Inuzuka Haru stared out of his bedroom window at the rain. A little way down the corridor, he could hear his parents arguing about something. Or rather, his father was shouting and his mother was trying to reason with him. The boy sighed, and turned away from the rain-streaked glass to see his nin-dog, Kibou, curled up on his bed.
“Ah, Kibou! How many times do I have to say, no sleeping on my bed when you’re all wet!” He exclaimed, reaching over to pluck the dog from the comfy blankets.
The scruffy, white dog shot him an angry look over his shoulder and skulked to the corner of the room, where his own bed was. Haru sighed, and moved his messy black hair out of his eyes as he walked to his desk. He really wasn’t looking forward to today. Uzumaki Dai, his best friend, had invited him for dinner with his family. This meant that he would have to be polite to the Hokage, Naruto, who was Dai’s father, as well as put up with the man’s crude jokes and loud, irritating laughter, and also put up with Etsu, Dai’s younger sister, ogling him from across the table as always. The only nice thing about going over was the food. Sakura, Naruto’s wife and Dai’s mother, was an excellent cook, and always made sure she made Haru’s favourite when he went over.
A knock on his door caused him to leave his thoughts, and go to see who it was. His mother stood outside the room, a tray with some sweet biscuits and a cup of tea in her hands.
“Haru-kun. I bought you a snack. Don’t get crumbs on your bed. When you’ve finished, come to the family room. Neji-niisan, your father and I wish to talk to you and your sisters about an important matter.”
Haru rolled his eyes to the heavens.
“Will Hoshi be there?” he asked his mother, with a mouthful of biscuit.
“Hai, your cousin shall be there. But no annoying her this time, Haru! I mean it! And it’s Hoshi-sama, have a little respect! Her father is leader of my clan, you know… And please don’t eat with your mouth full.” Hinata turned and left her son’s room, smiling to herself.
Haru reminded her so much of his father, Kiba. And he was growing to be just as handsome too. It was little wonder to Hinata that her son attracted so much female attention, including a certain Hokage’s only daughter.
She entered the small kitchen in her wing of the Hyuuga compound, and sat next to her husband. He smiled at her weakly.
“I’m sorry for shouting Nata-chan. I’m just stressed out about all of this. I don’t understand why our kids have to be involved.”
“Kiba, we’re all in this together. They have to be made welcome, and our children are important in doing that.”
“Even so, why is he coming back anyway? Why does Uchiha Sasuke always have to cause so much drama?”

*

The horse and cart was slow. Painfully slow. A tall, dark man sat atop the cart, steering the horse, his hood up against the rain. The raindrops mixed with tears on his face, but no one knew but him. Inside the cart, huddled together, were two boys and a woman. The eldest son must have been about 18, his back against the wall of the cart, the frail woman propped up against his side. On the other side of the woman sat a younger boy of about 16, nose in a book, blocking out the laboured breathing of his mother.
“Eh, Ichiru? Take over, will you? For a little while, I need to rest. Keep following this road straight!” A voice called from above.
Ichiru carefully leant his mother against his younger brother and climbed out of the cart, swinging himself from the door to the roof in one fluid movement. The rain lashed down on him and he was soaked in seconds.
His father held out the reins and swiftly vanished into the cart below them.
“Kin! Kin! What are you doing? Stop reading and give your mother some water!” Ichiru heard his father shout at his brother underneath him.
Sighing, the dark-haired boy flicked the reins and spurred the horse on. If they carried on at his father’s pace, they’d never reach the village hidden among the leaves before nightfall.

*

Hyuuga Neji sat with his cousin Hinata at his side. His brow was furrowed with worry as he waited for his nieces and nephew to arrive. His own daughter knelt in front of him, obedient and attentive as always. He smiled at the way she reminded him of her mother, Tenten. The woman herself was not coming to the meeting, and was instead busy sewing, and preparing for the birth of her second child. Although so long after their first – 17 years in fact- this surprise was welcome, and much celebrated by the Hyuuga clan leader and his wife.
Suddenly, the door flew open, and in tumbled two girls, swiftly followed by two, small, yapping nin-dogs. The girls were quite obviously fighting over something, and it certainly wasn’t a clean fight. Aiko, the older of the twins by 2 minutes, was now sitting on her sister’s back, and twisting her arm up behind her.
“Akane! Aiko! Stop at once!” Their father barked, walking in behind them, with Haru, Kibou and Akamaru.
The two girls bashfully got up from their skirmish and stood in front of their mother, and the leader of the Hyuuga clan, whom they fondly called Uncle Neji. Akane apologised first, sweeping her long, black hair over her shoulders, and kneeling next to her second cousin, Hoshi. Aiko muttered an apology quickly, her long, brown hair covering her face as she knelt next to her twin.
Haru rolled his eyes at his sister’s behaviour, and knelt a little to the right of them, Kibou a little ball of white fur next to him. He looked so like Akamaru, his father’s nin-dog, but it wasn’t a surprise, seeing as he was Akamaru’s puppy.
Neji cleared his throat loudly.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t see that.” He said, sternly, but with a slight twinkle in his pale eyes - Neji seemed to have become much softer after he found his wife was expecting again – “Now, I’ve gathered you here today to discuss some important news. The Hokage himself has asked me if I will help him with this matter. I have agreed. A family is moving to Konoha, and should be arriving late this evening. The father is an old colleague of mine, and your parents” he gestured to Haru, Aiko and Akane, and then to Kiba and Hinata, “and he has been gone for a long while. We have been asked to make them as welcome as possible, and perhaps make room for them in our own home until they have set themselves up completely. His old clan home has been left derelict for years, and so will not be liveable for a while.”
Hoshi stood up suddenly, eyes blazing.
“We are letting complete strangers into the home of our clan, the Hyuugas, one of the oldest and most respected…?”
Her father cut her off, “The father of the family is an old friend. And he is the last remaining Uchiha.”
There was silence in the room.
Hoshi slowly sat back down, looking sheepish. They had all been told of the great Uchiha clan, of the bloodbath, and of the last Uchiha. It was quite the urban legend when they were at the academy, and children often dared each other to enter the deserted compound, to face the ghosts of the ancient clan.
“As I was saying, the family will be staying in the East Wing, and I’d like you all to be polite and welcoming. I will not tolerate bad behaviour while they are our guests.” Neji finished finally, rising to his feet, and then leaving the room.
Hoshi obediently followed her father out and to the North Wing, the luxurious main wing of the Hyuuga household, where the leader and his family lived.
The Inuzuka family proceeded to their own bedrooms to prepare for whatever they were busying themselves with on this day, the twins arguing all the way.

*

Uzumaki Dai sat impatiently at his father’s desk.
“Why do I have to do all this writing? I’m a good enough ninja anyway; I’m already a Chuunin. I just want to get out there and fight, to prove myself!” he said, irritably.
His father chuckled, “You remind me of myself when I was a boy. I was just the same, not wanting to do the tedious learning, being too loud. You are a good ninja, son, but you have quite a way to go if you want to take my place one day…”
Dai flushed slightly. He hadn’t told anyone but Haru of his ambitions to be Hokage, but everyone seemed to assume it anyway. He raked a hand through his spiky pink hair and sighed.
Talking of Haru, where is he? Dai thought to himself.
He left his father’s study, making a fumbling excuse about helping his mother in the kitchen, and headed straight for the front door, grabbing his orange fleece as he did so. It was getting chilly at night as winter drew closer.
As soon as the boy stepped outside, he knew he’d made a mistake. How could he not have noticed it was raining? Cursing himself, he ran towards the Hyuuga compound, intent on blaming his best friend for his misfortune.

*

Inuzuka Aiko saw Dai coming before he’d seen her. Taking the opportunity, she hid in the undergrowth just outside the entrance with Honou, her nin-dog. She loved to scare Dai senseless whenever she had the chance, and now was one she couldn’t miss.
The rain was slowing down a little as Dai approached her hiding place, and she smirked to herself, nodded to Honou, and prepared to dive from the bush…
“Aiko-san, I know you’re there, I’m not stupid.” Came Dai’s voice from beyond the leaves.
Cursing under her breath, the girl emerged, with Honou skulking behind her.
“I could smell you and your stinky old dog from a mile off.” Dai laughed.
Aiko stuck out her tongue and ran off towards the training grounds. Dai hoped she was crying.
“Upsetting my little sister again?”
Haru had come outside, after using his Byakugan to see what was going on. He and Kibou walked up to Dai.
“You know I don’t really want to upset her, baka!” Dai said, smacking his friend on the head.
Haru shrugged, “So am I coming to yours? I’ve got some info for you anyway..”
Dai nodded, “Etsu isn’t in.” he said, smirking.
“Bonus!” Haru yelled, punching the air.
The two friends set off towards the Hokage’s house, not noticing the battered horse and cart pulling into the street behind them, and the boy watching them as he steered the horse.

Neji stood in the entrance to the Hyuuga compound. A tall, dark man was standing in front of him, holding his hand and shaking it.
“I can’t say how grateful I am.” He said to the Hyuuga leader, “And how grateful my sons are too…”
He turned around and waved his sons over from the cart.
“Now I must get my wife. She’s rather weak at the moment, and I’d like to get her to bed as soon as possible.”
“Well, I’ve had Hinata-sama make up your rooms. So the bed should be ready.”
The man pulled his hood down and bowed. It was Uchiha Sasuke. But not as anyone would have remembered him. The man was a shadow of his former self. His hair hung lank and lifeless over his eyes, he was starting to turn grey and wrinkles had spread like fine spider webs at the corners of his eyes, and on his forehead. His eyes were still deep and dark, but the spark from them had gone. He smiled fleetingly at Neji and then turned to the cart.
His eldest son leapt to action, helping him with his mother.
Uchiha Sumi was very fragile, and looked as if she might break. Her hair was long and golden, cascading down her back. But her body was small and thin, her skin pale. Her eyes were dulled, and she seemed to have difficulty breathing. Neji forgot his nobility for a moment and ran to her side to help the woman from the cart and to the house. She grasped his hand with a weak smile. Her fingers felt like a whisper.
Once she was in her room, Sasuke had shouted at his youngest son, Kin, to watch his mother, while Neji, Ichiru and himself discussed the arrangements.
Sitting in Neji’s family room, they drank green tea, which a maid had bought through from the kitchens.
“This is my eldest son, Ichiru. My other son is Kin, he’s 16 and rather troublesome.” Sasuke smiled, “I hear you have a daughter?”
Neji smiled back at this seemingly old man, “Yes. I do, her name is Hoshi. She’s 17, and I’m sure just as troublesome as your Kin. Kiba and Hinata live here with their children too. I’m sure Ichiru and Kin will not lack for playmates.”
Ichiru cringed inwardly. Playmates? Who was this weird man with the pale eyes? Suddenly, he noticed a figure standing in the doorway, just in the corner of his eye. He turned slightly, just in time to see a flurry of fabric as a girl in a kimono ran from the doorway.
“Hoshi!? Get back here. I will not tolerate spying!” Neji shouted.
Ichiru jumped out of his skin. The man had his back turned, how could he possibly have seen her? He must be an extremely talented ninja.
“I see your Byakugan is as good as ever.” His father was saying to the Hyuuga.
Byakugan? Ichiru thought. He was sure he’d heard that somewhere before, maybe when his father had told them fireside stories about his life as a ninja.
A girl walking into the room disrupted his train of thought. She wore a white kimono with a pale lilac sash, which complimented her strange, translucent eyes perfectly.
“This is my daughter, Hoshi. Hoshi, this is Uchiha Sasuke and his son, Ichiru-san.”
The girl bowed to the guests, with a small smile.
“Pardon my intrusion. I wanted to say goodnight to my father.”
“Hoshi has a mission early tomorrow. Needs her sleep.” Neji said proudly.
Ichiru’s eyes widened. So this demure leader’s daughter was actually a Konoha ninja, just like his father used to be? He looked down at the floor. Just as he would have been, had his father moved them to his birthplace sooner. Why had he waited so long? Maybe things might have been better for his mother… Ichiru pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind. No point in dwelling on what could have been, as Sumi always told him.
Hoshi left the room, with one last fleeting look at the new guests. Ichiru gave her a quick smile. May as well try to make friends… he thought to himself.
“Well, what kind of a welcome is this? I shall have some food prepared; you must be hungry after your journey. And we’ll have a spot of music too. Kiba and Hinata should join us soon. It will be nice to catch up.” Neji rose from his seat and left the room, leaving Sasuke and his son alone.
“Ichiru? I want you to enjoy your new life here. I want you to make friends. I want you to find a good job and settle down.” The man told his son.
Ichiru nodded, his head down. He didn’t want to look into his father’s pained and pleading eyes. Not anymore.

*


“And you really think a party is the best idea?” Dai’s wrinkled his nose at his mother’s idea.
The Uzumaki family were sitting at the table, minus Etsu, but with Haru as their guest. Sakura was busy serving up steaming plates of food, and had suggested a small tea party for the new arrivals.
“Plus, a tea party? I’m 18, not 8!” the pink haired ninja scoffed.
“Now Dai, no need to be rude. But he’s right, Sakura-chan.” Naruto said from the head of the table, “Maybe a tea party is a little babyish. How about you rent out the room behind Ichiraku’s. I wonder if he’d do free ramen…?”
The Hokage gazed into the distance, lost in dreams of free ramen for life…
“I think a party would be fun. And I know just the place to have it!” Haru piped up between mouthfuls of Oden.
Dai raised an eyebrow quizzically at his friend. Where could that be?

*

An hour later, Haru was sitting in his family room, formally meeting the Uchiha family. His first impression was that the whole family was quiet and subdued, with Sasuke himself softly spoken, not at all how his parents had described him. His two sons, Ichiru and Kin, were the spitting image of him, tall with wild, black hair and very dark eyes. Ichiru was the same age as him but Haru had to admit, the Uchiha looked a lot older. Soon after their first introduction, the adults left the room. Haru sat in awkward silence for a few minutes.
“Um… We – my friends and me – well, we were thinking of having a party tomorrow night, as a welcome. It’s going to be held at the house next to the flower shop. The Aburame family have the best garden for parties.” Haru said, breaking the quiet atmosphere.
Kin let out what could only be described as a grunt from the corner where he read a book. Ichiru looked scornfully at his sibling.
“Don’t mind him, he just has no manners. A party would be great Haru-san! It will be good to meet your friends. W-will your…cousin be there? Hoshi-chan, was it?” Ichiru tried to keep his voice casual.
Haru raised his eyebrows, a grin spreading across his face. Every guy seemed to act this way around Hyuuga Hoshi. God knew why though…
“I’m afraid not. She leaves on a mission in the morning.”
“Oh, yes, of course. Your uncle told me that.” Ichiru attempted to conceal the disappointment in his voice.
Haru almost laughed aloud, but decided this would be rude.
“Well, it’s late, so I’ll be going to bed. I can show you to your rooms now if you’d like?”
“I’ll be sleeping in my mother’s room.” Kin piped up from the corner, “Father can sleep in my room. Mother needs me.”
With that said, he rose and left the room, bowing to his young host, and then making his way to his mother’s room.
Ichiru looked tense as he rose from his seat.
“Our mother is ill. She needs a lot of care, and my brother has taken it upon himself to do it all.”
Haru thought that he could sense anger in what Ichiru said, but cast that thought aside as he led Ichiru to his bedroom. Certainly this family seemed a little more interesting than they had at first, Haru thought to himself.

*

The next morning passed with little sign of the Uchiha family. Haru rang Aburame Taro, a friend from the academy, to check if the party was still on. Apparently his parents, Shino and Ino Aburame, had agreed to the party, as long as he let Kiku, his sister, get involved too. The parents themselves were attending a dinner party with drinks at the Hyuuga compound in celebration of Sasuke’s return.
Haru hung up the phone with a grin. Now to enlist the help of the best party organiser he knew. Although he really didn’t want to have to ask her…


*

Uzumaki Etsu combed her long blonde hair. Haru had actually called her. He wanted to see her. He wants to see me!!! She giggled to herself.
After applying some pink lipstick, she blew a kiss at the mirror; just in time to hear the doorbell, and to beat her brother downstairs to answer it.
“Hi Haru-kun!!!” She shrieked, “How can I help you today?”
Dai rolled his eyes from behind his sister, grinning and backing away from the door. Haru took a deep breath.
“I need a favour.”
“Will you go on a date with me if I do it?” Etsu pouted.
“…”
“Please?”
“…”
“Pleeeeeease Haruuuu-kuuuuun? Just one date.”
The boy sighed, “Fine.”
“Then I’m all yours!” Etsu shrilled, grabbing Haru’s hand and leading him through to the living room.

*

The garden looked beautiful. Ino smiled to herself as she helped her children and their friends set up the finishing touches. How similar it looked to her own parties. Fairy lights: check. Buffet table: check. Rowdy teenagers: Double check. Ino grinned even more, almost laughing as she remembered the good times.
Her husband, Shino, came out of the house.
“We’ll be late.” He called.
She nodded, and went to join him, giving her family garden one last look. How kind her parents were to have given her the shop, and the house, when she had married. They now lived in a smaller house just up the road.

*

Haru struck the ‘good guy’ pose, both thumbs up.
“Great job guys! I’ll go get the guests then!” He called to all his friends.
“Hai!” Everyone called back to him.

*


Ichiru ran a hand through his untamed hair, and flattened down his shirt. He hadn’t known what to wear, and so had gone for a black shirt, a few buttons open at the top, and some low slung jeans. He wore his usual sandals too, and a messenger bag with his phone, and his sketch book in it.
Kin burst into his room suddenly.
“Haru’s here to collect us, nii-san!”
Ichiru shook his head. His brother’s mood swings were getting worse. He couldn’t help but feel that it was similar to…
“Hey! You ready, Ichiru-san?”
Haru had poked his head around the doorframe.
“H-hai.” Ichiru said, taking one last worried glance in the mirror.

The flower shop was quite a walk away from the Hyuuga compound. Haru strolled slowly with Ichiru, pointing out all his favourite places. Kin walked a little behind them, humming to himself.
“That’s the academy. That’s where all the ninja of Konoha learn the basics, and if you do well, then you graduate as a Genin! The day I graduated, my mother cried. I suppose it’s quite an emotional time.” Haru smiled at the memories.
A little while later, they were at the house, and ready to go in. Ichiru’s stomach flipped with nerves as they entered the garden by a little side gate. Even Haru gasped when he saw how many people had turned up. His best friends were there, but everyone seemed to have invited someone, who in turn had invited another. The garden was heaving with Konoha’s teenagers, and all of them were ready for a good night.
“Well, I wanted to introduce you to my friends, but I think it’s a little noisy and crowded for that. So I’ll just point them out to you!” Haru yelled, above the music and talking.
He pointed over to a boy with bright pink hair, standing next to a girl with blonde hair, whom he seemed to find painfully annoying, and appeared to be ignoring.
“That’s my best friend, and the Hokage’s son, Uzumaki Dai. Your father was in the same 3-man-cell as his. And the blonde next to him? That’s Etsu, his sister. I have to admit, she has an eternal crush on me, but I’m sure it won’t last forever.” Haru grinned.
Ichiru nodded, feeling more at ease when Dai waved over to them. He seemed friendly enough.
Next, Haru spotted some more of his friends. One was a tall, beanpole of a boy, with blonde hair, worn in a sort of mad ponytail near the top of his head. He looked as if he’d rather be in bed than at a party. Standing next to him was a smaller, chubbier boy, with red spirals on his cheeks. He was sneakily helping himself to the buffet, as his friend shook his head at him.
“The tall one is Nara Yukio. He’s a genius ninja, but a lazy one. Apparently his father was just like him when he was younger. His mother’s quite a formidable woman, a ninja from Suna. His friend is Akimichi Ryo. He likes…well… Ryo likes food. Both their fathers were best friends in their youth, and I suppose they’ve grown up pretty close.
Ah, and here’s Aburame Taro-kun, the host himself!” Haru smiled, as the tall, dark boy walked up to them.
“Welcome, Uchihas!” Taro said softly, handing the brothers a cup of sake each.
Kin took the cup, but poured it into the next plant pot when no one was looking. Ichiru accepted it nervously, glancing around at the other guests. A girl bearing the same red markings on her face as Haru came striding over, her eyes the same translucent orbs he had seen yesterday, but that had been Hoshi. The girl smiled widely as she approached the boys, her long, blue-black hair twisted up in a bun.
“Nii-san!” She cried, hurling herself at her brother.
Haru ducked away from her, almost shrieking as she jumped on his back.
“So introduce me?” She said in his ear, blowing a raspberry at him afterwards.
“Akane-chan, you are so annoying!” Haru yelled, then, realising they had company, he composed himself, “Ichiru-san, this is my younger sister Akane. She is one half of a set, the other being her twin Aiko, and they are both real pains in the…”
“Don’t finish that sentence, baka!” The girl growled at him, pinching him softly on the arm, “Pleased to meet you, Ichiru-kun.”
She bowed to him, and then looked down at the ground and spoke, seemingly to nothing. Ichiru followed her gaze and found that a small, reddish-brown coloured dog was whimpering at her feet. Akane was murmuring to it, and reached down to scratch the dog behind the ears.
Ichiru had noticed that Haru’s dog, Kibou, followed him everywhere, but had thought that was just because he was a loyal pet. But obviously dogs were important to this family.
Ichiru mentally hit himself.
Inuzuka!, he thought, Of course! Father told me about the famous clan from Konoha who have a very close brotherhood with their nin-dogs…
“What’s her name?” Ichiru piped up.
Akane looked up at him from where she was crouched next to the dog. She looked shocked, but pleased.
“Akako-chan.” She replied, “I’m just surprised you’re interested.”
Ichiru shrugged, “I want to get to know all the residents of Konoha.” He grinned.
She smiled back at him. Now he was definitely in this pretty girl’s good books.
“Ichiru-kun? I bet my brother hasn’t introduced you to the girls yet, has he? He’s much to scared to talk to them!” She whispered the last part, giggling as she did so.
Haru was looking the other way, watching as Dai argued with Etsu about nothing in particular. While his head was turned, Akane grabbed Ichiru’s hand, and led him through the crowd.
“Now. That girl over there with long brown hair. She has her back to us, but that’s my twin, Aiko-san. Next to her, the girl with the blonde plait is Nara Shinju. I think Haru pointed out her brother before? She’s a nice enough girl, but don’t piss her off! Then there’s Aburame Kiku, with the flowers in her hair. This is her parent’s garden. I think their family’s a little weird to be honest. Her father’s clan let bugs live in their bodies… urgh!” Akane shuddered at the thought.
Ichiru felt himself relax a little as Akane led him around the garden, pointing out various people, who to talk to, who not to talk to, and who never, ever to talk to!
“Oh, and there’s Akimichi Takai-kun. He’s a bit of a loner, but he’s quite sweet. He’s totally in love with Kiku, but I don’t think she sees it at all.”
Akane seemed completely at ease with the Uchiha as she continued to pull him by the hand through the crowded garden. Finally they emerged from the throng, and found themselves near the very bottom of the garden.
“It’s nice and peaceful here.” Ichiru sighed as he looked up towards the night sky.
Akane nodded, petting Akako’s head absentmindedly as she plonked herself down on a nearby bench. Ichiru took a seat next to her, his nerves almost completely gone, and a nice warm feeling left in his belly from the sake.
Akane smiled at him and sighed.
“It must be weird, moving to a new place like this.” She said.
Ichiru murmured in agreement, his head felling a little light.
“I mean, we’re all ninja, and you’re not trained at all. Do you even have the Uchiha Kekkei Genkai?” she asked him.
The boy shrugged, his hand raking through his hair.
“Probably.” He said quietly, “But I don’t really care…”
Akane looked around at him. He certainly was a pretty boy. A very pretty boy indeed! His hair was messy and a little longer than the norm, making it stick out at odd angles a little crazily. It was black in colour, but not the blue-black of her hair. It seemed to just be pitch black, like nighttime. His eyes were almost weighed down by his heavy eyelashes, long and dark like a girl’s. They framed his black eyes perfectly. Black eyes? How unusual. she thought, instantly thinking of her own, milky-pale eyes.
The she realised those eyes were looking right back at her, and she blushed deeply, cursing her mother’s porcelain skin and –not for the first time- wishing she were as tanned as her father or brother.
A smile played on Ichiru’s lips as he saw the cute girl next to him blushing. She’d been practically gawping at him for a few minutes, seeming to drink in every detail of his face. He’d never had anyone pay him so much close attention before, and it made him feel unprotected. But not uncomfortable. This girl definitely had something about her.
“Akane-chan!” a shout came from a few metres away, “Ichiru-san! I’ve been looking for you all over!”
It was Haru, carrying what appeared to be a large bottle of sake.
“Fancy a tipple?” he slurred, laughing to himself.
Ichiru grinned at his new, foolish friend. Most definitely drunk! he thought, as he let himself be led away.

