Chapter 1 of Spirit of the Triage from the perspective of Hatake Sakumo

Author's note: If you haven't, I suggest you read Spirit of the Triage first, but this chapter can be read on its own. Enjoy!

It was supposed to be an easy mission, a diplomatic mission. We were to attend the seventy-fifth anniversary of Uzushiogakure's founding. I was leading The Sandaime's students, Uzumaki Mito, four Chuunin, and two Jōnin. It was supposed to be an easy mission: enjoy the festival. The Uzumaki weren't big on formalities, it was just the Sandaime's courtesy, which probably would go unnoticed by the clan, considering every single living clan member was supposed to be present. Uzu had made it clear to the world that politics and business had no place at the celebration and malcontents would be ejected with prejudice. It was a C-rank mission that I volunteered for after a string of A-ranks.

We didn't even run into any traps, bandits, or enemy shinobi on the way. It was supposed to be an easy mission and it was, until the hawk landed in the middle of our campsite, just as we were ready to lie down and sleep. The only person who didn't curse at its appearance was Uzumaki Mito. She was smiling. I didn't blame her, she hadn't been out of the village in over a year and she hadn't taken a real mission since before the Shodai died, festival be damned.

She gently detached the message scroll and handed it to me. I didn't even try to hide my expression as I read the coded message.

[H793]Sarutobi H.— 007309[Message: Uzu has been attacked. Orders: Proceed directly to Uzu. Urgent. Danger. Command reinforcements. Situation: Details unknown. Danger.]

When I looked up, I was met with the worried and slightly scared expressions of the entire team.

"Uzu has been attacked," I stated hoarsely. I had friends living there, so did everyone present. Mito's entire family lived there.

"Please repeat that," someone demanded.

"Uzu has been attacked. Our orders are to get there as fast as possible and reinforce the shinobi there."

"Sakumo-kun, that's not funny," Mito reprimanded me. "Uzu's entire military is there, there's no way anyone would be stupid enough to attack such a fortified village."

Instead of trying to defend myself, I hand the page to her so she could decode it herself. "Everyone pack up."

No one said a word as they followed orders. In less than two minutes, we were ready to leave.

I ran point, at top speed. About two hours before midnight, we reached the ocean. I barely managed to stop the team before we left the treeline. I had to catch one of the Chuunin before he stumbled onto the beach. In the water, there was a boat riding low and approaching. The darkness made it extremely difficult to tell how big it was, but there were at least two people in it. One was holding onto the back of the boat and scanning their surroundings while another was moving around, periodically crouching out of sight. There was no way to know how many people were in it.

I grabbed the shoulder of one of the other Chuunin, a sensor, and pointed at the boat. "How close are they and how many people are in that boat?"

She paused for a moment and the entire team looked at her until she answered. "I can't tell how far they are, but there's nine chakra signatures I don't recognize."

"Why can't you tell the distance?"

"I have nothing to compare the signatures to. They could be nine animals who are about a hundred meters out or they could be nine adults about a kilometer out. Since there's no reliable point of reference near them, I just can't tell."

"Then we spread out and wait. Everyone in the trees and smother your chakra. We'll ambush them as soon as they're close enough, but don't take any risks."

I waited until everyone was in the trees before sliding across the beach, low to the ground, and out onto the water in the shadow of the dock. We waited in silence for almost ten minutes until I could make out details by the light of the crescent moon.

The first thing I noticed was that the second person hadn't stood up in a while. The next thing I noticed was that the person standing was using chakra to propel the boat at a pathetically low speed, meaning it was an Uzumaki boat. Finally, I realized that the person standing was a child. By then they were close enough for me to sense. It was a small boat, almost three meters long and a meter and a half wide. Four children were huddled together along each side of the boat, the tops of their heads barely visible over the boat's edges. All of them had red hair.

"Those are children!" I exclaim without warning. My teammates jerk backwards and the child standing up flinches so violently he fell out of the boat, or would have if I hadn't already darted to them and picked him up. He was thin, half-clothed, his lips cracked and oozing blood, missing his front four teeth, and shivering with cold. He tried to push away from me, but it was weak. I had no idea how the kid was still conscious. "Get them out of the boat and onto shore. Everyone get blankets out of their packs, wrap the kids up, and give them something to drink. We don't have any idea how long they've been on the water."

