Title: What Are The Chances

Summary: If, against all odds, you were born and if you died on the same date, the same time, and the same manner as a soul from another world, you were given a chance to live that soul's life instead. What are the chances of a girl from our world finding herself in Sunagakure? An SI from a newbie fanfiction writer.

Disclaimer: I don't own nor make profit from Naruto.

CHAPTER SIX

Yashamaru watched Kiyoko go through increasingly more complex forms in the Shifting Sands kata and noted his observations on his clipboard with an annoyed cluck of his tongue. He knew that his computations and projections weren't wrong. For all that people said he got his position through nepotism, he was more than deserving to be the Department Head of Shinobi Rehabilitation and Medicine. His work was flawless and innovative. No one could deny that he did his job very well...which was why it was frustrating to come back and see a recovering patient not doing as well as expected and quite possibly on the way towards regressing.

Chiaki Kiyoko's mental faculties and chakra control was on the same level as before he left, which was not optimal but could be explained by her apparent distrust of his temporary replacement, but her chakra levels, strength, and endurance left much to be desired. When he checked his charts for her expected weight and height, the strong upward trend was steadily plateauing. Something had changed in her environment or her diet, and it was playing havoc with his rehabilitation plans.

When they had worked on the Academy Jutsu and her choices for her graduation exam, Kiyoko showed the same surprising aptitude with chakra manipulation that she only started to display after the kidnapping incident. None of her previous records indicated any talent for the sort of control that she currently displayed. With the smaller than normal amount of chakra she had available for training, Yashamaru found himself testing and fine-tuning her control by limiting the allowable amount of excess that she was putting into each technique. For most, excess chakra was normal and negligible, seen in the puffs of smoke that accompanied each transformation or substitution, but he had higher expectations for Kiyoko, and she had shown remarkable progress as she pushed herself to reach them.

At the end of their session, Yashamaru noticed that Kiyoko was looking around the small garden attached to his clinic with a gaze that showed more than the usual inquisitiveness he had come to expect from her. When she saw a group of prickly pear cacti that currently had fruits, she cocked her head and turned to Yashamaru. "May I get some? Prickly pear tuna would be perfect right now."

Yashamaru shrugged. "Help yourself," he said, watching her girl eat one fruit and stuff a couple in her bag. "Are you getting enough to eat at home?"

She chewed and swallowed before replying to him, strangely hesitant. "They feed me, sure, but I wouldn't call the portions filling...or satisfying."

"Hm..." He could sense that what she said true, but it was vague enough that Yashamaru could interpret it in different ways. No matter. He had his own ways of finding out the truth about her situation. As he said goodbye to his student and watched her disappear over the crest of a dune, he whistled sharply, calling one of the ninjas who were always stationed in his clinic. A stocky ANBU with a coyote mask appeared at his elbow silently. "Follow Chiaki Kiyoko to the orphanage and observe how she is treated. Report back once you have a good idea of her living situation." The ninja saluted and disappeared without a word, leaving Yashamaru alone on his front porch.

Time to prepare dinner. The medic nin figured he had enough time to read through Haruko's notes one more time while cooking food for himself and Gaara. He was going to have to restructure his rehabilitation plans to account for the delay, and the Kazekage would not be pleased with his latest report.

I wasn't paying attention when I entered Yashamaru's clinic the next day. Classes had been strange without Mayumi with me. I had not realized how much I clung to her and how she served as a buffer between Kiyoko's prickly and cold personality and the rest of the class. She was Kiyoko's best friend and my comfort zone. With her out of the classroom and doing D-ranks as an upper-level Academy Student, the person I sat beside during lunch and always partnered with was gone. I spent more of the day stuck in my quiet observation mode, choosing to listen to the others recite their strategy homework instead of participating. I felt out of place, and I missed Mayumi.

Thinking about that took up most of my concentration, and I did not notice that there was someone else in Yashamaru's waiting room when I entered. It was only when I spied a tuft of auburn hair at the corner of my eye did I realize that I was not alone.

The first reaction was not mine. It was automatic and reflexive, ingrained into the body I inhabited like a knee-jerk reflex. I stiffened immediately when I realized that Suna's jinchuuriki was sitting in a corner and coloring a piece of paper. My heartbeat was suddenly roaring in my ears, and I felt myself break out into a sweat. Kiyoko knew who Gaara was, everyone did, and she had been terrified of encountering him. The remnants of her fear were so strong that even I was affected, despite knowing that the little boy in front of me was the future Godaime Kazekage.

