"What did you think of them?" Yamato asked her as they dined in the privacy of the guest quarters.
"They were fine. They've improved a lot compared to last year."
"True. I'd be surprised if they weren't promoted."
"Do you think all of them should be promoted?" asked the Hokage as she appeared in the doorway, followed by Ensui and Raido.
"No. That girl, Matsuri, didn't have enough time to prove her worth."
"And what about Sakura?" her teacher asked her. "Do you think she deserves to be promoted?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"Because she's from your class, and I think you know her."
"I don't know. On one hand, she wasn't formally defeated by Hinata, though I think she would have lost anyway since Hinata is far superior in many areas. On the other hand, she was able to recognize her limitations and surrender without getting hurt, though I also think she gave up too early. Maybe she could just foresee her defeat? That confused me."
"I think it's a mix of everything you said," Ensui replied. "From what I've seen and what I've heard from Shikamaru, Sakura's level when you all left the academy was practically identical to the other kunoichi in her class, wasn't it? Or, at least, the gap between them wasn't so insurmountable."
"More or less, yes."
"I think she's noticed the disparity between her abilities and those of your teammate, Hinata. Both started at the same level, but she's fallen behind. Far behind. If the fight had continued for much longer, Sakura would have lost due to a lack of stamina. And that's without considering that Hinata could have knocked her unconscious earlier."
"...Do you think she surrendered because of... an inferiority complex?"
"By surrendering the way she did, Sakura preserved her dignity," Tsunade-sama said seriously. "She surrendered on her own terms, because she knew she was reaching her limit or would be defeated shortly. Strangely, it's a mature trait in her and, at the same time, a poor quality for a ninja. Ninjas don't give up on missions without even trying: we either die or return injured."
Seina instantly understood what her teacher was trying to say. She was right. She hadn't seen it that way. The matches they had observed weren't just a competition but a test for promotion. Did Sakura have what it took to be promoted, based on what they had seen? According to Tsunade-sama, no. Sakura's problem was that she had become isolated. Everyone else had continued improving, while Sakura hadn't done the same.
She could have asked Ino for help, who was her friend, but she hadn't. At least, not that she knew of. Why not? She didn't know. Was she embarrassed to train with them and let them see how far behind she was? Honestly, Seina didn't understand what was going through Sakura's mind.
"Even so, if she trains hard from now until next year, she'll likely be promoted without issue. That is, of course, if she takes today's surrender as a wake-up call."
Maybe. She stopped thinking about Sakura and focused on her job. Her only concern was her brothers, Kakashi, and her friends. The rest of the day passed slowly. She had nothing else to do but escort the Hokage, so she couldn't talk to anyone except her fellow anbu.
The next day, they set out for Konoha. It was Thursday, so they would arrive by Saturday if nothing unexpected happened. Once again, she was relegated to the trees, staying out of sight so they wouldn't notice she was there. Still, that allowed her to listen to her friends' conversations and observe people without worry. Anbu did have its perks, she had to admit.
"That was amazing!"
"Do you think we'll pass?" Kiba whispered to Naruto and Chouji.
"I think so. We gave it our all."
"Same here, dattebayo!"
"Hn."
Seeing Sasuke's expressionless face reminded her suddenly of the gift. The portrait! Damn it! She'd only have a couple of days to finish it. She needed to talk to Shikamaru's mother and Ino's parents. If Masaharu hadn't lied to her, he would finish the portrait by Saturday. She silently thanked god that he had not accepted another ob, despite having several interested clients.
"Do you want the first watch?"
"I'm not sleepy, so you can go ahead and rest," she told Raido.
"Alright."
Everyone else slept, except for a couple of jonin and her. Hours later, when it was someone else's turn, she merged into a tree trunk to rest. She woke up just before dawn. Everyone else, especially the genin, was roused by their sensei. This routine lasted three days, until Saturday.
"We should see the village gate in half an hour," Asuma told Ino.
"Finally," she grumbled.
"Come on, Ino, we're almost there," Lee encouraged her. "Yosh! I'll finish the journey walking on my hands, Guy-sensei!"
"Excellent, Lee! Kakashi! Why don't we make a little bet?" Guy exclaimed, turning to face his rival.
Kakashi pretended not to hear him, burying his face further into his book. Seina stifled a laugh at the sight. Especially at how Naruto seemed on the verge of bursting out laughing. Sasuke let out a small chuckle, turning his face away so they wouldn't see his smile.
