Stranger Days

'

Chapter 6: The Konoha Dome

'

It was Sunday afternoon, and therefore time for us all to return to Konoha proper. After everything that happened, it'd all ended so quickly, it felt like I'd barely had time to process it all.

"It's too bad the training exercise got rescheduled because of the intruders," Ino said, "I guess you'll just have to see it next time, Emiya."

"Yeah," I nodded, staring out the window of the limo. Naruto was napping in a seat in the back, while Sasuke was busy watching something on his phone.

"You okay? You kept waking up in the middle of the night," Sakura turned to face me. I could see she was working on our weekend's history assignment, something I sorely needed to get to.

"I'm fine," was my only reply.

Well, of course that was a lie. I'd suffered a night filled with nightmares, seeing as I'd just witnessed murder-straight up, real life murder—last night. The scene played through my head on repeat. Itachi stabbing the man right before my eyes —the intruder's crumpled form dropping to the ground.

Suffice to say, I was excited to get back and see my mom. Not only was I craving a warm hug right now, but I desperately needed to hear her explain how the hell my asking to join this group had also somehow gotten her involved, if Ino had been telling the truth earlier this week.

The drive went by swiftly, and soon enough I found myself at the door of my apartment.

"Emiya!" my mom cried, pulling me into her arms as I emerged from the front door. "You're back!"

I couldn't blink back the tears as she embraced me, chalking it up to how much I missed her when she asked why I was crying.

"Oh, but look," I said with a sniffle by way of distraction, "I got a new phone." I pulled out the smartphone Sasuke had forced upon me. I'd been admiring its features on the drive back. Might as well warm up to the upgrade, now that it was happening.

"What?" my mom blinked. "I've been trying to get you to get rid of that old thing for months. Why the change of heart?"

Though my mom still seemed confused, she didn't say much else about the subject once I'd explained the situation, considering she already had news of her own. I'd not been home from my trip an hour, and it seemed she was already packing herself.

"Really? A trip overseas? Now?" I exclaimed, setting down my own bag as she rushed around the apartment to collect her things. I watched as socks, blazers, and an extra pair of heels flew into her small carry-on luggage bag.

"I know, I'm sorry," she said apologetically, "but it's an emergency. One of my colleagues just got me on a once-in-a-lifetime case, but this guy's getting the death penalty unless I head over there now. I'll be back before you know it, I promise?"

My shoulders slumped. I had really wanted to ask her about this Yakuza business, especially now that we had a chance to back out. "And when exactly is that?"

"One week, tops," she said. "if things go well, maybe even less than that."

Well. Minato had said I only had until this weekend to decide, so that was really cutting it close.

Looks like I'd have to make this decision without her, I thought glumly, watching her walk out the door.

'

'

"Whoa," Yakumo said as we walked up to our painting class, "what's going on there?"

I followed her gaze to see I heard Itachi and Shisui whispering lowly right outside the classroom. Yakumo and I had arrived quite early, so the hallway was empty except for the four of us.

"I don't know," I frowned. Itachi's face, usually an expressionless mask of stone, had a rare display of emotions running across it. His pinch lips and furrowed brows indicated a very unpleasant conversation was happening.

Shisui glanced back when he heard our footsteps approaching.

"Hey guys," Shisui grinned, waving our way. Itachi's face smoothed over, his feet quick as he moved over to the side of the hallway to give us wide berth. "you have an exciting weekend?"

"You could say that," I replied dryly. Shisui's grin only widened. Yakumo glanced between us with a sigh.

"Can you move?" she asked Shisui, "You're blocking the door."

"Oh. Sorry," Shisui said, side-stepping as Yakumo entered. I hesitated at the door instead of following her in, glancing between the boys before letting my voice dropping to a whisper.

"What's all this about?" I took a step back so I was no longer in view of the classroom, "Does it have something to do with this weekend?"

"Nah," Shisui shook his head, "it's just some personal stuff. Don't worry about it, Emiya."

I frowned. Personal stuff? Between Shisui and Itachi? I wondered what that could possibly be about.

"Why don't you tell her?"

I froze, eyes darting to Itachi's. It was the first time he had addressed me since the... you know.

Shisui glared. "Itachi."

