Chapter 26 -> Part 26

I woke up to the rumble of Ise's chest beneath my ear. Unconsciously, I clutched at his shirt even as he rubbed my shoulder reassuringly. Someone had removed the remainder of my gear as I slept, then tucked a warm blanket under my chin. I blinked open my eyes. My grip on his shirt had pulled his collar down just enough to reveal a thick, old scar just beneath his collarbone. Just past him, all my gear was neatly piled onto a small end table. On the corner of the table was a sweating glass of water and one of my textbooks on human anatomy balanced atop it.

Ise replied to someone and the room fell silent once again. He wrapped the arm he had been gesturing with around me. "Feeling better?" He asked softly.

I nodded, tightening my grip on him. I could sure as hell act like a child if I wanted to. By my calculations, I had about a decade of child-time stored up from my previous life stored up and I wanted to use it.

"I'm not going to kick you off, kiddo," he assured me, his grip tightening the slightest. "I'll be here as long as you need me, and I'll be here even when you don't. That's a promise."

"Promise, promise?" I asked in a small voice. I deserved to be a child.

"Promise, promise."

"No matter what?"

"It doesn't matter what you say, do, or even think, Kichiro. I'll be here for you no matter what. I'll love you and I'll take care of you. A promise is a promise."

There was a long silence as I buried my face in Ise's shoulder, forcibly silencing any thoughts that did not pertain to my immediate vicinity and listening to Ise's steady heartbeat underneath my ear.

"Ryuunosuke, your father, was a shinobi, you know that?"

"Yeah, he died just after Kushina was born."

"He was one of my friends, just like Midori was one of Fusō's."

I stayed silent, gripping his shirt tightly.

"The Uzumaki may be a mostly-civilian clan, but unlike the clans here, the civilians take care of the shinobi just as much as the shinobi protect the civilians. You work in a world without morals and I know you don't like it; I know you've fought against it." He put his hand on the side of my head and rubbed his thumb over the seal on my forehead. I squeezed my eyes closed. "While you were on the mission to seal the Hachibi, yes I know about it, even though the general public doesn't, I met with the Sandaime. He told me a lot about you, about the sealing, about your personality, about your sister. He was trying to make sure I knew exactly what I was getting myself into when Fusō and I promised to take care of you. Remember what I said about the civilians taking care of shinobi? Well, you can talk to me about anything, you know that? I've heard it all, kiddo, you're not going to surprise or scare me with anything you've come up against, okay?"

His arms tightened and he laid his head on mine.

"You can tell me anything, any time. I won't breathe a word to anyone, I promise."

I didn't move or react for a long time, but eventually, I couldn't help it. "I threatened to slaughter a bunch of civilians earlier and they were entitled to their concerns; they were right to say something was wrong."

Ise's arms tightened and he carded his fingers through my hair. He took a breath to say something but I ignored it.

"The Genin got involved and I ordered them to turn themselves over. They disobeyed a direct order and they were right to, but I told them, I told a bunch of kids to turn themselves over to be killed—" My throat closed.

Ise shifted so he could look at me. "Let me ask you this: were you wrong according to the law?"

"They were right—"

"That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking if you, according to the laws you are charged to carry out and constrained by, were wrong."

"Sometimes the law—"

"That's not what I'm asking. Did you break the law?"

"No, but—"

"Did they?"

"Yes, but—"

"If you hadn't done anything, what would have happened?"

"Anything could have happened!"

"What was the most likely course of events?" He asked patiently.

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could answer, I realized the conclusion he was leading me towards. "Please, just stop," I begged.

"Hatake-san never taught you distinguish between a lawful, necessary evil and a true evil, did he?"

"Institutionalized evil is still evil, isn't it?"

"Or he tried to teach you and you refused to listen. We're not talking about institutionalized evil, kiddo."

"Then what—"

"If, say, the Kazekage attempted to kidnap Minato and Kushina in front of you, how would you respond?"

"I-I would do my utmost to make sure he didn't succeed."

"Kyuubi or not, no matter how much the Hokage thinks you're capable of, you are most certainly not Kage-level."

