Chapter 26: New Team Six Arc: Three

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

"Nee-chan?" Kiba blinks sleepily at me as I slip out of bed. "Where're you going?" He'd fallen asleep in my room last night still waiting for me to come home, and I didn't have the heart to put him back in his own bed. Thus he'd stayed.

I tap him on the nose. "Go back to sleep, Kiba-chan." He looks mutinous so I ruffle his hair and smile widely at him. "I'll be back for our morning run alright?"

At this, he nods. "Alright." He wraps an arm firmly around Ni's neck and snuggles happily. "I'll wait for Nee-chan."

San huffs and moves closer to Kiba. "It's cold, Hana."

Only Ichi rises with the sun like I do. "You want to go don't you?"

I look at him. "Of course. I can't just leave Kakashi-san in the hospital without seeing how he's doing."

When I enter the kitchen to brew tea, I find Kaa-san already there with a cup of coffee and dark circles under her eyes, her mascara not yet applied. "Good morning, Hana-chan."

Food for all the dogs in the house had been laid out already, and it seems that Kaa-san hadn't yet had breakfast.

"Good morning, Kaa-san." I pull the pan from its hook and start frying eggs. "I planned to go visit, Kakashi-san in the hospital this morning so I can murder one of his nin dogs." I turn towards Kaa-san. "How many did you want?"

"Good. The Hatake brat deserves it." The vehemence in her response surprises me. "And about five would be nice." I turn back to look at her, her tired eyes finding my face. "You have no idea what a mess I made of our relations with the Uchiha Clan yesterday."

Oh. Right. If Kaa-san figured out that I was in the hospital she had to first discover that I wasn't with the Uchihas. I can't imagine what sort of explosions went down yesterday between Fugaku-san and Kaa-san.

"And of course, Fugaku's still as much of a stick in the mud since our war unit days. He's worse than Hizashi, I swear." Kaa-san flips a piece of hair out of her face and stretches. "It's a wonder our team held together long enough to take Iwa out during the war. We had four self inflicted injuries in the first week."

"It isn't Kakashi-san's fault that his nin dogs didn't know who else to fetch." It's a lame response to be sure. Wait. Kaa-san was on a team during the war with Neji's father and the Uchiha clan head?

Kaa-san snorts as she sets her coffee down. "It's not his fault he has no friends because he's got a psyche ward baffled at how he's still a functioning human being instead of a ball of angst?" I set a plate of eggs before her and she continues. "He needs to stop being ANBU or he'll kill himself real soon."

"Hmm." I snag an egg off of the plate. "What did you say to him yesterday? And you were on a team with Fugaku-san and the Head of the Branch Hyugas?"

She smacks half heartedly at my hand. "Nothing you need to know about." Kaa-san props her head up with an arm and watches the steam rise from her coffee cup. "And yeah, we were a team together. Not very good at it, but enough. We don't talk anymore really."

Not every team is as close as the Rookie Nine and Team Gai, but I had thought Kaa-san's own team would have been closer than how distantly she refers to them. "I mean, I was always spending my time with Kihona and Kaito and even that lazy ass Nara anyway." Kaa-san waves a hand in the general direction of the great outdoors. "Kosshi-neechan was their original third, but she had maternity leave, so I was her replacement."

"Oh." They weren't a genin team together then, but my Aunt Kosshi probably had been. It did explain her stiff and formal personality if she practically grew up with two rather strict boys as company. "Who was on your genin team? We never talk about them."

"They're dead." Kaa-san says flatly, and sets her now empty cup in the sink. "I didn't like them but they were still my teammates."

I don't know how to say sorry for bringing up such clearly painful memories so I hug her tightly on her way out the door. She ruffles my hair. "Don't worry about it, Little Nose."

I take a walk down to Konoha General at about five o'clock that morning. The air is crisp, and I intend to be back in time for breakfast with Kiba and our morning run together, but first, I have to figure out what Kaa-san had said to Kakashi after he woke up from surgery.

