R. H. Jekyll

Shizuka was the one Uchiha member I properly befriended after Izuna and Madara left. She was a shy girl born with weak health that did not suit the life of shinobi. As a child she was often bedridden, and so I started to sew and embroider by her bedside. As her health stabilised, she too started to embroider, and she became my helper very quickly demonstrating a talent for the art, even if she was too modest to admit it.

I laughed, “You’re being too harsh on yourself. All you need to do is add some colour here and-“

“So this is where you two had run off to.”

Shizuka and I sheepishly turned as we saw Madame Tsu, the Uchiha elder and our unofficial matron, frowning down at us both.

“Umm, Madame, we weren’t running away, we just wanted to focus on finishing some designs for the summer festival.” I smiled which did not appease her in any way shape or form.

She sighed, toddling back out the aura of disappointment floating with her. Shizuka and I let out a quiet breath of relief as Shizuka gave me a thumbs up in praise for my quick thinking.

“Now we just need to make sure we actually have designs for the Summer Festival.” She smiled, laughing lightly.

-Summer Festival-

The Summer Festival was also an event of great celebration. A night of delicious foods and wondrous festivities, it was also perhaps the one night where we were able to forget that we were always in a constant state of war, and that everyday could be our last. However, we were told that there would be a surprise for this year’s festival.

“Did you find out what tonight’s ‘special event’ is all about?” Shizuka asked as we packed up, realising that we needed to get a move on if we were to be ‘presentable’, at least according to Madame Tsu’s standards, for tonight.

I shook my head, “Let’s hope she’s not playing matchmaker again. I don’t have enough make-up to cover up that much embarrassment.” I laughed.

Waving goodbye, I headed home and quickly cleaned up. As a personal preference, I preferred to keep my make-up as simple as possible, letting the intricate embroidery on my clothing speak on my behalf. I smiled as I laid out my latest design, a little project I had been working on for close to a year now. It was a beautiful thin black silk, perfect for the summer heat, with golden accents and embroidered designs more intricate than anything I had ever attempted. I slid a pin, a gift from Granny, through my hair to create a half-bun and quickly left. Madame Tsu had high standards, and being late would definitely disappoint all of those standards.

I hummed a soft tune as I stepped out of my home to slide my sandals on. But I stopped when, from the corner of my eyes, I saw a suspicious figure dart behind a bush.

My breathing halted as I slowly got closer, slightly scared since most of the neighbours were busy finalising preparations for the festival, so this was the perfect spot for a kidnapping… or an assassination.

“Who’s there?” I called out.

Several more figures suddenly came into sight as one of them brandished a sword. From the way they were dressed, they appeared to be a band of thugs.

“Looks like she’s it fellas.” The one I presumed to be the leader smirked, “We’ve been keeping a close eye on you for a while now, little miss.”

My brows frowned, “Pardon me, but do I know you?”

“Nope,” the leader said, “But we know Izuna. And we do have a bone to pick with the younger Uchiha brother and I think you could help us out with that.”

Five of the thugs had circled me, and I didn’t think I’d be fast, nor loud enough, to alert the other clansmen. My breathing hitched as I genuinely started to fear for my life. A bag went over my head, blocking my vision.

I was in trouble.

“Let me go!” I screamed as I kicked and thrashed about, before I felt the tightening of ropes around my arms and feet. “I haven’t seen Izuna in years so I don’t understand what you possibly hope to-”

“Not another word, or your beautiful neck will get an ugly scar across it.” The leader breathed next to my ear as I felt a cold metal pressed on my throat.

Shaking, I nodded as I was unceremoniously lifted and slung across a shoulder.

“Alright fellas, let’s-“

“That’s Kana!”

“Captain!”

Because of the bag I had no clue what the hell was going on, but I felt the thug carrying me start to sway and I mentally prepared for my brain to be flooded with the pain of getting dropped onto the dirt.

But the feeling never came.

I felt my body land in, arms? Before I was lifted off, and whoever was carrying me ran a short distance, and then settled me down into different arms

“Look after her.” The figure mumbled before I heard the sound of footsteps leaving.

“Oh my God Kana-chan, are you alright? Are you hurt?”

‘Shizuka.’ I thought, letting out a breath of relief at the familiar voice. “I’m not injured. But they did tie the ropes really tight.” I told her and I could feel her fingers immediately start working on loosening my bonds.

“I’ll loosen your restraints, then untie you and get that bag off.” Shizuka told me

Not long after I could feel my hands slide free and the bag was lifted off my head to display the scene before me. There, in the middle of the street lay the bodies of the group of bandits. The leader was quivering as a man pointed his sword straight down, just above his throat.

“Oh my God Shizuka.” I whispered, my hand reaching for hers.

“I see it…” she breathed with horror.

As a result of living within the compound my whole life, I was sheltered from the violence that was the life of shinobi, and the brutality of our time. Seeing it right here, at the front of my house was incredibly unsettling to say the least.

Before the figure could deliver the final blow, another one appeared and stopped him. “Not here.” The second fighter mumbled, alerting the first to our transfixed gazes.

Soon more clansmen had arrived, helping to clear away the carnage and secure the prisoner as Shizuka and I both sat there in muted horror.

Then I felt myself start to shake.

“Kana-chan, Kana!” Shizuka worried, feeling myself tremble beneath her. “You’re fine Kana-chan. It’s over.”

I felt my chest start constricting painfully, whilst my muscles constricted and I started to hyperventilate.

My mind was in such a state of shock and frenzy that I didn’t notice Shizuka was no longer holding me. A firm grip came to wrap around my hands as I was forced to look up into a strangely familiar face.

“Kana. Calm down.” The voice said as I felt the signature eyes of the Uchiha clan, the sharingan, whirl to life in front of me.

Those crimson eyes that sparked fear into others had the opposite effect on me. They were a symbol of familiarity, protection, and of family. The eyes worked their magic, and I felt the warmth of what must have been a genjutsu starting to envelop me. I didn’t fight it,  but instead let it help steady my breathing as I simply focused on those eyes. I ignored the other figures scurrying around, gaze transfixed on the familiar stranger in front of me.

“See? Much better right.” The figure smiled, dissolving his sharingan.

In my delirium I mumbled a drunken, “You look familiar mister.” To which the figure laughed.

Then it clicked, I knew why this person was so familiar. I jumped and tackled him to the ground as my arms wrapped themselves around his neck and I started crying tears of joy, “Welcome home Izuna.”

He pulled me further into the hug, one arm going to cradle my head closer to him, “I’m back Kana.”

“You better not have wrecked my farewell gift to you.” I smiled, and I felt him laugh as I heard more footsteps around us.

