Posted: 4/19/17

Delusions of a Visionary

Chapter Thirteen: X Marks the Spot

"Another new courier today?" The lady at the gate says as I had over the delivery sheet for her to sign. "I finally thought they had a rather permanent one with that girl a few months back, but everyday lately it's been someone new."

I give a slight shrug of my shoulders, turning my head to look down the street. Today, I'm Raji, a mid-teenage boy with slightly roguish features and a permanent scowl on my face. I don't like to be kept waiting, and mindless gossip is annoying. People in general are annoying.

"Are you done?" I ask coldly, holding out my hand for the paper. It's none of her business what goes on in the courier division, and her poorly attempted weaseling for information is pathetic.

The lady doesn't seem to care for my tone, but that doesn't matter. I've done my job.

"Well, aren't you a rude one. I hope they never send you again," she sneers, handing the paper back to me roughly. "Shame a face like that is wasted on a scoundrel like you. If your personality matched your looks better, girls would be all over you."

"Not interested."

Tucking the paper into my messenger bag, I turn and begin walking. A few steps later, I allow my chakra to spread through my muscles, and I flicker step away.

People hardly seem to notice as I appear at the end of the street. That annoying presence is back again today, hiding in plain sight. Sometimes it's the feeling of someone staring, sometimes they're the shadow behind someone. They've been around a lot lately. Slowly creeping closer and closer to my periphery. Soon…

Not now, though. Shooting a glance around, I pick a spot and flicker away again. Next to this stand, under that awning, around the second corner. Again and again, I move.

So many weeks that have turned into months of running courier missions has made slipping through crowds of people nearly second nature to me. Doing it at body flicker speed requires more concentration, but the challenge gives me a strange satisfaction.

It's become a game to me now. Move here, then there, don't let anyone notice, don't step there or you'll crash. Lava, lava, don't touch the lava. Run from the monster, don't be caught. I want to chuckle at the familiar thought.

The sun's position in the sky tells me I'm on schedule to complete this run even faster than yesterday. Checking my chakra reserves, I appear at the top of the road leading to the genin office building and take off towards it at a run.

Vaulting over the windowsill into my usual side room, generally empty thanks to an anchored genjutsu on the door, I allow myself a small grin as I drop my disguise for the day. Walking over to the small cabinet in the corner, I dig out my bag from where I hid it, swiftly changing out of Dan's old, and now only slightly too big for me, clothes and back into my own.

Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I let my hair down from the tight bun it's in, and exit the room heading to the chunin on rotation.

"Genin Nakamura reporting in," I say, placing the messenger bag on the desk for the chunin to put away until the next set of messages need delivering. "All deliveries that were assigned have been signed for and completed. No current messages to report from the chunin or jonin stations at this time." Although I delivered plenty between the two divisions today.

"You are released from duty until tomorrow, Genin Nakamura," the chunin says, flipping through the sheet of signatures. "Be faster next time. Time is of the essence in message delivery, and I see that you still aren't meeting the required timestamps."

"Of course," I reply through gritted teeth before turning on the spot to leave. Faster, faster, faster! Just how fast do they expect me to be? Am I really that slow? Everyday for the past few months I've been improving my time. I even mapped out the village in my free time to find the fastest routes and shortcuts. Ridiculous!

I walk out the door to the office and make it several steps before the sound of my name stops me.

"Nakamura?" Turning, I look around for a moment before spotting my old classmates, Shibi Aburame and Kizashi Haruno.

"It is you. Why are we surprised? Because you vanished from the academy without a trace," Shibi says, monotone. A nice juxtaposition to Kizashi, who has a dumbfounded sort of look on his face.

"It's nice to see you, too?" I raise an eyebrow, changing my direction to walk closer to the pair.

"Where did you go?" Kizashi asks, scratching at the back of his head. "Nara and Heir Uchiha seemed to know something but they wouldn't tell anyone."

"I didn't ask them to do that, not that it matters anymore." I point to the protector on my forehead. "I was graduated and sent to the courier division."

"Everyone thought you got kicked out after cheating during the Ninja Games!"

I stare at the plum haired boy in silence; it doesn't take long before Kizashi winces and looks to the ground. Hiding a smirk, I turn my attention toward the silent Aburame, "The rest of the class graduated recently too, so, like I said, it doesn't really matter anymore."

