Chapter 19 - 19

Naruto bounced on his heels and glanced anxiously at the clock. Someone was taking too long picking an outfit when everyone knew he'd be wearing a blue sweater and gray pants. Naruto had picked out his orange hoodie and black shorts the minute he knew they'd be having a belated birthday party. And why hadn't Sai told him the girls' birthday was in May? If he was going to break into confidential records, he might as well share the info with everyone else.

"Come on, bastard. We're going to be late."

"We're not going to be late," called Sasuke.

"You don't need to pretty yourself up," said Naruto. "We're having a picnic on the training ground. Your clothes will just get messy again."

Sasuke stalked out of his bedroom wearing—surprise, surprise—a dark blue sweater and gray pants. "And who was the one that messed them up in the first place?" he demanded. "I was gone for weeks. You couldn't be bothered to pick up any of my stuff the whole time?"

"Well, I know you don't like it when I touch your clothes," said Naruto with a grin. "I thought I'd better minimize body contact."

Naruto had intended to put up all of Sasuke's stuff. He'd just been too keyed up that first day. After that he was always busy reviewing reports and then he had to get ready for the Chunin Exams. Naruto had also been pretty proud of the obstacle course he had fashioned out the piles of clothes. It really helped with his agility practice. Sasuke, unfortunately, had been less impressed and made him clean it all up.

"You didn't have to make me wash everything," muttered Naruto. "I dusted it every day."

"Detonating a miniature Rasengan in the center of a room does not count as dusting," said Sasuke firmly.

"It moves all the dust," protested Naruto following behind as Sasuke finally moved for the door.

"It doesn't count if it moves everything else too," said Sasuke.

"Picky, picky," said Naruto slipping on his sandals.

He stood up and crashed into Sasuke's back. His friend-rival-roommate was frozen in the doorway. Naruto peered over his shoulder and froze himself. Karin and Sakura were there staring each other down in a silent contest. Naruto wondered how long they had been there. Normally, there was yelling after the first five minutes.

"If we're careful, we can probably go out the window," said Sasuke quietly.

"I should just throw you out there and make a run for it," said Naruto. "As a loyal shinobi of Konoha, you have a responsibility to protect your Hokage, you know."

"Future Hokage means I don't have to worry about you just yet," muttered Sasuke.

Naruto grinned. No one would have believed it when they were kids, but now even the last Uchiha acknowledged him as the future Hokage. It was a pretty sweet feeling.

Carefully, he and Sasuke started to back away from the door.

"Hold it!" snapped Sakura.

"Don't move!" shouted Karin.

"You could use your rinnegan to get us past them," said Naruto.

He could see Sasuke's shoulders slump. "They'd just find us at the party and kill us there."

"Ah, you're right," said Naruto. "Might as well face the music."

Naruto gave Sasuke a hard shove. The Uchiha barely stopped himself from crashing into the opposite side of the corridor. Naruto shut the door behind him and leaned against in his best cool man pose.

"Well, ladies, you're looking lovely this evening."

They were looking particularly spectacular. Sakura wore a dark pink yukata with a pale green leaf pattern while Karin had a dark green yukata with a pale pink flower pattern. Naruto frowned. That probably explained the staring match. Girls got weird when their outfits matched too closely.

"Wait," he said the blood draining from his face. "Were we supposed to wear yukata?"

Naruto had the door open in a flash. He could find a clean yukata in his closet. Probably. If not, some of the shops my still be open. Or he could raid the ANBU disguise closet. There were plenty of options. He took two steps into the apartment and gagged.

Sakura tugged him back out with her grip on his hood. "The girls all decided to wear yukata because of the fireworks. There's no dress code."

Naruto sighed with relief once he finished choking. The four of them walked out of the hall and jumped down to street level. The girls could fight in their yukata, but it was easier to walk on the streets than jump on roofs. Karin immediately latched onto Sasuke's arm while Naruto and Sakura walked separately a few steps behind them.

Naruto glanced side-ways at Sakura. She had announced loudly to multiple people that she had given up on Sasuke, but she and Karin sure managed to fight over him anyway. Naruto was used to it growing up with Sakura, Ino, and the Sasuke Fan-Club, but he didn't like that wistful look on her face.

"Karin knows that I was Sasuke's first kiss, right?" asked Naruto loudly. "And it wasn't all that it was cracked up to be."

The pair in front of him stumbled, almost in unison, and nearly landed in the dirt. Sakura just laughed.

"Was there a single girl in our class that didn't try to beat you up for that?" she asked.

Naruto considered it. "Hinata-chan!"

"She probably wanted to hit Sasuke," said Sakura.

"That would have shown all those nay-saying Hyuuga if Hinata had laid a beating on the last Uchiha, ya know," said Naruto.

"I believe it," giggled Sakura.

"Did you really kiss Naruto, Sasuke?" asked Karin in concern.

Sasuke's sigh was answer enough. Naruto winked at Sakura and stage-whispered, "He even slipped me some tongue."

"I did not!" yelled Sasuke. "There was no tongue!"

"I always knew you guys were close. But that is way too much information," said Suigetsu as he approached with Jugo.

Naruto grinned at the two remaining members of Team Taka. Ichigo had spoken with Suigetsu after the whole sparring incident, but the shark-toothed swordsman had been avoiding him ever since. Sasuke told Naruto that Suigetsu was soul-searching after being called out like that. Naruto had figured that meant a lot of time meditating with Jugo because that's where Naruto usually found him.

After speaking with Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu, Naruto had made sure to extend an invitation to all of Team Taka personally. None of the Kurosakis were the type to hold a grudge, and Naruto wanted everyone to get along. (And if part of getting along meant never telling Ichigo about Jugo accidentally attacking Karin, well, she didn't care and Naruto, as Hokage-in-training, could issue gag-orders to everyone else.)

"Is that why you promised to bring Sasuke-kun back Naruto?" asked Sakura innocently. "You should have told me. I would have supported you!"

Naruto blanched. "What? Not you too, Sakura-chan!"

When the group reached Team Seven's old training ground, they stared in amazement. A dozen jet black poles sprung from the ground tied together with string. Hanging from the string were paper tags alternating with bits of colored glass. Lying on the ground beneath the poles were an assortment of blankets and throws. Naruto promptly went to investigate and everyone else trailed behind.

"It's obsidian. Yuzu must have made these," said Naruto. He poked at the stone. It was rough beneath his fingers. "And there's writing on it."

"These are ice," said Sakura staring at a piece shaped like a flower. "I told Karin to practice her control over it. These are amazing. I wonder how she colored them."

"I froze colored water," said Kurosaki Karin wandering over.

She wore a dark red yukata the same color as her soccer jersey. It had a few white slashes decoration and wasn't very feminine but still managed to flatter her figure. She looked comfortable, which Naruto guessed the important part.

"Yuzu carved out the kido on the poles, and Ichigo made the tags. Everything will light up when it gets dark," she explained.

"And that won't interfere with the fireworks?" asked Sasuke edging close to Naruto for a better look at the writing on the poles.

Karin frowned at him. "Why would it? Ichigo's controlling the kido. He can turn it off when he wants to."

"I'm sure it will look beautiful," said Sakura. "Here, I haven't something for you."

Sakura reached into her sleeve and pulled out a notebook. Karin took it and flipped it open.

"A medical diary?" she asked curiously.

"I thought you could use it to record any interesting cases you treated," said Sakura.

"I didn't know we were supposed to bring gifts," said Suigetsu.

"Not necessary," Karin told him. "But thanks, Sakura-sensei. This is cool." She gestured at a long table. "Kakashi's over there with Yuzu."

Naruto, who had been drifting closer to the food table with every step, stood immobilized with shock. Sasuke and Sakura were staring in open disbelief. Even Suigetsu, Jugo, and Sasuke's Karin looked surprised. Kakashi's lateness was infamous. He was probably going to be late to his own funeral.

"Kakashi-sensei got here before us?" asked Naruto. "Is the world ending and somebody forgot to tell me?"

"Well, Yuzu made food for the dogs, and I think they may have reversed summoned him, or maybe he came looking for them. One of those," said Karin.

Naruto relaxed. That was much more reasonable.

Yuzu waved at them as they approached. She wore a yellow yukata with a dark blue butterfly pattern. Her sleeves were tied back so she could better serve what was truly a vast quantity of food. Most of it was home-made, but some looked like it came from the Akimichi kitchens. The dango skewers were clearly from Anko's favorite shop, and Teuchi had contributed some sealed ramen too.

"Nice spread!" Naruto told her trying not to salivate over the ramen.

"Thanks," said Yuzu. "Ino-sempai brought some extra food as a gift. She said she didn't want Chouji to eat everything. I hope it's enough."

"I'm sure it will be fine," said Sakura. "How are you guys liking yours?"

This was directed to the dogs who were currently chowing down on a nearby blanket. Kakashi was partially buried in the puppy-pile and he looked happy though that might have been the copy of Icha Icha Tactics he was using to block out the world.

There was chorus of approval from the hounds. Yuzu blushed at the enthusiastic praise of her cooking.

"Where's Ichigo?" asked Suigetsu cautiously.

"He rechecking everything over there," said Yuzu waving to the other side of the small lake. Naruto could see Ichigo's orange head bobbing up and down as bent over to look at the equipment for the show. "He'll come back soon."

Naruto and his group were the first to arrive, other than Kakashi, and more and more people startled to trickle into the training ground.

Yuzu and Karin had invited an assortment of people they knew through work including Anko, Ino, and Ibiki for Yuzu and Saskura, Shizune, Udon for Karin. They also invited few of their teachers from the Academy, which included Iruka-sensei and Hinata's teammate Shino.