The rest of the children didn't even whimper as my teammates picked them up and carried them onto the beach. Mito hung back, not approaching the children while everyone else carried one of the children to shore and coaxed them to drink.

"Some of them are injured," the sensor told me and pulled a little girl's arm out of the blanket. It was splinted with a kunai and a hair ribbon. The other injuries had been wrapped with what looked like strips from their shirts.

I nodded and turned back to the boy in my arms, tipping a bit of water into his mouth. His eyes were closed and I couldn't tell if he was conscious. He had a nasty gash on his head. From what I could tell, being the oldest, he must have been the one to bandage up the other kids. He did a good job, better than I'd ever seen a kid bandage anything. If he was older and not so thin, I would have guessed he was apprenticed to a nurse or doctor, if not training to be a shinobi.

"Let's get them into that shack," I announced.

Mito stayed out of the kid's sight. By the time they were lined up on the wall, all the kids were conscious and somewhat alert, watching the adults warily. The older kids murmured to the younger ones that it was okay and we were Konoha shinobi. The boy I had carried was the oldest. One of the girls, who was other next-tallest of the group, clung to him. I guessed they were siblings. There was a set of twins in the group as well. All of them were inexplicably thin.

Mito motioned me out of the shack. I stepped out to hear what she had to say. "They're orphans, all of them. The oldest two are Kichiro and Kushina. I met them a few times when they were toddlers." She paused as Tsunade walked up before continuing. "The girl was slated to become a kunoichi when she turns ten. The rest of the children are civilians."

"Only the oldest girl and boy have open chakra networks. The boy's is recently opened, he unlocked his chakra only a few hours ago. The girl has chakra exhaustion, so I can't get any more from her without a more thorough examination."

"In short, the kids pose no threat."

Both women nodded. I turned back to the shack and walked inside as calmly as possible. When they all looked up at me, I spoke, softly so I didn't startle any of them. "Here's the deal, kids. I know you're from Uzu and my team and I are headed there now to help your families, but we need as much information as you can remember. Can you tell me anything?"

All the kids glanced at the oldest boy and his sister. Several pointed as well. To my surprise, the girl spoke instead. "My brother Kichiro can tell you better than anyone what happened. He's really smart and strong! He saved us!"

The poor kid looked terrified at being put on the spot, but didn't try and shrink away as the attention turned to him. At least he looked more alert than before, even though he was still shivering and there was a line of blood making its way down his chin from his cracked lips.

"Come on out here, kid, you don't have to talk in front of everyone."

He didn't look like he heard me but didn't resist as I pulled him out and tightened the blanket around him. His eyes widened and he pulled the blanket even tighter as if he hadn't noticed it before. I should have pulled the girl out instead, she would probably be more reliable.

"Tell me everything, kid." I crouched down so he wouldn't feel intimidated.

I tensed as the boy straightened and looked me in the eye. "Except for one or two who might have slipped through the cracks, the entire population is dead," he stated bluntly. His voice was soft, quiet, but had more confidence than kids twice his age, and hinted at a lisp that would have been adorable if it wasn't for what he said. His words were like a punch in the stomach; I barely managed to keep my expression neutral. "Um, they used a mist Jutsu to confuse everyone and obscure vision, simultaneously reducing the effectiveness of traps. The village never stood a chance. We escaped because we were at an orphanage near the strait. None of us have any family left to lose. We were all orphaned before the attack." That was a better report than most Genin gave. The kid was smarter than he looked, much smarter. He knew about traps around the village, could identify the use of a jutsu and the purpose behind it, and conveyed enough information about his companions to put our minds at rest. I expected him to continue, but instead, the boy's eyes glazed and he started to hyperventilate.

"Hey! Stay with me, Kichiro, I still need you to tell me how you got out." I said, harsher than I intended, immediately feeling bad when his eyes started to fill with tears and he took a step back to try to hide it. How old was this kid?

