Chapter 1

"Again!" His grandfather demanded, ignoring the sweat on the youth's brow. Sakumo took in a long greedy gulp of air, forcing his trembling muscles to form the necessary hand signs. As he felt the rush of chakra speed through his body, he clawed his hands into the ground, directing long tendrils of lightning towards the trunk of a great oak. The ancient wood split with a thunderous crack and Sakumo rose wearily to his feet.

The old nin, Hibiki, stared with smug satisfaction at the elegant destruction that lay before him.

"Good," he said, turning his attention to the young boy. "I greatly feared you would turn out to be a wishy-washy water user like your father, but you are a lightning wielder through and through. A true Hatake."

Sakumo carefully picked out the compliment from his grandfather's disparaging remark with a practiced patience. If he had the strength he might have even puffed out his chest a little, but they had begun practicing well before dawn and the sun was nearly reaching the top of the trees now. The old man yawned signaling the end of the lesson and the beginning of his mid-morning nap. Silently they shuffled from their carefully hidden practice ground to the open plain of the wheat fields dotted with workers.

Hibiki gave a tired sigh and Sakumo braced himself for the long oration that always followed.

"We were once a great clan, Sakumo. I do not know what happened. How did great warriors become reduced to poor farmers?"

Sakumo continued walking in silence, knowing his grandfather did not expect an answer.

"There were once wars to fight, boy! I fought with my father and uncles and brothers in battles that would make your blood sing. We commanded respect from farmers, we did not become them! We were wolves among sheep. And do you know what changed?"

Sakumo stuffed his hands deeper into his pockets, knowing his grandfather would not appreciate his monologue being interrupted.

The old man grimaced, the wrinkles plunging deeper down his jowls. "A damn thing called peace came to this country."

Sakumo sighed. "You better not let Mom hear you say that. She'll hit you over the head with her soup ladle again."

Hibiki scowled, rubbing the side of his baldhead in remembrance. "If ever there was a woman meant to be a ninja…"

"Is that why you don't like the shinobi village?"

The old man made a gruff noise of disgust. "That village won't amount to much, you mark my words. The Senju and Uchiha will be back at each other's throats in no time. Serves them right thinking they can change the old ways."

"I'm gonna see it someday," Sakumo quietly declared, staring out over the wide expanse of wheat fields, but a quick cuff to his ear returned his attention to the old man.

"You'll do no such thing, young pup!" Hibiki growled, his large white eyebrows knitted together in anger. "There will be no wandering in this family. This is the land where your ancestors lie buried and it will always be the seat of the Hatake clan."

"Yeah okay," he said sheepishly, rubbing the developing bump on his head. "But I'm not all Hatake am I, Gramps."

"I'll have none of that talk." The old man said with a sniff, his large nose rising high into the air. "I have chosen to ignore that wanderer's blood in you and you should too."

"But you said he was a shinobi," Sakumo protested.

"A shinobi with no clan," Hibiki snorted dismissively. "He was hardly better then a common assassin and stupid enough to have almost have gotten himself killed. My life is filled with many regrets boy, but by Kami my greatest is letting your mother rescue that scoundrel in the first place."

Sakumo felt his face grow hot. The old man had mentioned his dislike of his father before, but rarely so loudly. He might have bit out a response, but they were approaching their small farmhouse and he did not wish for his mother to hear.

The kitchen was warm and welcoming when they entered with his mother sitting neatly at the fire drying jasmine over the hearth. Her low voice lifted and fell as she sang a whispering ditty to the old dog dozing at her side. It was a comforting scene quickly diminished by his grandfather's demand for a cup of tea before his nap.

As his mother poured tea, Sakumo dug into a cold breakfast under the vigilant eye of their little farm dog, Tomo.

"Father did you hear anyone out by the window last night?" His mother asked, setting the teapot down on the rickety old table. "Something woke Tomo up last night."

Tomo licked his greying chops in response to his name or more likely drooling over Sakumo's breakfast.

"That must have been quite an accomplishment," Sakumo muttered between a mouth full of rice. It usually took nothing short of a tsunami to wake the little rat. Tomo gave an indignant snort, as if he actually understood and took umbrage with Sakumo's snide comment.

"Just a fox sniffing out the chickens I imagine," Hibiki said, slurping down his cup of tea.

"I'm not so sure…" She said, staring out the window as if she expected to hear the strange noise again. "I could have sworn I saw a tall shadow."

