I was released from the hospital the next day with my chakra system resealed. Naruko had also seemingly recovered from the burns Kuruma's chakra had left on her, rapidly and without so much as a mark to show for it. I was now officially convinced that sorcery was in play, something that—after our little heart-to-heart—I could now share with Naruko herself.
'So you think one of my ancestors was some sort of animal?' Naruko's voice echoed in my head as we made our way down the street to the training ground my sensei had directed us toward.
I was a little hesitant to jump right back into training so soon, not because I didn't want to train, but because the last few days had been pretty intense for Naruko and I didn't want her to deal with it by herself or while she was being run into the ground. The girl herself was insistent on getting back into it though, so here we were.
'Maybe, or one of your ancestors made a jutsu so powerful it changed his body and the bodies of all his children after him, or there was a magical accident that altered one of your ancestors. It might even just be something to do with you, sometimes mutations just happen.' I thought back at her.
'So what does that mean?' She asked, though I could tell she wasn't exactly thrilled at the possibility of being an anomaly. Even more other, more separate, and this time for reasons that were purely intrinsic to herself.
'That you have a kekei genkai.' was my simplified reply, in a bid to turn her thoughts elsewhere, it seemed to work.
'Like Hinata.' she said perking up and glancing to the side at the bluenette herself who had been following us with a brow furrowed in worry. She didn't know why we had been hospitalised again. Other than the fact that it had something to do with the nine tails.
Naruko turned to the young Hyuga, her face scrunched up in contemplation. It only served to deepen Hinata's concerned frown.
"Naruko-chan? Are you okay?" Hinata gently inquired.
I knew the source of Naruko's conflict. She hadn't told Hinata or Kuro about being the Nine-tails jinchuriki, even after I explained to her that Kurama wasn't really a demon and was as much of a victim as she was, there was still a part of her that was scared of how people would react when they learnt of her status. I could feel that part fighting for dominance in her thoughts through the Ninshu connection.
Even as Naruko let go of my hand and wandered closer to Hinata to take her hand, the bond remained. Naruko really was too talented at this particular application of chakra. We weren't even connected by a string like when I used the mind meld jutsu. Instead a nebulous cloud of chakra flowed from her and as long as I was in that cloud of chakra the connection would not break.
It was incredibly wasteful for someone who had normal chakra reserves, but a workaround for the potential weak point that strand of chakra would have posed.
She took Hinata's hand and her mind joined the connection me and Naruko shared. I could feel her surprise at Naruko being able to cast it. Then Naruko leaned forward around me and offered her hand to Kuro who took it without hesitation.
Then we were all of one mind.
'There's something I have to tell you.' Naruko intoned solemnly, her thought unusually dour. That was all she was able to get across before falling silent, we could all feel her looking for the words to say what she had to say.
I placed my hand on her shoulder and expressed my encouragement. She looked at Kuro and Hinata and both of them sent their friendship and affection over the bond. With a deep breath Naruko steeled herself and began to speak.
'Eleven years ago, the Kyubi attacked the village….'
Naruko went on to weave the tale of her life.
The solitude of her child hood, her yearning for family, the pain she buried and hid behind a smile—that while real was only a fraction of her true self—about how the last member of her family, the man who abandoned her returned in a drunken stupor and destroyed that facade in a single moment of misguided guilt, of how I had to save her from herself.
By the end of it. Kuro's face was completely blank and the gleeful yet furious need to inflict violence flowed off her. Hinata on the other hand had taken Naruko in her arms mid-story and wept silent tears of rage and sadness.
"Hey, it's okay." Naruko said, trying to comfort Hinata.
"No it is not!" Hinata barked, her voice laced with fury. "For the village to-for them to-I just-" she stuttered, words failing her not out of any nervousness on her part but righteous anger.
"Yeah, I guess things sucked for a while there." Naruko said with an embarrassed smile scratching the back of her head awkwardly.
"But hey! Look on the bright side, now I have you guys!" Naruko said, her sincere joy and relief reaching all of us, her happiness radiating off her like light off a star. It was so mesmerising, though at this point I was used to it. Hinata wasn't though and witnessing the soul of a person she had loved for much of her life seemed like a bit too much for her.
She stared her mouth slightly open.
"Hello? Hinata?" Naruko asked out loud.
Hinata jerked as she was pulled out of her stupor and in a feat of passion I did not see coming, she leaned forward and placed her lips on Naruko's who froze in place.
Then we all felt Hinata's panic over the bond as she began to pull back but Naruko reached around her shoulders and pulled her off her feet into an embrace and peppered her cheeks with kisses.
"Awww! I love you too, Hinata!" Naruko exclaimed, swinging the Hyugga heiress from side to side not having noticed that the bluenette was now unconscious. Kuro at my side laid her head on my shoulder to hide her giggles.
I think Naruko will be alright.
XXXXXXXXX
"Anko-san." Itachi greeted calmly, rousing his chakra in the event he had to defend himself.
He didn't know much about Mitarashi Anko, beyond some passing interactions when he had delivered targets to the Torture and Interrogation department. He was aware of her relationship with the snake sannin, and the antipathy that earned her with much of the village but not much beyond that.