"Who's your partner? Everyone in class was paired up at graduation. No one was left over. We're actually here to meet up with the Heir Hyuga and Ikeda, and Noriyo and Yuma to go on a mission," Kizashi asks, seemingly getting over his earlier embarrassment.

"It only takes one person to deliver a message, Kizashi. I don't have a partner. I've been running solo this entire time."

Feeling a familiar chakra, I turn around. I watch a genin team walk through the front doors into the genin offices before the source of the chakra becomes visible to me. "Hey, Noriyo." My friend gives me a lazy wave, physically leaning away from her companion, Yuma.

"Nakamura, what are you doing here?" I hold back a sigh. Is this going to happen every time I run into someone from my academy class?

"She's a genin, idiot. Use your eyes. She has as much a reason to be outside the genin offices as any of us." I shoot Noriyo a nod of thanks. If I have to explain it myself every time, it's going to get old fast. Unless I can get someone else to do the footwork for me.

"Pretty much," I shrug. "Mind spreading the word for me, Yuma? You're pretty loud, it'll save me the trouble."

"I think Noriyo has rubbed off on you a bit too much," Yuma mutters, stopping short, nosed crinkled in annoyance.

Well. I suppose we never have gotten along very well.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing. Where's Jerens?" I look around for Yuma's nindog companion. He's definitely Yuma's better half.

"Sick. Some stupid cold has been going around. I had to leave him home."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope he gets better soon."

"Uh, yeah. Thanks." Shoving his hands in his pockets, Yuma directs his attention away from me.

"Hey, Shibi, where are the other two? I want to finish this mission and get back to Jerens."

"I cannot say, but they should be arriving any moment now. The Heir Hyuga would not be late."

I sidle up next to Noriyo, eyebrow raised. "You never told me you got partnered up with Yuma."

"Too much trouble. He's annoying. It should be forbidden to pair a Nara up with someone from such a high energy clan. Too bad there weren't any Akimichi or Yamanaka in our class. They would make a good partner. Even a civilian raised partner would be preferable."

"Wow, you must be pissed. You never talk that much," I joke, giving Noriyo a light nudge.

"I heard that you know," Yuma growls.

I open my mouth to respond, but stop at the feeling of another chakra signature I recognize. "It looks like the last of your group is here," I say instead.

"As usual, your chakra sensing abilities are nothing special. Stop pretending to be a ninja and go home, Nakamura."

"It's hardly pretending when I've been sanctioned to wear the symbol of the village, Heir Hyuga." Flipping my hair behind my shoulders to make my forehead protector more prominent, I stare down my old friend. Behind him, Ikeda seems to fidget in place. Poor girl. She was always so timid, Hiashi's harsh personality is probably pretty hard for her to deal with.

"This is pointless. Why? Nakamura is obviously a genin, so arguing the point is simply a waste of time. We should report in for our mission."

"Shibi's right," Kizashi chimes in. He seems somewhat unsure as he looks between Hiashi and I. Narrowing his eyes, Hiashi walks past me, nearly brushing my shoulder. "Cheaters will always be exposed in the end," he says quietly. My hand curls into a fist.

"I'm not a cheater, and you know it." Turning, I glare at Hiashi's back. "We're ninja. Honestly, calling any of us cheaters is like the pot calling the kettle black. We are in the profession of deception." Hiashi stops, but doesn't turn back.

"We are also in the profession of taking lives, as soldiers of this village and the entire Fire Nation. Something you are incapable of. If you can't fulfill one of the most basic duties, you have no right to call yourself a ninja."

I grit my teeth. If he had any idea of the nightmares I face, the memories I have. He would never say that.

"Ikeda, let's go. We won't be late to report in for our mission because of this interruption."

"Let it go," Noriyo murmurs, coming up to stand at my shoulder as everyone starts to follow Hiashi into the genin offices. Shibi gives me a brief nod, and Kizashi a small wave. Yuma stares at me for a moment before rather quietly following after Ikeda who completely ignores me.

"But-"

"He won't hear anything he doesn't want to hear and you know it. You'll just be wasting your breath." Giving me a look, Noriyo slumps off after the others.

Once the door closes behind her, I let out a long breath of frustration. What is with today? Looking up at the sky, I force a wry smile onto my face. The academy should be getting out right about now. I think I'll go bug Eggs.

