Like most of the ninja clans which had bent the knee to the Uchiha Senju alliance, the Aburame had been granted a large expanse of land. Reading between the lines of the academy textbook there hadn't been many others way to make the village work early on when none of the clans had trusted each other. Either way, the Aburame compound ground was large. It didn't just have a housing complex, forests, fields, and bug filled greenhouses. It also had useful facilities. I was near the center of the compound at a large building where clan members could requisition mission supplies. Taking advantage of the resources available to me as an Aburame had been the obvious thing to do. Had been. Had been right up until Shibi had arrived late to help his daughter prepare for her first mission.

He looked at my pack, assessing.

The sun was just starting to set and with that the clan grounds were getting darker with each passing minute. Less than twenty four hours until my mission. Protect a drunk. It wasn't a hard task. I could understand why the Hokage would want to use it as a way to blood his recruits.

What I didn't want to understand and what shouldn't have made sense to me was that the man claiming I was his daughter had been trying to prepare me for tomorrow since I was toddler.

"You've packed more than you need. Why? Because although you will be traveling, there will be opportunity to restock," Shibi said.

Expectations. He didn't see it. Didn't understand what it was he was really looking at.

He wasn't looking at me. He was looking at her. The Aburame prodigy he had helped to raise. The idea of a good ninja. A caricature of a person who went on missions and did awesome things, for the sake of the village and for the sake of the clan and for the sake of everyone they cared about.

Back when I had lived in America, stereotyping had been something that was considered immoral, but here there was a greater sense of conforming to what others thought. Less individuality. More going with tradition. That Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji were on the same team was one example of that. The fawning that Konohamaru complained about was another. It would have been stifling, if the chakraless henge that was masking me wasn't stronger than any genjutsu that I could hope to cast.

"I'm getting the supplies for my teammates as well as myself," I lied. "Why? Because Naruto and Sasuke are both orphans and I've offended them by calling them children. I must make amends."

Shibi put a hand on my shoulder. In a rare display of emotion, he smiled. "The clan is proud of you." I didn't respond. He removed his hand. "If you would stay home tonight, it would please me. Why? Because there is a celebration planned, which I had not told you about, wishing for it to be a surprise."

Your little murderer, not a kiddo, not a little owl. Tera is a kunoichi, wasn't it? "You should have told me. Why? Because I have already made plans; a ninja must prepares before it is too late."

I walked through the deserted Uchiha compound. Naruto followed, head swiveling as we walked. "Wow, this place is so empty. Hey is your clan ground like this? I bet it is cause bugs are so creepy. Hey, what happened to all the people here? Are they with Sasuke? Shouldn't the bas— uh, shouldn't Sasuke be coming to hang out with us? Why is no one here? Tera? Tera? Are you listening? Tera? Are you listening? Shouldn't Sasuke stay somewhere with people? This place is spooky."

I could agree that it would make sense for Sasuke to abandon his ancestral home. That he hadn't was his decision. Not my place to jump in. Also, it was convenient for me. Out of everywhere in Konoha, this area was one of the least watched because it was the least populated.

Naruto should have already known why the place was empty. Sasuke had been vocal enough about his desire to kill his brother. At times though, Naruto was remarkably dense. It sometimes took repeating things, before he let them sink in. Especially if he was told something that was hard to hear.

I should just do it now. Not explain. Except, goodbyes were hard. "Sasuke's family was killed by his brother. Everyone who lived here was his family."

Naruto went silent at that. I was glad, because what I needed to do wasn't easy. I was about to act when Naruto spoke again.

"I know how it feels. To be in the dark. To feel alone."

Not the moment to attack my teammate, I thought, deciding to delay for at least a little longer. Tonight was already going to be traumatizing for him. Hopefully not so much that he didn't bounce back.

I stopped walking and so did Naruto. "Sounds heavy."

"We're better off if we have other people. Like Iruka sensei and the old man. Precious people. When you have that, you can escape the darkness." Naruto's blue eyes met mine. He was as serious as I had ever seen him. "You know how he feels too, don't you Tera? Sometimes when I look at you, I see it. Alone. You don't let anyone close, because you're afraid."

Really heavy. I felt a twinge of pain, growing inside me. I shoved it out of myself. Let the bugs devour it. "Afraid," I asked. That detail, it was the part that was off.

"But you don't have to be," Naruto said. "I'm here for you. Sasuke too. Even Kakashi. I know your family has lots of expectations, that they don't see you. Like when people in the village look at me and they see… I mean, it's like with your bugs, people see that thing on the inside of you and they don't understand it that it isn't who you are, even though it's on the inside of you. So they treat you like you're that thing, instead of like your own person. And it's hard to make anyone really see you. I guess what I'm trying to say is I know you're really just a cranky old lady on the inside and that's okay, because I accept you for you."

The fact that he was getting so much about me right, even if he was also insulting me while doing it, was unsettling enough that I wasn't sure what to say in response. Blue eyes. Blond hair. Not a trace of playfulness on his face. Instead, he looked determined. He nodded to himself.