Ichigo had invited his own genin team including Kurenai's daughter, who was the youngest attendee, Team Gai, and, indirectly through Hanabi, Hinata.

Naruto had the tricky task of inviting the Hokage to informal social event and had decided he was asking Tsunade Senju to an Uzumaki celebration instead. He had also invited Kiba, Shikamaru, and Chouji, since they hadn't had any direct interaction with Kurosakis—except when Shikamaru attended the various listen- to-Ichigo-explain-himself-this-time sessions. Naruto had tracked down Moegi and Ebisu, since Ichigo definitely needed to meet the whole Konohamaru Corps, even if Ebisu wasn't technically part of the corps.

He was going to invite basically everyone he thought the Kurosakis needed to know, but Sakura had told him that was too much. So Naruto, extended invitations to the Clan Heads, and Kotetsu and Izumo, since they were some of the most useful chunin in the village. Most of the Clan Heads had agreed to come or send someone as representative, and Kotetsu was the one who admitted the Kurosakis into the village in the first place, so he and Izumo were delighted to come.

The total guest list was more than fifty people. All of whom, Naruto thought, with few exceptions, were pretty awesome people.

At dusk, the party really got underway. As the sun faded, the spell scratched into the obsidian rods started to glow, so did the tags hanging from the lines. Karin's colored ice caught the light and reflected it back in a multi-hued rainbow. The effect was beautiful, and Naruto immediately heard a dozen conversations start up about how it was done. Shinobi were always ready to talk shop.

Someone had brought a music player—Naruto knew Ichigo and the twins didn't have one—and a few shinobi had moved some of the quilts to dance on the grass. Naruto had had a quick dance with the female members of the Konoha twelve, his cousin Karin, his other cousin Karin, and Tsunade. Yuzu was still minding the food, which she seemed to enjoy.

Naruto slipped away from the entertainment after Shizune and Gai took it upon themselves to start slow dancing. For two people who knew the body so well, they were truly terrible. He glanced around for Sakura, Sasuke, or someone else to talk to and promptly tripped.

Someone groaned, and it wasn't Naruto.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" Naru said pushing himself upright. "Cloud-gazing?"

"Not anymore," said Shikamaru starting then aborting an attempt to wave at all the lights. "Not as troublesome as I expected."

"They are pretty," agreed Naruto. They were soft lights too. Naruto imagined his night vision could adjust fairly well if he left the picnic area.

"I'm glad you like it," said Yuzu standing next to him.

Naruto almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of Yuzu's voice. Even Shikamaru looked startled, or he would if it wasn't too much effort, Naruto was sure. She had appeared suddenly and was hiding her hands behind her back.

"It's great," said Naruto trying to peer around her. "It's a kido, right?"

"It's a modified barrier. It keeps out mosquitos," said Yuzu easily evading his attempts by leaning away.

"Really?" asked Shikamaru. "What's the light for then?"

"It's a side-effect," explained Yuzu. "Almost all kido have some sort of signal to show they are working. For most, it's light."

"And this is a modified one, you say?" asked Shikamaru.

Yuzu nodded. "It's really a general purpose for bugs, but Ichigo had to tweak it because of Shino-sensei. He also added the part where it started when the sun went down."

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, I guess we wouldn't want to make Shino stand outside the whole time. Why, you ask? Because it would be rude."

Yuzu covered her mouth to hide a smile. "I think that might be rude too."

"Right, right," said Naruto. "Hey have you met, Shikamaru?" Naruto jabbed Shikamaru in the side. "Hey, say Happy Birthday to Yuzu."

"Happy Birthday, Yuzu," said Shikamaru glancing at her briefly.

"Pineapple hair, lying down," murmured Yuzu. "Are you Ino-sempai's teammate? The one who plays shogi?"

She sounded like she was interested in playing. Naruto wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Ino's description of Shikamaru was hilarious, but a single game of shogi with Shikamaru could go on for hours. He was sure Yuzu didn't know what she was getting into.

Shikamaru lifted a brow. "Do you play?"

"Oh, yes," said Yuzu.

"Are you any good?" asked Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru!" protested Naruto.

"I'll play her even if she's bad," said Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru!" wailed Naruto. That was worse.

Yuzu smiled at both of them. "I don't really know. I only ever played daddy at the clinic."

Naruto had a feeling that a former noble and Captain of the Court Guard was probably pretty good at shogi. Shikamaru didn't know the exact details of the situation, but he looked intrigued for probably the same reason.

"Ichigo and Karin never played with you?" asked Naruto.

"Karin liked go better," said Yuzu. "But her boards almost always ended up looking like soccer balls."

Naruto thought that was pretty impressive, given that territory in go had to be squared off to be counted. "What about Ichigo?"

Yuzu winced slightly. "Ichi-nii's not much of strategic thinker. He's much better at tactics. He's great at checkers!"

Naruto translated that to mean Ichigo was great at winning fights but wasn't really made for organizing wars. Naruto had that problem himself, but he had his team to hold him back when he needed it.

"That sounds like a bad idea in the long run," said Shikamaru.

Yuzu smiled. "Isn't that what you're for, Jounin Commander?"

Shikamaru smirked. "It is my job to herd troublesome shinobi. Except when I have free time like this. Do you want to play now? I can go get a board."

Naruto rolled his eyes. Shogi was the only thing Shikamaru was enthusiastic about, except maybe Temari. Yuzu put a hand to her cheek. The other was still behind her back.

"I'm not sure I'll have time tonight, maybe another day?" she suggested.

Shikamaru nodded. "I'll have Ibiki clear your schedule sometime this week."

"Okay?" asked Yuzu helplessly.

"Almost nobody will play with Shikamaru anymore," said Naruto leapt from his seat. "I can't stand it. What are you hiding?"

Yuzu revealed her hidden hand and presented it to Naruto with a flourish. It was one the bowls of Teuchi's ramen.

"You're the best!" said Naruto cradling the bowl to his chest. "It's even warm!"

"It's the last one," said Yuzu. "But there's plenty more food. Just save room for cake. We'll be cutting it soon."

"I'm sure it will be good if you made," said Naruto. He plopped back down, narrowly avoiding Shikamaru, and pulled off the top. The sweet scent of noodles in broth filled his nose.

Yuzu shook her head at his comment. "Ichi-nii made it."

"Your brother made it?" asked Shikamaru suspiciously. "I thought you were the cook."

"I made cupcakes for the kids in our Academy class," said Yuzu. "Iruka-sensei wasn't going to let me hand them out, but I made them all different flavors, so everyone had to guess what was in theirs."

"Practicing poison tasting without the poison," said Shikamaru. "Sounds like fun. Still doesn't explain why your brother made the cake."

"It's mom's special birthday-cake recipe, so he's the only one who knows how to make it," explained Yuzu. "Don't forget, we'll have cake then fireworks. And I look forward to playing you, Shikamaru-san."

"Me too," said Shikamaru.

Yuzu smiled again and returned to her station by the food. Naruto watched her go and took a big bite of his ramen.

"Tastes saltier than usual," he said.

Shikamaru looked at him. "That's because you're crying into the bowl, moron."

"It's just ramen, special cake, and fireworks," said a sniffling Naruto.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and lay back down. "If Sakura sees you crying, make sure it doesn't cause trouble for me.

"Of course not," said Naruto. "These are happy tears."

Naruto finished his ramen, said his good-byes to Shikamaru, and took the dirty bowl to the trash. On the way back to the food table—he had heard the cry of cake echo through the crowd—he ran into Sasuke and Ichigo.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" asked Naruto.

"Ichigo and I were planning to spar later this week," said Sasuke. "Suigetsu's still in hiding, and Kakashi is always busy. I thought it might be informative."

Ichigo's scowl deepened slightly from exasperation. Naruto remember that Sasuke had been present for the discussion in the aftermath of Suigetsu's loss. He knew that Ichigo could read the hearts of the people he fought. It wasn't quite the same as opening up to someone, but it certainly demonstrated a new willingness to expose himself on Sasuke's part.

"Cool, let me know when. I want to watch," said a grinning Naruto.

"We were thinking tomorrow morning," said Ichigo. "Since I have genjutsu practice with Kurenai-sensei on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"And I'm going to have to start packing soon," added Sasuke.

Naruto wilted at the reminder that Team Taka would be leaving at the end of the week. The usual medic-nin trip to Suna was coming up too. That meant Sasuke and Sakura would be gone.

"Around ten maybe?" said Ichigo. "Where would be a good place?"

"We can meet in the Uchiha District. The training grounds are still closed to the public," said Sasuke. "I can write some directions for you."

"You'll have to give them to me later," said Ichigo glancing at his watch. "I need to get the preparations started for the fireworks."

"I'm looking forward to it," said Naruto. Once Ichigo was gone, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's wrist. "We've got to get special cake and find Sakura!"

"Alright," said Sasuke. He grunted as Naruto launched into the crowd. "Wait, Naruto. Slow down, you idiot!"

Naruto and Sasuke retrieved their cake and set out to find the other members of Team Seven. They found Sasuke's Karin, who had been looking for them, and she reluctantly led them to Sakura.

Sakura was talking with Yamato and Sai. Kakashi was there too leaning against the nearest lit pole, apparently they didn't burn, with his ninken scattered around his feet snoring. The dogs had eaten so much their bellies were distended. Suigetsu and Jugo wandered up from the lake. The swordsman had been refreshing himself in his own unique way.

Naruto vibrated with excitement, and maybe with a mild sugar rush, the cake was delicious and super sweet. He had had to finish off Sasuke's piece for him.

"Calm down, Naruto," said Sakura.

"Are you kidding?" asked Naruto. "I get to see a fireworks show made by my cousin. How is that not exciting?"

"Our cousin," corrected Karin.

