Tenzo lay awake, unsure of why he couldn't sleep.
His bed was perfectly comfortable, perhaps a little too comfortable. Tsunade had very little idea of what a parent's role was meant to be in their child's life, but she had assumed it was to be provider and protector, and she followed both to the letter. She always went out of her way to ensure her children felt safe and happy.
That meant giving them their own bedrooms, each decorated exactly as they wished, and each guarded by their own specific bodyguard. Tenzo didn't know exactly where Airi was, but he knew she was close, and would come at once if he called for her. Each of the bodyguards slept during the day, snatching a few hours around their charge's schedule, but once, Tenzo had been training in the garden, and had accidentally cut himself. Airi had appeared in an instant, blue eyes narrowed to lethal slits, clearly to ready to kill for him. She'd told him she was going for a nap, and even had creases on her cheek from where she'd been sleeping, and yet the very second he was harmed, she was there.
Perhaps he shouldn't have felt safe around Airi, knowing exactly how dangerous she was, but her presence comforted him, staving off the nightmares and sending him into a dreamless sleep every night.
And yet, he stared up at the ceiling, restless.
Something was wrong.
He closed his eyes, allowing his senses to stretch throughout the house and into the garden. He couldn't feel any foreign presences, no brush of unfamiliar chakra against his. He narrowed his scope, sinking into the plants he had placed in each room of the house. Naruto had a spray of flowers tucked between his teddy bear's paws. Tenzo had grown them at his request, lilacs like his friend Hinata's eyes. From what Tenzo can tell, Naruto is sleeping soundly.
Tsunade is working a night shift, her room empty. Tenzo checks it anyway, through the bouquet of dahlias placed on her windowsill. She'd requested dahlias, a mostly scentless flower, not wanting any distractions while she worked at her desk. Her room seems undisturbed, as does Shizune's.
Tenzo is almost lulled into sleep halfway through his nightly check, when he casually brushes his awareness against Sakura's cactus, and feels panic surge through him.
Sakura's room is empty.
xxxxxxxx
Shisui hadn't expected to feel the faint flicker of Sakura's chakra, but the moment he did, he froze. It was almost two in the morning, the sun wasn't even close to rising, and Sakura had no reason to be anywhere but tucked up in her bed, safe and sound.
He was moving before he knew it.
He wasn't sure if Sakura was supposed to be at home with her parents or at the Senju residence, but either way, she'd gone far beyond where she was meant to be, since her chakra signature was coming from the park. It was weak, and felt different from her usual sparks of chakra, but it was still her, in some indefinable way.
She felt scared.
Shisui leapt off the rooftop he'd been sprinting across and landed soundlessly on a tree branch, then pushed on to the next tree without hesitation. He'd been hunting dangerous prey for a while now, but had yet to even glimpse it outside of shadowy figures and the occasional hint here and there.
ROOT.
Every night Shisui could spare, he spent searching the streets of Konoha for masked figures that didn't belong. He'd learned to hide himself from not only the enemy he sought, but the allies he was avoiding, using the shadows of the night to disappear into whenever ANBU got too close. He had learned through endless practice how to move around unseen, so much so that he could hide close enough to hear their breath as others passed, oblivious to his presence.
The time he'd spent alone in the darkest parts of Konoha made him all too aware of just how dangerous they were for someone like Sakura.
He saw the ANBU before he saw his Firefly – a lone masked figure standing on a branch, head angled towards the ground. Shisui had gotten better at telling apart actual ANBU soldiers and ROOT imposters. ANBU typically travelled with at least one other member, whereas ROOT seemed to either operate solo or with a full squad. ANBU trod the same paths, made the same rounds, and ultimately conformed to a strict schedule. Shisui had spotted the same ROOT soldiers in different places at different times, appearing sporadically, impossible to predict.
But more than that, it was a gut feeling. The same feeling that told him now that the soldier staring down at Sakura was nothing more than a simple ANBU guard, albeit a rare lone one. They had probably done exactly the same as Shisui – broke away from their mission after sensing a frightened child alone in the dark.
Shisui narrowed his eyes, the gloom sharpening into focus all around him. Sakura was dressed in nothing but a nightgown, barefoot and visibly trembling. She was looking up at the trees, but she didn't seem to notice either of the two silent watchers from above. That, coupled with the uncharacteristic weakness of her chakra, was troubling.
Shisui watched the ANBU drop down in front of Sakura, every muscle in his body coiled and ready to spring at the first sign of danger. He'd found the best way to expose a ROOT was to allow it to show itself. His gut feeling had yet to fail him, but he wants to be sure, so he allows the soldier to approach, wanting to see what they will do with a lone, weakened Haruno Sakura.