..-. .- -.. . / .. -. - - / -. .-. .- -.-

"Hey, Miyo?" Moving left, I dodge under the incoming fist before spinning out and around Minato to create some space. "Yeah?"

"Since when did you become so hard to hit?" The blond haired boy asks, obviously rhetorical. Minato steps back into my space, but I jump up, shoving his head down with my hand, using the momentum to flip over him and get away again. Turning around, I can't help but grin as Minato picks himself up off the ground. I've been the one eating the dirt so much lately that it's strangely nice to see it happen to someone else.

I give my friend a shrug. "No idea, Eggs. Sure you haven't just gotten worse?" I tease, knowing that it isn't true. Minato is still as much a genius as ever, and has definitely improved since we last sparred. It's just too bad for him that I've improved more.

Taking a moment, I begin to focus chakra into my legs and upper body, drawing on the yin and yang element, carefully separating the two energies out and sending them to opposite parts of my body. The fact that Minato is a genius definitely makes him the perfect person to test this out on.

Minato rolls his eyes before coming after me again. Dodging back, I deflect a few thrusts. The one downside to this technique is it takes a little longer than I'd like to gather the necessary amount of yin and yang energy. Once I feel like I'm getting close (I can tell by the distinct static electricity tingle zipping along my legs and torso), I jump back to give myself some space. Minato chases after me, but I launch into the air before he can get more than a few steps, the yin chakra in my legs fueling a jump at least twice the height I could regularly reach.

I draw the last of the necessary yin chakra to my leg and yang chakra to my shoulders (much safer than drawing it to my head) as fast as possible, feeling all the hairs on my body standing on end. Flipping my body over, I bring my leg down in a hammer motion while simultaneously flaring my chakra downwards in an erratic pattern, quickly closing my eyes and blocking my ears up with chakra (I learned my lesson after the eagles).

A split second later it happens.

I can feel the electric surge and air pressure as the air crackles sharply. My foot hits the ground at the same time the air releases a low deep grumble in response to the sudden bolt of lightning as my negatively charged chakra meets the positively charged earth. Not wasting a moment, I snap my eyes open, chakra already shifting and forming as my hand comes up into the last sign to send out the genjutsu I have planned.

The second I feel the genjustu release, I get to work stripping my chakra of any nature. If this works right, Minato won't be able to find me.

I watch him as Minato lets down his arms that he'd brought up to shield himself. His hair looks messier than normal, sticking up strangely and having a rather blown out look to it. My hands raise to my own hair in empathetic response, smoothing it out even as the strands persistently stick out and stick to me with the leftover static.

"Miyo?" Minato asks, looking at the spot where my foot impacted the ground. A small dark brownish-black scorch mark and the somewhat disturbed ground around is the only sign anything happened. Rubbing at his eyes, Minato looks around. He's probably seeing spots. I know I am. Something I need to keep working on.

"Miyo? Where are you? What was that?" Turning his head, Minato looks all around, alternately rubbing at his eyes and ears. I can empathize with his pain. I've had to go to Dan for more healing while creating this stupid lightning bolt than I ever had to go for him before.

Maybe I should have thought about that before using this trick against Minato? Oh well, if he needs healing, I'll just drag him off to Dan.

Finally, Minato seems to catch on as he raises his hands in the ram sign. "Release!" he says loudly, flaring his chakra a bit more than necessary. I suppose that's a side effect of me blocking his attempts to cancel out my genjutsus in previous spars. Overkill is always the answer, right?

"Fifteen seconds," I say as Minato finally spots me. "It took you fifteen seconds after my distraction to realize what was going on and release the genjutsu. That's enough time for me to get a decent head start, if I need to escape using the body flicker. Maintaining that lead is the next thing I need to work on." Since I still don't have a partner, working on being able to escape an undesirable conflict has become my biggest goal.

Minato just stares at me, his eyes wide and blinking fast, "Miyo," he asks, voice breathy, "what was that?"

I shrug my shoulders, rubbing the back of my neck, "Just your regular old lighting bolt."

"A lightning bolt?" the poor kid sounds dumbfounded, "Since when can you create a lightning bolt? Since when can anybody create a lightning bolt like that?! You didn't actually use any elemental jutsu! I know you didn't!"