Hibiki gave a dismissive snort. "Thieves know better then to come around these parts, Kana—nothing to steal here but dirt."

His mother did not look reassured. Sakumo guiltily kept his head down, knowing he was a heavy sleeper. According to his grandfather this shortened a shinobi's life span by half, but up to this point there had never been much to be alert for except the occasional fox.

With little ceremony Hibiki left for his favorite napping spot on the porch muttering under his breath of women and active imaginations. His mother returned to her task of crushing herbs together, releasing a calming scent of jasmine into the air.

"How is your training going, Saku?" She asked, her eyes remaining focused on the crushed plants between the stones. He sat still for a moment, too surprised to answer.

She had rarely ever asked about his training before.

"Grandfather says I have a very strong lightning affinity." He said. "Not like father." He watched her carefully, waiting for a reaction. His father was so rarely mentioned in their home that it held the weight of a cataclysmic event.

But she merely reached down to scratch Tomo behind his long ear, her dark bangs falling delicately over her eyes.

"Does that bother you?" She asked finally, her dark eyes lifting to meet his own.

He shrugged. It felt too childish to tell her exactly how much it did. She pulled Tomo onto her lap, her pale lips curled into a thoughtful smile.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Saku. You're like him in every other way."

Sakumo blinked in disbelief. "I am?"

She nodded slowly, choosing her next words carefully. "In the short time he was here I always marveled at how still he could be. Then I realized that beneath the cool stillness was nothing but movement. You are exactly the same. Always still, but with a mind always moving."

He leaned forward against the table eager to hear more.

"And of course with that hair you could practically pass as his clone," she laughed, ruffling his feathery white spikes between her fingers.

"Really?" He asked excitedly. She nodded.

"If you didn't have my eyes no one would ever believe you were my son."

"What color were his?"

"Dry red… Like old blood."

He thought this over for a moment. "Do you think I will ever get to meet him?"

Returning Tomo to the ground, despite his whining protest, his mother leaned over to a floorboard where Sakumo knew she hid their most precious belongings. Ignoring the ancient clan banner with the wolf kanji, her dead brother's armor and her mother's wedding kimono, she pulled out a small item carefully wrapped in cloth.

Silently she tucked her knees beneath her on the zabuton as she unfolded the pale cloth to reveal a badly scratched happuri-styled forehead protector. Wordlessly she offered it to Sakumo, who took it gently into his hands turning it over to read the kanji.

Senju

Sakumo looked up in surprise. "Was this…?"

She nodded, her dark eyes beginning to shimmer in the morning light.

"You know about the Senju clan is don't you?" She asked, her voice hardly louder then a whisper.

"Sure," he said. "The clan with a thousand skills!"

"And a thousand enemies, Saku." She said, lifting the forehead protector from his hands and returning it to the protective folds of the cloth.

"But if my father is from the Senju clan, he could protect us!" He protested, remembering tales from the village of the powerful Senju brothers. Surely his father must be just as strong.

"I'm not willing to take that chance, Sakumo," she said, her voice suddenly sharp and her eyes growing hard as flint. "I've let your grandfather train you for simple defense but I will not have you be a part of that world."

"You don't think I'm a shinobi?" He asked, unexpectedly hurt.

"No." She said her words uncharacteristically clipped. "A shinobi is a killer. You're a child, Sakumo."

"I can be both," he growled, an unfamiliar sense of anger rising in his chest.

"I don't want you to be!" She snapped, making Tomo give a nervous growl. "And that is why it is best your father is not in our lives. He walks a path of death and I would not have you be a casualty."

Sakumo leapt to his feet. "You're just being selfish. You want to keep me here so I can be a boring farmer who never does anything important with his life!"

"Sakumo!" She gasped. "I never…"

But he wasn't finished. "Did you drive him out because he was a shinobi? Does he even know I exist?"

His mother's gaze was suddenly as cold as ice and when she spoke it was in a flat lifeless tone. "We are done speaking of this, Sakumo."

Sakumo could not sleep that night with his head turning over with thoughts of guilt and anger. Staring up at the drooping ceiling, he tried to let the loud snores of his grandfather lull him to sleep.

His eyes were half closed when an idea struck him. Reaching out with his chakra, he made sure his mother was asleep in her room with Tomo. It would be careless to be caught.