When Gaara lifted his head from the page he was coloring and looked at me with pale green eyes, I couldn't help but flinch. He probably noticed my reaction because his eyes lowered, and I could see his posture visibly droop. It made me feel horrible. I watched as he looked through his crayon box for another color, wishing that I hadn't reacted like that. Gaara was a good kid, even if he had a murderous monster inside him. I just...didn't know if I should leave him alone for canon's sake or be kind. Was it even a good idea to be nice to him at this point? His chakra seemed calm, but pre-Naruto, he also seemed like the kind who would be calm while committing bloody murder, right? I couldn't think straight.

Suddenly, the sound of clattering objects pulled me from my thoughts. Gaara had spilled his crayons and was watching with horrified eyes as some rolled over to where I stood near the door. I stared at it as well, then turned to look at Gaara. He was so small and seemed so apologetic. I saw that he had a little teddy bear beside him on his chair, and it reminded me of my youngest brother so much that I couldn't help the small smile that lifted the corners of my mouth.

"Kiyoko? Are you there?" I could hear Yashamaru calling from inside the clinic. "You can enter now."

I stepped towards the inner door, then paused. I wasn't going to be mean to Gaara now, not when he hadn't done anything wrong to me. That was just...uncalled for. Swiftly, I bent to pick up the crayons that were scattered near me, struggling against the fear in Kiyoko's body and moved to put them down on Gaara's table. He was watching me with wide eyes. My hands wouldn't stop trembling.

"What's taking you so long?" Yashamaru poked his head out of the clinic door and froze when he saw me approaching Gaara to give him his crayons. Maybe he forgot that Gaara was waiting for him in the waiting area, or maybe Gaara wasn't supposed to be there at that time? I don't know, but for some reason, his chakra felt surprised.

"Um... His crayons fell, and I'm giving them back?" I offered an explanation as I gripped my hands tightly, willing them to stop shaking. Yashamaru gave me an unreadable look, even as I went inside his clinic without saying goodbye to Gaara. That was the limit of my courage at the moment.

Yashamaru explained that I had not been showing enough progress in some parts of my rehabilitation, and he wanted to focus on physical conditioning during our sessions. Until I had caught up to the level expected of me, chakra control and jutsu practice was going to be an afterthought, tacked on the ends of our sessions only if there was time left. I thought that was fair since I needed Yashamaru around to correct my form, but I didn't need him to watch me go through my control exercises.

The autumn sun was low, shining into our eyes as we headed out beyond his garden and to the top of the dunes on the outskirts of town. Here, the sand was less packed, and it was challenging to maintain your balance and position without judicious application of chakra. Sunagakure nin used soft sands like this for training, much like how ninja from other countries practiced water walking. Yashamaru did it like it was second nature, and he found a position at the top of the sands so gracefully, it seemed like he was walking on pavement. Once I was also reasonably secure at the edge of the dune, we began.

Now that I had practiced the basics of the Shifting Sands over and over again, predicting just how much chakra to release so that I could maintain control over my position was simple. My consciousness floated in a meditative state as I regulated the chakra in my muscles and the force of my movements. I maintained nikkouyoku as an afterthought, not even needing to make a conscious decision about the layers of chakra I covered my body to prevent sunburn and windburn and to keep my clothes from flying around the place. Our feet floated above the sand then sank through the warm, topmost layer as we flowed through the kata in sync, creating patterns in our wake that disappeared as curls of sand blew away from the edges of the dune. The heat was still as relentless as ever, and by the end of one round, I was sweaty despite the dry desert breeze. Yashamaru looked as fresh as a daisy as he called for the second round without a break. It didn't even look like he felt the heat.

After our sixth run-through, Yashamaru began to watch how I did the kata instead of joining me. His clipboard appeared out of nowhere, and he was walking around me, calling out corrections, though there were thankfully less than when we started our training. He spent more time writing this time around, and I swore to myself that I was going to take a peek at his notes about me one of these days. I was pretty sure they weren't flattering, but I wanted to see what he wrote anyway.

A few rounds later, I was getting tired. My legs were becoming shaky, and I almost went off balance as I swept my right leg around in a low kick. Yashamaru eyed me critically then tucked his pen behind his ear. "After this one, jog around the property to cool down and do your stretches. We have time left, so we can work on your jutsu," he said. With a wave, he headed back towards the clinic, leaving me to finish my training alone. I knew that Yashamaru wasn't going to turn around or keep an eye on me as I finished up. He once told me that if I cheated, it was only myself that I was cheating. I didn't like the idea of that, so even as the sun began its slow descent towards the horizon, I didn't cut any corners. I did everything up to Yashamaru's standards because even if he wasn't looking, I was going to make him proud.