"I assume you were sent by Lord Third." Itachi questioned her as she reclined on the branch opposite him.
"You know, you're a lot cuter than I remember," Anko said instead of answering, resting her cheek on her palm. Her chest shifted in titillating ways as she lay on her side, the branch swaying faintly beneath her.
Itachi did not visibly react beyond waiting for an answer to his question.
"Heh, I'm going to enjoy breaking that composure. Yeah, the old man sent me here too. Apparently there's some prodigy who needs Torture and Interrogation training." She crossed her legs in a slow and deliberate manner that would have her underwear on display if he looked.
Itachi's gaze did not twitch away from her eyes and hands—the sources of any potential danger. Anko's smile only widened at this.
"Sounds more like Ibiki's wheelhouse, but when the big boss says jump, you ask how high." Anko continued, meeting Itachi's gaze, then panning down to take in his tall and lean frame.
"But I have to say… if he said I would be working with a looker like you…" she leaned forward a precarious distance on her branch until her face hovered close to his. He didn't lean back.
"…I might just have volunteered." She whispered, a sultry smile curling her lips, her breath carrying the sweet scent of dango.
Itachi's face didn't twitch.
It coloured, but it didn't twitch.
"We have a student to teach." was all the monochrome teenager had to say as he fell backward out of the tree and landed soundlessly on his feet.
His silent entrance was ruined by the mad cackle of the purple-haired woman he left perched above. Ignoring her, he turned and looked at the children, who had all frozen in place at the new arrivals.
And suddenly, Itachi had no idea what to say. How did one even talk to children—actual children—with sparkling, innocent eyes that hadn't known the hell of war?
Silence stretched as a stare down ensued. Anko did not come down to join or interrupt, most likely finding the scene too amusing.
"Who the hell are you?" was the loud and brash inquiry of the blonde jinchūriki.
"This is Korumaru-chan's new sensei while Kakashi-kun is indisposed," came the grizzled voice of the Third Hokage from Itachi's blindspot. He didn't flinch, but it was a close thing.
The Third Hokage emerged from the shadowed base of the very tree Itachi had just vacated, pipe smoke drifting lazily upward.
"And Kakashi?" asked the red-eyed, pale-faced student of the Third.
"He is giving your theory of investiture a try."
Hanama-san's eyes widened before a gleeful smile overtook his face.
"Really?! It works?!" The somewhat suave persona Itachi had observed from the boy vanished into the unrestrained glee of a child.
"That is a conversation to be had in private," the Hokage said, with a smile that showed his amusement in making his student wait.
"Hey! Kuro-chan is awesome and all, but why does she get a teacher? She's not even a shinobi!" Naruko exclaimed, then paused, frowning as she realized what she had just said.
"No offense, Kuro-chan." she added quickly to the girl who was undoubtedly the hidden Uchiha—the resemblance was uncanny, something the Hyūga heiress had also noticed if her sharp gaze was any indication.
Strangely, as soon as she seemed certain of her suspicions, all the children were suddenly staring Itachi down with disturbing synchronicity.
"None taken," was the absent-minded reply of the aforementioned Kuro-chan, who now followed him with her gaze as though he might vanish if she looked away.
"Kuro has certain gifts that can only be nurtured by certain people with certain skills." the Hokage said, gesturing toward another corner of the clearing where another copy of Lord Third sat beneath a tree, calmly smoking his pipe.
"Of course I will be assisting as best I can. Kuro, Weasel—if you would." The words were more command than request, and those concerned complied quickly, though the youngest Uchiha present shared a long glance with the Third's student before obeying.
Itachi followed the little girl, who walked with the stride of someone raised with influence, toward the waiting clone. He felt Anko's presence trailing along the treetops above.
"Why am I receiving special training, Lord Third? I am aware of the value I possess, but I do not think I warrant a personal jōnin instructor," came the calm and placid tone of the girl. The rapid shift from her earlier cheery and bubbly expression left Itachi reeling.
Lord Third regarded her with cunning eyes and a piercing gaze. He scrutinized her closely, and what surprised Itachi even more was the fact she didn't wilt or squirm beneath it.
After a moment, the Hokage leaned back and nodded with grim satisfaction.
"Kuro," he began, "I am aware of the circumstances surrounding your mother's passing."
"Oh…" came the now absolutely frigid reply from Kuro.
"Yes." Lord Third took a slow drag from his pipe. "If that was all, given your father's stance on things, I would have chalked it up to youthful exuberance. But then you awakened your bloodline."
His eyes narrowed as he studied the girl, who watched him just as closely.
"You became too useful to ignore. One of my duties as Hokage is to ensure the continuation of the village long past myself—possibly into eternity."
"There are many things necessary for this, but one of the most essential is the border between the light and the dark."
"The dark—the festering depths of humanity—is a place few can withstand. But you… you would revel in it, wouldn't you?"
Kuro did not reply, but a gleam entered her eye. Instability. A quality all its own. Something Itachi could only call madness.
"Maybe." came her coy reply.