It's the smart move, the only way to ensure he hasn't misidentified an agent of ROOT and let them walk right out of his grasp.
But then Sakura holds up her hands and steps back, her voice thin and weak, "Please."
And Shisui moves.
The ANBU goes down without a fight, another clear point in the not-ROOT column. Shisui wastes no time locking eyes with them through the holes in the mask, erasing their memories of Sakura, who looked even smaller and more fragile in their memory than his.
"Hey, Firefly," He says, offering her a smile and bending slightly to meet her eyes. She's started to dislike adults crouching down to make conversation with her, since it reminds her that she barely makes most people's waists, so he tries to bridge the gap between them without hurting her pride.
Sakura blinks up at him owlishly, all traces of fear gone at once.
And that, ironically, terrifies him. Sakura has seen the very worst of him and still trusts him without question. Trust is a heavy weight, especially when it feels unearned.
"W-what are you doing here?" Sakura asks, teeth chattering, as if he's the one who should be safely tucked up in bed.
"Well, I heard someone was missing a firefly, so I thought I'd better swing by and make sure it hadn't got lost," Shisui says softly, using the tiniest flare of chakra to create a spark from his fingertip, the flame almost like her namesake.
Her smile glows, but her chakra doesn't rise to meet his the way it normally would. His chakra bathes her face in light, and he's surprised not to see tears glittering in her eyes. She looks almost wild, eyes wide and dark, hooking his gaze.
"I… I don't know what happened. I just woke up here, but I wasn't asleep, I was standing up…" Sakura shakes her head, her body curving over as she hugged herself, subconsciously seeking comfort.
"Let's go somewhere safe and warm, okay?" Shisui says, bending down a little more and pointing at his back. Sakura has grown, but not by much. Her family have worked very hard to keep her from losing her innocence completely, but Shisui knows he alone has seen just how much she's truly changed over the years.
Sakura climbs on his back, her arms cold around his neck, and he straightens up, preparing to spring up into the nearest tree.
"What about the Mask?" Sakura says.
"They've got orders to wake up soon, don't worry. I'm sure they'll be embarrassed if their squad finds them sleeping on the job, but other than that, they'll be fine."
Sakura just nods, her nose brushing against Shisui's nape, a tiny chill spreading through the point of contact, "Okay, Shisui," She mumbles, sounding sleepy.
He tightens his grip, then leaps.
xxxxxxxx
Tenzo hasn't seen Danzo since Kakashi brought him back to the Sandaime's office, when Tsunade swept into his life like a well-meaning hurricane and spirited him off to a new home. As time passed, Tenzo felt himself relax, little by little, into his new role as the Senju heir. At first, he'd simply been waiting for ROOT to step out of the shadows, ready for his next order. He'd assumed that perhaps Danzo wanted Tsunade to adopt him, since nothing ever happened without Danzo's will behind it. For a moment in the Hokage's office, he'd allowed himself to believe that it was real, that this woman really did just adopt him (like a real child, a boy with a family, not a faceless drone in a sea of masks). The rush of emotion had been almost unbearable.
Then common sense had kicked in, and he realised that, no, this was quite clearly not what it seemed. This was either a test or a mission, and he must've already failed it with his ignorance. He remembers sitting on his new bed, the sound of Naruto and Sakura's laughter floating upstairs, and feeling numbness seep into him once more. He wasn't Senju Tenzo, Tsunade's eldest. He was Kinoe, a soldier with a purpose and a power he wielded only for the sake of Shimura Danzo, the man who ruled his existence.
For a while, he lived like that, doing his best to copy the younger children and adapt to his new cover as Senju Tenzo, all the while waiting for Danzo's next command to reach him. It never did.
Airi came instead.
His bodyguard was quiet, a barely-there presence that was too faint to chafe against Tenzo's awareness. He was able to bear her lingering in the background without feeling watched or judged. He relaxed his guard around her, thinking she was like him. A faceless drone, existing only to serve the same master.
He had approached her, not long after the three bodyguards moved in, and asked her with thinly veiled desperation, "What are my next orders?"
Airi had looked back at him, eyes narrowed to slits, and jerked her head towards Tenzo's room. He'd followed her in, partly grateful to finally get the charade over and done with, but shamefully terrified of losing it.
"Tsunade-sama informed me of your past." Airi had said, drifting over to the window and checking the lock. When she was satisfied it was secure, she turned to him with a pensive look in her bright blue eyes. "I hadn't realised you didn't know that that was what it was. The past."
Tenzo had sat down on his bed, confused. This wasn't how he usually received his orders.