A familiar shriek, honestly it was probably the anthem of doom, scared the soul out of me as the all too familiar voice of Madame Tsu pierced through all the commotion.

“KANA! WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED?” The Madame yelled, picking me up and surveying the damage.

Spinning in circles, I was able to slur out an “It’s okay, Madame. I’m fine.” To which she dismissed me with a wave of her handkerchief.

“No no, your KIMONO Kana! It’s absolutely ruined!” She wailed, pointing at the frayed ends, dust sticking in between the threads that were once beautiful golden dragons.

They no longer looked like dragons… pigs rolling in mud would be more accurate.

I felt my heart drop as I realised she was right. The once bright colours were now permanently smeared with dirt, and it was littered with so many tears and rips that the only use left for the fabric would be as a dust cloth.

“Shizuka! Come, we need to sort this mess out.” Madame Tsu called my friend.

Without missing a beat, I was dragged away from the scene. Kidnapping attempt forgotten, as Madame Tsu was able to successfully divert my attention to the current crisis.

-Third POV-

A laugh could be heard as Madara looked at his stunned younger brother who still had his arms around where Kana was several moments prior.

“Ten years… ten years we’ve been gone and she doesn’t seem to care.” Izuna gaped, to which Madara laughed even louder.

Composing himself, Madara went up to clap his brother on his back. “We’ll reunite with her later, we have more pressing matters to deal with.”

“What in God’s name happened here?” A stern voice demanded, the Uchiha leader finally returning back to the compound.

“I appear to have a target on my back,” Izuna sighed, untying the sword from his waist as he knelt down beside the sole survivor from the group of bandits.

Removing the gag, Izuna’s sharingan whirled to life as they locked on the bandit. He pulled his gloves off, yanking back the man’s hair and forcing him to look up at the enraged Uchiha.

“Alright, I’m going to ask you some questions now. It would be in your best interest to cooperate.” Izuna mumbled, barely able to contain the rage in his voice.

But the man simply smirked, and Izuna saw the bandit’s chakra start to bubble uncontrollably.

“Get back!” He shouted at everyone as iron tendrils erupted from the ground and grabbed onto the bandit, ripping him to shreds.

Stunned, the members of the Uchiha clan jumped up to avoid being ensnared by the mysterious jutsu. Observing from the rooftops, they looked around as more tendrils erupted around the other bandits and repeated the process. The ground beneath them hummed with a golden chakra that pulsed in what appeared to be ancient runes before disappearing and leaving behind the mummified corpses of the bandits.

“What kind of jutsu was that…” Izuna mumbled, following his father who jumped down to observe the mummies

“Everyone,” Tajima said, “Keep the events of today a secret. No one will speak of this until we identify the perpetrators behind this.”

“That won’t be necessary Lord Tajima,” a clansman said, picking up a short tanto engraved with a familiar seal, “it’s the Senju.”

Comments

“Kana!”

Izuna dashed in. Flinging aside the katana he had strapped to his waist. My hand instinctively reached out to him as he grabbed it, “You inhaled a fair amount of smoke so don’t try to talk-and before you ask your Granny’s fine. She’s talking to my father now.”

Nodding, his lips cracked into a grin as he knelt on the hardwood floor causing me to frown. Giving me a quizzical look, I shifted on the bed and patted the now empty space, urging him to sit lest he wreck his knees by wearing them out on the floor.

His eyes widened as he gave me an odd look, before cautiously putting his weight on the bed, cautious and uncertain. I smiled, giving him a thumbs up of ‘ok’.

“Kana, you’re awake.”

Tajima had entered, followed by my grandma. Honestly, she looked none the worse for wear… she was resilient that one.

“You really are a reckless one aren’t you.” Granny huffed, flicking the tip of my ear as I smiled sheepishly. “Now say thank you to Tajima-san. He’s been kind enough to move us into the Uchiha compound so that nothing like that happens again.”

I got up and kneeled, bowing respectful before the stern but kind man as I heard Izuna clap cheerfully behind me

“Oh my God, we’re going to be neighbours!” He cheered, and I couldn’t help but smile at the new predicament bringing me closer to my new friends.

***

More time passed. Now that I had recovered and moved into the clan compound, Madara and Izuna had become constant fixtures in my everyday life. I had befriended other clan kids as well, but between juggling my work and weaving more robes and uniforms, my hours didn’t line up with the other children my age. This meant that I was often left with the two brothers as my main friends aside from the village elders who had taken a liking to my designs and embroidery.

Sliding the door open, I saw a downcast Izuna digging his foot into the earth at the front of our house. Heading to our usual waiting spot, I bent down so that I made eye contact with the pouty Uchiha.

“What’s wrong Izuna?” I asked, straightening back up with him, “If you did badly in training I’ll treat you to your favourite daifuku today.”

But not even the mention of his favourite dessert could brighten up my companion. ‘This must be serious’ I thought. After spending so much time with Izuna, I had learnt quite quickly that not much was able to bring his spirits down.

“Nii-san and I will be leaving.” He mumbled, “Father’s taking us out to train - I don’t know for how long, but I know this is going to be the last time we can see each other for a while.”

“When do you go?”

“Tonight.”

That definitely killed my cheery mood.

I let out a sigh, “I see.” I pulled him through the streets, running past all the stalls until we arrived at the very edge of the compound. This was a good starting point.

“Kana, what are you doing?” He quizzed.

“You leaving means we won’t be able to do all this stuff again for a while.” I smiled, “So we’re doing it all today.”

His mouth popped open silently before it turned into a smile, “Alright then, First stop, daifuku!”

The rest of the day went by with us darting through all the stalls and engaging in our favourite pastime of inhaling as much food as possible. But despite the numerous activities we partook in, time just slipped through our fingers and the crescent moon forced us to call it a day.

Izuna walked me back but he was silent and deep in thought the whole way. Not that I could blame him, he was not the clan’s heir, but one could only imagine the amount of pressure he would still be under.

As we neared our destination, he seemed reluctant to take the final few steps that would signify the end of our days together. It was sweet that he seemed to struggle with saying  ‘goodbye’; or more appropriately, ‘see you later’.

“Wait here.” I mumbled, darting ahead and diving into my embroidery room looking for what I had been working on the past few months. I found it after digging through one of my many drawers, almost finished but not quite complete.

Rushing back out, I successfully ran back to where Izuna stood and was proud to say that I did so without tripping or face planting over the hazards that littered my workspace.

“Oh dear…” I panted, “My cardio could definitely use work.” To which he gave me a knowing nod with a small smile.