"When my time is done, I have no doubt there will be those to walk in the light in my stead. But those who can walk in the dark without losing sight of the light are vanishingly rare, and yet eminently vital."
"Someone lacking such qualities was entrusted with Konoha's darkness, and many paid the price. But you are not like that, are you, Kuro-chan? Despite your predilections, despite the call of the dark, love has an equally firm grasp on you."
Lord Third's words lingered, and though spoken to her, his gaze slid to Itachi. At that point it was clear he addressed them both.
"Konoha needs shadows who will not be subsumed by her light. I trust you to be that shadow."
Itachi's heart both raced and sank at the same time beneath the weight of those words, and what they might imply—what responsibilities they might place upon him.
Had he not done enough? Had the village not taken enough? He had given everything he could, hadn't he? Lord Third's gaze was answer enough.
Not everything. Not yet.
"You want me to be Ku-kun and Ko-chan's shadow," was the calm summation of the monochrome girl.
"In essence, yes."
Slowly but surely, a smile crept across her formerly placid expression. Whenever Itachi thought it would stop spreading, it grew wider, baring more teeth, until there was no denying the truth.
That glimmer of madness he had seen a moment ago?
"When do we get started?" came the now much more enthusiastic voice of Kuromaru Hidachi.
It was just the tip of the iceberg.
XXXXXXXXX
I watched and felt Kuro slip past the edges of Naruko's chakra—the faint buzzing cloud that marked the limit of our Ninshu bond—and move toward who could only be Itachi Uchiha. His presence was unmistakable, a still shadow cutting across the clearing, and he walked with Kuro toward the clone of my sensei while the original lingered with us.
The air in the grove was thick with the smell of earth and pine, heavy from the earlier rain. Mist clung low to the underbrush, curling around roots and ankles, and the faint chittering of cicadas pressed against the silence that followed Kuro's departure.
"Sensei, is that who I think it is?" I asked, my voice low, my gaze locked onto Itachi's back. The stares of Naruko and Hinata joined mine, their focus sharp as drawn blades. Naruko in particular was taut with unease, her chakra prickling and restless after I had told her telepathically just who Kuro now walked beside.
"I cannot read minds, Izuku-kun," my sensei replied, calm as the surface of a still pond, "but I would assume you are somewhat correct in your suspicions." His words drifted with the faint smoke of his pipe, curling into the damp air.
"Why?" I asked. A single word, but it carried enough weight to fracture stone. Why is he here? Why is he free? Why is he teaching Kuro? Why are you letting him teach Kuro?
The questions rattled inside my chest, spilling through the Ninshu bond and into Hinata and Naruko as well. Their pulses echoed faintly in my head—Hinata's steady but cool, Naruko's quick and heated.
"…Because things are very complicated, Izuku," my teacher said after a long pause, his voice rougher now, as though the forest itself pressed down on him. "There are truths not yet revealed—truths that may never come to light—that inform my decision. But know that I act only in the best interests of our people."
"…Alright. I trust you, Sensei." My answer felt small against the weight of the air.
Hinata dipped her chin in quiet solidarity.
But Naruko… Naruko's eyes narrowed, blue flashing in the filtered light that fell through the canopy. The distrust in her face was sharp enough to wound. My teacher's shoulders sagged under the sight, as if the years themselves were draped across him like a sodden cloak.
"Naruko," he said, voice softer, brittle with regret. "know that all I have done, I have done in the hope of protecting Konoha—and of ensuring your happiness. I am sorry for failing you."
I shifted uncomfortably. His vulnerability felt out of place in the hush of the trees. Hinata, though, did not stir. I could feel it through our bond—no sympathy, only cold judgment. After Naruko had shown us the life she endured because of his choices, I doubted Hinata could ever look at him the same.
"Alright, old man," Naruko said at last, her frown tired and heavy. She did not smile—not the fake, brittle kind she sometimes wore, nor the bright, genuine one that buried her pain. Only exhaustion bent her brow.
"Thank you, Naruko," the Third murmured. His voice held a tired gratitude. "I am afraid I must press the boundaries of this trust by asking for your consideration."
The forest itself seemed to tense in that moment. That was when I felt it: a chakra sliding closer. It burned sharp and oily, like fire spattered with grease, staining the air around it, yet disappearing into the background at the same time.
"Consideration with what?" Naruko asked, her voice thin and edged, just as a dull thump reverberated behind us—someone landing heavily on the damp earth.
Her chakra flared. "You." The word was a growl.
"Hey, kid," came the familiar voice of the toad Sannin. Jiraiya stood there with hunched shoulders, his grin stretched too wide, too thin.
Naruko lunged, her fury a sudden explosion of motion, but Hinata and I each caught an arm, straining to hold her back. Her snarl split the clearing, and Jiraiya flinched as if the sound itself had bitten him.
No Kyūbi chakra stirred, though. Her seal held fast, even as she looked ready to tear into him with teeth and nails alone.
For now.
The damp air pressed close. I looked from my cringing senpai, to my melancholic sensei, to Hinata anchoring Naruko with quiet strength—and almost snorted despite myself.
If the forest felt heavy before, now it felt like a storm was about to break. Here's hoping for no more surprises.