"You are no longer a soldier of ROOT." Airi said, her voice ringing out clearly, inescapable. Tenzo flinched. Airi's frown only deepened at his reaction. "Stop. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to explain to you what's going on in as clear terms as I can manage. I need you to listen to me, and believe me. Can you do that?"
Tenzo nodded, a lump in his throat. She'd said she wouldn't hurt him, but if he was no longer a soldier of ROOT, surely that meant he had failed, and now he was to be terminated?
"Tsunade-sama asked the Hokage to remove you from ROOT," Airi continued, "You were there when this occurred, but I see now that you must not have fully understood. Danzo is no longer your master. You are not one of his soldiers. He has no power or control over you anymore, and neither do any of his subordinates. You are a member of the Senju clan, and a shinobi of Konoha. Do you understand?"
Tenzo's eyes, shamefully, welled up. He stared down at his feet, not wanting Airi to scold him for the break in composure. "Yes." He said hoarsely, the lie coming out flat and unconvincing.
Airi moved over to him slowly, then knelt in front of him. He made sure not to shift his gaze even an inch, waiting for her to strike.
Instead, she gently held her hand out, palm up, and spoke in a low, measured voice, "Do you see this?"
Tenzo reluctantly raised his eyes to see what she meant. There was a tiny black outline of a leaf tattooed in the centre of Airi's palm. A seal?
"When Tsunade-sama recruited me, she told me that her eldest son would need someone to protect him. Someone who would always be around to shield him from any outside threats. But now I see there was one I overlooked, a threat that lurked inside," Airi pointed to Tenzo's chest, indicating his heart, "You are not a soldier of ROOT. You are my charge, my responsibility, and my purpose in life. I took this mark on as proof of my loyalty to the Senju clan, and ultimately, to you. Look at me, Tenzo-san."
When he did, Airi's smile was warm and open. "I will protect you from any threat you meet, including your former master, and even yourself, if necessary. Do you understand?"
"No," Tenzo admitted, his shoulders shaking as he began to sob, "I don't – I don't know what's happening. Is it real? Am I –"
"You are Tsunade-sama's eldest. Danzo's reach extends far across the village and beyond, but it cannot find you here, within the Senju clan. And if he tries to get you back, he will fail." Airi says, a quiet confidence filling her voice.
Tenzo shakes his head, tears spilling down his face. She didn't get it at all. Danzo was the village. Even if it was true, even if he allowed himself to believe he was free, he wouldn't be for long. Danzo would take him back, and the punishment for leaving would be severe. He might not even survive it. It would probably be better if he didn't.
"Tenzo-san, I asked you to believe me. I know it'll be difficult for you, but please try. Tsunade-sama recruited me for the task for a reason. I will keep you safe for as long as you need me. If you don't believe me yet, you will."
After that conversation, Tsunade had Inoichi come to the house for private chats with Tenzo once a week, and slowly but surely, Tenzo began to settle into his new life.
xxxxxxxx
The shrine – or 'super-secret hideout,' as Sakura typically refers to it – is one of several that the Uchiha built in the village. This one has fallen into disrepair, rarely even mentioned, let alone used. Even Shisui doesn't know why. He assumes something heinous must have occurred there once, something shameful enough that the Uchiha saw fit to abandon it.
He wonders if its original builders would be angry that its now primary use was as the secret meeting place of children, or if they'd simply be glad it wasn't going to waste anymore.
He considers asking Itachi but decides against it.
His cousin isn't speaking to him at the moment.
The elders had asked Shisui if he thought Itachi was ready for ANBU, which meant that the Hokage had extended an offer, and Fugaku had brought the matter to the clan before a decision would be made.
Fugaku had been uncertain. On the one hand, Itachi being offered a position at such a young age was an honour, and it would show the rest of the village the genius of the Uchiha. On the other hand, it would leave Itachi vulnerable to the darkest machinations of the village's government, now a soldier beyond even Fugaku's jurisdiction.
The clan still spoke of a possible uprising, but never with any particular focus or aim, just the bitter ramblings of old shinobi who had become convinced things would never change for the better. But the Hokage's offer had sent murmurs throughout the clan. With Itachi in ANBU, yes, he would be vulnerable, but he would also be perfectly positioned as a spy. In ANBU, he could gain information and actively work against Konoha's aims, should they prove contradictory to the clan's best interests.
For the first time in years, the clan felt something like hope.
Itachi had borne it without so much as flinch, accepting his family's expectations like a gift instead of a burden.
When the elders had turned to Shisui, apprehension in their gazes at the mere sight of his now characteristically unsmiling face, and asked for his opinion, he had given it.