“I’m not giving this to you, I’m letting you borrow it.” I told him pointedly as I pulled out a small silk pouch that had the Uchiha fan embroidered on one side but remained blank on the other, “I’m not done with this yet so you can return it to me when you come back.”

Placing the soft fabric in his hands, I saw Izuna get slightly teary as his thumb traced over the delicate embroidery.

“This is really good Kana.” He smiled.

I rolled my eyes, and reached out to give him a hug. “It’ll be even better once finished, so promise me you’ll bring it back okay Izuna?”

A lump formed in my throat, but I willed it back. “Just bring it back, and if you get it dirty I’ll make you embroider all the ceremonial robes from now on.”

His arms came to wrap around mine, and we both pretended not to hear the crack in his voice as he said, “I promise.”

And I intended to hold him to his word.

Comments

This is a bit of a shorter one. I hope I haven't lost you all yet, but what do you think of shorter chapters? Please let me know if you all prefer a 'hit me with the dictionary' kind of approach or a bite-sized chapt! I do have a longer chapter coming up, but it's definitely big one so I might split it up. But do let me know :)

“Oh come on Kanaaaaa,” Izuna whined as he accompanied me to make my delivery of new clothes to the Uchiha Clan’s storage, “Just let me train you in the basics. A substitution jutsu and several offensive and defensive techniques.”

“Izuna, thank you for the offer but like I’ve said, I’m not the battle type. My chakra reserve is pathetic. I’m much better with a brush and cotton threads than I am with a kunai and flaming fireballs.” I smiled, as the boy slumped in defeat.

“Stubborn.” He huffed to which I laughed slightly as we finally reached the storage room.

Having finished my job for the week, Izuna persuaded me to stay for a little bit, baiting me with the promise of delicious food. Grabbing my wrist he half-led, half-dragged me to his favourite stall where the sweet aroma of a familiar dessert wafted into the streets.

Izuna handed me a wrapped daifuku, as he bit into his own to show me the red bean filling inside. I took a bite, and my eyes lit up.

“Oh my God,” I mumbled, “This is amazing.”

He smiled, as we both ate our delicious buns in several moments of companionable silence, until I saw black smoke rising in the distance.

“Is that a fire?” I asked, and several Uchiha clansmen at the festival started to mobilise towards the central compound, most likely in search of orders and permission to leave.

“Hey Kana-”

“Go.” I nodded, and Izuna broke off, handing me the bag filled with the untouched daifuku, and followed his clansmen where they converged in the centre.

Looking up at the setting sun, with its orange rays blocked by the thick black smoke coming from the far edge of the compound. But it wasn’t until I properly realised the direction it was in that I felt my face pale, it was in the direction of my cabin, and Granny and I were the only ones residing in that area. My stomach churned, throwing the dessert away as I covered the distance back to our small cabin, a cottage really, in the woods.

I sprinted, miraculously arriving at the site before other members of the Uchiha clan. Despite the scorching heat emanating from the flames, chills crawled up my arms as I confirmed that the source of the flames was none other than my cabin - the same cabin I last saw Granny in.

“GRANNY!” I shouted, desperately searching outside and hoping beyond hope that she wasn’t stuck inside the flaming building.

The flames roared like an untamed beast, and I brought a hand up to protect against the heat that stung my face.

An arm grabbed my shoulder and I looked into a pair of blood red eyes, framed by black tomoe… The Sharingan - it was Madara.

“Kana, what happened?” He shouted, pulling me back to a safer distance from the flames.

“Granny is still in there.” I cried, voice frantic.

Weaving through a set of seals, Madara turned to the building and summoned a wave of water that was able to temporarily douse a portion of the flames. Without waiting, I dashed in, kicking away rubble as I searched for my grandmother.

“Granny!” I shouted and stilled hoping I could hear her reply over the sound of the crackle and roar of the fire.

“… Kana.”

My head whipped, eyes zeroing in on her voice. I ran into what was once my workspace, ignoring the scorched marks on the walls and found her lying in a heap by the wardrobe. Madara followed closely behind, keeping a trained eye on the flame that was slowly starting to recover.

“Granny,” I sighed, relieved that her injuries were superficial with very few burn marks. She seemed slightly dazed but I assumed that was to be expected with the smoke that was slowly suffocating us all.

“I’ve slowed the fire but I haven’t stopped it.” Madara said, appearing behind me, “Let’s go. The building’s structure has probably been severely damaged too.”

“Can you carry her? I’ll follow behind.” I said. He nodded, and the young teen lifted up Granny’s tiny frame.

“Be quick, but remember to be careful.” Madara spoke, carefully stepping over a fallen pillar. “This building’s on its last two legs.”

As he ducked under the remnants of what was once a doorway, I saw a beam come falling down, blocking off my path to the exit.

“Go! I’ll find another way out!” I shouted, remembering a fairly large window to the back of the cabin and hoped that it was unobstructed, and that I could get there in time.

“Kana! Don’t-“ but tongues of fire started to crawl up once more, definitely cutting me off from the way I came in.

I grabbed my sleeve and used it as a makeshift mask, and ignoring the sting of smoke in my eyes, I backtracked in search of that window to safety.

‘Come on, come on.’ I searched, but the black smoke had thickened. I was now essentially stumbling through a haze of darkness, preventing me from seeing anything. My ears picked up a loud groan and I looked up in time to see one of the last roof beams sag dangerously low.

‘It won’t hold.’ I thought, as the beam snapped, the wooden object entering free fall down at me.

I jumped back and put my hands up defensively, when I heard the sound of glass breaking, then the roar of more flames flying past me from my back.

My eyes were still blinded, but through the chaos I could feel arms wrapped around me, pushing my head down as the person jumped, and the world disappeared under my feet.

Our landing was less than graceful. Tumbling across the grass at the front of the cabin, its blades leaving small cuts at my neck, wrists and other exposed areas of skin. When we came to a stop, the figure’s arms let go of my head and I looked up into a pair of single tomoe eyes.

“Izuna?” I was slightly terrified as I had never seen Izuna as anything other than the clumsy kid who couldn’t aim. Yet the boy in front of me didn’t look like the same brat, but had the ferocity attributed to warriors of the Uchiha clan. “You have the-“

“That was beyond crazy Kana!” He snapped, arms going to wrap me in a suffocating hold, “You scared me goddamn it!”

I coughed, wiping away some soot from my face as I hugged him back, “Sorry. Thanks for saving me.”

He simply nodded, before several other footsteps came closer forcing him to let me go so he could see who was there.

“Granny!” I yelled in relief. I rose to go to her, but felt my mind losing control over my body as the world swayed around me.