Ichiru sighed as he traipsed home, Haru’s arm slung around his shoulders. He’d only been in the village for just over 24 hours and already he was escorting his inebriated friend home. Akane danced along the path a little ahead of them, Akako trotting beside her. Her twin had left the party a few hours before with Kin, as neither had really enjoyed it. Haru, however, had insisted on seeing the party through to the end, and had to be physically thrown from the garden once everyone else had left. He grinned stupidly at nothing in particular as he was half carried back to his house.
“That was AWESOME!” He shouted, throwing his free arm up into the air to give the moon a thumbs up.
Akane giggled and turned to poke her brother on the nose, winking at Ichiru as she did so. He laughed nervously, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. Upon reaching the Hyuuga compound, the next mission was to get Haru in and to his bedroom without anyone noticing just how drunk he was. This was one of the hardest tasks Ichiru had ever done. As Akane scouted ahead, using those large pale eyes to see through the walls it seemed, Ichiru pulled Haru – who was getting heavier by the second – along the winding corridors.
Finally they reached the boy’s room, and with a huge sigh of relief, Ichiru opened the door…
“I wondered when you’d finally get home.”
Inuzuka Hinata sat upon her son’s bed, an eyebrow raised as she watched Ichiru almost drop the boy. Smiling, but only slightly, she went to take over from her guest, telling him to go to bed himself, and apologising profusely.
Akane left the room with Ichiru, stifling her laughter.
“Mother is so perceptive. She probably had a gut feeling he was drunk, and went to wait in his room! It’s a good job that Dad wasn’t around, he would have killed him.”
With that, the girl whispered goodnight and slipped into her room, a few doors down from Haru’s.
Ichiru crept to his own room, a smile on his face for no reason at all.


*

While all lay peacefully in their beds, the rain fell fast from the heavens. Thunder rumbled in the distance, followed by the faint flash of lightning. In the Hokage’s house, Etsu clung to her teddy bear in bed. Dai tossed and turned in his sleep. Naruto whimpered slightly in his dreams, as Sakura snored lightly by his side. In the Aburame household, Ino held onto Shino tightly as the storm grew louder. Kiku crept downstairs for a glass of milk. Taro finally switched off his laptop. In the Akimichi house, Ryo turned so fast in his bed that he fell out, waking Takai from a dreamless sleep. Choji dreamt of food, and his wife, Kichi, dreamt of Choji. Far away in Suna, Temari dreamt of her family in Konoha. Her husband Shikamaru slept contentedly back home, Shinju in the next room, sound asleep. Yukio murmured in his slumber, dreaming of clouds and a beautiful woman.
In the Hyuuga compound, Haru woke up in his bed, his mother asleep in a chair next to him. Akane and Aiko slept soundly in their bunk beds. Kiba awoke and wondered why his wife was not next to him, the bed suddenly feeling very cold. Neji lay next to Tenten, a hand on her pregnant belly. He thought of his daughter, Hoshi, far off on a mission in the grass country. Ichiru slept on his back, fully clothed, where he had fallen. Kin read by torchlight next to his mother’s bed, her shallow breathing the only sound. Uchiha Sasuke lay awake in the dark, wondering what he should do now…

The rain got much worse in the early hours of the morning, making a nearby river break its banks and flood a farm just outside the village. Still, everyone slept. And they slept well.

*

Morning broke with glorious sunlight. Ichiru stretched and yawned, casting last night’s clothes to one side. Looking outside, no one would believe it had rained to hard the night before. The boy stood in front of the mirror in his boxers, taking in his image. He was thin and his skin was pale, just like his father’s. His chest was not defined, but he wasn’t weedy by any standards. Raising an arm, he flexed his bicep in the mirror, grinning ridiculously. He chuckled to himself. His arms were the best part of him, he thought. Now he flattened his hair down with his hand, running his fingers through the unruly black locks, but to no avail. His hair was never going to lie flat. The floor was cold, and when he stepped away from the furry rug he’d been standing on, he cursed under his breath at the temperature change. Goose pimples rose on his arms and legs, and he hopped to the wardrobe. He didn’t have a massive selection of clothes, and most were pretty subdued, often dark coloured. Today, he chose a fresh pair of jeans, this time black, and a blue t-shirt. Glancing outside, he grabbed a black blazer from the back of the wardrobe, just in case it was chilly. Pausing by the desk, he opened a small, battered looking tin box, and reached inside it, grasping what seemed to be a locket from inside. Popping it around his neck, he left the room, heading for the Inuzuka kitchen to see of Haru was still alive.

*

Haru groaned as he rolled out of his bed. Kibou shot him a withering look from his bed in the corner, watching as the Inuzuka searched through a pile of clothes to find something decent. Picking up a t-shirt, he sniffed it, shrugged, and proceeded to pull it over his head. Upon opening the curtains, he groaned a little more, the sunlight causing his head to pound. Why!? his whole body screamed at him. But he had no answer.
A light knock on the door made him turn suddenly, to see Ichiru creeping in.
“Sorry, Haru-san. I just wanted to check you were still with us, in the world of the living. How do you feel?”
The Uchiha could hardly suppress the grin on his face as he looked at his hung over friend. Having been to the Inuzuka kitchen, he had been treated to breakfast by Hinata-sama. She’d told him to go wake her ‘layabout son’ up, and so he had obliged.
After a few minutes of coaxing, Ichiru managed to get Haru to leave his room and go to the kitchen, where his mother made him drink a vile smelling liquid to cure his hangover.
“Now Ichiru. Your brother stood before Neji-niisan last night and made a special request of him. This request will be sent to the Hokage. I wanted to know if you’d like to be involved too?” Hinata said, sitting opposite her guest.
Ichiru’s face was blank, “What request is this, Hinata-sama?”
“Well, the request to be trained, of course! Your brother wants to be a Konoha ninja.”
The colour drained from Ichiru’s cheeks. Ninja? Kin asking to be a ninja? This was madness. Kin had always treated his father’s stories with disdain, had never shown any interest in the ninja arts. Well, not to his brother’s knowledge. And now he wanted to train.
“Ichiru-san? Have you got an answer?”
Haru was very much awake now, leaning towards his friend expectantly.
Ichiru closed his eyes, letting a sigh escape him.
“Yes. I think I shall.” He said, smiling a little.
Maybe his dream would come true after all.

*

Nara Shikamaru stood solemnly and quietly at the gates of his village. He looked intently towards the horizon. How long was he going to have to wait here? A gust of wind unsettled the dust around his feet, and he breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent that the air carried with it. She was on her way. He tried not to smile or lose his cool. But he hadn’t seen her for over a month.
A speck in the distance slowly grew larger, until it was apparent that it was a person. Like the wind, they ran, almost flew towards Konoha. Temari had returned from Suna.
Upon reaching the gates, and her husband, she gave him her rare smile.
“Miss me?” she asked him.
“Not too much.” he replied, smiling back as he wrapped his arms around her.
The couple kissed at the entrance to the village, in full view of a group of Chuunin passing through the gates.
“Urgh, Yukio-san, isn’t that your mother and father?” a small ninja exclaimed.
The tall, blonde boy nodded slowly, then strode over to his parents.
“How many times do I have to tell you about public displays of affection? It’s not appropriate, and it makes me feel ill!” he said, a smile threatening to break onto his face.
Temari turned and grabbed her son, embracing him tightly.
“I’ve missed you too!” she said.
“Tsk, how troublesome.” He sighed, hugging her back.
With that, the three turned towards home, hoping for a nice, quiet family meal once they tracked down Shinju.
Sadly, it was not to be.
“Oi, Shika! Shikamaru-kun!” A loud shout was heard from above them, as a ninja dressed in flowing white robes jumped down from a roof.
It was the Hokage, Naruto.
“I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I need to see you in my office.” And with that, the Hokage disappeared in a poof of smoke.
“I should have known he wouldn’t come to find me himself.” Shikamaru grinned.
“Kage Bunshin?” Yukio mused.
“Hai.” His mother said, grabbing her son around the neck to give him a kiss.

*

Naruto sat, impatiently tapping his fingers on the desk in front of him. There was a knock on his door, and Shikamaru entered, yawning widely.
“Ah, Shikamaru. I have a special mission for you today.” Naruto said, grinning at his friend.
“What now, Hokage-sama? I have to baby-sit for you again? I have to wash the cat? I have to mow your lawn…?” Shikamaru yawned again, this time closing his eyes and tilting his head backwards.
“No, no, no! It’s very important!” Naruto cried, feeling agitated, “As you know, Uchiha Sasuke is back in town. With his two sons: his two sons who have expressed an interest in learning the way of the ninja. Simply, I want you to be their sensei.”
Shikamaru opened his eyes wide.
“You want me to train the Uchiha heirs?” he said, shocked.
Naruto nodded.
“Of course, you may choose someone to aid you in this. I thought maybe Inuzuka Kiba. He’s willing, of course.”
Shikamaru shook his head, “But they have no knowledge of the ninja arts, they’ve had no training. They have grown up far from any ninja…Except Sasuke of course.”
“Yes. But Sasuke has told them things. And they are Uchihas, the sons of a genius, and the sons of a friend. This is an order, Nara!”
“Hai, Hokage-sama. I understand.”

Shikamaru swiftly left the room, leaving Naruto to his thoughts.

*

Kin stood, eagerly awaiting the arrival of his new sensei. He couldn’t believe his luck when his brother had told him that yes, he agreed to train too, and they would be meeting their teacher today.
They waited under a tree near the training grounds where long ago their father had become a genin. Ichiru sat at the base of the tree, eyes closed, listening to the singsong of water from a nearby brook. A slight flutter of leaves made him open his eyes. There was someone nearby; he could feel it. Standing up, he felt the presence strongly. Kin seemed oblivious to his brother, and was happily chattering away about the amazing things they’d learn as ninja.
“Well done, Uchiha. You seem to have detected my presence, so I’ll make myself known.”
A tall, lean man slipped down from the branches of the tree, lazily taking a drag from a newly lit cigarette. Kin’s mouth hung open, not understanding the man’s words at all.
“You must be Ichiru.” The man said, bowing a little. “I am Nara Shikamaru. Your sensei.”
Kin jumped to attention, bowing low to this man.
“My name is Uchiha Kin. I am here to learn. I want to train, Shikamaru-sensei!”
Their teacher smiled.
“I am not your only sensei. Inuzuka Kiba, who you no doubt have met, will aid me. And of course, his faithful companion Akamaru too; without him and his nose, I would not be standing here now. However, Kiba-sensei cannot join us today. So it shall just be me. I want to get to know my students a little on this first day. But first, I shall explain this training programme.”
Shikamaru signalled for them to sit, and they obeyed, slumping in the shade of the tree.
“Hokage-sama has decided that you will not go into the academy. I’m sure learning with students half your age wouldn’t be fun. So instead, I have been assigned to you, to teach you the basics. You will then be entered into a small exam, to see if you can graduate to genin status. From then on, you will both either be given a new sensei, or keep me, who will train you until they feel you are ready to enter the chuunin exams. Understood?”
Ichiru nodded, and Kin saluted.
“Right then. I want to know your reasons for doing this. Why have you decided you want to be Konoha ninja? It is extremely late to start training.”
Ichiru bowed his head slightly as he listened to his brother explain how he’d always seen ninjas as glamorous beings. How he wanted to be able to do amazing things, like jump from building to building, and so on. Once he had finished, Shikamaru turned to Ichiru.
“And you. What are your reasons?”
Ichiru sighed, and looked up at his sensei.
“I want to make my father proud. I want to be the best that I can be. And I want to avenge my mother.”
Shikamaru blinked, and stood up.
“Right. Okay. I think it’s time for some sparring. Follow me.”

*

Ichiru slumped onto his bed, breathing deeply. His face was smeared with dirt, and he had a large, sore looking scratch across his left cheek. He lay on his back for a while, staring at the ceiling as his breath wheezed out of him. Slowly, his eyes drooped a little, and his breathing settled down, until it became apparent he was asleep.
And Ichiru dreamt…
The girl is certainly beautiful. She dances, swirling, in the water. She seems to be hovering just above it. She smiles, a radiant sight. Her hair flies out around her, she is surrounded by glistening water. I reach out for her, and she comes forwards, her eyes luminous and wide. She brings her face closer to mine, and I can feel her breath, warm and sweet on my lips. A kiss, a kiss! Please, my love, a kiss… A wetness on my cheek tells me my request has been granted. Oh, but how I long for a kiss upon my lips… Dare I ask for one? But before I can ask, my wish has been granted yet again, as she kisses my mouth…

Haru bit down upon his hand to stop himself from crying with laughter, as Kibou continued to lick Ichiru’s face. Ichiru murmured again, “A kiss…please…kiss me!”
The Inuzuka knelt on the floor, tears streaming down his face as he tried not to laugh too loudly. Eventually, a loud snort erupted from him, and awoke the exhausted Uchiha.
“Argh! Ugh! Gross…how could you…ugh…Kibou!” Ichiru spluttered, and ran to his small en suite to brush his teeth.
Haru jumped onto the bed while his friend was gone, leaning on one arm.
“So how did your first day of training go? I bet old Nara didn’t go too hard on you really. Just wait till it’s my dad doing it. Proper slave driver he is!”
Haru rolled onto his back as he said this, grinning up at the ceiling.
Ichiru stomped back into the room, having washed his face and applied a bandage to the cut. He half smiled as he sat down next to Haru.
“I now have a kunai, and I’m not afraid to use it.” He said, menacingly.
Haru pushed him playfully, “As if you could fight me anyway! But I get the hint. No more pranks! Now… I’m off to Dai’s in a while. Do you fancy coming along with me? He has the new xbox, it’ll be awesome!”
Ichiru shrugged, “Yeah, okay. Let me get changed first though.”
Haru nodded, and left the room, shouting after him to meet in 10 minutes at the entrance.
Alone, Ichiru tried to remember that short dream he had just had. The pale eyes…they could belong to anyone with Hyuuga blood running through their veins. The boy shook his head and began to dress himself, wincing as he pulled the clothing over grazes and bruises. Shikamaru-sensei certainly had not gone easy on them today.


*



The night was closing in as Hoshi arrived back in Konoha. Her teammates staggered along beside her, and she tried as hard as possible to help them. All around her was the stench of blood and decay. Her head was spinning. She’d really felt ready for this mission; thought the whole team was ready. But obviously they weren’t. And neither was she. Each step closer to the gates was more painful than the last. Finally, her whole body gave in, and her legs gave way below her. The whole world went black as she felt the hard floor beneath her. The last thing she heard was the urgent voices of her team as they crowded around her.

*

Hyuuga Neji was a formidable man at the best of times, let alone when he was worried about his precious family. He charged through the corridors of the hospital, robes billowing behind him.
“I demand to see the person who has treated my daughter! I demand to know what’s wrong with her!” He boomed, face like thunder.
A heavily pregnant Tenten waddled behind him, placing a calming hand upon his arm.
“Please, Neji. Don’t shout. This doesn’t help Hoshi does it?”
“I don’t care Tenten! You should be at home resting! I can take care of this… I demand to see the insolent whelp who has been treating our child!”
“That would be me then.” A voice came from behind him.
Neji’s face fell immediately as he knelt on the ground in front of the woman who had spoken.
“Tsunade-sama!” Tenten exclaimed.
“I am so sorry, Tsunade-sama!” Neji said, kissing her hand as he knelt on the floor.
The woman laughed, “Neji, I refuse to have the leader of the Hyuuga clan kneeling before me on the floor. Now get up, and I shall explain what the problem with your daughter is.”
The Hyuugas followed the 5th Hokage into a small, vacant room a little way down the corridor. Tenten sat down, as did Tsunade, while Neji paced the room.
“I am sorry you’ve had no answers about your daughter yet. I have only just finished treating her. I’m afraid the results are inconclusive at the moment. I’m struggling to find exactly what the problem is. What is obvious though, is that this was an attack targeting specifically at her. The other members of her team say they were hurt, but merely pushed to the side by the enemy, who then proceeded to inject Hoshi with a syringe.” Tsunade spoke in a low, hurried tone, as if worried they may be overheard.
Tenten gasped at this, covering her mouth with her hand. Neji stopped pacing, his face paler than ever.
“I know this seems alarming, but believe me when I say I have my best medical team working on her right now. Uzumaki Sakura and her daughter Etsu, as well as Aburame Ino, are in their as we speak, trying to work out what your daughter was injected with. But there is something else playing on my mind.” Tsunade paused, glancing out the door, “As you know, Uchiha Sasuke’s wife – Sumi – is very ill. I have been treating her for years, but to no avail. All I can seem to do for her is make her comfortable. No one knows what this disease is that has stricken her. I am concerned that Hoshi’s symptoms are very similar to those of Sumi in the early stages of her illness.”
Neji sat suddenly on the bed, his mind full of the images of Uchiha Sumi, too weak to walk or talk, not able to breathe well; unable to communicate what was wrong with her. Was this the quality of life his daughter looked forward to? If this was the case, he felt he would rather she die an honourable death. He looked around at his wife, who stared blankly ahead of her, tears staining her cheeks. Tsunade rose from her chair slowly, and left the room, looking back only once to see Neji hold Tenten close to him.


*

Haru, Ichiru and Dai screamed at the TV screen.
“No, no! Go left, you idiot, left! No, that’s right! Seriously Dai, you’re as useless as a girl!” Haru yelled at his pink haired friend.
Ichiru laughed and earned a good smack on the head from Dai, who then lost control of his racing car, and crashed into a tree.
‘GAME OVER: Player Two Wins’
“YES!” Crowed Ichiru, “That’s what you GET!”
Dai surrendered the controller to Haru, his head bowed low.
There was a knock on the door and Dai’s mother entered the room, her face serious.
“Haru-kun, Ichiru-kun. I think you had better go home. Something has happened to Hoshi-chan. She’s at the hospital. Etsu and I have been treating her all evening.”
Haru placed the controller on the floor, “What’s wrong with her?”
Sakura shook her head, “We’re not sure, but she’s stable now. Your uncle is there with her.”
Haru nodded, “Thank you for having us.”
Ichiru followed suit, and they both left hurriedly, heading straight for home. Ichiru remembered his daydream from earlier. He was sure it had been Hoshi in the dream. Was it some kind of sign? He shook his head, wondering if she’d be okay, this mysterious Hyuuga heir, who he’d only met in passing.

*

Hinata sat next to her husband, her daughters at her feet. Haru appeared soon after they had first gathered there, and had sat with Ichiru on some mats. Sasuke sat near Kiba, with Kin at his feet - a maid was looking after Sumi. Eventually, Neji entered the room, his face worn and tired. He sat in his chair and cleared his throat.
“I’ve gathered everyone to let you know…to tell you… Hoshi… She’s very ill in the hospital, and I’m not sure if she will make it.” The Hyuuga leader obviously struggled to hold back tears.
Hinata, full of compassion as always, ran straight to her cousin’s side, placing a small pale hand upon his.
“Neji-niisan, we will all look after you, Tenten-san and Hoshi-sama too. You will want for nothing.”
Kiba stood up, nodding in agreement.
“Of course, of course. And I’m sure Sasuke will help in any way he can?”
The Uchiha stood up, nodding slowly.
“Yes, yes. And my sons too. Pardon my asking, but what ails her?”
Neji looked up, straight into Sasuke’s eyes.
“That is something I wish to discuss with you privately.”
The room was silent, as the Inuzukas and guests left.

*


“We don’t get that many missions, to be honest. Not anymore that our country is at peace with most other shinobi nations. Also, many ninja have graduated in our age group. Most of the missions I get are rubbish stuff, like escort missions, and parcel delivery, you know, precious items and that.” Haru snorted, Kibou looking at him mournfully, “But it’s not like I’m rubbish or anything. I’ve trained really hard, and I’m of Chuunin level. I was thinking I might start teaching at the academy.”
The Inuzuka shrugged, looking up at Ichiru. Ichiru smiled back absentmindedly, as he stroked Kibou’s soft fur. The nin dog seemed to have taken a particular liking to Ichiru, although it made Haru feel a little uncomfortable.
Akane lay draped over her brother’s bed, reading a book while Akako snuffled around her. Aiko had left half an hour before, as she had a mission. Kin had refused to join them, instead going to visit his mother and then do some training alone.
Now the teenagers sat around talking about nothing in particular.
Haru rose from his seating position on the floor.
“I’m going to have a shower. I’ll be back in a bit.” He said, leaving the room.
Ichiru sat back, leaning against the wardrobe. He faced the bed, and could see Akane perfectly. She lay comfortably on her front, her legs up in the air. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders, framing her heart shaped face entirely. Her small, rosy lips moved as she mouthed certain words to herself, smiling slightly. Ichiru couldn’t help but grin a little at how engrossed she was in this book. He felt heat rise in his cheeks, and, realising he was blushing, left the room, making excuses for himself.
As he closed the door, he could have sworn he heard Akane giggle at him.

*

The morning broke with the rising of a pale sun, barely heating the ground at all. Sasuke twitched himself awake in the stiff armchair next to his wife’s bed, letting out a strangled cry. He clutched at his throat, breathing deeply and then pressing his fingertips to his eyelids. The dreams would never go away, that much he knew. A quick glance at Sumi showed she was deeply asleep still, and he took the opportunity to have a shower. As the warm water cascaded down his weary body, he let the tears come again, racking his body with earth shattering sobs. He never let anyone see him this way, so vulnerable, so weak. Sometimes he wished that Sumi would just pass on, and leave this world where she suffered so. But she struggled on, and this he could not understand. Not only she endured this illness, it affected her entire family. Her mother had died 2 years before, and the doctor had blamed the stress caused by her daughter’s illness. Her sons had then taken on the task of caring for her, while Sasuke himself ran their small shop. Without the help of his mother-in-law and his wife, the shop soon went under. They managed for a year longer, until Sumi took a turn for the worse and could no longer move, or talk. It was then he had made the decision to return to Konoha, where the elite medical ninjas could treat Sumi. He hated himself for leaving in the first place. At the time, it had seemed the right decision. Things had changed while he had been gone with Orochimaru. Sakura had no longer needed him. Naruto was so much stronger. There seemed no room for him in the village anymore.
Sasuke stepped from the shower, a towel around his waist. Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he almost smiled. At least his body had not aged so badly. He had noticed Naruto’s portly belly, and Choji’s grey hair. His friends had certainly aged worse then him. But some of them seemed barely a day older. Even after having children. Her eyes were the same, her hair…
He shook his head, and returned to Sumi’s room, after having swiftly changed his clothes. As soon as he entered the bedroom, he knew something was wrong. It was quiet, much too quiet. Then it struck him.
The room was no longer full of the sound of Sumi’s laboured breathing.
He ran towards her bed, already knowing it would be too late.
He had only been gone 10 minutes.
If that.

She lay rigid on the bed; her eyes closed tight, her mouth hanging slightly open. Her lips were tinged with blue, and her skin was so pale. Her hair framed her face beautifully. Sasuke felt the tears begin to roll down his cheeks as he reached out to touch her. She’d been alone. How could he have left her? She was icy cold.

Had she been breathing when he awoke?

Why hadn’t he checked?

He collapsed onto the floor, the room spinning. Slumped at the side of the bed, this was where they found him hours later.