Fighting down a smug smile, I shrug again. It's not like I can tell Minato that I remember my physics classes from a past life, and drew inspiration from them on how to create a lightning bolt from my oh-so conveniently charged chakra. "It's not so hard to figure out, Eggs. Yin chakra is negatively charged, the earth is rich in yang chakra, which is positively charged, they meet and they go boom. I read about it in a book." More like I specifically found a book with a vague theory on electricity in my dad's old study, and I use it as a way to justify my knowledge.

"Boom?" Minato asks, incredulous, his hands rubbing over his face.

"Well, I mean technically, as the charges near each other a charge surge rushes between them, meeting in the middle, releasing energy and heat. The energy we see as a flash of light, and the heat expands so quickly we hear it as thunder. I mean, that's what I think happens. It's just a theory," I prevaricate.

Minato just stares at me, eyes wide and mouth gaping, "How did you not get shocked?" he asked, "How did I not get shocked? I mean, I felt the energy, or whatever, but..." he gives me a desperate look, gesturing at nothing with his hands.

"Good question," I cheer, giving Minato a thumbs up, "That's where my elemental chakra comes into play, a bit. Subverting the energy away from me was pretty easy to figure out after some practice," I lie —it had hurt, and, as the faint static shock tells me, I still haven't figured it out completely, Minato doesn't need to know that, though, "and you're too far away and grounded for the energy to bother with. It takes the path of least resistance, every time. You were not in that path."

Minato continues to stare at me, mouthing to himself. My lip reading skills aren't quite developed enough (shame on me), but from what I can tell, he's asking himself 'where does she get this stuff' over and over again in variations of the original sentence.

As I watch, Minato slowly grins, seemingly coming to an understanding with himself, "Again?"

I grin back, cracking my knuckles, "Definitely."

..-. .- -.. . / .. -. - - / -. .-. .- -.-

"Miyo," Dan sighs, observing the faint burns on Minato's arms.

"I know, I know!" I raise my hands up, flapping them slightly, "But it's totally Minato's fault! He interrupted my kick!"

"He's lucky the energy surge didn't stop his heart!" Dan exclaims from where he's standing over a prone Minato. Said sunshine-haired boy gains a faintly worried look, one of his hands coming to rest on his chest as if to check his heartbeat.

I grunt, folding my arms, "Luck has nothing to do with it! I wasn't quick enough to disperse all of the chakra, but most of it was gone!"

Dan sighs again, running his glowing green hands over Minato's hands and arms, "You both need to be more careful," he chides, ending his healing jutsu and turning to a nearby cupboard, digging out a jar of yellow tinted cream that smells like rotten bananas, "That could have been really dangerous, you two. Sparring with an untested lightning technique," he shakes his head.

Minato sheepishly smiles at my cousin, shifting a bit restlessly on the exam bed, "Yes, sir."

I eye the two, wondering at how weird it is to see someone treat Dan so differentially. I mean, it makes sense, Dan is a high ranking chunin healer and Minato is a lowly academy student, but I'm too used to seeing Dan as my cousin, not my commanding officer. I mean, I know what his straight, pretty hair looks like in the morning! My mom still reminds him to do his laundry and clean the house!

Minato wrinkles his nose as Dan slathers the cream over the burns and once again runs his glowing hands over the wound. Instantly, the cream solidifies into something that would look like saran wrap, if we were in another world.

"Don't get this wet for the next 24 hours. After that, soak it in warm water, it'll dissolve the bandage."

Minato nodded his understanding, moving to sit up, "Eh, eh," Dan tsked, pushing the blond haired boy back down, "Don't think that I didn't notice those ribs of yours, Mister Namikaze."

A sheepish look steals over Minato's face and he smiles apologetically up at Dan, "They're just bruised, but I really appreciate the help."

"Anything for a friend of Mi-Mi's!" I can feel my face drain of color as a slow grin spreads across Minato's face. He slowly turns to look at me, a wicked glint in his blue eyes.

'Mi-Mi?' he mouths at me, raising an eyebrow.

I gather my chakra and separate the yin and yang energies between my two hands, slowly bringing them together behind Dan's back. As my hands near each other, a small spark appears, buzzing with the sound of static electricity. I have just enough time to make a threatening look at Minato before Dan whirls around, "Miyo!"

I disperse the energy and fold my hands behind my back, rocking on my heels and giving Dan an innocent look.

Dan's mouth opens, but a knock on the door interrupts him. My cousin glares between Minato and I before he makes his way to the door.