The last thing I heard was Madara say something about a ‘medic’ before the smoke inhalation caught up with me and I blacked out.

Comments

The internet needs more Warring States Era content, so I thought I would throw in my two cents! I hope you all like a little bit of the history, I promise that this is all relevant and setting up Sands of Time for its future.

“Oh my god… OH MY GOD!” The younger one, Izuna, shrieked, “WHY DIDN’T YOU DODGE?”

“Are you alright?” The older boy asked as he came up and helped me pick up the now ruined, mud-soaked garments.

“I won’t be when I have to re-do all of these robes by tomorrow.” I pouted, eyes watering at the beautiful robes I had spent so long on.

“Hey kid, why didn’t ya dodge?” Izuna asked, and it took every fibre of self-control in my body not to pummel the boy for ruining weeks of hard work.

“First off,” I started, dropping the clothes back down, “Don’t call me ‘kid’. You’re the same age as me Uchiha-san, and secondly, not EVERYONE is a ninja alright?”

But the boy was uncertain, “How old are you?”

“I’m turning 10.”

“I’m 11. You’re younger than me, therefore, you’re a kid.” He replied, sticking a tongue out like a… well, a kid.

“Why you-“ I lunged forward only for the older one to pull me back.

“Please forgive my brother’s behaviour.” He smiled, returning the clothes to me, “I’m Madara, and this is Izuna. Are you the seamstress’ new helper?”

I nodded, “Granny said I spent too much time inside, so she wants me to ‘go on an adventure’… who knew that my first adventure could have also been my last.” I glared at Izuna who rolled his eyes at me.

But the older brother smiled, “I see. Well, we are very sorry for this uhh-“

“Kana. My name is Kana.” I said, side-eyeing Izuna.

Madara huffed before turning around to hold back his younger brother from brandishing a dull sword and charging at me, “Excuse me Kana, we must resume our training. But again, I’m so sorry for that.”

After that ‘incident’, I didn’t bother with continuing my journey to deliver ruined robes. Instead, I walked back to the little shop granny and I set up at the edge of the Uchiha clan’s compound and prepared myself to say goodbye to the garments I had spent so much time on.

“Oh-what happened?” Granny asked, seeing the beautiful robes looking all matted from being dropped on the wet ground and caked in mud.

“An Uchiha boy with a poor mastery of the shuriken happened.” I huffed, “Sorry Granny, but I’ll be busy for the next few days.”

But she smiled, patting my shoulder, “Don’t stress. Let me see if I can ask Tajima for an extension.”

I smiled hopefully, stretching as I prepared for a period of intense, back-breaking work. My poor fingers would definitely be feeling this…

-Weeks later-

‘Thank God Tajima-san was fine with the extension.’ I sighed, lying spread-eagle on the floor of the wooden cabin, looking up at different threads suspended around the small room I called my workshop, ‘Redoing the ceremonial robes in two days would have been impossible.’

“And we only have one more!” I cheered, ricocheting back up and quickly giving my ‘workspace’ a clean up.

Bending down, I reached for a rogue piece of fabric when a loud crash scared the living daylights out of me, and I all but headbutt another presence in my workspace.

The figure flailed momentarily, “Whoa whoa-“, stumbling backwards and falling through some spare sheets of fabric I had hung up.

“Oh my God,” I winced, but quickly cleared the wreckage to see who the unfortunate victim of my mess was, “Are you okay?”

“Sheeeesh, do you have a helmet for a skull or something?” Izuna winced, trying to rub his chin despite being tangled and strung up like household decor.

I stared at him dumbly. Then let out a laugh so big that I fell down, adding to the mess on the floor.

“Oh what a ninja you are.” I screamed, his fuming face doing little to calm me down.

“You could keep this space a little cleaner! You must be violating every work health and safety regulation there is in this death trap.” He yelled back, carefully trying to untangle one of his legs that had been bent at a very comical angle.

Finally composing myself, I grabbed a pair of scissors and started to cut him free of the threads, “You’ve really got them all messed up, so I’ll just keep cutting until I hit the one with the most tension. That should free you-but DON’T fall on me!” I warned, narrowing my eyes.

He huffed, gesturing to his predicament and his lack of control over his limbs and gravity.

“Fair enough.” I accepted, “Okay this one doesn’t look like it’s holding anything up.” I cut a strand by his arm-

-and he crashed down ontop of me.

Izuna’s knee kicked my cheek, so I promptly pushed him off and sent him rolling out the doors of my cabin.

“You’re not a ninja but that’s a battle zone right there.” He said, groaning as he slowly sat up.

“What do you want Izuna?” I sighed, “I hope you didn’t come to throw another shuriken in my face or ruin another batch of robes.”

He cast his eyes down at that, going to scratch his head sheepishly, “Yeah… about that….”

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

“Forgiven. Was that all?” I asked to which he looked up at with confusion.

“You’re not still mad?” He asked cautiously.

“Oh I was, but being given the opportunity to remake them all showed me that my first batch was, honestly, uglyyyyyyy.” I cringed, thinking back to how I wanted to slap myself for the horrid designs.

He shot up like a puppy, looking offended, “No they weren’t! They looked really pretty!”

I raised an eyebrow and grabbed one of the spoiled fabrics from a basket and thrust it into his hands.

“Look, the colours are off. The stitching was horrible, and you’d have to be drunk on chakra exhaustion before ANYONE would think that’s a bird.” I rattled off, picking apart all of its flaws and horrified that I would be giving these to the clan’s elders.

“Uhh… Kana-chan.” He spoke and I realised I had unintentionally intruded in his personal space.

“Oh, I’m so sorry… I got a bit carried away.” I smiled, moving to take the fabric back.

“I like it.” He huffed stubbornly, pink lightly dusting his cheeks. “If you don’t want it, I’ll keep it.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, one brow raised dubiously, “If you need a robe I’ll be happy to make you a better one-“

I was cut off as the boy stubbornly pulled it on, giving me a grin as he twirled before me.

“Suit yourself I guess.” I smiled.

Comments

A little bit of a teaser as to what I'm planning ;) 

“How are you doing Tsubaki?” Minato asked.

I tried to hide my embarrassment. I still had yet to apologise to Minato and Kakashi for my outburst, even though Kushina reassured me that it wasn’t my fault. “Just peachy,” I mumbled, pulling my knees up to my chest and curling in on myself.

The jounin still came to sit himself next to me, taking in the sight of Konoha with its brightly lit lanterns and the sound of the village’s nightlife.

“Kushina has told me that you really enjoy the night,” He spoke, “And I can see why.”