"Well?" Itachi said, voice low and cold, "if you're going to be so reckless, perhaps it's best to get a second opinion."

"Itachi," Shisui groaned. "c'mon, don't bring her into this."

"If you won't hear it from me, maybe you'll listen to her."

"What?" I asked, confused. "What's going on?"

"Itachi doesn't think I should go to my baseball game tomorrow," Shisui said reluctantly. "even though it's the first of the season."

"Why not?"

"It's in Bunkyo."

My eyes widened.

"What? But couldn't you be recognized?" my voice rose slightly as I looked around to make sure the hall was still, in fact, empty. "I heard from Minato that it's really dangerous for you guys to leave here..."

Especially to Bunkyo, the very home of the Sound Syndicate. Even I knew how risky this would be for him.

"Exactly," Itachi murmured. "Emiya's entire existence in our group is based on that fact."

"Well," Shisui shrugged, brushing past me towards the door himself, "I didn't decide on the venue, and I'm going. So that's that."

"I don't understand," came Itachi's hard retort, "why you'd put your own life at risk for such a singular, fleeting event?"

"You know why I need to be there!" Shisui suddenly snapped, turning back on his heel. "I'm going, okay?! End of conversation!"

My jaw dropped. Whoa.

I hadn't known Shisui for very long, but even I could tell this was not the boy's usual behavior.

Itachi, too, seemed thrown off by the other boy's tone. "I... Shisui."

"I mean it," Shisui seethed, "and that's the last time I'm going to discuss this."

He rushed into the classroom in a huff, practically slamming it closed behind him as he did; leaving me to stare blankly in his wake. Alone. With Itachi.

An awkward silence passed while an unreadable expression crossed Itachi's face. Moments later, he started making his way back down the hall, the opposite direction of our class.

"Wait!" I called out behind him, "Aren't you coming in?"

"No," Itachi said darkly, "I'm sitting today's lesson out."

What? He was going to skip class over this?

"Oh, um, alright," I said, watching him go. I supposed this was Itachi's way of acting upset. It was almost unsettling, watching him display any sort of petulant emotion. Especially after what I'd seen.

The rest of the class started to arrive, rushing past me towards the room as I stood there, silent. For some reason, the air still felt tense long after Itachi'd left. A part of me wondered if I should've asked to talk to him, to get him to explain his actions over the weekend. Then again, I didn't know if I could even muster the courage to try.

Bzzt. Bzzt.

I practically jumped at the sound as I felt my phone buzz in my skirt pocket. I was surprised to see a message from Sasuke.

'Are you coming to the meeting today?' he'd written.

I frowned, texting back.

'What meeting?'

'Idiot. We have one every Monday. Weren't you at the last one?"

...Did we? They'd mentioned these meetings in my presence a few times now, but I'd assumed I wasn't meant to attend. Had I been mistaken? And why didn't Sasuke know if I was at the last one?

RRRRRNG! RRRRRNG! RRRRRNG!

I cringed, the shrill of the bell reminiscent of that horrible alarm we'd heard at the mountain house. It brought up unwanted memories, not to mention reminded me that I was now officially late to a class I'd been standing outside of for almost ten minutes. And for what? To attempt to diffuse a fight I'd taken no part in.

"Great," I grumbled, running back towards the door. "what a way to start off my Monday."

'

'

I dared to hope some of my questions might get answered a few hours later as I approached room 7C. Sasuke had informed me over text this was where they always met for their Monday meetings after school. My drawing class, however, had let out a little early, so I'd found myself alone in the room as I'd entered.

Alone, except for one other.

"Hey," Shisui said quietly. He was standing inside the clubroom with his arms crossed, leaning against the chalkboard.

"Oh hey," I said, feeling a little awkward. We'd sat in silence all of painting class, after Kurenai was done glaring me down for coming in after the bell. Unlike Kakashi, she was a stickler for punctuality.

"Yeah," Shisui chuckled, "sorry we made you late to Painting, by the way."

"It's fine, it wasn't really you guys' fault. Besides, I'm sure Ms. Yuuhi will forgive me... someday," I sighed, before taking a seat in one of chairs. The desks had been arranged in a semicircle around the class, almost like a normal club. I knew, however, this meeting would be far from normal.