When he spoke, his voice was unexpectedly steady, but his body was starting to sway from standing up. "We were on the playground when the mist appeared. I grabbed who I could and ran to the boats. We all jumped in but someone tried to chase us. Kushina, um, killed them with some jutsu and eventually we made it here. The shinobi had a Kiri forehead protector."

I steadied him and glanced around for a place he could sit, but there wasn't anywhere that wouldn't leave me towering over him. "What did Kushina's jutsu look like?"

"I-it made a giant, um, whirlpool around us that dashed him against the dock."

"You've done well, Kichiro, don't let anything lead you to think any differently." I reassured him. Before I could guide him back to the other, he jerked away from me with more force than I thought he was capable of producing.

My eyes widened as he stamped his foot petulantly. "I didn't want to do anything!" Wait, what? Where did that come from? He started to mutter to himself and for a moment I just watched him in morbid fascination as he started pulling at his hair. "If I hadn't grabbed them, they'd be dead, dead! I saved their lives, now they're my responsibility. Kami, what kind of shithole did I get myself into?" That was an old perspective to have, especially for a kid so young. It had fallen out of use before my grandfather was born.

When he took a breath, I put my hands on his shoulders, partially to hold him up, partially to get him out of his own head. "Kichiro, listen to me. Just because you saved those kids' lives, you're not responsible for them. How old are you? Six? Seven? You're not expected in any way to take care of yourself, much less anyone else, alright?"

He finally looked at me, as if I was an idiot.

I blinked, but finished anyways. "You shouldn't feel that way, kid, alright?"

I'd never seen someone look at me so incredulously and I let go of him, unnerved. The next thing I knew, the kid had channeled chakra into his arm and punched me across the face, nearly dislocating my jaw. The kid's eyes suddenly widened in terror. He stumbled backwards, defensively raising both arms. I realized I'd drawn my tantō. I forced myself to put it away and restrained myself from smacking the kid in retaliation.

It didn't take me long to figure out why he hit me. I was, inadvertently, telling a civilian kid to turn off his emotions and he was smart enough to pick up on it, though I didn't understand why it offended him so much. I took a moment to rub my jaw and reevaluate my opinion of him. He flexed the hand he hit me with once before curling it back into a fist. I was almost convinced he was going to try and fight me. The kid had spirit and more social wherewithal than most shinobi I'd met. If I wasn't mistaken, the kid was seeing right through me, and held himself as if he knew something I didn't.

I frowned. There was no way a kid that size could have produced the amount of force he hit me with, not without breaking or dislocating his entire hand. In fact, I was fairly certain he didn't feel any pain from hitting me. The kid was good. He used chakra to strengthen his muscles and reinforce his bones, and it had only been hours since he first used chakra. He was unbelievably smart. Considering Mito only mentioned him because of his relationship to Kushina, he must have been smart enough to not be marked as a genius before now. I pushed a little bit of killing intent at him but he didn't even flinch. I had no doubt the boy was fully responsible for getting the other kids off Uzu alive.

When his attention wandered away from me, which took five times longer than I expected, I spoke. "You're right, kid. You're not a shinobi yet so I can't ask you to turn off your thoughts and feelings at will. I'll tell you this, though. You're a good person and a leader whether you want to be or not. You're the kind of person I want watching my back because I know you'll do your job whether you want to or not. Who knows, one day you might just be on my team."

To my surprise, he understood the offer and gaped at me.

"Now, kid, you may still have all that adrenaline pumping through your body, but that gash on your head looks pretty nasty and I think our dear medic has finished up with your friends."

"They're not my friends. I don't even know their names. Except for Kushina."

I did my best to ignore that statement as I took the hand he punched me with and led him back to the shack. Sure enough, he didn't show any sign of pain, his hand was perfectly fine. I held back a chuckle as he prodded at the gash on his head, inspecting the injury with a comically childish expression.

The boy shied away from Tsunade and I didn't blame him, she wasn't very gentle, considering she was checking him for weapons as well. Eventually, Tsunade emerged. I leaned against the outside wall of the shack, the team standing around me.

"The boy confirmed that Kiri shinobi were attacking the village and he claims that it's already been ransacked. We can leave someone here to guard the kids and go on, or we can rush back to the village and get a larger force to back us up when searching for survivors," I informed them.