I turned to peek at the shinobi from the corner of my eyes, and pulled myself together to sit back on my ankles and stare him straight on.

“I’m sorry Minato-san.” I bowed, forehead touching the ground. “I cannot justify my actions, and there is no excuse for the way I behaved. The only thing I have left to offer is my most sincere apologies.”

There was silence. Then, the feeling of a weight on my head as Minato ruffled my hair. “You have nothing to apologise for Tsubaki. You’re a shinobi, but you’re also human with feelings and emotions. Never lose sight of that.”

I let out a small smile. They were simple words, yet they were the words I needed to hear. To be given confirmation that it was okay to be human. I could not deny that losing my dad would forever leave a hole that might never be filled, a pain that could never disappear. But as I sat with Minato on that tree and looked on at Konoha in the tranquil night, I started to think that one day, I would be okay…

… or so I thought.

-Hokage’s Office-

“Can you repeat that Hokage-sama?” I gulped, feeling my stomach sink and chills run up my spine.

The old man looked at me sadly, “Your mother hasn’t been heard from since she left to look for your father. We have also found the wreckage of a battle which was your sister’s envoy. As of this moment, both your mother and sister are presumed dead.”

His eyes flicked around, presumably to ensure that the silencing seals around his office were still in place. But I could hardly bring myself to care. In the span of a week I had been orphaned, my entire family decimated in one fell swoop.

This must be a joke.

“Will there be a funeral? A burial?” I whispered, eyes locked on the window behind the Hokage.

“Tsubaki.” I turned, Kushina was there. I wonder how long she had been beside me, “There will be a memorial, but no funeral.”

Confused, I asked “Why?”

My sensei pursed her lips, “They don’t have a body to bury Tsubaki.”

“Oh… oh yeah.” I nodded.

I didn’t need to look up to see that Kushina and the Hokage had exchanged concerned glances. I just stood in silence, eyes dropped down to study the small cracks on the floor. Distantly, I heard them keep talking and I let them. I couldn’t hear a word they were saying, I was just there.

Eventually Kushina had dragged me out of the Hokage’s office and I ended up sitting beside a small stream, toes dipping into the water as the stream continued on its course.

“Tsubaki, oy Tsubaki.”

Looking up, I saw Kakashi’s masked face looking down at mine.

“You good?” He asked, to which I just stared dumbly at him.

He just sighed, and left, leaving me to go back to stare at the river stream. In all honesty, I couldn’t fault him. I appreciated that he was trying to help, but what I really needed was a distraction.

“Tsubaki!”

Obito’s voice broke through the fog that was starting to settle in my mind. Blinking, I looked up at the energetic Uchiha who grabbed me by my hands and started bolting in a direction.

“What are you doing Obito?” I asked, nearly losing my footing. “Kushina-sensei asked me to stay by the river and wait for her.”

“It’ll be fine,” he waved, “I’ve got something that’ll cheer you up.”

I just followed, numb, until I found myself at the entrance of the Uchiha compound, and my mouth dropped. The entire compound was decorated in fiery reds and yellows. Several stalls were set up along the main area within the compound and members of the clan were drifting between them, coming out with different trinkets and snacks.

“This is our annual festival within the clan, it’s a tradition we’ve carried on with since before the founding of Konoha.”

“It smells good.” I smiled, taking in the beautifully delicious scents wafting from the stalls. Sweet and savoury delights just waiting to be enjoyed. “But I’m not Uchiha, are you sure I’m invited?”

“You’ll be fine,” he waved, “Mikoto told me to invite you so you’re all good. Just stick with me.” I nodded, and couldn’t help the smile as Obito dragged me to the first stall we could find where I started to salivate at all the treats on display.

“Oh my gosh it all smells so good!” I squealed excitedly, holding my hands out as the vendor passed some very generous servings of sugar to two kids.

“You should try the daifuku,” Obito said, as he finished his first kebab, “It’s the best.”

I nodded, and pulled out the smooth ball of squish and squeezed it between my fingers, watching as it simply expanded back into its original shape. “What’s the festival for?”

Damn the daifuku was good, my hand dived back into the bag in search of another and I mentally made notes to get more before I left.

“So,” he started to speak between mouthfuls, “Historically, it was held during the Warring States era to help boost the morale of the clansmen. But nowadays, we use it as a way to celebrate and commemorate Kana, to keep her memory and spirit alive within the Uchiha.”

I munched, hand going back for another daifuku, “Who is Kana?”

“We don’t know for sure,” he shrugged, “She wasn’t born an Uchiha, but she lived within the clan compounds for all of her life that she was basically a clan member. According to legend, she was our guardian angel and protected the heart and the innocence of the Uchiha clan.”

“She sounds very well loved by the Uchiha.” I smiled.

He nodded, “She was, they weren’t ever really the same after her…”

Comments

Follow for more quotes to set you in a mood:

Follow for more quotes to set you in a mood:

He zipped up to the rafters.

"WHERE IS HE!" the caretaker demanded breaking down the door.

"I'm sorry but who?" I feigned innocence.

"Don't play dumb with me girl. I know your little boyfriend is in here, otherwise why did the door slam shut?" he grinned at his detective skills showing rows of uneven yellow teeth. I stopped myself from reeling at the odour that followed.

"Oh that must have been the wind. This place seemed like it needed airing so I took the liberty of opening some windows. I gestured to the absence of glass.

He grumbled, eyeing me for a tell tale sign of a lie before cursing in defeat. "Well you better close 'em up before the snowstorm or you'll be getting an extra month of detention."

"Yes sir" I saluted before he hobbled off to find his perpetrators.

When all was silent again Sirius glided down bringing with him a hail of dust. "SIIRUS" I hissed.

"Looks like you missed a spot" he floated over to the side a couple feet before landing, as not to touch the filth he suddenly became allergic to.

"Get out" I pointed and shoved "I'm not going to risk an extension on my sentence. Now leave"

"But honey I can explain~" he whined, dropping heavily against me.

"Honey?!" I let go and he collapsed like a poorly constructed building

"Yes~" he fluttered his eyes from where he lay.

"Since when?" I interrogated.

"Since Filch called us out."

"HAH you wish. I've got more class than that."

"Aww but who else could fill those shoes but dear ol me?"

"Oh I dunno a well read, model student who doesn't drag me into his problems and certainly not some ridiculous messy miscreant" I answered airily.

"Okay well now I'm hurt" He placed a hand daintily on his chest and gave a pout…."wait you're serious?!"

"About the whole miscreant thing? Yes" I stretched out on the table I had perched upon, realising my shoulders and legs have become stiff from the hours of dusting.

