to find him clutching his head. “I knew something was up. What’s wrong?”

She reached over and placed her hand on his shoulder. She grew more worried as he didn’t respond. “Neji?”

“Damn,” was all he got out before he slid off the roof. Tenten quickly followed and landed next to him.

“Neji? Are you okay?” He let out a sudden yell of pain. “Neji!”

Tears pricked the woman’s eyes as an idea of what was happening dawned on her. “Someone, please! Sakura!”

She became even more panicked as he collapsed. She ripped his forehead protector off of his head to reveal his glowing seal as Sakura barreled around the corner and dropped to her knees. She immediately shrouded her hands in chakra and placed them on his chest.

“What’s wrong!?” the pink-haired woman demanded. Tears were now streaming down the brunette’s face.

“Hiashi’s killing him!” Tenten shrieked, gripping his headband. The medic’s eyes grew then lit up with anger before she suppressed it and calmed herself. Iro quickly came around the corner, along with Kakashi, and brought the sobbing woman into her arms.

“This is the seal that only disappears when the person dies, correct?” Sakura asked. Tenten confirmed through her tears. “Kakashi! Here, now!”

He was at her side in an instant and she focused on her hands. His screaming decreased and his breathing became slower until altogether the movement of air through his lungs had stopped.

Chapter Text

Knowing that Neji had to die to be rid of the seal was not something that helped quell Sakura’s anger. But seeing as how she already found a way she might be able to get around it, she was set on it. She used chakra to slow his heart and lungs. She could hear Tenten’s panic, but she had no time to explain anything to her.

Finally, his breathing stopped along with his heart, making the medic’s anxiety even worse. Tenten let out a wail, thinking he was gone forever.

“Shh…” Sakura hushed, focusing on the seal. She watched it for what felt like an eternity before it began to fade. “Kakashi!”

The man turned all of his focus to the authoritative woman. “Put four hundred volts in your hands, right now!”

He was startled for a split second before nodding his head and frantically thinking back to how he was able to gauge such a thing. Another moment and blue licks of lightning crackled around his hands, though they were nowhere near the power of chidori. Sakura kept her eyes glued to the seal.

“Clear the area,” she ordered, people instantly beginning to give her space. “Grandmother, please take Tenten inside.”

The elderly woman complied and began walking the brunette toward the door with the help of another woman. “Kakashi, move to the other side of him. I’m going to try and revive him using normal means, but be ready to do as I say.”

Kakashi gave a nod of confirmation and moved.

She returned all of her focus to the seal, removing her hands from the young man’s chest and coating them in chakra. Kakashi ignored the fact that his skin was beginning to burn from prolonged exposure to the electricity, but kept quiet as burns could be healed.

The moment the seal’s presence was erased from Neji’s body, she quickly dropped her hands onto his chest, sending her chakra to his heart. She attempted for a few moments to restart it, but found that was not enough.

“Kakashi, with the electricity in your hands we’re going to jump-start his heart,” she spoke quickly. “What I need you to do is place your hands above either side of his chest and, when I tell you to, bring them down on his chest and remove them as fast as you can, got it?”

He gave a nod and positioned his hands above Neji’s chest.

“Now.” He dropped and retracted them immediately, causing Neji’s body to jerk. Sakura placed her hand on his chest to check for a pulse before pulling away. Nothing. “Again.”

He repeated his previous motion. Again, nothing. “Crank it to five hundred.”

He concentrated and repeated before she checked again.

Kakashi and those watching grew worried as she kept her hand on his chest for a few moments longer than she had before. Though it washed away when the woman gave a relieved sigh, a smile on her face.

“We have a pulse.” Those around them cheered, and Sakura pulled a scroll from her kunai pouch. “I’m so relieved that worked.”

She took in a breath of fresh air as she released a stretcher and a small collection of medical devices from the scroll.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Kosai, Inari, and Shino had been at the rear of the back boat talking about the lessons the two boys would start on after the establishment of the village. The chakra beetle user had been interested in their potentials, so he decided to take them on as students.

Shino had been getting a basic idea about their ability levels in different areas to see what needed to be worked on when they heard Tenten yelling. Shino ordered them to stay where they were as he jumped to the roof and over to the other boat. He then dropped down from the cabin’s roof to find Sakura and Kakashi over Neji. When his eyes landed on where the seal mark should have been, he crouched down and removed his glasses, placing a hand over his eyes.

“Neji?” Kosai murmured as he and Inari broke through the crowd. Shino gave a sigh as he heard the two asking people in the crowd what had happened.

“He just jumped off the roof holding his head…” a man said.

“Tenten jumped down after him and called his name, then he started yelling. She took off his headband and there was this green pattern on his forehead,” a woman next to him continued.

“Then, the lady came and made him stop yelling, but then Tenten cried harder…” a little girl who helped clean the restaurant said, not understanding what was going on. Kosai looked at Neji and Inari looked down.

“Tenten said something about... Hiashi killing him...” the woman finished, holding the girl close to her.

Kosai’s eyes filled with anger and he clenched his fists. He had learned about the seal used in the Hyuga clan a few years prior when one of his classmates had received it. The thought caused his anger to grow as a short time before everything happened he learned that the Hyuga clan had announced they would stop using the seal.

He wondered how people could practically mark their family members for death. How they could see family members as less than themselves. It disgusted him, and he couldn’t imagine how his classmate had to go through such a thing.

“Save your anger,” Shino muttered, placing his glasses back over his eyes. “I understand how you feel, but this isn’t the time or place...”

Kosai took a deep breath and nodded.

Chapter Text

A man stood against a tree as he rested from running. It had been around two weeks since he left Konoha. In all honesty, he had not expected to find a lead so soon, but it seemed luck was on his side. Hearing stories of the three siblings tearing up villages sure seemed like a lead, anyway. The chance that it was them was close to none, but the impostors could know where the real ones were, though that was also unlikely.

After running for a while longer, he came across a village that seemed desolate. Walking down the main road, he took note that there were people peeking out from windows and from behind curtains. He gave a sigh and shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked around for the reason people were frightened. As if on cue, a woman’s voice shouted at him from between two buildings.

“Hey! You!” He turned to see what he was pretty sure was a woman, dressed in cheap-looking Suna shinobi-wear. She had long blonde hair that was covered in dirt. The man only stared at her, finding she became annoyed after he did not respond immediately. Two men jumped down from the roof of one of the huts she was between and he found himself giving a sigh.

“Yeah?” he asked finally, feeling like he needed a nap.

“Who do you think you are! You want a piece of the us!?”

“Man...” he sighed, scratching the back of his neck. “I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up of actually finding Temari here...”

“What?” the man with orange hair asked. The lazy man gave a yawn.

“Who is the oldest?” he asked, looking at them with drowsy eyes. The three looked between one another before the man with orange hair spoke.

“I am, obviously. I’m the strongest.”

“Wrong, Temari is the oldest of the three, Gaara is the youngest,” he yawned again. “Some other things that you got wrong: Gaara has red hair, not orange, and he has the kanji for love on his forehead. Temari has short pigtails. You have the wrong outfit and that fan you’re holding has no resemblance to hers.”

They began to panic, both of the men quietly pressing the woman for answers about who the man in front of them was. “You also all have the wrong eyes. Temari and Gaara both have teal eyes while Kankuro’s are black.”

“H-How do you know so much about them?” the one impersonating Kankuro asked, the woman smacking him over the head for outing them. Shikamaru’s tired eyes looked over the vagabonds that stood before him as he pulled a package of cigarettes from his vest pocket.

“Seeing as how I’m stupidly in love with one of them and her brothers are close friends of mine, you’d think I would know a thing or two about them.”

They looked at the man in horror before the girl was thrown into a building to his right. Looking to his left, he saw someone blocking themselves from his sight with a giant tan fan with purple circles decorating it. The moment it clicked in his brain, a small smile made its way onto his face.

“Gee, Shikamaru, I didn’t know you felt that way,” his girlfriend said as she folded her fan, a smirk on her lips.

“Yes, you did,” Kankuro said from behind the Nara, who turned to find him free of face paint and his usual hood.

“Hey Kankuro,” Shikamaru greeted. He turned as he saw red out of the corner of his eye to come face to face with Gaara who held his usual stare. Shikamaru gave a sigh, making a poor attempt at hiding his smile. “Please make my death quick and painless.”

The younger man cracked a small smile.

“It’s nice to see you again, Shikamaru,” he greeted.

“You too, I’m glad you three are alright.”

“You know about what happened?” Kankuro asked, glancing at the two men who were in fighting stances, though he wasn’t sure they were anything more than gennin.

“Shino told me, apparently they were trying to keep the information from us. Gah!” He let out a sound of surprise as Temari grabbed him by the ear and pulled him down. “Troublesome...”

“So you came out looking for us?” she asked, her eyes narrowed.

“Ow, yes. Now please let go of my earring.”

She hummed and released him, allowing him to stand up straight.

“Well, go back home,” she huffed.

“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen. You see, a group of us have defected from Konoha.”

Her eyes grew in shock as she stared at him.

“W-Why?” she murmured as she looked down. Shikamaru caught Kankuro wince. “Why!?”

He was silent for a few moments in surprise at the fact that she had gotten angry with him. He had not expected her to be happy about the decision, but anger was not something that was foreseeable.

“Temari?” he asked in confusion, only to flinch slightly as she grabbed the front of his vest, shaking him.

“Why would you leave a place that didn’t want you gone!? Why did you leave your family!? Your home!?” After a few moments of watching her, he gently placed his hands on hers in an attempt to calm her down.

“You’re my home,” he stated before realizing he said it, ready to backpedal. That did not happen though, as she let her head fall onto his chest, her shoulders shaking. He brought her into a hug as she collected herself before they heard a cough. Glancing over at the two brothers, the couple found that Kankuro held a small smirk.

A moment later, Kankuro crouched down, gripping his head as it throbbed from the impact of his sister’s fan.

“If you defected with the others, then where are they?” Gaara asked, walking over to them from where the imposters used to be. The rest of them could only guess he buried them, alive or not.

“I’ll tell you somewhere else, we can’t stay here,” Shikamaru muttered. Seeing as there was nothing left to do in the village, the three followed after him into the woods.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Shikaku stared at the small scroll in his hand. In all his grieving, he forgot about it. He clenched his hand around it and placed his other hand over his eyes. How would he tell his son? He was sure he would not have to, as someone would say something upon seeing he was back.

After a few moments, the man gathered himself and took a deep breath. Looking down at the scroll, he peeled off the wax seal and unrolled it on the table. He jumped in his seat as the paper burst into smoke. This caused him to spit out the toothpick he was chewing on and knock over the tea his wife set out for him. He stared at the table wide-eyed as the smoke cleared to show a small blue and white slug about the size of a tube of toothpaste.

“L-Lady Katsuyu?” he asked, recovering from the heart attack he almost had. “What…?”

“Hello, Shikaku,” she greeted, her voice having a slightly higher pitch due to her size. He opened his mouth to speak again before holding up his hand and collecting his thoughts.

“First off, why were you in my son’s letter?” he asked.

“I’m sorry... I can’t answer any of your questions. All I ask is that you go and collect Inoichi.”

“Inoichi? Why? Isn’t this a message from my son?” He gave a sigh after realizing he was asking questions. He got up. After cleaning up the spilled tea, he teleported to the roof of the Yamanaka Flower Shop and jumped down. Entering the shop, he stopped next to the counter and watched his wife for a moment before speaking.

“Hey,” she looked up from her book in surprise, not having expected to see him until she returned home.

“What—”

“Shikamaru left us a note. It’s at the house.” A bead of sweat formed on his cheek as she suddenly vaulted over the counter and zipped out the door. He gave a sigh and rubbed his forehead. That was about the reaction he had expected.

A bit later, Shikaku reentered his home, holding the door for his friend.

“What’s this about?” the other man asked, looking like he hadn’t slept for a week.

“I’m not entirely sure...” Shikaku led his friend over to the table and urged him to sit down before the Yamanaka finally noticed the slug.

“Lady Katsuyu...?” Inoichi muttered, just as surprised as Shikaku had been.

“I have a letter from Shikamaru and a letter from Ino,” she said as two small scrolls phased out of her body. Both men paused and Shikaku stared at the small purple scroll, his eyes narrowing in slight worry. Ino had written a letter as well? Why?

He went through several possibilities in his head as he watched his friend quickly grab the note and open it. Had she known she was going to die? Had she planned something that she could never follow through with due to tragedy? Why would Katsuyu have the letters?

“Dear Mom and Dad,” Yoshino murmured, beginning to quietly read her son’s out loud, “Ino should have given this to you last week, so a lot of things have probably happened by now. You must be worried if you’ve heard that I never made it to the client for the mission. I apologize for worrying you. I want you to know that I’m fine, but I’ve…”

The woman looked at the letter in shock for a few moments.

“I’ve defected from Konohagakure,” she whispered in disbelief, looking up to meet eyes with her husband, who quickly looked at the note. He let out a sudden laugh, causing his wife to give him an incredulous look.

“Well, at least he has a good reason, yeah?” he smiled. “I always told him that his wife would drive him insane.”

Yoshino gave him a light slap on the arm but cracked a smile.

“Said something about proposing in there,” he muttered, causing his wife to quickly reread the whole note. No, he wasn’t upset in the slightest, though he would have preferred that his son would have spoken with him about it beforehand. He supposed that he had to make sure his name never reached the wanted lists.

“My baby’s all grown up,” Yoshino sniffed, wiping her eyes with her thumb.

“She’s alive...” The couple turned to Inoichi to see he was overflowing with tears. “My Ino’s alive...”

He let out a quiet sob as he placed his face in his hands.

Chapter Text

Ten days had passed since the first boats set off to Arashijima. Sai and Ino stood watching a carpenter replace the bridge sign at the request of Tazuna, who left a message with Oginku, renaming it The Spring Bridge.

Oginku was a well-built man in his mid-forties who had worked in a bar, carrying supplies for a majority of his life. He had tanned skin, gray hair, broad shoulders, and a strong jaw. According to him, when Inari started learning taijutsu, Oginku had joined him and excelled quickly. He now made his post in the small building at the entrance to the town, where people entering would check in and give their reasons for being there.

Kakashi made a wall around the town by the inhabitants’ request, cutting off the tiny village from the rest of the large island. The only way in was past Oginku.

With the carpenter having finished the new sign, the Sai, Ino, and the carpenter made their way back to the gate of Arashichi, the gateway to Arashigakure. Ino and Sai stopped at the check-in booth while the carpenter made his way back into the city after greeting the man at the desk.

“Hello, Oginku! The new sign is up!” Ino smiled. The man gave a hearty laugh.

“The old man will be happy to hear it. I can take that sign off your hands if you like,” he offered, looking at the painter.

“Oh, thank you.”

The old sign was handed over and Oginku placed it under the desk.

“So, heard anything from your friend Shikamaru?” The older man asked before he waved at a group of merchants who were headed out of the city. “Have a safe trip back to the capital!”

The group sent him their well wishes.

“No,” Ino sighed. “I’m sure he’s fine, but he’s too lazy sometimes...”

“I see, well don’t worry about him too much. From what I’ve heard from you, he’s mighty strong and has a good head. He’ll turn up soon.” The man recalled something. “Oh, by the way, Hiromasa wanted you two to come by and help with some merchandise he needs put on the next cargo ferry.”

Both shinobi looked at him for a moment before a vein popped on the woman’s forehead.

“The next ferry is in less than twenty minutes!”

“You two better get a move on then, huh?”

The blonde placed a hand on her shoulder and held up her fist.

“Why were you just talking to us!?” she demanded before hurrying down the main road. Sai waved to the man in the booth, who cupped his hands around his mouth.

“See you two tomorrow!” he called as they moved into the lightly crowded intersection. There were many more buildings than there had been before as everyone hoped that the village would grow into a town and perhaps even a city of its own. There were empty shops and houses dotted across the whole of the village, each waiting to have families or businesses in them.

Since there was such a high demand for housing in the beginning, those who had already lived in the village and those who had first moved to the area within the first week were able to claim a home at no cost. Such a thing was not really a problem seeing as the homes were built on chakra alone. Many people were ecstatic as the homes they claimed were more liveable than what they had before.

The two passed through the crowd as they made their way to the end of the first block, passing by a trade shop and the soon-to-be mailing office. Upon reaching the bookshop, they found the visibly flustered owner standing outside.

“Thank goodness you two are here!” he exclaimed, tissue in hand.

“Oginku only now told us you needed help, we’re sorry we couldn’t get here earlier,” Ino sighed, placing her hand on her hip.

“No, no, no. You were taking down that blasted sign, weren’t you? Good riddance, I say, after what that boy did to the lady? I don’t want his name within five hundred meters of my shop! Yes, of course. Now if you two could be so kind as to hoist these boxes onto that cart over there, I would be oh, so grateful,” he blurted, as usual, leaving no time to argue or for himself to take a breath. He then slipped into the shop and left them to the boxes. Sai gave a quiet snort of amusement.

“He’s such an interesting man,” he stated. Ino nodded in agreement before she began picking up smaller boxes and setting them in the side cubby of the cart. They then moved the larger boxes to rest on top.

It only took them a dozen or so minutes to fully secure the crates. But it was then that Ino realized there was nothing to actually pull the cart with. She opened her mouth to mention the problem, only to look over and find Sai painting a horse to pull it.

He released the painting from his scroll and the two of them quickly hitched it to the cart before leading it out into the street. Ino made sure to keep people aware of their approach as Sai led the drawn horse, most people gawking at the unusual jutsu.

A few children followed along with them, Asking Sai questions about his creation and if he could make other things: dragons, dogs, and a turtle being among them.

The short walk to the dock passed quickly, the children stopping before the platform began and watching the two lead the cart onto the boat. The port master had scolded the kids multiple times for playing around the dock, and they didn’t want to have to deal with yet another lecture from their guardians.

After securing the wheels to the deck with the provided straps, the two made their way back down the ramp, giving best wishes to those returning to the island for the evening.

Chapter Text

Ino and Sai were beginning to make their way back into town but stopped as a sound they were still growing accustomed to entered the edge of their hearing. It was a humming created by the beating of large wings. They turned to find that the passenger ferry was coming into port, being pulled by a hummingbird that stood taller than most men. She was a dark blue with a green stomach and light green patches on her tail and wings.

“Nicely done, Kanmi,” Matsuoka, the pilot of the passenger ferry, said as he held up a large jug. The bird happily drank from the jug filled with melon juice. “Now you’re off until two.”

She nodded and flew off to the Bird Garden, a large white tower that stood tall in the center of the village. The old man muttered to himself as he adjusted his straw hat. “Still can’t believe I’ve become good friends with a giant hummingbird.”

“Morning!” Tenten called as she got off the ferry with Shino. Inari and Kosai followed behind them.

“Hey Ino, Sai,” Shino greeted.

“Hi, guys! Tenten, you ready to go get food?” the blonde asked.

“Uh, yeah!?” the brunette scoffed as if it were obvious before letting out a giggle. “How about you three? You guys want to come with?”

Ino turned to the others.

“It’s nice of you to ask, but they were assigned a mission by Lady Iro, D Rank,” Shino.

“Kosai, haven’t you already been on missions?” Sai asked. The boy shrugged, placing his hands behind his head.

“Yeah, but Inari’s my partner, I can’t just jump ahead of him.”

“What’s the mission?” Ino asked.

“We’re helping some people clean up the bridge,” Kosai explained.

“Yeah, I guess somebody dropped some buckets of blue paint,” Inari added.

“Now that I think about it there were blue splatters,” Ino muttered, realizing that they must have been what she saw in the distance.

“Well, we better get going,” Shino stated as he started in the direction of the front gate.

“H-Hey! Wait for us!” Kosai and Inari chased after him.

“I think I’ll go to the Case Office to see if there are any missions, you two enjoy your meal,” Sai waved.

The two women headed south, following the path Shino and the boys had taken. They chatted about how the town was coming along as they entered the Garden Board, an area consisting of small fields of fruits and vegetables that would either be sold in the grocery or made into juice for the hummingbirds. There were a handful of shops, a teahouse, and a cafe in the area as well. There were also two or three houses for the farmers who cared for the crops.

“One of these would be great for a flower shop,” Ino sighed, a light smile on her lips. Tenten suddenly snorted and covered her mouth, turning away from the other woman, her shoulders shaking in laughter. “What’s so funny?”

Ino’s face turned to a blank expression as she had a gut feeling that the reason would be ridiculous. Tenten caught her breath before looking to her friend, tears pricking her eyes.

“I-I’m sorry, you saying that just reminded me of a joke Umeda told me.”

Ino’s expression didn’t change as she knew all too well how bad the farmer’s jokes were.

“Okay, okay,” she started, collecting herself before standing upright, “so I asked how he got so good with plants, and he said: by trowel and error.”

Ino was silent as she stared at the woman who let out a loud laugh, hunching over and placing her hands on her knees. The blonde pinched the bridge of her nose.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Shino took in the figure that was standing with the men working on cleaning the paint as they approached. He seemed familiar somehow, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Any problems?” he asked as he watched the unknown man from behind his sunglasses. Those who had been working on the paint all jumped in surprise, giving yells of shock as they were preoccupied and did not see their approach.

“Aburame! When did you get here?!” one man exclaimed.

“Shino?” the unknown man asked, drawing their attention.

“Have we met?” he asked. The man chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

“Yeah, I can see why you wouldn’t recognize me without the face paint.”

It was silent for a few moments before the newly appointed teacher spoke.

“Kankuro?”

“How ya’ doing? Oh,” he paused, glancing behind him, “uh, mind if I talk to you privately for a moment?”

He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. The puppeteer led Shino in the direction of the fire country.

“How have you fared since the incident?” Shino asked. Kankuro glanced over at him before giving a sigh.

“I think I’m handling it better than Temari or Gaara... Sis has been a mess... and I’m not sure how hard he’s taking it since he’s always so composed.”

“Things seem to be going awry in a lot of the hidden villages. I heard Kumo was having trouble with prison security or something along the lines before I left.”

“Yeah, I think I heard something about that too actually,” the other man mused. “It was something about the old building breaking down, to my knowledge.”

They reached the end of the bridge and Shino stopped, not wanting to cross the border. “Sorry for the long walk. Hey guys! I found somebody you should come say hi to!”

From behind some trees appeared Shikamaru’s head and shoulder as he strained to look around the trunk he was leaning on. Temari, standing a few feet in front of him, peered out as well. The two walked out completely, followed by Gaara.

“Hey Shino, find Sakura?” Shikamaru asked, eyeing the other man’s new look.

“Where are the others?” Temari asked.

“Hello Shikamaru, Temari, Gaara,” Shino greeted, nodding to them. “The others are back in Arashichi, I can escort you there.”

Temari glanced around to find her brothers and boyfriend following him without a word, and so she did as well.

“Wasn’t this The Great Naruto Bridge?” Shikamaru asked as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Yes. It was renamed by the designer a few days ago. That new sign’s only been up there about an hour.”

“Why did the designer change the name?” Gaara asked.

“Apparently a lot of things happened with Sakura before we got here. I don’t know all the details.” Shino proceeded to fill them in on what he knew about what happened, stopping when they reached those who were working on removing the paint.

“Hey! Shikamaru!” Kosai greeted, holding a bucket of something for one of the men.

“Isn’t that the kid you were going to beat up at the chunin exams years ago?” Temari asked. Kankuro examined the boy.

“It is!” He approached the teen. “Hey, sorry for almost beating you up all those years ago.”

Kosai looked up at him in confusion before his eyes grew.

“It’s you! With the stupid face paint and cat ears!” he yelled. The woman held back a laugh.

“Yeah, yeah...” Kankuro grumbled.

Kosai scrunched up his face in thought. Finally, it dropped into a tired look.

“What was your name again? Kuchocho?”

A vein popped on the man’s cheek. Inari pat his teammate on the back in a joking manner.

“Try not to think too much, it looked like it hurt.”

A vein popped on Kosai’s forehead and Inari snickered.

“Oi,” Kosai snapped.

“You two finish up,” Shino spoke. “I’m going to escort them to the front gate.”

The two teens nodded.

Chapter Text

Shino walked with the Shikamaru, Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara along the bridge.

“There are a few things you should know,” he started. “One is that Konohamaru is now Kosai, that’s what the villagers know him as, so just stick with it.”

Shino told them about the dos-and-don’ts of the village as they came to the end of the bridge.

“Woah...” was all Kankuro could get out as he took in the view from outside the village wall.

“What’s that tower?” Temari asked, referring to the colossus that could be seen from the halfway point of the bridge.

“That’s the Bird Garden,” their escort informed. “I’ll ask Oginku to get someone to show you all around.”

“The walls look like they were made by Yamato...” Shikamaru muttered to himself. They passed through the large gate to find a man reading a large book titled Through Mist and Rain .

“Oginku,” Shino greeted. The man looked up and grinned.

“Welcome back, Aburame. Finished already?”

“These are my friends, Shikamaru, Kankuro, Gaara, and Temari.”

Oginku’s face lit up.

“So you’re the ones Ino’s been watching for. It’s nice to finally meet you. Name’s Oginku Hadou.”

The four introduced themselves.

“I should get back. Oginku, do you think you could have Tidbit lead them to Ino for me?” Shino asked.

“No problem,” the older man grinned. Shino nodded and headed back out of the gate. Oginku pulled out an envelope and handed it to Shikamaru. “That there contains four ferry passes, you need those to take the ferry to Arashijima. However, you have to stay here for one night before you’re allowed access to Arashi, so there’s also four free room cards. Those are for the inn, ask whoever shows you around for directions, I’m terrible with them so I won’t confuse you by trying. Okay, Tidbit, mind taking these folks to Ino?”

A bright pink hummingbird zipped up from under the counter and hovered in the air next to the man’s head. The newcomers stared at her in surprise before she looked at each of the four people in front of her and sped over to Gaara, landing in his hair. He looked up, feeling the small bird bouncing on him. She took off again and hovered in front of his face before she flew around in a circle and zipped down a path across the road from the booth. They thanked Oginku and followed after the small bird.

After struggling to keep up with the hummingbird, they finally arrived at a small restaurant. Tidbit flew straight through a small flap in the door and disappeared inside. The moment she entered, a crash sounded from the building, accompanied by a woman’s surprised scream. The four quickly entered to find a woman on the floor with broken plates and ruined food scattered around her.

“Kirai! Are you okay?” a familiar blonde asked as she stood from her seat. Kirai squeaked and pulled her hands to her chest as she was unexpectedly lifted off the floor. She looked down to see a cloud of yellow sand under her as it moved to the entrance. She let out another squeak when it disappeared, letting her fall. Instead of hitting the floor, she fell into a set of arms. She blinked as she was set on her feet and her green eyes turned to meet teal.

“T-Thank you...” she murmured

“Are you hurt?” Gaara asked.

“No,” she said quietly. She looked down, catching sight of a cut on his hand. “Oh, but you are.”

She grabbed his hand gently with hers, examining the cut. “A piece of a plate must have gotten stuck in your sand cloud…”

She held his hand palm-up in hers and placed her other hand on top. A soft glow of light green chakra surrounded them. She removed her top hand, to show there was no longer a cut. She smiled up at him. “As a thank you for helping me.”

Throughout the entire exchange, Gaara had no idea what exactly was happening. He pulled his hand off of hers, hesitant. He nodded.

“Thank you.” He noticed a small blush come to her face. She looked over to the mess and sighed. “I’m not sure I can help much with the food, but...”

He held out his hand, sending sand to cover the floor. After a few seconds, the sand retracted and came to his hand, dropping a small white vase in his palm.

The others looked to the floor to see no reminisce of the shattered dishes. “This is the paint from the plates, it wouldn’t combine with my sand correctly.”

He held the pearly vase out to Kirai, who took it, confused. Gaara walked away towards the table Ino and Tenten were at.

The two girls were able to make out a barely noticeable look of panic on Gaara’s face. Tenten quickly slapped her hand over her nose, which Ino, Temari, and Kankuro caught. Ino gave her a confused look. Tenten then squeezed her eyes shut as a dark blush covered her face and Ino thought she saw steam coming from her head. Slowly, a line of blood slipped through her fingers, causing Ino to once again bring her hand to her face. The brunette leapt from her seat and ran around the food that was still on the floor into what looked to be a restroom, slamming the door behind her.

“What?” Kankuro asked. Temari waved her hand dismissively.

“Tenten’s an odd one,” she sighed. She made her way over to the six-seater table, sitting next to the wall and across from Gaara. The redhead was asking Ino, who had sat next to him, about where the inn was. Shikamaru took the seat next to Temari, with Kankuro sitting next to him at the end.

“Is she going to be okay?” Shikamaru muttered, referring to the woman who had just shut herself in the bathroom. Ino rolled her eyes.

“She’ll be fine.”

Chapter Text

“So what can I get for you today?” Kirai asked as she held a notepad and pen. Behind her, a woman cleaned up the food from the floor, wondering why there were no dishes.

“The usual for Tenten and I, uh... Let’s see.” Ino looked at the people around her. “A honeydew squash salad, a mahi on rice...”

“I’m not hungry, so don’t worry about me,” Gaara said, closing his eyes. Kirai looked at him with a small smile and wrote something down, Temari giving the girl a look of curiosity. She turned back to Ino.

“Anything else?”

“Cantaloupe udon,” Ino finished. Kirai gave a nod and headed back to the kitchen. “So, where were you guys wanting to go today?”

She rolled her eyes and laughed at herself. “I say that when you only just got here.”

“Actually, I was curious about the tower. Shino called it the, uh… Ah, what was it?” Temari queried.

“The Bird Garden?” Ino asked, Temari responding with a nod. “That’s where all of the hummingbirds you’ll see around town rest. We can go look at it after we eat if you want. We pass by it on the way to the inn, anyway.”

“I just realized that we didn’t even greet each other,” Kankuro said out of the blue. Temari snorted. “What?”

Kankuro jumped in his seat when Tenten slammed her hands on the table next to him. “Where the hell did you come from!?”

“So how have you guys been?” she asked, ignoring his question.

“Looks like she noticed too,” Temari laughed. After a moment, her smile faded. “Not very well.”

A look of realization dawned on Tenten’s face.

“I’m sorry, I…”

“You’re fine, don’t worry about it,” Kankuro sighed, leaning back in his chair.

“Where’s Neji? We met Shino on the bridge, but I haven’t seen him.” Shikamaru asked, gaining a frown from Tenten.

“He’s probably still sleeping,” Ino hummed. Shikamaru looked at her in confusion.

“At this time of day?”

“Ten days ago… We had just set off for Arashi,” Tenten started, her eyes focused on the table. “Everything was fine. We were talking, but I could tell something was wrong... But then... He...”

She took a deep breath. “Hiashi was activating his curse seal.”

Shikamaru felt a wave of unfamiliar anger begin to boil in him. “Sakura got to him and she ended up stopping his heart.”

Their eyes widened. “She brought him back though... She said he’ll be fine...”

Shikamaru sighed in relief, placing his head in his hand.

“Hey, you said he’s fine, there’s no need for tears...” Kankuro murmured. Tenten looked at him in confusion before touching her cheeks to find they were wet. She stood up straight.

“S-Sorry, I...” she got out before turning and quickly exiting out the front door.

“He’s in a light coma. From what Sakura’s told me, he could wake up at any time. This is the first time Tenten’s talked about it from my knowledge...” Ino murmured.

Kankuro stood up and began making his way to the door.

“I’ll go check on her. It’s my fault she ran, anyway.”

“It’s not your fault, Kankuro,” Temari interjected. He stopped and turned to look at them.

“That doesn’t make me feel any less guilty,” he muttered before turning and walking out the door. Once the door closed, Temari chuckled lightly.

“Well, that was out of character.”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Kankuro looked at the fields around the small restaurant. There were very few places a girl would go to cry that was hidden, as most of the field squares were small crops or flowers, allowing one to see quite far. He looked for other buildings, spotting one to his left down the path, past the vacant shop that was catty-corner to the cafe.

Breaking into a jog, he reached it quickly, going around the building to the door. After knocking, he waited a moment before the door opened. He paused in confusion at seeing an elderly woman.

“Yes?”

“I... Uh sorry, I’m looking for someone... She ran off...” The old woman hummed and examined him before shaking her head.

“Sorry, she’s not here. You might want to try the Memorial Grounds, it’s the only other thing down in this corner of the village.” Noticing the look of uncertainty, she stepped out of the door and pointed down the right side of her home. “That pathway over there.”

“Oh, uh... Sorry, I—”

“It’s alright, dear. I hope you find whoever you’re looking for,” she smiled, stepping back inside.

“Uh, yeah, thanks. Sorry for bothering you. Have a good day, ma’am.” He made his way toward the large opening in the outer wall. Heading into the dense area of trees, he found that he had not actually exited the village and that he was in an area of forest that was encased.

Feeling stupid for not noticing the trees towering over what separated them from the fields, he made his way down a dirt path through the trunks. He hadn’t gotten very far before he heard movement in the branches above him.

Looking up, he spotted a small amount of sky blue, resembling the dress Tenten was wearing. He then pumped a bit of chakra into his feet and jumped, landing on the branch of a tree near hers. She lifted her head when she heard him land, looking down to her right. He looked up at her, seeing as how his branch was lower than hers.

“Kankuro? What are you doing here?” she asked flatly, her face telling him she had no energy left in her.

“Looking for you, obviously. You alright?” he asked. She rested her chin on her knees that she had pulled up to her chest.

“Yeah, I’m fine...”

“Even if I don’t know you as well as the others, I can tell that’s a lie. If you’re this worried about him, then you should be with him. Ino said he could wake up at any time.”

She scoffed.

“If I was there when he woke up, he’d say I should be out finding a boyfriend or something,” she said rolling her eyes. He stared at her in confusion.

“But aren’t you two dating?”

“No, we’re best friends. Seeing as how I don’t have any family, I would hang around him and Lee most of the time…” She paused and looked at her knees with a pained expression.