"KAKASHI! MY ETERNAL RIVAL!"
"Guy, leave Kakashi alone. Do a one-handed handstand if you want," the Hokage muttered, rubbing her temples, "but use your inner voice."
"Guy-sensei!" Lee cried dramatically, seeing his teacher collapse to the ground, shedding crocodile tears.
"The other one..." the Hokage muttered under her breath. "Ah..."
Tsunade-sama picked up her pace, leaving the jonin and genin behind. Seina followed her with a wide grin, realizing what her first joke was going to be.
"Tsunade-sama… are you alright?" Yamato asked again, a bit wearily, noticing her shaking.
"..."
Seina had to bite her tongue to keep from bursting into laughter as she imagined the Hokage's reaction upon waking up with Guy's haircut and his green-and-orange jumpsuit. She cast a few delayed spells so the effects wouldn't be noticeable for a couple of days. She had to silence herself so she could laugh out loud. She passed through the village gate, tears of laughter streaming down her face, all from her imagination.
When the Hokage sat in her chair, having dismissed everyone except her anbu escort, she sighed in exhaustion.
"You can take off your mask."
Seina removed her mask, revealing a huge grin. The Hokage glanced at her and shuddered again. She listened as Yamato gave a verbal report on what had or hadn't happened, and then dismissed them. Left alone, the two women stared at each other. Seina, still amused, waited for her to speak.
"I wanted to talk to you about your entry into anbu. Commander Ryu, given the circumstances, advised me to indoctrinate you as soon as possible due to... Danzo's behaviour."
"Behaviour?"
"You don't know much about what's going on with him, and it's better that way. But I can tell you that he's sniffing around," she sighed. "Your promotion has piqued his curiosity. In fact, he's discreetly interrogated me about you and has been snooping around the hospital."
"So... putting me in anbu is for my own good?" Seina asked, more boldly than usual. "Why not just tell me that upfront?"
"Commander Ryu thought you might need... an incentive. I regret to say that, in a moment of weakness, he convinced me that you might not be interested in joining anbu because of Naruto. Honestly, even when I proposed it to you, I thought you might refuse."
"If you'd caught me in a bad mood at the time, I would've refused just out of spite."
"I know," her mentor let out an ironic laugh. Then she sighed. "Later, I regretted proposing it to you like that, but it was too late. I should've been as direct with you as always."
"It's fine," Seina said with a growing smile. "I've come to terms with what happened and figured there had to be a reason. Though, I admit, it wasn't until I got over my anger that I realized it. I know it won't happen again..."
The Hokage's comically wary face, fully aware that Seina was likely plotting some form of revenge, stared back at her. She noticed the twitch in her mentor's eyebrow and smiled.
"You can go, Seina. Good work."
When she got home, she found the place empty. She tapped into the link to check where the others were. As soon as they noticed her presence, Naruto and Sasuke bombarded her with questions. She found herself between a rock and a hard place: if she told them nothing, they'd suspect something was up; if she lied, they'd know.
"I'll tell you later, but you have to swear not to tell anyone."
"What?!" Naruto complained.
"We're at the Akimichi restaurant," Sasuke informed her. "You coming?"
"Yeah, I'll be there soon."
"Great. We'll let Kakashi-sensei know."
It took her about 10 minutes to change into her usual uniform and get to the restaurant, where they had reserved the largest room for the genin teams and their sensei. She saw Shikamaru being overwhelmed with information, despite his semi-bored expression, and teams Hinata and Neji chatting. Naruto and Sasuke, as usual, were arguing while Kakashi tried to maintain the peace.
"Seina-nee!" Naruto shouted, standing up and hugging her enthusiastically. "Come here!"
"Seina!" Ino exclaimed. "Are you back from your mission already?"
"Yeah, just a few minutes ago."
They began recounting everything that had happened in the fights as if she hadn't seen them herself. She nodded patiently, listening to Kiba, Lee, and Ino's interjections during Naruto and Sasuke's descriptions. Kakashi glanced at her with a pleased smile, likely noticing she didn't seem upset anymore. Her smile turned mischievous as she remembered the spell she'd cast on the Hokage without her realizing. A slightly cruel giggle escaped her.