I slide up next to Minato, staring down at the boy. Minato stares back, one eyebrow still raised, "You call me Eggs, I call you Mi-Mi," he says as he shifts into a sitting position, his voice flat.

I roll my eyes, mentally preparing myself for years of 'Mi-Mi' from my friend, because at this point there's really no chance of me dropping Eggs.

"Aunt Mari?" I hear Dan exclaim. "Again? What are they having you do out there, this is the third time in as many weeks!" I turn toward the exam room door. The door is only partially opened, and Dan's back is blocking most of the view.

"Hello, Dan. I was told that you were here with my daughter and her friend?" I hear my mom say, a note of strain in her voice.

I exchange a glance with Minato, "Mom?" I call, stepping closer to the door.

Dan shuffles out of the way and opens the door wider. My mom steps into the room, casual as can be, a large amount of blood staining the left side of her ribs and down to the edge of her shift, her jounin vest dangling from her right hand.

I hear Minato jump off the bed as I step closer to my mom, my eyes wide, a sympathetic surge of pain sparking in my sternum, "Mom," I breath, taking an aborted step forward.

Mom waves her empty hand through the air, a bored expression on her face, "Don't waste your time worrying over nothing, Miyo," she commands.

Always listen to Mom.

Reluctantly, I nod, stepping to the side with Minato as Mom swings herself onto the bed, not a flicker of pain apparent on her face.

Dan immediately steps to her side, his hands glowing a deep green. Mom shifts around my cousin as she digs through her flak jacket, making a faint noise of triumph as she opens one of the pockets and pulls out a small scroll.

"Miyo," she says, turning toward me as best she can, "Take this to the jounin commander." She holds the scroll out toward me, "Don't delay, now."

I nod, forcibly calming the shaking in my hands before I reach out and take the scroll, "Yes, ma'am."

Mom nods to me, briefly looking over Minato before she turns to the silent Dan, a narrow eyed look of displeasure on her face, "It's not your place to question the contents of missions, Dan."

I take that as my que to go, grabbing hold of Minato's wrist and walking toward the door.

"Yes, ma'am," I hear Dan's soft voice as I close the examination door behind me, leaning briefly against it and taking in a deep breath.

Minato waits silently next to me, his concerned eyes tracing over my face. Taking one last deep breath, I push away from the door and make my way toward the hospital entrance.

"You're mom seems pretty cool," Minato offers, voice hesitant.

I laugh, shaking my head, "Intimidating, maybe," I tell him, forcibly shoving all thoughts of her wound in the back of my mind —Mom's a strong ninja, she'll be fine. "I've never heard anyone call her cool before."

Minato chuckles, tucking his hands into his pockets, "I don't know, she was acting like she wasn't even hurt. I think that that's pretty cool."

"I think that that's insane," I tease, "The mark of too many missions!"

Snorting, Minato shakes his head and bumps his shoulder against mine, "Cheers to our exciting future!"

Laughing, I bump back into him. We settle into a comfortable silence, Minato wordlessly following me to the jounin command station near the Hokage tower.

"Wait here," I tell Minato, stopping in front of the doors leading into the building. Minato nods his agreement, settling with his back against the wall, "This shouldn't take long."

Turning, I push open the doors. The jounin command station is, from what I can tell, a front office for the real command station. The building is small and cramped, full of desks and grumpy jounin manning them. From what I've been able to observe over the last few months, there's a bathroom, a storage closet, and a small, itty bitty break room leading off from the main room —definitely not the real commanding office.

Stepping up to the nearest desk, I wait in silence, the scroll Mom had given me clutched in my hands hovering over the desk.

I don't fidget, I barely even breath. I just stare at the bent head of Miss Thulin. Slowly, I see Thulin's shoulders become more and more tense, her movements as she stamps and signs papers becoming sharper and sharper. Finally, she delicately puts down her stamp and pen and looks up at me. Her face is pretty, but her eyes scream murder.

"Nakamura," she seeths behind a pleasant voice, "You aren't on rotation today."

I smile benignly, holding the scroll out with unwavering hands, "Delivery from jounin Nakamura," I tell her cheerfully. I've missed this. In the last month or so, I've been practicing my disguises, so I can't interact with Thulin how I'd want to.

Thulin bares her teeth in a smile and slowly reaches out to take the scroll, "Thank you for your delivery, have a nice day," she grits out.

Smiling wider, I bow slightly, "You, too!"