*

Ichiru, Kin and Sasuke stood for a long time by Sumi’s grave. Long after all the guests had left, and had gone to the wake held at the Hyuuga household. Kin stood as still as a statue, staring down at the freshly turned earth that now covered his mother. He had not shed a tear: he felt he could not. He felt her suffering was over. He just wished he had gotten more time with her, while she had been well. But he had been so young then. She had been ill most of his life, and he remembered little of her being able to play with him.
Sasuke held his hands to his face as he openly cried. Ichiru stood next to him awkwardly, not knowing what to do. A week ago, when his mother had passed away, he cried all night. But now, he knew she was at rest.
He watched his father weep, and edged away a little. Yes, Uchiha Sumi was gone, but this meant they were free. He knew how awful this sounded. But he also knew that every time he looked into his mother’s eyes, he had seen the pain. The pain of knowing what she put her family through. The pain of her unknown illness, and the pain of being unable to hold her own children.
Eventually, Kin took his father’s arm and led him away from the graveside, back towards the village.
Ichiru followed his small family. The last of the Uchihas.

*

Neji sat at his daughter’s bedside, her hand clasped within his own. Yesterday had been Sumi’s funeral. He closed his eyes, not wanting to think about the woman who now lay beneath the ground. It was his daughter’s future, unless something could be done. This was so unfair. After everything he had been through. His own daughter, his pride and joy, was going to die.

*

Tsunade sat opposite Naruto, in the office that was once her own. She smiled, noticing a bottle of sake in the half open drawer. Coughing, Naruto swiftly closed the door, rapping his fingers on the table.
“So, baa-chan, what conclusion have you reached?”
Tsunade sighed and leant back in her chair.
“It’s difficult to determine what is wrong with the young Hyuuga. She ails quickly. The process seems to be faster than before. It seems that this… serum… has been improved, so to speak. Naruto… where was Hoshi’s team? Where were they when attacked?”
Naruto sighed now, turning to look out of the window.
“As you know, shortly before you chose me as the next Hokage, and after Sasuke had left the village, word got out that Orochimaru was on the move. Of course, I was straight out there. We thought we defeated everyone, Tsunade-sama! But we were wrong. Someone escaped the net.
I sent Hoshi-chan’s team to what was formerly known as the hidden village of sound.”

Tsunade breathed in sharply.

“Kabuto.”

And with that, she left the room, leaving Naruto to his thoughts.

*

Akane knocked lightly on Ichiru’s door.
“Come in.” he called from inside.
She entered the room, a tray in her hands, and Akako at her feet. Ichiru smiled at her, patting the bed. She laid the tray on the bedside table and sat next to him on the bed, smiling back uncertainly.
“I wasn’t sure if you wanted to see anyone.” She said, looking at the floor.
“It’s okay, Akane-chan. It’s nice to see a friendly face actually. Will you stay and have a drink with me?” he asked, noticing she had bought a pot of tea in with her.
She smiled, nodding, and left the room briefly to fetch another cup.
The Inuzuka girl curled her feet underneath her as she settled on the bed next to the Uchiha. He poured the tea for them, and they sat back onto the cushions. Ichiru flicked through the channels on the TV, unable to choose what to watch. Akane cried out for him to stay on a channel that was playing a movie she loved, and they both settled to watch it.
It was dark by the time the credits rolled, and Ichiru turned to look at Akane, who had had her head on his shoulder for the past hour. Her eyes were closed, and she was snoring ever so slightly. He smiled, moving her gently onto the pillows. Then he got up and drew the curtains. Akane stirred on the bed, waking suddenly.
“Oh, I’m sorry Ichiru-kun! I didn’t mean to fall asleep, it’s just I’ve been training today and it was really tiring!” As if to prove a point, the girl yawned widely.
Ichiru grinned at her, “It’s fine. I enjoyed the company. I’m not sure I enjoyed the drool you got on my shirt though…” he teased, provoking her enough for her to throw a pillow at him.
He dodged it well, and picked it up to throw it back, but she was too quick, and hit him straight in the face with another.
He laughed loudly, and swiped at her with the cushion, as she rose to her feet and jumped to the far side of the bed. Ichiru climbed up onto the bed, swiping again, and dodging her attacks. She giggled, losing her footing on the uneven bed, and finally slumping back to sit down. Ichiru followed suit, out of breath.
“I’m sorry Ichiru. I’m so very sorry.” Akane said after a few moments of silence.
The boy nodded.
“She was ill for years. She is in a better place now.” He said.
Akane nodded back, noticing suddenly how close they were. Her face reddened slightly, and she was glad that the only light in the room was from the flickering TV.
Ichiru sighed deeply, snuggling a little closer to her, without really realising it.
“Do…do you think Hoshi-sama will be okay?” Akane said, lying back a little.
“I hope so.” Ichiru stifled a yawn, lying back too.
The two lay on the bed, close but not too close. Ichiru closed his eyes, his breathing regulating.
His eyes snapped open again as he felt fingers entwine with his own. Akane squeezed his hand lightly. He squeezed back, and they lay like that until sleep took them.

Haru stood over his friend’s bed, not knowing which he was angrier with, Ichiru himself, or his sister.
He’d only come in to see if Ichiru wanted to go for breakfast in the village, and he had stumbled upon his own little sister in bed with his new friend. Well, not exactly in bed, but it was close. The two were snuggled up to each other, hands and legs entangled, both looking serene. If Kiba were to find out about this, Ichiru would be cast onto the streets faster than you could say “Mad Dog”.
Haru coughed loudly, deciding it was best to at least wake them and give them a telling off. Akane opened her eyes slowly, and then upon seeing her brother, jumped from the bed, almost crying with shame. Caught in a boy’s bedroom. What if her father found out? He’d kill Ichiru and throw Akane out of the house for sure.
Ichiru sheepishly got up from the bed, his hand raking through his hair as he blushed slightly.
“Nothing happened.” He said simply, turning away from Haru.
“Okay.” Haru said, leaving the room, and pulling Akane with him.
Ichiru cursed loudly, quickly stepping into the shower. How had that happened? It only seemed a few minutes ago that they’d been having a pillow fight, and now all of a sudden Haru’s standing over him with a face like thunder, shooting accusing looks at him. well I suppose it looked quite bad… he thought, standing stock still under the steady stream of water. After a while, he left the bathroom, dropped his towel and began to get dressed, humming to himself as he did so. Today he had training with Shikamaru-sensei again, and this time, Kiba-sensei would be joining them. How could he look Kiba in the eye when he’d just spent a night in bed with his daughter? Ichiru shook his head angrily, Nothing happened! he told himself. But a voice in the back of his mind grew louder as he gathered his things and headed for the training grounds.

Did you want something to happen, Ichiru?


*

Akane sat at her dressing table as her sister Aiko brushed her hair. She gazed into the mirror, not really seeing anything, and thinking only of Ichiru, and the disappointment on her brother’s face. She loved her brother more than anyone; he’d always been there for her. Aiko had excelled as a ninja at a young age, and was already applying to become a jounin. Haru and Akane had been a little slower, and so had trained together.
A sharp tug on her hair made her jolt from her imaginings.
“So I know you were in Ichiru’s room last night. Care to tell me why?” her sister asked, pulling her hair lightly again.
Akane stood up and swiftly left the room, Akako following. She was in no mood to explain herself to Aiko, not that there was anything to explain anyway.


*

Haru glanced back towards the village as he left on his first mission in weeks. He’d been put with Dai and Yukio for this one, and was thankful as they made a good team. Kibou yapped loudly, happy to be free, even if the mission was only a parcel delivery.
All Haru could think about was his little sister. He hadn’t meant to be so harsh, but it was for her own good. If Kiba found out…
Haru grimaced, and carried on running, recalling a time when he was younger, and had been on the receiving end of Kiba’s annoyance.

*

Ichiru stood panting by the lake. His forehead was beaded in sweat, and he’d had to take off his top. Already, cuts had appeared on his chest and back. A noise behind him made him jump upwards into a nearby tree. It was Kin. They’d been set against each other in today’s training, as the two senseis marked them out of 10 for their tracking, ambush, and taijutsu skills.
Ichiru smiled to himself. He’d recently perfected the Kage Bunshin, a favourite jutsu of Hokage-sama. Now was the perfect time to try it out.

*

“I don’t care what you say, Ichiru-niisan! There was no need to pummel me like that. How come you got so good so fast anyway?” Kin was almost shouting at his brother over the dinner table.
Their father had given them some money, and told them they may go out for a meal in the village, as a reward for their hard work, and now they sat in Ichiraku ramen, a small stand located on a bustling side street.
Ichiru couldn’t suppress his grin as his little brother complained.
“Poor oto-to! I can’t help being so brilliant.”
This comment was met with a death glare, as Kin continued to devour his ramen in silence. Ichiru chuckled, but this time inwardly. He concentrated on his own food now, not noticing who had just walked into the noodle place.

Naruto was disgruntled to see his usual spot taken up by two dark haired boys, but let it go. As long as his ramen was freshly cooked and steaming, he was happy. As he dug into his bowl of noodles, he thought he recognised one of the boys. Turning slightly, his mouth hit the floor. This boy must be Sasuke’s son. How else could it be like looking into the past?
Ichiru seemed to suddenly become aware of who was staring at him, and immediately touched his forehead politely, bowing slightly.
“Hokage-sama. I have been hoping to meet you for some time, to thank you for allowing my brother and I to train. It’s an amazing experience.” Ichiru smiled.
Naruto was taken aback. He’d never expected Sasuke’s child to be so…well, so warm! The Hokage smiled at the boy, and asked if their meal had been paid for, and upon hearing it had not yet, he insisted on paying for it himself.

*

Tsunade waited in the relative dark of the Hokage office. She has sent out a messenger for him a while ago, and still he had not arrived. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Naruto showed up, but with the two Uchiha boys in tow. Tsunade arched an eyebrow, but decided not to comment. Naruto seemed to be quite inebriated, and maybe now was not the best time. But he had to be told.
She watched as the dark, handsome Uchihas helped the Hokage into his chair, and sighed.
How complacent Naruto has become, how relaxed this village is. she thought, They won’t know what’s hit them. Peace time is over for Konoha.

Tsunade apologised to Uchiha Ichiru, and hurried he and his brother from the Hokage’s office. Kin cursed at her under his breath, muttering something about ‘old man Hokage’ giving them a drink or two.
The fifth Hokage stood in front of the desk in the spacious room, looking down at her protégé, his eyes closed and his head lolling. A small snore came from his mouth, and he muttered inaudibly in his stupor. Tsunade could take no more. She reached forward and grabbed him by the collar of his robes, just as she would have done had he been 13 again. At first he protested loudly, and then saw the look on her face. Did Tsunade, the most ferocious and terrifying woman in Konoha (next to his wife), look scared?
“Hokage. Naruto… There is something I must tell you.”
Naruto slumped back into his chair as she released her grip on his neck, and he gasped loudly. The blonde ninja took a seat in front of him, helping herself to his sake.
“Go ahead, baa-chan.” He said, holding a hand to his neck, and rubbing the now tender skin there.
Tsunade sighed after she’d downed a small cup. She looked up, poured another, and sighed again. Where to begin…
“Naruto. You told me about Hyuuga Hoshi’s mission to sound. And I took it upon myself to investigate. Uchiha Sumi died only a week ago. Of the same illness that Hoshi-san now has. This is no coincidence.
Naruto, I think it’s time you knew where Uchiha Sumi came from, before she married Sasuke.”

*

It was late evening, and the sun was slowly being swallowed up by the horizon. 5-year-old Sumi lay on her back, looking up at the clouds, now tinged with orange. Oshiro Kanaye, her father, would be returning home soon. She was sad that her family had been moved away from her village, but it was quite exciting being in a new place. Her mother, Emi, called to her from their small house at this point, and Sumi stood quickly, her hair cascading down her back, as if it were fluid gold.

Years later, Sumi began to understand the nature of the man her father worked for. He would be gone for days, and come back, injured but with no explanation. His hair would be covered in a fine dust. One day, when she was about 8, her parents argued. She heard a name, a name that sent chills down her spine, without even knowing who it belonged to.

“I don’t care if Orochimaru-sama directly ordered it, Kanaye! I need you here, with Sumi and I!”
“I can’t provide for either of you unless I do what he asks.”

One night, when Sumi had just celebrated her 14th birthday, the rain struck their roof hard, and Sumi snuggled next to Emi in the bed they shared. Her mother held her closely, singing to soothe her. The door opened as if a gust of wind had thrown it from its hinges, and a man staggered into the building. In a flash of lightning, Sumi could see the whites of his eyes as he advanced towards them, holding something aloft.
As he got closer, Emi screamed, scrabbling towards the wall, pulling Sumi with her. The stranger held the object out towards her, getting nearer.
He aimed it right at Emi’s chest.
Sumi did not think. She lurched forwards just as the man lunged.
The pain was short. She looked down.
A needle stuck out from her arm. Strange, it didn’t look so menacing now that it was not held in the attacker’s hand. A warm sensation filled her body.
Just as she felt sleep take her, she looked up and realised it had been no stranger.
Her father wept on the floor, his head held in his hands, as an icy voice told him he would pay for his mistakes.

*


“Oshiro Kanaye had betrayed Orochimaru, and he knew it. He had decided to kill his family before anyone else did, and then he would take his own life. However, that night things did not go according to plan. He had stolen a syringe from his group-leader’s medical pouch. That leader was Kabuto. The syringe contained an experimental virus Kabuto was working on. Lets call it his ‘baby’. He’d been conducting tests on people, with the aid of his minions. Kanaye had been in charge of taking people from their homes at night, to be used as test subjects. Eventually, he was sent to his own home-village, to take people away. When he said he couldn’t do it, Kabuto laughed. He told him he had to do it, or Orochimaru would kill his family. Or worse. Kanaye ran away that night, taking the syringe with him. His intentions were to use a little of the disease on his wife and daughter, and the rest on himself. Sadly, he was so worked up that the entire syringe was injected into his daughter, Sumi. Kabuto caught up with him.
After killing Kanaye, Kabuto noticed that Sumi was still alive. This last syringe was a newer version of the virus. Keeping this girl alive, and monitored, could be useful to developing this illness even more. His ‘baby’ would live on, in this girl.”
Tsunade paused for breath, and to take a sip of her sake. Naruto seemed to have sobered up quickly, and was pale-faced. He’d had no idea that Sasuke’s wife had been involved in all of this. Tsunade continued.
“To conclude, when Konoha and Suna overthrew Orochimaru, and liberated the village of sound, we thought that we’d killed Kabuto too. Now I’m not too sure. I think we severely weakened him, yes. But killed… I don’t think so. Sumi and her mother were moved to a village not far from here, along with many other families attached to Sound. They have been watched, but seemed to do well. Sumi had no memories of life before the new village, and so did not know about Orochimaru, or her father. Her mother kept those secrets well. Sumi’s illness became bad after marrying Sasuke. Once Kin was born, she was beyond help. It had lain dormant for quite a while, but then finally, it took her life.
Now it seems Kabuto is strong again: Strong enough to have created more of this disease, and made it much worse… Much more devastating, and much deadlier.
And injecting Hyuuga Hoshi with this virus is proclaiming war on us.
Naruto, the peace Konoha has enjoyed for so long is over.
We must call upon our allies. Now!”


*

Ichiru struggled with his t-shirt, before finally giving up and throwing it across his room. He grunted with pain as he touched the raw scratches covering his skin. The rain had drenched him, and peeling his soaked t-shirt from his wounds had been excruciating. He didn’t want to have to put more clothes on them. His whole body ached horribly as he slowly lowered himself to sit on the bed, and reached for the remote. A knock on his door made him turn. Focusing the last of his energy, he tried to sense who it was. Today, Shikamaru-sensei had taught them about sensing a person’s chakra. The chakra from the other side of the door felt soft, like a fleeting touch, or like silk. He shook his head as the knock came again, a little louder now.
“Come in, Akane…”
She blushed a little as she entered. How had he known it would be her? She then blushed even more when she realised he was just in his training shorts and nothing else.
Then nothing seemed to matter when she saw the cuts across his chest and back. The first thought that came to her mind was that her father had found out about last night. But then she realised he’d been training today. She perched next to him, almost reaching out to touch him.
“Would you like some salve for that, Ichiru-kun? My mother has some, she makes it herself, you know! I’ll get some.”
She was gone little more than 5 minutes. When she returned, in her hands was a small white pot, containing a fragrant cream. Akane closed and locked Ichiru’s bedroom door and instructed him to turn his back to her. He did as he was told, trying to concentrate on the TV as he felt her edging a little closer. Her hands were cold, and it made him gasp a little. She apologised quickly, breathing on her hands to warm them, and then dipping them into the salve, rubbing it between her hands so that it would be warm too. Ichiru sighed a little as he felt her rub the healing cream onto his back. It stung only a little, and then began to melt into the wounds caused by the training. His eyes closed as he felt the cream get to work. Akane’s hands smoothed the cream onto his back, slowly and gently. He thought how small her hands felt, how delicate.
She asked him to face her, so she could do the same to the cuts on his chest.
He was glad that only the bedside lamp was on.
I like it to be dark when she’s around, so she doesn’t see me blushing like a girl. He thought.
As she began to rub the soothing salve into his chest, he dared to open one eye, only slightly. Akane sat in front of him, her own eyes closed as she traced her hands across his body. He snapped the eye shut again, feeling as ashamed as if he had spied on her in the bath. She sighed a little when she was done, and reached behind her to the desk. There, she had placed some fresh bandages and gauze. Ichiru opened his eyes finally, as she began to wrap the bandages around him, carefully pinning them into place. Finally, she was finished, and sat with her back to him as he dressed himself. A few times, when he winced, she would almost turn around to help him, but stopped herself. It would not be right for her to help him dress. She had already touched him enough.
Ichiru sat behind her once he was fully clothed. She still had her back to him.
“I must go. My father wants to talk to the family. I will see you at dinner.”
Before she could move, he reached out, and hugged her. She stiffened a little, but then seemed to relax as he wound his arms around her, his chest against her back, his face nuzzled into the back of her neck.
Her hair smelt of flowers.
“Arigato, Akane.”
She smiled, and slowly moved away, leaving Ichiru alone.

Haru sat up suddenly, his sleeping bag falling away from him. Yukio whistled again from his treetop lookout, obviously his first whistle had woken the Inuzuka. Kibou growled quietly next to Haru, warning of someone approaching. Dai sat up next to Haru, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
Yukio hopped down from the tree.
“Didn’t you understand my signal? We have to move, someone’s coming!”
Haru leapt into action, quickly grabbing his things. His teammates followed suit, and in less than 5 minutes, they were on their way. It must have been about 6am, and the sun was feebly trying to cast its light on the world. Suddenly, Kibou stopped running through the trees with his team, yapping loudly. Haru looked back at his companion, listening.
“Kibou says we know the pursuer. We should stop.”
Yukio and Dai paused, and then dropped from the high branches to the forest floor, waiting anxiously.
The undergrowth shook wildly, and a large snout appeared, followed by a white muzzle. It was Akamaru, swiftly followed by Inuzuka Kiba.
“Dad!? What are you doing here?” Haru exclaimed.
His father hushed him, holding a finger to his lips.
“We have to get back to Konoha, now!” he whispered, frantically hurrying the boys with his hands.
Akamaru nudged Kibou with his nose, urging him to run.

*

Aiko hugged her mother, and then her sister. Hinata wept quietly, and stroked her daughters’ defiant face.
“Be very careful!” she said, wiping her eyes.
Aiko nodded, and immediately left the Hyuuga compound with Honou, her nin-dog. Hinata turned to leave, almost collapsing. Her cousin’s strong arms caught her, and he led her towards the living room, promising green tea and a nice meal.
Akane stood for a long time outside, looking at the spot where Aiko had disappeared from view. She knew that with Konoha in a state of emergency, they would all be expected to serve their village. Her father had explained briefly, about the village of sound, and this Kabuto. It was his fault that Hoshi was ill, lying in hospital. It was now his fault that Aiko had been sent out on a patrol mission, at the Fire Country’s boarder. Akane clenched her fist tightly and returned to her house, swearing to herself that she would avenge her cousin.

*

Naruto sat uncomfortably in front of his former teammate. He had barely spoken to Sasuke since his return, and now he had to ask a favour of him.
Sasuke sipped his tea in silence, as Naruto fidgeted with a scrap of paper in front of him.
“Sasuke-kun. I need you… I need you to serve Konoha again. I need all the strength I can get.”
Sasuke calmly placed his teacup on the desk in front of him, and rose from his seat. He turned from Naruto, pausing as he opened the door.
“I will.” He said, simply, closing the door behind him.

*

Shikamaru-sensei stood in front of his pupils.
“You have been training for two months now. The time has flown by. I need to now grade you, on the Hokage’s orders, and decide if you are ready to become genin. Because of your advanced age and capabilities, and of course your success in training, Naruto feels you are ready to be graded. So, here goes…”
He pulled out a scroll from his pocket, and cleared his throat before reading:

“Uchiha Kin.
Taijutsu: 6/10. Needs more work.
Genjutsu: 4/10. Failing miserably.
Ninjutsu: 5/10. Just grasps the basics.

I’m afraid, Kin-san, that without more than half of 30, you cannot progress to genin level. I am sorry, and will continue to train you.”

Kin looked down at the floor, trying to hide his disappointment.

“Uchiha Ichiru.
Taijutsu: 8/10. Extraordinary progress.
Genjutsu: 7/10. Lacks the motivation.
Ninjutsu: 9/10. Has exceeded far beyond the level he was predicted with.

With an overall mark of 24, you, Ichiru-san, are of genin level. This is not how people are usually selected. Ninja go through years of training. But its Hokage-sama’s orders that you progress. This also means you receive you hitai ate. And it means you will have to fight, Ichiru. Fight for this village.”

Ichiru took the headband from Shikamaru’s outstretched hand. He clenched it tightly, scared, excited and overwhelmed.

*
Far away, in Suna, the Kazekage held his head in his hands. The opened scroll on the table was marked with Konoha’s familiar leaf emblem.
Gaara rose from his seat, and rang a small bell beside his desk. A small, wizened man came scurrying in, holding a bunch of scrolls.
“Hideyoshi-san. I need you to call a meeting. It’s extremely important.”
“Hai, Kazekage-sama.” The little man said, scurrying away as fast as he had come.
Gaara looked out in the direction of the hidden village of the leaf. His sister was there, and his niece and nephew. Even that lazy brother-in-law. And the loud-mouthed Hokage. He wouldn’t let them down.

*

Akane watched as her mother left the same way as her sister. She jumped high, and disappeared over the rooftops. Akane had known that it would only be a matter of time before her mother was summoned. She was, after all, part of the famous ‘Konoha Rookie Nine’, the same nine that the Hokage himself belonged to. The girl hugged herself, and thought of her family, all out there somewhere. Akako nuzzled her hand, and she suddenly felt cold.
“Lets go inside.” She said, turning slowly.
Ichiru blocked her way. He stood, drenched by the still pouring rain. He had obviously only just gotten home.
“Are you okay?” he asked her, reaching out to her.
As he did so, she was the glint of metal on his arm. A hitai ate, tied around his bicep.
He followed her gaze, and smiled a little.
“I became a genin today. Although I don’t know if I’ll be much use. But now I have people to protect. My father, my brother… and your family too.”
Akane looked away.
“I want to avenge my mother, and I want to avenge Hoshi. I hoped that one day I could marry someone like Hoshi. The first day I saw her, I thought that maybe I had met a princess.”
“P-please stop, Ichiru-kun…”
“But why, Akane-chan? I thought we were friends? I want to tell you everything. Everything is so clear now. My purpose, my goal, everything. I’m going to fight for this village, and I’m going to bring back a cure. I swear to you, I’ll save Hoshi.”
Ichiru mistook Akane’s tears for something other than hurt, pain and jealousy. He touched her cheek fleetingly, and then turned to go into the house.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could you let yourself think he would like you more than a friend? Akane cursed herself, at the same time as feeling her heart breaking.