Sneaking to the false floorboard in the middle of the room, he paused before lifting it up, double checking to ensure the house was fast asleep. Pushing aside the banner and armor, he pulled out what he was looking for. The forehead protector winked in the moonlight, as if silently approving of Sakumo sneaking around to steal it away.

The happuri moved to his head out of impulse, but it immediately slipped off, too big for his head. Quick reflexes allowed him to catch it before it clattered to the floor. He let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding.

But then a shadow appeared and he instantly tensed before running to the window to catch the culprit. He was met with only shadows of bare trees and the content cooing of undisturbed chickens.

Perhaps it would be better if he went to bed before he gave himself a heart attack. Without thinking, he brought his father's happuri with him to bed, setting it beside his mat before falling asleep contentedly.

AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA

It was bitterly cold in their small village during the early days of spring, but that did not keep the inhabitants from the morning market. Like their founding ancestors they trudged through the bracing wind and melting snow to the center of town where the fishermen and farmer's showcased their meager wares. As Sakumo nuzzled his nose deeper into the scarf his mother had made, he imagined the villagers would maintain the monotonous routine even if the sky were falling over their weary, grey heads.

His mother walked several paces in front of him, the heavy basket at her side having little effect on her graceful gate. Tomo waddled loyally at her side, his little tail curled in a perfect circle.

A perfect target.

He had been meaning to give the old dog a good kick after he discovered it had chewed a hole into his only pair of shoes that morning.

His mother had invited him to walk with her as a peace offering for the night before and the argument was soon forgotten.

His mother noticed he was lagging and turned, her dark eyes sharp and bright from the cold wind. "Don't dawdle Sakumo. The doctor doesn't like to wait for his—"

Not quick enough to warn her, his mother had walked straight into a tall man wrapped in a heavy, dark cloak.

"Excuse me," she apologized, her surprised breath rising coolly between them. A pale hand pulled the hood slowly back, revealing a bald man with an amiable smile If it were not for the two angry scars forming an X on his right cheek, Sakumo might have thought he was a wandering monk.

"It's all right," he assured her. "I was just as distracted. For a village so small it's hard to find the market here."

"I'm afraid you're going the wrong way," she smiled politely as he looked suddenly crestfallen at his mistake. "It's toward the center of town."

"Of course," he said his smile turning almost dopey. Sakumo watched him cautiously, an uneasy feeling developing in the pit of his stomach. "How foolish of me."

Tomo began to growl at his mother's side, the grey scruff of his neck bristling. His beady black eyes were fixed with vicious intent on the stranger as he bared his dull yellow teeth. Perhaps Tomo thought that he cut an impressive figure, but Sakumo simply had to bite back a laugh at the ridiculous looking pug.

"It would appear I have made a friend and an enemy today," the stranger observed, understandably unfazed by the little pug. "Thank you for the kind directions madam I will leave you and your escorts to it." He left with the similar brisk pace he had bumped into his mother and she watched him leave with a distracted look in her eye.

"Are you okay Mom?" He asked, after she failed to move for a few moments.

She blinked back to life. "We don't often get strangers around here," she noted softly.

"He seems in an awful hurry," Sakumo observed, digging one hand deep into a pocket as he swung his other arm back and forth with the basket. His father's happuri lay hidden in the sack at his side. He had been unable to return to return it to its hiding place before his mother awoke. With nowhere else to hide it, he simply kept it with him.

"Be careful with that," she sighed and Sakumo smiled. Whatever had distracted her was forgotten.

After they had dropped the dried medicines off at the doctor's hut, and Sakumo had cooled down from watching him try to put a lecherous hand on his mother's ass, an old friend called his mother over to visit with her. He was thankfully excused from the boring exchange, leaving him and Tomo to wander the village.

"Yo Hatake!" A voice called out over the bustle of the market. Sakumo turned to a group of kids waving him over while passing a ball amongst themselves. He dismissed them with a casual turn of his shoulder, fully prepared to continue walking.

"Sakumo! Come play with us," a much lighter voice beckoned over the din. He turned back to the group, noticing Ami, by far the prettiest girl in the village, calling him over. Sakumo could have sworn he heard Tomo almost break into a snicker.

After his grandfather had decided to train him, Sakumo had found the village kids to be far too slow and unimaginative to be any fun at games. But there was something about Ami's large, dark eyes that made him want to show her just how fast he had gotten.

The ball was passed to him and he easily caught it with his foot. The rules were very simple—as long as the ball didn't end up in the river anything was fair game.