Kankuro could tell something else was bothering her, so he gave her a look to continue. “That is until Lee told me I was only holding the team back. He said I should stop relying on my weapons and fight for myself, use jutsu... I had hoped my teacher would tell him he was wrong like he had when Neji said Lee couldn’t be a shinobi because he couldn’t use chakra. Back then he’d said all Lee needed was the will to train hard enough to make up for it. Neji still didn’t believe him, but Lee did it. He proved us wrong and even challenged Neji. But when I told my teacher... He agreed with him, said I should learn to use jutsus and work on my taijutsu. When I told Neji, he wanted to yell at them. He’s my family, I can’t imagine losing him.”

Kankuro, who had sat down by then, was appalled. Even if this was when she was younger, she was still stronger than Rock Lee. He’d watched a match between them years ago that Tenten had won by a landslide.

“This is that green jumpsuit guy Gaara beat at the chunin exams right?”

She looked at him.

“Yeah, why?”

“Next time I see him I’ll break his arm,” he said. She looked to him, then blinked and burst out laughing. “What?”

“T-There’s a—” she gasped for air. “There’s a bird— on your head.”

He looked up. The hummingbird leaned into his view and tilted its head.

“What the—” The bird suddenly pecked his forehead. “Ow!”

He reached up and grabbed his face. The bird flew away into the trees and Tenten laughed harder. She lost her balance and slipped off the branch she had been sitting on and let out a yelp when she realized it was too late to save herself. Kankuro looked up and jumped forward, attempting to catch her, as they were about ten meters in the air. He applied chakra to his feet and landed on the trunk of the tree she fell from about two meters from the ground. She landed on him and thanked him before jumping down. Releasing his feet from the trunk, he landed next to her.

“Well, that was eventful,” he sighed. Tenten smacked her hands on her face.

“And embarrassing.”

He laughed.

“Yeah,” he agreed, crossing his arms. “You did just fall out of a tree.”

She held up a finger, grinning as she hushed him.

“Tell no one,” she muttered, causing them both to laugh.

Chapter Text

Tenten and Kankuro reentered the cafe, the woman explaining something to him. Shikamaru almost choked on his water after Ino told him about Kakashi not wearing his mask.

“You’re joking, right?” he asked, setting his glass down. “Not once have I ever seen him without that mask. Why’d he stop wearing it?”

Ino shrugged.

“He said something about not caring anymore. My guess is he’s just too lazy to get a new one,” she grinned as Tenten sat next to her.

“Sorry about that...” the brunette said.

“It’s no problem,” Temari assured as Kirai approached the table.

The girl handed Ino what looked like a salad with light yellow chunks of sweet-smelling fruit in it. Ino then placed it in front of Temari, a plate with rice and fish in front of Kankuro, and a bowl of orange soup in front of Shikamaru. In front of her was a plate of yellow rice with vegetables and meat, and in front of Tenten was what looked to be skewered fruit that had been grilled.

“And for you…” Kirai took a small bowl of soup off of the tray she was using and placed it in front of Gaara. “Some miso.”

He looked at her with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

“I said I wasn’t hungry…” he murmured. She smiled.

“Your face said differently.” The two older siblings were impressed that she was able to tell something like that on their first encounter. Temari was amused by the slight shock that appeared on her youngest brother’s face as the girl returned to the end of the table. “If you need anything else, just ask the woman at the counter. My shift has ended and I need to run some errands before I take the ferry home. It was nice meeting you all, my name is Kirai.”

The four newcomers reacted to the name as everyone else had. “If you ever want to find me just ask around. This village is small so we need to stick together like puzzle pieces.” Temari saw something in her break, but girl didn’t falter. “Have a good meal.”

With that, she turned and left.

“Hatred…?” Temari murmured as she watched the girl enter the kitchen. “What kind of parent names their child something like that…?”

“I can’t believe she still says that out of habit…” Tenten frowned.

“Says what?” Shikamaru asked.

“To stick together like puzzle pieces... That’s something her friend used to say before she died...”

After they had finished eating, Ino and Tenten led them out of the cafe, though the two had convinced them to wait to visit the Bird Garden as it was rather late. The group made their way toward the heart of the village, passing by the tower and under some kind of framework for a tunnel before taking a right.

“This is the inn,” Ino said as she gestured to the large building to their right. They stopped outside the doors. “We probably have an hour before we have to catch the ferry for the night. You guys can go ahead and check in if you want.”

After deciding that they would drop off their things in their rooms, the four entered and returned a few minutes later before they continued down the street and made a left turn before heading into a small drinking house. Tenten greeted the woman at the door and they were led to an outdoor table out the back.

“Sorry we couldn’t show you around much today,” the blonde frowned. “I’d be happy to show you around tomorrow if you like, but you’ll all be coming over in the morning.”

“Actually, I think I saw a map in here...” Shikamaru muttered as he pulled the envelope Oginku had given him from his pocket. He pulled out the papers that were inside and flipped through them before pulling out a page and laying it on the table. “Here it is.”

“Oh!” Tenten smiled. “They finished printing it?”

She leaned in to get a better look. Everyone leaned in to see the pamphlet that was printed in black ink.

“Well, this makes things a lot easier,” Ino started. “Right now we’re here.”

She pointed at the small building that was second to the left from the ferry dock. The two then began telling them about each of the shops that had come in and where the government buildings were based, showing them the locations of the Arashichi Clinic, the Mailing Office, and the Case Office.

“So the Case Office is that building then?” Kankuro asked, pointing at the outer wall of the building that they were sitting next to.

“Yeah, that’s where people apply for missions to be reviewed,” Ino confirmed. “Or, say you were a shinobi and lived in Arashichi, you could take lower ranking missions there instead of having to go all the way to Arashijima.”

“You could come and report the completion quicker too,” Tenten added, sipping on some sake that they ordered to be able to sit where they were. Kankuro tapped his finger on a large area showing trees that was inside the village walls.

“This is the memorial place, right?”

“Yes,” Ino nodded. “Here in the far end is a memorial stone for those who died in the attack that happened the day after Tenten and I arrived... It’s not finished yet from what I’ve heard, but the area is nice. Right now it’s just called the Memorial Grounds, it will probably get a better name later on.”

“Ah, alright...” Shikamaru murmured, having been looking at the other papers that were in the envelope. “So this is a schedule of the ferries at the moment I guess.”

He placed a small paper on the table. It was handwritten, so he gathered that it could be subject to change in the near future. “This is a letter from someone allowing us a meeting with Sakura.”

He set the letter on the table as he wondered who the letter was written by. “And these…”

He placed down four slips of blue paper. “I’m not sure what these are.”

“Oh, those are property request slips, or whatever Lady Iro decided to call them,” Ino started, pointing at them. “So tomorrow, you should each take one of those and when you find where you want to live, you write down the address and hand it into the front desk of the Kage Tower.”

“You guys might have to end up paying for a house since you got here after the one week deadline...” Tenten mumbled, cup to her lips. A few of them wondered if she was drinking too much.

“There was a deadline?” Garra asked. “A deadline for what?”

“Well, most of the people who live here right now had their homes destroyed in the attack that I mentioned earlier. So for the first week, people were able to choose where they wanted to live for no price,” Ino explained. “Sai and I got our place for nothing, which was pretty nice.”

“Oh?” Temari grinned. “You’re living together are you?”

“Yeah, and what about you?” Ino teased. “Are you going to—”

She was cut off by a whistle that came from the direction of the docks.

“Oh, shit!” Tenten exclaimed, picking up the bottle of sake and downing what was left. She then grabbed Ino’s wrist and dragged her to her feet. “We gotta’ go!”

“Did you just drink the rest of that!?” Temari laughed.

“I paid for it, I drink it!” the brunette called as she pulled Ino with her as she jumped to the roof of the Case Office before they disappeared. Temari rested her face in her hands as she laughed.

“That was probably a last call,” Shikamaru grinned. “We should head back, it’s late.”

Chapter Text

A knock came on the door of room fourteen of the Green Tide Inn, waking the person sleeping inside. Temari groaned and pulled the covers over her head. She had not slept in a real bed for months, she refused to deal with whoever was at the door. It came again and she grumbled, folding the pillow over her ears.

“Temari..?” a voice came through the door. It was surprising that she recognized it in her tired state, but she gave another groan and sat up. Her drowsy eyes focused on her feet as she slipped out of her covers and trudged over to the door, not being awake enough to care about how much of her skin was showing. She opened the door to come face to face with Shikamaru.

“How are you even awake?” she mumbled.

“I... wanted to see you?” he tried, earning a light glare from her as she turned to the clock that was on the desk next to the door.

“At eleven-fifty-three?” she asked.

“There seems to be a bar next door...” he tried again. She gave him a blank look.

“Something like that wouldn’t bother you even if there was actually a bar next door.”

“The new place…?”

After a few seconds of her watching him, she gave a sigh and opened the door to allow him in.

“Come on,” she said. He gave a slight look of surprise. “You came to sleep in my room, right?”

He blinked.

“I, er...”

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his black sleeping shirt, dragging him into the room. Closing the door, she turned to find him with one of his hands nervously shoved in his pocket. She took his free hand and pulled him over to the bed, having him take a seat before sitting down next to him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. He gave a sigh and looked at the floor.

“It’s nothing... Would you mind if I slept in your room for the night?” he asked as he stuck his thumb in the direction of the small green couch. She gave a gentle smile.

“Sure...”

He got up and walked over to the couch, laying down and closing his eyes. She watched him for some time, taking in how exhausted he looked. Something had either woken him up or he hadn’t been able to sleep in the first place. He also looked a bit shaken, as if he woke from a nightmare. She gave a quiet sigh and got back under her sheets.

She continued to worry over how he was acting, finding she was unable to fall back asleep. It was unusual to see him in such a state, and somehow it got under her skin.

“Shikamaru?” she murmured. He hummed in acknowledgment. “I’m cold.”

He opened his eyes and looked at her for a moment before he sighed.

“Troublesome...” he mumbled as he got up. She smiled to herself in her small victory as he walked around to the other side of the bed, though he stopped before he sat down. “Might as well...”

Her brows furrowed in confusion as he climbed onto the bed and took a sitting position, pulling something out of his pocket.

“Might as well what?” she murmured, attempting to see his face. She let out a loud groan as the lamp on his side of the bed turned on, followed by her pulling the covers over her head. He grinned at her behavior before feeling a nervousness take hold of him.

“I’ve known you for eight years now, loved you for as long as I can remember. When we first met, you were a challenging opponent,” he started. “You were on an arduous path. When I was faced with a member of the sound four, you came in at the right time and saved my ass, although I’m not sure if you coming to me was intentional or not.”

“It was,” she laughed from under the covers. He cracked a smile and pulled the covers down so he could see her, causing her to pout.

“You somehow know how to lighten the mood when I just bring it down,” he continued, looking her in the eye, “and your smile is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. You stand up for yourself and the things and people you love, stopping at nothing to keep them safe. At the moment I feel I don’t have the right to protect and love you the same way...”

She stared at him with wide eyes, not having expected a confession so detailed and out of the blue. “I’d like to have that right if you’d let me.”

Her face turned a flattering shade of pink as he opened his hand to reveal a small silver ring with five marquise-shaped crystals fanning out in a crescent. She stared at it for a moment before looking back up to meet his gaze.

“Are... you proposing to me?” she asked, cracking a smile as he shied away. He grumbled something she couldn’t make out, and her smile grew before she reached out her hand. His own smile crept up on him as he slid the ring onto her finger before she snuggled into the covers again. “Turn the damn light off.”

A laugh escaped him and he turned the knob, once again engulfing the room in darkness.

He too made himself comfortable before she shuffled over to him. He smiled as he held her, resting his chin on the top of her head.

“I love you, Temari... More than I ever thought I would love someone...”

“I love you too, Shikamaru,” she smiled.

Chapter Text

Temari again woke to the sound of someone banging on the door, though whoever it was had no sense of respect. She huddled closer into Shikamaru’s chest. The banging continued and a vein popped on her cheek. After another moment, she slipped out of his arms and got out of bed, grabbing her pillow.

“Don’t kill them…” her fiance yawned when he noticed where she was heading. She flung open the door, already knowing who it was as it was the only person with the guts to wake her up in such a way. Kankuro opened his mouth to say something, only for the pillow to smack him in the face, sending him falling to the ground. She noticed Gaara standing a few feet away, having known waking her was dangerous.

“Morning,” she grumbled.

“Temari, Shikamaru turned in his room key last night and no one knows where he is,” the youngest sibling informed.

“Really? He turned in his room key?” she asked before yawning.

“You don’t seem too surprised...”

She placed her left hand on the door frame and leaned in to look at her lazy fiance.

“So I see you turned in your— And he’s fallen back asleep.” Gaara peeked around his sister to see Shikamaru sleeping. He hadn’t even pulled the sheets back up, not that it mattered as he was fully clothed.

“Temari... What’s on your hand?” Kankuro asked as he recovered from the hit. She looked back to the hallway.

“It’s a ri—” She turned and chucked the pillow at Shikamaru as she heard him shift in the bed.

“Alright, alright, I’m up,” the man groaned. She turned back to her brothers.

“It’s a ring, obviously.”

Kankuro grinned.

“I see he finally asked,” Gaara said.

“Yeah, I was meaning to the next time you all came to Konoha, but we all know how that worked out,” Shikamaru murmured from behind her.

“Tenten is coming to take us to Arashi around eight, so we’ve got about two hours for breakfast,” Kankuro said as he rubbed his cheek, wondering why the pillow had been so hard.

“We’ll meet you downstairs,” she said before shutting the door. She turned and pointed to the bathroom. “I’m taking a shower, so go if you need to.”

He chuckled.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

The couple made it downstairs to find Ino, Sai, and Tenten talking with the brothers. Though the moment the two women noticed they were downstairs, they charged them.

“Congratulations!” Tenten squealed, attacking them both in a hug. Temari rolled her eyes, knowing that Kankuro already said something.

“Way to go, Shika! You finally did it!” Ino cheered. Sai also gave the two of them best wishes.

“Didn’t expect people to find out this early...” Shikamaru muttered, scratching the back of his head.

“We have limited time to eat, so let’s get going,” Ino grinned as she dragged the two of them out the door.

“Where are we going?” Temari asked as the Yamanaka released them upon exiting the building.

“We’re meeting Kirai at the same place we were at yesterday. She wants to get to know you guys better, and we’d like you to get to know her. Then after that, we’ll be taking you to Arashi,” Ino explained.

A small smile came to Temari’s lips when she heard they were meeting with Kirai.

They stopped as they reached the scaffolding for the tunnel. Those who were new looked at the entryway created with three logs. The bottoms of the pillars had young flowering vines pinned to the wood. The flowers were nothing those from Suna had ever seen before. They hung from the vines in the shape of bending icicles. There was a vine with blue flowers, one with purple, with pink, with white, and with orange. They could only imagine what the archway would look like after the vines had fully grown.

Temari had become lost in thought as she looked at the unusual flower. She glanced over to find that the scaffolding was actually a trellis. The large tunnel was made from sticks that had been bent and tied together to form an arch about four meters wide and reaching around three meters at its peak. Every now and then there was a supporting beam to help keep it from caving in. Over every centimeter of the sticks were the same vines. The colors were set in a striped pattern.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” she heard a voice ask from just next to her, causing her to jump. She turned to see Kirai giving her a sheepish smile. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

The older woman gave an amused sigh.

“It’s alright, I was lost in thought.” She turned back to the flowers. “Do you know what these are?”

She walked over to a vine and held a small chain of flowers in her hand. Kirai followed.

“Yes, these are hanging wisteria vines. After all, this is called Wisteria Tunnel.” She let out a giggle. Temari huffed and crossed her arms, giving a playful pout.

“Well, no one told me that.” The brunette laughed again and Temari cracked a smile. “So I hear you’re joining us for breakfast?”

“If that’s alright.”

“Of course it is,” Temari confirmed. “We never were fully introduced. My name’s Temari, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Kirai...” she offered awkwardly. Shikamaru made a mental note on how much his fiancee seemed to like the flowers after he overheard the younger woman give their name.

“Nara Shikamaru, nice to meet you,” he greeted as the rest of them caught up with the two women. She smiled, giving a bow of her head.

“These are my little brothers, Kankuro and Gaara,” Temari smiled, introducing the two. Kirai again bowed her head, Kankuro lifting his hand in greeting while Gaara returned her nod.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

“You want my opinion on where to live?” Kirai asked in surprise.

“Why not?” Temari questioned as she took a bite of her rice. Shikamaru nodded in agreement.

“We’ve asked Tenten and Ino already. You’re the only other person we’ve talked to around here so far. Other than Sai, but from what I hear he and Ino are living together. We’ll most likely get a tour of the island once we get there, but it would be helpful to know what to expect,” he finished before taking a sip of tea.

“What areas would you want to hear about?” she asked.

“How about Chiyama, or whatever it was called?” Kankuro asked.

“Well... I don’t live there, but I visit Ino on occasion. The area has a small mountain with steep sides. The houses are terraced on stilts with boardwalks to get around. At the moment there’s probably only, what, twenty houses?” she asked as she looked at Ino, who nodded. “The view is lovely.”

“Doesn’t sound like there would be any traditional styled houses there...” Shikamaru hummed. He had been hoping for something similar to the home he had grown up in, as Temari had liked the style as well.

“If you want something like you had in Konoha, you can find it in the Teal District. A lot of the houses on the edge of town are like that. I can show you when we get there,” Tenten pointed out as she placed her chopsticks on her empty plate. Shikamaru accepted her offer and Kirai turned to Temari.

“Temari? Is there somewhere you’d like to hear about?” the younger woman asked. Temari glanced over at her fiance.

“That’s why I’m looking at that style house, dear,” he joked as he rested his head on his palm and looked back at her. She laughed and turned back to Kirai.

“I’m going to be living with Shikamaru, so I don’t really need to hear about any, but I’d like to hear about where you live.”

Tenten and Ino awed and the man gave a huff of amusement while Sai answered a few questions that Gaara had about them getting to the island.

“Well... I live near the coast... Um...” she started, trying to think of how to explain it.

“She’s on the west side of the Teal District. Around where the city turns to the suburbs,” Ino said after a laugh.

“Yes, like she said!” the other woman laughed. “It’s very nice, but the houses on that side of town aren’t what you’re looking for.”

“Actually,” Tenten started, “you could ask Sakura if you could establish a Nara Clan compound.”

“Oh, that’s right!” Ino nodded, turning to the couple. “There’s a district for compounds to the northeast of the main city. The only one who actually lives in it right now is Tenten.”

“Its compounds are really similar to those in Konoha. None of them are all that big right now, probably two or three houses each.”

“That sounds like your best bet, sis,” Kankuro sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I’m a little more interested in anything with enough room for me to work on my puppets.”

“I’d prefer something small...” the redhead stated quietly.

Chapter Text

The group took their seats after boarding the ferry. It was less crowded than some of them had thought it would be, though it was not anywhere near empty. The women took a bench and the men sat across from them.

“It’s hard to believe that,” Kankuro muttered as he scratched his temple.

“I also find it hard to believe you ran into something like that on the way here,” Gaara agreed, giving the woman a skeptical look.

“But it’s true!” Tenten protested. “Ino was sleeping, and I heard a noise and looked around and there was a gigantic turtle just walking by us!”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but if it were as you described it then it would have been a tortoise...” Kirai interjected.

“Okay, there was a gigantic tortoise just walking past us!” Tenten exclaimed.

“Giant tortoises are farther north than where you would have been,” Shikamaru sighed, leaning back and closing his eyes. Tenten huffed as she crossed her arms.

“Fine, don’t believe me,” she grumbled, though she began to giggle as some of the others laughed at her.

“All right folks, we’re heading off. Please keep children in sight at all times and sit tight,” an old man instructed, holding a pipe. He turned to the doorway and held a hand around his mouth. “All right, Kanmi! Let’s go!”

The giant hummingbird that they had seen on the way in began to beat its wings. The old man stepped into the small cabin at the front of the boat and shut the door behind him, leaving them to hear the muffled humming of the bird’s wings. Soon they began moving away from the dock. Over time the boat increased speed, so much that they had to have been going over three times as fast as a usual sailing boat.

“Wow, we’re moving so quickly...” Temari observed, not being able to make out the waves nearest them.

“Kanmi and Kanro are two of the bigger birds. Most of them are small like Tidbit,” Sai explained as he sketched in a leather-bound book. Temari noticed him look up at them every now and then, and smiled as she realized he must have been practicing his ability to draw quickly based on what he had said during breakfast. After almost four minutes, Kankuro’s face turned to concern.

“Guys?” he asked, gaining the others’ attention. “Do you normally encounter storms?”

“All the time,” Tenten snickered, earning a blank look from Ino.

“It’s nothing to worry about, we’re only entering the Sea of Eternal Storms,” Sai stated as he continued to draw, resulting in Ino placing a hand on her face.

“How is that not something to worry about?” Gaara asked incredulously.

“You’re not helping, you two,” Ino sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She looked at the brothers. “The Sea of Eternal Storms is really just a thick ring of storm clouds that are perpetually active. Lady Iro thinks it was originally a jutsu that’s somehow stayed in effect for, what, over three hundred years?”

She had asked as she wanted to be sure she was right. Tenten gave a nod in response.

“Yeah, something around there.”

The newcomers looked between one another and around the rest of the group to see if a prank was being pulled or if she was serious.

“Look, I understand about as much as you do. Sakura said that Lady Katsuyu can’t give her any information over it,” Ino said as she shrugged. “The amount of time is speculation at this point.”

“We’re about to get rained on,” Kankuro muttered, looking out the window. Tenten snickered at him and Kirai decided to speak up.

“The hummingbirds can split the downpour, that’s why you don’t need to worry,” the youngest girl said. “I hope none of you are afraid of thunder... It only goes off when things pass through it so it won’t bother you once we reach the island.”

“The three of us aren’t used to it, we used to live in the desert, but we’ll be fine,” Temari smiled, amused that the girl worried about such a thing. As they passed through, many crashes of thunder sounded before they ceased as they exited the rain.

“Remember, we need to head straight to Sakura,” Tenten reminded them. After another minute, the boat came to a stop and the door opened.

“Alrighty folks, have a nice day! As you know, we take six round trips a day, so be ready for when you need to head back!” the old man called. The group stood and followed the small crowd as they exited the ferry. As their eyes rested upon the city before them, each of them found themselves shocked.

“You put this together in such a short time?” Temari asked.

“Arashichi was rebuilt in a few days...” Kirai responded. “Larger buildings were constructed in the same way for people to stay in while construction began on other things.”

“We’ll see you guys later!” Ino called as she and Sai began toward town.

The small group began to follow Tenten in the same direction the couple had gone. They only made their way past a few buildings before coming to a large one that stretched up the side of one of the sharp spikes of earth. Many smaller buildings were attached to the cliff, connected to the main tower by hallways. They entered and Tenten led them past what looked to be a receptionist and up a flight of stairs. Temari noticed Gaara stop and lagged behind to check on him.

“Sorry, I just...”

“Thought it was Naruto?” she asked quietly, receiving a nod from her brother. She was referring to a chakra signiture that was nearby. The two continued up the stairs and met back up with the others before they heard a familiar voice from the other side of the door telling them to enter.

Tenten opened the door and they shuffled in, then she closed it behind them. Sitting at the desk on the other side of the room, was the pink-haired kunoichi they had gone there to see. She was wearing a white kage robe with sea-foam green wave-like designs over clothing similar to what she used to wear and had a decorated comb in her hair. Standing behind her to the right, was a man who seemed familiar, with silver hair and a scar running down the left side of his face.

“It’s nice to see you guys again!” she grinned, excited to see that they were all unharmed. The four returned her greeting. “I know this is a bit sudden, but my first question is if you are wanting to be a part of this village. Obviously, you all have a choice. I’m not going to force—”

“We already started deciding on where to live,” Kankuro grinned, causing her to laugh.

“Well, that leads me to my second question. Would any of you like to be shinobi of Arashi?”

The four of them confirmed.

“I’m honored to have such strong shinobi joining our village,” a woman’s voice came from the door. They turned to find that an elderly woman had entered without any of them noticing. She stepped into the room further and a tall man with dark orange hair followed. “Forgive my interruption, I am Iro, an elder of Arashi. This is Kurama, do not be fooled by his appearance, he is quite strong.”

Kurama muttered under his breath, before realizing what she said and giving the old woman a look of confusion. “Hold on. What’s that supposed to mean?”

“We’re acquainted...” Shikamaru informed her.

“I have some important information before you fill out the forms for moving in...” Sakura said, calling their attention back to her. The woman looked down at a paper that was on her desk before looking up with an air of authority that the rest of them had only ever seen from other kage.

Chapter Text

The woman’s jade eyes moved to Gaara.

“We have the location of Shukaku,” she stated. His brow creased slightly. “The One-Tail.”

His siblings watched him take a deep breath.

“What do you mean?” he asked slowly. The man behind the kage stepped around to the map of the nations on the wall.

“We’ve set a goal to try to locate all of the tailed beasts,” he began, explaining the situation to all of them. “To do so, we have to locate all Akatsuki hideouts. We are aware of the one that Gaara was taken to when the One-Tail was extracted and the one located in Amegakure. A few days ago we asked the villagers about anything interesting they’d found on their travels, and a group of ex-sailors reported a large cave in the Land of Hot Water. Sakura has made an agreement with the daimyo of the land that we are able to take any remnants of the Akatsuki as long as we destroy the hideout.”

“Why do you want to find all of them...?” Kankuro asked. Instead of answering him directly, Sakura kept her focus on his brother.

“I would like to know if you would be willing to allow him to live here. As a citizen,” she clarified as she held up a scroll. Kurama approached and took it before turning back toward the door.

“May I say something?” he asked, glancing at the woman at the desk. She gave him a smile and a nod. “Shukaku can be a giant ass. But he’s still my brother. I don’t want him to be stuck in some seal or get chased around forever. I know you had problems with him, but he’s not inside of you anymore.”

With that, he left. The young man took another breath, his sister placing a hand on his upper back in silent support.

“I have no opposition to this...” he stated as he looked at Sakura. “But... I would like to help retrieve him.”

She smiled and gave a nod. She was not sure what his reasons were, but she would allow him to do so.

“Kakashi will be leading the mission, you may accompany him along with the rest of the team. Kakashi will brief you.”

“Understood...” the redhead murmured. Sakura turned her attention to the whole of the group.

“Tenten, were you planning on showing them around?” The brunette gave a nod of confirmation. “All right, do any of you have any immediate questions?”

After a short silence, folders were distributed to the group. “Those folders contain documents you will need to fill out and return to the receptionist by the end of the week.”

“Did the envelope Oginku hand off to you have blue slips in it?” Kakashi asked, crossing his arms as he leaned against a desk that was on the side of the room. Shikamaru confirmed.

“Right...” Sakura started, grabbing a folder from her desk before she opened it and flipped through the papers. Finding the one she had been looking for, she looked back up at them. “Those were put in there a few days ago, but the system has hit a bit of a hiccup, so you’ll have to fill out the usual forms.”

She looked back down at the folder and flipped through it for a moment more before giving them a smile. “Well, if none of you have any questions for me, I think you’re free to go.”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

“Here we are!” Tenten, Shikamaru, and the three siblings passed through the large archway that was at the edge of the city, stepping out into a massive expanse of green fields. She motioned to her direct right and Shikamaru saw her house from Konoha sitting proudly next to the wall of the city. It seemed smaller when not hugged by other houses. “This is my place, moved from the streets of Konoha!”

“You weren’t lying,” Temari mused as she looked around the rest of the land that sat between the gate behind them and another that sat what must have been a fifteen to twenty-minute walk away. The path curved from what they were able to see.

“It’s a lot different once you see it, huh?” the brunette grinned. “Well, come on. I want to show you the different ones there are to choose from.”

She led them past her home.

The beginnings of walls hugged the sides of the road, streets turning off here and there. It looked as though the walls would be built to separate the road from the homes, and the different clans would be walled off from one another.

“I thought Temari would like this one,” Tenten stated as she stopped upon passing the wall that cut off her area from the rest. The others looked to find a moderately sized home that sat just far enough from Tenten’s wall to allow for a small garden. “Lady Iro is in charge of this district’s overall appearance and presentation, so you won’t have much say on the look of the walls or the exact layout of the buildings. But this is where you’ll get the style you wanted.”

“This place is beautiful...” Temari smiled, having been taken with the location the moment she saw it. The group entered the building and Shikamaru watched as the women made their way around the rooms.

It was rather spacious for its size, and it turned out that the garden was larger than it had appeared from outside. The back of the home had an indent, decking running along the edges. After viewing the whole of the home, they stood out front.

“It seems well built I guess… I never thought I’d go house shopping so I don’t really know what to look for…” Shikamaru muttered after Temari gave him a questioning glance.

“Could you imagine living here?” she asked. He looked at her in silence for a few moments, imagining what the future could hold for them before he responded.

“Yes.”

“Then it’s settled!” Tenten cheered as she slapped their shoulders, scaring them. “Now to find Puppet Master’s house!”

“Puppet Master?” Temari asked, amused by the woman’s title for her brother. Tenten only shrugged before leading them back toward the gate.

“I actually thought about a place after you said you wanted space for your puppets.” They entered the gate and took a left, heading down a side street before she stopped and looked up at a two-story home. After viewing the home, Kankuro pulled the for sale sign off of the front door. The group was discussing where to look for a home for Gaara when the young man turned to them.

“Would I be able to view one of those homes?” he asked, pointing up at the nearest mountain. Tenten followed his gesture to look up at the homes that wound around the protrusion.

“Yeah! Of course! Kosai lives up there and from what I hear, there are still some that are empty.”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

“Come on Inari! You can do it!” Kosai called from an outcropping of rocks offshore of the North Fissure beach. Inari grit his teeth as he focused his chakra on the souls of his feet. He took a step off of the sand and onto the shallow water.

“Go Inari!” his friend cheered. He began placing his weight onto his foot and was excited when it didn’t break the surface. He placed his other foot onto the water and tried to balance the chakra flow between them when he heard his teammate call out to him. He looked up to see a moderately sized wave coming directly at him.

He let out a yelp as he turned and ran back to the grass line. He heard the wave crash behind him and bent over, panting comically. The laughs of his friend reached his ears and he turned around.

“Why can’t we do this at the hot springs!?” he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth.

“Because they’re not done yet!” Kosai yelled back.

“It’s almost noon...” Inari observed as he looked up at the sun.

“What!?”

“I said it’s almost noon!”

“Oh! We should go see if Big Sister Tenten has any more dumplings!” Kosai referred to a few days prior when Tenten had made beef dumplings. The two boys had loved and eaten almost all of them. Kosai jumped from the outcropping and dropped into the water with a splash. He surfaced and laughed to himself before swimming his way over to the beach. He stepped onto the sand and rang out the legs of his wintergreen swimming trunks.

“Why don’t you just walk over? I’m the only one having problems...” Inari muttered.

“A few reasons,” Kosai smiled up at his teammate with a grin. He began putting on his shoes. “I need to get better at swimming and I already said that I’m not gonna do it ‘till you can. I’m not gonna show off. Plus we’re teammates, we need to help each other out.”

“Thanks...” Inari smiled as they began walking.

“No problem! Wanna’ race?” Both boys grinned and lined up at the beginning of the dirt path.

“Ready...”

“Steady...”

They looked at each other.

“Go!”

They sped off. Inari was ahead for the first stretch. He rounded a tavern to get on the quicker path but let out a yell. Relying on his reflexes, he slid under the cart of fishing supplies and skidded to a stop. He sat cross-legged on the ground and panted. “Sorry, sir!”

The man who was pushing the cart grumbled to himself and continued. Kosai whizzed past Inari and laughed.

“Now I’m in the lead!”

Chapter Text

“Ha! I win!” Kosai exclaimed and threw his arms in the air, Inari stood behind him, panting.

“Only ‘cause… I got caught by that cart…”

“I know! Lucky!” he laughed. Both boys put on their shirts as they had dried from the run before Kosai stepped into the compound and approached the door of her home. He knocked on the large wood door, Inari stepping up next to him as a voice came from inside.

“Just a minute!” A moment later, the door slid open to reveal Temari.

“Oh, hey Temari. Is Big Sister Tenten home?” Kosai asked, peering through the doorway.

“She’s in the kitchen, would you two like to come in? She said to invite whoever it was in for lunch.”

The two boys looked at each other.

“Sure,” Inari replied politely, not knowing the woman they were talking to. Temari stepped aside and let them in. They made their way to the dining room.

“Who was it?” Kankuro asked. “Oh... Hey.”

“Hey, Kosai… and...” Shikamaru trailed off, not remembering if he’d heard the boy’s name.

“Inari, nice to meet you,” the boy bowed.

“My name’s Temari, it’s nice to meet you.” The three men also introduced themselves before Temari gave an amused sigh as a clang came from the kitchen. “I’m going to go back and help her before something explodes.”

The blonde walked through the open door and the boys sat down in empty seats.

“How’s your training going? Shino told us you were planning on being at the beach today,” Shikamaru asked.

“I’m learning to walk on water...” Inari grumbled.

“And you’re doing it at the beach? Why not somewhere there’s no movement?” Shikamaru asked curiously. Inari looked to his teammate, who gave a coy grin and shrugged.

“There’s not any lakes here, and I already told you the hot springs are still being built,” Kosai defended himself. “What were you guys doing? Was Big Sister Tenten showing you around?”

“Finding houses,” Kankuro muttered, as he thought about something.

“Did you choose any?” Inari asked.

“Temari and I are just next door,” Shikamaru started before pointing at Kankuro. “This guy is just a street over and Gaara liked one up on the mountain.”

Kosai perked up and looked at the redhead.

“Really? I live up there too. What direction?”

“Direction?” Gaara murmured.

“Like, my house is facing the port.”

“Mine faces the sea. It looked like the last one in the direct area.”

They turned as Tenten came out of the kitchen and set a large pot on the table, Temari followed her with another pot.

“You two got here at the perfect time. That’s quite suspicious,” Tenten muttered in amusement, looking at the two of them.

“Thanks for inviting us in,” Inari said politely, Kosai nodded in agreement.

“No problem! Always good to have more people over!” she grinned.