*

Ichiru stopped in front of his bedroom door. Akane had seemed really upset. Maybe there was something she wasn’t telling him? He shook his head, remembering her help when he was hurt. Surely she had just been crying because she was happy for him?
He closed his door behind him, and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked older somehow, more grown up.

*

Akane sobbed into her pillow. Why hadn’t she been called upon yet? The rain hit her window hard, and she sniffled slightly as it did so.
She was aware, quite suddenly, of someone else being in her room.
“Byakugan!” she said to herself.

Ichiru stood by her door.

She leapt from her bed in shock, snapping on her bedside light.

“What are you doing here? It’s 1am!”

Ichiru took a few steps towards her.

“I’m really sorry, Akane-chan, if I upset you earlier. I’ve been sitting in my room thinking about it all night. I wanted to talk to you.”

Akane sat on the bed, Ichiru sat beside her. She looked at him, and then quickly looked away, feeling shy and only just realising she had on only her nightdress. Ichiru coughed, and then spoke again.

“I don’t actually want to marry Hoshi, you know.” He said, edging a little closer.

Akane smiled a bit, and then said, “Really?”

Ichiru bit his lip, and edged the last few centimetres, until his thigh touched Akane’s.

“Really.” He said.

Temari paced backwards and forwards in her living room. Shikamaru sat on the sofa in front of her, his daughter, Shinju, next to him. The family were deciding where they would be based for the next few months. Shikamaru and Temari had both gained dual nationality due to their marriage, and so their children received it too. From birth, up until their academy training was finished, Yukio and Shinju had been raised in Konoha. Since then, they switched between the villages every few months. With the knowledge of impending war, Temari wanted to be close to her brothers in Suna, and Shikamaru understood this. However, they faced one problem. Shinju.
“I can’t understand why you won’t do this, Shinju! You like Suna; you have friends there, and your cousins too! Also, your uncles will be there. You’d like to see Gaara-san, right?”
Temari continued pacing as Shikamaru tried to reason with their daughter. The blonde girl shook her head.
“It’s not that I don’t like them, I just don’t want to leave Konoha!” She whined, looking down at her hands.
It had been a week since Tsunade’s discussion with Naruto. The Hokage had deployed patrol groups to the country’s boarders, and had also send ANBU squads deep into enemy territory. As soon as Shinju got wind of this, she’d been scared. Moving to Suna might mean she never got to see him again. What if he was killed in the fighting? She’d never get to tell him how she felt. And now she felt she might die of embarrassment if she was forced to explain this to her parents. Instead, she decided to fain loyalty to Konoha – a village she only really saw as half her life – hoping to lead them in the wrong direction. She didn’t count on her mother’s intuition.
“Is this about that boy?” Temari said suddenly, wheeling around from her pacing to face her only daughter.
Shinju visibly shrank back in her seat.
“Which boy?” Shikamaru asked, eyebrow raised in interest.
“That Aburame boy!” Temari said, edging closer to Shinju.
The girl looked mortified. How had her mother found out about Taro? He didn’t even know how much she liked him!
“Have you been reading my diary?” the girl shrieked abruptly.
Temari stepped back, lost for words.
Shikamaru quickly used his shadow-bind on Shinju before she launched herself at her mother.
Who knew a family would be so troublesome? he thought.

*

Akane awoke to find one of the Hyuuga maids had laid a breakfast tray on the table next to her, but it had now gotten cold. The Inuzuka slowly crawled out of bed, aching all over from her training the day before. Instead of retreating back to the warmth of her bed however, she got dressed and left the house straight away, heading for the training grounds. When she arrived, she saw Ichiru had beaten her there. He was getting faster, she thought to herself.
She watched as the boy hit out at a wooden dummy, and wondered how his taijutsu skills had become so advanced.
“Ichiru-kun!” she called, starting to move closer.
He span around, smiling widely.
“Want to train together? I could use a sparring partner.” He said, walking to meet her halfway across the field of grass.
Akane smiled, “I’ll have to go easy on you though.”

*

Neji sat on the steps to the walled garden at the Hyuuga compound. The flowers were dying slowly in the cold weather, and he almost shed a tear for them. Almost. Footsteps behind him alerted him to Tenten’s presence, and he soon felt her comforting hand on his shoulder.
“Neji, why not come to bed? The baby’s kicking you know, you’ll miss out.”
Neji turned to look up at his wife, trying to smile as he did so. She stood behind him, one hand placed on her swollen belly. She rubbed the hand in a circular motion and smiled serenely down at the bump. Neji put his own hand onto her stomach. A sharp jab into his hand made him jump a little.
“I think this one takes after me!” she said, taking her husband’s hand in her own.
He stood up, kissing her softly on the forehead.
“I’m going back to the hospital.” He said, leaving swiftly.
Tenten was left standing in the cold, wondering what would become of her once perfect family.

*

Akane and Ichiru finally ended their sparring match, as it had become too dark to continue. His reactions were so fast now. She was shocked at how good he was. She’d fought without using her Byakugan, or the Hyuuga fighting style her mother had taught her, so as to let him practice a little. But soon into the fight, she felt she needed to use it. Was this the natural talent she had heard her father talking about? A few weeks before, Kiba had been discussing the Uchiha’s progress with Hinata. Akane had been eavesdropping, and heard her father mention how well Ichiru had been doing.
“It’s in his blood after all.” She’d heard him say.
As Ichiru packed up his things, she watched him curiously. What was the Uchiha bloodline limit? Her father had said it was similar to her own. In the eyes.
Creepy, he said it was.
Ichiru looked around at her.
“Why are you staring at me?” he asked her, grinning.
Akane blushed, “Oh, was I? Sorry, in a world of my own!” she said, turning away.

*

Nara Shinju wept openly as she followed her mother and father. They were leaving Konoha tonight, and were on their way to the gates. Yukio had been sent a message where he was stationed with Uzumaki Dai, Inuzuka Haru and Inuzuka Kiba. He would go home to Konoha once relieved of duty.
The family finally reached the gates, Shikamaru placing his large bag of belongings onto the floor with a sigh, Temari scowling at him for being so weak.
Shinju stood awkwardly, waiting for them to sort out their papers for the trip. Temari was convinced Shikamaru had left them at home, but he was adamant he’d put them in the bag with his good clothes in.
As her parents pulled out the contents of the bag, Shinju sat on a small boulder near the guard’s hut. A whisper behind her made her jump up.
“Shinju-chan! We came to say goodbye!”
It was Uzumaki Etsu, and behind her were Aburame Kiku, and…her brother, Taro!
Etsu hurried forwards and hugged her friend and teammate.
“I thought I’d give you this.”
She thrust a picture of herself, Shinju and Kiku into Shinju’s hands, and then walked off a little down the path. Kiku was next to hug her friend, almost crying as she gave her half a heart necklace.
“I’m going to wear the other half.” She said, sniffing and then joining Etsu.
Taro awkwardly approached her, patting her head.
“My sister told me that you liked me.” He said bluntly.
Shinju almost choked. She looked over at Kiku and Etsu, who were giggling behind their hands.
“When you get back from Suna, maybe we should go for ramen some time.” He said, poking his glasses back up his nose. They seemed to have slipped down, as he was sweating with nerves (although Shinju wouldn’t know this).
The girl nodded, dumbfounded, as Taro kissed her cheek, and followed his sister and Etsu.
Shinju turned, blushing brightly, to see her parents smiling at her from the gates.
“Don’t say anything!” she said to her mother, “I’m still not talking to you!”
But Temari was sure she saw her smile as she headed off towards Suna.

*

In the hospital, all was quiet apart from the sound of Hoshi’s heart monitor and her struggled breathing. Neji sat, his daughter’s hand clasped in his. His head rested on the side of the bed, as he tried to catch some sleep. He knew Tenten would be upset. He knew that it was wrong to spend all his time here. But he also knew that Hoshi needed him, now more than ever, and he had to be there for her.

*

Ichiru lay on his front on Akane’s bed, watching TV. Kin walked in, asking if Ichiru would be making dinner. When his brother said no, he wouldn’t, Kin left without a word. Akane flicked channels, finally settling on a film about a princess, who was in love with a boy so clueless, it was a miracle he remembered his own name.
She turned slightly, looking at Ichiru’s handsome face. Illuminated by the flickering light of the TV. He laughed as the boy on TV rebuffed the princess yet again, oblivious to her advances. Akane smiled at him, turning away again.
Somehow, she knew exactly how the princess felt.

*

Naruto sat at the dinner table with Sakura and Etsu. His face was grave as he discussed the latest news with his wife.
“One of my ANBU squads reported back, telling me that there is definite movement in Orochimaru’s old palace. It seems someone has been occupying it for some time now. I can’t believe I missed this one!” He said, slamming a fist down on the table. “It’s only a matter of time before they launch a full-scale attack on us, I know it!”
Sakura nodded, slurping up some noodles.
“Naruto, Konoha is one of the greatest Shinobi nations there has ever been. With Suna as our ally, there is no way Kabuto is going to defeat us. You overthrew Orochimaru all those years ago. Now you’ll definitely be able to defeat his old cronies.”
“Sakura. Oh, Sakura. There’s more…”
Naruto held his head in his hands, as Sakura looked alarmed.
“More…?”
“There is word that…Akatsuki may be involved.”
Sakura breathed in sharply, dropping her fork with a clatter.
“But…But, Naruto! They were…they were all defeated.”
The Hokage shook his head.
“You can never defeat evil.” He said sadly, staring into his food.

*

Hyuuga Neji awoke to find himself in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable chair. It took him a few moments of hazy panic to realise he was in Hoshi’s hospital room, and that he must have fallen asleep in the armchair. His heartbeat slowed down, and he stood up, walking over to his daughter’s bedside. The heart monitor beeped repetitively, but he was glad of the sound. It meant his daughter was still alive, if only just.

*

Hyuuga Tenten was standing in the kitchen, washing up, when she felt a twinge inside her abdomen. The baby moved a little inside her, making her feel uncomfortable, and need the toilet desperately. She headed to the kitchen door, but every step created shooting pains across her bump. The baby moved again, ever so slightly. Tenten breathed deeply, grasping the doorframe to support herself, and called out for someone, anyone.

*

Inuzuka Akane awoke to the faint sound of someone yelling. She jumped out of bed straight away. Was this it? Had the war started and she hadn’t even been told? Still groggy from sleep, she stumbled on something long stretched out on her floor and fell with a crash as she pulled the bedside table down with her.
There was a muffled grunt from underneath her, and she slowly remembered that Ichiru had stayed in her room last night, on the floor of course. She scrambled up quickly, straightening the little table up, and apologising through laughter.
Another panicked shout from somewhere in the house bought her back to her senses. It seemed to alert Ichiru too, as he jumped up from the floor, half dressed.
Akane averted her eyes, and ran to the door.
“Wait! It could be some kind of trap.” Ichiru said, grabbing her wrist.
Akane nodded, “Byakugan!” she cried, searching the surrounding corridors.
There she was… Tenten-san! And she looked like she was in trouble. Akane could see the baby struggling inside her, Tenten’s hands clutching at her stomach.
Without a word, the girl darted off towards the kitchen, shouting out to say she was coming. Ichiru followed, grabbing a t-shirt as he did so.

*

It was cold in Tsunade’s little house. She rubbed her hands together, and then placed them around her cup of green tea, hoping to warm them. Above her, she could hear that lousy man snoring. Obviously, he wouldn’t be up till gone 12pm, and so the former Hokage relaxed a little. She lay back on the sofa, curling her legs underneath her, and switching on the TV. A bang from upstairs told her that he’d either woken up, or just fallen out of bed. It was most likely the latter…she hoped.
A scrabbling sound on the stairs, and she knew he was definitely awake. But why? So early?
The door swung open, and he answered the question for her.
“The hospital needs you. Naruto sent one of those kids from the academy. Bloody woke me up, hopping onto the windowsill like that.”
Tsunade smiled at her husband. Even though he was old, even though he was lazy, even though he was a bit of a pervert, and it had taken her forever to marry him, she did love Jiraiya.
She gathered her things and left the house quickly.
“Don’t be long!” Jiraiya called after her, “Now I’m awake, I’d like to do some…er…research for my next book!”
Tsunade smirked to herself as she ran towards the hospital.
Yep, definitely a perv.

*


Aburame Ino belched quietly as she polished off the plate of food in front of her. Her companion nodded approvingly, as he himself finished off his barbequed meat.
“I’m glad we still do this, Ino-chan.” Akimichi Choji said, sitting across the table from his teammate.
Ino laughed, “Even at times of war, I know you need barbeque.” She shrugged, “Plus I sometimes enjoy your company. I just wish Shika was here.”
Choji nodded in agreement, signalling for the waiter.
“More food?” Ino raised an eyebrow.
Choji licked his lips, smiling. “No, the bill. Kichi will kill me if I ruin my dinner.”
Ino laughed again, louder this time; “I see she still has a hold over you!”
“And what about you, ‘Miss Mellow’! You’re so much more relaxed these days. Is this the affect Shino has on you?”
The two friends laughed even more, sitting in the restaurant. Other customers stared at them, Konoha ninja, laughing at a time like this. But these ninja knew that without this respite, they’d be overcome with despair.
A shadow fell across their table suddenly, causing them to stop laughing abruptly. Ino’s face crumpled as the messenger ninja stood talking to her. She stood up, her face full of pain.
“No, no, no! No, you’re wrong! You’re wrong! You’ve got the wrong man!” She screamed, shaking Choji off as he tried to calm her down, “My husband is fine. He’s fine! There’s no way he would get himself hurt!”
The messenger ninja placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Aburame Shino’s team are missing, presumed dead, at the boarders of the rain country. I am only the messenger, I know nothing more. I’m very sorry.”
Ino collapsed to the floor as the messenger left, Choji holding her in his arms. She shook, sobbing while he rocked her back and forth, as a mother would a sick child.

*


Uchiha Sasuke stood in front of his bedroom mirror. He’d been walking past a restaurant, when he’d seen Ino screaming and crying on the floor in Choji’s arms. He asked a passer by what had happened, and was informed that her husband was missing. Sasuke had shuddered with fear, and had immediately gone home. The Hyuuga house was empty when he arrived, and so he’d gone to his room.
Now, the head of the Uchiha family stood, pale faced and dark haired, staring at his reflection. He’d dressed himself in his old clothes, from just before he’d left Konoha the second time. On his left leg was a kunai holder. Around his waist was his special pouch, complete with original contents. His black top, emblazoned with the Uchiha clan symbol still fit him perfectly, although he’d last worn it at the age of 19. He smiled, but only slightly. Getting back into the original ‘Sasuke mindset’ would be easy: Expressionless, emotionless…ruthless. That was how it had to be from now on, if he seriously wanted to defend his home and family.

*

Tenten howled as she crouched on the bed, trying desperately hard to breathe. Tsunade had appeared in the room a few minutes ago, barking at everyone else to get out and give the poor woman some space. Tenten had gone into labour. Early.
“It’s not meant to happen now!” she cried, “Not now. This is the worst time ever!”
Tsunade hushed her and stroked her back soothingly.
“It’ll be fine, Tenten. Don’t you worry. Just focus on your breathing. Come on, you’ve done this before!”

Outside, Akane paced the corridor.
“I’ll have to go find uncle Neji. He’s in Hoshi’s room, but I don’t want to leave Tenten, and Hoshi can’t be left alone…”
Ichiru grabbed her arm and pulled her to him.
“Calm down. Panicking does no one any good now, does it? I’ll go find Neji-sama, and I can sit with Hoshi. You stay here with Tenten-san.”
Akane nodded dumbly. Ichiru was hugging her very close, and looking down at her with those big, dark, bottomless eyes…
A scream from inside Tenten’s room made them break apart wordlessly, Ichiru running off to find the father, Akane entering the room to care for her aunt.

*

Naruto stood, dressed in his orange and black fighting clothes. Behind him, Sakura stood in her own ‘ninja uniform’, her pink hair tied up.
She clasped her hand in is, a tear sliding down her cheek. He turned to her, seeing an image of her as a girl, small and weak. Now she was a strong and capable ninja, one of the best Konoha had ever seen. She was his wife, the mother of his children, and the love of his life…
They would fight together.

*

Hours earlier, Naruto had sat in his office while his former teacher, Hatake Kakashi, sat in front of him, informing him of the latest developments.
Kakashi was close to retirement age now, but refused to be left out of the ‘action’. He said he wanted to defend his village, and country until the end. There was no way he’d take a back seat. And so he’d been deployed to the boarders of the rain country with an ANBU troop, led by one Aburame Shino. During a fierce battle with some enemy ninja, Kakashi was knocked out. He awoke to find he was very much alone, with no trace of the battle, the enemy, or his teammates. Everyone was gone. It was as if the cleaners had been through.
Kakashi searched for the members of the ANBU team, using Pakkun and the other ninja dogs he could summon, but it was to no avail. There was nothing to go on.
Naruto organised for Ino to be informed. He then called on his advisors, and was locked in a room with them for over an hour discussing their next move. He then called upon his finest jounin still in the village, and asked for them to organise teams of chuunin. These were then sent out to various strategic positions, pre-decided by Naruto and his council.
He tried his hardest not to separate the teams he knew worked well. He kept Konohamaru, now a jounin, with his loyal teammates. He made sure the chuunin teams made up of his own children, and his friends’ children were kept together.
Then finally he stood in his room, ready.
Ready for whatever was going to happen now.

*

Akane sat alone on a hard plastic chair in the hospital corridor, listening to the moans and cries of her aunt in the room behind her. The sun was slowly going down, and Akane felt cold and alone. An hour before, a messenger had come to inform her that the Hokage wanted her to stay in the village to protect it. She would be in charge of a group of capable genin, including Ichiru.
Where was Ichiru?
He’d been gone forever. Neji had been in to see Tenten, and then been shouted at so much that he’d gone back to check on Hoshi. That was 2 hours before now. Surely he wasn’t sitting with Hoshi and uncle Neji?
As if summoned by her thoughts, the Uchiha boy appeared at the end of the corridor. She stood up quickly, smiling. Then she saw his face.
He walked slowly towards her, tears streaming down his beautiful, pale skin. Akane walked quickly to him, her face questioning. He shook his head.
“Sh-she was so like my mother. It won’t be long now.” He said, sitting in one of the plastic chairs lining the corridor.
For a moment Akane didn’t understand what he meant by ‘it won’t be long’. Then she realised, and sat heavily next to him.
“Oh.”
That was all she could say. Her head was spinning, and the walls were dancing around her. Everything seemed to be getting darker. Were the lights being turned off? Suddenly everything was very cold, and her surroundings seemed to change.

There was a breeze; it was raining slightly. She was in a field of long, waving grass, shivering. Around her were screams, the sounds of battle: The sounds of death. There was the smell of burning in the air. Honou whined next to her. She cried, calling out for her mother, her father. She clutched at a small picture of her family, blood smeared over the faces. Her blood. The dog pawed at her, whining louder. But she couldn’t hear it. She couldn’t actually hear anything anymore…

Akane sat up with a start, grabbing out for something to hold onto. It had been so real. She’d been seeing through Aiko’s eyes, she was sure of it. Her eyes were glazed over as she felt warmth around her suddenly. Ichiru held her, softly calling her name.
“Akane-chan, are you okay? You fell off your chair all of a sudden.”
Akane blinked a few times, and then shakily got to her feet.
“I think my sister’s dying out there. And my cousin’s dying upstairs. And my brother and mother and father could be dying right now… And I have to stay here. I can’t go to help them. I’m so useless!”
Ichiru stood in front of her.
“You’re not useless. You’re an extremely talented ninja. I know, I’ve had to fight you! The village needs you, Akane. It needs a fiery Inuzuka, it needs a genius Hyuuga. My father has told me the stories of your clans since I was a little boy. You are both those things. Most of all, Akane, I need you, okay? And so do Tenten-san, and your new baby cousin. We all need you to protect us.”
Akane sniffed, and held her head up high.
“You don’t need protecting, Ichiru-kun. But I’ll do it anyway.” She said, running from the hospital, towards the Hokage’s office.

*

Sasuke stood with Naruto and Sakura, strangely elated at the thought of fighting next to them again. They stood in front of a large group of ninja, most chuunin or genin, but there were a few jounin at the back of the room. Sasuke spotted Choji and Ino amongst them. Ino looked better. Defiant, standing tall, her son next to her.
Naruto cleared his throat and stepped forwards, addressing the people in front of him.

“You are all Konoha ninja. We are all as one. We will fight as one. An ANBU troop has been captured in the rain country. We now believe them to be harbouring the enemy. There are reports of battles at all the boarders. Suna have already been attacked.” There was a wave of whispers through the crowd. Aburame Taro clenched his mother’s hand even harder than he had been.
“All assembled here are Konoha’s last defence. Hopefully we will not have to defend the village. But if it comes down to it, and the enemy breaks down our defensive barriers, I want everyone to fight well, and fight for this village. I will not let evil get it’s grip on our lives. Please, begin patrolling immediately.”
With that, there was a swoosh and the ninja all left.
Sasuke noticed his own son, Ichiru, leaving with Kiba’s daughter Akane. He felt a swell of pride as he caught sight of the hitai ate tied around Ichiru’s arm.
Naruto patted him on the shoulder.
“Are you ready?”
“Hai, Hokage.” He replied, leaving the room behind Sakura.

Shinju stood behind her mother, watching the wind-user strike down at least 20 enemy ninja. A little in front of her and to her left was her father, in the process of making one scary looking ninja copy his every move, including a stupid looking dance. Shinju didn’t know how her parents could remain so calm. Maybe that’s what being a high-ranking jounin was all about. Maybe one day she’d be the same.
Looking up into the sky above her, she saw a huge plateau of sand hovering amid the hazy blue. Her uncle, Gaara, the Kazekage stood upon it, his hand raised as he directed the sand towards the attacking ninja. Some of the weaker looking fighters actually turned and fled when they saw the torrent of sand coming down upon them. Most were too late. Her uncle was extremely efficient.
Something whizzed past Shinju’s head, and she realised she was being attacked. Grabbing the kunai that had been thrown at her in mid air, she span around and threw it back, hitting a boy not much older than herself in the neck. His eyes widened in surprise, and he staggered backwards a few paces, his arms reaching out for someone, anyone. Shinju looked away. She’d never liked that part. Never.

*

Akane stood in front of the disorderly line of genin she’d been put in charge of. Now was the time to prove herself, and she’d do that by whipping this bunch into shape. Some of them she knew, from helping out at the academy. Others looked awfully young, freshly graduated she guessed. Just like Ichiru.
He was the oldest there, but didn’t look fazed. He stood, holding himself well, looking straight ahead, like a soldier standing to attention.
She cleared her throat.
“I know this is a scary prospect. But most of you have been out on missions before, and you’ve doubtless fought enemy ninja before. I have to warn you though. The people we are up against are not your average bandits, misfits or cronies. The ones who make it this far will most likely be dangerous renegade ninja. They won’t think twice before ending your life. Most of you may be young, but they won’t see you as children, they see you as another enemy to be killed: just another Konoha ninja. Let’s start training right away. Get into pairs.”
She caught Ichiru by the arm, “You’ll be with me.”
He smiled, relieved.

*

Uchiha Sasuke ran beside Uzumaki Sakura. Her pink hair was escaping its hair-band, and was being blown into her face. It was hard to believe that this strong woman was once so weak. Her eyes were dead set ahead, towards Suna. Fixed on her husband’s back. Naruto ran ahead of the others, speeding forwards to help his old friend, Gaara. He knew he had left Konoha in capable hands, and trusted everyone to work well in his absence. He had to help the Kazekage. They had always been there for each other.
Sasuke kept close to Sakura. He wanted to watch her in action, watch her move. His heart fluttered slightly in his chest, which he put down to nerves. Going into battle again was a scary concept. Somewhere in the back of his mind, however, he knew it was because of those old feelings. The feelings he had placed in a locked drawer in the depths of his thoughts, the ones he had almost forgotten in the early years with Sumi…
Sumi.
His heart wept for her, hoping that wherever she was now, she could forgive him.