I didn't have a response to that, he was absolutely right.

"If the Kazekage were to attack them, you would have to use every ability you have to try and counter him, correct?"

"Yes."

"You would use lethal force, correct?"

"Yes."

"But remember, the Kazekage would only be attacking them in order to protect his own people. By threatening them in a way that cannot be ignored, he would be able to manipulate you, Jiraiya-sama, and by extension, Hokage-sama as well, all to prevent his people from being harmed by Konoha. Would you still use lethal force?"

"He started this war—"

"It doesn't matter who started it, this world was on a slippery slope towards war on the part of every single entity involved. Would you care what his motives are when there is an immediate threat to the people you love?"

"Not really," I answered honestly. I liked to think of myself as a good person but I was just as bad as everyone else. It was a humiliating thought.

"And if the person initiating the threat was stronger than you, you would use lethal force to stop them, correct?"

"I wouldn't have a choice."

"What if, say, Minato and Kushina were fighting with each other and refused to be protected?"

"They would never—"

"And if you had to address their fight first, would you threaten them with the potential consequences of their utter lack of cooperation, no matter how severe they may be?"

"If that's what it took, I would have to," I acknowledged.

"Do you see the analogy?"

"Oh."

"You aren't omnipotent, kiddo. You're strong, yes, but not strong enough to prevent problems before they happen or powerful enough to stop them from escalating. It doesn't matter how weak the civilians are separately, together, after rallying the Genin against them and nearly initiating a fight, they are more powerful than even a Kage. You didn't mindlessly threaten a bunch of Genin and civilians, you threatened a mob that could have torn this village apart more thoroughly than any enemy ninja could hope to accomplish. No, what you did may not have been right, but it was your only choice unless you wanted to see this village and the people in it razed to dust."

"What about those Genin who are probably already dead?"

"Only the ultimate authority in this village can kill a loyal shinobi. You don't have to kill them, no matter what procedure says, just make sure they've learned their lesson. They've likely only been detained."

"What time is it?"

"Just before 1700."

"That means I have to go soon for the Genin meeting." I made no motion to move from Ise's lap. I liked being cared for far too much to voluntarily leave.

"You're staying and eating a full meal before you go anywhere. I may not be a shinobi, but I'm a fully-trained Uzumaki and no one enters or leaves this house without my consent. So you, no leaving without permission."

I eyed the walls ominously at that statement. He didn't mean it to be malicious, but any other ninja probably would have balked at the implication they were trapped. "You know, it's technically against the law for you to detain a shinobi."

Ise rolled his eyes and set me on my feet, the blanket still wrapped snugly around my shoulders. "Yes, but just because you're technically clan head, doesn't mean you don't have to defer to your elders." He stood up and shook out his legs before picking me up and setting me on his shoulders. Sure, I could race across rooftops and perform gymnastics, acrobatics, and contortionist moves people from my old world could only dream of, but there was something about being carried by someone for no reason whatsoever that was more thrilling than anything else, even though I had to duck to avoid hitting my head on the ceiling and had to slide down to cling to Ise's back to safely make it through the doorway, the blanket slipping off, forgotten.

"'Chiro-nii-sama! To-chan!" The other children exclaimed as we passed through the door and Ise closed it behind him. My gear was still within arm's reach and I was certain that wasn't a good thing for civilian kids to have access to.

"Nii-sama?" I asked Ise softly, struggling to ignore the tickle in my throat.

He chuckled. "You're smart, but you got no clue how much the other kiddos of this village adore you, and a lot of it originated with this group here." He turned to address the kids crowding around his waist. I hadn't noticed before, but Ise wasn't a small man. He was easily almost six feet tall and was strong enough to not have a problem dragging the seven kids hanging off him away from the door. I supposed that, being a doctor, he would probably have to drag people around more often than he would probably like. Then again, the kids were practically starving in the overwhelmed, understaffed, and poorly funded Konoha orphanage and a few months wasn't enough to feed them up to healthy weights. Most of them had barely grown since we left Uzu. "Why aren't all of you kiddos helping your Ka-chan in the kitchen?" He asked.