"No you actually like someone?!" he rushed over slamming both hands on either side of my head a glimmer in his eyes.

"wha- no- Where did you get that idea?" I stuttered, my face blowing up full force.

"Oh blimey you do. You have to tell me. Is it Arnie Blackswell? Leon Snyde? OH oh it's Maverick Pend isn't it. I know you've been eyeing him in potions class" he listed, but there was definitely someone he knew very well in fact, that fit my description.

"Sirius get off!"

"Not until you tell me" he sulked like a spoiled child slowly applying more weight.

"Sirius you're crushing my ribs" I gasped

"Well that's your fault."

"That doesn't even make any sense. Now get off me before I Confringo your balls" and with that last threat he straightened himself up.

"My, what colourful language. I don't believe the gentlemen you speak of would appreciate such a crass nature"

"Ugh only you would be able to get me to say such things" I huffed still red but now he couldn't tell if that was from anger, suffocation or embarrassment. "Now get out before I grab Filch myself."

"But I have something important to tell yoooou"

"I am not going to help you with yet another prank. I have assignments to study for and these two weeks punishment is enough already"

"No it's not that."

"Nope, I don't want to hear anymore out of you."

"I swear it's not a prank."

"Ouuuut!"

"It's about Remus"

"Please don't drag him into your messes" I stopped poking him towards the door and he immediately made a beeline back to the table.

"Look, see here," he unfolded the unholy parchment and pointed to a set of names "Remus Lupin" and "Lily Evans". The pair of footprints were making steady progress towards the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Yeah, what's your point exactly?" I raised an irritated eyebrow.

"What? Can't you see?" he indicated desperately tapping his finger on the page.

"What I SEE is a stalker who is spying on his friends."

"Hey I'm no stalker. I just keep tabs on where they go, where they hang who they hang out with the- Oh"

"Uh huh."

"Well I'm doing it for their own good."

"Aaaand that's supposed to justify everything?"

"Of course," he grinned, "what kind of friend would I be if I didn't?"

"A respectful one?"

"Not the point. You see Remus has a crippling condition where he keeps all his feelings to himself and as a GOOD friend I'm going to help him, and as MYY GOOD-" I glared at him still vexed. He sighed internally at his renounced title. A lot of bribery will be needed to win back my good side. "Okay as HIS good friend you're also going to help him."

"Nope. Nuh Uh. Not happening. I'm not about to help you make Remus a victim to your schemes."

"But what about the Marauder's pact?" He gave me the puppy dog eyes.

"We never made a pact. James just appointed us friends on the train."

"But you want Remus to be happy don't you? He's such a recluse."

It was true. Most of the time the boy spent his days in the library studying up for the next exam or in the common room with his head buried in a book. I should know, he's my prime study partner.

"So you're saying that he's in love with Lily?"

The messy miscreant nodded his head vigorously.

I sighed…It would be nice if Remus actually conversed with the rest of us and not just give Sirius and James tips on the explosive power of Fizzpoppers or dish out facts to give Peter a heart attack for the prior's amusement.

"Fiiine" I agreed after much deliberation.

"You mean it!" he lit up like a child on Christmas.

"Don't make me regret it" I warned.

"Of course not. Now first up on our agenda is the amortentia potion."

"Wait! What! You're going to drug our friends?!"

"…I mean that's an idea..."

"SIRIUS!"

"I'm joking, we're only going to make them smell it. Then they'll realise just how much they like each other."

"…It's still going to take me a couple days to research-"

He whipped out a sheet of parchment with some scrawls on it.

"I already got the ingredients covered."

"Wait, how did you?"

"Snuck into the restricted section a couple nights ago" he shrugged.

"I shouldn't have asked. Actually I should be more surprised that you read a book."

"It was gruesome work. Painstakingly hard in fact. I think my brain was going to give out and Filch would find me on the floor the next day" he dramatised "but it's my duty as his best friend to give him the best shot at a once in a lifetime love….You know If you tell me-"

"No"

"Yes, we heard you the first time Hiruzen," Homura snapped, "What we're having trouble grasping is why you would keep this hidden from us!"

Danzo frowned, "You understand that our relationship with Suna has always been precarious, and yet you knowingly housed a member of their Kazekage Clan within our borders."

"It is because of these tensions that I welcomed Tsubaki into the village," Hiruzen replied, "Hinami could sense that the villagers in Suna did not trust her. Kazekage's wife or not, she was a member of Konoha, and the last official member of the Senju Clan. She did not want her daughter to live being scrutinised and doubted, and I'll be damned before I let that happen here."

"We might have been quick to judge," Koharu thought aloud, "but housing the daughter of the Third Kazekage will be a risk. If the villagers, or even other shinobi discover her true identity, then the dangers will not be restricted to public outcry."

'Tsubaki could be kidnapped and held for ransom.' Hiruzen thought.

"There is no doubt that she would be targeted. From the latest… incident, we know that she has inherited the late Akashi's Magnet Release, should she somehow also possess Wood Release then-"

"She does not have Wood Release." Hiruzen spoke up, cutting off Koharu. "But Hinami suspects her sister does."

"And this is the second daughter that Hinami wants Konoha to care for?" Danzo asked, as his finger started tapping his knee absent-mindedly. "And what of Hinami herself?"

"The death of the Third Kazekage is the official announcement. However, Hinami doesn't believe the Third Kazekage has passed." The Hokage sighed. "She'll set out herself to look for him."

"That will be another challenge in itself!" Homura yelled. "There is great tension between the other nations and it only grows stronger by the day. The Kazekage was the only one able to keep that political powder keg in-check; now that he has passed-"

"It is likely that we will be dragged into another war," Danzo concluded.

The Council sat in silence as they contemplated the gravity of the situation. The Third Kazekage, contrary to his stoic and aggressive appearance, was the only one amongst the Five Kage able to prevent the shinobi world from falling into another all out war. In his absence, there was now a vacuum; where there once was a voice of reason, there was now a political bomb waiting to go off.

The silence was broken by Danzo. "She should remain in Konoha."

"And risk incurring the outrage of Konoha and Suna?" Homura scoffed, turning to Danzo, "I understand your history with Hinami, but I caution you to keep that in check when considering the best course of action for the village Danzo."

"We can keep her identity hidden," Danzo pressed, "Without Wood Release, no one would even suspect that she has any connection to the Senju Clan, to be perfectly frank if we based it off her looks she would be more likely to be mistaken as an Uchiha. And if the jinchuuriki can seal her Iron Sand technique, she's no different from any other shinobi."