“What did you make today?” Kosai asked. Tenten grinned, the rest of them seeing a glint in her eye. She grabbed the handle of the lid and swiftly lifted it off to show a pot of curry.

“Behold!” she exclaimed. “The curry of legends!”

Shikamaru sighed in amusement as he shook his head while the rest laughed. Temari prepared the plates of rice that Tenten then poured curry over before passing each plate to Kankuro.

“It smells amazing...” he muttered as he passed the plates to Shikamaru and they moved around the table.

“Thank you!” the brunette grinned. “This was my mother’s recipe. My caretaker started teaching me when I was young and it took me years to get it right.”

After all of the plates had been passed out, the pots were set on a small side table and the two women sat at the ends of the dining table.

“So what are you four planning on doing here? Job wise, I mean?” Tenten asked before she took a bite. The moment the others took bites of their own, they turned to her. The brunette looked around at them in question. She covered her mouth before speaking again. “What?”

“Tenten... this tastes incredible,” Temari murmured.

“Thanks!” the woman laughed after finishing her bite.

“And to answer your question, probably take missions? Why, what are you doing?”

“I’ve been helping teach those who want to be shinobi the basics of kunai and shuriken. After the village is sorted out I think I may open a weapons shop or become a full-time shinobi.”

“I’m thinking of helping Sakura. Sai said something about her still looking for an advisor,” Shikamaru sighed before he took a drink of the tea.

“I would be willing to help her as well, having been in a similar position myself. Though I think taking missions would suffice,” Garra added. Tenten looked to Kankuro, who was deep in thought. He noticed she was staring at him and looked up.

“What are you thinking about doing?”

He sighed.

“I’m not really sure, probably full or at least part-time shinobi. That way I can work on my puppets more.” He felt something coming from his right and turned to find Temari glaring at him. “Uh…”

She narrowed her eyes. “A-And find a girlfriend..?”

Tenten stifled a laugh seeing the interaction.

“There’s not many girls I know here our age, but I can introduce you to some of them if you’d like,” she said, attempting to keep a serious face.

“Troublesome…” Shikamaru muttered as he smiled, knowing why Temari had glared at him.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Shikamaru jogged up the stairs with a folder under his arm. It had been a few days since their arrival, and he found his new routine acceptable. Though, he woke up earlier than he would have liked every morning. Sakura had accepted him as her advisor, and he was on his way to give a report. However, he had become caught up in the foot traffic on the way and was a little late.

He reached the top and headed to the end of the hall past Sakura’s office. He opened the door that sat at the end of the corridor and came to face the pinkette and village elder.

“I am so sorry!”

“Shika, you’re fine,” Sakura laughed.

“I’m curious to know where you were,” Iro muttered, wanting to know if he was alright.

“I was helping Temari unpack. Even if they left Suna quickly, her and Kankuro took everything from their homes.”

“You still have things to unpack?” Sakura asked.

“Yeah, but it’s only small things. We finished all of the furniture earlier today. Took us a few days to find where we wanted things. Now it’s really just decoration and kitchen items. But that’s not why I’m here, we can talk about this after the meeting.” The two women grumbled to each other, wanting to continue talking about other things. “Now, Sakura, you put me in charge of finding ways to help us become better and more efficient as a village.”

“And what have you come up with?” Iro asked.

“Request a village to send shinobi to help train ours.”

Sakura frowned in thought.

“What village did you have in mind?” Iro asked. He looked at them with confidence.

“Konoha.”

Chapter Text

Sakura gave Shikamaru a blank stare, telling him the joke he was making was unacceptable.

“Before you say anything, I’ve compiled a list,” he said, pulling out a paper from his folder and setting it on the table in front of the two so they could read it. After looking it over, she glanced up to him.

“You—”

Shikamaru cut her off.

“There’s no way I’m going to suggest letting someone come here that we don’t trust.” He pulled out the other papers from the folders. “These papers have things such as what they will be assigned, where they will be staying, and for how long. Mainly this document will just be a ruse, leaving Konoha to think Arashi is just an up-and-coming village that desires assistance.”

“Well, I immediately approve. You seem to have thought this out quite well,” Iro said as she examined the documents.

“If it’s not too much trouble, I was hoping you could rewrite them, so as to deter any recognition of my handwriting,” Shikamaru asked.

“Well, of course. You’ve thought quite far ahead.”

“How long would they be staying for?” Sakura asked.

“Two years at the least. Solidifying the entirety of the groundwork of systems takes at least that long.”

“That’s quite a while to be away from one’s family, don’t you think?” Iro asked. Shikamaru pulled out yet another paper.

“Shino, Temari, and I thought about that as well.” He noticed the questioning look on the two women’s faces. “We discussed this yesterday at lunch.”

Iro took the paper and both of them read through it. Sakura was about to ask how long he had been thinking about the plan when a puff of smoke went off near a window. They heard Temari’s voice before the smoke fully cleared.

“Sakura! Lady Iro! I am so sorry for interrupting, but we have an emergency!”

“What’s wrong?” Shikamaru questioned.

“The Daimyo of the Land of Waves just entered Arashichi.”

“What?” Sakura askde with wide eyes.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Temari appeared back in front of the waiting daimyo. He was a scrawny man with pale skin and a timid air about him. He had only three guards with him, which was strange.

“Ah... What did they say? Oh, I hope I’m not intruding...” the man murmured as he sat on a bench out front of a shop near the Garden Squares.

“Not at all, she will meet with you immediately,” Temari bowed. The man gave a shaking sigh of relief. “I will be your escort to Arashijima.”

“Arashijima?”

“Yes.” Temari led the visitors to the dock and turned back to them, pulling four cards from the pouch on her hip. “You will need these to be able to board the ferry. Please take one each.”

Each of them took one, the daimyo looking down at his to find it was a light blue. It had a few written words here and there and a string of numbers on the bottom.

“Where are you taking me?” he asked, thinking he could see the shape of a feather through the card.

“Through the Sea of Eternal Storms.”

“You’re taking me where!?”

The street and dock went silent as the people turned to look at him.

“That man’s afraid of thunder!” a child teased from the street with one of his friends.

“Kuma! Apologize!” Temari scolded. The boy gave a scared glance.

“Sorry, Big Sister!” he shouted before he and his friend ran off down the street. Temari pinched her nose.

“That’s not what I meant, but okay...”

The daimyo found himself smiling at the carefree air around the village. Children did not have to be afraid of strangers or sleep on the streets. People smiled in greeting as they saw him, though he was sure that they had no clue who he was. Few had seen the Daimyo of the Land of Waves.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

“Come in,” Temari heard Sakura say through the door to the meeting room. She opened the door to find the woman sitting at the head of the oval table, Iro in the chair on her left and Shikamaru in the chair to her right. Sakura was wearing a woman mask along with a kage hat that covered her hair. “Hello. I was told you wish to speak with me?”

Temari went and stood to her fiance’s left so she was between the two groups of people.

“You are the Leader of this new village?” the daimyo asked, eyeing the others who were in the room. They then returned to her, clearly wondering why she was masked.

“Yes, I am the Namikage,” the young woman stated, folding her hands.

“May I ask who these people are?” he asked as his eyes stayed on Sakura.

“This is the village elder, Nashigaki Iro,” she said, gesturing to the old woman. Iro bowed her head in greeting. Sakura then gestured to Shikamaru. “And this is my assistant, Nara. The other two are guards. I feel I must bring to attention your lack of security… While I assure you there is nothing to worry about while in Arashi, I worry for your safety outside of our walls.”

“Ah... that...” The man began to grow more timid, leading the others to question if the man in front of them was indeed the daimyo. “I suppose it does have a little to do with why I am here… You see, there is only one person back at the palace that knows I am here. The rest of the court has the idea that I am locked up in my room at this moment...”

“Is everything all right, dear?” Iro asked, unintentionally slipping into her comforting tone. What an insult it would have been had it been any other daimyo. However, the man at the other end of the table felt himself relax at the genuine kindness she showed, not having received such a thing in so long.

“I...” He showed some hesitation as he thought over his words carefully. His eyes looked up to meet the eyes of the woman mask, full of the confidence they had been lacking seconds before. “I wish to hand over the title of daimyo to the Namikage.”

Chapter Text

The room was silent for a short while, everyone registering what the man had said. This included those who had come with him.

“Sire, are you certain!?” one of the guards whispered urgently. The daimyo held up his hand to silence him.

“I’ve thought about this since I first heard of a village being established here,” he sighed,

“May I ask why you wish to hand over your title to me?”

The daimyo gave her a tired look.

“It’s just that... I was never cut out for this. The pressure, the lavish life. All I’ve ever wanted to do in life is run a tea shop and relax.”

Sakura raised a brow behind her mask.

“So you wish to push the burden onto me?”

“No!” he exclaimed, holding up his hands in defense. “Of course not! There are many reasons that point to you being a much better choice for running this land than I! The amount of time in which you built up this village! How the people from this village speak of you!”

It was obvious that he thought he had offended her.

“And how do they speak of me?”

“They never speak of you by name, but they never fail to mention your kindness and authority.” Sakura smiled as she listened. “They speak of how you work to progress the village and even how you care for them. The instance that helped me decide was when a group of men had shown up in the Capital. They were speaking of this Arashigakure and were brought in by some of my guards, as I had asked for anyone with information on it to speak with me. They had requested to speak with me in private and had not told me anything that was already known to me. Excluding one detail.”

“And that was?” Sakura asked as she rested her head on her intertwined fingers.

“That you had befriended a nine-tailed fox,” he said. Sakura sighed. “They were trying to convince me to let the village be.”

“And you decided not only to let us thrive but to give the leader of this village your title?” Sakura finished. The daimyo nodded.

“There are many people around me in the palace who have been plotting against me since the passing of my father. They too believe I am not fit for the throne, but are wicked at heart and do not care much for the land’s people. I wish to hand over the title of daimyo before any of their plans can succeed. I believe you are the person who can wield the name and make it known to other lands.”

Sakura let out a breath and Iro chuckled.

“I am not a brave man...” he continued, bowing his head slightly in shame. “Nor am I strong or clever... But I care for the wellbeing of this nation, however small it may be...”

“In my opinion, this would just be sending more people after you,” Kakashi added. Sakura gave a frustrated sigh.

“Are Kurama and Shino back?” she asked as she turned to look at him. He looked down at her.

“Yes.”

“Could you go get them for me?”

Kakashi looked at the man sitting across the table.

“We’ve got her,” Shikamaru assured him. Kakashi nodded and disappeared into smoke.

A few moments later, Kakashi reappeared behind Sakura. Shino opened the door to find the others waiting for him, Kurama following him in.

“So I hear you’ve been offered another position,” Kurama said as he sat in the chair next to the elder, his disposition much more relaxed than the rest of the room. Shino stopped next to Temari.

“Go and make sure your brother is alright, dear,” Iro said as she looked at the blonde. Temari nodded and left.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

“Temari!” The said woman turned her head to see Tenten and Ino.

“Hey, welcome home.”

“Great to be back,” Ino yawned. Temari raised a brow. “Sorry, I haven’t slept for days.”

“Where are Sai and Gaara?” Temari asked.

“Sai’s with Gaara at his house. Your brother’s nervous about meeting with Shukaku again...” Ino responded.

“So you found him then...”

“Yeah... We also found hundreds of scrolls having to do with the different kinds of jutsu the Akatsuki excelled in,” Tenten said, holding out four large scrolls. Ino took them from the brunette.

“I’ll take them to Sakura, you go check on Neji,” Ino yawned. Tenten smiled and nodded before running into the building to the right of the Kage Tower.

“Sakura’s in a meeting. Let's just drop them off in her office,” Temari informed as the two began toward the room.

“Alright... Have there been any developments with him?” Ino asked, referring to their friend who had been hooked up to machinery for the past few weeks.

“Yes, actually.”

“Wait, really!?” Ino almost dropped the scrolls she was holding as her sleep depravity moved to the back of her mind.

“Yesterday they found he was able to breathe on his own, which according to Sakura, means he’s close to waking up,” Temari explained as they entered Sakura’s office. They paused as they heard footsteps quickly coming to the room they were in. The door burst open to reveal a nurse from next door.

“Doctor Sakura!” She was surprised to not find the woman she was looking for.

“What’s wrong?” Temari asked.

“Temari?”

“What’s happened?” she asked again.

“Hyuga has regained consciousness.”

The two girls’ eyes grew.

“Right, go back to the hospital immediately. I’ll get Lady Sakura,” Temari ordered. The nurse nodded and ran back the way she came. Temari bolted to the end of the hall and swung open the door, taking everyone off guard. “Lady Namikage! Neji’s awake!”

The masked woman shot up and placed her hand on the table in front of her.

“I’m sorry, but this meeting must be postponed,” the kage stated. “I have a patient who has just woken up from a coma. Temari, Kakashi, come with me. Elder Iro, Nara, continue sorting out our prior discussion. Kurama, sort out everything that came back with you from the caves. Shino, please escort our guests to the nearest inn. If you’ll please excuse me.”

Sakura quickly walked out of the room, leaving a very shocked daimyo.

“She is definitely the best person for this job, sire...” one of his guards whispered in astonishment.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Sakura entered the room Neji had been in for the past few weeks. Sitting up on the bed was the brunet, bags under his eyes and sickly from weeks of no movement.

“Neji.” He turned to face her as she brought him into a gentle hug.

“S-Sakura?”

“Welcome back,” she smiled as she let him go.

“How am I…?”

“Electricity,” Kakashi said as he held his hands up in front of him. Those in the room looked at him with slightly confused expressions.

“What…?” Sakura asked slowly.

“I’m very tired,” he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I can tell...”

Chapter Text

“Anyway... How do you feel?” Sakura asked as she took the clipboard from the end of his bed and looked through the papers. He rubbed his forehead.

“I have a massive headache...” he murmured as he closed his eyes.

She hummed as she set the clipboard on the hospital bed next to him. Coating her hands in chakra, she gently placed them on his head. A few moments of investigation and she picked the clipboard back up, flipping to a page with a diagram of Neji’s brain. She jotted a few quick notes and scribbles on the pictures before she stuck the pen she was using behind her ear and examined Neji’s head again. After writing a few more notes, she turned to the nurse who was waiting for instructions by the door.

“Put a copy of his injection records on my desk— Kakashi, go home,” she interrupted herself as she saw him try to hide a yawn. He sighed and walked out the door. “And I’d like you to bring up a bottle of twelve-sixty-three-H and a prescription form please.”

The nurse gave a nod before hurrying down the hall.

Sakura turned back to her patient and thought for a moment on how best to word what she was about to tell him. “Neji, when you were on the ferry coming to Arashijima you started showing signs of being in severe pain.”

She watched him to see if he remembered anything. She was glad when she saw quite a bit of it. “Hiashi was activating your seal, attempting to kill you.”

“I figured that out the moment the pain began...” he murmured, wondering exactly how he was still alive. Sakura went on to explain the methods she used, and he was in slight shock that such a thing worked. She looked back down at her notes.

“Even with the seal gone, there are still some complications I need to sort out before you’re able to be discharged. We’ll get started the moment I’m done gathering what I need. For the moment you can relax, Tenten will be in shortly,” Sakura smiled at him before leaving the room.

Neji turned to the window to his left. In the reflection, he could see his forehead clear of any markings and trace of past linkages. He couldn’t believe it, in truth. He was free. Free from the seal that kept him where his uncle wanted him. The seal that always reminded him he would be nothing more than a branch whose tree found it a burden. He smiled to himself as he heard someone enter the room and turned to face Tenten, whose eyes were wide and teary.

“You’re awake!” She rushed over to him and brought him into a hug. He gave a short chuckle, ignoring the pounding against his left temple.

“Sorry to worry you.”

“Don’t be. We’re both free now.”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

“Take one of these every other day with a meal,” Sakura instructed as she handed him a small bottle of pills as he sat on the edge of his bed. He wore new clothing, prepared for him by Iro. Tenten held the chest piece that was meant to go along with it. He had a gray shirt that’s front laced up and had long draping sleeves with ties around the elbows. The pants were usual and black, but were paired with a forest green sash that fell down to his right knee on one side.

“Thank you.” He reached for the bottle but sighed as Tenten took it. She refused to let him carry anything at the time.

“Now let’s see if you can walk, shall we?” Sakura smiled as the nurse next to her got ready to catch him if need be. He took a deep breath and pushed up with his arms, shifting his weight onto his feet. Knowing he was able to stand, as he had changed earlier, he attempted to take a step forward. He panicked as his knees buckled, though Sakura caught him with no trouble as she gave a light laugh. “You seem to just be a bit light-headed. I recommend getting some food in you and walking to where you’ll be staying tonight. Be sure to use Tenten as a support. You’re free to go, be careful.”

“Thank you again, Sakura,” he said, giving her a grateful smile. She returned it with a bright smile of her own before Tenten helped him stand, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. The moment they stepped out onto the street, he was overwhelmed with the sight of the new town. He wondered what to ask his friend first, but ended up not having to decide as they heard a voice call to them from toward the port.

“Hey!” They turned to see Kankuro jogging in their direction, his hand raised above his head in greeting. He came to a stop next to them and smiled at the other man. “I heard you were awake! I came as soon as I could! How are you feeling?”

Neji stared at the man for what felt like a few minutes.

“Who are you?” he asked finally, causing Tenten to burst into a fit of giggles.

“T-This is Kankuro,” she got out. Neji looked over to him in surprise.

“I’m sorry. I hadn’t recognized you without your face paint.”

Kankuro chuckled.

“It’s fine, not many people do.” The puppeteer noticed Tenten was carrying things in her arm as well as supporting Neji. “Here, I’ll take him from you.”

He let Neji wrap his right arm around his shoulders and helped him stand while Tenten held his things.

“You don’t have to, we were heading to my house,” she said, eyes subconsciously moving to check on Neji every few moments.

“It’s fine, I’m done with what I was doing, anyway. Also, how are you doing? Gaara and Sai were pretty tired,” he asked as they began down the road. She covered her mouth in a yawn, remembering exactly how tired she was.

“Pretty tired,” she repeated back to him, a tired grin on her face. “I was honestly planning on just going home and sleeping for three days straight.”

Kankuro laughed.

“Don’t tell me I have to carry you too.”

Neji chuckled and gave a small smile as he watched the interaction.

“Let’s hope not. That’d be a hassle,” she laughed.

“So what have I missed?” Neji asked.

“A lot,” she smiled.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Sai yawned as he opened the front door to his and Ino’s home. He was surprised to find a bowl of hot soup on the counter with a small note next to it. He smiled to himself as he read over it, finding he was able to notice words she only tended to use when she was frustrated. He had been coming home late a lot, which was causing her a bit of annoyance.

After eating, he found that the blonde was already in bed. He changed into more comfortable clothing before slipping into the empty side. His attempt to not wake her was in vane, however.

“It better be a damn good surprise…” she grumbled, though he guessed she was half asleep. He was grateful that she wasn’t pushing him for information, though she had asked small questions during the mission. All of them he answered with little to no clarity which seemed to drive her up the wall.

“It is...” he whispered.

Chapter Text

Temari woke as a ray of sun slipped through the curtains and assaulted her eyes. Letting out a quiet groan, she flipped over to find Shikamaru was still asleep, unaffected by the morning sun beating down on his face. She pulled herself up out of bed, not quite caring if she made noise. She knew he wouldn’t wake up easily after not having slept for so long.

She made her way to the kitchen, deciding to take the exterior route as it appealed to her more at the time. One could reach most of the rooms of the house via the deck in the back garden. The ones not reachable were the two smaller rooms that would most likely turn into storage and an office, though she was sure they were meant to be bedrooms.

The kitchen and dining room were opposite of the master bedroom and were connected to the living room. A hall that cut through the center of the home from the front door to the garden, separated the two sides of the house. She set the kettle on the stove and lit it before she began to let her mind wander.

“A baby, huh?” she whispered to herself after thinking more about the two extra bedrooms. She wasn’t against the idea, but had never really thought about it either. Noticing the tea had boiled enough, she poured it into a cup and stepped out into the garden, sitting on the deck. She rested her feet in the grass that held fresh dew, thinking that the area was far too simple. “There needs to be a rock pond in here...”

She muttered to herself before the door of the master bedroom opened across from her.

“There you are,” her fiance got out through a yawn. He made his way around the deck and entered the kitchen behind her. A few moments later, he sat next to her, his own cup of tea in hand.

“What do you think about having a baby?” she asked nonchalantly as she took a sip of her tea.

“Isn’t that a question to hit a guy with first thing in the morning...” he murmured. A smile formed on her lips as she realized he still wasn’t awake enough to fully react to things. “If you want one, I’d love to have one...”

She smiled as she looked at him from the corner of her eye. “But I’m not sure that now’s the best time...”

She let out a laugh.

“I agree,” she added. “Marriage should probably come a bit before that.”

“In our case?” he asked, his eyes fighting to stay open. “Definitely.”

He took a deep breath in an attempt to wake himself up a bit more. “I heard you say something before I came out...”

“I was just thinking there needs to be a rock pond.”

“It is a little plain in here.”

The couple discussed other things that could improve the house before a hummingbird flew into their view. It landed on the decking next to Temari, and she noticed the small scroll tied to its back. Removing the scroll, the bird immediately took off and disappeared from sight. Unwrapping the small roll of paper, her eyes passed over the single sentence that it held.

“The letters to Konoha have been sent,” she read out.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Tsunade looked at the next scroll on her desk with an irritated expression. Things had been going less than swimmingly since the moment she heard that her student had jumped ship. Her consumption of alcohol had increased if such a thing was even possible, though she found herself losing her time in her paperwork. That was something that brought her a bit of fear.

The scroll was blue-green in color and held a powder pink wax seal that looked just as official as anything she would send as the Hokage. Such a thing urged her to read it before the others.

Her eyes passed over the paragraphs written in elegant characters before she lifted her head toward the door of her office.

“Shizune!”

An hour later, a small group of shinobi stood in her office.

“You all will be spending the next two years in the village of Arashigakure, the hidden village in the Land of Waves,” she stated, already seeing questions forming in their eyes. “For those of you who don’t know, the Land of Waves used to give us job requests frequently but recently has stopped altogether. The reason for that, is they now have their own hidden village. We wish to keep good relations with them and so you will be assisting in helping them set up their cornerstones.”

She looked back down at the scroll and began to read off the roles they would take in support of the village. “Umino Iruka was highly requested as a choice for consultation on the Academy. Sarutobi Kurenai was a top choice for genjutsu training. They requested Nara Shukaku and Yamanaka Inoichi for intelligence and governmental stability and framework, and Akimichi Choza and Choji for mission categorization framework and general assistance.”

“Lady Hokage, I can’t leave Mirai for two years…” Kurenai spoke, clearly concerned.

“The letter urges bringing close family along to help you stay in an everyday routine and to avoid any emotional stress from a separation.” Tsunade read from the letter. “You may bring any pets along with you and personal items to decorate the houses you will live in for the time you are there. Do any of you have questions?”

They all stayed silent. “You will meet a member of the village at the east gate and leave at ten in the morning tomorrow. You are dismissed.”

Later, Shikaku arrived at his home to find his wife making lunch.

“I think we’ll be seeing our son soon,” he stated. Yoshino dropped what she was doing and rushed over to him.

“What? Why? Did something happen?”

“The boys and I were assigned to Arashigakure for two years.” Before she could freak out on him, he spoke again. “We can bring close family, pets, and belongings to decorate the house we’ll be staying at.”

She let out a sigh.

“Do you think he’s there?” she asked finally.

“I’m quite sure he is.”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Shikaku and Yoshino showed up at the west gate around nine to find Iruka already there reading a book.

“Good morning,” Yoshino greeted.

“Good morning,” Iruka muttered. He was taking his students’ deaths as hard as one would expect. Shikaku, not being able to see the poor man in pain for much longer, sat down next to him on the bench. He placed his hand on the young teacher’s shoulder, buying his attention.

“Everything is going to be okay.”

Iruka looked down at his book.

“How can you say that... Nine people who were dear to me have died...” Shikaku tightened his grip.

“See, that’s where you’re wrong.”

“Shikaku, Sakura has been missing for two months. Kakashi, Udon, Moegi, and Konohamaru have died. Ino and Tenten in the fire... Then Neji and Shikamaru...”

“My baby is not dead,“ Yoshino chided. Iruka sighed, sure she was only in denial. Iruka and Shikaku moved on to discuss what Arashigakure might be like, while Yoshino started knitting something she had been working on for the few previous days. Half an hour later, Kurenai arrived with Mirai.

“Good morning,” she whispered as she gave a sad smile.

“Good morning, Kurenai. How are you feeling? Oh, you look so tired...” Yoshino frowned as she set down her knitting.

“She refused to sleep last night,” Kurenai sulked. The older woman approached her.

“Here, give her to me and you sit down.”

The red-eyed woman nodded and handed over her two-year-old to the other woman. She sat down on the bench and slowly nodded off. A few minutes later Choza and Aneko, his wife, arrived.

“Good morning! Who wants honey buns? I made them this morning,” Aneko chimed, opening the basket she held.

“I would love one, Aneko,” Inoichi said as he approached, bag over his shoulder.

“Does anyone know if we will be walking the whole way?” Aneko asked with worry as the blond man took a bun from her.

“Most likely. There don’t seem to be any carriages around,” Shikaku whispered, Yoshino having handed over the toddler to him a dozen minutes beforehand.

“Oh dear... Well, I made a little snack basket for Mirai when she wakes up. Only a few sweets, I promise,” she chuckled as she handed her husband a bun. She frowned at seeing the sleeping mother on the bench. “Oh, my... Poor Kurenai.”

“Excuse me…” The group looked over to find an old man with a rich-purple hummingbird on his shoulder.

Chapter Text

“Can we help you, sir?” Choza asked.

“Yes actually, I was wondering if you all were the ones heading to Arashigakure?” the old man asked. “If so, I’m here to pick you up.”

“And you are..?”

“Folks call me Matsuoka,” he took a sip of his pipe and blew out some smoke. “I’m one of the ferrymen of Arashi and a pilot of our flying carriages.”

He let out a laugh then murmured to himself. “I still can’t believe they fly.”

“So we won’t be walking?” Aneko asked, hope filling her eyes as she was never very fond of the idea.

“What kinda’ person makes people walk all the way from here to the Land of Waves?” he asked, causing the woman to laugh. “Any-who, you seem to be the group. Can I get yur’ names?”

“Akimichi Choza.”

“Akimichi Aneko, honey bun?”

He took one and thanked her.

“Yamanaka Inoichi.”

Matsuoka chuckled, gaining curious looks from the group.

“I’m sorry, I’ve just heard a lot about you, Yamanaka. Someone who knows you quite well requested you to come. They hoped to catch up with you.”

“Who?”

“I can’t recall his name as of the moment,” Matsuoka said innocently. “Any-who, the rest?”

He asked as he looked down at a small scroll in his hands.

“This is Sarutobi Kurenai and her daughter, Mirai. I’m Nara Yoshino and this is my husband, Shikaku.”

“Umino Iruka.”

“You’re all on the list, but where’s this Akimichi Choji fella’?”

“He said he had to do something important and he would be here before ten,” Aneko said, glancing back at the village. Matsuoka looked at his watch.

“He does have ten minutes, shall I take the women to the carriage to get settled. It will be a long flight, so it’s good to get the best seats,” Matsuoka laughed.

“Oh, this is so exciting,” Aneko chimed as she clutched her hands together. Yoshino pat Kurenai on the shoulder in an attempt to wake her.

“Yoshino?”

“We’re going to a place where you can rest. Come on.” Yoshino helped the woman up and laced their arms so she wouldn’t fall. “Shikaku, bring Mirai, would you?”

“Alrighty, folks. Right this way,” Matsuoka called as he turned around. The group followed him down the main path until they came across a clearing.

“Oh my…” Aneko was uncharacteristically lost for words as Yoshino shook Kurenai awake. Iruka was just as astonished as the rest. The only ones not fazed were Shikaku and Mirai, one of which was sleeping.

In the center of the clearing was a small shrine resting on two large beams. Around the shrine were four giant hummingbirds sticking their beaks in large pots or huddled into the grass.

“Kanmi, I’m back,” Matsuoka grinned. The dark blue bird’s head shot up. She made clicking noises as she lightly bounced up and down. The man walked over to her and stroked her feathers, causing her to chirp happily. A light purple hummingbird hopped over to them and poked the man’s back gently, almost knocking him over. “Woah there, Nectar. Don’t push me over. I’m old, you know.”

Two other birds, one being a powder pink and the other a mint green, sat together and watched them. Matsuoka turned to the group he was escorting and waved them over to the shrine. “Now don’t be shy, they won’t hurt you. Come in and make yourselves comfortable.”

The group approached the small building. Yoshino helped Kurenai in, and they both stopped when their eyes landed on the inside. The walls were a medium teal, with the floor and ceiling being a dark wood. On the sides of the room was a rich brown wrap-around couch with four matching footstools in the middle pushed together to form a square. To the left of the door was a ladder leading up to another room. All around beneath the couch were cabinets, with light blue and sea-foam green pillows scattered around on top. Each wall held two small windows along with a small candle lamp that lit up the whole of the area.

“You can move those things in the middle to make a bed if you like,” Matsuoka informed them from outside.

“Thank you very much,” Yoshino called as she sat Kurenai down on the couch next to her before moving the footstools so that half of the room was a large couch. She helped Kurenai up and over to the new bed, the woman lying down and falling asleep immediately. Yoshino took a seat on the regular couch on the left side of the room. Shikaku came in next, still holding Mirai, and sat next to his wife.

“This all seems quite elaborate…” Shikaku murmured.

“The compartments under your seats are storage for any belongings you brought with you,” Matsuoka explained as he stepped in behind Aneko and Iruka. Aneko sat opposite of Yoshino, and Iruka sat to the left of the door. “I’ll go back and get the others.”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Sakura looked up from the papers spread out in front of her as she heard a knock on the door. Kakashi rolled up the map he was looking at and moved to stand near her.

“Come in.” The door opened and Tazuna, Inari, and Tsunami entered the room. “What can I do for you?”

Tsunami didn’t take her eyes off the floor and Sakura’s smile faded slightly. “Is there something wrong?”

“No... I... I’m ready to give his name…” the older woman muttered just above a whisper. The kage gave a nod and opened a drawer of her desk, pulling out Inari’s personal file that she had kept on hand for just this occasion. She opened it on her desk and sorted through the papers until she found his birth certificate. Picking up a pen, Sakura looked up at the mother. The woman was quiet for a moment before giving a sigh.

“Tonan Ichikai...”

Sakura’s brows furrowed as the name sounded familiar. Not to an extreme, but enough to have her question. She looked to Kakashi, who was looking at the woman with mixed emotions.

“Why does that name sound familiar?” she asked, drawing his attention. He bent down and opened a different drawer in her desk. He pulled out the two bingo books from within and looked through the older one before stopping at a page and laying it in front of her. He tapped his index finger on the right page, causing her jade eyes looked it over.

The picture showed a man in his early twenties with dark orange hair and black eyes. He had a scar in the shape of an X on the left side of his jaw. The picture was crossed out with red marker and below the picture read ‘Tonan Ichikai’. Sakura looked back up at Tsunami and gave her a frown. “Are you aware that he is dead?”

“Yes...” the woman whispered.

“Are you aware of who he was?”

“Y-Yes… I was at the time as well...”

“Are you saying you willingly had a child with him? You’re not in trouble, I just don’t want to label this man as something he’s not.”

“Yes,” the mother said without hesitation, finally having the courage to look up to meet the other’s eyes.

Chapter Text

Sakura sat in her office with Tsunami, Tazuna, and Inari standing across from her.

“May I ask why, although I feel I know the answer,” Sakura asked.

“We fell in love soon after he came to the village...” the mother breathed, embarrassed to be admitting things she had never said out loud. Sakura turned back to Kakashi.

“Alright... I’ll see that he gets a headstone in the cemetery in Arashichi,” the pinkette stated. Tsunami covered her mouth with her hands and squeezed her eyes shut as Kakashi gave the kage a skeptical glance. She narrowed her eyes slightly in defiance of his worry. “He’s Inari’s father and Tsunami loves him.”

He gave a sigh of defeat.

“What did he do?” Inari asked, gathering that his father had to have done something to get in a bingo book.

“Inari—” Tazuna whispered in warning.

“What? You’re the one who promised not to say anything,” the teen pointed out. “I just want to know how he got in the book.”

“He stole some important scrolls from Kirigakure during the time it was called the Bloody Mist,” Tsunami sighed, having known she would have had to tell her son at some point. “He hadn’t wanted them to be used against other villages, so he hid them.”

Sakura dismissed the family and the three of them left. Shino stepped into her office only a few moments later.

“Hey, something you need?” she greeted, resting her cheek in her palm. He closed the door behind him and stepped up to her desk.

“I found a new species of beetle,” he stated as he opened his palm to reveal a dark blue beetle no bigger than his thumbnail.

“Where’d you find it?” Kakashi asked as he leaned in to look at it.

“They’re everywhere in the fissure. I was wondering if I could study them in a lab?”

“Of course,” Sakura smiled. A part of her was happy that something could be researched in the labs that Iro insisted they build.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t forget to come to the beach later for Shukaku’s summoning,” she reminded. He confirmed he would be there to assist her and left. The moment the door closed, she let her head fall onto her desk with a thud.

“Still don’t know what to do about the daimyo thing?” Kakashi asked, slightly amused. She let out a grunt, and he laughed. “Thought so...”

The room stayed silent for a long while before she spoke again, her voice muffled by her arms.

“I’ve been going over the positives and negatives in my head for days...” she murmured. “I think for now it’d probably be best to help out with finding who all is involved with the coup... Even if I took the title they would just end up coming after me...”

“That’s a reasonable idea.”

“But you saw him too... He’s not really fit for the position he was given and he’s respectable enough to know that himself. It makes me want to actually consider his offer...”

“Are you sure that you can do it?”

“Of course not...” she sighed, turning her head to look at him as he sat on the edge of her desk. “But it could help the country and the village...”

Kakashi gave a sigh as he ruffled the woman’s hair in a sign of support.