Naruto blinked at her in surprise. Until now, Sasuke's Karin had done little more than acknowledge a potential relationship between her and Naruto. She caught his eye and smiled.

"I guess spending a few weeks on the road calling myself Uzumaki Karin brought it home," she said.

Naruto was prepared to die then and there. He might not have achieved his dream of becoming Hokage just yet, but his whole family—assigned, affiliated, and blood-related—was alive and well and happy.

"Naruto!" Karin and Yuzu wandered into their sphere. Their faces shone from happiness.

"The fireworks are about to start," said Yuzu.

"How can you tell?" asked Sakura.

Yuzu pointed up. The lights from the tags faded and the poles stopped glowing. Naruto looked out over the small lake to where Ichigo stood alone in the darkness.

Two geysers of white sparks appeared roughly fifty feet away from each other. At forty feet, another pair of twin fountains, blue this time, rose even higher. A green set appeared at thirty feet, and yellow pair at fifteen. A fiery red spray arched into the sky dead center.

Naruto heard the muted boom of a cannon. Shells exploded, one after the other, spreading a twinkling field of stars that crackled like flame as they fell back to earth. Interspersed among them were shrieking rockets and multi-colored flares that fell like waterfalls trailing smoke.

After that there were shapes—Naruto didn't even know fireworks could make shapes—hearts, smiling faces, strawberries, once Kon's face, and Konoha Leaves, which Ichigo must have developed over the past week. There were a few starbursts that formed flaming white crosses—four-pointed and five-pointed—and then everything fell silent.

"Is that it?" asked Naruto.

Karin punched him lightly. "Shush. He's got to do the Shiba spiral next, and it's hard."

"Shiba spiral?" murmured Naruto. He remembered the spiral pattern on the Kurosaki's living room wall. Red, yellow, and blue on a field of green, but he didn't understand how that would be difficult to translate into fireworks. Except maybe the field part.

There was the dull boom of cannon fire. Three shots—red, yellow, and blue—bloomed to life at the corners of a large triangle. They hovered still for a moment then started to twist in the air. Each one grew a long tail of sparks which formed a constant, twirling spiral.

The spirals spun themselves out throwing sparks into the night. Every time one spark collided with another, they exploded into giant starbursts of light. The sound was enormous, rattling Naruto's bones, and the entire sky was an ocean of green, orange, and purple flowers.

Eventually the fireworks faded leaving behind dusty trails of smoke, which slowly drifted into a heart, solid white, and hovering over the far edge of the lake. Another round of shells exploded in front of the white screen. "Happy 20th Birthday, Yuzu and Karin!" twinkled in multicolored lights against the backdrop. Every brushstroke was a different color. The watching shinobi hooted and hollered in appreciation.

The display hovered in the air for almost a minute. Then the words began to dip, and the wind came up blowing the heart away. The words collapsed entirely, but instead of fading the lights shot out over the lake into the gathered party-goers.

Naruto found himself looking a horde of twinkling butterflies. He reached out to touch the nearest one. It vanished like a popped soap-bubble, but for a moment, it felt like the most delicate snowflake against his skin. Naruto looked up and was treated to the sight of some of the most dangerous shinobi in the world, batting at butterflies like grade-schoolers. Naruto couldn't get the smile off his face if he tried.

After the last butterfly was popped by sneak attack from Unicorn, the party lights flickered back to life. Everyone cheered and applauded. Naruto looked at Yuzu and Karin. The twins were smiling, gentle content smiles.

"Happy birthday," he told them. "That was incredible."

"Thank you, Naruto," said Yuzu politely.

Karin's smile shifted to a smirk. "Of course, it was incredible. It was Ichigo."

Naruto returned her smirk with one of his own. If the fireworks show was incredible, he couldn't wait for the showdown between his teammate and his cousin. That was sure to be magnificent.

-0-0-0-0-0-

In the morning, Ichigo made his way to the Uchiha District after the usual morning practice with Team Gai. Lee had been on time, but Neji, Tenten, and Gai had all been late. It was no surprise. After the fireworks, the shinobi had been too keyed up to leave.

At midnight, Ichigo had finally sent Karin and Yuzu back to the apartment with Naruto (and the two biju) as an escort. The last of the shinobi left two hours later while Ichigo was finishing the clean-up. Ichigo suspected a few all-hours bars and diners welcomed the unexpected windfall of happily drunk customers.

Ichigo left morning practice at his usual time, but Neji and Tenten had worked harder than normal prompting the team to keep going. He thought of what he would normally be doing at the time, if he hadn't planned to spar with Sasuke, and realized he didn't know.

His training with Team Three was officially over. He was meeting with Kurenai to work on his genjutsu, and Hanabi and Konohamaru had demanded rematches at a later date. But his former teammates were leaving on a mission with Konohamaru's childhood friend, Moegi, in the next few days.

Even Karin was leaving. She was going with a team of medic-nin to Suna at the end of the week, even though she had yet to officially graduate. Sakura and Naruto assured him that she would be fine. The trip to Suna had happened every year, and Tenten, who was going as security, had promised to look out for Karin.

Yuzu would be busy with the Academy and T&I leaving Ichigo with no company at the apartment except for Isobu, Matatabi, and Kon if the lion didn't go to school with Yuzu. Ichigo could accept one D-rank a day, but those never took very long. He would have to find something to do now that his project for Yuzu and Karin's birthday was over. It was much too soon to start on the display for Naruto.

Ichigo paused outside the gate to the Uchiha District. At one point, it had obviously been part of a much larger wall, but other than a line of young trees planted in the former foundations, all evidence of the wall was gone.

As he passed through the gate, a chill ran up Ichigo's spine. Neither he nor his sisters had seen any evidence of ghosts since arriving in the Elemental Countries, but on Earth an area with this aura would be thick with shackled spirits—demi-Hollows slowly transforming into their much more dangerous counterparts.

None of the many people he saw moving over the main road into the district seemed to notice the heavy air, or maybe they were used to it after living and working here for so long. Ichigo knew that none of them were Uchiha by blood—Sasuke truly was the last of his clan unless he married—but every building had the Uchiha fan on it somewhere. From a discrete picture in a window to a giant drawing on the side of a house, everyone acknowledged the memory of the former occupants. Ichigo decided they were a bit like the memorial flowers left for the deceased back in Karakura Town and decided to search for the training ground where he was meeting Sasuke.

Sasuke's directions were much clearer than Naruto's. Ichigo found the appropriate training ground with no trouble at all. The location Sasuke had chosen was well suited for practicing kenjutsu. There were the ubiquitous wooden posts that were standard on the majority of training grounds in Konoha, but unlike other areas, the ground was mostly flat, there weren't large dusty spots, and the grass was cut short.

Sasuke had beaten Ichigo there and was performing stretches. Ichigo was still loose from his earlier training but, after exchanging quiet hellos, started on one of the katas he had developed for Zangetsu's shikai form. He didn't intend to use his zanpakuto for their bout, but the motions would help him transition mentally from unarmed taijutsu to kenjutsu.

Ichigo was half-way through the first set when Naruto burst onto the scene. The sudden increase in sound was startling in comparison.

"You're late, moron," said Sasuke by way of greeting.

"Shut up, bastard," said Naruto cheerfully. "I was working. Granny ditched this morning so I was doing paperwork. 'Sup, Ichigo."

"Morning," muttered Ichigo still working through his sword exercises.

Logically, he knew that Naruto was good at his job, which required written reports at all levels, except for possible ears-only levels of classification, but it was hard to imagine Naruto sitting down and doing paperwork. Then again, except for Rukia, who had seriously attempted to blend-in as a student, all of the shinigami who had visited him seemed surprised to find Ichigo doing homework too.

"You guys sure are quiet," said Naruto. "Aren't you excited?"

"Sure," said Ichigo.

He was excited to fight someone who specialized in sword-work. He almost wished he had let the fight with Suigetsu play out longer, but the feelings in the other man's heart were too annoying for Ichigo to grapple with after facing off against all those desperate genin at the Exams. This situation was much better. His anticipation had been building since the Uchiha sought him out at the picnic.

"If you're not careful, you'll start sounding like a certain time-challenged jounin with an inflated sense of self-importance and not enough respect for other people's schedules," growled Naruto.

"Did you have a meeting with Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sasuke.

Naruto shouted in frustration. "He was two hours late! Two hours! He was supposed to be meeting with Tsunade-baa-chan anyway, so I ditched him."

Ichigo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The jounin had shown up at the edge of the practice ground roughly ten minutes ago when Ichigo and Sasuke had intended to start their match. Ichigo was fairly sure that Kakashi, whatever his fearsome reputation, wouldn't be two hours late to a meeting with the Hokage. He had probably guessed at her condition this morning and decided to ditch too, especially if he had information meant for her and not Naruto such as the latest report on Ichigo and his sisters.

The former substitute was used to being spied on by his friends. Even ignoring the substitute badge deception, the shinigami had to file reports on any Hollow they encountered while in Karakura and any interaction with the shinigami stationed there, in this case Ichigo. Most of them probably didn't even consider it spying, not realizing how dangerous it was for the Court Guard to have easily accessible records of Ichigo's daily life and routines.

The shinobi were oddly more open about the fact that they were spying on Ichigo. He knew they started watching his family to insure the safety of the village and for Naruto's personal protection. Now they were looking after Yuzu and Karin to prevent them from being hurt, which Ichigo approved whole-heartedly.

"So you guys aren't using real swords?" asked Naruto.

Ichigo hadn't manifested Zangetsu yet and had been working with the bokken Urahara had given him. Likewise, Sasuke had brought his chokuto but run his kata with a shinai.