"No," Shisui had said, ignoring the new pinch in Itachi's brow that said he was upset, "I don't think Itachi would be suited to espionage. I also don't think placing him as a weapon for the Hokage would benefit the clan rather than the village."
"But I would –" Itachi had started, colour rising in his cheeks.
"You've always been kind, Itachi," Shisui had replied, "But there's no room for kindness on a mission like this."
Itachi had recoiled, visibly stung.
"What do you suggest? Do you think you would do better?" One of the elders had asked, scorn just barely audible in their voice.
In response, Shisui had smiled, warm and genuine, then wiped all traces of expression from his face.
"No," He had said, tapping an arrhythmic beat onto the table, "I'm the fool, aren't I?"
"That remains to be seen," Fugaku had replied, his dark gaze drilling into the side of Shisui's face, "This is too good of an opportunity for the clan to lose out on. If not Itachi, we must have someone in place to strengthen our position within the village. And if not Itachi, then it must be you."
Itachi had stared at Shisui. Even now, looking back on the moment, Shisui isn't quite sure what the look had meant.
Shisui had never had any intention of allowing Itachi to join ANBU. That way led to ROOT, and from there, probably Akatsuki.
But then again, he would never put himself at Danzo's doorstep either.
The man who had plagued Sakura's childhood with shadows is not a man Shisui intends to face before he is ready.
"I never received an offer." Shisui had lied, looking directly into Fugaku's eyes. The Hokage had called him to his office two years earlier, holding a new mask without markings on it, asking if Shisui felt he was ready. Shisui had demurred, playing the youth card. The Hokage had promised to give him another chance at a later date, when he felt ready.
Fugaku had looked back at him, the lines around his mouth deepening. He plainly did not believe a word Shisui said. He hadn't for years. Shisui couldn't blame him.
"Make Itachi your spy if you want," Shisui had said, leaning back in his chair as if uninterested in the matter, "I guess I'd just always thought he'd join the police. Keep the best of us close, and all that. Especially since the murders never stopped."
The others had shuffled in their seats, uncomfortable at the mere mention.
Miho had only been the first to die in mysterious circumstances. Over the years, eleven Uchiha had either died or gone missing on what should have been routine missions, all without any witnesses or leads. None had ended up grotesquely displayed in the Compound like poor Miho, but the clan heard the message regardless.
Someone was picking them off from the shadows.
Izanagi.
He'd admitted to killing Miho for her eyes all those years ago.
It suited Shisui to pin the murders on Danzo for now, so he didn't tell anyone but Itachi of his suspicions.
"We can't afford to put Itachi at risk," Uchiha Fuyuko had said, "Who's to say an Uchiha ANBU would even be privy to the same information the rest of ANBU would receive, anyway? It's possible they would feed him false leads just to deceive us. Is that worth risking our best shinobi?"
"We only have Saki in the ANBU, currently," Fugaku had replied, "Her information has never proved false."
Even with his words, the seeds of doubt had been sown.
It didn't help that they all knew the reason Saki remained as the only Uchiha in the ANBU was because the others had been killed.
The meeting had ended with Fugaku commanding Itachi to ask the Hokage to postpone his offer for when he was older, to ensure they had time to mould Itachi into the perfect spy.
Shisui had considered it a remarkably successful meeting, but Itachi had disagreed.
He'd been furious, angry that Shisui had taken the choice out of his hands. Shisui had pointed out that if he hadn't, then Fugaku would have. Itachi had angrily countered that he expected such things from his father, but not from his friend.
That night, Shisui had slunk into the main house, intending to apologise to Itachi and explain himself properly, to tell him his fears for his cousin, his desire to keep him far from harm and trauma.
Instead, he'd overheard a whispered conversation between Itachi and his father.
"Keep an eye on Shisui," Fugaku had said in a low voice, "He's not right in the head, that boy. He hasn't been for a long time."
Although Shisui had never believed Fugaku thought anything good of him, he'd never considered he thought this. He'd been unable to swallow down an inexplicable surge of hurt, an ache in his throat that only grew with Itachi's reply.
"Of course, Otou-sama," Itachi had said, as dutiful as always.
"Keep him away from Sasuke, if you can. He's a poor influence."
"I will."
"Ah, and –" Fugaku had paused, and Shisui had closed his eyes, straining to hear. "Sakura. She is Mikoto's apprentice now, so she will be here more often. Do not allow Shisui to interfere with her lessons, or to spend any time with her alone. He's already done his best to fill her head with rubbish."
"I… I do not believe Sakura would allow –"
"You don't take orders from a seven-year-old, Itachi. Do as I say. Shisui has proved himself to be cowardly, frivolous, and dishonest. The clan has finally managed to build a bond with another clan, and I will not allow Shisui to jeopardise relations between us by offending Senju Tsunade."