"I'm just surprised Itachi didn't come in with you. He never skips class." Shisui's jaw tensed, "Guess I went too far, huh?"

"Is it really that big of a deal to miss the first game of the year?" I asked, hands busy strapping my bag to the desk's side hook, "I mean, I know you're a senior, but I bet there are a lot of other games this season..."

I clamped my mouth shut as I watched Shisui lower his head. Had I said too much?

He uncrossed his arms, moving towards the window to stare out at the trees. "My played at the Dome when he attended Konoha High."

"What?" I asked, "Really? I didn't realize your dad went here..."

"Yeah. Back then, we weren't on such bad terms with Bunkyo. I've always wanted to do this one game to honor his memory." Shisui spoke sadly, "He died when I was a kid."

"Oh," I said, face falling, "I'm so sorry..."

"Thanks." Shisui shook his head, his back still turned to me. The sunset shone orange on his silhouette, his shadow long on the floors and sloping onto the desks. "It's just that, before he died, he wouldn't shut up about that game. How the Dome made it feel like you were in the center of the world, lights beating down on you, the sound of the crowd echoing from all sides. He said he'd take me to a game there every weekend if he could, except it was outside our territory. I'd have a target on my back every minute I'd set foot in there, being an Uchiha."

"Right," I nodded hesitantly, "but I guess you're saying... you want to go anyways?"

"Yeah," Shisui said darkly, "I don't care what Itachi thinks. I'm going to Bunkyo."

"What?" A shocked voice spoke from behind us.

It was the worst time for Naruto to walk in.

"What's going on here?" Ino asked, she and Sakura walking up behind him.

"Shisui's still talking about going to Bunkyo," Naruto said, a pinched look on his face; it was a cross between agitation, wariness, and concern. "C'mon, man! I thought we already talked this through."

Ino and Sakura exchanged a glance. "Oh," Sakura said with a sigh, "not this again."

"Shisui," Neji's voice came next. For some reason he was wearing a white martial arts uniform, and already had his hands in his sleeves as he entered the room with a sigh. "with all due respect, you underestimate the risks, especially right now. You can't go."

"He's right. Leaving our territory is one thing, but for Bunkyo?" Sakura added. "We're kind of currently in a gang war with them, in case you've forgotten."

"It's fine, guys. It's at the Konoha Dome." Shisui said, suddenly looking worn. "There's going to be a huge crowd and a lot of witnesses. It's the first game of the season and it's really important to me. Plus they rarely let high schoolers play there nowadays. This might be my only shot," he turned to me. "you understand, right?"

"What?" I blinked.

"I don't believe for a second that a civilian was let into the Konoha Alliance for nothing." Shisui said, a hard look in his eye. "You're here because you're the type of person that understands there are just some things in life that are worth the risk, aren't you? I heard about what you'd said to get Minato to let you join."

If I ever met other Emiya, I might wring her neck for what she'd gotten us into.

Neji shook his head. "It's a bad example, seeing as Minato's the one who's forbidden this. If you're not worried about the risk to your life, at least considering the risk to your membership. It's grounds for expulsion from the Alliance."

"Yeah, I'm sorry Shisui. You're not going to be able to get anyone to come as backup, either," Sakura added. "none of us can set foot in Sound Syndicate territory."

She was wrong. I could. Out of everyone here, only I had that freedom. Like Itachi had said, it was the whole reason I was here.

As calm as my old life was, I'd never felt like I'd had such an important role before. It was... kind of nice, if not scary, having this sort of unique responsibility all to myself.

"Yeah, yeah," Shisui sighed, taking his seat at one of the desks. "I got it, already."

"Alright then," Naruto said cheerfully, "now that this is settled, let's start getting ready for the meeting!" he turned to Shisui, who sighed.

"I'll let you run this one, Naruto," Shisui said glumly. "I'm not really in the mood."

"Really?!" Naruto's eyes were shining. I raised a brow at this.

"Does Shisui usually run these meetings?" I asked.

"He's the oldest member right now, so yeah," Sakura said. I nodded in understanding as the door to the clubroom swung open again.

Naruto's jaw dropped as he watched who entered.

"Sasuke?!" Naruto exclaimed. "You never come to these!"