*

Uchiha Kin looked back over his shoulder, his face dark and stormy. Behind him were the gates of Konoha. He’d slipped out with a family, leaving the village due to fears of the imminent fight. The ninja at the gates had tried to convince the family that they’d be safer behind Konoha’s walls, but the old man who appeared to be head of the family insisted they left for a nearby village.
Kin went unnoticed for a while, until they’d reached a fork in the road, and a young boy had pointed him out. The Uchiha swiftly apologised, and watched them leave. It was now that he stood, looking back at Konoha angrily, and deciding if he should take the opposite road to the family, or follow them. Finally, he reached the decision to go the other way. The trees seemed thicker that way; more cover for him in case he was missed.
Not that I will be, he thought bitterly.
He had watched his brother gather his ninja weapons, and dress in the new clothes their father had got him. He’d seen the glint of metal as Ichiru tied his hitai ate around his forehead. Kin had bit his lip until it bled, anger welling up inside him. That should have been him. Was he not the one who had studied the art of the ninja, had discovered a world of information on all the clans of Konoha, including his own? He had a bloodline limit, was part of a regal, noble clan, stretching back generations. This was an injustice.
And so he’d decided to leave. It was for the best. Maybe he’d go home to the village he’d grown up in- Kitamori, how far away it seemed now.
Kin trudged onwards, and before he knew it, it was raining and he was very much alone in the forest. He had no idea where he was headed, and all around him he could hear noises. His paranoid mind made them into voices, raised high in mocking laughter; footsteps following his own, echoing throughout the tall trees. He started to think that this wasn’t then best idea he’d ever had, but he’d long since left the path and there was no turning back.
Not that there was anything for him in Konoha.
“My brother is a ninja, and my father is meant to be the leader of a noble clan. But he’s pathetic, and had ignored me for years. And look at me. Lost in a stupid forest.” He said aloud, “Some Uchiha I am.”

“Uchiiiiihaaaa…?” a voice hissed from the darkness.

*

Ichiru stopped to catch his breath while Akane instructed another genin. He sipped a little water from his gourd, wiping the sweat that had formed on his brow. Akane may have been his friend, but that certainly didn’t mean she was going easy on him at all. He closed his eyes briefly, breathing in through his nose sharply, and out through his mouth slowly. Eyes still closed, he cocked his head slightly, and put his arm out in front of him.
“Well blocked, Uchiha.” Came Akane’s voice.
There were a few gasps behind her, coming from the genin.
‘Uchiha? Did she say Uchiha?’
‘As in…the Uchiha clan?’
Akane held up a hand to silence them.
“Yes, this is Uchiha Ichiru.”
The other genin stared at him, wide eyed, as he looked back at them.
“What’s with his eyes?” asked one of the younger ones.
Ichiru blinked, wondering what she meant. Then he saw Akane’s expression. He grabbed a kunai from his pouch, looking into the reflective metal surface.
His eyes were red.

*

Temari grunted as she strained to push a boulder onto another pile of similar rocks. Her brother, Kankuro, stood by her watching her struggle.
“You are such a lazy lump!” she shouted, “This is part if Suna’s defence and you’re just standing there watching me!”
Shikamaru shouted down from atop the pile of rocks.
“Yeah, Kankuro-san! Start putting a bit more effort in!”
He grinned at his brother-in-law.
It had been 2 hours since the enemy troops had retreated, but the Nara’s felt this lull wouldn’t last very long. So, they had commissioned many ninja to start building up Suna’s natural rock defences, by moving any boulders or rock. It was clear that the first wave of ninja had not been very talented at all, with most probably not ranking jounin. However, they’d fought with anger and violence, and Suna had lost some people. Shikamaru was worried that the next wave of attackers would be more ferocious than the last. He just hoped Naruto would get here soon with some backup.
What was also clearer now, was that Akatsuki were definitely involved, if they still wore the usual garb. Black robes, red clouds: he’d seen a few ninja hovering at the back wearing this. He clicked his tongue between his teeth, thinking of his son out there, and not for the first time since the fighting began. He hoped to god that he was doing well.

*

Inuzuka Hinata cried out fiercely, dashing forwards with her team. She’d met with her husband, son and his teammates a few hours before, and they had carried on together, towards the mid-way point between Suna and Konoha. It was not long before they encountered enemy ninja, 3 of them, heading in the direction of their home. Now, it was time to fight. Now Hinata knew this war was real. Now she knew whom they were dealing with too, she thought, taking in the attire of the ninja.

*

Ichiru watched in the kunai as the red in his eyes slowly faded back to his usual black. What exactly was this? His father had never openly talked of their bloodline limit, and no one had ever explained it to him. Why had his eyes turned red so suddenly, for no reason at all? One of the younger genin ran back from the direction of the academy, clutching a scroll. She’d run off as soon as everyone had seen the confusion on Ichiru’s face.
Akane grabbed the scroll from the girl, scanning it quickly with her eyes.
‘The Noble Clans of Konoha.’ Was its title.
Akane read on further until she reached the familiar name of Uchiha.
“Sharingan.” She read aloud.
“Sha-rin-gan…” Ichiru whispered, lightly touching his face. “What else does it say?”
Akane shook her head. “Nothing. Sorry, Ichiru. Most of the Uchiha history was lost when… when the tragedy happened.”
Ichiru looked up.
“What happened to my family?” he said, his eyes suddenly full of sadness.
“You don’t know?”
The genin around them whispered furtively, staring at this strange, beautiful, fragile boy.
“Everyone, separate into pairs and practice some more please. I’ll meet you up at the training ground in an hours time.” Akane said, taking hold of Ichiru’s arm and leading him away from the academy grounds.

*

“This is the Uchiha compound. No one goes here, really. When your father left it behind, well… Everyone said it was haunted.” Akane looked ashamed as she said this.
Ichiru stood in front of the entrance, staring wide-eyed at the clan symbol emblazoned on the walls and window shutters. He reached up to his neck, and fingered the necklace around it. This symbol, he’d known it his whole life. He knew it was his clan symbol, he knew there had been many others and that everyone had died. Including his grandparents. But a shadow always passed across his father’s face when his sons asked him what happened. All he said was ‘a tragedy’. A tragedy had befallen the Uchiha clan.
Akane held onto his hand, and they stepped into the compound, immediately sheltered from the mild wind by the tall buildings, all deserted.
“When your father was a boy, his brother – your uncle – Itachi, murdered the entire Uchiha clan.”
Ichiru closed his eyes as a wave of nausea overcame him. His knees shook, and he sat quickly down onto a nearby doorstep.
“I’m so sorry you never knew, Ichiru-kun. I’m sorry I had to be the one to tell you.” Akane said, sitting beside him.
He looked up, smiling weakly, “I’m glad it was you, Akane-chan.”
He squeezed his eyes shut, and opened them again, looking straight at Akane.
“You know, Inuzuka. You’ve been a good friend to me. I’m glad, I really am. I don’t think I could have achieved this,” he touched his headband, “without you.”
The girl smiled, looking away.
“I’m pleased you see me as a friend.” She said, trying to sound happy.
But Ichiru heard her voice catch slightly in her throat as she said it.
“Akane, I…”
She turned back to face him, a few tears falling from her pale eyes, a smile upon her pink lips.
She placed a finger on his lips, shaking her head.
“It’s okay, Uchiha. You don’t have to say anything to make me feel better.”
Ichiru looked at her, his black eyes reflected in her lilac ones. Suddenly he knew, he knew why Akane was upset; he knew why she spent so much time with him. A bit slow on the uptake, maybe, but he now realised how she felt about him. He touched her cheek lightly, pulling her face slowly to his own, until they were nose-to-nose. She smiled weakly.
“Don’t tease me so much, Ichiru-kun.”
“I’m not.” He said, so quietly he was surprised she heard it.
His lips slowly parted, moving closer to hers. Her breath was hot, mingling with his. Her lips were so close now, he could barely breathe at all.
A shout from far off made Akane pull away quickly.
“They’re here! They’re here!” came the scream.
Both jumped up, leaving the silent Uchiha compound behind, heading in the direction of the shouting.
As Ichiru drew closer, he could hear the clash of metal upon metal, then the thunk of metal upon…something else. A groan confirmed his fears. Rounding a corner, he raised his arms in a stance Shikamaru-sensei had taught him. A Konoha ninja turned to see him.
“It’s okay, I got him. They went that way, kiddo!”
And with that, the ninja jumped up, and ran in the opposite direction.
Akane grabbed Ichiru’s hand and they ran as fast as they could towards the training grounds.
Stopping, Akane shrieked, her hands shooting up to her mouth. The field was awash with blood. Her genin troop were nowhere to be seen. She swayed, and Ichiru steadied her with his hands on her shoulders.
“Where are they?” she managed to say.


*

Nara Shikamaru looked out across the desert. He stood with both his wife’s siblings, upon the balcony outside the Kazekage’s office, all three men watching the sun sink slowly. Soon it would be dark, and they were sure a new wave of attackers would arrive with the night. Gaara turned his back on his brother and brother-in-law.
“Where’s Shinju?” he asked as he walked towards the doorway.
“Temari told her to go rest for a while. I think she’s in her room.” Kankuro answered.
Gaara nodded once, leaving the others quickly.

*

Shinju sat across the table from her uncle. He poured her a cup of green tea, and raised his eyes to hers.
“I think you should go back to Konoha.”
“W-what do you mean, uncle? I want to stay here!”
Gaara shook his head.
“It’s too dangerous. I’m glad your brother is going back to Konoha. I think my sister was wrong to bring you to this war zone.”
“Gaara-san! I’m a chuunin, I can look after myself.”
Gaara smiled; a genuine smile. It still felt alien to the muscles in his face. The birth of his nieces and nephews bought him more joy than he had ever experienced in life, and he hated the thought of that joy escaping him. Holding Kohana, Kankuro’s daughter, for the first time had been amazing, if a little scary. Kohana, and her little brother Akiyama, were the first people in Gaara’s life to meet him with no misconceptions, having heard no stories about him. They had not been around for his troubled past. Kankuro’s wife, Ima, was hesitant at first, about letting Gaara spend time with her children. But soon, there were no worries. When Yukio and Shinju came along too, Gaara felt his life was full, his family closer. His heart filled with love, something he’d also found hard to experience in the past. The children’s innocent laughter made him happier than he had ever been.
And now, one of those innocent, beautiful people was in a dangerous place. He didn’t want Shinju to be hurt. From reports he’d received, Suna was the only place under such a brutal onslaught. Konoha was untouched. Shinju would be safer there, where her brother would be. He watched his niece take a sip of her tea, eyes silently watching him as he thought. She wouldn’t go easily, that much he knew. But she couldn’t stay in Suna, not with this war raging.

*


Ichiru ran behind Akane, watching her hair stream out behind her. Akako ran alongside her, growling. The Uchiha felt the air around him crackling with activity. There were shouts and screams from every direction.
“I have to find my group. They must have run away. Most of them have never been in a serious fight before. Konoha’s been at peace for as long as I can remember. Oh god, what if they were…” Akane shouted over her shoulder.
She stopped running at the foot of the Hokage Mountain. The sounds of battle were further away now.
“This is where all civilians are taken at dangerous times. I’m hoping all the genin are here too.” The girl said, grabbing Ichiru’s hand and leading him towards the entrance. Two chuunin guarded the passageway, but let Akane and Ichiru through upon seeing they were no threat. Akane called the names of the missing genin in a shrill, panicky voice, hurrying through the passageways, and up the winding stone stairways. Half the village had already been evacuated, and her voice echoed throughout the still, empty halls.
“Morio-kun! Taya-chan!” Akane yelled, stumbling on a step, “Seiji-kun! Are you here? Are any of you here? Nariko-chan! Please answer me?”
Ichiru heard her voice grow more and more hysterical as their search proved fruitless. He reached out, and took her hand, pulling her gently to him.
“If they came through here, they’ll be long gone by now anyway. You’re no use to anyone getting worked up like this. We need to go and help the village.”
“But they were m-my responsibility!” Akane stuttered, sounding so like her mother years before.
“I’m still here. And you’re responsible for me.” Ichiru replied, squeezing her hand.
Biting her lip lightly, Akane nodded, stroking Akako’s loyal head as she stood by her. The two ninja turned to leave, preparing for the battle they knew awaited them.

*

Temari held Shikamaru close to her, her breath warm on his neck. He pushed her away a little, poking her nose playfully.
“That tickles.” He said.
“I know.” She replied, sticking her tongue out.
“You two are like teenagers!”
Gaara approached the couple, who had been standing at a lookout post together. His sister smiled at him warmly, not letting go of her husband at any point. Shikamaru nodded at his brother-in-law, as a mark of respect to the Kazekage.
“I needed to talk to you about something, I’m glad I found both of you.” Gaara lifted his gourd from his back as he said this, groaning slightly as he was relieved of its weight. “It’s about Shinju-chan. I want you to send her back to Konoha. As soon as possible.”
Temari dropped Shikamaru’s hand as her brother said this.
“Gaara! My only son is out there as we speak, god knows where, and I don’t know if he’s still alive. I’m sorry, but I want to keep my family together as well as I can. Shinju will be safest here, with me! I know you’re doing this because you’re worried, but really… Shinju is my daughter, and I assure you she is an extremely talented ninja.”
Her husband placed a hand upon her shoulder, and she realised she’d adopted her fighting stance without even realising. Her brother stood calmly in front of her, his face almost expressionless, apart from the twitch at the side of his mouth, meaning he was trying not to smile. Sometimes he infuriated her so much! Now he walked closer to her, and put his own hand on hers.
“I know how talented Shinju is. Remember all those summers I spent helping train her and Yukio? I am as concerned as you are for your son. But I cannot have my niece in danger too. As Kazekage, I wish for her to be taken back to Konoha, where she will be safe, and with her friends.”
Temari nodded slowly, knowing her brother had made his mind up, and there was no way of stopping him now. He was still as stubborn as she was.

*

Hyuuga Neji stood by his daughter’s bedside. He watched her chest rise and fall slowly. Painfully slowly. Snatching his eyes away, he glanced out of the window and saw the columns of smoke rising from the entrance gates. He knew this was where the enemy had broken in.
“I’m sorry, Hoshi. I have to leave you for a little while. But I’ll be back, I promise you.” He said softly.
He left the room, turning once to look at his daughter. It looked as if she was just sleeping. If only that was the case.

*

Tsunade rubbed Tenten’s back soothingly as she pushed one final time. At last, the newest Hyuuga was introduced to the world, born in the midst of a raging battle, Konoha in flames around him.
“Hello, Hyuuga Hirokazu.” Tenten whispered to the tiny bundle, as he squirmed in her arms.
An explosion nearby made Tsunade jump to her feet, quickly taking little Hirokazu from his mother.
“Tenten, get dressed. As you may be aware, the village is under attack. I’ll escort you to the Hokage Mountain. You and your son can escape that way.”
“How can I leave my daughter behind? And Neji?”
“Right now you need to think of yourself.” Tsunade said, holding the tiny baby close to her as another explosion sounded outside, this time closer.
In no time, the two ninja were on their way, Tenten now cradling her son in her arms. They made their way quickly and silently towards the mountain as daylight faded.

*

Uchiha Kin ran. He ran faster than he had ever run before, but still the sounds of his pursuer were close behind him. He crashed through thick undergrowth, underneath the dark boughs of the never-ending forest. Tears streamed down his face, but he paid them no heed. All he could think of was to run far, far away.
I’m sorry, father. I’m sorry, mother. I’m sorry, Ichiru-niisan! I’m sorry for everything. Just please, come find me? I’m done running away!
His legs grew tired, and he could feel himself slowing down, his breath ragged. Sweat trickled down his brow, mixing with the tears on his cheeks. He wiped his face hurriedly with the back of his hand, taking a moment to glance back. Numerous shadows seemed to be hopping through the trees towards him; he had been wrong when he thought there was only one person following him. All around him were voices, laughing, shrieking with glee; evil voices, full of malice. He wept uncontrollably, with no idea where he was running. What little sky he could see through the treetops was an inky purple, heavy with storm clouds. There was no light to show him the way, and he stumbled constantly on roots and fallen branches. His hands were torn by thorns, his clothes snagged on bushes that seemed to reach out like long fingertips to grab at him. The spillage of his blood only seemed to spur his tormentors on, as their whooping and calls became more excited. He could tell they were playing with him. All the evidence said they were ninja, and could have easily killed him by now, if they’d wanted to.
A twig snapped just behind him, and Kin span around to see a shadowy figure below a tree, only a few yards away. He gulped, turning to run again, but he couldn’t move. Suddenly, he was overcome with fear. His whole body stiffened, and he felt bile rise in his throat, causing him to retch. He panicked, grasping at his throat, his eyes wide and frightened. What was going on?
The figure crept closer to him, their glasses glinting as the moon peeped out from behind the angry clouds for a few seconds. The pale light illuminated the scene perfectly. Kin stood, shaking and being sick, surrounded by a group of burly, evil looking ninja. One spat at him, provoking a chorus of laughter from his companions, and then a swift blow to the head with a kunai.
The other ninja backed away as his body fell to the ground, and made way for the man who was quite obviously their leader.
“Do not disrespect our dear friend here.” The man wearing the glasses said.
He strode forwards, coming to a stop in front of the terrified Uchiha. Kin had finally stopped throwing up the rice he’d eaten earlier and looked up, his eyes slightly glazed. The man in front of him was a little taller than him, with grey-silver hair and round glasses. He smirked, pushing the glasses up his nose a little.
“How nice to meet with an Uchiha again.” He said, reaching out to touch Kin’s pale face. “My name is Kabuto.”
Kin shuddered at the touch of Kabuto, as the silver-haired man stroked his cheek slowly. The boy was powerless to resist as Kabuto crept ever closer and leisurely ran his tongue along Kin’s ear.
“Now you’re mine.” Kabuto whispered.

*

Inuzuka Hinata stood panting in a forest clearing; two dead bodies clothed in the Akatsuki robes on the floor below her. Her husband stood not far away, with Akamaru, and a little further on were Nara Yukio, Uzumaki Dai and her own son Inuzuka Haru. Strewn across the floor, like paper dolls, were the bodies of the ninja who had attacked them earlier in the day: 8 in total, once 5 more had joined the original troop of 3.
Unbeknownst to Hinata and her companions, only a few kilometres from where they stood now was Uchiha Kin, in mortal peril. Even with her Byakugan, Hinata could never have known, or done a thing. As the storm broke overhead, the Inuzukas, Yukio and Dai all took shelter under the branches of an ancient tree, Akamaru and Kiba taking first watch.
As Hinata put her head down to sleep, she said a small prayer for her daughters, wherever they were right now.

*

Akane knelt on the floor, her face stained with tears and soot from the smoke surrounding her. Ichiru was slumped next to her, where they sheltered behind a low, grey stone wall. The fighting had died down now, and the enemy seemed to be retreating. Whatever their goal had been, the attack obviously hadn’t been well thought out. These ninja may have been wearing the robes of the Akatsuki, but they were not skilled renegade ninja. Although they could put up a good fight, they were common thieves and outlaws. Akane had decided for herself that this Akatsuki thing was all a façade for the real attack, the real reasons behind it too. Although she couldn’t quite decide what the real motives were.
Ichiru groaned a little beside her, and she quickly turned to face him. His hair was matted with blood at the back of his head, and he was absolutely filthy. The smoke from the fires lit by the enemy had been heavy and acrid. The thick clouds of it had hovered in the air, acting as smokescreens for them to sneak in, and the stench of it stung the back of Akane’s throat, which was also red raw from screaming.
She’d killed a lot of people today.
Looking down at her hands, she almost saw the blood dripping from them, the blood of the many she’d mercilessly slaughtered in a blind rage. She knew in her heart of hearts that the genin she had been put in charge of were dead, and this had spurred her on to kill as many in revenge as she possibly could.
One for each innocent life taken.
Ichiru moaned again, a little louder. He was regaining consciousness. Would it be safe to take him to the hospital?
Akane decided to take the risk, and eased him slowly to his feet, his harm slung around her shoulders. He winced as she half carried, half dragged him towards the hospital, hoping and praying there wouldn’t be any enemies there. Thankfully, she seemed to be in luck, and managed to get him inside and to a vacant room with not a peep from anyone. Akane laid him down gently onto a bed, pulling the curtain around them. She rifled through the cupboards, eventually finding bandages and antiseptic cream.
Hopefully this will be enough.
She edged a little closer to Ichiru’s bed. He seemed to be sleeping. His clothes were torn, and he seemed to be losing a lot of blood from various surface wounds.
“I tried my hardest to protect you.” She whispered, “And now I’ll look after you.”
She blushed a little as she carefully took off his top.
“I’m sorry, Ichiru-kun, but I can’t attend to y-your wounds unless… unless I take your c-clothes off.” She bit her lip, angered at her stuttering.
With a sigh, she carefully removed his jeans, trying to ignore his body and focus on the cuts that covered it. The scars from his training wounds were not yet fully healed, and now new ones covered them. Would they be permanent? Akane couldn’t possibly know.
She dipped a piece of bandage into the antiseptic cream, and smeared it across the wounds. Ichiru breathed in sharply, his back arching a little. Akane held his hand.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry this has happened.”
“I-it’s not your fault…Akane-chan…” Ichiru managed to say, opening his eyes a little.
Akane squeezed his hand, a smile on her face.
“You’re awake.”
He nodded, smiling back.
“It hurts.”
“It will. Let me bandage you up.” She said, continuing to apply the cream, and slowly winding the bandages around him, making him sit up a little to do so.
“I’m having déjà vu.” Ichiru said, seeming to perk up a little after Akane fed him some water from her gourd. “I seem to have a recollection of you bandaging me up before.” He finished, with a wry smile.
The Inuzuka smiled back, once again her breath catching in her throat as she looked at him. How close had they been earlier…
No! I will not think about that. How inappropriate! she scolded herself for thinking such things. They’d just been caught up in the moment. He’d never want to…to kiss her. Not in a million years.
Would he?
Ichiru edged a little closer to her, taking her hand gently in his own.
“I’m sleepy. Will you lie with me for a little while, Akane-chan?”
She nodded dumbly, curling up beside him. Akako whined from the floor, obviously wanting to get up onto the bed too. But for once, Akane wanted to do something without her best friend sharing in it too. The dog seemed to understand, and padded outside to the corridor to keep watch.
Ichiru turned on his side to face her, his eyes level with her own.
“Arigato.” He whispered.
“You always say that.” She whispered back.
“I mean it.”
“I know.” She closed her eyes.
Feeling him breathe so close to her made her heart flutter a little, as if it were a caged butterfly trying to break out. Ichiru entwined his fingers in hers, and snuggled a little closer, lying nose-to-nose now. She sighed a little at his touch, making him inch closer until…
Until the butterfly was set free, as their lips met for the first time. Akane smiled through the kiss, as his soft lips pressed against her own, and she tasted him, and in that instant there was no war, there was no Konoha, or Suna, or Akatsuki: Just her, and Ichiru on this bed, in this room, far away from everything.

*

Tenten edged through the narrow passageways, hearing the faint murmur of voices up ahead. She held Hirokazu tightly, not wanting to do what she knew she must.
Eventually she reached a huddle of villagers, all making their way carefully towards the sanctuary. Tenten stopped, selected the most matronly looking woman and slipped her some money.
“I need you to look after my son, just for a little while. I-I have to go back to get my husband and my daughter.”
The woman clocked Tenten’s hitai ate, and nodded immediately, taking the youngest Hyuuga from his mother. He mewled softly from inside his blankets, breaking Tenten’s heart as she swiftly turned and headed back the way she’d come.

*

The taste of blood was in their mouth, and the heavy, metallic smell of it filled their nostrils. Their breathing came in shallow gasps as their eyes rolled back in their head. Smoke. Everywhere. It filled the room; it blurred their vision. The sound of footsteps could be heard a little way off, followed by voices, hushed and hurried.
Where am I? Am I dying? What happened? I’m alone. I’m so alone.
They clutch at something, anything to hold on to. But there is nothing, And there is no one.
And so they take their last breath, cold, alone and afraid.