It was awkward for an iaido-style swordsman to use a shinai—much of the force of the blows came from drawing the sword from a sheath which a shinai lacked—but it was Ichigo's understanding that Sasuke had been enhanced somehow so that his physical strength was equal or greater than that of Naruto. His reiatsu was nearly as deep, and without the benefit of a biju that meant he had come very close to death and survived against near insurmountable odds likely more than once.

"This is just a test," said Sasuke. "We can use real swords later."

"Sounds good to me," said Ichigo.

It was a bit weird for Ichigo to practice against someone with roughly the same amount of experience. No doubt Sasuke had more training. Ichigo's training with Urahara had been the only sort he knew until his father taught him kendo and Ukitake helped him develop a double-sword style kata. But in terms of time spent fighting, Sasuke only had a few more years than Ichigo rather than the decades or centuries he was used to from most of his opponents.

"Are you ready?" asked Sasuke.

"I am," said Ichigo. He could feel his excitement rising. This wasn't a fight with death on the line or the lives of his friends and family at stake. Those fights were important, of course, and they were always good fights. But this one he could enjoy without fear nipping at his heels. "Are you?"

Sasuke nodded and they squared off. Ichigo noticed distantly that Naruto had fallen silent and moved well out of the way, but his primary focus was on his opponent. Sasuke lowered his shinai to his hip while Ichigo grasped the hilt of his bokken both hands.

Sasuke charged first. The shape of the shinai barely slowed him down, but Ichigo had fought faster opponents. He side-stepped the first strike barely tapping the shinai to parry before disengaging Sasuke's weapon to strike at his flank. The combined momentum of Sasuke's lunge and Ichigo's swing could do some serious damage.

At the last possible moment, Sasuke jumped up over Ichigo's bokken dodging the attack entirely. Ichigo took another step and pivoted on his heel. Sasuke had recovered almost instantly and the tip of his shinai was seconds away from striking Ichigo in the neck. Even with the padded end, a hit like that could crush Ichigo's throat.

Ichigo brought his bokken to bear with his full might. The wooden sword hit Sasuke's slatted-bamboo weapon and sheared off the front-half. Sasuke wasn't deterred, and the broken end was possibly even more dangerous. However, the move bought Ichigo some time, and he dropped below the severed weapon and surged forward to slam his shoulder into Sasuke's chest.

The Uchiha was too close to dodge that move and stumbled backward temporarily winded. He hadn't let go of the shinai, and Ichigo wasn't about to lower his guard around an armed opponent. Sasuke was fully trained shinobi. He was just as dangerous as without a weapon as he was holding one.

"Hold it!" said Naruto suddenly.

Ichigo didn't blink. He was still too keyed up to draw his eyes away from Sasuke, but he did pause and saw that Sasuke paused too. Then Ichigo started to process what had happened and finally lowered his bokken.

"What was that?" demanded Naruto.

Sasuke peered at the ruined remains of his shinai. He looked almost amused at the destruction.

"How did you do it?" he asked. "I didn't notice you channeling any chakra into your sword."

Ichigo held the bokken at chest height. "It's designed to handle reiatsu, so theoretically it can cut through anything if I put enough power in it. Sorry about that."

"It's fine," said Sasuke. "I have spares and I barely use them anyway. I didn't expect you to hit me like that. Most sword fighters don't switch between the armed and unarmed combat so smoothly."

Ichigo scratched at his head. "Well, you kept coming, and I didn't have a second weapon."

"You're used to having two, right?" asked Sasuke.

"Yeah, yeah, I noticed that too," said Naruto. "When you were running through your exercises, your hands did different things."

"I usually have the option of having two," allowed Ichigo. He didn't feel like explaining how Zangetsu worked at the moment. He wasn't sure that Naruto even knew about the zanpakuto's second form.

"I can get another shinai from the house if you'll wait a moment," said Sasuke.

Ichigo didn't really want to wait. He wanted to fight, and he had the feeling Sasuke did too. Zangetsu hilt manifested next to his head.

"If you're done with your test, I don't mind crossing swords with you," said Ichigo.

"Test? What test?" asked Naruto.

Sasuke peered at Ichigo with interest. "So you really can tell what I'm feeling."

"Seriously, guys, what test?" demanded Naruto.

"What your motivation for fighting is," corrected Ichigo.

He didn't want the shinobi to think he had greater scope than that. He couldn't do more than that for one thing. What he sensed depended entirely on his opponent. Also, he didn't want to find himself in T&I with Yuzu punching prisoners to retrieve information. His power didn't work that way.

"What are you talking about?" roared Naruto.

Sasuke gestured for Ichigo to explain and went to retrieve the broken off piece of his shinai. Ichigo turned to Naruto and indicated the Uchiha.

"He wanted to see if I was strong enough to protect you," said Ichigo. "His team is leaving at the end of the week, and he's seen first-hand what those fake people can do to immobilize an Uzumaki. If you can't fight even using the Nine-Tail's chakra, he wants to make sure there's someone else around that can."

Naruto's indignant expression turned fond. "You bastard, I can take care of myself. And it's not like Sakura and Kakashi-sensei won't be around. I also haven't left Konoha in months except for the Chunin Exams."

"Sakura's leaving for Suna at the same time as Team Taka. Kakashi is running security for the Kurosakis and Yamato and Sai are helping him," said Sasuke. "And he," here he pointed at Ichigo, "was kidnapped in the middle of Konoha."

Ichigo blushed faintly. Getting snatched like that had been embarrassing, even more so given how uncomfortable he had felt in Konoha at the time. He had been on alert even then, but the cart drivers were civilians without any appreciable reiatsu and the weird fake-shinobi had not possessed any spiritual presence at all.

He cleared his throat. "Are we going to keep going?"

Sasuke dropped the remains of his shinai next to Naruto and retrieved his chokuto. Ichigo smirked and tossed his bokken in his cousin's direction. A solid length burrowed into the ground, enough to keep it upright at least. Ichigo drew Zangetsu from his back. The cloth wrapping fell away almost eagerly.

"I think I may need to see a little bit more," said Sasuke. One of his eyes shone bright red while the shifted to gray.

"Hey, that's his kekkei genkai," called Naruto. "Use yours too, okay?"

"That's fine with me," said Ichigo raising Zangetsu.

Sasuke nodded he was ready, and this time Ichigo attacked first. He started with a straight downward slash. Sasuke stepped back while simultaneously drawing his chokuto up and aimed down at Ichigo's chest. Ichigo flicked Zangetsu up to disrupt the attack then sideways at Sasuke's neck. Sasuke turned his body slightly and blocked the hit with his sheath. The pair sprang apart.

Sasuke raced forward lightning-quick. Ichigo blocked with Zangestu and pressed forward. Against a sword of Zangetsu's size, Sasuke couldn't disengage the without slipping into Ichigo's range. He had to withdraw to strike from a different angle. Sasuke pulled away and disappeared from Ichigo's vision.

Instantly, Ichigo turned to avoid a hit to his back and switched Zangetsu to his left hand to increase his response time. In his body, he wasn't quite as fast at the ninja and couldn't avoid Sasuke's strike completely. Instead of hitting him straight on, the chokuto skidded across Ichigo's shoulder blade slicing open his shirt, but with blut vene active it didn't even break the skin.

Ichigo aimed Zangetsu's pommel and Sasuke's cheekbone, but though the swordsman was visibly surprised by the ineffectiveness of his attack and the speed at which Ichigo responded, he managed to avoid breaking his cheekbone. He couldn't avoid Zangetsu completely. Ichigo could move the sword much faster than its size suggested and scored first blood—a razor thin line just under Sasuke's left eye.

Sasuke moved back into a ready position eyes narrowed. Ichigo smirked as the battle-lust bubbling under his skin rose to the surface. The Uchiha was a good opponent. He was as fast as Byakuya and as strong as Ikkaku. Whatever the outcome of today's match, Ichigo would definitely want to fight him again.

Once they were finished, Sasuke escorted Naruto and Ichigo to the main gate of the Uchiha District. On the way, Naruto recounted every move with amazing accuracy and even better color commentary. Ichigo found his cousin's reaction amusing, and he was sure Zangetsu would too if the zanpakuto wasn't so busy sulking.

"I can't believe you managed to cut Ichigo while he was sing that blut technique," said Naruto.

"I had to channel chidori through my sword to manage it," said Sasuke eyeing the edge of his chokuto.

There were quite a few nicks he would have to grind out of it, Ichigo noticed. The lightning technique that had broken through Ichigo's blut vene had also taken a fairly sizeable chip out of Zangestu. Ichigo's reiryoku was already working to restore the damage as soon as it happened, but it probably wouldn't have happened at all if Ichigo had been in shikai, which was the reason Zangetsu was muttering curses in the back on Ichigo's brain.

Ichigo shrugged. "Blut vene can be torn if the attacker uses enough force, but otherwise it's unbreakable. That's why I try not to use it against Neji or Lee. A fist isn't really designed for tearing."

"I guess you're right," said Naruto.

"Don't tell either of them that though," warned Sasuke. "They'll take it as a challenge."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Ugh, I know."

"Speaking of challenged," began Naruto. "Are you mentally challenged, or what? Why haven't you healed your arm yet?"

Ichigo glanced at the cut on his bicep. That part of the sleeve had mostly burned away underneath the heat of the lightning and the rest had fallen off. He had taken the bandage he normally used to tape his wrists to cover the wound.

"I stopped the bleeding," he said. "I thought I could go by the hospital and get Karin to look at it."

"Karin's at the hospital?" asked a suddenly paler Sasuke.

Naruto nudged him gently in the side. "Not your teammate Karin. His sister Karin."

Sasuke relaxed slightly. "Of course, the hospital is Sakura's territory, so Karin stays away."

"It's for the best," agreed Naruto. He looked at Ichigo's arm again. "Your kekkei genkai stops you from bleeding too? That's handy."