"Sakumo?" His mother's voiced called over the heads of the rest of the kids. "I'm heading home. Are you coming?"

He bit the inside of his mouth slowly weighing his decision, but then Ami's eyes blinked solemnly up at him.

"I'll be home for dinner." He called out to her. She waved a goodbye.

And the bloodbath began.

They swarmed around the ball, kicking and clawing to get a piece beneath their foot. Sakumo dodged an elbow to the eye and lifted his arm in defense against a crashing blow coming down from one of the older kids. Eventually, someone managed to push the ball away from the mass of bodies and it rolled across the patchy earth and down towards the river. A chorus of curses and threats followed as they all raced toward the ball. Sakumo easily pulled out ahead of the pack, but Ami, as small as she was, was surprisingly fast. She matched Sakumo step for step for a few moments until they caught the ball neatly between their two feet at the river's edge.

But the pack was moving to quickly to stop from bowling into the pair in a desperate attempt to reach the ball. Sakumo saw everything move in slow motion. Ami lost her balance as another boy tripped into her side. She stumbled backward, losing her footing on the muddy bank. Her bright eyes widened at the sensation of falling, but as she prepared to fall into the speeding current a steady pair of arms pushed her forward.

Ami blinked as she found her feet firmly set on solid ground and Sakumo standing perfectly calm in front of her as the pack roared on. Hadn't he just been beside her?

And who had been behind her?

From the shadows of a small crop of trees the stranger smiled. How quickly the boy had moved—cleverly directing chakra into his feet to push against the water and spring the girl forward. Any doubt he had as to the boy's identity was gone.

Now he had work to do.

"You should play with us more, Saku." Ami smiled, brushing back a wild tendril of hair from her flushed face.

"We don't come to the village very often," Sakumo said, slipping his hands into his pockets to keep them from fidgeting.

"Oh," she blushed and for a moment he was completely enraptured by the delicate flush growing on her pale cheeks. He swallowed loudly.

"But maybe I'll come back tomorrow," he said, words leaving his mouth before his brain could analyze the meaning.

Her eyes brightened. "Okay then! See you tomorrow."

Sakumo's usually inhuman reflexes were unprepared for the quick peck she laid on his cheek, leaving him standing at the edge of the village looking like an idiot as she walked away.

He turned towards home and felt like he was floating on air.

Just as he was planning on how to get out of his grandfather's training tomorrow morning, a small, frantic ball of fluff rammed straight into his shin.

"Ouch," he growled as he yanked Tomo up by the scruff of his fur. "Stupid dog!"

The small pug twisted frantically. "Turn around stupid and run!"

Sakumo blinked at the unexpected voice. "Did you just…talk?"

"Yes stupid boy! Now run! There isn't much time."

He was about to snap back at the dog's insult when a terrible smell hit his sharp nose. Angry tendrils of smoke were quickly rising over the ridge where their home lay. His eyes widened and, with the dog still in hand, he ran.

"Wrong direction! Wrong direction, stupid boy!"

Sakumo ignored the dog's frantic growls, hearing only the blood pumping in his ears. Reaching the top of the ridge, his heart practically stopped as he saw fire slowly swallowing his home.

"Mother!" He cried, the sound ripping from his lungs. Dropping the dog to the ground, he raced towards the house. Sharp teeth sank deep into his ankle and with surprising force pulled him to the ground. Through the haze of smoke he could see two dark figures emerge from the burning inferno.

"Let go!" Sakumo hissed, kicking at the dog with his other foot, but the old dog was surprisingly nimble, dodging his attack with his ankle still trapped in its mouth. "Let go, Tomo. I have to help them!"

The dog did not reply, stubbornly dragging his ankle backward until he heard a distinct crack and felt a burst of pain rip up his leg.

"Argh!" He cried out, the pain taking away his vision for a moment.

"If you're not going to run then you are going to stay," he heard Tomo growl as his head swam. "I'm going to get help."

When his vision finally returned, Tomo was gone and the two shadowy figures were stumbling towards him.

"Sakumo," he heard one of them gargle.

"Mom," he gasped, trying to rise to his feet. The pain of his leg was making his head spin, but he could just make out his grandfather weakly carrying his mother in his arms. Trying to ignore the pain he tried to take a step toward them only to stumble onto his knees.

"Run boy!" His grandfather snapped, his voice low and raspy. "I can't tell where he's gone?"

