When his brother's voice fell on his ears for the first time in years, Sasuke could not help but momentarily freeze. The shock passed as soon as it came and when he whirled around to confront the source, Itachi was already gone.

"Below you."

Sasuke allowed his Sharingan to come alive, scanning the forest floor beneath him. Itachi was standing between the trees, hands in the pockets of his Akatsuki cloak. Instead of meeting him on common ground, Sasuke grimaced and threw a handful of shuriken down. Itachi sidestepped them as if they weren't even there.

"Please stop this petty attempt at attacking me," Itachi said. "I'm only here to talk for now. This is not even the real me; it's only a Shadow Clone."

A breath of wind rustled the leaves around Sasuke as he tried to make sense of the situation. While his emotions should have been working up a storm, all he felt was a kind of agitation that he found difficult to explain. The last three years had taught him that wreaking vengeance upon his brother wasn't the great goal he aspired towards, and now that an image of the man stood before him, he realised that he had been living a truth.

He did not want to fight the Itachi Clone, not really. What he really wanted to do was hear him out.

Sasuke relented and deactivated his Sharingan, dropping down to the ground. Itachi stood patiently waiting.

"So you want to talk?" Sasuke felt inclined to ask.

"I do," Itachi said with a nod. "I understand that it may seem strange that I choose to make an appearance now."

"A little, yeah. Last time I checked you were out gathering Bijuu for the Akatsuki. Have you seen the error of your ways?"

"That is information I'm unable to give you," Itachi responded.

"Then what is all this about 'stuff getting crazy'?" Sasuke asked. He found the Clone's eyes and even though they weren't real, he could feel them staring through him the way only his brother could.

"I can only tell you bits and pieces, I'm afraid," Itachi said. "What I'm here to divulge, however, is something different altogether. Sasuke, have you not noticed the true extent of your abilities yet?"

Sasuke frowned. "What are you talking about? I've been training, so I know that I've become a lot stronger, but if I were keeping something under wraps you'd think I'd be the first to know."

Itachi shook his head. "That is not what I mean."

Sasuke sat down, his curiosity now peaked and his guard dropped to a dangerous low. "Then please explain so I understand."

Itachi turned his gaze to the night sky, where the moon cut a half-crescent in the cloudless sky. "For all these years I've been keeping an eye on you, little brother. This should come as no surprise to you. I feel that it is my obligation to see to your safety as much as I can. It is up to you whether you believe that or not."

Sasuke held his tongue.

"Sasuke, you should have unlocked your Mangekyou Sharingan."

The trees rustled against each other in a sudden gale of wind, raining leaves down on the brothers as they let the silence engulf them.

"My Mangekyou?" Sasuke parroted. "What do you mean, it's active?"

"The Mangekyou Sharingan is triggered by a severe emotional loss," Itachi explained. He turned to face Sasuke, his eyes now red and swirling. "For generations it was believed that the key to activating it is to kill a loved one. However I believe that seeing a loved one die might also trigger the same effect."

"And you are telling me this why exactly?"

"As you theorised yourself, we are currently on the precipice of a war unlike anything the world has ever seen. As your brother I want you to be able to fend for yourself as well as you possibly can."

"If I were five years old I might've believed you," Sasuke said, getting to his feet and meeting those red eyes without flinching. "Right now I'm not so gullible, considering past events."

Itachi gave a small nod. "I understand your mistrust. Now is not the time to discuss what happened in the past, but be assured that I will soon tell you the truth of what happened that day. But right now I am here to make sure that your Mangekyou Sharingan is active and working. I'm sorry about this, little brother."

Sasuke had no time to ask what for or why. Itachi's Mangekyou was staring him down before he could blink and in the passing of a second the world around him disappeared.

What came in its stead was a nightmare scape drenched blood red. Sasuke could not move; he was tied to a cross that stood on a hilltop. He could see mountains in the far distance but they were soon obscured by a flock of crows with Sharingan for eyes.

"This is my Tsukiyomi," Itachi said from by his side. "The only way to release it is with the help of the Mangekyou. Good luck."

Even before the first blade pierced his heart, Sasuke was screaming.

...

"You need to routinely change the water of any flowers that are on display in a vase," said Ino as she screwed up her nose. "Or they'll stink and drive customers away."