"Kushina-chan and Minato-chan are helping!" The little girl whose arm I broke nearly three years ago, which I still felt a little guilty for, exclaimed from behind me, just before her arms snaked around my waist and she hung off me. I tightened my grip on Ise.

"Chan?" I asked slightly incredulous. I tried calling Minato that once and he nearly managed to kick me between the legs in retaliation. Kushina didn't mind, but that was probably because she was a girl.

"They're both wusses," the girl informed me sagely. I snorted. Psychological trauma aside, they were both crazy strong. The only reason I beat Minato in spars was because I was much more creative and able to track Jōnin-level opponents. If he kept control of his temper and stopped trying to go toe-to-toe with Ninjutsu he didn't have, he probably could beat me with a handful of luck on his side. I'd never seen them spar, but Kushina was on his level, with the 'iron sharpens iron' deal they had going. I knew better than to try and face the two of them at once. I suspected they were better than I thought if the story I heard on the border about how they gave Jiraiya a run for his money for a bet was accurate.

"I don't think they appreciate the name-calling," I informed her before detaching her grip from around my waist and climbing up Ise to reach the ceiling and stand there, upside-down, out of reach of the grasping hands.

"They hate it," the girl said, standing directly beneath me. Ise was sitting on the floor talking to the other children, abandoning me to her and Nagato.

"Then why do you call them that?"

"Because it's true."

I was about to respond when Fusō shrieked in surprise. At the scream, I reflexively bent my knees and stepped into an upside-down Taijutsu stance, grabbing at my absent sticks.

"You are going to give me a heart attack one day, young man!" She scolded me half-heartedly. "It's time for dinner, everyone," she continued.

Everyone dashed into the dining room except the little girl beneath me. I frowned and took a step towards the dining room. She stayed underneath me. I took two quick steps before scampering into the dining room and the girl stayed under me the entire time until Fusō snatched her up and placed her on a bright pink flower-patterned cushion around the low table. "Stop teasing your brothers, Misaki," she scolded lightly as I dropped to the ground. Fusō pulled a bright green cushion down from a shelf in the corner of the room where the other children were taking their cushions and sitting around the table.

"I want 'Chiro-kun to sit next to me!" Misaki said enthusiastically.

Fusō obliged and set what I assumed to be my cushion down beside her in the middle of the table, patting it reassuringly. It was the same bright green as my haori, the same bright green as medical Ninjutsu, and was patterned with what appeared to be silver senbon.

Fusō and Ise sat together, opposite of me, while Minato sat on my other side, Kushina beside him. The food was spread out on the table and after a clipped 'itidakimasu' everyone began to eat. It wasn't until a few bites in that I realized I honestly couldn't remember the last time I ate. There seemed to be plenty to go around I politely listened as Misaki managed to eat anything placed in front of her while speaking, but never speaking with her mouth full. I didn't quite figure out how she did it, I was too occupied with my own food, but towards the end of my meal I found myself insanely curious. I used shinobi skills that not even Minato, who was right next to me, would notice as I continued to slip food onto the girl's plate and it continued to vanish into her mouth even though she never stopped talking. While Fusō divvyed up the last scraps of food to the very-full children, Misaki decided she wasn't content just babbling at me, she linked her arm in mine and nearly sat in my lap as she leaned into me.

She was a cute child; I would give her that. Fusō had tied her hair out of her face for the meal, but it was nearly as long as Kushina's, who refused, for some reason, to cut her hair, even though it was a liability in the field. The girl wore an obviously new, simple kimono made of rough, homespun fabric. Nice clothes were nonexistent considering the lack of trade during wartime. All the children were dressed similarly and the Uzumaki crest was very clear on their backs, larger than the crest on the Konoha shinobi flak jackets. It made a point that the Uzumaki still survived. In my opinion, it was a little dangerous for them to make themselves targets so willingly, but they were civilians and Kushina and I took all the heat for our names simply because we were ninja and visible to people outside the village. Nagato was the one truly in danger because he had the potential to be a shinobi but had yet to be trained to defend himself.