Ichigo frowned at him. "You've already seen me use it. When I…" He trailed off and waved his right hand slightly.

Naruto scowled at the reminder. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and looked at the wound. "So, you just stop bleeding? Why is that?"

"Blut translates to blood. All of the blut-techniques involve manipulating blood," explained Ichigo. "I can reinforce my blood to create a near-impenetrable defense with blut vene or increase my offensive power with blut arterie. Stopping blood flow is part of blut vene."

"That is useful," said Sasuke.

"Hey, hey. Can Yuzu and Karin do that too?" asked Naruto.

Ichigo considered it for a moment. "No, only pureblood-Quincy can use blut automatically. The rest of us have to learn it. I guess our grandmother must have taught mom. I can probably get Yuzu started on Saturday, but I won't have time to show Karin until she gets back from Suna. I don't really have to worry about her being stabbed in the hospital through, do I?"

Ichigo glanced over when he heard no response. Sasuke and Naruto were both staring at him in concern.

"What?" he asked.

"What was that bit about pureblood-Quincy and your mom?" asked Naruto.

"Pureblooded Quincy were ones that only married other pureblooded Quincy and never regular humans. They also had an innate ability to use most Quincy techniques as opposed to having to learn them," explained Ichigo. "Dad and Uncle Ryuuken told us that mom had an exceptionally strong manifestation of blut vene, which made sense since I thought she was a pureblood. But if our grandfather was Uzumaki Mamoru, mom couldn't have been a pureblood after all."

Sasuke scowled at nothing. "Sounds a lot like the byakugan compared to the sharingan."

Ichigo wasn't entirely sure what that meant, except maybe that Sasuke's sharingan wasn't always there whereas all the Hyuuga had white eyes all the time. He didn't sound pleased about whatever it was, so Ichigo decided not to ask.

"So the Kurosaki are like a branch of the Quincy clan?" asked Naruto also deliberately ignoring his teammate's comment.

"Our maternal grandmother was the last pureblood Quincy of that line, so I guess so," said Ichigo. "But my sisters and I didn't know anything about this until a few years ago, so I've never really thought of us as a branch house."

"What is the Main Branch then?" asked Naruto.

"Well, Uncle Ryuuken, that is Ishida Ryuuken, is the last pureblood Quincy, so I guess it's him and my cousin Ishida Uryu," said Ichigo.

Yhwach, the first Quincy, had named Ishida as his heir despite his mixed-blood status, so Ichigo supposed technically his was the primary house regardless of how the fight with Yhwach ended. Ichigo had never had pride as a shinigami much less Quincy pride, which Ishida valued so highly, so he didn't mind being considered a lesser house.

"What?" asked Naruto. "How did that happen?"

"Well…" Ichigo trailed off. He remembered now that Sasuke was the Last Uchiha, much the way Ishida was the Last Quincy. According to the village gossip mill, Sasuke's clan had been killed by his older brother. Ichigo wasn't entirely sure how to explain the shinigami-Quincy war, or his part in helping to end what was technically his own family line, without triggering some bad memories.

Naruto heard something in Ichigo's voice. "I'm thinking I don't want to know, ya know."

"I want to know," said Sasuke firmly.

Ichigo sighed. "The first Quincy, Yhwach, was born roughly a thousand years ago. He had the ability to bestow power on other people and created the Quincy that way. Some Quincy married normal humans and diluted their blood, but others married only other Quincy to keep their bloodlines pure and their powers strong, and the impure Quincy became servants and retainers of the pure Quincy families.

"The first Gotei 13 was established around the same time, and the shinigami came into conflict with the Quincy. Part of it was about how each side dealt with Hollows, but also Yhwach was one of those loves-peace-so-much-that-he'll-kill-anyone-who-opposes-him types."

"Oh boy," said Naruto. "This sounds familiar."

Ichigo knew that Naruto enjoyed talking about the wars he had fought in as much as Ichigo did, but it depressed Ichigo a little to know that nowhere was better when it came to war. Then again, the shinobi world was moving into an era of peace. Since the price was so high, maybe they would value it more than Soul Society had.

Ichigo continued, "Yhwach and his Quincy fought the first generation of the Court Guard in a war and lost. Everyone in Seireitei thought they had died, but they were really just in hiding. About two hundred years ago, there was another war between the shinigami and the Quincy and that war all but exterminated the remaining clans.

"Then fifteen years ago, Yhwach woke up and stole all of his powers back from the rest of the impure Quincy, which killed all of them except our cousin Ishida, and his dad was the only pureblood Quincy, so that was two, " said Ichigo.

"Except your family," said Naruto.

Ichigo frowned. "We lost mom, but Karin, Yuzu, and I were completely unaffected. I don't know if that's because we hadn't used our power until then, or if the fact that our dad had been a shinigami protected us. Either way, we survived.

"Anyway, about five, six years ago, Yhwach and his Quincy came back out of hiding to destroy Soul Society and I had to—"

Sasuke held up a hand. His already pale skin had gone white. "I changed my mind. I don't want to know."

Ichigo raised a brow in surprise. He was almost done, but explaining the part about the Soul King would have been tricky anyway, so it was just as well. He didn't feel bad about stopping Yhwach. His dislike of shinigami and impure Quincy would surely have mean the death of Yuzu and Karin twice-over. Even Ishida had fought to help Ichigo in the end despite spending so much of his life defining himself by his Quincy heritage.

"It's the Ichigo-rule," said Naruto.

"Ichigo-rule?" asked Ichigo. He knew the Hokage had issued a blanket order to discourage questions about his home dimension, but he had had never heard it referred to as a rule.

"If you ask Ichigo a question, you have to expect a horrifying answer," said Naruto with a grin.

"I'll keep it in mind," said Sasuke.

"I learned it from Hanabi at their victory dinner," said Naruto. "Where someone was inappropriately depressing."

"I was not being depressing," protested Ichigo. "I was trying to be clear."

"You depress the mood just by being in the room," said Naruto. "But don't worry, I know how to counteract that sort of thing. I have lots of practice with Sasuke. And Sai. And Kakashi, Neji, Gaara, Shikamaru—"

"Shikamaru's not depressing. He's just lazy," said Sasuke.

Ichigo noticed that didn't argue against any of the other names including his own. Ichigo felt mildly insulted. It hadn't rained in his Inner World in weeks. Not that anyone other than Zangetsu could possibly know that.

But Naruto's comment about the victory dinner brought something else to mind. "So, you're close to Konohamaru, right? I mean, he invited you the other night and he calls you "boss" sometimes."

"Yeah," said Naruto fondly but sadly. "Konohamaru's parents died when he was really young, so he was raised in his grandfather's house—the Sandaime Hokage's house, which you can guess wasn't great for a little kid who needed attention—and his father's brother, Asuma died about ten years ago. Asuma was Kurenai's boyfriend and the jounin-instructor for the Ino-Shika-Cho team. He even taught me some stuff about Wind-natured chakra. Konohamaru still has some elder aunts and uncles but there's no one really close to him in his clan anymore."

"That's too bad," said Ichigo. "But you're close now."

Naruto grinned. "We're rivals for the position of Hokage, ya know. Sandaime was the closest thing I had to a dad for a long time, so Konohamaru and I looked up to him to the same way. I also taught Konohamaru his first real jutsu."

"Oh?" asked Ichigo.

"Do you want to see it?" asked Naruto.

Ichigo looked around them. They weren't on the main road, but they had moved into an area with lots buildings. From what he had heard about Naruto's fighting style from Team Gai and observed of Konohamaru's more enthusiastic attacks, collateral damage was a given.

"Is that safe?" he asked.

Sasuke started coughing. Ichigo peered at him in concern. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine," said Naruto waving a hand dismissively. "So, do you want to see?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Sure."

Naruto grinned. "Oiroke no Jutsu!"

There was a puff of smoke. Ichigo blinked in confusion. Naruto's hair was longer and held up in pig-tails. His facial features were blurred slightly and looked much more delicate. Ichigo lowered his gaze slightly and froze. Naruto had turned into a girl, and she wasn't wearing anything. The blood rushed to his face.

"Why are you naked?" screeched Ichigo.

Before he could think about it, he tugged off the remains of his tunic and pulled it over Naruto's head. It hurt his injured arm a bit, but it was worth to have his suddenly female cousin decently covered. He had really hoped Yoruichi was the exception when it came to female ninja running around naked and not the rule.

Naruto, for her part, looked slightly stunned by this sudden turn of events. As a girl, Naruto was slimmer in some areas and rounder in other, but she was still a tiny bit bigger than Ichigo, which meant her arms were pinned inside the tunic even though it was missing a sleeve. After a moment, the stunned look shifted to fond.

"You're cute," she said.

"You're a moron," said Sasuke addressing Naruto. He looked at Ichigo. "Nice job avoiding a nosebleed."

"Nosebleed?" asked Ichigo in confusion. "I just took off my shirt. It's not like I hit myself in the face."

Sasuke stared at him helplessly for a moment then sighed and shook his head. Still trapped, Naruto's shoulders shook with repressed laughter. It didn't stay repressed for long.

"I use my Sexy Technique against perverts," she managed to say through the giggles. "They go flying."

It took a minute, but Ichigo finally got it. Then he scowled. "That's gross. She's my cousin."

Naruto's expression turned fond again. Sasuke just rolled his eyes. Ichigo didn't see the problem. He would have done the same thing for Karin or Yuzu, or any of his female friends if they were suddenly without clothes, the ones that were bothered by that sort of thing anyway.

"Take this off and I'll change back," said Naruto. At Ichigo's suspicious look, she added, "We don't want you running around half-naked either, Mister Sensitive."