“Alright, I’ll figure out who can go and check on the situation. Don’t stress yourself out too much.”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Sakura let out a nervous breath as she and Kakashi arrived at the beach on the east coast of the island.

“You haven’t warned the villagers about this, have you?” he asked as he handed her the scroll containing the one-tail.

“Nope.” She walked out to the center of the beach and unfurled the scroll so that the seal was visible. “Everybody ready?”

The people behind her grew quiet. “Alright.”

She jumped back to them and formed the needed hand sign. “Release!”

A gigantic puff of smoke appeared above the scroll before the earth shook. A low chuckle emitted from above them, sand seeping out of the smoke. The group jumped up to the cliffs that towered above the beach. The smoke cleared and the sight before them was unnerving. In front of them sat the One-Tail, Shukaku. His body reached at least a hundred meters high as he stared down at them.

“So someone was stupid enough to release me? At least now I get to rampage!” the tanuki chuckled. He slammed his foot on the ground and shook the cliffs and crags they were standing on. Many of the group froze as Kirai fell to a lower area of the cliffs, having been there to observe Sakura’s diplomatic skills with the beast. “Oh! A little girl! Let’s play!”

Shukaku reached for her.

“Kirai!” Ino yelled. The rest were about to intervene when chakra sand shot up from the ground, gripped Shukaku’s hand, and pushed it back. Kirai yelped as the sand beneath her trembled and rose up, the girl admitting it was a small flash of deja vu. The group waited to see what had happened as the dust and debris fell.

Kirai sat on a cloud of sand, as more held back Shukaku’s hand. The One-Tail looked around until he found the redhead.

“How in the world are you not dead—” Shukaku stopped as their eyes met. A nervousness passed over him that he was unaccustomed to.

“Do not touch her.” The young man’s words sent chills down even Kurama’s spine. Everyone’s attention was suddenly bought by a pinkette who had jumped at the One-Tail. Her fist connected with Shukaku’s cheek, sending him crashing to the ground.

“Don’t you dare attack someone from my village! You listen to me! I am here to help you, not to seal you back in a scroll or person! I released you so we could talk! So you better start listening before I punch you into the ocean!”

“Alright, little lady. That’s one hell of an arm you’ve got!” Shukaku laughed as he began to reach for her. His arm was stopped by a clawed hand wrapping around his wrist.

“Listen to her, you oaf!” Kurama snarled. “She’s trying to help you find a place to live and help you stop running!”

“No one here will seal you against your will! We sought you out in hopes of giving you a home!” Sakura declared.

“You’re going to have to find another way of convincing me. I’m not as stupid as my brother here,” Shukaku chided, an irk mark appearing on Kurama’s forehead.

“Fine, what can we do to convince you?” the kage asked. The tanuki looked up in thought, though most of them never actually expected him to give her anything to work with.

Chapter Text

“So what has he requested you to do, dear?” Iro asked. She was referring to what Shukaku requested the previous day. Sakura groaned, not picking her head up from the meeting table.

“Shukaku wants us to get a scroll holding an immense amount of his chakra from Suna,” Shikamaru sighed.

“Just steal it,” Kankuro said bitterly. Temari hit him on the back of the head. “I was joking, sorry.”

The meeting room turned to debate as Sakura thought things through in her head. She stood and began walking out the door, pulling a startled Kakashi with her. The room went silent as she exited.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as they entered her office.

“Inform Tsunami I wish to speak with her.”

“Right...” He disappeared and walked back in a minute later. “She was nearby and is on her way. What are you thinking?”

“I want that scroll,” she said, lacing her fingers together as she rested her elbows on her desk. Not knowing exactly what she meant, he stayed quiet. After a a short while, a knock was heard on the door. “Come in.”

The woman walked in and shut the door behind her.

“You asked to see me?”

“Tsunami, I need the scroll from Kirigakure.”

The older woman looked at her in discomfort.

“But I—”

“I know you have its location, so there’s no use lying to me.”

Both Tsunami and Kakashi grew nervous. Sakura’s tone was more stern than either had ever heard.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

“I’m assigning you all to your first ANBU ranked mission. I trust all of you will hold this at the highest amount of secrecy possible,” Sakura said as she picked up a scroll from her desk. In her office stood Sai, Tenten, Kankuro, and Shikamaru. “I’m assigning Shikamaru as captain. You will report to Iro for your clothing and you are free to choose your code names. Read the scroll, then burn it. Do you have any questions?”

“I do actually... I thought you told Gaara that we wouldn’t be going out on missions...” Kankuro muttered.

“Your siblings don’t know about this. I’m sending you out on this because I can see your talents coming in handy. We also won’t have problems with you being recognized easily, seeing as you’ll have a mask and should be masking your chakra unless needed.”

“Understood.”

“You are dismissed.” Before they were even able to leave, Tidbit burst through the small door in the window and skidded across Sakura’s desk. She hopped up and hopped around before the woman was able to take the small scroll from the bird’s back. She opened it, then the letter. A smile spread across her face. “After you collect your things, get Ino.”

“Why?” Tenten asked.

“They’re here.”

Shikamaru was out the door uncharacteristically quick.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Temari was leaving the restaurant Kirai worked in when a small hummingbird flew into her. It caught itself and flew around in circles before flying off in the direction of the front gate. She quickly followed it, reaching the gate in close to a minute. She stopped for a moment before running over to Oginku.

“You needed me?” The man looked up and pointed behind her as he smiled.

“Temari?” She turned around to find Shikaku and Yoshino. “It is you!”

Yoshino ran over and brought her into a hug.

“Hello, been a while,” Temari greeted, returning the hug.

“Dad!” a woman’s voice called. The group looked down the path to see Ino with Sai following behind her.

“Ino!” her father exclaimed joyously. She jumped at him and he caught her.

“Ino? I thought you were…” Iruka was lost for words.

“I’m sorry Teacher, we decided to do that instead of Konoha chasing after us,” Tenten said as she jumped down from the rooftops, followed by the others.

“Hey, Dad,” Shikamaru greeted, approaching his father. He was then attacked in a hug by his mother.

“There you are,” Shikaku greeted, as if knowing he would appear.

Iruka, Kurenai, and the Akimichis, excluding Choji, were in shock seeing the faces they never thought they would see again.

“Teacher Iruka!!” Kosai yelled as he ran at him. He jumped and smashed into the man, giving him a hug. Inari ran up to the large group but kept to himself.

“Konohamaru!?” Tears of happiness built up in the teacher’s eyes as he clutched his former student close to him. He looked around. “Where are Udon and Moegi?”

He felt the teen’s arms loosen, and the atmosphere grew solemn. Kosai released him and took his hand. He looked up at him and gave a sad smile.

“Come with me, Teacher... Come on, Inari...” The two boys walked off to a destination unknown to many of the others.

“Where are they going?” Yoshino asked quietly as they disappeared behind the buildings.

“The graveyard...” Temari said sadly.

“So they are dead...” Kurenai asked, on the verge of crying.

“We can talk about that later... Why don’t you guys explain why you’re dressed in ANBU clothes?” Temari asked. A bead of sweat formed on Shikamaru’s cheek as he felt the question was pointed at him more than the others.

“That’s confidential, sorry. We have to leave, but we’ll be back,” Sai said, eyeing Inoichi as Ino walked over to Kurenai. Before she could notice he grabbed the man’s arm and pulled him off to the side.

“What’s—”

“Shh. I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a very long time now.”

“Alright?”

“Sir, may I have permission to ask your daughter to ask youre daughter to marry me?” he asked quietly. Inoichi’s eyes grew as he looked at the young man. He had known they were dating but had not expected the boy to ask him before actually doing it. He smiled and placed his hand on Sai’s shoulder.

“Of course.”

A bright smile grew on the younger man’s face.

“Thank you. Thank you so much. I promise you won’t regret this.”

“You’re very welcome. I assume this is a surprise so I won’t say anything.”

A look of confusion crossed Sai’s face.

“How did you know?”

“Because my daughter is looking at you suspiciously.”

A bead of sweat formed on Sai’s cheek.

“I see... Well, we really need to leave, it was good you were able to come, sir. She’s really missed you.”

“Be safe.”

“Always.” Inoichi smiled to himself as Sai turned towards Ino and began towards her. He was able to tell that was a response he gave often.

“What were you two talking about?”

“Just catching up. Alright guys, we really should get going. I’ll see you when I get back.” He pecked her on the lips and began to leave.

“Be careful!”

“Always!”

Inoichi laughed to himself.

Chapter Text

Sakura began to make her way towards the beach. She had the night before to think things through and had come up with an answer for the sand spirit. Having woken up early to avoid Kakashi and Kurama coming with her, she didn’t anticipate how lonely she would get.

She wondered who else may have been up as early as she was before moving to if she should wake up the one she knew would not be. Laughing to herself, she decided to take the fifty-fifty chance and placed her hands together, disappearing from the path she was standing on.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Temari grumbled as she made her way to her front door. She got up for some water, but it seemed the world had a different idea of what she would be doing. Sliding open the door slightly, she found herself face to face with the leader of the village. She rubbed her eyes as the humid morning air hit her face.

“Sakura? Why are you here?” she asked, knowing it wasn’t even six at that point.

“Sorry, I thought maybe you might be up so…”

“It’s fine... but why are you here?”

“I was making my way to the beach and wondered if you wouldn’t mind keeping me company?” the woman asked as she gave a coy smile, regretting her decision as the blonde looked very tired.

“Are you going to talk to Shukaku?” Temari yawned.

“Yes...”

“All right, come on in. I’ll make some tea and get dressed.”

“You really don’t need to make any—”

The older woman waved her hand in dismissal.

“I need it, so you can enjoy some with me and tell me about the mission you sent Shikamaru on,” Temari murmured as she urged the other woman to enter her home. “I’m joking of course.”

Sakura gave a quiet laugh as she was led to the kitchen.

“They didn’t leave the main island, so there’s no need for you to worry about that,” she whispered. Temari was surprised she actually started talking about the mission.

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“They’re looking for a scroll from Kirigakure. I’m hoping to use it to get on good terms with the Mizukage.”

“Were looking,” the fan-user corrected. “He got back in the middle of the night.”

Temari yawned, sitting down at the table as she waited for the water to boil. “I’d guess it’s on your desk already.”

Sakura gave a sigh of relief that it was already done, knowing it would not have taken long as the scroll was near the bridge builder’s old home. “The way you’re talking about it, it sounds like it’s the scroll of jutsus that was stolen years and years ago.”

“It is.”

Temari blinked in surprise.

“Wait, really? If that’s true, that’s a great way to get the Mizukage’s attention.”

“That’s what I’m hoping for,” Sakura grinned. Temari decided she should change and leave Shikamaru a note before the tea finished.

Sakura poured the beverage into the cups that the other woman set on the table before Temari came back.

“So how has the wedding planning been going?” Sakura asked as they sat on the deck. The blonde gave a sigh and looked over the small courtyard.

“A little slow actually,” she started. “With all of the things going on with the village, he’s been busy. I think things will get a bit smoother when jobs start coming in more and I can actually take some of them. Or I guess it will seem quicker if I’m doing something too.”

“If you ever need help with it, I’m here.”

“And stress you out with one more thing? I don’t think so,” the older woman teased. “You just focus on what you need to right now, but thank you for the offer.”

“All right, all right,” Sakura laughed quietly.

They finished up their tea, enjoying the peace of the morning before they headed out of the house and toward the beach.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

The large tanuki, who shrank enough to lay down, looked up as he heard talking from the walkway down to the beach. He stretched and closed his eyes, rolling over onto his back, as if didn’t have a care in the world.

“Shukaku!” He lazily opened one eye to see the sister of his old jinchuriki. He hummed in acknowledgment. “Lady Sakura wants to talk to you!”

He gave a rumbling chuckle and rolled onto his side, propping his head up on his arm.

“I see, and what does Kurama’s little flower want to say to me? Finally decided to get the scroll I assume?”

“No.”

He opened both eyes and kept his face straight as he looked to the young kage, even with the confusion that was swirling within him.

“Oh?”

“I can’t risk my village for it. The people here are living peaceful and happy lives. If Suna found out that we were harboring people wanted by them there could be danger brought here. I’m not risking that and I’m not sending any of my people to steal it either. I don’t want to create any tension between us and the Land of Wind.”

“I see...” the One-Tail grumbled, showing he was following what she was saying.

“I’m willing to help you find a place to lie low until we can get the scroll without any trouble, but I don’t know how long it will be before that happens.” She kept her authoritative posture and crossed her arms over her chest.

“You seem to care a lot for this town of yours.”

“I do.”

“Including Kurama?”

“Of course.”

“Why?” he asked.

Her brow furrowed.

“What do you mean, why?”

“Why do you care for these people? Kurama spent some time explaining things to me, and I’ve only gotten more confused. You hadn’t even met most of these people until a few months ago, but you’re acting like they’re your family or something.”

“They are my family,“ she stated, uncrossing her arms and placing a hand on her hip. “Sure, we may all be from different backgrounds, we may all see things in different ways but… we care about each other... Many of the people here were involved in an attack that almost wiped out their town. A lot of people died and even more were hurt, but every single person who was able was helping look for their neighbors.”

Temari and Shukaku watched as she lowered her hands and clenched them into fists. “They cared about them enough to look for them, even if they didn’t know if they were alive...”

“I heard about what happened with your old village.”

“Then you know why I brought the others here.”

“Yes... I think I do now...” It was quiet for a while. He examined her. She hadn’t broken eye contact during her speech and he could see the drive in her. She truly cared about what happened to him and his brother. “I have a question for you.”

“What is it?” she asked, coming out of thoughts that had dragged her into herself for a few moments.

“If you were to get the location of another one of my siblings, would you seek them out and ask them the same question you asked me? If they wanted to be a part of your village? Not as a weapon or a fighter, but as whatever they wanted to be?”

“Of course.”

“And you would accept them?”

“Yes. If they are willing to help defend their home along with the rest of us should the time come, I would be honored to have them as citizens of Arashi.”

“Then I guess you’ve gained a new citizen,” he grinned. She said nothing, as she had never expected him to join the village so easily.

“And a new family member,” they heard Temari say. Looking over to her, he felt a small smile grow on his face.

Sakura screamed and clutched her heart as Kakashi appeared in front of her.

“Why!?” she screamed.

“You didn’t answer the door,” he yawned through a small grin.

“That’s—”

“He does normally know where you are,” Temari snickered.

“That still doesn’t mean he needs to scare the life out of me,” she mumbled. Shukaku let out a laugh.

Chapter Text

Iruka looked at the town around him. It was larger than he anticipated. There were not many people out at the time, as it was just after sunrise, but he spotted a pair of teens walking toward him. Konohamaru, or Kosai as he now knew him, waved from next to Inari.

“Hi, Teacher!”

“Quiet down. People are still sleeping,” Inari scolded.

“Ah, sorry…”

“What are you two doing here? Shouldn’t you be on the island? I thought the first ferry was at seven,” the man asked, fiddling with a loose string in his jacket pocket.

“It is, we took the shinobi route,” Inari said.

“The shinobi route?”

“There’s big boats for lots of normal people,” Kosai started, acting as if he were holding a large boulder to emphasize the size of the boat before going back to his normal posture. “But when a shinobi needs to get back to the island, or to Arashichi, there are small one-person boats that are pulled by the smaller hummingbirds. They’re tiny but super strong.”

“The two of us could fit on one so we decided to come over,” Inari said as he pulled a small coin purse from his vest pocket, flipping it open and fishing around with his fingers to count how much he had.

“Inari keeps having trouble with keeping steady on water, so we’re going to practice on some trees.”

“Why not just do it on the island?” Iruka asked

“There’s not many trees that are public, most of them are on people’s property so we can’t. Here there’s a big area of them near the Garden Squares, so we’re going to do it over there.” Inari said as he showed his pouch to Kosai. “I have enough for both of us if you pay me back later.”

“Okay.” Kosai looked up to the jounin. “Hey Teacher Iruka, you wanna come have breakfast with us?”

After arriving, Iruka looked around the small restaurant, which was named The Honey Pot, as he sat at a table with the two boys. It was empty but he could hear the sounds of dishes moving and something sizzling from the window to the kitchen.

“So what are you getting, Teacher?” Kosai asked. Iruka looked over to him.

“Just some fried eggs and rice. They should have something simple like that.”

“They make good eggs here,” Inari said as he watched the kitchen area for something.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m curious how you started learning about being a shinobi, Inari,” the teacher smiled. The boy hummed but did not turn away from where he was looking.

“Well... When I was younger, my grandpa went to Konohagakure for business, but on his way back he couldn’t afford any bodyguards, so he just asked for someone to bring him back. The three genins that brought him back and helped fight off the guy that was trying to keep the bridge from being built really inspired me, so I collected every book about it I could find.”

“As a teacher that makes me very happy, hearing someone is so interested in learning.”

“Yeah...” The boy seemed a bit uncomfortable, but Iruka could understand as they were still strangers. “I could only do taijutsu until a few months ago.”

“Why’s that?” Iruka asked, wondering if there was something he had needed help with. Inari exchanged a look with Kosai before looking at him.

“My dad put a chakra seal on me when I was born, ’cause it could have caused my family trouble, and Lady Namikage removed it a few months ago.”

“I’m glad you were able to start learning with chakra after all of that,” the teacher smiled, easily getting that the boy did not want to tell the full story. He turned as he heard a noise to see a young woman standing next to him at the end of the table.

“Hello boys, you seem early,” she smiled.

“Yeah, we’re here to eat, then we’re going to go train,” Kosai said.

“I’m glad to hear you’re working hard. Who’s this?” she asked, looking to Iruka.

“I’m Umino Iruka, nice to meet you.”

“He’s one of the shinobi from Konoha,” Inari told her. She nodded and gave the teacher a smile.

“It’s nice to meet you. Thank you very much for coming to assist us.”

“I’m very glad to have been able to come to help,” the man smiled back. She finished taking their orders and the three continued to talk. “Kosai, you’ve mentioned a teacher a few times–”

“Oh! Teacher Shino said he’d help us learn up to chunin level then we could take the test when we feel ready.”

“Shino?” Iruka asked, smiling a bit.

“Kurama tried to teach us some things but, Teacher Shino is much better,” Inari said.

“Kurama was trying to teach us shadow clones right off the bat,” Kosai laughed. The boy caught the unpleasant look on his old teacher’s face and he shut his mouth.

“Kurama…?” Iruka questioned, worried. Inari looked to his friend who looked down and fiddled with the chopsticks in front of him.

“U-Uh…” Kosai was trying to find a response, when Kirai returned..

“Food’s ready!” the woman sang, giving a laugh. The food was set in front of them and she smiled. “Mind if I sit with you? There won’t be many other customers this morning.”

Inari and Kosai nodded quickly and she took the seat next to Iruka. “Were you talking about Kurama?”

Kosai looked down nervously.

“Uh... Um...”

“You know him?” Iruka asked, knowing he wouldn’t get much out of the teen. She turned to him and smiled.

“I do. He’s pretty well known around the village.”

“And who exactly is he?” Iruka asked, wondering if it could be a coincidence. By the way his old student was acting he didn’t think it was. The woman opened her mouth to respond but Kosai interrupted.

“He’s one of the Lady Namikage’s most trusted! H-He’s really nice and helps out a lot with things around the village.”

“Kosai. You already know what I want to ask—” Iruka started.

“W-Well I’m not going to talk about it,” the boy said suddenly.

“Kosai.” The boy looked up to the woman in surprise as he heard her stern tone. “Why are you acting like this?”

“The rice is good today,” Inari mumbled. “Mom makes it kind of like this.”

In the end, Inari and Kosai were able to get to training without having to talk about Kurama. Iruka had to head to the harbor to catch the ferry with the others, but that didn’t stop the worry he was beginning to feel.

Chapter Text

Ino groaned as someone shook her in her sleep.

“Five more minutes…” she mumbled, burying her face in her pillow.

“Ino. You promised to have breakfast with your father. Five more minutes will be too late.”

She shot up, her blond hair flying everywhere before falling back down.

“Oh my god! Thank you!” She jumped out of bed and grabbed a pair of pants that were hanging out of a drawer. She slipped them on before reaching for a shirt.

“Ino.”

She looked over to Sai.

“Yeah?” she asked, hair tie between her teeth.

“Those are my pants.”

She looked down to find that they were indeed his pants. She groaned and slipped out of them, digging in the drawer to find a pair of her own. She ignored Sai’s laughs before having enough and throwing his pants at him. They hit him in the face before falling onto the bed to show his look of surprise. She finished putting a shirt on and slipped on a pair of heeled sandals that she bought a few days before. She brushed through her hair as Sai got out of bed, stretching.

He put on a shirt before meeting her in the bathroom, where she was doing her makeup.

“I still don’t understand why you wear that.”

“What?” she asked, having just finished up as she was not wearing that much for the day.

“The makeup, you’re pretty without it.”

“Aww, thank you,” she smiled as she pecked his cheek. “Think of it as an accent more than a cover-up.”

He shook his head as he brushed his teeth.

“You don’t need to add to a painting when it’s perfect,” he grumbled.

She beamed at him.

“I love you.”

“Love you, too,” he returned as a smile met his face.

“So you’re sure you don’t want to come?”

“I’ve been needing to do a few things for a while,” he responded. “He’s still coming over for dinner on Friday, right?”

She nodded in confirmation as she put up her hair, frowning when it didn’t look right to her. Pulling out the hair tie, she went to try again but he took it and did it for her, his toothbrush in his mouth.

“Thank you!” She grinned before kissing him on the cheek again. “I need to get going. See you when I get back, or when you get back.”

“Have fun!” he called as she left the room. He listened for the front door.

Click.

He quickly finished up what he was doing and rushed into the bedroom. He got dressed, wearing his normal shinobi attire and teleported to the docks. Not many people took the first ferry to Arashichi, but Ino would be on it and he didn’t want her to know he was going there as well. From what she knew, he had business at the port but did not need to leave the island. He made his way over to the small area with a few small rafts on a stand.

Pulling a card out of his pocket, he picked up one of the rafts, placing it on the deck that was just below the water’s surface.

“Sai,” a voice said form behind him. He turned to find Shikamaru.

“What is it?” the painter asked, hoping it wasn’t an emergency.

“Sakura needs you to go to her office.”

“Dammit.” Sai’s head fell in disappointment.

“I’ll tell Inoichi that it needs to be postponed because you won’t be making it in time.”

“Thanks…”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Sakura watched as Sai entered the room before looking around at the four people with her.

“I’m glad you all were available, as this is extremely important.”

She looked at the four men in front of her. Kakashi already knew what was going on, but Kurama, Shukaku, and Sai were in for a shock.

“The Mizukage is coming.”

The man and two chakra beasts looked at her, startled.

“You invited them here !?“ Shukaku asked. He had taken on a human form much like his brother to allow him to navigate the village. He deep tan skin, sandy tan hair, and a build much like Choji and Choza that was reminiscent of his true form. He wore a pair of black pants, a black shirt, and straw sandels under a kimono robe with a design that looked extremely similar to the designs of his tailed form.

“Are you sure that’s alright?” Kurama asked, keeping a calmer composure than his brother.

“Why did you do something so drastic?” Sai asked.

“Word got to us that Kirigakure recaptured Isobu,” Kakashi explained, gaining a worried look from Shukaku.

“I wish to sort things out before he is sealed inside of someone,” she said. “We will be cutting access to the island for the duration of her visit. She seemed rather happy about meeting another young female kage, but I don’t want any spies getting in.”

“Do the town’s people know?” Sai asked.

“Each household will receive a letter tomorrow,” Kakashi explained, his hands in his pockets.

“I have told you in private because you will be the ones with me when we meet.”

“I get that, but if this island is on lockdown, how are you two going to meet?” Shukaku asked.

“We will be meeting in the conference room at the Bird Garden.”

“I’ll show it to you later,” Kurama said, knowing his brother had not made it over to Arashichi yet.

“Does she know what you were wanting to talk about?” Sai queried.

“Yes. According to her response letter, she will bring the to-be jinchuriki and Isobu sealed in a scroll.”

“So we can just snatch the scroll—” Shukaku started.

“No. You will not be making any moves like that or you will not be attending,” Sakura said, giving him a stern look. She placed her hand on a scroll box that was on her desk. “I have something she’s been wanting back.”

“So you’re going to do a trade?” Kurama asked, wondering what could be inside of the box.

“We’re going to be making an agreement and alliance. We need her on our side if we want to search the Water Country for Akatsuki bases and your siblings. It is of the utmost importance that this meeting goes well.”

“And what happens when she finds out about you being a rogue-nin?” Shukaku asked.

“She already knows.”

The four men looked at her in shock and question, as even Kakashi hadn’t known exactly what she wrote in her letters.

“Sakura, do you know how dangerous that is!?” the silver-haired man asked, completely baffled.

“Of course,” she started with the utmost confidence. “Which is why it’s important for her to know as well. If she knows what she’s dealing with, then she can have the right cautiousness about certain things.”

“Like trusting us?” Shukaku asked, thinking she made a very stupid decision.

“I have something she wants and has been searching for the entire time she has been Mizukage. I’m willing to give it to her if we are able to come to an agreement.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing…” Sai muttered, anxiety beginning to set into all of them.

Chapter Text

The group of Leaf shinobi met at the harbor as they were told to, being greeted by the villagers they passed by. They were to meet with the village elder and an assistant of the Namikage before being led to the woman herself.

Their journey on the ferry was an interesting one, as they learned about the wall of rain for the first time and were able to talk with a few villagers about what day-to-day life was like. But that soon came to an end as the ferry pulled up next to the dock of the hidden island.

Yoshino raised a brow as she looked at her husband, his eyes on something outside the window on the dock. Her eyes followed and found a tall man with silver hair next to a short, elderly woman. She wanted to ask what was so striking about them, but decided against it as they were to be getting off in the next few moments. The group allowed the villagers to pass by them and gathered together to wait. They only had a few seconds to themselves before the elderly woman approached. She was hunched over slightly and wore more traditional clothes in the colors of the village.

“Might you all be the ones coming from Konohagakure?” she asked, her green eyes looking over all of them.

“They are,” the man Shikaku had seen said as he came up next to her.

“Kakashi…?” Everyone looked at Kurenai before looking back to the man, each of them having the realization as well. “I thought you were dead. Why are you here? What happened to your eye?”

“We can talk about all that after the meeting,” the old woman smiled. “It’s not that far of a walk to the Kage Tower. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to make it!”

She laughed before turning and beginning to walk. The group followed behind and Kurenai quickly made her way up next to Kakashi.

“So, everyone just assumed I was dead then?” he asked quietly.

“To be fair, most of us thought it was stupid to just leave everyone… But after you didn’t come back…” she frowned. He shook his head in disappointment.

“I am Nashigaki Iro,” the old woman said, gaining their attention. “I was appointed to the position of the village elder and do my best to help with matters in any way I can. If any of you have questions concerning the agreement between our two villages or anything else important, then you can ask to speak with me at the main desk and they’ll find my old self for you.”

Kurenai heard Kakashi give a quiet laugh. “At the moment, we are walking down the main road of the village. Most things are able to be found here, including shops and important buildings such as the hospital, mail service, and other more government-based buildings. Further down the road, a fork breaks off into three directions. Those streets have more shops, housing, restaurants, and other businesses. I’m sure your loved ones will be thrilled to take you on tours once we have finished up the meeting.”

They came upon a large teal and white building that climbed up the side of a huge protrusion of rock, just as the houses did on the rocks across from it. “This is the Kage Tower, all things involving the Namikage and the village as a whole are discussed here. Situated just to the right is the hospital. If Lady Namikage cannot be found in the tower, then she is most certainly hard at work with patients.”

“Sounds like Lady Tsunade…” Iruka muttered as they entered the building. Upon entry, they were met by applause and looked around to find many people smiling at them.

“Thank you so much for helping us!” someone cheered from the crowd. A man from the back rushed forward and they noticed he held a large Champagne bottle. Something zipped toward the bottle and wrapped around it, the large container ending up in the old woman’s hands.

“I said no!” the old woman scolded.

“But Lady Iro—” the man started.

“Do it outside, you fool!”

He sighed and took the bottle from her hands before exiting the building and popping the cork, everyone cheering.

“They’re excited to get started with improving the village,” Kakashi muttered. “He’s a little more excited than most.”

Choza let out a laugh before they continued on, heading up a few flights of stairs and coming to a door.

Kakashi opened the door before the rest entered, the group looking around as they saw that the desk was empty. Iro turned and looked at the man at the door.

“She’s disappeared.”

Kakashi looked at the desk before he looked around the room, a few of them thinking they saw a little panic on his face before a small woman rushed in through the door, her kage robe fluttering behind her. She dropped a stack of papers on the desk before snatching up a pen and writing a few things down. Once finished she took a few of them and sprinted back out of the room. Iruka was the first one to look at Kakashi in shock.

“Was that…?” The woman rushed back in and hurried over to the desk, shoving the stack of folders to the side before resting her elbows on the wood. She gave a warm smile and Iruka felt tears in his eyes again.

“Welcome to Arashigakure!” Sakura beamed.

“Sakura!” Choji cheered. She laughed and he approached the desk, the two of them exchanging a few happy words before he went back to his parents. She let out a happy sigh as she laced her fingers together.

“I’m happy to see everyone was able to make it.”

“Sakura, you’re the Namikage?” Iruka asked, amazed.

“It’s a long story…” she laughed. “But let’s get to the point of this meeting so I can let you all loose.”

She picked up a stack of folders to her left and Kakashi took them from her before passing them out. “These folders contain a temporary citizenship form, a home request form, and some general information on how things work differently here than in Konoha. There are some schedules and contact information as well.”

She looked down at a paper and lifted it slightly to see it better. “I’ll be sending a messenger bird to each of you who have a role to play in the strengthening of the village when we’re ready to begin your part. I’ll probably be contacting Teacher Iruka first as everyone is antsy to get the schools up and running.”

She looked back up at them.

“But for the time being, please fill out the citizenship forms and a house request form and drop them off at the front desk by the end of the next few days,” she finished with a smile. “Do any of you have any questions for me that do not involve my status or what happened prior to knowing where any of us were?”

“I do… actually…” Iruka started. Sakura frowned at seeing his fall in mood. “Kosai and his teammate… along with another woman… mentioned Kurama.”

She pursed her lips.

Chapter Text

Sakura looked down at the paper in her hand before letting out a sigh, laying it down on the desk. She took a deep breath before looking up at him.

“Kurama, the Nine-Tails, is in this village, yes.” The group stayed quiet. “I saved him from being resealed. He lives with us here.”

“Lives…?” Inoichi asked hesitantly.

“He is a citizen.”

The group just looked at her and she kept her gaze.

“I would like to suggest, if I may,” Iro spoke, drawing their attention, “that you ask those you see on the streets about him and his brother. I feel the peoples’ opinion is of an important standard.”

“I agree,” Sakura started. “Rather than listen to me, I think you should talk to the people around town, even the children if you wish to.”

“Brother…?” the teacher asked.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Shikamaru let out a yawn as his parents talked with Temari about their trip. Both women had insisted upon getting some food before they walked back to the Nara compound.

“So the birds surprised you that much?” Temari smiled.

“They seemed like summons, if I’m completely honest...” Shikaku muttered, taking a sip of the tea they had ordered. “How is it that they live alongside everyone?”

Temari hummed.

“See... I’m not actually sure. I’ve meant to ask Lady Sakura about it but I haven’t gotten the chance yet.” She turned to her fiance. “Have you heard anything about it? You’re in the Kage Tower all the time.”

He hummed, thinking back.

“I’ve heard a few things, but I’m pretty sure it’s under lock and key for the moment. The only thing I can say is Lady Katsuyu had a major influence.”

“It’s possible that she knows these birds, or she knows a leader of some sort,” his father put forward. The conversation stayed on the ever-present hummingbird population before Shikaku decided he wanted to know his son’s take on something he had learned in the kage’s office.

“I’m sure you both know that I have many questions,” he started as he leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed. “But I’d like to ask the most pressing one first. Why in heaven and hell are there two tailed beasts living here as citizens ?”

Temari opened her mouth to respond, but decided against it. Shikamaru gave a heavy sigh.

“The reason for that would be that Sakura recognized Kurama’s intelligence. The fact that he wasn’t just some rabid thing,” he explained, resting his arms on the table. “She picked up his trust after Naruto lost it. I never believed that he’d wait a month for him to come back in the first place.”

“And no one fears them?” Yoshino asked quietly, having noticed a few people were keeping an eye on them.

“Not at all,” Temari smiled. “Children even greet them on the streets.”

“One of the first laws that was instated was the banning of sealing tailed beasts unless under an extreme emergency which only the kage, village elder, or daimyo could okay. Breaking that is an act of war and treason should the person be a citizen of Arashi,” Shikamaru told them. “They trust her more than they’ve trusted anyone for a long time, I’m guessing.”

“And what have your experiences been with them…?” Shikaku asked.

“They’re still getting used to being around people like they are…” Temari sighed, stirring her tea. “They’ve been chased down for so long they developed instincts. But they’re trying their best to pay Sakura back for giving them a safe home. Shukaku has actually been trying to make up for what happened between him and my brother… From what I hear, they’re getting on well.”

“I’ve always heard that—” Yoshino started.

“The reason Shukaku was so abusive with Gaara is that he was sealed against his will…” the younger woman interrupted politely. “They were both prisoners, and Shukaku just saw my brother as another human…”

“There’s been a lot of suffering on both sides…” Shikamaru muttered. After a long silence, Shikaku gave a heavy sigh.

“Well, there’s no changing the fact that they’re here. Though I doubt that we’ll be running into them in town—”

“You probably will, honestly. They’ve taken on human forms to make it easier for them to help with the village,” Temari informed, holding back a laugh as looks of shock crossed her to-be in-laws’ faces. “We could have passed by one of them on the way here, and neither of you would have had a clue.”

“I don’t know about that,” Shikamaru chuckled. “Their chakra is still pretty massive.”