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged wary looks, and Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
"It's nothing, nothing. Just imagining something."
"Uh... r-right," Naruto said nervously.
"Wait a minute!" Ino suddenly shouted. "That's right! Monday is Sasuke's birthday!"
"WHAT?!"
Hinata blushed as everyone turned to look at her. No surprise there. Hinata was one of the most attentive about dates and details like that. She had probably reminded Ino and Tenten. A discussion began with Sasuke—who remained silent—about whether or not he wanted a party. Usually, they'd gather for a meal or picnic for birthdays. This time, with him present, they decided to ask what he wanted, much to Sasuke's dismay.
"Why don't we have a barbecue?" she suggested, redirecting everyone's attention to her.
"That's not a bad idea!"
Sasuke sighed in relief as everyone ignored him again. The goal was to have an excuse to gather and eat. Seina mentally noted to visit the painter's workshop first thing the next day.
Later, when they got home, everyone was exhausted—even her.
"I wish you'd been there!" Naruto complained for the umpteenth time.
Kakashi and Seina exchanged glances. Her questioning him on what to do, him waiting for her decision. Sasuke, of course, caught on immediately.
"All right! What the hell is going on?!" he demanded, frustrated. He turned to her. "What aren't you telling us?"
She blinked, realizing there was no way around it. They were too connected to miss that something was up. Even if she said nothing, they'd know something had changed, and she didn't want to lose their trust over something as trivial as not telling them she was now anbu. So, she simply rolled up her left sleeve to reveal the new tattoo. They were silent for exactly five seconds as they processed what they were seeing.
"Anbu?" Sasuke asked, less loudly than expected. "Since when?"
"Since the day before your departure to Suna. I escorted Tsunade-sama and saw your fights, by the way."
"Really?"
"But why anbu?" Naruto asked, unusually calm. "Weren't you happy as a jonin?"
"Because of Danzo, supposedly," she shrugged. "Apparently, he's been... asking about me. Tsunade-sama and Commander Ryu think that putting me in anbu will make him reconsider bothering me."
"Not surprising," Kakashi spoke for the first time all evening. "Anbu is tough, but we all protect each other—even from people like Danzo. After all, we only answer to the Hokage and no one else."
"So, does that mean nee-chan will be safer now?"
"Absolutely. No one can get to her while she's in anbu uniform, and not even in jonin uniform, since most anbu are jonin. Danzo would have to think very carefully before trying anything against Seina because the consequences would be severe. If he tried anything while she was with other anbu, they could take out his Ne ninja without anyone knowing."
"Got it."
What she was hearing was new to her, but not surprising. So, if someone from Ne attacked her while she was with Yamato, she could defend herself without having to explain to Shikaku, the jonin commander? Good to know. She had figured just informing the Hokage would suffice. Snbu, despite appearances, was a kind of sect—a sect of the Hokage's best assassins. Apparently, their screening was so strict there wasn't a single mole. Even Itachi, who had been in anbu, hadn't acted against Konoha but against the Uchiha clan. Otherwise, anbu would have eliminated him.
She wondered what they would do if they knew exactly what she was thinking. Luckily, she could hide part of her mind with occlumency.
"Then, you saw everything?!" Naruto asked, more animatedly.
She nodded with a satisfied smile. They talked to her about the fight—again—before everyone went to shower and sleep. She was left alone with Kakashi, who quickly closed his novel to give her his attention.
"I knew you weren't reading."
"I didn't want to get dragged into another discussion about the fights," he admitted. "How was your first mission in anbu?"
"Extremely boring. Standing still, observing, against a wall without talking to anyone is the worst."
"We've all been there," Kakashi laughed at her. "Seriously, are you okay?"
Seina got up from her chair and sat on his lap, burying her face in his masculine neck. She closed her eyes for a few minutes, embraced tightly. She felt some of the stress from the past few days begin to fade away.
"I'm feeling better now. It pisses me off that I was manipulated into joining anbu, but what can you do? Tsunade-sama won't do it again."
"For everyone's sake?" he asked, quoting her.
"I've realized that if I get my revenge, I'll feel satisfied, so that's what I plan to do."
"Revenge on the Hokage?" he chuckled. "And the anbu commander?"
"Yes. Just wait until you see their faces," she started laughing. "I won't ruin the surprise for you."
"You're a little scary, love," he admitted.