"If it is Kiri, we're in no shape to fight. Only Tsunade has a proper Earth affinity," Jiraiya noted.

"We're just abandoning them?" Tsunade demanded.

"She has a point." Orochimaru cut in. "Those kids may be Uzumaki, their resilience and longevity will be beneficial, but it seems that except for the girl, Kushina, they know almost nothing of their clan heritage, considering they're orphans. Only her and the boy, Kichiro, appear to have any talent for the shinobi arts. Tsunade looked at their chakra networks and none of the others have any notable potential. Despite their general health, the Uzumaki are a mostly-civilian clan to begin with. We have Mito-sama's knowledge, so not all will be lost."

"Both options have equal drawbacks and advantages," I took charge. "You all need to vote, there's nine of you if I remain impartial. Who thinks we should head back with the kids and bring back a stronger force?" There was a long pause. "Five to four, sorry Tsunade, we're heading back. Set up a perimeter around the shack. Tsunade, if the kids need anything, it'll be up to you, the rest of us will take hour-long shifts in pairs, I'll take the two sunrise shifts. We leave as soon as the kids wake up and have eaten."

"No!" Tsunade protested. "We leave now and carry them. They can sleep as we run."

"They only just got off that boat, are you sure?"

"They're just tired and hungry, we can stop to eat in the morning, but the sooner we get back to Konoha, the sooner we can get help to Uzu!"

"Can everyone handle that?"

A chorus of affirmation answered me.

"Right. Tsunade, they're most familiar with you, why don't you bring them out and we'll wrap them in our blankets to keep them from freezing in the wind."

I watched carefully as she carried the kids out, youngest to oldest, waking them so they knew the person carrying them, then instructed everyone how to run with the kids without hurting them or letting them freeze. Kichiro stumbled out when Tsunade carried out his sister. I stepped forward and guided him towards Orochimaru, who sneered. I bit back a chuckle as Kichiro sneered back.

"Orochimaru, you're last," I said distractedly as I tried to figure out the safest formation.

"I'm not carrying some snot-nosed kid for hours. Carry him yourself, I'll run scout."

I rolled my eyes and gestured for him to take charge while I crouched in front of Kichiro. He wasn't going to sleep willingly and that was not a battle I wanted to fight. "Come on, kid, hop on my back."

Kichiro crossed his arms stubbornly. "I'll walk."

More than one of my teammates turned towards him sharply, holding back disbelieving snorts.

I studied him for a moment, unwilling to just knock him out. When I realized that this was going to be an argument, I motioned for them to move out without me. They did and I turned back to the boy. "We're not going to be walking kid—"

"Then I'll run—"

What the hell is he thinking? He can barely stand up! "If you were a Genin, I would consider it, but you won't be able to keep up with us. We don't have the time to teach you to tree hop, and you don't have the stamina to make it back to Konoha. You need to rest more than anything and I'm not above forcing you to sleep, got it? You can ride on my back and tolerate it, or you can wake up when we reach the village gates."

"Why can't I stay here?"

"You'll freeze kid, even with that blanket, or you'll be either captured or killed." He glanced back towards Uzu. The kid didn't want to leave home. I turned and sat against the wall of the shack, balancing on my toes so I could move. "You and I both know that this isn't about being carried. What's the real problem?"

The kid studied me, gauging my reaction. "If I told you, you'd think I was insane."

That was not what I expected. Now, I was genuinely curious as to why he didn't want to leave. "Try me."

After a moment, the boy crossed his arms, his gaze even more piercing than before, testing me. "On one condition."

"What condition?" I asked warily.

"That you don't betray my trust by telling anyone else, no matter the circumstances, or think I'm crazy or evil."

My eyes widened. That was one hell of a demand and he knew it. "As a shinobi, I can't make that promise, kid. I'm required to disclose everything to my Hokage, pertinent or not."

"Then leave me here and catch up with your team. I'll be fine, I promise." The brat was lying to my face. Best case scenario, he ended up living in that boat or the shack and dying of exposure in a week. Worst-case scenario, he tries to make it back to Uzu and dies on the way there or is killed by whoever is left on the island.

"I am extremely capable of forcing you to come," I warned him, testing his resolve.