Sasuke only shrugged, his shoulders stuffed into his pockets. His eyes darted in my direction before taking his seat. "I figured I'd get you to stop nagging me if I showed up for a few, at least."

After him came the rest of the Alliance, at least the members I knew; Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Chouji, and Shikamaru all trailing in within minutes of each other. No Itachi, however, no surprise there.

"Alright, now that we're all here, let's commence!" Naruto said, standing proudly at the front of the room. "First up, patrols! Sasuke and Sakura, you've got Tuesday's shift, Neji, you and Hinata are on Wednesday. And for Thursday, maybe we should do Kiba and Chouji—oh wait, no, how about Chouji and Shika... Actually, no, we need Shikamaru in Shibuya that night, so why don't we..."

Something told me this was going to be a long day.

'

'

Wednesday, the day of Shisui's game, seemed to fly by in an instance. For some reason, I'd spent all day feeling a bit unsettled, so by the end of last period I'd become compelled to check on the boy.

"He should be in the clubroom," Itachi said. I'd managed to catch him in the hall and muster up the balls to question him on Shisui's whereabouts, "he told me he's been assigned to a patrol tonight, so he has to prepare his things."

"Oh," I said, surprised. I could've sworn at the meeting Naruto had assigned today's patrol to Hyugas. Then again, Itachi hadn't even been there. "I see. I guess I'll look for him there, then."

Itachi nodded, walking off without a word. I went the opposite direction, heading straight for the clubroom.

I've got a bad feeling about this, I thought to myself, almost breaking into a run as I ascended the stairs towards my destination.

I slid the clubroom's door open, my worst suspicions confirmed. Empty.

"Oh boy," I said to myself, "this is bad, isn't it?"

It was quite clear what was happening here. I'd need to leave now, or I'd be too late.

15 minutes later, I found myself at the closest bus stop to the school.

"Aha!" I shouted. Shisui froze, his foot on the first step at the door.

He had a large duffel at his side, and was clearly wearing his baseball uniform under his black hoodie, the white shirt peeking out at his midriff.

"And what do you think you're doing here?" I asked. He glanced between me and the bus driver, reluctantly stepping back onto the street to address me.

"Fine, you caught me. I'm sneaking out," Shisui said, "I don't care what they say. It's my senior year, I might not get another chance like this."

I sighed. "Yeah, I figured. Fine, I won't try to stop you."

"Really?" Shisui's eyes perked up. "

"I... I appreciate it, Emiya. I knew Minato brought you on for a reason."

"Right." I said, trying to sound firm, "...Which is why I'm going with you."

"Wh... What?"

"Minato didn't give me the order to stay away from Bunkyo, remember? I'm the free-moving agent," I said cheerfully, "or you know, a glorified gopher. I'm honestly not really sure what to call myself."

"It's dangerous, Emiya." Shisui paused, "I mean, I do have an extra ticket, but I don't know if it's worth it to put you in harm's way for this..."

"But I want to see your game!" I pouted. "And who else is going to take pictures of your big moment? You can't go alone!"

In truth, I was a bit terrified, and I could feel my shoulders shaking. Still, even though it was dangerous, I knew I was the only one that could do this for him. It was a big day for him, and he deserved to have a friend there to witness it.

Wow, when did you start taking this stuff so seriously? I thought jokingly to myself, a sad attempt at humor to calm my nerves. A part of me still wanted to back out, but that possibility was put to rest when Shisui's face broke out into a grin.

"Alright," Shisui said, jerking his thumb towards the bus' door. "shall we, then?"

'

'

"Here," I said, placing the cap on Shisui's head. He smiled from under the brim.

"Not much of a creative disguise, is it?" Shisui teased. "Baseball cap at a baseball game."

I rolled my eyes. "You're going to be wearing a hoodie over it too, dumbass. Just keep your head down and don't let anyone see your face, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Emiya."

We'd gotten off the bus at a rest stop right outside of Bunkyo, just in time to buy some disguises at the gift store. There, we'd decided to purchase a few extra sets of hoodies, face masks, as well as hats, just so Shisui would have the chance to change outfits and stay under the Sound Syndicate's radar. He'd had it all planned out, even using a fake ID to purchase the bus tickets online. Of course, once he was on the field at the game, his cover would be blown. But we'd cross that bridge when we got to it.