"Haruko noted that your chakra affinity is lightning, and you're going to have dinner with us," Yashamaru said without preamble when I finally stumbled into the clinic. He promptly checked if I still had dust and sand clinging onto me before ushering me through a door at the back that I had never noticed before. I was swept through so fast that I barely had time to react. The door opened into his living space, and there was a fantastic smell in the air. "I prepared too much lamb curry in the slow cooker, so we'd appreciate your help in eating it all."

We? It was then that I noticed Gaara sitting at the dining table. He looked my way warily, and I returned his wary gaze before taking a deep breath and heading in his direction. Of course I felt uncomfortable entering my mentor's home without warning and meeting his dangerous ward again, but I tried to hide it by walking towards the one thing in the room that scared me the most and babbling in his face. "Sure, I love curry! Hello, I'm Chiaki Kiyoko. It's good to meet you."

Perhaps my attempt to hide my discomfort wasn't successful, as Yashamaru turned to watch us from where he was preparing things in the kitchen. Gaara frowned at me and moved towards his uncle. "Yashamaru, no one has ever said that to me before."

"Ah, that it's good to meet you?" Yashamaru blithely ignored the awkward mood. "It's alright. If you feel the same, you can say it back, Gaara-sama."

I forgot that the anime showed Yashamaru treated his nephew with strange levels of respect. It was weird seeing him acting all motherly and respectful, but it somehow fit his personality. I sent a small smile Gaara's way as I took the chair opposite him. His eyes widened. "I'm Gaara. I live with Yashamaru. He's my uncle! You're his patient! I never had dinner with his patients before. It's good to meet you too."

Babbling all around. I didn't mind. Gaara probably didn't get the chance to talk to people besides Yashamaru. "Thank you, Gaara. I'm happy to have dinner with you both anytime." I didn't know if withholding the honorific was going to make Gaara or Yashamaru react badly, so I waited for a reply.

"I wanted to discuss Kiyoko's training with her and to have a good dinner, so this is killing two scorpions with one rock," Yashamaru smiled as he brought plates of rice, vegetables, and spicy lamb to the table. "They won't miss you for dinner in the orphanage, right?"

It didn't look like anyone was mad at me for not adding -sama to Gaara's name. Good to know. At Yashamaru's question, I thought of what waited for me at the orphanage. Even the one plate in front of me right now held more food than I could expect to get for dinner there. "They won't, though maybe I could get a note from you?"

"Alright, remind me after dinner. I have jutsu scrolls to lend you as well."

"Awesome! You're going to teach me Lightning jutsu?" I asked before spooning some rice and curry into my mouth. That was good. Probably one of the best things I've ever eaten, in both lives. Yashamaru knew how to cook! I began to eat more, sparing a moment to watch Gaara as he ate his food with a happy smile. "This is really good, Yashamaru-san!"

Across me, Gaara nodded his assent. "Yashamaru's lamb curry is delicious, but you should really try his almond cake." He turned to his uncle and pleaded cutely. "You should make almond cake again soon."

"I'm glad you like the food, Kiyoko-chan. If we have time, I'll see what we can do about making almond cake, Gaara-sama." He was really nice when he wasn't in his medic nin mode. I decided that I liked Family Yashamaru best out of all the roles he played. "Oh, and I'm not teaching you Lightning Release," he added offhandedly, distracting me from my thoughts, the shadow of a sadistic smile surfacing in his face. He was toning it down for Gaara, wasn't he? "Your affinity is Lightning, true, but I will be teaching you Wind Release."

"Huh?" After a moment, I groaned. "Learning Lightning Release would be too easy, wouldn't it?"

"We won't focus on Lightning because that would be coddling you, and if I would be accused of anything, it definitely won't be coddling my cute little student. Also, I chose Wind in particular because Lightning is weak against Wind Release." He smiled at me and pointed towards my plate. "Now, set a good example for my nephew and eat those vegetables as well."

I arrived in the orphanage full of lamb curry and unwilling to put up with the additional chores that would inevitably be heaped on me because of my late arrival and despite Yashamaru's note explaining why I had been out late. With careful usage of kawarimi and chakra suppression, I managed to sneak past the chūnin volunteers and headed to Mayumi's room. I had missed her presence throughout the day, and we had promised to meet for tea again that night.