"But you won't, because you're not that kind of person, Hatake Sakumo." The kid had the gall to smirk at me.

I let a kunai fall out of my sleeve and into my hand, keeping the blade carefully out of his sight. None of the other shinobi had said my name. I had a sudden feeling that this kid was a lot more dangerous than he seemed. "How do you know my name?"

Instead of answering, he sat down beside me and curled into a ball, refusing to look at me, even briefly turning his back on me. He wasn't going to say a word unless I promised not to say anything.

I sighed, forcing my body to relax. I hated lying to kids. "I will not lie to the Hokage if I'm asked directly, but I will keep you secret and hear what you have to say with an open mind."

"Swear on everything and everyone you care about." Suddenly I felt a lot less guilty for lying to him. He might know a lot more than he was letting on, but he was demanding a lot of trust. Maybe he wasn't as intelligent as I first thought.

I fed him the lie. "I swear."

"If nothing changes, in the wake of the, um, Third Great Shinobi World War, someone who hasn't been born yet is going to release the Kyuubi on Konoha and devastate the village. Do I have your attention?"

I barely managed to keep my expression neutral. Something was going on with this kid and it was big, for him at least. I played along. "That is an entirely plausible scenario, but you have absolutely no way to prove it."

"What if I could?" My façade started to crack, but it didn't matter, his face was turned away from me.

"Then I fear the two wars that are looming in the future much more than the attack of a Bijū. I know there is much more to this story. Let's start with the obvious question. Why are you telling me, of all people?"

"Why are you listening?"

Fair point. I really wanted to knock him out and drag him back to Konoha to make him someone else's problem. "Because I have an obligation to my village."

"I may not know a lot about you, but I respect you more than you know. The impact you make on others, both good and bad, will carry further than you can imagine." Flattery? What the hell is this kid's game?

"You seem to have an inflated image of me, kid. I'm not as influential as you seem to think. There's no way for an orphan from Uzu to know who I am."

"It will make more sense in a bit. I died this morning. There was a kid, probably eleven or twelve getting bullied by a teenager. I broke it up and once the kid was gone, I turned around and the teenager killed me. I was twenty-seven. I died, but it wasn't in this world. When I woke up, I was spinning on the swings in Uzu watching a bunch of orphans. I can't prove it; I just know it's true." I shifted so I crouched directly in front of him. The kid actually believed what he was saying. He wasn't under a Genjutsu, Tsunade had already checked, and there was no reason for Kiri to alter the kid's memories like that.

"Say I decide to write you off as hallucinating. What would you do?"

"Just walk away. I would hide in a small, forgotten village and let events play out. It all turns out fine in the end." He just kept getting weirder.

"And if I believe you?"

"I'll tell you everything and fight like hell to keep them alive and stop the Fourth Shinobi World War, which is infinitely worse than any war you can imagine." Who was 'them'? I decided not to press just yet.

"Then tell me everything."

"Well, before I died, there was a story that I haven't read for years…"

Without any emotion, he told me that the Second Shinobi World War would start in a few years, and at some point after, a man known as the White Fang would be sent on a mission where he'd be required to choose between the mission and his teammates. He would choose his teammates, and the village would scorn him for his choice, driving him to commit suicide and orphan his son. The son would be the student of the future Yondaime and would lose one of his teammates to a madman on a mission to destroy the Kannabi bridge, which would help end the Third Shinobi World War. Sometime after, the son's other teammate would be killed and drive his lost teammate insane, who would go on to release one of the Bijū on Konoha, and the Yondaime would die sealing away the Bijū. Twelve years later, a missing nin would attack Konoha during the Chuunin Exams, killing the Sandaime. Three years after that, another man known as Pein would annihilate Konoha and almost everyone who lived there to capture the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, but the Yondaime's son would stop him. The madman's arrangement to be brought back from the dead would coincide with uniting all the Bijū to create a monster. The Yondaime's son would save the world.

It sounded like a story, if it wasn't for the fact that the kid believed it would happen. The details were sparse, which would make sense if the kid actually knew the future and understood the danger of messing with it. "You haven't told me much."

"I don't remember much and things have already changed, there's no way it can stay the same now." That was cryptic.