"You're going to want to make sure to cover yourself up too," Shisui said, pulling the strings of my own teal hoodie closed so tight until the puckered opening could barely fit my eyes and nose through it, even though I already had a face mask on underneath, "if your face is seen by the Syndicate, your entire role in the Alliance is blown."

"Oh yeah," I realized. I hadn't even thought of that before. Being here meant I could be ruining the entire operation they'd had set up for me.

Oops.

"It's fine," Shisui said, "I'll make sure we aren't caught. Don't worry about it," he winked.

For some reason, that did put me at ease. I settled back into my seat on the bus, staring out the window at the passing view. We'd just passed the border of Shinjuku into Bunkyo. There was no turning back now.

"That's it," Shisui said, almost an hour later. "that's the Dome."

I stared, marveling at the sight.

It was large, the smooth white dome glowing in the sun of early evening. In its back were carnival rides, rollercoasters and a full-on fair, the string lights giving the air a festive feel as we stepped off the bus and into the madness of the crowd outside.

I hadn't been to the Dome before, even back when this was just normal Tokyo, but the pictures I'd seen of it since then hadn't done it justice. It sat there in perfect view, brilliant and towering, greeting us at our arrival.

I turned to Shisui, his eyes wide and shining.

"It's beautiful," I said. Shisui's eyes crinkled as he grinned.

"Yeah," he breathed. "it really is."

Briefly, I wondered what he was thinking. This was it. He'd finally get to play the game he'd been waiting for all his life.

He quickly lowered his gaze, pulling the brim of his hat over his eyes once more.

"We have to make it through this crowd quickly," Shisui said quietly, "before some recognizes us."

"Right," I nodded, following Shisui's lead as he cut through the mass of people in front of us. He showed the guard his badge at the door, and soon, we were in.

"It's really cool on the inside too," I said, following Shisui down the winding, semicircular white hallways. He chuckled, before pointing me towards a door on the wall to our side.

"Spectators go through that door," Shisui said, shifting his duffel bag on his shoulder, "I have to head to the locker rooms to change."

"O-oh," I said, realizing for the first time we'd actually be separated in enemy territory. Of course, what was I thinking? It's not like I could go out onto the field with him.

"It'll be fine, Emiya," Shisui smiled reassuringly, "don't worry. I'll see you out there, then?"

"Right," I said, shooting him a thumbs up back. "good luck, Shisui! You'll do great."

We parted ways, and I hurried through the doors. There, I was greeted with the largest rows and down into the seat outlined on the ticket Shisui had given me.

'

'

SLAM.

I shot up to my feet, alongside the rest of the crowd, as we cheered on Shisui's third homerun of the game. Even though he'd knocked it out of the field, he ran the bases at lightning speed, a streak of white flashing across the grass. I'd almost forgotten he was considered a track star at school as well, and for good reason.

"Wow!" I heard the person in the seat next to me shout, "That kid is amazing! What did they say his name was again?"

I flinched. Shisui'd been playing such a great game so far, I'd been so caught up in the excitement that I'd almost forgotten why I was here, instead of his other friends.

I retightened the strings of the hoodie around my face, clicking 'save' on the video I'd just captured before lowering myself down into my seat.

"Dunno," said the other guy to his right, "it's a high school game, though. Imagine what that kid's going to do when he finally gets to the big leagues. Reps'll be all over him."

Wow, I realized. He really was good at this. I wondered briefly if all the other members of the Alliance were this talented at their chosen sports as well.

In a flash, the game was over, and Shisui ran up to me in the hallway where I'd been waiting, his face a show of wonder.

"I," he said breathily, "I can't believe it. We won!"

"You did!" I said, grinning. "And I got it all on video. Congrats, Shisui!"

"Thank you," he said, voice overwhelmed with emotion. "I... thank you. For coming." he paused. "It really means a lot."

"Of course," I said. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

We left after most of the crowd, with half an hour to spare before the next bus.

"Should we kill some time while we're waiting?" Shisui grinned. He gestured to the fair going on behind us. "It looks like Bunkyo's busy celebrating the win, too."