The only way to figure that out would be to ask Kakashi himself, and I'm not entirely keen on the idea.

At least if he was awake, he isn't in any danger of dying. I console myself with the idea that he wouldn't be dead, and if he were in the hospital still he would have a hard time injuring me without at least making himself worse.

Still, I pat Ichi on the head. "You'll protect me if something goes wrong, right?" Ni and San are still at home, cuddled around Kiba.

He growls. "If he dares to hurt a hair on your head, I'll rip him."

That...is less comforting than it sounds. "Please don't actually injure him any further, Ichi."

"I make no promises Hana-chan." He bumps his head against my hip and I scratch him behind the ears. "You will always be my pack-sister, and he is not pack."

When I peer into the room Kakashi's wide awake and his mask is on. "I'm not thankful. If you want thanks, you can go away." He turns his face away from me.

I frown. "I only want to know where Guruko went." So I can murder him slowly since I survived the night. I add silently to myself.

From beside me, Ichi growls. "Watch your mouth, brat."

Kakashi raises an eyebrow at him. "I'm much older than you."

Ichi pads forwards, one sullen step at a time, each taken with a deadly purpose. "If you bother my pack-sister again I will make sure that you die and no one finds your body." He sets one massive paw on Kakashi's neck. "Are we clear?"

"Ichi!" I set my hand over his paw and attempt to pull him off. To no one's surprise there is no budging him, not without using chakra supplements. "Ichi, don't do that."

Needless to say, the rest of my conversation with Kakashi is nonexistent.

"Nee-chan..." Kiba whines from behind me, huffing and puffing all the way until he reaches me. "It's" huff. "Not" huff. "Fun to" huff huff, "run."

Running at my normal pace isn't the best idea, so I sit down on the curb and pat the space beside me. He drops like a very small sack of potatoes down in the space I indicated. "Kiba-chan, do you want to be strong?"

He nods vigorously. "It's so I can protect Nee-chan."

I smile at the thought. If all goes well, I'll be protecting you, Kiba-chan. "Yes, and other people too. You'll find people you want to protect besides me." People like Shino and Hinata, and your sensei Kurenai, and Akamaru.

"Nuh-uh." He sets his head in my lap and flips over so he's lying on his back in the street. "Wants to protect Nee-chan most." He stretches his arms as far apart as they would go. "Wants to this much."

"What about the people that can't protect themselves?" I gesture out at the elderly man crossing the street. "What about the civilians?"

"Them too." Kiba wriggles his hand around in his pocket. "Baa-san is very nice. I'll protect her too." He pulls out a lemon candy partially wrapped lemon candy covered in lint. "Was going to give to Nee-chan." He mumbles. "Can't now." He looks up at me with tearful brown eyes. "Nee-chan wants to protect people too right?"

"That's alright, Kiba-chan." I take the candy from him and tuck it in my own pocket. "Yep, I've got lots and lots of people to protect." I ruffle his hair. "You're a very important person, and I'll always be here to teach you."

He laughs. "I know. Nee-chan's super busy." He sits up next to me. "But we do lots and lots of things together and Nee-chan's nice."

"You'll always be my favorite brother." I hug him and he squeaks. He doesn't tell me that he's my only brother, because we both know that it isn't true. I've got the Triplets and Toku and Muta. I have plenty of brothers, enough for him to know that being my favorite one is special. Finally, I pull back. "But you wanted to know why we need to run, right?"

He nods. "Running isn't fun."

"Well," I say as I stand and pull him to his feet. "Running will make us stronger so we can use the clan jutsu. That's why we need to run." He's listening intently, which is more than I can ask of Kiba for the most part. "We run so we can grow stronger, and growing stronger makes us better at protecting people."

"Oh." I can see the gears turning in his brain. "We should keep running then." He sets off down the street and I laugh and follow him.

"Not so quickly, Kiba-chan. You'll get tired soon."