"We wouldn't fucking want that, would we?" asked Tayuya.

Ino crossed her arms. "Y'know, you still have to take this seriously. I might be doing Shikamaru a favour but this shop my family's lifeblood."

"Would explain why the lot of you are such pansies," Tayuya muttered under her breath. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, blondie. Make sure the flowers are taken care of and arranged properly, maim anybody who tries to pinch anything and act as though I'm not peddling something that is completely useless and serves no practical purpose - not exactly fucking advanced sealing."

"Well, yeah, but try and do it with a smile and the right attitude. Swear words aren't exactly all that welcoming," replied Ino. "Anyway, where's the little one?"

"Getting to know Uncle Pineapple," said Tayuya. "I hope she shits on him. The fucker hasn't stopped pestering me since we arrived in this stupid village."

"My, my, how the tables turn," said Ino with a shake of her head. "He's an odd one, alright. I don't know how Temari can put up with him."

"The massive fucking steel fan probably helps," lamented Tayuya. "I'll burn your bloody flower shop to the ground if you say a word, but I do appreciate the help. Being alone is a real pain in the ass."

"I'm just sorry we couldn't do more," said Ino. "I'm sure that Iwa will get what's coming for them soon, though."

"Vengeance is the last thing on my mind right now," said Tayuya. "Don't get me wrong, put me in a room with the fucking bastard responsible and somebody will be relieved of their balls, but raising a brat is enough as it is. Stupid girl won't stop waking me up in the middle of the night, bawling her fucking eyes out."

"She has a name, y'know?"

"Meh," said Tayuya as she sat down on a stool. "Now where do you keep the booze around here?"

"What do you mean?" asked Ino, her voice faltering.

"You can't expect me to believe that you sit here and tend to flowers and customers all day sober, blondie," said Tayuya as she glanced around the store, looking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary.

"You better believe it," said Ino as she placed her hands on her hips. "My dad's a mind reader. I'm lucky if I can convince him I'm only going out with my friends, let alone get away with drinking in broad daylight."

"This blows," replied Tayuya. "No wonder you're so fascinated with your appearance. Staring at your reflection must be the only entertainment you get working here all day."

"Well, if you want a steady job, you'd best get used to it," advised Ino, crossing her arms over her chest. "I have to go run an errand but I'll be back. And this shop better be well tended to when I return."

The Yamanaka took her leave soon after, leaving Tayuya to twirl a flower between her fingertips in boredom. She began to work her way through the list of menial chores Ino had left her before giving in at sweeping up the fallen petals when she realised that more always seemed to fall by the half-hour.

She sat on a stool and admired her flute, polishing the silver instrument with a cloth she had obtained. She began to regret leaving Shinja with Shikamaru because this was going to be more boring than caring for that stupid brat.

Eventually, she was put out of her misery when the first customer of the day walked in. A young man, no older than sixteen, with freckles stumbled in. He looked sorely out of place as he eyed the dandelions and even reached out to the lilacs.

"What the fu- uh… what are you looking for?" she asked, forcing herself to play her part.

"I'm not sure," he answered. He broke eye contact. "There's this girl I like. Do you think you can help me pick something out for her?"

"What kind of weirdo goes looking for flowers before he's even locked a date in?" Tayuya asked, a little too loud to prevent the boy's eyes from lingering on the timber flooring for a second too long. She cracked her knuckles. "Alright, brat. I've got this covered. Do you want a whole bouquet or a single flower?"

"I don't know," said the boy. "What do you think? I saved up so I could afford a bouquet."

"Weak looking chicken shit like you?" she said. "You need all the help you can get so you better pony up for the whole lot."

"Ex-excuse me?" he stammered.

"Prissy bitches love flora. It's the only thing more delicate than they are," she reasoned before sighing at the lost expression on the teenager's face. "You can never have too many flowers."

"Oh… I guess that makes sense," he said after a moment's deliberation. "I've been saving a portion of my lunch money for the past two weeks so I should be able to afford it."

"Fucking ace," beamed Tayuya. This flower stuff was too easy. She tore a solid handful of flowers from a nearby bunch and wrapped them in paper, sprinkling the petals that clung to her palm over the bundle for good measure, before repeating the process and heaping more flowers into her bouquet.