Itachi's reply had come a little late, his voice quiet, "Of course, Otou-sama."
Shisui had stood in the corridor, pressed against the wall, biting his tongue against the apologies he had come to give.
Fugaku had enlisted Itachi to keep Shisui away from two of his loved ones, for nothing more than a passing suspicion, brought on by Shisui's refusal to play by the Uchiha's rules.
Well, Shisui had thought, almost sick with anger, if I'm nothing more than a lying, shallow coward, then it should be no trouble at all for the clan to keep me in line, right?
He'd left the house as silently as he had entered it, leaving only one thing behind.
A new kunai as a gift for Sasuke, left out on the open on his bedside table.
xxxxxxxxx
The seals Shisui left behind in the shrine tell him no one has entered since he last did, so he allows Sakura to follow him in.
Tsunade had circulated Sakura's vague description of Izanagi after he took her from her bedroom – wearing Shisui's face, no less – around some old friends she trusted, inside and outside the village. Shisui had done the same, relying on the contacts he'd made back in the old days.
In almost four years, there has never been a single sighting.
It's as though he vanished after that one awful day in the Nara Forest, like Sakura taking the blade for Shisui was the sacrifice needed to banish the masked man from their lives.
It doesn't make Shisui any less paranoid now, as they sit in the middle of the shrine they know Izanagi used to frequent.
Sakura still looks pale and wan, so Shisui leans forward to mess up her hair. As expected, she protests, giving a token effort at a glare. It's about as effective as a kitten with a sore stomach.
He takes off his flak jacket, thankful he hadn't thought to change before his usual evening of ROOT stalking began. Honestly, when people spotted him lurking around the village after sunset, still dressed for action, they tended to give him a wide berth. It was when he was casually dressed that everyone wanted to approach, hoping he'd foot the bill at the bar if they invited him for drinks.
He drapes the flak jacket over Sakura, making sure to cover her whole body, shivering toes and all. She peeks out from under it, her big green eyes fixed on his face.
"So, Firefly," Shisui says, his tone light and conversational, "what earth-shaking revelations have you got for me today? I better warn you though – I'm all out of world-saving ideas. Fresh out. Used 'em all last week. You wouldn't believe the queue in the –"
Instead of cutting him off with words – something he knows her mother considers the height of rudeness – Sakura simply holds up her hand, waiting for him to stop. He bites back a smile. She's still the same old Firefly, still overly concerned with manners and niceties – unless she thinks you're a bully. Then she'll let loose the disappointed frown on you, and if you survive that, she might even say something less than sympathetic about your character. You won't survive that.
There isn't a huge physical difference between the Sakura that sits before him today, and the little Sakura he used to know. Four-year-old Sakura had been smaller, unscarred, with a neatly trimmed bob haircut. Seven – almost eight – year old Sakura is a little taller, but not by much, and some of the puppy fat has melted away from her cheeks. If he squints, he can almost see the woman she will grow into.
"It's Kagami," Sakura says heavily, "I can't find her. I woke up in the park after sleepwalking, and she wasn't in my mind. There's just a space where she used to be."
There's more she isn't saying. Her eyes are watering slightly, and she's breathing shallowly, sucking the air through her teeth. She's in pain. Kagami's absence is a physical ache. That's troubling.
"She's done this before, right? Gone walkabout at random times?" Shisui says, hoping for once they'll get lucky and have a simple problem that can be fixed before daybreak.
Sakura shakes her head, "Not like this. She disappeared once after a really bad dream about our dad, but she was still there, just muted. Hard to reach. Now it's like she's been ripped out. I… I don't know what to do… we'd just thought of a plan of how to help her and now this –"
"Hm? A plan?" Shisui perks up. "I love plans, I'd love to have one. Share yours with me, yeah?"
"Well… we were thinking of tracking down Sasori from Akatsuki, the puppetmaster who nearly killed Kagami and did kill her nice old lady friend, Chiyo," Sakura begins, fiddling with the pockets on the flak jacket.
Shisui pauses, waiting for that information to reconfigure itself into something more pleasant to hear. It fails to do so.
"We thought maybe he could give Kagami a body, and then she could live outside of my head and I wouldn't get dreams anymore and Iza – that man wouldn't want to take me away." Sakura says, her voice dropping down to a mumble after she almost said the forbidden word.
He knows she struggled to accept the fact that there is a person in the world who claims to need her, but also does not deserve her help. Sakura was raised to be kind and polite, always happy to help. She was an eternal people pleaser, incapable of letting someone down or overlooking injustice. That made it hard for her to deny people what she thought they needed.