"As long as you don't make me angry, you've got nothing to worry about."
She lifted her head with a grin. Kakashi observed her with amusement, accepting her words. He gave her a conciliatory kiss on the forehead and let her nestle back into his neck.
"I'm glad you're feeling better."
"I'm not going to lie and say I had a good time these last few days, but I'm not going to let it get me down."
"Do you have plans for tomorrow?"
"No, why?"
"I want to show you something. At night. Are you in?"
"Of course."
She stayed on his lap for a while longer before deciding to take that much-desired bath. She gave him a kiss on the cheek as a goodnight gesture and went to her room. She prepared the water just the way she liked it, with essential oils, bath salts, and more. To say the bath was long would be an understatement. She spent nearly two hours in the hot water, meditating by candlelight. She thought about nothing, focusing solely on regaining her usual emotional balance. When she emerged, she quickly fell asleep, using her barriers to avoid dreaming altogether.
Saturday turned out to be a busy day. She shook off Sasuke and Naruto, who were puzzled by her morning rush, and headed to see Masaharu. When she arrived, she found him putting the finishing touches on the canvas to ensure it would last a long time. She didn't care much about that final step, as the runes would prevent the portrait from deteriorating, regardless of time or circumstances. Walburga Black's portrait had been a royal pain in the ass, given how well-made it was.
"Wow," she said, gazing at Mikoto Uchiha in all her glory on a 60x40 centimetre portrait.
"It was quite a challenge to finish it in such a short time, but I'm very satisfied with my work. What do you think?"
"It's perfect. He'll love it."
Seina chatted with him about the portrait for a few more minutes before paying him the second part of his commission. She left with the scroll carefully stored in a folder. The mother of Shikamaru, whom she had contacted before leaving for Suna, was waiting for her at her house alongside Ino's mother, so she headed straight to the Nara compound.
"Seina?" Ensui asked when he saw her approach. "Looking for Shikamaru?"
"No. For Yoshino-sama."
"Oh, you'll find her at her house."
Ensui didn't give her directions. They both knew she already knew where it was. When she knocked on the door, it swung open enthusiastically, revealing Yoshino, the matriarch of the Nara clan.
"Ah, Seina-sama, come in. Both Akemi and I are eager to see what you plan to do after all this mystery."
Akemi turned out to be a woman with Ino's platinum blonde hair and brown eyes. She quickly saw that mother and daughter shared more than just appearances. The matriarch of the Yamanaka clan was just as extroverted as her daughter, smiling openly as she saw her and patting the seat to her right.
"Finally, we meet! Ino's told me so much about you."
"Nice to meet you, Akemi-sama."
"Please, call us Akemi and Yoshino, if you don't mind."
"Seina, then."
After dispensing with formalities, she showed them Mikoto's portrait. For a few seconds, silence reigned as they took in the smiling figure, captured just as she had been on her wedding day, reclining against a tree in the middle of a meadow. She saw Yoshino swallow a few tears and quickly compose herself.
"It's an excellent piece."
"What I need is for you both to think about Mikoto. Everything good and bad. Everything."
"That's all?"
"Yes. I'll take care of the rest."
Akemi placed her hand on the portrait, closing her eyes, and Seina placed her hand over Akemi's. She used her magic to redirect and channel Akemi's thoughts, emotions, and sensations into the rune-filled canvas. She heard Yoshino gasp as the portrait began to glow. Ino's mother took her time, ensuring she was satisfied before removing her hand. Then Yoshino repeated the process, recalling every detail about her friend Mikoto.
"Is that it?" they asked an hour later.
"Yes. I still need to finish it, but perhaps I can activate it momentarily first..."
The spell worked as intended. She only activated it early for two reasons: to give them a few minutes to talk and to ensure it functioned. She could deactivate it again and continue adding Itachi's memories later.
She knew it had worked when she heard Akemi's teacup shatter on the floor. Both women stared wide-eyed as the meadow came to life, with visible leaves and flowers swaying, and Mikoto blinked before stretching lazily.
"Yoshino? 'Kemi?"
"It's not possible."
Akemi Yamanaka's pale face stared unblinkingly at Mikoto, while Yoshino had to hold her breath to keep from crying. She excused herself to the bathroom to give them some time alone. Closing the door behind her, she looked at herself in the mirror with a satisfied smile. It had worked.