“So, when will you be explaining the ring on her finger?” Yoshino asked suddenly, playfully resting her chin in her hand.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Kosai sat on his doorstep as he waited for Shino to bring his aunt and cousin to where he was. He gave a long sigh as he rested his chin in his palms while he stared out over the railing of the pathway. He had moved into a small house that sat on the road that wound up the hill opposite the Kage Tower. He liked the view, along with the fact it was near a stairway down to the main road.

The house was tiny, having a small kitchen and living room with a door in the back leading to his bedroom and bathroom. It was situated between two larger houses. Ones that had two bedrooms and a larger living area.

He found himself sighing again as he thought about how his grandfather would have reacted to him becoming a shinobi of a different village. How would his uncle have reacted? He wondered if they would have supported him, or if they would have been upset that he left Konohagakure. His thoughts wandered for a bit longer before he spotted people reaching the top of the staircase out of the corner of his eye, turning to find it was who he had been waiting for.

He hopped up, dusting himself off from the training he was doing that morning on the beach, and greeted them as they approached.

“Hi, Aunt Kurenai…”

“Hello. Shino said you wanted to show me something?” she asked quietly, Mirai sleeping in her arms. The boy nodded and waved her over to the door next to his, opening it and urging her to enter. Upon entering, she found a small living room with an attached dining room and kitchen.

“Since this house wasn’t bought yet, I thought maybe you’d want to live in it,” he whispered. A gentle smile came to her lips as she glanced around the room before carefully hugging her nephew as best she could.

“Thank you.”

Chapter Text

The red-haired woman looked around the small village as she followed the ANBU to the room where she would meet the widely talked about Namikage. The ANBU had light blond hair and a mask that was completely white other than a light purple stripe going vertically down the mask over her right eye.

“This is much smaller than I had anticipated,” the visitor said.

“We are small, but we try our best,” the ANBU woman responded, not turning from the direction she was walking.

“You must do very well, seeing as you’ve grown so much in such a short time.”

“Lady Namikage tries her best to keep the people above all else. They know this and apparently people from outside the village like that too.”

The visitor watched as a group of children ran past them, waving at her.

“Megumi!” a girl called. “Thank you for helping my daddy!”

The ANBU waved as they continued walking. They turned and took a road between two buildings before coming to a large tunnel made of flowers. The visitor and those who accompanied her paused to look at it.

“It’s not finished yet, but it’s much farther than it was. It used to only be on the two front poles.” They walked through the tunnel, the small group admiring the semi-natural beauty. They reached the other end before coming to a stop at the foot of the tall white tower that could be seen from outside the village walls. Two other ANBU appeared out of the building. One had a mask resembling a Koi fish, the other looking somewhat like a seal. The woman who had been leading them turned to face her. “This is the building where Lady Namikage will meet with you. She is waiting inside.”

“Let’s get this started then,” the visitor stated.

The female ANBU nodded and led the group into the building.

They went up a few flights of stairs before coming to a large door. The entirety of the building was made out of white wood, with the doors, window frames, and ceilings being no different. The floors were a bit darker in color, as was any furniture they passed by. The ANBU knocked on the door before a quiet response came from the other side. The door was then opened and the small group entered.

Sitting at a table was someone wearing a woman mask, a kage hat placed on their head. An ANBU man stood behind her, slightly to the side, his mask resembling a dog. On the right side of the room, two men sat on cushions: one with fire-orange hair, the other with sandy-tan.

Each person who knew who they were by their chakra immediately became on edge and the Mist ANBU readied to fight.

“If you can’t relax, get out. I don’t need you starting a war,” the Mizukage frowned. The Mist ANBU bowed and apologized before the woman took a seat in the chair opposite of the masked kage. It was silent for a few moments.

“Thank you for coming,” the Namikage spoke, her voice being trapped by the mask and causing her to sound odd.

“So it’s true then. That you have tamed—”

“Don’t use that word,” the masked kage said sharply. “They are a part of this village. They don’t have to worry about being called monsters and being hunted. That’s not taming. They are my friends.”

“My apologies…”

“Do you have the scroll?”

The red-haired woman raised her right hand and the man behind her pulled a large scroll from his back.

“This is the to-be jinchuriki,” the Mizukage stated, lifting her left hand. A young man stepped forward, though he looked a little frightened.

“I have another deal to propose to you.”

“Don’t attempt to ask anything more,” The red-haired woman narrowed her eyes. “This deal is risky as it is.”

“Even if it means more knowledge about medical jutsu and resources?”

“What kind of resources?”

“There may be a fair amount of chakra iron that we have found in a certain area of our village.”

“It’s true that’s hard to come by…”

“I would offer you fish, but we both know why I’m not.”

“Fair point.” The older woman sighed. “What’s the offer?”

“Give us Isobu, the three-tails.”

The Mizukage stood, slamming her hand on the table.

“What do you think this is!?”

“I am trying to avoid a war in the future and I am offering you many things in return for both what I asked for in my letter and him. If there is something else you want then make an offer.”

“I want to know where exactly the rest of your village is.” Shukaku and Kurama looked at the woman in surprise. “There’s no way that this is it. Pretty as it may be, I see no hospital, no Kage Tower, or other major buildings. So that must mean that they’re in another location.”

“That is all you ask for?” the masked kage asked, no surprise in her voice.

“Yes. I know you will not tell me, so there is no use in this deal.”

The Namikage pushed back her chair and stood calmly.

“Gin, show the two brothers out. Megumi, if you might show those who accompanied Lady Mizukage out to another conference room.” The others left and the masked kage took off her hat and mask. Sakura stared at the woman. “I will tell you, and show you in fact.”

The Mizukage looked at her in surprise. “Do we have a deal?”

The Mizukage stared at the woman in front of her for a few moments, remembering the warnings from the elders about not trusting the hidden kage.

“I will take a risk... Yes, I accept this deal. You may search for Akatsuki bases in the Land of Water in cooperation with us, the criminal’s body will be transferred here, and we will hand the Three-Tails over to you.”

“Thank goodness,” Sakura said with a sigh of relief and a smile. The Mizukage gave her a look of confusion and Sakura shook her head. “Kurama and Shukaku were already planning on how to steal him from you if this didn’t work out. That was behind my back of course, as I would never let them do something so stupid. But now I don’t have to worry about them starting a war.”

She explained this as she made her way over to the window, opening the shutters. “Come over and I’ll show you where Arashijima is.”

Chapter Text

The Mizukage approached the window cautiously, and Sakura pointed to the dark clouds that were off the coast.

“That is where the rest of this village is located.”

“That is…?” the older woman asked in slight confusion. To be honest, she had thought there was a skilled genjutsu in place, not that it was offshore.

“Would you like to go? Kurama and Shukaku probably want to get Isobu out of the scroll as soon as possible,” Sakura asked.

“You’re allowing me to go…?” Mei asked, taken slightly off guard by how friendly she was being.

“Of course,” Sakura beamed. “You’ve agreed to hand over Isobu, so I should be as accommodating as I can.”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

The group looked to the doors of the conference room to see both women, Sakura being masked once again. The Mizukage pointed to the man with the scroll.

“Hand that over to one of the Arashi ANBU.”

“B-But, Lady Mizukage—” he stuttered. Had she not said on the way there to guard it as they would not be handing it over?

“A deal has been struck. We will benefit from this greatly.” Gin held out his arms and the Mist ANBU reluctantly gave the scroll to him. “Ideki, you will no longer be a jinchuriki.”

The young man nodded, clear relief showing on his face. “You all will be staying here. I will be accompanying the Namikage to the location where she will be releasing the three-tails.”

“And the two of you,” Sakura started, looking at the two tailed beasts. Kurama and Shukaku glanced at each other before looking at her. She approached them. “I already knew about your back-up plan. I hope you know that.”

The two men froze up. “You two are such a hassle.”

“Sorry…” Shukaku muttered. They practically felt her narrow her eyes. They bowed in unison.

“We’re very sorry…”

“That’s better.”

Those who had come from Kiri looked on in shock at the interaction.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Mei had to admit that the village was indeed beautiful. The flower fields and bright colors gave a refreshing and calm air to the community. She would have to think about such things once she arrived back in her own village.

She also saw no beggars on the streets. All the villagers were happily going about their days, children playing freely on the sides of the road. She had wondered how they had grown so quickly, but upon seeing it she could understand. Anyone who came to the village would wish to be a part of it. She was sure that any merchants or travelers that came into town may have wished to stay.

Little to her knowledge, that was precisely what happened. Passersby would see the vibrance of the streets and wonder if it were possible for them to stay. Arashichi had grown twice the size it had been when they first built it within three months, with some of the capital further east in the Land of Waves having relocated. Homes were built outside of Arashichi’s original wall, businesses following suit.

Sakura had to prohibit people from building along the south coast, as she knew that having a monopoly on the bridge could cause problems down the road. But the walls and ports were expanded. Gardens were planted and areas of trees were saved from ever being cut down. The Arashichi Clinic was relocated and increased in size and the design and curriculum for a main island academy was in the works.

However, the island was a much bigger shock to her than even the port town. With Mei having left her ANBU in Arashichi, Sakura was able to remove her mask once they boarded the ferry. She shared the stories of them finding the island and how they built it up, but the Mizukage was still unprepared for it.

It was larger than she had imagined, not having expected it to have mountains and valleys. The houses in the Arashijima port were more adobe-like than those in Arashichi and they scaled up a large spike of a mountain, a road twisting and turning its way up. On a road leading out from the port into the island were most of the main buildings: including the teal and white Kage Tower, the hospital, and some other major buildings that she did not know the exact use for. She was shown around as they made their way to the beach where they would release the three-tails.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Sakura placed the large scroll on the sand where they had summoned Shukaku. She looked around to make sure everyone was in place.

Kurama had returned to his fox form and to his original size so that he would be able to help hold his brother down if necessary. Shukaku was also in his original form, sitting up on the cliffs with Garra, who wore an ANBU mask. Temari, Kakashi, Sai, Ino, Kankuro, Neji, and Tenten, all of whom wore ANBU masks as well, were on the cliffs. They were mainly there for support and in case something went wrong.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura looked back down at the scroll before closing her eyes. She made a small wish that it would go as smoothly as it could before filling her palm with chakra and slamming it down on the seal, disrupting the seal’s chakra flow and releasing him. A massive plume of smoke erupted suddenly, and she jumped back a few times to give the beast room. Mei raised her hands to perform a jutsu but stopped as Gin held up his own, motioning for her not to intervene.

A massive tail cut through the smoke, sending a blast of wind toward those on the cliffs, but the Mizukage watched in awe as Sakura used nothing but a punch to send it back to the ground. Moments later, the smoke cleared to show the mighty three-tailed chakra beast that had been in the hands of Kirigakure for decades. He was held by the tails of the fox, and two of his tails were under the sand tanuki who had sat on them.

“Isobu,” Kurama bellowed, catching the attention of his brother. The Three-Tails stopped, looking at him before turning to Shukaku.

“Why are you holding me down…?” a deep voice asked.

“I would like to speak with you!” Sakura stated, jumping off from his tail.

“Speak?” the voice rumbled. “Humans don’t speak to us….”

“I am.” She was not lying. She was speaking with him, which was something most humans would never even think about doing. But he recognized her, if only a little.

“You tried to seal me once.”

Sakura gave a deep bow, staying so.

“I was fed the bigotry and ignorance that most humans hold. For that I am deeply sorry.”

“Why did you release me?”

She straightened up and looked up at him, giving him a smile.

“I wanted to talk to you about a home.”

“I don’t have a home for you,” he rumbled. She gave a light laugh.

“Not for me, for you. Without being sealed or having to worry about being chased.”

He was silent for a few moments before Kurama felt him relax.

“I will listen….”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Mei watched the small woman from afar as she sat on a cliff’s edge, having a casual conversation about the difference between salt and fresh waters with a chakra beast that was a hundred times larger than her.

The older woman frowned as she thought back on all the world had done to the tailed beasts. Even the current Mizukage herself had never thought they could have personalities.

Chapter Text

Sakura stared at the pile of mail on her desk as she stood in the doorway of her office. Shikamaru bit his unlit cigarette as he looked in behind her, shadow covering his eyes.

“Oh my... It seems we have a lot to get through today,” Iro murmured, her tone a bit extinguished. Sakura gave a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose as she rounded her desk and sat down in her chair. The three began to sort the mail into piles, Sakura being pleased to find there were quite a few mission requests.

The young kage’s interest piqued when she recognized a red wax seal on one of the scrolls that Iro had sorted out of the envelopes. She pulled it from the neat stack, being sure to not bring the whole construction down. Upon seeing it closer, she was able to confirm it was what she had thought it had been.

“This is from the World Shinobi Organization,” she murmured, breaking the wax and unrolling the paper before she began to read through the message. Shikamaru grumbled to himself as he flipped through a few envelopes with wax seals. He recognized a few of them being from large companies that had outlets in the most populated cities across most nations, though he choked slightly as he saw the seal of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

“Sakura—”

“Hold on,” she grit out. Her eyes narrowed in irritation as she continued to read through the announcement. Iro looked over to Shikamaru in question, as she had little idea of what could be in the scroll. Sakura let out a growl as she slammed the scroll down on the desk, pushing back her chair. She made her way to the window that overlooked the city and stared out over the streets. “Bastards.”

“Sakura?” Iro asked softly.

“They’ve acknowledged us as an official village.… They’re mocking us.”

“How so?”

“After the Third Shinobi War, the organization set a standard for villages,” Shikamaru explained. “The reasoning was so stupid I decided it wasn’t worth remembering.”

“We have to have at least one team get to the finals of the next Chunin Exams.… I’m not sure that we have anyone ready for that. They know that we just got our Academy finished. We don’t have any genin to take the exam,” she bit out, biting her thumbnail.

“Is it just about the exams?” Iro asked.

“There has to be a certain amount of missions completed and a population minimum,” the man informed as he took the scroll she had been looking at. “The fact that we’ve grown so much in just a few months is probably the reason we’re being recognized, but they don’t see us as something to respect at the moment for a few different reasons, probably.”

Giving a sigh, he took in the number of letters that were on the table and recognized that they received fewer mission requests due to their size.

“The known island is roughly the size of Kiri, so that’s saying something in itself. They could probably easily stomp us out if they tried. Or I guess they think they could. We do have the three brothers and Sakura,” he murmured. “And then they don’t recognize any of our shinobi or think they don’t, anyway. Those of us that came from Konoha and Suna are all chunin at the least, excluding Kosai.”

He lifted the scroll she had been reading and glanced over it. “This has an announcement about teams of two being accepted for exams this year... The exams are taking place in Kumo, start on August thirteenth... And there’s the acceptance for our genin to participate with the recommendation of their teachers.”

“Three months away...” Iro muttered.

“To be honest, I would bet Kosai could pass,” Shikamaru sighed, leaning back in his chair as he continued to read through the message, admitting to himself that the tone of the announcement was rather mocking toward them.

“He doesn’t have two people to participate with,” Sakura sighed.

“It said they’re accepting teams of two,” he reminded. She paused for a moment before looking over to him. “Inari is his partner. He has a team.”

“You’re right,” she murmured, approaching them and placing her hands down on the wood of the desk.

“Inari has gotten a good handle on how to use his chakra. Kosai can perform the rasengan. I think, with a little more training, they could do it.”

Sakura thought for a few more moments before nipping the tip of her thumb and placing her hand down on her desk. A small puff of smoke erupted and disappeared to show a small green hummingbird sitting on her hand.

“Let Shino know I would like to speak with him, please,” she said as she lifted her hand. The bird gave a small nod before zipping off through the small door flap that was installed in the bay window to her left. “We’ll see if he thinks they can do it.…”

She looked back at Shikamaru. “Sorry, did you find something?”

She was referring to when he had said her name.

“Ah, yeah... Uh...” he picked up the envelope and held it out to her. “This is from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.…”

Sakura did a double-take as she took the letter from his hand.

“Why?” she asked as she looked at the wax. The question was more rhetorical, as she was sure that he had no idea why the letter arrived either. Opening it, she pulled the papers out and read through them while the two who were still sitting down watched the different expressions that crossed over her face. They recognized a bit of confusion, some irritation, and anxiety. “Dammit... He wants to make sure that we’re not going to try and take any of the coast for our own probably.… He wants a meeting with both me and the feeble man trying to pass me his title.”

“I’m not sure that you need to worry about our Daimyo intimidating the Land of Fire’s...” Shikamaru muttered, remembering just how unaccustomed he was to be around other people of high authority.

“It’s the opposite that I’m afraid of... He could get us stuck in some sort of trade leeching. I’m not sure I’m up to sitting back and watching that.” Sakura sighed, dropping the letter on the desk. “He wants to meet toward the beginning of the new year. Kakashi is close to finishing up the coup investigation, so hopefully we can settle the whole thing before the meeting.”

Her jade eyes glanced at the clock before she gave a sigh. “Can I ask the two of you to read through the mission requests? I want to go and check on Isobu and see Lady Mizukage off.”

“Don’t worry about it, we’ll get through them,” Shikamaru yawned. “While we’re at it, I’ll see if I can set some general categories for ranking them. Then someone can get paid to do it.”

Sakura gave a laugh.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

The Namikage stretched her arms over her head as she grew close to the sloped path that led down to the beach. She was unable to see any of the brothers from where she was, telling her that Kurama and Shukaku had convinced the newest arrival to either shrink down or take a human form. As she began down the path, she spotted the three brothers in smaller versions of their original forms, a small woman in comparison to them sitting on a boulder.

She wondered what the Mizukage would be doing with them so early in the morning, or at all in fact, as it looked as though she was speaking with them. Shukaku was the first to notice her approach and a large grin spread across his face as he waved at her. She laughed to herself, amused by how cheerful he was sometimes.

“Good morning,” Sakura greeted, making her way over to the visiting kage. She received a grunt from Kurama and Isobu nodded his head.

“You came all by yourself?” Shukaku teased, his grin not fading.

“Kakashi is on a mission, if that’s what you meant,” she responded, placing her hand on her hip as she gave her own smile.

“Good morning, Lady Namikage.”

“You can call me Sakura if you like,” the pinkette smiled at the other woman.

“I suppose we can drop the formalities outside of duties,” the Mizukage laughed lightly. “In that case, call me Mei.”

The two women exchanged smiles and chatted for a few moments before Sakura looked around to all of them.

“Sorry if I interrupted anything, I wanted to come and see how Isobu was doing.”

“The lady was just apologizing to us,” Shukaku stated, relaxing as the sun broke through the light clouds. Sakura turned to Mei to find the woman giving a sad smile.

“Kiri has done so much to them... Especially Isobu... The only thing I can do is apologize and work to make amends...” she started. “I’d like to let you know I’ve made the decision to keep you up to date on any information we receive about any of the others and I’ll be giving the Raikage my high recommendation of Kumo’s jinchuriki to come and pay you a visit.”

“Oh... Uh...” Sakura suddenly grew nervous, as her eyes looked to the fox and tanuki.

“We won’t try anything,” Kurama muttered, letting out a huff as he tightened his crossed arms.

“If they’re a good person,” Shukaku mumbled, resulting in Kurama jabbing him with his elbow.

“Don’t say that in front of her, idiot,” he bit out. Sakura stared at them with a blank expression as she crossed her arms. Mei let out a laugh as she watched them.

“Sakura, I’d like to discuss some things before I leave,” she started, buying their attention. “Some things about your situation with Konoha and what happened in Suna. Along with the criminal’s body.”

“Of course! We can head back into town if you like, I’d rather discuss in private.”

“Thank you.” Mei hopped off the rock she was on and turned to the brothers. Sakura held back her surprise when the woman bowed to them. “Thank you for giving me your time. I hope to see you again in the future under better circumstances.”

Chapter Text

Iruka looked around the halls of the academy as he made his way toward the office room. The building was almost three times as large as the one he taught at in Konoha, with there being four floors and over thirty classrooms. Another building was still in the middle of construction just to the north.

Sakura and those around her had decided to create an all-encompassing teaching facility. There would be two in total in the village, for the size it was at that moment, anyway. The one he was in and the one being built would be the only two on Arashijima, catering to all shinobi classes and other general studies. The building was divided down the middle, separating the Academy wing from the other studies.

Iruka entered the office to be greeted by Kurenai and the Akimichi father and son. The small group discussed the coming day before splitting off into their classrooms. Iruka passed the first two rooms on the way to his own, taking in the faces of the adults in the class Choza was beginning. Kurenai would be helping the young adults learn the basics, and Iruka himself would be teaching those of the usual academy age.

Entering his class, the children in the tiered desks grew quieter, some of them going back to the seats they had decided on. He smiled as he saw a few familiar personalities, though he was sure that they would grow to be their own special character when they were older.

“Good morning,” he smiled. “If you could take your seats, we’ll start today’s lesson.”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Kurenai stopped what she had been saying as the door to the classroom opened, looking over to her nephew and his teammate attempting to sneak in. She had to give them some credit, as only a couple of her students had noticed them enter before her doing anything, though they looked similar to frightened deer at seeing that she had caught them.

“Er, Teacher Shino—” Kosai started.

“You will be in here for the paper test, I know,” she stated, raising a brow. “But why are you late?”

“We were in the wrong classroom...” Inari muttered, causing a handful of the students to laugh. Kurenai gave a sigh and the two boys sat down on the stairs nearest the door as there were no vacant seats for them.

The hours passed quickly to their surprise, Kosai finding that those in the class were probably more interested than he had been in the academy. He had to remember that they were his age though and was sure that Iruka was dealing with children just like he had been.

The basics came and left, everyone but a few claiming they were able to bring chakra to the tip of their finger. Kosai guessed that since the students were older, they would be able to tap into their reserves with less effort and so they would be taking the paper test early into lessons.

Soon enough, Choji entered the room with an envelope and handed it off to Kurenai before leaving again. The envelope was passed down the rows until each student had a single piece, Inari and Kosai taking one as well before the envelope was returned to the instructor.

“Now, I’ll be coming around to each of you. Until I reach you, please leave your paper on the desk and do not touch it,” Kurenai instructed as she picked up an ice-cube tray with colored stickers inside. “Once you take the test, I’ll give you a sticker that corresponds with the release you have. Please put them on your ninjutsu lessons folder so you can refer back to them should you forget.”

For the next half hour, papers crumbled, burned, dampened, tore, and wrinkled. Quite a number of students received more than one sticker. The two boys felt themselves begin to grow nervous as Kurenai reached the end of the students. Of course there was no reason to be. They had both used faulty papers before, that was all. There was nothing to be nervous about.

Kurenai put the tray of stickers back on the shelf inside of the teaching podium before looking at Kosai, silently telling him it was his turn. He reached for the paper that was on the step, but hesitated.

What if it did happen again? He didn’t want the students next to him to get hurt for no reason. He stood as he picked up the paper and made his way over to the front of the classroom, much to his aunt’s confusion. He stepped up to the wall, being only a meter away from it before looking down at the paper between his fingers.

He took a breath and released chakra from his fingers. He watched as the paper became damp.

“Water,” Kurenai stated, still wondering why he was acting so strange. He watched as the paper ripped in half.

“Wind...” he murmured.

His stomach flipped as he recognized the cracking near his fingers. The paper suddenly shattered, causing him to let out a curse as pieces stuck into his hand and cheek. Kurenai hurried over, trying to figure out what happened.

“Shit, it happened again,” he hissed, turning around and causing some of the students to gasp.

“Are you alright?” Inari asked as he came over. Kosai held up his hand, a few drops of blood running down his fingers.

“I guess... These’ll be a pain to get out though...” he grunted.

“What does that happening mean?” a boy in the second row asked.

“Well, I don’t know...” Kurenai muttered.

“It’s not just faulty paper...” Kosai sighed. “This is what happened when I was in the academy too.”

“I’ll walk you to the hospital—” Inari started.

“Just go ahead and do yours first,” his friend sighed.

“Oh... Uh...” Inari was going to protest but saw that his friend was not in that much pain. Kosai was also curious to see what his paper would do and so he looked at the card to watch it grow damp. Kurenai took a step back from him on instinct, a part of her expecting the same thing to happen again, though she was just as confused as the wet card began to steam.

Slowly, the card melted from the top, falling to the floor in a liquid state. Both of their card reactions were nothing she had ever seen, let alone heard of.

“Mine did the same thing as last time too,” Inari grumbled as he watched the puddle on the floor begin to evaporate.

“I guess we’ll have to ask around...” Kosai bit out. “Thanks for letting us join your class, Aunt Kurenai. Sorry for the mess.”

“Go get yourself patched up,” she murmured as the two boys exited the room. Inari examined his friend in the hall, checking to make sure that he wasn’t majorly injured.

“What is it? Glass?” he asked.

“You can pull one out if you want... I can’t really feel any of them anymore.”

“You can’t feel it?”

“They’re kinda cold. They numbed a few seconds ago.”

“Are you sure you want me to pull one out then?”

“I didn’t get that close of a look at them last time, they disappeared pretty quick.” Kosai jumped slightly as Inari plucked one from his left cheek.

“They are cold... Is it ice?”

“Why would it be ice?”

“Well, why would it be glass?” Inari countered. Before Kosai could respond, Shino stopped next to them, having just reached the top of the stairs.

“What happened?”

“The paper shattered again,” Kosai explained, a little grumpy from getting impaled.

“They’re cold, so I was telling him they must be ice.”

“I see... That is interesting. I understand what you meant now,” the teacher mused, taking the small piece of melting water from Inari. “And yours?”

“Same thing. It melted.”

“Melted? You didn’t say that it melted.”

“I didn’t?” he asked.

“You just said it did something that wasn’t in the book,” Kosai muttered.

“Forget that for now, let’s just get you to the hospital,” Inari huffed, the three making their way down the stairs.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Kosai rubbed his healed cheek as he and Inari followed Shino to the Kage Tower. Their teacher hadn’t told them why they were speaking with Sakura, but apparently, it was important.

The two boys straightened up as they saw a woman with red hair sitting in one of the chairs on the side of the office.

“Isn’t that the Mizukage...” Inari whispered.

“Is it?”

“Hi boys,” Sakura greeted, pulling their attention to her.

“Teacher Shino said you wanted to talk to us?” Inari asked.

“Yes. To get straight to the point, the next chunin exams are coming up in a few months and Shino tells me he thinks the two of you are ready.”

Kosai coughed in surprise, Inari’s mouth opening in shock.

“The chunin exams!?” Kosai asked in shock. “For real?”

“Yes. If you two decide you want to participate, then you will be the first officially recognized shinobi to come out of Arashi,” she started, looking down at the application forms. “You can turn down the offer if you don’t think you’re ready.”

“But there’s only two of us,” Kosai pointed out, regaining his composure.

“New rulings have stated that teams of two may take part.”

“Well... I’m up for it...” Kosai looked at his teammate. “Inari..?”

“If Teacher Shino thinks I’m ready, then yeah! I’m in!” he grinned. Sakura gave a sigh of relief.

“In that case, I’ll be pushing you harder for the next few months leading up to the exams,” Shino stated. The two stood at attention.

“Yes!”

Satisfied with their moxie, Shino turned back to Sakura.

“They wanted to ask you about something while they were here.”

She hummed, telling them to go ahead. The two began to explain their strange experiences with the chakra paper and the reactions they received.

“The shattering represents Ice Release,” Mei said from her seat, causing the rest to turn to her. “Ice Release is a kekkei genkai once held by the Yuki clan. You must have Yuki blood in your veins.”

She gave a smile. “It’s good to see they’re not all dead then...”

“I have a kekkei genkai?” Kosai asked slowly.

“It was!” Inari exclaimed. “It turned into ice! I knew it!”

“And the melting paper,” Mei started as she stood, placing a hand on her hip, “is also a kekkei genkai.”

She grinned. “In fact, the same release I have. Boil Release.”

The two boys were silent for a few moments before Kosai turned to his teammate.

“You’re in the same clan as the Mizukage!?” he asked in excitement.

“You’re the son of Ichikai, aren’t you?” the woman asked. Inari froze up. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“He wasn’t in the Terumi clan though...” Sakura muttered.

“Oh, are you talking about his wanted name?” Mei asked, looking over to her. “The clan leader had it changed before he was put in the books. Tonan or something.”

She paused before giving a dismissive huff. “It’s over and done with, it’s not classified anymore. I’ll tell you what happened.”

Chapter Text

“He was one of the top ANBU of Kiri during the time of the Bloody Mist, and those in the Terumi clan wanted to keep things from escalating further than they could help,” Mei began. “The clan leader at the time gave him the mission of taking one of the main scrolls that the Fourth Mizukage hadn’t read through yet. Obviously, in doing so, he became wanted and was ordered to flee with the scroll. He was to hide the scroll until the reign of the Fourth Mizukage came to an end one way or another, and then return with it.”

“Why was he killed then...?” Inari murmured.

“He must have come here in an attempt to head for the Land of Fire or somewhere beyond,” she sighed. “I would bet that he was spotted in town. And if he loved your mother, he would have trusted her to hide the scroll if he didn’t come back after a certain amount of time. My best guess is that he lost his battle with his captors… He was dead when they brought him back...”

“I guess mom would know,” he said to himself, giving a sigh. He tensed up as the woman stepped forward and placed her hand on his head, ruffling his hair.

“I think it was a bit of a miracle that you don’t have our hair color,” she smiled. “Otherwise someone would have found you. I’m sure my brother would have been thrilled that you took after your mother.”

“Brother…?” Inari muttered, reaching up to try to keep his headband in place.

“Ichikai,” she smiled. The boy’s eyes grew wide with shock. “Welcome to the Terumi Clan, Nephew.”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

“Welcome back, Hatake,” Oginku greeted as Kakashi entered the village gates. “Everything going well?”

“As well as it can, I guess. Anything happen while I was gone?” Oginku relaxed in his chair, resting his elbow on the back.

“The Mizukage hasn’t left yet, but other than that I haven’t heard anything.”

“She hasn’t?” He grew confused as she was supposed to have spent the night and left the next morning. “I see... Well, have a good day.”

“You too!”

Kakashi began toward the Case Office, deciding to take to the roofs to avoid the afternoon crowds. Entering the Case Office, he was met by the receptionist. After a simple greeting and confirmation of mission completion, he turned to make his way toward the small dock that was out back. He paused, however, as the woman called for him to wait a moment.

“Lady Namikage is in the Memorial Woods with the Mizukage,” she told him as he faced her. “She asked that I tell you before you head back to Arashijima.”

He nodded and gave her his thanks, before instead heading out the front door and again taking to the roofs.

He touched down on the grass to find the Mizukage standing across from Inari, hand up in seals which the boy mimicked. He spotted Sakura, Kosai, and Shino nearby, watching the other two. He approached slowly, wondering what exactly the Mizukage seemed to be teaching the boy. Upon arrival he was greeted by the three observers.

“What is…?”

“She’s teaching him the basics of boil release,” the young woman informed. He paused, looking back toward the two.

“Is that his kekkei genkai…?”

“You’ll never believe this!” Kosai started, “The Mizukage is Inari’s aunt!”

The man’s brows raised in surprise as Sakura explained the basics of the situation to him.

“Lady Mizukage has offered us the collection on the Yuki Clan that’s held in the Kuri Library. Since they no longer have any of the clan and we do, she decided it was only right for it to be here instead,” Sakura told him.

“I see...” Kakashi looked down at Kosai. “Well it seems you two make a much more interesting team than we originally thought.”

Kosai laughed and the man’s eyes softened at seeing a flash image of the Yuki he had met many years ago.

“Good. That is the basic technique,” Mei said, the others’ attention moving back to her and her new found nephew. “You will need to explore to find the best way to use your release and tune it to your style of combat.”

“Y-Yes! Thank you very much!” Inari bowed.

“Now, I’m excited to meet your mother before I leave. If I may.”

Inari gave her a look of surprise before looking over to Sakura, only to receive a smile. A grin crept up onto his face before he gave a nod.

“Sure! I think she’s probably around.”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Sakura chewed on her cheek as she looked through the photos that Kakashi brought back with him.

“There are clearly at least a couple shinobi in the palace...” she muttered, holding up a photo of a man in what looked to be a mixture of Suna and Kiri gear.

“Some of the discussions that were recorded mention a kunoichi that’s highly skilled. These people have done a lot more planning than the Daimyo originally suspected,” Kakashi put forward, his arms crossed as he sat back in a chair on the other side of her desk.

“And how is he?”

“As frightened as you’d expect. He’s surprisingly good at hiding it in my opinion. Those around him know something is wrong, but don’t seem to realize he knows anything about a coup.”

“So next week then...” she murmured, her eyes moving to the transcript of one of the recorded messages that had a general layout of the plan. “This gives us less time than we’d planned on, but I guess the sooner it’s over the better.”

Her eyes then moved to the pile of personal files of those known and thought to be involved with the plan. “The first things we need to do are to seal off any escape routes and ensure the safety of the Daimyo himself. I’d also like to let Shikaku and Inoichi take care of building the case with all of the information we already have.”

She sighed. “Maybe we should ask them to teach some lessons on case building...”

Kakashi let out a chuckle, agreeing that it could be of some use.

Chapter Text

The door to the conference room creaked as it opened, surprising the two men as it had not done it upon their last exit. A laugh came from Sakura as they approached their seats.

“It needs oiled. Somebody should be coming up to do it later today,” she smiled. The two men gave her light smiles as she briefly categorized all of the files in her head. After finding nothing to be missing, she took a breath and gestured to the folders that were in front of them. “So, as you know, I asked you to come look over some evidence and determine if you would be willing to create a case from it.”

She gestured for them to take a look at the files. As they opened the folders she continued. “This is an S ranked mission that I’ll be helping lead within the next week.”

“A coup?” Inoichi asked in surprise. “Are they really trying to go through with this after you set up a village here? Don’t they know you’re supposed to protect the Land of Waves’ Daimyo?”

“From what we could find out, they’d been planning this before we showed up. It was pushed back a few months to try and find something that could say the current leader was a traitor to the people or some kind of nonsense,” she huffed. “He came here of his own accord in secret a while back and told us about what he had overheard from servants.”

“He only has a handful of trustworthy people…” Shikaku muttered. “It would be difficult to handle it himself.”

He read through the rest of the pages as Inoichi asked about the meeting with the Daimyo. “This is everything?”