*

Naruto stood upon a rocky outcrop, on the borders of the Fire country, Sakura and Sasuke sitting a little distance away from him, kindling a small cooking fire. The Hokage looked across the horizon, hoping for any clue as to what was going on. It had been his decision to go towards the Rain country with his old team. When he had heard about Shino and his ANBU team’s capture, he’d decided to personally find out what had happened. But so far, in the two days they had been travelling, they had encountered no attacks, and had heard nothing from any one from Suna or Konoha. This worried Naruto greatly, and as he stood on this rock, he scanned the countryside around him, hoping for some kind of hint, anything to lead him onwards.
“Sakura. Could you pass me some bread please?” Sasuke asked in a low voice.
Sakura kept her head down and nodded, tearing off a lump of the doughy bread and passing it to him. He dipped it into his broth and began to eat, all the while his face completely void of emotion.
Sakura looked closely at him, when she was sure he wouldn’t notice. The firelight flickered on his face, and she could see how he had aged. But every now and then, at a certain angle, she could see the old Sasuke. The Sasuke she had loved with all her heart. The one who had abandoned her without hope of him ever returning. He wasn’t any less handsome than he had been then, not at all. On the contrary, Sakura felt he had aged extremely well. Maybe even better than her own husband, who had many a line on his face nowadays, and a podgy belly from too much ramen and too few missions. She drank the rest of her soup, and walked to where Naruto was standing, hoping for some comforting words.
“Sakura-chan. Go to sleep now. I’m on lookout, and you need the rest.” Naruto pouted, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and then turned away from her again.
The pink-haired ninja stepped backwards, muttering ‘baka’ under her breath. She found herself feeling alone. Again. It wasn’t that her marriage to Naruto hadn’t been wonderful in its own way. It was just that…He was the only man she’d ever been with. The only man she’d slept next to, cooked for, cleaned up after. She’d raised his children. With his Hokage duties, she felt she didn’t get to see him that often. And that hurt. For the past 10 years, she had felt more alone than she had ever felt, her entire life. Including after Sasuke had left her behind.
Now, she laid out her sleeping mat next to Sasuke’s, and bedded down for the night. Within minutes, she was asleep, breathing softly, her pink hair falling across her face.
Sasuke stirred, turning over to reach for his gourd of water. His eyes fell upon Sakura’s sleeping form, her face covered by long strands of her hair. He looked up. Naruto was sat, engaged in conversation with a shadow clone of himself. Sasuke almost laughed despite himself, “Baka…” he muttered.
Carefully and silently he reached out a hand and gently moved the wisps of hair from her pale face. With that, he took a sip of water and turned again, closing his eyes tightly.

*

Tsunade stood at the gates of Konoha. All around her were bodies, fires, and evidence of destruction. But at least the battle was over: for now anyway. She sighed deeply, turning towards a tall, silent chuunin who stood beside her.
“Do you think they’ll come back, Tsunade-sama?” Aburame Taro asked her.
She knew he referred to the enemy ninja who had attacked.
“That I don’t know. For now, we clean up as much as we can.”
“Hai.” He nodded, and sped off into the village.
Naruto. Where are you? When Konoha needed you most, where were you?

*

Tenten struggled onwards through the smoke. She knew she wasn’t far from the hospital. Not too long now. Her head was thumping, and she her breathing was laboured. She knew she had lost a lot of blood, and right now was not the best time to be staggering through the derelict streets of her village, but she couldn’t stop until she had found Neji, and both were by their daughter’s bedside. She paused at a street corner to get her bearings. Why was everything so fuzzy? Slowly but surely she trudged on, and eventually came to Konoha’s hospital. Her hands shot up to her mouth.
Half the building had been destroyed. The front wall on the right hand side had been completely ripped away, baring the rooms inside for the entire world to see. Tenten’s throat constricted. Hoshi’s room was on the right hand side of the building, on the third floor.
The woman hurried forwards, bursting through the doors and stumbling to the reception desk as if she expected to find someone there. The whole place seemed deserted. Shaking her head, she made her way to the stairs, taking two steps at a time as she ran upwards. Her footsteps echoed throughout the corridor as she ran towards her daughter’s room, her ears straining for any noise at all.
She flung the door open, her heart in her mouth.

The room was bare.

*


Akane awoke to Akako’s wet nose sniffing at her face. The dog had her paws on Akane’s shoulders and was whining. Ichiru sat at the foot of the bed, pulling his trousers on.
“We…we fell asleep? How could we fall asleep at a time like this?” she exclaimed.
“Akane-chan…you fell asleep. And you were only down for a few minutes. I think Akako heard something outside, so we should go take a look.”
Akane sat up quickly, jumped down from the bed and whispered to Akako. The dog yapped once, and then trotted out of the door, the two ninja following. Akane’s head was spinning. Only a few minutes ago she and Ichiru had shared a kiss, a wonderful, beautiful kiss. And now it was back to reality, so abruptly.
A sound from upstairs made her snap out of it. She quickly activated her Byakugan.
Above them, on the third floor was a woman, obviously in a lot of difficulty. Akane quickly began climbing the stairs to reach her.

Tenten stumbled again, this time falling to the floor. She put her hands out in front of her, palms flat upon the floor as she felt the tears well up.
“Hoshi? Hoshi, is that you?” she cried out feebly.
“Tenten-san!”
Akane had found her aunt.
She was bleeding heavily, and obviously running a high fever.
“Tenten-san, where’s…where’s the baby?” The Inuzuka said, panicking suddenly, thinking that Tenten had been left in the hospital alone throughout the attack.
The older woman shook her head.
“Safe…” She croaked, before slumping to the floor.
“Ichiru! Ichiru, please get help!” Akane screamed, holding her aunt up, calling her name softly.

*

“Finally! I’ve reached you!”
Sakura awoke to the sound of voices. Sasuke’s, Naruto’s and one she did not know.
“Tsubame reporting, Hokage-sama. I’ve come directly from Konoha. The village is under attack. I’ve been tracking you forever!”
The young jounin looked tired out, and so Sakura offered her some water.
“No thank you, Sakura-sama. We must leave immediately!”
Naruto turned to face the group.
“Okay. We leave right away. You, Tsubame?”
“Hai?”
“I want you to assemble a team as soon as you reach Konoha. This team will take over my mission.”
“What mission is that, Hokage-sama?”
“To rescue Aburame Shino and his troop.”
The jounin was silent. She watched the now legendary trio gather their belongings in awe. For her whole life she had heard tales of the three ninja, each trained by one of the famous Sannin: One, a do-gooder, the carrier of the Kyuubi and trained by Jiraiya, the renowned frog-hermit (and perverted author of many books). The second, a medic-nin, trained by the fifth Hokage Tsunade. The third, the famed ‘Last Uchiha’, trained by renegade ninja Orochimaru, and whom no one in Konoha seemed to entirely trust but the original ‘Rookie Nine’ (what those original and last great ninja were known as). Tsubame felt privileged to be able to travel with these great ninja, and would follow her Hokage’s orders with no hesitation.


*

Nara Shinju blanked her mother as the woman tried to give her a hug. Temari frowned, and turned away, folding her arms as Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
“Shinju-chan, it’s not your mum’s fault, okay? Gaara-san has decided it’s for the best.”
Shinju pouted and turned away from her father, hoisting her rucksack onto her back and walking slowly towards the gates. Temari let a tear escape her before she sighed deeply and called after her daughter that she loved her. Shikamaru put his arms around his wife, whispering that things would be fine, and at least the attack on Suna had stopped.
Actually, the leader of the enemy troop that attacked Suna was being interrogated as they stood there, having turned up at the village a few hours before to surrender. It seemed the enemy had cut their losses and decided to give up. And this certainly didn’t sound like the work of the Akatsuki, from all the things Shikamaru had heard. Even after this, Gaara had still insisted on sending Shinju home to Konoha, as his mind was now fully made up. Shikamaru knew better than to argue with his brother-in-law. Last time he’d disagreed with Gaara - over the name of Yukio - Shikamaru had ended up buried in sand with just his head poking out the top. It took 3 hours for Temari to find him, and by this point Shikamaru had decided that Yukio was a fine name for his son, maybe even the best name ever created.
He was unconscious for a few days. Lack of water had caused delirium.
The Konoha ninja smiled at this memory despite himself. This family was definitely dysfunctional in the extreme. But he’d never been happier.
He knew Shinju would be safe. The message that Konoha had been attacked had reached them only an hour before a second message, apologising for the delay of the first, and saying that Konoha was now safe, and that the leader had surrendered there too.
Something about this whole thing didn’t seem quite right to Shikamaru, and he began to wonder what exactly was going on.

*


Akane stood silently in the doorway to Tenten’s room. As luck would have it, Tsunade had been on her way back towards the hospital when Ichiru ran into her. The medic-nin had immediately come to Tenten’s aid, taking her to a room in the almost undamaged part of the hospital and putting her to bed. Ichiru had then been sent to find Hirokazu; after Tenten had told them he was safe with a villager before passing out completely.
Akane waited until she was sure her aunt was asleep, and then asked Tsunade if she could talk to her. They went into the corridor, the blonde ninja closing the door shut behind them.
“Tsunade-sama. Hoshi-san’s room was…empty.”
Tsunade looked shocked.
“Where is Neji-san?” she asked.
However, she did not wait for an answer and span around, leaving the hospital through a window. Akane sighed, and went into Tenten’s room, perching on the edge of the bed and holding her aunt’s hand tightly.

*

Ichiru breathed a sigh of relief when he found the elderly woman who had been caring for the baby Hyuuga. Thankfully, she’d been concerned about the mother’s whereabouts and had been asking any passing ninja if they knew where she had gone. Ichiru held the tiny bundle in his arms; scared he might drop it, having never been around babies before. Hirokazu seemed content enough, gazing up at the Uchiha with his pale, lilac orbs. Ichiru smiled down at the satisfied baby, and quickly headed back towards the hospital. The woman who had cared for him explained that thankfully her daughter had a young baby, and so Hirokazu had been fed. Ichiru blushed at the implications of this statement, had made his excuses and then left.
Once at the hospital, he laid the baby into a cot Tsunade had bought into Tenten’s room. In the last few hours, the ninja and townspeople had already begun to fix up Konoha, and the hospital was full of the injured, nurses and doctors, and people generally tidying. The right side of the hospital had been cordoned off, and was being searched as Ichiru and Akane stood by Tenten’s bed. The woman was now awake, but did nothing but cry. Neji still hadn’t been located, and Hoshi had not been found either. Akane tried her best to comfort her, but no words could ease her mind.
Ichiru eventually persuaded Akane to come to the Hyuuga compound with him, to change their clothes and eat before helping with the clean up operation. It was now the middle of the night, but the village was a beehive of activity as the two ninja walked the streets.
“Everyone has come together immediately to help fix everything up.” Ichiru said in awe.
Akane nodded, “Everyone in Konoha is loyal. We’re all a big family, I suppose.”
Ichiru blushed a little as he reached out to take Akane’s hand in his own.
The girl gave him a coy smile, interlacing her fingers with his own.
A shout a little further down the street made them break apart, as a ninja came running towards them. It was Aburame Taro.
“I’ve been looking for you. Tsunade-sama has found Neji-san. He’s been taken to your house. Tsunade said something about Hoshi-chan too.”
Akane nodded once and set off towards her home, Ichiru following.


*

“I left her. I left her there, to fend for herself. And now… now… where is she?”
Neji sat at the table, his head in his hands. Tsunade sat opposite him.
“I’m sure we’ll find Hoshi, Neji-san. But right now your wife and son are in the hospital waiting for you.”
“How the hell can I possibly be a father to a new baby right now? I can’t even look after my only daughter!” Neji shook his head, swiftly rising from his seat and leaving the room.
Tsunade slumped in her chair, not knowing what to do now. She was acting Hokage with Naruto gone, and had deployed many ninja to search the hospital and the rest of Konoha. No news was heard yet about Hoshi though.
A few minutes after Neji’s departure, Akane, Akako and Ichiru arrived in the kitchen to find Tsunade sitting in the same spot.
“Tsunade-sama? Where is uncle Neji?”
“He left. Hoshi-san is missing. We can’t find her anywhere, and by gods we’ve looked. Now Neji blames himself and refuses to see Tenten and the baby. And Naruto is god knows where. I have the leader of the enemy troops being interrogated as we speak, and I’m getting nothing out of him. None of these events make sense, but somehow…somehow…” Tsunade trailed off, suddenly jumping to her feet and leaving the room muttering.
“Akane, sit down. Please. It’ll be a few hours yet before the maids are back. And god knows when your family will return. So I’m going to make us some food and then we’re going to sleep.” Ichiru said, turning towards the stove.
Akane sat down wearily, her thoughts focused on the day’s events. She’d fought as hard as she could, but still Ichiru had been injured. He’d done extremely well for someone who’d only been training for a few months. Unbelievably well in fact. His Sharingan had been activated, and it had made him able to follow the movements of the enemy ninja perfectly, and he had defeated quite a few all on his own. Of course, Akane had guessed this on her own, from sneaking glances at him mid-fight. This must be the famous Uchiha bloodline limit, and what made them such a great clan.

*

Inuzuka Kiba led his haphazard group through the forests. It was the dead of night now, and they knew that Konoha was not far. The ninja had been so relieved upon receiving a message from Suna. A young chuunin had been on his way to Konoha from Suna, with a message from the Kazekage to be delivered personally to the Hokage. He had stumbled across the Konoha ninja, and after declaring they were no threat to each other, told them of the attack on Suna, the surrender of the enemy leader, and of course the same events happening in Konoha. Hinata had made the decision that they would head home, relieving the chuunin of his message and heading off straight away.
Nara Yukio had been reluctant to go back to Konoha, wanting really badly to go to Suna and see if his parents were okay, but Hinata had convinced him that it would be safer to go back to Konoha with them, where his parents wanted him to be.
Now, Kiba worried about his own family. His daughters, who would have been caught up in this attack; he hoped they were okay.


*

The laughter echoed within the stone walls of his room. The boy looked frightened, although he had tried to hide it. Water leaked from the ceiling, dripping slowly onto the stone-flagged floor below. The boy pulled his knees up to his chin and wept. Outside, the laughter continued, fading away gradually as the person walked away. Cold and scared, the boy fell asleep, more from sheer exhaustion than relaxation.

Naruto arrived back at Konoha in the crisp, early hours of the morning. The sun was just rising, and still villagers and ninja alike were re-building the parts of the village that had been destroyed.
Sakura immediately went into the village, her thoughts on her daughter. Sasuke did the same, heading for the Hyuuga compound.
Naruto was left standing at the gates, wondering how he had let this happen.

*

Akane sat up suddenly in her bed; her eyes wide open. She could hear the steady sound of Ichiru breathing on the floor beside her. She’d asked him to stay with her, as she didn’t feel she could sleep otherwise. But now another noise disturbed her slumber. Someone was in the house. Hoping it was her family, or maybe Neji, she padded barefoot across her room and cracked the door open a notch. A tall, dark figure silently crept down the corridor, towards the rooms the Uchihas had been staying in. The figure paused outside Kin’s room, before placing a hand on the door and pushing it open. Akane glanced over her shoulder at Ichiru, before grabbing her dressing gown and creeping down towards the guest room.
Peeking in, she saw Sasuke sitting at the end of the bed, which quite obviously hadn’t been slept in. Looking a little more closely, she noticed that Kin’s wardrobe stood open and bare, his drawers pulled out and also empty. It looked as if the room had been ransacked. Sasuke looked up, noticing the girl there.
“Oh, sorry Uchiha-san! I heard a noise…”
“Where are my sons?” Sasuke asked looking up, she noticed, from a piece of crumpled paper he appeared to have been reading.
“Well, um, Ichiru-kun is here somewhere…I…um…”
“I’m here, father. What’s wrong?” Ichiru appeared in the doorway behind Akane, fully dressed.
“It’s Kin. He’s…he’s run away.” Sasuke held out the note he had found upon his son’s bed.

Father,

I’m fed up of being second best. I feel as if I have dishonoured you by not becoming a Konoha ninja. I think it’s best if I leave, and maybe go home to Kitamori. Don’t follow me.

Kin.


Ichiru crushed the hastily written note in his fist.
“I’m sorry, father, I should have noticed this. His mood swings have been getting worse recently. It’s my fault. I should have watched him.”
Sasuke shook his head, rising to his feet and resting a firm hand upon his eldest son’s shoulder.
“You’re not to blame. He’s always been impulsive and stupid! I’ll have to organise a search party. Hopefully he didn’t get caught up in the fighting.”
With that, the Uchiha left the room.
Ichiru turned to Akane, his face crestfallen. She reached out to him instinctively, wanting to hold onto him for dear life. Wanting them to share their pain, wanting to find comfort in his touch. But he shook her off, charging from the room and going into his own, and she was left standing in the empty room, alone.

*

Hinata squeezed her husband’s hand tightly as they arrived back at their village. Uzumaki Dai ran ahead, yelling at the top of his lungs, “I’m free again!”.
He stopped, suddenly however, upon seeing the damage his village had taken.
Haru and Yukio stood either side of him, mouths open in shock. Kiba let out a strangled moan, and sank to his knees at the gates. From there, he could see the Inuzuka compound… or where it used to be. Instead, a gaping hole sat where the buildings had once stood, the ruins smouldering still.
Hinata placed a comforting hand on her husbands shoulder.
“I’m sure they all got out okay.” She said, not feeling 100% sure herself.

*

Naruto sat behind his desk, Tsunade standing before him. She had a face like thunder as she explained what had happened, and which parts of the village were worst affected.
“…on top of that, the hospital is half destroyed. And, Hokage-sama…we lost a lot of people.”
Naruto hung his head, rubbing his eyes. How had this happened? He sat back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling as if expecting an answer to be hanging there.
“Naruto. Akatsuki is not behind this. I think its Kabuto. And I think he’s trying to take Orochimaru’s place.” Tsunade said, sitting down finally.
“The first thing we need to do is honour the dead.” Naruto said, closing his eyes.
“Hai, Hokage-sama.”

*

Akane sat across the table from her parents and brother as they hungrily ate the food she had made them. She was full of questions for them, but had not had a chance to ask them anything, as they had been to wash while she made dinner. Kiba was leaving immediately after he’d eaten to check on the rest of his clan, and Haru would be joining him. That left just Akane and her mother.
“Um, mother…?” Akane said quietly once the men had left. “Have you h-heard from Aiko-chan?”
The vision she had seen in the hospital still haunted her as she asked her mother this, hoping that maybe Hinata had seen her, or knew where she was. Her heart skipped a beat as her mother shook her head.
“I was hoping she would be here with you. The group she was sent out with were only positioned as lookouts near the borders with the rain country…” as she said this, she remembered something she’d heard while walking through town, something about a missing ANBU squad, and the rain country.
“Mother. Mother, Aburame Shino’s ANBU team were captured by the rain country! They’re missing and presumed dead. I can’t believe Aiko-chan was sent to that place… Do you think… she’s okay?” Akane said, staring across the table at her mother.
Hinata looked down at her plate of food, pushing the rice around with her chopsticks.
“I hope so, Akane-chan.” She said, her voice barely a whisper.

*


The evening drew in swiftly, covering Konoha in a blanket of darkness. At the memorial stone, a huge crowd of ninja and civilians alike stood in front of a long table, adorned with photographs of the fallen, and garlands of beautiful flowers. Someone was sobbing quietly a few rows behind Uzumaki Dai, where he stood with his father and sister. There were quiet murmurings as the Hokage left his position next to his family and stood in front of the crowd.
“We are here to remember the fallen, and those we lost in the battle. These people did not die in vain! We have thwarted the enemy, and they have retreated. I will now have my assistant read aloud the names of the dead.”
A short woman strode forwards at this point, holding a scroll. Clearing her throat, she began to call out the names, in order of time of death, as people came up to lay flowers by the photos of the dead.
“…Higa Morio, Miyake Taya, Tanaka Seiji, Oonishi Nariko…”
As the names of the genin were called, Akane stepped forwards with Ichiru, to lay a garland of cherry blossoms next to each picture of the smiling children. She gulped as she did so, knowing she was responsible and that she would be faced with their families. However, a small, plump woman came up to her, taking her hand and clutching it tightly.
“I am Nariko-chan’s mother. I wanted to say that I don’t blame you. Nariko decided at a young age that she wanted to train as a ninja, and we paid a lot of money to put her through the academy. She wanted to succeed. We are proud of Nariko-chan, the first ninja in the Oonishi family! She told me she liked you a lot, from the days when you would help out at the academy. I’m sure she was so pleased you were her sensei for the day…” The woman trailed off, tears trickling down her face.
A tall, lean man who appeared to be her husband put an arm around her shoulders and led her away from the crowd. Akane felt light-headed as Ichiru led her away too, towards a patch of grass a little way down the path from the memorial.
“I should stay…Th-they still haven’t found Aiko-chan. I know she’s d-dead! I s-saw it. I-I…” Ichiru put a slender finger to her lips, pressing his forehead to hers.
“I hate to see you get upset like this. I’m sorry I pushed you away earlier on, but it looks like we’re in the same boat here. I hope, I really do, that Aiko-chan is okay. But my brother’s missing too, and I don’t know how to deal with that…” Ichiru’s voice broke a little as he said this, closing his long-lashed eyes tightly.
Akane put her hand to his cheek, pulling him closer to her. His eyes opened in surprise as she pressed her lips to his, almost hungrily. He broke away, leaning back a little to get out of her reach.
“Akane-chan, don’t throw yourself on me like that, it won’t solve our problems.”
“It might make them go away…f-for a little while.” Akane said, as quiet as a mouse.
Ichiru smiled despite himself, almost laughing at her cute expression.
“Lets go home, come on.” He said, taking her hand gently.
She nodded, pouting however. She still wanted to kiss him again…

Ichiru held Akane’s hand tightly as they wound their way through the streets of Konoha. The air was now full of the smell of incense as what seemed like hundreds of families mourned the dead. Akane felt the sorrow weigh down on her, like a thick course blanket, suffocating her, blocking out any light. There were cries from open doorways as families keened and wailed. Ichiru pulled Akane a little tighter to him, feeling her tremble next to him. They ducked down a side street so as to take a shortcut, the alleyway slowly narrowing until it reached the outer wall of the village. It then became little more than a crack between buildings and the wall, but Akane knew it well. She led Ichiru through, never once releasing his hand from hers. She could see the end of this dark tunnel getting closer, and felt herself able to breath again. Just where that rectangle of light was, stood the Hyuuga compound. A very convenient shortcut it had always been, for her and many generations of Hyuugas too. Just as they reached the constricted opening, her foot collided with something soft and dense on the floor. She looked down, her eyes swimming a little in the darkness, trying to seek what it was she had stepped on. A wave of nausea gripped her, as she smelt it. Blood -most definitely. That strong metallic odour, the type that clung to your clothes, that didn’t leave your senses without a fight. Ichiru gasped behind her, having taken out a torch from his bag. He retched, throwing up in the dark and dingy alleyway. Akane looked down, unable to remove her gaze.
She looked almost peaceful, if it weren’t for the horrific wounds covering her body. It looked as if she’d been sliced open a hundred times over. But the worst thing was looking closer, and realising that her closed eyelids covered nothing but hollows in her once beautiful face.
Akane screamed.