"I am wearing pants," Ichigo informed her, but he took the edge of his tunic and pulled it off while discretely looking away.

There was another, smaller puff of smoke as Naruto canceled the technique and returned to normal. Ichigo shook out his tunic and slipped it back on after untying his sash. When he poked his head out the top, he found Naruto and Sasuke staring at him contemplatively.

"What?" he asked knotting the orange sash and readjusting his bokken.

The pair looked at each other. Naruto shrugged and Sasuke titled his head at the blonde.

"We were wondering why don't have any scars," said Naruto.

That was easy enough to answer. "I was never hurt badly enough to scar as a kid." Though he and Chad had permanently messed up a few faces when the bullies, thugs, and minor yakuza around Karakura Town had tried to fight them. "And when I served as shinigami, well, kaido can fix virtually every wound without leaving a scar if you get it treated soon enough. It lets shinigami stay active longer."

That tidbit impressed both of them. Ichigo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, the shinobi valued the strategic nature of near-perfect healing, but it was important to the shinigami too. The ranks of the Court Guard couldn't be refreshed as easily as those of the Hidden Villages, so it was important that shinigami served as long as possible. A captain or lieutenant could kill a hundred Hollows without suffering a scratch. For weaker shinigami, even one-on-one odds were a risk, especially if they didn't know the name of their zanpakuto.

"You're bleeding!" shouted Naruto in alarm.

Ichigo glanced at his arm, which had indeed started bleeding. "Damn. I forgot."

"You forgot?" demanded Naruto. "What's that supposed to mean?"

It was probably a combination of relief that Naruto was once again fully clothed and thinking about the shinigami too much that had allowed blut vene to slip, especially since he wasn't currently under attack. He considered reactivating the Quincy technique and going to see Karin. But he dreaded having to explain what had taken so long. It wasn't that big of a cut anyway.

"Screw it," muttered Ichigo.

He closed his eyes and focused. The lightning had cauterized some of the wound, but swinging Zangetsu around had torn part of it open again. Still, this wasn't anywhere as complicated as healing his internal organs or restoring his entire arm. He flared his Hollow power briefly and braced for the uncomfortable sensation of near-instantaneous tissue regeneration. When it was over, he let his power recede and kept careful track that it receded all the way. Then he opened his eyes.

Ichigo's arm was a good as new. He rotated his shoulder once or twice to adjust the new muscle group. Thankfully, since he used his spiritual power, the new bits of his body took their form based on his soul, which meant he never had to recondition his muscles. As long as he expected them to behave a certain way, they would.

"That was cool," said Naruto.

"It did look kind of cool," admitted Sasuke reluctantly. "But what was that feeling just now?"

"Hollow power," said Ichigo. "It doesn't agree with most people. I have to use it to regenerate though and whenever I do I get—"

His stomach rumbled loudly. Sasuke and Naruto both smirked at him.

"Hungry?" said Naruto. "Want to get Ichiraku?"

Ichigo kept his face very still at the thought of more ramen. He couldn't imagine how Naruto stayed in shape when that was all he seemed to eat. Instead he looked down at his torn, dirty, and now somewhat-bloodstained clothes.

"I think I want to shower first," said Ichigo honestly. "But I'll take a rain-check."

"Sounds good," said Naruto. "Hey, Sasuke, want to get ramen with me?"

Sasuke sighed heavily. "Fine. But we're going to the apartment first."

Naruto protested instantly, but Ichigo understood his point. Sasuke didn't look much better than Ichigo if truth be told. He had a lot more bloodstains too, though they were most scratches. Ichigo was sure some restaurants were used to serving customers in any condition, but it wouldn't do to show to Naruto's favorite ramen stand looking that way.

Ichigo said good-bye to the pair who, after giving their own good-byes, immediately returned to their bickering. Ichigo reached the gate of the Uchiha District and relaxed as he passed into the village proper. The lingering feeling of violent death really did permeate the entire area. Next time he sparred with Sasuke, he would suggest they did so somewhere else.

He glanced at the skyline. Kakashi was still monitoring him. Ichigo could give him something else to report to Tsunade. He was feeling magnanimous, and his stomach felt a bit like it wanted to devour itself. He'd have a real problem, if this was how he felt every time he used his Hollow powers. Fortunately, he never felt the pressing need to eat if he didn't have to regenerate his physical body.

"If I'm careful, I can use shunpo to reach my apartment without hurting myself," he said aloud. He was actually accustomed to using shunpo in his body most of the time. It was only when he was excited that he forgot about his limitations, and of course, he was reluctant to carry other people while using it.

Ichigo leapt to the nearest rooftop. It only took a handful of steps to reach the apartment, even at a moderate speed. His priorities now were shower, food, rest.

The roaring cacophony that greeted him when he opened the door was almost deafening. Beneath the roars of the biju, he could still make out the high-pitched shrieks of an angry Kon. The modsoul still had a body then. That was progress.

"Anyone under two feet tall had better get their act together by the time I'm out of the shower," he called.

The sudden silence from the living room was ominous. Ichigo was already back to longing for the peaceful clarity of a good swordfight. He would just have to wait until Team Taka returned from their mission for a rematch. Surely, he could last that long.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Sakura sighed and checked the clock. "I'm calling it. Thirteen hundred hours, fifty eight minutes."

Mukashyama had been until this moment, the oldest living person in the village. He had served a chunin for most of his life, never gaining the specialized skills needed to advance to jounin, but he had survived countless missions, ambushes, and battles that had killed many. Still, death came for everyone, even near-immortal shinobi.

Sakura helped the nurses prep the body for transport to the morgue. Mukashyama's heir, in this case his oldest surviving granddaughter, could retrieve it there. Once that was done, Sakura went to hand over her report and clock out for her lunch break.

On Wednesdays, rather than eating immediately at noon when the Academy let out, Sakura and Karin met with Anko, Ino, and Yuzu a bit later in the afternoon. Sakura saw Ino all the time, they shared an apartment after all, but it was nice to have a time when they could all eat together. Anko was a surprisingly fun person, even though it took quite a bit of mental concentration to get over her influence at Sakura's first Chunin Exam.

There was a shriek from another room in the long-term care ward. Sakura dropped her clipboard and raced down the hall. She ran into a nurse coming the other way. The poor woman was terrified.

"Hanako, what is it?" asked Sakura.

"Oh, Sakura-sensei, it was awful," sobbed Hanako. "I was helping Karin-chan move one of the coma patients and I saw it."

Sakura was consumed by fear for her apprentice. "Saw what?"

"Shinigami," whispered Hanako. "I'm sorry I screamed, Sakura-sensei, but I'm sure that patient is going to die!"

The fear evaporated and Sakura found herself struggling to reign in her temper. Clearly, the woman was overly stressed. If Sakura yelled at her, Hanako would probably collapse in terror, and Sakura was already over her quota this month.

"Why don't you go get some tea from the nurses' station and sit in the break room until you calm down?" suggested Sakura. "I'll go check on the patient."

"Thank you, Sakura-sensei," said Hanako.

Sakura let her go then hurried to the appropriate room. She found Karin resettling one of the comatose patients—they had to be shifted to prevent bedsores and total muscles atrophy—but she was completely alone. Sakura couldn't see anything that could be mistaken for the Shinigami.

"Are you alright?" asked Sakura. "Hanako seems to have over-excited herself."

"Well, seeing the Honored Ancestor the first time startled me too," said Karin. "She'll get over it."

Sakura blinked. "What?"

"Shinigami-sama stopped by to say hello," said Karin. "It said it was here recovering the soul of a particularly stubborn shinobi."

"The Shinigami was here?" demanded Sakura. A stubborn shinobi. Was that Mukashyama?

Karin nodded. "Yep." She straightened the patient's sheets and stretched. "Are we going to go now sensei?"

Sakura gaped. "The Shinigami was here. And it talked to you? And you call it Honored Ancestor?"

"Shinigami-sama has stopped by the apartment before too," said Karin. "And it was the first one to greet us when we arrived in the Elemental Countries. It came to welcome its younger cousins."

Sakura blanched. "What did it want?"

"Like I said, Shinigami-sama was just saying hello. I mean, I offered to get it coffee from the nurses' station, but it just stared at me. Then it said, "I HAVE EXPERIENCED MANY THINGS IN LIFE AND DEATH BUT I AM RELIEVED TO SAY COFFEE FROM THE NURSES' STATION IS NOT ONE OF THEM." I mean, I knew the coffee was bad but not that bad." Karin stopped and frowned at her. "Are you feeling okay, Sakura-sensei? Maybe you need to eat something."

"Yes, that's probably it," said Sakura. Obviously Karin did not hold the same instinctive terror all other shinobi felt around the god of death, especially if she was offering it coffee. Given her background, it was no surprise.

Sakura herded Karin out of the room. They would go eat something, and she could put this incident behind her. On the way out, they bumped into Hinata.

"Hello, Hinata-chan," said Sakura forcing herself to be chipper. "What brings you to the hospital?"

"Hello, Sakura-chan, Karin-chan. My team is going on a mission soon, and I came to schedule a check-up for everyone before we left," explained Hinata. "Are you okay, Sakura-chan? You look pale."

"I'm fine," said Sakura. "Just hungry. Would you like to join us for lunch? We're meeting Ino, Anko, and Yuzu."

Hinata looked crestfallen. "I'd love to, Sakura-chan. But I haven't made the appointments yet."

"No problem. It's you, Shino, and Kiba, right?" asked Sakura. "I'll put you all down when I get back."

"Thank you very m-"

Sakura yanked Hinata with them as she stormed out of the hospital. She was only slightly rattled. Food and some normal conversation would be an excellent distraction.