I turn on my heel and walk to the door, waving over at Greene at one of the desks. The man laughs into his elbow and winks at me, shaking his head.

I practically skip out of the door, hooking my arm through Minato's and dragging the poor boy with me.

There's a reason that Minato is my favorite, though, because the blond haired boy just goes along with it, half jogging to keep up with me, an amused smile on his face as he waves at the bemused civilians that we pass.

"Where are we going?" Minato finally asks as we near the edges of the city, a knowing look on his face.

"To the orphanage."

"Why to the orphanage?"

"I want to see where you live," I slow down as we reach the correct street, turning toward Minato with a pleading look on my face, "You've seen where I live, so it's only fair."

Minato laughs, shaking his head, "Nothing quite beats your garden," he teases, but starts walking down the road, a fond smile on his face.

"You should have seen it when my dad was alive," I muse, a pang of sorrow pulling at my heart, "It was ten times better."

Smile fading slightly, Minato tips his head back a bit, staring up at the cloudless sky, "That would have been nice," he muses.

I nod, smiling a bit, "You should come over for dinner sometime," I say, tugging myself away from painful memories, "I make the best veggie stir fry."

Turning slightly toward me, Minato smiles and playfully punches my shoulder, "As long as you don't give me food poisoning."

Gasping in mock outrage, I cross my arms and huff, stomping the last couple pases toward the door of the orphanage, "I would never!" Already I can hear the cacophony of numerous children yelling over each other and playing.

Minato steps up to the door, giving me an amused look. "You sure you want to meet everyone?" he asks, mostly teasing but a hint of vulnerability in the back of his voice.

"Sure! I'm great with kids!"

Minato gives me the look that that deserves, "Have you ever been around kids?" he asks.

Not for over a lifetime, I think. I shrug at my yellow haired friend, "How hard can it be?"

Shaking his head, Minato opens the door, "You asked for it." I follow behind Minato as we enter the orphanage. Instantly a large cheer starts.

"Minato's home!"

"Minato!"

"Welcome home!"

"Will you play with me?"

"Teach me something cool, Minato!"

"Did you beat people up today, big brother?"

Minato is swarmed by pint-sized humans, all of them pulling at his hands and clothes, demanding attention. Minato laughs and pets at the heads around him, trying to answer their questions even as they ask more of them.

Leaning against the doorway, I watch my friend and the kids with an amused smile on my face. An older man with a limp and a cane, his face covered with scars, deftly dodges around the flailing children and makes his way to my side.

"Nakamura," he rasps, nodding his head at me. I think about asking him how he knows my name, but decide not to. This is obviously a retired ninja, and the small tattoo on his wrist, a small pendulum, says that he used to be a part of the T&I department. Retired ninja usually tattoo signs of their previous departments somewhere on their bodies —a way of keeping their past with them.

"I'm Hishiro Katori."

"Miyo Nakamura," I nod in greeting.

We stand in silence next to each other, just watching over the children for a moment, before a thought occurs to me, "Where are the older children?" I ask. None of the kids surrounding Minato are older than six.

Katori grunts, leaning a little more onto his cane, "Most of the older kids are on a camping trip."

I nod my understanding.

"Minato brought a girlfriend!" I hear, before a little body slams into my knees. Looking down, a boy with deep brown hair and hazel eyes stares up at me, "Are you Minato's girlfriend?" he asks with an adorable lisp.

Before I can open my mouth, more kids surround me, their little hands pulling at my clothes, "Are you his girlfriend?" they ask over each other, "Are you, are you?"

I hear Minato choking out a denial. Looking up, I see that his face is red and his eyes are wide. I can't help the laugh that slips out of my throat. Crouching down next to the kids, I look at them with wide eyes, "I thought one of you were his girlfriend!" I exclaim theatrically, "Minato told me he would introduce her to me. Is it one of you?"

The girls giggle shrilly, clapping their hands over their mouths and turning admiring eyes up to the boy. The boys make disgusted face.

"Ne," one of the boys pats my shoulder, "They're too young to be Minato's girlfriend!" he tells me, little face serious.

"I see," I nod solemnly before I look up to Minato, "That's a good joke, Minato," I compliment. The kids around me cheer in agreement.

"You really fell for it!" One little boy exclaims.

"Yeah, you really did!" A girl nods.

Laughing, I nod, too, "I really, really did," I agree.