Gone? Sakumo thought dumbly. Where who's gone?

He watched the pair stumble into the dirt, his mother's sharp cry bringing sudden clarity to his mind. With sweat forming on his brow, he rose. On shaking legs he tried to run to them, but a shadowy figure was faster, appearing directly behind their crumbled forms. The figure raised a long arm, the light of the fire causing the kunai in his hand to glint menacingly.

With a rush of adrenaline and a great force of chakra, Sakumo sped toward the assailant, flinging a kunai to knock the one raised to strike his mother. But the hooded head simply leaned slightly to the left, letting the kunai pass harmlessly by his ear. The stranger aimed to strike but the sharp cling of metal on metal, caused the hooded figure to start in surprise.

His mother had a kunai of her own, deflecting the attack into the ground beside her head.

"Interesting," the stranger chuckled. His mother growled and made to fling her weapon at his head, but he easily caught her arm. With all his attention fixated on his mother, Sakumo focused his chakra into his hand. Small sparks of lightning began to grow as he drew nearer, but just as he was about to direct the full impact of his attack onto the stranger, the man shifted again pulling his mother with him.

Panicked, Sakumo dodged his mother and the jutsu broke out harmlessly into the empty field.

He turned around in horror as he watched the stranger's hood fall, a kunai pressed against his mother's throat.

It was the man from this morning.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you are so gifted, Sakumo," the stranger grinned, distorting the angry x-shaped scar across his cheek. "The Senju's have always shown talent at a young age—your father especially."

Sakumo gnashed his teeth in a mash of pain and rage. Ignoring the pain in his leg, he set is feet to attack. The stranger laughed.

"Ah this brings back memories," he sighed to himself, tightening his grip around his mother as she struggled.

"Run Sakumo," she gasped out, her hands struggling against the stranger's arms to breath.

"I would listen to your mother, Sakumo," the stranger said, his voice disturbingly cheerful. "It's good advice. It looks like the old man's heart has given out and I am just about done with your mother here." He paused for a moment, leaning his nose into her disheveled hair, taking in a deep breath. The way the man's eyes closed with a look of euphoria made Sakumo's skin crawl, but he could only watch helplessly as the stranger used his mother as a human shield.

"Be a good boy and give us some privacy, Sakumo," he said, the smile on his face growing twisted. "I promise when I am done with her, I will give her a merciful death."

"Bastard!" He howled as his hand shakily reached for another kunai, but a sudden force pounded against his side. Great sparks of pain shot through his body, throwing him into a wave of darkness as he fell to the dirt.

AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA

It was a poorly kept secret that Koharu Utatane liked to take long naps in her sensei's office. It was a small, neat room settled just off the hokage's office for Tobirama to be in hearing distance. Set far out of the reach of her squabbling sisters and their screeching kids, with tall windows that allowed in warm southern light, it was the perfect napping spot.

As she settled into the familiar comfort of Tobirama's chair, she breathed in the comforting smell of fresh rain and bitter metal that made up her sensei's scent. It helped to be in here when he was away on missions. Quick notes of new jutsu techniques scribbled beside official documents and forgotten mugs of tea showed he had every intention of coming back.

She remembered the first time she had fallen asleep in his chair. Team Tobirama had been waiting in his office all day for their sensei to return from a weeklong mission, knowing his office was the first place he would go to check in on his brother's progress in paperwork. She had been the first one to be drawn into the plush cushion of the chair, purring contently at the way the soft afternoon light hit the chair just right. She had almost dozed off when she felt another presence wiggle into the left of her side and then another settle into her right. And that was how Tobirama found his young students, curled up like three kittens with hands intertwined and Hiruzen softly snoring like an old man.

They would never all fit together on the chair now. Hiruzen and Homura had long surpassed her in height, despite the fact she was considered an unusually tall kunoichi. Her hips had widened too, while the boys' shoulders had broadened. Fitting all three of them in this chair now would be impossible.

Curling her legs over the armrest and leaning her head against the back of the chair, she closed her eyes, enjoying the blissful silence that could only be found in this small sanctuary.

"KOHARU!"

Without opening her eyes, she gave a deep growl of annoyance, slouching deep into the chair. Perhaps whoever called her name would not be able to see her behind the large stacks of paperwork on the desk.

It was a naïve thought—Hiruzen knew exactly where she would be.

The door opened with a bang, but Koharu used to Hiruzen's over exaggerated entrances, merely opened a single eye in annoyance.

