#shadowsofshimura

http://shadows-of-shimura.tumblr.com/post/165361179052/skeleton-crew

@shadows-of-shimura

Koharu gracefully stalked up the hallways of the Hokage Tower, outwardly composed but mentally bringing herself to a simmering boil. A letter! Fingers lightly brushed against the damned scroll secreted into one of the many folds of her clothing. Hiruzen had the utter gall to explain this a letter instead of manning up and discussing this in person. She narrowed her eyes slightly before relaxing her face to a more neutral expression. How Biwako put up with that idiot genius teammate of hers was beyond ken.

Koharu let a breath out her nose. It was a small blessing that Homura and Torifu were with him. For all that those two tended to let louder voices take the led, they were steadfastly loyal and stubborn to the last. Homura would know what to watch out for and was always good for a clever turn of word, and Torifu was strikingly observant himself. Such scrutiny to details would be highly necessary due to their current position with another dead Hokage (and oh, that still hurt) and the majority of the upper management new to the job. The scavengers would be circling, looking for a weakness.

She made her way into the office, dark eyes reflexively scoping out the room and taking in the man at the desk. “Danzō.” Koharu acknowledged, moving to stand to the side of the desk.

“Did Hiruzen bother to actually speak with you about final arrangements before he left? Or did he leave you a letter essentially informing you the two of us are to work together and improvise as well?” She inquired dryly.

“She needs me.” The Hyuuga’s voice broke the comfortable silence they often shared, followed by the sound of paper sliding across wood as he set the letter on the desk in front of his lover. Leaning a hip against the desk, he let out a soft sigh. “She’s lonely.”

@shadows-of-shimura

If one year ago, someone had asked the young girl where she would be in her life, she would just assume she’d be in her home village. This was far from the truth. War had a habit of breaking such aspirations.

Uzumaki Kushina had fled by boat with several of her clansmen, separated from her family. The only knowledge that her parents might survive was a single meeting spot by the shore. She trembled as she saw her once booming island home, with towers raising high into the sky and lush rivers running into the ocean engulfed in the crimson of fire and the black smoke of rubble. Maybe she had realized it at that point, but she had confirmed it after one day of waiting by the spot with the other survivors. Her parents were gone.

She had hopped from village to village. While they were not persecuted like other clans, they were desired and coveted. One by one, the people in her clan had been either killed, couldn’t find work without some sort of alliance to a ninja village or left to find their own home. This had happened for maybe a month, two months, or longer. Until finally, this night had come.

She was hiding behind a series of trees, voices coming by her. She had recognized the Mugen from the few close encounters before. She had been staying with another Uzumaki and her new husband until appropriate arrangements had been made for her. Part of her had to wonder if she had been sold out for safety, as she had heard it was how some members of her clan had survived. She wanted to believe otherwise, but options were running low.

noun;

                            a deviation from truth or moral rectitude

@shadows-of-shimura

Itachi’s life had always seemed perfect, from someone outside looking in. The only stain on his career was the fact that Hiruzen Sarutobi had been chosen as Hokage instead of him. Everything else was perfect, he was Madara’s heir--in all but the Hokage’s seat--but even that..didn’t satisfy him. To see someone without a kekkei genkai ascend to the highest position of the village? Itachi concurred that Madara must have went soft the last few years he’d been alive--at the very least, he should have bequeathed the seat to him instead.

He was still more than bitter about it. Still, very many years later. Most of the propaganda against those without kekkei genkai came from him--he wanted to stamp them out, to make them suffer. There was no place in the village for them. Not in his world, there wasn’t. If you didn’t have anything to offer? Then you weren’t worth their time, it was that simple to him. And he didn’t have to pussyfoot around with it, either. 

There was so much he was doing that Hiruzen didn’t know about--well, he didn’t want him to know about it, but he did get a thrill every time something passed under his well-meaning nose. Internally, he snickered every time a minor clan left the village, and it was only a matter of time before they all did. He was monitoring them, after all. He would find something on them all eventually.

And it was then he was told about a child. A student--a genius, hailed as just as adept as him, when he was that age, and he read through the file. He didn’t bear a kekkei-genkai..and that alone made him curious. He read through the academy’s file, his doctor’s files..everything seemed normal..so that was when he decided to pay him a visit. At the academy, he would. 

@senjutsunade

“I love you.” He loved how devastating it could be to wind up on his lover’s bad side; he loved how vicious the man could be. There was so much he could learn from him.

“It’s called joining Root, child. We’d love to have you.”