She placed the bunch into the stunned boy's hands, swapping it for the small wad of ryo in his hands. "Say, what colour did you want?"

"Uhh… maybe lavender or something?"

She snorted, patting him on the back and shepherding him out of the store. "Purple's for pansies anyway. Orange is better."

Too easy.

...

Naruto had known this moment was coming and he had dreaded it ever since they had stepped foot outside Konoha's gates. With his fingers intertwined with Hinata's digits, Naruto eyed the fork in the path they were reaching and he knew what that meant.

It was time to say goodbye.

Swallowing a lump that had formed in his throat, Naruto's fingers gripped the hand he was holding just the slightest bit tighter. "It's alright, Naruto," said Hinata, responding to the slight change of pressure. "It's only for a little while."

Naruto knew that there was no way she could know that. He was off to get training from the Jinchuuriki of the Hachibi while she was going to learn the Sage Arts the same way that Jiraiya had. Both wouldn't leave their respective training grounds until they had mastered the techniques taught to them and unfortunately there was no real way to know how long that would be.

"You better not be moping for the rest of this trip, brat," said Tsunade with a scoff at the attitude being displayed. "We've still got a long road ahead of us and if you're going to be like that I'm leaving you behind."

Naruto knew it was an empty threat - or at least he hoped so - but realised that he needed to perk up. Thankfully, as they came to the intersection that would separate them, Hinata turned to him with a light smile on her face which made his heartbeat just that little bit faster. She leaned forward and allowed her lips to press against his own. They remained connected for only a few seconds but they both wished that it could last an eternity.

It was the eventual sound of pencil on parchment that tore them apart, neither of them wanting to give Jiraiya any more material to put towards his next instalment.

"I'll miss you," Hinata said softly.

"I'll miss you too," replied Naruto before quickly planting one last peck on Hinata's cheeks before following after Tsunade who hadn't stopped to allow the two time to say goodbye. In fact it seemed she had picked up the pace, running even. "Oi wait!" shouted Naruto quickly realizing that Tsunade's earlier threat may very well have been true and giving chase, shooting one last smile over his shoulder as he tried to catch up to the Sannin, Yamato lagging a few steps behind her.

Hinata and Jiraiya watched the retreating form of Naruto with mixed emotions before Hinata let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Jiraiya placed a comforting hand on her shoulder but chose not to say anything before turning and began heading towards their destination. Hinata lingered several moments longer before her open palm clenched into a fist, determination filling her being.

She would complete this training, earn the title of Sage and be reunited with Naruto and she would do it faster than anyone could think possible.

She had to.

...

"Thanks again for helping me with the lessons this week, Miss Tayuya," Iruka said as he guided the woman through the halls of Konoha's Shinobi Academy.

"Whatever," scoffed Tayuya as she ran her fingers through her hair before adjusting her attire. What kind of stupid rule required her to wear such bland clothing? Sure Iruka could get away with his shinobi attire but since she was no longer a qualified ninja due to her past, she had to make do with what the mediocre and pathetic did.

"I understand that you can be a bit… frank," said Iruka with a smile. "That's good. Kids appreciate that but just remember to keep their feelings in mind."

"I have a slimy, snot-nosed brat of my own," she said with a shrug. "I just let it lie around in its own shit and think about what it's done whenever things get too noisy."

Iruka erupted into a fit of laughter. "Shikamaru didn't mention you were a comedian too. I'm really glad to know you've had some practice. I was really worried, actually, since my colleague called in sick today and my other one recently retired. Since you've got some experience though, we should be able to split things up between us without any problems. I should be able to help you set up before checking back in after the morning's classes are over?

Tayuya gave a grunt that resembled agreement as he showed her to the classroom.

"Children," said Iruka. "This is Tayuya-sensei. Nuzuro is unwell so she will be in charge for today."

Several pairs of devious eyes sprung to life, realising that the opportunity to wreak havoc on a substitute teacher had just presented itself.

"As usual, I expect you to be on your best behaviour. I will be staying late tonight grading papers and any troublemakers are more than welcome to provide me with some company," he warned, eyeballing those who seemed a little too happy their normal teacher had fallen ill. "Tayuya-sensei will begin by checking homework. I have given her a list of names to check off, so don't try to play any tricks. Sadly, we did not have the opportunity to obtain today's lesson plan from Nuzuro so Tayuya-sensei will instead have to teach you some off-curriculum content from her time as a capable Suna kunoichi."