"Go away Hiruzen," she huffed, snuggling deeper into the chair.

"Come on! I need your help," he said, his voice uncharacteristically strained.

Koharu's eyes slowly blinked open. "Is this a real emergency or a Biwako emergency?"

"Is there a difference?!" He moaned, moving to lean against the wide desk. Koharu had long ago noticed her teammate try to emulate their sensei's movements, but it still unsettled her how similar they could be. "She's not speaking to me anymore! I've just been getting death glares from across the training ground all morning."

Koharu rolled her eyes. He intruded on her sacred space for this? "How the hell should I know what you did wrong this time!"

Hiruzen shrugged helplessly. "I just thought because you were a girl, you would…"

She felt a vein begin to twitch in her temple. "Maybe she's just sick of looking at your stupid monkey face!"

Hiruzen stuck on his tongue, showing his true level of maturity. "You're just jealous! Maybe if you ever left sensei's office a guy might ask you out. If he can look past your big fish lips!"

She threw the nearest book at his head, but it was easily dodged with an impish grin. She could not help but smile back. Neither one liked it when their sensei went away on long missions without them, especially after his nearly fatal solo mission, but distractions always helped.

She was about to throw another biting insult his way when a distinct pop reverberated through the room. The smoke cleared to reveal the shaking form of a pug. The pair blinked in surprise and the little dog's beady eyes blinked back.

"T-Tomo?" She said uncertainly, as the dog leapt from the desk and began to sniff around.

"Where is Tobirama?" It barked, beginning to circle around the desk with his nose to the ground.

"Tomo we though you were dead!" Hiruzen shouted, lowering to his knees to be eye level with their sensei's old summons. The little dog lifted his head and his large ears flopped forward. Tomo had some how managed to grow smaller and his muzzle was certainly greyer, but there was no doubt he was their sensei's favorite summons they thought had been lost on a near fatal mission.

"Where have you been all these years?!"

"There's no time!" He growled. "I need to reach Tobirama but I can't sense him anywhere."

"Sensei is at the Kage Summit with Lord Hashirama," Koharu explained, joining Hiruzen on the floor. "The site is protected with barriers to prevent summons."

"Damn it all," Tomo howled, continuing to pace.

"Just tell us what's wrong Tomo! We can help," Hiruzen prodded, reaching out a hand to grab the dog's rope collar.

Tomo struggled for a moment and then suddenly stilled. "The boy's in danger. You need to help him. Kana is lost but the boy can be saved."

The dog's tone was quickly turning frantic again. Hiruzen and Koharu shared a glance.

"What boy, Tomo?" Koharu asked, feeling uncharacteristically confused.

"I can't explain! We need to get back to the boy!"

"Okay Tomo." Hiruzen said rising to his feet. "Where is he?"

"You'll never reach him," Tomo moaned. "He on the edge of the border. Tobirama's the only one fast enough!"

"Koharu knows Sensei's transportation jutsu," Hiruzen interjected quickly. "She can get us there."

Koharu paled. "But I don't even have a seal there!"

"Just put your seal on Tomo and he can return to the boy. We'll follow right behind."

Koharu felt all color drain from her cheeks. "We?! I still struggle just to transport me!"

"I believe in you Koharu," he said solemnly. She fought the urge to roll her eyes—like that helped. The old pug stared desperately up at her.

She sighed.

"Hold still, Tomo," she mumbled and the dog's squirming form stilled. With a deep breath, she applied the seal to his long ear and prayed she hadn't made her usual mistake of leaving out a line. Without sensei there to catch the blunder this could be a quick trip with an unpleasant end.

With a puff of smoke the dog summons was gone and they were left alone in the deafening quiet of the room.

Hiruzen held out a hand. "Ready?"

"This is insane," she mumbled as she took his hand.

And then they were gone.

AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA

Koharu shakily tried to gain her footing as chakra exhaustion began to overtake her. She did not have anywhere near Tobirama's chakra stamina, which is why he had hesitated to teach her in the first place.

A steady hand clasped her shoulder and with a deep breath she was able to slowly stop the world around her from spinning, focusing on a small lump at her feet.

"A day full of surprises!" She heard a cackle mingled with the angry spits of a fire nearby.

"Let her go," Hiruzen demanded and as she gained a sense of her surroundings she realized they stood before a tall man with a hideous x-shaped scar across his face and a woman held tightly to his chest.