Later that morning Toku and I wait for Muta to show up for team training. We'd been sitting around for half an hour in increasingly gloomy silence when Koma-senpai shows up. "We may wish to begin, Otouto, Hana-chan." He rolls up his sleeves and slides into position.

"No..." Toku comments absently, his byakugan active. "We should wait a little more, he'll be coming, you'll see."

Koma-senpai turns to me. "Hana-chan? Would you like to begin?"

"No, it's alright, Koma-senpai. I'll wait for Mu-kun too." I look up at his serene expression, and envy him in his calm. Muta is rarely ever late. But he's late today for our first meeting as just friends.

Koma-senpai takes a seat next to me on the porch. "I don't think he's coming."

Toku makes to stand up, but I set a hand on his arm. "Just listen to Koma-senpai for a moment, please Toku. There's no need to be angry."

"You shouldn't let your temper get the better of you, Otoutou." Koma-senpai looks at Toku for a long moment, and then turns back to look at the main gate, his pale white eyes glowing almost lavender in the noonday sun. "The tracking squad keeps irregular hours, perhaps he's on a mission today. It would be a waste not to train when you have the time."

I sigh and stand up. "I don't think Mu-kun would mind if we started early."

We never do get to figure out if Muta would mind or not. He doesn't show up to spar at all.

That afternoon, after some rather disappointing spars in which Koma-senpai had closed over half the tenketsu in both my arms, I head down to the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Would Fugaku-san mind if I went down to the police station to apologize? I still have yet to figure out where his house is in the compound.

"Yamanaka-san?" I call out as I push open the door.

"Who're you?" I meet...a small blond haired girl with teal eyes.

Inoichi-san hurries out of the back room. "Ino-chan you know not to talk to strangers..." He trails off when he sees me. "Did my brother-in-law send you with a message for me?"

I shake my head. "I'm here to buy flowers actually."

The man gives me a beaming smile. "I didn't take you for the admirer type, Inuzuka-chan. What sort of love are you trying to convey?" But...oh of course he's related to Kiho-baachan, and Ino has to get her personality from somewhere. It can't have dropped out of the sky.

"Actually, I'm here to get apology flowers for Fugaku-san." I tilt my head back so I can smile happily at Inoichi-san. "I left the Uchiha compound in a hurry after team dinner yesterday."

He thankfully doesn't tease me any further. "Shion, do we have any purple hyacinths in the back?"

"Yes, of course we do, Anata." A voice floats from the back of the shop, and Inoichi-san hurries in that direction. Meanwhile, Ino has lost interest in speaking to me, and floats around the front of the shop rearranging flower displays.

He's back again in a matter of minutes, purple apology flowers in tow. "I suppose you'll be heading over to the Uchiha Compound." He hands them to me in a glass vase. "You should probably take them in water, it's a long walk."

"Thank you Yamanaka-san." I bow to him as much as the bouquet would allow, and head off.

I'd never visited the Military Police Station before, but I do know where it is. Slightly south of center city, it hugged a bend of the Naka river, three streets away from the Hokage Tower. On the other side, is a slightly more upper class residential area.

I push the door open, and feel the cool air inside the station wash over me. Because of the water, the flowers look no worse for wear despite the trek I'd made with them in the dusty streets on a summer afternoon.

Now where should I go to find Uchiha Fugaku? "Could I help you with anything?" A bored looking clan member is stationed at the front desk filing his nails.

"Ah, yes, could you tell me where I'm supposed to find Uchiha Fugaku-san?" I peer up at him from behind the bouquet, but he doesn't look up.

"And what is the purpose of your visit?" He's actually fairly rude now that I think about it.

"That's a personal matter Uchiha-san." I don't exactly snap at him, but he's startled into looking at me for the first time since the start of the conversation. "Anyway, if you are unwilling to help me I can always tell him later." Well, actually, I couldn't. But he didn't need to know that.