Tayuya cleared her throat. "Hello kids. As Ponytail said, I am to look after you today."

Iruka blushed. "Does that sound good to everyone?" he asked, almost rhetorically as Tayuya instructed to take their workbooks out and began inspecting their work. He made a point of watching for a minute or two before leaving her to her own devices, satisfied.

He spent the next few hours in his makeshift office, grading papers and writing up lesson plans for the next few weeks. He did his best to include Tayuya in them too; if she turned out to be a capable teacher her further assistance would be greatly appreciated.

When lunchtime was coming up, Iruka made his way to the classroom with his bento in hand. He was curious to see how Tayuya was holding up - she seemed competent enough if a little direct.

Nothing could have prepared him for the sight he was greeted by.

"Quit your crying, will you! I already have a baby to do that for me, I don't need your fucking wails too. And you, pick up your friend and take him to the medical bay. I don't care that he shit himself, I just can't handle the stink right now!"

As Iruka was about to enter, two boys exited, one unconscious and reeking, the other with a look of terror in his eyes. Iruka wasted no time and swiftly slipped inside.

Tayuya was standing before the class, tossing a piece of chalk up and down in her hand as she observed the line of students gathered in front of her. For some reason, they were all doing one strange, inexplicable activity or the other: one girl was imagining she was a chicken, another was lying on the floor as stiff as a board while reciting the alphabet backwards and another was licking a wooden practice kunai as though it were an ice-cream. The rest of the class were cowering in their seats, mortified by the prospect of being Tayuya's next test subject except for one child who was slapping himself on the cheek repeatedly and muttering something incoherent.

"Miss Tayuya!" Iruka shouted. "What is going on here?"

"The fuck does it look like?" she replied. "Genjutsu training, of course."

About ten minutes and one particularly furious Iruka later, she was once again walking the streets of Konoha, now out of yet another job. Like it was her fault that those crying little dweebs weren't able to break an illusion. What was she supposed to do, coddle them and whisper fairy tales into their ears?

She was positively seething and the people around her noticed this, giving her a wide berth. With one exception.

"Anything wrong?" Anko asked, leaning against a wall with a smirk on her face.

"I'll tell you what's wrong! You only kind of sort of torture a class full of pants-shitting fucknuts and all of a sudden, according to Iruka, you are 'irresponsible' and a 'terrible role model'."

"You tortured a class full of students?"

"Only a little," Tayuya grunted.

Anko gave a hearty laugh. "You know what? I'm going to have to side with Iruka here, you don't seem like teacher material. But maybe I know a little job that might interest you. It seems to line up with your interests."

"You do, do you?" Tayuya asked. "Well let's fucking hear it, I'm all ears."

...

Sakura sat on the steps to the main entrance of the Uchiha compound, enjoying the cool weather that the night had brought. She had come here hoping to get a bit of private time in with Sasuke, but according to some of the Suna villagers now living there he had gone out about an hour before. She knew that he wouldn't be away for too long and she didn't mind the waiting; it gave her a chance to sort out her thoughts.

She was just contemplating asking Kakashi to help her with her training when she saw a figure come around the corner. She recognized Sasuke instantly and waved at him, a smile on her face. When he didn't acknowledge her the smile turned into a frown. Was he not seeing her?

He was swaying on his legs with every step, almost tripping twice before he was even halfway near her. Sakura felt a feeling of dread swell in her gut and it leaped to her throat when Sasuke crashed into a set of garbage bins and went sprawling.

"Sasuke!" she screamed, running towards him and turning him on his back. She choked back a gasp when she saw his face.

His eyes were closed, but blood was flowing from between the lids. When she made to touch his cheek, Sasuke cried out in pain, grasping her wrist and almost crunching it to splinters. "S-Sakura..."

One of those eyes opened and stared at her in red. The Mangekyou Sharingan had finally seen its first light.

,,,

"I will have you know, the next one will go, YEEHAAAWW!"

"C'mon on then bull-man, show me what you can do!"