"Sure," I said. We went out to the fairground, Shisui immediately running up to a fair booth to get us some meat skewers. I was about to follow, when I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket again.

I checked to see a surprisingly long series of missed calls and texts from Naruto, one in particular detailing his worry.

Yo Emiya where are you?! Why aren't you answering your phone? Sakura's freaking out! she thinks Shisui took you to Bunkyo but he would never do that he knows it's too dangerous! Can you just call her back and let her know you didn't go? please she's so mad she keeps yelling at everyone oh no now she's yelling at meee :( :( :(

Shit, they'd realized we were gone. It was inevitable, but a part of me had been optimistic that our absence would go unnoticed. Still, surely once they saw how well Shisui had played tonight, they'd agree we made the right choice.

But apparently that would be the least of my worries tonight.

"You," I looked up to see a boy with hair so tall it rivaled Kakashi's, standing with a girl a with long black strands and a bandaged boy to their right. "are you with that guy?"

"What guy?" I asked, glancing around.

"The one you were talking to him earlier, in the cap and jacket. I saw him at the game." he paused, "That's Shisui Uchiha, right?"

I froze.

"U-uh, no, I'm not, I'm not sure... I'm not with him, we just sort of met and —"

"What's your name, kid?" the boy took a step forward.

"I..." No, I couldn't tell them. I couldn't tell them anything.

I needed to get out of here.

"Man, I can't believe he really showed up in our territory," he laughed, "what balls. And for what, a stupid little baseball game?"

"Uh..." I backed away slowly, pulling the strings of my hoodie tighter as I did.

If they saw my face now, it could ruin the entire operation Minato had planned next week. I hadn't decided if I wanted to go through with it yet, but that didn't mean I was ready for the Sound Syndicate to put my image on their blacklist as well.

"Aw, you trying to hide your indentity? It's okay." he said, "I'll find out anyways." He reached out to grab at my hoodie. I gasped, pulling away.

"Hey, hands off!" I barked, before breaking off into a sprint. My legs had moved faster than ever before, knowing I needed to put distance between myself and them, and especially Shisui. I was half a block down when I heard the voice from behind me.

"Good idea," he said, "you got us away from the crowd. Now, anything can happen, and no one'll know."

"Shit," I gasped, stopping in the middle of a dark alleyway, where the road ended in a chain link fence. The long-haired girl stood in front of me, suddenly blocking my path, as the dark-haired boy had me cornered from behind.

"I'd stop there, if I were you."

"Shisui!" I shouted in relief. He emerged from the shadows behind the dark-haired boy, who turned to face him with a sneer.

"Hey. What's going on here?" Shisui said, giving a friendly wave to me with one hand. There was an aluminum baseball bat in the other. "Are these guys bothering you?"

"I knew it." the dark-haired boy snarled. "An Uchiha, in our territory? You must really not value your life. Then again, your clan's known for their delusions."

"Uchiha?" Shisui said calmly. "Never heard of them. But I'm sure whoever they are, they wouldn't appreciate you dragging their name through the mud like that."

I watched in utter horror at what came next.

Shisui slammed the bat into the street, straight through the road. The asphalt split as the tip of the bat dug into the soil underneath, sending flecks of dirt flying every which direction.

The other boy'ss eyes went wide. Even the girl looked a bit put-off by it.

"Whoa," I accidentally spoke aloud.

Shisui's gaze fell on me. "You should run now." His tone was still casual, as if he hadn't just demolished part of a public road with only a baseball bat. He raised the bat up to rest on his shoulder, tiny bits of black still stuck to the polished aluminum. Overall, though, the bat had suffered the least of the damages.

I stared at the new hole. "Uh, are you sure—"

The dark-haired boy charged Shisui, who dodged immediately, slamming his knee into his opponent's middle. A string of saliva fell from the dark-haired boy's lips as he choked, falling to the ground on his hands before twisting his body to kick up at Shisui's shin. Shisui fell as his ankles were pulled towards the ground by the tip of his opponent's shoes, but not before the girl came in with a knife aimed at his throat.

Shisui, however, was too fast for her. He grabbed her by the wrist, slamming her to the ground before rolling into a landing himself to break his own fall. The other boy recovered quickly, standing up and throwing a series of hits at Shisui, who held up his bat to dodge.