Sakura confirmed and the Nara nodded. “This should be easy to make a case out of if there are no kinds of trespassing loopholes. I’ll have to take a look at the laws involving the Daimyo’s palace, but since he owns it and he knew Kakashi was there, everything should be alright.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Sakura smiled.

“How long will you be able to keep them after capture?” Inoichi asked.

“Normally it would be about two weeks at most, but the Daimyo can have them kept indefinitely.”

“Right so there’s not a horrible rush.”

“No, but he would like to hand over his title soon, so we shouldn’t wait. There’s no other important cases right now, so it would be best to focus solely on this,” she said.

“Hand over his title?” the Nara patriarch asked. “This says he doesn’t have any children or even living relatives. Is he planning on handing it over to someone else outside of the family?”

“That’s classified information at the moment, but I can say that he wishes to hand it over before the end of next month. Does that give you two enough time?”

“It should be fine. We could have this done within the week with the amount of information you’ve got here.”

After wrapping up the plans, Sakura grinned as she pulled out another set of folders.

“I also called you here for another reason.” She handed over the folders. “After this case, I’d like to ask if the two of you would be willing to train the future legal personnel of Arashi. Classes over building cases and holding trials.”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

It had been four days since the Mizukage left the village. Both genin were training with their chakra control for a majority of their days. Inari was training with his basic boil release as much as he could while they were supposed to be on breaks.

It was in the middle of their training one day that Shino received a message from Sakura. The Yuki Clan documents had arrived at the Kage Tower and Kosai was invited to come and look through them. Without hesitation, both boys and their teacher were hurrying off to the archives.

The large room was filled with empty bookshelves, many of which only contained one or two logging books. Some of them were finance reports over village departments while others were history that was being written.

“Welcome,” a woman greeted. She looked familiar to the boys and they remembered she was a villager of the original small town that was near the Spring Bridge. “What can I help you with today?”

“I got a message saying that the Yuki Clan stuff arrived,” Kosai told her as Inari looked at the history bookshelf that was near the front door.

“Ah, I’ve been waiting for you,” she smiled. “The clan archives are through this door.”

She gestured to a door with the village’s star on it. “Lady Namikage had these prepared for you.”

She held up a small keyring with two keys hanging on it. “Since they are a sensitive subject, they have been placed behind lock and key. This key is for the door to the archives and that one is for the case. I have been told to give it to you for the time being.”

She held it out to him and he took it slowly, pursing his lips. He had heard every once in a while that the Yuki Clan was ostracized, but he didn’t know the whole story about it. “You may come whenever you like and look through them.”

“Can I take them home?” he asked, looking up to her. “I want to read through them.”

She hesitated before thinking for a moment.

“Lady Namikage never said that it wasn’t allowed… But I’d like to ask that you only take a few at a time, if that’s alright with you.”

“That’s fine.”

After gathering a few of the books, Kosai exited the Clan Archives and rejoined the other two. It wasn’t until he got home and read through the first book that he got a full look at the picture of what exactly had happened in the past.

The morning after the visit to the archives, Kosai had canceled his training for the day, which surprised both his teammate and his teacher. Instead, he headed to the building that held the rest of the documents that he was desperate to read through, earning him a worried glance from the archivist who could see he didn’t get much sleep.

He spent the whole day reading through the rest of the books, jotting down things in a notebook as he flipped through the seemingly endless pages. It was not until Sakura came in to check on him after hearing he was in the room all day that he finally looked up.

“Am I in your way?” he asked, dark circles under his eyes as he looked at her. She reached out and placed her hand on his forehead, giving a sigh at finding he was perfectly well other than needing sleep.

“No, I came to see what has you working so hard in here. Is there something wrong?”

“If it’s alright…” he started, an expression of slight pain coming over his face. “I’d like to… burn these…”

She gave him a look of surprise and she thought she saw the archivist grab onto a chair to steady herself.

“What? Why would you—”

“I’m going to make a summary of each one… or try to… But they’re… just...” He couldn’t finish his sentence and instead pulled the book he was currently going through, holding it out to her. “All you have to do is read over a few paragraphs…”

She quickly did as he asked and found her face losing a bit of color.

The few paragraphs listed the information that came from torture victims of the First Shinobi War. She read further to find that it also detailed how they were tortured and then on the next page was a catalog of villages that were razed during a period of attacks. She took a breath to calm her stomach and handed back the book.

“Instead of summarizing each book… Why don’t you just summarize the general events… and make it vague,” she tried, now understanding why the boy seemed so distraught.

“That’s what I was going to do… But I just…” He paused before glancing at the stack of plain papers that were near him. “Lady Sakura… I’ve been thinking about it and I…”

She sat down at the table.

“Whatever it is you want to talk about, it’s okay.”

“Last night when I first read over this stuff… I hated the fact that I had this blood…” he murmured. She frowned. It was true that even she did not know this much about what the clan had been up to during the first few wars, and she was sure that was the same for most people, be they from Kiri or Suna. “Their reputation spread as far as the Land of Wind and wouldn’t go away with just showing that a boy who was able to use the kekkei genkai was not a threat to innocent people… If anything I might be hunted down… I couldn’t sleep last night…”

“What is it you want to do…?” she asked. He looked up at her and she saw a look that the Third Hokage would have referred to as the will of fire. It was a strong desire, and he held that look of confidence that she saw from all of the Arashi villagers.

“I want to bury the Yuki Clan in history,” he stated. “I’ll start a new clan.”

She paused, wondering if she had heard him correctly before he flipped through the notebook he had, holding it up. “I already started thinking about names and doodled some symbol designs!”

“Kosai, I think you’re tired… That’s a big undertaking for someone your age—” she tried.

“But it’s the only solution I can think of!” he shot back, dropping the book to the table and grabbing his head as he squeezed his eyes shut. “It’s not just for me… I was talking to Big Bro Shikamaru and he said that it wasn’t too much of a surprise that a Yuki showed up in Konoha. He said that a lot of them just hid by living normal civilian lives… What if there are more people like me who want to be shinobi but are too afraid to show they’re related to this horrible clan..?”

She had to admit that she felt what he was wanting was more than just for him, but she was still unsure that it was safe. It was true that she was worried about how the world would treat him when he showed up with the kekkei genkai of a hated clan.

“I’m not Sarutobi Konohamaru anymore…” he murmured, regaining her attention. “I’m going to be Shuji Kosai.”

Chapter Text

“Let the meeting begin!” Sakura humorously declared as she entered the room. Dark circles were under her eyes after not having slept for two days. Those that were on the mission had all gone home after the successful capture of those known and suspected to be part of the coup. Those left were Shikamaru and Sakura, who decided to finalize the last meeting for what was found during the raid of the daimyo’s palace.

“I prepared a list. Sorry if it’s hard to read,” Shikamaru muttered as he handed over a sheet of paper to his father.

“A sword from Kiri and a highly wanted criminal from Kumo…” Shikaku nodded. “Both impressive finds. With those and the other criminals on this list, I’m sure it’s an open-and-shut case.”

“Seeing as the judges are the daimyo himself and Grandmother, I think they were destined to fail in the first place,” Sakura muttered as she stood near them. The reason for this being if she were to sit down, she would fall asleep. A small ruckus was heard outside the door before a knocking came, causing them to look toward it.

“We’re in session!” Sakura called. More shuffling was heard before they wrapped up what they were doing since they found little else that was new. Shikamaru opened the door to find the three brothers.

“I heard the lady got back,” Isobu spoke up before the other two could say anything.

Shikamaru had heard from some people they ran into that the three-tailed chakra beast decided to take a human form as well to follow Kurama around while the rest were away on the mission. He was tall, just as the other two were, and had a larger frame that was comparable to the form Shukaku ended up with. His hair was a gray shade of blue and his eyes were a striking sandy-yellow. Shikamaru realized that he was holding a box in his hands, which were covered by green oven mitts.

“Sorry, we tried to tell him but he just pushed his way up here…” Shukaku grumbled. Sakura poked her head around the door and Isobu lit up.

“The lady! I made something!”

She raised a brow in question before nodding for them to come in.

Upon entering the room, Isobu placed the box on the table gently and opened the lid to show an omelet.

“Yuka taught me how to make this!”

“You made this? It looks very nice!” Sakura smiled. Each person in the room could tell just how excited he was to show it off. “Am I allowed to eat some?”

He nodded quickly and pulled some chopsticks out of the side of the box the bento box was sitting in and held them up for her. With a small laugh, she cut out a piece and picked it up before putting it in her mouth, watching an expectant yet worried look come over his face. She smiled after swallowing.

“It’s very good,” she praised before watching as a sparkle of victory came to his eyes. “Are you interested in cooking?”

She asked this as he urged her to eat more. He pulled out chopsticks for the rest of the group that was there and they looked to Sakura, who nodded for them to try it.

“Yes, the smells in the place Brother took me were very nice.”

“Oh?” she wondered, looking at Kurama as she assumed that he was the one who had taken him.

“There was a problem in a bar and he came with me when I sorted it out,” the nine-tails explained, gaining a nod of understanding from the young woman. “When he showed interest in the food the waitress offered to show him some things and he spent all day learning how to make that.”

“She said we started at lunch,” Isobu countered, causing Kurama to shrug and mutter a whatever. The three men that had also tried the omelet gave their praise as well before the three-tails beamed and picked up the box.

“I’m going to go share it with more people!” he exclaimed before hurrying out the door. Shukaku told him to wait as he quickly followed. Kurama gave an apology to the group before hurrying out as well, leaving Sakura to laugh at how lively they were.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

After leaving the meeting room, Sakura entered the archives to find Kosai sitting at one of the three tables in the room. Laying across the table’s surface was a scroll that she could see was filled with different jutsu and next to him on the floor were two backpacks.

“How’s the work going?” she asked, stopping next to the table. He looked up from his copying and gave her a bright grin.

“Pretty good! I finished reading everything in the history books and my summary is all done,” he said, gesturing to the stack of papers that was a few centimeters thick.

“I’ll have it bound for you since you worked so hard,” she smiled. He gave her his thanks, showing her that the cover design was a large Yuki Clan symbol with the writing History of the Yuki Clan, Summarized by Shuji Kosai.

“You’re already fond of the name I see.”

“Yeah, it just feels… right.”

“I’ll make sure to get it back to you—”

“Well actually, about that…”

“Hm?”

“I don’t actually want that in the Shuji Clan archives. I was wondering if it could just be sent back to Lady Mizukage or put in the general history archives or something…” he muttered, giving the stack of papers a slight look of disdain.

“I see… I’ll talk to Eri,” she said, referring to the archivist who was out of the room at that moment. “What is it you’re doing right now?”

“Oh, right now I’m taking notes for basic Ice Release jutsu,” he explained. “It’s mainly just hand signs for the release that you can form into whatever, which isn’t what I had thought it would be.”

“Anything you want?” she asked, trying to keep from looking at the scroll.

“It reminds me of Naruto with the rasseingan. He made it into a shuriken so he could throw it. I’ve been thinking, what if I use Ice Release in it? What’ll happen?”

“Interesting.”

“I’ve been making a list of a bunch of different things to try out once I get the gist of how to use the release. But I guess it’s pretty late, I should probably lock these scrolls up again and go home.”

“Are the rest of the Yuki books in those bags?” she whispered. He gave a nod and she knew he was planning on burning them at his home. “Have a good night, Kosai.”

Chapter Text

Two days after getting back from foiling the coup, Sakura sat in her office. Her arms hung over the armrests as her head leaned against the back of her chair. She took in a deep breath through her nose before she opened her eyes, her head moving so she could see her desk.

Much had happened within the past four months. She had built a village, and she was sure it was the fastest village to ever be built. She held no illusions that it was perfect, nor that it was complete. On the contrary, there were new things coming up every day that needed her attention and she was surprised that she was able to deal with them so well.

She sat up in her chair and flipped through some of the papers on her desk.

A new culinary wing was being built in the teaching institute at the request of over a dozen people. She already had someone track down the Yuka woman who helped Isobu to ask her to attend the lessons with the chakra beast as a human mediator of sorts. The three-tails himself was growing rather fond of the village for his own reasons, but in the end, it made her happy he had someplace to be.

On another note, all the necessary paperwork for a new branch of the Nara Clan was in order, even having the full support of the current patriarch. But both he and Sakura believed it would be best to sort out the current state of affairs with Konoha before officially establishing it.

The same went for Kosai, who told her he wanted to go back and sort it out on his own after the chunin exams. Kakashi and Sai heard about what he was planning to do and agreed they should do the same, no longer wanting to feel like they were in hiding. So a date was set and Kosai would return to being called Konohamaru for the trip before returning and having his name officially changed.

She sighed to herself. The overall situation was a clustered spider web of truths and secrets. One that she would have to unravel over the upcoming months if she were to avoid any kind of threat to her citizens.

It all cut off at the start of the new year. She had five months.

A knock on her door pulled her from her thoughts and she gave another sigh before she called for the person on the other side to come in. The door creaked open to reveal the daimyo and a few of his men. They entered.

“Welcome,” she smiled, standing up from her desk. He urged her to retake her seat before taking his own in a chair on the other side that Kakashi forgot to put back against the wall.

After short pleasantries, the man folded his hands in his lap and looked to a set of people who appeared to be assistants. Sakura eyed the woman and the elderly man behind him. Both people held boxes made from lacquered wood with gold latches. The man approached the desk first and placed down the box that was in his hands before unlatching and opening it to show the double spindled scroll that sat inside.

“This is the official document with my signature stating I hand over my title, all benefits, and all duties to you,” he explained as the elderly man pulled the scroll from the box and gracefully unfurled it. The woman’s jade eyes read over the words on the parchment and then the six names at the bottom. She noted that five of them were witness signatures to the daimyo signing the document himself. She looked back up at him to say something about some words she had read, only to stop as he looked at the female assistant.

She approached the desk, the man picking up his now empty box and stepping back. She did the same as he did, placing the box on the wood of the desk before opening it. Inside sat a tama hair ornament made from a light wood. On the end, the ball was painted with waves and encrusted with large sea-foam-green gems the size of her fingernail around the circumference. A few of those present noticed her eyes grow slightly.

“This is the heirloom mentioned in the document. It was passed down for generations.”

“Bird Tears…” she muttered, causing him to pause.

“Pardon me?”

“Sorry… Just… These gems are extremely rare,” she muttered, eyes not leaving the pin. “Just like the one in the comb I wear, they originate from this island.”

“Really? I’ve always thought there was something special about them,” he murmured, staring at the comb in her hair before shaking his head lightly. “No matter. With the signing of that document, it becomes yours.”

Her jade eyes finally left the ornament and she looked down at the parchment before taking a pen and placing it against the paper. After a moment, the kanji of her name was complete and she placed down her pen. The man let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness… I thought you would refuse at the last second,” he murmured. She cracked a grin looking over to the man and woman.

“You two.”

“Yes, my Lady,” they bowed in unison.

“May I know who you are?”

“I am Eyumi,” the woman responded. “I oversaw the past lord’s noble duties.”

“I am Huang Po,” said the man. “I headed a small team that ran the country since the past lord was lacking.”

“You’re both hired if you’d like,” the Namikage smiled softly, resting her chin in her palm. They looked at her for a moment in confusion. “I’ve decided to merge the daimyo and Namikage positions for the time being. I have my hands full and would love to have a team that I can already trust with the functioning of the country.”

They both gave deep bows.

“Thank you!”

“For now, you can head down to the front desk and they’ll call Shikamaru. He’ll know better where to fit you and your teams in. I’m also dealing with something for the hospital at the moment so I don’t have the time. Please have any questions ready for when you’re called in for a meeting. You’re both dismissed.”

They both gave one last bow before exiting the room. Sakura rolled up the scroll and placed it back in the box before looking at one of the guards that seemed to be getting ready to stand outside her door. “One of you let the two people in the hall know that they can come in and then you can all rest for the day.”

“B-But, my lady—”

“I say this politely, I already have someone who guards me whether I like it or not and I don’t need any more.” They gave nods before they exited the room. Only a moment later, Kakashi and Kirai entered the room, the young woman carrying a small stack of folders. “Are those all of them?”

“Yes, my lady. The woman who had the worst injuries is recovering well now,” Kirai stated as she placed the folders on the desk. Sakura hummed as she pulled them toward her and opened the first one, flipping through some of the pages.

“Kirai, take this box to the archive library and hand it over to Eri, please,” the pinkette instructed, reaching out and tapping her pen lightly on the box that contained the document for the transfer of the title of daimyo. The young woman nodded and picked up the box, hurrying out of the room before the Namikage tapped on the other box. “Take this to the hummingbird elders, Kakashi.”

He gave a nod before picking up the box and exiting the room, shutting the door behind him.

“So,” she started, not looking up from her files as she wrote something down on one before closing it and moving to the next. “What should I call you now?”

She glanced up at him and he smiled.

“Yue Baoyu.”

“Yue, what were you planning on doing with the palace that you used to live in?” she asked, again writing something down after scratching something out.

“That’s for you to decide, it’s yours now.”

“I’m thinking of moving it,” she muttered. The man across from her stayed silent as he tried to understand the meaning of what she said. To move a palace was not something that was usually talked about. “Nothing would be damaged.”

“How would you even…”

“A person in this village has the capability,” she paused. “I suppose Shukaku could do it as well though I trust him with it less… But once it’s in Arashichi, what do you think about it being a museum and teaching institute?”

She was still focused on her papers, having gotten through most of the files by that point.

“That… sounds wonderful. What would they teach there?” he asked. From his voice, she could tell he had never thought about such a thing.

“We’re lacking historical studies here on the island and some people have shown interest in biological studies that don’t involve chakra,” she started. “I hear you have a large collection of books, and I was wondering if you would be willing to donate them. A national library can be something that draws people from all over.”

“Of course… I planned to hand those over as well since they hold large amounts of the country’s history.” She was unable to see his expression of wonder as he watched her finish her last file before straightening the papers. “Have you thought of all of this yourself?”

“The interests of the citizens come first. People who work here for me overhear things or are asked about things and they bring them back and put in suggestions. The same goes for normal citizens, they’ll come in with ideas. If the idea shows enough promise or enough people suggest it, we look into it and see if we can go through with it. Recently a man with a large collection of books came and asked if there was a library he could become a part of. Apparently, he came from Wind Country after being chased off by younger people not caring much about history.

“Some people showed interest in learning the history of other nations as well as the history of the world,” she continued. “So historical studies are in high demand right now. The more educated the people of this village and this nation, the more prosperous we can be to help each other and future generations, don’t you agree?”

She finally looked up at him, only to receive a bobbing nod in response.

Chapter Text

Ino sat with her father eating breakfast at the Honey Pot, a place where she had decided was her favorite small restaurant in town. This was the sixth time they were eating breakfast like this. If she was honest it felt like something was up the first and second time but had brushed it off since.

“I hear that flower shop just next door is open today, would you want to go and take a look?” Inoichi asked before he finished his coffee. She thought for a moment, not having noticed it was open but gave a nod, showing she was interested. After finishing their food and paying for their meal, they exited the restaurant and began to make their way over to the small building.

Truthfully, she missed running a flower shop when she was not on missions. She missed helping customers and designing bouquets, along with the sights and smells that came with the occupation. So with all of that, she was rather excited to visit a flower shop again.

A man she recognized from working in the Kage Tower called to her father when they were getting close and she stopped before her father told her to go on ahead. Heeding his advice, she made her way there by herself, opening the door and stepping inside to find that the flowers were sorted similarly to the way her and her father had done it back in Konohagakure.

She wandered around for a short while before the bell above the front door rang. Thinking it was her father, she looked over, only to find Sai instead. He lifted his hand in greeting as she cocked her head in slight confusion.

“Do you like the place? I think they did a nice job,” he said as he looked around at the room.

“Yes, it’s very comfy and inviting. The owner has good taste.” She looked around again and frowned slightly. “But I’m wondering if they’re actually open. There doesn’t seem to be anyone here at all.”

“I’m sure it’s fine,” he said, brushing off her worries.

“I wonder if they’ll let me work here…”

“Would you want to?” he asked.

“It’s a very nice place and I’m sure it would sell well in this area.”

“Ino, to be honest, I came here cause I had something to say…” The woman paused and looked at him as he approached her. “You know I love you more than almost anything in the world. Right?”

She felt her cheeks heat up at the sudden confession and gave a pout, crossing her arms.

“I should be above art.”

“More than anything else in the world,” he corrected himself.

“That’s what I thought,” she said, giving a smug grin.

“Well… I don’t have some kind of big speech planned… So I’ll just ask…” He knelt down and pulled something from his pocket. Her eyes grew wide as she realized what might be happening and her cheeks turned a deep red. He opened the small black box to show off a small ring with an oval diamond. “Yamanaka Ino, will you marry me?”

“Y-Y-You planned all of this!” she shouted in both embarrassment and realization. She gave a huff. “Of course I will…”

He let out a laugh as he stood and he slipped the ring on her finger while she looked at it in awe.

“This shop is yours too if you want it,” he said suddenly, taking her by surprise.

“W-What?”

“When I first saw it, I thought it would be a nice place for a flower shop so I picked it up and have been planning on giving it to you since.” She placed her hands over her mouth as she teared up. “So the shop is enough to make you cry but not the proposal?”

She laughed.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Sakura hummed in thought as she looked at Kirai’s resignation letter request that lay on her desk.

The girl had become her assistant after Sakura had realized she was good at paperwork and knowing where to take things. She clearly enjoyed her job too, which only brought more questions to the young kage’s mind. She looked up as the door to her office opened, Gaara appearing with some of the paperwork that Kirai should have procured from the hospital.

“They asked me to bring this to you…”

“So she didn’t even show up to work today, then…” Sakura let out a sigh and leaned back in her chair.

“Who?”

“Kirai.”

“Is she sick?”

“I don’t know, since she hasn’t shown up to work for the past two days and sent a random request for resignation.”

“But she loves working for you?” he wondered, having heard the young woman gush over her job every now and then.

“Something is clearly wrong, but I don’t have the time to go and see her…” Sakura groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. Gaara was silent for a moment as he placed the stack of folders on her desk.

“I know where she lives. I can go see if she’s alright for you.”

“That would be greatly appreciated if you could.”

He gave a curt bow before exiting the building and making his way to the suburbs, passing by many restaurants and shops on the way. Upon reaching her apartment, he knocked on the door only to wait a few moments before it opened. There was only a single light on the inside so it was dim, but he could see dark circles under the girl’s eyes as she looked at him in surprise.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I came to make sure you were okay… I heard you—”

“Did Lady Sakura send you…?” she muttered.

“I offered to come and check on you.”

She stared at him for a moment before letting out a sigh and opening the door more.

“Come in…” He obliged and entered the house before she flicked on another light to show a small two-room apartment. It was tidy and didn’t have many decorations. “Do you want some tea?”

“I’m alright… But you seem…” She was quiet, staring at the other side of the room. “Depressed.”

“Do you know why I have the name I do?” she asked quietly. His eyes grew wide slightly at the sudden question before she buried her face in her hands. “What a stupid question… Of course, you don’t… Sorry.”

He didn’t know how to respond so he kept quiet. “I just… I’m alone here… My only family is dead or hates me for no reason… my only friends died…”

“We’re friends.” She looked at him in surprise. Tears welled in her eyes as she nodded.

“Of course… I’m sorry. I just…” Slowly, he walked over and brought her into a hug, gently patting her back. “I’m the result of my mother being forced…”

Her voice sounded emotionless. “That’s why I have the name I do…”

He frowned and hugged her tighter. “She hated to even look at me and would lock me in a box when I didn’t have any use…”

“Everything is okay now…” he tried.

“Is it..? This name is going to haunt me for the rest of my life… I’m never going to be able to escape what I am… I just… I just want to quit…”

Gaara’s hesitant hug turned tight.

“If your name haunts you, then change it.” She paused in his arms. Why had that not been something she had thought about before? “You don’t have to live like other people want you to. Live for yourself and be who you want to be…”

“But… I don’t know how…” she sobbed. He pushed her away and looked her in the eyes.

“If you can’t live for yourself then live for me.” She stared at him in shock. “Live for Lady Sakura and for the village. Temari and the others are really fond of you. You know that right? I’m fond of you. You’re not alone here. If you need help, all you have to do is ask.”

It was the first time she had seen such a hard look in his eyes and she realized that she was not the only one to have experienced hard times in her life.

Her eyes caught sight of the tattoo on his forehead.

Chapter Text

The two teens looked around the large city in awe, seeing homes that scaled large pillars of rock and disappeared into the clouds, which laid low in the area. They were called to by Shino and followed after him again, being sure not to get distracted for an umpteenth time.

Inari trailed behind slightly to allow people to pass them on the crowded street, his eyes catching the new Shuji clan mark of a simple holly branch within an inverted triangle on the back of Kosai’s jacket. Iro had made him a new one as a gift after the paperwork for a brand new clan had been completed, this one not having the marking that matched the scars on his waist.

Not long later, they arrived at the testing site, finding dozens of other people crowded around the large entrance. They made their way through to the front desk, Shino telling them to go and get their participant numbers.

“May I get your names?” the woman asked as they approached.

“Terumi Inari,” he spoke, still having a weird feeling in his gut even after his aunt had told him he could use the name.

“Here’s your number. Next?”

“Shuji Kosai.”

“Here’s your number.”

They made their way back to Shino, a little puzzled.

“I thought they’d say something about me having a surname now,” Kosai muttered as he stuck his number on his jacket.

“Lady Namikage only said that two genin would be participating, she never sent your names,” Shino explained. The two nodded, now understanding. Having one last reminder on the things they needed to remember for their exams, they finished up talking. The teens then followed the large sign for participants that showed them where to go.

By the time they entered, Kosai already felt nauseous. The eyes of those around them dug into him like knives and he could only imagine how much worse they would get. A hand was placed on his shoulder and he looked at Inari next to him.

“You okay?”

“Yeah…” He took a deep breath before giving a grin. “It was all going to my head.”

“Don’t worry about anything until the exams start. I read if people try anything before or after they get disqualified.”

The first test they went through was clear cut: a written test. Shino had told them about his first and second experiences with the Chunin Exam, and this was something they had anticipated. It made Kosai recall all of the hours Inari had forced him to read through the notes inside his books and go over flashcards. This was due to neither of them having a way of cheating that would go unnoticed. Surprisingly, Inari passed with flying colors, while Kosai just made the cut to his relief.

The number of participants had gone down by more than half, leaving only about thirty people as those whose team had even one failure had to leave and try next time.

To their surprise, the second test was similar to the one in their teacher’s stories. They were given a scroll that they were to bring to the other side of a densely clouded area but were not to arrive until the next morning.

They found a small cave and decided to make it the place they would lay low for the duration of the night. With a relatively simple genjutsu Inari had learned from Kurenai, the entrance was covered and they slept for a few hours. After eating some snacks they brought with them, they headed out through the dense fog and made it to the other side before they had the time to run into anyone.

“I feel like we’re getting overly lucky…” Kosai muttered as they stood waiting for the proctor to call the final team.

“I don’t think so…”

“What do you mean? We didn’t run into anyone the entire time we were out there.”

“I don’t think many other people did either… Look around.” He followed the instructions of his teammate and glanced around, finding that many of the other teams seemed to be in mint condition as well. “Personally, I think the first test eliminated enough people this exam for there to not be too many interactions during the second test.”

“There’s only two teams that I can see are missing at this point,” Kosai muttered.

“It seems a few don’t have their scroll though…”

Not too long after, it was announced that there were now only eight people participating in the exam. Two teams of three were left, as well as Inari and Kosai’s team of two.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Kosai found himself swallowing his nerves as he watched Inari and his Suna opponent move off of the arena. His teammate had beaten his opponent with just taijutsu, something he was unsure that he could do himself.

He wished he could do it himself.

He let out a long sigh as he heard his name called by the proctor. Then, he stood, looking up to see Inari was making his way over.

“You’ll do great, don’t worry about what other people think,” Inari reassured, giving a pat on his shoulder as they passed by each other. Kosai made his way out to the arena and climbed the stairs.

On the other side of the arena was a boy who looked about a year younger than himself. He had pastel blue hair that was held back by his headband and was wearing attire that told him he was from Kiri. Kosai took a deep breath that he let out as a chilled fog before getting into a defensive position. The other boy had seen what he had done and appeared to be thinking about what it could have been. Then, the bell went off to signal their match.

Neither of them moved. Apparently, the simple act of letting out a sigh was enough to startle the opponent. Kosai closed his eyes and drowned out the sound of the crowd before opening them and dodging a shuriken that had been sent at him. He wondered why they only sent one before realizing the opponent was now rushing him.

Kosai easily blocked the oncoming kunai with his own, wondering if he were just more experienced than his opponent. The other boy did not seem to plan very well, but he still had to keep on his guard. Realizing that his opponent was going to jump back, he leaned down and placed his hand on the ground, forming a small rounded mirror of ice before sliding it across the ground. He held in a laugh as the boy landed on it and slipped, falling face-first onto the ground. Kosai did not waste any time in pointing his kunai at the boy’s neck. The bell for the end of the round sounded.

“W-What was that?” the boy asked, sitting up to see Kosai was holding out his hand to help him up. He accepted and was pulled to his feet.

“Next time, put chakra in your feet. Don’t worry about being able to move in mid-air.”

His opponent blinked in surprise as Kosai quickly made his way off the arena and to the waiting area.

He could hear the crowd murmuring.

He let out another deep breath as he made his way back into the waiting area, sitting down next to Inari and sinking into his seat.

To be truthful, he hoped people would not be able to tell what it was he did. That hope was in vain, it seemed.

“Hey kid!” a man called from near them. “You used ice release just now didn’t you?”

“That kid’s a Yuki?”

“Aren’t they all dead, though?”

“I’m not a Yuki. I’m a Shuji,” Kosai stated bluntly as he stared ahead of him at nothing in particular. With his lack of response, the others seemed to not find interest in poking at him any longer and quietly talked among themselves instead.

The last battle passed without him paying much attention before the Chunin Exams came to an end. Inari, Kosai, another boy, and a woman stood upon the arena. They were congratulated for passing the exam.

All Kosai could hear were the murmurs of the crowd.

Chapter Text

Kosai let out another sigh as he sat next to Inari and across from Shino while they ate a victory meal in a restaurant.

“You’ve been sighing a lot. This is the first time I’ve ever seen someone not excited over passing the Chunin Exam,” Shino muttered. Kosai let out a grunt.

“It’s not that I’m not excited. I am. I just would rather be back in Arashi….”

Shino stayed silent, understanding what it was that the boy had felt from the eyes of the crowd. A knock on the door of their private table attracted their attention. Shino called for them to come in and the door opened to show Mei. She lifted her hand in greeting with a smile.

“Hello!”

“Lady Mizukage?” Inari asked in surprise.

“How many times have I told you to call me Auntie!” she laughed as she stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. “May I join you all for your celebration meal?”

After the acceptance of her request, the woman sat down next to Shino, who had moved over to give her a place to sit. She ordered some food for herself before paying for the rest of them as well.

“You both impressed me today,” she smiled, chin resting in her palm. “Inari you didn’t even need ninjutsu to win against your opponent. That’s something to be proud of.”

He nodded a bit in embarrassment before she reached across the table and ruffled his hair, causing him some panic as he still was unused to the gesture of affection from her. “And Kosai, while your opponent was inexperienced and you won quickly due to that fact, you impressed me by helping him up and even giving him advice about what to do next time in the situation.”

“Thank you,” Kosai muttered, embarrassed. He hadn’t expected to hear about someone being proud of him for helping his opponent up after the fight.

Their meal passed by, filled with laughs and conversation before they all stood to leave.

“I came here for another reason as well,” Mei said as she smiled, placing her hand on her hip. “I have a meeting with Lady Namikage, so I’ll be traveling back with you. Along with a few other people.”

The way she said it made them think it was someone important.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Tenten hummed a tune to herself as she looked over the invitation that was in her hand. Her other hand was stirring a large pot of curry on her stove. After she finished stirring, she placed the lid back on before going back out to the dining room where Temari, Ino, and Kankuro were sitting at the large table.

The four of them had the least to do job-wise at that moment in time. Even though that would change with the fact that Ino was now the owner of a flower shop and Tenten was looking into opening a weapons shop.

At the moment, they were helping sort out some of the less important parts of the wedding that would be happening between Shikamaru and Temari within the next year.

“They’re too bland, aren’t they?” Temari asked as she looked through a book of desserts she borrowed from a bakery.

“Well, how about you decorate the envelope? The invitations themselves look nice, and I don’t think changing them would do any good to stress you out less,” Tenten said.

“Decorate the envelope?”

“Like use some colored wax and the Nara clan seal or some kind of decorative seal. Maybe use some flowers,” Tenten offered. Temari seemed confused. “Ok so you take some little flowers and put the wax over the stems so they stick to the paper and it seals the envelope at the same time. Then, you press the seal in to make the impression.”

As she over-explained, Temari gave a thoughtful expression.

“That sounds nice, actually.”

“You could use the same type of flower as the decorations and such.”

“I really like that idea. I’ll write that down,” the oldest woman muttered as she wrote down some lines in the wedding planner book she made.

“I’m sure I’ll be able to provide a lot of the flowers you need by the time the wedding comes,” Ino grinned. “I’ll be sure to stock up on wisteria.”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Sakura picked up the suggestions folder and pulled out some small papers. She flipped through them, finding a few different ideas that a small group of board members had accepted to move on to her. One caught her eye, as it was one she had already thought about but was yet to be installed.

The legally changing of one’s name was something small and not thought about by anyone unless they were the ones wanting to do it. But it could be something life-changing for those who wanted or needed it. Kosai was a great example of this. She slipped it back into the folder along with the others she approved of before setting it in the going-out bin. She was curious to know who else would want to change their name. It could be as simple as someone wanting to change their name to something they liked better. It was hard to guess.

Later that day, Sakura was interested to find that a letter from Mei arrived. Though, upon reading it, she was sent into shock.

“Holy shit.” She read over the letter again, and then another time to make sure she was reading it correctly. Letting the letter rest on the table she looked up in surprise, going over the news in her head as she stared at her office. She turned her chair and stood, walking over to the window and crossing her arms. “How did she manage to get them to come here..?”