The guardians standing on the fence line surrounding the sanctioned area nearly found themselves blown off their feet, struggling to maintain some semblance of balance as the nearby explosion sent debris and dust flying in all directions. It didn't matter that they were miles away from where the blast went off, the strength behind it was that insane that none of them wished to have been anywhere close to the immediate vicinity. The two people who were though were inspecting the destruction and analyzing it in their own way.

"The mountain's gone away! Now what do you have to say, fool?"

"I have to say my friend that you make one hell of a piece of art."

...

They had made good time during their first five days of travel, Jiraiya told Hinata as they sat around their campfire in the dead of night. A rabbit was roasting over it and it smelled good; they hadn't had much to eat since they had left Konoha. Jiraiya had made it a point not to stay near inns or densely populated areas.

"So when will we get there?" Hinata asked, lazily plucking some grass from its soil and letting it drift in the wind.

"I'm not entirely sure myself, but I'd say we can get there a day and a half earlier than I had expected," The Pervert Sage said, his eyes not leaving his writings for a second. "If we keep up this pace we can cut our travel time down by almost a week."

That was good news to Hinata. She wanted to start her training as soon as possible because Naruto would start his much sooner than she would and she didn't want to lag behind. She was certain that she would do a good job. The support of both Jiraiya and the Hokage was enough to ease her mind on that. Other things were troubling her, however.

"Jiraiya-sama, can I ask you a question?"

Jiraiya tore himself away from his growing new novel and met eyes that were downcast and apprehensive. The tiniest of sighs passed over his lips, but then they curled into a smile. "Sure, what's got you bothered?"

Unbeknownst to her one of Hinata's hands crept up to her neck, drawing circles over the spot that had bothered her for the last three years. "It's just that... Could my cursed seal turn out to be a problem for me?"

Jiraiya frowned. This wasn't the question that he had expected, but it might be that his writing was to blame. He was much too mixed up in pining romantics and murmurs of the heart.

"Honestly, I'm not sure, Hinata," he said, knowing that lying would get him nowhere. "To learn the art of the Sages requires a tremendous peace of mind and a lot of patience. If I have to guess, I'd say that it all comes down to how determined you are."

And then a voice spoke that seemed to have pulled itself from both of their nightmares.

"He's right, you know."

Hinata felt her blood freeze over and was unable to keep a scream inside. Jiraiya was already on his feet, kunai in hand and his face a hateful grimace. "Where are you, you snake bastard?"

"It seems the years are finally catching up to you, my old friend," Orochimaru said, stepping into the light of the dancing flames to meet the two. In this body he was white as paper and not too tall, but the figure he struck was still enough to set Hinata's hair on end. Orochimaru was carrying a satchel on his back that was overflowing with sealed scrolls. "And don't even bother with an attempt to attack. You don't want to discover the payload I carry, believe me."

Jiraiya did not lower his kunai, but it began to twitch ever so slightly. "What are you doing here, Snakeface?"

"I was just passing through, Jiraiya. You of all people should know how much I value my field research. I'm just living up to the part." He made towards the campfire and used long nails to pry some flesh from the rabbit, which he gulped down with that sickening long tongue of his. "I noticed signs of travelers in the area and I decided to see if it was worth my time to do something about them. For all I knew, they were looking for me. Imagine my surprise when I stumble upon an old friend and hopefully," he said as his eyes fell on Hinata and stayed there, "a new one. "

"If you really are just passing through, leave now," Jiraiya said. "We have places to go and we don't need to be hindered by the likes of you."

"As I heard. Hinata, my dear, you would do well to listen to you sensei's council. He might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but aside from myself no one in the world understands that seal on your neck better than him."

"S-So, he's right?" Hinata found herself asking, shame constricting her throat at the stutter that had broken her voice?"

"Well you should find out soon enough, am I right?" Orochimaru said with a smile. "Fine Jiraiya, I will leave you both be. It was good to see the both of you, I must say. And Hinata, please don't disappoint me. I believe that the future has great things in store for you and it would be a shame to see you spend eternity as lawn decoration. Safe travels, everyone."

As Orochimaru dissolved into the shadows, Hinata felt her heart grow as cold as the seal on her neck.

...

This chapter was brought to you by Kakarot Son, kalebxdd and Razamataz22.