*

Tsunade, Jiraiya, Naruto, and Kakashi sat opposite the Hyuuga and Inuzuka families. Neji sat in his chair, pale and trembling, his cousin crouched by him with his hand held in hers. Kiba sat between his son and daughter, Akane’s eyes staring blankly ahead, Haru looking pointedly at the floor. In the background, Ichiru lurked, hovering in the doorway. It was a family matter, but having been there when they’d discovered…her…he’d been asked to come along.
The Hokage cleared his throat.
“I’d like it, Akane-chan, if you could start from the beginning.”
Akane nodded, getting to her feet numbly. She recalled the moments leading up to the gruesome discovery, her voice faltering when she came to describing finding the body itself. A hand on her shoulder told her that Ichiru was beside her, and she closed her eyes, breathing deeply.
“Sh-she was lying there, j-just lying there. A-and she was c-c-covered in wounds. Horrible w-wounds.”
Ichiru’s grip on her shoulder tightened for a second, before he released her altogether.
“It’s okay. You’re doing great.” He whispered encouragingly.
Akane nodded, glancing back at her father and brother, who both appeared as if they wanted to rip the Uchiha apart.
Naruto coughed again.
“And, um…she was…mutilated?”
Neji let out a strangled cry, half sobbing. Hinata stood up beside the broken man.
“Naruto, is this really necessary? Neji-niisan is distraught as it is. Please, can we not leave this until tomorrow at least?”
Tsunade cut across the Hokage, causing him to pout like a child.
“We need to get the facts straight. The sooner the better. And Neji-san was the one who insisted he be here.” She said.
Neji stood up at this moment, his legs shaky.
“Please excuse me.” He said, swiftly leaving the room.
Hinata dithered a while, and then went after her cousin, shooting Kiba a meaningful glance as she left. Her husband nodded to her, and stood up.
“My daughter has been through a very traumatic experience. Please, leave our family to mourn. And I really hope you’re not thinking of telling Tenten-san yet. Not in the state she’s in. It really wouldn’t be fair. Hinata and I shall go to see her tomorrow and break the news.” Kiba stroked Akane’s long hair lovingly; “I need to look after my daughter now. So, if you’ll excuse us all, the maid will show you out.”
With this, Haru put a protective arm around his younger sister’s shoulders, leading her from the room. Kiba bowed to the Hokage and his advisors, and then followed his children with Ichiru.

“That didn’t go to well. It’s best not to upset one of the most powerful households in Konoha.” Jiraiya said.
His wife nodded, “Whoever knew that a union between the houses of Hyuuga and Inuzuka would be possible, let alone effective and formidable!”
Naruto sighed.
“I don’t understand how this could have happened. I feel as if I have failed the village. And now we have a missing Uchiha on our hands too.” He said, rubbing his eyes roughly, “This latest news has confirmed the suspicions I had as soon as the girl’s body was found. I think I know why we were attacked. And I may even know where Kabuto is hiding.”

*

Akane sat on her bed, staring watery-eyed down at a photo album. The beaming faces of herself, Haru, Aiko and Hoshi looked up at her from the pictures, from the ages of 0 upwards. The first photo was of Haru, not even a year old yet, sitting on the sofa with his baby twin sisters propped up on cushions either side of him. The next was a scarily young looking Kiba holding Akane, sitting next to Hinata looking just as youthful, holding a bawling Aiko. Haru sat on Akamaru’s back at Kiba’s feet.
The next photo was the one that made her eyes water even more: the first day at the academy.
Haru lurked in the background of the picture, already in his second year there, and looking rather moody. In front of him stood 3 girls of around 7 years old, all wearing flowers in their hair. Aiko stood obviously looking at whoever was taking the photo and reaching out a chubby hand to them. On the opposite side to her stood Akane, smiling wistfully at something to the left of her. In the middle stood Hoshi, their cousin, grinning straight into the camera lens, her eyes glowing with excitement.
Akane flipped the page over to see another photo that made her well up again. Hoshi’s 9th birthday party. Aiko had received her nin-dog Honou only a week before the party, and Akane remembered it well. The poor little puppy wasn’t fully trained yet, and in the photo, had jumped in the birthday cake. Hoshi, ever the polite young lady, carried on smiling as the camera flashed, and afterwards even helped bathe the dog and clean up. She had icing all over her dress in the photo, and flecks of it in her hair, as the dog plunged her paws into the chocolate cake right next to her.
Akane put the book down quickly, wiping away the tears.
Hoshi was gone. Dead. Murdered.
Akane balled her hand up into a tight fist.

*

“Uchiha-san, do you know why you’re here?”
The voice startled the boy, and he sprang from the hard floor he had been sleeping on. A dark figure sat in the shadows a little way away from him, and it was they who had spoken.
“Uchiha-san, do you know why you’re here?” They repeated, edging out of the light.
It was a girl, no more than 16. She had shockingly white hair, which hung loose about her shoulders and wide, reddish-brown eyes that gazed at him. She edged a little closer to him, and he backed away. How had she gotten into this cell?
“Oh, how rude of me! My name is Kobayashi Izanami, but you can call me Iza-chan!”
The girl extended a slender, pale hand towards him, her thin, rose-coloured lips forming a smile. She shuffled across the floor towards him, getting still closer until he was backed against the wall and unable to move at all. Her large eyes were level with Kin’s as she stared curiously at him.
“You’ve been crying, Uchiha-san. Do you mind if I call you Kin-chan? Seeing as we’re going to be friends from now on?” she giggled childishly as she said this.
Kin scrambled to his feet, not knowing what to say to this strange creature.
A shout from outside the cell made him shrink back down to the floor, his heart beating out of his chest. It was Kabuto, the man who had taken him from the forest and bought him back to this dank, dark and horrible place for god knows what reason.
“Izanami!” The voice called, teasingly.
The girl giggled again, ducking down to hide behind the stone slab of a bed in the cell. She held her finger to her lips, smiling at Kin. He shivered as he heard the man grow closer to the cell.
“Izanami-chan? You’re not hiding from Kabuto-niisan, are you?” The sing-song voice came again.
“Come, come, Kin-chan! Come and hide with Iza-chan! Come and hide with your new friend.” The girl whispered, giggling.
Kin pressed his whole body into the wall behind him, shaking his head wildly.
“You’re not my friend!” he cried out, not able to stop himself.
A change came over the girl as sudden as a lightning bolt. She stood, her eyes blazing, energy seeming to crackle around her. Kin watched in horror as her hair slowly changed to bright red and she advanced towards him. When she spoke, even her voice no longer sounded as eerily cute as it had done.
“I though niisan had bought me a playmate! Obviously he just bought me dinner!” she cried, moving suddenly towards him, reaching out with a hand that seemed to have developed claws.
Kin clenched his eyes shut, bracing himself for contact. It never came. He opened one eye carefully, not daring to look in case it might provoke her to finish what she’d begun. His breath caught in his throat as he saw Kabuto himself standing next to Izanami, who was now back to her original state. She peeped out from behind Kabuto like a child playing peek-a-boo. Kin gulped, horrified by her sudden mood swing.
“Oh, Uchiha. You shouldn’t have upset poor Izanami-chan. She only wanted to play.” Kabuto said, smiling sickeningly down at the boy. “But at least now she won’t be upset when she hears what I have planned for you.”
Kin was about to cry out, when he felt the sharp pain on his forehead, and everything went blissfully black.

Hyuuga Neji stood tall by his wife’s side as they followed their daughter’s funeral procession. The tiny Hirokazu snuggled into his mother’s arms, wrapped tightly in a black shawl to match his parents’ attire. Behind these three, walked Inuzuka Kiba and his family, the brother and sister holding each other tightly - it looked as if Akane may fall any minute if Haru were not there to support her. A little way behind them was Uchiha Sasuke, walking alongside Ichiru, and behind them came a large throng of mourners, mostly ninja who were close with the family.
Hoshi’s small and broken body was slowly lowered into a cold, freshly dug grave, to the sound of her mother’s sobs. It was beginning to grow dark, and angry clouds gathered in the distance, high above the Hokage Mountain. Hirokazu began to cry as the family threw clods of earth onto the grave of the once skilled and beautiful ninja. His whimpers turned to screams as thunder rolled above them and rain began to fall fast to the ground. Akane wept onto her older brother’s shoulder, not caring about keeping up appearances, as her uncle had told her to. Neji himself stood staring at his daughter’s last resting place as the gravediggers continued to heap mounds of earth upon her white coffin. His face was an impenetrable mask of dignity, although his eyes seemed to be as dull-grey as the rain, as opposed to their usual soft and pale colour. Tenten’s hand on his arm made him leave his daughter’s side unwillingly, so as to host the wake at his home.

Ichiru stood in the rain with Haru and Akane as the girl laid pure white blossoms upon her cousin’s grave. None of them seemed to notice the freezing cold rain; slowly tuning to sleet the longer they stood in the graveyard. As suddenly as it had started, however, the storm seemed to subside, the dark clouds moving apart to reveal a shaft of pale sunlight, illuminating the wet graveyard. Akane looked down at the glistening droplets of water resting upon the blossom petals, and shed no more tears. Somehow, she knew her twin was dead, but also knew that this was her sign. Aiko and Hoshi were together now, wherever they were, and Akane need not worry about them anymore. Ichiru and Haru lifted the girl up, escorting her back to the house.


*


Kin awoke drowsily to the beeping of machinery. His head felt groggy, and his stomach growled. Where am I? he thought, his memory failing him for a few seconds. All too soon, he missed the innocence of waking up, as he realised just what had happened, the recollections of the past few days rushing back to him and knocking his breath away. He tried to move his arms: no use, still bound. He felt the familiar aches of his body, reliving for a fleeting moment all the pain he had been put through. He gasped as he felt what was unmistakeably blood trickle down his temple.
“Kabuto-niisan? Kin-chan is awake!” came a high, clear voice from across the room.
Kin opened his eyes, taking in the dark, filthy room he lay in: the room that had been his home for these torturous days.
It had obviously once been a medical facility of some sort, containing a hospital bed (which he was bound to now), and row upon row of cupboards and shelves containing all manner of curious coloured liquids and grotesque, lifeless shapes in bottles and jars. Kin squirmed, craning his neck to look over to where he knew Kabuto would be.
There stood an operating table just a few feet away, in this low, narrow room, with all kinds of horrific looking utensils strewn around it on worktops. Kabuto stood here, in front of a small computer, which was what was emitting the beeps. It was obviously monitoring Kin’s heartbeat, as with every ‘bip-bip’ it made, he felt his heart jump in time.
Next to his bed, Izanami sat holding a small bear with only one eye.
“See, Kin-chan? Satu-chan is hurt too. She lost an eye because she was naughty.” The girl giggled, pressing her hand to her mouth cutely. Her hair bounced on her shoulders as she leant towards Kin. “But she did what niisan asked, and so he was merciful.” Her voice took on a serious tone as she said this, and Kin thought he glimpsed fear in the strange girl’s eyes.
Kabuto walked across to his patient, lightly tapping Izanami on the shoulder as a signal for her to leave. Kin struggled against his bonds, his throat too sore to scream anymore. He hadn’t spoken for days, and wasn’t sure if he’d even be able to. The damage to his voice box had to be severe. The silver-haired man leant over Kin, smiling serenely.
“Today, we’re going to be doing something a little different.” He said, raising a cloth nurse’s mask to cover his mouth and nose.
Kin’s thrashed about on the bed, straining against the straps that held him down, whimpering and breathing heavily with the effort as Kabuto advanced closer towards him, holding a long, thin, metal instrument.
“Now, this might sting a little bit…”

*

Akane stood in the middle of her sister’s room, her hand laying softly the back of Aiko’s favourite chair. There were clothes strewn across the red bedspread, a book lay open upon her pillow. There were posters of pop-stars on her wall, as well as photos of her teammates and family. Akane took a few steps forward until she stood right by the bed, and she reached out to pick up the nearest thing: Aiko’s favourite top. She held it close to her chest, smiling a little at the memory of the day when they’d gone shopping, and she’d begged Kiba for some extra pocket money just so she could buy this top. Akane had one quite similar to it.
Although they had argued, the sisters were close.
Akane felt like part of her was missing.

*

Neji looked down at his sleeping son, lying in his cot. The wake was finally over, and all the guests had gone home after paying their respects. Tenten was sleeping in the bed, her breathing slow and quiet. Neji gazed down at Hirokazu, touching the small tuft of dark hair upon his head. He looked so like his sister had as a baby, that it bought tears to Neji’s eyes. All this time, he hadn’t cried over the death of his eldest child. He hadn’t been able to. He’d been angry, he’d thrown some things around. He had sat for hours in Hoshi’s room, looking through her things, wanting desperately to find something left over from her. He had found Tenten crying over their daughter’s hairbrush, plucking the strands of brown hair from the bristles. Grief. It did strange things to people.
Now, standing over his son’s crib, Neji cried for the first time in years, crying for that beautiful girl he would never see again.

*

Sasuke sat across the table from his eldest son. Ichiru looked down into his cup of tea as his father told him of the fruitless search that had gone on for Kin. His hands shook a little as he sipped the drink, thinking of his younger brother out there in the darkness, alone. Sasuke locked eyes with his son.
“I’ll keep looking Ichiru. I promise.”
With that, the man stood up, leaving the room hurriedly. Ichiru sat for a while, quite alone, and wondered what would happen next. Everything seemed to be falling apart around him. He remembered his first few months in the village. Getting to know the Inuzuka family, playing computer games with Dai and Haru, training with his brother, spending time with Akane. Then there was his mother’s death, Hoshi’s illness, the attack on the village, and his brother’s disappearance.
The winter had seemed to go on forever, and Ichiru wished so much that the sun would shine once again. A sudden pain gripped his heart, and his pottery teacup fell from his hand, smashing onto the floor. He stood, staggering over to the door. Leaning on the wall, he let the tears escape him, the angry, hot tears that had stayed inside for so long.
“Kin…” he gasped, closing his eyes tight.

*

Kin’s vision was completely blurred. His body was racked with so much pain that he barely felt sane anymore. Wide-awake, but not all there: that was how he felt. Kabuto had finally left him alone long enough for him to gather his senses again and breathe properly.
“Well, Uchiha. I suppose I might as well have a little chat with you. I hope you offer more stimulating conversation than my other patients have done. I must say, I’m disappointed in the things you’ve given me.”
Kin closed his eyes as he heard Kabuto speak from across the room. He sighed, deciding to test his voice. However, his vocal chords were so distressed, he almost choked on his own words as they tried to form. Kabuto’s face swam before his eyes, laughing manically.
“Ah. I see that you can’t offer me much on that side of things either. It’s okay, I can speak for the both of us.” Kabuto settled himself in Izanami’s usual spot: a fluffy armchair with soft and plump cushions. “Where to begin? Maybe with Izanami-chan. I know you are good friends with her. Wouldn’t you like to know where she comes from? What she is?”
This man is totally insane. Just nod and agree.Kin frantically thought to himself.
“Well, Izanami was the heir to a very highly respected clan in a hidden village – I won’t divulge which. The Kobayashi clan had a very interesting Kekkei Genkai - again; I won’t go into much detail, as I think you’ve already experienced it first hand. The most interesting part is coming up, you see. My former sensei once belonged to an organisation that aimed to ‘collect’ these bloodline limits. Oh, they had a marvellous collection, from across the world. But they turned their attentions to other things in the end.
My master left them, forming his own village and rising to power. It was beautiful, I must say.
When he was overthrown, I managed to escape. I formed my own small organisation, and had many loyal followers: those who felt downtrodden by the larger countries, by the more famous hidden shinobi villages. It was then that I took up my sensei’s work for him. He had wonderful experiments going on, always.” Kabuto smiled at this point, leaning a little closer to his patient. “With my medical expertise, I felt it was only right to continue where he left off, and improve too. I’d been in charge of a lot of it when I’d been under his command. Then, I remembered hearing of that organisation’s collection. I was intrigued. Could I somehow use that to my advantage? Imagine: to experiment on those with the most powerful and coveted bloodline limits.”
Kabuto stood up, stroking a hand across Kin’s bare chest.
“That’s where you come in. But, Uchiha, I’m afraid you let your clan down. It seems the Sharingan has not been passed through to you. And that means…you’re useless to me!” The man stood over Kin now, brandishing a large sword. “This was sensei’s sword. I took it before anyone else could. I’m sure he’d be pleased that I finished off the last Uchiha brat with this.”
Kin’s eyes widened in shock as he saw the sword coming towards him. There was no way of blocking it, no chance of escape. It was all over.

*

Akane walked into Ichiru’s room without knocking. He lay on his back on the bed, eyes open and staring blankly at the ceiling. Without saying a word, Akane locked the door and lay beside him, her hand finding his.
“They haven’t found Kin.” Ichiru said, not looking away from the ceiling.
Akane responded by squeezing his hand. He squeezed back.
“They found Aiko’s body on the borders of the Rain country today.” Akane said, looking up as well.
Ichiru turned to her, his hair falling across his face. She looked up at him and smiled.
“It’s okay. She’s with Hoshi now. They’re together.”
Ichiru nodded, leaning towards her. She closed her eyes as his lips brushed against hers slowly. In response, her hands found his hair, her fingers playing with it at the nape of his neck. Ichiru moved closer, deepening the kiss, his own hands stroking her face gently. He traced a finger down her cheek, and onto her neck, making tiny circles along her exposed collarbone. Sighing through the kiss, Akane pulled him closer until his chest crashed against hers, knocking the breath out of both of them. They broke the kiss for just a few seconds, before his lips were upon her again, his tongue gently stroking her own. He pulled away from her lips, covering the rest of her face with tiny kisses now, smiling as he did so. She gazed up at him, her pale eyes a warmer colour than usual, or so it seemed.
“You still have me, Akane-chan. I’ll stay with you.” Ichiru said, looking down at her.
She nodded, a single tear escaping her.
“Arigato.” She said, closing her eyes as he kissed her again.
Arigato…

“Ichiru-niisan!”
Kin’s last shout echoed through the dingy room long after Kabuto had plunged the sword into the boy’s chest. A smile played on the man’s lips as he realised what had been said.
“Maybe you’ve been useful after all…” he said, turning away from the Uchiha’s lifeless body and wiping blood from metal.

*

“Naruto. Inuzuka Aiko’s entire troop was massacred at the boarders with Rain. Aburame Shino and his team are still missing, with no trace whatsoever. What are we going to do?” Tsunade’s face was troubled as she sat across the desk from the Hokage.
Naruto looked down at the scroll before him. It was from the Kazekage, his old friend Gaara, informing him of Suna’s victory and capture of many enemy troops. He’d re-read it so many times since it had been received, but had no idea why. His mind was so full of thoughts, he felt like it wouldn’t be long until he went spiralling completely out of control. He clenched his fists, realising finally that Konoha’s time of peace was most definitely over.

*

Hinata clutched her husband close to her, sobs racking her entire body. Kiba howled to the sky, overcome with grief. They stood by the memorial, upon which Aiko’s name would be added, along with her cousin’s. The rain that had fallen almost constantly the past week had finally ceased, leaving the sky clear enough to pick out every star. The air was bitingly cold, and both Hinata and Kiba’s breath came out in clouds of steam, but neither cared. Their daughter’s body would arrive in the village in 2 days time, after an autopsy, and then she could be laid to rest.
“M-my baby girl…” Hinata wept into Kiba’s chest.
Kiba sighed deeply, trying to control his emotions, holding his wife as tightly as he could to himself, clenching his eyes shut.

“Kiba! Where have you been? Hinata-chan is already in the labour ward!” Shino shouted as the Inuzuka ran towards him.
Kiba handed his young son to his teammate, quickly entering the hospital. He ran as fast as he could down the corridors, finally arriving at Hinata’s room as Aiko came into the world, a tiny little bundle with fluffy brown hair like his own. Her huge pale eyes were just like her mothers. She opened her little mouth and let out the loudest cry as he held her up.
“A real Inuzuka!” he cried, handing the baby to the nurse to be cleaned up and weighed.
Akane was born a little while later, just as beautiful in Kiba’s eyes. Her hair was black like her mother’s, and she mewled quietly as he held her close to him. Hinata sat up in the bed, propped up by cushions, with Akane held in the crook of her arm. Kiba held Aiko as he perched next to his wife, beaming happily at his daughters. Shino entered the room with an excited Haru, who immediately tried to get into his mother’s lap.
“They’re ugly!” he cried, disappointed.
Kiba laughed good-naturedly.
“They’re beautiful.” He cooed, stroking Aiko’s cheek tenderly.
“Do I have to look after them?” pouted Haru, poking Akane a little.
“Yes. Always.” Hinata said, smiling at her family proudly.

Kiba sighed again, the memory leaving him with warmth.
“Nata-chan. I love you. I love you so much.” He said into her hair as she held onto him.
“I love you too, Kiba-kun.” She said, sniffling onto his shoulder.

*

Akane sat up as Ichiru pulled away from kissing her to undo the buttons on her shirt. His fingers fumbled with them, and his cheeks turned red with embarrassment. Akane placed a hand upon his, stopping him in his tracks. She undid her own buttons slowly, keeping her eyes locked upon his as she did. His blush got worse a she did this, and he fell upon her as soon as the shirt was removed, making tiny little satisfied moans as his lips had access to her smooth, pale skin. She lay back slowly, pulling him with her, basking in his attention as his mouth travelled across her stomach and her ribcage. He paused above her bra, before moving up to her neck and nibbling a little at the sensitive flesh he found there. His hand stroked her sides, running up and down her skin, giving her goose bumps.
“I-I…I want you…” Akane whispered as Ichiru kissed her collarbone.
He stopped, looking into her eyes.
“Really? I mean…are you sure that’s what you want?”
Akane nodded, trying to smile, but finding herself too nervous. Ichiru knelt above her, his legs either side of her waist, his hands beside her shoulders as he leant towards her. His lips met hers tenderly, and her eyes closed as she lost herself in his kiss again.

“Uchiha!!! Get the hell off my sister!”

Haru flew across the room towards Ichiru, his eyes ablaze. His fist made contact with the side of the black-haired boy’s face, throwing him off the bed altogether. Akane screamed, grabbing her top and hastily throwing it back on. Haru stood, furious, watching Ichiru scramble up from the floor.
“I thought we were friends?” Haru was saying.
Ichiru held the side of his head, blinking. “We are.” He said, looking confused.
“Then why were you…with my sister…I just…” Haru shook his head, “Aiko isn’t even buried yet! And you’re here carrying on like…like it doesn’t matter.”
Akane rushed forwards to her brother.
“Oh no, no! Haru-niisan! I-it’s not like th-that at all!”
Haru shook her off, obviously disgusted.
“Whatever. If this is how you want to be, so be it. I won’t tell dad now. But if I catch you again…then he will know.”
Haru stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
“I’m sorry Ichiru…I forgot H-Haru-niisan has the master key t-to all the guest rooms.” Akane hung her head in her hands, “We used to p-play in here when w-we were little.”
“Maybe you should go back to your room.” Ichiru said, looking away from her.
Akane bit her bottom lip, staring at him angrily. She left without another word, but Ichiru heard her start to cry on the corridor. He threw himself onto the bed, thumping the pillow with a fist. Now was definitely not the best time to let his hormones get the better of him like that. Both he and Akane were grieving and confused, and what they were doing wasn’t going to solve any of that. Yes, he liked her but… That just wasn’t the right way to go about any of it.

*

Kabuto smiled at Izanami.
“I had to…dispose of him. He did give me some interesting information though. I’m led to believe that there is another Uchiha. Sasuke had two sons.”
The girl stared at him, wide-eyed.
“Are we going to collect him, niisan?”
Kabuto nodded, leaving the room as he did so, “Most definitely, Izanami-chan. Most definitely.”

*

Naruto lay in bed wide-awake. Sakura was late home from the hospital, ad he felt terribly alone. He could hear Dai in the room next door playing computer games even though it was well past 1:00am. Etsu was probably asleep by now, surrounded by teddy bears in her pink room. Naruto smiled, and then stopped himself. How could he be so happy when horrible things were happening to those friends he had grown up with? Ino’s husband Shino was missing. He was a father of two. The Hyuugas had lost their extremely talented daughter, and the Inuzukas had too. Sasuke’s youngest son was missing, only months after his wife had passed away. Suddenly Naruto felt lucky that his family had not been touched by all of this. But then guilt overcame him, and he found himself crying silently into his pillow, waiting for his wife to come home and comfort him with kind words and soft hands.

*

The shadows crept ever closer to the village, knowing its defences would still not be up and running fully. A second attack would cripple the village completely. But this was a capture mission. However, Kabuto had said nothing against having a little ‘fun’ while they were there.
A young girl led the team, her white hair billowing out behind her. The mask she wore hid her expression, but if any saw it they would be filled with a sudden dread. Blood lust. In its purest form.