Half an hour later, she was mostly right. Anko was never useful for normal conversation, but Sakura's cup of not-hospital-coffee was doing a great job of cheering her up. It was the mocha. How could a woman be depressed when she was drinking chocolate?

"Can you tell us where your mission will be, Hinata?" asked Sakura.

"Tsunade-sama wants my team to check out Uzushiogakure for any clues to the current situation," said Hinata.

"Oh?" asked Yuzu. "I hope you'll find something."

"It was pretty dead when we were there," said Karin.

"When did you go to Uzu, Karin?" asked Sakura.

"We came to the Elemental Countries traveling backward from the path Uzumaki Mamoru used to get to Konoha, so our starting point in this land was Uzu," explained Karin.

"That was almost six weeks before we arrived in Konoha," added Yuzu. "It's not very far away, but we hitched rides with trading caravans since we didn't know where anything was."

"So, you've only seen the Land of Fire?" asked Ino. "You must be pretty excited about the trip to Suna then."

Karin blushed faintly. "It's cool."

Every year for the past decade, Konohagakure had sent a team of promising medic-nin to study poisons in Suna in exchange for reviewing their hospital procedure and teaching surgical techniques. Sakura had headed the team every year. She had gotten special permission this year to bring Karin, even though she was still technically an Academy student, in order to show her the distilling techniques that Suna-nin had perfected to an art form.

Their group was leaving tomorrow, at the same time as Team Taka, who would provide escort to the Land of Rivers and then proceed south on their own mission. The Hokage didn't trust the sudden silence from the kidnappers and was once again sending Team Taka out as bait.

"How's your brother taking it?" asked Anko.

Karin shrugged. "He's not too worried. Sakura-sensei will be there, and Tenten is part of our escort. Ichigo knows she's not easy to take down."

Tenten served as part of the medical party's usual escort. She wasn't talented at medical ninjutsu herself, but she was excellent at keeping attackers at bay while medic-nin worked. They had only been attacked a handful of times—mostly by missing-nin seeking high bounties but once by very foolish bandits—and with Tenten and Sakura taking point the medical-team came out completely unscathed.

Tenten was also a special guest of Temari during their stay. Girls training to be kunoichi in Suna's Academy were generally more serious than their Leaf-counterparts due to the struggle of living in a desert. Even so, once they graduated, they were still intimidated by the Kazekage's older sister. As a result, Temari had very few close female friends in Suna. Tenten had a similar problem being a member of Team Gai but at least her own age mates weren't frightened of her. Temari and Tenten saw each other as rivals and friends and trained against each other at every opportunity.

"It helps that Ichigo knows where it is and how to get there," said Yuzu.

"Just don't tell him it takes a shinobi traveling at top speeds at least two days to get there if he travels in a straight line," said Ino.

"I wonder if Kurosaki-san's flying technique would be faster than that," said Hinata.

Sakura had heard a description of the technique from Kakashi and seen a demonstration from Karin. Her student assured her that her speed and stability would improve over time, but Sakura noticed Karin had run out of energy much faster than usual during their taijutsu practice afterward. It wasn't as though the foreign techniques the Kurosakis used were cost free simply because they didn't use chakra.

"I know that Ichigo traveled a long way carrying Kurenai, but is that what that technique is used for?" asked Sakura.

"It's for use in battle," said Karin. "Ichigo can use it like that because he's got so much stamina. I'm not sure that he could use hirenkyaku the whole way without having to stop or slow down."

"Speak of the devil," murmured Anko.

Sakura looked over her shoulder. There was Ichigo—with Kon on his shoulder—making a beeline for their table. There was a look of grim determination on his face. He responded distractedly to the chorus of hellos and turned his focus, not on Karin or Yuzu, but on Hinata.

"Ah, Hyuuga-san," he started and stalled.

"Yes, Kurosaki-san?" asked Hinata politely.

Ichigo scratched nervously at the back of his head. It was a nervous tic Sakura had seen Naruto perform hundreds of times. She had never seen Ichigo looking hesitant before. It was adorable.

"I've, ah, been trying to figure out how reiryoku and chakra are related," he began. "And I think I need to see how they affect each other, and I was wondering if you had some time, if you could help me. Because I can see reiryoku sometimes, but I can't see chakra, and I think the byakugan can see both. If you have sometime. I know you're busy."

Sakura winced. That was sad. That was worse than Naruto's constant demands for a date when they were kids. Yuzu and Karin were both hiding their faces in shame. Ino was shaking her head. Anko was visibly struggling not to laugh. Hinata just looked blank.

"Are Hanabi-chan and Neji-onii-san busy, Kurosaki-san?" she asked. "I wouldn't mind helping, but they've seen you fight before and could identify what you're looking for better."

Ichigo flushed bright red. "I guess, you're right. I should have asked one of them first. Sorry to bother you. Uh, enjoy your lunch, Hyuuga-san."

Ichigo turned on his heel and took off as fast as he could without running. Hinata watched him until he disappeared from sight then turned back to the table. Sakura could see the disappointment on her face.

Yuzu sighed. "That's too bad, Hinata-san. I don't think Ichi-nii's ever asked anyone on a date before."

"D-d-date?" gasped Hinata. Sakura hadn't hear her stutter like that in years.

"Are you sure?" asked Ino, for once the voice of reason. "He just wanted to use her byakugan to examine that weird power of yours."

"No, if that was all he wanted, he would have asked Neji-san or Hanabi-chan," said Yuzu.

Karin took a long sip of water and set down her glass with a click. "Listen, my brother has two hobbies: fighting and translating Shakespeare. Now, it would never occur to my blockhead brother than that you might enjoy listening to some of the most romantic poetry in the world, but he would definitely think of fighting together as something important. So, yes, he was trying to ask you out on a date. Like an idiot."

Hinata inhaled sharply and jumped to her feet. Then she bowed so quickly she nearly brained herself on the table.

"Please excuse me, I'll return in a moment," she said.

When Hinata raised her head, she had activated her byakugan. She looked left, right, and plunged into the crowd. Sakura stared after her and tried not to giggle.

"You cannot tell me your brother has never been on date," said Ino drawing Sakura's attention. "I mean, he might be oblivious, but he's also smoking hot."

"Four dates," said Karin holding up the appropriate number of fingers.

"And those people were the ones who asked," added Yuzu.

"That's just sad," said Ino. "But's it's not as sad as you, Forehead."

Sakura lowered aforementioned forehead to the table. "Shut-up, Ino-pig."

"Yeah, how's it going with Sasuke-kun?" asked Anko.

"I'm not in love with Sasuke-kun anymore," she told the table. She was sure it would believe her.

"I thought you and Karin-san were both interested in Uchiha-san, and that was the reason why you fight all the time," said Yuzu.

"Well, I'm not, and it's not," said Sakura firmly.

"Oh, it's much worse than that," said a snickering Ino.

Sakura groaned. Why Ino-pig the only one who believed her? It was probably because they had wasted all those years at the co-leaders of the Sasuke Fan Club. The Pig knew how Sakura's brain worked when it came to love.

"Sakura and Karin are fighting because Sakura isn't in love with Sasuke anymore and Karin is upset on his behalf," said Ino.

"You're joking," said Anko. Karin and Yuzu echoed her disbelief.

"No!" said Ino howling with laughter. "Isn't it the greatest?"

Sakura lifted her head to glare at friend. Ino would be moving back into the former friend category if she kept it up. Yuzu and Sakura's beloved, non-aggravating, student Karin both looked confused. Anko looked considering.

"That seems hard to believe," said the older kunoichi. "I mean, didn't you offer to kill that girl because Sasuke asked. I seem to remember reading that in a report somewhere."

Sakura looked away in shame. "That's when I learned I wasn't in love with Sasuke anymore. I would have done anything he asked because I loved him, but I wouldn't have liked the person I became if I stayed at his side. I had people who liked me for me, who loved me for me, and they were just as important to me as Sasuke. So I learned I couldn't be the one person he relied on, not when I had a village full of people who relied on me too."

Anko sighed heavily. "Karin, Yuzu, this is why you must never join Team Seven. They're all screwed in the head. Even more than normal teams."

Sakura huffed and rolled her eyes. It wasn't like she could deny the accusation. Her team, Tsunade-shisho's team, Kakashi-sensei's team, they all accomplished great things, but their personal lives were twisted to the point of breaking. Even so, she would never give away or give up on her team.

"I'll keep it in mind," said Karin.

"Do you have any other prospects, Sakura-sensei?" asked Yuzu.

And here Sakura had hoped her explanation would move them to a less uncomfortable topic. Her gaze slid to Hinata's empty seat and she looked away again.

"Not really," she muttered.

"You don't like Hinata-san, do you sensei?" asked Karin. "Because I'd like you, but I'm definitely supporting Ichigo on this one."

Sakura groaned and covered her face with a hand. "It's not Hinata."

"No," gasped Ino. "No way."

"Shut up, Ino-pig," muttered Sakura.

"That's hilarious," squealed Ino. "Why didn't I know about this before?"

"Shut up, Ino," growled Sakura.

"What's going on, Anko-sempai?" asked Yuzu.

There was clatter as Anko leaned back in her chair. "If I remember correctly, Hinata had a crush on Naruto for years while Naruto had a crush on Sakura, who completely ignored him for Sasuke, who Naruto saw as his greatest rival. One big messy triangle, Team Seven style."

"So you like Naruto?" asked Karin. "I don't think he's dating anyone. Why not ask him out?"

Sakura sighed and looked at her student, firmly ignoring Ino's glee. "I told Naruto "no" every time he asked when we were kids, and once he brought Sasuke-kun home, he stopped asking altogether."

"Maybe it's your turn," suggested Karin.

"What?" asked Sakura.

"It sounds like bringing Uchiha-san back to Konoha changed a lot for all of you," explained Yuzu. "None of you are kids anymore, and adults listen when people say no."