I hated manipulating kids, but I had to get him back to Konoha. If he was telling the truth, he had a lot of dangerous information that could fall into the wrong hands. If it was just a story, I had the feeling that he had made up enough details to make it seem real enough that someone might get ideas. "Well, I guess we're now going to fight like hell to keep people alive, aren't we?"

"You're not going to tell your Hokage." I knew I should, but I wasn't and he knew it. If the kid was right, no one should have the information he does, especially not a Kage.

"He's your Hokage now too. You'll be a shinobi like me, right?" I almost breathed a sigh of relief when it successfully distracted him.

"I've been enlisted in the military, but I spent four years in communication. I'm not cut out to fight directly." His head drooped onto his knees. I had no idea when the last time the kid slept.

"You can do it, I'm sure of it, Kichiro. For now, I think you've been working too hard. You need to rest." I put a hand on his head and he didn't even twitch as I carefully knocked him unconscious. If possible, the kid seemed even lighter as I picked him up, secured him against my chest, carefully wrapped him with the blanket, and ran to catch up with my teammates. I decided not to do anything about the kid's story except keep an eye on him. The future was not to be messed with.

The smell of salt and blood that clung to the kid made it difficult to track the others, but I caught up an hour later.

"What was the kid's deal?" Tsunade asked as I matched their pace.

"He's a little ass who's too smart and stubborn for his own good." If only I knew how true that statement would turn out to be.

(o_o)

When the sun rose and the kids started to stir, we stopped long enough for the kids to swallow some water, relieve themselves, and receive a ration bar laced with Tsunade's sweet-tasting, mild sleeping drug to eat.

Ten minutes later, they were all asleep.

I crouched beside Kichiro, trying to figure out as much as I could about him in the sunlight. I could feel the salt in his hair, but when I touched the hair of one of the youngest kids, it wasn't as bad, meaning he spent time swimming in the ocean. That would explain how he didn't panic in the boat. He could swim and probably very well. Even after a full day in direct sunlight, the kid's skin hadn't burned, so he spent a lot of time outside, even though he was still paler than most of the Konoha kids. He didn't look like it, but there was a surprising amount of muscle under his skin, most likely from swimming. He didn't have any shoes, none of the children did, and his trousers were filled with places where they had been worn through. In fact, the boy and his sister's clothes were significantly more worn out and ill-fitting than the other children's. Uzu wasn't so poor that it couldn't properly clothe and feed its orphans, in fact, even though the other children were thin, Kichiro was the thinnest of all, as if he had missed more meals than a kid his age should.

"Tsunade, did any of the kids show signs of abuse?"

"No, and not any negligence either, though only one of the younger boys had ever seen a medic nin. For orphans, it's not unusual. I was wondering the same because they're so small—"

"The kids on Uzu are just smaller than Konoha kids," Mito interrupted. "It's partially their diet, but you can't tell an underfed kid from a regularly fed one because their chakra makes up for food. When they're teenagers, their weight and height tend to double. Kichiro was always a sickly kid, which is why his sister is almost the same size as him, even though they're more than a year apart."

"Why are Kichiro and Kushina's clothes more worn out?" I asked.

"The two of them are troublemakers. They sneak out at night and managed to regularly sneak through my seals, which I made specifically to keep them inside when they're supposed to be." She sounded quite bitter and irritated about that. "They've been banned from half the administration buildings on Uzu for causing general mayhem of all kinds. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not and no one could prove anything about the incidents. Both are somewhat clumsy when they're out of the water, but competent enough when they need to be."

"I guess Konoha will be in for a ride with these two."

"Most certainly."

We were ten minutes away from Konoha when the kids started to wake up. After feeding them each another ration without any drugs, we let them walk. Sure enough, Kichiro stumbled every few minutes, nearly taking his sister down with him, but after the first face-plant, I took his wrist and refused to let go.