"I recognize you," Shisui said suddenly, lowering his bat before sliding to the side to avoid the boy's last punch. "you're Zaku Abumi of the Sound Syndicate. They say your skills are only matched by your arrogance."

"That's right," Zaku sneered. "and that there is Kin Tsuchi. I'm sure you've heard of her too. And if you know our reputations, you should just give up now. You're both going to die here tonight."

"I think I'll be fine," Shisui said lightly, jumping forwad to feint a punch. While Zaku was distracted with dodging, Shisui twisted around and slammed his bat, hard, into the back of the boy's legs.

I heard the echo of metal hitting bone as he did.

Zaku screamed a curse as he fell to the ground, Kin coming up fast behind him.

"Shisui, look out!" I screamed. The moonlight flashed fast on the needles Kin had grasped between her fingers, propelled towards Shisui only seconds later.

Shisui reacted quickly, ducking away from the needles, before swinging his bat at Kin again. It caught her in the chest, her shriek ripping through the night air as her body slammed against the near wall.

The both laid out in crumpled heaps on the floor. I stared at their unmoving forms, sighing in relief as Shisui turned to approach me.

"You okay, Emiya?" he asked, kneeling in front of me.

I blinked. "Y-yeah. That... that was amazing," I smiled weakly.

"Thanks," Shisui laughed, "sorry tonight's been so hectic. Let's go home."

I nodded, taking his hand gratefully as he helped me up.

We stood to leave, but we'd just barely out of the alley where we saw him.

I gasped.

A white-haired man with two red dots painted over his brows stood in our way, wearing a draping white shirt tied together by a thick purple sash.

Dread thickened in my veins as I slowly came to recognize the man, even after having never met him before. Still, it was unmistakeable.

This was Kimimaro standing before us.

'

'

"Hide," Shisui hissed. I ran off behind a set of parked cars nearby, peeking over the hood as I watched Shisui and Kimimaro face off.

"I've heard much about you," Kimimaro said. "Shisui of the Uchiha clan. The golden boy of the Alliance, rumored to be one of its fastest members since the Yellow Flash himself."

"Wow," Shisui said dryly, "you sure seem to know a lot about me, but I can't say I've heard anything about you."

"I have my sources," Kimimaro replied in an unchanging, straight tone, "and you wouldn't have heard of me, I'm afraid. Rarely am I called upon to deal with matters involving mere children."

"Oh, that's good," Shisui replied, "being underestimated is a rare advantage for me."

Kimimaro had no reaction at this. Within the second, Shisui's bat had already been raised, and he was standing in front of Kimimaro, inches away from landing a hit.

"Oh my god!" I yelled, watching Kimimaro's hand shoot up, grabbing the bat from Shisui's grasp before flopping the boy onto the ground like it was nothing.

"Ugh," Shisui groaned as he peeled himself off of the floor. He got up slowly, taking heavy breaths as he clutched at his middle before turning to Kimimaro. "alright, I admit, you really got me there. Are you sure I haven't heard of you before?"

The white-haired man was approaching him slowly, stalking over like a lion and with its prey, the man now holding a bone-white dagger in his hand.

"Give up now," Kimimaro said, "I've no interest in fighting with novices."

"Good thing I'm no rookie, then," Shisui scoffed, swinging his bat widely again.

What happened next was a surprise. Instead of dodging to the side, Kimimaro practically folded his leg completely under him, lowering near to the ground and swiftly swiping the road with his back before coming back up again. His grip remained tight on the dagger the entire time as he did so, but it was his face that closed the distance between himself and Shisui's form.

"Shit!" Shisui yelped, eyes widening as Kimimaro's mouth clamped on his ankle.

I watched in horror as the scene unfolded. Shisui fell back onto his rear, Kimimaro's teeth still gripping his leg so tightly, red dribbled out of the older man's mouth. Within the second, Kimimaro had let go and stood up again, but not before grabbing Shisui by the elbow as he tried to scrambled back. He pulled Shisui back up towards him, only to lift up his foot and slam it hard, right in the space between Shisui's shoulder and arm.