"Yeah. You understand. So that's why we've got to be there for Sasuke too, because he has less than both of us, even though he's so rich. We can't let him be alone. We're a team. His family, now that he doesn't have one. Believe it."

Before Naruto had spoken, I had been sure of myself. Fully prepared to leave. Now, I hesitated. Every time he spoke, I hesitated. The naivety.

Can I really leave? I wondered. Naruto was right. Sasuke and Naruto were both alone in a lot of ways. They needed someone there to support them. On some level, I felt like he was right about me too. I needed someone who understood who I was. Where I could share myself and not have it be a lie. The act… how many years had it been? Ever since I had been brought back to life by Orochimaru, I'd been hiding who I really was.

Could I stop doing that?

Leaving Konoha was only the first step down a hard road. I needed to get to a point where I could change the Elemental Nations. End the cycle of violence, the broken system that people seemed to think was good, just because it wasn't as bad as the era of clan wars that had come before it. Even if I was willing to overlook all of Konoha's many faults, which I wasn't, I had to weigh the happiness of the two boys against the importance of not letting myself be constrained to the broken patterns of the world I was in.

It wasn't about just me either, but about helping to set a precedent. That it was right, to leave a ninja village. That it was right, to fight for a better world, rather than at the command of a kage or for the honor of a family or even for the misguided idea of the will of fire.

Looking into Naruto's eyes, I saw a child that trusted me with his life. That accepted me for who I was. Guileless. Innocent.

Naruto blinked. I made my decision.

My first jutsu caught Naruto in the chest, before he even realized we were fighting. Disorienting. My next caught him in the head. Sinking in. Distorting. Giving him a perspective I provided; an illusion.

Naruto stumbled back and I caught him before he could fall. "Sakura?" Naruto asked, he was looking at the ground in front of him. Sakura wasn't there, but he couldn't tell.

Every bit of the determination that had been on his face before was gone, washed away by horror.

I let Naruto go, then got into a fighting stance. I looked toward the empty street we had been talking toward.

"We can't beat him. I'm going to need to run."

"Run?" Naruto asked. "Who is this guy? What's going on?"

"Orochimaru," I said.

I let the illusion explain the rest, rather than saying it myself. It wasn't the sort of thing someone my age would have ever come up with. Wouldn't have made sense if it came from my mouth. Better to let the illusion explain the sick Jack Slash like game. It would sell the story, later, if Naruto shared it with someone investigating what had happened.

Naruto stared ahead. He looked down at the empty ground at 'Sakura', then back up. "You can't," he said. His face changed, becoming determined as the illusion was laying out the rules. No going to others or 'Sakura' died. "I won't let you hurt her."

Ku ku ku. A tongue, coming out of the mouth. Licking the lips with a gaze suggestive of hunger.

If Naruto thought about it too much the fact that Sakura was involved at all in this would probably stop making sense, because it didn't. Except, that was the point. I wasn't just trying to fool Naruto. Tricking him was the easiest part. I had to create a situation that would fool someone smarter.

The monsters, they didn't want to make sense. Jack hadn't let Aster live because it was the logical thing to do. He had luxuriated in the head game. Defined Golem's existence for years just by talking to him for minutes. Orochimaru was similar. Not mad, but someone who understood— there was a sort of power in being so dangerous and so unpredictable that even the most outlandish threats seemed reasonable. Still, Naruto was young. He wouldn't think through that extra layer. Best to let him stay at the surface level.

"Why is he after you?" Naruto asked. "I don't understand."

I channeled my killing intent and Naruto took in a sharp breath. I needed him panicked. Scared. Running, rather than thinking.

"I'm going to need to run," I said. "We can't take him in a fight. Can you make clones and henge? We've practiced this."

Naruto was trembling. He didn't seem to hear me. I let up on the killing intent. Couldn't rely on it, because I wouldn't be there to provide it later. Plus, he was already rattled, already in the headspace I needed him to be in.

"We escape," I repeated. Naruto looked back at me, clearly shaken. At the sight of me still calm, he calmed down. Hiding my hand so 'only' Naruto could see it, I made a hand seal, referencing an escape formation I had taught Naruto during training. "As long as we don't get others involved, he won't kill Sakura. But he's underestimating us. We can win. All we need to do is make sure that I get away without him catching me. Beat his game."

"Right," Naruto said. He turned back to 'Orochimaru'. "If you think I'm going to let you can catch my friend, you're wrong. I won't let you! Shadow clone jutsu!"

Hundreds of clones appeared. They stared to transform into me. I took off the overshirt I was wearing, so Naruto would have something to use to distribute my scent. Dropped it to the ground.

I stepped out of my place in the illusion.

I looked at Naruto, scared, but determined to keep me safe. The clones of me were everywhere.

Cutting ties, I thought. Sorry.