He straightens up and sets the nail filer down. "Now, little dog girl, Fugaku-sama is actually busy so-"

"That's enough Inabi." Fugaku-san himself appears from a darkened hallway. Inabi falls silent, and Fugaku-san and I stare at each other for a long time.

He makes a small gesture for me to follow him, and I set off down the hallway, still trailing purple flower petals in my wake.

We enter what I assume to be his office, and my arms are becoming very tired of carrying the vase so I set it down on the edge of his desk. I couldn't have put it anywhere else even if I wanted to because there is literally no space on his desk whatsoever. I doubt even the Hokage has this much paper work. What's going on in here?

He raises an eyebrow in my direction, and I feel an impulsive need to defend myself. "I'll move it later if you'd like, Fugaku-san, but I do apologize for leaving in a hurry yesterday." There is no change in his facial expression. "And for Kaa-san's outburst." I add.

"Do you even know what Tsume said?" I wasn't aware that a voice with no inflection could be this terrifying.

I straighten my shoulders. "I know my Kaa-san well enough, Fugaku-san. I've lived with her all my life, you know." This life. Not the last one. But this one. "I'm well aware that she can be both impulsive and unkind."

"So you bring me flowers." He's uncrossed his arms, which has to count for something.

"Would you like me to bring them home, instead?" I ask. I reach for them, but he shifts them to the center of his desk next to a very small photograph that I can't see clearly, and displaces about three piles of paper while doing so.

"No, you can leave them here." Alright then, Uchiha Fugaku-san. I have no idea how you feel about my apology.

"Have a good afternoon Fugaku-san." I bow and make my way towards the door.

"Inuzuka-chan?" I pause and turn towards him, but before I make my way back to his cluttered desk, he sighs. "Nevermind. Carry on."

A stranger in a strange land indeed. I know next to nothing about the vast sum of Uchihas.

"Are you convinced that we'll be alright yet?" I pull a piece of dango off the skewer and pop it in my mouth. Dango is not my favorite dessert, but knowing how much Itachi likes it we'll still be eating it years from now whenever we got the chance.

It's actually hard to imagine how strange it is that Itachi has such a sweet tooth. But then, people are often what we don't expect.

"Hana..." Itachi takes another bit of his own dango and sets his head on his arm. "I don't know why that man was targeting us." The look on his face is heartbreaking.

"Whoever he is." And I know full well who he is. "He's an enemy of Konoha. We'll grow up to make him pay." I smile at Itachi. "After all, we're still not sure if he's targeting teams from Konoha or you in particular or who he is or where he came from." Unfortunately, I knew all of those things regarding Uchiha Obito, and no one to tell without seeming like a crazy person.

"You're right." Itachi sighs and peels himself off of the table.

"KYA!" The loud squeal shakes us from our conversation, and I see a girl with...pigtails that defied gravity. "You and Itachi look so cute together...are you dating?"

"No." And who are you anyway? "I'm the kunoichi on his genin team." Her face falls rather comically, and she turns and leaves hastily. I look at Itachi. "What was that about?"

"She's Shinko...and she used to be on Team Two." Oh. Well that explained a lot.

"Umm... should I go apologize?" I gesture in the direction that Shinko had retreated it. "Would it make her feel better?"

Itachi looks at me for a long moment. "No, Hana, I don't think it will." He stands up and offers me a hand. "For someone who's so smart, you really can be clueless sometimes."

Alright, I did have a rough sort of bluntness after living with a clan that didn't care for the rules of propiety after eight and a half years, but that didn't mean that I'm clueless about people. "At any rate, did your Otou-san accept my apology?" That's the more important question after all.

"Apology?" Itachi blinks, confused. "Otou-san did not mention that you apologized." He didn't accept it then. That's...very...sad.

A.N. And thus we move on.

Thanks to EverBear01, WhiteFang001, CasJeanne and Lieutenant Paladine.

Thank you to everyone who favorited and followed. You guys make my day.

~Tavina