I heard the crnnnnch as an agonized scream ripped from Shisui's lips. "EUAAAGH!"

My hands flew up to my ears in an attempt to drown out the horrible sound, the pain unbearable to witness. Sure enough, Kimimaro released Shisui's hand, his other grip still on the dagger.

Shisui attempted to stand back up again, wincing as the pain shot up from his injured ankle, before darting forward to throw another punch at Kimimaro. The man folded back over again, his neck practically tickling the road as he dodged. Shisui's eyes widening as his hit missed by many more inches than expected.

It was clear who'd be winning this fight now. Despite his speed, Shisui simply couldn't keep up with the man's agility, not to mention his ungodly flexibility. It was like the white-haired man was missing several bones in his body.

"Shit," Shisui yelped, "shit, shit!" He glanced around, noticing Kimimaro had thrown his bat off to the side of the street, closer to where I was hiding. He quickly ran towards it, but Kimimaro was too fast. He was already standing over Shisui, dagger raised on the air. Shisui looked up only to see the white tip of the weapon was already hovering inches away from his face.

And then, Kimimaro struck.

"No!" I scream, running from the safety of my hiding place towards the two. My heart raced in my chest, like someone had reached out to grab and squeeze it, but I knew I was Shisui's only chance. The hood partially blocked my view, but I could see Kimimaro's reddened eyes widening as I slammed myself into his arm.

But it was too late. The tip of the blade still kissed Shisui's eyelid as he gave a yelp of pain.

Shisui clutched his wounded eye, the blood already dripping down the left half of his face. Through the thick curtain of red, he gasped as he watched Kimimaro grab me by the back of my jacket and flip me over his arm midair. Next thing I knew, I was sent sprawling onto a sewer grate.

"Foolish child," Kimimaro said lowly, "civilians should stay out of this."

"No!" I screamed, rolling over to scramble backwards on my hands, "Stay away, stay away—"

Kimimaro ignored my please, his dagger still wet with Shisui's blood as he stalked towards me. I squeezed my eyes shut, anticipating the pain.

"Get away from her!" I heard Shisui's shout before my eyes shot open to see him jumped up behind Kimimaro, bat in hand. He swung it straight towards Kimimaro's face, the man's eyes widening momentarily as the cool metal made contact with his cheek.

Kimimaro twisted around and caught the bat before it could do anything more than brush at his skin, slamming his fist into Shisui's middle as he did.

Shisui fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, unmoving. The bat hit the floor with a clang, rolling to a stop right at my feet.

"Shisui!" I yelled, regaining Kimimaro's attention as he turned towards me.

"It's over." Kimimaro said. "Learn from your friend's mistakes. Give up now, while you still can."

He was right. Kimimaro in the series had already been a force to be reckoned with, but I'd never imagined Shisui would lose to him in a showdown. In fact, he'd barely been able to hold his own against the other man. They were both highly-regarded members of the Yakuza, so why were their skill levels so uneven?

Something was going on here that I didn't understand, but either way, I was heavily outmatched. There was no chance I'd survive facing off with Kimimaro, no matter how hard I tried.

But I still had to try.

"No," I said, eyes brimming with tears. I grabbed the bat, standing up shakily as I raised it up in the air. "I won't."

"Very well," Kimimaro said. He flicked his wrist, sheathing his dagger, as if to send the message he wouldn't need it against me. He took a slow step towards me, and I lunged forward with the bat.

Swooosh.

The air whipped around me, my eyes dry as the dust settled in them. I blinked out the tears as I realized something strong had gripped me around my middle, the bat still squeezed tightly between my palms.

"You," Kimimaro said, "are you with them?"

I looked up to see the form of Itachi Uchiha. In his other arm I could see he had also grabbed Shisui, much to my relief, until I realized that meant Itachi Uchiha was also holding me far off the ground by my stomach.

Still, right now, I'd take him over Kimimaro any day.

"Yes," Itachi said coolly, "and we'll be taking our leave."

He threw something round hard at the ground, a puff of thick smoke suddenly engulfing us moments after.

Next thing I knew, we were gone.

'

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A/N: The Konoha Dome is based off the Tokyo Dome in Bunkyo. Just assume everything that says Konoha really translates to Tokyo in our world haha