There were a few role models that I had within the Leaf village. People I could look to in order to figure out the right approach. Mizuki was one, but not a particularly good one. Itachi was another and much better, since I was looking to imitate his success. There were others. Aoi, who had stolen the Sword of the Thunder God. Orochimaru. From other villages, there were even more examples. Ways to approach things.

Escaping. The most obvious method would be to slip away. To wait until I was out on a mission, then just leave. There was a problem with that approach though in that there were two types of missing ninja. There was the sort that was scary, that people wanted to go after, but were afraid to. Then there were the type that weren't. Where going after them was just another mission, business as usual. The sort of ninja that needed to slip away in secret, who needed that extra level of obscurity? They were in the latter group. Hunted as a matter of course. Someone like Itachi or Orochimaru, they were in the former group, because they were too deadly to mess with.

More importantly, obvious meant predictable, which was the antithesis of what I was going for.

Even now, I still felt too predictable. If someone was on to me, they would be expecting me to run. If they weren't, they would think I was being kidnapped by Orochimaru and they would expect him to run with me in tow. It was too close to accurate.

Bugs spilled out of me, making me lighter, until the hive was nearly empty except for the queen and enough bugs to repopulate. The bugs moved to Naruto's clones, landing on them.

The clones took off. Naruto bent down. Picked up nothing— picked up 'Sakura'. Then he ran too.

Genjutsu. That was the first stage. A cover story that would mean that even if I failed to escape the village, there was a chance I could avoid a traitor's death. More then that, it meant I wouldn't be working alone. I hadn't asked for Naruto's help in escaping, hadn't given him that choice, but he would be doing everything he could due to his distorted perspective.

The next step was simpler and paired with the first, because it had to be. Because anyone who knew how someone like Orochimaru operated would see through all the smoke and mirrors if I didn't do it. Forming a bug clone, wasting precious chakra, I sent it toward where Sakura was already bound, trapped in her own illusion.

I couldn't let it be just an illusion.

Sakura didn't deserve it, but that was the point. Monsters, they they didn't care about that sort of thing. They were their reputation as much as they were a person. She would live, but if she was lucky it would be the wake up call she needed. A chance for her to stop pining after boys and realize just how dangerous a world she lived in.

A section of bugs was already peeling away from me. Heading towards the village. Moving to tell my clan where I was going to be 'heading for help'.

Itachi would have done something like this and it had worked for him, I thought, reassuring myself. I went the way I figured he would have. Did the thing that seemed most likely to get me out.

Not heading toward where my clan would expect me to go, but heading toward the river.

When being hunted by ninja, chakra mattered. A ninja who ran out of chakra wouldn't be able to escape one who still had it. They would be too tired to keep running and if they were caught they would be too tired to fight back. I knew I would need to manage my chakra carefully if I didn't want anyone to catch me.

There were a lot of ways to do that, but the simplest was to not use my own energy to make my escape. It had the advantage of going against reputation, going against what was expected, because there was no projection of strength in it. I wasn't proving myself faster. Wasn't proving myself stronger. Wasn't outrunning the people chasing me. A prodigy, someone with self-confidence, they might have been tempted to prove themselves.

But what if someone didn't have that on their shoulders? What if they had just spent all of their chakra killing their clan, but they still needed to escape the hunter-nin that were being sent after them? How could someone with low chakra reserves hope to escape the village?

Spending more precious chakra, I made a bug clone. Then I unsealed firewood and ninja wire and left my clone to make it's raft. Out of chakra. Desperate. Only as much chakra to work with as a gennin, because there reserves were practically empty. Someone in that situation, they would need to conserve all the energy they could.

Or, alternatively, they could replenish. Two sensible choices. Yet another chance to confuse anyone pursuing me.

I unsealed medical supplies. Grabbed a chakra pill. Ate it. Chakra flooded out from the gate in my chest, filling me with warmth. I resealed the remaining supplies. Then I stepped out onto the water. No raft. Water slipped beneath my feet, constantly moving under the bed of chakra I was standing on. That bed fought against my control, wanting to move as it was jostled by the water around it. I focused. Didn't let it.

Taking off my headband, I tossed it to the clone. I tried to remember the rules I had been told a lifetime ago. Master stranger protocols for dealing with conditioning.

Except it wasn't really necessary.

This was me. Leaving, it was easier than staying. Natural. More familiar, even if I hadn't done it in years, because it wasn't an act. The parts that were, the subterfuge? Even that was something I was familiar with. More extensively used this time, because I had more tools to work with, but it was still at the core of me.

Misdirection. Slight of hand. I had fought like ninja were trained to well before I had found myself in the Elemental Nations.

I started running on the water, heading upstream.

I left, going against the current, because the world couldn't afford for me to stay. I left, going against the current, because even if I valued friendship I couldn't put myself first. I left. Didn't let myself be conformed to the expectations of the Leaf village. My name is Taylor. Skitter. Weaver. Not Tera Aburame. Taylor Hebert.