It still pissed Shisui off to this day that Izanagi had done so much to them, both of them, and yet he knew a not inconsiderable part of Sakura still wanted to help him.
Still. If Sakura wasn't such a forgiving person, Shisui's only real friend would still be his cousin, who is currently not speaking to him. Well, thank heavens for small miracles, he thinks wryly.
"A puppet body for Kagami," Shisui muses, "Why not just a corpse –"
"She could never say why, but I can tell that she had really bad experiences with people wearing other people's dead bodies," Sakura says, as if that's a normal sentence. She ignores Shisui's exaggerated grimace, going on to say, "And I know Sasori's puppets used to be people, but for some reason it doesn't bother Kagami as much."
"She'd prefer splinters to sensation?" Shisui says.
"If she was here she'd say something really depressing about how feeling anything at all just means opening yourself up to pain," Sakura says miserably.
Shisui's got nothing in the Advice Bank for that one, though he frantically rummages for something inspirational to share.
"But she's not here. She's gone. And now no one will say depressing things about pain or death ever again," Sakura says, tears welling up in her eyes.
Oh god, the chin's starting to wobble. It's happening.
Shisui has a feeling that saying is it really such a loss? wouldn't be terribly useful here.
"Uh, I can fill in, if you like? Um. Did you know there's a specific kind of drug where if you overdose on it, blood pours from every orifice in your body, including your eyes?" Shisui says, gesturing with his hands like a magician performing a trick.
Sakura's chin is still wobbling.
"Isn't that depressing?" Shisui says desperately.
Sakura sniffs.
"I… I could take a look inside your mind, if you like?" Shisui suggests, forgetting himself.
He freezes just as Sakura does.
The last time he did this, it was by force, and it broke Sakura's heart.
He remembers seeing Kagami for the first time, the horror he felt as it dawned on him that this was his little Firefly's future. Angry, bitter, tortured… and a total stranger to him. Knowing that if he and Sakura failed to change exactly the right things in exactly the right way, he was destined to never meet the future that would cause Sakura such pain… it wasn't the most pleasant feeling in the world.
"Just a look?" Sakura says hesitantly.
"Well, if I see the problem, and I can help… would that be okay with you?" He asks, not wanting to push the issue. Frankly, he didn't want to go back inside her mind ever again, never wanting to relive the moment when he betrayed a child who trusted him with all her heart. He was the person who taught her paranoia. Not Izanagi. Him.
Sakura sniffs again, but this time it's more resolved than disconsolate. She nods, sitting upright to look him in the eye. It strikes him how brave she is, meeting his gaze while knowing exactly what he is capable of. The thought burns in his stomach as he leans forward, taking her hands in his.
"Thank you for trusting me, Firefly," He says softly.
She shakes her head, like it doesn't mean anything at all, when it actually means everything to him.
"It's okay, Shisui. Please help Onee-chan, if you can."
He stares into her big green eyes, still full of unshed tears, and activates his Sharingan.
Her hands grip his, and then they're gone.
xxxxxxxx
The last time he did this, he fell through Sakura's mind, her memories flashing past his eyes at an uncontrollable, sickening pace. It had felt like rolling down a hill as a kid, the world spinning around him with every turn.
Shisui has invaded dozens of minds in life. Fellow Uchiha for practice, as a child, as the clan always tried to limit non-combat use of the Sharingan on outsiders, for fear of them learning too much through the experience. Not to mention the potential legal ramifications if he accidentally scrambled some kid's brains. His relatives had always been calm, taking charge during the process, talking him through what to do whenever he struggled to keep control. Their minds had been relaxed, almost welcoming his presence.
His first enemy nin's mind had been anything but. The man was immediately aware of Shisui's presence, and had responded by panicking, his mindscape warping and rippling all around them. Shisui had fought hard to regain control, having to remind himself that it didn't matter if the man didn't want him there.
Sakura's mind was open, ready for him, but he could feel walls around them, securely boxing him in. Even if Sakura thought she was okay with him being there, her subconscious had responded to his presence in a way he had to fight not to take personally. She had every right to not completely trust him ever again. It just stung a little, to feel that distrust all around them.
However, the large rift before them was enough to distract Shisui from his melancholy.
Sakura stood next to him, still dressed in her nightgown, but now also wearing Shisui's flak jacket, the hem almost reaching her toes.
In the same place Shisui had once found Kagami chained to the wall, there was now nothing.
It felt like a room that had been ripped out of a house by a tornado, leaving a gaping hole open to the elements.
Shisui looks down at Sakura, so small and trembling beside him, and takes charge.
He kneels down next to her, his voice purposefully light and cheerful when he says, "It'll be okay. I'm going to look for Kagami, so let me know if you feel any change, alright?"