Homura looked at Danzo with disbelief. "So let me get this straight, you're proposing that we conceal the identity of the Third Kazekage's daughter, and our own Second Hokage's grandchild, to keep her within our borders? That has got to be the weakest plan I've heard."

"I agree with Homura," Koharu said, "from a military perspective, Tsubaki could definitely be an asset to Konoha. However, this is all based on the presumption that her identity remains hidden. Assuming that Suna is aware and agreed to allow Hinami to send their princess to Konoha, this would have been a highly classified secret. When her identity is discovered, they would immediately demand her back, irrespective of what was agreed to in the past."

The Third Hokage sighed, 'This is why I hate politics,' he thought. But even so, he owed it to his predecessors to at least try and keep Tsubaki here, politics be damned, the child would not thrive in a village that did not welcome her into their arms.

"We owe Hinami to try," Hiruzen spoke, drawing the attention of the Council onto him once more, "Yes the dangers are great, the consequences even more so. But we owe it to Hinami, to the Senju Clan, and the founders of this village we now call our home to raise their family to the best of our ability."

Pensive looks we exchanged, as Hiruzen could see that he was slowly making the others understand his side.

"And when her identity is revealed? What happens if Suna accuses us of kidnapping their beloved Kazekage's daughter?" Homura asked.

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it."

***

-Dream-

Blinking, my eyes opened up to drink in the image of the clear desert night. Standing at the top of the Kazekage's tower, I could drink in the image of the gentle light radiating from the moon and painting the scene in an ethereal glow, the grains of sand turning into droplets of silver. As my eyes darted around, they quickly landed on a man standing with his back towards me, overlooking the balcony of the Kazekage tower to view the beauty of Suna and the desert protecting it.

"Papa?" I asked, tears in my eyes.

Turning, I saw my dad give me a small smile as he gestured me towards him. Not needing to be told twice, I ran and jumped into his arms, immediately locking myself to him as he picked me up.

"Why are you sad little one?" He asked, noticing the small tears that were pooling in my eyes. "Did you have a bad dream? Or is it because you slept without your night light."

I nodded yes, "Both."

"Open your eyes Tsubaki."

Slowly, I opened them, and stared straight up at his gentle smile, the stern expression he usually reserved for the day disappeared. That's how I knew I wasn't looking at the Kazekage, I was looking at my father.

"Look out Tsubaki," he turned so that I was now overlooking the same view that captured his attention, "Look to the stars. What do you see?"

"Umm," my lips quivered, "it's really dark papa."

"Calm down," he breathed, pointing out a group of stars, "Concentrate on those stars. Do you see anything?"

Biting my lip, I tried. Squinting I tried to think about what the answer he wanted from me, but I came up blank.

"Stars papa, what's so interesting about them?" I asked.

"Really?" He hummed, "I see Tepi."

"Te-pi." I tried the name.

"That's right, Tepi. A fierce guardian that has protected our family since before we were ninjas." He smiled, at my amazed look, "One day you'll see Tepi, and when you do, you will never be afraid of the dark again."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Comments

Something that has always interested me in the Naruto world is the complex political relationships between the villages, but also between different parties of a village. This was definitely not something I focused on too much when I was watching Naruto, but I definitely have a newfound appreciation for the Kage who have to balance being a political figure, but also the head of the military/armed forces of their nation.

I gulped. With that mask on and his back towards me, I couldn’t tell if he was joking.

As I braced for Kakashi to deal what I assumed to be the first of many strikes that would shred me into confetti, I heard Obito’s voice cut across the training field.

“Tsubaki! Tsubaki!” He yelled.

Sighing, Kakashi lowered his tanto, stabbing the blade into the ground and with one hand coming to rest on his hip, glaring at the Uchiha’s knucklehead ninja.

“What’s wrong Obito?” I asked, taking a few steps forward to meet the boy who was huffing and puffing like he had just ran a marathon.

“Kushina… Kushina-san… News… from Suna.” He gasped in between choking down oxygen. “Emergency... Go now.”

And just like that my instinct kicked in. Barely turning to look at the two I dashed towards the Hokage tower, where I presumed Kushina-sensei and the Third were waiting for me.

‘It’s fine.’ I thought, but the coil in my stomach betrayed my thoughts.

I got to the Hokage’s office in what must have been a record time. Yet as I stood outside, a paralysing fear stopped me from walking through that door. A chill travelled down my spine and I felt my feet glued to the floor.

‘Pull yourself together. You’re overreacting.’ I repeated it like a mantra. Taking a deep breath, I raised my hand and knocked. Three times. Confidently. Like a shinobi reporting for duty.

“Come in Tsubaki.”

And I stepped through the door.

***

Kakashi let out a sigh as Obito missed another punch and fell straight into his web of explosive tags. Honestly, he was starting to wonder how the Uchiha had survived for this long.

“Are you really taking those skills out into the battlefield?” Kakashi sighed as Obito untangled himself from the mess.

The Uchiha stuck his tongue out, “Yeah yeah Kakashi, I’ll beat you in the next round!”

“Sorry, I’m back!”

The two shinobi turned as Tsubaki quickly rejoined. Kakashi gave her an odd look. Physically, she seemed fine. But there was a change in her... something was up but who was he to pry.

“Hey, are you ok Tsubaki? You look like you’re about to cry.” Obito asked.

She laughed, waving off his concern. “I’m fine… Just a bit sad.”

“Hmm, ok. I need to go back and finish some chores for the old man, but next round I’m gonna crush you Kakashi!” Obito swore, then running off in a swirl of blue and orange.

“So, where were we?” Tsubaki asked, a smile as she took a stance preparing to meet Kakashi’s first blow.

Wordlessly, he picked up his blade and resumed their training, but it didn’t last long. They barely started when Kakashi made a comment about her heart not being in it.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you but you missed several strikes that you normally dodge. I thought Kushina-san fixed your tunnel vision issue a long while ago.”

And just like that, Tsubaki broke.

Letting out a wail, the kunoichi fell to the floor. Gasping for air, one hand dug into the ground beneath her, as the other tightened itself around the shirt she was wearing.

Kakashi panicked. Slowly, he put aside his tanto, and spent some time thinking about what to do next. Tsubaki was strong, and highly capable. He had never seen her break down like this, and he wondered if it was due to his earlier criticism.

Slowly approaching his distressed teammate, he spoke,  “Tsubaki, what’s-”

He felt a surge in chakra coming from Tsubaki, and the ground below responded in kind. Any metallic minerals that were naturally occurring within the earth started to rise in specks of dust and swirl as an angry storm around her.

“They killed him… he’s dead!” She shouted, and Kakashi could see that she was starting to hyperventilate.