“The final attack.” Kobayashi Izanami smiled to herself.

Ichiru awoke to the sound of someone outside his window. He lifted is aching body from the bed and cautiously walked to the glass, placing a hand on it’s cool surface.
No one there. I’m being paranoid.
He turned from the window, sighing deeply. The he heard the noise again. He swung around, the kunai he now kept under his pillow instantly in his hand, to be faced with…
Akane.
Her tearful face looked back at him through the glass. Obviously she’d climbed out of her own window and shimmied along the ledges of others until she reached his room. He smiled, shaking his head as he opened up the window to let the shivering girl in.
“Sorry…” she said meekly.
He swept her into his arms suddenly, as if the argument of a few hours ago had never happened, pressing his warm lips to her icy ones.
“I’m sorry too.” He murmured softly into her neck, “Stay with me tonight?”
She pulled away, raising an eyebrow.
“I mean…I’ll sleep on the floor,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck shyly.
The girl rolled her eyes, grabbing a spare blanket from the wardrobe and draping it around her shoulders as she sat herself down on his bed. She patted the space next to her, tucking her feet underneath her as she did so. Ichiru let himself flop down onto the soft bed, letting out a relaxed sigh.
“I’m sorry I made you cry.” He said, his eyes closed.
She kissed his forehead in reply, and sleep suddenly seemed so attractive. The two of them were dozing within minutes, unaware of the activity outside the house.

*

Neji signalled silently to his cousin as she crouched below a wall a little further up the garden from him. She nodded, in turn signalling to her husband. Kiba silently growled, following Hinata around to the front of the house. Someone was prowling in their front garden, someone unwanted. Akamaru whined almost inaudibly next to him, warning that this person definitely wasn’t a friend. Kiba nodded, throwing a light twig at his wife’s back to get her attention. She nodded, letting him know she understood. Sasuke followed a little behind Kiba, his fists clenching and unclenching as he readied himself for a fight. Neji was preparing to confront the intruder, sizing them up with his Byakugan from his hiding place.

*

Tenten held Hirokazu close to her chest as she crept along the corridor towards the children’s rooms. She listened intently outside Ichiru’s room, picking up the distinct sound of more than one person breathing. She tutted to herself: still strict, even at a time like this one. Quietly, she walked into the room, tapping the sleeping boy on the shoulder. He awoke with a start and Tenten quickly explained the situation to him. He nodded in understanding, waking Akane hastily. They then followed Tenten to Haru’s room, a little way along the corridor.

*

Izanami knew that the Hyuuga clan were undoubtedly a terrifying foe. The shattered memories she held from her home village told her that they had been revered -even feared- there, with their mysterious bloodline limit, and strange pale eyes. Right now, this only added to her excitement. She felt the presence of four people, each one a powerful ninja in their own right.
I’ll have some fun with you. Then I’m going to collect niisan’s prize…

*

Ichiru, Haru and Akane hurried with Tenten and Hirokazu towards the tunnel that led from the kitchens. It had been put there by a very paranoid Hyuuga of the past, and boy, were they grateful to him now! Ichiru felt the air tingling with anticipation, and could feel anger in it too.
How is it so emotionally charged?
Then he realised: This was someone’s chakra he was sensing, and this person was not nice at all…
He shivered at the hatred he felt all around him as they descended the dark, algae covered stairs, splashing through leaking water as they hurried through the old passageway.
I’m scared. he thought, his heart thumping. His palms were sweaty and his head was swimming. Akane holding his hand was the thing that kept him sane. The images of the last battle he’d been in, and Hoshi’s dead body flashed before his eyes, as he took panicky breaths.
“It’s okay. We’re nearly there.” Akane whispered to him.
“But…where is there?”
“The Hokage’s house!” Akane replied, smiling at him in the darkness.

*

Akane sat opposite Ichiru in the darkness. Using her Byakugan, she checked him over. His heartbeat had regulated now as Dai and Haru sat either side of him, chatting in hushed voices. The room they sat in was situated deep within the mountain that overlooked Konoha, etched forever with each Hokage’s face. The villagers sat huddled in rooms further back. As ninja, the teenagers were told to keep guard in this room, close enough to hear intruders, far away enough to be in no immediate danger. It had been only 20 minutes since they had emerged in the Uzumaki household, prompting the Hokage to leap from his bed half dressed, clenching a kunai in each hand. Tenten had explained that an intruder had been found at the Hyuuga compound. Naruto’s face had fallen, but only for a second before her dressed himself and barked his orders at Tenten. She was to take the children and alert the village as quietly and quickly as possible. They were all to go seek shelter in the mountain hideaway while he and the other jounin assessed the situation.
Akane sighed, leaning her head back against the damp wall behind her. Her mind strayed to thoughts of her parents, and she silently asked her sister to look out for them, hoping that the childhood stories of guardian angels and the afterlife were true. She murmured every prayer and charm she could think of, even ones her father had taught her, and that her mother had banned her from saying (Hinata said it was uncouth to swear when asking for help from a higher power).
Ichiru listened to Dai and Haru discussing what they thought was going on outside. Both seemed to be itching to get out and fight, and Ichiru shivered at the thought. He couldn’t handle what he’d done last time he’d been in a fight. He couldn’t deal with any of that right now. His brother was missing, and possibly dead somewhere in the woods of the Fire country. His father was unreadable and had completely cut himself off from his sons when Sumi had died. A large ball seemed to have lodged itself in Ichiru’s throat as he thought these things, and it was hard to swallow or breathe. Just as he felt he might slip into unconsciousness, he felt a warm hand upon his own, and knew that Akane had reached out to him across the narrow passageway they sat in. A weak smile formed upon his dry lips, and he could breathe again.

*

Izanami stood panting in the middle of the once beautiful main garden of the Hyuuga house. Around her were four ninja, also out of breath and in their defensive stances. So far, their fight had been harder that she had anticipated, and she paused now to gather her senses. Two of the leaf ninja appeared to by Hyuugas, with their freakish, emotionless, pale eyes. One was a dog user, accompanied by a huge white beast, which snarled at her furiously. The fourth was definitely the man her niisan hated so much.
Uchiha Sasuke.
Izanami smiled to herself, focusing now on this dark haired ninja. Maybe she could kill him, and do Kabuto a favour?

*

Sakura changed quickly from her hospital clothes as Naruto left the room for the Hyuuga compound. She fumbled with the buttons, her mind on one thing only - on one person. And she hated herself for it, as she followed her husband into the night.

*

Hinata stepped back, faltering for a second as the small girl ran at her. Her hair was luminous, and flowed behind her like a beam of light, her eyes huge and innocent. It all changed in an instant, as her hair turned as red as blood, and her nails grew like talons. In a flash, Kiba jumped in front of her.
“Don’t let her appearance fool you Nata!” he shouted at her, launching a violent attack upon the small girl.
Neji stood alert, spotting 5 other intruders hidden around the clearing. For some reason they did not approach, and even seemed afraid of the girl who was attacking them with such ferocity. Sasuke stood a little way away, his eyes darting in every direction. Neji was sure that the Uchiha had spotted the location of the other five too, and he signalled to him. The black haired man nodded brusquely, and immediately shot off towards a tree in which one ninja was hiding, his sword held in front of him.

*

“Do you think that everything will go okay?” Ichiru asked, grasping Akane’s hand.
She looked down at the floor.
“I don’t know.”
“Can we…go to help please?”
Dai and Haru looked up suddenly, both shocked to hear Ichiru saying this. Ichiru himself could scarcely believe what was coming out of his mouth, and almost turned to see who was saying something so ludicrous. However, it was him, and he had to stick by his suggestion when 5 minutes later he stood with his three friends in the entranceway to the mountain. The air was cold, but fizzing with activity as they ran across the rooftops towards the scene of the battle.

*

Uzumaki Naruto and his wife arrived in the Hyuuga garden to see Sasuke slicing his sword into an enemy ninja, who seemed to be manipulating chakra in his palms, not unlike the Hokage’s own Rasengan. Naruto leapt into action straight away, running headlong into battle. Sakura hung back, looking for an opening as the garden filled with yells and screams and the smell of sweat, tears and blood.

*

Ichiru felt his heart beat in time with the pounding of his feet on the ground. His breath came out in gasps, and the cold air hit his chest, shocking him every time. In front of him was Dai, effortlessly running forwards, quickly using the Kage Bunshin as they neared the Hyuuga compound. Akane overtook the boys suddenly, Haru following just behind her, both popping soldier pills into the waiting jaws of their nin-dogs. Ichiru closed his eyes tight, opening them again to see everything so much clearer as his Sharingan activated.

*

Hey guys,

Just a quick note to apologise to everybody who reads my stories. I know I've barely been on recently, and even then its only been to check everyone else's stuff!
I just have lots going on at the moment. I'm working constantly, and am about to start a night-class to get my CHE so I can go to Uni in a few years. Also, with bills, boys and all my friends leaving for Uni, life has been getting on top of me.

I promise to update as soon as I get a proper chance to sit down and do it.

Have patience with me, friends =)

It was after a few minutes that Sakura managed to take in the entire scene. Kiba and Hinata were a united front to the west of the garden, Akamaru between them. Neji fought a little to the south of them, his movements almost a blur. Naruto had thrown himself full force into the fight, and the battle cries rose into the night air. Sasuke hopped down from a tree, sword in hand. He looked at Sakura as he wiped it’s blade; the body of the lifeless ninja dropped from the branches behind him. Sakura tried to say something, but couldn’t. As she watched him, his eyes widened with what looked like fear, and suddenly he was by her side, his hand on her shoulder, his eyes focused on something behind her.
“You let your guard down, Sakura.” Was all he said.
A groan from behind her snapped her out of the daze she’d been in, and she immediately turned to deliver the ending punch. Sasuke pulled his sword from the enemy, and walked calmly away towards the rest of the fight. Sakura watched in horror, as the mere child they had just fought with lay on the floor, dead. Who in their right mind would send children on a mission like this?
*
Haru was first to get to the garden. He and Kibou burst through the undergrowth, adopting a defensive stance as soon as their feet hit the paved stones of the Hyuuga central garden. They were swiftly followed by Akane and Akako, with three of Dai’s Kage Bunshin. Ichiru entered the garden last, his eyes still adjusting to the Sharingan. The scene was like that out of a horror movie: there were bodies on the floor, and there was blood tainting the ornamental fountain in the middle of the garden’s courtyard. In the far corner, a young girl crouched. Her hair was shockingly white, and she appeared to be crying. Ichiru couldn’t understand why the adults stood warily a little distance from her, all still defensive, all as if they were about to attack. He took a hesitant step towards them, and then it hit him again; that angry chakra, full of hatred and bloodlust. It was horrible, and it seemed to be emanating from the girl, still crouched in the corner. Kibou whimpered next to Haru, nudging his leg.
“Kibou says that girl’s extremely dangerous. He says it hurts his nose to smell her.”
Ichiru nodded at his friend, inching his hand towards the kunai pouch tied at his waist. A hand on his told him to stop. Akane was looking at him, her eyes wide and watery. She was scared, Ichiru realised with a jolt of his own fear racking his chest. Suddenly it was a bit difficult to breathe. Who was the girl, and why was she so dangerous?
*
Izanami glared at the ninja from between her fingers. Niisan would not be pleased – she had lost all her troop. They were weaker than she had expected, obviously. She would never admit that she had underestimated the enemy. She growled a little to herself, watching the dog ninja pacing a little way off, the pale eyed woman watching him. There was a bond between them, obviously. And there was a bond between the two pale eyed ones. She scanned the ninja assembled before her, quickly deciding on how each was related to the other. There was the loud blond, who was clearly the Hokage. It seemed he couldn’t take his eyes off the pink-haired woman with the large forehead. Another bond. But then there was the Uchiha, standing apart from the main group, warily watching the boundaries of the garden. Ah, yes. The pink-haired woman’s eyes consistently slid to look at him, surreptitiously glancing in his direction. Far off, down at the bottom of the garden stood a group of younger ninja, who had just emerged from the undergrowth. Two dog ninja, one male, one female.... they had the terrifying pale orbs for eyes as well. Disgusting half-breeds, Izanami spat on the floor. Next to them was a stocky, pink-haired boy. Well, there were actually four of him, Izanami could not tell which was the real one. And then... Uchiha. It was easy to spot him. He looked like his father, and he looked like Kin; only more handsome, stronger looking. She felt the fizz of a current through her body as her hair bristled and began to change colour. She shuddered, and the transformation slowed until it stopped. She had to keep her cool until she was closer. Now was not the time to lose control.
*
Hinata watched her husband pace up and down, as Neji calmly stared at the crouched girl. It felt like an hour had passed, but it was more like five minutes. The garden was tense as everyone individually assessed the situation. Naruto was murmuring quietly to a Kage Bunshin, which then set off over the rooftops. Sakura walked slowly over to the children, gathering Dai into her arms, and then hitting him on the head.
“Baka! You should have stayed where it was safe!” she said, looking into his eyes.
He grinned back at her, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sakura’s arms were wrapped around nothing. It was then that Dai stepped out from behind the bushes, and the rest of his Kage Bunshin dissolved into thin air. Sakura narrowed her eyes at her son, who looked at the ground sheepishly.
“The fight is mostly over.” She said, addressing all four ninja now. “Go back to the mountain. Please?” she added, glancing over her shoulder at the crouching girl.
Ichiru took a step towards her.
“No... Sorry Uzumaki-san, but I’m staying with my father.”
Sakura shot an irritated glance at the Uchiha, and then looked away, a lump forming in her throat. He looked so like Sasuke used to, when he was dismissing her. She shook her head slightly, and turned to look at her son.
“Dai, I want you to go home. Find your sister. Just get away from here.”
Dai looked at her reproachfully, his stance uneasy. Haru stood shoulder to shoulder with his best friend, looking at Sakura in disbelief.
“You can’t expect a chuunin to just ‘go home’ when his village is under attack. I understand your concern, but don’t you think you’re over-reacting just a little bit? There’s only one girl here... and she looks about twelve anyway.”
Everything happened very quickly then. As if coaxed by Haru’s words, Izanami leapt to her feet, catching Kiba in a moment of foolish absent-mindedness. Her hair was blood red, her eyes filled with malice, as she extended her claws towards him. Akamaru was there straight away, jumping between his best friend and the girl. Kiba managed to dodge the attack, and the girl, instead of pursuing him, leapt instead at Sasuke, a guttural growl emerging from her cupid’s mouth. It was wholly unnatural. Sasuke stepped calmly out of the way, drawing his sword and holding it out to his side. Izanami swung around, her hair whipping across her face, her eyes alight with anger. Her nails grew into fierce talons, longer and sharper than they had been before.
Ichiru let out a gasp of air, and immediately ran towards his father. Strong hands held him back, pushed him towards his friends, overtook him... Sakura was running at Izanami now, her eyes focused on the red-head. Naruto shouted out, but no one heard what he said. Izanami was growling ferociously at her attackers, pacing like a caged animal, looking from each face to the other, still aiming her body at Sasuke. The attack was so fast, most said they were sure it was some form of teleportation. One minute Izanami was cornered, surrounded. The next, she was in front of Sasuke, claws at the ready, diving for his throat. Sakura acted without thinking. There was no time to think, in that split second. She let instincts take hold of her, realising she was the closest, realising it was stupid, but seeing only Sasuke, his dark eyes widened in panic, shock. Fear. She could see the terror in those onyx orbs, and they were focused on her...
She jumped between them as Izanami pulled out a kunai and stabbed it towards Sasuke’s chest. Only, it wasn’t Sasuke she made contact with. It was Uzumaki Sakura standing there, a look of bemused surprise as she looked down at herself. Izanami faltered, and in that second she was taken down by Neji, a swift blow to the head. Sakura’s knees gave way, and someone caught her from behind. She was vaguely aware of voices, raised in worry, in panic. One voice louder than the others, right by her ear.
“Why, Sakura? Why did you do that?”
“Sa...suke.” She smiled, trying very hard to open her eyes, knowing that voice anywhere.
Her eyes rolled back in her head, and the voices around her dimmed. But one seemed to echo in her mind, one voice rose above the others to ring in her head.
Sasuke. Sasuke was everywhere in her head. Images of the years they spent in a team together swam in her mind, numbing the pain in her chest. Her laboured breathing became a rhythm for the images, and they flickered quickly into her vision and then away again. Sasuke rolling his eyes at her, telling her to get lost... Sasuke leaving... Sasuke leaving her behind... And then... Naruto.
Her eyes shot open as she coughed. She was aware of two people close to her, one cradling her to their chest. She knew that heartbeat, knew those arms, knew that hand which stroked her face tenderly. Naruto cried as he held her, cried and whispered her name over and over as if it were a mantra. Sakura could hear the sound of crying all around her, but it all blended into the same person, sobbing and mourning. Her hand was being clutched by someone else, hard and crushing. She’d know her son’s anger anywhere. How could he be angry with her? She had been a bit stupid, but she’d saved the day, hadn’t she? Finally, she’d been that hero. Suddenly, her hand felt numb, and that numbness spread throughout her, dulling all her senses until all she could feel was wetness on her face. She realised she was crying, and she drifted away into the blackness, wondering why everyone was so sad.

Heartbreak

It was the Summer that Team Seven were chosen. The first few weeks of simple missions, wonderful weather, getting to know each other. Sakura had finally managed to control herself a little more around Sasuke, but couldn’t stop herself smacking Naruto every time he did something stupid. A distinct memory flashed to the surface of Sakura’s mind, a day when the team sat by the banks of the river, eating rice balls and chatting away. Well, Naruto was chatting away, excited about their next mission. Kakashi sat a little way off, reading one of his perverted books. Sakura sat in contented silence next to Naruto, managing to reduce his rambling to a mild buzzing sound in her ear. Sasuke sat close to the water’s edge, looking down at its glistening surface, deep in thought. It was a perfect moment, a moment where they were all at ease, all happy to some extent. Sakura clung to the feeling, held onto it even though she could feel herself losing grip, the happy scene slipping through her fingers. Other sounds were pulling her away, the feeling of someone pressing hard on her chest, murmured voices around her, someone’s hand on her brow. But she was too tired to open her eyes, too tired to stop herself from floating away, into the past... She wanted to be by the river again... By the river, with her team...

*

“Naruto, we have to call it...” Tsunade’s voice broke a little as she placed a hand on the Hokage’s shoulder, gently coaxing him away from his wife.

“No, no!” Naruto muttered, his hands still pumping on Sakura’s chest.

The heart monitor showed nothing but a straight line, emitting a long, continuous tone. Sasuke and Naruto had picked Sakura up from the floor of the Hyuuga garden, and bought her straight to the hospital, which was still being repaired. Tsunade met them at the doors, immediately hooking Sakura up to monitors, and trying desperately to save the ninja. It was no use. The kunai had plunged straight into Sakura’s heart, puncturing a lung on the way. There was a lot of blood in the room, lending the air a dull, metallic tang. Naruto’s hands were covered in it as he pumped away at his wife’s still heart, trying desperately to get it beating again. Sasuke stood against the far wall, still as a statue, staring at his former teammates.

“I’m sorry, Naruto...” Tsunade said, switching the heart monitor off.

The silence it left hung around the room like an unwelcome guest. It was too much for Sasuke to bear. In two paces he was next to his best friend, a hand on his shoulder.

“She’s gone.” The words forced their way past his lips, feeling foreign and wholly wrong.

Outside the room, the wailing began. Etsu was slumped into her brother’s arms, crying bitterly, inconsolably, whilst Dai’s face was a mask of horror, his mouth frozen in the ‘O’ it had been since they’d started to work on his mother. Haru stood close by them, Akane leaning against him, her face streaked with tears. His mouth was a hard, unreadable line, and he clenched and unclenched his jaw again and again. Ichiru was the only one who sat. He stared down at the floor, counting every hairline crack in the tiles, not able to meet anyone’s eyes.

A little way off down the corridor stood Neji, Hinata and Kiba, all shaking their heads in disbelief, Hinata holding onto her husband for support.

“How many talented ninja... How many of our friends and our... our f-family...” She choked on the last word, turning into Kiba’s chest as the tears came.

Kiba gripped her to him tightly, unable to push the images of Sakura on the ground, Sakura bleeding, from his mind. He felt he couldn’t breathe when he thought of Hinata in that way... of the way Aiko had been... He glanced up at the sound of footsteps approaching. It was Tenten, closely followed by Ino and Choji, worry creasing their faces. Tenten was in Neji’s arms straight away, crying as she took in his expression. Ino shook her head silently, Choji’s comforting hand on her shoulder.

“No... no... Billboard head... she was... meant to...” Ino smiled at a private memory, and then broke down on her former teammate. “Why? Why are we being crippled this way? My Shino, my Shino... and now Sa-Sakura too.”

There was a hush as the doors to the emergency room opened, and Sasuke emerged, Sakura’s blood staining a dark patch onto his already black clothes. His face was pale, drawn. Ichiru stood up, and his father strode over to him, grasping his shoulder and pressing his forehead to Ichiru’s. They stayed like that for a while, Ichiru closing his eyes and breathing deeply before grasping Sasuke’s shoulder too, and squeezing comfortingly.

“It should... have been me.” Sasuke’s voice sounded tired, and aged beyond belief.

Ichiru suddenly looked furious with his father, pushing him away and staring him down, his Sharingan activating with his burst of anger. Sasuke gasped, looking into his son’s eyes in awe.

“You have the bloodline limit!” It was a statement of shock.

“You shouldn’t be blaming yourself at a time like this.” Ichiru almost snarled at his father, and then more calmly, “And yeah, I do... The Sharingan. I am an Uchiha after all.”

Sasuke continued to stare at Ichiru, his eyes almost showing pride, until the door behind him opened again. Everyone turned to look as Naruto stood in the corridor, his head down, a shadow across his face. Dai and Etsu fell upon him straight away, and he held them to his chest, murmuring their names. It was such a private moment that the others assembled in the corridor shuffled away slightly, feeling awkward. Naruto straightened up after a few minutes, his arms not leaving his children.

“I’ll be stepping down for a while Tsunade. For a few days. I’d like it if you’d take over things.”

No one else had noticed the sixth Hokage slipping out of the emergency room, but now she stood before Naruto, nodding slowly. He nodded back, and then turned to leave, guiding his now smaller family with him. Sasuke watched him leave, and then turned back to Ichiru. Without a word, he slung his arm around his eldest son’s shoulders, and began to walk towards the exit too, drifting past the Hyuugas and Inuzukas. They, too, fell into line behind the Uchihas, Kiba mirroring Sasuke and Ichiru with Haru, holding hands with Hinata as she half cradled Akane to her chest. Neji and Tenten followed them, holding each other close. Ino and Choji walked behind, Choji supporting his friend as she tried to compose herself for getting home, for telling Taro and Kiku about this new tragedy.

*

Far off, in the dark, winding passages of Orochimaru’s ancient, labyrinthine medical facility, Kabuto killed the ninja who reported Izanami’s defeat and probable capture. He groaned at the thought of clearing up the mess he’d made, and instead clicked his fingers. A young boy sloped in, one leg causing him to limp horribly. The boy set to work straight away, dragging the dead man from the room, and reappearing a few minutes later with a bucket and rag. Kabuto watched him mop up the blood from the stone flagged floor for a while, his mind wondering elsewhere. Suddenly, he screamed angrily, frustration clouding his vision. When he came to his senses again, the boy with the limp lay dead on the floor. Oh crap, he thought, clicking his fingers again with a roll of his eyes. Another servant traipsed in, this one in even worse condition than the first. Kabuto left the room this time, huffing as he did so. I need to get this mess sorted out, he thought to himself as he stalked the long passageway towards his operating room. The door opened, and he smirked at the patient strapped to the bed.

“Now, I think it’s time you give me a little more information, don’t you?” His grin widened as he selected a long, sharp instrument from the table.

Aburame Shino struggled against his bindings, a mute scream strangled in his throat.