Sakura looks up at him, her serious expression all wrong on a little girl's face. He feels her hand grip his for a moment, just a brief, careful squeeze, and then she says, "Okay, Shisui. I don't think she's here, but if you can find her… well, I'd be very happy. Thank you."
Shisui grins at her, brushing her hair out of her eyes, then takes the chance to poke her forehead. He relishes in the indignant squawk he receives, happy to hear her sounding like the kid she is.
If he could take the Haruno-Senju family and keep them somewhere safe, far away from shinobi, the military, corrupt governments and shadowy organisations, he would. He doesn't know if he's already outlived his destined lifetime, or if his end is coming up around the corner, but he would happily give up every second of his borrowed time if it meant Sakura and her family could live in peace.
But, despite what Itachi says about his eyes in furious, whispered conversations, he is not all-powerful. He cannot bend the world to his will. He could, if pressed, take hold of Fugaku's life with a single glance, and change the future of the clan for good, as Itachi so desperately wants. He could even go against Itachi's will and push the clan into an all-out war. He could take one of the ROOT soldiers he has identified and use them to track down their master.
He can do so much, and yet has no desire to do anything at all, even as the world spins around him and time ticks on.
He takes a look at the rift in Sakura's mind, feeling the backsplash of her agony drifting by him in waves. If he concentrates, he can feel the edge of a memory, like a shard of glass embedded in the wall. He imagines running his fingers along it, testing the sharpness.
("But I could help," Sakura insists, urgency colouring her voice, "Please, Kakashi-sensei, let me do this. I can – "
"No, Sakura," Kakashi replies simply, and Sakura sags in disappointment, too weary to even push for an answer why, why can't she be allowed to do her job, why did she train for years just to be held back and cossetted and forced to watch others struggle and bleed in her place?
"I could do it," Sakura mutters, sounding like a petulant child, and Kakashi just laughs.)
Shisui's lips curl back in distaste.
This is Sakura's future teacher?
Shisui had set out to give Sakura a head start, just a little nudge to help her in the very first days of her life as a shinobi, but had stepped back the moment she entered the Academy, trusting the professionals to do their jobs better than he could. But if she's doomed to have a sensei who will hold her back rather than let her rise, maybe he really should step in once more. However, as Mikoto's apprentice, she will undoubtedly be shaped into an excellent shinobi, whether Kakashi likes it or not.
He closes his eyes – unnecessary, but it helps his focus regardless – and reaches out.
He associates Sakura's chakra with fire, the tiny sparks of fireflies when she's healing, and the rush of Katon when she's angry. He thinks it might be part of why she's managed to slot herself into the Uchiha family so seamlessly, because on the deepest, fundamental level, she's made up of the same stuff as them.
And yet, although he locates the crackle of familiar chakra without much trouble, it's accompanied by a much smaller chakra signature, one that feels much more subdued and gentle, the trickle of a spring brook next to a wildfire.
Two different chakra signatures in one mind.
Interesting.
It seems that Kagami is different to Sakura in more ways than just personality and memory – her very aura is the polar opposite to her younger self.
It makes it easier to track her down, her chakra a seething mass of energy, her signature so vast and powerful that it almost completely eclipses Sakura's own reserves.
Despite the rift in Sakura's mind, Kagami is not gone. She's simply not there, not in the same mental space she'd carved out in her bloody arrival. Without the chains to ground her in place, she'd begun to drift away, the lines between her mind and Sakura's blurring to the point of almost vanishing.
Shisui steps forward and pulls Kagami back from the brink of dissolution.
The girl that emerges barely resembles the angry, broken woman he'd met years before, still chained and bloody. He's not sure if it's merely because Shisui is closer to her age now, since time had no effect on Kagami here, but he had seen her as an adult back then.
Now, she's very clearly just a teenager.
"Onee-chan!" Sakura yells, running forward to tackle her older self in a hug.
Kagami accepts the hug with nothing but a smile and a gentle hand on Sakura's shoulder. She looks past her, straight at Shisui, clear green eyes missing nothing. Shisui does not flinch, despite the unpleasant circumstances surrounding their last meeting.
"You brought me back," Kagami acknowledges, though it almost sounds like an accusation in her low, wary voice, "Why?"
"Onee-chan!" Sakura grumbles, lightly thumping Kagami's leg with her fist. "Shisui is here to help! We're past all the bad things, remember?"
Kagami only hums, not quite agreeing.
Shisui doesn't bother trying to assuage her worries with a smile or reassuring words. He knows she'd sense the deceit, inside and outside Sakura's mind. Instead, he relaxes his stance, hands open nonthreateningly, and slumps a little. Lessons learned from Kakashi, the number one conman and all-round shyster.