When I entered her room, I immediately noticed that Mayumi seemed bothered by something. Her light eyebrows were drawn in a furrow as she poured me a cup of green tea. I took the cup from her carefully and poked the groove on her forehead. "What has you all bothered, Mayumi? Should I go and leave you to rest?"

"Ah, no. I'm alright. It's just...I think I s-saw something strange earlier today." She was playing with her blonde hair, which was a nervous habit she was in the process of trying to break. I waited for her to gather her thoughts, silently supportive at her side as she tried to find the right words. After a while, she began to talk again. "You know how we're sometimes sent to observe different posts so we can learn about the d-different jobs for chūnin and jōnin? I was shadowing the chūnin guards at the gate, and I think I saw Sari."

"Who?" I couldn't recall who she was talking about. In her own quiet, stuttering way, Mayumi was more familiar with the rest of the kids in the orphanage than I was. They always found her easier to approach than me.

"Sari. She used to own this tea set, and she gave it to me before she left," Mayumi explained patiently, gesturing to the blue and white porcelain we were using for tea. She was used to my memory lapses, which were now becoming fewer, and she knew I wasn't the type to remember people's names if I thought they unimportant to me. "She was adopted a few d-days ago. Do you remember her?"

"Ah, the brunette with the big eyes. What's up with her? Why'd you mention it?"

"She was adopted by a civilian family in the Western District, she said...but I saw her in a caravan heading to the Land of Water."

"Water? That's weird. Are you sure it was her?"

"She was sleeping, I think, so I didn't get to talk to her, and the c-caravan left quickly after the guards checked their papers. But yes, the caravan's papers were for passage to Mizu no Kuni, and I'm willing to bet that was Sari. There were other kids I didn't know, but I didn't see anyone who looked like they were her p-parents."

"Maybe they're going on vacation, and the parents were in a different cart or something. Maybe they went ahead." I didn't want to discount Mayumi's suspicions, but I couldn't help but play the devil's advocate.

"That's true. I just... It felt really weird, seeing her t-there. We don't see a lot of the others who got adopted recently. They used to visit or to write, but no one does that anymore."

What she said was true. Kids used to visit a lot before. It had been encouraged by a group of adopters who realized that it helped their new children get used to their family faster if they were still exposed to environments that made them feel comfortable. For most of our young lives, the orphanage was all that we knew. Now, fewer and fewer kids visited on the weekends to play and catch up. Mayumi had good instincts, and I was inclined to trust her. "I believe you, Mayumi. If it's weird, then it's weird. I wonder what's up with that..."

Mayumi settled down beside me and leaned on my shoulder with a sigh. She was doing better when it came to her stuttering, but for some reason, she seemed more absent-minded and prone to getting distracted than usual. Was becoming an upper-level student that stressful? I began to hum a soft song I remembered from my old world as we sat together in her room. After a while, Mayumi turned to look at me. "Thank you for believing me," she said quietly.

I rearranged Kiyoko's features in a practiced but genuine smile. "There was never any question of that, Mayumi. We'll keep an eye out, alright? Whatever is happening, we're aware of it now, and we'll find out what it is."

Her chakra settled down, and we sipped our tea together in companionable silence, each lost in our own thoughts. It was quiet, but it was comfortable. That was my friendship with Mayumi in a nutshell.

My next few training sessions with Yashamaru were focused on building strength and endurance, as well as working on my flexibility. We progressed through more and more complex forms of the Shifting Sands until I was able to flow through the moves Yashamaru called out without any hesitation or stumbling. We began to spar at the end of the sessions, though I lost every single time. Even with Yashamaru holding back, he was still leagues beyond my current skill level, but he never showed any disappointment or annoyance. Instead, he expected me to be better than the day before, the match before, and he celebrated every single step forward I made, no matter how small.

For the Wind jutsu that he had promised to teach me, he gave me scrolls on Wind Release theory first and quizzed me on them before giving me permission to practice a single technique. He called it Fūton: Kiryū Ranbu. He demonstrated it for me once, and I was amazed by how he created and controlled wind currents from the palm of his hands. With a playful flick of chakra, he used the wind to move the sand and whip up a localized dust storm.

I wanted to learn that way of using it immediately, but he had me start smaller, and we only worked on jutsu if I finished my physical training early. It was sufficient motivation to get through (what felt like, but wasn't really) endless jogging and stretching and push-ups. I was tasked to use what currents I could make to push and pull sand and small rocks. With only the Bird Seal as my focus for transforming my chakra, he had me control the very presence of air itself, which he checked using candles that I had to create small vacuums around to extinguish. It was difficult to control my chakra and to turn the electric flavor into a breeze, but I was making progress.