Belatedly I realized that I had been staring at the wall in front of me, lost in thought while being asked a question. Minato elbowed me sharply and pointed at Misaki. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying very much attention, what was it again?" I asked her as kindly as I could.

"Will you do my hair, 'Chiro-kun? Kushina-chan is mean and Minato-chan sucks."

Minato choked as he took a sip of water and glared at the girl. Unfortunately, his and Kushina's combined killing intent was pathetic and probably wouldn't even upset an infant, but they still received a warning glare from the two adults across the table. The look was also directed at Misaki for the careless insults, but she didn't seem to notice. I glanced at the time. I had a little more than twenty minutes before I had to get moving and figure out whatever the hell I missed while asleep.

"Um," I looked to Fusō for rescue, but she only smiled and nodded in encouragement. Misaki took Fusō's answer as mine, grabbed my wrist, and all but dragged me out of the room, with almost immediate help from the other girl-orphan from Uzu. Kushina just smirked at my plight and waved at me sadistically. Ha, see if I would defend her from the name-calling hellion again. Minato tried to trip me, but I accidentally-not-really stomped on the pressure point in his ankle and fell to jab my knee into the pressure point in Kushina's thigh. They were both too proud to do anything other than wince. It was a petty victory, but they knew better than to tease me.

Misaki dragged me to the small vanity mirror set up in the corner of the room as well as a collection of dolls spread out around it. I couldn't help but compare the girl to Kushina. At her age, Kushina was spending every free moment training or studying. Misaki was frighteningly normal for her age, which I assumed to be six. The other girl shoved a comb and ribbon into my hands while Misaki sat down in front of the mirror. "I want something pretty. Something special," she demanded. Frankly, just like any normal guy, I didn't know how to do hair, so I stalled by brushing out the tangles and trying to remember what a braid looked like and figure out the mechanics of it. When I thought about it, I'd never seen a single braid in this world. After a long minute of thought, I remembered when she had tried to teach me how to French braid. Her hair had been just long enough to hold one if it started on the top of her head, and I had managed it.

Misaki sat surprisingly still as I struggled to do something I only accomplished once, nearly four years ago. Thank heavens for the dexterity Sakumo drilled into me. It wasn't much different than twisting ninja wire to make it stronger. The hardest part was tying the thing with a ribbon instead of an elastic band before the whole thing came out.

"Um, how's that?" I asked, wincing. It sort-of resembled the French braid she taught me, if I squinted. Misaki reached back to feel it, her mouth hanging open. "I suppose I could try it again—"

The other girl cut me off with a squeal so high-pitched that I had to cover my ears.

"Yuzu!" Ise scolded from the adjacent room. "No screeching. Use your words!"

The two girls collided with me, knocking me backwards. Across the room, Kushina was sending me a dirty look as I gaped from the lack of air and silently begged for her help.

"Do mine next!" Yuzu begged from my stomach. I complied, and a few minutes later, she had a matching braid and Fusō had come over to watch.

"Why didn't you ever do my hair like that?" Kushina demanded.

"You never asked," I answered honestly. "And I didn't think I could do it."

Kushina opened her mouth to respond when a knock sounded at the door. From Minato's expression, he obviously didn't recognize the person at the door. I was there in an instant, warily opening it, my hand over the seal that would immediately secure the house with a tiny pulse of chakra. It was unneeded as I recognized the ANBU Bird's chakra signature beneath a Henge of me. I quickly let him in as he dropped the Henge, closing the door behind the ANBU and ushering him into the living room before the rest of those assembled could get a good look. I scanned the seals around the door before finding the privacy one and activating it.

"Rat ordered me to report."

I nodded once and started to pull on my abandoned gear.