"Sakura asked me to help, and this time I wasn't being manipulated by a masked weirdo," He says wryly, "I understand if you want to punch me again, but I'm gonna have to ask you to hold back. Like a lot. My cheek still hurts from the last time."
"Oh dear," Kagami says, utterly pitiless, and Shisui can admire a bad attitude when it's well-earned, so he can't help but smile.
Sakura tugs at Kagami's hand, a troubled frown puckering her forehead, "Onee-chan, I woke up and you were gone. I was so scared, it was the middle of the night and there was a man – "
Even here, Shisui's eyes are just as sharp as in reality, so he sees the moment Kagami remembers something horrifying, then just as quickly forgets.
Her face is cast in terror for a split second, but then it fades to unsettled confusion.
"What was that?" Shisui asks quietly.
"I don't… I don't know," Kagami says, helpless, "There was… wait." Fear sharpens her eyes when they snap up to hold Shisui's gaze.
The weight of dread sinks in his stomach.
"What's the date?" Kagami asks.
"The date?" Shisui repeats, looking between Kagami's pale, troubled face, and Sakura's outright fearful one, almost a perfect mirror in miniature. "Why do you need to know?"
"Because," Kagami says, her expression darkening, "I think we're running out of time."
xxxxxxxx
Tenzo has never deliberately slipped away from Airi, never once left the Senju household without letting at least one person know where he was going and why.
Tonight, he's doing just that.
He's sneaking through Konoha, sticking to the shadows and moving like he is nothing more than the gentle breeze against leaves, following lessons from a time he finds too awful to remember and too useful to forget.
He's checked the treehouse in the park, the ramen stall, and he even lurked outside the hospital, carefully avoiding the tired eyes of the night staff coming in and out of the building. He doesn't quite dare enter the Uchiha Compound, knowing exactly how they would respond to finding the heir of the Senju wandering their streets in the middle of the night. It doesn't matter, anyway.
Sakura is nowhere.
He's beginning to wonder if he made a terrible mistake not alerting the bodyguards the moment he realised she was gone – but he'd wanted to believe she'd left of her own accord, and hadn't wanted to get her in trouble – but then slowly, he starts to sense a gradual trickle of Sakura's chakra.
At once, he's on the rooftops, heading towards her faint signature.
Senju Tenzo has a family, a home, a life, and he will not tolerate a threat to any of them.
Hello, friends!
It's weird, I wanted to write this so I could provide the world with some classic TFLA fluff, and yet this chapter managed to be smack bang in the middle of the angsty section of the plot I'd already planned out. Whoops! Sorry for all the grim stuff, but it's necessary for the later fluff, I promise.
This is one of those rare chapters without any Sakura POV. Always weird to write, since Sakura's POV is so distinctly childlike and fun to write, and Shisui is a canonical genius, and that's a fair bit harder to emulate. Realising that Shisui was now almost the same age as Kagami was a weird moment. Timelines are so tricky, especially when one of your characters can't age.
Fun fact: In canon, Itachi is the one who overhears Fugaku asking Shisui to keep an eye on him.
In Sakura's POV, she overlooks quite a few things. Like Tenzo initially believing his adoption was merely a cruel test he was doomed to fail.
I'm FINALLY going to watch Steven Universe btw! Only nine billion years late ~~ I've already started the first season, and I have to say, I really love the soundtrack and the art, especially the backgrounds. The pastel colour palette is so pretty! It's the perfect summer show so far. I'm gonna watch Gravity Falls in autumn, too.
(This chapter was absolutely not posted a year after the last one hehe I just accidentally time travelled to the future and now I'm trapped inside my older self's mind. Help! It's terrible here! It's full of Steven Universe spoilers!)
Izanagi is now a bad word.
Also, I'm well aware that I'm taking massive liberties with how the Sharingan works, but honestly it's fun to write and that's all that matters.
I had another birthday (they just won't stop coming!) and now I'm twenty-eight, which so far has been exactly the same as twenty-seven, which is to say, in lockdown and seriously devoid of chocolate. Save me.
I hope you guys have been doing well, and if not, I hope things get a lot better very quickly.
Quick poll for fun: What's your favourite cartoon?
Mine is ATLA, which has thus far proved to be utterly timeless. I've got to thank Aang for starting my love of optimistic, idealist heroes in a time of grimdark angsty boys.
(Dogwatch Pupdate: The dogs of TFLA didn't quite make it into this chapter, so my real-life dog Flora shall contribute instead. She'd like you to know that she adores you, and would like you to scratch her belly. Please. She'll roll over and everything.)