He also had me practice running a whisper of chakra on the edges of blunt practice weapons to make them sharper. It was a control exercise in a way and almost undetectable, but I was amused to no end when he demonstrated how dangerous it could be using a chopstick and a block of wood. In the future, he said he would teach me how to use it to extend my weapons' reach and eventually use the wind itself as a blade, which was exciting.

During one session, I asked him why he wasn't teaching me Wind Release using a fan, which was how Wind Masters and Mistresses usually manipulated the air currents, and he just laughed. "I know a little girl your age who would get mad at her tutor if he somehow caused her to become unoriginal." Temari. He had to be talking about Temari and her fan and how he was tutoring her as well! It made me feel a little bit jealous, which probably showed on my face because he patted my head fondly. "This way is harder and looks less cool, true, but by the end, you won't need a weapon to control the wind. You'll be the weapon. Isn't that nice?"

It was. I immediately felt better.

The last thing Yashamaru added to my Wind Release practice was using the wind to create what felt like a solid barrier around my eyes. I realized suddenly that this was what higher-level ninja had been using to protect their eyes from sand and debris, instead of using their hands or relying on goggles. I was ecstatic because I felt like I had been inducted into a secret society of people who knew the secret to protecting their eyes. Yashamaru laughed at me when I told him that and made me promise not to mention the Wind Country secret to any ninja from other countries. It was our thing, and if the foreigners couldn't figure out how to do it by themselves, we'll just enjoy watching them struggle.

After that, an ANBU with a coyote mask suddenly appeared some distance away from us. Yashamaru left to go speak to him. I watched curiously from afar, but it looked like he was making a report, so I didn't disturb them. Instead, while Yashamaru was distracted, it was my chance to peek at his clipboard, which he had left behind on the table in front of me. I grinned, and it probably looked a little maniacal, but I had been the tiniest bit obsessed with reading his notes, so I should be forgiven for that.

With one last peek at Yashamaru to check that he was still talking to the ANBU, I stretched a hand out to flip the clipboard over. I had barely touched it when a familiar hand descended on my head. "What are you doing, Kiyoko-chan?" I gasped involuntarily, because I was sure that Yashamaru was still talking to the ANBU. I could literally see him right now! But I could also feel his chakra behind me, now that I thought about it. I extended my senses behind me to feel the chakra better, and it was then that I felt the rasp of sand flowing through Yashamaru's yellow swirls. A Sand clone then? I should've expected that.

"Heh, you can't blame me for being curious, Yashamaru clone-san. What have you been writing about me?"

The clone walked into my line of sight, and he looked exasperated. "I'm writing a case report on the treatment of someone with chakra hypersensitivity. The prognosis and effects of rehabilitation with seals aren't usually as good as in your case, but it's important to keep a record of this. Most of the other cases had been about inborn chakra hypersensitivity, but yours is acquired and rare."

That was interesting, and it made sense, but I wanted to see the notes instead of getting a verbal explanation. "I'm happy to help you, but shouldn't I be allowed to read it if it's about me, clone-san?"

Yashamaru-clone sighed, but I chose to interpret it as a sign of fondness instead of annoyance. "Maybe when the paper is complete, and you know more about the topic itself, I'll give you a copy."

"Thank you, I'll try to be content with that," I grinned before launching into another topic. The original Yashamaru was taking a while with Coyote, so I didn't feel guilty using the time to chat with his clone. "Your clone chakra feels grittier than the original's. You're a Sand clone, aren't you?" I guessed, but I was sure I was right.

"I...am, actually." He looked surprised. "How did you know?"

"Knew it! Your chakra is yellow like butter, calm and ready like air at a still moment before a storm, but right now, there's wind carrying sand in it," I explained as well as I could.

"Huh," he replied eloquently. "Do you get this impression with other people's chakra often?"

I thought for a moment and replied. "No, not everyone if I don't check on purpose, and the chakra doesn't touch mine. I think I feel yours and Mayumi better if that makes sense."

"So when you said Haruko's chakra was weird, you meant it like...this?"

"Yeah, his was needy and dull and jealous," I said, pulling a face when I remembered how Yashamaru's replacement felt like when he checked my chakra pathways. Still disgusting.

"That's quite insightful, actually. You do realize that being able to feel chakra like that isn't normal, right?" He was smiling at me, but I got the feeling that he wanted to facepalm.