"While impersonating you, I calmed those taking refuge in headquarters until the situation settled enough for them to be escorted out by the retired shinobi. Those with Dōjutsus have remained inside of headquarters to recover from the attempt to steal their eyes. The elder Hyuuga is unable to walk due to injury that is threatening to become severe. He refuses to see a civilian doctor in the meantime and his injuries were beyond my abilities to heal. All Genin ordered to report to Interrogation have obeyed and wait in individual holding cells. Several civilian families unaffiliated with a clan have left. Four of the five Academy students with living parents unaffiliated with a clan have lost their parents in this exodus. In order to reduce the strain on the orphanages, the retired shinobi are taking in Academy students without parents. It is projected that those with specific attention will be up to an acceptable level to graduate to Genin in under a year. No children have been taken out of the village, but several have been found abandoned inside of it, though, from their stories, it sounds like they snuck away from their parents before they left. Those with the capacity to be shinobi have been given to retirees for training."

"So, basically you're saying we now have a split between ages in this village as well as professions."

Bird shifted uncomfortably. "Your analysis is correct."

"Brilliant, we now have a bunch of kids creating a political faction."

Bird snorted at the absurdity of the statement, but quickly regained professionalism. "Orders?"

"Meet me at interrogations after the Genin meeting."

Bird didn't move.

"Is there something else?"

"I'm ordered to remain with you for the next twenty-four hours."

"I'm assuming Rat's shift is over then."

Bird nodded and pulled back, disappearing completely as I readjusted to pouch of senbon on my thigh. I deactivated the security seal and jerked open the door to reveal Minato and Kushina huddled around it, trying to listen in.

"Both of you go get a report from the gates," I ordered, pushing through them and heading straight to door, donned my vest and haori.

"Is everything alright?" Fusō asked as the Genin slipped on their shoes and ran out without question.

"There's nothing immediately wrong," I answered. "Keep Nagato here for safety's sake, there's an active abduction order from Ame on his head and no available nin to guard him."

I waited just long enough to see Ise's acknowledgement before taking off towards headquarters. I nearly skewered myself on a kunai as I stepped inside the building. Without thinking, I cracked my stick across the person's wrist, forcing it to cross their body and followed up with a stunning blow to the back of their knee, and slamming the much larger kid against the wall as I recognized the Uchiha.

"Instead of unpleasantly announcing your presence before I'm even inside the door, it would be better to wait behind it and identify your opponent before you attack, Uchiha-san. Any other Chuunin would have killed first and asked questions second." I released him and he surveyed me with his Sharingan.

"You're the real one!" He gaped in surprise. "Someone's been impersonating you and—"

"I know, it was an ANBU. I needed rest, so someone took over the aftermath while I took it, good for noticing." I left him rubbing the back of his knee and shouldered open the door to where the Hyuugas were discussing something. "Hiashi-san, why did you refuse civilian treatment?"

"The clan policy—" Hiashi began.

"I don't care about your clan policy. Their treatment is just as good as an iryo-nin, even if it takes longer. I know you've been trained in fighting blind due to the risk that your exact situation may occur, as has your twin, so your career isn't over. Denying temporary treatment only lengthens your recovery time after you receive treatment. At the very least, the civilian doctors could have reconstructed your tendons in the time I was unavailable, which would have made my job much easier and much less time consuming."

I crouched down and started to unwrap the soiled bandages, my hand already glowing with chakra. In less than ten minutes, I had fully healed all but the superficial damage to the Hyuuga's ankles and wrapped that with clean bandages.

"Walk around and jump a few times," I ordered, backing up. Hiashi stood and took a few shaky steps, but the healing was successful. He successfully ran through a short kata. "Great. Obviously, all three of you are off the patrols around the village, but I'll find other things for you to do, for now, follow me." Without looking to see if they were following or not, I left headquarters and headed to the Academy auditorium. In the street, civilians skirted me, their heads down and faces flushed with shame. I didn't care about them as long as the problem was over.

The front of the Academy had been vandalized. I ignored it. It was one of the lowest priorities. Minato and Kushina landed in front of me.

"They said all the enemy Jōnin started to walk around the village at exactly noon and have made three circuits already. Otherwise, no change."

I nodded to him and marched inside the auditorium where the Genin were already gathered.