Sakura frowned. "Maybe. But it would be embarrassing now, after saying no before."

"It's not like Naruto would laugh at you," said Karin. "And what's worse? Being embarrassed for a little while if he says no? Or living a lifetime of regret if you never ask?"

Sakura thought of Tsunade-shisho, who had been engaged to a man she loved and lost him and never let go. She had left the village for years and missed out on a life with her team as a result.

"Well, maybe," said Sakura. "I'll think about it when we come back from Suna."

"That's the spirit, Forehead," said Ino almost kindly. "And here comes someone else in high spirits."

Sakura craned her neck. Hinata was coming back. She had a pleased smile on her face.

"How did it go?" asked Sakura when the other woman sat down at the table.

"We're meeting next week to practice and then having lunch after," said Hinata.

"Aw, I'll miss it," said Karin.

"Don't worry. I'll get all the details for you," said Yuzu firmly.

Hinata blushed faintly at the thought and turned back to her meal. Sakura smiled encouragingly at her. She was pleased for Hinata. She was also relieve the Hyuuga had missed their discussion of Naruto. Sakura knew how difficult it was to get over past loves.

Sakura waved the waiter down for a refill of her coffee. She still had to go back to the hospital after this, and Shinigami had a point about the beverages at the nurses' station. The coffee and tea managed to keep shinobi trained to process stimulants awake which meant there was huge sacrifice when it came to flavor.

"That's Hinata and Sakura out of the way," said Ino rubbing her hands together. "What about the rest of you?"

"Too busy," said Karin bluntly.

"Karin still has a crush on Hitsugaya-taicho," offered Yuzu.

"I do not!" protested Karin jostling her sister lightly. "It was a crush. I was eleven. Jeez. If you keep saying it, Ichigo will murder Toshiro the next time they see each other."

Hitsugaya-taicho was one of the shinigami captains from Soul Society, Sakura knew. Ichigo and Karin figured that his friendship had somehow influenced the development of her Ice Release kekkei genkai. But none of the Kurosakis had ever breathed a word of going back to their original world. She guessed this Hitsugaya Toshiro person was probably safe.

"Ha, relationships," said Anko. "Too much trouble. I can pick up a partner when I need one."

"What about you, Ino-sempai?" asked Yuzu.

Ino tossed her head, flicking her long pony-tail over her shoulder. "A beauty like me has no shortage of gentleman callers."

"Sai and Ino are friends with benefits," said Sakura bluntly.

"Sakura-chan!" protested Hinata mildly scandalized.

"Ino and Sai?" asked Karin. "Does that work with him being…him?"

Ino huffed. "You sound like Forehead and Shikamaru. They drew up a contract for us and everything."

Karin snorted. "You have a contract for being friends with benefits?"

"It covers everything Shikamaru and I could think of," said Sakura. "Like, they have to do friendship-based activities—not including team activities—once a week barring missions. They have to review their feelings on a monthly basis at minimum but more frequently if they feel something has changed that might affect their relationship. They can spend the night together if they want, but they're also entitled to their own space. And if one person wants to have sex and the other isn't interested, then the uninterested person isn't obligated. And technically they have a non-exclusivity clause, but I know neither one has invoked it except for use on missions."

"Sakura!" shrieked Ino. Several customers at nearby tables looked up in alarm. A few started asking for their checks.

"That's what you get, Ino-pig," muttered Sakura.

"So you're dating Sai contractually," said Karin.

"We're friends with benefits," insisted Ino. "Friends with benefits! I'm too young to be tied down!"

In reality, the parents of Sakura's generation had all been married and expecting children at Sakura's age. The life of a shinobi was dangerous, and most of her friends were the first- or second-born children of the major Clan Heads. They were probably frightening their parents by their refusal to settle down, but until this bizarre situation with the missing Uzumaki started, there hadn't been a serious threat to the peace of the shinobi world since the Ten-Tails Incident.

"It does sound a bit like a marriage contract," said Yuzu. "If a marriage contract focused on the relationship instead of the goods exchanged."

Ino wailed in outrage. Sakura smiled into her coffee cup. She knew Ino and Sai were perfectly happy with each other and might have been married already if Ino wasn't so stubborn.

Among the rookie twelve—Konoha twelve, Sakura corrected herself mentally—only Neji and Tenten were married though the entirety of the Ino-Shika-Cho seemed to have selected a potential partner. Shikamaru, of course, was maintaining a long-distance relationship with Temari, and Chouji was doing the same with a kunoichi he had met in the Fourth Shinobi War though Sakura had heard talk of that particular woman moving to Konoha sometime soon.

"And what about you?" demanded Ino hotly. "Has anyone caught your eye, Yuzu?"

Yuzu crossed her arm and touched a finger to her chin in a classic "thinking" pose. "Hmm. Everyone's so pretty here, so you could say I've noticed a lot. But…" She dropped her hand and smiled. "I'm going to marry Hatake Kakashi."

Sakura choked and sprayed a mouthful of coffee all over Ino. The fashion-conscious kunoichi didn't make a peep, stunned silent by Yuzu's proclamation.

"WHAT!?" roared Sakura as she coughed her airway clear.

"Isn't he a little old for you, Yuzu-chan?" asked Hinata mildly.

"He's a lot younger than daddy was when he met mom," said Yuzu.

"Kakashi-sensei! What has that pervert said to you?" demanded Sakura.

She was going to find Kakashi and, sensei or no sensei, she was going to wring his neck. She knew she could get Naruto to help her, and Sasuke was always useful when something needed avenging. But first, she was going to burn all of his Icha Icha books. That would be a suitable punishment for that bastard.

"He hasn't said anything unusual," said Yuzu.

"Is she serious?" Ino asked Karin. "Who would want to marry Kakashi?"

Karin shrugged. "Don't look at me. I'm not the one who wants to marry him."

"Kakashi-sensei, how could you?" moaned Sakura.

"He doesn't know," said Yuzu. "I have a plan."

"Well, he didn't know," said Karin casting a wary eye as the rooftops.

"Is he here?" demanded Sakura rising from her seat. "I'll beat him to a pulp."

"Calm down, sensei," said Karin. "It's not a big deal."

"I am calm!" roared Sakura.

"And that's why everyone cleared out," said Anko drily.

Sakura glanced around the patio. Every seat was empty except at their table. Most of the nearby street was clear too. Sakura just see the servers peeking out of the door. She took a deep breath, sat primly on the edge of her seat, and passed Ino a clean napkin, who took it hesitantly and started dabbing at her dress.

"I am calm," she repeated.

"Is, um, Kurosaki-san okay with this?" asked Hinata. "I know he's very concerned about you."

"Well, he wasn't thrilled, but he agreed not to rip off Kakashi's head as long as I didn't tell him anything about our relationship ever," said Yuzu. "I thought that was extremely reasonable on his part."

"Do you have a relationship?" asked Anko curiously. "Because Kakashi, that guy, he's not exactly close to people like that."

"I can wait," said Yuzu. "I have a plan."

Ino slowed her dabbing and raised her head to frown at Yuzu. "Shikamaru did say you weren't half-bad at shogi."

Sakura paled. If Shikamaru said something like that, then Yuzu was probably a master strategist. If she had a plan to snare Kakashi-sensei, then it just might work. Sakura rose to her feet.

"I just remembered I had to run an errand," said Sakura. It was a weak lie, especially in front of (almost) three members of T&I, but she had to say something. "Can you take Karin back to the hospital when you're through, Ino?"

"Sure," said Ino distractedly. "When exactly did you decide to pursue Kakashi?"

"At that first dinner with Naruto and his team!" said Yuzu brightly.

Sakura turned to Hinata and discretely making the signs for Dog and Location. "I won't forget to put your team down for pre-mission physicals, Hinata-chan. Is Tuesday morning alright? I won't be here, but Shizune can do it."

Hinata bowed slightly letting her hair fall to hide her activated byakugan. "That should be fine, Sakura-sensei. Just make mine first, please. That's the day Kurosaki-san and I are meeting." She formed the sign for Not Found.

Kakashi must have moved. In a crowded area like Konoha's shopping district, Hinata would have a hard time pinpointing the jounin unless she knew his starting location and destination. That only left her with one option. Sakura waved good-bye and took off for the Uchiha District.

After his return to the village, Sasuke had had the walls around the district, which he owned in its entirety, destroyed and begun renting many of the homes and businesses formerly occupied by his family. Sakura had never had a sense of how much Sasuke had lost until she realized the Uchiha District was a miniature town all on its own. A third of the structures still stood empty, including all of the former shrines, but there were people in the district again, even if none of them were Uchiha.

Sasuke couldn't bring himself to sleep in the area more than a few nights at a time—that was why he shared an apartment with Naruto—but he let Team Taka stay in the main house where he had lived with his parents rent-free.

Having a sharp mind and a good head for numbers, Karin managed the leases of the various renters. She also maintained a small laboratory to work on her own projects since she didn't have access to the labs used by medic-nin at the hospital. Most of her time in the village was spent at the house.

Unfortunately, Karin was the only person who could find Kakashi if he didn't want to be found. If the man had heard Yuzu's announcement, he was probably in hiding already.

Sakura stopped outside the house and waited. If Karin was inside, then she had already sensed Sakura's arrival. A minute or so later, she was rewarded by the door sliding open. The redhead pushed up her glasses and stared at Sakura for a long moment.

"What do you want, hag?" she asked.

"I need your help," said Sakura biting back her usual insults.

Karin leaned casually against the door. "You need my help? With that?"

Sakura took a calming breath. "I need to find Kakashi-sensei. And I need someone who won't talk if I have to bury the body after."

Karin smiled. "I think we can come to an arrangement."

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