“Tsubaki, calm down!” He shouted as the sand storm had grown so that it was not reaching the borders of the empty training field.

But it was clear that she wasn’t listening. He cursed as he felt tremors in the earth building in intensity and frequency. Kakashi’s tanto blade had flown off somewhere, taken by the sand storm, but that didn’t change the fact he needed to stop her, now.

His fingers started forming the seals for an earth jutsu, but before he could do anything, a spike of sand rose from the ground reaching to impale him.

If it wasn’t for the fact that he had practice against Minato’s Flying Thunder God, he had no doubt that he would have been seriously injured by the spike.

“They KILLED HIM!” Tsubaki screeched, and the sand storm responded, swirling around her with greater intensity. A dangerous combination of a shield to protect her, and to attack anything around her.

“Get back!”

Recognising the voice of his sensei, Kakashi didn’t hesitate to jump back and stay out of Minato’s way. There was simply nothing he could do.

With a flash, Minato vanished and reappeared immediately behind Tsubaki. The sand roared in anger, but it was too late. He had reached out and slammed a seal directly into the back of her neck.

Tsubaki gasped, the sand storm stopped, and instead gently fell onto the ground like snowflakes. Now that the storm was gone, Kakashi and Minato could see the array of cuts that littered across her face and arms.

Approaching the two, Kakashi knelt down to face Tsubaki and saw that the wind had mixed tears with blood from the cuts across her forehead, painting her with a crimson crown.

“Kaka-kun.” She cried, swaying weakly “I’m sorry.”

As she fell, Kakashi instinctively reached out to catch her which exposed the dark red marking of a seal now at the base of her neck.

“Come now, we should get her to the medics.” Minato said.

“Obito said that there was an emergency from Suna. What happened?” Kakashi asked.

“It’s her father Kakashi,” Minato looked down at the sleeping girl that cried red tears, “He’s dead.”

Comments

I rolled my eyes "I think James's playboy attitude is rubbing off on you" I continued to sweep the splinters into a neat pile "Now why are you actually here? You never come by without requests."

"Ahem, as co-owner of the Marauder's Association" he conjured up a folded parchment from an inner robe pocket

"There's an Association now?"

he continued on his frivolous display

"I'd like to update my staff that there has been progress with Project 101 The Marauders Map."

I raised an eyebrow taking note of the scorches on his collar and smudges of ash wiped carelessly away from his cheeks.

"okay ….so we'd like to make some progress. It's just the spell isn't working as planned...BUT after this it'll be completed! We'll know where everyone and everything is at all times in the castle." he grinned mischievously

"isn't that an invasion of privacy?"

"Privacy Shmivacy" he waved "how else are we going to become top notch pranksters?"

I sighed "So what am I supposed to do exactly?"

"just come up with a tracking charm or something cause right now these steps aren't moving, or they just run off the page whenever they want."

"You do know that I'm in detention because my wand malfunctioned right? I'm going to need more time to figure- "

"So you admit this is detention" he wiggled his brow.

"Not the point. I just don't want anything to explode again. I'm almost done sweeping up half the desks" I motioned toward the pile of sawdust.

"Well I can fix that" he whipped out his sleek black wand.

"Wait no what are you-!"

He flicked his wrist and the pile erupted with a loud bang showering the semi cleaned room with wooden chips and dust.

"WHY THE-"

He held out his index finger.

"Wait for iiit."

It was as if I could hear the tower and shelves themselves yell "TIMMMBEEEERRR" a second wave of dust covered the room along with loose sheets and old book covers.

I turned to him with stunned outrage but he was already rolling underneath one of the non destroyed benches. As if on cue the devil himself was summoned with the chaos.

"WHAT'S WITH ALL THE RUCKUS!" His beady eyes scanned the room for the culprit.

"YOU! I thought I told you no magic allowed."

"Sorry Mr Filch" I hung my head dragging the broom's end to block the table and bench gap from the red eyes of his only companion who hissed in retaliation.

"Look at what you've done! You were only supposed to sweep the splinters, how did you manage to wreck even more chaos. I oughta hand you by the ankles for this!" He raged.

"Mr Filch! I thought I advised you to stop threatening the children. You don't want the Headmaster to hear about this do you?" a certain cat eyed woman intervened. Her signature green robes were stunning against the white surroundings and her excellent posture only accentuates her godly appearance in this dire time.

"But she destroyed decade old books and made an even bigger mess than before" he tattled.

"Well those books were due for a renewal in a few months so I'd say she did us a favour by taking them down wouldn't you say?"

He grumbled giving me the stink eye.

"I was only trying to help" I blinked innocently.

"But seeing as you are the one who caused this mess I believe you should also be the one to clean it."

"Of course Professor McGonagall."

"Then I'll be seeing you here for the next two weeks" she gave a nod to the caretaker who swore under his breath before hobbling out "I suggest removing that bench, It'll be easy to sweep without it taking up the floor."

"Yes Professor" I bowed and she was on her way once more.

I let out a noisy exhale sliding down the side of the table

"Wow that went better than I thought" the boy whistled

"Are you kidding me? I got two extra weeks of detention because of you" I pouted curling into a ball

"And you know I hate getting into trouble"

Something soft was laid on my head

"Well, think of it this way. Now you got more time to think of a spell"

I flipped the parcel over "and what's this for? you want me to make deliveries now?" I prepared to chuck it on the ground as mutiny

"What are you going on about? It's your birthday isn't it? So a present is necessary"

….He remembered?

I turned to stare speechless at the poorly wrapped beige paper, tied none too neatly with a twine knot and script which appeared to be smudged on with inky fingers last minute.

"…You know if you don't want it you could just say so" he somewhat pouted.

I pulled the parcel away from his fretful grasp and strung out the soft red gift. Wow he remembered and was thoughtful. I wrapped the woollen scarf around my neck. "I love it" I giggled into the fabric. "Where did you get it from? I thought we weren't allowed to go to Hogsmeade until 5th year."

"Buy it? What are you talking about? I made that masterpiece" He rubbed his fingers at the phantom pain

"You made this?" I examined the tasselled ends that extended far beyond my fingers even having turned three times around my neck

"Of course I did. I'm an artist after all" he huffed with pride

"Oh I see it now" I smiled now noticing that some loops were loose here and there

"Hey what are you implying? I was taught by the best you know"

"Oh and who might that be?"

"My non crazy sis Narcissa, But you can't tell James about this or he'll have a field day" He quickly added "…. wait why are you looking at me like that?"

"No reason~" I chimed. "But why is it so long?"

"Glad you asked" he hopped over and wrapped some of it around his neck "It's for two people of course" he grinned almost nipping my nose.