Minato continues to blush, looking a bit flabbergasted. I stick my tongue out at him. The kids seem to find this the greatest thing ever, because they start sticking their tongues out at each other. Woops.

I stand up and am about to walk over to Minato, but for just a second, I sense a flicker of movement from outside. I whirl around. The door is still open. Stepping up next to Katori, who is leaning against the door frame, I look around. The sun is setting, sending deep shadows across the street.

"Hmm," Katori grunts with suspicious eyes.

I nod in agreement.

I hear a pop followed by a small puff of smoke. I feel Katori tense up next to me, his hand clutching his cane tightly. As the smoke clears, I can make out a head of white hair.

"Sakumo?" I wonder, feeling Katori relax next to me.

"What's going on?" I don't jump, but it's close. Minato steps up behind me, leaning over my shoulder to look out the door.

The smoke has completely cleared, and I can see Sakumo clearly now, "It's just Sakumo," I tell him, feeling my limbs go a bit weak as the adrenaline fades.

"Who's Sakumo?"

"Sakumo Hatake," Katori grunts as I step out of the door frame. "My commanding officer," I tell Minato over my shoulder.

I take quick steps down to the street and face Sakumo, "How'd you find me?" I ask suspiciously, "What do you want?"

I haven't seen Sakumo in a while. It's become very frustrating, not knowing what was going on. He pulled me out early to go into infiltration, but that hasn't happened yet. He doesn't train me, he barely talks to me except to bait me into sparring with other people. I don't understand Sakumo Hatake.

"Now, now," Sakumo chides, an amused look on his face, "That's no way to talk to the guy who just did you a huge favor!"

I glare, a tickle of fear climbing up my spine, "What did you do this time?"

Sakumo's hand shoots out and ruffles my hair. I swipe my hand at him, but miss.

"Be nice to me, or you won't find out," he teases.

I glare harder, hands on my hips. We stare in silence at each other for countless minutes, Sakumo continuing to look amused.

"Please," I finally grit out, "tell me what you did."

Sakumo claps his hand in happiness, smirking down at me, "I," he emphasises, "just got you an appointment with the Kafshe clan! I heard you didn't have much luck with those eagles."

He spread his hands, as if awaiting praise. I just eye the teenager in suspicion. How'd he find out about the eagles? Besides Dan, Yvette, and Mom, no one should know about that.

Sakumo deflates and sighs, shaking his head, "You really need to start appreciating me more, Miyo," he complains as he digs through his vest, pulling out a piece of paper. "Be here at sunrise tomorrow, or the clan won't talk to you," he tells me before disappearing as fast as he had appeared.

I shake my head and gaze down at the piece of paper, wondering at the random jumble of numbers and letters on the paper. Great, a riddle. What a pain. Still, though, the Kafshe clan…

I had asked around about them after failing to attain the eagles summons, and I hadn't figured out a lot. They're a reclusive clan that deal in personal summons, and you need an invitation to meet with them. How had Sakumo done it?

Absentmindedly studying the paper, looking for patterns and codes in the 104 digit long sequence I make my way back up toward the orphanage. Minato is still leaning against the door, studying me with intelligent eyes.

"What was that, Miyo?"

"I wonder," I muse, "I've got to go, Eggs. See you later?"

Minato's brow furrows, but he nods easily enough.

I smile softly at the boy and offer a wave at the children peeking out from behind him, Katori nowhere to be seen.

I turn on my heel and body flicker away, landing with crouched knees in my tree behind the academy. I think best here, and this riddle is triple encoded.

We're moving along, people! Things should start to get pretty exciting next chapter~

Thank you to all of you who reviewed this last chapter -especially those of you who encouraged us on our POV choices. We hear stories of authors complaining about bad reviewers all the time, but we don't get it. You guys are awesome, and we really appreciate the thoughtful reviews! A special shout out to Kalmaegi, we've missed seeing your reviews, and it was very nice to see your thought process as you read through all the chapters. Another shout out to Guest, we're so flattered that you like our story so much! In regards to your question... well. We'll see ;) Hopefully we got back to the rest of you! If we didn't, we'll catch you next time!

Last bets on what her summon will be? Anyone? Anyone? No? Fine...

Thanks again for sticking with us -we're loving the flood of follows and favorites! And we're hoping to hit 100 reviews with this chapter... fingers crossed!

The Splits