"Please," the woman gasped, a heavy stream of blood flowing down her cheek. Koharu and the woman locked eyes for a long moment. "Please… help him."

It was then she realized the crumpled form at their feet was a young boy, passed out with blood slowly pooling at his side. "Take care of the boy, Koharu. I'll handle this," Hiruzen ordered. She dropped to one knee as Hiruzen began to spring forward, but the stranger only chuckled, holding out a hand to stop him.

"That won't be necessary, shinobi. I've had my fun here for today." In one swift motion he pulled his kunai across the woman's neck, disappearing in a wave of smoke as blood began to gush from her neck. In a burst of speed, Hiruzen was able to catch her before she hit the ground.

It was clear the woman was dead but the boy at Koharu's knees was still taking in small, shallow breaths. She cursed for a moment at falling asleep during the academy's medical lessons, but she never had enough chakra control to do anything but the most basic of medical jutsu anyways. It would have to be enough for now.

Hiruzen stood with the dead woman held gently in his arms. For the first time she noticed the blood streaming from her cheek came from two slash marks made to look exactly like the assailants x-shaped scar. But even with a deathly pallor and blood marred across her like war paint—Koharu caught herself thinking she was quite beautiful.

As she concentrated on the wound at the boy's side, a sharp glint from beneath his arm caught her eye. With one hand still pressed firmly against the wound she pulled a badly scratched forehead protector from his pocket and nearly dropped it in surprise. How many times had she seen Tobirama wear a happuri exactly like this one? The only difference was the old engraving of the Senju clan scratched into the center instead of the familiar symbol of the Hidden Leaf.

"What is going on here, Hiruzen?" She breathed, holding up the forehead protector for him to see. He gave a start of surprise.

"Is that…?"

The boy groaned. She had managed to stop the bleeding but Kami only knows what kind of internal damage he had. Hiruzen's attention was immediately focused.

"Do you have enough chakra to transport him to the village?"

"Barely," she admitted, lifting the boy awkwardly onto her back. His head rested gently on her shoulder and for a moment her eyes widened at the familiarity of the feathery white hair that brushed across her cheek.

"He needs medical attention. I'll take care of the bodies and see if the creep left any tracks nearby." He paused, staring down at the forehead protector n her hand. "Keep that hidden until I return."

She nodded; stuffing the happuri deep into her pouch, and then vanished.

At the medic center the dead woman's words rang in her ears as the boy was taken from her trembling arms.

Please…help him.

AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA

Once there was a Wolf who got very little to eat because the Dogs of the village were so fierce and watchful. The Wolf was really nothing but skin and bones.

Frantic voices called out in the distance, but Sakumo was too busy listening to his mother's voice to care what they were saying.

One night the Wolf happened to meet a fine fat House Dog who had wandered a little too far from home. The Dog was far too strong to attack so the Wolf spoke very politely to the Dog, complimenting him on his fine appearance.

The far away voices were becoming more persistent and he struggled to hear his mother's story.

"You can be as well-fed as I am if you want to," replied the Dog. "Leave the woods; there you live miserably and come serve my masters."

"What must I do?" asked the Wolf.

"Hardly anything," answered the House Dog. "Chase people who carry canes, bark at beggars, and fawn on the people of the house and they will feed you well."

He wanted to curl deeper into his mother's embrace but something was pulling him farther away from her. Her words were becoming fainter as they mixed with the annoying buzzing of someone's desperate call.

The Wolf had such a beautiful vision of his coming happiness that he almost wept. But just then he noticed that the hair on the Dog's neck was worn and the skin was chafed.

"What is that on your neck?"

"Oh, just a trifle! It's only the mark of the collar to which my chain is fastened."

"What! A chain!" cried the Wolf. "Don't you go wherever you please?"

"Not always! But what's the difference?" replied the Dog.

"All the difference in the world! I don't care a rap for your feasts and I wouldn't take all the tender young lambs in the world at that price." And away ran the Wolf to the woods.

"Always remember why we are wolves, Sakumo," His mother finished.

And then all the voices stopped.

Sakumo's eyes opened for a moment, the space around him disturbingly white.

Was he dead?

He opened his mouth to call out but his throat was painfully dry and he was left with no sound. Beginning to panic he curled his hands, only to feel them dig into something wonderfully soft and comforting.

Tomo.

Stupid dog, he thought with a smile before returning to blissful darkness.