She took a deep breath to calm herself and looked out over the horizon. Or rather she looked at the wall of storms that surrounded the island that kept the horizon from being seen. “This could be of help….”

Chapter Text

Oginku hummed to himself as he waved to a merchant that was exiting the city. He looked back down at his book.

He was moved from his original location about a month ago. This was after the new wall around the new portion of Arashichi had been started. Where he was at now was just near the bridge, so those who came from the bridge would be able to head straight into the city.

He looked up as he noticed someone come to stand in front of the large booth he was at. He was surprised to see Inari and Kosai when he looked up. Even though he’d expected them back either that day or the next, he hadn’t expected them to look like corpses.

“Well by the looks of it, I shouldn’t poke and prod about what happened,” he murmured.

“We’ve just been under a lot of pressure on the way back,” Inari muttered.

“I’m so tired….” Kosai grumbled.

“We hardly got any sleep….”

“What? Why?” the man asked.

“We were too nervous….”

Before the large man could ask, two more tall men walked up behind the two teens.

“Is this the start of the village?” the larger of the two asked as he looked down at them. Inari nodded, clearly tired.

“Yes sir, this is the front gate,” the teen said as he turned to look up at him.

“Are these visitors? Welcome to Arashigakure,” Oginku greeted. Before anyone could say anything else, someone landed near them, standing up to show off a dog mask.

“Welcome to Arashichi, Lord Raikage,” the masked person spoke, giving a bow. “I’ll be your guide from here.”

“Gin!” Mei greeted as she was followed by Shino.

“Welcome back, Lady Mizukage.”

Oginku hit his knees on the desk as he stood up and gave a hurried bow and apology for now knowing who they were. The large man lifted his hand and waved him off.

“It’s alright, but let’s go. There are important things to discuss.”

Gin gave a nod and turned, beginning to make his way down the main road.

As they made their way through town, the Raikage and the man next to him took in the sights and sounds of the place. They were surprised by the same things the woman next to them had been the first time she walked through town. The colorful buildings and gardens along with the cleanliness of the village. The fact that there were no beggars and children happily ran around parks and the streets.

“She’s done a wonderful job with the place, right?” Mei asked A. The huge man hummed, having to admit it was a good facade at the very least.

They made their way to the docks before Gin pulled two yellow cards from his bag, holding them out to each kage.

“These were instated recently. They allow you to cross once you arrive without having to stay the night prior. Please feel free to keep them if you so wish. If not, if they could be returned to me or another ANBU, it would be very helpful.”

They made their way onto the ferry, showing the cards they had received beforehand.

Upon arrival to the other side, both the Raikage and the one person accompanying him were in shock at the fact that such an island even existed behind a wall of storms. They then made their way to the Kage Tower and up the stairs to the conference room.

Taking their seats across from each other, a young woman brought them some tea before leaving.

“She’s not here?” the Raikage asked.

“She should be here in a few moments,” Gin stated before a knock came on the door. He opened it and allowed a woman in a woman mask along with an elderly man and woman to enter. They took seats at the end of the table opposite the door.

“Welcome,” the masked woman greeted. “Before we start, I would like to offer you lodgings because I know you just arrived. If you would like to have this conversation tomorrow, please feel free to tell me so.”

“I’d like to go ahead and get the important things out of the way, then perhaps we could discuss other things,” A stated. The woman gave a nod.

“Of course.”

“First thing’s first,” Mei started. “Have you heard about Suna?”

“I can’t say I know exactly what you’re mentioning. Has something happened?”

“They found corruption in the council and the evidence against Gaara of the Sand was found to be planted. It’s been announced to the public and he and his siblings have been wiped from the wanted list.”

“I would say that it is good that such things have been discovered rather than them being hidden forever, though the damage has already been done,” the Namikage stated.

“They want him to come back officially,” A stated, crossing his arms. “It’s ridiculous. What kind of person would go back?”

“We will have to wait and see what he decides to do once he knows,” the Namikage said. A little more discussion was held about where the previous Kazekage might be before they moved onto another subject.

“You probably can already tell, but I brought the Kumo jinchuriki with me…”

“Have rumors begun to spread or did Lady Mizukage inform you?” the Namikage asked.

“Both.”

She was silent for a moment.

“I see… That will bring many problems our way… Thank you for informing me.”

“Truthfully I wish to ask you if it’s true. Have you really brought in tailed beasts as the members of your village?” he asked.

“Yes, it is true.”

“Would…” He cut himself off, seeming to think about the question again. “Would I be able to meet with them?”

“Yes, I can call them here if you wish.”

“What is it they do? Are they just on call?”

“Well, one of them is,” she started. “Kurama helps around the village with small things. He helped with the original construction of much of the village. He tends to protect the Bird Caves on his resting days. Shukaku tends to laze around on beaches most of the time but he will walk around town sometimes. Isobu is taking culinary education, he should actually be in a class right now with his mediator.”

“A tailed beast is taking cooking lessons…” A muttered to himself. “So they really are just citizens then…?”

The woman smiled behind her mask.

“Yes. Many of the villagers know them by now and rather than some fantastical beast, they’re seen as another member of the village.”

“But they will help you if you ask them to?”

“The only time they are obligated to help is if the village is under attack or if it’s some kind of threat that could endanger the village, such as a war. Though I suppose they could do as I asked if they wanted to. They tend to be stubborn sometimes.”

“And do you wish to colle— Excuse me. Do you wish to invite all of them here?”

“Invite? Yes. Do I expect them or want them to all come here? Not at all. I have no greed for them, because I see them as people.”

“Interesting…” A turned behind him to look at the other man who was watching the young kage. “What are your thoughts about this, Bee?”

“It’s…” He thought for a moment. “It feels too good to be true…”

“I’ll have to agree until I can meet with them.”

“Then you would like to meet them now?” she asked.

“If possible.”

“Would it be alright if I only called Kurama and Shukaku? As I stated previously, Isobu should be in one of his classes at the moment and they are rather important to him,” she asked. A gave a nod and she lifted her hand before Gin gave a nod himself and disappeared in a small cloud of smoke. “While we are waiting, let me introduce the two elders of the Village.”

She gestured to the woman.

“Nashigaki Iro,” she gestured to the man, “and Huang Po.”

Both elders gave a nod of greeting.

Chapter Text

It was not long before two men entered the conference room. They were recognizable by their basic appearance and color schemes. And even if they were in human forms their chakra was wild and immense.

“You’re not sending us away are you?” Shukaku asked, eyeing Killer Bee. He could feel his brother’s chakra from the man.

“Is that what you’re afraid of? I’m a little hurt,” the Namikage chuckled. “No. You already know you’re famous. Lord Raikage wanted to meet you.”

“The Raikage?” They looked at the man sitting in the seat and both of their faces scrunched up slightly to show distaste.

“He’s got the nerve to show up with—” the Nine-Tails started.

“Kurama,” the Namikage said. It was a warning. The chakra beast shut his mouth and looked away from the two men to see Mei who waved at him with a smile. He gave a small nod.

“Sorry…” he muttered.

“Even if they’re rude, they still behave like people,” A laughed suddenly. “Alright, I’ve decided on something. Lady Namikage, let’s speak in private later.”

“If you wish,” she nodded.

“Now for the last thing that was of importance,” his smile turned a bit dark as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “Why don’t you take off your mask?”

“Lord Raikage—” Mei tried.

“From what I heard from the Mizukage, you’ll be needing our help with Konoha, so I need to know the exact reason why.” It was silent for a moment before the Namikage reached up and removed the mask and kage hat, setting them on the table. “Ah… I knew it.”

“Did you now?” Sakura asked, feeling no hostility toward her from the man.

“I knew we’d met before somewhere, didn’t you visit with the old lady at one point?”

“Yes, I was her student once.”

“And that was then I suppose…” he muttered referring to the fact that she was now wanted. “My guess is you want off the wanted list.”

“While that would be helpful I don’t expect help, that must have been something Lady Mizukage brought up on her own,” the young woman said as she looked to Mei.

“Well I don’t think you deserve to be on it,” the redhead shrugged. “From what I’ve gathered she gave an outrageous order that I’m surprised more people didn’t go against.”

“What happened? We heard there was a fight but didn’t look into the details,” A said.

After a thorough explanation, the Raikage wore a displeased look.

“So you actually ended up saving some of the shinobi that would have died due to the order, two of which you knew.”

“That’s correct.”

“And who knows how many would have been saved if you had gone back immediately…” He lifted his hand and placed it on his head as he gave a sigh. “I’m not sure what was going through her head, but that kind of order…”

“It was irrational,” Sakura muttered. “While I would be grateful for any help you would give me, I don’t expect anything at all from you. I hope you know this.”

“I’m actually willing… But I’ll need something in return.” He paused. “No, we already got something.”

Sakura raised a brow and he continued. “That rogue you brought to us a few weeks ago. We’d been searching for her for years, killed dozens of ANBU. You took care of her for us, I’ll do you this favor.”

Sakura lit up.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. It shouldn’t be such a big deal to cause me to lose hours of work over.”

Sakura dipped her head in a bow

“Thank you very much.”

Huang Po murmured from next to her and she shot back up giving him an apology. He had scolded her for lowering her head to someone lower than herself, though she disagreed with it on the inside for the situation.

“Now we just need a third village to wipe you from all of the bingo books,” Mei smiled, looking at the younger woman.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Sakura and A entered the young woman’s office and took a seat each as the others went to either explore the village or go with the tailed beasts.

“Now, about what you wished to discuss,” she started. He finished glancing around her office before nodding.

“I’d like to send Bee here when he retires.”

She stared at him for a while without saying anything.

“When… he retires. The jinchuriki?”

“Yes,” he nodded.

“As a vacation or—”

“No, I’d like to offer you the Eight-Tails.”

Sakura stared at him in utter shock.

“Pardon me, this is a lot to take in…” She looked down at her desk trying to collect her thoughts. “So you’re offering Gyuki… Alright, I think I understand….”

“I won’t offer you Bee, he’s my brother…. But eventually… The time will come where he has to leave this world, and he never wants Gyuki, as you call him, to be sealed again. So I think this is the perfect opportunity to fulfill his wishes.”

“You realize what it is you’re saying…?”

“I do, even if I’m not still in my seat I already know who I want to succeed me, and I know he’ll follow my wishes.”

“This is… so sudden… I want to accept your request but I need you to know what might happen if this agreement is made and isn’t upheld.” He raised a brow. “As I said, the brothers are stubborn.”

She groaned, resting her face in her hand. “If they end up hearing about this and it’s not upheld, a war will probably break out…”

“Then those are the consequences my successor chose to accept. It’s a stupid thing to do.”

Sakura was quiet as she stared at the man in front of her. It felt like much longer than it really was before she pulled a sheet of paper from the clean stack and a pen from the drawer.

“I’ll accept, as I’ll never have this opportunity ever again.”

Chapter Text

The morning after the two new chunin arrived back from their travels, the news was spread in the newspaper that the village now had its first official shinobi. Parties popped up everywhere that day, with people celebrating becoming an official hidden village.

But truthfully, that was only the case for Inari. He had been born in the Land of Waves. Kosai on the other hand was still registered as a member of Konoha in the Land of Fire. And that was something he thought about often. Kakashi and Sai had the same thoughts and had brought it up with Sakura on different occasions. They all had the same ideas in mind.

To officially leave Konoha.

Sakura agreed it was the best course of action if they ever decided they wanted to live completely free and told them she would support their decisions. Going about it, however, was a different thing entirely. They would be on their own.

The three soon set off for the other hidden village in search of resignation of citizenship.

Meanwhile, a week after the three had set off, small groups of people began to migrate into the village. At first, it was hard to guess why, but once official queries started coming into the office, Sakura finally understood.

They were asking about the participant who had used ice release in the recent Chunin Exams.

At first, she was skeptical about why they were asking but a single meeting with an old man changed everything.

“We are of Yuki blood as well. We heard you might give us shelter.”

With his age, he probably knew of the atrocities that were carried out by those with the same blood as him. So outing himself as one of them was something she was surprised he built up the courage to do. She went on to explain to him that there was no one of the Yuki Clan in her village, but that there was a Shuji clan that used ice release. She explained that the Shuji Clan sought to carve a new path for ice release and was welcoming of others to join it.

And with that single statement, the citizenship and name change forms piled up. It was incredible the amount that came in, and more were submitted every day. Enough to create a temporary paid position to go through all of them.

A new clan entrance form was created before they piled up as well, the number of Shuji growing to a whopping hundred-twenty-seven overnight. Each person came from a different place around the northern peninsula after hearing the rumors of a safe haven. It seemed some of them kept in touch with one another.

This however caused a problem, as there was no place for them to live. Sakura thought and thought over the fact for a long time before calling upon the construction teams who recently finished the academy buildings. She told them to design a neighborhood that looked beautiful but could house around three hundred people. It could have low and medium-rise housing and the houses could be as close together as they wanted. For the area, she handed them the map of the Clan District. After that, she left it to them.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

The moment the three arrived at the front gate, the two who were at the booth recognized Kakashi. Masses of questions were asked but were met by silence as the three made their way to the Kage Tower.

The moment they arrived, they informed the front desk of their identities. The desk sent someone straight up to the Hokage’s office, coming back down shortly after and asking them to wait. They sat in chairs silently. The building and place they were in used to feel comfortable, but now all they wanted to do was go back to Arashi. It wasn’t long before they were shown up to the office to find an excited Tsunade.

“You’re all alive, I’m glad,” she spoke. Kakashi held back a comment but Kosai, or Konohamaru for the time being, spoke.

“I’m here to file an official complaint against Ebisu, my old teacher.” Tsunade looked at him in surprise before remembering what it was the teacher had told them when he had come back without any of his students.

“Speak.”

For the next few minutes, Konohamaru explained what happened up to the point of being saved by Sakura, but nothing beyond. He made an excuse that she dropped him off at a small farm in the Land of Waves where Kakashi and Sai were as well and that was where they had spent the remaining time healing after she left them.

Tsunade placed her hand over her eyes and gave a sigh.

“I’ll have it taken care of… So Moegi and Udon’s bodies are buried in Arashi? I’ll have to send a request to have them moved here… You may go, please get some rest—”

“I’m also here to resign my citizenship.”

Both men looked to the boy in slight surprise as they had assumed they would have to do it. Tsunade stared at him for a long while.

“Will— No, have you… That’s right, your aunt went to Arashi….”

“We came across each other a few days before I was going to leave for here. So there was no way of her knowing I was there. She sent a letter,” he said, pulling an envelope from his bag and placing it on the desk before going back to standing next to the other two. She opened it and read through it before resting her arms on her desk.

“We’re here to request the same thing,” Sai stated when she looked as if she were about to let them go. She stared at them for a long while, mouth falling open slightly before she seemed to realize Sakura must have told them what happened. She placed her hand over her eyes.

“I see… Get a resignation form from the front desk…. Thank you for serving our village while you did….”

The three exited the room and let out sighs as it had gone smoother than they had anticipated. They quickly made their way down the stairs before Tsunade had any time to change her mind.

A quick filling out of forms and visits to their old homes later, the three were at the front gate again. The moment they stepped outside, they felt a weight lifted off their shoulders.

Chapter Text

After the news of Gaara being proven innocent reached the three siblings, they had a meeting at Temari and Shikamaru’s home.

“I’m not going back,” Kankuro stated, arms crossed as he sat at the dining table.

“What? You think we are?” Temari asked. “They outcast Gaara for most of his life and decided that they could just do so again on a whim after he helped them so much.”

“I’ll be asking for resignation of citizenship, like the others are doing with Konoha,” Gaara muttered, surprising the others.

“That was fast…” she muttered about the amount of time it took to make a decision.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while. What would I do if things sorted themselves out?”

“Try and extort them,” Kankuro grinned. “Get some money.”

“I think a clean parting of ways is better for all of you,” Shikamaru put forward. “It means the less they can vilify you and they’ll feel even more guilt if they do so at all.”

Kankuro clicked his tongue but agreed.

“So I guess we’ll have to go back to fill out papers,” the puppeteer groaned.

“Now would be the best time to do it…” Temari muttered. “We’ll have to talk with Lady Sakura about it.”

And later the next day, they did. Sakura had been waiting for their answers and was flattered by the fact that they wished to stay. They all had been much help in setting up the village and were important shinobi, it would have been a hard hit to lose them.

Instead of just sending them off, Sakura offered them one of the smaller flying carriages to use for their trip, which they accepted happily. After a bit of preparation, they set off the next day.

While Sakura expected the next week to be a waiting game, she received a letter from A that surprised her. Apparently, he had a meeting with the Tsuchikage and A had shared Sakura’s story with them at great risk. But with great risk comes great reward, as the Tsuchikage took their side and they now had three villages that would back her.

It was something unexpected and Sakura had to wonder what exactly they would want in return. Though, she could already guess that they may want some sort of positive link with the tailed beasts. If that was the case she was surprised more villages weren’t running to her with offers.

With that, the week ended and the three from Konoha arrived back, free from any chains that had held them there. Their citizenship forms were confirmed and Kosai legally changed his surname and given name as he learned about the many others that had joined his clan.

“There’s so many,” he muttered, looking at the clan listing that was kept in the archives. He only had access to it because he was the founder of the clan.

“They’re all pretty interested in meeting with you,” the archivist, Eri, smiled. “But while you’re here, Lady Namikage asked me to have you pick one of these compound layouts. Since you founded the clan, you have the most say in these sorts of things.”

She set down a small portfolio and he opened it to find four different layouts for areas within the clan section of the island. He looked over them in awe as he had never expected to be choosing anything like it. After a short inner debate, he pulled the one he liked from the portfolio.

It had a few parks and many more single houses than the rest, as well as having a large building in the shape of a triangle. Inside it was a courtyard with tile designs in the shape of the clan symbol, which drew his attention.

He handed it to Eri and she smiled, giving a nod before telling him she would have it sent to Sakura. She then gave him the information that many of the older members were looking to speak with him about a few things and gave him a slip of paper with a meeting date on it.

“Elder Iro will be there with you, so there’s no need to worry about being alone.”

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Tsunade looked at the three scrolls in front of her with shaking eyes, unsure of how exactly to go about the situation.

The three scrolls were from very large hidden villages and kages: the Mizukage, the Raikage, and the Tsuchikage. Each was about the same.

They were pressuring her to remove all people involved with the failed raid from the bingo books. At the moment that included her own student as well as the next head of the Nara clan, son of the current Aburame head, and a member of the Yamanaka clan. It had been discovered that the two had faked their deaths, but they had yet to be put in a bingo book as it was recent.

Tsunade covered her face with her hands. She would have to do what the other kage wanted. She had no choice with there being three.

“Shizune…”

“Yes, my Lady…?” her assistant asked.

“Get me some sake and a member of the World Shinobi Association.”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Weeks passed and the three siblings returned from Suna just in time to see the announcement in the case office about those who were wanted from Konoha being freed of all charges put on them. Many small celebrations were held by them, though Ino and Tenten were surprised to see their names on the list as they assumed Konoha thought they were dead. They would have to resign citizenship as well, but that was something to think about another day.

Sakura finally felt a weight lift off her shoulders as she drank with her friends. They were all free from the negativity and suppression they felt in Konoha. Things were looking up in Arashi for those who had been in hiding and they were looking toward a brighter future.

The next step would be to come out of hiding, and that in itself would cause a wave of change.

Chapter Text

Sakura took a deep breath as she, Kakashi, and Kurama made their way up the stone stairs that wound up the large mountain at the northwest side of the island. It was the first time they would be going into the caves after they had stumbled upon it.

Hachidori had finally summoned the young woman after many long months of waiting.

They came to the cave to find two hummingbirds on either side of the entrance. Sakura bowed to them and the clouded tunnel that had been blocked by fog cleared up.

“You may enter,” one of them spoke before the three entered the cave. After a few moments, they exited the tunnel to come out into a large grotto. In truth the top of the massive mountain was hollow, sporting massive trees and colorful flowering plants. Hummingbirds of all sizes buzzed around the large cavern in every direction, some coming in or heading out of huge and small holes in the stone walls that led to the outside.

In the center of the cavern was a gigantic pillar of rounded stones held together by flowering vines and the roots of trees. On top was a massive nest made from flowers and twigs, in which sat a huge bird whose colors resembled a peacock more than a hummingbird. She was roughly the size of a large house and many other smaller birds were perched on the nest around her.

The three stopped where they were as they watched her spread her wings and fly upward before buzzing down and landing in front of them. After landing, she puffed up her feathers, appearing like a ball before they flattened down again, a calming breeze wafting through the air.

“Welcome, Namikage,” the large bird spoke, looking at Sakura with large blue eyes. Sakura bowed slightly in greeting.

“It’s an honor to finally meet you, Lady Hachidori.”

“You brought me many of my tears that were missing, so I’ve decided to accept you fully,” Hachidori spoke. Sakura blinked in surprise, as the bird had got straight to the point. “I will make a contract with you if you so wish.”

“I would be honored.”

“And I’ll allow villagers with Wind Release to learn our techniques. It would be a waste to not build the village back to what it once was.”

“Thank you very much!” Sakura smiled, as she took the contract scroll from a smaller bird. After placing her bloody thumbprint on the scroll, she handed it back. “I have a question…”

“Yes. You may ask.”

“Your tears, are they still a secret?” The bird stared at her for a moment. “I plan to keep it as one, I wanted your opinion.”

“It’s true you could be invaded if others learned that the tears could split the rains… You do as you see fit. Your judgment has already proven itself. You may do things at your own discretion.”

Sakura bowed her head again.

“Thank you.”

“If you have nothing else, then you may leave. Feel free to come back if something important comes up or summon one of my children.”

After saying their goodbyes, the group left and exited out into the cool salty air that swept up from the sea.

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Sakura entered her office with Kakashi to find Kirai placing down a large stack of folders on the kage’s desk. She turned to see them before bowing.

“Welcome back, Kirai. I hope you’re alright?” Sakura smiled.

“Actually, my lady…” A grin came to the younger woman’s face. “My name is Aiko now.”

Sakura paused before her smile turned soft.

“I see. It suits you.”

“Thank you, my lady. I’d like to apologize for my sudden absence. It won’t happen again.”

“Well, be sure to take off if you’re sick or have something going on. But I’m glad to hear you’re able to come back to work.” Sakura let out a sigh. “It’s been a mess here without you.”

“I’m very sorry!” Aiko panicked, giving a deep bow.

“No! No! Don’t worry about it. I only meant you’re important here,” Sakura laughed. Aiko straightened up and stared at her for a moment before smiling wider.

“Shall we get to work?” She was happy to be needed. “First on the list of things that need to be done is the gathering of funds for the Shuji clan compound.”

She looked at a list she had in her hands.

“Huang Po said he would take care of that through donations and a debt for each Shuji member to pay back to the village over time. Along with some other methods at the same time,” the Namikage explained. Aiko nodded and scratched it off of her list.

“How would you like to go about announcing your identity?”

Sakura hummed, glancing at Kakashi who nodded. They discussed the very same thing on their way there.

“I won’t be. It’s not something that’s necessary, so there shouldn’t be any reason to do it.”

Aiko looked at her for a moment before crossing it off of the list as well.

“The next thing to discuss is your first vacation.”

Sakura looked at her in confusion before looking to Kakashi.

“Lady Iro and Shikamaru agree with me,” he shrugged. The woman gave a sigh, rubbing the back of her neck as she leaned back in her chair.

“Alright, fine. But only a day or two—”

“Three,” he bargained. She gave the man a blank stare before rolling her eyes.

“Fine. I’ll take three instead of a week like you probably want.”

“Deal.”

She narrowed her eyes and wondered if he had something he wanted to do but pushed it aside.

“But we’ll be doing four days’ worth of work today,” she grinned, watching his mood fall.

Chapter Text

Sakura sipped on a cup of sake as she watched the night sky from her bedroom window, which was something she had not done in a long time. It was the night of the second day of her vacation that those around her forced her to take. The cool night air and the breathing from her bed calmed her even more as she thought about all that she had done and all she would have to do.

Iro was working on her wardrobe for the meeting with the Land of Fire’s daimyo. It was something that was just as important as anything else according to Eyumi, her royal assistant. There were a few blacksmiths and carpenters working on different accessories for her as well and truthfully, it was something she wasn’t used to. She was unsure she ever would be, but that was fine with her. She didn’t want to be used to receiving such expensive things.

She had attended classes with Eyumi over basic and advanced manners before beginning to learn table etiquette. She still needed to learn many things, but she heard she had a good grasp of everything so far, so she was doing well. The meeting was growing closer so she would have to learn everything quickly.

On another note, she received word from the Raikage that she would be informed about any Akatsuki bases they came across. That was something to be happy about because it could lead them to more of the siblings. During the Raikage’s visit, she was proud of the three for how well behaved they were. They visited for a long time with Gyuki and Killer Bee before the jinchuriki left for Kumogakure.

She gave a yawn and placed down her empty cup before closing the bottle and heading over to her bed. She crawled under the covers, brushing all her thoughts away for the night.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

The rest of the year passed by smoothly without any major events.

Arashichi had grown larger before slowing down. The Waves Museum and College of Natural and Historical Studies campus was completed with the moving of the Waves’ Palace to the western side of the island. A large dormitory was planned to be completed within the first few months of the new year where students from out of town could stay for the duration of their education. The Storm Academy in Arashichi and the Wave Academy in the old capital of Shutonami were completed, along with small dormitories for those who were raised in the smaller villages around the Land of Waves. The case offices were expanded as well to accommodate the growing demand for jobs.

Kakashi thought about the growth the country had gone through under Sakura and was honestly amazed, comparing her to Senju Hashirama in his head. His only hope was that she would not have an Uchiha Madara she would have to deal with in the future. His attention moved to the outside of the flying carriage to see the palace of the Land of Fire.

“We’re almost there…” Sakura sighed. All eyes moved to her and they were again stunned by how beautiful she was in her silk kimono. Iro had chosen powder pink, salmon, and mint underlayers with a seafoam outer layer decorated in lotus flowers, waves, and bamboo. Her fan matched, with a carved jade bead hanging from the end. Her hair was tied back in a high braided bun with lotus kanzashi carved from jade as well. It had a lantern-like ornament that hung from it that would sway when she walked and matched her hanging earrings. Her eyes were dusted in a blush eyeshadow and her lips were painted pink.

She sat with her fan in her lap and looked at those across the carriage from her.

“Remember Kurama,” she started. “Don’t say anything unless it is respectful.”

He gave a nod, knowing that he had no room to fool around that day, which was why neither of his brothers were allowed to come even if they had wanted to. They felt themselves descending at the order of Matsuoka and each took their last breaths to calm themselves before they landed.

Outside, those there to greet the rumored woman daimyo watched as the door to the flying carriage slid open and a few men stepped out. Kakashi stopped as he exited and helped Eyumi out before taking another woman’s hand. As soon as Sakura’s feet touched the paved ground, whispers about her beauty erupted around the servants. A man approached and gave a formal bow.

“Welcome to the Fire Palace.”

Truthfully, Sakura had been worried about being pressured into doing something she did not want to do. However, she found the Fire Daimyo was just as fickle as she heard. He was just as clueless as Shikamaru had explained he was back in Arashi. Not that anyone would ever say such a thing to his face. It was clear he got his station through nepotism.

The meeting consisted of generic compliments and flattery from either side, along with trade propositions that meant nothing to Sakura as they would be useless to the Land of Waves in any way or form.

Another thing she somewhat expected was a marriage proposal. He wanted her to marry one of his sons to have a connection of some sort, but Sakura politely declined. She gave no reasons which confused him slightly but he decided the woman in front of him was too strong to have the need to explain herself. The meeting ended as quickly as it started and nothing but a small connection of having met was made, much to the Fire Daimyo’s dismay. And soon enough, the group was headed back to the Land of Waves.

Chapter Text

Truthfully, those who went to the Land of Fire were surprised the meeting didn’t last a few days. Sakura had made a big enough impression on the Fire Daimyo that he felt no need to convene with his advisors. She actually could have acquired an unfair deal that was in her favor had she introduced one, but she had nothing she wanted from the Land of Fire other than to be left alone.

One night after about a week of of their return, Sakura woke to a puff of smoke erupting in her bedroom in the middle of the night. In her tired state, she got ready to attack but was able to stop in time when realizing it was one of the elders of Hachidori’s flock.

“An attacker has entered the wall!” she called, startling Sakura into putting on enough clothing that she would be able to fight in. Once she was finished, she realized she was able to hear the sirens from the rest of the village and made a note in her head to extend them to her place of residence. In fact, she wondered why they were not there already. What an oversight.

She rushed to the Kage Tower through teleportation to find many others in either their sleeping clothing or fully dressed. Some were like Kakashi, who was in just a pair of pants and a shirt, sitting on the floor putting on his boots.

“Situation!?” she demanded, causing the room to fall silent before she realized that the three brothers were nowhere to be seen.

“Kurama identified his sister Matatabi and a person who seems to be controlling her,” Shikamaru reported.

“Controlling? Then this is similar to what happened with him in Konoha?”

“He thinks it might be the same person.”

“Great,” she said sarcastically. “Everyone, block them from getting to shore no matter what. We can’t have them wrecking the village.”

Outside the village, Kurama, Shukaku, and Isobu had taken their full forms and were sitting on the water, blocking their sister’s path to the island.

“Damn cat won’t listen to us,” Shukaku grumbled as Sakura arrived on Hachidori.

“I already told you she can’t hear us,” Kurama muttered in annoyance. The cat lunged forward, swatting at the bird, though Hachidori dodged easily.

“My lady, if I may?” the hummingbird started.

“What is it?” Sakura asked, keeping her attention on the cat.

“While I specialize in storm and wind jutsu, I also can see seals when they have been placed, even if they are hidden,” she said, blue eyes focusing on the person standing on the massive cat’s head. “Both have seal’s on their minds and both seem to be hypnosis.”

“Hypnosis? Then they’re probably being used as well?”

“That is likely the case.”

“How do we undo them…?” Sakura wondered out loud. She would have to get close to them and have them stand still for her to be able to undo the seals and having that happen was almost impossible. If she were to try and release Matatabi the person would attack her. Maybe that was why they were there in the first place.

“I can release them,” Hachidori announced.

“Please do!” Sakura requested as they dodged another attack from deadly force and claws.

The hummingbird gave a quick squeak before chakra formed around her wings. Slowly tornadoes reached out from the tips of her wings and Sakura was surprised to see they were made from pure chakra. They then shot out like bullets toward the person. He raised his hand to block the oncoming attack, successfully brushing it to the side.

He wondered what kind of leader the opposing force had, seeing as all of the chakra beasts were obeying their orders. He had gone there to attempt to free the chakra beasts from whatever control they were under and seal them for the Akatsuki. His plan would be easily taken care of if the last attack sent was all that the Namikage was capable of.

He paused however when he found the chakra from the last attack was lingering on his hand. His eyes grew wide as it seeped into him, sending immense pain through his body as it pushed through his chakra ducts. He attempted to expel it but found it impossible through the pain. Something in the back of his mind suddenly shattered and his thoughts became clear before he blacked out.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Matatabi regained consciousness on a sandy beach with the sun beating down on her. She opened her massive green and yellow eyes to see a large expanse of ocean and a wall of rain. She sat up with a bit of struggle and realized she could see Isobu swimming around in the distance.

“You’re awake!” She looked to the right to see a gigantic tanuki sitting on the beach next to her. She went to stand up. “Woah, woah!”

“Shukaku?” she asked in confusion.

“Yeah?” he asked stupidly.

“Where is this?” With a short explanation of what happened, she was sitting down on the beach, looking over what she could see of the island. “A hidden island?”

“That’s right.”

“And you live here?”

“That’s right.”

“With humans?” she asked. He gave a large nod. She looked out over the water to Isobu who seemed to be enjoying his swim. “Isobu does as well?”

“And Kurama.”

“How?”

“Well, you see,” he started. It was long explanation about how he and his two brothers came to live under the Namikage. He explained what they did every day and what they would help Sakura with. He then explained who those closest to him were and how he was treated around the village. In the end, Matatabi found herself wondering if it was too good to be true.

“And she’s not using you for military power?” she asked, suspicious.

“Well she is, but only when we want to help. We’re not allowed to take missions that are below A-rank,” he explained looking at his fingers. “We have to help out with wars and attacks on the village, like with you. But she’s not going out of her way to attack anyone using us.”

“And you’re not being sealed…” she muttered.

“Right!”

“How do you go around town? You’re too fat,” she pointed out. The tanuki huffed and performed a hand sign before erupting in a puff of smoke.

“Like this!” a small voice came from the ground. She lowered her head to the ground to see he had turned into a human man. “Try it!”

He was cheering while laughing. She hummed before looking over to see Isobu had crawled up on the beach. He too erupted into a puff of smoke and she saw he had also turned into a round man like their brother. The cat hummed before thinking about the situation.

This place was somewhere away from the rest of the world like she had always wanted, but she would be able to stay with her brothers. Would this really work out?

With one last look at her brothers, she gave a huff and also burst into a puff of smoke.

Chapter Text

In her place was a young woman with blue hair and a fair face. Her left eye was yellow and right green with her skin being a deep caramel. She had found the skin tone interesting when observing those from Kumogakure. She wore a loose blue yukata over a netting top and had grass sandals. She looked down at herself for a moment before making her way over to the two men. Skukaku gave her two thumbs up with a large grin.

“Let’s go see Sakura! I bet she’s doing something important we can interrupt!” he declared. Isobu gave a shake of his head as he trailed behind.

Later, Sakura looked up from her documents as the three entered her office. She was surprised to see the new woman before realizing it was Matatabi.

“Hello,” the Namikega greeted. She looked at Shukaku with a stern glare. “What did I say about just walking in here?”

“Not to,” he responded as he looked at the map on the wall. Sakura gave a sigh and she pinched the bridge of her nose. He pointed at the area they were at and looked to his sister. “We’re right here.”

She looked at the map for a moment before nodding.

“This is Lady Sakura,” Isobu said quietly, feeling uncomfortable for having invaded her office so suddenly. Matatabi stared at the other woman for a few moments with her bi-color eyes. In them were curiosity and suspicion that were easy to detect.