I hadn't really thought about it since it felt normal to me, but I realized that it wasn't a feature in any episode or chapter of Naruto I had ever seen. Huh. "I guess it isn't," I said slowly. "Is there something wrong?"

The clone shook his head and patted my head before dissolving into individual grains of sand. I ran a thin layer of chakra down my head and body to clean myself off as the real Yashamaru approached, carrying a popsicle in each hand. I wondered where he got it. Was Coyote making a popsicle delivery then? What a weird way to use Sunagakure's human resources, but eh, popsicles were always a good thing in my book. Yashamaru offered me one, and I took it gratefully as he patted my head again, much like his clone just did. "Nothing's wrong, Kiyoko-chan. You're just making yourself more and more interesting."

"Thank you!" I grinned before biting the popsicle. While I was happy that Yashamaru called me interesting, my gratitude was mostly for the orange-flavored icy treat he gave me. It was cold enough to give me brain freeze, but if I dawdled in eating it, it would end up a sticky puddle in the sand. "I'm always starving!"

"Are you?" he said flatly, the hand on my shoulder squeezing me for a second before he made me turn around to look into his eyes. "Incidentally, I just heard a very concerning report about how the orphanage is being run these days. Would you describe a typical day in your life for me, Kiyoko?" It was phrased like a question but his voice held an undercurrent of command.

Was that what he had been talking to Coyote about? Not popsicles, but the orphanage? I shuddered at the idea of Yashamaru finding out how they were treating me there. I didn't want to admit I was weak, even if I knew that it was not my fault. Yashamaru expected me to be strong, and I didn't want him to know what I was being taken advantage of. "I wake up with the sun, wash up, and have breakfast." If I stuck to the generalities, I could skip over the excess chores and the lack of food. "I usually head to the Academy with others in my age group, and you know how classes there are. I eat my bento for lunch, and after classes, I head here. When I get home, I help with the chores, have dinner, shower, then study with Mayumi. Then I go to sleep."

Yashamaru's eyes narrowed in my direction. "I'd say nice try, but that was about as subtle as a sandstorm in a glassware shop. Tell me the truth."

I cringed. How does he do that? I had tried to keep it as truthful as possible. "Um... Preparing breakfast early enough for Academy Students isn't really a priority for chūnin volunteers, so sometimes I don't get to eat anything before class. Bentos have been getting smaller and smaller lately. And sometimes I miss dinner because of the chores I have to catch up on." I looked at him, trying to communicate non-verbally that I didn't want to talk about this. "Why are you asking this, Yashamaru-san? I'm sure you have better things to do than listen to me complain."

Yashamaru began to walk towards the door of his clinic. When he noticed me staring after him, he motioned me over. "Continue talking. Leave nothing out. We're going to take a walk while you talk."

"Okay, if you say so..." I continued to list down the chores I had been asked to do upon arrival in the orphanage and the ways I got around the lack of food in the orphanage by foraging for edible desert plants. I talked about how I had to lessen meeting Mayumi before sleeping because I would be tired and hungry, despite how much I missed her presence, and how my allowance had been withheld for the time being, which meant I wasn't able to buy food and materials. I mentioned the coldness of the chūnin volunteers and how I assumed that the Matron ordered them to ignore me since they never offered me help and called me a troublemaker when they couldn't ignore me.

With every new anecdote, I realized that Yashamaru's chakra was getting colder and colder, like a cutting winter breeze seeping into the holes in a warm jumper. There was an edge in his chakra now, and it felt sharp like steel. Suddenly, I realized that the path we were walking was familiar. "Yashamaru-san, are we headed to the orphanage?" I asked hesitantly.

"It has come to my attention that I have been remiss in my care. I failed to do a home visit for you when you were discharged from the hospital, and am now taking pains to remedy that." His tone was strange, but I felt warmth thread through his chakra when he looked at me. "We'll work on your lying, Kiyoko-chan. A shinobi that can't lie is a shinobi that will die early."

"Have you ever lied to me?"

Yashamaru smiled at me, the warmth in his chakra still potent under the cold, biting wind of his anger. "No, never."

A/N: Thank you for reading! It's a slow build, so I would really appreciate hearing about what you think about the story so far, and constructive criticism is always welcome. I have no beta, so if there's something wrong in the story, please let me know and I will correct it as soon as I can.

Thank you so much to my amazing reviewers: Delphine Pryde, mk0008, and ChaosTheVoid!