At the gates, the two Chuunin had obviously heard what happened and looked rather green when we ushered the children through. I picked up Kichiro, much to his displeasure, and hurried to the Hokage's office. He watched us carefully as we set the kids down in front of his desk. Mito revealed herself to the children for the first time by standing behind the Hokage's desk. I knew Kichiro wasn't scared of me or any of the other shinobi in our group, though he didn't seem to like Tsunade. When standing in front of the Hokage and Mito, the boy looked like he just wanted to bolt. He even looked around for a potential escape route. The other kids didn't take long to pick up on his fear and huddle close together, hiding behind Kichiro and his sister. The second-oldest boy made the shield slightly bigger.

The Hokage stood up, slowly walked out from behind his desk and crouched in front of them. Kichiro took an inadvertent step back and the orphans' ranks tightened. The Hokage was well-known for playing with children their age. I'd never even heard of a kid scared of him. He was just as unsettled by the odd response.

"Hello, children, I'm—"

"I know who you are," Kichiro interrupted. "You're the Sandaime."

I had a bad feeling about this.

"What do you want from us? I already told Sakumo everything I know about the attack." Kichiro looked ready to fight the Hokage, forcing him to rapidly reevaluate his plan.

"I don't want anything from you kids," he assured them. "I just want all of you to feel welcome to Konoha and know that you are safe here. Arrangements will be made for all of you to attend school as long as you keep your grades up. Once you prove you are capable of taking care of yourselves, you will be free to do as you wish inside the walls of Konoha, provided you follow the laws here."

Kichiro nodded and the other children followed suit. Two Chuunin stepped forward and ushered out the children to take them to the hospital to cover what Tsunade couldn't treat in the field.

The Hokage stood up and turned to me, frowning. "The boy, what is his name?"

"Kichiro, Hokage-sama."

"And the girl beside him?"

"Kushina. They are siblings."

"All of the children?"

"Aside from the two you asked about and a set of twins, they are all unrelated. All were orphaned before the attack." I quickly reported on everything except what Kichiro told me about the future.

The Hokage frowned. "I want the boy and his sister enrolled in the Academy by the end of the week and living in their own apartment. Put the other children in the orphanage's school. Mito, are you sure you don't want to take in any of the children?"

"It wouldn't be fair to the others if I did. I would take in the boy and his sister for reasons I already told you, but the boy is terrified of me. Once they settle in, I'll try and visit."

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama," I noted, "I don't think the boy will take kindly to the classroom."

"Why not?"

"Call it a hunch."

"We'll wait and see how he reacts and adjust accordingly. Hatake, arrange for them to have an apartment near the Academy and notify the senseis there of their new students. After that, take them to their new home. Tsunade, the orphanage on your way home has enough space for all the others. Tell the matron there to prepare for seven funded arrivals. Everyone is dismissed."

An hour later, I finished and went to the hospital. Kichiro sat on the floor of the waiting room, looking extremely uncomfortable as his sister played with his hair. Both children were clean and wearing relatively new clothes. Kichiro noticed me the moment I walked in, but didn't react until I headed towards them. He stood up, to which Kushina protested until she saw me

I answered the girl's questions about where we were going, if she could be a ninja, where the food was and if she could explore, about the other children, among other things.

Kichiro didn't say a word until we arrived. "This is where the two of you will live. You'll each get a small stipend, enough to cover food and necessities." I grimaced at the apartment. There were three rooms, a bathroom, bedroom, and living area with a pathetic kitchen in the corner. It was furnished with two small mattresses propped against the wall, a table, and two wooden crates. I pulled out two large envelopes and handed one to each. "Those have a key for each of you, your stipend for the month, some instructions on providing for yourselves, and the citizenship papers that you need to fill out. Can you read?"

"Yes!" Kushina responded cheerfully, clutching her envelope.

"You'll be starting school in a week. Someone will pick you up here on your first day. The marketplace is two blocks north. If you get lost, look for someone with the Uchiha clan symbol surrounded by a shuriken and four dots on their backs. They're the police and will help you if you need it. Any questions?"

Kushina shook her head and scampered inside.

I grabbed Kichiro's shoulder before he could follow. "Keep your sister safe, kiddo, and you can start that fight you swore to."

I didn't stick around for his response, but silently promised to check up on him as much as possible.

Author's note: Updates on this will be sporadic, but Spirit of the Triage will still be updated every week.

My fellow Americans, enjoy the solar eclipse today, but don't blind yourself!