“Do you have any questions for me?” Sakura asked. Matatabi was silent and only watched her.

“Shukaku told her about most things,” Isobu said. Sakura gave a nod.

“Well, if there’s nothing I can do for you, why not see what Isobu has been doing recently? I hear he’s been making his first cakes,” she smiled. A gleam appeared in the turtle’s eye as he looked to his sister and she was surprised to see him so excited. She gave a sigh and nodded for him to lead the way.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Sakura approached the farthest reaches of the hospital, making her way through two security checkpoints being guarded by Tenten and Gaara respectively. A door to one of the four most guarded rooms opened to show a man lying in a hospital bed. From what they had discovered from checking his physical state was that the right half of his body was covered in scar tissue. His blood also showed signs of highly regenerative abilities similar to those that belonged to Senju Hashirama and Yamato. She gave a sigh as she checked on his vitals and wrote things down on a chart.

A sudden gasp from behind her caused her to jump in her skin and she dropped the clipboard. It clattered to the floor as she whipped around to see the man sitting up, hand on his head.

“W-Where-!?” he started, only to wince. She decided he sat up too fast and hit the assistance button on the side of the bed to call for a nurse to help her with him.

“Excuse me.” His eyes looked over to her in shock. “Let’s have you lie back down.”

He hesitated, but did as she asked. “Do you know who you are?”

She asked this as a man in a nurse’s uniform entered the room.

“Yes…”

“That’s good. Do you know where you are?”

He looked around, skeptical for a moment.

“A… hospital…?” he asked as the nurse began to check the machines connected to him.

“Well, yes. That’s right, though it’s not the answer I was looking for.”

“Why am I here?”

Sakura crouched down and picked up the clipboard before standing back up.

“You attacked our village with one of the tailed beasts,” she said simply. He raised a brow.

“I did what?”

“You heard me the first time,” she stated, looking at him with stern jade eyes. He felt himself recoil at a look that was similar to one an old teammate would give him.

“Sorry… But I don’t remember doing anything like that,” he told her truthfully.

“How good is your memory?”

“I—” He paused, his eyes growing wide slightly. For some reason the past few years were fuzzy. He grabbed his head. “What…?”

“You had a hypnosis seal on your mind,” she started. He looked up at her as she wrote something down on the paper. “We removed it.”

Later, Sakura sat in one of the chairs in the man’s room writing notes over his physical condition as she waited for reports. The man was lying in bed again thinking about who knew what when the door to the room opened and Kakashi stepped inside with the reports under his arm. He made his way over to her and set them down on the table before greeting her. They talked for a moment before the man in the bed spoke.

“K-Kakashi..?” Both the man and woman looked over to the bed and Kakashi went rigid, Sakura noticing immediately.

“O… Obito?”

Sakura was pretty unsure of the situation as the two men sat in silence for more than an hour. She was unsure if she should say something or not before she gave a sigh. She stood, making her way over to the machines and doing some more retests.

“So I’m in Konoha then…” Obito finally muttered.

“You’re in Arashigakure,” Sakura told him, not taking the time to turn around.

“Arashi? That new village in the Land of Waves?” he asked.

“So you know about us?” she asked.

“Not much…” He held his head again. “I just remember… I remember there are tailed beasts here…”

“Did you come to take them?”

“I…” After a minute of struggling to remember, he let out a growl and flopped back on his pillow. “Shit! I can’t remember almost anything! I just remember getting trapped under that rock and some things in between!”

Sakura paused and turned around to look at him slowly. Realization washed over her as she remembered the story from the Third Shinobi War that Kakashi had told her after his breakdown in the forest all those months back.

“Wait…” she muttered, looking at Kakashi, who nodded.

Chapter Text

Ino stood across from where Sakura was sitting, arms crossed as Obito watched them.

“Does he really remember that little?” Sakura asked, having brought in the woman to make sure.

“Everything is extremely blurry. Not even I got a look at who saved him,” she confirmed.

“So there’s nothing to say what all he did…”

Ino pursed her lips and gave a nod.

“That is the case…”

“Am I going to be imprisoned…?” he asked cautiously. Sakura let out a long sigh as she looked at the ceiling.

“You can’t be imprisoned for something you didn’t do under your own will… But I think it would be best if you went back to Konoha.”

“Of course… I wish I could apologize to the leader of the village for all the trouble I caused them…”

“Well, the most you did was breach the rain wall,” Sakura informed him. He looked at her.

“So… I didn’t hurt anyone?”

“No, nothing was damaged and no one was hurt. We were able to stop you in time.”

“Oh thank god…” he muttered, putting his face in his hands.

“But you did break through the barrier without a pass, so that’s a hefty fine.”

“I don’t have any money…”

“Then a few weeks of enforced community service,” she reasoned. “Then we’ll send you on your way back to Konoha.”

He gave a small nod of confirmation and Sakura and Ino stepped out of the room and said their goodbyes before Kakashi approached Sakura, passing Ino as she made her way to exit the hospital. He stopped in front of her.

“What is it you’re going to talk about…?” she asked, knowing it was going to be a heavy topic.

“He needs to know about the Uchiha Massacre… And Rin… And Teacher…” he muttered with sad eyes. She gave a sad smile and gently gripped his arm in a gesture of comfort.

“Are you going to be okay alone?” she whispered. He gave a nod and she took a deep breath. “Remember you can come and find me if you need to talk.”

“Yeah… Thank you.”

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Tenten hummed a tune as she looked through the lettuce of one of the market stalls, feeling for a good one.

“These are all really hollow,” she muttered before finding one that was to her liking and adding it to her basket after paying for it. Temari was next to her, feeling for her own.

“What was that siren about the other night? You two know don’t you?” the vendor asked, pipe in hand as he watched them. Tenten narrowed her eyes.

“We don’t rat you out for selling lettuce under the name of cabbages, so don’t go asking about something important like that.”

Temari looked down at the produce in confusion.

“What, how can you even tell!?” the vendor asked in shock.

“I know my vegetables… Keep to yourself,” Tenten ordered. Temari watched the exchange with dull eyes, wondering what was even happening. After deciding she would just buy from another stall, she moved on, Tenten giving the man an I’m-watching-you motion as they made their way down the street.

“So what was the siren about?” Tenten whispered.

“Shikamaru rushed off to the Kage Tower but apparently it’s under lock and key for now,” Temari shrugged. “If he tells me not to worry about it like he did, I’m just going to ignore it for now. Obviously, we’re not dead, so whatever it was, was dealt with well enough.”

“I guess that’s true.” They stopped at another stall for Temari to buy some cabbage that was actually cabbage. “Hey, do you want to stop by the place my shop is going to be? I already pulled out a loan for it.”

“You already bought a shop?” she asked, picking a head out and putting it in her basket.

“Yeah, since there are actual instructors from Konoha now, I’m not really needed. I was scoping out places for the past few weeks and found a nice place really close to the entrance to the Clan District.”

“That is nice,“ Temari muttered, looking through some more vegetables. The two finished up their shopping and started heading toward the store.

The shop sat just next to a corner building and had barred windows like a jewelry shop would. It had two floors and was rather wide, the building to the right of it being taller and the one to the left shorter. The walls were a warm tan and the roof a deep red clay.

“Wow, it’s quite the place!” Temari smiled as they stood on the opposite side of the street.

“A sign will be between the two second-floor windows. And I’ve already got deals lined up with a few different blacksmiths both in and out of town,” Tenten explained proudly. “At the moment there are no other weapons shops in the city so I could price them however I wanted. Not that I’m going to abuse my monopoly.”

“You’ve really thought this out.”

“Of course! I’ve wanted to do this for a while!”

Temari decided she needed to stop praising her while she could or the other woman’s head would get too big for her shoulders.

“I hear Ino’s flower shop has been a huge success,” Temari smiled

“Oh, I know! What a cute engagement gift too! I was wondering what that building was supposed to be for months!” Tenten laughed.

“I hear Sai tried more than five times to do it right.”

“That’s dedication.”

“Hey, Tenten?” Temari asked, looking at the woman next to her that was focused on the shop in front of them. Seeing how focused she was, Temari decided against the conversation and moved to something else instead. “Why don’t you come over and help me with decoration planning.”

“Sure thing! I’ve actually thought of a few things that you might like over the past few days!”

“Alright, let’s get going then.”

Chapter Text

Tenten’s dining room was filled with chatter as the group sat around the table and ate the food that had been made. It was a get-together that had been planned for a few weeks, so it happened regardless of whatever else was going on in their lives.

“So you guys pushed up the date of the wedding?” Sakura asked from the head of the table. She knew this because she received a decorated invitation in the mail.

“We were waiting for everything to be sorted out first,” Temari explained next to her. “Now that everything is, we thought we might as well get it over with.”

“You sound like you’re not excited!” Sakura laughed.

“I guess he’s rubbing off on me,” Temari chuckled.

“But you’re already done planning?”

“Well, I didn’t have a job to do so I spent my time doing that. I finished pretty quickly seeing as it’s going to be rather small.”

“That makes sense, I suppose. I hope you didn’t stress yourself out too much.”

“Sometimes,” Temari sighed. “Now if only Kankuro had a girlfriend to bring.”

She had said that knowing that the man across the table was able to hear her completely.

“Would you knock it off!” he protested. “Leave my love life alone!”

“What love life?” she grinned.

He growled and shoved more curry in his mouth, grumbling to himself about how his sister was annoying. Gaara, who was next to him, ignored his brother as he and Aiko listened to Tenten tell them about her new shop she would be opening. Neji and Shino asked a few questions about the place and she had an answer for everything, which surprised them.

At the other end of the table, Shikamaru, Ino, and Sai discussed when the wedding of the newly engaged couple would be held. They both agreed that they didn’t have a date yet, but they would prefer it to be in the spring because of the flowers that would be available. The best guess would be a year from then as they had not even begun to start planning yet and winter only lasted a couple more months. After the end of their discussion, Ino turned her attention to the other end of the table, catching Sakura when the table was quiet.

“Sakura, I heard from my dad that people in Konoha are comparing you to the Three Sanin,” she started. “Isn’t that wild?”

“Me?” the pinkette asked, bewildered.

“Yeah! Even the Hokage had to admit you had to be at least sanin level to control three tailed beasts.”

“But I’m not controlling them…” she reminded with a blank look.

“You might not be, but you still scold them,” Temari pointed out.

“That’s true,” Shikamaru laughed. “Sometimes I see them shake in their boots!”

“You also have two master summons and were trained by the fifth Hokage, who is one of the Three Sanin,” Sai stated.

“Personally, I think you’re worthy of the title,” Gaara said. “You have an overwhelming strength and fighting capability. Along with your medical prowess, if that were to be part of it as well. From what I hear you surpass the Fifth Hokage in that field.”

“Well if the Fifth Kazekage tells me so it must be true,” Sakura jested. Gaara cracked a minuscule smile before a sound of confusion came from next to him. Many of them seeing Aiko looking from Sakura to Gaara with wide eyes.

“Fifth Kazeka— What?” she asked.

“I was the Fifth Kazekage before being chased out under a scheme by the council,” he explained. Her eyes almost popped out of her head and she seemed to panic.

“If you treat him any differently than you have been, you’ll embarrass him,” Temari grinned. The young woman across the table covered her face in embarrassment thinking about all the stupid things she had done in front of him.

After the dinner was concluded, each person went their separate ways, though Gaara stopped Aiko before she could get too far.

“I hope that nothing changes between us because you know about that now…” he said in his usual calm and monotonous voice. She gave a hesitant nod, not able to look him in the eye. “What’s wrong?”

“I just… I’m remembering all of the embarrassing things I’ve done in front of you,” she muttered. She let out a heavy sigh. He gave a small chuckle, surprising her into looking at him. His teal eyes glinted with something she did not recognize.

“I was wondering if you would want to go get dinner with me some time,” he said finally. “As a date.”

She stared at him as her cheeks grew warm.

“Y-yes?” she got out. He tilted his head slightly in question of whether that was a response or a question. “I mean, yes! Er—”

She cleared her throat. “Yes, I would like that…”

Another short chuckle escaped him.

“Then may I walk you home?”

She gave an embarrassed nod.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Obito once again found the pink-haired doctor in his hospital room, this time, Kakashi being with her. She had done her usual tests before telling him he was released.

“You’re free to move around the city on your own, but your movements will be monitored,” she stated, folder under her arm. “You’re to report directly to the Shuji construction site after leaving here. Is that understood?”

“Yes,” the black-haired man responded with a nod. She pulled the folder from under her arm and handed it to him. He opened it to find a map of the surrounding area with a few places marked.

“Use the map to find where you need to go, you’re free to ask for directions obviously. Also inside are some forms to sign up for therapy,” she explained. He looked up at her in surprise. “You’re free to ignore them, but the cost is low and payments can be put on hold for up to a year.”

“Thank you…” He felt he was getting much more than he deserved.

“Lastly,” she started, “I apologize if this is a touchy subject, but you can report to the hospital for scar tissue treatments if you would like. While they may not completely go away, I’m sure we can help you fade them.”

He took a deep breath and placed his hand on the right side of his face before giving a nod. “If there are no questions on your end, I think it would be best if you got going.”

It was around ten minutes that it took him to get to the construction site, a masked ANBU with red hair accompanying him. He had asked a few questions and received simple answers before they arrived. Upon his arrival, he was greeted by the leader of the project and assigned to help move lumber with other men.

Chapter Text

Obito’s two weeks of community service passed quickly with him growing more confident with his current self. He met with Kakashi a few times to talk about the years that had passed and also made time to go to the hospital every day for both therapy and scar treatments.

He made his way into the hospital, now feeling confident enough in his own skin to walk in public without feeling eyes on him wherever he went. Upon reaching the front desk, the receptionist greeted him, as they had come to know each other’s faces.

“You’re here at a different time,” he pointed out. Obito rubbed the back of his head.

“I was wondering if I could see Doctor Haruno to thank her for all she’s done for me. I’ll be leaving town tomorrow and wanted to thank her before I left.”

“Oh! Well, I can send someone to go get her, she should be on break right about now. You came at a good time.”

“That would be great, thank you.” He stood near the waiting area and a few minutes later Sakura appeared through the doors. He made his way over, giving a bow. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

He straightened up to see her giving a smile.

“I’m just glad I could help one of Kakashi’s friends… If you ever need anything, know you can come back here. I might not be available but any of the doctors here would be willing to help you.”

“I actually got a note from the therapist recommending me to therapy back in Konoha, though I don’t plan to use it. But I should get going, I don’t want to take up any more of your time.”

“Have a safe trip.”

“Thank you.”

She watched him go, holding the door open for an old woman on his way out. She wondered why exactly he didn’t want to continue his therapy but decided it was his choice and no one could help him if he didn’t want to be helped.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Kosai sat in the conference room of the Kage Tower with Iro as they waited for members of the Shuji clan to arrive. They filled the room slowly, with a few people arriving at a time. Some arrived with younger members of their families, though they did not take up seats and instead chose to stand behind their elders.

Once the room was filled, there were eighteen elderly Shuji members sitting around the table all watching Kosai as he sat next to the village elder.

“Welcome,” Iro smiled. “Why don’t we start off this meeting by having introductions? I am Nashigaki Iro, one of the elders of Arashigakure.”

She motioned to the young man next to her. He gently pushed back his chair and stood, giving a bow.

“I’m Shuji Kosai. It’s nice to meet you.”

There were a few questioning comments about why he did such a thing at a young age and he gave them an explanation. He had read war logs and notes about what the Yuki Clan had done after learning that he had Yuki blood. He wanted there to be a place for those with the blood to be able to live in peace without having to hide who they are.

Many of those at the table commended him for his brave actions before they went around introducing themselves. They were from all over the continent, some being from Kumo and having seen him in the Chunin Exams, some being from the Land of Water and hearing about the new clan through an announcement made by the Mizukage. Others were from the Land of Fire and beyond.

After introductions, the man at the other end of the large table spoke.

“The main reason we wished to meet with you was that we thought perhaps you would wish to be the head of the clan. Though now that I see your age I think it would be best to wait if that was something you were planning for.”

Iro spoke before the teen could respond.

“What do you propose?”

“A temporary head until he reaches adulthood.”

The others around the table agreed with the thought and Iro looked to Kosai to get his opinion only to find him deep in thought. He noticed she was looking at him and came back to reality.

“I agree that’s probably what should happen,” he nodded, knowing he was too young to take on responsibilities.

Iro hummed and pulled one of the papers on the table toward her, pulling a pen from a box. She wrote the beginnings of a contract, asking Kosai about it as they went. When she finished, she had it passed around the room to all of the elder members to read and agree to. She told them they would have to decide on a member for the temporary head amongst themselves before having them accepted by the Namikage.

The meeting moved on to the distribution of housing, loans for homes and shops, and late entrance into the academies before it came to an end after four hours. With contract in hand and regards to the young founder, those of the Shuji Clan left to go back to the inns they were staying in for the time being. The moment they were all out of the room, Kosai slumped back in his chair letting out a huff.

“That went rather smoothly,” Iro smiled. “They all seem to have good intentions.”

Kosai gave a grunt in acknowledgment. “Now, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing… I just hope they have good intentions too…”

“Was there something that made you think they did not?”

“It’s not that… It’s just I think it would be easy to take advantage of me right now… I’ll have to study harder from now on.”

“Oh, that’s what you were upset about,” Iro laughed.

“I hate studying…”

“You can always give the head position to someone else,” she reminded.

“I feel like… I can’t do that for some reason…”

“You feel an obligation?” she asked, interested in why the boy was acting the way he was. “I think you’re growing up.”

“Hey, I’m already pretty mature!” he protested, sitting back up in his seat as he got ready to leave. Iro only smiled as he grumbled to himself.

Chapter Text

Sakura looked out toward the now raging storms that circled the island. They had grown harsher over the past week and she was wondering exactly what the cause could be. It was hard to guess, as she had no idea what was behind them in the first place.

“You called for us?” Shino asked as he, Sai, and Isobu entered the office after requesting to come in with a knock. She turned to them, keeping her position next to the windows with her arms crossed.

“Yes, I wanted to ask you to research the storms as well as you can.” They understood why Sai and Shino were called. Sai could help them reach the clouds and Shino’s beetles were perfect to see what the inside of the said clouds were like. However, they were confused about Isobu.

“Why am I here for that?” the three-tails asked.

“I’d like you to check the ocean floor under the walls if you could.” He stared at her for a moment, thinking about what she was asking before giving a nod.

“That’s simple enough, I guess…”

“Just tell me if you see anything out of the ordinary,” she requested. He gave a nod.

“You want me to do it now?”

“If you could.” He gave another nod before leaving the room, followed by the other two. She looked back out the window, wondering why it decided to act up all of a sudden.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

Temari looked in the mirror as she took in the wedding dress that Iro prepared for her. It was an aegean blue slip with a lace neck and sleeves. It was a beautiful dress with green beads of different shades stitched to the skirt in the pattern of wisteria since she had liked the flower so much. The dress had turned out better than she could have ever imagined and was a nice change from the usual white which Temari didn’t think she would look very good in.

Her hair was pulled back in a bun with some of it sticking out to create a crown effect. Her veil was pinned to her bun and makeup was put on her to give her the nude look. She looked at herself in the mirror, not having ever imagined herself in this sort of situation before she started her planning.

“You look beautiful!” Tenten squealed, finishing in putting on the bride’s earrings. They were small, hanging, green fabric wisteria flowers that matched the necklace she was wearing.

“Are you ready?” Ino asked, doing a double-check with her eyes before they stood and made their way to the door. Aiko was sure to bring the bouquet of fresh wisteria of varying colors with her. On the other side was a room where Kankuro and Gaara were waiting for their sister to come out. As she did, their eyes grew wide as they had never seen her so dressed up.

“You look beautiful,” Gaara told her, giving an almost full smile. Kankuro on the other hand…

“You look weird…”

Temari went to stomp over to him in her low heels but was stopped by Tenten holding up her hand. The brunette walked over and gave the man’s foot a nice stomp, causing him to hunch over and grab it.

“We can’t have you messing anything up,” Ino smirked.

“And you wonder why I chose Gaara to walk me down the aisle and not you…” Temari huffed before watching Kankuro and Tenten talk for a moment, a smirk coming to the older sister’s face. Kankuro noticed her and gave a cough.

“Whatever I only meant that I don’t usually see you this pretty.”

“Me or Tenten?” Temari asked, grin only growing as she walked past him. The man whipped around, with pink cheeks and was about to retort when he felt a menacing aura from behind him. An arm looped with his and he looked over to see Tenten with a smile.

“It’s her wedding day! Give her some slack!” she said as she tugged him out of the room and to the garden before letting him go. He ignored what she had done to the best of his abilities as they both made their way to their seats along with everyone else. A few minutes later, the harp that was moved to the public garden began to be played. Temari stepped onto the aisle with her arm linked with Gaara’s and they made their way to the altar.

At the altar were Shikamaru, who was trying to keep his jaw from dropping, and Iro, who was smiling, ready to conduct the ceremony.

The ceremony went quickly, a picture being taken at the request of Yoshino. After a small photoshoot so that pictures could be sent back to those who knew Shikamaru when he was growing up in the Nara clan, the reception was held.

Temari was quite happy as things turned out just the way she wanted them to, involving both her relationship with Shikamaru and the wedding preparations. After a first dinner and their first dance, the rest of the party went into swing.

Tenten was laughing with Neji and Shino when Kankuro appeared from nowhere, asking to speak with her for some reason or another. They were off to the side of the garden away from the crowd so that they would be able to hear each other.

He was clearly nervous and she could see it, though she didn’t pressure him into saying what he wanted to say and just watched the party until he cleared his throat.

“Would you… Maybe… Want to get lunch later this week… or some other time is fine too… Whenever really…”

“Sure.”

“Yeah, I just—” he paused and looked at her in surprise. “Wait, sure?”

“Yeah, let’s get lunch,” she grinned. His cheeks tinted pink.

“Er, no… I meant—”

“As a date?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Sure,” she said, reinforcing the fact that she knew he was asking her out.

He took a deep breath.

“Not as bad as you thought huh? I’m surprised you’re into getting your feet stepped on,” she cackled, grabbing his arm and dragging him over to the dance floor. “Don’t worry! It’ll happen more before the night is over!”

Chapter Text

Sakura jumped slightly as a knock came on her office door. She nodded for Aiko to let the person in and they showed the assistant a form before they both made their way over to the desk.

“Is there a problem?” Sakura asked as she signed a form and closed the folder that it was in.

“My lady, apparently someone claiming they’re an Uchiha is trying to apply for citizenship…” Aiko explained. Sakura froze up for a moment before having second thoughts and holding out her hand. The office worker handed over the form and Sakura looked over the kanji in the name section before letting out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. It was not the one she was afraid it would be.

“I’ve met this man in person, you can admit him,” she said, going back to what she was doing.

It was a week later that she called the Uchiha to her office, wanting a meeting with him for a few reasons. The moment he entered the room and saw her he grew rather confused.

“Doctor Haruno?” he wondered aloud.

“She’s the Namikage and daimyo as well,” Kakashi explained from next to her, a bit of amusement in his eyes. The other man’s eyes almost bulged out of his head and he shot down into a deep bow.

“I apologize! I had no idea!”

“I brought you here for a few reasons,” she started, not being as warm as she had been at the hospital. He swallowed, feeling he was indeed in front of someone stronger than himself. “First I would like to know why you were here requesting citizenship.”

His face became tense.

“Well… I left Konoha…” he said softly. “The reason being I was told they couldn’t give me details about the massacre of my clan… They decided they could hide things from me when I came back to find my family and friends dead…”

Sakura pursed her lips. “Everyone I was close to other than Kakashi is dead…”

His shoulders fell slightly. “And he left the village after being practically betrayed by them… I don’t think it’s a place I should be…”

“Why here?”

“Well, I was shown such kindness here after what happened… I also wanted to continue my therapy here with the same person who had been helping me. We were making progress already in the short time I was with him.”

“I see…” It was quiet for a moment before she moved on. “I recall you stated you already located a place of work?”

He realized she must have looked at his application.

“Yes. The construction crew hired me, since they knew I worked hard.”

She nodded.

“Is that what you will be doing from this point onwards?”

“For the foreseeable future, that’s what I would like to do…”

“And my last question…” She looked him in the eyes and he straightened up slightly. “Do you plan on reestablishing or getting vengeance for the Uchiha Clan?”

He was silent for a moment. The reestablishment of the Uchiha Clan would face tens of difficulties from him actually having a child with the Sharingan to potential complications with Konoha. While revenge was a long and cluttered path that they did not know the details of.

“As of the moment I have no interest in solely pursuing reestablishment. Nor do I seek revenge of any sort. I want to live for myself for the moment.”

Sakura relaxed slightly, as she was relieved to see someone level-headed from the clan compared to the teammate she once had as a child. She sighed.

“I’m glad to hear that, since, as a doctor, I think that’s what you should be focusing on at the moment…. I think your therapy is an important thing for you to continue, so I’m happy to hear you have,” she said. He nodded. “I’ll let you go back to your day. Please continue to help the village as you have been and there will be no problems.”

He bowed again.

“I will. Thank you very much for this opportunity.”

“Ah right,” he looked at her and she grinned. “Kakashi wanted to know if you wanted to come drinking with us later.”

“I’d be honored!”

Sakura gave a giggle and shooed him out of the office.

“I’ve noticed he’s a little like Naruto…” she muttered. “Energetic… You must have had a rough time when we were your students.”

“Well, I saw myself in Sasuke, Obito in Naruto, and Rin in you. You’ve each grown into your own people. But you’re right I had a rough time.”

“I was the least trouble, of course,” she declared smugly, causing him to smile.

╌❀✿╌╌💮╌╌✿❀╌

“So what are the results?” Sakura asked from her desk chair. Sai, Shino, Neji, and Isobu stood on the other side. Sai and Shino had recruited Neji for the project to use his Byakugan to see through and into the clouds.

“The clouds show an overwhelming amount of yang chakra,” Neji told her. “It seems to be increasing by the day, which is causing the storms to grow out of control. Other than that, nothing is out of the ordinary.”

Sakura nodded, looking at the clouds out the window.

“What about you, Isobu? Did you find anything under the water?” she asked.

“There are big green crystals spread out around the island under the wall,” he nodded. Their interest was piqued immediately.

“How big?”

“Maybe about the size of a watermelon?”

Sakura hummed.

“Well, they definitely have something to do with this… They’re too suspicious,” the Namikage muttered. The others agreed silently. “Do you know what they are?”

Isobu shook his head.

“I know they’re making the yang chakra, though,” the tailed beast said.

Sakura’s brow furrowed in confusion. If it was true they were large crystals, then it was possible Hachidori would know about the situation. She decided the best course of action would be to ask the being that had been on the island the longest.

Chapter Text

“You’re all dismissed,” Sakura said, standing up as she pushed back her chair. They acknowledged and bowed before making their way out the door, Sai shutting it behind him. She turned and looked out the large windows, taking in the city before she performed the reverse summoning jutsu. She placed her hand on the ground and kanji spread out from the center of her palm before she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

When the smoke dispersed from around her, she found her hand in the center of a circle of round stones. She removed it and stood to find herself in the Bird Caves. The circle of stones seemed to be on the opposite side of the pillar from the entrance she and the others used before. The circle of river stones was in an even larger circle of flat, smooth stones about a forearm’s length across, each had a different set of nature-related kanji engraved on them. She looked up at the pillar to see it appeared the same it did from the other side, apart from one thing. Between the smooth stones of the pillar was a large green crystal approximately the size of a head. It glowed with an energy that Sakura could recognize as yang chakra.

It was exactly like the ones Isobu described he had found under the water.

“Are you here to calm the storms?” Hachidori asked from her perch. Sakura looked up at her and wondered how much she knew about what was happening outside.

“If that’s something that I can do,” she confirmed. The bird adjusted her position, ruffling some of her feathers. “What do you know about the situation?”

“Down there,” Hachidori nodded downward. “The giant tear.”

Sakura looked at the green gemstone again. “That was made at the request of my last contractor.”

“Is there more than one?”

The bird was quiet for a moment, watching the young woman.

“Yes, there are many. But I feel you already know this.”

“What do they do?”

“They have stored the chakra of my last contractor for generations, fueling the storms that he placed around the island,” she started. “While this central gem is the only one with his chakra, it is linked to the other gems. They are reacting to the emergence of unstable chakra.”

“Is there a way to fix it?”

“Simply break it,” she said. Sakura stared at her for a few moments in silence before looking down at the large gem.

“What’s… Why are the others important to you, but this one isn’t?”

“The others hold emotions: sadness, happiness, anger. They are memories.” She looked over at a large vase shape made from leaves. Sakura did not know this, but it was filled halfway with some of the most precious gems in the world, Hachidori’s bird tears. It also held the few trinkets that had them set into them, like the tama hair ornament. “That one, however… Was made from an order. I have no attachments to it.”

“Alright… I’ll break it then, if that’s what I need to do.” Hachidori gave a nod and many of the hummingbirds around the area landed to watch what would transpire.

Sakura had a bad feeling about what she was going to do but decided to just keep up her guard rather than not do it all together. If the storms continued to grow, they would be cut off from the rest of the world for who knew how long and she had a country to run.

She approached the gem, wary of it as she reached out. The amount of yang chakra was almost suffocating as she plucked it out of the pillar and stepped back. It was heavy and smooth. The bottom of the object was rounded and the top was jagged in places, looking like an uncut stone.

With a very deep breath to get enough air in her lungs, she pumped her own chakra into her hands and created a vise. The gem cracked slightly around the area of her hands and she grit her teeth as she pressed down on it harder. All of a sudden, cracks split around its sea-green surface. Warped sounds like cracking glass echoed around her before the chakra within the gem leaked out.

She released her hands from the object and it fell to the ground and broke apart, the pieces rolling around for a moment.

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Tenten stood with Kankuro near the docks. They had been about to take the ferry to have the lunch they had agreed on, but were stopped when they found the ferryman making a continuous announcement. He was telling people that all trips would be canceled for the time being due to the strong storms, which made sense to many people.

Kankuro turned to her, about to ask if they might go to a place on the island instead when a loud clap of thunder echoed from the wall of rain. Then another, and another, all seeming to come from a different location around the wall before, in almost an instant, the clouds began to disperse. The two looked at one another before a commotion broke out about the now visible horizon.

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Sakura watched as the yang chakra that had escaped the gem swirled in front of her for a few moments before morphing into the shape of a man. He wore a loose kimono with a pair of shinobi pants and boots of a past age. His hair was pulled back similar to Shikamaru’s and he held a metal needle between his teeth. His left arm rested in his kimono like a sling and his eyes were hazed before they cleared up and glowed a deep blue. Upon his ethereal comprehension coming into focus, his eyes landed on the young woman in front of him. He stared silently for a few moments before lifting his right hand in greeting.

“Yo,” was the greeting his deep voice gave. Sakura wondered if it was his personality. Deciding that protecting her village came before dealing with some pesky spirit, she looked up to Hachidori.

“Are you able to restore the storms?” she asked. The spirit raised his brows at the fact he was being ignored but did not seem too bothered by it.

“Yes, I will create another gem if that is what you wish,” the bird responded. She leaned over the side of her nest and blinked a few times before a tear dripped from her eye, falling from her lids and dropping down into the slot that the last had been pulled from. The moment it touched the stone at the bottom of the crevice, it glowed a bright sea-green before billowing up into a similar shape as the prior.

“Do I need to put chakra into it?” Sakura asked.

“Ah, no. That would just be something I did to keep this vestige alive,” the man said, again lifting his hand in a form of catching her attention. “May I introduce myself or are you busy, Miss?”

“I am… But go ahead.”

“Thank you kindly…” he grinned. “I am Nashigaki Temu, a son of a bitch who saved this island from being completely destroyed.”

“I’m guessing that those you pushed from the island didn’t think well of you with that kind of title.”

He gave a laugh.

“That would be correct, though my family thought my decision was just enough.”

“I’m well aware of that. One of our elders shares your surname.”

“Oh!? How are they?”

“She’s well,” Sakura nodded.

“That’s good to hear. What might your name be?”

“Haruno Sakura,” she stated, nodding her head in greeting.

“Are you the new leader of this island?” he asked before Sakura confirmed. He lifted his hand once again in a sign of celebration. “Well, congratulations. You have reached the final stage of settling here on this island.”

“The final stage?”

“You found me,” he stated, a lazy grin on his face after giving a nod. She stared at him.

“Thank you?” she asked, unsure of what exactly he meant. He gave a sigh.

“There’s usually some great end goal in stories, right? I thought finding me would be a nice ending to the settling of this island,” he tried. She raised a brow.

“Quite presumptuous of you to think the work is over,” she huffed. “The foundations may be set, but there’s always more work.”

He hummed.

“Well, you sure seem to be a good fit for your position… I hope you’ll do well from here on out—” He appeared to intake a breath as his visage faltered. “Seems my time is up. This was a good conversation for being my last in the living world. May the winds of Arashi fill your sails.”

His chakra faded away and Sakura was left alone in a cave of birds.

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Sakura stared at the bag that sat on the side of her office that was filled with the bits of the bird tear she had broken. Hachidori had told her she could take it as she held no emotional attachments to it. Seeing as she had new bird tear pieces, the young kage decided to hand over the gem that was in her comb.

The kage tapped her pen on her desk as she looked up after the door opened. Kakashi walked in with a folder under his arm.

“Here’s the report you asked for. All the clouds are back to the way they were. The precipitation rate is about the same as it was as well.”

“That’s good…”

“Still thinking about what that ghost said?” he wondered, seeing she was still lost in thought. She hummed.

“He seemed to think that there would be an end to settling here, but that’s not the case…” She stood and made her way over to the window, crossing her arms as she looked out over the island.

“What are your thoughts?” he asked, already knowing the gist of what she thought as a leader of the village. She smiled.

“We’ll continue to live as we have… Working toward a better future.”

Chapter Text

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Act II is now in the works!

Know that I will be finishing it before I post it, so it will not be posted for some time!

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